E05693: The Miracles of Saint Thekla recounts how *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092) appeared to him in a vision and encouraged him to continue work on writing down her miracles. Written in Greek at Seleucia ad Calycadnum (southern Asia Minor) in the 470s.

Miracles of Saint Thekla, 31

Ἐν ᾧ δὲ καιρῷ τὴν περὶ τοῦ θαύματος τούτου ἐποιούμην γραφήν—οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ τότε μοι παρὰ τῆς μάρτυρος ὑπάρξαν σιωπῆσαι καλόν—, συμβαίνει τι καὶ τοιοῦτο. Ὀλιγώρως μὲν γὰρ εἶχον ἤδη περὶ τοῦ συλλέγειν καὶ γράφειν αὐτὰ ταῦτα, ὁμολογῶ, καὶ ῥᾳθύμως ἡπτόμην λοιπὸν καὶ δέλτου καὶ γραφίδος, ὡς ἂν καὶ ἀπειρηκὼς λοιπὸν περὶ τὴν τῶν θαυμάτων τούτων ἔρευνάν τε καὶ συλλογήν. Οὕτω δὲ ἔχοντί μοι καὶ χασμιῶντι λοιπὸν ἔδοξεν ἡ μάρτυς πλησίον ἐν ὄψει μου παρακαθέζεσθαι, οὗπερ καὶ ἔθος ἦν μοι τὴν πρὸς τὰ βιβλία ποιεῖσθαι συνουσίαν, καὶ ἀφαιρεῖσθαί μου τῆς χειρὸς τὴν τετράδα, ἐν ᾗπερ καὶ ταῦτα ἐκ τῆς δέλτου μετεγραφόμην. Καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀναγινώσκειν ἐδόκει μοι καὶ ἐφήδεσθαι καὶ μειδιᾶν, καὶ ἐνδείκνυσθαί μοι τῷ βλέμματι ὡς ἀρέσκοι τότε τοῖς γραφομένοις, καὶ ὡς δέοι με ἀναπληρῶσαι τὸν πόνον τοῦτον καὶ μὴ ἀτέλεστον καταλιπεῖν, μέχρις ἂν ἐξῇ μάλιστα, ἃ ἕκαστος οἶδε καὶ ἅπερ σὺν ἀκριβείᾳ δυνατόν, παρ’ ἑκάστου μανθάνειν· ὥστε με μετὰ τὴν ὄψιν ταύτην δέους τε πληρωθῆναι καὶ προθυμίας ὑποπλησθῆναι καὶ ἅψασθαι πάλιν δέλτου καὶ γραφίδος, καὶ τοῦτο ποιεῖν μέχρι περ ἂν αὐτὴ κελεύῃ.

'At the very moment when I was writing down this miracle - it is not good to be silent about what the martyr did for me then – something like this happened. I had been neglectful in collecting and committing these events to writing, I confess, and I was lazily holding my writing tablet and stylus, as if I had already given up researching and collecting these miracles. While I was in such a state and in the midst of a yawn, the martyr seemed to appear before my eyes, sitting down beside me in the place where I normally consult my books, and she took from my hand the notebook on which I was transcribing this previous miracle from the writing tablet. Indeed, she seemed to me to read and enjoy it, and to smile and to show me by her expression that she was pleased with what I had written. She also seemed to indicate that I should complete this task and not leave it unfinished - at least up to the point that I could learn from each person what he knows and what can be known with accuracy. As a result, after this vision I was consumed with fear, but even greater was my desire to take up my writing tablet and stylus once again and to continue this work as long as she might command.'

Text: Dagron 1978. Translation: Johnson 2012.