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1. A brother asked Arsenius to give him advice. He said to him, ‘As far as possible, try hard to make your inner progress as God would have it, and by this overcome the passions of the body.’ He also said, ‘If we seek God, he will appear to us; if we grasp Him, He will stay with us.’
2. Agatho said, ‘A monk ought not to let his conscience accuse him of anything.’ When Agatho was on his death-bed, he lay for three days with his eyes open, without moving. The brothers nudged him, saying, ‘Abba, where are you?’ He said, ‘I am standing before the judgement of God.’ They said to him, ‘Are you afraid?’ He said, ‘I worked as hard as I could to keep the commandments of God but I am only human, and I do not know if my works will be pleasing in God’s sight.’ The brothers said to him, ‘Don’t you trust in your works? They were in accordance with God’s will.’ He said, ‘I can’t rely on that when I come before God, for the judgement of God is not the judgement of men.’ When they still tried to make him talk, he said to them, ‘Please don’t talk to me, I’m busy.’ At these words, he breathed forth his soul with joy. They saw him welcoming death as one greets a dear friend. In every thing Agatho was vigilant, and he used to say, ‘No one can achieve any of the virtues without taking care.’
3. They said of Ammoi that when he went to church, he did not let his disciple walk beside him, but made him follow a long way behind. If the disciple came near to ask him something, he gave him a brief answer and sent him back at once, saying, ‘I’m afraid that while we are talking for the soul’s good, some irrelevant words will be spoken; that is why I don’t let you walk by my side.’
4. At first Ammoi said to Aesius, ‘What do you think of me?’ He said, ‘You are like an angel, abba.’ Later on he said, ‘Now what do you think of me?’ He replied, ‘You are like Satan, for even if you speak a good word, it is like a sword to me.’
5. Allois said, ‘Until you can say in your heart, “Only I and God are in the world,” you will not be at peace.’
6. He also said, ‘If you really want to, by the evening of one day you can reach a measure of godliness.’
7. When he was dying, Bessarion said, ‘A monk ought to be like the Cherubim and Seraphim, all eye.’
8. Daniel and Ammoi once went on a journey together. Ammoi said, ‘Do you think we might rest for a while in a cell, abba?’ Daniel said to him, ‘Who can separate us from God? God is in the cell, he is also outside in the world.’
9. Evagrius said, ‘It is a great thing to pray without distraction. It is even greater to sing psalms without distraction.’
10. He also said, ‘If you always keep in mind your death and the eternal judgement, there will be no stain on your soul.’
11. Theodore of the ninth region of Alexandria said, ‘If God calls us to account for carelessness in our times of prayer, and the way our minds are caught by other things during psalmody, we cannot be saved.’
12. Theonas said, ‘Our mind is hindered and held back from contemplating God, because we are kept prisoner by our bodily passions.’
13. Some of the brothers once came to test John the Short, to see if it was true that he never let his mind wander among earthly thoughts, and never spoke about worldly matters. They said to him, ‘Thanks be to God, it has rained hard this year, and the palm trees have had enough water to begin to grow; the brothers who are the harvesters will find fruit from their hard work.’ John said to them, ‘So it is when the Holy Spirit comes down into the hearts of good men. They grow green and fresh, and in the fear of God put forth leaves.’
14. They said of this John that he once made enough rope for two baskets, and twisted it all into one basket, but he did not see what he was doing until he tried to hang it up, for his mind was occupied in the contemplation of God.
15. There was a hermit in Scetis who lived in a satisfactory way, but he was not good at remembering what he heard. So he went to John the Short to ask him about his forgetfulness. He listened to John, went back to his cell and forgot what he had been told. He came a second time and asked him the same question, listened, went back, and forgot what he had heard the moment he reached his cell. Many times he went backwards and forwards, but could never remember. He happened to meet John and said, ‘Do you know, abba, I’ve forgotten all you told me? I didn’t want to disturb you, so I didn’t come again.’ John said to him, ‘Go and light a lamp,’ and he lit it. John said, ‘Bring more lamps and light them from the first,’ and he did so. John said to him, ‘Was the first lamp harmed, because you used it to light others?’ He said, ‘No.’ ‘In the same way,’ he replied, ‘John would not be harmed. If all the monks of Scetis should come to me, it would not keep me from God’s love. So come to me whenever you want, and don’t hesitate.’ So, by patience on both sides, God cured the forgetfulness of the hermit. This was the work of the hermits of Scetis, to strengthen those who were attacked by passion; their experience in conflict with themselves meant that they were able to help others along the way.
16. A brother asked John, ‘What shall I do? A brother keeps coming and taking me away to help with the work which he is doing: but I am poor and ill, and too weak to do it. How can I obey God’s commandment?’ He answered him, ‘Caleb the son of Jephunneh said to Joshua the son of Nun, “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me with you to that country and now I am eighty-five. Then I was strong: and I am still just as capable of beginning and ending a battle” (cf. Josh. 14:6, 10–11). So go with him and see if you finish the work as well as you begin it. If you can’t, sit in your cell and lament your sins. If they find you weeping when they come, they will not force you to go with them.’
17. Isidore, the priest in Scetis, said, ‘When I was young and stayed in my cell, I set no limit to the number of psalms which I said in the service of God. Night and day alike were spent in psalmody.’
18. Cassian told a story of a hermit who was living in the desert. He asked God to grant that he should never fall asleep when the conversation was edifying but that if anyone spoke with back-biting or hate, he should nod off at once so that he would not hear poisonous words. He said that the devil strives hard to make men speak idle words, and fights against letting anyone hear any spiritual teaching. He gave the following example of this: Once when I was talking to some brothers for the good of their souls they became so drowsy that they could not even keep their eyelids open. I wanted to show them that this was the devil’s work, so I started gossiping: and at once they sat up and began to enjoy what I was saying. But I said sadly, ‘We were talking of heaven just now, and your eyes were closing in slumber: but the moment the talk became frivolous, you all began to listen eagerly. I beg you then, dear brothers, since you know that this is the work of the devil, be watchful and beware of falling asleep when you are hearing about spiritual things.’
19. When Poemen was a young man, he once went to a hermit to ask him three questions. When he arrived at the hermit’s cell he forgot one of his three questions, and went back home. He was just reaching out his hand for the key of his cell when he remembered the question which he had forgotten. He left the key lying there, and went back to the hermit. The hermit said to him, ‘You have travelled fast to get here, brother.’ Poemen explained, ‘When I was stretching out my hand for the key, I remembered the question; so I did not open my cell door, but immediately returned to you.’ The distance between the cells was very great. The hermit said to him, ‘You live up to your name of “Poemen”, which means shepherd of sheep; your name shall be famous throughout Egypt.’
20. Ammon came to Poemen, and said to him, ‘If I go to my neighbour’s cell, or if he comes to mine, we are both afraid of telling each other silly tales which may harm our monastic purpose.’ The hermit said to him, ‘You are right. Young men need to be on their guard.’ Ammon asked him, ‘What about old men?’ Poemen said to him, ‘Old men who make progress and are stable, do not find frivolous words in their mouths and so they do not say them.’ Ammon said, ‘If I need to talk with my neighbour, do you think I should talk to him about the Scriptures, or about the sayings and admonitions of our predecessors?’ Poemen said to him, ‘If you can’t keep silence, it is much better to talk about the sayings of the elders than about the Scriptures. For the danger is great.’
21. Poemen was asked about nocturnal pollutions. He replied, ‘If we strengthen our inner life in the fear of God and work hard at it, we shall find we do not pollute ourselves.’
22. They used to say about Poemen that when he was ready to go out to the meeting for prayer, he first sat by himself for an hour in self-examination, and then went.
23. Poemen said that someone asked Paesius this question, ‘What am I to do about my soul? I have become incapable of feeling and I do not fear God.’ He said to him, ‘Go, and live with someone who does fear God: and by being there, you too will learn to fear God.’
24. He also said, ‘The beginning and the end is the fear of the Lord. For it is written, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10) and, when Abraham built an altar the Lord said to him, “Now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12).’
25. He also said, ‘Do not stay with anyone who is always scornful when they speak.’
26. He also said, ‘I once said to Peter, the disciple of Lot, “When I am in my cell, my soul is at peace. But if a brother comes and tells me what is being said outside, my soul is troubled.” Peter told me that Lot used to say, “Your key has opened my door.” I said, “What does that mean?” He said: “If someone comes to visit you and you ask him, How are you? Where do you come from? How are such-and-such brothers doing, did they receive you or not, then you are opening the door for your brother to talk, and you hear words that you do not want to hear.” I said to him, “That is true. But what else can I do, when a brother visits me?” Peter said, “True wisdom is always sorrowful. When sorrow is not there, you cannot keep a watch on the mind.” I said to him, “When I am in my cell, sorrow is with me. But when anyone visits me, or when I go out of my cell, I am sorrowful no longer.” He replied, “You are not yet stable in sorrow, you use it as a transitory and expedient feeling.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said to me, “If a man works for something as hard as he can, he finds it ready to hand whenever he needs it for his spiritual profit.” ’
27. A brother said to Sisois, ‘I want to guard my heart.’ He said to him, ‘How can we guard the heart if our tongue leaves the door of the fortress open?’
28. Silvanus was once living on Mount Sinai. His disciple, who was about to go out on some necessary task, said to him, ‘Go and get some water, and water the garden.’ Silvanus went to draw the water and he covered his face with his cowl, so that he could see only his feet. By chance a visitor arrived to see him at that moment: and looking at him from a distance, was amazed at the sight. He went up to him and said, ‘Tell me, abba, why do you cover your face with your hood when you are watering the garden?’ He answered, ‘So that my eyes should not see the trees, lest my mind should be distracted by the sight.’
29. Moses asked Silvanus, ‘Can a monk live every day as though it were the first day of his monastic life?’ Silvanus answered, ‘If you are truly committed to your way of life, you can live every day, every hour, as though it were the first day or hour of your monastic life.’
30. Some brothers once asked Silvanus, ‘What way of life did you follow to be endowed with such prudence?’ He answered, ‘I have never let any bitter thought remain in my heart.’
31. Serapion said, ‘While they are on duty the imperial guards in the emperor’s presence must keep their eyes to the front and not turn their heads to one side or the other. So the monk in God’s presence must keep his attention all the time on the fear of God and so none of the enemy’s attacks can terrify him.’
32. Syncletica said, ‘Let us live soberly, for thieves get in through our bodily senses. The inside of the house is sure to be blackened if the smoke that is coiling up outside finds the windows open.’
33. She also said, ‘We ought to be armed at all points against the demons. They come at us from outside and if the soul is weak we invite them in. Sometimes a ship is crushed by the battering of heavy seas; sometimes it is sunk because bilge water rises slowly within it. In the same way we are sometimes sunk because we have done evil deeds, and sometimes because our thoughts are evil. So we must both watch for the assaults of unclean spirits, and also cleanse the thoughts of our hearts.’
34. She also said, ‘We have no security in this world. The Apostle said, “Let him that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). We are sailing on uncharted seas, as the psalmist David said, “Our life is like a sea.” Yet some seas have dangerous reefs, some are full of sharks, some seas are calm. It seems as if we are sailing in calm waters, while men of the world are sailing in rough weather. We are sailing in daylight, led by the sun of righteousness, while they are being driven along in the night of ignorance. Yet it often happens that worldly men, sailing in darkness and through storms, are so afraid of danger that they save the ship by calling upon God and by watchfulness, while we, in our calm waters, become careless, leave the proper course of righteousness, and are sunk.’
35. Hyperichius said, ‘Let your mind be always on the kingdom of heaven, and you will soon inherit it.’
36. He also said, ‘The life of a monk should be like that of the angels, all fire to burn up sin.’
37. Orsisius said, ‘I think that unless a man keeps careful watch over his heart, he will become forgetful and careless in his words. Then the enemy gets a foothold in him and overthrows him. A lamp will give light if it has oil and a trimmed wick. But if the oil is forgotten, it goes out slowly and little by little the shadows creep in upon it. If a mouse comes to it and tries to eat the wick before it is quite out, it is thwarted by the heat of the dying flame. But when it sees that the light is gone and the wick is cool, it knocks the lamp to the floor. If the lamp is earthenware, it is smashed, if it is brass, it is reparable. If the soul is careless, the Holy Spirit goes away from it little by little, until it has grown quite cold: and then the enemy devours the soul, and wickedness smashes it. If a man is good through his love of God and he has been caught in temporary carelessness, the merciful God stirs his mind to remember the punishment waiting for him in the next life and so the mind takes care to be earnest and watches itself carefully, until the time of its visitation.’
38. One hermit visited another hermit and said during their conversation, ‘I’m dead to the world.’ The other said, ‘Don’t be so confident until you have actually died. You may say about yourself that you are dead, but Satan is not dead.’
39. A hermit said, ‘A monk ought to examine himself every day, morning and evening, to check how far he has kept the Lord’s will. He ought to be leading a penitential life all his days. That was the way Arsenius lived.’
40. A hermit said, ‘If you lose gold or silver, you can find something as good as you lost. But the man who loses time can never make up what he has lost.’
41. A hermit said, ‘Before soldiers or hunters start on expeditions, they do not consider whether some will be wounded while others will be unhurt. Each one fights for himself alone. That is how the monk should be.’
42. A hermit said, ‘No one can harm the man at the emperor’s side; Satan cannot harm us if we keep ourselves close to God, as it is written, “Draw nigh to me, and I shall draw nigh unto you” (Zech. 1:3). But because we are so often puffed up with pride, it is easy for the enemy to snatch away our wretched soul to carnal passion and disgrace.’
43. A brother said to a hermit, ‘I don’t find any disturbance in my heart.’ The hermit said, ‘You are like a door swinging open. Anyone who likes can go inside, and come out again, and you don’t notice what is happening. If you had a door that was shut you wouldn’t let wicked thoughts come in, and then you would see them standing outside the door and fighting against you.’
44. They said of a hermit that his thoughts suggested to him, ‘Rest today; do penance tomorrow.’ He contradicted the thoughts, saying, ‘No, I do penance today, and tomorrow the Lord’s will be done.’
45. A hermit said, ‘Unless the inner self lives soberly, the outer self is beyond control.’
46. A hermit said, ‘Satan has three powers, which lead to all the sins. The first is forgetfulness, the second negligence, the third selfish desire. If forgetfulness comes, it causes negligence, negligence is the mother of selfish desire, and by selfish desire we fall. If the mind is serious, it repels forgetfulness, negligence does not come, selfish desire finds no entry, and so with the help of Christ we shall never fall.’
47. A hermit said, ‘Take care to be silent. Empty your mind. Attend to your meditation in the fear of God, whether you are resting or at work. If you do this, you will not fear the attacks of the demons.’
48. A hermit said to a brother, ‘The devil is like a hostile neighbour and you are like a house. The enemy continually throws all the dirt that he can find into your house. It is your business to throw out whatever he throws in. If you neglect to do this, your house will be so full of mud that you will not be able to get inside. From the moment he begins to throw it in, put it out again, bit by bit: and so with Christ’s help your house will remain clean.’
49. A hermit said, ‘When the donkey’s eyes are covered it walks round the mill-wheel. If you uncover its eyes, it will not go on walking in the circle. So if the devil succeeds in covering a man’s eyes, he leads him into every kind of sin. But if the man’s eyes are uncovered, he can more easily escape.’
50. He also used to say that on the mountain of Antony, seven monks took turns at the time of the grape harvest to drive away the birds from the fruit. On the day when it was his turn to guard the grapes, one of them used to shout, ‘Go away, bad thoughts inside, bad birds outside.’
51. A brother collected palm leaves in his cell, but as soon as he sat down to plait them, he thought he should go and visit one of the hermits. He meditated on it, and said: ‘I will go in a few days.’ Then he thought, ‘Suppose he dies during the next few days, what will I do? I will go now and talk with him, because it is summer time.’ Then he thought, ‘No, it is not the right moment yet.’ Then he said, ‘It will be time when I have cut reeds for weaving.’ He said, ‘I will spread out the palm leaves and then go.’ Then at last he said: ‘Today is the right time to go.’ So he got up and left his pile of palm leaves, took his cloak, and went out. But nearby was another hermit who had the gift of prophetic insight. When he saw the brother hurrying out, he called to him: ‘Prisoner, prisoner, where are you running off to? Come here.’ He came and his neighbour said to him, ‘Go back to your cell.’ The brother told him about the ups and downs and indecisions of his mind, and then went back to his cell. As soon as he entered it, he knelt down and did penance. At once the demons shrieked aloud, ‘You have conquered us, monk, you have conquered us.’ The mat on which he lay was singed as though by fire, and the demons vanished away like smoke, and so the brother learnt of their trickery.
52. They told a story of a hermit who was dying in Scetis. The brothers stool round his bed, and clothed him, and began to weep. But he opened his eyes and began to laugh; this happened three times. So the brothers asked him, ‘Abba, why are you laughing when we are weeping?’ He told them, ‘I laughed the first time because you fear death; I laughed the second time because you are not ready for death; I laughed the third time because I am passing from labour to rest, and yet you weep.’ As he said this, he closed his eyes and died.
53. A brother who was living in a cell once came to one of the hermits and said that he was grievously troubled by his thoughts. The hermit said, ‘You have thrown away a strong weapon, which is the fear of God, and taken in your hand a stick made of reeds, which is wicked thoughts. You must take up again the fire which is the fear of God. When a wicked thought approaches you, the fear of God will destroy it as a fire burns reeds. Wickedness cannot overcome men who fear God.’
54. One of the hermits said, ‘Unless you first hate, you cannot love. Unless you hate sin, you cannot live sinlessly. As it is written, “Depart from evil and do good” (Ps. 37:27). But perseverance is needed for this. Adam, even though he was in Paradise, disobeyed God’s command while Job, who was living on a dung hill, kept it. It seems that God requires from us a good intention, that is, that we should fear him always.’