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He turned these things over in his mind always, and conversed with God, being united to Him through prayer and the highest contemplation. and thus he completed his journey intensely, hastening to reach the place where Barlaam lived. He was fed by the herbs growing in the desert; for he carried nothing else, as I have already said, except only his own body and the rag with which he was clothed. But while providing for himself meager and paltry food from the herbs, he was completely without water, since that desert was waterless and dry. Then indeed, around midday, with the sun burning intensely, as he held to his journey, he himself was burned more intensely with the thirst of the heat in a waterless land, and was afflicted with the utmost affliction; but his longing conquered nature, and the thirst he had for God cooled the flame of his thirst for water. But the devil, that hater of good and envious one, not bearing to see in him such a purpose and so fervent a love for God, stirred up many temptations for him in the desert, suggesting to him the memory of his royal glory and the most brilliant bodyguard that attended him, of friends and relatives and companions, and how the souls of all depended on his soul, and the other comforts of life; then he set before him the harshness of virtue and its many toils, the weakness of his body 568 and its being unaccustomed to such hardship, and the length of time, and the present necessity of thirst, and that from nowhere was he to expect comfort or an end to so great a labor; and in short he raised up a great dust cloud of thoughts in his mind, just as is written somewhere about the great Antony. But when the enemy saw himself being weak against his purpose (for he, thinking on Christ and burning with longing for him, being well strengthened by hope and supported by faith, considered his exaggerations as nothing), the foe was put to shame, having fallen at the first assault, as they say. Therefore he came by another path (for many are his paths of wickedness), and tried to overthrow him with various phantoms and to cast him into cowardice, at one time appearing to him as black, such as he is; at another, holding a drawn sword, he leaped upon him, and threatened to strike, if he did not turn back more quickly; at other times he took on the forms of all kinds of beasts, roaring against him and making a most terrible bellowing and noise; then he also transformed into a dragon and an asp and a basilisk. But that good and most noble athlete was calm in his soul, since he had made the Most High his refuge. Being sober in his mind and mocking the evil one, he said: You have not escaped my notice, O deceiver, who you are, you who stir up these things for me, you who from the beginning have contrived evil for the race of men, and are always wicked and never cease from doing harm. but as is 570 fitting and most proper for you, by this very thing, being likened to beasts and serpents, you show the beastliness and crookedness of your mind, and the venomous and harmful nature of your will. Why then do you attempt impossible things, wretched one? For since I have known that these devices and terrors are of your wickedness, I have no longer any concern for you. The Lord is my helper, and I shall look upon my enemies, and upon the asp and basilisk you resemble I will tread, and I will trample you, the lion and the dragon, being strengthened by the power of Christ. Let all my enemies be ashamed and confounded; let them be turned back and be greatly ashamed with speed. Saying these things, and arming himself with the sign of the cross as an unconquerable weapon, he rendered all the devil's fantasies powerless. For immediately the beasts and the serpents vanished, as smoke vanishes, and as wax melts before the face of fire; and he, being strong in the power of Christ, went on his way

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Ταῦτα ἔστρεφε καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἀεί, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ διελέγετο, διὰ προσευχῆς αὐτῷ καὶ θεωρίας ὑψηλοτάτης ἑνούμενος. καὶ οὕτω συντόνως τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν διήνυε, τὸν χῶρον σπεύδων καταλαβεῖν, ἔνθα Βαρλαὰμ διῆγεν. ἐτρέφετο δὲ ταῖς φυομέναις βοτάναις κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο ἐπεφέρετο, καθάπερ ἔφθην εἰπών, εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἴδιον καὶ τὸ ῥάκος ὃ περιεβέβλητο. Ἀλλὰ τροφὴν μὲν μετρίαν καὶ οὐδαμινὴν ἐκ τῶν βοτανῶν ποριζόμενος, ὕδατος παντελῶς ἠπόρει, ἀνύδρου καὶ ξηρᾶς οὔσης τῆς ἐρήμου ἐκείνης. ἤδη τοίνυν περὶ τὰς μεσημβρίας, τοῦ ἡλίου σφοδρὸν φλέγοντος, τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ἐχόμενος, σφοδρότερον αὐτὸς ἐφλέγετο ἐν δίψει καύματος ἐν ἀνύδρῳ, καὶ τὴν ἐσχάτην ἐταλαιπωρεῖτο ταλαιπωρίαν· ἀλλ' ἐνίκα ὁ πόθος τὴν φύσιν, καὶ ἡ δίψα, ἣν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐδίψα, τὴν φλόγα ἐδρόσιζε τῆς τοῦ ὕδατος δίψης. Ὁ δὲ μισόκαλος καὶ φθονερὸς διάβολος, μὴ ὑποφέρων ἐν αὐτῷ τὴν τοιαύτην ὁρᾶν πρόθεσιν καὶ οὕτω θερμοτάτην πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπην, πολλοὺς αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον ἐξήγειρε πειρασμούς, ὑποβάλλων αὐτῷ μνήμην τῆς βασιλικῆς αὐτοῦ δόξης καὶ τῆς παρισταμένης αὐτῷ λαμπροτάτης δορυφορίας, φίλων τε καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ ὁμηλίκων, καὶ ὡς αἱ πάντων ψυχαὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐξήρτηντο ψυχῆς, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀνέσεις τοῦ βίου· εἶτα τὸ τραχὺ τῆς ἀρετῆς προεβάλλετο καὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς αὐτῆς ἱδρῶτας, τοῦ σώματός 568 τε τὴν ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸ ἀσύνηθες αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ταλαιπωρίᾳ, καὶ τοῦ χρόνου τὸ μῆκος, τὴν ἐν χερσίν τε ἀνάγκην τῆς δίψης, καὶ τὸ μηδαμόθεν ἐκδέχεσθαι παράκλησιν ἢ τέλος τοῦ τοσούτου κόπου· καὶ ὅλως πολὺν αὐτῷ ἤγειρε κονιορτὸν τῶν λογισμῶν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ, καθά που καὶ περὶ τοῦ μεγάλου γέγραπται Ἀντωνίου. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἀσθενοῦντα πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνου πρόθεσιν (τὸν Χριστὸν γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐνθυμούμενος καὶ τῷ ἐκείνου πόθῳ φλεγόμενος, ῥωννύμενός τε καλῶς τῇ ἐλπίδι καὶ τῇ πίστει στηριζόμενος, εἰς οὐδὲν τὰς ἐκείνου ὑπερβολὰς ἐλογίζετο), κατῃσχύνθη ὁ πολέμιος ἐκ πρώτης, ὃ λέγεται, προσβολῆς πεσών. ἑτέραν οὖν ἔρχεται ὁδόν (πολλαὶ γὰρ αὐτῷ αἱ τῆς κακίας τρίβοι), καὶ φαντάσμασι ποικίλοις ἀνατρέπειν αὐτὸν ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ εἰς δειλίαν ἐμβαλεῖν, ποτὲ μὲν μέλας αὐτῷ φαινόμενος, οἷός ἐστι· ποτὲ δέ, ῥομφαίαν ἐσπασμένην κατέχων, ἐπεπήδα αὐτῷ, καὶ πατάξαι ἠπείλει, εἰ μὴ θᾶττον εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω στραφῇ· ἄλλοτε θηρίων ὑπήρχετο παντοδαπῶν μορφάς, βρυχῶν κατ' αὐτοῦ καὶ δεινότατον ἀποτελῶν μυκηθμὸν καὶ ψόφον· εἶτα καὶ εἰς δράκοντα μετεμορφοῦτο καὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον. ὁ δὲ καλὸς ἐκεῖνος καὶ γενναιότατος ἀθλητὴς ἀτρέμας ἦν τὴν ψυχήν, ἅτε δὴ τὸν ὕψιστον ἑαυτοῦ καταφυγὴν θέμενος. νήφων δὲ τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ κατεγγελῶν τοῦ πονηροῦ, ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἔλαθές με, ὦ ἀπατεών, ὅστις εἶ, ὁ ταῦτά μοι ἐγείρων, ὁ ἐξ ἀρχῆς κακὰ τεκταινόμενος τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῷ γένει, καὶ ἀεί ποτε πονηρὸς ὢν καὶ τὸ βλάπτειν οὐδαμῶς ἀπολείπων. ἀλλ' ὡς 570 προσῆκόν σοι τὸ σχῆμα καὶ οἰκειότατον, αὐτῷ δὴ τούτῳ τῷ θηρίοις καὶ ἑρπετοῖς ὁμοιοῦσθαι, τὸ θηριῶδές σου τῆς γνώμης καὶ σκολιόν, ἰοβόλον τε καὶ βλαπτικὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως ἐνδεικνυμένῳ. τί οὖν ἀνηνύτοις ἐπιχειρεῖς, ἄθλιε; ἐξότε γὰρ ἔγνων τῆς σῆς εἶναι κακίας τὰ μηχανήματα ταῦτα καὶ φόβητρα, οὐδεμία μοι λοιπὸν ἔτι ἐστὶ φροντὶς περὶ σοῦ. Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός, κἀγὼ ἐπόψομαι τοὺς ἐχθρούς μου, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον σε ἐπιβήσομαι οἷς ὁμοιοῦσαι, καὶ καταπατήσω σε τὸν λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα, τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Χριστοῦ κραταιούμενος. αἰσχυνθείησαν καὶ ἐντραπείησαν πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί μου· ἀποστραφείησαν καὶ καταισχυνθείησαν σφόδρα διὰ τάχους. Ταῦτα λέγων, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἑαυτῷ περιβαλὼν ὅπλον ἀκαταγώνιστον, πάσας τὰς τοῦ διαβόλου φαντασίας κατήργησεν. εὐθὺς γὰρ τά τε θηρία καὶ τὰ ἑρπετά, ὡς ἐκλείπει καπνός, ἐξέλιπον, καὶ ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός· αὐτὸς δέ, τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυνάμει ἰσχύων, ἐπορεύετο