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of the Christian faith, the high priest who had just come to them is summoned, and he inquired what things were being proclaimed by him and what they were about to be taught. And when he held out the sacred book of the divine gospel, and related to them some of the miracles of our savior and God, and unfolded to them the wonders worked by God according to the old history, "Unless we too see something similar," the Rus' said at once, "and especially such as what you say about the three children in the furnace, we will not believe you at all, nor will we lend our ears any longer to the things said by you." But he, trusting in the truthfulness of the one who said that "whatever you ask in my name you will receive" and that "he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do," when the things that are to happen are not for display but for the salvation of souls, said to them, "Even if 344 it is not permitted to test the Lord God, but still if you have decided from your soul to come to God, ask for whatever you wish, and God will certainly do this on account of your faith, even if we are humble and least." And they asked for the very book of the Christian faith, that is the divine and holy gospel, to be thrown into the fire kindled by them; and if it were kept unharmed and unburnt, they would come to the God preached by him. When these things were said, and the priest raised his eyes and his hands to God, and said, "Glorify your holy name, Jesus Christ our God, even now in the eyes of this entire nation," the book of the holy gospel was thrown into the furnace of fire. After a sufficient number of hours had passed, then when the furnace was extinguished, the holy volume was found to have remained unharmed and undamaged and to have received no injury or diminution from the fire, insomuch that not even the tassels on the clasps of the book had undergone any corruption or alteration whatsoever. When the barbarians saw this, and were astonished at the magnitude of the miracle, they began to be baptized without hesitation. 98 Thus then, as such works were being accomplished in the time of the reign of the wise emperor Basil, and as affairs were proceeding favorably according to his mind, and as life flourished day by day, and as cheerfulness danced around the city 345 and the palace, and as calm spread over almost every island and continent, suddenly a tempest and a storm and a squall of misfortunes reveled in the palace, lamentation and wailing and an Iliad of sorrows and a tragedy of afflictions danced around the palace. For the dearest and first-born son of the emperor, Constantine, in the very flower of his age, in the prime of his youth, as he was beginning to run with zeal toward his father's nobility, having fallen into an acute illness and having been scorched by fever for a few days, with all his vital moisture quickly consumed by the unnaturally fierce fire, he departed this life, leaving unspeakable grief for his father. However, since the educated man ought to conquer irrational passions with reason, and being a man himself and mortal, he knew he had a son likewise mortal, and for this reason, giving over to the women's quarters the lamenting of the event beyond measure as ignoble and unmanly, he quickly became himself again, and uttered the thankful voice of the noble Job, saying, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. As it seemed good to the Lord, so it has come to pass. Blessed be His name." And, "what," he says, "is so wonderful, if He who gave has taken back again, as he willed, what he had given?" and having become rather a comfort to the mother and the brothers, he was again at his usual tasks, presiding over orphans, assisting 346 widows, supplying soldiers and the poor, defending the wronged, and gladly and benevolently listening to those who feared the Lord, the profitable and salvific things and the kingdom above

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Χριστια- νῶν πίστεως, εἰσκαλεῖται ὁ αρτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς φοιτήσας ἀρχιερεύς, καὶ τίνα τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ καταγγελλόμενα καὶ αὐτοὺς διδάσκεσθαι μέλλοντα ἐπυνθάνετο. τοῦ δὲ τὴν ἱερὰν τοῦ θείου εὐαγγελίου βίβλον προτείναντος, καί τινα τῶν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ θεοῦ θαυμάτων αὐτοῖς ἀπαγγείλαντος, καὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τερατουρ- γηθέντων κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν τὴν ἱστορίαν αὐτοῖς ἀναπτύξαντος, "εἰ μή τι τῶν ὁμοίων" εφασαν εὐθέως οἱ ̔Ρῶς "καὶ ἡμεῖς θεασό- μεθα, καὶ μάλιστα οιον τὸ ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ τῶν τριῶν λέγεις παίδων, οὐκ αν σοι ολως πιστεύσωμεν, οὐδὲ τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν ετι τοῖς ὑπὸ σοῦ λεγομένοις ὑπόσχωμεν." ὁ δὲ πεποιθὼς ἐπὶ τῷ ἀψευδεῖ τοῦ εἰπόντος οτι ο ἐὰν αἰτήσητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου λήψεσθε καὶ οτι ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ τὰ εργα, α ἐγὼ ποιῶ, κἀκεῖνος ποιήσει, καὶ μείζονα τούτων ποιήσει, οταν οὐ πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν ἀλλὰ πρὸς σωτη- ρίαν ψυχῶν μέλλει γίνεσθαι τὰ γινόμενα, εφη πρὸς αὐτούς "εἰ 344 καὶ μὴ εξεστιν ἐκπειράζειν κύριον τὸν θεόν, ἀλλ' ομως εἰ ἐκ ψυ- χῆς διεγνώκατε προσελθεῖν τῷ θεῷ, αἰτήσασθε οπερ καὶ βούλεσθε, καὶ ποιήσει τοῦτο πάντως διὰ τὴν πίστιν ὑμῶν ὁ θεός, καν ἡμεῖς ἐσμὲν εὐτελεῖς καὶ ἐλάχιστοι." οἱ δὲ ᾐτήσαντο αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς πί- στεως τῶν Χριστιανῶν βιβλίον, ητοι τὸ θεῖον καὶ ἱερὸν εὐαγγέ- λιον, ἐν τῇ ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀναφθείσῃ ἐμβληθῆναι πυρκαϊᾷ· καὶ εἰ ἀβλαβὲς τηρηθείη καὶ ακαυστον, προσελθεῖν τῷ παρ' αὐτοῦ κη- ρυσσομένῳ θεῷ. ῥηθέντων δὲ τούτων, καὶ τοῦ ἱερέως πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπάραντος, καὶ εἰπόντος οτι δόξασόν σου τὸ αγιον ονομα, ̓Ιησοῦ Χριστὲ ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ νῦν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ εθνους τούτου παντός, ἐρρίφη εἰς τὴν κά- μινον τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου εὐαγγελίου βίβλος. ὡρῶν δὲ διελη- λυθυιῶν ἱκανῶν, ειτα τῆς καμίνου κατασβεσθείσης, εὑρέθη τὸ ἱερὸν πυκτίον διαμεῖναν ἀπαθὲς καὶ ἀλώβητον καὶ μηδεμίαν ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς δεξάμενον λύμην η μείωσιν, ὡς μηδὲ τῶν ἐν τοῖς κλει- δώμασι τῆς βίβλου κροσσῶν τὴν οἱανοῦν ὑπομεινάντων φθορὰν η ἀλλοίωσιν. οπερ ἰδόντες οἱ βάρβαροι, καὶ τῷ μεγέθει καταπλα- γέντες τοῦ θαύματος, ἀνενδοιάστως βαπτίζεσθαι ηρξαντο. 98 Ουτως ουν τῶν τοιούτων εργων ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ συνετοῦ βασιλέως Βασιλείου καταπραττομένων, καὶ δεξιῶς κατὰ νοῦν τῶν πραγμάτων χωρούντων αὐτῷ, καὶ τοῦ καθ' ἡμέραν θάλλοντος βίου, καὶ εὐθυμίας χορευούσης περὶ τὴν πόλιν 345 καὶ τὰ βασίλεια, καὶ γαλήνης ἡπλωμένης ἀνὰ πᾶσαν σχεδὸν νῆσον καὶ ηπειρον, ἐξαίφνης λαῖλαψ καὶ ζάλη καὶ καταιγὶς συμφορῶν τοῖς ἀνακτόροις ἐκώμασε, κοπετὸς καὶ θρῆνος καὶ ̓Ιλιὰς λυπηρῶν καὶ τραγῳδία θλιβερῶν ἐχόρευσε περὶ τὰ βασίλεια. ὁ γὰρ φίλτα- τος καὶ πρωτότοκος υἱὸς τῷ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντῖνος ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ανθει τῆς ἡλικίας, ἐν τῇ ἀκμῇ τῆς νεότητος, ἐν τῷ πρὸς ζῆλον αρχεσθαι τρέχειν τῆς πατρικῆς γενναιότητος, ὀξείᾳ νόσῳ περιπε- σὼν καὶ ἐπὶ ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις τῷ πυρετῷ καυσωθείς, πᾶσαν τὴν ζωτικὴν ἰκμάδα τοῦ παρὰ φύσιν λάβρου πυρὸς συντόμως ἐκδα- πανήσαντος, τὸν βίον ἐξέλιπε, πένθος ἀμύθητον καταλιπὼν τῷ πατρί. πλὴν ἐπεὶ λόγῳ κρατεῖν ὀφείλει τῶν ἀλόγων παθῶν ὁ πε- παιδευμένος ἀνήρ, καὶ αὐτὸς ανθρωπος ων καὶ θνητὸς ῃδει καὶ τὸν υἱὸν εχων ὁμοίως θνητόν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου τὸ συμβὰν ἀποδύρεσθαι ὡς ἀγεννές τε καὶ ανανδρον τῇ γυναικωνί- τιδι διδοὺς θᾶττον ἐγένετο ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τὴν εὐχάριστον τοῦ γεν- ναίου ̓Ιὼβ φωνὴν ἀνεφθέγξατο, "ὁ κύριος εδωκεν" εἰπών, "ὁ κύ- ριος αυθις ἀφείλατο. ὡς τῷ κυρίῳ εδοξεν, ουτω καὶ γέγονεν. ειη αὐτοῦ εὐλογημένον τὸ ονομα." καὶ "τί" φησί "θαυμαστόν, εἰ ὁ δοὺς πάλιν ἀπείληφεν, ὡς ἐβούλευεν, οπερ δέδωκεν;" καὶ μᾶλλον εἰς παραμυθίαν τῆς μητρὸς καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν γεγονὼς ην ἐπὶ τῶν συνήθων αυθις, προϊστάμενος ὀρφανῶν, χήραις ἐπικου- 346 ρῶν, χορηγῶν στρατιώταις καὶ πένησιν, ἀδικουμένοις ἐπαμύνων, καὶ τῶν φοβουμένων τὸν κύριον ἡδέως καὶ εὐμενῶς ἀκροώμενος, τὰ λυσιτελῆ καὶ σωτήρια καὶ τὴν ανω βασιλείαν