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He sent John the Great, who embraced the desert, to the banks of the Jordan, having charged him to baptize and preach there. Since, therefore, you too are a fervent lover of the God who made and saved us, make many others lovers also. For this is very pleasing to our common Master. For this reason He also called Ezekiel a watchman and charged him to testify to sinners; and He commanded Jonah to run to Nineveh and, when he was unwilling, sent him as a captive." Saying these and such things, he charmed the divine man and, having broken through that voluntary prison, he both brought him out and led him away and handed over the care of the disciples. 4.5 But I do not know which I should admire more, this one's moderation or that one's obedience. For this man was fleeing leadership and wished rather to be one of the subjects, suspecting the danger of being in charge. And the great Eusebius, while he was turning away from a life with many, yet he yielded nonetheless and, caught in the nets of love, he accepted the care of the flock and led the band, not needing many words for instruction; for even his appearance was sufficient to make even the most sluggish person keen for the race of virtue. And those who had seen him say that he always had a grave face and inspired sufficient awe in those who looked at him. As for food, he himself partook every three or four days, but he commanded his companions to partake every other day. And he charged them to converse with God continuously and to leave no time devoid of this work, but to perform the appointed liturgies in common, but during the parts of the day in between these, each one by himself, either under the shade of a tree or beside a rock or wherever one might enjoy some quiet, either standing or lying on the ground, was to beseech the Master and ask for salvation. And so he trained each of the members of his body in virtue, so that they would do only what reason permits. 4.6 And so that I may make this clear to all, I shall recall one of the stories about him. He was sitting on a certain rock, both he and the admirable Ammianus, and while one was reading the history of the divine gospels, the other was laying bare the meaning of the more obscure parts. But when some farmers in the plain below were tilling the land, the great Eusebius was drawn to this sight. And when the divine Ammianus had read the gospel passage and was seeking the interpretation, the great Eusebius commanded him to take up the reading again. And when he said, "Delighting in the plowmen, you did not hear, as is likely," he laid a law upon his eyes never to behold that plain again, nor to be feasted on the heavenly beauty and the choir of stars, but using a very narrow path, the measure of which they say was a span, leading to the prayer house, he did not endure to walk outside this thereafter. They say he lived for more than forty years according to this law. And so that, along with his will, some necessity also might draw him to these things, having bound his loins with an iron belt and having placed a very heavy collar around his neck, he joined the belt to the collar of his neck with another piece of iron, so that in this way, being bent down, he might be continually forced to stoop to the earth. Such were the penalties he exacted upon himself for that sight of the farmers. 4.7 And many others who had known him and knew precisely the things about him taught me these things; and the presbyter, the great Acacius, whom we have also mentioned before in other stories, related this very story. And he said that, having seen him bowed down, he once asked him what benefit he reaped that he endured neither to look at the sky, nor that plain below

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Ἰωάννην τὸν πάνυ, τὴν ἔρημον ἀσπαζόμενον, ταῖς τοῦ Ἰορδάνου παρέπεμψεν ὄχθαις, ἐκεῖ βαπτίζειν καὶ κηρύττειν παρεγγυήσας. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν καὶ σὺ θερμὸς ἐραστὴς εἶ τοῦ πεποιηκότος καὶ σεσωκότος θεοῦ, πολλοὺς καὶ ἄλλους συγκατασκεύασον ἐραστάς. Τοῦτο γὰρ τῷ κοινῷ δεσπότῃ λίαν ἐστὶ προσφιλές. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν Ἰεζεκιὴλ σκοπὸν προσηγόρευσε καὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς διαμαρτύρασθαι παρηγγύα· καὶ τὸν Ἰωνᾶν εἰς τὴν Νινευὴ τρέχειν ἐκέλευσε καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον δεσμώτην παρέπεμψεν." Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγων τὸν θεῖον κατεκήλησεν ἄνδρα καί, τὴν ἐθελούσιον ἐκείνην διορύξας εἱρκτήν, ἐξῆγέ τε καὶ ἀπῆγε καὶ τῶν θιασωτῶν παρεδίδου τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. 4.5 Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ οἶδα πότερον πλέον θαυμάσω, τούτου τὴν μετριότητα ἢ ἐκείνου τὴν εὐπείθειαν. Καὶ γὰρ οὗτος τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐδραπέτευε καὶ τῶν ὑπηκόων εἷς εἶναι μᾶλλον ἐβούλετο, τῆς προστασίας τὸν κίνδυνον ὑφορώμενος. Καὶ ὁ μέγας Εὐσέβιος τὴν μετὰ πλειόνων διαγωγὴν ἀπεστρέ φετο μέν, εἶξε δὲ ὅμως καί, τοῖς τῆς ἀγάπης δικτύοις ἁλούς, ἐδέχετο τῆς ποίμνης τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ ἦγε τὸν χορὸν οὐ πολλῶν λόγων εἰς διδασκαλίαν δεόμενος· ἤρκει γὰρ καὶ φαινόμενος ὀξὺν ἐργάσασθαι πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς δρόμον καὶ τὸν ἄγαν νωθέστατον. Φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ τεθεαμένοι ἐμβριθὲς ἀεὶ τὸ πρόσωπον ἐσχηκέναι καὶ δέος ἱκανὸν ἐνθεῖναι τοῖς θεωμένοις. Τροφῆς δὲ αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ τριῶν καὶ τεττάρων ἀπέλαυεν ἡμερῶν, τοῖς δὲ συνοίκοις παρὰ μίαν μεταλαγχάνειν ἐκέλευε. ∆ιηνεκῶς δὲ τῷ θεῷ προσομιλεῖν παρηγγύα καὶ μηδένα καιρὸν ταύτης ἄμοιρον τῆς ἐργασίας ἐᾶν, ἀλλὰ κοινῇ μὲν τὰς ὡρισμένας λειτουργίας ἐπιτελεῖν, τὰ δὲ ἐν μέσῳ τούτων τῆς ἡμέρας μόρια καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστον ἢ ὑπὸ σκιᾷ τινὶ δένδρου ἢ παρά τινα πέτραν ἢ ἔνθα ἄν τίς τινος ἡσυχίας ἀπολαύοι, ἢ ἑστῶτα ἢ κείμενον ἐπ' ἐδάφους, ἀντιβολεῖν τὸν δεσπότην καὶ τὴν σωτηρίαν αἰτεῖν. Οὕτω δὲ τῶν τοῦ σώματος μορίων ἕκαστον τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐξεπαίδευσεν ὡς ἐκεῖνα δρᾶν ἃ μόνος ὁ λογισμὸς ἐπιτρέπει. 4.6 Ἵνα δὲ τοῦτο δῆλον ἅπασι καταστήσω, ἑνὸς τῶν κατ' αὐτὸν μνησθήσομαι διηγήματος. Ἐπί τινος καθῆστο πέτρας αὐτός τε καὶ Ἀμμιανὸς ὁ θαυμάσιος, καὶ τῶν θείων εὐαγγελίων τὴν ἱστορίαν ὁ μὲν ἀνεγίνωσκεν, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀσαφεστέρων παρεγύμνου τὴν ἔννοιαν. Γηπόνων δέ τινων ἐν τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ πεδίῳ νεουρ γούντων τὴν γῆν, ἐπὶ ταύτην εἱλκύσθη τὴν θεωρίαν ὁ μέγας Εὐσέβιος. Ἀμμιανοῦ δὲ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ἀνεγνωκότος τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν χωρίον, τὴν δὲ ἑρμηνείαν μαστεύοντος, ἀνα λαβεῖν ἐκέλευσε τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν ὁ μέγας Εὐσέβιος. Τοῦ δὲ εἰρηκότος ὅτι "τοῖς ἀροῦσιν ἐπιτερπόμενος οὐκ ἐπήκουσας, ὡς εἰκός", νομοθετεῖ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μήτε τὸ πεδίον ἐκεῖνο θεωρῆσαί ποτε μήτε τῷ οὐρανίῳ κάλλει καὶ τῷ τῶν ἀστέρων ἑστιαθῆναι χορῷ, ἀλλ' ἀτραπῷ χρώμενος στενωτάτῃ, ἧς τὸ μέτρον σπιθαμῆς εἶναί φασιν, ἐπὶ τὸν εὐκτήριον οἶκον φερούσῃ, ἔξω ταύτης βαδίσαι λοιπὸν οὐκ ἠνέσχετο. Πλείονα δὲ ἢ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη φασὶ μετὰ τοῦτον αὐτὸν διαβιῶναι τὸν νόμον. Ἵνα δὲ μετὰ τῆς γνώμης καὶ ἀνάγκη τις αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ταῦτα καθέλκῃ, ζώνῃ σιδηρᾷ τὴν ὀσφὺν καταδήσας καὶ βαρύτατον κλοιὸν περιθεὶς τῷ τραχήλῳ, ἄλλῳ τινὶ σιδήρῳ τὴν ζώνην συνήρμοσε τῷ τοῦ τραχήλου κλοιῷ ἵνα τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ κατακαμπτόμενος εἰς γῆν κατακύπτειν διηνεκῶς ἀναγκάζηται. Τοιαύτας αὐτὸς τῆς τῶν γηπόνων ἐκείνων θεωρίας εἰσεπράξατο δίκας. 4.7 Ταῦτα δέ με πολλοὶ μὲν καὶ ἄλλοι τῶν ἐκεῖνον ἱστορη κότων καὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἀκριβῶς ἐπισταμένων ἐδίδαξαν· διηγήσατο δὲ τοῦτ' αὐτὸ τὸ διήγημα καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτης, ὁ μέγας Ἀκάκιος, οὗ καὶ πρόσθεν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις διηγήμασιν ἀπεμνημονεύσαμεν. Ἔφη δὲ καὶ ἔρεσθαι αὐτόν ποτε συγκε κυφότα θεασάμενος ποίαν καρπούμενος ὄνησιν οὔτε εἰς οὐρανὸν βλέπειν ἀνέχεται, οὔτε τὸ πεδίον ἐκεῖνο τὸ ὑπο