BOOK 14
Of obedience

LIBELLUS DECIMUS QUARTUS.
 De obedientia.

1. Abba Arsenius, of blessed memory, once said to Abba Alexander: “When you have finished your palm-leaves, come and have supper with me. But if pilgrims come, eat with them.” Abba Alexander worked away gently and unhurriedly. And at supper-time he had not finished his palm-leaves. Wanting to obey the old man’s order, he went on, hungry, until he had finished the palm-leaves. Abba Arsenius saw that he was late, and had his own supper: for he thought that perhaps pilgrims had come, and he was eating with them. Abba Alexander finished his task, and in the evening came to Abba Arsenius. And Abba Arsenius said to him: “Did pilgrims visit you?” And he said: “No.” And Abba Arsenius said: “Then why did you not come?” And he answered: “Because you told me, come when your palm-leaves are finished. I kept your word in mind, and did not come, and have only just now finished the work.” And the old man admired the exactness of his obedience, and said to him: “You should lay aside your work sooner, so as to make your psalmody, and fetch water for yourself: otherwise your body will soon grow weak.

1. Beatae memoriae abbas Arsenius dixit aliquando abbati Alexandro: Quando perexpenderis palmulas tuas, tunc veni et gustemus; si autem aliqui peregrini supervenerint, camede cum eis. Abbas autem Alexander lenius et modeste operabatur. Et cum facta fuisset hora manducandi, supererat adhuc de palmulis suis: volens autem custodire mandatum senis, sustinuit donec explicaret palmas; abbas autem Arsenius cum videret quia tardaret, gustavit, existimans quia forte ei peregrini supervenerint, et cum ipsis gustaverit. Abbas autem Alexander posteaquam explicavit vespere, perrexit ad abbatem  ^[0947D] Arsenium. Et dixit ei abbas Arsenius: Peregrinos aliquos habuisti? Et dixit: Non. Et ille dixit: Quare ergo non venisti? Et respondit: Quia dixisti mihi, Quando defecerint palmae tunc veni. Ego autem habens sermonem tuum in animo, non veni, quia modo complevi opus. Et admiratus est senex scrupulositatem obedientiae ejus, et dixit ei: Citius disjungere ab opere tuo, ut et ministerium psallendi facias, et aquam tibi implere occurras; alioquin citius debilitabitur corpus tuum.

2. Abba Abraham came to Abba Ares; and while they were sitting together, a brother came and said to Abba Ares: “Tell me, what must I do to be saved?” And the old man said: “Go away, eat bread and salt every evening for a whole year: and come back, and I will talk to you.” So the brother went away and did so, and at the end of a year came again to Abba Ares. By chance Abba Abraham was again with him. This time Abba Ares said to the brother: “Go away, fast for a year, and eat every second day.” When he had gone, Abba Abraham said to Abba Ares: “Why, when you put a light yoke on all the brothers, have you laid such a grievous burden on this brother?” And the old man said to him: “Other brothers come to ask questions and go away as they came. But this brother comes to hear a word for God’s sake, and he is a mighty labourer of God who takes the greatest trouble to do whatever I tell him. That is why I speak to him the word of God.”

2. Venit abbas Abraham ad abbatem Arem; et cum sederent simul, supervenit quidam frater, et dixit abbati Arem: Dic mihi, quid faciam ut salvari possim. Et dicit ei senex: Vade, toto anno isto vespere  ^[0948A] manduca panem et sal; et veni iterum, et loquor tibi. Qui pergens fecit ita. Completo autem anno, venit iterum frater ad abbatem Arem. Contigit autem ut rursus inveniretur apud eum abbas Abraham. Et iterum senex fratri illi: Vade, jejuna anno isto, et post biduum manduca. Qui cum discessisset, dixit abbas Abraham abbati Arem: Quare omnibus fratribus leve jugum imponis, istum vero fratrem gravi sarcina onerasti? Et dixit ei senex: Alii fratres quomodo veniunt quaerere ita et discedunt; hic vero quia propter Deum venit audire verbum, operarius autem est magnus, et quidquid ei dixero, cum omni sollicitudine facit, propterea et ego loquor ei verbum Dei

[14.]3. They told this story of Abba John the Short. He went to an old man from the Thebaid, who was living in the desert of Scete. His abba once took a dead stick and planted it, and told him: “Pour a jug of water over its base every day until it bears fruit.” Water was so far from their cell that he went away to fetch it every evening and did not return until dawn. At the end of three years the stick turned green, and bore fruit. The old man picked some of the fruit and took it to church, and said to the brothers: “Take and eat the fruit of obedience.”

3. Narraverunt de abbate Joanne brevis staturae  ^[0948B] quia perrexit ad quemdam senem Thebaeum genere, commorantem in Scythi, qui sedebat in eremo  (Simile hic lib. IV, c. 12, ex Sulpicio) . Tollens autem aliquando abbas ejus lignum siccum, plantavit, et dixit ei: Per dies singulos mitte ei ad pedem ejus lagenam aquae, donec fructum faciat. Erat vero longe ab eis aqua, ut a sero pergeret, et mane rediret; post tres autem annos viruit lignum illud, et fructum fecit. Sumens autem ex fructu ejus senex, attulit ad ecclesiam, et dixit fratribus: Accipite et manducate fructum obedientiae.

4. They said of Abba John, the disciple of Abba Paul, that he was a man who possessed the virtue of obedience in great measure. There was a tomb, in which lived a dangerous lioness. The old man saw the dung of the lioness lying round, and said to AbbaJohn: “Go fetch that dung.” And AbbaJohn said to him: “And what am I to do, Abba, about the lioness?” The old man smiled and said: “If she comes at you, tie her up and bring her here.” So the brother went there in the evening, and the lioness rushed out at him. He obeyed the old man’s word, and ran at her to catch her. The lioness turned and fled: Abba John chased her, shouting: “Wait! My abba told me to tie you up.” And he caught her and tied her up. The old man sat a long time waiting for him, and was greatly troubled in his mind because he was late. But at last he came, and brought the lioness with him, tied. The old man marvelled at the sight. But wanting to humble him, he beat him and said: “You fool, have you brought me a silly dog?” And the old man immediately untied her, and drove her away.

4. Dicebant de Joanne, qui fuit discipulus abbatis Pauli, quia magnae obedientiae fuerit  (Ruff. l. III, num. 67; Pasch., c. 2, n. 1) . Erat autem in quodam loco memoria, et habitabat in ea leaena pessima.  ^[0948C] Videns autem senex circa ipsum locum stercora leaenae ipsius, dixit Joanni: Vade, et affer stercora illa. Et ille dixit ei: Et quid facio, abba, propter leaenam illam? Senex autem subridens dixit ei: Si venerit contra te, liga illam, et affer huc. Perrexit ergo frater illic vespere, et ecce venit leaena super ipsum; ille autem secundum verbum senis impetum fecit super eam, ut teneret illam. Fugit autem leaena, et sequebatur eam ille, dicens: Exspecta, quia abbas meus dixit, ut ligem te; et tenens eam alligavit. Senex autem exspectando eum diutius sedebat, et tribulatione affligebatur; et ecce tarde venit, et habebat leaenam illam ligatam. Quod cum vidisset senex, admiratus est: volens autem humiliare illum, cecidit eum, et dixit: Bavose [(41) ^[0990C] Bavose.] Ita Manuscripti et Parisiensis editio. Aliae editiones, stulte. Ruffinus, lib. III, numero 27, in hac eadem narratione habet insensibilis.] , canem fatuum adduxisti  ^[0948D] mihi? Solvit autem eam statim senex, et dimisit redire ad locum suum.

5. They said that Abba Silvanus had a disciple in Scete named Mark, who possessed in great measure the virtue of obedience. He was a copyist of old manuscripts: and the old man loved him for his obedience. He had eleven other disciples, and they were aggrieved that he loved Mark more than them. When the nearby old men heard that he loved Mark above the others, they took it ill. One day they visited him. Abba Silvanus took them with him, and went out of his cell, and began to knock on the door of each of his disciples, saying: “Brothers, come out, I have work for you.” And not one of them appeared immediately. Then he came to Mark’s cell, and knocked, saying: “Mark.” And as soon as Mark heard the voice of the old man, he came outside; and the old man sent him on some errand. So Abba Silvanus said to the old men: “Where are the other brothers?” And he went into Mark’s cell, and found a book which he had just begun to write, and he was making the letter O. And when he heard the old man’s voice, he had not finished the line of the O. And the old men said: “Truly, Abba, we also love the one whom you love; for God too loves him.” 5’

5. Dicebant de abbate Silvano, quod habuerit in Scythi discipulum, nomine Marcum, et hic fuerit magnae obedientiae, quique etiam scriptor antiquarius erat: diligebat autem eum senex propter obedientiam suam  (Ruff., l. III, n. 143) . Habebat etiam alios undecim discipulos, qui contristabantur quod diligebat eum plus eis. Quod cum audissent vicini senes quia senex plus eum caeteris diligebat, moleste tulerunt. Una autem die venerunt ad eum: quos assumens secum abbas Silvanus, egressus est de cella sua, et coepit singulorum discipulorum suorum cellas pulsare, dicens: Frater ille, veni, quia opus te habeo.  ^[0949A] Et unus ex his non est mox secutus eum. Venit autem ad cellam Marci, et pulsavit, dicens: Marce. Ille autem cum audisset vocem senis statim exivit foris, et misit 618 eum ad quoddam ministerium. Abbas ergo Silvanus dixit senibus: Ubi sunt caeteri fratres? Et ingressus est in cellam Marci, et invenit quaternionem, quem eadem hora inchoaverat, in quo litteram O faciebat. Et audita voce senis, non fixit, nec gyravit calamum ultra, ut impleret et clauderet litteram quam in manus habebat. Et dixerunt senes: Vere, abba, quem tu diligis, et nos diligimus quoniam et Deus diligit eum.

6. Once the mother of Mark, with many attendants, came to see him. She said to the old man, when he went out to receive her: “Abba, tell my son to come out to me, so that I can see him.” The old man went into Mark’s cell, and said to him: “Go out, so that your mother can see you.” Mark was clad in a torn piece of sackcloth patched with rags, and his head and face were sooty from smoke of the cooking fire. He came out obediently, but closed his eyes, and so greeted his mother and her attendants, saying: “I hope you are well.” And none of them, not even his mother, knew who he was. Again she sent a message to the old man, saying: “Abba, send me my son, so that I may see him.” And he said to Mark: “Did I not tell you to go out so that your mother could see you?” And Mark said to him: “I went out as you said, Father. But I beg you, do not give me that order again, for I am afraid of seeming disobedient to you.” The old man went out and said to his mother: “Your son is the man who came out and greeted you with ‘I hope you are in good health.’ “ And he comforted her, and sent her on her way.

6. Venit aliquando mater supradicti Marci, ut videret eum, et habebat secum plurimum obsequium; ad quam cum exisset senex, dicit ei illa: Abba, dic  ^[0949B] filio meo ut exeat ad me, ut videam eum. Ingrediens autem senex, dixit ei: Egredere, ut videat te mater tua. Ille autem vesitus erat saccum scissum et recusutum pannis, et caput atque facies ejus tincta fumo et fuligine coquinae: qui propter obedientiam abbatis egressus est quidem, sed clausit oculos suos, et ita salutavit matrem suam vel eos qui venerant cum ipsa, dicens: Sani estote. Et nemo ex eis, nec mater sua cognovit quia ipse esset; quae iterum misit ad senem, dicens: Abba, mitte filium meum, ut videam eum. Et dixit Marco: Non dixi tibi, Egredere, ut videat te mater tua? Et dixit ei Marcus: Egressus sum juxta verbum tuum, Pater; verumtamen rogo te, ne mihi illud dicas, ut exeam, ne inobediens tibi videar esse. Egressus senex, dixit matri ejus: Ipse  ^[0949C] est qui exivit ad vos, et salutavit vos, dicens: Salvi estote. Et consolatus est eam, et ita discedere fecit.

7. Four monks once came from Scete to Abba Pambo, clothed in tunics of skin. And each described the goodness of one of the others, though not in his presence. One of them fasted much, one of them owned nothing, the third was a man of great charity; and they said of the fourth that he had lived in obedience to the elders for twenty-two years. Abba Pambo answered: “I tell you, this last is a greater virtue than the others. Each of you others has to use his own will to keep his virtue. But he eradicates his self-will and makes himself the servant of another’s will. Men like that, if they persevere till death, are confessors.”

7. Venerunt aliquando quatuor fratres de Scythi ad abbatem Pambo vestiti pelliceas tunicas, et indicavit unusquisque virtutem alterius, non praesente eo de quo loquebatur. Unus namque ex eis jejunabat multum, alter vero nihil possidebat, tertius autem habebat charitatem plurimam; de quarto vero dixerunt quia viginti duos annos haberet in obedientia permanens semorum. Respondit autem ei abbas Pambo: Dico vobis quia istius virtus major est quam caeterorum: quoniam unusquisque vestrum virtutem quam possidet, voluntate propria eam retinuit; hic autem suam voluntatem abscindens, alienae voluntatis se servum fecit. Tales enim viri confessores  ^[0949D] sunt, si usque ad finem ita permanserint.

8. There once came to Abba Sisois of the Thebaid a man who wanted to become a monk. And the old man asked him: “Have you any ties in the world?” And he said: “I have a son.” And the old man said to him: “Go and throw him in the river, and then you would be a monk.” He went away to throw his boy into the river. But the old man sent a monk to stop him. He was already holding his son, ready to throw him in, when the brother said: “Stop! What are you doing?” And he said: “The Abba told me to throw him in.” And the brother said: “Now the Abba says, do not throw him in.” So he left his son, and came to the old man, and became a monk of high worth, tested through obedience.

8. Venit quidam ad abbatem Sisoi Thebaeum, volens fieri monachus. Et interrogavit eum senex, si quid haberet in saeculo. Et ille dixit: Habeo unum filium. Et dicit ei senex: Vade, jacta eum in flumine, et tunc fies monachus. Qui cum abiisset projicere eum, misit senex unum de fratribus, qui prohiberet eum. Qui cum tenuisset jactare puerum, dicit ei frater: Quiesce, quid facis? Et ille respondit: Abbas mihi dixit ut projiciam eum. Et dixit ei frater: Sed iterum abbas dicit: Ne projicias eum. Ille autem relinquens filium suum venit ad senem, et factus est probatissimus monachus per obedientiam.

9. Saint Syncletice said: “I reckon that for coenobites obedi­ence is a higher virtue than continence, however perfect. Con­tinence carries pride with it, obedience has the promise of due humility.”

9. Dixit sancta Syncletica: Quia in congregatione  ^[0950A] manentes cuilibet continentiae obedientiam magis praeponimus; quoniam continentia arrogantiam habet, obedientia autem humilitatem congruam pollicetur.

10. She also said: “We ought to rule our souls with dis­cretion: and to remain in the community, not following our own will, nor seeking our own good. We are like exiles: we have been separated from the things of the world and have given ourselves in faith to the one Father. We need nothing of what we have left behind. There we had reputation and plenty to eat: here we have little to eat and little of everything else.”

10. Dixit iterum quae supra: Oportet nos cum discretione animam gubernare, et in congregatione manentes, non quae nostra sunt quaerere, neque servire propriae voluntati; quoniam velut exsilio relegantes nos tradidimus uni secundum fidem Patri a rebus saecularibus alienati. Unde ergo egressi sumus, nihil ulterius requiramus; illic enim gloriam habuimus, illic abundantiam ciborum, hic autem etiam panis ipsius inopiam.

11. Abba Hyperichius said: “The monk’s service is obedi­ence. He who possesses it shall have his prayers answered, and shall stand by the Crucified in confident faith. For that was how the Lord went to his cross, being made obedient even unto death.”

11. Dixit abbas Hyperichius: Quia ministerium monachi est obedientia, quam qui possidet, quod  ^[0950B] poscit exaudietur, et cum fiducia Crucifixo astabit; etenim Dominus sic venit ad crucem, factus scilicet obediens usque ad mortem.

I2. The old men said: “If a man trusts another man, and makes himself his servant, he ought not to think about God’s commandments, but give himself completely to obey the will of his spiritual father. If he obeys him in everything, he will not sin against God.”

12. Dicebant senes: Quia si habet quis in aliquo fidem, et tradit se ei ad subjectionem, non debet attendere in mandatis Dei, sed Patri suo spirituali omnem voluntatem suam committere; quia illi per omnia obediens, non incurret peccatum apud Deum.

I3. The old men used to say: “God demands this of Chris­tians: to obey the inspired Scriptures, which contain the pattern of what they must say and do, and assent to the teaching of the orthodox bishops and fathers.”

13. Dicebat senex; Quia ista quaerit Deus a Christianis, ut obediat quis Scripturis divinis, quoniam inde accipiet loquendorum et agendorum formam, et ut consentiat praepositis et Patribus orthodoxis.

14. A brother from Scete was going to harvest: and he turned to a great old man and said: “Tell me, Abba, what am I to do, for I go to harvest?” The old man said to him: “If I tell you, will you do as I say?” The brother answered: “Yes; I will obey you.” The old man said: “If you do what I say, you will rise, and give up your harvesting: and come here, and I will tell you what to do.” So the brother abandoned his harvesting, and came to the old man. The old man said: “Go into your cell, and stay there fifty days without a break. Eat bread and salt once a day. At the end I will tell you what to do next.” And he did so, and at the end came back to the old man. The old man knew him for an earnest person, and told him what sort of a person he ought to be in his cell. And the brother went down to his cell, and for three days and nights he lay prone upon the ground, in peni­tence before God. Then the thought came into his mind: “You are exalted, you are a great man,” and so he took control of his thoughts, and in humility called his sins to mind, saying: “And where are all the sins I have done?” And if the thought rose in his mind that he had much neglected the command­ments of God, he said to himself: “I will offer God a little service, and I believe that he will have mercy upon me.” So he conquered the spirits which sent wicked thoughts: and the spirits appeared before him in a visible form, and said: “You are troubling us.” He said to them: “Why?” They said: “If we exalt you, you are quick to be humble: if we humble you, you lift yourself on high.”

14. Frater quidam de Scythi vadens ad messem, applicuit ad quemdam senem magnum, et dicit ei:  ^[0950C] Dic mihi, abba, quid faciam pergens ad metendum? Dicit ei senex: Et si tibi dixero, acquiesces mihi? Respondit ei frater: Etiam, obedio tibi. Dixit ei senex: Si mihi acquiesci, surgens vade, et renuntia messioni huic; et veni, et dico tibi quid facias. Ille autem frater renuntiavit messurae, et venit ad senem. Dixit autem ei senex: Intra in cellam tuam, et fac quinquaginta dies continuos; semel comedens in die panem cum sale, et iterum indicabo tibi aliam rem. Et fecit sic, et iterum venit ad senem. Senex autem sciens 619 quia vir operarius esset, dixit ei quomodo oporteret esse in cella sua. Et descendens frater in cella sua, prostravit se pronus in terram tres dies et tres noctes, plorans in conspectu Dei. Post haec vero cum dicerent ei cogitationes suae:  ^[0950D] Exaltatus es, magnus factus es, ipse temperans vitia cogitationum suarum, humiliter revocabat culpas suas in conspectu suo, dicens: Et ubi sunt omnia illa peccata mea quae feci? Si autem in cogitatione ejus ascendebat, quia multum neglexerit de mandato Dei, dicebat et ipse intra se: Sed exhibebo parvum servitium Deo meo, et credo quia faciet mecum misericordiam. Hoc igitur modo evincens spiritus malarum cogitationum, post ea apparuerunt ei visibiliter, dicentes: Turbati sumus a te. Et dicit eis: Quare? Et dixerunt: Quia si te exaltamus, recurris ad humilitatem; si vero nos te humiliamus, tu te erigis in altum.

15. The old men used to say: “From those who have not long been converted to the life of a monk, God demands no virtue so much as earnest obedience.”

15. Dicebant senes: Quia nihil sic quaerit Deus ab  ^[0951A] his qui primitias habent conversationis, quomodo obedientiae laborem.

16. An old hermit had a servant, who himself lived on a nearby estate. Once it happened that because the servant did not come, the hermit had not what he needed, neither food to eat nor materials to work. He was troubled at having neither means of work nor means of keeping alive, and said to his disciple: “Do you want to go to the estate, and call here the servant who usually brings what we need?” And he answered: “I will do as you say.” But the old man would not yet give him an order to go, for he did not dare to send the monk. After they had suffered for a long time because the servant did not come, the old man again said to his disciple: “Do you want to go to the estate, and bring him here?” And he answered: “I will do what you want.” The disciple was afraid that if he went down to the estate, he would cause scandal: but so as not to be dis­obedient to his father, he consented to go. The old man said: “Go, and believe in the God of your fathers, who will protect you in every temptation”: and he prayed, and sent him on his way. The monk came to the estate, and enquired where the servant lived, and found his house. The servant happened to be away from the estate with all his family except a daughter.When the monk knocked, the daughter opened the door. And when he asked her where her father was, she urged him to come into the house, and indeed tried to pull him inside. He at first refused to go in, but in the end she pressed him and succeeded in persuading him in. Then she flung herself about him and tried to seduce him to lie with her. He felt lust rising in him, and his mind in a turmoil; and he groaned and called out to God: “Lord, for the prayers of my father, give me liberty now.” As soon as he said it, he found himself by the river on the path to the hermitage, and so was restored, unharmed, to his abba.

16. Senex quidam solitarius habuit quemdam ministrum manentem in possessione. Contigit autem semel ut, tardante ministro, deficerent necessaria seni  (Ruff., l. III, n. 144) . Et cum tempus intercessisset, et non veniret minister ille, defecerunt quae necessaria habebat senex ad victum, et quod operaretur manibus suis. Qui cum affligeretur non habendo quod laboraret, neque unde viveret, dixit discipulo suo: Vis ut vadas ad possessionem illam, et voces nobis ministrum, qui solet afferre quae opus sunt nobis? Et ille respondit: Quomodo jubes facio. Differebat adhuc senex; non praesumens mittere fratrem. Et cum diu sustinerent et tribularentur non  ^[0951B] veniente ministro, dixit iterum senex ad discipulum suum: Vis ire usque ad possessionem, et adducere eum? Et ille respondit: Quid vis facio. Timebat etiam et discipulus ille descendere ad possessionem, ne scandalizaretur aliunde; sed ne inobediens esset Patri suo, acquievit abire. Dixit ei senex: Vade et crede in Deum patrum tuorum, quia proteget te ab omni tentatione; et facta oratione direxit eum. Veniens autem frater in possessionem, requisivit ubi maneret minister ille; et invenit hospitium ejus. Contigerat autem eum cum suis omnibus extra possessionem inveniri, excepta una filia ejus. Quae pulsantem fratrem ut audivit, venit ad ostium et aperuit ei. Et cum interrogaret eam de patre suo, illa hortata est eum ut intraret hospitium, simul etiam  ^[0951C] et trahebat eum. Ille vero non acquiescebat intrare. Sed cum diu eum cogeret, praevaluit introducere eum ad se. Et complexa eum coepit eum illicere ad commistionem corporis sui; ille autem videns trahi se ad luxuriam, et cogitationibus confundi, ingemiscens clamabat ad Deum, dicens: Domine, propter orationes Patris mei libera me in hora ista. Et cum hoc dixisset, subito inventus est ad flumen pergens ad monasterium, et restitutus illaesus ad abbatem suum.

17. Two men, who were brothers (in the worldly sense) came to live in a monastery. One possessed the virtue of self­control, the other the virtue of obedience, each to a remarkable degree. If the abba said to the second, Do this, he did it: if he said, Sup at dawn, he supped at dawn. And so he gained a reputation in the monastery for his obedient conduct. But the other brother was pricked by the needle of envy against him, and said to himself: “I will test whether he is so obedient.” He went to the father of the monastery, and told him: “Send my brother away with me, and we will go somewhere else.” The abba sent them on their way. And the ascetic brother wanted to tempt the obedient brother. They came to a river infested by crocodiles. And he said to him: “Walk down into the river, and cross.” He im­mediately walked into the river and the crocodiles swam to him, and licked his body, but did not hurt him. And when his brother saw what happened, he said: “Come out of the river.” On their journey they found a corpse lying by the wayside. And the ascetic said to his brother: “If we had an old coat, we could put it over the corpse.” And he answered: “We had better pray: perhaps he will live again.” And when they had stood in earnest prayer, the dead man stood up. The ascetic brother was proud, and said: “This dead man has been raised because I am so self-controlled.” But God revealed what had happened to the abba of the monastery, how he had tempted his brother, how the crocodiles had not hurt him, and how the dead had been raised. And when they came back to the monastery, the abba said to the ascetic: “Why did you do this to your brother? The dead man was raised because he is so obedient.”

17. Duo fratres carnales venerunt habitarae in monasterio quodam: ex quibus unus erat praeclarae continentiae, alter obedientiae magnae  (Ruff., l. III, n. 145) . Cui dicebat Pater: Fac hoc, et faciebat; et: Fac illud, et faciebat; Manduca mane, et manducabat.  ^[0951D] De qua re magnam opinionem in monasterio habebat, quia ita obediens existebat. Punctus autem invidiae mucrone frater ejus ille continens adversus eum, dixit in semetipso: Ego probo istum si habet obedientiam. Et accedens ad Patrem monasterii, dixit ei: Mitte mecum fratrem meum, ut eamus alicubi. Et dimisit eos abbas abire. Et assumens eum ille frater abstinens, voluit eum tentare. Et cum venissent ad flumen, ubi erat multitudo crocodilorum, dicit ei: Descende in flumen et transi. Et ille mox descendit: venerunt autem crocodili, et lingebant corpus ejus, in nullo laedentes eum. Quod cum vidisset frater ejus, dixit ei: Ascende de flumine. Et cum iter agerent, invenerunt corpus humanum jacens in  ^[0952A] via. Et dixit abstinens ille ad fratrem suum: Si habuissemus aliquid vetustum, jactaremus super corpus illud. Et respondens ille obediens frater, dixit: Magis oremus, et forsitan resurget. Et stantes ad orationem, atque orantes intente, surrexit mortuus ille. Quo facto gloriabatur ille abstinens frater, et dixit: Pro continentia mea suscitatus est mortuus hic. Omnia autem haec revelavit Deus abbati monasterii eorum, et qualiter tentaverit fratrem suum, de crocodilis, et quomodo suscitatus est mortuus. Et cum venissent in monasterium, dixit abbas abstinenti illi: Quare ita fecisti fratri tuo? Et ecce tamen pro obedientia ejus mortuus ille surrexit.

18. A man of worldly life, who had three sons, renounced the world: and leaving his sons in the city, came to a monastery.After three years in the monastery, he began to be much troubled in his mind by memories of the three sons, and was very grieved for their sakes: he had not told his abba of their existence. The abba, seeing him to be grieving, said: “Why are you sad?” He told him that he had three sons in the city, and he wanted to bring them to the monastery. The abba told him to bring them. When he arrived at the city, he found that two of them were already dead, and only one survived. He took him back to the monastery, and looked for the abba but could not find him. He asked the brothers where was the abba, and was told that he had gone to the bakery. He took his child in his arms and went to the bakery. The abba saw him coming, and greeted him. And he took the child, and hugged and kissed him. Then he said to the father: “Do you love him?” He said: “Yes.” And he said: “Do you love him with all your heart?” He answered: “Yes.” At these words the abba said: “Then, if you love him, pick him up and throw him into the oven, throw him now while it is red-hot.” And the father took his son, and threw him into the red-hot oven. And in that moment the oven was transformed and became as cool as the dew. So the father received glory for an act like that of the patriarch Abraham.

18. Alter quidam saecularis vitae, habens tres filios, renuntiavit saeculo, et venit ad monasterium, relinquens  ^[0952B] filios suos in civitate. Et cum fecisset tres annos in monasterio, coeperunt ei cogitationes suae filios ad memoriam frequenter adducere, et contristabatur pro eis valde, neque enim dixerat abbati filios se habere. Videns autem eum abbas tristem, dicit ei: Quid habes quod tristis es? Et narravit ei quia tres 620 filios haberet in civitate, et quia vellet eos ad monasterium ejus adducere: praecepit autem abbas ut adduceret eos. Qui cum perrexisset ad civitatem, invenit duos ex eis jam esse defunctos, unum vero solummodo remansisse. Quem assumens venit ad monasterium; et requirens abbatem, non eum invenit illic. Interrogavit autem fratres ubi esset abbas. Et illi dixerunt: Usque ad pistrinum perrexit. Ille vero tollens filium suum quem adduxerat, abiit  ^[0952C] in pistrinum. Et videns eum abbas venientem, salutavit. Et tenens infantem quem adduxerat, amplexatus est eum. Et dicit patri ejus: Amas eum? Et ille dixit: Etiam. Rursum dixit ei: Omnino diligis eum? Et respondit: Etiam. Haec audiens abbas, postea dixit ei: Tolle ergo, si amas eum, et mitte in furnum, sic modo cum ardet furnus. Et tenens pater filium suum, jactavit eum in furnum ardentem. Statim autem factus est furnus velot ros; ex qua re acquisivit gloriam in tempore illo, quemadmodum Abraham patriarcha.

19. An old man said: “A brother who entrusts his soul in obedience to a spiritual father has a greater reward than the brother who retires alone to his hermitage.” And he said: “One of the fathers saw a vision of four ranks in heaven. The first rank was of men who are sick, yet are grateful to God. The second rank was of men who minister to them with willingness and generosity. The third rank was of men who live in the desert and see no one. The fourth rank was of men who for God’s sake put themselves under obedience to spiritual fathers. But the rank of the obedient men had a golden necklace and a crown, and shone more than the others. And I said to the being who showed me the vision: ‘How is it that the rank, which is least, shines the most?’ And he answered: ‘Hospitable men do what they themselves want. Hermits have followed their own will in withdrawing from the world. But the obedient have cast away their self-will, and depend on God and the word of their spiritual father: that is why they shine the most. So, my sons, obedience is good, if it is for God’s sake. Strive to win at least some trace of this virtue. It is the salvation of the faithful, the mother of virtue, the opening of the kingdom of heaven, the raising of men from heaven to earth. Obedience lives in the house of the angels, is the food of all the saints, who turn to it at their weaning and by its nourishment grow to a perfect life.”

19. Dixit quidam senex: Quia frater qui ad obedientiam Patris spiritalis animum dederit, majorem mercedem habet quam ille qui solus in eremo recesserit  (Ruff., l. III, n. 141) . Dicebat autem: Quia narravit  ^[0952D] aliquis Patrum vidisse se quatuor ordines in coelo: quorum primus ordo erat hominum infirmorum et gratias agentium Deo; secundus ordo hospitalitatem sectantium et instanter ministrantium eis; tertius ordo in solitudine conversantium et non videntium homines; quartus ordo eorum qui ad obediendum spiritualibus Patribus se subjiciunt propter Deum. Utebatur autem ordo obedientium torque aurea et corona, et majorem quam alii gloriam habebat. Et ego dixi ei qui mihi ostendebat omnia haec: Quomodo iste ordo, qui parvus est, majorem quam alii gloriam habet? Et ille respondens dixit mihi: Quia qui hospitalitatem sectantur, secundum propriam voluntatem idipsum faciunt. Similiter et qui  ^[0953A] In eremo se relegant, arbitrio suo de saeculo recesserunt. Hic autem ordo, qui se ad obediendum dedit, omnes voluntates suas abjiciens, pendet ad Deum et ad jussionem Patris spiritualis, propterea et majorem gloriam aliis habet. Quapropter, o fili, bona est obedientia, quae propter Deum fit. Intendite ergo, filii, virtutis hujus aliquod ex parte vestigium. Obedientia salus est omnium fidelium. Obedientia genitrix est omnium virtutum. Obedientia regni coelorum inventrix est. Obedientia coelos aperiens, et homines de terra elevans est. Obedientia cohabitatrix angelorum est. Obedientia sanctorum omnium cibus est. Ex hac enim ablactati sunt, et per hanc ad perfectionem venerunt.

BOOK 15
Of humility

LIBELLUS DECIMUS QUINTUS.
De humilitate. ^[0953B]

I. Abba Antony was baffled as he meditated upon the depths of God’sjudgements, and prayed thus: “Lord, how is it that some die young and others grow old and infirm? Why are there some poor and some wealthy? And why are the rich unrighteous and grind the faces of the righteous poor?” And a voice came to him: “Antony, look to yourself: these are the judgements of God, and it is not good for you to know them.”

1. Abbas Antonius, deficiens in consideratione profunditatis judiciorum Dei, postulavit, dicens: Domine, quomodo aliqui in parvo tempore vitae suae moriuntur, et aliqui ultra decrepitam veniunt senectutem; et quare quidam egestuosi sunt, alii autem facultatibus ditantur; et quomodo injusti opulenti sunt, justi vero paupertate premuntur? Et venit ei vox, dicens: Antoni, ad teipsum intende; haec enim judicia Dei sunt, et te scire ea non convenit.

2. Abba Antony said to Abba Poemen: “Man’s great work is to lay his guilt upon himself before God, and to expect to be tempted to the end of his life.”

2. Dixit abbas Antonius abbati Pastori: Hoc est magnum opus hominis, ut culpam suam super seipsum unusquisque ponat coram Domino, et exspectet tentationem usque ad ultimum vitae suae tempus.

3. Abba Antony also said: “I saw all the devil’s traps set upon the earth, and I groaned and said: ‘Who do you think can pass through them?’ And I heard a voice saying: ‘Humility.’ “

3. Dixit iterum abbas Antonius: Vidi omnes laqueos  ^[0953C] [cf Eccl 9:20; Aug in Ps 141]  inimici tensos in terra, et ingemiscens dixi: Quis putas transiet istos? Et audivi vocem dicentem: Humilitas.

4. Once some old men came to Abba Antony, and Abba Joseph was with them. Abba Antony, wanting to test them, began to speak about holy Scripture. And he began to ask the younger monks the meaning of text after text, and each of them replied as he was able. And to each the old man said: “You have not yet found it.” Then he said to AbbaJoseph: “What do you say is the meaning of this word?” He answered: “I do not know.” And Abba Antony said: “Truly AbbaJoseph alone has found the true way, for he answered that he does not know.”

4. Venerunt aliquando senes ad abbatem Antonium, et erat cum eis etiam abbas Joseph. Volens autem abbas Antonius probare eos, movit sermonem de Scripturis sanctis. Et coepit interrogare a junioribus, quid esset hoc vel illud verbum. Et singuli dicebant prout poterant. Ille autem dicebat eis: Necdum invenistis. Post eos vero dixit abbati Joseph: Tu quomodo dicis esse verbum hoc? Ille respondit: Nescio. Et dixit abbas Antonius: Vere abbas Joseph solus invenit viam, qui se nescire respondit.

5. Some demons were once standing near Abba Arsenius in his cell, and were troubling him. Then some brothers came, who usually ministered to him. And as they stood outside the cell, they heard him crying aloud to the Lord: “Lord, do not leave me, though I have done nothing good in thy sight. Grant me, Lord, according to thy loving-kindness, at least the very beginning of a good life.”

5. Astiterunt aliquando abbati Arsenio daemones in cella sedenti, et tribulabant eum: supervenerunt  ^[0953D] autem fratres, qui ministrare solebant ei; et stantes extra cellam audiebant eum clamantem ad Dominum, et dicentem: Domine, non me derelinquas, quia nihil boni feci coram te. Sed praesta mihi, Domine, secundum benignitatem tuam, saltem modo habere bene vivendi principia.

6. They said of Abba Arsenius, that while he was in the Emperor’s palace he was the best dressed person there: and while he was leading the religious life, no one was clothed in worse rags.

6. Dicebant autem de eo qui supra, quia sicut dum in palatio esset, nemo melioribus vestibus eo utebatur; ita et dum in conversatione moraretur, nemo eo vilius tegebatur  (Ruff., l. III, n. 37)

7. Abba Arsenius was once asking an old Egyptian for advice about his temptations. And another, who saw this, said: ‘;Abba Arsenius, how is it that you, who are so learned in the Greek and Latin languages, come to be asking that uneducated countryman about your temptations?” He answered: “I have acquired the world’s knowledge of Greek and Latin: but I have not yet been able to learn the alphabet of this uneducated man.”

7. Cum interrogaret aliquando abbas Arsenius quemdam senem Aegyptium de 621 cogitationibus suis, alius videns eum dixit: Abba Arseni, quomodo tu, qui tantae eruditionis in Latina et Graeca lingua  ^[0954A] edoctus es, rusticum istum de cogitationibus tuis interrogas? Et ille respondit: Latinam quidem et Graecam eruditionem, quantum ad saeculum, apprehendi; sed alphabetum rustici istius necdum discere potui.

8. The old men said that they once gave the brothers in Scete a few figs: but because they had so few, they did not give any to Abba Arsenius, for fear he should be offended. When he heard of this, he did not go out as usual to the divine office with the brothers, and said: “You have excommunicated me, by not giving me the blest food which the Lord sent to the brothers, because I was not worthy to receive it.” And they were edified at his humility, and the priest went and took him some of the figs, and brought him back to the congregation happy.

8. Dicebant senes quia dederint quidam aliquando in Scythi fratribus paucas caricas, et pro hoc quod paucae erant, non transmiserunt ex eis abbati Arsenio, ne velut injuriam pateretur. Ille autem cum hoc audisset, non est egressus juxta morem ad opus Dei cum fratribus celebrandum, dicens: Excommunicastis me, ut non mihi daretis eulogiam, quam transmisit Dominus fratribus, ex qua ego non fui dignus accipere. Quod cum audissent omnes, aedificati sunt in humilitate senis, et vadens presbyter portavit ei  ^[0954B] de caricis illis, et adduxit cum in congregatione gaudentem.

9. They used to say that no one could fathom the depth of his religious life. Once when he was living in Lower Egypt, and suffering from importunate visitors, he decided to leave his cell. He took nothing with him, and said to his disciples Alexander and Zoilus: “Alexander, you board a ship, and you, Zoilus, come with me to the Nile and find for me a little boat that is sailing to Alexandria, and then sail to join your brother.” Zoilus was troubled at this, but said nothing, and so they parted. The old man went down to the country near Alexandria, and there fell gravely ill. But his disciples said to each other: “Do you think one of us has grieved him, and that is why he has separated from us?” They examined themselves, but could not find that they had been ungrateful to him, or that they had ever disobeyed him. When the old man had recovered from his illness, he said to himself: “I will go to my fathers.” And so he came to the place called Petra, where were Alexander and Zoilus his servants. While he was by the river-bank, he met an Ethiopian girl, who came up and touched his cloak. The old man rebuked her. But she said: “If you are a monk, go to the mountain.” The old man was stricken in heart at these words, and said to himself: “Arsenius, if you are a monk, go to the mountain.” And on the way his disciples Alexander and Zoilus met him, and fell at his feet. And the old man too threw himself on the ground, and they all wept. Then the old man said: “Did you not hear that I fell ill?” They said to him: “Yes, we heard.” And he said: “Then why did you not come to see me?” And Alexander said: “We were aggrieved at your parting from us. For many people were vexed at it, and said: ‘Unless they had disobeyed the old man, he would surely not have left them.’ “ And the old man said to them: “Yes, I knew this would be said. But men shall say again: ‘The dove found no rest for his feet, and so returned to Noah in the ark.’ “The minds of his disciples were healed by the saying, and they stayed with him to the end of his life..

9. Dicebant autem de eo quia nemo potuerit comprehendere modum conversationis ejus. Sedente eodem abbate Arsenio aliquando in inferioribus partibus Aegypti, cum illic importunitates pateretur, visum est ei derelinquere cellam suam; et nihil ex ea tollens secum, dixit discipulis suis Alexandro et Zoilo: Tu, Alexander, ascende navim, et tu, Zoile, veni mecum usque ad flumen, et quaere mihi naviculam in Alexandriam navigantem, et ita navigabis etiam tu ad fratrem tuum. Turbatus autem Zoilus in verbo isto, tacuit, atque ita divisi sunt ab invicem. Descendit autem senex circa partes Alexandriae, et aegrotavit aegritudine magna. Discipuli autem ejus dicebant  ^[0954C] ad invicem: Putasne aliquis nostrum contristavit eum, et propterea divisus est a nobis? Et non inveniebant in se ingratitudinis causam, neque quia inobedientes ei aliquando fuissent. Cum vero sanus factus fuisset senex, dixit ad seipsum: Vadam ad Patres meos. Et ita venit in locum qui dicitur Petra, ubi erant supradicti ministri ejus. Cum vero juxta flumen esset puella quaedam Aethiopissa, veniens tetigit melotem ejus: senex autem increpavit eam. Illa vero dixit: Si monachus es, vade in montem. Compunctus autem in hoc verbo senex, dicebat ad seipsum: Arseni, si monachus es, vade in montem. Et inter haec occurrerunt ei Alexander et Zoilus discipuli sui. Et cum cecidissent ad pedes ejus, projecit se senex in terra, et flebant simul. Dixit autem senex: Non audistis  ^[0954D] quia aegrotavi? Et dixerunt ei: Etiam, audivimus. Et ille dixit: Quare non venistis videre me? Et dixit Alexander: Quia divisio tua a nobis non fuit nobis tolerabilis, quoniam et multi ex ea contristati sunt, dicentes: Nisi inobedientes fuissent seni, nunquam se separasset ab eis. Et dixit eis senex: Et ego cognovi quia hoc diceretur; sed tamen iterum dicturi sunt homines: Quia non inveniens columba requiem pedibus suis, reversa est ad Noe in arcam  (Gen. VIII) . In hoc igitur verbo curati sunt animi discipulorum ejus, et permanserunt cum eo usque ad ultimum vitae ipsius tempus.

But when he lay dying, they were much distressed. And he said to them: “The hour is not yet come. But I will tell you when it comes. You will be judged with me before the judgement seat of Christ, if you let anyone touch my dead body.” And they said: “What then shall we do? We do not know how to clothe or bury a dead body.” And the old man said: “Surely you know how to tie a rope to my leg and pull me up the mountain?” When he was soon to commit his soul to God, they saw him weeping, and said: “Truly, Father, are you afraid, even you, of death?” And he said: “Truly. The fear which possesses me now has been with me since I became a monk: and I am very afraid.” So he slept in peace. Arsenius always used to say this: “Why, you words, did I let you go out? I have often been penitent that I spoke, never that I kept silent.” When Abba Poemen heard that Arsenius had departed this life, he wept, and said: “You are blessed, Abba Arsenius; for you wept for yourself in this world; and he who does not weep for himself in this world, shall lament for ever in the next. We cannot escape lamentation: if we do not lament here of our own will, we shall later be forced to lament against our will.”

Qui cum moreretur, turbati sunt valde  (Ruff., l. III, n. 163) . Et dixit eis: Nondum venit hora; cum autem  ^[0955A] venerit, dicam vobis. Judicari autem habeo vobiscum ante tribunal Christi, si permiseritis cuiquam de corpore meo aliquid facere. Et illi dixerunt: Quid ergo faciemus, quia nescimus mortuum vestire vel sepelire? Et dixit senex: Nescitis mittere funem in pede meo, et trahere me in montem? Cum autem traditurus esset spiritum, viderunt eum flentem, et dicunt ei: In veritate et tu times mortem, Pater? Et dixit eis: In veritate. Timor enim qui in hac hora est mihi semper fuit in me, ex quo factus sum monachus, et timeo valde; atque ita in pace dormivit. Ille autem sermo semper erat in ore Arsenii, Propter quid existi? loqui me semper poenituit, tacere nunquam. Audiens autem abbas Pastor, quia ex hac vita discesserit Arsenius, lacrymatus est, et dixit: Beatus  ^[0955B] es, abba Arseni, quia flevisti temetipsum in saeculo isto; qui enim se in hoc saeculo non fleverit, sempiterne plorabit illic; sive igitur hic voluntarie, sive illic tormentis cogentibus, impossibile est non flere.

10. Abba Daniel said of Abba Arsenius that he never wanted to discuss any question about the Scripture, though he was wonderful at expounding it when he wanted: and that he was very slow to write anyone a letter. When from time to time he came to the meeting in church, he sat behind a pillar so that none should see his face and he himself should be undistracted. And like Jacob, he looked like an angel, having white hair, a man lovely to look upon, yet somehow dried up. He had a long beard which reached down to his waist: his eyes were dim with constant weeping: and although he was tall, his body was bent, for he died at the age of ninety-five. He lived for forty years in the palace of the Emperor Theodosius the Great of holy memory, the father of Arcadius and Honorius: then he lived forty years in Scete, ten years in the place called Trohe, above Babylon, near the city of Memphis, and three years in Canopus near Alexandria. Then he returned to Trohe for two more years, and there ended his life in peace and the fear of God. He was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” 59

10. Narravit abbas Daniel de abbate Arsenio, quia nunquam voluerit loqui de quaestione aliqua Scripturarum, cum posset magnifice si vellet, sed neque epistolam cito scripsit ad aliquem  (Ruff., l. III, n. 198) . Quando autem ad conventum post aliquantum temporis veniebat, post columnam sedebat, ne quis videret faciem ejus, et ne ipse attenderet alium. Erat enim visio ejus angelica, sicut Jacob, canis ornatus, elegans corpore, siccus tamen. Habebat autem barbam prolixam, omnino attingentem usque ad ventrem ejus: pili autem oculorum ejus nimio fletu ceciderant;  ^[0955C] longus autem erat, sed senio longaevo curvatus, moritur autem annorum nonaginta quinque. Hic fecit in palatio divae memoriae Theodosii imperatoris majoris, qui fuit pater Arcadii et Honorii, annos quadraginta, et in Scythi fecit annos quadraginta, et 622 decem annos in loco qui dicitur Trohen, supra Babyloniam, contra civitatem Memphis, et tres annos in Cinopo Alexandriae; alios duos annos revertens iterum in Trohen fecit, consummans in pace et timore Dei cursum suum, quia erat vir bonus et plenus Spiritu sancto et fide  (Act. XI) .

11 . Abba John told this story. Abba Anub and Abba Poemen and the others, who were born of the same mother, were monks in Scete. And some savage Mazicae came and sacked Scete. The monks went away, and came to a place called Terenuthis, while they discussed where to live, and stayed a few days there in an old temple. Abba Anub said to Abba Poemen: “Of your charity, let me live apart from you and your brothers, and we shall not see each other for a week.” And Abba Poemen said: “Let us do as you wish”: and they did so. In the temple stood a stone statue. And every day at dawn Abba Anub rose and pelted the face of the statue with stones: and every day at evening he said: “Forgive me.” Every day for a week he did this: and on Saturday they met again. And Abba Poemen said to Abba Anub: “I saw you, Abba, throwing stones at the face of the statue every day this week, and later doing penance to the statue. A true Christian would not have done that.” And the old man answered: “For your sakes I did it. When you saw me throwing stones at the statue’s face, did it speak? Was it angry?” And Abba Poemen said: “No.” And he said: “When I did penance before the statue, was it troubled in heart? Did it say: ‘I do not forgive you?’ “ And Abba Poemen answered: “No.” And he said: “Here we are, seven brothers. If we want to stay together, we must become like this statue, which is un­troubled by the injuries I have done it. If you will not become like this statue, see, there are four doors to this temple, and each of us may go in the direction he chooses.” At these words they fell upon the ground before Abba Anub, and said to him: “As you say, Father. We will do what you tell us.” And afterwards Abba Poemen described what happened. “We remained together all our lives, doing our work and everything else as the old man directed us. He appointed one of us as a steward, and we ate whatever he put before us; no one could have said: ‘Bring something else to eat,’ or ‘I will not eat that.’ And so we passed our lives in quiet and peace.”

11. Narravit abbas Joannes: Quia abbas Anub et abbas Pastor et residui fratres eorum ex uno utero nati, monachi fuerunt in Scythi  (Ruff., l. III, n. 199; Pasch., c. 42, n. 4) ; et quando illic venit gens Mazicarum,  ^[0955D] et desolaverunt locum ipsum, primo discesserunt illinc, et venerunt in locum qui vocatur Therenuthi, donec deliberarent ubi habitare deberent; et manserunt illic in templo quodam antiquo paucis diebus. Dixit autem abbas Anub abbati Pastori: Ostende charitatem et tu et fratres tui, et singuli seorsim habitemus, et non veniamus ad nos invicem hebdomada hac. Et respondit abbas Pastor: Faciamus qualiter vis; et fecerunt sic. Erat autem ibi in templo statua lapidea. Et surgebat quotidie mane abbas Anub, et faciem statuae illius lapidabat; vespere autem dicebat: Ignosce mihi. Et tota hebdomada ita fecit; die autem Sabbati occurrerunt sibi invicem. Et dixit abbas Pastor abbati Anub: Vidi te,  ^[0956A] abba, hebdomada ista lapidantem faciem statuae hujus, et iterum poenitentiam agentem apud eam; fidelis autem homo haec non facit. Et respondit senex: Hanc rem ego propter vos feci. Quando me vidisti lapidantem faciem statuae ipsius, num locuta est, num furuit? Et dixit abbas Pastor: Non. Iterum quando apud eam poenitentiam egi, num turbata est? num dixit: Non ignosco? Et respondit abbas Pastor: Non. Et ille dixit: Ergo et nos qui sumus septem fratres, si vultis ut maneamus simul, efficiamur sicut statua haec, quae contumeliis affecta non turbatur; si autem non vultis ista fieri, ecce quatuor ingressus sunt ad aditum templi hujus, unusquisque quo vult exeat, et quo vult vadat. Illi autem haec audientes, prostraverunt se in terram abbati Anub, et dixerunt ei: Quomodo  ^[0956B] jubes, Pater, ita fiat; faciemus quod dixeris nobis. Postea autem retulit abbas Pastor, dicens: Quia mansimus simul per omne tempus vitae nostrae operantes et facientes omnia secundum verbum senis quod dixit nobis. Constituit autem unum ex nobis dispensatorem, qui quodcunque nobis apposuisset, comedebamus, et impossibile erat ut diceret aliquis ex nobis: Affer aliud aliquid; aut diceret: Nolo istud manducare. Et sic transivimus omne tempus vitae nostrae cum quiete et pace.

12. They said of Abba Ammon that some people asked him to arbitrate in their quarrel. But the old man took no noticeof them. And one woman said to another woman standing next to her: “That old man is a fool.” And the old man heard what she said; and he called her, and said: “Can you imagine what travail I have endured in different deserts in the effort to acquire this folly? And you are making me lose it all today.”

12. Dicebant de abbate Ammone quia venerunt ad eum quidam petentes ut judicaret inter eos; senex autem dissimulabat. Et ecce quaedam mulier ad aliam mulierem juxta se stantem dicebat: Senex iste fatuus est. Audivit autem eam senex; et vocans illam  ^[0956C] ad se dixit ei: Quantos labores putas sustinui in solitudinibus diversis, ut acquirerem fatuitatem istam, et propter te hodie eam perditurus sum?

13. There was a bishop of the city of Oxyrhynchus named Affy. They said that while he was a monk, he treated his body very severely. And when he became a bishop, he wanted to continue in his city the austerities which he had practised in the desert, but he could not. So he fell prostrate before God, and said: “Dost thou think, my Lord, that thy grace has left me because I have become a bishop?” And it was revealed to him: “No: in the desert you had no man to help you, and God alone sustained you. But now you are in the world, and have men to help you.”

13. Narraverunt de episcopo civitatis, quae vocatur Oxyrinchus, nomine Affy, quia cum esset monachus, nimis dure tractaverit vitam suam; et cum factus fuisset episcopus, voluit ipsa duritia uti in civitate quam in eremo habuerat, et non praevaluit. Idcirco prostravit se in conspectu Domini, dicens: Putasne, Domine, propter episcopatum discessit a me gratia tua? Et revelatum est ei: Quia non; sed quia tunc solitudo erat, et cum non esset homo, Deus tuus susceptor erat tuus: nunc autem hic in saeculo es, ubi homines auxiliantur tibi.

14. Abba Daniel said that in Babylon there was a nobleman’s daughter, who had a devil. Her father sought out a monk. And the monk said to him: “No one can cure your daughter except some hermits I know: and if you go to them, they will refuse to do it from motives of humility. Let us do this: when they come, bringing their produce for sale, tell them that you want to buy what they have. And when they come into the house to receive the money, we will ask them to pray, and I believe that your daughter will be healed.” So they went into the street, and found a disciple of the old men, who was sitting there to sell his baskets. They took him back with them to the house, as if to receive the money for his wares. And when the monk had come into the house, the girl, who was troubled with the demon, went up to him and slapped him. And he followed the Lord’s commandment, and turned her the other cheek. The demon was forced out, and began to cry: “Violence ! The commandment of Jesus Christ is driving me out”: and so the girl was in that moment healed. When they came to the old men, they told them what had happened, and glorified God, saying: “The pride of devils cannot but fall before the humble obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ.”

14. Dixit abbas Daniel, quia erat in Babylonia filia  ^[0956D] cujusdam primarii, daemonium habens; pater autem ejus diligebat monachum quemdam. Dixit autem monachus ipse ei: Nemo potest curare filiam tuam, nisi quos scio solitarios; et si perrexeris ad eos, non acquiescent hoc facere propter humilitatem. Sed hoc faciamus, et quando veniunt afferentes venalia quae operantur, dicite vos emere velle quod vendunt. Et dum venerint in domo pretium accepturi, dicemus eis ut faciant orationem, et credo quia salvabitur filia tua. Exeuntes ergo in platea, invenerunt unum discipulum senum sedentem ut venderet sportellas suas; et tulerunt eum secum in domo ut quasi pretium sportarum acciperet. Et cum intrasset monachus ille in domo, venit puella illa quae a daemonio vexabatur,  ^[0957A] et dedit alapam monacho illi. Ille autem convertit ei et aliam maxillam, secundum divinum praeceptum. Daemon autem coactus clamare coepit: O violentia! mandata Jesu Christi expellunt me hinc; et statim mundata est puella illa. Cum autem venissent ad senes, indicaverunt eis quod fuerat factum, et glorificaverunt Deum, et dixerunt: Consuetudo et superbiae diabolicae, humilitate mandatorum Christi Jesu corruere.

15. Abba Evagrius said: “The beginning of salvation is, to contradict yourself.”

15. Dixit abbas Evagrius: Principium salutis est, si teipsum redarguas.

16. Abba Serapion said: “I have afflicted my body far more than my son Zacharias, and I cannot equal his humility or his silence.

16. Dixit abbas Serapion: Quia multos labores corporales plus quam filius meus Zacharias feci, et non perveni ad mensuram humilitatis et taciturnitatis ejus.

17. Abba Moses said to the brother Zacharias: “Tell me what to do.” And at the words, Zacharias threw himself at his feet, saying: “Why ask me, Father?” The old man said: “Believe me, my son Zacharias, I saw the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and so I cannot but ask you.” Then Zacharias took his cowl from his head, and put it beneath his feet and stamped on it, and said: “Unless a man stamps upon himself like that, he cannot be a monk.”

 ^[0957B] 623 17. Abbas Moyses dixit fratri Zachariae: Dic mihi quid faciam? Ille autem haec audiens, jactavit se pronus in terram ad pedes ejus, dicens: Tu me interrogas, Pater  (Ruff., l. III, num. 86; Append. Mart., n. 49) ? Dixit autem ei senex: Crede mihi, fili Zacharia, quia vidi Spiritum sanctum descendentem in te, et propterea compellor interrogare te. Tunc tollens Zacharias cucullum suum de capite suo, misit illud sub pedibus suis, et conculcans eum, dixit: Nisi ita conculcatus fuerit homo, non potest monachus esse.

18. Abba Poemen said: “Abba Moses asked the monk Zacharias, who was dying: ‘What can you see?’ And he said: ‘Nothing better than being silent, Father.’ And Abba Moses said: ‘Truth, my son: keep silent.’ “At the moment of his death Abba Isidore looked up to heaven, and said: “Rejoice, my son Zacharias: for the gates of the kingdom of heaven are opened to you.”

18. Dixit abbas Pastor: Quia interrogavit abbas Moyses fratrem Zachariam, tempore quo moriebatur, dicens: Quid vides? Et ille dixit ei: Nihil melius quam tacere, Pater. Et dixit ei: Verum est, fili, tace.  ^[0957C] Hora autem mortis ejus sedens abbas Isidorus, respexit in coelum, et dixit: Laetare, fili mi Zacharia, quoniam apertae sunt tibi januae regni coelorum.

19. Theophilus of holy memory, the bishop of Alexandria, once went to the mount of Nitria, and an abba of Nitria came to him. The bishop said: “What have you found upon your way, Father?” And the old man answered: “To blame myself un­ceasingly.” And the bishop said: “This is the only way to follow.”

19. Sanctae memoriae Theophilus episcopus Alexandrinus venit aliquando ad montem Nitriae, et venit ad eum abbas montis illius, et dixit ad eum episcopus: Quid amplius invenisti in via ista, Pater? Et respondit ei senex: Culpare et reprehendere meipsum sine cessatione. Et dixit ei episcopus: Non est alia via sequenda nisi haec.

20. When Abba Theodore was supping with the brothers, they received the cups with silent reverence, and did not follow the usual custom of receiving the cup with a “Pardon me.” And Abba Theodore said: “The monks have lost their manners and do not say ‘Pardon me.’ “

20. Quando abbas Theodorus cum fratribus manducabat, accipiebant calices cum reverentia et taciturnitate, nec dicebant, sicut mos est, Ignosce.

21. They said of this Abba Theodore, that after he was ordained deacon in Scete, he refused to minister in services, but escaped to various places to avoid having to do so. And the old men brought him back, and said: “Do not desert your ministry.” Abba Theodore said to them: “Let me go, and I will pray to God. If he shows me that I ought to act as a minister, I will do so.” And he prayed to God thus: “Show me, Lord, if it be thy will that I minister as a deacon.” And there appeared a pillar of fire from earth to heaven, and a voice was heard saying: “If you can become like this pillar, go, and exercise your ministry.” When he heard this, he determined never to exercise his ministry. And when he came back to the church, they did penance before him, and said: “If you do not want to take part in the service, at least hold the chalice.” But he re­fused, saying: “If you do not let me go, I will leave this place altogether.” And so they left him.

21. Dicebant de eo ipso abbate Theodoro, quia cum factus esset diaconus in Scythi, non acquiescebat  ^[0957D] ministrare, et huc atque illuc fugiebat. Et iterum senes adducebant eum, dicentes: Non derelinquas ministerium tuum. Dixit autem eis abbas Theodorus: Dimittite me, et deprecor Deum. Et si ostenderit mihi, quia debeo stare in locum ministerii hujus, facio. Et cum deprecaretur Deum, dicebat: Si voluntas tua est, Domine, ut stem in hoc ministerio, demonstra mihi. Et ostensa est columna ignis de terra usque ad coelum, et vox sonuit, dicens: Si potes fieri sicut columna haec, vade, ministra. Ille autem haec audiens, statuit apud se nullatenus ministrare. Qui cum venisset ad ecclesiam, poenitentiam egerunt apud eum, dicentes: Si nos vis ministrare, vel calicem tene. Et non acquievit, dicens:  ^[0958A] Si me non dimittitis, discedo de loco isto. Et ita discesserunt ab eo.

22. Abba John the Short said: “The gateway to God is humility. Our fathers endured much suffering and so entered the city of God with joy.”He also said: “Humility and the fear of God surpass all the other virtues.”

22. Dixit abbas Joannes Brevis: Quia janua Dei est humilitas; et patres nostri per multas contumelias acti, gaudentes intraverunt in civitatem Dei. Dixit iterum ipse idem: Quia humilitas et timor Dei superant universas virtutes.

23. Abba John of the Thebaid said: “The monk ought above all to be humble. For this is the Saviour’s first commandment: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

23. Dixit abbas Joannes Thebaeus: Quia debet monachus ante omnia humilitatem habere: hoc enim est primum Salvatoris mandatum, dicentis: Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum  (Matth. V) .

24. The brothers in Scete were once assembled, and began to discuss Melchizedek the priest. But they forgot to call for Abba Copres. Later, they summoned him and asked him what he thought upon the question. He struck his mouth three times and said: “Woe upon you, Copres. You have left undone what God commanded you to do, and you have dared to enquire into things which he did not ask of you.” At these words the brothers fled, each to his own cell.

24. Collecti sunt aliquando fratres qui habitabant in Scythi, et coeperunt intra se quaerere de Melchisedech sacerdote: obliti sunt autem vocare abbatem  ^[0958B] Coprem. Postea autem vocantes eum, interrogabant eum de eadem quaestione. Ille autem tundens tertio os suum, dixit: Vae tibi, Copres, quia quae mandavit tibi Deus ut faceres, dereliquisti; et quae a te non requirit, illa scrutari praesumis. Haec autem audientes fratres, fugerunt singuli in cellis suis.

25. Abba Macarius once said of himself: “When I was a young man, and was staying in my cell in Egypt, they caught me, and made me a cleric at a village. And because I did not want to rninister, I fled to another place. And a man of the world, but of a devout life, came to me, and took what I made with my hands and ministered to my needs. It happened that a girl of the village was tempted by the devil and seduced. And when she was seen to be pregnant, she was asked who was the father of the child: and she said: ‘It was this hermit, who slept with me.’ They came out, arrested me, and brought me back to the village: and they hung dirty pots and jug handles on my neck, and made me walk round the vil­lage, beating me as I went, and saying: ‘This monk has seduced our girl. Away with him, away with him.’ And they beat me until I was almost dead: but one of the old men came and said: ‘How long have you been beating that stranger monk?’ The man who used to minister to my needs followed behind, ashamed: and they heaped insults on him, saying: ‘You bore witness to this hermit, and look what he has done.’The parents of the girl said that they would not let me go unless I found someone to guarantee her support. I spoke to the man who used to minister to me and asked him to be my guarantor, and he gave a pledge on my behalf. I went back to my cell, and I gave him all the baskets I had, and said: ‘Sell them, and give my woman some food.’ Then I said to myself: ‘Macarius, you have found a woman for yourself; you need to work much harder to support her.’ So I worked night and day, and passed her the money which I made.When it was time that the unfortunate glrl should bear a child, she spent many days in travail, and still did not bring forth the baby. They said to her: ‘What’s the matter?’ She said: ‘I know why I am in agony so long.’ Her parents asked her why. She said: ‘I accused that monk falsely, for he had nothing to do with it: the father is a young man named N.’The man who ministered to me heard this, and came to me with joy saying: ‘The girl could not bear her child, until she confessed that you had nothing to do with it and that she told lies against you. And look—all the villagers want to come to yOur cell and glonfy God, and do penance to you.’ When I heard this, I did not want the men to trouble me, so I rose and fied here to Scete: and this was the reason why I began to live here.”

25. Narravit aliquando de seipso abbas Macarius, dicens: Quando eram juvenis, et sedebam in cella mea in Aegypto, tenuerent et fecerunt me clericum in vico  (Ruff., l. III, n. 99) . Et cum nollem acquiescere ad ministrandum, fugi ad alium locum. Et venit ad me quidam saecularis homo, sed vita religiosus, et tollebat a me opus quod faciebam manibus meis, et ministrabat mihi quae necessaria erant. Contigit autem, tentante diabolo, ut quaedam virgo in vico illo vitiata  ^[0958C] lapsum faceret. Et cum in utero habere coepisset, interrogatur quis esset de quo in utero haberet; illa autem dixit: Quia hic solitarius est, qui mecum dormivit. Exeuntes autem de vico illo, comprehenderunt me, et adduxerunt ad vicum, et appenderunt in collum meum cacabatas ollas et ansas vasorum, et miserunt me circituram in vico illo, per viam caedentes atque dicentes: Hic monachus corrupit filiam nostram: tollite, tollite eum. Et ceciderunt me pene usque ad mortem. Superveniens autem quidam senum dixit: Quandiu caeditis monachum istum peregrinum? Ille autem, qui mihi solebat ministrare necessaria, sequebatur retro cum verecundia; etenim etiam ipsum contumeliis multis affecerant, dicentes: Ecce solitarius monachus, cui tu testificabaris quid  ^[0958D] fecit? Et dixerunt parentes puellae illius: Quia non dimittimus eum, donec fidejussorem praebeat, quia pascet eam. Et dixi illi qui mihi solebat ministrare, ut fidejussor mihi fieret, et fidedixit mihi. Et reversus sum ad cellam meam, et dedi ei quantas habui sportellas, dicens: Vende eas, et da illi meae mulieri manducare. Dicebam autem in animo meo: Macari, ecce invenisti tibi mulierem, opus habes modo amplius 624 laborare, ut pascas eam. Et operabar non solum in die, sed etiam in nocte, et transmittebam ei. Cum autem venisset tempus infelici illi, ut pareret, traxit plurimis diebus in dolore, et non pariebat. Dicunt ergo ei: Quid est hoc? Et illa dixit: Ego scio, quare torqueor diu. Et interrogata a parentibus suis,  ^[0959A] Quare? respondit: Quia illi monacho crimen imposui, et fallens implicavi eum, cum iste non habeat causam; sed juvenis ille talis hoc fecit. Audiens autem verba haec ille minister meus, gaudens venit ad me, et dixit: Quia non potuit parere illa puella, donec confiteretur quia tu nullam causam in conspectu ejus habuisses, sed quia mentita sit adversum te. Et ecce omnes habitatores vici illius volunt venire hic ad cellam tuam glorificaturi Deum, et poenitentiam apud te acturi. Ego autem audiens ista a ministro meo, ne affligerent me homines, surrexi, et fugi hic in Scythi; et hoc principium causae propter quam hic habitare coepi.

26. Abba Macarius was once returning to his cell from the marsh carrying palm-leaves. And the devil met him by the way, with a sickle, and wanted to run him through with the sicklej but could not. The devil said: “Macarius, I suffer much violence from you, for I cannot overcome you. For whatever you do, I do also. If you fast, I eat nothing: if you keep watchy I get no sleep. But it is only one quality in you which overcomes me.” And Abba Macarius said to him: “What is that?” The devil ans­wered: “Your humility—that is why I cannot prevail against you.”

26. Praeteriens aliquando abbas Macarius, a palude ad cellam suam revertens, portabat palmulas; et  ^[0959B] ecce occurrit ei diabolus in via cum falce messoria  (Ruff., l. III, n. 124; Pasch., c. 13, n. 6) . Voluit autem eum percutere de falce illa, et non potuit, et dixit ei: Multam violentiam patior a te, o Macari, quia non praevalere adversus te possum. Ecce enim quidquid tu facis, et ego facio; jejunas tu, et ego penitus non comedo, vigilas tu, et ego omnino non dormio. Unum est autem solum in quo me superas. Et dicit ei abbas Macarius: Quod est illud? Respondit diabolus: Humilitas tua, per quam non praevaleo adversum te.

27. Abba Mathois once went from Raythu to the country of Gebalon, and his brother was with him. And the bishop of Gebalon came to him, and ordained him priest. And at supper the bishop said: “Forgive me, Abba. I know that you did not want to be ordained: but I dared to do it, so that you would give me your blessing.” The old man said humbly: “My soul did not much want ordination, it is true. But I am grieved by the fact that I must be divided from my brother who is with me: and by myself I cannot offer all the prayers which togethet we offer.” The bishop said: “If you know that he is a worthy person, I will ordain him too.” Abba Mathois said: “Whether he is worthy I do not linow: but one thing I do know, that he is better than I am.” So the bishop ordained his brother too: and neither of them, when he died, had offered the sacrifice at the altar. The old man said: “I trust God, that perhaps he will not judge me hardly for my ordination, provided I do not dare to consecrate the offering. For that is the duty of men who live innocently.”

27. Perrexit aliquando abbas Mathois de Raythu in partibus Gebalon: erat autem cum eo frater ejus  (Ruff., l. III, n. 188; Pasch., c. 33, n. 3) . Et venit episcopus loci illius ad memoratum senem, et fecit  ^[0959C] eum presbyterum. Et dum gustarent simul, dixit episcopus: Ignosce mihi, abba, quia scio quod nolueris rem hanc; sed ut benedictionem tuam acciperem, praesumpsi hoc facere. Dixit autem ei senex cum humilitate: Et animus meus modicum volebat hoc, verumtamen in hoc graviter fero, quia compellor separari a fratre meo, qui mecum est; neque enim sufficio omnes orationes quas simul faciebamus, implere. Et dixit episcopus: Si scis quia dignus est, ego et ipsum ordino. Et dixit ei abbas Mathois: Equidem si dignus est nescio, unum autem scio, quia melior me est. Ordinavit autem et ipsum episcopus; et ita uterque recesserunt de hac vita, ut nunquam se ad sacrificandam oblationem altari approximarent. Dicebat autem senex: Credo in Deum,  ^[0959D] quia forsitan non sustineam grave judicium propter ordinationem, quam suscepi, dum oblationem non audeo consecrare; hoc enim officium illorum est, qui sine querela vivunt.

28. Abba Mathois said: “The nearer a man comes to God,the more he sees himself to be a sinner. Isaiah the prophet saw the Lord, and knew himself to be wretched and unclean.” 61

28. Dixit autem abbas Mathois: Quantum se approximat homo Deo, tantum se peccatorem videt  (Ruff., l. III, n. 123) ; Isaias enim propheta videns Dominum, miserum se et immundum dicebat  (Isaiae VI) .

29. They said of Abba Moses that when he was ordained a cleric, they put the pall on his shoulders. And the archbishop said to him: “See, you are clothed in white and ready for your ordination, Abba Moses.” He answered: “White outside, Lord Pope, or white inside, do you think?” The archbishop, wishing to test him, said to the clergy: “When Abba Moses comes to the altar, turn him away: but follow him and listen to what he says.” They began to drive him from the church, saying: “Get out, Ethiopian.” As he went out, he said: “You thing of dust and ashes, they have done you a good turn. You are not a man, how dare you remain in the company of men?”

29. Dicebant de abbate Moyse quia factus esset clericus, et posuerunt ei superhumerale. Et dixit ei archiepiscopus: Ecce factus es candidatus, abba Moyses. Et ille respondit: Putas a foris, domne papa, aut deintus? Volens autem episcopus probare  ^[0960A] eum, dixit clericis: Quando intrat abbas Moyses ad altare, expellite eum, et sequimini, ut audiatis quid dicat. Dum autem coepissent eum mittere foras, dicebant ei: Exi foras, Aethiops. Ille vero egrediens, dicebat: Bene tibi fecerunt cinerente et caccabate [(43) ^[0990C] Cinerente et caccabate.) Ita Manuscripti Vedastinus et Audomarensis. Variant Editi: quidam, cinerose  ^[0990D] et caccabate; quidam cinerate et caccabate. Existimo cinerentum dictum ea forma, qua pulverulentus et similia. Vide Onomasticon.] . Qui cum homo non sis, quare te in medio hominum dare praesumpsisti?

30. While Abba Poemen was in a community, he heard of Abba Nesteros and wanted to see him. So he sent a message to his abba to ask him to let Nesteros come to him. But the abba did not wish it, and refused. A few days afterwards the steward of the monastery asked the abba to let him go to Abba Poemen, so that he could tell him his thoughts. His abba, when he was giving him leave, said to him: “Take with you the brother Nesteros whom the old man asked me to send him. I did not dare to let him go alone, and have put off sending him until now.” When the steward reached the old man, he talked to him about his thoughts, and the old man healed his mind by his answer. Then the old man turned to the brother and said: “Abba Nesteros, how have you won this virtue, that if there is trouble within the monastery, you do not speak, and remain serene?” The brother had to be pressed by the old man for an answer. In the end he said: “Forgive me, Abba. When I first entered the community, I said to my soul, You and the donkey must be alike. The donkey says nothing when he is beaten. That is what you must do: as you read in the Psalm: ‘I am become as a beast before thee: and I am always with thee.”

30. Dum abbas Pastor in congregatione esset, audiens de abbate Nesterone, desideravit eum videre, et mandavit abbati ejus ut mitteret eum ad ipsum. Qui cum nollet eum solum dimittere, non direxit eum. Post paucos autem dies dispensator monasterii rogavit abbatem ut permitteret eum ire ad abbatem Pastorem, ut diceret ei cogitationes suas. Abbas autem ejus, cum eum dimitteret, dixit ei:  ^[0960B] Tolle tecum et fratrem istum, quia mandavit mihi de ipso senex; et non praesumens eum solum dimittere, distuli usque modo. Cum ergo venisset dispensator ad senem, locutus est ei de cogitationibus suis, et ille sanavit eum responsione sua. Post haec autem interrogabat senex fratrem illum, dicens: Abba Nestero, quomodo acquisisti virtutem hanc, ut quando emerserit tribulatio aliqua in monasterio, non loquaris, neque taedium facias? Et cum multum cogeretur frater a sene, dicit ei: Ignosce mihi, abba, quando intravi in initio in congregatione, dixi animo meo: Tu et asinus unum estote. Sicut enim asinus vapulat et non loquitur, injuriam patitur et non respondet, sic et tu; quemadmodum et in Psalmo legitur: Ut jumentum factus sum apud te, et ego semper  ^[0960C] per tecum  (Psal. LXXII) .

31. They told this story of Abba Olympius in Scete. He was a slave, and each year went down to Alexandria carrying what he had earned for his masters. They met him, and greeted him. The old man put water in a basin and brought it to wash his masters’ feet. But they said to him: “No, Father, please do not put a burden on us.” He answered: “I confess that I am your slave: and I am grateful that you have let me go free to serve God. Yet I wash your feet, and here is what I have earned.” But they refused to accept it. And he said: “Believe me, if you will not accept my earnings, I shall stay here and be your servant.” But they revered him, and gave him leave to do what he wanted. And they brought him back to the desert with honour, and gave him what he needed to make a love-feast on their behalf; and henceforward was renowned in Scete.

31. Dicebant de abbate Olympio in Scythi  (Ruff., l. III, n. 17)  quia servus esset, et descendebat per singulos annos in Alexandriam portans mercedes 625 suas dominis suis. Et occurrebant ei, et salutabant eum: senes autem mittebat aquam in pelvim, et afferebat, ut lavaret pedes dominis suis. Illi autem ad eum dicebant: Noli, Pater, non graves nos. Ille vero respondebat eis: Ego confiteor, quia servus sum vester; et gratias ago, quia dimisistis me liberum servire Deo. Sed tamen lavo vobis pedes, ecce et suscipite mercedes meas. Illi vero contemnebant. Et non acquiescentibus dicebat: Credite mihi, quia si non vultis suscipere mercedes meas, remaneo hic et servio vobis. Illi autem reverentiam ei habentes,  ^[0960D] dabant in potestate ejus, ut faceret quod vellet. Et revertentem deducebant eum cum honore, praebentes ei quae necessaria erant, ut faceret pro eis agapem, et ex hoc factus est nominatus in Scythi.

32. Abba Poemen said: “A man ought ever to be absorbing humility and the fear of God, as the nostrils breathe air in and out.”

32. Dixit abbas Pastor: Quia semper homo humilitatem et timorem Dei ita incessabiliter respirare debet, sicut flatum quem naribus attrahit vel emittit  (Append. Mart. n. 101) .

33. A brother asked Abba Poemen: “How ought I to behave, in my cell in the place where I live?” The old man answered: “Be as prudent as a stranger; and wherever you are, do not expect your words to be powerful in your presence, and you will find peace.”

33. Interrogatus est abbas Pastor a quodam fratre: Quomodo debeo esse in loco, in quo habito? Et respondit ei senex: Habeto prudentiam velut advena; et ubicunque fueris, ne quaeras verbum tuum coram te habere potentiam, et requiesces.

34. He also said: “The tools of the soul are these: to cast oneself down in God’s sight; not to lift oneself up; and to put one’s self-will behind one.”

34. Dixit iterum: Quia projicere se in conspectu  ^[0961A] Dei, et non seipsum extollere, et mittere post tergum suum propriam voluntatem, ferramenta sunt quibus anima operatur.

35. He also said: “Do not put a value on yourself, but cleave to the man who is living a good life.”

35. Item dixit: Non metiaris temetipsum, sed adhaere ei qui bene conversatur.

36. He also said: “A brother asked Abba Alonius: ‘What is lowliness?” And the old man said: ‘To be lower than brute beasts; and to know that they are not condemned.’ “

36. Dixit iterum: Quia interrogavit frater abbatem Alonium, Quid est contemptus? Et dixit senex: Ut sis infra animalia irrationabilia, et scies quia illa non condemnantur.

37. He also said: “Humility is the ground whereon the Lord ordered the sacrifice to be offered.”

37. Dixit iterum qui supra: Quia humilitas terra est, in qua Dominus sacrificium fieri demandavit

38. He also said: “If a man keeps his own place, he shall not be troubled.”

38. Rursus dixit: Quia si homo ordinem suum custodiat, non turbabitur.

39. He also said: “Once when the old men were sitting down to supper, Abba Alonius stood and waited on them: and when they saw it, they praised him. But he said not a word. So one of them whispered to him: “Why do you not answer when the old men praise you?” And Abba Alonius said: “If I answer them, I shall find pleasure in being praised.”

39. Iterum dixit: Quia sedentibus aliquando senibus ad manducandum, stabat Alonius abbas et ministrabat  ^[0961B] eis; et videntes laudaverunt. Ille autem nihil omnino respondit. Dixit ergo quidam secreto: Quare non respondisti senibus laudantibus te? Et dixit abbas Alonius: Quia si responderem eis, inveniebar delectatus laudibus meis.

40. Abba Joseph told this story. “Once when we were sitting with Abba Poemen, he talked of ‘Abba’ Agatho. We said to him: ‘He is a young man, why do you call him Abba?’ And Abba Poemen said: ‘His speech is such that we must call him Abba.’ “

40. Narravit abbas Joseph: Quia sedentibus nobis aliquando cum abbate Pastore, nominaverit abbatem Agathonem, et diximus ei: Juvenis est, quare eum appellas abbatem? Et dixit abbas Pastor: Quia os suum fecit eum appellari abbatem.

41. They said of Abba Poemen, that he never wanted to cap the saying of another old man, but always praised what had been said.

41. Dicebant de abbate Pastore, quia nunquam voluisset sermonem dimittere supra alterius senis verbum, sed magis laudaverit semper quae ille dixisset.

42. Once Theophilus of holy memory, the archbishop of Alexandria, came to Scete. The brothers assembled there saidto Abba Pambo: “Say a word to the Pope, that his soul may be edified here.” And the old man answered: “If my silence does not edify him, my speech certainly will not.”

42. Venit aliquando sanctae memoriae Theophilus episcopus Alexandrinus in Scythi: congregati autem  ^[0961C] fratres dixerunt ad abbatem Pambo: Dic unum sermonem papae, ut aedificetur animus ejus in hoc loco. Et respondit senex: Si in taciturnitate mea non aedificatur, neque in sermone meo aedificatur

43. A brother named Pystus told this story. “Seven of us, hermits, went to Abba Sisois, who was living in the island of C]ysmatus. And when we asked him to give us a word, he answered: ‘Forgive me, I am an ignoramus. But I once went to Abba Hor and Abba Athrem: Abba Hor had been ill for eighteen years. And I began to beg them to speak a word to me. And Abba Hor said: “What have I to say to you? Go and do whatever you think right. God is the God of the man who extracts from himself more than he can do, and carries all by violence.” These men, Abba Hor and Abba Athrem, were not of the same province. But there was much grace between them, until they died. Abba Athrem was a man of perfect obedience, Abba Hor of great humility. I spent a few days with them, observing their virtues; and I saw Abba Athrem do a wonderful thing. Someone brought them a little fish, and Abba Athrem wanted to prepare it for his elder, Abba Hor. So Abba Athrem took a knife and cut into the fish: but at that moment Abba Hor called him: “Athrem, Athrem.” And he left the knife in the middle of the fish and did not finish the cut but ran to Abba Hor. I was astonished at his obedience, and that he did not say: “Wait until I have cut the fish.” So I said to Abba Athrem: “Where did you find this obedience?” And he answered me: “It is not mine: it is that old man’s.” And he took me and said: “Come and see his obedience.” He cooked a piece of fish badly, intentionally so, and put it in front of the old man. Abba Hor ate it without saying a word. Abba Athrem said: “Is it good, Abba?” He answered: “Very good.” Then he brought him another piece, very well cooked, and said: “See, I have ruined it, Abba, by cooking it badly.” Abba Hor answered: “Yes, you have cooked it rather badly.” And Abba Athrem turned to me and said: “I)id you see his obedience?” And I left them: and have tried, as far as I could, to practise what I saw. All this was told the brothers by Abba Sisois. One of us asked him: ‘Of your charity, speak us a word.’ And he said: ‘The man who has limitless knowledge understands the Scriptures perfectly. Another of us asked him: ‘What is pilgrimage, Father?’ He answered: ‘Keep silent: and wherever you go, say “I am at peace with all rnen”: that is pilgrimage.”

43. Narravit frater Pystus, dicens: Quia ibamus septem fratres solitarii ad abbatem Sisoi habitantem in insula Clysmatus: et cum rogaremus cum ut diceret nobis aliquid, ille respondit: Ignoscite mihi, quia idiota sum homo; sed veni aliquando ad abbatem Hor et abbatem Athre; et erat in infirmitate abbas Hor decem et octo annis, et coepi supplicare eis, ut dicerent mihi aliquod verbum; et dixit abbas Hor: Quid tibi habeo dicere? Quidquid vides, fac; Deus enim illius est, qui sibi ultra quam potest extorquet, et violentiam facit ad omnia: hi autem ambo non erant  ^[0961D] de una provincia, hoc est abbas Hor et abbas Athre. Fuit autem inter eos magna gratia, donec exirent ambo de corpore. Abbas autem Athre summae obedientiae erat, abbas vero Hor multae humilitatis. Feci ergo paucos dies apud eos, investigans virtutes eorum, et vidi mirabile quid quod fecit abbas Athre. Attulerat enim eis quidam unum piscem modicum, et voluit illum facere abbas Athre seniori abbati Hor; posuerat ergo abbas Athre cultellum, et incidebat piscem illum, et vocavit eum abbas Hor, dicens: Athre, Athre. Ille vero statim dimisit cultellum in medio pisce inciso, et non perincidit eum, et cucurrit ad eum; et miratus sum tantam obedientiam ejus, quia non dixit: Exspecta donec incidam piscem.  ^[0962A] Dixi ergo abbati Athre: Ubi invenisti obedientiam hanc? Et ille mihi respondit: Non est mea, sed istius senis est. Et tulit me, dicens: Veni, vide obedientiam ejus. Coxit ergo modicum piscem male, ita ut perderet eum voluntarie, et apposuit seni; et ille manducavit, nihil loquens. Et dixit ei: Bonum est, senex? Et ille respondit: Bonum valde. Posthaec attulit ei illud modicum, nimis bene coctum, et dixit: Ecce istud perdidi, senex, male illud coxi. Et ille respondit: Etiam modice tibi male exivit. Et conversus ad me abbas Athre dixit: Vides quia haec obedientia istius 626 senis est? Et exii ab eis; et quidquid vidi, hoc feci secundum virtutem meam. Haec dixit fratribus abbas Sisoi; unus autem ex nobis rogavit eum dicens: Ostende nobis charitatem, et dic  ^[0962B] nobis tu unum sermonem. Et dixit: Qui habet quod innumerabile est in scientia, perficit omnem Scripturam. Iterum alter ex nobis dixit ei: Quid est peregrinatio, Pater? Et ille respondit: Tace, et in omni loco quocunque veneris, dic: Non habeo causam, et haec est peregrinatio.

44. A brother once came to Abba Sisois on the mountain of Abba Antony. And in their talk he said to Abba Sisois: “Have you not yet attained the stature of Abba Antony, Father?” And the old man answered: “If I had a single thought like Abba Antony, 1 should quite leap toward heaven like a flame. But I know myself to be a man who can only with an effort bear his thoughts.”

44. Venit quidam frater ad abbatem Sisoi in montem abbatis Antonii; et loquentibus eis, dicebat abbati Sisoi: Modo adhuc non pervenisti ad mensuras abbatis Antonii, Pater? Et respondit ei senex: Ego si haberem unam cogitationem abbatis Antonii, efficerer totus velut ignis: verumtamen scio hominem qui cum labore potest ferre cogitationes suas.

45. The same brother asked him: “Do you think Satan per­secuted the men of old as he persecutes us?” And Abba Sisois said: “More: for now his doom has drawn nearer, and he is troubled.”

45. Iterum autem interrogavit eum frater ille, dicens: Putas sic persequebatur Satanas antiquos? Et  ^[0962C] dicit ei abbas Sisoi: Modo plus, quia tempus ejus appropinquavit, et turbatur  (Ruff., l. III, num. 174; Pasch., c. 25, n. 2)  .

46. Some others came to hear a word from Abba Sisois. And he said nothing to them, but kept repeating: “Forgive me.” They saw his baskets, and said to his disciple, Abraham: “What are you doing with those baskets?” And he answered: “We sell them now and then.” The old man heard, and said: “And so Sisois eats now and then.” They were very edified at his humility, and went away happy.

46. Venerunt alii quidam ad eum, ut audirent ab eo sermonem; et nihil eis loquebatur, sed semper dicebat: Ignoscite mihi. Videntes autem sportellas ejus, dixerint discipulo ejus Abraham: Quid facitis de sportellis istis? Et respondit eis: Huc et illuc expendimus eas. Hoc autem audiens senex, dixit: Et Sisois hinc et inde manducat. Illi vero audientes aedificati sunt valde in humilitate ejus, atque cum gaudio recesserunt.

47. A brother asked Abba Sisois: “I observe my own mind, and I see that it is recollected and intent upon God.” And the old man said to him: “This is no great thing that your mind should be with God. The great thing is to see yourself to be lower than every created being. Bodily toil will put it right, and lead you on the way to humility.”

47. Frater interrogavit abbatem Sisoi, dicens: Video meipsum, quia memoria mea ad Deum intenta sit. Et dicit ei senex: Non est magnum hoc, ut mens  ^[0962D] tua cum Deo sit; magnum est autem, si teipsum infra omnem videas creaturam; hoc autem et labor corporalis corrigit, et ducit ad humilitatis viam.

48. Syncletice of blessed memory said: “As a ship cannot be built without nails, a man cannot be saved without humility.”

48. Dixit beatae memoriae Syncletica: Sicut impossibile est navim fabricari sine acutis, ita impossibile est hominem sine humilitate salvari.

49. Abba Hyperichius said: “The tree of life is lofty, and humility climbs it.”

49. Dixit abbas Hyperichius: Arbor vitae est in excelsum, et ascendit ad eam humilitas monachi.

50. He also said: “Imitate the publican, to prevent yourself being condemned with the Pharisee. Follow the gentleness of Moses, and hollow out the rocky places of your heart, so that you turn them into springs of water.”

50. Dixit iterum qui supra: Imitare Publicanum illum, ne cum Pharisaeo damneris; et sequere mansuetudinem Moysis, ut summitates cordis tui resecans, convertas in fontes aquarum.

51. Abba Orsisius said:63 “If you put a piece of unbaked tiling in a building with a river nearby, it does not last a day. If it is baked, it is as good as stone. So it is with the man with worldly wisdom, who is not proved by the word of God, as Joseph was proved at his beginning. To live among men is to be tempted often. It is good that a man should know his weakness, and not pick up too heavy a burden at first. But men of strong faith cannot be moved. Take the life of Saint Joseph and see what grievous temptations he suffered, and in a country where there was no trace of the true worship of God. But the God of his fathers was with him, and kept him safe in every tribulation, and he is now with his fathers in the kingdom of heaven. Let us then own our weakness, and so struggle onward. For it is hard for us to escape the judgement of God.

51. Dixit abbas Crsisius: Si fragmen crudae tegulae in fundamento mittatur, ubi juxta sit fluvius, non  ^[0963A] sustinet unum diem; coctae autem, permanet velut lapis. Ita est homo qui carnalem sapientiam habet, et non est tentationum igne decoctus, sicut et Joseph; hujusmodi enim verbo Dei resolvitur: qui cum initium fecerit, multis tentationibus in medio hominum agitatur. Bonum est enim ut quis noverit mensuras suas, et declinet in initio pondus; fortes autem in fide immobiles sunt; nam de ipso sancto Joseph si velit aliquis loqui, dicet quia nec terrenus erat; quantum tentatus est, et in quali provincia, ubi nec vestigium erat divini cultus? Sed Deus patrum ejus erat cum eo, qui erupuit eum ex omni tribulatione, et nunc est cum patribus suis in regno coelorum. Et nos ergo agnoscentes mensuras nostras certemus; vix enim nos possumus effugere judicium Dei.

52. There was an old hermit in the desert who said to him­self that he was perfectly virtuous. He prayed God and said: “Show me what makes me perfect, and I will perform it.” But God wanted to humble him, and said: “Go to that archi­mandrite, and do what he tells you.” God gave a revelation to the archimandrite, before the hermit came, and said: “A hermit is soon coming to see you. Tell him to take a whip, and go and herd your swine.” The old man arrived, knocked at the door, and went in to the archimandrite: they greeted each other, and sat down. The hermit said: “Tell me what I must do to be saved.” And the archimandrite said: “Will you do what I tell you?” And he said: “Yes.” The archimandrite said: “Take this whip, and go herd the swine.” When those who knew the hermit and his reputation, saw he had gone to be a swineherd, they said: “Do you see that hermit who had won so great a reputation? Look what he is doing. He has gone mad, and is troubled by a demon, and is herding swine.” But God looked upon his humility, and saw how he bore these insults with patience, and told him to go back to his cell.

 ^[0963B] 52. Senex quidem erat solitarius vacans in eremo, et dicebat in semetipso quia perfectus esset in virtutibus. Hic oravit Deum, dicens: Ostende mihi quid est perfectio animae, et facio. Volens autem Deus humiliare cogitationes ejus, dixit ei: Vade ad illum archimandritam, et quidquid tibi dixerit, facito. Revelavit autem Deus archimandritae illi, antequam ille ad ipsum veniret, dicens: Ecce ille solitarius venit ad te; die ergo ei ut tollat flagellum, et vadat ut pascat porcos tibi. Veniens ergo senex pulsavit ostium, et ingressus est ad archimandritam illum; et cum se salutassent, sederunt. Et dixit ei solitarius ille qui venerat: Dic mihi quid faciam, ut sim salvus. Et ille dixit: Facies quodcunque dixero tibi? Et respondit ei: Etiam. Et dixit ei: Ecce tolle flagellum,  ^[0963C] et vade, pasce porcos. Hi autem, qui eum noverant et audierant de eo, cum vidissent quia porcos pasceret, dicebant: Vidistis illum solitarium magnum, de quo audiebamus? ecce stupuit cor ejus, et daemonio vexatur, et pascit porcos. Videns autem Deus humilitatem ejus, quia ita patienter sustinebat opprobria hominum, praecepit eum iterum redire ad locum suum.

53. A demoniac, frothing terribly at the mouth, struck an old hermit on the jaw, and the old man turned him the other cheek. The humility tortured the demon like flames, and drove him out there and then.

53. Quemdam senem monachum solitarium homo, qui a daemonio vexabatur et fortiter spumabat, percussit in maxillam; senex vero convertit ei aliam maxillam statim. Daemon autem, non ferens incendium humilitatis ejus, mox exivit ab eo  (Ruff., l. III, num. 125) .

54. An old man said to a brother: “When a proud or vain thought enters you, examine your conscience to see if you are keeping God’s commandments; if you love your enemies; if you reJoice in your adversary’s triumph, and are grieved at his downfall; if you know yourself to be an unprofitable servant, and a sinner beyond all others. But not even then must you thmk yourself to have corrected all your faults; knowing that this thought alone in you shall undo all the other good you have done.”

54. Dixit senex cuidam  (Ruff., l. III, num. 115;  ^[0963D] Pasch., c. 13, n. 3) : Quando cogitatio superbiae aut elationis intraverit in te, scrutare conscientiam tuam, si divina mandata omnia custodis, si inimicos tuos diligis, si gaudes in adversarii tui glorificatione, et si contristaris in minoratione ejus, 627 et si agnoscis teipsum esse inutilem servum, et si omnium peccatorum esse deteriorem: sed nunc si ita de te sentias, quasi omnia correxeris, sciens quia hujusmodi cogitatio tua universa resolvet.

55. An old man said to a brother: “Do not measure your heart against your brother, saying that you are more serious or more continent or more understanding than he. But be obedient to the grace of God, in the spirit of poverty, and incharity unfeigned. The efforts of a man swollen with vanity are futile. It is written, ‘Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.’ Be in your spirit seasoned with salt—and so dependent upon Christ

55. Dixit senex cuidam: Non apponas cor tuum adversus fratrem, dicens, quia tu magis illo sobrius et continentior, et intelligentior sis; sed subditus esto gratiae Dei in spiritu paupertatis, et per charitatem non fictam; ne spiritu exaltationis elatus, perdas  ^[0964A] laborem tuum; sed esto spiritali sale conditus in Christo.

56. An old man said: “He who is praised and honoured above his deserts suffers grievous loss. He who receives no honour at all among men, shall be hereafter glorified.”

56. Dixit senex: Quia qui plusquam dignus est honoratur aut laudatur, amplius patitur detrimentum; qui autem non fuerit omnino ab hominibus honoratus, hic desuper glorificabitur  (Ruff. l. III, n. 112; Pasch., c. 13, n. 1) .

57. A brother asked an old man: “Is it good to be constant in penitence?” And the old man answered: “We have seen Joshua the son of Nun: it was when he was lying prostrate on his face that God appeared to him.” 65

57. Frater aliquis interrogavit senem, dicens: Bonum est assidue poenitere? Et respondit ei senex: Vidimus Jesum filium Nave, quia cum pronus jaceret in facie, apparuit illi Deus.

58. An old man, asked why we are troubled by demons, answered: “Because we throw away our armour—humility, poverty, patience and men’s scorn.”

58. Interrogatus senex, quare ita inquietaremur a daemonibus, respondit: Quia arma nostra abjicimus, quod est contumeliam, et humilitatem, et paupertatem, et patientiam  (Ruff., l. III, n. 173; Pasch.,  ^[0964B] c. 25, n. 11) .

59. A brother asked an old man: “If a brother brings me talk from the world, Abba, do you want me to tell him not to bring them to me?” And the old man said: “No.” The brother said: “Why?” The old man answered: “Because we cannot stop ourselves doing the same. We should find ourselves doing what we are telling our neighbour not to do.” And the brother said: “Then what is best?” And the old man answered: “If we would keep silence, that is enough for our neighbour as well.”

59. Frater quidam interrogavit senem dicens: Si quis fratrum attulerit ad me deforis cogitationes; vis, abba, dicam ei ut non eas afferat ad me? Et respondit ei senex: Noli. Et dixit frater: Quare? Respondit ei senex: Quia nec nos hoc possumus custodire; et ne forte cum dicimus proximo. Ne facias illud, inveniamus nos postea idipsum facientes. Et dixit: frater: Quid ergo debet fieri? Et respondit ei senex: Si voluerimus taciturnitatem servare, sufficit proximo modus ipse.

60. An old man was asked: “What is humility?” He answered: “Ifyou forgive a brother who has wronged you before he is penitent towards you.”

60. Interrogatus est senex, quid esset humilitas? Et ille respondit: Si peccanti fratri in te ignoveris, antequam apud te poenitentiam agat.

6I. An old man said: “In every trial do not blame another, but blame yourself, saying: ‘This has happened to me because of my sins.

61. Dixit senex: In omni tentatione non culpes  ^[0964C] hominem, sed teipsum tantum, dicens: Quia pro peccatis meis haec mihi evenerunt.

62. An old man said: “I never push myself up and walk above my station; and am untroubled when I am put in a low place. For all the time I try to pray God to strip me of un­regenerate man.”

62. Dixit senex: Nunquam praeterivi ordinem meum, ut altius ambularem: neque turbatus sum aliquando in humilitate positus; omnis enim cogitatio mea in hoc erat, ut deprecarer Dominum, quo spoliaret me veterem hominem.

63. A brother asked an old man: “What is humility?” And the old man answered: “To do good to them that do ill to you.” And the brother said: “Suppose a man cannot attain that standard, what is he to do?” The old man answered: “He is to run away, and choose silence.”

63. Frater quidam interrogavit senem: Quid est humilitas? Et respondit ei senex: Ut benefacias his qui tibi malefaciunt. Et dixit frater: Si non perveniat homo in eadem mensura, quid faciet? Respondit senex: Fugiat, eligens taciturnitatem.

64. A brother asked an old man: “What is the work of pilgrimage?” And he said: “I know a monk who was on pilgrimage, and came into a church where a love-feast was being held: and he sat down to eat with the monks. But someof them said: ‘Who brought that man in here?’ And they said to him: ‘Get out of here.’ He rose from the table and went out But some of the others were grieved that he had been driven away and went outside and brought him back. Then someone asked him: ‘How do you think you felt in your heart when you were driven out and then brought back?’ And he said: ‘I put it in my heart that I was no better than a dog, and a dog goes out when he is chased out and comes back when he is called.’ “

64. Frater aliquis interrogavit senem, dicens: Quod est opus peregrinationis? Et ille dixit ei: Scio fratrem peregrinantem, qui cum tentus esset in  ^[0964D] ecclesia, et contigisset ibi fieri agapem, sedit ad mensam ut manducaret cum fratribus. Dixerunt autem quidam: Istum hic quis tenuit. Et dixerunt ei: Surge et vade hinc foras: qui surrexit et abiit. Alii vero contristati de expulsione ejus, egressi sunt, et revocaverunt eum. Post haec interrogavit eum quidam, dicens: Quid, putas, est in corde tuo, quia expulsus es, et iterum revocatus? Et ille dixit ei: Quoniam posui in corde meo, quia aequalis essem cani, qui quando insectatur, foras egreditur; quando vero vocatur, ingreditur.

65. Some people once came to an old man in the Thebaid, so that he might cure a demoniac whom they brought with them. After the old man had been importuned for some time, he said to the demon: “Go out of God’s creature.” The demon answered: “I will go: but I ask you a question; tell me, who are the goats and who are the sheep?” And the old man said: “The goats are people like myself: who the sheep are, God alone knows.” And the demon shouted aloud at the words, crying­“See, I go out because of your humility”: and he went out at that moment.

65. Venerunt quidam aliquando in Thebaidam ad quemdam senem, habentes secum unum qui a daemonio vexabatur, ut curaretur ab illo sene  (Ruff.,  ^[0965A] l. III, n. 25) . Senex ergo cum diu rogaretur, dixit daemoni: Exi de factura Dei. Et respondit daemon: Ex eo, sed interrogo te unum verbum, ut dicas mihi, qui sunt haedi, et qui sunt agni. Et dixit senex: Haedi quidem tales, qualis ego; agni vero qui sint, Deus scit. Et audiens daemon, clamavit voce magna, dicens: Ecce propter istam humilitatem tuam exeo. Et exiit eadem hora.

66. An Egyptian monk was living in the suburbs of Con­stantinople:66 and when the Emperor Theodosius II passed that way he left his train of courtiers and came unattended to the cell. The monk opened the door to his knock, and at once recognized him to be the Emperor: but he received him as though he was one of the imperial guards. After he had come in, they prayed together and sat down. The Emperor began to ask him: “How are the fathers in Egypt?” He answered: “They are all praying for your salvation.” The Emperor looked round the cell to see if he had any food, and saw nothing except a basket with a little bread, and a flagon of water. The monk said to him: “Will you take a little supper?” And he put the bread in front of him, and mixed oil and salt, and gave him to eat and drink. The Emperor said to him: “Do you know who I am?” And he said: “God knows you, who you are.” The Emperor said­“I am the Emperor Theodosius.” The monk at once fell down before him and did humble obeisance. The Emperor said: “Blessed are you, for you have an untroubled life, without thought of the world. I tell you truly, I was born an emperor, and I have never enjoyed bread and water as I have today: I have supped with real pleasure.” And he began to do honour to the monk, But the old man werst out, and fled back tq Egypt.

66. Manebat quidam monachus Aegyptius in suburbano Constantinopolitanae civitatis  (Ruff., l. III, n. 19, narrante Paemene) ; et dum transiret Theodosius Junior imperator per viam illam, reliquit omnes qui in obsequio ejus erant, et venit solus ad cellam ejus. Et pulsans ad ostium monachi, aperuit ei monachus. Videns autem eum, agnovit quidem quia  ^[0965B] imperator esset; sic tamen suscepit eum, tanquam unum ex officio militantium. Cum ergo introisset, fecerunt orationem, et sederunt. Coepit autem interrogare imperator, dicens: Quomodo sunt patres in Aegypto? Et ille respondit: Orant omnes pro salute vestra. Imperator autem circumspiciebat in cella ejus, si quid haberet, et nihil illic vidit nisi parvam sportellam, habentem modicum panis, et lagenam aquae. Et dixit ei monachus: Gusta modice. Et infudit ei panes, et misit ei oleum et sal, et manducavit, et dedit ei aquam ut biberet. Dixit autem ei imperator: Scis quis sum ego? Et ille dixit: Deus te scit quis sis. Tunc dixit ei: Ego sum Theodosius imperator. Ille autem statim adoravit salutans eum humiliter. Et dicit imperator: Beati estis vos, quia securam  ^[0965C] vitam habetis, et non cogitatis de hoc saeculo. Veritatem autem dicam, quia in imperio natus sum, et nunquam 628 ita delectatus sum pane et aqua sicut hodie; satis enim libenter comedi. Et coepit ex tunc honorare eum imperator; senex vero egrediens fugit, et iterum venit in Aegyptum.

67. The old men said: “We are the more humbled when we are tempted: for God, knowing our weakness, protects us. But if we boast of our own strength, he takes away his protection, and we are lost.”

67. Dicebant senes: Quoniam quando tentamur, tunc magis humiliamur; quoniam Deus sciens infirmitatem nostram, protegit nos: si autem gloriamur, aufert a nobis protectionem suam, et perimus.

68. The devil appeared to a monk in the guise of an angel of light, and said to him: “I am the angel Gabriel, and I have been sent to you.” But the monk said: “See whether you were not sent to someone else. I am not worthy that an angel should be sent to me.” And the devil vanished.

68. Cuidam fratri apparuit diabolus transformatus in angelum lucis, et dixit ad eum: Ego sum Gabriel angelus, et missus sum ad te. Ille vero dixit ei: Vide ne ad alium missus sis; ego autem non sum dignus ut angelus mittatur ad me. Diabolus autem statim  ^[0965D] non comparuit.

69. The old men said: “If an angel in truth appears to you, do not accept it as a matter of course, but humble yourself, and say: ‘I live in my sin and am not worthy to see an angel.’ “

69. Dicebant senes: Quia vel si pro veritate angelus tibi appareat, non suscipias facile, sed humilia temetipsum, dicens: Non sum dignus angelum videre vivens in peccatis.

70. They said of another old man, that while he was under­going temptation in his cell, he saw the demons face to face, and was contemptuous of them. The devil, seeing himself overcome, came and showed himself, saying: “I am Christ.” The old man looked at him, and then shut his eyes. The devil said: “I am Christ, so why have you shut your eyes?” The old man answered: “I would not see Christ in this life, but in the next.” And the devil vanished at the words.

70. Narraverunt de alio sene, quia sedens in cella sua, et sustinens tentationes, videbat daemones manifeste, et contemnebat eos. Cum autem diabolus videret se vinci a sene, venit et ostendit se ei, dicens: Ego sum Christus. Videns autem eum senex, clausit oculos suos. Et dixit ei diabolus: Ego sum Christus, et quare clausisti oculos tuos? Et respondit senex: Ego hic Christum nolo videre, sed in illa vita. Audiens autem diabolus haec, non comparuit.

71. The demons, wanting to seduce an old man, said to him: “Would you like to see Christ?” He said: “A curse be upon you and him of whom you speak. I believe my Christ when he said: ‘If anyone says to you, Lo, here is Christ, or Lo, there, do not believe him.’ “ And they vanished at the words.

 ^[0966A] 71. Alterum senem volentes seducere daemones, dicebant ei: Vis videre Christum? Et ille dixit: Anathema vobis et de quo dicitis. Ego autem meo Christo credo dicenti: Si quis vobis dixerit, Ecce hic Christus, aut ecce illic, nolite credere. Quo dicto statim non comparuerunt  (Matth. XXIV) .

72. They said of an old man that he went on fasting for seventy weeks, eating a meal only once a week. He asked of God the meaning of a text of the holy Scriptures and God did not reveal it to him. So he said to himself: “Here I am: I have worked so hard, and profited nothing. I will go to my brother and ask him.” Just as he had shut his door on the way out, an angel of the Lord was sent to him; and the angel said: “The seventy weeks of your fast have not brought you near to God: but now you are humbled and going to your brother, I have been sent to show you the meaning of the text.” And he ex­plained to him what he had asked, and went away.

72. Narraverunt de alio sene, quia perseveravit jejunans septuaginta hebdomadas, semel in hebdomada reficiens. Hic postulavit a Deo de quodam sermone Scripturarum sanctarum, et non revelabat ei Deus. Dixit ergo in semetipso: Ecce tantum laborem sumpsi, et nihil profeci: vadam ergo ad fratrem meum, et requiro ab eo. Qui cum egressus clausisset ostium suum ut abiret, missus est ad eum angelus Domini, dicens: Septuaginta hebdomadae quas jejunasti,  ^[0966B] non te fecerunt proximum Deo: nunc vere quando humiliatus es, ut ad fratrem tuum pergeres, missus sum indicare tibi sermonem; aperiensque ei de re quam quaerebat, discessit ab eo.

73. An old man said: “If anyone, in humility and the fear of God, orders a monk to do something, the very word, thus spoken for God’s sake, makes the monk ready, and obedient to the command. But if he gives the command because he wants to give a command, if he sets himself up as an authority and seeks power over the monk, and does not give a command in the fear of God, God sees the secrets of the heart and does not let the monk obey the command. Everyone can see whether He also said: “Do not teach too early, or you will have less the work is done for God, or whether it is an order of self-willunderstanding during the rest of your life.” and desire for power. An order from God is given with humility and gentleness. An order given from a desire for power is given with anger and trouble of mind, for it is of the devil.”

73. Dicebat quidam senex  (Ruffin., l. III, n. 73) : Quia si quis cum humilitate et timore Dei injungat fratri aliquid facere, sermo ipse qui propter Deum egreditur, facit fratrem illum suum subjectum existere et implere quod fuerit imperatum; si autem quis volens jubere fratri, et non hoc secundum timorem Dei fecerit, sed quasi per auctoritatem, volens sibi in eo potestatem defendere, Deus qui videt occulta cordis, non permittit eum audire vel facere quod jubetur. Manifestum enim est opus quod secundum Deum fit; et iterum manifestum est quod pro voluntate aut  ^[0966C] in potestate injungitur: quoniam quod a Deo est, cum humilitate et obsecratione imperatur; quod autem ex potestate, cum furore et perturbatione, utpote quod a maligno est.

74. An old man said: “I would rather be defeated and humble than win and be proud.”

74. Dixit senex: Volo magis vinci cum humilitate, quam vincere cum superbia.

75. An old man said: “Do not think little of your neighbour for you do not know whether God’s Spirit is in you or in him. I tell you that your servant is your neighbour.”

75. Dixit senex: Non condemnes astantem tibi, quoniam nescis utrum in te sit Spiritus Dei, an in illo. Astantem autem tibi dico eum, qui minister est tuus.

76. A brother asked an old man: “If I live with other monks and see something wrong, do you want me to speak out?” The old man said: “If some are older than you, or your contem­ poraries, you will have more peace of mind in keening silent For you will make yourself at peace in the fact that you are putting yourself below the others.” The brother said to him: “What then am I to do, father? For the spirits trouble me.” The old man said to him: “Ifyou are suffering about the matter give a piece of advice, once, with humility. If they do not obey you, leave what you have done in God’s sight, and he will comfort you. For this is the way the worshipper of God should lay himself before God, and not follow his self-will But take care that your anxiety be of God. Yet, as far as I see; it is good to be silent, for here silence is humility.”

76. Frater aliquis interrogavit senem, dicens: Si habito cum aliis fratribus, et video aliquam rem inconvenientem, vis ut loquar? Et dixit ei senex: Si sunt aliqui majores tibi aut coaetanei, tacens magis requiem habebis; in hoc enim, quo te minorem facies,  ^[0966D] etiam securum te reddes. Dicit ei frater: Quid ergo facio, Pater? perturbat enim me spiritus. Dicit ei senex: Si laboras, commonefacito semel humiliter; si autem non obediunt tibi, relinque laborem tuum in conspectu Dei, et ipse te consulabitur: hoc enim est ut projiciat se Dei cultor coram Deo, et relinquat ipse voluntates suas. Attende autem tibi ut secundum Deum sit sollicitudo tua; et tamen quomodo video, bonum est tacere, humilitas enim tibi est taciturnitas.

77. A brother asked an old man: “What is man’s way of progress?” The old man answered: “Humility The more a man bends himself to humility, the more he is lifted up to make progress.”

77. Frater quidam interrogavit senem, dicens: Quid est profectus hominis? Et respondit ei senex: Profectus hominis est humilitas. Quantum enim quis ad humilitatem inclinatus fuerit, tantum elevabitur  ^[0967A] ad profectum  (Ruff., lib. III, n. 171; Pasch., c. 15, n. 5) .

78. An old man said: “If anyone says, Forgive me, and humbles himself, he burns up the demons which tempt him.”

78. Dixit quidam senex: Quia si quis dixerit, Ignosce mihi, humilians se, comburit daemones tentatores.

79. An old man said: “Even if you have succeeded in the habit of keeping silent, you are not to have it in you as though it was a kind of virtue, but say: ‘I am not worthy to speak.’ “

79. Dixit senex: Si acquisieris taciturnitatem, non habeas apud temetipsum quasi aliquam virtutem, etiamsi obtinueris, sed dic: Quia indignus sum loqui.

80. An old man said: “Unless the miller blindfolded the donkey in the treadmill, it would turn round and eat the corn. And God has mercifully blindfolded us, so that we cannot see the good that we do: for then we should perhaps pat ourselves on the back, and lose our reward. That is why we are left for a time with ill thoughts, so that as we see them, we judge and condemn ourselves. Those very thoughts are the cloth which blindfolds and prevents the piece of goodness from being seen. When a man accuses himself, he does not lose his reward.”

80. Dicebat quidam senex: Nisi velaret pistor oculos animalis ad molam circumeuntis, converteret se animal et comederet labores suos  (Ruff., l. III, n. 128; Pasch., c. 15, n. 1) ; ita et nos velamen accipimus secundum dispensationem Dei, ne videamus quae operamur bona, et beatificantes forsitan nosmetipsos,  ^[0967B] perdamus mercedem 629 nostram. Propterea ergo relinquimur per intervalla temporum semel sic sordidas cogitationes assumere, ut cum easdem cogitationes aspicimus, nosmetipsos judicio proprio condemnemus. Eae enim cogitationes ipsae, velamen sunt ipsius modici boni operis. Quando autem homo seipsum accusat, non perdit mercedem suam.

8I. An old man said: “I would learn rather than teach.”

81. Dixit quidam senex: Quia volo magis doceri quam docere. Item dixit: Non doceas ante tempus, alioquin omni tempore vitae tuae minoraberis intellectu.

82. An ole man W&b a u. answered: “Humility is a great work, and a work of God. The way of humility is to undertake bodily labour, and believe yourself a sinner, and make yourself the servant of all.” And a brother said: “What does it mean, to be the servant of all?” The old man answered: “To be the servant of all is not to look out for the sins of others, ever to look out for your own sins, and to pray God without ceasing.”

82. Interrogatus est quidam senex: Quid est humilitas? Et respondens dixit: Humilitas magnum opus est et divinum: via autem humilitatis haec est, ut labores corporales assumi debeant, et ascribat  ^[0967C] seipsum homo peccatorum, et ponat se subjectum omnibus. Et dixit frater: Quid est esse subjectum omnibus? Respondit senex: Hoc est esse subjectum omnibus, ut non attendat quis aliena peccata, sed sua semper aspiciat, et deprecetur sine intermissione Deum.

83. A brother asked an old man: “Tell me one thing, that I may keep it and live by it.” And the old man said: “If you can suffer injury and cndure, this is a great thing, above all virtues.”

83. Interrogavit quidam frater senem, dicens: Dic mihi unam rem, quam custodiam, et vivam per eam. Et dixit ei senex: Si potueris contumeliam pati et sustinere, magnum est hoc, et super omnes virtutes  (Ruff., l. III, n. 85) .

84. An old man said: “He who bears scorn and injury and loss with patience, can be saved.”

84. Dixit senex: Qui contemptum et injuriam et damnum patienter fert, potest salvus esse.

85. An old man said : “Do not take much notice of your abba, and do not often go to see him: for you will get confidence from it, and start to want yourself to be a leader.”

85. Dixit senex cuidam: Non habeas notitiam cum abbate, neque frequenter adjungas te ei; quoniam ex hoc fiduciam sumes, et desiderare incipies  ^[0967D] ut teneas etiam ipse primatum.

86. A brother6’ so took upon himself any charge that threatened his community, that he even accused himself of fornication. Some of the monks, who did not know the truth about his life, began to murmur against him, saying: “This man does much ill and no work.” The abba, knowing the truth, said to the brothers: “I want rather one mat with humility, than all your mats with pride.” And to show by God’s judge­ment the kind of person the monk was, he brought all the things which the monks had made, and the mat made by the monk of whom they were complaining. And he brought a lighted brand, and threw it into the pile of mats. All the mats were burnt except the mat of this monk, which was untouched. The brothers were afraid at the sight, and did penance to him, and thenceforth treated him as a father.

86. Frater quidam erat in congregatione, et omne pondus quod fratribus imminebat, ipse suscipiebat, ita ut se etiam in fornicatione accusaret  (Ruff., l. III, n. 29, nomine Eulalii) . Quidam autem fratrum ignorantes actus ejus, coeperunt murmurare adversus eum, dicentes: Quanta mala facit hic et nec operatur? Abbas sciens quae agebat, dicebat fratribus: Volo unam mattulam istius cum humilitate, quam omnes vestras cum superbia. Et ut demonstraret ex Dei judicio qualis esset frater ille, attulit omnia quae operati fuerant illi fratres, et mattam ejus de quo querebantur, et accendit ignem, et jactavit in medio.  ^[0968A] Consumpta sunt ergo omnia illorum opera, matta autem fratris illius illaesa permansit. Hoc autem videntes illi fratres timuerunt, et poenitentiam coram illo egerunt, habentes eum deinceps velut patrem.

87. An old man was asked how it was that some people said they had seen angels. He answered: “Blessed is he who always sees his own sin

87. Interrogatus est senex, quomodo quidam dicerent videre se aspectum angelorum; et respondit dicens: Beatus est qui peccatum suum semper videt.

88. A brother learnt that another brother was aggrieved at him, and went to make satisfaction. But the other did not open the door of his cell. So he went to an old man, and told him the circumstances. And the old man said: “See that you have no reason, which looks like a just reason, in your heart for blaming your brother: as though you would accuse him and justify yourself, and so God would not touch his heart to open the door to you I tell you this: even if he has sinned against you, keep it in your heart that you have sinned against him: justify your brother rather than yourself: and then God will put it into his heart to make peace with you.” And he told him the following story: “There were two devout men, living in the world: and after talking with each other they went out and became monks. Wanting to equal the precept in the Gospel, but not according to knowledge, they castrated themselves, as if it was for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The archbishop heard of it and ex­communicated them. They believed that they had done right, and were indignant with the archbishop saying: ‘Have we castrated ourselves for the kingdom of heaven, and he ex­communicates us? Let us go and persuade the archbishop of Jerusalem against him.’ They went and told everything to the archbishop of Jerusalem. And he said: ‘And I excommunicate you too ‘ Further aggrieved, they went to the archbishop of Antioch, and toldhimeverything: and he excommunicatedthem likewise So they said: ‘Let us go to see the patriarch at Rome, and he will vindicate us from all these others ‘ So they went to the Pope of Rome and put before him what the other arch­bishops had done, saying: ‘We have come to you, as you are the head of all ‘ But he also said to them: ‘I excommunicate you, and you are put out of the Church.’ Then the excommunicated persons had no further excuse, and said to each other: ‘These bishops defer to each other, and reach agreement because they meet in synods. Let us go to that holy man of God, Epiphanius, the bishop in Cyprus, for he is a prophet, and takes no account of anyone’s rank.’ As they were approaching his city, he received a revelation about them, and sent to meet them, saying: ‘Do not enter this city.’ Then they recovered their right minds and said: ‘Truly, we are rightly blamed: why then do we seek to justify ourselves? Even supposing the archbishops excommunicated us unjustly, that cannot be true of this prophet, for he has received a revela­tion about us.’ And they charged themselves with the great guilt of what they had done. So God, who sees men’s hearts, revealed to Epiphanius the bishop that they had made them­selves guilty for the truth’s sake. And so, of his own initiative, he sent and brought them back, and comforted them, and received them to communion. He wrote to the archbishop of Alexandria about them, saying: ‘Receive back your children, for they have done penance in the truth.’ The old man, who told the story, added: ‘This is a man’s sanity and his obedience to God’s will, that he casts himself before God with confession of his sin.’ “ At these words the brother obeyed his word, and went and knocked on the other monk’s door. As soon as the other learnt who it was, he spoke penitently, and opened the door at once: they kissed each other with sincerity and perfect peace was established.

88. Frater aliquis contristabatur adversus alium fratrem; quod audiens ille venit satisfacere ei. Ille autem non aperuit ei ostium cellae suae. Perrexit ergo ille ad quemdam senem, et dixit ei causam: Vide ne quasi justam habeas causam apud temetipsum in corde tuo, tanquam culpaturus fratrem tuum, ut  ^[0968B] quasi illum reprehendas, et teipsum justifices, et propterea non tetigerit Deus cor ejus, ut aperiret tibi. Verumtamen hoc est quod dico tibi, ut vel si ille peccavit in te, pone in corde tuo, quia tu in illo peccaveris, et fratrem tuum justifica, et tunc Deus dat in corde illius concordare tecum; et narravit illi exemplum tale, dicens: Duo quidam erant saeculares religiosi, et colloquentes secum egressi sunt, et facti sunt monachi: aemulationem autem habentes vocis evangelicae, sed non secundum scientiam, castraverunt se quasi propter regna coelorum. Audiens autem archiepiscopus, excommunicavit eos; illi autem putantes quia bene fecissent, indignati sunt contra eum, dicentes: Nos propter regna coelorum castravimus nos, et hic excommunicavit nos? Eamus  ^[0968C] et interpellemus adversus eum Jerosolymitanorum archiepiscopum. Abeuntes ergo indicaverunt ei omnia. Et dixit eis archiepiscopus Jerosolymitanus: Et ego vos excommunico. Ex quo iterum contristati abierunt in Antiochiam ad archiepiscopum, et dixerunt ei omnia quae facta fuerant circa se. Et ille similiter excommunicavit eos. Et dixerunt ad seipsos: Eamus Romam ad patriarcham, et ipse nos vindicabit de omnibus istis. Abierunt ergo ad summum archiepiscopum Romanae civitatis, et suggesserunt ei quae fecerant eis memorati archiepiscopi, dicentes: Venimus ad te, quia tu es caput omnium. Dicit autem eis et ipse: Ego vos excommunico, et segregati estis. Tunc defecerunt excommunicati totius rationis, et dixerunt ad semetipsos: Isti episcopi sibi invicem  ^[0968D] deferunt et consentiunt, propter quod in Synodis congregantur: sed eamus ad illum virum Dei sanctum Epiphanium episcopum de Cypro, quia propheta est, et personam hominis non accipit. Cum autem appropinquarent civitati ejus, revelatum est ei de ipsis; et mittens in occursum eorum dixit: Ne intretis civitatem istam. Tunc illi in se reversi, dixerunt: Pro veritate nos culpabiles sumus; ut quid ergo nos ipsos justificamus? Fac etiam quia illi injuste nos excommunicaverunt, nunquid et iste propheta? ecce enim Deus revelavit ei de nobis. Et reprehenderunt semetipsos valde de culpa quam fecerunt. Tunc videns 630 qui corda novit quia pro veritate se culpabiles fecerant, revelavit episcopo  ^[0969A] Epiphanio. Et ultro misit et adduxit eos, et consolatus eos, suscepit in communionem. Scripsit itaque de his archiepiscopo Alexandriae, dicens: Suscipe filios tuos, quoniam in veritate poenitentiam egerunt. Et addidit senex qui hoc exemplum narraverat, dicens: Haec est sanitas hominis, et hoc est quod vult Deus, ut homo culpam suam projiciat ante Deum. Haec cum audisset frater, fecit secundum verbum senis, et pergens pulsavit estium fratris; ille autem mox ut sensit eum, prius apud illum deintus poenitentiam gessit, aperuitque statim ostium, et osculati sunt se invicem ex animo, et facta est inter utrosque pax maxima.

89. Two monks, brothers in the flesh, lived together, and the devil wanted to cause division between them. The younger once lit a lamp and put it on the lampstand. The demon playing his trick, upset the lampstand and the elder was angry and beat his younger brother. But the younger was penitent, and said: “Be patient with me, brother, and I will light it again.” And suddenly the power of the Lord came and tortured that demon until break of day. So the demon told his chief, a pagan priest, svhat had happened. And the pagan priest went out and became a monk; and from the start of his religious life he held to humility, saying: “Humility breaks the power of the enemy. I know, for I have heard them saying: ‘When we trouble the monks, one of them turns to God and is penitent, and so destroys our power.”

89. Duo monachi, qui erant etiam carnales fratres, habitabant simul, et volebat diabolus separare eos ab  ^[0969B] invicem  (Ruff., l. III, n. 18) . Semel ergo unus, qui erat minor aetate, incendit lucernam, et posuit eam super candelabrum. Fecit autem opera sua daemon, et evertit candelabrum: quapropter cecidit eum major frater cum ira. Ille vero poenitentiam egit, dicens ei: Habe patientiam in me, frater, et iterum accendo eam. Et ecce virtus Domini venit, et torquebat illum daemonem usque mane. Daemon autem nuntiavit suo principi quod factum fuerat. Et audivit sacerdos paganorum id quod retulerat daemon, et egressus factus est monachus, et ab initio conversionis suae tenuit humilitatem, dicens: Humilitas solvit omnem virtutem inimici, sicut ego audivi eos loquentes, dicendo: Quia quando perturbamus monachos, convertitur unus ex eis, et agit poenitentiam, et destruit  ^[0969C] omnem virtutem nostram.