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taking along the commander of the soldiers in Egypt with a multitude, he made an expedition against the monks in the deserts. For perhaps he thought that if he should annoy them, who loved quiet, he would have them obedient, and in this way especially 6..2 he would bring the Christians in the cities over to himself; inasmuch as many and divine men were then presiding over the monasteries there, and all of them rejected the opinion of Arius; and following the testimony of these men, the multitude also held the same opinion, neither willing nor knowing how to dispute and chatter about dogmas, but being persuaded that the truth was with those, 6..3 who showed virtue by their works; such as we hear the leaders of the Egyptian ascetics were at that time, the two Macarii, whom we have known in the preceding parts, and Pambo and Heracleides, and the other 6..4 disciples of Antony. Lucius therefore, reasoning that it would not be possible for the Arians to firmly control those of the catholic church unless he should show these monks to be of the same mind with them, attempted to use force; for he was not able to persuade them. 6..5 But he also missed his aim in this way, as they were prepared, even if it were necessary to die, and were ready to submit their necks to the 6..6 swords, rather than despise the doctrines of Nicaea. And it is said that then, when they were expecting the soldiers to attack them, a certain man was brought to them whose joints had been stiff for a long time and who was unable to stand on his feet. And when they had anointed him with oil, they exhorted him in the name of Christ, whom Lucius persecutes, to rise up and go home; and the man, suddenly becoming well, openly showed that one must hold similar opinions to these men, to whose truth God himself had attested while Lucius was being slandered, both by hearing those who called and by healing the sick man. 6..7 But because of this, those plotting against these monks did not repent, until indeed, having seized them at night, they led them away to a certain Egyptian island surrounded by lakes. And men uninitiated in the dogma of the Christians and superstitious inhabited this island, inasmuch as there being a very ancient temple among 6..8 them, they had great reverence for it. And when they landed there, they say that at the moment of the men's arrival, the daughter of the priest, seized by a demon, came out to meet them; and as the girl was raving and shouting, the people there, being astounded 6.. by the sudden and strange event, followed. And when they were near the ship, which carried the holy elders, lamenting and rolling on the ground she besought and cried out loudly: "Why indeed have you come to us, O servants of the great God? For this little island is an ancient dwelling-place for us; and we trouble no one; and unknown to all other men we remain hidden here, enclosed on all sides by these lakes; but if this is pleasing to you, receive our possession and make it your own; for we 6..10 yield." And she indeed uttered such words; but when those with Macarius rebuked the demon, the girl became sound of mind; and from there her father with his household and the entire population of the island converted to Christianity, and without delay, having torn down the temple among them, they converted it into a church. 6..11 But these things, being reported in Alexandria, grieved Lucius not a little; for he was in danger of being hated even by his own people, as declaring open war not against men, but against God himself; and immediately he secretly commanded those with Macarius to return to their own abodes and the desert. 6..12 Lucius, therefore, in this way was shaking Egypt. And at this time it was distinguished not only by Didymus the philosopher, who was flourishing at that time, but also by other famous men, looking to whose virtue and that of the monks there, it was opposed to those with Lucius. And the church throughout Egypt, even while being persecuted, greatly surpassed the Arians in numbers. 6.21.1 And this was also happening then among the Osroenians, and indeed also among the Cappadocians, inasmuch as they had obtained a certain divine and most eloquent pair

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παραλαβὼν τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ στρατιωτῶν σὺν πλήθει ἐπεστράτευε τοῖς ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις μοναχοῖς. ᾤετο γὰρ ἴσως, εἰ διενοχλήσειεν αὐτοὺς ἡσυχίας ἐρῶντας, πειθηνίους ἕξειν καὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα 6..2 τοὺς ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι Χριστιανοὺς πρὸς αὐτὸν μεταστήσειν· καθότι πολλοὶ καὶ θεσπέσιοι ἄνδρες προΐσταντο τότε τῶν αὐτόθι μοναστηρίων καὶ πάντες τὴν ᾿Αρείου δόξαν ἀπεστρέφοντο· τῇ δὲ μαρτυρίᾳ τούτων καὶ τὸ πλῆθος ἑπόμενον ὁμοίως ἐφρόνει, διαλέγεσθαι μὲν καὶ περὶ δογμάτων ἀδολεσχεῖν οὔτε θέλον οὔτε ἐπιστάμενον, παρ' ἐκείνοις δὲ πειθόμενον εἶναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, 6..3 οἳ τοῖς ἔργοις τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείκνυντο· ὁποίους τότε τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἀσκητῶν ἡγεμόνας γενέσθαι ἀκούομεν τοὺς δύο Μακαρίους, οὓς ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἔγνωμεν, καὶ Παμβὼ καὶ ῾Ηρακλείδην καὶ λοιποὺς ᾿Αντωνίου 6..4 μαθητάς. λογισάμενος οὖν Λούκιος, ὡς οὐκ ἐγγενήσεται τοῖς ᾿Αρείου βεβαίως κρατῆσαι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς καθόλου ἐκκλησίας, εἰ μὴ τοὺς μοναχοὺς τούτους ὁμόφρονας σφίσιν ἀποδείξειεν, ἐπεχείρει βιάζεσθαι· πείθειν γὰρ 6..5 οὐκ ἠδύνατο. διημάρτανε δὲ καὶ οὕτως τοῦ σκοποῦ, εἰ καὶ ἀποθανεῖν δέοι, παρεσκευασμένων αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς αὐχένας ἑτοίμως ὑποβαλλόντων τοῖς 6..6 ξίφεσιν, ἢ τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ δοξάντων ὑπεριδεῖν. λέγεται δὲ τότε προσδοκωμένων αὐτοῖς ἐπιθήσεσθαι τῶν στρατιωτῶν, διακομισθῆναί τινα πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐκ πολλοῦ τὰ ἄρθρα ἀπεσκληκότα καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ποδῶν στῆναι μὴ δυνάμενον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐλαίῳ τοῦτον ἔχρισαν, παρεκελεύσαντο ἐπ' ὀνόματι Χριστοῦ, ὃν Λούκιος διώκει, ἐξανίστασθαι καὶ οἴκαδε ἀπιέναι· ἐξαπίνης δὲ ὑγιὴς γενόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀναφανδὸν ἀπέδειξε παραπλήσια χρῆναι δοξάζειν τούτοις, οἷς καὶ θεὸς αὐτὸς ἀλήθειαν ἐπεψηφίσατο κακηγορουμένου Λουκίου, καὶ καλούντων ἐπακούσας καὶ τὸν κάμνοντα ἰασάμενος. 6..7 ᾿Αλλ' οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο μετεμελήθησαν οἱ τούτοις τοῖς μοναχοῖς ἐπιβουλεύοντες, εἰσότε δὴ νύκτωρ αὐτοὺς συλλαβόμενοι διήγαγον εἰς Αἰγυπτίαν τινὰ νῆσον ὑπὸ λιμνῶν κυκλουμένην. ᾤκουν δὲ ταύτην ἄνδρες ἀμύητοι τοῦ Χριστιανῶν δόγματος καὶ δεισιδαίμονες, καθότι καὶ παλαιοτάτου ναοῦ παρ' 6..8 αὐτοῖς ὄντος πολὺ τούτου σέβας εἶχον. ὡς δὲ κατῆραν ἐνταῦθα, φασὶν ἅμα τῇ ἐπιβάσει τῶν ἀνδρῶν δαίμονι κρατηθεῖσαν τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ ἱερέως εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῖς ἐλθεῖν· θεούσης δὲ καὶ βοώσης τῆς κόρης καταπλαγέντες 6.. οἱ τῇδε ἄνθρωποι τῷ αἰφνιδίῳ καὶ παραδόξῳ τοῦ πράγματος εἵποντο. ὡς δὲ πρὸς τῇ νηὶ ἐγένοντο, ἣ τοὺς ἱεροὺς πρεσβύτας ἔφερε, ποτνιωμένη καὶ ἐπὶ γῆν καλινδουμένη ἱκέτευε καὶ μέγα ἀνέκραγε· «τί δὴ καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἥκετε, ὦ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ θεράποντες; νησίον γὰρ τοῦτο παλαιὸν ἡμῖν ἐστιν οἰκητήριον· ὀχλοῦμεν δὲ οὐδενί· πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις ἀγνῶτες αὐτόθι λανθάνομεν ταύταις ταῖς λίμναις περικεκλεισμένοι πάντοθεν· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο φίλον ὑμῖν, δέχεσθε τὸ ἡμέτερον κτῆμα καὶ οἰκεῖον ποιήσατε· ἡμεῖς 6..10 δὲ ὑπείκομεν.» καὶ ἡ μὲν τοιαύτας ἠφίει φωνάς· ἐπιτιμησάντων δὲ τῷ δαιμονίῳ τῶν ἀμφὶ Μακάριον ἡ παῖς ἐσωφρόνησεν· ἐντεῦθεν δὲ ὁ ταύτης πατὴρ σὺν τοῖς οἰκείοις καὶ ἡ νῆσος πανδημεὶ εἰς Χριστιανισμὸν μετέβαλε, καὶ ἀμελλητὶ καθελόντες τὸν παρ' αὐτοῖς ναὸν εἰς ἐκκλησίαν μετεσκεύασαν. 6..11 Ταῦτα δὲ τοῖς ἐν ᾿Αλεξανδρείᾳ ἀγγελλόμενα οὐ μετρίως ἐλύπει τὸν Λούκιον· ἐκινδύνευε γὰρ καὶ παρὰ τῶν ἰδίων μισεῖσθαι, ὡς οὐκ ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλ' αὐτῷ τῷ θεῷ προφανῆ πόλεμον καταγγέλλων· αὐτίκα τε λάθρα τοὺς ἀμφὶ Μακάριον ἐπὶ τὰ ἴδια ἤθη καὶ τὴν ἔρημον ἐπανελθεῖν προσέταξεν. 6..12 ῾Ο μὲν οὖν Λούκιος ὧδε τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐδόνει. ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον οὐ μόνον ∆ιδύμῳ τῷ φιλοσόφῳ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ ἀκμάζοντι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλοις ἐλλογίμοις διέπρεπεν, ὧν εἰς τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀποβλέπουσα καὶ τῶν αὐτόθι μοναχῶν ἐναντίως εἶχε τοῖς ἀμφὶ Λούκιον. παρευδοκίμει δὲ τοὺς ᾿Αρείου πολλῷ τοῖς πλήθεσι καὶ διωκομένη ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον ἐκκλησία. 6.21.1 Τοῦτο δὲ τότε συνέβαινε καὶ παρὰ ᾿Οσροηνοῖς, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Καππαδόκαις, οἷά γε ξυνωρίδα τινὰ θείαν καὶ λογιωτάτην λαχοῦσι