660. The brethren said, “What is the meaning of the words which one of the old men spake, saying, ‘He who dwelleth with men, because of the commotion of worldly affairs is unable to see his sins; but if he dwell in the silent repose of the desert he will be able to see God in a pure manner?’” The old man said, “The excellences which are cultivated in the world, and to which our Lord, speaking in the Gospel, ascribed blessing, are lovingkindness, peace-making and the other commandments which are like unto them, and it is quite possible for such virtues to be cultivated in the world by certain strenuous persons. But the purity of heart which seeth God, and to which our Lord ascribed blessing, saying, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,’ cannot be acquired without dwelling in the desert, and solitary and silent contemplation, and the monk must acquire it in the following way. First of all a man must go forth from the world, and dwell in a monastery, and after his training in a monastery and having gone into his cell, he must die through contemplation in silence, and through the other labours of his body, and through striving against the passions, and through conflict with devils. Then through the tranquillity of mind [which he will acquire] in silent contemplation, he will remember his sins, and when he hateth his passions, and hath petitioned for the remission of his sins, and hath suppressed his thoughts, and hath become constant in pure prayer, and hath cleansed his heart from odious thoughts, then shall he be worthy to see in his heart, even as in a polished mirror, the light of the revelation of our Lord [shine] upon it, even as the Fathers say. Well, then, did that holy man say to those brethren, Visit the sick, reconcile the men of wrath, for he who cultivateth spiritual excellences in the world cannot, by reason of the commotion of the affairs thereof, see his sins; but if he continue in silent contemplation and prayer he shall see God.”
661. The brethren said, “What is [the meaning of] that which Abbâ Sisoes said to Abbâ Ammon, ‘Freedom of my thoughts in the desert is sufficient for me?’” The old man said, “Sisoes was a great and a perfect old man, and he dwelt all the days of his life in the remote desert, and after he had become old, and was exceedingly feeble, the Fathers brought him to the monastery of the brethren, who used to go in and visit him each day, for the sake of some profitable discourse and helpful prayer. And because he was unaccustomed to feel comfortable in the presence of many folks, his mind began to wander about in remembering the brethren, and to meditate upon many things, and he was unable to find that dominant freedom for the continuous, secret prayer of the mind, which is superior to every influence that would make it decline, and is free from every [other] attraction, and he was, therefore, rightly grieved. Now one day, Abbâ Ammon went to visit him, and he saw that he was sorry about his coming from the desert, and he said unto him, ‘Father, it is not right for thee to be sorrowful because thou hast drawn nigh to the place where the brethren dwell, for thy body hath become feeble, and thou art unable to perform those works wherein thou wert wont to labour in the desert.’ Now when Abbâ Sisoes heard these things, he looked at Abbâ Ammon sternly, and he answered him with indignation, saying, ‘What sayest thou to me, Ammon? Was not the freedom of the thoughts which I had in the desert sufficient to take the place for me of all labours? And as regards thyself also, O Ammon, who art conscious of the life and acts of the freedom of the mind, and who art not subject unto the constraint of wandering and disturbance of the mind, and who art not impeded by old age and infirmity, tell me what thou art able to do in the desert at thy great age? Even if I be unequal to the labours of the body, because I have become infirm through old age, I am better able to perform the labours of the mind than I was in the time of my early manhood. Or, perhaps in thy opinion the clear shining of the mind, which a monk acquireth by a life of contemplation in silence, and the constant intercourse with God, and the prayer which is without ceasing, and the remembrance of Christ, and the constant gazing upon Him, and the exultation of the soul in Him, and the favour of His love, and the affection for His commandments, and the desire for His good things, and the meditation upon His glory, and the thought about His excellence and His majesty, and the admiration of His humility, are matters which are small and contemptible? All these labours of the mind, and many others which are like unto them, neither old age nor infirmity impedes, but they are prevented, and brought low, and, by degrees, are destroyed, by converse with the children of men, and by seeing many people, and by care about worldly affairs.’”
662. The brethren said, “They used to say that when the service in the church was over, Abbâ Macarius was wont to flee to his cell, and that the brethren said, ‘He hath a devil, but he doeth the work of God.’ Now who were those who said that he had a devil? And what was the work of God which he used to do?” The old man said, “Those who said that he had a devil were the lazy brethren. Whensoever Satan seeth the monks who are leading a life of spiritual excellence in the monastery, the devils stir up the lazy brethren to wage war against them, by means of abuse, and revilings, and backbiting, and calumny, and by means of the trials which they bring upon them. Now the work of God which Abbâ Sisoes did when he fled [to his cell] was this: Prayer accompanied by weeping and tears, according to the exhortation of Abbâ Isaiah, who said, ‘When the congregation is dismissed, or when thou risest up after eating, sit not down to talk with any man, either concerning the affairs of the world, or concerning matters of spiritual excellence; but go thou into thy cell, and weep for thy sins, even as Abbâ Macarius the Alexandrian said unto the brethren who were with him, “Brethren, flee.” And the brethren said, “Father, how can we flee more than [in coming] to the desert?” and he laid his hand upon his mouth, and said unto them, “Flee ye in this manner”; and straightway every man fled to his cell and held his peace.’”
663. The brethren said, “Abbâ Anthony said, ‘As a fish dieth when it is lifted up out of the water, so doth the monk [die] if he remain long outside his cell’; explain these words to us.” The old man said, “Because the remembrance of God is, in our Lord Jesus Christ, the life of the soul, which the Fathers call the ‘repository of life,’ and ‘the breath of the life of the soul and of the mind,’ when the monk tarrieth in the cities, and in the sight and converse of the children of men, he dieth in respect of the breath of life which is in God, that is to say, he forgetteth God, and the love of Christ groweth cold in his heart, the love which he hath acquired by many labours, and he forgetteth his virtues, and he becometh lax in respect of [his] liking for tribulations, and he loveth pleasures, and hath an affection for lusts, and the sincerity of his heart is troubled through the disturbance which entereth into his senses, that is, seeing, and speaking, and hearing, which are indeed the strength of the soul; and it happeneth also that he falleth into great passions, wherefrom may Christ God save us! Amen.”
664. The brethren said, “The excellent man Hieronymus said in the history of the triumphs of the blessed Isidore, the archimandrite, that he had in his monastery one thousand monks, and that they all lived within the gate of his habitation, and that none of them ever went outside it until the day of his death, except two brethren who only set out therefrom to sell their handiwork, and who brought in only such things as were required for their absolute needs. How is it that in an assembly of our early Fathers, that is, a congregation containing one thousand brethren, two men only were sufficient [to provide for] their ministrations? In our generation if there was a congregation of five and fifty monks, only five would lead a life of ascetic excellence in seclusion, and the [other] fifty would be going out and coming in ceaselessly and without rest to supply them with what they needed.” The old man said, “Concerning the love for labours, and the watch which the early Fathers kept [on themselves], and concerning the love of pleasure, and the laxity of ourselves who belong to a later time, if it be right to tell the truth, we ought to speak most concerning the laxity and ignorance of the governors of monasteries. In former times the brethren who lived lives of contemplation and seclusion and loved spiritual repose were many, and those who went out on to the high roads, and entered the cities, and performed outside labours were few; but in our days, in a congregation which, as ye have said, containeth five and fifty monks, five will lead a life of spiritual repose inside the monastery, and the other fifty will toil ceaselessly in the works which are outside it, and during the whole time they will complain and blame the five who are inside, because they do not go out and serve even as do they. And through the words of these foolish and insolent men all the spiritual excellences which are cultivated in the monastery will perish and come to an end. And according to what I say, if the Fathers set the life of contemplation in silence against the whole of the labour of the ascetic life, and if it be more excellent than it all, who would blame him that loveth spiritual contemplation and repose, and the quiet of the cell?”
665. The brethren said, “On one occasion a congregation of monks assembled on the great festival of the Resurrection, and there were gathered together in the monastery all the Fathers, and all the recluses, and other monks, and all the old men in the congregation were asked, Which is the mightiest and most severe war which can come upon monks? And they all agreed that no war is harder or more cruel than that which maketh a man to leave his cell and depart, and that when that war is fought down, all other contests may be easily reduced. Explain to us the meaning of these words.” The old man said, “Constant spiritual repose in a cell hath hope closely bound up in it, but going out therefrom is united to despair. As long as a man liveth in spiritual repose, and loveth the quiet of the cell, little by little he goeth forward, one step at a time, according to the order of succession; and he hath hope that in our Lord he will vanquish each of the passions, and that through his repose and labours he will acquire spiritual excellences and the grace of Christ. But if the life becometh tedious to him, and he go forth and leave his cell, and wander about, he will neither vanquish the passions, nor acquire spiritual virtues, but he will incline to despair, and to utter destruction. Therefore the Fathers have well said that no war is more cruel than the war of wandering.”
666. The brethren said, “Abbâ Theodore and Abbâ Lûkî passed fifty years in being harassed by their thoughts which urged them vexatiously to change [their] place [of living]; and they said, ‘When the winter cometh we will change.’ And when the winter had come, they said, ‘We will change in the summer’; and thus they continued to do till the end of their lives. Reveal to us if it were the devils who were urging these famous Fathers to go forth from their cells for a period of fifty years, that is, until their death.” The old man said, “The devils urged the great Fathers to wander and to go forth from their spiritual repose because they well knew the benefit which accrued to them therefrom, and these holy Fathers were urged by the devils also, but did not leave their cells. To-day, however, in this generation, the same devils harass the monks, and drive them out of their cells by this war of departure, and therefore the great Fathers who have felt this war of wandering and of departure have said, ‘There is no war which is more cruel to the monk than this; may Christ help us and deliver us from it.’”
667. The brethren said, “Abbâ Anthony used to say, ‘He who dwelleth in the desert is free from three wars, that is, from speaking, hearing, and seeing’; explain these words to us.” The old man said, “The old man did not speak [thus] because the strife of him that dwelt in spiritual repose in the desert was less fierce than that of him that wandered about and mingled with men, but that he might show how much more hard and laborious was the war of devils which taketh place in the heart of those who dwell in spiritual repose than that which cometh in the heart of those who dwell with brethren. And because of this the fathers pursued after a life of contemplation in silence, lest when the wars of speaking and seeing and hearing were added unto that which was already in their heart, they would fall by reason of their severity, even as actually happened on one occasion, for a woman came to the monks who were living a life of silent contemplation, and there was added to the war which was already in their hearts the wars of seeing, and hearing, and speaking, and they would have been vanquished by the severity thereof had it not been that the grace of our Lord supported them. That the war which taketh place in the senses of the soul against the monks who live a life of silent contemplation is mightier and fiercer than that which taketh place in the senses of the body, is well known from the words which the blessed Evagrius spake, saying, Against the monks who lead a life of silent contemplation the devils in person wage war, but against those who lead a life of spiritual excellence in a general assembly of brethren, the devils only stir up and incite the lazy brethren; but the war which ariseth from the sight, and the hearing, and the speech is much less fierce that that which is waged against the monks who dwell in silent solitude.”