47

He drove away diseases, and to many barren women he granted children; and having received so much power from the divine spirit, he called himself a poor man and a beggar. 11.5 Therefore, he spent his entire life filling with benefits all those who came to him, both by his appearance and his speech. Having departed from here and been transferred to the angelic choir, he left a memory not buried with his body, but one that is flourishing and thriving and remains unquenchable forever, and is sufficient for the benefit of those who desire it. And so, having gathered a blessing from here, I will relate, as best I can, the stories of the other athletes. 12.t ZENO 12.1 Not many know the admirable Zeno, and those who do know him are unable to admire him worthily. For he, having left behind the greatest possible wealth in his homeland—and this was Pontus—enjoyed, as he said, the streams of Basil the Great, who was his neighbor and watered the land of the Cappadocians, and he produced fruits worthy of the irrigation. 12.2 For as soon as the emperor Valens was killed, he laid aside his military belt; for he had been enrolled among those who swiftly deliver the emperor's letters. And departing from the imperial service for a certain tomb—for the mountain near Antioch has many—he lived alone, purifying his soul and constantly cleansing its vision and imagining the divine contemplation and "setting the ascents of God in his heart" and longing "to take wings like a dove" and desiring to fly up to the divine rest. For this reason, he had no bed, no lamp, no brazier, no pot, no flask, no chest, no book, nor anything else; but he was clothed in old rags, and likewise in footwear needing to be tied; for the leather of the sandals was torn apart. 12.3 From only one of his acquaintances he received his necessary food; this was one loaf supplied for two days; and drawing water from afar, he carried it himself. And once someone, seeing him carrying the burden, begged to relieve him of the labor. But at first he resisted, explaining that he would not bear to receive water brought by another. When he could not persuade him, he gave him the jars; for he was carrying two, one in each hand. But when he was inside the courtyard door, pouring out the water and spilling it, he ran again to the spring, confirming his words by his deed. 12.4 And I, when I first went up to the mountain, desiring to learn about him, saw him holding the jars in his hands. Then I asked where the dwelling of the admirable Zeno was; but he said he absolutely did not know of a solitary called by that name. But I followed, guessing it was he, taking the humility of his words as proof. When I was inside the door, I saw a pallet made of grass and some other refuse spread upon the stones so that those sitting upon them might suffer no harm from them. When we had engaged in much conversation about philosophy—for I was asking questions, and he was unfolding the matters of inquiry for us—and it was finally time to return home, I begged him to give the provisions of a blessing. But he resisted, saying it was lawful for us to fulfill the prayer, calling himself a layman, but naming us soldiers; for at that time I happened to be reading the sacred books to the divine people. But when we put forward our youth and the immaturity of our age—for we had only recently received a small growth of downy beard—and swearing that

47

ἀπήλασε νόσους, πολλαῖς δὲ γυναιξὶ στερίφαις ἐχαρίσατο παῖδας· καὶ τοσαύτην παρὰ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος δεξάμενος δύναμιν, πτωχὸν ἑαυτὸν καὶ προσαίτην ὠνόμαζεν. 11.5 Πάντας τοίνυν τοὺς παρ' αὐτῷ φοιτῶντας καὶ φαινό μενος καὶ φθεγγόμενος ὠφελείας πληρῶν τὸν ἅπαντα διετέλεσε βίον. Ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ἐκδημήσας καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀγγελι κὴν χορείαν μετατεθεὶς κατέλιπε μνήμην οὐ συνταφεῖσαν τῷ σώματι ἀλλ' ἀνθοῦσαν καὶ τεθηλυῖαν καὶ ἄσβεστον εἰς ἀεὶ διαμένουσαν καὶ εἰς ὄνησιν τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀρκοῦσαν. Καὶ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν τοίνυν ἐρανισάμενος εὐλογίαν καὶ τὰ κατὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἀθλητὰς ὡς οἷόν τε διηγήσομαι. 12.t ΖΗΝΩΝ 12.1 Ζηνῶνα τὸν θαυμάσιον οὐ πολλοὶ μὲν γινώσκουσιν, οἱ δὲ γινώσκοντες θαυμάζειν ἀξίως οὐ δύνανται. Οὗτος γὰρ πλοῦτον ὅτι μάλιστα πλεῖστον ἐν τῇ πατρίδι καταλιπών -αὕτη δὲ ἦν ὁ Πόντος-, ἀπέλαυσε μέν, ὡς ἔλεγε, τῶν Βασιλείου τοῦ μεγάλου ναμάτων γειτονεύοντος καὶ τὴν Καππαδοκῶν ἄρδοντος χώραν, τῆς δὲ ἀρδείας ἀξίους ἀπέδωκε τοὺς καρπούς. 12.2 Εὐθὺς μὲν γὰρ Οὐάλεντος τοῦ βασιλέως ἀναιρεθέντος, τὴν στρατιωτικὴν ἀπέθετο ζώνην· ἐγκατείλεκτο δὲ τοῖς τὰ βασιλέως ὀξέως διακομίζουσι γράμματα. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν βασιλείων εἴς τινα τάφον ὁρμήσας-πολλοὺς δὲ ἔχει τὸ τῇ Ἀντιοχείᾳ παρακείμενον ὄρος-, μόνος διῆγε, τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκκαθαίρων καὶ τὸ ταύτης ὀπτικὸν ἀεὶ ἀπορρύπτων καὶ τὴν θείαν φανταζόμενος θεωρίαν καὶ "τὰς τοῦ θεοῦ ἀναβάσεις ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τιθέμενος" καὶ "πτέρυγας λαβεῖν ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς" ἐφιέμενος καὶ εἰς τὴν θείαν κατάπαυσιν ἀναπτῆναι ποθῶν. Τούτου χάριν, οὐ κλίνην ἔσχεν, οὐ λύχνον, οὐκ ἐσχάραν, οὐ χύθραν, οὐ ληκύθιον, οὐ κιβώτιον, οὐ βιβλίον, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδέν· ἀλλὰ ῥάκια μὲν ἠμπείχετο παλαιὰ καὶ ὑποδήματα δὲ ὡσαύτως δεσμῶν δεόμενα· διῄρητο γὰρ τῶν καττυμάτων τὰ δέρματα. 12.3 Παρ' ἑνὸς δὲ μόνου τῶν γνωρίμων τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν ἐκομίζετο· αὕτη δὲ ἦν εἷς ἄρτος δύο χορηγούμενος ἡμέραις· τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ πόρρωθεν ἀρυόμενος αὐτὸς ἔφερε. Καί ποτέ τις αὐτὸν ἀχθοφοροῦντα θεασάμενος ἱκέτευσε κουφῖσαι τοῦ πόνου. Ὁ δὲ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἀντέτεινε, διδάσκων ὡς οὐκ ἀνέξεται μεταλαβεῖν ὕδατος ὑπ' ἄλλου κομισθέντος. Ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπεισεν, ἔδωκε τὰ σταμνία· δύο γὰρ ἀμφοῖν τοῖν χεροῖν ἐπεφέρετο. Ὡς δὲ εἴσω τῆς αὐλείου θύρας ἐγένετο, ἐκχέας τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ διαρράνας, πάλιν ἔδραμεν ἐπὶ τὸν κρουνὸν ἔργῳ βεβαιώσας τοὺς λόγους. 12.4 Κἀγὼ δέ, ὅτε πρῶτον αὐτὸν ἱστορῆσαι ποθήσας εἰς τὸ ὄρος ἀνῆλθον, ἐθεασάμην τοῖν χεροῖν τὰ σταμνία κατέ χοντα. Εἶτα ἠρόμην ὅπου εἴη τὸ τοῦ θαυμασίου Ζήνωνος καταγώγιον· ὁ δὲ ἥκιστα ἔλεγεν εἰδέναι μονάζοντα ταύτῃ τῇ προσηγορίᾳ καλούμενον. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἱπόμην, αὐτὸν εἶναι τοπάσας, τεκμήριον ποιούμενος τῶν λόγων τὸ μέτριον. Ὡς δὲ εἴσω τῆς θύρας ἐγενόμην, στιβάδα εἶδον ἀπὸ χόρτου συγκειμένην καὶ ἕτερόν τινα φορυτὸν ἐπὶ τῶν λίθων κατε στρωμένον ὡς μηδεμίαν ἐκεῖθεν οἱ ἐπ' ἐκείνων καθήμενοι ἀποφέροιντο βλάβην. Ὡς δὲ πολλοὺς περὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐκινήσαμεν λόγους-ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἐπυνθανόμην, αὐτὸς δὲ ἡμῖν ἀνέπτυσσε τὰ ζητούμενα-καὶ ἔδει λοιπὸν ἐπανιέναι οἴκαδε, ἱκέτευον αὐτὸν δοῦναι τὰ τῆς εὐλογίας ἐφόδια. Ὁ δὲ ἀντέτεινεν ἡμᾶς πληροῦν τὴν εὐχὴν ἔννομον εἶναι λέγων, καὶ ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἰδιώτην καλῶν, στρατιώτας δὲ ἡμᾶς ὀνομάζων· καὶ γὰρ ἐτύγχανον τηνικάδε τὰς ἱερὰς βίβλους τῷ θείῳ ὑπαναγινώσκων λαῷ. Ἡμῶν δὲ τὴν νεότητα προβαλλομένων καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας τὸ ἄωρον-ἄρτι γὰρ ἰούλου βραχεῖάν τινα προβολὴν ἐδεδέγμεθα-καὶ διομνυμένων ὡς