deserves to be particularly instanced. The inhabitants of the country relate many extraordinary miracles which he performed, of which the most remarkable seems to have been the destruction of a dragon of enormous size. It had stationed itself on the high road, at a place called Chamaigephyra, and devoured sheep, goats, oxen, horses, and men. Donatus attacked it unarmed, without sword, lance, or javelin; it raised its head, and was about to dart upon him, when Donatus made the sign of the cross with his finger in the air, and spat upon the dragon. The saliva entered its mouth, and it immediately expired. As it lay extended on the earth, it did not appear inferior in size to the noted serpent of India. I have been informed, that the people of the country yoked eight pair of oxen to transport the body to a neighbouring field, where they burnt it, that it might not during the process of decomposition corrupt the air, and generate disease. The tomb of this bishop is deposited in a magnificent house of prayer which bears his name. It is situated near a stream of water which God caused to rise from the ground, in answer to his prayer, in an arid spot where no water had previously existed. For it is said that one day, when on a journey, he had to pass through this locality, and, perceiving that his companions were suffering from thirst, he moved the soil with his hand and engaged in prayer; before his prayer was concluded, a spring of water arose from the ground which has never since been dried up. The inhabitants of Isoria, a village in the territory of Euroa, bear testimony to the truth of this narration.

The church of Tomis, and indeed all the churches of Scythia, were at this period under the government of Theotimus. He had been brought up in the practice of philosophical asceticism, and his virtues had so won the admiration of the Huns, who dwelt on the banks of the Danube, that they called him the god of the Romans. It is said that one day, when travelling towards their country, he perceived at a distance some of these barbarous tribes advancing towards Tomis: his attendants burst forth into lamentations, and gave themselves up for lost; but he merely descended from horseback and prayed. The consequence was that the barbarians passed by without seeing him, his attendants, or the horses. As these tribes frequently devastated Scythia by their predatory incursions, he tried to subdue the ferocity of their disposition by presenting them

A. D. 393.]

MIRACLES OF THEOTIMUS.

355

with food and gifts. One of the barbarians hence concluded that he was a man of wealth, and, determining to take him prisoner, leaned upon his shield, as was his custom when parleying with his enemies, and raised up his right hand in order to throw a rope which he firmly grasped over the bishop, for he intended to drag him away to his own country; but his arm, while extended in this position, became fixed and perfectly immoveable, until his companions had implored Theotimus to intercede with God for the removal of the invisible bonds.

It is said that Theotimus always retained the long hair which he wore when he first devoted himself to the practice of philosophy. He was very temperate, had no stated hours for his repasts, but ate and drank when compelled to do so by the calls of hunger and of thirst. I consider it to be the part of a philosopher to yield to the demands of these appetites from necessity, and not from the love of sensual gratification.

CHAP. XXVII.-PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF ST. EPIPHANIUS,

BISHOP OF CYPRUS.

EPIPHANIUS was at this period at the head of the metropolitan church of Cyprus. He was celebrated, not only for his virtues and miraculous deeds during life, but also for the honour that was rendered to him by God after his death; for it is said that demons were expelled and diseases healed at his tomb. Many wonderful actions are attributed to him, of which the following is one of the most remarkable that has come to our knowledge. He was extremely liberal towards those who had suffered from shipwreck or any other calamity; and, after expending the whole of his own patrimony in the relief of such cases, he applied the treasures of the church to the same purpose. These treasures had been greatly increased by the donations of pious men of various provinces, who had been induced by their admiration of Eusebius to intrust him with the distribution of their alms during their lives, or to bequeath their property to him for this purpose at their death. It is said that on one occasion the treasurer, who was a godly man, discovered that the revenues of the church had been nearly drained; and so little remained in the treasury, that he con1 Compare Socrates, Eccl. Hist. vi. 14.

sidered it his duty to rebuke the bishop for his extensive liberality. Epiphanius, however, having, notwithstanding these remonstrances, given away the small sum that had remained, a stranger went to the treasurer and placed in his hands a bag filled with gold. As it is very seldom that such liberality is practised in secret, the whole transaction was regarded as the work of God.

I shall now relate another miracle that is attributed to Epiphanius. I have heard that a similar action has been related of Gregory, formerly bishop of Neocæsarea; and I see no reason to doubt the veracity of the account: but it does not disprove the authenticity of the miracle attributed to Epiphanius. Peter, the apostle, was not the only man who raised another from the dead; John, the evangelist, wrought a similar miracle at Ephesus, as did likewise the daughters of Philip at Hierapolis. Similar actions have been performed in different ages by the men of God. The miracle which I wish to instance is the following. Two beggars, having ascertained when Epiphanius would pass that way, agreed to extract a larger donation than usual from him by having recourse to stratagem; as soon as the bishop was seen approaching, one of the beggars flung himself on the ground and simulated death; the other uttered loud lamentations, deploring the loss of his companion, and his own inability to procure him the rite of sepulture. Epiphanius prayed to God that the deceased might rest in peace: he gave the survivor sufficient money for the interment, and said to him, "Take measures, my son, for the burial of your companion, and weep no more; he cannot now arise from the dead; the calamity was inevitable, therefore you ought to bear it with resignation." Saying these words, the bishop departed from the spot. As soon as there was no one in sight, the beggar, who had addressed Epiphanius, touched the other with his foot, as he lay extended on the ground, and said to him, "You have well performed your part; arise now, for through your labour we have a good provision for to-day." He, however, returned no answer to this address, and as he appeared incapable of speech or motion, the other beggar ran after Epiphanius, wept, and tore his hair, confessed the deception that had been practised, and besought him to restore the dead man to life. Epiphanius merely exhorted him to submit with patience to the catastrophe, and sent him away.

A. D. 395.]

ACACIUS, BISHOP OF BEREA.

357

God did not raise the dead beggar to life, because, I feel persuaded, it was his design to show that those who practise deception on his servants, are accounted as guilty of the fraud as if it had been perpetrated against him who sees all, and who hears all.

CHAP. XXVIII.-VIRTUES OF ACACIUS, BISHOP OF BERCEA, OF ZENO, AND OF AJAX.

ACACIUS, who was at this period bishop of Beroa in Syria, rendered himself very conspicuous by his virtues. Many wonderful actions are ascribed to him. He was from his youth brought up to the profession of ascetic monasticism, and was rigid in observing all the regulations of this mode of life. When he was raised to the bishopric, he kept his house open at all hours of the day, so that the citizens and strangers were always free to enter, even when he was at meals or at repose. This course of conduct is, in my opinion, very admirable; it might have emanated from his perfect confidence in his own rectitude; or possibly he might have been led to seek the presence of others, in order to be always on his guard against those infirmities to which all men are liable, and perhaps from fear lest he should be unawares tempted to any action inconsistent with his profession.

Zeno and Ajax, two celebrated brothers, flourished about the same period. They devoted themselves to a life of monasticism, but did not fix their abode in the desert, but at Gaza, a maritime city in the territory of Majuma. They both defended the truth of their religion with invincible intrepidity, and confessed themselves to be Christians so repeatedly in the presence of the Pagans, that they were subjected to the most cruel treatment. It is said that Ajax married a very lovely woman, and after he had known her thrice, had three sons; and that subsequently he held no further intercourse with her, but persevered in the exercises of asceticism. He brought up two of his sons to the monastic profession, and the third he permitted to marry. He governed the church of Botelion with great wisdom and piety.

Zeno, who had from his youth renounced the world and marriage, persevered in stedfast adherence to the service of God. It is said, and I myself am witness of the truth of the

assertion, that when he was bishop of Majuma, he was never absent, morning or evening, or any other period, from the public worship of God, unless attacked by some malady, and yet he was at this period nearly a hundred years of age. After his elevation to the episcopal dignity, he did not relax in any of the exercises of monasticism, but, by pursuing his trade of weaving linen, continued to earn the means of supplying his own wants and of providing for the poor. He never deviated from this course of conduct till the close of his life, although he attained, as I before said, a very advanced age, and although he presided over the richest and greatest church of the province.

I have advanced the examples of these bishops to show the high attainments possessed by those who ruled over the church at this period. It would be difficult to enumerate all the bishops who were distinguished in this manner; the majority of them were endowed with extraordinary virtues, and God bore testimony to this fact by granting their prayers and by working miracles on their behalf.

CHAP. XXIX.-DISCOVERY OF THE REMAINS OF THE PROPHETS HABAKKUK AND MICAH. DEATH OF THE EMPEROR THEODOSIUS THE GREAT.

WHILE the church was under the sway of these eminent men, the clergy and people were excited to the imitation of their virtues. Nor was the church of this era distinguished only by these illustrious examples of piety, for the relics of the proto-prophets' Habakkuk and Micah were brought to light about the same period. God made known the place where these relics were deposited in a dream to Zebennus, bishop of Eleutheropolis. The relics of Habakkuk were found at Cela, a city formerly called Ceila. The tomb of Micah was discovered at a distance of ten stadia from Cela, at a place called Beratsatia; 2 this tomb was ignorantly styled by the people of the country, "the tomb of the faithful," or, in their language, Nephsameemana. Such were the events which

1 They were not actually the earliest, though among the earliest, of the prophets. Jonah and Joel were the two πρωτοπροφῆται.

Or, simply, Bera.