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of cooperation, as I attempt to write the life of the saints who shone forth a little before our time and in our own time, and wish to set before those who want to emulate them a kind of legislation; their prayers, therefore, must be invoked, and the narrative must begin. 1.2 Nisibis is a city on the border of the Roman and Persian empires, which long ago paid tribute to the Romans and was under their dominion. Setting out from this city, the great Jacob embraced the solitary and quiet life, and, taking possession of the peaks of the highest mountains, he lived on them, in spring and summer and autumn using the thickets and having the sky for a roof; but in the winter season a cave received him, providing slight shelter. He had food, not that which is sown and grown with labor, but that which springs up of itself; for gathering the wild fruits of the wild trees and the edible and vegetable parts of plants, from these he gave his body what was sufficient for life, refusing the use of fire. The use of wool was also superfluous for him; for the roughest goats' hairs served that purpose; from these were made for him both a tunic and a simple cloak. 1.3 Thus afflicting his body, he continually offered spiritual food to his soul and, cleansing the eye of his mind and preparing a transparent mirror of the divine Spirit, "with unveiled face, according to the divine apostle, reflecting the glory of the Lord, he was being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." From this, his confidence before God increased each day, and, asking for such things as one ought to ask of God, he received them at once. From this also he prophetically foresaw future events, and he received power for working miracles from the grace of the most holy Spirit. I shall relate a few of these things and unveil a ray of his apostolic splendor to those who are ignorant of it. 1.4 At that time the madness of men concerning idols flourished, and lifeless wooden images usurped divine worship, while the worship of God was neglected by most people; and easily despised were those who did not wish to share in their frenzy, but, being of a sober mind, had an accurate discernment of reality, and both laughed at the weakness of the idols and worshipped the creator of all things. At that time he arrived in Persia, to see the plants of piety and to bring them fitting cultivation. As he was passing by a certain spring, some maidens who were standing at the washing-troughs and washing clothes with their feet, were not abashed even by the strangeness of his appearance, but casting aside shame, with a brazen face and shameless eyes they gazed at the divine man, neither covering their heads nor letting down their tucked-up garments. The man of God was displeased by this and, wishing to demonstrate the power of God at the right moment, so that by the miracle he might free them from their impiety, he cursed the spring, and at once the stream disappeared; and he cursed the girls, and punished their shameless youth with premature gray hair; and the deed followed the word, and the blackness of their hair was changed, and they resembled young trees in spring covered with autumn leaves. Thus, perceiving the punishment—for the waters of the spring had vanished, and looking at each other's heads they saw that sudden change—they ran to the city to report what had happened. And the people, running and finding the great Jacob, begged him to relax his anger and to undo the punishment. And he, without delaying even a little, offered supplication to the Master, and commanded the waters to gush forth again; and they

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συνεργίας, τῶν ὀλίγον πρὸ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν διαλαμ ψάντων ἁγίων τὸν βίον πειρωμένῳ συγγράψαι, καὶ οἷόν τινα νομοθεσίαν τοῖς ζηλοῦν ἐθέλουσι βουλομένῳ προθεῖναι· τὰς τούτων τοίνυν προσευχὰς ἐπικλητέον καὶ τῆς διηγήσεως ἀρκτέον. 1.2 Νίσιβίς ἐστι πόλις ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν βασιλείας, ἣ πάλαι Ῥωμαίοις ἐδασμοφόρει καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν τούτων ἡγεμονίαν ἐτέλει· ἐκ ταύτης ὁρμώμενος ὁ μέγας Ἰάκωβος τὸν ἐρημικὸν καὶ ἡσύχιον ἠσπάσατο βίον καί, τὰς τῶν ὑψηλοτάτων ὀρῶν καταλαβὼν κορυφάς, ἐν ἐκείναις διῆγεν, ἐν ἔαρι μὲν καὶ θέρει καὶ μετοπώρῳ ταῖς λόχμαις χρώμενος καὶ ὄροφον ἔχων τὸν οὐρανόν· τὸν δὲ τοῦ χειμῶνος καιρὸν ἄντρον αὐτὸν ὑπεδέχετο, σκέπην βραχεῖαν παρέχον. Τροφὴν δὲ εἶχεν, οὐ τὴν μετὰ πόνου σπειρομένην καὶ φυομένην, ἀλλὰ τὴν αὐτομάτως βλαστά νουσαν· τῶν γὰρ ἀγρίων δένδρων τοὺς αὐτοφυεῖς συλλέγων καρποὺς καὶ τῶν βοτανῶν τὰς ἐδωδίμους καὶ λαχανώδεις, ἐκ τούτων ἐδίδου τῷ σώματι τὰ εἰς τὸ ζῆν ἀποχρῶντα, τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς παραιτούμενος χρείαν. Περιττὴ δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν ἐρίων ἡ χρῆσις· αἱ γὰρ τραχύταται τῶν αἰγῶν τρίχες τὰ ἐκείνων ἐπλήρουν· ἐκ τούτων αὐτῷ καὶ χιτὼν ἐγίνετο, καὶ τὸ ἁπλοῦν περιβόλαιον. 1.3 Οὕτω τὸ σῶμα κατατρύχων, τὴν πνευματικὴν τροφὴν διηνεκῶς προσέφερε τῇ ψυχῇ καί, τὸ τῆς διανοίας ὀπτικὸν ἐκκαθαίρων καὶ κάτοπτρον διαφανὲς τοῦ θείου κατασκευάζων πνεύματος, "ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον ἀπόστολον, τὴν δόξαν κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενος, τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μετεμορφοῦτο ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ κυρίου πνεύματος". Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν αὐτῷ παρρησία καθ' ἑκάστην ηὔξετο τὴν ἡμέραν καί, αἰτῶν ἃ τὸν θεὸν αἰτεῖν ἔδει, παραυτίκα ἐλάμβανεν. Ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὰ ἐσόμενα προφητικῶς προεώρα, καὶ δύναμιν εἰς θαυματουργίαν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ παναγίου πνεύματος ἐδέξατο χάριτος. Τούτων ὀλίγα διηγήσομαι καὶ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς αὐτοῦ λαμπηδόνος τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι τὴν ἀκτῖνα γυμνώσω. 1.4 Ἤκμαζε κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν ἡ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν ἀνθρώπων μανία καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄψυχα ξόανα τὸ θεῖον σέβας ἐσφετερίζετο, ἡ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ θεραπεία ὑπὸ τῶν πλείστων κατημελεῖτο· εὐκαταφρόνητοι δὲ ἦσαν οἱ κοινωνεῖν μὲν ἐκείνοις οὐκ ἐθέλοντες τῆς μέθης, ἀκριβῆ δέ, ἅτε δὴ καθεστηκότες, τὴν τῶν ὄντων διάκρισιν ἔχοντες καὶ τὴν μὲν τῶν εἰδώλων γελῶντες ἀσθένειαν, τὸν τῶν ὅλων δὲ προσκυνοῦντες δημιουργόν. Κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν τὴν Περσίδα κατέλαβε, τὰ φυτὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας ὀψόμενος καὶ τὴν προσήκουσαν αὐτοῖς θεραπείαν προσοίσων. Πηγὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ τινα διϊόντος, κόραι τινὲς πλυνοῖς ἐφεστῶσαι καὶ ἱμάτια τοῖς ποσὶν ἀπορρύπτουσαι, οὐδὲ τοῦ σχήματος τὸ καινοπρεπὲς κατῃδέσθησαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν αἰδὼ ῥίψασαι, ἀπηρυ θριασμένῳ προσώπῳ καὶ ἀναιδέσιν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸν θεῖον ἄνθρωπον ἐθεώρουν, οὔτε τὰς κεφαλὰς συγκαλύπτουσαι, οὔτε τὰ ἀνεζωσμένα χαλῶσαι ἱμάτια. Τοῦτο δυσχεράνας ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος καὶ δεῖξαι τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν εἰς καιρὸν ἐθελήσας, ἵνα τῇ θαυματουργίᾳ τῆς ἀσεβείας ἐλευ θερώσῃ, ἐπηράσατο μὲν τῇ πηγῇ, καὶ φροῦδον παραυτίκα τὸ ῥεῖθρον ἐγένετο· ἐπηράσατο δὲ ταῖς μείραξι, καὶ τὴν ἀναίσχυντον αὐτῶν νεότητα προώρῳ ἐκόλασε πολιᾷ· καὶ εἵπετο τῷ λόγῳ τὸ ἔργον, καὶ τὸ μέλαν τῶν τριχῶν ἐνηλλάττετο καὶ ἐῴκεσαν νεοφύτοις δένδρεσιν ἐν ἔαρι μετοπωρινὰ φύλλα περικειμένοις. Οὕτως αἰσθόμεναι τῆς τιμωρίας-τῆς τε γὰρ πηγῆς ἀπέδρα τὰ νάματα, καὶ τὰς ἀλλήλων θεώμεναι κεφαλὰς ἑώρων τὴν ἀθρόαν ἐκείνην μεταβολήν-, ἔδραμον εἰς τὴν πόλιν τὸ συμβὰν ἀπαγγε λοῦσαι. Οἱ δὲ δραμόντες καὶ τὸν μέγαν καταλαβόντες Ἰάκωβον, ἱκέτευον χαλάσαι τὴν ὀργὴν καὶ λῦσαι τὴν τιμωρίαν. Ὁ δὲ μηδὲ βραχὺ μελλήσας, προσέφερε μὲν τῷ δεσπότῃ τὴν ἱκετείαν, ἐκέλευσε δὲ πάλιν ἀναβλύσαι τὰ νάματα· τὰ δὲ