625. The brethren said, “Explain to us the course of life and labour of the old man [who made] baskets, [and dropped] small stones in them.” The old man said, “The course of life of that old man was one which was of the mind, and it was stern, and excellent, and it swiftly brought the monk unto purity of heart. And as concerning that which he said, ‘I set two baskets, one on my right hand and one on my left,’ etc. it doth not [mean] that he sat the whole day with his baskets round him, but that his two baskets were set in two places. And he himself was occupied with service and prayer, and with his toil, and for every thought, good or bad, which entered his mind he cast a pebble [into the baskets], that is to say, the labour is very severe for the man for a certain time at the beginning, because the devils are envious at the purity of heart which is acquired by him, and therefore they afflicted this old man also for a long time with the multitude of evil thoughts which were stirring in him, even as he said, ‘Many days I have eaten nothing, because the good thoughts did not outnumber the bad ones.’ Now he used to afflict his body with the labour of much fasting, so that he might do away the evil thoughts, because it is not the soul only which feeleth the labours of the body, its counterpart through its union with it, but also those devils which wage war against the soul, and they feel the labours of the body more than doth the soul. For immediately the devils see the monk afflicting his body with labours, they become afraid, and stagger about, because they are more tormented by the labours than is the man who is engaged in them. Therefore the blessed Evagrius, when the demon of fornication assailed him, stripped off his tunic and stood the whole night long, in the season of winter, under the open sky, and by these means he made the demon to suffer pain, and he fled from him. And again, when the demon of blasphemy attacked him, he stood naked under the open sky, in the season of winter, for forty days. And because the thought of gluttony stirred in the heart of Abbâ Zeno, and made him to eat a cucumber by stealth, he crucified his soul in the sun, during the season of summer for five days. In this wise the holy men were afflicting themselves with labours and tribulations, and when the devils were stirring up in them the thoughts of sin, the demons were afflicted and tortured far more than they thereby. Now the demons were afflicted and tormented by the labours of the patient endurance of the monks not only in their minds but in their persons, through the operation of the holy angels, and by the command of God, even as, on one occasion, one of the devils was tortured the whole night in the cell of those two brethren who were brothers naturally, when he wished to separate them from each other. For when the younger brother lighted a lamp the devil threw down the candlestick, and extinguished the light, whereupon the [elder] brother smote him [on] the cheek; and the other brother expressed his contrition, and said, ‘My brother, have patience, and I will light the lamp [again].’ And when God saw the patient endurance and humility of the young man, He commanded His angel, and he fettered the devil the whole night long in their cell; and the devil was tormented therein until the morning because of that [blow on] the cheek which he made the one brother to suffer from the other through his wicked agency; and that wicked devil was fettered and tortured the whole night long. And the devils are tortured not only when we afflict our bodies with labours, in order that we may not consent to the will of devils, but also when they stir up in us evil thoughts; if we constrain ourselves a little, and cast them from us, at the same time calling our Lord to our assistance, straightway the holy angels which cleave unto us will constrain the demons, and will drive them away from us, and we shall be full of light, and of fervour, and of gladness. Even as one of the demons said to Abbâ Pachomius, ‘A certain monk, against whom I wage war, is very strenuous, and whensoever I draw nigh unto him to sow evil thoughts in him, he betaketh himself to prayer, and I, though burning with fire, have to depart from his presence blazing(?) even like iron which hath been thoroughly well [heated] in the fire.’ Now monks are, at the beginning [of their career] afflicted for a long time, not only by the stirring up of the evil thoughts themselves, but also by their tarrying in the heart; but after a known time a man receiveth strength from our Lord, through their tarrying, and also after a known time their motion is restrained, and then the monk also hath rest from strivings, and he is held to be worthy of purity of heart. For at the beginning of the strivings the devils stir up evil thoughts in the heart mightily; sometimes, however, these are destroyed through prayer at the very beginning of their movement, and sometimes they remain. And afterwards the mind becometh strong against them, and doth not permit them to tarry altogether in the heart, but it is as yet unable to restrain their violent movement, and the [tribulation which they cause], even as one of the old men said, ‘I carried on a strife for twenty years in order that an evil thought might not enter my heart, and until the ninth hour I used to see Satan with his bow drawn to shoot an arrow into my heart. And when he found no opportunity of doing this, he would become dejected and go away ashamed each day.’ Now the old man [of whom we first spake] held fast to his rule in respect of the baskets, and though he was afflicted for a long time by the motion of evil thoughts, and sometimes even by their tarrying in his heart, finally he received power over their tarrying only, for their rising up remained for a considerable time. And having laboured in striving for twenty years against the motion of the thoughts, finally he became strong [enough to resist them], and he overcame them. And the devils fled from him, and he arrived at a state of purity, and at the haven of impassibility, and he was held to be worthy of revelations.”
626. The brethren said, “If the holy men themselves afflict themselves with labours of tribulation because of the tarrying of the evil thoughts which bestir themselves in them, and if they sin against God though not consenting to them, why should we toil against the motion of the devils? For behold, even as the blessed Evagrius said, ‘Whether they fight against us or not the matter is not in our hands.’” The old man said, “The perfection of the monks ariseth from a spiritual rule of life, and a spiritual rule of life cometh from purity of heart, and purity of heart from divine vision; ‘Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ When, therefore, a monk laboureth, and afflicteth himself because of the motion of evil thoughts, in order to prevent their remaining for a long time in his heart, and when after a considerable time his heart becometh pure, there remaineth disgust only therein, and it vexeth the mind of the monk, and preventeth his ascent to God, and cutteth off his journeying to Him, and doth not allow him to enjoy the vision of glory. Now when a monk worketh for a considerable time because of the motion of evil thoughts [in him], God hath compassion upon his trouble, and not only doth his heart become cleansed, and his soul pure from every thought of evil, but he is also held to be worthy of the sight of our Lord in a revelation of light, and henceforth, the devils never again dare to stir up evil thoughts in the heart of him that hath been esteemed worthy of this great thing. And should it happen that they dare so to do, they suffer pain and burn even as he suffereth who is hot, and who kicketh away with his feet the piercing goads of iron which glow with heat in the fire. During the interval between the beginning of the strife against evil thoughts and [the attainment of] purity of heart, the devils sometimes vex the monk, and sometimes are vexed by him, even as the blessed Evagrius said, ‘If those who go down to the conflict afflict [others], they are themselves afflicted’; so the devils afflict us, and they are also afflicted by us. They afflict us when we receive their evil thoughts, and they are afflicted by us when we, by means of prayer and wrath, hide (i.e., suppress) their thoughts. When, then, we labour and afflict ourselves for a considerable time in order that their thoughts may not tarry in us, we also afflict ourselves with labours and prayer so that they may not vex and hinder us by [their] violent motion, and afterwards power is given unto us by our Lord to lift ourselves up upon the necks of our enemies, and thenceforward our heart resteth and is at peace, not only from the perception of their thoughts, but from all the violence of their motion. And the peace and rest of God rule over our souls, and we see that there remaineth only the war which is manifest of the visions of devils until the time of death merely to terrify us, so that we may not be exalted [unduly] and destroy ourselves. And should it happen that the devils stir up thoughts in the heart of him that hath been made perfect, straightway they become extinguished, even as fire is extinguished when water falleth thereon.”
627. The brethren said, “Why do the devils fear the labours of the monks, even as the Fathers say, ‘If thou wishest the devils to be afraid of thee, despise lusts’?” The old man said, “They are afraid because of three things. 1. First. Because our Lord treated with contempt three kinds of passions, wherein are included and contained all the various classes of passions, and these are they: The love of the belly, the love of money, and vainglory. By means of these the Calumniator fought against our Redeemer, and through His constancy in the wilderness, and silent contemplation, and fasting, and prayer, He overcame Satan; therefore all the monks who travel in His footsteps, and who by means of fasting, and prayer, and silent contemplation, hideaway all the thoughts of sin, and who perform their labours in righteousness, our Lord maketh to conquer by His strength, and He vanquisheth the devils who are their enemies. And as the demons fear and tremble, not only by reason of the Crucifixion of Christ, but even at the sign of the Cross, wheresoever it be made apparent, whether it be depicted upon a garment, or whether it be made in the air, so also do the devils fear and tremble, not only by reason of the labours of our Lord and His constancy in the wilderness, but also at the existence of the monks in the wilderness, and at their silent contemplation, and their fasting, and their prayers, and their patient persistence in the performance of difficult labours, which take place for Christ’s sake. Therefore on one occasion Abbâ Macarius said unto Palladius, ‘Speak to the devils which war against thee with disgust, and sluggishness, and despair: if I had no labours of spiritual excellence, nevertheless for the sake of Christ I would guard these walls and His Name would be sufficient for the redemption of my life.’ 2. Secondly. The war and contest which the devils [wage] against the monks possess both rule and system, and they are neither irregular nor unsystematic. And as when the devils stir up the monks by means of evil thoughts of sin, and the monks accept them, and consent to them, and let themselves be incited to commit sin thereby, straightway their souls become dark, and remote from God, and sorely afflicted, and ashamed, and guilty, and weak and miserable, so when their souls accept not these thoughts, and they do not consent to them, and do not allow themselves to be incited to sin thereby, but drive them away and cast them out as soon as ever they begin to have motion [in them], and call upon our Lord to help them, straightway all the former things which come against the monks, inasmuch as they do not acquiesce in their incitings, are hurled upon the demons with greatly intensified force, and they become ashamed, and tremble, and are destroyed, even as the blessed Mark said, ‘As he who breaketh into a house which is not his own taketh to flight with fear and trembling as soon as he heareth the voice of the master of the house, so also doth Satan,’ etc. 3. Thirdly. Because without labours and humility we who are rational beings are unable to please God, and because without them neither men nor angels can enjoy His love and His blessings, therefore also the demons and devils, which live wholly in a state of pride and laxity, [cannot enjoy them].”
628. The brethren said, “Why is it that although the Fathers gave the admonition, ‘Whensoever a demon appeareth unto a man in any form whatsoever, let that man make the sign of the Cross, and pray, and that similitude will disappear,’ we see that on several occasions the devils still remain, and not in appearance only, but also in terrors, which remain for a long time, and in many cases in blows and stripes?” The old man said, “The holy Fathers gave the admonition because it would apply in the majority of cases. For since our Redeemer was crucified for us, and since He exposed to disgrace the Rulers and Dominions, which are evil demons, and put them to shame openly by His Person, even as it is written, from that time onwards, whensoever they have made themselves visible to the adorers of Christ in divers form [to do them] harm, as soon as a man hath made mention of the Name of Christ, and hath signed himself with the sign of the Cross, the devils have fled straightway, and their forms have disappeared. And this happeneth not only in the case of holy men, and perfect men, but also in respect of ordinary men who possess shortcomings.”