CHAPTER 1. Abbot Moses’ introduction on the grace of discretion.

1. Proemium abbatis Moysi super discretionis gratia.

1.1. And so when we had enjoyed our morning sleep, when to our delight the dawn of light again shone upon us, and we had begun to ask once more for his promised talk, the blessed Moses thus began: As I see you inflamed with such an eager desire, that I do not believe that that very short interval of quiet which I wanted to subtract from our spiritual conference and devote to bodily rest, has been of any use for the repose of your bodies, on me too a greater anxiety presses when I take note of your zeal. For I must give the greater care and devotion in paying my debt, in pro portion as I see that you ask for it the more earnestly, according to that saying: “When thou sittest to eat with a ruler consider diligently what is put before thee, and put forth thine hand, knowing that thou oughtest to prepare such things.” (Prov. 23. 1, 2 lxx)

1.1. Degustato itaque matutino sopore cum ortum lucis tandem nobis claruisse gaudentes repromissam narrationem reposcere coepissemus, beatus Moyses ita exorsus est : cum uideam uos tanto desiderii ardore flammatos, ut ne ipsum quidem paruissimum quietis momentum, quod spiritali conlationi subtrahens refectioni carnis malueram deputare, ad requiem credam uestri corporis profecisse, mihi quoque hunc uestrum consideranti feruorem sollicitudo maior incumbit. Necesse est enim etiam me in persoluendo debito tanto maiorem deuotionis curam gerere, quanto uos id adtentius uideo postulare, secundum illam sententiam : si sederis cenare ad mensam potentis, sapienter intellege quae adponuntur tibi, et inmitte manum tuam, sciens quia talia te oportet praeparare .

1.2. Wherefore as we are going to speak of the excellent quality of discretion and the virtue of it, on which subject our discourse of last night had entered at the termination of our discussion, we think it desirable first to establish its excellence by the opinions of the fathers, that when it has been shown what our predecessors thought and said about it, then we may bring forward some ancient and modern shipwrecks and mischances of various people, who were destroyed and hopelessly ruined because they paid but little attention to it, and then as well as we can we must treat of its advantages and uses: after a discussion of which we shall know better how we ought to seek after it and practise it, by the consideration of the importance of its value and grace.

1.2. Quamobrem de bono discretionis eiusque uirtute dicturi, in quam sermo nocturnae conlationis ingressus finem nostrae disputationi dedit, congruum credimus excellentiam eius patrum primo consignare sententiis, ut cum patuerit quid de illa senserint uel pronuntiauerint maiores nostri, tum prolatis tam antiquis quam recentibus ruinis et casibus diuersorum, qui pro eo quod minus eam fuerant adsecuti pernicioso deiecti sunt lapsu, in quantum possumus utilitates eius et commoda retractemus : quibus discussis quemadmodum expetere eam atque excolere debeamus efficacius instruamur, considerantes meriti eius et gratiae dignitatem.

1.3. For it is no ordinary virtue nor one which can be freely gained by merely human efforts, unless they are aided by the Divine blessing, for we read that this is also reckoned among the noblest gifts of the Spirit by the Apostle: “To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another the gift of healing by the same Spirit,” and shortly after, “to another the discerning of spirits.” Then after the complete catalogue of spiritual gifts he subjoins: “But all these worketh one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will.” (1 Cor. 12. 8–11)

1.3. Est enim non mediocris quaedam uirtus nec quae humana passim ualeat industria conprehendi, nisi diuina fuerit largitate conlata, siquidem inter nobilissima spiritus sancti dona hanc quoque ita legimus ab apostolo numerari : alii datur per spiritum sermo sapientiae, alii sermo scientiae secundum eundem spiritum, alii fides in eodem spiritu, alii gratia sanitatum in uno spiritu , et post pauca : alii discretio spiritum . Deinde conpleto omni catalogo spiritalium charismatum subdit : omnia autem haec operatur unus atque idem spiritus, diuidens unicuique prout uult .

1.4. You see then that the gift of discretion is no earthly thing and no slight matter, but the greatest prize of divine grace. And unless a monk has pursued it with all zeal, and secured a power of discerning with unerring judgment the spirits that rise up in him, he is sure to go wrong, as if in the darkness of night and dense blackness, and not merely to fall down dangerous pits and precipices, but also to make frequent mistakes in matters that are plain and straightforward.

1.4. Uidetis ergo non terrenum nec paruum esse discretionis munus, sed diuinae gratiae maximum praemium. Quam nisi monachus omni intentione fuerit adsecutus et ascendentium in sese spirituum discretionem certa ratione possederit, necesse est eum uelut in nocte caeca tetrisque tenebris oberrantem non solum perniciosis foueis ac praeruptis incidere, sed etiam in planis ac directis frequenter offendere.

CHAPTER 2. What discretion alone can give a monk; and a discourse of the blessed Antony on this subject.

2. Quid discretio sola conferat monacho et disputatio super hoc beati Antonii.

2.1. And so I remember that while I was still a boy, in the region of Thebaid, where the blessed Antony lived, the elders came to him to inquire about perfection: and though the conference lasted from evening till morning, the greatest part of the night was taken up with this question. For it was discussed at great length what virtue or observance could preserve a monk always unharmed by the snares and deceits of the devil, and carry him forward on a sure and right path, and with firm step to the heights of perfection.

2.1. Memini igitur quondam in annis adhuc pueritiae constitutus in partibus Thebaidos, ubi beatus Antonius morabatur, seniores ad eum perfectionis inquirendae gratia conuenisse. Cumque a uespertinis horis usque ad lucem fuisset protracta conlatio, quaestionem hanc maximum noctis spatium consumpsisse. Nam diutissime quaerebatur quaenam uirtus uel obseruantia monachum possit a diaboli laqueis ac deceptionibus custodire semper inlaesum uel certe recto tramite firmoque gressu ad perfectionis culmen euehere.

2.2. And when each one gave his opinion according to the bent of his own mind, and some made it consist in zeal in fasting and vigils, because a soul that has been brought low by these, and so obtained purity of heart and body will be the more easily united to God, others in despising all things, as, if the mind were utterly deprived of them, it would come the more freely to God, as if henceforth there were no snares to entangle it: others thought that withdrawal from the world was the thing needful, i.e., solitude and the secrecy of the hermit’s life; living in which a man may more readily commune with God, and cling more especially to Him; others laid down that the duties of charity, i.e., of kindness should be practised, because the Lord in the gospel promised more especially to give the kingdom to these; when He said “Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred and ye gave Me to eat, I was thirsty and ye gave Me to drink, etc.:” (Matt. 24. 35, 36) and when in this fashion they declared that by means of different virtues a more certain approach to God could be secured, and the greater part of the night had been spent in this discussion, then at last the blessed Antony spoke and said:

2.2. Cumque pro captu mentis suae proferret unusquisque sententiam et alii quidem hoc in ieiuniorum uigiliarumque studio conlocarent, quod his uidelicet extenuata mens ac puritatem cordis et corporis adsecuta deo facilius uniretur, alii in contemptu uniuersarum rerum, quibus mens si penitus nudaretur, tamquam nullis deinceps retinentibus laqueis ad deum expeditior perueniret, alii anachoresin necessariam, id est remotionem et heremi secreta censerent, in qua commanens quis familiarius interpellare deum eique possit peculiarius inhaerere, nonnulli sectanda caritatis, id est humanitatis officia definirent, quod his regna caelorum daturum se dominus in euangelio uelut specialius repromittat dicens : Venite benedicti patris mei, possidete paratum uobis regnum a constitutione mundi. Esuriui enim et dedistis mihi manducare, sitiui et dedistis mihi bibere et cetera, cumque in hunc modum diuersis uirtutibus aditum certiorem ad deum parari posse decernerent essetque noctis maximum tempus hac inquisitione consumptum, intulit demum beatus Antonius :

2.3. All these things which you have mentioned are indeed needful, and helpful to those who are thirsting for God, and desirous to approach Him. But countless accidents and the experience of many people will not allow us to make the most important of gifts consist in them. For often when men are most strict in fasting or in vigils, and nobly withdraw into solitude, and aim at depriving themselves of all their goods so absolutely that they do not suffer even a day’s allowance of food or a single penny to remain to them, and when they fulfill all the duties of kindness with the utmost devotion, yet still we have seen them suddenly deceived, so that they could not bring the work they had entered upon to a suitable close, but brought their exalted fervour and praiseworthy manner of life to a terrible end. Wherefore we shall be able clearly to recognize what it is which mainly leads to God, if we trace out with greater care the reason of their downfall and deception.

2.3. omnia quidem haec quae dixistis necessaria sunt et utilia sitientibus deum atque ad eum cupientibus peruenire. Sed his principalem tribuere gratiam nequaquam nos innumeri multorum casus et experimenta permittunt. Nam saepenumero acerrime ieiuniis seu uigiliis incubantes ac mirifice in solitudine secedentes, priuationem quoque omnium facultatum ita sectantes, ut ex ipsis ne unius quidem diei uictum sibimet unumue denarium superesse paterentur, humanitatis etiam studia tota deuotione conplentes ita uidimus repente deceptos, ut arreptum opus non potuerint congruo exitu terminare summumque feruorem et conuersationem laudabilem detestabili fine concluserint. Quamobrem quid principaliter ducat ad deum manifeste poterimus agnoscere, si ruinae ac deceptionis illorum causa diligentius a nobis fuerit indagata.

2.4. For when the works of the above mentioned virtues were abounding in them, discretion alone was wanting, and allowed them not to continue even to the end. Nor can any other reason for their falling off be discovered except that as they were not sufficiently instructed by their elders they could not obtain judgment and discretion, which passing by excess on either side, teaches a monk always to walk along the royal road, and does not suffer him to be [:]

2.4. In illis namque cum exuberarent praedictarum opera uirtutum, discretio sola deficiens usque ad finem ea durare non siuit. Nec enim alia lapsus eorum causa deprehenditur, nisi quod minus a senioribus instituti nequaquam potuerunt rationem discretionis adipisci, quae praetermittens utramque nimietatem uia regia monachum docet semper incedere et

[1] puffed up on the right hand of virtue, i.e., from excess of fervor to transgress the bounds of due moderation in foolish presumption, nor allows him to be

nec dextra uirtutum permittit extolli, id est feruoris excessu iustae continentiae modum inepta praesumptione transcendere,

[2] enamored of slackness and turn aside to the vices on the left hand, i.e., under pretext of controlling the body, to grow slack with the opposite spirit of luke-warmness.

nec oblectatum remissione deflectere ad uitia sinistra concedit, hoc est sub praetextu gubernandi corporis contrario spiritus tepore lentescere.

2.5. For this is discretion, which is termed in the gospel the “eye,” “and light of the body,” according to the Saviour’s saying: “The light of thy body is your eye: but if your eye be single, thy whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is evil, thy whole body will be full of darkness:” (Matt. 6. 22, 23) because as it discerns all the thoughts and actions of men, it sees and overlooks all things which should be done.

2.5. Haec namque est discretio, quae oculus et lucerna corporis in euangelio nuncupatur secundum illam sententiam saluatoris : lucerna corporis tui est oculus tuus : quodsi oculus tuus fuerit simplex, totum corpus tuum lucidum erit : si autem oculus tuus nequam fuerit, totum corpus tuum tenebrosum erit , eo quod ipsa cogitationes hominis uniuersas actusque discernens cuncta quae gerenda sunt peruideat atque perlustret :

2.6. But if in any man this is “evil,” i.e., not fortified by sound judgment and knowledge, or deceived by some error and presumption, it will mike our whole body “full of darkness,” i.e., it will darken all our mental vision and our actions, as they will be involved in the darkness of vices and the gloom of disturbance.  For, says He, “if the light which is in thee be darkness, how great will that darkness be!” (Matt. 6. 22, 23) For no one can doubt that when the judgment of our heart goes wrong, and is overwhelmed by the night of ignorance, our thoughts and deeds, which are the result of deliberation and discretion, must be involved in the darkness of still greater sins.

2.6. quae si in homine nequam fuerit, id est non uero iudicio et scientia communita seu quolibet errore ac praesumptione decepta, totum corpus nostrum faciat tenebrosum, hoc est omnem aciem mentis actusque nostros reddat obscuros, caecitate scilicet uitiorum et perturbationum tenebris inuolutoSi enim inquit lumen quod in te est tenebrae sunt, tenebrae ipsae quantae erunt ! Nulli namque dubium est errante iudicio cordis nostri et ignorationis nocte possesso cogitationes quoque et opera nostra, quae ex discretionis deliberatione descendunt, maioribus peccatorum tenebris inplicari.

CHAPTER 3. Of the error of Saul and of Ahab, by which they were deceived through Jack of discretion.

3. De errore Saulis et Achab, quo per discretionis inperitiam sunt decepti.

3.1. Lastly, the man who in the judgment of God was the first to be worthy of the kingdom of His people Israel, because he was lacking in this “eye” of discretion, was, as if his whole body were full of darkness, actually cast down from the kingdom while, being deceived by the darkness of this “light,” and in error, he imagined that his own offerings were more acceptable to God than obedience to the command of Samuel, and met with an occasion of falling in that very matter in which he had hoped to propitiate the Divine Majesty. (Cf. 1 Sam. 25)

3.1. Denique ille, qui primus iudicio dei regnum populi Israhelis emeruit, quia hunc discretionis oculum nequaquam habuit, uelut tot corpore tenebrosus etiam ipso deiectus est regno, dum lucernae huius tenebris atque errore deceptus acceptabiliora deo sacrificia sua quam praecepti Samuhelis oboedientiam iudicauit atque ex illa magis parte causam offensionis incurrit, ex qua repropitiandam sibi diuinam sperauerat maiestatem .

3.2. And ignorance, I say, of this discretion led Ahab the king of Israel after a triumph and splendid victory which had been granted to him by the favour of God to fancy that mercy on his part was better than the stem execution of the divine command, and, as it seemed to him, a cruel rule: and moved by this consideration, while he desired to temper a bloody victory with mercy, he was on account of his indiscriminating clemency rendered full of darkness in his whole body, and condemned irreversibly to death. (Cf. 1 Kings 20)

3.2. Huius, inquam, discretionis ignoratio Achab regem Israhel post illum sublimissimae uictoriae triumphum, qui ei fuerat dei fauore concessus, conpulit credere meliorem esse misericordiam suam quam diuini seuerissimam exsecutionem praecepti et quemadmodum ipsi uidebatur crudelis imperii. Qua consideratione mollitus dum mauult cruentam uictoriam clementia temperare, ob indiscretam misericordiam uelut toto corpore redditus tenebrosus inreuocabili morte damnatur.

CHAPTER 4.  What is said of the value of discretion in Holy Scripture.

4. Quae de bono discretionis in scripturis sanctis referantur.

4.1. Such is discretion, which is not only the “light of the body,” but also called the sun by the Apostle, as it said “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” (Eph. 4. 26) It is also called the guidance of our life: as it said “Those who have no guidance, fall like leaves.” (Prov. 11. 14 lxx) It is most truly named counsel, without which the authority of Scripture allows us to do nothing, so that we are not even permitted to take that spiritual “wine which makes glad the heart of man” (Ps 103. (104.)  15) without its regulating control: as it is said “Do everything with counsel, drink thy wine with counsel,” (Prov. 31. 3 lxx) and again “like a city that has its walls destroyed and is not fenced in, so is a man who does anything without counsel.” (Prov. 35. 28 lxx)

4.1. Haec est discretio, quae non solum lucerna corporis, sed etiam sol ab apostolo nuncupatur secundum illud : sol non occidat super iracundiam uestram . Haec etiam uitae nostrae dicitur gubernatio secundum illud : quibus non est gubernatio, cadunt ut folia . Haec consilium rectissime nominatur, sine quo nihil agere omnino scripturae auctoritate permittimur, ita ut ne ipsum quidem spiritale uinum, quod laetificat cor hominis , sine ipsius sinamur moderatione percipere secundum illud : cum consilio omnia fac, cum consilio uinum bibe , et iterum : sicut ciuitas muris diruta et non circumdata, sic est uir qui non cum consilio aliquid agit .

4.2. And how injurious the absence of this is to a monk, the illustration and figure in the passage quoted shows, by comparing it to a city that is destroyed and without wall.  Herein lies wisdom, herein lies intelligence and understanding without which our inward house cannot be built, nor can spiritual riches be gathered together, as it is said: “A house is built with wisdom, and again it is set up with intelligence. With understanding the storehouses are filled with all precious riches and good things.” (Prov. 24. 3, 4 lxx)

4.2. Cuius priuatio quam perniciosa sit monacho, testimonii huius exemplum ac figura declarat, dirutae eum ac sine muris comparans ciuitati. In hac sapientia, in hac intellectus sensusque consistit, sine quibus nec interior nostra aedificari domus nec spiritales poterunt diuitiae congregari secundum illud : cum sapientia aedificatur domus, et cum intellectu iterum erigitur : cum sensu inplentur cellaria omnibus diuitiis pretiosis et bonis .

4.3. This I say is “solid food,” which can only be taken by those who are full grown and strong, as it is said: “But solid food is for full grown men, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.” (Heb. 5. 14) And it is shown to be useful and necessary for us, only in so far as it is in accordance with the word of God and its powers, as is said “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and reaching even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart:” (Heb. 4. 12)

4.3. Haec, inquam, est solidus cibus, qui nisi a perfectis tantum ac robustis non potest sumi secundum illud : perfectorum autem est solidus cibus, eorum qui pro consuetudine exercitatos habent sensus ad discretionem boni ac mali . Quae in tantum utilis nobis ac necessaria conprobatur, ut etiam uerbo dei eiusque uirtutibus coaptetur secundum illud : uiuus est enim sermo dei et efficax et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti et pertingens usque ad diuisionem animae ac spiritus, conpagum quoque ac medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis .

4.4. and by this it is clearly shown that no virtue can possibly be perfectly acquired or continue without the grace of discretion. And so by the judgment of the blessed Antony as well as of all others it has been laid down that it is discretion which leads a fearless monk by fixed stages to God, and preserves the virtues mentioned above continually intact, by means of which one may ascend with less weariness to the extreme summit of perfection, and without which even those who toil most willingly cannot reach the heights of perfection. For discretion is the mother of all virtues, as well as their guardian and regulator.

4.4. Quibus manifestissime declaratur nullam sine discretionis gratia perfecte posse uel perfici uel stare uirtutem. Et ita tam beati Antonii quam uniuersorum sententia definitum est discretionem esse, quae fixo gradu intrepidum monachum perducat ad deum praedictasque uirtutes iugiter conseruet inlaesas, cum qua ad consummationis excelsa fastigia minore possit fatigatione conscendi et sine qua multi etiam propensius laborantes perfectionis nequiuerint culmen adtingere. Omnium namque uirtutum generatrix, custos moderatrixque discretio est.

CHAPTER 5. Of the death of the old man Heron.

5. De morte Heronis senis.

5.1. And to support this judgment delivered of old by the blessed Antony and the other fathers by a modern instance, as we promised to do, remember what you lately saw happen before your very eyes, I mean, how the old man Heron, only a very few days ago was cast down by an illusion of the devil from the heights to the depths, a man whom we remember to have lived for fifty years in this desert and to have preserved a strict continence with especial severity, and who aimed at the secrecy of solitude with marvelous fervor beyond all those who dwell here.

5.1. Et ut hanc eandem definitionem antiquitus a sancto Antonio et ceteris patribus promulgatam recens quoque sicut promisimus confirmet exemplum, recolite id quod nuper gestum oculorum uestrorum uidistis obtutibus, senem uidelicet Heronem ante paucos admodum dies inlusione diaboli a summis ad ima deiectum, quem quinquaginta annis in hac heremo conmoratum singulari districtione rigorem continentiae tenuisse meminimus et solitudinis secreta ultra omnes hic commorantes miro feruore sectatum.

5.2. By what device then or by what method was he deluded by the deceiver after so many labours, and falling by a most grievous downfall struck with profound grief all those who live in this desert? Was it not because, having too little of the virtue of discretion he preferred to be guided by his own judgment rather than to obey the counsels and conference of the brethren and the regulations of the elders? Since he ever practised incessant abstinence and fasting with such severity, and persisted in the secrecy of solitude and a monastic cell so constantly that not even the observance of the Easter festival could ever persuade him to join in the feast with the brethren:

5.2. Hic igitur quo pacto quaue ratione post tantos labores ab insidiatore delusus grauissimo conruens lapsu cunctos in hac heremo constitutos luctuoso dolore percussit? Nonne quia minus discretionis uirtute possessa suis definitionibus regi quam consiliis uel conlationibus fratrum atque institutis maiorum maluit oboedire? Siquidem tanto rigore inmutabilem ieiunii continentiam semper exercuit et solitudinis cellaeque ita iugiter secreta sectatus est, ut ab eo participationem ineundi cum fraternitate conuiuii ne ueneratio quidem diei paschalis aliquando potuerit obtinere.

5.3. when in accordance with the annual observance, all the brethren remained in the church and he alone would not join them for fear lest he might seem to relax in some degree from his purpose by taking only a little pulse. And deceived by this presumption he received with the utmost reverence an angel of Satan as an angel of light and with blind slavishness obeyed his commands and cast himself down a well, so deep that the eye could not pierce its depths, nothing doubting of the promise of the angel who had assured him that the merits of his virtues and labours were such that he could not possibly run any risk.

23. In qua fratribus cunctis pro anniuersaria sollemnitate in ecclesia retentatis solus non poterat adgregari, ne quantulumcumque perceptione leguminis parui a suo uideretur proposito relaxasse. Qua praesumptione deceptus angelum Satanae uelut angelum lucis cum summa ueneratione suscipiens eiusque praeceptis prono oboediens famulatu semet ipsum in puteum, cuius profunditatem oculorum non adtingit intuitus, praecipitem dedit, de angeli uidelicet sui sponsione non dubitans, qui eum pro merito uirtutum ac laborum suorum nequaquam posse firmauerat ulli iam discrimini subiacere .

5.4. And that he might prove the truth of this most certainly by experimenting on his own safety, in the dead of night he was deluded enough to cast himself into the above mentioned well, to prove indeed the great merit of his virtue if he should come out thence unhurt. And when by great efforts on the part of the brethren he had been got out already almost dead, on the third day afterward he expired, and what was still worse, persisted in his obstinate delusion so that not even the experience of his death could persuade him that he had been deceived by the craft of devils.

24. Cuius rei fidem ut experimento suae sospitatis euidentissime conprobaret, supra dicto se puteo nocte intempesta inlusus iniecit, magnum scilicet uirtutis suae meritum probaturus, cum inde exisset inlaesuDe quo cum paene iam exsanguis ingenti fratrum labore fuisset extractus, uitam die tertia finiturus, quod his deterius est, ita in deceptionis suae obstinatione permansit, ut ei ne experimento quidem mortis suae potuerit persuaderi, quod fuisset daemonum calliditate delusu

5.5. Wherefore in spite of the merits of his great labors and the number of years which he had spent in the desert those who with compassion and the greatest kindness pitied his end, could hardly obtain from Abbot Paphnutius that he should not be reckoned among suicides, and be deemed unworthy of the memorial and oblation for those at rest.

25. Quamobrem pro meritis laborum tantorum et annorum numerositate qua in heremo perdurauit hoc miseratione et humanitate summa ab his qui eius conpatiebantur exitio uix a presbytero abbate Pafnutio potuit obtineri, ut non inter biothanatos reputatus etiam memoria et oblatione pausantium iudicaretur indignu

CHAPTER 6. Of the destruction of two brethren for lack of discretion.

6. De ruina duorum fratrum ob discretionis inperitiam.

6.1. What shall I say of those two brethren who lived beyond that desert of the Thebaiid where once the blessed Antony dwelt, and, not being sufficiently influenced by careful discrimination, when they were going through the vast and extended waste determined not to take any food with them, except such as the Lord Himself might provide for them.

6.1. Quid dicam de illis duobus fratribus, qui cum ultra illam heremum Thebaidos, ubi quondam fuerat beatus Antonius, habitarent, minus cauta discretione permoti euntes per extentam solitudinis uastitatem nullam escam penitus sumere decreuerunt, nisi quam per semet ipsum illis dominus praestitisset.

6.2. And when as they wandered through the deserts and were already fainting from hunger they were spied at a distance by the Mazices (a race which is even more savage and ferocious than almost all wild tribes, for they are not driven to shed blood, as other tribes are, from desire of spoil but from simple ferocity of mind), and when these acting contrary to their natural ferocity, met them with bread, one of the two as discretion came to his aid, received it with delight and thankfulness as if it were offered to him by the Lord, thinking that the food had been divinely provided for him, and that it was God’s doing that those who always delighted in bloodshed had offered the staff of life to men who were already fainting and dying; but the other refused the food because it was offered to him by men and died of starvation.

6.2. Cumque errantes eos per deserta et deficientes iam fame a longe Mazices conspexissent (quae gens cunctis pene nationibus feris inmanior atque crudelior est : non enim eos ad effusionem sanguinis, ut nonnullas gentes, desiderium praedae, sed sola ferocitas mentis instigat) eisque contra naturam feritatis suae cum panibus occurrissent, unus ex eis subueniente discretione uelut a domino sibi porrectos cum gaudio et gratiarum actione suscepit, reputans escam sibi diuinitus ministrari nec sine deo factum, ut hi qui semper hominum cruore gauderent deficientibus iam ac tabescentibus uitae substantiam largirentur, alius uero recusans cibum uelut ab homine sibi oblatum inediae defectione consumptus est.

6.3. And though this sprang in the first instance from a persuasion that was blame-worthy yet one of them by the help of discretion got the better of the idea which he had rashly and carelessly conceived, but the other persisting in his obstinate folly, and being utterly lacking in discretion, brought upon himself that death which the Lord would have averted, as he would not believe that it was owing to a Divine impulse that the fierce barbarians forgot their natural ferocity and offered them bread instead of a sword.

6.3. Quorum licet initia ex reprehensibili persuasione descenderint, unus tamen subueniente discretione id quod temere incauteque conceperat emendauit, alius autem in stulta praesumptione perdurans ac penitus discretionis ignarus mortem quam dominus auertere uoluit sibi ipse consciuit, nequaquam credens instinctu factum diuino, quod inmites barbari propriae fertitatis obliti panes eis pro gladiis obtulissent.

CHAPTER 7. Of an illusion into which another fell for lack of discretion.

7. De alterius inlusione quam per inperitiam discretionis incurrit.

7.1. Why also should I speak of one (whose name we had rather not mention as he is still alive), who for a long while received a devil in the brightness of an angelic form, and was often deceived by countless revelations from him and believed that he was a messenger of righteousness: for when these were granted, every night he provided a light in his cell without the need of any lamp. At last he was ordered by the devil to offer up to God his own son who was living with him in the monastery, in order that his merits might by this sacrifice be made equal to those of the patriarch Abraham.

7.1. Quid etiam de illo commemorem, cuius nominis quia adhuc superest nolumus facere mentionem, qui dum longo tempore daemonem in angeli suscepit claritate, reuelationibus eius innumeris saepe deceptus credidit nuntium esse iustitiae? Nam exceptis his etiam per omnes noctes in cella eius lumen absque ullius lucernae praebebat officio. Ad extremum iubetur a daemone, ut deo filium suum qui cum eo pariter in monasterio commanebat offerret, ut scilicet hoc sacrificio Abrahae patriarchae meritis aequaretur.

7.2. And he was so far seduced by his persuasion that he would really have committed the murder unless his son had seen him getting ready the knife and sharpening it with unusual care, and looking for the chains with which he meant to tie him up for the sacrifice when he was going to offer him up; and had fled away in terror with a presentiment of the coming crime.

7.2. Cuius in tantum est persuasione seductus, ut parricidium opere perfecisset, nisi eum uidens puer cultrum extra consuetudinem acuendo praeparare et uincula quibus eum uelut oblaturus ad immolandum constringere disponebat inquirere, praesagio sceleris futuri perterritus aufugisset.

CHAPTER 8. Of the fall and deception of a monk of Mesopotamia.

8. De lapsu et deceptione monachi Mesopotameni.

8.1. IT is a long business too to tell the story of the deception of that monk of Mesopotamia, who observed an abstinence that could be imitated by but few in that country, which he had practised for many years concealed in his cell, and at last was so deceived by revelations and dreams that came from the devil that after so many labours and good deeds, in which he had surpassed all those who dwelt in the same parts, he actually relapsed miserably into Judaism and circumcision of the flesh.

8.1. Longum est deceptionem illius quoque monachi Mesopotameni narrando percurrere, qui in illa prouincia perpaucis imitabilem continentiam tenens, quam per annos multos singulariter in cella retrusus exegerat, ita est ad extremum diabolicis reuelationibus somniisque delusus, ut post tantos labores atque uirtutes, quibus excesserat omnes monachos ibidem residentes, ad Iudaismum et concisionem carnis lapsu miserabili uolueretur.

8.2. For when the devil by accustoming him to visions through the wish to entice him to believe a falsehood in the end, had like a messenger of truth revealed to him for a long while what was perfectly true, at length he showed him Christian folk together with the leaders of our religion and creed; viz. Apostles and Martyrs, in darkness and filth, and foul and disfigured with all squalor, and on the other hand the Jewish people with Moses, the patriarchs and prophets, dancing with all joy and shining with dazzling light; and so persuaded him that if he wanted to share their reward and bliss, he must at once submit to circumcision. And so none of these would have been so miserably deceived, if they had endeavoured to obtain a power of discretion. Thus the mischances and trials of many show how dangerous it is to be without the grace of discretion.

8.2. Nam cum uolens eum consuetudine uisionum ad credulitatem futurae deceptionis inlicere uerissima quaeque multo tempore diabolus uelut ueritatis nuntius reuelasset, ad extremum ostendit Christianum populum una cum principibus religionis ac fidei nostrae, apostolis scilicet atque martyribus, tenebrosum ac tetrum omnique macie tabidum atque deformem et e contra Iudaeorum plebem cum Moysi, patriarchis, prophetis summa tripudiantem laetitia et splendidissimo lumine coruscantem, suadens ut, si mallet meriti ac beatitudinis illorum particeps fieri, circumcisionem quoque suscipere festinaret. Horum itaque profecto nullus tam lugubriter fuisset inlusus, si rationem discretionis huius adsequi laborassent. Quamobrem in quantis perniciosum sit discretionis gratiam non habere, multorum casus et experimenta declarant.

CHAPTER 9. A question about the acquirement of true discretion.

9. Inierrogatio de adquirenda uera discretione.

9.1. To this Germanus: It has been fully and completely shown both by recent instances and by the decisions of the ancients how discretion is in some sense the fountain head and the root of all virtue. We want then to learn how it ought to be gained, or how we can tell whether it is genuine and from God, or whether it is spurious and from the devil: so that (to use the figure of that gospel parable which you discussed on a former occasion, in which we are bidden to become good money changers (Conf. I. 20) we may be able to see the figure of the true king stamped on the coin and to detect what is not stamped on coin that is current, and that, as you said in yesterday’s talk using an ordinary expression, we may reject it as counterfeit, under the teaching of that skill which you treated of with sufficient fulness and detail, and showed ought to belong to the man who is spiritually a good money changer of the gospel. For of what good will it be to have recognized the value of that virtue and grace if we do not know how to seek for it and to gain it?

9.1. Ad haec Germanus : Et nouellis exemplis et definitionibus antiquorum satis abunde perpatuit discretionem fontem quodammodo radicemque cunctarum esse uirtutum. Quomodo ergo adquiri debeat cupimus edoceri, aut quemadmodum utrum uera et ex deo, an falsa et diabolica sit possit agnosci, ut secundum illam euangelicam quam superiore tractatu disseruisti parabolam, qua iubemur fieri probabiles trapezitae, numismati inpressam ueri regis imaginem peruidentes deprehendere ualeamus quod non sit in moneta legitima figuratum, atque illud, sicut uulgari usus uerbo hesterna conlatione dixisti, tamquam paracharaximum reprobemus, illa instructi peritia, quam satis copiose et integre prosecutus spiritali atque euangelico trapezitae inesse debere signasti . Quid enim proderit uirtutis eius et gratiae merita cognouisse, si quemadmodum expetenda uel adquirenda sit nesciamus?

CHAPTER 10. The answer how true discretion may be gained.

10. Responsio, quemadmodum possideatur uera discret io.

10.1. Then Moses: True discretion, said he, is only secured by true humility. And of this humility the first proof is given by reserving everything (not only what you do but also what you think), for the scrutiny of the elders, so as not to trust at all in your own judgment but to acquiesce in their decisions in all points, and to acknowledge what ought to be considered good or bad by their traditions.

10.1. Tum MOYSES : Vera, inquit, discretio non nisi uera humilitate conquiritur. Cuius humilitatis haec erit prima probatio si uniuersa non solum quae agenda sunt, sed etiam quae cogitantur, seniorum reseruentur examini, ut nihil suo quis iudicio credens illorum per omnia definitionibus adquiescat et quid bonum uel malum debeat iudicare eorum traditione cognoscat.

10.2. And this habit will not only teach a young man to walk in the right path through the true way of discretion, but will also keep him unhurt by all the crafts and deceits of the enemy. For a man cannot possibly be deceived, who lives not by his own judgment but according to the example of the elders, nor will our crafty foe be able to abuse the ignorance of one who is not accustomed from false modesty to conceal all the thoughts which rise in his heart, but either checks them or suffers them to remain, in accordance with the ripened judgment of the elders.

10.2. Quae institutio non solum per ueram discretionis uiam iuuenem recto tramite docebit incedere, uerum etiam a cunctis fraudibus et insidiis inimici seruabit inlaesum. Nullatenus enim decipi poterit, quisque non suo iudicio, sed maiorum uiuit exemplo, nec ualebit ignorationi eius callidus hostis inludere, qui uniuersas cogitationes in corde nascentes perniciosa uerecundia nescit obtegere, sed eas maturo examine seniorum uel reprobat uel admittit.

10.3. For a wrong thought is enfeebled at the moment that it is discovered: and even before the sentence of discretion has been given, the foul serpent is by the power of confession dragged out, so to speak, from his dark under-ground cavern, and in some sense shown up. and sent away in disgrace. For evil thoughts will hold sway in us just so long as they are hidden in the heart: and that you may gather still more effectually the power of this judgment I will tell you what Abbot Serapion did, and what he used often to tell to the younger brethren for their edification.

10.3. Illico namque ut patefacta fuerit cogitatio maligna marcescit, et antequam discretionis iudicium proferatur, serpens teterrimus uelut e tenebroso ac subterraneo specu uirtute confessionis protractus ad lucem et traductus quodammodo ac dehonestatus abscedit. Tamdiu enim suggestiones eius noxiae dominantur in nobis, quamdiu celantur in corde. Et ut uirtutem sententiae huius efficacius colligatis, referam uobis abbatis Sarapionis factum, quod ille junioribus frequentissime instructionis gratia proponebat.

CHAPTER 11. The words of Abbot Serapion on the decline of thoughts that are exposed to others, and also on the danger of self-confidence.

11. Verba abbatis Sarapionis et de marcore patefactarum cogitationum et de periculo propriae confidentiae.

11.1. While, said he, I was still a lad, and stopping with Abbot Theonas, this habit was forced upon me by the assaults of the enemy, that after I had supped with the old man at the ninth hour, I used every day secretly to hide a biscuit in my dress, which I would eat on the sly later on without his knowing it. And though I was constantly guilty of the theft with the consent of my will, and the want of restraint that springs from desire that has grown inveterate, yet when my unlawful desire was gratified I would come to myself and torment myself over the theft committed in a way that overbalanced the pleasure I had enjoyed in the eating.

11.1. Cum adhuc, inquit, essem puerulus et cum abbate Theone conmanerem, haec mihi inimici inpugnatione ingesta fuerat consuetudo, ut postquam refecissem hora nona cum sene, unum paxamatium cotidie in sinu meo latenter absconderem, quod sero ignorante illo occulte edebam. Quod furtum licet coniuentia uoluntatis et inoliti semel desiderii incontinentia sine cessatione conmitterem, expleta tamen concupiscentia fraudulenta ad memet ipsum reuertens grauius super admisso furti crimine cruciabar quam super esu eius fueram iucundatu

11.2. And when I was forced not without grief of heart to fulfil day after day this most heavy task required of me, so to speak, by Pharaoh’s taskmasters, instead of bricks, and could not escape from this cruel tyranny, and yet was ashamed to disclose the secret theft to the old man, it chanced by the will of God that I was delivered from the yoke of this voluntary captivity, when certain brethren had sought the old man’s cell with the object of being instructed by him.

11.2. Cumque istud molestissimum opus uelut ab exactoribus mihi Pharaonis indictum uice laterum singulis diebus explere non sine cordis mei dolore conpellerer nec tamen eruere me possem ab hac eorum saeuissima tyrannide et clandestinum furtum seni manifestare confunderer, contigit dei nutu de hoc me captiuitatis iugo uolentis eripere, ut quidam fratres cellam senis obtentu aedificationis expeterent .

11.3. And when after supper the spiritual conference had begun to be held, and the old man in answer to the questions which they had propounded was speaking about the sin of gluttony and the dominion of secret thoughts, and showing their nature and the awful power which they have so long as they are kept secret, I was overcome by the power of the discourse and was conscience stricken and terrified, as I thought that these things were mentioned by him because the Lord had revealed to the old man my bosom secrets; and first I was moved to secret sighs, and then my heart’s compunction increased and I openly burst into sobs and tears, and produced from the folds of my dress which shared my theft and received it, the biscuit which I had carried off in my bad habit to eat on the sly; and I laid it in the midst and lying on the ground an begging for forgiveness confessed how I used to eat one every day in secret, and with copious tears implored them to intreat the Lord to free me from this dreadful slavery.

11.3. Cumque refectione transacta conlatio spiritalis coepisset agitari respondensque senex propositis interrogationibus eorum de gastrimargiae uitio et occultarum cogitationum dominatione dissereret earumque naturam et atrocissimam uim, quam haberent donec celarentur, exponeret, ego conlationis huius uirtute conpunctus et conscientia redarguente perterritus, uelut qui crederem ob hoc ea fuisse prolata, quod seni dominus secreta mei pectoris reuelasset, in occultos primum gemitus excitatus, dein cordis mei conpunctione crescente in apertos singultus lacrimasque prorumpens paxamatium, quod consuetudine uitiosa subtraxeram clancule comedendum, de sinu furti mei conscio ac susceptore produxi, eumque in medium proferens, quemadmodum cotidie latenter ederem, prostratus in terram cum ueniae postulatione confessus sum, et ubertim profusis lacrimis ut absolutionem dirissimae captiuitatis a domino poscerent inploraui.

11.4. Then the old man: “Have faith, my child,” said he, “Without any words of mine, your confession frees you from this slavery. For you have today triumphed over your victorious adversary, by laying him low by your confession in a manner which more than makes up for the way in which you were overthrown by him through your former silence, as when, never confuting him with your own answer or that of another, you had allowed him to lord it over you, according to that saying of Solomon’s: ‘Because sentence is not speedily pronounced against the evil, the heart of the children of men is full within them to do evil:’ (Ecclus 7. 11 lxx) and therefore after this exposure of him that evil spirit will no longer be able to vex you, nor will that foul serpent henceforth make his lurking place in you, as he has been dragged out into light from the darkness by your life-giving confession.”

11.4. Tum senex :confide, ait, o puer. Absoluit te ab hac captiuitate etiam me tacente confessio tua. Uictorem namque aduersarium tuum hodie triumphasti, ualidius eum tua confessione prosternens quam ipse fueras ab eo tua taciturnitate deiectuQuem utique nequaquam uel tua uel alterius responsione confutans in te nunc usque permiseras dominari secundum illam Salomonis sententiam : quia non fit contradictio ab his qui faciunt malum cito, ideo repletum est cor filiorum hominis in ipsis ut faciant mala . Et idcirco iam te post hanc publicationem suam iste nequissimus spiritus inquietare non poterit nec in te latibulum sibi teterrimus serpens deinceps usurpabit, de tenebris cordis tui salutari confessione protractus ad lucem.

11.5. The old man had not finished speaking when lo! a burning lamp proceeding from the folds of my dress filled the cell with a sulphureous smell so that the pungency of the odour scarcely allowed us to stay there: and the old man resuming his admonition said Lo! the Lord has visibly confirmed to you the truth of my words, so that you can see with your eyes how he who was the author of His Passion has been driven out from your heart by your life-giving confession, and know that the enemy who has been exposed will certainly no longer find a home in you, as his expulsion is made manifest. And so, as the old man declared, said he, the sway of that diabolical tyranny over me has been destroyed by the power of this confession and stilled for ever so that the enemy has never even tried to force upon me any more the recollection of this desire, nor have I ever felt myself seized with the passion of that furtive longing.

11.5. Necdum senex haec uerba conpleuerat et ecce lampas accensa de meo sinu procedens ita cellam repleuit odore sulpureo, ut uehementia foetoris ipsius uix in ea nos residere permitteret. Resumensque admonitionem senex, ecce, inquit, dominus tibi ueritatem sermonum meorum uisibiliter adprobauit, ut passionis illius incentorem de corde tuo salubri confessione depulsum oculis peruideres, patefactumque hostem nequaquam locum in te ulterius habiturum aperta eius expulsione cognoscereItaque secundum sententiam senis ita est, inquit, in me confessionis huius uirtute dominatio diabolicae illius tyrannidis extincta atque in perpetuum consopita, ut numquam mihi ne memoriam quidem concupiscentiae huius ulterius temptauerit inimicus ingerere nec me post haec aliquando pulsatum furtiui illius desiderii instigatione persenserim.

11.6. And this meaning we see is neatly expressed in a figure in Ecclesiastes “If” says he “a serpent bite without hissing there is no sufficiency for the charmer,” (Eccl. 10. 11 lxx) showing that the bite of a serpent in silence is dangerous, i.e., if a suggestion or thought springing from the devil is not by means of confession shown to some charmer, I mean some spiritually minded person who knows how to heal the wound at once by charms from the Scripture, and to extract the deadly poison of the serpent from the heart, it will be impossible to help the sufferer who is already in danger and must soon die. In this way therefore we shall easily arrive at the knowledge of true discretion, so as by following the steps of the Elders never to do anything novel nor to decide anything by or on our own responsibility, but to walk in all things as we are taught by their tradition and upright life.

11.6. Quem sensum in Ecclesiaste quoque pulcherrime legimus figuratum. Si momorderit, inquit, serpens non in sibilo, non est abundantia incantatori , taciti serpentis morsum perniciosum esse designans, id est : si per confessionem suggestio seu cogitatio diabolica incantatori cuiquam, spiritali scilicet uiro, qui carminibus scripturarum mederi protinus uulneri et extrahere de corde consueuit noxia uenena serpentis, patefacta non fuerit, succurrere periclitanti perituroue non poterit. Hoc igitur modo ad scientiam discretionis uerae peruenire facillime poterimus, ut seniorum uestigia subsequentes neque agere quicquam noui neque discernere nostro iudicio praesumamus, sed quemadmodum nos uel illorum traditio uel uitae probitas informarit, in omnibus gradiamur.

11.7. And the man who is strengthened by this system will not only arrive at the perfect method of discretion, but also will remain perfectly safe from all the wiles of the enemy: for by no other fault does the devil drag down a monk so precipitately and lead him away to death, as when he persuades him to despise the counsel of the Elders and to rely on his own opinion and judgment: for if all the arts and contrivances discovered by man’s ingenuity and those which are only useful for the conveniences of this temporary life, though they can be felt with the hand and seen with the eye, can yet not be understood by anyone, without lessons from a teacher, how foolish it is to fancy that there is no need of an instructor in this one alone which is invisible and secret and can only be seen by the purest heart, a mistake in which brings about no mere temporary loss or one that can easily be repaired, but the destruction of the soul and everlasting death:

11.7. Qua institutione firmatus non modo ad perfectam discretionis rationem quisque perueniet, uerum etiam a cunctis insidiis inimici tutissimus permanebit. Nullo namque alio uitio tam praecipitem diabolus monachum pertrahit ac perducit ad mortem, quam cum eum neglectis consiliis seniorum suo iudicio persuaserit definitionique confidere. Etenim cum omnes artes ac disciplinae humano ingenio repertae et quae nihil amplius quam uitae huius temporariae commodis prosunt, licet manu palpari queant et oculis peruideri, recte tamen a quoquam sine instituentis doctrina nequeant conprehendi, quam ineptum est credere hanc solam non egere doctore, quae et inuisibilis et occulta est et quae non nisi corde purissimo peruidetur, cuius error non temporale damnum nec quod facile reparetur, sed animae perditionem parit mortemque perpetuam.

11.8. for it is concerned with a daily and nightly conflict against no visible foes, but invisible and cruel ones, and a spiritual combat not against one or two only, but against countless hosts, failure in which is the more dangerous to all, in proportion as the foe is the fiercer and the attack the more secret. And therefore we should always follow the footsteps of the Elders with the utmost care, and bring to them everything which rises in our hearts, by removing the veil of shame.

11.8. Habet enim non aduersus uisibiles, sed inuisibiles atque inmites hostes diurnum nocturnumque conflictum nec contra unum seu duos, sed contra innumerabiles cateruas spiritale certamen, cuius casus tanto perniciosior cunctis, quanto et infestior inimicus et congressus occultior. Et ideo semper seniorum summa cautione sunt sectanda uestigia atque ad eos cuncta quae in nostris cordibus oriuntur sublato confusionis uelamine deferenda.

CHAPTER 12. A confession of the modesty which made us ashamed to revealour thoughts to the elders.

12. Confessio uerecundiae ob quam confunderemur cogitationes nostras senioribus reuelare.

12.1. Germanus: The ground of that hurtful modesty, through which we endeavour to hide bad thoughts, is especially owing to this reason; viz., that we have heard of a superior of the Elders in the region of Syria, as it was believed, who, when one of the brethren had laid bare his thoughts to him in a genuine confession, was afterwards extremely indignant and severely chid him for them. Whence it results that while we press them upon our selves and are ashamed to make them known to the Elders, we cannot obtain the remedies that would heal them.

12.1. GERMANVS : Occasionem nobis perniciosae uerecundiae, qua cogitationes malas studeamus obtegere, illa praecipue creat causa, qua nouimus quendam in Syriae partibus, ut credebatur, praecipuum seniorum cuidam fratri cogitationes suas simplici confessione prodenti postmodum quadam indignatione commotum easdem grauiter exprobrasse. Unde fit, ut dum eas in nobis premimus ac senioribus erubescimus publicare, curationum remedia consequi nequeamu

CHAPTER 13. The answer concerning the trampling down of shame, and the danger of one without contrition.

13. Responsio de confusione calcanda et de periculo non condolentis.

13.1. Moses: Just as all young men are not alike in fervour of spirit nor equally instructed in learning and good morals, so too we cannot find that all old men are equally perfect and excellent. For the true riches of old men are not to be measured by grey hairs but by their diligence in youth and the rewards of their past labour “For,” says one, “the things that thou hast not gathered in thy youth, how shall thou find them in thy old age?” “For venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the number of years: but the understanding of a man is grey hairs, and a spotless life is old age.” (Ecclus. 25. 5; Wisdom 4. 8, 9)

13.1. MOYSES : Sicut non sunt omnes iuuenes pari modo uel feruentes spiritu uel disciplinis ac moribus optimis instituti, ita nec senes quidem cuncti uno modo uel perfecti possunt uel probatissimi repperiri. Diuitiae enim senum non sunt canitie capitis, sed industria juuentutis ac praeteritorum laborum stipendiis metiendae. Quae enim non congregasti, inquit, in iuuentute, quomodo inuenies in senectute tua ? Senectus namque honorabilis non diuturna, nec numero annorum conputata : cani enim sunt sensus hominis, et aetas senectutis uita immaculata .

13.2. And therefore we are not to follow in the steps or embrace the traditions and advice of every old man whose head is covered with grey hairs, and whose age is his sole claim to respect, but only of those whom we find to have distinguished themselves in youth in an approved and praiseworthy manner, and to have been trained up not on self-assurance but on the traditions of the Elder. For there are some, and unhappily they form the majority, who pass their old age in a lukewarmness which they contracted in youth, and in sloth, and so obtain authority not from the ripeness of their character but simply from the number of their years.

13.2. Et idcirco non omnium seniorum, quorum capita canities tegit quosque uitae longaeuitas sola commendat, nobis sunt sectanda uestigia seu traditiones ac monita suscipienda, sed eorum, quos laudabiliter uitam suam ac probatissime conperimus in iuuentute signasse nec praesumptionibus propriis, sed maiorum traditionibus institutoSunt enim nonnulli, quorum etiam, quod est lugubrius, maior est multitudo, qui in tepore suo quem ab adulescentia conceperunt atque ignauia senescentes auctoritatem sibi non maturitate morum, sed annorum numerositate conquirunt.

13.3. Against whom that reproof of the Lord is specially aimed by the prophet: “Strangers have devoured his strength and he knew it not: yea, grey hairs also are spread about upon him, and he is ignorant of it.” (Hos 7. 9) These men, I say, are not pointed out as examples to youth from the uprightness of their lives, nor from the strictness of their profession, which would be worthy of praise and imitation, but simply from the number of their years; and so the subtle enemy uses their grey hairs to deceive the younger men, by a wrongful appeal to their authority, and endeavours in his cunning craftiness to upset and deceive by their example those who might have been urged into the way of perfection by their advice or that of others; and drags them down by means of their teaching and practice either into a baneful indifference, or into deadly despair.

13.3. De quibus exprobratio illa domini proprie satis dirigitur per prophetam : et comederunt alieni robur eius, et ipse nesciuit : sed et cani effusi sunt in eo, et ipse ignorauit . Hos, inquam, in exemplum iunioribus non uitae probitas nec ulla propositi huius laudabilis atque imitanda districtio, sed annositas sola prouexit. Quorum canitiem callidissimus inimicus ad deceptionem iuniorum in praeiudicata auctoritate proponens etiam illos, qui ad uiam perfectionis uel suis uel aliorum potuerunt monitis incitari, subuertere ac decipere exemplis eorum fraudulenta subtilitate festinat, uel in teporem eos scilicet noxium uel in letalem desperationem doctrinis eorum institutisque perducen

13.4. And as I want to give you an instance of this, I will tell you a fact which may supply us with some wholesome teaching, without giving the name of the actor, lest we might be guilty of something of the same kind as the man who published abroad the sins of the brother which had been disclosed to him. When this one, who was not the laziest of young men, had gone to an old man, whom we know very well, for the sake of the profit and health of his soul, and had candidly confessed that he was troubled by carnal appetites and the spirit of fornication, fancying that he would receive from the old man’s words consolation for his efforts, and a cure for the wounds inflicted on him, the old man attacked him with the bitterest reproaches, and called him a miserable and disgraceful creature, and unworthy of the name of monk, while he could be affected by a sin and lust of this character, and instead of helping him so injured him by his reproaches that he dismissed him from his cell in a state of hopeless despair and deadly despondency.

13.4. Cuius rei uolens uobis exempla proferre, auctoris nomine praetermisso, ne nos quoque illius, qui patefacta sibi fratris uitia publicauit, simile aliquid admittamus, rem tantum gestam, quae instructionem necessariam uobis conferre possit, exponam. Cum igitur ad senem quendam nobis optime cognitum quidam non ignauissimorum iuuenum profectus sui et curationis gratia perrexisset et carnalibus incentiuis ac fornicationis spiritu semet ipsum inquietari simpliciter prodidisset, consolationem credens laboribus suis oratione senis et remedia inflictis uulneribus reperturum, ille amarissimis eum increpans uerbis miserabilemque et indignum nec monachi nomine censendum esse pronuntians, qui potuerit huiusmodi uitio et concupiscentia titillari, ita suis e contrario correptionibus uulnerauit, ut eum summa desperatione deiectum ac letali tristitia consternatum e sua dimitteret cella.

13.5. And when he, oppressed with such a sorrow, was plunged in deep thought, no longer how to cure his passion, but how to gratify his lust, the Abbot Apollos, the most skilful of the Elders, met him, and seeing by his looks and gloominess his trouble and the violence of the assault which he was secretly revolving in his heart, asked him the reason of this upset; and when he could not possibly answer the old man’s gentle inquiry, the latter perceived more and more clearly that it was not without reason that he wanted to hide in silence the cause of a gloom so deep that he could not conceal it by his looks, and so began to ask him still more earnestly the reasons for his hidden grief.

13.5. Cumque ei tali maerore depresso nec iam de remedio passionis, sed de expletione conceptae concupiscentiae profunda cogitatione tractanti abbas Apollo seniorum probatissimus occurrisset laboremque et obpugnationis uehementiam, quae in corde eius tacite uoluebantur, de contemplatione uultus et deiectione coniectans causam tantae perturbationis inquireret, atque ille molliter se conpellanti seni ne responsum quidem ullum posset referre, magis ac magis eum sentiens senex non inaniter causam tantae tristitiae silentio uelle contegere, quam ne uultu quidem dissimulare praeualeret, intentius ab eo causas occulti doloris coepit inquirere.

13.6. And by this he was forced to confess that he was on his way to a village to take a wife, and leave the monastery and return to the world, since, as the old man had told him, he could not be a monk, if he was unable to control the desires of the flesh and to cure his passion. And then the old man smoothed him down with kindly consolation, and told him that he himself was daily tried by the same pricks of desire and lust, and that therefore he ought not to give way to despair, nor be surprised at the violence of the attack of which he would get the better not so much by zealous efforts, as by the mercy and grace of the Lord; and he begged him to put off his intention just for one day, and having implored him to return to his cell, went as fast as he could to the monastery of the above mentioned old man—

13.6. Quibus ille constrictus pergere se confitetur ad uicum, ut quia secundum sententiam illius senis monachus esse non posset nec refrenare stimulos carnis et inpugnationis remedia consequi iam ualeret, uxorem duceret ac relicto monasterio reuerteretur ad saeculum. Quem senex blanda consolatione demulcens seseque adserens isdem cotidie incentiuorum stimulis atque aestibus agitari, et idcirco non debere eum prorsus desperatione concidere nec mirari super inpugnationis ardore, qui non tam laboris studio quam misericordia domini et gratia uinceretur, unius tantum diei ab eodem poposcit indutias, et ut reuerteretur ad suam cellulam deprecatus ad monasterium praedicti senis tota festinatione perrexit.

13.7. and when he had drawn near to him he stretched forth his hands and prayed with tears, and said “O Lord, who alone art the righteous judge and unseen Physician of secret strength and human weakness, turn the assault from the young man upon the old one, that he may learn to condescend to the weakness of sufferers, and to sympathize even in old age with the frailties of youth.” And when he had ended his prayer with tears, he sees a filthy Ethiopian standing over against his cell and aiming fiery darts at him, with which he was straightway wounded, and came out of his cell and ran about hither and thither like a lunatic or a drunken man, and going in and out could no longer restrain himself in it, but began to hurry off in the same direction in which the young man had gone.

13.7. Cumque eidem proximasset, expansis manibus orationem cum lacrimis fundens, conuerte, ait, domine, qui occultarum uirium et infirmitatis humanae solus arbiter pius ac secretus es medicus, inpugnationem iuuenis illius in senem istum, ut condescendere infirmitatibus laborantum et conpati fragilitati iuniorum uel in senectute doceatur. Cumque ille hanc precem cum gemitu conclusisset, cernit Aethiopem tetrum contra illius cellulam stantem atque ignita aduersus eum iacula dirigentem. Quibus cum fuisset ille protinus sauciatus et progressus e cella huc illucque uelut amens et ebrius cursitaret, atque egrediens et ingrediens iam se in ea continere non posset, eadem uia pergere concitus coepit, qua iuuenis ille discesserat.

13.8. And when Abbot Apollos saw him like a madman driven wild by the furies, he knew that the fiery dart of the devil which he had seen, had been fixed in his heart, and had by its intolerable heat wrought in him this mental aberration and confusion of the understanding; and so he came up to him and asked “Whither are you hurrying, or what has made you forget the gravity of years and disturbed you in this childish way, and made you hurry about so rapidly”?

13.8. Quem abbas Apollo uelut amentem factum quibusdam furiis conspiciens agitari intellexit ignitum diaboli quod uiderat telum in corde eius fuisse defixum illamque in eo confusionem mentis ac perturbationem sensuum intolerandis aestibus operari, accedensque ad eum, quo, inquit, properas aut quaenam te causae senilis illius grauitatis oblitum ita pueriliter inquietant ac mobiliter cursitare conpellunt?

13.9. And when he owing to his guilty conscience and confused by this disgraceful excitement fancied that the lust of his heart was discovered, and, as the secrets of his heart were known to the old man, did not venture to return any answer to his inquiries, “Return,” said he, “to your cell, and at last recognize the fact that till now you have been ignored or despised by the devil, and not counted in the number of those with whom he is daily roused to fight and struggle against their efforts and earnestness,—you who could not—I will not say ward off, but not even postpone for one day, a single dart of his aimed at you after so many years spent in this profession of yourAnd with this the Lord has suffered you to be wounded that you may at least learn in your old age to sympathize with infirmities to which you are a stranger, and may know from your own case and experience how to condescend to the frailties of the young, though when you received a young man troubled by an attack from the devil, you did not encourage him with any consolation, but gave him up in dejection and destructive despair into the hands of the enemy, to be, as far as you were concerned, miserably destroyed by him.

13.9. Cumque ille pro conscientiae suae reatu ac turpi exagitatione confusus crederet ardorem sui pectoris deprehensum ac retectis seni sui cordis arcanis nullam responsionem percontanti reddere prorsus auderet, reuertere, inquit, ad cellam tandemque te intellege uel ignoratum hactenus a diabolo uel despectum nec in eorum numero reputatum, quibus ille cotidie confligere et conluctari profectibus eorum ac studiis instigatur, qui unum eius in te directum iaculum post tantam annorum seriem, quam in hac professione triuisti, non dicam respuere, sed ne uno quidem die differre potuisti. Quo te idcirco dominus passus est sauciari, ut saltim in senecta disceres conpati infirmitatibus alienis et fragilitati condescendere iuniorum tuis exemplis atque experientia docereris, qui suscipiens iuuenem infestatione diabolica laborantem non modo nulla consolatione fouisti, sed etiam perniciosa desperatione deiectum inimici manibus tradidisti, quantum in te est ab eodem lugubriter deuorandum.

13.10. But the enemy would certainly never have attacked him with so fierce an onslaught, with which he has up till now scorned to attack you, unless in his jealousy at the progress he was to make, he had endeavoured to get the better of that virtue which he saw lay in his disposition, and to destroy it with his fiery darts, as he knew without the shadow of a doubt that he was the stronger, since he deemed t worth his while to attack him with such vehemence. And so learn from your own experience to sympathize with those in trouble, and never to terrify with destructive despair those who are in danger, nor harden them with severe speeches, but rather restore them with gentle and kindly consolations, and as the wise Solomon says, “Spare not to deliver those who are led forth to death, and to redeem those who are to be slain,” (Prov. 24. 11) and after the example of our Saviour, break not the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, (Cf. Matt. 12. 20) and ask of the Lord that grace, by means of which you yourself may faithfully learn both in deed and power to sing: “the Lord hath given me a learned tongue that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary:” (Is. 50. 4)

13.10. Quem sine dubio nequaquam tam uehementi conflictu fuisset adgressus, quo te nunc usque est adpetere dedignatus, nisi futuro profectui eius inuidens inimicus illam uirtutem, quam animis eius inesse cernebat, anticipare ac praeuertere suis ignitis iaculis festinasset, procul dubio intellegens fortiorem, cui tanta uehementia confligere operae pretium iudicauit. Disce itaque tuis exemplis laborantibus conpati et periclitantes nequaquam perniciosa desperatione terrere nec durissimis sermonibus asperare, sed potius leni blandaque consolatione reficere, et secundum praeceptum sapientissimi Salomonis eruere eos qui ducuntur ad mortem et redimere eos qui interficiuntur ne parcas , nostrique saluatoris exemplo harundinem quassatam non conterere et linum fumigans non extinguere atque illam a domino gratiam poscere, qua ipse quoque fiducialiter ualeas opere ac uirtute cantare : dominus dedit mihi linguam eruditam, ut sciam sustentare eum, qui lassus est uerbo .

13.11. for no one could bear the devices of the enemy, or extinguish or repress those carnal fires which burn with a sort of natural flame, unless God’s grace assisted our weakness, or protected and supported it. And therefore, as the reason for this salutary incident is over, by which the Lord meant to set that young man free from dangerous desires and to teach you something of the violence of their attack, and of the feeling of compassion, let us together implore Him in prayer, that He may be pleased to remove that scourge, which the Lord thought good to lay upon you for your good (for “He maketh sorry and cureth: he striketh and his hands heal. He humbleth and exalteth, he killeth and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up”) (Job v. 18; 1 Sam. 2. 6, 7), and may extinguish with the abundant dew of His Spirit the fiery darts of the devil, which at my desire He allowed to wound you.

13.11. Nullus etenim sufferre inimici posset insidias seu carnales aestus naturali quodammodo igne flagrantes uel extinguere uel reprimere, nisi dei gratia uel iuuaret fragilitatem nostram uel protegeret ac muniret. Et idcirco salutaris huius dispensationis ratione finita, qua uel illum iuuenem perniciosis aestibus dominus liberare uel de inpugnationis uehementia et conpatiendi affectu te uoluit erudire, communibus eum precibus inploremus, quo flagellum istud, quod utilitatis gratia tibi dominus inferre dignatus est, iubeat amoueri (ipse enim dolere facit et rursum medetur : percutit et manus eius sanauerunt . Ipse humiliat et exaltat, ipse occidit et uiuificat, deducit ad inferum et reducit ) et ignita diaboli iacula, quae me arbitro tibi permisit infligi, redundante spiritus sui rore restinguat.

13.12. And although the Lord removed this temptation at a single prayer of the old man with the same speed with which He had suffered it to come upon him, yet He showed by a clear proof that a man’s faults when laid bare were not merely not to be scolded, but that the grief of one in trouble ought not to be lightly despised. And therefore never let the clumsiness or shallowness of one old man or of a few deter you and keep you back from that life-giving way, of which we spoke earlier, or from the tradition of the Elders, if our crafty enemy makes a wrongful use of their grey hairs in order to deceive younger men: but without any cloak of shame everything should be disclosed to the Elders, and remedies for wounds be faithfully received from them together with examples of life and conversation: from which we shall find like help and the same sort of result, if we try to do nothing at all on our own responsibility and judgment.

13.12. Quam temptationem licet eadem celeritate qua inferri dominus passus est ad unam senis orationem rursus abstulerit, euidenti tamen experimento docuit non modo non exprobrari patefacta cuiusque uitia, sed ne leuiter quidem laborantis dolorem debere contemni. Et idcirco nequaquam uos unius senis siue paucorum uel inperitia uel leuitas ab illa salutari quam praediximus uia et traditione maiorum deterreat et excludat, quorum canitie ad deceptionem iuniorum callidissimus abutitur inimicus : sed absque ullo confusionis operimento omnia debent senioribus reuelari atque ab eis uel remedia uulnerum uel exempla conuersationis ac uitae fiducialiter sumi. In quibus parem opem et similem experiemur effectum, si nihil penitus affectare nostro iudicio ac praesumptione temptemu

CHAPTER 14. Of the call of Samuel.

14. De uocatione Samuhelis.

14.1. Lastly SO far has this opinion been shown to be pleasing to God that we see that this system not without reason finds a place in holy Scripture, so that the Lord would not of Himself instruct by the method of a Divine colloquy the lad Samuel, when chosen for judgment, but suffered him to run once or twice to the old man, and willed that one whom He was calling to converse with Him should be taught even by one who had offended God, as he was an old man, and preferred that he whom He had deemed worthy to be called by Him should be trained by the Elder in order to test the humility of him who was called to a Divine office, and to set an example to the younger men by the manner of his subjection.

14.1. Denique in tantum placita deo haec sententia conprobatur, ut etiam scripturis sanctis hanc eandem institutionem non otiose repperiamus insertam, ita ut puerum Samuhelem iudicio praelectum suo nollet per semet upsum diuini conloquii disciplina dominus erudire, sed recurrere semel et iterum pateretur ad senem , eumque ad suum quem uocabat adloquium etiam illius qui offenderat deum, dummodo senioris, doctrina uellet institui, et quem sua uocatione dignissimum iudicarat, senioris mallet institutione formari, ut scilicet et illius qui ad diuinum ministerium uocabatur probaretur humilitas et iunioribus forma subiectionis huius proponeretur exemplo.

CHAPTER 15. Of the call of the Apostle Paul.

15. De uocatione Pauli apostoli.

15.1. And when Christ in His own Person called and addressed Paul, although He might have opened out to him at once the way of perfection, yet He chose rather to direct him to Ananias and commanded him to learn the way of truth from him, saying: “Arise and go into the city and there it shall be told thee what thou oughtest to do.” (Acts 9. 6) So He sends him to an older man, and thinks good to have him instructed by his teaching rather than His own, lest what might have been rightly done in the case of Paul might set a bad example of self-sufficiency, if each one were to persuade himself that he also ought in like manner to be trained by the government and teaching of God alone rather than by the instruction of the Elders.

15.1. Paulum quoque per semet ipsum uocans et adloquens Christus, cum posset ei perfectionis uiam reserare confestim, dirigere ad Annaniam mauult et ab eo iubet uiam ueritatis agnoscere dicens : surge et ingredere ciuitatem, et ibi tibi dicetur quid te oporteat facere . Mittit itaque et hunc ad seniorem eumque illius potius doctrina quam sua censet institui, ne scilicet, quod recte gestum fuisset in Paulo, posteris malum praesumptionis praeberet exemplum, dum unusquisque sibimet persuaderet simili modo se quoque debere dei solius magisterio atque doctrina potius quam seniorum institutione formari.

15.2. And this self-sufficiency the apostle himself teaches, not only by his letters but by his acts and deeds, ought to be shunned with all possible care, as he says that he went up to Jerusalem solely for this reason; viz., to communicate in a private and informal conference with his co-apostles and those who were before him that Gospel which he preached to the Gentiles, the grace of the Holy Spirit accompanying him with powerful signs and wonders: as he says “And I communicated with them the Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles lest perhaps I had run or should run in vain.” (Gal. 2. 2)

15.2. Quam praesumptionem etiam ipse apostolus non solum litteris, sed etiam opere atque exemplo docet omnimodis detestandam, ob hoc solummodo se adserens Hiersolymam conscendisse, ut euangelium, quod comitante gratia spiritus sancti cum potestate signorum et prodigiorum gentibus praedicabat, cum suis coapostolis et antecessoribus priuata quodammodo ac domestica examinatione conferret, et contuli, inquiens, cum illis euangelium quod praedico inter gentes, ne forte in uacuum currerem aut cucurissem .

15.3. Who then is so self-sufficient and blind as to dare to trust in his own judgment and discretion when the chosen vessel confesses that he had need of conference with his fellow apostle. Whence we clearly see that the Lord does not Himself show the way of perfection to anyone who having the opportunity of learning depises the teaching and training of the Elders, paying no heed to that saying which ought most carefully to be observed: “Ask thy father and he will show it to thee: thine Elders and they will tell thee. “ (Deut. 32. 7)

15.3. Quis ergo tam praesumptor et caecus sit, qui se audeat suo iudicio discretionique conmittere, cum uas electionis indiguisse se coapostolorum suorum conlatione testetur? Unde manifestissime conprobatur nulli a domino uiam perfectionis ostendi, qui habens unde ualeat erudiri doctrinam seniorum uel instituta contempserit, parui pendens illud eloquium quod oportet diligentissime custodiri : interroga patrem tuum, et adnuntiabit tibi : seniores tuos, et dicent tibi

CHAPTER 16. How to seek for discretion.

16. De adpetenda discretione.

16.1. We ought then with all our might to strive for the virtue of discretion by the power of humility, as it will keep us uninjured by either extreme, for there is an old saying ἀκρότητες  ἰσότητες, i.e., extremes meet. For excess of fasting and gluttony come to the same thing, and an unlimited continuance of vigils is equally injurious to a monk as the torpor of a deep sleep: for when a man is weakened by excessive abstinence he is sure to return to that condition in which a man is kept through carelessness and negligence, so that we have often seen those who could not be deceived by gluttony, destroyed by excessive fasting and by reason of weakness liable to that passion which they had before overcome.

16.1. Omni igitur conatu debet discretionis bonum uirtute humilitatis adquiri, quae nos inlaesos ab utraque potest nimietate seruare. Vetus namque sententia est : óŠ‘ð’ˆ’†¦ Çåð’ˆ’†¦, id est nimietates aequales sunt. Ad unum enim finem nimietas ieiunii ac uoracitas peruenit, eodemque dispendio, uigiliarum inmoderata continuatio monachum quo somni grauissimi torpor inuoluit. Nam per excessum continentiae debilitatum quemque ad illum statum reuocari necesse est, in quo neglegens quisque per incuriam detinetur, ita ut frequenter quos per gastrimargiam decipi non potuisse conspeximus, per inmoderationem ieiuniorum uiderimus fuisse deiectos atque ad eandem quam uicerant passionem infirmitatis occasione conlapso

16.2. Unreasonable vigils and nightly watchings have also been the ruin of some whom sleep could not get the better of: wherefore as the apostle says “with the arms of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,” (2 Cor. 6. 7) we pass on with due moderation, and walk between the two extremes, under the guidance of discretion, that we may not consent to be led away from the path of continence marked out for us, nor fall by undue carelessness into the pleasures of the palate and belly.

16.2. Uigiliae quoque et pernoctationes inrationabiles deiecerunt quos somnus superare non potuit. Quapropter secundum apostolum per arma iustitiae quae a dextris sunt et a sinistris recto moderamine transeundum est et ita inter utrasque nimietates discretione moderante gradiendum, ut nec a tradito continentiae tramite nos adquiescamus abduci nec rursum remissione noxia in gulae uentrisque desideria concidamu

CHAPTER 17. On excessive fasts and vigils.

17. De inmoderaiis ieiuniis et uigiliis.

17.1. For I remember that I had so often resisted the desire for food, that having abstained from taking any for two or three days, my mind was not troubled even by the recollection of any eatables and also that sleep was by the assaults of the devil so far removed from my eyes, that for several days and nights I used to pray the Lord to grant a little sleep to my eyes; and then I felt that I was in greater peril from the want of food and sleep than from struggling against sloth and gluttony.

17.1. Etenim memini me frequenter ita adpetitum cibi penitus respuisse, ut duobus diebus ac tribus refectione dilata ne memoria quidem ullius edulii meam interpellauerit mentem, et rursum ab oculis meis ita somnum diaboli inpugnatione subtractum, ut plures noctes ac dies paululum quid somni meis oculis a domino precarer infundi, grauiusque me periclitatum somni cibique fastidio quam soporis et gastrimargiae conluctatione persensi.

17.2.And so as we ought to be careful not to fall into dangerous effeminacy through desire for bodily gratification, nor indulge ourselves with eating before the right time nor take too much, so also we ought to refresh ourselves with food and sleep at the proper time even if we dislike it. For the struggle in each case is caused by the devices of the enemy; and excessive abstinence is still more injurious to us than careless satiety: for from this latter the intervention of a healthy compunction will raise us to the right measure of strictness, and not from the former.

2. Itaque sicut festinandum nobis est, ne adpetitu corporeae uoluptatis in dissolutionem noxiam delabamur et ante praestitum tempus uel cibo indulgere uel modum eius excedere praesumamus, ita et escae somnique refectio hora legitima, etiam si horreat, ingerenda. Utrumque enim bellum aduersarii factione consurgit et perniciosius continentia inmoderata quam saturitas remissa subplantat. Ab hac namque ad mensuram districtionis intercedente salutari conpunctione conscendi potest, ab illa non potest.

CHAPTER 18. A question on the right measure of abstinence and refreshment.

18. Interrogatio de continentiae uel refectionis mensura.

18.1. Germanus: What then is the measure of abstinence by keeping which with even balance we shah succeed in passing unharmed between the two extremes?

18.1. GERMANVS : Quis igitur est continentiae modus, quem aequo moderamine retinentes inter utramque nimietatem inlaesi transire possimus?

CHAPTER 19. Of the best plan for our daily food.

19. De oplimo cibi colidiani modo.

19.1. Moses: On this matter we are aware that there have been frequent discussions among our Elders. For in discussing the abstinence of some who supported their lives continually on nothing but beans or only on vegetables and fruits, they proposed to all of them to partake of bread alone, the right measure of which they fixed at two biscuits, so small that they assuredly scarcely weighed a pound.

19.1. MOYSES : Super hac re inter maiores nostros frequenter nouimus habitum fuisse tractatum. Nam discutientes continentias diuersorum, qui uel solis leguminibus uel holeribus tantum uel pomis uitam iugiter exigebant, praeposuere cunctis illis refectionem solius panis, cuius aequissimum modum in duobus paxamatiis statuerunt, quos paruulos panes uix librae unius pondus habere certissimum est.

CHAPTER 20. An objection on the ease of that abstinence in which a man is sustained by two biscuits.

20. Obiectio de facilitate continentiae, quae duobus paxamatiis sustineretur.

20.1. And this we gladly embraced, and answered that we should scarcely consider this limit as abstinence, as we couId not possibly reach it entirely.

20.1. Quod nos gratanter amplexi respondimus hunc modum nos minime pro continentia reputare, quippe qui integrum eum nequaquam possemus insumere.

CHAPTER 21. The answer concerning the value and measure of well-proved abstinence.

21. Responsio de uirtute et mensura expertae continentiae.

21.1. Moses: If you want to test the force of this rule, keep to this limit continually, never departing from it by taking any cooked food even on Sunday or Saturday, or on the occasions of the arrival of any of the brethren; for the flesh, refreshed by these exceptions, is able not only to support itself through the rest of the week on a smaller quantity, but can also postpone all refreshment without difficulty, as it is sustained by the addition of that food which it has taken beyond the limit;

21.1. MOYSES : Si uultis experiri uim statuti huius, modum istum iugiter retinete, nullum extrinsecus coctionis pulmentum die dominico uel sabbati neque sub aliqua aduenientium fratrum occasione sumenteNam his refecta caro non solum minore quantitate diebus residuis poterit sustentari, uerum etiam totam refectionem sine labore differre, illorum scilicet ciborum quos extrinsecus sumpserit adiectione suffulta.

21.2. while the man who has always been satisfied with the full amount of the above-mentioned measure will never be able to do this, nor to put off breaking his fast till the morrow. For I remember that our Elders (and I recollect that we ourselves also often had the same experience) found it so hard and difficult to practise this abstinence, and observed the rule laid down with such pain and hunger that it was almost against their will and with tears and lamentation that they set this limit to their meals.

21.2. Quod nullo modo facere nec refectionem panis differre in diem posterum praeualebit, quisque fuerit semper praedictae mensurae quantitate contentuEtenim memini seniores nostros, quod nos quoque retineo frequenter fuisse perpessos, cum tanto labore ac difficultate hanc parsimoniam sustentasse tantaque ui atque inedia praedictam custodisse mensuram, ut inuiti quodammodo nec sine gemitu atque tristitia hunc finem sibi refectionis inponerent.

CHAPTER 22. What is the usual limit both of abstinence and of partaking food.

22. Quinam generalis continentiae ac refectionis modus sit

22.1. But this is the usual limit of abstinence; viz., for everyone to allow himself food according to the requirements of his strength or bodily frame or age, in such quantity as is required for the support of the flesh, and not for the satisfactory feeling of repletion. For on both sides a man will suffer the greatest injury, if having no fixed rule at one time he pinches his stomach with meager food and fasts, and at another stuffs it by over-eating himself;

22.1. Generalis tamen hic continentiae modus est, ut secundum capacitatem uirium uel corporis uel aetatis tantum sibimet cibi unusquisque concedat, quantum sustentatio carnis, non quantum desiderium saturitatis exposcit. In utraque enim parte sustinebit maximum detrimentum, quisquis inaequalitatem tenens nunc uentrem ieiuniorum ariditate constringit, nunc escarum nimietate distendit.

22.2. for as the mind which is enfeebled for lack of food loses vigour in praying, while it is worn out with excessive weakness of the flesh and forced to doze, so again when weighed down with over-eating it cannot pour forth to God pure and free prayers: nor will it succeed in preserving uninterruptedly the purity of its chastity, while even on those days on which it seems to chastise the flesh with severer abstinence, it feeds the fire of carnal desire with the fuel of the food that it has already taken.

22.2. Ut enim mens cibi inanitate lassata perdit orationum uigorem, dum carnis lassitudine nimia praegrauata condormitare conpellitur, ita rursum nimietate uoracitatis oppressa emittere ad deum preces puras leuesque non poterit. Sed ne castimoniae quidem ipsius puritatem indisrupta ualebit iugitate seruare, dum ei etiam diebus illis, quibus carnem acriore uidetur continentia castigare, praeterita cibi materia ignem carnalis concupiscentiae subministrat.

CHAPTER 23. Quemadmodum abundantia umorum genitalium castigetur.

23. Quemadmodum abundantia umorum genitalium castigetur.

23.1. Nam quod semel per escarum abundantian concretus fuerit in medullis, necesse est egeri atque ab ipsa naturae lege propelli, quae exuberantiam cujuslibet umoris superflui velut noxiam sibi atque contrariam in semet ipsa residere non patitur ideoque rationabili semper et aequali est corpus nostrum parsimonia castigandum, ut si naturali hac necessitate commorantes in came omnimodis carere non possumus, saltim rarius nos et non amplius quamtrina vice ista conluvione respersos totius anni cursus inveniat, quod tureen sine ullo pruritu quietus egerat sopor, non fallax imago index occultae voluptatis eliciat.

23.1. Nam quod semel per escarum abundantiam concretum fuerit in medullis, necesse est egeri atque ab ipsa naturae lege propelli, quae exuberantiam cuiuslibet umoris superflui uelut noxiam sibi atque contrariam in semet ipsa residere non patitur. Ideoque rationabili semper et aequali est corpus nostrum parsimonia castigandum, ut si naturali hac necessitate conmorantes in carne omnimodis carere non possumus, saltim rarius nos et non amplius quam trina uice ista conluuione respersos totius anni cursus inueniat. Quod tamen sine ullo pruritu quietus egerat sopor, non fallax imago index occultae uoluptatis eliciat.

23.2. Wherefore this is the moderate and even allowance and measure of abstinence, of which we spoke, which has the approval also of the judgment of the fathers; viz., that daily hunger should go hand in hand with our daily meals, preserving both body and soul in one and the same condition, and not allowing the mind either to faint through weariness from fasting, nor to be oppressed by over-eating, for it ends in such a sparing diet that sometimes a man neither notices nor remembers in the evening that he has broken his fast.

23.2. Quamobrem haec est temperata quam diximus continentiae aequalitas atque mensura, quae patrum quoque iudicio conprobatur, ut cotidianam panis refectionem cotidiana comitetur esuries, in uno eodemque statu animam pariter corpusque conseruans, nec ieiunii fatigatione concidere nec grauari mentem saturitate permittenTanta namque frugalitate finitur, ut interdum se post uesperam nec sentiat aut meminerit refecisse.

CHAPTER 24. Of the difficulty of uniformity in eating; and of the gluttonyof brother Benjamin.

24. De labore aequalis refectionis et de fratris Beniamin edacitate.

24.1. And so far is this not done without difficulty, that those who know nothing of perfect discretion would rather prolong their fasts for two days, and reserve for tomorrow what they should have eaten today, so that when they come to partake of food they may enjoy as much as they can desire. And you know that lastly your fellow citizen Benjamin most obstinately stuck to this: as he would not every day partake of his two biscuits, nor, continually take his meagre fare with uniform self-discipline, but preferred always to continue his fasts for two days that when he came to eat he might fill his greedy stomach with a double portion, and by eating four biscuits enjoy a comfortable sense of repletion, and manage to fill his belly by means of a two days’ fast.

24.1. Et in tantum hoc non sine labore perficitur, ut malint hi qui perfectionem discretionis ignorant etiam biduo protelare ieiunia idque quod hodie sumpturi fuerant in crastinum reseruare, dummodo ad refectionem peruenientes desiderata satietate potiantur. Quod nuper Beniamin ciuem uestrum pertinaciter tenuisse cognoscitis, qui ne cotidie paxamatia duo percipiens aequali castigatione continuam parcitatem iugiter retentaret, maluit biduana semper continuare ieiunia, dummodo ad refectionem ueniens duplicata mensura repleret uentris ingluuiem, id est ut quatuor paxamatia comedens desiderata saturitate frueretur et expletionem uentris sui biduano ieiunio quodammodo conpararet.

14.2. And you doubtless remember what sort of an end there was to the life of this man who obstinately and pertinaciously relied on his own judgment rather than on the traditions of the Elders, for he forsook the desert and returned back to the vain philosophy of this world and earthly vanities, and so confirmed the above mentioned opinion of the Elders by the example of his downfall, and by his destruction teaches a lesson that no one who trusts in his own opinion and judgment can possibly climb the heights of perfection, nor fail to be deceived by the dangerous wiles of the devil.

14.2. Qui obstinatione et pertinacia mentis suae definitionibus potius propriis quam seniorum traditionibus adquiescens quali fine suum propositum terminarit, procul dubio meministis, siquidem relicta heremo rursus ad inanem philosophiam mundi huius ac uanitatem saeculi deuolutus praedictam sententiam seniorum sui casus signet exemplo ruinaque sua cunctos doceat neminem definitionibus suis uel proprio iudicio confidentem perfectionis culmen aliquando posse conscendere, sed ne diaboli quidem perniciosa inlusione non decipi.

CHAPTER 25. A question how is it possible always to observe one and thesame measure.

25. Interrogatio, quomoclo possit una semper eademque mensura seruari.

25. Germanus: How then can we observe this measure without ever breaking it? for sometimes at the ninth hour when the Station fast is over, brethren come to see us and then we must either for their sakes add something to our fixed and customary portion, or certainly fail in that courtesy which we are told to show to everybody.

25. GERMANVS : Quomodo igitur a nobis hic modus indisrupte poterit custodiri? Nam nonnumquam hora nona soluta iam statione ieiunii superuenientibus fratribus necesse est eorum obtentu aut adici aliquid ad statutam solitamque mensuram aut certe humanitatem, quam iubemur omnibus exhibere, penitus euitari.

CHAPTER 26. The answer how we should not exceed the proper measure of food.

26. Responsio de non excedendo refectionis modo.

26.1. Moses: Both duties must be observed in the same way and with equal care: for we ought most scrupulously to preserve the proper allowance of food for the sake of our abstinence, and in like manner out of charity to show courtesy and encouragement to any of the brethren who may arrive; because it is absolutely ridiculous when you offer food to a brother, nay, to Christ Himself, not to partake of it with him, but to make yourself a stranger to his repast.

26.1. MOYSES : Vtraque uno modo ac sollicitudine pari conuenit obseruari. Nam et mensuram cibi causa continentiae ac puritatis cum omni scrupulo custodire debemus et humanitatem atque adhortationem aduenientibus fratribus caritatis obtentu similiter exhibere, quia satis absurdum est, ut fratri, immo Christo mensam offerens non cum eo cibum pariter sumas aut ab eius refectione te facias alienum.

26.2. And so we shall keep clear of guilt on either hand if we observe this plan; viz., at the ninth hour to partake of one of the two biscuits which form our proper canonical allowance, and to keep back the other to the evening, in expectation of something like this, that if any of the brethren comes to see us we may partake of it with him, and so add nothing to our own customary allowance: and by this arrangement the arrival of our brother which ought to be a pleasure to us will cause us no inconvenience: since we shall show him the civilities which courtesy requires in such a way as to relax nothing of the strictness of our abstinence.

26.2. Itaque in neutra parte reprehensibiles inueniemur, si haec a nobis consuetudo teneatur, ut hora nona de duobus paxamatiis, quae nobis canonica mensura iure debentur, uno paxamatio praelibato aliud huius expectationis gratia in uesperam reseruemus, quod si superuenerit quispiam fratrum cum ipso pariter insumamus, nihil consuetudini solitae amplius adiungenteEt hac dispensatione nequaquam nos fratris contristabit aduentus, qui nobis debet esse gratissimuSiquidem ita ei exhibebimus humanitatis obsequia, ut nihil a rigore continentiae relaxemuSi uero nullus aduenerit, hunc quoque uelut de canonico modo debitum nobis libere praesumemu

26.3. But if no one should come, we may freely take this last biscuit as belonging to us according to our canonical rule, and by this frugality of ours as a single biscuit was taken at the ninth hour, our stomach will not be overloaded at eventide, a thing which is often the case with those who under the idea that they are observing a stricter abstinence put off all their repast till evening; for the fact that we have but recently taken food hinders our intellect from being bright and keen both in our evening and in our nocturnal prayers, and so at the ninth hour a convenient and suitable time has been allowed for food, in which a monk can refresh himself and so find that he is not only fresh and bright during his nocturnal vigils, but also perfectly ready for his evening prayers, as his food is already digested.

26.3. Qua parcitate nec stomachus uespere poterit adgrauari, quippe hora nona uno paxamatio iam praemisso : quod plerumque his, qui districtiorem abstinentiam se tenere credentes totam refectionem ad uesperam differunt, euenire consueuit. Nam recens escae perceptio tam in uespertinis quam in nocturnis orationibus tenuem leuemque sensum non sinit inueniri. Ideoque commodum satis et utile hora nona refectionis tempus indultum est, in quo reficiens monachus non solum in nocturnis uigiliis leuis ac uacuus, uerum etiam in ipsis uespertinis sollemnitatibus digesto iam cibo inuenietur aptissimu

26.4. With such a banquet of two courses, as it were, the holy Moses feasted us, showing us not only the grace and power of discretion by his present learned speech, but also the method of renunciation and the end and aim of the monastic life by the discussion previously held; so as to make clearer than daylight what we had hitherto pursued simply with fervour of spirit and zeal for God but with closed eyes, and to make us feel how far we had up till then wandered from purity of heart and the straight line of our course, since the practice of all visible arts belonging to this life cannot possibly stand without an understanding of their aim, nor can it be taken in hand without a clear view of a definite end.

26.4. Talibus nos sanctus Moyses geminae institutionis epulis saginauit, non solum discretionis gratiam atque uirtutem praesenti eruditione uerborum, sed etiam abrenuntiandi rationem et destinationem finemque propositi ante acta disputatione demonstrans, ut quod ante feruore tantum spiritus ac zelo dei clusis quodammodo oculis sectabamur, luce clarius aperiret faceretque sentire quantum a puritate cordis et directionis linea fuissemus id temporis euagati, quippe cum etiam omnium uisibilium in hoc saeculo artium disciplina absque destinationis ratione subsistere ac sine contemplatione certi finis adtingi omnino non possit.