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and he was older in time and in toil, a philosopher and a man nourished in the hard life. Having learned of the man's virtue, which was being talked about everywhere, and thinking such a sight to be more profitable than long quiet, he ran, hastening to see the one he longed for. And the great Marcian, having learned of his arrival, opened the door and received him to himself. He instructed the wonderful Eusebius to boil some pulse, and a vegetable if he had one. And when they had had their fill of conversation with each other and had learned each other's virtue, they celebrated the liturgy of the ninth hour together; and Eusebius came, bringing a table and offering loaves of bread. And the great Marcian said to the divine Avitus: "Come," he said, "most beloved to me of all, and let us partake of this table." But he said: "I have never," he said, "partaken of food before the evening, and often I continue fasting for two or three days at a time." And the great Marcian said: "For my sake, then," he said, "let the custom be changed today. For being weak in body, I am not able to wait for the evening." But when even by saying these things he did not persuade the wonderful Avitus, he is said to have sighed and said: "But I am very disheartened and am vexed in my soul that you underwent such labor to see some industrious and philosophical man, and being cheated of your hope, you have beheld some tradesman and profligate instead of a philosopher." And when the most divine Avitus was distressed at this and said that he would rather partake of meat than hear these things, the great Marcian said: "We too, O my friend, pursue the same life as you and embrace the same way of life, and we prefer labors to rest and choose fasting over food, and when night has come on, then we partake of it. But we know that the matter of love is more honorable than fasting. For the one is the work of divine legislation, but the other is of our own authority. And it is fitting to consider the divine laws much more honorable than our own." Having conversed thus with one another, and having partaken of a little food, and having hymned God, and having spent three days together with one another, they were separated, seeing each other again in the spirit. 3.13 Who then would not admire the wisdom of this man, governed by which he knew the time for fasting, and he knew the time for brotherly love, and he knew also the difference between the parts of virtue, and which one it is fitting to yield to which, and to which to give the prize according to the season? 3.14 I also have another story as a mark of his perfection in divine things. For his sister came to him from their homeland with her son, who was a man and a leading citizen of Cyrrhus, bringing him necessary provisions in abundance. But he did not endure to see his sister, but he received his nephew; for it was the time appointed for meeting. And when they besought him to accept what they had brought, he said: "Through how many monasteries," he said, "did you pass? To which of them did you give a share of these very things?" And when he said that they had given to no one, he said: "Go away with what you brought. For we neither have need of any of these things, nor, if we were in need, would we accept them. For having been mindful of natural kinship, but not of divine service, you show kindness to us with these things. For if you did not honor only the closeness of family, you would not have given to us alone a share of what you brought." Saying these things, he sent away his nephew with his sister, not ordering even a small thing of what had been brought by them to be accepted. 3.15 Thus was he outside of nature, and he had passed over into the citizenship of the heavens. For what clearer example could one provide than this, that he was worthy of God according to the voice of God himself: "For he who does not leave," he says, "father and mother and

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καὶ χρόνῳ καὶ πόνῳ πρεσβύτερος ἦν, φιλόσοφος δὲ ἀνὴρ καὶ τῷ σκληρῷ βίῳ συντεθραμμένος. Οὗτος πανταχόθεν περι θρυλλουμένην τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καταμαθὼν ἀρετὴν τῆς μακρᾶς ἡσυχίας κερδαλεωτέραν εἶναι τὴν τοιαύτην θέαν νενομικὼς ἔδραμε σπεύδων ἰδεῖν τὸ ποθούμενον. Μαθὼν δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄφιξιν ὁ μέγας Μαρκιανὸς καὶ τὴν θύραν ἀνοίξας πρὸς ἑαυτὸν εἰσεδέξατο. Εὐσεβίῳ δὲ τῷ θαυμασίῳ παρηγγύησε καὶ ὄσπριον ἐψῆσαι καὶ λάχανον εἴπερ ἔχοι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῆς ἀλλήλων διαλέξεως ἐνεπλήσθησαν καὶ τὴν ἀλλήλων κατέμαθον ἀρετήν, κοινῇ τὴν τῆς ἐνάτης ἐπετέλεσαν λειτουργίαν· ἧκε δὲ ὁ Εὐσέβιος τράπεζαν φέρων καὶ ἄρτους προσφέρων. Ὁ δὲ μέγας Μαρκιανὸς τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Ἀβίτῳ· "∆εῦρο, ἔφη, πάντων μοι προσφι λέστατε, καὶ ταύτης κοινωνήσωμεν τῆς τραπέζης." Ὁ δὲ· "Οὐκ οἶδα, ἔφη, πώποτε πρὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας σιτίων μεταλαβών, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ δύο καὶ τρεῖς κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἄσιτος ἡμέρας διατελῶ." Ὁ δὲ μέγας Μαρκιανὸς· "Ἐμοῦ γοῦν εἵνεκα, ἔφη, τήμερον ἀμειβέσθω τὸ ἔθος. Ἀσθενῶς γὰρ τὸ σῶμα διακείμενος προσμένειν τὴν ἑσπέραν οὐ δύναμαι." Ὡς δὲ καὶ ταῦτα λέγων τὸν θαυμαστὸν Ἄβιτον οὐκ ἔπειθε, στενάξαι τε λέγεται καὶ φάναι· "Ἀλλ' ἔγωγε ἀθυμῶ λίαν καὶ δάκνομαι τὴν ψυχὴν ὅτι τοσοῦτον ὑπέμεινας πόνον, ἵνα τινα φιλόπονον καὶ φιλόσοφον ἴδῃς, καὶ τῆς ἐλπίδος ψευσθεὶς κάπηλόν τινα καὶ ἄσωτον ἀντὶ φιλοσόφου τεθέασαι." Ἀνιαθέντος δὲ πρὸς ταῦτα τοῦ θειοτάτου Ἀβίτου καὶ φήσαντος ὡς κρεῶν μεταλάβοι ἂν ἥδιον μᾶλλον ἢ τούτων ἀκούοι, ὁ μέγας ἔφη Μαρκιανός· "Καὶ ἡμεῖς, ὦ φιλότης, τὸν αὐτόν σοι μέτιμεν βίον καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἀσπαζόμεθα πολιτείαν καὶ τῆς ἀναπαύλης προτιμῶμεν τοὺς πόνους καὶ τὴν νηστείαν τῆς τροφῆς προαιρούμεθα καί, νυκτὸς ἐπιγενο μένης, τότε ταύτης μεταλαγχάνομεν. Ἀλλ' ἴσμεν ὅτι τῆς ἀγάπης τὸ χρῆμα τῆς νηστείας ἐστὶ τιμιώτερον. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς θείας ἔργον νομοθεσίας, τὸ δὲ τῆς ἡμῶν αὐτῶν ἐξουσίας. Προσήκει δὲ τοὺς θείους νόμους τῶν ἡμετέρων πολλῷ νομίζειν τιμιωτέρους." Τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαλεχθέντες, καὶ βραχείας μεταλαβόντες τροφῆς, καὶ τὸν θεὸν ὑμνήσαντες, καὶ τρεῖς ἀλλήλοις συνδιατρίψαντες ἡμέρας, ἐχωρίσθησαν, πάλιν ἀλλή λους ὁρῶντες τῷ πνεύματι. 3.13 Τίς τοίνυν οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσειε τοῦδε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν σοφίαν, ὑφ' ἧς κυβερνώμενος ᾔδει μὲν νηστείας, ᾔδει δὲ φιλαδελφίας καιρόν, ᾔδει δὲ καὶ τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς μορίων τὸ διάφορον, καὶ ποῖον ποίῳ προσήκει παραχωρεῖν, καὶ τίνι κατὰ καιρὸν διδόναι τὰ νικητήρια; 3.14 Ἔχω δὲ καὶ ἄλλο διήγημα τῆς ἐν τοῖς θείοις αὐτοῦ τελειότητος γνώρισμα. Ἀφίκετο γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πατρίδος ἡ ἀδελφὴ σὺν τῷ υἱεῖ, ἀνδρί τε ὄντι καὶ τῆς Κύρρου πρωτεύοντι, τὰς ἀναγκαίας αὐτῷ χρείας πλουσίως κομίζουσα. Ὁ δὲ τὴν μὲν ἀδελφὴν ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο, τὸν δὲ ἀδελφιδοῦν εἰσεδέξατο· τῆς γὰρ ὡρισμένης συντυχίας ἦν ὁ καιρός. Ὡς δὲ ἱκέτευον ὑποδεχθῆναι τὰ κομισθέντα· "∆ιὰ πόσων, ἔφη, μοναστηρίων διήλθετε; Τίσιν ἐκείνων ἐκ τούτων αὐτῶν μετεδώκατε;" Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος ὡς οὐδενὶ δεδωκότες εἶεν· "Ἄπιτε, ἔφη, μεθ' ὧν ἐκομίσατε. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ τούτων οὐδενὸς οὔτε δεόμεθα, οὔτε, εἰ δεοίμεθα, δεξοίμεθα. Φυσικῆς γὰρ συγγενείας, ἀλλ' οὐ θείας θεραπείας πεφρον τικότες τούτοις ἡμᾶς φιλοφρονεῖσθε. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ μόνην τοῦ γένους ἐτιμᾶτε τὴν ἀγχιστείαν, οὐχ ἡμῖν μόνοις μετεδώκατε ἂν ὧν ἠνέγκατε". Ταῦτα λέγων τὸν ἀδελφιδοῦν μετὰ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἀπεπέμψατο, οὐδὲ βραχύ τι τῶν παρ' αὐτῶν προσενεχθέντων ὑποδεχθῆναι κελεύσας. 3.15 Οὕτως ἔξω τῆς φύσεως ἦν, καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν μετεβεβήκει πολιτείαν. Ποῖον γὰρ ἄν τις τούτου σαφέστερον παράσχοι παράδειγμα ὅτι τοῦ θεοῦ ἄξιος ἦν κατὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ φωνήν· "Ὁ μὴ καταλιμπάνων γάρ, φησι, πατέρα καὶ μητέρα καὶ