Theodoret, a well-known Church historian at the beginning of the fifth century, relates that his mother suffered a great deal from a disease in one of her eyes, which made it hard for her to see. Having heard of a holy hermit, who lived alone in a cell near Antioch, she went to him, hoping he could cure her. She was only twenty-three years old, and very beautiful. Being fond of dressing fancily, she adorned herself with bracelets, earrings, and other expensive jewelry, trying by every means in her power to add to her personal beauty.

She arrived at the cell magnificently dressed, and at the sight of all her splendor, the man of God got the idea of curing the good lady’s pride. While most would probably compliment the young woman’s tastes, the old hermit, in his wisdom, knew that such vanity was an evil which was much more to be regretted than the illness the young woman suffered in her eye.

"Child," said the old hermit, "were a painter, highly skilled in his art, to paint a portrait, and were a man, altogether uneducated in painting, to give it some additional touches, don’t you think that the artist would feel offended?"

Puzzled, the woman pondered the question. The answer was quite obvious to her, but she wondered why the old man had chosen such an analogy and what the point behind his question was. She looked up at him, her eyes full of confusion. Seeing this, the hermit smiled.

"My child," he continued, "can you doubt that the Creator is offended at your trying to correct His wisdom with your ignorance? And His skill with your awkwardness? This is what you do when you try to improve and to perfect His work in your own person."

Deeply moved, the young woman threw herself at the feet of the old man, and thanked him for his wise and just remark. Returning to the original purpose of her visit, she then humbly begged him to obtain from God the cure of her eye. Through humility, he resisted her pleas for a while; but, overcome at last, he made the Sign of the Cross upon her eye, and it was instantly cured.

The young lady’s son, Theodoret, then tells us, "As soon as my mother returned home, she threw away her cosmetics, cast off her jewelry - in which she gloried so much - and ever after dressed in the neat, simple, and unglamorous way which the man of God had recommended to her."