BOOK 4
On Self-Control (continence)

LIBELLUS QUARTUS.
De continentia.

   1. Some brothers from Scete wanted to visit Abba Antony, and embarked in a ship to go there. In the ship they found an old man who also wanted to go to Antony, but they did not know him. During the voyage they talked about the sayings of the Fathers, and the Scriptures, and then the work of their hands. But the old man was silent through it all. When they came to the landing-place, they saw that the old man also was preparing to go up to Abba Antony. When they arrived, Abba Antony said to them: “You found good company on your journey in this old man.” And he said to the old man: “You found good companions in these brothers.” The old man said: “Yes, they are good, but their house has no door. Whoever wants, goes into the stable and steals the donkey.” He said this because they uttered the first thing that came into their heads.

      1. Fratres aliqui volentes venire ad abbatem Antonium de loco Scythi, ingressi sunt navem, ut irent  ^[0864D] ad eum; et invenerunt in ipsa navi senem, qui idem ad Antonium ire volebat. Ignorabant autem fratres eum. Et sedentes in navi loquebantur sermonen Patrum, et de Scripturis, et rursus de opere manuum suarum. Ille autem senex per omnia tacebat. Cum autem venissent ad portum, agnoverunt et ipsum senem proficisci ad abbatem Antonium. Cum autem venissent ad eum, dicit eis abbas Antonius: Bonum comitem itineris invenistis senem hunc. Dixit autem et seni: Bonos fratres invenisti tecum, abba. Dixit ei senex: Boni sunt quidem, sed habitatio eorum non habet januam. Quicunque vult, intrat in stabulum, et solvit asinum. Hoc autem dicebat quia quodcunque eis ascendebat in cor, in ore loquebantur.

   2. Abba Daniel said of Abba Arsenius that he used to spend all night watching. He would stay awake all night, and about dawn when nature seemed to force him into sleep, he would say to sleep: “Come, you wicked servant,” and he would snatch a little sleep still sitting: and at once rose up.

 ^[0865A] 2. Dicebat abbas Daniel de abbate Arsenio, quia noctem vigilans pertransiret  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 211) . Tota enim nocte vigilabat, et quando volebat circa mane propter ipsam naturam dormire, dicebat somno: Veni, serve male, 568 et subripiebat parum somni sedendo; et statim surgebat.

   3. Abba Arsenius said: “An hour’s sleep is enough for a monk: that is, if he is a fighter.”

      3. Dicebat abbas Arsenius: Sufficit monacho, si dormierit unam horam, si tamen pugnator est.

   4. Abba Daniel said of him: “All the years he stayed with us, we gave him a little enough measure of food for the year. And every time we came to visit him, he shared it with us.”

      4. Dicebat de eo abbas Daniel: Quia tantis annis mansit nobiscum, et mensuram parvam victus dabamus ei in anno: et quoties veniebamus, exinde comedebamus et nos.

   5. He said also, that he only changed the water for the palm-leaves once a year; otherwise he added to it. He would make a plait of the palm-leaves, and weave it till noon. So the elders asked him why he would not change the water for the palm-leaves, which was stinking. And he said to them: “When I was in the world I used incense and sweet-smelling ointments, so now I must profit from this stink.”

      5. Dixit iterum, quod nisi semel in anno non mutabat aquam palmarum, sed tantum adjiciebat  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 39) . Faciebat quoque plectam de ipsis palmis [1] usque ad horam sextam.  ^[0865B] Interrogaverunt ergo eum seniores, cur non mutaret aquam palmarum, quae fetebat. Et dixit eis: Pro thymiamate et odoribus unguentorum, quibus in saeculo usus sum, opus est uti me nunc fetore isto.

   6. He also said this. When he heard that all the apples were ripe, he said: “Bring them to me.” And he took one little mouthful of each kind, giving thanks to God.

      6. Iterum dixit: Quia quando audivit quod maturasset omne genus pomorum, dixit: Afferte mihi. Et gustavit semel tantum parum ex omnibus, gratias agens Deo.

   7. They said of Abba Agatho that for three years he kept a pebble in his mouth, to teach himself silence.

      7. Dicebant de abbate Agathone: Quia per triennium lapidem in ore suo mittebat, donec taciturnitatem disceret.

   8. Once Abba Agatho was going a journey with his disciples. And one of them found a tiny bag of green peas on the road, and said to the old man: “Father, if you command, I will take it.” The old man gazed at him in astonishment, and said: “Did you put it there?” The brother replied: “No.” And the old man said: “How is it that you want to take something which you did not put there?”

      8. Aliquando iter agebat abbas Agathon cum discipulis suis  (Append. mart., n. 6) . Et invenit unus ex eis parvum fasciculum cicerculae viridis in via, et  ^[0865C] dixit seni: Pater, si jubes, tollo illud. Intendit vero senex, admirans, et dicit: Tu illud posuisti? Respondit ei ille frater: Non. Et dixit senex: Quomodo vis tollere, quod non posuisti?

   9. Once an old man came to Abba Achillas, and saw blood dripping from his mouth: and he asked him: “What is the matter, Father?” And the old man said: “A brother came and spoke a word which grieved me, yet I have been trying with all my might to nurse that grievance. And I prayed God that he would take it away, and the word turned into blood in my mouth. Look, I have spat it out, and am now at rest, and have forgotten my grievance.”

      9. Venit aliquando quidam senum ad abbatem Achillem  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 90) , et vidit eum jactantem sanguinem de ore suo, et interrogavit eum, dicens: Quid est hoc, Pater? Et dixit senex: Sermo est cujusdam fratris, qui me contristavit, et omnino conatus sum conservare illud apud me. Et deprecatus sum Deum ut auferretur a me, et factus est sermo ille sanguis in ore meo. Ecce exspui illum, et requievi, et dolorem illum oblitus sum.

   10. Once Abba Achillas came to the cell of Abba Isaiah in Scete, and found him eating. He had put salt and water in his vessel. Seeing that he hid the vessel behind the plaits of palm­leaves, Abba Achillas said: “Tell me what you were eating.” And he answered: “Forgive me, Abba; but I was cutting palms and began to be on fire with thirst. And so I dipped a piece of bread in the salt, and put it in my mouth. But my mouth was parched, and I could not swallow the bread, so I was forced to pour a little water on the salt and then I could swallow it. But forgive me.” And Abba Achillas used to say: “Come and see Isaiah eating broth in Scete. If you want to eat broth, go to Egypt.”

      10. Venit aliquando abbas Achilles in cellam abbatis Isaiae, in loco Scythi, et invenit eum comedentem.  ^[0865D] Miserat enim in catinulo sal et aquam. Videns autem quia abscondit illud post plectas de palmis, dicit illi: Dic mihi quid manducabas? Ille respondit: Ignosce mihi, abba, quia palmas incidebam, et ascendi in cauma 10 : et propterea intinxi modo buccellam in sale, et misi in ore meo; quia exaruerunt fauces meae; et quia non descendebat buccella, quam in ore meo miseram, propterea compulsus sum superfundere modicum aquae in sale, ut vel sic possem glutire: sed ignosce mihi. Et dicebat abbas Achilles: Venite et videte Isaiam comedentem juscellum in Scythi. Si jus manducare vis, vade in Aegyptum.

11. They said of Abba Ammoi that though he was on a bed of sickness for several years, he never relaxed his discipline; and never went into the store-cupboard at the back of his cell to see what he had. Many people brought him presents because he was sick. But even when his disciple, John, went in and out, he shut his eyes so as not to see what he was doing. He knew what it means to be a faithful monk.

      11. Dicebant de abbate Ammoy, quia aegrotaret, et  ^[0866A] in lecto plurimis annis decumbens, nunquam relaxavit animum suum, ut intenderet in interiora cellae suae, et videret quid haberet. Multa enim deferebantur ei velut infirmo; sed introeunte discipulo suo Joanne et exeunte, claudebat oculos suos, ne videret quid faciebat. Sciebat enim quia fidelis monachus esset.

12. Abba Benjamin, who was presbyter in Cellia, said that some brothers went to an old man in Scete and wanted to give him a measure of oil. But the old man said: “Look, there is the little vessel of oil which you brought three years ago. It has stayed there, where you put it.” And Abba Benjamin said: “When we heard it, we marvelled at the old man’s devotion.”

      12. Dixit abbas Benjamin, qui erat presbyter in Cellis, quia cum applicuisset in Scythi ad quemdam senem, et voluisset ei dare modicum olei, ille ei dixerit: Ecce ubi jacet illud parvulum vasculum quod attulisti mihi ante tres annos; et quomodo posuisti illud, sic remansit. Audientes autem nos admirati sumus conversationem senis.

13. They told a story of Abba Dioscorus of Namisias,6 that his bread was made of barley, and his gruel of lentils. And every year he made one particular resolution: not to meet anyone for a year, or not to speak, or not to taste cooked food, or not to eat any fruit, or not to eat vegetables. This was his system in everything. He made himself master of one thing, and then started on another, and so on each year.

      13. Narraverunt de abbate Dioscoro de Namisias,  ^[0866B] quia panis ei hordeaceus erat, et farina lenticulae, per singulos annos ponebat sibi legem cujuscunque unius observantiae: id est, aut non occurrere uno anno alicui, aut non loqui, aut non gustare aliquid coctum, aut non comedere aliquid pomorum, aut olera, et in omni opere suo ita faciebat. Et perficiens unumquodque sic aliud assumebat, et hoc per annos singulos faciebat.

14. Abba Evagrius said that an old man said: “I cut away my fleshly pleasures, to remove the opportunities of anger. For I know that it is because of pleasure that I have to struggle with anger, and trouble my mind, and throw away my under­standing.”

      14. Dixit abbas Evagrius, quia dixerit senex: Propterea amputo a me delectationes carnales, ut etiam iracundiae occasiones abscindam. Scio enim eam semper adversum me pugnare pro delectationibus, et conturbare mentem meam, et intellectum meum expellere.

15. Once Epiphanius the bishop from Cyprus sent a message to Abba Hilarion, and asked him: “Come, that I may see you before I die.” And when they had met and greeted each other, part of a fowl was set before them. The bishop took it and gave it to Abba Hilarion. And the old man said to him: “Forgive me, Father. From the time I took my habit, I have eaten nothing that has been killed.” And Epiphanius said to him: “From the time I took my habit, I have let none go to sleep who still had something against me, and I have never gone to sleep with an enemy in the world.” And the old man said to him: “Forgive me. Your devotion is greater than mine.”

      15. Misit aliquando Epiphanius episcopus Cyprius  ^[0866C] ad abbatem Hilarionem, rogans eum, et dicens: Veni, ut nos videamus, antequam de corpore exeamus. Qui cum venissent adinvicem, manducantibus eis allatum est de avibus quiddam; quod tenens episcopus, dedit abbati Hilarioni. Et dicit illi senex: Ignosce mihi, Pater, quia ex quo accepi habitum istum, non manducavi quidquid occisum. Et dixit ei Epiphanius: Ego autem ex quo accepi habitum istum, non dimisi aliquem dormire qui habebat aliquid adversum me, neque ego dormivi aliquid habens adversum aliquem. Et dicit ei senex: Ignosce mihi, quia tua conversatio major est mea.

16. They said of Abba Helladius that he lived twenty years 6 Wallis Budge, Paradise, ii, no. 76, p. 18. in Cellia, and did not once lift his eyes upward to see the roof of the church.7

      16. Dicebant de abbate Elladio [(11) ^[0988A] Elladio.] Veteres editiones, Palladio.]  quia fecerit viginti annos in cella, et non levaverit oculos suos sursum, ut videret tectum ejus.

17. Once Abba Zeno was walking in Palestine; and when he had finished his work, he sat down to eat near a cucumber plant. And his soul tried to persuade him, saying: “Pick one of those cucumbers for yourself, and eat it. What does it matter?” And he replied to his temptation: “Thieves go down to tor­ment. Test yourself then to see whether you can bear torment.” So he rose and stood in the sun for five days, without drinking, and dried himself in the heat. And his soul (so to say) spoke to him: “I cannot bear torment.” So he said to his soul: “If you cannot bear torment, do not steal to get a meal.”

 ^[0866D] 569    17. Abbas Zenon ambulans aliquando in Palaestina  (Ruff., lib. II, num. 7) , cum laborasset, resedit ut manducaret juxta cucumerarium. Suadebat autem ei animus suus dicendo: Tolle tibi unum cucumerem, et manduca. Quantum autem est? Qui respondens cogitationi suae dixit: Fures ad tormenta vadunt. Proba ergo teipsum in hoc, si potes ferre tormenta. Qui consurgens stetit in cauma quinque diebus, et defrigens seipsum in sole, dicebat quasi animus ejus ad seipsum: Non possum ferre tormenta. Dixit ergo ad animum suum: Si non potes portare tormenta, ergo non rapias ut manduces.

18. Abba Theodore said: “The monk’s body grows weak with eating little bread.” But another elder said: “It grows weaker with watching in the night.”

      18. Dixit abbas Theodorus [Al., Theodotus]: Inopia panis tabefacit monachi corpus. Alter autem  ^[0867A] quidam senior dicebat: Quia vigiliis plus tabescit corpus.

19. Abba John the Short said: “If a king wants to take a city whose citizens are hostile, he first captures the food and water of the inhabitants of the city, and when they are starving subdues them. So it is with gluttony. If a man is earnest in fasting and hunger, the enemies which trouble his soul will grow weak.”

      19. Dixit abbas Joannes brevis staturae: Quia si voluerit rex aliquis civitatem inimicorum tenere, prius aquam tenet et escas eorum qui sunt in civitate, et fame periclitantes tunc subjiciuntur ei; ita est et passio ventris. Si in jejunio et fame conversetur homo, inimici ejus, qui sollicitant animam ipsius, infirmantur  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 66, nomine Moysis) .

20. He also said: “As I was climbing up the road which leads to Scete, carrying plaits of palms, I saw a camel-driver who talked to me and annoyed me. And I dropped what I was carrying, and ran away.”

      20. Dixit iterum: Quia ascendens aliquando per viam, quae ducit ad Scythi, cum plectis de palmis, vidi camelarium loquentem, et commoventem me ad furorem. Et ego dimisi quod portabam, et fugi  (Append. Mart., num. 12) .

21. Said Abba Isaac the presbyter of Cellia: “I know a brother who was harvesting and wanted to eat an ear of wheat. And he said to the owner of the field: ‘Will you let me eat one ear?’ And when he heard it, he wondered, and said: ‘The whole field is yours, Father, why do you ask me?’ So scrupulous was that brother.”

      21. Dixit abbas Isaac presbyter Cellarum: Scio  ^[0867B] fratrem metentem in agro, qui voluit manducare spicam tritici. Et dixit domino agri: Vis manduco unam spicam? Ille audiens miratus est, et dixit ei: Tuus est ager, Pater, et me interrogas? In tantum autem scrupulosus erat memoratus frater.

22. One of the brothers asked Abba Isidore the priest of Scete: “Why are the demons so violently afraid of you?” And the old man said: “Ever since I became a monk, I have been trying not to let anger rise as far as my mouth.”

      22. In terrogavit quidam fratrum abbatem Isidorum seniorem Scythi  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 89, nomine Isaac) , dicens: Quare te sic fortiter daemones timent? Dixit ei senex: Ex quo factus sum monachus, studeo ne permittam iracundiam usque ad fauces meas ascendere.

23. He said also that though he felt in his mind impulses towards the sins of concupiscence or anger, he had not con­sented to them for forty years.

      23. Dixit iterum qui supra quadraginta annos esse ex quo sentiret quidem motum peccati in mente sua, nunquam tamen consentiret neque concupiscentiae neque iracundiae.

24. Abba Cassian told a story of an AbbaJohn who went to see Abba Paesius who had lived for forty years in the deep desert. And because he had much charity towards him, he asked him with the confidence born of charity: “You have been isolated so long, and cannot easily suffer any trouble from man—tell me, what progress have you made?” And he said: “From the time I began to be a solitary, the sun has never seen me eating.” And AbbaJohn said to him: “Nor me angry.”

 ^[0867C]         24. Narravit abbas Cassianus de quodam abbate Joanne quia fuerit apud abbatem Esium [(12) ^[0988A] Esii.] Apud Cassianum, lib. V Instit., capite 27, est Paesius vel Phesius.]  in summitate eremi habitantem, per annos quadraginta [1 ^[0867D] Apud Cassian., lib. V Instit., c. 27. Simile supra, l. IV, c. 5.] ; et quia habebat circa ipsum multam charitatem, et per hanc charitatis fiduciam interrogavit eum, dicens: Tanto tempore sic remotus, et a nullo hominum molestiam patiens facile, dic mihi, quid profecisti? Et ille dixit: Ex quo coepi solitarius esse, nunquam me vidit sol manducantem. Dixit autem ei abbas Joannes: Nec me irascentem.

25. He said also: “Abba Moses told us what Abba Serapion said to him: ‘While I was still a lad, I was staying with Abba Theonas; and after each meal I was moved by some demon and stole one of the rolls of bread, and secretly ate it, Theonas knowing nothing of the matter. For some time I went on with this, until the sin began to dominate my mind, and I could not stop myself. Only my conscience judged me, for I was ashamed to say anything to the old man. But by God’s mercy it happened that some visitors came to the old man in search of profit to their soul, and they asked him about their own thoughts. The old man replied: “Nothing harms the monk so much, and gives such happiness to the demons, as when he conceals his thoughts from his fathers in the spirit.” And he also talked to them about self-control. And while he was speaking, I thought to myself that God had revealed to him what I had done. Stricken in my heart, I began to weep: then I pulled the roll of bread out of my dress, threw myself on the floor, and begged forgiveness for what I had done, and for prayer that I might be helped not to do it again.

      25. Dixit iterum: Quia narravit nobis abbas Moyses, quod ei abbas Serapion dixit: Quia dum essem juvenis, et sederem cum abbate meo Theona et manducaremus, surgens a refectione, secundum opera diaboli rapui unum panem paximatem [(13) ^[0988A] Panem paximatem.] Alias, paxamatem. Panis  ^[0988B] erat certo pondere in refectionem monachorum in Aegypto. Vide Onomasticon.] , et manducavi  ^[0867D] eum occulte, nesciente abbate meo [2 ^[0868D] Cassian., collat. II, cap. 11. Supra, l. IV, cap. 47.] . Cum ergo perseverarem aliquanto tempore hoc faciens, coepit mihi ipsum vitium dominari, et non praevalebam meipsum retundere; sed solummodo adjudicabar a propria conscientia, et seni dicere confundebar. Contigit autem, secundum dispensationem misericordis Dei, ut quidam venirent ad senem utilitatis animae suae causa, et interrogabant eum de propriis cogitationibus. Respondens autem senex, dixit: Quia nihil sic noxium est monachis, et laetificat daemones, quomodo si celent cogitationes suas spiritualibus Patribus. Locutus est autem eis et de continentia. Et  ^[0868A] cum haec dicerentur, cogitans ego quia Deus revelavit seni de me, compunctus coepi flere, ejeci paximatem de sinu meo, quem male consueram rapere, et prosternens me in pavimento, postulabam de praeteritis veniam, et orationem pro cautela futurorum.

Then the old man said: “My son, you are freed from your captivity though I have said nothing. You are freed by your own confession. The demon which by your silence you let dwell in your heart, has been killed because you confessed your sin. You let him rule you because you never said him nay, never rebuked him. Henceforth he shall never make a home in you, because you have thrown him out of doors into the open air.” The old man had not finished speaking, when his words were visibly fulfilled—something like a flame shot out of my breast and so filled the house with its stench, that the people present thought it was burning sulphur. And the old man said: “My son, see the sign, whereby the Lord has proved that I have spoken truly and you are free.” ‘ “

Tunc dixit senex: O fili, liberavit te de captivitate ista, etiam me tacente, confessio tua, et daemonem tenebrantem cor tuum per taciturnitatem nunc adversum teipsum confitendo interfecisti, quem hactenus dominari tibi permiseras, neque contradicens, neque aliquo modo increpans eum. Amodo autem nequaquam locum habebit in te, quippe qui ex corde tuo excussus est in aperto. Necdum autem finito sermone senis, ecce opere, quod dixit, apparuit, quia velut lampada ignis egressa est de sinu meo, et implevit  ^[0868B] totam domum fetido odore, ita ut putarent qui aderant, quia sulphuris plurimum fuisset incensum. Et dixit senex: O fili, ecce verborum meorum et liberationis tuae per signum quod factum est, praestitit Dominus documentum.

26. They said of Abba Macarius that if he was called among the brothers, he made a rule for himself thus: if wine could be had, he used to drink it for the brothers’ sake: and then, for one cup of wine he would go without water for a whole day. And the brothers, wanting to refresh him, used to give him wine. And the old man took it with joy, so as later to crucify himself. But his disciple, knowing the reason, said to the brothers: “For God’s sake, I beg you, do not give it him. In the cell afterwards he tames himself with torments.” When the brothers knew it, they gave him no more wine.

      26. Dicebant de abbate Macario, quia si vacavit inter fratres, ponebat sibi terminum, ut quando inveniebatur vinum, et propter fratres bibebat, et pro uno calice vini, die integra aquam non bibebat  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 53) . Et fratres quidem volentes eum recreare, dabant ei vinum. Sed et senex cum gaudio sumebat, ut semetipsum postea cruciaret. Discipulus autem ejus sciens causam, dicebat fratribus: Propter Deum rogo, ne detis ei, quia in cella postea se cruciatu domat. 570 Quod cognoscentes fratres,  ^[0868C] ultra ei vinum non dederunt.

27. Abba Macarius the Great said to the brothers in Scete after service in church: “Flee, my brothers.” And one of the brothers said to him: “Father, where have we to flee beyond this desert?” And he put his finger upon his lips and said: “I tell you, this you must flee.” And so he entered his cell, and shut the door, and dwelt alone.

      27. Abbas Macarius major in Scythi dicebat fratribus: Post missas ecclesiae, fugite, fratres. Et dicit ei unus fratrum: Pater, ubi habemus fugere amplius a solitudine ista? Et ponebat digitum suum in ore suo, dicens: Istud est quod fugiendum dico. Et sic intrabat in cellam suam, et claudens ostium sedebat solus.

28. Abba Macarius said also: “If when you want to reprove someone you are stirred to anger, you are pandering to your own passion. Lose not yourself to save another.”

      28. Dixit item abbas Macarius: Si aliquem increpare volens ad iracundiam commoveris, propriam passionem imples; non enim ut alium salves, teipsum perdas.

29. Said Abba Poemen: “Unless Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had come, the temple of the Lord would not have been burnt. And unless greed brought idleness into the soul, the mind would not fail in its fight against the enemy.”

      29. Dixit abbas Pastor: Nisi Nabuzardan archimagirus venisset, non concrematum fuerat templum Domini igne  (IV Reg. XXV) ; ita et nisi quies gulae et  ^[0868D] ventris venerit in animam, nequaquam mens corruit, pugnans contra inimicum 

30. They said of Abba Poemen that when he was invited to eat and did not want to go, he went weeping, and praying that he might obey his brothers and not sadden them.

      30. Dicebant de abbate Pastore, quia dum vocatus fuisset ad manducandum, contra voluntatem suam ibat lacrymando, ne inobediens esset fratribus suis, et contristaret eos  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 149) .

31. They told Abba Poemen that a certain monk did not drink wine. And he said to them: “Wine is not for monks at all.”

      31. Narraverunt quidam abbati Pastori de quodam monacho, qui non bibebat vinum. Et dixit eis: Quia vinum monachorum omnino non est.

31A. Abbe Poemen also said: “All rest of the body is an abomination to the Lord.”

31B. Abba Poemen also said: “The only way to humble the soul is by eating less bread.”

31C. He also said that if a man remembered the word of Scripture “out of thy mouth thou shalt be justified and out of thy mouth shalt thou be condemned” 1s he would more and more choose not to speak.

31D- He also said that a monk asked Abba Pambo if it is good to praise your neighbour. And he answered: “It is a greater good to hold your peace.”

3IE. A monk asked Abba Poemen: “How should I behave in my common life among the brothers?” The old man said to him: “He who lives among the brothers ought to regard them as though they were but one person, and to keep guard over his mouth and eyes; and so he will be able to win peace of mind.”

32. Abba Poemen also said: “They smoke out bees to steal away their honey. And so idleness drives the fear of God from the soul, and steals away good works.”

      32. Dixit iterum abbas Pastor: Quia sicut fumo expelluntur apes ut tollatur dulcedo operis earum,  ^[0869A] ita et corporalis quies timorem Domini expellit ab anima, et aufert ab ea omne opus bonum.

33. One of the old men told this story of Abba Poemen and his brothers, who lived in Egypt. Their mother wanted to see them, and could not. So she looked out for her chance, and pre­sented herself in front of them as they were going to church. The moment they saw her, they turned, went to their cell, and shut the door in her face. But she stood at the door and screamed and besought them in her misery. Abba Anub, hearing her, went to Abba Poemen and said: “What shall we do about the little old woman who is crying outside the door?” Abba Poemen rose up, and went to the door, and stood just inside and heard her beseeching them miserably. And he said: “What are you screaming for, old woman?” When she heard his voice, she cried out the more and implored them: “I want to see you, my sons. Why should I not see you? Am I not your mother? Have I not given you milk at the breast, and now every hair of my head is grey? When I hear your voice, I am in distress.” The old man said to her: “Do you want to see us in this world or the next?” She said to him: “If I do not see you in this world, shall I see you in the next, my sons?” He said: “If you can suffer, with a calm spirit, not to see us here, you shall see us there.” And so the woman went away happy, and saying: “If I shall truly see you there, I do not want to see you here.”

      33. Narravit quidam senum de abbate Pastore et fratribus ejus, qui habitarent in Aegypto  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 154) . Et cum desideraret mater eorum videre eos, et non posset, observavit una die; et euntibus illis ad ecclesiam, obtulit se eis. Illi autem videntes eam, converterunt se ad cellam, et intrantes clauserunt ostium in faciem ejus. Illa autem ad ostium stans, clamabat, plorans cum nimia miseratione. Audiens autem eam abbas Anub, intravit ad abbatem Pastorem, dicens: Quid faciemus vetulae isti, ita ante ostium flenti? Surgens autem abbas Pastor, venit ad ostium, et intro stans, audivit eam plorantem miserabiliter nimis; et dixit: Quid sic  ^[0869B] clamas, vetula? Illa autem cum vocem ejus audisset, multo magis clamabat, plorans et dicens: Volo vos videre, filii mei. Quid est enim si videro vos? nunquid non sum mater vestra? aut non ego lactavi vos, et tota sum jam canis plena? Sed et audiens vocem tuam, turbata sum. Dicit ei senex: Hic nos vis videre, an in illo saeculo? Dicit ei: Et si non videro vos hic, videbo vos illic, filii? Dicit ei: Si potes aequanimiter ferre, ut hic nos non videas, videbis nos illic. Et ita discessit mulier, gaudens, et dicens: Si omnino visura vos ero illic, nolo vos videre hic.

34. They said of Abba Pior that he ate while walking about. And when someone asked him why he ate in this manner, he replied that he did it casually, as if there were no need of it. But when someone else asked the same question, he replied: “So that my soul does not receive bodily pleasure from eating.”

      34. Dicebant de abbate Pior, quia ambulando comederet  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 31) . Et interrogante eum quodam quare sic manducaret, respondit se non hoc velut opus aliquod agere, sed velut quiddam superfluum  ^[0869C] uti. Alii autem de hoc interroganti respondit: Ut non vel in comedendo corporalem delectationem habeat anima.

35. They said of Abba Peter, named Pyonius, who was in Cellia, that he did not drink wine. And when he grew old, they asked him to take a little wine. When he refused, they warmed some water, and offered it to him. And he said: “Believe me, my sons, I drink it as though it was spiced wine.” And he declared that he was content with warm water.

      35. Dicebant de abbate Petro, cognomento Pyonio, qui erat in Cellis, quia vinum non bibebat. Quando autem senuit, rogabant eum ut sumeret modicum vini. Qui cum non acquiesceret, tepefaciebant aquam, et ita ei offerebant, et dicebat: Credite mihi, filii, quia velut pro condito illud accipio. Et adjudicavit se tepida aqua esse contentum.

36. Once they celebrated a great service on the mountain of Abba Antony, and a little wine was found there. One of the elders took a small cup, and carried it to Abba Sisois, and gave it him. And he drank it. And a second time Abba Sisois received it, and drank it. And the elder offered it a third time. But he did not receive it, and said: “Stay, brother, do you not know that Satan still exists?”

      36. Facta est aliquando celebratio missarum in monte abbatis Antonii, et inventum est ibi modicum vini. Et tollens unus de senioribus parvum calicem, portavit ad abbatem Sisoi, et dedit ei; et bibit semel;  ^[0869D] et secundo accepit, et bibit: attulit etiam ei tertio; sed non accepit, dicens: Quiesce, frater, an nescis quia Satanas est?

37. A brother asked Abba Sisois: “What am I to do? When I go to church, out of charity the brothers often make me stay to the meal afterwards.” The old man said to him: “That is burdensome.” So Abraham his disciple said to him: “If in the meeting at church on Saturday and Sunday, a brother drinks three cups, is it much?” And the old man said: “If there were no Satan, it would not be much.”

      37. Frater quidam interrogavit abbatem Sisoi, dicens: Quid facio? quia cum occurro ad ecclesiam, frequenter fratres pro charitate ad cibum retinent me. Dixit ei senex: Onerosa res est. Dicit ergo Abraham discipulus ejus: Si occurritur in Sabbate et Dominica ad ecclesiam, et biberit frater tres calices, ne multum est? Et dixit senex: Si non esset Satanas, non esset multum.

38. Often the disciple used to say to Abba Sisois: “Rise, Abba, let us eat.” And he would say: “Have we not eaten already, my son?” And the disciple would reply: “No, Father.” The old man used to say: “If we have not eaten yet, bring the food, let us eat.”

      38. Frequenter dicebat abbati Sisoi discipulus: Surge, abba, manducemus. Ille autem dicebat: Quia adhuc non manducavimus, fili? Et ille respondebat:  ^[0870A] Non, pater. Dicebat autem senex: Si necdum manducavimus, affer, manducemus.

39. Abba Sisois once said with confidence: “Believe me, for thirty years I have not been in the habit of praying to God about sin. But when I pray, I say this: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, protect me from my tongue.’ And even now, it causes me to fall every day.”

      39. Dixit aliquando cum fiducia abbas Sisoi: Crede, quia ecce triginta annos habeo quod non deprecor Deum propter peccatum, sed orans hoc dico: Domine Jesu Christe, protege me a lingua mea. Et usque nunc per singulos dies corruo per ipsam [(14) ^[0988B] Corruo per ipsam.] Parisiensis editio: curo opera ipsa. Non recte.]  et delinquo.

40. Once Abba Silvanus and his disciple Zacharias came to a monastery. And the monks made them sup a little before they went on their way. And when they departed, the disciple found a pool by the wayside and wanted to drink. Abba Silvanus said: “Zacharias, today is a fast.” And Zacharias said: “Have we not already eaten today, Father?” The old man said to him: “To eat that meal was charity: but as for us, let us keep our fast, my son.”

      40. Venerunt aliquando abbas Silvanus et discipulus ejus Zacharias ad quoddam monasterium, et fecerunt eos gustare modicum antequam ambularent  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 46) . Et exeuntibus eis, invenit discipulus ejus aquam in via, et volebat bibere. Dixit abbas Silvanus: Zacharia, jejunium est hodie. Cui ille dixit: Non manducavimus hodie, Pater? Dixit ei  ^[0870B] senex: Illud manducare, charitas fuit, nos autem teneamus jejunium nostrum, fili.

41. The holy Syncletice said: “We who have chosen this holy way ought above all to keep chastity. Even among men of the world chastity is regarded. But in the world they are also stupid about it, and sin with their other senses. For they peep in­decently, and laugh immoderately.”

571          41. Dixit sancta Syncletica: Quia oportet nos, qui hujusmodi propositum sumpsimus, castitatem, quae summa est, retinere. Etenim apud saeculares videtur castitas observari: sed adest ei et stultitia, propter quam aliis omnibus sensibus peccant; nam et aspiciunt indecenter, et rident inordinate.

42. She said also: “Animal’s poison is cured by still stronger antidotes; So fasting and prayer drive sordid temptation from

      42. Dixit iterum quae supra: Quia sicut venenosa animalia acriora medicamenta a se expellunt, ita cogitationem sordidam jejunium cum oratione depellit ab anima.

43. She also said: “The pleasures of the wealthy world must not seduce you, as if those pleasures were useful. Because of this pleasure they honour the art of cooking. But by rigorous fasting, you should trample on those pleasures. Never be sated with bread, nor want wine.”

      43. Dixit iterum: Non te seducant divitum hujus saeculi deliciae, tanquam utile aliquid habentes in se. Etenim illi delectationis causa artem diverso modo  ^[0870C] condiendi cibos honorant; tu autem jejunio et abjectione ciborum abundantiam deliciarum illorum supergredere; sed nec satieris pane, nec desideres vinum

44. Abba Sisois said: “Our form of pilgrimage is keeping the mouth shut.”

      44. Dixit abbas Sisoi: Quia peregrinatio nostra est, ut teneat homo os suum  (Pasch., c. 32, num. 4; Append. Mart., num. 72) .

45. Said Abba Hyperichius: “Donkeys are terrified of lions. So temptations to concupiscence are terrified of a proved monk.”

      45. Dixit abbas Hyperichius: Quia sicut leo terribilis est onagris, sic monachus probatus cogitationibus concupiscentiae.

46. He also said: “Fasting is the monk’s rein over sin. The man who stops fasting is like a stallion who lusts the moment he sees a mare.”

      46. Dixit iterum: Jejunium frenum est monacho adversus peccatum. Qui autem abjicit jejunium, velut equus fervens desiderio feminae rapitur.

47. He also said: “When the monk’s body is dried up with fasting, it lifts his soul from the depths. Fasting dries up the channels down which worldly pleasures flow.”

      47. Dixit iterum: Siccatum jejunio corpus monachi animam de profundo elevat, et siccat fistulas  ^[0870D] delectationum jejunium monachi.

48. He also said: “The chaste monk shall be honoured on earth, and in heaven shall be crowned in the presence of the Most Highest.”

      48. Dixit iterum: Castus monachus in terra honorabitur, et in coelis corona ab Excelso coronabitur.

49. He also said: “The monk who cannot control his tongue when he is angry, will not control his passions at other times.”

      49. Idem ipse dixit: Monachus, qui non retinet linguam in tempore furoris [(15) ^[0988B] Linguam tempore furoris.] Parisiensis editio: intemperiem roris, nullo sensu.] , neque passionum corporalium retentor erit aliquando.

50. He also said: “Let not thy mouth speak an evil word: the vine does not bear thorns.”

      50. Dixit iterum: Verbum malum non proferat os tuum, quoniam vitis non affert spinas.

5I. He also said: “It is better to eat flesh and drink wine than to eat the flesh of the brothers by disparaging them.”

      51. Dixit iterum: Bonum est manducare carnem et bibere vinum, quam manducare in obtrectatione carnes fratrum  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 134) .

52. He also said: “The serpent murmured to Eve and cast her out of paradise. The man who rails against his neighbour is like the serpent. He loses the soul of him that listens to him, and he does not save his own.”

      52. Dixit iterum: Susurrans serpens ad Evam de paradiso ejecit eam. Huic ergo similis est qui proximo  ^[0871A] suo obloquitur; quoniam et audientis se animam perdit, et suam non salvat.

53. Once there was a feast in Scete, and they gave a cup of wine to an old man. He threw it down, saying: “Take that death away from me.” When the others who were eating with him saw this, they also did not drink.

      53. Facta est aliquando festivitas in Scythi, et dederunt seni in calice vinum; quod abjiciens, dixit: Tolle a me mortem istam. Quod videntes alii qui cum ipso edebant, nec ipsi biberunt.

54. Another time a vessel of wine was brought there from the first fruits of the vintage, so that a cup of it could be given to each of the brothers. And a brother came in and saw that they were drinking wine, and fled up on a roof, and the roof fell in. And when they heard the noise, they ran and found the brother lying half-dead. And they began to abuse him, saying: “It has served you right, for you were guilty of vainglory.” But an abba embraced him, and said: “Leave my son alone, he has done a good work. By the living Lord, this roof shall not be rebuilt in my time, as a reminder to the world that a roof fell in Scete because of a cup of wine.”

      54. Alia vice allatum est ibi vasculum vini de primitiis, ut daretur fratribus ad singulos calices. Et introeunte quodam fratre, et vidente quia vinum acciperent, fugit in crypta, quae crypta cecidit. Et cum audissent sonum, currentes invenerunt fratrem semianimem jacentem, et coeperunt eum objurgare, dicentes: Bene tibi contigit, quia vanam gloriam habuisti. Abbas autem refovens eum, dixit: Dimittite filium meum, bonum opus fecit. Et vivit Dominus  ^[0871B] quia non reaedificabitur crypta haec temporibus meis, ut cognoscat mundus, quia propter calicem vini cecidit crypta in Scythi.

55. Once a priest from Scete went up to see the bishop of Alexandria. And when he came back to Scete the brothers asked him: “How goes the city?” But he said to them: “Believe me, brethren, I saw no man’s face but the bishop alone.” And when they heard this, they wondered, and said: “What do you think has happened to all the population?” They hesitated to believe him. But he cheered them by saying: “I have wrestled with my soul, not to look upon the face of a man.” And so the brothers were edified, and kept themselves from lifting up their eyes.

      55. Ascendit aliquando presbyter de Scythi ad episcopum Alexandrinum. Et quando reversus est in Scythi, interrogaverunt eum fratres: Quomodo est civitas? Ille autem dixit eis: Credite mihi, fratres, ego ibi faciem hominis nullius vidi, nisi tantum episcopi. Illi autem audientes, mirati sunt et dixerunt: Quid putas facta est omnis illa multitudo? Presbyter vero refovit illos haesitantes, dicens: Extorsi animum meum, ne intuerer faciem hominis. Ex qua relatione profecerunt fratres, et custodierunt se ab extollentia oculorum suorum.

56. Once an old man came to another old man. And the second said to his disciple: “Make us a little lentil broth, my son.” And he made it. “Dip the bread in it for us.” And he dipped it. And they went on with their godly discourse till noon next day. Then the old man said to his disciple: “Make us a little lentil broth, my son.” He replied: “I made it yesterday.” And so they rose and ate their food.

      56. Venit aliquando quidam senex ad alium senem.  ^[0871C] Ille autem dixit discipulo suo: Fac nobis modicum lenticulae. Et fecit. Et infunde nobis panes. Et infudit. Et manserunt sic usque ad aliam diem hora sexta, loquentes de spiritualibus rebus. Iterum dixit senex discipulo suo: Fac nobis modicum lenticulae, fili. Ille respondit: Ab hesterno die feci. Et ita surgentes sumpserunt cibum.

57. An old man came to a father, who cooked a few lentils and said: “Let us worship God and eat afterwards.” One of them recited the whole psalter. The other read and meditated upon two of the greater prophets. And in the morning the old man went away, and they forgot to eat their food.

      57. Alter quidam senex venit ad quemdam Patrum. Ille autem coxit modicum lenticulae, et dixit: Faciamus opus Dei, et gustemus. Et unus quidem eorum complevit totum psalterium; alter vero ex corde [(16) ^[0988B] Ex corde.] Gallismus, par coeur, id est memoriter. Sic libello X, num. 91, apud eumdem Pelagium, «ex corde David consummavimus.» Hildegardis  642 in explicatione regulae sancti Benedicti: «Praedictas lectiones ex corde et memoriter, id est, sine libro, quoniam breves sunt, recitabunt.» Sic Graecis ajpoþ sthvqouÿ levgein, et ajposthqivzein.]  duos prophetas majores lectoris ordine recitavit. Et facto mane discessit senex ille qui venerat, et obliti sunt sumere cibum.

58. A brother felt hungry at dawn, and struggled with his soul not to eat till g o’clock. And when g o’clock came, he extracted from himself a resolution to wait till noon. At noon he dipped his bread and sat down to eat—but then rose up again, saying: “I will wait till three.” And at 3 o’clock he prayed, and saw the devil’s work going out of him like smoke; and his hunger ceased.

      58. Esuriit quidam frater a mane, et pugnavit cum animo suo, ne manducaret, donec fieret hora  ^[0871D] tertia  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 4) . Et facta est hora tertia, exegit a se ut fieret sexta. Infudit panem et sedit, ut manducaret. Postea vero surrexit, dicens: Manebo sic usque ad horam nonam. Hora autem nona fecit orationem, et vidit opus diaboli sicut fumum exeuntem a se, et ita cessavit esuries ejus.

59. One of the old men was ill, and for many days could not eat. His disciple asked him to take something and restore his strength. So the disciple went away and made some lentil cake. A jar was hanging in the cell containing a little honey: and there was another jar with evil-smelling linseed oil only used for the lamp. The brother took the wrong jar in error and put grease instead of honey into the mixture. The old man tasted it, and said nothing, but quietly ate the mouthful. The disciple forced him to take a second mouthful. The old man tortured himself and ate it. Yet a third time the disciple pressed it upon him. But he did not want to eat, and said: “Truly, my son, I cannot.” But his disciple encouraged him, and said: “It is good, Abba; look, I keep you company.” When the disciple tasted it and saw what he had done, he fell flat on his face, and said: “Alas, Father! I have killed you, and you have laid this sin upon me because you did not speak.” And the old man said to him. “Be not sad, my son. If God had willed that I should eat honey you would have been given the honey to mix in those buns.”

      59. Infirmatus est quidam senum  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 51) ; et cum non posset sumere cibum multis diebus, rogabatur a discipulo suo ut fieret ei aliquid, et reficeretur. Abiit autem et fecit de farinula lenticulam, et zippulas [(17) ^[0988B] Zippulas.] Ita plerique Manuscripti et Editi. In Vedastino Ms. est pulmentum. Supra, apud Ruffinum, lib. III, n. 51, in hac eadem re, placentas. An zippulae, vel sippulae, vel sipulae a veteri verbo sipando? Vide Onomasticon.] . Erat autem ibi vasculum pendens, in quo erat modicum mellis; et aliud in quo erat raphanelaeum [(18) ^[0988B] Raphanelaeum.] Parisiensis editio: oleum de semine lini expressum. Vetus editio: rafenealion, id  ^[0988C] est lini oleum. Quidni e raphano cum Plinio, lib. XIX, cap. 5. Vide Onomasticon.] , et fetebat, quod tantum ad  ^[0872A] lucernam proficeret. Erravit autem frater, et pro melle de raphanelaeo misit in pulmentum. 572 Senex vero cum gustasset, nihil locutus est, sed tacitus manducavit. Compellebat autem eum adhuc manducare. Et extorquens sibi manducavit, et dabat ei tertio. Ille autem nolebat manducare, dicens: Vere non possum, fili. Discipulus autem hortabatur eum, et dicebat: Bonum est, abba, ecce ego manduco tecum. Qui cum gustasset, et cognovisset quid fecerat, cecidit pronus in faciem, dicens: Vae mihi, Pater, quia occidi te, et tu peccatum hoc posuisti super me, quia non es locutus. Et dixit ei senex: Non contristeris, fili; si voluisset Deus, ut mel manducarem, mel habuisti mittere in zippulas istas.

60. They said of one old man that he sometimes longed to eat cucumber. So he took it and hung it in front of him where he could see it. And he was not conquered by his longing, and did not eat it, but tamed himself, and did penitence that he wanted it at all.

      60. Narraverunt de sene quodam, quia desideravit  ^[0872B] aliquando manducare cucumerem  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 50) . Quem cum accepisset, appendit eum prius ante oculos suos. Et cum non esset victus desiderio, domans seipsum poenitentiam agebat, vel quia omnino desiderasset.

61. Once a brother went to visit his sister who was ill in a nunnery. She was a person full of faith. She herself did not consent to see a man: nor did she want to give her brother occasion to come into the midst of women. So she commanded him thus: “Go, my brother, pray for me. For by Christ’s grace I shall see you in the kingdom of heaven.”

      61. Frater aliquando abiit visitare sororem suam in monasterio aegrotantem  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 33) . Erat autem fidelissima. Et non acquiescens aliquando videre virum, neque occasionem dare fratri suo ut propter illam veniret in medio feminarum, et mandavit fratri suo: Vade, frater, ora pro me, quia cum gratia Christi videbo te in regno coelorum.

62. On a journey a monk met some nuns and when he saw them he turned aside off the road. The abbess said to him: “If you had been a perfect monk, you would not have looked so closely as to see that we were women.”

      62. Monachus occurrit ancillis Dei in itinere quodam. Quibus visis divertit extra viam. Cui dixit abbatissa: Tu si perfectus monachus esses, non respiceres  ^[0872C] nos sic, ut agnosceres quia feminae eramus.

63. Once some brothers went to Alexandria, invited by Arch­bishop Theophilus to be present when after prayer he destroyed a pagan temple. And while they were supping with the arch­bishop, they were served with veal, and ate it without realizing it. And the archbishop took a piece of meat, and gave it to the old man who was reclining next to him, and said: “Look, here is a good piece of meat. Eat it, Abba.” But they answered him: “Till now, we thought we were eating vegetables. If this is meat, we do not eat it.” And not one of them would take another mouthful.

      63. Intraverunt aliquando fratres in Alexandriam, invitati a Theophilo archiepiscopo, ut praesentibus his facta oratione templa destrueret paganorum. Et manducantibus eis cum archiepiscopo, ministratae sunt carnes vitulinae, et manducabant nihil discernentes. Et accipiens archiepiscopus unum copadium [(19) ^[0988C] Copadium.] Parisiensis editio. compadium. Veteres editiones Germanicae in proximo sequenti verbo: capadium, id est stuctlein. Rem exprimit Germanica interpretatio. Scribendum tamen existimo copadium, kopavdion, akovptw, unde Gallis couper. Jam olim tamen videtur etiam compadium lectum. Glossarium Camberonense Ms., Compadium pulmentum dictum quasi companium, eo quod cum pane edatur, N conversa in D. Ita quisque sibi etyma fingebat.] , dedit juxta se recumbenti seni, dicens: Ecce istud bonum copadium est, manduca, abba. Illi autem respondentes dixerunt: Nos usque modo credebamus, quia olera manducaremus. Nam si carnes sunt, non manducamus. Et ultra nemo ex eis acquievit gustare.

64. A brother brought some new bread to Cellia and invited his elders to taste. And when they had each eaten two rolls of bread, they stopped. But the brother knew how austere was their abstinence, and humblv began to beg them: “For God’s sake eat today until you are filled.” And they ate another two rolls. See how these true and self-disciplined monks ate much more than they needed, for God’s sake.

      64. Frater quidam attulit panes recentes in cellam, et invitavit ad mensam seniores. Et cum manducassent  ^[0872D] singulos paximates, pausaverunt. Frater vero sciens laborem abstinentiae eorum, coepit cum humilitate supplicare, dicens: Propter Deum manducate hodie donec satiemini. Et manducaverunt alios denos paximates. Ecce igitur quantum supra quam opus erat, manducaverunt propter Deum veri monachi et simpliciter abstinentes.

65. Once one of the old men lay gravely ill, and was losing a lot of blood from his bowels. And a brother brought him some dry fruit, and made gruel, and offered them to the old man, and asked him: “Eat; perhaps it is good for you.” The old man looked at him for a long time, and said: “In ^*uth, I tell you that I have wanted God to leave me in my sickness for thirty years more.” And in his weakness he absolutely refused to take even a little food; so the brother took away what he had brought, and returned to his cell.

      65. Aegrotavit quidam senum aliquando in magna infirmitate, ita ut de visceribus multum sanguinis egereret. Et attulit quidam frater nixas siccas [(20) ^[0988C] Nixas siccas.] Glossarium Camberonense: Nixa, est genus arboris, a similitudine enixi dicta fructus. Adumbratum hoc ex Isidori Originibus, lib. XVII, cap. 7. Vide Onomasticon.] , et fecit pultes, et misit eas ibi, et obtulit seni, et rogabat eum, dicens: Comede, quia forte expedit tibi. Intuens autem in eum senex diutius, dixit: Vere dico, quia volebam ut me dimitteret Deus in hac infirmitate  ^[0873A] esse alios triginta annos. Et nullo modo acquievit senex in tali aegritudine vel modicum sumere cibum, ita ut tolleret frater quod apportaverat, et rediret ad cellam suam.

66. Another old man had lived in the desert for a long time. And it happened that a brother came to him and found him sickening. He washed his face, and made a meal for him out of what he had brought. And when the old man saw it, he said: “Truly, brother, I had forgotten that men found comfort in food.” And he offered him a cup of wine as well. And when he saw it, he wept, saying: “I hoped I would never drink wine

      66. Alter senex sedebat longe in eremo, et contigit fratrem venire ad eum, et invenire eum infirmantem. Qui lavans ejus faciem, fecit ei refectionem ex his quae attulerat. Quod cum vidisset senex, dixit: Vere, frater, oblitus fueram, quia haberent homines de cibo solatium. Obtulit etiam ei calicem vini. Quod cum vidisset, ploravit, dicens: Non sperabam me usque ad mortem bibiturum vinum.

67. An old man made a resolution not to drink for forty days. And if ever he thirsted he washed a vessel and filled it with water and hung it in front of his eyes. And when the brothers asked him why he was doing this, he replied: “So that if I do not taste what I long for and can see, my devotion will be greater and I shall be granted a greater reward by the Lord.”

      67. Statuit quidam senex ut quadraginta diebus non biberet. Et si quando fiebat cauma, lavabat surisculam  [(21) ^[0988C] Surisculam.] Ita constanter omnes libri. Glossarium Camberonense Ms., Suriscula, vas aquarium. Non recte in Glossis Isidori, apud Bon. Vulcanium, Sirascula, vas aquarium. Lege, suriscula.] , et implebat eam aqua, et appendebat  ^[0873B] eam ante oculos suos. Qui cum interrogaretur a fratribus quare hoc faceret, respondit, dicens: Ut cum videns quod desiderabam, non gustavero, majorem ardorem sustineam, et propter hoc majorem mercedem a Domino consequi merear.

68. On a journey, one brother had with him his mother, who had now grown old. They came to a river, and the old woman could not get across. Her son took off his cloak, and wrapt it round his hands, so as not to touch his mother’s body, and carried her across the river. His mother said to him: “Why did you wrap your hands like that, my son?” He said: “Because a woman’s body is fire. Simply because I was touching you, the memory of other women came into my soul.”

      68. Frater quidam iter agens, habebat secum matrem suam, jam senem. Qui cum venissent ad quemdam fluvium, non poterat vetula illa transire. Et tulit filius ejus pallium suum, et involvit exinde manus suas, ne aliquo modo contingeret corpus matris suae, et ita portans eam transposuit fluvium. Dixit autem ei mater sua: Ut quid sic operuisti manus tuas, fili? Ille autem dixit: Quia corpus mulieris ignis est. Et ex eo ipso quo te contingebam, veniebat mihi commemoratio aliarum feminarum in animo.

69. One of the fathers said that he knew a brother who fasted in his cell the whole of Easter week. And when at last he came to mass on Saturday, he ran away as soon as he had communi­cated, to prevent the other brothers forcing him to join in the dinner in the church. In his own cell he only ate a few boiled beetroots, with salt but without bread.

 ^[0873C]         69. Dicebat quidam Patrum: Quia sciret fratrem in cella jejunantem tota hebdomada Paschae. Et cum Sabbato sero venisset ad missas, communicans mox fugiebat, ne cogeretur a fratribus in ecclesia manducare. Apud se autem tantum modicas betas elixas cum sale manducabat sine pane.

70. At a meeting of the brothers in Scete, they were eating dates. And one of them, who was ill from excessive fasting, brought up some phlegm in a fit of coughing, and unintention­ally it fell on another of the brothers. This brother was tempted by an evil thought and driven to say: “Be quiet, and do not spit on me.” So to tame himself and restrain his own angry thought he picked up what had been spat and put it in his mouth and swallowed it. And then he began to say to himself: “If you say to your brother what will sadden him, you will have to eat what nauseates you.”

      70. Fratres convocati sunt in Scythi, ut manducarent palmas, et erat aliquis infirmus de nimia abstinentia, qui tussiens exscreabat phlegma, quod nolente eo venit super alium fratrem. Qui cum a cogitatione sua compelleretur dicere ei: Quiesce jam, et non exscrees super me, ut superaret cogitationes suas, tulit quod excreaverat, et mittens in ore suo, statim comedit illud. Et 573 tunc coepit ad seipsum dicere: Aut non dicas fratri tuo quod eum contristet,  ^[0873D] aut manduca quod horres.

BOOK 5
On Fornication

LIBELLUS QUINTUS.
De fornicatione.

1. Abba Antony said: “I reckon that the body has a natural movement within itself, which obeys the behest of the soul, a kind of passionless movement of which the body’s actions are but symptoms. And there is a second movement in the body, caused by eating and drinking, whereby the blood is heated and excited. That is why Paul said: ‘Be not drunk with wine, where­in is excess,’ and again the Lord commanded his disciples in the Gospel: ‘See that your hearts be not overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness.” And there is another movement which comes from the craft and envy of demons upon men who are striving to live a good life. Thus it is a help to know that there are three bodily movements—from nature, from plenty of food, and from demons.”

Dixit abbas Antonius: Aestimo quod habeat corpus motum naturalem conspersum in se, qui nolente animo non operatur, sed tantummodo significatur in corpore, quasi impassibilis motus. Est autem et alius motus ex eo, quod nutritur et fovetur corpus cibis et potibus, et ex quibus calor sanguinis excitat corpus ad operandum. Propter quod dicit Apostolus: Nolite inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria  (Ephes. V) . Et rursum Dominus in Evangelio discipulis mandans, dixit: Videte, ne quando graventur corda vestra in crapula et ebrietate  (Lucae XXI) . Est autem et alius  ^[0874A] quidam motus certantibus in conversatione ex insidiis et invidia daemonum veniens. Itaque scire convenit quia tres sunt corporales motus. Unus quidem naturalis; alius autem ex plenitudine ciborum; tertius vero ex daemonibus.

2. Abba Gerontius of Petra said: “Many people who are tempted by bodily delights, do not sin with the body but lust with the mind: they keep their bodily virginity but lust in the soul. It is good then, my beloved, to do what is written: ‘Let everyone keep a close guard upon his heart.’ “ 13

2. Dixit abbas Gerontius Petrensis: Quia multi tentati a corporalibus delectationibus cum non approximarent corporibus, mente fornicati sunt, et corporalem virginitatem servantes, secundum animum fornicantur. Bonum est ergo, dilectissimi, facere quod scriptum est: Omni custodia unumquemque cor suum servare  (Prov. V) .

2A. Abba John the Short said: “The man who eats his fill or talks with a child has already lusted in his mind.”

3. Abba Cassian said: 14 “Abba Moses told us: ‘It is good not to hide the thoughts but to disclose them to discreet and devout old men; but not to men who are old merely in years, for many have found final despair instead of comfort by confessing to men whom they saw to be aged, but who in fact were inexperi­enced.”

3. Dixit abbas Cassianus  (Cassian., collat. II, cap. 10) , quia dixerit nobis abbas Moyses: Bonum est non abscondere cogitationes, sed senibus spiritualibus  ^[0874B] et discretionem habentibus manifestare eas, non his qui tantum tempore senes sunt, quoniam multi ad aetatem respicientes, et cogitationes suas dicentes eis qui experimentum non habebant, pro consolatione ad desperationem ultimam pervenerunt.

4. There was once a brother exceeding careful about seeking goodness.’5 And being sore troubled by the demon of lust, he came to an old man and told him his thoughts. The old man was inexperienced: and when he heard, he was indignant, and said he was a wicked brother, unworthy of his monk’s habit, because he conceived thoughts like that. When the brother heard this, he despaired of himself, and left his cell, and started on his way back to the world. But by God’s providence, Abba Apollos met him. And seeing him disturbed and melancholy, he asked him: “Son, why are you so sad?” The brother, much embarrassed, at first said not a word. But when the old man pressed him to say what was happening to him, he confessed, and said: “It is because lustful thoughts trouble me. I confessed them to that old man, and he says I now have no hope of sal­vation. So I am desperate at myself, and am on my way back to the world.” When Father Apollos heard this, he went on asking questions like a wise doctor, and advised him thus: “Do not be cast down, son, nor despair of yourself. Even at my age and experience of the spiritual life, I am still sorely troubled by thoughts like yours. Do not fail at this point, because this trouble cannot be cured by our efforts, but only by God’s mercy. Grant me what I ask, just today, and go back to your cell.” The brother obeyed him. But Abba Apollos went away to the cell of the old man who had made him desperate. He stood outside the cell, and prayed the Lord with tears, and said: “Lord, who allowest men to be tempted for their good, transfer the war which that brother is suffering to this old man: let him learn by experience in his old age what many years have not taught him, and so let him find out how to sympathize with people undergoing this kind of temptation.” And as soon as he ended his prayer, he saw a negro standing by the cell firing arrows at the old man. As though stricken, he began to totter and lurch like a drunken man. And when he could bear it no longer, he came out of his cell, and set out on the same road by which the young man started to return to the world. Abba Apollos understood what had happened, and met him. He approached him, and said: “Where are you going? And why are you so troubled within?” The old man, seeing that the holy Apollos understood what had happened, was ashamed and said nothing. But Abba Apollos said to him: “Return to your cell, and see your own weakness in another, and keep your own heart. For either you were ignorant of the devil in spite of your age, or you were contemptuous, and did not deserve to struggle for strength with the devil as all other men must. But stnzggle is not the right word, when you could not stand up to his attack for one day. This has happened to you because of the young man. He came to you because he was being attacked by the common enemy of us all. You ought to have given him words of con­solation to help him against the devil’s attack. But instead you drove him to despair. You did not remember the wise man’s saying, whereby we are ordered to deliver the men who are drawn towards death, and not forbear to redeem men ready to be killed. You did not remember our Saviour’s parable: ‘You should not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.’ Not a single person could endure the enemy’s clever attack, nor quench, nor control the leaping fire natural to the body, unless God’s grace preserved us in our weakness. In all our prayers we should pray for his grace to save us, so that he may turn aside the scourge aimed even at you. For he makes a man to grievo, and then lifts him up to salvation: he strikes, and his hand heals: he humbles and exalts, mortifies and enlivens: leads to hell and brings back from hell.” So saying, Abba Apollos prayed again, and at once the old man was freed from his inner war. Abba Apollos urged him to ask God to give him the tongue of the learned, to know the time when it is best to speak.

4. Erat quidam frater omnino in conversatione sollicitus  (Cassian., collat. II, cap. 13) . Et cum male a fornicationis daemone turbaretur, venit ad quemdam senem, et retulit ei cogitationes suas. Ille autem audiens quia expers erat, indignatus est, et miserabilem dicebat esse fratrem illum, et indignum monachi habitu; quippe qui ejusmodi cogitationes reciperet. Haec audiens frater, desperans seipsum, reliquit propriam cellam, et ad saeculum redibat. Secundum vero Dei dispensationem occurrit ei abbas  ^[0874C] Apollo; et videns eum perturbatum, et nimium tristem, interrogavit eum, dicens: Fili, quae est causa tantae tristitiae tuae? Ille autem prius ex multa confusione animi sui non respondit ei quidquam; postea autem cum multum rogaretur a sene, quae circa se agerentur, confessus est, dicens: Quia cogitationes fornicationum inquietant me; quod confessus sum illi seni, et, secundum verba ejus, jam non est mihi spes salutis; desperans ergo meipsum, ad saeculum redeo. Haec autem Pater Apollo audiens, velut sapiens medicus multum rogabat, et monebat eum, dicens: Noli mirari, fili, neque desperes de teipso. Ego enim in hac aetate atque conversatione valde ab hujusmodi cogitationibus inquietor. Ne ergo deficias in hujusmodi occasione, quae non  ^[0874D] tantum humana sollicitudine, quantum Dei miseratione curatur. Tantum hodie dona mihi quod peto, et revertere ad cellam tuam. Fecit autem frater sic. Abbas autem Apollo discedens ab eo perrexit ad cellam illius senis, qui ei desperationem fecerat; et stans foras deprecatus est Dominum cum lacrymis, dicens: Domine, qui tentationes utiliter infers, converte bellum quod patitur frater ille in hoc sene, ut per experimentum in senectute sua discat quod tempore longo non didicit, quatenus compatiatur his qui hujusmodi tentationibus perturbantur. Qui cum orationem complesset, vidit Aethiopem stantem juxta cellam, et sagittas mittentem contra illum senem, quibus quasi perforatus, statim tanquam ebrius a  ^[0875A] vino, huc atque illuc ferebatur. Et cum non posset tolerare, egressus est de cella, et eadem via, qua et ille juvenis ad saeculum redibat. Abbas autem Apollo intelligens quod factum erat, occurrit ei. Et accedens ad eum, dixit: Quo vadis? et quae est causa turbationis quae obtinuit te? Ille autem sentiens, quia intellexerit sanctus vir quae ei evenerant, prae verecundia nihil dicebat. Dixit autem ei abbas Apollo: Revertere in cellam tuam, et de caetero agnosce infirmitatem tuam, et habe apud temetipsum; quia aut ignoratus sis a diabolo usque modo, aut contemptus, propter quod nec meruisti secundum viros virtutum habere contra diabolum luctamenta. Quid autem dico luctamenta? qui nec uno die aggressionem ipsius portare potuisti. Hoc autem tibi contigit, quia juvenem  ^[0875B] illum a communi adversario impugnatum suscipiens, cum debuisses eum contra diabolicum certamen consolatoriis verbis ungere, etiam in desperationem misisti, non cogitans illud sapientissimum praeceptum, quo jubemur eripere eos qui ducuntur ad mortem, et non negligas redimere occidendos  (Prov. XIV) : sed neque parabolam Salvatoris nostri, dicentis  (Matth. XII) : Arundinem quassatam non 574 debere confringi, et linum fumigans non exstingui. Nemo enim ferre posset insidias adversarii, neque bullientis naturae ignem exstinguere vel retinere, nisi gratia Dei conservaret infirmitatem humanam, quem in nobis salutari dispensatione omnibus orationibus Dominum deprecemur, ut et adversum te dimissum flagellum avertat, quoniam ipse et dolere  ^[0875C] facit, et iterum saluti restituit: percutit, et manus ipsius sanat; humiliat et exaltat, mortificat et vivificat, deducit ad inferos et reducit  (I Reg. II) . Haec dicens, orationem implevit, et statim ab illato sibi bello senex ille liberatus est. Quem commonuit abbas Apollo ut peteret sibi a Deo dari linguam eruditam, ut sciret tempus quo oporteat loqui sermonem.

5. When Abba Cyrus of Alexandria was asked about the temptation of lust, he said: “If you are not tempted, you have no hope: if you are not tempted, it is because you are used to sinning. The man who does not fight sin at the stage of tempta­tion, sins in his body. And the man who sins in his body has no trouble from temptation.”

5. De cogitatione fornicationis interrogatus abbas Syrus [Al., Cyrus] Alexandrinus, ita respondit: Si cogitationes non habes, spem non habes; quoniam si cogitationes non habes, opera habes. Hoc autem est, quia qui cogitatione ad ersus peccatum non pugnat, neque contradicit, corporaliter peccat. Qui autem corporaliter peccat, cogitationum molestias nullas  ^[0875D] habet.

6. An old man asked a brother: “Do you often talk with a woman?” And the brother said: “No.” And he went on: “My temptations come from painters old and new, memories of mine which trouble me with their pictures of women.” But the old man said to him: “Fear not the dead, but flee the living—flee from assenting to sin or committing sin, and take a longer time over your prayers.”

6. Interrogavit autem quidam senex fratrem, dicens: Ne consuetudinem habes colloqui mulieri? Et dixit frater: Non. Et ille dixit: Veteres et novi pictores sunt cogitationes meae, et commemorationes quaedam, inquietantes me ex similitudine mulierum. Senex autem dixit ad eum: Mortuos non timeas, sed viventes fuge: hoc est, consensum et opera peccati, et extende magis orationem tuam.

7. Abba Mathois used to say that a brother came and de­clared that the slanderer was worse than the fornicator. And he replied: “This is a hard saying.” Then the brother said to him: “How do you want to reckon the matter?” And the old man said: “Slander is bad, but it is curable quickly; the slanderer can do penitence and say ‘I have spoken ill,’ and it is over. But lust is essential death.”

7. Dicebat abbas Mathois quod quidam frater veniens dixerit deteriorem esse qui obloquitur quam qui fornicatur. Et respondit: Durus est hic sermo. Dixit ergo ei frater: Et quomodo vis esse hanc rem? Dixit senex: Oblocutio quidem mala est, celerem  ^[0876A] tamen invenit curam, et plerumque poenitentiam agit, qui oblocutus est, dicens: Male locutus sum, et transit. Fornicatio autem naturaliter mors est.

8. Abba Poemen said: “As a bodyguard is always standing by to protect the Emperor, so the soul ought ever to be ready for the demon of lust.”

8. Dixit abbas Pastor: Sicut spatharius principis assistit ei semper paratus, ita oportet et animam semper esse paratam adversus daemonem fornicationis  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 59) .

9. A brother once came to Abba Poemen, and said to him: “What am I to do, Father? I am wretched with lust. And I went to Abba Hybistion, and he told me: ‘You ought not to let it dwell in you longer.’ “ Abba Poemen said to him: “Abba Hybistion lives like the angels above, and he knows not these things. But you and I are in lust. If the monk controls his stomach and his tongue, and stays in solitude, he can trust that he is not dying.”

9. Venit aliquando frater ad abbatem Pastorem, et dixit ei: Quid facio, Pater? quia affligor a fornicatione  (Ruff., lib. III, num. 63; Pasch., c. 1, num. 9) . Et perrexi ad abbatem Hybistionem, et dixit mihi: Non debes eam longo tempore permittere habitare in te. Dixit ei abbas Pastor: Abbatis Hybistionis actus sursum in coelo sunt cum angelis, et latet eum; ego autem et tu in fornicatione sumus.  ^[0876B] Si ergo teneat monachus ventrem et linguam, et maneat in solitudine, confidat quia non moritur.

10. They said of the Abbess Sarah that for thirteen years she was fiercely attacked by the demon of lust. And she never prayed that the battle should be stayed. But she used to say only this: “Lord, grant me strength.”

10. Narraverunt de abbatissa Sara, quia manserit tredecim annis fortiter a fornicationibus daemonum impugnata. Et nunquam oravit ut recederet ab ea hujusmodi pugna: sed solum hoc dicebat: Domine, da mihi fortitudinem.

11. They also said of her that the same demon of lust was once attacking her menacingly, and tempting her with vain thought of the world. But she kept fearing God in her soul and maintained the rigour of her fasting. And once when she climbed up on the roof to pray, the spirit of lust appeared to her in a bodily form and said to her: “You have beaten me, Sarah.” But she replied: “It is not I who have beaten you, but my Lord the Christ.”

11. Dixerunt iterum de ea quia infestior ei fuerat aliquando imminens fortius idem fornicationis daemon, mittens in cogitationem ejus saeculi vanitates. Illa autem non relaxans animum a timore Dei, et a proposito abstinentiae suae, ascendit semel super lectum suum orare, et apparuit ei corporaliter spiritus fornicationis, et dixit ei: Tu me vicisti, Sara.  ^[0876C] Illa autem respondit: Ego non te vici, sed Dominus meus Christus.

12. A brother was goaded by lust and the lust was like a fire burning day and night in his heart. But he struggled on, not coming to meet his temptation nor consenting to it. And after a long time, the goad left him, annihilated by his per­severance. And at once light appeared in his heart.

12. Frater quidam stimulabatur a fornicatione, et erat stimulus velut ignis ardens in corde ejus die ac nocte. Frater autem decertabat non condescendens vel consentiens cogitationi suae. Post multum autem tempus discessit ab eo stimulus, nihil praevalens propter perseverantiam fratris. Et statim lux apparuit in corde ejus.

13. Another brother was goaded by lust. He rose up in the night and went to tell his temptations to an old man, and the old man consoled him. So he returned, comforted to his cell. But again the spirit of lust tempted him. And a second time he went to the old man. This happened several times. The old man did not reproach him, but spoke words to his profit: “Yield not to the devil, and guard your soul. Whenever the demon troubles you, come to me, and rebuke him, and so he will go away. Nothing troubles the demon of lust more than disclosure of his pricks. Nothing pleases him more than the concealment of the temptation.” Eleven times the brother went to the old man, and blamed himself for his imaginings. And then the brother said to the old man: “Of thy charity, Abba, speak to me a word.” The old man said to him: “Believe me, my son, if God allowed the imaginings which goad me to be passed to you, you would not bear them but would be utterly destroyed.” And so by his words and deep humility, that brother found rest from the goad of lust.

13. Alius frater stimulatus est a fornicatione. Et surgens nocte perrexit ad senem, et dixit ei cogitationem suam, et consolatus est eum senex. Ex qua consolatione proficiens, reversus est in cellam suam. Et ecce iterum spiritus fornicationis tentavit eum. Ille autem iterum abiit ad senem. Factum est autem  ^[0876D] hoc frequenter. Senex vero non contristavit eum, sed loquebatur ei quae ad utilitatem ipsius pertinerent, dicens: Non concedas diabolo, nec relaxes animum tuum; sed magis, quoties molestus est daemon, veni ad me, et increpatus abscedet. Nihil enim sic extaediat daemonem fornicationis, quomodo si revelentur stimulationes ejus. Et nihil eum sic laetificat, quomodo si abscondantur cogitationes. Venit ergo frater ad senem undecies, accusans cogitationes suas. Postea autem dixit frater seni: Ostende charitatem, abba, et dic mihi verbum. Dicit ei senex: Crede, fili, quia si permitteret Deus cogitationes meas, quibus animus stimulatur, in te transferri, non eas portares, sed omnino corrueres deorsum. Haec autem  ^[0877A] dicente sene, propter nimiam humilitatem ejus quievit stimulus fornicationis a fratre.

14. Another brother was goaded by lust. He began to struggle and prolong his fast, and for fourteen years he guarded himself against temptation and did not consent. Afterwards he came to church and disclosed to the whole congregation what he was suffering. And a decree was made, and for a week they all afflicted themselves on his behalf, praying God continually; and so his goad was stayed.

14. Idem alius stimulatus a fornicatione, coepit decertare et extendere abstinentiam suam, per quatuordecim annos cogitationem suam custodiens, ne consentiret concupiscentiae suae. Postea autem veniens 575 ad ecclesiam, manifestavit universae multitudini quod patiebatur. Et datum est mandatum, et omnes afflixerunt se pro eo hebdomada, jugiter orantes Dominum, et quievit stimulus ejus.

15. An old hermit said about the temptation to lust: “Sloth, do you want to be saved? Go, and discipline yourself, go, ‘seek, and ye shall find’: watch, ‘Knock and it shall be opened to you.’ In the world there are boxers who are hard hit and yet stand firm and receive crowns. Sometimes one is set upon by two, and their blows lend him strength so that he overcomes them. Have you seen what strength exercise brings? Do you also stand, and be strong: and the Lord defeats your enemy for you.”

15. De cogitatione fornicationis dixit quidam senex: Eremita dormiens, vis salvari? Vade, labora, vade affligere, vade, quaere et invenies; vigila, pulsa, et aperietur tibi. Sunt enim in saeculo pancratiarii  [(22) ^[0988D] Pancratiarii.] Ita dicti a pancratio, certaminis gymnici specie, quod ajpoþ twðn pavntwn kratwðn, quod omnibus viribus certarent, volunt dictum. Gellius, lib. III, cap. 15, pancratiastem vocat: «Diagoras filios tres habuit, unum pugilem, alterum pancratiasten, tertium luctatorem.» Glossae Benedicti: Pancratiarii, pagkratiavrioi.] , qui cum nimis caesi steterint, et fortes  ^[0877B] apparuerint, coronas accipiunt. Aliquoties autem et unus a duobus caeditur, et confortatus plagis caedentes se vincit. Vidisti quantam virtutem per carnis exercitium acquisivit? Et tu sta, et confortare; et Dominus expugnat pro te inimicum.

16. On this same temptation, another old man said: “You should be like a man walking along the street past an inn, and sniffing the smell of meat frying or roasting. Anyone who likes goes in and eats. People who do not want it, pass by and only sniff the smell. So you ought to put the smell away from you; rise, and pray ‘Lord, Son of God, help me.’ Do this against other temptations. We cannot make temptations vanish, but we can struggle against them.”

16. De eadem ipsa cogitatione fornicationis, dixit alter senex: Esto velut qui transit in platea, aut per tabernam, et capit cujuscunque cocturae odorem, aut alicujus assaturae. Et qui vult, ingreditur et manducat; qui autem non vult, odoratus est tantum, atque praeterit. Ita et tu excute a te fetorem, surge et ora, dicens: Domine Fili Dei, adjuva me. Hoc autem fac etiam adversus alias cogitationes. Neque enim eradicatores sumus cogitationum, sed luctatores adversus easdem cogitationes

17. Another old man said: “We suffer this through negli­gence. If we remember that God dwells in us, we shall never bring into ourselves a vessel that is not his. The Lord Christ abides in us and with us, and watches our life. And because we bear him with us and contemplate him, we ought not to be negligent but ought to make ourselves holy as he is holy. If we stand upon a rock, the wicked one will be broken. Do not be afraid, and he will do nothing against you. And pray with courage this psalm: ‘They that trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion; they that dwell in Jerusalem shall stand fast for ever. 17

 ^[0877C] 17. Alter senex dixit: Haec de negligentia patimur. Nam si consideremus quia Deus habitat in nobis, non alienum vas inferemus intra nos. Dominus enim Christus habitans in nobis atque cohabitans nobis, respicit vitam nostram. Unde et nos portantes eum et contemplantes, negligere non debemus, sed sanctificare nosmetipsos, sicut et ille sanctus est. Stemus super petram, et rumpetur malignus. Non formides, et non committet adversum te. Psalle cum virtute, dicens: Qui confidunt in Domino, sicut mons Sion; non commovebitur in aeternum, qui habitat in Jerusalem  (Psal. CXXIV)

18. A brother asked an old man: “If a monk falls to sin, he is punished like a person who has fallen from a higher state to a lower, and is in travail until he rises again. But he who comes from the world, is like a beginner advancing to a higher state.” And the old man replied: “A monk falling into temptation is like a collapsing house. If he is a serious and sober person, he rebuilds the ruined house. He finds the right materials for build­ing, lays foundations, and collects stone and sand, and all the other needful things, and so his building rapidly grows higher. But the builder who did not dig or lay foundations, and has none of the right materials, goes away hoping that some day the house will be built. So if the monk falls into temptation, and turns to the Lord, he has the best equipment—meditation on the law of God, psalmody, work with his hands, prayer, and the others—foundations of his building. The novice will find him­self low down on the ladder of religion until he learns all these.”

18. Frater interrogavit senem, dicens: Si incurrerit monachus in peccatum, affligitur velut qui de profectu in deteriorem statum pervenerit, et laborat  ^[0877D] donec resurgat: qui autem a saeculo venit, velut qui initium fecerit, proficit. Et respondens senex dixit: Monachus in tentationem incurrens, sic est tanquam domus quae cadit. Et si sobrius fuerit in cogitatione sua, reaedificat eam quae corruerat domum; inveniens materias ad aediticium profuturas, habens posita fundamenta, et lapides, et arenam, et caetera quae sunt aedificio necessaria, atque ita velociter fabrica proficit. Ille autem qui nec effodit, nec fundamentum misit, nec habet aliquid eorum quae sunt necessaria; sed in spe dimittens, si quomodo aliquando perficiatur. Ita est et monachus, si in tentationem ceciderit, et conversus fuerit ad Dominum, habet plurimum apparatum, meditationem divinae legis,  ^[0878A] psalmodiam, opus manuum, orationem et caetera, quae sunt fundamenta. Qui autem recens est in conversione, donec ista discit, ille in primum ordinem veniet.

19. A brother, held in the grip of lust, went to a great old man and asked him: “Of your charity, pray for me: for I am troubled by lust.” The old man prayed to the Lord. And he came a second time to the old man and said the same: and again the old man was careful to beseech the Lord on his behalf, and said: “Lord, show me why the devil is doing this work in that brother. I prayed to you, but he has not yet found rest.” And the Lord revealed to him what was happening to that brother. And he saw the brother sitting down, and the spirit of lust near him and, so to speak, playing with him: and an angel was standing near to help him and was frowning upon that brother because he did not throw himself upon God, but took a pleasure in his thoughts, and turned his mind towards them. And the old man saw that the chief cause was in the brother himself. And he said to him: “You are dallying with your thought.” And he taught him how to resist thoughts like this. And the brother’s soul revived under the old man’s teaching and prayer, and he found rest from his temptation.

19. Frater quidam, cum in fornicationis spiritu teneretur, perrexit ad quemdam senem magnum, et rogabat eum, dicens: Ostende charitatem et ora pro me, quia a fornicatione sollicitor  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 13) . Senex autem deprecatus est Dominum. Et iterum secundo veniens ad senem, eumdem sermonem dixit: Similiter et senex non neglexit pro eo rogare Dominum, dicens: Domine, revela mihi unde in hoc fratre operatio est ista diaboli? quoniam deprecatus sum te, et requiem necdum invenit. Et revelavit Dominus quae agebantur circa fratrem illum.  ^[0878B] Et vidit eum senex sedentem, et spiritum fornicationis juxta illum, et quasi ludentem cum eo, et angelus stabat missus ad adjutorium ejus, et indignabatur adversus fratrem illum, quia non se prosternebat Deo: sed quasi delectabatur cogitationibus suis, totam mentem suam ad hoc inclinans. Et agnovit senex quia causa magis ab eodem fratre esset, et annuntiavit ei, dicens: Tu consentis cogitationi tuae. Et docuit eum quomodo talibus cogitationibus deberet obsistere. Et respirans frater per doctrinam senis illius et orationem, invenit requiem a tentatione sua.

20. Once the disciple of a great old man was tempted by lust. When the old man saw him struggling, he said: “Do you want me to ask the Lord to release you from your trouble?” But he said: “Abba, I see that although it is a painful struggle, I am profiting from having to carry the burden. But ask God in your prayers, that he will give me long-suffering, to enable me to endure.” Then his Abba said to him: “Now I know that you are far advanced, my son, and beyond me.”

20. Tentatus est aliquando discipulus senis magni a fornicatione. Senex vero cum videret eum laborantem, dixit ei: Vis rogo Dominum, ut sublevet a te  ^[0878C] molestiam istam? Ille autem dixit: Video, abba, quia si laboro, tamen ex pondere laboris hujus considero fructificare me. Sed hoc roga Deum in orationibus tuis, ut det mihi tolerantiam, per quam sustineam. Dicit ei abbas suus: Nunc agnovi quia in magno profectu es, fili, et supergrederis me.

21. They said of an old man that he went down to Scete taking his infant son with him. The boy, being brought up among the monks, did not know what women were. When he became a man, the demons showed him visions of women at night. And he told his father, and he wondered. And once they both went into Egypt and saw women. And the son said: “Abba, there are the people who came to me during the night in Scete.” And his father said: “These are monks from the world, my son. They use one kind of dress, and hermits another.” And the old man marvelled that the demons should show him visions of women in Scete, and they both went straight back to their cell.

21. Dicebant de quodam sene, quia descendit in Scythi, et habebat filium adhuc sugentem lac; qui quoniam in monasterio nutritus est, quae essent mulieres nesciebat. Qui cum factus esset vir, ostendebant ei nocte daemones habitus mulierum, et nuntiavit Patri suo, et mirabatur. Aliquando ergo ascendit cum Patre suo in Aegyptum, et videns mulieres, dixit patri suo: Abba, ecce istae sunt quae veniebant ad me nocte in Scythi. Et dixit ei: Isti sunt  ^[0878D] monachi de saeculo, fili. Alio autem habitu utuntur isti, 576 et eremitae alio. Et miratus est senex quomodo in Scythi ostenderent ei daemones imagines mulierum, et statim reversi sunt in cellam suam.

22. A brother was tested by temptation in Scete. And the enemy sent to his soul the memory of a fair woman, and troubled him sorely. And by God’s providence it chanced that another brother came down from Egypt and arrived in Scete. And when they met to talk, he told him that his wife was dead (she was the woman about whom he was being disturbed). When he heard the news, he put on his cloak in the night and went to the place where he had heard she was buried. And he dug the place, and wiped the blood of her corpse on his cloak, and kept it in his cell when he returned. And when it smelt too much, he put it in front of him and hurriedly said to his temptation: “Look, this is what you desire. You have it now, fill yourself.” And so he chastised himself with the smell until his passions died down.

22. Frater quidam erat probatus tentationibus in Scythi, et immittebat ei adversarius memoriam mulieris cujusdam pulchrae in animo, et affligebat eum valde  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 11) . Et contigit, secundum Dei dispositionem, ut alter frater descendens de Aegypto, applicaret in Scythi. Et cum loquerentur, nuntiavit ei dicens: Uxor illius mortua est. Erat autem ipsa mulier, de qua inquietabatur ille frater. Quod cum audisset, tulit vestimentum suum nocte, et ascendit ubi eam sepultam audierat.  ^[0879A] Et fodit locum, et extersit cruorem putredinis ejus in vestimento suo, et reversus habebat illud in cella sua. Et cum nimis feteret, ponebat illos fetores ante se, et improperans cogitationi suae, dicebat: Ecce desiderium quod quaerebas. Habes illud, satiare ex eo. Et ita ex ejusmodi fetore castigabat semetipsum donec emorerentur concupiscentiae ejus.

23. A man once came to Scete to become a monk. And he brought with him his infant son, who had been lately weaned. When the child grew to be a young man, the demons began to attack him and trouble him. And he said to his father: “I am going back to the world, because I cannot bear these bodily passions.” His father comforted him: but the youth said: “I cannot endure any longer, father. Let me go back to the world.” His father said to him: “Listen just this once to me, my son. Take forty loaves, and palm leaves for forty days, and go to the inner desert, and stay there forty days—and God’s will be done.” He obeyed his father, and rose and went into the desert, and remained there, making plaits from the dry palm leaves and eating dry bread. And after he had been there twenty days, he saw the demon coming against him. There stood before him a person like a negro woman, ill-smelling and ugly. He could not bear her smell and thrust her from him. And she said to him: “I am she who seems sweet in the hearts of men. But be­cause of your obedience and travail, God has not let me seduce you, but has shown you my ill-favour.” He rose, and thanked God, and came to his father, and said: “Now I do not want to go to the world, father. I have seen the devil’s work, and his foulness.” But his father also knew what had happened, and said: “If you had stayed there forty days, and kept my com­mand right to the end, you would have seen still greater things.”

23. Venit quidam in Scythi aliquando, ut fieret monachus. Qui etiam attulit filium suum nuper ablactatum. Qui cum factus esset juvenis, coeperunt impugnare daemones et sollicitare eum. Et dixit patri suo: Vado ad saeculum, quia non possum carnales concupiscentias sustinere. Pater autem ejus consolabatur eum. Dixit ergo ille juvenis: Jam sustinere non valeo, pater; dimitte me redire ad saeculum.  ^[0879B] Dixit ei pater suus. Audi me, fili, adhuc semel, et tolle tibi quadraginta panes, et folia palmarum dierum quadraginta, et vade in eremo interiore, et esto ibi quadraginta diebus, et voluntas Dei fiet. Qui obediens patri suo, surrexit et abiit in eremo, et mansit ibi, laborans et faciens plectas de palmis siccis, et panem siccum comedens. Et cum ibi diebus viginti quiesceret, ecce vidit opus quoddam diabolicum venire super se; et stetit coram ipso velut mulier Aethiopissa, fetida et turpis aspectu, ita ut fetorem ejus sufferre non posset, et abjiciebat eam a se. Et illa dicebat ei: Ego sum quae in cordibus hominum dulcis appareo; sed propter obedientiam tuam, et laborem quem sustines, non me permisit Deus seducere te, sed innotui tibi fetorem meum. Ille autem  ^[0879C] surrexit, et gratias agens Deo, venit ad patrem suum, et dixit ei: Jam nolo ire ad saeculum, pater. Vidi enim operationem diaboli et fetorem ejus. Cognoverat autem et pater ejus de hoc ipso, et dixit ei: Si mansisses quadraginta dies, et custodisses usque in finem mandatum meum, majora habuisti videre.

24. An old man was once living far out in the desert. A woman of his kinsfolk wanted to see him after so many years, and enquired where he was living, and rose and came on the road to that desert. And finding camel-drivers, she joined them and came with them into the desert. For she was being drawn onward by the devil. When she reached the old man’s door, she began to knock and say who she was—”I am your kin;” and she stayed with him. But another monk was living nearer to Egypt. He filled his vessel with water at his supper time. And suddenly the vessel was upset, and the water spilt. And by God’s inspiration he said to himself: “I will go to the desert, and tell the elders what happened to this water.” And he rose and went. And at evening he slept in a heathen temple by the roadside, and during the night he heard demons saying: “Tonight we have driven yonder monk to lust.” And when he heard this, he was sad­dened. And he came to the old man, and found him sad, and said to him: “What am I to do, Abba? I filled my jug with water, and at supper-time it was spilt.” And the old man said to him: “You have come to ask me why your vessel was upset. But what am I to do.2—for last night I fell to lusting.” And he replied: “I knew it.” And the old man said: “How did you know?” And he said: “I was sleeping in a temple, and I heard demons talking about you.” And the old man said: “Look, I am going to the world.” But he besought him, “Do not go, father, stay here in your cell. But send the woman away. This has happened be­cause the enemy attacked you.” When the old man heard this, he endured and made his way of life more penitential and sorrowful, until he returned to his earlier state.

24. Senex quidam sedebat in longinqua eremo, qui habebat unam parentem, quae desiderabat eum videre post multos annos, et quaesivit in quo loco habitaret, et surrexit et venit in viam eremi illius  (Ruff., lib. II, n. 14) . Et inveniens camelarios, adjunxit se cum illis, et ingressa est in eremo cum eis. Haec enim trahebatur a diabolo. Quae cum venisset ad januam senis, coepit signis indicare seipsam, dicens: Ego illa parens tua, et mansit apud eum. Erat  ^[0879D] autem alius monachus sedens in inferiori parte, qui implebat sibi surisculam aquae, hora qua manducare voluisset; et subito versabatur suriscula, et reversabatur aqua; qui inspirante Deo dixit in semetipsum: Ingredior in eremum, et dico hoc quod mihi evenit de aqua senioribus. Et surgens abiit; et cum sero factum esset, dormivit in templo quodam idolorum juxta viam, et audivit nocte daemones, dicentes: Ista nocte praecipitavimus illum monachum in fornicationem. Quod cum audisset, contristatus est, et perveniens ad senem, invenit eum tristem, et dicit ei: Quid facio, abba? quia impleo mihi vasculum aquae, et hora manducandi effunditur. Et dicit ei senex: Tu venisti interrogare me, quare suriscula tua versatur;  ^[0880A] et ego quid facio, quia hac nocte cecidi in fornicationem? Cui respondit: Et ego cognovi. Et dicit ei: Tu unde scis? Qui dixit: Dormiebam in templo, et audivi daemones loquentes de te. Et dixit senex: Ecce ego vado ad saeculum. Ille autem rogabat eum, dicens: Noli, Pater, sed permane in loco tuo; mulierem vero dimitte hinc; hoc enim ex occursu inimici contigit. Quo audito senex sustinuit, extendens et aggravans conversationem suam cum lacrymis, donec rediret in priori ordine suo.

25. An old man said: “Chastity is born of serenity, and silence, and secret meditation.”

25. Dixit senex: Quia securitas, et taciturnitas, et occulta meditatio pariunt castitatem.

26. A brother asked an old man: “If a man happens to fall into temptation, what becomes of those who are led to stumble by it?” And the old man told this story. “In a monastery in Egypt was a deacon. And an official, persecuted by a judge, came with all his family to that monastery. And by the devil’s instigation, that deacon came in to his wife, and all the brothers were disturbed. But he went away to an old man, and told him what had happened. Now the old man had a secret inner room to his cell. When the deacon saw this, he said: ‘Bury me alive here, and tell no one.’ And he hid in that inner room, and there did true penitence.But a long time after, it happened that the Nile failed to flood. And when they were all making litanies, it was revealed to one of those holy men that unless the deacon who had hidden with such and such a monk, should return, the water would not rise. When they heard this, they marvelled, and they came and hurriedly brought him out of his hiding-place. And he prayed, and the water rose. And the men who had before been scandalized at him, were now edified by his penitence, and glorified God.”

26. Frater quidam interrogavit senem, dicens: Si contingat hominem in tentationem cadere, quid fit propter eos qui scandalizantur in eo? Et narravit  ^[0880B] senex, dicens: Diaconus quidam erat nominatus in monasterio Aegypti. Dum autem quidam curialis [(23) ^[0988D] Curialis.] Erant curiales qui curiis ascripti erant. Cassiodorus, lib. VI Var., epist. 3: «Curiales etiam verberat, qui appellati sunt legibus, minor senatus.» Sed et aliter haec vox usurpata.]  insecutionem judicis pateretur, venit cum omni domo sua ad monasterium. Et operante iniquo incurrit diaconus ille in mulierem ejus, et facta est omnibus fratribus confusio. Ille autem abiit ad quemdam senem, et indicavit ei rem. Senex vero habebat occultam cellam interiorem. Quam cum vidisset diaconus ille, dixit: 577 Sepeli me hic vivum, et non indices cuiquam. Et intravit in obscuritatem cellae illius, et egit illic poenitentiam ex veritate. Contigit autem, ut post multum tempus non ascenderet aqua in flumine Nilo. Et cum omnes Litanias facerent, revelatum est cuidam sanctorum quia nisi venerit diaconus, qui absconsus est apud illum talem monachum, non  ^[0880C] ascendent fluminis aquae. Quod cum audissent, admirati sunt, et venientes ejecerunt eum de loco in quo erat: et oravit, et ascendit aqua. Et qui aliquando scandalizati in eo fuerant, aedificati sunt postea in poenitentia ejus, et glorificaverunt Deum.

27. Two brothers went to a town to sell what they had made. In the town they separated, and one of them fell into fornication. Afterwards the other brother said: “Let us go back to our cell, brother.” But he replied: “I am not coming.” And the other asked him: “Why, brother?” And he replied: “Be­cause when you left me, I met temptation, and was guilty of fornication.” The other, wanting to help him, said: “It hap­pened also to me: after I left you, I also fell into fornication. Let us go together, and do penance with all our might, and God will pardon us sinners.” When they returned to their cell, they told the elders what had happened to them, and were instructed what penance they should do. But the one did penance not for himself, but for the other, as though he himself had sinned. God, seeing his earnestness and his charity, disclosed to one of the elders, a few days later, that he had forgiven the fornicator because of the charity of the brother who had not sinned. Truly, this was to lay down his soul for his brother.

27. Duo fratres perrexerunt ad civitatem, ut venderent quod fuerant operati; cum a se invicem in civitatem fuissent divisi, incurrit unus in fornicationem  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 12) . Veniens autem postea frater ejus, dixit ei: Revertamur ad cellam nostram, frater. Ille autem respondit, dicens: Non venio. Et interrogabat eum ille, dicens: Quare, frater? Et ille respondit: Quia cum discessisses a me, incurri in tentationem, et fornicatus sum. Ille autem volens eum lucrari, coepit dicere, Quia et mihi sic contigit:  ^[0880D] quando separatus sum a te, incurri et ego in fornicationem. Sed eamus, et simul poenitentiam agamus cum omni labore, et Deus ignoscet nobis peccatoribus. Qui cum venissent ad cellam, retulerunt senibus quod eis contigerat, et dederunt eis illi mandata, qualiter poenitentiam agerent. Ille tamen unus non pro se, sed pro illo alio fratre poenitentiam agebat, tanquam si et ipse peccasset. Videns autem Deus laborem et charitatem ejus, intra paucos dies manifestavit uni de senibus, quod pro multa charitato illius fratris qui non peccaverat indulserat illi qui fornicatus est. Vere hoc est ponere animam suam pro fratre suo.

28. Once a brother came to an old man and said: “My brother keeps leaving me, and goes travelling everywhere: and I am suffering for it.” And the old man besought him: “Bear it calmly, brother. And God will see your earnestness and endur­ance, and will bring him back to you. It is not possible for a man to be recalled from his purpose by harshness and severity— demon cannot drive out demon: you will bring him back to you better by kindness. That is how God acts for our good, and draws us to himself.” And he told him this story: “In the Thebaid were two brothers. And when one of them began to lust, he said to the other: ‘I am going back to the world.’ The other wept and said: ‘I am not letting you go away, my brother, to lose your toil and your chastity.’ But he refused and said: ‘I am not staying here: I am going. Either come with me, and I will return with you, or let me go, and let me remain in the world.’ The brothers came and told this to a great old man. And the old man said to him: ‘Go with him, and because of your effort, God will not let him perish.’ So he rose and went with him to the world. And when they came to a village, God looked on the efforts of him who followed his brother out of charity and need, and took away that brother’s passion. And he said to his brother: ‘Let us go back to the desert, my brother. Look, I imagine that I have already sinned with a woman. And what gain have I from that?’ And they returned to their cell unharmed.”

28. Venit aliquando frater ad quemdam senem,  ^[0881A] dicens ei: Frater meus solvit me egrediens huc atque illuc; et pro hoc ego affligor. Et rogabat eum senex, dicens: Aequanimiter porta, frater; et Deus videns laborem sustentationis tuae, revocabit eum ad te. Neque enim possibile est ut cum duritia et austeritate facile ab intentione sua aliquis revocetur, quia nec daemon expellit daemonem; sed magis benignitate revocabis eum ad te. Quoniam et Deus noster consulendo, ad se homines trabit. Et narravit ei, dicens ei: Quia fuerunt in Thebaida duo fratres, et cum unus incurrisset ex his in fornicationem, dicebat ad alium: Revertor ad saeculum. Alter vero plorabat, dicens: Non te dimitto, frater, discedere, et perdere laborem tuum, et virginitatem tuam. Ille vero non acquiescebat, dicens: Non hic sedeo, sed  ^[0881B] vado. Aut veni mecum, et iterum redeo tecum, aut certe dimitte me, et permaneam in saeculo. Vadens autem frater, nuntiavit hoc cuidam seni magno. Dixit autem ei senex: Vade cum ipso, et Deus illum per laborem tuum non dimittet corruere. Qui consurgens abiit cum eo ad saeculum. Et cum pervenisset ad quemdam vicum, videns Deus laborem illius, qui ex charitate et necessitate fratrem suum sequebatur, abstulit concupiscentiam a fratre ejus. Et dicit fratri suo: Eamus iterum ad eremum, frater. Ecce puto, quia jam peccavi cum muliere; quid lucratus sum ex hoc? Et reversi sunt illaesi in cellam suam.

29. A brother, being tempted by a demon, went to an old man and said: “Those two monks over there who live together, live wickedly.” But the old man knew that a demon was play­ing with him, and he sent and called them to him. And at evening he put a mat for them, and covered them with a single blanket, and said: “They are sons of God, and holy persons.” But he said to his disciple: “Shut this slandering brother up in a cell by himself: he is suffering from the passions of which he accuses them.”

29. Frater tentatus a daemone profectus est ad quemdam senem, dicens: Quia duo illi fratres simul  ^[0881C] sunt, et male vivunt. Cognovit autem senex quia a daemone illuderetur, et mittens vocavit eos ad se. Et cum factum esset vespere, posuit mattam duobus illis fratribus, et cooperuit eos in uno stratu, dicens: Filii Dei magni et sancti sunt. Dixit autem discipulo suo: Hunc fratrem claude in cella seorsum; ipse enim passionem quam illis objecit in se habet.

30. A brother said to an old man: “What am I to do, for these foul thoughts are killing me?” The old man said to him: “When a mother wants to wean her baby, she smears something bitter on her breasts: and when the infant comes as usual to suckle, he tastes the bitterness and is repelled. So you ought to put a bitterness into your thought.” The brother said to him: “What bitterness is this?” The old man said to him: “The thought of death and torment, which is prepared in the next world for sinners.

30. Frater quidam dixit seni: Quid facio, quia occidit me sordida cogitatio? Dicit ei senex: Mulier quando vult ablactare filium suum, amarum aliquid superungit uberibus suis; et cum venerit infans ex consuetudine sugere lac, sentiens amaritudinem, refugit. Mitte ergo et tu in cogitatione tua amaritudinem, Dicit ei frater: Quae est amaritudo, quam debeam mittere? Dixit ei senex: Cogitationem mortis  ^[0881D] et tormentorum, quae in saeculo futuro peccatoribus praeparantur.

31. A brother asked an old man about thoughts of this kind. And the old man said: “I have never been goaded by it.” And the brother was scandalized at him, and went to a second old man and said: “Look, that old man said this to me and has scandalized me, because it is unnatural.” The old man said to him: “The meaning of the words of that man of God is not upon the surface. Rise up, go and be penitent to him, and he will disclose to you the power in his words.” So the brother rose and came to the old man, and was penitent to him. And he said: “Forgive me, father, that I was a fool, and did not bid you goodbye when I left. But I beg you, explain to me how it is that you are untroubled by lust.” The old man said to him: “It is because, ever since I became a monk, I have never taken my fill of bread, or water, or sleep; and because I am tormented by desire for food, I cannot feel the pricks of lust.” And the brother went away, taking profit from the words of the old man.

31. Frater quidam interrogavit senem de hujusmodi cogitatione  (Ruffin., lib. III, n. 62) . Et dicit ei senex: Ego nunquam stimulatus sum de hac re. Et scandalizatus est in eo ille frater, et abiit ad alium senem, dicens: Ecce hoc dixit mihi ille senex, et scandalizatus sum in eo: quia super naturam est quod dixit. Dicit ei senex: Non simpliciter tibi dixit hoc ille homo Dei; sed surge, vade et poenitentiam age apud eum, ut aperiat tibi virtutem sermonum suorum. Surrexit ergo ille frater, et venit ad senem, agens in conspectu ejus poenitentiam. Et dixit: Ignosce mihi, pater, quia stulte feci, non dico tibi  ^[0882A] vale discedens: sed obsecro te, ut interpreteris mihi quomodo nunquam sollicitatus sis a fornicatione. Dicit ei senex: Quia ex quo factus sum monachus, non sum satiatus pane, neque aqua, neque somno, et appetitu horum 578 quibus pascimur, orucians me, non permittebar sentire fornicationis stimulos. Et exiit frater ille, proficiens ex relatione senis.

32. A brother asked an old man: “What am I to do? My mind is ever thinking about fornication; and lets me not rest even for an hour, and my soul is suffering.” But the old man said to him: “When the demons sow thoughts in your heart, and you feel this, do not hold converse with your soul, for that is the demons’ suggestion. Though the demons are careful to send m thoughts, they do not force you. It is yours to receive or reject. Do you know what the Midianites did? They adorned their daughters, and set them where the Israelites could see them: yet they did not force them to intermingle, but as each one wished. But others were wrathful and uttered threats, and avenged the act of whoredom with the death of those who had dared it. This is what should be done with the lust that rises in the mind.” But the brother replied: “And what am I to do, in that I am frail, and this passion masters me?” And the old man said: “Be earnest in this way. When they start to speak in your heart, do not answer them. But rise up, pray, do penance, and say ‘Son of God, have mercy upon me.’ “ But the brother said to him: “Look, Abba, I meditate, and there is no penitence in my heart, for I do not know the meaning of the words on which I meditate.” And the old man said: “Yet, go on meditating. I have heard that Abba Poemen and other fathers said this: ‘The snake-charmer knows not the meaning of his words: but the snake hears them, and knows their meaning, and obeys the charmer, and lies down. So though we know not the meaning of what we say, the demons hear, and are fearful, and flee.’ “

32. Frater quidam interrogavit quemdam senem, dicens: Quid facio? quia cogitatio mea semper in fornicatione est intenta, et non dimittit me quiescere una hora, et affligitur ex hoc anima mea  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 40) . ille autem dixit ei: Quando deamones cogitationes in corde tuo seminant, et sentis hoc, non colloquaris cum animo tuo, quoniam daemonum est suggerere.  ^[0882B] Et licet non negligant haec immittere, tamen non extorquent daemones. In te est ergo suscipere, et non suscipere. Respondens autem frater, dixit seni: Et quid faciam, quia fragilis sum, et superat me passio haec? Ille autem dixit ei: Intentus esto ad hujusmodi. Scis autem quid fecerint Madianitae? Ornaverunt filias suas, et statuerunt eas in conspectu Israelitarum; non tamen extorserunt aliquibus ut miscerentur cum eis, sed qui voluerunt incurrerunt in eis  (Num. XXV) . Alii autem indignantes comminati sunt, et cum interitu eorum qui praesumpserant, ulti sunt fornicationem: ita agendum est et de fornicatione. Et quando initium faciunt loqui in corde tuo, non respondeas eis; sed surgens, ora et age poenitentiam, dicens: Fili Dei, miserere mei. Dixit autem  ^[0882C] ei frater: Ecce meditor, abba, et non est compunctio in corde meo, quia nescio virtutem verbi. Et ille dixit: Et tu tamen meditare. Audivi enim quia dixerit abbas Pastor, sed et alii Patres hoc verbum: Quoniam incantator virtutem verborum quae dicit nescit; sed serpens audit, et scit virtutem eorum quae incantantur, et subjicitur incantanti, et humiliatur. Sic et nos, quamvis ignoremus virtutem eorum quae loquimur, daemones tamen audientes terrentur atque discedunt.

33. An old man used to say: “A lustful thought is brittle like papyrus. If it is thrust into us, and we do not accept it but cast it from us, it is broken easily. If it casts its sweetness over us and we dally with it, it is as difficult to break as iron. So we need a discrimination of mind, to know that men who consent lose their hopes of salvation: and for men who do not consent, a crown is laid up.”

33. Dicebat senex: Quia cogitatio fornicationis fragilis est, velut papyrus. Si ergo jactetur in nobis, et non acquiescentes projiciamus illam a nobis, facile rumpitur. Necessarium igitur est ut sit discretio in cogitatione nostra, qua agnoscamus quia his qui  ^[0882D] consentiunt ei non sit spes salutis; illis autem qui non consentiunt, reposita sit corona.

34. Two brothers, who were attacked by lust, went away and married wives. Afterwards they said to each other: “What have we gained that we have ceased to live like angels, and have come to impurity, and later will come to fire and torment? Let us go back to the desert, and do penance for our fault.” And they came to the desert, and asked the fathers to accept them as penitents, and confessed what they had done. And the elders shut them up for a whole year, and gave them each an equal measure of bread and water. Now they were alike in appear­ance. And at the end of the year’s penance, they came out. And the fathers saw that one looked pale and melancholy, the other looked strong and bright. And they were astonished, for each had had the same quantity of food and drink. And they asked the man who was sad and troubled: “What were you doing with your thoughts in that cell?” And he said: “I was turning over in my mind the punishment I shall incur for the evil I have done, and I was so afraid that my bones cleaved to my flesh.” And they asked the other: “What were you thinking about in your cell?” And he said: “I was thanking God that he had delivered me from the pollution of this world and the punishment of the next, and has called me back to live here like the angels: and as I thought continually upon my God, I was glad.” And the old men said: “The penitence of both men is equal before God.”

34. Duo fratres impugnati a fornicatione, abierunt et acceperunt uxores. Postea autem dixerunt adinvicem: Quid lucrati sumus quia deseruimus angelicum ordinem, et venimus in immunditiam hanc, et post haec in ignem, et in tormentum venturi sumus? Redeamus ergo ad eremum, et agamus de his quae praesumpsimus poenitentiam. Et venientes ad cremum, rogaverunt patres ut susciperent eos poenitentes et confitentes ea quae gesserant. Et clauserunt eos anno integro senes, et ambobus aequaliter ad pensum dabatur panis, et ad mensuram aqua. Erant autem visione consimiles. Et dum completum fuisset  ^[0883A] tempus poenitentiae, exierunt. Et viderunt Patres unum pallidum et tristem nimis; alium vero robustum et clarum; et mirati sunt, quoniam cibum et potum aequaliter acceperant. Et interrogaverunt eum qui tristis et afflictus erat, dicentes: Quid exercitabas cum cogitationibus tuis in cella tua? Et ille dixit: Pro malis quae feci, poenas in quibus venturus eram in animo revolvebam, et a timore adhaeserunt ossa mea carni meae. Interrogaverunt autem et alium, dicentes: Tu quid cogitabas in cella tua? Et ille dicebat: Deo gratias referebam, quia eruit me de inquinamento mundi hujus, et de futuri saeculi poenis, et revocavit me ad hanc conversationem angelicam; et reminiscens assidue Dei mei, laetabar. Et dixerunt senes: Aequalis est amborum  ^[0883B] poenitentia apud Deum.

35. In Scete there was an old man who became gravely ill, and was nursed by the brothers. When the old man saw how much they did for him, he said: “I am going to Egypt, and then I shall not be a trouble to these brothers.” And Abba Moses said to him: “Don’t go: you will run into lust.” But the old man was vexed, and said: “My body is dead. How can you say that to me?” So he rose and went to Egypt. When the surrounding inhabitants in Egypt heard that he had arrived, they brought him many gifts. And a devout maiden came to him, wishing to minister to him because he was sick. And after a short time he recovered somewhat from the illness which had gripped him, and he came to her, and she con­ceived. And when her neighbours asked her, who was the father, she said: “This old man.” But they did not believe her. Then the old man said: “It is I who am the father. Keep for me the baby when it is born.” And when the baby had been weaned, the old man carried it on his shoulders, and arrived at Scete on a feast day, and went into church in front of the whole congregation. When they saw him, they wept. And he said to the brothers: “Do you see this baby? He is the child of disobedience. Beware, my brothers, remember what I have done though I am old, and pray for me.” And going to his cell he returned to his earlier way of life

35. Senex quidam erat in Scythi: qui cum incurrisset in aegritudine magna, serviebant ei fratres. Et videns senex quia laborarent, dixit: Vado in Aegyptum, et non solvam fratres istos. Et dicit ei abbas Moyses: Non vadas, quoniam in fornicationem incursurus es. Ille autem contristatus dicebat: Mortuum est corpus meum, et tu mihi ista dicis? Surgens ergo abiit in Aegyptum. Quod cum audiissent homines circumquaque habitantes, offerebant ei multa. Venit etiam ad eum quaedam virgo fidelis, volens obsequium suum seni infirmanti deferre. Et post aliquantum temporis cum paululum de aegritudine, qua tenebatur, melius habuisset, incurrit in eam, et illa concepit. Interrogata autem a vicinis  ^[0883C] loci unde conceperit, illa respondit: De sene hoc. Illi autem non credebant ei. Senex vero dicebat: Ego hoc feci, sed custodite mihi infantem quem peperit. Quae cum genuisset puerum, et ablactatus fuisset, tulit senex infantem in humeris suis, et die qua erat festivitas in Scythi, occurrit ibi, et intravit in ecclesiam coram multitudine fratrum. Illi autem videntes eum, fleverunt: Qui dixit fratribus: Videtis infantem hunc? filius est inobedientiae meae. Cavete ergo vos, fratres, quia in senectute hoc feci, et orate pro me. Et pergens ad cellam suam, ad initium primae conversationis suae reversus est.

36. A brother was grievously tempted by the demons of fornication. Four demons appeared before him like beautiful women, and attacked him continuously for forty days. But he fought like a man, and was unconquered. And God, seeing his good struggle, granted that he should no more suffer the sting of bodily passion.

36. Frater quidam tentatus est pessime a daemonibus. In specie enim pulchrarum 579 mulierum transformati, jugiter quadraginta diebus perseveraverunt  ^[0883D] pugnantes adversus eum, ut traherent eum ad turpem commistionem. Ille autem viriliter reluctante, et minime superato, Deus aspiciens bonum ejus certamen, donavit ei ut ultra nullum calorem carnalis concupiscentiae pateretur.

37. In lower Egypt there was a very famous hermit, who lived alone in his cell. And it happened that by Satan’s wiles a harlot heard of him, and said to the young men: “What will you give me, if I ruin that hermit?” They agreed to give her a present. At evening she went out and came to his cell like a person who had lost her way. When she knocked at his door, he came out. And seeing her, he was troubled, and said: “How have you come here?” She pretended to weep, and said: “I lost my way.” He felt truly sorry for her, and led her into the little courtyard of his cell, and himself went to the inner room of his cell and shut the door. And she cried aloud in woe: “Abba, the beasts will eat me here.” Again he was troubled, and afraid of the judgement of God; and he said: “Why has God’s wrath come upon me thus?” And he opened the door and brought her inside. Then the devil began to goad his heart to want her. He knew that it was the devil’s goading, and said silently: “The ways of the enemy are darkness: but the Son of God is light.” He rose, and lit the lamp. And when he began to burn with desire, he said: “People who do things like this go into torment. Test yourself, and see whether you can bear a fire which is ever­lasting.” And he put his finger in the flame of the lamp. And he burnt it: but he did not feel the pain because of the fire of passion within him. And so, until the dawn came he burnt his fingers one after the other. The wretched woman saw what he was doing, and in her fear lay still as a stone. And at dawn the young men came to the monk and said: “Did a woman come here yesterday evening?” He said: “Yes, she is asleep over there.” And they went in, and found her dead. And they said: “Abba, she is dead.” Then he turned back the cloak which he was wearing, and showed them his hands, and said: “Look what that child of the devil has done to me. She has cost me every finger I possess.” And he told what had happened, and said: “It is written, Render not evil for evil.” And he prayed, and raised her up. She was converted, and lived chastely for the rest of her days.

37. Solitarius quidam erat in inferioribus Aegypti, et hic erat nominatissimus, quia solus in ecclesia sedebat in deserto loco. Et ecce, juxta operationem Satanae mulier quaedam inhonesta audiens de eo, dicebat juvenibus: Quid mihi vultis dare, et depono istum solitarium vestrum? Illi autem constituerunt ei certum quid quod darent ei. Quae egressa vespere, venit velut errans ad cellam ejus; et cum pulsaret ad cellam, egressus est ille; et videns eam turbatus est,  ^[0884A] dicens: Quomodo huc advenisti? Illa autem velut plorans, dicebat: Errando huc veni. Qui cum miseratione viscerum pulsaretur, introduxit eam in atriolum cellulae suae, et ipse intravit interius in cellam suam, et clausit. Et ecce infelix illa clamavit, dicens: Abba, ferae me comedent hic. Ille autem iterum turbatus est, timens etiam judicium Dei, dicebat: Unde mihi venit ira haec? Et aperiens ostium, introduxit eam intro. Coepit autem diabolus velut sagittis stimulare cor ejus in eam. Qui cum intellexisset diaboli esse stimulos, dicebat in semetipso: Viae inimici tenebrae sunt; Filius autem Dei lux est  (Psal. XXXIV) . Surgens ergo accendit lucernam. Et cum inflammaretur desiderio, dicebat: Quoniam qui talia agunt, in tormentis vadunt  (Gal. V) . Proba ergo  ^[0884B] teipsum ex hoc, si potes sustinere ignem aeternum. Et mittebat digitum suum in lucernam. Quem cum incendisset, et arderet, non sentiebat propter nimiam flammam concupiscentiae carnalis. Et ita usque mane faciens, incendit omnes digitos. Illa autem infelix videns quod faciebat, a timore velut lapis facta est. Et venientes juvenes mane ad monachum illum, dicebant: Venit hic mulier sero? Ille autem dixit: Etiam; ecce ubi dormit. Et intrantes invenerunt eam mortuam. Et dicunt: Abba, mortua est. Tunc ille recutiens palliolum suum, quo utebatur, ostendit eis manus suas, dicens: Ecce quod mihi fecit filia ista diaboli, perdidit omnes digitos meos. Et narrans eis quod factum fuerat, dicebat: Scriptum est, ne reddas malum pro malo  (Prov. XVII;, Thess. V; I Pet. III) .  ^[0884C] Et faciens orationem, suscitavit eam. Quae conversa, caste egit residuum tempus vitae suae.

38. A brother was assailed by lust. By chance he came to a village in Egypt, and saw the daughter of the heathen priest there, and greatly loved her. And he said to her father: “Give her to be my wife.” He answered: “I cannot give her to you until I have besought my god.” And he went to the demon whom he served and said: “Here is a monk wanting to marry my daughter. Do I give her to him?” The demon answered: “Ask him if he denies his God, and his baptism, and his monastic vow.” And the priest came and said to the monk: “If you deny your God, and your baptism, and your monastic vow, I will give you my daughter.” The monk agreed. And at once he saw something like a dove fly out of his mouth and up into the sky. Then the priest went to the demon and said: “He has promised to do the three things you said.” Then the devil answered: “Do not give your daughter to be his wife, for his God has not left him, but will yet help him.” And the priest went back and said to the monk: “I cannot give her to you, because your God is still helping you, and has not left you.” When the monk heard this, he said in himself: “If God has shown me such kindness, though like a wretch I have denied him, and my baptism and my monastic vow, if God is so good that he still helps me though I am wicked, why am I running away from him?” And he was restored to his right and sober mind, and came into the desert to a great old man, and told him what had happened. And the old man replied: “Stay with me in this cave, and fast for three weeks, and I will pray God for you.” And the old man travailed on behalf of the brother, and prayed God thus: “I beseech thee, O Lord, grant me this soul, and accept its penitence.” And God heard his prayer. At the end of the first week, the old man came to the brother and asked: “Have you seen any thing?” And the brother replied: “Yes, I saw a dove above in the sky over my head.” And the old man answered: “Look to your heart, and pray God earnestly.” After the second week the old man came again to the brother, and asked him: “Have you seen anything?” And he replied: “I have seen a dove coming down by my head.” and the old man charged him: “Pray, and pray seriously.” And at the end of the third week, the old man came again and asked him: “Have you seen anything else?” And he answered: “I saw a dove and it came and sat on my head, and I stretched out my hand to catch it, and it entered my mouth.” And the older man thanked God, and said to the brother: “Look, God has accepted your penitence. In future be careful, and on your guard.” And the brother answered: “See, I will stay with you now, until I die.”

38. Frater quidam impugnabatur a fornicatione. Contigit autem eum venire in vicum quemdam Aegypti, et videns filiam sacerdotis paganorum, adamavit eam, dixitque patri ejus: Da mihi eam uxorem. Ille autem respondens dixit ei: Non possum eam tibi dare, nisi rogavero deum meum. Et abiens ad daemonem quem colebat, dixit ei: Ecce quidam monachus venit ad me, volens accipere filiam meam; do ei eam? Respondens daemon, dixit: Si negat Deum suum, et baptismum, et propositum monachi, interroga eum. Et veniens sacerdos dixit ei: Nega Deum tuum, et baptismum, et propositum monachi, et dabo tibi filiam meam. Ille vero consensit. Et statim vidit  ^[0884D] velut columbam exire de ore suo, et volare in coelum. Pergens autem sacerdos ad daemonem, dixit: Ecce promisit se tria illa facturum. Tune respondens diabolus dixit ei: Non des ei filiam tuam in uxorem, quia Deus ejus non recessit ab eo, sed adhuc adjuvabit eum. Et veniens sacerdos dixit illi fratri: Non tibi possum eam dare, quia Deus tuus adhuc adjuvat te, et non recessit a te. Haec audiens frater, dixit in semetipsum: Si tantam bonitatem ostendit in me Deus, cum ergo infelix negaverim et ipsum, et baptismum, et propositum monachi, bonus autem Deus etiam sic malum nunc usque adjuvat me, cur ego recedam ab eo? Et in semetipsum reversus, recepit sobrietatem mentis, et venit in eremum ad magnum  ^[0885A] quemdam senem, et narravit ei quae fuerant acta. Et respondens senex, dixit ei: Sede mecum in spelunca, et jejuna tres hebdomadas continuas, et ego deprecabor Deum pro te. Et laboravit senex pro fratre, et deprecatus est Deum, dicens: Obsecro, Domine, dona mihi animam hanc, et suscipe poenitentiam ejus. Et exaudivit orationem ejus Deus. Et cum completa fuisset prima hebdomada, venit senex ad illum fratrem, et interrogavit illum, dicens: Aliquid vidisti? Et respondens frater, dixit: Etiam; vidi columbam sursum in altitudine coeli contra caput meum stantem. Et respondens senex, dixit ei: Attende tibimetipsi, et deprecare Deum intente. Secunda vero hebdomada venit senex iterum ad fratrem, et interrogavit eum, dicens: Vidisti aliquid? Et respondit: Vidi columbam  ^[0885B] venientem juxta caput meum. Et praecepit ei senex, dicens: Sobrius esto mente, et ora. Et completa tertia hebdomada, venit iterum senex, et interrogavit eum, dicens: Ne aliquid plus vidisti? Et ille respondit, dicens: Vidi columbam, quia venit et stetit supra caput meum, et tetendi manum meam tenere eam, illa autem surgens intravit in os meum. Et 580 gratias agens Deo senex, dixit fratri: Ecce suscepit Deus poenitentiam tuam; de caetero attende temetipsum, et esto sollicitus. Et respondens frater dixit: Ecce amodo tecum ero donec moriar.

39. One of the old men in the Thebaid used to say that he was the son of a heathen priest, and that as a little boy he had often seen his father go into the temple and sacrifice to the idol. And once, when he had crept in secretly, he had seen Satan on his throne, and his host standing around: and one of his chief­tains came and adored him. And the devil said: “Where have you come from?” And he answered: “I was in such and such a province, and there I stirred wars and riots, and much blood was spilt, and I have come to tell you.” And the devil asked him: “How long did it take you?” And he answered: “A month.” Then the devil said: “Did you take so long over it?” and ordered him to be beaten. Then a second came to adore him. And the devil said to him: “Where have you been?” And the demon replied: “I was in the sea, and I raised storms, and sunk ships, and drowned many, and have come to tell you.” And the devil said: “How long did it take you?” And he answered: “Twenty days.” And the devil said: “Why did you take so long over this one task?” and ordered him also to be flogged. Then a third came and adored him. And the devil said to him: “Where have you been?” And he answered: “I was in such and such a city: and during a wedding I stirred up quarrelling until the parties came to bloody blows, and in the end even the husband was killed, and I have come to tell you.” And the devil said: “How long did it take you?” And he answered: “Ten days.” The devil commanded him also to be flogged because he had been idle. Another came to adore him, and he said: “Where have you been?” And he answered: “I was in the desert: and for forty years I have been attacking one monk. And at last in the night, I prevailed, to make him lust.” When the devil heard this, he rose, and kissed him. And taking offhis own crown, he put it on his head, and made him sit with him on a throne, and said: “You have been brave, and done a great deed.” “When I heard and saw this, I said within myself: ‘Great indeed is the discipline of the monks’. And so it pleased God to grant me salvation: and I went out, and became a holy monk.”

39. Dicebat quidam de Thebaeis senibus, quod filius esset sacerdotis idolorum; et cum parvulus sederet in templo, vidisset patrem suum frequenter ingredi, et sacrificia offerre idolo; et quia semel post  ^[0885C] ipsum occulte intraverit, et viderit Satanam sedentem, et omnem militiam ejus astantem ei - et ecce unus de principibus ejus veniens adoravit eum. Cui diabolus dixit: Unde venis tu? Et ille respondit: In illa provincia eram, et suscitavi illic bella et perturbationes plurimas, effusiones sanguinis faciens, et veni nuntiare tibi. Et diabolus interrogavit eum: In quanto tempore hoc fecisti? Et ille respondit: In triginta diebus. Et diabolus jussit eum flagellari, dicendo: Tanto tempore hoc fecisti? Et ecce alius veniens adoravit eum. Et ipsi dixit: Unde venis tu? Et respondit daemon: In mari eram, et suscitavi commotiones, et demersi naves, et multos homines occidens, veni nuntiare tibi. Et dixit diabolus: Quanto tempore hoc fecisti? Et ille respondit:  ^[0885D] Sunt dies viginti. Et hunc similiter jussit flagellari, dicens: Quare in tantis diebus hoc solum fecisti? Et tertius veniens adorabat eum. Dixit autem et huic: Et tu unde venis? Et respondit: In illa civitate fui; et dum ibi fierent nuptiae, excitavi lites, et multas effusiones sanguinis feci; insuper et ipsum sponsum occidi, et veni nuntiare tibi. Et dixit ei: In quantis diebus hoc fecisti? Et respondit: Decem. Jussit autem, tanquam moras fecerit, et hunc flagellari. Venit autem alius adorare eum, et dixit ei: Unde venis? Et respondit ei: In eremo eram; ecce quadraginta anni sunt, quod impugno monachum quemdam; et vix nocte ista praevalui, ut facerem eum fornicari. Quod diabolus audiens surrexit, et  ^[0886A] osculatus est eum: et tollens coronam quam ipse habebat, posuit in capite illius, et fecit eum sibi in una sede considere, dicens: Magnam rem fortiter gessisti. Hoc ego cum audissem, et vidissem, dixi intra meipsum: Valde magnus est ordo monachorum.

40. They said this of a father, that he had been a man who lived in the world, and had turned to God, but was still goaded by desire for his wife; and he told this to the fathers. When they saw him to be a true labourer, one who did more than his duty, they laid on him a course of discipline which so weakened his body that he could not stand up. By God’s providence a father came to visit Scete. And when he came to this man’s cell, he saw it open, and he passed on, surprised that no one came to meet him. But then he thought that perhaps the brother inside was ill, and returned, and knocked on the door. And after knocking, he went in, and found the monk gravely ill. And he said: “What’s the matter, father?” And he told him: “I was living in the world, and the enemy still troubles me because of my wife. And I told the fathers, and they laid upon me various burdens to discipline my life. And in trying to carry them out obediently, I have fallen ill—and yet the goad is worse.” When the old man heard this, he was vexed, and said: “The fathers are powerful men, and did well in laying these burdens upon you. But if you will listen to me who am but a child in these matters, stop all this discipline, take a little food at the proper times, recover your strength, join in the worship of God for a little, and turn your mind to the Lord—for this is a thing you cannot conquer by your own efforts. The human body is like a coat. If you treat it carefully, it will last a long time. If you neglect it, it will fall into tatters.” The sick man did as he was told, and in a few days the incitement to lust vanished.

40. Dicebant de quodam Patre quia saecularis fuisset, et post conversus est, et de concupiscentia uxoris suae frequenter stimulabatur, et narrabat hoc Patribus. Qui cum vidissent quia operarius esset, et majora faciebat quam illi dicebant, imponebant ei quaedam, ut debilitaretur corpus ejus, ita ut nec surgere posset. Deo autem dispensante, venit quidam pater ut applicaret in Scythi; et cum venisset ad cellam ejus, vidit eam apertam, et pertransivit adjurans quomodo nemo egressus esset in occursum ejus. Et  ^[0886B] reversus pulsabat, dicens: Ne forte frater qui in ea habitat infirmetur. Et cum pulsasset, intravit, et invenit eum nimium infirmum. Et dicit ei: Quid habes, Pater? Et narravit ei, dicens: Ego de saeculari vita sum, et sollicitat me modo inimicus in uxore mea: et narravi Patribus, et imposuerunt mihi conversationis onera diversa. Et cum obedienter implere vellem, ecce defeci, et tamen stimulus crescit. Audiens haec senex, contristatus est, et dixit ei: Equidem Patres, ut potentes viri bene tibi imposuerunt onera, quibus gravaris; sed si me parvulum audis, jacta a te haec, et sume parum cibi in tempore suo, et recolligers vires tuas, fac aliquantum opus Dei, et jacta in Domino cogitatum tuum  (Psal. LIV) , quoniam tuo labore hanc rem non poteris superare. Corpus enim  ^[0886C] nostrum velut vestimentum est. Si illud diligenter tractaveris, stabit; si autem neglexeris illud, putrescet. Qui cum audisset eum, fecit ita, et intra paucos dies recessit ab eo stimulus ille.

41. A very old hermit, of saintly life, lived on a mountain near Antinoe, and helped many people towards sanctity by his teaching and example—so I have been told by well-known monks. And because he was saintly, the devil was stirred to envy him, as he envies all men of true goodness. And the devil sent into his heart the thought that if he was really the man he wanted to be, he ought not to let others minister to his needs, but himself ought to be ministering to them: or at least, if he could not minister to the needs of others, he ought to minister to his own needs. So he said: “Go to the town and sell the baskets you are making, and buy what you need, and come back to your cell, and so be a burden to no one.” But the devil suggested this because he envied his quietness and his opportunity of leisure to hear God, and the good which he did to so many people. All round him the enemy was scurrying, hurling at him, trying to capture him. He assented to what he believed a good thought, and came down from his hermitage. And everyone admired him and recognized him when they saw him, but did not know that he was entangled in the devil’s net. And after a long time he saw a woman. And because he was being careless, he was overthrown, and came to her. And he went into a desert place, with the devil at his heels, and fell down by a river. And he thought that the enemy rejoiced at his ruin, and wanted to despair, because he had sorely grieved the Spirit of God, and the holy angels, and the venerable fathers, many of whom had overcome the devil though they lived in towns. And because he could not become like them, he was utterly downcast; and he forgot that God is a God who gives strength to them who devoutly turn to him. Blinded, and not seeing how to cure his sin, he wanted to throw himself in the river, and fill the enemy’s cup to over­flowing. In the agony of his soul, his body began to sicken. And unless God in his mercy had helped him, he would have died impenitent, to the perfect satisfaction of the enemy. But at the last moment he found his right mind again. He resolved to inflict a severe penance upon himself, and pray to God in sorrow and grief: and in this mind he went back to his cell. He marked the door of his cell in the usual way to show that the man inside was dead, and so he wept and prayed to God. He fasted, and watched, and became thin with his aus­terity; and still he did not think he had made fit penance or satisfaction. When the brothers came to him to be taught, and knocked at the door, he said that he could not open it—”I am bound by an oath to do penance for a whole year devoutly. Pray for me.” When they heard this, they were scandalized, because they believed him to be truly honourable and great: but he found no means of explaining himself to them. For a whole year he fasted rigidly, and did penance. On Easter Eve, he took a new lamp and put it on a new pot, and covered it with a lid. At evening he stood up to pray, and said: “Merciful, pitying Lord, who willest that barbarians be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth: I flee to thee, the Saviour of the faithful. Have mercy upon me that I moved thee to anger, that I made the enemy happy: here am I, dead, but obedient to thee. Thou, Lord, who pitiest even the wicked, even the pitiless, thou who commanded us to show mercy to our neighbours, have mercy upon me humbled before thee. With thee nothing is impossible: for in the mouth of hell my soul was scattered like dust. Have pity on thy creation because thou art kind and merciful, thou who wilt on the day of the resurrection raise up even bodies that are not. Hear me, O Lord, for my spirit has failed, and my soul is wretched. I have polluted my body, and now I cannot live, because I did not believe. Look at my penitence and forgive my sin, a sin that was double because I despaired. Send life into me, for I am contrite: and light this lamp with thy fire. So I may be enabled to receive confidence in thy mercy and pardon, to keep thy commandments, to re­main in thy fear, to serve thee more faithfully than before, for the rest of the span of life which thou hast allotted to me.” On the night of Easter Eve he prayed thus and wept. And he rose to see if the lamp were lit. When he took off the lid, he saw that it was unlit. And again he fell on his face and besought God: “I know, O God, that when I struggled for my crown, I did not stand on my feet, but rather chose the pleasures of the body and so the punishment of the wicked. Spare me then, Lord. Here am I: again I confess my disgrace to thee, who art goodness, and in the presence of thy angels, and of all just men, I would confess it to all mankind, if I should not cause them thereby to stumble. Lord, have mercy upon me, and I will teach others: Lord, send life into me.” When he had prayed three times, God heard his prayer. He rose up and found the lamp burning brightly. And his heart leapt with hope, and happiness, and he worshipped God’s grace who had thus forgiven his sins, and answered his soul’s prayer. And he said: “I thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast pitied me who am unworthy to live in this world, and hast given me confidence by this great new sign of thy power; thou art merciful to spare the souls which thou createst.” He was still praying thus when the dawn came. And forget­ting his need for food, he rejoiced in the Lord. All his life he kept that lamp alight, pouring in oil from the top to prevent it going out. And so, once again, God’s Spirit dwelt within him, and he was famous among all the monks, and showed humility and joy in his praise and thanksgiving to God. A few days before his death it was revealed to him how he should pass to another life.

41. Monachus quidam solitarius antiquus, et conversatione proficiens, sedebat in monte in partibus Antinoo, sicut audivimus a notis monachis, cujus verbis et actu multi proficiebant. Et cum talis esset, excitatus est diabolus ad invidiam contra eum, sicut et contra omnes virtutum viros, et immittit animo ejus cogitationem talem, ut ei qui in tali conversatione esset non deberet serviri ab alio, aut ministerium exhiberi, sed magis ipsum debere aliis ministrare. Quod si aliis non exhiberet ministerium, saltem sibi ipsi serviret, dicens: Vende ergo in civitate  ^[0886D] sportellas quas facis, et eme tibi quae opus sunt, et revertere ad locum tuum, et nulli sis onerosus. Hoc autem suggerebat diabolus, invidens quieti ejus et opportunae vacationi ad Dominum, et utilitati multorum. Undique enim inimicus venari eum et capere festinabat. Ille vero tanquam bonae cogitationi acquiescens, descendit de monasterio suo. Et quia erat omnibus admirandus, ignotus tamen habere hujusmodi insidias astutiae, notus autem et famosus omnibus a quibus videbatur existens. Et cum post longum tempus mulierem vidisset, pro incautela sua supplantatus est, et incurrit in eam. Et veniens in desertum locum sequente diabolo vestigia ejus, cecidit juxta flumen. Et cogitans quia gavisus 581 est inimicus  ^[0887A] de ruina ejus, voluit semetipsum desperare, quia Spiritum Dei maxime contristaverit, et sanctos angelos, et venerabiles Patres, quorum multi etiam in civitatibus habitantes superaverunt diabolum. Et cum nulli horum se facere similem posset, contristabatur valde, et non recordabatur quia Deus est qui virtutem tribuit his qui ad eum devotissime convertuntur. Caecatus ergo, et non videns peccati sui curam, voluit se in flumen illud jactare, ut perfectum gaudium faceret inimico. Ex multo itaque animi dolore infirmatus est corpore; et nisi postea misericors Deus auxilium praestitisset ei, ad perfectum gaudium inimici sine poenitentia moreretur. Novissime autem in se reversus, cogitavit majorem laborem in afflictione poenitentiae demonstrare, et supplicare  ^[0887B] Deo in fletu et luctu, et ita rediit iterum ad monasterium suum. Et damnans ostium cellae suae, sicut solet super mortuum, ita flebat supplicans Deo. Jejunans autem et vigilans cum omni anxietate attenuavit corpus suum; et nec sic satisfactum putabat animo suo, quia congrue poenituisset. Fratribus autem saepe ad eum venientibus suae utilitatis causa, et pulsantibus ostium, ipse dicebat non se posse aperire, dicendo: Sacramento me constrinxi unum annum devote me poenitentiam agere; sed orate pro me. Nec enim inveniebat quomodo eis excusaret, quoniam illi scandalizabantur haec audientes de eo, quia erat apud eos honorabilis et valde magnus monachus. Et fecit totum annum intente jejunans, et devote poenitentiam agens. Die autem Paschae  ^[0887C] nocte ipsa resurrectionis Dominicae, tollens lucernam novam posuit in cacabo novo. Et cooperiens de cooperculo, a sero surrexit ad orationem, dicens: Misericors et miserator Dominus; qui et barbaros salvare vis, et ad veritatis agnitionem venire, ad te confugi fidelium Salvatorem, miserere mihi qui te plurimum exacerbavi, inimicum gaudere feci, et ecce mortuus sum obediens ei. Tu, Domine, qui et impiis et his qui sunt sine misericordia misereris, sed et proximis misericordiam impendere praecipis, miserere humilitati meae. Apud te enim impossibile nihil est, quoniam secus infernum dissipata est sicut pulvis anima mea. Fac misericordiam, quia benignus es et misericors, figmento tuo, qui et corpora quae non sunt in die resurrectionis resuscitaturus es. Exaudi  ^[0887D] me, Domine, quia defecit spiritus meus, et infelix anima mea. Tabefactum est etiam corpus meum, quod coinquinavi. Et jam vivere non valeo, pro eo quod non credidi. Ignosce peccatum per poenitentiam, duplex habenti peccatum ex desperatione. Vivifica me contritum, et igne tuo praecipe hanc lucernam accendi. Ut et ego accipiens fiduciam misericordiae et indulgentiae tuae, per residuum tempus vitae meae, quod mihi donaveris, mandata tua custodiam, et a timore tuo non recedam, sed devote serviam tibi amplius quam primo. Et haec in nocte ipsa resurrectionis cum multis lacrymis dicens, surrexit ut videret si accensa esset lucerna. Et detecto cacabo, vidit quia non esset accensa. Et cecidit iterum in  ^[0888A] faciem suam, rogans Dominum, et dicens: Scio, Domine, quia certamen factum est ut coronarer, non steti in pedibus, eligens magis propter carnis delectationem tormentis impiorum addici. Parce ergo mihi, Domine. Ecce enim iterum confiteor tuae bonitati turpitudinem meam coram angelis tuis, et coram justis omnibus, et nisi quia scandalizari possent, etiam hominibus omnibus confiterer. Deus miserere mei, ut et alios erudiam; Domine, vivifica me. Et ita tribus vicibus orans, exauditus est. Et exsurgens invenit lucernam ardentem clare. Et exsultans spe, confortatus gaudio cordis est, admirans de gratia Dei, qui ita et peccatis ejus indulsit, et satisfecit juxta petitionem ejus et animum ipsius, et dicebat: Gratias ago tibi, Domine, quia etiam vitae saeculi hujus indigno misertus  ^[0888B] es, magno et novo hoc signo fiduciam tribuens, parcis enim misericors animabus, quas tu creas. Ita autem perseverante eo in confessione illuxit dies. Et laetabatur in Domino, oblitus cibi corporalis. Ignem autem lucernae illius toto tempore vitae suae servavit, oleum subinde superinfundens, et faciens desuper quo minus exstingueretur. Et ita rursus divinus Spiritus habitavit in eo, et factus est apud omnes insignis, humilitatem exhibens in confessione et actione gratiarum Domino cum laetitia. Cui etiam ante aliquot dies mortis suae relatum est de transitu suo.