“A certain brother once came to Sinai where he found the brethren hard at work and he said to them, Labour not for the meat that perishes. Silvanus, who overheard the remark, directed his disciple Zacharias to give him a book and lead him to an empty cell. When the ninth hour came, the brother looked towards the entrance expecting to be called to a meal, but no one came, so he went to Silvanus and said, Father, do not the brethren eat to-day? Silvanus replied, Oh yes, they have eaten. Then why was I not called? Because, said Silvanus, thou art a spiritual man who needs no such food. We others, being carnal, must eat, and therefore we work. Thou hast in truth chosen the better part, and art able to study all day requiring nothing. On hearing this, the brother saw that he was at fault, and said, Father, forgive me. Silvanus replied, Surely Martha is necessary to Mary, it was due to her that Mary was able to pray. Silvanus himself worked with his hands, chiefly at basket-making, so as to earn his living and not depend on alms.” The baskets, we gather from other remarks, were used to pack dates for export. Like other hermits, Silvanus had visions. One day he sat for a long time without speaking and then burst into tears. It was, he said, because he saw men of his own kind going to hell, while many secular persons went to heaven. Among the sayings attributed to him was this one, “Woe unto him who has more renown than merit.”[148] Other early hermits were Galac̭tion and his wife Episteme, whose experiences were noted in the _Menology_ of Basileus,[149] and were worked up into a longer account by Simeon Metaphrastes. They were from Emesa and took ten days to reach the height called Pouplios (? _Rubus_, the Bush), near Mount Sinai (τὸ Σινᾶ ὄρος), where they found ten hermits who were joined by Galac̭tion. Episteme dwelt at some distance with four virgins. But the Roman governor (Ursus) sent for Galac̭tion. Episteme, apprised by a dream, came forward to die for him. Both endured the penalty of death, and Eutolmios, at one time their slave, recovered and brought back their bodies.[150] The settlement where Episteme dwelt was afterwards allotted to the slaves who were brought into Sinai and appointed to serve the convent by the emperor Justinian († 563). The settlement lay on a slope north-east of the convent facing the valley, and was pointed out to Bishop Pococke in the year 1734.[151] The existence here of a settlement of women, and the value which was set on the bodies of the hermits, are worth noting in connection with the finding of the body of St. Katherine of Alexandria, to which we shall return later. Other saints who were connected with Sinai were the well-known Cosmas and Damianus, Arab doctors who taught Christianity. There are no traditions regarding their coming into Sinai, but their names were attached to a hermitage, now dilapidated, which stood at Tholas, in the Wadi Tla’ah, and was dedicated to them.