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to those who are warred upon for piety you have appeared as the greatest comfort, and you have shown the harbor of the apostolic faith, and you have filled with gladness those who know, and have freed from the rocks those who are ignorant. But I especially praise the provider of good things, having found a noble champion, who drives out human fear with the fear of God, and who readily endures danger for the sake of the evangelical dogmas, and who gladly undertakes the apostolic contests. And every tongue now is moved to praise of your holiness. For not only do the disciples of piety marvel at the purity of your faith, but even the enemies of the truth greatly sing of your courage. For falsehood gives way to the lightning flashes of the truth. I write these things now, knowing the most honorable and most devout reader Hypatius, who readily serves the commands of your holiness, and who continually remembers your praiseworthy achievements, O master. And embracing your holy and God-beloved head, we ask you to support us with your prayers, so that we may at least live the remainder of our life according to the divine laws. 12 TO BISHOP IRENAEUS. That greatest and adamantine tower, I mean Job, the noble athlete of virtue, not even the assault of frequent and various sorrows could shake, but rather showed him to be immovable and invincible. However, after the end of the contests, the just lawgiver revealed the reason for the temptations, saying thus: Do you think that I have dealt with you in any other way, than that you might be shown to be just? I suppose that your love for God also hears these words, being able to bear many and various assaults of grievous things; not fleeing from them, but teaching the steadfastness and firmness of the divine economy. Seeing this courage of your sacred soul, the bountiful Master did not endure to hide a worthy athlete, but brought him into the contests; so that He might adorn your revered head with the victor's crown, and might offer your labors as an archetype of benefit to others. Therefore, as is your custom, O dear head, conquer this contest also and bear nobly the death of your son-in-law, and my most genuine friend. And conquer by your philosophy both kinship and the memory of a character most excellently and nobly tempered, a memory that surpasses both the art of painters and the skill of writers; and dissolve the assault of despondency by the memory of Him who wisely orders our affairs and foresees the future and directs it toward what is profitable. And let us rejoice with him who has been delivered from the threefold waves of life; rather let us give thanks, that being carried by fair winds he has been brought to anchor in calm harbors and did not experience the bitter shipwrecks with which this life is full. But indeed I know that I am doing a superfluous thing, anointing for endurance the noble combatant of virtue and the trainer of other athletes. Nevertheless, I write, offering comfort to myself also through these words. For I was truly pained, remembering his admirable company. But again I praised the Ruler of all, who knows what will be profitable and who governs our affairs toward this end. These things I dictated after writing the previous memoranda, when one of my friends in Antioch informed me of the death. 13 TO CYRUS. I hear of the island Lesbos and the cities in it, both Mytilene and

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εὐσεβείας πολεμουμένοις ἀνεφάνη μεγίστη παραψυχή, καὶ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς πίστεως ἐπέδειξε τὸν λιμένα, καὶ τούς τε εἰδότας θυμηδίας ἐνέπλησε, τούς τε ἀγνοοῦντας ἠλευθέρωσε τῶν σκοπέλων. Ἐγὼ δὲ διαφερόντως τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνυμνῶ χορηγόν, πρόμαχον γενναῖον εὑρών, τῷ θείῳ φόβῳ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον ἐξελαύνοντα δέος, καὶ τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν δογμάτων προθύμως προκινδυνεύοντα, καὶ τοὺς ἀποστολικοὺς ἀγῶνας ἀσπασίως ἀναδεχόμενον. Καὶ πᾶσα δὲ γλῶττα νῦν εἰς εὐφημίαν κινεῖται τῆς σῆς ἁγιότητος. Οὐ γὰρ μόνοι τῆς εὐσεβείας οἱ τρόφιμοι θαυμάζουσι τὸ τῆς πίστεως ἀκραιφνές, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τῆς ἀληθείας πολέμιοι λίαν ᾄδουσι τὴν ἀνδρίαν. Ταῖς γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀστραπαῖς παρα χωρεῖ τὸ ψεῦδος. Ταῦτα νῦν γράφω, τὸν τιμιώτατον καὶ εὐλα βέστατον Ὑπάτιον τὸν ἀναγνώστην εἰδώς, καὶ προθύμως μὲν τοῖς τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος διακονούμενον νεύμασι, διηνεκῶς δὲ τῶν ἀξιεπαίνων σου, δέσποτα, μεμνημένον κατορθωμάτων. Καί σου τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ Θεῷ φίλην περιπτυσσόμενοι κεφαλὴν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ἡμᾶς ὑπερείδειν παρακαλοῦμεν, ἵνα τὸ γοῦν λειπόμενον τῆς ζωῆς κατὰ τοὺς θείους βιώσωμεν νόμους. 12 ΕΙΡΗΝΑΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ. Τὸν μέγιστον ἐκεῖνον καὶ ἀδαμάντινον πύργον, τὸν Ἰώβ φημι, τὸν γενναῖον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθλητήν, οὐδὲ ἡ τῶν συχνῶν καὶ παντοδαπῶν λυπηρῶν κατέσεισε προσβολή, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀκίνητόν τε καὶ ἄμαχον ἔδειξεν. Μετὰ μέντοι τῶν ἀγώνων τὸ τέλος, τὴν τῶν πειρασμῶν αἰτίαν ὁ δίκαιος νομοθέτης ἐδήλω σεν, οὕτως εἰπών· Οἴει δέ με ἄλλως σοι κεχρηματικέ ναι, ἢ ἵνα δίκαιος ἀναφανῇς ; Τούτων ἀκούειν τῶν λόγων καὶ τὴν σὴν ὑπολαμβάνω φιλοθεΐαν, πολλὰς καὶ διαφόρους προσβολὰς σκυθρωπῶν δυναμένην πραγμάτων ἐνεγκεῖν· οὐχὶ φυγοῦσαν δὲ ταύτας, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς οἰκονομίας σταθερὸν καὶ στερεώτερον διδάξασαν. Ταύτην ἰδὼν τῆς ἱερᾶς ὑμῶν ψυχῆς τὴν ἀνδρείαν ὁ μεγαλόδωρος ∆εσπότης οὐκ ἠνέσχετο κρύψαι ἀξιόκτητον ἀθλητὴν, ἀλλ' εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας εἰσήγαγεν· ἵνα τὴν μὲν σεβασμίαν ὑμῶν κεφαλὴν τῷ νικηφόρῳ κατακοσμήσῃ στεφάνῳ, ἀρχέτυπον δὲ ὠφελείας τοὺς ὑμετέρους ἄθλους προσενέγκῃ τοῖς ἄλλοις. Συνήθως τοίνυν, ὦ φίλη κεφαλή, καὶ τόνδε νίκησον τὸν ἀγῶνα καὶ φέρε γενναίως τοῦ ὑμετέρου μὲν γαμβροῦ, ἐμοῦ δὲ γνησιωτάτου φίλου τὴν τελευτήν. Καὶ νίκη σον τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ καὶ συγγένειαν καὶ μνήμην ἠθῶν ἄριστα κεκραμένων καὶ ἐλευθερίως, νικῶσαν καὶ ζωγράφων τέχνην καὶ λογογράφων ἐπιστήμην· καὶ τὴν τῆς ἀθυμίας διάλυσον προσβολὴν τῇ μνήμῃ τοῦ τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς οἰκονομοῦντος σοφῶς καὶ τὸ μέλλον προορῶντος καὶ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον ἰθύνοντος. Καὶ συνησθῶμεν ἀπαλλαγέντι τῶν τοῦ βίου τρικυμιῶν· μᾶλλον δὲ χάριν ὁμολογήσωμεν, ὅτι φερόμενος ἐξ οὐρίων εἰς τοὺς ἀπηνέμους καθωρμίσθη λιμένας καὶ πεῖραν τῶν πικρῶν οὐκ ἔλαβε ναυαγίων, ὧν ὃδε ὁ βίος μεστός. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οἶδα περιττὸν ποιῶν τὸν γενναῖον τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀγωνιστὴν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀθλητῶν παιδοτρίβην εἰς καρτερίαν ἀλείφων. Γράφω δὲ ὅμως καὶ ἐμαυτῷ διὰ τῶνδε τῶν λόγων ψυχαγωγίαν προσφέρων. Ἤλγησα γὰρ τῷ ὄντι τῆς ἀξιαγάστου συνουσίας ἀναμνησθείς. Ἀλλὰ πάλιν ὕμνησα τῶν ὅλων τὸν Πρύτανιν, καὶ τὸ συνοίσειν μέλλον εἰδότα καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς κυβερνῶντα. Ταῦτα μετὰ τὸ γράψαι τὰ πρότερα ὑπομνηστικὰ ὑπηγόρευσα, τινός μοι τῶν ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ φίλων μεμηνυκότος τὴν τελευτήν. 13 ΚΥΡΩ. Τὴν μὲν Λέσβον ἀκούω τὴν νῆσον καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ πόλεις, τήν τε Μιτυλήνην καὶ