When considering tales from the lives of the great saints, we should be more mindful of the moral imparted by the story than strictly attentive to the accuracy of its details. We must take into account the perspective of the writer, his proximity to the events he describes, and his moral purposes. To do anything less would defeat the purpose of the anecdote. Yet I am confident that many of the stories related by the biographer of Euthymios the Younger (823 A.D.?–898 A.D.) are based on actual events, and are not the idle speculations of the cloister. One of these stories we will now relate.
Euthymios
Euthymios Declares His Life’s Road
At some point in every man’s life, he must declare the road he wishes to follow. This statement may be openly verbal, or it may be spoken indirectly, through actions and deeds. It does not matter how the statement is made: the point is that it is made, whether the man is aware of it or not. There exists a need in every human heart to declare itself to the outside world, and this need cannot indefinitely be suppressed. It must find a voice.
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