pscelestinus.encomium.02 Chapter 1

And he said, 'Verily this is Saint Victor, who hath come to visit me.'

And straightway his heart trembled, and he said, 'Forgive me, O my lord Saint Victor, because I was careless about going to thy shrine which hath been but recently built in my city, and came to this place.'

And he awoke his servants at the moment when the light was coming, and the men who had come with him,

and he told them about the dream which he had seen;

and then he gave great and splendid gifts to the martyrium which is in Antioch.

And after this he went up into a ship,

and came to the city of Rome,

and went into the martyrium of Saint Victor,

and he lay down to sleep therein, being in great tribulation.

And he made supplication to God and to the holy martyr, saying, 'O my lord Saint Victor, who didst consider me to be worthy of the sight of thy glory in thy martyrium, which is in Antioch,

who didst command me to come to this place,

I believe, O my lord, that thy power goeth through the whole world, just as doth the sun which illumineth the inhabited world.

Let thy mercy come upon me, and do thou graciously grant healing unto me, for I am suffering very greatly.'

And when he had said these things he lay down until the evening.

And afterwards he made them bring unto him a little water in the vessel from the altar,

and he drank it, even as Saint Victor had told him to do, and immediately the God of Saint Victor brought unto him a cessation of the pain,

and contrary to his usual custom he slept through the whole night.

And at the hour of dawn the martyr came unto him with great glory,

and he said unto him with a joyful face,

'Dost thou know me?'

And the nobleman said unto him, Yea, my lord, I know thee. Thou art Saint Victor.

It was thou who didst appear unto me in thy martyrium at Antioch,

and thou didst send me to this place.'

And the saint said unto him, 'Have I not already told thee that my might filleth every place, and that it is the selfsame power which abideth continually in all my martyriums, from (one) end of the earth to the other,

and Which healeth every one who shall believe (in me) without doubt or hesitation?

Hast thou never heard that which is written, 'Everything is possible to him that believeth?'

And the man answered and said unto the saint, 'I do believe, my lord, that thy power filleth every ex place, but having heard concerning the mighty deeds which took place in thy martyrium which is in Antioch,

I went (there) to seek after healing for my body.'

The saint said unto him, 'As it is with my martyrium which is in Antioch, so is it with that which is in Rome,

and (so is it with) all the churches in the earth which have been built in my name, from one end thereof to the other. My strength shall work in them to the very end of this age for him that shall believe in me.

And I will heal (all) diseases, both those which are secret and those which are manifest, through the gracious gift which God hath given unto me, and unto all the saints.

Now, therefore, behold I will bestow upon thee the gift of health of the body, but thou must pray at the same time for the health of thy soul, so that no evil may arise for thee from this (cause).'

And when Saint Apa Victor had said these things to the man he hid himself from him.

And the man woke up in the morning,

and he found that the diseased portion of his inward parts,

that is to say, the hard ulcer, had burst, and he vomited from his month a very large quantity of pus,

and he became straightway just like one who was not diseased at all.

And lie sent abroad tlie report of the things which Saint Victor had said unto him throughout the whole city.

And from that day onwards the saint granted the gift of healing to every sick person, no matter what the sickness from which he was suffering, when he went into his shrine.

And the man gave great gifts to the shrine of Saint Victor,

and he went to his house, giving glory to God, In all his troubles he besought Saint Victor to be his helper, and he fasted and prayed until the day of his death.

Ye see, O my beloved, how very great and mighty are the miracles of this holy man whose festival we are keeping this day,

and that these mighty deeds are worked in all his martyriums for those who believe.

As for us, let us believe with all our hearts on the mighty works and miracles of this holy man, in order that he may make supplication on our behalf to God.

For whosoever shall disbelieve in the mighty works of the saint, not only shall they be of no benefit to him, but his unbelief shall be unto him a source of condemnation.

However, let us not waste words, but let us return (to our subject) and describe unto you the following great miracle, which took place in the shrine of Saint Apa Victor, to the glory of God and of His saint.

There was a man in this city whose name was Anastasius,

and he was exceedingly rich, and he belonged to a noble family.

And when this man had become very old in days, and was one hundred years old,

he became sick of the disease which the physicians call elephantiasis.

And his whole body dried up, and he became leprous, (as white) as the snow, and many times he felt shame before the men who looked npon him, for his body became covered all over with patches of spots like that of a leopard.

And he was exceedingly grieved in heart over this matter, because he was ashamed to go into the Palace, and he did not appear in the market-place because of what had come upon him.

After these things God put it into his heart to go to the martyrium of Saint Apa Victor, and to make supplication unto him so that he might cure him of his disease altogether.

For he used to see people who were suffering from various kinds of disease,

and whenever they went into his martyrium they obtained healing, and then they would depart to their own houses glorifying God.

In this way then Anastasius rose up in faith,

and he went into the shrine of Saint Apa Victor with his servants and with very many possessions,

and he passed two days in the holy place making supplication to Saint Victor to be pleased to heal him of his leprosy,

and he said, 'O Saint Victor, I believe with my whole heart that thou art able to heal me of this my leprosy.

Help me, I pray thee, for I am ashamed, by reason of that which hath come upon me, to let men look at me.'

And whilst he was passing these two days in the martyrium, behold (there came in) a man who had phlegm in his eyes, and through the great quantity of granulation which covered them a white film had appeared in his eyes;

and he had ceased to see anything by means of his own sight.

All the money which he had he had spent on the physicians,

and he remained wholly uncured.

Finally, when he heard about the mighty deeds of Saint Victor, he made some men to carry him into his martyrium, whilst he was in great pain,

and they laid him on a bed which was near that of the leper.

And he made entreaty to the God of Saint Victor, saying, 'O my lord the general, have mercy upon me, and graciously bestow upon me the gift of light for my eyes.'

And as concerning the miracle which took place at that time we shall certainly not hold our peace.

That night God, Who hearkeneth unto every one that crieth out to Him in truth, was pleased to heal the two men at the same time through the intercession of Saint Victor, who doeth such miracles and mighty deeds as these.

And it came to pass during that night, when the man who had the skin disease had eaten with his servants, and had lain down to sleep, that Saint Victor had compassion on the miserable state of the man with the skin disease and on the blind man,

and he was pleased to make manifest his miracles.

And he came to the man wdth the skin disease arrayed in great glory, and his face shone brightly,

and he said unto him, 'Dost thou know who I am?'

And the man answered, 'Nay, I do not, my lord.'

And the saint said unto him, 'I am Victor, to whom thou didst make supplication this day.

I am the father of the martyrium.

Now, therefore, if thou dost wish to be cleansed from thy skin disease, thou shalt rise up early in the morning, and shalt take hold of the hand of this blind man who is sleeping by thy side, and thou shalt lead him down to the pool of water which is by the door of the martyrium,

and ye two shall dip yourselves therein three times, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Then shalt thou see my power; thy skin disease shall cease from thee, and the blind man shall see.

Only take good heed not to be careless in respect of what hath been said unto thee, and thou shalt be made whole.'

And when Saint Victor had said these things to the man wnth the skin disease, he came forth from him.

Then straightway the man awoke from his dream, and he was in a confused and agitated state,

and he smelt a very strong sweet smell round about his bed, and it was like unto the smell of the finest perfumed incense.

And he said within himself, 'Verily this man who came unto me was Saint Victor, and he came to bestow upon me graciously the gift of being made whole

and he rejoiced exceedingly, and blessed God. But he shut up the matter in his heart, saying, 'I will tell no one at all about the vision';

and he waited to see the end of the matter.

And when the light became stronger the man with the skin disease said unto the blind man, 'Peradventure thou wilt get up, and then we will go down to the pool and wash ourselves,

for I believe by God and by His holy martyr, (that if we do), He will graciously bestow upon us healing.'

And the blind man said to the man with the skin disease, 'Whatsoever thou wishest to do, that do, (but I cannot do this).

Behold, thou knowest the pain and tribulation which I endure.

The truth is that I am afraid to wash, for the physicians ordered me not to allow water to touch my head.'

Then the man with the skin disease said unto the blind man, 'Get up, let us (go and) wash. God hath the power to remember us, and He will bestow healing upon us, who now suffer.'

And the blind man was persuaded by (these) words. And the man with the skin disease took hold of his hand in the midst of the whole multitude,

and they went down to the lake. And having fdled a large washing-bowl at the place for drawing water there,

they dipped themselves in it three times, saying, 'In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and of the holy martyr, Saint Victor.'

And straightway the man with the skin disease gained relief, and his flesh became like unto that of a child.

And as for the blind man, the white film which was in his eyes burst,

and fell down into the water, and his sight was completely restored.

And they cried out, saying, 'One is the God of Saint Victor, Who healeth every one by His holy power.'

And the multitude who were gathered together in the martyrium, having heard (what had happened), rushed outside at once to see the great wonders which had taken place,

and they cried out, saying, 'Great are the mighty deeds of God and Saint Victor.

Great is the favour which God hath worked for us,

in holding us to be worthy to have thy martyrium in our city.' Then when they had been told what had happened to them (i.e. the sick men),

the man who had had the skin disease declared to them everything, and told them how Saint Victor had spoken to him in a dream.

And the report of this miracle filled every place, and I myself saw it with my own eyes,

I, the insignificant one, who am now addressing to you this encomium.

And the man who had had the skin disease, and the blind man, both of whom had been healed by Saint Victor, remained in his martyrium and ministered there until the day of their death, and they gave diligent attention to the welfare of their souls.

And as for the lake wherein they had washed, very many mighty works of God continued to take place therein, and they do so to this very day. So great a means of healing is it that any man who is sick, whether he be sick of the palsy, or whether he be possessed of a devil, in short, if he be suffering from any kind of sickness,

immediately that he has bathed in that lake, he findeth healing; and these folk go to their houses glorifying the God of Saint Victor,

What shall I say about the things which thou hast performed by thy righteous actions?

Who is there among all the philosophers of the world who is able to pronounce on thee an encomium which shall adequately praise thy merits, O thou who didst make of thy body a sacrifice, which was living, and was holy, and was acceptable, and was pleasing unto God?

Thou didst suffer greatly for the name of the Christ, O thou noble man, Apa Victor!

Great is the glory which God gave unto thee in heaven and upon the earth.

Verily the word which is written is fulfilled, 'The sufferings of a time are not worthy the glory which shall be revealed unto us.

Great is the glory which God hath given unto thee, O holy general! So great is it that to every man who calleth upon God in thy name

when he be in trouble of any kind, there cometh speedily the help of God. And this continueth to be so even to this day,

for He delivereth every man who maketh supplication unto Him with his whole heart from dangers of every kind. If ye do not (believe this), hearken and I will shew you that it is indeed so.

And it came to pass that when the barbarians, who are called Saban, rose up against the country of 'Romania', now they were as many as the sands of the sea, they captured the first part (frontier?) of 'Romania', and then they made ready a large fleet of ships to transport them from 'Romania' to our country.

And all the people, and all those men who were of senatorial rank, and all the common folk of Rome, and all those who were in the immediate districts, gathered themselves together, and they celebrated the 'Catholic Synaxis' in the shrine of Saint Victor, wherein we are at this very moment assembled.

And the God-loving Emperor was there with the soldiers of his army. Now it was the festival of Saint Victor, and my Father Innocent also was there with his clergy.

And when they had begun (to recite) the Communion Service with great solemnity and reverence, behold, certain letters which had been sent by the hand of the captain of the lightly armed skirmishing troops, who was called Roumentros, who had been sent by the eparch of the frontier of 'Romania', were delivered to the Emperor, and they contained the following message:

Haste thee, make ready the army, and come to us quickly, and help us, for behold the barbarians have captured the frontier of Armenia

And the Emperor was much disturbed but his hope was fixed upon God,

And when he had read the dispatch, straightaway he wrote to the eparch, saying, 'Fear thou not, I will come in f the morning of the morrow, and all the Roman folk with me.'

And when the captain (vektarius) received the dispatch, he departed.

And the Emperor and all the people were gathered together into the shrine of Saint Victor, together with the Archbishop and all the clergy,

and they cast themselves down before the altar of sacrifice, saying, 'O Saint Victor the general, make supplication to God on our behalf, so that He may protect our country, and so that the godless barbarians may not have dominion over it.'

And then they celebrated the great 'Catholic Synaxis' with great fervour (?) until the tenth hour of the day.

And the miracle that took place at that moment is one the mention of which must not be omitted.

And when the service was ended, and the Archbishop had pronounced the benediction of peace over the people, and they were about to depart to their homes,

behold, there arrived another great captain (velatarius) who had been sent to the Emperor with another dispatch. Now it contained glad tidings, and there was written therein thus:

Peace be unto thee, O God-loving Emperor! Be strong, and of good courage, for God hath fought for thee.

Behold, the godless barbarians who revolted against thy sovereignty

hath God destroyed with their own swords.

Each one of them hath risen up against his neighbour, beginning at the second hour of this day,

and they slew each other, and there is not one of them left; on the contrary, all are dead.

Behold, all their harness and trappings and their horses we have sent to thy majesty.

Therefore give thyself no trouble, and do not let thy mind be disturbed, thou honour of the soldiers, for it is God who fighteth on our behalf with thee.

Who shall resist us?'

And when the Emperor had taken this letter (in his hand), he read it out to the congregation before they departed,

And they rejoiced exceedingly, and were very glad, and they knew immediately that it was Saint Victor the general who had destroyed the barbarians.

Now they had begun to make supplication to him at the second hour of the day.

And they all cried out with a loud voice, and they ascribed glory to the God of Saint Victor, and the barbarians have never again attempted to invade 'Romania' to this day.

Ye see, O my beloved, that the power of the holy general whose festival we are celebrating this day is great.

Let us then cease from every work which is evil, and all violence, and all irregular behaviour, and all the guileful deeds which we are in the habit of committing, and let us all make ourselves sons of his.

Verily, O Saint Victor the general, thou makest us to rejoice and be glad this day more than those who make merry in the place wherein they drink wine, and thou hast placed before ns the table of thy holy feast which is filled with all good things.

And as for us, let us reach out for them, let us taste them, so that we may rejoice and be glad.

Let us remember the sufferings which our Lord suffered for us and His holy martyrs, and let us briug forth fruit to God according to what is meet, each one according to his pow'cr, one in purity, another in prayer and fasting, another in patient endurance, another in long-suffering, another in love and in (shewing) love to strangers.

In short, let us never pass a moment without bearing fruit, so that we may become a well-cultivated field of God, and let us spread abroad in us the fruits of righteousness.

Hearken unto the wise man Paul the Apostle,

who saith, 'I beseech you, by the mercy of God, that ye present your bodies a sacrifice, livings holy, (and) acceptable unto God.'

How, and in what way, shall we present our bodies, O Saint Victor, unless we guard our bodies and our hearts against all kinds of deceit, and all kinds of fornication,

for it is written, 'Without purity, no man shall see God.'

And let us watch our tongues so that they speak not slanderous gossip, and blaspheme not, and utter no words of wantonness and scurrility.

And thou shalt teach thy hands to pray, and shalt keep them from acts of theft and violence,

and thou shalt guard thy feet from wandering from the door of the house of God.

And thou shalt watch thine eyes so that they lust not, and do not give a cause for offence in the part (of the church) where the women are.

When thou shalt do all these things it shall happen that thou art presenting thy body unto God as a sacrifice, even as did Saint Victor, who rejected the world and everything which was in it because of his love towards God.

Hearken unto the Prince of the Apostles, Peter,

who saith, 'I beseech you, O my brethren, as strangers and sojourners to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the things in the soul.

Now are we not, O my beloved, mere sojourners upon the earth?

He gathereth together, but he knoweth not for whom he gathereth.

Since then we are indeed strangers and sojourners upon the earth, it is seemly for us to remember our everlasting habitation, that is to say, the Kingdom of God,

into the which, if we keep the commandment which hath been given unto us, we shall enter happily.

We were born not to become inheritors of the earth, but to make earth inherit it (i.e. the Kingdom);

for the house of every man is the earth.

Inasmuch as when we come into the world we weep, so also when we depart we weep; when we come into it we heave a sigh, and when we depart we heave a sigh.

Inasmuch then as from the very first moment in which man is born into this world he weepeth,

even so also when he cometh forth from the body he weepeth; he is born with suffering, (and) departeth with suffering.

For there is nothing which ruleth the life of a man except misery and sorrow.

Hast thou not heard that which is written,

Let not your heart be heavy through satiety, and drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, because that day shall come upon you like a snare;

for it shall come upon every one who dwelleth upon the face of the earth? whether he be king, or governor, or rich man, or poor man. No man whatsoever shall escape from that awful necessity, which is full of fear.

And again, have ye not heard that which is written, 'Possessions shall profit nothing in the day of wrath;

it is righteousness [only] that delivereth a man from death?

Set not thine affections on worldly possessions, or on the pomp of riches.

Bind not thy soul to dominion and power,

or to gold or silver, for all these things afterwards become fetters to thee;

for possessions have no quality which will make them to remain in this world, but sins will precede us, and will take their stand at the throne of God.

Hast thou never heard what our Lord spake, 'Watch, for ye know neither the day nor the hour?'

Let us therefore watch by day and by night so that we may not let our bodies be without God for one moment.

And moreover, we do not know when they will seek after us.

Let us not bind ourselves to the phantoms of wealth, for thou knowest not when it shall be demanded from thee.

Hast thou not heard what is written, 'A man shall not redeem a man, and a brother shall not release a brother

he shall not give (himself) to God in exchangee for him as the price of the redemption of his soul?

This informeth (us) that a righteous father cannot obtain the release of a sinful son, nor a rich brother obtain the release of a poor brother, nor a righteous son obtain the release of a sinful father; but every man shall receive according to what he hath done.

Now therefore, O my beloved, distribute your riches and possessions in alms and oblations to the poor, in order that ye may obtain the happiness which shall be without end.

Put not your confidence in the riches of this world,

and do not place any reliance on gold or on silver.

Hast thou never hearkened unto Solomon,

who saith, 'I hate all the labour for which I had suffered under the sun, because I am obliged to leave it to the man who shall come after me?

Now the meaning of these words is that the senseless man saith in his soul, With pain and difficulty I gather together (possessions) for my children, in order that they may find means whereby to live after my death.

O thou fool, where dost thou obtain the knowledge that thy son shall live after thee and inherit thy possessions, or that he shall live a very long time and spend them all?

Shall not God take care of thy son without thy help?

Is it not God Who brought thee up, and shall He not also bring up thy son?

In the day on which thou wast brought into the world, was not an obolus also made with thee?

Now, therefore, hath God graciously given unto thee the large amount of wealth which thou hast in order that thou mayest rest and enjoy thyself in this world and in the next. But Satan hath shut thy heart,

and doth not allow thee to he generous towards the poor; because of this thou shalt receive great and never-ending punishments—because of thine unbelief.

For we see very many rich men gathering together possessions with great toil and suffering, and merchants building large houses for themselves, and (collecting) possessions and substance in abundance, and gardens, and fields, and large numbers of cattle, and great quantities of household stuff, and very large sums of money, and they say that they are laying up a store for their children.

And whilst they have such thoughts as these in their minds, their children are snatched out of their hands whilst they are babies,

and strangers reap the benefit of their labours, and they themselves depart to the throne of God being naked.

They have not sent on one good work before them, neither is there any gift in their hands,

and they curse the day in which they were born into the world.

Say not in thy blindness of heart, 'When I am about to go forth from the body,

I will write my will so that my children and my kinsfolk may give alms on behalf of my soul.'

O thou senseless one, thou very great fool, dost thou not know that when thou shalt go forth from the body, thou wilt not be like even unto the man who is lord of one obolus? and moreover, no man will ever remember thee again.

Thou wilt not have with thee the money which thou hast heaped up.

Thou wilt not have with thee the granary which is full of grain.

Thou wilt not have with thee thy vineyards.

Thou wilt not have with thee the houses which thou hast built. Nay, thou wilt be a stranger unto them all.

They will have ceased to be thine,

and will have become things which belong to others.

If they wish they will give to thee; if they wish not they will not give to thee.

Hast thou never hearkened unto the holy man Job,

saying, 'When I came out of my mother's womb I was naked, and I will depart naked.'

Also the Apostle crieth out, saying, 'We brought nothing with us into this world, and we shall take nothing (with us when) we depart.'

And David saith, 'When their spirit cometh out of them they return to their earth.'

O wretched man, how and in what way art thou benefited by all these cares and all these anxieties?

Now, thou dost know the place where thou wast born, but thou dost not know the place where thou wilt die.

Thou knowest how many years thou hast lived up to this present time, but thou hast no knowledge of how many thou hast yet to live.

Thou knowest in what way thy parents who begat thee died, (but thou dost not) know in what manner thou wilt die,

Now, therefore, O man, take advice, and let my counsel be pleasing unto thee.

Do thou redeem thy sins by charity, and thy lawlessness by gifts of alms to the poor, in order that thou mayest have enjoyment in the riches which do not come to an end.

Send on gifts in front of thee before thou dost go forth from the body, so that thou mayest depart to meet the Christ with joy.

For when a man is about to meet a king of this world, and he would find favour before him,

he sends all gifts on before him, so that the king may receive his person.

Howmuch more is it meet for us to send on before us gifts and alms to the King of the Universe, who is surrounded by terror and trembling,

Solomon said, 'Cast all thy possessions before thee.

Give alms according as thou hast the power.

Say thou not, I have nothing to give.'

Remember the poor widow woman who cast the two mites into the treasury,

and the Christ justified her, saying, 'She hath given all her means of living,'

And again He said, 'Whosoever shall give one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, Amen I say unto you, that he shall in no wise lose his wage.'

Be not thou careless of thy salvation, O man, because of the material things of this life, for they will not assist (?) us in this world to the (end). But there is a (worse) evil that can be, namely, when we have come forth (from this world), we may become as if we had never entered into it.

Remember thou the hour wherein the sickness of death shall come upon thee. Thou shalt cast thyself down on thy bed, and thou shalt say, 'I am sick this day.'

After a very short interval the sickness shall become more severe on thee, and a violent fever shall lay hold upon the wretched flesh of thy body, and such excruciating pains and sufferings shall seize thee that thy normal condition of mind and body shall be disturbed. And thy tongue shall shrink to nothing in thy throat, and thy words shall dwindle in thy mouth,

and thy throat shall close up, and no nourishment whatsoever shall be able to pass through it. And the light in thine eyes shall become less and less, and the sweat shall break out and cover thy face, and very great and bitter bile shall fill thy body, and the treatment of thine eyes by the physician shall cease to be effective, for they shall turn round, and become crooked, and little by little they shall become blind to the light.

And thou shalt ask those who come to visit thee, saying, 'What time is it?' for thy perception of things shall cease within thee.

For darkness and mistiness shall cover over thine eyes,

and thy face shall change its colour and become greenish-grey,

and thy hair shall perish,

and the veins, and tendons, and sinews of thy hands and feet shall dry up,

and thy heart and thy soul shall lose their strength by imperceptible degrees.

And thou shalt gaze out of thine eyes and shalt see the Powers with frightful faces which have come for thee, and they shall make haste to carry thee to Him that created thee.

And when thou shall see them thou shalt open thy mouth, and thou shalt deliver up thy spirit into the hands of him that shall come for thee.

O what a marvellous thing is this! O how terrible is this necessity, which is more awful than any other necessity that is upon the earth!

O how terrible is this tribulation, which is the greatest of all tribulations, and which is more fearful than death itself!

And finally they will take thy soul, and will set it before the awful throne of God, and it shall receive according to what it hath done, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

O Paul, thou wise man of the Apostles, thy words are exceedingly sweet!

For when all the men whom God hath created, from Adam, the first man, to the man who is begotten this day, shall go forth from the body,

their souls shall be taken and shall be set before the throne of God, whether they be the souls of children months old, or whether they be the souls of those who are years old, and they shall do homage to the Righteous Judge, and He shall pass sentence upon them before they are removed to the places of which they are worthy.

And again, in the Day of the Resurrection, their souls shall rise, having suffered not destruction, and the soul of every one shall return to his body, and they shall all receive according to what they have done, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

And we shall be examined and questioned concerning everything which we have done in this place of sojourning, even to the slightest word which we have uttered in jest.

And we shall be questioned, moreover, concerning the thoughts which have passed through our hearts, according to that which our Master Craftsman the Christ spake, saying, 'Let not any light, silly speech issue from your mouths, for ye shall be obliged to give an account concerning them in the Day of the Judgement.'

Blessed shall they be who shall rise up in the Resurrection of Life, for they shall reign as kings with the Christ!

Woe be unto those who shall be condemned to die a second time because of their evil deeds!

When the Righteous Judge hath ascended the throne, what lie hath brought (?) shall be reckoned up (?),

The tares shall be burned up in the tire which cannot be extinguished,

but the wheat shall be gathered together into His granary, that is to say, into the kingdom which is in the heavens,

Now, therefore, let us turn ourselves, and let us repent of our sins before inquisition shall be made of us concerning them.

Remember that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Shew me what all these pains and all these sufferings are worth.

Are not three cubits of earth (the length) of our everlasting abode?

Whom wilt thou gather together (therein)?

To whom wilt thou act as an usurer?

Whom wilt thou ill-treat?

Shew me who will send these things down unto thee in Amente?

Remember that thou art not like unto thy Lord, but that thou hast been sent to live upon the earth for one day only, and that thou art like unto a hireling, who is hired daily.

And whether thou eatest, or whether thou drinkest, or whether thou fastest, or whether thou art hungry, or whether thou art thirsty, the sun wall set every day, and the period of thy life will become less day by day.

And when the number of thy days shall be fulfilled, there shall not be added to thee a single hour.

Man is absolutely a thing of naught.

He is a man today, tomorrow he is dust and ashes.

Man is a creature who eateth and drinketh this day, but tomorrow his mouth is closed.

He who eateth at this momenta, and who batheth in the bath, and who anointeth himself this day with sweet-smelling unguents of the finest quality, is tomorrow rolled into the tomb,

wherein dust taketh the place to him of sweet-smelling unguents.

He who today sleepeth on the roof (or, verandah) of his house clothed in garments of byssus is tomorrow cast forth into the tomb among the dead animals,

which surround him with their bodies,

and he is left in a state of misery.