CHAPTER LV

OF DOROTHEOS THE PRIEST

AND there was Dorotheos, a priest, who used to live in a cave, and he possessed more goodness than many men, and led a spiritual life of high excellence; now he had been held to be worthy of consecration to the priesthood, and he performed the offices thereof for the brethren who dwelt in the caves. Unto this blessed man Melania the Less, the kinswoman of Melania the Great, concerning whom we are about to speak later, sent five hundred darics and begged him to spend them on behalf of the brethren [who were there]; buthe only took three of them, and then sent the remainder to the wandering monk Diocles, a man of knowledge and understanding, saying, “O our brother Diocles, thou art wiser than I am; I am not equal [to spending these]”; and having taken them Diocles was able to spend them wisely on those whom he knew of a certainty to be in want.