E05767: The Miracles of Saint Thekla recounts how *Thekla (follower of the Apostle Paul, S00092) healed him from a severe disease of the ear at Seleucia and supported his rhetoric powers. Written in Greek at Seleucia ad Calycadnum (southern Asia Minor) in the 470s.

Miracles of Saint Thekla, 41

Οὕτω δὴ φιλόλογός τέ ἐστιν ἡ μάρτυς καὶ χαίρει ταῖς διὰ τῶν λόγων ταύταις εὐφημίαις. Ἐρῶ δέ τι καὶ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ γεγονότων, ὅπερ αὐτὴ ἡ καὶ παρεσχηκυῖά μοι μάρτυς οἶδεν ὅτι γεγένηται καὶ οὐ ψεύδομαι. Ἦν μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς ἡ ἐτησία πανήγυρις, παρεσκευασάμην δὲ κἀγὼ πρὸς ἔπαινόν τινα μικρὸν τῆς ἑορτῆς, οὐχ ὥς τι λέξων ἀξιόλογον ἢ ἐπάξιον αὐτῆς, ἀλλ’ ὡς εὔνοιάν τινα παρὰ τῆς μάρτυρος θηρώμενος, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τοὺς μικρὰ τιμῶντας οἶδεν ἀντωφελεῖν τὰ μέγιστα.

Μιᾶς δὲ λειπομένης ἡμέρας εἴς τε τὸ εἰπεῖν καὶ ἐπιδείξασθαι τὸν λόγον, προσβάλλει τί μου πάθος τὴν ἀκοήν, καὶ σφόδρα χαλεπόν τε καὶ ἐπαλγές, ὡς περιτετᾶσθαι μὲν πᾶσαν τὴν ἀκοήν, ἄγρια δὲ σφαδάζειν ἐκ τῶν ἔνδοθεν, συνωθεῖν δὲ καὶ πνεῦμα βίαιον εἰς αὐτὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ κῦτος, καὶ πολὺν διὰ τοῦτο τὸν ἔνδον ἦχον ἐργάζεσθαι· ὥστε με καὶ τοῦ ἐρεῖν ἀπογνῶναι παντελῶς, καὶ κακοῦ μείζονος ἔχειν προσδοκίαν. Ἤδη δέ πως καὶ ὑπερυθριᾶν ἠρχόμην, ὡς ἐρεῖν μέν τι δόξας τοῖς πολλοῖς, τοῦ δὲ καιροῦ τῆς ἐπιδείξεως ἐνστάντος τὴν τάξιν ἀπολιπών.

Ἃ πάντα ἡ μάρτυς γενέσθαι διεκώλυσεν· ἐφίσταται νύκτωρ καί, λαβομένη μου τοῦ ὠτίου καὶ διασείσασα, εἰς ἰχῶρα βραχὺν τὸν πάντα διέλυσε πόνον. Οὗ καὶ ἀποκυλισθέντος ἐκ τῶν σκολιῶν καὶ ἀδύτων—ὡς εἰπεῖν—πόρων, ὤφθην ἐπὶ τοῦ δεικτηρίου—λέγεται δὲ οὕτως ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἐπιδείκνυνται οἱ λέγοντες, τουτέστιν ὁ ἄμβων, ἤτοι τὸ ἀκροατήριον—, καὶ γὰρ οὔπω οὔτε τῶν ἐπ’ ἐκκλησίας λεγόντων τις ἦν, καὶ εἶπον μὲν ἄττα, οὕτω δέ μοι τὴν χεῖρα καὶ χάριν συνεπέδωκεν ἡ μάρτυς, ὡς εἶναί τι καὶ δόξαι, καὶ εἰρηκέναι μετρίως, καὶ θαῦμα πλεῖστον ἐπὶ μηδενὶ θαυμαστῷ τῶν ἐμῶν ἀπενέγκασθαι λόγων.

Καὶ τῆς ἱερατικῆς δέ μοι καταξιωθέντι γερουσίας καὶ τοῦ καταλόγου τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ ἱερέων, συμπαρῆν τε ὡς τὰ πολλά, καὶ νύκτωρ ἐπιφαινομένη βιβλίον τί μοι πάντως ἢ χάρτην ὤρεγεν, ὃ πάντως μοι πλείστης εὐδοκιμήσεως σύμβολον ἦν τε καὶ ἐδόκει. Εἰ δὲ μέλλοντί μοι λέγειν τι μὴ ὀφθῇ τοῦτο ποιοῦσα, τό γε ἀποβησόμενον πάλιν εὔδηλον ἦν.


'You see then how fond of oratory the martyr [Thekla] is, and how she enjoys the praise that comes to her through speeches. Now I will tell of a miracle that concerns me and which happened on my behalf. The martyr herself, who provided it for me, knows that it took place and that I do not lie. The time had come for her annual festival, and I was preparing a short address of praise for the celebration, not that I would be able to say anything appropriately eloquent and worthy of her, but rather as one seeking after some goodwill from the martyr, since she knows how to give the greatest rewards even to those who honor her the least.

There was one day left before I was to speak and proclaim my oration, when an extremely painful and acute malady affected my ear. It spread all the way around my ear, and caused a fierce irritation inside the ear, so that a violent pressure was forcing its way into the interior of my skull, and produced a long echo inside my head. As a result I despaired of speaking at all and expected still worse to come [i.e., death]. Already I was beginning to grow embarrassed that, with so many expecting me to speak, I would be abandoning my responsibility just at the appointed time of my oration.

All of this the martyr prevented from happening. During the night she appeared at my side, and, taking my ear, she shook it violently and relieved all my pain through [the evacuation of] a little pus. When the pus was rolled away from the winding, mysterious paths [of my ear] – so to speak – I made my appearance upon the rostrum – as the place is called where orators speak, also called the ambo or the pulpit. I was not yet one of those [priests] who spoke in the church. I spoke a few words, but the martyr offered her helping hand and her grace to such an extent that, first, I seemed to be a man of some reputation; second, I spoke passably well; and, third, I received substantial admiration for my words which had no admirable feature.

Once I was judged worthy to join the college of clergy and the register of teachers and priests, Thekla assisted me constantly. Appearing to me at night she always held out a book or a sheet of parchment, which was and always appeared to be a symbol of her substantial favor toward me. [Since this is her pattern of behaviour,] if ever she fails to appear to me when I am about to speak, the inverse conclusion [i.e., that she is not favorable] is equally clear to me.'

Text: Dagron 1978. Translation: Johnson 2012.