629. The brothers said, “Why was the blessed Martînyânâ, after all the great ascetic practices which he had acquired, and the gifts of the spirit which he had received, and after he had burned his fingers for the sake of the harlot, still afraid of the war of fornication, and why, having gone and dwelt in the island in the sea for thirty years, did he not stay [for] a season with that woman whom he had brought up from the sea, but cast himself in the sea being afraid of the contest?” The old man said, “Because the whole strength of the demon of fornication was discharged upon him, and he was, therefore, properly afraid. For those who have not with them this war in all its fierceness imagine that they have overcome it, but let them not boast themselves, and let them know the truth, that is to say, they have not vanquished the demon of fornication, and it is only that he hath not waged war against them with all his strength, because he hath not been permitted so to do, and he hath not been permitted to do so because of their feebleness and laxity. For the war of fornication which cometh upon a man only attacketh him in the degree which he is able to bear. For, behold, the great and famous fathers who endured this war in all its severity for a long time were always in a state of fear and trepidation, as was also Abbâ Arsenius, who was a man eighty years old; and when the noble lady came to him and said, ‘Remember me in thy prayers,’ he did not hesitate to say, ‘I will pray to God that He may blot the remembrance of thee out of my heart.’ And by means of this which he spake, he put to shame the demon of fornication, and shewed how great was the hatred for this unclean passion that warreth against the holy men which he possessed.”
[The story of Martînyânâ and the harlot is as follows:—There was a certain monk who dwelt in the desert, and whose name was Martînyânâ, and he laboured in great works, and God wrought by his hands many mighty deeds, and he was applauded by all men. Now when Satan, the Evil One, saw that he was greatly applauded he became bitterly angry, and he wished to distract and to withdraw him from his rule of life and ascetic labours. One day Satan saw that many folk were glorifying him, and he went and dwelt in a certain harlot, and he sent her to the blessed man in order to make him fall. So the harlot took her attire, and placed it in a bag, and went to the holy man, and when she arrived at his abode it was evening; and she knocked at the door and said, “O Saint Martînyânâ, open the door to me, so that the wild beasts may not eat me.” Now the holy man thought that she was a phantom, and he rose up and prayed, and since meanwhile she ceased not to cry out, he rose up from his prayer, and opened the door to her, and said to her, “Whence comest thou to me, O devil?” And she said, “[My] companions have forsaken me on the road, and I wandered about in the desert, and have arrived hither”; and he left her [there], and went into the inner cell, and shut the door thereof between himself and her. And after the old man had laid down to sleep the harlot arrayed herself in her attire, and put on her ornaments, and then sat down; and when the morning had come, the old man went forth from his cell, and seeing her dressed he said to her, “Whence art thou? What is thy business?” And she said, “I am a daughter of people of high degree, and my parents are dead, and they have left me great wealth. I heard that thou wast a great man, and I have come to thee, and I beg thee to come to my house and take me to wife, and we will live on thy excellence.” Then the old man said unto her, “How can I forsake my labour and my rule of life, and take thee to wife, and fall from my covenant?” And she said unto him, “What sin is there in it? Did not Adam and all the Fathers take wives, and Noah, and Abraham, from whose seed Christ hath risen?” Now by repeating these and suchlike things, she well-nigh succeeded in leading the holy man away captive, and he said unto her, “O woman, tarry a little so that I may see, lest peradventure some one may come and see us.” And having gone up to the roof to look, he woke up in his mind, and he made a flame of fire and stood up in it, and stayed in the fire until he burnt his toes; and when the harlot saw this, she fell down at his feet and wept, saying, “I have sinned against God and thee,” and she revealed unto him the whole truth, [saying], “I repent.” And the holy man sent her to a nunnery, and he remained in his cell until his feet were healed of the burning of the fire. And after he was healed of his sickness, he rose up and went and dwelt in an island in the sea, where there were neither women nor men.]
630. The brethren said, “What is the meaning of that which one of the old men said, ‘If thou seest the wings of ravens flying about thou wilt also see the prayer of him that is oppressed in mind being exalted’?” The old man said, “As the ravens do not in the course of their flight mount upwards to the height of heaven like the eagle, but fly close to the surface of the ground and wheel about [seeking] for their unclean food, so is the mind of the man who is not fervent in the love of God, and who is continually in a state of sluggishness and dejection, for when he standeth up for service or for prayer, his thought will not be exalted to the height of the love of Christ, but his mind will wander after evil passions.”
631. The brethren said, “An old man said, ‘If thou seest a young man who, in his desire, ascendeth unto heaven, take hold of his foot and sweep him hence, for in this way thou wilt help him’; what is the meaning of the words, ‘Who in his desire ascendeth unto heaven’?” The old man said, “This resembleth that which Isaiah spake, ‘If the mind seeketh to ascend to the Cross before the feelings cease from feebleness, the wrath of God shall come upon him because he hath begun to do something which is beyond his capacity, without having first of all cured his feelings.’ Now certain of the beginners in the ascetic life are so silly and bold as to dare to undertake things which are far above their capacity and their strength; they do not wish to learn, and they will not be persuaded by the commands of their Fathers, but, without having lived the proper period of time in the coenobium, they dare to enter the cell, even as it is written concerning one of the brethren in the Book of Paradise, for immediately he had received the garb of the monk, he went and shut himself up as a solitary recluse, saying, ‘I am a monk of the desert’; and the Fathers went and brought him out into the monastery [again]. There are others, too, who seek to shut themselves up for a week at a time, and it in no wise helpeth them; and there are others, the children of this world, who at the beginning of their careers imitate the exalted rule of life of the Fathers, and who imagine that they can imitate the rule of the mind, that is to say, of the spirit, when as yet they have not fulfilled the rule of the body. Therefore their lives and works are not open to the Fathers, and they will not receive correction, but they live according to their own desire, and they are delivered over into the hands of the devils who make a mock of them.”
632. The brethren said, “One of the brethren asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, ‘My body is feeble, and I cannot lead an ascetic life.’ Abbâ Poemen said unto him, ‘Canst thou lead the ascetic life in thy thought, and not permit it to go with deceit to thy neighbour?’ Tell us how the feeble man was able to lead the ascetic life in his thoughts.” The old man said, “This question belongeth closely, both in order and meaning, to that which a certain brother asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, ‘My body is feeble, but my thoughts are not.’ Now in the former case he spake having regard to those who were afraid that through pains and sickness they would become negligent of the labours of spiritual excellence, and, in a different manner, that they might fall into pains and sickness by way of punishment; in the latter case he spake having regard to those who had toiled for a very long time in the labours of self-denial, and who had finally become enfeebled, either through old age, or through pains and sicknesses, and who were ceasing from ascetic labours. Now this is what Abbâ Poemen [meant] when he said, ‘If thou art not now able, by reason of thy weakness, to toil in the labours of the body as thou didst formerly, toil in the labours of the soul, that is to say, the ruling of the thoughts, which is the ruling of the mind; if thou art unable to fast from meats, fast from evil thoughts; and if thou art no longer able, through the weakness of the body, to stand up and to recite as many Psalms as formerly, make thy mind to stand up before our Lord, and pray before Him vigilantly with the prayer which is secret and pure, and be tranquil, and humble, and pleasant, and good, and forgiving, and merciful; and endure thy sickness and weakness with praise, and make no man to be sorry by thy tongue; and judge not, and blame not, and condemn not thy brother in thy heart. Now these excellences may be cultivated in the soul with the labours of the mind, and not those of the body, and they are not impeded by the weakness of the body.’”
633. The brethren said, “Why is it that the monks are obliged to go round about begging for the meat and raiment of which they have need, like those who are in the world, although our Lord promised them, saying, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and that of which ye have need shall be given to you’?” (St. Matthew vi, 33). The old man said, “This [saying] is a proof of the wisdom and grace of God towards those who are in the world, for, in the majority of cases, the righteousness of the children of this world consisteth of alms and compassion; but the children of light are righteous men and monks who, in their persons, and in their members, and in their thoughts, serve our Lord. And God hath made the monks to have need of the children of this world because of His love, so that they may care each for the other, and may pray each for the other, that is to say, the children of the world must care for the monks, and the monks must pray in love for them. And as the children of the world make the monks associates with them in the corporeal things of the world, the monks must make the children of the world to be associates with them in the things of heaven, for our Lord spake to the children of the world, saying, ‘Make ye to yourselves friends of this mammon of iniquity, so that when they have become perfect they may receive you into their tabernacles which are for ever’” (St. Luke xvi, 9).
634. The brethren said, “What is the difference between [the words], ‘I will dwell in you,’ and ‘I will walk in you,’ which God spake concerning the righteous? And what is the meaning of ‘dwelling,’ and ‘walking’?” The old man said, “God dwelleth in the saints through the constant remembrance with which they remember Him, as they marvel at Him, and His works; but He walketh in them by means of His visions and revelations [which He sendeth] upon them as they marvel at His majesty, and rejoice continually in His love.”
635. The brethren said, “With how many, and with what names is the meditation upon God called?” The old man said, “Its names are six, and they are as follows:—1. Hope in God. 2. The state of being bound to our Lord. 3. Continuance with God. 4. Persistence in all the good works of God. 5. Holding fast to God. 6. Dependence upon God. Hope in God [meaneth], fix ye your gaze upon Him, and hope in Him, that is to say, meditate ye upon Him. Being tied to our Lord [meaneth] that we should be bound to our Lord, and should fast and pray, until the old man cometh to an end, both without and within. Continuance with God is the state of being gratified through Him. Persistence [meaneth] that we should possess persistence in the Lord in all the good works of God. Holding fast to God [meaneth], ‘Cut off from thyself all cares which are not of Him, and let thy mind fasten its gaze upon God only.’ Dependence upon God [meaneth], ‘Hang thyself upon God,’ to Whom be glory (or praise)! Amen.”
636. The brethren said, “An old man was asked a question by one of the brethren, who spake thus:—‘If I am in a state of admiration of God, and in purity of soul, and the time of prayer arriveth, ought I to come to prayer or not?’” And the old man said, “‘What man who possesseth riches will make himself poor?’ Explain to us the meaning of the words of the holy man.” The old man said, “The holy man calleth ‘admiration of God and purity [of soul]’ that to which the blessed Mark gave the name ‘meditation upon God’ and ‘atmosphere of freedom.’ There are some brethren whose hearts become pure after labours and great strivings, and they become worthy of pure prayer, and their hearts also become illumined from time to time by the light of Divine Grace, and they attain to the meditation which is on God, and to the spiritual understandings which are superior to custom. The Fathers would not permit the men who attained to this capacity, when they were standing in the purity of soul of this nature, and in the atmosphere which was free from trouble, and when the beater struck the board, and the season for prayer arrived, to leave this enjoyable meditation, and to stand up and sing the Psalms, but they [allowed] them to remain therein until it had come to an end. For a man to sing the Psalms and to perform the service could always be found, but such meditation and such purity of the understanding, and the atmosphere of freedom could not at all times be acquired, and a man is neither able nor hath the power to attain to this state whensoever he pleaseth, for it is a gift from heaven which is given by our Lord from time to time to him that is worthy thereof. For this reason one of the Fathers gave the following commandment:—If a man enjoyeth such meditation whilst he be standing up at the service, let him not interrupt it until it cometh to an end, for such meditation filleth the place of the service of the Psalms. See then that thou drivest not away from thee the gift of God, and let thy subservience (or submission) to the same stand firm; but it is right to know that certain brethren have not as yet attained to meditation of this kind. They have thought that these words were spoken for every man and for men of every kind of capacity, and although their minds have been illumined somewhat by the Psalms and prayers, they have relaxed the fulfilment of the canon of their service, wherein are placed their consolation, and their wages, and their profit, and have occupied themselves [with the meditation], but on several occasions they have been interrupted in the meditation which hath come to them by the devils. It is, therefore, not right for the brethren who are beginners in the ascetic life to do this, but they should commit their life and works and meditation wholly to God, and if it should happen that this meditation cometh to them, let them reveal the matter to one of the old men who is acquainted with such things, so that the demons may not lead them astray and work their destruction.”
637. The brethren said, “By what means did the Fathers sing the Psalms of the Holy Spirit without wandering [of mind]?” The old man said, “First of all they accustomed themselves whensoever they stood up to sing the service in their cells to labour with great care to collect their minds from wandering, and to understand the meaning of the Psalms, and they took care never to let one word (or verse) escape them without their knowing the meaning thereof, not as a mere matter of history, like the interpreters, and not after the manner of the translator, like Basil and John [Chrysostom], but spiritually, according to the interpretation of the Fathers, that is to say, they applied all the Psalms to their own lives and works, and to their passions, and to their spiritual life, and to the wars which the devils waged against them. Each man did thus according to his capacity, whether he was engaged in a rule of life for the training of the body, or of the soul, or of the spirit, even as it is written, ‘Blessed are the people who know Thy praises, O Lord,’ that is to say, blessed is the monk who, whilst glorifying Thee with praise, collecteth his mind from wandering, and understandeth clearly the knowledge and meaning of the Psalms of the spirit, even as it is written, ‘Sing ye unto God with praise, sing ye unto our King.’ When then a man singeth the service in this manner, and payeth attention to the meaning of the verse, he acquireth daily the faculty of singing a song mingled with the meditation of God and with the gaze [which is fixed] upon Him. And after the time in which he hath arrived at the spiritual rule of life, immediately a monk hath begun to sing the Psalms, though one or two sections of them become too great for him, he is permitted to sing them with understanding and with the meditation which is on God, and he refraineth from the customary Psalms, and he singeth a song which is superior [to that of] body and flesh, and which is like unto that of angels, even as the Fathers say.”