Miscellaneous Coptic Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt, Part 2

Miscellaneous Coptic Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt, Part 2

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XIV. The Histories of the Monks of the Egyptian Desert, by Paphnutius

1 [Some pages wanting] 'and the service whereunto we have committed thee. Blessed are we [in] our country, which was worthy of Thy holy footprints! Rightly did the Psalmist David say, "Lovely are Thy dwellings." And again, "Lovely are they because of their fathers." It is the Lord Who [speaketh], it cometh to pass with …and with great [fear] and joy towards us. I remember the word which the Lord spake in the Gospel, "In the house into which ye shall enter, say first of all, 'Peace [be] in this house. If there be therein the sons of peace, let your peace abide therein; but if not, then let your peace return to you.'" And when I found that they were sons of peace I permitted my peace to rest upon them, according to the word of the Master of us all, the Christ Jesus our Lord. And when the hour had come we celebrated the Sacrament. And they set before us a table, and we prayed, and we ate, [and we drank]

2 [One or two lines wanting] man Apa Pseleusius, and asked about a certain sage, the good brother with whom thou didst dwell, that is to say, Apa Zauboulôn (Zebulon?), and he was a man who was profitable, and we profited by him exceedingly. And he said unto me, 'I myself profit in these respects; I received benefit from him by reason of his humility and his silence. He never wished to decide by his speaking any matter whatsoever. Whether it was a humble person who spoke to him, or whether it was a man of importance, he was wont to say, "I do not know."' I said unto him, 'How is it that [thou art able to speak thus], and to act in this wise?' The old man said unto me, 'Hearken, and I will tell thee. He took unto himself a wife in his youth. And he progressed in every work; he was a virgin from his childhood. And he fled from all intercourse with women, for he was afraid, according to the word which is written, "Whosoever looketh upon a woman to desire her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart." And "lust, [when] it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin; and the sin, when it is fulfilled, giveth birth to death." And he walked in all humility. And he saw a vision in this wise: It was as if he saw a man shining with glory, who stood before him, and said, "It is impossible for any man to act as the servant of two masters; either he loveth one, or he hateth one." This is thy case exactly, my brother Pseleusius. Thou wouldst be zealous in a good work, according to that which is written by the Apostle, "No man who is a soldier hampereth himself

3 with [the affairs of this life that he may please him] that hath made him a soldier. And, moreover, if one strive he doth not receive the crown unless he hath striven lawfully." Thou shalt be victorious on the right hand and on the left. And straightway the man who was speaking to him in the vision disappeared, and he ceased to see him. And there was a certain old man who lived close by him who had a knowledge of the Scriptures, and a certain brother used to go unto him frequently and enquire of him concerning passages in the Lectionary which they read in the church (now he loved the poor exceedingly), and the brother used to tell his thoughts frequently to this old man, who would explain to him the Holy Scriptures. And it came to pass that when the morning had come the brother went to this old man, and when he had come to him he described to him the vision which he had seen, and he [asked him what] it was intended to mean. And the old man told him that he must strip himself of whatsoever he possessed, and "take up thy Cross and follow thy Lord, and let

4 the dead bury their dead" [one line wanting] vanity. (sic) Hast thou not heard the Lord saying in the Gospel, "No man who putteth his hand to the plough and looketh back shall enter into the kingdom which is in the heavens?" And this word "looketh back" indicateth the affections for [this] vain world and for the things thereof, the which we have not renounced. And now, my beloved brother, I do not wish to make thee to go away and leave me because of thy knowledge and because of thy visits to me, which are full of profit [to me], but I wish also to make thee to go through the invitation with which thou hast been invited. Rise up, get thee gone to the brethren, and they will dress thee in the garb of the monk, and they will shew thee what it is right for thee to do.' And thereupon the brother departed according to what the old man said. And he went to the brethren who were in a place which is called …

5 [Three lines wanting] and graciously courteous. And his face was exceedingly pallid, and his whole body also by reason of the excessive severity of his ascetic labours, even as it is written, 'The wings of a dove which are pale like silver, and the parts round about her neck which have the greenness of gold.' He speaketh thus because the lifting up of the hands of the old man was like unto the [lifting up of] the wings [of the dove], according to the Scriptures. And he likened him unto the paleness of silver because of the purity of his prayers, and unto the greenness of gold because of the vigour of his asceticism, even as it is written, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for it is they who shall see God.' He was a man who suffered greatly, for he passed the whole night in vigil, and very frequently he ate tares, even as did John the Baptist, concerning whom it is testified, 'his food was locusts and wild honey.'

6 [One line at least wanting] because of the purity of his heart and the purity of his body. And the holy father Apa Pseleusius said that he was in the habit of receiving revelations very frequently, and that every thing which he spake (i. e. foretold) used to come to pass in truth. And he used to see visions like Daniel the seer. And Apa Pseleusius also said, 'When then I had come to him, that is to say, unto the John of whom I spake first, and of whom I have said all these things, he received me with great hospitality, and I found nothing at all in his habitation except three cakes of bread, and they were only there for the sake of the strangers who used to pass by, lest they should say, "The old man doth not eat bread." And when I had tarried there some time I begged him to endue me with the garb of the monk

7 [Three lines wanting] the rules of life of the monk. And he said unto me, 'O (?) my brother Pseleusius, it is written, "Thy words are sweeter in my throat, O Lord, than is honey in my mouth." Since, however, thou dost ask me, O my son, concerning instruction [say], Be ye honest with those who are outside. And be ye seasoned with salt, according to what the Saviour saith in the Gospel to His Apostles, "Ye are the salt of the earth." Be ye mild and simple, according to what our Lord saith, "Behold, I send you forth like sheep among wolves; be ye then wise as serpents and harmless as doves." He said unto them, "like sheep," but He had no faith in the carelessness of sheep to make [them] to walk therein …their hearts …through the thoughts of the devil. 8 [Nearly four lines wanting] destruction, nor that we should abandon our hearts to eating, and drinking, and pleasure, for our adversary the Devil walketh about and lieth in wait for men, roaring like these lions and seeking to swallow up our souls.' And whilst I was passing some days with him he said these words and others which were like unto them. And I entreated him to take me to a place by myself. Thereupon he brought me to this place, and he remained with us for some days until he had instructed me concerning living by myself in the desert, and he gave me certain commands [concerning] the resisting of the thoughts of the Devil which rise up in the mind, and the bitter conflict therewith. And he left me by myself until my brother Zaboulôn came to me. Then he said unto me, 'I beseech thee, O my father Pseleusius, since there is …

9 [Three or four lines wanting] The old man answered and said unto me, 'Since thou askest me I will tell thee, and nothing shall be hidden from thee; and the things which are hidden from thee before men shall the Holy Spirit reveal unto thee.' I said unto him, 'Do an act of grace unto me, O my father, and pass not by me thy servant.' He answered and said unto me, 'Since thou askest I will tell thee.' He said, 'I went once into the inner desert, and I journeyed therein for two days, and I found a few palm trees in a little ravine and a spring of water, and round about the waters there were trees and plants. I sat down by the spring to rest myself a little, for I was exhausted by the fatigue of the road. I said, "I wonder if there is a brother living in this place or not." Whilst I was thinking in this wise I looked and I saw a man …

10 [Four lines wanting] 11 the palm trees, and they brought a little water for me to drink. And I wished to remain with them in that place, but I is remembered my brother Zaboulôn, and I could not remain without him, according to what the Apostle saith, 'A great door hath been opened unto me [by] the Lord. And I could not rest in my spirit because I found not Titus my brother.' And again, 'I have planted, it is Apollos who hath watered, and it is God Who hath given the increase.' And I said unto them, 'How was it that ye were able to come to this place? How do ye obtain food? What are your names? Of what places are ye natives? And how do ye partake of the Sacrament whilst ye are in this place?' And they said unto me, 'We are natives of the town of Souan (Syene, Aswân), wherein we lived together, in one mind, ever since we [came] into the world. We were, moreover, friends each of the other. We used to go to church together daily, both evening and morning, and we heard [together] the Holy Scriptures, when they were read, and the passage in the Lectionary from the Gospel, which saith, "Whosoever loveth father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me," and "He who will not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.

12 And when we heard these words of life from the mouth of our Lord Jesus the Christ, our Saviour, the Lover of men, and those which were like unto them, that is to say, the following, "Whosoever loveth his soul shall lose it"; and "Whosoever shall lose his soul for My sake shall find it"; and again, "If a man gain the whole world and lose his soul [what shall it profit him], or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?";—when we heard these [words], we all made up our minds together, for the word of God was sweeter unto us than honey and the honeycomb, and we agreed together to go forth on a certain day from the town wherein we were. Now we waited for a few days, saying, "Peradventure it is the Devil who is tempting us. And when we felt the good resolve prompting us not to abandon our plan, we distributed among those who were in need the things that were superfluous for us, and we took

13 a few bread cakes and came forth from the town, and we embarked in a small boat, and came to a mountain which is called the "Bend". And we dwelt with the holy brethren who were in that place, because there was great abundance [in the land] at that time by [the Will of] God. And we met a holy old man whose name was Zacchaeus, who had grown old in the life of the anchorite, and he was a very strict ascetic. And two brethren lived close by him, and they were his disciples; the name of the one was Sarapamôn, and the name of the other was Matthew. They were greatly advanced in the practice of ascetic valour, and in the giving of thanks, and they obeyed the old man Apa Zacchaeus in everything, doing all which he told them [to do]. And Sarapamôn developed a lovable quality, which was this: When a man came seeking for handiwork which he could buy from him, he would first of all gather round him the brethren, and would say unto them, "Whosoever hath any handiwork ready by him, let him bring it to me, [and I will give] to him its price." And he used to

14 [Parts of two lines wanting] came to him, he knowing, and he would take it from him by force and give him his own. And he loved loss more than gain, and contumely more than honour. And he continued to exercise this lovable quality until the day of his perfection (i. e. death). And Matthew developed the following habit: he could never be persuaded to bring his speech (i. e. to discuss) to any passage [of Scripture]. And if any man asked him concerning a reading of the Scriptures, he was in the habit of replying to him thus: "Excuse me; I do not understand it," although he was a very learned man, and had been well grounded in the Holy Scriptures. And thus he died on the fifteenth day of the month Paone. 'And as for the old man, of whom we have already spoken, that is to say, Apa Zacchaeus, he it was who taught us concerning dwelling in the desert, and he it was who endued us with the garb of monasticism. And the old man talked to us concerning the virtues of the holy men who were in the desert, and who desired earnestly never to see a human being. He laid down [for us] rules for a very strict form of the ascetic life, and he commanded us [saying, "Take good heed]

15 to your souls!" He himself led a very hard life of self-abnegation, and although he was at that time in his old age he was a virgin, and had been one from his birth. He fled from all and every kind of intercourse with women, and all light conversation and jesting. He loved tears more than laughter, and he ceased not to weep, either by day or by night. And one day we said unto him, "My father, why dost thou weep in this fashion?" And he said, "It is meet to do in every way that which is specially ordained, and not to cease from doing it by day or by night." He wept for his sins, even as it is written, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." If this passage be kept strictly by you, ye shall have relief from your sufferings. For it is right that all men should keep before them these three (sic) things, that is to say, their departure from the body, and the sentence that shall be passed upon us on the great and

16 [C] terrible Day of Judgement. And besides, ye have heard concerning Moses the Great, and how while he kept both his hands raised he continued to vanquish Amalek, and how when he dropped them Amalek vanquished [the Israelites] and [IV] prevailed. For Holy Scripture saith that Aaron held up the right hand of Moses, and Ôr (Hur) his left. And in this manner, by their lifting up his hands together under one impulse, Moses vanquished Amalek. And the holy scribe saith also that Aaron supported the hand of Moses until the second hour of the night, that is to say, he supported it the whole day. 17 'And thus is it with a man. Every man who shall lift up his hands, after the manner of the Cross of the Christ, shall vanquish all his enemies, even as Moses vanquished Amalek by the lifting up of his hands. As for Aaron, the Scripture likeneth him unto the place of rest which is in the heavens, and the rejoicing in the Jerusalem which is in heaven, and the throne and the apparel which shall be given unto the saints, even as it is written, "Thou hast rent my sackcloth, Thou hast girded me with joy." And again, "He shall be held worthy to be a partner with the first-born whose [names are] written in the heavens, and [in] the Paradise which is in the East." "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, [to imagine] the things which God hath prepared for those who love Him." And Ôr (Hur) the Scripture likeneth unto the judgement (?), and the worm which never sleepeth, and the [flood] of tears, and the gnashing of teeth, and the outer darkness, and the pit of the abyss, and the river of fire which punisheth and causeth exceedingly great fear. For when a man setteth the remembrance of these things in his heart at the moment wherein he prayeth, his supplication shall reach the throne of God, and everything which he shall ask for in [the Name of] God shall be [given]

18 unto him, even as it is written, "The supplication of the righteous man is exceedingly mighty and it hath effect," and it vanquisheth the hidden Amalek and his power. And the second matter for which a man shall pray is joy and weeping, but joy because of weeping, and because the remembrance of the place of rest which is in the heavens; and weeping because of the remembrance of the punishments which are in Amente. [O my brethren], my sons, it is right for all men to set before themselves the remembrance of these two matters—death and suffering—and when we have suffered a little, death cometh (?). 19 And when we had heard these things from the holy old man Apa Zacchaeus, we were filled with joy, and we said unto him, 'Do us an act of grace, and take us to some place which is known unto thee, and wherein we can obtain salvation.' Thereupon he gave unto us... loaves of bread and two books, and he journeyed with us until he brought us unto this place; and he tarried with us a few days until we understood how to live in the desert. And he gave us a number of very strict rules, and certain regulations concerning vigils, and eating and drinking in proper quantities. And he instructed us as to the way in which the devils tempt men in all their numerous forms, even as it is written in the [Book of the] Apostle, 'For our fight is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities and powers, and against the spirits of wickedness which are under the heavens.' For the demons fight with each other naked at night. And he gave us certain regulations which shewed us how to behave towards any brethren who should visit us. And thus, having departed from us, he went to his rest on the eleventh day of the month of Thoth, and we have remained in this place until this day, O our holy father. We obtain our nourishment here, and we go forth into the outer mountain (i. e. desert)

20 and partake of the Sacrament with the brethren on the Sabbath and on the first day of the week. Behold, we have informed thee about our appointed course of life. As for thee, do an act of grace, and pray for us, O our holy father.' And I came forth from them and I abode in my habitation. The name of one of them was Anianus, and the name of the other was Paul. And within a few days we heard from a certain brother who was in the habit of visiting them, and who had visited them frequently, that both of them had died, Anianus on the twentieth day, and Paul on the third day [R ] of the month Paope. And when our brother Banouphiel heard [this] he went and brought their bodies and buried them in a spot near him. 21 Behold now, O my brother Papnoute (Paphnutius), these things do we tell thee concerning those who dwell in the desert, as the result of what I have seen and what I have heard, and of what I remember of the fathers who succeeded them there, and of the end of their lives. And there remaineth that which we have to say concerning the holy old man Apa Isaac, the remembrance of whom is good (i. e. blessed), whose life was ill-regulated before he became a monk in this place, and who dwelt on an island which was in the middle of the Cataract, about four miles to the south of us. He was a disciple of the old man Apa Harôn (Aaron), and he poured water on his master's hands, even as did Elisha the Great on the hands of the Prophet Elijah. He was in very truth a perfect man, and he possessed very many virtues widely different in character. And when I heard of the blessedness of this man, which was so exceedingly great, I entreated my

22 father Pseleusius, and I said [unto him, 'I will go] to him [R h ] and make myself worthy of his blessing, and we will pray in his habitation.' And we came forth, and we embarked in a little boat, and we sailed towards the south to go to the holy old man Apa Isaac. And there were very large rocks growing up (i. e. standing) in the water in the middle of the river, and the waters thereof roared in a terrifying manner. And when we had arrived at the south, and were drawing nigh to the habitation of the old man, a short time before [we arrived] he was informed by the Spirit of our coming, and he came out and stood on the bank of the river. And the man possessed a gracious appearance, and he was very far advanced in years. And when we had tied up our boat to a post on the bank, he cried out to me by my name, saying, 'Welcome is thy coming unto us, O my brother Paphnutius, who hast been held worthy to salute the saints!' And when he had greeted us, he took us into his habitation with joy, and he said unto us, 'Do an act of grace, and let us offer up a prayer together, for ye are holy men who have come unto me this day.' And after we had offered up prayer we sat down, and he brought

23 a vessel of water, and we washed our feet. [And when we had washed our feet in] the water [he spake], saying, 'I am [KO] [not] worthy of this great favour, namely, your coming unto me this day, O holy brethren.' And afterwards he set before us a table, and we ate, and we returned thanks, and we sat down. And I talked to him about his system of work, and I said unto him, 'My father, thou art very far advanced in years.' And the holy old man answered and said unto me in a voice that was full of joy, 'Forgive me, O my father, my brother Paphnutius, I am the very least of men and a sinner. Since, however, thou dost ask me concerning my system of work, I will declare unto thee the things which I saw, and those which I heard when [I was] with my holy father Apa Aaron. Besides this I was a disciple at his feet, and I entreated him to relate unto me the things which he himself had seen, and those which had happened before his time. My holy father Apa Aaron said, "Assuredly I will declare unto thee, O my son, the things which I have seen, and those

24 which I have heard from the blessed Apa Marcedonios (sic) the bishop." [KA] 25 'Now he said, "When I became governor, and took over the rule of [Syene], I came to the South, and I passed through the towns in this district, and went into Pilak (Philae). And it was the Sabbath day, and I made enquiries for a place wherein I might receive the Sacrament, for I was an orthodox Christian. The people who lived there worshipped idols, and the very few orthodox Christians who dwelt in their midst possessed neither freedom of speech nor liberty of action because the majority of the people were idolaters. I next asked a man, who was a Christian, where I could receive the Sacrament, and he said unto me, O my lord governor, those of us who live in this town suffer violence at the hands of the worshippers of idols who are therein, but nevertheless certain clergy who belong to the city of Souan (Syene, Aswan) are in the habit of visiting us, and they administer the Sacrament to us on the Sabbath and on the Lord's Day. And I, Macedonius, laid up these words in my heart. And when I had [returned and] entered Rakote (Alexandria) to pay my respects to the military governor, I sought out Apa Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, and I related unto him everything which I had seen. And the holy sage and veritable patriarch said unto me, Are there many worshippers of God in that place?

26 And I said unto him, Yea, my father, for a certain man who was a Christian, and who spoke to me said, Certain of the clergy belonging to the city of Souan visit us, and administer the Sacrament unto us on the Sabbath and on the Lord's Day. Now, therefore, O my lord father, do thou look out a man who is worthy to minister in this most necessary work, and do thou consecrate him bishop, and then I will take him to the South with me.' And the holy archbishop answered and said unto me, Because thou hast sought after a good work, what man hath more prudence than thyself, or who is there that can be compared with thee in understanding? It is thou who shalt be the shepherd of the sheep who are in that place. And I said unto him, Forgive me, O my holy father, I am wholly unworthy of work of this kind; but he persuaded me with his gracious words, and [prevailed over] me.

27 'And when I had come to the south I distributed the things which it was unnecessary to keep among the [dwellers] in this place, O my brother Aaron, and I did not permit myself to act with freedom of speech and as a bishop, but I behaved as one who was of the very least importance in their midst. And I saw them going into their temple, and worshipping a certain bird, which is called "hawk", inside a mechanical contrivance. And it came to pass that after some days I came into the court of the temple, and the priest had gone forth from the city, having departed on certain business, and his two sons remained [in the temple], so that one of them might offer up sacrifices to the idol. And I, Macedonius, went to them, and I spake unto them with guile, and I said, I wish to offer up sacrifice unto God this day. And they said, Come, and offer it up. And when [the young man] had gone into [the temple], he commanded [the servants] to lay wood upon the altar, and to kindle fire beneath it, and the two sons of the priest remained by the side of the wood until it had become thoroughly burnt through.' [Meanwhile] the [holy] bishop Apa Macedonius went to the place wherein was the mechanical contrivance, and he took out the hawk, and cut off its head, and threw it from him upon the blazing altar; and he went forth from the temple and departed.

28 When the two sons of the priest saw what had happened they rent their garments. And the elder said unto the younger, 'What shall we do? We are in difficulties on every side. When the inhabitants of the city hear about it they will stone us, because we have been careless and permitted their god to be burned. And again, supposing that we are able to save ourselves from them, we shall not be able to escape from the hands of our father, because he loveth the divine hawk more than us. Now therefore, O my brother, let us rise up and flee unto some place in the desert; peradventure we shall escape from him.' And in this way did it happen that the two young men came forth from the city that day, and no one knew about their flight because God watched over them, and they were set apart for a good stewardship. And they crossed the water (i. e. the Nile), and they came to the east, and they looked at the mountain in the inner desert, saying, 'It is [RH] better for us to die [here] where the wild beasts will eat our bodies than to let the people of the city stone us.'

29 And it came to pass that their father came and went into the temple to offer worship to the idol early in the morning, according to his habit, before he departed to his house. And when he had gone into the temple and did not find his sons he went to the innermost part (i. e. the sanctuary), and when he did not find them there he turned back to the mechanical contrivance wherein the hawk had been, and found it not, and he came out in a state of bewilderment, saying, 'What can have happened? For I can find neither my sons nor the divine god.' And a certain old woman who was standing nigh unto him in the temple heard him, and she cried out to him, saying, 'Come to me, O blessed priest, and I will tell thee what I saw this day. This day I saw that wicked monk, who is leading into error certain of the people of this city, go into the temple with thy sons, and this is not all, for he it is who is corrupting their minds, and they carried away the divine [hawk], and then betook themselves to flight.' And when the priest had [RG] heard these words from the old woman he departed and made his way towards the city [to seek for] his sons, saying, 'I will not only kill my sons, but if I can find that monk I will destroy him.'

30 And a certain man, who was a believer, having heard the old woman talking to the priest, went to the holy bishop, and said unto him, 'My noble father, hearken unto the words which this cursed priest of the temple spake concerning thee, saying, "If I can only find him, I will kill him." Now therefore, O my holy father, arise, and get thee gone into a quiet place for some days until the matter hath passed by.' And the bishop said unto that man, 'Wherefore, my noble son? I have heard the blessed mouth of our God, our Saviour Jesus the Christ, our Lord, saying, "Fear ye not those who can kill your bodies, but who are unable to kill your souls."' And that man said unto the bishop, 'He said also, "When they persecute you in this city, flee unto another."' And the bishop said [unto that man], 'Who told him that I went into the temple?' And the man said unto him, 'I heard a certain old woman who was near him in the temple [tell him].' And the bishop said shortly, 'May her tongue become like iron and remain without motion until the gift of God shall make itself manifest.' And this took place according to the bishop's words, even as were fulfilled the words which Peter the Apostle spake unto Simon, saying, 'Thou shalt be blind and shalt never see the sun again.' And when the holy bishop had said these words the man went forth from the presence of the holy man.

31 And [the bishop] rose up and departed to the north, to a place which is called Pia (or, the Valley). And he lived in that place, and made supplication to God, and he fasted and passed whole nights in vigil frequently. And he said, 'O Lord God, turn the heart of the men (?) to repentance this night.' [And straightway] he saw a vision, and it seemed as if he himself was standing up, with the two sons of the priest before him, the one on the right side of him, and the other on his left side, and they were kneeling down. And a man of light came and stood over them. And he placed a crown upon the head of him that was on his right side, who was the elder, and another crown upon the head of him that was on his left side. And he placed in the hand of him that was on his right side

32 [A] [Aa] a sceptre whereunto was tied a key, and in the hand of him that was on his left he placed another sceptre whereunto was tied a key. And the [man of light] went up into heaven, and he (the bishop) watched him depart. And the holy bishop Apa Macedonius rose up in the morning, saying, 'What is [the meaning of] this vision which I have seen? Are sons to be born unto me after I am become worn out? The matter is somewhat late. Nevertheless, Thy Will be done, O my Lord Jesus the Christ.' And whilst the bishop was pondering over the matter in this wise, a voice came to him, saying, 'How long art thou going to remain careless about the sheep which have been committed to thy charge? 33 Rise up, get thee to them, and thou shalt find chosen vessels in that place.' And he rose up and set out on the journey [Ab] according to what he had been told. And when he had travelled into the desert a distance of about three miles he looked to the right side of him. And he found the two sons [of the priest] lying under the top of the mountain, being half dead of hunger and thirst, for for six days they had neither eaten bread nor drunk water. And when the bishop saw them he remembered the vision which he had seen, and he said, 'These are the two young men about whom I was instructed in the vision, and these also are they concerning whom I was told, saying, Go, thou shalt find chosen vessels.' And Macedonius the bishop said, I went towards the young men, and when they saw me they plucked up courage, and they rose up and cast themselves down at my feet, and they showered kisses on them; and I helped them, and I raised them up, and having seen that they were exhausted by hunger and thirst, I tarried there with them. And the elder

34 brother made a sign to the younger, saying, 'Speak,' and the [Ab] younger brother made a sign to the elder, saying, 'Do thou speak.' And the elder brother answered and said, 'In very truth, my father, I felt as if I had eaten when I saw thee, though from the day wherein we came forth from the city we have neither eaten nor drunk, and I have seen no man whatsoever with the exception of thyself. And this is our sixth day. And it happened during the night which is past—now I was not asleep, and my eyes were open—that a man of light came unto us, and he had a book in his hand, and his sandals were …, and he was arrayed in very splendid apparel; and he stood over me, and he made me rise up. And when I had risen up he dressed me in a tunic and fastened it by a band over the shoulders. And when I had passed a short time in the tunic he stripped it off me, and gave it to my younger brother, and fastened it by a band over his shoulders; and when the tunic had been on him for a short time he stripped it off him, and put it on me again.

35 And I looked on my right hand, and I saw thee, O my holy father. And that man of light seized me with his hand of light and threw me up into his bosom, and afterwards he seized my brother and threw him up into his bosom. And straightway he became invisible, and I ceased to see him. And now, O my father, since we are held to be worthy of thy visiting us, behold, our souls and our bodies are in thy hand, for it was actually through thee that we fled from the city and came unto this place.' 36 And when the bishop had heard these word he remembered that the apostle had said, 'The spirit of the prophets shall come upon thee.' And he said unto them, 'Arise, my sons, let us away, for it hath been appointed by God that we should dwell together.' And they rose up, and they came forth from the mountain together, and departed to the place wherein the holy bishop lived, and all three of them dwelt together. And the bishop said, 'I cannot eat with them because they have not received baptism.' And he rose up, and filled a vessel with water, according to his usual practice, and he prayed over the water, according to the Canon, and he said unto them, 'What are your names?' And the elder brother said, 'It is difficult to find out our names, because the titles whereby we are called are the names of gods'; and they told them to the bishop. And he said, 'From this time onwards ye must never be called by them again.' And he gave a name to the eldest when he baptized him, and called him Mark, and the other brother he called Isačas (Isaiah); and when he had baptized them he administered to them the Sacrament. And afterwards he set a table before them so that they might eat. And after they had been living with him for a number of days, they paid great attention to his habits of prayer, and to his manner of life, and to his methods of work;

37 for they knew no prayers and could only follow the holy man [when he said his prayers]. And Mark said, 'O my holy father, we wish thee to shave the hair of our heads, in order that we may serve before thee'; and he shaved their heads, and they obeyed him in everything. And it came to pass that after some days the holy bishop remembered the vision of the two young men which he had seen, and he said, 'Verily, these are the two young men whom I saw, one on my right hand and one on my left.' And he took Mark first and made him a presbyter, and Isaiah his brother he made a deacon. 38 And it came to pass [one day] when the bishop was in his habitation reading the Holy Gospel, and when Mark was sitting by the door, that certain Anouba men, who were sojourning in that place, approached with their camels, and one of the strong savage camels knocked one of the weak ones down, and broke its leg; and when the Anouba saw what had happened they quarrelled with each other over it. And the master of the camel, the leg of which was broken, said unto the other, 'I shall take thy camel in place of mine'; and great strife broke out between the two men. And when Mark the presbyter saw them fighting together he went up and informed the bishop, who decided in his mind not to go down to them. When, however, he came at length to the passage which is written, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for it is they who shall be called the sons of God,' he straightway tied (or, wrapped) up the Book, and came down to the Anouba men. And when they saw him, he who had suffered an injury rushed to him, and said, 'Come, sit down, my father, and hear our case'; and the bishop sat down. And the Anouba man said, 'I tethered my camel, but my neighbour did not do so, and his camel came and knocked mine down on the ground, and broke its leg.' And when he

39 had finished speaking the other man said, 'Indeed, I did tether [my camel], but it broke loose without my knowing A H it.' Meanwhile the bishop sat and held his peace until they had finished all their arguments. And the bishop said unto them, 'Hath there never been any matter of dispute between you before this day? Is the matter of the camel the only one about which ye have quarrelled?' And one of the Anouba men said, 'I will declare the truth unto thee, O my holy father. Behold, we have travelled together for thirty years, and neither of us hath quarrelled with the other even for a day.' And the holy bishop said, 'Bring hither to me the camel the leg of which hath been broken'; and they brought the camel to him. Now the bone was broken, and the fractured parts were only kept in position by the hide, and the camel walked with the greatest difficulty dragging its leg. And when the holy bishop had looked at the beast,

40 he said unto the younger brother, that is, unto Isaiah the deacon, 'Go and bring me a little water in a basin,' and Isaiah went and brought it to him. And the A O bishop said unto Isaiah, 'Sprinkle it on its leg, saying, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.' And he made the Sign of the Cross over the broken leg, according as he was told, and the broken bones of the leg rejoined, and it became as if it had never been broken at all. And when the Anouba men saw what had happened they marvelled, for they knew not God. And certain men who were inhabitants of Pilak (Philae) passed by, and when they saw what had taken place they ascribed glory to God, and they went into the city, and they published therein the fame of the holy bishop, because of what they had seen. And they told the high priest of the temple, that is to say, the priest, about his sons, through one of whom, the younger, the miracle had taken place.

41 And when the priest heard thereof he made haste to come forth from [the temple], and he went to the place wherein was the bishop with his sons. And when he was approaching the bishop's habitation, the bishop was informed of his coming by the Spirit, and he went forth and said unto him, 'Aristus, what benefit hast thou in leading astray this multitude and in inflicting harm upon their souls?' And straightway Aristus cast himself down at the feet of the bishop, and he kissed them again and again, saying, 'Forgive me, O my lord father.' And the bishop took him by his hands, and raised him up, and took him into his dwelling. And it came to pass that when the priest saw his elder son Mark, he went towards him to embrace him, but Mark would not permit him to do so, saying, 'Thou art not yet worthy of holy baptism.' And when his father saw this he marvelled, and he said unto Mark, 'Art thou not my son?' And Mark said unto him, 'Indeed I am no son of thine; this very day have I gotten a Good Father.' And his father said unto him, 'Shew me the way in which it is meet for me to live.' And Mark, his son, said unto him, 'Behold our father the bishop!

42 He it is who shall tell us how we ought to live.' And the bishop began to speak to Aristus out of the Holy Scripture, and he helped him to [understand] the ordinance of baptism and the Orthodox Faith. And when the priest had heard these words he said unto the bishop, 'Blessed indeed am I, O my holy father, in that I am held to be worthy to hear these sweet words from thy holy mouth. I beseech thee, moreover, O my holy father, to give me holy baptism, even as thou hast given it to my sons.' And when the bishop knew that the fear of God was stirring [in] him, and that his heart was firmly fixed on God, he said unto him, 'I will not baptize thee in this place. But arise, get thee into the city, and attend to the affairs of thy house, and build a church.'

43 And when the bishop had been instructing them for a considerable time they said [unto him], 'Delay no longer; perform the ordinance of the water'; and the bishop consented. And the bishop said, 'Bring me the oil'; and he (i. e. Mark) brought it. And the bishop took it, and prayed over [the water] and the oil, according to the Canons of our holy Fathers the Apostles, and he said unto Mark the presbyter, 'Make a proclamation in the church, saying, Let him that wisheth for the Lord come unto me.' And [the people] went to him in a body with joy and gladness, and he baptized them; and the bishop baptized the priest first of all, and he called his name Jacob. And after him [he baptized] all the people of the city, men, and women, and young children, and there was not one person left who did not receive baptism on that day. And when, having finished baptizing the people, the bishop went into the church, he sent and called the man whom he was wishing to ordain presbyter, …our

44 Lord Jesus. And the man (i. e. the priest) rose up and departed, even as the bishop had commanded him, and he put his house in order, and [gave away] everything which he had. And he filled [a vessel] with water, and washed himself, and he arrayed himself in festal linen apparel. And the priest sent a message to the bishop, saying, 'I have set everything in order, even as thou didst command me; rise up, and come into the city'; and the bishop rose up, he and his disciple, and departed thither. And when the people of the city heard [of this] they all rejoiced together, from the youngest to the oldest. And by the ban which the bishop had pronounced on it. And Apa Macedonius the bishop rose up and went to the stretcher, and he placed his finger in her mouth, and straightway the bonds of her tongue were relaxed, and she spake freely, and ascribed glory to God. And when the multitude saw what had happened they cried out with loud voices, saying, 'One is the God of the holy man Apa Macedonius, the bishop.'

45 [And the bishop baptized the old woman] …, and when he had administered the Sacrament to the multitude he went to the church, and sat down there for a week of days. And he consecrated [some of the men] presbyters and deacons, and taught them the Ordinances and Canons of the Church; and after the seventh day he departed to his abode. And it came to pass that after some days his body caused him exceedingly great pain, for he was very far advanced in years. And he called Mark the presbyter and Isaiah the deacon, and he said unto them, 'Behold, the days of my visitation have drawn nigh. After I have ended my course, thou, O my son Mark, shall God set in my place. Sit thou upon my throne, and do thou pasture diligently the flock of God, O my son, even as I have committed it into thy hand.'

46 [Three lines wanting] …he became sick, and his sickness waxed sore upon him, and he grew worse and worse until the seventh day of the month Mekhir. And he called his disciples, and he commanded them about everything which it was meet for them to do, and on the morning of the eighth day of Mekhir the holy bishop Apa Macedonius went to his rest at a good old age. And when the people of his city heard [of his death] they came out to the place where he was, and they made a great mourning for him because they loved him exceedingly, and they made his body ready for burial in a manner befitting his rank, and they buried him outside his house. And it came to pass that when the episcopal throne had remained empty for some time and without a bishop, all the people were gathered together, and they said unto each other, 'How long shall we remain careless of the great duty which is incumbent upon us, and not seek out a shepherd…'

47 [Three lines wanting] …of the deacons.' And they passed three days together discussing the matter in this manner, and they arrived at no decision. And the chief presbyter of the church rose up and said unto the congregation, 'I will declare unto you a matter which is worth your carrying out, if ye will hearken unto me.' And the majority of the people said, 'Tell us what it is, and if it be suitable we will carry it out.' And he said unto them, 'Let us select certain men from among us, that is to say, Stephen and men like unto him, and let lots be cast, and him upon whom the lot shall fall let us take and lay hands upon him and make him bishop.' And it came to pass that when the presbyter had finished speaking the archdeacon answered and said, 'I have that which I would say…'

48 [Three lines wanting] …' And they said, 'They are his sons.' And the archdeacon said, 'Behold, they are [his] heirs, and ye shall not overlook them'; and when he had said these things they remembered Mark and Isaiah. And all the people answered and said, 'What the archdeacon hath said is what shall be.' And straightway they sent and brought Mark and Isaiah unto the place wherein they were, and they sat down in the church, and their choice fell upon Mark the presbyter. And Mark said unto them, 'Forgive me, O my fathers, I am wholly unworthy of a duty of this kind. Seek ye out some one who shall [be more able to] shepherd the flock of Christ.' And all the people loved Mark because of his understanding and wisdom, and because he had been thoroughly well instructed by his father the bishop, Apa Macedonius, and they took him by force.

49 And they wrote a letter to the [holy] Archbishop [Apa Athanasius concerning him, and they took him and made him to embark in a ship], and they sailed with him to Rakote (Alexandria). And when we had entered the town we enquired for the Patriarch, and we did not find him in the church that day, because he was a holy man and loved solitary contemplation exceedingly. And certain [God-] fearing men having informed us that he was wont to withdraw for peace and quiet to a little monastery in the western quarter of the city, we summoned one of them to take us to him, because we were unacquainted with the neighbourhood. And when we had arrived at the place wherein he was a certain deacon came out, and we told him the matter on account of which we had come. And the deacon went in and informed the archbishop, who sent and brought us in, and we cast ourselves down upon the ground, and we did homage at his holy feet. And Apa Athanasius had been informed by the Spirit [concerning the matter of our journey some] days [before we arrived] …

50 [Two lines wanting] And Saint Athanasius answered and said unto Mark, 'My son, hast thou forgotten the moment when the tunic was put on thee and was fastened by a band over thy shoulder? This day is the day that was appointed for thee, O thou faithful presbyter!' And Mark marvelled at the words which were addressed to him; he remembered the vision, but he had told no man whatsoever about it except Apa Macedonius the bishop and his brother Isaiah. And Mark said, 'Thou art indeed a holy man of God, O my lord and blessed father.' And the archbishop said, 'Thou alone hast specially sat as a disciple at the feet of a bishop and a holy man who was indeed holy.' And when he had said these words he commanded a deacon to take us to a place where we could be alone, and he commanded [One line wanting]

51 And when it was morning [on the following day] [Two and a half lines wanting] mb …and there came also the great folk of the western quarter [of the city] wishing to receive a blessing from him. And the deacon came in and informed Athanasius concerning them, and Athanasius said, 'I am not disengaged.' And the deacon said unto one of them, 'Pray trouble yourselves and go away until to-morrow morning, because we have with us here certain brethren who [have come] on behalf of the people in the South.' And when he had told them [these things] they departed, saying, 'Pray ye for us, and meanwhile we will go and pray in the Monastery of Apa Mêna, and we will return unto thee.' And we gave unto Athanasius the document containing the resolution which had been passed by the majority, and when he had read it he rejoiced exceedingly, and he said unto us, 'I rejoice very greatly over the wandering sheep in your city whom God hath turned unto repentance.' And he told them concerning the Canons of the Church [on the subject], saying, 'In what way do ye read? …we …according to what our father Apa Macedonius [told] us. And when the [holy archbishop] heard [these words] he said …

52 [Two or three lines wanting] mc 53 'built upon it. Verily, my children, your holy father did not lay the foundation only and build until he had finished the foundation, but he built until he had finished the whole building, and had laid the coping stone upon it. And to you yourselves doth it belong to keep the things which he commanded.' And when he had made an end of speaking to us, Mark the presbyter said, 'There is one matter which is a stumbling-block to me, and I wish to tell thee what it is, O my holy father'; and the archbishop said, 'Tell me what it is.' And Mark said, 'Certain heathen men [live] to the east of us and to the west of the south of our city; they are called Anouba, and they are very poor. And it happeneth that when they cry out to us, saying, "Give us bread," my understanding moveth me not to give it to them, because they are heathen.' [And the holy archbishop said unto him, 'Have ye not read in the Gospel, "Seek, and ye shall] find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you?' Have ye not heard the Apostle saying, Doth God belong to the Jews only? Is He not the God of the Gentiles also? Yea, He belongeth to the Gentiles also, for God is One. He said unto Abraham, "Behold, I will make thee to be a father of many nations.

54 And again, He said of Cornelius in the Acts of the Apostles, that he was "one of another nation", yet because God is One, He sent unto him Peter, the chief of the Apostles, who baptized him, and God taught him by means of a vision not to consider any man to be polluted or unclean. And, O Mark, thou canst collect for thyself a multitude of testimonies from the Holy Scriptures that will convince thee completely [of the truth of this].' And Mark said, 'I will seek, and I [shall find; I will knock, and it shall be opened unto me] … 55 [Two or three lines wanting] …And the archbishop said unto him, 'It cannot be that thou hast not known these things until now! Hast thou not read in the Gospel what our Saviour said unto the Canaanitish woman? He said, "It is not good to take the bread of the children and throw it to the dogs." And she answered and said, "Yea, Lord, [but] the dogs also eat of the fragments which fall from the table of their masters." And observe the manner in which our Saviour applauded her answer. He said unto her, "O woman, great is thy faith; let it be unto thee even as thou wishest." And her daughter was better from that hour.' And the archbishop said also [unto him], 'I will relate unto thee another parable which I heard from the fathers who were monks and who lived in …

56 [Three or four lines wanting] …not good is his work. That which he doth [he doth not do] in secret. Moreover, James saith in his Catholic Epistle, "He who saith, I am a worshipper [of God], and bridleth not his tongue [is no worshipper], but he deceiveth his heart, and the worship of this man is vain." And another brother said, "Yea, his work is good." The holy psalmist David saith, "I will give (i. e. make) my prayer before every one who feareth the Lord." And again, the Apostle saith, "Pray without ceasing." And behold, there are very many other passages in the Scriptures which will make us certain about prayer. And the other brother said, 'Our Lord told us thus: "When thou art going to pray, go thou into thy chamber; shut the door on thyself, pray to thy Father Who is in secret, and thy Father Who seeth thee in secret shall reward thee [openly]."' And the other brother said, 'Similarly I myself do not believe this matter.' And the other brother said unto him, 'Let us enquire of Apa Phou-p-kôht, and he will give us the explanation of the matter into which we are enquiring…[And the two brethren set out] together

57 …Now the brethren had bestowed upon him the name of [Phou-p-k]ôh[t], because he was not satisfied with any man's [performance] of the things which it was right for [them to do]. And the two brethren rose up, and went quickly to him, and they called into [his cell], according to the rule of the brethren. And he came out, and took them into his place, and they prayed and then sat down together. And he said unto them, 'Welcome to you, O brethren'; and they said unto him, 'Forgive us, O our holy father.' And one of them made a sign to the other to speak, and he who had made the accusation against the brother that he performed his daily works and deeds in public made answer and told him about the strife which was between them. And the old man answered and said, 'Forgive me, O brethren; strife concerning the Scriptures is labour and weariness, for as soon as it is restrained in one place it breaketh out in another. But I will relate unto you a matter which is connected with the affairs of this world. It came to pass during a certain year when the inundation did not permit all our fields to be watered because the level of the Nile-flood was not sufficiently high. Now there were two men in one house, and one of them said, "I will run out to the field so that I may sow a little seed,

58 lest we die of hunger and [perish]." And the other brother said, "I myself will not go, because there is not sufficient [H] water to enable all our fields to be watered." And the brother who had first spoken to his companion departed, and sowed a little wheat, and a little barley, and a few lentils, and a few beans, and a little of each of the other kinds of seeds. And the famine waxed sore in the land. Now, therefore, my brethren, which of these two brethren shall live: he who sowed a little seed, or he who sowed none at all?' And the brother who was engaged in the strife answered, saying, 'He who sowed a little seed.' And the holy man said unto him, 'Thou hast judged rightly, my son, for he who performeth a little commandment well shall live rather than he who performeth no commandment at all.' And straightway that brother, when he heard this rebuke, cast himself at the feet of the brother with whom he had the dispute, saying, 'Forgive me …

59 …the two of them. [no] And now [said the archbishop], my son Mark, I have told thee these things because of the heathen Anouba of whom thou hast spoken unto me. It is more profitable for thee to force thyself, especially for love's sake, than to be forced without any love in thy heart; for love covereth a multitude of sins. Needs must that after a certain time [hath elapsed] that heathen man shall believe in God, and therefore have I said these things unto thee. For I find thee to be like unto a seed in its nest, according to what Isaiah saith, 'Destroy not him that hath the blessing of God in him.' And it came to pass, when the holy Archbishop Apa Athanasius had said these things, that he spake unto his deacon, saying, 'Prepare the Offering; we will consecrate the bishop.' And thus [saying] he rose up, and grasped the hand of Mark, and led him into the church—now all the people were accompanying him—and he laid his hands upon him. And the archbishop came out and departed to the place wherein he lived. And he said unto his deacon,

60 ['Make ready a table] so that we may eat bread with each other'; and thus it happened that we were held to be worthy of the blessing of his holy fatherhood. And we passed three days with him, according to custom, and on the fourth day he sent the episcopal licence, and dismissed us. And when we had come outside the door he sent his deacon to Apa Mark the bishop, and he led him into his presence. And [the archbishop] said unto him, 'When thou shalt have entered the South [and returned] to thy place, lay thine hands upon thy brother. Thou shalt ordain him deacon first of all, and subsequently presbyter, because he hath been appointed to the stewardship, for the tunic was also put upon him, and was fastened over the shoulder. Now, as for thyself, as thou didst come under the protection of thy father, even so shall thy brother come under thy protection. For this reason, after thou hast run thy course he shall sit in thy place.' And when Mark had heard these things from [Apa Athanasius, the holy] archbishop, [he departed].

61 Now when we had come forth from him we departed to Rakote, and we embarked in a small boat, and sailed unto a place which is called Skhissa. And there was a very large number of boats tied up at that place, and we examined them all and did not find one bound for the city of Antinoë, because in that nome they are [engaged in] the transport of wheat. However, God decreed a piece of good fortune for us, for when we had passed a few days in that place with the brethren and with the bishop, and were saying, 'Why is it that we have not been able to find among all the ships lying here one that is going to sail to our region?' the bishop said unto [us], 'Be patient, God will send one unto us opportunely, and we shall depart to our house in peace.' And the following evening there came into port a ship which belonged to the city of Souan (Syene, Aswân), a place which was not very far from his city. [The captain] had brought his cargo to the North, to the city …

62 [Nearly two lines wanting] …and the noblemen were in ill health, and they brought him and their wives, and their goods, and all their baggage, and their slaves, and they came to Rakote. And when the morning had come the brethren who were travelling with the bishop looked, and as soon as they saw the ship they knew that it had arrived in port during the night. And straightway one of the brethren went, and spake unto the captain of the ship, saying, 'Wilt thou allow us to embark with thee when thou shalt depart to the South?' The captain said unto him, 'Of what place are ye natives? I see that your speech resembleth ours.' And the brother said, 'We belong to Pilak (Philae).' And the captain said, 'Whither goest thou in this place, and for what purpose hast thou come?' … 63 [Five or six lines wanting] …he found him (i.e. the bishop) sitting at the door of the church, and he cast himself down and did homage at his feet. And he said, 'I am worthy of a great favour this day, O my holy father'; and he spake and related unto the bishop how his ship was being delayed. And the bishop said unto him, 'They shall release it this day, if it be God's Will.' And the captain ran off to the ship, and told [this] to the noblemen and to his fellow sailors, and they too ran up to the church to receive a blessing from the bishop. And [the bishop] entreated the noblemen to let the ship go, and to carry him to the South; and they said, 'As thou commandest, O our holy father, so shall it be.' And thus [Five or six lines wanting]

64 by the help of the Christ, the wind drove us on with all its power until the company arrived at his city. And when they had arrived in their house in the South, they made a great entertainment in honour of the bishop, and they gave him a sheep to carry back to his city. And when the people heard of his arrival they all flocked out, and they sang psalms and hymns before him until they brought him into the church, and seated him upon the throne. And he gave unto them the deed of his appointment to the bishopric, and the deacon took it and told the people about it, and [how Mark] was the heir, and he read it to the people. And he made ready the Offering, and he administered the Sacrament to them all with his own hand, from the least to the greatest of them. And he passed three days in the church teaching them,

65 [Three or four lines wanting] he performed many charities, and he kept all the commandments of his holy father Macedonius the bishop. And after some days there was a great festival, and all the people besought him to come into the city and to administer the Sacrament unto them. And whilst they were making the Offering ready Mark called to his brother Isaiah, and he took him, and ordained him a presbyter, according to the command which the Archbishop Apa Athanasius had commanded him. And when he had administered the Sacrament to the people he blessed them, and sent them away in peace. And when he had passed [many] days in shepherding his people in the fear of God, his body failed in strength, and he called his brother, and said unto him, 'Hearken, and I will tell thee. Since the holy Archbishop Apa Athanasius said that the office of [bishop] was to be committed to thee

66 [Three or four lines wanting] he succumbed to the sickness on the tenth day of the month of the 1st of May, and he departed to his rest on the fourteenth day of this same month. And when the people were informed [of his death] they came out, and they kept watch over his body, and they all wept over him, saying, 'He was a good man'; and then they buried him with the body of Apa Macedonius the bishop. And the people straightway laid hands on Isaiah the presbyter and took him into the city the selfsame day, and they all persuaded him to let them appoint him shepherd over them in the place of Mark his brother. Thereupon they wrote out the list of the votes which had been cast in his favour, and they handed Isaiah over [with it] to certain God-loving brethren, so that they might take him to Rakote where he would be consecrated bishop. And straightway he came forth to the ship, and they embarked therein, and sailed to the North, and, by the Will of God, [they suffered no delay], and they arrived at the

67 [Three or four lines wanting] c he said unto them, 'He is coming this day. Get ye gone to the church, and watch it. When he shall come he will go into it and receive the Sacrament therein this day.' And whilst they were talking to the man, behold, the archbishop came, and the people were singing psalms before him; and they went to him, and they cast themselves down on the ground and did homage to the archbishop. And he raised them up, saying, 'Rise up, my children.' And they rose up, and they received a blessing at his hands, and they gave him the list of the votes concerning the bishopric, and accompanied him into the church, and he sat down. And when he had read the document, he ordered the Offering to be prepared, and he rose up and took Isaiah and led him into the innermost part, and he consecrated him bishop; and Isaiah received the Sacrament from his holy hands. [And when the archbishop had administered the Sacrament] he sat down, and caused [the deed of his (Isaiah's) appointment to the bishopric] to be written

68 [Three or four lines wanting] we embarked, and we let go, and, by the Will of God, within a few days we came into port in the city of Souan (Syene, Aswân). And the people heard [of the bishop's arrival], and they came out to meet him, and they sang before him, and took him into the church, and enthroned him. And Isaiah gave unto them the archbishop's deed of appointment, and they read it, and then the bishop dismissed them in peace. And after Isaiah had passed three days in the church he came forth, and departed to his own abode. And he did not go into the city except on the day of some great festival, and on the occasions when the clerks came with the clergy and the nobles of the people, and entreated him to favour them with his presence. And the blessed man Apa Isaiah was a man of benevolent countenance, and he was greatly beloved, and the rich

69 [Three or four lines wanting] they came forth, and they watched his noble corpse, and they all mourned for him, saying, 'He was an exceedingly good man.' And when they had prepared his body for burial in a manner befitting his rank, they buried him by the side of his holy and blessed fellow ministrants, that is to say, Apa Macedonius and Apa Mark, and each went to his own abode. And the people of the city passed a certain number of days without a bishop. Now there lived on the island a certain monk whose name was Psoulousia, and every one who knew him bore witness to his [good] deeds; and our father Apa Aaron had established him in the monkish life when he was bishop. And God put it into the heart of the people to seek him out, and the clergy and the people came out to the island, and

70 [Three or four lines wanting] 'every [one]. For I am a foolish man, and I know not which is my right hand and which is my left.' And after they had passed a considerable time in entreating him, and although he refused to be persuaded by them, they seized him by force, and lifted him up and carried him into the city. And they wrote out the list of the votes which had been cast for him, and they sent with him certain God-loving brethren whom they admonished to keep a good watch over him until they had brought him to Rakote and he had been consecrated. And when they had arrived at the quay of Skhissa they embarked in a small boat, and sailed therein until they entered the city. And when they came to the gateway they found a certain brother, and they besought him to tell them the place where the archbishop was. And the archbishop himself was sitting inside the gateway, and was conversing with two bishops, the one from Athribis, [and the other from...

71 [Three or four lines wanting] Apa Sellousia (sic). And [the archbishop] said unto him in a voice which was full of joy, 'Hitherto thou hast lived day by day in a state of irresponsibility, but to-day thou shalt take upon thyself responsibility which is like unto our own.' And when the archbishop had said these words he rose up and took him into the church. And he made them prepare the Offering and the altar, and he prayed over him, and appointed him to be a reader; then he made him a deacon, then he made him a presbyter, and then he likewise consecrated him bishop. And he dismissed us, saying, 'Depart in peace.' And we came forth from his presence having forgotten the deed of appointment to the bishopric; and we went back to him, and we asked him about it. And he commanded his deacon, and he drafted (?) it with his own hand, and he

72 [Three or four lines wanting] 'everything concerning the bishopric which hath come to me is above my merits, saying, I saw thee with men wrapping thee in a garment, and placing a key in thy hands.' And it came to pass that when he had come to the South, the bishop went first of all to his own place which was on the island, he and those who were with him. And he sat down in that place because he was a man who wished exceedingly for peace and quietness; and when the people heard of this they were sad. And they embarked in boats, and they came to the island, and when they had received a blessing at his hands they told him about the episcopate (or, diocese); and the brethren who had travelled with him told them that he had been consecrated bishop. And the people said unto him, 'Why dost thou not come into our city, O our father, even as all the [other] bishops have done?' And he said, 'Believe me, O my children, I did in truth crave to see my own small habitation first of all.' And they brought him out, and they made him embark in a boat, and they sang before him until they brought him into the church; and they seated him upon the throne, according to custom. And having administered the Sacrament unto them all he dismissed them in peace. And the bishop Apa Psulousia went into the church, and passed sixteen days in teaching the people the Word of God, and he commanded them to preserve [their] purity and their love towards each other, and afterwards he returned to his place of abode.

73 And it came to pass after these things that Apa Timothy died, and Apa Theophilus occupied the [archi]episcopal throne [of Rakote, or Alexandria]. And all the bishops went to Rakote to do homage unto him, and among them there went also the holy man Apa Psulousia. And when they had arrived in the city they found the archbishop in the church, with all the clergy and the laity gathered together round about him, for it was the seventh day after the Sabbath on which the people were baptized. And when they had filled the font with water the archbishop and the other bishops went in and prayed over the 'Jordan', but Apa Psellousia stood by the door of the baptistery, at a little distance from it, and he did not go inside because he considered himself to be unworthy. And the archbishop was informed concerning him by the spirit, and he ordered him to be brought in, and he said unto him, 'Why didst thou not come into the church and pray with us?' And he said unto the archbishop, 'Forgive me, O my holy father, I am a feeble man.' And when he had stretched out his hands, and prayed with them, the font boiled like a brazen cauldron, and became red-hot. And when the archbishop and all the other bishops saw the miracle which had taken place, they glorified God and the holy bishop Apa Pselousias (sic) because of his purity. And when the archbishop had administered the Sacrament to them he dismissed him. And the bishops remained with him that day, and on the morrow he sent them away so that each one might depart unto his own city.

74 And the holy man Apa Pselousias continued to remain quietly in the place wherein he had lived first of all, before he or or became a bishop, until the day wherein he finished his course. He succumbed to the sickness on the twentieth day of the month Paône; and subsequently he went to his rest on the twenty-third day of this same month. And all the clergy and the laity came out, and they took charge of his glorious body, and they buried it [in his] own glorious … 75 Now therefore, my brother Papnoute (Paphnutius), since thou didst ask (? me for a little [information], behold, I have told thee concerning the bishops who lived in Pilak (Philae). According to what my father Apa Aaron himself told me, his parents paid money and bought him a commission in the army; and he received seven loaves of bread daily, but he never ate any of them, and he gave them to the company. His parents wished to take a wife for him, but he had no desire for one, and he preserved his body in a virgin state from his birth to the end of his course. And it came to pass on a certain day that letters were sent unto the imperial troops ordering their transfer to another city; and the order came to Apa Aaron to take command of them and to march with them. And when he had come outside the city a lion met him on the road at eventide, and wished to destroy him.

76 And the righteous man said, 'When I remembered the word which the Prophet David spake, saying, "The lion and the bear did Thy servant slay," I lifted up my eyes [to heaven] and I said, "O my Lord Jesus the Christ, [if Thou wilt] deliver this wild beast into my hands, I will give up everything that belongeth to my house, and all my possessions, and I will make myself a stranger to my parents and to all my slaves, and I will make myself a stranger to the things of this world, and I will dress myself in the garb of the monk for Thy holy Name's sake."' And the holy man Apa Aaron said: When I had said these words, I got ready the spear which was in my hand, and I drove it through the lion's body, and he died. And I did not return again to the city at once, but I departed to another city which was situated in the country to the south of me at a distance of three days' march.

77 [When I arrived there] I sold my horse, and my tunic, and all that appertained thereto, and all the things which I had with me. [With some of the money] I bought myself some clothes like unto those that were worn by the country folk, and the rest I devoted to the poor who were in that place. I then went to Mount Shiët, and in that place I donned the garb of the monk. But I did not remain in that place because of my parents, for I did not want them to follow me. And I travelled to the South, little by little, until I came unto this mountain. These things which I have related unto thee, my brother Papnoute (Paphnutius), [have I heard] from my father Apa Aaron. And when I entreated him to relate unto me also what happened subsequently (? [he said]: If thou wilt pray for me I will tell thee the things which I have seen with mine own eyes. It came to pass that when I was a child in the house of my parents, my parents put me to school that I might be taught to write, and my master took great pains with me daily until he had taught me to write the holy letters.

78 And having made progress I was able to read the passage in the Gospel, 'Whosoever will not forsake father or mother,' and the rest which follows these words, 'and follow Me, is not worthy of Me.' And I pondered on the passage, and I continued to meditate upon it with my whole heart. And it came to pass that after some days I heard a report about our holy father Apa Aaron, to the effect that he was living in a place which is called Peia (?), and was performing a multitude of cures on those who were sick of all kinds of diseases. And I rose up, and I went to the place where he was, and I sat down by the door of his habitation until the sun set, for that day was the … 79 And when the evening had come, and he did not come out, I rose up and I walked into the desert (or, mountain) a distance of about three miles. And after some time I looked down on the sand, and I saw the footprints of men which were directed to a bend in the rock. And I followed them, and I found there my holy father Apa Aaron, and there was a rope to which was tied a large stone hanging from his neck. And when I had called out to him 'Bless me', he withdrew his neck from the rope, and threw the stone upon the ground, and put on his garment. And he looked into my face, and said unto me, 'My son, whither goest thou in this region?' And I said unto him, 'Forgive me, my father, I only lost my way.' And he said unto me, 'Come, sit down, my son; thou hast not lost thy way; on the contrary, thou hast found the good path.' And when I had seated myself near him I besought him, saying, 'I would that thou wouldst permit me to become a monk with thee.' And he said unto me compassionately, 'Our Saviour saith in the Gospel, "Come unto Me every one who is weary, and I will give you rest."' The

80 name of the monastic life is good, but this life is [full of] weariness even to its very end.' And I said unto him, 'I have come to this place for this very thing, O my holy father; if I am to be successful in it thou must shew kindness unto me.' And he said unto me, 'The thing which thou seekest is good, O my son. If thou hast put forth thy hand to a work which is good, who shall hold thee back, O my son?' And we rose up and came forth into the desert (or, mountain), and he took me to a certain presbyter to array me in the garb of monkhood. And when we had cried out into [the dwelling] the presbyter came out, and saluted us, and took us into his abode; and straightway my father told him concerning me. And forthwith the presbyter shaved off the hair of my head and arrayed me in the garb of monkhood; and we rose up and departed to our own place. And my holy father Apa Aaron passed a week of days in building me up in the works of the service of God.

81 After these things he said unto me, 'Sit thou down here in this place, and I will go and pay a visit to my brother, and then I will come back to thee'; now he did not wish to let me know that he wanted to go to his ascetic exercises which he performed daily. And I said unto him, 'Wilt thou come [back] this day?' And he said unto me, 'Nay, beloved (? brother, leave me free until the Sabbath.' Now the first day on which he departed from me was the …And he passed the first day, and the second, and the third, and even the fourth day and the fifth day [away from me]. As for me, devils were torturing me exceedingly, saying, 'Why hath thy father left thee alone and departed? Why did he not take thee so that thou mightest receive the blessing which is with that brother?' And when these [thoughts] continued to obsess my mind I rose up and I set out to go into the desert (or, mountain) to the place wherein I had found him on the first occasion. And I found him standing up in the sand, now it was exceedingly hot weather, for it was the season of the filling of the waters (i.e. the rise of the Nile), and there was a great stone lying upon his head, and his eyeballs were well-nigh bursting [out of their sockets] on account of the heat.

82 And he fell upon the ground and gave himself up to die. And I laid hold upon him, and I raised him up, and I wept in his face, saying, 'Wherefore dost thou torment thyself with such excessive severity, O my holy father?' And he said unto me, 'For what purpose didst thou come to this place, O my son?' And I said unto him, 'Certain Nubians have been tormenting me, and I have come to tell thee.' And his mouth parted in a smile, and he said, 'Verily they are invisible Nubians, O my son.' And I made supplication unto him, saying, 'I beseech thy holy paternity [to tell me], why thou dost condemn thyself to such severe suffering and labour.' And Apa Aaron, the very aged man, made answer, saying, 'I will hide from thee nothing, O my son, in respect of the matters concerning which thou askest questions. For,' said he, 'the moment I remembered the sufferings which my Good Saviour endured for us until He redeemed our race from the captivity of the Devil, and gave His Body and His Blood for us, I said, Henceforward, since God took it upon Himself to suffer on our behalf, it is meet that we ourselves should endure sufferings of every kind so that He may shew mercy unto us in the day of our visitation.' And we rose up and came forth and departed to our place of abode on that day.

83 Now this was his manner of life. On the day whereon he ate bread he drank no water, and the day whereon he drank water he ate no bread. And it came to pass one night when both of us were sleeping in our place of abode that the demons assumed forms and appeared in the valley, and they uttered cries like the roarings of savage lions (?). And when I heard them I was terrified, and I threw myself on my father, saying, 'The savage lions (? have come upon us.' And he said unto me, 'Fear thou not, my son, for it is written, "Through our God we shall do a mighty thing. And again [it is written], "Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered."' When he had said these things we rose up, and we departed to the upper chamber. And certain of the demons were crying out, and some of them said, 'Bring them out and we will slay them'; and others said, 'Let us slay them in the place wherein they are.' Now the saint knew through the spirit that they were demons, and he said unto me, 'Let us give ourselves to prayer'; and as soon as we had given ourselves to prayer the demons fled along the valley. And I marvelled, and I said unto the holy old man Apa Aaron, 'Are not the demons wont to assume many forms?' And he said, 'Thou wilt see, O my son, that that which thou hast done is a very small matter.

84 For a certain brother spake unto me, saying, It happened unto me on an occasion that I was standing under a mountain one summer's day. It was my sixth day wherein I had neither eaten bread, nor drunk water, nor sat down. And the Demon came, and there was a staff of gold in his hand, and he said unto me, "Be strong, O warrior of the Christ, who fightest nobly. For I have seen thy sufferings, and I have been sent unto thee to give thee consolation. And that brother, having perceived the craft of the Devil, drew the Sign of the Cross on the ground, and straightway the Devil made himself invisible.' And it came to pass that when the holy man Apa Aaron had said these things unto me, I cast myself down at his feet, and I besought him, saying, 'Who was that brother?' And he said, 'Stand up, and I will tell thee.' And when I had stood up he said unto me, 'See, tell no man, I was this servant, and I was wholly unworthy that this should have happened unto me.'

85 And it came to pass on another occasion that we were sitting together, and there came out from the mountain a certain Nubian and his son to drink water from the river. And as soon as the child thrust his hand into the water to drink a great crocodile seized him, and dragged him under, and departed with him. And straightway his father cast himself upon the ground, and uttered loud cries, and wept bitterly, for besides that son he had no other child. And as the man ran up the mountain making loud outcries he cut himself against the sharp edges of the rocks, and he bruised and wounded himself exceedingly. And when I saw the depth of his sorrow of heart I told my father; and he rose up and came to the door, and made signs to the Nubian with his hand that he should come unto him. And when he had come and he (i. e. Apa Aaron) saw the wounds in his body he wiped away the blood which had run down over his limbs, and he seized him and brought him into his place of abode; and he drew him in by force and made him sit down. And when he had questioned him about what had happened, now Apa Aaron could not understand what the Nubian said unto him, my father said unto me, 'Rise up, and see if thou canst find a man on the road, [and if thou canst] call him hither.

86 Peradventure thou canst find [one] who will know how to talk to him.' And having gone out I found a man of Pilak (Philae), who was riding upon an ass, going to Souan (Aswân), and I called him and said unto him, 'Dost thou understand the language of the Nubians?' And he said, 'Yea'; and I took him to my father Apa Aaron. And when that man had looked at the Nubian and saw the wounds that were in his body he marvelled exceedingly, and he said unto him, 'In what way wast thou wounded?' And the Nubian told him what had happened. And the holy man Apa Aaron took a chip of wood, and gave it unto him, saying, 'Take it, and cast it into the river at the place where the crocodile carried away thy son'; and the man departed [and did] even as he was commanded. And it came to pass that when he had cast the chip of wood into the water a mighty crocodile appeared, and cast the little boy up on the shore, and there was no injury whatsoever in his body. And the man took him by the hand and brought him to the holy old man Apa Aaron. And when the Nubian saw this miracle he uttered loud cries of joy, and embraced him and kissed him. And the man departed to Pilak (Philae), and he did not go to Souan (Aswân) that day, but he went about preaching the miracle which had taken place.

87 And when the Nubian saw this miracle that had taken place he departed to his house, glorifying God and proclaiming abroad that which had happened. And all those who heard glorified God and His holy man Apa Aaron until this day. 88 And it came to pass on another occasion that, on a certain day while we were sitting together in our place of abode, a fisherman came to us; his garments were rent, his head was filled (i. e. covered) with dust, and he was shedding floods of bitter tears. And I went to him, and said unto him, 'What hath happened unto thee?' And he said unto me, 'It happened that I and my little son, who was in the boat with me, were dragging in the net, when suddenly he fell into the water, and went down into the net. And I could not draw up the net because of the strength of the current which was very great. But remembering my lord, the holy father Apa Aaron, I rose up, and I have come to him so that his favour may help me, for the boy was my only son.' And I rose up and I went and I told my father, who rose up and came down, and the fisherman cast himself down at his feet, and worshipped him, saying, 'Help me! Entreat the Christ that He may graciously give me [back] my son, for besides him I have no other child.' And the glorious old man said unto him, 'Get thee gone, my son, for by the Name of the Lord I believe that thou wilt find thy son sitting in the boat.' And the fisherman said, 'I believe, by God, that it shall be even as thou sayest';

89 and he went to the boat, and he found his son even as Apa Aaron had said unto him. And he enquired of his son, saying, 'What happened unto thee?' And the boy said unto him, 'It happened to me that when I went down into the net, and when my last breath was in my windpipe, I looked, and I saw a man of light, who took me by the hand, and brought me up out of the net, and lifted me up on the boat, and then, quite suddenly, I ceased to see him.' And his father took him, and brought him to the feet of the holy man Apa Aaron, and gave thanks unto God and unto the holy man Apa Aaron. 90 3 s And there was also a certain husbandman a little way to the south of us, who worked in a vineyard, and it came to pass that when he had climbed up a palm tree to gather the fruit thereof the band [round the tree in which he sat] frayed through, and he fell backwards to the ground, and he became like one of the dead. And when his son, who was sitting under the tree, saw what had happened he wept bitterly. And when the men who were round about him heard him crying out they went to see what had happened, and when they saw the man who was their companion lying on the ground like a dead man they said unto his son, 'Get thee to the holy man Apa Aaron, and bring a bowl of water from him in faith, and sprinkle it over him; perhaps he will then wake up.' And the youth went to the holy man weeping; and the holy man was sitting by the door, for he was suffering from fever and was exceedingly weary. And the youth cast himself down before him, and told him what had happened. And when the compassionate and righteous man had heard what had happened he became very sad of heart, and he said unto me, 'Bring me a little water hither, and let the youth take it and sprinkle it over him (i. e.

91 his father) in the Name of the Christ.' And I brought the water to him, and he made the Sign of the Cross over it, and he gave it to the youth, saying, 'Take it and sprinkle it over him'; and as soon as the youth had sprinkled it over his father he stood up. And the man came with his son, and worshipped at the feet of the holy man Apa Aaron, who raised him up, saying, 'Worship God, for I am the least [of God's creatures].' And having risen up his son shewed him what had happened unto him, saying, 'When I had sprinkled the water over thee thou didst tremble (or, shiver), and then stand up just as if thou hadst woke up from slumber.' Thereupon they went forth from his presence in peace. 92 And there was in Peilak (Philae) a certain woman who was about to give birth to a child, but her child stuck inside her, and died. And having remembered the miracles which God had worked through the holy man Apa Aaron, she cried out, saying, 'O God of the holy man Apa Aaron, do Thou hear me in this hour of distress,' and straightway she gave birth to her child, and he was dead; and her parents mourned exceedingly for the child. And when the young woman saw her parents sorrowful of heart she said unto them, 'Why are ye sorrowful of heart about the child? Had I not begged the God of the holy man Apa Aaron to help me, I myself would most certainly have drawn nigh unto death.' And when her parents heard these words—now they were exceedingly rich—they took money in their hands, and they went to the holy man Apa Aaron. And he, having been told by the spirit, 'They will come unto thee,' said unto me, 'Shut the door, and do not admit any man into my presence this day.' And the parents having arrived they spent a considerable time in calling out to those who were in the house. And Apa Aaron looked out through a window, and said unto them, 'What seek ye?' And they answered and said, 'We are seeking thy holiness.' Then he said, 'Of what have ye need?' And they said, 'We have come to meet thy holiness face to face. Accept from us this little gift, and pray thou for the little child that he may live for his mother's sake. For his mother called upon thy name at the moment when she was about to give birth, and had she not done so they would both have died.'

93 And Saint Apa Aaron said unto them, 'Well hath the Apostle said, "The love of money is the root of all evil." And again, Peter rebuked Simon, saying, "May thy silver and thy gold go with thee to perdition, because thou thinkest that the gift of God is to be acquired by money." And it was through his love of money that Gehazi was cursed with leprosy. And again, our Lord said unto the imperial officer, who had given Him neither gold nor silver, "Thy child liveth." And to you, even you, if ye believe, shall the gift of the Christ be [given].' And they answered and said, 'We believe, O our holy father, that everything which thou shalt say unto us Christ shall fulfil.' And the father of the child [took] a little of the dust from the doorway of the abode of Apa Aaron, and tied it up in his neck-cloth. And when they had come into the house they found a great multitude of people gathered together, and the man's wife and her child. And the father of the child unrolled the small quantity of dust which was tied up in his neck-cloth and sprinkled it on the little dead child, and straightway the child moved his body and opened his eyes. And the people who were seated by his mother marvelled, and they glorified the God of the holy man Apa Aaron. And the people used to bring unto Apa Aaron multitudes of folk who were suffering from diseases and sicknesses, and he healed them. And he was like unto the Apostles, to whom God gave power over every kind of sickness.

94 And on another occasion a certain man who was a native of the city of Souan (Syene, Aswân) came unto him one day, and continued to weep before him, saying, 'There is a certain rich man living in my city to whom I am in debt ten oboli, and I am unable to find them to pay to him. I have entreated him, saying, "Be patient with me, and I will pay thee. But he will not agree to this, and he hath seized me for his debt, and he wisheth to take away from me my vineyard, which I inherited from my fathers, and wherefrom I obtain a small profit whereon I and my poor children subsist. And besides I pay him interest [on his money]. I beseech thy holiness to send a message to him to lift his hand from me. Moreover, a certain member of his household spake unto me, saying, "He will press thee for the principal, and he will make thee to suffer a legal process, and thou wilt be obliged to assign [to him] thy vineyard. But I believe that if thou wert to send a message to him he would not refuse to listen to thee'; and as he said these words he wept. Now it was evening, and the debtor rose up to go to his house. And when Apa Aaron saw his grief of heart he said unto him, 'Sit thou down in this place until the morning, for it is now very late';

95 and he sat down in the outer court. And my father Apa Aaron said unto me, 'Take a loaf of bread and some water, and give them to him, and do thou say unto him, "Sit thou down [here] until the morning, and the Lord shall help thee."' And I did as [my father] had told me, but the man had no appetite for any food because of his grief. And I went and told my father, and he came forth to him, and he said unto him, 'Be not disobedient, O my son. Rise up and eat a little bread, and I believe that God will help thee'; and in this way he was able to persuade him, and the man rose up and ate [bread]. 96 And the holy man Apa Aaron rose up and went to the upper chamber. And he passed the whole night in making supplication unto God and in praying on the debtor's behalf. And when the morning had come the man wished to depart to his house, but the holy man Apa Aaron said unto him, 'Tarry thou here for a little while longer, and thou shalt depart to thy house with thy heart glad.' And whilst these words were still in his mouth, behold, the rich man arrived riding upon an ass, which was being held (i. e. led), and there were two other men following him in order to shew him the way to the righteous man; and his eyes were open, but he could not see. And he cast himself down at the feet of my father and did homage unto him; and Apa Aaron took him and lifted him up. Then the holy man said unto him, 'Hast thou never heard the law which saith, "Thou shalt not covet anything of the possessions of thy neighbour, nor his house, nor his field, nor his beast, nor his vineyard, nor his olive garden …

97 ... [And he saith also, 'Woe unto him that joineth house unto house, and unto him that joineth field to field, and who carrieth off the things that belong to their neighbours.' This word 'Woe' maketh perfectly manifest the fact that a severe punishment is prepared for him that shall covet the possessions of his neighbour, from the greatest even to the very least. And again, the Saviour cried out, 'Blessed are the merciful, for unto them shall mercy be shewn.' Then again, 'Mercy shall make a man to triumph over judgement.' Be merciful in this world, O my son, so that mercy may be shewn unto thee in the other world whereunto thou shalt depart. It is good for thee to shew compassion on the poor, so that the merciless misery of Nineveh may not come upon thee, for judgement is cruel towards him that doeth not mercy. And again, 'Mercy shall make a man to triumph over judgement.' Hast thou never heard about Ahab, and about what happened unto him when he coveted the vineyard of Nabouthai (Naboth) the Jezreelite?

98 And when the holy man Apa Aaron had said these words unto the rich man, the rich man answered, saying, 'Have mercy upon me, O righteous and noble man! Do thou make supplication unto Christ on my behalf that this darkness over my eyes may cease, and I will never disobey thee in any matter whatsoever.' And the holy man said unto him, 'Dost thou believe that I am able to do this?' And the rich man answered, 'Yea, most firmly, O my holy father. Furthermore, hearken unto me, and I will relate unto thy holiness what happened unto me. It came to pass that, when the man concerning whom thou hast spoken unto me had departed from my presence yesterday, I went up to my house, and I lay down to sleep. And I awoke in the night, and I perceived this great blackness over my eyes. And when the morning had come I said unto the men of my house, "I am unable to see this day." And they said unto me, "Assuredly this hath befallen thee through the holy man Apa Aaron, for we saw the man with whom thou wast talking about money go to him." And as soon as I heard that he had gone to thy holiness I knew that this thing had come to me because of him, and I myself have come unto thee because I believe that thou art able to heal me.' And the holy man said unto him, 'If thou wilt shew mercy to the poor man, Christ Himself will heal thee.' And the rich man called one of those who were accompanying him, and he took the deed of the debt from his hand, and gave it unto the righteous man Apa Aaron. And the holy man Apa Aaron said unto him …

99 [Two lines illegible] '…in this world, and He will give thee thy wages in the world which is to come'; and straightway he made the Sign of the Cross over the rich man's eyes. And Apa Aaron cried out to me, and said unto me, 'Bring me a bowl of water.' And Apa Aaron said unto him, 'Wash thy face in firm belief.' And immediately he had washed his face he was able to see; and those who were near him marvelled, and they glorified God. And the rich man rose up, and did homage to the holy man Apa Aaron, giving thanks both unto God and unto Apa Aaron because he could see. 100 And the holy man gave the deed of debt to the poor man, and he commanded him, saying, 'Do thou thyself also shew mercy unto him that is thy neighbour, even as mercy hath been shewn unto thee. Say thou not "I am a poor man, I am not able to perform the commandment in the Gospel," for the Gospel will never accept from thee any excuse, O poor man, which thou mayest utter, but, even for as little as a cup of cold water, God will give unto thee a reward. Be not thou like that worthless servant unto whom his lord forgave a debt of many talents, and who went and squeezed the throat of his fellow servant on account of the few [moneys] which he owed him, but be thou like unto the wise servant who doubled his talent. And the wretched man answered and said, 'Pray for me, my holy father, and I will keep every commandment which thou shalt lay upon me.' Thus the two men received benefit, and they went forth from the presence of Apa Aaron, glorifying God. And when the rich man had entered into his house he related unto his household everything that had happened unto him. And there was in his house a certain man whose legs had caused him very great pain (i. e.

101 they were gouty) for a very long time, and when he heard of the miracles which the holy man was working he said, 'How I wish that I were one worthy of meeting him, and that he might shew mercy on my misery, for then I should obtain healing.' And the man with the gout said unto the rich man, 'Did not Apa Aaron touch any of the members of thy body?' And the rich man said, 'Yea, he did, he touched my hands. I had cast myself down at his feet, and I lifted up my hands on his feet, and I did homage unto him.' And the gouty man said unto him, 'Do me a favour, and come close to me.' And when the rich man had drawn close to him the gouty man seized his hand, and laid it upon his feet and legs, saying, 'I believe [that if the hand which hath touched] the holy man Apa Aaron [touch my legs] I shall find healing.' And thus it came to pass that the gout ceased from his legs from that very hour, and every one who heard glorified the God of Apa Aaron.

102 And there was also in Pilak (Philae) a man who owned an ass which he worked in a building (?), and when he came to go into his house the ass fell down therein at his feet, and died. And the man, by reason of his great faith in the righteous man, left the ass lying there dead, and came and told him about it. And the righteous man said unto him, 'He is not dead, my son, but is in a fainting fit.' And he gave the man a staff, saying, 'Go and smite the ass with it thrice, and he shall stand up.' And the man took the staff and went and smote the ass therewith thrice, and the ass rose up and stood upon his feet according to his wont. And the man came unto my father, saying, 'My father, I thank thee greatly for the favour which hath been vouchsafed to me.' And my father admonished him not to tell any man whatsoever what had happened, [saying], 'No man must be allowed to disbelieve our words.' And moreover our Saviour said, '[Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall believe on Me, the works which I do] he shall do also, and he shall do things which are greater than these.'

103 And the holy man Apa Aaron used to work very much with his own hands, for he remembered what was written, 'We worked with our hands by day and by night, so that we might not add to the toil of any one of you.' Sometimes he made baskets, and sometimes he plaited rope, and he never made haste to speak unless there was very urgent need for so doing. On one occasion a man came to him and bought some cord from him for the needs of his vineyard. And the shoots of the vines were very backward, but when the man had taken the cord from him, and tied it round his vines, an exceedingly abundant harvest of grapes was the result. And those who heard thereof glorified God. And on one occasion certain fishermen came to him, being sad at heart, and they made supplication unto him, saying, 'Do us an act of grace and pray for us, for we are being harassed by a certain nobleman about a large quantity of fish, which we are unable to obtain to deliver to him. And we are afraid that he will hold us liable, and mulet us of a fine beyond our power [to pay]...

104 [Three lines illegible]... [said unto] Peter, 'Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall catch something.' He did not say on the left side, but on the right side, the meaning of which is: When a man abandoneth himself to evil thoughts, that is to say, to the things that are on the left hand, [he doeth evil]. When he doeth the things of the right hand, that is to say, the things that are good, everything which he shall ask in God shall be given unto him. For He spake in this wise unto those who were on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye accursed, into the everlasting fire which hath been prepared for the Devil and his angels.' [And unto] those on His right hand He said, 'Come ye unto Me, O ye blessed of My Father.' And again, 'Come unto Me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' And again, 'Inherit the kingdom of heaven which hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' For what reason? He saith, 'I was an hungered, and ye fed Me: I was athirst, and ye gave Me drink: I was naked, and ye clothed me: I was a stranger, and ye received Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came to Me'; which is to say, If ye cast your net on the right side

105 ye yourselves shall catch many fish, according to your need. And they said unto him, 'We swear by thy salvation, O our holy father, it is only because of [our] poverty that we have not gone regularly to the church on the Sabbath Day and on the Lord's Day.' And he said unto them, 'I have not said unto you, "Ye do not go to the church of God." If ye invoke Him He will shew mercy unto you, and He will never let you want for anything whatsoever. Now it is meet that Christians should go to the house of God early in the morning, and should make supplication unto Him to stablish the work of their hands.' And they bowed down and did homage at his feet, saying, 'Pray over us, O our holy father, and we will keep all thy words.' Thereupon he prayed over them, and gave them a cruse of water, saying, 'Sprinkle this over your nets and ye shall catch something.' And they departed in faith, and they caught a large number of fish, and they gave the nobleman as many as he wanted, and they kept the remainder for use in their houses. And they came to the righteous man, and they gave thanks unto God, and to him for his holy prayers...

106 [Three lines illegible] …immediately. And in the case of another man also whose ship was in danger [of sinking], when he cried out to God in the name of Apa Aaron his ship was saved, and all its cargo likewise. And it came to pass on another occasion that one day two Nubians were walking together, and were going into Souan (Syene), and one of them had only one eye. And his companion said unto him, 'Come, let us take a blessing from the hand of this great man' (i.e. Apa Aaron). And the man who had only one eye said, 'He is not a great man. If he be really a great man let him open my eye'; and whilst the words were in his mouth, his eye, which had been blind hitherto, recovered its sight, and that, which had up to that time been able to see, became blind. And when his friend saw what had happened unto him he marvelled exceedingly, and said unto him, 'Did I not tell thee that he was an exceedingly great man?' And his companion said, 'I have suffered no loss: for one eye hath been shut and another opened. However, let us go and visit him, for perhaps he will give light to the other eye'; and the two of them came to the holy man Apa Aaron. And my father said unto the Nubian who had played the part of an unbeliever, 'Since thou knowest that thou hast not suffered loss, what doest thou in this place?' And straightway mighty [fear fell upon him], and he did homage to Apa Aaron, saying, '[Open mine] eye';

107 and straightway he was able to see with the other eye. Pœ And the two Nubians believed, and they went forth from his presence with gladness, and proclaimed abroad throughout the whole of that country the miracle which had taken place. And again, there was a certain [God-]fearing man in the city of Souan (Syene) who was a believer, and he came to visit us on several occasions. And it came to pass, on a certain day when he was wishing to come to us, that his wife said, 'If thou art going to the holy man Apa Aaron, beseech him to pray to the Christ for us, so that He may give unto us male seed. For I have heard that when a certain girl came to the time of her delivery she could not bring her child to the birth, but that when she had invoked Apa Aaron she gave birth to her son, who was, however, dead. And her father went to him, and entreated him, and people say that when her father took a little dust from the door of Apa Aaron's place of abode and sprinkled it over the little dead boy he came to life immediately. And in thy case also I believe that if thou wilt make entreaty to Apa Aaron, whatsoever thou shalt ask from him shall come to pass.' And when the man had come unto us he related the matter to my father, saying, 'I have lived with my wife from the time when I was a youth, and we have no child [even after] …years. Now therefore,...

108 [One line and a half illegible] …God, He will give them to thee.' And the righteous man went into the chamber wherein he meditated alone, and he prayed, saying, 'O my Lord, it is Thou Who didst give to Sarah, the barren woman, our father Isaac, and Thou didst give Joseph to Rachel, and Thou didst give Samuel to Hannah. Now therefore, O Lord, what Thou wast yesterday Thou art to-day, and Thou wilt be the same for ever. I know Thy goodness, O Lord. Do Thou hearken unto my supplication, and fulfil the petition of this man who hath come unto us.' And when Apa Aaron had finished his prayer he came unto the man, and he said unto him, 'Depart, my son, in the Name of Christ. I believe that even as God spake unto our father Abraham, saying, "I will come, let the time [pass] for Sarah to have a son," and it was so, even so shall it be with thee.' And according to what he said, even so did it come to pass, for within a year the man came unto us with the child perched upon his shoulder, and he thrust him out to my father, saying, 'Behold the fruit which God hath given unto me through thy prayer.' And the holy man Apa Aaron took him to his bosom, and blessed God, saying, 'Blessed art Thou, O God, in all Thy works.' Then he gave the child to his father, saying, 'Take heed to the favour of God which hath come unto thee! May the Christ, Who hath graciously bestowed him upon thee, increase him and thee, and may He make us to do His Will.'

109 And again, there was a certain man whom a demon troubled exceedingly. And when his parents heard of the report of Apa Aaron they bound him hand and foot, and set him upon an ass, and carried him to him; now four men [were needed to] hold him. And when they had brought him they lifted him off the ass, and set him down by the door, and laid him on the ground. And the demon uttered from within the man many shameless words, saying, 'Art thou a soldier that protecteth violence (or, oppression)? Were not thy fathers noblemen who devoured whatsoever the poor man had? I know of a day wherein thy father lent a certain man ten oboli, and when the man, because of his poverty, could not 110 pe find them to give them to him, thy father seized his house in lieu of them. Is not this thing which he did a sin? And thou thyself hast come to this place, saying, "I will heal this sick man," but thou art no physician at all! And my father restrained himself until the man had said all that he had to say, and [then] he said unto him, 'Thou art unworthy that [any] should answer thee. Now therefore I adjure thee in the Name of the Christ, Whom they crucified, to come forth from [this man].' [And when the devil] heard …carry off the man …Then the holy man filled his hand with water and sprinkled it in his face three times, saying, 'In the Name of the Holy Trinity, come forth from him'; and the devil came out. And the holy man said unto him, 'Get thee gone to the Babylon of the Chaldeans, and remain thou in that place until the Day of Judgement, wherein every man shall receive according to what he hath done. As for thee, they shall cast thee into the pit of Amente.' And when the devil heard these things he departed, being full of rage. And when the mind of the man had recovered its balance, he, and his parents, and all those who were accompanying him, glorified God.

111 Then they entreated the holy man to accept some reward, but he would not suffer them to make him a gift, saying that he had never accepted any gift whatsoever since he became a monk. And he was wont to say unto me often, 'Set not your gaze upon the works of this world which shall profit in no way whatsoever, but as long as we have food and raiment these things should suffice us. Moreover, our Saviour said unto His Apostles, "Get not to yourselves gold, or silver, or copper in your girdles. Therefore it is meet for the monk to walk in this wise, and [to lead] a good life.' And henceforward [the parents of the man] renounced this world, and followed after the Lord. 112 And it came to pass after these things that the holy old man Apa Aaron rose up and walked in the valley (?), and he commanded us, saying, 'Sit thou down in this place. And if any man cometh seeking after me say thou unto him, "He hath gone to visit a brother."' Now this was the manner of his daily life: When the winter arrived he would dip his body-garment into water, and then put it on and stand up in the dew, and he would pass the whole night praying, and when it was dawn he would go into the crevices of the bitterly cold rocks. He gave himself no rest at all, either by day or by night. During the summer he used to stand in burning heat and pray; and he spent his whole time in the constant practice of these strenuous exercises. And it came to pass one year that the Nile-flood did not rise high enough to water all our fields, and a multitude of poor folk came weeping unto him, saying, 'O our holy father, we and our children shall die because the Nile-flood hath not risen.' And he said unto them, 'Believe …

113 [One or two lines illegible] …the prayer of the poor man who is in sorrow of heart, his supplication shall be poured out before God.' Then again, 'The Lord heareth the wish of the poor.' And he quoted to them a very large number of passages from the Scriptures, and explained them unto them, and he comforted them, and then they departed from him blessing God. And the holy man Apa Aaron was not unmindful of their distressful suffering, for he used to go to the river each evening and immerse his body therein up to his neck, and make supplication unto God, saying, 'O Thou Good Christ, have compassion, O Thou Compassionate One, upon Thine image and likeness.' And he continued to do thus regularly until God had compassion upon his tears, and made the waters [of the Nile] to flow over the whole country. 114 Ph And it came to pass one year that certain men came to him filled [with complaints]—even as the narrative will shew us if we proceed to the end—and when they had remained for some time entreating him to pray to the Christ that He would send to them water for the preservation of the people, they became terrified because the time of the filling of the waters had passed, and they continued to weep …[Three lines illegible] …saying, 'O God, cast not behind Thee the works of o Thy hands, that is to say, man and beast. And, moreover, Thou hast created us all of Thy Blood, and Thou didst deem us worthy of Thy coming into [this] world. Thou wast born after the manner of a man for our salvation. We know well that with Thee nothing is impossible. O God, forget not the souls of the poor, lest they commit sin with their lips before Thee. For I remember what the wise man Solomon saith, "Give me neither riches nor poverty." And whether He bringeth up the waters of the river, or whether He bringeth them not, it is for our recreation only. For God hath the power to make all His creatures fall into the want of their food. Nevertheless God permitteth the poor man to beg from the rich man, so that when the rich man sheweth mercy mercy may be shewn to him on the day of his visitation. And if the poor man beareth up under his poverty he shall go into the kingdom …

115 [Three or four lines illegible] …the kingdom which is in the heavens. The merciful man is like unto the ladder which Jacob saw, with the foot thereof planted firmly on the earth, whilst the head thereof reached up into heaven, that is to say, the Father of mercy. Consider that He said, "these little ones," that is to say, those who are of little account. And again, as He said, "When thou makest a dinner or a supper do not call thy neighbour or thy kinsman, but invite the poor, and the blind, and the lame, because they have nothing whatsoever which they can give unto thee in exchange, and they shall reward thee at the resurrection of the righteous. And if we are not able to ascend to the head of the ladder, that is to say, if we cannot give in abundance, let us find the mercy which is perfect. Therefore let us shew mercy, for mercy maketh a man to triumph over judgement.

116 And when the holy man Apa Aaron had said these words he prayed, and he dismissed the men in peace, saying, 'God shall make the river to be full of water, and He will bring the water up to its proper measure. Be neither afraid nor unbelieving. Ye say that the time for the filling of the waters hath passed; nevertheless, believe that God is able [to do] everything.' And they departed in peace. And the following evening the holy man went to the river, and prayed, saying, 'O Thou God Who art the same yesterday, to day, and for ever, Thou it was Who didst cleave the rock, and the water flowed forth, and Who didst give the people to drink. And when Samson was athirst Thou didst make the jawbone of an ass to give forth water which healed (i. e. quenched) his thirst. Therefore I make supplication unto Thee this day in order that Thou mayest send the waters of the river over all the land, so that those who are poor among Thy people may find means for their subsistence, and may bless Thy holy Name.' And the holy man Apa Aaron passed the whole night in praying and making supplication to God that the water of the river [might rise]; and thereupon the water rose and went on rising and filling [the river], and it did not fall for a whole day, that is, not until the whole of our fields had been watered. Thus there was prosperity and there was abundance in that year through the prayers of the holy man, even as it is written, 'The supplication of a righteous man is mighty and prevaileth. If we were to undertake to narrate all the signs and wonders [which] God [wrought]...

117 [One line illegible]... by the holy man Apa Aaron [my] discourse would prolong itself inordinately. And it came to pass one day when he was sitting down, and some people were gathered together round about him, that a poor man with a sack of barley upon his back came to him and entreated him, saying, 'Bless it for me, O my holy father, and then I will go and make it into bread for my children, for I am a poor man.' And the holy man Apa Aaron filled his hand with water, and sprinkled it on the sack of barley, saying, 'Go, make it [into bread] for thy children in the Name of the Christ.' And the man took the barley and departed, and made it [into bread], and there was a great blessing in it. And the man came to us glorifying God and the holy man Apa Aaron.

118 Behold, O my brother Papnoute (Paphnutius), I have told thee a few [facts] concerning the life and ascetic practices of the holy man Apa Aaron, but because I am a tongue of flesh it is impossible for me to describe his virtues adequately. I will now narrate unto thee the marvellous manner of his death. He was an aged man, and very far advanced in his days. His body was completely worn out by his excess in the practice of asceticism. He fell sick on the fifth day of the month Pashons, and on the following day, which was the sixth 119 day, I heard the voices of angelic choirs singing, 'Blessed! Blessed!' [but] I did not know whom they were describing. And I, O Paphnutius, said concerning him, 'This is his end. The denizens of heaven are blessing him, even as he hath been blessed upon earth.' And they continued to do this until the first hour(?) of the ninth day of the month Pashons, and on the seventh hour of that day the holy man Apa Aaron died, at a very old age. And we buried his body with splendour and honour, and we laid it with the bodies of the holy bishops that were in Pilak (Philae), that is to say, Apa Macedonius, and Apa Mark, and Apa Isaiah. Now, therefore, O my brother Paphnutius, pray for me, and pray that God will shew mercy unto me, and that He will make my end in this world pleasing unto Him. And I said unto him, 'Thou hast made thyself worthy of a great act of grace, for from thee I have heard of the lives and practices of these holy men. Moreover, I will write them down in a book, so that they may be laid up as authoritative directions for all the generations [of monks] that shall be'; and even so have I written them. And when we had finished talking together, I, and Apa Isaac …Apa Aaron, he made ready a table, and we ate and drank together, and we rose up and prayed, and I came forth from him to go and visit the brethren who were to the north of him.

120 This is the life of the holy man and anchorite of Philae, Apa Aaron, who finished his course in the mountain to the east of Philae. Glory be to the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and vivifying and consubstantial Holy Spirit, now, and always, and for ever. [Here follow the passages of Scripture that were read on the festival of the commemoration of Apa Aaron (May 2). These are:— At the setting forth, Ps. xcix. 1-9. The Epistle, Heb. iv. 14-v. 6. The Catholic Epistle, Jas. v. 10-16. Acts vii. 34-43. Ps. lxxvii. 18-20. Matt. iv. 23-v. 16. Mark xvi, including the twelve verses not usually found in manuscripts.]