THE TWENTY-FIFTH DAY OF THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER The Life and Passion of the Holy Great-martyr Catherine, the Wise Virgin From The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, Volume 3: November, compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov During the reign of the impious Emperor Maxentius, there lived in the city of Alexandria a maiden named Catherine. She was of royal lineage, very beautiful and tall, and had reached the age of eighteen. She was also most learned, having studied all the writings of the Hellenes, and had acquainted herself with the authors of antiquity: Homer, Virgil, Aristotle, Plato, and others. It was not, however, only the philosophers that she had read: she knew well the books of the physicians Asclepius, Hippocrates, and Galen. Moreover, she had entirely mastered the arts of rhetoric and dialectic and knew many languages, so that all were amazed at her learning. Numerous rich men of noble birth came to ask her hand of her mother, who held the Christian faith secretly because of the great persecution raised up against the faithful at that time by Maxentius. Catherine’s mother and relatives often counselled the maiden to marry so that the royal inheritance passed down from her father would not fall into the hands of strangers and thus be lost to her family, but the wise Catherine loved virginity greatly and did not wish to be married. She answered those who urged her, If you wish me to enter into wedlock, find me a youth who possesses the four things which I have (as you well know) in greater measure than all other maidens, not one that is inferior to me and unworthy of my hand. Look about for a young man who is of noble lineage, wealthy, handsome, and learned; if he is lacking in one of these things, he is not worthy of me. Unable to find such a youth, Catherine’s relatives said, Although the sons of emperors and great princes are highborn and wealthier than she, not one is as handsome or as wise. Said Catherine, 1 do not desire a bridegroom who is uneducated. Read More... tokandylaki.blogspot.ca/2014/11/the-life-and-passion-of-holy-great.html
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 08:39:10 +0000
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