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

205. The old man used to say also, ‘‘It is impossible for ‘‘him who believeth rightly, and who worketh in the fear of ‘‘ God, to fall into the impurity of the passions, and into the ‘error of devils.” 206. Abba Macarius used to say, ‘‘ If we remember the wicked- ‘‘ ness of men we destroy the power of the memory, but if we re- ‘‘ member how thedevils act wickedly weshallremain uninjured.” 207. On one occasion Abba Macarius went up from Scete to Therenuthum, and at eventide he came upon a certain place wherein he went that he might refresh himself and rest; and there were there some old bones, and bodies of the dead, and he took some of them and placed them under his head that he might lie down and rest a little from the labour of the road. Now when the devils which dwelt there saw his confidence and courage, they were smitten with envy, and wishing to disturb him they cried out and shouted from one to another the name of a woman, saying, ‘‘O So-and-so, O So-and-so, ‘‘ come with us, and let us go to the bath.” And another answered from out of the bones which were under the head of the blessed man, and said unto him that called him, ‘‘ There ‘Cis a stranger who is lying upon me, and I am unable to ‘©come”; but the blessed man was not moved, neither was he astonished, but with confidence and great courage he knocked upon the bones, saying, ‘ Rise up, and get thee into darkness ‘‘ backwards.” Now when the devils heard this, they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘‘Thou hast conquered us”; and they fled away ashamed.

The Sayings of the holy Fathers 208. Abba Anthony used to say, ‘‘Let us put God before ‘‘our eyes continually; remember death and Christ our Re- ‘‘deemer; hate the world and everything which is therein; ‘‘hate the world and all bodily pleasure; die unto this life, so ‘‘that thou mayest live unto God, for God will require it of ‘thee in the day of judgement. Be hungry, and thirsty, and ‘naked; weep and mourn; watch and groan in thy heart; ex- ‘‘amine thyself [and see] if thou art worthy of God. Love ‘‘Jabour and tribulation, so that thou mayest find God, and treat ‘‘ withcontemptand despise the body, so that thy soul maylive.” 209. An old man was asked, ‘‘ What is the straight and nar- ‘‘row way?” And he answered and said, ‘‘The straight and ‘‘ narrow way is for a man to constrain his thoughts, and to ‘‘restrain his desires for God’s sake, and this [is intended to ‘be understood when] it is said, ‘Behold, we have left every- ‘* ‘thing and followed Thee.’”’ 210, Abba Poemen asked Abba Joseph, saying, ‘‘What am ‘©T to do when passions rise up against me, wishing to make ‘“me quake? Shall I stand up against them, and drive them ‘‘away, or shall I allow them to enter?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Let them shake thee, and do thou strive with ‘*them.” But to another brother who had come from Thebes, and gone down to Scete, and asked the same old man the same question, he spake differently; and when he returned from Scete to Thebes, he said before all the brethren, ‘‘I went to ‘‘AbbA Joseph, and I asked him, saying, ‘If passions draw ‘**nigh unto me, shall I drive them away so that they may ‘* “not make me shake, or shall I permit them to enter into me?’ And he said unto me, ‘Thou shalt not let them draw nigh to thee in any way, but cut them off quickly.’” Now when Abba Poemen, who happened to be there, heard that Abba Joseph had spoken differently to that Theban, he rose up and went again to Abba Joseph, and said unto him, ‘‘ Abba, ‘‘T have believed in thee as in God, and I have revealed unto ‘thee my thoughts, and behold, thou hast spoken unto that ‘*Theban in one way, and to me thou hast declared the oppo- ‘‘site.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Dost thou not know “‘that I love thee?” And he answered and said unto him, ‘‘Yea, I do.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Didst thou not ““say unto me, Tell me as if thou wast telling thyself? If, then, ‘‘ thoughts enter into thee, and thou art mingled with them, ‘‘and thou givest and takest, and art not injured, they prove ‘‘thee to be one who is tried and chosen especially. Now I ‘“spake unto thee as I would unto myself. But there are others ‘‘whom the passions cannot even approach or touch, never- ‘‘theless it helpeth them to cut them off quickly.”

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 21r. Abba John Kolob used to say, ‘‘I am like unto a man ‘‘ who is sitting under a great tree, and who seeth multitudes ‘ of wild beasts and creeping things coming towards him, and ‘“ because he is unable to stand up against them, he runneth and ‘‘ eoeth up the tree, and is delivered. In like manner I sit in ‘my ceil, and I see evil thoughts coming against me, and be- ‘‘cause I cannot stand against them I flee and take refuge in ‘“ God by prayer, and I am delivered from the enemies, and I ‘live for ever.” 212. Abba Hilarion was asked, ‘‘ How can it be right for a ‘ strenuous brother not to be offended when he seeth other ‘6 monks returning to the world?” The old man said,s. Geis ‘meet that he should’consider the hunting dogs which follow ‘‘after hares, for as one of these dogs giveth chase to the hare “g0 soon as he seeth it (now the other dogs which are his ‘‘ companions look at that dog as he runneth, and although ‘‘ they run with him for a certain time, they at length become “ exhausted and turn back, whilst he continueth his running “‘ by himself, and is not impeded in his headlong course, and he ‘¢ striveth to advance, and neither resteth nor ceaseth from run- ‘‘ ning because of those who have remained behind, but he ‘‘ runneth until he hath overtaken that which he seeth, even as ‘‘ | have already said, and he feareth neither the stones which ‘come in his way, nor the thorny brambles and briars, and ‘‘ passeth on among the thorns, and though often torn and ‘‘Jacerated thereby he neither resteth nor ceaseth from his “‘ course), so also for the brother, who wisheth to follow after ‘the love of Christ, is it right to fasten his gaze upon the Cross ‘until he overtaketh Him that was crucified, even though he ‘© see others who have begun to turn back.”

213. A brotherasked an old man, saying, ‘‘ What work ought ‘‘ the soul todo inordertoproduce fruits of excellence ?” Theold man said unto him, ‘‘In my opinion the work of the soul is as ‘follows: To live in silence, pérsistent endurance, self-denial, ‘‘jabour, humility of body, and constant prayer. And a man ‘ should not consider the shortcomings of men, but his own ‘lapses; if now a man will persist in these things the soul ‘‘ will after no great time make manifest the fruits of spiritual ‘* excellence.” 214. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Strife delivereth a man over ‘to anger, and anger delivereth him over to blindness of the ‘‘ mind, and the blindness of the mind maketh him to do every- ‘‘ thing which is bad.” ; 215. Abba Elijah used to say, ‘‘T am afraid of three things: ‘‘ When my soul shall be about to go forth from the body; and ‘‘ when I am about to go forth to meet Christ; and when the The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘“sentence of doom shall be about to be sent forth upon ‘Smes) 216, Abba John used to say, concerning the soul which wisheth to repent, thus: There was a certain harlot in the city who had many lovers, and a certain judge came and said unto her, ‘‘Consent to lead a good life, and I will marry thee”; and she agreed, and he took her and brought her up to his house. Now when her lovers wanted her, they said, ‘‘ A judge hath taken ‘*her up to his house, and if we go to his door, and he learn ‘* about it he will punish us. But let us come behind the door ‘*and whistle to her, and she will recognize the whistle and ‘will come down to us, and we shall be blameless.”’ And when the harlot heard the sound of the whistling, she sealed up the hearing of her ears, and she jumped up and went into the inner bed-chamber, and shut herself in. Now the harlot is the sinful soul, and the lovers are the passions, and the judge is Christ, and the house is the wakeful mind, and those who whistle to the soul are the wicked devils; but the soul always fleeth to God.

217. They used to tell a story of a certain great old man, and say that when he was travelling along a road two angels cleaved to him and journeyed with him, one on his right hand and the other on his left. And as they were going along they found lying on the road a dead body which stank, and the old man Closed his nostrils because of the evil smell, and the angels did the same. Now after they had gone on a little farther, the old man said unto them, ‘‘ Do ye also smell as we do?” And they said unto him, ‘‘ No, but because of thee we closed our ‘‘nostrils. For it is not for us to smell the rottenness of this ‘‘world, but we do smell the souls which stink of sin, because ‘the breath of such is nigh unto us.” 218, Abba Anthony besought God to inform him why young children died whilst so many old men lived, and why upright men were poor whilst the wicked were rich, and why some were blind and others had their sight, and why the righteous suffered fromillness whilst the wicked were healthy, and a voice came, which said, ‘‘Anthony, take care of thine own self, for ‘‘ these matters are the judgements of God.”

219. Whilst Abba Sylvanus was sitting down and the brethren with him, he dropped into a stupor which was of God, and he fell upon his face; and after a long time, when he was standing up, he wept, and the brethren entreated him, saying, ‘‘ What aileth thee, O father?” But he held his peace, and they continued to press him to tell them what [ailed him]. Then he answered and said unto them, ‘‘I have just been snatched “away totheplaceofthejudgement ofGod, andI haveseen many ‘‘who belonged to our order, that is to say, Christians, going Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule ‘to punishment, and many men who have lived in the world ‘* going into the kingdom”; and the old man mourned and refused to come out of his cell. And he covered his face with his cloak, saying, ‘‘Why should I seek to see the light of time ‘‘ wherein there is no profit?” 220. On another occasion his disciple Zechariah came to him, and found him in the stupor of prayer, and his hands were raised upto heaven, andhe went out and closed the door; and he came [again] at the ninth hour, and found him in the same attitude, and when he came again about the tenth hour, and found him still in the same attitude, he knocked at the door, and then went in and found him in a state of silence. And he said unto him, ‘‘ What hath happened unto thee to-day, O ‘‘ father?” And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ My son, I felt ‘¢ weak and ill”; but the disciple laid hold upon his feet, saying, ‘I will not leave thee until thou tellest me what thou hast “seen.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Swear to me that thou ‘* wilt not reveal the matter unto any man until I go forth from ‘ the body, and then I will tell thee”; and the disciple entreated him, and the old man said, ‘‘ I was snatched up into the hea- “‘yvens, and I saw the glory of God, and I remained there until ‘* now, when I was dismissed.”

221, On one occasion Abba Macarius wentto Abba Anthonyin the mountain, and he knocked at his door, and he wentoutunto him,and said untohim, ‘‘Whoartthou?” And Macarius said unto him, ‘‘I am Macarius,” whereupon Abba Anthony closed the doorand went inside, and left him outside, but when he saw the patient endurance of Macarius heopened thedoor tohim, andsaid unto him with a smile, ‘‘O Macarius, I have been wishing to ‘see thee for a long time past, for I have heard about thee”; and having welcomed him he made him rest and refresh himself, through his love for strangers, for Abba Macarius had [come] from great toil. Now when the evening had come, Abba Anthony soaked a few palm leaves in water for himself, and AbbA Macarius said unto him, ‘‘ Give the command, and I will ‘soak some for myself,” and Abba Anthony said, ‘‘ Soak ‘« [some]”; and he made upalargebundleforhimself, andsoaked it in water, and they sat down from the evening [until the morning], and they talked together about the redemption of souls as they plaited the palm leaves, and they threw their work into the cave through the window. And when the blessed Anthony went into the cave in the morning, and saw the heap of palm-leaf work of Abba Macarius, he marvelled, and he seized his hands and kissed them, saying, ‘‘ Great strength ‘‘hath gone forth from these hands.”

222, Abba Poemen said, ‘‘If a man will throw himself be- The Sayings of the tholy Fathers ‘fore God, and will not esteem himself, and will cast his ‘« pleasures behind his back, [he will find that] such things are ‘‘ the instruments of the work of the soul.” 223. The same old man also said, ‘‘If a man observeth his ‘‘orade he will not be troubled.” 224. The same old man also said, ‘‘Make thou the desire ‘‘ of thy lust of no effect through the remembrance of God, ‘©and thou shalt find rest.” 225. He also said, ‘‘A certain brother went to Abba Simén ‘“to ask him for a word, and although he remained with him ‘(for seven days the old man returned him no answer; but as ‘‘he was making himself ready to go away he said unto him, ‘©¢Go, and take good heed unto thyself, for at present my ‘(sins have become a dense wall between myself and God.’” 226. Abba Aldénis said, ‘‘If I had not hidden (or suppressed) ‘‘ myself wholly I should not have been able to build myself.” 227. The same old man said, ‘‘A man is not able to know ‘‘outside himself the thoughts which are in him, but when ‘‘they resist him from within, if he be a warrior, he will cast ‘*them out from him.”

228. The same old man also said, ‘‘A man, wheresoever he ‘‘cleaveth, is built up; look not upon thy mind.” 229. The old man often said, ‘‘Esteem not thyself, but ‘cleave thou to him that leadeth a good life.” 230. He also said, ‘‘[In] this [life] we do not discern matters, ‘¢and it doth not permit us to profit by the things which are ‘* good.” 231. The old man said, ‘‘If a thought about some bodily ‘need come to thee and thou cast it forth once, and it come ‘to thee a second time, and thou drivest it away, if it come ‘to thee a third time, look not upon it, because it is war.” 232. A father who was about to die said to his sons, ‘‘ Dwell ‘‘ye not with heretics, and have no converse with a brother ‘‘ who hath a sister, and have no business with the Govern- ““ment, and let not thy hands be spread out to gather in, but ‘*to give to the poor who are in need.” 233. On one occasion Abba Evagrius said unto Abba Arsenius, ‘‘Since we are without learning according to the ‘world, and we have no wisdom whatsoever, [how is it that] ‘* these Egyptian villagers possess such spiritual excellences?”’ Abbé Arsenius (07 Abba Macarius) said unto him, ‘‘ We pos- ‘sess nothing whatsoever of the learning of the world, but ‘‘these Egyptian villagers have acquired spiritual excellences ‘‘ through their labours.”

234. On one occasion Abba Arsenius asked an Egyptian old man about the thoughts, and afterwards another brother said Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule unto Abba Arsenius, ‘‘How is it that whilst thou hast so ‘* much learning, both Greek and Latin, thou askest questions ‘‘ about the thoughts of this villager?’’ Then Abba Arsenius said unto him, ‘*With Greek and Latin learning I am well ‘acquainted, but I have not yet learned the alphabet of this ** villager.” 235. Now on one occasion when the Archbishop wished to go to visit him, he sent a message to this effect to him, and the old man sent him [back] word, saying, ‘‘If thou comest i ‘‘ will open unto thee, and if I open unto thee I must open ‘‘unto every man, and if I open unto every man I| cannot re- ‘main here.” And when the Archbishop heard these things, he said, ‘‘If I would drive him away I must go to the old ‘‘man, therefore I will not go.” 236. On one occasion a brother entreated him to let him hear a word from him; and the old man said, ‘‘As far as it ‘lieth in thy power, lead an ascetic life; and work thou that ‘‘ secret work which is within, if it be for God’s sake, [for] it ‘‘ shall vanquish [thy] passions which are external.”

237. Abba Poemen said, ‘‘If there be three [brethren] to- ‘‘ gether, and one leadeth a fair life of silent contemplation, ‘and the other being a weak man giveth thanks, and the ‘‘ other singeth and prayeth with a lowly mind, all three are ‘* performing work [of equal merit].” 238. A brother asked Abba Poemen, and said unto him, ‘‘Tell me: what meaneth it that thou dost not reward evil for ‘‘ evil?” Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘In this perception ‘‘there are four divisions; the first is of the heart, the second ‘is of the sight, the third is of the tongue, and the fourth is ‘‘ that in actions a man returneth evil for evil. If now thou art ‘6 able to overcome the heart, thou wilt not come to the sight, ‘but if thou comest to the sight, take heed that thou dost not ‘‘ speak with the tongue; but if thou speakest cut it off im- ‘‘ mediately, so that thou mayest not actually reward evil for ‘* evil; and this is the first of the four which a man may cut ‘< off, and the tongue is the second, and the third is the sight, ‘© and the fourth is the heart.”

239. The old man Anthony used to say also, ‘‘If the baker ‘« did not put a covering over the eyes of [his] animal, it would “turn round and eat up its hire, and in like manner we also ‘have received a covering by the operation of God, so that ‘we may first of all be working good deeds without seeing ‘them, so that we may not ascribe happiness to ourselves ‘‘and so destroy the hire of our labour. Therefore are we left ‘from time to time in unclean thoughts, and we see these ‘only so that we may condemn ourselves, and those filthy The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘thoughts may become a covering of the few good things ‘“‘which we perform. For when a man blameth himself he will ‘* not destroy his hire.” r 240. Abba Moses asked Abba Sylvanus, saying, ‘‘Is it possible for a man to make a beginning each day?” And he said unto him, ‘‘If he be a man who is a worker it is possible for ‘Chim to make a beginning every day.” 241. A brother asked Abba Sisoes, ‘‘Why do my thoughts ‘‘not depart from me?” He said unto him, ‘‘Because thy ‘‘things are within thee; give them their pledge and they will “depart.”

242. A brother asked Abba Theodore, and said unto him, ‘Tf an earthquake were to take place suddenly wouldst thou ‘not be afraid, O father?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Even ‘Cif the heavens were to cleave to the earth Theodore would ‘‘ not be afraid”; now he besought God formerly that trembling might be removed from him, and it was because of this fact that he who put the question to him asked him. 243. They used to say that when Abba Theodore was a deacon in Scete he refused to perform the ministrations of deacon, and that he fled to several places [to avoid doing so], but the old men would bring him back again, saying, ‘‘Thou ‘¢ shalt not forsake thy place.” Abba Theodore said unto them, ‘‘ Permit me to makea request unto God, and if He permit me ‘¢T will stand up in my place’’; and when he made his petition to God, he said, ‘‘If it be Thy will, O my Lord, for me to re- ‘‘main, permit me [so to do].” Then there appeared unto him a pillar of fire [which reached] from earth to heaven, and a voice said unto him, ‘‘If thou art able to be like unto this ‘pillar, go and perform thy ministrations”; but although he heard these things he would not consent to minister. And when he came to the church the brethren fell down before him and entreated him, saying, ‘‘If thou refusest to minister, at ‘‘ least hold the cup,” but he refused and said, ‘‘If ye will not ‘allow me [to be] here [as I am], I will depart from these ‘‘places”; and so they left him [there].

244. They used to tell a story about Abba Macarius the Great, who became, as it is written, an earthly God, for as God overshadoweth the world so also did Abb4 Macarius cover over the shortcomings which he saw as if he did not see them, and the things which he heard as if he heard them not. 245. On one occasion a maiden came to Abba Macarius to be healed of a devil, and a certain brother arrived from a monastery which is in Egypt, also, and the old man went out by night and saw that the brother was committing sin with that woman, but he did not rebuke him. And he said, ‘‘If God Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule ‘‘ Who fashioned him seeth [him], and is long-suffering, for if ‘He so desired He could consume him, who am I that I should “rebuke him?” 246. I heard that the blessed man Anthony used to say, ‘‘God ‘*doth not permit wars to wax as fierce in this generation as ‘¢ as He did in the generations of old, for He knoweth that men ‘‘ are [more] feeble [now], and that they could not bear [them].”

247. Abba Macarius used to say to the brethren concerning the desert of Scete, ‘‘ Whensoever ye see cells which are turned ‘towards the wood, know that the fall thereof is near; and ‘ whensoever ye see trees planted near the doors, [know] that ‘¢it is near the door;and whensoever ye see young men dwell- ‘*ing therein, then take up your possessions and depart.” 248. Abba Muthues used to say, ‘‘Satan knoweth not by ‘‘means of what passion the soul may be conquered, but he “‘soweth, not knowing whether he will reap; but with the ‘‘ thoughts of fornication, and of calumny, and of all the pas- “sions towards which he seeth the soul incline doth he fight ‘against it, and fetter it.” 249. When, on one occasion, I was sitting with a certain old man at Oxyrhyncus, now this old man used to make great alms and oblations, a widow came to him and demanded a little wheat, and he said unto her, ‘‘Go and bring a measure, ‘‘ and I will measure out [some] for thee.” And when she had brought it, and he took the measure in his hand he said unto her, ‘‘ This is too large’’; and he put the widow to the blush. And when she had gone, I said unto the Abba and priest, ‘‘Wast thou selling the wheat to the widow?” and he said, ‘No; I gave it to her in charity.” Then I said unto him, ‘‘If “thou didst give all this wheat to her in charity, why didst ‘thou aét harshly with her, and measure it, and[so] put her to ‘* shame?”

250. Three of the fathers came on one occasion to an old man at Scete, and one of them spoke to him, saying, ‘‘I repeat ‘¢the Old and the New Testaments by heart”; and the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘ Thou hast filled the air with ‘‘ words”; and the other father spoke to him, saying, “ I have ‘copied the Old and New Testaments”’; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘Thou hast filled the cupboards with quires of paper”; and the third father answered and said unto him, ‘‘In ‘« my fire-place the grass groweth ”: and the old man answerec and said unto him, ‘‘Thou hast also driven away the love of ‘*strangers from thee.” 251. Abba Poemen used to say that Abba Isidore used to twist into ropes a great bundle of palm leaves each night, and [on one occasion] the brethren entreated him, saying, ‘‘Rest The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘thyself a little, for thou hast worked too much.” And he said unto them, ‘‘If we were to burn Isidore and to scatter his ‘Cashes to the winds, he would win happiness, for the Son of ‘‘ God came to the Passion because of us.”

252. A brother said to Abba Poemen, “If I stumble and ‘‘commit a few minor sins my mind afflicteth me, and blameth ‘me, and maketh accusations against me, saying, ‘Why didst ‘‘thou fall?’” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Every time a man ‘‘falleth into any shortcoming or folly, if he saith, ‘I have ‘<“ sinned,’ immediately God will receive him.” 253. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘It is not right for a man “‘to be persuaded to the thought of fornication, or to utter ‘calumny against his neighbour; and he should not in any ‘‘ way whatsoever incline towards these two thoughts, and he ‘‘ should not utter them, and he should not meditate upon such ‘things in his heart. And if he desireth to think about them ‘‘ and to turn them over in his heart, he will not benefit thereby, ‘but will rather suffer damage; but if he will act against such ‘‘ with ferocity, he will subsequently find rest.” 254. One of the brethren asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘ Father, what shall I do when the thoughts of fornication ‘‘bestir themselves in me, or any other of the evil passions ‘‘which are injurious to the soul?” Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘ The first time they come upon thee, flee; and the second ‘‘time they come upon thee, flee also; and the third time they ‘“come, set thyself against them like a sharp sword.”

255. The same old man used to say, ‘‘Unless Moses had ‘been gathering together sheep into the fold he would never ‘‘have seen Him that was in the bush.” 256. On one occasion the brethren saw that Abba Joseph was sad, and that he was greatly distressed, and they asked him to tell them about his sorrow, and what was the cause thereof, but he was unable to speak to them; and they began to say each man among them to his companion, ‘‘ What are ‘the suffering and grief which possess the old man, for be- ‘hold, we have dwelt with him for many years, and we never “before saw him in such grief and suffering as this? Perhaps “‘we have in some way offended him.” Then they threw themselves on their faces before the feet of the old man, saying, ‘¢ Peradventure we have offended thee in some matter, O father, ‘‘fand if we have] forgive us for Jesus’ sake.” And the old man made answer to them in a state of grief, saying, ‘‘ Forgive ye ‘me, O my brethren, for I am not offended by you, but I am ‘‘ grieved by myself, because I see that 1am going backwards ‘rather than forwards, and that I am the cause of offence and ‘*loss, not only to myself but also unto all the others. For I see

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule *‘that at this present we are trafficking, and are losing in re- ““ spect cf our souls very much more than we ever gained at *“any time of the profit of the fear of our Lord, because shame- ‘“lessness and fearlessness have gained dominion over us. For “*in times past when the fathers were gathered together to each ‘‘other they were wont to form bands and ascend into the ‘“heavens, but we are lax folk, and are dead in our sins. ‘* Whensoever we draw nigh to each other we come to speak **that which is hateful about one another, and one by one we ‘*are raised up that we may descend to the bottom of the deep- ‘fest abyss. And we do not make to sink ourselves and each ‘‘other only, but also the fathers who come to us, and the “strangers who gather together to us, and also the people ‘‘who are in the world who visit us as if we were solitary “‘monks, and as if we were holy men, and to these last we **become a cause of stumbling and loss. ‘For thus also did Abba Sylvanus and Abba Lét say unto ‘‘me: ‘Let us not abide here any longer.’ And when I asked “*them, ‘Why do ye depart from us?’ they spake to me as ‘follows: ‘Up to this day we have benefited by our abiding ‘« ‘with the fathers, but from the time of Abba Pambé, and Abba ‘«*Agathon, and Abba Petra, and Abba John, the command- *« «ments of the fathers have been held lightly, and we do not ‘« ‘observe the ordinances and the laws which our fathers laid ‘* ‘down for us. And by assemblies together we suffer loss over “« ‘and over again through the useless things which are spoken *«*¢among us. And when we sit down at table, instead of doing *<“so in the fear of God, and with gratitude, and eating that ‘* “which God hath prepared for us with praise and thanksgiv- ‘« “ing, we occupy ourselves by conversing together and telling ‘‘ ‘insipid stories; and as we sit at table in this fashion we be- ‘*“come so much changed that we do not even hear what is ‘“ “being read to us on account of the noise of the profitless talk ‘© “which we hold with each other. And besides this, after we ‘‘ ‘have risen up from eating, we converse together with empty ‘‘<talk. What benefit is it to us to live in the desert, seeing “that we profit nothing thereby?’ And Abba Lét said, ‘Many ‘‘<times have I heard from brethren who are strangers, and “‘ ‘from the people who live in the world, and who come to ‘¢ ‘visit us, that we hold the commandments of the fathers “‘ ‘lightly, and they have said of us, ‘‘ We should never have “* «thought that they were monks!”’’ And one of the brethren ‘‘who were strangers said, ‘I have come to the fathers on ‘€“ several occasions, and [I see that] year by year they cer- ‘tainly observe less and less the early rules and conduct ot ‘the fathers.’ What now do ye wish? Will ye correct your 207

The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘Jax behaviour, and observe carefully the commandments ot ‘our fathers, or must I also depart from you?” And it came to pass that when the brethren heard these things, they beat the board for assembling the monks, and the whole brotherhood gathered itself together, and Abba Joseph spake unto them all the words which are [written] above. And when allthebrethren heard the words of Abba Joseph, andlearned the reason of his pain and grief, and that he wished to depart from them, they cast themselves down upon their faces weeping, and they expressed their contrition to him, saying, ‘‘ For- ‘ive us, O father, for the sake of Jesus. We have made God ‘‘angry by our deeds, and we have caused thy holiness grief.” Then each of the fathers said, ‘‘ Would that thou hadst re- ‘ buked us on the very first day wherein thou didst hear [about ‘us] from the fathers, and that they had not departed from ‘‘us! And would, too, that we had roused ourselves up from ‘‘ our slumber and sluggishness! But what are we to do? For ‘the old men and the holy men do not teach us, and they do ‘“ not even take their proper places in our congregations, or ‘‘ when we sit at meat. Very many of us wish to hear the his- ‘tories and commandments of the fathers read, either whilst ‘we are sitting at table or between one sitting and the next, “but we are never able to hear a word of their talk.” And Abba Elijah said, ‘‘Abba Abraham and Abba John spake ‘‘ much at table, and at the time of reading, and at the time of ‘the service; and they began to become excited against each ‘‘ other, and the one said, ‘Father, such and such a man is ex- ‘« ‘cited,’ and the other said, ‘Such and such aman maketh us “« 6excited.’ Now when AbbA Joseph saw that the whole brother- ‘hood was stirred up, he made supplication unto them, and be- ‘‘ sought them, saying, ‘I beseech you, O my brethren, to cease ‘from your commotion, for God hath called us to peace, and I ‘« therefore beg you to come and pray, and to make supplication “unto God that He may make to pass by us the legions and the ‘“host of the enemy. For, behold, I see them standing up in ‘‘ wrath and anger, with their swords drawn, and they wish to ‘‘ destroy us all if God doth not stand up to help our wretchedPiaeSS7

And when he had said these things he was able, with some difficulty, to quiet them, and Abba Joseph himself began to sing the words of the harpist David, saying, ‘‘Their swords ‘¢ shall enter their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken, ‘¢and God shall make them like a wheel and as dust before the ‘¢wind. And God shall arise and all His enemies shall be scat- ‘tered. O God, deliver me, O Lord, remain to help [me]”’ (Psalm xxxvii, 15; Ixxxiii, 13; Ixvili, 1; vii, 1). And when they Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule had recited the Psalms of the spirit altogether, and had made an end of the service, they said, ‘‘O holy God, O holy mighty ‘‘ One, O immortal holy One, have mercy upon us”; and they all knelt down in prayer. And as they were praying they heard the voices of the devils in the air, and the sounds of armour and of horses, and of many horsemen, and they also heard the voices of the devils who were saying to one another, ‘‘ Ye shall “not have mercy upon them.” And again they said, ‘ O luck- ‘less monks, why do ye stand up against us?” If we were to ‘* do [what we could do] to you not one of you would be found “‘on the face of the earth! We will never be absent from you, ‘‘and we will never cease from you.”

And after the filthy legion had been driven away by the secret power, and the wicked devils rested from their wickednesses, all the fathers rose up from the earth whereon they had been poured out in prayer, the earth having been adorned by their tears, and they all offered repentance unto Abba Joseph, saying, ‘‘Forgive thou us, and pray for us that the Lord may ‘“‘ forgive us, for we have sinned and have provoked Him to ‘* wrath.” Then Abba Joseph said unto them: ‘‘ Rouse ye your- ‘*selves, O my brethren, and take good heed unto your souls, ‘for, behold, ye have heard with your ears the sound of the ‘chariots of the Adversary, who threateneth us and seeketh **to destroy us. Let every man be reconciled to his neighbour, ‘and forgive ye every man from his heart the offence [which ‘he hath committed]. And bind ye yourselves with the love of ‘four Lord, with an urgent mind, and a pure heart, to the ‘* Lord and to each other. And draw nigh unto God that He ““may draw nigh unto you, and stand up against the Adver- ‘sary, who is Satan. If ye wilt observe the commandments of ‘*the fathers, I will become a surety (or pledge) for you that ‘¢ Satan shall not be able to injure you, and that the Barba- ‘‘rians shall not come hither; but if ye will not observe them, ‘believe me, O my beloved, this place shall be laid waste.”

And they offered repentance each to the other, and they became reconciled to each other, and lived in love and in great peace; and they laid down ordinances among themselves on that day to the effect that no man should henceforth conduc¢t himself with negligence and without absence of fear; and that they should neither do nor say anything at the table which was alien [to their mode of life]; and that if any man be found hereafter despising and holding lightly the commandments of the fathers in such a way that he become an occasion of offence and a cause of loss, first to himself, and next to those who dwell with him, and then also to the strangers who come to us, he shall know that he is bringing a punishment upon him- The Savings of the holy Fathers self, and that he shall become an alien to all the brotherhood. And Abbé Joseph sent a brother to bring back Abba Sylvanus and Abba Lét, and when these fathers knew what had taken place among the brethren, and that they had laid down ordinances to keep the commandments of the fathers, they praised God, and they rose up, and came, and [when] they saw Abba Joseph they saluted him and wept; and Abba Joseph told them everything which had taken place, and they glorified God Who had not rejected those who feared Him, And as regardeth the canons and the ordinances which they had laid down among themselves, the brethren observed and performed them all the days of their life; and they died at a good old age, [after] living lives which were well-pleasing unto God.

257. Abbé Ammon used to say, ‘‘I have spent fourteen years ‘Cin Scete in making supplication unto God by day and by ‘night that He would grant me to overcome anger, 258. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Be like unto a camel when ‘‘thou art loaded with thy sins, and be tied unto and cleave ‘‘unto him that knoweth the way.” 259. One of the old men used to say, ‘‘Formerly, whenso- ‘¢ ever we met each other we used to speak words of profit about ‘Ceach other, and we formed companies, and were lifted up ‘‘into the heavens; but now when we are gathered together, ‘“we come to hateful converse concerning each other, and we ‘‘drag each the other down to the bottom of the deepest ‘* abyss.” 260. Abba Achilles came on one occasion to thecell of Abba Isaiah, and found him eating; now there were in the basin [from which he ate] water and salt, and the old man saw him hide the basin behind a mat. Then Abba Achilles said unto him, ‘‘ Tell me, what wast thou eating?” And Abba Isaiah said unto him, ‘‘ Forgive me, I was cutting some palm leaves, ‘‘and I went up in the heat, and placed in my mouth a mor- ‘*sel of bread and salt; and my throat was dry by reason of ‘the heat, and the food did not go down, and I was pained ‘thereby, and I threw a little salt and water into my mouth, ‘* so that I might be able to eat. But forgive me.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Come ye and see Abba Isaiah who eateth ‘*food which stinketh in Scete; if thou seekest to eat stinking ‘food, get thee to Egypt.”

261. There was a certain monk who had a brother that lived in the world, and this brother was poor, and whatsoever the monk earned by the labour of his hands he used to give to his brother, but in spite of this the brother became poorer still. Then the monk went to one of the old men and told him the matter, and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ If thou wilt hearken Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule “unto me thou wilt not give him any more, but wilt say unto “him, ‘ My brother, whilst I have anything to give I give it ** “unto thee, but now thou must bring me some of what thou © earnest by thy labour’; and whatsoever he bringeth unto ** thee, that take from him, and where thou knowest there is **a stranger, or a poor old man, give it unto him”; and he entreated them to offer up prayer on his behalf. Then the monk went and did thus, and when his brother who lived in the world came to him, he spake unto him even as the old man had toid him to do; and the brother went to his house with a sad mind. And on the first day he brought [to the monk] as the result of his labour afew garden herbs, and the monk took them and gave them to the old men, and entreated them to pray for him; and he was blessed and departed. And the old man who was in the world returned on another occasion and brought the monk bread and garden herbs, and his brother took them, and did [with them] as he did at first. Then he came a third time, and brought many costly gifts, and wine, and fish, and his brother saw [this] and wondered, and he called the poor and relieved them therewith. And the monk said unto his brother who was in the world, ‘‘ Peradventure **thou art in need of a little bread, O my brother?” And he said unto him, ‘‘ Nay, my lord, whilst I took from thee that ‘* which used to enter into my house, I spent everything I had; ‘* but since I ceased to take anything from thee, God hath ‘blessed me and hath had mercy upon me.” Then the monk went and informed the old man everything which had taken place, and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Knowest thou not that ‘‘the labour of a monk is fire, and that wheresoever it entereth ‘¢it consumeth? But it is beneficial for him to shew mercy from ‘* his own toil, and prayer from the holy men shall be upon ‘him, and thus he shall be blessed.”

262. On one occasion whilst Abba Macarius was passing through Egypt with certain other brethren, he heard a child saying to his mother, ‘‘ My mother, a rich man loveth me, but ‘*T hate him; and a poor man hateth me, and I love him”; and when Abba Macarius heard [this] he marvelled. And the brethren said unto him, ‘‘ What is the [meaning of] these words, ‘* father?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Verily our Lord is ‘rich, and He loveth us, and we do not desire to hear Him; ‘‘ our Enemy, Satan, is poor, and he hateth us, and we love his ‘hateful things.” : 263. On one occasion, whilst Abba Zechariah was dwelling in Scete, there appeared unto him a vision from God, and he rose up and came to his father, Abba Kiri6n, and the old man was perfect, and did not take pains to boast of these things. The Sayings of the holy Fatbers And he rose up [and smote him, and said unto him, ‘‘ They ‘are of devils”; and when he had thought about the matter a long time, he rose up] and went by night to Abba Poemen, and informed him about the matter, and how his thoughts were burning in his heart. Then the old man knew that the matter was of God, and he said unto him, ‘‘ Get thee to such ‘©and such an old man, and whatsoever he saith unto thee ‘‘ that do.” And having departed to that old man, before he could tell him anything, the old man said unto him, “ The “vision is of God; but do thou go and be subject unto thy “* father.”

264. A certain old man from Scete was dwelling in the — mountain of Pilist6n, and there came unto him a man from the palace who had a devil, and he healed him, and the man who had had the devil offered him a bag which was full of gold, but the old man refused to accept it. Now when he saw that he was offended, the old man took the bag itself, which was empty, and he said unto him, ‘‘ Go [and] distribute the ‘‘ gold among the poor and the wretched,” and he made the bag into a colubium, and wore it; now it was made of hair, and was very stiff, and he wore it for a long time so that he might vex his body. > 265. Abba Longinus asked Abba Lucius three things, saying, ‘I wish to become a stranger”; the old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou dost not hold thy tongue, where wilt thou go? ‘© Wilt thou not become a stranger? Hold thy tongue here, ‘and behold thou art a stranger.” And Abba Longinus said unto him also, ‘‘I wish to lead a twofold life’; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou dost not bend thy neck like a ‘Chook thou art nothing; purify thy wicked thoughts.” Abba Longinus said unto him, ‘‘But I wish to flee from men”; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou canst not set thyself ‘straight first of all with men, thou wilt never be able [to live] ‘* by thyself.”

266. A brother asked Abba Joseph, saying, ‘‘I want to go ‘out from the monastery, and live a solitary life”; the old man said unto him, ‘‘Where thou seest that thou wilt find rest for ‘thy soul, there dwell.” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘I ‘am content to live in the monastery, and I am content to “live alone; what shall I do then?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou art content to live in the monastery, and art ‘‘lequally| content to lead a solitary life, do this: Weigh thy ‘* thoughts as it were in a balance, and the thought which out- ‘“balances the other, that fulfil.” 267. An old man used to say, ‘‘ What beast is as mighty as ‘the lion and yet for the sake of his belly he falleth into the ~ Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule “snare, and all his strength is made weakness? in this wise “‘also shall we fall if we be overcome by our bellies.” 268. An old man also said, ‘‘ When the fathers of Scete were “‘eating bread and salt they said, ‘We must not affli@ our- ***selves overmuch with bread.and salt’; and living in this wise “they became valiant in the works of God.”

269. Whilst Abba Sylvanus was living on Mount Sinai brother Zechariah went to the work of the service [i.e., singing and prayer]; and when he had gone the old man said unto him, ‘‘Open out the water [courses] and water the garden.”’ Then he went forth straightway, and covered his face with his cloak, and he could see only his feet ; and during the time when he was watering [the garden}, a brother came to him, and he perceived what he was doing, and he went in to him, and made an apology, and entreated him, saying, ‘‘Tell me, O father, ‘““why thou didst cover thy face with thy cloak and didst in “‘this manner water the garden?” The old man said unto him, ** My son, [I did so] that mine eyes might not look upon the **trees, and that my mind might not be distracted in its work, ‘*and become buried in the trees.” 270. They used to say that, [on one occasion], when a certain old man was sitting in his cell, a brother happened to come by night to go in to him; and when he arrived at the door, he heard his voice raised in a dispute, saying, ‘‘It is “‘ sufficient; how long? Get ye gone forthwith.” And again he said, ‘‘Come, come to me, my friends.” And when the brother had gone in to him, he said unto him, ‘‘ With whom wast thou “¢ speaking, O father?” He said unto him, ‘‘I was driving away ‘¢my evil thoughts, and calling my good thoughts to me.”

271. There was a certain old man who had a disciple who dwelt in the desert, and the old man took a piece of dry wood, and planted it, and he said to his disciple, ‘‘Pour a basin of ‘water over it every day until this piece of wood beareth fruit.” Now the fountain of water was so far away from them that a man would set out for it in the evening and return the next morning. And the disciple did as he had been told, and after two or three years that wood became alive, and bore fruit, and the old man took the fruit thereof, and brought it to the church, and said unto the brethren, ‘‘Take ye, and eat the fruit of “* obedience.” 272. Acertain brother on one occasion found on the road a piece of wood which had dropped from camels, and he came to the cell of his Rabba bringing it with him; and his Rabba said, ‘‘Whence hast thou this piece of wood?” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘From the road.” The old man said unto him, “<Tf it be of the things which are taken from the road bring it

The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘‘ inside; but if not, go and put it in the place wherefrom thou ‘*didst take it.” aa 273. They used to say that Zechariah, the disciple of Abba Sylvanus, took certain brethren, and without [the knowledge of] Abba Sylvanus, they broke through the fence of the garden, and enlarged the garden, and then built up the fence again. And when the old man learned this, he took [his cloak], and wrapped himself up therein, and went forth, and he said to the brethren, ‘‘Pray ye for me.” Now when they saw him, they fell down at his feet, saying, ‘‘Tell us, father, what hath hap- ‘pened to thee’; and he said unto them, ‘‘I will neither go ‘inside [my cell], nor unwrap myself from my cloak until ye ‘‘ bring the fence back to its former position”; and [when they had done so] straightway the old man went into his cell. 274. They used to say that when the old man Rabba Magatis went forth from his cell, and the thought rose up in his mind that he would depart from the place, he returned not to his cell; now he possessed nothing whatsoever of the things which are required in this world. But he took pleasure in the work of splitting up the palm leaves which he twisted into ropes, for he performed sufficient labour each day to provide him with the very small amount of food which he needed.

275. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘If a certain bro- ‘“ther cometh to me, and saith, ‘Perform an ac¢t of love, and “come with me here, or go[with me] to a certain place,’ and ‘‘T am inconvenienced by the command, what am I to do?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘If thou knowest that without ‘* offence thou canst fulfil the commandment, go, and it shall ‘*be accounted unto thee as an acceptable sacrifice ; but if thou ‘‘knowest that there will be some offence, thou shalt not go. ‘* And if thou dost go, take good heed to thy soul.” 276. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ How is it that ‘there are at this present men who labour, but who do not ‘‘receive grace as the early fathers did?’ The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Formerly love existed, and one brother was raised ‘‘up by the other; but now love hath grown cold, and we each ‘‘drag the other. down, and in consequence we do not receive ‘* grace.” 277. They used to say that when Abba Theodore dwelt in Scete, a devil came and wanted to go into him, and the old man perceived that he wanted to go into [his cell], but he kept him fettered outside. Then another devil came to go in, and the old man fettered him also, and a third devil also came, and finding the other two fettered by the door, he said unto them, ‘Why do ye stand outside here?”’ They said unto him, ‘‘He *“who dwelleth within will not permit us to go in”; and the

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule third devil stirred up strife, and, holding Abba Theodore in contempt, made so bold as to go in. Now when the old man saw him he fettered him also, and being afraid of the prayers of the old man, they entreated him, saying, ‘‘Set us free.”’ And the old man accepted their petition, and released them, saying, ‘*Get ye gone”; and then they departed being ashamed. 278. They used to say that a certain old man had a young man living with him, and that he one day saw him doing something which was not beneficial for him; and he said unto him once, ‘‘Thou shalt not do this thing,” but the young man hearkened not unto him. Now when the old man saw that he would not hearken unto him, he let him alone, and troubled no more about him; and the young man shut the door of the place where the bread was kept, and departed from the cell, and left the old man without bread for three days, and when he went back, the old man did not say unto him, ‘‘Where ‘“ hast thou been?” or, ‘‘ What hast thou been doing outside?” Now the young man treated the old man in this fashion, like a beast. Then afterwards, when one of the old man’s neighbours perceived the delay of the young man, he boiled a little food, and let it down to the old man from the wall, and made him eat it; and when, by chance, his neighbour said unto him, ‘‘The young man tarrieth a long time,” the old man said unto him, ‘‘He hath not tarried, but when he is disengaged he will ecome::?

279. A certain brother made a second key and opened the cell of one of the old men and took his money out of the cupboard, and the old man wrote on a piece of paper, saying, ‘6 Do me an act of love and leave me one half of my money, “‘ for I have need of it for my necessities”; and he divided the money (or oboli) into two parts, and laid the paper upon them. And the brother who stole the money came as usual, and he tore up the paper and took all the money. Now two years later that brother was forced to die, but his soul was not permitted to go forth from him, and then he called the old man, and made entreaty unto him, saying, ‘‘Father, pray on my ‘‘ behalf; it was I who took thy money.” Then the old man said unto him, ‘‘Why didst thou not confess this before the ‘‘ light became black to thee?” And the old man prayed and set free the spirit of that brother, and he sold his Book of the Gospel and made a memorial for him. 280. A certain man used to relate that an old man from Scete went up to the Thebaid to dwell there, and according to the custom with those who are from Scete he made bread sufficient for his wants for several days. And behold, the men of the Thebaid came to him, saying, ‘‘How is it that thou

The Sayings of the oly Fathers ‘‘dost not keep the word of the Gospel which commanded ‘men not to care for the morrow?” The old man said unto them, ‘‘ What is your custom?” And they said unto him, ‘‘We ‘‘work day by day with our hands, and we sell [what we ‘‘make], and buy food for ourselves in the market.” The old man said unto them, ‘‘My market is my cell, and whensoever ‘*T have need I lay down the work of my hands, and take up “food for myself.” 281. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Discretion is the most ex- ‘*cellent thing of all.” 282. They used to say that certain men came to plead a case for judgement before Abba Ammonius, and the old man paid no attention to them, but behaved as if he did not hear them; and behold, a woman said unto her companion, ‘‘This old ‘man hath no stability.” And the old man heard her speaking thus to her companion, and he called her, and said unto her, ‘‘ How many labours have I performed in the desert so that ‘‘T might acquire this instability! Yet, through thee, I have ‘“ destroyed this day.”

283. An old man used to say, ‘‘Do not eat before thou art “‘hungry, and do not lie down before thou art sleepy, and do ‘‘not speak before thou art questioned.” 284. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘Do I eat too many ‘‘garden herbs?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘It will not ‘benefit thee [to do so], but eat bread and a few vegetables, ‘and thou shalt not go to thy kinsfolk for the sake of things **[to eat].” 285. An old man used to say, ‘‘It is meet that a monk should ** be like the Cherub—all eyes.” 286, An old man used to say, ‘‘For a man to attempt to “teach his neighbour, when he hath not been required [so to ‘‘do], is the same as offering him a rebuke.” 287. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘Why doth a man distress ‘‘ himself to build the house of others, and tooverthrow his own?” 288. He also used to say, ‘‘Why is it necessary for a man to “‘enter by cunning, and not to learn [how to do so] properly?” 289. He also used to say, ‘‘ Everything which is immoderate ‘‘is from the devils.” 290. The old men used to say, ‘‘God demandeth nothing ‘‘from Christians except that they shall hearken unto the Di- ‘‘ vine Scriptures, and shall carry into effect the things which ‘‘are said in them, and shall be obedient unto their governors ‘“and the orthodox fathers.”

291. An old man used to say, ‘‘Whensoever I have been “able to overtake my soul when I have transgressed, I never ‘stumbled a second time.” Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 292. An old man used to say, ‘‘ The man who setteth death ‘before his eyes at all times easily overcometh dejection and ‘*littleness of soul.” 293. An old man used to say, ‘‘Take heed, with all thy ‘‘ might, not to do anything which deserveth blame, and do ‘* not take pleasure in making thyself acceptable.” 294. Abba Theodore used to say, ‘‘There is no spiritual ex- ‘*cellence so sublime [as that which consisteth in] not despis- ‘‘ing a man and treating him with contempt.” 295. An old man was asked, ‘‘How, and by what means can ‘the soul acquire humility?” And he made answer, saying, ‘¢ By examining and enquiring into its own wickednesses only.” 296. Abba Poemen used to say, ‘‘ All the spiritual excellences ‘‘have entered into this monastery, with the exception of the ‘¢one without which in labour [no] man standeth”; and they asked him, saying, ‘‘ Which spiritual excellence is that?” and he said, ‘‘That which maketh a man blame and despise himmeselt.:,

297. The disciple of a certain old man and Rabba was attacked by the lust for fornication, and he went into the world, and betrothed to himself a wife; and the old man, being greatly grieved, prayed to God, and said, ‘‘O Lord Jesus “Christ, do not Thou permit Thy servant to be defiled.” And it came to pass that when he was shut up with the bride in the bedchamber he yielded up his spirit, and he was not polluted with the union of marriage. 298. An old man used to say:—‘‘If temptation come upon a ‘‘man, and attack him on all sides to such a degree that his “‘ mind falleth into despair, and he murmureth, all his friends ‘will turn away their faces from him as if by reason of the “‘ temptation”; and he related the following story (in illustration of this statement) and said: ‘‘ There was amonk inacell, ‘Cand temptation came upon him, and all his friends and be- “loved ones who met him refused even to salute him, and not “one of them would allow him to enter into his cell. If he ‘“lacked provisions, and wanted a man to lend him some, none ‘would lend him, and he was compelled by reason of his tri- ‘‘bulation to go and work in the harvest field; and when he “came back he did not find any bread in his cell. Now it was ‘‘the custom among the holy men that every man who went ““to work in the harvest field should on his return eat in the ‘¢ church, but when that brother came on the Sabbath no man “took him and gave him refreshment in the usual way, and << he went to his cell, and he gave thanks unto God without ‘complaining. Now when God saw his patient endurance, He ‘‘ abated the temptation in him, and straightway a man came

The Savings of the holy Fathers **and knocked at his door; and he had with him a camel car- ‘*rying bread which had been sent to him from Egypt; then he ‘‘began to smite himself and to weep, saying, ‘T am not ‘* ‘worthy [of this].’ And the temptation having departed, all ‘the fathers took him, and gave him refreshment, and they ‘* persuaded him to let them take him to their cells, and through ‘*his patient endurance he found great benefit.” : : 299. On one occasion certain Greeks came to give gifts of grace in the city of ’Estarkina, and they took with them the stewards of the city that they might show them what it was necessary for them to give them, and they took them toa certain brother who had elephantiasis, but he refused to accept anything, saying, ‘‘ Behold, I have these few palm leaves, I ‘‘ will work at them, and weave ropes, and will eat bread.” Then they carried them to a certain widow, and they knocked at the door, and her daughter answered from inside, for she was naked, now her mother had gone out to work, for she was washing clothes and lived by her labour. And when they saw that the maiden was naked, they gave her clothes and money, but she refused to accept them, saying, ‘‘ My mother will come, ‘““and say unto me, ‘ My daughter, God hath willed [it], and I ‘‘ ‘have found some work to-day, and again we have sufficient ‘* “food for this day.’”? Then when the mother came, she refused [to accept the apparel and money], and said unto them, ‘‘O ye ‘“men, I have One Who provideth for me, that is, God, and ye ““seek to take away from me this day Him that hath provided “‘for me all my days”; and when they saw her faith they glorified God.

300. A certain man offered gold to one of the aged fathers, saying, ‘‘ Take [it] and let it be to thee for expenses, because ‘“thou hast grown old”; now the old man was an Arian, and he answered and said unto him that had given [the gold] tohim, ‘‘ Hast thou come to take away from me Him that hath reared ““me for sixty years? For it is sixty years since I have been ‘fin this sickness, and I have wanted for nothing because God ‘“‘fed me and provided for me”; and he would not consent to accept anything. 301. One of the fathers told the following story, saying, ‘‘I was ‘in the room for receiving strangers, and some poor folk came “to receive charity at eventide on the Sabbath, and there was “among them only one man who had a mat to lie upon “when they lay down; and he threw it down under him, and “then reclined upon it. Now it was exceedingly cold, and ‘““he took a half of the mat from under him and covered him- “self over therewith, and he reclined on the other half. And ‘‘T went out during the night and heard him complaining about

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule ‘the cold, and then the man turned to himself and said, ‘1 ‘« ‘give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, because how many are the ‘‘ ‘rich men, and the owners of possessions who are at this ‘“¢present moment lying in irons, and in afflictions, and in ‘¢ ¢ prisons, and there are, moreover, others whose feet have ‘‘“been put in the stocks, who are unable to turn round to any “¢“ side, whilst I, like a king, can spread out my feet and lie ‘< «down, and besides this, I can go whithersoever I please.’ ‘‘ And when he had said these things, now I was standing up ‘« listening to him, I went in and told them to the brethren, ‘“ and they benefited by the words of that poor man.” 302. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Let me think first, and pray ‘next, and then let us begin the work, and afterwards let us ‘boast ourselves in God.” 303. A certain brother asked an old man, saying, ‘* Why is ‘it that I feel disgusted when sitting in my cell, and why am ‘“‘] sluggish in respect of works of spiritual excellence?” And the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘ Because thou dost ‘not keep in mind the rest which those who labour expect, ‘and the torments which are laid up for the lazy. For if, in ‘‘ very truth, thou wert seeing these things, thou wouldst be ‘‘ watchful and strenuous in thy labour.”

_ An old man used to say, ‘‘ The man who maketh a boast <¢ Of the Name of God, and who doeth not the works which ‘are suitable to that Name, is like unto a poor man who, ‘‘ when a feast cometh, borroweth some clothes and putteth ‘‘them on, and who, when the feast hath passed, strippeth “them off himself because they are not his own, and giveth ‘them to their owners.” 305. Abbé Ammon used to say concerning Abba Paphnutius the Simple, who was from Scete, ‘‘ When I went down ‘there I was a young man, and he would not allow me to ‘‘ dwell there, saying, ‘In my days I will not permit the faces «« ¢ of young men, which resemble those of women, to dwell in ‘«‘Scete, because of the war of the Enemy against the holy comer, 7 306. Abbé Poemen (or Ammon) used to say, ‘‘If Nazardan ‘« (Nebuzaradan), the chief of the warriors, had never come to ‘the land of Judea, he would never have burnt down the tem- «ple of God which was in Jerusalem with fire”; [now the meaning] of these words is, that if the pleasures of the lust of the belly had never entered in on the soul the mind would never have been vanquished in the war of the Adversary.

307. A certain man asked Abba Sisoes, saying, ‘‘ Hast thou “not even yet arrived at the measure of Abba Anthony, our ‘‘ father?” And the old man answered and said, ‘‘ If lhad even The Savings of the tholy fatbers ‘©one thought like unto Abba Anthony, the whole of me would ** become like unto fire; but I know one man who, even with ‘* great labour, is able to bear his thoughts.” 308. Abba Abraham asked Abba Agathon, saying, ‘‘ How ‘‘is it that the devils make war upon me?” And Abba Agathon said unto him, ‘‘Do the devils make war upon thee? But ‘they do not make war against us so fiercely as we ourselves “‘do with our own wishes, though they do make war against ‘“us in proportion as our wishes do. Our desires become devils, ‘‘and they force us to fulfil them. Now if thou wishest to see ‘against whom they have made war, [it is] against Moses and ‘*those who resemble him.” 309. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘In what condi- ‘* tion is it meet for a monk to be?” And he said, ‘‘ Even as I ‘myself am, if one may [compare] one man with another.”

310. And an old man was also asked, ‘‘ Why am I afraid ‘‘when I go about in the desert?” The old man said unto him, ‘* Because thou art still alive.” 311. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ Why doth my ‘‘ spirit go round and round violently?” And he said unto him, ‘‘ Because thou hast not yet seen the storehouse of life.” 312. And he was also asked, ‘‘What is it meet for a monk ‘“‘to do?” And he said, ‘‘Let him perform all kinds of good “works in very deed, and let him acquire remoteness from ‘every evil thing.” 313. And he was also asked, ‘‘What is a monk’s work?” ‘And he said, ‘‘He must possess discretion.” 314. An old man said, ‘‘Unto every thought that riseth up ‘‘in thee say, ‘‘Art thou of us, or of our enemies?” And the thought will always make confession unto thee. 315. Abba Agathon used to say, ‘‘The crown of the monk is ‘* humility.” 316, Abba Isidore said, ‘‘When I was a youth and was living ‘in a cell, I possessed not the capacity for the service [of ‘“ prayer and praise], for by night and by day there was service to.ines’:

317. He also said, ‘‘For forty years, I neither leaned upon ‘‘anything nor lay down.” 318. He also said, ‘‘I was standing forty nights, and did ** not lie down.” 319. He also said, ‘‘For twenty years I continued to fight “against one thought—that I might see all men of one mind.” 320. An old man was asked, ‘‘Why is it that whilst I am ‘‘ sitting in my cell my heart wandereth about?” The old man said to his questioner, ‘‘Because thine external lusts feel the ‘“‘motions which are in hearing, and in breathing, and in Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule ‘taste, for from these, if it be possible for a man, there is ‘pure labour, and he should make them to be healthy and ‘satisfied within.” 321. An old man was asked, ‘‘ How is it possible for a man ‘“to live so that he may be seemly in God’s sight?” and he said to him, ‘‘[It is possible if a man have an] equable ‘«[mind].” 322, An old man also said, ‘‘Our labour is wood which ‘‘burneth away.” 3. Abba Benjamin said unto his disciples, ‘Do these thing's ‘and ye shall be able to live. Rejoice at all times, and pray ‘‘ without ceasing, and give thanks for everything.

324. He also said, ‘‘Abstinence in respect of the soul con- “ Sisteth in making straight its ways and habits, and courses ‘of aGtion, and in cutting off the passions of the soul.” 325. He also said, ‘‘Travel in the path of the kingdom, and ‘“Gount the miles, and thy spirit shall not be sad in thee. 326. An old man said, ‘‘Thou must be in the same state of fear ‘¢as a man who is going to endure tortures.” 7, An old man used to say, ‘‘A man shall not trouble, but «Jet him like a life of silent contemplation, and hide himself, ‘‘ for these meditations (?) are the begetters of purity.” 328. An old man used to say also, ‘Thou shalt desire to be- “Come a eunuch, for this will help thee.” 329. He also said, ‘‘The giving of thanks maketh entreaty ‘6 on behalf of the feeble before God.” 330. An old man used to say, ‘‘T do not as yet carry all my ‘“ body so that I may fulfil all my desire.” 1. Abba Sisoes said, ‘‘Exile consisteth in a man living a ‘silent and solitary life.” . One of the fathers said, ‘‘I once asked Abba Sisoes and ‘‘besought him to speak a word of life to me, and the old man ‘‘answered and said, He who taketh care to guard himself ‘against esteeming himself, and against comparing himself ‘« [with other men] inevery work ofunderstanding (ordiscretion), ‘¢is he who fulfilleth the Book.”

33, And I asked him also, “ In what doth the power of exile ‘‘ consist?” And he said unto me, ‘‘ Wheresoever thou dwellest ‘‘ hold thy peace; and about whatsoever thou seest, be it good ‘‘ or be it evil, say nothing; and if thou hearest anything from ‘‘4 man which befitteth not the upright conduct of the ascetic ‘life, say, ‘This concerneth me not;I have to do with myself, ‘and myself only.’ This is [the power of] exile.” 334. One of the old men said, ‘‘ The love of the work of the ‘‘ hands is the ruin of the soul; but the stablishment thereof is ‘‘ rest and peace in God.” The Sayings of the holy Fatbers 335. Abba Theodore said, ‘‘ If I did not cut off my soul from ‘‘the friends of this world they would not let me be a monk.” 336. He also said, ‘‘ If we seek God He will reveal Himself ‘‘unto us, and if we lay hold upon Him He will protect us.” 337. On one occasion certain of the old men were sitting and talking about the thoughts, and one of them said, ‘‘They ‘‘ would not appear to be a great matter if a man were to see ‘his thoughts from a distance.”

338. Another [old man] said, ‘‘I have never allowed error to ‘“ have dominion over me even for an hour.” 339. Abba Poemen said, ‘‘ As long as the food which is being ‘* boiled is on the fire the flies will not approach it, but as soon ‘‘ as it is taken off they cluster round it”; the meaning of this is that as long as our hearts are fervent in the spirit impure thoughts will not approach us, but that if we are negligent and make ourselves to be remote from the converse (07 occupation) of the spirit they will then gain dominion over us. 340. An old man used to say, ‘‘ It is necessary to make en- ‘‘ quiries concerning spiritual works, for through them we ad- ‘‘ vance in excellence; for it is great labour for us to go forth ‘‘ from the body in such wise that we do not perform the works ‘* of the body.”’ 341. An old man used to say also, ‘“ Affliction and poverty ‘are the instruments wherewith a monk cultivateth his handi- “‘ work.” 342. Certain of the old men used to say, ‘‘ Whosoever hath ‘not the instruments of the craft of labour cannot remain long ‘‘in his cell, whether they be the instruments of the craft of the ‘‘ labour of spiritual beings, wherewith he findeth comfort from ‘‘God in his inner man in the spirit, or the instruments of ‘‘the craft of human labour. He who possesseth not the one ‘‘or the other class of instruments cannot remain very long in ‘*his cell.”

343. The spirit of God rested upon Abba John because of the fear in which he held God; for it is the fear of God which teacheth a man all good works. 344. Abbé Poemen used to say, ‘‘ Abba Paphnutius was ex- ‘‘ceedingly great and mighty, and he ran at all times to minister *funto shortcoming.” 345. An old man was asked by a brother, ‘‘ How should a ‘““monk dwell in his cell?” The old man said unto him, ‘ Let ‘him dwell by himself, so that his thoughts may be with God.” 346. And a brother also asked him, saying, ‘‘ What shall I ‘do, for when I am by myself I am greatly afflicted by the ‘‘ multitude of evil thoughts of all kinds which crowd upon me, ‘and by the weight of the disgust which troubleth me?” The Questions and Unswers on the Ascetic Rule old man said unto him, ‘‘ Give thy soul work, that is to say, ‘‘ have a care to pray and have love towards God, and straight- ‘‘ way the spirit of Satan will flee from thee.” 347. An old man used to say also, ‘‘If thou doest something ‘‘ which is good, and thou art praised for it, destroy it; guard ‘thyself against the thoughts which praise thee, and which ‘hold thy neighbour in contempt.”

348. Abba Isidore’s thoughts praised him, saying, ‘‘There ‘is none like unto thee among the fathers”; and he said, unto them, ‘‘Am I like Anthony or Abba Agathon?” And the devils said unto him, ‘‘ After all the labours which thou hast per- “formed thou wilt go to torment”; and he said unto them, ‘‘ And ye also will be below me. For a thief through one word ‘inherited thekingdom.” And Judas also, who wrought mighty deeds with the Apostles, in one night lost all his labour, and he went down from heaven to Sheol; therefore let not him that conducteth himself uprightly boast himself. For all those who have been over confident about themselves have fallen among the devils of greed. Retard thou then [thy desire], saying, ““Thou hast had enough; wait a little,” and eat thou temperately and slowly. For he who hasteth in his eating is like unto him that seeketh to eat much. _ An old man saw sitting among the brethren a brother who pretended not to be of them, and he said unto him, ‘‘ How ‘‘canst thou walk in a country which is not thine?” 350. They used to say that Abba Poemen never wished to magnify his word over that of any old man, but in everything he praised his and belittled his own.

351. There was a certain monk who led a life which was full of severe ascetic labours, and the Devil laid many plans and schemes to make him abate them, and to make him to desist therefrom; but the monk would not give him a hearing in any way whatsoever, but, on the contrary, he played the man more strenuously than ever, and resisted his wiles and crafts. Now when the Devil had spent much time in this strife against him, another devil came to help him; and having enquired of his companion what manner of war and battle he should set in array against him, and how it was that the holy man was abating and making an end of all the things which he was making [against him], the accursed devil who had come last, answered and said by the counsel of the Evil One, “Do not ‘lift up thyself below him, but raise up thyself above him, and ‘‘in this way thou shalt be able to be stronger than he.” 352. An old man asked Abba Poemen, saying, ‘‘What shall “‘T do, father, with my son Isaac, who hearkeneth unto me ‘‘ with pleasure?” Abba Poemen said unto him, ‘‘If thou wish-

The Savings of the holy Fathers ‘‘est to be of benefit to him, shew him |an example] by deeds ‘fand not by words, lest through observing words only he ‘be found useless; for if thou wilt shew him by deeds, the ‘*deeds themselves will abide with him, and he wiil profit.” 353. Certain of the fathers said to Abba Macarius the Egyptian, ‘‘Whether thou eatest or whether thou fastest, thy body ‘‘hath already dried up”; and the old man said unto them, ‘*A piece of wood which hath been burned and consumed by ‘the fire burneth wholly, and thus also the heart of a man, if ‘the be purified by the fear of God, consumeth the lusts from ‘this flesh, and drieth up his bones.” 354. Abba Theodore used to say, ‘‘If God imputeth to us ‘carelessness in prayer, and the snare in [His] service wherein ‘“we have been captured, we shall not be able to stand.” 355. They used to say of one of the old men that he had passed twenty years in the church, and had never lifted his eyes and seen the roof thereof. 356. There was a certain monk whose name was Paul, and his rule of life and conduét was such that he did not approach the excessive labour of the work of the hands, nor any trafficking whatsoever, except such as was sufficient to provide for his small amount of daily food; but he performed one sort of work of excellence, that is, he prayed continually and ceased not, and he laid down the rule for himself that he should pray three hundred prayers each day, and he placed sand in his bosom, and at every prayer which he prayed, he would lay one grain of sand in his hand. Now this man asked Saint Macarius, saying, ‘‘Father, I am greatly afflicted”; and the old man pressed him to tell him the cause of his affliCtion. Then he answered and said, ‘‘I have heard about a certain virgin who ‘‘ hath led an ascetic lifeforthirty years, and FatherP6r related ‘concerning her that every week she went forth and recited ‘‘five hundred prayers in the day. Now when I heard these ‘‘things I despised myself greatly, for I am not able to recite ‘more than three hundred prayers.” Then the holy man Macarius answered and said unto him, ‘‘I have led an ascetic ‘life for sixty years, and I make fifty prayers a day, and I “‘ work sufficiently to provide myself with food, and I receive ‘the brethren who come to me, and I say unto them what it ‘fis seemly to say, and I pay my debts, and my mind doth not *“condemn me as one who hath treated [God] lightly; but thou ‘‘ who makest three hundred prayers in the day, art thou con- ‘‘demned by thy thoughts? Perchance thou dost not offer ‘them with purity [of heart], or thou art able to do more, and ‘*dost not do it!”

357. I used to know a certain holy man whose name was Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule Aurelius, and he laboured so hard that he might have been thought to be a shadow because of his disposition to work; during the Forty Days’ Fast he used to pass whole weeks [without eating], and in respect of the other days he would eat only once every two or three days. 358. An old man was asked [by a brother], ‘‘If I see the sin ‘of my brother am I to despise him?” And the old man said, ‘If we hide [the fault] of our brother God will also hide our ‘‘ [faults]; and if we expose our brother’s [faults], God will also ‘“ expose ours.” 359. Anold man was wont tosay, ‘‘ There was a brother whose ‘‘name was Timothy, and he used to lead a life of silent con- “‘templation in a religious house; and a temptation came ‘upon one of the brethren of that house, and the head of the ‘‘house asked Timothy, saying, ‘What shall I do to this ‘« ‘brother?’ Timothy said unto him, ‘Expel him’; and when ‘*he had expelled him, the temptation of that brother was sent “‘upon Timothy, and he cried out to God, saying, ‘I have ‘« «sinned, O my Lord, have mercy upon me.’ And he passed “the whole night in a grave of dead men, crying out and say- ‘“ing, ‘I have sinned, O my Lord, forgive me,’ and the temp- ‘‘ tation was upon him until he was greatly exhausted. And a ‘“ voice came to him, saying, ‘Timothy, do not imagine that “ ‘these things have happened unto thee for any other reason ‘than because thou didst offend thy neighbour in the time of €o*his trial.’”’

360. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘How shall I be ‘‘ able to avoid despising my brother?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘We and our neighbour are two faces. Now if we pro- ‘‘ vide the mirror of prayer we shall see the beam in our own ‘‘eye, and we shall also see in the mirror the face of our ‘brother polished and pure.” 361. A brother asked an old man and said, ‘“‘What shall I ‘‘ do? For there is no feeling in my soul, and I have no fear of ‘© God.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Seek thou out a man ‘‘ who feareth God, and then cling closely to him, and from ‘him thou shalt learn to fear God.” 362. Abba Poemen said that Abba Athanasius used to say, ‘Unless a man possess good works before God giveth him a ‘« sift because of himself, it is well known that no one can be ‘made perfect through the weariness which cometh to him ‘through himself; but if he reveal [it] to his neighbour, he will “« then receive the gift because of his neighbour, andbe gratified.” 363. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘Shew mea word ‘‘ whereby I may live.” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Work ‘« with thy hands with all thy power, and give alms.”

The Savings of the holy Fatbers 364. They used to say that Abba Copres attained to such a measure [of perfection] that even when he was sick and wanted something, he would cut off his desire from that which his soul asked him [to give it]; and he would give thanks unto God and endure his sickness with joy and without complaint. 365. A brother asked Abba Poemen, ‘‘ What is the meaning ‘¢ of these words which the Prophet spake, ‘My heart shall re- ‘« Goice in those that fear Thy name’?” (Psalm xxxiii, 21.) And the old man answered and said, ‘‘The Holy Spirit spake this ‘word to man even unto death, and [unto] to-day also.” 366. An old man also said, ‘‘ If a man were to make new ‘heavens and new earth he would not be able to be free from ‘‘care, because the wickedness of the devil is hidden behind “‘them; but for a man to have no care either for his raiment or ‘his food is possible.” 367. A [brother] also asked an old man, ‘‘ What shall I do ‘¢in respect of that which I love, but which is not profitable to “me?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘Approach it not, and “‘touch it not, and it will of its own accord become an alien ‘thing unto thee. For David the Prophet wrote unto Joab the ‘* captain of the host, and said unto him, ‘ Hold fast on the war, ‘‘ ‘and fight mightily against the city until thou dost subdue it’ ‘¢(2 Samuel xi, 25). Now in this case the city is enmity.”’

368. Anthony said, ‘‘ The greatest might of a man is to bring ‘‘upon his soul his transgression at all times before God, and ‘he must expect temptation until the end.” 369. An old man used to say, ‘‘This is the rule of conduct _ ‘which God gave to Israel, that he should remove himself from ‘* that which is outside nature, that is to say, anger, and wrath, ‘fand envy, and hatred, and evil-speaking, and a man must ‘‘not judge his neighbour, together with all the other com- ‘‘mandments of the olden time.” 370. On one occasion certain of the brethren came to Abba Sisoes in order that they might hear some profitable words, and when they hadspoken much with him, he said nothing unto them about whatsoever-they had said, but only, ‘‘ Forgive me.”’ Then they saw that he was plaiting palm leaves, and they said unto Abraham his disciple, ‘‘What are ye doing with these ‘‘ palm-leaf ropes and mats?” And hesaid unto them, ‘‘ We send ‘them out here and there.” Now when the old man heard this he said, ‘‘Sisoes eateth here and there.” And when they had heard [these things] they were greatly profited, and they departed in great joy because they had seen his humility.

371. Abba Copres said, ‘‘ Whosoever loveth the gratifying ‘fof his own will more than the gratification of the will of God ‘hath no fear of God.” Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 372. A brother asked Abba Am@nis, saying, ‘‘ How ought a 66 : 2 §> 3 gs man to act when he wisheth to begin some [kind of] work, **or when he wisheth to go or to come, or to go from one ‘* place to another, so that action may be according to the will “‘of God, and may be free from the error of devils?’ The old man said unto him, ‘‘He must first consider in his mind and ““see the motive of that which he wisheth to do, and whence ‘it cometh, and if it be from God or Satan, or from the man ‘‘himself, and then let him do the work [which he contem- ‘plateth], but let him flee from going and coming, and from ‘* going from one place to another. If he [acteth] not [thus] he ‘< will finally become a laughing-stock for the devils. But after- ‘‘wards let him pray and beseech God that that work which **is His he may do, and then let him begin the work, and after- ‘wards he may boast in God.”

373. He also said, ‘‘ Bear with every man in such a way that ‘“God may also bear with thee.” 374. The disciple of Abba Ammon told the following story:— One night the old man came out and found me lying down in the courtyard of the cell, and he stood up above me, and with lamentation and tears said, ‘‘ Where is the mind of this brother “‘who can thus lie down (ov sleep) without care?” 375. There was a certain priest in Thebais whose name was Dioscurus, and he was the spiritual father of many monks, and at the time when they were about to receive the Holy Mysteries he used to say to the brethren, ‘‘Take thought and “« see lest any man among you have been snared by the phantom ‘*of a woman during the night, and he be so bold as to receive ‘*the Holy Mysteries. Now the emissions which occur as the ‘result of a phantom are not caused by the desire of a man, ‘‘but take place independently thereof, for they happen natur- ‘‘ ally, and are due to the excess of matter [in the body], and ‘they do not, therefore, lead [a man] into subjection to sin. ‘‘ But the phantoms which arise from the desire are the sign ‘‘of an evil wish, For it is meet that the monk should be “ superior to the law of nature, and that he should not be found “‘ with the smallest impurity of body, but that he should waste “the body and humble it, and should not permit any super- “<fluity of matter to be found therein. Work out plans, then, ‘that thou mayest cut off [the superfluity of] matter by means ‘‘ of a long period of fasting, for if we do not thus it will in- “cite the other lusts to come upon us; and it is not meet that ‘©a monk should be occupied with the lusts which rise up in ‘him daily. And if we do not thus, in what way are we different ‘< from those who live in the world? For we have observed that “men of this kind often make themselves to be remote from

The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘the desires of their lust, either for purposes of bodily health, ‘or for other reasons which are not worth mentioning; how ‘‘ very much more, then, should it thus be especially a care to ‘the monk for the sake of the health of his spirit, and of his ‘¢soul, and of his body!” é 376. They used to say that Abba Macarius the Alexandrian at one time dwelt in a cave in the desert, and that beyond his cave was another wherein dwelt a panther; one day when he opened the door of his cave the panther came in and did homage to the blessed man, and she drew nigh and took hold of the corner of his garment, and dragged him along gently and went outside. And the old man answered and said, ‘‘ What can this ‘‘ animal want?” And he went with her until she arrived at her cave, and she left him outside, and went in and brought out her young, which were blind, and dropped them at his feet; and when he saw them, he prayed, and spat in their eyes, which were opened straightway, and the panther gave them suck, and took them and went inside. And on the day following the panther came bringing a sheepskin, and she approached and placed it before him; then the old man smiled to himself at the discernment and knowledge which the animal had shewn, and he took the skin and slept upon it, until it was quite worn out.

377. Now on another occasion, when the door of his cell was shut, and the old man was sitting in his courtyard, that panther leaped down into the courtyard from the wall and came to him carrying one of her young in her mouth; and when the old man saw that the little panther was blind, he spat in its eyes, and they were opened, and its mother took it and departed. And one day later she brought to the blessed man a sheepskin, and the blessed woman Melania told me, saying, ‘‘I received this same skin from the hands of the old “man as a gift.” 378. A brother asked an old man, saying, ‘‘ What shall I do ‘‘if when I have given to my brother a little bread or money, ‘the devils pollute it, as if[it were given to gain] the approba- ‘“ tion of men?” The old man said unto him, ‘‘ Even though the ‘adulation of men may come, we must give to our neighbour ‘that which is necessary,” and the old man adduced a proof of this statement, and said, ‘‘ Two men dwelt in acertain city, ‘‘and one sowed [a field] and produced a crop of somewhat ‘‘dirty grain, but the other sowed [no field] at all, and pro- ‘‘duced no crop of any kind, neither clean nor dirty; in the ‘‘time of tribulation which of these two men would live [and ‘‘not die] of hunger?” And the brother said unto him, ‘‘ He ‘‘ who produced the crop of dirty grain’’; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘Let us then produce a few [good actions], even

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule “though they be defiled, so that we may not die in the time ‘* of famine.” 379. An old man used to say, ‘‘ Dainty meats remove [a ‘*man|] from heavenly honours. For satiety, and luxurious liv- **ing in this world, and the multitudes of lustful habits shut ‘*the door in our face and prevent us from entering into the ‘“happiness of God. Consider now the history of the rich man ‘‘and Lazarus; what was it that carried Lazarus into the **bosom of Abraham? Was it not the immeasurable troubles ‘“among which he had been brought up? And what brought ‘*the rich man to Gehenna? Was it not the pleasures and *‘lusts which were flaming within his body? Each one of us, ‘*then, according to his measure, by the nod of the fire of his ** person which is found with him, shall receive his deserts in ** the world which is to come; and each one of us, unless he be *‘ watchful, shall be shaken up with the wood, and the straw, ‘and the stubble. And since it is necessary for us to extin- ‘* euish carefully the lusts which bestir themselves in us, we ‘have need [to drink] water, and not wine.”

380. An old man used to say, ‘‘True obedience is like unto a ‘chaste woman who is betrothed, and whois not drawn aside ‘after strange voices; and the ear which turneth away, ever ‘« so little, from the truth, is like an adulterous woman who “*turneth away from her husband; and the mind which is led ‘“by every doctrine of error is like unto a harlot, who obey- “Ceth every one who calleth her. Let us then rebuke the ‘‘ wandering mind which is corrupted by strange voices, and ‘‘ which loveth the voice of its seducer instead of that of the “true bridegroom; for it hath accepted to be called by the ‘‘name of a stranger, and not by that of Christ.” 381. An old man used to say, ‘‘If thou hast prayed for thy ‘companion thou hast also prayed for thyself, but if thou hast ‘‘ prayed for thyself only thou hast impoverished thy petition; ‘Cand if thou hast shown that thy brother hath offended thee, “‘thou hast also shown that thou hast offended thyselt. Those ‘“prayers, which have not taken their mind with them when ‘““they have ascended and gone up, stand outside the door, and ‘‘it is love which openeth the door before them. The prayer ‘which possesseth not the wings of the spirit to [mount up | ‘‘on high standeth before the mouth of him that prayeth it, ‘Cand thinking that it hath flown away he doth not perceive ‘that it remaineth [near him]. Offer with thine offering salt, ‘as it is written (Leviticus ii, 13). Let the love of thy Lord be “salt for thy sacrifice, for the sacrifice which hath not salt ‘‘ through His love is despised and rejected before Him.”

382, One of the holy men used to say thus:—‘‘I have passed The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘the whole period of twenty years in striving so that a strange ‘thought might not enter into my heart, and I have seen ‘‘ Satan, until the ninth hour, with his bow stretched ready to ‘‘ shoot an arrow into my heart; and when he could not find ‘Can opportunity, he was filled with disgust, and he would ‘‘ depart each day, having been put to shame.” 383. An old man said, ‘‘If thou art a [true] penitent thou ‘‘hast nothing whatsoever to do with these who are in the ‘* world.” : 384. There was a certain holy man in Egypt who dwelt in the desert, and a little way beyond him was an elder (07 priest), who was a Manichean; and this Manichean was obliged to make a journey and to go to one who was of the same faith as himself, and as he was going along the road, he arrived at eventide at the place where the holy man lived, and the Manichean was in great distress, for he had no place near at hand wherein to enter. Now he was afraid to go to the holy man, for he thought that he would recognize him, and would not allow him to enter [his cell]; nevertheless, being sore pressed, and not knowing where [else] to go, he knocked at the door of that holy man; and he opened the door, and the Manichean went in, and the holy man received him with gladness, and he knew who he was, and he urged him to pray, and he relieved all his wants, and the Manichean slept, and was refreshed. And it came to pass during the night that the Manichean came to himself, and said, ‘‘ How is it that there is nothing which ‘it was seemly to do which this blessed man hath not done — ‘‘for me? Verily this is a man of God.” Then he rose up and fell down at his feet, and said, ‘‘ From this day onwards I shall ‘‘believe as thou believest”; and he turned to the truth, and he became a friend of the holy man and lived with him always.

385. I have heard that Abba Isaac said concerning Abba Muthues his Rabba, now they both arrived at the dignity of the episcopacy, that first of all Abba Muthues built his monastery in the country of the Harbélayé (Herakleans), but that being much troubled by the multitudes who came to him, he left that place, and departed, and went to another spot in order that he might find quietness, and he built a monastery for himself there. And by the operation of Satan as it were, he found there a certain brother with whom he was at enmity, and he afflicted him greatly; and the old man saw [this], and he rose up and departed to his village, so that the man might not be vexed through him, and there he built a monastery, and shut himself in it. Now after a time, the fathers of that place wherefrom Abba Muthues had departed gathered together, and they took that brother who was aggrieved, and they went to him in order Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule to entreat him and to bring him to hismonastery; and when they had arrived at the place where Abba Sértén used to dwell, they left their cloaks there, and the aggrieved brother was with them. And when the fathers had knocked, the old man brought forward a ladder, and he recognized them, and said unto them, ‘‘ Where are your cloaks?” And they said, ‘‘They are here ‘with us, with such and such a brother.” Now when the old man heard the name of that brother, in sheer joy he took an axe and opened the door, and he ran to the place where that brother was, and the holy man fell at the feet of the saint, and he made entreaty to him, and he kissed him, and saluted him, and he brought him and the fathers to his cell, and he refreshed both him and them for three days; and he made ready a meal, which he was not in the habit of doing, and he rose up and went with them with great joy. Now afterwards he was called to the office of Bishop, and he became a worker of signs and miracles, and he also made his disciple Abba Isaac a Bishop, and he continued to lead a life of spiritual excellence until the end of his life.

386. They used to say of Abba Serapion, the Bishop, that whensoever a man came to him to receive the monastic garb, he said these words to him, ‘‘ When thou prayest say, ‘Lord, ‘* “teach me to do Thy will.’” 387. On one occasion Abba Paphnutius was living in a remote desert, and it happened that a certain brother came to him and found him sick, and the brother took him, and washed him, and of the food which he had with him he boiled a little, and brought it to him to eat. And when he saw [this] he answered and said, ‘‘In very truth it had passed from my mind “that this gratification for the children of men existed”’; and he brought him a cup of cream. Now when the old man saw him, he wept, and said, ‘‘I never expected that, even to the ‘‘ day of my death, I should drink wine.” 388. One of the fathers told a story, saying: ‘On one occa- ‘< Sion two brethren according to the body came to the desert “to a certain monk, and they conducted themselves in an ex- ‘‘ cellent manner, and they were praised by the whole brother- ‘‘hood. And it came to pass that one of them fell into a sick- ‘6 ness which lasted not a few years, and his brother ministered ‘‘unto him, and certain fathers came to visit him, and they ‘began to praise him that ministered unto him, saying, ‘Thy ‘ ¢ willingness and thy abstinence profit the whole brotherhood. ; ‘© And he answered and said unto them with great humility, ‘«« Forgive me, O my fathers, for I have not as yet begun to ‘‘ ‘Jead a life of rule, but it is my brother who doeth the works ‘« 6of excellence, and that ye may indeed learn that such is the

The Sayings of the holy Fathers “case, come after me and see.’” Then he took them in to his brother in the cell wherein he lay, and he said unto him, ‘‘Father, where is the axe which I gave thee yesterday?” And he began to seek for it. Then he said unto him, ‘‘See, O my ‘‘ brother, do an act of grace and seek for it with me,” and the sick brother took it upon himself to be asked for that which he had not taken. And having profited [by his example] the fathers departed from that place. 389. An old man used to say, ‘‘Flee from that love which ‘‘subsisteth by means of the things which are corrupt, for ‘‘with them a man also passeth away and is destroyed.” 390. Abba Elijah used to say, ‘‘The love which a man pos- ‘‘sesseth for his neighbour, and which is caused by some ‘‘temporal matter is, in the process of time, turned into fierce ‘‘enmity.” 391. And he also said, ‘‘ Whatsoever hath its being for God’s ‘¢ sake endureth and abideth for ever with those who are true.” 392. On one occasion the priest of Pilisi6n heard that certain of the brethren were idle and lazy, and that they were constantly in the city, and that they swam in the baths, and neglected the works of excellence which belong to the life of the monk, and when they came to the congregation he took their monkish dress from them; and having done [this] he was sad at heart, and repented, and he went to Abba Poemen and informed him about them. And the old man said unto him, ‘‘ Hast thou nothing of the old man about thee?” [And he said ‘‘Yea.” And the old man said unto him], ‘‘Therefore thou thy- “self art like unto them, and thou art nigh unto sin.” Then the priest went and expressed his sorrow to them, and he put on them the dress of monks [once more]. Now they were twelve in all.

393. On one occasion tribulation came upon the monks in a certain place where they were living, and they wished to forsake it and come to Abba Ammon; and behold, he was travelling in a boat, and he saw them going along by the side of the river, and he ordered the boatmen to bring [the boat] close to land. Then he called these brethren and said unto them, ‘‘I am ‘‘Ammon to whom ye wish to go”; and he entreated them to go back to their place, and he comforted them, and told them to endure patiently, for there was in the matter no loss to the soul, but only human vexation. 394. On one occasion an old man went up from Scete to the brethren in the mountain, and when they saw that he was a man of great ascetic labours, and that he practised stern selfdenial, they entreated him to let them make a meal for him, and they brought him a little wine to drink. Now the people Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule of the country heard about him, and they brought him a man who was afflicted with a devil that he might heal him; and when the devil saw him, he began to revile him, saying, ‘‘ Hast ‘*thou brought this winebibber to me?” And the old man did not wish to cast him out because of the praise of men, but, because the devil had reviled him, he said unto him, ‘‘I believe in ‘Christ, and I shall not have drunk [this] cup of wine until ‘‘thou hast gone forth”; and as he began to drink that devil cried out, and said, ‘‘Thou art consuming me”: and before the old man could drink that cup [of wine] the devil went forth by the grace of Christ.

395. They used to say that a certain father who was a recluse had a brother, according to the body, who lived in another cell, and that this brother fell ill, and sent to him a message to come and see him before he died; and his brother said, ‘‘] am unable to go out for the sake of my brother in the ‘‘flesh.” And his brother sent him another message, saying, ‘‘Come, if it be only in the night, that I may see thee”; and the recluse said, ‘‘I cannot do so, for if I did my heart would ‘‘not be pure before God.” So the brother died, and they did not see each other. . They once wanted to make Abba Isaac priest in Scete, and when he heard [this] he fled to Egypt, and he went into a field and hid himself among the crop because the fathers were pursuing him, and when they came to that field they began to weary a little; and they turned the ass which they had with them out to feed, but he left the whole field, and went and stood up in that place where Abba Isaac was hidden. And in the morning they went out to look for the ass, and they found the ass and the old man [together] and they marvelled; and when they wished to make Abba Isaac take an oath [not to run away] he would not allow them [to do so], and he said unto them, ‘‘I shall not flee again, for it is the will of God, and ‘‘ whithersoever I flee I shall come to this thing, for this is a ‘¢consecration by God.” ;

397. Abba Macarius asked Abba Arsenius, saying, ‘‘Is it ‘‘ good for a man not to have any pleasure at all in his cell? “‘f know a brother who used to have a few garden herbs in ‘‘ his cell, and to prevent himself from having any gratification ‘therefrom, he pulled them up by the roots”; and Abba Arsenius said unto him, ‘‘This is good, but every man [must ‘‘ do] as he is able, and if he hath not strength to persist in ‘this perhaps he should plant others.” - 398. The old men who were in Egypt told Abba Elijah that Abba Agathon was a great man. And the old man said unto them, ‘Considering his youth he was a great man in his The Sayings of the holy Fatbers when he heard [of it] he was distressed, for he fasted two days at a time, and that day was the day on which he ought not to eat. And he said in his mind, ‘‘ What shall I do? For ‘* perhaps the brethren will compel me to eat, and if I wait [to ‘go to the old man] until to-morrow perhaps he will be dead. ‘*I can only do this. I will go, but will not break the law and ‘“eat”; so he went, and he ate not, and he did not break the rule of life which [he observed] for God’s sake.

410. They used to say that Abba Netira, who was the disciple of Abba Sylvanus, and who dwelt in his cell in Mount Sinai, trained his body, and exercised it in ascetic labours with moderation; but when he was called by force to the episcopacy, he afflicted himself with stern and laborious works. And his disciple said unto him, ‘‘ Abba, when we lived in the ‘‘ desert thou didst not lead such a life of abstinence and self- ‘denial as thou now doest”’; and the old man said unto him, ‘‘ There I had the desert, and silence, and poverty, and I only ‘“‘had to direct my body in moderation so that it might not ‘‘become ill; but here I have the world, and I must vex my ‘‘body so that it may not be caught by any lust whatsoever, ‘and that I may not lose my labours.” 411. They used to relate that Abbé Poemen and the brethren at one time worked with their hands, but he could not sell their work; and they were distressed because they had no one to buy their work; and one of the brethren, who was a friend of theirs, went to a certain believing merchant and informed him of the matter. Now Abba Poemen [always] refused to accept anything from any man, so that he might not be entreated for alms] by the multitude. And when the merchant heard about their need], because he wished to do something for the old man, he made the excuse that he was in need of [the kind] of work [which they did], and he bought a camel and carried away the work as if he had been in need of the same; and the brother who had told the merchant came to Abba Poemen, and hearing that the merchant had come and carried away what they had to sell, he said before Abba Poemen, “Verily, ‘*O father, the merchant hath taken [the work] away, although ‘‘he did not want it.” Then Abba Poemen said to AbbA Job, his brother, ‘‘Arise, stop the camel, and bring him back, for ‘if thou dost not do so Poemen will not dwell here with you. ‘“‘ For I do not wish to wrong any man by making him un- ‘‘necessarily to suffer loss on my account, and to take my “profit.” And the brother departed and brought the camel back with great difficulty, and then AbbA Poemen was persuaded to stay with them, and when he saw [the camel] he rejoiced as one who had found a great treasure.

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 412, A certain stranger came to Scete, and brought there much gold, and he entreated the priest that it might be given to the brethren, and the priest said unto him, ‘‘It is useless to ‘‘them”’; and having entreated him many times, and the priest not consenting [to this], the man laid the gold down openly at the door of the church. And the priest said, ‘‘My brethren, ‘if any man hath need let him take [some],” but they refused to touch it, and some of them would not even look at it. Then the priest said unto him, ‘‘God hath accepted thy gift, go, and give ‘“it to the poor”; and having been greatly helped he departed. 413. On one occasion the steward of Scete went up to Constantinople, and the Emperor seeing him asked him how the fathers in Egypt were; and the steward did homage, and answered and said to the Emperor, ‘‘ Behold, they eat each other, ‘¢and live.” Now when the Emperor heard this, he marvelled, and asked him, ‘‘What is the meaning of ‘They eat each “6 ‘other?’” And the steward said, ‘‘The meaning of ‘They eat << ‘each other’ is this: When it happeneth that one of them ‘‘is going to die, he commandeth that whatsoever he hath shall ‘‘be given to various men according to their needs; and simi- ‘larly when a man worketh he bringeth [the results of] his ‘labour, and refresheth all the brethren therewith, and in ‘‘this way they live.” The Emperor said unto him, ‘‘ Verily ‘blessed are ye, for ye are saved and freed from the cares of ‘the world, and also from the judgement of Gehenna. We, on ‘“the other hand, are troubled by the cares of the world, and ‘‘ Gehenna is prepared for us because of our sins.”

414. They used to say of Abba Betimius that, when [the brethren] were coming down from the harvest to Scete, they brought down as a gift for the brethren who were there a jar of oil, which contained the measure of a kestd, and was sealed with plaster. And at the return of the period the year following when they were going to the harvest, they brought everything which was of benefit to the church; and Abba Betimius made a small hole with a needle in the vessel of oil, and poured out a little for himself, and thought that he had done some great thing in not having consumed the whole of the oil which was in the vessel. And when the brethren brought their vessels with the plaster coverings intact and the vessels themselves unopened, whilst his vessel had been perforated, he stood there full of shame, just like a man who thinketh that he hath been found [committing] fornication. 415. There was a great and holy man who used to dwell in the inner desert, in a state of glorious ascetic excellence, and the gifts of casting out deviis and of healing the sick had been given to him by God, and he used to work great miracles in

The Savings of the holy fathers the Name of Christ, and the beasts also made themselves subject to him at his command. For it chanced on one occasion when he was journeying in the desert that he saw a herd of wild asses feeding, and he said unto them, ‘‘In the Name of ‘‘ our Lord Jesus Christ, let one of you come hither”; and one of them came, and crouched before him very gently, and the blessed man mounted him and sat upon him, and the animal carried him whither he wished to go. 416. One day when the blessed Anthony was sitting in the desert with the brethren about him, suddenly there fell upon him a state of stupor, and he became exceedingly sad and sorry, and he bent his knees and prayed; and when, after a long time, he stood up, he wept and groaned, and the old man began to pluck out his hair, and to throw it away. Now when the brethren saw him weeping they entreated him to tell them what he had seen; and he answered and said unto them, ‘‘A ‘‘ reat pillar hath fallen this day from the church.” Now he spake concerning that holy man who had fallen from his rule of life. And he sent to him straightway two brethren to see what had happened and to comfort him, and when the holy man saw them, he wailed andcried,and took dust and cast it upon his head, and he fell down before them, saying, ‘‘Go ye and say to ‘« Abba Anthony, ‘ Pray for me that ten days may be given me ‘to live, and I believe that I shall repent’’’; but he died before five days had passed, and did not remain long enough to offer up repentance for his sin.

417. There was a certain man of noble rank who sold everything which he had, and divided [the money] among the poor and the strangers, and he shaved his head and went and dwelt in a monastery; now there remained to him a remnant of his possessions sufficient for his wants. And after a little time, when he had obtained freedom of speech, he began to be proud and to exalt. himself above the other brethren, saying, ‘‘ They ‘(lack education, and the knowledge of learning”’; and the blessed Mar Basil, the Bishop, sent him a message in a letter, saying, ‘‘Thou hast lost the great name which thou hadst in ‘‘the world, for thou wast called ‘nobleman’, and thou hast ‘not become a monk.” 418. Abba Gregory made an answer against the thoughts and said to the brethren, ‘‘My brethren, inasmuch as we have ‘¢ passed the measure of children, let us cease from the mind ‘‘ of children, that is to say, let us free ourselves from the care- ‘less habits of filthy lusts; for it would be a shameful thing ‘‘for us if, since childhood hath passed from us, and old age ‘‘hath come upon us, the things of shame had not also passed ‘away from us,”

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 419. They used tosay that when Abba Macarius was walking in the desert, he went and founda beautiful spot which waslikeunto the Paradise of God; and there were in it fountains of water, and numerous palm trees, and trees of various kinds which bore fruit, and when he had come and told the brethren about it, they begged and entreated him to go and settle them there. Then the old men, the aged members of the congregation, who led lives of stern labour, entreated them not to leave their place, and they said, ‘‘If pleasure and delight be found in that ‘“spot, and if a man may live therein without vexation and ‘‘labour, what pleasure and delight do ye expect to receive “‘from God? Nay, it is right for us to endure the hardness “of this place wherein we dwell, and to suffer tribulations so “‘that we may enjoy pleasure in the world to come.” And when he had said these things the brethren were restrained and departed not. 420. There was a certain holy man who used to see visions, and he told the following story, saying, ‘‘Once when I was ‘standing up in prayer, I heard a devil complaining in the ‘‘presence of his companion, saying, ‘1 am [suffering] great ‘¢ “Jabour and trouble.’ And when the other devil asked him so ‘‘that he might learn from him the cause of his trouble, he ‘“said to him, ‘This is the work which hath been handed over “<<to me. When I have carried these monks, who are in Jeru- “¢<salem and its neighbourhood, to Mount Sinai I have to “« “bring those who are in Mount Sinai to Jerusalem, and I “« “have no rest whatsoever.’”

421. There was a monk who lived in a cell, far away in the desert, and this monk had a brother who lived in the world, and whose end was nigh, for he had to die; and he sent a message to the monk, saying, ‘‘For God’s sake do an act of ‘“srace, and come that I may see thee before I die.” And when the monk heard [this], he shut the door of his cell, and set out to go to him, and.as he was travelling through the desert, he saw an old man sitting on the wayside mending nets ; now this old man was the Calumniator, who was making ready his snares to catch in them those who were journeying on the road of spiritual excellence. And he was exceedingly anxious to overthrow that brother, and to trip him up by his snares, for he had not only never allowed his foot to become entangled in the meshes of his nets, but he had also slit in pieces and destroyed his pitfalls through the remembrance of God. Now the monk did not know that the man who was sitting by the roadside mending his nets was Satan, and he said unto him, ‘‘ Why art thou sitting here in this parched desert? And what ‘‘art thou doing here?” The Calumniator said unto him, ‘‘T

The Sayings of the holy fathers ‘am mending my nets wherewith I wish to catch the gazelle ‘‘which are in the desert.” And the monk said unto him, ‘“ Make me a net also, for I want to catch with it the gazelle ‘‘which go into my garden and lay it waste.” Then that devil said unto him, ‘‘Get thee on thy journey, and I will make a ‘‘net for thee which shall be better than that which thou now ‘¢ seest.” And when the monk had gone to his brother, he saw him, and remained with him for two days, and on the third day his brother died; and he wrapped him up in his graveclothes, and buried him with the honour which is due to believing men. And as he was lying there in his brother’s house, his brother’s wife rose up by night, and came and lay down by his side through the agency of the Calumniator, and she began to say unto him thus :—‘‘God hath sent thee hither to ‘‘provide for thy brother’s children, and to bring them up; “‘take me, then, to wife, and take care of thy brother’s house ‘Cand of his children, and stay here in peace in thine own ‘*house.”” And when the monk had heard what she said to him, he was moved to wrath against her, and he said to her, ‘Fie upon thee, O woman! Get thee behind me, Satan!” And he rose up straightway, and took his staff, and set out to go through the desert to his cell, and as he was journeying along the way, he saw that old man sitting in his place and mending his nets; and the monk said unto him, ‘‘Art thou still sitting ‘‘ here, O old man? Hast thou prepared for me that net con- ‘*cerning which I spake to thee?” Then Satan became furious, and he looked at him in fierce anger and said, ‘‘ Get thee forth ‘‘from my presence. Yea, thou hast indeed broken the net ‘which I made for thee. Didst thou not know that thou wast ‘‘breaking and slitting in pieces during the past night that ‘‘other net which was better than the first one? I am not able ‘to make a net which [will catch] thee.” And as he was speaking he changed himself into a great serpent. Now when the monk saw this he understood that it was Satan who had appeared unto him; and he fled from the place in fear, and went to his cell, and he gave thanks unto God Who had delivered him from the snare of Satan, who had wished to snare him and to drag him down into his net through his brother’s wife.

422, A certain brother had recently received the garb of a monk, and he went and shut himself up in a cell, and said, ‘Tama desert monk.” And when the fathers heard [this], they came and took him out of his place, and made him to go about to the cells of the brethren, and to make apologies to them, saying, ‘‘I am not a desert monk, and I have only just begun “to be a disciple.” 423. On one occasion Abba Abraham went to Abba Aréa, Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule and whilst they were sitting talking, a certain brother also came to Abba, and repeated the following:—There was a certain rich man in Jerusalem who had become rich by means of fraud, and avarice, and oppression, and wicked acts of various kinds; and when this man came to himself, and understood that there was judgement to come, he drew nigh to a certain teacher, and said unto him, ‘‘I beseech thee [to hearken “unto me]. My mind is led captive by worldly care, and by ‘‘ anxieties which are of the earth; make me whole then, so ‘‘that I may not perish.” And the teacher gave him to read the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, and as he was reading [it], he found a verse which said, ‘‘He who hath compassion ‘upon the poor, lendeth to God.” Then he shut the book, and gave it to the teacher, saying, ‘‘ Who is there that is more sure “and more to be trusted than God, Who if I shew compassion ‘‘upon the poor, will give me back both principal and in- ‘‘terest?”” Then he went immediately, and sold everything which he possessed and divided it among the poor, and he left nothing whatsoever of it to himself except four dinars, which were to be [spent] in burying him; and he fell into want, and became exceedingly poor, and he went about begging, but no man either shewed compassion upon him or gave him food. Finally he meditated within himself, and said, ‘‘I will go to ‘‘the Lord my God, and will enter into judgement with Him ‘because He led me astray and made me scatter all my pos- ‘‘ sessions.” Now as he was returning to Jerusalem, he saw two men fighting with each other, and each was striving to take from his companion a certain stone of great excellence, which had fallen from the ephod which was on Aaron, the high priest; now the men did not know what the stone was. Then the man said unto them, ‘‘Why are ye fighting and contending with ‘© each other?” And they answered and said unto him, ‘‘We ‘‘ have found a stone, and we do not know what its value is”; and he said unto them, ‘‘Give it to me, and take four dinars,” and they gave him the stone gladly. Then the man went into Jerusalem and shewed the stone to a goldsmith, who, as soon as he saw the stone, said unto him, ‘‘ Where didst thou find this? ‘‘ For behold, because [of the loss] thereof all Jerusalem hath ‘‘ been in an uproar for the last three days. But go, and give ‘it to the high priest, and he will make thee a rich man.” Now when he had gone into the temple, the angel of the Lord appeared unto the high priest, and said unto him, ‘* Behold, ‘64 man hath come unto thee, and he hath with him the stone ‘‘ which was lost; give him, then, gold and silver, and precious ‘ stones according to his desire, and rebuke him and say unto ‘him, ‘Have no doubt whatsoever in thy mind, and eet 241 II-1

The Sayings of the holy Fathers ‘not thyself from lending to God as if thou wert not a be- ‘‘ liever and a true man, for, behold, I have given unto thee ‘twofold in this world [for what thou didst lend Me}, and in ‘‘ ‘the world to come life everlasting.’” 424. Andthe fathers also said:—There was a rich philosopher in a certain city and he never gave anything to any man, and the Bishop of the city said unto him, ‘‘Dost thou know, O my ‘‘beloved brother, that when we came into this world we ‘‘ brought nothing in with us, and that we shall not be able to ‘carry anything out with us? But from that which Christ hath ‘‘ siven unto thee thou shouldst lend in this world, and in the ‘‘next He will reward thee several times over.” Then the philosopher said unto the Bishop, ‘‘ Wilt thou be surety to me that ‘““if I lend [money] unto Him He will reward me?” And the Bishop answered and said, ‘‘Yea, I wil! be surety to thee”; and the Bishop having become surety to him, straightway the rich man began to scatter his possessions, and whensoever he gave alms to any man he used to write thus: ‘‘ Behold, I have ‘lent to Christ such and such things, Bishop So-and-so being ‘‘ security for the same”; and he did thus until he had scattered all the riches which he possessed. Now when the day arrived for him to go forth from the world, he commanded his household, saying, ‘‘I make you to take an oath by Christ, in Whom ‘¢T have trusted, that this paper shall be laid with me in the ‘‘erave”’; and they took the oath even as he made them to do. And after many days the Bishop came to the city, and he went to the kinsfolk of the philosopher, and he comforted them and said unto them, ‘‘Did he not give you any commands? And did ‘*he not make a will?” And they said unto him, ‘‘ When he was ‘« dying he made us swear that the paper of indebtedness should ‘‘be laid with him [in the grave], and we did even as he said.” And the Bishop said unto them, ‘‘Come ye and shew me his ‘‘ grave,” and when he had gone and entered into the grave, he saw the paper laid on the breast of the philosopher, and he took it, and opened it, and found that there was written in it thus, ‘‘I, the philosopher So-and-so, have gone to Christ, and ‘* everything which I lent unto Him He hath returned unto me ‘‘ many times over; and henceforward I have no claim whatso- ‘ever upon Him, except for tranquillity and peace.” And every one who saw and heard [this] praised God, unto Whom all thing's are easy.

425. There was a certain rich man in Alexandria whose name was DémyAnés, and he fell sick of a grievous disease, and being afraid that he was going to die he divided thirty pounds’ weight of gold among the poor; and it happened that he recovered, and then he repented of what he had done. Now he had a rich Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule friend, who was a chaste and excellent man, and he revealed to him everything about which he repented, and the friend answered and said unto him, ‘‘Be not sad, O my brother, for ‘it is meet that thou shouldst rejoice, because thou hast made ‘an offering unto God of thy gold”; but the rich man did not agree with him. Then he said unto him, ‘‘I will give thee “thirty pounds’ weight of gold, and thou must not be vexed, ‘but come with me to the temple of M4r Mina, the martyr, ‘‘and say thus: ‘It is not I who have given these alms, but ‘« ‘this man,’ and take that which is thine and go.”’ And having done this, he took thirty pounds’ weight of gold, and went to go forth by the door of the church, and the angel of the Lord smote him and he fell down straightway, and died. Then the priests who were in the temple of Mar Mina gathered themselves together, and they said to the friend, ‘‘ Take thy ‘‘ gold, and be gone.” And he said unto them, ‘‘God forbid ‘that I should take anything from Christ, for I have offered ‘“it to Him, and it is His, but if it seem [fit] to you let it be ‘‘ divided among the poor”; and it was divided according to his command, and every one who heard feared and glorified God. My brethren, let us admire the excellence of that friend, and let us not be sad when we offer alms and oblations unto God, for we [only] offer unto Him that which is His. And He Himself hath written that He is the debtor and the borrower, and hath promised a reward even for acup of cold water, saying, ‘‘ Whatsoever ye do unto one of these little ones, ye do ‘unto Me” (St. Matthew x, 42; Xxv, 40); may He make us worthy to do His will. Amen.

Here follow the counsels which belong in order to the old man who spake against the thoughts of fornication, saying, «« Be like unto a man who passeth through a street of taverns, ‘ ete.” (see No. 593, Book I). 426. O man, for thy sake was Christ born, and the Son of God came that He might make thee to live; He became a babe, He became a child, and He became a man, being [at the same time] God in His Nature, and the Son of God. . He Who was the Lawgiver became a reader, and He took the Book in the synagogue, and read, saying, ‘‘The Spirit of ‘‘the Lord is upon Me, and therefore He hath anointed Me, and ‘‘ hath sent Me to preach the Gospel to the poor” (St.Lukeiv, 18). 428, Like a subdeacon He made a whip of cord, and drove out from the temple all those who sold oxen, and rams, and doves, ez cetera. thes 9. 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. The Sayings of the holy Fathers 430. Like a priest He sat among the priests and taught the eople.

x ee Like a Bishop He took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave unto His disciples. He was beaten for thy sake, He was crucified for thy sake, and He died for thy sake, yet for His sake thou wilt not even bear disgrace! He rose as God, and He ascended as God. He wrought all things for us, fittingly and in order, that He might redeem us. Let us, then, be watchful, and zealous, and constant in prayer; let us do all thing's which are pleasing unto Him, and which gratify those who love Him, so that we may be redeemed and live. Was not Joseph sold into Egypt, and was he not in a strange land? And the three Holy Children in Babylon, peradventure they acquired knowledge with man and stood in front of them [ot themselves]? Nay, it was because they feared God that He helped them, and made them glorious. 432. An old man, who hath delivered himself unto God, used to say, ‘‘The monk hath no will of his own. Now he who ‘‘abideth in ministering unto the will of God never wearieth, ‘‘but if thou performest thine own will thou becomest weary ‘‘and exhausted, because God doth not support thee.”

433. The old man also said, ‘‘ When a soldier entereth the ‘battle he taketh care for himself only, and so also is it with ‘the huntsmen; let us then be like unto these, for riches, and ‘‘kinsfolk, and wisdom are dung without a correct rule of life ‘‘and conduct.” 434. The old man also said, ‘‘God dwelleth in the man who ‘‘worketh with God, for He said, ‘I will dwell in them, and ‘**T will walk in them, and they shall be to Me a people, and ‘**T will be unto them a God.’” 435. The old man also said, ‘‘ God saith unto thee thus: If ‘‘thou lovest Me, O monk, that which I wish do, and do not ‘“what I desire not. The life of a monk consisteth of :—Good ‘“works, obedience, training, not to blame his neighbour, not “‘ to calumniate any man, and not to complain, for it is written, ‘‘«The mercy of the Lord hateth evil things.’ ” 436. The same old man used to say, ‘‘ The life and conduct ‘‘ of a monk are these:—He must not act iniquitously, and he ‘‘must not look upon evil things with his eyes, and he must ‘‘not hearken with his ears unto things which are alien to the ‘‘ fear of God, and he must not utter calumnies with his mouth, ‘‘and he must not seize things with his hands, but must give ‘‘ especially to those who are in need, he must neither be ‘‘exalted in his mind nor meditate with wicked thoughts, and ‘‘he must not fill his belly. All these things he must perform ‘‘ with intelligence, for by them is a monk known.”

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic Rule 437. A certain brother vexed an old man several times by saying unto him, ‘‘What shall Ido in respect of the wicked ‘and filthy thoughts of all sorts and kinds which go through ‘¢me?” And the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘Thou ‘‘ art like unto a stagnant pool which is at one time filled with ‘‘water, and which at another, when water hath been drawn ‘Cup from it, runneth dry. Why canst thou not rather be like ‘unto the spring which never faileth? Patient persistence is ‘‘ victory, and victory is constancy, and constancy is life, and ‘life is kingdom, and kingdom is God.” 438. Abba Epiphanius used to say, * Whatsoever food thou ‘‘ wishest to eat with pleasure desire not to give to thy body, ‘ especially when thou art not sick, and that food for which “‘thou lustest thou shalt not eat. When, however, thou art ‘‘ eating the things whicharesent untothee by God, give thanks ‘unto Him at all times, and be grateful unto Him. We havere- ‘« ceived pleasures and delights because of the name ofmonastic ‘life, but we perform not the works of monks, and it shall be “that thou art not a monk. What then? Wilt thou not play “the man that, peradventure, thou mayest be clothed in the ‘‘ apparel which is alien unto thee? Tell me, O brother, how ‘‘can a man possess the seal of service unless he posses- ‘“seth humility? For the humble man who seeth another sin- ‘‘ ning weepeth bitterly, saying, ‘This man may perhaps sin ‘« €to-day, but how many times shall I sin to-morrow?’ But, if ‘‘any man sin before thee, no matter who he may be, con- ‘©demn him not, but consider thyself to be a greater sinner ‘‘ than he is, even though he be both a child of this world, and ‘“‘ make people to sin against God.”

. He also used to say, ‘‘ Know thyself, and thou shalt ‘never fall. Give work unto thy soul, that is to say, constant ‘* prayer, and the love which is in God, before another can give ‘*it evil thoughts; and pray ye that the spirit of error may be ‘‘ remote from you.” 0. He also used to say, ‘‘ Whatsoever thou doest success- ‘‘fully, and makest a boast of, that destroy, for it is not right ‘for a monk to boast about his good deeds, and if he boasteth ‘the will fall.” : 41. ‘‘When thou prayest say with a hidden voice unto God, ‘ ¢Lord,howam Ito acquireThee? Thou, even Thou knowestthat « <} ama beast, and that I know nothing. Thou hast brought «me to the highest point of this life, O redeem me for Thy ‘‘ (mercy’s sake. I am Thy servant and the son of Thine ‘« ‘handmaiden. O Lord, by Thy wish make me to live.’’2al 2. The old man is falsehood, and the new man is truth. Truth is the root of good works, falsehood is death. The Sayings of the holy Fathers If the liar, and the thief, and the calumniator, knew that they were to be exposed and made known to all at a subsequent period they would never commit their offences, and it is even thus with those who commit adultery. ‘

443. The sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests of the Lord, but they feared not God, and they and alli their house perished. 444. He who layeth hold upon, and bindeth, and taketh to himself the remembrance of evil things, is like unto the man who burieth fire within chopped straw. 445. If thou wouldst talk to a man concerning life, and if thou wouldst say a word unto him with suffering, and with repentance, and with weeping, speak unto him that heareth and doeth; and if thou dost not [do this] speak not at all, lest thou die, and depart without profit from the words wherewith thou didst wish to vivify others. For unto the sinner God saith, ‘“ What are the Books of My commandments unto thee, for ‘thou hast taken My covenant in thy mouth?” 446. Abba Epiphanius said, ‘‘When the thought cometh to ‘fill thy bosom, that is to say, thy heart, with vainglory or ‘pride, say thou unto it, ‘Old man, behold thy fornication.’” 447. And he also said, ‘‘If we do evil things God will be un- ‘‘mindful of His longsuffering; but if we do good things it will “not help us greatly, for in order to increase the profit of free- ‘*dom, and that the merchandise of the will may not be spoiled, “‘a man must rejoice in contending.”

448. On one occasion the brethren entreated Rabba Epiphanius, saying, ‘‘ Speak to us, father, something whereby we ‘““may live, even though thou speakest and we keep not the ““seed of thy word because our ground is a salted thing.” And the old man answered and said unto them, ‘‘ He who doth not ‘receive all brethren, and who maketh distinGtions between “‘them, he who doth this, I say, cannot be perfect.” 449. If a man revile thee, bless him, and if he accept the blessing it shall be good for both of you; and if he doth not, he shall receive the reward of his reviling, and thou of the blessing. 450. It is right for a monk to live even as Abba Arsenius lived. Take care each day to stand before God without sin, and draw nigh unto Him with tears as did the sinful woman; and pray thou unto the Lord God as if He were standing before thee, for He is near and looketh at thee carefully. 451. He who wisheth to dwell in the desert must be a teacher by his own knowledge, and he must not be in need of being taught, lest, peradventure, he be harmed by devils, and lest he scrutinize his understanding too closely, and lest, in some form

Questions and Answers on the Ascetic ule or other, he become a laughing-stock to the beings who are above, and to those who are below. 52. The correct rule of conduét for him that loveth God is to be without blame. 453. A certain old man returned an answer against evil thoughts, and said unto the brethren, ‘‘Now I beseech you, ‘©O my brethren, that we cease from the ascetic life and its ‘“‘Jabours, and that we also desist from the anxieties of evil “thoughts. For what are we? A sound which cometh from the ‘‘fine dust, or a sound which cometh from the dust of the ‘ground. Joseph of RAmdh, having asked to [be allowed to] ‘‘take away the body of Jesus, removed it and swathed it with ‘‘ swathings of fine linen, and then laid it in a new grave. ‘‘ Now the pure heart is the new grave of the new man.” 454. The devils said unto one of the old men, wishing to lead him astray, ‘‘Dost thou wish to see Christ?” And he said unto them, ‘‘My curse be upon you, and on that which ye say, for ‘J believe in Christ Who said, ‘If they say unto you, Behold, ‘ ‘here is Christ, or, Behold, there is Christ, believe them not’” (St. Matthew xxiv, 23); and immediately the devils disappeared.

5. What is [the meaning of] the word which the Apostle spake, ‘‘ To the pure all things are pure?” (Titus 1, 15.) The old man said unto him, “ If a man cometh to this word, and ‘‘arriveth at this measure, he will see that he himself hath “¢ more shortcomings than any other creature, and that he is ‘« inferior to every being.” The brother said unto him, ‘‘How ‘is it possible for me to consider myself more imperfect than ‘‘ a murderer and inferior to him? Is it possible for me to con- ‘sider the murderer and the fornicator, whose actions are abo- “‘minable, better than myself?” And the old man answered and said unto him, ‘‘Ifa man attaineth unto this word, and he ‘‘seeth his neighbour committing a murder, or doing some- ‘‘thing else which is not good, he will think within himself, “ saying, ‘This is [only] one sin, and this man hath only com1 Gmitted this one sin, but lam at all times a murderer through «« hatred and a wicked will.’” 456. A brother asked Abba Job, the brother of Abba Poemen, concerning a word which the Apostle spake, saying (Philippians ii, 3), “ Esteem every man to be more excellent than thy- ‘ self.” And the old man answered and said, “Tf a man hath “Carrived at this measure, and he seeth the offence of his “brother, he will conceal it as if it had never happened.”