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hoping to succeed.» 22.11 We all, with anguish of heart, offered these supplications to the martyr night and day, washing the floor of the church with our tears, and we continued in expectation of the opposite, as if some very strong rampart of our sin were set against us, preventing the intercessions of the martyr from inclining the divine favor toward us. 22.12 For it was likely that it was said to him, as of old to the prophet Jeremiah when he was making supplication on behalf of Israel, not being worthy to obtain divine compassion, that “Do not pray for this people, for I will not hear you.” 22.13 For the destruction permitted against us had to, it had to be carried out, so that all those who are in sin might come to know that nothing so draws the divine ear to the supplications offered by the saints as uprightness of life and the practice of the best deeds. 23.1 For while these things were being earnestly pursued by us in vain, someone came reporting that the barbarian ships were already approaching somewhere near the neck of the aforementioned Ekbolos, at the dawn of the Lord's day, it being the twenty-ninth of the month of July, in the year 412. 23.2 So when this rumor quickly spread through the whole city, a clamor arose among all, and turmoil and confusion, some shouting one thing, others another, and deliberating about the matter at hand, and all were arming themselves as best they could, and hurrying to the wall. 23.3 But before they were scattered along the battlements of the wall, behold, the ships of the barbarians appeared from the aforementioned height, with their sails unfurled. 23.4 For by some coincidence it happened at this time that a wind entered from behind them, so that to many it seemed they were being borne not on water but aloft through the air. 23.5 For it was, as has been said, the month of July, when more than on other days the wind enters the bay here, having its origin from the peaks of Olympus in Greece, and until the ninth hour from morning on each of the summer days it rushes into the city and stirs the air. 23.6 The enemy, therefore, having found that wind as an ally, while the day was still in its beginning, dashed near. 23.7 And first, having come somewhere near the wall, they furled their sails, and were carefully observing what sort of city it happened to be; 23.8 for they did not begin the battle as soon as they had anchored, but they allowed some little leisure to both test our strength, how we stood for engagement in war, and to prepare themselves for this very thing. 23.9 So for the time being they stood in great fear, unable to compare what they saw with anything they had seen; for they perceived a city spread out to a very great size, and the whole wall encircled by a multitude of people. 23.10 From this, being all the more amazed, they held off the battle for a little while, so that from this some small courage arose in us, and in the midst of such a pause we recovered our spirits. 24.1 While we were in this state, it seemed good to the leader of the barbarian army to go along the whole wall, as much as is washed by the sea. 24.2 But this man was sinister and utterly wicked, and by the homonymy of the beast he also showed his action to be fitting, being in no way better than it in the savagery of his ways and the unrestrained nature of his impulse. 24.3 And you yourself certainly know this man from his reputation, which made the man's wickedness notorious, so that never has any of the spoken-of impious men driven to such madness as to have an insatiable desire to see the shedding of human blood and to prefer nothing else to the slaughter of Christians. 24.4 For he himself, having once been this and having been transformed by the regeneration of saving baptism and taught our religion, after being subdued by the barbarians themselves, exchanged the pious faith for their impiety, and he is always eager to grant them nothing more than to confirm his calling by his actions, displaying the roles of a transgressor and a robber, and from these things to be held in honor and to be exalted. 24.5 This man, then, the untamable and transgressor

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ἐπιτυχεῖν ἐπελπίζοντες.» 22.11 τούτους τοὺς ἱκετηρίους μετὰ συνοχῆς καρδίας τῷ μάρτυρι νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν πάντες προσάγοντες καὶ τὸ ἔδαφος τοῦ ναοῦ τοῖς δάκρυσι πλύνοντες τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν ἐναντίων διετελοῦμεν, καθάπερ τινὸς ἕρκους ὀχυρωτάτου τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἀντικαθισταμένης καὶ τὰς πρεσβείας τοῦ μάρτυρος κωλυούσης πρὸς τὸ τὴν θείαν ἡμῖν εὐμένειαν ἐπικλῖναι. 22.12 εἰκὸς γὰρ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ῥηθῆναι, καθάπερ πάλαι πρὸς τὸν προφήτην Ἱερεμίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ποιουμένου τὴν δέησιν, μὴ τῆς θεϊκῆς συμπαθείας ὄντος ἀξίου τυχεῖν, ὅτι «μὴ προσεύχου ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου· οὐ γὰρ εἰσακούσομαί σου.» 22.13 ἔδει γάρ, ἔδει τὸν παραχωρηθέντα καθ' ἡμῶν ὄλεθρον ἐνεργεῖσθαι, ἵν' ἔχωσι γνῶναι πάντες οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὄντες ὡς οὐδὲν οὕτως ἐπισπᾶται τὸ θεϊκὸν οὖς πρὸς τὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἁγίων προσφερομένας δεήσεις ὡς ὀρθοτομία βίου καὶ ἀρίστων ἐπιμέλεια πράξεων. 23.1 Ἐν ὅσῳ γὰρ ὑφ' ἡμῶν ἐπὶ ματαίῳ ταῦτα διεσπουδάζετο, ἧκέ τις τὰς βαρβαρικὰς νῆας ἤδη που παρὰ τὸν αὐχένα τοῦ ῥηθέντος Ἐκβόλου πλησιάσαι καταμηνύων κυριακῆς ἡμερῶν ἐπιφωσκούσης, ἐνάτης καὶ εἰκάδος ἀγομένης μηνὸς Ἰουλίου, ἔτους υιβʹ. 23.2 τῆς οὖν φήμης ταύτης πᾶσαν ἀθρόον διαδραμούσης τὴν πόλιν θόρυβος μὲν παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνήγερτο καὶ κλόνος καὶ τάραχος, ἄλλων ἄλλο τι βοώντων καὶ περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου βουλευομένων, ὁπλιζομένων τε πάντων ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος κατασπευδόντων. 23.3 οὔπω δὲ ταῖς ἐπάλξεσι τοῦ τείχους διασπαρέντων, ἰδοὺ δὴ καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων αἱ νῆες ἐκ τῆς ῥηθείσης ἐφάνησαν ἐξοχῆς, πεπετασμένα ἔχουσαι τὰ ἱστία. 23.4 καὶ γὰρ κατά τινα σύμβασιν ἔτυχε τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ κατ' οὐρὰν αὐταῖς ἐπεισφρήσας ἄνεμος, ὡς τοῖς πολλοῖς δοκεῖν μηδ' ἐφ' ὑδάτων ἀλλὰ δι' ἀέρος μεταρσίους κομίζεσθαι. 23.5 Ἰούλιος γὰρ ἤγετο, καθὼς εἴρηται, μήν, ὅτε καὶ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων ἡμερῶν ὁ τῇδε διακόλπιος ἐπεισέρχεται ἄνεμος, ἐκ τῶν ἐξοχῶν τοῦ τῆς Ἑλλάδος Ὀλύμπου τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχων, καὶ μέχρις ἐνάτης ὥρας ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἐφ' ἑκάστης τῶν θερινῶν ἡμερῶν συνεισπίπτων τῇ πόλει καὶ τὸν ἀέρα διαφορῶν. 23.6 ἐκεῖνον οὖν εὑρηκότες συνεργὸν οἱ πολέμιοι, ἔτι τῆς ἡμέρας ἐν ἀρχαῖς οὔσης, ἐγγύθεν προσέρρηξαν. 23.7 καὶ πρῶτα μὲν τὰ ἱστία χαλῶσιν αὐτοῦ που παρὰ τὸ τεῖχος γενόμενοι, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ὁποία τις οὖσα τυγχάνει ἐπιμελῶς κατενόουν· 23.8 οὐδὲ γὰρ ἅμα τῷ καθορμισθῆναι τῆς μάχης ἀπήρξαντο, ἀλλ' ἐνέδωκαν ὀλίγην τινὰ σχολὴν τοῦ τε προπειραθῆναι τῆς ἡμετέρας ἰσχύος, ὅπως ἔχωμεν πρὸς τὴν διὰ τοῦ πολέμου συμπλοκήν, καὶ ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἐξασκῆσαι. 23.9 ἔστησαν οὖν τέως περιδεεῖς, μηδενὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἔχοντες ἐξομοιοῦν τὰ βλεπόμενα· πόλιν γὰρ κατενόουν πολλῷ μέν τινι μεγέθει πεπλατυσμένην, λαοῦ δὲ πλήθει ἅπαν τὸ τεῖχος περιεστοιχισμένην. 23.10 ἐξ οὗ δὴ καὶ πλέον καταπλαγέντες μικρὸν τὴν μάχην ἐπέσχον, ὡς ἐκ τούτου καὶ ἡμῖν ἐγγενέσθαι βραχύ τι θάρσος καὶ μεταξὺ τῆς τοιαύτης σχολῆς τὰς ψυχὰς ἀνακτήσασθαι. 24.1 Οὕτω δὲ ὄντων ἡμῶν ἔδοξε τῷ καθηγουμένῳ τοῦ τῶν βαρβάρων στρατοῦ διελθεῖν ἅπαν τὸ τεῖχος, ὅσον περικλύζεται τῇ θαλάσσῃ. 24.2 σκαιὸς δὲ οὗτος καὶ παμπόνηρος ἦν, καὶ τῇ ὁμωνυμίᾳ τοῦ θηρὸς κατάλληλον καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐπιδεικνύμενος, καὶ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον ἐκείνου τῶν τρόπων τῇ ἀγριότητι καὶ τῷ ἀκαθέκτῳ τῆς ὁρμῆς διακείμενος. 24.3 ἔγνως δὲ τοῦτον πάντως καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ τῆς φήμης, περιβόητον ἐχούσης τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς κακίαν, ὡς μηδέποτέ τινα τῶν λαλουμένων ἀσεβῶν εἰς τοσαύτην μανίαν ἐλάσαι, ὡς ἀκορέστως ἔχειν ὁρᾶν ἀνθρωπίνων αἱμάτων ἐκχύσεις καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον προτιμᾶν τῆς τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀναιρέσεως. 24.4 τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ὤν ποτε καὶ τῇ τοῦ σωτηρίου βαπτίσματος ἀναγεννήσει μεμορφωμένος τήν τε ἡμετέραν θρησκείαν δεδιδαγμένος, ὑπ' αὐτῶν χειρωθεὶς τῶν βαρβάρων τὴν ἐκείνων δυσσέβειαν τῆς εὐσεβοῦς ἀντηλλάξατο πίστεως, καὶ πλέον οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ διὰ σπουδῆς ἔχει χαρίσασθαι ἢ τὴν κλῆσιν κυρῶσαι ταῖς πράξεσι καὶ παραβάτου καὶ λῃστοῦ δράματα ἐνδεικνύμενος ἐκ τούτων καὶ φιλοτιμεῖσθαι καὶ ὑπεραίρεσθαι. 24.5 οὗτος δὴ οὖν ὁ ἀτίθασος καὶ παραβάτης