9

we were cheerful as we enjoyed what was set before us: and these things were varied and the preparation was filled with all delight, so did that great one condescend with zeal even in these matters.

20

When we were again in her sight, for she did not allow us to spend the leisure hour by ourselves, she recalled the memory of the life she had lived from her youth and, as if for a written account, went through everything in order: what she remembered of the life of her ancestors, the events before my birth, and her life after that. The purpose of her narrative was thanksgiving to God. For she showed that the life of her parents was not so much brilliant and renowned in those days for its wealth, as it had been increased by divine loving-kindness, since her father's parents had their property confiscated on account of their confession of Christ, and her forefather on her mother's side had been killed out of royal indignation and all their possessions had passed to other masters; and yet their life had been so increased through faith that there was no one named above them in those times; and again, when their property was divided into nine parts according to the number of their children, the portion of each was so multiplied through blessing that the life of each of the children surpassed the good fortune of their parents. As for herself, nothing was left to her of what was allotted in equal share with her brothers, but everything was administered by the hands of the priest according to the divine command; and her life, by the provision of God, became such that her hands never ceased working in obedience to the commandment, nor did she ever look to man, nor did the resources for her respectable way of life ever come to her through any human benefaction, but she neither turned away those who asked nor sought out those who give, since God secretly, like seeds, increased by his blessings the small resources from her labors into an abundant harvest.

21

And as I was recounting my own labors in which I was engaged, first when the emperor Valens was persecuting us on account of the faith, and after that when the confusion in the churches was summoning us to contests and toils: “Will you not cease,” she said, “to be ungratefully disposed toward the divine goods? Will you not heal the thanklessness of your soul? Will you not compare your own lot with that of your forefathers? And yet, in this world we especially boast in this, in being well-born and seeming to have sprung from noble ancestors. Your father,” she said, “was considered great in his learning in those times, but his reputation was confined to the local courts. And afterwards, when he was teaching others through his sophistic art, his fame did not go beyond Pontus, but it was enough for him to be renowned in his own country. But you,” she said, “are famous in cities and peoples and nations, and churches send for you and churches call you for alliance and correction, and do you not see the grace? Do you not recognize the cause of such great goods, that the prayers of your parents are raising you to this height, you who have no, or little, preparation of your own for this?”

22

As she recounted these things, I longed for the measure of the day to be extended further, so that she would not cease sweetening our hearing; but the voice of those singing called us to the evening thanksgivings, and after sending me to the church, the great one again withdrew to God through her prayers. And the night was spent in these things. When day came, it was clear to me from what I saw that the present day was the final limit of her life in the flesh, as the fever had consumed all the strength inherent in her nature. But she, seeing the weakness of our mind, tried to lead us away from our more downcast hope, again dispersing the soul's grief with those fine words, with what little and constrained breath was left. There indeed and especially in various ways

9

εὔθυμοι καταστάντες τῆς τῶν προκειμένων ἀπολαύσεως ἦμεν: ποικίλα δὲ ἦν ταῦτα καὶ πάσης πεπλήρωτο θυμηδίας ἡ παρασκευὴ οὕτω τῆς μεγάλης ἐκείνης καὶ μέχρι τούτων τῇ σπουδῇ κατιούσης.

20 Ἐπεὶ δὲ πάλιν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἦμεν αὐτῆς, οὐ γὰρ εἴα τὴν εὔσχολον ὥραν ἐφ' ἑαυτῶν διάγειν, ἀναλαβοῦσα τῶν ἐκ νεότητος αὐτῇ βεβιωμένων τὴν μνήμην καθάπερ ἐπὶ συγγραφῆς πάντα κατεξῆς διεξήρχετο καὶ ὅσα τῆς τῶν πατέρων ζωῆς διὰ μνήμης εἶχε καὶ τὰ πρὸ τῆς ἐμῆς γενέσεως καὶ τὸν μετὰ ταῦτα βίον· σκοπὸς δὲ αὐτῇ τοῦ διηγήματος ἦν ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν εὐχαριστία. Τῶν τε γὰρ γονέων ἀπεδείκνυ τὸν βίον οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐκ περιουσίας λαμπρὸν τοῖς τότε καὶ περίβλεπτον ὄντα, ὅσον ἐκ θείας φιλανθρω πίας ἐπαυξηθέντα, τῶν μὲν τοῦ πατρὸς γονέων διὰ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ὁμολογίαν δεδημευμένων, τοῦ δὲ κατὰ μητέρα προπάτορος ἐκ βασιλικῆς ἀγανακτήσεως ἀνῃρημένου καὶ πάντων τῶν προσόντων εἰς ἑτέρους μετακεχωρηκότων δεσπότας· καὶ ὅμως εἰς τοσοῦτον αὐτοῖς διὰ πίστεως τὴν ζωὴν αὐξηθῆναι, ὡς μὴ εἶναι τὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς τότε χρόνοις ὀνομαζόμενον· πάλιν δὲ τῆς περιουσίας αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τῶν τέκνων ἐννεαχῇ διατμηθείσης, οὕτως ἑκάστῳ δι' εὐλογίας πληθυνθῆναι τὴν μοῖραν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τὴν τῶν γονέων εὐκληρίαν τὴν ἑκάστου τῶν τέκνων εἶναι ζωήν. Αὐτῆς δὲ ἐκείνης τῶν μὲν ἐπονομασθέντων αὐτῇ κατὰ τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἰσομοιρίαν ὑπολειφθῆναι μηδέν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ταῖς χερσὶ τοῦ ἱερέως κατὰ τὴν θείαν ἐντολὴν οἰκονομηθῆναι· τὸν δὲ βίον αὐτῇ τοιοῦτον ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ χορηγίας γενέσθαι, ὡς μηδέποτε λῆξαι τὰς χεῖρας εἰς ἐντολὴν ἐνεργούσας μηδὲ πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ἀπο βλέψαι ποτὲ μηδὲ διά τινος ἀνθρωπίνης εὐεργεσίας γε νέσθαι αὐτῇ τὰς πρὸς τὴν εὐσχήμονα διαγωγὴν ἀφορμάς, ἀλλὰ μήτε τοὺς αἰτοῦντας ἀποστραφῆναι μήτε τοὺς διδόν τας ἐπιζητῆσαι, λεληθότως τοῦ θεοῦ καθάπερ τινὰ σπέρ ματα τὰς βραχείας ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἀφορμὰς εἰς πολύχουν καρπὸν ταῖς εὐλογίαις ἐπαύξοντος.

21 Ἐμοῦ δὲ τοὺς ἰδίους πόνους ἐν οἷς ἤμην διεξιόντος, πρό τερον μὲν τοῦ βασιλέως Οὐαλέντος διὰ τὴν πίστιν ἐλαύνοντος, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τῆς ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις συγχύσεως πρὸς ἄθλους ἡμᾶς καὶ καμάτους ἐκκαλουμένης· «Οὐ παύσῃ, φησίν, ἀγνωμό νως ἐπὶ τοῖς θείοις ἀγαθοῖς διακείμενος; οὐ θεραπεύσεις τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἀχάριστον; οὐκ ἀντιπαραθήσεις τοῖς τῶν πατέρων τὰ σά; καίτοι γε κατὰ τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἐν τούτῳ δὴ μάλιστα μεγαλαυχοῦμεν, ἐν τῷ εὖ γεγονέναι καὶ ἀπὸ εὐγενῶν φῦναι δοκεῖν. Πολύς, φησί, κατὰ τὴν παίδευσιν ἐν τοῖς τότε χρόνοις ὁ πατὴρ ἐνομίζετο, ἀλλὰ μέχρι τῶν ἐγχωρίων δικαστηρίων ἡ κατ' αὐτὸν ἵστατο δόξα. Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν διὰ τῆς σοφιστικῆς αὐτοῦ καθηγου μένου οὐκ ἐξῆλθε τὸν Πόντον ἡ φήμη, ἀλλ' ἀγαπητὸν ἦν ἐκείνῳ τὸ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι περίβλεπτον. Σὺ δέ, φησί, πόλεσι καὶ δήμοις καὶ ἔθνεσιν ὀνομαστὸς εἶ καὶ σὲ πρὸς συμμαχίαν τε καὶ διόρθωσιν ἐκκλησίαι πέμπουσι καὶ ἐκκλησίαι καλοῦσι, καὶ οὐχ ὁρᾷς τὴν χάριν; οὐδὲ ἐπιγι νώσκεις τῶν τηλικούτων ἀγαθῶν τὴν αἰτίαν, ὅτι σε τῶν γονέων αἱ εὐχαὶ πρὸς ὕψος αἴρουσιν, οὐδεμίαν ἢ ὀλίγην οἴκοθεν ἔχοντα πρὸς τοῦτο παρασκευήν;»

22 Ταῦτα διεξιούσης ἐγὼ μὲν παρατείνεσθαι πλέον τὸ ἡμερήσιον ἐπόθουν μέτρον, ὡς ἂν μὴ λήξειε καταγλυ καίνουσα ἡμῶν τὴν ἀκοήν· ἀλλ' ἡ φωνὴ τῶν ψαλλόντων πρὸς τὰς ἐπιλυχνίους εὐχαριστίας ἐξεκαλεῖτο, κἀμὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐκπέμψασα πάλιν ἡ μεγάλη διὰ τῶν προσευ χῶν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀνεχώρει. Καὶ ἡ μὲν νὺξ ἐν τούτοις ἦν. Ὡς δὲ ἡμέρα ἐγένετο, ἐμοὶ μὲν πρόδηλον ἐκ τῶν ὁρω μένων ἦν, ὅτι ἔσχατος αὐτῇ τῆς κατὰ σάρκα ζωῆς ὅρος ἡ ἐνεστῶσα ἡμέρα ἦν, πᾶσαν τὴν ἐγκειμένην τῇ φύσει δύ ναμιν τοῦ πυρετοῦ δαπανήσαντος. Ἡ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀσθενὲς ἡμῶν τῆς διανοίας βλέπουσα παράγειν ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κα τηφεστέρας ἐλπίδος ἐμηχανᾶτο, πάλιν τοῖς καλοῖς ἐκείνοις λόγοις διαχέουσα τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ λυπούμενον ἐν λεπτῷ τὸ λοιπὸν καὶ συνεχομένῳ τῷ ἄσθματι. Ἔνθα δὴ καὶ μάλιστα ποικίλως