Baring-Gould’s sources: Almost all Latin Martyrologies, not however that of Bede, nor by the Greeks. Authorities:—Two lives, one by Evagrius, translated into Latin by Ruffinus of Aquileia, the other by Palladius, in his Hist. Lausiaca; both were contemporaries, and had visited and conversed with the saint.
No solitary after S. Antony acquired such renown as S. John of Egypt. He was not only respected by the people, but by emperors. The most celebrated doctors and ecclesiastical writers, S. Jerome [translator of the Bible into Latin (d. 420)], S. Augustine, S. Prosper, Cassian, Palladius, Ruffinus, S. Eucher, and S. Fulgentius, have extolled him. John was born at Lycopolis in the lower Thebaid [the desert region of Upper (southern) Egypt], the modern Siout. He exercised the trade of a carpenter till he was twenty-five, and then, the desire of labouring only for his salvation, of coming to a death-grip with flesh and blood, possessed him; and he placed himself under the direction of an aged hermit, whom he served with alacrity and diligence. The old man fearing lest the merit of this service should be injured by any admixture of human affection, affected great capriciousness, and gave his disciple many absurd orders. For instance, he one day commanded him to plant his staff in the sand and water it daily. John obeyed without a murmur, and though he had to go two miles for water, continued his task for a year. On another occasion, he ordered John to throw their dinner out of the window. He was obeyed without a trace of hesitation. On one occasion when some visitors were with the old man, to exhibit the docility of his disciple, he ordered John to run to a rock some distance off, and roll it up to his door. John ran, nothing doubting, and laid his shoulder, and then breast against the huge mass, and toiled ineffectually to move it, dripping with perspiration, till his master recalled him. On the death of the hermit, John spent five years in visiting the different monasteries of Egypt, and then he chose a cave in the face of a rock, near his native place, and walled up the entrance, leaving only a door and window. In this grotto he spent the remaining thirty-eight or forty years of his life.
However great may have been his desire to live in solitude, his fame brought great numbers to visit him, so that a great house had to be erected at the foot of his rock to receive the pilgrims. His abstinence was great. He ate nothing that had been cooked, not even bread, but took only a little fruit at sun-down. He was given an extraordinary insight into the future, and many of his prophecies have been recorded. The most famous were those made by him to Theodosius [name of Roman emperors; Theodosius I (379–395) made Christianity the state religion] the Great, to whom he announced beforehand the irruption of the barbarians into the empire, the revolts that would take place, and the means he must employ against them. This prince specially consulted him concerning two enemies with whom he was called to fight. One was Maximus, who had killed the emperor Gratian in 383, and driven the emperor Valentinian from his possessions in 387. John assured him of victory, and promised that it would be unattended by great effusion of blood. Theodosius defeated Maximus in two encounters in Pannonia [a Roman province roughly covering western Hungary and parts of Austria and Croatia], passed the Alps without difficulty, pursued and surprised Maximus at Aquileia, where he cut off his head. Four years after, Eugenius having seized on the empire of the East, through the credit of Arbogastes, who had strangled the younger Valentinian, Theodosius resolved to march against him. Eugenius, who awaited him, prepared for the combat by consulting the augury and the entrails of victims. Theodosius sent the eunuch Eutropius into Egypt to invite the hermit John to come to him and declare to him the will of God. The saint refused to leave his cell, but sent word to the emperor by Eutropius that he would gain a victory, which would however be very bloody, and that he would only survive it a short while. Both predictions were accomplished. A battle was fought in the plains of Aquileia, on Sept. 6th, 394, in which Eugenius was defeated; Theodosius lived till January 17th of the following year, and died leaving the empire divided between his two sons Arcadius and Honorius.
Palladius was in the Nitrian desert with his master Evagrius, Albinus, Ammon, and three others; and their conversation turned on the reputation of S. John. Evagrius expressed his desire to know if all that was reported of his great virtue was true, and to have his powers of discernment tested by some one of experience. Palladius at once resolved to go. He was then aged twenty-six. He started without communicating his design to any one, and made his journey partly on foot, and partly in a boat, for it was the period of the overflow of the Nile. This is an unhealthy time, owing to the evaporation of the slime left by the retreating waters; and Palladius fell ill on his way. On his recovery he prosecuted his journey, and reached the vestibule of the hermit's cell, where he learnt that John only gave audiences on the Sabbath (Saturday) and the Sunday, and that he must therefore wait in patience till the Saturday. On that day he found the saint seated at his window, through which he conversed with all who approached. When John saw him, he greeted him through an interpreter, and asked his object in visiting him, saying at the same time that he looked like a disciple of Evagrius. Palladius satisfied his inquiries, and began to converse with him, when Alypius, the governor of the province, arrived, and approaching hastily, John signed to Palladius to withdraw whilst he received the governor. Palladius waited with some impatience, thinking in his heart that John was not free from the common infirmity of respect of persons. But the saint divined his thoughts, and sending his interpreter to him, bade him not be impatient, for he would speedily dismiss the governor. When Palladius was recalled, the hermit gently reproved him for his thoughts, saying, "It is not the whole, but those that are sick that need the physician. Thou art constantly engaged in labouring for thy salvation, but that man is immersed in the cares of this world, and can scarcely snatch an hour from business for the cultivation of his soul. Whom should I greet and prefer most readily?" and putting out his hand he gently cuffed Palladius. "And now to proceed with thy affairs," continued John. "I know that the thoughts of thy father have distracted thee of late, and thou hast been thinking of returning from the solitary life to him. But know that both he and thy sister have entered into religion like thyself. Thy father will live seven years longer. Think no more of returning to thy home, for it is broken up. He that putteth his hand to the plough, and looketh back, is not fit for the kingdom of God."
These words consoled and encouraged Palladius; and the saint having asked him with a smile whether he wished to be a bishop, Palladius answered in the same bantering style, that he was one already, as his name implied. "And prithee what is thy diocese?" asked the hermit. "I rule the diocese of the kitchen, and my episcopal jurisdiction is exercised over pots and pans," answered Palladius. "Enough of this joking," said the hermit. "In truth I tell thee thou shalt be a bishop one of these days, and shalt suffer many contradictions. But, if thou wouldest escape them, leave not thy solitude, for so long as thou remainest there, none will ordain thee bishop."
Some years after, this prophecy was verified; for, being threatened with dropsy, Palladius left the desert for Alexandria, and thence afterwards for Bithynia, where he was ordained bishop of Helenopolis. He was speedily enveloped in the persecution against S. Chrysostom [St. John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople (d. 407)], and was obliged to remain concealed for eleven months in a dark chamber.
Palladius returned from his visit to the Nitrian desert, and related all he had seen and heard to Evagrius, who was stirred to undertake the journey himself, and his account of this visit is found in the pages of Ruffinus.
