marry me to that woman who had been taken captive with me; and when I spake against his proposal, saying, “I am a monk, and I cannot do this, besides this woman hath a husband who was taken captive with us, and who hath passed into other ownership,” his wrath went up, and he drew his sword, and he set his gaze upon me, and would have killed me, had it not been that I ran and took hold of his wife’s hand. And having married me to the woman, he brought me into a cave with her. When, therefore, I knew that this was indeed the captor of my soul, I cried aloud, and wept, and said, “Woe unto me the sinner! What hath happened unto me? For having grown old in the life of virginity, a terrible evil now cometh upon me, and I must, forsooth, become the husband of a wife! Where now is my mother? And where are the possessions and riches of my fathers? For because I was not persuaded to [perform] the obedience of the servants of God, and because I separated myself [therefrom], and because I forsook the Lord I must endure things of this kind! Now what wilt thou do, O my wretched soul? For if thou dost conquer by patient endurance, by the Grace of God thou wilt be held worthy of help, but if thou art lax severe punishment is laid up for thee. Fight then mightily against sin, and turn the sword against thyself, that there may be kept for thee the testimony of chastity; hold in contempt the fire of time, that thou mayest flee from the fire of eternity, and conquer thou sin in the desert, that thou mayest be a persecuted and chosen witness.”
Then I took the sword in my hands, and saluted that woman, saying, “Mayest thou remain in peace, O wretched woman, and acquire for thyself rather a martyr than a husband, for because I would not marry a wife I fled from and forsook my parents.” Now when the woman saw the sword which was shining in the darkness, she fell down before my feet and said unto me, “I will make thee swear by Jesus Christ, the Lord of praise, that thou wilt not kill thyself for my sake; and if thou wishest to do this turn the sword against me. Why shouldst thou wish to kill thyself so that thou mayest not take me to wife? Knowest thou that I am far more anxious than thou art to preserve my chastity unto Christ, and must guard it not only against thee, but also against my lawful husband, for even if he were to come I would keep myself chaste. This is what this captivity wherein I am teacheth me, for this affliction should teach us to take refuge in the Lord. Take me then to thyself as a companion of thy chastity, and let us love each other in spiritual love, so that when our masters see us they may think that our intercourse is carnal. Now God, Who knoweth hearts, recognizeth spiritual brotherhood, and we can easily persuade these people when they see
