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02 - Life of Saint Macrina by Gregory of Nyssa · Life of Saint Macrina

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  Speaker 1: Part two of the Life of Saint Macrina by Saint
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  Speaker 1: Gregory of Nisa, translated by W. K. Lowther Clark b d.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Macrina, the
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  Speaker 1: one support of her mother, and now the virtue of
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  Speaker 1: the Great Macrina, was displayed. Facing the disaster and irrational spirit.
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  Speaker 1: She both preserved herself from collapse and, becoming the prop
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  Speaker 1: of her mother's weakness, raised her up from the abyss
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  Speaker 1: of grief, and by her own steadfastness and imperturbability, taught
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  Speaker 1: her mother's soul to be brave. In consequence, her mother
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  Speaker 1: was not overwhelmed by the affliction, nor did she behave
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  Speaker 1: in any ignoble and womanish way, so as to cry
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  Speaker 1: out at the calamity, or tear her dress, or lament
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  Speaker 1: over the trouble, or strike up funeral chance with mournful melodies.
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  Speaker 1: On the contrary, she resisted the impulses of nature and
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  Speaker 1: quieted herself, both by such reflections as occurred to her
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  Speaker 1: spontaneously and those that were applied by her daughter to
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  Speaker 1: cure the ill. For then was the nobility of Macrina's
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  Speaker 1: soul most of all conspicuous, since natural affection was making
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  Speaker 1: her suffer as well, for it was a brother, and
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  Speaker 1: a favorite brother, who had been snatched away by such
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  Speaker 1: a manner of death. Nevertheless conquering nature, she so sustained
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  Speaker 1: her mother by her arguments, that she too rose superior
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  Speaker 1: to her sorrow. Besides which, the moral elevation always maintained
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  Speaker 1: by Macrinus's life, gave her mother the opportunity of rejoicing
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  Speaker 1: over the blessing she enjoyed, rather than grieving over those
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  Speaker 1: that were missing. Mother and daughter make further progress in
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  Speaker 1: the ascetic life. When the cares of bringing up a
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  Speaker 1: family and the anxieties of their education and settling in
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  Speaker 1: life had come to an end, and the property, a
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  Speaker 1: frequent cause of worldliness, had been for the most part,
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  Speaker 1: divided among the children. Then, as I said above, the
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  Speaker 1: life of the virgin became her mother's guide and led
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  Speaker 1: her on to this philosophic and spiritual manner of life,
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  Speaker 1: and weaning her from all accustomed luxuries, Macrina drew her
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  Speaker 1: on to adopt her own standard of humility. She induced
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  Speaker 1: her to live on a footing of equality with the
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  Speaker 1: staff of maids, so as to share with them in
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  Speaker 1: the same food, the same kind of bed, and in
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  Speaker 1: all the necessaries of life, without any regard to differences
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  Speaker 1: of rank. Such was the manner of their life, so
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  Speaker 1: great the height of their philosophy, and so wholly their
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  Speaker 1: conduct day and night, as to make verbal description inadequate.
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  Speaker 1: For just as souls freed from the body by death
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  Speaker 1: or saved from the cares of this life, so was
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  Speaker 1: their life far removed from all earthly follies, and ordered
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  Speaker 1: with the view of imitating the angelic life. For no
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  Speaker 1: anger or jealousy, no hatred, or pride was observed in
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  Speaker 1: their midst, nor anything else of this nature. Since they
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  Speaker 1: had cast away all vain desires for honor and glory,
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  Speaker 1: all vanity, arrogance, and the like countenance was their luxury
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  Speaker 1: and obscurity their glory. Poverty, and the casting away of
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  Speaker 1: all material superfluities like dust from their bodies was their wealth.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, of all the things after which men eagerly
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  Speaker 1: pursue in this life, there were none with which they
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  Speaker 1: could not easily dispense. Nothing was left but the care
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  Speaker 1: of divine things and the unceasing rant of prayer and
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  Speaker 1: endless hymnity, co extensive with time itself, practiced by night
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  Speaker 1: and day, so that to them this meant work, and
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  Speaker 1: work so called was rust. What human words could make
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  Speaker 1: you realize such a life as this, a life on
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  Speaker 1: the borderline between human and spiritual nature. For that nature
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  Speaker 1: should be free from human weaknesses, is more than can
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  Speaker 1: be expected from mankind. But these women fell short of
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  Speaker 1: the angelic and immaterial nature only in so far as
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  Speaker 1: they appeared in bodily form and were contained within a
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  Speaker 1: human frame, and were dependent upon the organs of sense.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps some might even dare to say that the difference
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  Speaker 1: was not to their disadvantage, since living in the body,
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  Speaker 1: and yet after the likeness of the immaterial beings, they
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  Speaker 1: were not bowed down by the weight of the body,
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  Speaker 1: but their life was exalted to the skies, and they
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  Speaker 1: walked on high in company with the powers of heaven.
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  Speaker 1: The period covered by this mode of life was no short,
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  Speaker 1: and with the lapse of time, their successes increased as
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  Speaker 1: their philosophy continually grew pearer with the discovery of new blessings. Peter,
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  Speaker 1: the youngest brother. Macrina was helped most of all in
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  Speaker 1: achieving this great aim of her life by her own
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  Speaker 1: brother Peter. With him, the mother's pang ceased, for he
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  Speaker 1: was the latest born of the family. At one and
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  Speaker 1: the same time he received the names of son and orphan,
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  Speaker 1: for as he entered this life, his father passed away
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  Speaker 1: from it. But the eldest of the family, the subject
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  Speaker 1: of our story, took him soon after birth from the
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  Speaker 1: nurse's breast and reared him herself and educated him on
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  Speaker 1: a lofty system of training, practicing him from infancy and
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  Speaker 1: holy studies, so as not to give his sole leisure
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  Speaker 1: to turn to vain things. Thus having become all things
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  Speaker 1: to the lad father, teacher, tutor, mother, giver of all
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  Speaker 1: good advice, she produced such results that before the age
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  Speaker 1: of boyhood had passed, when he was yet a stripling
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  Speaker 1: in the first bloom of tender youth, he aspired to
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  Speaker 1: the high mark of philosophy, and thanks to his natural endowments,
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  Speaker 1: he was clever in every art that involves hand work,
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  Speaker 1: so that without any guidance, he achieved a completely accurate
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  Speaker 1: knowledge of everything that ordinary people learned by time and trouble.
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  Speaker 1: Scorning to occupy his time with worldly studies, and having
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  Speaker 1: in nature a sufficient instructor in all good knowledge, and
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  Speaker 1: always looking to his sister as the model of all
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  Speaker 1: good he advanced to such a height of virtue that
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  Speaker 1: in his subsequent life he seemed in no wit inferior
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  Speaker 1: to the great Basil. But at this time he was
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  Speaker 1: all in all to his sister and mother, co operating
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  Speaker 1: with them in the pursuit of the angelic life. Once,
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  Speaker 1: when a severe fun women had occurred, and crowds from
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  Speaker 1: all quarters were frequenting the retreat where they lived, drawn
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  Speaker 1: by the fame of their benevolence, Peter's kindness supplied such
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  Speaker 1: an abundance of food that the desert seemed a city
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  Speaker 1: by reason of the number of visitors. Death of the Mother.
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  Speaker 1: It was at about this time that the mother died,
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  Speaker 1: honored by all, and went to God, yielding up her
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  Speaker 1: life in the arms of her two children. It is
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  Speaker 1: worth while to give the words of blessing which she
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  Speaker 1: used over her children, mentioning each of the absent ones
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  Speaker 1: and loving remembrance, so that no single one was deprived
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  Speaker 1: of the blessing, and commending especially to God and her
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  Speaker 1: prayers those who were present with her. For as these
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  Speaker 1: two sat by her on each side of the bed,
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  Speaker 1: she touched them with her hands and uttered these prayers
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  Speaker 1: to God with her dying words. To THEE Lord, I
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  Speaker 1: give the fruit of my womb as both first fruits
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  Speaker 1: and tents. For this my eldest is the first fruits,
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  Speaker 1: and this my last born, is the tenth. Each is
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  Speaker 1: sanctified to THEE by the law, and they are vote
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  Speaker 1: of offerings to THEE. Therefore, let thy sanctification descend on
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  Speaker 1: this my first, and this my tenth. As she spoke,
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  Speaker 1: she indicated by gestures her daughter and son. Then, having
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  Speaker 1: ceased to bless, she ceased to live, having first bidden
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  Speaker 1: her children lay her body of their father's grave. But they,
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  Speaker 1: having fulfilled the command, clave to philosophy with still loftier resolve,
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  Speaker 1: even striving against their own life, and eclipsing their previous
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  Speaker 1: record by their subsequent successes. Basil dies after a noble career. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: Basil the famous Saint had been elected Bishop of the
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  Speaker 1: Great Church of Casarea. He advanced Peter to the sacred
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  Speaker 1: order of the priesthood, consecrating him in person with mystic ceremonial,
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  Speaker 1: And in this way a further advance in the direction
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  Speaker 1: of dignity and sanctity was made in their life. Now
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  Speaker 1: that philosophy was enriched by the priesthood. Eight years After this,
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  Speaker 1: the world renowned Basil departed from men to live with God,
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  Speaker 1: to the common grief of his native land and the
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  Speaker 1: whole world. Now, when Macrina heard the news of the
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  Speaker 1: calamity in her distant retreat, she was distressed, indeed in soul,
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  Speaker 1: at so great a loss. For how could she not
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  Speaker 1: be distressed at a calamity which was felt even by
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  Speaker 1: the enemies of the truth. But just as they say
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  Speaker 1: that the testing of gold takes place in several furnaces,
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  Speaker 1: so that if any impurity escapes the first furnace, it
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  Speaker 1: may be separated in the second, and again in the
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  Speaker 1: last one. All admixture of draws may be purged away. Consequently,
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  Speaker 1: it is the most accurate testing of pure gold, if
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  Speaker 1: having gone through every furnace, it shows no refuse. So
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  Speaker 1: it happened also in her case, when her noble character
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  Speaker 1: had been tested by these different accessions of trouble, in
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  Speaker 1: every respect, the metal of her soul was proved to
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  Speaker 1: be unadulterated and undefiled. The first test was the loss
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  Speaker 1: of the one brother, the second the parting from her mother.
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  Speaker 1: The third was when the common glory of the family
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  Speaker 1: great Basil was removed from human life, so she remained
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  Speaker 1: like an invincible athlete, in no wise broken from the
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  Speaker 1: assault of troubles, Gregory resolves to visit his sister. It
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  Speaker 1: was the ninth month or a little longer after this disaster,
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  Speaker 1: and the descendant of bishops was gathered at Antioch, in
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  Speaker 1: which we also took part, And when we broke up
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  Speaker 1: each to go home before the year was over, then I, Gregory,
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  Speaker 1: felt the desire to visit Macrina. For a long time
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  Speaker 1: had elapsed, during which visits were prevented by the distraction
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  Speaker 1: of the troubles, which I underwent, being constantly driven out
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  Speaker 1: from my own country by the leaders of heresy. And
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  Speaker 1: when I came to reckon the intervening time during which
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  Speaker 1: the troubles had prevented us meeting face to face, no
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  Speaker 1: less than eight years, or very nearly that period seemed
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  Speaker 1: to have elapsed. Now, when I had accomplished most of
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  Speaker 1: the journey and was one day's journey distant, a vision
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  Speaker 1: appeared to me in a dream and filled me with
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  Speaker 1: anxious anticipations of the future. I seemed to be carrying
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  Speaker 1: Martyr's relics in my hands. A light came from them,
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  Speaker 1: such as comes from a clear mirror when it is
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  Speaker 1: put facing the sun, so that my eyes were blinded
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  Speaker 1: by the brilliance of the rays. The same vision recurred
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  Speaker 1: three times that night. I could not clearly understand the
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  Speaker 1: riddle of the dream, but I saw trouble for my soul,
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  Speaker 1: and I watched carefully so as to judge the vision
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  Speaker 1: by events. When I approached the retreat in which Macrina
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  Speaker 1: led her angelic and heavenly life, first of all, I
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  Speaker 1: asked one of the servants about my brother, whether he
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  Speaker 1: were at home. He told us that he had gone
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  Speaker 1: out four days ago now, and I understood, which indeed
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  Speaker 1: was the case, that he had gone to meet us
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  Speaker 1: by another way. Then I asked after the great lady.
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  Speaker 1: He said she was very ill, And I was the
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  Speaker 1: more eager to hurry on and complete the remainder of
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  Speaker 1: the journey, for a certain anxiety and promonitory fear of
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  Speaker 1: what was coming stole in and disquieted. Metory comes to
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  Speaker 1: the monastery and finds Makrina on her death bed. But
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  Speaker 1: when I came to the actual place, rumor had already
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  Speaker 1: announced my arrival to the brotherhood. Then the whole company
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  Speaker 1: of the men came streaming out to meet us from
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  Speaker 1: their apartments, for it was their custom to honor friends
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  Speaker 1: by meeting them. But the band of virgins on the
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  Speaker 1: women's side modestly waited in the church for us to arrive.
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  Speaker 1: But when the prayers and the blessing were over, and
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  Speaker 1: the women, after reverently inclining their head for the blessing,
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  Speaker 1: retired to their own apartments, none of them were left
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  Speaker 1: with us. I guessed the explanation that the abbess was
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  Speaker 1: not with them. A man led me to the house
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  Speaker 1: in which was my great sister and opened the door.
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  Speaker 1: Then I entered that holy dwelling. I found her already
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  Speaker 1: terribly afflicted with weakness. She was lying not on a
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  Speaker 1: bed or couch, but on the floor. A sack had
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  Speaker 1: been spread on a board, and another board propped up
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  Speaker 1: her head so contrived as to act as a pillow,
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  Speaker 1: supporting the sinews of the neck in slanting fashion and
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  Speaker 1: holding up the neck comfortably. Now, when she saw me
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  Speaker 1: near the door, she raised herself on her elbow, but
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  Speaker 1: could not come to meet me, her strength being already
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  Speaker 1: drained by fever. But by putting her hands on the
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  Speaker 1: floor and leaning over from the pallet as far as
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  Speaker 1: she could she showed the respect due to my rank.
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  Speaker 1: I ran to her and embraced her prostrate form, and
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  Speaker 1: raising her again, restored her to her usual position. Then
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  Speaker 1: she lifted her hand to God and said this favor
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  Speaker 1: also thou hast granted me o God, and hast not
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  Speaker 1: deprived me of my desire, because thou hast stirred up
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  Speaker 1: thy servant to visit thy handmaid, lest she should vex
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  Speaker 1: my soul. She stilled her groans and made great efforts
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  Speaker 1: to hide, if possible, the difficulty of her breathing. And
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  Speaker 1: in every way she tried to be cheerful, both taking
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  Speaker 1: the lead herself in friendly talk and giving us an
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  Speaker 1: opportunity by asking questions. When in the course of conversation
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  Speaker 1: mention was made of the Great Basal, my soul was
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  Speaker 1: saddened and my face fell dejectedly. But so far was
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  Speaker 1: she from sharing in my affliction that treating the mention
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  Speaker 1: of the Saint as an occasion for yet lofty or philosophy.
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  Speaker 1: She discussed various subjects, inquiring into human affairs and revealing
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  Speaker 1: in her conversation the divine purpose concealed in disasters. Besides this,
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  Speaker 1: she discussed the future life as if inspired by the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit, so that it almost seemed as if my
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  Speaker 1: soul were lifted by the help of her words away
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  Speaker 1: from mortal nature, emplaced within the heavenly sanctuary. Just as
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  Speaker 1: we learn in the story of Job that the saint
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  Speaker 1: was tormented in every part of his body with discharges
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  Speaker 1: owing to the corruption of his wounds, yet did not
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  Speaker 1: allow the pain to affect his reasoning power. But in
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  Speaker 1: spite of the pains in the body, did not relax
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  Speaker 1: his activities nor interrupt the lofty sentiments of his discourse.
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  Speaker 1: Similarly did I see in the case of this great woman,
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  Speaker 1: fever was drying up her straint and driving her on
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  Speaker 1: to death. Yet she refreshed her body as it were
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  Speaker 1: withdw and thus kept her mind unimpeded in the contemplation
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  Speaker 1: of heavenly things, in no way injured by her terrible weakness.
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  Speaker 1: And if my narrative were not extending to an unconscionable length,
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  Speaker 1: I would tell everything in order. How she was uplifted
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  Speaker 1: as she discoursed to us on the nature of the soul,
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  Speaker 1: and explained the reason of life in the flesh, and
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  Speaker 1: why man was made, and how he was mortal, and
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  Speaker 1: the origin of death and the nature of the journey
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  Speaker 1: from death to life again, in all of which she
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  Speaker 1: told her tale clearly and consecutively, as if inspired by
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  Speaker 1: the power of the Holy Spirit, and the even flow
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  Speaker 1: of her language. Was lucky fountain whose waters dreams down uninterruptedly.
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  Speaker 1: She sends Gregory away to rest himself. When our conversation
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  Speaker 1: was finished, she said, it is time, brother, for you
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  Speaker 1: to rest your body a while, since it is wearied
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  Speaker 1: with the great toil of your journey. And though I
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  Speaker 1: found it a great and genuine rest to see her
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  Speaker 1: and hear her noble words, yet since she wanted it
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  Speaker 1: so much that I might, in every particular seem to
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  Speaker 1: obey my mistress, I found a pretty arbor prepared for
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  Speaker 1: me in one of the neighboring gardens, and rested under
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  Speaker 1: the shade of the trailing vines. But it was impossible
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  Speaker 1: to have any feelings of enjoyment when my soul within
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  Speaker 1: me was constrained by gloomy anticipations. For the secret of
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  Speaker 1: the vision of my dream seemed to be now revealed
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  Speaker 1: to me by what I had seen. For the image
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  Speaker 1: I had seen was indeed true, the relics of a
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  Speaker 1: holy martyr, which had been dead in sin, but now
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  Speaker 1: were resplendent with the indwelling power of the spirit. I
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  Speaker 1: explained this to one of those who had heard me
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  Speaker 1: tell the dream before. We were, as one might guess,
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  Speaker 1: any dejected state, expecting sad tidings, when Macrina, somehow or other,
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  Speaker 1: divining our condition of mind, sent to us a messenger
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  Speaker 1: with more cheerful news, and bade us be of good
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  Speaker 1: cheer and have better hope for her, for she was
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  Speaker 1: feeling a change for the better. Now this was said
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  Speaker 1: not to deceive, but the message was actually true, though
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  Speaker 1: we did not know it at the time, For in
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  Speaker 1: very truth, just as a runner who is passed its
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  Speaker 1: adversary and already drawn near to the end of the stadium,
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  Speaker 1: as he approaches the judge's seat and sees the crown
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  Speaker 1: of victory, rejoice as inwardly as if he had already
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  Speaker 1: attained his object, and announces his victory to his sympathizers
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  Speaker 1: among the spectators. In such a frame of mind, did
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  Speaker 1: she too tell us to cherish better hopes for her,
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  Speaker 1: for she was already looking to the prize of her
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  Speaker 1: heavenly calling, and all but uttering the Apostle's words henceforward
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  Speaker 1: is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
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  Speaker 1: the righteous Judge shall give me. For I have fought
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  Speaker 1: the good fight, I have finished the course, I have
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  Speaker 1: kept the faith Accordingly. Feeling happy at the good news,
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  Speaker 1: we began to enjoy the sights that lay before us,
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  Speaker 1: for they were very varied, and the arrangements gave much
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  Speaker 1: play pleasure, since the Great Lady was careful even of
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  Speaker 1: these trifles, and of Part two.