52. Abbâ Jacob used to say, “It is not only words which are required, for in this [life of] time many have abundance of words, but it is work which is required, and it is necessary to have it, and not words wherein there is no work.”
53. One of the old men used to say, “That which is hated by thee do not unto thy companion; if it be hateful to thee for him to calumniate thee, do not thou calumniate any man; if it be hateful to thee to be accused, accuse thou no man; if it be hateful to thee for a man to revile thee, or to treat thee with contempt, or to pluck thee away, or to do any such thing unto thee, do not thou do unto any man anything of the kind. He who is able to perform this commandment is able to redeem his own soul.”
54. “On one occasion I went to Abbâ Muthues, and when I was about to return, I said unto him, ‘I wish to go to the Cells’; and he said unto me, ‘Salute Abbâ John for me.’ Now when I came to Abbâ John, I said unto him, ‘Abbâ Muthues saluteth thee’; and the old man said unto me, ‘Behold, Abbâ Muthues is indeed a man of Israel in whom there is no guile.’ And after one year I went to Abbâ Muthues, and I told him the greeting of Abbâ John; and the old man said unto me, ‘I am unworthy of the old man’s words, but know, if ever thou hearest an old man praising his companion more than himself, that he hath attained unto a great measure of perfection, for it is indeed obedience for a man to praise his companion more than himself.’”
55. A brother asked an old man, and said unto him, “My brother abuseth me, and I cannot bear him any longer; what shall I do? Shall I rebuke him, or shall I speak evil words to him?” The old man said unto him, “Both things are bad, whether a man rebuke him, or whether a man speak unto him evil words”; and the brother said unto him, “And what shall I do? For I cannot endure either.” The old man said unto him, “If thou canst not bear both things, speak to him, but do not rebuke him; but if thou speakest unto him with words of evil, and he listeneth, thou wilt be able to quiet him, saying, ‘I did not say such and such a thing, and it will be possible for the matter which is between you to be healed; but if thou rebuke him to his face, thou wilt make a sore which will be incurable.’”
56. Certain brethren came to Abbâ Anthony that he might tell them about the visions which they used to see, whether they indeed came from devils [or not]; now they had with them an ass, and he died on the road as they were coming, and when they had gone into the presence of the old man, he said unto them straightway, “How was it that your ass died on the road?” And they said unto him, “Whence doth the Abbâ know that our ass is dead?” And Abbâ Anthony said unto them, “The devils shewed me [the matter].” Then they said unto him, “We have come to ask thee questions because we have seen phantoms, and also because on several occasions they have actually become real things, and we want to learn whether we have erred or not”; and the old man shewed them that such phantoms which arise through certain devils cannot be inquired into.
57. They were saying that Abbâ Sylvanus used to sit in secret in a cell with a few chick peas, and he made of them one hundred bundles; and behold, a man came from Egypt leading an ass loaded with bread, and having knocked at the door of his cell, he went in, and set down [the bread], and the old man took these bundles, and loaded them upon the ass, and sent him away.
58. They used to say that when Abbâ Zeno dwelt in a cell in Scete he went forth one night from his cell as if for a purpose, and wandered about; and when he had passed three days and three nights in travelling, being exhausted by toil and hunger, and ready to die, he fell upon the ground. And behold, a youth stood before him carrying some bread and a pitcher of water, and he said unto Abbâ Zeno, “Arise, and eat bread”; and the old man rose up and prayed, thinking that the youth was a phantom. Then the youth answered and said unto him, “Thou hast done well”; and again Abbâ Zeno prayed twice, and three times, and the youth said unto him, “Thou hast done well”; and the old man took the bread and ate. Then afterwards the youth said unto him, “How is it that thou hast gone so far from thy cell? But arise and follow me”; and immediately he found himself in his cell. The old man said unto him, “Come, enter into the cell with me, and make thy prayer,” and as he was going on in front he was swallowed up from his sight.
59. They used to say that a certain brother had such an attack of blasphemy that he was ashamed to speak, and wherever he heard that there were great old men he used to go to them wishing to tell them [about it]; but whenever he had come to one of them he was ashamed to speak to him. Now having gone to the fathers several times, on one occasion Abbâ Poemen saw him, and he perceived that he was full of thoughts, and he was sorry for him; but when the brother would not reveal the matter to him, and he made as if he would pass him by, as soon as the brother had gone a little way from him, the old man said unto him, “How often hast thou come hither to tell me the thoughts which thou hast in thy mind! Yet, when thou comest here, thou findest it hard to tell me. How long wilt thou go on in this manner and be vexed by such thoughts in thy mind? Tell me, my son, what is it that aileth thee?” Then that brother answered, and said unto him, “I am fighting against the devil of blasphemy of God, and though I have often sought [to tell thee] I have been ashamed to do so.” And when he had told him the matter, the face of Abbâ Poemen broke into a smile, and he said unto him, “Be not vexed, O my son, for when this thought cometh to thee, speak thou to it, saying, ‘I have nothing to do with this thought, and my soul desireth it not; let this blasphemy be upon thee, Satan, for nothing in [my] soul desireth it, for the time is short.’” And when that brother heard these things he departed rejoicing.
60. A brother asked an old man, saying, “How is that the soul is obstinate, and that it wisheth not to fear God?” The old man said unto him, “The soul wisheth, O my son, to fear God, but there is no time, for the fear of God belongeth to perfection.”
61. One of the old men used to say, “Be not thou asking for one thing after another, but ask concerning the matter of the war wherein thou art at the time engaged, and when thou hast eradicated that then ask concerning something else; but if when there is in thee one passion, thou settest it aside and askest about another, the former passion will never be eradicated from thee.”
62. A brother asked one of the old men, saying, “What shall I do? for my thoughts wish to wander and go round about by reason of the sight of the fathers.” And the old man answered and said unto him, “If thou seest that thy thoughts wish to go forth by reason of the strictness of the restraint, or through need, make unto thyself a division in thy cell, and thou wilt henceforward seek not to go out; but if thou seest that they wish to go out for the benefit of the soul, go out.”
63. There was a certain brother in the Cells, who, when the service in the church was ended, used to remain until the last and to wait for some one to lead him home; one day, however, when the church was being dismissed, he went out before any one else and ran to his cell, and the priest saw him and marvelled. And when the brother came on the following day, the priest said unto him, “Tell me truly why thou, who hadst been in the habit of going out last, dost now go forth first of all?” and he said, “Up to the present I made a distinction by not boiling any food [on the First Day of the week], and I waited that, peradventure, some one might take me to his cell; on that day, however, before I came [to the church] I boiled a few lentiles, and therefore I departed quickly.” And when the priest heard this he gave a commandment to the brethren in the church that before each man came to the service in the church, he should on the First Day of the week boil some food, by way of making a distinction.
64. The brethren used to tell about a certain old man who had a disciple who, when he sat down to eat, used to put his feet on the table, and although the old man had suffered this war for many years he did not rebuke him. At length, however, he went to another old man, and told him about the brother, and the old man said unto him, “Complete thy love, and send him to me.” Now when the brother came to that old man, at the appointed time for the meal the old man rose up and made ready the table, and as soon as they had seated themselves the brother straightway put his two feet on the table; and the old man said unto him, “Father, it is not good for thee to set thy feet on the table”; and he said unto him, “Forgive me, O my son. Thou hast well said, for it is a sin.” And the brother returned to his master, and told him about [it], and when the old man had learned this he perceived that this matter had been corrected in his disciple. And from that time the brother did not put his feet on the table.
65. A brother asked Abbâ Muthues, saying, “Speak unto me a word whereby I may live.” He said unto him, “Go, entreat God to give thee mourning and meekness of heart, and consider at all times thy sins, and do not judge other people, and make thyself lower than every other man, and have no love for a boy, and no acquaintance with a woman, and no friendship with heretics, and put aside from thee all freedom of speech (or boldness), and restrain both thy tongue and thy belly, and guard thyself somewhat against wine, and if a man speak with thee concerning any matter whatsoever, do not quarrel with him, but if he saith that a thing is good, say ‘Yes,’ and if he say that it is bad, say, ‘Thou knowest.’ This is a meek spirit.”
66. A brother came unto Abbâ Poemen and said unto him, “I have very many thoughts, O father, whereby I am vexed”; and the old man took him out into the air, and said unto him, “Spread out thy skirt, and catch the winds,” and the brother said unto him, “I cannot do this.” The old man said unto him, “Thou canst not do this, neither canst thou prevent thy thoughts from coming, but it belongeth to thee to stand up against them.”
67. The brethren were on one occasion gathered together to Abbâ Joseph, and as they were sitting and asking him questions about their thoughts he said unto them, by way of [affording] them consolation, “This day am I a king, for I have controlled my passions.”
68. A brother asked Abbâ Ammon, saying, “Why is it that a man laboureth in prayer and maketh petitions, and that for which he asketh is not given to him?” The old man said unto him, “Hast thou never heard how Jacob wearied himself for her whom he took to wife, and that he did not obtain her whom he sought, but her whom he did not seek, and how afterwards he worked and toiled more, and finally received her whom he loved? Thus is it with the monk also, for he shall fast and keep vigil, and yet shall not receive that which he asketh; and again, he shall labour with fasting and vigil, and shall receive the gift of grace which he asketh.”
69. One of the old men asked Abbâ Sisoes, saying, “Did Satan persecute the men of olden time as he doth those of to-day?” Sisoes said unto them, “He persecuteth the men of this age especially, because his time hath come.”
70. Abbâ John the Less, who was a young man, and had an elder brother, used to say, “I wanted to be without any care whatsoever, and to be like the angels of God, who do nothing except sing and pray to Him.” And straightway he cast from him the garments which he had on, and went forth to the wilderness, and when he had passed one week there, he returned to his brother; now when he knocked at the door his brother did not answer it, but asked him, “Who art thou?” And John said unto him, “I am John,” and his brother answered and said unto him, “John hath become an angel and is no longer among men”; and John entreated him, saying, “I indeed am John,” but his brother left him outside in affliction, and did not open the door until the morning. And when he came to open the door he said unto John, “If thou art indeed a man, it is necessary for thee to work so that thou mayest live.”
71. Abbâ Pûrtê said, “If God wisheth me to live, He knoweth how to lead me, and to strengthen me, and to provide for me; but if He desireth it not unto whom shall I go to live?” And he would accept nothing from any man, not even when he was lying upon his bed, “For,” he used to say, “if a man maketh an offering of any kind to me, and not for the sake of God, I myself have nothing whatsoever to give him, and he will receive nothing from God, for I am not in the place of God, so therefore he who offereth will suffer loss.”
72. Abbâ Poemen used to say, “Everything which ariseth through passion is sin”; and he used to say also, “Every [exercise of] power which is for God’s sake, is thanksgiving (or confession).”
73. An old man used to say, “Acquire silence, and take no care for any earthly thing, and examine closely thy meditations, and when thou sleepest and when thou risest up, be with God, and fear not the attack of the wicked.”
74. On one occasion a brother came to a father, and said unto him, “Abbâ, I sow a field, and I reap the harvest therefrom, and I give alms also thereof”; and the old man said unto him, “Be strong, my son, for thou doest well.” So the brother went away rejoicing in this desire. And Abbâ Job said unto Abbâ Poemen, “Since thou hast spoken unto that brother in this fashion, [I know that] thou dost not fear God.” Then, after two days, Abbâ Poemen sent and called that brother, and said unto him whilst Abbâ Joseph was listening, “What didst thou say to me when thou camest to me, for my mind was occupied in another place?” The brother said unto him, “I sow a field, and I reap the harvest therefrom, and I give alms also thereof”; and Abbâ Poemen said unto him, “I thought in my mind that it was thy brother, who is in the world, of whom thou wast speaking when thou didst tell me that he did these things; but if it be thou thyself who doest them [I must say] that it is not the work for monks.” And when the brother heard these [words] he was grieved, and he said, “I cannot do without sowing, for I know not how to do any other work but this.” Now when that brother had departed, Abbâ Job expressed his contrition to Abbâ Poemen, and said unto him, “Forgive me.” Then Abbâ Poemen said unto him, “I also knew that this work was not the works of monks, but, according to the measure of his desire, I gave him that wherewith I knew he would be edified, and I knew that he would thus abound in love; but now he hath departed in sorrow.”
75. Mother Sarah said, “If I were to pray to God that all men might be built up through me I should be found expressing contrition at the door of each one of them; but I pray to God especially that my heart may be pure with Him and with every man.”
76. Certain brethren, whilst talking to an old man about the thoughts, said unto him, “Our hearts are hard, and we are not afraid of God; what shall we do that we may fear God?” The old man said unto them, “I think that if a man have knowledge in his heart about Him that will rebuke him, it will bring him to the fear of God.” Then the brethren said unto him, “What is the rebuke?” The old man said, “In every matter a man should rebuke himself, saying, ‘Remember that thou art about to go forth to meet God.’ And he should also say, ‘What do I require from man?’ And I think that if a man remain in these things the fear which is in God will come to him.”