E05074: Evagrius Scholasticus in his Ecclesiastical History recounts episodes from the life of *Symeon (ascetic and Holy Fool at Emesa in Phoenicia, ob. c. 570, S01636). Written in Greek at Antioch (Syria), 593/594.

Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 4.34

Γέγονε δὲ καὶ ἀνὰ τὴν Ἔμεσαν Συμεώνης, ἀνὴρ οὕτως τὸν τῆς κενοδοξίας ἀποδυσάμενος χιτῶνα ὡς καὶ παράφορον τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσι δόξαι αὐτὸν εἶναι, καίτοι γε πάσης σοφίας θείας καὶ χάριτος ἐμπεπλησμένον. Οὗτος ὁ Συμεώνης τὰ πολλὰ μὲν αὐτὸς καθ’ ἑαυτὸν διῃτᾶτο, οὐδενὶ τὸ παράπαν ἄδειαν ἐνδιδοὺς εἰδέναι πότε τε ἢ ὅπως τὸ θεῖον ἱλάσκετο, μηδὲ ὅτε τὰς ἀφέξεις ἢ μεθέξεις καθ’ ἑαυτὸν τῶν τροφῶν ποιοῖτο ἄν. Ἔστιν δὲ οὗ καὶ κατὰ τὰς λεωφόρους ἀγοράζων ἐκτετράφθαι τοῦ καθεστῶτος ἐδόκει καὶ μηδὲν φρενῆρες ἢ ἀγχίνουν ἔχειν ὅλως· καί που καὶ καπηλείῳ παρεισδὺς ἐκ τῶν προστυχόντων ἐδεσμάτων ἢ σιτίων ἤσθιεν ὅτε πεινῴη. Εἰ δέ τις ἐγκλίνας τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῷ προσεκύνησε, μετὰ θυμοῦ καὶ τάχους τῶν τόπων ἐξίστατο, τὸ πρὸς πολλῶν φωραθῆναι τὴν οἰκείαν ἀρετὴν δεδιώς.

Καὶ τοιαῦτα μὲν τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν τῷ Συμεώνῃ. Ἦσαν δὲ αὐτῷ τινες συνήθεις οἷς καὶ παρενέβαλλεν, οὐδὲν ὅλως ὑποκρινόμενος. Τῶν τοίνυν συνήθων αὐτῷ ἦν τινι θεράπαινα, ἢ πρός τινος ἐκπορνευθεῖσα καὶ κυοῦσα, ἐπειδὴ τὸν τοῦτο δεδρακότα παρὰ τῶν δεσποτῶν ἐξειπεῖν ἠναγκάζετο, τὸν Συμεώνην ἔλεγεν σκοτίως αὐτῇ συμπλακῆναι, ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ τε κυοφορεῖν, καὶ ὀμεῖσθαι ἦ μὴν ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχειν, εἰ δέοι δὲ καὶ διελέγχειν. Ὅπερ ἐπειδὴ ὁ Συμεώνης ἠκηκόει, συνετίθετο, σάρκα φορεῖν εἰπὼν τὸ εὐόλισθον χρῆμα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ παρὰ πᾶσι τοῦτο τεθρύλητο, καὶ πολλὴν ὦφλε τὴν αἰσχύνην ὁ Συμεώνης ὡς ἐδόκει, ὑπέστελλεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὸν αἰδούμενον ὑπεκρίνετο. Ὡς δ’ οὖν ἡ κυρία τῇ κυούσῃ ἧκε, καθῆστό τε τὰ εἰωθότα, ἡ μὲν ὠδὶς σφοδρότερον καὶ πολλὴν καὶ ἀνύποιστον τὴν ἀλγηδόνα κατεργαζομένη ἐς ἔσχατον κινδύνου τὴν ἄνθρωπον κατήγαγεν, ὁ δὲ τόκος οὐδαμῆ προέκοπτεν. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν τὸν Συμεώνην ἐξεπίτηδες ἀφιγμένον ἱκέτευον προσεύξασθαι, ἀναφανδὸν εἶπε μὴ πρότερον ἀποτέξειν τὸ γύναιον, πρὶν ἂν εἴποι τίς ὁ φύσας τὸ κυοφορούμενον εἴη. Ὅπερ ἐπειδὴ πέπραχε, καὶ τὸν ὄντως ἀνεῖπε πατέρα, εὐθὺ τὸ βρέφος ἐξήλατο, ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας μαιευθέν.

Οὗτός ποτε εἴς τι δωμάτιον ἑταίρας εἰσεληλυθὼς ὤφθη, καὶ τὴν θύραν ἀποκλείσας μόνος πρὸς μόνην ἐχρόνιζεν. Ὡς γοῦν ἀνακλίνας τὴν θύραν ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, πανταχῆ θεώμενος μή τις αὐτὸν ὁρῴη, ἐπὶ μεῖζον τὰ τῆς ὑπονοίας ἤρθη ὡς τοὺς ἑωρακότας ἀγαγεῖν τὴν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πυνθάνεσθαι τί τε εἰσιτητὰ τῷ Συμεώνῃ παρ’ αὐτὴν εἴη καὶ ἡ τοσαύτη τοῦ καιροῦ τριβή. Ἡ δὲ διώμνυτο τρίτην ἀπ’ ἐκείνης ἡμέραν μηδενὸς ἀπογεύσασθαι ἀπορίᾳ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἢ μόνον ὕδατος, τὸν δὲ ὄψα τε κομίσαι καὶ σιτία καὶ οἴνου τι ἄγγος, καὶ τὴν θύραν ἀποκλείσαντα τράπεζαν παραθεῖναι δειπνίσαι τε ταύτην, ἐγκελευσάμενον τῆς θοίνης ἐμπλησθῆναι, ἱκανῶς τῇ ἀφέξει τῆς τροφῆς πιανθεῖσαν· καὶ τὰ λείψανα τῶν ἀποκομισθέντων προέφερεν.

Ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τοῦ κλόνου τοῦ τὴν παραλίαν Φοινίκην κατασείσαντος παρὰ πόδας ὄντος, ἡνίκα ἥ τε Βηρυτίων Βιβλίων τε καὶ Τριπολιτῶν μάλιστα πεπόνθασιν, ῥυτῆρα τῇ χειρὶ μετεωρίζων ἔτυπτε τῶν κιόνων τοὺς πλείους ἀνὰ τὴν ἀγοράν· „Στῆτε,“ βοῶν, „ὀρχήσασθ’ ἔχετε.“ Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν οὐδὲν τἀνδρὸς ἦν πάρεργον, οἱ τούτοις περιτυχόντες τὸν νοῦν ἐτίθεσαν τίνας τῶν κιόνων μὴ τύπτων παρῄει. Οἳ καὶ μετ’ οὐ πολὺ πεπτώκασιν, ἔργον τῶν σεισμῶν γενόμενοι. Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἕτερα πέπραχεν, ἃ καὶ πραγματείας ἰδιαζούσης δεῖται.


'34. Now in Emesa there lived Symeon, a man who had shed the robe of vanity to such an extent that to those who did not know he even appeared to be demented, although he was indeed filled with all sacred wisdom and grace. This Symeon lived for the most part by himself, not allowing anyone at all an opportunity to know when and how he propitiated the Divinity, nor when he held fasts or partook of food by himself. But there were times indeed when, while frequenting the main streets, he appeared to have been estranged from normality, and to be completely devoid of sense and intelligence; and sometimes even, on entering a tavern, he would consume the available breads and foods when he was hungry. But if anyone bowed his head to him in reverence, he left the place in rage and haste, fearing that his special virtue might be discovered by the multitude.

And such was Symeon’s public behaviour. But he had certain acquaintances among whom he used to associate without any pretence at all. Now one of his acquaintances had a servant-girl, who had been debauched by someone and become pregnant. When she was compelled by her masters to declare who had done this, she said that Symeon had secretly had intercourse with her and that she was pregnant by him, and would swear on oath that this was truly so should it be necessary indeed to convict him. When Symeon heard this, he concurred, saying that he bore that fallible phenomenon flesh. And when this had become common knowledge and Symeon, so it seemed, incurred great shame, he withdrew himself and pretended to be abashed. And so when the appointed day came for the pregnant woman, and the usual things were in place, the labour produced violent, great and intolerable pain, and brought the woman into extreme danger, but the birth in no way advanced. So when they besought Symeon to pray (he had deliberately come along) he said openly that the woman would not give birth until she said who it was who had sired the pregnancy. When she had done this and revealed the true father, immediately the infant leapt forth, the truth acting as midwife.

This man was once seen to have gone into a certain prostitute’s room, and, after shutting the door, he spent a long time alone with her. So when he opened the door, departed and left, looking everywhere lest anyone should see, suspicion reached such a pitch that the onlookers brought the woman, and enquired what was the reason for Symeon to go in to her and why the great period of time. But she swore that this was the third day since she had tasted anything but water for want of necessities, and that he brought delicacies, bread and a jar of wine; after closing the door he had brought up a table and dined her, bidding her take her fill of the meal until she was sufficiently fattened up after the abstinence from food. And she produced the remains of what had been brought.

But, there is another story that when the tremor which flattened Phoenicia Maritima was at hand, the one in which the cities of Beirut and Byblus and Tripolis suffered particularly, he raised aloft a whip in his hand and struck most of the columns in the forum, shouting: ‘Stand, you can dance.’ Accordingly, since nothing of that man was without purpose, the bystanders made a mental note of which columns he had passed by without striking. Not long after they did indeed fall down, becoming the victim of the earthquakes. There were many other things which he did that require indeed a separate treatment.'

Text: Bidez and Parmentier 2014. Translation: Whitby 2010.