Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus, Historia Religiosa

Ἔλεγε δὲ ταῦτα ἡ γυνὴ πρὸ τῆς αὐλείου θύρας ἑστῶσα. Οὕτω γὰρ εἰώθει τὴν πρὸς τὸ θῆλυ ποιεῖσθαι διάλεξιν: εἴσω γὰρ τῆς θύρας οὐδεμίαν εἰσεδέξατο πώποτε. Τότε τοίνυν οἰκτείρας τὴν γυναῖκα ποτνιωμένην, εὐχῇ τῆς γοητείας ἀμαυροῖ τὴν ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ἐλαίου ληκύθιον ὑπ’ αὐτῆς προσενεχθὲν τῇ θείᾳ ἐπικλήσει καθαγιάσας, χρίσασθαι τοῦτο προσέταξε. Ταύτας ἡ γυνὴ πληρώσασα τὰς ὑποθήκας, μετέθηκεν εἰς ἑαυτὴν τὸν τοῦ ὁμοζύγου ἔρωτα, καὶ πέπεικε προαιρεῖσθαι τῆς παρανόμου κοίτης τὴν ἔννομον. Φασὶ δέ ποτε καὶ ἀκρίδας ἐξαπιναίως προσβαλούσας τῇ γῇ, καὶ πυρὶ παραπλησίως ἅπαντα προσδαπανώσας, καὶ λήϊα, καὶ φυτὰ, καὶ ἕλη, καὶ ἄλση, καὶ λειμῶνας, ἧκέ τις παῤ αὐτὸν εὐσεβὴς ἀνὴρ, ἀντιβολῶν ἐπαμῦναι, ἕνα μὲν ἀγρὸν ἔχοντι, ἐκ τούτου δὲ καὶ ἑαυτὸν, καὶ γυναῖκα, καὶ παῖδας, καὶ οἰκείους τρέφοντι, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὴν βασιλικὴν εἰσφορὰν εἰσπραττομένῳ. Πάλιν τοίνυν ὁ τὴν Δεσποτικὴν φιλανθρωπίαν μιμούμενος, χόαν ὕδατος αὐτῷ προσενεχθῆναι προσέταξεν. Ὡς δὲ τὸν χόαν προσήνεγκεν ὁ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐπαγγέλλων, ἐπετίθει μὲν τούτῳ τὴν χεῖρα, ἰκέτευε δὲ τὸν Θεὸν δυνάμεως θείας ἐμφορηθῆναι τὸ νᾶμα. Εἶτα τὴν εὐχὴν συμπεράνας, παρηγγύησε τοῖς τοῦ χωρίου ὅροις ἐπιῤῥᾶναι τὸ ὕδωρ: πεποίηκε δὲ ὁ τοῦτο κομισάμενος ᾖ προσετάχθη, καὶ ἀντὶ ἕρκους ἀμάχου τε καὶ ἀσύλου ταῖς ἀρούραις ἐκείναις ἐγένετο. Μέχρι γὰρ τῶν ὅρων ἐκείνων ἕρπουσαί τε καὶ περιπετόμεναι στρατοπέδων δίκην αἰ ἀκρίδες, εἰς τοὐπίσω πάλιν ἐχώρουν, τὴν ἐπιτεθεῖσαν εὐλογίαν δειμαίνουσαι, καὶ ὥσπερ τινὶ χαλινῷ ἀγχόμεναι, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω χωρεῖν κωλυόμεναι. Καὶ τί δεῖ πάντα λέγειν τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης ἐξειργασμένα ψυχῆς; Ἱκανὰ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα τῆς ἐνοικούσης αὐτῷ χάριτος ἐπιδεῖξαι τὴν αἴγλην. Τούτου κἀγὼ θεατὴς ἐγενόμην, καὶ τῆς ἁγίας ἐκείνης δεξιᾶς τὴν εὐλογίαν ἐτρύγησα, μειράκιον μὲν ὢν ἔτι, τῇ δὲ μητρὶ κοινωνήσας τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἅνδρα πορείας. Καὶ αὐτὴν μὲν κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ὑπανοίξας τὴν θύραν διαλέξεώς τε καὶ εὐλογίας ἠξίωσεν: ἐμὲ δὲ εἰσδεξάμενος ἔνδον, τοῦ τῆς προσευχῆς μοι μετέδωκε πλούτου. Ταύτης καὶ νῦν ἀπολαύσαιμι, ζῇν αὐτὸν πιστεύων, καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις συγχορεύειν, καὶ πλείονι ἢ πάλαι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν παῤῥησίᾳ κεχρῆσθαι. Τότε μὲν γὰρ αὕτη τῷ θνητῷ τοῦ σώματος ἐμετρεῖτο, ἴνα μὴ πρόφασις ἀπονοίας ἡ πλείων γένηται παῤῥησία. Νῦν δὲ τῶν παθῶν ἀποθέμενος τὸ φορτίον, ὡς νικηφόρος ἀθλητὴς πρὸς τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην παῤῥησιάζεται. Οὖ χάριν καὶ τῆς παῤ αὐτοῦ πρεσβείας ἱκετεύω τυχεῖν.

The woman said this standing before the courtyard door. For this was how he was accustomed to converse with women: he never received any woman inside the door. Then, pitying the woman in her lamentation, he dimmed the working of the sorcery by prayer, and, having sanctified with the divine invocation a small flask of oil that she brought to him, he ordered her to anoint herself with it. The woman carried out these instructions, transferred her husband's love to herself, and persuaded him to prefer the lawful bed to the lawless one. They say, too, that once, when locusts suddenly fell upon the land and, like fire, consumed everything, crops, plants, marshes, groves and meadows, a pious man came to him, begging him to help one who had a single field, and from it fed himself, his wife, his children and his household, and on top of these was being made to pay the imperial tax. So once again he who imitated the Master's love of mankind ordered a jug of water to be brought to him. When the man who had made the request brought the jug, he laid his hand on it and besought God that the water be filled with divine power. Then, having finished the prayer, he instructed him to sprinkle the water along the boundaries of the property; the man who took it did as he had been told, and it became for those fields an unassailable and inviolable fence. For the locusts, crawling and flying about like armies up to those boundaries, went back again, fearing the blessing laid on them, as if choked by a bridle and prevented from going forward. And why must I tell all the deeds accomplished by that blessed soul? For even these are enough to show the radiance of the grace that dwelt in him. I too was a witness of this man, and I gathered the blessing of that holy right hand when I was still a youth, sharing my mother's journey to the man. Her, as was his custom, he honoured with conversation and a blessing, opening the door a little; but me he received inside and gave me a share of the wealth of his prayer. May I enjoy it even now, believing that he lives, and dances with the angels, and has greater freedom of speech with God than before. For then it was measured by the mortality of the body, so that greater freedom of speech should not become an occasion for arrogance. But now, having laid aside the burden of the passions, he speaks freely to the judge of the games as a victorious athlete. For this reason I pray to obtain his intercession too.