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he was loved by him and was admired for his personal merits; for he appeared to be noble in hand and intelligent in spirit and quick and fit for every command. 10 But his mother, constantly lamenting for him, and being despondent and distressed because she had not yet learned how his journey abroad had prospered, saw again in her sleep a great plant resembling a cypress, standing in her courtyard, covered with golden leaves and having golden branches and a golden trunk, above which, over the top, her son Basil was seated. Having awakened and after a day, she related the things of the vision to a certain pious woman, who, night and day, like that Anna, did not depart from the divine temple but devoted herself to prayers and fastings 226. And she advised her to be of good cheer about her son, and judging what had been seen, she declared that it surely signified that your son would become emperor of the Romans. Therefore, having added this also to the previous things, the mother no longer grieved for him nor was distressed, but, being nourished by hopes and awaiting help from above, she revived. 11 It happened at that time that Basil's master, Theophilus, was sent to the Peloponnese for certain public services by the emperor Michael and by Bardas the Caesar. And Basil was with him, ministering to him in the service assigned to him. And when the aforementioned Theophilus came to Patras in Achaia, he went into the church of the first-called apostle Andrew to pray. But Basil, being occupied, as it seems, with his own service, did not enter with him, but later, alone, he also went to that church to pay the reverence owed to the apostle. But a certain monk who was spending his time there and passing most of his time in the apostle's church, seeing Theophilus enter, neither stood up nor prayed for him nor deemed him worthy of a word, not even respecting the escort and splendor around him, as was likely; but later, when Basil entered, he rose up as if for one of the greater ones and offered the acclamation customary for emperors. Some of those present there, having seen 227 and heard this, reported it to the noble and very wealthy woman of those parts, who was named Danielis after her husband. But she, knowing the monk by experience, that he had been deemed worthy of the gift of foresight, was not negligent concerning what was said, but summoning the monk, she went to him, reproaching him. "For so long a time," she said, "I happen to be known to you, spiritual father, and you know that I am above the many and preeminent and foremost among those in this country, and you have never risen up upon seeing me nor prayed for me, nor have you rendered such honor to my son or grandson. And how is it that now, seeing a humble and foreign man, not even known to the many, you both rose up and honored him as an emperor?" But that pious monk answered her that, "Not as you say, I did not see the man as one of the common sort, but I saw him as a great emperor of the Romans, anointed by Christ, and I rose up and acclaimed him; for to those honored by God, honor from men is also certainly owed." Therefore, when Basil's master had stayed in those parts for some time, and had completed the public services entrusted to him and was about to return to the imperial city, since Basil happened to be afflicted by a bodily illness, he was left behind there. And having received the proper care, after some time he became stronger than the illness and he too prepared for the journey up. But the aforesaid woman Danielis, summoning him, received him with many and 228 great gifts, very prudently and wisely, as if some seed into good

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ἠγαπᾶτο παρ' αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις προτερήμασιν ἐθαυμάζετο· ἐφαίνετο γὰρ καὶ κατὰ χεῖρα γενναῖος καὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν συνετὸς καὶ πρὸς τὸ κελευόμενον πᾶν ὀξύς τε καὶ ἐπιτήδειος. 10 ̔Η δὲ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ διηνεκῶς ποτνιωμένη περὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διὰ τὸ μήπω μαθεῖν οπως αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς ἀποδημίας εὐώδωται δυσθυμοῦσά τε καὶ ἀσχάλλουσα, βλέπει πάλιν κατὰ τοὺς υπνους μέγα φυτὸν κυπαρίσσῳ προσεοικός, κατὰ τὴν αὐλὴν αὐτῆς ἑστη- κός, φύλλοις τε χρυσοῖς πυκαζόμενον καὶ χρυσοῦς τοὺς κλάδους καὶ τὸ στέλεχος εχον, ουπερ υπερθεν ὑπὲρ κορυφῆς ὁ ταύτης υἱὸς Βασίλειος ἐκαθέζετο. διυπνισθεῖσα δὲ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν τινὶ τῶν εὐλαβῶν γυναικῶν, η νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας κατὰ τὴν Ανναν ἐκείνην οὐκ ἀφίστατο ἀπὸ τοῦ θείου ναοῦ ἀλλὰ ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ νηστείαις 226 ἐσχόλαζε, τὰ τῆς οψεως διηγήσατο. ἡ δὲ εὐθυμεῖν τε παρῄνεσεν ἐπὶ τῷ υἱῷ, καὶ τὸ ὁραθὲν ἐπικρίνασα βεβαίως δηλοῦν ἀπεφήνατο βασιλέα ̔Ρωμαίων γενέσθαι σου τὸν υἱόν. τοῖς προτέροις ουν καὶ τοῦτο προσλαβοῦσα λοιπὸν ἡ μήτηρ οὐκέτι περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐδυσφόρει οὐδὲ ησχαλλεν, ἀλλὰ τρεφομένη ταῖς ἐλπίσι καὶ τὴν ανωθεν ἀντί- ληψιν ἐκδεχομένη ἀνέθαλλεν. 11 Συνέβη δὲ κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον τὸν κύριον τοῦ Βασιλείου Θεόφιλον διά τινας τοῦ δημοσίου δουλείας παρὰ τοῦ βασιλεύοντος Μιχαὴλ καὶ Βάρδα τοῦ Καίσαρος ἀποσταλῆναι εἰς Πελοπόννησον. συνῆν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Βασίλειος, εἰς τὴν ἀφορι- σθεῖσαν αὐτῷ δουλείαν καθυπουργῶν. γενόμενος δὲ κατὰ τὰς Πάτρας τῆς ̓Αχαΐας ὁ εἰρημένος Θεόφιλος εἰσῄει εἰς τὸν τοῦ πρω-τοκλήτου ἀποστόλου ̓Ανδρέου ναὸν προσευξόμενος. ὁ δὲ Βασί- λειος περὶ τὴν οἰκείαν διακονίαν, ὡς εοικεν, ἀσχολούμενος οὐ συν- εισῆλθεν αὐτῷ, ἀλλ' υστερον καταμόνας τὸ ὀφειλόμενον καὶ αὐ- τὸς τῷ ἀποστόλῳ σέβας ἀποδιδοὺς πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον ναὸν παρα- γέγονε. μοναχὸς δέ τις ἐκεῖσε ποιούμενος τὰς διατριβὰς καὶ τὸν πλείονα χρόνον ἐν τῷ τοῦ ἀποστόλου σχολάζων ναῷ τὸν μὲν Θεό- φιλον εἰσελθόντα ἰδὼν ουτε διανέστη ουτε ἐπηύξατο ουτε τινὸς ἠξίωσε ῥήματος, μηδὲ τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν ὡς εἰκὸς δορυφορίαν καὶ λαμπρότητα αἰδεσθείς· υστερον δὲ τοῦ Βασιλείου εἰσερχομένου ὑπεξανέστη τε ως τινι τῶν κρειττόνων καὶ τὴν ἐξ εθους τοῖς βασι- λεῦσιν εὐφημίαν προσήνεγκεν. οπερ τῶν ἐκεῖσε τυχόντων ἰδόντες 227 καὶ ἀκηκοότες τινὲς τῇ κατὰ τοὺς τόπους ἐκείνους εὐγενεῖ καὶ πλουσιωτάτῃ γυναικί, η ∆ανηλὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ταύτης ἀνδρὸς ὠνομά- ζετο, ἀπαγγέλλουσιν. ἐκείνη δὲ διὰ πείρας τὸν μοναχὸν γινώ- σκουσα, οτι προορατικοῦ χαρίσματος κατηξίωται, οὐκ ἐγένετο περὶ τὸ λεχθὲν ἀμελής, ἀλλὰ μετακαλεσαμένη τὸν μοναχὸν διῆλθε προσονειδίζουσα. "τοσοῦτος χρόνος ἐξ ου σοι γνώριμος" εφη "τυγχάνω, πάτερ πνευματικέ, καὶ οιδάς με πάντως ουσαν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ταύτῃ ὑπερέχουσαν καὶ προάρ- χουσαν, καὶ οὐδέποτε ουτ' ἐπηγέρθης θεασάμενός με ουτε ἐπηύξω μοι, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τῷ υἱῷ η τῷ ἐκγόνῳ μου τὴν τοιαύτην τιμὴν ἀπέ- νειμας. καὶ πῶς νῦν ανθρωπον εὐτελῆ καὶ ξένον μηδὲ γνώριμον τοῖς πολλοῖς ἰδὼν καὶ ὑπεξανέστης καὶ ὡς βασιλέα ἐτίμησας;" ὁ δὲ εὐλαβὴς ἐκεῖνος μοναχὸς πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀπεκρίνατο οτι οὐχ ὡς σὺ λέγεις, ενα τῶν τυχόντων ειδον τὸν ανδρα ἐγώ, ἀλλ' ὡς μέγαν βασιλέα τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ κεχρισμένον ειδον, καὶ ἐξανέ- στην καὶ ἐπευφήμησα· τοῖς γὰρ ὑπὸ θεοῦ τετιμημένοις ὀφειλομένη πάντως ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τιμή." διατρίψαντος τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς ἐκεῖσε μέρεσιν ἐπὶ χρόνον τινὰ τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ Βασιλείου, καὶ τὰς ἐπιτραπείσας αὐτῷ τοῦ δημοσίου δουλείας ἀνύσαντος καὶ ἀνα- τρέχειν πρὸς τὴν βασιλεύουσαν μέλλοντος, ἐπεὶ ετυχεν ἀσθενείᾳ σώματος ληφθεὶς ὁ Βασίλειος, αὐτόθι καταλιμπάνεται. ἐπιμε- λείας δὲ τῆς προσηκούσης τυχὼν μετὰ χρόνον τινὰ τῆς νόσου κρείττων ἐγένετο καὶ πρὸς τὴν ανοδον καὶ αὐτὸς ἡτοιμάζετο. με- τακαλεσαμένη δὲ αὐτὸν ἡ προρρηθεῖσα γυνὴ ∆ανηλὶς πολλοῖς καὶ 228 μεγάλοις δεξιοῦται χαρίσμασιν, ἐμφρόνως πάνυ καὶ συνετῶς ωσπερ τινὰ σπόρον εἰς ἀγαθὴν