470. One of the fathers from Parmê told a story of how, on one occasion when he had returned to Abbâ Theodore, he found him wearing a ragged shirt, and his breast was naked and bare, and his outer garment was dragged round in front of him. And, behold, a certain Count came to see him, and when his followers knocked at the door, and called the old man, he went out to meet him quite carelessly; and I took a small piece of coarse cloth and threw it over his shoulders that his breast might be covered, but the old man took it in his hand and waved it, and threw it away. And when the Count went I said to him, “Father, what is this that thou hast done? For a nobleman came unto thee to be helped, and to gain profit, and behold, he hath perhaps gone away offended.” And the old man said unto me, “Get thee gone, Abbâ. We are still subject unto men. We have done the deed, and he is gone; but whether he wisheth to be benefited, or whether he wisheth to be offended is his affair. As for me, as far as I am able I shall always meet men of this kind in this way.” And he commanded his disciple, saying, “If any man cometh and wisheth to see me, say not to him anything after the manner of men, but if I am eating, tell him that I am eating, and if I am asleep, tell him that I am asleep.”
471. A certain woman who was afflicted in her lungs with the disease called cancer, heard concerning Longinus and wished to see him; now he used to dwell in [the monastery of] Hântôn in Alexandria. And whilst the woman was seeking and wishing for him, it happened that the blessed man was gathering sticks on the sea-shore, and when the woman found him, she said unto him, “Father, where dwelleth the man of God, Abbâ Longinus?” Now she did not know that he himself was Longinus. And he said unto her, “What dost thou want with that lying hypocrite? Do not go to him, for he is a liar. What is it that causeth thee pain?” Then the woman shewed him the place, and the old man made the sign of the Cross over it, and he dismissed her, saying, “Go, and may our Lord heal thee, for Longinus is unable to do thee any good whatsoever.” And the woman went away believing in the word, and she was healed straightway; and afterwards when she was telling folks the story, she said, “I have learned by the marks which were on the old man that he himself was Abbâ Longinus.”
472. On one occasion a certain governor arranged to see Abbâ Sîmôn, and the clergy told him beforehand, saying, “Father, make thyself ready, for a certain governor hath heard of thy life and works, and he wisheth to come and be blessed by thee”; and the old man said unto them, “I am ready.” Then the old man went in and took in his hand some bread and cheese, and went out to the door and sat down there, and he changed about from place to place eating; and when the governor came with his company, and saw him sitting and eating, they despised him, saying, “So this is the monk of whom I have heard!” And they left him and departed.
473. An old man was asked, “How is it that there are men who say, ‘We have seen a vision of angels?’” and the old man said, “Blessed is he who seeth his sins continually.”
474. They used to say that when any man came to Abbâ Poemen he used to send him to Abbâ Job, his brother, saying to him, “He is older than I am”; and Job used to say to those who came, “Go unto my brother Poemen, for he possesseth the grace of these gifts.” Now if Abbâ Joseph was sitting with him Abbâ Poemen would not speak before him.
475. When a certain brother went to the festival he asked Abbâ Poemen, “What wouldst thou have me to do?” The old man said unto him, “Be thou a friend unto him that leadeth thee away by force, and sell thy work graciously.”
476. A brother asked an old man, “What is the work of exile?” And the old man said unto him, “I knew a brother who went forth into exile, and he went in to lodge in a church, and it happened that the brethren were about to eat some of the sacramental bread; and when they sat down this man sat down with them. Now when some of the other monks saw him, they said, ‘Who hath brought this man in [to eat] with us?’ And one of them said [unto him], ‘Arise, and get thee outside,’ and straightway he rose up and went forth as the brother had told him; but the others being sorry about this matter went out and brought him in. And after these things a certain man asked him, ‘What was in thy mind when thou didst go out and come in again?’ He said unto them, ‘I thought in my mind that I was like a dog which when he is driven out goeth out, and when he is called cometh in.’”
477. They used to say that when Abbâ Moses was one of the clergy he wore a long outer garment, and that the Bishop said unto him, “Behold, thou art wholly white, O Abbâ Moses.” The old man said unto him, “Is the Pâpâ within or without?” And again, wishing to try him, the Bishop said unto the clergy, “When Abbâ Moses goeth into the sacrarium drive him out, and go after him and hear what he saith.” Now when he went into the sacrarium they rebuked him and drove him out, saying, “Get outside, O Ethiopian”; and having gone forth he began to say to himself, “They have treated thee rightly, O thou whose skin is dark and black; thou shalt not go back as if thou wert a [white] man.”
478. An old man used to say, “Do not despise or think lightly of him that standeth before thee, for thou knowest not whether the Spirit of God is in thee or in him, though thou callest him who standeth before thee him that ministereth unto thee.”
479. Abbâ John the Less used to say, “Humility and the fear of God are more excellent than all the [other] virtues.”
480. They used to say that a certain old man, who had young men living with him, told them on one occasion to do something, and when they did it not he said nothing further to them about it, but rose up himself in their sight and did what he had told them to do without anger, and without labour.
481. Another old man used to say, “Humility is not without salt, but it is salted with salt.”
482. An old man used to say, “I would rather learn than teach.”
483. And he also used to say, “Do not learn before the time, so that thou mayest not have little admonition all thy time.”
484. Abbâ Agathon said, “If a man of wrath were to raise the dead, he would not be accepted by any man.”
485. A brother asked Abbâ Timothy, saying, “I myself can see that my memorial is ever before God”; and the old man said unto him, “It would not be any great thing for thy thought (or mind) to be with God, but it would be a great thing for a man to see his soul beneath all creation.”
486. Abbâ Theodore used to say, “There is no spiritual excellence greater than that of a man who despiseth not his companion.”
487. An old man was asked, “By what means doth the soul receive humility?” And he said, “By searching into it, and by remembering the evil things which have been done by it.”
488. One of the old men said, “I asked Abbâ Sisoes, saying, ‘Tell me a word,’ and he said, ‘It is right for a monk to humble himself lower than the idols’; and I went to my cell, and took counsel with myself, and meditated for an hour, saying, ‘What do the words “lower than the idols” mean?’ Then I returned and went to the old man, and said unto him, ‘What do the words “lower than the idols” mean?’ And he said unto me, ‘It is written concerning the idols, “They have a mouth and speak not, and they have eyes and see not, and they have ears and hear not”; even thus is it right for a monk to be.’ And because idols are an abomination, a man must hold himself to be abominable in his own sight.”
489. A brother asked Abbâ Sisoes of Thebaïs, saying, “Speak a word to me,” and Sisoes said unto him, “What have I to say unto thee? I read the New Testament, and I reflect on the Old Testament.”
490. That same brother went to Abbâ Sisoes of Pâtârâ, and told him the word which Abbâ Sisoes of the Thebaïd had spoken, and Abbâ Sisoes said unto him, “I lie down to sleep in my sins, and I rise up in my sins.”
491. There was a certain monk who lost himself in the desert, and he said to himself, “I have kept myself rightly, and I possess all the virtues,” and he prayed to God and said, “If I be lacking in anything, shew Thou me how I may perform it.” And God, wishing to humble his mind, said unto him, “Go to such and such a head of a monastery, and whatsoever he telleth thee to do that do.” And God sent a revelation to the head of the monastery, and said unto him, “Behold, such and such a monk will come unto thee, and say thou unto him, ‘Take a whip in thy hands, and go forth and pasture swine.’” And the monk went forth immediately, even as the head of the monastery told him, and pastured swine, and when those who had known him formerly, and those who had heard about him, saw him pasturing swine, they said, “Ye see the great monk about whom we have heard, behold, his heart hath gone mad, and a devil hath seized him, and he is [now] pasturing swine.” Then God, when He saw his humility, and that he was hearing and bearing the reproach of men, set him free so that he might go back where he had been formerly.
492. An old man used to say, “If a man hath laid some work upon a brother to do, he must perform that command in the fear of God and in humility; for he who for God’s sake layeth [some work] upon a brother maketh the brother to submit himself thereto, and [the one brother] must do what [the other brother] hath laid upon him. But if a man wisheth to give commands to a brother, not in the fear of God, but on his own authority, wishing to be unto him a master and a governor, God, Who seeth the hidden things of his heart, will not allow him to be obedient unto him and to do [that] work, for the work that is for God’s sake is evident, and that which is of the man’s own authority is well known. For that which is for God’s sake cometh with humility and entreaty, whilst the works which are of man’s own authority are with wrath and trouble, and they come from the Evil One.”
493. A brother asked Abbâ Isidore, “Why is it that the devils fear thee so greatly? The old man said, “Because from the time that I became a monk I have laboured hard not to allow anger to enter into my throat; that is why they fear me.”
494. An old man used to say, “On one occasion I went to the fair to sell with [other] brethren a few things, and I saw anger drawing nigh unto me, and I left the things and fled straightway.”
495. Abbâ John the Less used to say, “On one occasion when I was going up on the Scete road with some palm leaves I heard a camel speaking words to me, and he was about to make me angry, but I straightway left the palm leaves and fled.”
496. The same old man when he was in the harvest [field] heard a brother speaking to his companion in anger, saying, “Come hither,” and straightway he left the harvest and fled.
497. A brother asked an old man, “Why is it, when I am performing my little services of prayer and praise, that I sometimes see in myself that there is nothing lacking in my heart, and that I do not wish it?” The old man said unto him, “How then can a man appear to love God?”
498. Abbâ John the Less said unto the brethren who were with him, “Although we be little folk in the eyes of men, let us consider how we may be held in honour before God.”
499. They used to say that Abbâ Patrâ and Abbâ Ampîkôs were close and affectionate friends, and that when the old men were eating in the church, and they were urging them to come to the table of the fathers, it was only with hard work that Abbâ Patrâ would go by himself; and after he had eaten, Abbâ Ampîkôs said unto him, “How didst thou dare to go to the table of the old men?” Abbâ Patrâ said unto him, “If I had sat with you the brethren would have honoured me as an old man, and they would have required it of me to be the first to say the blessing, and I might have thought in my mind that I was greater than you all. But since I went to the fathers I am the least of you all, and I am abased, and I think in my thoughts that I am nothing.”
500. On one occasion a brother committed sin in the church, and the priest drove him out therefrom, and there was there a man of discretion whose name was Bessarion, and he also arose and went out of the church, and said, “If ye have judged that this man who hath committed only one offence is not fit to worship God, how very much less fit am I, who have committed many sins, to do so?” And the old man said, “‘Woe be unto him that is without more than unto him that is within,’ that is to say, ‘Woe be unto him that is [within him that is without!’] Now this is what I would say, When a man in the world findeth a cause [of complaint] against a man who liveth a life of silent contemplation, or who hath departed from the world, this is a [cause of] judgement and of a fall unto him who giveth him reason [for complaint]. Take the greatest possible care then, O monk, not to commit sin, lest thou disgrace God, Who dwelleth in thee, and drive Him out from thy soul.”
501. Abbâ Pîôr worked hard to be able to overcome the disposition to say “Thou” to any of the brethren.
502. The disciple of Abbâ Arsenius used to say, “When the old man was about to die, he commanded us, saying, ‘Do not let it be a care unto you to make a commemoration for me, but offer up the Offering only; for, he used to say, if during my life-time I have done anything which is worthy of commemoration, I shall most certainly find [a memorial of it].’”
503. Abbâ Ammon said, “A man may pass one hundred years in his cell, and not know rightly how a monk should live in his cell, or even how to live secluded for one day.” And he used to say, “The proper way and manner for a monk to live is to condemn himself continually.”
504. Abbâ Poemen used to say, “If a man will only condemn himself he will be able to endure and continue wheresoever he dwelleth.”
505. Abbâ Poemen used to say, “We live in the troubles and trials which come upon us because we do not take to ourselves the humble names which the Scriptures have given us; and because we do not consider how our Lord Jesus relieved the Canaanitish woman (St. Matthew xv, 22) who took to herself abominable names, moreover, we do not consider how, when Abigail said unto David, ‘On me be the sin’ (1 Samuel xxv, 24), he was entreated by her and loved her. Abigail must be taken as [representing] the person of the soul, and David as the Godhead; if then, the soul will condemn itself before God, He will love it, and will give it the delight of rest.”
506. An old man used to say, “In all thy trials blame no man; blame thyself only, saying, ‘These things have happened to me because of my sins.’”
507. On one occasion Abbâ John was called to the church, and the brethren surrounded him and asked him questions about their thoughts; and one of the old men said unto him, “John is like unto a whore who adorneth herself that she may multiply lovers for herself; thus art thou.” And Abbâ John sighed and said, “Father, thou hast spoken the truth.” Afterwards a certain man told him that he loved him, [and said], “Art thou not disturbed within?” He said unto him, “No. But as I am without, even so am I within.”
508. One of the old men used to say about Abbâ John, that he lived in such a way that, through the humility which he possessed, he held all Scete suspended on his finger.
509. Abbâ John of the Thebaïd used to say that, before all else, it was right for a monk to acquire humility, for this was the first commandment of our blessed Redeemer, Who said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God” (St. Matthew v, 3).
510. John Kolob used to say, “Humility is the door which leadeth into the kingdom, and our fathers, through many revilings, have gone into the city of God rejoicing.”
511. An old man used to say, “It is good for a man to say, ‘Forgive me,’ and then to make an offering of something; for this suiteth the monkish garb.”
512. The same old man also said, “A dog is better than I am, for he hath love, and he cometh not to judgement.”
513. Abbâ Eupraxius used to say, “The tree of life which riseth in the heights is humility.” He also said, “Make thyself like unto the publican; and be not made guilty with the Pharisee; choose for thyself the meekness of Moses, so that thine heart, which is as hard as steel, thou mayest change into a fountain of water.
514. One of the old men said, “I would rather have defeat with humility than conquest with boasting.”
515. An old man said, “When the thought of pride goeth up in thee, and thou becomest arrogant, examine thy conscience [and see] if thou hast kept all the commandments, and if thou lovest thine enemies, and if thou lovest the approbation of thine enemy, and if thou art grieved when he is afflicted, and if thou art considered by thyself to be an unprofitable servant, and a sinner greater than any other man. And even if thou hast performed rightly all the demands of ascetic excellence, thou shalt not be proud, for thou must know that the thought of pride abrogateth and maketh unprofitable all the virtues.”
516. An old man used to say, “He who is held in greater honour or is more praised than he deserveth suffereth great loss; but the man who receiveth neither honour nor praise from men shall be praised above all.”
517. A brother asked an old man, saying, “Is it a good thing for us to repent many times?” The old man said unto him, “We see that when Joshua, the son of Nun, lay upon his face the Lord spake with him” (Joshua v, 14).
518. An old man was asked, “Why do the devils fight against us in the way they do?” And he said, “Because we throw away from us our armour, that is to say, obedience, humility, and abstinence.”
519. The old men used to say, “Whensoever we have no war to wage then especially it is meet that we should abase ourselves, for God, because He knoweth our feebleness, giveth us His protection for nothing, but if we boast ourselves, He removeth it from us and we perish.”
520. A brother asked an old man, saying, “What is the perfection of a monk?” The old man saith unto him, “Humility, for when once a man hath arrived at humility, he can reach forward to the goal.”
521. The old man said, “If a man can say unto his brother, ‘Forgive me,’ and can humble himself, this belongeth to the perfection of the monk.”
522. One of the old men said, “When a man saith unto his companion, ‘Forgive me,’ and at the same time humbleth himself, the devils are consumed.”
523. A certain brother was offended at his brother, and when the latter heard thereof he went to him to express his contrition, but he would not open the door; then he who had offended his brother went to another old man and related the matter unto him, and the old man answered and said, “Observe lest in thine own mind thou art justifying thyself, and art condemning thy brother, as if he were the offender, for it may be that because of this he would not be persuaded to open unto thee. Nevertheless, do thou what I am going to tell thee. For although he hath offended thee, go thou, and hold firmly [to the belief] that thou hast offended against him, and may God put it into thy brother’s mind to be reconciled to thee.”