7

O Lord, the waves of your grace. For beneath his tongue the abyss of his teaching, swelling like the sea, did not allow him to bear the successive waves of his thoughts, as the organs of speech, with their earnest ministry, did not suffice. And nothing else interrupted his words, but only prayer, and his words interrupted the prayer, and his tears the words, and prayer again his tears. And there was the word of the word, or to speak more appropriately, in the word, constantly occupied with the contemplations of God through all these things. For having mortified his body with its pleasures, and having made it a slave to the ruling reason through self-control, he kept it motionless towards what was unseemly, having been tamed beforehand by fasting, but firm towards what was beneficial and brought salvation to the soul. But not even the nights interrupted his course of virtue, deceiving him with fantasies from sleep. For receiving him sober from the day, they left him watchful as they passed by, taking care for this, that the hand of the ruler of this darkness might not seize him while sleeping. And he partook of as much sleep as was sufficient for living; so that the natural sequence 46.837 not being completely overturned, his flesh might not suffer a violent dissolution. Many other things overturned it and drove it from his eyes, but especially sleeping on the ground and hardship, and every kind of affliction of the body.

For by these things the passion of sleep is naturally banished. And he acquired such poverty as you hear the divine apostles possessed. Therefore if anyone were to call him the archetype of the poor, he would not miss the mark. For we have that very sweet and blessed voice of his, which, when he was about to depart to the heavens, he left to us as a teacher of poverty, which goes something like this: ‘Ephrem never had a purse, nor a staff, nor a bag. Nor indeed silver, nor gold, nor did I acquire any other possession upon the earth. For I heard the good King saying in the Gospels to his disciples to possess nothing on earth. Therefore I had no passion for any such thing.’ Thus, then, despising both glory and riches, but rather a lover of all that is better, he competed with the apostles in the same race. And what shall we testify concerning his humility; when indeed every speech and writing of his explicitly has this virtue proclaimed, although it was pursued by him with great abundance? For when would one who calls tears with tears, and eats ashes as if they were bread, the harshness of his diet, and without pleasure, and mixes his drink with weeping, as the scriptures say, ever strike the foot of his soul against a stone of pride or conceit? Or he who turned away from all human glory, and while still going about in life, when someone praised him, was vexed, and changed his color from one to another, and bowed to the ground, and dripped with a fine sweat, and was held by a terrible speechlessness, as if shame itself made his tongue idle? And departing to the blessed and unending life, he again prevented this very thing with a vehement rebuke, saying: ‘Do not sing a song over Ephrem, do not praise him, do not bury me in costly clothing, do not make a private tomb for my body; for I have an account with God, that I should lodge with the strangers. I am a stranger and a sojourner, as were all my fathers.’ You have, therefore, in abundance the clear proofs of this virtue, as indeed of the others. But of almsgiving and compassion, the rule and law of truth will vote him not only a practitioner, but also a teacher.

For with perfect poverty, not having the means to give to those in need, he practiced almsgiving by stirring up others to mercy with frequent exhortations. For truly his word, even without his appearance, was a God-forged key, opening the treasures of the rich 46.840 and supplying what was needed to the moderate; and his angel-like countenance, being seen alone, was sufficient for compassion and pity,

7

∆έσποτα, τὰ τῆς χάριτός σου κύματα. Ὑπὸ γὰρ τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἄβυσσος πελαγίζουσα, φέρειν αὐτῷ τὰ τῶν νοημάτων οὐκ ἐπέτρεπεν ἀλλεπάλληλα κύματα, τῇ κατεσπουδασμένῃ λειτουργίᾳ τῶν πρὸς τὸ λέγειν ὀργάνων οὐχ ὑπουργούντων. Ἐπέκοπτεν δὲ τοὺς λόγους ἕτερον μὲν οὐδὲν, εὐχὴ δὲ μόνη, καὶ ταύτην οἱ λόγοι, καὶ τούτους τὰ δάκρυα, καὶ ταῦτα πάλιν εὐχή. Καὶ ἦν ὁ λόγος τοῦ λόγου, εἰπεῖν δὲ μᾶλλον οἰκειότερον, ἐν λόγῳ, ταῖς περὶ Θεοῦ διὰ πάντων τούτων θεωρίαις συνεχῶς ἀσχολούμενος. Τὸ γὰρ σῶμα νεκρώσας μετὰ τῶν ἡδονῶν, καὶ δοῦλον δι' ἐγκρατείας τῷ ἡγεμόνι κατεργασάμενος λογισμῷ, ἀκίνητον μὲν εἶχε πρὸς τὰ μὴ δέοντα ἀσιτίᾳ προδα μασθὲν, στεῤῥὸν δὲ πρὸς τὰ λυσιτελῆ καὶ ψυχικὴν σωτηρίαν πορίζοντα. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ νύκτες αὐτῷ τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς δρόμον ἐνέκοπτον, ταῖς ἐξ ὕπνου φαντασίαις αὐτὸν φενακίζουσαι. Νήφοντα γὰρ ἐξ ἡμερῶν δεχό μεναι, γρηγοροῦντα κατελίμπανον παρατρέχουσαι, τοῦτο πραγματευόμενον, ἵνα μὴ καταλάβῃ τοῦτον ἡ χεὶρ τοῦ ἄρχοντος τοῦ σκότους τούτου καθεύδοντα. Ὕπνου δὲ μετελάμβανε τοσοῦτον, ὅσον πρὸς τὸ ζῇν ἱκανόν· ὅπως μὴ τῆς φυσικῆς παντελῶς ἀκολουθίας 46.837 ἀνατραπείσης, λύσιν βίαιον ὑπομείνῃ τὸ σαρκίον. Ἀνέτρεπε δὲ τοῦτον, καὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἐξεδίωκε πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα, μάλιστα δὲ χαμευνία καὶ σκληρ αγωγία, καὶ ἡ παντοία τοῦ σώματος κάκωσις.

Τούτοις γὰρ μάλιστα τὸ τοῦ ὕπνου πάθος ἐξορίζεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ἀκτημοσύνην δὲ τοσαύτην ἐκτήσατο, ὅσην ἔχειν τοὺς θείους ἀποστόλους ἀκούεις. ∆ιὸ καὶ εἴ τις τοῦτον ἀκτημονούντων ἀρχέτυπον καλέσει, οὐχ ἁμαρ τήσει τοῦ δέοντος. Αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἐκείνου τὴν γλυκυτάτην καὶ μακαρίαν ἔχομεν φωνὴν, ἥνπερ μέλλων ἀπαίρειν πρὸς τὰ οὐράνια, ἡμῖν ἀφῆκεν ἀκτημοσύνης διδάσκα λον, ὧδέ πως ἔχουσαν· Οὐχ ὑπῆρξε τῷ Ἐφραΐμ ποτε βαλάντιον, οὐ ῥάβδος, οὐ πήρα. Οὔτε μὴν ἀργύριον, οὔτε χρυσίον, ἀλλ' οὐδέ τινα κτῆσιν ἑτέραν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἐκτησάμην. Τοῦ γὰρ ἀγαθοῦ Βασιλέως ἤκουσα ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις φήσαντος τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, μηδὲν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κτήσασθαι. Ὅθεν οὐδὲ ἐμπαθῶς ἔσχον πρός τι τοιοῦτον. Οὕτως οὖν δόξης τε καὶ χρη μάτων ὀλίγωρος, παντὸς δὲ μᾶλλον τοῦ ἀμείνονος ἐραστὴς, τῷ ἴσῳ κἀντεῦθεν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἁμιλλώ μενος δρόμῳ. Τί δὲ περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης αὐτῷ προσμαρτυρή σωμεν· ὅπου γε διαῤῥήδην ἅπας αὐτοῦ λόγος καὶ σύγγραμμα ταύτην ἔχει τὴν ἀρετὴν κηρυττομένην, καίπερ αὐτῷ διωκομένην ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος; Πότε γὰρ ὁ δάκρυα προσκαλούμενος δάκρυσι, σποδόν τε ὡσεὶ ἄρτον ἐσθίων, τὸ τραχὺ τῆς διαίτης, καὶ ἀνή δονον, καὶ τὸ πόμα κιρνῶν μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ, ᾗ φησι τὰ λόγια, πρὸς ἐπάρσεως ἢ οἰήσεως λίθῳ τὸν ψυχικὸν πόδα προσκρούσειεν; Ἢ ὁ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἅπασαν ἀποστρεφόμενος δόξαν, καὶ περιὼν μὲν ἔτι κατὰ τὸν βίον, τινὸς ἐπαινοῦντος, ἀσχαλῶν, καὶ ἄλλο τε ἄλλην ἀλλάττων χροιὰν, κύπτων τε εἰς γῆν, καὶ στάζων ἱδρῶτι λεπτῷ, καὶ δεινῇ κρατούμενος ἀφωνίᾳ, ὥσπερ τῆς αἰσχύνης αὐτοῦ τὴν γλῶσσαν ἀργούσης; Ἀπαίρων δὲ πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν καὶ ἄληκτον ζωὴν, αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάλιν μετὰ σφοδρᾶς ἀπείργων ἐπι τιμήσεως, καὶ λέγων· Μὴ ᾄσητε ᾆσμα ἐπὶ Ἐφραῒμ, μὴ ἐγκωμιάσητε, μή με πολυτελεῖ ἐνθάψητε ἱματι σμῷ, μὴ ἰδίᾳ τῷ σώματί μου τάφον ἐργάσησθε· λόγον γὰρ ἔχω μετὰ Θεοῦ, αὐλισθῆναί με σὺν τοῖς ξένοις. Ξένος ἐγὼ καὶ παρεπίδημος, καθὼς πάντες οἱ πατέρες μου. Ἔχεις τοιγαροῦν ἐκ περιουσίας καὶ ταύτης τῆς ἀρετῆς, καθὰ δὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἐναργῆ τὰ τεκμήρια. Τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης δὲ καὶ συμπαθείας οὐ ποιητὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διδάσκαλον τοῦτον ἐπιψη φιεῖται ὁ τῆς ἀληθείας ὅρος καὶ νόμος.

Τῇ γὰρ τελείᾳ ἀκτημοσύνῃ, τὸ παρέχειν τοῖς δεομένοις οὐκ ἔχων, ἐν τῷ τοὺς ἄλλους διεγείρειν πρὸς ἔλεον πυκναῖς παραινέσεσι, τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην μετήρχετο. Ἦν γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὁ τούτου λόγος, καὶ δίχα τῆς ὄψεως, κλεὶς θεοχάλκευτος, τοὺς τῶν πλουσίων θησαυροὺς διανοί 46.840 γων, καὶ τοῖς μετρίοις τὰ δέοντα χορηγῶν· ἡ δὲ ἀγ γελοειδὴς θεωρία ἤρκει καὶ μόνη βλεπομένη πρὸς συμπάθειαν καὶ οἰκτιρμοὺς,