The Life of Severus

* fol. 109 v° b.

...it is not right that they should be dismissed, unless those who tell them have some truth. For wicked demons and their friends easily slander the conduct original: "conduct/life" of those who live in virtue. We should not be surprised if those who serve Christ, the God of the universe, are called Satans by Satan; for when the efficient and creative cause of all things came among us, he drove the Jews to blaspheme and say: "It is by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that he casts out the demon" Matthew 12:24. However, since you said that you fear this libel might harm some simple minds, I will, out of respect for the truth and love for you, recount the life of Severus Severus of Antioch, with whom I have been since his early youth in Alexandria and Phoenicia, hearing the same masters and sharing the same occupations. Those who studied with us and are still alive—and their number is quite considerable—will be able to attest to the truthfulness of my account.

The illustrious Severus is Pisidian by origin; his native city is Sozopolis. It is indeed this city that fell to him as a dwelling after the first one, from which we...