stribute the eighty thousand pieces of gold which he
found in the treasury of his church, among hospitals and monasteries. He
consecrated to the service of the poor the great revenues of his see,
then the first in all the East, both in riches and rank. Besides these,
incredible charities flowed through his hands in continual streams,
which his example excited every one to contribute according to their
abilities. When his stewards complained that he impoverished his church,
his answer was, that God would provide for them. To vindicate his
conduct, and silence their complaints, he recounted to them a vision he
had in his youth, of a beautiful woman, brighter than the sun, with an
olive garland on her head, whom he understood to be Charity, or
compassion for the miserable; who said to him "I am the eldest daughter
of the great King. If you enjoy my favor, I will introduce you to the
great monarch of the universe. No one has so great an interest with him
as myself, who was the occasion of his coming down from heaven to become
man for the redemption of mankind." When the Persians had plundered the
East, and sacked Jerusalem, St. John entertained all that fled from
their swords into Egypt; and sent to Jerusalem, for the use of the poor
there, besides a large sum of money, one thousand sacks of corn, as many
of pulse, one thousand pounds of iron, one thousand loads of fish, one
thousand barrels of wine, and one thousand Egyptian workmen to assist in
rebuilding the churches; adding, in his letter to Modestus, the bishop,
that he wished it had been in his power to have gone in person, and
contributed the labor of his hands towards carrying on that holy work.
He also sent two bishops and an abbot to ransom captives. No number of
necessitous objects, no losses, no straits to which he saw himself often
reduced, discouraged him, or made him lose his confidence in divine
providence, and resources never failed him in the end. When a certain
person, whom he had privately relieved with a most bountiful alms,
expressed his gratitude in the strongest terms, the saint cut him short,
saying, "Brother, I have not yet spilt my blood for you, as Jesus
Christ, my master and my God, commands me." A certain merchant, who had
been thrice ruined by shipwrecks, had as often found relief from the
good patriarch, who the third time gave him a ship belonging to the
church, laden with twenty thousand measures of corn. This vessel was
driven by a storm to