Mother and Daughter Withdraw

Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπαύσατο τῇ μητρὶ, ἤ τε τῆς παιδοτροφίας φροντὶς καὶ ἡ τῆς παιδεύσεώς τε καὶ καταστάσεως τῶν τέκνων μέριμνα, καὶ αἱ πλείους τῆς ὑλιοδεστέρας ζωῆς ἀφορμαὶ, εἰς τὰ τέκνα κατεμερίσθησαν· τότε, καθὼς προείρηται, γίνεται σύμβουλος τῆς μητρὸς ἡ τῆς παρθένου ζωὴ πρὸς τὴν ἐμφιλόσοφον ταύτην καὶ ἄυλον τοῦ βίου διαγωγήν· καὶ ἀποστήσασα τῶν ἐν συνηθείᾳ πάντων, πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης μέτρον μετήγαγεν· ὁμότιμον αὐτὴν γενέσθαι τῷ πληρώματι τῶν παρθένων παρασκευάσασα, ὡς καὶ τραπέζης μιᾶς, καὶ κοίτης, καὶ πάντων τῶν πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν κατὰ τὸ ἴσον συμμετέχειν αὐταῖς, πάσης τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν διαφορᾶς ὑφαιρεθείσης αὐτῶν τῆς ζωῆς. Καὶ τοιαύτη τις ἧν ἡ τοῦ βίου τάξις, καὶ τοσοῦτον τὸ ὑψος τῆς φιλοσοφίας, καὶ ἡ σεμνὴ τῆς ζωῆς πολιτεία ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμέραν τε καὶ νύκτα διαγωγῇ, ὡς ὑπερβαίνειν τὴν ἐκ τῶν λόγων ὑπογραφήν. Καθάπερ γὰρ αί διὰ θανάτου τῶν σωμάτων ἐκλυθεῖσαι ψυχαὶ, καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον μεριμνῶν συνεκλύονται, οὕτως κεχώριστο αὐτων ἡ ζωὴ, καὶ ἀπῴκιστο πάσης βιωτικῆς ματαιότητος, καὶ πρὸς μίμησιν τῆς τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωῆς ἐῥῥυθίζετο. Ἐν οἶς γὰρ οὐ θυμὸς, οὐ φθονος, οὐ μῖσος, οὐχ ὑπεροψία, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων ἐνεωρᾶτο· ἥ τε τῶν ματαίων ἐπιθυμία, τιμῆς τε καὶ δόξης, καὶ τύφου, καὶ ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων ἐκβεβλημένων. Τρυφὴ δὲ ἧν ἡ ἐγκράτεια, καὶ δόξα τὸ μὴ γινωσκεσθαι. Πλοῦτος δὲ ἧν ἡ ἀκτημοσύνη, καὶ τὸ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑλικὴν περιουσίαν, οἶόν τινα κόνιν τῶν σωμάτων, ἀποτινάξασθαι. Ἔργον δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ταύτην σπουδαζομένων οὐδὲν, ὅτι μὴ πάρεγον. Μόνη δὲ ἡ τῶν θείων μελέτη, καὶ τὸ τῆς προσευχῆς ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ ἡ ἄπαυστος ὑμνῳδία· κατὰ τὸ ἴσον συμπαρατεινομένη τῷ χρόνῳ, διὰ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας πάσης· ὥστε αὐταῖς καὶ ἔργον εἴναι τοῦτο, καὶ ἔργον, ἀνάπαυσιν. Τὴν τοίνυν τοιαύτην διαγωγὴν τίς ἂν ὑπ' ὅψιν ἀγάγοι λόγος ἀνθρώπινος; Παρ' οἶς μεθόριος ἧν ἡ ζωὴ τῆς τε ἀνθρωπίνης καὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου φύσεως. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐλευθερωθῆναι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων παθημάτων τὴν φύσιν κρεῖττον ἤ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἧν· τὸ δὲ ἐν σώματι φαίνεσθαι καὶ σχήματι περιειλῆφθαι, καὶ τοῖς αἰσθητικοῖς ὀργάνοις συζῇν, ἐν τούτῳ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς τε καὶ ἀσωμάτου φύσεως τὸ ἔλαττον εἶχον. Τάχα δ' ἄν τις τολμήσας εἴποι μηδὲ καταδεεστέραν τὴν παραλλαγὴν εἰναι· ὅτι σαρκὶ συζῶντες, καθ' ὁμοιότητα τῶν ἀσωμάτων δυνάμεων, οὐκ ἐβαροῦντο τῷ ἐφολκίῳ τοῦ σώματος· ἀλλ' ἀνωφερής τε καὶ μετέωρος ἧν αὐτῶν ἡ ζωὴ, ταῖς οὐρανίαις συμμετεωροποροῦσα δυνάμεσι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Βιον Της Ὅσιας Μακρινης

When the cares of bringing up a family and concern for their education and position in life had reached an end, and the property, a frequent cause of worldliness, had been divided among the children, then, as I said, the life of the virgin became the guide of the mother for this philosophical and spiritual way of life, and drawing her mother from all accustomed behaviour, Macrina lead her to adopt her own standard of humility, inclining her to live as an equal with the staff of maids, so as to have one table and bed with them, and so in all the things of life to be an equal, being done with all differences of rank. Such was the manner of their life, and so great was the height of their philosophy, and so holy the arrangement of their lives day and night, that it surpasses verbal description. For just as souls released from the body by death are saved from the cares of this life, so was their life withdrawn from all worldly vanities and well ordered to an imitation of the angelic life. For among them there was no anger, or  jealousy, or hatred or pride, nor anything else like such things, since they had cast off all vain desires for honour and glory, all vanity, arrogance and the everything like them. Continence was their luxury, and their glory was not to be known. Their wealth was their poverty, and the casting away of all material superfluities like dust from their bodies. Of  the things eagerly pursued in this life there was not even a little concern. Nothing there was but the care of Divine things and unceasing prayer and endless hymnody, lasting as long as time itself, practised night and day, so that to them this was work and work was rest. What human speech could describe for the eye such a thing as this, a life on the cusp of human and spiritual nature? For that his nature should be free from human weaknesses is more than can be asked of man, but only by appearing in bodily form did these fall short of the angelic and immaterial nature. Perhaps some might even dare to say that the difference was not to their disadvantage, for living in the body and yet after the likeness of  immaterial beings, they were not weighed down by the burden of the body, but their life was exalted to the skies and they walked on high together with the powers of heaven. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Saint Macrina