Prooemium ad historiam Lausiacam [Sp.]

Prologue to the life of the holy fathers In this book is written down the virtuous discipline and wonderful manner of life of the blessed and holy fathers, monks and anchorites in the desert, for the zeal and imitation of those wishing to achieve the heavenly way of life and desiring to travel the road that leads to the kingdom of heaven; and memorials of aged women and famous, divinely-inspired mothers, who with a courageous and perfect spirit accomplished the labors of virtuous discipline, for an example and a desire for those wishing to bind on the crown of self-control and purity; because of † a certain most excellent man, learned in judgment, peaceful in character, pious in heart, and God-loving in mind, and generous to those in need, and preferred to many select men for the highest offices on account of the goodness of his ways, and wholly guarded by the power of the divine spirit, who commanded us, or rather, if the truth must be told, who stirred our sluggish mind to the contemplation of better things for the imitation and rivalry of the virtues of the 4 discipline of our holy and immortal spiritual fathers and of those who have lived in the pleasure of God with much harsh treatment of the body; so that we, having written down the lives of the invincible athletes, might send them to him, proclaiming the manifest virtues of each of the great ones. And the lover of this divine and spiritual desire is the best of men, Lausus, who after the inclination of God has been appointed guardian of the inspired and pious kingdom. I, therefore, who am uneducated in speech and have tasted spiritual knowledge only superficially, and am unworthy of the catalogue of the spiritual life of the holy fathers, fearing the immeasurable magnitude of the command beyond my power, was vexed by the command, which requires much both of external wisdom and of spiritual understanding; however, being first reverent of the earnest virtue of him who stirred us to this command, and considering also the benefit of the readers, and fearing also the danger in a reasonable disobedience, having first entrusted the noble command to Providence and having used much prayer, being winged by the intercession of the holy fathers, I entered into the contests of the arena, and having written down in summary only the highest prizes and signs of the noble athletes and great men, not only of famous men who have achieved the best way of life but also of blessed and graceful women who have practiced the highest way of life. And of some I was counted worthy to see their venerable persons with my own eyes, but of those who had already been perfected in the arena of piety, I learned their heavenly way of life from the God-bearing athletes of Christ. And having wandered through many cities and very many villages, and every cave and all the tents of the monks in the desert, on foot for the purpose of piety with all accuracy, what I myself investigated I wrote down, and what I heard from the holy fathers, having recorded in this book the labors of great men and of women more courageous than their nature for the hope in Christ, I have sent it to your ear that is a friend of the divine oracles, O ornament of the best and most God-loving men and glory of the most faithful and God-loving kingdom, genuine and Christ-loving servant of God 5 Lausus, having inscribed according to my own brevity the famous name of each of the athletes of Christ, both male and female, and having recounted from the many and very great labors of each a few and extremely brief ones, having added of the

Prooemium ad historiam Lausiacam [Sp.]

Προοίμιον τοῦ βίου τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ βίβλῳ ἀναγέγραπται ἐνάρετος ἄσκησις καὶ θαυμαστὴ βίου διαγωγὴ τῶν μακαρίων καὶ ἁγίων πατέρων μοναχῶν καὶ ἀναχωρητῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, πρὸς ζῆλον καὶ μίμησιν τῶν τὴν οὐράνιον πολιτείαν ἐθελόντων κατορθοῦν καὶ τὴν εἰς βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἄγουσαν βουλομένων ὁδεύειν ὁδόν· καὶ γυναικῶν πρεσβυτίδων καὶ ἀοιδίμων θεοπνεύστων μητέρων μνῆμαι, τῶν ἀνδρείῳ καὶ τελείῳ φρονήματι τοὺς τῆς ἐναρέτου ἀσκήσεως ἄθλους ἐξανυσασῶν, πρὸς ὑπογραμμὸν καὶ ἔρωτα τῶν ἐθελουσῶν τὸν τῆς ἐγκρατείας καὶ ἁγνείας ἀναδήσασθαι στέφανον· διὰ τὸ † ἀνδρός τινος παγκρατίστου καὶ τῇ γνώμῃ πολυμαθοῦς καὶ τὸ ἦθος εἰρηνικοῦ καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ εὐσεβοῦς καὶ τῇ διανοίᾳ θεοφιλοῦς, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δεομένους τῶν χρειῶν κοινωνικοῦ, καὶ αὐτῇ κορυφῇ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων διὰ χρηστότητα τρόπων πολλῶν λογάδων ἀνδρῶν προτετιμημένου, καὶ τὸ ὅλον τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ θείου πνεύματος φρουρουμένου, ἐπιτάξαντος ἡμῖν, μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ χρὴ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, πρὸς τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων θεωρίαν τὸν νωθρὸν ἡμῶν νοῦν διεγείραντος πρὸς μίμησιν καὶ ἅμιλλαν τῶν ἀρετῶν τῆς 4 ἀσκήσεως τῶν ὁσίων καὶ ἀθανάτων πνευματικῶν ἡμῶν πατέρων καὶ τῶν ἐν ἀρεσκείᾳ θεοῦ ἐν σκληραγωγίᾳ πολλῇ τοῦ σώματος βεβιωκότων· ὡς ἀναγραψαμένους ἡμᾶς τοὺς τῶν ἀνικήτων ἀθλητῶν βίους διαπέμψασθαι τούτῳ, ἀνακηρύττοντας ἑνὸς ἑκάστου τῶν μεγάλων τὰς ἐναργεῖς ἀρετάς. ἔστι δὲ ὁ τοῦ θείου τούτου καὶ πνευματικοῦ πόθου ἐραστὴς ὁ ἄριστος τῶν ἀνδρῶν Λαῦσος, ὁ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ῥοπὴν φύλαξ τεταγμένος τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ εὐσεβοῦς βασιλείας. Ἐγὼ τοίνυν ὁ καὶ τῇ γλώττῃ ἀπαίδευτος καὶ πνευματικῆς γνώσεως ἀκροθιγῶς πως γευσάμενος καὶ τοῦ καταλόγου τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων πνευματικοῦ βίου ἀνάξιος, δεδοικὼς τὸ ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ ἄμετρον τῆς ἐπιταγῆς μέγεθος, δυσανησχέτουν τῷ ἐπιτάγματι, πολλῆς δεομένῳ καὶ σοφίας τῆς ἔξωθεν καὶ πνευματικῆς συνέσεως· ὅμως καταιδεσθεὶς πρῶτον τὸ σπουδαῖον τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ εἰς ταύτην τὴν ἐπιταγὴν ἡμᾶς διεγείραντος, ἀναλογισάμενος δὲ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ὠφέλειαν, δεδιὼς δὲ καὶ τὸν ἐν τῇ εὐλόγῳ παρακοῇ κίνδυνον, τῇ προνοίᾳ πρῶτον ἀνατεθεικὼς τὸ γενναῖον ἐπίταγμα καὶ πολλῇ προσεχείᾳ χρησάμενος, τῇ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων πρεσβείᾳ πτερούμενος, ἐνέβην εἰς τοὺς ἀγῶνας τοῦ σκάμματος, καὶ ὡς ἐν ἐπιτομῇ τῶν γενναίων ἀθλητῶν καὶ μεγάλων ἀνδρῶν τὰ ἔπακρα μόνον ἆθλά τε καὶ σημεῖα ἀναγραψάμενος, οὐ μόνον ἀνδρῶν ἀοιδίμων κατωρθωκότων πολιτείαν ἀρίστην ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναικῶν μακαρίων καὶ εὐσχημόνων ἄκραν πολιτείαν ἐξασκησασῶν. Καὶ τῶν μὲν τὰ ἱεροπρεπῆ πρόσωπα αὐτοπροσώπῳ θέᾳ ἰδεῖν κατηξιώθην, τῶν δὲ προτελειωθέντων ἐν τῷ σκάμματι τῆς εὐσεβείας παρὰ θεοφόρων ἀθλητῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν οὐράνιον τούτων πολιτείαν μεμάθηκα. πολλὰς δὲ πόλεις καὶ πλείστας κώμας, σπήλαιόν τε ἅπαν καὶ πάσας σκηνὰς τῆς ἐρήμου τῶν μοναχῶν, πεζῇ τῇ πορείᾳ περινοστήσας θεοσεβείας σκοπῷ μετὰ πάσης ἀκριβείας, ἃ μὲν αὐτὸς ἱστορήσας ἀνεγραψάμην, ἃ δὲ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἀκήκοα, ἄθλους μεγάλων ἄνδρων καὶ ἀνδρειοτέρων τῆς φύσεως γυναικῶν διὰ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν ἐλπίδα ἐνσημάνας ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τούτῳ, ἀπέσταλκα τῇ τῶν θείων λογίων φίλῃ ἀκοῇ σου, ἀνδρῶν ἀρίστων καὶ θεοφιλῶν ἐγκαλλώπισμα καὶ τῆς πιστοτάτης καὶ θεοφιλοῦς βασιλείας ἀγλάϊσμα, γνήσιε καὶ φιλόχριστε δοῦλε θεοῦ 5 Λαῦσε, ἐγχαράξας κατὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν ἐμοὶ βραχύτητα ἑκάστου τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀθλητῶν ἀρρένων τε καὶ θηλειῶν καὶ τὸ ἀοίδιμον ὄνομα, ἐξηγησάμενός τε ἀπὸ πολλῶν καὶ πάνυ μεγάλων ἄθλων ἑκάστου ὀλίγους καὶ σφόδρα βραχεῖς, προστεθεικὼς τῶν