A.D. 605. THE BLESSED GRE GOBY DIES. 281 greatly glorified God, because of his vision. And after this, being in the territories of the enemy, when he compelled his soldiers to abstain from violence and plunder, and did not give them their usual pay, they began to entreat Phoeas to govern them as their emperor. And Phocas complied with their request, and took upon him the royal purple. And Maurice, hearing this, lost all courage, and yielded to the stream of circumstances that flowed against him, and fled into a wood near the sea ; in which he and his wife and his Ave sons were slain, by command of Phocas Augustus C&sar. Phocas therefore usurped the Roman empire, and reigned eight years. A.D. 605. Which is the second year of the reign of Phocas, the blessed Gregory departed from this life to the Lord. This blessed man, while still alive, was once walking through the forum of Trajan, the emperor, which he had himself adorned with beautiful edifices, and recollecting a judgment of bis with which he had consoled a widow, as a reward for this great humanity of the emperor, he went in haste to the church of the holy Apostle Peter, and there it is related that he wept a long time for the unbelief and error of that most merciful emperor, till on the next night, he received an answer that he had been heard on behalf of Trajan, on condition of never again praying for any other pagan. And we are to believe that thus the soul of Trajan was delivered from the torments of hell, so that, though it is placed in hell, it, by the mercy of God, does not feel the smallest of the torments of hell. In fact, the same fire of Gehenna, if it is able equally to detain many sinners, at the same time is able, by the mercy of God, ta avoid inflicting on all of them equal punishment. For souls in Gehenna feel torture according to the degree of their guilt. Now the act of piety by which Trajan moved God and the blessed Father Gregory to mercy, was this. At a certain time, when Trajan was hastening very eagerly to some war, a certain very poor widow woman came to him, dissolved in tears, and saying, "M y son has been put to death, though innocent, by your orders, and I entreat you that, as you cannot restore him to me, you will condescend at least to avenge his blood." And when Trajan promised that, if he returned in safety from the war, he would avenge him, the widow said, " And if you die in battle, who will then do me