BOOK 6
That a monk should possess nothing

LIBELLUS SEXTUS
De eo quod monachus nihil debeat possidere.

1. A brother was renouncing the world, and in giving his goods to the poor, he kept a little for his own support. And he came to Abba Antony. When the old man knew what he had done, he said: “If you would be a monk, go to the village yonder and buy some meat, and hang it about your naked body, and come back here.” And when the brother did so, dogs and birds tore at his body. He came back to the old man, who asked him if he had done what he was told. He showed St Antony his torn body. Then said St Antony: “People who renounce the world but want to keep their money, are attacked like that by demons and torn in pieces.”

1. Frater quidam renuntians saeculo, et dans quae habebat pauperibus, retinens autem pauca in sua  ^[0888C] ratione, venit ad abbatem Antonium  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 68) . Quod cum agnovisset senex, dixit ei: Si vis monachus fieri, vade in illum vicum, et eme carnes, et impone corpori tuo nudo, et sic veni huc. Et cum sic fecisset frater ille, canes et aves corpus ejus lacerabant. Cum pervenisset autem ad senem, interrogavit si fecisset quod ⁵⁸² ei dixerat. Illo autem ostendente corpus suum laceratum, dixit sanctus Antonius: Qui renuntiant saeculo, et volunt habere pecunias, ecce ita impugnati a daemonibus discerpuntur.

2. Abba Daniel told this story about Abba Arsenius. An official once came bringing the will of a kinsman, who was a senator, and had left Arsenius a very great bequest. Arsenius took the will into his hands and wanted to tear it up. But the official fell at his feet, and said: “Please do not tear it; the blame will be on my head.” And Abba Arsenius said to him: “I died before he did. Now that he is dead, how can he make me his heir?” And he gave back the will, and would accept nothing.

2. Narravit abbas Daniel de abbate Arsenio, quia venit aliquando Magistrianus [(24) ^[0988D] Magistrianus.] Ado Viennensis, in Martyrologio, 2 Julii, in libello De festivitatibus apostolorum: «Natalis sanctorum Processi et Martiniani, qui cum essent magistriani melloprincipes.» Ita locum eum legendum docui ibi in notationibus, et quid officii gesserint in militia palatina ibidem expressi.] , deferens ei testamentum cujusdam senatoris parentis ejus, qui reliquerat ei haereditatem magnam valde. Et accipiens testamentum, voluit illud scindere: Magistrianus  ^[0888D] autem cecidit ad pedes ejus, dicens: Deprecor te, ne scindas illud, quia incidetur mihi caput. Et dicit ei abbas Arsenius: Ego prius mortuus sum quam ille. Ipse autem modo mortuus est, quomodo me fecit haeredem? Et remisit testamentum, nihil accipiens.

3. Once Abba Arsenius fell ill in Scete, and in his plight needed just one penny. And he could not find one, so he accepted it as alms from someone, and said: “I thank thee, O God, that for thy name’s sake thou hast made me worthy to come to this, that I should have to ask for alms.”

3. Aegrotavit aliquando memoratus abbas Arsenius in Scythi, et opus habuit in necessitate sua usque ad unam siliquam nummi. Et cum non inveniret, accepit a quodam velut eleemosynam, et dixit: Gratias tibi ago, Domine, quia me dignum fecisti pro nomine tuo ad hoc pervenire, ut egens eleemosynam postularem.

4. They told this story of Abba Agatho. He and his disciples spent a long time in building his cell. After they had finished it, he began to live there; and in the first week he saw a vision harmful to himself. And he said to his disciples what the Lord said to his apostles: “Rise, let us go hence.” 18 But the disciples were exceedingly vexed, and said: “If you meant the whole time to move from here, why did we have to work so hard and spend so long in building you a cell? People will begin to be scandalized at us, and say: ‘Look, they are moving again, they are restless and never settle.’ “ But when he saw that they were afraid of what people would say, he said: “Although some may be scandalized, there are others who will be edified and say: ‘Blessed are they, for they have moved their abode for God’s sake, and despised all their property.’ Yet I say to you, whoever wants to come, let him come, because I at any rate am going.” They threw themselves on the ground before him, and begged to be allowed to go with him.

4. Narraverunt de abbate Agathone, quia longo tempore cellam sibi cum suis discipulis fabricaret. Quam cum perfecissent, et coepisset illic habitare,  ^[0889A] vidit in ipsa hebdomada quaedam non utilia sibi; et dixit discipulis suis illud quod Dominus apostolis dixerat: Surgite, eamus hinc  (Joan. XIV) . Discipuli autem contristati sunt valde, dicentes: Si omnino voluntatem habebas migrandi hinc, ut quid tantum laborem sustinuimus, aedificantes longo tempore cellam? Incipient autem homines scandalizari in nobis, et dicere: Ecce iterum migrant, nusquam sedentes. Ille autem cum eos vidisset pusillanimes effectos, dicit eis: Etsi scandalizantur aliqui; sed iterum sunt alii qui aedificentur et dicunt: Beati sunt isti, quia propter Deum migraverunt, et sua omnia contempserunt. Verumtamen dico vobis, qui vult venire, veniat, quia ego interim vado. Illi vero prostraverunt se in terram, rogantes ut concederet secum abire.

5. Abba Evagrius said that there was a brother who had no possessions but a Gospel, and sold it to feed the poor. And he said a word which is worth remembering: “I have even sold the word which commands me to sell all and give to the poor.”

 ^[0889B] 5. Dixit abbas Evagrius25 fuisse quemdam fratrem, qui nihil habuit in substantia sua, nisi tantum Evangelium, et ipsum vendidit in pauperum nutrimento  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 70, nomine Serapionis) . Dicens quodam verbo, quod memoriae dignum est commendari: Ipsum etiam, inquit, verbum vendidi, quod jubet: Vende omnia, et da pauperibus  (Matth. XIX) .

6. Abba Theodore, surnamed Pherme, had three good books. And going to Abba Macarius, he said to him: “I have three good books, and I am helped by reading them. But other monks also want to read them, and they are helped by them. Tell me, what am I to do?” And the old man said: “Reading books is good, but possessing nothing is more than all.” When he heard this, he went away and sold the books, and gave the money to the poor.

6. Abbas Theodorus, cognomento de Pherme, habebat tres Codices bonos. Et cum venisset ad abbatem Macarium, dixit ei: Habeo tres Codices, et proficio ex lectione eorum. Sed et fratres petunt eos ad legendum, et ipsi proficiunt. Dic ergo mihi quid debeo facere? Et respondens senex, dixit: Boni sunt quidem actus, sed melius omnibus est nihil possidere.  ^[0889C] Quod cum audisset, abiit, et vendidit memoratos Codices, et dedit indigentibus pretium ipsorum.

7. One of the fathers told a story of John the Persian, how from manifold virtue he attained to a deep simplicity and innocence. He dwelt in the part of Arabia that lies near to Egypt. And once he borrowed from a monk a shilling and bought linen with which to make things. And a brother came and asked him: “Abba, give me a little linen, and I will make myself a vest to wear.” John gave it gladly. Then another came and asked him for a little linen, so that he could make himself a coat. And he gave it. When many others came he gave it simply and with pleasure. Later the owner of the borrowed shilling arrived and asked for his money back. And the old man said to him: “I will fetch it for you.” And when he could not find the wherewithal to pay, he went to Abba Jacob the steward, and asked him for a shilling. On the way he found a shilling lying on the ground. He did not touch it, but said a prayer, and went back to his cell. And again came the owner of the shilling and began to speak harshly to him for his money. AndJohn said: “I will give it back to you.” And again the old man went away, and found the shilling lying as before on the ground, and said a prayer, and went back to his cell. Then the owner began again to be troublesome: and the old man said: “Wait for me just once more, and I will bring you your shil­ling.” And he rose, and came to that place where he found the shilling on the ground. He said a prayer, and fetched it up, and came to AbbaJacob and said: “Abba, on my way here I found this shilling on the ground. Of your charity make proclamation among the neighbours, to see if anyone has lost it.” And the Abba summoned them and announced the find, but they could discover none who had lost it. Then John said to the Abba Jacob: “If no one has lost it, give it to that monk there, because I owe him a shilling.” And AbbaJacob was surprised thatJohn, being pressed to pay his debt, had not at once picked the shil­ling up when he found it, and used it to pay. There was another remarkable thing about Abba John. If anyone came to borrow something from him, he did not take it in his own hands and lend it, but said: “Come in, take what you need.” And when a borrower brought anything back, John used to say: “Put it back where you found it.” But if a man borrowed something and did not bring it back, the old man said nothing about it to him.

7. Narravit quidam Patrum de abbate Joanne Persa, quia ex multis virtutibus suis ad profundam simplicitatem atque innocentiam pervenerit  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 148) . Hic autem manebat in Arabia vicina Aegypti. Et mutuavit aliquando a fratre suo solidum unum, et emit linum ut operaretur. Et venit frater rogans eum, et dicens: Dona mihi, abba, aliquantum lini, et faciam mihi vestimentum quo utar. Et dedit ei cum gaudio. Similiter et alius veniens rogavit eum ut daret ei aliquantum lini, ut faceret sibi tegumentum. Et dedit ei. Et multis aliis petentibus dabat simpliciter cum gaudio. Postea venit dominus solidi quem mutuo acceperat, volens recipere quod mutuaverat.  ^[0889D] Et dixit ei senex: Ego affero tibi eum. Et cum non haberet unde redderet, abiit ad abbatem Jacob dispensatorem, ut rogaret eum, et daret ei solidum. Et cum iret, invenit in terra jacentem solidum, et non tetigit eum, sed fecit orationem, et reversus est in cellam suam. Et venit iterum frater ille, et coepit ei molestus esse pro solido. Et dicit ei: Ego reddam tibi. Et abiit iterum senex, et invenit solidum in terra ubi erat prius, et rursus facta oratione reversus est. Et ecce iterum coepit frater ille molestus esse, et dicit senex: Adhuc semel me exspecta, et affero tibi solidum tuum. Et surgens venit ad illum locum, et invenit ipsum solidum ibi; et facta oratione tulit eum, et venit ad abbatem Jacobum,  ^[0890A] et dicit: Abba, cum venirem ad te, inveni hunc solidum in via. Ostende ergo charitatem, et praedica jejunium, ne quis perdiderit eum. Et praedicavit abbas, et nemo est inventus qui perdidisset eum. Tunc vero dicit abbati Jacobo: Si ergo nemo eum perdidit, do eum illi fratri, quia ipsi debeo solidum. Et cum venirem ad te ut tu mihi solidum praestares, et redderem debitum, inveni eum in via. Et miratus est abbas Jacobus, quomodo compulsus pro debito invenisset, et non statim tulisset eum, et reddidit solidum fratri illi. Et hoc erat mirabile de ipso: quia si veniebat quis mutuum aliquid petere ab eo, non per seipsum dabat, sed dicebat fratri mutuum postulanti: Vade, tolle tibi tu ipse quod opus habes. Et quando referebat quod mutuum accepisset, dicebat ei: Repone  ^[0890B] illud iterum unde tulisti. Si autem nihil 583 referebat ille qui mutuum acceperat, senex nihil dicebat ei.

8. Some of the fathers said that a monk once came to the congregation at Cellia, and appeared before Abba Isaac in a small hood. And the old man rebuked him, and said: “This is where monks live. You are a man of the world, and cannot stay here.”

8. Narraverunt quidam Patrum quia venit aliquando frater aliquis in conventum Cellarum coram abbate Isaac, vestitus modicum cucullum; et spectabat eum senex, dicens: Hic monachorum est habitatio; tu saecularis es, et non poteris hic esse.

9. Abba Isaac said to the brothers: “Abba Pambo and our fathers used to wear ancient and much-patched clothes. You wear expensive clothes. Go away, you have abandoned this place.” When they were starting out for the harvest, he said: “Now I shall give you no more orders, for you never obey me.”

9. Dicebat autem fratribus abbas Isaac: Patres nostri et abbas Pambo, vetustis et de multis partibus resarcitis vestibus utebantur, nunc autem pretiosis vestibus utimini. Discedite hinc, desertastis locum hunc. Quando autem perfecturi erant ad messem, dicebat eis: Jam vobis nulla mandata dabo, quia non observatis.

10. Abba Cassian said that one Syncleticus renounced the world, and divided his property among the poor. But he kept some for his own use, and was unwilling to accept either the poverty of those who renounced everything or the normal of monasteries. Basil of blessed memory said to him: “You have stopped being a senator, but you have not become a monk.”

 ^[0890C] 10. Dixit abbas Cassianus  (Cassian., lib. VII Instit., c. 19)  quia Syncleticus aliquis nomine renuntiasset saeculo, et facultates suas pauperibus dividens, aliqua sibi retinuisset ad proprium usum, nolens perfecte ex omnibus renuntiantium humilitatem et communis monasteriorum vitae suscipere regulam. Ad quem sanctae memoriae Basilius dixit hoc: Et senator esse desiisti, et monachum non fecisti.

11. A brother said to Abba Pistamon: “What am I to do? I find it painful to sell what I make.” Abba Pistamon replied: “Abba Sisois and others used to sell what they made. There is no harm in this. When you sell anything, say straight out the price of the goods. If you want to lower the price a little, you may—and so you will find rest.” The brother said: “I have enough for my needs from other sources, do you think I need worry about making things to sell?” The old man answered: “However much you have, do not stop making things, do as much as you can provided that the soul is undisturbed.”

11. Dixit quidam frater abbati Pisteramoni: Quid faciam, quoniam durum est mihi vendere quod manibus meis laboro. Et respondens dixit: Quia abbas Sisois et caeteri vendebant opus manuum suarum; hoc enim non laedet. Sed quando vendis, semel dic pretium speciei quam distrahis. Et si vis relaxare modicum pretii, in te est, sic enim et quietem invenies.  ^[0890D] Iterum dixit ei frater: Si habeo quod sufficiat necessitatibus meis aliunde, videtur tibi ut non cogitem de labore manuum? Respondens senex, dixit: Quantumvis habeas, non negligas operari, et quantum potes, fac, tantum non cum turbatione animi.

12. A brother asked Abba Serapion: “Speak to me a word.” The old man said: “What can I say to you? You have taken what belongs to widows and orphans and put it on your window-ledge.” He saw that the window-ledge was full of books.

12. Frater interrogavit abbatem Serapionem, dicens: Dic mihi unum verbum. Dicit senex: Quid tibi habeo dicere, quia tulisti ea quae erant viduarum et orphanorum, et posuisti in fenestra. Viderat enim eam codicibus plenam.

13. Syncletice of blessed memory was asked:” Is absolute poverty perfect goodness?” And she said: “It is a great good for those who can. Even those who cannot bear it find rest to their souls though they suffer bodily anxiety. As sturdy clothes are laundered pure white by being turned and trodden under­foot in water, a sturdy soul is strengthened by freely accepting poverty.”

13. Interrogata est beatae memoriae Syncletica: Si perfectum bonum est nihil habere? Et illa dixit: Valde bonum est his qui possunt. Etenim hi qui tolerare possunt, tribulationem quidem carnis habent,  ^[0891A] sed animae requiem possident. Quoniam sicut fortia vestimenta dum calcantur, et pedibus saepius reversantur, laventur atque incandidantur, ita fortis anima per voluntariam paupertatem amplius confirmatur.

14. Abba Hyperichius said: “Freely to accept poverty is the monk’s treasury. Therefore, my brother, lay up treasure in heaven, where there will be endless time for rest.”

14. Dixit abbas Hyperichius: Thesaurus monachi est voluntaria paupertas. Thesauriza ergo tibi, frater, in coelo, quia ibi ad requiescendum sine fine sunt saecula.

15. One ofthe holy men named Philagrius lived inJerusalem and laboured to earn himself enough to eat. And when he was standing in the market-square trying to sell what he had made, by chance a bag fell on the ground near him, containing a great many shillings. The old man found it, and stood there thinking, “The loser must soon come here.” And soon the man who had lost it came lamenting. So Philagrius took him apart and gave him back his bag. The owner asked him to accept some of the shillings, but the old man would have nothing. Then the owner began to shout and call: “Come and see what the man of God has done.” But the old man fled away un­perceived, and went out of the town, so that they should not know what he had done, nor pay him honour.

15. Erat quidam sanctorum, Philagrius nomine. Hic habitabat in Jerosolymis, et laborabat operando, ut potuisset sibi ad panem sufficere. Et dum staret in platea, volens vendere quod manibus suis fuerat operatus, contigit ut caderet cuidam saccellus cum solidis mille, et inveniens eum senex, stetit in eodem  ^[0891B] loco, dicens: Necesse est modo eum qui perdidit huc venire. Et ecce veniebat, qui perdiderat, plorans. Tulit ergo eum seorsum, et reddidit saccellum suum. Quem ille rogabat ut acciperet aliquam partem ex eo, sed senex nullatenus acquievit. Tunc ille coepit clamare et dicere: Venite, et videte hominem Dei, quid fecit. Senex autem occulte fugiens, exivit de civitate, ne agnosceretur de eo quid fecerat, et honorarent eum.

16. A brother asked an old man: “What must I do to be saved?” He took offhis clothes, and put a girdle about his loins, and stretched out his hands and said: “Thus ought the monk to be naked of everything worldly, and crucify himself against temptation and the world’s struggles.”

16. Interrogatus est senex quidam a fratre, quid faceret ut salvus esset. Ille autem exspolians se vestimento suo, et cingens lumbos suos, atque extendens manus, dixit: Sic debet nudus esse monachus ab omni materia saeculari, et crucufigere se adversus tentationem atque certamina mundi.

17. Someone asked an old man to accept money for his future needs. But he refused, because the produce of his labour was enough for him. But when the man persisted, and begged him to take it for the needs of the poor, the old man replied: “My disgrace is twofold. I do not need, yet I accept: and I give to others, and so will suffer from vanity.”

 ^[0891C] 17. Quidam rogavit senem quemdam, ut acciperet pecunias in suis necessitatibus profuturas. Ille autem nolebat, utpote qui operi manuum suarum esset sibi sufficiens  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 71) . Sed dum ille persisteret obsecrando, ut saltem pro indigentium necessitate susciperet, respondit senex, et dixit: Duplex mihi opprobrium esset: quia et cum non indigeam, accipio; et aliena tribuens, vanam gloriam colligo.

18. Some Greeks once came to give alms in the city of Ostracine: and they sought out the stewards of the churcn to show them who was most in need. The stewards led them to a leper to whom they gave money. But he did not want it, and said: “Look, I have a few palm leaves to work, and I make plaits of them, and so get enough to eat.” Then the stewards led them to the house of a widow who lived with her daughters. When they knocked on the door, one of the daughters ran to open it though she was naked. Her mother had gone out to work as a laundress. They gave the daughter clothing and money. But she refused to accept it, and said that her mother had told her: “Trust in God’s will. Today I have found work to supply us with a livelihood.” And when the mother came back, they asked her to accept it. But she refused, saying: “I have my God to care for me. Do you want to take him away from me today?” They perceived her faith, and glorified God.

18. Venerunt aliquando quidam Graecorum, ut darent eleemosynam in civitate Ostracines [(26) ^[0989A] Ostracines.] Parisiensis editio, ostiatim. Aliae editiones, ostracen. Nota Ostracine civitas in Aegypto.] , et assumpserunt sibi oeconomos ecclesiae, ut ostenderent eis qui necessitatem majorem haberent. Illi autem duxerunt eos ad quemdam leprosum, et dederunt ei. Ille autem nolebat acccipere, dicens: Ecce modicas palmas habeo, quas operor, et facio plectas,  ^[0891D] et ex eis manduco panem. Iterum duxerunt eos ad cellam unius viduae, quae erat cum filiabus suis. Et cum pulsarent ostium, cucurrit filia ejus ad ostium nuda. Mater autem ejus abierat ad quoddam opus; erat enim candidatrix, et dabant filiae ejus vestimentum et nummos. Illa autem nolebat accipere, dicens venisse matrem suam, et dixisse sibi: Confide, quia voluit Deus, et inveni opus quod faciam hodie, unde habeamus victum nostrum. Et cum venisset mater ejus, rogabant eam ut acciperet; et noluit, dicens: Ego habeo curatorem meum Deum, et eum tollere vos vultis a me hodie? Illi autem agnoscentes 584 fidem ejus, glorificaverunt Deum.

19. A great man came from far to Scete carrying gold, and he asked the presbyter of the desert to distribute it among the brothers. But the presbyter said to him: “The brothers do not need it.” And he was very pressing, and would not give way, and put a basket of money in the church porch. And the presbyter said: “Whoever is in need may take money from it.” No one touched it, some did not even look at it. And the old man said: “God has accepted your offering to him. Go away, and give it to the poor.” And he went away much edified.

19. Venit quidam vir magnus ignotus, portans  ^[0892A] secum aurum in Scythi, et rogabat presbyterum eremi, ut erogaretur ad fratres. Dixit autem ei presbyter: Non opus habent fratres. Et cum nimis esset vehemens, et non acquiesceret, posuit sportam cum solidis in ingressu ecclesiae, et dicit presbyter: Qui opus habet, tollat. Et nemo tetigit; quidam autem nec aspexerunt. Et dicit ei senex: Suscepit Deus oblationem tuam; vade, et da illud pauperibus. Et valde aedificatus discessit.

20. Someone brought an old man money and said: “Take this to spend, for you are old and ill”: he was a leper. But the old man replied: “Are you coming to take me away from him who has fed me for sixty years? I have been iDfirm the whole of that time, and have needed nothing because God has fed me and given me what I need.” And he refused to accept it.

20. Attulit quidam seni pecuniam, dicens: Habe ad expensas tuas, quia senuisti et infirmus es; erat enim leprosus. Hic autem respondens dixit: Tu post sexaginta annos venis auferre nutritorem meum? Ecce tantum temporis habens in infirmitate mea, nihil indigui, Deo tribuente et pascente me. Et non  ^[0892B] acquievit accipere.

21 . The old men told of a working gardener who gave away all his profit in alms, and kept for himself only enough to live on. But later Satan enticed his heart and said: “Store up a little money, as a provision to spend when you are old and infirm.” And he made a store of coins in a big pot. It happened that he fell ill, and his foot became gangrenous; and he spent all his coins on doctors, but grew no better. And an experienced doctor told him: “Unless you amputate your foot, the gangrene will spread through your whole body.” And they decided to amputate. But the night before the operation, he recovered his right mind, and did penance for what he had done, and groaned and wept saying: “Lord, remember my earlier good works, when I worked in the garden and ministered to the poor.” And when he said this, an angel of the Lord stood before him and said: “Where is your store of coins? Where is your hope in them gone?” Then he understood, and said: “I have sinned, Lord. Forgive me, I will not do it again.” Then the angel touched his foot, and it was healed at once. And he rose at dawn, and went to the field to work. And at the appointed time the surgeon came with his instruments to amputate the foot. And people told him: “He went out at dawn to work in the fields.” Then the doctor, astonished, went out to the field where he was working. And he saw him digging, and glorified God that he had restored his health.

21. Narraverunt senes de quodam hortulano quia laboraret, et omnem laborem suum expenderet in eleemosynam. Et tantum sibi retinebat, quantum ad victum ipsius sufficeret. Postea vero Satanas immisit in corde ejus, dicens: Collige tibi aliquantam pecuniam, ne cum senueris aut aegrotaveris, opus habeas ad expensas. Et collegit et implevit lagenam de nummis. Contigit autem eum infirmari, et putrefieri pedem ejus; et expendit quod collegerat in medicos, et nihil ei prodesse potuit. Postea vero venit quidam de expertis medicis, et dicit ei: Nisi incideris pedem tuum, putrefiet. Et constituerunt diem ut inciderent ejus pedem. Illa autem nocte rediens in semetipsum, et poenitentiam agens de his quae gessit,  ^[0892C] ingemuit et flevit, dicens. Memor esto, Domine, operum meorum priorum quae faciebam, cum laboratorem in horto meo, ex quo pauperibus ministrabam. Et cum hoc dixisset, stetit angelus Domini, et dixit ei: Ubi sunt nummi quos collegisti? et ubi est spes de qua tractasti? Tunc intelligens, dixit: Peccavi, Domine; ignosce mihi, et amodo ulterius hoc non faciam. Tunc angelus tetigit pedem ejus, et sanatus est statim. Et exsurgens mane, abiit in agrum operari. Venit ergo medicus secundum constitutum cum ferramentis, ut secaret pedem ejus; et dicunt ei: Exiit a mane operari in agro. Tunc admiratus medicus perrexit in agrum, ubi operabatur ille. Et videns eum fodientem terram, glorificavit Deum, qui reddiderat ei sanitatem.

22. A brother asked an old man: “Would you have me save two shillings for myself, in case I fall ill?” The old man, seeing into his heart that he wanted to save them, said: “Yes.” And the brother went into his cell, and was worn down by his thoughts, saying to himself: “Do you think the old man spoke the truth to me or not?” He got up and went back to the old man, did penance, and asked: “For the Lord’s sake speak the truth to me, for I am troubled in my thoughts about those two shillings.” The old man said to him: “I told you to save them because I saw you intended to save them. But it is not good to save more than the body needs. If you keep two shillings, you will put your hope in them. And if by chance they are des­stroyed, God is then no longer thinking of our needs. Let us cast our thought upon the Lord: it is for him to care for us.”

 ^[0892D] 22. Frater interrogavit senem quemdam, dicens: Vis teneo mihi duos solidos propter infirmatatem corporis  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 69) ? Videns autem senex cogitationem ejus, quia vellet tenere, dixit ei: Etiam. Et vadens frater in cellam suam, conterebatur cogitationibus suis, dicens: Putas verum dixit mihi senex, an non? Et surgens iterum venit ad senem, agens poenitentiam et rogans, ac dicens: Propter Dominum dic mihi veritatem, quia affligor a cogitationibus meis propter duos solidos. Dicit ei senex: Quia vidi te voluntatem habere retinendi eus, dixi tibi ut retineres, verumtamen non est bonum tenere plus quam opus est corpori. Si ergo duos solidos retinueris, in ipsis invenietur spes tua. Et si contigerit  ^[0893A] ut pereant, Deus jam non cogitat de nobis. Cogitationem ergo nostram jactemus in Domino, quoniam ipis cura est de nobis.

BOOK 7
OF PATIENCE, or FORTITUDE

LIBELLUS SEPTIMUS.
 De patientia seu fortitudine.

   1. Once when the holy Abba Antony was living in the desert, his soul was troubled by boredom and irritation. And he said to God: “Lord, I want to be made whole and my thoughts do not let me. What am I to do in this trouble, how shall I be made whole?” And rising up after a little while, he began to go outside. And he saw someone like himself sitting down and at worki then standing up to pray; then sitting down again to make a plait of palm leaves, and again standing up to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct Antony and make him careful. And he heard the voice of the angel saying: “Do this and you will be made whole.” When he heard it he was very glad and recovered his confidence. And he did what the angel had done, and found the salvation which he was seeking.

1. Sanctus Antonius abbas cum sederet aliquando in eremo  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 105) , animus ejus taedium et confusionem cogitationum incurrit, et dicebat ad Deum: Domine, volo salvus fieri, et non me permittunt cogitationes meae. Quid faciam in hac tribulatione, quomodo salvus ero? Et modice assurgens, coepit foras exire. Et vidit quemdam, tanquam seipsum, sedentem atque operantem; deinde surgentem ab operibus et orantem; et iterum sedentem, et plectum de palmis facientem, et inde rursus ad orationem  ^[0893B] surgentem. Erat autem angelus Domini missus ad correptionem et cautelam dandam Antonio. Et audivit vocem angeli, dicentis: Sic fac, et salvus eris. Ille autem, hoc audito, magnum gaudium sumpsit atque fiduciam. Et ita faciens, salutem quam quaerebat invenit.

   2. A brother asked Abba Agatho: “I have been instructed to go somewhere, and I have a grievous struggle in the place where I have been told to go. I want to obey the order, yet I am frightened of the inner struggle which will ensue.” The old man said: “Agatho was like that. He obeyed orders, and so won the battle.”

2. Frater quidam interrogavit abbatem Agathonem, dicens: Mandatum mihi venit, et est mihi pugna gravis in loco, quo est ipsum mandatum. Volo ergo propter mandatum pergere illud, et pavesco bellum. Dicit ei senex: Sic erat Agatho; implebat mandatum, et vincebat bellum.

   3. Abba Ammonas said that for fourteen years he had prayed God in Scete night and day to give him power to control his temper.

3. Dixit abbas Ammonas, quia quatuordecim annos fecerit in Scythi, deprecans Deum die ac nocte, ut daret ei virtutem superandi iram.

   4. Abba Bessarion said that for forty nights he had stood up among the thorns, and had not slept.

 ^[0893C] 4. Dixit abbas Besarion, quia quadraginta noctes manserit inter spinas stans, et non dormierit

   5. A hermit who was troubled in mind went to Abba Theo­dore of Pherme and told him so. The old man said to him: “Go, make your mind humble, put yourself in subjection, and go to live with others.” So he went to a mountain, and there lived with a community. Later he returned to the old man and said: “Not even when I lived with other men did I find rest.” And the old man said to him: “If you are not at rest when a hermit, nor when in community, why did you want to be a monk.2 Was it not that you might suffer? Tell me, how many years have you been a monk?” And he said: “Eight.” And the old man said: “Believe me, I have been a monk for seventy years, and I have not been able to get a single day’s peace. And do you want to have peace after eight years?”

5. Frater quidam sedens singularis turbabatur, et pergens ad abbatem Theodorum de Pherme, dixit ei, quia conturbaretur. Senex autem dixit ei: Vade, humilia 585 mentem tuam, et subde te, et habita cum aliis. Abiit autem in montem, et mansit cum aliis. Et reversus est postea ad senem, et dixit ei: Nec cum aliis hominibus habitans, quietem invenio. Et dixit ei senex: Si solitarius non quiescis, neque cum aliis, cur voluisti monachum facere? nonne ut sustineas tribulationes? Dic autem mihi quot annos habes in habitu isto? Et dicit ei: Octo. Et dicit ei senex: Crede mihi, habeo in habitu isto septuaginta annos, et nec una die potui requiem invenire; et tu  ^[0893D] in octo annis requiem vis habere?

   6. A brother asked Abba Theodore: “Ifyousuddenlyhearthe sound of falling masonry, are you frightened, Abba?” And the old man said: “If the heaven fell down on the earth, Theodore would not be afraid.” For he had prayed to God that fear might be taken from him, and that was why the brother asked him.

6. Interrogavit cum iterum frater quidam, dicens: Si fiat subito sonus ruinae alicujus, fit tibi timor, abba? Et dixit ei senex: Si coelum terrae adhaereat, Theodorus non formidat. Poposcerat enim precibus a Deo ut auferretur ab eo formido, et propterea interrogavit eum frater.

   7. They said of Abba Theodore and Abba Lucius from the region of Alexandria, that they lived fifty years enticing their souls onwards thus. They said: “When this winter is past, we will move from here.” And in the summer time they said: “At the end of the summer let us move from here.” And so those memorable fathers lived their whole lives in devotion.

7. Dicebant de abbate Theodoro, et abbate Lucio de Nono Alexandriae [(27) ^[0989A] De nono Alexandriae.] Pariesiensis editio, de Novo. Aliae, de Nonno; aliae, de loco. Sic infra, libello XI, num. 2, Theodorus de Ennato, quod Latine est, de Nono. Intelligitur nonum clima seu regio Alexandriae. Sic alibi in Septimo seu Hebdomo.] , quia fecerint quinquaginta annos, seducentes animos suos, et dicentes: Transacta hieme ista, migrabimus hinc. Et iterum quando fiebat aestas, dicebant: Quia transacto aestivo, discedemus hinc. Et sic fecerunt toto tempore conversationis suae semper reminiscendi Patres.

   8. Abba Poemen said of Abba John the Short that he prayed the Lord to take away his passions. And so he was made tranquil in heart, and came to an old man and said: “I find that I am at rest, with no war of flesh and spirit.” And the old man said to him: “Go, ask the Lord to stir a new war in you. Fighting is good for the soul.” And when the war revived in him, he no longer prayed for it to be taken away, but said: “Lord, grant me long-suffering to endure this war.”

 ^[0894A] 8. Dixit abbas Pastor de abbate Joanne brevis staturae quia rogaverit Dominum, et abstulerit ab eo omnes passiones, et effectus est securus, et veniens dixerit cuidam seni: Vide hominem quietum, et nullam habentem pugnam. Et dixit ei senex: Vade, roga Dominum, ut jubeat in te moveri pugnam, quoniam proficit pugnando anima. Et cum redisset in eo pugna, ulterius non oravit, ut auferretur ab eo pugna, sed dicebat: Domine, da mihi tolerantiam sustinendi has pugnas.

   9. Abba Macarius the Great came to Abba Antony on the mountain. And when he knocked at the door, Antony went out to him and said: “Who are you?” And he said: “I am Mac­arius.” And Antony went in and shut the door, and left Macarius outside. And afterwards, when he saw how patiently he waited, he opened the door to him. And he welcomed him, saying: “I have heard of you, and for a long time I have wanted to see you.” And he was hospitable to him and refreshed him; for Macarius was tired with his endeavours. In the evening Abba Antony put out a few palm leaves for himself. And Abba Macarius said to him: “Give me some, so that I can work at them.” Antony said: “I have no more.” So he made a pile of what he had, and they sat late, talking to the profit of their souls, and made a plaited rope, and the rope hung out of the window in the cave. And at dawn Antony went in and saw the plaits which Abba Macarius had made, and he wondered at them and kissed his hand, saying: “There is much virtue in those plaits.”

9. Venit abbas Macarius major ad abbatem Antonium in montem; et cum pulsasset ostium, exivit ad eum, et dixit ei: Tu quis es? Et ille ait: Ego sum Macarius. Et claudens ostium intravit, et dimisit eum foris. Et cum vidisset postea patientiam ejus, aperuit  ^[0894B] ei. Et adgaudens ei, dicebat: Multum tempus est ex quo te videre desiderabam, audiens de te. Et exhibens ei hospitalitatem, refecit eum; erat enim fessus de multo labore. Vespere autem facto infudit sibi abbas Antonius modicas palmas, et dicit ei abbas Macarias: Da mihi, ut ego infundam quod operer. Ille autem dixit: Non habeo plus. Et faciens fasciculum majorem, infudit eum. Et sedentes a sero, et colloquentes de utilitate animarum, faciebant plectam, et ipsa plecta per fenestram descendebat in spelunca. Et egrediens mane sanctus Antonius, vidit collectionem plectarum abbatis Macarii, et admiratus est, et osculatus manus ejus, dicebat: Multa virtus de istis egreditur.

   10. This Macarius once went down from Scete to a place named Terenuthis, and he climbed into an old pagan cemetery to sleep. And he put one of the bodies under his head as a pillow. The demons hated him when they saw his assurance, and tried to frighten him by calling out “Lady, come with us to bathe.” And another demon answered, from underneath Macarius, as though he were the dead woman: “I have a pil­grim on top of me, and cannot move.” The old man was not frightened, but confidently thumped the body, saying: “Get up, go if you can.” When the demons heard it, they cried with a loud voice and said: “You have beaten us.” And they fled in confusion.

10 Descendit aliquando ipse Macarius de Scythi  ^[0894C] ad locum qui dicitur Terenuthin, et intravit dormire in monumento, ubi erant antiquitus sepulta corpora paganorum. Et traxit unum corpus sub caput suum tanquam plumatium de scirpo [(28) ^[0989A] Plumatium de scirpo.] Ita recte manuscripti et veteres editiones. Male in editione Parisiensi, plumarum  ^[0989B] de stirpe. Vide Onomasticon.] . Daemones autem videntes fiduciam ejus, invisi sunt, et volentes terrere eum, vocabant quasi quamdam mulierem, dicentes: Nonna [(29) ^[0989B] Nonna.] Ita Manuscripti et veteres Editi. Non recte Parisienses, Nonne. Fingunt daemones se alloqui quamdam mulierem, quam nonnam seu dominam vocant. Quasi Gallice dicant: Cette dame-la, venez ici. Vide Onomasticon.]  illa, veni nobiscum ad balneum. Et alter daemon de sub ipso tanquam ex mortuis illis respondit, diceas: Peregrinum quemdam habeo super me, non possum venire. Senex autem non expavit, sed confidens tundebat corpus illud, dicens: Surge, vade, si potes. Quod cum audissent daemones, clamaverunt voce magna, dicentes: Vicisti nos. Et fugerunt confusi.

   11. Abba Mathois said: “I want to find some easy but con­tinual work, rather than a heavy work that is quickly finished.”

11. Dicebat abbas Mathois: Volo aliquod leve  ^[0894D] opus et continuum, quam grave quod cito finitur.

   12. They said of Abba Milidus, that while he was living on the frontiers of Persia with two disciples, two sons of the emperor came on their usual hunting expedition, and put nets over an area of forty miles, and speared whatever they trapped. And they found the old man and his disciples within the area. And when they saw his hairy and forbidding face, they were surprised and said: “Are you a man or a Spirit?” And he said: “I am a sinful man, and I have come out here to lament my sins; and I worship Jesus Christ the Son of the living God.” They said to him: “There is no God but the sun, and the fire and the water. Worship them and sacrifice to them.” And he replied: “You are wrong: these are but creatures. I beseech you, be converted—recognize the true God who made these and all things else.” But they mocked him and said: “Are you saying that the true God is a condemned and crucified man?” “Yes,” said Milidus, “I say that the true God is he who crucified sin and killed death.” So they tortured him and his two monks to force them to sacrifice. And after much torture they beheaded the two monks, but they went on torturing the old man day after day. But afterwards they fastened him in one place and fired arrows into him, one in front and one behind, so that he looked like a signpost. The old man said to them: “Since you have con­spired to shed innocent blood, tomorrow, at this very moment of the day, your mother shall be bereaved of her children and your affection for her, and you will spill each other’s blood by your own arrows.” They thought his words were silly: and next day went out again to hunt. It happened that a stag escaped from their net, and they jumped on their horses and chased him. And each fired an arrow which hit the heart of the other: and so they died as the old man had foretold.

12. Narraverunt de abbate Milido[1], quia cum habitaret aliquando cum duobus discipulis in finibus Persarum, exierunt duo filii imperatoris secundum consuetudinem in venationem, et miserunt retia in longum per millia quadraginta, ut quodcunque intra retia inveniretur, occiderent. Inventus est autem senex cum duobus discipulis intra retia. Et cum vidisent eum pilosum et terribilem aspectu, admirati sunt, et dixerunt ei: Homo es, an spiritus aliquis? dic nobis. Et dixit eis: Homo sum peccator, et exivi flere peccata mea; et adoro Filium Dei vivi. Illi autem dixerunt ei: Non est alius Deus, nisi Sol, et Ignis, et Aqua [(31) ^[0989B] Nisi sol, et ignis, et aqua.] Haec tria pro diis culta a Persis, ut notum ex Persarum historiis.] ; ipsos adora, et sacrifica eis.  ^[0895A] Et ille respondit: Ista creaturae sunt, et erratis. Sed obsecro vos, convertimini, et agnoscite verum Deum, qui et ista creavit, et caetera omnia. Illi autem deridentes, dixerunt: Condemnatum et crucifixum dicis esse verum Deum? Etiam, inquit, ipsum qui crucifixit et occidit mortem, hunc dico esse verum Deum. Illi autem tam ipsi quam fratribus qui cum eo erant inferentes tormenta, cogabant eos sacrificare. Et duos quidem fratres post plurima tormenta decapitaverunt, senem autem diebus multis torquebant. Postea vero statuerunt eum in quodam loco, et sabittabant in ipso quasi ad signum: unus a dorso, et alter a pectore. Dicit eis senex: Quoniam facti estis in consensu in unum, ut effundatis 586 sanguinem innocentem, crastina in momento hac  ^[0895B] hora, quae modo est, sine filiis remanebit mater vestra, et privabitur affectu vestro, et propriis sagittis invicem sanguinem vestrum effundetis. Illi autem subsannantes verba ejus, exierunt in crastino, ut venarentur. Et contigit ut evaderet unus cervus de rete eorum, et ascenderunt equos, et currebant ut comprehenderent cervum: qui cum jactassent sagittas post impsum, invicem sibi in cor dederunt, et mortui sunt juxta verbum quod praedixerat senex.

   13. Abba Poemen said: “The mark of the true monk only appears under temptation.”

      13. Dixit abbas Pastor: Quia virtus monachi in tentationibus apparet.

   14. Another saying of his was this. Isidore the presbyter in Scete once addressed a congregation of monks and said: “My brothers, is not work the reason why we are here? And now I see that there is no work here. So I am taking my cloak and going where there is work, and there I shall find rest.”

      14. Dixit iterum qui supra quia Isidorus presbyter de Scythi allocutus sit aliquando plebem fratrum, dicens: Fratres, nunquid non ad laborandum venimus in hoc loco? Et nunc video, quia nullus hic labor est.  ^[0895C] Ego igitur collecta pelle mea vado ubi est labor, et ibi invenio requiem.

   15. Saint Syncletice said: “If you live in a monastic community, do not wander from place to place: if you do, it will harm you. If a hen stops sitting on the eggs she will hatch no chickens: and the monk or nun who moves from place to place grows cold and dead in faith.”

15. Dixit sancta Syncletica: Si in monasterio cum aliis versaris, non mater locum; laederis enim, si facias hoc. Etenim sicut gallina si dereliquerit ova sua fota, sine pullis ea exire facit; ita monachus vel virgo frigescit et mortificatur in fide, de loco ad locum transeundo.

   16. She also said: “When the devil does not use the goads of poverty to tempt, he uses wealth for the purpose. When he cannot win by scorn and mockery, he tries praise and flattery. If he cannot win by providing health, he tries illness: if he can­not win by comfort, he tries to ruin the soul by vexations which lead a person to act against the monastic vow. He inflicts severe sicknesses onpeople whom he wants to tempt, and so makes them weak, and thereby shakes the charity which they feel towards God. But although the body is shattered and running high temperatures and thirsting unbearably—yet you who endure all this are a sinner, and remember the punishments of the next world, and the everlasting fire, and the torments of the judge­ment. So you will not fail in the sufferings of this present time; indeed you should rejoice because God has visited you. Keep saying the famous text: ‘The Lord hath chastened and corrected me: but he hath not given me over unto death.’21 Iron is cleaned of rust by fire. If you are righteous and suffer, you grow to a yet higher sanctity. Gold is tested by fire. A messenger from Satan is given to you to be a thorn in your flesh. Lift up your heart, for you see that you have received a gift like that of St Paul. If you suffer from fever and cold, remember the text of Scripture, ‘We went through fire and water,’—and then ‘thou broughtest us out into a place of rest.’ If you have won the suffering, you may expect the place of rest, provided you are following what is good. Cry aloud the prophet’s words, ‘I am poor and destitute and in misery’—for threefold suffering like this shall make you perfect. He said also, ‘Thou hast set me at liberty when I was in trouble.’ 22 Thus, let us test our souls by this kind of self-discipline, for we have our enemy before our eyes.”

16. Dixit iterum aliud: Diabolus cum per stimulos paupertatis non moverit, divitias adhibet ad seducendum  (Ruffin., l, III, n. 157, Pasch., c. 20, n. 1) . Et dum per contumelias et opprobria non praevalet, laudes et gloriam adhibet. Sin autem satietatem corporis immittit, et cum delectationibus seducere non potest, per molestias, quae contra votum eveniunt,  ^[0895D] animam conatur subvertere. Infirmitates autem quasdam graves expetendo adversus eum qui tentandus est adhibet, ut per eas pusillanimes faciens monachos, conturbet charitatem eorum quam habent ad Deum. Sed quamvis concidatur corpus, et febribus validis inflammetur, insuper etiam intolerabili siti affligatur, siquidem peccator es qui haec sustines, recordare futuri saeculi poenas, et aeternum ignem, et judicialia tormenta; et ita non deficies ad ea quae in praesenti contingunt; insuper et gaude, quia visitavit te Deus. Et illud famosissimum dictum in lingua habeto, id est, Castigans castigavit me Dominus, et morti non tradidit me (Psal. CXVII). Si ferrum es,  ^[0896A] per adhibitum tibi ignem amittes aeruginem. Quod si justus es et haec pateris, de magno ad majora promoveris. Aurum es, sed per ignem probatior eris. Datus est enim tibi angelus Satanae, stimulus carnis tuae  (I Cor. XII) . Exsulta videns, cui similis factus es, Pauli enim simile donum meruisti accipere. Si febribus, si rigore frigoris castigaris, memor esto quid Scriptura dicit: Transivimus per ignem et aquam; residuum est quod sequitur, ut inducamur in refrigerium  (Psal. LXV) . Obtinuisti primum, exspecta secundum, agens quae virtutum sunt. Clama verba Prophetae, dicentis: Pauper et inops et dolens ego sum  (Psal. LXVIII) . Perfectus enim eris per hujusmodi tribulationem. Ait enim: In tribulatione dilatasti me  (Psal. IV) . In his ergo maxime exercitiis animas nostras  ^[0896B] probemus, ante oculos enim habemus adversarium nostrum.

   17. Saint Syncletice also said: “If you are troubled by illness, do not be melancholy, even if you are so ill that you cannot stand to pray or use your voice to say psalms. We need these tribulations to destroy the desires of our body—in this they serve the same purpose as fasting and austerity. If your senses are dulled by illness, you do not need to fast. In the same way that a powerful medicine cures an illness, so illness itself is a medicine to cure passion. And there is much profit of soul in bearing illness quietly and giving thanks to God. If we go blind, let us not be disturbed. We have lost a means to excellence, yet we can contemplate the glory of God with the inward eyes of the soul. If we go deaf, let us remember that we shall no longer hear a lot of silly talk. If suffering has weakened the strength of your hands, you still have an inner strength against the enemy’s attacks. If the whole body is afflicted by disease, the health of the inner man is still increasing.”

17. Dixit iterum [1 ^[0895D] Deest hoc in editione Parisiensi.] : Si infirmitas molesta nobis fuerit, non contristemur, tanquam qui pro infirmitate et vulnere corporis non possimus stare ad orandum aut psallendum ad vocem. Haec autem omnia nobis pro destruendo corporis desiderio necessaria sunt, quoniam jejunia et labores propter turpes delectationes nobis constituta sunt. Si igitur aegritudo ista retundit, superflua de his observandis ratio est. Sicut enim magno et forti medicamine aegritudo, ita aegritudine corporis vitia reciduntur. Et haec est magna virtus, quando in infirmitatibus tolerantia fuerit, et gratiarum actio mittitur ad Deum. Si amittimus oculos, non feramus graviter. Extollentiae enim instrumentum  ^[0896C] amisimus, sed interioribus oculis gloriam Domini speculemur. Surdi facti sumus? non contristemur, quia auditum vanum amisimus. Manus vestrae ex aliqua passione debilitatae sunt? sed interiores paratas habeamus adversus inimici tentationes. Infirmitas totum corpus nostrum tenet? sed nostro interiori homini sanitas crescit.

   18. She also said: “People in the world who commit crime are thrown into prison against their will. For our sins, let us put ourselves under guard, and by willingly accepting it now we shall avoid punushment in the future. If you fast, you should avoid saying that by weakening your frame you have fallen ill, for people who do not fast, fall ill in the same way. Have you begun some good work? Do not turn away from it because of  the enemy’s impediments;. indeed your endurance will conquer the enemy. Seamen beginning a voyage set the sails and look for a favourable wind—and later they meet a contrary wind. Just because the wind has turned, they do not throw the cargo overboard or abandon ship: they wait a little and battle against the storm until they can again set a direct course. And when we run into headwinds, let us put up the cross for our sail, and we shall voyage through the world in safety.”

18. Dixit iterum quae supra [2 ^[0896D] Deest hoc in edit, Parisiensi.] : Qui in saeculo isto aliqua crimina commiserunt, etiam nolentes mittuntur in carcerem, et nos pro peccato nostro redigamus nosmetipsos in custodiam, ut voluntaria mentis nostrae vindicta futuras a nobis poenas amoveat. Si jejunas, non tibi invenias occasionem dicendi, quia exacerbatus in aegritudinem incurristi, quoniam et qui non jejunant similes aegritudines incurrunt. Inchoasti  ^[0896D] aliquid boni? non revoceris per impedimenta inimici, quoniam et ipse inimicus patientia tua destruetur. Etenim qui navigare coeperint, primo pandentes vela prosperum ventum inveniunt; postea autem contrarius ventus eis occurrit. Sed nautae non mox propter incursum contrarii venti, aut exonerant aut deserunt navim, sed paululum sustinentes aut pugnantes adversus procellam, iterum rectum cursum inveniunt. Ita ergo et nos in contrarium spiritum incurrentes, crucem pro velo erigamus, 587 et sine periculo saeculi istius navigium explicabimus.

   19. They said of Abbess Sarah of blessed memory, that for sixty years she lived on the bank of a river, and never looked down to see the water.

19. Dicebant de abbatissa beatae memoriae virgine Sara, quod supra alveum fluminis sexaginta annos  ^[0897A] habitaverit, et nunquam inclinata est, ut flumen ipsum aspiceret.

   20. Abba Hyperichius said: “Keep praising God with hymnody, and meditate continually, and so lift the burden of the temptations that come upon you. A traveller carrying a heavy burden stops from time to time to take deep breaths, and so makes the journey easier and the burden lighter.”

20. Dixit abbas Hypericnius: Hymni spirituales sint in ore tuo, et meditatio assidua sublevet pondus tentationum supervenientium tibi. Hujus enim rei exemplum manifestum est viator sarcina alicujus oneris praegravatus, flando et respirando, oneris et viae paulatim laborem imminuit.

   21. He also said: “Temptations come to us in all kinds of ways. We ought to be armed at all points, and then we shall appear to them to be tried warriors when they come against

21. Dixit iterum qui supra: Oportet nos adversus tentationes armari, quoniam modis omnibus veniunt; sic enim supervenientibus eis probati apparebimus.

   22. An old man said: “If a man is tempted, suffenngs crowd round him on all sides, and he becomes timid and begins to grumble.” And the old man told this story. A temptation came to a brother who lived at Cellia. And if anyone saw him, they did not wish him well, nor did they welcome him into their cells. If he was short of bread, no one lent him any. If he was on his way back from harvesting, no one followed the usual custom of inviting him in for refreshment. Once he had been reaping, and he became very thirsty, and had no bread irs his cell. But in all these tribulations he kept thanking God. And God seeing his patience, took away his inner struggle and gave him rest. And immediately there was a knock on his door, and a man from Egypt was outside leading a camel laden with bread. When the brother saw it, he began to weep, and said: “Lord, I am not worthy of even a little suffering.” And now that his trial was over, the brothers welcomed him in their cells and in the church, and refreshed him.

22. Dixit quidam senex: Si venerit homini tentatio, undique ei multiplicantur tribulationes, ut pusillanimis fiat et murmuret. Et narravit senex ita: Frater quidam erat in cella, et venit super eum tentatio;  ^[0897B] et si quis eum videbat, nec salutare cum volebat, neque in cellam recipere; et si opus habebat panem, nemo mutuabat ei; et si de messe veniebat, nemo eum, sicut erat consuetudo, ut reficeret, invitabat. Venit autem semel de messura per cauma, nec panes habuit in cella sua; et in his omnibus gratias agebat Deo. Videns autem Deus patientiam ejus, abstulit bellum tentationis ab eo. Et ecce quidam statim ostium pulsabat, trahens camelum onustum pane ab Aegypto; quod cum vidisset frater ille, coepit flere, dicens: Domine, non sum dignus vel modice tribulari. Et cum transisset tribulatio ejus, tenebant eum fratres in cellis suis, et in ecclesia, et repausabant eum.

   23. An old man said: “We do not make progress because we do not know what we can do; we lose heart in the work we have begun; and we want to be good without tl~ing to be good.”

 ^[0897C] 23. Dicebat senex: Propterea non promovemur, quia nescimus mensuras nostras, neque patientiam habemus in opere quod coepimus, sed sine labore aliquo virtutem volumus possidere.

[24.] [This lengthy section is omitted from all the early manuscripts]  A brother asked an old man: “What am I to do? My thoughts will not let me sit alone in my cell even for an hour.” The old man said: “My son, go back and stay in your cell, wash your hands, pray God continually, and cast your thoughts upon God: and let no one persuade you to go out of your cell.” And he said: “A lad who was living in the world with his father, decided to become a monk. But though he begged his father to allow it, the father kept refusing: until in the end, at the request of some devout friends, he consented with an ill grace. And the lad left home and entered a monastery. As soon as he was a monk, he began to keep the monastic rule perfectly, and to fast every day. He even began to go without food for two days and to eat a proper meal only once a week. His Abba saw him and marvelled, and blessed God for his self-discipline.

24. Quidam frater interrogavit senem, dicens: Quid facio, quia cogitatio mea non dimittit me hora una sedere in cella mea? Et dicit ei senex: Fili, revertere, sede in cella tua, et labora manibus tuis, et ora Deum incessanter, et jacta cogitatum tuum in Domino, et ne te quis seducat exire inde. Et dicebat: Quia erat quidam adolescens saecularis, habens patrem, et desiderabat fieri monachus: et dum multum supplicaret patri suo ut dimitteret eum conversari, non acquiescebat; postmodum autem rogatus a fidelibus amicis vix acquievit.  ^[0897D] Et egressus frater ille adolescens, introivit in monasterium; et factus monachus coepit omne opus monasterii perfecte perficere, et jejunare quotidie; coepit etiam et biduanas abstinere, similiter semel in hebdomada reficere. Videbat autem eum abbas suus, et mirabatur, et benedicebat Deum in abstinentia et labore ipsius.

After a short time it happened that the monk began to beg his Abba: ‘Please let me go into the desert.’ The Abba said: ‘My son, do not think of it. You cannot endure austerity like that, or the skill and temptation of the devil. When you are tempted in the desert, there is no one to comfort you in the troubles which the devil stirs up.’ But the monk began the more to ask him to let him go. And his Abba, seeing that he could not hold him, said a prayer and let him go. Then he said to his Abba: ‘Please give me guides to show me the right way.’ And the Abba selected two monks from that monastery to go with him.

Contigit ergo post aliquod tempus, coepit frater ille supplicare abbati suo, dicens: Rogo te, abba, ut dimittas me, et vadam in eremo. Dicit ei abbas: Fili, noli hoc cogitare, non potes sufferre talem laborem, et praeterea tentationes diaboli et versutias ejus; et cum contigerit tibi tentatio, non invenies ibi qui te consoletur a perturbationibus inimici, quae tibi illatae fuerint. Ille autem coepit amplius  ^[0898A] rogare eum ut permitteret abire. Videns autem abbas ejus quia tenere quia tenere eum non poterat, facta oratione, dimisit eum. Postmodum dicit abbati suo: Rogo te, abba, ut concedas qui ostendant mihi iter, quo pergere debeam. Et ordinavit cum eo duos monachos monasterii, et abierunt cum eo.

For two days they walked through the desert, and then were exhausted with the heat. So they lay down and slept for a little. While they were asleep, an eagle swooped down and beat at them with its wings, and then flew off a little and alighted. They woke up and saw the eagle, and said: ‘Here’s your angel: rise and follow him.’ The brother rose and bid the brothers good-bye, and followed the eagle, which flew a little and then alighted, and on his approach flew a little further; this went on for three hours. Then the eagle flew off to the right of the pursuing monk, and did not reappear. Nevertheless the monk went that way, and saw three palm-trees, and a spring, and a little cave. He said: ‘Here’s the place that God has made ready for me.’

Ambulantibus autem eis per eremum una die et altera, defecerunt prae aestu, et projicientes se in terram jacebant, et soporati modico somno, ecce aquila venit, percutiensque eos de alis suis, praecessit procul, et sedit in terra. Evigilantes viderunt aquilam, et dixerunt ei: Ecce angelus tuus, surge et sequere eam. Et surgens, valedicensque fratribus, sequebatur eam; et venit usque ubi stabat aquila illa: quae mox surgens, volavit usque ad unum stadium, et iterum sedit; similiter  ^[0898B] sequebatur eam frater ille: et iterum volavit, et sedit non longe, et factum est hoc per horas tres. Postmodum autem dum sequeretur eam, divertit ipsa aquila in dexteram partem sequentis se, et non comparuit. Frater ergo ille nihilominus sequebatur; et respiciens, vidit tres arbores palmarum, et fontem aquae, et speluncam modicam, dixitque: Ecce est locus quem mihi praeparavit Dominus.

He went into the cave and stayed there, eating dates and drinking the water from the spring; for six years he lived there alone and saw no man. But one day the devil came to him disguised as an elder, with a fierce expression on his face. The brother saw him and was frightened, and fell down to pray. And when he rose again, the devil said to him: ‘Let us pray again, brother.’ And when they rose again, the devil said: ‘How long have you been here?’ He answered: ‘Six years.’ And the devil said: ‘This is remarkable. I have had you as my neigh­bour, and I did not find out until four days ago. I have a hermit­age not far from here, and this is the first day in eleven years that I have left it, because I discovered that you were living near me. And I considered the matter and said, Shall I go to this man of God, and consult him for the good of my soul? I tell you, brother, we do no good sitting like this in our cells. We cannot receive the body and blood of Christ, and I am afraid that he will cast us away if we separate ourselves from that sacrament. But I tell you, brother, three miles from here is a monastery with a presbyter. Let us go there every Sunday, or every other Sunday, and receive the body and blood of Christ, and return to our cells.’

Et ingressus coepit sedere in ea, sumens cibum dactylorum, et de fonte aquam bibens, et fecit ibidem annos sex solitarius, neminem videns. Et ecce una die venit ad eum diabolus in similitudinem cujusdam senioris abbatis, habens vultum terribilem. Videns autem illum frater ille timuit, et procidens in orationem, surrexit. Et dicit ei diabolus: Oremus iterum, frater. Et surgentes,  ^[0898C] dixit diabolus: Quantum temporis habes hic? Et respondit: Habeo annos sex. Dicit ei daemon: Ecce te vicinum habui, et non potui cognoscere, nisi ante dies quatuor quia hic habitares. Et ego non longe a te habeo monasterium; et ecce anni sunt undecim, quod de monasterio non exivi nisi hodie, quo cognovi quod hic mihi in 588 vicino habitares. Et cogitavi mecum dicens: Vadam ad hominem Dei istum, et cum eo conferam quod potest esse saluti animae nostrae? Et hoc dico, frater, quia nihil proficimus sedentes in cellis nostris, quia corpus et sanguinem Christi non percipimus, et timeo ne efficiamur exteri ab eo, si nos ab hoc mysterio elongaverimus; sed dico tibi, frater, ecce hinc ad tria millia est monasterium habens presbyterum; eamus cata Dominicum  ^[0898D] diem, aut post duas hebdomadas, et accipiamus corpus et sanguinem Christi, et revertamur ad cellas nostras.

The brother was pleased and persuaded by the devil’s sug­gestion. On Sunday the devil came and said: ‘Come, it is time to go.’ They went out and came to the monastery where the presbyter was, entered the church and fell to prayer. When the monk ended his prayer, he could not see his guide anywhere, and said: ‘Where do you think he has gone? Has he had to go out?’ He waited some time; but his guide did not return. He went out of the church and looked round for him, but could not find him. So he asked the monks of the place: ‘Where is the Abba who came to church with me?’ They said: ‘We saw no one else but you.’

Placuit autem haec suasio diabolica fratri illi: Et veniente Dominico die, ecce diabolus venit et dicit ei: Veni, eamus, quia hora est. Et exeuntes perrexerunt ad praedictum monasterium, ubi ille presbyter erat; et ingressi in ecclesiam, miserunt se in orationem. Et exsurgens ab oratione frater ille, respiciens non invenit hunc qui adduxerat eum illuc, et dixit: Ubi putas perrexit? ne ad commune necessarium ambulavit? Et cum diu sustineret, non venit. Postmodum autem exiens foras, requirebat eum. Et cum non reperisset, dixit ad fratres loci illius interrogans eos: Ubi est abbas ille, qui mecum in ecclesiam  ^[0899A] ingressus est? Et dicunt ei: Nos neminem vidimus alium nisi te tantum.

Then the brother knew he was a demon, and said: ‘See the skill with which the devil has winkled me out of my cell. Yet he cannot touch me, because I have come here for a good reason. I shall receive the body and blood of Christ, and go back to my cell.’ After mass in the church, the brother wanted to go back to his cell. But the abbot of the monastery kept him, saying ‘Unless you dine with us, we shall not let you go back.’ So he shared their dinner, and went back to his cell.

Tunc cognovit frater ille quia daemon fuisset, et dixit: Vide cum qua argutia diabolus me ejecit de cella mea; sed tamen non ad me pertinet, quia ad bonum opus veni; percipio corpus et sanguinem Christi, et sic revertar ad cellam meam. Et post factas missas in ecclesia, volens reverti frater ille ad cellam suam, tenuit eum abbas monasterii ipsius, dicens: Nisi refeceris nobiscum, non dimittemus te reverti. Et cum percepisset cibum, reversus est in cellam suam.

Then the devil came again, this time in the likeness of a young man of the world, and began to look him up and down from head to foot and say: ‘Is this the man? It is not.’ And he began to stare at him. The brother said to him: ‘Why are you gazing at me?’ And the devil said: ‘I think you do not know who I am. How should you know after so long a time? I am the son of your father’s neighbour. Is not your father’s name this, and your mother’s that, and your sister’s that, and your name that? Are not your two serving girls called such and such? But your mother and sister died three years ago. Now your father has died, and left his property to you, saying: “My son, who in holiness left the world and followed God, is the only heir left to me, so I will leave him everything. If anyone is a prophet of the Lord and knows where he is, let him speak. Then my sonS can come and take my wealth and give it away to the poor for the benefit of my soul and his soul.” And many people went seeking you but could not find you. I was brought here acci­dentally by some work and recogruzed you. Do not delay, but come; sell it all and do what your father wanted.’

Et ecce iterum diabolus venit in similitudinem juvenis cujusdam saecularis, et coepit eum respicere a summo capite usque ad pedes, et dicere: Ipse est iste? Non est hic. Et coepit eum considerare. Et dixit ei frater: Quare me sic  ^[0899B] respicis? At ille ait: Puto non me cognoscis: tamen post tantum tempus quomodo me habes cognoscere? ego sum vicinus patris tui, filius illius. Quomodo? Non est dictus pater tuus sic, et mater tua tale nomen non habuit, et soror tua sic non est dicta, et tu sic non vocaris? et mancipia illa et illa sic non sunt dicta? Mater vero tua et soror ante tres annos mortuae sunt; pater vero tuus modo defunctus est, et te fecit haeredem, dicens: Cui habeo dimittere substantiam meam, nisi filio meo viro sancto, qui reliquit saeculum, et abiit post Deum? Ipsi dimitto omnia bona mea. Modo autem qui habet Dominum, et scit ubi est, dicat, ut veniens distrahat omnem substantiam, et eroget eam pauperibus pro anima mea et sua. Et perrexerunt multi requirentes te, et minime  ^[0899C] invenerunt; ego autem veniens ex occasione pro quodam opere huc, cognovi te: unde non facias moras, sed veni et vende omnia, et fac secundum voluntatem patris tui.

The brother answered: ‘I have no need to go back to the world.’ The devil said: ‘If you do not come and your wealth vanishes you will have to give an account of it before God. Surely I am saying nothing wicked in telling you to come and give money to the poor and needy like a good and generous man, and so prevent money left to the poor from being mis­appropriated by evil men and women? What is the trouble in coming to give alms as your father wanted for the good of your soul, and then returning to your cell?’

Respondens frater ille dixit: Non necesse habeo reverti ad saeculum. Dicit diabolus: Si non veneris, et deperierit substantia illa, in conpectu Dei tu exinde reddes rationem. Quid enim mali dico tibi, ut venias et eroges ea pauperibus et egenis, quomodo bonus dispensator, ut non a meretricibus et male viventibus extricetur, quod pauperibus dimissum est? aut quid onerosum est ut venias et facias eleemosynas secundum voluntatem patris tui pro anima tua, et revertaris in cellam tuam?

So he persuaded the brother to return to the world. He went with him as far as the town and left him. The brother was making to enter his father’s house, as the house of a dead man, when his father came out alive and well. He did not recogmze his son, but said: ‘Who are you?’ The monk in his surprise could not say a word. His father began again to ask him who he was and whence he came. Then, in his confusion, he said: ‘I am your son.’ His father said: ‘Why have you come back?’ He was ashamed to say why he had come, so he said: ‘My love made me return; I wanted to see you.’ And he stayed at home. And soon he fell into lust, and was severely punished by his father, and was wretched and did no penance but remained in the world.

Quid multa? suadens fratrem deposuit in saeculum; et veniens cum eo usque ad civitatem, reliquit eum.  ^[0899D] Voluit autem frater ille ingredi in domum patris sui, tanquam jam defuncto eo, ecce ipse pater ejus vivus egrediebatur; et videns eum non cognovit, et ait ad eum: Tu quis es? Ille vero turbatus nihil poterat respondere. Et coepit eum iterato pater ejus interrogare unde esset. Tunc confusus, dixit ei: Ego sum filius tuus. Et ait ei: Ut quid reversus es? Erubescebat autem ei dicere, quod ventum erat, sed dixit: Charitas tua fecit me reverti, quia desiderabam te. Et remansit ibi. Et post aliquantum tempus incurrit in fornicationem, et multis suppliciis afflictus a patre suo, infelix ipse non egit poenitentiam, sed remansit in saeculo;

So I tell you, my brothers, that a monk never ought to let himself be persuaded by anyone to leave his cell.”

ideoque dico, fratres, quia monachus  ^[0900A] nunquam debet quovis, suasus ab aliquo, egredi cellam suam.

25. In the desert some people came to a great old man and said: “How is it you are happy here in this severe life?” And the old man said: “All the severity of my life here cannot compare with the day of torment prepared for sinners in the next world.”

25. Venerunt quidam in eremo ad senem quemdam magnum, et dixerunt ei: Quomodo contentus es hic, abba, et sustines laborem hunc  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 3) ? Et dixit eis senex: Totus labor temporis mei, quem hic sustineo, non est idoneus comparari ad unam diem tormentorum quae peccatoribus in futuro saeculo praeparantur.

26. An old man said: “The ancients were reluctant to move from place to place—except perhaps for three reasons: first, if a man was vexed against them and no amount of satisfaction would propitiate him: secondly, if many people praised them: and thirdly, if they were tempted to lust.”

26. Dicebat senex: Quia antiqui non cito migrabant de loco ad locum, nisi forte pro tribus rebus, id est, si quis erat, qui contristaretur adversus eum, et satisfaciens ei per omnia non potuisset eum placare; aut iterum si contigisset ut a pluribus laudaretur, aut si in tentatione fornicationis incurrisset.

27. A brother said to Abba Arsenius: “What am I to do, Abba? My thought troubles me, telling me ‘You cannot fast, nor work, nor visit the sick, because even these things are selfish.’ “ The old man saw that the devil had sown the thought and said: “Go, eat and drink and sleep, only do not leave your cell; remember that staying in the cell is what keeps a monk on his proper path.” He did it for three days and then suffered from accidie. So he found a few palm leaves and split them; the next day he began to make a plait from them. When he grew hungry, he said to himself: “Here are a few more palm-leaves. I shall lay them out before I eat.” And after he had finished, he said: “I shall read a little before I eat.” And after he had finished, he said: “I shall say a few psalms, and then I shall eat with an untroubled mind.” So step by step he made progress with God’s help, until he came back to the right way. And when he had received con­fidence against evil thoughts, he overcame them.

 ^[0900B] 27. Frater quidam dixit abbati Arsenio: Quid facio, abba, quia affligor a cogitatione mea, dicens: Quia non potes jejunare, 589 neque laborare, vel infirmos visitare, quia et hoc merces est. Videns autem senex diabolica semina esse, dixit ei: Vade, manduca, bibe, et dormi, tantummodo de cella non exeas, sciens quia perseverantia cellae perducit monachum in ordinem suum. Qui cum fecisset tres dies, extaediatus est, et inveniens paucas palmulas, scidit eas; et iterum in crastino coepit plectam facere ex eis. Qui cum esurisset, dixit intra se: Ecce aliae paucae sunt palmae, explico eas, et manduco. Et cum perexpendisset eas, dixit iterum: Lego parum, et sic manduco. Et cum legisset, dixit: Dicam aliquantos psalmos, et jam securus manduco. Et ita paulatim  ^[0900C] proficiebat Deo cooperante, donec veniret ad ordinem suum. Et cum accepisset fiduciam adversus cogitationes malas, vincebat eas.

28. An old man was asked by a brother why, when he stayed in his cell, he suffered accidie. The old man answered: “You have not yet seen the resurrection for which we hope, nor the torment of fire. If you had seen these, then you would bear your cell without accidie even if it was filled with worms and you were standing in them up to your neck.”

28. Interrogatus est senex, quare sedens frater in cella taedium pateretur. Et dixit ei senex: Quia adhuc non vidisti neque speratam resurrectionem, neque accensa tormenta: nam si haec vidisses, et ita esset cella tua plena vermibus, ut usque ad collum tuum mergereris in ipsis, sustineres utique, et non extaediareris.

29. The brothers asked an old man to rest from his great labour. He answered: “Believe me, my sons, if Abraham was penitent when he saw God’s glorious gifts, should we not struggle the more in our labour?”

29. Quemdam senem rogabant fratres, ut quiesceret a gravi labore. Ille autem respondit eis: Credite mihi, o filii, quia Abraham poenitebatur, cum videret magna et praeclara dona Dei, cur non amplius fuerit in laboribus decertatus.

30. A brother asked an old man and said: “My thoughts wander, and I am troubled.” He answered: “Go on sitting in your cell, and your thoughts will come back from their wander­ings. If a she-ass is tethered, her foal skips and gambols all round her but always comes back to the mother. So will it be with the man who for God’s sake sits patiently in his cell. Though his thoughts wander for a time, they will come again.”

 ^[0900D] 30. Frater interrogavit senem, dicens: Cogitationes meae nutant, et tribulor. Et ille dixit: Tu sede in cella tua, et cogitationes iterum veniunt; sicut enim si asina ligata sit, pullus ejus vagatur et currit huc atque illuc, semper autem ad matrem suam revertitur, ubicunque ierit; ita erunt et cogitationes ejus qui propter Deum tolerabiliter in cella sua resederit; quia etsi ad modicum nutant, sed iterum revertuntur ad eum

3I. An old man lived in the desert twelve miles from the nearest water. Once, on his way to draw water, he felt exhaus­ted. So he said: “What need to suffer this? I will come and live by the spring.” As soon as he said this, he turned round and saw a man following him and counting his steps. He asked the man, “Who are you?” And he said: “I am an angel of the Lord, sent to count your steps and reward you.” When the old man heard this, his mind was strengthened, and he moved his cell five miles further from the spring.

31. Senex quidam sedebat in eremo, qui longe habebat aquam a cella sua, per duodecim millia; ubi dum semel iret haurire aquam, defecit, et dixit: Quid necesse est ut hunc laborem patiar? Venio et habito circa aquam hanc. Et cum hoc dixisset, conversus  ^[0901A] vidit quemdam sequentem se et numerantem vestigia sua: interrogavit autem eum, dicens: Quis es tu? Et ille dixit: Angelus Domini sum, et missus sum numerare vestigia tua, et dare tibi mercedem. Quod cum audisset senex, forti animo factus promptior, et adhuc longius posuit cellam suam ab aqua illa.

32. The fathers used to say: “If you are tempted where you are, do not leave the place at a time of temptation. If you do leave it, you will find the temptation which you are fleeing wherever you next place your cell. Be patient till the temptation is past; then your departure will scandalize no one and bring no trouble to the other people who live there.”

32. Dicebant Patres: Si tibi contigerit tentatio in loco quo habitas, non deseras locum in tempore tentationis; quia si deserueris, quocunque perrexeris, ante te invenies quod fugiebas; sed patiens esto donec tentatio transeat, ne discessio tua aliis scandalum faciat, et ne forte aliis qui circa locum ipsum habitant tribulationem ingerat discessio tua.

33. A brother was restless in the community and often moved to anger. So he said: “I will go, and live somewhere by myself. And since I shall be able to talk or listen to no one, I shall be tranquil, and my passionate anger will cease.” He went out and lived alone in a cave. But one day he filled his jug with water and put it on the ground. It happened suddenly to fall over. He filled it again, and again it fell. And this happened a third time. And in a rage he snatched up the jug and broke it. Returning to his right mind, he knew that the demon of anger had mocked him, and he said: “Here am I by myself, and he has beaten me. I will return to the community. Wherever you live, you need effort and patience and above all God’s help.” And he rose up, and went back.

33. Frater quidam erat in congregatione inquietus, et frequenter movebatur ad iram  (Ruffin., l. III,  ^[0901B] n. 98) . Dicit ergo in semetipso: Vado, et solus alicubi habitabo; et cum non habeo cum quo dicam, vel audiam, ero quietus, et quiescit a me passio irae. Egrediens ergo manebat in spelunca solus. Una autem die implens sibi surisculam aquae, posuit illam in terra: contigit autem ut subito versaretur: ille vero implevit secundo, et iterum versata est: deinde tertio implens posuit eam, et rursus versata est. Qui commotus furore, tenuit vasculum illud, et fregit; in se autem conversus, cognovit quia ab eodem daemone iracundiae sit illusus, et dixit: Ecce ego et solus sum, et vicit me; revertar ergo in congregationem, quia ubique labor et patientia opus est, et maxime adjutorium Dei. Et surgens reversus est in locum suum.

34. A brother asked an old man: “What am I to do, father? I do nothing like a monk. I eat, drink and sleep as I like, I am much troubled by vile thoughts, I shift from task to task, and my mind wanders everywhere.” The old man answered: “Stay in your cell, and do what you can without trouble of mind. It is only a little that you do now, yet it is even as when Abba Antony did mighty things in the desert. I trust God that who­ever stays in his cell for God’s sake, and guards his conscience, will be found where Antony is.”

 ^[0901C] 34. Frater interrogavit senem  (Ruff., l. III, n. 106) , dicens: Quid facio, Pater, quia nihil operer monachile, sed in negligentia quadam sum manducans, bibens, et dormiens, et insuper in cogitationibus turpibus et multa perturbatione sum, transiens ab opere ad opus, et a cogitationibus ad cogitationes? Dixit autem ei senex: Tu sede in cella tua, et fac quod potes sine perturbatione; ita est enim parum quod tu modo facis, sicut quando abbas Antonius magna et plurima faciebat in eremo. Credo enim in Deo, quia quicunque sedet in cella propter nomen ejus, et custodit conscientiam suam, inveniatur et ipse in Antonii loco.

35. An old man was asked how a watchful monk should not be scandalized when he sees others returning to the world. And he replied: “A monk ought to look at hounds when they are hunting a hare. One of them glimpses the hare and gives chase: the others merely see a hound running, run some way with him, then they get tired and go back on their tracks. Only the leading hound keeps up the chase until he catches the hare. He is not deterred by the others who give up; he thinks nothing of cliffs or thickets or brambles; he is often pricked and scratched by thorns; yet he keeps on until he catches the hare. And so the man who searches for the Lord Jesus, aims unceasingly at the cross, and leaps through every obstacle in his way until he comes to the Crucified.”

35. Interrogatus est senex, quomodo oporteat vigilantem  ^[0901D] monachum non scandalizari, quando videt aliquos ad saeculum revertentes. Et respondit: Intueri debet monachus canes, qui venantur lepores; et sicut unus ex eis videns leporem insequitur, caeteri autem tantummodo canem videntes currentem, aliquandiu cum ipso currunt, postea vero lassantes post se revertuntur; solus autem ille qui vidit leporem sequitur donec comprehendat, nec impeditur ab intentione cursus sui propter illos qui post se revertuntur, sed neque praecipitiis, neque de silvis, neque de vepribus cogitans, sed in spinis aliquoties incurrens raditur et pungitur, et non quiescit donec comprehendat. Ita et monachus, vel qui Dominum Christum quaerit, cruci indesinenter intendit, quae  ^[0902A] occurrunt scandala omnia praeteriens, donec ad crucifixum perveniat.

36. An old man said: “A tree cannot bear fruit if it is often transplanted. So it is with the monk.”

590 36. Dixit senex: Sicut arbor fructificare non potest, si saepius transferatur, sic nec monachus frequenter migrans potest fructificare.

37. When a brother was troubled by thoughts of leaving the monastery, he told this to his abbot. And he said: “Go and sit down, and entrust your body to your cell as a man puts a precious possession into a safe, and do not go out. Then let your thoughts go where they will. Let your mind think what it likes, so long as it does not drive your body out of the cell.”

37. Frater quidam dum sollicitaretur a cogitationibus propriis, ut exiret a monasterio, indicavit hoc ipsum abbati. Ille autem dixit: Vade, et sede, et da parieti cellae tuae corpus tuum in pignore, et non exeas inde: cogitationem autem tuam dimitte; cogitet quantum vult, tantum ne ejicias de cella tua corpus tuum.

38. An old man said: “The monk’s cell is the furnace in Babylon in which the three children found the Son of God. It is the pillar of cloud out of which God spoke to Moses.”

38. Dixit senex: Cella monachi est caminus ille Babylonius, ubi tres pueri Filium Dei invenerunt; sed et columna nubis est ex qua Deus locutus est  ^[0902B] Moysi.

39. For nine years a brother was assailed by temptatiorss to leave his community. Every day he picked up his cloak to go, the cloak in which he wrapped himself at night. At evening he would say: “I will go away tomorrow.” And at dawn he would think: “I ought to bear this torment and stay here just today for the Lord’s sake.” He did this every day for nine years, until the Lord took away temptation.

39. Frater quidam novem annis mansit impugnatus a cogitationibus suis, ut exiret de congregatione fratrum, et quotidie tollebat pelliculam suam, in qua jacere solitus erat, ut exiret. Et quando fiebat vespere dicebat in seipso: Crastina hinc discedo. Et mane dicebat in cogitatione: Extorqueamus nobis hic stare et hodie propter Dominum. Qui cum implesset novem annos, de die in diem ita faciens, abstulit Dominus ab eo tentationem ejus.

40. A brother fell into temptation, and in his suffering he stopped keeping the monastic rule. When he later tried to start keeping the fundamentals of the rule, he was hampered by his suffering; and he said to himself: “When shall I be as I once was?” And in this gloomy state of soul he could not make himself begin the monastic office. So he went to an old man and told him what had been happening. When the old man heard of his sufferings, he told him this story by way of example.

40. Frater quidam incidens in tentationem, tribulando perdidit regulam monachilem; et cum iterum vellet observantiae regularis sibi principia dare, a tribulatione impediebatur, et dicebat in seipso: Quando habeo me ita invenire, sicut aliquando eram?  ^[0902C] Et deficiens animo non praevalebat vel inchoare monachi opus. Veniens autem ad quemdam senem, narravit ei quae agebantur circa ipsum: senex autem audiens ea de quibus affligebatur, adhibuit ei tale exemplum, dicens:

“A man had a plot of land. And through his carelessness brambles sprang up and it became a wilderness of thistles and thorns. Then he decided to cultivate it. So he said to his son: ‘Go and clear that ground.’ So the son went to clear it, and saw that the thistles and thorns had multiplied. So his spirit weakened, and he said: ‘How much time shall I need to clear and weed all this?’ And he lay on the ground and went to sleep. He did this day after day. Later his father came to see what he had done, and found him doing nothing. And he said to him: ‘Why have you done nothing till now?’ And the lad said to his father: ‘I was just coming to work, father, when I saw this wilderness of thorn and thistlet and I was deterred from start­ing, and so I lay on the ground and went to sleep.’ Then his father said to him: ‘Son, if you had cleared each day the area on which you lay down, your work would have advanced slowly and you would not have lost heart.’ So the lad did what his father said, and in a short time the plot was cultivated. So you, brother, do a little work and do not faint, and God will give you grace and bring you back to your proper way of life.” The brother went away and patiently did what the old rnan had told him. And he found peace of mind, and made progress with the help of the Lord Christ.

Homo quidam habuit possessionem, et de negligentia ejus in sentibus redacta est, et repleta est tribulis et spinis. Visum est autem ei postea ut excoleret eam; et dixit filio suo: Vade, et purga agrum possessionis illius. Et venit filius ejus ut purgaret. Qui cum respexisset, vidit multitudinem tribulorum et spinarum increvisse ei; et deficiens animo, dixit ad seipsum: Quando ego habeo haec omnia eradicare et purgare? Et projiciens se in terram coepit dormire; hoc autem fecit multis diebus. Posthaec venit pater ejus videre quod fecerat, et invenit  ^[0902D] eum nihil operatum. Et dixit ei: Quare usque modo nihil fecisti? Et dixit juvenis ille patri suo: Mox ut veniebam operari, pater, cum vidissem multitudinem hanc tribulorum et spinarum, revocabar ab assumptione laboris, et prae tribulatione projiciebam me in terra, et dormiebam. Tunc dixit ei pater suus: Fili, ad mensuram latitudinis, quam jacens in terra occupas, per singulos dies operare, et ita paulatim proficiet opus tuum, et tu pusillanimis non efficieris. Quod cum audisset juvenis, fecit sic; et in parvo tempore purgata est et exculta possessio. Et tu ita, frater, paulatim operare et non deficies, et Deus per gratiam suam restituet te iterum priori ordini tuo. Hoc audito, frater ille abiit, et cum omni  ^[0903A] ni patientia sedens faciebat sicut edoctus fuerat a sene; et sic inveniens requiem, promovebatur per Dominum Christum.

4I. There was an old man who was often ill. But one year he did not fall ill. And he was grievously troubled and wept, saying: “The Lord has left me, and has not visited me.”

41. Senex quidam erat qui frequenter aegrotabat  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 158; Pasch., c. 20, n. 2) . Contigit autem eum uno anno non aegrotare; qui affligebatur graviter et plorabat, dicens: Dereliquit me Deus, et non visitavit me.

42. An old man said that a brother was goaded by his thoughts for nine years to despair of his salvation. He judged himself and said: “I have ruined my soul. And because I have perished already, I will go to the world.” On his journey he heard a voice saying: “Those temptations which you endured for nine years were your crowns. Go back to your cell, and I will take from you these evil thoughts.” Thereupon he realized that it is not good to despair of oneself because of the temptations that come. If we use these thoughts well they will give us a crown.

42. Dixit senex quia frater aliquando stimulabatur a cogitationibus suis per annos novem, ita ut metu ipso desperaret de salute sua  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 194) ; et adjudicavit semetipsum dicens: Perdidi animam meam; et jam quia perii, vadam ad saeculum. Qui cum abiret, venit ei in via vox dicens: Tentationes quas in novem annis sustinuisti, coronae tuae erunt; revertere  ^[0903B] ergo in locum tuum, et sublevabo te a cogitationibus malis. Unde agnoscitur quia non est bonum desperare de se aliquem pro his quae in cogitationibus veniunt. Hae enim cogitationes magis coronam nobis provident, si bene eas exegerimus.

43. An old man was living in a cave in the Thebaid with one well-tested disciple. It was usual for the old man to teach the disciple during the evening and show him how the soul should progress: and after the address, he prayed and sent him away to sleep.

43. Senex quidam erat in Thebaida sedens in spelunca, et habuit quemdam discipulum probatum: consuetudo autem erat ut senex vespere doceret discipulum, et commoneret eum quae erant animae profutura; et post admonitionem, faciebat orationem, et dimittebat eum dormire.

Some devout laymen who knew the old man’s ascetic life happened to visit him. He gave them consolation, and they went away. Then the old man sat down after the evening offices as usual to address and instruct the brother. But while he was talking, sleep overcame him. The brother waited for the old man to wake and end with the usual prayer. But the old man went on sleeping, and the brother went on sitting for a long time: and in the end the disciple, with greatly troubled mind, was forced to go away to sleep. But he tormented himself, and re­sisted the temptation, and went back to sit by the old man. A second time he was forced up by the longing for sleep, but sat down again. This happened seven times, and still he went on resisting his soul. In the middle of the night the old man awoke, and found him sitting nearby and said: ‘sAre you not gone away yet?” And he said: “No, you did not dismiss me, father.” The old man said: “Why did you not wake me up?” He answered: “I did not dare to nudge you for fear of disturbing you.” They both stood up and began to say mattins. After mattins the old man dismissed his disciple. And while the old man was sitting alone, he was rapt and was shown a vision of a glorious place, and a throne in it, and on the throne seven crowns. And he asked the angel who showed the vision: “Whose are those?” And he said: “They are the crowns of your disciple: God has given him this place and throne because of his goodness: tonight he has been granted these seven crowns.” The old man marvelled, and tremblingly called his disciple to him and said: “Tell me what you did last night.” He answered: “Forgive me, father, I did nothing.” The old man judged that he was being humble and concealing something, and said: “Believe me, I cannot rest until you tell me what you did and thought last night.” But the brother was not aware that he had done anything and could not say a word. But he said to the old man: “Forgive me, father, I did nothing—except only this, that seven times I was driven by wandering thoughts to go away and sleep; but you had not dismissed me as you usually do, so I did not go.” Then the old man at once understood that every time he resisted the temptation, God bestowed a crown on him. To the disciple he said nothing, thinking it best for his soul: but he told other directors of souls, to teach us how God can bestow crowns upon us even for resisting little temptations. It is good that a man discipline his whole self for God’s sake. As it is written: “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”

Contigit autem laicos quosdam religiosos scientes multam abstinentiam senis venire ad eum; et cum consolatus eos fuisset, discesserunt. Post quorum discessum sedit iterum senex vespere post missas secundum consuetudinem,  ^[0903C] admonens illum fratrem et instituens eum. Et cum loqueretur, gravatus est somno; frater autem sustinebat, donec excitaretur senex, et faceret ei juxta consuetudinem orationem. Cum ergo, non evigilante sene, diu sederet discipulus, compulsus est cogitationum suarum molestia recedere et dormire; qui extorquens sibi, restitit cogitationi, et resedit. Iterum autem compellebatur somno, et non abiit. Similiter factum est usque septies, et restitit animo suo. Posthaec jam media nocte transacta evigilavit senex, et invenit eum assidentem sibi, et dicit. Usque modo non discessisti? Et ille dixit: Non, quia me non dimiseras, 591 Pater. Et senex dixit; Quare me non excitasti? Et ille respondit: Non te praesumpsi pulsare, ne te contribularem. Surgentes  ^[0903D] autem coeperunt facere matutinos, et post matutinorum finem, dimisit senex discipulum; qui cum sederet solus, factus est in excessu mentis: et ecce quidam ostendebat ei locum gloriosum, et sedem in eo, et super sedem septem coronas. Interrogabat autem illum qui haec ostendebat ei, dicens: Cujus sunt haec? Et ille dixit: Discipuli tui, et locum quidem et sedem pro conversatione sua donavit ei Deus; has vero septem coronas nocte ista promeruit. Haec audiens senex miratus est, et tremefactus vocavit discipulum, et dicit ei: Dic mihi quid feceris nocte hac. Et ille respondebat: Ignosce mihi, Pater, quia nihil feci. Senex autem aestimans quia humiliando se non eonfiteretur, dixit ei: Crede, non quiesco, nisi dixeris mihi quid  ^[0904A] fecisti, vel quid cogitasti nocte hac. Frater autem nihil sibi conscius quid egisset, non inveniebat quid diceret; dicebat autem seni: Ignosce mihi, Pater, nihil feci, nisi tantum hoc quod compulsus sum motu cogitationum mearum, ut discederem et dormirem septies, sed quia a te dimissus secundum consuetudinem non fueram, non recessi. Audiens autem hoc senex, statim intellexit quia quoties restitit cogitationi suae, toties coronabatur a Deo. Et fratri quidem nihil horum dixit, causa utilitatis ejus, sed aliis narravit haec spiritualibus Patribus, ut discamus quia et pro parvis cogitationibus Deus nobis coronam tribuit. Bonum ergo est, ut extorqueat sibi ipse homo in omni re propter Deum; etenim, sicut scriptum est, Regnum coelorum vim patitur, et violenti diripiunt  ^[0904B] illud  (Matth. XI) .

7.44_sick_brother_ministerd_by_angel

44. Once a hermit fell ill. Because he had no one to look after him, he rose and ate whatever he found in his cell. Though this happened for several days, no one came to visit him. Even after a month no one had come. And the Lord sent his angel to minister to him. After the angel had ministered to him for a week, the fathers remembered him and said to each other: Let us go and see whether the old man is ill.” They went to his cell: and the moment they knocked on the door, the angel departed from him. The old man inside shouted: “Go away, my brothers.” But they lifted the door offits hinge and went in, (Matt. 11:12). and asked him why he shouted. And he said: “For a month I was ill and no one visited me. Now for a week an angel of the Lord has ministered to me, but he went away the moment you arrived.” And with these words, he peacefully died. The brothers marvelled, and glorified God, saying: “The Lord does not leave them who trust in him.”

44. Aegrotavit aliquando senex quidam qui solitarius habitabat; et quia non habebat qui ei serviret, surgebat, et quodcunque invenisset in cella sua, manducabat; et cum aliquot diebus ita fieret, nemo veniebat ad visitationem ejus. Transactis autem triginta diebus, et nullo veniente ad eum, misit Dominus angelum suum, qui ministraret ei; et cum sic fieret per septem dies, recordati sunt patres et dixerunt ad invicem: Eamus et videamus ne forte infirmetur ille senex. Cum ergo venissent, et pulsassent, discessit angelus ab eo. Senex autem de intro clamavit: Discedite hinc, fratres. Illi autem levante a cardine ostium intraverunt, et interrogaverunt eum, quare clamaverit. Et ille dixit: Quia triginta  ^[0904C] dies habui laborans infirmitate, et nemo me visitavit; et ecce jam dies septem sunt, ex quo Dominus angelum misit ut ministraret mihi, qui cum venissetis, recessit a me. Et haec dicens dormivit in pace. Fratres autem mirati sunt, et glorificaverunt Deum, dicentes: Quia non derelinquit Dominus sperantes in se.

45. An old man said: “If you fall ill, do not be a weakling. If the Lord God has willed that your body be feeble, who are you to bear it with grief? Does he not look after you in all you need? Surely you do not live without him. Be patient in your illness, and ask him to give you what is right—that is, that you may do his will, and abide in patience, and in charity eat what you have.”

45. Dixit quidam senex: Si te occupaverit infirmitas corporis, noli pusillanimis fieri; quia si te Dominus Deus vult corpore debilem fieri, quis es qni moleste suspicias? Nonne ipse pro te cogitat de omnibus? nunquid sine ipso vivis? Patienter ergo fer, et roga eum ut donet tibi quae expediunt, hoc est, ut quod voluntas ipsius est facias, et sede cum patientia manducans quod habes in charitate.

46. One of the fathers said: “When I was in Oxyrhynchus, the poor came on Friday evening to eat the agape. And while they were asleep afterwards, there was one only with a mat. He put half the mat underneath him and the other half on top, but he was still very cold. And when he went to relieve himself, I heard him grumbling and moaning about the cold: and he consoled himself thus: ‘I thank thee, Lord. How many wealthy men are in prison, sitting on iron or with shackled feet, so that they cannot even go out and relieve themselves freely. But I am like an emperor—I can stretch my legs and walk wherever I like.’ I was standing there and heard what he said: and I went in and told the brothers, and they were much edified to hear it.”

 ^[0904D] 46. Narravit quidam Patrum, dicens: Quia cum essem in Oxyrincho, venerunt ibi pauperes in vespere Sabbati ut acciperent agapem; et dormientibus eis, erat ibi quidam habens tantummodo mattam, cujus medietatem sibi subtermittebat, et medietato cooperiebatur, erat enim ibi validum frigus. Et cum exisset ad urinam, audivi eum murmurantem et gementem de frigore, et consolabatur semetipsum, dicens: Gratias ago tibi, Domine; quanti sunt modo divites in custodia, qui etiam in ferro sedent, aut pedes habent in ligno constrictos, qui neque urinam suam libere faciant; ego autem velut imperator sum, extendens pedes meos, et ubi volo ambulo. Haec illo dicente, ego stabam audiens verba ejus; ingrediens  ^[0905A] autem, narravi ea fratribus, et audientes ea multum aedificati sunt.

47. A brother asked an old man: “If I were somewhere where there was no one whom I could consult in a suffering which afflicted me, no one to show me the passion of my soul, what should I do?” The old man said: “Believe in God, for he will send his grace, and will himself be your consolation, if you ask him in charity.” And he added: “I have heard a story like this from Scete. There was a man enduring temptation, and he had no confidence in any of the confessors and so he got his bundle ready to go away. But during the night he saw a vision of God’s grace in the form of a maiden, who asked him: ‘Do not go: stay here with me, for no ill will happen to you from what you have heard.’ He believed her words, and stayed in his cell, and at once was healed in his heart.”

47. Frater interrogavit senem quemdam dicens: Si fuero in aliquo loco, et nata fuerit mihi tribulatio, et non habuero cui me committam, et indicem passionem animi mei; quid facio? Dixit ei senex: Crede in Deo, quia ipse mittet angelum et gratiam suam, et ipse tibi est consolatio, si in charitate rogaveris eum. Et addidit dicens: Audivi enim quia in Scythi aliquid tale factum est. Erat enim ibi quidam qui sustinebat tentationes, et non habens fiduciam in aliquo cui confiteretur, parabat a sero melotem suam ut discederet; et ecce nocte apparuit ei gratia Dei in specie virginis, et rogabat eum, dicens: Nusquam vadas, sed sede hic mecum, nihil enim male fiet ex  ^[0905B] his quae audisti. Qui credens verbis ejus sedit, et statim sanatum est cor ejus.