415. On one occasion three old men went to Abbâ Akîlâ, and on one of them [rested] some small suspicion of evil; and one of them said unto him, “Father, make me a net,” and he replied, “I will not make thee a net.” Then another said unto him, “Do [us] an act of grace, and make us a net, so that we may be able to keep thee in remembrance in our monastery”; and Akîlâ said again, “I am not at leisure [to do so].” Then the third brother, on whom [rested] the suspicion of evil, also said unto him, “Father, make me a net which I can possess [direct] from thy hands”; and Akîlâ answered straightway, and said unto this man, “I will make one for thee.” And afterwards the [other] two brethren said unto him privately, “[Consider] how much we entreated thee, and yet thou wouldst not be persuaded to make [a net] for us, and thou didst say to this man, ‘I will make thee one immediately!’” The old man said unto them, “I told you that I would not make one, and ye were not grieved, because I had not the leisure; but if I had not made one for this man, he would have said, ‘It was because the old man had heard about my sins that he was unwilling to make a net for me.’”
416. On one occasion three brethren went to harvest, and the three of them undertook to reap the harvest [in certain fields] together for a certain sum of money; but one of them fell sick on the first day, and was unable to work, and he went back and lay down in his cell. Then one of the two brethren who remained said unto his companion, “Behold, O my brother, thou seest that our brother hath fallen sick, let us exert ourselves a little, thou and I, and let us believe that by his prayers we shall be sufficiently strong to do his share of the work of harvest for him.” Then when the harvest was ended, and they came to receive their hire, they called the [sick] brother, and said unto him, “Come, brother, and take also the hire of thy harvesting”; and he said, “What hire can there be for me since I have not been harvesting?” And they said unto him, “Through thy prayers the harvest hath been reaped; come now, and take [thy] hire.” Then the contention between them waxed strong, for the [sick] brother contended that he ought not to receive [any wages], and they said, “We will not leave thee until thou dost.” So they went, that they might be heard by a certain great old man, and that brother answered and said, “O father, three of us went to harvest, but I fell sick on the first day, and went and lay down in my cell, and although I did not work even one day these brethren urge me, saying, ‘Come and take the hire for which thou didst not work.’” Then the two brethren said, “Three of us went to the harvest, and we took certain fields [to reap] together, and if we had been thirty we should have succeeded in reaping them with great labour; but through the prayers of this our brother the two of us reaped them quickly, and we said to him, ‘Come, take thy hire, because, through thy prayers, God helped us, and we reaped quickly,’ but he would not take [it].” Then the old man said unto the brethren who were with him, “Beat the board, and let all the brethren be gathered together,” and when they were assembled he said unto them, “Come, O ye brethren, and hear this day a righteous judgement,” and he related before them the whole matter, and they decided that the brother was to receive his hire, and that he might do whatsoever he wished [therewith]. And the brother went away weeping and distressed.
417. On one occasion a certain demoniac came to Scete, and having passed a long time there without being healed, he complained about the matter to one of the old men, who made the sign of the Cross over him, and healed him. But the devil was angry, and said unto the old man, “Now that thou hast cast me out I will come upon thee”; and the old man said unto him, “Come gladly, and I shall rejoice.” And the old man passed twelve years with the devil inside him, vexing him, now he used to eat twelve dates each day, and after these years that devil leaped out of him, and departed from him. Now when the old man saw that he was taking to flight, he said unto him, “To whom dost thou flee? Continue [with me] longer”; and the devil answered and said unto him, “By Jupiter, God hath made thee useless, O old man; God alone is equal to thy strength.”
418. The old man Theodore asked Abbâ Pambô, saying, “Tell me a word”; and with much labour he said unto him, “Theodore, get thee gone, and let thy mercy be poured out on every man, for [thy] lovingkindness hath found freedom of speech (or boldness) before God.”
419. A certain brother went to buy some linen from a widow, and as she was selling it to him, she sighed; the brother said unto her, “What aileth thee?” and the widow said unto him, “God hath sent thee this day that my orphans may be fed.” Now when that brother heard [these words] he was distressed, and he took secretly from the linen which was his, and threw it on to the widow’s side of the scales until he fulfilled an act of charity towards her.
420. A certain brother came to Abbâ ’Ôr, and said unto him, “Come with me to the village, and buy me a little wheat of which I am in need”; now the old man was greatly troubled at this, because he was not accustomed to go to the village, nevertheless, being afraid [of transgressing] the commandment, he rose up and went with him. And when they arrived at the village the old man saw a man passing by, and he called him and said unto him, “Do an act of kindness, and take this brother and satisfy his need,” and in this way he was able to flee to the mountain.
421. On one occasion Adlêp, Bishop of Neapolis, went to visit Abbâ Sisoes, and when he wished to depart the old man made him and the brethren who were with him to eat in the morning; now the days were the first days of the fast. And when they had made ready the table to eat, behold, certain men from the plough knocked at the door, and the old man said unto his disciple, “Open to them, and put some of the boiled food in a dish, and set it before them to eat, for they have just come from labour.” The Bishop said, “Let it alone, or perhaps they will say that Abbâ Sisoes eateth at this time.” And the old man looked at the youth and said unto him, “Go, and give them the food”; and when the strangers saw the boiled food they said unto him, “Have ye strangers with you? Peradventure Abbâ is also eating with them?” And the disciple said unto them, “Yes.” Then they cried out and spake words of condemnation to the company, saying, “May God forgive you, for ye have made the old man to eat at this time of the day. Perhaps ye are unaware that ye are causing him much vexation thereat?” And when the Bishop heard these things he expressed contrition, and said unto him, “Forgive me, I have behaved after the manner of a man, but thou hast acted like God.”
422. They used to say that, [on one occasion] when Abbâ Agathon came to the city to sell his handiwork, he found a stranger lying sick in the market, and he had no man to care for him, and the old man stayed with him; and he hired a room in the town and remained therein working with his hands, now [what he received therefor] he spent on the rent of the room and on the needs of the sick man, for a period of four months, and when the sick man was made whole the old man departed to his own cell.
423. And an old man used to say, “It is a defect in a man if, when he is reviled by his brother, or when any evil cometh to him from him, he cannot strengthen his love before he meeteth him.”
424. A brother was, on one occasion, sent from Scete by his Abbâ on a camel to Egypt to fetch palm leaves for [making] baskets, and having gone down and brought the camel, another brother met him and said unto him, “Had I known that thou wast coming up I should have begged thee to bring a camel for me also”; and when the brother came and told his Abbâ what had been said unto him by his companion, his Abbâ said unto him, “Take the camel and lead it to that brother, and say unto him, ‘We have taken counsel, and we have given up the intention of bringing up palm leaves at present, but do thou take [the camel] and bring some up for thyself.’” Now the brother did not wish to accept the camel, but [his companion] entreated him [to do so], saying, “If thou dost not take him we shall waste what we have paid in hire for him.” So the brother took the camel and brought up his palm leaves. And after he had gone up to Egypt that brother took the camel a second time, and he came back that he himself might go up; and the brother said unto him, “Where takest thou the camel?” and he said unto him, “To Scete, so that we also may bring up our palm leaves”; and that brother repented and was very sorry, and he expressed contrition and said, “Forgive me, my brethren, for your great charity hath taken away my hire.”
425. One of the brethren said, “Whilst we were sitting and talking about love, Abbâ Joseph said, ‘Do we know what love is?’ And he said that Abbâ Agathon had a little knife, and that a certain brother came to him and said, ‘Father, the little knife which thou hast is pretty’; and Abbâ Agathon did not let him depart until he had taken it.”
426. Abbâ Agathon used to say, “If I could find an Arian to whom I could give my body and take his in its place, I would do so, because this would be perfect love.”
427. A brother asked Abbâ Muthues, saying, “What shall I do if a brother come unto me, and it be a time of fast or the morning, and I am in tribulation?” The old man said unto him, “If thou art afflicted, and dost eat with the brother thou doest well; but if thou dost not look at the man, and dost eat, this is a matter of thy will only.”
428. Mother Sarah used to say, “It is a good thing for a man to give alms, even though he do so for the approbation of the children of men, for from this he will come to do it for God’s sake.”
429. A brother asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, “If I find a place wherein there is pleasure for the brethren, dost thou wish me to dwell there?” The old man said unto him, “Where thou wilt not do harm to thy brother, there dwell.”
430. Abbâ Poemen used to say that whenever Isidore, the priest of Scete, used to address the brethren in the church, he spake the following words only: “My brethren, it is written, ‘Forgive thy brother that thou also mayest be accounted worthy of forgiveness’” (St. Luke vi, 37; St. Matthew vi, 14).
431. They used to say that at the beginning Abbâ Zeno refused to take anything from any man, and that those who brought him things used to go away sorrowfully because he would not be persuaded to accept them from them. And other men used to come and ask him to give them gifts as of a great old man, and they also went away sorrowfully because he refused to do so. Then the old man said within himself, “Those who bring go away in sorrow, and those who beg also go away grieving because they have received nothing; I will, therefore, act as follows: If any man bringeth me anything I will take it, and if any man asketh me for anything I will give it”; and he did so, and pleased every one.
432. The disciple of Abbâ Theodore said, “A certain man on one occasion came to sell onions, and he filled a basin with some of them and gave them to us; and the old man said to me, ‘Fill [the basin] with wheat and give it to him.’ Now there were two baskets of wheat there, one full of clean wheat, and the other was full of wheat which was dirty, and I filled the basin with the dirty wheat and gave it to him. Then the old man looked at me in wrath and anger, and in my fear I fell down, and broke the basin; and the old man said unto me, ‘Arise, thou art not akin to me, but I know well what I said unto thee.’ And the old man went in and filled his garment with clean wheat, and gave it to the man with the onions, together with his onions.”
433. A certain monk used to dwell by the side of a coenobium, and he was occupied in great ascetic labours, and led a life of hard work, and strangers came to the coenobium, and forced him to eat before his time; and afterwards the brethren said unto him, “Art thou not now afflicted, father?” He said unto them, “Although I am afflicted I have cut off my desire.”
434. A certain old man used to say, “It is right for a man to take up the burden for those who are akin (or near) to him, whatsoever it may be, and, so to speak, to put his own soul in the place of that of his neighbour, and to become, if it were possible, a double man; and he must suffer, and weep, and mourn with him, and finally the matter must be accounted by him as if he himself had put on the actual body of his neighbour, and as if he had acquired his countenance and soul, and he must suffer for him as he would for himself. For thus is it written:—‘We are all one body,’ and this [passage] also affordeth information concerning the holy and mysterious kiss.”
435. An old man said that the father had a custom of going to the cells of the new brethren, who wished to live by themselves, to visit them, lest one of them might be tempted and injured in his mind by the devils, and if they found any man who had been harmed they would bring him to the church, and would place a wash-basin full of water [in the midst], and when prayer had been made on behalf of him that had been brought there, all the brethren would wash themselves and then pour some of the water upon him, and immediately that brother was cleansed.
436. A brother asked an old man, saying, “If I find a brother concerning whom I have heard [that he hath committed] some offence, I never rest until I have brought him into my cell; but if I see a man who leadeth a good life I bring him unto myself gladly.” The old man said unto him, “Do that which is good twice over unto the former man, for he is sick, and he needeth help.”
437. An old man used to say, “Defeat cometh to a man if, when he is reviled and treated with contempt by his brother, he doth not shew him evenness of heart before he repenteth and asketh him to forgive him.”
438. There was a monk, and away on the mountain, which was about ten miles distant from him, was another monk; and the first monk had some bread in his cell, and he meditated in his mind and determined to invite the other monk to come and partake of his bread. And again he thought in his mind, saying, “Since the bread is with me I shall give my brother the labour [of walking] ten miles [if I invite him to come here], but it will be more helpful [to him] if I take one half of the bread which I possess, and carry it to him”; so he took the bread to carry it to the cell of the other brother. Now as he was journeying along, he tripped up, and fell, and injured one of his fingers, and as the blood was running down he began to cry because of the pain; and there appeared unto him suddenly an angel who said unto him, “Why weepest thou?” And the monk said unto him, “I have hurt my finger, and it paineth me”; and the angel said unto him, “Dost thou weep because of this? Weep not, for the number of every step which thou takest for our Lord’s sake is written down, and is estimated at a great reward (or hire) before Him, and the report of the labour of such things goeth up to Him. And that thou mayest be certain that such is the case, behold, in thy presence I will take some of this blood and carry [it] to our Lord”; and immediately the monk was healed, and with rejoicing and thanksgiving to God he set out again on his journey to go to his companion. And having come to him and given him the bread, he related unto him concerning the love for man which is found in the good Lord, the Creator of the universe, and then went back to his cell. Now after one day he took the other half of the bread and went to carry it to another monk. And it happened that he also was found to be burning with anxiety to emulate works of this kind, and he wanted to do even as the other monk had done; and having set out to go and carry the bread of the first monk, they happened to meet each other on the way. Then the first monk who had done good to the other monk began to say unto him, “I possessed a certain treasure, and thou wishest to rob me [of it]”; and the other monk said unto him, “Where is it written that the strait and narrow door is sufficient for thyself alone? Let us, even us, go in with thee.” Then straightway, whilst they were holding converse, the angel of the Lord appeared, and said unto them, “Your contending hath ascended unto the Lord even as a sweet smell.”
439. On one occasion, a certain excellent man, who feared God in his life and works, and who was living in the world, went to Abbâ Poemen, and some of the brethren, who were also with the old man, were asking him questions [wishing] to hear a word from him. Then Abbâ Poemen said to the man who was in the world, “Speak a word to the brethren”; but he entreated him, saying, “Forgive me, father, but I came to learn.” And the old man pressed him [to speak], and, as the force of his urging increased, he said, “I am a man living in the world, and I sell vegetables, and because I do not know how to speak from a book, listen ye to a parable. There was a certain man who had three friends, and he said to the first, ‘Since I desire to see the Emperor come with me’; and the friend said unto him, ‘I will come with thee half the way.’ And the man said to the second friend, ‘Come, go with me to the Emperor’s presence’; and the friend said unto him, ‘I will come with thee as far as his palace, but I cannot go with thee inside’; and the man said the same unto his third friend, who answered and said, ‘I will come with thee, and I will go inside the palace with thee, and I will even stand up before the Emperor and speak on thy behalf.’” Then the brethren questioned him, wishing to learn from him the strength of the riddle (or dark saying), and he answered and said unto them, “The first friend is abstinence, which leadeth as far as one half of the way; and the second friend is purity and holiness, which lead to heaven; and the third friend is lovingkindness, which stablisheth a man before God, and speaketh on his behalf with great boldness.”
440. A brother went to visit a certain monk, and when he went forth from him, he said unto him, “Forgive me, father, for having made thee to desist from thy rule”; and the monk said unto him, “My rule is to refresh thee, and to send thee away in peace.”
441. On one occasion a command was given to the brethren who were in Scete, and it was said unto them, “Fast ye this week, and celebrate the Passover.” And it happened that some brethren came from Egypt to Abbâ Moses, and whilst he was boiling for them a little food, his neighbours saw the smoke [of his fire] rising up, and they said to the clergy, “Behold, Moses hath broken the command, and hath boiled some food in his cell”; and they said unto them, “Hold ye your peace, and when he cometh to us we will speak to him.” Now when the Sabbath arrived, the clergy, having regard to his great ascetic labours, said unto him before the whole assembly, “O Abbâ Moses, though thou dost break the command of men, thou stablishest [that of God].”
442. They used to tell the story of a certain brother who, when he was throwing away the handles of his baskets, heard his neighbour say, “What shall I do? For the festival draweth nigh, and I have no handles to put on my baskets”; and the brother went straightway and picked up the handles of his baskets, and brought them to his companion, saying, “Behold I have these, of which I have no need, take them and put them on thy baskets”; and he left his own work and completed that of his companion.
443. Certain of the old men went to Abbâ Poemen, and said unto him, “Dost thou wish us if we see brethren sleeping in the congregation, to smite them so that they may wake up?” And he said unto them, “If I see my brother sleeping, I place his head upon my knees, and I give him a place to rest upon”; then an old man said unto him, “And what dost thou say unto God?” Abbâ Poemen said unto him, “I say unto Him thus: Thou Thyself hast said, ‘First of all pluck the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou wilt be able to see to take the mote out of the eye of thy brother’” (St. Matthew vii, 3).