II. THE LIFE OF ST. MACRINA

Gregory's account of his sister's life is couched in the form of a letter addressed to ^[11] the monk Olympius, who had been with him at the Council of Antioch.

There is as yet no critical edition of this part of Gregory's works, and it has been necessary to use the text given in Migne's Patrologia Graeca, XLVI, pp. 960 ff.⁴

The absence of a good text is a serious drawback in a theological treatise where much depends on niceties of language, but in the present case the narrative is so straightforward that no special inconvenience arises. With very few exceptions there is little margin for doubt as to the meaning of the Greek. To reproduce it satisfactorily in English is another matter. In the opening pages of his letter Gregory indulges his well-known rhetorical tendency so freely that it is difficult to find suitable equivalents in English for all the synonyms which he employs. Accordingly in a few places a synonym that adds nothing to the sense has been omitted in the present translation. Occasionally a sentence has been ^[12] recast with some freedom, in order to make a readable narrative for the English reader.

But when Gregory gets to grips with his subject and describes his arrival at the monastery, the narrative becomes so clear and straightforward as to present no difficulties to the translator. A literal version of the artless and beautiful tale is all that is needed. That Gregory's style should undergo so remarkable a transformation at this point is a convincing proof that he is giving a true account of actual facts, written down shortly after their occurrence.

It is surprising that a story of antiquity, so charmingly told and full of human interest, should have attracted so little attention. Hitherto it has not been accessible to any but scholars. The Latin version in Migne is a useful guide to the meaning of the Greek, but cannot be relied on, as in places it is merely a paraphrase. Had the story been written in the Greek of the fourth century B.C. instead of that of the fourth century A.D., it would probably have been one of the world's classics. ^[13] 

No attempt has been made to break up the matter into numbered sections; this will be the task of a future critical editor. But the pages of Migne arc given in the margin, and a number of paragraph headings provided for the convenience of the reader.