Page:Aelfric's Lives of Saints Vol 2.djvu/25

 of Christ's  right-believing  congregation  is  now  pastured.'    Zosimus answered her:   '  Oh  thou  holy  mother,  God  hath  granted  permanent peace to  thy  holy  prayers. [But fulfil  the  consolation  of  an  unworthy] monk,  and  for  the  Lord's  sake  [pray  for  the]  world  and  for me, a  sinful  man,  that  the  toil  of  this  journey  may  not  be  [rendered vain] to  me,  and  the  way  over  so  much  desert.'     [Then  said  she:] 'It becometh  thee,  abbot  Zosimus,  to    pray  for  me  and   for  all, because that  [thou  art  in  the  priestjhood,  as  I  before  said. [But for thy  sake]   and  because  we  have  the   command  of  obedience, [that which  is  commanded  me  by  thee]   I  will  do  with  a  good will.'    And  thus  saying,  she,  [having  turned  to  the   east,]  with eyes uplifted  towards  heaven  and  with  her  arms   stretched  out, began   to  pray  with  the  motions  of  her  lips  in  silence,  so  that no voice  at  all  was  heard  that  anyone  could  perceive;  and  thus Zosimus could  not  understand  anything  of  the  prayer. He stood indeed, as  he  himself  said,  trembling  and  looking  down  upon  the earth, and  speaking  nothing  at  all. He swore  verily,  taking  God as a  witness  to   his   words,  that  while   she  thus   [continued]    in the  perseverance  of  her  prayer,  and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  a  little while from  the  earth,  that  he  saw  her  lifted  up,  as  it  were  the space of  a  man's  ell,  above  the  earth,  and  began  to  pray  hanging in the  air. When he  saw  this,  he  was  seized  with  great  fright, and prostrated  himself  on  the  earth,  and  was  suffused  with  sweat and vehemently   agitated. He   durst  not    speak    anything,  save only, to  himself,   ['Lord,  have   mercy  upon  me']. Whilst  then he lay  prostrate  on   the    earth,  he    [was    troubled    in   his  mind, considering whether]   at  all  it   might  be  a  spirit  that,  by  some strange  appearance,  was  praying  there. She then,  I  mean  the woman, turned  about  and  lifted  up  the  monk,  thus  saying:  '  Why dost  thou    trouble    thy    thoughts    to   take    offence    at  me,   as    if I  were  some   spirit  praying  deceitfully? But  know,  thou  man, that  I   am   a   sinful    woman,    though    endued,   nevertheless,   with