A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

IVAGRIU S. EVAGRIUS. 57
4. Of PoNTus, an eminent ascetic and eccleslas- mana,. a lady who had devoted herself to a religious
tical writer. The place of his birth was probably life, and had become very eminent, induced him
Ibora, a small town in Pontus, on the shore of the to renounce the world, and give himself up to an
Euxine near the mouth of the Halys; but the ex- ascetic life. He received the monastic garb from
pressions of Nicephorus Callisti would rather imply the hands of Melania, and departed for Egypt,
that he was of the race of the Iberians, who in- the cradle of monasticism, where he spent the rehabited the modern Georgia, on the southern side mainder of his life. Some copies of Palladius are
of the Caucasus. Palladius, his disciple, says he thought to speak of a visit made by him to Conwas of Pontus, of the city (or rather a city) of the stantinople, in A. D. 394; but the passage is obscure,
Iberians (OrAkews'I~Wpwv, or as one MS., according and Tillemont and the Greek text of Palladius, in
to Tillemont, has it,'IC'Spwv), which is ambiguous. the Bibliotheca- Patrum, refer the incident to AmJerome calls him " Hyperborita," an expression monius. Socrates states that he accompanied
which Martianay,the Benedictine editor of Jerome's Gregory Nazianzen into Egypt; but there is no
works, alters to "Iberita," and which has given oc- reason to think that Gregory visited Egypt at that
casion to other conjectural emendations. (Cotelerius, time. Evagrius's removal into Egypt was proEccles. Graec. llIonumenta, vol. iii. p. 543.) His bably late in A.D. 382, or in 383. The remainder
father was a presbyter, or perhaps a chorepiscopus. of his life was spent on the hills of Nitria, in one
(Heraclides, apud Tillemont.) He was placed in of the hermitages or monasteries of Scetis or Scitis,
early life under the instruction of Gregory Nazian- or in the desert, " of the Cells," to which, after a
zen. There is extant a letter of Gregory to an time, he withdrew. He was acquainted with se*Evagrius, to whom he expresses his pleasure at the veral of the more eminent solitaries of the coungrowing reputation of one whom he terms "our try, the two Macarii, Ammonius, and others,
son," and of whom he had been the instructor both whose reputation for austerity of life, sanctity and
in literature and religion. If, as is' conjectured, miracles (especially healing the sick and casting
this letter refers to our Evagrius, his father and he out daemons) he emulated. He learned here, says
were of the same name. Gregory also in his will Socrates, to be a philosopher in action, as he
leaves a legacy, with strong expressions of regard, had before learned to be one in words. He had
to Evagrius the deacon; but it is not certain that many disciples in the monastic life, of whom Palthis is our Evagrius. Evagrius was appointed ladius was one. His approval of the answer
reader by. the great Basil, and was ordained deacon which one of the solitaries gave to the person
either by Gregory Nyssen or Gregory Nazianzen. who informed him of the death of his father:
According to Socrates, he was ordained at Con- " Cease to blaspheme; for my Father (meaning
stantinople by Gregory Nazianzen; and Sozomen God) is immortal," shews that Jerome's sarcastic
says, that when Gregory occupied the see of Con- remark, that he recommended an apathy which
stantinople, he made Evagrius his archdeacon. If would shew that a man was " either a stone or
these statements are received, the removal of Eva- God," was not undeserved. Theophilus, patriarch
-grius to Constantinople must be placed during or of Alexandria, would have ordained him a bishop:;
before the short time (A. D. 379 to 381) of but he fled from him to avoid an elevation which
Gregory's episcopate at Constantinople. But ac- he did not covet. Palladius has recorded many
cording to Palladius (whose personal connexion singular instances of his temptations and austeriwith Evagrius would make his testimony preferable, ties; and, besides a separate memoir of him, has
if the text of his Lausiac History was in a more mentioned him in his notices of several other leadsatisfactory state), Evagrius was ordained deacon ing monks. Evagrius died apparently about A.D.
by Gregory Nyssen, and taken by him to the first 399; at the age of fifty-four.
council of Constantinople (the second general coun- There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining
cil), and left by him in that city, under the pa- what were the writings of Evagrius. Some are
tronage of Nectarius, who succeeded Gregory known to us only from the notice of them in anNazianzen. The age and intellectual character of cient writers, others are extant only in a Latin
Evagrius disposed him to polemical discussion; and version, and of others we have only disjointed
" he obtained high reputation in controversy," says fragments. As nearly as we can ascertain, he is
Palladius, " in the great city, exulting with the the author of the following works:-l. Movaxas
ardour of youth in opposing every form of heresy." (perhaps we should read MovaXLKs) ) nrepl IlpaKHis popularity was probably increased by the TlKicS. Fragments of this work, but apparently
beauty of his person, which he set off by great much interpolated, are given in the Monumenta
attention to his dress. The handsome deacon won Eccles. Graec. of Cotelerius, vol. iii. pp. 68-102,
and returned the affection of a married lady of rank; and in the edition of the Dialogus Vita St.
but Evagrius, though vain, was not profligate, and Joannis C/hrysostomi, erroneously ascribed to Palstruggled hard against the sinful passion. It is ladius, published by Emmer. Bigotius (4to., Paris,
doubtful, however, if he would have broken away 1680) pp. 349-355. Possibly the whole work
from the snare, but for an extraordinary dream; in is extant in these fragments (which are all given
which he dreamed that he took a solemn oath to in the Bibliothweca Patrunm of Gallandius, vol. vii.);
leave Constantinople. Deeming himself bound by although a quotation given by Socrates (Hist.
his oath, he at once left the city; and by this step, Eccles. iii. 7) as from this work (but which Coteaccording to Sozomen, preserved not only his vir- lerius considers was probably taken from the nexttue, but his life, which was in imminent danger mentioned work) is not included in it. An introfrom the jealousy of the lady's husband. His first ductory. address to Anatolius, given by Cotelerius,
sojourn after leaving Constantinople, was at Jeru- was evidently designed as a preface both to this
salem. Here, recovering from the alarm into which work and the next. A Latin translation of the
his dream had thrown him, he gave way again to Monachtizs was revised by Gennadius, who lived.vanity and the love of dress; but a long and se- toward the close of the fifth century. 2. Irvwyere illness, and the exhortation of Melania Ro- -TcOS$ WO' TOS 7 KOaTaOtwOfva (or arEpl?TU