Глава X. О рассуждении

1. Abba Anthony said: others exhausted their bodies with asceticism, but because they did not have reasoning, they were far from God. 2. Some brothers went to Abba Anthony to tell him about the visions they had, and to find out from him whether they were true or from demons. They had a donkey that died on the way, and as soon as they came to the elder, he, anticipating them, asked: how did the little donkey die on the road? The brothers said to him: How do you know this, Abba? He replied: the demons showed me. They tell him: we then came to ask you: are those visions that we often have, are they true and are we not mistaken? The elder, using the example of a donkey, assured them that it was from demons. 3. Someone, hunting wild animals in the desert, saw Abba Anthony joking with his brothers. The elder, wanting to convince him that sometimes the brothers need to be forgiving, commanded him: put an arrow in your bow and pull it. He did so. The elder told him to tighten it again, and he pulled it again. The elder said again: pull. The trapper replied: if I tighten it too much, the bow will crack. Then Abba Anthony says to him: so it is in the work of God: if we strain the brothers beyond measure, they will soon be crushed. Therefore, sometimes you need to indulge them. Hearing this, the trapper was moved and, having received great edification from the elder, left. Likewise, the brethren, inspired, returned to their place. 4. The brother said to Abba Anthony: pray for me. The elder answered him: neither I nor God will have mercy on you, if you yourself do not take care and pray to God. 5. Abba Anthony said: God does not allow temptations on this generation, as on the ancients, for he knows that they are weak and cannot bear it. 6. He also said: the time will come when people will go mad, and if they see someone who is not mad, they will rise up against him, saying, “You are going mad,” because he is not like them. 7. In one movie they slandered a brother for fornication. He came to Abba Anthony, and the brethren from the monastery came after him, in order to heal him and take him back, denouncing him for doing this; he justified himself, saying that he had done nothing of the sort. At that time, Abba Paphnutius Kephala happened there and told the following parable: I saw a man by the river bank stuck in mud up to his knees; some came to give him a hand and immersed him up to his neck. Then Abba Anthony told them about Abba Paphnutius: here is a man who can heal and save souls. Brought into contrition by the word of the elders, they put the throwing on their brother and, convinced by their fathers, took him to the monastery. 8. Abba Anthony once received a letter from King Constantius asking him to come to Constantinople, and, wondering what to do, he asked Abba Paul, his disciple: should I go? He answered: if you go, you will be called Anthony; if you don’t go, Abba Anthony. 9. Once Abba Anthony came to Abba Ammun in Mount Nitria, and when they saw each other, Abba Ammun said: since the brotherhood has increased through your prayers and some want to build cells for themselves at a distance in order to remain silent, then at what distance from here will you order them to be built? He answered: Let us eat at the ninth hour and let us go and walk in the desert and see the place. They walked through the desert until the sun began to set, and then Abba Anthony said: let’s say a prayer and put up a cross: let those who want to build build here so that those there, intending to come to those here, will come after eating their piece at the ninth hour, and those here will depart, having done the same - then both will not be scattered when they visit each other. The distance was twelve signs. 10. Abba Mark asked Abba Arseny: why are some good people, while they are dying, struck by severe torment in their body? The elder answered: so that, like those salted with salt, they would go there clean. 11. Abba Daniel, a student of Abba Arseny, said: Abba Alexander was once struck by illness, and for this reason he lay down on the ground with his face up. It happened that at that time Abba Arseny came to talk to him and saw him lying like that. After they talked, Abba Arseny asked: who is the layman I saw here? Abba Alexander says to him: where did you see him? Abba Arseny answered: when I came down from the mountain and looked here, I saw that someone was lying in a cave on the ground, face up. He, putting the throwing to him, said: forgive me, it was me, for the disease struck me. The elder says: I thought he was a layman, that’s why I asked you. 12. Abba Daniel said that some brethren, intending to go to Thebaid for flax, said: on this occasion we will see Abba Arseny. When they arrived, Abba Alexander entered and said to the elder: the brothers who came from Alexandria want to see you. The elder ordered to find out from them why they came. Having learned that they were going to Thebaid for flax, Abba Alexander conveyed this to the elder, and he said: truly, they will not see the face of Arseniev, for they did not come for my sake, but on the occasion of their business. Give them peace and send them away in peace, telling them that the elder cannot accept them. 13. Abba Peter, a disciple of Abba Lot, said: I was once in the cell of Abba Agathon, when a brother came to him and asked: I want to live with the brethren. Tell me how should I live with them? The elder answered: just as on the first day, when you entered among them, keep wandering all the days of your life, so as not to be bold with them. Abba Macarius asked: what produces insolence? The elder said: insolence is like a great heat, from the face of which, when it comes, everyone flees, and it destroys every fruit of the tree. Abba Macarius says to him: is insolence really so disastrous? And Abba Agathon answered: there is no passion more destructive than insolence, for it is the parent of all passions. Therefore, the worker should not be insolent, even if he were alone in his cell. I know one brother who, after living for a year in a cell in which there was a resting place, said: I would have moved from the cell and would not have recognized this rest if another had not pointed it out to me. Such a person is a true doer and fighter. 14. They told about Abba Agathon: some came to him, having heard about his great prudence, and, wanting to test whether he was angry, they said to him: “Are you Agathon?” We hear about you that you are a fornicator and a proud man. He replied: exactly, it is so. They also say to him: Are you Agathon, a slanderer and idle talker? He said: I am. They say again: are you Agathon a heretic? He replied: no, I am not a heretic. Then they asked him: tell us, why did you accept the former, but did not bear this word? And he explained: I attribute the first to myself, because there is benefit to my soul, and heresy is separation from God. Hearing this, they marveled at his prudence and went away with edification. 15. They asked the same Abba Agathon: what is higher - bodily labor or guarding the heart? The elder answered: a person is like a tree: bodily labor is the leaves, and keeping the heart is the fruit. But as according to Scripture: every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire (Matthew 3:10), then it is obvious that all our care should be about the fruit, that is, about guarding the mind. However, leaf cover and decoration are also needed, which is the essence of bodily labor. 16. Abba Agathon was wise in mental work, not lazy in the body and moderate in everything - in handicrafts, in food and in clothing. 17. He, having come to the Skete, when there was a meeting there on some matter and the decision had already been determined, said: you did not decide the matter well. They asked him: who are you to say this? Abba answered: son of man, for it is said: if you truly speak the truth, you will rightly judge, sons of mankind (Ps. 57:2). 18. He said: if an angry person raises the dead, then everything will not be acceptable to God. 19. He also said: if someone is kind to me in preference, and I realize that he is bringing me down to disgrace, then I will cut him off from me. 20. Abba Daniel said that before Abba Arseny came to our fathers, they lived with Abba Agathon. Abba Agathon loved Abba Alexander, for he was active and meek. It happened that when all his disciples were washing the palm branches in the river, Abba Alexander washed slowly, and when the brothers arrived they said to the elder: Brother Alexander did nothing. Wanting to heal them, the elder said to him: Brother Alexander! Mine well, because it's laziness. Hearing this, he was saddened, but afterward the elder consoled him, saying: Didn’t I know that you were doing well? But I told you this in front of them, in order to heal their thoughts by your obedience, brother. 21. One of the fathers said that in Kellia there was one hardworking old man who wore matting. When he came to Abba Ammon, he saw him in matting and said: This will not bring you any benefit. The elder asked him: three thoughts bother me: either to wander through the deserts, or to go to a foreign land where no one knows me, or to shut myself up in a cell - not to see anyone and eat in two days. Abba Ammon answered him: none of these three are useful for you to do, but rather sit in your cell, eat a little every day, always have the word of the publican in your heart - and you can be saved. 22. Three elders once came to Abba Achilles, one of whom had a bad reputation. One of the elders asked: Abba! Give me a blow. He said: I won’t do it. And another asked: do mercy, make us one grave, so that we can have a memory of you in the monastery. And he refused another for lack of leisure. Finally, the one who had a bad reputation says: Make me one cut, so that I can have something from your hands, Abba! And he immediately answered: I will do it for you. Afterwards, the two elders said to him in private: why, when we asked you, did you refuse us, but you told him, “I’ll do it for you?” The elder tells them: I told you that I will not do it, and you were not offended, attributing the refusal to my lack of time, and if I did not cut him off, he would think: the elder heard correctly about my sin and did not want to do it, so I would immediately cut off the rope. So, I encouraged his soul, so that he would not be consumed by sorrow. 23. Abba Ammoi said: we once came - I and Abba Vitiv - to Abba Achilles and heard him repeating the words: Jacob, Jacob... do not be afraid to go into Egypt (Gen. 46:2, 3); and he repeated this saying for a long time. When we knocked and he opened the door for us, he asked where we were from. Afraid to say that from Kellia, we answered: from Mount Nitria. Ava says: what can I do for you, since you came to me from such a distance? And he brought us in. We asked him to tell us a word of edification, but in the cell we saw a long rope. The elder said: from the evening until now I have woven twenty cubits of this rope, and, truly, I have no need for it, but, fearing that God would be angry with me and reproach me, saying: why, having the strength to work, did you not work? - I work and do little according to my strength. Having received edification, we left. 24. They said about Abba Ammo that one day he prepared fifty measures of wheat for his own use and scattered it in the sun. However, before it dried up, he saw something in that place that was not useful to himself and said to his disciples: let's leave from here. They were very sad, and the elder, seeing their sadness, said to them: Are you sad for the sake of bread? Truly, I know those who fled, leaving painted cabinets with parchment books, and did not even close the doors, but left, leaving them unlocked. 25. They told about one old man that for fifty years he did not eat bread and drank water infrequently and said: I have killed in myself fornication, love of money and vanity. Abba Abraham, hearing about this, came to him and said: did you say this? The elder confirmed. Then Abba Abraham asked him: Behold, you enter your cell and find a woman on your mat. Can you think that this is not a woman? He answered: no, but I will fight with my thoughts so as not to touch her. Abba Abraham said to this: you have not killed the passion - it lives, it is only bound. Again, here you go and see stones and shards, and in the middle of them is gold. Can your thought consider the last to be equal to the first? The elder replied: no, but I will fight the thought so as not to take it. Avva said: passion lives, it only binds. Abba Abraham asks again: Suppose you hear about two brothers, that one loves you, and the other hates and slanderes you. If they come to you, will they be equal to you? He answered: no, but I will fight the thought in order to benefit both those who love me and those who hate me. Abba Abraham tells him: so, passions live, only with saints they are connected. 26. Abba Abraham spoke about one of the fathers, who was a scribe and who did not eat bread. One day his brother came to him and asked him to write a book for him. The elder always had a mind for contemplation and wrote a book with omissions and without putting signs. The brother, having received it and wanting to place the signs, found gaps and said to the elder: there are gaps, Abba! The elder replied: go and fulfill what was written before, then come and I will write what is missing. 27. Abba Agathon once asked Abba Alonia: how can I control my tongue so that it does not speak lies? Abba Aloniy answered him: if you do not lie, you will commit many sins. He said: how is this? The elder answered him: for example, two people committed murder in your presence, and one of them fled to your cell. So those who are looking for him ask you: was a murder committed in your presence? If you do not lie, you will deliver the person to death, but it is better to leave him before God without bonds, for God knows everything. 28. They said about Abba Antian, the elder of Thebaid, that in his youth he accomplished many feats, but in old age he fell ill and became blind. The brothers, for the sake of his weakness, brought him many consolations and themselves put food into his mouth. They asked Abba Aio about this: what will happen to the elder as a result of such great consolation? And Abba answered them: I assure you that if his heart desires and willingly accepts this, then even if he eats one date, God will deduct it from his labor; if he does not want it, but accepts it, unwillingly, God will preserve his work intact, for they forced the elder against his will; they will also receive their bribe. 29. A certain elder left Abba Gelasia a cell with a field belonging to it in the vicinity of Nikopol. One farmer, a relative of the deceased elder, came to Vakata, who was then the leader in Nicopolis in Palestine, and asked that field, as it should be transferred to him according to the laws. This same Vakat, as a strong man, attempted to arbitrarily take the field from Abba Gelasius, but the Abba did not yield, not wanting to give the cell to a layman. One day, Vakat, seeing the animals of Abba Gelasius transporting olives from the field that the Abba had inherited, forcibly intercepted them and took the olives to his house; after that he barely, with great shame, released the animals with their device. The blessed elder did not argue at all about the fruits, but did not relinquish possession of the field for the reason mentioned. The irritated Vakat, at the request, however, of other matters, for he loved to litigate, rushed to Constantinople, walking. Arriving at the borders of Antioch and hearing about Saint Simeon, who then shone like a great luminary, since he was taller than man, Vakat, as a Christian, wished to see him. Saint Simeon saw him from the pillar and, as soon as he entered the monastery, he asked: where are you from, where are you going and why? He answered: I am from Palestine and am going to Constantinople for many needs, hoping through the prayers of your shrine to return back and fall at your feet. Saint Simeon says to him: do you want, most hopeless of people, to say that you are going against the man of God? There is no good way for you, and you will never see your home again. So, if you listen to my advice, hurry from here to him and repent before him, if only you reach your place alive. At that same hour, overcome with fever and laid on a stretcher by those who were with him, he was sent to his country to repent to Abba Gelasius; however, according to the saint’s prophecy, he died before reaching home. His son, also called Vakat, spoke about this after the death of his father to many men worthy of belief. 30. They said the following about Abba Daniel: when the barbarians came to Skete, the fathers fled; the elder said: if God does not care about me, then why am I sitting here? - walked among the barbarians, and they did not see him. After this he says to himself: God showed concern for me, and I did not die; do the same, do what is human and run like your fathers. He got up and ran away. 31. Abba Daniel said: as the body becomes fat, the soul becomes exhausted; and as the body becomes exhausted, the soul becomes fat. 32. Abba Daniel said that when Abba Arseny lived in Skete, there was a monk there who stole things from the elders. Abba Arseny took him to his cell, wanting to acquire him and calm the elders, but he said to him: whatever you want, I will deliver to you, just don’t steal. And he gave him gold, and small money, and clothes, and everything he needed, but he left and stole again. Then the elders, seeing that he did not stop stealing, expelled him, saying: if a brother has any sin of weakness, he must endure it; if he steals, drive him out, for he destroys his own soul and confuses everyone who lives in that place. 33. They asked Blessed Epiphanius: why are there ten commandments of the law, and nine commandments of beatitudes? He answered: the decalogue is equivalent to the plagues of Egypt, and the number of beatitudes is a threefold image of the Trinity. 34. They asked him: is one righteous person enough to appease God? He answered: of course, for He Himself said: if you find a man who practices judgment and seeks faith, I will be merciful to him (Jer. 5:1). 35. Once upon a time, blessed Ephraim was walking, and at someone’s suggestion, a harlot approached him in order to incline him to shameful confusion or, at least, to incite him to anger, for no one had ever seen him angry. He said to her: follow me. And when they reached a crowded place, he suggested: in this place we will do as you wanted. Seeing a crowd of people, she asked him: how can we do this in such a crowd and not be ashamed? Then he told her: if we are ashamed of people, then much more should we be ashamed of God, who exposes the secret darkness (1 Cor. 4:5). So, ashamed, she left. 36. They said about Abba Zinon that at first he did not want to accept anything from anyone. Therefore, those who brought them left with sadness, since he did not accept, and those who came to receive something from the great elder left without consolation, for he had nothing to give. Finally, the elder said: what should I do, for those who offer grieve, and those who want to receive are not comforted? This is what needs to be done: if someone brings it, I will take it, and if someone asks, I will give it to him. Having done this, he himself was at peace and satisfied everyone. 37. The brothers came to Abba Zinon and asked: Father, what does it mean that it is written in the book of Job: the heavens are unclean before Him (Job 15:15)? The elder replied: the brothers have forsaken their sins and are exploring heaven. The interpretation of this word is this: since God alone is pure, Eliphaz said: but the heavens are unclean. 38. They said about Abba Zinon that he was small in stature, thin in body, but very self-absorbed and full of desire and ardor for God. He also had great compassion for people, and laymen and monks came to him from everywhere, revealed their thoughts and received healing. 39. We came to one of the fathers, who had once been near Saint Zenon, and when he extended a word of edification to us, we asked him about one thought, saying this: if someone has a thought and is overcome by it, but at the same time tries to be edified by the word about purity read from the fathers, wanting to correct their case according to the word and cannot, is it good to reveal this to one of the fathers or should he try to do only that? What did you read, content with your conscience? The elder answered us: he must open up to someone else who can use him, and not rely on himself, for no one can help himself, especially if he gets to the point where he becomes ill with passions. Then he continued: something similar happened to me in my youth. I had a mental illness and was overcome by it. Hearing about Abba Zinon that he healed many, I also decided to go and open up to him, but the devil prevented me, saying: you already know what you should do - use what you read. Why do you go and seduce the old man? And it happened like this: when I was ready to go to him, the battle retreated from me, so that I would not go; when I agreed not to go, passion again flooded me. When I was getting ready to go again, the enemy plotted the same intrigues for me, not allowing me to reveal myself to the elder. Even if sometimes I approached the elder to open up to him, the enemy did not allow me, embarrassing my heart with shame and saying: you already know how you should heal yourself! What need is there to tell someone else about this? After all, you do not neglect yourself and you know, as the fathers said. The enemy instilled all this in me, so that I would not reveal the disease to the doctor and receive healing. The elder noticed that I had thoughts, but did not rebuke me, waiting for me to reveal them to him, so he taught me the right path and let me go. Finally, lamenting and crying, I said to my soul: how long, bitter soul, will you not want to accept medicine? People from afar come to the elder and are healed, but you, having a doctor so close, are ashamed and remain unhealed? And, kindled in my heart, I stood up and said to myself: if, when I come to the elder, I do not find anyone with him, then I will understand that this is the will of God - to reveal my thoughts to him. I came and found no one. The elder, as usual, taught me about the salvation of the soul and how to cleanse myself of bad thoughts, but I was again ashamed to open up to him and asked him to let me go. The elder, having said a prayer, went to accompany me to the outer gate, walking in front; I, tormented by thoughts of whether to tell or not to tell the elder, little by little walked behind him. He did not look at me and was about to take the door to open it for me, but, seeing how much my thoughts were tormenting me, he turned to me and, knocking on my chest, asked: what do you have? And I'm also human. As soon as the elder said this word to me, I felt that he seemed to open my heart - I fell on my face at his feet, begging: have mercy on me. He says to me: what do you have? I answered: you know what need I have. He told me: you yourself must reveal what you have. When I revealed my passion to him with shame, he said to me: why were you ashamed to tell me that? Am I not a man too? Do you want me to tell you mine? Haven’t you been walking here for three years, having such thoughts, and not revealing them? Since I still remained prostrate before him and begged: have mercy on me for God’s sake, he said: go, don’t neglect your prayer and don’t judge anyone. I returned to my cell, did not neglect my prayers and, by the grace of God and the prayers of the elder, was no longer tormented by that passion. However, a year later, such thoughts attacked me: maybe God, out of His mercy, did this to you, and not for the sake of the elder? I go to him, wanting to tempt him, and, taking him aside, I lay down the throwing and say: I beg your love for God, father, pray for me - about the thought that I once revealed to you. Leaving me lying at his feet and being silent for a while, he says: get up and know the ropes. Having heard this, out of shame I would like the earth to devour me; Having risen, I could not look at the elder’s face and, in surprise, retired to my cell. 40. The same elder, in confirmation of the virtues of the law and for our edification, told us the following: two brothers, who lived in the same monastery, each in a special cell, visited each other. One day one of them said to the other: I want to go to Abba Zinon and reveal to him a certain thought. To this the other said: I also wish to reveal my thoughts to him. And they went together. Each one, in private, told the elder about his thoughts, but one fell to the elder, begging him with tears, and he said to him: go, do not betray yourself, do not judge anyone and do not neglect your prayer. And this brother returned, having been healed. The other brother, having opened his thoughts, did not ask the elder painfully, but only said: pray for me. After some time, the brothers saw each other, and one asked the other: when we went to the elder, did you discover the thought that you wanted to tell about? He answered: he opened it. The brother asked again: did you get any benefit by opening it? He said: received; Through the prayers of the elder, God healed me. “Even though I opened it,” another admitted, I didn’t feel any relief. Then the healed one says: what did you ask the elder? And the brother said that he asked to pray for him, because he had such and such a thought. To this, the healed brother said: and I, opening up to him, wet his feet with my tears, begging him to pray for me, and God healed me with his prayers. Therefore,” the elder concluded his story, someone who asks one of the fathers for thoughts must painfully and with all his heart ask him as God, and then he will receive help; and whoever opens them carelessly or even tempts them will not only not receive any benefit, but will also be condemned. 41. Abba Isaiah said: simplicity and self-importance cleanse the heart from the evil ones. 42. He also said: whoever walks with his brother in deceit will not escape sadness of heart. 43. Again he said: the ministry of the one who says one thing, but has another in his heart in wickedness, is in vain. Do not cling to one, so that he does not infect you with his clinging poison. 44. He said: profit, honor and pleasure fight a person until his death, but they should not be indulged in. 45. Abba Theodore of Thermaeus said: if you have friendship with someone, and he happens to fall into the temptation of fornication, then, if you can, give him your hand and pull him up. If he falls into heresy and does not accept your convictions for conversion, quickly cut him off from yourself, so as not to be dragged into the same pit if you hesitate with him. 46. ​​One of the fathers said that during the time of Abba Isaac, one brother came to the church in Kellia, in the small kukulia. The elder kicked him out, saying: “You can’t be in church, because there are monks here, and you are a layman.” 47. One of the elders came to Abba Theodore and said to him: such and such a brother has returned to the world. The elder answered: Why are you marveling at this? Don't be surprised. But you better be amazed if you hear that anyone was able to escape the jaws of the enemy. 48. He once came to Abba John, a eunuch from birth, and between the conversation he said: when I lived in Skete, the affairs of the soul were our business, and we considered handicrafts as if they were an altar; Now the matter of the soul has become a side-chamber. The brother asked him: what is the work of the soul, which we now consider to be a chapel, and what is the chapel, which we now consider to be a deed? The elder answered: everything done according to the commandment of God is a work of the soul, but to work for ourselves and collect - we should consider this a chapel. The brother asked: clarify this subject for me. And the elder said: Now you will hear about me that I am sick, and you must visit me, but you say to yourself: should I leave my work and go now? I’d better finish my work and then go. Then another reason will present itself... and you won't go at all. Also: another brother says to you: help me! And you are thinking: should I leave my business and go to work with him? So, if you do not go, then you will leave the commandment of God, which is the work of the soul, and you will do the side work, that is, the work of the hands. 49. He said: there is no other virtue like not to humiliate your neighbor. 50. One brother said to Abba Theodore: I want to fulfill the commandments. The elder told him about Abba Theon, what he had once said: I want to fulfill my thoughts with the help of God. Then he took some wheat, prepared bread and sat down in his cell. 51. Abba Abraham of Iveron asked Abba Theodore of Eleutheropolis: what is better, Father, should I gain glory or dishonor? The elder replied: as for me, I would rather gain glory than dishonor, for if a good deed is done and I am glorified, I can condemn my thought that I am unworthy of this glory; dishonor comes from vicious deeds. How can I console my heart when people are tempted by me? So, it is better to do good and be glorified. Abba Abraham said: You said well, father! 52. They asked Mother Theodora: how is it possible, receiving different speeches by ear - whatever they may be - to remain with the one God? She answered: just as when sitting at a meal, where there are many good dishes, although you taste them, you do not enjoy them, so when worldly speech touches your ears, keep your heart turned to God. With this disposition, listening without pleasure, you will not suffer any harm. 53. It happened that some elders in the Skete were eating together. Abba John Kolov was also with them. One presbyter stood up to offer a cup of water, but no one dared to accept it from him except Abba John. The elders were surprised and said to him: how did you, being the least of all, dare to accept a service from the presbyter? He answered them: when I get up to give the cup, I rejoice if everyone accepts it, so that I may have a reward. So now he himself accepted it so that there would be a reward for the giver and so that he would not be sad that no one accepted it from him. When he said this, they were surprised and were edified by his prudence. 54. The brother asked Abba John: how is my soul, having its own wounds, not ashamed to condemn my neighbor? The elder told this parable regarding condemnation: one poor man had a wife, but when he saw another woman he liked, he took her too. They were both naked. There was a big celebration in a certain place, and they asked him to take them with him. He put them in a barrel and, boarding a ship, arrived at that place. When the heat came and the people dispersed, one of them, looking out and not seeing anyone, jumped out and picked up some rags among the garbage, made herself a girdle and walked around boldly. The other, being naked and sitting inside, said: Behold, this harlot is not ashamed to walk naked. Her husband grieved over this and said: she at least covered her shameful parts, but you are all naked and are not ashamed to say so. Such is the matter of condemnation. 55. The elder also spoke about a soul wanting to repent: in the city there was a beautiful harlot who had many lovers. One steward, coming to her, said: promise me to live chastely, and I will take you as my wife. She promised, and he took her to his house. The lovers, wanting her, decided this: if we enter the house of the steward who took her, and he finds out, he will torment us; but we’ll go around the house and whistle to her behind it; she, recognizing the tone of the whistle, will come out to us; and then we will no longer be to blame. But when she heard the whistle, she covered her ears, ran into the inner peace and closed the doors. The harlot, the elder explained, has a soul; her lovers are passions and people; the ruler is Christ; inner peace is an eternal abode; the whistling ones are evil demons, but the soul that wants to repent always runs away from them to the Lord. 56. One of the fathers asked Abba John: who is a monk? The elder said: a worker, for he labors in every matter. This is what a monk is like. 57. Once upon a time the fathers came to Abba Isaac to make him a presbyter. Hearing about this, he fled to Egypt and, having reached one field, disappeared into the grass. The fathers chased after him, reached the same field and decided to rest there, for it was night, and the donkey was allowed to graze. The donkey came across the old man and stood over him. In the morning, looking for the donkey, they found Abba Isaac and, surprised, wanted to tie him up, but he did not allow it, saying: I will no longer run away, for the will of God is in your intention, and wherever I do not run away, I will come across it. 58. Abba Isaac said: do not bring the boys here, for in Skete four churches are empty because of them. 59. Abba Pimen asked Abba Joseph: what should I do when passions come to me - should I resist them or allow them to enter? The elder answered him: leave them to enter and then fight with them. And Abba Pimen returned to Skete. Later, one of the Thebeans, having come to the Skete, told the brethren that when he asked Abba Joseph about the approaching passion - should he resist it or allow it to enter, Abba said: do not allow passions to enter, but cut them off immediately. Hearing this, Abba Pimen came to Abba Joseph and said to him: Abba, I have entrusted my thoughts to you; and behold, you said otherwise to the Thebean. The elder answered him: don’t you know that I love you? And didn’t you say - tell me as if you were telling yourself? He said: it was so. Then the elder continued: if passions enter, and you allow it yourself, and accept blows from them, that is, fight with them, then they will make you more skillful. I told you this as if it were myself. But there are others for whom it is more useful so that passions do not approach them, and such should be cut off immediately. 60. One brother asked Abba Joseph: Abba! What should I do, for I can neither lead a strict life, nor work and give alms. The elder told him: if you cannot do any of these things, at least keep your conscience clear from all evil towards your neighbor and you will be saved. 61. One of the brothers said: I once came to lower Pracleia to Abba Joseph. In the monastery he had a beautiful fig tree and in the morning he says to me: go eat. Then it was Friday, and I did not go for the sake of fasting, but then, begging the elder, I asked: for the sake of God, tell me this thought: so you told me: go eat, but I didn’t go for the sake of fasting, but I was embarrassed because of your commandment, reasoning with what thought you commanded me this and what I should have done. The elder said: at first the fathers do not speak directly to the brothers, but more crookedly, and when they see that they are doing crooked things, then they tell them the true things, knowing that they are obedient to everything. 62. The brother asked Abba Joseph: I want to leave the cinema and sit in solitude. The elder said: Where you see that your soul finds peace and is not harmed, sit there. The brother asked again: what do you advise me to do, since I find peace both in the monastery and alone? The elder answered: if you find peace both in the movie and in solitude, then put these two thoughts of yours, as it were, on scales, and where you see more benefit for yourself, and which of the thoughts outweighs, then do it. 63. Someone said: one day we came - I and the sage Sophrony - to Abba Joseph in Yennat, and the elder began to talk with us with joy and zeal. He was adorned with every virtue and experienced in external teaching. When we were sitting and talking about soul-saving subjects, a certain lover of Christ came from Aila and gave the elder three coins, saying: accept them, honest father, and pray for my ship, which I loaded and sent to Ethiopia. But the elder did not pay any attention to him. Mr. Sophrony said to him: accept them, father, and give them to the needy. The elder replied: it is a double shame, my son, to take what you do not need and commit yourself to reaping someone else’s thorns with your own hands. Oh, that I might reap the thorns of my soul! Moreover, it is written: if you sow, it is your own, for someone else’s is more bitter than thistles. Especially, my son, because I do not accept that his request is not a request for the soul. He asks him: so, what? If a person does something as alms, doesn’t God impute it to him? The elder answered: there is a great difference in alms according to the purpose of alms: one does it to bless his house, and God blesses his house; another gives alms for the sake of his ship, and God has mercy on his ship; another creates it for the sake of his children, and God protects his children; and another creates for glorification, and God glorifies him. God does not despise anyone, but what everyone wants, he gives to him, if it does not harm his soul, but all of these have already accepted their reward, for they have not earned anything from God, since the purpose of alms was not spiritual benefit for them. You created alms to bless your house, and God blessed your house; created for the sake of the ship, God saved the ship; created for the sake of the children, God preserved the children; You created for glorification, God glorified you, so what does He owe you? Therefore, do this for your soul, and your soul will be saved, for it is written: You will give the Lord according to your heart (Ps. 19:5), and there are many rich people who, thinking that they are giving alms, anger God. We asked him: understand this word to us, Father! The elder said: God commanded that the firstfruits of wheat, barley and vegetables, wine and oil, flax and fruits, the firstborn of people and clean animals be separated for Him, and that these latter should not have blemish, that is, that their ears should not be cut off or their tail cut off, and that the fruits should be chosen if they are brought to God for the remission of sins. The rich do the opposite - they eat the good themselves, and distribute the indecent to the poor; they drink the chosen wine themselves, and give the sour wine to widows and orphans; They also throw rubbish and patched clothes and spoiled and rotten fruits to the poor, imitating Cain, which is why what they bring to God is not acceptable. If one of the rich has a handsome and handsome son or daughter, then he takes care of the dowry and marriages and looks out for handsome young men; If someone has a son or daughter without any member or is ugly and withered, then the male child is placed in a monastery, and the female child is placed in a female monastery. It would behoove them to consider and judge: if we, wanting to honor mortal and perishable people, give them the first and most chosen things and try to offer what seems most honest to them most of all, then shouldn’t we bring the most honest and chosen things to God! It is known that God, demanding that we express our gratitude to Him in words or utter some kind of vow, demands not as one who needs words, but in order to teach us to be grateful and not to be negligent about what comes out of our mouths, that is, that what we have put together and determined to give to God is given with great care and zeal, fear and love. For just as Noah’s sacrifice, which gave off stench and smoke, was offered before the Lord with the stench of a sweet odor, as it is written: And the Lord smelt the stench of a sweet aroma (Gen. 8:21), so, on the contrary, fruits and sacrifices and the gift of wicked men are counted as an abomination to the Lord. Listen to what the prophet says to the Jews, who were then still the people of God: your incense is an abomination to Me (Isa. 1:13). Thus, the wickedness of those who offered it made the incense censer an abomination. So, a person who wants to be saved must not only perform prayers and alms in simplicity and with all zeal, but also, intending to bring something to God, bring something that is most honest and glorious, so that our prayer does not return to our bosom with shame, and our sacrifice, being unclean, does not remain unaccepted, and our fruits, rotten and indecent, are not considered the sacrifice of Cain. We also asked the elder: does conflict with thoughts harm the soul? He replied: if bad and impure thoughts did not harm her, then she would not receive benefit from the pure, pious, good and God-loving. But in fact, just as these people use it, so they harm it, for if on the outside we enjoy the darkness of peace and contentment, and inside us a storm and excitement from confusion of thoughts will breed, then there is no benefit for us from the outside world, just as a city is not helped by the darkness of walls and fortifications when it is exposed to betrayal from those living inside it. So, if we keep ourselves from being associated with bad thoughts, then the Lord has promised us the great and lofty, higher than our thoughts, the receipt of the kingdom, the enjoyment of unspeakable blessings, the communication of Angels and deliverance from Gehenna - all this and the like, which has no limit, which has no end and which knows no change, being firm and motionless. Seeing that we doubted what we heard from him, the elder stood before us and, raising his eyes to heaven, said in our hearing: Jesus our God, who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, Redeemer of our souls! If what I said to the brethren is false, let this stone remain intact; if true, let it fall apart. And with this word the stone fell into five parts - this stone was a fragment of a column four cubits long. Having marveled and received the benefit, we went, and the elder, seeing us off, said: children! Come to me next Saturday, for I have need of you. Arriving on Saturday at the third hour, we found the elder deceased and buried him, leaving, thanking God, who vouchsafed us to hide and bury such a saint. 64. Abba Jacob said: it is higher to wander than to receive strangers. 65. He also said: not only words are needed, for nowadays people have a lot of words, but action is needed - it is required, and not words, which have no fruit. 66. Abba John, the eunuch, while still young, asked the elder: how were you able to accomplish the work of God without difficulty, but we cannot complete it with difficulty? The elder answered: we were able to do it because we had God’s work as our main concern, and our bodily needs came last; But your main concern is bodily needs, and the work of God is not so necessary, and that is why you worry a lot. Therefore, the Savior said to his disciples: you of little faith... seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:30, 33). 67. Abba Isidore said: if you labor lawfully in fasting, do not be arrogant, and if you are arrogant, then it is better to eat meat. For if you are arrogant while fasting, what is the use of fasting? It is better for a person to eat meat than to be arrogant and boastful. 68. He said: students should love true teachers as fathers, and fear them as leaders; and at the same time - not to allow fear for the sake of love and not to darken love for the sake of fear. 69. He also said: if you love salvation, do everything that leads you to it. 70. Someone asked Abba John the Persian: We have undertaken such labor for the kingdom of heaven! But do we have to inherit it? The elder replied: I believe the promise to inherit the heavenly Jerusalem, revealed in heaven, for he who promised is faithful (Heb. 10:23). And why shouldn’t I believe? I have become zealous, like Abraham; meek - like Moses; holy - like Aaron; patient - like Job; humble-wise - like David; desert-loving - like John; tearful - like Jeremiah; teaching - like Paul; faithful - like Peter; I am wise like Solomon, and like the thief I believe that He who gave me this out of His goodness will also give me the kingdom. 71. Abba Longinus once asked Abba Lucius about the following three thoughts: I want to wander. The elder answered him: if you do not hold your tongue, you will not be a stranger, no matter where you go. And here - hold your tongue and you will be a stranger. He again told him: I want to fast. The elder replied: the prophet Isaiah said: if you wear your neck like a sickle... below this it will be called a pleasant fast (Isaiah 58:5), but above all, cut off evil thoughts. Abba Longinus speaks for the third time: I want to run away from people. The elder replied: if you first do not live as you should with people, then you will not be able to live as you should alone. 72. They said that two brothers lived in Skete, and Abba Macarius, the city one, excommunicated them. Some went and told Abba Macarius the Great of Egypt about this. The elder said: it was not the brethren who were excommunicated, but Macarius who was excommunicated (and he loved him). Hearing that he had been excommunicated by the elder, Abba Macarius ran to the lake. When Abba Macarius the Great came out to him and saw that he was bitten by mosquitoes, he said to him: you excommunicated the brothers, and they would retire to the village; I excommunicated you, and you ran away here, like a good maiden into her bed. But I called the brothers, questioned them, and they said that nothing like that had happened. Take care, brother, that you do not be scolded by demons, for you have not seen anything, but accept repentance for your sin. He said: whatever repentance you want, give me repentance. The elder, seeing his humility, said: go fast for three weeks, taking food every other week - for this was his doing: always fast for a week. 73. The brother came to Abba Macarius and asked him: Abba, tell me the word, how to be saved? The elder said: go to the cemetery and revile the dead. The brother went, reviled them, threw stones at the graves, and when he came, he told the elder about it. The elder asked him: did they tell you anything? He replied: nothing. The elder said: go again tomorrow and glorify them. The brother went and praised them: Apostles! Saints! Righteous! Then he came to the elder and reported that he had glorified him. The elder asked him: did they answer you? He answered: nothing. Then the elder said to him: you see how much you dishonored them, and they did not answer you; I praised you so much, and they didn’t tell you anything. So you, if you want to be saved, be dead, do not think about human insults or glory, like the dead, and you will be saved. 74. Abba Macarius, once passing through Egypt with his brothers, heard a boy say to his mother: Amma! One rich man loves me, and I hate him; and one poor man hates me, but I love him. Hearing this, Abba Macarius was surprised. The brothers asked him: what does his word mean, father, that you were surprised? The elder answered them: truly, our Lord is rich and loves us, and we do not want to listen to him; but our enemy - the devil - is poor and hates us, and we love his uncleanness. 75. Abba Macarius said, if we remember the evil caused to us by people, then we will take away the power of remembering God; if we remember the evil from demons, then we will be safe from their arrows. 76. Abba Matoi said: Satan does not know by what passion the soul will be overcome, and therefore he sows, not knowing whether he will reap thoughts of fornication, thoughts of evil, or other passions; and to whatever passion he sees the soul inclined, he teaches it. 77. The brother asked Abba Matoi: Father, what should I do if my brother comes to me on the day of fasting or in the morning? I'm embarrassed. The elder answered him: if you, without being overcome by hunger, eat with your brother, then you do well; if you do not expect anyone and eat, then this means indulging your will. 78. Some of the fathers asked the elder: if there is gruel left for another day, do you want the brothers to eat it? The elder replied: if it has spoiled, then it is not good to force the brothers to eat it, so that they do not get sick afterwards; and in that case let them throw it away. If it is good, but they throw it away on a whim and cook another one, then it is bad. 79. He said: before, when, gathering together, we talked about saving things, then, thereby strengthening each other, we became sorrowful, ascending to heaven. Now, having come together, we come to despise one another and fall down. 80. One warrior asked Abba Mios: Does God accept repentance? The elder taught him enough about this and then said to him: tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away? He replied: no, I’ll sew it up and start using it again. The elder said to him: So, if you spare your clothes, will not God spare His creation? 81. Once upon a time, Abba Macarius came to Abba Pachomius of Tabenniot, and Abba Pachomius asked him: there are brethren who are not according to the rank; should they be punished? Abba Macarius answered him: punish and judge righteously those who are under you, but do not judge anyone outside, for it is said: do you not judge those who are internal? But God judges those who are outside (1 Cor. 5:12,13). 82. They told about Abba Netra, a disciple of Abba Silouan: when he lived in his cell on Mount Sinai, he had a proportionate rule regarding bodily needs. When he was made bishop of Paran, he became strict with himself. The student said to him: Abba! When we were in the desert, you did not struggle like this. The elder answered: there was desert, silence and poverty, and I wanted to control my body so as not to get sick and not to seek what I did not have. And here there is peace and temptations: even if I get sick, there is someone here to support me. So, I’m afraid that I might destroy the monk in myself. 83. One day the village elders came to the monastery where Abba Pimen was. Abba Anub entered and asked him: Shall we call the elders here now? He stood there for a long time, but Abba Pimen did not give him an answer, and he went out in sadness. Those sitting near the elder said to him: Why didn’t you give an answer? Abba Pimen said: I don’t care about this, for I am dead, and the dead do not speak. 84. Once upon a time, a brother from the place of Abba Pimen went to another country and, visiting the hermit there, who was loved by everyone and to whom many went, told him about Abba Pimen. Hearing about the virtues of Abba Pimen, the hermit wished to see him and, upon his brother’s return, soon came to him, saying: do me a favor, take me to Abba Pimen. When they came to the elder, the brother told him: this is a great man, beloved and highly respected in his country; I told him about you, and he came, wanting to see you. The elder accepted him with joy, and, kissing each other, they sat down. The wanderer began to speak from the Scriptures about spiritual and heavenly objects, but Abba Pimen turned his face away and did not give an answer. He, seeing that Abba did not speak to him, was saddened and, going out, said to his brother: I made such a journey in vain! For I came to the elder, but he didn’t even want to talk to me. The brother went in to Abba Pimen and asked him: Abba! This great man has come for you, having such fame in his country; Why didn't you talk to him? The elder answered: he is from above and speaks about heavenly things, and I am from below and speaks about earthly things. If he had talked to me about spiritual passions, I might have answered him, but he was talking about spiritual things, and I don’t know that. Coming out, the brother said to the stranger: the elder is reluctant to speak from Scripture, but if anyone speaks to him about spiritual passions, he answers him. Coming into contrition from this, the wanderer entered the elder and asked: what should I do, Abba, for spiritual passions control me? The elder looked at him joyfully and answered: now your coming is good; Now I will open my mouth and fill them with goodness. The hermit received great benefit and said: indeed, this is the true path, and returned to his country, thanking God that he was honored to visit such a saint. 85. Some said that one day Abba Pimen and his brothers were not doing well (they were busy weaving threads), because they had nothing to buy flax with, and Abba Pimen did not want to take anything from anyone, fearing anxiety. One of their well-wisher told about this to a certain pious merchant, and he, wanting to serve the old man and showing that he needed the threads, brought a camel and took them. After this, a brother came to the Abba, who heard what the merchant had done, and, wanting to praise him, said: truly, Abba, he took the threads without needing them, but only to do you good. Abba Pimen, hearing that he took the threads without needing them, commanded his brother: go hire a camel and bring them back, otherwise Pimen will no longer live here with you; for I do not want to be untrue to a person who has no need, so that he suffers a loss and takes away the value of my labor. The brother went with great difficulty and brought them, otherwise the elder would have moved away from them. Seeing the threads, Abba rejoiced, as if he had found a great treasure. 86. The brother said to Abba Pimen: I have committed a great sin and I want to repent for three years. The elder tells him: this is a lot. Or at least one year,” the brother continued. The elder answered: and this is a lot. The former asked: so until forty days? And he said again: a lot. And he added: I assure you, if a person repents with all his heart and strives to no longer commit sin, then in three days God will accept him. 87. Abba Isaiah asked Abba Pimen about unclean thoughts. Avva Pimen answered him: here is a chest full of clothes! If you leave it like that, it will deteriorate over time; thoughts are likewise: if we do not commit them physically, they will disappear over time or, as it were, rot away. 88. Abba Joseph asked him the same thing, and Abba Pimen answered him: if you put a snake and a scorpion in a vessel and close it, then over time they will die, and the evil thoughts planted by demons are marred by patience. 89. The brother came to Abba Pimen and said to him: I sow my field and make a love supper from what I have gathered. The elder tells him: you are doing well. The brother left him with joy and applied himself to love with even greater zeal. Having heard about this word, Abba Anuv said to Abba Pimen: You are not afraid of God, since you told your brother so. The elder remained silent, and two days later he sent for that brother and said to him in the ear of Abba Anuva: what did you say to me that time? My mind was elsewhere. The brother repeated. Then Abba Pimen said to him: I thought that you were talking about your brother, a layman, but if you yourself do such a thing, then it is not monastic. Hearing this, the brother was saddened and said: I don’t know anything else besides this, and I cannot help but sow my fields. When he left, Abba Anub threw the toss to the old man, saying: forgive me. Abba Pimen said: I knew before that this was not a monastic matter, but I told him so according to his thoughts and gave him zeal to excel in love. Now he has gone away with sadness and will still do the same. 90. Abba Pimen said: if a person sins and denies, saying that he has not sinned, do not reprove him, for otherwise you will cut off all his zeal. If you tell him: do not lose heart, brother, but be careful in future, then you will awaken his soul to repentance. 91. He also said: experience is good, for it makes a person skillful. 92. He said: a person who teaches and does not do what he teaches is like a spring that gives water to everyone and washes them, but cannot cleanse himself; Dirt and all uncleanness remain in it. 93. One brother came to Abba Pimen and said to him: I have many thoughts, and I am in danger from them. The elder took him out into the air and said: open your bosom and do not let the wind in. The brother said: I can’t do this. “If you cannot do this,” the elder concluded, then you cannot prevent thoughts from coming; but it is your job to resist them. 94. Abba Pimen said: if three live together, and one of them is well silent, the other is sick and gives thanks, and the third serves them with a pure thought, then the work of all three is the same. 95. Abba Joseph asked Abba Pimen: Father, how should one fast? Avva Pimen answered him: I approve of the one who eats every day, but eats little by little, so as not to be satisfied. Abba Joseph says to him: when you were young, didn’t you fast for two days, Abba? The elder said: exactly; and three, and four, and a week. But the fathers experienced all this, being strong, and found that it was good to eat every day, but little by little; They gave us this royal path because it is easier. 96. The brother asked Abba Pimen: I have been left an inheritance. What should I do with it? The elder says to him: go and come back in three days; then I'll tell you. When he arrived, as he had determined for him, the elder answered: what should I tell you, brother? If I say: give it to church, they will organize dinners there; if I say: give it to your relatives, there will be no reward for you; But if I tell you: give to the poor, you will not care about it. So arrange it as you wish; I don't care about that. 97. Abba Pimen said: if a thought comes to you about the necessary needs of the body, and you fulfill it one day; will come another time, and you will fulfill it again, then if it comes a third time, do not pay any attention to it, for it is empty. 98. The brother asked Abba Pimen: if I see something, do you want me to talk about it? The elder answered: it is written: He who speaks a word before he hears it is foolishness and reproach (Prov. 18:13). So, if they ask you, tell me; if not, be silent. 99. One brother asked Abba Pimen: can a person rely on one deed? The elder answered him: Abba John Kolov said: I wish that a person would participate at least little in all the virtues. 100. Abba Pimen said: Abba Ammon said: one spends his whole life carrying an ax and does not understand how to fell a tree, but another, who has learned this, will knock it down in a little time. This axe, he says, is prudence. 101. Abba Pimen said: a person’s will is a copper wall between him and God and a reflecting stone. Therefore, if a person leaves it, then, as he himself says: By my God I will cross the wall (Ps. 17:30); if his truth is based on the will, then the person becomes exhausted. 102. One day some heretics came to Abba Pimen and began to criticize the Archbishop of Alexandria, as if he had accepted ordination from the elders. The elder remained silent and, calling his brother, said: offer them a meal and let them go in peace. 103. He also said: Abba Sisoes said that there is a shame of dispassion, having sin. 104. One brother asked Abba Pimen: if a person falls into any sin and converts, will he be forgiven by God? The elder answered: God, who commanded people to do this, will he not do it himself? And he commanded the Apostle Peter to forgive up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). 105. The brother asked Abba Pimen: can a person take away all his thoughts and not give a single one of them to the enemy? The elder answered: there is one who takes ten for himself and gives one. 106. Abba Pimen said: he who grumbles is not a monk; He is not a monk who takes revenge; He who is angry is not a monk. 107. Some elders came to Abba Pimen and asked him: would you advise us to push one of the brethren who was dozing during a church meeting, so that he would be awake at the vigil? He answered them: and if I see that my brother is sleeping, I will lay his head on my knees and give him rest. 108. They said about one brother that he was plagued by blasphemous thoughts, but was ashamed to say so. Wherever he heard about any great elder, he went to him to open up, but as soon as he reached him, he was ashamed to confess. He often came to Abba Pimen. The elder saw that he had thoughts and grieved over their concealment. One day, seeing him off, he said to him: how long have you been coming here with the intention of revealing your thoughts to me, but when you come, you don’t want to express them and every time you leave in grave embarrassment from them. So, tell me, my son, what do you have? The brother answered him: the demon is attacking me with blasphemous thoughts, and I was ashamed to say so. Then he told the story and immediately he felt better. The elder said to him: do not grieve, my son, but when such a thought comes, say: I am not a participant in this; Your blasphemy is on you, Satan, for my soul does not want such a thing. “Any thing that the soul does not want,” the elder continued, “is of short duration. And thus, the brother left the elder healed. 109. The brother asked Abba Pimen: why do demons entice my soul to communicate with those who are higher than me, and force me to humiliate those who are lower than me? The elder answered him: therefore the Apostle said that in the great house, not only are the vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and clay... If anyone cleanses himself of these, the vessel will be an honor, sanctified and useful to the Lady, prepared for every good work (2 Tim. 2:20, 21). 110. Abba Pimen said: a person living in cinnovia needs to have three deeds: humility, obedience and readiness for community work. 111. The brother told Abba Pimen the following: during my extreme need, I asked one of the saints for one thing for use, and he gave it to me as alms. So, if God arranges for me, should I give it as alms to others or is it better for the one who gave? The elder said: it is righteous before God to give it to him, for it is his property. The brother asked: if I bring it to him, and he tells me to give it as alms as I want, what should I do? The elder replied: nevertheless, the thing remains his own. If someone gives you something on its own, without your asking, it is yours; If you take this from a monk or layman at the request, and he does not want to take it back, then the reasoning is this: you should give it out in alms for him in front of his eyes. 112. The brother asked Abba Pimen: what does it mean to be angry with your brother in vain (Matthew 5:22)? He said: It is in vain to be angry if you are angry for every insult that your brother inflicts on you. Although he will gouge out your right eye and cut off your right hand, and you will be angry with him, you are angry in vain. But if he removes you from God, then be angry. 113. One brother asked Abba Pimen: what does it mean to repent of sin? The elder answered: do not do it in the future, for this is why the righteous are called blameless because they forsook their sins and became righteous. 114. The brother asked Abba Pimen: can a person be dead? He answered: when a person falls into sin, then he becomes dead, and when he turns to good, then he will live and do good. 115. Abba Pimen said: teaching one’s neighbor is characteristic of the sane and dispassionate, for what need is there for anyone to build another’s house and destroy his own. 116. He said: what is the use of starting to art and not learning it. 117. He also said: everything excessive comes from demons. 118. Again he said: greed and slumber do not allow us to see even small things. 119. One of the elders asked Abba Pimen: who is it that says: I am a partaker of all who fear You (Ps. 119:63)? Abba answered: this is the Holy Spirit speaking. 120. One brother came to Abba Pimen and, in the presence of some who were sitting there, praised a certain brother that he hated wickedness. Abba Pimen asked him: what does it mean to hate wickedness? The brother was embarrassed and, not finding what to answer, bowed to the elder and asked: tell me, father, what does it mean to hate wickedness? The elder said: he who hates his own sins hates wickedness, but considers his neighbor righteous. 121. The brother asked Abba Pimen: what should I do with the burden that surrounds me? The elder answered: both on small ships and on large ones there are belts with ropes, so that, when there is no favorable wind, you can throw them over yourself and pull the ship little by little until God sends a favorable wind. Again, if they notice that a storm is rising, they moor to the shore and drive a stake so that the ship does not worry. 122. The brother asked Abba Pimen about the attack of thoughts. The elder answered him: this matter is similar to if a person had fire on the left side and a vat of water on the right; so, when the fire ignites, he takes water from the vat and extinguishes it. This fire is the seed of the enemy, and water is the submission of oneself before God. 123. The brother asked Abba Pimen: what is better - to speak or to remain silent? The elder said: whoever speaks for God does well, and whoever is silent for God also does well. 124. The brother also asked Abba Pimen: how can a person avoid speaking ill of his neighbor? The elder answered: we and our brothers are two pictures: at the hour a person listens to himself and exposes himself, his brother is honest with him, and when he seems good to himself, then he finds his brother bad in his face. 125. Someone asked Abba Pimen about despondency, and the elder answered: despondency is at every beginning, and there is no passion worse than it. But as soon as a person finds out that this is it, he calms down. 126. The brother asked Abba Pimen: I want to go and live in Konovia. The elder said: if you enter the cinnamon community and are not concerned about every case and every thing, then you will not be able to live like the cinnovian, for there you will not even have power over the jug. 127. Abba Pimen’s brothers said to him: let’s leave here, for the local monasteries bother us, and we are destroying our souls. So the children cry and do not allow us to remain silent. Abba Pimen said to them: Do you want to leave here for the sake of the voices of angels? 128. The brother said to Abba Pimen: my body is weak, but my passions are not weak. The elder tells him: passions are thorn needles. 129. The brother asked Abba Pimen: how should I sit in my cell? The elder replied: from the visible side, sitting in a cell means doing handicrafts, eating food once a day, being silent and reading with meditation; and from the invisible side, to succeed in the cell means to carry self-condemnation within yourself in every place you go, not to neglect the hours of the rule and the secret work, and when the time comes to give up handicraft, to adhere to the rule, performing it without embarrassment. The end of all this is to have good fellowship and avoid bad fellowship. 130. They said: it happened to some of the fathers, among whom was Abba Pimen, to enter the house of a certain lover of Christ. When they had eaten, meat was offered, and everyone ate it except Abba Pimen. Knowing his prudence, the fathers were amazed at this and, when they stood up, they said to him: you are Pimen and you did just that! The elder answered them: forgive me, fathers! You ate, and no one was tempted, but if I began to eat, then many of the brethren who came to me would be tempted and began to say: Pimen ate meat, and shouldn’t we eat!? And everyone was surprised at his prudence. 131. Once Paisius had a fight with his brother, so that blood flowed. Abba Pimen was also present, but did not tell them anything. When Abba Anub entered and saw this, he asked Abba Pimen: Why did you allow the brothers to fight and did not tell them anything? Avva Pimen replied: they are brothers and will make peace again. Avva Anuv remarked to him: you see what they have done, and you say - they will make peace again? Avva Pimen said: put it in your heart that I was not here - inside. 132. The brother asked Abba Pimen: what should I do, for sorrow comes over me, and I hesitate? The elder replied: violence makes both the small and the great hesitate. 133. The hegumen of the cinema asked Abba Pimen: how can I acquire the fear of God? Abba Pimen answered him: how can we acquire the fear of God when our belly is like a vessel filled with cheese and a barrel with salted fish? 134. The brother asked him: Abba! There were two people - one was a monk and the other was a layman. One evening the monk decided to throw off his schema, and the layman decided to become a monk, but that same night both died. So what are they charged with? The elder answered: the monk died as a monk, and the layman as a layman, for in what they were found, in that they departed. 135. Abba Isaac came to Abba Pimen and saw that he was pouring some water on his feet. Having boldness towards him, he said: how did some live more strictly and embitter their bodies in every possible way? Abba Pimen answered: we are taught not to be body-killers, but to be passion-killers. 136. The brother said to Abba Pimen: I am harming my soul by being with my Abba. Should I still live with him? The elder saw that there was definitely harm, but he was surprised that he still asked: should he live with him? - says: if you want, live. After some time, the brother came again and said that he was harming his soul, and the elder again did not order him to leave. When the brother came for the third time, saying: truly, I will no longer live with him, Abba Pimen said: now you have managed! Go and don't live with him anymore. And he added: is there a person who, seeing harm to his soul, still needs to ask!? Experienced elders are asked about their hidden thoughts, but there is no need to ask about obvious sin, but it should be cut off immediately. 137. Abraham, a disciple of Abba Agathon, asked Abba Pimen: Why are the demons fighting against me? Abba Pimen said to him: Are demons fighting against you? Demons do not howl with us as soon as we fulfill our wishes, for in this case our wishes become demons for us: they torment us so that we fulfill them. Do you want to know who the demons fought with? So it is with Moses and those like him. 138. The brother said to Abba Pimen: I am embarrassed and want to leave my place. The elder asked him: about what matter? The brother answered: because I hear something about one brother, and this does not benefit me. The elder said: what you heard is not true! The brother did not agree, saying: “Truly, father, for the brother who spoke about this is a faithful man.” The elder replied: no, he is not faithful; if he were faithful, he would not have told you this. If God, having heard the voice of the Sodomites, did not believe until he saw it with his own eyes, then we should not believe what they say. The brother said: I saw it with my own eyes. Hearing this, the elder looked at the ground and, taking a small twig, asked: what is this? His brother answered him: he is a bitch. Then the elder looked at the roof of the cell and asked again: what is it? Brother said: log. So, put it in your heart,” the elder continued, that your sins are this log, and your brother’s sins are like this bitch. Hearing the elder’s word, Abba Tithos was surprised and said: How shall we please Abba Pimen? His words of honor are stone - they are full of joy. 139. One day Abba Sirem and his disciple Isaac came to Abba Pimen and said to him: What should I do with this Isaac? He does not listen to my words. Abba Pimen said: if you want to use him, show him virtue by deed, because, heeding your word, he still remains idle; if you show it by deed, it will remain in him. 140. He said again: the power of God does not dwell in a person who works according to passions. 141. He also said: when we pursue peace, it runs away from us; when we do not pursue him, he pursues us. 142. Abba Pimen said: one brother asked Abba Moses: how does a person make himself dead to his neighbor? He answered him: if a person does not put it in his heart that he has been in the grave for three years, he will not achieve this measure. 143. There was someone called Abba Pamvo, and they said about him that for three years he prayed to God like this: do not glorify me on earth. But God glorified him so much that no one could look at him because of the glory that his face had. 144. One day two brothers came to Abba Pamvo, and one of them asked him: Abba! I fast for two days and eat two loaves of bread; Am I being saved or am I going astray? The other said: Abba! I earn myself two coins a day through my handicrafts, keep a few for food, and give the rest in alms; Am I being saved or am I going astray? Abba Pamvo did not give them an answer, although they strongly begged him. Four days later, when they intended to leave, the clergy consoled them, saying: do not be sad, brothers, God will not leave you without a reward: this is the elder’s custom - not to speak until God Himself inspires him. The brothers came to the elder and asked him: Abba! Pray for us. He asked: do you want to go? They confirmed. Then the elder, remembering their deeds, began to write on the ground, saying: Pamvo fasts for two days and eats two loaves of bread; Is that why he is a monk? - No. Pamvo produces two coins and gives alms from it; Is that why he is a monk? - No way. Then he continued: these deeds are good, but if you keep your conscience clear regarding your neighbor, then you will be saved. And the brethren, satisfied with this, went with joy. 145. They said about Abba Pambo that there was never a smile on his face. One day the demons, wanting to make him laugh, tied a feather to a tree and carried it, making noise and shouting: Well! Well! pull! pull! Seeing them, Abba Pamvo laughed. The demons began to spin and shout: woah! wow! Pamvo laughed! Abba said to them in response: I did not laugh, but ridiculed your powerlessness, that so many of you are carried by one feather. 146. The brother asked Abba Pamvo: why do demons prevent me from doing good to my neighbor? The elder said in response: do not say that, for by doing this you are making God a liar, but it is better to say that you do not want to give alms at all. For in anticipation of this, God assured: behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent, and on the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). 147. Abba Palladius said: a soul that struggles not according to God must either learn faithfully what it does not know, or teach clearly what it has learned. If she does not desire either one or the other, then she suffers from madness, for ignorant speech and not hungering for the word, which a God-loving soul always hungers for, is the beginning of apostasy. 148. Mother Sarah sent Abba Paphnutius with the following word: Have you done God’s work by allowing your brother to be dishonored? Abba Paphnutius said: as one who does the work of God, I have no dealings with anyone. 149. Someone told: Abba Paphnutius was a bishop in one Thebaid city. He was a God-loving man, lived an ascetic life, and from him came wondrous signs. During the persecution, his eye was gouged out, and Tsar Constantine, highly honoring this man, often called him to the royal chambers and kissed him on the erupted eye - such was the reverence of Tsar Constantine for him! I will tell you about one thing Paphnutius did, which, on his advice, was carried out for the perfection and good of the church. It seemed good to the bishops who had gathered in Nicaea at that time to introduce a new law, according to which sacred persons, such as bishops, presbyters, deacons and subdeacons, would not live with wives whom they took while still simple laymen. Then Paphnutius, standing in the middle of the meeting of bishops, exclaimed: this heavy yoke should not be placed on sanctified people, so as not to further damage the church through excess severity, for, as it has been said, marriage is honorable. Again, not everyone can achieve the feat of dispassion; Perhaps they will not maintain chastity, while cohabitation with a lawful wife should be called chastity. According to the ancient tradition of the church, it is enough for them not to begin marriage again and not to divorce the one who was taken when he was still a layman. This is what Abba Paphnutius said, although he himself was not involved in marriage and did not know any wife, for from his youth he was raised in a monastery and was adorned with chastity. Convinced by the words of Paphnutius, the bishops stopped research on this subject, leaving it to those who wished to abstain from marriage. 150. The elders said that Paisius, the younger brother of Abba Pimen, once found a small vessel with a thousand coins and said to his elder brother, Abba Anuv: you know that the word of Abba Pimen is very strict; Let's go and build ourselves a monastery somewhere and live without care. Avva Anuv asked: what are we going to build with? He showed him the coins. Abba Anub was extremely sad, thinking that they would be harmful to his soul, and said: okay, let's go and build a cell across the river. Avva Anuv put the vessel in his kukuliy, and when, crossing the river, they reached the middle, Abba Anuv deliberately turned so that the kukuliy with coins fell into the river, and he himself began to grieve. Abba Paisius consoled his brother, saying: Don’t be sad, Abba! Since the coins have left us, let us return to our brother. Having returned, they began to live with Abba Pimen in peace. 151. One monk, a Roman by birth, settled in the Skete near the church and kept a slave who served him. The presbyter, seeing his weakness and knowing in what contentment he lived before, sent to him what, according to God's dispensation, came to the church. Having lived twenty-five years in the Skete, this monk became a seer and became famous. One of the great Egyptian elders, having heard about him, came to see him, hoping to find in him the strict life in relation to the body, characteristic of this place, but he saw that he was wearing thin clothes, that there was leather under the matting and that there was a small head, that his feet were clean and in sandals, and he was tempted. The elder, by the gift of insight, learned about his temptation and said to his servant: make us a holiday today for the sake of Abba! He found some vegetables and cooked them. At the appointed hour they got up and partook, and the elder offered some wine, which he had for the sake of his weakness, and they drank. When evening came, we read twelve psalms and lay down. They did the same at night. Getting up in the morning, the Egyptian said to the old man: pray for me, and he left without receiving any benefit. When he walked away a little, the elder, wanting to use him, sent him back and, receiving him with joy, asked what country he was from and what city. He replied that he was Egyptian and lived in the village. The elder also asked: what business did you have in your village? He replied: I was a watchman. “Where did you sleep,” the elder continued to ask, and did you have a bed under you? He said: he slept in a field on the ground. In the field, what kind of bed could I make for myself!? The elder asked again: what food did you have in the field and what wine? What kind of food and what wine is there in the field? - answered the Egyptian, I ate dry bread with a small amount of salt, if it happened, and drank water. The elder said to this: great work. Was there a bathhouse in the village for washing? He answered: no, but whoever wanted to, washed in the river. When the elder found out all this from him and learned the sorrows of his former life, then wishing that this visit would benefit him, he told his former life in the world, saying: I, whom you see so humble, am from the great city of Rome, and was great with the king. Hearing this beginning of the elder’s words, the Egyptian was moved and listened to him attentively; the same continued: So, I left the city and came into this desert; I, as you see me now, had majestic houses and great wealth, but despising them, I came to my small cell; I, as you see me now, had beds made of gold with valuable decorations, and instead of them God gave me this matting and leather; my clothes were worth a great price, and now I wear these poor garments; A lot of gold was spent on my table, and instead God gave me some of these vegetables and a small cup of wine; I was served by many slaves, and instead of them God begged this old man to serve me; instead of a bath, I pour a little water on my feet and wear these sandals because of my weakness; Instead of music and singing, I read twelve psalms, and at night - for the sins I have committed. This is how, with calmness, I now perform my small service and I beg you, Abba, do not be tempted by my weakness! After listening to him, the Egyptian came to his senses and said: woe is me! I have come to rest from the great sorrow of the world and now have what I did not have before, but you have come from such contentment to sorrow and from great glory and wealth have come to humility and poverty! Thus, having received great benefit, he withdrew, becoming his friend, and often came to him for her sake, for he was a sensible man and filled with the fragrance of the Holy Spirit. 152. The brother asked Abba Sisoes: Why do passions not depart from me? The elder answered: because their vessels are inside you; give them their pledge, and they will retreat. 153. Some asked Abba Sisoes: if a brother falls, does he need to repent for a year? Abba answered: This word is cruel. They also asked: what about six months? He said: a lot. At least forty days? - they continued. He replied: and that’s a lot. Then they said: So, what if a brother falls and suddenly a supper of love happens, can he also enter to the supper? The elder answered them: no, but he needs to repent for several days, for I believe in God that if such a person repents with all his soul, then in three days God will accept him. 154. Abba Joseph asked Abba Sisoes: How long can a person cut off his passions? The elder says to him: Do you want to know the time? Abba Joseph answered: yes. Then the elder said: at the hour the passion comes, cut it off at that time. 155. The brother asked Abba Sisoya: what should I do, Abba? I have fallen. The elder answered him: rise up. The brother said: I rose and fell again. The elder says: rise again. The brother asked: how long? And the elder answered: until you are taken in good or in fall, for in what a person is found, in that he departs. 156. The brother asked Abba Sisoes: what should I do with passions? The elder answered: each of us is tempted because of his own lust (James 1:14). 157. Once Abba Sisoes came from the mountain of Abba Anthony to the outer Thebaid Mountain and settled there. In those places there were Meletians who lived in Kalamon of Arsinoite. Some brethren, having heard that Abba had come to the outer mountain, wanted to see him, but said: what should we do? There are Meletians on the mountain - the elder will not tolerate harm from them, but we, wanting to talk with the elder, should avoid falling into the temptation of the heretics. And they did not go to see the elder, so as not to meet them. 158. Abba Sisoes of Thebes asked his disciple: tell me what you see in me, and I will tell you what I see in you. The student replied: you are smart, but a little strict. The elder said to this: you are good, but light in mind. 159. One of the elders said: I asked Abba Sisoes to tell me a word, and he said: if a person can avoid something and does not observe it, then he satisfies the needs of sin. 160. One brother came to Abba Silouan on Mount Sinai and, seeing the brothers working, said to the elder: Do not do evil things that perish (John 6:27); Mary chose the good part (Luke 10:42). Then the elder said to his disciple: Zechariah! Give your brother the book and take him to his cell, where there will be nothing. When the ninth hour arrived, the newcomer began to look at the door, whether they would send to call him to the meal, but since no one came, he went to the elder and asked: have the brethren eaten today, Abba? The elder answered: they ate. He says: why didn’t they call me? The elder told him: because you are a spiritual person and have no need for this food, but we, being carnal, want to eat and therefore work. By reading all day long, you have chosen the good part and do not want to partake of carnal trash. Hearing this, the brother bowed, saying: forgive me, Abba! The elder said: Mary also needs Martha, for for the sake of Martha Mary also boasts. 161. The elder said: once a brother, who had fallen into grave sins, came into tender repentance and decided to open up to one elder, but did not tell him the matter itself, but this way: if such thoughts come to someone, is there salvation for him? He, being inexperienced in discerning thoughts, answered him: you have destroyed your soul. Hearing this, the brother said: if I have destroyed my soul, then I will at least go into the world. As he walked, the idea occurred to him to reveal his thoughts to Abba Silouan, for Abba was very reasonable. Having come to him, the brother did not tell him the actual matter, but again in the same way as he told that old man. Abba Silouan, opening his mouth, began to tell him from the scriptures that there is no condemnation for those who have only thoughts. Encouraged by what he heard and hopeful, the brother revealed the matter to him. The elder again, like a good doctor, covered his soul with a plaster of the Divine Scriptures, assuring him that there is repentance in the mind of those who turn to God. Afterwards, my abba went to that father and told him about this, adding: he who despaired and wanted to go into the world, now shines like a star among the brothers. I told this in confirmation of how dangerous it is to reveal thoughts or deeds to those without prudence. 162. The brother asked Abba Sarmat: my thoughts tell me: do not work, but eat, drink, sleep. The elder answered: when you are hungry, eat; when you are thirsty, drink; when you want to sleep, sleep. One day another elder came to that brother, and the brother told him about the words of Abba Sarmat. The elder said: this is this: when you are very hungry and thirsty to the point that you can no longer endure it, then eat and drink; and when you have been watching for a very long time and want to sleep, go to sleep. This means what the elder told you. 163. Two elders, great hermits from the borders of Pelusiot, going to mother Sarah, said to each other: let us humble this old woman. Then they tell her: be careful not to be proud of your thoughts and do not say: the hermits come to me, my wife. Mother Sarah answered them: I am a wife by nature, but not by thought. 164. Mother Sarah said: if I pray to God that all people will be at peace with me, then I will have to be at everyone’s door with repentance. But I’d better pray that my heart may be pure with everyone. 165. She said to the brothers: I am the husband, and you are the wives. 166. Holy Syncletica said: those who collect sensual wealth among the labors and misfortunes of the world always seek more, valuing what they have as nothing and striving for what they do not have. But we, having nothing even of what is necessary for us, do not want to acquire anything for the fear of God. 167. She said again: there is saving sorrow and there is pernicious sorrow. The work of saving sadness consists in sighing either about one’s own sins, or about the illnesses of one’s neighbors, or in order not to fall away from one’s intention, or in order to be worthy of perfect mercy. There is also the enemy’s grief, full of madness, which some call despondency. This spirit must be driven away by prayer, especially by psalmody. 168. She said: it is dangerous to teach someone who has not been raised to this through an active life. For just as one who has a dilapidated house, receiving strangers, destroys them if his home falls, so these, without first arranging themselves, destroyed those who came to them: with words they called for salvation, but with bad character they insulted the fighters. 169. She said again: it is good not to be angry; when this happens, then know that he who said, “Let not the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph. 4:26) did not give you even one day for this passion, but you wait until the whole time of your life goes down. Why do you hate so much the one who insulted you? It was not he who insulted you, but the devil. Hate the disease, not the sick person. 170. Mother Syncletikia also said: there is asceticism instituted by the enemy, for his disciples do the same. How can we distinguish between divine and royal asceticism from tyrant and demonic ones? Obviously moderation. At all times, let you have one rule for fasting: do not fast for four or five days and then indulge in a lot of food, for immoderation is harmful everywhere. Fast while you are young and healthy, because old age will come with infirmities. So, treasure up food for yourself while you are able, so that when you are unable, you will find peace. 171. She said again: the more successful the fighters, the stronger the opponents they grapple with. 172. She also said: it is told to us: Be therefore wise like a serpent, and your targets like doves (Matthew 10:16). We are commanded to be like serpents, so that the attacks and cunning of the devil do not hide from us, for like is more easily recognized by like; and the integrity of the dove indicates the purity of affairs. 173. Abba Iperechius said: the truly wise is not the one who instructs in word, but the one who teaches in deed. 174. Once upon a time Paul, a disciple of Abba Or, went to buy branches and found that others had preceded him and had given him a deposit. Abba Or never gave a deposit, but in due time he sent money and bought it. Then his disciple went to another place to get the branches. The gardener told him: one day someone gave me a deposit and never came again. So, take these branches you. The student took them and, coming to the elder, told about this. As soon as the elder heard about this, he clasped his hands and exclaimed: Or is not working this year! - and did not allow the branches to be brought inside, ordering them to be taken to their place. 175. Near the monastery where Abba Or lived, there was a prince named Longinus, who gave a lot of alms. Having come to one of the fathers, he asked to be taken to Abba Or, and when he visited Abba, he praised the prince, saying that he was kind and did a lot of alms. Avva understood and said: yes, he is good. Then the newcomer began to ask him: allow him, Abba, to come see you? Abba Or answered this: truly, he will not cross this valley and will not see me. 176. The elder said: this voice: turn now - cries out to man until his last breath. 177. The elder said: Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and, in a clean shroud, laid it in a new tomb, that is, in a new man. So, let everyone who carefully does not sin take care so as not to offend God who lives with him and not to drive Him away from his soul. Ancient Israel was given manna to eat in the desert; true Israel was given the Body of Christ. 178. One brother lived in a solitary cell in Egypt, keeping himself in great humility. In the city he had a sister - a harlot who destroyed many souls. The elders often pestered him about her and finally convinced him to go to her to see if he could somehow, with his advice, stop the sin committed through her. When he approached his sister’s place of residence, one of his acquaintances saw him and warned her: your brother is coming, and he is already at your door. Alarmed, she left her favorites, whom she had treated, ran out to him with her head open and wanted to hug him, but he said: “My dear sister!” Spare your soul! How many people are dying because of you?! And how will you bear eternal and bitter torment?! Thrilled by these words, she asked: “But now is there salvation for me?” He replied: if you want, there is salvation. Then she threw herself at her brother’s feet and asked to be taken with him into the desert. He says to her: throw the veil over your head and follow me. But she said: let's go; It is better for me to bear the shame of baring my head than to enter this workshop of lawlessness. On the way, he told her about repentance and, when he saw that someone was coming towards them, he asked her: since not everyone knows that you are my sister, move a little out of the way until they pass. When the people they met had passed, he turned to her: now let’s go on our way, my sister. But she did not give an answer, and when he approached, he found her dead and saw that her feet were covered with blood, for she had no shoes. When he told the fathers about this, they disagreed, but God revealed to one of the elders that since she had decisively cut off all carnal concerns and despised her very body, enduring severe wounds without groaning, He accepted her repentance. 179. The foreign brother told the elder: I want to go to my homeland. The elder said to him: know, brother, that when you came here from your place of residence, you had the Lord as your companion, and when you go back, you will no longer have Him. 180. The brother said to one elder: I do not see any warfare in my heart. The elder replied: you have four gates, and everyone who wants to enters and leaves through you, but you do not notice it. When you build a door and, having closed it, do not allow evil thoughts to enter through it, then you will see how they, standing outside, will fight against you. 181. They told about one old man who lived in a church in Klysma, that for the sake of needlework he always worked on what was required in time: when the time came for catching fish, he wove nets, and when threads were needed, he spun flax, but he never undertook to work according to order so that his mind would not be indignant at his deeds. 182. One cinoviarch asked our holy father Cyril, Pope of Alexandria: who is superior in deeds: we, who have brethren under us and lead everyone to salvation in different ways, or the hermits, who save themselves alone? The Pope replied: There is no difference between Elijah and Moses, for they pleased God equally. 183. One monk worked on the day of the martyr. Seeing this, another monk said to him: is it possible to work now? He answered: now the servant of God was torn and tormented in torment. Shouldn't I also put some effort into my work today? 184. A certain sinner, having repented, fell silent. It soon happened that, tripping over a stone, he broke his leg, so that a lot of blood flowed out, he became exhausted and betrayed his soul. Then the demons came, wanting to take his soul, but the Angels said to them: turn to this stone and look at his blood, which he shed for the Lord! When the Angels said this, his soul was freed. 185. They asked the elder: what should a monk be like? He replied: in my opinion, like one on one. 186. Someone asked the old man: why am I afraid when walking in the desert? He answered: because you are still alive. 187. Someone else asked the elder: what should those who want to be saved do? The elder wove a weave and, without looking up from his needlework, answered: see? 188. Again he asked the elder: why am I often faint-hearted? He answered: because you have no discernment. 189. Someone asked the elder: why am I often tempted to commit fornication? He answered: because you eat and sleep a lot. 190. They asked the elder: what should a monk do? And he answered: to do all good and shun all evil. 191. The elders said: one should never give collateral to thoughts. 192. The elders also said: ask every thought that comes against you: are you ours or the enemy? And he professes it in every possible way. 193. The elders said that the soul is the same as the source: if the germ is removed, it is purified; if sediment is allowed to accumulate, it becomes littered and disappears. 194. One elder said: I believe that God has no such unrighteousness as to take someone out of prison and throw him into prison. 195. The elder said: forcing yourself to do everything is the way of God. 196. He also said: Do not do anything first, but test your heart to see whether what you intend to do will be according to God. 197. He said again: if a monk only prays when he gets up to pray, then he does not pray at all. 198. He said: reasoning is higher than all virtues. 199. He also said: it is a disgrace to a monk if, having abandoned his own and becoming a wanderer for God, he then goes into torment. 200. The elders said: if you see a young man ascending to heaven of his own free will, grab him by the leg and throw him down, for this is good for him. 201. The elder said: this generation does not seek today, but tomorrow. 202. He also said: our business is to burn wood. 203. Again he said: do not wish to be despised. 204. He also said: woe to a man when his evil is greater than his deeds. 205. The elder said: insolence and laughter are like fire eating reeds. 206. He said again: he who forces himself for the sake of God is equal to a human confessor. 207. He also said: whoever becomes foolish for the sake of the Lord, the Lord will make him wise. 208. He said: this is what God requires from a person - mind, word and deed. 209. Again he said: this is what a person needs - to fear God’s judgment, hate sin, love virtue and always pray to God. 210. He also said: if you see that you have a thought against someone, then know that he also has a thought against you. 211. The brother asked the elder: is it good to have short communication with one’s neighbor? The elder answered him: such communications have no power to break the bridle, for you have fellowship with your brother. If you want to have fellowship, have it with God. 212. The brother asked the elder for prayer, hurrying to the city. The elder told him: do not rush to the city, but hurry to flee from the city, and you will be saved. 213. One brother asked the fathers: is anyone defiled by having an unclean thought? A study of the fathers took place about this, and some said that it was definitely being defiled; others - no, otherwise it is impossible for us, simple ones, to be saved; all that is required is not to commit them physically. Then the brother went to the most skillful elder and asked him about this. The elder replied: purity is required from everyone according to his perfection. The brother asked the elder: for the sake of the Lord, explain to me how this is? The elder said: here lies a tempting thing, and two brothers entered: one with a greater measure of perfection, the other with a lesser one. If the thought of a perfect person says: I would like to have this thing, and he does not stop at it, but immediately cuts it off, then he will not be defiled. But he who has not yet reached the great measure will not be desecrated if he wishes and even remains with the thought, but only does not take the thing. 214. The elder said: once a brother fell into grave sins, but he came to contrition and repented to God. 215. He also said: it is not the fact that thoughts enter into us that serves as our condemnation, but the fact that we use them badly, for through thoughts one can be ruined, and through thoughts one can be crowned. 216. The brother asked the elder: what should I do? Many thoughts overcome me, and I don’t know how to deal with them? The elder replied: Do not fight with everyone, but with one, for all thoughts have one glory. So, we must notice what kind of glory this is and fight against it. Then other thoughts will subside on their own. 217. The elder said: whoever wants to live in the desert should be a teacher and not need teaching, so as not to suffer harm. 218. The brother asked the elder: Abba! So I ask the elders, and they tell me about the salvation of the soul, but I do not retain anything from their words. Why should I ask them if I do nothing and I am all uncleanness? The elder had two empty vessels, and he said to his brother: go and bring one vessel, pour in some oil, turn it over and put it in its place. He did this twice. Afterwards the elder says to him: now bring both vessels together and see which one is purer. The brother says to him: the one where I poured oil. Then the elder said: so is the soul; although she does not retain anything of what she asks, she becomes more pure than the one who does not ask at all. 219. One brother was silent, and the demons, under the guise of angels, wanted to seduce him: they woke him up to complete the rule and showed him lights. The brother came to one elder and said: Abba! Angels come to me with light and wake me up to rule. The elder said: don’t listen to them, my son! These are demons, and when they come to wake you up, tell them: if I want, I’ll get up myself, and I don’t need you. The brother, having received the commandment from the elder, returned to his cell. That same night, the demons, coming as usual, woke him up, and his brother answered them: when I want, I’ll get up myself, but I don’t need you. They tell him: that evil old man is a liar, he deceived you, for one day his brother came to him to borrow some small coins, and he, having them, lied, saying that he did not have them, and did not give them. From this know that he is a liar. When morning came, the brother came to the elder and told about this. The elder says: I confess that I had a coin and that my brother came to ask, but I did not give it to him, for I saw the harm from it to our souls. Then I decided to break one commandment, so as not to break ten and not fall into trouble. Don't listen to the demons who want to seduce you. And the brother, strengthened by the elder, returned to his cell. 220. Some of the fathers told about one great elder: when someone came to him to ask for guidance, he usually said this: here I accept the face of God and sit on the judgment throne; So, what do you want me to do to you? If you say: have mercy on me! - then God says to you: have mercy on your brother. If you want me to forgive you, forgive your neighbor too. Is it really not true with God? It won't happen! Therefore, it is in our power to be saved if you wish. 221. They said about one of the elders, a great worker, that one day, when he was performing a rule, another elder, also a great one, happened to come to him, and heard from outside how he was arguing with his thoughts, saying: “How long?” And for the sake of one word everything disappeared!? The newcomer, thinking that he was arguing with someone else, knocked to enter and reconcile them, but, entering and not seeing anyone there, in his boldness towards the elder he asked him: Abba! Who were you arguing with? He answered: with my thoughts, for I know fourteen books by heart, but I heard one word outside the cell, and when I came to complete my rule, everything I knew was abolished, and only this one word came to my memory. That's why I scolded with intent. 222. Some brethren from Konovia came to a certain hermit. He received them with joy and, according to the custom of the hermits, seeing that they were tired from the journey, he prepared a meal for them ahead of time and offered them everything that happened. In the evening we read twelve psalms, and also at night. When later the elder stood alone for the vigil, he heard them saying to each other: hermits in the deserts have more peace than we who live in the cinenovia. Therefore, in the morning, when they went to another elder, his neighbor, he asked them: bow to him from me and say: do not water the vegetables. The neighbor, having heard this word, understood what it meant, and therefore he worked until the evening in fasting, in the evening he made a big rule and then said: for your sake, because you have worked hard, let us now allow fasting and taste a little, for we are not in the habit of eating every day. He offered them dry bread and salt and, saying: for your sake, a holiday must now be established, he poured a little vinegar into the salt. Having risen from the meal, they began to pray and continued until the morning. Then the elder said to them: for your sake, we will not perform the full rule now, in order to give you a little rest, for you are from afar. The next morning they got ready to go, but the elder began to beg them: stay with us for a while; and if you cannot for a long time, at least three days - for the sake of the commandments and according to our hermit custom. And they, seeing that he would not let them go, ran away secretly. 223. The elder said: the prophets compiled books; our fathers came and fulfilled them with deeds; those who were after them memorized them; this generation came and wrote them off and put them in cupboards idly. 224. The brother said to one of the fathers: if I happen to be burdened with sleep and miss the hour of the rule, then my soul, out of shame, no longer wants to perform it. The elder replied: if you wake up before morning, get up, close the door and windows and complete the rule, for it is written: yours is the day, and yours is the night; for you can glorify God at all times. 225. The elder said: one eats a lot, but still remains hungry, and another eats a little, but is also satisfied. So, he who eats a lot and remains hungry has a greater price than he who eats little and is satisfied. 226. The elder said: although the holy fathers worked here, they also received a certain amount of peace. He said this because they were free from worldly worries. 227. He also said: if a brother knows a place conducive to prosperity, but because of the burden of bodily needs does not go there, he does not believe that there is a God. 228. One brother asked a young monk: what is better - to remain silent or to speak? The youth said to him: if the words are idle, leave them; if you are kind, give room for goodness and speak. However, even though they will be kind, do not slow down, but rather stop them - and you will find peace. 229. One of the fathers said: a person should always have work inside, for when he is busy with the work of God, the enemy, coming to him again and again, will not find a place to stay. And vice versa, when someone is captured by the enemy and the Holy Spirit comes, then for the sake of our malice he retreats from us, since we do not give him room in ourselves. 230. One brother, having just accepted the schema, decided to become a hermit and immediately shut himself up, saying: I am a hermit. The elders, having heard about this, came, took him out and forced him to go around all the cells of the monks, perform throwing at each one, saying: forgive me, I am not a hermit, but a novice. 231. Two brothers according to the flesh were hermits, but the first in the schema was the youngest in age. One of the fathers came to visit them; They set up a basin, and the youngest in the schema came up to wash the elder’s feet. But the elder, taking him by the hand, took him aside and placed him in a larger position. The coming elders remarked to him: the youngest, Abba, is the first in the schema. The elder said to them: I take the primacy of the younger one and apply it to the age of the older one. 232. One day, some Egyptian monks came to the Skete to visit the elders and, seeing that they were eating with some haste due to hunger from a long fast, they were tempted by this. The presbyter, having learned about this and wanting to heal them, proclaimed in the church to the brotherhood: fast, brothers, and continue the usual rule of your asceticism. The Egyptians who came wanted to leave, but the presbyter held them back. Having fasted for one day, they became darkened, although he gave them only two days of fasting, while the hermits fasted all week. When Saturday came and they sat down to eat, the Egyptians hurried to eat, but one of the elders, taking one of them by the hand, said: eat more skillfully, like monks. But he pushed his hand away, saying: Let me go, for I am dying of hunger, having not eaten anything cooked for a whole week. Then the elder said to them: if you, having fasted for two days, were so exhausted, then how were you tempted by the brethren, who always strive to eat after a week? The monks who came repented of their sin and, having received great benefit, left with joy. 233. The elder said: if someone, while staying in some place, does not create the fruit characteristic of that place, then the place will expel him as someone who does not do the works of the place. 234. He also said: if someone does any work following his own will, and this is not done according to God, he does not know it, then after that he must in every possible way come to the path of God. If someone clings to his own desire, which is not according to God, and does not want to listen to others, considering himself to know his own business, he finds it difficult to come to the path of God. 235. The elder said: just as the order of monks is more honest than the laity, so a foreign monk should be a mirror of every good shelter for local monks. 236. One of the fathers said: if a worker lives in a place where there are no workers, then he cannot succeed, but can only strive so as not to go down. A non-worker, not living with workers, if he is sober, will succeed, and if he does not, then at least he will not go down. 237. The elder said: if the soul has a word, but does not have fruit, then it is like a tree that has leaves but no fruit. Like a tree when it is full of fruits, and the leaves are more beautiful; so the word is more fitting for a soul that has good deeds. 238. Three brothers once came to the Skete to one elder, and one of them said to him: Abba! I memorized the Old and New Testaments. The elder tells him: you filled the air with words. The second said: I copied the Old and New Testaments for myself. The elder answered the second: you filled the cabinets with notebooks. The third said: I have moss growing on my hearth. The elder answered him: you have driven away your love of strangeness. 239. The brother asked the elder: why do I carry out my little rule with boredom? The elder answered: love for God is recognized when someone does the work of God with all zeal, tenderness and undistracted thoughts. 240. The brothers once came to the great elder, and he asked the first: what are you working on? He answered: I am weaving, Abba. The elder said: May God weave a crown for you, child! I asked the second one: what are you working on? He answered: mats. He said: May God strengthen you, child! I asked the third: what are you working on? He answered: a sieve. The elder said: May God protect you, child! I asked the fourth: what are you working on? He replied: I am a calligrapher. He said: you - as you know. I asked the fifth: what are you working on? He answered: linen. The elder said: I don’t care about that. For a weaver, if he is sober with the help of God, weaves a crown for himself; matting requires strength, as it is difficult to work; sieves require storage, because they are sold in villages; a calligrapher needs to humble his heart, since this work is characterized by arrogance; Linen cloth is a merchant's business. So, if someone sees from afar that someone is carrying baskets, or matting, or sieves, he says: this is a monk, for the grass is used for our handicrafts. If he sees that someone is selling linen, he says: “Look, the traders have come,” for this handicraft is worldly, and is not useful to many. 241. One of the fathers said that one brother, very reverent, had a poor mother. When there was a great famine, he took the loaves and hurried to take them to his mother. And then a voice came to him: will you take care of your mother or will I take care of her? The brother, judging the power of this word, threw himself face down on the ground and asked God: You, Lord, take care of us! - stood up and returned to his cell. On the third day his mother came to him and said: such and such a monk gave me a lot of wheat; take it and make bread so that we can eat it. Hearing this, the brother glorified God and, filled with good faith, prospered by the grace of God in every virtue. 242. The brother told the elder: so I come to some place with the brothers, and they offer us a basket of fruit, but the brothers often do not want to eat, either out of abstinence, or because they have already eaten, and I am hungry. So what should I do? The elder answered: if you are hungry, then look at how many are sitting, how many are offered, and eat as much as you think is your portion. Let there be no stumbling block for you, for you have satisfied a natural need. If you are defeated and eat more, it will be to your detriment. 243. The brother asked the elder: what is verbosity and what does condemnation mean? The elder answered: verbiage generally refers to the entire character of a person, and condemnation refers to obvious deeds. So, every word that you cannot say in front of your brother, that is, you cannot point out his deeds, but speak behind his back, is a verb. For example, if someone says that such and such a brother is good and kind, but is disorderly and lacks reasoning, then this is a verb. If someone says that such and such a brother is a merchant and a lover of money, then this is condemnation, for you have condemned his deeds. And this is worse than verbosity. 244. One old man, coming to the river and finding that the riverside, undisturbed and serene, was overgrown with reeds, sat there and, cutting branches, wove a weave, throwing what he had made into the river. He did this until people came and saw him. Then he got up and left, for he worked not for the sake of need, but for the sake of labor and silence. 245. One brother struggled with the thought of going to visit a famous elder, but he put it off from day to day, saying: I’ll go tomorrow. So he struggled with the thought for three years. Finally, he said to his thoughts: think that you came to the old man and said to him: good health, good old man! How long have I wanted to see your shrine. Then he put down the basin, washed himself and said as if on behalf of the elder: welcome, brother! Forgive me that you worked so hard for me! May the Lord reward you! Then he prepared food, ate and drank to his heart's content. And immediately the abuse left him. 246. The elder said: I am not sitting here in solitude in weakness and suffering for the sake of good or benefit, but for the sake of the fact that only the strong can live among the brethren. 247. He also said: if anyone tries to do good in the place where he lives and cannot, let him not think that he can do it in another. 248. They asked the elder about those who go here and there and ask for prayers, but they themselves live in negligence, and the elder answered: the prayer of a righteous man can do much with haste (James 5:16), that is, when the one who asks for prayer cooperates and strives and with all diligence and illness of the heart guards himself from evil thoughts and deeds. If he lives discordantly, then there will be no benefit to him, although the saints will pray for him, for it is said: there is one who creates, and one who destroys (Wis. 34:23), what benefit is labor? And at the same time he told about one case: one hermit, very reasonable, wanted to settle in Kellia, but did not find it ready. One elder had a separate cell on his side, and he offered it to the stranger, saying: live there until you find another one. When he settled in it, they began to come to him for edification, like to a wanderer, and to bring what they needed, and he accepted it and treated them. The elder who gave him the cell was jealous of this and began to slander him, saying: I have been living here for so many years in great asceticism, and no one comes to me, but so many people come to this flatterer, who has been here for several days! And one day he says to his disciple: go and tell him to leave here, for I myself need a cell. The disciple went and asked the stranger: My Abba wants to know how your health is? He replied: I ask for his prayers, since my stomach is a little heavy. The student returned and told the elder that he would look at his cell and move on. Two days later, the elder again said to his disciple: go and tell him that if it doesn’t work out, then I will come and drive him out with a stick. Having arrived, the disciple said to the stranger: My abba, having learned that you were unwell, was very sad and sent me to see you. The stranger says: tell him: with your prayers I feel better. Returning, the disciple told the elder that by Sunday, with the help of God, he would free him. Since Sunday came and he did not release him, the elder, taking a stick, went to beat him and drive him out. The student says to the elder: I will run ahead to see if he has anyone, so that they will not be tempted. And when he came, he said: My Abba is going to ask you to come to his cell. He, having heard about such love of the elder, came out to meet him, bowed to him from afar and said: I myself am going to your shrine, do not bother, father! Then God, seeing the disciple’s work, touched the elder’s heart, and he, throwing his stick, rushed into the arms of the alien elder, hugged him and brought him to his cell as if he had heard nothing. Afterwards he asked his disciple: Did you not tell him anything that I said? He answered: no. The elder was very happy about this and, realizing that there was envy in him, sent by the enemy, he put the old stranger to rest. He fell at the feet of his disciple and said: You are my father, and I am your disciple, for for the sake of your work the souls of both of us were saved. 249. One holy Abba, the father of the Cenobium, adorned with all virtue, especially humility and meekness, merciful, compassionate and surpassing many in love, prayed to God like this: Lord! We know that I myself am a sinner, but trusting in Your bounty, I hope to be saved by Your mercy! I pray for Your goodness, Master, that my companions will not be separated from Me in the next century, but with me, make them worthy of Your kingdom according to Your goodness. He performed such a prayer every day, and the man-loving God honored him with such a notification: the memory of the saint was to be celebrated in another monastery, not far from them; when he was asked to come, he heard in a dream: go there, but go ahead of your disciples, and then go alone. Meanwhile, the Lord, who became poor for our sake and was everything to everyone - may he save everyone, taking the form of a sick beggar, lay down in the middle of the road. The disciples, coming up and finding Him suffering, asked about the reason, and He answered them: I am sick, my animal threw me off and ran away, and I have no one to help Me. They said to Him: what can we do for You, Abba? We are on foot. And leaving Him, they went away. A little later, their Abba goes, finds Him lying and groaning, and, having learned about the reason, asks: weren’t the monks walking here shortly before? He answered: they were walking, but having learned about the reason, they passed by, saying: we are on foot - what can we do for You? Abba asked Him: Can you walk little by little? Let's go together. He said: I can't. Then Abba says to Him: Go, I will carry You; God help us, we’ll get there. He said: how can you? And such a distance! But go and pray for Me! Abba answered: I will never leave You! Here is a stone; I will put you on it, then I will lift you up and carry you. Having done this, at first he felt the weight of a person on himself, then it became lighter and lighter, and finally there was no heaviness at all. Abba was amazed at this, but the One carried by him became invisible and said to him publicly: you always pray for your disciples, so that they too may be worthy with you of the kingdom of heaven; but there is another measure for you, and another for your disciples. Make sure that they too come according to your measure and leave your request, for I am just and will reward everyone according to their deeds. 250. They said about one saint that, being a confessor during persecution, he endured many torments and was even seated on a hot copper seat. When later blessed Constantine became king, and all Christians were freed from their bonds, and this saint, having been cured, returned to his cell, then, as soon as he saw her from afar, he said: woe is me! I'm going to suffer again! He said this because of the attacks there from demons and the fight against them. 251. The elder said: if you see that someone has fallen into the water and you want to help him, give him your rod and pull him; at the same time, know that if you cannot pull it out, it will pull you down, and you will both drown. He said this about those who undertake to help someone beyond their own measure. 252. One brother came to the elder, having not visited him for quite a long time, and the elder asked him: where have you been, child, for so long? He answered him: in Constantinople, father, due to some inevitable need. The elder asked him again: what edifying things did you hear or see there? The brother replied: almost nothing edifying; I remember a lot of noisy things, but most of them were earthly, and only one thing especially struck me: I saw lay people so despising wealth, much more than could be said about those in the desert. The elder asked: explain to me how this is? And the brother said: I saw two rich men, one of whom called the other to court, saying that he owed him two thousand coins, presenting his father’s receipt, and the other claimed that the debt was paid by his father, but the receipt remained out of sincere friendship. Since they could not agree with each other, it came to an oath, and the one who owed said: if I swear that the debt was paid by my father, then I will be considered a bad profit; It’s better to do this: either I swear that the debt has been paid by my father and give them back to you a second time, or you swear that he still owes you, don’t take them from me and return the receipt. And everyone was surprised to hear such reasoning from her husband. The elder said: and you, child, being young, were rightly surprised, but if you look deeper into the matter, you will not find anything great here, but only an excess of vanity and man-pleasing. The brother asked: how is it, father, when he despised such a sum just for the sake of one suspicion? The elder answered: he who despises wealth should, as much as possible, also provide for the good of his neighbor, for the commandment of our Lord and God commands both. If he knew for sure that his father had paid the debt, and offered to swear and again - a second time - to pay it, then what else did he do, as he exposed his brother before God and people as an unjust and obvious wicked profiteer, while he preached himself to both the richest and the uncovetous, which is not so much the virtue of non-covetousness, but rather an imprint of vanity, or, more precisely, envy and anger. The brother asked again: so, what should he have done when the oath of duty was offered to him? The elder replied: if he were perfect, he would neither swear nor mutually propose an oath, especially when he is rich and knows for sure that the debt has been paid, and how much better it would be for him to suffer a loss in order to avoid the oath and preserve love, expecting reward from God! He said this out of vanity, in order to show people that the one who brings him to an oath is unjust, and this is a matter of envy and mutual hatred. So, listen, child: it is only pleasing to God that it happens with a good purpose and with a God-loving thought. And the brother, having received the benefit, left. 253. The elder said: he who praises a monk betrays him to Satan. 254. He said again: everything that a person thinks is from heaven and below; even if he thinks, he who presides over the memory of Jesus stands in the truth. 255. The son of a monk who lived in the Skete was taken into service by the steward. Notifying about this, the boy’s mother asked his father to write to the steward so that he would let him go. The monk asked the messenger: if this one is released, will they not take another? He answered: they will take it. The elder said: what good will it do me if, having freed him, I put joy into the heart of his mother and, taking her sadness, bring it into the heart of another wife? 256. The same old man earned a lot from his handicrafts and, leaving what he needed for his needs, he distributed the rest to the poor. When there was famine in those places, the mother sent his son to him and asked him to give them some loaves. Hearing about this, the elder asked his son: “Are there others in that place who are in need, like you?” He answered: there are many. Then, closing the door in his face, he said with tears: Get away, my child! He who cares for them will also care for you. His brother asked him later: Didn’t you really feel sick in your thoughts by sending your son away like that? The elder answered: if a person does not force himself to do anything, he will not have a reward. 257. The elder said: every evil that is not committed by deed is not evil, and every truth that is not committed by deed is not truth, for he who does not have evil or good thoughts is like the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, which is salty and does not bear fruits or herbs. Good soil produces both wheat and tares. 258. The elder said: when I was visiting an elder, a virgin came to him and said: I fasted for two hundred weeks, six days each, and read the Old and New Testaments. What else am I missing and what other work should I take on? The elder asked her: has humiliation become like an honor for you? She answered: no. Or damage as gain; or strangers, as if they were our own according to the flesh; poverty as contentment? She answered: no. Then the elder said to her: So, you fasted for six days in vain and read the Old and New Testaments. You are deluding yourself. Go to work! You have nothing. 259. The elder said: if a person arbitrarily gives himself up to grief, then it is true that God will number him among the martyrs, for instead of blood, tears are imputed to him. 260. He also said: the little youth who interferes in conversation with us is like a man who casts fire into the bosom of his brother. 261. The elders said: Punish, brothers, the little youths, so that otherwise they will not punish you. 262. One brother came to Mount Fermi to the great old man and said to him: Abba! What should I do? My soul is dying! The elder asks him: why, child? The brother said: when I was in the world, truly, I fasted and kept watch a lot, and great contrition and warmth were in me; Now, Abba, I see absolutely no good in myself. The elder replied: Believe me, child, for everything you did while in the world, you had zeal from vanity and human praise, and that was not pleasant in the face of God. That’s why Satan didn’t fight against you—he didn’t need to cut off your zeal. Now, seeing that you have fallen in love with Christ and come out against him, he too has armed himself against you. But God is more pleased with one psalm that you read with contrition now than the thousands that you read in the world; and He accepts your short fast more than the weeks you fasted in the world. The brother says to him: now I do not fast at all, but all the good that I had in the world has been taken from me. The elder said: brother! What you have is enough for you, just be patient and it will be good. Since the brother insisted on his own, saying: truly, Abba, my soul is perishing, the elder continued: believe me, brother, I did not want to tell you, so that your thoughts would not be damaged, but seeing that you have become despondent from Satan, I will tell you: the way you think that while living in the world you did good and walked well, there is pride - so the Pharisee ruined all the good he had done. But the fact that now you see yourself doing absolutely no good is enough for you, brother, for salvation, for this is humility: this is how the publican was justified, who did nothing good. God is more pleased with a sinner and a careless person with a contrite heart and humility than with one who does a lot of good and thinks to himself that he is doing good. And the brother, having received great benefit, threw the throwing to the elder and said: now, Abba, my soul is saved by you. 263. They asked the elder: what does it mean to give an answer about every idle word? He said: every word about bodily things is idle talk, and only talking about the salvation of the soul is not idle talk. However, it is better to beware of everything and remain silent, for when you talk about good things, bad things will come to harm. 264. Satan once appeared to the elder and said: you are not a Christian. The elder answered him: no matter who I am, everyone is above you. Satan said to this: I tell you, you will go to torment. The elder replied: you are not my judge and not my God. 265. The brother asked the elder: Father, why can’t our family keep up the asceticism of our fathers? The elder answered: because he does not love God, does not run around people and does not hate worldly things. When a person runs away from people and things, contrition and asceticism naturally come to him. For, just as someone who wants to extinguish a fire that has been kindled in a field, unless he runs ahead and cuts off the substance that is ahead of the fire, will not extinguish it, so a person, unless he goes to a place where he would have difficulty finding his very bread, cannot acquire asceticism, for what the soul does not see does not quickly desire. 266. He said: he who steals, lies or commits any other sin often, after committing a sin, suddenly sighs, reproaches himself and comes to repentance, but he who holds rancor in his soul, whether he eats, drinks, sits or walks, is always eaten up as if by rust, and sin is inseparable from him. Therefore, his prayer is an oath to him and no work of his - even if he shed blood for Christ - will not be accepted. 267. The elder said: if someone comes and you see that they are from afar, stand in prayer and say: Lord Jesus Christ, deliver us from slander and slander and return them from this place in peace. 268. He also said: if your body is weak, then, judging by this, satisfy its needs, so that it does not fall into illness, and you do not seek food and burden the one serving you. 269. The elder was asked about nighttime defilement in the form of mixing with his wife or on its own. He replied: you shouldn’t take credit for it at all, but think that you just blew your nose. Likewise, if you were to walk through a market place and, passing by an inn, smell the smell of meat, did you taste it or not? By all means you can say no. So it does not defile you, but if the enemy sees that you are fearful, he will attack you even more. However, be careful that upon awakening, when you come to your senses, you do not descend into that thought. 270. The skete elders were asked regarding fornication: when a person sees a face and is amazed by it, does this serve as a reproach to him? They answered: this matter is like a meal full of dishes: if someone, seeing them, wants to eat from them, but does not stretch out his hand to take something, then he is not involved in them. 271. The brother asked the elder: is it good to go to the elders or is it better to remain silent? He answered: going to the elders was the rule of the ancient fathers. 272. One elder said: I hated the vanity of the youngest novices, because they work but do not have a salary, listening to people’s praises. Another elder, more reasonable, answered him: I allow this in every possible way, for it is better for the youngest to be vain, just not to be careless. Let now, out of vanity, one of them force himself to abstain, to be vigilant, to prepare, to acquire love and endure sorrows for the sake of praise. But after such a life, the grace of God will come to him and say to him: why don’t you work for Me, but work for people? Then he will decide not to listen to human glory, but only to God. Those who heard this said: Truly it is so. 273. One brother, overcome by sadness, pestered the elder: what should I do, for thoughts come upon me and say: you renounced the world in vain - you cannot be saved? The elder answered him: although we can enter the land of promise, it is still better for us to die in the desert than to return to Egypt. 274. They asked the elder: is it good to mediate in disputes between brothers? He answered: flee from this, for it is said: his ears are heavy, so as not to hear the judgment of blood, and his eyes are closed, so as not to see iniquity (Isa. 33:15). 275. They also asked the elder: how can a person live alone? And he answered: a fighter, if he does not first fight among others, cannot learn the art of winning, so that later he can fight one-on-one with the enemy. Likewise, a monk, if he has not first been trained by living among the brethren and has not learned the art of discerning thoughts, will not be able to resist them while living alone. 276. They asked the elder: is it good to study the Divine Scriptures? He answered: the sheep receives good grass for consumption from the shepherd, but it also eats desert plants. So, when wormwood begins to burn her, she regurgitates the good herb, and her mouth is delighted, and the taste of wormwood ceases. Likewise, it is good for a person to learn in the Holy Scriptures against the slander of demons. Whoever happens to be in church with many or with a few and stops his mouth and stops crying out to God, is doing the work of the demons, for the demons, unable to bear hearing hymns praising Christ, force those who sing to remain silent. 277. The elder said: argument betrays a person to anger, anger betrays him to blindness, and blindness makes him do all kinds of evil. 278. In Thebaid there was one monk who led an extremely ascetic life: in long vigils, presiding over prayers and supplications, having great non-covetousness, crushing his body with fasting and labor. At first, every evening he ate as many soaked vegetables as he could grasp with one hand; then, after some time, he was content with the same measure every other day; Having kept this rule regarding food for a long time, he finally got to the point where he ate food only once a week - on Sunday evening, eating vegetables and native plants, observing such a fast for weeks for a long time. But the inventor of evil, the devil, envying him, attempted to draw him into the same fall as he himself fell - through pride. So, the thought of conceit comes to him: since you maintain such a strict life and fasting, which no other person maintains, then he must show you signs, so that you yourself become more zealous in asceticism, and people receive edification, and seeing the works of God, they marvel and glorify our Father who is in heaven. So, let us also ask for signs, for the Savior Himself said: ask, and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7). And the monk began to send up a prayer to God about this with the most diligent petition. But the man-loving God, who wants all man to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4), seeing his very deception and remembering his work and exploits, did not allow the enemy to completely tempt him and plunge him into the most dangerous fall of pride, which is why the psalm word befits him: when he falls he will not be broken: for the Lord strengthens his hand (Ps. 37:24). Then the word spoken by the Apostle comes to his mind: we are not content with ourselves, but rather with ourselves (2 Cor. 3:5). If even this is not enough, he thought, how much more do I need instruction. I’ll go to such and such a hermit and whatever he tells me and advises, I will accept as from God as a guide to my salvation. Abba, to whom he wanted to go, was great and glorious, excelled in contemplation, could benefit those who came to him and should guide those who questioned him. When he came to him, the elder saw two monkeys on his shoulders, which, having wrapped a chain around his neck, each strained to pull him towards himself. Seeing this and, like a God-taught man, having learned the reason, he sighed and cried secretly. After prayer and the usual kissing, they sat down without saying anything for about an hour, for such was the custom among the fathers there. After this the monk who came said: Father! Have mercy on me and give me instruction about the path of salvation. The elder said: I, child, am not sufficient for this and I myself require guidance. He again says: do not refuse, Abba, to use me, for I am heartily disposed to believe you and have given my word to accept your advice. But the elder refused, saying: you won’t listen to me, that’s why I refuse. The monk again gave his word that he would listen to him like an angel, no matter what he commanded him. Then the elder said to him: take this bag with small coins, go to the city, buy ten loaves of bread, ten measures of wine, ten liters of meat and bring them back. He began to grieve, but he went. Along the way, many thoughts arose in him: and what was it in the elder’s head, and how will I buy such things, and the laity will be tempted when I take them... And so, with weeping and tears, he came to the city and, ashamed, through one he bought bread, and through another - wine, and lamented: alas for me, the poor! How will I buy meat: myself or through someone else? However, although with shame, he secretly found a layman, gave him money, and he bought it and gave it to him. When he brought all this to the elder, he reminded him: do not forget that you gave me your word to obey in everything I tell you! So, take this, go to your cell and, through prayer, take one piece of bread, one measure of wine and one measure of meat every day, and after ten days come here. Hearing this and not daring to contradict, he took everything and went, crying and grieving about this matter: from what fast and to what point have I come. Should I do this or not? But if I don’t do it, I will offend God, because I gave my word that whatever the elder tells me, I will accept it as from God. And now, Lord, look upon my sorrow, have mercy on me and forgive me my sins, for I am forced to do this against the rule of fasting laid down by me. He came to his cell in tears and did as the elder commanded him, but he was more diligent in prayer and, starting to eat, fertilized his bread with tears, saying: Lord! Where have you left me? And God looked upon his repentance and humility and gave consolation to his heart, and he understood the reason why it happened to him to be as negligent as he believed, and, thanking God, he confessed this prophetic word: all righteousness of a man is like the port of an unclean woman (Isa. 64:6) and unless the Lord builds a house, those who build the building labor in vain: unless the Lord preserves the city, in vain is he strict (Ps. 127:1). Then he comes again to the elder, his body exhausted and more exhausted than when he spent weeks without food. The elder immediately saw that he had humbled himself and accepted him with a bright face. Having said a prayer, they sat down in silence, then the elder began to say: the humane God visited you and did not allow the enemy to dominate you, who is always in the habit of seducing those who excel in virtue, leading them into conceit, forcing them and disposing them to undertake excessive feats in order to thus overthrow them. For no sinful passion is as vile before God as pride, and no virtue is as honest as humility. We see an example of both in the Pharisee and the tax collector. Extremes - on both sides - are reprehensible, for, as one elder says: everything that is above measure comes from demons. So, walk in the royal way, according to the Scriptures, and do not turn aside to the right or to the left, but keep to the middle. As for eating, eat in moderation every evening; If there is a need, pass the time without thinking, whether you need to resolve it due to illness or some other reason before a certain hour; and again: if you happen to eat every other day, do not reason, for we are not under the law, but under grace (Rom. 6:15). When you eat, do not be satisfied, but keep yourself in abstinence; especially abstain from good food, and always kiss meager foods. Guard your heart, striving in every possible way to be humble in wisdom, for sacrifice to God, as the prophet says, is a broken spirit: God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Ps. 50:19). And again the same saint David testifies: I humbled myself, and the Lord saved me (Ps. 114:5). Likewise, through the prophet Isaiah the Lord says: to whom will I look, only to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words (Isa. 66:2). So, child, placing all your trust in the Lord, walk your way in the world, and He will create and bring forth your righteousness like light, and your destiny like midday (Ps. 37:6). With such instructions the elder confirmed his brother and, having tasted with him what had happened, he sent him away rejoicing in the Lord. Returning, he said: let those who fear You and those who know Your testimonies convert me (Ps. 119:79); and while the Lord punished me, He did not give me over to death (Ps. 118:18), and the righteous will punish me with mercy and reprove me (Ps. 141:5). He said to himself: turn, my soul, to your rest, for the Lord has done good to you: and so on (Ps. 115:6, 7). And having come to his cell, he began to live according to the commandment of the elder, spending the entire time of his life in humility and contrition, until he reached a perfect husband, according to the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13). 279. They asked the elder: what is monastic life? And he answered: true lips, undefiled body, pure heart. 280. The elder said that our fathers entered inside by cutting off the thoughts of the wishes of the will; but if we are able, we will enter with meekness. 281. The elder said about Moses: when he wanted to strike the Egyptian, he looked here and there and did not see anyone, that is, he examined his thoughts and was convinced that his intention had nothing bad, but that what he was doing was doing for God. And then he struck the Egyptian. 282. The elder spoke about the following saying of the psalm - and I will lay His hand on the sea, and His right hand on the rivers (Ps. 89:26): this refers to the Savior: His work is on the sea, which is the world, and His right hand is on the rivers, that is, on the Apostles, who watered the world with faith. 283. One of the fathers said: Scripture says that a clean animal regurgitates food and eats with two hooves. Such is the person - a true believer and accepter of the two Testaments, which are found in their entirety in the Holy Church, and among the heretics - with various shortcomings. A person should vomit good food, but not bad food. Good food is good thoughts, the traditions of the holy fathers and the like, and bad food is evil thoughts about various sins and human transgressions. 284. The elder said: if any saying comes to the heart of a brother sitting in his cell, and he follows this saying, not reaching the limit and not being attracted by God, then demons appear and interpret that saying to him the way he wants. 285. One brother asked the elder: what does cultivating the soul consist of so that it bears fruit? The elder answered: cultivating the soul consists of: silence of the body, much bodily prayer and inattention to people’s falls, but only to one’s own. If a person continues in this, then his soul will not be slow to bear fruit. 286. The brother asked one of the fathers about the blasphemous thought, saying: Father, the demon of blasphemy is raping my soul; Do me a favor, tell me why this happened to me and what should I do? The elder answered him: a blasphemous thought attacks us for speaking, humiliating and condemning others, especially for pride, when someone does his own will, neglects prayer, becomes angry and furious. All these are signs of pride, which disposes us to the passions shown - verbalization, humiliation and condemnation, and from them blasphemous thoughts are born. If this thought lingers for a long time in the soul, then the demon of blasphemy will transfer the person to the demon of fornication and frenzy of mind; and if a person does not sober up, he dies. 287. The brother asked the elder: Father! What does the prophet mean when he says: his salvation is in his God (Ps. 3:3). The elder answered: he understands unclean thoughts that inspire the soul to retreat from God when it is in sorrow due to temptations. 288. The elder said: we must flee from all those who create lawlessness, even if they were friends and relatives, even if they had the rank of priest or even king, for apostasy from those who create lawlessness gives us the friendship of God and boldness towards Him. 289. Again he said: it is better to live with three who fear God than with ten thousand who do not fear the Lord. For in the last days in the cinnamonites there will still be those who live in a hundred who are saved, but in fifty you will count very few of them. All will be corrupted, loving meals and gluttony, all will love covetousness and the love of money - for many are the callings, but few are the chosen ones (Matthew 20:16). 290. He said: it is not useful to cleave to iniquity: neither in the church, nor in the marketplace, nor in the council, nor in the court of law - never and nowhere. Therefore, one must completely avoid communication with the lawless, for every lawless person is worthy of disgust and is guilty of eternal torment. 291. The elder said: there is nothing poorer than the mind that philosophizes about the divine without God. Anyone who teaches in a church or in a cell must first fulfill what he speaks and teaches, as it is said: “It is fitting for a laboring worker to first partake of the fruit” (2 Tim. 2:6). 292. The brother asked the elder: Father! How do some see revelations and visions of angels? The elder replied: Blessed is the child who always sees his iniquities, for he is constantly sober. The brother continued: Father, several days before this I saw how one brother cast out a demon from another brother. The elder told him: I don’t want to cast out demons and heal illnesses, but I want and I beg God, let the demon not enter me and let me cleanse myself of unclean thoughts - then I would become great. For if anyone cleanses his heart from impure thoughts and will not be lazy in keeping watch and following his rule, he will undoubtedly, together with the standard-bearing fathers, be honored with the kingdom of God. 293. One of the fathers told the story: there was a nunnery in Thessalonica. One of the virgins, due to the action of our common enemy, left the monastery and fell into fornication. After this fall, she remained in fornication for quite some time, but then she repented, with the help of the All-Good One, who assisted her in repentance, she came to her monastery and died at the gate. One of the saints had the following revelation about her death: he saw how the holy Angels came to take her soul, and the demons followed them; they argued among themselves - the holy angels said that she had come to repentance, but the demons argued: since she worked for them for so long, that’s why - them, and how she repented, if she did not even reach the cinnamon. The angels said: from the moment God saw that her intention was inclined towards this, he already accepted her repentance, and she was the mistress of repentance for the purpose that she had, and the Lord of life is the Lord of all. The demons, disgraced by this word, left. The holy elder, who saw the revelation, and the bishop told others about what we also heard and conveyed to you. So, brethren, knowing this, with the help of God, let us be determined not to give in to our thoughts in any sin, but we will contradict and resist them, especially beware of leaving our monastery, for we know where we are coming from, but we do not know where we will end up when we leave. 294. The elder said: the saints, having Christ within them, will inherit both what is here through dispassion, and what is there, for both here and there are Christ’s. Therefore, he who has Him has both Him and that which is His. And he who has passions, even if he had the whole world, has nothing except the passions that possess him. 295. He also said: do not be surprised that, being a man, you can become an angel, for the glory equal to the angels is presented, and the hero promised it to those who strive. 296. Again he said: a person will never be good, even if he wants to be good, if God does not dwell in him, for no one is good, except one God (Mark 10:18). 297. He said: he who is offended and voluntarily forgives his neighbor is by the nature of Jesus; he who neither offends nor is offended is by the nature of Adam; and the one who offends, or demands growth, or is malicious is by the nature of the devil. 298. A brother came to an old man and said to him: Abba! Tell me the word, how to be saved? The elder told him: if you come to someone, do not start talking before he asks you. The brother, moved by this word, threw the elder and said: “Indeed, I read a lot of books, but nowhere did I find such instruction.” And, having received great benefit, he left. 299. The elder said: a wandering mind is established by reading, vigil and prayer; burning lust is extinguished by greed, work and withdrawal from others; violent anger is pacified by psalmody, patience and alms - however, if all this happens in its time and in its own measure, for everything that is untimely and exorbitant is short-lived, and what is short-lived is more harmful than beneficial. 300. The brothers asked one elder: why does the soul not strive for the promises that are communicated by God through the Scriptures, but willingly inclines towards the unclean? The elder replied: Because, I think, she has not yet tasted the things above, and that is why she desires unclean things. 301. The elder said: if you live in any place and see those who have consolation, do not listen to them; but if there is such a poor person there that he has almost no bread, listen to him and you will find peace. 302. The elder said: lies are the old man, but truth is the new man. 303. Again he said: the root of good deeds is truth, and falsehood is death. 304. The elder said: believe, children, what I say: how great is the praise and how great is the glory when kings renounce the world and become monks, for the intelligent is more honest than the sensual, so great is the shame for a monk who leaves the monastic image and becomes a king. 305. He also said: brothers, if nature arouses lusts, then the increase in asceticism extinguishes them. 306. One elder asked another: why am I not allowed to be frank with the elders in my thoughts? The elder answered him: the enemy rejoices over no one so much as over those who do not reveal their thoughts. 307. The elder said: do not live in places where you see that some people envy you; otherwise you won’t succeed. 308. The elder said: if humiliation has become for you, it is like praise; poverty is like wealth; poverty is like contentment, then you will not die, for it is impossible for someone who believes well and works in piety and truth to fall into the impurity of passions and the delusion of demons. You might be interested in: