357. I used to know a certain holy man whose name was Aurelius, and he laboured so hard that he might have been thought to be a shadow because of his disposition to work; during the Forty Days’ Fast he used to pass whole weeks [without eating], and in respect of the other days he would eat only once every two or three days.
358. An old man was asked [by a brother], “If I see the sin of my brother am I to despise him?” And the old man said, “If we hide [the fault] of our brother God will also hide our [faults]; and if we expose our brother’s [faults], God will also expose ours.”
359. An old man was wont to say, “There was a brother whose name was Timothy, and he used to lead a life of silent contemplation in a religious house; and a temptation came upon one of the brethren of that house, and the head of the house asked Timothy, saying, ‘What shall I do to this brother?’ Timothy said unto him, ‘Expel him’; and when he had expelled him, the temptation of that brother was sent upon Timothy, and he cried out to God, saying, ‘I have sinned, O my Lord, have mercy upon me.’ And he passed the whole night in a grave of dead men, crying out and saying, ‘I have sinned, O my Lord, forgive me,’ and the temptation was upon him until he was greatly exhausted. And a voice came to him, saying, ‘Timothy, do not imagine that these things have happened unto thee for any other reason than because thou didst offend thy neighbour in the time of his trial.’”
360. A brother asked an old man, saying, “How shall I be able to avoid despising my brother?” The old man said unto him, “We and our neighbour are two faces. Now if we provide the mirror of prayer we shall see the beam in our own eye, and we shall also see in the mirror the face of our brother polished and pure.”
361. A brother asked an old man and said, “What shall I do? For there is no feeling in my soul, and I have no fear of God.” The old man said unto him, “Seek thou out a man who feareth God, and then cling closely to him, and from him thou shalt learn to fear God.”
362. Abbâ Poemen said that Abbâ Athanasius used to say, “Unless a man possess good works before God giveth him a gift because of himself, it is well known that no one can be made perfect through the weariness which cometh to him through himself; but if he reveal [it] to his neighbour, he will then receive the gift because of his neighbour, and be gratified.”
363. A brother asked an old man, saying, “Shew me a word whereby I may live.” The old man said unto him, “Work with thy hands with all thy power, and give alms.”
364. They used to say that Abbâ Copres attained to such a measure [of perfection] that even when he was sick and wanted something, he would cut off his desire from that which his soul asked him [to give it]; and he would give thanks unto God and endure his sickness with joy and without complaint.
365. A brother asked Abbâ Poemen, “What is the meaning of these words which the Prophet spake, ‘My heart shall rejoice in those that fear Thy name’?” (Psalm xxxiii, 21.) And the old man answered and said, “The Holy Spirit spake this word to man even unto death, and [unto] to-day also.”
366. An old man also said, “If a man were to make new heavens and new earth he would not be able to be free from care, because the wickedness of the devil is hidden behind them; but for a man to have no care either for his raiment or his food is possible.”
367. A [brother] also asked an old man, “What shall I do in respect of that which I love, but which is not profitable to me?” The old man said unto him, “Approach it not, and touch it not, and it will of its own accord become an alien thing unto thee. For David the Prophet wrote unto Joab the captain of the host, and said unto him, ‘Hold fast on the war, and fight mightily against the city until thou dost subdue it’” (2 Samuel xi, 25). Now in this case the city is enmity.
368. Anthony said, “The greatest might of a man is to bring upon his soul his transgression at all times before God, and he must expect temptation until the end.”
369. An old man used to say, “This is the rule of conduct which God gave to Israel, that he should remove himself from that which is outside nature, that is to say, anger, and wrath, and envy, and hatred, and evil-speaking, and a man must not judge his neighbour, together with all the other commandments of the olden time.”
370. On one occasion certain of the brethren came to Abbâ Sisoes in order that they might hear some profitable words, and when they had spoken much with him, he said nothing unto them about whatsoever they had said, but only, “Forgive me.” Then they saw that he was plaiting palm leaves, and they said unto Abraham his disciple, “What are ye doing with these palm-leaf ropes and mats?” And he said unto them, “We send them out here and there.” Now when the old man heard this he said, “Sisoes eateth here and there.” And when they had heard [these things] they were greatly profited, and they departed in great joy because they had seen his humility.
371. Abbâ Copres said, “Whosoever loveth the gratifying of his own will more than the gratification of the will of God hath no fear of God.”
372. A brother asked Abbâ Amônîs, saying, “How ought a man to act when he wisheth to begin some [kind of] work, or when he wisheth to go or to come, or to go from one place to another, so that action may be according to the will of God, and may be free from the error of devils?” The old man said unto him, “He must first consider in his mind and see the motive of that which he wisheth to do, and whence it cometh, and if it be from God or Satan, or from the man himself, and then let him do the work [which he contemplateth], but let him flee from going and coming, and from going from one place to another. If he [acteth] not [thus] he will finally become a laughing-stock for the devils. But afterwards let him pray and beseech God that that work which is His he may do, and then let him begin the work, and afterwards he may boast in God.”
373. He also said, “Bear with every man in such a way that God may also bear with thee.”
374. The disciple of Abbâ Ammon told the following story:—One night the old man came out and found me lying down in the courtyard of the cell, and he stood up above me, and with lamentation and tears said, “Where is the mind of this brother who can thus lie down (or sleep) without care?”
375. There was a certain priest in Thebaïs whose name was Dioscurus, and he was the spiritual father of many monks, and at the time when they were about to receive the Holy Mysteries he used to say to the brethren, “Take thought and see lest any man among you have been snared by the phantom of a woman during the night, and he be so bold as to receive the Holy Mysteries. Now the emissions which occur as the result of a phantom are not caused by the desire of a man, but take place independently thereof, for they happen naturally, and are due to the excess of matter [in the body], and they do not, therefore, lead [a man] into subjection to sin. But the phantoms which arise from the desire are the sign of an evil wish. For it is meet that the monk should be superior to the law of nature, and that he should not be found with the smallest impurity of body, but that he should waste the body and humble it, and should not permit any superfluity of matter to be found therein. Work out plans, then, that thou mayest cut off [the superfluity of] matter by means of a long period of fasting, for if we do not thus it will incite the other lusts to come upon us; and it is not meet that a monk should be occupied with the lusts which rise up in him daily. And if we do not thus, in what way are we different from those who live in the world? For we have observed that men of this kind often make themselves to be remote from the desires of their lust, either for purposes of bodily health, or for other reasons which are not worth mentioning; how very much more, then, should it thus be especially a care to the monk for the sake of the health of his spirit, and of his soul, and of his body!”
376. They used to say that Abbâ Macarius the Alexandrian at one time dwelt in a cave in the desert, and that beyond his cave was another wherein dwelt a panther; one day when he opened the door of his cave the panther came in and did homage to the blessed man, and she drew nigh and took hold of the corner of his garment, and dragged him along gently and went outside. And the old man answered and said, “What can this animal want?” And he went with her until she arrived at her cave, and she left him outside, and went in and brought out her young, which were blind, and dropped them at his feet; and when he saw them, he prayed, and spat in their eyes, which were opened straightway, and the panther gave them suck, and took them and went inside. And on the day following the panther came bringing a sheepskin, and she approached and placed it before him; then the old man smiled to himself at the discernment and knowledge which the animal had shewn, and he took the skin and slept upon it, until it was quite worn out.
377. Now on another occasion, when the door of his cell was shut, and the old man was sitting in his courtyard, that panther leaped down into the courtyard from the wall and came to him carrying one of her young in her mouth; and when the old man saw that the little panther was blind, he spat in its eyes, and they were opened, and its mother took it and departed. And one day later she brought to the blessed man a sheepskin, and the blessed woman Melania told me, saying, “I received this same skin from the hands of the old man as a gift.”
378. A brother asked an old man, saying, “What shall I do if when I have given to my brother a little bread or money, the devils pollute it, as if [it were given to gain] the approbation of men?” The old man said unto him, “Even though the adulation of men may come, we must give to our neighbour that which is necessary,” and the old man adduced a proof of this statement, and said, “Two men dwelt in a certain city, and one sowed [a field] and produced a crop of somewhat dirty grain, but the other sowed [no field] at all, and produced no crop of any kind, neither clean nor dirty; in the time of tribulation which of these two men would live [and not die] of hunger?” And the brother said unto him, “He who produced the crop of dirty grain”; and the old man said unto him, “Let us then produce a few [good actions], even though they be defiled, so that we may not die in the time of famine.”
379. An old man used to say, “Dainty meats remove [a man] from heavenly honours. For satiety, and luxurious living in this world, and the multitudes of lustful habits shut the door in our face and prevent us from entering into the happiness of God. Consider now the history of the rich man and Lazarus; what was it that carried Lazarus into the bosom of Abraham? Was it not the immeasurable troubles among which he had been brought up? And what brought the rich man to Gehenna? Was it not the pleasures and lusts which were flaming within his body? Each one of us, then, according to his measure, by the nod of the fire of his person which is found with him, shall receive his deserts in the world which is to come; and each one of us, unless he be watchful, shall be shaken up with the wood, and the straw, and the stubble. And since it is necessary for us to extinguish carefully the lusts which bestir themselves in us, we have need [to drink] water, and not wine.”
380. An old man used to say, “True obedience is like unto a chaste woman who is betrothed, and who is not drawn aside after strange voices; and the ear which turneth away, ever so little, from the truth, is like an adulterous woman who turneth away from her husband; and the mind which is led by every doctrine of error is like unto a harlot, who obeyeth every one who calleth her. Let us then rebuke the wandering mind which is corrupted by strange voices, and which loveth the voice of its seducer instead of that of the true bridegroom; for it hath accepted to be called by the name of a stranger, and not by that of Christ.”
381. An old man used to say, “If thou hast prayed for thy companion thou hast also prayed for thyself, but if thou hast prayed for thyself only thou hast impoverished thy petition; and if thou hast shown that thy brother hath offended thee, thou hast also shown that thou hast offended thyself. Those prayers, which have not taken their mind with them when they have ascended and gone up, stand outside the door, and it is love which openeth the door before them. The prayer which possesseth not the wings of the spirit to [mount up] on high standeth before the mouth of him that prayeth it, and thinking that it hath flown away he doth not perceive that it remaineth [near him]. Offer with thine offering salt, as it is written (Leviticus ii, 13). Let the love of thy Lord be salt for thy sacrifice, for the sacrifice which hath not salt through His love is despised and rejected before Him.”
382. One of the holy men used to say thus:—“I have passed the whole period of twenty years in striving so that a strange thought might not enter into my heart, and I have seen Satan, until the ninth hour, with his bow stretched ready to shoot an arrow into my heart; and when he could not find an opportunity, he was filled with disgust, and he would depart each day, having been put to shame.”
383. An old man said, “If thou art a [true] penitent thou hast nothing whatsoever to do with these who are in the world.”
384. There was a certain holy man in Egypt who dwelt in the desert, and a little way beyond him was an elder (or priest), who was a Manichean; and this Manichean was obliged to make a journey and to go to one who was of the same faith as himself, and as he was going along the road, he arrived at eventide at the place where the holy man lived, and the Manichean was in great distress, for he had no place near at hand wherein to enter. Now he was afraid to go to the holy man, for he thought that he would recognize him, and would not allow him to enter [his cell]; nevertheless, being sore pressed, and not knowing where [else] to go, he knocked at the door of that holy man; and he opened the door, and the Manichean went in, and the holy man received him with gladness, and he knew who he was, and he urged him to pray, and he relieved all his wants, and the Manichean slept, and was refreshed. And it came to pass during the night that the Manichean came to himself, and said, “How is it that there is nothing which it was seemly to do which this blessed man hath not done for me? Verily this is a man of God.” Then he rose up and fell down at his feet, and said, “From this day onwards I shall believe as thou believest”; and he turned to the truth, and he became a friend of the holy man and lived with him always.