O divine child of the heavenly Fish,
earnestly desire
a holy heart,
Having received among mortals the immortal fountain
of the wondrous waters. Refresh your soul, beloved,
In the eternal waters of munificent wisdom.
Receive the honey-sweet food of the Savior of the saints,
Being hungry, eat having the Fish in your hands.
Fatten me with Fish straightway, I beseech you,
master and Savior.
I prayer you, O light of the dying, that mother may rest well.
Aschandius, father, beloved of my soul,
with my sweet mother and brothers
In the peace of the Fish, remember your Pectorius. (Epitaph of Pectorious, c.
A.D. 350-400, in The Faith of the Early Fathers, 3 vols. [trans. William
A. Jurgens; Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1970], 1:79)
