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he received an ageless and griefless [life] instead of one full of care. When everyone wished to snatch the body and was determined to carry it off to his own village, someone who reported the saint's oaths resolved the dispute; for he said that he had put him under oath to commit it to burial in that place. 15.6 Thus did the citizens of heaven take care for simplicity even after death; and neither while alive did they ever endure to be proud, nor on dying did they solicit honor from men, but they transferred all their love to the Bridegroom, like prudent wives who are eager to be loved and praised by their spouses alone, despising praise from others. For this reason the Bridegroom made them famous even against their will and gave them a superabundant share in good repute among men. For whenever someone pursues the divine and asks for heavenly things, he adds to them very many other things as well, bestowing the requests many times over; this he also said when legislating. "Ask for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all the rest will be added to you." And again: "He who leaves father and mother and brothers and wife and children for my sake and the Gospel's will receive a hundredfold in this age and in the age to come will inherit eternal life." These things he has both said and done. And may it be granted to us, being instructed both by word and deed and supported by their prayers, to pursue our goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus our Lord. 16.t MARON 16.1 After this man I shall make mention of Maron; for he too adorned the divine choir of the saints. For, embracing the open-air life, he occupied a certain summit that had been honored by the impious of old; and after consecrating to God the precinct of demons on it, he passed his time there, having pitched a small tent, but using it seldom. He practiced not only the customary labors but also invented others, gathering together the wealth of philosophy. 16.2 And the Umpire measured out grace in proportion to his labors; for so generously did the great Giver bestow on him the gift of healing that his fame spread everywhere, and drew everyone from all directions and taught them by experience the truth of the report. For one could see fevers being quenched by the dew of his blessing, and shivering ceasing, and demons taking to flight, and various and sundry afflictions being cured by a single medicine. For the sons of physicians apply the appropriate remedy to each ailment, but the prayer of the saints is a common antidote to all ailments. 16.3 He healed not only bodily infirmities but also applied suitable therapy to souls, curing one man's greed and another's anger, offering to this man teaching about self-control, and to that one adding lessons in justice, and chastising the licentiousness of one, while rousing the sluggishness of another. Using this kind of farming, he produced many plants of philosophy and he himself planted for God the paradise that now flourishes in the territory of Cyrrhus. A product of his planting is the great James, to whom one might fittingly apply that prophetic utterance: "The righteous man will flourish like a palm tree; he will be multiplied like the cedar in Lebanon;" and all the others whom, with God's help, I shall mention individually. 16.4 Thus while taking care of the divine farm and at the same time healing souls and

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ἀγήρω καὶ ἄλυπον ἀντὶ τοῦ πολυφρόν τιδος ἔλαβεν. Ἁρπάζειν δὲ πάντων βουλομένων τὸ σῶμα καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν ἑκάστου κώμην ἀποκομίζειν προαιρου μένων, μηνύσας τις τοῦ ἁγίου τοὺς ὅρκους τὴν ἔριν διέλυσεν· ὁρκῶσαι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἔφησεν ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωρίῳ παραδοῦναι τοῦτο ταφῇ. 15.6 Οὕτω καὶ τῆς μετὰ θάνατον εὐτελείας ἐπεμελοῦντο τῶν οὐρανῶν οἱ πολῖται· καὶ οὔτε περιόντες μέγα φρονεῖν ἠνέσχοντο πώποτε, καὶ τελευτήσαντες τὸ παρὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἐπεσπάσαντο γέρας, ἀλλὰ τὸ φίλτρον ἅπαν εἰς τὸν νυμφίον μετέθεσαν κατὰ τὰς σώφρονας γυναῖκας αἳ παρὰ μόνων τῶν ὁμοζύγων καὶ φιλεῖσθαι καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι σπουδά ζουσι, τῆς παρὰ τῶν ἄλλων εὐφημίας καταφρονοῦσαι. Τούτου χάριν αὐτοὺς ὁ νυμφίος καὶ μὴ βουλομένους ἀοιδίμους ἀπέφηνε καὶ τῆς παρὰ ἀνθρώποις εὐκλείας ἐκ περιουσίας μετέδωκεν. Ὅταν γάρ τις τὰ θεῖα μετιὼν αἰτῇ τὰ οὐράνια, προστίθησι μετ' ἐκείνων καὶ ἕτερα πάμπολλα, πολλαπλασίας τὰς αἰτήσεις δωρούμενος· τοῦτο καὶ νομοθετῶν ἔλεγεν. "Αἰτεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν". Καὶ πάλιν· "Ὁ καταλιμπάνων πατέρα καὶ μητέρα καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ τέκνα εἵνεκεν ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου καὶ ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήψεται καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει." Ταῦτα καὶ εἴρηκεν καὶ πεποίηκεν. Ἡμᾶς δὲ εἴη καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ παιδευομένους καὶ ταῖς τούτων προσευχαῖς ἐπερειδομένους κατὰ σκοπὸν διῶξαι ἐπὶ τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. 16.t ΜΑΡΩΝ 16.1 Μάρωνος μετὰ τοῦτον μνησθήσομαι· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος τὸν θεῖον τῶν ἁγίων χορὸν κατεκόσμησε· τὸν ὕπαιθρον γὰρ ἀσπασάμενος βίον, κορυφήν τινα κατέλαβεν ὑπὸ τῶν πάλαι δυσσεβῶν τιμωμένην· καὶ τὸ ἐν ταύτῃ τῶν δαιμόνων τέμενος τῷ θεῷ καθοσιώσας, ἐν αὐτῷ διέτριψε, σκηνήν τινα βραχεῖαν πηξάμενος μέν, ὀλιγάκις δὲ ταύτῃ χρησάμενος. Πόνοις δὲ οὐ τοῖς εἰωθόσιν ἐχρῆτο μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρους ἐπενόει, τῆς φιλοσοφίας συναθροίζων τὸν πλοῦτον. 16.2 Ὁ δὲ ἀγωνοθέτης τοῖς πόνοις τὴν χάριν ἐμέτρησεν· οὕτω γὰρ αὐτῷ πλουσίως ὁ μεγαλόδωρος τὸ τῶν ἰαμάτων ἐδωρήσατο χάρισμα ὡς πανταχοῦ μὲν τούτου τὸ κλέος διαδραμεῖν, πάντας δὲ πάντοθεν ἐφελκύσασθαι καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ διδάξαι τῆς φήμης τὸ ἀληθές· ἦν γὰρ ἰδεῖν καὶ πυρετοὺς σβεννυμένους τῇ δρόσῳ τῆς εὐλογίας καὶ φρίκην παυομένην καὶ δαίμονας δραπετεύοντας καὶ τὰ παντοδαπὰ καὶ ποικίλα παθήματα ἑνὶ φαρμάκῳ θεραπευόμενα. Ἰατρῶν μὲν γὰρ παῖδες ἑκάστῳ παθήματι τὸ κατάλληλον προσφέ ρουσι φάρμακον, ἡ δὲ τῶν ἁγίων προσευχὴ κοινόν ἐστι παθῶν ἁπάντων ἀλεξιφάρμακον. 16.3 Οὐ μόνον δὲ τὰς σωματικὰς ἀρρωστίας ἰᾶτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς τὴν πρόσφορον θεραπείαν προσέφερε, τούτου μὲν τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἐκείνου δὲ τὸν θυμὸν ἰατρεύων, καὶ τούτῳ μὲν τὴν περὶ σωφροσύνης διδασκαλίαν προσφέρων, ἐκείνῳ δὲ προστιθεὶς τὰ τῆς δικαιοσύνης παιδεύματα καὶ τοῦ μὲν τὴν ἀκολασίαν κολάζων, τοῦ δὲ τὸ νωθρὸν διεγείρων. Ταύτῃ χρώμενος τῇ γεωργίᾳ πολλὰ φυτὰ φιλοσοφίας ἀπέφηνε καὶ τὸν νῦν ἐν τῇ Κύρρου χώρᾳ τεθηλότα παράδεισον αὐτὸς τῷ θεῷ κατεφύτευσε. Τῆς τούτου φυτουργίας ἔργον ὁ μέγας Ἰάκωβος, εἰς ὃν εἰκότως ἄν τις ἑλκύσειε τὴν προφητικὴν ἐκείνην φωνήν· "∆ίκαιος ὡς φοῖνιξ ἀνθήσει· ὡσεὶ κέδρος ἡ ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ πληθυνθήσεται"· καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι δὲ ἅπαντες ὧν ἰδίᾳ σὺν θεῷ φάναι μνησθήσομαι. 16.4 Οὕτω δὲ τῆς θείας γεωργίας ἐπιμελούμενος καὶ ψυχὰς ὁμοῦ θεραπεύων καὶ