Paradise of the Holy Fathers (Palladius' Lausiac History, Apophthegmata Patrum)

Of Love, Charity, and hospitality “« “for thyself.’”? Now the brother did not wish to accept the camel, but [his companion] entreated him [to do sol, saying, ““Tf thou dost not take him we shall waste what we have paid ‘in hire for him.” So the brother took the camel and brought up his palm leaves. And after he had gone up to Egypt that brother took the camel a second time, and he came back that he himself might go up; and the brother said unto him, ‘‘ Where ‘“takest thou the camel?” and he said unto him, ‘‘To Scete, “so that we also may bring up our palm leaves”; and that brother repented and was very sorry, and he expressed contrition and said, ‘‘ Forgive me, my brethren, for your great ‘‘charity hath taken away my hire.” 425. One of the brethren said, ‘‘ Whilst we were sitting and ‘‘talking about love, Abba Joseph said, ‘Do we know what “« “love is?’ And he said that Abba Agathon had a little knife, ‘¢and that a certain brother came to him and said, ‘Father, ** ¢the little knife which thou hast is pretty’; and Abba Agathon “did not let him depart until he had taken it.”

426. Abba Agathon used to say, “‘If1 could find an Arian to “whom I could give my body and take his in its place, I would ‘do so, because this would be perfect love.” 427. A brother asked Abba Muthues, saying, ‘‘ What shall I “‘ do if a brother come unto me, and it be a time of fast or the ‘‘ morning, and I am in tribulation?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou art afflicted, and dost eat with the brother thou “«doest well; but if thou dost not look at the man, and dost ‘eat, this is a matter of thy will only.” 428. Mother Sarah used to say, ‘‘It is a good thing for a ‘‘ man to give alms, even though he do so for the approbation “© of the children of men, for from this he will come to do it for ‘*God’s sake.” 429. A brother asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘If I finda ‘‘ place wherein there is pleasure for the brethren, dost thou <¢ wish me to dwell there?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Where “thou wilt not do harm to thy brother, there dwell.” 430. Abba Poemen used to say that whenever Isidore, the priest of Scete, used to address the brethren in the church, he spake the following words only: ‘‘My brethren, it is written, ‘Forgive thy brother that thou also mayest be accounted ‘« worthy of forgiveness” (St. Luke vi, 37; St. Matthew vi, 14).

431. They used to say that at the beginning Abba Zeno refused to take anything from any man, and that those who brought him things used to go away sorrowfully because he would not be persuaded to accept them from them. And other men used to come and ask him to give them gifts as of a great old man, and they also went away sorrowfully because he re- The Savings of the holy Fathers fused to do so. Then the old man said within himself, ‘‘Those ‘‘who bring go away in sorrow, and those who beg also go ‘away grieving because they have received nothing; I will, ‘therefore, act as follows: If any man bringeth me anything ‘«] will take it, and if any man asketh me for anything I will ‘give it”; and he did so, and pleased every one. _ 432. The disciple of Abba Theodore said, ‘‘A certain man on ‘‘ one occasion came to sell onions, and he filled a basin with ‘“some of them and gave them to us; and the old man said ‘“to me, ‘Fill [the basin] with wheat and give it to him.’ Now “‘there were two baskets of wheat there, one full of clean ‘‘wheat, and the other was full of wheat which was dirty, and ‘*] filled the basin with the dirty wheat and gave it to him. ‘‘ Then the old man looked at me in wrath and anger, and in ‘‘my fear I fell down, and broke the basin; and the old man ‘* said unto me, ‘Arise, thou art not akin to me, but I know “well what I said unto thee.’ And the old man went in and ‘* filled his garment with clean wheat, and gave it to the man ‘‘with the onions, together with his onions.”

433. A certain monk used to dwell by the side of a coenobium, and he was occupied in great ascetic labours, and led a life of hard work, and strangers came to the coenobium, and forced him to eat before his time; and afterwards the brethren said unto him, ‘‘Art thou not now afflicted, father?’ He said unto them, ‘‘Although I am afflicted I have cut off my PSESITe: 434. A certain old man used to say, ‘‘It is right for a man ‘‘to take up the burden for those who are akin (07 near) to ‘‘ him, whatsoever it may be, and, so to speak, to put his own ‘“soul in the place of that of his neighbour, and to become, if ‘it were possible, a double man; and he must suffer, and ‘“weep, and mourn with him, and finally the matter must be ‘“ accounted by him asif he himself had put on the actual body ‘‘ of his neighbour, and as if he had acquired his countenance ‘‘and soul, and he must suffer for him as he would for him- ‘self. For thus is it written:—‘ We are all one body,’ and this ‘« [passage] also affordeth information concerning the holy and ‘* mysterious kiss.”

435. An old man said that the father had a custom of going to the cells of the new brethren, who wished to live by themselves, to visit them, lest one of them might be tempted and injured in his mind by the devils, and if they found any man who had been harmed they would bring him to the church, and would place a wash-basin full of water [in the midst], and when prayer had been made on behalf of him that had been brought there, all the brethren would wash themselves and Of Love, Charity, and hospitality then pour some of the water upon him, and immediately that brother was cleansed. 436. A brother asked an old man, saying, “‘If I find a ‘brother concerning whom I have heard [that he hath com- ** mitted] some offence, I never rest until 1 have brought him ‘into my cell; but if I see a man who leadeth a good life I ‘bring him unto myself gladly.” The old man said unto him, ‘Do that which is good twice over unto the former man, for ‘he is sick, and he needeth help.” 437. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Defeat cometh to a man if, ‘« when he is reviled and treated with contempt by his brother, ‘he doth not shew him evenness of heart before he repenteth ‘*and asketh him to forgive him.”

438. There was a monk, and away on the mountain, which was about ten miles distant from him, was another monk; and the first monk had some bread in his cell, and he meditated in his mind and determined to invite the other monk to come and partake of his bread. And again he thought in his mind, saying, ‘‘ Since the bread is with me I shall give my brother the ‘«Jabour [of walking] ten miles [if I invite him to come here], ‘« but it will be more helpful [to him] if I take one half of the ‘bread which I possess, and carry it to him”; so he took the bread to carry it to the cell of the other brother. Now as he was journeying along, he tripped up, and fell, and injured one of his fingers, and as the blood was running down he began to cry because of the pain; and there appeared unto him suddenly an angel who said unto him, ‘‘Why weepest thou?” And the monk said unto him, ‘‘I have hurt my finger, and it ‘‘ paineth me”; and the angel said unto him, ‘‘ Dost thou weep “because of this? Weep not, for the number of every step ‘‘ which thou takest for our Lord’s sake is written down, and ‘is estimated at a great reward (ov hire) before Him, and the ‘report of the labour of such things goeth up to Him. And ‘that thou mayest be certain that such is the case, behold, in ‘‘thy presence I will take some of this blood and carry [it] to ‘our Lord”; and immediately the monk was healed, and with rejoicing and thanksgiving to God he set out again on his journey to go to his companion. And having come to him and given him the bread, he related unto him concerning the love for man which is found in the good Lord, the Creator of the universe, and then went back to his cell. Now after one day he took the other half of the bread and went to carry it to another monk. And it happened that he also was found to be burning with anxiety to emulate works of this kind, and he wanted to do even as the other monk had done; and having set out to go and carry the bread of the first monk, they hap-

The Sayings of the holy Fathers pened to meet each other on the way. Then the first monk who had done good to the other monk began to say unto him, ‘*T possessed a certain treasure, and thou wishest to rob me ‘*fof it]”; and the other monk said unto him, ‘‘Where is it ‘‘ written that the strait and narrow door is sufficient for thy- ‘* self alone? Let us, even us, go in with thee.” Then straightway, whilst they were holding converse, the angel of the Lord appeared, and said unto them, ‘‘Your contending hath as- ‘*cended unto the Lord even as a sweet smell.” 439. On one occasion, a certain excellent man, who feared God in his life and works, and who was living in the world, went to Abba Poemen, and some of the brethren, who were also with the old man, were asking him questions [wishing] to hear a word from him. Then Abbé Poemen said to the man who was in the world, ‘‘Speak a word to the brethren”; but he entreated him, saying, ‘‘Forgive me, father, but I came to ‘‘learn.” And the old man pressed him [to speak], and, as the force of his urging increased, he said, ‘‘I am a man living in ‘the world, and I sell vegetables, and because I do not know ‘“ how to speak from a book, listen ye to a parable. There was ‘*a certain man who had three friends, and he said to the first, ‘«*Since I desire to see the Emperor come with me’; and the ‘‘friend said unto him, ‘I will come with thee half the way.’ ‘* And the man said to the second friend, ‘Come, go with me ‘*“to the Emperor’s presence’; and the friend said unto him, ‘**T will come with thee as far as his palace, but I cannot go ‘* ‘with thee inside’; and the man said the same unto his third ‘‘ friend, who answered and said, ‘I will come with thee, and ‘**T will go inside the palace with thee, and I will even stand ‘* “up before the Emperor and speak on thy behalf.’”’ Then the brethren questioned him, wishing to learn fromhim the strength of the riddle (ov dark saying), and he answered and said unto them, ‘‘ The first friend is abstinence, which leadeth as far as “one half of the way; and the second friend is purity and ‘‘ holiness, which lead to heaven; and the third friend is loving- ‘‘ kindness, which stablisheth a man before God, and speaketh ‘‘on his behalf with great boldness.”’

440. A brother went to visit a certain monk, and when he went forth from him, he said unto him, ‘‘Forgive me, father, ‘for having made thee to desist from thy rule”; and the monk said unto him, ‘‘My rule is to refresh thee, and to send thee ‘*away in peace.” 441. On one occasion a command was given to the brethren who were in Scete, and it was said unto them, ‘Fast ye this ‘“week, and celebrate the Passover.” And it happened that some brethren came from Egypt to Abb& Moses, and whilst he was boiling for them a little food, his neighbours saw the smoke [of his fire] rising up, and they said to the clergy, ‘‘ Be- ‘hold, Moses hath broken the command, and hath boiled ‘some food in his cell”; and they said unto them, ‘‘Hold ye ‘‘ your peace, and when he cometh to us we will speak to him.” Now when the Sabbath arrived, the clergy, having regard to his great ascetic labours, said unto him before the whole assembly, ‘‘O Abba Moses, though thou dost break the com- ‘‘ mand of men, thou stablishest [that of God].” 442, They used to tell the story of a certain brother who, when he was throwing away the handles of his baskets, heard his neighbour say, ‘‘ What shall I do? For the festival draweth ‘nigh, and I haveno handles to put on my baskets” ; and the brother went straightway and picked up the handles of his baskets, and brought them to his companion, saying, ‘‘ Be- ‘‘ hold I have these, of which I have no need, take them and ‘‘ put them on thy baskets” ; and he left his own work and completed that of his companion.

443. Certain of the old men went to AbbA Poemen, and said unto him, ‘‘ Dost thou wish us if we see brethren sleeping ‘Cin the congregation, to smite them so that they may wake ‘‘up?” And he said unto them, “ If I see my brother sleeping, ‘*T place his head upon my knees, and I give him a place to ‘‘ rest upon”; then an old man said unto him, ‘‘ And what dost ‘thou say unto God?” Abbé Poemen said unto him, ‘‘I say “unto Him thus: Thou Thyself hast said, ‘ First of all pluck ‘‘ ‘the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou wilt be able ‘6 “to see to take the mote out of the eye of thy brother’ ” (St. Matthew vii, 3). Chapter x. OF humility and of bow a Man sbould think lightly of bimselt, and should esteem bimselt the $nterior of every Man BBA ISAAC, the priest of the Cells, used to say: Awe: I was a young man I used to dwell with Abba Chronius, and he never at any time told me to do any 444. work; now he was an old man and he trembled, but he would stand up and give water with his hands to me, and to all of us alike. And with Abba Theodore of Parmé it was the same, for he never told me to do any work whatsoever, but he would make ready the table with his own hands, and would say, ‘‘ Brother, come [and] eat.” And I said unto him, ‘‘ Father, | ‘6 came that I might assist thee, and how is that thou dost not ‘‘ tell me to do something?” But the old man in all this held his peace. And I went up ‘and informed the old men, and they came to him, and said unto him, ‘‘ Father, this brother came 103

The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘‘unto thy holiness that he might be assisted [by thee], and ‘‘why dost thou not tell him to do something?” Then the old man said unto them, ‘‘ Am I the head of a monastery that I ‘‘shouldgive him a command? I shall say unto him nothing ex- ‘‘cept that [I] wish him to do that which he seeth me do.” And from that time I was always before him in doing that which the old man was going to do; now whatsoever he did, he did in silence, and in this manner he made me to know and taught me to work in silence also. ] ; 445. There was a certain Egyptian monk in Constantinople under the reign of Theodosius the Less, and he used to dwell in a little cell, and when the Emperor went forth [on one occasion] to take his pleasure, he came by himself to the monk; now the following of men who were with him waited for him at a distance. And the Emperor took off his crown from his head, and hid it, and he knocked at the door of the monk, and when he opened to him he knew that it was the Emperor, but he [feigned] forgetfulness and would not recognize him, and he welcomed him as one of his own rank in life, and he prayed and sat down. Then the Emperor began to question him, saying, ‘‘ How are the fathers who are in Egypt?” And the monk said unto him, ‘ They all pray for thy health.” And the Emperor examined his cell, and saw nothing there except a small basket wherein was bread, and the monk said to him, #* Baty: and he dipped the bread in water, and poured oil on it, and salt, and he gave it to the Emperor, who ate it; and he gave him some water, and he drank. Then the Emperor said unto him, ‘‘ Knowest thou who I am?” And the monk said unto him, ‘‘ God knoweth who thou art.” And the Emperor said unto him, ‘‘ I am Theodosius, the Emperor,” and straightway the monk paid homage unto him. Then the Emperor said unto him, ‘‘ Blessed art thou in that thou hast none of the cares of ‘‘this world; verily I was born to kingship and before this day ‘‘T have never been satisfied with bread and water, and they ‘‘ have pleased me greatly ”; and the Emperor began to pay honour to him. And straightway that monk fled to Egypt with all the speed that was possible.

446. A certain brothercameto Abba Macarius, the Egyptian, and said unto him, ‘‘ Father, speak to me a word whereby I ‘‘may live.” Abba Macarius saith unto him, ‘‘ Get thee to the “cemetery and revile the dead”; and he went and reviled them, and stoned them with stones, and he came and informed the old man [that he had done so]. And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Did they say nothing unto thee?” and the brother said unto him, ‘‘ No.” And again the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Go “to-morrow and _ praise them, and call them, ‘ Apostles, “¢ «Saints, and Righteous Men’”’; and he came to the old man, and said, ‘‘I have praised them.” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ And did they return thee no answer?” and he said ‘© No.” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Thou seest how ‘thou hast praised them, and that they said nothing to thee, ‘‘ and that although thou didstrevile them they returned thee no “answer. And thus let it be with thyself. If thou wishest to “live, become dead, so that thou mayest care neither for the “ reviling of men nor for [their] praise, for the dead care for nothing; in this wise thou wilt be able to live.”

447. One of the fathers used to relate that he had an old man in a cell, who performed many ascetic labours, and who clothed himself in a palm-leaf mat; and this old man went to Abba Ammon, who, seeing that he wore a palm-leaf mat only, said unto him, ‘‘ This will profit thee nothing.” And the old man asked him, saying, ‘‘ Three thoughts vex me. Shall | go “to the desert, or shall I go forth into exile, or shall I shut “ myself up ina cell, and receive no man, and eat once every two ‘‘ days?” Abbé Ammon said unto him, ‘‘ Thou art not able to ‘ do any one of these things, but go, sit in thy cell, and eat a ‘‘ very little food each day, and let there be in thine heart al- ‘‘ ways the word[s] of the publican, ‘God be merciful to me ‘‘ ‘a sinner,’ and thus thou shalt be able to live” (St. Luke XViii, 13). 448. Abba Daniel used to relate a story, saying :—There was with us in Babylon of Egypt the daughter of a man who was the captain of a company of soldiers, and she was possessed of a devil, and her father took her to many places, but she could not find healing. Now her father had a friend who was a monk, and he said unto him, ‘‘ No man is able to cure her ex- ‘‘ cept those monks of whom I spake unto thee, but even if we ‘ entreat them to do this they will not agree to it, because they ‘‘ lee from the love of the approbation [of men]. Nevertheless, ‘‘ when they come to sell [their] baskets, ye shall pretend that ‘* ye wish to buy some, and when they come to sell and to take ‘‘the price of the baskets from thy house, we will say unto “them, ‘Put up a prayer, and this maiden shall behealed’”’; and themandidso. And they came asit were tobuy baskets, and they found the disciple of these holy men sitting down and selling [them], and they tookhimand thebaskets, andcarried him to their houses, and then they setanothermanin his place, and commanded him when the monks came to bring them to them. Now when their disciple entered the house, the maiden who was possessed of a devil went forth and smote him on the cheek, but that brother fulfilled the commandment and turned to her the other cheek, and straightway that devil, who was unable to bear the

The Savings of the holy Fathers blow of the commandment of Christ which was fulfilled, cried out with a loud voice, and departed. And when the monks came [the people in the house] related unto them the reason for what had happened, and they glorified God, and said, ‘‘ It ‘*is customary for the boasting of the Evil One to fall before ‘*the humility of the commandments of Christ.” 449. On one occasion Abba Ammon went to Abba Anthony, and he lost the way, and sat down for a little and fell asleep; and he rose up from his slumber, and prayed unto God, and said, ‘‘I beseech Thee, O Lord God, not to destroy that which ‘*Thou hast fashioned.’ Then he lifted up his eyes, and, behold, there was the form of a man’s hand above him in the heavens, and it shewed him the way until he came and stood above the cave of Abba Anthony; and when he had gone into the cave to the old man, Abba Anthony prophesied unto him, saying, ‘‘Thou shalt increase in the fear of God.” Then he took him outside the cave, and showing him a stone, said, ‘‘Curse ‘‘this stone, and smite it,” and he did so, and Abba Anthony said unto him, ‘‘It is thus that thou shalt arrive at this state, ‘for thou shalt bear heaviness, and great abuse”; and this actually happened to Abba Ammon. Now, through his abundant goodness Abba Ammon knew not wickedness. And after he had become a Bishop, through his spiritual excellence they brought unto him a virgin who had conceived, and they said unto him, ‘‘So-and-so hath done this deed; let them receive “correction”; but he made the sign of the Cross over her belly, and ordered them to give her six pair of linen cloths, and he said, ‘‘Peradventure when she bringeth forth either she or the ‘‘child will die, [and if either dieth] let them be buried.” Then those who were with him said unto him, ‘‘ What is this that ‘‘thou hast done? Give the command that they receive correc- ‘tion.” And he said unto them, ‘‘See, O my brethren, she is ‘nigh unto death, and what can I do?” Then he dismissed her. And the old man never ventured to judge anyone, for he was full of lovingkindness and endless goodness to all the children of men.

450. They used ‘to say that [on one occasion] when Abba Arsenius the Great fell ill in Scete, a priest went and brought him to the church, and he spread a palm-leaf mat for him, and [placed] a small pillow under his head; and one of the old men came to visit him and saw that he was lying upon a mat and that he had a pillow under his head, and he was offended and said, ‘‘And this is Arsenius lying upon such things!” Then the priest took the old man aside privately, and said unto him, “What labour didst thou do in thy village?” and the old man said unto him, ‘‘I was a shepherd.” And the priest said unto him, ‘‘What manner of life didst thou lead in the world?” and he said unto him, ‘‘A life of toil, and sore want.” And when the old man had described all the tribulation which he had endured in the world, the priest said unto him, ‘‘And here what ‘‘ manner of life dost thou lead?” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘In my cell I have everything comfortable, and I have ‘more than I want”; and the priest said unto him, ‘‘Consider ‘‘[the position of] Abba Arsenius when he was in the world! ‘‘He was the father of kings, and a thousand slaves, girt ‘‘about with gold-embroidered vests, and with chains and or- ‘‘ naments round their necks, and clothed in silk, stood before ‘‘him; and he had the most costly couches and cushions [to ‘‘ lie upon]. But thou wast a shepherd, and the comforts which ‘thou didst never enjoy in the world thou hast here; but this ‘‘man Arsenius hath not here the comforts which he enjoyed ‘6in the world, and now thou art at thine ease whilst he is ‘‘troubled.” Then the mind of the old man was opened, and he expressed contrition and said, ‘‘ Father, forgive me; I have ‘sinned. Verily this is the way of truth. He hath come to a ‘state of humility, whilst I have attained to ease.” And the old man having profited went his way.

451. They used to say that on one occasion Abba Macarius was passing along the road when Satan met him, and the Devil wished to cut him down with the scythe which he held in his hand, but he was unable to do so, and he said unto him, ‘‘ Macarius, I am dragged along by thee with great force, but ‘‘] cannot overcome thee. Now, behold, everything which ‘thou doest I can do also. Thou fastest, and I never eat at ‘‘ all. Thou watchest, and I never go to sleep, and there is one ‘thing only wherein thou dost conquer me.” Then Macarius said unto him, ‘‘And what is that?” And Satan said, ‘‘It is ‘thy humility, for it is because of this that I cannot vanquish ‘‘thee”; then Macarius spread out his hands in prayer, and the Devil was no more seen. 52. On one occasion a devil took a knife and stood over Abba Macarius wishing to cut off his leg, and when he was unable to do so on account of the humility [of the old man|, he answered and said unto him, ‘‘ Everything which ye pos- ‘‘ sess we possess also, and it is only in humility that ye are ‘superior to us, and [it is only by means of it] that ye con- “quer us.”

453. Abba Anthony said, ‘‘I saw all the snares of the Enemy laid out upon the ground, and I groaned and said, ‘Who can ‘* “escape from these?’” And the devils said unto me, ‘ Humility ‘¢maketh a man to escape from these, for we cannot attain 6S ynto it.” 107 The Sayings of the holy Fathers 54. An old man said, ‘‘Whensoever a man is praised it is ‘meet for him to think upon his sins, and he should consider, ‘* saying, ‘lamunworthy ofthe things whichare said about me.’” 455. The blessed Macarius behaved towards all the brethren without any wicked suspicion, and certain people said unto him, ‘‘Why dost thou act in this manner?” And he said, ‘‘ Be- ‘hold, for twelve years I have been supplicating my Lord to ‘‘give me this gift, and would you advise me to relinquish it? ‘Tf it happen that one of the brethren commit a sin before ‘*the eyes of him who possesseth no wickedness, and he know ‘‘that it is an evil thing, it is not right that he should bear ‘*some of the pain of him that hath fallen.” 456. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘No monk should condemn ‘any man in anything, and no monk should reward a man ‘ with [evil for] evil, and no monk should be a man of anger.”

457. An old man asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘Some breth- ‘*ren dwell with me; dost thou wish me to give them command- ‘‘ments?” And he said unto him, ‘‘No, but thou thyself must ‘first do work, and if they wish to live, they will observe [it] ‘and do [it].” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Ought they also ‘to wish me to govern them?” And AbbAa Poemen said unto him, ‘‘No, be unto them an example, and not a lawgiver.” 458. Abba Poemen said, ‘‘If a brother come unto thee, and ‘thou be not benefited by his coming in [to thee], enquire in ‘thine heart, and learn what thought thou hadst [in thy mind] ‘‘ before the entrance of that brother, and then thou wilt learn ‘whence cometh the source of injury; if thou wilt do this with ‘humility and knowledge, behold, thou wilt live without ‘‘blame with thy brother, and thou wilt bear thine own short- ‘“comings. If a man maketh his habitation with knowledge “it will not fall, for God is before it, and, as it appeareth to ‘“‘me, from this habitation a man may acquire the fear of God.” 459. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘By what means ‘‘may a man go forward? and the old man said unto him, ‘“The greatness of a man consisteth of humility, for in pro- ‘“ portion as a man descendeth to humility, he becometh exalted ‘‘to greatness.”

460. Abba John used to say, ‘‘We relinquish a light burden ‘“when we condemn ourselves, but we take upon ourselves a ‘‘ heavy burden when we[attempt to] make ourselvesrighteous.” 461. On one occasion Abba Theophilus went to the Nitrian Mountain to visit the fathers, and the priest of the Mountain came to him; and Abba Theophilus said to him, now he was Theophilus the Bishop of Alexandria, ‘What thing of excel- ‘lence hast thou found on this road?” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘I make accusations against myself, and I blame ‘myself at all times”; and Abba Theophilus said unto him, ‘‘ Verily this is the way of truth.” A variant reads: ‘‘On one occasion the Archbishop Theo- ‘‘ philus went to the mountain of Nitria, anda certain Abba of “the monks who was in the mountain came unto him; Abba “‘ Theophilus said unto him, ‘‘What more do the monks find ‘(in this way [than in any other]?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ They condemn themselves continually, and they do not judge ‘their neighbours”; and Abba Theophilus said, ‘‘There is no “‘way but this.” 462. On one occasion they brought a man possessed of a devil to one of the old men of Thebes, and entreated him to cast the devil out, but the old man was unwilling [to do so]; but since they urged him strongly he was persuaded, and he had mercy on the man, and he said to the devil, ‘‘Get thee out ‘from that which God hath fashioned.” Then the devil answered and said, ‘‘I am going out, but I would ask thee to ‘tell me one thing: What is the meaning of that which is “‘ written in the Gospel, Who are the goats and who are the “ sheep?” The old man answered and said, ‘‘I myself am [one ‘“of| the goats, but God knoweth who the sheep are”; and when the devil heard this, he cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘‘Behold, I go forth because of thy humility,” and straightway he left the man and departed.

463. They used to say that on one occasion a few early, white figs came to Scete, but because they were nothing [of importance] they did not send any to Abbé Arsenius, not wishing to insult him; and when the old man heard of this he did not come to the congregation, saying, ‘‘Ye separated me from the “blessed gift which God sent to the brethren because I was “unworthy to partake of it.” And when the old man heard [this] they profited [greatly] by his humility, and the priest went and carried some of the figs to him, and brought him to the congregation with great joy. 464. A certain Abba asked Abba Muthues, saying, ‘‘If 1 go to “‘a place to dwell, how wouldst thou have me conduct myself? The old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou wishest to dwell in a cer- “tain place, [do so,] but do not let go forth concerning thyself “any fame for praiseworthy acts, [or say,] ‘I do not eat, or, «<1 do not drink,’ for such things only produce empty fame; ‘and thou wilt find at length that thou wilt profit from many, ‘for men will go where they can find qualities of this kind. Then the brother said unto him, ‘‘What shall I do?” and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Wheresoever thou dwellest conduct ‘thyself in a simple manner like every one else, and what thou ‘«seest those who fear God do, [I mean] those in whom thou

The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘“hast confidence, that do also, and thou shalt be at ease. For ‘“to be as all other men are is true humility, and the men who ‘““see that thou art like unto all other men will regard thee as ‘*they regard every one else, and thou wilt not be troubled.” 465. A certain brother went on one occasion from Egypt to Syria to visit Abba Zeno, and the Egyptians began to make accusations against his thoughts before the old man. And when Abba Zeno heard this, he marvelled and said, ‘‘The ‘Egyptians always hide the spiritual excellences which they ‘“ possess, but they describe the shortcomings which they do not ‘*possess; on the other hand, the Syrians and the Greeks declare ‘that they possess the virtues which they have not, and they ‘hide the shortcomings which they do possess.” 466. They used to talk about a certain old man who fasted for seventy weeks, and who only ate each Saturday; and he asked God that a word from the Book might be given unto him, but it was not given. Then he said within himself, ‘“Behold, I ‘have laboured in all these things, and I have omitted nothing; ‘‘T will arise and go to my brother and question him [about ‘‘it].”” And when he had shut the door to depart, the angel of the Lord appeared, and said unto him, ‘‘The seventy weeks ‘‘wherein thou didst fast have not come nigh unto God, but, ‘inasmuch as thou hast humbled thyself to go to thy brother, ‘‘T have been sent to make known unto thee a word, and to ‘‘ give thee rest”; thereupon he made the word known unto him, and gave him rest, and departed.

467. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘What shall I do? ‘‘ For the love of praise is killing me.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Thou doest well, for behold, thou hast made the heavens ‘““and the earth.”” Then the brother was sorry because of what the old man had said unto him, and he expressed contrition, and said, ‘‘Father, forgive me, but I have done nothing of the ‘‘kind”; the old man said unto him, ‘“‘If now He Who did ““make them came into this world in humility, why dost thou ‘who art mud boast thyself?” 468. One of the old men said, ‘‘Be not humble in thy words “‘only, but also in thy deeds.” 469. On one occasion a certain governor came to see Abba Sim6én, and when the old man heard of his coming from those who came to make it known to him beforehand, he straightway girded up his loins, and went up a palm tree to clean it. And when those who came cried out to him, saying, ‘‘Old man, tell “us where the monk is,” he said unto them, ‘‘ He is not here”’; so they departed from that place. 470. One of the fathers from Parmé told a story of how, on one occasion when he had returned to Abba Theodore, he found

him wearing a ragged shirt, and his breast was naked and bare, and his outer garment was dragged round in front of him. And, behold, a certain Count came to see him, and when his followers knocked at the door, and called the old man, he went out to meet him quite carelessly; and I took a small piece of coarse cloth and threw it over his shoulders that his breast might be covered, but the old man took it in his hand and waved it, and threw it away. And when the Count went I said to him, ‘‘ Father, what is this that thou hast done? For a nobleman ‘came unto thee to be helped, and to gain profit, and behold, ‘he hath perhaps gone away offended.” And the old man said unto me, ‘‘Get thee gone, Abba. We are still subject unto men. ‘© We have done the deed, and he is gone; but whether he ‘‘ wisheth to be benefited, or whether he wisheth to be offended ‘Sis his affair. As for me, as far as I am able I shall always ‘“meet men of this kind in this way.” And he commanded his disciple, saying, ‘‘If any man cometh and wisheth to see me, ‘say not to him anything after the manner of men, but if I ‘am eating, tell him that I am eating, and if I am asleep, tell ‘¢him that I am asleep.”

471. A certain woman who was afflicted in her lungs with the disease called cancer, heard concerning Longinus and wished to see him; now he used to dwell in [the monastery of] Hantén in Alexandria. And whilst the woman was seeking and wishing for him, it happened that the blessed man was gathering sticks on the sea-shore, and when the woman found him, she said unto him, ‘‘Father, where dwelleth the man of ‘God, Abba Longinus?” Now she did not know that he himself was Longinus. And he said unto her, ‘‘What dost thou ‘“want with that lying hypocrite? Do not go to him, for he is “© liar. What is it that causeth thee pain?’’ Then the woman shewed him the place, and the old man made the sign of the Cross over it, and he dismissed her, saying, ‘Go, and may our “‘ Lord heal thee, for Longinus is unable to do thee any good ‘< whatsoever.” And the woman went away believing in the word, and she was healed straightway; and afterwards when she was telling folks the story, she said, ‘I have learned by ‘the marks which were on the old man that he himself was ‘¢ Abba Longinus.”

472. On one occasion a certain governor arranged to see Abba Siméon, and the clergy told him beforehand, saying, ‘‘ Father, make thyself ready, for a certain governor hath heard “ of thy life and works, and he wisheth to come and be blessed ‘‘by thee”; and the old man said unto them, ‘‘I am ready.” Then the old man went in and took in his hand some bread and cheese, and went out to the door and sat down there, and The Savings of the holy Fathers he changed about from place to place eating; and when the governor came with his company, and saw him sitting and eating, they despised him, saying, ‘‘So this is the monk of whom ‘*T have heard!” And they left him and departed. 473. An old man was asked, ‘‘ How is it that there are men ‘‘who say, ‘We have seen a vision of angels?’” and the old man said, ‘‘ Blessed is he who seeth his sins continually.” 474. They used to say that when any man came to Abba Poemen he used to send him to Abba Job, his brother, saying to him, ‘‘He is older than I am’’; and Job used to say to those who came, ‘‘Go unto my brother Poemen, for he possesseth ‘“‘the grace of these gifts.” Now if Abba Joseph was sitting with him Abba Poemen would not speak before him.

475. When a certain brother went to the festival he asked Abba Poemen, ‘‘What wouldst thou have me to do?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Be thou a friend unto him that lead- ‘eth thee away by force, and sell thy work graciously.” 476. A brother asked an old man, ‘‘What is the work ot ‘*exile?” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘I knew a brother “who went forth into exile, and he went in to lodge ina church, ‘‘and it happened that the brethren were about to eat some of ‘‘the sacramental bread; and when they sat down this man ‘“sat down with them. Now when some of the other monks ‘““saw him, they said, ‘Who hath brought this man in [to eat] ‘““ with us?’ And one of them said [unto him], ‘Arise, and get ‘‘ “thee outside,’ and straightway he rose up and went forth ‘‘as the brother had told him; but the others being sorry about ‘‘this matter went out and brought him in. And after these ‘‘things a certain man asked him, ‘What was in thy mind ‘* “when thou didst go out and come in again?’ He said unto ‘them, ‘I thought in my mind that I was like a dog which ‘‘*when he is driven out goeth out, and when he is called cometh in.’”’

477. They used to say that when Abba Moses was one of the clergy he wore a long outer garment, and that the Bishop said unto him, ‘‘Behold, thou art wholly white, O Abba ‘“‘Moses.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Is the Papa within “‘or without?” And again, wishing to try him, the Bishop said unto the clergy, ‘(When Abba Moses goeth into the ‘““sacrarium drive him out, and go after him and hear what he ‘* saith.” Now when he went into the sacrarium they rebuked him and drove him out, saying, ‘‘Get outside, O Ethiopian”; and having gone forth he began to say to himself, ‘«They have ‘treated thee rightly, O thou whose skin is dark and black; “thou shalt not go back as if thou wert a [white] man.” 478. An old man used to say, ‘‘Do not despise or think ‘lightly of him that standeth before thee, for thou knowest **not whether the Spirit of God is in thee or in him, though ‘‘thou callest him who standeth before thee him that minis- **tereth unto thee.” 479. Abba John the Less used to say, ‘‘Humility and the ‘* fear of God are more excellent than all the [other] virtues.”

480. They used to say that a certain old man, who had young men living with him, told them on one occasion to do something, and when they did it not he said nothing further to them about it, but rose up himself in their sight and did what he had told them to do without anger, and without labour. 481. Another old man used to say, ‘‘ Humility is not with- ‘‘ out salt, but it is salted with salt.” 482. An old man used to say, ‘‘I would rather learn than teach «.”. 483. And he also used to say, ‘‘Do not learn before the ‘time, so that thou mayest not have little admonition all thy ‘Atime.: 484. Abba Agathon said, ‘‘If a man of wrath were to raise ‘the dead, he would not be accepted by any man.” 485. A brother asked Abba Timothy, saying, ‘‘I myself can ‘‘ see that my memorial is ever before God”; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘It would not be any great thing for thy thought ‘« (ov mind) to be with God, but it would be a great thing for a ‘«man to see his soul beneath all creation.”

486. Abba Theodore used to say, ‘‘There is no spiritual ‘‘ excellence greater than that of a man who despiseth not his *€ companion.” : 487. An old man was asked, ‘‘ By what means doth the soul ‘‘ receive humility?” And he said, ‘‘ By searching into it, and ‘* by remembering the evil things which have been done by it.” 488. One of the old men said, ‘‘T asked Abba Sisoes, saying, ‘¢*Tell me a word,’ and he said, ‘It is right for a monk to ‘6 ‘humble himself lower than the idols’; and I went to my cell, ‘and took counsel with myself, and meditated for an hour, ‘saying, ‘What do the words ‘‘lower than the idols” mean?’ ‘‘ Then I returned and went to the old man, and said unto << him, ‘ What do the words ‘‘lower than the idols” mean?’ And ‘‘he said unto me, ‘It is written concerning the idols, ‘‘They ‘<¢ ‘have a mouth and speak not, and they have eyes and see <¢ ¢ (not, and they have ears and hear not’’; even thus is it right ‘‘ 6for a monk to be.’ And because idols are an abomination, a ‘‘ man must hold himself to be abominable in his own sight.”

489. A brother asked Abba Sisoes of Thebais, saying, ‘‘ Speak ‘¢a word to me,” and Sisoes said unto him, ‘What Dav I to The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘say unto thee? I read the New Testament, and I refleét on “‘the Old Testament.” 90. That same brother went to Abba Sisoes of PatarA, and told him the word which Abba Sisoes of the Thebaid had spoken, and Abba Sisoes said unto him, ‘‘I lie down to sleep ‘Cin my sins, and I rise up in my sins.” 491. There was a certain monk who lost himself in the desert, and he said to himself, ‘‘I have kept myself rightly, and I pos- ‘sess all the virtues,” and he prayed to God and said, ‘‘If I ‘(be lacking in anything, shew Thou me how I may perform ‘it.’ And God, wishing to humble his mind, said unto him, ‘©Go to such and such a head of a monastery, and whatsoever ‘he telleth thee to do that do.” And God sent a revelation to the head of the monastery, and said unto him, ‘‘ Behold, such ‘‘ and such a monk will come unto thee, and say thou unto him, ‘« ‘Take a whip in thy hands, and go forth and pasture swine.’” And the monk went forth immediately, even as the head of the monastery told him, and pastured swine, and when those who had known him formerly, and those who had heard about him, saw him pasturing swine, they said, ‘‘Ye see the great monk ‘¢ about whom we have heard, behold, his heart hath gone mad, ‘* anda devil hath seized him, and he is [now] pasturing swine.” Then God, when He saw his humility, and that he was hearing and bearing the reproach of men, set him free so that he might go back where he had been formerly.

492. An old man used to say, ‘‘If a man hath laid some work ‘‘upon a brother to do, he must perform that command in the ‘‘fear of God and in humility; for he who for God’s sake layeth ‘‘fsome work] upon a brother maketh the brother to submit ‘himself thereto, and [the one brother] must do what [the other ‘‘brother] hath laid upon him. But if a man wisheth to give ‘‘commands to a brother, not in the fear of God, but on his own ‘‘authority, wishing to be unto him a master and a governor, ‘¢God, Who seeth the hidden things of his heart, will not allow ‘‘him to be obedient unto him and to do [that] work, for the ‘‘ work that is for God’s sake is evident, and that which is of the ‘* man’s own authorityis well known. For that which is for God’s ‘* sake cometh with humility and entreaty, whilst the works ‘* which are of man’s own authority are with wrath and trouble, ‘‘and they come from the Evil One.” 493. A brother asked Abba Isidore, ‘‘ Why is it that the ‘*devils fear thee so greatly? The old man said, ‘‘ Because ‘* from the time that I became a monk I have laboured hard “‘not to allow anger to enter into my throat; that is why they ‘tear me.”

494. An old man used to say, ‘On one occasion I went to “‘the fair to sell with [other] brethren a few things, and I saw “anger drawing nigh unto me, and I left the things and fled “ straightway.” 495. Abba John the Less used to say, ‘‘On one occasion ‘¢when I was going up on the Scete road with some palm leaves ‘‘T heard a camel speaking words to me, and he was about to ‘‘ make me angry, but I straightway leftthe palmleaves and fled.” 496. The same old man when he was in the harvest [field] heard a brother speaking to his companion in anger, saying, “‘Come hither,” and straightway he left the harvest and fled. 497. A brother asked an old man, ‘‘ Why is it, when I am ‘‘ performing my little services of prayer and praise, that I some- ‘‘times see in myself that there is nothing lacking in my heart, ‘©and that I do not wish it?” The old man said unto him, ‘* How then can a man appear to love God?” 498. Abba John the Less said unto the brethren who were with him, ‘‘ Although we be little folk in the eyes of men, let ‘us consider how we may be held in honour before God.”

499. They used to say that Abba Patra and Abba Ampikés were close and affectionate friends, and that when the old men were eating in the church, and they were urging them to come to the table of the fathers, it was only with hard work that Abba Patra would go by himself; and after he had eaten, Abba Ampikés said unto him, ‘‘How didst thou dare to go to the ‘6 table of the old men?” Abba Patra said unto him, ‘‘If I had ‘« sat with you the brethren would have honoured me as an old ‘man, and they would have required it of me to be the first to ‘“ say the blessing, and I might have thought in my mind that ‘‘T was greater than you all. But since I went to the fathers I ‘“ am the least of you all, and I am abased, and I think in my ‘ thoughts that Iam nothing.” 500. On one occasion a brother committed sin in the church, and the priest drove him out therefrom, and there was there a man of discretion whose name was Bessarion, and he also arose and went out of the church, and said, ‘‘ If ye have judged that ‘‘ this man who hath committed only one offence is not fit to “worship God, how very much less fit am I, who have com- ‘‘ mitted many sins, to do so?” And the old man said, ‘‘‘Woe ‘be unto him that is without more than unto him that is with- ‘Cin,’ that is to say, ‘Woe be unto him that is [within him that ‘« (ig without !’] Now this is what I would say, When a man in ‘6the world findeth a cause [of complaint] against a man who ‘liveth a life of silent contemplation, or who hath departed ‘from the world, this is a [cause a judgement and of a fall ‘unto him who giveth him reason [for complaint]. Take the

‘‘ sreatest possible care then, O monk, not to commit re lest 115 11-84 The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘thou disgrace God, Who dwelleth in thee, and drive Him out ‘* from thy soul.” ; 501. Abba Piér worked hard to be able to overcome the disposition to say ‘‘Thou” to any of the brethren. 502. The disciple of Abba Arsenius used to say, ‘‘When “the old man was about to die, he commanded us, saying, ‘* ‘To not let it be a care unto you to make a commemoration ‘¢“for me, but offer up the Offering only; for, he used to say, ‘«<if during my life-time I have done anything which is worthy ‘« ‘of commemoration, I shall most certainly find [a memorial SStof it]24 503. nine Ammon said, ‘‘A man may pass one hundred ‘‘years in his cell, and not know rightly how a monk should ‘‘live in his cell, or even how to live secluded for one day.” And he used to say, ‘‘The proper way and manner for a monk ‘* to live is to condemn himself continually.” 504. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘If a man will only condemn ‘‘ himself he will be able to endure and continue wheresoever ‘* he dwelleth.”

505. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘ We live in the troubles and ‘‘trials which come upon us because we do not take to our- ‘* selves the humble names which the Scriptures have given us; ‘*and because we do not consider how our Lord Jesus relieved ‘the Canaanitish woman (St. Matthew xv, 22) who took to her- ‘“self abominable names, moreover, we do not consider how, ‘“ when Abigail said unto David, ‘On me be the sin’ (1 Samuel ‘*xxv, 24), he was entreated byher and loved her. Abigail must ‘‘be taken as [representing] the person of the soul, and David ‘“as the Godhead; if then, the soul will condemn itself before ‘*God, He will love it, and will give it the delight of rest.” 506. An old man used to say, ‘‘In all thy trials blame no man; ‘blame thyself only, saying, ‘These things have happened to ‘«*me because of my sins.’” 507. On one occasion Abba John was called to the church, and the brethren surrounded him and asked him questions about their thoughts; and one of the old men said unto him, ‘¢John is like unto a whore who adorneth herself that she may ‘‘multiply lovers for herself; thus art thou.” And Abba John sighed and said, ‘‘Father, thou hast spoken the truth.” Afterwards a certain man told him that he loved him, [and said], ‘Art thou not disturbed within?” He said unto him, ‘No. ‘But as lam without, even so am I within.”

508. One of the old men used to say about Abba John, that he lived in such a way that, through the humility which he possessed, he held all Scete suspended on his finger. 509. Abba John of the Thebaid used to say that, before all else, it was right for a monk to acquire humility, for this was the first commandment of our blessed Redeemer, Who said, ‘‘ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of ““ God” (St. Matthew v, 3). 510. John Kolob used to say, ‘‘ Humility is the door which ‘“Jeadeth into the kingdom, and our fathers, through many ‘‘revilings, have gone into the city of God rejoicing.” 511. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Itis good for a man to say, ‘¢ “Forgive me,’ and then to make an offering of something; “¢ for this suiteth the monkish garb.” 512. The same old man also said, ‘‘ A dog is better than I ‘am, for he hath love, and he cometh not to judgement.” 513. Abba Eupraxius used to say, ‘‘ The tree of life which ‘«riseth in the heights is humility.” He also said, ‘‘ Make thy- “ self like unto the publican; and be not made guilty with the ‘« Pharisee; choose for thyself the meekness of Moses, so that “< thine heart, which is as hard as steel, thou mayest changeinto ‘¢a fountain of water.

514. One of the old men said, ‘ I would rather have defeat ‘‘ with humility than conquest with boasting.” 515. An old man said, ‘‘ When the thought of pride goeth ‘up in thee, and thou becomest arrogant, examine thy con- ‘« science [and see] if thou hast kept all the commandments, ‘‘and if thou lovest thine enemies, and if thou lovest the ap- ‘< probation of thine enemy, and if thou art grieved when he ‘is afflicted, and if thou art considered by thyself to be an ‘‘ unprofitable servant, and a sinner greater than any other ‘man. And even if thou hast performed rightly all the de- ‘‘mands of ascetic excellence, thou shalt not be proud, for ‘thou must know that the thought of pride abrogateth and ‘‘ maketh unprofitable all the virtues.” 516. An old man used to say, “ He who is held in greater «honour or is more praised than he deserveth suffereth great ‘loss; but the man who receiveth neither honour nor praise ‘‘ from men shall be praised above all.” 517. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ Is it a good thing ‘for us to repent many times?” The old man said unto him, «‘ We see that when Joshua, the son of Nun, lay upon his face ‘‘ the Lord spake with him” (Joshua v, 14).

518. An old man was asked, ‘‘ Why do the devils fight ‘against us in the way they do?” And he said, ‘‘ Because we ‘‘throw away from us our armour, that is to say, obedience, ‘‘ humility, and abstinence.” 519. The old men used to say, ‘‘ Whensoever we have no ‘‘ war to wage then especially it is meet that we should abase ‘‘ourselves, for God, because He knoweth our feebleness, The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘* sivethus His protection fornothing, but if we boast ourselves, ‘* He removeth it from us and we perish.”’ : 520. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ What is the per- ‘* fection of a monk?” The old man saith unto him, ‘‘ Humility, “for when once a man hath arrived at humility, he can reach ‘forward to the goal.” , 521. The old man said, ‘‘ If a man can say unto his brother, ‘** Forgive me,’ and can humble himself, this belongeth to the “perfection of the monk.” fi 522. One of the old men said, ‘‘ When a man saith unto his ‘‘companion, ‘ Forgive me,’ and at the same time humbleth ‘* himself, the devils are consumed.”

523. A certain brother was offended at his brother, and when the latter heard thereof he went to him to express his contrition, but he would not open the door; then he who had offended his brother went to another old man and related the matter unto him, and the old man answered and said, ‘‘ Observe lest ‘in thine own mind thou art justifying thyself, and art con- ‘‘demning thy brother, as if he were the offender, for it may ‘be that because of this he would not be persuaded to open ‘‘unto thee. Nevertheless, do thou what I am going to tell thee. ‘* For although he hath offended thee, go thou, and hold firmly ‘to the belief] that thou hast offended against him, and may ‘* God put it into thy brother’s mind to be reconciled to thee.” 524. And the old man related unto him a story which explained the matter, saying, ‘‘ There were two men who ‘‘were living in the world, and were fearers of God, and ‘‘they were both of the same mind, and they went forth ‘‘and became monks; and when they heard in a plain man- ‘‘ner the word of the Gospel which saith, ‘There are eu- ““*nuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake ‘‘*of the kingdom of heaven’ (St. Matthew xix, 12), they ‘arrived at the hottest point of their love, and they made them- ‘‘selves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Now ‘* when the Bishop heard [of this]he set them aside and excommu- ‘‘nicated them. Then those men, wishing to show that they ‘had done what was good, said unto one another, ‘ We have ‘« “made ourselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom ofheaven, and this Bishop driveth us out! Let us go and make acomplaint against him to the head of our monasteries, that is, ‘“““to the Bishop of Jerusalem’; and when they had gone to ‘‘him they related unto him the whole matter. Then the Bishop ‘said unto them, ‘And I also set you aside and excommu- ‘“*“nicate you’; and being greatly grieved at this remark also ‘“they went to the Bishop of Antioch, and related the matter ‘funto him, and he also drove them away with the same words.

“Then the two brethren said unto each other, ‘ Let us go to «<¢the Patriarch of Rome, and he will avenge us and will take ‘« «vengeance on all these [Bishops].’ And having gone to the ‘great Patriarch and Bishop of Rome, and made him to know ‘their matter, and what the Bishop and Patriarch [of Antioch] ‘chad said unto them, they said at length, ‘We have come « unto thee because thou art the head of them all.’ Then the ‘‘ Bishop of Rome also said unto them, * I also excommunicate «« ¢you and excommunicate ye shallbe.’ Then, not knowing what ‘to do, they said to each other, ‘ All these men accept the ‘« persons each of the other, and each honoureth the other, ‘“ “because they are accustomed to assemble together at the ««« Synods, but let us go to the holy man of God, Epiphanius, ‘ ¢ Bishop of Cyprus, because he is indeed a Bishop, and he ‘doth not accept the person of any man.’ Now when they ‘‘drew nigh unto the city, it was revealed unto Epiphanius ‘concerning them, and he sent [a man] to meet them, and to ‘“ say unto them, ‘ Ye shall not come into the city.’ And when ‘they came to themselves they repented, and said, ‘ In very ‘<< truth we have sinned; with what can we justify ourselves? ‘© For, even supposing that the Bishop and the Patriarchs ‘have excommunicated us in an unseemly manner, perad- ‘venture this man is a prophet besides, for behold, God hath ‘© ¢ revealed unto him concerning us beforehand; let us then << condemn ourselves in respect of everything which we have ‘«* done.’ Then when God, Who knoweth that which is in the ‘hearts [of men] saw that they had in very truth condemned ‘¢ themselves, He worked upon the mind of Epiphanius so that, ‘¢ of his own accord, he sent and brought them, and associated «them in communion with him. And he also wrote concerning “them to the Bishop of Jerusalem, saying, ‘ Receive thy sons, ‘«¢ for they have repented in truth.’ ”

And the old man said, ‘‘ This is the healing of a man, «and God desireth that a man should lay the offence of his «companion upon himself.” And when that brother heard [this story] he acted according to the word{s] of the old man, and he went and knocked at the door of that brother, who, immediately he perceived and knew from inside [that it was he], expressed his contrition to him whilst he was as yet inside, and then straightway opened the door; and they made friends together, each with each, with all their souls, and the two of them were in great peace. 525. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘As the earth falleth not, ‘‘ because it is fixed from below, even so he who abaseth him- ‘‘ self shall never fall.” 526. Abba Sisoes asked Abba ’Or, and said unto him, ‘‘Tell The Sayings of the tholy Fathers ‘‘me a word of excellence’; and he said unto him, ‘‘Dost thou ‘‘think me true, and dost thou believe my promise?”’ And Abba Sisoes said unto him, ‘‘Yes.” Abba ’Or said unto him, ‘Go, ‘‘and whatsoever ye have seen me do, that also do thyself ’’; and Abba Sisoes said unto him, ‘‘ What doI see in thee, O my “‘ father?” And Abba’Or answered and said unto him, ‘‘My mind ‘“is more abased than that of the least of allthechildrenof men.”

527. On one occasion seven brethren came to Abba Arsenius and they entreated him, saying, ‘‘ What is the work of ““monks?” And the old man answered and said, ‘‘ When I ‘‘came to dwell in this place I went to two old men, and I ‘“‘asked them this same question, And they answered and ‘said unto me, ‘ Dost thou believe in us?’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then they said unto me, ‘Go, and whatsoever thou hast seen ‘‘*us do, that also do thyself.’ And the brethren asked him subsequently, saying, ‘‘ Tell us, father, what was their work?” Then the old man said unto them, ‘‘The one acquired great “humility, and the other obedience.” And they said unto him next, ‘‘ Tell us what is thy work?” and the old man said unto them, ‘‘According to my will, and according to my mind; it is ‘a great thing for a man not to bind himself with any matter”; and having profited they departed in gladness, giving praise unto God. 528. A brother asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘What shall I “‘do with the weight of weariness which holdeth me?” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘Both large and small boats are “provided with thick ropes for towing, and if there be blowing ‘‘a wind which is not favourable to the course of the ship, ‘“‘they throw them round their breasts and pull them along ‘‘[from] dry land; and quietly and little by little they let the ‘“‘ship go on her way until God sendeth a wind which is suit- “‘able for bearing her along whithersoever they wish her to “go. But if they learn that a storm hath begun to rise, they ‘“make haste and drive a stake in the ground, and tie up the ‘“ship lest she should drift away. Now the stake is that a man ‘should condemn himself.”

529. A brother asked Abba Poemen, ‘How is it possible for ‘“a man to avoid speaking evilly to his neighbour?” The old ‘‘man answered and said unto him, ‘‘We and our brethren ‘* possess twoimages. Whensoeverthena man condemneth him- ‘“ self, his brother appeareth unto him beautiful and excellent; ‘““but whensoever a man appeareth beautiful to himself, his ‘‘brother will be found to be, in his sight, hateful and ‘‘ abominable.” 530. Another old man said also, ‘Humility is not insipidity, ‘““but it is seasoned, as it were, with salt.” 531. He also used to say, ‘‘ For a man to despise himself is ‘¢a strong wall.” 532. He also used to say, ‘‘ Him who hath become despised ‘¢ for our Lord’s sake, will our Lord make wise.” 533. An old man used to say, ‘‘Take heed, with all thy ‘might, that thou doest nothing which meriteth blame, and ‘¢ desire not to adorn thyself.” 534. An old man used to say, “If humility descendeth to ‘‘Sheol it is exalted unto the heavens; and although pride ‘* oeth up to the heavens it shall be brought down to Sheol.” 535. There were two brethren in Scete, and he who was younger than his fellow was the older in the monastic garb, and one of the fathers having come to visit them, they brought out a vessel of water and wanted to wash him. And the man who was the younger in respect of years drew nigh to wash the old man, but the old man iaid hold upon his hands, and prevented him, and then he drew near him that was the elder [in respect of years] to wash him. And the brethren who were standing near him said unto him, ‘‘The younger brother, O ‘‘ father, is the older in respect of the monastic garb”; then the old man said unto them, ‘‘I take the priority in the monastic “« earb oftheyoungermanand place itupon him thatistheelder.”

530. There was a certain brother in a monastery, and he used to take the whole weight of the brethren upon himself, and seeking to be held in contempt in the sight of every man, he used to make accusations against himself, even to the committing of fornication, and he used to say, ‘‘T have committed ‘«it.” Now the brethren who did not understand his life and works used to murmur against him, saying, ‘‘ How very many ‘are the wickednesses which this man doeth here, and because ‘©of them he doth not even work.” Then their Abba, because he knew his works, and because he knew also that he was taking the affairs of every man upon himself, and that he did not do these things, spake unto the brethren, saying, ‘‘I will “ undertake that he will make one mat in a week, in humility, ‘which is more than all] your work [which is done] with ‘boasting, and if ye wish to know whether the matter be so ‘for not], bring hither all your work, and bring hither also the ‘‘ mat of that brother, and light a fire and throw therein all your “work”; [and when they had done so]everything was consumed except the mat of that brother. Now when the brethren saw this, they feared, and expressed their contrition, and from that time they held him to be an Abba. Owe

537. They used to say that Abba Poemen never gave his mind to the Lord, and that his knowledge was superior to that of [any] one of the old men. The Sayings of the holy Fathers 538. Abbé Ammon asked Abba Poemen concerning the impure thoughts that were born of a man, and [concerning] vain lusts; and Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘Shall the axe boast ‘‘itself against him that wieldeth it?” 539. Abba Betimius asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘Ifa man ‘““be angry with me, and I express my contrition, and he will “‘not accept it, what am I to do?” the old man said unto him, ‘Take with thee two of thy friends, and express thy contrition ‘‘[in their presence].” And the old man Betimius said unto him, ‘And if he will not be persuaded [to accept it] then? And Abba Poemen answered and said, ‘‘Take with thee five others”; and Abba Betimius answered and said, ‘‘And if he will not ‘“be persuaded by these?” Abba Poemen saith, ‘‘Then take ‘‘ with thee a priest”; and Abba Betimius said, ‘‘And if he will ‘not be persuaded [then]?”? Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘ Without anger and without excitement pray unto God that “‘ He may put into his mind [the desire for peace], and straight- ‘“way thou shalt have no further care.”’

540. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Tell me, brother, if thou ‘““hast acquired the seal of work, which is humility?” A holy man who saw another sinning wept bitterly, saying, ‘‘This *‘man may sin to-day, but how many times shall I sin to-mor- “row? In whatsoever way a man may sin before thee, do not ‘condemn him, but think in thy mind that thou art a greater ‘sinner than he, even though he be a man in the world, and[re- “‘member] besides that he is sinning greatly against God.” 541. Certain brethren went to visit Abba Poemen, and whilst they were sitting with him, they praised a certain brother, saying, ‘‘He hateth evil things.” Abba Poemen said unto him that spake unto him, ‘‘ What is the hatred of evil things?” Now the brother was astonished, and he found nothing to say; and he rose up and threw himself before the old man, saying: “Do thou tell me what is the hatred of evil things.”’ And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ The hatred of evil things is for a man “‘to hate his own sins, and to justify those of his neighbour.” 542. A certain brother committed an offence in Scete, the camp of the monks, and when a congregation was assembled on this matter, they sent after Abba Moses, but he refused to come; then they sent the priest of the church to him, saying, ‘“Come, for all the people are expecting thee,” and he rose up and came. And he took a basket with a hole in it and filled it with sand, and carried it upon his shoulders, and those who went out to meet him said unto him, ‘‘ What meaneth this, O ‘‘father?” And he said unto them, ‘‘{The sands are] my sins “which are running down behind me and I cannot see them, ‘‘and I, even I, have come this day to judge shortcomings

‘‘which are not mine.’’ And when they heard |this] they set “‘ free that brother and said nothing [further] to him. 543. Abba Moses entreated Abba Zechariah, saying, «‘ Speak a word of consolation unto the brethren,” and Zech- “‘ariah took his cloak, and laid it beneath his feet, saying, ‘¢ Except a man let himself be trodden upon thus he cannot ‘*be a monk.” 544. A brother asked Abba Alénis, saying, ‘‘What is the ‘‘ meaning of a man despising himself?” The old man said unto him, ‘“‘It meaneth that thou must set thyself below all the “‘ beasts, for thou must remember that they will not be judged.” 5. And the same old man said also, ‘‘If a man accustom ‘‘ himself to be a teacher, this act belongeth to labour.” 546. A brother asked Abba Poemen, saying, “ What is the ‘‘ right manner for me to live in my cell?” Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘How a man should live in his cell is known to ‘‘men, that is to say, he must work with his hands, and eat “once [daily], and hold his peace always, and meditate on the ‘‘ Holy Scriptures; but for a man to gain profit inwardly (or “< secretly), he must bear the condemnation of himself whither- ‘‘soever he goeth, and he must not neglect the times of ser- ‘vice and of secret labour. And if it happen that thou hast ‘‘ made the time unprofitable, when thou goest into the con- ‘‘ gregation of service complete thy service without troubling ‘thyself; by the fulfilment of these things, grasp to thyself ‘an upright congregation, so that thou mayest draw nigh ‘thereto, but keep thyself remote from the assemblies of evil ‘‘ things.”

547. On one occasion when Abba Arsenius was in his cell the devils rose up against him and vexed him; and those who used to minister to him came to him, and as they stood outside his cell they heard him crying out to God, saying, ‘‘O «« God, forsake me not. I have never done before Thee anything ‘‘ which is good, but grant, O Lord, according to Thy grace, “that I may begin in the way.” 548. Now, when he was about to die Alexander and Zoilus, his brethren and disciples, were greatly disturbed, and he said unto them, ‘‘Why are ye troubled? The hour hath “not yet come.” They said unto him, ‘‘ We are not troubled ‘‘about thee, father.” And he said unto them, ‘‘When the ‘‘hour hath come I will tell you, for it will be for me to rise up ‘‘ against you before the throne of Christ if ye give my bones ‘“to any man.” Then they said unto him, ‘‘ What shall we do «then? For we do not know how to bury [thee].”” The old man said unto them, ‘‘Do ye not know how to throw a cord round ‘¢my legs and to carry me outside the mountain?”

The Savings of the holy Fathers 549. And his word at all times was this, ‘“Arsenius, because ‘*thou didst go forth”; and he used to repeat this saying, ‘‘That I have spoken I have many times repented; that I held ‘‘my peace I have never repented.” : 550. On one occasion the governor of the country seized one of the inhabitants of his village, and the people entreated the old man to go and bring out him that had been seized; and the old man said unto them, ‘‘Leave me for three days, and after- ‘*wards I] will go.” Then Abba Poemen prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘‘Lord, if thou dost not grant me this act of grace the ‘“people will not allow me to live in this place’’; and the old man went to entreat the governor, and the governor said unto him, ‘‘Yea, father, thou makest entreaty for a thief.” And the old man rejoiced that he did not receive from Him this aét of i 551. On one occasion certain old men went to visit Abba Anthony, and Abba Joseph was with them, and the old man wishing to try them spake a word from the Book, and began to question the youngest of them, saying, ‘‘ What is the mean- ‘“‘ing of this word?” And each of them said, ‘‘I have never ‘“‘yet understood it,” and last of all Abba Anthony said unto Abba Joseph, ‘‘And what dost thou say that this word meaneth?” Abba Joseph saith, ‘‘I do not know.” And Abba Anthony said unto him, ‘‘In truth, Abba Joseph, thou hast found the way to say, ‘I do not know.’”

552. Abba Muthues said, ‘‘In proportion as a man draweth ‘‘nigh unto God, it is meet that he should regard himself asa ‘sinner, for the Prophet Isaiah (chap. vi, 5), who saw the ‘** Lord, calleth himself wretched and unclean.” 553. The old man used to say, ‘‘ Who sold Joseph?” They said unto him, ‘‘His brethren,” and the old man said unto them, ‘‘No, it was humility that sold him. For he never said, ‘‘*T am your brother,’ and he never answered them, but held ‘his peace. He sold himself by his humility, and this humility ‘“‘made him governor over the land of Egypt.” 554. A brother came to Abba Muthues, and said unto him, ‘‘ How is it that those who are in Scete do more than that ‘““which is written in the Book, for they love their enemies ‘“more than themselves?” Muthues said unto them, ‘‘I do ‘“‘not yet love even the man who loveth me more than I love myself.” 555. There was a certain old man in Egypt before those who belonged to the company of Abba Poemen came there, and he possessed knowledge and great honour; and when those of the following of Abba Poemen went up from Scete, every man left [that old man] and came to Abba Poemen and those who

were with him, and the old man was filled with envy, and he cursed the followers of Abbé Poemen because of this. Now AbbA Poemen heard of it, and he was vexed about it, and he said unto the brethren who were with him, ‘‘ What shall we ‘6 do for this old man? For the men who have forsaken him ‘‘have cast us into vexation, and they have left that holy old ‘‘ man and turned their looks upon us, who are nothing. How ‘‘then can we satisfy this old man?” Then he said unto the brethren who were with him, ‘‘Make ye some bread and boil ‘a little food, and we will go to him, and will take with us ‘‘ also a vessel of wine, and we will eat with him, and perhaps ‘“by these means we shall be able to pacify him”; and they took the food and went to him. And when they had knocked at the door his disciple looked out and asked them, “ Who ‘‘are ye?” And they said unto him, ‘Tell the Abba that it is ‘*Poemen, and he wisheth to be blessed by him”; and when his disciple had told him this, the old man said, ‘‘ Send them ‘‘ away,” and he said, ‘‘I have not leisure [to receive them].” Then the disciple told them these things, but they stayed there lovingly, saying, ‘‘We will not go away unless we are held to ‘‘be worthy of the blessing of the old man.” Now, when the old man saw their humility and patient persistence, hejrepented, and opened the door to them, and when they were eating together, he said unto them, ‘‘Verily, the things which ‘© ] have heard were in you are not in you, but indeed what I ‘« see in you is a hundredfold [greater than what I expected]; and he became unto them a friend from that day.

56. On a certain occasion when Abba John was sitting before the church, the brethren surrounded him, and asked him about their thoughts, and when one of the old men saw him, he said unto him, ‘‘Thy repentance is full of sorceries.” Abba John said unto him, ‘‘It is even so, and this thou sayest hav- ‘ing only seen what is without, but if thou couldst see what ‘6g within what wouldst thou say?” 557. Muthues repeated the following:—‘‘When I was a ‘‘young man I used to say to myself, ‘Perhaps thou wilt do ‘«*something good’; but now that I am an old man I see that ‘‘] have not done even one good work.” 558. He used to say concerning Abba Macarius that, if the brethren drew nigh unto him in fear, as toa great and holy old man, he would not answer them a word, but if one of the brethrentreated him with familiarcontempt, [saying], ‘‘Father, if thou ‘©wert a camel wouldst thou not steal the natron and sell it, ‘‘ and would not the driver beat thee?” he would answer him. And if any man spake unto him in anger, or with words similar to these, he would answer any question which was put to him.

The Savings of the tholy Fathers Chapter rj. Of Fornication CERTAIN monk was engaged, on one occasion, in a A«« against fornication, and he had in his heart, as it © were, a burning fire by day and by night; but he bore 559. this agony, and did not bring low his mind, and after a long time the war passed away from him, but he was unable to vanquish it in any way except by patient endurance, and straightway light rose on his mind. t 560. And another brother also was engaged in a war against fornication, and he rose up by night, and came to one of the old men and told him his mind, and the old man persuaded him [to endure], and he was helped, and went [back] to his cell. And again he came unto the old man, and again he helped him, and the brother went [back] to his cell; and the war came upon him the third time, and again he went back by night to the old man, and the old man did not cause him pain but spake with him for his benefit, and said unto him, ‘‘Give it no op- ‘‘portunity, but come hither whensoever the devil vexeth thee, *‘and thou wilt expose him, and when he hath been exposed he *‘ will take to flight. For nothing vexeth the devil of fornica- ‘tion so much as that a man should hide his thoughts and “‘not reveal them.” Now that brother came to the old man eleven times and made accusations against his thoughts, for he wished to be helped; and when the old man spake unto him that devil took to flight, but when he came [back] to his cell the war came upon him. At length the brother said unto the old man, ‘‘Do an act of grace, father, and tell me a word ‘(whereby I may live].” The old man said unto him, ‘Be of ‘* good courage, my son, and if God permitteth my thought it ‘‘shall come to thee, and thou shalt bear it no longer, but ‘thou shalt depart being innocent.” He said this, and God did away the war of that brother.

561. And another brother was engaged in a war against fornication, and he bore it with very great self-restraint for fourteen years, and he guarded his mind against being subservient to lust, and at length he came to the church, and made known the matter unto all the people; and when they heard [it] they were pained, and they prayed for a whole week to God on his behalf, and afterwards He did away the war that was in him. 562. On one occasion Abba Moses of Patard was engaged in a war against fornication, and he could not endure being in his cell, and he went and informed Abbé Isidore of it; and the old man entreated him to return to his cell, but he would not agree [to this]. And having said, ‘‘Father, I cannot bear ity? the old man took him up to the roof of his cell, and said unto him, ‘‘ Look to the west,” and when he looked he saw multitudes of devils with troubled and terrified aspects, and they shewed themselves in the forms of phantoms which were in fighting attitudes. Abba Isidore saith unto him, ‘‘ Look to the ‘Seast,” and when he looked he saw innumerable holy angels standing [there], and they were in a state of great glory. Then Abba Isidore said unto him, ‘‘Behold, those who are in the “ west are those who are fighting with the holy ones, and those «‘ whom thou hast seen in the east are they who are sent by ‘* God to the help of the saints, for those who are with us are “many.” And having seen [these] Abba Moses took courage and returned to his cell without fear.

563. One of the old men said concerning the lustful thoughts which come into the heart of a man, and which are not carried into effect, that they are like unto a man who seeth a vineyard, and who desireth to eat the grapes thereof, but is afraid to go in lest he be caught and suffer death. If he be caught outside the hedge he will not die, because he hath neither gone into the vineyard nor hath eaten the grapes, but hath only desired; now he shall be beaten with few stripes, because he hath coveted, but he shall not die. 64. There was a certain old man, who lived in a cell, and his thoughts said unto him, ‘‘Go, take to thyself a woman”; then he rose up straightway and kneaded together some mud, and made the figure of a woman, and he said to himself, ‘‘ Be- ‘“hold thy wife! It is necessary for thee to labour with all thy “‘ might that thou mayest be able to feed her.” And he laboured with his hands and twisted many ropes. Then after a few days, he rose up and made a figure of a woman, and said unto his thoughts, ‘‘Behold, thy wife hath brought forth, it is ne- ‘« cessary for thee to work harder to keep thy wife and to clothe ‘thy daughter”; and thus doing he vexed his body sorely. And he said unto his thought, ‘‘I cannot bear [all] this work, ‘and since I am unable to bear the work, a wife is unneces- ‘sary for me”; and God saw his labour, and did away his thoughts [of fornication], and he had peace.

. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘As the sword-bearer stand- ‘« th before the king, being always ready [to smite], so is it ‘‘ meet for the soul which is prepared to stand [ready] to re- ‘ sist the devil of fornication.” . They used to say that Mother Sarah contended against the devil of fornication for seven years on the roof [of her house], before she vanquished him. 567. One of the old men said, ‘‘It is written concerning «¢Solomon that he loved women, but every male loveth the fe- The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘“males, and we must restrain and draw onwards our nature ‘*by main force to purity.” 1 ; 568. A brother asked Abba Daniel, and said unto him, ‘‘De- ‘liver to me a commandment”; [and he said unto him], ‘‘ Never ‘‘ place thy hand in a dish and eat with a woman, and thou wilt ‘be able to flee from the devil of fornication.” 569. They used to say that the great old man Abraham arrived at a monastery, and that he also saw there a youth, and that he refused to pass the night there; and the brethren who were with him said unto him, ‘‘ Art thou also afraid, O father?” The old man said unto them, ‘‘ Indeed, my sons, I am not afraid, ‘“but of what use is a vain war to me?”

570. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ What shall I do? ‘* For my thoughts are [fixed] always upon fornication, and they ‘will not give me peace even for a moment; and thus is my ‘soul vexed.” And the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘ When these thoughts spring up in thee speak not with them, ‘‘for it belongeth to them to rise up with continual anxiety, ‘‘and not to be sluggish, but they have no power to force thee, ‘‘for it belongeth to thee either to accept them or not. Hast ‘thou not seen what the Midianites did, how they adorned their ‘‘women and set them up, but they forced no man to take ‘‘them? those who wished to do so fell into them, and those ‘who did not became wroth, and made a slaughter in their “wrath. Even so is it with the thoughts.” Then that brother said unto him, ‘‘What then shall I do? For I am weak, and ‘passion overcometh me.” The old man said unto him, “Con- ‘‘sider thy thoughts well, and when they begin to speak to ‘“‘thee, answer them never a word, but rise up and pray, and ‘““meditate upon holy words.” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘ Behold, father, I do meditate [on holy words], and the passion ‘‘riseth not in my heart, but I do not know the power of the “words”; then the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘Thou canst only [continue] to meditate, but I have heard ‘Abba Poemen and many fathers say this word: ‘The en- ‘**chanter knoweth not the power of the words which he uttereth, but when the animal heareth them, it knoweth ‘* ‘their power, and he becometh subservient, and submitteth ‘* “itself [to him].’ Even so is it with us, for although we do not ‘‘ know the power of the words whereon we meditate, the devils ‘“ know their power as soon as they hear them.”

571. The old men in Scete were asked concerning fornication, ‘‘ When doth a man see a face in the passion stirred up in him?” And they said, ‘‘ This matter is like unto a table which is loaded ‘with meats of all kinds, and a man who seeketh and desireth ‘to eat of them; but if a man putteth not forth his hand and Of Fornication “‘taketh not of the meats he becometh.a stranger unto pethem.” 572. They used to say that Abba Isaac went out and found the footprint of a woman on the road, and he thought about it in his mind and destroyed it, saying, ‘‘ If a brother seeth it he “may fall.” 573. A brother asked Abba Agathon concerning fornication, and he said unto him, ‘‘Go, cast thy feebleness before God, ‘*and thou shalt find relief.” 574. A brother asked a father, and said unto him, ‘‘There is ‘a war of fornication against me,” and the old man said unto him, ‘‘If it be a good thing, why goest thou away from it, but ‘if it be a bad thing why dost not thou command it [to de- “* part]?” 575. A certain brother, being vexed by the spirit of fornication, went to a great old man, and entreated him, saying, “Do an act of grace, and pray for me, for I am disturbed by ‘* fornication,’ and the old man made supplication unto God and entreated Him. And the brother came to him a second time, and said the same words as before, and the old man also was not neglectful in beseeching God on his behalf. Now when the brother had come to the old man, and troubled him in this way many times because he was disturbed by fornication, the old man afterwards entreated God, and said, ‘‘O Lord, reveal ‘Cunto me the manner in which this brother liveth, and whence “‘ cometh the reason why I have entreated Thee so often on his “‘ behalf, and he hath not found relief.” Then God revealed unto him the affair of that brother, and he saw him dwelling with the spirit of fornication by him, and that brother lusting for it, and an angel was standing by [ready] to help him; and he was angry with that brother because he did not cast himself upon God, but was involving his mind therein. And straightway the old man knew that the cause lay with the brother himself, and he made him to undertand this, and he roused him up, and afterwards he took heed to himself.

576. A brother asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘The body is ‘« feeble, but my passions are not weak”; the old man said unto him, ‘‘ The passions make thorns to grow and burst into flower.” 577. A brother asked Abba Poemen concerning the passions of the body, and the old man said unto him, ‘‘They are like ‘unto those who sang praises to the image of Nebuchad- ‘‘nezzar, for if those who sang had not burned men [people] ‘‘ would never have worshipped the image; and in this wise the ‘‘ Enemy also singeth to the soul by means of the passions, so ‘that he may perchance be able to make it commit sin through ‘“the passion of the body.” The Savings of the tholy Fathers 578. Anold man used to say, ‘‘Salt is produced by water, but “if it falleth into water it becometh dissolved and is lost; ‘‘ similarly monks are born of women, but if they fall into wo- ‘‘men they are dissolved and perish from God.” 579. A certain father when he went out to become a monk was a virgin, and he did not even know that a whore existed among the children of men. And when he was dwelling in his cell the devils began to stir up in him the passion of fornication, and lifting up his eyes he saw the devils going round about him in the forms of Ethiopians, and they incited him to yield to the passion; then he rose up straightway and prayed, and said, ‘“O Lord, help me,” and when he had said these things immediately a stone fell from the roof, and he heard, as it were, a sweet voice, and he seemed to enjoy a short respite from the thoughts of fornication. And he rose up and came to one of the old men and related the matter to him, and the old man answered and said, ‘‘I know not what this meaneth”’; and he sent him on to Abba Poemen, and that brother related the matter unto him also. Then the old man said unto him, ‘‘The stone which thou ‘* didst see fall is the Calumniator, and that voice which thou ‘* didst hear is lust. Take heed unto thy soul, and make suppli- ‘cation unto God, and behold, thou shalt be freed from this ‘war’; and Abba Poemen taught him how to contend against devils, and having prayed, he dismissed him, and that brother came to his cell. And he made entreaty and supplication unto God, and God granted him to attain to such a gift | of excellence} that, when that brother died, He was pleased that there should be revealed unto him whether it was well with his soul or not.

Now in another manuscript instead of the words, ‘‘He ‘*rose up and prayed,” it is thus written:—He saw the devils surrounding him in the forms of Ethiopians and they were inciting him to yield to the passion. And he said, ‘‘This natural ‘‘member which stablisheth man is like unto a spout in a tank ‘which letteth out water, and it is also like a conduit which ‘‘carrieth the water off a roof; similarly this member carrieth ‘‘ off water from a man.” And having said these words straightway the stone fell, &c. 580. On one occasion a certain man went out to Scete to become a monk, and he took with him his son as soon as he had been weaned; and when the boy was grown up and had become a young man, the war of fornication attacked him, and he said unto his father, ‘‘I will go into the world, father, for I cannot ‘‘endure this striving against fornication.” Then his father entreated him to persevere, but at length the boy said to his father, ‘* Father, I cannot bear it any longer, let me go”; and his father said unto him, ‘‘ My son, hearken to me for this time only.

“(Take thee seven pairs of cakes of bread, and a few palm “leaves, sufficient for forty days, [and get thee into the desert], ‘and may God’s will be done.” And his son hearkened unto him, and he took [the bread and palm leaves] and departed, and he remained [in the desert] working, and twisting dry palm leaves into ropes, and plaiting mats, and eating dry bread, and he lived a life of seclusion for twenty days. And he looked, and behold, the work of fornication came and drew nigh unto him, and it stood up before him in the form of an Ethiopian woman whose smell was exceedingly foul; but he was unable to endure her smell, and he drove her away from his presence. Then she said unto him, ‘‘In the hearts of men ‘‘T am a sweet smell, and a pleasant one, but because of thine ‘¢ obedience and labour God hath not permitted me to lead thee ‘* astray; but I have, nevertheless, made thee acquainted with ‘‘ my smell.” And the young man rose up, and came to his father, and said unto him, ‘I no longer wish to go into the “‘ world, for I have seen the matter of fornication, and I have “« smelled its foul odour” ;now the father knew of a certainty that the young man had been satisfied in his mind on the subject, and he said to his son, ‘‘ Hadst thou remained [in the desert] ‘* forty days and kept my commandment, thou wouldst most ‘‘ certainly have seen a vision which was far more excellent.” 581. On one occasion a brother came to Abba Poemen, and said unto him, ‘‘ What shall I do, father, for I am vexed by “fornication? And behold, I came unto Nebatién [Anicetus], ‘Cand he said unto me, ‘It is not right that those thoughts “© «should stay with thee so long.’”” Abba Poemen saith unto him, ‘‘ The labour of Abba Anicetus is high and exalted, and his “thoughts are above with the angels, and he hath forgotten ‘‘that I and thou are whoremongers; but if thou wishest, ‘‘ hearken unto me, and I also will speak to thee: If a monk ‘can hold fast his belly, and his tongue, and his love for going ‘‘ about as a stranger, thou mayest be sure that he is able to ‘‘ become a monk in very truth, and that he will not die.” 582. A brother asked an old man, and said unto him, ‘‘What ‘ Shall I do? For fornication is killing me.”’ The old man said unto him, ‘‘ When a mother is about to wean her son she ‘¢ smeareth aloes over her breasts, and when the child cometh ‘to suck as usual, he shrinketh away and taketh to flight. Do ‘thou also then put bitter aloes in thy heart, and straightway ‘the wicked devils will fly therefrom.” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘ What kind of bitter aloes is it right for me to place

‘‘therein.” The old man saith unto him, The remembrance “‘ of the death and punishment which are laid up in the world ‘“ which is to come.” 131 II-9a The Savings of the holy Fathers 583. A brother asked an old man, ‘‘ Whence come the ‘‘temptations of fornication which attack me?” The old man said, ‘‘ They come because thou eatest and drinkest largely, ‘©and because thou sleepest until thou art satisfied.” ; 584. Abba John used to say, ‘‘ Whosoever talketh as much ‘as he can with a woman, hath already committed adultery ‘‘with her in his mind.” 585. On one occasionacertain brothercame to Abba Muthues and asked him, saying, ‘‘ Is calumny worse than fornication?” And the old man said, ‘‘ Fornication is worse.’’ The brother said unto him, ‘‘ How can this be ?’”’ And the old man said unto him, ‘‘Calumny is a wicked thing, but it receiveth healing “quickly, and the calumniator repenteth, saying, ‘I have ‘** spoken evilly many times’; but fornication in the body is ‘* death in [its] nature.” 586. There was in Scete a certain monk who strove hard [against sin], and the Enemy sowed in him the remembrance of a certain woman with a beautiful face, and he troubled him greatly through her. And by the Providence of God a certain brother who came down from Egypt went to visit him, and it came to pass that whilst they were conversing together the brother who had gone to visit him said, ‘‘Such and such a ‘‘woman is dead”; now she was the very woman the remembrance of whom was being stirred up in the monk. And when the other brother heard this, he rose up, and took his headcloth, and went up by night to Egypt, and opened her grave, and he smeared himself with the filthy and putrefying matter of the dead body of the woman, and then went back to his cell. And he set that thing of filth before his mind at all times, and he did battle with his thought, saying, ‘‘ Behold thy lust, and ‘‘that which thou didst require! Behold, I have brought it unto ‘‘thee; take thy fill thereof.” And he used to torture himself with [the remembrance of] that filthy thing until the war which was in him was quieted.

587. One of the brethren asked Abba Zeno, now he had great freedom of speech with him, saying, ‘‘ Behold, thou hast ‘“grown old, how is the matter of fornication?” The old man said unto him, ‘It knocketh, but it passeth on.” Then one of the brethren asked him, ‘‘ What is the meaning of ‘It knock- ‘“‘eth, but it passeth on?’” The old man said unto him, ‘Imagine now that one brought to thy mind the remembrance ‘‘of a certain woman, and that thou didst say, ‘ Oh,’ but that ‘thou didst not allow it to go up in thy mind; [that is what ‘It ‘‘*Iknocketh, but passeth on’ meaneth]; now young men are “excited by 16277 588. A brother asked Abba Theodore of Scete, saying, ‘‘ The “thought of fornication cometh, and it troubleth and disturb- ‘‘ eth the mind, but it is not able to commit the deed; and it ‘certainly cannot help, but it can hinder the course towards ‘« spiritual excellence’; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ The ‘‘man who is wakeful and strenuous struggleth and casteth ‘©it from him and standeth up to prayer.” 589. And again a certain old man from Parmis [spake] against this thought, saying, ‘‘ If we do not possess thoughts ‘“we become the prey of the Enemy, for he, even like an ‘ordinary enemy, demandeth that which is his; therefore ‘let us, in the same manner, do what is ours to do. Let us «stand up in prayer, and straightway he will flee; be constant ‘Cin the service of God, and thou shalt conquer; strive, and ‘thou shalt be crowned.”

500. Against this thought of fornication a brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ What shall I do about the mind of fornica- ‘‘ tion which vexeth me?” And Abba Copres the Alexandrian answered and said, ‘‘ If thou hast no minds (07 thoughts) thou ‘‘ wilt have no hope, so then their work is with thee; for he ‘‘ who performeth their work hath no thoughts. Peradventure ‘thou hast the custom of talking with a woman?” And the brother said unto him, ‘No, I have not, but they are thoughtsof ‘ former times and of recent times which trouble me.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Thou shalt not be afraid of the dead, but ‘fear the things which are living, and cast thyself down in ‘‘ prayer before God. For if we have no thoughts we are mere ‘‘ animals. As the enemy worketh for that which is his, even ‘so let us do for that which is ours. Let us stand up in prayer, ‘© and let us have a care for doctrine, and let us endure, for ‘‘ patient endurance is victory. Unless a man striveth he will ‘‘ never be crowned. For there are in the world athletes who ‘though wounded conquer nevertheless, and however many ‘‘times one man may be wounded by two [others], if he can ‘‘ endure the blows he will be able to conquer those who smote “him. Observe then what a degree of endurance is possessed ‘‘by such men for the sake of the merchandise of this world! “‘ To thou then endure, and God shall strive with thine enemies ‘€on thy behalf whilst thou mayest remain quiet.”

501. Against the thought [of fornication] another old man who dwelt in the desert used to say, ‘‘Thou wishest to live ‘whilst thou art asleep! Go, and labour. Go, and work. Go, ‘‘ seek, and ye shall find. Awake and stand up. Knock, and it ‘« shall be opened unto thee. For there are in the world athletes ‘‘ who are called ‘pugilists,’ who smite each other, and who ‘‘ are held to be worthy of the victory because they fight per- ‘sistently and endure; these men do not withdraw defeated The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘“when they are wounded, for however many times one | of ‘ them] may be smitten by two [others], and however [many ‘«may be] the blows which he will suffer from them, he con- ‘‘ tinueth to fight, and he conquereth and is crowned.” 592. Against the thought [of fornication] another old man said, ‘‘Such things will happen unto thee through negligence. ‘« For if it be certain to us that God dwelleth in us, we can never ‘“ become a habitation for others, and we can never give our ‘souls over to become vessels for the service of aliens. For ‘our Lord Who dwelleth in us, and is found in us, is able to ‘‘watch over our lives; and it is not right for us to neglect or ‘to hold lightly Him for Whose sake we have put Him on, ‘*and Whom we see. But let us make ourselves pure even as ‘‘ He is pure. Stand up then upon a rock, and if the river be ‘‘violently disturbed thou shalt not fear, and behold, thy ‘building shall not shake; and sing with might, saying, ‘© “Those who put their hope in the Lord shall be like Mount ‘¢ «Zion (Psalm cxxy, 1), and he who dwelleth in Jerusalem ‘« «shall never be moved.’ The Enemy said unto our Redeemer, ‘¢«T will send these who belong to me against those who _be- ‘‘“long to Thee that they may drive them back; and if they ‘*do evil to Thy chosen ones I cannot [help it], and I will ‘* ‘trip them up, even though I can only do so in dreams of ‘* “the night.’ Then our Redeemer said unto him, ‘If an abor- ‘* ‘tion can inherit his father[’s possessions] this also shall be ‘accounted as sin to My chosen ones.’”’

593. Against the thought [of fornication] another old man spake, saying, ‘‘Be thou like unto a man who passeth through ‘*a street of tavern-keepers, and who smelleth the odour of ‘‘ boiling meats, or the whiff of something which is being ‘roasted; he who wisheth entereth into [one of them] and ‘‘eateth, and he who doth not wish [to do so] smelleth the ‘‘meats as he passeth by and then goeth on. Drive away then ‘*from thee the fetid smell of evil thoughts, and stand up and ‘‘ pray, saying, ‘O Son of God, help me.’ The same thing is ‘‘also to be said about other thoughts, for we are not the roots ‘‘of the thoughts, but are those who strive against them.” Excellent Counsels concerning Fornication by one of the boly old Men OW on thy account, O son of man, Christ was born, N and the Son of God came that He might make thee to live. He became a Child. He became a man, being also 594. God. He Who was the Lawgiver became a reader [of the Law], and He took the Book in the congregation, and He read, saying, ‘‘ The Spirit of God is upon me, and for this reason He

‘‘hath anointed me, and hath sent me to preach the Gospel unto “the poor.” Like a servant He made a whip of rope, and He drove forth from the temple all those who sold oxen, and cattle, and doves, and other things. Like a servant He girded a napkin about His loins, and washed the feet of His disciples, and He commanded them to wash the feet of their brethren. Like an elder He sat among the elders, and taught the people. Like a Bishop He took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to His disciples; and He was beaten for thy sake, that is to say, for thy sake He was crucified, and for thy sake He died. Vet thou for His sake wilt not even endure insult! He rose as God. He was exalted as God. All these things for our sake, all these things by Divine Providence, all these thing's properly and in due order did He do that He might redeem us. Let us then be watchful, and strenuous, and constant in prayer, and let us do everything which will please Him, and will gratify His friends, so that we may be redeemed and live. Was not Joseph sold into Egypt, and did he not live in an alien land? And the three simple young men in Babylon, had they not men who opposed them? Yet, because they were fearing God, He helped them, and made them glorious.

595. An old man who had delivered himself unto God used to say, ‘*The monk must have no will of his own, but he whose «‘ will is of God continueth to minister to Him unwearyingly; ‘for if thou doest thine own will, thou becomest weary, and ‘¢thou labourest, and God hearkeneth not to thee.” And the old man also said, ‘‘ He who liveth in God liveth with Him, ‘for He saith, I will dwell in them, and I will walk in them, ‘© and they shall be to Me a people, and I will be to them a ‘6 God” (Exodus vi, 7). 96. And the old man also said, ‘‘God saith unto thee thus:— “Tf thou lovest Me, O monk, do that which I ask, and do ‘not that which I do not desire. For monks should lead lives “‘ wherein they a¢t not in iniquity, and a man should not look ‘upon evil things with his eyes, nor hear with his ears things ‘‘ which are alien to the fear of God, nor utter calumnies with ‘‘his mouth, nor plunder with his hands; but he should give ‘‘ especially to the poor, and he should not be [unduly] exalted ‘‘in his mind, and he should not think evil thoughts, neither « should he fill his belly. Let him do then all these things with ‘‘ discretion, for by them is a monk known.” The old man also said, ‘‘These things [form] the life of a monk: Good works, ‘‘and obedience, and training. A man should not lay blame ‘‘on his neighbour, and he should not utter calumnies, and he ‘‘ should not complain, for it is written, The lovers of the Lord ‘‘ hate wickedness.”

The Sayings of the holy Fathers 597. A brother on several occasions troubled an old man, and said unto him, ‘‘What shall I do with the impure and ‘‘ wicked thoughts of divers kinds which force their way into ‘“me by various means?” The old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘ Thou art like unto a cistern which hath been dug out, ‘“and which is sometimes full, but which, when a man cometh ‘‘to draw water thereat, is found [to be dry]. Why dost thou ‘“not make thyself more like a fountain of water which is never ‘‘ without [water]? Persistence is victory, and victory is con- ‘‘stancy, and constancy is life, and life is kingdom, and king- ‘“dom is God.” there end the Questions concerning the Thoughts of Fornication, and the Answers thereto, and the Couns sels of the tholy Old Aden Chapter rif. Of the Acceptance of Repentance, and of bow it is right for us to Repent in Truth WO brethren were in restraint to the lust of fornication, and they went and took to themselves wives. At length, however, they repented, and said to each other, 598. ‘‘ What have we gained by leaving the labour of angels, ‘‘and coming to this [state of] impurity, since after the present ‘* life we shall be delivered over to fire and everlasting torture? ‘ Let us return to the desert and repent.” And they went forth straightway, and came to the desert to the fathers, and they entreated them to offer up supplications on their behalf; now the outward appearance of both was the same, and they shut themselves up for one year, and they made supplications to God, and entreated Him to pardon them, and to each of the two brethren a like quantity of bread and water was given. Now after their period of repentance was fulfilled, they went forth from their seclusion; and the old men saw that the countenance of one was changed, and that it was exceedingsy sad, whilst that of the other brother was cheerful and glad, and the fathers marvelled why, seeing that the two men had deen partaking of the same amount of food, and had endured the same restraint, the face of one was so different from that of the other. And they asked him of the sad face, saying, ‘What didst thou think about in thy cell?” And he said, ‘‘On the evil things which I have committed, and I think ‘“‘about the torture which is to come, and by reason of my fear ‘‘ my flesh cleaveth to my bones.” And they asked him whoseappearance was cheerful, saying, ‘‘Do thou also tell us what thou ““didst think about in thy cell.” And he said, ‘I gave thanks *“unto God, Who hath delivered me from the impurity of this “‘world, and from everlasting punishment, and Who hath 136

On the Acceptance of Repentance ‘‘brought me to this labour of angels, and with such things I ‘*remembered God and rejoiced.”” Then the old men said, ‘* The repentance of each is equal before God.” 599. An old man was asked by one who toiled, ‘‘Is the re- ‘pentance of sinners accepted by God?” And the old man, after he had taught him with many words, said unto him, ““Tell me, O my beloved one: if thy cloak were to be torn in ‘*rags, wouldst thou throw it away?” And he said unto him, ‘*No, but I would sew up the rents, and then I could use it ‘‘again.” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ If thou wouldst ‘“shew pity upon thy garment which hath no feeling, shall not ‘*God shew pity on that which He hath fashioned, and which **is His work?” 600. A certain brother fell into temptation, and through tribulation relinquished the garb of monkhood; and he wished to begin to renew his ascetic life, but he saw the great difficulty of the matter, and he drew back, and said, ‘‘ When shall ‘*T ever find myself in the same condition as I was formerly?” And through fear he did not begin his work, and he went and made the matter known to an old man, and the old man said, ‘‘The matter is thus: There was a certain man who possessed ‘€an estate, and he held it to be of no account and did not “* cultivate it, and it became full of tangled undergrowth and ‘thorns. Now one day he remembered it, and he sent his ‘*son, and said unto him, ‘Go, clean the estate.’ And when he ‘‘had gone and seen the abundance of the undergrowth he ‘©was afraid, and said to himself, ‘When shall I be able to ‘©clean away all this undergrowth?’ And he threw himself ‘upon a bed, and lay down, and went to sleep, and thus he ‘‘ did every day. Then his father went forth and found that he ‘‘ was asleep, and that he had done nothing; and he said unto ‘“‘him, ‘How is it, my son, that no work whatsoever hath ‘been done by thee?’ And he said to his father, ‘When I ‘<¢¢came to work and saw the abundance of the undergrowth, ‘©“] was afraid and said, When shall I be able to clean all ‘<< this away?’ And his father said unto him, ‘ My son, work ‘« ‘according to the measure of thy sleep each day, and it shall ‘be sufficient for thee’; and when he heard [this] the young ‘man plucked up courage, and did thus, and in a short time ‘‘he cleansed the estate. Thus also thou shalt not be afraid, ‘but begin the work of thy rules, and God, by His Grace, will ‘‘ establish thee [among those in] the first rank.” Now when the brother had done thus he was helped.

601. A brother asked one of the old men, and said, * Ifa ‘6 monk stumble and fall into sin, are many labours necessary ‘‘for him, and if he doeth them will he be able to stand in the The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘‘ grade wherein he was formerly? He who goeth forth from ‘the world, and beginneth the cultivation of spiritual excel- “lence, will find it easy to advance, for he who is occupied in ‘‘labours, if it be that he is reduced from the grade wherein ‘“he stood by his stumbling, will be afflicted and grieved in his “mind.” Then the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘A ‘‘ monk is like unto a house which hath fallen down, and if he ‘‘ be awake in his mind (or thought), and if he be zealous and ‘anxious to build that which was fallen down, he will find ‘Cample material which will be of use in his building among ‘‘the remains of that which fell down before [he began to ‘‘build]; for he will find the foundation stones, and the old ‘‘stones from the walls, and other things, which were em- ‘ployed in the old building, and out of these, if he be so ‘‘ disposed, he will be able to make his building to rear itself ‘Cup better than the man who hath not yet dug the places for ‘¢ the foundations and laid the foundation stones, and who doth ‘“not possess the materials which are to be employed in the ‘building, and who only beginneth to build with the hope ‘that he will be able to finish. And thus is it with him that ‘«falleth from the practice of rules and works of the monkish ‘(life into temptation, for if he turn back, and repent, he will ‘‘ possess ample material from [his] former works of the ascetic ‘life which he possesseth [to begin his building afresh], I ‘‘ mean to say, the training and the service of the work of the ‘‘hands, which is the foundation [thereof]. Whosoever then ‘‘hath gone forth from the world, and beginneth the cultiva- ‘tion of ascetic excellence, when he hath done these things ‘he will still be found standing in the front rank of the soli- ‘*tary (or monkish) life.”

602. One of the old men told the following story, saying:— There was a certain monk who dwelt in the desert, and he lived a life of strict and severe rule, and he was famous among men, and he could even cast out devils and heal the sick. And it came to pass that, through the agency of Satan, the passion of fornication was stirred up against him, and because he was not sufficiently humble to reveal his war unto the old men who were before him, in a few days’ time he fell into fornication with a woman who used to come to him continually for assistance. Now having fallen, he despaired about himself, and he rose up to go to the world, and he was sad and grieved concerning his fall; and he meditated, saying, ‘‘I will go into ‘‘the desert which is further away, and | shall not see any ‘‘man, and I shall not be seen of any, and there I will die ‘like the wild animals.” And when he had gone, and he was wandering about in the desert and in the mountains, On the Acceptance of Repentance he used to cry out by night and by day, saying, ‘‘Woe is me! woe is me!” And he ceased not to weep and to groan. Now there was in that desert a certain solitary old man who dwelt in a cleft in the rock, and when he heard the sound of the weeping and lamentation, his mercy for him revealed itself, and he went forth and met him, and they saluted each other. And the old man answered and said unto him, ‘© Why weepest thou in this fashion?” And the young man said, “‘ Because I have angered God, and because I have fallen ‘¢into fornication.” Then was the old man astonished, and he said, ‘‘O how greatly did I fear and tremble at thy lugubrious ‘voice. For I thought that thou hadst been entrusted with the ‘* eovernorship of the brethren, and that thou hadst governed ‘unjustly, or that thou hadst squandered in an unseemly ‘‘ manner the work of the community. For the harlot repented, ‘‘and for the unbeliever there is a foundation, and the thief is ‘a son of the kingdom, but Ananias and Sapphira were slain ‘‘ because they stole the money of the community of the breth- ‘‘ren, and thus is slain the soul of every one who with fraud ‘‘or carelessness squanders the possessions of the religious ‘houses. But be thou of good courage, O brother, and go ‘“back again to thy cell, and make thine entreaty to God as ‘thou repentest, and He will stablish thee in thy former “‘ grade.” Then the monk went back to his place, and he shut himself in, and never again undertook to talk with any man, except him that handed in to him his food through the little window of his cell, and there he remained until the end of his life, and he attained to a most exalted state of perfection. 603. Abba Ammon of Ritheaén asked Abba Poemen about the impure thoughts which are produced in a man, and the vain lusts; and Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘It belongeth to “‘ Satan to sow them, but it is our affair not to welcome them.” 604. A brother asked Abba Ammon, saying, ‘‘ Behold, there ‘“‘ were two men, the one was a monk, and the other a son of ‘‘the world; now the monk used to determine in the evening ‘*to cast away from him in the morning the garb of the monk, ‘‘and the son of the world used to make up his mind that on ‘the morrow he would take the garb of monkhood. Now it ‘happened that both men died on the same night; how will ‘they be regarded, and which determination will be reckoned ‘to them?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ He who was a monk ‘¢ died a monk, and he who was a child of the world died as ‘such, for as they were found [to be] so were they taken.” 605. A brother asked Abba Sisoes, saying, ‘‘ What shall I ‘do, father? For I have fallen.” The old man said unto him, ‘* Rise up”; and the brother said unto him, ‘‘I did rise up, but

The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘*T fell again.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Rise up again”; and the brother said unto him, ‘‘I did rise up again, many ‘‘times, and I fell [again]. The old man said unto him, ‘Rise ‘up again”; and the brother said unto him, ‘‘Until when?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Until thou advancest, either in ‘“ good deeds or in falling; for in the road wherein a man ad- ‘“vanceth he goeth, whether it be to death or to life.” 606, It happened on one occasion that a brother in the monastery of Abba Hatil (ov Helit) was tempted, [and he fell,] and having been expelled from that place he went to the mountain, to Abba Anthony, and having remained with him for a long time, Abba Anthony sent him back to the monastery from which he had gone forth. Now when the sons of the monastery saw him, they cast him out, and he returned to Abba Anthony, and said unto him, ‘‘ Father, they have refused to receive me”; and Abba Anthony sent them a message, saying, ‘‘A storm ‘rose up against a ship on the sea, and destroyed the freight ‘‘which she carried, but with the greatest difficulty she was ‘“saved [and brought] to land. Now what do ye wish to do? ‘‘Do ye wish to drown him that hath been saved?” And when those monks [heard the words of] Abba Anthony, they sent to the brother, and welcomed him with gladness.

607. Abba Anthony used to say, ‘‘There are many who fall ‘‘and who rise up to an attitude of rectitude, but there are ‘“some who fall from good deeds to polluted things; better is ‘‘ he who falleth and riseth up than he who standeth and then “* falleth.” 608. Abbé Poemen said, ‘‘If a man sinneth, and he saith, ‘‘“T have not sinned,’ and thou chidest him, thou cuttest off ‘‘ his will; but if thou sayest unto him, ‘Be not sorry about this, ‘“““but guard thyself from sinning again,’ by these means thou ‘‘wakest his soul to repentance.” 609. He also said, ‘“‘I prefer a man who hath sinned, and ‘* done wickedly, and repented, to the man who hath not sinned ‘‘and hath not manifested repentance; for the former possesseth ‘‘a humble mind, and the latter esteemeth himself in his ‘thoughts a just man.” 610. Abba SarmAta used to say, “1 prefer a man who hath ‘* sinned, and who knoweth how to acknowledge his sins, to him ‘‘ that doeth righteousness, and who saith, ‘I do what is fair.’” 611. Abba Theodore of Parmé used to say, ‘‘The man who ‘‘is in [a state of] repentance is not bound by the Law.”

612. They used to say that the thoughts of a certain old man used to say unto him, ‘‘ Let to-day go by, and repent to- “morrow”; but he would say, ‘*Nay, not so, for I will repent ‘to-day, and to-morrow shall be as God willeth.” Of the Fathers who wrougbt Wonders 613. There was at one time among the brethren a certain man who at the beginning of his [ascetic] career took good heed unto his soul, but when a short time had elapsed, he began to treat the salvation of his life with contempt; and his Abba ordered him to strip off the garb of the monks, and to put on the apparel of men who are in the world, and to depart from among the brethren. Then the man fell down at his feet, and entreated him, saying, ‘‘If thou wilt forgive me this once only, thou wilt ‘* gain me henceforward, for] repentofthese things which I have ‘‘done through negligence.” And having multiplied and prolonged his entreaties, and made many promises that he would in the future mend his ways, he was held worthy of forgiveness; and he struggled with all the power of his soul to such purpose as to become a pattern to great and small.

Chapter riij. Of [the Fathers who] wrought Wonedertul Works BBA Sisoes said: When we were in Scete, with Abba Aes seven of us went up to reap with him, and behold, a certain widow followed after us gleaning, and 614. she ceased not to weep. And the'old man cried to the lord of the estate, and said unto him, ‘‘What is the matter with the old woman who weepeth continually?” He said unto him, ‘‘ Her husband took a deposit of money from a man and he ‘¢died suddenly without saying with whom he had placed it, ‘Cand the owner of the deposit wisheth to take her and her “« children as slaves.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Tell her to “come to us at the place where we rest at the season of noon,” and it was told to her. And at the season of noon the woman came to them, and the old man said unto her, ‘‘ Woman, why << dost thou weep continually?” And she said, ‘‘ My husband is ‘‘ dead. He had taken a deposit from a certain man, and he died “« suddenly without telling us where he had laid it up.” The old man said unto her, ‘‘Come [and] and show me where ye have “laid him’; and he took the brethren with him, and went with her, and having arrived at the place where the man was laid, the old man said unto her, ‘‘Get thee now to thy house.” And after [she had departed] and he had made an end of his prayer, the old man cried out to the dead man and said, ‘‘O Such-an- ‘one, where hast thou laid up the deposit which belongeth to ‘‘the stranger?” Then the dead man answered straightway, and said, ‘‘It is hidden in my house beneath the leg of the bed”; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Sleep now until the Resur- << rection.”” Now when the brethren saw what had been done, they all fell down at his feet in fear; and the old man said unto them, ‘‘ This hath not happened because of me, O my brethren,

The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘nor is the matter a great one, but God hath wrought this thing “for the sake of the widow and the orphans; but what is great ‘« isthat God desiretha soul which is pureand sinless.” Andwhen they had come they told the widow that the deposit was laid up in such and such a place, and then the old woman brought it up, and gaveittoits owner, and set freeherchildrenfrom slavery. And every one who heard [of this] gave thanks unto God. 615. When Abba Miles (ov Manilius) was passing through a certain place he saw a man holding a monk by force as if he had committed murder, and the old man drew nigh and questioned the brother, and when he learned that he was being wrongfully accused, he said unto those who had seized him, ‘‘Tell me where is the man who hath been murdered”; and they shewed him. Then the old man drew nigh to the murdered man, and said unto all who were standing [there], ‘‘Let us pray”; and when he had spread out his hands in prayer before God, the dead man rose up. And the old man said unto him before every man, ‘‘Tell us who it was that slew “‘ thee’; and he answered and said, ‘‘I went into the church and ‘“gave some money to the elder, and it was he who rose up ‘and killed me, and he carried me out and threw me in the ‘* habitation of this monk. I entreat you that the goods which ‘‘T have given to him may be taken back and given to my ** children.”

616. On one occasion a certain man in the world went to Abba Sisoes in the mountain of Abba Anthony, and he had his son with him, and as they were going along the road his son died; now the man was in no wise disturbed, but he took him up in faith and brought him to the old man, and he came with his son, and fell down before him with his son upon his knees as if he was entreating him to bless them; and the father of the boy went out and left his son [lying] dead at the feet of the old man. Now the old man did not know that the boy was dead, but he thought that he was making supplication and entreaty to him; and he answered and said unto him, ‘‘ Arise, ‘‘and go forth,” and straightway without any delay whatsoever, the youth rose up and went out to his father, who, when he saw him, marvelled; and his father took him and went in and did homage to the old man, and informed him about the matter. Now when the old man heard this he was troubled, for he did not wish this thing to happen because of the praise of men; and his disciple commanded them not to tell the story before any man until the day of his death.

617. One of the fathers used to relate that Abba Paule, who dwelt in Thebes, would take snakes, and scorpions, and horned snakes in his hands, and kill them. And the brethren made Of the Fathers who wrought Wonders apologies to him, and said, ‘‘Father, tell us through what “‘ labour thou hast received this gift.”” And he said unto them, ‘*Forgive me, O my fathers, if ye possess purity of heart, “every living thing will be subject unto you as it was unto ‘* Adam before he transgressed the commandment of God.” 618. On one occasion one of the old men of Thebes came to * Mount Sinai, and having departed from there, one of the brethren met him on the way, and with a groan he said unto the old man, ‘‘We are distressed, O father, through the want of ‘‘rain.”? And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Why do ye not pray ‘©and ask God for some?” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘ We have prayed and made earnest supplication, and the “rain hath not come.” The old man said unto them, ‘‘Then “ye did not pray with all your hearts; do ye wish to know “that the matter is thus?” And after [this] the old man stood up in prayer, and he spread out his hands to heaven, and straightway, without any delay whatsoever, the rain came; and the brother saw, and feared, and he fell down and did homage to him. Now the old man took to flight, but the brother made known everything which had happened, and when [the brethren] heard [thereof] they all glorified God. 619. They used to say that, when on one occasion, Abba Moses of Scete was going into Patara, he grew weary through the length of the road, and he was afraid and said, ‘‘ How can ‘“‘] bring water for myself into this place?” And a voice was heard by him, saying, ‘‘Go on, and fear not.” Now one day a large number of the fathers came to him, and he had there only one vessel of water, and having boiled some lentiles the water came to an end; at this the old man was troubled, and went out and in, and prayed to God, and afterwards a great cloud came and poured down upon them much rain, and it filled all the vessels which he had with water. Then afterwards the fathers said unto him, ‘‘Abba Moses, tell us why ‘thou didst come in and out”; and he said unto them, ‘‘I en- ‘tered into judgement with God, who brought me hither be- ‘cause there was want of water, and because I had no water ‘for His servants to drink; therefore I came in and out.” 620. The old man Joseph used to say: ‘‘I went on one occa- ‘<< sion to Abba Poemen and found many old men with him, and ‘behold, a certain man had brought a youth who was a kins- “man of Abba Poemen, and whose face had been turned back- ‘wards through the operation of the Evil One; and when his “father saw the multitude of the old men who were coming to ‘Abba Poemen, he took him and brought him outside the «‘ door of the monastery, and sat down there and wept. Now “‘when one of the old men had ended his business, and was

The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘“ going forth [from the building], he saw him, and said unto ‘‘him, ‘Why weepest thou, O man?’ The father of the youth ‘‘said unto him, ‘I am of the family of Abba Poemen. A ‘trial hath come upon this youth, but we are afraid to ‘¢<take him to him, for he refuseth to see us, and now, if he ‘*“learneth that I am here, he will send and drive me away; ‘“¢but when I knew that ye were coming here, I ventured to “«*come also.’ And he cast the youth down on the ground at ‘his feet, and wept, saying, ‘If thou wilt, have mercy on me, ‘«¢and take this youth inside, and pray over him’; and the old ‘man took him and carried him in with him to Abba Poemen. ‘‘ Now the old man acted wisely in the matter, and he did not ‘‘take the youth at once to Abba Poemen, but beginning with ‘‘the last of the brethren who was there, he brought the youth ‘to each and every one of them, saying, ‘Make the sign of the ‘**Cross upon this youth’; and having brought him alike to ‘‘all the brethren and to all the old men who were there, finally ‘“he brought him to Abba Poemen, but the blessed man refused ‘to touch him. Thereupon a contention arose, and they all ‘‘entreated him, saying, ‘Father, do thou even as we all have ‘* “done’; then Abba Poemen sighed, and he roseup and prayed, ‘‘and said, ‘O God, heal that which Thou hast fashioned so ‘**that it may not be destroyed by the Enemy,’ and he finished ‘‘his prayer, and made the sign of the Cross over him, and ‘‘straightway the face of the youth was made straight, ‘‘and he was healed. And Abba Poemen gave him to his ‘‘father made whole, so he took him and departed with ‘‘ rejoicing.”

621. They used to say that the face of Abba Pambé was like lightning, even as Moses received the glory of the likeness of Adam, and that his face shone, and that he was like a king who sitteth upon his throne; and thus was it also with Abba Silvanus and with Abba Sisoes. 622. They used to say about one of the old men that as he was in the light during the day, so also was he [in the light] in his cell by night, and that he used to work with his hands and read in the night time just as he did during the day. 623. One of the old men sent his disciple to draw water, now the well was a very long way off from their cell, and that brother forgot to take the rope with him; and being distressed [thereat] he bowed himself in prayer, and he prayed and cried out, saying, ‘‘O well, my father [saith], ‘Fill this vessel for me ‘*“with water, and without delay’”; and the water came up, and the brother filled [the vessel], and as soon as he had done so the water descended to its place. 624. On one occasion Abba Moses came to the well to draw

Of the Fathers who wrougbt Wonders water, and he saw Abba Zechariah praying to the stream, and the Spirit of God was resting upon him like a dove. . 625. On one occasion one of the brethren went to the cell of Abba Arsenius in Scete, and he looked through the window, and saw the old man standing up, and all his body was like fire; now that brother was worthy to see this sight. And having knocked at the door the old man came out to him; and seeing that the brother was ‘marvelling at the sight which he had seen, he said unto him, ‘‘ Hast thou been knocking a long ‘time? Peradventure thou hast seen something?” and he said unto him, ‘‘No; [I have not].” And Abba Arsenius spake with him and dismissed him. 626. They used to say that a certain old man said, ‘Verily, *“as he who worketh gold, and as he who maketh beautiful ‘*work, cleanly and at peace, so thou also by thy beautiful ‘*thoughts must inherit the kingdom of God; but I who have ** passed the whole period of my life in the desert have not “been able to overtake thee.”’

627. They used to say about a certain great old man, who lived in Parpiriné, that when he lifted up his eyes to heaven he could see whatsoever was therein, and that if he gazed into the earth, he could see into the depths, and whatsoever was in them. 628. Abba John, who was cast out by the Marcionites, used to say :—On one occasion we went from Syria to Abba Poemen, and when we wished him to speak to us about hardness of heart [we found that] the old man did not know Greek, and there was no interpreter with leisure [to interpret there]. And the old man saw that we were troubled at this, and he began to talk to us in the Greek tongue, and at the beginning of his speech he said, ‘‘ Water is by nature soft, and stone is hard, ‘nevertheless if thou suspendest a vessel full of water above ‘a stone, and wilt pour it out upon it drop by drop, it will ‘‘ wear away the stone. In the same way the Word of God is ‘© soft, and our heart is hard, but if it heareth continually the ‘¢ Word of God, the heart will be opened, and will turn to the “* fear of God.”’

629. A certain monk lived in the desert, and there was another brother who lived in a cell by his side, and when he visited him from time to time he used to see him praying and entreating our Lord that the wild animals might be at peace with him. And after the prayer a panther which was suckling her young was found by him, and that brother went down upon his knees and sucked with them. And on another occasion the blessed man saw that brother praying and beseeching God to make fire to be at peace with him; and he lit a fire, and knelt The Savings of the tholy Fathers down in the middle of it, and prayed. And that old man used to say, ‘‘If thou wishest to become a monk, bring thyself into “subjection that thou mayest be in the congregation, of the “‘community, and mayest enter the monastery; but if thou ‘canst not cast away from thee care concerning [all kinds of | ‘‘ occupations and affairs, thou canst never dwell in the con- ‘‘ oregation. All the power thou hast is over a bottle of water. 630. And there are also wonderful things which the blessed Bessarion performed. He made the waters of the sea sweet, and Saul his disciple drank [of them]; he crossed over the water of the river; he prevented the sun from setting in the heavens; and the rooting up of the temples of the idols was revealed unto him. As they were going to John the Theban his disciple became thirsty, and Bessarion prayed, and water bubbled up, and he gave him to drink; and he healed also the young man who was a paralytic, so that he ran to his father; and he cast out a devil from a young man who was always asleep, and whom his parents besought him to wake up. I have, however, written down all these things in the history of the holy man Bessarion, wherein it is written that he was sitting at the door of the monastery and weeping bitterly.

Chapter riv. Of the Greatness of the Sublime Rule of a [ss was a certain old man amongst the fathers who used to see visions, and this man testified, and said, ‘“That power which I have seen existing in baptism, I 631. ‘‘ have also seen in the apparel of the monks when they ‘take the garb of the monk.” 632. An old man from Thebais used to say:—I was the son of a priest of idols, and when I was young I lived in the temple, and I have on many occasions seen my father go into the temple to perform the sacrifices to the idols. Once I went in secretly after him, and I saw Satan sitting [there], with his whole army before him, and, behold, one of his devils came and did homage to him. And Satan answered and said unto him, ‘‘Whence comest thou?” And the devil made answer, saying, ‘‘I was in such and such a country, and I stirred up ‘‘ many wars and revolts, and I caused the shedding of blood, ‘Cand I have come to tell thee these things.”’ Satan said unto him, ‘‘How long did it take thee to do this?” and the devil said ‘“‘ Thirty days.” Then Satan commanded him tobe beaten, saying unto him, ‘‘Is this all that thou hast done in so long a time?” And, behold, another devil came and worshipped him, and to him he said, ‘‘ Whence comest thou?” And the devil answered and said, ‘‘I was in the sea, where I stirred up storms, and

Of the Greatness of the Solitary Life **sank ships, and drowned many men, and I have come that ‘*T may inform thee of these things.” Then Satan answered and said unto him, ‘‘In how much time hast thou done this?” and the devil answered and said unto him, ‘‘ In twenty days,” and Satan commanded that he also should be beaten, saying unto him, ‘‘Why is it that in all these days thou hast only done ‘*[what thou sayest]?” And when he had said this, behold, a third devil came and worshipped Satan, who answered and said unto him also, ‘‘And where dost thou come from?” and the devil answered and said unto him, ‘‘I have been in such ‘Cand such a city wherein there was a marriage feast, and I ‘‘stirred up a war there, and caused the shedding of much ‘*blood, and the death of the bridegroom and the bride; and **as soon as I had done this I came to inform thee.” And Satan said unto him, ‘‘In how many days hast thou done this?” and the devil said, ‘‘In ten days”; and Satan commanded that he should be beaten, saying, ‘‘In all these days thou hast only ‘done this.” Then afterwards, behold, a fourth devil came and worshipped him, and Satan answered and said unto him, ‘« And whence comest thou also?”’ And he who was asked answered and said unto him, ‘‘I have been in the desert for forty ‘‘years striving with a monk, and to-night I have hurled him ‘‘into fornication”; and when Satan heard this, he rose up straightway and embraced and kissed that devil, and he took the crown off his head, and placed it upon him, and he made him to sit by his side upon his throne, saying, ‘‘And so thou ‘hast been able to do so great a work as this in so short a ‘time! For there is nothing which I prize so highly as the fall ‘©of a monk.” And the old man went on to say:—When I saw these things I said within myself, ‘‘Yea, so great then is the ‘army of the monks! And by the operation of God, Who de- ‘‘ sired my redemption, I came forth, and became a monk.” 633. In the time when Julian, the rebellious Emperor, was going down to the territory of the Persians, he sent a certain devil to go speedily to the country of the West, and to bring him from thence an account of what he had sent him [to do]. Now when that devil arrived at a certain place wherein dwelt a monk, he stopped and tarried there for a period of fifteen days without being able to move anywhere, and he was unable to travel onwards, because the monk did not cease from praying, either by night or by day; so he returned to the heathen who had sent him without having done anything. Then the wicked Julian said unto him, ‘‘ Why hast thou tarried so long?” And the devil answered and said unto him, ‘I delayed in ‘coming, and I have done nothing; for a monk, who con- ‘‘tinued in prayer, came in my way and I tarried with him 147 11-104

Tbe Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘fifteen days, expecting that he would some time cease to ‘‘ pray and that I should be able to go on my way; but he ‘« never ceased from his prayer, and I was prevented from going ‘on, and so I delayed in coming, and I have done nothing.” Then was the wicked Julian angry, and he said, ‘‘When I ‘come back I will take vengeance upon him”; but before a few days were over, he was slain by Divine Providence. And straightway one of the eparchs who were with him went and sold everything which he possessed and gave [the money] to the poor, and he came to that monk, and himself became a chosen monk; and he died with a good ending, and with works which were pleasing unto God. 634. On one occasion Abbé Pambé was travelling with some monks in the districts of Egypt; and seeing some worldly folk sitting down he said unto them, ‘‘Rise up, and salute the ‘‘monks so that ye may be blessed, for they are always hold- ‘ing converse with God, and their mouths are holy.” 635. Abba John used to say, ‘‘The whole company of the ‘holy men is like unto a garden which is full of fruit-bearing ‘“trees of various kinds, and wherein the trees are planted ‘‘in [one] earth, and all of them drink from one fountain; ‘Cand thus is it with all the holy men, for they have not one ‘rule only, but several varieties, and one man laboureth in one ‘‘way, and another man in another, but it is one Spirit which ‘* operateth and worketh in them.”