Febronia's compassion remembered even among the dead

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Arethas, the author, closes with a third epigram praising Febronia's compassion for the poor and her consecration as a bride of Christ.

Febronia, even among the nether spirits of men, did something with tokens of her compassion, if here too there was any need of the wealthy among the poor. For not even there do the souls of the great-hearted forget their beneficence to the uttermost. Yet may the span of our life be sufficient to send her on to the divine bridal chamber of Christ—she, as a reverend bride, took hold of the lamp of purity, keeping it bright with the oil of love for the poor. Know that this is the sign of her long sleep.

Greek

15.34 ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ∆ρᾶσέ τί που καὶ νερτερίοις μετὰ πνεύμασιν ἀνδρῶν Φεβρωνία ἑῆς σύμβολα συμπαθίης, εἴ τις κἀνθάδε χρειὼ ἀφνειῶν ἦε πένησιν· οὐδὲ

γὰρ οὐδ' αὐτοῦ τῆς σφετέρης ἐς ἅπαν ψυχαὶ λήθονται μεγαθύμων εὐεργείης· ἔμπα γε μὴν αἰὼν ἡμετέρου βιότου ἄρκιος εἴη θεῖον ἐπὶ προέμεν θάλαμόν μιν Χριστοῦ, τόν ῥα νυὸν σεμνὸν ἕλ' ἀφθορίης λαμπάδ' ἐλαίῳ φαιδρύνουσα φιλοπτωχείης· ἧς τόδε σῆμ' ὕπνου γνῶθι πολυχρονίου. 1

About this text

Verse epitaphs by Arethas: a young widow named Anna mourns her early death and is praised, and a woman named Febronia is remembered for her kindness to the poor.

Arethas of Caesarea, a deacon and later archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, wrote these three short commemorative pieces. He lived from about 860 to about 940, was born at Patrae in Greece, and was a disciple of Photius. The epigrams were preserved as fragments in a manuscript of his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.

The pieces commemorate two deceased women, Anna and Febronia. The first is a first-person lament spoken by Anna herself, who died at twenty-three, leaving her aged parents and noble brothers to mourn her. She was made a widow while still a girl and was childless, never seeing a child of her own at play. The second epigram praises Anna's character, her obedience to parents, her noble lineage, and her distinction as a woman married to one husband, arguing that her grave cannot obscure these because her life was a lesson and the inscription will speak if all else is silent. The third epigram praises Febronia for her compassion to the poor and her consecration as a bride of Christ, and suggests that even the dead remember her beneficence.

A reader should know that 'married to one husband' reflects a virtue praised in Anna, and 'widowhood' describes her faithful state before her own death. The 'bridal chamber' is used metaphorically for Febronia's consecration as a bride of Christ, and the 'lamp of purity' is a symbol of life and of the virginal lamp kept burning for Christ. The epigrams contain no direct scriptural citations.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 106 (Greek)

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