Lausiac History (recension G)

 having written down the lives of the fathers, Abraham and those who followed, Moses and Elijah and John, they did not relate them in order to glorify

 goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control, is acknowledged. Pref.14 For Paul himself said: For the fruit of the spirit is such and such things.

 being virgins but he entrusted them to Christ, saying: He who created you will provide for your life, as also for me. And there was with his sister

 a judge who orders one to be submitted to debauchery. 3.4 So that one, having gone mad, orders her, having been stripped, to be thrown into the cauld

 but haughty in disposition, exceedingly rich in money, giving † not † to a stranger, not to a virgin, not to the church, not an obol to a poor person.

 So having met and spent three years with the monasteries around Alexandria, with about two thousand most excellent and very zealous men, departing fro

 Lord and what do you command now? I command, he said, that each of us from now on remain by himself. But she did not agree, saying Let us rema

 without a fever, not having been sick, but sewing up the basket, being seventy years old who, having sent for me, and while the last stitch was on it

 at the martyrium called Roufinianais. Whose tomb is said to heal all who suffer from fever.] 12 .tConcerning Benjamin 12.1 In this mountain of Nitria

 were perfected. And some were pleased by this one, others by that one. When a dispute therefore arose among the brotherhood over the praises, they go

 therefore also to banish you from this. 16.3 Therefore, knowing that he had been mocked, he returned again to his first cell. And having completed th

 the tax-collectors are upon you, whose disease you also suffer. And it happened that he disobeyed after the death of Macarius, after another fifteen

 the saint, taking him, prayed over him, beseeching God. And after one or two days, when the affliction subsided, the holy Macarius says to her: 17.13

 ravens before my sight, and saying: What do you want, Macarius? What do you want, monk? Why have you come to our place? You cannot remain here. So I

 he did nothing with his hands. Therefore, when all the ascetics saw this, they rose up against the abbot, saying: From where have you brought us this

 you shall be shaken, I shall not hear you. 18.24 So after falling for a long time, he rose. And when night came, they attacked him again and filling

 fifty miles he went away to where he had his company. This so great man, at long last being pricked with compunction by some circumstance, gave himsel

 so that we should fear these flies more than he feared the demons. This was the way of life of Moses the Ethiopian, who was himself also numbered amon

 of Eulogius and worthily nourished by the disease. But after fifteen years a demon dwelt in him and he rebelled against Eulogius and he began to assa

 Do not turn aside anywhere, depart do not be separated from one another, but go to your cell where you have spent your time. For God is already sendi

 to them a way of life such as never in youth. 22.5 And having moistened palm leaves he says to him: “Take these, weave a rope as I do.” The old man we

 And standing by the rocks on the mountain he prays and says thus: You see, Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, that I will not come

 wisdom no longer approached me. 24 .tConcerning Stephen the Libyan 24.1 A certain Stephen, a Libyan by race, from the region of Marmarica and Mareoti

 to place in the little book for the security of the readers, just as among the holy plants of paradise was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

 he fell into a fall of pride. And opening the window, she received the one serving her and was mixed with him, because she had not maintained her asce

 saying to her, We do not dare to meet them for we know their drunkenness and their recklessness. 31.3 But if you will have mercy both on the whole v

 to the angel that the prayers are few, the angel says to him: I have prescribed these things so that even the lesser ones may be able to complete the

 matter. So when the elder came, the other sisters reported the matter and he ordered that not a single one of their offerings be accepted and as for

 having been enclosed for years and receiving his needs through a window from the one who served him, he was deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy. Amo

 sufficiently, I thanked God when I learned that the pretexts driving me had been accomplished. 35.10 Then again he says to me, joking: Do you want to

 about to give birth, she was having a difficult labor, the spirit crushing her. So while the woman was demon-possessed, her husband came and begged th

 All ran up to him, both those wearing the tribon and those wearing the birrus, saying to him: What is the matter with you? And where are you from? An

 and why should I go out? He says to her: If you have died to the world and the world to you, it is the same to you to go out and not to go out ther

 suggests. 38.6 He says to him: If you listen to your friend, it is not expedient for you to live in this city. Evagrius says to him: If God delive

 he died among them, having partaken of communion on Epiphany in the church. He told us then about death that, It is the third year I have not been tr

 I appoint myself as a host for you. And taking money and partitioning the porticoes and setting up about three hundred beds, he nursed the starving,

 the hill of the ascension from where Jesus was taken up, he continued standing and singing psalms and praying and whether it snowed or it rained or i

 of those boiled by fire. Having persevered in these for eighteen years, he sang the hymn of victory to Christ. This man, having been warred against in

 in Jerusalem for the sake of a vow, bishops and monks and virgins, at their own expense they edified all whom they met, and they healed the schism of

 to many souls, in some there is an excellence of intellect, in others a fitness for discipline. But when neither the action nor the excellence is for

 There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure 47.16 lest ever with the won

 having drawn [their swords], they attacked. And such a thing happened: when he raised the sword and was about to draw it against Gaddana, the hand of

 she led to the solitary life. And having catechized her younger son Publicola, she led him to Sicily and having sold all her remaining property and r

 to her own daughter. 57.2 I knew this woman, who labored through every night, grinding with her hands for the subduing of the body, explaining that,

 of this one, named Taor, who, having been thirty years in the monastery, never wished to receive a new garment or veil or sandal, saying, I have no n

 of her own. And she freed the eight thousand slaves who wished it, for the rest did not wish it but chose to serve her brother to whom she conceded t

 was said to be most learned and most faithful who received Origen the writer, as he was fleeing the insurrection of the Greeks, for two years at her

 they may stir up some of the civil disturbances, falling away from their purpose. 67 .tConcerning Magna 67.1 In this city of Ancyra many other virgins

 to slander a certain lector of the city. And when she was already pregnant, being questioned by her father, she accused the lector. But the presbyter,

 warm loaves in his sheepskin at another time again wine and loaves. At another time again, when he was speaking, I knew that You are in need go the

but haughty in disposition, exceedingly rich in money, giving † not † to a stranger, not to a virgin, not to the church, not an obol to a poor person. She, despite many admonitions from the fathers, would not divest herself of her material wealth. 6.2 Now she had a relative for whom she was making a child, the daughter of her own sister, to whom by night and by day she used to promise her possessions, having fallen away from her heavenly desire. For this too is a form of the devil's deceit, preparing one under the pretext of love for relatives to be in labor with avarice; for that he cares not for kinship is confessed, teaching men to kill brothers and mothers and fathers. 6.3 But even if he seems to instill a care for relatives, he does not do this for their good will, but in order to train the soul to be unrighteous, knowing the declaration that "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God." But one who is moved by divine wisdom can neither despise his own soul, and give comfort to his relatives, if indeed they are in need. But when someone tramples upon his whole soul for the sake of caring for relatives, he falls under the law, reckoning his own soul as for vanity. 6.4 And the sacred psalmist sings concerning those who care for the soul in fear, that "Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord?" which means, rarely; "or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not taken his soul in vain". For they take it in vain who neglect the virtues, thinking that it is dissolved along with the flesh. 6.5 Wishing for this virgin, as the saying goes, to bleed 6.5 her for the relief of her avarice, the most holy Macarius, the presbyter and director of the poorhouse for the maimed, devises such a plot; for in his youth he was a stoneworker, what they call a *cavidarius*. And going to her he says: "Some precious stones, emeralds and hyacinths, have fallen into my hands, and whether they were found or stolen I cannot say. They are not subject to a price, being beyond valuation; but the one who has them is selling them for five hundred nomismata. 6.6 If it seems good to you to take them, from one stone you can recover the five hundred nomismata, and use the rest for the adornment of your niece." Hanging on his words, the virgin is enticed and falls at his feet, saying, "By your feet, let no one else take them." He therefore urges her, saying, "Come to my house and see them." But she would not wait, but throws the five hundred nomismata at him, saying: "As you wish, take them; for I do not want to see the man who is selling them." 6.7 And he, taking the five hundred nomismata, gives them for the needs of the poorhouse. But after time had passed, since the man seemed to have a great reputation in Alexandria as a lover of God and a merciful man—for he flourished until he was a hundred years old, and we were his contemporaries—she was afraid to remind him. Finally, finding him in the church, she says to him: "I beg you, what do you command concerning those stones for which we gave the five hundred nomismata?" 6.8 And he answered, saying: "Ever since you gave me the gold, I paid it toward the price of the stones; and if you want to come and see them in the hospice, for they are lying there, come and see, if they please you, otherwise take back your gold." And she came most gladly. Now the poorhouse had women in the upper stories, and men in the lower stories. And leading her, he brings her into the gateway and says to her: "What do you want to see first? The hyacinths, or the emeralds?" She says to him: "Whatever seems good to you." 6.9 He leads her up to the upper stories and shows her maimed women with ravaged faces; and he says to her: "Behold the hyacinths." And he leads her down again and says to her, having shown her the men: "Behold the emeralds, if they please you, otherwise take back your gold." Thus put to shame, she went out, and going away from great grief, because she had not done the deed for God's sake, she fell ill; later giving thanks to the presbyter, when the girl for whom she cared died childless after her marriage. 7 .tConcerning those in Nitria 7.1

δὲ προαιρέσει σοβαρά, πλουσία ἐν χρήμασιν εἰς ἄγαν, μὴ † προΐκασα † ξένῳ μὴ παρθένῳ, μὴ ἐκκλησίᾳ, μὴ πένητι ὀβολόν. Αὕτη πολλαῖς νουθεσίαις τῶν πατέρων οὐκ ἀπεσκευάζετο τὴν ὕλην. 6.2 Ὑπῆρχε δὲ ταύτῃ καὶ γένος ἐν οἷς τεκνοποιεῖται θυγατέρα ἀδελφῆς ἰδίας, ᾗ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν ἐπηγγέλλετο τὰ αὐτῆς, τοῦ οὐρανίου πόθου ἐκπεσοῦσα. Εἶδος γὰρ καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι πλάνης τοῦ διαβόλου, ἐν προσχήματι φιλοσυγγενείας εἰς πλεονεξίαν ὠδίνειν παρασκευάζοντος· ὅτι γὰρ αὐτῷ οὐ μέλει περὶ γένους, ἀδελφοκτονεῖν καὶ μητροκτονεῖν καὶ πα τροκτονεῖν ἐκδιδάσκοντος, ὡμολόγηται. 6.3 Ἀλλὰ κἂν δόξῃ συγγενῶν κηδεμονίαν ἐντιθέναι, οὐκ εἰς εὔνοιαν ἐκείνων τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ἄδικον ἐξασκῆσαι, εἰδὼς τὴν ἀπόφασιν ὅτι "Ἄδικοι βασιλείαν θεοῦ οὐ κληρο νομήσουσι". ∆ύναται δέ τις φρονήσει κινούμενος θεϊκῇ μήτε τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς καταφρονεῖν, καὶ τοῖς συγγενέσιν αὐτοῦ, εἴ γε λείπονται, διδόναι παραμυθίαν. Ὅταν δέ τις ὅλην τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ καταπατήσῃ κηδεμονίᾳ συγγενῶν, ὑποπίπτει τῷ νόμῳ, ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν λογιζό μενος. 6.4 Ἄιδει δὲ ὁ ἱεροψάλτης περὶ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς φρον τιζόντων ἐν φόβῳ, ὅτι "Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ κυρίου;" ἀντὶ τοῦ, σπανίως· "ἢ τίς στήσεται ἐν τόπῳ ἁγίῳ αὐτοῦ; ἀθῷος χερσὶ καὶ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὃς οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ". Οὗτοι γὰρ ἐπὶ ματαίῳ αὐτὴν λαμβάνουσιν ὅσοι τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀμελοῦσι, νομίζοντες αὐτὴν τῷ σαρκίῳ συνδιαλύεσθαι. 6.5 Ταύτην τὴν παρθένον θελήσας, τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον, φλεβο 6.5 τομῆσαι εἰς κουφισμὸν τῆς πλεονεξίας ὁ ἁγιώτατος Μακάριος, ὁ πρεσβύτερος καὶ ἀφηγούμενος τοῦ πτωχείου τῶν λελωβη μένων, σοφίζεται δρᾶμα τοιοῦτον· ἦν γὰρ ἐν νεότητι λιθουρ γὸς ὃν λέγουσι καβιδάριον. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν λέγει αὐτῇ· "Λίθοι ἀναγκαῖοι σμάραγδοι καὶ ὑάκινθοι ἐμπεπτώκασί μοι, καὶ εἴτε εὑρεσιμαῖοί εἰσιν εἴτε κλεψιμαῖοι οὐκ ἔχω εἰπεῖν. Τιμῇ οὐχ ὑποβάλλονται, ὑπὲρ διατίμησιν ὄντες· πιπράσκει δὲ αὐ τοὺς πεντακοσίων νομισμάτων ὁ ἔχων. 6.6 Εἰ δοκεῖ σοι αὐτοὺς λαβεῖν, ἀπὸ ἑνὸς λίθου δύνασαι σῶσαι τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα, τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς εἰς κόσμον τῆς ἀδελφιδῆς σου συγχρήσασθαι". Ἐκκρεμαμένη ἡ παρθένος δελεάζεται καὶ πίπτει αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς πόδας, "Τῶν ποδῶν σου", λέγουσα, "μή τις ἄλλος αὐτοὺς λάβῃ". Προτρέπεται οὖν αὐτὴν ὅτι "Παραγένου ἕως τῆς οἰκίας μου καὶ βλέπε αὐτούς". Ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἠνέσχετο, ἀλλὰ προσρίπτει αὐτῷ τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα λέγουσα· "Ὡς θέλεις, λαβὲ αὐτούς· ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ θέλω ἰδεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν πιπράσκοντα". 6.7 Ὁ δὲ λαβὼν τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα δίδωσιν εἰς τὰς χρείας τοῦ πτωχείου. Χρόνου δὲ παριππεύσαντος, ἐπειδὴ μεγάλην ὑπόληψιν ἐδόκει ἔχειν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ φιλόθεος ὢν καὶ ἐλεήμων, ἤκμασε γὰρ μέχρι τῶν ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν, ᾧ συνεχρονίσαμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς, εὐλαβεῖτο αὐτὸν ὑπομνῆσαι. Τέλος εὑροῦσα αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ λέγει αὐτῷ· "∆έομαί σου, τί κελεύεις περὶ τῶν λίθων ἐκείνων ὑπὲρ ὧν δεδώκαμεν τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα;" 6.8 Ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων· "Ἔκτοτε ἀφ' οὗ δέδωκάς μοι τὸν χρυσόν, κατέβαλον αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν τιμὴν τῶν λίθων· καὶ εἰ βούλει ἐλθεῖν καὶ ἰδεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀσπιτίῳ, ἐκεῖ γὰρ κεῖνται, ἐλθὲ καὶ βλέπε, ἐάν σοι ἀρέσκουσιν, ἐπεὶ λαβέ σου τὸ χρυσίον". Ἡ δὲ ἦλθεν ἀσμενέστατα. Ἦν δὲ τὸ πτωχεῖον εἰς μὲν τὰ ἀνώγεα ἔχον γυναῖκας, εἰς δὲ τὰ κατώγεα ἄνδρας. Καὶ ἀγαγὼν αὐτὴν εἰσάγει εἰς τὸν πυλῶνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· "Τί θέλεις πρῶτον ἰδεῖν; τοὺς ὑακίνθους, ἢ τοὺς σμα ράγδους;" Λέγει αὐτῷ· "Ὃ δοκεῖ σοι". 6.9 Ἀνάγει αὐτὴν εἰς τὰ ἀνώγεα καὶ δείκνυσιν αὐτῇ ἠκρωτηριασμέ νας γυναῖκας λελωβημένας ὄψεις ἐχούσας· καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· "Ἰδοὺ οἱ ὑάκινθοι". Καὶ κατάγει αὐτὴν πάλιν κάτω καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ, δείξας αὐτῇ τοὺς ἄνδρας· "Ἰδοὺ οἱ σμάραγ δοι, ἐάν σοι ἀρέσκουσιν, ἐπεὶ λαβέ σου τὸ χρυσίον". Οὕτω διατραπεῖσα ἐκείνη ἐξῆλθε, καὶ ἀπελθοῦσα ἀπὸ πολλῆς λύπης, ὅτι οὐ κατὰ θεὸν πεποίηκε τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἐνόσησεν· ἐς ὕστερον εὐχαριστήσασα τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ, τῆς κόρης ἧς ἐφρόντιζε μετὰ γάμον ἀτέκνου ἀποθανούσης. 7 .tΠερὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Νιτρίᾳ 7.1