Translated by Christopher Culver
This selection from the fifth-century life of Bishop Porphyry of Gaza by Mark the Deacon was taken from D.A. Russell’s An Anthology of Greek Prose (Oxford, 1991). Here the Bishop and his deacon, Mark, have fled a mob of angry pagans.
Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Πορφύριος φυγόντες διὰ τῶν δωμάτων εὕραμεν παιδίσκην ὡς ἐτῶν δέκα τεσσάρων, ἥτις ἐπιγνοῦσα τὸν ὅσιον ἐπίσκοπον προσέπεσεν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ μακάριος ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὴν τίς ἐτύγχανεν καὶ ποίων γονέων. ἡ δὲ παιδίσκη ἀποκριθεῖσα εἶπεν ὅτι ὀρφανὴ τυγχάνει ἔκ τε πατρὸς καὶ μητρός, μάμμην δὲ ἔλεγεν ἔχειν γραῦν τῷ σώματι ἀσθενῆ, καὶ αὐτὴν ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ τρέφειν ἑαυτὴν καὶ τὴν αὐτῆς μάμμην. ἐπηρώτα δὲ αὐτὴν εἰ Χριστιανὴ ὑπῆρχεν, ἣ δὲ πάλιν εἶπεν μὴ εἶναιμ ἀλλ’ ἐπιθυμεῖν ἐκ πολλοῦ· Εἴπερ εἰμὶ ἀξία. ὁ δὲ εὔσπλαγχνος Πορφύριος ἀκούσας τὸν λόγον τῆς παιδίσκης καὶ κατανυγεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν εἰπών· Πῶς πρόχειρον ὑπάρχει εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν τῶν Γαζαίων γένος. ἀλλ’ ὁ ἀντικείμενος σπουδάζει ἐμποδίζειν τῇ τοιαύτῃ προαιρέσει, ὃν ὁ κύριος πατάξει τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ τῇ κόρῃ· Ἄγαγε ἡμῖν ἐνταῦθα ψίαθον ἐν τῷ δωματίῳ τούτῳ, ἵνα μείνωμεν ἕως οὗ καταστῇ ὁ θόρυβος τῆς πόλεως. καὶ μὴ ἀπαγγείλῃς τινὶ ὅτι ἐνταῦθά ἐσμεν. ἣ δὲ ὅρκοις διεβεβαιοῦτο μὴ ἐκφαίνειν μηδὲ τῇ μάμμῃ αὐτῆς. κατελθοῦσα δὲ διά τινος οἰκίσκου εἰς τὸν αὐτῆς οἶκον ἤγαγεν τὸ ψίαθον καὶ τύλην αχύρων, ‹καὶ› καθαπλώσασα τὸν ψίαθον ὑπέβαλεν τὴν τύλην, καὶ προσπεσοῦσα τοῖς ποσὶν τοῦ μακαρίου παρεκάλει αὐτὸν γεύσασθαι τῶν μετρίων αὐτῆς βρωμάτων καὶ μὴ ἀναξιοπαθῆσαι ἐπὶ τῇ πτωχείᾳ αὐτῆς· ἦν γὰρ καὶ πρὸς ἑσπέραν. ὁ δὲ ὅσιος θέλων μιμητὴς γενέσθαι τοῦ μεγάλου προφήτου Ἠλίου εἶπεν τῇ κόρῃ· Σπούδασον, θύγατερ, καὶ ἄγαγε, ἵνα σοι ἀποδῷ ὁ κύριος δι’ ἐμοῦ πνευματικὴν τροφὴν καὶ σαρκικήν. ἥ δὲ σπεύσασα κατέβη καὶ ἀπελθοῦσα ἠγόρασεν ἄρτον καὶ ἐλαίας καὶ τυρὸν καὶ βρεκτὸν ὄσριον καὶ οἶνον, ἤγαγεν δὲ πάντα καὶ παρέθηκεν ἐνώποιν ἡμῶν εἰποῦσα· Λάβετε, κύριοί μου, καὶ εὐλογήσατε τὴν πτωχείαν μου. ὁ δὲ μακάριος πάλιν κατανυγεὶς ἐδάκρυσεν, προεωρακὼς ἣν ἤμελλεν ἔχειν πίστιν εἰς τὸν Χριστόν. καὶ ἀναστάντες καὶ ποιήσαντες τὰς συνήθεις εὐχὰς καὶ καθίσαντες, ἐγὼ καὶ τυροῦ καὶ οἴνου μετέλαβον, ὁ δὲ ὅσιος ἄρτου καὶ βρεκτοῦ ὀσπρίου καὶ ὕδατος. καὶ ἀπολύσαντες τὴν κόρην πρὸς τὴν αὐτῆς μάμμην ἡμεῖς ὑπνώσαμεν ἐν τῷ δοματίῳ· ἦν γὰρ καὶ θέρους ὥρα. ἐπηρωτήσαμεν δὲ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς κόρης, εἶπεν δὲ· Σαλαφθά, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Ἑλληνιστὶ Εἰρήνη. ἐποιήσαμεν δὲ καὶ τὴν ἑξῆς ἐν τῷ δωματίῳ, τῆς καλῆς Εἰρήνης ποιούσης ἡμῖν πᾶσαν ἀπόκρισιν μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας.
Blessed Porphyry and I, fleeing over the roof, came upon a girl of 14 years who recognized the reverend bishop and fell at his feet. The blessed man asked her who she might be and who her parents were. The girl answered that she was orphaned of her mother and father, and she said that she had an old grandmother weak in health, and that she worked to support herself and her grandmother. He asked her if she was a Christian, and she replied that she was not, but had desired to be one for a long time, ‘if I am worthy.’
Compassionate Porphyry, hearing the girl’s words, was touched and wept saying, ‘How ready the people of Gaza are to receive the good. But the adversary hastens to block such a goal, and the Lord shall hit him with the word of his mouth.’
And he said to the girl, ‘Bring us a mat here to this rooftop, so that we can wait until the disturbance in the city is settled. And don’t tell anyone that we are here.’ She swore an oath that she would not reveal it even to her grandmother.
After she had gone down through some small house into her own room, she brought a mat and a pillow. Unrolling the mat, she placed the pillow on it. And falling to the feet of the blessed man, she asked him to try her simple food, and not be offended by her poverty, as it was almost evening.
The compassionate man, wanting to imitate the great prophet Elijah, said to the girl, ‘Hurry up and bring it, so that through me the Lord might give you food for both the spirit and the flesh. She hurried away, and when she returned she brought bread, olives, cheese, boiled pulses and wine.
She brought all this and laid it out before us saying, ‘Take it, sirs, and bless my poverty.’ The blessed man was again touched and wept, foreseeing that she would have faith in Christ. He stood up, made the appropriate prayers and say down. I took the cheese and the wine, but the compassionate man took the bread, boiled pulses and water.
Letting the girl go back to her grandmother, we slept on the rooftop, as it was already the summertime. We also asked what the girl’s name was, and she said Salaphtha, which translated into Greek is Eirene [peace]. We stayed the next day on the roof as well, and the good Eirene ran all our errands for us with much enthusiasm.