Глава XI. О том, что всегда должно трезвиться

1. Abba Anthony said: I knew monks who, after much labor, fell and went into a frenzy of mind because they trusted in their own work and despised the commandment of him who said: ask your father, and your elders will tell you, and they will tell you (Deut. 37:7). 2. He also said: if possible, how many steps a monk takes in his cell and how many drops he drinks, he should reveal to the elders - whether he is somehow sinning in this. So one brother found a solitary and silent place in the desert and asked his father: let me live in it, and I trust in God and your prayers that I can work well in it. But his Abba did not allow this, saying: I know truly that you have a lot of work to do, but because you do not have an elder, you will rely on your work, as if it pleases God, and because you believe in yourself, as if you are completely fulfilling the work of a monk, you will ruin your work and meaning. 3. Abba Anthony said: a blacksmith, taking a piece of iron, first looks at what he should make - a scythe, a knife or an ax. Likewise, we must first consider what virtue to practice, so as not to work in vain. 4. The brother asked Abba Arseny to speak to him, and the elder said to him: strive as much as you have, so that your inner work is according to God, and you will overcome external passions. 5. He also said: if we seek God, He will appear to us; and if we hold on, He will remain with us. 6. Abba Daniel said: Abba Arseny called me one day and said: give your father rest, so that when he goes to the Lord, he will pray for you, that good may come to you (Ex. 20:12). 7. Abba Agathon said: a monk should not allow his conscience to convict him of any matter. 8. He said that without observing the commandments of God, a person will not succeed in any virtue. 9. He also said: every person must discern the judgment seat of God. 10. Once Abba Ammon came to cross the river and, having found a ship there that was being cleaned, he sat down next to it. When another ship approached, carrying noble people, he was offered to cross with them, but the abba replied: I do not enter on any ship other than one of the people. At the same time, while the ship was being prepared, he sat with a bunch of branches, wove a weave and unraveled it again; then crossed over. Afterwards, the brethren, having given him the throwing, asked: Father, why did you do this? The elder replied: as an example, one should not always walk according to the thought of zeal. 11. They said about Abba Ammo that when he went to church, he did not allow his disciple to walk near him, but at a distance; and if a student approached to ask him about a thought, then he, having answered what was necessary, immediately removed it from himself, saying: for this reason I do not leave you near me, so that when we start talking about something useful for the soul, the extraneous conversation does not overwhelm him. 12. Abba Ammoi asked Abba Isaiah at the beginning: how do you look at me now? He answered: like an angel, father! Later, in recent years, I asked him again: how do you look at me now? He said: as against Satan, for although you speak a good word to me, it is like a sword to me. 13. They said about Abba Ammun, who lived with a small measure of barley for two months at a time, that he once came to Abba Pimen and said to him: when I come to my neighbor’s cell or he comes to me for some need, then we are afraid to talk to each other, so that the outside conversation does not take over. The elder said to him: you are doing well, for youth has a need to preserve itself. Abba Ammun asked him: what did the elders do? Abba Pimen answered: the successful elders had nothing alien in themselves to speak about with their lips. He asked again: so, if there is a need to speak with my neighbor, do you tell me to speak from the Scriptures or from the words of the elderly? Abba said: if you cannot remain silent, then it is better to come from the words of elders, and not from Scripture, for there is considerable danger in this. 14. Abba Aloniy said: if a person does not say in his heart that in this world there is only him and God, then he will not have peace. 15. Again he said: if a person wants, then from morning to evening he will come to the measure of God. 16. Abba Vissarion, leaving, said that a monk should be all eyes, like Cherubim and Seraphim. 17. Abba Ammoi and Abba Daniel once traveled. Abba Ammoi asked: when will we, Father, sit in our cells? Abba Daniel answered: Who is taking God away from us even now? There is God in the cell and there is also God outside. 18. Abba Isaiah said: cowardice and the fact that others reproach his mind do not allow us to see the light of God. 19. He also said: let us ask God to give us mourning for our sins, and let us make an effort on our part to flee humanity, not to take liberties with the laity and not to speak vain words, so that the vision of God does not dim in the mind, for it is impossible for anyone who hears or speaks worldly words to have boldness of heart before God. He who says, “I suffer no harm from what I hear or speak about worldly affairs,” is like a blind man who does not see the light of a lamp brought to him. This is also clear from the example of the sun, illuminating the whole world, when a small cloud, running onto it, covers both its light and warmth. Those who have vision know this. 20. Again he said: strive to avoid these three passions that corrupt the soul: love of money, avarice and peace, for when they possess the soul, they do not allow it to prosper. 21. Abba Isaiah said: people turn their minds either to sins, or to Jesus, or to people. 22. Abba Peter said: I once asked my Abba Isaiah, who is the servant of God? And he answered me: if anyone works for any passion, he is not considered a servant of God, but is a slave of the one who possesses him. And when he is in this captivity, he cannot teach another who has the same passion, for it is absurd to teach him or ask God for him before freeing himself from the same passion. And how will he ask for something else, being himself possessed by the same illness - he is neither a servant of God, nor a friend, nor a son, to ask for anything else, but moreover, he must often pray for this in order to free himself, and if he does not free himself from what he himself is working for, his face is filled with shame before God. So, since he is subject to passions, he should cry that he was not worthy of boldness towards God, for this is true purity, which God requires from every person. 23. Abba Isaiah said: whoever seeks the Lord with heart trouble, He will hear him; and if he asks Him for anything with reason, zeal and labor of the heart, not binding himself to anything worldly, but caring only about his soul, so that He may present it uncondemned before His throne, then He will give it to him. 24. Abba Theodore of Yennatsky said: if God imputes to us negligence in prayers and laziness in psalmody, then we cannot be saved. 25. Abba Theodore of Scete said: a thought comes and disturbs me and occupies me: it is not strong enough to accomplish things, but only hinders me in virtue. The sober husband, having cast him out, rises to prayer. 26. Abba Theona said: through the abolition of our mind from the contemplation of God, we are captivated by carnal passions. 27. Mother Theodora said: there was one monk who, from many temptations, said to himself: get out of here. However, as soon as he took the sandal, he saw someone else who, putting on his sandals, said to him: “Aren’t you leaving for my sake?” But I will go ahead of you wherever you go. 28. One day some of the brethren came to test Abba John Kolov, for he did not allow his thoughts to enter into the affairs of this world and talk about them, and they said: we thank God! It rained a lot this year; the dates have watered and are giving birth; the brethren will find handicrafts for themselves. Abba John answered them: so is the Holy Spirit: when it descends into the hearts of the saints, they give birth in the fear of God. 29. They told about him that he wove a weave for two baskets and sewed it all together for one basket, without noticing it until he approached the wall itself, for his mind was occupied with contemplation. 30. Abba John said: I am like a man sitting under a great tree, who, seeing many animals and reptiles coming at him, when he cannot resist them, jumps onto the tree and is saved. So I do: I sit in my cell and watch how evil thoughts rise up against me, but when I am not strong against them, I resort to God in prayer and save myself from the enemy. 31. In Skete there was one old man, hardworking in bodily work, but not strong in memory. He came to Abba John to ask about forgetfulness, but, having heard a word from him, he returned to his cell and forgot what Abba John had told him. He went to him again and, having heard a word from him, returned, however, when he reached his cell, he forgot him. He often came to him, but upon his return he was always overcome by forgetfulness. After this, once meeting with the elder, he told him: you know, Abba, I again forgot what you told me, but so as not to bother you, I did not come. Then Abba John said to him: go light a lamp. And he lit it. He also said to him: Bring other lamps and light them from it. He did so. Then Abba John asked the elder: did this lamp suffer any harm because you lit other lamps from it? He answered: no. Abba said: so John, if the whole Skete comes to me, it will not separate me from the grace of God. So, whenever you want, come, without any reasoning. And for the patience of both, God took forgetfulness from the elder. This was the work of the nomads: to give zeal to those who struggle and force themselves, in order to bring profit to each other in goodness! 32. One brother asked Abba John: what should I do, for my brother often comes to take me to work, and I, poor man, am weak and tired at work? So, what should I do according to the commandment? The elder answered: Caleb said to Joshua the son of Nun: I have been forty years since Moses the servant of the Lord sent me... to spy out the land... and now, behold, today I am eighty and five years... as when Moses sent me: so even now I can go in and out to battle (Isa. 14:7,10, 11). So you too, if you can, the way you go out is the way you come in - go; if you cannot, sit in your cell, mourning your sins. When they find you crying, they won't force you to come out. 33. He said to his disciple: let us honor the One, and everyone will honor us. If we despise the One, who is God, then everyone will despise us, and we will go to destruction. 34. They said about Abba John that he once came to the church in Skete and, having heard the argument of some brethren, returned to his cell, walked around it three times and then only entered it. Some of the brethren, seeing this, were amazed and, coming, asked him why he did this. He answered them: My ears were full of contradictions. So, I walked around in order to cleanse them and enter the cell in the silence of my mind. 35. One brother once came to Abba John’s cell in the evening and was in a hurry to leave. While they were talking about virtues, morning came, but they did not notice it. Abba went out to see this brother off, and they continued the conversation until the sixth hour. Then the abba again led his brother into his cell, and, having already tasted it, he left him. 36. Abba John said: prison is sitting in a cell and always remembering God. And this is what the words mean: I was in prison, and came to Me (Matthew 25:36). 37. One brother came to take baskets from Abba John Kolov. Abba came out to him and asked: what do you want, brother? He answered: basket, Abba. Having entered the cell to take them out, he forgot about them and sat down to sew. He knocked again and when Abba came out, he asked: Bring the baskets, Abba! He went in and sat down to sew again. When the brother knocked again, he came out and asked him: what do you want, brother? He answered: Basket, Abba! Then Abba John took him by the hand, led him into his cell and said: if you want baskets, take them and go, for I am not idle. 38. Once a camel came to Abba John to take his handicrafts and go to another place. But Abba, having entered to carry out the weaving, forgot about it, having a mind stretched out to God. The camel bothered him by knocking on the door, and again Abba John, entering his cell, forgot about it. When he knocked for the third time, the abba, entering the cell, repeated: weaving is a camel; weaving - camel... 39. They said about Abba John that when he came from the harvest or from visiting the elders, he practiced prayer, reading with meditation and psalmody, until his thoughts were established in the previous order. 40. Abba Isidore said: when I was younger and sat in my cell, I had no measure for prayer, I had prayer night and day. 41. Again he said: I once went to the marketplace to sell some handicrafts and, seeing that anger was approaching me, I left my things and ran away. 42. Abba Joseph said to Abba Lot: you cannot be a monk unless you are all like a flaming fire. 43. They said about Abba Apollo that he had a disciple named Isaac, taught to do every good work. He acquired silence during the Holy Offering and, when leaving the church, did not allow anyone to enter into conversation with him. His word was this: everything is good in its season, and a time for every thing (Eccl. 3:1). Therefore, when the service ended, he, as if driven by fire, hurried to reach his cell. Often after the service the brethren were given a small dried loaf of bread and a cup of wine, but he did not take it, not because he rejected the blessing of the brethren, but in order to maintain the silence of the service. He happened to get sick. The brethren, having heard about this, came to visit him and, sitting with him, asked: Abba Isaac! Why do you run away from the brothers after the service? He answered: I am not running from the brethren, but from the malice of demons. For if someone lights a lamp and tarries while standing in the wind, the lamp will go out because of the wind; so we, enlightened by the Holy Offering, if we tarry outside the cell, our mind will be darkened. Such was the life of the Monk Abba Isaac! 44. Abba Cassian told about one old man who lived in the desert, that he prayed to God that He would grant him never to doze off during a spiritual conversation, but if he uttered words of verbiage and idle talk, to immediately fall into sleep, so that his ears would not receive this poison. He said that the devil is the guardian of idle talk and the enemy of all spiritual teaching, and pointed to the following example: when I talked with some brothers about spiritual things, they were overcome by such a deep sleep that they could not move their eyelids. Wanting to show the demonic inspiration, I introduced an idle word into the conversation, and they immediately cheered up with joy - they woke up. Then I groaned bitterly and said: While we were discussing celestial objects, all of you had sleepy eyes, but as soon as the idle word poured out, you all immediately arose. So, brothers, I ask you to recognize the guidance of the evil demon and pay attention to yourself, guarding against dozing when you do or hear anything spiritual. 45. Abba Pimen asked Abba Macarius with many tears, saying: tell me the word, how to be saved? The elder said in response: the matter you are looking for has moved away from the monks. 46. ​​Abba Macarius the Great said: the soul must with contrition gather its thoughts during psalmody and not think of anything else but the desires of the Lord, and preserve its inner love for Him alone. Just as a mother gathers her children into her home for instruction in learning, so the soul must gather thoughts from everywhere, as if it were her own children, even if they were scattered by sin, so that He, coming to her, for the unceasing gathering of thoughts and aspirations of the Lord in firm faith that is possible for her, teaches true prayer and undistracted supplication to Him alone. 47. Abba Moses said: a person cannot enter the army of Christ unless he is all like fire, unless he despises honor and peace, does not cut off the desires of the flesh and does not keep all the commandments of God. 48. Again he said: let us seek reverence, honesty, meekness and respect for every person, in order to avoid insolence - the mother of evils. 49. They said about Abba Nisferoi, who was in Raifa, that he fasted for three weeks every year and sewed six baskets each week. 50. Abba Nisferoi said: a monk must give an account every evening and every morning of what he did not do from what God wants, and what he did from what He does not want; and observe this practice throughout your life. This is how Abba Arseny lived. Strive every day to present yourself to God without sin and pray to God like one who is inherent in one who is inherent, for He is truly inherent in you. Don't legislate, don't judge anyone. It is alien for a monk to swear, break oaths, lie, curse, revile, laugh, and one should remember that he loses a lot who is honored and praised above his dignity. 51. Abba Xanthius said: the thief was on the cross and was justified with one word, and Judas was numbered among the Apostles and in one night lost all his labor and descended from heaven to hell. Therefore no one should boast when he does good, for all who trusted in themselves perished. 52. Abba Olympius said: a Hellenic priest once came to Skete, entered my cell and spent the night. Seeing the life of the monks, he asked me: living like this, do you see nothing from your God? I answered him: nothing. The priest said: when we serve our god, he does not hide anything from us, but reveals his secrets to us. But you, when you undertake such labors—vigilance, silence, asceticism—say that you see nothing. So, if you see nothing, then, of course, you have evil thoughts in your hearts that separate you from your God. That is why He does not reveal His secrets to you. I went and told the elders the words of the priest. They were surprised and said: truly it is so, for unclean thoughts separate a person from God. 53. Abba Orsisius said: I think that if a person does not properly guard his heart, he will forget everything he has heard and become remiss; then the enemy, having found a place for himself in him, will overthrow him. Likewise, if through negligence they do not add oil to a lamp that is prepared and shining, it will gradually fade away and, finally, darkness will completely overcome it; In addition, a mouse also walks around and seeks to eat what is in the lamp, but before it goes out, it cannot steal the oil; as soon as he notices that not only is there no light in it, but also the warmth of fire, he throws down the lamp itself, and if it is clay, it is crushed, but if it is copper, then it can be restored again by the landlord. Thus, to the extent that the soul is negligent, the Holy Spirit moves away from it until its burning is completely extinguished, and, finally, the enemy, consuming the zeal of the soul, defiles the body with evil. If a person has a good disposition towards God and is only carried away into negligence, then God, as a merciful one, implanting in him His fear and memory of torment, prepares him to stay awake and behave in the future with great firmness until the time of His visit. 54. Abba Pimen, while still young, went to an old man to ask him about three thoughts, but when he came to the old man, he forgot one of them. Returning to his cell, as soon as he took hold of the key to unlock it, he remembered the word that he had forgotten, and, leaving the key, returned to the elder; the length of the journey was very long. The elder says to him: you hastened to come, brother. He told him that as soon as he took the key, he remembered the word that he had forgotten, and, without opening the cell, he returned here. The elder told him: you are an angelic shepherd! And your name will spread throughout all the land of Egypt. 55. They said about Abba Pimen that when he wanted to go to the service, he sat down separately, considered his thoughts for about an hour and then left. 56. Abba Pimen said: if a person makes a new heaven and a new earth, then even then he should not indulge in carelessness. 57. He said again: someone asked Abba Paisius: what should I do with my soul? She is insensitive and does not fear God. Abba Paisios answered: go and cleave to a man who fears God, and when you become close to him, he will teach you to fear God. 58. He said about Abba Pior that he made a beginning every day. 59. When Abba Isaac was sitting with Abba Pimen, the voice of a rooster was heard, and he asked the elder: is this here, Abba? He answered: Isaac! Why are you forcing me to say? You haven’t forgotten to hear this, but a sober person doesn’t care about that. 60. The brother asked Abba Pimen: say a word to me. And the elder said to him: when the pot is heated from below by fire, then neither a fly nor any other reptile can touch it; when it cools down, then it is available to them. Similarly, a monk, as long as he remains in spiritual activity, the enemy does not find a way to bring him down. 61. He said: The wickedness of people is hidden behind them. 62. Abba Pimen often said: we don’t need anything except a sober heart. 63. Abba Pimen said that one brother said to Abba Simon: if I leave my cell and find my brother scattered, I am scattered with him; if I find him laughing, I laugh with him; when I return to my cell, I cannot have peace. The elder said to him: Do you want, when leaving his cell and seeing those laughing, to laugh himself, seeing those speaking, and to speak, and when entering his cell, to find himself as he was?! The brother asked: but how? The elder answered: take care of storage inside the cell and take care of storage outside of it. 64. Again he said: this voice cries out to man until his last breath: turn now. 65. He also said: these three chapters are necessary: ​​to fear the Lord, to pray and to do good to one’s neighbor. 66. He also said: a person cannot see external enemies, but when they rise within, then if anyone fights, he will cast them out. 67. Again he said: the fact that we do not foresee the matter does not allow us to succeed to the best. 68. He said to Abba Anuvius: turn away your eyes from seeing vanity (Ps. 119:37), for freedom destroys souls. 69. Again he said: if the soul renounces all contentiousness during conversation, as well as human troubles and anxieties, then the Holy Spirit will come to it, and then it will be able to give birth, being in itself barren. 70. He also said: the beginning and the end is the fear of God, for it is written: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7). Again, when Abraham prepared the altar, the Lord said to him: “Now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12). 71. Abba Pamvo said: with the help of God, since I renounced the world, I have not repented of the word that I spoke. 72. Someone asked Abba Peter, a disciple of Abba Lot: when I am alone in my cell, my soul is at peace, but when my brother comes to me and tells me a word about something external, my soul is indignant. Abba Peter said that Abba Lot told him: Your key unlocks my door. The brother says: what does this word mean? He answered: if someone comes to you and you ask: how are you? Where did you come from? How are the brothers doing? Did they love you or not? - then you open your door to your brother and hear what you don’t want. He tells him: this is how it happens. What should a man do when his brother comes to him? The elder answered him: crying teaches you everything, and where there is no crying, it is impossible to protect yourself. The brother said: when I am alone in my cell, crying happens to me, but when someone comes to me or I myself leave the cell, I no longer find it. The elder tells him: he has not yet submitted to you, but you have him, as it were, for use for a while. For it is also written in the law: if you have acquired wealth, let a Jewish slave work for you for six years, and in the seventh year you must set him free. If you give him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters and does not want to leave, having loved his master, and his wife, and children, then bring him before the door and test his ear ... with his awl, and let it work for you forever (Ex. 21: 2-6). The brother asked: what does this word mean? The elder answered: if a person labors in any matter according to his strength, then whenever he seeks it for his use, he will find it. He says to him: do me a favor, explain to me what this means? The elder said: an adopted son does not remain in someone’s work forever, but a natural son never leaves his father. 73. Abba Sisoes once sat in his cell. When his disciple knocked, the elder shouted to him: run, Abraham, don’t come in - now I’m not idle. 74. One brother strongly asked Abba Sisoya to tell him something, and the elder said: sit in your cell with sobriety, commit yourself to God with many tears and you will find peace. 75. The brother said to Abba Siso: I want to guard my heart, but I cannot. The elder answered: How can we guard our hearts when the door of our tongue is open? 76. Once during Abba Silouan’s stay on Mount Sinai, his disciple, leaving for service, said to him: Father, lower the water and water the garden. Coming out for this, the elder covered his face with a cupola and looked only at his feet. At this time his brother came to him and saw from a distance what he was doing. Then, when they entered, the brother asked: tell me, Abba, why did you cover your face with a cupola and water the garden like that? The elder answered: so, my son, so that my eyes do not see the trees and so that my mind does not become occupied with them, abandoning its work. 77. They once asked Abba Silouan: what kind of work did you go through, Abba, to obtain such intelligence? He answered: I have never allowed a thought into my heart that would anger God. 78. Abba Moses asked Abba Silouan: can a person make a beginning every day? The elder said: if he is a doer, he can make a beginning every hour. 79. Abba Serapion said: the king’s soldiers, standing in front of him, cannot look either to the right or to the left; so a person, if he establishes himself before God and listens to Him with fear every hour, nothing of the enemy can frighten him. 80. Blessed Syncletica said: let us be sober, for through our feelings, against our will, thieves enter. And how can a house not become smoky when its windows are open and smoke rushes in from outside? 81. She said again: we must arm ourselves in every possible way against the demons, for they attack from the outside and make movements from the inside. The soul is like a ship: just as it sometimes sinks due to external disturbances, and sometimes sinks when water gets inside, so we do: sometimes we perish from sins committed outside of ourselves, and sometimes we perish through internal thoughts. So, one must notice both external reasons and exhaust the internal currents of thoughts. 82. She said: children! We all know how to be saved, but through our negligence we lose salvation. 83. She also said: here we cannot live without fear, for the Scripture says: be determined to stand, and be careful that you do not fall (1 Cor. 10:12). We are floating in obscurity. The sacred singer David called our life the sea; on the sea there are places with pitfalls, there are stormy places, and there are also quiet ones. We, it seems, are sailing on the quiet part of the sea, and the laity are sailing on the turbulent part. We sail during the day, guided by the Sun of Truth, but it often happens that a layman, caught in a storm and darkness, saves his ship with vigilance, and we, being in silence, from negligence sink to the bottom when we leave the helm of righteousness. 84. Abba Iperechius said: may your memory always be in the kingdom of heaven, and you will easily inherit it. 85. He also said: let the life of a monk be in imitation of the Angels - burning away sin. 86. Abba Or said to Abba Siso: I think that if a person does not carefully guard his heart, he will forget everything he has heard and become remiss; and then the enemy, having found a place in him, overthrows him. 87. Within the Jordan there was one hermit who labored for quite a long time. He was awarded the gift of not being subjected to the enemy’s attacks, so that in front of everyone who came to him for the sake of benefit, he reviled the devil, saying that he is nothing and not at all strong against ascetics, but destroys only those whom he finds, like himself, defiled and always enslaved to sin. He did not feel that he was covered by God’s help and therefore was not exposed to the attacks of the enemy. One day, by God's permission, the devil appears to him face to face and says: what have I done to you, Abba? Why are you blaspheming me? I didn't annoy you in any way. The elder, spitting on him, again uttered the same words: follow me, Satan, for you can do nothing against the servants of Christ. Then Satan spoke these words: so, so; from now on you have to live another forty years, and in so many years I will not find even one hour without attacking you. And, throwing away the sack, he became invisible. The elder was immediately surrounded by thoughts and began to think: I’ve been here for so many years, but God wants me to live another forty years?! I will leave here and go into the world, look after those who serve me, stay with them for several years and return again and take up my asceticism. Having thought this, he did just that: he quickly left the cell and began his journey. He was still not far away when an Angel of the Lord was sent to help him and asked him: Where are you heading, Abba? He said: to the city. He says to him: return to your cell and nothing to you and Satan; From now on, consider yourself reproached by him. Then, having come to his senses, the elder returned to his cell and died three days later. 88. Someone saw a young monk laughing and said to him: don’t laugh, brother, for by doing this you are driving away the fear of God from yourself. 89. They said about one elder that when he was sitting in his cell, his brother came to visit him and heard that the elder was arguing inside the cell and saying: oh! How good! How long? Let's get out of here! Come to me, friend! Then, entering, the brother asked him: Abba! Who did you talk to? He answered: I cast out my evil thoughts and called on good ones. 90. The elder said: I lower the spindle and put death before my eyes before I draw it in. 91. He also said: what I could understand in reading, I did not repeat. 92. He said again: a person who has death before his eyes every hour overcomes cowardice. 93. The elder said: every evening and every morning a monk must turn the word to himself and say: what have we done from what God wants, and what have we not done from what God does not want. And thus repent. This is what a monk should do! This is how Abba Arseny lived. 94. The elder said: if someone loses gold or silver, he can find something else instead; but he who destroys time cannot find another. 95. One of the elders came to another elder, and during the interview one of them said: I died to the world. Another elder says to him: do not rely on yourself until you leave the body, for if you, as you say, have died, then Satan has not died. 96. The elder said: just as a warrior and a hunter, going to fight, do not care whether the other is wounded or saved, but each one cares about himself, so should a monk do the same. 97. The elder said: just as no one can offend the king standing near him, so Satan cannot do anything to us if our soul is near God, as it is said: draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8). But since we often amuse ourselves with thoughts, the enemy conveniently drags our poor soul into the passions of dishonor. 98. The elder said: getting up in the morning, say to yourself: body - work to eat; soul - be sober in order to inherit the kingdom. 99. They told about one old man that when his thoughts told him: leave today and repent tomorrow, he contradicted them, saying: no! But now I will repent, and tomorrow God’s will will be done. 100. The elders said: there are three satanic forces that precede every sin: oblivion, negligence and lust. For when oblivion comes, it gives birth to negligence; from negligence lust is born; from lust a man falls. If the mind is sober against oblivion, it does not fall into negligence; if he is not careless, he will not fall into lust; if he does not lust, he will never fall by the grace of Christ. 101. The elder said: strive to remain silent, do not worry about anything, listen to your secret teaching, lie down and get up with the fear of God, and you will not be afraid of the aspirations of the wicked. 102. The elder said to one brother: the devil is the enemy, and you are the home. The enemy constantly throws whatever uncleanness he comes across into your house, and your job is not to be lazy about throwing it out. If you are careless, then the house will be filled with all uncleanness to the point that it will no longer be possible for you to enter it. Therefore, the first thing that he throws in, throw out immediately, and your house will always be clean for the grace of Christ. 103. One of the elders said: when they blindfold an ox, he walks around the machine to deliver water; if they don’t tie it, it won’t work. Likewise, the devil, if he manages to close a person’s intelligent eyes, then humbles him in every sin; if a person’s eyes are enlightened, then he can conveniently run away from him. 104. It was said that on the mountain of St. Anthony lived seven brothers, who, while gathering dates, took turns guarding them in order to drive away the birds. Among them was an old man who, having guarded his day, exclaimed: go away, internal evil thoughts and external birds! 105. They said about one elder from Skete that when he was dying, the brethren surrounded his bed and, having clothed him in the schema, began to cry. The elder opened his eyes and laughed; then he laughed again; laughed for the third time. The brothers begged him: tell us, Abba! Why are we crying and you are laughing? He replied: for the first time I laughed at the fact that you are all afraid of death; for the second time he laughed that you were not ready; I laughed for the third time that I was going from work to peace. And immediately the old man rested. 106. The brothers said: we came to the elders and, after the usual prayer, kissed each other, sat down, talked and, intending to go, asked for prayer. Then one of the elders asked us: Well, haven’t you prayed? We answered: when we entered, Abba, there was a prayer; Then we talked until now. The elder said: forgive me, brothers! One brother who was sitting and talking with you said one hundred and three prayers. After these words, the elders prayed and released us. 107. One of the fathers said: one hardworking monk at first paid attention to himself, but then he happened to be somewhat remiss. In this negligence, having come to his senses, he said: soul! How long will you be careless about your salvation, not fearing God's judgment? You would not be allowed to indulge in this negligence and not be given over to eternal torment. By saying this to himself, he aroused himself to the work of God. One day, when he was making his rule, demons came and confused him. He said to them: How long will you trouble me? Are you not pleased with my negligence in the past tense? The demons answered him: when you were careless, then we did not care about you; when did you rise up against us, and we rebelled against you. Hearing this, he aroused himself even more to the work of God and succeeded by the grace of Christ. 108. The elder said: a person must guard his work so as not to destroy it. He who works a lot and does not save, there is no benefit to him, but he who works a little but saves, the work is worth it. Then he told the following incident: one brother inherited an inheritance; when he wanted to arrange a meal of love for the deceased, his brother-wanderer happened to come to him. Waking him up at night, he asked him: get up, help me. The brother begged him, saying: I am tired and cannot. Then he told him: if you don’t go help, get up and leave here. The Stranger got up and left. The next night he sees in a dream that he gave wheat to the baker, but he did not give him a single piece of bread. Getting up, he went to one great elder and told him about this. The elder said: you did a good deed, but the enemy did not allow you to receive a reward. Therefore a man must watch and keep his work. 109. The elder said: I have never taken a step forward with my foot unless I knew where to place my foot; but even having learned this, I did not delve into it completely until I noticed God’s guidance. 110. Satan appeared to one holy man at the very hour of his death and said to him: you have left me. The elder replied: I don’t know yet. You see to what extent the fathers were sober, so as not to boast about any deed. 111. The elder said: in the Skete there was one brother who zealously fulfilled his rule of prayer and was careless in the rest. One day Satan appears to one of the elders and says to him: oh, miracle! Such a monk, doing my will, holds me tightly under his arm so that I do not move away from him, while every hour he says: Lord! Deliver me from evil. 112. The elder said: in every matter, at every hour, say to yourself: what will happen if God visits me? - and see what your thought answers. If he condemns you, immediately leave, abandon the work that you are holding, and take another one in which you would have the boldness to be caught, for the worker must be ready to go on his way at any hour. Therefore, whether you are sitting at handicrafts, or walking along the road, or eating food, always say this to yourself: what will happen if God calls me? And see what your conscience answers you, and hasten to do what it says. If you want to know whether mercy will be with you, ask your conscience and do not stop doing this until your heart is convinced, and your conscience tells you: we believe in the generosity of God, that He will show His mercy to us in every possible way. But listen strictly to your heart - whether it will say these words with doubt. And if there is even one hair’s worth of doubt, God’s mercy is still far from you. 113. One Abba and his brother withdrew into the inner desert, where they stayed apart from each other for six days, and on the seventh they came together: they prayed, ate, without saying anything to each other, and dispersed. Demons began to come to one of them and seduce him, showing him in advance in images the future deeds of the brothers and what was to happen in other places. Hearing after such visions that such and such really happened, he believed them, thinking that they were holy powers. Meanwhile, they turned him away from going to his brother on certain days. Fortunately, he went to visit one sick brother and asked some of the monastery, as if about something else, a question: is it possible for anyone to know what is going to happen in the world? Hearing this and realizing that the brother was in delusion, they reproached him, saying: if you are doing this, then do not come to us in the future. He immediately repented and rejected everything. When he returned, and the demons again came to deceive him, his brother called them liars; then their faces changed into animals, and they left with threats. 114. Someone told about a certain monk who asked God to grant him to be like Isaac, one of the patriarchs. After many petitions, a voice came to him from God: you cannot be like Isaac. The monk says: if not like Isaac, then like Job. The divine voice said: if you fight the devil like he did, then you can be. The monk agreed and again heard the voice of God: go now to your cell. A few days later, the devil, transformed into a warrior, comes to the monk and says: I pray to your reverence, have mercy on me, persecuted by the king! Take these two hundred liters of gold, this girl and the boy, and hide them in your secret place, and I will go to another country. The monk, not recognizing the devil, says to him: my son! I cannot take this upon myself: I am an insignificant person and cannot preserve them. Transformed into a warrior, he began to convince the monk more strongly, and he told him: go, son, hide them in the nearest cave. But, finally, being convinced, he took the gold, and the maiden, and the boy, and a few days later, he began to fight against the maiden, and he, scolded by the demon, corrupted her; then, repenting of what happened, he kills her. Then the thought tells him: kill the boy too, so that he does not betray the cause; he kills the boy too. Then the thought says to him: take the money you put in and run to another place, so that you don’t get into trouble from the one who put it in. So, he goes to another village and builds a prayer house with this money. When he finished this task, the devil appears again in the form of a warrior and begins to shout: trouble! Help! This monk built this building with the money I left him! However, the local residents, rebelling against him, drove him away with dishonor, and he left with daring threats, but the monk after that did not find peace for himself, day or night, struggling with thoughts. Finally, overcome by the thought of leaving that place, he said to himself: it’s already coming to the point that my deeds may be revealed. So, I’ll take part of the money that’s left with me and go to a distant city, where that warrior cannot come. And he goes to the city, meets a girl there - the daughter of an executioner and, after talking with her father, takes him as his wife. After some time, the newly appointed ruler of that country comes and asks the officials who should be the executioner, since the previous executioner has died. They answered him that from ancient times they had a custom - whoever took the wife or daughter of a deceased executioner as his wife also took his position, even if he did not want it. Then they bring this once monk to the steward, and against his will he undertakes to serve the court. Later, when some criminals were caught, the steward commanded the current executioner to prepare tar and other tortures for them, and at this time Satan appeared in his former form and began to scream and demand justice, as if offended, and at the command of the steward he said: this executioner was once a monk. Persecuted by enemies, I left with him a lot of gold, moreover, a boy - my servant and a virgin maiden. So, they commanded me to return my deposit. When asked by the steward, the current executioner, and once a monk, initially refused to answer, but then admitted to killing the boy and girl and embezzlement of money. As a result of this, the steward ordered the unfortunate executioner to be put to death, and when they were leading him to the place of execution, his accuser approached him and asked: Do you know, Abba, who I am? He answered: I think that he was an angel who left me a boy, a girl and money, and whom I recognized unfortunately. Then he said to him: I am Satan, who deceived the primordial Adam, who fights against people and does not allow, as much as is in my power, for anyone to be saved or to be like Isaac or Job, but I am jealous in every way to make everyone like Ahithophel, Judas Iscariot, Cain, the elders of Babylon and others similar to them. Know that you too fell into my fetters, not knowing how to fight in an invisible battle. Do not, out of pride, take on abuse that is beyond your strength! Having said this, he became invisible. So the unfortunate monk, scolded by the demon for his arrogance, was put to death. Let us also beware of asking God for what is above us, and of undertaking things that we are unable to accomplish. It is better to follow the royal path, so that, without deviating from the right hand or the left, we can be saved from the present evil age, maintaining humility in everything. 115. A disciple of one great elder said: we were once walking along a path, and the elder stopped a little. I told him: Abba! Go little by little. He asked me: don’t you hear? - and added: Angels sing in heaven. We must also be sober. And Abba Anthony said that a monk should not care about anything except the salvation of his soul. 116. The elder said: in everything I do, from small to great, I look at the fruit, that is, what will be born from this - whether in thoughts or in deeds. 117. Two philosophers came to the elder and asked him to say a word for their benefit. The old man was silent. The philosophers asked: do you answer us anything, father? Then the elder said to them: I know that you are lovers of love; and that they are not wise men of the truth, I bear witness to this. How long will you study without knowing how to speak? So, let it be your philosophy to always remember death; and by silence - by silence - you will preserve yourself. 118. The elder said: a monk, having renounced the world, indulging in the troubles and hassles of this miserable life, is like a poor beggar, deprived of all the needs of life, who, out of great despondency, vainly discussing how to eat and dress, falls into sleep and sees himself in a dream as rich, throwing off rags and putting on light clothes, but, waking up with joy, finds the same poverty. Likewise, a monk, if he does not stay sober, but spends his days in worries, at whom his thoughts laugh and who is exhausted by demons who mock him as if his worries and troubles are for God, at the hour of separation of soul from body he will find himself poor, poor and destitute, deprived of all virtue. And then he will know what blessings come from sobriety and attention to oneself, and what torments come from everyday worries. 119. The elder said: always remember what is good so that you can do it, for the thoughts of man are not hidden from God. May your mind be pure from all evil. 120. Again he said: let us be sober, brothers, in the hour of battle; Let us not become lazy and get entangled in thoughts of evil deeds; let no evil thought find entry into our souls. 121. He also said: let us strive for future benefits; Let us prepare for the exodus and not waste our time in vain. 122. The elder said: it is written: The righteous will flourish like a date (Ps. 91:13). This word means good, right and sweet, coming from high deeds. The date has one heart - white, in which all its strength lies. Something similar to this can be found among the righteous, for they have a single and simple heart, looking towards the one God, and it is white, being illuminated by faith; and all the work of the saints is in their hearts. The sharpness of the branches means their opposition to the devil. 123. The elder said: the Somanite woman accepted Elisha when she had no communication with any person. They say that the Somanite represents the face of the soul, and Elisha the face of the Spirit of God. So, at what hour the soul retreats from bodily confusion, at such an hour the Spirit of God comes to it; and she can give birth, being herself incorporeal. 124. The elder said: it is written: I will beware of two and three sins, but I will not be led astray by the fourth. The first is to think about evil; the second is to align with the thought; third, talk about it; and the fourth is to do it with action. This will not turn away the wrath of God. 125. One of the fathers said: a pig’s eyes are so naturally constructed that it necessarily looks at the ground and can never look at the sky. Likewise, a soul that delights in lust cannot look up to heaven, plunging into the mire of voluptuousness. You might be interested in: