Coptica v. 16 2017

70 Mark N. Swanson

This young man had been a scribe, 6 and the Enemy had caused him, from his childhood, to fall into very many sins, among them that he had caused him to leave the faith and made him infatuated with the love of women, riding horses, and listening to songs and female vocalists. That youth, through the burning of his heart for repentance, decided within himself that, once he saw the Old Man, he would not leave off weeping at his feet until he caused him to hear [the words], “Your sins are forgiven you.” Thus, when it came to pass that he was in [the Old Man’s] presence, at that hour he began to weep at the feet of the Old Man. Then the Old Man responded to him and said: “O my son, stop what you’re doing, for since last night I have seen you thus, weeping at my feet. I say to you: ‘Your sins are forgiven you.’ More than that, I say to you: ‘The Lord through your tears has renewed you, accepted you, and made you to become a monk and a head over the brethren.’” When the youth heard the speech of the Old Man, his heart doubted, because this youth was bound to an unbelieving wife, children, horses, boats, and servant lads (as mentioned earlier). But when the Old Man perceived his inner thought, he responded to him, saying: “O my son, do not be in doubt, for last night I saw myself carrying you, bringing you into the monastery. And the burden of you was light upon my neck.” After the Old Man had spoken to him thus, he took the youth by the hand and commended him to Our Lady the Virgin. He besought her for his salvation from his situation and his return to the monastery. And thus the youth returned to Miṣr. From that hour, a great zeal [ lit. “burning”] overcame him, so that from the increase of zeal that had come upon him he did not, from that hour, go back and turn his face to anything that he had previously practiced, but rather abandoned children, horses, kinfolk, and relatives, even his mother and brothers, and went up to the monastery and immediately became a monk, making that complete by putting on the pure schema . And he became a chosen monk, up to the present day. All who knew of his way of life in previous times, and who saw what had become of him later through repentance, were giving glory to God, who works wonders by the hands of his saints.

6 The word is kātib , in this context a functionary in the financial bureaucracy.