351. They say that Abbâ ’Or never told a lie, and never swore, and never cursed a man, and never spoke unless it was absolutely necessary.
352. One of the old men said, “That which thou observest not thyself, how canst thou teach to another?”
353. And it was he who said unto his disciple, “Take heed that thou never bringest an alien word into this cell.”
354. An old man used to say, “As far as I have been able to overtake my soul when it hath transgressed, I have never slipped (or committed an offence) a second time.”
355. An old man used to say, “Strive with all thy might so that thou mayest never in any way do evil to any man, and make thine heart to be pure with every man.”
356. Abbâ Agathon used to say to himself, whensoever he saw any act or anything which his thought wished to judge or condemn, “Do not commit the thing thyself,” and in this manner he quieted his mind, and held his peace.
357. The old men used to say, “For a man to be so bold as to condemn his neighbour resembleth the sweeping of the lawgiver, or the judge, from off his seat, and the wishing to pass judgement in his place, and it is as if a man were to bring an accusation against the weakness of the judge and to condemn him, and such an act will be found to be the rebellion of the slave against his Lord, and against the Judge of the living and the dead.”
358. An old man used to say, “From the greatest to the least of the things which I perform, I carefully consider the fruit which will be produced from it, whether it be in thoughts, or in words, or in deeds.”
359. They used to tell the story about Abbâ Pachomius and say that on many occasions he heard the devils repeating many evil things of various kinds, some of which were to come upon the brethren. First of all he heard one of them saying, “I have [strife] with a man who constantly [defieth] me, for whensoever I approach to sow thoughts in his mind, immediately he turneth to prayer, and I depart from him being consumed with fire.” And another devil said, “I have [strife] with a man who is easy to persuade, and he doeth whatsoever I counsel him to do, and I love him dearly.” It is right then, O my brethren, that we should keep ourselves awake always, and that, making ourselves mighty men in the Name of the Lord, we should strive against the devils, and then they will never be able to overcome us.
360. One of the holy men used to say, “Through holding small wickednesses in contempt we fall into great ones; consider then attentively the following story which is told even as it took place. A certain man laughed in an empty manner, and his companion rebuked and condemned him; [another brother] happened to be there, and he thought lightly of the matter, saying, ‘This is nothing; for what is it for a man to laugh?’ [And the brother replied, ‘From laughter] pleasure is produced, and next empty words, and filthy actions, and iniquity, and so from the things which are thought to be small that wicked devil bringeth in great wickednesses. And from great wickednesses a man cometh to despair, for this cruel and wicked evil hath the Evil One discovered (or invented) through the malignity of his craftiness, for a man to commit sin is not so destructive as for a man to cut off hope from his soul. For he who repenteth in a fitting manner, and according to what is right blotteth out his offences; but he who cutteth off hope from his soul perisheth because he will not offer unto it the binding up of repentance. Therefore let not a man hold in contempt small wickednesses. For this is the seed which the Calumniator soweth, for if he made war openly it would not be difficult to fight, and victory would be easy; and even now, if we be watchful and strenuous, it will be easy for us to conquer, for it is God Who hath armed us, and He teacheth us and entreateth us not to hold even the smallest wickednesses in contempt. Hearken thou unto Him as He admonisheth [us], saying, (St. Matthew v, 22) “Whosoever shalt say unto his brother ‘Râkâ,’ shall be guilty of the fire of Gehenna”; and, “He who looketh upon a woman to desire her hath already committed adultery with her in his heart” (St. Matt. v, 28). And in another place He rebuked and admonished those who laugh, and concerning the idle word also He said, “Its answer is given”; and on account of this the blessed Job, because of the thoughts which were in the hearts of his sons, offered up an offering. Now therefore, since we know all these things, let us take good heed to ourselves [and avoid] the beginning of the movement of our thoughts, and then we shall never fall.’”
361. A brother said unto an old man, “Dost thou not see that I have not even one war in my heart?” The old man said unto him, “Thou hast an opening in thee at each of the four points of the compass, and whatsoever wisheth can go in and come out without thy perceiving it. But if thou wilt set up a door, and wilt shut it, and wilt not allow evil thoughts to enter, thou wilt then see them standing outside; for if our minds be watchful and strenuous in loving God, the Enemy who is the counsellor of wickednesses will not approach [us].”
362. A certain Mother of noble rank said, “As the stamped silver coin which is current loseth its weight and becometh less, so doth the spiritual excellence which is apparent and is made manifest become destroyed; and as wax melteth before the fire, so also doth the soul become lax and confused, and strenuousness departeth from it.”
363. One of the old men used to say, “The man who doeth many good deeds doth Satan cast down by means of small matters into pits, so that he may destroy the wages of all the good things which he hath performed.”
364. A brother asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, “For what purpose were spoken the words, ‘Take no thought for the morrow?’” The old man said unto him, “For the man who is under temptation, and is in affliction; for it is not meet that such a man should take thought for the morrow, or should say, ‘How long shall I have to endure this temptation?’ but he should think upon patient endurance, saying, ‘It is to-day, and the temptation will not remain thus for a long time.’” And the old man said, “It is good that a man should be remote from temptation of the body, for he who is nigh unto the temptation of the body is like unto him that standeth upon the mouth of a deep pit, and whom, whensoever his enemy wisheth, he can easily cast therein. But if he be remote from the temptation of the body, he is like unto a man who is far away from the pit, and even though his enemy may wish to cast him into it, he is not able to do so because the pit is far away from him, and whilst he is either urging him or dragging him thereto, God, the Merciful One, sendeth him a helper.”
365. And a brother said unto Abbâ Poemen, “My body is weak, and I am not able to perform ascetic labours; speak to me a word whereby I may live”; and the old man said unto him, “Art thou able to rule thy thought and not to permit it to go to thy neighbour in guile?”
366. And a brother also asked him, “What shall I do? For I am troubled when I am sitting in my cell.” The old man said unto him, “Think lightly of no man; think no evil in thy heart; condemn no man and curse no man; then shall God give thee rest, and thy habitation shall be without trouble.”
367. And the same old man used to say, “The keeping of the commandments, and the taking heed to oneself in everything, and the acquisition of oblations, are the guides of the soul.”
368. Abbâ Poemen said, “A brother asked Abbâ Moses, saying, ‘In what manner is a man to keep himself from his neighbour?’ The old man said unto him, ‘Except a man layeth it up in his heart that he hath been already three years in the grave, he will not be sufficiently strong [to keep] this saying.’”
369. Abbâ Poemen said, “If thou seest visions and hearest rumours, repeat them not to thy neighbour, for this is victory of the war.”
370. The same old man also said, “The chief of all wickednesses is the wandering of the thoughts.”
371. Abbâ Poemen said, “If a man perform the desire, and pleasure, and custom of these, they will cast him down.”
372. A brother asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, “If a brother owe me a few oboli, shall I remind him of it?” The old man saith, “Remind him once.” And the brother said unto him, “And if I have reminded him and he hath given me nothing, [what am I to do then?]” The old man saith unto him, “Let the thought perish, only do not harass the man.”
373. A brother asked Abbâ Joseph, saying, “What shall I do? For I cannot be disgraced, and I cannot work, and I have nothing [wherefrom] to give alms.” The old man said unto him, “If thou canst not do these things, keep thy conscience from thy neighbour, and guard thyself carefully against evil of every kind, and thou shalt live; for God desireth that the soul shall be without sin.”
374. A brother asked Abbâ Sisoes of Shĕkîpâ about his life and works, and the old man said unto him that which Daniel spake, “The bread of desire I have not eaten,” that is to say, “A man should not fulfil the lust of his desire.”
375. On one occasion Abraham said unto Abbâ Sisoes, “Abbâ, thou hast grown old, let us draw nigh unto the habitations of the children of men for a little”; and Abbâ Sisoes said unto him, “Let us go where there is no woman”; then his disciple said unto him, “And what place is there without a woman except the desert?” The old man said unto him, “Then let us go to the desert.”
376. On one occasion certain brethren came to Abbâ Pambô, and one of them asked him, saying, “Father, I fast two days at a time, and then I eat two bread-cakes; shall I gain life, O father, or am I making a mistake?” And another asked him and said, “I perform work with my hands [each] day to the value of two kîrâts (i.e., carats), and I keep a few oboli by me for my food, and the remainder I spend upon the relief of the poor; shall I be redeemed, O father, or am I making a mistake?” And the other brethren asked of him many things, but he answered them never a word. Now after four days they were wishing to depart, and the clergy entreated them, saying, “O brethren, trouble not ye yourselves, for God will give you a reward. The custom of the old man is not to speak immediately, for he doth not speak until God giveth him permission to do so.” Then the brethren went to the old man and said unto him, “Father, pray for us”; and he said unto them, “Do ye wish to depart?” And they said unto him, “Yes.” Then he took their actions into his consideration, and he put himself in the position of one who was writing on the ground, and said, “Pambô, one fasteth two days at a time, and then eateth two bread-cakes; shall he become a monk by such things as these? No! Pambô, [another] worketh for two carats a day, and giveth to those who are in need, shall he become a monk by such things as these? No!” And he said, “[Thy] actions are good, and if thou preservest thy conscience with thy [good actions] thou shalt live”; and being consoled by these words, the brethren departed rejoicing.
377. Certain of the old men used to say, “If temptation cometh upon thee in the place where thou dwellest, forsake not the place in the time of temptation, lest peradventure thou findest wherever thou goest that from which thou fleest; but endure until the period of temptation be overpast, and thy departure can be [effected] without offence and without affliction, for thou wilt have departed in a time of peace. Now if thou departest during a period of temptation, many will be afflicted because of thee, and will say that thou didst depart because of the temptation, and this will be unto them a source of grief.”
378. On one occasion when Abbâ Sisoes was sitting down with a certain brother, he sighed unknowingly, and he did not perceive that the brother was with him, because his mind was carried away by the noonday [prayer]; and he made apologies to that brother, and said unto him, “Forgive me, O my brother, that I heaved a sigh before thee [proves] that I have not yet become a monk.”
379. An old man used to say, “Whensoever I bring down the bar of the loom, and before I raise it up again, I always set my death before mine eyes.”
380. Another old man used to say, “When I am plaiting (or sewing) a basket, with every stitch which I put into it I set my death before my eyes before I take another stitch.”
381. Abbâ Daniel used to say, “On one occasion we went to Abbâ Poemen, and having eaten together, he said unto us subsequently, ‘Go ye and rest yourselves a little, O my brethren’; and when the brethren had gone to rest themselves I remained that I might be able to talk to the old man privately. And I rose up and came to his cell, and I saw that he was sitting outside on a mat, and seeing me he lay down; now he did not know that I had seen him seated, and he pretended to be asleep. And this was the custom of the old man, for everything which he did was done by him in secret.”
382. One of the fathers asked Abbâ Sisoes, saying, “If I am living in the desert and the barbarians come against me to kill me, supposing that I have strength may I kill one of them?” The old man said unto him, “No. Commit thyself unto God, and leave [it to Him]. For with every trial which cometh upon a man he should say, ‘It hath come because of my sins’; but if something good happeneth to him, let him say, ‘It is of the Providence of God.’”
383. One of the old men used to say, “When the eyes of the ox are covered over then he is subjugated by the yoke bar, but if they do not cover [his] eyes he cannot be made to bow beneath the yoke; and thus is it with Satan, for if he can cover over the eyes of a man he can bring him low with every kind of sin, but if his eyes be able to see (or shine), he is able to flee from him.”
384. Abbâ Anthony said, “It is not seemly for us to remember the time which hath passed, but let a man be each day as one who beginneth his toil, so that the excessive weariness [which we shall feel] may be to our advantage. And let him say, as Paul said, ‘That which is behind me I forget, and I reach out to that which is before me’” (Philippians iii, 13). And let him also remember the word of Elijah, who said, ‘As the Lord liveth, before Whom I stand this day’” (1 Kings xvii, 1).
385. And the same old man said also, “Let us not consider the time which is past, but let a man be even as he who beginneth, and let him take care in such wise that he shall make himself stand before God.”
386. Abbâ Paphnutius said: “A monk is bound to keep not only his body pure, but his soul free from unclean thoughts. Now we find that the body is consoled by thoughts, and unless the thoughts withdraw themselves they will sink the body; and the manner in which the thoughts work is as follows: they feed all lusts of the flesh, which is ruled by them, and in welcoming the lusts they stir up the body also in revolt, and they cast it down, like a pilot who is caught in a storm, and they make the ship to sink. And is it fitting that we should know that if one man loveth another he will say nothing evil about him? for if he doth speak against him he is not his friend; similarly he who loveth lust will not speak anything evil against it, and if he doeth so he is not its friend. But if a man [speak] against that which he knoweth not, (or against that which causeth him no affliction), or against that which causeth him no pain, [he may speak evil], but against that which he hath suffered, and that wherewith he hath been tried by the Enemy, he will speak evil, and he will not talk about him as a friend, but as an enemy. Thus whosoever speaketh evil of and who despiseth lust is not a friend of lusts.
387. And he also said, “As judges (or governors) slay the wicked, even so do labours slay evil lusts; and as wicked slaves fly from their lords even so do lusts fly from the exhaustion [caused by] ascetic labours. But good slaves hold their masters in honour as sons hold in honour their fathers. For the exhaustion [caused by ascetic labours] produceth good works, and from it the virtues spring up, even as the passions are produced from dainty meats. Exhaustion then begetteth good works, when a man hath wearied himself with [all] his soul, and it bringeth forth virtues and destroyeth vices, even as a righteous judge [destroyeth the wicked].”
388. A brother asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, “Since I suffer loss in spirit when I am with my Abbâ, dost thou wish me to continue to live with him any longer?” Now that old man knew that the brother was suffering loss through living with his Abbâ, and the old man marvelled how the brother could ask him the question, “Dost thou wish me to dwell with him any longer.” And the old man said unto him, “If thou wishest, dwell [with him],” and the brother went and did so, but he came again to the old man and said, “I am suffering loss in spirit”; and the old man said unto him nothing. And, when for the third time the brother came and said unto him, “Indeed, I cannot henceforth dwell with him,” Abbâ Poemen said unto him, “Now thou knowest how to live; depart, and dwell with him no longer.”
389. Therefore the old man said, “If there existeth a man who knoweth how to suffer loss in his spirit, and who still [feeleth] the need to ask a question about [his] secret thoughts, it is a good thing that he should ask; and it belongeth unto the old men to search into and investigate a matter of this kind, for concerning open sins a man doth not feel it necessary to enquire, but he cutteth them off immediately.”
390. A brother asked one of the fathers, saying, “Tell me a word whereby I may live”; and the old man answered and said, “‘We must be careful to work a little, and we must be neither negligent nor contemptuous, and then we may be able to live.’” And an old man told him the following story, saying, “There was a certain prosperous husbandman who was exceedingly rich, and wishing to teach his sons husbandry he said unto them, ‘My sons, behold, see how I have become rich, and if ye will be persuaded by me, [and will do as I have done], ye will become rich also.’ Then they said unto him, ‘Father, we will be persuaded [by thee], tell us how [to become rich].’ Now although the husbandman knew well that he who laboureth always becometh rich, yet because he thought that they might be negligent, and despise [work], he made use of cunning in his words, and said unto them: ‘There is one day in the year whereon if a man worketh he will become rich, but because of my exceedingly great old age I have forgotten which it is; therefore, ye must work continually, and ye must not be idle even one day, and ye must by every possible means in your power go forwards. But if ye are neglectful and disinclined to work, even for one day, take good heed to yourselves lest the day whereon ye do not work be that very day, and that lucky day pass you by, and your labour for all the rest of the year be in vain.’” Thus also, O my brethren, if we labour and work each day, and we do not make use of sloth and negligence and contempt we shall find the way of life.
391. Abbâ Agathon asked Abbâ Alônîs, saying, “I wish to hold my tongue that it may not speak falsehood, [what shall I do?]” Abbâ Alônîs said unto him, “If thou dost not lie, thou art about to commit many sins.” Agathon said, “How?” And the old man said unto him, “Behold, two brethren are going to commit a murder, and one of them will flee to thee. And it will happen that the judge will come and search for him, and he will ask thee, saying, ‘Did this murder take place in thy presence?’ And if thou dost not wish to tell a lie thou wilt deliver up to death the other man, whom it would be right for thee to let go free, so that he might be reserved for the judgement hall of God, Who knoweth all things.”
392. A certain brother was travelling on a road, and his aged mother was with him, and they came to a river which the old woman was not able to cross; and her son took his shoulder cloth and wound it round his hands so that they might not touch his mother’s body, and in this manner he carried her across the river. Then his mother said unto him, “My son, why didst thou first wrap round thy hands with the cloth, and then take me across?” and he said, “The body of a woman is fire, and through thy body there would have come to me the memory of [the body of] another woman, and it was for this reason that I acted as I did.”