Religious History 1 part 5/13

But immediately the divine power rendered judgment against the theft: a fiery bolt swept down, the threshing floor was set ablaze, and that wretched man came to the man of God, who was encamped not far from the village; he related the calamity, but tried to conceal the theft.

But when, ordered to speak the truth, he confessed the theft — for his suffering compelled him even to accuse himself — that divine man commanded that the punishment be undone through the undoing of the injustice:

'For,' he said, 'when you restore those sheaves, that god-sent fire will be quenched.'

One could then see him running, bringing back to the wronged man the stolen ears of grain, while the blaze was quenched without water, through the prayer and intercession of the divine elder.

This filled not only the surrounding inhabitants with terror, but the whole city as well — I mean the city of Antioch;

for that district lay under its jurisdiction — it compelled people to run there, some proclaiming their deliverance from demonic frenzy, others the cessation of fever, and others healing from some other affliction that troubled them.

And he, ungrudgingly, dispensed the streams of the grace dwelling within him.

But again, being a lover of stillness, he desired to reach Mount Sinai.

Many of the noblest men, who pursued the same philosophy, learning of this, ran together, desiring to share with him in the journey.

Having then completed a journey of many days, when they came to be in the desert of Sodom, they saw from afar, out of a depression in the ground, a man's hands stretched upward into the air; and at first they supposed it to be a demonic deception.

But having prayed more earnestly, and beholding the same sight again, they hastened toward that spot, and saw a small pit, of the kind foxes are wont to make when contriving burrows for themselves;

but they saw no one appearing there.

For the man with hands outstretched, perceiving the sound of footsteps, had hidden himself inside the burrow.

'For we too,' he said, 'pursuing the ascetic life and loving stillness, are wandering through this desert, desiring to worship on Mount Sinai the God of all — on which, having made his own manifestation to Moses his servant, he gave the tablets of the Law — not that we suppose the divine to be circumscribed by a place, for we hear him saying:'

'...having received the presence and communion of these.' While the elder was saying these and similar things, the hidden man revealed himself from the burrow;

and he was wild to behold, his hair unkempt, his face wrinkled, all the limbs of his body wasted to the bone, clothed in some filthy rags stitched together with palm shoots.

Having greeted them and given the salutation of peace, he inquired who they were, whence they had come, and whither they were going.

And he both answered the question and in turn asked whence he had come, and why in the world he had chosen this life.

"I too had this same eagerness," he said, "which may you also have as you depart."

For this journey I had taken as my companion a certain intimate friend, of one mind with me, who had acquired the very same purpose as I.

And by an oath we had persuaded each other that not even death should part our companionship.

And so, in the course of our journey abroad, it happened that he here met the end of his life.

But I, bound by the oath, dug as I was able and committed the body to burial.

And beside this grave, having dug another tomb for myself, I await here the end of my life and offer to the Master my accustomed service.

As food I have the dates which a certain brother has been appointed by my guardian to bring me. While this was being said, a lion appeared from afar.

And as those who were with the old man fell into distress, the one sitting at the mouth of the cave, perceiving it, rose up and signaled to the lion to move to the other side.

And it was immediately persuaded and came, carrying a cluster of dates.

Then again it departed, having been given leave, and lying down at a distance from the men, it slept.

But if anyone disbelieves what has been said, let him recall the way of life of the great Elijah and the ministry of the ravens, which continually brought him bread in the morning and meat in the evening.

It is an easy thing for the Maker of all things to find manifold means for the care of his own.

But indeed I am doing something superfluous in offering proofs concerning the divine power.

When, then, they had reached the desired mountain, they say that that wondrous old man, in that very place where Moses was deemed worthy to see God — seeing him so far as was possible for mortal nature — bent his knees and did not rise before he heard a divine voice announcing to him the Master's favor.

And since he continued thus bowed down for the whole cycle of the week, partaking of not even a little food, the voice that came commanded him both to take what had been set before him and to eat it eagerly.

And stretching out his hand and finding three apples, and having eaten his fill of them as the giver had bidden, he became filled with all strength, and with gladness, as was fitting, greeted those who were with him.

Rejoicing, therefore, and exulting he went back, inasmuch as he had both heard the divine voice and again enjoyed God-given food.

And having returned, he built two retreats for the ascetic life, one on the ridge of the mountain of which we spoke before, the other below, right at the very skirts of the foothill.

and filling men with high resolve, bidding them be moderate toward their fellow kind, but charging them to use greatness of spirit toward the enemy.

Teaching such things, living thus, working such great wonders, and sending forth manifold flashes of splendor, he received the end of his toilsome life and departed to the ageless and griefless life, leaving behind unquenchable glory and a memory abiding forever.

And of his blessing my blessed and thrice-blessed mother partook while he was still alive, and she often related to me many of the stories about him.

And I now beseech to obtain his powerful intercession, and I know that I shall obtain it.

For he will surely grant the request, imitating the loving-kindness of the Master.

For visiting one another, as they say, they enjoyed the benefit derived from each other, sharpening one another and stirring each other up to divine zeal.

He was shut up in a certain small house, close to a very large and populous village.

Concerning the man's endurance, his fasting and sleeplessness and continual prayer, I consider it superfluous to relate.

For in these things he drew the same yoke as that divine Symeon.

But the wonder that is sung even to this day, which came about by his voice and his hand, I have judged it worthwhile to relate.

A festival gathers in the aforementioned village, drawing merchants from every side and receiving a multitude beyond number.

At this festival a certain merchant, having sold off what he had come bringing and having gathered the gold, wished to depart by night.

But a certain murderer, having seen that gold that had been gathered, and being filled with a kind of frenzy and madness, drove sleep from his eyes and watched for that man's departure.

After the crowing of the cocks, the man set out with confidence.

But the other, having gone ahead and taken possession of a place suitable for ambush, suddenly attacked, dealt the blow, and dared the bloody murder.

And he added yet another impious deed to this pollution.

For, having taken the gold, he threw that dead body beside the door of the great Palladius.

And when day came and the report spread and the whole festival crowd was buzzing with what had happened, all ran together, and, breaking open the door, they demanded from the divine Palladius an account of the slaughter.

And one of those doing this was the very man who had himself carried out the slaughter.

Being thus surrounded by so great a multitude, the divinely-inspired man, looking up to heaven and in his mind transcending heaven, besought the Master to expose the falsehood of the slander and to reveal plainly the hidden truth.

Having thus prayed, and having taken hold of the right hand of the man who lay there:

A cry arose from all, both astonished at the wonder and lamenting the slander that had occurred.

And stripping that murderer, they found the dagger still stained crimson with blood, and that gold which had become the occasion of the slaughter.

And the divine Palladius, who had already before been worthy of admiration, fittingly became still more worthy of admiration from this.

...so as to show the man's boldness of access before God.

And the wondrous Abraames also belonged to the same company; he dwelt in the place called Paratomos, yet sent forth in every direction the flashes of his virtue.

And the wonders wrought after his death bear witness to the splendor of his life.

For his tomb, even to this day, wells forth healings of every kind, and witnesses to this are those who draw them abundantly from there through faith.

And may it be granted to me also to partake of their aid, I who have consecrated my tongue to their memory.

APHRAATES. That the nature of all men is one, and that it is easy for those who wish to practice the ascetic philosophy, whether they be Greeks or barbarians, may be readily learned from many and various sources; but Aphraates alone suffices to make this clearly manifest.

For this man, though born and reared among the most lawless of the Persians, sprung from such parents, and trained in their customs, attained to such a degree of virtue as to eclipse even those who were born of pious parents and had received a pious upbringing from childhood.

For first, having despised his lineage — and this was distinguished and illustrious — he ran to the worship of the Master, imitating the Magi, his forefathers.

Then, abhorring the impiety of his kinsmen, he chose the foreign land over his own, and, arriving at Edessa — a city very great and populous, distinguished for its outstanding shining piety — he found a small dwelling outside the walls and, having shut himself up in it, tended his own soul, like some excellent farmer, cutting out the thorns of the passions by the roots, purifying the divine field, and offering to the Master the ripe fruits of the evangelic seeds.

From there he arrived at Antioch, which was being grievously stirred up by the storm of heresy, and, having taken up residence before the city in a certain retreat of the ascetic life, and having learned only a few small words of the Greek tongue, he drew as many as possible to the hearing of the divine oracles.

And using his half-barbarous tongue, he brought forth the birth-pangs of his mind, receiving such streams from the grace of the divine Spirit.

For who of those who pride themselves on their eloquence, and knit their brows, and speak pompously, and swagger boastfully amid the snares of syllogisms, ever got the better of that untaught and barbarous voice? For he overcame reasonings with reasonings, and the words of the philosophers with divine words, crying out with the great Paul:

"Though I be unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge."

And he continually persisted in this manner, according to the apostolic voice:

"Casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

And one could see running together both those in office and rank, and those enrolled in some military service, and those who lived by the labor of their own hands, and, in short, both laymen and soldiers, the educated and those uninitiated in learning, those who lived in poverty and those who luxuriated in wealth; some receiving what was offered in silence, others asking questions and making inquiries and providing occasions for discourse.

But though he had undertaken such great labor, he never once consented to take a housemate, but chose rather to perform for himself the service that others offered to render him.

And holding his gatherings at the courtyard door, he himself opened it for those coming in, and saw off those who departed.

And he never received anything from anyone — not bread, not food, not a garment — but only one of his acquaintances supplied him with bread.

Late, deep after sunset, he would partake even of vegetables.

And they say that Anthemius, who afterward became both prefect and consul, when he had been appointed ambassador and set out on his journey to the Persians, brought him a tunic woven among the Persians, and said:

"O father, knowing that to every man his own homeland is sweet, and the fruits that grow there most pleasant, I have brought you this tunic from your homeland, and I beseech you to accept it, and in return that I may receive your blessing."

And he first ordered it to be placed upon the bench.

Then, when other conversation had passed between them, he said he was despondent, his mind being divided in two.

And when the other inquired the reason:

"I have always chosen," he said, "to have one companion, and I have set for myself a rule to refuse absolutely the cohabitation of two;"

"now, when someone had dwelt with me for sixteen years and was dear to my heart, a certain kinsman of mine came, wishing to dwell with me and deeming himself worthy to obtain this."

"This is what divides my mind."

For I will not endure having two at the same time;

For I welcome the fellow-countryman as a fellow-countryman;

but to expel the former one, who has become dear to my heart, I consider both grievous and unjust.

"Rightly said, O father," he replied, "for indeed it would not be holy to dismiss the one who has served for so long a time as though unsuitable, and to receive the one who has not yet given proof of his own character, merely on account of his homeland." In reply to this the divine Aphrahat said:

"Well then," he said, "O admirable friend, I will not accept this tunic;"

for I will not endure having two.

Sweeter, by my own judgment, and better, by yours, is the one who has served me for so long a time. Having thus outwitted Anthemius, and having furnished a marvel of shrewdness, he persuaded him that no one thereafter should bring him any word concerning that tunic.

Now I have related these things, wishing to demonstrate two matters at once: both that he received from one person alone the care sufficient for his body, and that he was so full of wisdom as to bring it about that the very man who was entreating him to accept the gift voted for his not accepting it.

But leaving aside these and similar matters, I shall now recount the greater ones.

When Julian, hated of God, had paid the penalty for his impiety in the land of the barbarians, the nurslings of piety enjoyed a brief calm, since Jovian had received the helm of the Roman government.

But when he too, having reigned for a very short time, met the end of his life, and Valens succeeded to the rule of the East, squalls and storms again lashed our sea, a grievous swell arose, and triple waves struck the vessel from every side;

and the absence of pilots made the storm even more grievous;

for these pilots the emperor, bold only against piety, forced to dwell in exile.

And though he practiced such great lawlessness, he did not attain satiety of impiety;

but he scattered the whole assembly of the pious, striving, after the manner of a savage beast, to tear the flock apart.

For this reason he drove them out not only from every church, but also from the foothills, from the bank of the river, and from the military training-ground.

For they kept moving from place to place through all these regions, becoming an incidental prey to the armed hand of the soldiery.

And the Scythians and the other barbarians plundered the whole of Thrace without fear, from the Ister to the Propontis;

but he could not so much as receive report of these, with ears erect, as the saying goes, while against his own kinsmen and subjects, men resplendent in piety, he made use of arms.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.

But the rest of the song was no longer fitting for them;

they could not endure even to say that the instruments of teaching should be hung up;

"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?"

But on mountains and on plains, in the city and in the suburbs, in houses and in marketplaces, they sang the Lord's song without ceasing.

And again they heard the same prophet saying:

"Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion." And they also heard the divinely-inspired Paul enjoining that men should pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing.

And the Lord himself, conversing with the Samaritan woman, had foretold this yet more clearly:

"Truly, truly I say to you, woman," he said, "an hour is coming, and now is, when neither in this place nor in Jerusalem, but in every place, they shall worship the Father." Instructed by these words, they continued bearing witness both in house and in marketplace, and, to speak in apostolic terms, publicly and from house to house; and, like the finest generals, arming their own troops while cutting down the adversaries,

yet all the same they did these things as generals set forward into office, and subject to the laws of generalship.

But the most wise Aphrahat leapt down as a volunteer into these very contests.

For although he had been reared in stillness, and had chosen to live by himself, and was sitting, so to speak, out of range of the arrows, when he beheld the fierceness of the war he did not cling to his own safety, but, for a season bidding stillness farewell, became a champion at the front of the phalanx of the pious, striking the foe with his life, his word, and his wonders, yet never himself struck.

And on one occasion, when the emperor, foolish in all things, saw him going out to the military training-ground — for it happened that at that time the devotees of the Trinity were gathering there —

someone pointed him out, walking along the riverbank, to the emperor who was peering out from the palace; the emperor asked where he was hastening with such eagerness.

And when he answered that he was going to offer prayers on behalf of the world and the empire, the emperor replied again:

"Then why, professing the solitary life, do you walk fearlessly through the marketplace, having abandoned stillness?" But he — for he was accustomed to reason in parables, in imitation of the Lord —

said, "Tell me, O emperor: if I happened to be a maiden hidden away in some chamber, and I saw someone casting fire into my father's house, what would you have counseled me to do, seeing the flame catch and watching the house burning — to sit within and look away while the house was being consumed by fire? Why, in that case I too would have become fuel for the blaze."

"But if you say that I ought to have run and fetched water, and darted about here and there, and quenched the flame, then do not blame me, O emperor, for doing this very thing."

For what you would have counseled a maiden secluded in her chamber to do, this very thing I, who profess the solitary life, am compelled to do.

But if you blame me for abandoning stillness, blame yourself instead, for having cast the flame into the house of God, rather than blaming me, who am compelled to quench it.

For that it is fitting, surely, to defend a paternal house that is being burned, you yourself have already admitted;

and that God is a more genuine father than earthly fathers is surely evident to everyone, even to one wholly uninitiated in things divine.

Now there was a certain one among those who belong neither to the class of men nor of women, but who have been deprived of ever becoming fathers in due course — and who for this very reason are reckoned to be well disposed toward the emperor, and reap from this their very title — this man arrogantly reviled the man of God from a position of authority and even threatened him with death; but it was not long before he paid the penalty for his insolence.

For when the emperor wished to attend to his body in the bath, this wretched man went in ahead of him, to see whether the tub was well tempered.

But being deranged in mind, he leapt into the tub containing the undiluted hot water, and with no one there to help him — for he had gone in alone, simply to see whether it was ready — he remained there, being boiled and dissolved.

And as time went by in the meantime, the emperor sent another man to summon him;

but this man, finding no one in any of the bath chambers, reported this to the emperor.

At this, more men rushed in, searching through all the tubs, and at last, coming to that one, they saw him lying there, bereft of life.

And when an uproar arose and everyone was lamenting, some drained out that hot water, while others carried out the thrice-wretched body.

From this, fear fell upon the emperor and upon all who were taking up arms against piety.

And a report echoed throughout the whole city, of what penalty that wretched man had paid for his insolence against Aphrahat, and everyone continued to praise the God of Aphrahat.

This event, even while his adversaries were pressing hard against him, prevented the man of God from being banished.

For the emperor, thoroughly terrified, turned away from those who were urging this, and held the man in reverence.

And he learned of his virtue from another quarter as well.

A certain horse, well-bred and very well trained for riding, was exceedingly beloved by the emperor.

When some ailment befell it, it distressed the emperor greatly.

For the discharge of its liquid excretions was being obstructed.

For this treatment, those who had practiced this art were summoned.

But when even this failed, the emperor was distressed, and the man entrusted with the care of the horses lamented.

Being himself pious and steadfast in the faith, at midday he brought the horse to the lodging of the great Aphrahat, and, having told him of the affliction and declared his faith, entreated him to release the sickness by prayer.

He, without any delay, but at once entreating God, ordered water to be drawn up from the well, and, having placed upon it the sign of the saving cross, commanded that it be given to the horse.

And it drank, contrary to its usual custom.

Then, having filled oil with the invocation of the divine blessing, he anointed the horse's belly, and at the touch of his hand the affliction was immediately released, and the discharge at once occurred naturally.

Rejoicing then, the man took the horse and ran to the stable.

And when he had reported its health and led out the horse — vigorous, prancing, neighing, and proudly arching its neck — the emperor inquired the cause of its recovery.

And as he repeatedly delayed telling him — for he feared to point out the healer, knowing that the one asking was hostile to him — at last he was compelled to speak the truth, and taught him the manner of the cure.

The emperor was astonished, and confessed that the man was worthy of admiration;

yet he was not freed from his former madness, but continued raging against the Only-Begotten, until he became fuel for barbarian fire, not even being deemed worthy of a burial equal to that of household servants or beggars.

But the divine Aphrahat, even in that storm, displayed his own virtue, and, when calm returned, continued to act in the very same way;

and he also worked countless other wonders, of which I shall mention one or two.

A certain woman of noble birth, who bore the yoke of marriage together with a licentious husband, came to that blessed man, bewailing her own misfortune.

For she said that her husband, devoted to a concubine, had been bewitched by some sorcerous charm, and had turned to hatred against her who was joined to him by the law of marriage.

The woman said this while standing before the courtyard door;

for thus he was accustomed to hold conversation with women;

for he never once admitted any woman inside the door.

Then, taking pity on the woman as she implored him, he darkened the power of the sorcery by prayer, and having sanctified with the divine invocation a small flask of oil that had been brought by her, he ordered her to anoint herself with it.

When the woman had fulfilled these instructions, she turned her husband's love back to herself, and persuaded him to choose the lawful bed rather than the unlawful.

They say also that once, when a swarm of locusts suddenly fell upon the land and, like fire, consumed everything—crops, plants, marshes, groves, and meadows—a certain devout man came to him, entreating his help; he had but a single field, from which he supported himself, his wife, children, and household, and from which, besides, the royal tax was exacted of him.

Then again, he who imitated the Master's loving-kindness ordered that a jug (chous) of water be brought to him.

Now when he who was to offer the prayer had brought forth the jug, he laid his hand upon it, and implored God to fill the water with divine power.

Then, having completed the prayer, he instructed that the water be sprinkled upon the boundaries of the field;

and the man who carried it did as he was instructed, and it became for those fields an impregnable and inviolable fence.

for the locusts, crawling and flying about like an army as far as those boundaries, would then retreat backward again, fearing the blessing that had been applied, and being reined in as if by some bridle, hindered from advancing further.

And why must I recount all that was accomplished by that blessed soul? For even these deeds suffice to display the splendor of the grace that dwelt within him.

Of this I too became a witness, and I gathered the blessing of that holy right hand, being still a young boy, but having accompanied my mother on her journey to the man.

And to her, according to his custom, he half-opened the door, and deemed her worthy of conversation and blessing;

but me he received inside, and imparted to me the wealth of his prayer.

May I enjoy this even now, believing that he lives and dances together with the angels, and enjoys greater boldness before God than of old;

for then this boldness was measured by the mortality of the body, lest greater boldness should become an occasion for presumption;

but now, having laid aside the burden of the passions, like a victorious athlete he speaks boldly before the judge of the contest;

wherefore I also beseech to obtain his intercession.

PETER. We hear of the Galatians who are in Europe, the western ones, but we also know those in Asia, their descendants, who settled beside the Euxine Sea (Pontus).

From among these there sprang the blessed Peter, blessed thrice over, indeed many times over.

Having been reared, as they say, for seven years from birth by his parents, he spent the whole of the rest of his life in the contests of philosophy [the ascetic life];

and he is said to have died having lived ninety-nine years.

…of the achievements accomplished in his middle age, as an elderly man, and in extreme old age? Who could measure his sweat? Who could number the wrestling-bouts that occurred over so long a span of time? What speech could attain to the seeds he sowed, or to the sheaves that were gathered? Who is so lofty in understanding as to survey precisely the abundance amassed from that excellent commerce? I know the sea of his achievements, and therefore I fear to draw near the history of the narrative, lest my discourse be submerged;

for which reason I shall walk along the shore, and shall marvel at and recount the things by the mainland, before venturing onto the open sea;

but I shall leave the depths to him who, according to divine Scripture, searches the deep things and knows the hidden things.

This man, then, contended in asceticism for the first period of his life in Galatia;