109031
SELECT NARRATIVES
OF
HOLY WOMEN
C J. CLAY AND SONS,
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AVE MARIA LANE.
50, WELLINGTON STREET.
: F. A. BROCKHAUS.
Hotfe: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
E. SEYMOUR HALE.
STUDIA SINAITICA No. X
SELECT NARRATIVES
OF
HOLY- WOMEN
T
FROM
THE SYRO-ANTIOCHENE OR SINAI PALIMPSEST
AS WRITTEN ABOVE THE OLD SYRIAC GOSPELS BY JOHN
THE STYLITE, OF BETH-MARL QANUN IN A.D. 778
TRANSLATED BY
AGNES SMITH LEWIS M.R.A.S.
HON. PHIL. DR. HALLE-WITTENBERG
TRANSLATION
LONDON
C J. CLAY AND SONS
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
AVE MARIA LANE
IQOO
{All Rights reserved]
PRINTKD BY J. AND C. F. CLAY,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
PREFACE.
'THHIS. volume is so closely associated with No. IX. of this
-* series that it hardly requires a separate Preface. The
Introductory Notes which precede it belong quite as much to
No. IX. as to No. X. ; and they have been made to accompany
the English Translation, rather than the Syriac Text, with the
view of equalizing the size of the two volumes. I shall therefore
only recapitulate that these " Select Narratives " form the upper
script of the Palimpsest which I discovered in the Convent of
St Catharine on. Mount Sinai in A.D. 1892, and that the under
script is the now famous Codex of the Old Syriac Gospels.
Whether the tales are in any way worthy of their position, the
reader must judge for himself.
A. S. L.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
INTRODUCTORY NOTES ix xxxi
SELECT NARRATIVES.
Eugenia i 35
Mary = Marinus 3645
Euphrosyne 4659
Onesima 6069
Drusis 7076
Barbara 77~ 8 4
Mary (slave of Tertullius) 8593
Irene 94148
Euphemia 149167
Sophia 168-184
Cyprian and Justa 185203
HYMN OF MAR EPHRAIM 20 4> 20 5
COLOPHON 205,206
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 207211
ERRATA.
Page 86, line 26. For " Diocletian " read " Hadrian."
122, 10. For "Magdo" read "Magedo."
140, footnote. For Swa^apicrn;^ read Svvagapicrnjs.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
THECLA.
The story of St Thecla is one of the oldest of Christian
legendary romances, for it was composed in the beginning of
the third century by an Asiatic presbyter, as Tertullian tells
us 1 , " out of love to St Paul." The Ebionite heretics had sought
to calumniate the character of the great Apostle, finding more
than one supposed allusion to his fair disciple in the First Epistle
to the Corinthians 2 , and the best antidote to these aspersions
was a tale, wherein the acts of this first of women martyrs
were placed in their true light 3 .
St Jerome alludes to Thecla as to a real person. He says
that after her temptation at Antioch she was prohibited by
St Paul from accompanying him any further 4 . This, however,
does not actually prove her existence, for he may have simply
pointed a moral from the romance.
The story tells us that when Paul was preaching in the city
of Iconium, a man named Onesiphorus went out to meet him,
accompanied by his wife 5 , by Zeno, and by the sons of Simon ;
that he recognised Paul, who was waiting for him on the
highway to Lystra, by his personal appearance, which had been
1 De JBaptismo, cap. 17. 2 i Cor. vii. 3438; ix. 5.
3 Baring Gould, Contemporary Review, Oct. 1877 (p. 862).
4 Ad Oceanum de Vita clericorum.
8 In the Syriac Palimpsest her name is given as *_L*rA.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
already described to him by Titus. Paul was a man of medium
size, with scanty hair, bandy legs, large eyes, eyebrows which
met, and a long nose ; he was full of grace and mercy, at one
time seeming like a man, and at another like an angel. Demas
and Hermogenes, coppersmiths, who accompanied Paul, were
filled with envy at his friendly greeting to Onesiphorus; but
Paul entered the house of the latter, brake bread, and preached
about the controlling of the flesh, and about our Lord's resur-
rection.
Whilst Paul preached a virgin named Thecla, daughter of
Theocleia, betrothed to Thamyris, sat at a window which was
close to the roof of Onesiphorus's house and listened to his
words both by day and by night. She saw many women going
in to hear him, but himself she saw not. Her mother, Theocleia,
becoming alarmed, sent for Thamyris ; but to him she would
'not even speak. He waxed wroth, and went down to the street,
where he met with Demas and Hermogenes, who excited him
still further against Paul. Next morning he went to the house
of Onesiphorus, accompanied by the chief men of the city and
many people with stones. They dragged Paul before Castelus
the governor, the whole city accusing him of being a magician,
and of corrupting their wives. The Governor questioned Paul,
and sent him to prison.
But Thecla in the night-time bribed the door-keeper of her
mother's house with her own bracelets, and the gaoler with a
mirror of gold, and having thus got access to Paul, she sat at his
feet, listening to his teaching and kissing his fetters. Her family
and her betrothed having found her there, they informed the
Governor, who commanded that both Paul and Thecla should be
brought before him. Thecla simply stood and looked at Paul,
being quite silent when she was questioned. Then her mother
cried out that she must be burnt, as an example to other women.
The Governor commanded Paul to be scourged, and Thecla to
be burnt in the theatre. When she had been brought out for
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xi
that purpose she gazed intently on the crowd, in the hope of
seeing Paul. And she saw the Lord Jesus, in the likeness of
His apostle, sitting by her side. Whilst she gazed at Him He
rose and ascended to heaven. The faggots were piled around
her by youths and maidens, but she would not burn ; a shower
of hail and rain extinguished the flames and killed many of the
spectators.
Paul in the meantime was fasting after his scourging, with
Onesiphorus, his wife and his children, in a sepulchre by the
roadside of the Iconians. Paul gave his tunic to a boy, direct-
ing him to sell it and buy bread. The boy, meeting Thecla,
brought her to Paul, who had been praying for her deliverance.
She proposed to cut off her hair, and follow him everywhere.
Then Paul sent away Onesiphorus and his family, and went
with her and with other people to ^.ntioch. There they met
an influential man named Alexander, who fell in love with
Thecla, and offered to buy her from Paul. He replied that she
did not belong to him. Alexander tried to embrace Thecla
in the open street But she resisted him, tore off his garments,
pulled a golden crown from his head and dashed it on the
ground, leaving him standing naked. Alexander complained
to the Governor, and Thecla was condemned to be thrown
to the wild beasts. Thecla begged from the Governor that
she should be kept in purity until the sentence was executed.
Taking pity on her, he sent her to the house of a rich queen
named Tryphaena, who had lately lost her daughter.
Thecla was taken to the theatre, stripped, and exposed to a
huge lioness. Tryphaena stood weeping at the door, but th$
lioness only licked the martyr's hand. Other beasts were let
loose, but they would not touch her, and Tryphaena obeying
the commands of her own daughter, whom she had seen
in a night-vision, took her away, and adopted her. Thecla
then prayed for the gift of everlasting life to the daughter of
Tryphaena.
xii INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
Early next morning Alexander himself came to fetch Thecla.
She was snatched from the arms of Tryphsena, and was again
exposed naked in the theatre. A lioness was brought, but it lay
at her feet; a leopard burst, and a bear was killed by the lioness.
Then a lion was brought, but he and the lioness fought till both
were dead. Whilst other beasts came against her she looked
round and saw a pond of water. Invoking the name of the
Christ, she leapt into it, as to her baptism. ,Many evil beasts
which were in the water died, whilst a cloud of lightning encom-
passed her, screening her from view.
Then Alexander brought out two bulls. Thecla was bound
between them with ropes, red-hot spits were applied to their
thighs, but as the bulls sprang up, a flash of fire consumed
the ropes, setting Thecla free. Tryphaena fainted, thinking that
Thecla was dead ; and this alarmed Alexander, who ran to the
Governor, and begged him to release Thecla, and thus save
Tryphaena, who was of the family of Caesar.
Thecla was then brought before the Governor, and when she
had confessed her faith in the Christ, he ordered clothes to be
brought for her, and all, especially the women, joined in praising
God. Tryphaena was converted, with many of her maidens, and
Thecla remained eight days in her house, teaching her God's
commandments. But the maiden could not forget Paul. She
sent messengers to seek for him, and they found him in the city
of Myra. She dressed herself like a man, and took many people
with her, even some of the queen's maidens, and went to Myra.
Paul was astonished, and took her, with her attendants, to
the house of Hermaeus. There she related all that had
befallen her, and after they had prayed for queen Tryphena,
Paul sent her to the city of Iconium with a commission to
teach.
Thecla went to the house of Onesiphorus, where she learned
that Thamyris was dead, but that her mother Theocleia still
lived. She had the satisfaction of trying to persuade her mother
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xiii
to believe in the Christ, then she went to Seleucia, where she
taught for some time, and where she died in peace.
The Latin Church commemorates Thecla on Sept 23rd.
She is said to have died in Isauria, or Lycaonia, her native
province, and to have been buried at Seleucia, where a magni-
ficent church was built over her remains. The great cathedral
of Milan is dedicated to her. But her body is supposed to rest
in a chapel formed out of a natural cave in the Convent of
St Thecla at Ma'lula in the Lebanon.
The Greek Church commemorates Thecla on the 24th of
September, under the titles of IlpaTOfjidpTvs and
It also commemorates two other martyrs of the same name,
one of them on June gth, Sept 6th, and Nov. 2Oth, slain with
the sword, the other on August ipth, slain by a wild beast
at Gaza.
An Arabic inscription several centuries old at the back
of the first leaf of the famous Codex Alexandrinus (A) of
the Greek Bible, states that it was written by the hand of
Thecla the martyr 1 . This is translated into Latin by another
hand, which Mr Aldis Wright recognizes as Bentley's 3 . To
Thecla is also ascribed the beautiful and complete little Psalter,
which the monks of St Catherine's Convent on Mount Sinai
show as one of their chief treasures. Though it can be read
only through a microscope, no mistake has ever been detected
on any of its twelve pages. Unfortunately for these traditions,
scholars have assigned the Codex Alexandrinus, by the weight
of its own internal evidence, to the fifth century.
As the story has already been edited by one of the greatest
of Oriental scholars, Dr William Wright of Cambridge, I have
only given in Appendix II. a collation of the Syro-Antiochene
text on that published by him. The chief differences between
1 See Scrivener-Miller, Introduction, p. 98.
' 2 Academy, April i7th, 1875.
XIV INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
the two texts are that the former one always amplifies the
saint's name into " the blessed Lady Thecla."
In Dr Wright's text p. J^n a lacuna seems to exist in the
sense, and this is filled up by our text on f. i6 a . The form
^i^J^^K' "she tore herself with her nails," on fol. I4 b , is
unusual
EUGENIA.
The story of Eugenia is nearly the same as that in Add.
14,645, and Add. 14,649 of the British Museum MSS.; these
being of the loth and pth centuries respectively. The Bishop
is called oooolr^, not oocuW, in them both. His name is
not mentioned in the Greek Zvvagapierfo. In Add. 14,645
Eugenia's brothers are called oocO^.rjK' and &ai, and in the
Palimpsest K^^DK' and oa^jUo. In Add. 14,649 the name
of her proposed bridegroom is not rdlAcuDrf but r^LiAracu.
The names of her parents and of the two eunuchs are the
same in all. In Add. 14,649 the man who was sent to depose
her father Philip from the office of Eparch is called oocuvi^
instead of OOCUT^.
The martyrdom of Eugenia is commemorated by the ortho-
dox Greek Church on December 24th and by the Latin Church
on Christmas-Day. Bedjan's text is from Add. 14,649 and
Add 14,645 of the British Museum.
PELAGIA.
The story of Pelagia is supposed to have happened between
the years A.D. 449 and A.D. 45 1. It is as follows :
The Bishop of Antioch in Syria had occasion to summon a
council of eight bishops, amongst whom was St Nonnus, with
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. XV
whom was the narrator of the story, the deacon Jacob. They
were all lodged in a hospice attached to the church where the
bones of St Julian were preserved.
One day whilst the eight bishops were seated before the
church door, discussing various affairs, they asked St Nonnus
to expound the Word of God. Whilst he was doing so, a rich
courtesan passed before them, seated on a richly caparisoned
horse, decked with pearls and precious stones, and accompanied
by a host of servants. The air was scented by a profusion of
aromatics, and the good bishops were astonished at the dazzling
beauty of Pelagia, for such was the courtesan's name.
They, however, turned away their faces from the ostentatious
sinner. Nonnus fell on his knees and shed abundance of tears.
When Pelagia had passed he said to his brethren, " Do ye not
admire the beauty of the courtesan?" They did not reply.
He then told them that his admiration of her beauty would
impel him to seek more earnestly from God for her conversion
to a purer life. Having returned to his cell, accompanied by
the deacon, he took himself severely to task for his failure to
serve God with as much zeal as Pelagia had displayed in her
service of the Devil. The day was Saturday, and on Sunday
morning (Divine service having been celebrated during the
night) Nonnus called Jacob, and told him that he had seen in
a dream how he himself was standing near the horns of the
altar, and how a black dove, squalid and dirty, flew above him.
When the congregation had departed and he had left the
church the dove flew near him. He stretched out his hands,
and catching it, threw it into the bath of water on the floor of
the church. There it was cleansed, the foul odour which had
accompanied it disappeared, and it soared up to heaven.
Then St Nonnus with the seven other bishops and Jacob the
deacon went to the largest church in Antioch. After the liturgy,
the Archbishop sent the archdeacon to St Nonnus with a Gospel
and the permission to teach. This Nonnus did, not in words of
xvi INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
human wisdom, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ; till
the floor of the church became wet with the tears of the listeners,
amongst whom was Pelagia, who was well known in the city,
and who confessed her many sins in an audible voice. When
the moment came for the celebration of the sacred mysteries
she went out, but commanded two of her servants to remain as
spectators, and to watch when Bishop Nonnus should come out,
so that they might find out for her where he was lodging. She
then wrote a letter to him, in which she professed her deep
penitence, reminding him that the Saviour ate and drank with
publicans and sinners. He replied that he could not receive a
visit from her alone, as he was only a weak man, liable to
temptation, but that he was willing to see her in the presence of
his brother bishops. When Pelagia had received this letter she
hastened to the church of St Julian, where St Nonnus received
her with his colleagues. She threw herself on the ground and
embraced his feet with tears, throwing dust on her head, and
begging for the remission of her sins.
All the bishops and presbyters who were present were moved
to tears. Nonnus professed his willingness to baptize her, but
said that by the canons of the Church she must have sponsors.
Pelagia then with great vehemence and copious tears told him
that God would require her soul at his hands if it were lost
through his refusal to baptize her; and that he would also be
held to be a partaker of the guilt of her future sins, and
begged him to admit her, as his divine Master would have
done.
NOJMIUS then sent Jacob to the Archbishop, to ask his
permission for Pelagia's baptism, and also that a deaconess
should be sent to him. Jacob returned with a Roman lady, the
Superior of the deaconesses, who with some difficulty persuaded
Pelagia to rise. After due confession and preparation she was
baptized, and received the holy sacrament from the hands of
Nonnus. She stated that Pelagia was the name given to her by
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xvii
her parents, but that latterly, on account of her many ornaments,
she had frequently been called Margarita.
Then the Devil appeared to Nonnus in the form of a black
looking man, and showered imprecations upon him for the many
thousands whom he had baptized, and had thus delivered from
the power of evil ; and most of all for abducting his most perfect
hope, Pelagia. Receiving no encouragement, the enemy of all
good next turned to Pelagia, and upbraided her with ingratitude,
pouring out on her the most bitter reproaches. By the advice
of Nonnus she made the sign of the cross, and Satan forthwith
fled.
Two days later, however, the Devil returned to Pelagia as she
was quietly sleeping beside the Roman deaconess, and reminded
her of the great wealth which he had procured for her* But she
made the sign of the cross, exclaiming, "The Lord rebuke
thee ! " and awoke the deaconess. Whereupon Satan fled.
On the third day Pelagia gave freedom to all her slaves, and
offered all her wealth, which she had won by an evil life, to the
discretion of Bishop Nonnus, who bestowed it on the treasurer
of the great church at Antioch, with the request that none
of it should be allowed to enter the church itself, nor any
dwelling of the clergy, nor might it be hoarded in any way, but
that it should be at once distributed amongst orphans, widows,
and the sick poor.
For seven days Pelagia fasted from food and drink, showing
an example of temperance and of chastity. On the eighth day,
which was Sunday, she was expected to put off the bridal
robes of her baptism, and to put on a woman's ordinary dress.
Towards nightfall, however, she went to Bishop Nonnus, and
after receiving his blessing, begged him to give her some of his
own garments. He accordingly bestowed on her his hair tunic
and woollen mantle. During the night she went out in the
dress of a man and was never again seen in the city. There
was great consternation and grief about her disappearance, but
L.B. *
xviii INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
Nonnus said that she had chosen the good part, like Mary, and a
few days later the Archbishop dismissed the bishops, each one
returning to his own town.
Three years later the deacon Jacob went on a pilgrimage to
the Holy City, and Bishop Nonnus requested him to make
enquiry about a eunuch named Pelagius, from whom he might
receive much benefit After he had performed his devotions at
the sacred shrines, he succeeded in finding this person in a cell
at the summit of the Mount of Olives, and saw in his face
something like the features of Pelagia, defaced and withered by
long fasting and many vigils. She recognised him ; but he was
quite unaware of her identity, until hearing of her death a short
time afterwards he attended her funeral, and was present along
with the bishop and many other holy men when they discovered
that she had been a woman. She was buried with great honour,
having in her last years enjoyed the reputation of being a saint,
and Jacob was thankful that he had received her benediction.
It is interesting to find that while Gildemeister's text states
that Jacob prayed and was blest by the sepulchre of our Lord,
the Syro-Antiochene Palimpsest says that he prayed and was
blest by our Lord in all the places which he visited (near
Jerusalem).
Nonnus is mentioned by Theophanes, as being Bishop of
Edessa, Chronographia^ p. 79.
TOVTOV 8e TOV xpbvov" he says, " Nowo? 6 0o6po$
TV\V r&v 'ESeo-cnjz/eSi/ 'E/e/cA^criaz/, 6 ryv Trpwryv r&v
T eo> a^e/owow, real avrl Mapyapirovs
avrrjv Il\ayiav Trapaerrjo-as ro3 X/Hcrrc5."
Pelagia is commemorated by the Greek and Latin Churches
on Oct. 8.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. XIX
MARINA.
The story of Mary, otherwise called Marinus, or Marina, is
also found in three of the British Museum MSS., Add. 14,649
(gth century), Add. 12,172 (loth century) and Add. 14,722
(Carshuni, I3th century). In these MSS. the tale has not the
exordium of the Syriac Palimpsest. It relates that her mother
died when she was seven years old. After her admission into
the monastery, and the death of her father, she goes on a
journey by command of the Abbot, and lodges, not at an inn,
but in the house of a believer ria-ca2a. On returning, she
is not allowed to see the Abbot, but is compelled to sit outside
the convent, without any opportunity of exculpating herself;
and this she does for four years. The story is told with more
conciseness than in the Palimpsest; but with less sympathy
and fewer picturesque details. It is free from the absurdity of
Marina's self-accusation. The handwriting of both is of con-
siderably later date.
Bedjan appears to have made use chiefly of a manuscript
from Mesopotamia, date unknown. The Greek Church com-
memorates this saint on February 1 2th, and the Latin Church
on June i8th. Her relics were brought "from Constantinople to
Venice in A.D. 1230, and are venerated there in a church which
bears her name. The festival of their translation is kept at
Venice on July i/th.
EUPHROSYNE.
This story, as told in the Syriac Palimpsest, is almost in the
same words as in Add. 14,649 of the British Museum (9th
century) ; Bedjan's text has a collation from the latter, but is
chiefly from a paper MS. in Paris of the 13* century. The
XX INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
word viator* in the penultimate line of f. 82 b of the Palimpsest
is probably a singular spelling for f^LisA^.
The Greek Church commemorates Euphrosyne on Septem-
ber 25th. She has no place in the Calendar of the Latin
Church. Her story is also told in Add. 12,172 and R. F. XLIX.
of the British Museum (roth century).
ONESIMA.
The story of Onesima is also told in the British Museum
MSS. Add 14,649, Add. 14,650 and R. F. XLIX. There are some
slight variations in the tale, for instance the B.M. MSS. make
the beasts of the desert sit round the saint from the sixth till the
ninth hour, our Palimpsest from the third hour till the ninth.
The Palimpsest states that the portress had sat at the door of
the convent for 40 years, the B. M. MSS. extend this to
102 years. This is not the only example which these " Select
Narratives" furnish of how ancient legends become more
wonderful as time rolls onward.
I can find no mention of Onesima in the ^vva^apicr^, nor
in the Calendar of the Latin Church.
Bedjan's text is from two paper MSS. in Paris of the twelfth
century and also from Add. 14,649 of the British Museum.
DRUSIS.
No Syriac manuscript in the British Museum contains
the story of Drusis. But there are hymns in her honour in
Add. 14,505 and Add. 17,134, the latter being probably, as
Dr Wright thinks, in the autograph of the famous Jacob
Bishop of Edessa.
There is also a homily on Drusis by Chrysostom (11. 688)
He relates how she found in the furnace a fountain of clear
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xxi
water; and how she ascended to her heavenly Bridegroom
purified both by water and by fire. But he says nothing about
her being the daughter of Trajan, nor about her being betrothed
to Hadrian. We may therefore suppose that while the legend
may contain a kernel of truth, these Imperial relationships of
the martyr are simply the outgrowths of popular imagination.
Drusis is commemorated by the Greek Church on March
22nd. There is no mention of her in the Calendar of the
Latin Church.
BARBARA.
There is no Syriac text of Barbara in the British Museum.
But a reference to her relics will be found on p. 194, c. i, of
Dr Wright's Catalogue.
Barbara is commemorated by the Greek Church on De-
cember 4th.
The Suz/afapiOTT;? tells us that she was martyred during the
reign of the Emperor Maximian, who is the Aximus of our tale,
and that her father was a Greek.
In a MS. of the British Museum, CCXLViii. (Egerton 68 1)
we are told that the relics of St Barbara are entombed in a
church in a poor Christian town named Camalisk-Gawerkoe,
situated about six hours' journey to the southward of Mosul.
St Barbara is commemorated by the Latin Church on
December 4th. She was said to have been a scholar of
Origen, and she is said by some to have suffered martyrdom
at Nicomedia in the reign of Maximinus I. Others aver that
she suffered at Heliopolis in Egypt, in the reign of Galerius,
about A.D. 306, and this Joseph Assemani considers to be the
most authentic.
XXll INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
MARY.
The text of this story is taken from Add. 17,204 in the
British Museum, which belongs to the fifth century, and is
written in a fine straight Estrangela hand, in two columns, the
small stops being in red. There are few diacritical points,
except the seyyame^ and that over the fem. pronom. suffix CD.
As the text of the Palimpsest is three centuries later, variants
from it only are given. The most remarkable of these is the
word "three months" for "three days," given as the period
during which Mary was imprisoned in her master's house,
the longer period being of course in the later manuscript.
The story is also found in Add. 14,649.
I have failed to find it in the "ZwagapicrTfa although there
are of course more illustrious saints of the same name.
St Mary, the slave of Tertullius, is commemorated by the
Latin Church on November ist
IRENE.
No Syriac text of this story is to be found in the British
Museum.
Irene is commemorated by the Greek Church on May 5th.
Other saints of the same name are commemorated on
April i6th, June 5th, July 28th, August I3th.
The name of Irene does not occur in the Calendar of the
Latin Church.
Tela, or Tela Mauzalet, otherwise called Constantine, in
honour of the great Roman Emperor, who rebuilt it in AJX 350,
was situated about fifty miles due east of Edessa (see Ecc. Hist,
of John, Bishop of Edessa, R. Payne-Smith's translation, p. 437,
foot-note).
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xxiii
EUPHEMIA.
There is a hymn in honour of Euphemiai in Add. 17,134
of the British Museum.
She is commemorated on July nth and September i6th.
Other saints of the same name being mentioned on January
4th, November igth, and November 22nd.
She is also commemorated with Thecla on the fourth
Friday after the Invention of the Cross. (See Dr Wright's
Catalogue, p. 186, col. 2.)
The Latin Church commemorates her on September i6th.
Four churches in Constantinople once bore her name, also a
very spacious one at Chalcedon, in which the fourth General
Council of the Church, that which condemned Eutyches,
assembled in A.D. 451. Her relics were transferred to the great
church of St Sophia in Constantinople. They are now pre-
served at Syllebria, a metropolitical see, on the Propontic shore,
between Constantinople and Adrianople, but a portion is in the
possession of the church of the Sorbonne in Paris.
SOPHIA.
The story of Sophia and her three daughters is found in
Add. 17,204, and Add. 14,645. As the former of these belongs
to the fifth century, I have given its text, with the variants of
that in the Syriac Palimpsest, and where some of its pages
are missing, I have given the text of the Palimpsest, with
variants from Add. 14,645 (loth century).
Sophia and her three daughters are commemorated by the
Greek Church on September I7th.
Other saints of the same name are mentioned on May 22nd,
June 4th, September i8th, and December i8th.
xxiv INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
The legend of Sophia may possibly have become intended
for an allegory of the manner in which the Divine Wisdom, or
in other words Christianity, with her three daughters, Faith,
Hope, and Love, were received in the capital of the Roman
Empire ; how their beauty was acknowledged, while they them-
selves were derided, tortured, and slain ; how the death of the
body had no real power over them ; and how they drew all
men's hearts after them, so that their place of execution was a
place of triumph both for this world, and for the world which is
invisible.
Two grains of truth may be found in the legend : Hadrian's
cruelty to the Christians, and the painful nature of his mortal
sickness.
The name of this St Sophia does not occur in the Calendar
of the Latin Church.
The British Museum contains, besides the text which I have
edited, from Add. 17,204, other texts in Add. 14,644 (5th or 6th
century), Add. 14,650 (6th or ;th century), and Add. 14,645
(loth century).
Bedjan's text is from Add. 14,645 and Add. 14,644.
THEODOSIA.
The Syriac*text of the story of St Theodosia has been edited
by Assemani in his A eta Martyrum Occidentalium, vol. n., p. 204,
and on this I have collated the text of the Syriac Palimpsest. In
the fifth year of the persecution, i>. A.D. 307, under Maximinus
we are told that a holy virgin of Tyre, twenty-eight years old,
saw some confessors of Christianity who had been brought to
the Forum of Caesarea for judgment, and besought for herself
an interest in their prayers, She was seized, and brought before
the Prefect, who tried to persuade her to sacrifice to the idols.
On her refusal she was subjected to atrocious tortures, from
which she was at last released by drowning. The confessors,
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. XXV
who had been greatly encouraged by her example, were con-
demned to labour in the mines of Palestine.
The Greek Church commemorates this saint on May 29th.
The Latin Church on April 2nd.
THEODOTA.
The Syriac text of this legend has been edited by Assemani
in his Ada Martyrum Occidentalium, vol. II., p. 221.
In A.U. 318, in the month of September, under the Emperor
Licinius, there was a furious persecution of the Christians in the
city of Philippi. Agrippa the Prefect had decreed a solemn
feast to Apollo, at which all were commanded to sacrifice. A
harlot named Theodota refused to do so, and was therefore
thrown into prison. Seven hundred and fifty men, admiring
her constancy, resolved to abstain from the sacrifice. Theodota
was then deprived of both food and drink for twenty-one days ;
but being again brought before the tribunal she confessed her
faith in the Christ ; and was condemned by Agrippa to cruel
tortures, which included the extraction of all her teeth. She
was put to death by stoning.
Theodota is commemorated by the Latin Church on
September 29th.
CREED.
The text of the Creed which follows the story of Theodota
will be found in my Introduction to The Four Gospels in Syriac,
transcribed from the Sinaitic Palimpsest, by Robert L. Bensly,
J. Rendel Harris, and F. Crawford Burkitt, pp. viii xiv.
L. B.
XXVI INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
SUSANNA.
As the story of Susan belongs to the Old Testament
Apocrypha, I intended giving only a collation of the Palimpsest
text on that of Walton, in an Appendix, I did not begin to do
this until after part of Cyprian and Justa was already in print ;
and I then discovered that the text of Susan represents quite
an independent translation from 'the Greek ; and that a collation
would not only occupy more space than the story itself, but
would be very troublesome to the reader. Therefore the tale is
printed in full as Appendix I,
CYPRIAN AND JUSTA.
Eterno sera en el mundo
El majico Cipriano. CALDERON.
I have printed the text of the fifth century British Museum
MS. Add. 12,142, giving that of the Syriac Palimpsest where
this is deficient The variants are from the Palimpsest, ex-
cepting where its text takes the place of honour, and there
the variants are from Add. 14,645.
The peculiar interest of this story lies in the fact that it
is the original form of a legend which, during the Middle Ages,
rooted itself in popular superstition, and which has in later
times blossomed again in the very highest walks of literature.
Cyprian's demon, like the little Afrit of the Arabian Night J
Entertainments, has left his bottle, and has expanded under
the fostering care of a Marlowe, a Calderon and a Goethe
till he fills the world with his presence, and he is recognised
wherever the " Geist der stets verneint," shows his ugly face.
We are indebted to a paper by Mr Baring Gould in the
Contemporary Review for 1877*, and to the able work of
1 Early Christian Greek Romances, Contemporary R&vieiv, Oct. 1877 (p. 864).
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. xxvii
Dr Theodore Zahn, Cyprian von Antiochien und die deutscJie
Faustsage for our information about the origin of the legend.
Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, was martyred on Sept i;th
A.D. 258. According to the martyrologies, a woman named
Rosula suffered at the same time. Popular imagination seized
on an admission which Cyprian had made to Donatus regarding
his conduct before his conversion, and it exaggerated this into
a confession that he had committed some heinous crime. The
Greek romance of Cyprian and Justa, appearing about a century
after his death, was an embodiment of those vague ideas which
were current amongst the people.
St Gregory of Nazianzus, who died in A.D. 390, in his oration
on the festival of St Cyprian of Carthage, adopts this romantic
story. The historical Cyprian died on Sept. I4th, i6th or i/th
and the fabulous one on Sept. 26th. The Anglican Reformers
cut the real one out of the Calendar, and retained the fabulous
one.
The Latin Church commemorates SS. Cyprian and Justina
on Sept. 26th ; but it does not confound the former with his
great namesake.
The Greek Church commemorates them on Oct 2nd, and
a Cyprian and Juliana, who may possibly be the same, on
Nov. ist. Three later saints of the same name are remembered
on March loth, July 5th, and Aug. I7th but the real Cyprian
appears to be quite overlooked. Some trace of his influence
may be noticed, however, in the story of Cyprian and Justa,
as related in the Swafapwrnfc.
" He (Cyprian) was a native of Karchedon, or Karthagena in
Libya, but he dwelt in Antioch of Syria, in the time of the
Emperor Decius, in the year 250."
Here the real and the fictitious personages are evidently
mingled, the former belonging to Carthage, the latter to
Antioch.
A foot-note of the editor informs us that the body of the
xxviii INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
great. St Cyprian was hidden by a woman named Matrona or
Rufina, a kinswoman of the Emperor Claudius.
Eudoxia, consort of Theodosius II., turned the legend into
a metrical form, in imitation of the Homeric epics. She had
done the same with the Octateuch, or first eight books of the
Greek Bible, whilst spending her latter years in Jerusalem,
A.D. 441 460, but these compositions are not of great literary
value 1 .
It is very interesting to observe how this simply told legend
has been glorified by the genius of two modern dramatists, one
a gifted representative of the Latin races ; the other, possessing
the very loftiest intellect of any purely Teutonic people.
Calderon's play is evidently moulded on the Christian legend.
Its first acts are commonplace, being remarkable only for verbal
quips and cranks ; but with the sale of Cyprian's soul to the
demon it rises to a higher plane, and occasionally touches a
point of real sublimity.
It begins with the demon introducing himself to Cyprian
a lonely scholar who is vainly searching for some light on
the nature of the true God, and on the question " Are there
many gods, or only One?" It then passes to an impending
duel between two young nobles, Lelio and Florio, who are
rivals for the love of the beautiful Christian maiden, Justina.
Cyprian pacifies them and averts the duel, by offering to call
on the young lady and ascertain which of the two gallants
she prefers. He does so, and is himself smitten by her beauty ;
whilst his two servants, Moscon and Clarin, fall madly in love
with her maid Livia. Livia settles her own affair by agreeing
to favour either swain on alternate days, but Justina refuses to
hear a whisper of courtship from anyone. Her father Lisandro,
is in great embarrassment, not only from his being deeply in
debt, but because he apprehends a fresh persecution of the
Christians. Cyprian, believing himself alone, bemoans aloud
1 See Dr Rendel Harris' Homeric Centones, p. 36.
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. XXIX
his hopeless love, and declares his readiness to give away his
soul if by doing so he might gratify it. The voice of the
demon replies : " Yo la azeto," " I accept it." Sounds of
thunder and tempest, with flashes of fiery lightning, seal this
pact, and the demon steps out of a black boat from a stormy
sea in the guise of a sailor. He introduces himself as a learned
scholar, and offers to teach Cyprian the art of magic, so that
he may weave irresistible spells around his lady love, but on
the condition of selling his soul. Cyprian accepts the offer, and
signs the deed with his own blood.
The demon in the meantime has ruined the reputation of
Justina by climbing down from her balcony, in the guise of
a man, whilst Lelio and Florio are watching the house during
the night. For a whole year Cyprian lives with the demon
in a dark cave, and on the anniversary of the day when he
signed the fatal compact, he emerges glorying in his own
proficiency in magic, able as he phrases it, to give lessons to
his master, and confident of being able to draw Justina into
his meshes. Clarin, one of his servants, follows his example
by signing away his soul in blood from the desire of possessing
Livia. Evil spirits haunt Justina, and ghostly voices suggest
to her that the greatest glory of this world is love. The demon
urges her to seek Cyprian, and even uses force to draw her
towards him, but when she exclaims " My defence is in God,"
he is obliged to release her. He then resorts to stratagem and
produces a phantom, clad in Justina's robes. Cyprian, believing
that she has come in answer to his call, lays siege to her, and
is about to embrace her, when on removing her veil, he discovers
that she is a skeleton. Frozen with horror, he hears voices
saying " Thus, Cyprian, are all the glories of the world/' He
demands the blood-written schedule back from the demon, who
refuses to give it up, on the plea that the undertaking had been
fulfilled, for he had drawn Justina into Cyprian's arms. Cyprian
obliges him reluctantly to confess who had protected the maiden,
XXX INTRODUCTORY NOTES.
and to declare further that there is only one Almighty God, who
is perfect goodness, and that this God is the God of the Christians.
The demon then insists that Cyprian has become his slave and
reveals his own personality. They engage in a struggle which
threatens to become a mortal one for Cyprian, but as the demon
is squeezing the breath out of him, he suddenly exclaims :
" Great God of the Christians ! I fly to Thee in my troubles,"
and he is at once released.
The Governor of Antioch then appears on the scene, and
agrees to release Lelio, his own son, and Florio, who have been
imprisoned for disorderly conduct. Then comes Cyprian, who
is supposed to be mad, because he is proclaiming aloud his
faith in the One Unseen God. The play ends with Cyprian and
Justina mounting the scaffold together, Justina comforting her
lover with the assurance of the Divine mercy. The actual
execution is not seen; but as their bodies and severed heads
are being shown to the populace, the demon springs upon the
stage, and confesses aloud that he had calumniated Justina;
that Cyprian had washed the schedule clean with his life-blood ;
that the two were now happy ; and that he was forced by God
to make the declaration. With this very stagey device the
play ends.
The chief difference between this story and that of our
legendary text is this : that in the former Cyprian is himself
the lover of Justina ; and in the latter he employs demons to
allure her into the net of a client who asks for his intervention.
Calderon's drama is certainly on a far higher plane of literary
merit than is the legend ; but the sublimity to which it rises is
sadly spoiled by the lame device of the demon's confession.
Goethe has taken the story of Christopher Marlowe's Faust
as the foundation of his own great drama, and he departs much
more widely from the early Christian legend, Faust himself, as
Dr Zahn has remarked, is the product of a society which had
for centuries been permeated by Christian sentiment, and he
INTRODUCTORY NOTES. XXXI
seeks to penetrate the mysteries of Nature, of human Destiny,
and of the Deity, by the aid of magic, before the arch demon
Mephistopheles proffers his help.
Margaret is very unlike the pure, chaste and somewhat
colourless conception of Justina, she is more human and
appeals much more strongly to our sympathies. Margaret
has one point in common with Calderon's hero and heroine;
we receive a hint of her escape from thraldom and of her actual
salvation immediately after her appeal to God for protection.
Faust and Gretchen do not die the death of martyrs ; but their
life-story forms the framework of one of the most profoundly
philosophical and charmingly natural of dramas.
Bedjan's text of Cyprian and Justina is from a manuscript
in Berlin (Sachau No. 222).
The British Museum contains, besides the text which I have
edited from Add. 12,142, some fragments of the story in
Add. 14,629, Add. 12,174 and Add. 14,738.
The story of Cyprian and Justa, in Arabic and Greek, from
Sinai MSS. will be found in No. VIII. of Studia Sinaitica.
SELECT NARRATIVES.
BY the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of f. 2 b
the Living God, I begin, I the sinner, John the Recluse of
Beth-Mari Kaddisha, to write select narratives about the
holy women, first the book of the Blessed Lady Thecla,
disciple of Paul, the Blessed Apostle. My brethren, pray
for me.
EUGENIA.
The Acts and the Martyrdom of the Blessed Eugenia f. 21 a
and of her father Philip and of all who were martyred with
them.
Whilst Commodus was reigning, ruler of the transitory
world, in the great and famous city of Rome, in his own
seventh consulate, he gave the command of a province to
Philip, one of his magnates, and sent him to Alexandria
the great city, which is in the land of Egypt, and he thus
gave him the command of all who were in the country,
rich and poor, great and small, and of all the Roman
troops who were there, that they should be obedient and f. 21 b
submissive to the laws and to the commandments which
should be established and decreed to them by him. Now
when Philip received the command of the province from
the Emperor with his consort Claudia and his two sons,
Avita and Sergius, and his daughter the virgin Eugenia,
L. E. A
EUGENIA.
they travelled from Rome to Alexandria and arrived
quickly. But immediately when they had entered that
country he sent decrees through every city and province,
and thus it was written in them. By the commandments
of the victorious Emperors. All the Egyptians shall be
governed by th$ laws of the Romans, and they shall live
by their customs continually.
Now Eugenia the daughter of this Eparch Philip was
about sixteen years old, and she was proficient in much
wisdom and in the learning of the Greeks and the Romans,
and she was very skilful in speech ; so that the philosophers
and the wise men were amazed at her wisdom and her
discourse and at the erudition of her mind.
Now upon a certain day her father asked her, saying to
her, Art thou willing, my daughter, that I should betroth
f, 22 a thee to Aquilina the son of Hypatus? For behold! we
know him that he is a wise and rich man and worthy of
being thy betrothed.
But she answered and said to her father: It is ex-
pedient that I should espouse him who loveth integrity,
and purity, and holiness ; rather than this man concern-
ing whom thou hast told me that he hath transient
riches and possessions. For far better is he who hath
promised glorious things to the soul which is pure
from evil, than the natural man who is mortal and transi-
tory. For there had fallen into her hands the book of the
story of the discipleship of Thecla the holy virgin, and of
Paul the Apostle ; and by it the eyes of her understanding
were enlightened in the fear of God. For when she read in
it she wept passionately in secret, continually, and sighed
bitterly; and she was the more grieved because she was
the daughter of people who were heathens and were
without the knowledge of God. Now truly when she
f.22b read in this story of * the discipleship of Thecla the
EUGENIA. 3
virgin, she was desirous in her soul, longing every day that
she might be of the religion of the Christians, and continue
in the doctrine and in the reading of their sacred books.
And on a certain day she asked of her parents that they
would grant this favour to her and allow her to go from the
city to a certain village to amuse herself, and they consented
and allowed her to go, because they loved her greatly.
Now there went with her many eunuchs and servants
for her honour. Now as the litter in which she was sitting
with the pomp of noble women was going along, Eugenia
was reading within it in the book of Thecla, and was medi-
tating on a passage in it. And she said to the two eunuchs
who were with her, whose names were these, Proteus and
Hyacinthus: Do not disregard what the poets in the
error of their hearts imagine and say concerning God,
and what things also the philosophers in the error of their
hearts falsify and deny about God, who is God in truth f. 23 a
and verity. For is such truth perchance found amongst
those who are called gods as that which is made known in
these sacred books of theology about the true God and
about His mighty power ? But little to a degree, and very
miserable and childish is a soul which calls stones and
bits of carved wood, blind and deaf and without feeling,
gods, and calls them to its help.
Now as the Blessed Eugenia said these things for the
salvation of these her two eunuchs, the three of them
began to consider together amongst themselves, discussing
and investigating concerning the true God and concerning
the worship of His Divinity. And they said to each other :
There is nothing more important than this, that a man
should fear the true God, and should be a worshipper
and honourer of Him alone, in his faith and in his love and
in his good works. Now when they had talked about these
things and things like them with each other, as if in answer
4 EUGENIA.
f. 23 b they heard the Christians who were singing and saying :
All the gods of the nations are demons ; but the Lord made
the heavens.
When the Blessed Eugenia heard these things, she
commanded that her litter should be instantly detained
and should stand still. For the fear of the Christ entered
into her heart when she heard this singing and she answered
and said to the two eunuchs who were with her : We have
quickly found evidence concerning the truth which the sacred
books speak about concerning the true power of God who
is to be worshipped, and about the perdition and vanity
of the polluted worship of idols. But now we have learned
the truth about both religions. What therefore shall we do
that we may approach that glorious wisdom, and by means
of a better life may be able to attain to these mysteries
of the Divinity? Let us henceforth look to ourselves,
my brethren. For how long shall we occupy ourselves
with these useless things of error? Let us cast from
ourselves all these vanities of this world, and instead
of them let us meditate on the living words of God, and on
f. 24 a saving faith. Let our minds be established, that by these
things we may be able to flee and escape from the snares
of Satan and from the net of the adversary, and that we
may hold and may be established in the faith of the Christ
the Saviour of the souls of men.
And again the Blessed One answered and said to
Proteus and to Hyacinthus : The fashion of this transient
world has appointed me your mistress ; but now the fear
of God, which is implanted in our hearts by His love,
makes me your sister, and henceforth, my brethren, I
counsel you that we be one soul in the faith of God,
in one love of God, despising and rejecting all the honours
and desires and luxuries of this world, and progressing
in love and in faith, and coming near to the glories of
EUGENIA. 5
the world that passeth not away for ever; having nothing
opposed to us to hinder us by its hateful counsels that we
should henceforth be removed from all this blessedness
which meets us by the grace of God and by our good will.
And now as I speak to you and instruct you, so do. f. 24 b
Remove in the first place the hair from my head, and all
.this ornament that is upon me, and take away your own
afterwards, and let us change our dress and direct the
course of our journey this night to believing people,
the servants of the living God. Let the two of you
holding me on my right hand and on my left, gently with
secrecy let me down from this litter without anyone
perceiving it; and let the litter be going on empty, and
let those who are with it be imagining that I am sitting
inside it, and we three all alike in man's clothing will go
joyfully to the people of God.
Now the counsel of the Blessed One pleased these
eunuchs, and the next day they did joyfully as she had
said to them. Now the Christ In whom they fully believed
sent immediately in a very little while His grace to them.
For as soon as she descended from her litter, and they f. 25 a
began to travel and to go on the road, the saint of God,
the bishop Helenus, happened to be accompanying them
with a great multitude who were with him, praising and
singing and saying together: The paths of the righteous are
straight, and the paths of the holy are ordered.
Then said the Blessed Eugenia to Proteus and to Hya-
cinthus : Do ye understand the force of these words that
they are singing now? Do ye know that upon us is
accomplished the meaning of the words which we are
hearing now from the Christians who are singing and
praising their God; those which we also were speaking
to each other yesterday concerning the truth of God,
and concerning His mighty power ? For we heard before
6 EUGENIA.
holy men singing and praising God and saying that all
the gods of the nations are demons, and we removed
ourselves far from the ruinous worship of idols : and now
f. 25 b again lo ! we hear thousands of men singing together
and saying: The paths of the righteous are straight and
the ways of the just are equal. Now since we have heard
these sacred words, let us go in with a good will and mingle
with this crowd of singers, and let us be of them and be
numbered in their ranks, that we may enter with them into
the life that passeth not away, although we have been
called late, as if at eventide, to the knowledge of the truth.
Now when they had entered and mingled with the
crowd of Christians, they asked some of them, saying:
Who is that old man who is sitting by himself in the midst
of the people in a high place as if in honour? But some
of the crowd answered and said unto them : That is the
bishop Helenus, who has been educated from his birth in
a monastery of Christian people, he who by his acceptable
prayers was saved from the midst of a burning fire ; and
.26 a what is to be told concerning the beauty and excel-
lence of his former deeds ! For lo ! a short time ago a
certain wizard who dwelt here, whose name was Iraus,
approached the people of the Christians with the wicked
artifice of his magic, and desired to turn away their minds
from the sacred writings of theology, and from the certain
hope which is signified in their living words. He waxed
bold in his wickedness and approached the bishop Helenus
and began to speak to him vain words and of the corruption
of his error. But when the holy man saw the impudence
of his wicked words, and knew that he could not reply
to him about the truth in words, he said with a loud voice
in the presence of all the people who were assembled there :
Why need we argue in words with the son of perdition
who now disturbs us? For behold! he -is not willing to
EUGENIA. 7
submit to our own words nor to our teaching that he may
turn to the truth. For by the seductiveness and incitement
of his words he has caused many to fall from the faith of f. 26 b
God wherein they were standing. And behold ! down to
the present time he is eager in his wickedness that he
may subvert and throw down those who are established
and confirmed in their faith from the hope of their God.
But henceforth in the first place it is incumbent on us to
show by an experiment and by a deed that it is God who
guides and helps all those who believe in Him and rely
upon Him. He who by the hands of me, His humble
and weak servant, is ready to show the glorious power
of His sovereignty and the sublime redemption which He
works for all His servants who love Him with their whole
heart in truth and in verity.
And when the holy one, bishop Helenus, had said these
things, he said again to all the people who were standing
there and listening to them: Kindle a great fire in the
midst of the city ; and let us enter it together, I and this
son of perdition who is leading you astray, and let us
stand in the midst of the flame. And the one of us whom
his God shall rescue from the fire and who does not burn, f. 27 a
his religion is true, and his God is the true God and
is able to save. from the fire all those who trust in Him.
And when the bishop Helenus had said these things, this
counsel pleased all the people; they said to him: Thou
hast well said. Now when they had kindled a great
fire, the holy bishop Helenus commanded that they both
should go in together without fear, and that thfey should
stand in the midst of the flame. But the wizard answered
and said: Let it not be thus ; but let us enter each of us
alone. Now go thou in first, because thou hast counselled
and incited the people that this should happen. And
immediately, swiftly, the Blessed Helenus, with great con- '
8 EUGENIA.
fidence in God his helper, spread out his hands towards
heaven, and with sobs and with many tears called to God
in his prayers, saying: Thou knowest, our Lord Jesus the
Christ, Son of the Living God, the readiness of my soul ;
f. 27 b Thou wert the fourth who didst appear to the three children
of the house of Hanania in the midst of the furnace of fire.
Thou knowest, my Lord and my God, that I had not one
wish for human glory ; but all my labour and longing and
the eagerness of my soul is for the redemption of Thy
people, over whom in Thy grace Thou hast appointed me a
shepherd, whom the enemy and hater of good by means of
his minister hath plotted to turn from the plain path of life.
And because of this, for the redemption of Thy people I go
joyfully into this fire, for there I shall find Thee before
me. But sprinkle upon me swiftly the dew of Thy mercy,
so that this fire may not at all touch me. And when he had
said these things in his prayers, he signed himself with the
sign of the cross and entered, and stood confidently exulting
in the midst of the flame of the fire a long time, whilst in
nothing was he hurt by that fire. Then when the people
who were assembled there saw this great miracle which had
f.s8a happened they laid hold of Iraus the wizard and without
his consent threw him into the fire. But when he began to
bum the blessed bishop Helenus ran and seized him by his
hand so that he might rescue him. For although he was
justly tortured in that fire, as his impudence deserved, yet
the bishop Helenus seized and brought him out of it alive.
But when all the people had insulted that wizard and
stoned him with stones, they left him and went away from
there.
But him whom ye see, the grace of God has magnified
him whilst continually without ceasing he praises and
glorifies and exalts God, who by His hand hath wrought
redemption for His people.
EUGENIA. 9
Then the blessed Eugenia with those two eunuchs who
were with her, Proteus and Hyacinthus, fell down before
the holy bishop Helenus and did obeisance to him. And
they implored and besought him to confirm them in the
faith of the Christ; and they opened their mouths and
persuaded him and besought him that by his hand they
might approach* to the knowledge of God completely, f. 28 b
The blessed one answered and said to them, My children,
be ye continually in the church of God, and be ye
zealous at all times in the holy service of your Lord,
and thus the great day of the revelation of His coming
shall find you watching and ready.
But the blessed Eugenia besought him and said unto
him, I beseech of thee, my Lord, pray for me, and com-
mend me to God, He whom thou servest gloriously from
thy youth. For we three, my Lord, are by family Romans,
and children of those who worship idols. But the mercy
of thy Lord and His grace hath called us. When we heard
His voice we did not delay to follow it, but immediately
swiftly we left the vain worship of idols. And as we were
seeking to journey after the sacred footsteps of thy holiness
the grace of God brought us hither. And when the blessed
ones had related these things to the holy Helenus he was
silent and did not speak to them, for all the things that 1 29 a
had been related to him had been revealed to him by the
revelation of the Holy Spirit. And because it was evening
they knelt and received a blessing from him, and thus they
departed from his presence. But on the following day they
came to the church and desired to appear to the blessed
bishop. But a certain priest who dwelt with him chanced
to be there ; an illustrious and excellent man, whose name
was Eutropius. And they persuaded him to go in and
remind the bishop about them. And he went in to him
with eagerness and said to him: Three young men,
L. E. B "
10 EUGENIA.
brethren, have come here of those who have forsaken the
fear and the worship of idols, and they desire to become
servants of the Christ, and to be numbered amongst His
people, and to be amongst those who believe in Him
and are admitted to His glorious mysteries. And they
desire so great a gift by the hand of thy holiness and long
to be worthy. Then said the blessed Helenus, I praise
Thee, our Lord Jesus the Christ, that Thou hast caused us
to attain to all this, and by Thy grace hast deemed us
f. 29 b to be worthy. I will see those of whom Thou hast already
told me by the revelation of the Holy Spirit And he
commanded and they entered his presence, and he rose
immediately and prayed. And when he had finished his
prayer, he took hold of the hand of Eugenia with those two
who were with her, and said to them, How have ye received
the knowledge of the truth, and committed yourselves to
God, and [how] did ye ask to see me His humble servant ?
What have ye heard about me that ye have come to me ?
Reveal it to me, for I wish to know it from you, and I
seek to see the good fruits of your promptitude, if it be
that you wish to approach God with all your mind.
And the blessed Eugenia answered and said to him:
We have considered amongst ourselves that it is not fitting
that we should name the adorable name of God on stones
and wooden things without feeling. And whilst we were
discussing amongst ourselves which is the true religion in
which the most high and adorable God delights, the grace
of our Lord brought us hither. For we heard some of
f. aoa you who were singing together and saying that all the
gods of the nations are demons, but the Lord made the
heavens. And when we heard this blessed voice, we dis-
missed immediately and swiftly the religion of idols from
us. And we forsook their worship in haste. And we came
hither eagerly, and we journeyed with all the people of the
EUGENIA. 1 1
believers in thy footsteps 1 , Father, whilst we were believing
in God who will help us, that we may assent to thy faith,
and be established in thy truth, and we may show by deeds
the truth of the words which have been spoken by us to
thy holiness. But we three are all of us brothers. One
of us is named Proteus, and another Hyacinthus, and I am
called Eugenius. And in reply to these things which
bishop Helenus heard from Eugenia, he answered and said
to her, Thou art well called Eugenius; because joyfully
and heroically thou doest everything, and thy soul is
perfected ; and thou approachest joyfully to the contest of
Christ. But know that God has revealed and made known
to us that thou art called Eugenia, and whence thou art f. 30 b
come and whose daughter thou art; and who these two
are who have come hither with thee, our Lord hath shewn
it clearly to me; and by the good will that was in thee
towards God also those ones are found perfect, and as-
senters to thy faith. And he commanded them that they
should be constantly three months in the churches and in
the monasteries, that they might be helped by the sight
and by the speech of many, and be established completely
in the faith of God. And then afterwards he made them
approach the baptism of atonement and made them par-
takers of the glorious mysteries of the Divinity. Now
when he had done all these excellent things to them he
led them and brought them into a monastery of men
and committed them to the Abbot, and commanded him
concerning them that he should have a care over them.
But their deeds he revealed to no one as yet.
But at the first time of the discipleship of the blessed
ones when Proteus and Hyacinthus had let down the
blessed Eugenia from her litter, the litter went on empty, f. 3 la
whilst the young men who were going before it and behind
1 Literally in the footsteps of thy Paternity.
12 EUGENIA.
it knew nothing about what had happened ; for they sup-
posed that she was sitting in it and going. But the
household of the blessed Eugenia when they thought that
she had arrived from the village whither she had gone,
went out to meet her with joy and to welcome her with
exultation. But when they did not find her as they had
expected, they lifted up their voice with weeping and with
bitter wailing.
And they enquired of those who were with her what
had become of Eugenia. They excused themselves, Until
we arrived here we did not know what had happened,
but we were trusting that she was sitting in the inside of
this litter. And after these things there was a tumult and
a great uproar in all the cities and in that country. And
every one was in distress and in great grief because of her.
And she was sought for in every place and was not found,
f. 31 b For her parents were mourning for their daughter ; and
her brothers for their sister; and her servants for their
mistress. And every citizen was plunged into great
sorrow, because they saw in what a grief her parents and
her household were because of her. And they went
round about in all the places and provinces seeking for
Eugenia.
Now they inquired of the country people who were in
that place and of the women who practised necromancy and
they offered sacrifices to the idols on her behalf. And when
they had sought for her in every place and she was not
found, all the deluded people, the worshippers of idols, said
this concerning her, The immortal gods have snatched her
away, and she is exalted to heaven and she mingles with
them. And when her father heard these things from the
impostors he believed them, and his great grief and sore
sorrow turned to much consolation. And they made her
a statue of pure gold, and set it up in the city. But her
EUGENIA. 13
mother Claudia, and her brothers Avita and Sergius found
no way whatever of being consoled in their grief.
Now the blessed Eugenia in the dress of a man with
Proteus and Hyacinthus, in one perfect love, were in the 32 a
monastery which we have already named progressing in
the fear of God every day, so that in a short time they
were repeating by heart all the Holy Scriptures. But
while the blessed ones were occupied with these chaste
and holy deeds three years afterwards the Abbot of that
monastery in which Eugenia with her two eunuchs was, fell
on sleep, and his soul went to his Lord in peace.
And some time after the death of this Abbot it pleased
all the brethren of this monastery to appoint Eugenia
Abbot over them. But the blessed Eugenia declined this,
for her conscience admonished her that she was a woman,
and it was not fitting that she should be commander [and]
governor to the men of God. And moreover she was
afraid lest she might cause the minds of the brethren to
stumble who were advising and persuading her to do this ;
for she saw clearly that the minds of all of them were
consenting to that idea. And the blessed Eugenia answered
and said to them, Many a time ye have heard such words f. 32 b
in your own synod, for ye say that our Lord Jesus the
Christ will reveal and make known to us such things as be
profitable according to His will. And now, if ye command
it, let the holy Gospel be brought into [our] midst and let
us stand and pray with fervour, and let us beseech the
Lord that He will reveal and show to us such things as
be profitable; and let us afterwards open and read, and
whatsoever be the first passage that is found, let us assent
to it, and let us hear it and do as it commands us.
Now when the holy Gospel came and was placed in the
midst, they all stood and prayed. And afterwards the
blessed Eugenia took it in her two hands and kissed it and
14 EUGENIA.
pressed it upon her eyes. And she worshipped the Lord
and opened it And when they saw what she had done
there was great quiet amongst them. And when she had
opened it, she found the place in which it is written that
our Lord said to his disciples, Ye know that the chiefs of
the nations are their lords, and their great men rule over
them. It shall not be so among you, but whosoever among
f. 33 a you wishes to be the chief, let him be the servant and
minister of every man. Now after this reading Eugenia
said to them, Since ye have made known that this is your
wish, it is incumbent upon us that we fulfil the command-
ments of the Christ For it is required of a servant that
he be obedient to his fellows in the fear of the Christ
whilst he is cautious in his mind and in his estimation of
himself; blameless and faultless let him draw near joyfully
to God. When they had all assented to the words which
the blessed Eugenia spoke to them, in order that she might
not resist and vex them she accepted for herself only the
title of Abbot But they entreated her and besought her
that she would accept all the rule of .the monastery, as
head and governor. She yielded to them also in this
behaving amongst them with all humility and showing
indeed the fruits of this humility. And the things which
the last ought to do to the first in the service of the saints,
she in her eagerness and in her humility used to do, all the
f.33*> service pertaining to the fraternity; for she drew water
from the well and cut wood and swept all the rooms of the
convent, and fulfilled all the service of the brethren. And
she made a little cell for herself by the side of the door of
the monastery that she might be continually in it, that she
might not be a burden on the brothers who were with her,
and be better off in her dwelling than all those who were
with her. For at the time of the service she would enter
first and all the brethren would find her there. And there
EUGENIA. 15
was not in all that fraternity any one who excelled her in
humility, and at all times she was assiduous with the
brethren, warning and teaching them that they should not
use any oaths at all, but that the truth should be spoken
amongst them with quiet speech. For we learn from the
commandments of God that we should conduct ourselves
with all propriety and holiness and humility and patience.
And let us have this eagerness continually, that God may
in nothing be despised by us through the transgression of
His commandments. For he hath denied his Lord, who
teaches his companions that they should do things which f- 34 a
his Lord hath not commanded to be done. Now whilst
they were learning these commandments every day from
her, the brethren who were with her were the more con r
firmed in their faith and in their love and in good works.
For neither by day nor by night did she cease from
prayer and from the reading of the Scriptures. Now
whilst she was living such a life, there was given to her
by means of the grace of God the gift of healing, so that
she cast out demons from men by means of the sign of the
cross of our Lord, and health was given from God by her
hands to those who were sick and afflicted. But because
our word is not sufficient to describe the excellency of
each one of her first works, such as they were, we leave
them and we come briefly to relate her chaste and holy
deeds.
Now the wife of a certain senator who was very rich in
goods and in much wealth, whose name was Melania, had
been sick of a fever and of an ague for a long time. She
heard about the blessed Eugenia, that our Lord wrought f. 34 b
healing by her hand to those who were afflicted ; and she
sent for her. And the blessed Eugenia did not decline to
go at once with those who came for her. And when she
entered her presence and saw her, she immediately signed
1 6 EUGENIA.
the sign of the cross on the breast and betwixt the eyes of
Melania and prayed. And immediately her fever fled from
her with her ague, and she was quickly made whole from
her sickness.
And immediately the blessed Eugenia returned swiftly
to her monastery. But after these things that had happened
Melania was sending continually to the blessed Eugenia
and bringing her to her [self] not knowing that she was a
woman. Now Eugenia went to her in the sincerity of her
heart and in the uprightness of her soul. But Melania
was not sending and fetching her with a sincere mind, nor
yet as believing that by her prayers she had been healed
of her sickness. But as she supposed that she was a man
she spoke unseemly words to her, for she said, " Why dost
f. 35 a thou trouble and vex thyself uselessly with fasting, and
spoilest the appearance of thy youth ? Does God perchance
love sad people, and those whose faces are miserable ; or
is He pleased with those who make their bodies lean with
hunger? Or is He glorified in those who flee from the
marriage-bed ? Nor does He magnify those who crucify
themselves more than their companions. Does He com-
mand every man that he should accomplish the period of
his life without joy and comfort ? Let us then draw nigh
and make use of the good things of this world which
are given to us by God, that we may not be like
ungrateful people and like people who are unworthy of
His gifts that are beside us. Believe henceforth to thy
advantage and thy profit in those things which are
spoken to thee by me. For when thou shalt be with me
in one love, thou shalt be heir of all that I possess. And
good times of enjoyment and of gladness shall pass over
thee. And thou shalt be lord of all my possessions. Also
of myself who am speaking to thee, and am persuading
35 *> thee. For I am adorned with beauty and with loveliness
EUGENIA. 17
and with gladness, and I have endless riches. And I
consider that this is not wickedness ; and it is not sin before
God, if thou wilt be my husband. And when thou shalt
cast away from thee this mind in which thou hast been
stedfast for many years thou shalt enjoy good things/'
But when Melania had said these things and more than
these in her madness and her magical art, the Blessed
Eugenia rose up in much agitation, and withstood the
words of perdition and of death with which Melania was
clothed, and she wished to free the soul of the latter
from corruption. And she tried to persuade her and said :
The desires of this world are destroyers of the souls
of men. And wherein a man thinks that he seizes for a
little while the transitory desires of this world, he robs
himself of the enjoyment which passes not away for all
eternity. Therefore let us not seek bodily desires at all,
because Satan our enemy endeavours by them to sink
and destroy the souls of men. When these words were f. 36 a
spoken passionately by Eugenia, Melania shut her ear
that she might not receive what was spoken to her. For
her thoughts were bound with strong fetters of shameful
desires. As it is written, to a guilty soul wisdom
entereth not.
But Eugenia endeavoured and made a struggle that
she might turn her if possible from the death of perdition
towards salvation. And when she found no means of doing
this, she departed from her, grieving about the destruction
of her soul. But the mad Melania made herself sick and
sent intercessors and persuaders to the Blessed Eugenia,
so that she might come and see her and pray over
her and she might be healed. And she went into her
presence with confidence, and sat down beside her in an
inner apartment. And she took hold of Eugenia without
shame and wished to embrace her secretly. And she
1 8 EUGENIA.
f. 36 b spoke to her unchaste and infamous words in her wicked-
ness.
Then the Blessed Eugenia perceiving the treachery of
Satan and the cunning of the mad woman his servant,
stretched out her right hand and signed herself with the
sign of the cross, and with weeping and with sobs said
in a loud voice, Justly wert thou called Melania, for a
heavy blackness and a putrid filth wells up within thee.
Righteously art thou called Melania. For thou art the
daughter of nameless sin and a guide to perdition to
those who shall perish through thee, a daughter of ever-
lasting Gehenna ; a troubled spring of putridity, a fountain
running with shame and overflowing, the enemy of God
and the abode of the Evil one. For there is not even one
good thing in thy heart, because thou art the dwelling-
place of Satan. And thou art not worthy to have part
or company with the servants of God.
Now when Melania had heard this contumely, she
37 a flamed into a great rage not enduring the shame that was
hers. For she reflected that perhaps this rumour would
come to the hearing of men, and she would become a
reproach and a derision in the eyes of all her acquaint-
ances. And she went at once to Alexandria, and publicly
in the sight of all the people she approached the governor
of the city, and made an accusation before him against the
Blessed Eugenia and said: I denounce a certain young
madman who has been saying of himself that he is a
Christian. I sent for him and fetched him, that he might
cure me; because I had been told about him that he
could cure those who were pained and afflicted, and heal
them of their sicknesses. And when I had commanded
that he should enter my presence he immediately began to
speak shameful and vile words and would have led me
into disgrace. And why is it necessary for me to say
EUGENIA. 19
more? For at last he wished in his madness to assault
me like a slave, and if a certain girl had not happened to
be with me in my chamber, by whose help I escaped from f. 37 b
his hands and he prevailed not against me, he would
otherwise, as his lasciviousness inclined, have wrought his
pleasure on me.
Now when the governor had heard this accusation, he
was greatly troubled. And he sent a troop of soldiers
and commanded that she and all who were with her should
be bound in iron fetters, and they should come speedily
and their cause should be heard before all the people ; and
afterwards they should be cast to the wild beasts. But
when the day arrived on which it was decreed concerning
them, that the examination of the Blessed Eugenia and of
all those who were with her should take place, having put
iron fetters on all their limbs and having bound them
tight, they brought them in and made them stand up
in the court in the sight of all the people. And when
the crowd of people who had come together on their
account saw them, not knowing the truth of what had
happened, they lifted up their voice together and cried out
against them, but those who were on the side of the mad
Melania were shouting the more, and some of them were 38 a
crying that they should be cast into the fire, and be put
to death in it, and their lives should perish, others were
crying out that they should be food for the wild beasts.
And others said that they should be punished with severe
and bitter punishments, as was befitting their impudence.
For with one consent the mind of all the people was
against them, as against people who had done something
worthy of death. Then the governor commanded that
the clamour of the people should cease ; and when they
were quiet from what they were excited about, they
brought in the Blessed Eugenia and set her in the court
20 EUGENIA.
before the governor openly in the sight of all the people.
And he began to question her, saying : What confidence
induced thee to approach the patrician lady Melania for the
purpose of offering her this wicked outrage ? Thou didst
enter in the deceitful dress of the Christians, and as one
skilful in the craft of healing, that thou mightest bring a
f. 38 b woman of the aristocracy to the shame of wantonness.
Did the Christ perhaps teach you to do things like these ?
And is this the profession of your religion, that ye should
do deeds of corruption and uncleanness ?
But the Blessed Eugenia returned an answer with much
courage to the governor saying: I was praying that I
might overcome all the temptations which should come
on me into my mind and conquer them. And that I
might reserve this accusation of calumny and oppression
for the judgment that is to be. But in order that the
purity of truth may not be abashed by those who out of
an evil mind unjustly attack it ; for purity which is guided
by modesty cannot at all be hidden, for it will bring not
merely the praise of men to those who love it, but it will
be impelled to exist for the honour of God who gave it
For chastity and holiness and modesty are preserved
completely by wise men, and the soul of the Christian
perfects all her works faithfully in the love of God. I
f. 39 a declare this my mind publicly in the midst of and in the
sight of all men. For by nature I am a woman. And I
was not able to fulfil the desire of my soul regarding the
fear of God, unless I changed myself into this chaste and
honourable and excellent guise. And being a woman
by nature, in order that I might gain everlasting life, I
became a man for a short time, being emulous and imitating
my teacher Thecla : she who despised and rejected the
desires of this world, and became worthy of the good things
of heaven by means of her chastity and her life. Therefore
EUGENIA. 21
I praised, Oh governor, every man who longs for the good
things that are with God, and him who because of the love
of the Christ hungers for so great excellence, and for the
weakness which imitates the strength of full grown men.
And because of this I also by the impulse of the love of
God and by the fear of His sovereignty took the dress
of an adult man in private and in public, keeping my
virginity spotless to the Christ my Lord. f-39b
And when she had said these things, she rent the
garment which she wore from the top as far as her girdle,
and that which was hidden from the sight of men was
instantly revealed, and the chaste breasts which were upon
the bosom of a pure virgin were seen. And when she had
done this, and convinced every one what she was, she
at once swiftly covered and wrapped herself up with
the rags which she had torn. And she continued and
said to the governor : Thou art my own bodily father, and
ye are my brothers Avita and Sergius. For I am thy
daughter Eugenia, she who because of the love of Christ
rejected this world and its desires with my two eunuchs
Proteus and Hyacinthus who came with me to the covenant
of the Christ, my Lord. And my Saviour Jesus the Christ
has abundantly presented Himself to thee, that when I
shall be to thee a teacher, the desire of the victory of the 40 a
Christ, him in whom I believe and hope that he will keep
me in purity until the end, may in the presence of every
one come upon thee.
Then the father recognized his daughter, and the
brothers their sister. And they ran before all the people
and embraced her, and kissed her weeping. This was also
made known to her mother Claudia. And she ran in
haste with her maid-servants to the theatre, and she also
entered and wept before all the people, and embraced and
kissed her weeping bitterly. And they brought costly
22 EUGENIA.
robes and clothed her against her will. And in order
that she might be seen by all men they lifted her and
placed her on a high place. And all the people when
they saw her shouted with a loud voice saying, One is our
Lord, Jesus the Christ, the true God of the Christians.
Now the Bishops, and the priests, and the deacons, and
all the people of the Christians were sitting outside the
theatre watching that when the saints should be put to
f. 40 b death they might take their corpses, and bury them.
They also went into the theatre praising and blessing God
and saying, " Thy right hand, O Lord ! hath done mighty
things; Thy right hand, O Lord! hath broken thine enemies.
Now that the Blessed one hath been exalted above all
men it has happened by the providence of God that by
her modesty and by her dignity all who behold her might
be helped. And that the glory of such modesty should
not be concealed, all men seeing it, fire fell from heaven
and burnt up Melania and all her house, and all that
belonged to her. And there was great joy among all the
people, and the church that had been closed eight years
before was opened. And every one believed in the Christ,
and became a Christian. And the Eparch was baptized,
and his sons Avitus and Sergius. And Claudia, the
mother of the Blessed -Eugenia, was baptized also, with
all her hand-maidens ; and people of the heathen without
number were turned to God.
f. 41 a And the Christians recovered their privileges and were
singing praises as of old with their former customs, and all
Alexandria was like one church, and the presbyters only
were governing and serving the church. For he who
previously had been called of God as by the law and
had been bishop, had died in the Lord. Then all the
churches came together to Philip the Governor that he
might be bishop over them. And when he became (bishop)
EUGENIA. 23
by the grace of God which had called him, the holy
Church held him in great honour. But though he was
deemed worthy of this excellent degree of the Episcopacy,
he also governed the affairs of the city, because that until
now he held the command of the province. For he who
should remove him from the command of the province
had not yet arrived from the Emperors.
And at length all the inhabitants of Egypt were 4* b
converted by this means to the truth of the Christ from
the religion of idols ; and the churches in all the cities and
villages which eight years before had been shut by the
heathen the persecutors of the truth, were opened ; and
every day Christianity flourished and increased.
And whilst all these reformations were taking place by
the grace of the Christ, in all the churches of that country,
Satan, the persecutor of good things and teacher of hateful
things, and secret conspirer of evil things, awakened some
heathens amongst the chief men of the city, and incited
them to make it known to the Emperors, the Rulers of that
time, and these erring heathen did everything with envy
against the church of God and against the holy bishop
Philip. And there was sent against the blessed bishop
Philip a man who should depose him from the command of
the province, whose name was Perinus, for the Emperors
had given him power, that if w;hat they had heard against
Philip from the chief men of Alexandria, were true, when
he should reach him he should immediately slay him 42 a
with the sword. Then Perinus arrived and entered the
city with much pomp and pride. But he was not able
to effect at once what had been commanded by the
Emperors against Philip, because all the people of the
city loved him greatly, and held him in great honour as
a good shepherd and a diligent governor. Now when
Perinus saw that he was not able to kill him publicly,
24 EUGENIA.
he sent with guile against him wicked and rascally men
who were dressed in the honourable fashion of the
Christians. And when they had entered his presence
in the church, they found the Blessed one standing in
fervent prayer before God And when they approached
him, that they might receive a blessing, they immediately
struck him and killed him, as Zacharia was slain between
the temple and the altar. He was in the office of a bishop
one year and three months. And as he died in the con-
fession and witnessing for the Christ, he went to his Lord
in peace.
f. 42 b But the Blessed Eugenia took up the body of her
martyr-father, and wrapped it up carefully, and placed it
by the side of the hostel which had been made by, her
mother Claudia for the comfort of strangers and afflicted
people, close to a place which was called Natira 1 . And
by the solicitude of her brothers Avrtus and Sergius, a
regal martyr-shrine was built upon it to the glory of the
Christ, and for the help and edification of the souls of
men. And when all these things were effectually finished,
the blessed Eugenia with her mother Claudia and her
brothers Avitus and Sergius went up from Alexandria to
Rome, the grace of God accompanying them, through
which they found favour before all the senate. And
they were greatly welcomed by all men, so that one of
them became proconsul in Carthage a city of Africa, and
the other was appointed with honour over the country of
Africa.
f-43* But Claudia and Eugenia her daughter by the com-
mandment of God were occupied every day with good
works and chaste deeds which are pleasing to God. And
they were turning many souls from the fear of idols and
were bringing them near to God. And they were praised
1 Perhaps "Nitria."
EUGENIA. 25
by all the noble women of senatorial rank and by all the
virgins amongst the chiefs, and they were all zealous to
imitate their life in the fear of the Christ.
But a certain virgin named Basilia, near of kin to the
Emperor Gallienus, who was very prudent and wise, came
secretly to the blessed Eugenia, and heard from her the
word of truth. And immediately she was rooted in love
in the depth of her understanding, and she believed
fully in the Christ, so that no man was able from that
time to uproot from within her heart the plant of faith
in God. But because Basilia could not continually be
seeing Eugenia, Eugenia gave Proteus and Hyacinthus her f. 43 b
two eunuchs as a present to Basilia the virgin : and from that
time, by day and by night, she was constant in the praise
of God and in prayers and in reading of the sacred books.
Then the bishop of the city, whose name was Soter, a
pure and holy man, who was very eminent in the fear of
God and in the training of the teaching of the sacred books
of theology, came to Basilia, and baptized her in the holy
font, for the pardon of trespasses and for the remission of
sins, and from the sacred books of theology he confirmed
the minds of all who were with her in the faith of the
Christ, so that they all together were prepared to go
forward and to become willing martyrs. All the time
that Bishop Soter presided over the church, the Christians
were in tranquility and peace, for not one vexation was
aroused against them by the enemies. But Bishop
Cyprian in the city of Carthage endured many suffer-
ings and afflictions because of the faith of God. For f. 44a
Maximus the Pro-consul by command of the Emperors
who ordered him by means of letters, slew the holy Bishop
Cyprian. Then Bishop Soter when he heard these things
hid himself, and lived alone, but he taught many of the
Roman citizens, honourable men, secretly. Now on a
u E. J>
26 EUGENIA.
certain day Basilia came to the blessed Eugenia, and
when she saw her she received her with great joy. And
Eugenia answered and said to her, This day our Lord
has made known to me clearly that from thy face, which
is like a rose much blood will be shed. Now this means
that thou shalt have contended and conquered in the
confession of the Christ, thou shalt receive from Him the
crown of victory of thy martyrdom with joy.
Now when the blessed Basilia had heard these things
from the holy Eugenia, she lifted up her hands -to heaven
and praised God with great joy. Now when they had
f. 44 b prayed and finished their prayer, they sat down, and
Basilia said to Eugenia, "To both of us as I see, our
Lord and our Redeemer Jesus the Christ has revealed
and shown us the glory of our crowns. For as thou
hast seen regarding me, so also to me the Christ has
already made known the time of thy departure. For I
saw that thou didst receive two crowns from heaven, one
because of the struggle for thy virginity which thou hast
made, and hast kept it spotless to the Christ; and the
other one because thou shalt struggle in the conflict,
and shalt conquer the enemy, and thy blood will be shed
because of the Christ These things thou art about to
receive."
Now when the blessed Eugenia had heard these things,
she rejoiced and exulted greatly, and called all the virgins
who had been drawn to the fear of God by her means and
who longed to preserve their virginity pure to the Christ,
and persuaded them that they should pray with her, and
commit her in their prayer to God. And after they had
finished their prayer, she began to talk with them, saying
to them : Now the time of vintage has arrived in which the
f. 45 a first-fruits are to be gathered, about which our Lord Jesus
the Christ hath made known to me by means of the mysteries
EUGENIA. 27
which He hath revealed to us beforehand. And now,
my beloved ones and my disciples, send ye me in the
first place before you to our Lord. And be ye also
watching and making ready that ye may go out to meet
the Christ, your betrothed, whilst your lamps are shining.
For the beauty of virginity appears first of all before God,
for it is the likeness of the angels which are in heaven.
And it is near to God the Almighty, and it is akin to the
life that is about to be revealed, and the mother of modesty
and the teacher of purity. And a mistress 1 without care,
and the height of happiness, and zealous for chastity, and
the illustrious crown of faith, the hope and succour and
honour of those who love it ; the glory of the soul, and
eternal rest, the cause of good things and the guide to the
kingdom of heaven. Let there be for you no other labour
and urgency like this, that you may keep your virginity
purely and holily to the Christ the Son of God your
betrothed. For there are in this world incitements and
wicked desires, which remain for a short time with their 45b
lovers, and afterwards beget weeping and sobbings in the
Gehenna of fire. These in their beginnings appear exhila-
rating to men, but in the end they torture those who do
them with bitter punishments and sore torments which are
endless. For they do their deeds without care in this
transitory world that they may be condemned completely
in everlasting endless torture. And now, my daughters,
honoured virgins, who bravely and believingly keep your
virginity along with me, remain in the love of each
other and in the love of God in which ye dwell and in
which ye are abundantly confirmed. For it is time now
that ye mourn and cry to God because of the former time
which has passed away, when error had fast hold of
you, that ye may be filled with everlasting joy, before
1 Or " Martha."
28 EUGENIA.
the face of God Almighty. But I have committed you
to the Holy Spirit of God, whilst I believe and it is
certain to me that He will receive you in His kingdom
.46 a spotless and blameless. Therefore do not seek for my
bodily appearance but let each of the beautiful examples
that I have shown you in my day be continually before
your face. And remember my teaching, humble though I
be, and love it every day.
When she had taught these things and things like them
and had committed them (to God) she kissed them all with
a holy kiss weeping. After she had saluted them, she
said: Be ye sound and true in our Lord, my daughters
and my sisters, for Basilia and Eugenia your sisters are
departing from this world to our Lord. But at that time,
one of the maidens of Basilia went to Pompeius her
betrothed and said to him, Dost thou know that thy
betrothed, the Lady Basilia, has been persuaded by
Eugenia to decline to be thy wife ? And when Pompeius
heard these things from that girl, he was greatly troubled
and angry at Eugenia, and was sore distressed because
of Basilia his betrothed. And he went to her and wished
to enter the chamber where Basilia and Proteus and
Hyacinthus were performing their customary prayers and
f. 46 b praises. He found the doors closed and he knocked at
the door and wished to enter their presence. But the
blessed Basilia sent to him (saying), If thou art come
in order to see me, know that I have fully renounced thee.
And I cannot do otherwise, because of my 'faith in our
Lord Jesus the Christ. And when he had heard these
things, he departed thence in great rage and vexation.
And he sent to call the wives of the senators and some of
the noble women of the city, and he persuaded them and
sent them to her, that they should enter in and speak with
her words of persuasion and advise her to become his wife.
EUGENIA. 2$
And when these noble women came to speak to her words
of persuasion and reconciliation, so that she might become
wife to her betrothed, the blessed Basilia replied [in] these
words to the noble women, saying to them : There is a
great difference between the ignorant and the wise people,
for the ignorant do not care to receive good things, nor
do they wish to decline the evil things, but wise men
enquire about good things, and progress towards excellent
things, and suddenly they completely renounce [them].
For if this appear to you to be good, that I should f. 47 a
take for my betrothed a certain mortal and transient
man, how much better will it appear to you, that I should
take to myself the Bridegroom who dieth not, and re-
maineth for ever. I rejoice and exult that in my soul
I have decided this, that I should be betrothed alone to
the Bridegroom who dieth not ; to Him who is our Lord
Jesus the Christ ; and I have committed my soul with
my body to Him: and thus I am eager to keep them
spotless to Him. For I see that everything in this world
is transient and perishing, and its joy lasts but a short
time. Why then have we not hope to get possessions over
which death has no power, and which last for ever ? For
with which of mankind remain the blessings of this world
and comfort him ? those which flourish a little while, and
quickly hastily wither. For this reason ye who have wisdom f. 47 b
and understanding see with the good eye of your minds
and consider what hath been spoken to you by me. Be
not ye now walking in the broad path of the good things
of this world, . neither have ye any reliance on what is
seen, to which the weakness and inexperience of men
devotes itself. But [be ye] those who forsake human
things and place their hope in God Almighty, He who
sent His only One, our Lord Jesus the Christ, to us, that
He might show us the way of truth in which we should
30 EUGENIA.
walk confidently, and that through Him we might know
the true faith and the perfect love which we have, in
whom we are eager for this true faith, and we have great
solicitude on this account that we may keep it spotless
and blameless, by the strength and the help which is
given to us by the Holy Spirit Let no man therefore
advise us that I. should be neglectful of Him whom
I confess, who is our Lord Jesus the Christ, Son of the
f. 4 8 a living God, He who was born of Mary the holy Virgin
whilst she remained in her uncontaminated virginity.
For our Lord was born from her by His own will, as a
man ; and was worshipped as a king by the shepherds and
by the Magi. He was submissive as a disciple whilst He
was a learned man and a teacher. He was tempted as a
mortal, and He conquered death as an immortal. He was
sold as a slave, and He came in glory as Lord and God.
He was thought to be a prophet, whilst His Spirit spake
by the prophets. And He was anointed as the Messiah,
whilst He anointed kings and priests and prophets. He
suffered and died as a man, and was raised and arose like
God. But lest men should go on in the footsteps of the
Jews, the crucifiers, whilst all His disciples were together
gazing at Him, He was taken up from them to heaven and
sitteth at the right hand of His Father. They are those
who by their martyrdom have sealed the truth of this ; for
after His ascension to His Father, He gave light and
eyesight to the blind, He offered health to the pained and
f. 48 b the sick. They scared away demons from men by their
commandment and by their seals ; they cleansed the lepers;
they raised the dead ; that by means of all these things
which were done by their hands we may know how much
love and care God has for us. And He wishes for us
that we should be heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
And when the blessed Basilia had spoken all these
EUGENIA. 31
glorious things to the noble women who were listening
to her, then suddenly by the love of the Christ their
minds waxed fervent in spirit and they did not wish
henceforth to go to their homes; nor were they minded
to return an answer from themselves to Pompeius. But
when Pompeius had taken the evidence of all these
women of senatorial rank he went before the Emperors,
and cast himself on his face before them, saying, Help
us, O ye Emperors victorious and merciful to us your own
people of Rome, be prompt and put away from this city
the new gods which Eugenia has brought from Egypt.
For there are found gods who prohibit men from begetting
children, and if men are hindered from begetting children f. 49 a
how will there be a renewal to Rome? And how will
the army of the Romans be increased and grow? by
means of which conflicts are carried on, and by which
the victorious right hand of your Divinity subdues in
battle the hosts of the foreign enemies which oppose
it. If therefore conjugal intercourse [be lawful] to us, let
thy majesty command "take thy betrothed bride," and
from to-day and henceforth we shall be at peace, and
the Christians may do as they please.
And when Pompeius had said these things and more
in his accusation, the Emperor Gallienus commanded
[him] to take his betrothed Basilia, and that if she did
not wish to be his wife, she should be slain with the sword.
Then a decree went forth from the Emperor concerning
Eugenia, that she should sacrifice to the gods, but that
if she should contumaciously resist, and should not
wish to sacrifice, she should be tormented with bitter
punishments and with severe tortures, as her temerity
deserved, and at the last she also should be condemned
to death with the sword. Again a command went forth
from the Emperor that if any man of the Christians should f. 49 b
32 EUGENIA.
introduce another religion and should not wish to sacrifice
to the gods, he should be deprived of dear life by means
of various tortures. But the blessed Basilia refused every
day to become the wife of Pompeius her betrothed. For
many days she was tormented by persuasive words of
many people. On one day she was harassed by women
of senatorial rank and on another day by women who
were neighbours and relatives, who advised her to obey
the command of the Emperor, and to become the wife of
her betrothed.
And why is it necessary for us to say more? For by
the wisdom and providence and grace of God which
accompanied and assisted her, she overcame all these
persuasions and blandishments. Because she was of the
imperial family, and she could not be interrogated and
judged publicly, the Emperor commanded that she should
be beheaded with the sword in the interior of her house,
and according to the commandment of the iniquitous
Emperor her head was taken off with the sword
f. 50 a But when the blessed Basilia had died in the confession
of our Lord Jesus the Christ, a commandment went forth
again concerning Proteus and Hyacinthus, that they also
should sacrifice to the gods ; but if they should resist the
commandment and should not wish to sacrifice, they also
should die by the sword. But when the blessed ones did
not consent at all to sacrifice according to the command-
ment of the tyrant, severe tortures and bitter torments
were applied to their bodies, [and] at last they were
beheaded with the sword. And when these blessed ones
had died blissfully in the confession of our Lord Jesus the
Christ, the blessed Eugenia also was apprehended and
brought before Anicetus, Eparch of the city. And he
commanded that she should go immediately and sacrifice
to the goddess Artemis.
EUGENIA.
33
But when the blessed Eugenia came to that place and
went into the temple she turned to the east and lifted up
her hands to heaven and prayed for a long time. Now
when she had finished her prayer, the image of Artemis
fell and was broken, and it was ground so fine that even its
powder could not be perceived. But those who did not f. sob
understand the power of God, thought it the craft of magic ;
and he commanded that they should tie a great stone on the
neck of the blessed Eugenia and that she should be thrown
into the river Tiber. But when they carried her and threw
her in, immediately her bonds were broken, and the stone
which they had hung round her neck fell ; but the blessed
Eugenia was walking and going on the top of the water.
Now when all the Christians saw this great sign that took
place, they were filled with joy and exultation, and they
praised God with a loud voice, saying, Great is the God
of truth, who hath helped Eugenia His handmaiden, and
hath not left her to perish, as He was with Peter in the sea,
and did not leave him to sink. But when she went and
came on the water, and reached the banks of the river, and
emerged and stood on the firm land, the servants of the
tyrant seized her immediately and conveyed her to prison.
But the Eparch commanded that the bath which is called f. 51 a
of Severianus should be heated strongly until its colour
became like the colour of -iron which is heated in the fire ;
and that she should be cast in there and perish and be con-
sumed by the blast of the flame. And when the command
of the tyrant was fulfilled, they brought the blessed one
and threw her into that bath. But immediately when she
entered into it, the flame of the fire was quenched before
her, so that henceforth it could not be kindled through the
great cold that was in it by the commandment of God.
But when the handmaid of the Christ had conquered
also this device of the erring ones, he commanded that she
L. B.
34 EUGENIA.
should go to the prison ; and there be cast into the dark
cell, and that no bread and no water should be given to
her. But when she entered into the house, that house
was immediately filled with great light And the blessed
Eugenia was in that prison twenty days, whilst that light
shone there every day. And an angel of the Lord appeared
to her, strengthening her and saying, Hail to thee, O
f. 51 b handmaid of God, Eugenia, for our Lord Jesus the Christ,
He whom thou hast loved with all thy heart, and hast
served with all thy soul, hath sent me 1 to thee, and saith, Be
courageous and be strong, Eugenia, for to-day thou shalt
ascend to heaven, gaining the victory over the enemy.
But on that day, which was the birth-day of the Christ,
the Eparch commanded that one of the executioners should
go, and there in the prison slay her with the sword. And
when the blessed one had died 2 by means of the sword in
the prison according to the command of the Eparch, the
Christians heard (of it) and they came and took up the
body of the holy Eugenia, and they carried it in triumph
as something they had found, and laid it in a beautiful
place which was not far from the city, on the road which is
called the Latina.
Now her mother Claudia was sitting at the grave and
weeping. And the blessed Eugenia appeared to her and
said to her, Rejoice and exult, my mother, for our Lord Jesus
the Christ has exalted me to the rest and joy of the saints ;
f. 52 a and has placed my father Philip in the host of just and
righteous fathers. And as for thee, on the coming first day
of the week 3 He will receive thee in peace. And command
my brothers, Avita and Sergius, to keep the seal of the
Christ which they have received, that by means of it they
may be worthy to become partakers and heirs of the king-
dom of heaven, with all the martyrs and confessors. But
1 Cod. "us." 2 Literally "was crowned." 3 Or "Sunday."
EUGENIA. 35
Claudia went up to her house, and informed her sons
according as the blessed Eugenia had informed [her]. And
on the first day of the week as they were consummating the
glorious mysteries of the divinity, while she was standing
in the church and praying, she committed her spirit to the
Lord of all spirits, who is our Lord Jesus the Christ ; and
her sons took her up, and laid her beside their sister, whilst
they also excelled in good works and were pleasing to God,
so that they converted many of the heathen from the
impure sacrifices of idols ; and taught them to believe in
our Saviour and Redeemer, in 1 our Lord Jesus the Christ.
And they received with joyful delight those who went f. 52 b
down to the baptismal font of holiness and were cleansed
from their crimes and their sins, and gave them rest in
their houses. But they did not cease to save every day
the souls of men from the captivity of the dragon, the
accursed calumniator, and they brought them near to the
Christ their Lord. But they also were counted worthy
to imitate the excellent deeds of their father, and of
their sister; and to inherit the portion and the bliss of
the saints together with them. For they pleased the Christ
in their life; and they entered and mingled with the
glorious hosts of the just and the righteous. May we also
be worthy to be heirs with them of the kingdom of heaven,
by the grace and tender mercy of our Lord Jesus the
Christ ! with whom also to the Father be glory and honour
and praise and exaltation with the Holy Spirit now and in
all time for ever and ever. Amen.
Here endeth the testimony of the blessed Eugenia, and
of all the holy martyrs who were martyred with her : Glory
to the Hidden One who was made manifest in our body ;
and we have seen Him who is invisible, visible in our
body 2 .
1 Literally u on." 2 Or " in our visible body."
f. 53 a THE story of the excellent life of Pelagia the harlot,
who was of the city of Antioch in Syria.
MARY.
f. 7 a AGAIN the story of the Blessed Mary, who was called
Marinus.
Glory and praise and adoration to God the Lover of
men. He whose door is opened at all times to the re-
pentant ; and to him who does not enter the hindrance is
in himself. For God doth not reject men, as Peter also,
the chief of the Apostles, saith: Of a truth I have perceived
that God is no respecter of persons, but in all nations he
who feareth Him and worketh righteousness, is accepted of
Him. And Ezekiel the prophet : God saith : I desire not
the death of the wicked, saith the Lord of lords, but that
he should turn from his wicked way and live. And the
chosen Apostle Paul makes known concerning our Lord,
that He wishes every man to repent, saying in the Epistle
to Timothy, I entreat thee, therefore, that before all things
f. 70 b thou shouldest offer prayer and supplication and thanks-
giving to God on behalf of all men, on behalf of kings and
great men that we may lead a peaceable and quiet life in
all godliness and purity. For this is good and acceptable
before God our Saviour, He who will have all men to be
saved, and turn to the knowledge of the truth. For there
is one Mediator between God and man, our Lord Jesus the
Christ, He who gave Himself a ransom on behalf of all
MARY.
37
men. For the door of the house of God is open, as we
have said ; and every one who will worketh in the vineyard
of righteousness; not only men but also women, must,
[in spite of] the weakness which attaches to them, enter
into the kingdom. Women have been celebrated in all
generations, and they have even surpassed men. A few
in number will be mentioned by us in this treatise.
Miriam the sister of Moses was called a prophetess.
She led Israel of old, and by her hands God wrought
redemption fgr Israel. And again by the hand of Judith
He delivered them. And Hanna was called the prophetess
because of the many years that she sat in the temple of the
Lord in holiness until she became worthy to carry the Lord
on her arm. By holiness man comes near to God, as the
Apostle says, Follow after holiness, without which no man f. 71 ;
shall see God. By this many women have prospered.
One of them was the blessed Mary, who is the subject
of the story which we commence. And behold, we begin
to narrate the story of her excellent life and her power of
endurance, this wonderful blessed one, worthy of praise.
There was a certain man in Bithynia, and he had a
wife who bore him one only daughter ; and he called her
name Mary. Now after the departure of her mother from
this world, her father reared her with sedulous teaching,
and in honourable life. But when she arrived at full
stature, he said to her, My daughter, behold everything
that I have is given into thy hands. For I am going away
to care about my soul. But when the girl heard this from
her father, she answered and said to him, Father, thou art
seeking to save thy soul ; but to destroy my soul. Dost
thou not know that it was said by our Lord, " I lay down
my life for my sheep " ? And again, He said that He who
" redeems the soul is as He who created it." But when her .
father had heard these things from her, his love was
38 MARY.
aroused by her words, the more when he saw her thus
weeping and mourning. He spake thus to her, My
daughter, what is there that I can do to thee? Thou art a
f. 71 b woman. I am thinking of entering a monastery that I may
be removed from the snares of this world, and thou, how
canst thou be with us ? for the devil will contend with thee
more readily, and with the servants of God.
But when the girl heard [this], she returned him an answer,
and said, No, sir, I shall not enter the monastery thus, as
thou hast said, but I will shave the hair from fc my head and
I will clothe myself in the dress of a man, and then I will
enter the monastery with thee. Now when he was inclined
to be persuaded by the words of his daughter, he distributed
and gave everything he possessed to the poor, and he shaved
off the hair from the head of his daughter and clothed her,
as she had said, in the dress of a man, and changed her name,
and called her Marinus 1 . Now when all these things were
effectually accomplished, he was continually warning her,
[and] saying to her : Look, my daughter, how thou keepest
thyself. Like straw in the midst of fire, thus art thou ready
to conduct thyself in the midst of the brethren, and the
rather that no woman has ever entered the monastery.
Keep thyself therefore spotless to the Christ, that we may
finish our confession to Him. When he had said these
things to her, he led her and entered into the convent.
Day by day, as it may be said, this wonderful girl gained
the admiration of all, whilst she was perfect in all virtues,
that is to say, in obedience, humility, and great devotion,
with the others. She spent a little while in the monastery.
f. 72 a The brethren imagined that she was a eunuch because she
had no beard, and also because of the softness of her
voice ; but others thought that she had hurt herself by too
great toils in devotion.
1 Cod. "Marina."
MARY. 39
Now it happened that her father departed from the
world, and she increased the more her deeds, and her
obedience and her piety ; so that she even received gifts of
grace from God, against demons and against various suffer-
ings. And when she placed her hand on the sick, she
obtained without delay healing for them by the help of
God. Now there were in that convent brethren, holy men,
forty in number. And every month four of the brethren
were sent on account of the business of the monastery,
because there were other monasteries as well as their
own, so that they were continually going out visiting and
providing [for it]. Now it happened that there was a
certain inn about the middle of the road on which they
usually travelled, where those who were sent on the
business of the convent entered and lodged. And it was
not easy to travel over all the road in a single day.
But the innkeeper took them in with great solicitude,
serving them well, and gave them a place of refuge
apart in the garden. Now on a certain day the Abbot
called Marinus 1 and said to him : My brother, I am con-
vinced of the sincerity of thy life, and I know that thou art
perfect in it all; namely, in humility and in the sedulous- f. 72 b
ness of thine obedience. Turn therefore and go forth on
the visiting of the monastery, for even the brethren are
perplexed that thou art never away on its business.
When thou shalt do this, and shalt be obedient, and
go out, thou shalt receive a yet greater reward from
God. And when the humble one heard these things
from the Abbot, he immediately fell at his feet, saying to
him : Pray for me, father, and I will go altogether as thou
hast commanded me. Now when the event occurred, and
Marinus 1 went forth with three brethren, for the visiting
of the monastery, they lodged in the above-mentioned inn.
1 Cod. "Marina."
40 MARY.
And while they were there it happened that a certain
soldier seduced the daughter of the innkeeper, so that
she became pregnant by him. And the soldier who did
this vile deed, said to the daughter of the innkeeper,
being instigated by the devil: If this should become
known to thy father, say to him: "That young monk
slept with me." But day by day she grew larger, so
that her father became aware that a vile thing, had hap-
pened to his child. And when he knew it, he demanded
it from her hands, and said : How hath this evil happened
to thee? Then she threw the blame on Marinus 1 , saying:
The monk whom ye praise for being holy did this to
me, and by him I am with child. Then her father went
to the monastery, and bursting in, he said: Where is
f. 73 a the deceitful Christian about whom ye say that he is
holy? But when one of the superintendents received
him, according to their custom, with a greeting, saying to
him: Thou hast done well in coming, brother. What
is the matter with thee, and why art thou so flurried?
Tell us what has happened to thee, he called out the
more, saying, The hour was an evil one in which I
made your acquaintance. But when these things were
made known to the Abbot, he inquired and was eager
to calm the tumult in the heart of the innkeeper, and
to learn exactly what the kind of accusation was. But
he raised his voice all the more, saying, May I never
again see a monk on the earth! and many things like
these, he said. And when the Abbot had interrogated
him again, to learn from him what was the reason of
the commotion in the business, he said to him, Tell
me, brother, what is the reason of thine accusation? so
that I also may apologize to thee. Then that innkeeper
.answered and said : What thou dost request me. I shall tell
1 Cod. "Marina."
MARY. 41
thee. I had one only daughter, with whom I expected
my old age to repose, and behold, see what Marinus 1 has
done to me, he of whom ye say that he is blessed. He
seduced her and behold ! she is with child. But when the
Abbot had heard these things from him, he was astonished,
and said to him, What can I do to thee, my brother, since
he is not here, he is away visiting, but nevertheless he is
disgraced, so that at his arrival there is nothing for me to
do, but to chase him from the monastery. f. 73 b
Now when Marinus 1 came to the monastery with the
three brethren who were with him, the Abbot said to him :
Tell me, my brother, are these thy manners? is this thy
piety ? is this thy humility ? Behold, thou hast disgraced
my monastery. This innkeeper came and spoke thus
against thee. When ye did lodge in his inn, thou didst
seduce his daughter, and, lo! her father has made us a
spectacle to the world. Tell me, is this the way in which
thou didst confess the Christ ? is this thy profession ? hast
thou shown this way of life to thy brethren ? is this virtue ?
Now when Marinus heard these things, he threw him-
self on his face on the ground, crying out with bitter
weeping, and with choking tears, and he said to the Abbot,
Forgive me, father, for the sake of our Lord, because I
have transgressed as a human being. But the Abbot, being
angry with him, turned him out of the monastery, saying :
Enter not our monastery again. Then he went out of the
monastery and sat down outside, enduring the cold and the
heat. And those who were going in and out of the monas-
tery inquired of him, saying : For what cause dost thou sit
outside the door of the monastery? and he answered, Be-
cause of my sin, for I have committed fornication, and I am
driven away from the monastery. But when the time was
fulfilled, and the day arrived that the daughter of the
1 Cod. "Marina."
L. E. F
42 MARY.
innkeeper should give birth, she bare a male child. And the
father of the girl took it up and brought it to the monastery :
f. 74 a and when he found Marinus 1 sitting outside the door of the
monastery, he threw down the baby before him, saying:
Take thy son, whom thou hast wickedly begotten; and
he left it with him, and went away. Then Marinus 1 took
up the baby and lamented, saying: Lord my God! if I
am requited according to my sins, for what reason should
this poor baby die here with me? And Marinus 1 , being
disturbed in this way, began to bring milk from the shep-
herds to the baby, that he might rear the boy as its father.
But it was not enough for Marinus 1 that he had borne this
accusation, but the boy stained his clothes with much weep-
ing. And the blessed Marinus 1 endured this pain and this
grief for three years. Now at the end of three years the
brethren took pity on Marinus 1 , and said to the Abbot, All
this indignity has been enough for him, for he confesses
his sin before all men. And, moreover, after sitting there
for three years, he offers repentance to God, as one who
hath been led astray by the devil. And when the Abbot
was not persuaded to receive him, all the brethren spake,
saying: Unless thou wilt receive him, we also will go
forth from the monastery. For we cannot look at him any
f. 74 b longer, lying destitute at the door of the monastery, and
not take pity on him. We suffer from his distress, and
if we did not, how could we implore God about our sins ?
For we see that, behold, during three years he has been
outside the door of the monastery, and he is afflicted and
in. great want. But when the Abbot heard these things
he said to them : Henceforth because of your love I will
receive him. And the Abbot called Marinus 1 and said unto
him, Thou art not worthy that thou shouldst ever enter
this monastery because thou hast spoiled the rule of the
1 Cod, "Marina."
MARY. 43
monastery by the sin which thou hast committed. But,
nevertheless, on account of the love of the brethren, I will
receive thee. Thou shalt be the last of them all by the
rule of the monastery. But Marinus 1 threw himself on the
ground and said : Even that, my lord, will be a great thing
for me, that thou hast deemed me worthy to enter within
the door of the monastery. Whereas I transgressed and
committed fornication, so that, at least thus while I serve
the holy fathers, I may become worthy by means of their
prayers of a little forgiveness for what I 
