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ON THE LIFE AND STRUGGLE OF OUR HOLY FATHER AND CONFESSOR MAXIMUS

A. (68) And the life of all who have lived according to God is profitable and beneficial; as it exhorts to virtue, and stimulates to the imitation of the good. But that of the divine Maximus the Confessor, in as much as he was great and altogether renowned, is so much the more effective to anoint for courage, and preeminent above all in benefiting the soul. For that man not only had a transcendent life, but also a delightful discourse, and a noble and steadfast struggle; of whom the mere memory knows how to bring much pleasure, and instills a great love of virtue in God-loving souls.Whence also the present discourse, being about to speak of the things concerning him, wishes and holds it in great importance to set forth and present each of the things accomplished by him; so that it itself might become more pleasing by their memory, and bestow a great grace upon the hearers. But it is not possible either to give a summary of all things together, or even, for what things it has in summary, to speak the praise owed for them, because even the least of the deeds of this wondrous man happen to be greater than the power of speech. Therefore, since it is not easy nor simple for my discourse to go through all things, I think I shall reasonably omit this; in no way being accused for the omission. Because no other before us, as far as we know, has undertaken all the things concerning the man, seeing, that is, the attempt to be difficult and hard to achieve.Lest, then, we should seem to pass over completely so great a subject, and lest, because it is not possible for us to grasp the whole, we should omit the whole — which I think is unprofitable, and not free from blame — it is necessary therefore for me to introduce the present discourse, even if I know it to be very small, and falling far short of the deeds. For thus we would both fulfill our duty, and pay our debt to you, who are unceasingly demanding, if anything, the discourse concerning him. And if the discourse should also mention in passing certain other things that were done at that time, this is not at all outside the scope of the discourse, nor is it unlikely; since the times then had stirred up much, as you know, (69) insolence against the truth. But indeed, from the beginning, as far as possible, we must relate the things concerning the holy one, for whom we have now begun the discourse.

B. For Maximus, then, the divine and confessor, his fatherland on the one hand was the first of cities and

great Constantinople; which discourse also knows to call New Rome. His parents, on the other hand, were of noble birth from of old, and in worldly distinction second to few; for whom, piety was exceptional, as was their inclination and affinity for virtue, so that they might bear their distinction from this rather than from their lineage. They indeed brought this blessed one forth into the light, and brought him in a very young body to the divine font, so that from infancy he might receive purification, and they did not allow him to do anything of what is pleasant to the young, nor to occupy his mind with these childish and boyish things, so that his unformed and tender nature would not be drawn to indulgence and softness of character; but shaping the noble boy with sterner and more manly things, they instilled in him a great inclination toward what is good, and persuaded him to incline wholly toward virtue. He himself also, having been allotted a gifted nature, and such an upbringing

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ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΒΙΟΝ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΑΘΛΗΣΙΝ ΤΟΥ ΟΣΙΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΟΜΟΛΟΓΗΤΟΥ ΜΑΞΙΜΟΥ

Α´. (68) Καί πάντων μέν τῶν κατά Θεόν πολιτευσαμένων ὁ Βίος, λυσιτελής καί ὠφέλιμος· οἷα δή προτρέπων εἰς ἀρετήν, καί παραθήγων πρός τήν τοῦ καλοῦ μίμησιν· ὁ δέ γε τοῦ θείου Μαξίμου καί ὁμολογητοῦ, ὅσῳ μέγας καί τοῖς ὅλοις περιφανής, τοσούτῳ καί πρός ἀνδρείαν ἀλεῖψαι ἀνυσιμώτερος, καί ψυχήν ὠφελῆσαι πάντων διαφορώτατος. Ἀνήρ γάρ ἐκεῖνος οὐ μόνον βίον ἔχων ὑπερφυῆ, ἀλλά καί λόγον ἐπιτερπῆ, καί ἄθλησιν γενναίαν καί ἀπαράθετον· οὗ καί μόνη ἡ μνήμη, πολλήν μέν οἶδε φέρειν τήν ἡδονήν, πολύν δέ ταῖς φιλοθέοις ψυχαῖς τόν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐνίησιν ἔρωτα.Ὅθεν καί ὁ παρών λόγος τά κατ' ἐκεῖνον μέλλων εἰπεῖν, βούλεται μέν καί διά πολλοῦ ἔχει, τό τά καθ' ἕκαστα τῶν αὐτῷ πεπραγμένων εἰς μέσον θεῖναι καί παραστήσασθαι· ὡς ἄν αὐτός τε ἡδίων τῇ τούτων γένηται μνήμῃ, καί τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις μεγάλην τήν χάριν κατάθηται· οὐκ ἔχει δ' ὅπως ἤ πάντων ὁμοῦ τήν περίληψιν σχεῖν, ἤ καί ὧν ἔχει ἐν περιλήψει τόν ὀφειλόμενον ἐπί τούτοις ἔπαινον εἰπεῖν, τῷ κρείττω ἤ κατά λόγου δύναμιν καί τά ἐλάχιστα τῶν εἰργασμένων τῷ θαυμασίῳ τυγχάνειν. Οὐκοῦν ὡς μέν οὐ ῥᾴδιον τῷ λόγῳ οὐδ' εὔπορον, τό τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπεξιέναι, παρήσειν καί αὐτός εὐλόγως δοκῶ μοι· μηδέν πάντως ἐγκαλούμενος ἐπί τῷ παραλιπεῖν· ὅτι μηδ' ἄλλος τέως τῶν πρό ἡμῶν, ὅσα γε αὐτοί σύνισμεν, εἰς ἅπαντα τά τοῦ ἀνδρός καθῆκεν αὑτόν, τῷ χαλεπήν δηλαδή καί δυσέφικτον ὁρᾷν τήν ἐγχείρησιν.Ὡς ἄν δέ λοιπόν μή φαινώμεθα παντελῶς τηλικαύτην ὑπόθεσιν παρατρέχοντες, καί ὅτι μή ἐξόν ἡμῖν τοῦ παντός ἐφικέσθαι καί τό πᾶν ἐλλιμπάνοιμεν, ὅπερ ἀσύμφορον οἶμαι, καί οὐδ' ἔξω πίπτον αἰτίας· ἀναγκαῖον ἄρα ἐμοί τόν παρόντα λόγον εἰσενεγκεῖ, κἄν ἐλάχιστον οἶδα τοῦτον, κἄν παρά πολύ τῶν πραγμάτων λειπόμενον. Οὕτω γάρ ἄν καί τό τε εἰς ἡμᾶς ἧκον ἀποπληρώσοιμεν, καί ὑμῖν τό χρέος ἀφοσιώσοιμεν, τόν περί ἐκείνου λόγον, εἴπερ τι ἄλλο, ἀπαραιτήτως εἰσπράττουσιν. Εἰ δέ καί ἄλλα τινά τῶν τηνικαῦτα πραχθέντων ἐν τῷ μεταξύ διαμνημονεύσοι ὁ λόγος, ἀλλά τοῦτο οὐκ ἔξω πάντως τοῦ λόγου, οὔτε μή τοῦ εἰκότος· τῶν τότε καιρῶν πολλήν κεκινηκότων, ὡς ἴστε, τήν (69) κατά τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπήρειαν· ἀλλά γάρ ἄνωθεν, ὡς οἷον τε, τά κατά τόν ὅσιον τέως διηγητέον, δι' ὅν καί τόν λόγον ἤδη ἐνεστησάμεθα.

Β´. Μαξίμῳ τοίνυν τῷ θείῳ καί ὁμολογητῇ πατρός μέν, ἡ πρώτη τῶν πόλεων καί

μεγάλη Κωνσταντινούπολις· ἥν καί ΝέανῬώμην ὁ λόγος οἶδε προσονομάζειν. Πατέρες δέ, εὐγενεῖς ἄνωθεν, καί τῇ κατά κόσμον περιφανείᾳ μή πολλῶν δεύτεροι· οἷς εὐσέβεια τό ἐξαίρετον, καί ἡ πρός τήν ἀρετήν νεῦσίς τε καί οἰκείωσις· ὡς ἄν ἔχοιεν ἐντεῦθεν μᾶλλον ἤ ἀπό τοῦ γένους τό λαμπρόν ἐπιφέρεσθαι. Οἵ δή καί εἰς φῶς τόν μακάριον τοῦτον προαγαγόντες, καί ἐν κομιδῇ νέῳ σώματι τῷ θείῳ λουτρῷ προαγαγόντες, ἵν' ἐκ βρέφους λάβοι τήν κάθαρσιν, οὐδέν εἴων τῶν ὅσα τοῖς νέοις πρός ἡδονήν, πράττειν, οὐδέ τοῖς νηπιώδεσι τούτοις καί παιδικοῖς τήν διάνοιαν ἀσχολεῖν· ὅπως μή ἄπλαστος φύσις καί ἁπαλή, πρός ἄνεσιν ἐλκυσθῇ καί ἠθῶν μαλακότητα· ἀλλά τοῖς στεῤῥοτέροις τε καί ἀνδρώδεσι διαπλάττοντες τόν γενναῖον, πολλήν αὐτῷ τήν πρός τά καλά ἐνετίθουν ῥοπήν, καί ὅλον αὐτόν συννεύειν πρός τήν ἀρετήν ἔπειθον. Ὅς καί αὐτός, καί φύσεως λαχών δεξιᾶς, καί ἀγωγῆς οὕτω