Anna's virtues that the tomb cannot hide

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Arethas the deacon is praising Anna's character and lineage, arguing that her grave cannot obscure her virtues.

Her character was dignified, her grace humane, and her manner obedient toward her parents, for reverence led her as a great teacher standing by. The splendid marks of her lineage shone in her, and her steadfast love of husband against nature, which by the force of widowhood shakes what is unsteady, yet in the struggle defeated by stronger powers, from which the bright garlands shine in a manner worthy of one married to one husband: the boldness of Anna.

Greek

15.33 ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ Τὸ σεμνὸν ἦθος, τὴν φιλάνθρωπον χάριν, τὸ πρὸς τεκόντας τοῦ τρόπου πειθήνιον αἰδὼς γὰρ ἦγεν ὡς διδάσκαλος μέγας παρών, τὰ λαμπρὰ τοῦ γένους γνωρίσματα καὶ τὰς φιλάνδρους ἐνστάσεις πρὸς τὴν φύσιν κλονοῦσαν ἀστήρικτα χηρείας βίᾳ, ἀντεμπλοκῇ δὲ κρειττόνων ἡττωμένην ἀφ' ὧν τὰ φαιδρὰ στέμματα πρὸς ἀξίαν μόνανδρον ἐκλάμποντα, τὴν παρρησίαν Ἄννης

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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