86

when he learned of this, he grew angry, and after using abusive language against the presbyter, he added this: "I did not say that, you blockhead, but I advised you to hold communion with those with whom the emperor holds communion." But when the presbyter said that they had a pastor and followed his commands, he arrested eighty of them at once and sent them into exile in Thrace. But as they were being led away, they enjoyed the greatest possible care; for both cities and villages met them, honoring the victorious champions. But envy armed their opponents and prepared them to say to the emperor that what was intended as a disgrace had brought those men very great honor. When Valens learned this, he ordered them to be divided two by two, and some to be scattered to Thrace, others to the remote parts of Arabia, and others to the small towns of the Thebaid. They say that the most cruel men even separated those whom nature had 241 joined together, and parted brothers from each other. And he sent Eulogius, the leader of the others, and Protogenes, who was next after him, to Antinoë in the Thebaid. But I will not consign their virtue to oblivion either. For when they found the bishop of the city to be of one mind with them and took part in the ecclesiastical assemblies, they saw very few people gathering, and on inquiring learned that the inhabitants of the city were pagans; they were grieved, as was natural, and mourned their unbelief; however, they did not think it sufficient to mourn, but to the best of their ability they took measures for their cure. For the divine Eulogius, confined in a small house, implored the God of all day and night. But the admirable Protogenes, who was educated in the letters of Eunomius and skilled in rapid writing, found a suitable place and, having declared it a school and academy, became a teacher of boys, and at the same time taught them to write quickly and instructed them in the divine oracles. For he would dictate to them the melodies of David and prepare them to learn the appropriate parts of the apostolic teaching. And when one of the boys fell ill, he went to the house and, touching the right hand of the sick one, drove out the illness with prayer. When the fathers of the other children learned of this, they brought him to their homes and begged him to help the sick. But he said he would not beseech God to drive away the illness until the sick person was deemed worthy of the gift of baptism. And they readily 242 obeyed (for the desire for health urged them on), and at the same time they reaped health of both soul and body. And whenever he persuaded one of the healthy to partake of the divine grace, he would lead him to Eulogius, and knocking on the door, would ask him to open it and to place the master's seal on the one who had been captured. And when the other grew annoyed that his prayer was being interrupted, this one would say that the salvation of those who are astray is more necessary. And everyone marveled at Protogenes, seeing him performing such wonders and imparting the light of the knowledge of God to so many, yet yielding the first place to Eulogius and bringing those he had captured to him. They therefore rightly surmised that his virtue was much greater and superior. But when the storm ceased and a clear calm ensued and they were ordered to return, everyone sent them on their way, lamenting and weeping, not least the leader of the church, being deprived of their husbandry. And when they reached their native land, the divine Eulogius, after the great Barses had passed on to the life without sorrow, was entrusted with the rudders of the church that had been governed by him; and the admirable Protogenes was assigned to cultivate Carrhae, a city left fallow and filled with pagan thorns and in need of much hard work. These things, then, happened after the peace of the churches. But Valens, having stripped, so to speak, every church of its pastor, hastened to Caesarea, whose inhabitants are Cappadocians; 243 at that time its leader was Basil, the light of the world. And he sent ahead the

86

αἰσθόμενος ἐχαλέπηνε, καὶ λοιδορίαις κατὰ τοῦ πρεσβύτου χρησάμενος καὶ ταῦτα προστέθεικεν· "οὐ τοῦτο εἶπον, ἐμβρόντητε, ἀλλ' οἷς κοινωνεῖ ὁ βασιλεύς, κοινωνῆ σαι ὑμῖν παρῄνεσα". ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶπεν ὁ πρεσβύτης καὶ ποιμένα ἔχειν καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνου νεύμασιν ἕπεσθαι, ὀγδοήκοντα κατὰ ταὐτὸν συλλα βὼν εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην ἐξέπεμψεν. ἀπαγόμενοι δὲ θεραπείας ἀπήλαυον ὅτι μάλιστα πλείστης· καὶ πόλεις γὰρ ὑπήντων καὶ κῶμαι, γεραίρου σαι τοὺς νικηφόρους ἀγωνιστάς. ἀλλ' ὁ φθόνος τοὺς ἀντιπάλους ὁπλίσας φάναι τῷ βασιλεῖ παρεσκεύασεν, ὡς τιμὴν παμπόλλην τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐκείνοις ἡ νομισθεῖσα προὐξένησεν ἀτιμία. ταῦτα μαθὼν ὁ Βάλης ἀνὰ δύο διαιρεθῆναι προσέταξε, καὶ τοὺς μὲν εἰς τὴν Θρᾴκην, τοὺς δὲ εἰς τὰς τῆς Ἀραβίας ἐσχατιάς, ἄλλους δὲ εἰς τὰς τῆς Θηβαΐδος διασπαρῆναι πολίχνας. φασὶ δὲ καὶ οὓς ἡ φύσις συνέ 241 ζευξε διαζεῦξαι τοὺς ὠμοτάτους, καὶ ἀδελφοὺς ὄντας ἀπ' ἀλλήλων χωρίσαι. Εὐλόγιον δὲ τὸν τῶν ἄλλων ἡγούμενον καὶ Πρωτογένην τὸν μετ' ἐκεῖνον εἰς Ἀντινὼ τὴν Θηβαίων ἐξέπεμψεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδὲ τὴν τούτων ἀρετὴν παραδώσω τῇ λήθῃ. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὁμογνώμονα τὸν τῆς πόλεως εὑρόντες ἐπίσκοπον τῶν ἐκκλησι αστικῶν ἐκοινώνουν συλλόγων, μάλα δὲ ὀλίγους εἶδον συναθροιζο μένους, καὶ πυθόμενοι ἔγνωσαν Ἕλληνας εἶναι τοὺς τὴν πόλιν οἰ κοῦντας, ἤλγησαν μὲν ὡς εἰκὸς καὶ τὴν ἀπιστίαν ἐθρήνησαν· οὐ μὴν ἀποχρῆναι ἐνόμισαν τὸ θρηνεῖν, ἀλλ' εἰς δύναμιν τῆς τούτων ἰατρείας ἐπεμελήθησαν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεῖος Εὐλόγιος, ἐν οἰκίσκῳ καθειργμένος, πανημέριον καὶ παννύχιον τὸν τῶν ὅλων ἠντιβόλει θεόν. Πρωτο γένης δὲ ὁ ἀξιάγαστος, τὰ Εὐνομίου γράμματα πεπαιδευμένος καὶ γράφειν εἰς τάχος ἠσκημένος, τόπον εὑρὼν ἐπιτήδειον καὶ τοῦτον διδασκαλεῖον καὶ παιδαγωγεῖον ἀποφήνας, μειρακίων κατέστη διδά σκαλος, καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν γράφειν τε εἰς τάχος ἐδίδασκε καὶ τὰ θεῖα ἐξεπαίδευε λόγια. ∆αυϊτικάς τε γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὑπηγόρευε μελῳδίας καὶ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας ἐκμανθάνειν τὰ πρόσφορα παρεσκεύαζεν. ἑνὸς δὲ τῶν μειρακίων νόσῳ περιπεσόντος, ἀφίκετό τε εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ νοσοῦντος ἁψάμενος προσευχῇ τὴν νόσον ἐξή λασε. τοῦτο μεμαθηκότες οἱ τῶν ἄλλων παίδων πατέρες ἦγόν τε αὐτὸν εἰς τὰς οἰκίας καὶ τοῖς ἀρρωστοῦσιν ἐπικουρεῖν ἠντιβόλουν. ὁ δὲ οὐ πρότερον ἔφη τὸν θεὸν ἱκετεύσειν ἀπελάσαι τὴν νόσον, πρὶν ἀξιωθῆναι τὸν ἄρρωστον τῆς τοῦ βαπτίσματος δωρεᾶς. οἱ δὲ προ 242 θύμως ὑπήκουον (κατήπειγε γὰρ αὐτοὺς τῆς ὑγείας ὁ πόθος), καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν ψυχῆς τε καὶ σώματος τὴν ὑγείαν ἐδρέποντο. εἰ δέ ποτέ τινα τῶν ἐρρωμένων ἔπεισε τῆς θείας μεταλαχεῖν χάριτος, ἀπῆγε τοῦτον πρὸς τὸν Εὐλόγιον, καὶ πατάσσων τὴν θύραν ἀνοῖξαι παρεκάλει καὶ τὴν δεσποτικὴν ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ θηρευθέντι σφραγίδα. ἐκείνου δὲ δυσχεραίνοντος ὡς διακοπτομένης τῆς προσευχῆς, οὗτος ἔλεγεν ἀναγκαιοτέραν εἶναι τῶν πλανωμένων τὴν σωτηρίαν. ἐθαύ μαζον δὲ ἅπαντες τὸν Πρωτογένην, θεώμενοι τοιαῦτα μὲν θαυμα τουργοῦντα, τοσούτοις δὲ τοῦ τῆς θεογνωσίας μεταδιδόντα φωτός, καὶ τῷ Εὐλογίῳ τῶν πρωτείων παραχωροῦντα καὶ τοὺς ἀγρευο μένους ἐκείνῳ προσάγοντα. ἐτόπαζον δὴ οὖν εἰκότως πολλῷ πλείονα εἶναι τὴν ἐκείνου καὶ ὑπερτέραν ἀρετήν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοῦ κλύδωνος παυσαμένου καὶ καθαρᾶς γενομένης γαλήνης ἐπανελθεῖν προσετά χθησαν, προὔπεμψαν αὐτοὺς ἅπαντες ὀλοφυρόμενοι καὶ δακρύοντες, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ ὁ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡγούμενος, τῆς ἐκείνων γεωργίας ἐστερημένος. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν κατέλαβον, ὁ μὲν θεῖος Εὐ λόγιος, Βάρσου τοῦ μεγάλου μεταστάντος εἰς τὸν ἄλυπον βίον, τῆς ὑπ' ἐκείνου κυβερνωμένης ἐκκλησίας ἐπιστεύθη τοὺς οἴακας· ὁ δὲ ἀξιάγαστος Πρωτογένης γεωργεῖν ἐτάχθη τὰς Κάρρας, πόλιν κεχερ σωμένην καὶ ἀκανθῶν Ἑλληνικῶν πεπληρωμένην καὶ πολλῆς δεο μένην φιλοπονίας. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν μετὰ τὴν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν εἰρήνην ἐγένετο. Ὁ δὲ Βάλης, πᾶσαν ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ ποιμένος γυμνώσας, εἰς τὴν Καισάρειαν ὥρμησεν ἧς οἰκήτορες Καππαδόκαι 243 ἡγεῖτο δὲ ταύτης τηνικαῦτα Βασίλειος, ὁ τῆς οἰκουμένης φωστήρ. προὔπεμψε δὲ τὸν