691. The brethren said, “Can the man who loveth money be faithful to the promises?” The old man said, “If he believeth why doth he possess [anything]? Is our hope fixed upon gold? Or is the hand of the Lord too short to redeem? He gave us the Body of our Lord for happiness, and His holy Blood as a drink unto our redemption; and hath He kept back from us the loaf of bread and the apparel which grow old? He who loveth money hath a doubt in his mind concerning God, and he prepareth [the means of] life before God giveth them unto him; and, although in his words he rejoiceth in the promises, he maketh them to be a lie by his deeds. True is the word of our Lord, Who said, ‘It is as difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, as for a camel to go into the eye of a needle’ (St. Matthew xix, 24); to possess both God and mammon in one abode is impossible. Now those who follow the ascetic life do not belong to the things which are seen.”
692. The brethren said, “Who is truly the man of ascetic excellence?” The old man said, “He who at all times crieth out that he is a sinner, and asketh mercy from the Lord, whose speech beareth the sense of discretion, whose feelings bear the excellence of works, who though silent yet speaketh, and who though speaking yet holdeth his peace, and whose acts and deeds bear good fruit to his temporary life and the manifestation of Christ.”
693. The brethren said, “Which is the way of life?” The old man said, “That whereby a man goeth forth from this world in his entrance into the other; but if a man forsaketh his childhood of humility, and cometh to the old age of this world in his love, he revealeth the way of life. Now the true departure from this world is remoteness therefrom.”
694. A brother said, “What shall I do to this world when it troubleth me?” The old man said, “The world troubleth thee because the cares thereof are in thy mind, and love therefor is in thy body, and its delights are in thy heart. Let the world depart from thee, and tear out from thee all the roots (or branches) thereof, and lo, the war thereof will cease from thee. For as long as thy body seeketh [its] pleasures, and its lust is of the world, it is impossible for thee to live.”
695. The brethren said, “What is pure prayer?” The old man said, “That which is of few words and is abundant in deeds. For if [thy] actions be not more than thy petition, thy prayers are mere words wherein the seed of the hands is not; and if it be not thus, why do we ask and not receive, since the mercy of Grace aboundeth. The manner of the penitent is one thing, and the labour of the humble is another; the penitent are hirelings, but the humble are sons.”
696. The brethren said, “By what is the love of money produced?” The old man said, “From lust, for except a man lusteth he will not possess [money], and if he doth not possess [money] he will not lust. When a man lusteth he possesseth [money], and having acquired it he fulfilleth his lust; and having fulfilled his lust, he becometh greedy, and having become greedy he committeth fraud; and having committed fraud his possessions increase, and when his possessions have increased love becometh little in him. And when love hath diminished the remembrance of God is wanting in the heart, and the intelligence becometh darkened, and his power of discernment becometh blinded, and when the power of discernment hath become blinded, the power of distinguishing is darkened, and when the power of distinguishing hath become darkened, the soul goeth blind. And when the soul hath become blind goodness is rooted out therefrom, and wickedness entereth in, and sin hath dominion; and when sin hath obtained dominion the thought of God is blotted out, the passions of the body are roused up, and they seek for the means for working out their needs. And when they have obtained that which they seek it becometh necessary for much money to be gathered together, and when money hath multiplied the pleasure of the body is fulfilled, and a man eateth, and drinketh, and committeth adultery and fornication, and he lieth and acteth fraudulently, and transgresseth the covenant, and he destroyeth the Law, and despiseth the promises, and lust is fulfilled, and God is wroth. For if the lust for the things which are seen be hated in our sight, we shall not love money, but if we perform the lust of the flesh it is necessary to love money, because it belongeth to the flesh and not to the spirit, even as the Apostle said, ‘The flesh hurteth the spirit, and the spirit the flesh, and both are opponents each of other’” (Galatians v, 17).
697. The brethren said, “What kind of prayer is that which is not acceptable before God?” The old man said, “[The prayer for the] destruction of enemies. When we ask that evil things [may come] upon those who do harm to us, and for bodily health, and abundance of possessions, and fertility in respect of children, these requests are not acceptable before God. If God beareth with us, who are sinners and who offend Him, how much more is it right that we should bear each with the other? It is, then, not meet that we should ask for the things which concern the body, for the wisdom of God provideth everything [necessary].”
698. The brethren said, “What is purity of soul?” The old man said, “Remoteness from anger, and the error of remembrance of evil things, being weaned from a bitter disposition, friendliness towards our enemies, peace which is superior to troubling, and sincere love which is above the world; by means of these the hidden man is purified, and he putteth on Christ, and is redeemed.”
699. The brethren said, “What is envy?” The old man said, “Hatred towards the virtues of others, and wickedness towards the good, and a bitter disposition towards the innocent, and anger against those who are prosperous in this world, and the concealment of the upright acts and deeds of the penitent, and vexation at the peace of the friends of God.”
700. The brethren said, “In what way ought we to pray before God?” The old man said, “For the repentance of sinners, and the finding of the lost, and the drawing nigh of those who are afar off, and friendliness towards those who do us harm, and love towards those who persecute us, and sorrowful care for those who provoke God to wrath. And if a man doeth these things truly and with a penitent mind, the sinners will often gain life, and the living soul will be redeemed. Now the prayer which our Lord delivered to us as to the needs of the body, is one which applieth to the whole community, and it was not uttered for the sake of those who are strangers to the world, and with whom the pleasures of the body are held in contempt. He in whose habitation (or life) the kingdom of God and His righteousness are found lacketh nothing, even when he asketh not.”
701. The brethren said, “What is remoteness from the world?” The old man said, “The thought which vanquisheth the love of the body, for if the body be not trodden down by the lust of patient endurance, a man cannot conquer in the fight.”
702. The brethren said, “Can the soul of a man who is held fast in the love of the things which are seen be pleasing unto God?” The old man said, “Who is able to live in chastity when the body is making demands upon him? Or, how can be found the love of our Lord in the soul which hath its abode with the things which are seen and are corruptible? No man can serve two masters, and the soul cannot please God with spiritual excellence so long as the remembrances of corruptible things are in its mind, for the mind of the flesh is not able to please God; except the world dieth out of the heart humility cannot live therein, and except the body be deprived of its lusts, the soul cannot be purified from thoughts.”
703. The brethren said, “Why is the mind disturbed at the meeting with females?” The old man said, “Because they are employed in the fulfilment of the lust of nature. When the gaze falleth upon the structure which [is intended for] the production of children, and for the pleasures of the body, the poison of olden time seizeth upon a man, and the law of his will becometh confused; now the will conquereth nature, not by the stirring up of the passions, but by the fulfilment of works. The humble by the power of our Lord conquer everything by their love through the patient endurance of the merit of our Lord.”
704. The brethren said, “Who is the mightier man? He who is remote from the world, or he who dwelleth therein?” The old man said, “The mighty man, wheresoever he dwelleth, conquereth whether he be in the world or out of it. Now the Fathers departed to the desert place which was free from noise and tumult, because they were afraid that so long as they abode in the body the passions which afflicted them would cleave unto them; but those who have completed the great strife of their contest in the world [have performed] an act of grace the power whereof hath worked, and still worketh, for the help and benefit of the community. And verily their crown shall be a great one, because into the disturbed and troubled sea of the world their spiritual ship, which was on its way to heaven along the straight path which was full of fear, hath not gone down.”
705. The brethren said, “If a man maketh himself a stranger to the world, is it helpful to his soul?” The old man said, “If it fulfilleth with praise it is helpful, and if it endureth tribulation in chastity, and rejoiceth in our Lord, it is beneficial, but it is not, if it doeth away the good seed and preventeth it from producing beloved fruit unto God. If it beareth and is blessed, it hath a reward, but if it lack these things it becometh a wandering to the mind, and a sight which is profitless; but best of all these things is the tranquillity of the mind which is nigh unto God.”
706. The brethren said, “Since all the creatures which God hath made are holy, why were the Fathers in the habit of making the sign of the blessed Cross over such of them as they ate as food?” The old man said, “Verily, all God’s creatures are pure, through the Grace of Him that created them, yet, because sin obtained dominion, every one of them became polluted; then came the advent of our Lord and abrogated sin, and righteousness obtained dominion, and everything became sanctified, whether it was in the heaven or on the earth. But because the blessed Fathers knew the harmful disposition of Satan, who even by means of such things as are used as food carrieth on a war to our injury, they sealed their foods with the holy sign of the Great Cross, that they might bring to naught all the crafts of the Calumniator. For one of the old men said, ‘On one occasion, when I was lying down at night, I thirsted for water to drink. And there was near me a holy man who lived chastely, and he saw me take up a vessel of water to drink without having made over it the sign of the Cross. And he said unto me, “Wait, master, wait,” and he made the sign of the Cross over it, and straightway there fell from the vessel the Calumniator in the form of a flash of fire; and both he and I saw this, and we marvelled at the great power of the Redeemer, and at the wonderful sign of His merit.’ Another version of the story reads:—And one of the Fathers said, On one occasion I was lying down at night, and I thirsted for water to drink. And there was near me a certain widow, who led a chaste life, both when she was with her husband, and afterwards, and she said to me, ‘Wait, master, wait,’ and she made the sign of the Holy Cross over the vessel of water, and straightway the Calumniator fell from the vessel in the form of a flash of fire; and both she and I saw it, and we marvelled at the great power of our Redeemer, and at the wonderful sign of His merit. These things were indeed spoken by that holy mouth which was remote from falsehood. Therefore we must necessarily do this (i.e., make the sign of the Cross over our food) for the protection of our life. For against this holy woman who did these things, the enemy waged war openly, according to what I have learned from a certain saint, a chosen man of God, who heard the matter from her own mouth, and he spake thus:—The blessed woman spake unto me, saying, One day I went to the house of God, and Satan drew nigh, and said unto me, Why dost thou pray like a man, and say, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost? And I said unto him, If I am not to pray thus, how shall I pray? And the blessed woman said, Satan said unto me, Pray thus, and say, Glory be unto thee, O Mary, mother of Christ. Then I answered and said unto him, [There are] ashes in thine eyes, O Satan. Why should I forsake the Lord and adore the mother? And Satan disappeared. And the blessed man also said unto me, This same old woman said unto me:—On another occasion I went to church according to custom, and I knelt down and prayed, and then the Enemy came and made blind mine eyes, and I could not see, and I called to one of the women, and she led me to my house. After three days Satan departed from before mine eyes, and he began to go away from before me, and then I said unto him, There is something which I must make thee do. Go thou to the place where thou didst seize upon me; and we went to the church, both he and I, and I left him where he seized upon me. Then I went away a short distance, and when I turned and looked at him I saw that he was standing like a shadow; and I went on again, and then turned, and still I saw him. And I shut the door of the temple and went forth, and then I opened it again and went in, and I saw him still standing [there], and at that time his wiles ceased from me. Such were the great things which happened to that blessed old woman. For the monk must not boast himself over the man who liveth in the world, for there are mighty men in the world; for if such qualities are found in Eve, how much greater ones should be found in the Adam which is redeemed by Adam?”
“One of the Fathers said unto me, ‘One night whilst I was sleeping, the Enemy came and smote me, and said unto me, “Get thee into the world and cultivate righteousness, for why dost thou shut thyself up like a beast in caves?” And knowing the wickedness of the Enemy, who was looking at me with an evil eye, I made the sign of the Cross in his face, and he fled from me. Then he waited a few days, and came and smote me on the neck, and said unto me mockingly, “Now thou art a righteous man, rise up, and get thee into the world, that I may not destroy thee”; and having prayed, and made the sign of the Cross over my face, he departed from me. And a little while afterwards he came again, and sat upon my neck; then I made myself bold, and stood up, and made the sign of the Cross, the emblem of merit, before him, and again he disappeared, for he was unable to resist me. For all these things took place, and happened in very truth, and we may therefore know and understand that there is no rule of life in which God so much rejoiceth, or which is so terrible unto the devils, and unto all evil spirits, as the rule of humility, and penitence of mind, and the subjection of the body, and remoteness from the things which are seen. Whosoever despiseth these things will fall into the mire of the world; and whosoever holdeth in contempt the good riches of the fear of God, shall have his hope of the inheritance of the saints cut off, and of the delights of heaven, which never pass away and never end. May we all be held worthy of these through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, the True God, to Whom, with His Father, and the Holy Spirit, be glory, now, and always, and for ever and ever! Amen.’”