The Anonymous Sayings of The D - Wortley, John - 5090

THE ANONYMOUS SAYINGS OF THE
DESERT FATHERS
Much of what is known of the earliest history of Christian monasti-

cism is derived from the Tales and Sayings of the Desert Fathers
(Apophthegmata Patrum) of which three major collections survive.
Until now only the ‘Alphabetic’ and the ‘Systematic’ collections have
been available in English translation; with the present volume, the
‘Anonymous’ collection becomes available, not only in English, but
with the first complete edition of the Greek text on facing pages.
Although many of the contents of these collections refer to desert
communities in north-west Egypt, the collectors may have been
refugee monks settled in Palestine who sought to record in Greek
an oral tradition of instruction originally in Coptic to secure it for
future generations. The ‘Alphabetic’ collection and its appendix, the
‘Anonymous’, were both created towards a d 500 (the ‘Systematic’
somewhat later) but it is clear that further material was added to the
‘Anonymous’ well into the seventh century. Consequently, this
volume furnishes almost as much material for the study of the late
antique world from which the monk sought to escape as it does for
the monastic endeavour itself. But the spread and gradual evolution
of monasticism are well illustrated here over a period extending to the
Moslem conquest.
jo h n wo rtl e y is Professor of History Emeritus at the University

of Manitoba. He has published widely on the Byzantine era, and
completed several translations to date, including Les Récits édifiants de
Paul, évêque de Monembasie, et d'autres auteurs (1987), The “Spiritual
Meadow” of John Moschos, including the additional tales edited by
Nissen and Mioni (1992), The Spiritually Beneficial Tales of Paul,
Bishop of Monembasia, and of Other Authors (1996), John Skylitzes:
A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811–1057 (2010) and The Book of the
Elders: Sayings of the Desert Fathers, the Systematic Collection (2012).
Ordained in 1959, Professor Wortley is still active as an Anglican
priest.
THE ANONYMOUS SAYINGS
OF THE DESERT FATHERS
A Select Edition and Complete English Translation
e d i t e d a n d tr a n s la t e d b y
JOHN WORTLEY
cambridge university press
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Cambridge University Press
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© John Wortley 2013
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no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2013
Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by the MPG Books Group
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

Apophthegmata Patrum. English. Selections.
The anonymous sayings of the Desert Fathers: a select edition and complete
English translation / edited and translated by John Wortley.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-521-50988-6 (Hardback)
1. Desert Fathers – Quotations. 2. Spiritual life – Christianity – Quotations, maxims, etc.
3. Monastic and religious life – Quotations, maxims, etc. 4. Spiritual life – Christianity – Early
works to 1800. 5. Monastic and religious life – Early works to 1800. I. Wortley, John.
br57.a5713 2013
271.0090 015–dc23
2012029085
isbn 978-0-521-50988-6 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or

accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to
in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such
websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Acknowledgements page vi
Note on the translation vii
List of abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
Text and translation 8
Select bibliography 644

Index 646
v
Acknowledgements
The Editor and Translator wishes to express his profound gratitude to two
dear colleagues without whose generous and unstinting aid this project
could never have been accomplished: Dr Evaggeli Skakce in Greece who
skillfully performed most of the transliteration and Dr Robert Jordan in
Belfast who tirelessly checked and patiently corrected the translation.
vi
Note on the translation
Some Greek words now current in English have been presented in their
English form, e.g. accidie, higoumen.
Where the Greek text uses a Coptic word, this has been retained, e.g.
abba, amma (father, mother).
Some Greek words have been retained because it would take too many
words to translate them (e.g. porneia, which means any illicit sexual activity
in mind, word or deed) or because of the peculiar ambivalence of the word
(e.g. logismos, -oi and hêsychia) the meaning of which the reader must
construe from its context.
The Old English word worldling has been resurrected to translate
kosmikos (biôtikos in N. 295), a person not a monk, which would otherwise
require a significant periphrasis. “Lord-and-master” represents the word
despôtes.
vii
Abbreviations
AB Analecta Bollandiana
AP Apophthegmata Patrum
APalph Apophthegmata Patrum, the alphabetic collection (see Apophtheg-
mata Patrum and Ward, The Sayings in the Bibliography)
APanon Apophthegmata Patrum, the anonymous collection (Nau) (see
Regnault, . . . série des anonymes in the Bibliography)
APsys Apophthegmata Patrum, the systematic collection (see Guy,
Les Sentences and Wortley, The Book in the Bibliography)
BHG François Halkin, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca, 3rd edn, 3
vols., Subsidia Hagiographica No. 8a (Brussels 1957); and idem.,
Novum auctarium Bibliothecae Hagiographicae Graecae, Subsi-
dia Hagiographica no. 65 (Brussels 1984)
C see Introduction, p. 7
CPG Corpus Patrum Graecorum
GRBS Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies
LXX Septuagint
N (Nau) ¼ APanon
PG Patrologia Graeca
PL Patrologia Latina
PO Patrologia Orientalis
P&J Pelagius and John (see Bibliography)
ROC Revue de l'Orient Chrétien
S see Introduction, p. 7
SC Sources Chrétiennes
V see Introduction, p. 7
viii
Introduction
This volume contains a first complete edition and English translation of

the second of the three major forms in which the so-called “Sayings of the
Desert Fathers” (Apophthegmata Patrum, AP) have come down to us. The
first form is known as the “Alphabetic” collection (APalph) because its
roughly a thousand items1 are arranged in more or less alphabetical order
by reference to the approximately one hundred and twenty fathers who
allegedly uttered the sayings or are mentioned in the tales, ranging from
Abba Antony to Abba Ôr, A–Ω. One version of the text of APalph has
been available since the seventeenth century in the well-known edition
with Latin translation by Jean-Baptiste Cotelier.2 Par contre (passing over
the second collection (APanon) for a moment), there is now an excellent
critical edition of the third, the “systematic” collection of apophthegmata
(APsys).3 In one form or another, most of the contents of APsys can be
found in one (but rarely in both) of the first and second collections;
extracts from the Ascetic Discourses of Isaiah of Scete4 and a number of
pieces from elsewhere were subsequently added to these. APsys is systematic
in that here the items (some twelve hundred in the extant Greek
1
There are 948 items in the edition; a further 53 were established by Jean-Claude Guy in Recherches sur
la tradition grecque des apophthegmata Patrum (Brussels 1962, rpt 1984 with corrections).
2
Monumenta Ecclesiae Graecae, vol. 1 (Paris 1647, rpt in PG 65:71–440, tr. Lucien Regnault (with
Guy’s supplement), Les Sentences des Pères du Désert: collection alphabétique (Solesmes 1981); trans.
Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: the Alphabetical Collection (Oxford and Kalamazoo
1975). A critical edition of the Greek text is sorely needed.
3
Jean-Claude Guy, Les Apophtegmes des Pères: collection systématique, SC 387 (1993), 474 (2003) and
498 (2005). An earlier translation by Dom Lucien Regnault, Les chemins de Dieu au désert: collection
systématique des Apophtegmes des Pères (Solesmes 1992), is particularly useful as it includes some items
from the various “oriental versions” (Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic etc.), not found
elsewhere. English translation by John Wortley, The Book of the Elders: Sayings of the Desert Fathers,
the Systematiz Collection (Collegeville, Minn., 2012).
4
Ed. Αὐγουστίνος μοναχὸς Ἰορδανίτης, Τοῦ ὁσίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Ἀββᾶ Ἠσαΐου λόγοι κθ’ (Jerusalem
1911, rpt Volos 1962), tr. John Chryssavagis and Pachomios Penkett (Kalamazoo 2002); see pp.31–5
on the unpublished critical edition made by the ἀείμνηστος Derwas Chitty.
1
2 The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers
manuscripts) have been rearranged systematically under twenty-one heads
(κεφάλια), each bearing the name of some monastic virtue or difficulty, e.g.
Sorrow for sin/Compunction (3), Porneia (5), Obedience and Humility
(14, 15). The sections are by no means of equal length, the longest being
the one on Discretion/diakrisis (10) with 194 items5 while the shortest
(13, concerned with Hospitality and Almsgiving) contains only nineteen.
The classification is by no means rigid; items occur in one section which
might very well have been placed under another head, or under several
heads. In each section the pattern is more or less the same: extracts from
APalph come first, then the extracts from Isaiah of Scete followed by any
extraneous items, then the pieces from APanon. Since both APalph and
APanon are generally thought to have been constituted at the end of the
fifth century, the first version of APsys could not have been much earlier
than c. ad 500. A terminus ante quem is established in the mid sixth century
by the existence of a Latin translation of the text made by the deacon
Pelagius and the subdeacon John (P&J)6, each of whom subsequently
became pope of Rome, from 556 to 561 and from 561 to 574 respectively.
The contents of P&J, however, number only 737, scarcely two-thirds of
what is found in the critical edition. Examination of the extant Greek
manuscripts of APsys suggests that P&J represents the earliest surviving
evidence of a text in a state of evolution, two further stages of which are
discernible. There are no extracts from Isaiah of Scete in P&J, while
a second version of APsys is characterised by the incorporation of a little
material by that author. A third version (the one that has come down
to us) contains a significant amount of Isaiah material and also presents
evidence of the other contents having been rearranged somewhat to
accommodate it.7
Turning now to the second collection, APanon, let us say that, rather
than “a collection”, this should probably be called “the second part of (or
an appendix to) the first collection”. For, after explaining the alphabetical
arrangement of the items, the writer of the Prologue to APalph continues:
Since there are also other words and deeds [λόγοι . . . καὶ πράξεις] of the holy
elders that do not indicate the names of those who spoke or performed them, we
have set them out under headings [ἐν κεφαλαίοις] after the completion of the
5
See J. Wortley, “Discretion: greater than all the virtues”, GRBS 51 (2011), 634–52.
6
Pelagius and John (trans.) Apophthegmata Patrum, ed. Heribert Rosweyde in Vitae Patrum vi and vii
(Anvers 1615 and 1623), rpt in PL 73:851–1022, tr. Benedicta Ward, The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the
Early Christian Monks (London and New York 2003).
7
Such is the conclusion of Guy, Recherches, 182–4.
Introduction 3
alphabetic sequence. But, after searching out and looking into many books, we set
down as much as we were able to find at the end of the headings.8
This passage is of interest, not least in its statement that (as the compilers
have already hinted)9 theirs was not the first attempt to record such
material in writing. But the authors claim to have created a supplement
or appendix to the first collection and the three things they say about that
appendix that are of especial interest are: (a) that its contents are anonym-
ous; (b) that they are arranged under headings; and (c) that anything else
coming to their notice was added at the end, i.e. after the section with
headings. There are several reasons for believing that the text this volume
presents is indeed the appendix of which the above quotation speaks. Not
the least of these is the fact that, in the principal manuscripts containing
APalph, the text of APanon follows directly after. But whereas the contents
of the former are in nearly every case clearly linked to the name of a person,
the contents of more than the first half of the latter are sharply distin-
guished from those of APalph precisely by recording the deeds and sayings
of unnamed persons. Furthermore, in the same section the contents of
APanon are indeed set out under headings (i.e. ἐν κεφαλαίοις), viz:
Περὶ τῶν Μαγιστριανῶν / Concerning imperial officials [N.37ff.]
Περὶ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ ἁγίου τῶν μοναχῶν / Concerning the holy habit of
monks [N.55]
Περὶ ἀναχωρητῶν / Concerning anchorites [N.132 bis ff.]
Ὅτι δεῖ τὴν ἡσυχίαν καὶ τὴν κατάνυξιν μεταδιώκειν / That we should pursue
hêsychia and grief for sin [N.133ff.]
Περὶ ἐγκρατείας / Concerning temperance [N.144ff.]
Περὶ διακρίσεως / On discretion [N.216ff.]
Ὅτι φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ τὸ μηδένα κρίνει / That one must be on his guard against
judging anybody [N.254ff]
Περὶ τοῦ μηδὲν εἰς ἐπίδειξιν ποιεῖν, καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἀποστρέφεσθαι / That
nothing should be done for ostentation and that avarice should be avoided
[N.256ff.]
Περὶ τοῦ δεῖν πάντοτε νήφειν / That one should always be vigilant [N.264ff.]
Ὅτι χρὴ ἐλεεῖν καὶ φιλοξενεῖν ἐν ἱλαρότητι / On the necessity of being joyfully
compassionate and hospitable [N.281ff.]
Περὶ ὑπακοῆς / On obedience [N.290ff.]
Περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης / On humble-mindedness [N.298ff.]
Περὶ ἀνεξικακίας / Concerning forbearance [N.335ff.]
Περὶ ἀγάπης / Concerning charity [N.344ff.]
8
Prologue to APalph, PG 65:73BC.
9
Ibid. PG 65:72A; the works referred to are no longer extant.
Περὶ διορατικῶν / On those who have the gift of second sight [N.359ff.]
Περὶ ποϱνείας / Concerning porneia [N.454ff.]
Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ϰρίνειν / On not passing judgement [N.475ff.]
Περὶ κατανύξεως / Concerning grief for sin [katanyxis, compunctio] [N.519ff.]
The contents of the latter part of the collection are very mixed and might
well have been whatever the compilers were able to scrape together from
various sources, as they say in the passage cited above. There is little doubt
that subsequent copyists added other material, much of which cannot be
dated any earlier than the seventh century, but it seems safe to conclude
that the main body of APanon in indeed the appendix to APalph of which
the compilers speak.
APanon first saw the light of day when François Nau transcribed its first
400 items from Cod. Paris. Coislin. 126 and published them with a partial
French translation at the beginning of the last century.10 Subsequently,
Dom Lucien Regnault published a translation of the entire collection,
apparently working directly from five manuscripts of the text.11 The
present publication is an attempt to complete the work of those scholars;
it must, however, be emphasised that this is an edition, not the definitive
“critical edition” scholars like to see of ancient texts. Indeed it is doubtful
whether such an edition could ever be made, as it would presuppose the
existence at some time of a definitive text, such as the one that emerges
from the hand of a single author. There was no such person for the
apophthegmatic material; it derives from an oral tradition (one rooted in
a different language) already widely disseminated and several decades old
by the time it was set down in writing. This becomes abundantly clear
when one asks: what is meant by apophthegm in the Christian era?
It has been customary for some centuries to denominate apophthegmata
the greater part of the literary débris of the earlier generations of Christian
monks: those many men and some women who renounced “the world”
and withdrew into the deserts of Egypt and of Syria-Palestine from the
fourth through the seventh century of this era. The Greek versions of this
material we have received represent a tradition that was both Coptic and
oral in origin; it appears to have been the early collectors and editors who
applied to that material the Greek term apophthegm, “a terse, pointed
saying embodying an important [monastic] truth in few words” (OED).
The definition is entirely appropriate to the greater part of the material,
10
ROC 12 (1907)–18 (1913), passim.
11
Les Sentences des Pères du Désert, série des anonymes (Solesmes and Bellefontaine 1985), mainly from
Cod. Sinaϊ 448 and Cod. Coislin 126.
Introduction 5
which does indeed consist of sayings of the Desert Fathers (and a few
Mothers) that generations of ascetics had carefully memorised and often
repeated. But interspersed with the sayings (like gravel in sand) there are
tales (διηγήσεις) – and these are a different matter. Fewer in number but of
greater length, the tales are of two kinds. There are tales that narrate an
event (or a series of events) in the life of a father (who may or may not be
identified) and that may or may not include a saying. Such tales comple-
ment the sayings, for while they express the theory, these tales illustrate the
practice of eremitic monachism; thus tales such as these came to be known
as “Lives of the Fathers”.12
But there are other narratives, not always sharply distinguished from the
former ones nor so easily defined, now known as “spiritually beneficial
tales” (διηγήσεις ψυχωφελεῖς).13 Quoting Hippolyte Delehaye, François
Halkin says these are “nouvelles destinées à mettre en lumière une doctrine
religieuse”,14 then goes on himself to say: “Sans attache nette avec aucun
pays ni aucune époque déterminée [ces récits] laissent dans un anonymat
sans relief les personnages fictifs dont ils rapportent les exploits.”15 Else-
where he says the beneficial tales are “des sortes de paraboles développées
dont les héros ne sont pas toujours imaginaires . . . [récits] qui incarnent
pour ainsi dire en un exemple frappant, voire paradoxal, un enseignement
théorique difficile et transcendant.”16 He might have added that they
resemble the parables in the Gospel according to Luke, with which those
who perpetrated them were no doubt familiar. These remarks are especially
pertinent to the present collection for APanon contains a significantly
higher proportion of beneficial tales than do the other two.
Apophthegmatic material has survived in a bewildering array of highly
disparate manuscripts. It has been rightly said that “Le problème phililo-
gique des Apophthegmata Patrum est l’un des plus complexes que pose
l’édition des texts patristiques”,17 so great is the variation both in the
composition of each manuscript and of the individual contents. Scribes
who would normally strive to reproduce the exemplar before them as
12
Patrum vitae, BHG3 Appendix vi, 1433–50zz; see also Pratum Spirituale.
13
The narrationes animae utiles of the Bollandists, BHG3 Appendix iv, 1318–1394t; J. Wortley, “The
genre of the spiritually beneficial tale”, Scripta & e-scripta 8 (2010), 72–91.
14
Hippolyte Delehaye, “Un group de récits ‘utiles à l’âme’”, Mélanges Bidez (Brussels 1934), 257.
15
François Halkin, “La vision de Kaioumos et le sort éternel de Philentolos Olympiou (BHG 1322w)”,
AB 63 (1945), 56.
16
François Halkin, Recherches et documents d’hagiographie byzantine; Subsidia Hagiographica 51
(Brussels 1971), 261, 303.
17
J-Cl. Guy, Recherches sur la tradition grecque des Apophthegmata Patrum, 2nd edn (Brussels 1984), 7
and n.1 for similar comments by W. Bousset and R. Devreesse.
accurately as possible appear to have accorded themselves the widest
licence to amend, revise, abbreviate and augment the material as they
thought fit when the material was of an apophthegmatic nature. They
would rearrange the contents as though they were leaves in a file and not
hesitate to rephrase a tale at will, adjusting the location, the characters and
even the thrust of the tale on occasion. The actual sayings fared better, but
additional comments were sometimes added, to say nothing of ascriptions
of dubious accuracy. This extraordinary instability may be explained by
the nature of the apophthegmatic tradition. Long before they became
literature, tales and sayings circulated as folklore, but this was lore with a
purpose: to train and foster those who aspired to monastic ideals. There is
no reason to suppose that this material immediately ceased to circulate
orally as soon as it was committed to writing. Oral and written forms
would have coexisted for some centuries, constantly contaminating each
other. Thus a scribe might well set down, not the dead text found in his
exemplar, but the living word he had received (directly or indirectly) from
the mouth of some charismatic abba. Add to this the fact that Coptic was
the language of most of the early monks and that Greek was the language
of the sophisticated city-dwellers from the north and it is not too difficult
to imagine that there were those who cherished the oral tradition more
dearly than any written one, especially if it were written in what might
have appeared to be an invasive language.
The provenance of a great number of the tales and sayings is north-west
Egypt, especially the monastic settlements at Nitria, The Cells and (above
all) at Scete; but the work of codifying and recording the matter may well
have been done elsewhere. It is noticeable that there was an increasing
migration of monks from Egypt to Syria-Palestine starting after the first
devastation of Scete by the Mazices in 407/408.18 It is quite possible that it
was refugee monks from the Nitrian desert, resettled in the Judaean desert,
who undertook this task. Fearing for the future transmission of the oral
tradition in troubled times, they sought to capture in writing what “the
fathers used to say” – to be “on the safe side”. But, as we said, endangered
though it might have been, there is no reason to suppose that the oral
tradition had perished, nor even that it was moribund. The likelihood
is that monks continued to be trained by memorising and reflecting upon
the sayings and tales of the elders, taught and told to them by elders.
Inevitably each time it was repeated or retold, each saying and a fortiori
every tale would be a little transformed. The present writer has even been
18
Derwas J. Chitty, The Desert a City (Oxford 1966), 71–3.
Introduction 7
moved to suspect that, given the laconic nature of the extant tales, the
written version is no more than an outline or skeleton which the narrator
was expected to flesh out and embroider as he saw fit.19 Such is the
instability of apophthegmatic material that it might not be inappropriate
to compare it to some creature that was for several centuries in a state of
evolution. Since the would-be editor lacks the means to make a moving-
picture of its evolutionary process, the best he/she can do is to make a still-
life study (as it were) of a corpus as it was at a particular stage in its
development. It is fortunate that in the case of APanon there have survived
three roughly contemporaneous manuscripts that present a relatively
coherent version of the text. These are:
C: Paris Coislin 126, tenth to eleventh centuries20 contains:
ff. 1–158r (mutilated at the beginning) APalph
ff. 158r–353v (mutilated at the end) APanon titled: Ἀποφθέγματα
τῶν ἁγίων γερόντων, N. 1–676
S: Sinaï St Catherine 448,21 AD 1004 contains:
ff. 1rv Prologue (cf. PG 65:72A–76A)
ff. 2r–148r Ἀποφθέγματα γερόντων κατὰ στοχεῖον (APalph)
ff. 149r–340v Ἀποφθέγματα τῶν ἁγίων γερόντων (APanon) N. 1–765
V: Vatic. Graec. 1599, tenth century22
ff. 1–115v APalph
ff. 116r–307v Ἀποφθέγματα τῶν ἁγίων γερόντων (APanon) N. 1–765
While these three are by no means identical texts, they do march suffi-
ciently in line with each other to permit one to discern a consensus. Using
C and S until the point where C breaks off, then S and V to the end, we
have attempted to present that consensus (duly noting the major vari-
ations, but not the minor aberrations of spelling) in the apparatus. But
such consensus as it is possible to discover should not conceal the fact that
the tradition continued to evolve. Where tales and sayings occur in the
Synagogê of Paul Euergetês assembled about a century and half later, they
often show evidence of further development and there is no shortage of yet
later manuscripts in which the process can be seen to proceed still further.
19
For a striking example of the way a tale can vary in the manuscripts, see J. Wortley, “A narratio of
rare distinction: de monacho superbo” [BHG 1450x] (N. 620), AB 100 (1982), 353–63.
20 21
Guy, Recherches, 63–74. Ibid., 16–17, 94–7. This is Regnault’s ms J.
22
Ibid., 253–7.
Ἀποφθέγματα τῶν ἁγίων γερόντων
1. Ἠρωτήθη ὁ ἅγιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀθανάσιος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας·

Πῶς ἴσος ὁ υἱὸς τῷ πατρί; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Ὡς ἐν δυσὶν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸ ὁρᾶν.
2. Ἠρωτήθη ὁ ἅγιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν Γρηγόριος ὁ θεολόγος· Πῶς ἴσος ὁ

υἱὸς καὶ τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα τῷ πατρί; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· οἷον ἐν ἡλίοις [f. 158va]
τρισὶν ἐχομένοις ἀλλήλων, μία τοῦ φωτὸς σύγκρασις ἡ θεότης.
3. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν ὅτι τὰ τρία ταῦτα ἀπαιτεῖ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ παντὸς

ἀνθρώπου ἔχοντος τὸ βάπτισμα· πίστιν ὀρθὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ
ἀλήθειαν ἀπὸ τῆς γλώσσης καὶ σωφροσύνην ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος.
4. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν γνήσιοι ἐν Σκήτει καθεζόμενοι, καὶ συνέβη τὸν ἕνα
ἀσθενῆσαι. Ἐλθόντος οὖν1 τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ αἰτησαμένου
αὐτοῦ2 παρὰ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου προσφοράν, ἀκούσας ὁ πρεσβύτερος
λέγει τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Ἄγωμεν ἐπισκεψώμεθα τὸν ἀδελφὸν. Ἐλθόντων οὖν
καὶ εὐξαμένων ἀνεχώρησαν. Πάλιν οὖν τὴν ἄλλην κυριακήν, ἐρωτᾷ αὐτὸν
ὁ πρεσβύτερος πῶς ἔσχεν ὁ ἀδελφός. Ὁ δὲ φησιν· Εὔξαι [f. 158vb] ὑπὲρ
αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν οὖν ὁ πρεσβύτερος τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς λαβὼν ἐπορεύθη σὺν
αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸν κάμνοντα ἀδελφόν. Ἐλθόντων οὖν αὐτῶν, καὶ ὡς ἦσαν
καθήμενοι, ἐκεῖνος ἤμελλεν κοιμᾶσθαι. Τῶν δὲ ἀδελφῶν φιλονεικούντων καί
τινων λεγόντων ὅτι ἠξιώθη τοῦ παρακλήτου, ἄλλων δὲ περὶ τούτου
ἀμφιβαλλόντων, καὶ βλέπων αὐτοὺς ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, ἔφη πρὸς αὐτούς·
Τί φιλονεικεῖτε πρὸς ἀλλήλους; θέλετε γνῶναι τίς ἔχει τὴν δύναμιν; Καὶ
στραφεὶς πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὑπάγεις ἀδελφέ μου.
Ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν ἔφη· Ναί, ἀλλ᾿ εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη·
Φύσει, ἀδελφέ μου, οὐκ ἀφῶ σε ἀπελθεῖν πρὸ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ στραφεὶς πρὸς
τοὺς καθημένους [f. 159ra] ἀδελφοὺς ἔφη· Δότε μοι ψιάθιν καὶ ἐμβρίμιν. Καὶ
Codd S C
1
οὖν C] δὲ S 2
αὐτοῦ] om S
8
Sayings of the holy elders
N.1/10.17
Our holy father Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, was asked: “In what way
is the Son equal to the Father?” He replied: “In the same way that there is
seeing in two eyes.”
N.2
Our holy father Gregory the Theologian was asked: “How are the Son and
the Holy Spirit equal to the Father?” He replied: “The Divinity is a single
fusion of light as in three suns adjacent to each other.”
N.3
The same [father] said: “God requires these three things of every man who
has been baptised: right belief of his soul, truth of his tongue and sobriety
of his body.”
N.4
Of two actual brothers living at Scete one happened to fall ill. His brother
came into church asking the priest for the Sacrament. When the priest
heard, he said to the brothers: “Let us go and visit the brother.” They came,
they prayed and went away. Then again, on the following Sunday, the
priest asked him how his brother was. “Pray for him”, he said. Again, taking
the brothers, the priest went with them to the sick brother. They came and,
as they were sitting there, he was at the point of death. The brothers began
to argue, some saying that he was worthy of the Paraclete while others were
taking the contrary position on this. Looking at them, his brother said to
them: “Why are you arguing with each other? Do you want to know who
has power?” And, turning to his brother, he said to him: “You are going,
9
10 Sayings of the holy elders
λαβὼν καὶ κλίνας τὴν κεφαλήν, παρέδωκε πρῶτος τὴν ψυχήν, ἔπειτα1 ὁ
ἀσθενῶν. Καὶ εὐθέως ἀμφοτέρους κηδεύσαντες οἱ πατέρες, ἀπήνεγκαν καὶ
ἔθαψαν μετὰ χαρᾶς, ὅτι ἀπειλήφασι τὸ φῶς τὸ νοητόν.
5. Δύο ἦσαν ἀδελφοὶ ἅμα οἰκοῦντες ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Ὁ δὲ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν

ἡνίκα ἀνεμνήσθη τοῦ κρίματος τοῦ Θεοῦ πολλοστὸν ἀπέδρα εἰς τὴν
ἔρημον πλαζόμενος. Ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἐξήρχετο ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ζητῶν αὐτόν.
Καὶ πολλὰ κάμνων ἕως οὗ εὕρῃ αὐτόν, λέγει αὐτῷ· Διατί οὕτως ἀποδι-
δράσκεις ἔξω; Σὺ μόνος ἐποίησας τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ κόσμου; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
ἀδελφός· Νομίζεις οὐκ οἶδα εἰ ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι μου; Ναὶ [f. 159rb]
οἶδα ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς συνεχώρησε τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου, ἀλλὰ τὸν μόχθον τοῦτον
ποιῶ ἵνα ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως γένωμαι θεωρῶν τοὺς κρινομένους.
6. Ἦσαν δύο ἀδελφοὶ γειτνιῶντες ἀλλήλοις καὶ ὁ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔκρυπτεν

εἴ τι εἶχεν, εἴτε κέρμα, εἴτε ψωμία, καὶ ἐνέβαλεν εἰς τὰ τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ·
καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει ὁ ἄλλος, ἀλλ᾿ ἐθαύμαζεν ὅτι ἐπληθύνοντο τὰ αὐτοῦ. Μιᾶς οὖν
τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἔφθασεν αὐτὸν αἰφνιδίως τοῦτο ποιοῦντα, καὶ ἔβαλε
μάχεσθαι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγων· Ὅτι διὰ τῶν σαρκικῶν σου ἐσύλησάς μου
τὰ πνευματικά. Καὶ ἀπῄτησεν αὐτῷ λόγον, ἵνα μηκέτι τοῦτο ποιήσῃ, καὶ
οὕτως αὐτῷ συνεχώρησεν.
7. Ἀδελφός τις ἐποίησεν ἀντίκλειδον καὶ ἤνοιγεν [f. 159va] ἑνὸς τῶν
γερόντων τὸ κελλίον καὶ ἐλάμβανε τὸ κέρμα αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔγραψε
χάρτην λέγων· Κύρι ἀδελφέ, εἴ τις ἐὰν ᾖ, ποίησον ἀγάπην,2 ἄφες μοι τὸ
ἥμισυ εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν χρείαν. Καὶ ποιήσας τὸ κέρμα δύο μέρη, ἔθηκε τὸ
χαρτίον. Ὁ δὲ πάλιν εἰσελθών, σχίσας3 τὸ χαρτίον ἔλαβεν ὅλον. Εἶτα μετὰ
δύο ἔτη τελευτᾷ, καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐξήρχετο. Τότε καλέσας τὸν
γέροντα λέγει· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, πάτερ. Ἐγὼ γὰρ ἤμην ὁ κλέπτων σου
τὸ κέρμα. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Διατί τάχιον οὐκ εἶπες; Ὅμως εὐξαμένου
αὐτοῦ παρέδωκεν.
1
ἔπειτα C] εἶτα S 2
ποίησον ἀγάπην] om S 3
σχίσας C] ἔσχισε S
N.5–7 11
my brother” and the sick man said: “Yes, but pray for me.” He said to him:
“My brother, I am certainly not going to let you depart before me” and,
turning to the seated brothers, he said: “Give me a rush mat and a pillow.”
When he got [them] he laid down his head and surrendered his soul first;
afterwards the sick man [did likewise]. After immediately holding a funeral
for both of them, the fathers carried them off and buried them joyfully, for
they had received the perceptible light. [Cf. 1 Jo 2:8.]
N.5
There were two brothers living together in the desert. One of them, when he
had recalled the judgement of God many times, ran off wandering in the
desert; the other went out after him, searching for him. Toiling mightily until
he found him, he said to him: “Why are you running away like this? Are you
the only one who has committed the sins of the world?” His brother said to
him: “Do you think I do not know whether my sins are forgiven? Yes, I know
that God has pardoned my sins, but I am toiling like this so that I might be a
witness of those who are being judged at the Day of Judgement.”
N.6
There were two brothers who were neighbours to each other; one of them
would secrete whatever he might have (whether small change or crusts of
bread) and thrust it among his neighbour’s things. Unaware of this, the other
was amazed that his possessions were increasing. Then one day he suddenly
came upon his neighbour doing this and took issue with him, saying: “By
your carnal [gifts] you stripped me of the spiritual [ones].” He demanded the
other’s word that he would not do that any more and thus he forgave him.
N.7 BHG 1322hf, de clave adulterina

A brother made a duplicate key which he used to open the cell of one of
the elders and take his small change. But the elder wrote a note in which he
said: “Brother, whoever you are sir, have the kindness to leave me half for
my needs.” Then, dividing his change into two, he placed the note [there].
[The other] came in again, tore up the note and took the lot. Then, two
years later, he lay dying but his soul would not come out. Then he called
for the elder and said: “Pray for me, father, for it was I who stole your
change.” “Why did you not say so earlier?” the elder said. Nevertheless,
after he had prayed, the brother surrendered [his soul].
8. Ἀδελφὸς εἶχε γέροντα καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὅτι θαυμαστῶς τοὺς νεκροὺς
κηδεύει, εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Εἰ κἀμὲ τεθνηκότα [f. 159vb] οὕτως κηδεύσεις;
Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν· Οὕτως κηδεύσω σε, ἄχρις ἂν1 εἴπῃς· ἀρκεῖ. Μετ᾿ οὐ
πολὺ δὲ τέθνηκεν ὁ μαθητής, καὶ ὁ λόγος εἰς ἔργον γέγονεν. Κηδεύσας γὰρ
αὐτὸν εὐσεβῶς, ἔφη πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πάντων· Καλῶς ἐκηδεύθης, ὦ τέκνον,
ἢ ἔτι μικρὸν λείπεται; Καὶ φωνὴν ἀφῆκεν ὁ νεανίσκος· Καλῶς ἔχει, ὦ
πάτερ, τὴν γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαν ἐπλήρωσας.
9. Ἔλεγεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Βισαρίων ὅτι ἦν τις ἀποταξάμενος ἀπὸ κόσμου,

γυναῖκα ἔχων ὁμοίως καὶ θυγατέρα κατηχουμένην, πλὴν χριστιανήν.
Ἐμέρισεν οὖν τὰ πράγματα αὐτοῦ εἰς τρία μέρη. Τελευτησάσης δὲ ἐν τῷ
μεταξὺ τῆς θυγατρὸς κατηχουμένης, ἀντίλυτρον ἔδωκε τοῖς πτωχοῖς τὸ
μέρος αὐτῆς ὁ πατὴρ [f. 160ra]. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὸ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ
ἑαυτοῦ. Οὐκ ἐπαύετο δὲ παρακαλῶν τὸν Θεὸν περὶ αὐτῆς. Ἦλθεν οὖν
αὐτῷ φωνὴ προσευχομένῳ, ὅτι ἐβαπτίσθη ἡ θυγάτηρ σου, μὴ ἀθύμει. Ὁ
δὲ ἠπίστησεν. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ πάλιν ἡ ἀόρατος φωνή· Ὄρυξον εἰς τὸ
μνημεῖον αὐτῆς ἐὰν εὕρῃς αὐτήν. Ὁ δὲ πορευθεὶς ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον, ὤρυξε καὶ
οὐχ εὗρεν αὐτήν· μετετέθη γὰρ μετὰ τῶν πιστῶν.
10. Εἶπεν γέρων· Αὕτη ἡ φωνὴ βοᾷ πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἕως ἐσχάτης
ἀναπνοῆς ὅτι σήμερον ἐπίστρεψον.
11. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Θεόδοτος· Μὴ κρίνῃς τὸν πόρνον ἐὰν ὑπάρχῃς

σώφρων, ὡσαύτως γὰρ τὸν νόμον παραβαίνεις. Ὁ γὰρ εἰπὼν μὴ πορ-
νεύσῃς εἶπεν καὶ μὴ κρίνῃς.
1
ἂν C] οὗ S
N.8–11 13
N.8
A brother had an elder who (he observed) buried the dead in a wonderful
way. “When I die, will you bury me like that too?” he said to him. “I shall
bury you like that until you say it is enough”, [the elder] said to him.
Shortly afterwards the disciple did die and the word became deed. After the
elder devoutly performed his obsequies he said in the hearing of all: “Have
you been well buried, my son, or is there some detail still wanting?” The
young man let a voice [be heard]: “You have done well, father, for you
have fulfilled [your] promise.”
N.9
Abba Bessarion said that there was a man who renounced the world
although he had a wife and also a daughter who was a catechumen, but
nevertheless a Christian, so he divided his belongings into three parts.
Meanwhile, the daughter who was a catechumen died, so the father gave
her share to the poor as a ransom for her [soul], also for his wife’s and for
his own. He made no end of beseeching God on her behalf. As he was
praying a voice came to him saying: “Your daughter was baptised; do not
be faint-hearted”, but he did not believe [it]. Again the invisible voice
spoke to him: “Dig at her grave [and see] whether you find her!” He went
to the tomb and dug; but he did not find her, for she had been transferred
[to be] with the faithful.
N.10
An elder said: “The voice itself shouts to man until his last breath: ‘Turn
around today!’”
N.11/9.15/Theodotus S.1
Abba Theodotus said: “Do not judge the one who indulges in porneia if you
are chaste, for in that way you transgress the law – because he who says: ‘Do
not indulge in porneia’ [Mt 5:27] also says: ‘Do not judge’ [Mt 7:1].”
12.1 Ἦλθέ τις ποτε δαιμονιζόμενος εἰς Σκῆτιν, καὶ πολλῷ τῷ χρόνῳ οὐκ
ἐθεραπεύθη [f. 160rb]. Σπλαγχνισθεὶς δὲ εἷς τῶν γερόντων, ἐσφράγισε τὸν
δαιμονιζόμενον καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτόν. Διαπονηθεὶς δὲ ὁ δαίμων εἶπεν τῷ
γέροντι· Ἰδοὺ ἐξέβαλές με, ἐπάνω σου ἔρχομαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Δεῦ,2
ἡδέως ἔχω. Ἐποίησεν οὖν ὁ γέρων δώδεκα ἔτη, ἔχων τὸν δαίμονα καὶ
συντρίβων αὐτόν, ἐσθίων καθημέραν ὀστέα φοινίκων δώδεκα. Ἐκπηδήσας
δὲ ὁ δαίμων, ἐξῆλθεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ γέρων ἐξελθόντα αὐτὸν ἀπ᾿
αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τί φεύγεις; Ἔτι παράμεινον. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ δαίμων
εἶπεν αὐτῷ· καταργήσει σε ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι εἰ μὴ3 αὐτὸς μόνος δύναται πρὸς σέ.
13. Ἔλεγον περί τινος ὅτι ἐκάθητο ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν μονοκελλίῳ· Εἶχε δὲ

ἔθος παραβάλλειν [f. 160va] αὐτῷ εἷς ἀδελφὸς καὶ μία παρθένος. Ἐν μιᾷ
οὖν4 τῶν ἡμερῶν, ὑπήντησαν οἱ δύο ὁμοῦ πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Καὶ ὀψίας
γενομένης, ἔθηκε τὸ ψιάθιον καὶ ἐκοιμήθη εἰς τὴν μέσην αὐτῶν. Πολεμηθεὶς
δὲ ὁ ἀδελφός, ἐπανέστη τῇ παρθένῳ καὶ ἐτέλεσαν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Ὁ δὲ
γέρων αἰσθηθείς,5 οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἐλάλησεν.6 Πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης, προέ-
πεμπεν αὐτοὺς ὁ γέρων μηδεμίαν στυγνότητα δείξας αὐτοῖς. Πορευομέ-
νων δὲ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἔλεγον πρὸς ἀλλήλους, εἰ ἐνόησεν ὁ γέρων ἢ
οὔ. Καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα μετανοοῦντες αὐτῷ καὶ λέγοντες·
Ἀββᾶ, οὐκ ἐνόησας πῶς ἐχλεύασεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς; Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ναί.
Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ [f. 160vb]· Ποῦ ἦν ὁ λογισμός σου ἐκείνην τὴν ὥραν;
Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὁ ἐμὸς λογισμός, ὅπου ἐσταυρώθη ὁ Χριστός, ἐκεῖ ἦν
τὴν ὥραν ἐκείνην στήκων καὶ κλαίων. Καὶ λαβόντες μετάνοιαν ἀπὸ τοῦ
γέροντος, ἀπῆλθον καὶ ἐγένοντο σκεύη ἐκλογῆς.
14. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ζωΐλος ὁ πρεσβύτερος ὁ Ταμιαθέως,7 ἀκηκοέναι τοῦ

πατρὸς αὐτοῦ ἀββᾶ Ναθαναὴλ εἰπόντος ἑτέρους ἑπτὰ συγκλητικοὺς8
ζηλῶσαι τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀρσένιον καὶ μονάσαι ἐν τῇ Σκήτει, οἳ τοῖς οἰκείοις
πᾶσιν ἀποταξάμενοι ἀνὰ ἑπτὰ τρία [sic] ἔλαβον, καὶ τοῖς εὐτελέσιν ὀστρα-
κίνοις ἐχρῶντο λέγοντες· Ὅπως ἴδῃ ὁ μέγας Θεός, καὶ σπλαγχνισθεὶς ἀφήσῃ
ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν.
1
N. 12 om S 2
δεῦ C] δεῦρο S 3
εἰ μὴ] om S 4
οὖν] om S
5
αἰσθηθείς C] αἰδεσθεὶς S 6
ἐλάλησεν C] εἶπεν S 7
Ταμιαθέως C] Ταμιαθαῖος S
8
συγκλητικοὺς post Ἀρσένιον trsp S
N.12–14 15
N.12
A person possessed by a demon once came to Scete and, for a long time, he
was not cured. But, taking compassion, one of the elders made the sign of
the cross on the one possessed by a demon and cured him. Annoyed [cf.
Acts 4:2] the demon said to the elder: “Look, you have cast me out: I am
coming upon you.” “Come on then,” said the elder to him; “I gladly
accept.” So the elder spent twelve years having the demon and mortifying
it, eating twelve date-kernels each day. Then, leaping out, the demon went
away from him. When he saw that it had gone out from him, the elder said
to it: “Why are you running away? Stay longer!” but in answer the demon
said to him: “God will bring you to nought for [none] but he alone has
power over you.”
N.13
They said of a person who lived in a one-room cell in Egypt that one
brother and one virgin were in the habit of visiting him. One day the two
of them met at the elder’s. When evening fell, he spread his sleeping-mat
and lay down between them, but the brother was tempted; he roused the
virgin and they committed sin. But the elder, perceiving it, said nothing to
them. When it was morning, the elder was sending them on their way
without showing them any sign of disapproval. As they travelled along the
road they asked each other whether the elder had noticed or not. They
went back to the elder, prostrated themselves before him and said: “Abba,
did you not notice how Satan led us astray?” “I did”, he said to them, and
they said to him: “Then where was your mind at that time?” “My mind at
that time was there where Christ was crucified, standing and weeping”, he
said to them. After receiving absolution [metanoia] from the elder they
went their way and became chosen vessels [Acts 9:15].
N.14
Abba Zoilos, the priest at Tamiathis, said that he heard his father, Abba
Nathanael, saying that another seven senators emulated Abba Arsenius and
practised monasticism at Scete. Having renounced all their personal pos-
sessions, they used crude earthenware dishes, saying: “[This is] so that the
great God may see and, taking pity on us, may absolve us of our sins.”
15. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀρσενίου ὅτι οὐκ ἠδυνήθη τις καταλαβεῖν
τὴν διαγωγὴν [f. 161ra] τῆς πολιτείας αὐτοῦ.
16.1 Εἶπον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου τοῦ μεγάλου, ὅτι ἐποίησεν ἓν
τετράμηνον ποτέ, ἡμερούσιον παραβάλλων ἀδελφῷ ἐν τῇ Σκήτει καὶ οὔτε
ἅπαξ εὗρεν αὐτὸν σχολάζοντα. Παραβαλὼν οὖν αὖθις, καὶ σταθεὶς πρὸς
τῇ θύρᾳ ἔξω, ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ λέγοντος· Κύριε, εἰ οὐκ ἠχεῖ
τὰ ὦτά σου κράζοντός μου πρὸς σέ, ἐλέησόν με διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου,
οὔτε ἐγὼ κάμνω παρακαλῶν σε.
17. Ἦν τις ἀρχάριος ἀποτάξασθαι θέλων, καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Θέλω

μοναχὸς γενέσθαι. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οὐ δύνῃ. Λέγει ἐκεῖνος· Δύναμαι. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ θέλεις ὕπαγε ἀπόταξαι, καὶ ἐλθὼν καθέζου εἰς τὸ κελλίον
σου. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἔδωκεν ἃ εἶχεν κατασχὼν ἑαυτῷ ἑκατὸν [f. 161rb]
νομίσματα, καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Ὁ δὲ γέρων πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὕπαγε
κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου.2 Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθών, ἐκαθέσθη. Καθεζομένου δὲ
αὐτοῦ, εἶπον οἱ λογισμοί· Ἡ θύρα παλαιά ἐστι, θέλει γενέσθαι. Καὶ ἐλθών,
λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Οἱ λογισμοὶ λέγουσιν· Ἡ θύρα παλαιά ἐστιν ἤθελε
γενέσθαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ ἀπετάξω, ἀλλ᾿ ὕπαγε ἀπόταξαι,
καὶ κάθου ὧδε. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθών, ἔδωκε τὰ ἐνενήκοντα νομίσματα, κρύψας
ἑαυτῷ δέκα νομίσματα, καὶ ἐλθὼν λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Ἰδοὺ ἀπεταξάμην·
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὕπαγε κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν
ἐκάθισεν. Καθημένου δὲ αὐτοῦ, λέγουσιν οἱ λογισμοί· Ἡ στέγη παλαιά
ἐστι, ἤθελε γενέσθαι. [f. 161va] Καὶ ἀπελθὼν λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Οἱ λογισμοί
μου λέγουσιν· Ἡ στέγη παλαιά ἐστιν ἤθελε γενέσθαι. Λέγει ὁ γέρων·
Ὕπαγε ἀπόταξαι. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν ἔδωκε καὶ τὰ δέκα νομίσματα, καὶ ἐλθὼν
λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Ἰδοὺ ἀπεταξάμην. Καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ, λέγουσιν
αὐτῷ οἱ λογισμοί· Ὅλα παλαιά εἰσι τὰ ὧδε, καὶ ὁ λέων ἔρχεται καὶ
τρώγει με. Καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι τοὺς λογισμούς, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ἐγὼ προσδοκῶ ὅλα ἐλθεῖν ἐπάνω μου καὶ τὸν λέοντα ἐλθεῖν καὶ φαγεῖν με
ἵνα ἀπαλλαγῶ. Ὕπαγε κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου καὶ εὔχου τῷ Θεῷ.
1
Ν. 16 οm S 2
σου] om S
N.15–17 17
N.15/15.9/Arsenius S.1
They used to say of Abba Arsenius that nobody could comprehend the way
in which he led his life.
N.16
They said of Abba Macarius the Great that once he spent four months
visiting a brother at Scete every day and not even once did he find him idle.
Visiting him yet again, while he was standing outside at the door, he heard
him saying with weeping: “Lord, even if your ears do not ring with my
crying to you, have mercy on me concerning my sins; for I myself do not
grow weary pleading with you.”
N.17
There was a novice who wished to renounce [the world] and he said to the
elder: “I want to become a monk.” The elder said: “You are not able.” He
said: “I am able.” The elder said to him: “If you are willing, go and
renounce [the world] then come and reside in your cell.” He went off
and, keeping back a hundred pieces of gold for himself, gave away what he
possessed, and then came to the elder. But the elder [said] to him: “Go and
reside in your cell.” He went and took up residence but, while he was
residing there, the logismoi said: “The door is old; it wants to be [replaced].”
Coming to the elder, he said: “The logismoi are saying that the door is old
and wants to be [replaced].” The elder said to him: “You have not
renounced [the world] but go, renounce [it] and reside there.” So off he
went and gave away ninety pieces of gold, concealing ten pieces for himself.
Coming to the elder he said: “Look, I have renounced [the world].” Said
the elder to him: “Go and reside in your cell.” He went and took up
residence there, but while he was residing there the logismoi said that the
roof was old and wanted to be [renewed]. He went away and said to the
elder: “My logismoi are telling me that the roof is old and wants to be
[renewed].” “Go and renounce [the world],” the elder said, and he went off
and gave away the ten pieces of gold too, came back and said to the elder:
“Look, I have renounced [the world].” When he had taken up residence,
the logismoi said to him: “Everything here is old and the lion is coming to
devour me.” He told his logismoi to the elder and the elder said to him:
“I am expecting everything to come down on top of me and the lion to come
and eat me up so I may be at rest. Go, reside in your cell and pray to God.”
18. Εἶπεν γέρων ἑτέρῳ γέροντι ἔχοντι ἀγάπην, καὶ συμβαλλομένῳ καὶ
μοναχοῖς καὶ κοσμικοῖς· ὅτι ὁ λύχνος πολλοὺς φαίνει [f. 161vb] τὸ δὲ ἑαυτοῦ
στόμα καίει.
19. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι περιεπάτει ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ ἰδοὺ
δύο ἄγγελο συνώδευον αὐτῷ, εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων, καὶ
ἐλθόντες, εὗρον θνησιμαῖον κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἐσκέπασεν ὁ γέρων τὴν
ῥῖνα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσμῆς, ἐποίησαν δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι οὕτως. Καὶ
ὁδεύσαντες μικρόν, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Καὶ ὑμεῖς ὀσφραίνεσθε ταῦτα;
Οἱ δὲ εἶπον· οὐχί, ἀλλὰ διὰ σὲ ἐσκεπάσαμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐπεὶ τὴν
ἀκαθαρσίαν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου οὐκ ὀσφραινόμεθα, οὐδὲ προσεγγίζει
ἡμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ αἱ ψυχαὶ αἱ ὄζουσαι ἐν ἁμαρτίαις, ταύτας ὀσφραινόμεθα.
20. Ἦν τις γέρων καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἐσθίων τρεῖς παξαμάδας· παρέβαλε δὲ

αὐτῷ ἀδελφὸς [f. 162ra] καὶ καθεσθέντων αὐτῶν γεύσασθαι, ἔθηκε τῷ
ἀδελφῷ τρεῖς παξαμάδας. Καὶ ἑωρακὼς ὁ γέρων ὅτι ἔχρῃζεν, ἤνεγκεν
αὐτῷ καὶ ἄλλας τρεῖς.1 Ὡς δὲ ἐκορέσθησαν καὶ ἀνέστησαν, κατέκρινεν ὁ
γέρων τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐ χρή, ἀδελφέ, ὑπουργεῖν τὸ
σαρκίον.2 Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς μετενόησε τῷ γέροντι καὶ ἐξῆλθεν. Τῇ οὖν ἑξῆς,
ὡς ἐγένετο καιρὸς τοῦ γεύσασθαι τὸν γέροντα, ἔθηκεν αὑτῷ3 κατὰ τὸ
ἔθος τὰς τρεῖς παξαμάδας, καὶ φαγὼν αὐτάς,4 πάλιν ἐπείνασε καὶ ἐπέσχεν
ἑαυτόν. Καὶ πάλιν τῇ ἄλλῃ ἡμέρᾳ τὸ αὐτὸ ὑπέστη. Ἤρξατο οὖν ἀδυνα-
μοῦσθαι, καὶ ἔγνω ὁ γέρων ὅτι ἐγκατάλειψις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγένετο αὐτῷ. Καὶ
ῥίψας ἑαυτὸν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ μετὰ δακρύων, ἐδέετο περὶ τῆς γενομένης
[f. 162rb] ἐγκαταλείψεως, καὶ ὁρᾷ ἄγγελον λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Διότι κατέκρι-
νας τὸν ἀδελφόν, τοῦτό σοι συνέβη. Γίνωσκε οὖν ὅτι ὁ δυνάμενος ἐγκρα-
τεύεσθαι, ἢ ἄλλο τι ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι, οὐκ ἐξ ἰδίας δυνάμεως ποιεῖ, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ
ἀγαθότης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐνισχύουσα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.5
1
τρεῖς] παξαμάτας add S 2
τὸ σαρκίον C] τῷ σαρκίῳ S 3
αὐτῷ C] ἑαυτῷ S
4
αὐτὰς C] αὐτοὺς S 5
τὸν ἄνθρωπον C] αὐτὸν S
N.18–20 19
N.18
An elder said to another elder who had great love and who fraternised with
both monks and worldlings: “A lamp sheds light on many, but it burns its
own mouth.”
N.19/20.23, Latin only

They used to say of an elder that, while he was walking in the desert, here
there were two angels accompanying him, one on the right and one on the
left. As they came along they found a corpse on the road and the elder
covered his nose because of the stench, and the angels did likewise. When
they had gone a little way, the elder said to them: “Do you smell those
things too?” “No,” they said, “but we too covered [our noses] because of
you since we don’t smell the impurity of this world nor does it reach us.
But souls that are stinking in sin, those we do smell.”
N.20/9.24 BHG 1440p, de non iudicando fratre

There was an elder who used to eat three dried loaves each day. A brother
visited him and, when they sat down to eat, he set three dried loaves before
the brother. When the elder saw that he was in need [of more], the elder
brought him three more. When they had eaten enough and stood up, the
elder condemned the brother and said to him: “Brother, we should not be
slaves to the flesh”, then the brother prostrated himself before the elder and
went out. The following day, when it was time for the elder to eat, he put
out three dried loaves for him[self] as usual. Eating them, he was hungry
again but restrained himself [from taking more]. The same thing happened
again next day. He began to grow weak and the elder perceived that
abandonment by God had happened to him. Throwing himself before
God in tears, he besought him about the abandonment that had happened
and he saw an angel saying to him: “This came upon you because you
condemned the brother. Bear this in mind: one who is able to fast or to do
any other good thing does not do it by virtue of his own power. It is the
goodness of God that gives the man the strength.”
21. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος εἰς τὰ Κελλία ὅτι περικεκλεισμένος ἦν
μηδὲ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐρχόμενος. Εἶχε δὲ σαρκικὸν ἀδελφὸν εἰς ἄλλο
κελλίον καθήμενον, καὶ ἠσθένησεν καὶ ἔπεμψε πρὸς αὐτὸν ἵνα ἴδῃ αὐτὸν
πρὸ τοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, καὶ εἶπεν· Οὐ δύναμαι ἐλθεῖν ὅτι
σαρκικός μου ἀδελφός ἐστιν. Πάλιν ἔπεμψε λέγων· Κἂν τὴν νύκτα δεῦρο
ἵνα σε ἴδω. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐ δύναμαι, εἰ δὲ μὴ οὐχ εὑρίσκεται [f. 162va] ἡ
καρδία μου καθαρὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ ἐκοιμήθη καὶ οὐκ εἶδον ἀλλήλους.
22. Διηγήσαντο πατέρες ὅτι ἦν τις κοινοβίου πατήρ καὶ συνέβη τὸν
τούτου διακονητὴν ὀλιγωρήσαντα ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς μονῆς καὶ ἀπελθεῖν εἰς
ἄλλον τόπον. Ὁ δὲ γέρων διόλου σχεδὸν ἀπῄει πρὸς αὐτὸν δυσωπῶν
αὐτὸν ἵνα ἐπιστρέψῃ. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠβούλετο. Τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίησεν ὁ γέρων ἐπὶ
τρία ἔτη, καὶ οὕτως πεισθεὶς ὁ διακονητής, ὑπέστρεψεν. Ἐπιτάσσει οὖν
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων ἐξελθεῖν καὶ συναγαγεῖν στοιβήν. Καὶ δὴ τοῦτο ποιήσας ὁ
διακονητής, κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἀπώλεσεν. Ὁ δὲ
γέρων ἐλυπήθη σφόδρα, καὶ ἄρχεται νουθετεῖν αὐτὸν ὀδυνώμενον, καὶ
λέγει ὁ διακονητής· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ αἴτιος, διὰ γὰρ [f. 162vb] τοὺς κόπους οὓς
παρέσχον σοι τοῦτο ὑπέμεινα. Μετὰ χρόνον ἀπαλλάσσεται τῆς ὀδύνης,
τοῦ πάθους μείναντος, καὶ πάλιν ἐπιτάσσει αὐτὸν1 ὁ γέρων ἐξελθεῖν καὶ
τῖλαι2 βαΐα. Ἐργαζόμενος οὖν κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ πάλιν ῥαβδίου
πηδήσαντος, ἀπόλλει καὶ τὸν ἄλλον ὀφθαλμόν. Ἔρχεται οὖν εἰς τὴν μονὴν
καὶ ἡσυχάζει, μηδὲν ἔτι ποιῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς πάλιν ἐδυσφόρει, καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν
αὐτοῦ ἡ κλῆσις, προγινώσκει καὶ μεταστέλλεται πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφούς,
καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἡ κλῆσίς μου, βλέπετε ἑαυτούς. Ἄρχεται
ἕκαστος λέγειν· Τίνι ἐᾷς ἡμᾶς, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐσιώπα, καὶ μεταστέ-
λλεται τὸν τυφλὸν μόνον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ περὶ τῆς κλήσεως. Ὁ δὲ ἐδάκ-
ρυσε λέγων· Τίνι [f. 163ra] με ἐᾷς τὸν τυφλόν; Ὁ δὲ γέρων λέγει· Εὖξαι ἵνα
σχῶ παρρησίαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐλπίζω ὅτι τῇ κυριακῇ ποιεῖς τὴν
σύναξιν. Καὶ κοιμηθέντος αὐτοῦ, μετ᾿ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἀνέβλεψεν καὶ γίνεται
τοῦ κοινοβίου3 πατήρ.
1
αὐτὸν C] αὐτῷ S 2
τῖλαι corr] τίλαι S] τεῖλαι C (e τίλλω) 3
κοινοβίου] μοναστηρίου S
N.21–2 21
N.21
They used to say of an elder at The Cells that he [lived] in confinement
and did not even come to church. He had a natural brother residing in
another cell. This one fell sick and sent for his brother so he might see him
before departing from the body. “I cannot come,” said the other, “because
he is my natural brother.” Again [the other] sent saying: “At least come
tonight so I may see you”, but he said: “I cannot, for otherwise my heart
will not be pure in the sight of God.” [The sick brother] died and they did
not see each other.
N.22/7.60
The fathers recounted that there was a father of a coenobion and it came
about that the one who waited on him became negligent, left the monas-
tery and went off to another place. The elder went to him almost every
day, urging him to come back, but he would not. For three years the elder
kept this up then, convinced in that way, the attendant did return. So the
elder gave him orders to go out and gather straw and, after the attendant
had done this, through the operation of Satan, he lost an eye. The elder
was greatly distressed and began advising him in his suffering. “It is my
fault,” said the attendant; “I have undergone this because of the trouble
I gave you.” Eventually the pain abated while the condition remained.
Again the elder gave him orders to go out and pluck some palm branches.
As he was working, by the operation of the enemy, a small branch sprang
back and he lost the other eye. So he came to the monastery and practised
hêsychia, doing nothing any more. The abba was vexed again and, as his
summons had come, being aware of it, he sent for all the brothers and said
to them: “My summons is near; look after yourselves.” They each began to
say: “To whom are you leaving us, abba?” – but the elder remained silent.
He sent for the blind [monk] alone and spoke to him about [his]
summons. [The monk] wept, saying: “To whom are you leaving me, the
blind man?” but the elder said: “Pray for me that I may be able to speak
freely in the presence of God and I hope that you will conduct the synaxis
on Sunday.” A few days after he died the monk recovered his sight and
became father of the coenobion.
23. Οἰκέτης τις γενόμενος μοναχὸς ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα πέντε ἔτη ἔμεινεν,
ἅλατι καὶ ἄρτῳ ἀρκούμενος καὶ ὕδατι. Κατανυγεὶς δὲ ὁ τούτου δεσπότης
μετὰ φανερὸν χρόνον ἀναχωρεῖ καὶ αὐτός, καὶ γίνεται τοῦ ἰδίου δούλου
μαθητὴς ἐν ὑπακοῇ μεγάλῃ. Ἔρχεται οὖν ὁ χρόνος τῆς αὐτοῦ κλήσεως,
καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Ἀββᾶ, ὁρῶ τὰς ἐξουσίας ἐρχομένας πρός με, καὶ διὰ
τὰς δεήσεις σου πάλιν ὑποστρεφούσας. Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν καὶ ἡ τοῦ γέροντος
κλῆσις ὁρᾷ ἕνα ἄγγελον ἐκ δεξιῶν [f. 163rb] καὶ ἕνα ἐξ ἀριστερῶν λέγοντες
αὐτῷ· Θέλεις ἐλθεῖν, ἀββᾶ, ἢ ἀπέλθωμεν; Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Θέλω,
μείνατε, λάβετέ μου τὴν ψυχήν. Καὶ οὕτως ἐτελειώθη.
24. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἰωσὴφ ὁ ἀπὸ Ἀριμαθίας ἔλαβε τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ
ἔθηκεν αὐτὸ ἐν σινδόνι καθαρᾷ ἐν μνημείῳ καινῷ τουτέστιν ἀνθρώπῳ
νέῳ. Σπουδάσει οὖν ἕκαστος ἐπιμελῶς μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν ἵνα μὴ τὸν συνοι-
κοῦντα αὐτῷ Θεὸν ὑβρίσῃ καὶ διώξῃ ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ. Τῷ μὲν
Ἰσραὴλ τὸ μάννα ἐδόθη φαγεῖν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, τῷ δὲ ἀληθινῷ Ἰσραὴλ
ἐδόθη1 τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
25. Εἶπεν γέρων· Γύμνωσον τὴν ῥομφαῖάν σου. Καὶ εἶπε ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἀλλ᾿
οὐκ ἐῶσί με τὰ πάθη. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἐπικάλεσαί με ἐν ἡμέ[f. 163va]ρᾳ
θλίψεώς σου, καὶ ἐξελοῦμαί σε καὶ δοξάσεις με. Ἐπικαλοῦ οὖν αὐτόν, καὶ
ἐξελεῖταί σε ἀπὸ παντὸς πειρασμοῦ.
26. Ἀδελφὸς ξενιτεύσας, ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Θέλω ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὰ

ἴδια. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Τοῦτο γίνωσκε, ἀδελφέ· ὅτι ἐρχόμενος ἀπὸ
τῆς χώρας ἐπὶ τὰ ὧδε, τὸν Κύριον εἶχες ὁδηγοῦντά σε, εἰ δὲ ὑποστρέψεις,
οὐκέτι αὐτὸν ἔχεις.
27. Ἀπέστειλέ τις τῶν γερόντων τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ ἀντλῆσαι ὕδωρ.
Ἦν δὲ μακρὰν τὸ φρέαρ ἀπὸ τοῦ κελλίου αὐτῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἐπελάθετο τὸ
σχοινίον ἆραι, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ φρέαρ ἔγνω ὅτι οὐκ ἤνεγκεν καί, ποιήσας
εὐχήν, ἐφώνησε λέγων· Λάκκε, λάκκε, εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς μου· γέμισον τὸ
κεράμιον ὕδωρ. [f. 163vb] Καὶ παραχρῆμα, ἀνῆλθε τὸ ὕδωρ ἄνω, καὶ
γεμίσαντος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, πάλιν ἀπεκατεστάθη τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς τὸν τόπον
αὐτοῦ.
1
ἐδόθη] om
N.23–7 23
N.23/14.31
A domestic slave became a monk and remained content with salt, bread and
water for forty-five years. After a significant time his master was conscience-
stricken; he withdrew from the world too and, in abject obedience, became the
disciple of his own slave. When the time of his summons was approaching,
he said to the elder: “Abba, I see the powers [of darkness] coming towards me
and turning back again through your prayers.” When the elder’s summons
also approached, he saw one angel to his right and another on his left. They
were saying to him: “Will you come, abba, or are we to go away?” and the elder
said to them: “I am willing; stay and take my soul”, and that is how he died.
N.24/10.134
An elder said: “Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus and placed it in a
clean shroud in a new sepulchre [cf. Mt 27:57–60], that is, in a new man. Let
each one studiously endeavour not to sin in order not to do violence to the
God who dwells within him and drive him out of his soul. Manna was given
to Israel to eat in the desert: to the true Israel the Body of Christ was given.”
N.25/21.51
An elder said: “Bare your sword.” The brother said: “My passions do not
let me.” The elder replied: “‘Call upon me in the day of your trouble and
I will deliver you and you shall glorify me’ [Ps 49:15]. Call upon him then,
and he shall deliver you from every temptation.”
N.26/10.183
A brother living in voluntary exile questioned an elder saying: “I want to
go away to my own parts” and the elder said to him: “Be aware of this,
brother: that when you were coming here from [your] country, you had
the Lord guiding you; if you return, you will have him no longer.”
N.27/19.21
One of the elders sent his disciple to draw water but the well was a long
way from their cell. He forgot to take the rope and realised that he had not
brought it when he got to the well. He offered a prayer, crying out saying:
“Cistern, cistern: my abba said: ‘Fill the pot with water’”, and the water
promptly rose. Then, when the brother had filled [his vessel], the water
descended back to its place.
28. Παρέβαλέ τις τῶν ἐπισκόπων κατ᾿ ἐνιαυτὸν εἰς Σκῆτιν πρὸς τοὺς
πατέρας, καὶ ἀπαντήσας αὐτῷ ἀδελφὸς ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ κελλίον
ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ παραθεὶς αὐτῷ ἄρτον καὶ ἅλας, ἔλεγεν· Συγχώρησόν μοι,
κύρι, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἔχω παραθεῖναί σοι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος· Θέλω
ἵνα καὶ εἰς τὸ ἐρχόμενον ἔτος εἰσελθών, μήτε ἅλας εὕρω.
29. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν· ὅτι ἐγένετο ζήτησις ἐν τῇ λαύρᾳ τῆς
Αἰγύπτου,1 καὶ ἐλάλησαν πάντες, οἱ μεγάλοι καὶ οἱ μικροί, εἷς δὲ μόνος
οὐκ ἐλάλησεν. Καὶ ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν εἷς [f. 164ra]
ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Πῶς σὺ οὐκ ἐλάλησας; Ὁ δὲ βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ
εἶπεν· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ὅτι εἶπον τῷ λογισμῷ μου· ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ λαλήσῃ τὸ
ἐμβρίμιον τὸ ὑποκάτω μου, μὴ λαλήσῃς. Καὶ οὕτως ἔμεινα σιωπῶν καὶ μὴ
φθεγγόμενος.
30. Ἦν τις γέρων ἀσθενῶν καὶ ὡς μὴ ἔχοντα τὰς χρείας, προσελάβετο

αὐτὸν πατὴρ κοινοβίου καὶ ἀνέπαυσεν αὐτόν. Καὶ ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς·
Βιάσασθε ἑαυτοὺς ὀλίγον, ἵνα ἀναπαύσωμεν τὸν ἀσθενῆ. Ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν,
εἶχε χύτραν χρυσίου, καὶ ὀρύξας ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ, ἔκρυψεν αὐτήν.
Συνέβη δὲ αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν καὶ οὐχ ὡμολόγησεν. Μετὰ οὖν τὸ ταφῆναι
αὐτὸν εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Ἄρατε τὴν στιβάδα ταύτην ἔνθεν. Καὶ
ὡς [f. 164rb] καταστρέφουσιν αὐτήν, εὗρον τὸ χρυσίον. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς·
Εἰ ζῶντος αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὡμολόγησεν, οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ εἶπεν, ἀλλ᾿
εἰς αὐτὸν εἶχε τὴν ἐλπίδα οὐχ ἅπτομαι αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπάγετε θάψατε αὐτὸ
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ κατῆλθε πῦρ ἀπ᾿ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας ἔκειτο
ἐπάνω τοῦ μνημείου αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον πάντων καὶ πάντες ὁρῶντες
ἐθαύμαζον.
31. Ἦν τις ἐπίσκοπος εἴς τινα πόλιν, καὶ κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ διαβόλου
ἔπεσεν εἰς πορνείαν. Μιᾶς οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν γενομένης συνάξεως ἐν τῇ
ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ μηδενὸς γινώσκοντος περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ, ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ
ὡμολόγησεν ἔμπροσθε παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ λέγων· Ἐγὼ εἰς πορνείαν πέπ-
τωκα. [f. 164va] Καὶ ἀπέθετο τὸ ὠμοφόριον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον
εἰπών· Ὅτι οὐκέτι ὑμῶν δύναμαι εἶναι ἐπίσκοπος. Καὶ ἀνέκραξε πᾶς ὁ
λαὸς μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ λέγοντες· Ἡ ἁμαρτία αὕτη ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς, μόνον μεῖνον ἐν
τῇ ἐπισκοπῇ. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Εἰ θέλετε ἵνα μείνω ἐν τῇ ἐπισκοπῇ, ὃ
λεγω ὑμῖν ποιήσατε. Καὶ κελεύσας κλεισθῆναι τὰς θύρας τῆς ἐκκλησίας,
1
τῆς Αἰγύπτου] om S
N.28–31 25
N.28/4.103
One of the bishops visited the fathers at Scete each year. A brother met
him and conducted him into his [own] cell, setting before him bread and
salt with the words: “Forgive me, my lord, for I have nothing else to set
before you.” The bishop said to him: “When I come next year I don’t want
even to find salt.”
N.29/4.97
One of the brothers used to say that an enquiry took place at the Lavra
of Egypt and everybody spoke, great and small; there was only one who
did not speak. As they were coming out, one brother asked him, saying:
“How was it that you did not speak?” Pressed by the brother, the other
said: “Forgive me, but I said to my logismos: ‘If the cushion under me does
not speak, don’t you speak’ and thus I remained silent, not uttering
[anything].”
N.30
There was an elder who was sick and, as he lacked the necessities of life, the
father of a coenobion took him in and looked after him. He said to the
brothers: “Constrain yourselves a little so we can look after the sick man.”
Now the sick man possessed a pot of gold and, after excavating beneath
himself, he concealed it. Now it happened that he died and did not confess
[it]. After he had been buried the abba said to the brothers: “Take this
couch away” and, when they were overturning it, they found the gold. Said
the abba: “Since he said nothing about this when he was alive nor spoke
[of it] at his death, but had his hope in it, I am not touching it; go and
bury it with him.” And fire came down from heaven and rested on his
tomb for many days in the sight of all; those who saw it were filled with
wonder.
N.31 BHG 1322hb, de episcopo fornicato

There was a bishop in a city who, by the operation of the devil, fell into
porneia. Nobody knew about his sin but, one day when there was a synaxis
in the church, he confessed of his own free will in the presence of the
whole congregation, saying: “I have fallen into porneia” and he deposited
his pallium on the altar saying: “I can no longer be your bishop.” Now the
ἔῤῥιψεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς μίαν παράθυρον ἐπὶ πρόσωπον καὶ εἶπεν· Οὐχ ἔχει
μέρος μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅστις ἐξερχόμενος μὴ πατήσῃ με. Καὶ ποιήσαντες
κατὰ τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξερχομένου τοῦ ὑστέρου, ἦλθε φωνὴ ἐκ τῶν
οὐρανῶν λέγουσα· Διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ταπείνωσιν αὐτοῦ, συνε[f. 164vb]
χώρησα αὐτῷ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν.
32. Ἄλλος τις ἦν ἐπίσκοπος εἴς τινα1 πόλιν, καὶ ἐγένετο αὐτὸν περι-
πεσεῖν εἰς ἀῤῥωστίαν, ὥστε πάντας ἀπογνῶναι αὐτόν.2 Ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ
μοναστήριον γυναικῶν, καὶ μαθοῦσα ἡ ἡγουμένη3 ὅτι ἀπεγνώσθη ὁ
ἐπίσκοπος, λαβοῦσα μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῆς δύο ἀδελφὰς ἀπῆλθε τοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαι
αὐτόν. Καὶ ὡς ἐλάλει μετ᾿ αὐτῆς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, μία τῶν μαθητριῶν αὐτῆς
ἱσταμένη πρὸς πόδα, ἥψατο τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτοῦ θέλουσα μαθεῖν πῶς ἔχει.
Ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁφῆς πολεμηθείς, παρεκάλεσε τὴν ἡγουμένην λέγων· Ὅτι
οὐκ ἔχω ὑπηρεσίαν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔγγιστά μου, θέλησον οὖν καταλεῖψαί μοι
τὴν ἀδελφὴν ταύτην, ἵνα ὑπηρετῇ μοι. Ἡ δὲ [f. 165ra] μηδὲν πονηρὸν
ὑπολαβοῦσα, ἀφῆκεν αὐτήν. Ἐνδυναμωθεὶς οὖν ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, λέγει
αὐτῇ· Ποίησόν μοι μικρὸν ἑψητὸν ἵνα γεύσωμαι. Καὶ ἐποίησε καθὼς εἶπεν
αὐτῇ. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ γεύσασθαι αὐτόν, λέγει αὐτῇ· Κοιμήθητι μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, καὶ
ἔτεκε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Λαβοῦσα οὖν κατὰ γαστρός, ἐκράτησεν αὐτὴν ὁ
κλῆρος λέγοντες· Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν τίς σε ἐποίησεν ἔγκυον. Ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν
ὁμολογῆσαι. Τότε ὁ ἐπίσκοπος λέγει· Ἄφετε αὐτήν, ἐγὼ γὰρ ἐποίησα
τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ταύτην. Καὶ ἐγερθεὶς ἐκ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν
ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἀπέθετο τὸ ὠμοφόριον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ
ἐξελθὼν ἔλαβε ῥάβδον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὥρμησεν εἰς μοναστήριον
ὅπου οὐκ4 ἐγνωρίζετο. Ὁ δὲ ἀβ[f. 165rb]βᾶς τοῦ κοινοβίου, διορατικὸς ὤν,
ἔγνω ὅτι ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἔχει ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν μονήν, καὶ παρήγγειλε τῷ
θυρωρῷ λέγων· Βλέπε, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι σήμερον ἐπίσκοπος ἔχει παραγε-
νέσθαι. Προσδοκῶν οὖν ὁ θυρωρός, ὅτι μετὰ λεκτικίου ἔρχεται ἢ μετά
τινος φαντασίας ὡς5 ἐπισκόπου οὐκ ἐνόησε τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ἐξελθὼν οὖν ὁ
ἀββᾶς εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ, ἠσπάσατο αὐτὸν λέγων· Καλῶς ἦλθες, κύρι ὁ
ἐπίσκοπος. Ὁ δὲ ἐνεὸς γενόμενος ὡς ἐγνώσθη, ἠθέλησε φυγεῖν εἰς ἕτερον
μοναστήριον. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς· Ὅτι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς μετὰ σοῦ
ἔρχομαι. Καὶ παρακαλέσας αὐτὸν πολλά, εἰσήνεγκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν μονήν.
Μετανοήσας οὖν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἐτελεύτησεν ἐν εἰρήνῃ, ὥστε6 ση[f. 165va]μεῖα
γενέσθαι7 ἐν τῇ ἐξόδῳ αὐτοῦ.
1
τινα] τὴν S 2
αὐτόν C] αὐτοῦ S 3
ἡγουμένη] αὐτῶν add S
4
οὐκ] om S 5
ὡς] ὑπὸ add S 6
ὥστε] καὶ add S 7
γενέσθαι] ἐγένετο S
N.32 27
whole congregation cried out in lamentation, saying: “This sin is upon us
[cf. Mt 27:25], only do you remain in the bishopric.” In answer he said:
“If you want me to remain in the bishopric, do what I tell you.” Having
ordered the doors of the church to be shut, he threw himself face down at
one of the side doors and said: “He who does not trample me as he is
walking out has no place with God.” When they had done as he ordered
and the last person was going out, there came a voice from heaven saying:
“I have pardoned his sin on account of his great humility.”
N.32 BHG 1322h, de paenitentia episcopi

There was another bishop of a city and it happened that he fell ill, with
the result that everybody despaired of him. There was a women’s monas-
tery there; when the superior learned that the bishop had been despaired
of, she went to visit him, taking two sisters with her. As the bishop was
talking with her, one of her disciples standing near his foot touched it,
wishing to find out how he was. Embattled by the touch, he entreated the
superior, saying: “I get no ministering from those close to me; [please] be
willing to leave me this sister so she may minister to me” and, suspecting
no evil, she left her. Empowered by the devil, he said to her: “Prepare me
a little food so I may eat” and she did as he told her. When he had eaten,
he said to her: “Lie with me”, and he committed the sin. When she
became pregnant the clergy laid hands on her, saying: “Tell us who made
you pregnant”, but she did not want to confess. Then the bishop said:
“Let her go, for I committed this sin” and, rising up from his sickness, he
went into the church and deposited his pallium on the altar. Coming out,
he took a staff in his hand and set off to a monastery where he was not
known. But the abba of the coenobion, possessed of second sight, was
aware that a bishop was going to come to the monastery. He told the
doorkeeper: “Keep an eye open brother, because a bishop is going to
come today.” Now the doorkeeper, expecting that he was coming in a
litter or with some retinue like a bishop, did not notice the event, so the
abba went out to meet him and embraced him, saying: “Welcome, my
lord bishop.” [The bishop] was devastated that he had been recognised
and wanted to flee to another monastery, but the abba said to him: “No
matter where you go, I am coming with you.” After entreating him at
some length, [the abba] brought him into the monastery. Then, when he
had truly repented, he died in peace, so that wonders occurred at his
departing.
33. Ἦν τις γέρων καλούμενος Ἱέραξ εἰς τὰ μέρη Θηβαΐδος ἐλάσας περὶ
τὰ ἐνενήκοντα ἔτη. Καὶ θέλοντες οἱ δαίμονες εἰς ἀκηδίαν αὐτὸν ἐμβαλεῖν τῷ
μήκει τοῦ χρόνου ἐπέστησαν αὐτῷ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ λέγοντες· Τί ποιήσεις, γέρον,
ὅτι ἄλλα πεντήκοντα1 ἔχεις ζῆσαι; Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἐλυπή-
σατέ με πάνυ. Διακοσίων γὰρ ἐτῶν παρασκευὴν ἔθηκα. Οἱ δὲ ἀπήρχοντο
ὀλολύζοντες ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
34. Ἦν τις ἀναχωρητὴς ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ἀγωνιζόμενος ἐπὶ

ἔτη ἱκανά. Οὗτος χαρίσματος ἦν ἠξιωμένος, μὴ δέχεσθαι αὐτὸν προσβολὰς
ἐκ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὥστε αὐτὸν πᾶσι τοῖς παραγινομένοις πρὸς αὐτὸν
ὠφελείας χάριν [f. 165vb] λοιδορίαις βάλλειν τὸν διάβολον, καὶ λέγειν ὅτι
οὐδέν ἐστιν, καὶ οὐ δύναταί τι πρὸς τοὺς ἀγωνιστὰς εἰ μὴ ὁμοίους αὐτοῦ
εὕρῃ, ῥυπαροὺς δεδουλωμένους πάντοτε2 τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἐκείνους3 ἐκνευρί-
ζει,4 μὴ αἰσθόμενος ὅτι ἐκ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ βοηθείας σκέπεται, καὶ ἐκ τούτου
οὐ δέχεται πολέμους ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν κατὰ συγχώρησιν Θεοῦ
φαίνεται αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος ὄψιν πρὸς ὄψιν, καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Τί ἔχω
πρὸς σέ, ἀββᾶ, τί με λοιδορίαις πλύνεις; μή σοι τί ποτε παρηνώχλησα; ὁ
δὲ πάλιν ἐμπτύσας αὐτόν, τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐκέχρητο ῥήμασιν·5 Ὕπαγε ὀπίσω
μου, Σατανᾶ, οὐδὲν γὰρ δύνῃ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁ δὲ
φωνὴν τοιαύτην ἐπαφῆκεν· Ναί, ναί, ἄλλα τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη ἔχεις ζῆσαι,
μίαν ὥραν οὐκ ἔχω [f. 166ra] εὑρεῖν εἰς τὰ τοσαῦτα ἔτη σκελίσαι σε; καὶ
ῥίψας τὸ δέλεαρ ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Ὁ δὲ εὐθὺς εἰς λογισμοὺς βληθεὶς ἔλεγεν·
Ἔχω τοσαῦτα ἔτη ὧδε τρυχόμενος, καὶ ἀκμὴν ἄλλα τεσσαράκοντα
ἔτη θέλει με ζῆσαι6 ὁ Θεός; Ἐξέρχομαι καὶ ἀπέρχομαι εἰς τὸν κόσμον,
βλέπω καὶ τοὺς διαφέροντάς μοι, συγγίνομαι αὐτοῖς ἔτη τινά, καὶ πάλιν
ἔρχομαι καὶ ἔχομαι τῆς ἀσκήσεώς μου. Καὶ μόνον ἐνεθυμήθη ταῦτα,
ἔργῳ ἐπλήρου. Καὶ ὁρμήσας ἐξήρχετο τῆς κέλλης αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἴχετο τῆς
ὁδοῦ. Οὐ μακρὰν δὲ αὐτοῦ γενομένου, ἀπεστάλη ἄγγελος Κυρίου πρὸς
βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Ποῦ πορεύῃ, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ἐπὶ
τὴν πόλιν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὑπόστρεψον εἰς τὴν κέλλαν σου, καὶ μηδέν σοι
[f. 166rb] καὶ τῷ Σατανᾷ, ἔχε δὲ ἑαυτὸν χλευασθέντα ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ εἰς
ἑαυτὸν ἐλθών, ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ποιήσας τρεῖς ἡμέρας
ἐτελειώθη.
1
πεντήκοντα] ἔτη add S 2
πάντοτε] om S 3
ἐκείνους] γὰρ add S
4
ἐκνευρίζει] τοῦτο γοῦν ἔλεγε add S 5
ῥήμασιν] λέγων add S
6
με ζῆσαι] ζῆσαί με trsp S
N.33–4 29
N.33
There was an elder in the district of the Thebaid named Hierax who had
lived for about ninety years. Wishing to cast him into accidie through his
longevity, the demons set upon him one day, saying: “What are you going
to do, elder, for you have another fifty years to live?” In answer he said to
them: “You have greatly distressed me, because I made preparations for
two hundred years” – and they went away from him, howling.
N.34 BHG 1450zh, de anachoreta non tentato

There was an anchorite in the Jordan district who fought the good fight for
a good many years and was found worthy of the grace not to suffer
onslaughts from the enemy, with the result that, in the presence of all
those who came to him for the benefit [of their souls] he would hurl insults
at the devil, saying that [the devil] was nothing, and was incapable of doing
anything against those who were fighting the good fight – unless he found
people like him[self]: unclean, ever enslaved to sin; those he would
unnerve. [This anchorite] was not aware that it was by God’s help that
he was protected and that this was why he did not suffer attacks from the
adversary. Then, one day, by divine permission, the devil appeared to him,
face to face, and said to him: “What have I done to you, abba? Why do you
shower me with insults? Did I ever give you any trouble?” But the other
spat at him again and used the same words: “‘Get thee behind me Satan’
[Mk 8:33 etc.] for you can do nothing against the servants of Christ.” But
the other hurled this back: “Very well, but since you still have another
forty years to live, won’t I be able to find one hour in so many years to trip
you up?” and, having thrown out the bait, he disappeared. Immediately
assailed by logismoi, [the anchorite] began to say: “I have been wearing
myself out here all these years and now God wants me to live another forty
years? I am leaving and going back to the world. I will see those who are
different from me and be with them for some years, then I will come back
and resume my ascetic life.” This thought no sooner came to him than it
was done: he charged out of his cell and took the road. But before he had
gone very far, an angel of the Lord sent to his aid said to him: “Abba,
where are you going?” “To the city”, he said, and [the angel] said [to him]:
“Go back to your cell and let there be no truck between you and Satan;
regard yourself as one deluded by him.” Coming back to his senses, he
returned to his cell, lived for three days and then died.
35. Ἀναχωρητῇ τινὶ μεγάλῳ εἰπόντι· Τί οὕτως με πολεμεῖς, Σατανᾶ;
ἐπήκουσεν ὁ Σατανᾶς λέγων· Σὺ εἶ ὁ μεγάλως με πολεμῶν.
36. Ἀναχωρητής τις εἶδεν δαίμονα προτρεπόμενον ἕτερον δαίμονα,

ἐλθεῖν καὶ διυπνίσαι καθεύδοντα μοναχόν. Καὶ ἀκούει τοῦ ἄλλου λέγοντος·
Οὐ δύναμαι τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ποτὲ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐξύπνισα, καὶ ἀναστὰς
ἔκαυσέ με ψάλλων καὶ εὐχόμενος.
Περὶ τῶν Μαγιστριανῶν

37. Διηγήσατό τις ὅτι μαγιστριανός τις πράκτωρ νεώτερος καλὸς πάνυ
τῷ εἴδει,1 ὑπηρέτει [f. 166va] βασιλικαῖς ἀποκρίσεσιν. Εἶχε δὲ φίλον τινὰ
τῶν λαμπρῶν ἐν μιᾷ τῶν πόλεων ἔχοντα γυναῖκα νεωτέραν. Ὅτε οὖν
ἤρχετο ἐκεῖ ἐδέχετο αὐτὸν καὶ κατέλυεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, καὶ συνήσθιε
μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ ἀγάπῃ φερόμενος πρὸς αὐτόν. Ἐν τῷ οὖν
πολλάκις πυκνάζειν πρὸς αὐτούς, ἔλαβε λογισμοὺς ἡ γυνὴ εἰς2 αὐτόν, μὴ
γινώσκοντος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ σώφρων οὖσα οὐκ ἐνέφαινέ τι τοιοῦτον πρὸς
αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκαρτέρει πάσχουσα. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτὸν κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες ὁδεῦ-
σαι, ἐκείνη δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν ἠσθένει καὶ κατέκειτο. Ἀνέφερε δὲ πρὸς
αὐτὴν ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἰατρούς, καὶ ψηλαφῶντες αὐτήν, λέγουσι τῷ ἀνδρὶ
αὐτῆς·3 Εἰ μή τί γε ψυχι[f. 166vb]κὸν πάθος ἔχῃ, ἐπεὶ σωματικῶς οὐδὲν
κακὸν ἔχει. Παρακάθεται δὲ4 ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς ἐπιπλεῖον παρακαλῶν αὐτὴν
καὶ λέγων· Εἰπέ μοι τί ἔχεις. Ἐκείνη εὐλαβουμένη καὶ ἐρυθριῶσα τὴν ἀρχὴν
οὐχ ὡμολόγει. Ὕστερον δὲ ὡμολόγησε λέγουσα· Οἶδας, κύρι, εἴτε ἀπὸ
ἀγάπης εἴτε ἁπλότητι φερόμενος, ἀναφέρεις ὧδε πρόσωπα νεώτερα, καὶ
ἐγὼ ὡς γυνὴ ἔπαθον εἰς τὸν μαγιστριανόν. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς
ἡσύχασεν, καὶ ὡς συνέβη μεθ᾿ ἡμέρας ἐλθεῖν τὸν μαγιστριανόν, καὶ ἀπελθὼν
προσυπήντησεν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οἶδας, ἀδελφέ μου, πῶς ἠγάπησά
σε, καὶ ἀπὸ ἀγάπης ἐδεχόμην σε καὶ συνήσθιες τῇ γυναικί μου; Λέγει
ἐκεῖνος· Οὕτως ἐστί, δέσποτα.5 [f. 167ra] Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἔλαβε
λογισμοὺς εἰς σὲ ἡ γυνή μου. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἔλαβε λογισμοὺς
εἰς αὐτήν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάνυ ἐλυπήθη ἀγάπῃ φερόμενος καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Μηδὲν
λυπηθῇς, ἔχει ὁ Θεὸς βοηθῆσαι. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν, ἐπῆρε τὰς τρίχας ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ
λαβὼν λαμνὶν ἔχρεισε τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν ὄψιν, ἕως οὗ ἐξέκαυσεν αὐτὰ
μέχρι καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν ὀφρύων. Καὶ ἐπῆρεν ὅλην τὴν ὡραιότητα ἐκείνην, καὶ
ἐφαίνετο ὡς παλαιὸς λελωβημένος. Ἐνδύεται οὖν φακιόλιον, καὶ ἀνέρχεται
καὶ εὑρίσκει αὐτὴν ἀνακειμένην, καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς παρακαθήμενον
1
πάνυ τῷ εἴδει] τῷ εἴδει πάνυ trsp S 2
εἰς] πρὸς S 3
αὐτῆς] om S
4
δὲ] αὐτῇ add S 5
δέσποτα] ἰδοὺ add C
N.35–7 31
N.35
To a great anchorite who said: “Why do you do battle with me like this,
Satan?” Satan took heed, saying: “It is you who mightily does battle with me.”
N.36/12.19
An anchorite saw one demon inciting another one to go and awaken a
sleeping monk and he heard the other one saying: “I cannot do that
because I did awaken him once. He got up and burnt me, singing psalms
and praying.”
C O N CE R N I N G I M P E R I A L O F F I C I A L S
N.37 BHG 1318r, de magistriano juniore

Someone recounted that there was an official, a tax collector who was young
and very good-looking, serving on imperial business. In one of the cities he
had a friend among the leading citizens who had a younger wife. When he
went there [his friend] received him as his guest. He would lodge in his house
and eat in the presence of his wife, drawn to him by love. On account of the
frequency of his visits to them, unbeknownst to him, the woman began to
have logismoi about him. Being a woman of discretion, she showed nothing
of this to him but went on suffering. It transpired that he went travelling as
usual, but she became ill from the logismoi and took to her bed. Her husband
brought doctors to her; examining her, they said to her husband: “. . . unless
she has some mental disease, for physically there is nothing wrong with her.”
Sitting down beside her, her husband implored her at great length, saying:
“Tell me what is the matter.” On her guard and blushing, she would confess
nothing to begin with, but afterwards she confessed, saying: “You are aware,
my lord, that, moved either by love or by generosity, you bring young
persons here and I, being a woman, have fallen for the official.” On hearing
that, her husband fell silent and when it happened some days later that the
official came, he went out and met him. “My brother, you know how I loved
you and that out of love I have received you and that you have eaten with my
wife?” he said to him. “That is so, my lord-and-master”, the other said, and
he said to him: “Now my wife has got logismoi for you.” On hearing this [the
young man] not only had no logismoi for her, but, moved by his love [for the
husband] was deeply distressed and said to him: “Do not be distressed; God
αὐτῇ,1 καὶ ἀποκαλύψας δείκνυσιν αὐτοῖς τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον, καὶ
ἤρξατο λέγειν ὅ[f. 167rb]τι οὕτως ἐποίησέ μοι ὁ Κύριος. Ἐκείνη δὲ ὡς εἶδεν
αὐτόν, ἐκ τοιαύτης μορφῆς εἰς τοιαύτην ἀμορφίαν, ἐθαύμασεν. Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ
Θεὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπῆρεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ εὐθέως ἀνέστη
ἀποῤῥιψαμένη ὅλους τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἐκείνους. Τότε ὁ μαγιστριανὸς λαμβάνει
τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς κατιδίαν, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ διὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ γυνή σου
οὐδὲν κακὸν ἔχει, οὐκέτι δὲ βλέπει τὸ πρόσωπόν μου. Ἰδοὺ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ
θεῖναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ ἀγάπης, καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἀγαθὸν ἀντὶ ἀγαθοῦ.
38. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἦν τις μαγιστριανὸς πεμφθεὶς εἰς ἀπόκ-
ρισιν βασιλικήν καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εὗρε τινὰ πτωχὸν νεκρὸν κείμενον2 γυμνόν.
Καὶ [f. 167va] σπλαγχνισθεὶς λέγει τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ· Λαβὲ τὸν ἵππον καὶ
πρόελθε μικρόν καὶ κατελθών, ἀπεδύσατο ἓν τῶν λινουδίων αὐτοῦ, καὶ
ἐπέθηκε τῷ κειμένῳ νεκρῷ καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Πάλιν μεθ᾿ ἡμέρας, ἀπεστάλη ὁ
αὐτὸς μαγιστριανὸς εἰς ἀπόκρισιν. Συνέβη δὲ ἐξελθόντος αὐτοῦ τὴν πόλιν
καὶ ἔπεσεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἵππου καὶ ἐκλάσθη ὁ ποὺς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἀποστρέφει ὁ
παῖς αὐτὸν3 εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἐπεμελοῦντο αὐτοῦ.4 Μετὰ
δὲ πέντε ἡμέρας, ἐμελανίασεν ὁ ποῦς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ ἰατροὶ μελα-
νωθέντα τὸν πόδα αὐτοῦ,5 ἔνευσαν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ὅτι κοπῆναι ὀφείλει ὁ
πούς, ἐπεὶ σήπει ὅλον τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἀποθνῄσκει ὁ ἄνθρωπος. Καὶ λέ [f.
167vb]γουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἐρχόμεθα πρωΐ, καὶ θεραπεύομέν σε. Ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν
νεύει τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ὀπίσω τῶν ἰατρῶν καὶ μαθεῖν παρ᾿ αὐτῶν τί
βούλονται. Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ὁ ποὺς τοῦ κυρίου σου ἐμελανίασεν καὶ
ἐὰν μὴ κοπῇ, ἀπόλλεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἐρχόμεθα πρωΐ καὶ ὃ θέλει ὁ Θεὸς
ποιοῦμεν. Καὶ εἰσέρχεται ὁ δοῦλος κλαίων πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην αὐτοῦ6
λέγων· Ὅτι τάδε βουλεύονται περὶ σοῦ· ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἐλυπήθη, καὶ ἀπὸ
πολλῆς ἀθυμίας οὐκ ἐκοιμήθη. Ἦν δὲ κανδίλα φαίνουσα. Περὶ δὲ τὰς μέσας
νύκτας, ὁρᾷ ἄνθρωπον διὰ τῆς θυρίδος κατερχόμενον καὶ ἐρχόμενον πρὸς
αὐτὸν καὶ λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Τί κλαίεις, τί λυπῆσαι; Ὁ δὲ [f. 168ra] λέγει·
Κύριε, οὐ θέλεις ἵνα κλαύσω καὶ λυπηθῶ, ὅτι ἐκλάσθην, καὶ τάδε βουλεύον-
ται περὶ ἐμοῦ οἱ ἰατροί; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ φανείς· Δεῖξόν μοι τὸν πόδα σου.
Καὶ ἀλείφει αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει· Ἀνάστα ἄρτι καὶ περιπάτει. Καὶ λέγει ὁ
ἀσθενῶν· Κέκλασται καὶ οὐ δύναμαι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐπιστηρίχθητι ἐπ᾿
ἐμέ. Καὶ ἐπιστηριχθείς, περιεπάτει χωλεύων. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ φανείς·
Ἀκμὴν χωλαίνεις; Θὲς ἑαυτὸν πάλιν. Καὶ δῆθεν πάλιν ἀλείφει αὐτὸν ἐξ ἴσων
τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἔγειρε ἄρτι περιπάτει. Καὶ ἀναστὰς
1
αὐτῇ] om S 2
νεκρὸν κείμενον] κείμενον νεκρὸν trsp S
3
ὁ παῖς αὐτὸν] αὐτὸν ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ S 4
καὶ οἱ ἰατροὶ ἐπεμελοῦντο αὐτοῦ] om S
5
αὐτοῦ] om S 6
αὐτοῦ] καὶ add S
N.38 33
is going to help.” He went away and removed his hair; he took lamnin and
smeared it on his head and face until he had burnt them and even his
eyebrows too. He destroyed all that beauty and looked like an old leper.
Putting on a veil, he came and found her lying sick with her husband sitting
beside her. Uncovering [himself] he showed them [his] head and face and
began to say: “The Lord made me like this.” She was amazed at the sight of
him, such beauty transformed into such ugliness. God, seeing the man’s
action, removed the affliction from her; she immediately arose, casting aside
all those logismoi. Then the official took her husband aside and said to him:
“Behold, [by the grace] of God your wife has nothing wrong with her; she is
never seeing my face again.” Now look: that is to lay down one’s life for love
[Jn 15:13] and to render good for good.
N.38 BHG 1445x, de magistriano et cadavere nudo

One of the fathers used to say that there was an official sent on an imperial
mission who found a dead pauper lying naked on the road. Moved with
compassion, he said to his servant: “Take the horse and go on a little.” He
dismounted, took off one of his shirts, put it on the dead man lying [there]
and went his way. Some days later the same official was again sent out on a
mission and, as he was leaving the city, he happened to fall from his horse
and his foot was broken. His servant took him back to his house and the
doctors took care of him, but after five days his foot turned black. When the
doctors saw that the foot had turned black, they signalled to each other that
the foot ought to be amputated; otherwise, the whole body would become
septic and the man would die. They said to him: “We will come in the
morning and heal you”, but the sick man signalled to his servant to go out
after the doctors and find out from them what they wanted [to do]. They
said to him: “Your master’s foot has turned black; the man is lost unless we
amputate. We will come in the morning and do what God wills.” The slave
came in to his lord-and-master weeping and saying: “They are planning to
do this-and-this in your case.” [The official] was distressed on hearing this
and so fainthearted that he did not sleep. Now there was a lamp burning
and, around midnight, he saw a man entering through the window, coming
towards him and saying to him: “Why are you weeping? Why are you
distressed?” He said: “Sir, do you not want me to weep and to be distressed
because [my foot] is broken and the doctors are planning to do this-and-this
in my case?” Then the apparition said to him: “Show me your foot”, and he
anointed it, saying: “Now get up and walk around.” The sick man said: “It is
broken and I cannot.” “Lean on me”, said [the other] to him. He leaned on
περιεπάτησεν ὑγιῶς. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Θὲς ἑαυτὸν ἀναπαύθητι. Καὶ εἶπεν
αὐτῷ τινὰς λόγους περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης, ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος [f. 168rb]· Μακάριοι
οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται, καὶ ἀνήλεος ἡ κρίσις τῷ μὴ ποήσαντι
ἔλεος, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Σώζου. Λέγει ὁ μαγιστριανός·
Ὑπάγεις; Λέγει αὐτῷ·1 Τί γὰρ θέλεις ἐξότε ὑγίανας; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ μαγισ-
τριανός· Τὸν Θεὸν τὸν πέμψαντά σε, εἰπέ μοι τίς εἶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Βλέψον εἰς
ἐμέ. Ἐπιγινώσκεις τοῦτο τὸ ὀθόνιον ἀκριβῶς; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί, κύριε, ἐμὸν
ἐστίν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκεῖνος· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὃν εἶδες νεκρὸν ἐῤῥιμμένον ἐν τῇ
ὁδῷ, καὶ ἔῤῥιψάς μοι τὸ λινούδιν καὶ ἀπέστειλέ με ὁ Θεὸς ἰάσασθαί σε·
Εὐχαρίστει οὖν διαπαντὸς τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ ἀνῆλθε πάλιν δι᾿ ἧς κατῆλθε
θυρίδος καὶ2 ὑγιάνας τὸν αἴτιον παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ Θεὸν ἐδόξαζεν.
39. Ἄλλος τις μαγιστριανὸς ὑποστρέφων ἐπὶ Κωνσταντινούπολιν ἀπὸ

Παλαιστίνης· εἰς τὰ μέρη Τύρου3 ἀπαντᾷ τινὰ4 πολυβλέποντα5 κατὰ τὴν
ὁδὸν μηδένα ἔχοντα ὁδηγόν. Ὅστις τῆς φωνοβολίας τῶν ἱπποκόμων
ἀκούσας, ἐπλαγίασε παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν μικρόν, καὶ ἐκτείνας τὰς χεῖρας,
ἐλεεινὰ καὶ πτωχὰ ἐλάλει ἐρανιζόμενος παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐλεημοσύνην. Ὁ δὲ
περιφρονήσας, ἀντιπαρῆλθεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπὸ ὀλίγου διαστήματος μετα-
μεληθείς, ἔστησε τὸν ἵππον, καὶ λαβὼν τὸ κερμοθυλάκιον6 αὐτοῦ ἐξήνεγ-
κεν ἓν τριμίσιον καὶ ἐπανέλυσε πρὸς τὸν πτωχὸν δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ παρέσχεν
αὐτῷ τὸ τριμίσιον. Δεξάμενος δὲ ἐκεῖνος [f. 168vb] εὔξατο αὐτῷ λέγων·
Πιστεύω εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ὅτι ῥύσεταί7 σε ἡ ἐντολὴ αὕτη ἀπὸ πειρασμοῦ.
Ἐδέξατο δὲ ὁ μαγιστριανὸς τὴν εὐχὴν μετὰ πληροφορίας καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐν
τῇ πόλει, εὗρε τὸν ἄρχοντα ἐκεῖ καί τινας παμμαχαρίους παρακαλοῦντας
πλοϊσθῆναι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ8 ἀκοντιζομένους. Οἱ οὖν παμμαχάριοι ἰδόντες τὸν
μαγιστριανόν, παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν αἰτῆσαι τὸν ἄρχοντα δοῦναι αὐτοῖς
πλοῖον ἐφ᾿ ᾧ ἐκδημῆσαι τῆς πόλεως. Καὶ πεισθεὶς τῇ αὐτῶν παρακλήσει,
γέγονε πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα καὶ εἰπὼν αὐτῷ περὶ βερέδων9 ἵνα αὐτῷ
δώσῃ, ᾔτησε καὶ περὶ τῶν παμμαχαρίων. Λέγει οὖν τοῖς παμμαχαρίοις ὁ
ἄρχων χαριέντως· Ἐὰν θέ[f. 169ra]λητε ἵνα ὑμᾶς ἀπολύσω, πείσατε τὸν
μαγιστριανὸν συμπλεῦσαι ὑμῖν, καὶ εὐθέως ἀπολύεσθε. Οἱ δὲ τοῦτο
ἀκούσαντες, ἔμειναν ἐπιπολὺ παρακαλοῦντες τὸν μαγιστριανὸν ἀνα-
σχέσθαι συμπλεῦσαι αὐτοῖς καὶ δὴ συνθεμένου αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς τὸ
πλοῖον ὁ ἄρχων. Ἔπλευσαν οὖν ἅμα ὅ τε μαγιστριανὸς καὶ οἱ παμ-
μαχάριοι, ἐπιτήδειον ἄνεμον λαβόντες. Συνέβη δὲ τὴν νύκτα τὸν
1
Λέγει αὐτῷ] om S 2
Καὶ] Αὐτὸς δὲ S 3
εἰς τὰ μέρη Τύρου] post πολυβλέποντα trsp S
4
τινὰ] τινὶ S 5
πολυβλέποντα] βλέποντι S 6
κερμοθυλάκιον] θερμοθυλάκιον S
7
ῥύσεται] ῥύεται S 8
αὐτοῦ] καὶ add S
9
βερέδων S] ῥεβέδων C (LSJ: ὁ βέρεδος = lat. veredus, post-horse)
N.39 35
him and walked around, limping. The apparition said to him: “Are you still
lame? Sit down again”, whereupon he anointed him again equally on both
his feet and said to him: “Now get up and walk around.” He stood up and
walked around healthily. “Sit down and rest”, said [the apparition] and
spoke some words to him about almsgiving: that the Lord said: “Blessed are
the merciful for they shall obtain mercy” [Mt 5:7] and: “He who has showed
no mercy shall have judgement without mercy” [Jas 2:13] and such like
things. Then he said to him: “Farewell.” The official said: “Are you leaving?”
and he said: “What [more] do you want, when you have become healthy?”
The official said to him: “By the God who sent you, tell me who you are.”
“Look at me,” he said to him; “surely you recognise this linen?” “That I do
sir,” he said to him, “it is mine.” “And I am the corpse you saw thrown on
the road and you threw me the shirt”, the other said to him, “and God sent
me to heal you. Always be grateful to God”, and he went out again through
the window by which he came. Restored to health [the official] began to
glorify God, the cause of every good thing.
N.39 BHG 1322a, de mendico caeco

Another official was returning to Constantinople from Palestine when, in the
region of Tyre, he encountered a blind man on the road who had no guide.
Turning aside a little from the road on hearing the grooms arguing, he
stretched out his hands, and began uttering pitiful, miserable things, solicit-
ing charity from him, but [the official] paid no attention to him and passed
him by. But a little further on he changed his mind and checked his horse.
Taking out his purse he took out one trimesis,* went back in person to the
pauper and presented him with the trimesis. On receiving it [the blind man]
made this declaration to him: “I have confidence in God that the command-
ment itself will deliver you from temptation” [see Mt 6:13, Lk 11:4]. The
official received the declaration with confidence. He went off into the city
and found the governor there; also some soldiers on active service, spearmen
requesting to be embarked by him. When the soldiers saw the official they
requested him to ask the governor to give them a vessel in which they could
get away from the city. Swayed by their request, he appeared before the
governor and, while he was speaking to him about providing post-horses for
himself, he asked about the soldiers too. So, with a smile, the governor said to
the soldiers: “If you want me to dismiss you, persuade the official to sail with
you and you shall be dismissed forthwith.” On hearing this, they persisted in
requesting the official to consent to sail with them and, when he agreed, the
governor gave them the vessel. Off they sailed together, the official and the
μαγιστριανόν, ὀχληθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ γαστρός, ἀναστῆναι πρὸς
χρείας,1 καὶ γενόμενος εἰς τὸ πλάγιον τοῦ πλοίου ῥαπισθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ
ἀρμένου ἔπεσεν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν. Ἤκουσαν οὖν οἱ ναῦται τοῦ πτώματος
αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπειδὴ νὺξ ἦν καὶ ὁ [f. 169rb] ἄνεμος ἐπιτήδειος οὐκ ἠδυ-
νήθησαν αὐτὸν ἀνασπᾶσαι. Ἐφέρετο οὖν ὁ μαγιστριανὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος
ἐλπίζων ἀποθνῄσκειν ἀλλὰ τῇ ἑξῆς, θελήσει τοῦ Θεοῦ, εὑρέθη πλοῖον
ἐρχόμενον καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν οἱ τοῦ πλοίου, ἀνήγαγον αὐτόν, καὶ εἰσῆλθον
ἐν τῇ πόλει ἐν ᾗ καὶ οἱ παμμαχάριοι ἀπῆλθον. Οἱ δὲ ναῦται ἑκατέρων τῶν
πλοίων, ἐξελθόντες εἰς τὴν γῆν, γεγόνασιν ἐν καπηλείῳ τινί. Καὶ συμβαί-
νει2 τινὰ τῶν ναυτῶν τοῦ πλοίου, ἐξ οὗ ἔπεσεν ὁ μαγιστριανὸς, ἐπιμ-
νησθέντα αὐτοῦ στενάξαι καὶ εἰπεῖν· Ἆρα τί γέγονε τῷ μαγιστριανῷ
ἐκείνῳ; Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσαντες οἱ τοῦ ἑτέρου πλοίου ναῦται, ἐπηρώτων
περὶ ποίου μαγιστριανοῦ ἐστένα[f. 169va]ξεν, καὶ μαθόντες τὸ πρᾶγμα,
εἶπον αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ἡμεῖς ἐσώσαμεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἔχομεν3 μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν. Καὶ
γνόντες ἐκεῖνοι ἐχάρησαν καὶ ἐλθόντες ἔλαβον αὐτόν. Καὶ διηγήσατο
αὐτοῖς ὁ μαγιστριανός, ὅτι ὁ πολυβλέπων, ᾧτινι ἔδωκα κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν
τὸ τριμίσιον, αὐτός με ἐβάστασε περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ ὕδατος. Καὶ τοῦτο
ἀκούσαντες ἐδόξασαν τὸν σωτῆρα καὶ Θεόν. Ἐκ τούτου οὖν μανθάνομεν,
ὅτι ἡ ἐκ διαθέσεως ἐλεημοσύνη οὐκ ἀπόλλυται, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Θεὸς ἀμείβεται ἐν
καιρῷ ἀνάγκης τὸν ἐλεήμονα. Κατὰ τὴν θεῖαν οὖν γραφὴν μὴ ἀποσ-
χώμεθα εὐποιεῖν ἐνδεεῖ, ἡνίκα ἔχει ἡ χεὶρ ἡμῶν βοηθεῖν.4
40. Ἔλεγε δέ τις τῶν φιλοχρίστων ἔχων τὸ χάρισμα τῆς [f. 169vb]
ἐλεημοσύνης, ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ παρέχων ἐλεημοσύνην, ὡς αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος λαμ-
βάνων οὕτως παρέχειν· ἡ τοιαύτη ἐλεημοσύνη πλησιάζει πρὸς Θεόν.
41. Δύο τινὲς ἀδελφοὶ εἱλκύσθησαν εἰς τὸ μαρτυρῆσαι, καὶ βασα-

νισθέντες ἅπαξ ἐβλήθησαν εἰς φυλακήν· ἐλυποῦντο δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλους.
Ὁ εἷς οὗν βάλλει μετάνοιαν τῷ ἀδελφῷ λέγων· Συμβαίνει ἡμᾶς αὔριον
τελειωθῆναι, λύσωμεν οὖν τὴν κατ᾿ ἀλλήλων ἔχθραν,5 καὶ ποιήσωμεν
ἀγάπην· ὁ δὲ ἄλλος οὐκ ἐπείθετο.6 Τῇ οὖν ἑξῆς, φέρονται7 πάλιν καὶ
βασανίζονται, καὶ ὁ μὴ δεξάμενος τὴν μετάνοιαν, ἀπὸ πρώτης προσβολῆς
ἡττήθη, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἄρχων· Διατί χθὲς τοσαῦτα βασανισθεὶς οὐκ
ἐπείσθης μοι [f. 170ra]; Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν ὅτι τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου ἐμνησι-
κάκησα, καὶ οὐκ ἔσχον μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀγάπην, διὰ τοῦτο ἐστερήθην τῆς τοῦ
Θεοῦ μου παρακλήσεως.
1
χρείας] χρείαν S 2
συμβαίνει] συνέβη S 3
ἔχομεν] δὲ αὐτὸν add S
4
βοηθεῖν] βοήθειαν S 5
τὴν κατ᾿ ἀλλήλων ἔχθραν] τὴν ἔχθραν τὴν κατ᾿ ἀλλήλων S
6
ἐπείθετο] ἠνείχετο S 7
φέρονται] ἄγονται S
N.40–1 37
soldiers, catching a fair wind. But it happened that, during the night,
troubled by his belly, the official got up for a call of nature. While he was
at the side of the vessel he was struck by the sail and fell into the sea. The
sailors heard his fall but, since it was night and the wind was fair, they were
unable to rescue him. The official was carried away on the water, expecting to
die. Next day, however, by the will of God, there was a vessel coming and,
when those on board saw him, they took him up and they entered the city –
to which the soldiers came too. Now the sailors of both vessels having gone
ashore came to be in a certain tavern and it came about that one of the sailors
from the vessel out of which the official had fallen recalled him. He sighed
and said: “What on earth happened to that official?” When the sailors of the
other vessel heard this, they asked what official he sighed about. When they
learnt of the matter, they said to them: “We saved him and we have him with
us!” The others were delighted on learning this; they came and fetched him.
The official explained to them: “The blind man to whom I gave the trimesis
on the road, he held me up, walking on the water.” On hearing this they
glorified the Saviour and God. From this we learn that almsgiving done on
purpose is not lost, for God rewards the giver in a time of necessity.
Following Holy Scripture, let us not hold back from doing good to someone
in need when our hand can help him.
* trimesis, one-third of a gold piece (nomisma) weighing just over 1.5g.
N.40
One of those who love Christ and who possessed the gift of almsgiving
used to say that he who offers alms ought to offer as though he were
himself receiving. Such almsgiving brings one near to God.
N.41
Two brothers were dragged off for martyrdom; they were tortured once
then thrown into prison, but they used to be at enmity with each other. So
one of them prostrated himself before his brother saying: “It happens that
tomorrow we are to die; so let us resolve the enmity against each other and
be in amity”, but the other was not convinced. Next day they were taken
and tortured again. He who had not accepted the change of heart was
overcome at the first assault and the governor said to him: “Why did you
not obey me yesterday when you were tortured so severely?” In reply he
said: “[Today] I harboured a grudge against my brother and had no love
for him and for that reason I was deprived of the comfort of my God.”
42. Ἄλλος δέ τις παραδοθεὶς εἰς μαρτύριον ὑπὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δούλης
ἀπιὼν ἐπὶ τὸ τελειωθῆναι εἶδε τὴν δούλην αὐτοῦ τὴν παραδοῦσαν αὐτόν.
Καὶ λαβὼν ὃν ἐφόρει δακτύλιον χρυσοῦν, ἔδωκεν αὐτῇ λέγων· Εὐχαριστῶ
σοι ὅτι τοιούτων ἀγαθῶν πρόξενός μοι γέγονας.
43. Ἀδελφός τις ἐκάθητο εἰς κελλίον τῆς Αἰγύπτου ἐν πολλῇ ταπεινώσει
διαλάμπων. Ὑπῆρχε δὲ αὐτῷ ἀδελφὴ πορνεύουσα ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ
πολλαῖς ψυχαῖς προξενοῦσα ἀπώλειαν. Πολλάκις οὖν παρενοχλήσαντες
οἱ γέροντες τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἠδυνήθησαν πεῖσαι1 καταντῆσαι [f. 170rb] πρὸς
αὐτὴν εἴπως νουθετήσας καταργήσει2 τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τὴν δι᾿ αὐτῆς γινο-
μένην. Ὡς δὲ ἔφθασεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, ἰδὼν αὐτὸν τὶς τῶν γνωρίμων,
προλαβὼν ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῇ λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν.
Ἡ δέ, συνεχθεῖσα τοῖς σπλάγχνοις, καταλείψασα τοὺς ἐραστὰς οἷς διηκό-
νει, γυμνὴ τῇ κεφαλῇ ἐπὶ τὴν θέαν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐξεπήδησεν. Πειρωμένης δὲ
αὐτῆς περιπλέκεσθαι αὐτῷ, λέγει αὐτῇ· Γνησία μου ἀδελφή, φεῖσαι τῆς
ψυχῆς σου, ὅτι διὰ σοῦ πολλοὶ ἀπώλοντο. Καὶ πῶς δυνήσῃ ὑπενεγκεῖν
τὴν αἰώνιον καὶ πικρὰν βάσανον; Ἡ δὲ σύντρομος γενομένη λέγει αὐτῷ·
Οἶδας ὅτι ἔστι μοι σωτηρία ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν; Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῇ· Ἐὰν θέλῃς, ἔστι
[f. 170va] σωτηρία. Ἡ δὲ3 ῥίψασα ἑαυτὴν εἰς τοὺς πόδας τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ,
παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ἵνα λάβῃ αὐτὴν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.4 Ὁ δὲ λέγει
αὐτῇ· Θὲς τὸ ἱμάτιόν σου ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου καὶ ἀκολούθει μοι. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ἐκείνη· Ἄγωμεν, συμφέρει γάρ μοι ἀσχημονεῖν γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ, ἢ
εἰσελθεῖν ἔτι εἰς τὸ ἐργαστήριον τῆς ἀνομίας. Ὡς δὲ εἴχοντο τῆς ὁδοῦ,
ἐνουθέτει αὐτὴν πρὸς μετάνοιαν. Βλέπουσι δέ τινας ἐρχομένους εἰς ἀπάν-
τησιν αὐτῶν, καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· Ἐπειδὴ οὐ πάντες οἴδασιν ὅτι ἀδελφή μου εἶ,
ὑποχώρησον μικρὸν τῆς ὁδοῦ ἕως οὗ παρέλθωσιν. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, λέγει
αὐτῇ· Ἀπέλθωμεν τὴν ὁδὸν ἡμῶν, ἀδελφή. Ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ,
ἐκνεύσας εὗρεν αὐτὴν νεκράν· [f. 170vb] θεωρεῖ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἴχνη τῶν ποδῶν
αὐτῆς ᾑμαγμένα, ἦν γὰρ ἀνυπόδετος. Ὡς δὲ ἀπήγγειλε τοῖς γέρουσιν ὁ
ἀδελφὸς τὸ συμβάν, ἀντέβαλον εἰς ἀλλήλους. Ἀπεκάλυψε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ἑνὶ
γέροντι περὶ αὐτῆς· ὅτι ἐπειδὴ ὅλως οὐδενὸς ἐμερίμνησε σαρκικοῦ, ἀλλὰ
καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος κατεφρόνησε μὴ στενάξασα ἐν τῇ τοσαύτῃ πληγῇ,
τούτου χάριν προσεδεξάμην αὐτῆς τὴν μετάνοιαν.
1
ἠδυνήθησαν πεῖσαι] ἠνάγκασαν S 2
καταργήσει] καταργήσας S
3
Ἡ δὲ] καὶ S 4
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ] σὺν αὐτῷ S
N.42–3 39
N.42
There was another person who was betrayed into martyrdom by his own
handmaid and as he was going to be put to death he saw his handmaid
who had betrayed him. He took the gold ring he was wearing and gave it to
her, saying: “I thank you for having been the procurer of such good things
for me.”
N.43 BHG 1438h, de scorto converso

There was a brother living in a cell in Egypt who was distinguished for
great humility. He had a sister working as a prostitute in the city, where
she procured destruction for many souls. Though the elders pestered the
brother frequently, they were unable to persuade him to go and meet her
to see if somehow, by an admonition, he could do away with the sin that
was taking place through her. But when he arrived at the place, somebody
known to [her] saw him and, forestalling him, went and told her: “Here is
your brother at the gate.” Afflicted in heart, she abandoned the lovers she
was entertaining and hastened to see her brother with her head uncovered.
As she attempted to embrace him, he said to her: “My dear sister, take pity
on your soul, for through you many are being lost. How shall you be able
to tolerate the cruel and eternal torment?” All a-tremble, she said to him:
“Do you know if there is salvation for me henceforth?” and he said to her:
“There is salvation if you want it.” Throwing herself at her brother’s feet,
she begged him to take her into the desert with him. “Put your shawl over
your head and follow me”, he said to her; she said to him: “Let us go; it is
better for me to suffer the shame of an uncovered head than to go back
again into the workshop of iniquity.” He was instructing her in repentance
as they travelled along when they saw some people coming to meet them.
So he said to her: “Since not everybody knows that you are my sister, step
aside a little from the road until they pass by.” Afterwards he said to her:
“Let us get on our way, sister.” When she gave him no reply, he glanced to
the side and found her dead; he also saw that her footsteps were blood-
stained, for she was barefoot. When the brother told the elders what had
happened, they discussed it with each other, but God revealed her situ-
ation to one elder: “Because she was totally unconcerned with any matter
of the flesh and also despised her own body, making no complaint at her
great wound, for this reason I accepted her repentance.”
44. Ἦν τις γέρων ἔχων μαθητήν, καὶ ἐπολεμεῖτο ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἰς πορνείαν,
καὶ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων λέγων· Ὑπόμεινον, τέκνον, ὅτι πόλεμος τοῦ
ἐχθροῦ ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐκέτι ὑπομένω, ἀββᾶ, ἐὰν μὴ1 ποιήσω
τὸ πρᾶγμα. Καὶ προσεποιήσατο ὁ γέρων, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Κἀγὼ πο
[f. 171ra]λεμοῦμαι, τέκνον, ἀλλ᾿ ἄγωμεν ὁμοῦ καὶ ποιοῦμεν τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ
ἐρχόμεθα εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἡμῶν. Εἶχε δὲ ὁ γέρων νόμισμα ἕν, καὶ ἐβάστασεν
αὐτὸ μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ
μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Μεῖνον ἔξω, ἄφες πρῶτον εἰσέλθω ἐγώ, καὶ πάλιν ὕστερον
σύ. Καὶ εἰσελθὼν ὁ γέρων, ἔδωκε τῇ πόρνῃ τὸ νόμισμα καὶ παρεκάλεσεν
αὐτήν, μὴ μιάνῃς, λέγων,2 τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦτον. Καὶ ἔδωκε λόγον ἡ πόρνη
τῷ γέροντι μὴ μιᾶναι τὸν ἀδελφόν. Ἐξῆλθεν οὖν ὁ γέρων, καὶ λέγει τῷ
ἀδελφῷ εἰσελθεῖν.3 Καὶ ἅμα τὸ εἰσελθεῖν αὐτόν, λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ πόρνη·
Μεῖνον, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἁμαρτωλή4 εἰμι, ἀλλὰ νόμον ἔχομεν καὶ χρὴ
αὐτὸν πρῶτον5 ποιῆσαι ἡμᾶς.6 Ἐκέλευ[f. 171rb]σεν οὖν αὐτὸν στῆναι
παραμέρος καὶ βάλλειν πεντήκοντα μετανοίας, καὶ αὐτὴ παραμέρος
ὡσαύτως. Μετὰ οὖν τὸ βαλεῖν τὸν ἀδελφὸν εἴκοσι ἢ καὶ τριάκοντα
μετανοίας, κατενύγη καὶ λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Πῶς τῷ Θεῷ προσεύχομαι,
τοῦτο τὸ μύσος προσδοκῶν ποιῆσαι; Καὶ εὐθέως ἐξῆλθε μὴ μιανθείς, καὶ
ἰδὼν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόπον τοῦ γέροντος, ᾖρε τὸν πόλεμον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ
ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὸ κελλίον δοξάζοντες τὸν Θεόν.
45. Γέρων τις ἀπῄει πωλῆσαι τὰ μαλάκια αὐτοῦ. Τούτῳ δαίμων

ἀπαντήσας, ἄφαντα αὐτὰ πεποίηκεν. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐτράπη εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ
ἔλεγεν· Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, ὁ Θεός, ὅτι ἀπήλλαξάς με πειρασμοῦ. Ὁ δὲ δαίμων
μὴ [f. 171va] ὑπομείνας τὴν φιλοσοφίαν τοῦ γέροντος ἔκραξε λέγων· Ἰδοὺ
τὰ μαλάκιά σου, κακόγηρε. Ὁ δὲ γέρων λαβὼν ἐπώλησεν αὐτά.
46. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι σχολαστικός τις ἀπὸ Θεουπόλεως
εὐλαβὴς παρήδρευέν τινι ἐγκλειστῷ, καὶ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ἵνα δέξηται
αὐτὸν καὶ ποιήσῃ μοναχόν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν θέλῃς ἵνα δέξωμαί
σε, ὕπαγε πώλησον τὰ ὑπάρχοντά σοι καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν
τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ δέχομαί σε. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν ἐποίησεν οὕτως. Μετὰ ταῦτα
πάλιν7 λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἄλλην ἐντολὴν ἔχεις φυλάξαι, ἵνα μὴ λαλῇς. Ὁ δὲ
συνέθετο, καὶ ἐποίησε πέντε ἔτη καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησεν. Ἤρξαντο οὖν τινὲς
δοξάζειν αὐτόν, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ [f. 171vb] ἀββᾶς αὐτοῦ ·οὐκ ὠφελῇ ὧδε,
ἀλλὰ πέμπω σε εἰς κοινόβιον εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἔπεμψεν αὐτόν. Οὐκ εἶπεν
1
μὴ] ἀπέλθω καὶ add S 2
μὴ μιάνῃς, λέγων] λέγων μὴ μιάνῃς trsp S
3
εἰσελθεῖν] εἴσελθε S 4
ἁμαρτωλὴ S in main text] – λὸς S in mg*
5
πρῶτον] om S 6
ἡμᾶς] πρότερον add S 7
πάλιν] om S
N.44–6 41
N.44 BHG 1448zd, tentatus discipulus a seniore salvatur

There was an elder who had a disciple and this brother was being tempted
into porneia. The elder begged him, saying: “Hold on my son, for it is a
temptation of the enemy”, but he said to him: “I cannot hold on any longer,
abba, unless I do the deed.” Making pretence, the elder said to him: “I too
am being tempted my son; let us go together and do the deed then we will
come [back] to our cell.” Now the elder possessed one gold piece and he took
it with him. When they came to the place, the elder said to his disciple: “You
wait outside; let me go in first, then you too afterwards.” In he went and gave
the gold piece to the prostitute and he begged her saying: “Do not defile this
brother”, and the prostitute gave the elder her word that she would not defile
the brother. The elder came out and told the brother to go in and, as soon as
he came in, the prostitute said to him: “Wait brother; for even though I am a
sinner, we have a rule and we are obliged to fulfil it first.” So she told him to
stand to one side and perform fifty prostrations while she at her side did
likewise. After the brother had performed twenty or thirty prostrations, his
conscience pricked him. “How am I praying to God while expecting to do
that abominable deed?” he said to himself. He went out straightaway,
undefiled. When God saw the toil of the elder, he lifted the temptation
from the brother and they returned to the cell glorifying God.
N.45
An elder was going off to sell his palm-leaf baskets; a demon that met him
rendered them invisible. The elder resorted to prayer, saying: “I thank you
God for delivering me from temptation.” Unable to tolerate the elder’s way
of life,* the demon cried out saying: “Look, there are your baskets, wicked
old man!” The elder took them and sold them
* philosophia, really meaning the entire monastic practice.
N.46/14.32
One of the fathers told about a pious lawyer [scholastikos] of Theoupolis
[Antioch] who used to sit beside a recluse [egkleistos] and beg him to take
him in and make him a monk. The elder said to him: “If you wish me to
take you in, ‘Go, sell your possessions and give [the proceeds] to the poor’
[Mt 19:21 etc.] according to the Lord’s command, then I will receive you.”
Off he went and did so. Afterwards [the elder] said to him: “You have to
keep another commandment: you are not to speak.” He agreed and spent
δὲ αὐτῷ πέμπων αὐτὸν λαλῆσαι ἢ μὴ λαλῆσαι· αὐτὸς δὲ τηρῶν τὴν
ἐντολήν, ἔμεινε μὴ λαλῶν. Θέλων δὲ πείρᾳ δοκιμᾶσαι αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς
δεξάμενος αὐτὸν εἰ ἄλαλός ἐστιν ἢ οὔ, πέμπει αὐτὸν εἰς ἀπόκρισιν ἐν τῇ
πλημμύρᾳ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, ἵνα ἀναγκασθῇ εἰπεῖν ὅτι οὐκ ἠδυνήθην περᾶ-
σαι, καὶ πέμπει ἀδελφὸν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, ἵνα ἴδῃ τί ποιεῖ. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ἐπι
τὸν ποταμόν, μὴ δυνάμενος περᾶσαι ἔκλινε γόνυ, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται κρο-
κόδειλος, καὶ βαστάζει αὐτὸν καὶ ἀποφέρει εἰς τὸ πέραν,1 καὶ ὡς ἐποίησε
τὴν ἀπόκρισιν καὶ ἦλθεν [f. 172ra] ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμόν, πάλιν βαστάζει αὐτὸν
ὁ κροκόδειλος2 εἰς τὸ πέραν. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ πεμφθεὶς ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ
καὶ ἰδὼν τοῦτο, ἀνήγγειλε τῷ ἀββᾷ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ἐξεπλάγησαν.
Συνέβη δὲ αὐτὸν μετὰ χρόνον κοιμηθῆναι, καὶ ἔπεμψεν ὁ ἀββᾶς λέγων τῷ
πέμψαντι αὐτόν· Εἰ καὶ ἄλαλον ἔπεμψας ἡμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως ἄγγελον Θεοῦ.
Τότε πέμπει ὁ ἐγκλειστὸς λέγων· Ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ἄλαλος,3 ἀλλὰ τηρῶν τὴν
ἐντολὴν ἣν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔδωκα αὐτῷ, ἔμεινεν ἄλαλος. Καὶ ἐθαύμασαν πάντες
καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν.
47. Ἔλεγέ τις ὅτι ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ ἦν τις πλούσιος καὶ ἠσθένησεν καὶ
δειλιάσας τὸν θάνατον λαμβάνει τριάκοντα λίτρας χρυσίου καὶ πα
[f. 172rb]ρέχει αὐτὰ τοῖς πτωχοῖς. Ἐγένετο δὲ αὐτὸν ὑγιᾶναι, καὶ ἤρξατο
μεταμελεῖσθαι ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἐποίησεν. Εἶχε δέ τινα φίλον εὐλαβῆ, καὶ ἐθάῤῥησεν
αὐτῷ ὅτι μεταμεμέλημαι ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἐποίησα. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ὅτι μᾶλλον
ὤφειλες χαίρειν4 τῷ Χριστῷ προσενέγκας αὐτάς. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπείθετο.
Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ αἱ τριάκοντα λίτραι, ἦν γὰρ πλούσιος καὶ αὐτός·
Δεῦρο5 εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν καὶ εἰπέ· Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὁ ποιήσας τὴν ἐντολήν,
ἀλλ᾿ οὗτός ἐστιν, καὶ λαβὲ αὐτάς. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθον εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν, εἶπεν
οὕτως καὶ ἔλαβε τὰς τριάκοντα λίτρας, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐξέρχεσθαι αὐτὸν τὴν
θύραν, ἀπέθανεν. Λέγουσιν οὖν τῷ κυρίῳ τῶν νομισμάτων· Λαβὲ
[f. 172va] τὰ σά. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Μὴ γένοιτό μοι παρὰ Κυρίου, ἐξότε γὰρ
ἔδωκα αὐτὰ τῷ Χριστῷ, αὐτοῦ εἰσιν, ἀλλὰ δοθῶσι πτωχοῖς. Οἱ δὲ
ἀκούσαντες τὰ γενόμενα, ἐφοβήθησαν, καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν Θεὸν ἐπὶ τῇ
προθέσει τοῦ ἀνδρός.
1
βαστάζει. . . πέραν] φέρει εἰς τὸ πέραν βαστάζων αὐτόν S
2
κροκόδειλος] καὶ φέρει add S
3
ἄλαλος] ἀλλὰ καὶ πάνυ εὔλαλος add S 4
χαίρειν] χάριν ἔχειν S 5
δεῦρο] οὖν add S
N.47 43
five years not speaking. Some people began praising him, so his abba said to
him: “It is not to your benefit [to be] here; I am sending you to a coenobion
in Egypt”, and he sent him there. But, when sending him, he did not tell
him to speak or not to speak; so, observing the commandment, he
remained not speaking. Now the abba who had taken him in wanted to
put him to a test to know whether he was aphasic so he sent him on a
mission when the river was in flood. This was to force him to say: “I could
not cross [the river]”, and he sent a brother after him to see what he would
do. When he came to the river and was unable to cross it, he knelt down
and here there came a crocodile which took him on its back and carried him
over to the other side. When he had accomplished his mission he came to
the river and again the crocodile bore him to the opposite bank. When the
brother came who was sent after him and observed this, he reported it to
the abba and to the brethren – and they were flabbergasted. Some time later
it happened that this brother died; the abba sent to the abba who had sent
him [into Egypt] saying: “Even though you sent us a dumb man, neverthe-
less [he is] an angel of God.” Then the recluse sent saying: “He was not
dumb but, keeping the commandment which I originally gave him, he
remained silent.” They were all amazed and glorified God.
N.47 BHG 1322zj, de divite sanato quem factae

eleemosynae paenitet
Somebody used to say that there was a rich man in Alexandria who fell ill.
Fearing death, he took thirty pounds of gold* and gave them to the poor.
But then he became well and began to regret what he had done. He had a
friend who was devout; to him he confided his regrets about what he had
done, but he said to him “You ought rather to have rejoiced, having
offered them to Christ”, but he was not convinced. “Here are thirty
pounds of gold”, [the friend] said, for he too was rich. “Come to Saint
Menas’ and say: ‘I am not the one who carried out the commandment: he’s
the one,’ and you take this gold.” When they came to Saint Menas’, he
pronounced those words and took the thirty pounds; then, just as he was
going out of the door, he died. They said to the [previous] owner of the
gold pieces: “Take what is yours”, but he said “Certainly not, by the Lord!
Since I gave them to Christ, they are his. Let them be given to the poor.”
Those who heard what had happened were afraid and glorified God over
the man’s intention.
* 30 x 72 ¼ 2,160 nomismata, almost 10kg of gold.
48. Ἦν τις ζυγοστάτης ἔν τινι πόλει, καὶ ἔρχεταί τις τῆς πόλεως φέρων
αὐτῷ σφραγίδα πεντακοσίων νομισμάτων, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Λαβὲ τὴν
σφραγίδα ταύτην καὶ ὅταν χρείαν σχῶ παρέχεις μοι καταμέρος, οὐ παρῆν
δέ τις ἐκεῖ ὅτε ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν σφραγίδα. Εἷς δὲ τῶν λαμπρῶν τῆς
πόλεως, ἔξωθεν τοῦ ζυγοστατείου1 ἀναπατῶν, ἤκουε καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι ἔδωκεν
αὐτῷ τὴν σφραγίδα. Οὐκ ᾔδει ὁ ζυγοστάτης ὅτι ἤκουεν. [f. 172vb] Μεθ᾿
ἡμέρας δέ τινας ἔρχεται ὁ δοὺς τὴν σφραγίδα καὶ λέγει τῷ ζυγοστάτῃ·
Δός μοι ἐκ τῆς σφραγίδος, ὅτι χρείαν ἔχω. Ἐκεῖνος δὲ θαῤῥῶν ὅτι οὐ
παρῆν τις ὅτε ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν σφραγίδα, ἠρνήσατο λέγων· Οὐκ ἔδωκάς
μοι τίποτε. Καὶ ὡς ἐξῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν τεταραγμένος, ἀπαντᾷ αὐτῷ ὁ λαμπρὸς
ἐκεῖνος καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἔχεις; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Ἀκριβῶς ἔδωκας αὐτῷ; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκεῖνος· Εἰπὲ
αὐτῷ· Δεῦρο πληροφόρησόν μοι εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἀνδρέαν καὶ ἀρκεῖ σοι. Ἦν
γὰρ ἐκεῖ μαρτύριον τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀνδρέου. Ὅτε δὲ ἔμελλεν ὀμνύειν, λαμβάνει
ὁ λαμπρὸς ἐκεῖνος τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέρχεται εἰς τὸν [f. 173ra] ἅγιον
Ἀνδρέαν, καὶ λέγει τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ· Εἴ τι ποιῶ σήμερον, μὴ ταραχθῇς,
ἀλλ᾿ ὑπόμεινον. Καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸ μαρτύριον, ἀποδύεται τὰ ἱμάτια
αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἤρξατο ποιεῖν ἑαυτὸν δαιμονιζόμενον, κράζων φωνὰς ἀτάκ-
τους. Καὶ ὅτε εἰσῆλθον ἔλεγεν· Ὁ ἅγιος Ἀνδρέας λέγει· Ἰδοὺ ὁ φαῦλος
οὗτος ἔλαβε τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ θέλει ἐπιορκῆ-
σαί με. Ἀπέρχεται οὖν καὶ ἔπνιγεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Ὁ ἅγιος Ἀνδρέας λέγει·
Δὸς τὰ πεντακόσια νομίσματα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Ἐκεῖνος δὲ ταραχθεὶς καὶ
φοβηθείς, ὡμολόγησε λέγων· Ἐγὼ φέρω αὐτά. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἄρτι
φέρε αὐτά. Ἀπῆλθεν οὖν εὐθέως καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτά, καὶ λέγει ὁ δῆθεν
ἐνεργούμενος τῷ κυρί[f. 173rb]ῳ τῶν νομισμάτων· Λέγει ὁ ἅγιος Ἀνδρέας·
Θὲς εἰς τὴν τράπεζαν ἓξ νομίσματα. Ὁ δὲ ἔθηκε μετὰ χαρᾶς. Ὅτε οὖν
ἀνεχώρησαν, λαβὼν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐφόρεσε κοσμίως, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν
ἀναπατῶν πάλιν εἰς τὸ ζυγοστατεῖον κατὰ τὸ ἔθος. Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ
ζυγοστάτης προσεῖχεν αὐτῷ ἄνω καὶ κάτω. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ λαμπρὸς
ἐκεῖνος· Τί μοι προσέχεις, ἑταῖρε; πίστευσον, χάριτι Χριστοῦ οὐκ ἔχω
δαίμονα, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπειδὴ ὅτε ἔδωκέ σοι τὴν σφραγίδα ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἔξω ἤμην
ἀναπατῶν, καὶ ἤκουσα καὶ εἶδον ἀκριβῶς καὶ εἰ εἶπόν σοι, εἶχες λέγειν ὅτι
οὐ πιστεύῃ μόνος, ἐλογισάμην ποιῆσαι τὸ δράμα τοῦτο, ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσῃς
τὴν ψυχήν σου, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀδίκως ζημιωθῇ τὰ αὐτοῦ.
1
ζυγοστατείου] corr ζυγοστατίου C S
N.48 45
N.48 BHG 1328g, de ponderatore

There was a money-changer in a city, one of whose inhabitants came
bringing him a precious stone worth five hundred pieces of gold. “Take
this stone,” he said, “and provide me with a portion of its value when need
arises”, but there was nobody there when he gave him the stone. One of
the illustrious persons of the city, however, was outside the Exchange
walking back [home]. He was listening and saw that he gave him the
stone, but the money-changer did not know he was listening. Some days
later, he who gave the stone came and said to the money-changer: “Give
me [something] on the stone, for I have need.” He, however, confident
that there was no one present when the other gave him the stone, refused,
saying: “You never gave me anything.” As he came out of there in an
agitated state, that illustrious person met him and said to him: “What is
the matter?” He told him about the affair and the other said to him: “Did
you really give it to him?” “Yes”, he said, and [that person] said to him:
“Tell him: ‘Come and assure me at Saint Andrew’s’ and that will suffice for
you”, – for there was a martyrion of Saint Andrew there. When [the
money-changer] was going to take the oath, that illustrious person took
his slave and went to Saint Andrew’s, saying to his slave: “Whatever I do
this day, do not be disturbed; just be patient.” Coming into the martyr’s
chapel, he took off his clothing and began behaving like one possessed of a
demon, crying out in a disorderly manner. When they came in, he began
to say: “Saint Andrew says: ‘Look: this wicked fellow took the man’s five
hundred gold pieces and he wants to swear falsely by me.’” Then he went
out and took him by the throat saying: “Saint Andrew says: ‘Give up the
man’s five hundred gold pieces.’” The other, troubled and terrified,
confessed, saying: “I am bringing them”, but [the person] said: “Bring
them right now.” Off he went and promptly brought them; the pseudo-
demoniac said to the owner of the money: “Saint Andrew says: ‘Put six
pieces of gold on the [holy] table’” and he gladly put [them there]. When
they were gone [that person] took his clothes, dressed decently and went
walking by the Exchange again, as usual. The money-changer looked him
up and down when he saw him and that illustrious person said to him:
“Why are you staring at me, friend? Believe me, by the grace of Christ,
I have no demon; but, since I was walking outside when the man gave you
the stone, I heard and saw clearly. And in case they said to you: ‘You have
to say that a single [witness] is not believed’ I decided to enact this charade
to prevent you from losing your soul and the man from being wickedly
deprived of what is his.”
49. [f. 173va] Ἀδελφὸς ἀπεστάλη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀββᾶ αὐτοῦ εἰς διακονίαν καὶ
ἐλθὼν εἰς τόπον τινὰ ἔχοντα ὕδωρ εὗρεν ἐκεῖ γυναῖκα πλύνουσαν ἱμάτια.
Πολεμηθεὶς δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ἵνα κοιμηθῇ μετ᾿ αὐτῆς. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκείνη· Τὸ
μὲν ἀκοῦσαί σου, εὔκολόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ᾿ αἰτία σοι γίνομαι πολλῆς θλίψεως.
Λέγει αὐτῇ· Πῶς; Ἀπεκρίθη ἐκείνη· Μετὰ τὸ ποιῆσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα, πλήσσει
σε ἡ συνείδησίς σου, καὶ ἢ ἀπογινώσκεις ἑαυτοῦ, ἢ πολλοῦ κόπου σοι
χρεία ἵνα ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν τάξιν ἣν ἔχεις νῦν· πρὸ τοῦ οὖν δέξασθαί σε τὸ
τραῦμα, πορεύου ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὴν ὁδόν σου. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας κατενύγη καὶ
εὐχαρίστησε τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῇ φρονήσει αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐλθὼν πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν
αὐτοῦ, ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ [f. 173vb] τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ἐθαύμασεν αὐτήν. Καὶ
παρεκάλεσεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ λοιποῦ μὴ ἐξελθεῖν1 τῆς μονῆς, καὶ οὕτως
ἔμεινεν ἐν τῷ μοναστηρίῳ ἕως θανάτου μὴ ἐξερχόμενος.
50. Ἀδελφὸς ἀπῆλθεν ἀντλῆσαι ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ· εὗρε δὲ ἐκεῖ
γυναῖκα πλύνουσαν ἱμάτια καὶ συνέβη αὐτὸν πεσεῖν μετ᾿ αὐτῆς. Μετὰ δὲ
τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, λαβὼν τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπήρχετο εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ. Ἐπεμπη-
δήσαντες δὲ οἱ δαίμονες διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν ἔθλιβον αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Ποῦ
λοιπὸν ὑπάγεις; Οὐκ ἔστι σοι σωτηρία, ἵνα τὶ καὶ τὸν κόσμον ζημιοῦσαι;
Ἐπιγνοὺς δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὅτι θέλουσιν αὐτὸν παντελῶς ἀπολέσαι, λέγει τοῖς
λογισμοῖς· Πόθεν2 ἐπεισήλθετε καὶ θλίβετέ με ἵνα ἀπελπίσω ἐμαυτοῦ; οὐχ
ἥμαρτον, [f. 174ra] καὶ πάλιν λέγω οὐχ ἥμαρτον. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ
αὐτοῦ, ἡσύχαζεν ὡς χθὲς καὶ πρώην. Ἀπεκάλυψε δὲ ὁ Κύριος ἑνὶ γείτονι
αὐτοῦ γέροντι, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ δεῖνα πεσὼν ἐνίκησεν. Ἐλθὼν οὖν πρὸς
αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων, λέγει αὐτῷ· Πῶς ἔχεις; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Καλῶς, ἀββᾶ. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Καὶ οὐδὲν ἐθλίβης τὰς ἡμέρας ταύτας; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐδέν.
Λέγει3 ὁ γέρων· Ἀπεκάλυψέ μοι ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι πεσὼν ἐνίκησας. Τότε ὁ
ἀδελφὸς διηγήσατο αὐτῷ πάντα τὰ συμβάντα αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν
αὐτῷ· Φύσει, ἀδελφέ, ἡ διάκρισίς σου συνέτριψε τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ.
1
ἐξελθεῖν] ἐκ add S 2
Πόθεν] μοι add S 3
Λέγει] αὐτῷ add S
N.49–50 47
N.49
A brother was sent on an errand by his abba and, coming to a place where
there was water, he found a woman there washing clothes. Severely
tempted, he asked her if he could lie with her. She said to him: “It is easy
to go along with your request, but then I become the cause of much
affliction for you.” “How so?” he said to her. “After you have done the
deed, your conscience will smite you”, she answered. “You will either
despair of yourself, or you will have to undergo great drudgery to regain
your present status. So go your way in peace before you receive the wound
[in your conscience].” He was conscience-stricken on hearing this and gave
thanks to God and to her shrewdness. Coming to his abba, he told him
about the occurrence and wondered at the woman. The brother begged
that he should not go out of the monastery in future, and so he remained
within the monastery, not going out until death.
N.50/5.47
A brother went to draw water from the river; there he found a woman who
was washing clothes and it transpired that he fell [into sin] with her. After
the sin, he took the water and went off to his cell. The demons assailed
him and afflicted him by means of his logismoi, saying: “Now where are
you going? There is no salvation for you, so why are you troubling the
world too?”* Realising that they wanted to destroy him altogether, the
brother said to his logismoi: “Where did you come upon me from and why
are you afflicting me to make me despair of myself? I have not sinned;
I repeat, I have not sinned”, so he went into his cell and dwelt in hêsychia as
yesterday and before. But the Lord revealed to an elder who was his
neighbour that brother so-and-so, though falling, had triumphed. So the
elder came to him and said to him: “How are you?” He said: “I am well,
abba.” The elder said to him: “You have not been afflicted by anything
these days?” He said to him: “By nothing.” Said the elder to him: “God
revealed to me that though you had fallen, you triumphed”, whereupon
the brother narrated all that had happened to him. The elder said: “Indeed,
your discernment shattered the power of the enemy, brother.”
* meaning obscure.
51. Νεώτερός τις ἐζήτει ἀποτάξασθαι καὶ πολλάκις αὐτὸν ἐξελθόντα
ἀνέτρεψαν οἱ λογισμοὶ συμπλέκοντες αὐτὸν τοῖς πράγμασιν, ἦν [f. 174rb]
γὰρ καὶ πλούσιος. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐξελθόντος αὐτοῦ, ἐκύκλωσαν
αὐτὸν καὶ πολὺν κονιορτὸν ἤγειραν ὅπως ἀποστρέψωσιν αὐτὸν πάλιν. Ὁ
δὲ ἀθρόως ἀποδυσάμενος καὶ ῥίψας τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, ἀπέτρεχε γυμνὸς εἰς
τὰ μοναστήρια. Ἀπεκάλυψε δὲ ὁ Κύριος ἑνὶ γέροντι ὅτι· ἀνάστα δέξαι τὸν
ἀθλητήν μου. Ἀναστὰς δὲ ὁ γέρων, ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ, καὶ μαθὼν τὸ
πρᾶγμα, ἐθαύμασε καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτῷ τὸ σχῆμα. Ὅτε οὖν ἤρχοντο πρὸς
τὸν γέροντά τινες ἐρωτῆσαι περὶ λογισμῶν παντοίων ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς·
Ἐὰν δὲ περὶ ἀποταγῆς, ἔλεγεν· ἐρωτήσατε τὸν ἀδελφόν.
52. Διηγήσατό τις ὅτι ἀδελφὸς μένων ἐν κοινοβίῳ ἐπέμπετο εἰς ἀποκρί-
σεις τοῦ κοινοβίου· ἦν [f. 174va] δέ τις εὐλαβὴς κοσμικὸς εἰς κώμην τινά,
καὶ1 ἐδέχετο2 αὐτὸν κατὰ πίστιν ὁσάκις ἤρχετο εἰς τὴν κώμην. Εἶχε δὲ ὁ
κοσμικὸς μίαν θυγατέρα προσφάτως χηρεύσασαν, ποιήσασαν μετὰ τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς3 ἐνιαυτοὺς δύο. Εἰσερχόμενος οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἐξερχόμενος,
ἐπολεμήθη εἰς αὐτήν. Ἐκείνη δὲ συνετὴ οὖσα, ἐνόησε καὶ ἐφύλαττεν
ἑαυτὴν μὴ ἐλθεῖν εἰς πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. Μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν, εἰσῆλθεν ὁ
πατὴρ αὐτῆς εἰς τὴν ἐγγὺς πόλιν διά τινα4 χρείαν, ἀφήσας5 αὐτὴν μόνην
ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς κατὰ τὸ ἔθος, εὑρίσκει αὐτὴν μόνην καὶ
λέγει αὐτῇ· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ σου; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Εἰς τὴν πόλιν εἰσῆλθεν.
Ἤρξατο οὖν ταράττεσθαι [f. 174vb] ὁ ἀδελφὸς6 ὑπὸ τοῦ πολέμου θέλων
ἐπαναστῆναι αὐτῇ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκείνη μετὰ συνέσεως· Μηδὲν ταραχθῇς, ὁ
πατήρ μου ἕως ὅτε οὐκ ἔρχεται· ὧδε ἐσμὲν οἱ δύο. Οἶδα δὲ ὅτι ὑμεῖς οἱ
μοναχοί, οὐδὲν ποιεῖτε ἐκτὸς εὐχῆς. Ἔγειρε οὖν καὶ εὖξαι τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ εἴ τι
ἐμβάλει εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου τοῦτο καὶ7 ποιοῦμεν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελεν, ἀλλ᾿
ἐταράττετο ἀπὸ τοῦ πολέμου. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὄντως σὺ ἔγνως ποτὲ
γυναῖκα; Λέγει αὐτῇ· Οὔ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο θέλω ἵνα μάθω τί ἐστιν. Λέγει
αὐτῷ· Διὰ τοῦτο οὖν ταράσσῃ, ἀγνοῶν τὴν δυσωδίαν τῶν ἀθλίων
γυναικῶν; Καὶ θέλουσα μειῶσαι τὸ πάθος αὐτοῦ, ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἐν τοῖς
μηναίοις μου εἰμί, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται προσεγγίσαι μοι οὐδὲ [f. 175ra]
ὀσφρανθῆναί μου ἀπὸ τῆς δυσωδίας. Ἀκούσας δὲ παρ᾿ αὐτῆς ταῦτα καὶ
ἄλλα τοιαῦτα, καὶ8 σιανθεὶς καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς ἑαυτόν,9 ἐδάκρυσεν. Ὅτε δὲ
εἶδεν αὐτὸν ἐκείνη ὅτι ἦλθεν εἰς ἑαυτόν, λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ εἰ ἐπείσθην σου
ἤδη ἤμεθα τελέσαντες10 τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Ποίᾳ οὖν ὄψει εἶχες λοιπὸν ἀτενίσαι
1
καὶ om S 2
ἐδέχετο] δὲ add S 3
ἀνδρὸς] αὐτῆς add S 4
τινα om S
5
ἀφήσας corr] ἀφῆσαι C] ἀφεὶς S 6
ταράττεσθαι ὁ ἀδελφὸς] ὁ ἀδελφὸς ταράττεσθαι trsp S
7
καὶ om S 8
καὶ om S 9
ἐλθὼν εἰς ἑαυτὸν] εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθὼν trsp S
10
ἤμεθα τελέσαντες] τελέσαντες ἤμεν S
N.51–2 49
N.51
A young man was seeking to renounce the world but often, after he had set
out, his logismoi turned him back, involving him in affairs, for he was also
rich. One day, after he had set out, they crowded in on him raising a great
cloud of dust to turn him back again. But he suddenly stripped and,
throwing his clothes aside, he ran off naked to the monasteries. The Lord
revealed to one elder: “Get up and receive my athlete.” The elder got up
and met him. He was amazed on hearing the matter and put the habit on
him. When some people came to the elder to ask about logismoi of all
kinds, he answered them: “If it is about renouncing the world, you are to
ask the brother”, he would say.
N.52
Somebody recounted: “A brother staying in a coenobion was being sent on
coenobion business. There was a devout worldling in a village who used to
entertain him as an act of faith whenever he came to the village. The
worldling had one daughter recently widowed after living with her husband
for two years. As the brother came and went, he was embattled [by
temptation] towards her but she, being astute, realised this and took care
not to come into his presence. One day, however, her father went into the
neighbouring city for some necessity, leaving her alone in the house.
Coming as usual, the brother found her alone and said to her: ‘Where is
your father?’ ‘He has gone into the city’, she said to him and the brother
began to be troubled by the battle, wanting to assault her. She astutely said
to him: ‘Do not be troubled, my father will not return for some time; we are
[the only] two here. But I know that you monks do not perform anything
without prayer, so get up and pray to God and, whatever he puts into your
heart, that we shall do.’ He did not want to [pray] for he was being troubled
by the battle. She said to him: ‘Have you ever really known a woman?’ ‘No,’
he said to her, ‘but that is why I want to learn what [a woman] is.’ ‘That is
the reason you are being troubled,’ she said to him; ‘you are unaware of the
stench of wretched women.’ Wishing to cool his passion, she said: ‘I am
having my menses; nobody can approach me or even bear to smell me
because of the stench.’ Coming to his senses and disgusted on hearing this
and other such things from her, he wept. When she saw that he had come
to his senses, she said to him: ‘Look, if I had been persuaded by you, we
would already have committed the sin. Then, what kind of face would you
have put on to confront my father, or to return to your monastery and hear
εἰς τὸν πατέρα μου, ἢ ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὸ μοναστήριόν σου καὶ ἀκοῦσαι τοῦ
χοροῦ τῶν ἁγίων ἐκείνων ψαλλόντων; Παρακαλῶ οὖν σε, νῆψον τοῦ
λοιποῦ, καὶ μὴ θελήσῃς διὰ μικρὰν καὶ αἰσχρὰν ἡδονὴν ἀπολέσαι τοιού-
τους καμάτους οὓς ἔχεις, καὶ στερηθῆναι αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν. Ταῦτα ἀκού-
σας τὰ ῥήματα ὁ παθὼν ἀδελφὸς παρ᾿ αὐτῆς1 ἔλεγε τῷ διηγησαμένῳ ἐ
[f. 175rb]μοί, εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ διὰ τῆς συνέσεως καὶ σωφροσύνης
αὐτῆς μὴ ἐάσαντι2 αὐτὸν τελείως ἐκπεσεῖν.
53. Γέρων τις εἶχε μαθητὴν ὠνητὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ θέλων αὐτὸν κρατεῖν,
ἔπεισεν αὐτὸν τελείως3 ἔχειν τὴν ὑπακοήν, ὥστε εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ τὸν γέροντα·
Ὕπαγε, καὶ ἀναφθέντος τοῦ κλιβάνου σφοδρῶς, λαβὼν τὸ βιβλίον τὸ
ἀναγινωσκόμενον ἐν τῇ συνάξει, ῥίψον εἰς τὸν κλίβανον. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν
ἐποίησεν ἀδιακρίτως, καὶ ῥιφέντος τοῦ βιβλίου, ἐσβέσθη ὁ κλίβανος, ἵνα
γνῶμεν ὅτι καλὴ ἡ ὑπακοή· κλίμαξ γάρ ἐστιν τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν.
54. Εἶδέ τις τινα νεώτερον μοναχὸν γελῶντα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Μὴ γελᾷς,
ἀδελφέ, ἐπεὶ διώκεις ἀπὸ σοῦ τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
[f. 175va] Περὶ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ ἁγίου τῶν μοναχῶν4

55. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι τὸ κουκούλιον σημεῖόν ἐστι τῆς ἀκακίας· Ὁ
ἀνάλαβος τοῦ σταυροῦ· Ἡ δὲ5 ζώνη τῆς ἀνδρείας. Πολιτευσώμεθα οὖν
πρὸς τὸ σχῆμα ἡμῶν, πάντα μετὰ σπουδῆς ποιοῦντες, ἵνα μὴ φανῶμεν
ἀλλότριον σχῆμα φοροῦντες.
56. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ,

ἦλθεν ἀδελφὸς νυκτὸς παραβαλεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ ἔσωθεν
μαχομένου καὶ λέγοντος· Ὦ, καλῶς ἔχει, ἕως πότε, ὑπάγετε λοιπόν, δεῦρο
πρός με, φίλε. Εἰσελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ,6 μετὰ τίνος
ἐλάλεις; Καὶ λέγει· Τοὺς πονηροὺς λογισμούς μου7 ἐδίωκον, καὶ τοὺς
ἀγαθοὺς ἐκά[f. 175vb]λουν.
1
παρ᾿ αὐτῆς om S 2
ἐάσαντι] ἐάσαντα C 3
τελείως] τελείαν S
4
Tit.] Περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου σχήματος τοῦ μοναχικοῦ S 5
δὲ om S
6
Ἀββᾶ post ἐλάλεις trsp S 7
μου post πονηροὺς trsp S
N.53–6 51
the choir of those holy ones singing? So, I beg you, be wary in future and do
not be willing to lose such hard labour as you have accomplished for a little
shameful pleasure and be deprived of eternal benefits.’ Having heard these
words from her, the suffering brother reported them to me who am
recounting [them], giving thanks to God who, through her astuteness and
discretion, had not allowed him to fall definitively.”
N.53
An elder had his slave as his disciple and, wishing to retain him, he
convinced him to maintain complete obedience, with the result that the
elder said to him: “Go, light a good fire in the oven; take the book which is
read at the synaxis and throw it into the oven.” He went and did so without
question; and when the book was thrown [in], the oven was extinguished.
[This was] so we might know that obedience is good, for it is a ladder to
the Kingdom of Heaven.
N.54/3.51
Somebody saw a young monk laughing and said to him: “Do not laugh,
brother, for you are driving fear of God away from you.”
C O N C E R N I N G T H E H O L Y H AB I T O F M O N K S
N.55/10.192
The elders used to say: “The cowl is the symbol of innocence, the scapular
of the cross, the girdle of courage. Let us then live in accordance with our
habit, doing everything with diligence, lest we appear to be wearing an
inappropriate habit.”
N.56
They used to say of a certain elder that, while he was residing in his cell, a
brother came to visit him by night and heard him within, fighting and
saying: “Ah, it is well”; “How much longer?” “Get out!” and then: “Come
to me, friend.” So the brother went in and said to him: “With whom were
you speaking, abba?” “I was chasing off my perverse logismoi and
summoning the good ones”, he said.
57. Ἀδελφὸς εἶπέ τινι γέροντι· Οὐδὲν βλέπω πολέμου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου.
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ τετράπυλον εἶ, καὶ ὁ θέλων εἰσέρχεται καὶ
ἐξέρχεται διὰ σοῦ, σὺ δὲ οὐ νοεῖς. Ἐὰν δὲ ἔχεις θύραν καὶ κλείσῃς αὐτήν,
καὶ μὴ συγχωρήσῃς εἰσελθεῖν δι᾿ αὐτῆς πονηροὺς λογισμούς, τότε βλέπεις
αὐτοὺς ἔξω ἑστῶτας καὶ πολεμοῦντάς σε.
58. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτι καταφέρω τὸν ἄτρακτον, καὶ τιθῶ τὸν θάνατον
πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου πρὸ τοῦ ἀνενέγκω αὐτόν.
59. Ἤκουσα περὶ τινὸς γέροντος ὅτι ἐκάθητο εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ εἰς τὸ
Κλύσμα, καὶ τὸ προχωροῦν ἔργον οὐκ εἰργάζετο, οὐδὲ εἰ ἐπέτασσεν αὐτῷ
τις ἐποίει. Ἀλλ᾿ ὅτε καιρὸς ἦν τῶν σαγήνων, εἰργάζετο στύππειον1 καὶ ὅτε
ἐζήτουν νήματα, εἰρ[f. 176ra]γάζετο λινοῦν, ἵνα μὴ ταραχθῇ ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ
εἰς τὰ ἔργα.
60. Ἐσθιόντων ποτὲ τῶν ἀδελφῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τῶν Κελλίων ἐν τῇ
ἑορτῇ τοῦ πάσχα, ἔδωκαν ἀδελφῷ ποτήριον οἴνου καὶ ἠνάγκασαν αὐτὸν
πιεῖν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι, πατέρες, ὅτι καὶ πέρυσιν2
οὕτως μοι ἐποιήσατε3 καὶ ἐθλίβην ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον.
61. Ἔλεγον περὶ τινὸς γέροντος ἐν τοῖς κάτω μέρεσιν· ὅτι ἐκάθητο
ἡσυχάζων, καὶ εἷς κοσμικὸς πιστὸς διηκόνει αὐτῷ. Συνέβη δὲ τῷ υἱῷ4
τοῦ κοσμικοῦ ἀσθενῆσαι. Καὶ πολλὰ παρακαλέσας τὸν γέροντα, ἠξίου
ὥστε ἐλθεῖν καὶ ποιῆσαι εὐχὴν περὶ τοῦ παιδίου· καὶ ἀναστὰς ὁ γέρων
ἐξῆλθε σὺν αὐτῷ. Καὶ δραμὼν5 ὁ κοσμικός, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν [f. 176rb] οἶκον
αὐτοῦ λέγων· Δεῦτε εἰς τὴν ὑπάντησιν τοῦ ἀναχωρητοῦ. Καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτοὺς
ὁ γέρων ἀπὸ μακρόθεν ἐξερχομένους μετὰ λαμπάδων, ἐνόησεν, καὶ ἐκδυ-
σάμενος τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, ἔβαλεν εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ἤρξατο πλύνειν
στήκων γυμνός. Ὁ δὲ διακονητὴς αὐτοῦ ἰδὼν ᾐσχύνθη, καὶ παρεκάλεσε
τοὺς ἀνθρώπους λέγων· Ἀνακάμψατε, ὁ γὰρ γέρων ἐξέστη. Καὶ ἐλθὼν
πρὸς αὐτόν, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, τί τοῦτο ἐποίησας; πάντες γὰρ ἔλεγον ὅτι
δαιμόνιον ἔχει ὁ γέρων. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Κἀγὼ τοῦτο ἤθελον ἀκοῦσαι.
1
στύππειον corr] στίππυον CS 2
πέρυσιν S] πέρισυ C
3
ἐποιήσατε] καὶ ἔπιον ἓν ποτήριον add S 4
τῷ υἱῷ] τὸν υἱὸν S
5
δραμὼν] προδραμὼν S
N.57–61 53
N.57 [¼ N.270]/11.101
A brother told an elder: “I see no battle in my heart.” The elder said to
him: “You are open on all four sides. He who wishes comes in and goes out
of you and you are not aware of it. If you have a door, close it and do not
allow perverse logismoi to come in through it. Then you will see them
standing outside, battling against you.”
N.58/3.53
An elder said: “I lower the spindle and set death before my eyes before
I bring it up again.”
N.59/10.190
I heard about an elder that he was staying in the temple at Clysma and that
he did not work at the work that was going on and would not do so even if
somebody ordered him to. At net-making season he would work with flax;
when they were searching for thread he would work at linen – so that his
mind would not be disturbed by the tasks.
N.60/4.91
Once while the brothers were eating in the church at The Cells at
Eastertide, they gave a brother a cup of wine and forced him to drink it.
He said to them: “Excuse me fathers, for you did this to me last year too
and I was afflicted for a long time.”
N.61/4.35
They used to say of an elder in lower [Egypt] that he lived in hêsychia and one
faithful worldling attended to his needs. It came about that the worldling’s
son fell sick; he insistently begged the elder: “Deign to come and offer a
prayer for the child.” The elder arose and went out with him. Running ahead,
the worldling came into his house saying: “Come and meet the anchorite.”
When from afar the elder saw them coming out with lamps, he had an idea.
Taking off his clothes, he threw them into the river and began washing them,
standing naked. His attendant was mortified when he saw. He begged the
people: “Go back, for the elder has taken leave of his senses.” Coming to him,
he said: “Abba, why did you do this? – for they were all saying the elder has a
demon”, but he said to him: “I too was wanting to hear that.”
62. Ἦν τις ἀναχωρητὴς βοσκόμενος μετὰ τῶν βουβάλων καὶ ηὔξατο τῷ
θεῷ λέγων· Κύριε, τί ὑστερῶ δίδαξόν με. Καὶ ἦλθεν αὐτῷ φωνὴ [f. 176va]
λέγουσα· Ὕπαγε εἰς τόδε τὸ κοινόβιον καὶ εἴ τι ἐπιτάσσουσί σοι ποίησον.
Εἰσελθὼν οὖν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον ἔμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τῶν
ἀδελφῶν. Καὶ ἤρξαντο οἱ μικροὶ μοναχοὶ διδάσκειν αὐτὸν τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν
τῶν ἀδελφῶν,1 καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Ποίησον τοῦτο, ἰδιῶτα, καὶ ποίησον
ἐκεῖνο,2 σαλὲ γέρoν. Καὶ θλιβόμενος ηὔξατο πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν λέγων· Κύριε,
οὐκ οἶδα τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πέμψον με πάλιν πρὸς τοὺς
βουβάλους. Καὶ ἀπολυθεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, πάλιν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς χωρίον
βοσκηθῆναι μετὰ τῶν βουβάλων.
63. Ἀναχωρητῇ τινὶ παρέβαλον κοσμικοί, καὶ ἑωρακὼς αὐτοὺς ἐδέξατο

αὐτοὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς εἰπών· Ὅτι ὁ Κύριος ὑμᾶς ἔπεμψεν ἵ[f. 176vb]να με
θάψητε. Ἡ κλῆσις γάρ3 μου ἔφθασεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν
ἀκουόντων, διηγήσομαι ὑμῖν τὸν ἐμὸν βίον. Ἐγώ, ἀδελφοί, παρθένος μέν
εἰμι τῷ σώματι, τῇ δὲ ψυχῇ, μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος εἰς πορνείαν4 πολεμ-
οῦμαι ἀπανθρώπως. Ἰδοὺ λαλῶ ὑμῖν καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους θεωρῶ
ἐκδεχομένους λαβεῖν τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἔνθεν τὸν Σατανᾶν ἱστάμενον
καὶ λογισμούς5 μοι πορνείας ὑποβάλλοντα. Ταῦτα δὲ εἰπὼν ἐκτείνας
ἑαυτὸν6 ἐτελειώθη. Σχηματίζοντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ κοσμικοί, εὗρον ὅτι κατὰ
ἀλήθειαν παρθένος ἦν.
64. Μοναχός τις ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον πολεμούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς
πορνείας, ἐν τῇ συνάξει αἰσθόμενος ἑαυτὸν πολεμούμενον, λοι[f. 177ra]πὸν
ὀλιγωρήσας ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐγύμνωσεν ἑαυτὸν7 καὶ ἐξῆξε τοῦ
Σατανᾶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν εἰπών· Εὔξασθαι8 περὶ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι δεκατέσσαρα ἔτη
ἔχω οὕτως πολεμούμενος. Καὶ διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ ταπείνωσιν, ἐπαύσατο ὁ
πόλεμος.
65. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστὶν ἡ λήθη.
1
Καὶ ἤρξαντο . . . τῶν ἀδελφῶν om S 2
ἐκεῖνο] τοῦτο S
3
Ἡ κλῆσις γάρ] Καὶ γὰρ ἡ κλῆσις trsp S 4
εἰς πορνείαν post ἀπανθρώπως trsp S
5
λογισμούς] λογισμόν S 6
ἑαυτὸν] αὐτὸν S
7
ἔμπροσθεν . . . ἑαυτὸν] ἐγύμνωσεν ἑαυτὸν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀδελφῶν trsp S
8
Εὔξασθαι] Εὔξασθε S
N.62–5 55
N.62
There was an anchorite grazing with the antelopes and he prayed to God
saying: “Lord, teach me in what I am lacking.” A voice came to him saying:
“Go to such-and-such a coenobion and do whatever they order you.” He
entered the coenobion and stayed, but he did not know how to serve the
brothers. The junior monks started instructing him how to serve the
brothers, saying to him: “Do this, stupid” and: “Do that, crazy old
man.” Distressed, he prayed to God saying: “Lord, I do not know how
to serve men; send me back to the antelopes again.” Released by God, he
went off again into the countryside to graze with the antelopes.
N.63/5.49
Some worldlings visited an anchorite and he received them joyfully when
he saw them, saying: “The Lord sent you to bury me, for my call has
arrived. Yet for your benefit and theirs who hear of it, I am going to
recount my life-story to you. Brothers, I am a virgin in the body, but in the
soul until now I have been inhumanly battled into porneia. Here I am
speaking to you and I am seeing the angels waiting to take my soul; while,
over there, Satan is standing, thrusting logismoi of porneia at me.” So
saying, he stretched himself out and died. As the worldlings were preparing
him for burial, they found that he was truly a virgin.
N.64
A monk was embattled by the demon of porneia for a long time. Feeling
himself embattled during the synaxis, in despair he laid himself bare in the
presence of the brethren and expelled the influence of Satan, saying: “Pray
for me, because I have been embattled like this for fourteen years.” On
account of his humility, the battle was stilled.
N.65
An elder said: “The root of all evils is forgetfulness.”
66. Πρεσβύτερός τις τῶν Κελλίων διορατικὸς ὤν, πορευόμενός ποτε εἰς τὴν
ἐκκλησίαν ἐπιτελέσαι τὴν σύναξιν, ὁρᾷ ἔξω ἑνὸς κελλίου τῶν ἀδελφῶν πλῆθος
δαιμόνων, τινῶν μετασχηματισθέντων εἰς γυναῖκας καὶ ἀπρεπῆ λεγούσας,
ἄλλους δὲ εἰς νεωτέρους δυσφημοῦντας, ἢ ἄλλων ὀρχουμένων,1 ἑτέρων δὲ2
εἰς διάφορα σχήματα μεταβληθέντων.3 Ὁ δὲ4 γέρων στενάξας εἶπεν· [f. 177r b]
πάντως ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐν ἀμελείᾳ διάγει, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ πονηρὰ πνεύματα
οὕτως ἀτάκτως κυκλοῦσιν αὐτοῦ τὸ κελλίον. Πληρώσας οὖν τὴν σύναξιν,
ὑποστρέφων εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Θλίβομαι,
ἀδελφέ, πίστιν δὲ ἔχω εἰς σέ, καὶ ἐὰν εὔξῃ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, πάντως κουφίζει ὁ Θεὸς
τὴν καρδίαν μου ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως. Μετενόησεν οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Πάτερ,
οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς εὔξασθαι περὶ σοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐπέμενε παρακαλῶν καὶ λέγων·
Οὐκ ἀπέρχομαι, εἰ μὴ δῷς μοι λόγον ὅτι μίαν εὐχὴν ποιεῖς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ καθ᾿
ἑκάστην νύκτα. Ὑπήκουσεν οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῇ προστάξει τοῦ γέροντος.
Τοῦτο δὲ ἐποίησεν ὁ γέρων θέλων ἀρχὴν αἰτίας [f. 177va] παρασχεῖν αὐτῷ
τοῦ προσεύχεσθαι τὰς νύκτας. Ἀναστὰς οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὴν νύκτα, ἐποίησε
τὴν εὐχὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ γέροντος. Πληρώσας δὲ τὴν εὐχὴν ἐν κατανύξει γέγονε,
καὶ ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἀθλία ψυχή, ὑπὲρ τοῦ γέροντος ηὔξω, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῆς
οὐκ εὔχῃ; Ἔβαλεν οὖν καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ μίαν εὐχήν. Ἐποίησε δὲ οὕτως τὴν
ἑβδομάδα, βάλλων καθ᾿ ἑκάστην νύκτα δύο εὐχάς, μίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ γέροντος,
καὶ μίαν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ. Τῇ οὖν κυριακῇ, ἀπερχόμενος ὁ γέρων εἰς τὴν ἐκκλη-
σίαν, ὁρᾷ πάλιν τοὺς δαίμονας ἔξω ἱσταμένους τῆς κέλλης τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ,
στυγνοτέρους δέ, καὶ ἔγνω ὁ γέρων, ὅτι διὰ τὸ εὔχεσθαι τὸν ἀδελφόν,
ἐστύγνασαν οἱ δαί[f. 177vb]μονες. Καὶ περιχαρὴς γενόμενος, εἰσῆλθε πρὸς
τὸν ἀδελφὸν λέγων· Ποίησον ἀγάπην καὶ πρόσθες ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην
νύκτα ἄλλην μίαν εὐχήν. Καὶ ποιήσας τὰς δύο εὐχὰς ὑπὲρ τοῦ γέροντος,
πάλιν ἐν κατανύξει γενόμενος, ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ὦ ταλαίπωρε, πρόσθες καὶ
ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ ἄλλην μίαν εὐχήν. Ἐποίησεν οὖν ὅλην τὴν ἑβδομάδα οὕτως,
τέσσαρες5 εὐχὰς ἐκτελῶν καθ᾿ ἑκάστην νύκτα. Πάλιν δὲ ἐλθὼν ὁ γέρων, εἶδε
τοὺς δαίμονας στυγνοὺς καὶ σιωπῶντας, καὶ εὐχαρίστησε τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ
εἰσῆλθε πάλιν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν προσθεῖναι ἄλλην
μίαν εὐχὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. Προσέθηκε δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ [f. 178ra],
καὶ ἐποίει κατὰ νύκτα ἓξ εὐχάς. Πάλιν οὖν ἐλθόντος τοῦ γέροντος πρὸς τὸν
ἀδελφόν, ὠργίσθησαν οἱ δαίμονες κατὰ τοῦ γέροντος χαλεπαίνοντες ἐπὶ τῇ
σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐδόξασε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸ
κελλίον αὐτοῦ καὶ παραινέσας αὐτῷ μὴ ἀμελεῖν ἀλλ᾿ ἀδιαλείπτως προ-
σεύχεσθαι, ἀνεχώρησεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Οἱ δὲ δαίμονες, ἑωρακότες αὐτοῦ τὸ
ἔμμονον περὶ τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ τὴν νῆψιν, ἀνεχώρησαν6 χάριτι τοῦ Θεοῦ.
1
ἤ ἄλλων ὀρχουμένων] ἄλλους τὲ ὀρχομένους S 2
ἑτέρων δὲ] καὶ ἑτέρους S
3
μεταβληθέντων] μεταβληθέντας S 4
Ὁ δὲ] Καὶ ὁ S 5
τέσσαρες] τέσσαρας S
6
ἀνεχώρησαν post Θεοῦ trsp S
N.66 57
N.66/18.14 BHG 1438z, de efficacia orationis

A priest of The Cells had the second sight. Once when he was going to the
church to celebrate the synaxis he saw a host of demons outside one of the
brothers’ cells. Some of them were transformed into women uttering
indecencies, others were as young men blaspheming; others were dancing
and others had assumed various forms. The elder sighed, saying: “The
brother is certainly living negligently; that is why the evil spirits are
crowding around his cell in such a disorderly manner.” When he had
completed the synaxis, on his way back, he went into the brother’s cell and
said to him: “Brother, I am afflicted but I have confidence in you; if you
pray for me, God will certainly relieve my heart of the affliction.” The
brother prostrated himself saying: “Father, I am not capable of praying for
you.” Τhe elder persisted, however, begging the brother and saying: “I am
not going away until you give me your word that you will offer one prayer
for me each night”, so the brother yielded to the elder’s entreaty. Now the
elder did this wishing to provide the brother with a certain impulse to pray
at night. So the brother got up during the night and offered the prayer for
the elder. On completing the prayer he was in a state of sorrow for sin.
“Oh wretched soul,” he said to himself; “did you pray for the elder and are
offering no prayer for yourself ?” – so he did offer one prayer for himself
too. This he did for a week, offering two prayers each night, one for the
elder and one for himself. Now on the Sunday, as the elder was going to
church, again he saw the demons standing outside the brother’s cell, but
somewhat downcast and the elder realised the demons were downcast
because the brother was praying. Joyful now, he went into the brother
and said to him: “Of your charity, add one more prayer each night for me.”
Having offered the two prayers for the elder, the brother was again pricked
in his conscience. “O miserable fellow,” he said to himself, “add one more
prayer for yourself ”, and that is how he passed the whole week, offering
four prayers each night. When the elder came again he saw the demons,
downcast and reduced to silence. Giving thanks to God, he went in to the
brother again and entreated him to add one more prayer on his behalf. The
brother added one more prayer for himself too: he was now offering six
prayers a night. When the elder came to the brother again, the demons
were furious with the elder, angered at the salvation of the brother, but the
elder glorified God and, entering his cell, urged him not to be neglectful
but “to pray without ceasing” [1 Th 5:17] and then went away from him.
Having seen his persistence in prayer and his sobriety, by the grace of God,
the demons withdrew from him.
67. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι ἦν τις γέρων καθεζόμενος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, πολλοῖς
ἔτεσι δουλεύων1 τῷ Θεῷ καὶ λέγων· Κύριε, πληροφόρησόν με2 εἰ εὐηρ-
έστησά σοι. Καὶ ὁρᾷ ἄγγελον λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Οὔπω ἐγένου κατὰ τὸν
λαχανᾶν τὸν ἐν τῷδε τῷ τό[f. 178rb]πῳ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων θαυμάσας, εἶπεν ἐν
ἑαυτῷ· Ἀπέρχομαι εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἰδεῖν αὐτόν, τί ἄρα ἐστὶν ὃ εἰργάσατο,
ὥστε ὑπερβῆναι τὴν ἐργασίαν καὶ τὸν πόνον τῶν τοσούτων ἐτῶν μου.3
Ἀνῆλθεν οὖν ὁ γέρων, καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν τόπον ὅπου ἤκουσε παρὰ τοῦ
ἀγγέλου, καὶ εὗρε τὸν ἄνθρωπον καθεζόμενον καὶ πωλοῦντα τὰ λάχανα.
Καὶ ἐκαθέζετο μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐπίλοιπον τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ὡς κατέλυσεν ὁ
ἄνθρωπος λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Δύνῃ, ἀδελφέ, δέξασθαί4 με ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ
σου τὴν νύκτα ταύτην; Περιχαρὴς δὲ γενόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὑπεδέξατο
αὐτόν. Ἀνελθὼν οὖν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εὐτρεπίσαντος τὰ
πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν τοῦ γέροντος, λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων [f. 178va]· Ποίησον
ἀγάπην, ἀδελφέ, εἰπέ μοι τὴν πολιτείαν σου. Τοῦ δὲ ἀνθρώπου μὴ
βουλομένου ἐξειπεῖν, ἐπιπολὺ ὁ γέρων ἐπέμενε παρακαλῶν. Δυσωπηθεὶς
οὖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἶπεν ὅτι κατ᾿ ὀψὲ ἐσθίω τὸ δι᾿ ὅλου, καὶ ὡς καταλύω, τὸ
τῆς τροφῆς μου μόνον ἐπαίρω, καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν παρέχω δεομένοις, καὶ ἐάν
τινα τῶν δούλων τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑποδέξωμαι, αὐτοῖς ἀναλίσκω5 αὐτό. Καὶ ὡς
ἀνίσταμαι τὸ6 πρωΐ, πρὶν καθίσω εἰς τὸ ἐργόχειρον,7 λέγω ὅτι ἡ πόλις
αὕτη, ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου, εἰσέρχονται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν διὰ τὰς
δικαιοσύνας αὐτῶν, ἐγὼ δὲ μόνος κληρονομῶ τὴν κόλασιν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρ-
τίας μου. Καὶ πάλιν ὀψὲ πρὶν κοιμηθῆναί μοι, λέγω τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον.
Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ [f. 178vb] γέρων, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Καλὴ μὲν ἡ ἐργασία αὕτη, οὐκ
ἄξια δὲ ὑπερβαλεῖν τοὺς πόνους μου τῶν τοσούτων ἐτῶν. Μελλόντων δὲ
αὐτῶν γεύσασθαι, ἀκούει ὁ γέρων εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τινων ᾄσματα λεγόντων,
ἦν γὰρ τὸ κελλίον τοῦ λαχανᾶ ἐν ἐπισήμῳ τόπῳ. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Ἀδελφέ, οὕτως βουλόμενος κατὰ Θεὸν ζῆν· πῶς μένεις ἐν τῷ τόπῳ
τούτῳ, ἄρτι οὐ ταράσσῃ, ὅτε ἀκούεις τῶν λεγόντων τὰ ᾄσματα ταῦτα;
Λέγει ὁ ἄνθρωπος· Λέγω σοι, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἐταράχθην οὐδὲ
ἐσκανδαλίσθην. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων λέγει· Τί οὖν λογίζῃ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ
σου ὅταν ταῦτα ἀκούῃς. Ὁ δὲ λέγει· ὅτι πάντως εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν
ἀπέρχονται. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων, ἐθαύμασε καὶ εἶπεν· ὅτι αὐτή [f. 179ra]
ἐστιν ἡ ἐργασία ἡ ὑπερβᾶσα τῶν τοσούτων ἐτῶν μου τὸν κόπον, καὶ
βαλὼν μετάνοιαν εἶπεν· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀδελφέ, οὔπω ἔφθασα εἰς τὸ
μέτρον τοῦτο. Καὶ μὴ γευσάμενος, ἀνεχώρησε πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον.
1
δουλεύων S] δουλεῦον C] τὲ add S 2
με] μοι S 3
μου post ἐργασίαν trsp S
4
δέξασθαί] ὑποδέξασθαί S 5
ἀναλίσκω] καὶ add S 6
τὸ S] τῷ C
7
ἐργόχειρον] μου add S
N.67 59
N.67/20.22, BHG 1438i, de lachanopola

An elder said that there was an elder living in the desert, serving God for
many years and saying: “Lord, assure me that I have pleased you” and he
saw an angel saying to him: “You have not yet become like the greengrocer
in such-a-place.” In amazement, the elder said to himself: “I am going to
the city to see him and what it is he accomplished so that it surpasses my
keeping of the commandments and the drudgery of so many years.” The
elder went up and came to the place of which he had heard from the angel
and found the man, sitting selling vegetables. He sat down beside him for
the rest of the day and, as the man left, the elder said to him: “Brother,
could you put me up in your cell for tonight?” The man became suffused
with joy and received him as his guest. So he went up into the cell and,
after the man had made preparations to entertain the elder, the elder said
to him: “Of your charity brother, tell me your way of life.” As the man was
unwilling to speak out, the elder persisted at length in his request, so the
man reluctantly said: “I only eat in the evening. When I leave work, I only
take what I need for food; the rest I give to those in need or, if I receive one
of the servants of God as my guest, I use it up on them. On getting up at
dawn, before sitting down to manual work, I say: ‘This city, from the
smallest to the greatest, shall enter the Kingdom [of God] by virtue of their
righteous deeds; but I alone shall inherit chastisement on account of my
sins.’ Then again, in the evening, I say the same thing before going to
sleep.” On hearing this, the elder said to him: “This is indeed a fine
observation of the commandments, but not worthy to surpass my
drudgery over so many years.” Now, just as they were going to eat, the
elder heard some people singing songs on the road, for the greengrocer’s
cell was in a notorious place. “Brother,” the elder said to him, “since you so
wish to lead a godly life, how do you stay in this place? Are you not
disturbed now when you hear them singing these songs?” “I tell you,
abba,” said the man; “I have never been troubled or scandalised.” On
hearing this, the elder said: “Well, what are you thinking in your heart
when you hear these [songs]?” and he said: “[I am thinking] that they are
certainly going off to the Kingdom.” Amazed at hearing this, the elder said:
“This is obedience of the commandments that surpasses my toiling of so
many years.” He prostrated himself saying: “Forgive me, brother; I have
not attained this stature” and he retreated into the desert again without
having eaten. [Cf. N.338.]
68. Διηγήσατό τις λέγων· ὅτι εἰς Σκῆτιν ὅτε προσέφερον οἱ κληρικοί,
κατέβαινεν ὡς ἀετὸς ἐπὶ τὴν προσφορὰν καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν ἔβλεπεν, εἰ μὴ οἱ
κληρικοί. Μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν ᾔτησέ τις ἀδελφὸς τὸν διάκονον τίποτε, καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐ σχολάζω ἄρτι. Ἀνελθόντων οὖν αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν
προσφοράν, οὐκ ἀπῆλθε1 τὸ ὁμοίωμα τοῦ ἀετοῦ κατὰ τὸ ἔθος καὶ εἶπεν
ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῷ διακόνῳ· Τί ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο, ὅτι οὐ παραγέ-
γονεν ὁ ἀετὸς κατὰ τὸ ἔθος; ἢ ἐν ἐμοί ἐ[f. 179rb]στιν ἡ πλημμέλεια ἢ ἐν σοί.
Ἀπόστα οὖν ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, καὶ ἐὰν καταβῇ, γνωσθήσεται ὅτι διὰ σὲ οὐ
κατῆλθεν. Καὶ ἀποστάντος τοῦ διακόνου, εὐθὺς κατῆλθεν ὁ ἀετός. Καὶ
τελεσθείσης τῆς συνάξεως, εἶπεν ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῷ διακόνῳ· Εἶπέ μοι τί
ἐποίησας. Ὁ δὲ πληροφορῶν αὐτὸν ἔλεγεν· Οὐ σύνοιδα ἐμαυτὸν2 ἁμαρ-
τήσαντα, εἰ μὴ3 ὅτι ἐλθόντος ἀδελφοῦ καὶ αἰτήσαντός με τόδε ἀπεκρίθην
αὐτῷ· ἀσχολοῦμαι. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ πρεσβύτερος· Οὐκοῦν διὰ σὲ οὐ
κατῆλθεν,4 τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ λυπηθέντος κατὰ σοῦ; Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ διάκονος
μετενόησε τῷ ἀδελφῷ.
69. Ἔλεγόν τινες τῶν πατέρων ὅτι μέλλοντος τελειοῦσθαι τοῦ ἁγίου
Πέτρου τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας, ἰδεῖν [f. 179va] τινὰ ἀει-
πάρθενον ὀπτασίαν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι φωνῆς λεγούσης· Πέτρος ἀρχὴ ἀποστό-
λων, καὶ Πέτρος πλήρωμα μαρτύρων.
70. Κοινοβιάρχης τις ἠρώτησε τὸν ἐν ἁγίοις πατέρα ἡμῶν Κύριλλον τὸν
πάπαν Ἀλεξανδρείας λέγων· Τίς μείζων ἐν πολιτείᾳ, ἡμεῖς οἱ ἔχοντες
ἀδελφοὺς ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοὺς καὶ διαφόρως ἕκαστον χειραγωγοῦντες πρὸς τὸ
σωθῆναι, ἢ οἱ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ἑαυτοὺς μόνους σώζοντες; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ πάπας καὶ
εἶπεν· Ἀναμέσον Ἠλία, καὶ Μωϋσέως, οὐκ ἔστι διακρῖναι, ἀμφότεροι γὰρ
εὐηρέστησαν τῷ Θεῷ.
71. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν5 γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς τις γίνεται μωρὸς
διὰ τὸν Κύριον; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Παιδίον ἦν εἰς κοινόβιον, καὶ ἐδόθη
γέροντι καλῷ [f. 179vb] ἵνα ἀνάγῃ αὐτό,6 και διδάσκῃ τὸν φόβον τοῦ
Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὅταν ὑβρίσῃ σέ τις, εὐλόγησον αὐτόν,
καὶ ἐὰν καθίσῃς ἐπὶ τράπεζαν, φάγε τὰ σαπρὰ καὶ ἄφες τὰ καλά, καὶ ἐὰν
πρόκειται ἱμάτιον ἐκλέξασθαι, ἄφες τὸ καλὸν καὶ λάβε τὸ σαπρόν. Λέγει
αὐτῷ τὸ παιδίον· Μωρός εἰμι ὅτι λέγεις μοι ταῦτα ποιεῖν; Λέγει ὁ γέρων·
1
οὐκ ἀπῆλθε] οὐ κατῆλθε S 2
ἐμαυτὸν] ἑαυτὸν S 3
εἰ μὴ S] εἰμὶ C
4
κατῆλθεν] κατῆλθε S 5
τὸν ἀββᾶν] τινὰ S 6
αὐτὸ] αὐτῷ C
N.68–71 61
N.68/18.32
Somebody related that, when the clergy were offering [the Eucharist] at
Scete, the likeness of an eagle used to descend on the offering and none of
them would see it other than the clergy. One day one of the brothers asked
the deacon something and he said to him: “I don’t have time just now.”
When they came up for the offering, the likeness of an eagle did not
approach as usual. The priest said to the deacon: “What is this business,
that the eagle did not present itself as usual? The fault is either in me or in
you. Stand aside from me, and if it descends, it will be known that it is on
your account that it did not come down.” When the deacon stood aside,
the eagle promptly came down and, when the synaxis was finished, the
priest said to the deacon: “Tell me what you did.” “I am not aware of
myself having sinned,” the deacon assured him, “unless it is that when a
brother came and asked me [something], I answered him: ‘I don’t have
time.’” “Was it not then on your account that [the eagle] did not come
down, the brother being vexed at you?” said the priest; and the deacon
went and apologised to the brother.
N.69
Some of the fathers used to say that when the holy Peter, archbishop of
Alexandria, was at the point of death, a perpetual virgin saw a vision and
heard a voice saying: “Peter, chief of the apostles and Peter, completion of
the martyrs.”
N.70/10.178
The superior of a coenobion asked our father among the saints Cyril, pope
of Alexandria: “Who is superior in his way of life; we who have brothers
under our personal authority and lead each by the hand towards being
saved in different ways, or those who are saving themselves alone in the
desert?” In response the pope said: “There is no distinction between Elijah
and Moses; both were well-pleasing to God.”
N.71
A brother asked his elderly abba: “How does one become ‘a fool for the
Lord’s sake’ [1 Cor 4:10]?” The elder said to him: “There was a child in a
coenobion who was given to a good elder so he might bring him up and
Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω σοι ποιεῖν ταῦτα ἵνα γένῃ μωρὸς διὰ τὸν Κύριον ἵνα
σοφίσῃ σε ὁ Κύριος. Ἰδοὺ ἔδειξεν ὁ γέρων τί ποιῶν τις γίνεται μωρὸς διὰ
τὸν Κύριον.
72. Ἦν τις ἐν κοινοβίῳ ἀπὸ κόσμου ἔχων μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ.
Καὶ θέλων ὁ ἀββᾶς δοκιμάσαι αὐτόν, λέγει αὐτῷ· Μὴ λαλήσῃς μετὰ τοῦ
υἱοῦ σου, ἀλλ᾿ ἔχε αὐτὸν1 ὡς ξένον. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὕτως ποιήσω [f. 180ra]
κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα σου. Καὶ ἐποίησε πολλὰ ἔτη καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔμελλε λοιπὸν ἀποθανεῖν, λέγει
ὁ ἀββᾶς τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· Ἄπελθε λοιπόν, λάλησον μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Εἰ κελεύεις φυλάξωμεν τὴν ἐντολὴν μέχρι τέλους. Καὶ
ἐκοιμήθη καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐθαυμάσαν πάντες πῶς μετὰ
χαρᾶς ἐδέξατο τὴν ἐντολὴν καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν αὐτήν.
73. Καταβαίνοντος ποτὲ γέροντος ἐν Σκήτει, συνώδευεν αὐτῷ τὶς

ἀδελφός, καὶ ἐλθόντες χωρισθῆναι ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων, λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Γευσώμεθα ὁμοῦ, ἀδελφέ. Ἦν δὲ πρωῒ καὶ ἀρχὴ τῆς ἑβδομάδος. Ὀρθρίσας
δὲ ὁ γέρων τὸ σάββατον,2 ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἆρα ἐ
[f. 180rb]πείνασας, ἀδελφέ, ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἐφάγομεν ὁμοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός·
Οὐχί, καθ᾿ ἡμέραν γὰρ ἐσθίων οὐ πεινῶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Φύσει,
τέκνον, ἀπὸ τότε οὐκ ἔφαγον. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀδελφός, κατενύγη καὶ πολλὰ
ὠφελήθη.
74. Μοναχός τις πάνυ εὐλαβὴς καὶ θεοφιλὴς εἶχέ τινα ἀναχωρητὴν
ἀγαπητὸν αὐτοῦ. Τελευτᾷ ὁ ἀναχωρητής, καὶ εἰσελθὼν ἐν τῷ μονασ-
τηρίῳ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἀδελφός, εὑρίσκει πεντήκοντα νομίσματα, καὶ ἤρξατο
θαυμάζειν καὶ δακρύειν, φοβούμενος μή, ἕνεκεν τῶν χρημάτων, προ-
σκρούσῃ τῷ Θεῷ ὁ ἀναχωρητής.3 Καὶ ὡς ἐδέετο τῷ Θεῷ4 ἐπιπολὺ
περὶ τούτου, ὁρᾷ ἄγγελον Κυρίου λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Τί οὕτως ἀθυμεῖς περὶ
τοῦ ἀναχωρητοῦ; τοῦτο ὃ ζητεῖς τῇ [f. 180va] τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίᾳ
κατάλειψον. Εἰ πάντες ἦσαν τέλειοι, ποῦ ἐδείκνυτο ἡ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ
1
αὐτὸν] σεαυτὸν S 2
τὸ σάββατον] τῷ σαββάτῳ S
3
τῷ Θεῷ ὁ ἀναχωρητής] ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς τῷ θεῷ trsp S 4
τῷ θεῷ] τοῦ Θεοῦ S
N.72–4 63
teach him the fear of God. The elder would say to him: ‘When somebody
reviles you, bless him; and if you are sitting at table, eat what is decaying
and leave what is good and, if you are to choose a garment, leave the good
one and take the one that is worn out.’ ‘Am I a fool that you tell me to
behave like that?’ the child said to him. ‘I am telling you to do those things
for this reason that you may become “a fool for the Lord’s sake”, so that
the Lord may make you wise’, said the elder. The elder showed what one
does to become ‘a fool for the Lord’s sake’, you see.”
N.72 BHG 1322hd, de silentio patris

There was somebody from the world in a coenobion who had his son with
him. Wishing to put him to the test, the abba said to him: “Do not speak
with your son, but treat him as a stranger” and he said: “I will do so in
accordance with your word.” He lived many years and did not speak with
his son. When his son’s call came and he was then at the point of death,
the abba said to his father: “Now go and speak with your son”, but the
father said: “If you please, let us keep the command right to the end.” The
son died and [the father] did not speak with him. Everybody was amazed
how he joyfully received the command and fulfilled it.
N.73
An elder was once travelling down to Scete, a brother accompanying him
on the journey. When they came to part company from each other, the
elder said to him: “Let us eat together, brother.” It was early in the
morning and the beginning of the week. Rising early on [the following]
Saturday the elder went to the brother and said to him: “Have you been
hungry since the day we ate together, brother?” “No,” said the brother,
“for, as I eat each day, I am not hungry.” “Ah, well, my son,” said the elder
to him, “I did not eat since then.” The brother was chastened on hearing
this and greatly edified.
N.74/4.96
A very devout and God-loving monk held a certain anchorite dear to
himself. The anchorite died and, going into his monastery, the brother
found five hundred pieces of gold. He began to wonder and to weep,
fearing that the anchorite might have fallen foul of God on account of the
money. As he was beseeching God at length about this matter, he saw an
Θεοῦ. Καὶ οὕτως πληροφορηθεὶς ὁ ἀδελφός, ὅτι συγγνώμης ἠξιώθη ὁ
ἀναχωρητής, εὔθυμος ἐγένετο καὶ ἐδόξασε τὸν Θεὸν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας.
75. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ θέλεις νόμῳ Θεοῦ ζῆσαι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, εὑρήσεις

ἀντιλήπτορα τὸν νομοθέτην.
76. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Εἰ θέλεις παρακοῦσαι τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑκών,
εὑρήσεις τὸν διάβολον συντρέχοντά σου τῇ πτώσει.
77. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν σαρκικοὶ καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ διάβολος χωρίσαι αὐτοὺς
ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων. Μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν, ἀνῆψεν ὁ μικρότερος τὸν λύχνον, καὶ
ἐνεργήσας ὁ δαίμων ἔστρεψε τὴν λυχνίαν καὶ ἐστράφη καὶ ὁ λύχνος, καὶ
ἔτυψεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελ[f. 180vb]φὸς ἐν ὀργῇ, καὶ ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν λέγων·
Μακροθύμησον, ἀδελφέ μου, καὶ πάλιν ἅπτω. Καὶ ἰδοὺ δύναμις Κυρίου
ἐξῆλθε καὶ ἐβασάνισε τὸν δαίμονα ἕως πρωΐ. Καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ δαίμων, ἀνήγ-
γειλε τῷ ἄρχοντι αὐτοῦ τὸ γενόμενον. Καὶ ἤκουσεν ὁ ἱερεὺς τῶν Ἑλλήνων
τοῦ δαίμονος διηγουμένου, καὶ ἐξελθών, γέγονε μοναχός, καὶ ἐκράτησεν ἐξ
ἀρχῆς τὴν ταπείνωσιν. Καὶ ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἡ ταπείνωσις λύει πᾶσαν τὴν
δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ὥσπερ καὶ αὐτὸς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἤκουσεν· ὅτι ὡς
ταράσσω τοὺς μοναχούς, στρέφεται εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ βάλλει μετάνοιαν,
καὶ καταργοῦσι τὴν δύναμίν μου.
78. Πρὸς τὸν λογισμὸν τῆς πορνείας εἶπεν γέρων· Ταῦτα ἀπὸ ἀμελείας
πάσχομεν εἰ γὰρ1 ἐπληροφορού[f. 181ra]μεθα ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς2 οἰκεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν, οὐκ
ἂν ἄρα σκεῦος ἀλλότριον εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπεβάλλομεν. Ὁ γὰρ δεσπότης
Χριστὸς συνοικῶν καὶ παρών, θεωρεῖ ἡμῶν τὴν ζωήν· ὅθεν καὶ ἡμεῖς
φοροῦντες καὶ θεωροῦντες αὐτόν, ἀμελεῖν οὐκ ὀφείλωμεν, ἀλλὰ ἁγνίζειν
ἑαυτοὺς καθὼς κἀκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστιν.
1
γὰρ] μὴ add S 2
Θεὸς] οὐκ add S
N.75–8 65
angel of the Lord who said to him: “Why are you so despondent about the
anchorite? Leave this matter you are asking about to the loving-kindness of
God. If all were perfect, how would the loving-kindness of God be made
manifest?” Assured in this way that the anchorite had been counted worthy
of pardon, the brother became joyful and glorified God with all his heart.
N.75
An elder said: “O man, if you are willing to live by the law of God, you
shall find the law-giver to be a defender.”
N.76
He also said: “If of your own free will you wish to disobey the laws of God,
you will find the devil running to calamity with you.”
N.77/15.112 BHG 1318ya, de duobus fratribus

inseperabilibus
There were two natural brothers and the devil came to separate them from
each other. One day the younger one lit the lamp; the demon intervened,
knocking over the lamp stand and the lamp was overturned too. His
brother struck him in anger, but he apologised saying: “Be patient my
brother and I will light it again” – and here the power of the Lord came
forth and tortured the demon until dawn. The demon went and reported
what had happened to his leader. The pagan priest heard the demon telling
his tale; he came out and became a monk, persevering in humility from the
beginning. He would say that humility dissolves all the power of the
enemy, as he had himself heard from him [saying]: “When I disturb
monks, one of them turns round and apologises – and they annul my
power.”
N.78/5.20
Regarding the logismos of porneia, an elder said: “We experience these
things because of our negligence, for if we were confident that God dwells
within us, we would impose no alien object on our person. For the Lord-
and-master Christ, dwelling within and being present with us, observes our
life. As a result we, wearing and seeing him, ought not to be negligent, but
to purify ourselves as he too is pure [cf. 1 Jn 3:3].”
79. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Στῶμεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν,1 καὶ ῥασσέσθω ὁ ποταμός,
μὴ δειλιάσῃς καὶ οὐ μή σε βάλῃ κάτω, ψάλλε ἡσυχίᾳ λέγων· Οἱ
2
πεποιθότες ἐπὶ Κύριον ὡς ὄρος Σιών. Οὐ σαλευθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ὁ

κατοικῶν Ἰερουσαλήμ.
80. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Λέγει ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῷ Σωτῆρι· Πέμπω τὰ ἐμὰ εἰς τὰ σά,
ἵνα καταστρέψω τὰ σά. Εἰ καὶ πονηρεύσασθαι οὐ δύναμαι εἰς τοὺς
ἐκλεκτούς σου, κἂν φαντάζω αὐτοὺς [f. 181rb] διὰ τῆς νυκτός. Λέγει πρὸς
αὐτὸν ὁ Σωτήρ· Εἰ ἔκτρωμα κληρονομήσει πατέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦτο
λογισθήσεται εἰς ἁμαρτίαν τοῖς ἐκλεκτοῖς μου.
81. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Διὰ σὲ ἐγεννήθη ὁ Χριστός, ἄνθρωπε. Διὰ τοῦτο ἦλθεν
ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα σὺ σωθῇς. Γέγονε παῖς, γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος Θεὸς ὤν.
Ποτὲ μὲν ἀναγνώστης· Λαβὼν γὰρ τὸ βιβλίον ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ, ἀνέγνω
λέγων· Πνεῦμα Κυρίου ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ οὗ εἵνεκεν ἔχρισέ με. Ὑποδιάκονος, ποιήσας
φραγέλιον ἐκ σχοινίου, πάντας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ, τά τε πρόβατα καὶ
τοὺς βόας καὶ τὰ λοιπά. Διάκονος, διαζωσάμενος λέντιον ἔνιψε τοὺς πόδας
τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, ἐντειλάμενος αὐτοῖς νίπτειν τοὺς πόδας τῶν
ἀδελφῶν. Πρεσβύ[f. 181va]τερος καθεσθεὶς ἐν μέσῳ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων,
ἐδίδασκε τὸν λαόν. Ἐπίσκοπος, λαβὼν ἄρτον καὶ εὐλογήσας, ἔδωκε τοῖς
μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ. Ἐμαστιγώθη, διὰ σέ, καὶ σὺ δι᾿ αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ὕβριν φέρεις.
Ἐτάφη, καὶ ἀνέστη ὡς Θεός, πάντα δι᾿ ἡμᾶς κατὰ τάξιν καὶ ἀκολουθίαν
ἔπραττεν, ἵνα ἡμᾶς σώσῃ. Νήψωμεν, γρηγορήσωμεν, ἐν προσευχαῖς
σχολάσωμεν, τὰ ἀρεστὰ αὐτῷ3 ποιήσωμεν.
82. Μαθητὴς μεγάλου γέροντος, πολεμηθεὶς εἰς πορνείαν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς

τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἐμνηστεύσατο. Ὁ δὲ γέρων λυπηθεὶς ηὔξατο τῷ Θεῷ
λέγων· Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, μὴ συγχωρήσῃς τὸν δοῦλόν σου μιανθῆναι.
Καὶ ὡς συνεκλείσθη μετὰ τῆς γυναικός, παρέδωκε τὸ πνεῦμα μὴ μιανθείς.
1
τὴν πέτραν] τῆς πέτρας S 2
μὴ] οὖν add S 3
αὐτῷ] om C
N.79–82 67
N.79/5.21
He also said: “Let us stand on the rock and let the river rush by; have no
fear and it will not cast you down. Sing in hêsychia saying: ‘They who have
trusted in the Lord are as Mount Sion; he who dwells in Jerusalem shall
not be shaken for ever’ [Ps 124:1].”
N.80
He also said: “The enemy says to the Saviour: ‘I am sending my [forces]
against yours to overturn yours. Even if I am unable to corrupt your
chosen ones, I may delude them by night.’ The Saviour said to him:
‘If an aborted foetus inherits from its father, that too will be counted as
a sin on the part of my elect.’”
N.81
He also said: “It was for you, O man, that Christ was born. It was for this
that the Son of God came: that you might be saved. Being God, he became
a child, became a man, then a lector; for, taking the book in the synagogue,
he read saying: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed
me’ [Lk 4:18]. [He became] a subdeacon when ‘he made a scourge of small
cords and drove them all out of the temple, the sheep, the oxen’ etc.
[Jn 2:15]; a deacon when, girding himself with a towel, he washed his
disciples’ feet, enjoining them to wash the brothers’ feet [Jn 13:4–5 and 13];
a priest when he taught the people, sitting among the priests [Lk 2:46]; a
bishop when he took bread, blessed it and gave it to his disciples [Mt
26:26]. He was flogged for you, but you do not even endure insult for his
sake. He was buried and rose again as God; all this he accomplished for us
in due order and sequence that he might save us. Let us be sober, let us be
vigilant [cf. 1 Pt 5:8]; let us dedicate ourselves to prayer, let us do the things
that please him.”
N.82
The disciple of a great elder who was embattled by porneia went off to the
world and got engaged to be married. Aggrieved, the elder prayed to God
saying: “Lord Jesus Christ, do not let your servant be defiled” and, as [the
disciple] was closeted with his wife, he yielded up his spirit – undefiled.
83. Πρὸς τοὺς κακοποιοὺς λογισμοὺς ἀπεκρί[f. 181vb]νατο λέγων·1
Παρακαλῶ, ἀδελφοί, ἐπαύσαμεν τὰς πράξεις, παύσωμεν καὶ τὰς
ἐνθυμήσεις. Τί γὰρ ἐσμὲν ἀλλ᾿ ἢ χοῦς ἐκ χοός;
84. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι δύο πραγματευταί ἦσαν φίλοι,
Ἀπαμεῖς, ἐπὶ ξένης πραγματευόμενοι. Ὁ εἷς πλούσιος, καὶ ὁ ἄλλος σύμμε-
τρος. Εἶχε δὲ ὁ πλούσιος γυναῖκα ὡραιοτάτην καὶ σώφρονα ὡς ἔδειξαν τὰ
πράγματα. Τελευτήσας γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς καὶ εἰδὼς ὁ ἄλλος τὴν σεμνό-
τητα αὐτῆς, ἠθέλησε λαβεῖν ἑαυτὴν2 ἑαυτῷ εἰς γυναῖκα, εὐλαβεῖτο δὲ
εἰπεῖν αὐτῇ, μήπως οὐκ ἀνέξεται. Ἐκείνη δὲ συνετὴ οὖσα, ἐνόησε καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Κύρι Συμεών, οὕτω γὰρ ἐλέγετο, βλέπω σε λογισμοὺς ἔχοντα, ἀλλ᾿
εἰπέ μοι ὃ ἔχεις, καὶ πληροφορῶ σε. Ὁ δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον εὐλαβεῖτο εἰπεῖν,
ὕστερον δὲ ὡμολόγησεν [f. 182ra] αὐτῇ, καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτήν, ὅπως
λάβῃ αὐτὴν εἰς γυναῖκα. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ποιήσῃς3 ὃ ἐπιτάσσω σοι,
ἀνέχομαι. Λέγει αὐτῇ· Εἴ τι ἂν ἐπιτάξῃς μοι, ἐγὼ ποιῶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκείνη·
Κάτελθε σὺ εἰς τὸ ἐργαστήριόν σου καὶ νήστευσον ἕως ἂν καλέσω σε, ἐμοῦ
ἐν ἀληθείᾳ μηδὲν γευομένης ἕως ἂν καλέσω σε. Ὁ δὲ συνέθετο, οὐκ ἔδωκε
δὲ αὐτῷ ὅρον, πότε καλέσει αὐτόν· ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἐνόμιζεν, ὅτι αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ
καλεῖ αὐτόν. Παρῆλθεν οὖν μία ἡμέρα, δευτέρα, τρίτη, καὶ οὐκ ἐκάλεσεν
αὐτόν, καὶ ἐνεκαρτέρησεν, εἴτε διὰ τὸν πρὸς αὐτὴν πόθον, εἴτε τοῦ Θεοῦ
ταῦτα οἰκονομήσαντος καὶ παρασχόντος ὑπομονὴν τοῦ εἰδότος ποῦ
μέλλει καλεῖν αὐτόν, ἐγένετο γὰρ μετὰ ταῦτα σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς. Τῇ δὲ
[f. 182rb] τετάρτῃ ἡμέρᾳ πέμπει πρὸς αὐτόν. Ἐκεῖνος δὲ παρολίγον ἐξέλι-
πεν, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος τοῖς ποσὶν ἀνελθεῖν ἀπὸ ταλαιπωρίας, βασταζόμενος
ἀνῆλθεν. Ἐκείνη δὲ λοιπόν, ἑτοιμάζει τράπεζαν καὶ στρώννυσι κλίνην καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἡ τράπεζα καὶ ἡ κλίνη, ὅπου κελεύεις ὁρμῶμεν. Λέγει
αὐτῇ· Δέομαί σου, ἐλέησόν με, καὶ δός μοι μικρὸν φαγεῖν ὅτι ἐκλείπω, οὐδὲ
γὰρ εἰ ἔστι γυνὴ ἐπίσταμαι ἐκ τῆς συνεχούσης με ἐκλείψεως. Τότε λέγει
αὐτῷ ἐκείνη· Ἰδοὺ ὅτε ἐπείνασας, καὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ πάσης γυναικὸς καὶ ἡδονῆς
προετίμησας τὸ φαγεῖν· ὅταν οὖν ἔχῃς λογισμοὺς τοιούτους, τούτῳ τῷ
φαρμάκῳ χρῶ, καὶ ἀπαλλάσσῃ παντὸς λογισμοῦ ἀτόπου. Πείσθητί μοι
γὰρ ὅτι μετὰ τὸν ἄνδρα [f. 182va] μου, οὔτε σοὶ οὔτε ἄλλῳ συνάπτομαι,
ἀλλὰ τῇ σκέπῃ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὕτως ἐλπίζω μεῖναι, χῆρα. Τότε κατανυγεὶς
καὶ θαυμάσας τὴν σύνεσιν αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν σωφροσύνην, λέγει αὐτῇ· Ἐπειδὴ
εὐδόκησεν ὁ Κύριος ἐπισκέψασθαι τοῦ σῶσαί με διὰ τῆς συνέσεώς σου, τί
συμβουλεύεις μοι ποιῆσαι; Ἐκείνη δὲ μὴ θαῤῥοῦσα τῇ νεότητι καὶ τῷ
κάλλει, εὐλαβηθεῖσα μήποτε καιρῷ καὶ αὐτή4 τι τιοῦτον πάθῃ, λέγει
1
λέγων] γέρων S 2
ἑαυτὴν] αὐτὴν S 3
ποιήσῃς] ποιῇς S
4
μήποτε καιρῷ καὶ αὐτὴ] μὴ καὶ αὐτὴ ποτὲ καιρῷ S
N.83–4 69
N.83
With regard to malevolent logismoi he answered: “Brethren, I beseech you:
we have put the deeds to rest; let us put the desires to rest too, for what are
we but dust from dust?”
N.84
One of the fathers told a story of two businessmen who were friends, men
of Apamea who did business abroad, one of them rich, the other one
moderately well off. The rich one had a most beautiful wife who was chaste
(as events showed). For when her husband died, the other merchant (aware
of her propriety) wanted to take her to himself as wife, but he hesitated to
speak to her in case she refused him. She, however, being astute, was aware
[of this] and said to him: “Symeon sir”, for so he was called, “I see you have
logismoi; but tell me what you have in mind and I will be frank with you.”
At first he hesitated to speak, but later he confessed to her and begged to
take her as his wife. “I concede, provided you do what I stipulate for you”,
she said to him. Said he to her: “I shall do whatever you stipulate for me.”
“Do you then go to your workplace,” she said to him, “and fast until
I summon you; and I for my part will truly taste nothing until I summon
you.” He agreed, but she did not give him a limit when she would
summon him and he thought that she would be summoning him that
very day. But one day went by, a second and a third and she did not
summon him. He persevered, either out of desire for her or because God
was managing this situation, providing him with patience to endure, in full
knowledge of the status to which he was about to call him (for he
subsequently became “a chosen vessel” [Acts 9:15]). On the fourth day
she sent to him; he had all but fainted away. Unable to get up onto his feet
for weakness, he went there being carried. For her part, she laid a table and
prepared a bed, then she said to him: “Here are the table and the bed; to
which of them do you bid us go?” “Take pity on me, I beg of you”, he said
to her. “Give me a little something to eat, for I am at the last gasp and
I don’t even perceive whether there is a woman because of the feebleness
that has a hold on me.” Then she said to him: “You see: when you are
hungry, you prefer eating to me and any other woman or delight. Use this
medicine then whenever you get such logismoi and you will be released
from every improper logismos. Believe me, after my husband, I will have no
contact with you or any other man for, under the protection of Christ,
I hope to remain like this, a widow.” Then, conscience-stricken and
amazed at her sagacity and discretion, he said to her: “Since it has seemed
αὐτῷ· Νομίζω ὅτι οὐδένα ἀγαπᾷς διὰ τὸν Θεὸν λοιπὸν πλέον μου; Λέγει
αὐτῇ· Οὕτως ἔχει. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· Κἀγὼ ἐν ἀληθείᾳ κατὰ θεὸν ἀγαπῶ σε,
ἀλλ᾿ ἐπειδὴ φωνὴ δεσποτικὴ ἐστιν ἡ λέγουσα· Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με, καὶ οὐ
μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς
[f. 182vb] ἀδελφούς, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν οὐ δύναταί μου εἶναι
μαθητής, μακρύνωμεν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων, ἵνα καὶ σοὶ
λογίσηται ὁ Κύριος ὅτι ἀπετάξω διὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὴν γυναῖκά1 σου, κἀμοὶ
ὅτι ἀπεταξάμην τῷ ἀνδρί μου. Ἰδοὺ οὖν μοναστήριόν ἐστιν εἰς τὴν χώραν
ἡμῶν ἐγκλείστων εἰς Ἀπάμειαν, εἰ ὅλως ἐπιποθεῖς σωθῆναι, ἐκεῖ ἀπόταξαι,
καὶ εὐαρεστεῖς ἐν ἀληθείᾳ τῷ Θεῷ. Εὐθέως δὲ ἀπαλλάξας ἑαυτὸν τῶν
πραγμάτων, ὥρμησεν εἰς ἐκεῖνο τὸ μοναστήριον, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ ἕως οὗ
ἀνεπάῃ. Καὶ γέγονε δόκιμος, καθαρὸν ἔχων τὸν νοῦν, καὶ βλέπων πράγ-
ματα εὔθετα, καὶ θεωρῶν αὐτὰ πνευματικῶς. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα, αὐτὸς ὁ2
ἀββᾶς Συμεώνης ἐξηγήσατο τῷ διηγησαμένῳ.
85. Διηγήσατό [f. 183ra] τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι τρία πράγματά εἰσιν
ἔντιμα παρὰ τοῖς μοναχοῖς, οἷς δεῖ ἡμᾶς μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου καὶ χαρᾶς
πνευματικῆς προσέρχεσθαι· ἡ κοινωνία τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων, καὶ ἡ
τράπεζα τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ ὁ νιπτὴρ αὐτῶν. Ἔφερε δὲ καὶ ὑπόδειγμα
τοιοῦτον, λέγων· Ὅτι ἦν τις γέρων μέγας διορατικός, καὶ συνέβη αὐτὸν
γενέσθαι μετὰ πλειόνων ἀδελφῶν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐσθίειν αὐτούς, προσεῖχε τῷ
πνεύματι ὁ γέρων καθεζόμενος ἐπὶ τραπέζης, καὶ ἔβλεπεν τοὺς μὲν
ἐσθίοντας μέλι, τοὺς δὲ ἄρτον, τοὺς δὲ κόπρον. Καὶ ἐθαύμαζεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ,
καὶ ἐδέετο τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγων· Κύριε, ἀποκάλυψόν μοι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο,
ὅτι τὰ αὐτὰ βρώματα πᾶσι προτεθέντα ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης, ἐν τῷ ἐσθί[f.
183rb]ειν οὕτως ἐνηλλαγμένα φαίνονται, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐσθίουσι μέλι, οἱ δὲ
ἄρτον, οἱ δὲ κόπρον. Καὶ ἦλθεν αὐτῷ φωνὴ ἄνωθεν λέγουσα· Ὅτι οἱ
ἐσθίοντες3 μέλι, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου καὶ χαρᾶς πνευμα-
τικῆς καθεζόμενοι ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης, καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως προσευχόμενοι, καὶ
ἡ εὐχὴ αὐτῶν ὡς θυμίαμα ἀνέρχεται πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, δι᾿ ὃ4 καὶ μέλι
ἐσθίουσιν. Οἱ δὲ τὸν ἄρτον ἐσθίοντες, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ εὐχαριστοῦντες ἐπὶ
τῇ μεταλήψει τῶν ὑπὸ Θεοῦ δεδωρημένων. Οἱ δὲ τὴν κόπρον ἐσθίοντες,
οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ γογγύζοντες καὶ λέγοντες· Τοῦτο καλὸν κἀκεῖνο σαπρόν.
Οὐ χρὴ δὲ ταῦτα λογίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον δοξολογεῖν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ
ὕμνους ἀναπέμπειν αὐτῷ, ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥητόν· Εἴτε ἐσθίετε, εἴτε πίνετε,
εἴ[f. 183va]τε τι ποιεῖτε, πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε.
1
τὴν γυναῖκα] τῇ γυναικὶ S 2
αὐτὸς ὁ] ὁ αὐτὸς S 3
ἐσθίοντες] τὸ add S
4
δι᾿ ὃ] διὸ S
N.85 71
good to the Lord to consider saving me by your sagacity, what do you advise
me to do?” Having no confidence in her youth or beauty and taking care that
the time might come when she might suffer a similar passion, she said to him:
“I think that, as God is your witness, you love nobody more than me?” “That
is so”, he said to her. “And I truly love you in a godly way,” she said to him,
“but since there is a statement of the Lord which says: ‘If anyone comes to me
and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, his brothers and
his own life, he cannot be my disciple’ [Lk 14.26], let us distance ourselves
from each other for the sake of God, so that the Lord will reckon it to you that
you renounced your wife for the sake of God and to me that I renounced my
husband. Here in our country, at Apamea, there is a monastery of recluses. If
you wholeheartedly desire to be saved, go and renounce the world there and
you will truly be well pleasing to God.” Without delay he divested himself of
his business interests and hastened to that monastery where he remained until
he passed away. He became a tried and tested [monk] with a pure mind,
always seeing the good side of things, looking at them with the eyes of the
spirit. Abba Symeon himself told the present narrator all these things.
N.85/18.42 BHG 1448d, de mensa monachorum

One of the fathers said that there are three things valued among the monks
that we must approach with fear, trembling and spiritual joy: the commu-
nion of the holy mysteries, the brothers’ table and the washing [of their feet].
He adduced this example: “There was a great elder who had second sight.
He happened to be with several brothers and, as they were eating, the elder,
sitting at table, gave heed in the spirit and began to see some of them eating
honey, some bread, some excrement. Wondering to himself, he interceded
with God, saying: ‘Lord, reveal this mystery to me, how the same victuals set
out on the table for all appear to be transformed like this in the eating and
some are eating honey, some bread and others excrement.’ A voice came to
him from above saying: ‘Those who are eating honey are they who sit at
table with fear and trembling and with spiritual joy – and are praying
without ceasing” [1 Th 5:17]. Their prayer comes up before God like incense;
that is why they are eating honey. Those who are eating bread are they who
give thanks on partaking of what is given by God, while they who are eating
excrement are the ones who grumble, saying: “This is good and that is
decayed.” One should not take those things into account, but rather glorify
God and offer up hymns to him, in fulfilment of the saying: “Whether you
eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” [1 Cor 10:31].
86. Μοναχός τις εἰργάζετο ἐν ἡμέρᾳ Μάρτυρος, ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ἄλλος1
μοναχός, λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἔνι σήμερον ἐργάσασθαι; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Σήμερον ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξέετο μαρτυρῶν καὶ ἐβασανίζετο, κἀγὼ
οὐκ ὀφείλω κοπιᾶσαι μικρὸν ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ σήμερον;
87. Ἔλεγε γέρων· ὅτι πολλάκις τοῦ διακόνου λέγοντος· Ἀσπάσασθε

ἀλλήλους εἶδον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον εἰς τὰ στόματα τῶν ἀδελφῶν.
88. Τίς ποτε μετανοήσας ἡσύχασεν. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτῷ εὐθέως ἐπὶ πέτραν
πεσόντα,2 πληγῆναι τὸν πόδα ὡς καὶ αἷμα πολὺ ἐκχύσαι, καὶ ὀλι-
γοψυχήσαντα ἀποδοῦναι τὴν ψυχήν. Ἔρχονται οὖν οἱ δαίμονες, θέλοντες
λαβεῖν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἄγγελοι· [f. 183vb]
Προσέχετε τῇ πέτρᾳ καὶ θεωρήσατε αὐτοῦ τὸ αἷμα ὃ ἐξέχεεν διὰ τὸν
Κύριον. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπόντων τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἠλευθερώθη ἡ ψυχή.
89. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων ποῖον δεῖ εἶναι τὸν μοναχόν; καὶ εἶπεν· Ἐὰν ὡς κατ᾿
ἐμὲ μόνος πρὸς μόνον.
90. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· διατί εἰς τὴν ἔρημον περιπατῶν φοβοῦμαι; καὶ
ἀπεκρίθη· Ἀκμὴν ζῇς.
91. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί δεῖ ποιοῦντας σωθῆναι; Ἦν δὲ σειρὰν ἐργαζό-

μενος καὶ μὴ ἀνανεύων ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου, καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Ἰδοὺ βλέπεις.
92. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· διατί συνεχῶς ὀλιγωρῶ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Ἐπειδὴ

οὔπω τὸ μίλιον εἶδες.
1
ἄλλος] ἀδελφὸς add S 2
πεσόντα] πεσεῖν S] καὶ add S
N.86–92 73
N.86/10.114
A monk was working on a day when a martyr was being commemorated.
Another monk saw him and said: “Is it possible that you are working
today?” He said to him: “On this day the servant of God was tortured
bearing witness [to his faith] and was beaten; ought not I too to make a
little effort at work today?”
N.87/18.37
An elder used to say: “I often saw the Holy Spirit at the mouths of the
brothers when the deacon said ‘Greet each other . . .’”
N.88/18.47
There was once a person who repented and lived in hêsychia. Almost
immediately he chanced to stumble on a stone and to be stricken in his
foot, so that he lost a great deal of blood and, fainting away, gave up his
soul. The demons came wanting to take his soul, but the angels said to
them: “Look at the stone and see the blood he shed for the Lord” and,
when the angels said this, his soul was set free.
N.89/21.4
An elder was asked what sort of person a monk should be, to which he
replied: “In my opinion, one on one.”*
* monos pros monon, “seul en face du seul” Guy (Evagrius?).
N.90/21.5
An elder was asked: “Why am I afraid when I walk about in the desert?”
“Now you are alive”, he replied.
N.91/21.6
An elder was asked: “What should they be doing to be saved?” He was braiding
rope and, without looking up from his work, he replied: “Look, you can see.”
N.92/21.8
An elder was asked: “Why am I continually discouraged?” “Because you
have not yet seen the finishing-post”, he replied.
93. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον τοῦ μοναχοῦ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη·
Διάκρισις.
94. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πόθεν μοι τὸ εἰς πορνείαν πειράζεσθαι; Καὶ

ἀπεκρίθη· [f. 184ra] Διὰ τὸ πολλὰ ἐσθίειν καὶ κοιμᾶσθαι.
95. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί δεῖ μοναχὸν ποιεῖν; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Παντὸς

ἀγαθοῦ ἐργασίαν, καὶ παντὸς κακοῦ ἀποχήν.
96. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Ἔσοπτρόν ἐστι τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἡ εὐχή.
97. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Οὐδὲν χεῖρον τοῦ κρίνειν.1
97 bis. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Ἐνέχυρα μηδέποτε διδόναι τοῖς λογισμοῖς.2
98. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Στέφανός ἐστι τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἡ

ταπεινοφροσύνη.
99. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Παντὶ τῷ ἐπαναβαίνοντί σοι λογισμῷ λέγε·

Ἡμέτερος εἶ, ἢ τῶν ὑπεναντίων; Καὶ πάντως ὁμολογήσει.
100. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ πηγή ἐστιν, ἐὰν ὀρύξῃς

καθαρίζεται, ἐὰν δὲ προσχώσῃς ἀφανίζεται.
101. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐγὼ πιστεύω ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄδικος ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ
φυλακῆς ἆραι καὶ εἰς φυλακὴν βαλεῖν.
1
χεῖρον τοῦ κρίνειν S] κρίνειν τοῦ χεῖρον C 2
97 bis om. C
N.93–101 75
N.93/21.9
An elder was asked: “What is the monk’s task?” “Discretion”, he replied.
N.94/21.10
An elder was asked: “How does it come about that I am tempted to
porneia?” and he replied: “Through much eating and sleeping.”
N.95/21.11
An elder was asked: “What should a monk do?” “He should apply himself
to every good activity and abstain from every evil one”, he replied.
N.96/21.12
The elders used to say: “Prayer is the monk’s mirror.”
N.97/21.13
The elders used to say: “There is nothing worse than judging.”
N.97bis/21.14
The elders used to say that one should never offer a pledge to logismoi.
N.98/21.15
The elders used to say that the crown of the monk is humble-mindedness.
N.99/21.16
The elders used to say: “To every logismos that comes upon you, say: ‘Are
you ours or the adversaries’?’ and it is sure to declare itself.”
N.100/21.17
The elders used to say that the soul is a spring: if you dig, it is purified; if
you pile up earth, it disappears.
N.101/21.18
An elder said: “I am convinced that God is not unjust bringing [one] out
of prison and throwing [another] into prison.”
102. Εἶπεν γέρων· Τὸ εἰς πάντα ἑαυτὸν βιάζεσθαι [f. 184rb] αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ
ὁδὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ.
103. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ πρότερον ποίει τι, πρὶν ἐξετάσῃς τὴν καρδίαν
σου εἰ κατὰ θεὸν γίνεται ὃ μέλλεις ποιεῖν.
104. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν μοναχὸς ὅτε1 ἵσταται εἰς προσευχήν, τότε μόνον
εὔχεται, ὁ τοιοῦτος ὅλως οὐκ εὔχεται.
105. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι εἴκοσι ἔτη ἔμεινα πρὸς ἕνα λογισμὸν πολεμῶν, ἵνα
πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὡς ἔνα βλέπω.
106. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι μείζων2 πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐστιν ἡ διάκρισις.
107. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πόθεν κτᾶται ταπείνωσιν ἡ ψυχή; Καὶ3

ἀπεκρίθη·4 Ὅταν τὰ ἑαυτῆς μόνης μεριμνᾷ κακά.
108. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὡς ἡ γῆ οὐ πίπτει ποτὲ κάτω, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ

ταπεινῶν ἑαυτόν.
109. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅσα ἠδυνήθην καταλαβεῖν οὐκ ἐδευτέρωσα.
1
ὅτε S] ὅτι C 2
μείζων S] μεῖζον C 3
Καὶ om S 4
ἀπεκρίθη post μόνης trsp S
N.102–9 77
N.102/21.19
An elder said: “To coerce oneself in every respect, that is the way of God.”
N.103/21.22
An elder said: “Never do anything without first examining your heart to
see whether what you are about to do is godly.”
N.104/21.23
An elder said: “If it is only when a monk stands up for prayer that he prays,
such a one is not praying at all.”
N.105/21. 24
An elder said: “For twenty years I have kept on fighting against one
logismos in order to see all men as one.”
N.106/21.25
An elder said: “Discretion is greater than all the virtues.”
N.107/21.26
An elder was asked: “Whence does the soul acquire humility?” “When it is
exclusively concerned with its own evils”, he replied.
N.108/21.29
An elder said: “Just as the earth never falls down, neither does he who
humbles himself.”
N.109/21.28 [very ambiguous]

An elder said: “I did not fall behind in achieving anything of which I was
capable” or: “I never repeated anything I have already accomplished” or
“I never thought again about (literally: gave a second thought to) anything
I could comprehend/fully grasp” or: “I did not think it of secondary
importance to achieve whatever I was capable of.”
110. [f. 184va] Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι αἰσχύνη ἐστὶ τοῦ μοναχοῦ, ἐὰν ἐάσας τὰ
ἑαυτοῦ ξενιτεύσῃ διὰ τὸν Θεόν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰς κόλασιν ἀπέλθῃ.
111. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Ἐὰν ἴδῃς νεώτερον τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ

ἀνερχόμενον εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, κράτησον αὐτοῦ τὸν πόδα καὶ ῥίψον αὐτὸν
κάτω, συμφέρει γὰρ αὐτῷ.
112. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη οὐ ζητεῖ τὸ σήμερον ἀλλὰ τὸ αὔριον.
113. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι τὸ ἔργον ἡμῶν καίειν ἐστὶν ξύλα.
114. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ θέλε εἶναι ἀκαταφρόνητος.
115. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐκ ὀργίζεται ἡ ταπείνωσις οὐδὲ παροργίζει τινά.
116. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Τὸ καθέζεσθαι καλῶς ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ, ἐμπίπλησι τῶν

ἀγαθῶν τὸν μοναχόν.1
117. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐαὶ ἀνθρώπῳ ὅταν τὸ ὄνομα [f. 184vb] μεῖζόν ἐστι
τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτοῦ.2
118. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ παρρησία καὶ ὁ γέλως, ἔοικεν3 πυρὶ ἐν καλάμῃ

κατεσθίοντι.
1
τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὸν μοναχόν] τὸν μοναχὸν ἀγαθῶν S
2
τὸ ὄνομα μεῖζόν ἐστι τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτοῦ] μεῖζον ἐστὶν αὐτῷ τῆς ἐργασίας τὸ ὄνομα S
3
ἔοικεν] ἐοίκασι S
N.110–18 79
N.110/21.30
An elder said: “It is a disgrace for a monk to abandon all his possessions
and go into voluntary exile for the sake of God then, afterwards, to go off
into chastisement.”
N.111 ¼ N.244
The elders used to say: “If you see a young man ascending to heaven of his
own free will, seize him by the foot and drag him down, for it is to his
advantage.”
N.112/21.31
An elder said: “This generation is not looking out for today, but for
tomorrow.”
N.113/21.32, cf. 21.63

An elder said: “Our task is to burn wood.”
N.114/21.33
An elder said: “Do not wish not to be despised.”
N.115/21.34
An elder said: “Humility neither gets angry nor angers anybody.”
N.116/21.35
He also said: “Remaining contentedly in the cell fills the monk full of good
things.”
N.117/21.36
An elder said: “Woe to the man when his reputation is greater than his
performance.”
N.118/21.37
An elder said: “Loose talk and laughter are like a consuming fire in a
reed-bed.”
119. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὁ βιαζόμενος ἑαυτὸν διὰ τὸν Θεόν, ὅμοιός ἐστι
ἀνθρώπῳ ὁμολογητῇ.
120. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ὃς ἐὰν γένηται μωρὸς διὰ τὸν Κύριον συνετιεῖ αὐτὸν
ὁ1 Κύριος.
121. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἄνθρωπος ἔχων πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν τὸν θάνατον πᾶσαν
ὥραν, νικᾷ τὴν ὀλιγοψυχίαν.
122. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ταῦτα ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς παρὰ τοῦ2 ἀνθρώπου, τὸν νοῦν
καὶ τὸν λόγον καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν.
123. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν· Χρῄζει ὁ ἄνθρωπος τούτων·3 φοβεῖσθαι τὸ τοῦ

Θεοῦ κρίμα, καὶ4 μισῆσαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ ἀγαπῆσαι τὴν ἀρετήν, καὶ
δέεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ διαπαντός.
123 bis.5 Εἶπε γέρων· Ἄνθρωπος συνοικῶν μετὰ παιδίου ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ

δυνατός, πίπτει, ἐὰν δὲ ᾖ δυνατὸς καὶ οὐ πίπτει, τέως οὐ προκόπτει.
124. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἀπόστα ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐν διαλέξει

φιλονεικοῦντος.6
125. Εἶπεν [f. 185ra] γέρων· Μὴ ἔχε φιλίαν μετὰ ἡγουμένου, μηδὲ δώσῃς
καὶ λάβῃς μετὰ γυναικός, μηδὲ εὐποιήσῃς μετὰ μειρακίου.
126. Εἶπεν γέρων· Κλαύσωμεν, ἀδελφοί, καὶ καταγαγέτωσαν οἱ

ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν δάκρυα, πρὶν ἡμᾶς ἀπελθεῖν ὅπου τὰ ἡμῶν δάκρυα
κατακαύσει τὰ ἡμῶν σώματα.
1
ὁ om S 2
τοῦ om S 3
τούτων ante Χρῄζει trsp S 4
καὶ om S
5
123 bis om C 6
ἐν διαλέξει φιλονεικοῦντος] φιλονεικοῦντος ἐν διαλέξει trsp S
N.119–26 81
N.119/21.38
An elder said: “He who coerces himself for the sake of God is like a man
who is a confessor.”
N.120/21.39
He also said: “Whoever becomes a fool for the Lord’s sake [1 Cor 3:18] the
Lord makes him astute.”
N.121/21.40
An elder said: “The man who has death before his eyes at all times
vanquishes faintheartedness.”
N.122/21.41
An elder said: “These are what God requires of a man: thought, word
and deed.”
N.123/21.42
The same [elder] said: “Man needs these things: to fear the judgement of
God, to hate sin, to love virtue and to implore God all the time.”
N.123bis/Carion S1
An elder said: “A man living with a youth falls if he is not strong. If he is
strong, he does not fall but meanwhile he makes no progress at end.”
N.124/11.63
An elder said: “Keep well away from every man who is contentious in
discussion.”
N.125(cf. 10.124)
An elder said: “Do not be friendly with a higoumen; have no commerce
with a woman and do not exchange any favours with a young man.”
N.126
An elder said: “Let us weep, brethren, and let our eyes stream with tears,
before we go there where our tears shall burn up our bodies.”
127. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ ἀμεριμνία καὶ τὸ σιωπᾶν καὶ ἡ κρυπτὴ μελέτη
τίκτουσι τὴν ἁγνείαν.
128. Ἔλεγον περὶ τινὸς γέροντος· ὅτι ᾤκει μετὰ ἀδελφῶν, καὶ ἅπαξ
ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ποιῆσαι πρᾶγμα, καὶ εἰ οὐκ ἐποίησαν ἀνίστατο ὁ γέρων καὶ
ἐποίει αὐτὸ χωρὶς ὀργῆς.
129. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Καλὸν ἕξιν ἔχειν πρὸς τὸν
πλησίον; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·1 Αἱ τοιαῦται ἕξεις δύναμιν οὐκ ἔχουσιν
κλᾶσαι κιμόν·2 πρὸς [f. 185rb] τὸν ἀδελφόν σου ἕξιν ἔχεις, μᾶλλον εἰ θέλεις
ἕξιν ἔχειν, ἔχε πρὸς τὰ πάθη.
130. Ἀδελφὸς ᾐτεῖτο γέροντος εὐχήν, σπεύδων ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν. Ὁ δὲ

γέρων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη· Μὴ σπεῦδε ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν, ἀλλὰ σπεῦσον τοῦ
φυγεῖν τὴν πόλιν καὶ σώζῃ.
131.3 Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἄνθρωπος φεύγων ἔοικεν σταφυλῇ ὀπτῇ· ὁ δὲ ἐν

μέσῳ ἀνθρώπων ὡς ὄμφαξ ἐστίν.
132.1.4 Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ ὁρᾷς με λογισμὸν ἔχοντα ἐπάνω τινός, καὶ σὺ

τὸν αὐτὸν ἔχει.
περὶ ἀναχωρητῶν
132.2. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν ἀναχωρητῶν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐν Ῥαϊθοῦ· ὅπου τὰ
ἑβδομήκοντα στελέχη τῶν φοινίκων· ἔνθα παρενέβαλε Μωϋσῆς μετὰ τοῦ
λαοῦ ὅτε ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ ἔλεγεν οὕτως. Ἐλογισάμην ποτὲ εἰ
[f. 185va]σελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον, εἴπως εὕρω τινὰ ἐνδότερόν μου
διάγοντα καὶ δουλεύοντα τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ ὁδεύσας νυχθήμερα τέσσαρα
εὗρον σπήλαιον. Καὶ προσεγγίσας, βλέπω ἔσω καὶ θεωρῶ συγκαθήμενον
ἄνθρωπον. Καὶ κρούω κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῶν μοναχῶν πρὸς τὸ ἐξελθόντα
1
ὁ γέρων om S 2
κιμὸν] κημὸν S] εἰ add S
3 4
N.131 is placed after N.125 in S N.132 is placed after N.126 in S
N.127–32 83
N.127/5.29
An elder said: “‘Taking no thought’ [Mt 6:25–34], keeping silent and secret
meditation bring forth purity.”
N.128
They used to say of an elder that he was living with [some] brothers. He
would tell them once to perform a task and, if they did it not, the elder
would get up and do it [himself] without anger.
N.129
A brother asked an elder: “Is it good to have an aversion [hexis] towards
one’s neighbour?” The elder said to him: “Such attitudes do not have the
power to break a muzzle. You have an attitude towards your brother; if you
want to have an aversion, have it rather towards the passions.”
N.130
As he was hastening to the city, a brother asked an elder for a prayer. The
elder said to him: “Do not hasten towards the city, but rather make haste
to flee the city and you will be saved.”
N.131 Moses 7
An elder said: “A man who flees [the world] is like a ripe grape; but he who
is in the midst of men is like an unripe one.”
N.132.1 (cf. Or 5)
An elder said: “If you see me thinking ill of somebody, it is because you are
thinking it too.” Or “If you see me with a logismos against someone, you
too have the same one.”
C O N CE R N I N G A N C H O R I T E S
N.132.2/20.15
One of the anchorites related [this] to the brothers at Raïthou where there
are seventy palm trees, the place where Moses and the people camped
when they went out of the land of Egypt [Ex 15:27] and this is what he
used to say: “I once had the idea of going into the remoter desert [to see]
αὐτὸν ἀσπάσασθαί με· ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐκινεῖτο· ἦν γὰρ ἀναπεπαυμένος. ἐγὼ δὲ
μηδὲν μελήσας εἰσέρχομαι καὶ κρατῶ αὐτὸν τοῦ ὤμου καὶ εὐθέως ἐλύθη
καὶ ἐγένετο κόνις. Ἔτι δὲ προσεσχηκὼς ὁρῶ κολόβιον κρεμάμενον. Ὡς δὲ
καὶ τοῦτο ἐκράτησα, διελύθη καὶ ἐγένετο εἰς1 οὐδέν. Ὡς δὲ διηπόρουν
ἐξῆλθον ἐκεῖθεν καὶ εὗρον ἕτερον σπήλαιον καὶ ἴχνη ἀνδρός. Εὔθυμος οὖν
γενόμενος προσεγγίζω τῷ σπηλαίῳ. [f. 185vb] Ὡς δὲ πάλιν ἔκρουσα καὶ
οὐδείς μοι ὑπήκουσεν εἰσελθὼν οὐδένα εὗρον. Στὰς δὲ ἔξωθεν τοῦ σπη-
λαίου ἔλεγον ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι δεῖ τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλθεῖν ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν εἴη.
Ὡς δὲ ἡμέρα λοιπὸν διήρχετο ὁρῶ βουβάλους ἐρχομένους καὶ τὸν δοῦλον
τοῦ Θεοῦ γυμνόν, ταῖς θριξὶν αὐτοῦ σκέποντα τὰ ἀσχήμονα μέλη τοῦ
σώματος. Ὡς δὲ προσήγγισέ μοι, νομίσας με πνεῦμα εἶναι ἔστη εἰς προ-
σευχήν· ἦν γὰρ ὡς ἔλεγεν ὕστερον2 πολλὰ πειρασθεὶς ἀπὸ3 τῶν πνευμά-
των. ἐγὼ δὲ νοήσας τοῦτο, ἔλεγον αὐτῷ·4 ἄνθρωπός εἰμι δοῦλε τοῦ Θεοῦ·
ὅρα τὰ ἴχνη μου καὶ ψηλάφησόν με ὅτι σὰρξ καὶ αἷμα εἰμί. Ὡς δὲ μετὰ τὸ
Ἀμὴν προσέσχε μοι παρεκλήθη. Καὶ λαβών με ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ, ἠρώτα·
πῶς ἐνταῦθα παρεγέ[f. 186ra]νου; Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· χάριν τοῦ ἐπιζητῆσαι
τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἦλθον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην, καὶ οὐκ ἐστέρησέ με ὁ
Θεὸς τῆς ἐπιθυμίας μου. Κἀγὼ5 ἠρώτησα αὐτὸν λέγων· ἐνταῦθα οὖν καὶ
αὐτὸς πῶς παρεγένου; Καὶ πόσον χρόνον ἔχεις6 καὶ πῶς τρέφῃ; Καὶ πῶς
γυμνὸς ὢν οὐ δέῃ ἐνδυμάτων; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· ἐγὼ ἐν κοινοβίῳ τῆς Θηβαΐδος
ἤμην ἔργον ἔχων τὸ λινυφικόν. Ὑπεισῆλθε δέ μοι λογισμὸς λέγων· Ἔξελθε
καὶ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν καθέζου καὶ δύνασαι ἡσυχάζειν καὶ φιλοξενεῖν καὶ μισθὸν
πλείονα κτήσασθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου7 τοῦ ἔργου σου. Ὡς δὲ συνεθέμην
τῷ λογισμῷ. Καὶ δὴ τὸ ἔργον διήνυον. οἰκοδομήσας γὰρ μοναστήριον.
Εἶχον8 τοὺς ἐπιτάσσοντας. Πολλὰ δὲ πορίζων τὰ [f. 186rb] συναγόμενα9
ἠγωνιζόμην πτωχοῖς καὶ ξένοις διανέμειν. Ὁ δὲ ἐχθρὸς ἡμῶν διάβολος,
φθονήσας ὡς ἀεὶ καὶ τότε τῇ μελλούσῃ ἀνταποδόσει10 γίνεσθαι εἰς ἐμέ
ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔσπευδον τοὺς κόπους μου τῷ θεῷ ἀνατίθεσθαι, ἰδὼν μίαν
παρθενεύουσαν ἐπιτάξασάν μοι εἴδη. Καὶ ταῦτά μου ποιήσαντος καὶ
δεδωκότος ὑποβάλλει αὐτὴν11 πάλιν12 ἐπιτάξαι μοι ἄλλα. Ὡς δὲ λοιπὸν
συνήθεια ἐγένετο καὶ ἡ παῤῥησία περισσοτέρα, τέλος καὶ ἀφὴ χειρῶν καὶ
γέλως καὶ συναλισμὸς καὶ ὠδινήσαντες ἐτέκομεν τὴν ἀνομίαν. Ὡς δὲ ἔμεινα
ἐν τῷ πτώματι μετ᾿ αὐτῆς ἓξ μῆνας, ἐλογισάμην ὅτι κἂν σήμερον κἂν
αὔριον θανάτῳ ὑποβληθεὶς [f. 186va] τὴν αἰώνιον ἕξω κόλασιν· εἰ γὰρ
1
εἰς] ὡς S 2
ἔλεγεν ὕστερον] ὕστερον ἔλεγε trsp S 3
ἀπὸ] ὑπὸ S
4
αὐτῷ] πρὸς αὐτὸν S 5
Κἀγὼ] δὲ add S 6
χρόνον ἔχεις] ἔχεις χρόνον trsp S
7
πόνου S] πόρου C 8
εἶχον] ἔσχον S 9
συναγόμενα corr] συναγώμενα C
10
ἀνταποδόσει S] ἀνταποδώσει C 11
αὐτὴν C] αὐτῇ S 12
πάλιν om S
N.132 85
whether I could find anybody living and serving God further in than me.
After travelling four days and nights, I found a cave and, when
I approached, I looked in and saw a man crouching there. As is the custom
with monks, I knocked for him to come out and greet me, but he did not
move – for he was at rest. Unconcerned, I went in and grasped his
shoulder, but it promptly came away and turned to dust. Looking around
some more, I saw a tunic hanging [there] and that too dissolved into
nothing when I took hold of it. In my perplexity I came out of there and
found another cave with the footprints of a man. Encouraged,
I approached the cave and, as nobody responded when I knocked again,
I entered but found nobody. Standing outside the cave, I began saying to
myself: ‘The servant of God must come, wherever he might be.’ Finally,
just as the day was ending, I saw some buffaloes coming and the servant of
God who was naked, concealing the private parts of the body with [his]
hair. He stopped to pray after he approached me, under the impression
that I was a spirit for (as he would later affirm) he was greatly troubled by
the spirits. When I realised this, I said to him: ‘Servant of God, I am a
man; see my footprints and feel me, for I am flesh and blood.’ He took a
close look at me after finishing the prayer with the ‘Amen’ and he was
reassured. Taking me into the cave, he asked: ‘How did you get here?’ ‘It
was in search of the servants of God that I came into this desert,’ I said,
‘and God did not disappoint [me in] my desire.’ Then I asked him: ‘And
how did you yourself come to be here? How long have you been [here]?
How do you feed yourself and how come you do not need clothing in your
nakedness?’ He said: ‘I was in a coenobion in the Thebaid working as a
linen-weaver, but a logismos came upon me saying: “Go out and live by
yourself, then you will be able to practise hêsychia and hospitality and you
will obtain a more plenteous reward for the labour of your task.” After
I assented to the logismos, I set about accomplishing the task. I built a
monastery and got customers. I made a lot of money and what I amassed
I was at pains to distribute among poor people and guests. But our enemy
the devil, jealous then as ever of the future reward coming to me for
endeavouring to offer the fruit of my labour to God, saw a woman living in
virginity who had ordered material from me. After I had made and
delivered that he put it into her mind to order other things from me
again. Then we became used to each other and chatted more freely; finally
there came holding of hands, laughter and delighting in the company of
each other and we travailed and brought forth iniquity [cf. Ps 7:15]. After
I had lived in sin with her for six months, I reckoned that, whether I was
laid low by death that day or the next, I would have eternal punishment.
γυναῖκά τις ἀνθρώπου φθείρας1 κολάσει καὶ τιμωρίᾳ ὑποβάλλεται, πόσων
τιμωριῶν ἄξιος ὁ τὴν δούλην τοῦ Θοῦ διαφθείρας; Καὶ οὕτως εἰς τὴν
ἔρημον ταύτην λαθρέως2 δραμὼν, ἐάσας πάντα τῇ γυναικί, καὶ ἐλθὼν3
ἐνταῦθα εὗρον4 τὸ σπήλαιον5 τοῦτο καὶ τὴν πηγὴν καὶ τὸν φοίνικα
φέροντά μοι δώδεκα σπαθία τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ φοινίκων. Κατὰ μῆνα δὲ φέρει
ἓν σπαθίον ὅπερ ἀρκεῖ μοι τὰς τριάκοντα ἡμέρας. Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο ἀκμάζει
τὸ δεύτερον. Μετὰ χρόνον δὲ πολὺν ηὔξησαν αἱ τρίχες μου καὶ φθαρέντων
μου6 τῶν ἱματίων, ἐν αὐταῖς ὃ πρέπει τοῦ σώματος περιβάλλομαι μέρος.
Ὡς δὲ πάλιν ἠρώτων αὐτὸν εἰ ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς [f. 186vb] ἐδυσχέρανεν ἐκεῖσε
ἔφη· ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς πάνυ ἐθλίβην ὥστε με χαμαὶ κεῖσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος7
καὶ μὴ δύνασθαι ἑστῶτα σύναξιν8 ἐπιτελεῖν· ἀλλὰ κείμενόν με βοᾶν9 πρὸς
τὸν Ὕψιστον, ἐν δὲ τῷ σπηλαίῳ ὄντος μου ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ πολλῇ10 καὶ πόνῳ
ὥστε με11 λοιπὸν μηδὲ ἐξιέναι.12 θεωρῶ ἄνδρα εἰσελθόντα καὶ πλησίον μου
στάντα καὶ λέγοντά μοι· τί πάσχεις; ἐγὼ δὲ παραυτὰ ἐνδυναμωθεὶς
μικρὸν, ἔφην· τὸ ἧπαρ πάσχω. Ὡς δὲ ἔδειξα αὐτῷ τὸν τόπον, τοὺς
δακτύλους τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς ὀρθὸν συζεύξας, διχοτομεῖ τὸν τόπον
ὥσπερ ξίφει. Καὶ ἐκσπάσας τὸ ἧπαρ, ἔδειξέ μοι τὰ τραύματα. Καὶ τῇ χειρὶ
ξέσας ῥάκει13 τὰς χεῖρας ἔβαλεν. Καὶ πάλιν ἐνθεὶς14 τὸ ἦπαρ,15 [f. 187ra] τῇ
χειρὶ τὸν τόπον ἀπήλειψε, καὶ εἶπέ μοι· ἰδοὺ ὑγιὴς γέγονας. Δούλευε τῷ
δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ καθὼς πρέπει. Καὶ ἔκτοτε ὑγιὴς γέγονα. Καὶ λοιπὸν
ἀκόπως διατρίβω ἐνταῦθα. Πολλὰ δὲ παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν ὥστε με δια-
τρίψαι ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ σπηλαίῳ, καὶ εἶπεν μὴ δύνασθαί με ὑπενεγκεῖν τῶν
δαιμόνων τὰς ὁρμάς. Κἀγὼ δὲ αὐτὸ16 τοῦτο διακριθείς, παρεκάλουν17
εὐξάμενον ἀπολῦσαί με. Καὶ εὐξάμενος ἀπέλυσεν. Καὶ ταῦτα διηγησάμην
ὑμῖν ὠφελείας χάριν.
132.3.18 Ἔλεγε πάλιν ἄλλος γέρων, ὃς ἠξιώθη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς πόλεως-

Ὀξυρύγχου ὡς ἑτέρου τινὸς αὐτῷ διηγησαμένου· ἦν δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ τοῦτο
πεποιηκώς. Ἔδοξέ μοί φησι19 ποτὲ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον τὴν ἐσωτέραν τὴν κατὰ
Ὤασαν εἰσελθεῖν [f. 187rb] ἔνθα τὸ τῶν Μαζίκων γένος, ἰδεῖν εἴ που εὕρω
τινὰ πτωχὸν δουλεύοντα τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ δὴ λαβὼν ὀλίγα παξαμάτια καὶ ὡς
1
φθείρας C] διαφθείρας S 2
λαθρέως] λαθραίως S 3
καὶ ἐλθὼν om S
4
ἐνταῦθα εὗρον] εὗρον ἐνταῦθα trsp S 5
σπήλαιον] ὡς ὁρᾷς add S
6
μου post ἱματίων trsp S
7
χαμαὶ κεῖσθαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος] ἀπὸ τοῦ ἥπατος χαμαὶ κεῖσθαι trsp S
8
ἑστῶτα σύναξιν] σύναξιν ἑστῶτα trsp S 9
βοᾶν S] βοᾷ C
10
ἐν δὲ τῷ σπηλαίῳ ὄντος μου ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ πολλῇ] ὅθεν καὶ ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ πολλῇ ὄντος μου ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ S
11
με post ἐξιέναι trsp S 12
ἐξιέναι (με)] δύνασθαι add S 13
ῥακει corr] ῥάκη CS
14
πάλιν ἐνθεὶς] ἐνθεὶς πάλιν trsp S 15
τὸ ἦπαρ] αὐτὸ S
16
αὐτὸ S] αὐτῷ C 17
παρεκάλουν] αὐτὸν add S
18
Tit. Περὶ ἐπισκόπου θύσαντος ἐν διωγμῷ καὶ μετανοήσαντος S 19
φησι post ἔρημον trsp S
N.132 87
For if one who violates a man’s wife is subject to chastisement and
retribution, how much retribution does he deserve who defiles the
handmaid of God? Thus I secretly fled to this desert, leaving everything
to the woman. When I got here, I found this cave, the spring and the
palm tree that produces twelve clusters of dates a year for me. Each
month it bears one cluster and that suffices me for thirty days; after that
the next cluster ripens. After a long time my hair grew and, my clothes
having worn out, I covered the part of the body that should [be covered]
with it.’ When I asked him again whether it was difficult there at first, he
said: ‘At first I was so greatly afflicted that I lay on the ground because of
my liver and could not even stand to carry out the synaxis but lay there
crying to the Most High. When I was in the cave, [I was] greatly
disheartened and in pain so that I could not even go out. I saw a man
who came in, stood beside me and said to me: “What are you suffering
from?” Heartened a little by this, I said: “I am suffering with my liver.”
When I had showed him the place, joining the outstretched fingers of his
hand, he cut the place apart as though with a sword and drew out the
liver. He showed me its damaged parts; after removing them with his
hand, he wiped his hands with a rag. He put the liver back again,
anointed the place with his hand and said to me: “Here you have become
whole; serve Christ the Lord-and-master as you ought.” From then on
I became whole and I have continued living here ever since.’ I begged him
at length to allow me to stay in the former cave, but he said I could not
withstand the onslaughts of the demons. Coming to the same conclusion,
I begged him to dismiss me with a prayer so, when he had prayed, he
dismissed me. This I have told you for your benefit.”
N.132.3/20.16
Another elder who was considered worthy to be bishop of the city of
Oxyrhynchos also used to say (as though someone else told this to him but
in fact it was himself who had done this): “It once seemed good to me,” he
said, “to go into the remoter desert, around the oasis where the race of the
Mazics is, to see whether I would find a poor person serving God
somewhere. Taking a few dried loaves and water for about four days,
I began the journey. When the four days had passed, the supplies were
exhausted and I was at a loss what to do. Taking courage, I dedicated
myself [to God] and journeyed on for another four days, remaining unfed.
But, since my body could no longer tolerate the stress from lack of food
and the slog of the journey, I fainted away and lay on the ground. Then
ἡμερῶν τεσσάρων ὕδωρ τὴν πορείαν ἐποιούμην. Ὡς δὲ διῆλθον αἱ τέσ-
σαρες ἡμέραι τῶν τροφῶν ἀναλωθεισῶν διηπώρουν τί πράξω. Καὶ
θαῤῥήσας ἐξέδωκα ἐμαυτόν καὶ διώδευσα ἄλλας τέσσαρας ἡμέρας μείνας
ἄσιτος. Τῆς δὲ ἀσιτίας καὶ τοῦ κόπου τῆς ὁδοῦ τὴν τάσιν τοῦ σώματος
μηκέτι φέροντος,1 εἰς λιποθυμίαν ἦλθον καὶ δὴ ἐκείμην χαμαί. Ἐλθὼν δέ τις
τῷ δακτύλῳ αὐτοῦ ἥψατο2 τῶν χειλέων μου καθάπερ ἰατρὸς τῇ μήλῃ3
τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν παρατρέχει. Εὐθὺς δὲ ἐνεδυναμώθην ὥστε νομίσαι μήτε
ὁδευ[f. 187va]κέναι4 μήτε λιμῶξαι. ὡς οὖν εἶδον τὴν δύναμιν ταύτην
ἐπελθοῦσάν μοι, ἀναστὰς διώδευον τὴν ἔρημον. Ὡς δὲ διῆλθον ἄλλαι
τέσσαρες ἡμέραι πάλιν ἠτόνησα καὶ ἐξέτεινα εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν τὰς χεῖράς
μου. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ5 ἀνὴρ ὁ τὸ πρότερον ἐνδυναμώσας με καὶ πάλιν τῷ
δακτύλῳ χρίσας τὰ χείλη μου, ἐστερέωσέ με. Διῆλθον δὲ ἡμέραι δεκαεπτὰ,
καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εὑρίσκω καλύβην καὶ φοίνικα καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ ἄνδρα στή-
κοντα οὗ αἱ τρίχες τῆς κεφαλῆς ἦσαν ἔνδυμα αὐτῷ·6 πεπολιωμέναι πᾶσαι
ὑπῆρχον καὶ φοβερὸς τῇ ὄψει. Ὡς δὲ ἐθεάσατό με ἔστη εἰς προσευχήν καὶ
τελέσας τὸ Ἀμήν ἔγνω εἶναί με ἄνθρωπον. Κρατήσας οὖν τῆς χειρός μου,7
[f. 187vb] ἠρώτα λέγων· πῶς ἐνταῦθα παραγέγονας, καὶ εἰ ἔτι συνέστηκε
πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ εἰ ἐπικρατοῦσιν ἔτι οἱ διωγμοί; Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον·
χάριν ὑμῶν τῶν μετὰ ἀληθείας δουλευόντων τῷ Θεῷ, ταύτην τὴν ἔρημον
διέρχομαι· τὸ δὲ τοῦ διωγμοῦ πέπαυται διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Φράσσον δέ μοι καὶ αὐτὸς πῶς ἐνταῦθα παραγέγονας. Ὁ δὲ ἀποδυρόμε-
νος ἤρξατο λέγειν· Ἐγὼ ἐπίσκοπος ἐτύγχανον, καὶ διωγμοῦ γενομένου
πολλῶν τιμωριῶν προσενεχθεισῶν μοι, μὴ δυνηθεὶς ὑπενεγκεῖν τοὺς αἰκισ-
μοὺς, ἐπέθυσα. Ὡς δὲ ἐν ἐμαυτῷ ἐγενόμην ἐπέγνων τὴν ἀνομίαν μου καὶ
ἔδωκα ἐμαυτὸν8 ἀποθανεῖν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ. Καὶ εἰμὶ ἐνταῦθα διάγων
ἔτη τεσσαράκοντα ἐννέα [f. 188ra], ἐξομολογούμενος καὶ παρακαλῶν τὸν
Θεὸν, εἴπως ἀφεθήσεταί μοι ἡ ἁμαρτία μου· καὶ τὴν μὲν ζωὴν παρέσχετό
μοι ὁ Kύριος ἐκ τοῦ φοίνικος τούτου. παράκλησιν δὲ τῆς συγχωρήσεως9
οὐκ ἔλαβον, ἕως ἐτῶν τεσσαρακονταοκτώ· ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ τούτῳ
παρεκλήθην. Ὡς δὲ ταῦτα ἔλεγεν, ἄφνω ἀναστὰς δρομαίως10 ἔξω ἔστη
εἰς προσευχὴν ἐπὶ πολλὰς ὥρας. Ὡς δὲ ἐτέλεσε προσευχόμενος, ἦλθε πρός
με. Θεωρήσας δὲ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, εἰς ἔκπληξιν ἦλθον11 καὶ δειλίαν· ἦν
γὰρ γενόμενος ὡς πῦρ. Εἶπεν δέ μοι· μὴ φοβοῦ καὶ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος ἀπέσ-
ταλκέ σε ἵνα κηδεύσῃς μου τὸ σῶμα. ὡς δὲ ἐτέλεσε λέγων,12 εὐθὺς ἐκτείνας
τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τοὺς πόδας τέλος ἔσχε τοῦ [f. 188rb] βίου. Παραλύσας δὲ
1
φέροντος] φέρειν ἰσχύοντος S
2
τῷ δακτύλῳ αὐτοῦ ἥψατο] ἥψατο τῷ δακτύλῳ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτοῦ S 3
μήλῃ] λήμῃ S
4
ὁδευκέναι corr] ὡ- C S 5
ὁ om S 6
αὐτῷ] αὐτοῦ S 7
μου] με S
8
ἐμαυτὸν] ἑαυτὸν S 9
συγχωρήσεως] μου add S 10
δρομαίως corr] δρομέως C S
11
ἦλθον post δειλίαν trsp S 12
λέγων] τὸ λέγειν S
N.132 89
somebody came and touched my lips with his finger, just as a doctor passes
over the eye with a probe. Immediately I was energised so that I thought
I had neither travelled nor been famished. When I became aware that this
energy had come upon me, I got up and journeyed on across the desert.
When another four days went by, again I became exhausted. I stretched
out my hands to heaven and here again there was the man who had
energised me before. Again he anointed my lips with his finger and
strengthened me. Seventeen days went by and after that I found a shack,
a palm tree, some water and a man standing there whose clothing was the
hair of his head; it was all completely white and he was fearful to behold.
He stood in prayer when he saw me and, on completing the ‘Amen’, he
realised that I was a man. So, taking me by the hand, he asked me: ‘How
did you come to be here?’ and whether everything was still stable in the
inhabited world and whether persecutions were still prevalent. I said: ‘It is
on account of you true servants of God that I am crossing this desert. The
persecution has ceased by the grace of Christ. But explain to me yourself
how you came to be here.’ Bitterly lamenting, he began to speak:
‘I happened to be a bishop; a persecution came about and many torments
were inflicted on me. Unable to endure the tortures, I sacrificed. Then,
coming to my senses, I realised my transgression and surrendered myself to
die in this desert. Forty-nine years have I been living here, confessing and
pleading with God that in some way my sin might be forgiven me. The
Lord granted me survival with this date palm but for forty-eight years I did
not receive the comfort of forgiveness. But then this year I was comforted.’
Even as he was saying this he suddenly got up, ran out and stood in prayer
for several hours. He came to me when he had finished praying; at the
sight of his face consternation and dread came upon me for he had become
like fire. But he said to me: ‘Do not be afraid, for the Lord has sent you to
bury my body.’ As he finished speaking, he straight away stretched out his
hands and feet and his life came to a close. Undoing my levitôn* and
keeping half of it for myself, I wrapped his holy body in the other half and
concealed it in the earth. When I buried it the date palm promptly
withered and the shack collapsed. I wept a great deal, beseeching God
that he might concede me the date palm and allow me to spend the rest of
my days in that place; but, since this did not happen, I told myself that it
was not the will of God. So, after praying, I made my way back again to
the inhabited world and here the man who anointed my lips came and
ἐγὼ τὸν λεβήτονά μου τὸ ἥμισυ ἐμαυτῷ ἐάσας καὶ1 τὸ ἥμισυ περιπτύξας
τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ τὸ ἅγιον2 ἀπέκρυψα αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ γῇ. Ὡς δὲ ἔθαψα αὐτόν 3
εὐθέως ὁ φοῖνιξ ἐξηράνθη καὶ ἡ καλύβη ἔπεσεν. ἐγὼ δὲ πολλὰ ἔκλαυσα
δεόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἴπως παράσχῃ μοι τὸν φοίνικα καὶ διατελέσω τὸν4 ἐν
τῷ τόπῳ ἐκείνῳ τὸν ἐπίλοιπόν μου χρόνον. Ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἐγένετο τοῦτο
εἶπον ἐν ἑαυτῷ μὴ εἶναι θέλημα Θεοῦ. Εὐξάμενος οὖν ὥρμων πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν
οἰκουμένην καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ χρίσας τὰ χείλη μου ἦλθεν καὶ ἐνεδυ-
νάμωσέ με ὀφθείς μοι. Καὶ οὕτως ἔφθασα ἐλθεῖν πρὸς5 τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ
διηγησάμην καὶ παρεκάλουν μὴ ἀπελπίζειν ἑαυτῶν ἀλλὰ τῇ ὑπομονῇ εὑ
[f. 188va]ρίσκειν τὸν Θεόν.
132.4. Δύο τινὲς γέροντες μεγάλοι ὥδευον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον τῆς Σκήτεως.
καὶ ἀκούσαντές τινος γογγύζοντος ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐζήτησαν τὴν εἴσοδον τοῦ
σπηλαίου. Καὶ εἰσελθόντες. Εὗρον τινὰ γραΐδα παρθένον ἁγίαν κειμένην
καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῇ· πότε ἦλθες ὧδε γραῦ; Καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ διακονῶν σοι;
Οὐδὲν γὰρ εὗρον ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ εἰ μὴ αὐτὴν μόνην κειμένην καὶ
ἀσθενοῦσαν. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· τριακοστὸν ὄγδοον ἔτος ἔχω ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ
τούτῳ, βοτάναις ἀρκουμένη καὶ6 δουλεύουσα τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ οὐκ εἶδον
ἄνθρωπον εἰ μὴ σήμερον. Ἀπέστειλε γὰρ ὑμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς ἵνα θάψητέ μου τὸ
λείψανον. Καὶ εἰποῦσα τοῦτο ἐκοιμήθη. Οἱ δὲ γέροντες δοξάσαντες τὸν
Θεόν καὶ θάψαντες τὸ σῶμα [f. 188vb] ἀνεχώρησαν.
132.5. Διηγήσαντο περί τινος ἀναχωρητοῦ ὅτι ἐξῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον
ἔχων λεβήτονα μόνον καὶ περιπατήσας τρεῖς ἡμέρας, ἀνέβη εἰς πέτραν καὶ
εἶδεν ὑποκάτω αὐτῆς χλόην καὶ ἄνθρωπον βοσκόμενον ὡς τὰ θηρία. Καὶ
κατέβη ἐν κρυφῇ καὶ ἐπίασεν αὐτόν· ὁ δὲ γέρων γυμνὸς ἦν καὶ ὀλιγώρησε
μὴ δυνάμενος βαστάξαι τὴν ὀσμὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἠδυνήθη δὲ ἐξειλῆσαι7
καὶ φυγεῖν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τρέχων ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ καὶ
κράζων· διὰ τὸν θεὸν διώκω σε, μεῖνόν με. Ὁ δὲ στραφεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
κἀγὼ διὰ τὸν θεὸν φεύγω ἀπὸ σοῦ. Καὶ ῥίψας τὸν λεβήτονα αὐτοῦ,
ἐδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ὅτι ἔῤῥιψε τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ8 ἐδέξατο
αὐτὸν, καὶ εἶπεν· ὅτε ἔῤ[f. 189ra]ῥιψας τὴν ὕλην τοῦ κόσμου ἀπὸ σοῦ.9
Κἀγώ παριέμεινα. Παρεκάλει δὲ αὐτὸν λέγων· πάτερ, εἶπέ μοι ῥῆμα πῶς
σωθῶ. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· φεῦγε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ σιώπα καὶ σώζῃ.
1
τὸ ἥμισυ ἐμαυτῷ ἐάσας καὶ] om S
2
περιπτύξας. . . τὸ ἅγιον] τὸ ἅγιον αὐτοῦ περιέπτυξα σῶμα S
3
ἀπέκρυψα. . . ἔθαψα αὐτόν] om C S, supplevi ex APsys 20.16 4
τὸν om S
5
πρὸς] εἰς S 6
καὶ om S 7
ἐξειλῆσαι corr] ἐξιλῆσαι C S
8
αὐτοῦ om S 9
τοῦ κόσμου ἀπὸ σοῦ] ἀπὸ σοῦ τὴν κοσμικὴν S
N.132 91
energised me when he appeared to me. In that way I managed to return to
the brothers and report, begging them not to despair of themselves, but to
find God by patient endurance.”
* the dress of the Levite – worn for prayer.
N.132.4/20.12
Two great elders were travelling in the desert of Scete. On hearing
someone muttering out of the ground, they looked for the entrance of
a cave. When they entered they found an aged holy virgin lying down.
“When did you come here, old lady,” they said to her, “and who is
looking after you?” – for they found nothing other than her alone, lying
there sick. She said: “I have been in this cave for thirty-eight years,
satisfying myself with weeds and serving Christ. And I never saw a man
until today, for God has sent you to bury my remains.” When she had
said this, she fell asleep. The elders glorified God then departed when
they had buried the body.
N.132.5/20.13
They related how an anchorite went out into the desert with only a levitôn.
After he had walked around for three days, he went up onto a rock and saw
some greenery below it and a man, grazing like the wild animals do. He got
down (keeping out of sight) and laid hands on him. The elder was naked
and he felt faint because he could not tolerate the smell of men. He was
able to break loose and run away from the brother – who came out
running after him, crying: “It is for the sake of God that I am pursuing
you, wait for me!” The other turned and said to him: “It is for the sake of
God that I am running away from you too.” [The brother] threw off his
levitôn and ran on after him. Seeing that he had thrown off his garment
[the elder] waited for him and said: “When you threw away from you the
material of the world, I waited for you.” [The brother] besought him
saying: “Father, utter a saying for me [showing] how I may be saved.” He
said to him: “Flee from men and be silent – and you shall be saved.”
132.6. Ἄλλος τὶς ἀναχωρητὴς πλαζόμενος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ
ὅτι κατώρθωσε τὰς ἀρετὰς καὶ ηὔξατο τῷ Θεῷ λέγων· Δεῖξον μοι, Κύριε,
ἐὰν ὑστερῶ τὶ καὶ1 ποιήσω. Καὶ θέλων ὁ Θεὸς ταπεινῶσαι τὸν λογισμὸν
αὐτοῦ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε πρὸς τόνδε τὸν ἀρχιμανδρίτην καὶ εἴ τι σοι
λέγει, ποίησον. Ἀπεκάλυψε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ἀρχιμανδρίτῃ λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ὁ
δεῖνα ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς ἔρχεται πρός σε. Εἰπὲ αὐτῷ λαβεῖν φραγέλλιον καὶ
βόσκειν τοὺς χοίρους. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ γέρων ἔκρουσε τὴν θύραν καὶ εἰσῆλθε
πρὸς [f. 189rb] τὸν ἀρχιμανδρίτην καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἐκάθισαν.
Καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀναχωρητής· Εἰπέ μοι τί ποιήσω ἵνα σωθῶ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·
Ὅτι2 ἂν εἴπω σοι ποιεῖς; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Λάβε τὸ
φραγέλλιον καὶ ὕπαγε βόσκε τοὺς χοίρους. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν ἔβοσκε τοὺς
χοίρους. Οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν καὶ ἀκούσαντες περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι βόσκει τοὺς
χοίρους ἔλεγον· Ἴδε τὸν μέγαν ἀναχωρητὴν περὶ οὗ ἠκούσαμεν, ἰδοὺ
ἐξέστη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ καὶ δαιμόνιον ἔχει καὶ βόσκει τοὺς χοίρους. Ἰδὼν
δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ταπείνωσιν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὕτως ὑπέμεινε τοὺς ὀνειδισμοὺς τῶν
ἀνθρώπων, ἀπέλυσεν αὐτὸν πάλιν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ.
Ὅτι δεῖ τὴν ἡσυχίαν καὶ τὴν κατάνυξιν μεταδιώκειν

133. [f. 189va] Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχὸς ἀγοράζειν τὴν ἡσυχίαν
αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸ καταφρονεῖν, ἐὰν καὶ σωματικὴ ζημία συμβῇ.
134. Διηγήσατό τις· ὅτι τρεῖς φιλόπονοι ἐγένοντο ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ὁ μὲν
εἷς ᾐρετίσατο τοὺς μαχομένους εἰρηνεύειν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· Μακάριοι οἱ
εἰρηνοποιοί, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος ἐπισκέπτεσθαι τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας, ὁ δὲ τρίτος
ἀπῆλθεν ἡσυχάζειν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. Ὁ οὖν πρῶτος κοπιάσας διὰ τὰς μάχας
τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐκ ἠδύνατο θεραπεύειν πάντας, καὶ ἀκηδιάσας, ἦλθε
πρὸς τὸν ὑπηρετοῦντα τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς, καὶ εὗρε καὶ αὐτὸν ὀλιγωροῦντα,
καὶ μὴ φθάνοντα τελειῶσαι τὴν ἐντολήν. Καὶ συμφωνήσαντες οἱ δύο,
ἀπῆλθον ἰδεῖν τὸν ἡ[f. 189vb]συχάζοντα καὶ διηγήσαντο αὐτῷ τὴν θλῖψιν
αὐτῶν, καὶ παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτοῖς τί κατώρθωσεν. Καὶ σιω-
πήσας μικρόν, βάλλει ὕδωρ εἰς κρατῆρα καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Προσέχετε εἰς
τὸ ὕδωρ, ἦν δὲ τεταραγμένον· καὶ μετὰ μικρόν, πάλιν λέγει αὐτοῖς·
Προσέχετε καὶ ἄρτι3 ὡς κατέστη τὸ ὕδωρ. Καὶ ὡς προσέσχον τῷ ὕδατι,
1
καὶ om S 2
Ὅ,τι C] εἴ τι S 3
ἄρτι] ἀρτίως S
N.132–4 93
N.132.6/15.70
Another anchorite who was wandering in the desert said to himself that
he had attained the virtues and he prayed to God saying: “Lord, show me
if I am lacking in anything and I will do it.” Wishing to humble his
logismos, God said to him: “Go to such-and-such an archimandrite and
do whatever he tells you.” Then God revealed to the archimandrite:
“Here comes so-and-so the anchorite to you. Tell him to take a whip
and pasture the pigs” [cf. Luke 15:15]. The elder came, knocked at the
door and went in to the archimandrite. They embraced each other and
sat down. Said the anchorite: “Tell me: what shall I do to be saved?” He
said to him: “Will you do whatever I tell you?” “Yes”, he said and [the
archimandrite] said to him: “Take the whip and go, pasture the pigs”, so
he went off and pastured the pigs. They who saw him and heard about
him, that he was pasturing the pigs, began to say: “See the great anchorite
of whom we have heard; look, he is out of his mind! He has a demon and
he is pasturing the pigs!” But when God saw his humility and that he
endured men’s insults like that, he dismissed him to his place again.
T H A T W E S H O U L D P U R S U E H ÊS Y C H IA
AND GRIEF FOR SIN
N.133/2.28
An elder said: “A monk ought to acquire his hêsychia so as to count it as
nothing if he also suffer physical damage.”
N.134/2.29 BHG 1438j, de praestantia vitae solitariae

Somebody told of three hard-working [monks] who became friends. While
one of them chose to pacify those who were in conflict with each other in
accordance with the saying: “Blessed are the peace-makers” [Mt 5:9]; the
second [chose] to visit the sick but the third went off to practise hêsychia in
the desert. Though the first one laboured at the contentions of men, he
was unable to heal them all. Discouraged, he came to the one who was
ministering to the sick and found him despairing too and not succeeding
in fulfilling the commandment [Mt 25:26]. The two of them made an
agreement and went off to see the one practising hêsychia. They told him of
their grief, asking him to tell them what good he had accomplished. After a
brief silence, he poured some water into a bowl and said to them: “Look
θεωροῦσιν ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οὕτως
ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ ἐν μέσῳ ἀνθρώπων1· ἀπὸ τῆς ταραχῆς οὐ βλέπει τὰς ἁμαρτίας
αὐτοῦ· ὅταν δὲ ἡσυχάσῃ, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν ἐρήμῳ, τότε βλέπει τὰ ἐλαττώ-
ματα αὐτοῦ.
135. Διηγήσατο γέρων ὅτι ἀδελφός τις ἀναχωρεῖν μέλλων, ἐκωλύετο

ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας μητρός. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπαύ[f. 190ra]ετο τοῦ ἰδίου σκοποῦ
λέγων· Σῶσαι θέλω τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ὡς δὲ πολλὰ σπουδάσασα, ἐμποδί-
σαι αὐτὸν οὐκ ἴσχυσεν, ὕστερον παρεχώρησεν αὐτῷ. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ καὶ
μονάσας ἐν ἀμελείᾳ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κατανάλωσε ζωήν. Ἐγένετο δὲ τὴν μητέρα
αὐτοῦ ἀποθανεῖν, καὶ μετὰ χρόνον ἀσθενήσαντα αὐτὸν ἀσθένειαν μεγά-
λην, γενέσθαι ἐν ἐκστάσει καὶ ἁρπαγῆναι εἰς τὴν κρίσιν, καὶ εὗρε τὴν
μητέρα αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν κρινομένων. Ἐκείνη οὖν2 ὡς εἶδεν αὐτόν, κατα-
πλαγεῖσα εἶπεν· Τί ἐστιν τοῦτο, τέκνον, καὶ σὺ εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦτον
κατεκρίθης; Καὶ ποῦ οἱ λόγοι σου οὓς3 ἔλεγες ὅτι σῶσαι θέλω τὴν ψυχήν
μου; Ἐντραπεὶς οὖν ἐφ’ οἷς ἤκουσεν, κατώδυνος ἵστατο μὴ ἔχων τί πρὸς
αὐτὴν ἀποκρίνασθαι [f. 190rb]. Καὶ ἀκούει πάλιν φωνῆς λεγούσης· Ἄρατε
τοῦτον ἐντεῦθεν, ἐπὶ ἄλλον μοναχὸν ὁμώνυμον αὐτοῦ ἀπέστειλα ὑμᾶς
τοῦδε τοῦ κοινοβίου. Ὡς δὲ τέλος ἔσχεν ἡ ὅρασις, ἐπανέρχεται εἰς ἑαυτὸν
καὶ διηγεῖτο τοῖς παροῦσι ταῦτα. Πρὸς δὲ βεβαίωσιν καὶ πίστιν τῶν
λεγομένων, παρεσκεύασέ τινα ἀπελθεῖν εἰς ὃ ἤκουσε κοινόβιον, καὶ ἰδεῖν
εἰ ἐκοιμήθην ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀδελφὸς περὶ οὗ ἤκουσεν. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ πεμφθείς,
εὗρεν οὕτως. Ὅτε δὲ ἀνέλαβε καὶ ἐγένετο ἑαυτοῦ, κατακλείσας ἑαυτὸν
ἐκάθισε φροντίζων τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτοῦ, μετανοῶν καὶ κλαίων ἐφ’ οἷς
ἔπραξεν ἐν ἀμελείᾳ τὸ πρότερον. Τοσαύτη δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ ἡ κατανύξις, ὥστε
πολλοὺς παρακαλεῖν αὐτὸν ἐνδοῦναι μικρόν, μήποτε καὶ [f. 190va] βλάβην
τινὰ ὑπομείνῃ διὰ τὴν ἀμετρίαν τοῦ κλαυθμοῦ. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελε παρα-
κληθῆναι λέγων· Εἰ τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν τῆς μητρός μου οὐκ ἤνεγκα, πῶς τὴν
ἐπὶ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ἐνέγκω αἰσχύνην ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως;
1
ἀνθρώπων] στρεφόμενος add S 2
οὖν] δὲ S 3
οὓς] οὐκ S
N.135 95
carefully at the water” – for it had been disturbed. After a little while he
said again: “Now look and see how the water has become still.” As they
looked at the water they saw their faces as in a mirror. Then he said to
them: “That is what it is like for one circulating among people too; he does
not see his sins because of the disturbance. But when he is practising
hêsychia, especially in the desert, then he sees his shortcomings.”
N.135/3.38 BHG 1444nb, de matre quae non sinebat filium fieri

anachoretam
An elder told how a brother who was about to withdraw from the world
was prevented from doing so by his own mother. But he did not abandon
his personal project, saying: “I want to save my soul.” Much as she tried to,
she lacked the strength to impede him so, in the end, she gave in. He went
and lived alone, wasting his own life in an undisciplined way. Now it so
happened that his mother died; then, later on, he himself fell gravely ill.
He fell into a trance and was whisked away to the judgement [where] he
found his mother among those who were being judged. She was astonished
at the sight of him. “What is this all about, my child?” she said. “Have you
also been condemned to this place? Where are the words you used to say:
‘I want to save my soul?’” Ashamed at the things he heard, he stood
dejected, having nothing to say to her in reply. And again he heard a voice
saying: “Take this one out of here, for it was to another monk with the
same name as this one, in such-and-such a coenobion that I sent you.”
When the vision was over, he came to himself again and told these things
to those who were present. In order to confirm the reliability of what was
said, he arranged for someone to go to the coenobion he heard of to see
whether that brother of whom they had heard had died. When he who was
sent went [there], he found that it was so. When the brother [who had
seen the vision] was recovered and was himself again, he shut himself up
[in his cell] and dwelt there, concerning himself with his own salvation,
repenting and weeping over his former disorderly way of life. So great was
his grief for sin that many begged him to relax it a little, lest he undergo
some harm by his excessive weeping. But he would not be comforted.
“If I could not endure the reproach of my mother,” he said, “how then
could I endure my shame before Christ and his angels on the Day of
Judgement?”
136. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι εἰ ἐνεδέχετο ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ
τὴν ἀνάστασιν ἐξελθεῖν τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου πᾶς ὁ
κόσμος ἀπέθνῃσκεν ἀπὸ φρίκης καὶ ἐκστάσεως. Τί γάρ ἐστιν ἰδεῖν; οὐρ-
ανοὺς σχιζομένους, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀποκαλυπτόμενον μετ’ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀγα-
νακτήσεως, καὶ στρατιὰς ἀναριθμήτους ἀγγέλων, καὶ ὁμοῦ πᾶσαν τὴν
ἀνθρωπότητα θεάσασθαι. Δι’ ὃ1 οὕτως ὀφείλoμεν ζῆν, ὡς καθ’ ἑκάστην
λόγον ἀπαιτούμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ2 τῆς διαγωγῆς ἑαυτῶν.
137. [f. 190vb] Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς ἔρχεται ὁ φόβος
τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς τὴν ψυχήν; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν ἔχῃ ἄνθρωπος τὴν
ταπείνωσιν, καὶ τὴν ἀκτημοσύνην, καὶ τὸ μὴ κρίνειν, ἔρχεται αὐτῷ ὁ
φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ.
138. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε γέροντι καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτὸν λέγων· Ἀββᾶ· πόθεν
ἡ καρδία μου σκληρά ἐστι καὶ οὐ φοβοῦμαι τὸν Θεόν; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Νομίζω ὅτι ἐὰν ἄνθρωπος κρατήσῃ τὸν ἔλεγχον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ
αὐτοῦ, κτᾶται τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί ἐστιν ὁ
ἔλεγχος; Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἵνα ἄνθρωπος ἐνπαντὶ πράγματι
ἐλέγχῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν λέγων αὐτῇ· Μνήσθητι ὅτι δεῖ σε τῷ Θεῷ
ἀπαντῆσαι, λέγειν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο·3 Τί θέλω ἐγὼ μετὰ ἀνθρώπου; Λογίζομαι
[f. 191ra] ὅτι ἐάν τις ἐν τούτοις παραμείνῃ, ἥξει αὐτῷ ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ.
139. Γέρων τις εἶδε τινὰ γελῶντα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἔμπροσθεν οὐρανοῦ
καὶ γῆς, ὅλου τοῦ βίου ἡμῶν ἔχομεν δοῦναι λόγον, καὶ σὺ γελᾶς;
140. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ τὴν κακίαν ἑαυτῶν πανταχοῦ περιφέρομεν,

οὕτως ὀφείλομεν καὶ τὸ κλαίειν καὶ τὴν κατάνυξιν μεθ’ ἑαυτῶν ἔχειν ὅπου
δ’ ἂν ἐσμέν.
1
Δι᾿ ὃ] Διὸ S 2
ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ om S 3
τοῦτο] ὅτι add S
N.136–40 97
N.136/3.39
An elder said: “If it were the case that, at the second coming of [Christ our]
God, men’s souls would come out after the resurrection, the whole world
would die from fear, from alarm and astonishment. What a sight it would
be – to see the heavens torn open, God revealed in anger and wrath,
innumerable armies of angels, together with the whole of humanity! For
that reason we ought to live as those who are required by God to render a
daily account of our own way of life.”
N.137/Euprepios 5/1.29
A brother asked an elder: “How does the fear of God come to the soul?”
“If a man have humility, be indifferent to material goods and refrain from
judging [others], the fear of God shall come to him”, the elder said.
N.138/3.40
A brother visited an elder and asked him: “Abba, why is it that my heart is
hard and that I do not fear God?” The elder said to him: “I think that a
man acquires fear of God if he maintain [the habit of] reproving himself in
his heart.” Said the brother to him: “What is ‘reproof ’?” The elder said to
him: “It is that a man reprove his own soul in every situation, saying to it:
‘Remember that you are obliged to meet God’ and saying this too: ‘What
do I want with humankind?’ I reckon that if someone perseveres in such
[actions] the fear of God will come to him.”
N.139/3.41
An elder saw somebody laughing and he said to him: “We have to give an
account of our entire life before heaven and earth – and you are laughing?”
N.140/3.42
An elder said: “In the same way that we carry our own iniquity around
with us everywhere, so ought we to weep and have grief for sin with us
wherever we are.”
141. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Δακρύειν ὀφείλομεν πάντοτε. Συνέβη γάρ τινα τῶν πατέρων ποτὲ κοι-
μηθῆναι1 καὶ μετὰ πολλὴν ὥραν πάλιν ἐλθεῖν εἰς ἑαυτόν, καὶ ἠρωτήσαμεν
αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Τί εἶδες2 ἐκεῖ, ἀββᾶ; Καὶ διηγήσατο ἡμῖν κλαίων· Ἤκουσα
ἐκεῖ φωνὴν κλαυθμοῦ λεγόντων ἀδιαλείπτως· Οὐαί μοι, οὐαί μοι. Οὕτως
ὀφείλομεν καὶ ἡμεῖς [f. 191rb] πάντοτε λέγειν.3
142. Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφός τινα γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς ἐπιθυμεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου
δακρύειν4 ὥσπερ ἀκούω τοὺς γέροντας καὶ5 οὐκ ἔρχονται6 καὶ7 θλίβεταί
μου ἡ ψυχή; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ διὰ τεσσαράκοντα
ἐτῶν εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας· τὰ δάκρυα οὖν εἰσι ἡ γῆ τῆς
ἐπαγγελίας8 εἰς ἣν ἐὰν ἐπανέλθῃς, οὐκέτι φοβῇ πόλεμον. Οὕτως γὰρ θέλει
ὁ Θεὸς θλίβεσθαι τὴν ψυχήν, ἵνα πάντοτε ἐπιθυμῇ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν γῆν
ἐκείνην.
143. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα· Πῶς σωθῶ; Ὁ δὲ ἐκδυσάμενος τὸν

λεβήτωνα καὶ ζωσάμενος τὴν ὀσφῦν, καὶ κρεμάσας τὰς ἑαυτοῦ χεῖρας εἰς
τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν· Ὅτι οὕτως ὁ μοναχὸς ὀφείλει εἶναι· γυμνὸς ἀπὸ τῆς
ὕλης τοῦ βίου καὶ ἐσταυρωμένος· ἐν τοῖς παλαίσμασι πυγμα[f. 191va]τίζει
ὁ ἀθλητής, ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἀνασταυροῖ τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁ
μοναχὸς9 καλῶν τὸν Θεόν, γυμνὸς ὁ ἀθλητὴς ἔστηκεν εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα
παλαίων, γυμνὸς καὶ ἄϋλος ὁ μοναχός, ἀλειφόμενος ἐλαίῳ καὶ διδασκόμε-
νος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπιτάκτου πῶς δεῖ παλαίειν, οὕτως ὁ10 Θεὸς11 ὁ ἐπιβάλλων
ἡμῖν τὴν νίκην.
Περὶ ἐγκρατείας
144. Ἐγένετο ποτὲ έορτὴ ἐν τῇ Σκήτει12 καὶ ἔδωκαν γέροντι ποτήριον
οἴνου, καὶ ἀποστρέψας αὐτὸ εἶπεν· Ἆρον ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ τὸν θάνατον τοῦτον.
Ἰδόντες δὲ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ συνεσθίοντες αὐτῷ, οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ ἐδέξαντο.
1
ποτὲ κοιμηθῆναι] κοιμηθῆναι ποτὲ trsp S 2
εἶδες] οἶδες S 3
λέγειν om S
4
δακρύειν] δακρύων C 5
καὶ] ἀλλ᾿ S 6
ἔρχονται] ἔρχεταί μοι S 7
καὶ] οὐδὲ S
8
τὰ δάκρυα. . . ἐπαγγελίας om CS; supplevi ex APsys 3.45 9
ὁ μοναχὸς post χεῖρας trsp S
10
ὁ om S 11
Θεὸς post νίκην trsp S 12
Σκήτει] ἑορτὴ om C
N.141–4 99
N.141/3.44
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do?” He said to him: “We ought
to weep all the time, for it once came about that one of the elders died then
came to himself again some considerable time later. We asked him: ‘What
did you see there, abba?’ Weeping, he told us: ‘I heard a voice of
lamentation there of people saying repeatedly: woe is me, woe is me.’ So
ought we also to be saying all the time.”
N.142/3.45
A brother asked an elder: “How is it that my soul wishes to weep the way
I hear the elders wept, yet [tears] do not come and my soul is distressed?”
The elder said to him: “It took forty years for the Children of Israel to
enter the Promised Land [cf. Heb 11:9]. Tears are the Promised Land; if
you can return to it, you no longer fear battle. It is the will of God that
the soul be distressed in this way, so that it might ever desire to enter into
that land.”
N.143/[6.20 to * only]
A brother asked an elder: “How am I to be saved?” Taking off his levitôn,
girding his loins and holding his own hands up to heaven [the elder] said:
“This is how the monk ought to be: stripped of the material things of life
and crucified. The athlete boxes in contests; the monk, contending with
logismoi, stretches out his hands to heaven in the shape of the cross, calling
on God. The athlete stands stripped when wrestling in a contest; the monk
is stripped and devoid of material things. [The athlete is] anointed with oil
and taught by an instructor how he must wrestle; so [are we taught by]
God who awards us the victory.”
CONCERNING TEMPERANCE [EGKRATEIA]
N.144/4.63
Once there was a festival at Scete and they gave a cup of wine to an elder,
but he refused it, saying: “Take this death away from me.” When the
rest of them who were eating with him witnessed this, they did not accept
[it] either.
145. Ἐπείνασέ τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀπὸ πρωῒ καὶ ἐπολέμησε μετὰ τοῦ
λογισμοῦ τοῦ μὴ φαγεῖν ἕως οὗ γένηται τρίτη ὥρα. Καὶ γενομένης τρίτης ἐ
[f. 191vb]βιάσατο ἕως γένηται ἕκτη ὥρα, καὶ βρέξας τοὺς ἄρτους ἐκάθισε
φαγεῖν, καὶ πάλιν ἀνέστη λέγων τῷ λογισμῷ· Μείνωμεν ἕως ἐνάτης ὥρας.
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐνάτη, καὶ ποιήσας εὐχὴν εἶδε τὴν ἐνέργειαν ὡς καπνὸν
ἀναβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ ἐργοχείρου, καὶ ἐπαύσατο ἡ πεῖνα ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
146. Διηγήσατό τις μαθητὴς1 περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐν ὅλοις2
εἴκοσι ἔτεσιν οὐκ ἐκοιμήθη ἐπὶ πλευροῦ, ἀλλ’ εἰς τὸ κάθισμα αὐτοῦ εἰς ὃ
εἰργάζετο ἐκεῖ ἐκάθευδεν καθήμενος. Ἤσθιε δέ, ἢ διὰ δύο, ἢ διὰ τεσσάρων,
ἢ διὰ πέντε, οὕτως ἐπὶ εἴκοσι ἔτεσιν· ὅτε δὲ ἤσθιεν, ἡ μία αὐτοῦ χεὶρ
ἐκτεταμένη ἦν εἰς προσευχὴν καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ ἤσθιεν, κἀμοῦ δὲεἰπόντος αὐτῷ·
Τί ἐστι τοῦτο; Διὰ τί οὕτως ποιεῖς, ἀββᾶ [f. 192ra]; Ἀπεκρίνατο πρός με·
Ὅτι τὸ κρίμα τοῦ Θεοῦ τιθῶ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου, καὶ οὐ δύναμαι καρτερ-
ῆσαι. Ἐγένετο δὲ ποτὲ βαλλόντων ἡμῶν σύναξιν, ἔληθέ με καὶ ἐπλανήθην
λόγον ἀπὸ τοῦ ψαλμοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἐτελέσαμεν τὴν σύναξιν, ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ
γέρων εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ ὅταν βάλλω σύναξιν, ὡς πῦρ ἡγοῦμαι ὑποκάτω μου
καιόμενον, καὶ οὐ δύναται ὁ λογισμός μου ἐκκλῖναι3 δεξιᾷ ἢ ἀριστερᾷ· καὶ
ποῦ ἦν ὁ λογισμός σου ὅτε ἐβάλλομεν τὴν σύναξιν, ὅτι ἐξῆλθέ σοι λόγος
τοῦ ψαλμοῦ; Οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ ἔστηκας, καὶ τῷ θεῷ
ἐλάλεις; Ἐξῆλθε δὲ ποτὲ ὁ γέρων ἐν νυκτί4 καὶ εὗρέ με κοιμώμενον εἰς τὴν
αὐλὴν τοῦ κελλίου, καὶ ἔστη ὁ γέρων θρηνῶν με καὶ κλαίων ἔλεγεν · Ἆρα
ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ λογισμὸς τούτου, [f. 192rb] ὅτι οὕτως καθεύδει μετὰ
ἀμεριμνίας;
147. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε γέροντι δοκιμωτάτῳ, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Κάμνω.

Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς παρέχει σοι
ἄνεσιν.
148. Ἠνέχθη εἰς τὰ Κελλία σαΐτιν οἴνου ἀπαρχήν, ἵνα δοθῇ τοῖς
ἀδελφοῖς πρὸς ποτήριον. Καὶ ἐμβάντος τινὸς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπὶ τὸν θόλον
φυγεῖν, ἔπεσεν ὁ θόλος, καὶ ἀπελθόντες διὰ τὸν ψόφον, εὗρον αὐτὸν
ἐρριμμένον, καὶ ἤρξαντο αὐτὸν ἀτιμάζειν λέγοντες· Κενόδοξε, καλῶς σοι
1
μαθητὴς] τινὸς add S 2
ὅλοις] ὀλίγοις S 3
ἐκκλῖναι post ἀριστερᾷ trsp S
4
ὁ γέρων ἐν νυκτί C] ἐν νυκτὶ ὁ γέρων trsp S
N.145–8 101
N.145/4.71
One of the brothers was hungry from first thing in the morning, but he
fought against the logismos so as not to eat until the third hour. Then,
when it came to the third hour, he forced himself [to fast] until the sixth
hour. [When it was the sixth hour] he moistened some dry bread and sat
down to eat and then he stood up again saying: “Let us wait until the ninth
hour.” At the ninth hour, after offering a prayer, he saw the activity [of the
demon] rising up out of his handiwork like smoke and the hunger was laid
to rest from him.
N.146/20.11 BHG 1440ka, de attenta oratione

A disciple told of his abba: “In all of twenty years, he never slept lying
down, but on his bench where he used to work; he used to sleep sitting
there. During twenty years he only ate every second, fourth or fifth day
and, while he was eating, one hand was stretched out in prayer while he ate
with the other. When I said to him: ‘What is this? Why are you doing this,
abba?’ he answered me: ‘Because I place the judgement of God before my
eyes and I cannot bear the sight of it.’ It happened once that I was
distracted when we were offering the synaxis and made a mistake in a
word of the psalm. When we had completed the synaxis, in response the
elder said to me: ‘When I am offering the synaxis, I imagine there is a fire
burning beneath me and my logismos cannot incline to left or to right. So
where was your logismos when we were offering the synaxis, that a word of
the psalm escaped you? Do you not know that you stood in the presence of
God and were speaking to God?’ On one occasion the elder came out
during the night and found me sleeping in the forecourt of the cell. The
elder stood lamenting over me and weeping, saying: ‘Where now is the
logismos of this fellow, that he sleeps like this without a care?’”
N.147
A brother visited a highly experienced elder and said to him: “I am sick of
heart.” “Stay in your cell,” the elder said to him, “and God will give you relief.”
N.148/4.64
A quantity* of new wine was brought to The Cells so a cup could be given to
the brethren. When one of the brothers climbed up onto the dome to escape,
the dome collapsed. Running out at the crash, they found him sprawled on
ἐγένετο. Καὶ προσελάβετο αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς λέγων· Ἄφετε τὸν υἱόν μου,
καλὸν ἔργον ἐποίησεν, καὶ ζῇ Κύριος, οὐ μὴ οἰκοδομηθῇ ὁ θόλος οὗτος ἐν
τοῖς χρόνοις μου, ἵνα μάθῃ ἡ οἰκουμένη ὅτι διὰ ποτήριον οἴνου [f. 192va]
ἔπεσεν ὁ θόλος εἰς τὰ Κελλία.
149. Παρέβαλέ τις τῶν γερόντων ἑτέρῳ γέροντι καὶ εἶπεν τῷ μαθητῇ
αὐτοῦ· Ποίησον ἡμῖν μικρὸν φακόν, καὶ ἐποίησεν, καὶ βρέξον ἡμῖν ἄρτους,
καὶ ἔβρεξεν. Καὶ ἔμειναν ἕως ἄλλης ἡμέρας ἕως ὥρας ἕκτης λαλοῦντες περὶ
πνευματικῶν. Καὶ λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ πάλιν· Ποίησον ἡμῖν μικρὸν
φακόν, τέκνον. Καὶ λέγει· Ἀπ’ ἐχθὲς ἐποίησα. Καὶ οὕτως ἔφαγον.
150. Ἄλλος τις γέρων παρέβαλέ τινι τῶν πατέρων. Ὁ δὲ ἑψήσας ὀλίγον
φακόν, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ποιήσωμεν μικρὰν σύναξιν, καὶ ἐτέλεσεν ὁ εἷς ὅλον τὸ
Ψαλτήριον, καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἀπεστήθισε τοὺς μεγάλους δύο Προφήτας. Καὶ
πρωΐας γενομένης, ἀνεχώρησεν ὁ παραβαλὼν γέρων καὶ τῆς τροφῆς
[f. 192vb] ἐπελάθοντο.1
151. Ἠσθένησέ τις τῶν γερόντων καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος δέξασθαι τροφὴν ἐπὶ
πολλὰς ἡμέρας, παρεκαλεῖτο ὑπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου μαθητοῦ ὡς γενέσθαι αὐτῷ
μικρὸν λακέντιν. Ἀπελθὼν δέ, ἐποίησε καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν, ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ
ἀγγεῖον κρεμάμενον ἔχον μικρὸν μέλι, καὶ ἕτερον ἀγγεῖον ἔχον ἔλαιον ἀπὸ
λινοσπέρμου, καὶ ἦν ὄζον πρὸ χρόνου μένονεἰς2 λύχνον. Καὶ ἔλαθε τὸν
ἀδελφόν, καὶ ἀντὶ μέλιτος ἔβαλεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ βρῶμα τοῦ γέροντος.
Γευσάμενος δὲ ὁ γέρων, οὐδὲν ἐλάλησεν ἀλλὰ σιωπῶν ἔφαγεν. Ἠνάγκασε
δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ δεύτερον φαγεῖν καὶ βιασάμενος ἔφαγεν. Ἔδωκε δὲ αὐτῷ
καὶ τὸ τρίτον. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελε φαγεῖν λέγων· Φύσει οὐ δύναμαι [f. 193ra]
φαγεῖν, τέκνον. Ὁ δὲ ὡς προθυμούμενος αὐτὸν λέγει· Καλόν ἐστιν, ἀββᾶ,
ἰδοὺ κἀγὼ τρώγω μετὰ σοῦ. Γευσάμενος δὲ καὶ μαθὼν ὃ ἐποίησεν, ἔπεσεν
ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ λέγων· Οὐαί μοι, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι ἀπέκτεινά σε καὶ σὺ τὴν
ἁμαρτίαν ἔθηκας ἐπ’ ἐμὲ ὅτι οὐκ ἐλάλησας. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον, μὴ
θλιβῇς· εἰ ἤθελεν ὁ Θεὸς ἵνα φάγω μέλι, μέλι εἶχες βαλεῖν.
1
ἐπελάθοντο C] ἐπελάθετο S 2
εἰς] τὸν add S
N.149–51 103
the ground; they began to scold him saying: “Show off! It served you right!”
But the abba took his side, saying: “Leave my son alone: he has done a good
thing. As the Lord lives, that dome will not be rebuilt in my time, so that the
world may know that the dome fell at The Cells on account of a cup of wine.”
* saϊtês, approximately nine litres.
N.149/4.69
One of the elders visited another elder and he said to his disciple: “Prepare a
few lentils for us” – this he did – “and moisten some bread for us” – so he
moistened [it]. They went on talking about spiritual matters until the sixth
hour of the next day, then the elder said to his disciple again: “Prepare a few
lentils for us, my son”, and he said: “I did it yesterday”, and thus they ate.
N.150/4.70
Another elder visited one of the fathers; he cooked a few lentils and said to
the visitor: “Let us offer a short synaxis.” The one recited the entire Psalter
then the brother repeated from memory the two great prophets.* The
visiting elder departed when dawn broke; they forgot about the food.
* Presumably Isaiah (66 chapters) and Jeremiah (52 chapters).
N.151/4.72
One of the elders fell sick and, not being able to take any food for many
days, he was implored by his own disciple that a little treat* might be
[prepared] for him. [The disciple] went and prepared it then brought it for
him to eat. There was a jar containing a little honey hanging there and
another jar containing linseed oil that smelled rancid – for the lamp.
Without noticing it, the brother put some of this on the elder’s food
instead of honey. The elder said nothing when he tasted it but ate it in
silence. [The brother] obliged him to eat a second time and, under duress,
he did so, but when he gave him a third [serving] he refused to eat. “I really
cannot eat, my son”, he said. Trying to encourage him, the brother said: “It
is good, abba; look, I too will eat with you.” When he had he tasted it and
realised what he had done, he fell on his face saying: “What a wretch I am,
abba, for I [could] have killed you, and you would have laid this sin on me
by not speaking out.” “Do not torment yourself my son,” said the elder,
“if God had wanted me to eat honey, honey you would have put on it.”
* lakentis, meaning unsure.
152. Διηγήσαντο περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ἐπεθύμησε πότε συκίδιν, ὅπερ
λαβὼν ἐκρέμασε πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἡττηθεὶς τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ
μετενόει δαμάζων ἑαυτὸν ὅτι κἂν ὅλως ἐπεθύμησεν.
153. Ἀδελφός τις ἀπῆλθεν ἐπισκέψασθαι τὴν ἰδίαν ἀδελφὴν ἐν μονασ-

τηρίῳ ἀσθενοῦσαν, ἦν δὲ πιστοτάτη, καὶ [f. 193rb] μὴ καταδεχομένη ἰδεῖν
ἄνδρα, μηδὲ πάλιν τὸν ἴδιον ἀδελφὸν προφάσει αὐτῆς εἰς μέσον γυναικῶν
εἰσελθεῖν, ἐδήλωσεν οὖν λέγουσα αὐτῷ· Πορεύου, ἀδελφέ, εὐχόμενος ὑπὲρ
ἐμοῦ, καὶ χάριτι Χριστοῦ, βλέπω σε ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐράνων.
154. Μοναχὸς ὑπαντήσας κανονικαῖς κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ὑπεχώρησεν ἐκ

τῆς ὁδοῦ. Εἶπεν δὲ ἡ ἡγουμένη πρὸς αὐτόν· Εἰ ᾖς τέλειος μοναχός, ἡμῖν ὡς
γυναιξὶν οὐκ ἂν1 προσέσχες.
155. Ἀδελφὸς εἰς τὰ Κελλία ἤνεγκε τὰ ψωμία ἑαυτοῦ2 νεαρά, καὶ ἐκάλεσε
μίαν τράπεζαν γερόντων, καὶ ὡς ἔφαγεν ἕκαστος πρὸς δυὸ ψωμία, ἐπαύ-
σατο.3 Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς εἰδὼς τὸν πόνον τῆς ἀσκήσεως αὐτῶν, διέβαλε4
μετάνοιαν λέγων [f. 193va]· Διὰ τὸν Κύριον, φάγετε σήμερον ἕως οὗ
χορτασθῆτε. Καὶ ἔφαγον πρὸς ἄλλα δέκα παξαμάτια· ἰδοὺ οὖν παρὰ
πόσον τῆς χρείας ἤσθιον οἱ ἀληθινοὶ ἀσκηταί.
156. Ἐκακώθη τις γέρων ἀσθενείᾳ μεγάλῃ ὥστε τὰ ἐντὸς αὐτοῦ αἷμα
πολὺ ἐκβάλλειν. Εὐκαίρησε δέ τινι τῶν ἀδελφῶν μυξάρια ξηρά, καὶ ποιή-
σας ἀθῆραν, ἔβαλεν αὐτὰ κάτω, καὶ ἤνεγκε τῷ γέροντι, καὶ παρεκάλει
αὐτὸν γεύσασθαι λέγων· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, φάγε, μήποτε καὶ συμφέρει.
Ἀτενίσας δὲ αὐτῷ ἐπιπολὺ ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Ἐπ’ ἀληθείας, ἤθελον ἵνα ἄφηκέ
1
ἡμῖν ὡς γυναιξὶν οὐκ ἂν] οὐκ ἂν ἡμῖν ὡς γυναιξὶ trsp S 2
ἑαυτοῦ C] αὐτοῦ S
3
ἐπαύσατο C] ἐπαύσαντο S 4
διέβαλε C] ἔβαλε S
N.152–6 105
N.152/4.73
They recounted of a certain elder that he once desired a small cucumber.
He took it and hung it up where he could see it. He was not overcome by
the desire, but rather repented, chastening himself for having even had the
desire at all.
N.153/4.74
A brother went to visit his own sister who was sick in a monastery. She was
an extremely pious lady and so would not consent to see a man or for her
own brother to come among women on her account. She made it clear to
him saying: “Go on your way, brother, praying for me and, by the grace of
Christ, I shall see you in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
N.154/4.75
A monk who encountered some nuns on the road withdrew from the road.
Their leader said to him: “If you were a perfect monk you would not have
noticed that we are women.”
N.155/4.77
A brother at The Cells brought his own fresh loaves and invited a table-full
of elders, each of whom stopped when he had eaten two loaves. Recognis-
ing the constraint of their ascetic discipline, the brother prostrated himself
saying: “For the sake of the Lord, eat until you are full today”, and they ate
another ten dried loaves.* See how much beyond what they needed true
ascetics would eat!
* paxamatia, which is dried-out bread (hardtack), not psômia, as above: this
apophthegm is puzzling. It could be a demonstration of the amount much less
they normally ate in their ascetic practice.
N.156/4.78
An elder was afflicted with a grave sickness resulting in profuse internal
bleeding. Fortunately one of the brethren happened to have some prunes;
he made an infusion, put them in it and brought that to the elder. He
entreated him to partake of it, saying: “Of your charity, consume it for it
might do you some good.” The elder stared at him for some time and then
με ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ ταύτῃ ἄλλα τριάκοντα ἔτη. Καὶ οὐ κατεδέξατο ὁ
γέρων ἐν τοιαύτῃ ἀσθενείᾳ, κἂν μικρὰν ἀθῆραν φαγεῖν, καὶ λα[f. 193vb]βὼν ὁ
ἀδελφὸς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ κελλίον.
157. Ἄλλος γέρων ἐκάθητο εἰς ἔρημον μακράν. Συνέβη δὲ ἀδελφῷ1

παραβαλεῖν αὐτῷ, καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ἀσθενοῦντα, καὶ λαβών, ἔνιψεν αὐτόν,
καὶ ἐξ ὧν ἤνεγκε χρειῶν ἐποίησε μικρὸν ἑψητόν, καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν.
Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ γέρων, εἶπεν·2 Φύσει, ἀδελφέ, ἐληθάργησα3 ὅτι εἶχον οἱ
ἄνθρωποι τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν ταύτην. Ἤνεγκε δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ποτήριον οἴνου,
καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτό, ἔκλαυσε λέγων· Ὅτι οὐ προσεδόκησα ἕως θανάτου πιεῖν
οἶνον.
158. Ἤσκησε γέρων τοῦ μὴ πιεῖν ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα, καὶ εἴποτε

ἐγένετο καῦμα, ἔπλυνε τὸ βαυκάλιον καὶ ἐγέμιζεν αὐτὸ ὕδατος, καὶ
ἐκρέμνα αὐτὸ ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπερωτηθεὶς παρὰ ἀδελφοῦ [f. 194ra]
δι’ ἧν αἰτίαν τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀπεκρίθη· Ἵνα μετὰ τοῦ διψᾶν με πλέον κοπιῶ,
καὶ πλείονα μισθὸν λαμβάνω παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
159. Ἀδελφὸς ἦν ὁδεύων μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας μητρὸς γραΐδος τυγχανούσης,

καὶ ὡς ἦλθον ἐπὶ ποταμόν, οὐκ ἠδυνήθη ἡ γραῦς περᾶσαι, καὶ λαβὼν
ὁ υἱὸς αὐτῆς4 τὸ μαφόριον αὐτοῦ περιείλησε τὰς χεῖρας ἑαυτοῦ5 ἵνα
μὴ ἐγγίσῃ6 τὸ σῶμα τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὕτως βαστάσας αὐτὴν
ἀπήνεγκεν εἰς τὸ πέραν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ· Τέκνον, διατί
ἐτύλιξας7 τὰς χεῖράς σου; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ὅτι τὸ σῶμα τῆς γυναικὸς πῦρ ἐστιν,
καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἔρχεται μνήμη ἄλλων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὕτως8 ἐποίησα.
160. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων· Οἶδα ἀδελφὸν εἰς τὰ Κελλία [f. 194rb]
νηστεύσαντα9 τὴν ἑβδομάδα τοῦ πάσχα, καὶ ὡς συνήχθη ὀψέ, ἔφυγεν ἵνα
μὴ φάγῃ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ μικρὰ σεῦτλα ἐποίησεν ἐκζεστὰ καὶ ἔφαγε
χωρὶς ἄρτου.
1
ἀδελφῷ C] ἀδελφὸν S 2
εἶπεν om S
3
ἐληθάργησα S] ἐλιθάργησα C (the verb is ληθαργέω) 4
αὐτῆς S] αὐτοῦ C
5
ἑαυτοῦ C] αὐτοῦ S 6
ἐγγίσῃ C] ἐγγίσωσι S
7
ἐτύλιξας S] ἐτύληξας C (the verb is τυλίττω/-σσω) 8
οὕτως omS
9
νηστεύσαντα] ὅλην add S
N.157–60 107
said: “The truth is that I wanted God to leave me in this sickness for
another thirty years” and, gravely sick though he was, he would not even
consent to take a sip of the infusion. The brother took it up and departed
to his own cell.
N.157/4.79
Another elder was living in the remote desert and a brother who happened
to visit him found him ill. Taking care of him, he washed him and,
cooking a little from the provisions he had brought, he brought it to
him to eat. In response the elder said: “I had actually forgotten, brother,
that men have such comfort.” He brought him a cup of wine too; the elder
wept when he saw that, saying: “I did not expect to drink wine until the
day I died.”
N.158/4.82
An elder disciplined himself not to drink for forty days. If there was ever
hot weather he would rinse out his amphora, fill it with water and hang it
in front of himself. When he was asked by a brother why he was doing
this, he said: “It is so that I am the more fatigued by thirst and receive a
greater reward from God.”
N.159/4.83
A brother was travelling with his own mother who happened to be elderly.
When they came to a river the old woman was unable to get across. Taking
his stole, her son wound it around his own hands so he would not come
into contact with his mother’s body. Lifting her in that way, he carried her
over to the other side. “Why did you wrap your hands, my son?” his
mother said to him. “A woman’s body is fire,” he said, “and from this
comes the recollection of others. That is why I acted like that.”
N.160/4.84
One of the fathers said: “I know a brother at The Cells who fasted
throughout the week of Easter and then ran away when they gathered
together in the evening in order not to eat in the church. He boiled a few
beets and ate them without bread.”
161.1 Ἀπῆλθεν ποτὲ ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῆς Σκήτεως πρὸς τὸν μακάριον
Θεόφιλον τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ ὡς ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς
Σκῆτιν, ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀδελφοί· Πῶς ἡ πόλις; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·
Φύσει, ἀδελφοί, ἐγὼ πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπου οὐκ εἶδον εἰ μὴ μόνον τοῦ
ἀρχιεπισκόπου. Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες, ἐταράχθησαν λέγοντες· Ἆρα
ἐχαώθησαν, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐνίκησέ με ὁ λογισμὸς
τοῦ ἰδεῖν τινά. Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν καὶ ἐστηρίχθησαν ἀπὸ τοῦ λό
[f. 194va]γου αὐτοῦ,2 ἵνα φυλάττωσιν ἀπὸ μετεωρισμοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς3
αὐτῶν.
162.4 Εἰσῆλθον ποτὲ πατέρες εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν κληθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ

μακαρίου Θεοφίλου τοῦ ἀρχιεπισκόπου, ἵνα ποιήσωσιν εὐχὴν καὶ καθελῇ
τὰ ἱερά. καὶ ἐσθιόντων αὐτῶν μετ’ αὐτοῦ, παρετέθη κρέας μόσχιον, καὶ
ἤσθιον μηδὲν διακρινόμενοι. Καὶ λαβὼν ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος ἓν κοπάδιν,
ἔδωκεν τῷ ἔγγιστα αὐτοῦ γέροντι λέγων· Ἰδοὺ τοῦτο καλὸν κοπάδιν
ἐστίν, φάγε, ἀββᾶ. Οἱ δὲ ἀποκριθέντες εἶπoν·5 Ἡμεῖς ἕως ἄρτι λάχανα
ἠσθίομεν· εἰ δὲ κρέα ἐστίν, ἡμεῖς οὐ τρώγωμεν, καὶ οὐκέτι προσέθετο εἷς ἐξ
αὐτῶν τοῦ γεύσασθαι αὐτοῦ.
Πρὸς τὸν ἐκ τῆς πορνεί[f. 194vb]ας ἐπανιστάμενον ἡμῖν πόλεμον

163. Ἀδελφός τις ἐπολεμήθη εἰς πορνείαν, καὶ ἦν ὁ πόλεμος ὡς πῦρ
καιόμενον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἠγωνίζετο
μηδὲ συγκαταβῆναι τῷ λογισμῷ. Καὶ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον, ἔφυγεν ὁ
πόλεμος μηδὲν ἰσχύσας διὰ τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ εὐθέως φῶς6
ἦλθεν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ.
164. Ἀδελφὸς ἄλλος ἐπολεμήθη εἰς πορνείαν καὶ ἀναστὰς νυκτός,

ἀπῆλθε πρός τινα γέροντα καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸν λογισμόν, καὶ παρεκάλεσεν
αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἰδοὺ πάλιν
ὁ πόλεμος ἐπετέθη7 αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ πάλιν ἀπῆλθε πρὸς τὸν γέ[f. 195ra]ροντα.
ἐποίησε δὲ οὕτως πολλάκις, ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐκ ἐλύπησεν αὐτόν, ἀλλ’ ἐλάλει
αὐτῷ τὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν, καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ· Μὴ παραχωρήσῃς, ἀλλὰ
μᾶλλον ἔρχου καθότι πολεμεῖ σοι ὁ δαίμων καὶ ἔλεγχε αὐτὸν· καὶ οὕτως
ἐλεγχόμενος ὑποχωρεῖ. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀηδίζει τὸν δαίμονα τῆς πορνείας ὡς τὸ
1
N.161 is placed after N.148 in S 2
λόγου αὐτοῦ C] λογισμοῦ αὐτῶν S
3
ὀφθαλμοὺς S] ἀδελφοὺς C 4
Ν.162 is placed after N.154 in S 5
εἶπον S] εἶπαν C
6
φῶς om S] ἀνάπαυσις APsys 7
ἐπετέθη S] ἐπετέλη C
N.161–4 109
N.161/4.66
One day the priest of Scete went to see the blessed Theophilos, archbishop
of Alexandria. On his return to Scete the brethren asked him: “How are
things in the city?” “Actually, brothers,” he replied, “I did not see any
man’s face other than the archbishop’s.” They were troubled on hearing
this, saying: “Were they destroyed then, abba?” “Not at all”, he replied;
“but the logismos to see anyone did not conquer me.” They who heard were
amazed; they were strengthened by his report to guard against the
wandering of their eyes.
N.162/4.76
Some fathers once went into Alexandria at the invitation of Archbishop,
the blessed Theophilos, to offer prayer and tear down the [pagan] temples.
As they were eating with him, veal was set on the table and they ate some
without discriminating. Taking a slice, the archbishop gave it to the elder
nearest to him saying: “See, this is a good slice; eat it, abba.” The [fathers],
however, replied: “We have only been eating vegetables until now; if it is
flesh, we are not eating it”, and not one of them went on eating it.
O N T H E B A T T L E T H A T RI S E S A G A I N S T US F R O M P O R N E I A
N.163/5.15
A brother was embattled by porneia and the battle was like fire burning in
his heart day and night. The brother put up a strong resistance not to
descend to [the level of] the logismos. After a considerable time, the warfare,
not being strong enough to accomplish anything because of the patient
endurance of the brother, went away and immediately there came light
into his heart.
N.164/5.16
Another brother was embattled by porneia. Getting up in the night, he
went to an elder and told him of his logismos. The elder comforted him and
he went away to his cell reassured. But here the warfare assailed him again,
and again he went to the elder. He did this many times, but the elder did
not distress him; he would speak beneficial words to him and say to him:
“Do not give an inch, but rather come [here] whenever the demon does
ἀποκαλύπτειν τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐδὲν χαροποιεῖ αὐτόν, ὡς τὸ κρύπ-
τειν τοὺς λογισμοὺς αὐτοῦ.
165. Ἐπολεμήθη ἀδελφὸς εἰς πορνείαν, καὶ ἠγωνίσατο ἐπιτείνων τὴν

ἄσκησιν, καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν τηρῶν τοῦ μὴ συγκαταβῆναι τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ.
Ὕστερον ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἐνεφάνισε τὸ πρᾶγμα παντὶ τῷ πλήθει
καὶ ἐδόθη ἐντολή, καὶ πάντες ἐπόνησαν πε[f. 195rb]ρὶ αὐτοῦ ἑβδομάδα
εὐχόμενοι τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἐπαύσατο ὁ πόλεμος.
166. Πρὸς τὸν λογισμὸν τῆς πορνείας, εἶπέν τις τῶν γερόντων ἐρημίτης·
Κοιμώμενος θέλεις σωθῆναι; Ὕπαγε κάμε, ὕπαγε πόνεσον, ὕπαγε ζήτησον
καὶ εὑρίσκεις, γρηγόρησον καὶ κροῦσον, καὶ ἀνοίγεταί σοι. εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ
κοσμῷ παμμαχάριοι καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πολλὰ τύπτεσθαι καὶ ἑστάναι καὶ
εὐτονεῖν, στεφανοῦνται. Πολλάκις δὲ καὶ εἷς ἀπὸ δύο τυπτόμενος, εὐτο-
νήσας ταῖς πληγαῖς, τοὺς τύπτοντας ἐνίκησεν. Εἶδες εὐτονία πόση διὰ τὸν
τῆς σαρκὸς πορισμόν; Καὶ σὺ οὖν στῆθι καὶ εὐτόνησον καὶ ὁ Θεὸς πολεμεῖ
ὑπὲρ σοῦ τὸν ἐχθρόν.
167. Πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν λογισμὸν εἴρηκεν ἄλλος γέρων· Γενοῦ [f. 195va] ὡς
παριὼν ἐν ἀγορᾷ διὰ καπηλείου, καὶ ὀσφραινόμενος ἑψήματος ἢ παρόπ-
του τινός. Ὁ θέλων εἰσῆλθε καὶ ἔφαγεν, ὁ δὲ μὴ θέλων ὠσφράνθη μόνον
παριὼν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Οὕτως καὶ σύ, τίναξον ἀπὸ σοῦ τὴν δυσωδίαν,
ἔγειρε καὶ εὖξαι λέγων· Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ, βοήθει μοι. Τοῦτο1 ποίει καὶ ἐπ’
ἄλλοις λογισμοῖς· οὐ γὰρ ἐκριζωταὶ ἐσμὲν τῶν παθῶν, ἀλλ’ ἀνταγωνισταί.
168. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἐὰν ἐμπέσῃ μοναχὸς εἰς πειρ-
ασμόν, θλίβεται ὡς ἀπὸ προκοπῆς εἰς ἐλάττωσιν ἐλθών, καὶ κοπιᾷ ἕως οὗ
ἀναστῇ. Ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ κόσμου ἐρχόμενος, ὡς ἀρχὴν βάλλων προκόπτει. Καὶ
ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Μοναχὸς ὁ εἰς πειρασμὸν ἐμ[f. 195vb]πίπτων,
ὥσπερ οἰκία πεσοῦσα ἐστίν, καὶ ἐὰν ὅλως νήφῃ2 τῷ λογισμῷ αὐτοῦ
οἰκοδομῆσαι τὴν πεσοῦσαν οἰκίαν, πολλὰς ὕλας εὑρίσκει· τὰ θεμέλια,
τοὺς λίθους, τὰ ξύλα, καὶ δύναται ταχέως προκόψαι ὑπὲρ τὸν μὴ ὀρύξ-
αντα καὶ βαλόντα θεμέλιον καὶ μηδὲν ἔχοντα προχρείαν, ἀλλ’ ἐπ’ ἐλπίδι
1
Τοῦτο] δὲ add S 2
νήφῃ] corr., νίψῃ SC
N.165–8 111
battle with you and denounce him, for he retreats when denounced like
that. Nothing disgusts the demon of porneia like exposing his deeds, while
nothing pleases him like concealing his logismoi.”
N.165/15.17
A brother was embattled by porneia. He struggled, intensifying his self-
discipline, keeping the logismos in check so as not to give in to the desire.
Finally, he went to church and revealed the matter to the entire company.
A command was given and, for a whole week, great effort was made by all
in prayer to God on his behalf – and the battle was put to rest.
N.166/5.18
On the logismos of porneia one of the elders who was a hermit said: “Do
you want to be saved lying down? Go slog; go labour, go ‘seek and ye shall
find’; be vigilant and ‘knock and it shall be opened unto you’ [Lk 11:9]. In
the world there are all-in wrestlers and it is from receiving many blows,
standing their ground and not giving in that they are crowned. It often
happened that one who was being punched by two [fighters] overcame his
assailants by not giving in to the wounds. Did you see how resistant [they
were], thanks to their physical training? Do you too so stand and endure;
God will fight the enemy on your behalf.”
N.167/5.19
Concerning the same logismos another elder said: “Be like one who, going
through the market, passes an eating-house and smells the soup or a roast.
He who wanted to do so, went in and ate; he who did not want to eat
simply smelled as he was passing by, then went his way. So it is with you;
shake the bad odour off from you then get up and pray, saying: ‘Son of
God, help me.’ Do this in the case of other logismoi too, for we are not
eradicators, but adversaries, of the passions.”
N.168/5.22
A brother questioned an elder: “If a monk falls into temptation, he is
distressed as one going from making progress to falling back; and he
labours away until he picks himself up. But a person coming from the
world makes progress because he is starting at the beginning.” In answer to
βαλόντα εἴπως ἆρα τελειώσει. Οὕτως οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς μοναχικῆς ἐργασίας ·
ἐὰν ἐμπέσῃ εἰς πειρασμὸν καὶ ἐπιστρέψῃ ἔχει πολλὴν προχρείαν· τὴν
μελέτην, τὴν ψαλμωδίαν, καὶ τὸ ἐργόχειρον· ἅτινά ἐστι τὰ θεμέλια. Ὁ δὲ
ἀρχάριος, ἐν ὅσῳ ταῦτα μανθάνει, ἔρχῃ σὺ εἰς τὴν πρώτην τάξιν.
169. Ἀδελφός τις ὀχλούμενος ὑπὸ πορνείας, παρέβαλε γέροντι μεγάλῳ,

καὶ παρε[f. 196ra]κάλει αὐτὸν λέγων· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, εὔχου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ
ὅτι ὀχλοῦμαι ὑπὸ πορνείας. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐδεήθη τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ.
Πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον εἶπεν
ὁμοίως, καὶ ὁ γέρων οὐκ ἠμέλησε παρακαλῶν τὸν Θεὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ1
καὶ λέγων· Κύριε, ἀποκάλυψόν μοι τὸ κάθισμα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τούτου, καὶ
πόθεν ἡ ἐνέργεια, ὅτι παρεκάλεσά σε, καὶ οὐχ εὗρεν ἀνάπαυσιν. Καὶ
ἀπεκάλυψεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς τὰ κατ’ αὐτόν, καὶ εἶδεν αὐτὸν καθεζόμενον
καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πορνείας ἐγγὺς αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἄγγελος ἵστατο πρὸς
βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ πεμφθείς, καὶ ὠργίζετο τῷ ἀδελφῷ ὅτι μὴ ἐπέρριπτεν
ἑαυτὸν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν ἀλλ’ ἡδόμενος [f. 196rb] τοῖς λογισμοῖς, ὅλον ἑαυτοῦ
τὸν νοῦν2 προεδίδου τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ. Καὶ ἔγνω ὁ γέρων ὅτι ἡ αἰτία ἐκ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ ἐστίν, καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ συγκατατιθέμενος τῷ
λογισμῷ σου· καὶ ἐδίδαξεν αὐτὸν πῶς ἀντιστῇ τοῖς λογισμοῖς, καὶ ἀνα-
νήψας ὁ ἀδελφὸς διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ διδαχῆς τοῦ γέροντος, εὗρεν
ἀνάπαυσιν.
170. Ἐπολεμήθη ποτὲ μαθητὴς μεγάλου γέροντος εἰς πορνείαν. Ὁ δὲ

γέρων βλέπων αὐτὸν κοπιῶντα,3 λέγει αὐτῷ· Θέλεις παρακαλῶ τὸν Θεὸν
καὶ κουφίζει τὸν πόλεμον ἀπὸ σοῦ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Θεωρῶ, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι4 κοπιῶ,
ἀλλὰ βλέπω ἐκ τοῦ κόπου καρπὸν εἰς ἐμέ, τοῦτο δὲ παρακάλεσον τὸν
Θεόν, ἵνα μοι δῷ ὑπομονὴν τοῦ ὑπε[f. 196va]νεγκεῖν.Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς
αὐτοῦ· Σήμερον ἔγνων, ὅτι ἐν προκοπῇ εἶ καὶ ὑπερέβης με.
1
τὸν Θεὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ C] ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν trsp S 2
ἑαυτοῦ τὸν νοῦν C]ἑαυτὸν S
3
κοπιῶντα C] σιωπῶντα S 4
ὅτι] εἰ καὶ add S
N.169–70 113
this the elder said: “A monk who falls into temptation is like a collapsed
house. If he concentrates his entire logismos on rebuilding the collapsed
house, he will find plenty of materials: stuff for the foundations, stones and
wood. And he can make more rapid progress than a person who has
neither excavated nor laid a foundation and has nothing to hand, but
starts in the hope that he will finish. So it is with the monastic endeavour.
If one falls into temptation but returns, he has much to hand: meditation,
psalm-singing and manual labour – which are the foundations. Whereas,
while the novice is learning these things, you are coming to [your] original
status.”
N.169/5.23
A brother troubled by porneia visited a great elder and besought him
saying: “Of your charity, pray for me for I am troubled by porneia.” The
elder interceded with God on his behalf. He came to the elder again, a
second time, and said the same as before; the elder likewise spared no
effort, calling upon God for him, saying: “Lord, reveal the situation of this
brother to me and where the impulse [to porneia] is coming from, for
I called upon you and he did not find repose.” God revealed the brother’s
case to him; he saw him sitting with the spirit of porneia close by him and
an angel stood there, sent to help him. The angel was angry with the
brother for not casting himself upon God but enjoying the logismoi and
totally abandoning his mind to the impulse. Then the elder realised that
the cause came from the brother himself and he told him: “You are the one
conniving with your logismos” and he taught him how to withstand the
logismoi. Brought to his senses by the teaching and prayers of the elder, the
brother found repose.
N.170/5.24
The disciple of a great elder was once embattled towards porneia. Perceiv-
ing that he was labouring, the elder said to him: “Do you want me to
beseech God to assuage the battle from you?” But he said: “I am aware that
I am labouring, abba, but I see some fruit for me from my labour. Do you
rather beseech this of God: that he give me the endurance to withstand.”
His abba said to him: “Today I realised that you are progressing – and have
overtaken me.”
171. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι κατέβη εἰς Σκῆτιν καὶ εἶχεν υἱὸν
θηλάζοντα, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει τί ἐστι γυνή. Ὡς οὖν γέγονεν ἀνήρ, ἐδείκνυον
αὐτῷ οἱ δαίμονες1 τὰ σχήματα τῶν γυναικῶν, καὶ ἀνήγγειλε τῷ πατρὶ
αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐθαύμασεν. Ποτὲ οὖν ἀναβὰς μετὰ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς
Αἴγυπτον καὶ2 ἰδὼν τὰς γυναῖκας, λέγει τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ·Ἀββᾶ, οὗτοί
εἰσιν οἱ ἐρχόμενοι πρός με3 νυκτὸς εἰς Σκῆτιν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ
αὐτοῦ· Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ μοναχοὶ τῶν κωμῶν, τέκνον, ἄλλο δὲ σχῆμα ἔχουσιν
οὗτοι, καὶ οἱ ἐρημῖται ἄλλο. Καὶ ἐθαύμασεν ὁ γέρων πῶς καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
ἔδειξαν αὐτῷ οἱ δαί[f. 196vb]μονες τὰς φαντασίας τῶν γυναικῶν, καὶ
εὐθέως ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτῶν.
172. Ἀδελφός τις ἦν ἀγωνιστὴς ἐν Σκήτει,4 καὶ ὑπέβαλεν αὐτῷ ὁ

ἐχθρὸς5 μνήμην γυναικός τινος εὐμορφοτάτης, καὶ ἔθλιβεν αὐτὸν σφόδρα.
Καὶ κατ’ οἰκονομίαν, ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς κατελθὼν ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου εἰς Σκῆτιν,
καὶ λαλούντων αὐτῶν εἶπεν ὅτι ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ δεῖνος ἀπέθανεν. Ἦν δὲ αὕτη,
εἰς ἧν ἐπολεμεῖτο ὁ ἀγωνιστής. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας λαβὼν τὸν λεβήτωνα αὐτοῦ
νυκτός, καὶ6 ἀναβάς, ἤνοιξεν αὐτῆς τὸν τάφον, καὶ ἐξέμαξε τοὺς ἰχῶρας
αὐτῆς τῷ λεβήτωνι αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν ἔχων αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ κελλίον
αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐτίθει τὴν δυσωδίαν ἐκείνην ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπολέμει τῷ
λογισμῷ λέ[f. 197ra]γων· Ἰδοὺ ἡ ἐπιθυμία σου ἣν ἐζήτεις, ἔχεις αὐτήν,
χόρτασον σεαυτόν. Καὶ οὕτως ἐν τῇ δυσωδίᾳἐβασάνιζεν ἑαυτόν, ἕως οὗ
ἐπαύσατο ὁ πόλεμος ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
173. Ἐξῆλθε ποτέ τις ἐν Σκήτει θέλων γενέσθαι μοναχός, ἔχων καὶ τὸν
υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἀπογαλακτισθέντα μεθ’ ἑαυτοῦ. Καὶ ὡς ἐγένετο νεώτερος,
ἤρξαντο οἱ πόλεμοι ἐπιτίθεσθαι αὐτῷ, καὶ εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· Ὑπάγω
εἰς τὸν κόσμον· οὐ γὰρ ἰσχύω τὸν πόλεμον ὑπενεγκεῖν. Ὁ δὲ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ
ἐπέμενε παρακαλῶν αὐτόν. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει ὁ νεώτερος· Ἀββᾶ, οὐκ ἰσχύω,
ἔασόν με ἀπελθεῖν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· Ἄκουσόν μου, τέκνον, ἔτι
τὸ ἅπαξ τοῦτο, καὶ λάβε σεαυτῷ τεσσαράκοντα ζεύγη ἄρτων, καὶ θαλλία
ἡμερῶν τεσσα[f. 197rb]ράκοντα καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον καὶ
μεῖνον ἐκεῖ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας, καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα γενέσθω.
Ὑπήκουσε δὲ τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀναστάς, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ
ἔμεινε κοπιῶν ἐκεῖ καὶ πλέκων τὰ θαλλία ξηρὰ καὶ τὸν ἄρτον ἐσθίων ξηρόν.
Καὶ ἡσύχασεν ἐκεῖ εἴκοσι ἡμέρας, καὶ εἶδεν τὴν ἐνέργειαν ἐρχομένην ἐπ’
αὐτόν. Καὶ ὤφθη ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ ὡς Αἰθιόπισσα δυσωδεστάτη, ὥστε μὴ
1
δαίμονες] νυκτὸς add S 2
καὶ om S 3
πρός με om S
4
ἦν ἀγωνιστὴς ἐν Σκήτει] ἐν Σκήτει ἦν ἀγωνιστὴς trsp S
5
ὁ ἐχθρὸς S in mg] ὁ δαίμων S in text 6
καὶ om S
N.171–3 115
N.171/5.25
They used to say of one elder that he came down to Scete bringing his son,
[a child] not yet weaned who did not know what a woman was. So when
he became a man, the demons showed him the forms of women. This he
reported to his father and was amazed. Once while he was going up to
Egypt with his father, on seeing women, he said to his father: “Abba, those
are the ones who come to me by night at Scete.” “Those are the monks of
the villages, my son,” said his father to him; “they have one form, while the
desert-dwellers have another.” The elder was amazed how even in the
desert the demons showed him visions of women and they immediately
returned to their cell.
N.172/5.26
There was a brother who was fighting the good fight at Scete and the
enemy put him in mind of a certain most beautiful woman and was
seriously afflicting him. Then, providentially, another brother came down
from Egypt to Scete and, as they were speaking together, he said that the
wife of so-and-so had died. It was the very woman on whose account the
combatant was embattled. On hearing this, he took up his levitôn and,
going up [to Egypt] by night, opened her tomb. He mopped up her bodily
fluids with his levitôn and kept it in his cell when he came back. He would
set that stench before him and do battle with his logismos, saying: “Look,
this is the desired one you were seeking; you have her, take your fill!” In
this way he tormented himself with the stench until the battle was stilled
for him.
N.173/5.27
Somebody once came out to Scete wanting to become a monk, bringing
his newly weaned son with him too. When [the child] became a youth the
battles began coming upon him. “I am going to the world,” he said to his
father, “for I do not have the strength to endure the battle.” His father kept
on pleading with him but again the youth said to him: “Abba, I do not
have the strength: let me go!” “Listen to me just once more, my child”, his
father said to him: “Get yourself forty pairs of loaves of bread* and enough
palm fronds for forty days, then go away into the inner desert and stay
there for forty days – and the Lord’s will be done!” He obeyed his father;
he arose and went into the desert and stayed there, labouring away,
δύνασθαι αὐτὸν φέρειν τὴν ὀσμὴν αὐτῆς. Ἐδίωκεν οὖν αὐτήν, καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων γλυκεῖα φαίνομαι, ἀλλὰ
διὰ τὴν ὑπακοήν σου καὶ τὸν κόπον σου, οὐκ ἀφῆκέ με ὁ Θεὸς ἀπατῆσαι1
σε [f. 197va] καὶ ἐνεφάνισέ2 σοι τὴν δυσωδίαν μου. Ὁ δὲ ἀναστὰς καὶ
εὐχαριστήσας τῷ Θεῷ, ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·
Οὐκέτι θέλω ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἀββᾶ, ἑώρακα γὰρ τὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ
τὴν δυσωδίαν αὐτῆς. Ἦν δὲ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ πληροφορηθεὶς περὶ
αὐτοῦ, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Εἰ ἔμεινας τὰς τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας, καὶ
ἐφύλαξας3 τὴν ἐντολήν, εἶχες ἰδεῖν μείζονα θεωρίαν.
174. Ἔλεγον περί τινος τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἀπὸ κόσμου ἦν, καὶ ἐπολε-
μεῖτο εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα. Διηγεῖτο οὖν τοῦτο τοῖς πατράσι, καὶ
εἰδότες ὅτι ἐργάτης ἐστίν, καὶ περισσότερα ποιεῖ ὧν αὐτοὶ4 λέγουσιν,
ἐτίθουν αὐτῷ πολιτείας, ὥστε ἐξασθενῆσαι αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα καὶ μη[f. 197vb]
κέτι δύνασθαι ἀναστῆναι. Κατ’ οἰκονομίαν δὲ Θεοῦ, ἐλθών τις τῶν
πατέρων ξένος παραβαλεῖν εἰς Σκῆτιν, καὶ ἐλθὼν κατὰ τῆς κέλλης αὐτοῦ,
εἶδεν αὐτὴν ἀνεῳγμένην, καὶ παρῆλθε θαυμάζων5 πῶς οὐδεὶς ἐξῆλθεν εἰς
τὴν ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ.6 Ὑποστρέψας οὖν,7 ἔκρουσε λέγων· Μήποτε8 ὁ
ἀδελφὸς ἀσθενεῖ. Καὶ κρούσας, εἰσῆλθε καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν ἐν πολλῇ ἀσθενείᾳ.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἐστιν ὃ ἔχεις, πάτερ; Καὶ διηγήσατο αὐτῷ λέγων· Ἐγὼ
ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου εἰμί, καὶ πολεμεῖ με νῦν ὁ ἐχθρὸς εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ
διηγησάμην τοῖς πατράσι, καὶ ἐπέθηκάν μοι πολιτείας διαφόρους, καὶ
ποιῶν αὐτὰς ἐξησθένησα, καὶ ὁ πόλεμος αὔξει. Ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ
γέρων, ἐλυπήθη καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ [f. 198ra]· Οἱ μὲν πατέρες, ὡς δυνατοί,
καλῶς ἐπέθεντό σοι τὰς πολιτείας, ἐὰν δέ μου ἀκούσῃς τῆς ταπεινώσεως,
ῥίψον ἀπὸ σοῦ ταῦτα, καὶ μεταλάμβανέ σου τὴν μικρὰν τροφὴν εἰς τὸν
καιρὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ ποιῶν τὴν μικράν σου σύναξιν, ἐπίρριψον ἐπὶ Κύριον τὴν
μέριμνάν σου, ἐν γὰρ τοῖς σοῖς πόνοις οὐ δύνασαι περιγενέσθαι τούτου
τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἡμῶν ὡς ἱμάτιόν ἐστιν. Ἐὰν ἐπιμεληθῇς
αὐτοῦ, ἵσταται, ἐὰν δὲ ἀμελήσῃς, σήπεται. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας αὐτοῦ ἐποίησεν
οὕτως, καὶ εἰς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἀπέστη ὁ πόλεμος ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ.
1
ἀπατῆσαι S] ἀπαντῆσαι C 2
ἐνεφάνισέ S] ἐνεφάνισαι C 3
ἐφύλαξας] εἰς τέλος add S
4
αὐτοὶ C] αὐτῷ S 5
παρῆλθε θαυμάζων C] ἐθαύμασε S
6
αὐτοῦ] καὶ εὐθὺς παρῆλθεν ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ add S 7
οὖν om S 8
Μήποτε] καὶ add S
N.174 117
braiding dry palm fronds and eating dry bread. There he was in hêsychia for
twenty days and he saw the [alien] force coming upon him. It appeared
before him as a very foul-smelling Ethiopian woman, so that he could not
bear her stench. He would chase her away and she said to him: “I appear to
be sweet in the hearts of men but, thanks to your obedience and your
labour, God did not permit me to lead you astray and he revealed my evil
smell to you.” He arose, gave thanks to God, returned to his father and
said to him: “I no longer want to go away to the world, abba, for I have
seen the [alien] force and its evil smell.” The father, who had been assured
concerning him, said to him: “If you had stayed the forty days and kept the
commandment, you would have seen a greater vision.”
* Meaning unsure.
N.174/5.45
They used to say of one of the fathers that he was from the world and was
being embattled [by the memory] of his own wife, so he reported this to
the fathers. Aware that he was a willing worker who did even more than
they bade him, they would impose activities on him so that his body was
exhausted and he could no longer stand up. By divine Providence one of
the fathers from elsewhere came to visit Scete. Coming by this man’s cell
he saw that it was open and passed by, amazed that nobody came out to
meet him. On the way back he knocked, saying: “Perhaps the brother is
ill.” When he had knocked, he went in and found the brother gravely ill.
“What is the matter with you, father?” he said to him. The other explained
to him: “I am from the world and now the enemy embattles me with [the
memory] of my wife. I reported this to the fathers and they laid a variety of
activities on me. I exhausted myself performing them – and the battle
intensifies.” Grieved on hearing this, the elder said to him: “Being in a
position of authority, the fathers acted correctly in laying the activities on
you; but if you will listen to my humility, cast them from you. Take a little
food at meal time; offer your little synaxis and ‘cast your burden of care
upon the Lord’ [Ps 54:23]. You cannot get the better of this situation by
your own labours. Our body is like a garment: if you take care of it, it
holds up; but if you neglect it, it wastes away.” When he heard this [the
monk] did as the elder suggested and, within a few days, the battle
retreated from him.
175. Ἀναχωρητής τις ἦν ἐν ὄρει καθήμενος καὶ1 εὐλαβείᾳ προκόπτων2
ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν Ἀντινόου, καὶ πολλοὶ τῷ λόγῳ αὐτοῦ ὠφελοῦντο καὶ τῇ
πράξει. Τοιούτῳ δὲ ὄντι αὐτῷ, ἐφθόνησεν [f. 198rb], ὡς καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς
ἐναρέτοις, ὁ ἐχθρός, καὶ ὑποβάλλει λογισμὸν τοιοῦτον ὡς εὐλαβείας αὐτῷ·
ὅτι οὐκ ὀφείλεις δουλεύεσθαι ἢ διακονεῖσθαι ὑφ’ ἑτέρου, ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον
ἑτέροις ὀφείλων διακονῆσαι· οὐ διακονεῖς, ἀλλά γε, κἂν σεαυτῷ δούλευ-
σον. Τοιγαροῦν ἄπελθε, πώλησόν σου τὰ σπυρίδια3 καὶ ἀγόρασόν σου
τὰς χρείας, καὶ ἀνάστρεφε αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν ἀναχώρησίν σου, καὶ μηδενὶ4
βάρος ἐπιτίθει. Τοῦτο δὲ συνεβούλευσεν ὁ δόλιος, φθονῶν αὐτοῦ5 τῆς
ἡσυχίας καὶ τῆς δεούσης6 σχολῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν
ὠφελείας· πανταχόθεν γὰρ ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐσπούδαζε θηρεύειν αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ ὡς
ἐπ’ ἀγαθῷ τῷ λόγῳ7 πεισθείς, κατέβη ἐκ τοῦ μοναστηρίου αὐτοῦ ὁ ποτὲ
θαυμαζόμενος, ἄπειρος ὢν τῆς πολλῆς πα[f. 198va]νουργίας τοῦ ἐνε-
δρεύοντος, ὁ γνώριμος καὶ περίφημος ὑπὸ τῶν ὁρώντων ἀναχωρητής.
Διὰ πολλοῦ δὲ χρόνου συντυχὼν γυναικί, καὶ ἐξ ἀπροσεξίας σκελισθείς,
ἐλθὼν εἰς ἔρημον τόπον ἀκολουθοῦντος αὐτῷ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, ἔπεσεν παρὰ
ποταμόν. Ἐνθυμηθεὶς δὲ ὅτι ἐπεχάρη ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἐπὶ8 τῇ πτώσει, ἠθέλησεν
ἑαυτὸν ἀπελπίσαι, ὅτιπερ μάλιστα τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ πνεῦμα ἐλύπησε, καὶ
τοὺς ἀγγέλους καὶ τοὺς ἁγίους πατέρας, ὧν πολλοὶ καὶ ἐν πόλεσι τὸν
ἐχθρὸν νενικήκασιν. Οὐδενὶ9 τούτων ὁμοιωθείς, ἐλυπεῖτο σφόδρα, καὶ μὴ
μνησθεὶς ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς χωρηγεῖ δύναμιν τοῖς ἐπ’αὐτὸν γνησίως ἐλπίζουσιν.
Πωρωθεὶς ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ πλημμελήματος θεραπείᾳ, ἠθέλησεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸ ῥεῦ
[f. 198vb]μα τοῦ ποταμοῦ ῥίψαι εἰς θάνατον καὶ τελείαν χαρὰν τοῦ
διαβόλου. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς πολλῆς ὀδύνης τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα
ἠσθένησεν, εἰ μὴ ὕστερον ὁ ἐλεήμων Θεὸς ἐβοήθησεν αὐτῷ μὴ ἀποθανεῖν,
εἰς τελείαν χαρὰν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Ἔσχατον δὲ εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθών, ἐλογίσατο
πλείονα κόπον ἐν κακοπαθείᾳ ἐνδείξασθαι. Πάλιν οὖν ἀνεχώρησεν ἐπὶ τὸ
ἴδιον μοναστήριον, καὶ τὴν θύραν ἀναφράξας, ὡς δεῖ κλαίειν ἐπὶ νεκρῷ,
οὕτως ἔκλαιεν ἱκετεύων τὸν Θεόν. Νηστεύων δὲ καὶ ἀγρυπνῶν μετὰ ἀθυμίας,
ἐλεπτύνθη τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, πληροφορίαν μετανοίας οὔπω σχών. Τῶν δὲ
ἀδελφῶν παραβαλλόντων πρὸς αὐτὸν πολλάκις πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ἑαυτῶν, καὶ
κρουόντων τὴν θύραν,10 αὐτὸς ἔλε[f. 199ra] γεν μὴ δύνασθαι ἀνοίγειν,11
δέδωκα γάρ φησι λόγον, ἕνα ἐνιαυτὸν γνησίως μετανοῆσαι, καὶ ἔλεγεν·
1
καὶ om S 2
εὐλαβείᾳ προκόπτων post Ἀντινόου trsp S
3
σπυρίδια] εἰς τὴν πόλιν add S 4
μηδενὶ S] μηδενὸς C 5
αὐτοῦ C] αὐτῷ S
6
δεούσης S] δεήσεως C 7
τῷ λόγῳ C] λόγῳ S 8
ἐπὶ om S
9
ante Οὐδενὶ S add καὶ
10
πολλάκις πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ἑαυτῶν, καὶ κρουόντων τὴν θύραν] καὶ κρουόντων κατὰ τὸ ἔθος πολλάκις
ὠφελείας χάριν αὐτῷ συντυχεῖν S
11
αὐτὸς ἔλεγεν μὴ δύνασθαι ἀνοίγειν C] μὴ δύνασθαι λέγων οὐκ ἤνοιγε S
N.175 119
N.175/5.46
There was an anchorite living on a mountain in the Antinoe region who
was progressing in piety; many benefited by his word and deed. The
enemy became jealous of one like him (as of all virtuous persons) and
suggested this logismos to him, in the guise of piety: “You ought not to be
served and waited upon by another, but rather ought you to wait on
others. You do not wait on them, but at least serve yourself: so go sell your
baskets, buy what you need and return again to your place of retreat – and
lay a burden on nobody.” The crafty one gave this advice out of jealousy of
his hêsychia, the obligatory attention he paid to God and the benefit he
conferred on many. The enemy endeavoured from every direction to
entrap him. As though he had been convinced by a good suggestion, this
hitherto admired anchorite, famous and renowned in the eyes of all (even
though he had no experience of the great wiliness of the entrapper) came
down from his monastery. Much later he encountered a woman and,
tripped up by his lack of caution, he came to a remote place with the
enemy in tow and fell [into sin] beside the river. At the thought that the
enemy rejoiced in his fall, he was inclined to despair of himself, for he had
certainly grieved the Spirit of God, the angels and the holy fathers, many of
whom had vanquished the enemy, even in cities. He was greatly distressed
by his failure to be like any of those. Forgetting that God supplies strength
to those who truly hope in him and blind to the healing of his default, he
wanted to throw himself to his death in the flowing river – to the utter
delight of the devil. He was so afflicted in his soul that his body became
weak, except that the God of mercy finally came to his aid that he should
not die, to the utter delight of the enemy. When at last he came to his
senses, he resolved to demonstrate greater effort by enduring hardship. He
withdrew to his own monastery again. Sealing the door, he wept as one
must weep for the dead, interceding with God. He wasted away his body,
fasting and keeping vigil with despondency, having as yet no assurance
concerning his repentance. When the brothers often visited him for their
benefit and came knocking at his door, for his part he would say he could
not open, “For I have given my word,” he said, “truly to repent for one
year”, and he would say: “Pray for me.” He was at a loss what to say in his
own defence, not wishing to give offence to those who were listening
because he was held in great honour by them as a great monk. He spent
the entire year in fervent repentance. When Easter Day approached, in the
night of the holy resurrection, he took a new lamp, made it ready and
placed it in a new pot which he covered. From evening he stood in prayer,
εὔξασθε περὶ ἐμοῦ ἐμοῦ, ἠπόρει γὰρ τὸ τί ἀπολογήσασθαι διὰ τὸ μὴ
σκανδαλισθῆναι τοὺς ἀκούοντας, ὅτι ἦν παρ’ αὐτοῖς τίμιος σφόδρα καὶ
μέγας μοναχός· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὅλον τὸν ἐνιαυτόν, ἐκτενῶς μετανοῶν. Περὶ
δὲ τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ Πάσχα, τὴν νύκτα τῆς ἁγίας ἀναστάσεως, λαβὼν
λύχνον καινὸν καὶ σκευάσας, ἔθηκεν ἐν καινῇ χύτρᾳ, καὶ πωμάσας αὐτὴν
ἀφ’ ἑσπέρας εἰς εὐχὴν ἀνέστη λέγων· Ὁ οἰκτίρμων καὶ ἐλεήμων Θεός,
ὁ καὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους θέλων σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν,
πρὸς σὲ κατέφυγον τὸν σωτῆρα τῶν ψυχῶν. Ἐλέησόν με, τὸν πολλά
σε παρα[f. 199rb]πικράναντα εἰς χαρὰν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ νεκρός
εἰμι ὑπακούσας τῷ ἐχθρῷ. Σύ, δέσποτα, καὶ τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς καὶ τοὺς
ἀνελεήμονας ἐλεεῖς καὶ τοὺς πλησίον ἐλεεῖν διδάσκεις· οἴκτειρόν μου τὴν
ταπείνωσιν, παρὰ σοὶ γὰρ ἀδύνατον οὐδέν, ὅτι παρὰ τὸν ᾍδην
διεσκορπίσθη ἡ ψυχή μου· ποίησον ἔλεος ὅτι χρηστὸς εἶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἴδιον
πλάσμα, ὁ μέλλων καὶ τὰ οὐκ ὄντα σώματα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀναστά-
σεως ἐγείρειν. Εἰσάκουσόν μου, Κύριε, ὅτι ἐξέλιπεν τὸ πνεῦμα μου καὶ ἡ
ταλαίπωρός μου ψυχή. Ἐξετάκη δὲ καὶ τὸ σῶμά μου ὅπερ ἐμίανα, καὶ
οὐκέτι ἰσχύω ζῆν τῷ σῷ φόβῳ συνειλημμένος· ἀνθ’ ὧν τεθάῤῥηκα
συγκεχωρῆσθαι τὸ πλημμέλημα τῇ μετανοίᾳ διπλῆν ἔχων τὴν
ἀνελ[f. 199va]πιστίαν ζωοποίησόν με συντριβέντα καὶ τῷ σῷ πυρὶ
πρόσταξον τὸν λύχνον τοῦτον1 ἀναφθῆναι, ὅπως λαβὼν κἀγὼ θάρσος
ἐλέους ἐκ τῶν τῆς συγχωρήσεως οἰκτιρμῶν, τὸν ἐπίλοιπον ὃν ἄν μοι χαρίσῃ
τῆς βιώσεώς μου2 χρόνον τὰς ἐντολάς σου τηρήσω, καὶ τοῦ σοῦ φόβου μὴ
ἀποστῶ, ἀλλὰ γνησίως δουλεύσω σοι καὶ πλεῖον ἢ πρότερον. Καὶ ταῦτα
εἰπὼν ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως μετὰ δακρύων πολλῶν, ἀνέστη ἰδεῖν εἰ
ἥφθη ὁ λύχνος, καὶ ἀνακαλύψας καὶ ἰδὼν ὅτι οὐκ ἀνήφθη, πάλιν πεσὼν ἐπὶ
πρόσωπον τὸν Κύριον παρεκάλει λέγων· Οἶδα, Κύριε, ὅτι ἀγὼν γέγονε τοῦ
στεφανωθῆναί με, καὶ οὐ προσέσχον τοῖς ποσίν μου, ἑλόμενος μᾶλλον τῇ τῆς
σαρκὸς ἡδονῇ [f. 199vb] τῶν ἀσεβῶν τῇ κολάσει ὑπαχθῆναι. φεῖσαι οὖν,
Κύριε, ἰδοὺ γὰρ πάλιν ἐξομολογοῦμαι τῇ σῇ χρηστότητι τὴν ἐμὴν
ἀσχημοσύνην, ἐνώπιον πάντων τῶν σῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ δικαίων, καὶ εἰ μὴ
ὅτι σκάνδαλον ἦν, καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἂν ἐξωμολογησάμην, ὅθεν οἴκτειρόν
με, ἵνα καὶ ἄλλους παιδεύσω. Ναί, Κύριε, ζωοποίησόν με. Καὶ οὕτως
ἐπὶ τρεῖς εὐξάμενος εἰσηκούσθη, καὶ ἀναστάς, εὗρε τὸν λύχνον λαμπρῶς
καιόμενον. Καὶ ἀγαλλιασάμενος τῇ ἐλπίδι, ἴσχυσε τῇ τῆς καρδίας χαρᾷ,
καὶ ἔχαιρεν ἡδέως θαυμάζων τὴν χάριν, ὅτι αὐτὸν ἐπληροφόρησε καὶ
ἐν τούτῳ ὁ θεός· καὶ ἔλεγεν3 ὅτι4 ἀνάξιον ὄντα με καὶ τῆς τοῦ
κόσμου ζωῆς, ἠλέησας τῷ μεγάλῳ τούτῳ καὶ καινοτέρῳ σημείῳ. Οὕτως5
1
τὸν λύχνον τοῦτον C] τοῦτον τὸν λύχνον trsp S 2
μου om S 3
καὶ ἔλεγεν om C
4
ὅτι C] ὡς S 5
Οὕτως S] οὗτος C
N.175 121
saying: “O compassionate and merciful God, you who want even barbar-
ians ‘to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth’ [1 Tm 2:4], to
you I fled for refuge, Saviour of souls. Have mercy on me who have often
provoked you, to the delight of the enemy; look, I am dead from obeying
the enemy. You, Lord-and-master, are merciful to the godless and unmer-
ciful and you teach us to show mercy to our neighbours; take pity on my
humility, for with you nothing is impossible and my soul has been
scattered like dust in hell. Be merciful with me, for you are kindly disposed
to your own creation and are even going to raise up the bodies which are
no more at the day of resurrection. Hear me, Lord, for my spirit and my
wretched soul have fainted away, while the body that I have defiled wasted
away and I no longer have the strength to live, seized by fear of you. Since
I am doubly in despair [doubting whether] in exchange for what I have
confidently done, my offence has been pardoned through my penitence,
infuse life into me who have been crushed and command this lamp to be
lit with your fire so that I too, gaining confidence in your mercy from the
pity of your forgiveness for as much remaining time as you grant me to
live, may keep your commandments and not desist from fearing you, but
serve you sincerely even more than before.” Saying this with many tears
during the night of the resurrection, he got up to see whether the lamp had
been lit. When he uncovered it and saw that it had not been lit, he fell on
his face again and begged the Lord saying: “Lord, I realise that it was a
contest [to test] whether I might be crowned, but I did not watch where
I was going, choosing rather to be subject to the punishment of the wicked
by tasting the pleasures of the flesh. Spare me, Lord! Behold, yet again,
in the presence of your angels and of all the righteous, I confess my
shamelessness to your great goodness. And I would have confessed it to
men too, had it not been an offence [to them]. Wherefore take pity on
me, that I may also instruct others. Yes, Lord: infuse life into me!” After
he had prayed like this three times, he was heard. He got up and found
the lamp burning brightly. He rejoiced in hope and was strong in the
joy of his heart and he happily marvelled at the grace of God because
He had given him assurance in this matter too. He began saying: “Even
though I was unworthy of life in the world, you showed mercy by this
great and rather novel sign.” While he continued to proclaim [the sign],
day dawned and he, rejoicing in the Lord, forgot about taking bodily
nourishment. He conserved the fire of the lamp all the days of his life,
adding oil and trimming it above so that it should not go out. Thus the
divine spirit dwelt within him again and he became illustrious among
them all, humble-minded in confession and cheerful in thanksgiving
[f. 200ra] δὲ διαμείναντος αὐτοῦ τῇ ἐξομολογήσει διέφαυσεν ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ ἦν
εὐφραινόμενος ἐν Κυρίῳ,1 σωματικῆς τροφῆς ἐπιλαθόμενος. Τοῦ δὲ λύχνου
τὸπῦρ ὅλας τὰς ἡμέρας αὐτοῦ διεφύλαξεν, ἔλαιον ἐπιχέων καὶ σκευάζων
αὐτὸ ἄνωθεν ὅπως μὴ σβεσθῇ; καὶ οὕτως πάλιν τὸ θεῖον πνεῦμα ἐνῴκησεν ἐν
αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐγένετο πᾶσιν ἐπίσημος, ταπεινοφρονῶν, καὶ τῇ ἐξομολογήσει
καὶ τῇ εὐχαριστίᾳ πρὸς Κύριον εὐφραντικός· Ὅτε δὲ ἔμελλε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν
παραδιδόναι, εἶδε πρὸ ἡμερῶν ἀποκάλυψιν.
176. Γέρων τις ἐκάθητο εἰς μακρὰν ἔρημον, εἶχε δὲ συγγενικήν, καὶ διὰ
πολλῶν ἐτῶν ἐπεθύμησεν αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν, καὶ περιεργασαμένη ποῦ κάθηται,
ἀνέστη καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς [f. 200rb] ἐρήμου, καὶ εὑροῦσα συνοδίαν
καμήλων εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον μετ’ αὐτῶν. Ἦν δὲ ἑλκομένη ὑπὸ τοῦ
διαβόλου. Καὶ ἐλθοῦσα εἰς τὴν θύραν τοῦ γέροντος ἤρξατο ἀπὸ σημείων
συνιστάνειν ἑαυτήν, λέγουσα· ὅτι συγγενική σου εἰμί, καὶ ἔμεινε πρὸς
αὐτόν. Πολεμηθεὶς δὲ ὁ γέρων ἔπεσεν εἰς αὐτήν. Ἦν δέ τις ἄλλος ἀνα-
χωρητὴς καθήμενος εἰς τὰ κάτω μέρη, καὶ ἐγέμιζε τὸ βαυκάλιον ὕδατος,
καὶ εἰς τὴν ὥραν τοῦ φαγεῖν ἐστρέφετο καί, κατ’ οἰκονομίαν Θεοῦ, εἶπεν ἐν
ἑαυτῷ· Εἰσέρχομαι εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἀναγγελῶ τῷ γέροντι. Καὶ ἀνα-
στάς, ἐπορεύθη. Ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης, ἐκοιμήθη εἰς ἱερὸν δαιμόνων κατὰ τὴν
ὁδόν. Καὶ ἤκουσεν ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ τῶν [f. 200va] δαιμόνων λεγόντων· ὅτι τῇ
νυκτὶ ταύτῃ,2 ἐῤῥίψαμεν τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν εἰς πορνείαν. Καὶ ἀκούσας
ἐλυπήθη, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐγγὺς τοῦ γέροντος εὗρεν αὐτὸν στυγνόν, καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Τί ποιήσω, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι γεμίζω μου τὸ βαυκάλιον ὕδατος καὶ εἰς τὴν
ὥραν τοῦ φαγεῖν στρέφεται; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ ἦλθες ἐρωτῆσαί
με ὅτι τὸ βαυκάλιόν μου3 στρέφεται; ἐγὼ δὲ τί ποιήσω, ὅτι τὴν νύκτα
ταύτην πέπτωκα εἰς πορνείαν; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Κἀγὼ ἔμαθον. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·
πῶς οἶδας; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κοιμώμενος ἤμην ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἤκουσα τῶν
δαιμόνων λαλούντων περὶ σοῦ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἰδοὺ κἀγὼ ἐξέρχομαι
εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Ὁ δὲ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν λέγων· Μὴ [f. 200vb] πάτερ, ἀλλὰ
παράμεινον ἐν τῷ τόπῳ σου, τὴν δὲ γυναῖκα ἀπόστειλον ἔνθεν· τοῦτο γὰρ
συνάντημά ἐστι τοῦ ἐχθροῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας αὐτοῦ ὑπέμεινεν ἐπιτείνων τὴν
πολιτείαν αὐτοῦ μετὰ δακρύων, ἕως οὗ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν αὐτοῦ τάξιν.
177. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἐὰν συμβῇ τινὰ εἰς πειρασμὸν
ἐμπεσεῖν κατά τινα ἐνέργειαν, τί γίνεται διὰ τοὺς σκανδαλισθέντας; Καὶ
διηγήσατο λέγων· Διάκονός τις ἦν ὀνομαστὸς ἐν κοινοβίῳ τῆς Αἰγύπτου·
διωκόμενος δέ τις πολιτευόμενος ἐκ τοῦ ἄρχοντος, ἦλθε μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ
οἴκου αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον, καὶ ἐξ ἐνεργείας τοῦ πονηροῦ, ἔπεσε μετὰ
1
Κυρίῳ] τῆς add S 2
τῇ νυκτὶ ταύτῃ C] τὴν νύκτα ταύτην S 3
μου C] σου S
N.176–7 123
to the Lord. When the time came for him to surrender his soul, he
saw a vision some days beforehand.
N.176/5.28 BHG 1440h, de sene fornicato et converso

An elder lived in a remote part of the desert; he had a female relative who,
for many years, had desired to see him. She enquired where he was living
then got up and came to the road into the desert. Finding a company of
camel-drivers, she went into the desert with them; but she was being led by
the devil. When she came to the elder’s door she began identifying herself
by [certain] indications, saying: “I am your relative”, and then she stayed
with him. Embattled, the elder fell [into sin] with her. Now there was
another anchorite living in the lowlands; he would fill his vessel with water
and, when it was time to eat, it was overturned. By the providence of God
he said to himself: “I will go into the desert and report it to the elder”; up
he got and went. As night fell, he slept in a temple of idols by the wayside
and, during the night, he heard the demons saying: “This very night we
have cast the anchorite into porneia.” He was grieved when he heard this;
when he approached the elder he found him downcast. He said to him:
“What shall I do, abba, for I fill my vessel with water and, when it is time
to eat, it is overturned?” The elder said to him: “You came to question me
because your vessel is being overturned? And what am I to do, for I fell into
porneia last night.” “Yes, I found out”, the other said. “How do you
know?” he said to him and [the visitor] said to him: “I was sleeping in
the temple and I heard the demons talking about you.” The elder said:
“Look, I too am going out into the world”, but the other begged him
saying: “No father, stay in your place but send the woman away, for this is
an encounter of the enemy.” On hearing him the [elder] persevered,
intensifying his way of life with tears until he attained his former status.
N.177/5.30
A brother asked an elder: “If a person happens to succumb to temptation
under some impulse, what about those who are offended?” and he
recounted: “There was a well-known deacon at a coenobion in Egypt.
A magistrate who was being pursued by the governor came to the coeno-
bion with his entire household. Through an impulse of the wicked one,
the deacon fell into sin with a woman and became a disgrace to them all.
He went to an elder beloved by him and reported the matter. Now the
elder had a hidden place within his cell; the deacon begged him in these
γυναικὸς ὁ διάκονος, καὶ γέγονε πᾶ[f. 201ra]σιν αἰσχύνη. Ἀπῆλθεν δὲ πρός
τινα αὐτοῦ ἀγαπητὸν1 γέροντα καὶ ἀνήγγειλε τὸ πρᾶγμα. Εἶχε δὲ ὁ
γέρων κρυπτηρίαν ἐσώτερον τῆς κέλλης αὐτοῦ, καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν
ὁ διάκονος λέγων· Θάψον με ὧδε ζῶντα καὶ μὴ ἀναγγείλῃς τινί. Καὶ
εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν σκοτίαν ἐκείνην μετενόησεν ἐξ ἀληθείας. Καὶ μετὰ χρόνον
τινά, οὐκ ἀνέβη τὸ ὕδωρ τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Καὶ πάντων λιτανευόντων,
ἀπεκαλύφθη ἑνὶ2 τῶν ἁγίων,3 ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ὁ δεῖνα ὁ διάκονος, ὁ κεκρυμ-
μένος παρὰ τῷ δεῖνι τῷ μοναχῷ, οὐκ ἀνέρχεται τὸ ὕδωρ. Καὶ ἀκούσαντες
ἐθαύμασαν, καὶ ἐλθόντες ἐξήνεγκαν αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου οὗ ἦν, καὶ ηὔξατο
καὶ ἀνέβη τὸ ὕδωρ, καὶ οἱ σκανδαλισθέντες [f. 201rb] ποτὲ πολλῷ μᾶλλον
ὠφελήθησαν ἐπὶ τῇ μετανοίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν.
178. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι πολλοὶ πειραζόμενοι ἐκ σωματικῶν ἡδονῶν,4 μὴ

πλησιάσαντες σώμασι, κατὰ διάνοιαν ἐξεπόρνευσαν, καὶ τῶν σωμάτων
παρθένων φυλαττομένων, κατὰ ψυχὴν ἐκπορνεύουσιν. Καλὸν οὖν, ἀγα-
πητοί, ποιεῖν τὸ γεγραμμένον, καὶ πάσῃ φυλακῇ ἕκαστον τηρεῖν5 τὴν
ἑαυτοῦ καρδίαν.
179. Ἀδελφοὶ δύο ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν πωλῆσαι τὰ σκεύη αὐτῶν.
Καὶ ὡς ἀπῆλθεν ὁ εἷς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑνός, ἔπεσεν εἰς πορνείαν. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ
ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἄγωμεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἡμῶν, ἀδελφέ. Ὁ δὲ
ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ λέγων· Οὐκ ἔρχομαι. Καὶ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν λέγων·
[f. 201va] Διατί, ἀδελφέ μου; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ὅτι ἀπελθόντος σου ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ,
ἔπεσα εἰς πορνείαν. Καὶ θέλων κερδῆσαι αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, ἤρξατο
λέγειν αὐτῷ· Κἀγὼ ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπὸ σοῦ, οὕτως μοι γέγονεν, ἀλλ’ ἄγω-
μεν μετανοήσωμεν ἐμπόνως, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς συγχωρεῖ ἡμῖν. Καὶ ἐλθόντες
ἀνήγγειλαν τοῖς γέρουσι τὸ συμβὰν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἔδωκαν αὐτοῖς ἐντολὰς
τοῦ μετα-νοῆσαι, καὶ ὁ εἷς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἄλλου μετενόει ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτή-
σας. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόπον τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ, εἴσω ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν
ἐφανέρωσεν ἑνὶ τῶν γερόντων ὅτι διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρ-
τήσαντος ἀδελφοῦ, συνεχώρησα τῷ ἁμαρτήσαντι. Ἰδοὺ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ
τιθέναι τὴν [f. 201vb] ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ.
180. Ἦλθέ ποτε ἀδελφὸς πρός τινα γέροντα, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὅτι ὁ
ἀδελφός μου παραλύει με ἀπερχόμενος ὧδε κἀκεῖ,6 καὶ θλίβομαι. Καὶ
παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων λέγων· Βάσταξον τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς
1
αὐτοῦ ἀγαπητὸν C] ἀγαπητὸν αὐτοῦ trsp S 2
ἑνὶ C] τινὶ S 3
ἁγίων C] πατέρων S
4
ἡδονῶν C] ἀναγκῶν S 5
ἕκαστον τηρεῖν C] τηρεῖν ἕκαστον S
6
ἀπερχόμενος ὧδε κἀκεῖ C] ὧδε κἀκεῖ ἀπερχόμενος trsp S
N.178–80 125
words: ‘Bury me alive in here and tell nobody.’ Into that place of darkness
he went and there he truly repented. Some time later the water of the river
did not rise. While everybody was engaged in intercessory processions, it
was revealed to one of the saints that, unless there came so-and-so the
deacon (who had been hidden away with so-and-so the monk) the water
would not rise. Amazed on hearing this, they went and brought him out of
the place where he was. He prayed – and the water rose. Those who had
originally been offended now rather reaped much more benefit from his
repentance and they glorified God.”
N.178/5.2/Gerontius
An elder said: “There are many who, when tempted by physical pleasures,
committed porneia in their hearts without any physical contact and many
of those who, while maintaining the virginity of their bodies, commit
porneia in their soul. Therefore, beloved, it is good to do what is written:
for each one to ‘keep his own heart fully protected’ [Prv 4:23].”
N.179/5.31 BHG 1440j, de caritate non ficta

Two brothers went to market to sell their wares and, as one separated from
the other, he fell into porneia. His brother came and said to him: “Let us go
to our cell, brother”, but the other answered him saying: “I am not
coming.” His brother begged him, saying: “Why not, brother?” “Because
while you were away from me I fell into porneia”, he said. Wishing to win
him back, his brother began saying to him: “It happened to me too when
I went away from you; but let us go and repent laboriously and God will
pardon us.” They came and reported to the elders what had happened to
them and they gave them orders for repentance. The one did penance for
the other as though he had sinned himself. When God saw the labour of
his love, within a few days he revealed to one of the elders: “I pardoned the
brother who had sinned on account of the great love of the one who was
sinless. ‘Behold: that is laying down one’s soul for his brother’ [Jn 15:13].”
N.180/5.32
A brother once came to an elder and said to him: “My brother is wearing
me out, going off here and there and I am troubled.” The elder encouraged
him saying: “Bear with your brother and, seeing the effort of your patient
endurance, God will take care of him. One cannot easily take care of
βλέπων τὸ ἔργον τῆς ὑπομονῆς σου, φέρει αὐτόν, οὐ γὰρ μετὰ σκληρ-
ότητος εὐχερὲς φέρειν τινά, οὐδὲ δαίμων δαίμονα ἐκβάλλει, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον
τῇ χρηστότητι φέρεις αὐτόν, καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, τῇ παρακλήσει φέρει
τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Καὶ διηγήσατο λέγων· Ὅτι ἦσαν ἐν Θηβαΐδι δύο
ἀδελφοί, καὶ ὁ εἷς πολεμηθεὶς εἰς πορνείαν, ἔλεγε τῷ ἄλλῳ· Ὑπάγω εἰς
τὸν κόσμον. Ὁ δὲ ἄλλος ἔκλαιε λέγων· Οὐκ ἀφῶ σε, ἀδελφέ μου, ἀπελθεῖν,
καὶ ἀπολέ[f. 202ra]σαι τὸν κόπον σου καὶ τὴν παρθενίαν σου. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ
ἐπείθετο λέγων· Οὐ κάθημαι εἰ μὴ ἀπέλθω, ἢ ἐλθὲ μετ’ ἐμοῦ, καὶ πάλιν
ὑποστρέφω μετὰ σοῦ, ἢ ἀπόλυσόν με καὶ μένω εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Ἀπελθὼν
δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἀνήγγειλε γέροντι μεγάλῳ ταῦτα. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Ὕπαγε μετ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Θεός, διὰ τὸν κόπον σου, οὐκ ἀφίει
αὐτὸν πεσεῖν. Καὶ ἀναστάντες ἦλθον εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ ὡς ἔφθασαν
τὴν κώμην, ἰδὼν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόπον αὐτοῦ, ᾖρε τὸν πόλεμον ἐκ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἄγωμεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ἀδελφέ,
ἰδοὺ νόμισον ὅτι1 ἡμάρτησα,2 τί ἐκέρδησα ἐκ τούτου; Καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν
ἀβλαβεῖς εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτῶν.
181. Ἀδελφὸς ὑπὸ δαίμονος πολεμηθεὶς ἀπῆλ[f. 202rb]θε πρός τινα

γέροντα λέγων· Ὅτι οἱ δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἐκεῖνοι μετ’ ἀλλήλων εἰσίν. Ἔμαθε
δὲ ὁ γέρων ὅτι ὑπὸ δαιμόνων χλευάζεται, καὶ πέμψας ἐφώνησεν αὐτούς.
Καὶ ὅτε ὀψὲ ἐγένετο ἔθηκε ψιάθιον τοῖς δύο ἀδελφοῖς, καὶ ἐσκέπασεν
αὐτοὺς εἰς ἓν στρῶμα λέγων· Ὅτι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅγιά εἰσιν. Εἶπεν
δὲ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦτον ἀπόκλεισον εἰς τὸ κελλίον
παραμέρος, αὐτὸς γὰρ τὸ πάθος ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ.
182. Ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν γέροντι· Εἰπέ μοι τι ποιήσω ὅτι ἀποκτείνει με ὁ

ῥυπαρὸς λογισμός. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὅτι ὡς θέλει ἡ μήτηρ ἀπογα-
λακτίσαι τὸ παιδίον ἑαυτῆς3 σκίλλαν βάλλει εἰς τὸν μασθὸν αὐτῆς καὶ
ἔρχεται τὸ [f. 202va] παιδίον τῷ ἔθει θηλασθῆναι καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πικρίας
ἑαυτῷ4 φεύγει· βάλλε καὶ σὺ σκίλλαν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί ἐστι
σκίλλα, ἣν ὤφελον βαλεῖν; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τὴν μνήμην τοῦ θανάτου καὶ
τῶν κολαστηρίων τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.
1
ὅτι om S 2
ἡμάρτησα C] ἡμάρτηκα S 3
ἑαυτῆς C] αὐτῆς S
4
ἑαυτῷ corr] ἑαυτὸ C S
N.181–2 127
another using severity, nor does a demon drive out a demon [Mt 12.26].
Instead, you are taking care of him with kindness, for it is by comforting
them that our God takes care of folk”, and he recounted: “There were two
brothers in the Thebaid and one of them, embattled towards porneia, said
to the other: ‘I am going to the world.’ The other wept and said: ‘My
brother, I am not going to let you go and destroy your toil and your
purity’, but the other was not persuaded. He said: ‘I am not staying [here],
but am going away. Either come with me and I will return with you, or let
me go and I will stay in the world.’ The [second] brother went and
reported these things to a great elder. The elder said to him: ‘Go with
him and, on account of your toil, God will not allow him to fall.’ They
arose and went to where there was habitation and, when they arrived at the
village, seeing his toil, God took away the warfare from his brother and he
said to him: ‘Let us go into the desert again brother for, just think: if I had
sinned, what profit would I have gained by that?’ And they returned to
their cell unharmed.”
N.181/5.33 (Latin only)

A brother embattled by a demon went to an elder and said: “Those two
brothers are with each other.” The elder had found out that he was being
led astray by a demon; he sent and summoned them. He put out a mat for
the two brothers when evening fell and covered them with a single spread,
saying: “The children of God are holy.” To his disciple he said: “Shut this
brother up in his cell by day, for it is he who has the passion within
himself.”
N.182/5.35
A brother said to an elder: “Tell me what I am to do, for my impure
logismos is killing me.” The elder said to him: “As a mother who wishes to
wean her own child applies wormwood* to her breast and the child comes
to suckle as usual but turns away of its own accord because of its bitterness,
do you also apply wormwood.” The brother said to him: “What is that
wormwood that it is beneficial to apply?” “It is the recollection of death
and of the punishments of the age to come”, the elder said.
* Skilla (urginea maritima), a bitter onion. cf. “For I had then laid wormwood to
my dug” (Romeo and Juliet 1.3.26).
183. Ὁ αὐτὸς ἠρώτησεν ἄλλον γέροντα περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λογισμοῦ. Καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐγὼ οὐδέποτε ἐπολεμήθην εἰς πρᾶγμα τοιοῦτον.
Καὶ ἐσκανδαλίσθη ὁ ἀδελφός· καὶ ἀπῆλθε πρὸς ἄλλον γέροντα λέγων·
Ἰδοὺ τοῦτό μοι εἶπεν ὁ δεῖνα ὁ1 γέρων, καὶ ἐσκανδαλίσθην ὅτι ὑπὲρ τὴν2
φύσιν ἐλάλησεν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπέν σοι τοῦτο ὁ
ἄνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ, λοιπὸν ἐγείρου μετανόησον αὐτῷ, ἵνα εἴπῃ σοι τὴν
δύναμιν τοῦ λόγου [f. 202vb]. Ἀνέστη οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν
γέροντα καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν λέγων· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι
ἀφρόνως ἐποίησα, ἀσυντάκτως ἐξελθών, καὶ παρακαλῶ σε, ἑρμήνευσόν
μοι πῶς οὐδέποτε ἐπολεμήθης εἰς πορνείαν. Λέγει αὐτῷὁ γέρων· Ἀφ’ οὗ
γέγονα μοναχός, οὐκ ἐχορτάσθην ἄρτου, οὔτε ὕδατος, οὔτε ὕπνου, καὶ ἡ
μέριμνα τούτων ὀχλοῦσά μοι πάνυ, οὐκ ἄφηκέ με αἰσθανθῆναι τοῦ
πολέμου οὗ εἴρηκας. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὠφεληθεὶς ὁ ἀδελφός.
184. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησέ τινα τῶν πατέρων λέγων· Τί ποιήσω ὅτι

πάντοτε ὁ λογισμός μου εἰς τὴν πορνείαν ἐστίν, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίει με ἀναπαῆ-
ναι μίαν ὥραν, καὶ θλίβεταί3 μου ἡ ψυχή. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὅταν οἱ
δαίμονες σπείρωσι τοὺς λογισμοὺς [f. 203ra] μὴ συλλαλήσῃς αὐτοῖς.
Αὐτῶν γάρ ἐστι τὸ ὑποβάλλειν πάντοτε καὶ οὐκ ἀμελοῦσιν, οὐ μέντοι
βιάζονται. Ἐν σοὶ4 ἐστιν δέξασθαι ἢ μὴ δέξασθαι. Εἶδες τί ἐποίησαν οἱ
Μαδιηναῖοι; Ἐκαλλώπισαν τὰς θυγατέρας αὐτῶν καὶ ἔστησαν, τινὰ δὲ
αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐβιάσαντο, ἀλλ’ οἱ θέλοντες ἔπεσον μετ’ αὐτῶν, ἄλλοι δὲ
ἀγανακτήσαντες, μετὰ ἀπειλῆς φόνῳ ἐχρήσαντο· Οὕτως ἐστὶ καὶ ἐπὶ
τῶν λογισμῶν. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν τῷ γέροντι· Τί οὖν ποιήσω
ὅτι ἀσθενής εἰμι, καὶ τὸ πάθος νικᾷ με; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κατανόησον
αὐτούς, καὶ ὅταν ἀρχὴν βάλωσι λαλεῖν, μὴ ἀποκριθῇς αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ’ ἀνάστα
εὖξαι, καὶ βάλε μετάνοιαν λέγων· Υἱὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλέησόν με. Εἶπεν οὖν
αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελ[f. 203rb]φός· Ἰδοὺ μελετῶ, ἀββᾶ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι μοι κατάνυξις
ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου, ὅτι οὐκ οἶδα τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ λόγου. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Σὺ μόνον μελέτησον. Ἤκουσα γὰρ ὅτι εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμὴν καὶ πολλοὶ
τῶν πατέρων τὸν λόγον τοῦτον· ὅτι ὁ5 ἐπαοιδὸς οὐκ οἶδε τῶν ῥημάτων
ὧν λέγει τὴν δύναμιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ θηρίον ἀκούει, καὶ οἶδεν καὶ ὑποτάσσεται
καὶ ταπεινοῦται. Οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς, κἂν οὐκ οἴδαμεν τῶν ῥημάτων τὴν
δύναμιν, ὧν λαλοῦμεν, ἀλλ’ οἱ δαίμονες ἀκούοντες φόβῳ ἀναχωροῦσιν.
1
ὁ om S 2
τὴν om S 3
θλίβεταί S] θλίβετέ C 4
σοὶ] δὲ add S 5
ὁ om S
N.183–4 129
N.183/5.36
The same [brother] asked another elder about the same logismos and the
elder said to him: “I was never embattled towards such a matter.” The
brother was offended; he went to another elder and said: “Here is what
such-and-such an elder told me; I was offended because what he said is not
natural.” The [second] elder said to him: “The man of God did not simply
say that to you; get up and prostrate yourself before him so he will tell you
the significance of what he said.” So the brother got up and came to the
[first] elder. He prostrated himself and said to him: “Forgive me, abba; it
was mindless of me to take off in an irregular manner. I beg you to explain
to me how you were never embattled by porneia.” The elder said to him:
“Not since I became a monk have I taken my fill of bread, of water or of
sleep. Although concern on account of those things greatly troubles me, it
has not allowed me to experience the battle of which you spoke” – and the
brother went out edified.
N.184/5.37
A brother asked one of the fathers: “What am I to do, for my logismos is
always tending towards porneia. It does not give me one hour of repose and
my soul is afflicted.” He said to him: “When the demons sow logismoi,
have no truck with them, for it is always their way to take the initiative.
They do not miss a chance, but they do not coerce you; the choice is yours,
whether to accept or not. You know what the Midianites did? They decked
out their daughters and put them on display. They coerced nobody; but
those who wished to do so fell into sin with them while others became
annoyed and slaughtered them with threats [Num 25:1–3]. It is like that
with the logismoi.” In reply the brother said to the elder: “So what am I to
do, I who am weak and passion overcomes me?” “Keep a watch on them”,
he said to him, “and do not answer when they begin to speak. Get up and
pray; prostrate yourself, saying: ‘Have mercy on me, Son of God.’” The
brother said to him: “Look, abba, I meditate* but there is no grief for sin in
my heart for I do not know what the phrase [I am repeating] means.” [The
elder] said to him: “Just meditate. I heard that Abba Poemen and many of
the fathers uttered this saying: ‘The snake-charmer does not know the force
of the words he speaks but the beast hears and knows: it is rendered obedient
and subservient.’ That is how it is with us; even if we do not know the force
of the words we are saying, yet the demons hear and retreat in fear.”
* meletô, meaning “I recite words of Scripture out loud.”
185. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι ὁ λογισμὸς τῆς πορνείας βιβλίον ἐστίν. Ἐὰν
οὖν σπαρῇ εἰς ἡμᾶς, καὶ μὴ πειθόμενοι αὐτῷ1 ἀποῤῥίψωμεν αὐτὸ2 ἀφ’
ἡμῶν, μετὰ ἀναπαύσεως κόπτεται· ἐὰν δὲ σπαρέντος αὐ[f. 203va]τοῦ
ἐγγλυκανθῶμεν αὐτῷ ὡς πειθόμενοι, ἀντιστραφεὶς γίνεται σίδηρος καὶ
δυσκόλως κόπτεται. Χρεία δέ ἐστι διακρίσεως ἐν τῷ λογισμῷ τούτῳ, ὡς
τοῖς μὲν3 πειθομένοις αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλπὶς σωτηρίας, τοῖς δὲ μὴ
πειθομένοις αὐτῷ, ὁ στέφανος ἀπόκειται.
186. Ἀδελφοὶ δύο πολεμηθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς πορνείας ἀπῆλθον καὶ ἔλαβον
γυναῖκας, ὕστερον δὲ εἶπον πρὸς ἀλλήλους· Τί ἐκερδήσαμεν ὅτι ἀφήκαμεν
τὴν ἀγγελικὴν τάξιν, καὶ ἤλθομεν εἰς τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν ταύτην, καὶ μετὰ
ταῦτα εἰς πῦρ καὶ εἰς κόλασιν μέλλομεν ὑπάγειν; Ἐξέλθωμεν πάλιν εἰς τὴν
ἔρημον καὶ μετανοήσωμεν. Καὶ ἐξελθόντες παρεκάλεσαν τοὺς πατέρας
δοῦναι αὐτοῖς μετάνοιαν, ἐξομολογησάμενοι [f. 203vb] ἅπερ ἔπραξαν.
Καὶ ἀπέκλεισαν αὐτοὺς οἱ γέροντες ἐπὶ ἐνιαυτόν, καὶ τοῖς4 δύο ἐπίσης5
ἐδίδοτο ἄρτος καὶ ὕδωρ, ἦσαν δὲ καὶ τῇ εἰδέᾳ6 ὅμοιοι. Καὶ ὅτε ἐπληρώθη ὁ
καιρὸς τῆς μετανοίας, ἐξῆλθον, καὶ εἶδον οἱ πατέρες τὸν ἕνα χλωρὸν καὶ
στυγνὸν πάνυ, τὸν δὲ ἄλλον εὐθαλῆ καὶ φαιδρόν,7 καὶ ἐθαύμασαν, ὅτι καὶ
τροφὴν ἐπίσης ἐλάμβανον.8 Καὶ ἠρώτησαν τὸν στυγνὸν λέγοντες· Τί
ἠδολέσχεις μετὰ τῶν λογισμῶν εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Τὰ κακὰ ἃ
ἐποίησα, καὶ τὴν κόλασιν εἰς ἣν ἔμελλον ἀπελθεῖν ἐλογιζόμην, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ
φόβου, ἐκολλήθη τὸ ὀστοῦν μου τῇ σαρκί μου. Ἠρώτησαν δὲ καὶ τὸν
ἄλλον· Καὶ σὺ τί ἐλογίζου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου; Ὁ δὲ
ἔφη· Τῷ Θεῷ εὐχαρίστουν9 ὅτι ἐξείλετό με ἀπὸ τῆς [f. 204ra] ἀκαθαρσίας
τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τῆς κολάσεως, καὶ ἤγαγέ με εἰς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν ταύτην
πολιτείαν καὶ μνημονεύων τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐφραινόμην. Καὶ εἶπον οἱ γέροντες·
Ὅτι ἐπίσης10 ἡ μετάνοια ἐστὶ τῶν δύο πρὸς τὸν Θεόν.
1
αὐτῷ S] αὐτοῦ C 2
μὲν om S 4
τοῖς S] τοὺς C
5
ἐπίσης C] ἐπ᾿ ἴσης S 6
εἰδέᾳ C] ἰδέᾳ S 7
φαιδρὸν] καὶ τοῦτο ἰδόντες add S
8
ὅτι καὶ τροφὴν ἐπίσης ἐλάμβανον] διαποροῦντες τί ἂν εἴη τοῦτο τῆς τροφῆς ἐπ᾿ ἴσης μεριζομένης
αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ ὁμοίοις τοῖς πταίσμασι S
9
εὐχαρίστουν] ηὐ-S 10
ἐπίσης C] ἐπ᾿ ἴσης S
N.185–6 131
N.185/5.38
The elders used to say that the logismos of porneia is a book:* if, when it is
disseminated among us, we are not persuaded by it and cast it away from
us, it is excised with ease. But if we are delighted by it as though won over
by it when it has been disseminated, transformed, it becomes iron and is
excised with difficulty. Discretion is necessary in the case of this logismos,
for there is no hope of salvation for those who are won over by it, whilst a
crown awaits those who are not won over by it.
* papyrus in the Latin text, maybe echoing the original [Coptic] saying.
N.186/5.39
Two brothers embattled by porneia went off and took women but after-
wards they said to each other: “What have we gained by abandoning the
angelic order and coming to this uncleanness when, afterwards, we are
going to enter fire and [eternal] punishment? Let us go out into the desert
again and repent.” Out they went, and besought the fathers to give them a
penance after confessing what they had done. The elders confined them for
a year, giving the two of them an equal amount of bread and water. They
were of similar appearance but, when the period of their penance was
completed and they came out, the fathers noticed that one of them was
very downcast and pale while the other looked flourishing and joyful. This
was cause for wonder since they had each received equal nourishment.
They asked the one who was downcast: “How did you manage your
logismoi while you were in your cell?” He said: “I was thinking of the
wrong I had done and the punishment to which I was about to go and ‘My
bones cleaved to my flesh’ [Ps 101:6] for fear.” Then they asked the other
one: “And you, what were you thinking in your heart in your cell?” “I was
giving thanks to God,” he said, “for having delivered me from the unclean-
ness of the world and from punishment and for having brought me to
this angelic way of life. At the remembrance of God, I was filled with joy
[Ps 76:4].” The elders said: “The repentance of the two is equal in the sight
of God.”
187. Γέρων τις ἦν ἐν Σκήτει, καὶ ἐμπεσὼν εἰς ἀσθένειαν μεγάλην,
ὑπηρετεῖτο ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ βλέπων ὁ γέρων ὅτι κάμνουσιν, ἔλεγεν·
Ὑπάγω εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἵνα μὴ παραλύω τοὺς ἀδελφούς. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
ἀββᾶς Μωϋσῆς· Μὴ ἀπέλθῃς, ἐπεὶ εἰς πορνείαν ἔχεις πεσεῖν. Ὁ δὲ λυπηθεὶς
ἔλεγεν· Ἀπέθανε τὸ σῶμά μου καὶ ταῦτά μοι λέγεις; Ἀπῆλθε οὖν εἰς
Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι πολλὰ προσέφερον αὐτῷ, καὶ
παρθενεύουσα μία κατὰ πίστιν ἦλθεν ὑπηρετεῖν τῷ γέροντι. [f. 204rb]
Μετὰ δὲ χρόνον μικρὸν ὑγιάνας, ἔπεσε μετ’ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν. Οἱ
δὲ ἄνθρωποι εἶπον αὐτῇ· Πόθεν τοῦτο; Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἀπὸ τοῦ γέροντος.
Καὶ οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν αὐτῇ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔλεγεν· Ἐγὼ ἐποίησα, ἀλλὰ
φυλάξατε τὸ παιδίον τὸ γεννώμενον.1 Καὶ ὅτε ἀπεγαλακτίσθη, ἡμέρας
ἑορτῆς γενομένης ἐν Σκήτει, κατῆλθεν ὁ γέρων βαστάζων τὸ παιδίον ἐπὶ
τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ λαοῦ.
Οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες αὐτόν, ἔκλαυσαν, καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Βλέπετε τὸ
παιδίον τοῦτο; υἱὸς τῆς παρακοῆς ἐστιν, ἀσφαλίζεσθε2 οὖν ἑαυτούς,
ἀδελφοί, ὅτι εἰς τὸ γῆράς μου τοῦτο ἐποίησα, ἀλλὰ εὔξασθε ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.
Καὶ ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ [f. 204va] ἔβαλεν ἀρχὴν τῆς πρώτης
αὐτοῦ ἐργασίας.
188 Ἀδελφός τις ἐπειράσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς πορνείας δεινῶς.
Τέσσαρες γὰρ δαίμονες ἐν εἴδει γυναικῶν εὐμορφοτάτων
μετασχηματισθέντες, ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας ἔμειναν παλαίοντες πρὸς
αὐτόν, ἐφελκύσασθαι εἰς αἰσχρὰν μίξιν. Ἐκείνου δὲ ἀνδρείως ἀγωνισαμέ-
νου καὶ μὴ ἡττηθέντος, ὁ Θεὸς βλέπων αὐτοῦ τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα,
ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ μηκέτι πύρωσιν ἔχειν σαρκικήν.
189 Ἀναχωρητής τις ἦν ἐν τοῖς κάτω μέρεσι τῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἦν

ὀνομαστὸς ὅτι εἰς μονοκελλίον ἐκάθητο ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Καὶ ἰδοὺ κατ’
ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ, γυνὴ ἄσεμνος ἀκούσασα περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἔλεγε τοῖς
νεω[f. 204vb]τέροις· Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, καὶ καταβάλλω τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν
ὑμῶν; Οἱ δὲ συνέθεντο δοῦναί τι φανερόν. Καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα ἑσπέρας, ἦλθεν
ἐπὶ τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ ὡς πλανωμένη, καὶ κρουσάσηςαὐτῆς ἐξῆλθεν. Καὶ
ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ἐταράχθη λέγων· Πῶς ὦδε παραγέγονας; Ἡ δέ φησι
κλαίουσα·3 Πλανωμένη ἦλθον ὧδε. Καὶ σπλαγχνισθείς, εἰσήνεγκεν
αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ αὐλύδριον, καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ ἔκλεισεν.
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἡ ἀθλία ἔκραξε λέγουσα· Τὰ4 θηρία με κατατρώγουσιν.
1
γεννώμενον S] γεννὸν C 2
ἀσφαλίζεσθε S] ἀσφαλίζεσθαι C
3
φησι κλαίουσα C] κλαίουσα φησί S 4
ante Τὰ S add Ἀββᾶ
N.187–9 133
N.187/5.40 BHG 1322hc, de monacho fornicato

There was an elder at Scete who fell seriously ill and was being looked after
by the brothers. Seeing that they were struggling, the elder began to say:
“I am going to Egypt in order not to impose on the brothers” and Abba
Moses said to him: “Do not go [there] for you will fall into porneia.”
Distressed, the elder said: “My body has died, and you say this to me?” –
and off he went to Egypt. When people heard of it, they offered [the sick
elder] many things and one consecrated virgin came to look after the elder.
A little later, when he had recovered, he fell [into sin] with her; she
conceived in her womb. People said to her: “Where is this from?” “From
the elder”, she said. They did not believe her, but the elder said: “I did it;
but keep the child when it is born.” After it was weaned, on a day when
there was a feast at Scete, the elder went down carrying the child on his
shoulder. He entered the church in the presence of the community and
they wept on seeing him. He said to the brothers: “You see this child? It is
the son of disobedience. Keep a secure watch on yourselves, brothers, for it
was in my old age that I did this; but pray for me.” He went off to his cell
and began his former keeping of the commandments all over again.
N.188/5.41
A brother was terribly tempted by the demon of porneia. Four demons
transformed into the appearance of most beautiful women stayed for
twenty days, wrestling with him to draw him into shameful intercourse.
But as that man bravely struggled on and was not overcome, seeing his
noble struggle, God granted him grace no longer to burn in the flesh again
[cf. 1 Cor 7:9].
N.189/5.42 BHG 1318fb, de manu ambusta

There was an anchorite in the lowlands of Egypt who was famous because
he inhabited a solitary cell in the desert and, by the machination of Satan,
here a disreputable woman heard about him. She said to the young men:
“What are you willing to give me so I bring down your anchorite?” They
agreed to give her something conspicuous. She went out during the
evening and came to his cell as though she had lost her way. He came
out when she knocked. He was troubled when he saw her and said: “How
did you get here?” “Losing my way I came here”, she said as she cried.
Moved with compassion, he brought her into his little courtyard, went
Ὁ δὲ πάλιν ταραχθείς, καὶ τὸ κρίμα τοῦ θεοῦ φοβηθείς, ἔλεγεν· Πόθεν ἦλθέ
μοι ἡ ὀργὴ αὕτη; Καὶ ἀνοίξας τὴν θύραν, εἰσήνεγκεν αὐτὴν ἔσω. Ἤρξατο
δὲ ὁ διάβολος κα[f. 205ra]τατοξεύειν αὐτὸν εἰς αὐτήν. Ὁ δὲ νοήσας τὸν
πόλεμον τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἔλεγεν· Αἱ μεθοδείαι τοῦ ἐχθροῦ σκότος εἰσίν, ὁ δὲ
υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ φῶς ἐστιν. Ἀναστὰς οὖν, ἀνῆψε τὸν λύχνον. Ἐκκαιόμενος δὲ
τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ἔλεγεν· ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες, εἰς κόλασιν ὑπάγου-
σιν· δοκίμασον οὖν ἐντεῦθεν, εἰ δύνασαι ὑπενεγκεῖν τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον.
Καὶ βαλὼν τὸν δάκτυλον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν λύχνον ἔκαυσεν αὐτόν, καὶ οὐκ
ᾐσθάνετο καιόμενος διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς πυρώσεως τῆς σαρκός. Καὶ
οὕτως ποιῶν ἕως πρωΐ,ἔκαυσεν ὅλους τοὺς δακτύλους αὐτοῦ. Ἐκείνη δὲ ἡ
ἀθλία, ὁρῶσα ἃ ἐποίησεν, ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου ἀπελιθώθη. Ἐλθόντες δὲ τὸ1
πρωῒ οἱ νεώτεροι πρὸς τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν ἔλεγον· Ἦλθεν ὧδε γυνὴ [f.
205rb] ὀψέ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί, ἰδοὺ ἔσω κοιμᾶται καὶ εἰσελθόντες, εὗρον
αὐτὴν νεκράν. Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, τέθνηκεν. Τότε ἀνακαλύψας τὰς
χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ἔδειξεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· Ἰδού, τί ἐποίησέ μοι ἡ θυγάτηρ τοῦ
διαβόλου, ἀπώλεσέ μου τοὺς δακτύλους. Καὶ διηγησάμενος αὐτοῖς τὸ
γεγονὸς ἔλεγεν· Γέγραπται· Μὴ ἀποδώσῃς κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ. Καὶ ποιήσας
εὐχὴν ἤγειρεν αὐτήν, καὶ ἀπελθοῦσα ἐσωφρόνησε τοῦ λοιποῦ.
190. Ἀδελφὸς ἐπολεμήθη ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς πορνείας. Συνέβη δὲ

αὐτὸν διαβῆναι εἰς κώμην τινὰ τῆς Αἰγύπτου, καὶ ἰδὼν θυγατέρα ἱερέως
τῶν Ἑλλήνων, ἠγάπησεν αὐτὴν καὶ εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῆς· Δός μοι αὐτὴν
εἰς γυναῖκα. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς [f. 205va] εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Οὐ δύναμαι δοῦναί σοι
αὐτήν, ἐὰν μὴ μάθω παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ μου. Καὶ πορευθεὶς πρὸς τὸν δαίμονα,
εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἰδού τις μοναχὸς ἦλθε θέλων τὴν θυγατέρα μου, δώσω αὐτὴν
αὐτῷ; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ δαίμων εἶπεν· Ἐὰν ἀρνεῖται τὸν Θεὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ
τὸ βάπτισμα, καὶ τὸ ἐπάγγελμα τοῦ μοναχοῦ, ἐρώτησον αὐτόν. Καὶ
ἐλθὼν ὁ ἱερεὺς εἶπεν τῷ μοναχῷ· Ἄρνησαι τὸν Θεόν σου, καὶ τὸ βάπ-
τισμα, καὶ τὸ ἐπάγγελμα τοῦ μοναχοῦ; Ὁ δὲ συνέθετο, καὶ εὐθέως εἶδεν
ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐξελθοῦσαν ἀπὸ2 τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναπτᾶσαν
εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Καὶ πορευθεὶς ὁ ἱερεὺς πρὸς τὸν δαίμονα, εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Ἰδοὺ συνέθετο τὰ τρία ταῦτα. Τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ διάβολος εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Μὴ δῷς [f. 205vb] αὐτῷ τὴν θυγατέρα σου εἰς γυναῖκα, ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς αὐτοῦ
οὐκ ἀπέστη ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἔτι βοηθεῖ αὐτῷ. Καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ ἱερεὺς εἶπεν
αὐτῷ· Οὐ δύναμαι δοῦναί σοι αὐτήν, ὁ γὰρ Θεός σου βοηθεῖ σοι, καὶ οὐκ
1
τὸ S] τῷ C 2
ἀπὸ C] ἐκ S
N.190 135
into his cell and shut it. But here the wretched woman called out saying:
“The insects are devouring me.” Again he was troubled and, fearing the
judgement of God, he said: “From where did this wrath come upon me?” –
he opened the door and brought her inside. Now the devil began to fire
arrows [of desire] for her into him. Recognising the battling of the enemy,
he began saying: “The wiles of the enemy are darkness, but the Son of God
is light”, so he stood up and lit the lamp. Burning with desire, he began
saying: “Those who do such things are on their way to chastisement; put
yourself to the test here, to see whether you can endure the eternal fire.”
He thrust his finger into the lamp and burnt it without feeling himself
being burnt because of the intense burning of his flesh. He repeated this
action until morning, burning all his fingers. Seeing what he had done,
that wretched woman was petrified with fear. At dawn the young men
came to the anchorite saying: “Did a woman come here last night?” “Yes,”
he said, “look, she is sleeping inside.” Finding her dead when they went in,
they said to him: “Abba, she has died.” He then uncovered his hands and
showed them to them, saying: “Look what the daughter of the devil did to
me; she has lost me my fingers.” He told them what had happened, saying:
“It is written: ‘Render not evil for evil’ [1 Pt 3:9]”; he offered a prayer and
raised her up. She went her way and in future lived in sobriety.
N.190/5.43 BHG 1450vb, de filia sacerdotis pagani

A brother was embattled by the demon of porneia. He happened to pass
through a village of Egypt where he saw the daughter of a priest of the
pagans and he fell in love with her. “Give her to me as a wife”, he said to
her father, who answered him: “I cannot give her to you unless I find
out from my God.” He went to the demon and said to him: “Here, some
monk has come wanting my daughter; shall I give her to him?” In reply
the demon said: “Ask him if he will renounce his God, his baptism and the
monastic profession.” So the priest came to him saying: “Do you renounce
your God, your baptism and your monastic profession?” The other agreed
to this and, straightaway, he saw something that looked like a dove coming
out of his mouth and flying up into the sky. The priest went to his demon
and said: “Look, he has agreed to those three [conditions]”, whereupon the
devil answered him saying: “Do not give him your daughter as a wife, for
his God has not withdrawn from him, but is still helping him.” The priest
came and said to him: “I am unable to give her to you, for your God is
helping you and has not withdrawn from you.” When the brother heard
that he said to himself: “Has God shown such goodness to me that while I,
ἀπέστη ἀπὸ σοῦ. Ταῦτα δὲ ἀκούσας ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Εἰ
τοσαύτην ἀγαθότητα ἐνεδείξατο ὁ Θεὸς εἰς ἐμέ, ἐγὼ δὲ ὁ ταλαίπωρος
ἠρνησάμην αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ βάπτισμα καὶ τὸ ἐπάγγελμα τοῦ μοναχοῦ, ὁ δὲ
ἀγαθὸς1 ἔτι καὶ νῦν βοηθεῖ μοι. Καὶ2 εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθών, διένηψεν, καὶ
ἐξῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον πρὸς μέγαν γέροντα, καὶ διηγήσατο αὐτῷ τὸ
πρᾶγμα. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Κάθισον μετ’ ἐμοῦ εἰς
τὸ σπήλαιον, καὶ νήστευσον τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ζευγάρια, κἀγὼ3 παρα-
καλῶ τὸν θεὸν ὑπὲρ σοῦ. Καὶ ἐπόνεσεν ὁ γέρων [f. 206ra] περὶ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ παρεκάλεσε τὸν Θεὸν λέγων· Δέομαι, Κύριε, χάρισαί μοι
τὴν ψυχὴν ταύτην, καὶ δέξαι αὐτῆς τὴν μετάνοιαν. Καὶ εἰσήκουσεν αὐτοῦ
ὁ Θεός, καὶ πληρωθείσης τῆς ἑβδομάδος, ἦλθεν ὁ γέρων πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν
καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Ἑώρακας τίποτε; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ
ἀδελφὸς4 εἶπεν· Ναί, ἑώρακα τὴν περιστερὰν ἄνω εἰς τὸ ὕψος τοῦ
οὐρανοῦ κατέναντι τῆς κεφαλῆς μου. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ καὶ παρακάλεσον τὸν Θεὸν ἐκτενῶς. Καὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ
ἑβδομάδι, ἐλθὼν ὁ γέρων πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτὸν λέγων·
Ἑώρακας τίποτε; Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Εἶδον τὴν περιστερὰν [f. 206rb]
ἐγγὺς τῆςκεφαλῆς μου. Καὶ παρήγγειλεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Νῆφε καὶ εὔχου.
Ἦλθε δὲ πάλιν ὁ γέρων πληρωθείσης τῆς τρίτης ἑβδομάδος, καὶ ἐπηρώ-
τησεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Μὴ τί πλέον ἑώρακας; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἑώρακα τὴν
περιστερὰν ὅτι ἦλθε καὶ ἔστη ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς μου, καὶ ἐξέτεινα τὴν
χεῖρά μου κατασχεῖν αὐτήν· ἡ δὲ ἀναστᾶσα, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου.
Καὶ εὐχαρίστησεν ὁ γέρων τῷ Θεῷ καὶ εἶπεν τῷ ἀδελφῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἐδέξατο ὁ
Θεὸς τὴν μετάνοιάν σου, τὸ λοιπὸν πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ
ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν· Ἰδοὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἔσομαι μετὰ σοῦ, ἀββᾶ, ἕως οὗ
ἀποθάνω.
191. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν Θηβαίων γερόντων· ὅτι ἐγὼ ἤμην τέκνον ἱερέως τῶν
Ἑλλήνων. Μικρὸς οὖν [f. 206va] ἐκαθήμην καὶ εἶδον τὸν πατέρα μου
πολλάκις εἰσερχόμενον θυσίαν ἐπιτελέσαι τῷ εἰδώλῳ. Ἅπαξ δὲ ἐν κρυφῇ
εἰσελθὼν ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ, εἶδον τὸν Σατανᾶν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν στρατιὰν
αὐτοῦ παρεστῶσαν καὶ ἰδοὺ εἷς ἄρχων αὐτοῦ ἐλθὼν προσεκύνει αὐτῷ.
Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ διάβολος εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πόθεν σὺ ἔρχῃ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Εἰς
τήνδε τὴν χώραν ἤμην, καὶ ἐξήγειρα πολέμους, καὶ πολλὴν ἔκχυσιν
αἱμάτων ἐποίησα καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαί σοι. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πόσῳ
χρόνῳ τοῦτο ἐποίησας; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν·Ἐν τριάκοντα ἡμέραις. Ὁ δὲ κελεύσας
1
ἀγαθὸς] ὢν add S 2
Καὶ om S 3
κἀγὼ C] καὶ S 4
ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἀδελφὸς om S
N.191 137
wretch that I am, have denied him, [my] baptism and [my] monastic
profession, he in his goodness is still even now helping me?” Coming to his
senses and once again on his guard, he went out to a great elder in the
desert and told him about the matter. In response the elder said to him:
“Stay with me in the cave and fast for three weeks two [days] at a time [?]
and I will intercede with God on your behalf.” The elder put himself to
great pains for the brother’s sake, beseeching God in these words: “I beg
you, Lord, grant me this soul and accept its repentance”, and God heard
him. When the [first] week was past, the elder came to the brother and
asked him: “Have you seen anything?” In answer the brother said: “Yes,
I saw the dove up there in the height of heaven, right in front of my head.”
“Pay heed to yourself and pray fervently to God”, the elder said to him in
response. At the second week the elder came to the brother asking him:
“Have you seen anything?” “I saw the dove near to my head”, he said in
reply. “Watch and pray”, the elder commanded him. On completion of
the third week the elder came again and asked him: “Have you seen
anything else?” “I have seen the dove come to rest above my head”, he
said. “I put out my hand to catch it but it rose up and entered my mouth”,
and the elder offered thanks to God. He said to the brother: “See, God has
accepted your repentance; pay heed to yourself from now on.” “Look,
from now until I die I am going to be with you, abba”, was the brother’s
reply.
N.191/5.44 BHG 1450va, de filio sacerdotis pagani

One of the Theban elders used to say: “I was the child of a priest of the
pagans. When I was little I used to sit [there] and I often saw my father
going in to offer a sacrifice to the idol. On one occasion I secretly went in
behind him and I saw Satan with all his army standing beside him. Then
here there came one of his officers and prostrated himself before him. In
response the devil asked him: ‘Where do you come from?’ He said: ‘I was
in such-and-such a land; I provoked wars and caused much bloodshed.
I came to report it to you.’ [Satan] said to him: ‘How long did it take you
to do this?’ ‘Thirty days’, he said, then [the devil] ordered him to be
flogged, saying: ‘That is all you did in so much time?’ Then here another
one prostrated himself before him and he said to him: ‘You then, where are
you coming from?’ ‘I was at sea’, came the demon’s reply. ‘I raised storms,
sinking ships and killing many men; I came to report to you.’ [Satan] said
to him: ‘How long did it take you to do this?’ The demon said: ‘Twenty
days.’ He ordered this one to be flogged too, saying: ‘Why did you only do
μαστιχθῆναι αὐτόν, εἶπεν· Τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ τοῦτο μόνον ἐποίησας; Καὶ
ἰδοὺ ἄλλος προσεκύνει αὐτῷ, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Καὶ σὺ [f. 206vb] πόθεν
ἔρχῃ; Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ δαίμων εἶπεν· Ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ ἤμην, καὶ ἐξήγειρα
ἀνέμους καὶ κατεπόντισα πλοῖα, καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπέκτεινα, καὶ
ἦλθον τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαί σοι. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πόσῳ χρόνῳ τοῦτο ἐποιή-
σας; Ὁ δὲ δαίμων εἶπεν· Ἐν ἡμέραις εἴκοσι. Ἐκέλευσε δὲ καὶ τοῦτον1
μαστιχθῆναι λέγων· Διατί τοσαύταις ἡμέραις τοῦτο μόνον2 ἐποίησας;
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ τρίτος ἐλθὼν προσεκύνει αὐτῷ. Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ τούτῳ· Καὶ σὺ
πόθεν ἔρχῃ; Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ δαίμων εἶπεν· Εἰς τήνδε τὴν κώμην3 γάμοι
ἐγένοντο, καὶ ἐξήγειρα πόλεμον καὶ πολλὴν ἔκχυσιν αἱμάτων4 ἐποίησα,
ἀποκτείνας τὸν νυμφίον καὶ τὴν νύμφην, καὶ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀναγ[f. 207ra]γεῖ-
λαί σοι. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Πόσαις ἡμέραις τοῦτο ἐποίησας; καὶ εἶπεν· Δέκα.
Ἐκέλευσεν δὲ καὶ τοῦτον ὡς χρονίσαντα μαστιγωθῆναι.5 Πρὸς τούτοις
ἦλθεν καὶ ἕτερος προσκυνῆσαι αὐτῷ. Εἶπεν δέ· Πόθεν καὶ σὺ ἔρχῃ; Ὁ δὲ
εἶπεν· Ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἤμην ἰδοὺ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη, πολεμῶν πρὸς ἕνα
μοναχόν, καὶ τὴν νύκτα ταύτην κατέβαλον αὐτὸν εἰς πορνείαν. Τοῦτο
ἀκούσας, ἀναστάς, κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἄρας ὃν ἐφόρει στέφανον,
ἐπέθηκε τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκάθισεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ λέγων·
ὅτι τὸ6 μέγα τοῦτο πρᾶγμα ἠδυνήθης ποιῆσαι. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ γέρων· Τοῦτο
ἐγὼ ἰδών,7 ἔλεγον· Οὕτως μεγά ἐστι τὸ τάγμα8 τῶν μοναχῶν, καὶ
τοῦτο9 εὐδοκήσαντός μου10 [f. 207rb] τῆς σωτηρίας,11 ἐξῆλθον καὶ
γέγονα μοναχός.
Διηγήματα πρὸς ὑπομονὴν καὶ καρτερίαν ἡμᾶς ἀλείφοντα

192. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἀνθρώπῳ πειρασμός, πανταχόθεν
πληθύνονται αὐτῷ αἱ θλίψεις, ἵνα ὀλιγωρήσῃ καὶ γογγύσῃ, καὶ διηγή-
σατο ὁ γέρων οὕτως· Ἀδελφός τις ἦν εἰς τὰ Κελλία, καὶ ἦλθεν ἐπ᾿
αὐτὸν πειρασμός. Καὶ εἰ ἔβλεπέν τις αὐτόν, οὐδὲ ἀσπάσασθαι αὐτὸν
ἤθελεν, οὐδὲ εἰς κελλίον εἰσαγαγεῖν, καὶ εἰ ἔχρῃζεν ἄρτον, οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ
ἐκίχρα, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρχόμενον, οὐδεὶς εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν προε-
τρέπετο δι’ ἀγάπην ὡς ἔστιν ἔθος. Ἦλθε δὲ μίαν ἀπὸ τοῦ θέρους, καὶ
οὐδὲ ἄρτους εἶχεν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ καὶ σὺν τούτοις [f. 207va]
1
τοῦτον C] αὐτὸν S 2
τοῦτο μόνον C] μόνον τοῦτο trsp S 3
κώμην C] πόλιν S
4
ἔκχυσιν αἱμάτων C] αἱμάτων ἔκχυσιν trsp S 5
μαστιγωθῆναι C] μαστιχθῆναι S
6
τὸ om S 7
ἐγὼ ἰδών] ἰδὼν ἐγὼ S 8
τάγμα C] πρᾶγμα S 9
τοῦτο C] τοῦ Θεοῦ S
10
μου C] μοι S 11
τῆς σωτηρίας C] τὴν σωτηρίαν S
N.192 139
that in twenty days?’ Then here there came a third one and prostrated
himself before him. [Satan] said to him too: ‘And where are you coming
from?’ In answer the demon said: ‘There was a wedding in such-and-such a
village; I provoked a fight and caused much shedding of blood, killing the
bride and the groom; I came to report to you.’ [Satan] said: ‘In how many
days did you do this?’ ‘Ten’, he said, and [the devil] ordered that one to be
flogged too for taking so long. In addition to them yet another [demon]
came and prostrated himself before him. ‘And where do you come from?’
[the devil] said, and he said: ‘Look, I was in the desert for forty years,
battling with one monk and, last night, I caused him to fall into porneia.’
When [Satan] heard this, he stood up and embraced him; he took off the
crown he was wearing and placed it on the other’s head. He seated him on
his throne, saying: ‘[This is] because you were able to accomplish this great
deed.’”
The elder said: “When I saw that, I began saying: ‘Great indeed is the
order of monks!’ and, as God delighted in my salvation, I went out and
became a monk.”
NARRATIVES CONDUCIVE TO PATIENT ENDURANCE

A N D P E R SE V E R A N C E
N.192/7.29
An elder said: “If temptation comes upon a person, afflictions are multiplied
for him on every side to dishearten him and to make him complain” – and
the elder recounted this: “There was a brother at The Cells and tempta-
tion came upon him. If anybody saw him, they did not even want to
greet him or to bring him into their cell. If he was in need of bread,
nobody would lend him any and, when he was returning from harvesting,
nobody would invite him to church for an agapê as is the custom. One day
he returned from harvesting and he had no bread in his cell, yet, in spite of
all this, he was giving thanks to God. When God saw his patient endur-
ance, he took the battle with temptation away from him – and here there
came knocking at the door somebody from Egypt with a camel loaded
with bread. The brother began to weep, saying: “Lord, was I not worthy to
πᾶσιν1 εὐχαρίστει τῷ Θεῷ. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ὑπομονὴν αὐτοῦ, ᾖρε
τὸν πόλεμον τοῦ πειρασμοῦ ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδού τις ἦλθε2 τὴν θύραν
κρούων, κάμηλον ἔχων ἀπ’ Αἰγύπτου μεστὴν ἄρτων. Καὶ ἤρξατο ὁ
ἀδελφὸς κλαίειν καὶ3 λέγειν·4 Κύριε, οὐκ ἤμην ἄξιος θλιβῆναι μικρὸν5
διὰ τὸ ὄνομά σου; καὶ ὡς παρῆλθεν ὁ πειρασμός, ἐκράτουν αὐτὸν οἱ
ἀδελφοὶ καὶ ἀνέπαυον εἰς τὰ κελλία αὐτῶν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν.
193. Παρέβαλόν τινες ἀδελφοὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μεγάλῳ γέροντι, καὶ εἶπον

αὐτῷ· Πῶς καρτερεῖς ὧδε, ἀββᾶ, ὑπομένων τὸν κόπον τοῦτον; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
γέρων· Ὅλος ὁ χρόνος τοῦ κόπου μου οὗ ποιῶ ὧδε οὔπω ἡμέρας μιᾶς τῆς
κολάσεώς ἐστιν.
194. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι οἱ ἀρχαῖοι οὐ [f. 207vb] ταχέως μετέβαινον ἐκ τοῦ
τόπου αὐτῶν, ἐκτὸς τῶν6 τριῶν πραγμάτων τούτων· Ἐάν τις εὑρεθῇ
ἔχων τινὰ λυπούμενον κατ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα ποιῶν τὰ πρὸς θεραπείαν
αὐτοῦ μὴ δύναται αὐτὸν μεταβαλεῖν, ἢ πάλιν, ἐὰν συμβῇ ἀπὸ πολλῶν
δοξάζεσθαι, ἢ πειρασμῷ πορνείας περιπεσεῖν.7
195. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω; ὅτι οἱ λογισμοὶ

θλίβουσί με λέγοντες· Οὐ δύνασαι νηστεύειν οὐδὲ ἐργάζεσθαι, κἂν ἐπισ-
κέπτου τοὺς8 ἀσθενοῦντας καὶ τοῦτο ἀγάπη ἐστίν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Ὕπαγε, φάγε, πίε, κοιμῶ· μόνον τοῦ κελλίου9 μὴ ἀποστῇς, εἰδὼς
ὅτι ἡ ὑπομονὴ τοῦ κελλίου φέρει τὸν μοναχὸν εἰς τὴν τάξιν10 αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὡς
ἐποίησε τρεῖς ἡμέρας [f. 208ra] ἠκηδίασεν, καὶ εὑρὼν μικρὰ θαλλία,
ἔσχισεν αὐτά, καὶ πάλιν τῇ ἑξῆς ἤρξατο πλέκειν αὐτά· καὶ πεινάσας, εἶπεν·
Ἰδοὺ ἄλλα μικρὰ θαλλία καὶ ἐσθίω. Καὶ ὡς ἐποίησε τὰ θαλλία,11 εἶπεν
πάλιν· Ἀναγινώσκω μικρόν, καὶ οὕτως ἐσθίω. Καὶ ὡς ἀνέγνω λέγει· Ποιῶ
μου τοὺς μικροὺς ψαλμούς, καὶ μετὰ ἀμεριμνίας ἐσθίω. Καὶ οὕτως κατὰ
μικρὸν προέκοπτεν, τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεργοῦντος ἕως οὗ ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν τάξιν
αὐτοῦ. Καὶ θάρσος λαβὼν κατὰ τῶν λογισμῶν ἐνίκα αὐτούς.
196. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Διατί ἀκηδιῶ καθεζόμενος ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ μου; Καὶ

ἀπεκρίθη· ὅτι οὐχ ἑώρακας ἀκμὴν οὔτε τὴν ἐλπιζομένην ἀνάπαυσιν, οὔτε
τὴν ἐσομέ[f. 208rb]νην κόλασιν. Εἰ γὰρ ταῦτα ἀκριβῶς ἑώρακας, εἰ
1
σὺν τούτοις πᾶσιν C] ἐπὶ πᾶσι τούτοις S 2
τις ἦλθε C] ἦλθέ τις trsp S 3
καὶ om S
4
λέγειν C] λέγων S 5
μικρὸν om S 6
τῶν om S
7
περιπεσεῖν corr] περιπειν C] πεσεῖν S 8
τοὺς] ἀδελφοὺς add S 9
κελλίου] σου add S
10
τάξιν C] σύναξιν S 11
θαλλία] καὶ add S
N.193–6 141
suffer a little affliction for your namesake?” And when temptation passed,
the brothers would detain him and would entertain him in their cells and
in the church.
N.193/7.32 (Latin only)

Some brothers visited a great elder in the desert and they said to him:
“How do you carry on here, abba, enduring this toil?” The elder said: “All
the time of the toil I perform here is not yet as one day of chastisement.”
N.194/7.33
An elder said: “They of old time did not readily move from their place,
other than for [one of] these three reasons: if somebody was found with
someone having a grudge against him and, when he, though doing
everything to cure him, could not change his mind; or if one came to be
held in great honour by many people or [if one] fell into the temptation of
porneia.”
N.195/7.34/Arsenios 11
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do, for logismoi are afflicting me,
saying: ‘You cannot fast or labour, but if you visit the sick, that too is
charity.’” The elder said to him: “Go: eat, drink and sleep, only do not
leave your cell, aware that remaining patiently in one’s cell is what brings a
monk into line.” When he had done three days he had an attack of accidie.
He found a few palm-leaves which he split and, [taking them up] again
next day, began braiding them. When he got hungry, he said: “Here are a
few more palm leaves, so I will eat,” and when he had worked the palm
leaves, again he said: “I am going to read a little and then eat.” When he
had read, he said: “I shall recite the psalms of the little synaxis and then eat
without concern.” With the help of God, he began to make progress little
by little, in this way, until he made the grade and, gaining confidence
against his logismoi, he overcame them.
N.196/7.35
An elder was asked: “Why am I afflicted by accidie when I am staying in
my cell?” “Because you have not yet seen either the repose for which one
hopes or the punishment which lies ahead”, he replied. “If you had really
σκωλήκων ἔγεμεν τὸ κελλίον σου, ὥστε ἕως τραχήλου ἐν αὐτοῖς1 δεδοι-
κέναι, ὑπέμενες ἂν μὴ ἀκηδιῶν.
197. Τινὰ τῶν γερόντων παρεκάλουν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ παύσασθαι τῶν

μεγάλων πόνων. Ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς· Λέγω ὑμῖν, τέκνα, ὅτι Ἀβραὰμ
ἔχει μετανοῆσαι ὁρῶν τὰς δωρεὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰς μεγάλας, διότι μὴ πλέον
ἠγωνίσατο.
198. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Οἱ λογισμοί μου ῥέμβονται καὶ

θλίβομαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου, καὶ αὐτοὶ
πάλιν ἔρχονται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ὄνος ἐὰν ᾖ δεδεμένη καὶ ὁ πῶλος αὐτῆς
σκιρτᾷ ὧδε κἀκεῖ2 καὶ ὅπου δ’ ἂν ἀπέρχηται3 πρὸς τὴν μητέρα
[f. 208va] αὐτοῦ ἔρχεται,4 οὕτως καὶ οἱ λογισμοὶ τοῦ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν
ἐγκαρτεροῦντος ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ, εἰ καὶ πρὸς μικρὸν ῥέμβονται, ἀλλὰ
πάλιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναστρέφουσιν.5
199. Γέρων τις ἐκάθητο ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἔχων τὸ διάστημα ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος
μίλια δώδεκα, καὶ ἀπερχόμενος καθάπαξ γεμίσαι, ὠλιγώρησε καὶ εἶπεν·
Τίς χρεία τοῦ κόπου τούτου; Ἔρχομαι καὶ μένω πλησίον τοῦ ὕδατος. Καὶ
τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐστράφη, καὶ θεωρεῖ τινα ἀκολουθοῦντα καὶ ἀριθμοῦντα τὰ
βήματα αὐτοῦ, ἠρώτησε δὲ αὐτόν· Σὺ τίς εἶ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἄγγελος Κυρίου
εἰμί, καὶ ἀπεστάλην μετρῆσαι τὰ βήματά σου, καὶ δοῦναί σοι τὸν μισθόν.
Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσας ὁ γέρων, εὔψυχος ἐγένετο καὶ προθυμώ[f.
208vb]τερος, καὶ προσέθηκεν ἐσώτερον μίλια πέντε.
200. Ἔλεγον οἱ πατέρες· Ἐὰν συμβῇ σοι πειρασμὸς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ὅπου

οἰκεῖς, μὴ καταλίπῃς τὸν τόπον ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ πειρασμοῦ, εἰ δὲ μή,
ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς εὑρίσκεις ἔμπροσθέν σου ὃ φεύγεις, ἀλλ’ ὑπόμεινον
ἕως οὗ παρέλθῃ ὁ πειρασμός, ἵνα ἀσκανδάλιστος γένηται ἡ ἀναχώρησίς
σου καὶ ἐν καιρῷ εἰρήνης, ὅπως μηδὲ6 τοῖς κατοικοῦσι τὸν τόπον θλῖψιν
τινὰ7 ποιήσῃ8 ὁ χωρισμός σου.9
1
αὐτοῖς S] αὐταῖς C 2
σκιρτᾷ ὧδε κἀκεῖ C] ὧδε κἀκεῖ σκιρτᾷ trsp S
3
ἀπέρχηται C]-εται S
4
αὐτοῦ ἔρχεται (illegible in S. I think that αὐτοῦ is omitted and in the place of ἔρχεται is used an
alternative ending in-σιν. Can this be ἐπάνεισιν?)
5
ἀναστρέφουσιν C] ἐπαναστρέφουσιν S 6
μηδὲ om S
7
θλῖψιν τινὰ C] μή τινα θλίψιν ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς S 8
ποιήσῃ C] ἐμποιῆσαι S
9
ὁ χωρισμός σου C] τὸν χωρισμόν σου S
N.197–200 143
seen them, even if your cell were filled with worms so that you feared [they
would be] right up to your neck, you would patiently endure without
falling into accidie.”
N.197/7.36
The brothers begged one of the elders to refrain from his excessive labour.
He answered them: “I am telling you, children, Abraham is going to be
sorry that he did not strive harder when he sees the great gifts of God.”
N.198/7.37
A brother asked an elder: “My logismoi are gadding about and I am
afflicted.” The elder said to him: “Stay in your cell and they will come
back. For, just as when an ass is tethered, her colt leaps hither and thither
but, no matter where it goes, it [always] comes back to its mother, so too
do the logismoi of the one who for the sake of God perseveres in his cell
return to him again, even though they gad about a little.”
N.199/7.38
An elder was living in the desert twelve miles distant from water. Once
when he was going to fill [his water-pot] his spirit failed him and he said:
“What is the need of this labour? I am going to live near to the water.” As
he said this, he turned round and saw somebody following him, counting
his footsteps. “Who are you?” he asked him. “I am an angel of the Lord”,
he said; “I was sent to measure your footsteps and to give you the reward.”
The elder was much encouraged and more eager on hearing this; he added
five miles further in[to the desert].
N.200/7.39
The fathers used to say: “If temptation happens to you in the place where
you are dwelling, do not abandon the place at the time of the temptation
otherwise, no matter where you go, you will find that from which you are
fleeing before you. Remain until the temptation passes over, so that your
removal be inoffensive and in a time of peace – so that your separation
causes no affliction either on those inhabiting the place.”
201. Ἀδελφός τις ἦν ἐν κοινοβίῳ ἡσυχαστής, καὶ συνεχῶς ἐκινεῖτο εἰς
ὀργήν. Λέγει οὖν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἀπέρχομαι1 καταμόνας ἀναχωρῶν καὶ ἐν
τῷ μὴ ἔχειν με τίποτε μετά τινος, παύεται ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ τὸ πάθος. Ἐξελθὼν
οὖν, ᾤκησεν ἐν [f. 209ra] σπηλαίῳ μόνος. Ἐν μιᾷ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν, γεμίσας
τὸ βαυκάλιον ὕδατος ἔθηκε χαμαὶ καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐστράφη. Λαβὼν δὲ
ἐγέμισεν αὐτό, καὶ πάλιν ἐστράφη.2 Εἶτα τρίτον γεμίσας ἔθηκε, καὶ
πάλιν ἐστράφη. Καὶ θυμωθείς, ἐδράξατο αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔκλασεν αὐτό. Εἰς
ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐλθών, ἔγνω ὅτι ἐνεπαίχθη ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος, καὶ εἶπεν·
Ἰδοὺ3 καταμόνας ἀνεχώρησα, καὶ ἡττήθην, ἀπέρχομαι οὖν εἰς τὸ
κοινόβιον. Πανταχοῦ γάρ, ἀγῶνος χρεία καὶ ὑπομονῆς καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ
βοηθείας. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ.
202. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, πάτερ, ὅτι οὐδὲν

ἐργάζομαι μοναχοῦ, ἀλλ’ ἐν ἀμελείᾳ εἰμὶ ἐσθίων, [f. 209rb] καὶ πίνων καὶ
κοιμώμενος, καὶ ἐν αἰσχροῖς λογισμοῖς καὶ ἐν ταραχῇ πολλῇ εἰμί,
μετερχόμενος ἀπὸ ἔργου εἰς ἔργον καὶ ἀπὸ λογισμῶν εἰς λογισμούς. Εἶπεν
δὲ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου, καὶ ὃ δύνασαι ποίει ἐκτὸς
ταραχῆς. Θέλω γὰρ τὸ μικρὸν ὃ σὺ ποιεῖς ἄρτι, ὡς ὅτι ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος
ἐποίει τὰ μεγάλα εἰς τὸ ὄρος, καὶ πιστεύω ὅτι καθήμενος ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ διὰ
τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τηρῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ συνείδησιν, εὑρίσκῃ καὶ αὐτὸς
εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀντωνίου.
203. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων πῶς δεῖ σπουδαῖον ἀδελφὸν μὴ σκανδαλισθῆναι

ἐὰν ἴδῃ τινὰς ἀνακάμπτοντας ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ εἶπεν· ὀφείλει σκοπεῖν τοὺς
κύνας, τοὺς θηρεύον[f. 209va]τας τοὺς λαγωούς, καθάπερ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν
ἑωρακὼς τὸν λαγωὸν ἐπιδιώκει ἕως οὗ φθάσῃ μὴ ἐμποδισθείς, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ
ὁρῶσι μόνον τὸν κύνα τὸν ἐπιδιώκοντα, καὶ ἕως μέν τινος σὺν αὐτῷ
τρέχουσιν, ὕστερον δὲ κατανοήσαντες ἀνακάμπτουσιν εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω,
μόνος δὲ ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐπιδιώκει ἕως οὗ φθάσῃ μὴ ἐμποδισθεὶς ἐν
τῷ σκοπῷ τοῦ δρόμου ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνακαμψάντων, μήτε τῶν κρημνῶν καὶ
ὑλῶν καὶ κέντρων φροντίζων. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ τὸν δεσπότην Χριστὸν ἐπιζη-
τῶν, τῷ σταυρῷ ἀδιαλείπτως προσέχων, πάντα ὑπερβαίνει τὰ συναν-
τῶντα σκάνδαλα, ἕως οὗ φθάσῃ τὸν σταυρωθέντα.
1
ἀπέρχομαι] καὶ add S 2
Λαβὼν δὲ ἐγέμισεν αὐτό, καὶ πάλιν ἐστράφη om S
3
Ἰδοὺ] καὶ add S
N.201–3 145
N.201/7.40
There was a brother living in hêsychia in a coenobion who was constantly
being moved to anger. Said he to himself: “I am going away to live in
retirement all alone and, through having nothing to do with anybody, the
passion will be stilled from me.” So he went out and took up residence in a
cave, alone. But one day when he had filled his vessel with water, he put it
down on the ground and it was suddenly overturned. He took it, filled it and
again it was overturned. Then a third time he filled it, put it down and again it
was overturned. In his anger, he seized it and smashed it. When he came to his
senses he realised that had been tricked by the demon and he said: “Here
I have retreated into solitary existence and I have been worsted – so I am going
back to the coenobion. For there has to be a struggle, patient endurance and
the help of God everywhere.” He got up and returned to his place.
N.202/7.41
“What am I to do, father,” a brother asked an elder, “for I am accomplishing
nothing that becomes a monk. I live in negligence, eating, drinking and
sleeping, beset by disgraceful logismoi and in deep distress, flitting from one
task to another and from logismoi to logismoi.” The elder said: “Stay in your
cell and do what you can do without becoming distressed. I would like to
think that the little that you accomplish here and now is comparable to the
great deeds which Abba Antony used to do at the mountain. I believe that,
remaining in your cell in the name of God and keeping watch over your own
conscience, you are yourself in the situation of Abba Antony.”
N.203/7.42
An elder was asked how a serious brother should not be offended if he see
some [monks] returning to the world. He said: “He ought to watch
hounds, the ones who hunt hares [and note] how when one of them has
spotted the hare, he chases after it without being distracted until he reaches
it. The other hounds (seeing only the hound chasing it) run with him for a
while, but eventually they look around and fall behind. Only that hound
that had seen [the hare] chases it until he reaches it, not in the least
distracted in the aim of his running by the hounds that turned back. Nor
does he heed ravines, undergrowth or thorns. So does he who seeks Christ
the Lord-and-master, keeping the cross in mind without wavering, over-
come every offence he encounters until he reaches the crucified one.”
204. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὥσπερ δένδρον καρποφορῆσαι ἀδύνατον [f. 209vb]
συνεχῶς μεταφυτευόμενον, οὕτως οὐδὲ μοναχὸς μεταβαίνων ἐκ τόπου εἰς
τόπον ἀρετὴν ἐπιτελέσαι δύναται.
205. Ἀδελφὸς ὀχλούμενος ὑπὸ λογισμῶν ὥστε ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τῆς μονῆς,

ἀνήγγειλε τῷ ἀββᾷ. Ὁ δὲ λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὕπαγε, κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον
σου, καὶ παράσχου ἐνέχυρον τῷ τείχει τῆς κέλλης τὸ σῶμα, καὶ μὴ ἐξέλθῃς
ἐκεῖθεν, ἄφες τὸν λογισμὸν λογίσηται ὃ βούλεται, μόνον μὴ ἐκβάλῃς ἐκ τῆς
κέλλης τὸ σῶμα.
206. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ κέλλα τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἔστιν ἡ κάμινος1 Βαβυλῶνος,

ὅπου οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εὗρον, καὶ ὁ στύλος τῆς νεφέλης,
ὅθεν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Μωϋσῇ ἐλάλησεν.
207. Ἀδελφὸς ἔμεινεν ἐννέα [f. 210ra] ἔτη πολεμούμενος ἐξελθεῖν ἀπὸ
κοινοβίου καὶ καθ’ ἡμέραν ἡτοίμαζε τὸ μηλωτάριον αὐτοῦ ἵνα ἐξέλθῃ, καὶ
ὡς ἐγένετο ὀψέ, ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Αὔριον ἀναχωρῶ ἐκ τῶν ὧδε. Καὶ
πρωΐας ἔλεγε τῷ λογισμῷ· Βιασώμεθα ἑαυτοὺς καρτερῆσαι καὶ τὴν
σήμερον διὰ τὸν Κύριον. Καὶ ὡς ἐπλήρωσεν ἐννέα ἔτη οὕτως ποιῶν,
ἐκούφισεν ὁ Θεὸς πάντα πειρασμὸν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεπάη.
208. Ἀδελφός τις ἐμπεσὼν εἰς πειρασμὸν ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως ἀπώλεσε τὸν
μοναχικὸν κανόνα, καὶ θέλων βαλεῖν ἀρχήν, διὰ τὴν θλῖψιν2 ἐνεποδίζετο
λέγων ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Πότε ἔχω εὑρεῖν ἐμαυτὸν ὥσπερ ἤμην ποτέ; Καὶ ὀλι-
γωρῶν, οὐκ ἴσχυεν ἄρ[f. 210rb]ξασθαι τοῦ μοναχικοῦ ἔργου. Ἐλθὼν δὲ
πρός τινα γέροντα διηγήσατο αὐτῷ3 τὰ καθ’ἑαυτόν. Καὶ ὁ γέρων
ἀκούσας τὰ τῆς θλίψεως αὐτοῦ προσήνεγκεν αὐτῷ ὑπόδειγμα τοιοῦτον,
λέγων· Ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχε χωρίον, καὶ ἐξ ἀμελείας αὐτοῦ, ἐχερσώθη, καὶ
ἐπληρώθη θρύων καὶ ἀκανθῶν. Ἔδοξε δὲ αὐτῷ ὕστερον φιλοκαλῆσαι
αὐτό, καὶ λέγει4 τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· Ὕπαγε· καθάρισον τὸ χωρίον. Καὶ
ἐλθὼν5 ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ καθαρίσαι αὐτό, θεωρήσας τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀκανθῶν,
ὠλιγώρησε λέγων ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Πότε ἔχω ὅλα ταῦτα ἀνασπᾶσαι καὶ
καθαρίσαι τὰ ὧδε; Καὶ ἀναπεσὼν ἤρξατο κοιμᾶσθαι ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας.
Μετὰ δὲ [f. 210va] ταῦτα, ἔρχεται ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ἰδεῖν τί ἐποίησεν,
καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν μηδὲν ἐργασάμενον καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τί ὅτι ἕως τοῦ
νῦν οὐδὲν εἰργάσω; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ νεώτερος τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ· Μόνον ὡς
ἠρχόμην ἐργάσασθαι, πάτερ, βλέπων τὸ πλῆθος τῶν θρύων καὶ τῶν
1
ἔστιν ἡ κάμινος] ἡ κάμινός ἐστι trsp S 2
διὰ τὴν θλῖψιν om S 3
αὐτῷ S] αὐτὸν C
4
λέγει] οὖν add S 5
ἐλθὼν C] ἐξελθὼν S
N.204–8 147
N.204/7.43
An elder said: “In the same way that a frequently transplanted tree is
incapable of bearing fruit, so neither can a monk who moves from place to
place accomplish virtue.”
N.205/7.45
A brother troubled by logismoi to the point of leaving the monastery
reported [it] to the abba but he said to him: “Go, stay in your cell; pledge
your body to the wall of the cell and do not come out of there. Let your
logismos think what it likes, but do not move your body out of the cell.”
N.206/7.46
An elder said: “A monk’s cell is the furnace of Babylon in which the three
children found the Son of God [Dan 3] and the Pillar of Cloud from which
God spoke with Moses [Ex 33:9].”
N.207/7.48
For nine years a brother continued to be embattled to leave the coenobion.
Every day he made his sheepskin* ready so he could leave but, when
evening fell, he would say to himself: “Tomorrow I am getting away from
here.” Then, again, at dawn he would say to his logismos: “Let us constrain
ourselves to remain here this day too – for the Lord’s sake,” and after he
had lived like that for nine years, God relieved him of all temptation and
he knew repose.
* mêlôtês, sheepskin cloak; probably meaning he packed up his [few] belongings,
cf. N.215.
N.208/7.49
A brother who fell into temptation was so distressed that he broke the
monastic rule. When he wanted to make a fresh start, he was prevented
from doing so by his distress, saying to himself: “When can I find myself as
I was before?” Discouraged, he was unable to commence the monastic
task, so he came to an elder and explained his situation to him. On hearing
about his distress, the elder offered him the following example: “There was
ἀκανθῶν, συνειχόμην, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως, ἐτίθουν ἐμαυτὸν καὶ ἐκοιμώ-
μην. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· Τέκνον, ἴσον τοῦ πλάτους τοῦ στρώ-
ματός σου ποίει καθ’ ἡμέραν, καὶ οὕτω προκόπτει τὸ ἔργον σου καὶ οὐκ
ὀλιγωρεῖς. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἐποίησεν οὕτως, καὶ ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ ἐκαθαρίσθη
τὸ χωρίον. Οὕτως οὖν καὶ σύ, ἀδελφέ, κατ’ ὀλίγον ἐργάζου καὶ οὐκ
ὀλιγωρεῖς1 καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τῇ χάριτι αὐ[f. 210vb]τοῦ πάλιν ἀποκαθιστῇ2 σε
εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν σου ἕξιν.3 Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἀκούσας, καὶ4 καθίσας μεθ’
ὑπομονῆς ἐποίει ὡς ἐδιδάχθη ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος, καὶ εὗρεν ἀνάπαυσιν
χάριτι Χριστοῦ.
209. Γέρων τις ἦν καὶ συνεχῶς ἐκακοῦτο καὶ ἠσθένει. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτὸν
ἕνα ἐνιαυτὸν μὴ κακωθῆναι, καὶ ἐδυσφόρει δεινῶς καὶ ἔκλαιε, λέγων·
Ἐγκατέλιπέ με ὁ Θεὸς καὶ οὐκ ἐπεσκέψατό με.
210. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι ἀδελφός τις ἐπειράζετο ἀπὸ λογισμοῦ ἐπὶ
ἔτη ἐννέα, ὥστε5 αὐτὸν ἀπολέγεσθαι6 τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ
εὐλαβείας κατέκρινεν ἑαυτὸν λέγων· Ἀπώλεσά μου τὴν ψυχήν, ὑπάγω
εἰς τὸν κόσμον παρ’ ᾧ ἀπωλόμην. Ἀπερχομένου [f. 211ra] δὲ αὐτοῦ, ἦλθε
φωνὴ αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν λέγουσα· Τὰ ἐννέα ἔτη ἃ ἐπειράσθης, στέφανοί
σου ἦσαν, ἐπίστρεψον εἰς τὸν τόπον σου, καὶ κουφίζω σε ἀπὸ τῶν
λογισμῶν. Βλέπεις ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι καλόν ἀπελπίζειν τινὰ ἑαυτοῦ διὰ λογισ-
μούς, μᾶλλον δὲ οὗτοι στεφάνους ἡμῖν προξενοῦσιν, ἐὰν αὐτοὺς καλῶς7
διεξερχώμεθα.
1
Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἐποίησεν οὕτως . . . κατ᾿ ὀλίγον ἐργάζου καὶ οὐκ ὀλιγωρεῖς om S
2
ἀποκαθιστῇ σε corr] ἀποκαθιστᾶσαι C] ἀποκαθιστᾷ σε S 3
ἕξιν C] τάξιν S
4
καὶ om S 5
ὥστε] καὶ add S 6
αὐτὸν ἀπολέγεσθαι] ἀπολέγεσθαι αὐτὸν trsp S
7
αὐτοὺς καλῶς C] καλῶς αὐτοὺς trsp S
N.209–10 149
a man who had a field but it had become waste from his neglect and was
filled with weeds and thistles. Eventually he thought he would cultivate it;
he said to his son: ‘Go and clean up the field.’ His son went to clean it
but he became discouraged when he saw the multitude of thistles, saying
to himself: ‘When will I ever pull up all those [weeds] and clean up what is
here?’ He lay down and began sleeping for several days. Afterwards his
father came to see what he had done. Finding that he had accomplished
nothing, he said to him: ‘Why have you accomplished nothing until now?’
The young man said to the father: ‘As soon as I began to work, father,
I was overwhelmed at the sight of the multitude of the weeds and thistles
and, as a result of my distress, laid myself down to sleep.’ His father said to
him: ‘My son, do [an area] equivalent to the width of your coverlet each
day; that way your work will progress and you will not be discouraged.’ On
hearing this, he did so and, in short time, the field was cleaned up. So too
do you, brother, work little by little; you will not be discouraged and God
of his charity will restore you to your former state.” On hearing this and
patiently staying [there], the brother began doing as he had been taught by
the elder and, by the grace of Christ, he found repose.
N.209/7.50
There was an elder who was continually sick and unwell, but then for one
year he was not sick. He was terribly upset and wept, saying: “God has
abandoned me and not visited me.”
N.210/7.51
An elder said: “There was a brother who was tormented by a logismos for
nine years, so that he despaired of his own salvation and condemned
himself in piety, saying: ‘I have lost my soul so I am going to the world.’
As he was leaving, there came a voice to him along the road that said: ‘The
nine years during which you were tormented were your crowns. Return to
your place and I will relieve you of the logismoi.’” So, you see, it is not good
for anyone to despair of himself because of logismoi, for they create and
obtain crowns for us if we come through them unscathed.
211. Γέρων τις ἦν ἐν Θηβαΐδι καθήμενος ἐν σπηλαίῳ, καὶ εἶχε μαθητὴν
δόκιμον. Ἔθος δὲ ἦν καθ’ ἑσπέραν τὸν γέροντα παραινεῖν αὐτῷ τὰ πρὸς
ὠφέλειαν, καὶ μετὰ τὴν παραίνεσιν, ἐποίει εὐχὴν καὶ ἀπέλυεν αὐτὸν
κοιμηθῆναι. Συνέβη δὲ ποτὲ κοσμικούς τινας εὐλαβεῖς, εἰδότας τὴν
πολ[f. 211rb]λὴν ἄσκησιν τοῦ γέροντος, παραβαλεῖν καὶ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς
παράκλησιν. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀπελθεῖν αὐτούς, ἐκάθισε πάλιν ὁ γέρων τῇ
ἑσπέρᾳ κατὰ τὸ ἔθος, νουθετῶν τὸν ἀδελφόν· καὶ ὁμιλῶν αὐτῷ,
κατηνέχθη εἰς ὕπνον. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς παρέμενεν ἕως οὗ ὁ γέρων ἐξυπνισθῇ
καὶ ποιήσῃ αὐτῷ τὴν εὐχήν. Ἐπιπολὺ οὖν καθεζόμενος, μὴ ἐξυπνιζομένου
τοῦ γέροντος, ὠχλήθη ὑπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν ἀπελθεῖν κοιμηθῆναι ἐκτὸς
ἀπολύσεως. Καὶ βιασάμενος ἑαυτόν, ἀντέστη τῷ λογισμῷ, καὶ ἔμεινεν,
πάλιν δὲ ὠχλήθη καὶ οὐκ ἀπῆλθεν, ὡσαύτως δὲ ἕως ἑπτάκις ὀχληθεὶς
ἀντέστη τῷ λογισμῷ [f. 211va]. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, τῆς νυκτὸς προκοψάσης
διυπνίσθη1 ὁ γέρων, καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν παρακαθεζόμενον καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ·
οὐκ ἀνεχώρησας ἕως ἄρτι; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐχί· οὐ γὰρ ἀπέλυσάς με, ἀββᾶ.
Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν· Καὶ διατί οὐκ ἐξύπνισάς με; Ὁ δέ φησιν· Οὐκ ἐτόλμησά
σε νύξαι,2 ἵνα μή σε παραλύσω. Ἀναστάντες δὲ ἔβαλον τὰ ὀρθρινά, καὶ
μετὰ τὴν σύναξιν, ἀπέλυσεν ὁ γέρων τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ ἐκάθητο καθ’
ἑαυτόν. Γίνεται οὖν ἐν ἐκστάσει, καὶ ἰδού τις δεικνύων αὐτῷ τόπον
ἔνδοξον καὶ θρόνον ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐπάνω τοῦ θρόνου ἑπτὰ στεφάνους.
Ἠρώτα δὲ τὸν δεικνύοντα αὐτῷ λέγων· Τίνος ταῦτα; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Τοῦ [f. 211vb] μαθητοῦ σου· καὶ τὸν μὲν τόπον καὶ τὸν θρόνον ἐχαρίσατο
αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τὴν ὑπακοὴν αὐτοῦ· τοὺς δὲ ἑπτὰ στεφάνους ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ
ταύτῃ ἔλαβεν. Τοῦτο δὲ ἀκούσας ὁ γέρων ἐθαύμασεν, καὶ γενόμενος
ἔμφοβος, καλεῖ τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Εἰπέ μοι τί ἐποίησας τὴν
νύκτα ταύτην. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Συγχώρησόν μοι ἀββᾶ, ὅτι οὐδὲν ἐποίησα.
Ὁ δὲ γέρων νομίσας ὅτι ταπεινοφρονῶν οὐχ ὁμολογεῖ, εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Οὐ παραχωρῶ σοι εἰ μὴ εἴπῃς μοι τί ἐποιήσας, ἢ τί ἐνεθυμήθης τὴν
νύκτα ταύτην. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφός, μηδὲν ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς πεπραχέναι,
ἠπόρει εἰπεῖν. Λέγει δὲ τῷ πατρί·3 Ἀββᾶ, οὐδὲν ἐποίησα εἰ μὴ μό
[f. 212ra]νον τοῦτο· Ὅτι ὀχληθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν ἑπτάκις, ἀνα-
χωρῆσαι χωρὶς τῆς σῆς ἀπολύσεως,4 οὐκ ἀπῆλθον. Ἀκούσας δὲ τοῦτο
ὁ γέρων, ἐνόησεν ὅτι ὁσάκις ἀντεμαχήσατο τῷ λογισμῷ, ἐστεφανώθη
ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῷ μὲν ἀδελφῷ οὐδὲν τούτων ἐλάλησεν, ὠφελείας δὲ
χάριν διηγήσατο αὐτὰ πατράσι πνευματικοῖς, ἵνα μάθωμεν ὅτι μικρῶν
ἐνθυμήσεων στεφάνους ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς χαρίζεται. Καλὸν οὖν τὸ βιάζεσθαι
1
διυπνίσθη C] ἀνέστη S 2
σε νύξαι] νύξαι σε trsp S 3
τῷ πατρί C] αὐτῷ S
4
ἀπολύσεως S] ἀναλύσεως C
N.211 151
N.211/7.52 (cf. 1.16)

There was an elder in the Thebaid living in a cave who had a well-tried
disciple. It was customary for the elder to speak beneficial words to him
when evening was falling. When he had finished speaking, he would offer a
prayer and then dismiss him to go get some sleep. Then some devout
worldlings who were aware of the intensity of the elder’s spiritual discipline
once happened to visit and he gave them some words of encouragement.
After they left, the elder sat down as usual in the evening after the synaxis,
to instruct the brother; but he fell asleep whilst he was speaking to him.
The brother waited for the elder to wake up and offer the [usual] prayer for
him. When he had sat there for some considerable time without the elder
awakening, he was troubled by logismoi of going to bed without being
dismissed, but he constrained himself, withstood the logismos and stayed
there. Again he was troubled but did not leave; seven times he was
troubled in this way and resisted the logismos. Later on, when the night
was well advanced, the elder awoke and, finding him sitting there, said to
him: “Have you still not gone to bed?” “No, because you did not dismiss
me, abba”, he replied. “Why did you not wake me up?” asked the elder, to
which the other replied: “I did not dare wake you up for fear of annoying
you.” They stood up and offered the dawn worship and after the synaxis
the elder dismissed the brother. While he was sitting alone the elder fell
into a trance; somebody was showing him a glorious place in which there
was a throne with seven crowns above the throne. He asked the person
who was showing him: “Whose are those crowns?” He said: “They are
your disciple’s; God granted him the place and the throne because of his
obedience but he received the seven crowns last night.” The elder was
astounded when he heard this; in fearfulness he summoned the brother
and said to him: “Tell me, what did you do last night?” “I beg your pardon
abba: I did not do anything”, he replied. Thinking that it was in his
humility that the brother was not confessing, the elder told him: “I am not
going to let you go unless you tell me what you did or what came into your
mind last night.” The brother was at a loss what to say, for he was not
aware of having done anything. He said to the father: “Pardon me, abba,
but I did nothing except this: seven times I was troubled by logismoi to
withdraw without being dismissed by you, but I did not go.” As soon as
the elder heard this he knew that each time he resisted the logismos he was
crowned by God. He said nothing of this to the brother but, for the
benefit it affords, he did report it to some spiritual fathers so we might
learn that God grants us crowns for small considerations. So it is a good
ἑαυτοὺς1 διὰ τὸν Θεόν. Βιαστὴ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐράνων, καὶ
βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.
212. Ἠσθένησέ τις γέρων ποτὲ εἰς τὰ Κελλία, καθεζόμενος καταμόνας

καὶ μὴ ἔχων τὸν ὑπηρε[f. 212rb]τοῦντα αὐτῷ. Καὶ ἀνιστάμενος, εἴ τι
εὕρισκεν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ μετελάμβανεν. Μείναντος οὖν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πολλὰς
ἡμέρας, οὐδεὶς ἤρχετο εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν αὐτοῦ. Πληρωθεισῶν δὲ ἡμερῶν
τριάκοντα, καὶ μηδενὸς ἐλθόντος πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἄγγελον
ὑπηρετεῖν αὐτῷ. Καὶ ὡς ἔμεινεν ἡμέρας ἑπτά, ἐμνήσθησαν οἱ πατέρες τοῦ
γέροντος καὶ εἶπον· Μήπως ἀπέθανεν ὁ δεῖνα ὁ γέρων; Ὡς οὖν ἦλθον
καὶ ἔκρουσαν ὑπεχώρησεν ὁ ἄγγελος. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔκραζεν ἔσωθεν·
Ὑπάγετε2 ἐντεῦθεν ἀδελφοί. Καταβαλόντες δὲ τὴν θύραν, εἰσῆλθον καὶ
ἠρώτων αὐτὸν διατί ἔκραζεν. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ὅτι τριάκοντα ἡμέρας
εἶχον κοπι[f. 212va]ῶν, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐπεσκέψατό με, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἑπτὰ ἡμέραι
εἰσὶν ἐξ οὗ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ Θεὸς ἄγγελον ὑπηρετεῖν μοι, καὶ ὡς ἤλθετε,
ἀπέστη ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπών, ἐκοιμήθη. Οἱ δὲ ἀδελφοὶ θαυμάσαντες,
ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκαταλιμπάνει Κύριος τοὺς ἐλπίζοντας
ἐπ’ αὐτόν.
213. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν φθάσῃ ἀῤῥωστία σώματος, μὴ ὀλιγώρει· εἰ γὰρ

θέλει σε ὁ δεσπότης σου κακοῦσθαι τῷ σώματι σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ δυσχεραίνων;
οὐκ αὐτός σου φροντίζει ἐν πᾶσιν; μὴ πάρεξ αὐτοῦ ζῇς; ἀνεξικάκει οὖν, καὶ
παρακάλει αὐτὸν παρασχεῖν σοι τὰ συμφέροντα. Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ θέλημα
αὐτοῦ· κάθου μετὰ μακροθυμίας, φάγε ἀγάπην.
214. Διηγήσατό τις [f. 212vb] τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ὄντος μου ἐν
Ὀξυρύγχῳ, ἦλθον ἐκεῖ πτωχοὶ ὀψὲ σαββάτων ἵνα λάβωσιν ἀγάπην.
Καὶ κοιμωμένων ἡμῶν, ἦν ἐκεῖ τις ἔχων ψιάθιν3 μόνον, τὸ ἥμισυ ὑποκάτω
καὶ τὸ ἥμισυ ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ. Ἦν δὲ ψύχρα πολλή. Καὶ ἐξελθὼν εἰς ὕδωρ
ἤκουσα αὐτοῦ ὀδυνωμένου ἀπὸ τοῦ ψύχους, καὶ παρεκάλει ἑαυτὸν
λέγων· Ἐυχαριστῶ σοι, Κύριε, πόσοι εἰσὶν ἄρτι ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ πλούσιοι
σίδηρα φοροῦντες, ἄλλοι δὲ τοὺς πόδας ἠσφαλισμένοι εἰς ξύλον, μηδὲ τὸ
ὕδωρ ἑαυτῶν δυνάμενοι ποιῆσαι. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὡς βασιλεὺς εἰμὶ ἐκτείνων τοὺς
πόδας.4 Καὶ ταῦτα ἀκούσας διηγησάμην τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ὠφελήθησαν.
1
ἑαυτοὺς] ἐν παντί add S 2
Ὑπάγετε S]-ται C 3
ψιάθιν C] ψιάθιον S
4
πόδας] μου add S
N.212–14 153
thing to coerce ourselves in God’s service: “The Kingdom of Heaven
suffers violence and the violent take it by force” [Mt 11:12].
N.212/7.53
An elder living all alone at The Cells once fell ill. Having nobody to look
after him he would get up and partake of whatever he could find in the
cell. He continued [sick] for many days and nobody came to visit him.
When thirty days had gone by with nobody coming to him, God sent an
angel to look after him. The angel stayed for seven days then the fathers
remembered the elder. “Maybe the elder so-and-so has died”, they said.
When they came and knocked the angel departed; “Get away from here,
brothers”, the elder shouted from within, but they forced the door, came
in and asked him: “Why did you shout out?” He said to them: “Because
I was ailing for thirty days and nobody came to visit me; then, seven days
ago, God sent an angel to care for me, but the angel abandoned me when
you came”, and, so saying, he died. Astonished, the brothers glorified God
saying: “The Lord does not abandon those who put their hope in him.”
N.213/7.54
An elder said: “Do not be dejected if physical sickness comes upon you.
Who are you to take offence if your Lord-and-master wants to afflict your
body? Does he not care about you himself in all respects? You cannot live
without him can you? So be long-suffering and call on him to grant you
what is appropriate. This is his will: live in long-suffering and eat charity.”
N.214/7.56
One of the fathers recounted: “Whilst I was in Oxyrhynchos some poor
people came there one Saturday evening to receive alms. When we lay
down to sleep there was one of them who had only one coverlet, half of it
above and half underneath him. It was very cold and, going out to make
water, I heard him moaning because of the cold and he was reproving
himself, saying: ‘I thank you, Lord! How many rich men are now in
prisons loaded with chains, others with their feet fastened in stocks and
cannot make water! Yet I am like an emperor, stretching out my feet.’ After
hearing these things I recounted them to the brothers and they were
edified.”
215. Ἀδελφὸς [f. 213ra] ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ μοι θλῖψις,
καὶ μὴ ἔχω εἴς1 τινα πληροφορίαν τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι, τί ποιήσω; Λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Πιστεύω τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι πέμπει τὴν χάριν αὐτοῦ καὶ βοηθεῖ σοι, ἐὰν
ἐν ἀληθείᾳ δεηθῇς. Ἤκουσα γὰρ ὅτι γέγονεν ἐν Σκήτει πρᾶγμα τοιοῦτον·
Ἦν τίς ἀγωνιστής· καὶ μὴ ἔχων πληροφορίαν πρός τινα, ἡτοίμασε τὸ
μηλωτάριον αὐτοῦ ἀναχωρῆσαι, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐφάνη αὐτῷ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ
ὡς παρθένος, καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν λέγουσα· Μηδαμοῦ ἀπέλθῃς ἀλλὰ
κάθου ὧδε μετ’ ἐμοῦ, οὐδὲν γὰρ κακὸν γέγονεν ὧν ἤκουσας. Πεισθεὶς δὲ
ἐκάθισεν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐθεραπεύθη αὐτοῦ ἡ καρδία.
[f. 213rb] Περὶ διακρίσεως

216. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησέ τινα τῶν πατέρων, εἰ μιαίνεταί τις λογιζόμενος
ῥυπαρὸν λογισμόν; Ἐξετάσεως δὲ περὶ τούτου γενομένης, οἱ μὲν ἔλεγον·
ναί, μιαίνεται· οἱ δὲ οὐχί, ἐπεὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα σωθῆναι ἡμεῖς οἱ ἰδιῶται, ἀλλὰ
τοῦτό ἐστιν· τὸ μὴ πρᾶξαι αὐτὰ σωματικῶς. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἀπελθὼν εἰς
δοκιμώτερον γέροντα ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν περὶ τούτου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Πρὸς τὸ μέτρον ἑκάστου ζητεῖται παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Παρεκάλεσεν οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς
τὸν γέροντα λέγων· Διὰ τὸν Κύριον, διάλυσον τὸν λόγον τοῦτον. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἰδού, φησι, κεῖται ἐνταῦθα σκεῦος ἐπιθυμητόν, καὶ
εἰσῆλθον ὧδε δύο ἀδελφοί·2 εἷς ἔχων μέ[f. 213va]τρα μεγάλα, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος
ἥττονα. Ἐὰν εἴπῃ ὁ λογισμὸς τοῦ τελείου· ἤθελον ἔχειν τὸ σκεῦος τοῦτο,
μὴ ἐπιμείνῃ δὲ ἀλλὰ ταχέως ἀποκόψῃ, οὐκ ἐμιάνθη. Ὁ δὲ μήπω φθάσας εἰς
μεγάλα μέτρα ἐὰν ἐπιθυμήσῃ μὲν καὶ ἀδολεσχήσῃ ἐν τῷ λογισμῷ, μὴ ἄρῃ
δὲ αὐτό, οὐκ ἐμιάνθη.
217. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι ποτέ τις ὠλίσθησεν εἰς βαρὺ ἁμάρτημα, καὶ κατα-
νυγεὶς εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἀπῆλθεν ἀναγγεῖλαί τινι γέροντι, καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῷ
τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐάν τινι ἀναβῇ λογισμὸς τοιόσδε, ἔχει σωτηρίαν; Ἀπεκρίθη
αὐτῷ ἐκεῖνος ἄπειρος ὢν διακρίσεως· Ἀπώλεσεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχήν. Τοῦτο
ἀκούσας ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν· Εἰ ἀπωλόμην ὑπάγω κἂν εἰς [f. 213vb] τὸν κόσμον.
Ἀπερχόμενος δὲ ἐνεθυμήθη ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἀναγγεῖλαι τοὺς λογισμοὺς αὐτοῦ
τῷ ἀββᾷ Σιλουανῷ. Ἦν δὲ οὗτος ὁ ἀββᾶς Σιλουανὸς διορατικὸς μέγας.
Ἐλθὼν οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφός,3 εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ
αὐτῷ4 σχήματι·5 ἐὰν ἀναβῶσι τινὶ λογισμοὶ τοιοῦτοι, ἔχει σωτηρίαν;6
1
εἴς C] πρός S 2
ἀδελφοί] ὁ μὲν add S 3
ἀδελφὸς] οὐκ add S
4
αὐτῷ] τῆς ἐρωτήσεως add S 5
σχήματι] χρησάμενος, ἐπυνθάνετο λέγων add S
6
ἐὰν ἀναβῶσι τινὶ λογισμοὶ τοιοῦτοι, ἔχει σωτηρίαν; C] εἰ τοιοῖδε λογισμοὶ ἀναβῶσι τινί, σχῇ
σωτηρίαν αὐτός; S
N.215–17 155
N.215/7.57
A brother asked an elder: “If affliction comes upon me and I have nobody
in whom I have confidence to report it to, what am I to do?” The elder
said: “I trust in God that he will send you his grace and help you if you
truly intercede with him. I heard that something like this happened at
Scete. There was one fighting the good fight there who did not have
confidence in anybody; so he got his sheepskin ready to leave – and here
the grace of God appeared to him in the form of a maiden who urged
him, saying: ‘Do not depart, but stay here with me for none of the bad
things you heard about has happened.’ Convinced, he stayed [there] and
immediately his heart was healed.”
ON DISCRETION
N.216/10.112
A brother asked one of the fathers: “Is one defiled by entertaining an
unclean logismos?” An enquiry into this question took place, some saying:
“Yes, one is defiled”; others: “It is not so, otherwise we uncultivated ones
could not be saved. What matters is not to indulge [the logismoi] physic-
ally.” The brother went to a more experienced elder and asked him about
this. The elder said to him: “It is required of each one according to his
capability [metron].” The brother begged the elder: “For the Lord’s sake,
explain that statement.” The elder said to him: “Suppose there is a
desirable object placed here and two brothers have come in, one of great
capability, the other less so. If the logismos of the perfect brother says:
‘I would like to possess that object’ and, without hesitation, he quickly
represses it, he is not defiled. And if the one not so advanced should covet
the object and entertain the logismos in his mind but does not take it,
neither is he defiled.”
N.217/10.100
An elder said: “Somebody once fell into grievous sin; moved to repentance
he went off to report it to some elder. He did not, however, mention the
deed but [asked]: ‘If such a logismos as this arises in somebody, does
he have salvation?’ Being inexperienced in discretion, that [elder] replied:
‘He has lost his soul.’ When the brother heard this, he said: ‘If I am lost,
Ἀνοίξας δὲ τὸ στόμα ὁ πατὴρ ἀπὸ τῶν γραφῶν, ἤρξατο λέγειν· ὅτι οὐ
πάντως κρίμα ἐστὶ τοῦτο1 τοῖς λογιζομένοις. Ἀκούσας δὲ τοῦτο ὁ ἀδελφὸς
καὶ εὔελπις γενόμενος ἀνήγγειλεν2 αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ
πατήρ, ὡς καλὸς ἰατρὸς κατέπλασεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν,
ὅτι3 ἐστὶ μετάνοια τοῖς [f. 214ra] γνησίως ἐπιστρέφουσι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ
παραβαλόντος τοῦ ἀββᾶ μου πρὸς τὸν πατέρα διηγήσατο αὐτῷ ταῦτα4
καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀπελπίσας ἑαυτὸν καὶ μέλλων ὑπάγειν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ὡς
ἀστήρ ἐστι μεταξὺ τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Ταῦτα διηγησάμην ἵνα οἴδαμεν5 ποῖον6
κίνδυνον ἔχει τὸ ἀδιακρίτοις ἀναγγέλλειν εἴτε λογισμοὺς εἴτε παραπτώματα.
218. Εἶπεν γέρων· οὐ τὸ εἰσέρχεσθαι λογισμοὺς εἰς ἡμᾶς τοῦτο ἡμῖν

κατάκριμα, ἀλλὰ τὸ κακῶς χρῆσθαι7 τοῖς λογισμοῖς, ἔστι γὰρ ἐκ λογισμῶν
ναυαγῆσαι καὶ ἔστιν ἐκ λογισμῶν στεφανωθῆναι.
219. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· τί ποιήσω ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ λογισ-

μοὶ οἱ πολεμοῦν[f. 214rb]τές με καὶ οὐκ οἶδα πῶς πολεμήσω πρὸς αὐτούς.
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Μὴ πολεμήσης πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἕνα. Πάντες
γὰρ οἱ λογισμοὶ τῶν μοναχῶν ἔχουσιν ἕνα κεφαλήν. Πρὸς αὐτὴν οὖν τὴν
κεφαλὴν χρὴ κατανοεῖν ποῖά ἐστι, καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνην πολεμεῖν, καὶ οὕτως οἱ
λογισμοὶ ταπεινοῦνται.
220. Πρὸς τοὺς κακοποιοὺς λογισμοὺς ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπεκρίνατο· Παρα-

καλῶ, ἀδελφοί, ἵνα ὡς ἐπαύσαμεν τὰς πράξεις, παύσωμεν καὶ τὰς
ἐνθυμήσεις.
221. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὁ ἔρημον οἰκῆσαι βουλόμενος διδακτικὸς ὀφείλει

εἶναι, οὐ διδασκαλίας χρῄζων, ἵνα μὴ ζημιοῦται.
1
ἐστὶ τοῦτο C] τοῦτο ἐστὶ trsp S 2
ἀνήγγειλεν C] ἐξεῖπεν S
3
ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν, ὅτι C] ἀναλεγόμενος γὰρ τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν θείων γραφῶν πρὸς μετάνοιαν
ὁδηγοῦντα, ἀπεδείκνυ ὡς S
4
αὐτῷ ταῦτα C] ταῦτα αὐτῷ trsp S 5
οἴδαμεν C (εἰδῶμεν? corr)] γινώσκωμεν S
6
ποῖον C] οἷον S 7
χρῆσθαι S] χρᾶσθαι C
N.218–21 157
I am returning to the world too.’ As he went his way, the idea came to him
to go and report his logismoi to Abba Silvanus. Now this Abba Silvanus was
greatly gifted with second sight. When the brother came to him, he did not
mention the deed to him but, by the same device of asking, [he enquired]
whether one in whom such logismoi arise has salvation. The father opened
his mouth and began speaking from the Scriptures [indicating that] this
condemnation is certainly not for those who think such thoughts. The
brother regained hope on hearing this and he also reported the deed to
him. When the father heard this, like a good physician, he bound up his soul
with words from the sacred Scriptures [which state] that there is repentance
for those who genuinely turn to God. That elder told this to my abba when
he visited him, saying: ‘Look, he who despaired of himself and was about
to go to the world is [now] like a star in the midst of the brothers’ [Gen 37:9].
I have told you this so we might know how dangerous it is to report either
our logismoi or our misdeeds to those who lack discretion.”
N.218/10.123
An elder said: “We are not condemned because logismoi come upon us, but
for putting logismoi to bad use. One can be shipwrecked through logismoi:
one can receive a crown through logismoi.”
N.219/10.125
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do, for many are the logismoi that
are battling me and I do not know how to do battle against them.” Said the
elder to him: “Battle not against them [all], but against one. All the
logismoi of monks have one head. You have to understand what kind of
a head that is and battle against it; thus are the logismoi brought to heel.”
N.220/10.126
Concerning malicious logismoi the same elder responded: “I beg you,
brothers, that just as we desisted from deeds, let us also desist from the
ideas too.”
N.221/10.127
An elder said: “He who would live in the desert ought to be capable of
teaching, not in need of teaching, so that he not come to grief.”
222. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· πῶς [f. 214va] εὕρω τὸν Θεόν; Καὶ εἶπεν· Ἐν
νηστείαις, ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις, ἐν κόποις, ἐν ἐλέει, πρὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ἐν
διακρίσει. Λέγω δέ σοι ὅτι πολλοὶ ἔθλιψαν τὴν σάρκα αὐτῶν ἐν ἀδιακρι-
σίᾳ καὶ ἀπῆλθον κενοὶ μηδὲν ἔχοντες. Τὸ στόμα ἡμῶν ὄζει ἀπὸ νηστείας
τὰς γραφὰς ἤρκαμεν ἀπὸ στήθους, τὸν Δαυὶδ ἐτελέσαμεν, καὶ ἃ ζητεῖ ὁ
Θεὸς οὐκ ἔχομεν· τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν.
223. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἀββᾶ, ἰδοὺ παρακαλῶ τοὺς

γέροντας καὶ λέγουσί μοι περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ψυχῆς μου, καὶ οὐδὲν
κατέχω ἐκ τῶν λόγων αὐτῶν. Τί οὖν καὶ παρακαλῶ αὐτοὺς μηδὲν ποιῶν;
ὅλος γάρ εἰμι ἀκαθαρσία. Ἦσαν δὲ [f. 214vb] ἐκεῖ ἀγγεῖα δύο κοῦφα, καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὕπαγε φέρε ἓν τῶν ἀγγείων καὶ βάλε ἔλαιον καὶ
κλύσον1 αὐτό· καὶ μετάβαλε καὶ θὲς εἰς τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Ἐποίησε δὲ
οὕτως ἅπαξ καὶ δίς, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Φέρε ἄρτι τὰ δύο ὁμοῦ, καὶ ἴδε ποῖον
καθαρώτερόν ἐστιν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ὅπου τὸ ἔλαιον ἔβαλα. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·2 Οὕτως ἐστὶ καὶ ἡ ψυχή, ἐὰν γὰρ οὐδὲν κατέχει ἐξ ὧν
ἐρωτᾷ, ἀλλὰ πλέον καθαρίζεται τοῦ μὴ ἐρωτῶντος ὅλως.
224. Ἀδελφὸς ἐκαθέζετο ἡσυχάζων καὶ ἤθελον αὐτὸν οἱ δαίμονες πλα-

νῆσαι προφάσει ἀγγέλων, καὶ ἤγειραν αὐτὸν εἰς σύναξιν, καὶ φῶτα
ἐδείκνυον αὐτῷ. Παρέβαλε δέ τινι γέροντι, καὶ [f. 215ra] εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ,
οἱ ἄγγελοι ἔρχονται μετὰ φωτὸς καὶ ἐγείρουσί με εἰς σύναξιν. Λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Μὴ ἀκούσῃς αὐτῶν, τέκνον, δαίμονες γάρ εἰσιν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτε ἔρχονται
ἐξυπνίσαι σε, λέγε· Ἐγὼ ὅτε θέλω ἐγείρομαι, ὑμῶν δὲ οὐκ ἀκούω. Λαβὼν
δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὴν παραγγελίαν τοῦ γέροντος, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον
αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῇ ἐπιούσῃ νυκτί, πάλιν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ἐλθόντες οἱ δαίμονες,
ἤγειραν αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ ὡς παρηγγέλθη ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς
λέγων·3 Ὅτε θέλω ἐγείρομαι, ὑμῶν δὲ οὐκ ἀκούω. Οἱ δὲ εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ὁ
κακόγηρος ἐκεῖνος ὁ ψεύστης ἐπλάνησέν σε, ἦλθε γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀδελφὸς
θέλων χρήσασθαι κέρμα, καὶ ἔχων ἐψεύσατο4 λέγων· οὐκ ἔχω, καὶ [f. 215rb]
οὐκ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ· ἐκ τούτου μάθε ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστίν. Ὀρθρίσας δὲ ὁ
ἀδελφός, ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ ταῦτα. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ
γέρων· ὅτι μὲν εἶχον κέρμα ὁμολογῶ. Καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ζητῶν καὶ οὐκ
ἔδωκα. ᾜδειν γὰρ ὅτι ἐὰν δῶ αὐτῷ, εἰς ζημίαν ψυχῆς ἐρχόμεθα, ἐλογισά-
μην οὖν παραβῆναι ἐντολὴν μίαν,5 καὶ μὴ παραβῆναι δέκα καὶ ἐλθεῖν εἰς
1
κλύσον corr] κλῦσον C] λῦσον S (κλύζω = wash, rinse out) 2
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων om S
3
λέγων] ἐγὼ add S 4
ἐψεύσατο C] ἐψαύσατο S 5
ἐντολὴν μίαν C] μίαν ἐντολὴν trsp S
N.222–4 159
N.222/10.135
An elder was asked: “How am I to find God?” “In fasting, in vigils, in toils,
in [acts of] mercy and, above all, with discretion also”, he said. “I am
telling you: many have afflicted their flesh without discretion and have
come empty away, nothing accomplished. Our mouth stinks from fasting;
we have learnt the Scriptures by heart; we have perfected [our knowledge
of the Psalms of] David and yet we do not possess that which God seeks:
love and humility.”
N.223/10.136
A brother asked an elder: “Look, abba, I beseech the elders and they speak
to me about the salvation of my soul, but I retain nothing of their words.
So why should I beseech them when I do nothing? I am utter unclean-
ness.” There were two empty vessels there; the elder said to him: “Go and
get one of the vessels; put some oil in it and rinse it out, then take it back
and put it in its place.” This he did, once and a second time; then the elder
said to him: “Now bring the two together and see which is the cleaner.”
“The one where I put some oil”, said the brother. “And so it is with the
soul,” the elder said to him, “for even if it retain nothing of what it
enquires about, yet it is more purified than the one that does not enquire
at all.”
N.224/10.138
A brother was living in hêsychia and the demons wanted to lead him astray,
masquerading as angels. They got him up for synaxis and showed him
some lights. He visited some elder and said to him: “Abba, angels come
with light and get me up for synaxis.” “Do not listen to them, my son,” the
elder said, “for they are demons. When they come to waken you, say to
them: ‘I will get up when I want to: I am not listening to you.’” The
brother took the elder’s advice to heart and went back to his cell. The
following night the demons came to him again as usual and got him up.
But he retorted as he had been told by the elder, saying to them: “I will get
up when I want to; I am not listening to you.” “That wicked, deceitful old
man has led you astray”, they said to him. “A brother came to him wanting
to borrow some money and, although he had some, he lied to him saying:
‘I haven’t got any’ and did not give him [any]. Learn from this that he is
deceitful.” The brother rose early, went to the elder and reported these
θλῖψιν· σὺ δὲ τῶν δαιμόνων τῶν θελόντων σε πλανῆσαι μὴ ἀκούσῃς. Καὶ
πολλὰ στηριχθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ.
225. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἐστίν· ὑπακοή, μελέτη, μὴ

κρίνειν, μὴ καταλαλεῖν, μὴ γογγύζειν, γέγραπται γάρ· οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸν
Κύριον [f. 215va] μισεῖτε πονηρά. Τοῦ μοναχοῦ γὰρ ὁ βίος ἐστίν· Μὴ
ἐπιβαίνειν ἐπ᾿ ἀδίκῳ, μὴ βλέπειν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς κακά· μὴ περιεργάζεσθαι
μηδὲ ἀκούειν ἀλλότρια, μηδὲ ταῖς χερσὶν ἁρπάζειν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον διδόναι,
μηδὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι, μηδὲ τῷ λογισμῷ πονηρεύεσθαι, μηδὲ
τὴν κοιλίαν πληροῖν,1 ἐν διακρίσει δὲ πάντα πράττειν, ἐν τούτοις ὁ
μοναχός.
226. Διηγήσαντό τινες τῶν πατέρων περὶ μεγάλου γέροντος· ὅτι εἰ

ἤρχετό τις ἐρωτῆσαι αὐτῷ λόγον, ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ μετὰ ἕξεως· Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ
λαμβάνω τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ κάθημαι ἐπὶ θρόνου κρίσεως. Τί οὖν
θέλεις ἵνα ποιήσω σοι; Ἐὰν εἴπῃς· ἐλέησόν με, λέγει σοι ὁ Θεός· Εἰ θέλεις
ἵνα ἐλεήσω σε,2 ἐ[f. 215vb]λέησον καὶ σὺ τὸν ἀδελφόν σου· εἰ θέλεις ἵνα
συγχωρήσω σοι, συγχώρησον καὶ σὺ τῷ πλησίον σου. Μὴ ἔστιν ἀδικία
παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ; Μὴ γένοιτο, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἐὰν θέλωμεν σωθῆναι.
227. Ἔλεγον περί τινος τῶν γερόντων εἰς τὰ Κελλία ὅτι ἦν μέγας
πονικός, καὶ ὡς ἐποίει τὴν σύναξιν αὐτοῦ συνέβη ἄλλον τινὰ τῶν ἁγίων
παραβαλεῖν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἤκουσεν αὐτοῦ ἔξωθεν μαχομένου μετὰ τῶν λογισ-
μῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ λέγοντος· Ἕως πότε, δι᾿ ἕνα λόγον, ὅλα ἐκεῖνα ἀπῆλθον;
Ὁ δὲ ἐνόμιζεν ὅτι μετὰ ἄλλου τινὸς μάχεται, καὶ ἔκρουσεν ὥστε εἰσελθεῖν
καὶ εἰρηνεῦσαι αὐτούς. Εἰσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ἰδὼν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐστὶν3 ἔσω,
καὶ4 ἔχων παῤῥησίαν μετὰ τοῦ γέροντος [f. 216ra] εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Μετὰ
τίνος ἐμάχου, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Μετὰ τοῦ λογισμοῦ μου, ὅτι δεκατέσ-
σαρας βίβλους οἶδα ἐκ στήθους, καὶ ἕνα λόγον οἰκτρὸν ἤκουσα ἔξω, καὶ ὡς
1
πληροῖν C] πληροῦν S 2
ἐλεήσω σε C] σε ἐλεήσω trsp S
3
ἄλλος ἐστὶν C] ἐστιν ἄλλος trsp S 4
καὶ om S
N.225–7 161
things to him. “I admit that I had some money,” the elder said; “the
brother did come seeking [some] and I did not give him [any], knowing
that if I gave him any we would come to spiritual undoing. I chose to
transgress one commandment and not to transgress ten and come to
affliction. For your part, pay no heed to the demons who wish to lead
you astray.” He went off to his cell much strengthened by the elder.
N.225/1.32
An elder said: “This is the life of the monk: work, obedience, meditation,
not judging, not backbiting, not grumbling, for it is written: ‘O you that
love the Lord, see that you hate the thing that is evil’ [Ps 96:10]. The life of
a monk is to have nothing to do with that which is unjust, not to see evil
things with one’s eyes, not to get involved in nor to hear alien matters, not
to use one’s hands to snatch but rather to give; not to have overweening
pride in his heart nor wicked thoughts in his mind and not to fill one’s
belly but rather to act with discretion in all things: in such things is the
monk.”
N.226/10.148
Some of the fathers said of one great elder that if anybody came to ask him
for a saying, he would solemnly say to him: “Look, I am taking upon me
the person of God and am seated on the throne of judgement; what do you
want me to do for you? If you say: ‘Have mercy on me’, God says to you:
‘If you want me to have mercy on you, then have mercy on your brother. If
you want me to forgive you, you too must forgive your neighbour.’ Is there
injustice with God? Certainly not! But it is up to us if we want to be
saved.”
N.227/10.149
They used to say of one of the elders at The Cells that he put great effort
into his toil. Another of the saints happened to visit him as he was offering
the synaxis and could hear him from outside fighting with his logismoi,
saying: “Since when has all that been lost for the sake of a single saying?”
Thinking that he was contending with somebody else [the visitor] knocked
so he could go in and pacify them. But, when he entered, seeing that there
was nobody else there, since he was familiar with the elder, he said to him:
“Abba, with whom were you fighting?” “With my logismos,” he replied,
ἦλθον βαλεῖν τὴν σύναξίν μου, ὅλα ἐκεῖνα ἤργησαν, καὶ τοῦτο μόνον ἦλθεν
ἔμπροσθέν μου ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς συνάξεως, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐμαχόμην τῷ
λογισμῷ.
228. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οἱ προφῆται τὰ βιβλία ἐποίησαν, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ

πατέρες ἡμῶν καὶ ἠργάσαντο αὐτά· οἱ δὲ μετ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἐξέλαβον1 αὐτὰ ἐκ
στήθους, ἦλθε δὲ ἡ γενεὰ αὕτη καὶ ἔγραψεν αὐτὰ καὶ ἔθηκεν εἰς τὰς2
θυρίδας ἀργά.
229. Ἀδελφοὶ ἀπὸ κοινοβίου ἐξελθόντες παρέβαλον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον πρὸς
ἀναχωρητήν καὶ3 ἐδέξατο αὐτοὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς, καὶ ὡς ἔθος [f. 216rb] ἐστὶ
τοῖς ἐρημίταις ἰδὼν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ κόπου παρέθηκεν τράπεζαν παρὰ τὴν
ὥραν καὶ εἴ τι εἶχε παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀνέπαυσεν αὐτούς· καὶ ὅτε
ἐγένετο ὀψὲ, ἔβαλον τοὺς δώδεκα ψαλμούς, ὁμοίως καὶ τὴν νύκτα. Ὡς
δὲ ὁ γέρων καταμόνας ἠγρύπνει, ἤκουσεν αὐτῶν ἀλλήλοις λεγόντων ὅτι
οἱ ἀναχωρηταὶ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ἀναπαύονται πλέον ἡμῶν τῶν ἐν κοινοβίοις,
καὶ μελλόντων αὐτῶν ὑπάγειν πρωῒ πρὸς τὸν γέροντα τὸν γείτονα
αὐτοῦ, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀσπάσασθε αὐτὸν ἐξ ἐμοῦ καὶ εἴπατε αὐτῷ· Μὴ
ποτίσῃς τὰ λάχανα. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἐνόησε τὸ ῥῆμα, καὶ ἐκράτησεν αὐτοὺς
ἕως ἑσπέρας ἐργαζομένους4 νήστεις.5 Ὡς δὲ ἐγένετο ὀψέ, ἐποίησε
με[f. 216va]γάλην σύναξιν καὶ εἶπεν· Καταλύσωμεν δι᾿ ὑμᾶς, ὅτι ἀπὸ κόπου
ἐστέ. Καὶ εἶπεν πάλιν· Καθ᾿ ἡμέραν μὲν ἐσθίειν οὐκ ἔχομεν ἔθος, δι᾿ ὑμᾶς δὲ
γευσώμεθα μικρόν. Καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς ἄρτους ξηροὺς καὶ ἅλας εἰπών·
ὅτι χρεία ἐστὶ δι᾿ ὑμᾶς ἑορτὴν ποιῆσαι, καὶ ἔβαλεν ὀλίγον ὄξος εἰς τὸ ἅλας,
καὶ ἀναστάντες, ἔβαλον σύναξιν ἕως πρωΐ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Οὐ δυνάμεθα
δι᾿ ὑμᾶς τελέσαι ὅλον τὸν κανόνα ἵνα ἀναπαύσησθε μικρὸν ὅτι ἀπὸ ξένης
ἐστέ. Πρωΐας δὲ γενομένης ἤθελον φυγεῖν· ὁ δὲ παρεκάλει αὐτοὺς λέγων·
Μείνατε χρόνον μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν, εἰ δὲ μή, κἂν διὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος
ἡμῶν τῆς ἐρήμου τρεῖς ἡμέρας. Οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες ὅτι οὐκ ἀπολύ[f. 216vb]ει
αὐτούς, ἀναστάντες ἔφυγον λάθρα.
1
ἐξέλαβον C] ἐξέβαλον S 2
τὰς om S 3
Καὶ C] Καὶ αὐτὸς S
4
ἐργαζομένους corr] ἐργαζόμενος C S 5
νήστεις S] νήστης C
N.228–9 163
“for I know fourteen books [of the Bible] by heart; then I heard one
miserable phrase outside.* When I came to offer my synaxis, all those
[books] faded away and only this [phrase] came to mind when it was time
for the synaxis; that is why I was fighting with the logismos.”
* Whether this means “outside his cell” or “not in the Bible” is not clear.
N.228/10.191
An elder said: “The prophets made the books; our fathers came and
practised them. Those who [came] after those learned them by heart.
Then there came this generation; they wrote them out then set them in
the niches, unused.”
N.229/10.150 BHG 1438k, de coenobitis et anachoretis

Coming out of a coenobion, some brothers went visiting an anchorite in
the desert. He received them joyfully and, as is the custom among hermits,
set a table before them there and then, perceiving that they were very
weary. He put before them whatever there was in this cell and refreshed
them. When evening fell they recited the twelve psalms and likewise
during the night. While the elder was keeping watch alone he heard them
saying to each other: “The anchorites in the desert get more repose than we
do in coenobia.” In the morning early, as they were about to go to his
neighbouring elder, he said to them: “Greet him on my behalf and say to
him: ‘Do not water the vegetables.’” When [the neighbour] heard this, he
understood the phrase: he kept them at work, fasting, until evening. When
evening fell he offered a long synaxis then he said to them: “Let us break
our fast for your sakes, for you are worn out”, adding: “it is not our custom
to eat every day, but let us take a little food for your sakes.” He set dried
loaves and salt before them, saying: “But we must make a feast in your
honour” – and he poured a little vinegar on the salt. Then they stood up
and offered a synaxis until dawn, when he said to them: “We were not able
to complete the entire appointed liturgy for you, so that you (being from
elsewhere) can repose yourselves a little.” They wanted to get away when
dawn broke but he besought them, saying: “Stay with us a while, at least
for the three days according to the commandment, as is our custom in the
desert.” But they, seeing that he would not send them on their way, got up
and fled unnoticed.
230. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τινὰ τῶν πατέρων λέγων· Ἐὰν συμβῇ με βαρη-
θῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕπνου, καὶ παρέλθῃ ἡ ὥρα τῆς συνάξεως, οὐκέτι θέλει ἡ
ψυχή μου ἀπὸ αἰσχύνης βαλεῖν σύναξιν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν
συμβῇ σοι ἀφυπνῶσαι1 ἕως πρωΐας, ἀναστὰς κλεῖσον τὰς θύρας καὶ τὰς
θυρίδας, καὶ βάλε τὴν σύναξίν σου. Γέγραπται γάρ· Σή ἐστιν ἡ ἡμέρα καὶ
σή ἐστιν ἡ νύξ. Ἐν παντὶ γὰρ καιρῷ δοξάζεται ὁ Θεός.
231. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἔστιν ἄνθρωπος ἐσθίων πολλὰ καὶ ἔτι πεινῶν, καὶ
ἔστιν ἄλλος ὀλίγα ἐσθίων καὶ χορταζόμενος, καὶ ὁ πολλὰ ἐσθίων καὶ ἔτι
πεινῶν, πλείονα2 μισθὸν ἕξει τοῦ ὀλίγα ἐσθίοντος καὶ χορταζομένου.
232. Εἶπεν γέρων· [f. 217ra] Ἐὰν γένηται ἀναμέσον σου καὶ ἄλλου3
λόγος λυπηρός, καὶ ἀρνήσηται λέγων· Οὐκ εἶπον τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, μὴ
ἐρίσῃς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγων·4 εἶπες, ἐπεὶ ἐκτρέπεται καὶ λέγει· Ναὶ5 εἶπον,
καὶ τί;
233. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα· ὅτι ἡ ἀδελφή μου πτωχή ἐστιν. Ἐὰν
δῷ αὐτῇ6 ἀγάπην, οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς εἰς πτωχόν; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οὐχί. Εἶπεν
δὲ ὁ ἀδελφός· Διατί, ἀββᾶ; Ἔφη ὁ γέρων·7 Ὅτι τὸ αἷμα ἕλκει σε μικρόν.
234. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ παντὶ λόγῳ συνευδόκει μηδὲ συγκατατίθου·

βραδέως πίστευε, ταχέως ἀλήθευε.
235. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἐκοπίασαν ὧδε οἱ ἅγιοι, ἀλλ᾿ ἔλαβον ἤδη
καὶ μέρος ἀναπαύσεως. Tοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγε διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐλευθέρους
ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου φροντίδος.
1
σοι ἀφυπνῶσαι C] ἀφυπνῶσαι σε S 2
πλείονα C] πλέον S 3
ἄλλου S] ἄλλος C
4
λέγων C] λόγον S 5
Ναὶ C] Καὶ S 6
αὐτῇ C] αὐτὴν S 7
Ἔφη ὁ γέρων om S
N.230–5 165
N.230/10.152
A brother asked one of the fathers: “If it so happens that I am so deeply
asleep that the time for the synaxis goes by [unobserved] for shame my soul
is no longer willing to offer the synaxis.” Said the elder to him: “If it
happens that you sleep in until dawn, get up; close the windows and doors
and offer your synaxis, for it is written: ‘The day is yours and the night is
yours’ [Ps 73.16] for God is glorified at all times [cf. 1 Pt 4:11].”
N.231/10.154
An elder said: “There is a man who eats a great deal and is still hungry and
there is a man who eats a little and is satisfied. He who eats much and is
hungry will receive a greater reward than the one who eats little and is
satisfied.”
N.232/10.155
An elder said: “If there are bitter words between you and somebody else
and he denies it, saying: ‘I said no such thing’, do not argue with him,
saying: ‘You did say it’, for he will fire back saying: ‘I said it then; so
what?’”
N.233/10.156
A brother asked an elder: “My sister is poor; if I give her alms, is it not like
giving to the poor?” “No”, said the elder. “Why not, abba?” the brother
said. “Because blood draws you a little”, the elder said.
N.234/10.160
An elder said: “Do not go along with or give your assent to everything that
is said. Be slow to believe and quick to speak the truth.”
N.235/10.161
An elder said: “Even if the saints toiled here below, they were already
receiving a portion of repose.” He said this because they were freed from
the care of the world.
236. [f. 217rb] Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτι ἐὰν οἶδε μοναχὸς τόπον ἔχοντα
προκοπήν, τὰς δὲ χρείας τοῦ σώματος μετὰ κόπου, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐχ
ὑπάγει ἐκεῖ, ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐ πιστεύει ὅτι ἔστιν Θεός.
237. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε μικρὸν μοναχὸν λέγων· Καλὸν τὸ σιωπῆσαι ἢ

λαλῆσαι; Λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ παιδίον· Ἐὰν εἰσὶν οἱ λόγοι ἀργοί, ἄφες αὐτούς,
εἰ δὲ καλοί, δὸς τόπον τῷ ἀγαθῷ καὶ λάλησον. Πλήν, κἂν ἀγαθοὶ ὦσι, μὴ
χρονίσῃς, ἀλλὰ ταχέως κόψον καὶ ἀναπαύῃ.
238. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων· Ὅτι συνηγόμεθα ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς ἀλλή-
λους, καὶ ἐλαλοῦμεν περὶ ὠφελείας, καὶ ἐγινόμεθα χοροὶ χοροὶ καὶ
ἀνηρχόμεθα εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Νῦν δὲ συναγόμεθα καὶ εἰς καταλαλιὰν
ἐρχόμεθα καὶ εἷς τὸν ἕνα κατασύρομεν [f. 217va] εἰς βόθρον κάτω.
239. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων· Εἰ μὲν ὁ ἔσω ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος νήφει,
δυνατός ἐστι φυλάξαι καὶ τὸν ἔξω, εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο, ὅση δύναμίς ἐστι
φυλάξωμεν τὴν γλῶσσαν.
240. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν· Ἔργου χρεία πνευματικοῦ, ὅτι εἰς τοῦτο ἤλθομεν.
Μέγας γὰρ κόπος διδάσκειν διὰ τοῦ στόματος, μὴ ποιήσαντες1 τὸ ἔργον
τοῦ σώματος.2
241. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων· Ὅτι δεῖ πάντως τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἔχειν ἐντὸς
αὐτοῦ ἐργασίαν. Ἐὰν μὲν οὖν εἰς ἐργασίαν Θεοῦ σχολάζῃ, παραβάλλει
αὐτῷ ὁ ἐχθρὸς μίαν μίαν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ εὑρίσκει τόπον τοῦ μεῖναι· ἐὰν δὲ πάλιν
κυριευθῇ ἀπὸ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, παραβάλλει αὐτῷ τὸ πνεῦμα
τοῦ Θεοῦ πυκνά, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀφί[f. 217vb]ομεν αὐτῷ τόπον, καὶ διὰ τὴν
κακίαν ἡμῶν ἀναχωρεῖ.
1
ποήσαντες C] ποιήσαντας S 2
σώματος C] στόματος S
N.236–41 167
N.236/10.162
An elder said: “If a monk knows of a place where progress is made but
where the needs of the body [are acquired] with toil and, on that account,
he does not go there, such a [monk] does not believe that there is a God.”
N.237/10.163
A brother asked a junior monk: “Is it good to be silent or to speak?” The
youth said to him: “If the words are idle chatter, let them be.* If they are
good, make way for the good and speak. But even if they are good, do not
temporise but quickly cut them off and repose yourself.”
* “and keep silent” adds N.10.163.
N.238/10.165/Megethios 4
One of the elders said: “At first we used to assemble together and speak of
[spiritual] benefit; we became as choirs, choirs [of angels] and were being
lifted up to heaven. Now we assemble together and come to backbiting,
dragging each other down into the abyss.”
N.239/10.166
One of the fathers said: “If our inner man is vigilant it is capable of
protecting the outer [man] too. If it is not so, then let us keep a guard
on the tongue as far as possible.”
N.240/10.167
The same [father] said: “Spiritual work is necessary because that is what we
came [out into the desert] for. It is great toil for those who have not
performed the work physically to teach orally.”
N.241/10.168
One of the fathers said: “A man must certainly have obedience to the
commandments within himself for, if he occupy himself with keeping the
commandments of God, the enemy may visit him from time to time, but
[the enemy] will not find a place in which to stay. If however [the man]
then be dominated by the captivity of the enemy again, the Spirit of God
will frequently visit him; but we accord [the enemy] no place and he
withdraws on account of our hostility.”
242. Κατῆλθον ποτὲ μοναχοὶ ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου εἰς Σκῆτιν, παραβαλεῖν
τοῖς γέρουσιν, καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ λιμοῦ τῆς αὐτῶν ἀσκήσεως λάβρως
ἐσθίοντας ἐσκανδαλίσθησαν. Μαθὼν δὲ τοῦτο ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἠθέλησε
θεραπεῦσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐκήρυξεν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ λέγων τῷ λαῷ· Νηστεύ-
σατε καὶ τείνατε τὴν πολιτείαν τῆς ἀσκήσεως ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί. Ἤθελον δὲ οἱ
παραβαλόντες Αἰγύπτιοι ἀναχωρῆσαι, καὶ ἐκράτησεν αὐτούς· Καὶ ὡς τὴν
πρώτην ἐνήστευσαν ἐσκοτώθησαν. Ἐποίησε δὲ αὐτοὺς νηστεύειν δύο
δύο. Αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ Σκητιῶται, ἐνήστευον τὴν ἑβδομάδα, [f. 218ra] καὶ
γενομένου τοῦ σαββάτου ἐκάθησαν φαγεῖν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι μετὰ τῶν γερ-
όντων. Θορυβουμένων δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων φαγεῖν, εἷς τῶν γερόντων
ἐκράτησεν αὐτῶν τὰς χεῖρας,1 λέγων· Μετ᾿ ἐπιστήμης φάγετε ὡς μοναχοί.
Εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὤθησεν αὐτοῦ τὴν χεῖρα, λέγων· Ἀπόλυσόν με,
ἀποθνῄσκω γὰρ ὅλην τὴν ἑβδομάδα ἕψημα μὴ φαγών. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων·
Εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς διὰ δύο ἐσθίοντες οὕτως ἐξελίπετε, πῶς εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
ἐσκανδαλίσθητε, οἵτινες διαπαντὸς οὕτως τὴν ἄσκησιν ἐπιτελοῦσιν; Καὶ
μετενόησαν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ὠφεληθέντες ἀπῆλθον μετὰ χαρᾶς.
243. Ἀδελφός τις ἀναχωρήσας καὶ λαβὼν τὸ σχῆμα, εὐθέως ἀπέκλεισεν

ἑαυτὸν λέγων· ὅτι [f. 218rb] ἀναχωρητής εἰμι. Ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ γέροντες
ἦλθον καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτόν, καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτὸν κυκλεύειν τὰ κελλία τῶν
ἀδελφῶν καὶ βάλλειν μετάνοιαν καὶ λέγειν· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ
ἀναχωρητὴς ἀλλὰ ἀρχάριος.
244. Εἶπον δὲ οἱ γέροντες ὅτι ἐὰν ἴδῃς νεώτερον τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ

ἀναβαίνοντα εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, κράτησον αὐτοῦ τὸν πόδα, καὶ ῥῖψον
αὐτὸν ἐκεῖθεν, συμφέρει γὰρ αὐτῷ.
245. Ἀδελφός τις ἔλεγε γέροντι μεγάλῳ· Ἤθελον εὑρεῖν, ἀββᾶ, γέροντα
κατὰ τὸ θέλημά μου, καὶ συναποθανεῖν αὐτῷ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Καλῶς ζητεῖς, κύριέ μου. Ὁ δὲ διισχυρίζετο τῷ λογισμῷ οὕτως ἔχειν, οὐκ ἐ
[f. 218va]νόει δὲ τὸν λογισμὸν τοῦ γέροντος. Καὶ ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων
νομίζοντα καλῶς κρατεῖν, λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν εὕρῃς γέροντα κατὰ τὸ θέλημά
σου θέλεις μεῖναι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ; ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ναί, καὶ πάνυ ὃ ἐὰν εὕρω κατὰ τὸ
θέλημά μου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· οὐχ ἵνα σὺ ἀκολουθήσῃς κατὰ τὸ
1
αὐτῶν τὰς χεῖρας C] τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν trsp S
N.242–5 169
N.242/10.170
Some monks once came down to Scete from Egypt to visit the elders and,
when they saw them (famished by their austerities) eating eagerly, they
were offended. On learning this, the priest wished to set them right so,
preaching in church, he said to the people: “Fast, brothers, and intensify
the practice of your discipline.” The visiting Egyptians wanted to leave but
he detained them. After the first week of fasting they became dizzy, so he
made them fast every second day while they of Scete fasted the whole
week. When Saturday came round, the Egyptians sat down to eat with
the elders. The Egyptians made quite a tumult in their eating, so one of the
elders held their hand back, saying: “Eat with restraint, like monks.” One
of them freed his hand saying: “Let me go, for I am dying, not having
eaten anything cooked for a whole week.” The elder said to him: “If you
who have eaten every second day are wasting away like this, how come you
were offended at the brothers who complete that discipline all the time?”
They apologised to them and, having benefited, went their way rejoicing.
N.243/10.172
A brother withdrew [from the world], took the habit and immediately shut
himself away, saying: “I am an anchorite.” When the elders heard of this
they came and made him come out, obliging him to do the round of the
brothers’ cells, prostrating himself and saying: “Forgive me, for I am not an
anchorite but a beginner.”
N.244 [= N.111]/10.173
The elders said: “If you see a young one rising up to heaven of his own
volition, seize his foot and drag him [down] from there; it is to his
advantage.”
N.245/10.174
A brother said to a great elder: “Abba, I wanted to find an elder to my
liking and to die with him.” Said the elder to him: “You may well search,
my lord”, which he confidently took to mean what it said, not understand-
ing the elder’s reply. When the elder saw that the brother thought all was
well, he said to him: “If you find an elder to your liking, do you intend to
stay with him?” He said: “I do indeed if I find one to my liking.” The elder
θέλημα τοῦ γέροντος, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα αὐτὸς τῷ σῷ θελήματι ἀκολουθήσῃ,1 οὕτως
ἀναπαύῃ; αἰσθηθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὃ ἔλεγεν, ἀνέστη καὶ ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν
λέγων· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ὅτι μεγάλα ἐκαυχώμην2 νομίζων καλῶς λέγειν
μηδὲν κρατῶν.
246. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ κατὰ σάρκα ἀνεχώρησαν. Πρῶτος δὲ ἦν εἰς τὸ σχῆμα

ὁ μικρότερος τῇ ἡλικίᾳ. Ἐλθόντος δέ τινος τῶν πατέρων πα[f. 218vb]ρα-
βαλεῖν αὐτοῖς, ἔθηκαν τὴν λεκάνην, καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ μικρότερος νίψαι τὸν
γέροντα· ὁ δὲ γέρων κρατήσας αὐτοῦ τὴν χεῖρα μετέστησεν αὐτὸν καὶ
τὸν μειζότερον ἔστησεν. Καὶ εἶπαν οἱ παρεστῶτες γέροντες· ὁ μικρότερος,
ἀββᾶ, πρῶτος ἐστὶν εἰς τὸ σχῆμα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· ἐγὼ αἴρω τὸ
πρωτεῖον τοῦ μικροτέρου, καὶ ἐπιβάλλω τῇ ἡλικίᾳ τοῦ μειζοτέρου.
247. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐάν τις μείνῃ ἐν τόπῳ καὶ μὴ ποιήσῃ τὸν καρπὸν
τοῦ τόπου, ὁ τόπος διώκει αὐτὸν ὡς μὴ ποιοῦντα τὸ ἔργον τοῦ τόπου.
248. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐάν τις ποιήσῃ πρᾶγμα ἀκολουθῶν τῷ θελήματι

αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ Θεόν, ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ δέ ἐστιν, ὕστερον πάντως δεῖ
αὐτὸν [f. 219ra] ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ δὲ κρατῶν θέλημα οὐ
κατὰ Θεόν, οὔτε παρ᾿ ἄλλων θέλων ἀκοῦσαι, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς εἰδὼς τὰ ἑαυτοῦ
νομίζει, ὁ τοιοῦτος κόπῳ ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
249. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· τί ἐστιν ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ στενὴ καὶ τεθλιμμένη; Καὶ

ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ στενὴ αὕτη ἐστίν· Τὸ βιάζεσθαι τοὺς λογισ-
μοὺς ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ κόπτειν τὸ ἴδιον θέλημα, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἰδοὺ3
ἀφήκαμεν πάντα καὶ ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι.
250. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ ἡ τάξις τῶν μοναχῶν προτιμoτέρα τῶν

κοσμικῶν ἐστιν, οὕτως καὶ ὁ ξένος μοναχὸς ὀφείλει εἶναι ἔσοπτρον τοῖς
ἐντοπίοις μοναχοῖς κατὰ πάντα τρόπον.
1
ἀκολουθήσῃ] καὶ add S 2
ἐκαυχώμην C] ἐκαυχησάμην S 3
ἰδοὺ] ἡμεῖς add S
N.246–50 171
said to him: “So it is not by living in accord with the will of the elder, but
by his living according to your wishes, that you intend to repose yourself?”
Understanding what he was saying, the brother prostrated himself and
said: “Forgive me; though I thought I spoke well, I was being very
conceited, knowing nothing.”
N.246/10.175
Two natural brothers withdrew [from the world]; the younger was the first
to take the habit. When one of the fathers came to visit them, they set out
the bowl and the younger brother approached to wash the elder[’s feet].
But, seizing his hand, the elder set him aside and put the older in his place.
“But the younger brother was the first to take the habit, abba”, said the
elders who were present, and the elder said to them: “I am taking the
primacy of the younger one and conferring it on the age of the older one.”
N.247/10.113
An elder said: “If one inhabits a place but does not produce the fruit of the
place, the place chases him off for not performing the task of the place.”
N.248/10.115
An elder said: “If a man undertakes something in accordance with his own
will and it is not according to God’s – but does not realise that, it is
absolutely necessary that he eventually come into the way of God. But one
who holds onto his own will contrary to God’s and refuses to listen to
others under the impression that he knows his own mind, such a man will
enter the way of God with difficulty.”
N.249/10.116
An elder was asked: “What is ‘the strait and narrow way’ [Mt 7:14]?” He
answered: “‘The strait and narrow way’ is to repress one’s own logismoi and
to cut back one’s own desire, for this is [the meaning of]: ‘Here we have
abandoned everything and followed you’ [Mt 19:27].”
N.250/10.117
An elder said: “In the same way that the order of monks is superior to
[that] of the worldlings, so ought the monk from afar to be a mirror for the
local monks in every way.”
251. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων [f. 219rb]· Ἐὰν μείνῃ ἐργάτης εἰς τόπον
ὅπου οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐργάται, οὐ δύναται προκόψαι· τοῦτο δὲ δύναται, τοῦ
ἀγωνίσασθαι μὴ καταβῆναι κάτω. Kαὶ ἀργὸς πάλιν ἐὰν μείνῃ μετὰ
ἐργατῶν, ἐὰν νήφῃ προκόπτει· ἐὰν δὲ μή, κάτω οὐκ ἔρχεται.
252. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ ἐὰν λόγον ἔχῃ, ἔργον δὲ οὐκ ἔχῃ, ἔοικε
δένδρῳ ἔχοντι φύλλα, καρπὸν δὲ οὔ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ δένδρον πλῆρες καρποῦ
εὐθαλῆ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐστι καὶ τὰ φύλλα,1 οὕτως ἁρμόζει λόγος ψυχῇ ἐχούσῃ
ἀγαθὴν ἐργασίαν.
253. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἴ τι μισεῖς, ἑτέρῳ μὴ ποιήσῃς. Mισεῖς ἐάν τίς σου
καταλαλήσῃ; μηδὲ σὺ καταλαλήσῃς τινός. Μισεῖς ἐάν τίς σου συκοφαν-
τήσῃ; μηδὲ [f. 219va] σὺ συκοφαντήσῃς τινά. Μισεῖς ἐάν τίς σε ἐξουδενώσῃ,
ἢ ὑβρίσῃ ἢ ἁρπάσῃ σοῦ τι, ἢ ὅσα ἐστὶ τοιαῦτα; καὶ σὺ ἓν τούτων μὴ
ποιήσῃς τινί. Ὁ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον δυνάμενος βαστάξαι2 εἰς σωτηρίαν
ἀρκεῖ αὐτῷ.
Ὅτι φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ τὸ μηδένα κρίνειν

254. Ἀναχωρητῇ τινι παρέβαλλε πρεσβύτερος τοῦ κλήρου, ποιῶν αὐτῷ
τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων τὴν προσφοράν. Ἐλθὼν δέ τις πρὸς τὸν ἀνα-
χωρητὴν διέβαλε τὸν πρεσβύτερον. Ἐλθόντος οὖν τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου κατὰ
τὴν συνήθειαν ποιῆσαι τὴν προσφοράν, σκανδαλισθεὶς ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς οὐκ
ἤνοιξεν, ἀπῆλθε δὲ ὁ πρεσβύτερος καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ γέγονε πρὸς τὸν
ἀνα[f. 219vb]χωρητὴν λέγουσα· ᾞραν οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὸ κρίμα μου. Ἐγένετο
δὲ ὡς ἐν ἐκστάσει, καὶ ὁρᾷ λάκκον χρυσοῦν καὶ σχοινίον χρυσοῦν,3 καὶ
κάδον χρυσοῦν, καὶ ὕδωρ πάνυ καλόν. Ὁρᾷ δέ τινα κελεφὸν ἀντλοῦντα καὶ
1
εὐθαλῆ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐστι καὶ τὰ φύλλα C] εὐθαλές ἐστι καὶ τοῖς φύλλοις S
2
βαστάξαι C] φυλάξαι S 3
καὶ σχοινίον χρυσοῦν om S
N.251–4 173
N.251/10.119
One of the fathers said: “If a worker is living in a place where there are no
workers, he cannot make any progress; but this he can [do]: struggle not to
fall behind. And again: if an idle person lives with workers, he will make
progress if he is alert; if not, he will [at least] not fall behind.”
N.252/10.120–1
An elder said: “If the soul has a word but no deed, it is like a tree that has
leaves but no fruit. Just as a tree bearing much fruit also has a plentiful
array of leaves, so is a word appropriate to a soul that is good at obeying the
commandments.”
N.253/1.31
An elder said: “If you hate something, refrain from doing it to anybody
else. Do you hate it when somebody speaks ill of you? Speak no ill of any
person. Do you hate it when somebody makes false accusations against
you? Then do not accuse anybody falsely. Do you hate it when somebody
despises you, insults you, makes off with something that is yours – or
things like that? Then do not do one of those things to anybody. He who
is capable of keeping this saying, it is sufficient for salvation to him.”
T H A T O N E M U S T B E O N H I S G U A R D A G AI N S T
J U D G I N G AN Y B O D Y
N.254/9.16
A parish priest used to visit an anchorite making the offering of the holy
mysteries for him. Somebody came to the anchorite and spoke ill of the
priest. When the priest came as usual to make the offering, the anchorite
had taken offence and did not open [the door]. So the priest went away
and here there came a voice to the anchorite saying: “Men have taken my
judgement.” Becoming as though in a trance, he saw a golden well and a
golden cord with a golden bucket and water that was very good. Then he
saw some leper drawing water and pouring it out. Although he wanted to
drink, [the anchorite] did not drink because it was a leper drawing the
water. And here a voice again saying to him: “Why do you not drink of the
water? What does it matter that a leper is drawing it? He only draws it and
μεταβάλλοντα, καὶ βουλόμενος1 πιεῖν οὐκ ἔπινε, διὰ τὸ κελεφὸν εἶναι τὸν
ἀντλοῦντα. Καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ πρὸς αὐτὸν πάλιν2 λέγουσα· Διατί οὐ πίνεις
ἐκ3 τοῦ ὕδατος; τί πρᾶγμα ἔχει ὁ κελεφὸς ἀντλῶν; ἀντλεῖ μόνον καὶ
μεταβάλλει. Ἐλθὼν δὲ εἰς ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς καὶ διακρίνας τὴν δύναμιν
τῆς ὀπτασίας, καλεῖ τὸν πρεσβύτερον, καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτόν, ὥσπερ πρότερον,
ποιεῖν αὐτῷ τὴν προσφοράν.
255. Ἐγένοντο [f. 220ra] δύο ἀδελφοὶ μεγάλοι ἐν κοινοβίῳ καὶ κατηξ-
ιώθησαν τοῦ ὁρᾶν ἕκαστος χάριν Θεοῦ τινα ἐπὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
Ἐγένετο δέ ποτε ἕνα αὐτῶν ἐξελθεῖν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ παρασκευῇ ἔξωθεν4 τοῦ
κοινοβίου5 καὶ εἶδέ τινα πρωΐας ἐσθίοντα, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ
ὥρᾳ ἐσθίεις ἐν παρασκευῇ; Καὶ τῇ ἑξῆς ἐγένετο σύναξις κατὰ τὸ ἔθος.
Ἀτενίσας δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, εἶδε τὴν χάριν ἀποστᾶσαν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἐλυπήθη, καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἔπραξας, ἀδελφέ;6
Οὐ γὰρ εἶδον, ὡς πρὸ τούτου, ἐπὶ σὲ7 τὴν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ δὲ
ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ·8 Ἐγὼ οὔτε ἐν πράξει οὔτε ἐν λογισμῷ σύνοιδά
τι πονη[f. 220rb]ρὸν ἐμαυτῷ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ· Οὔτε λόγον
τινὰ ἐλάλησας; καὶ μνησθεὶς εἶπεν· Χθὲς εἶδον τινὰ ἐσθίοντα ἔξω τοῦ
κοινοβίου πρωΐ, καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐσθίεις ἐν παρασκευῇ;
Αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἁμαρτία μου, ἀλλὰ συγκοπίασόν μοι δύο ἑβδομάδας καὶ
παρακαλέσωμεν τὸν Θεὸν ἵνα μοι συγχωρήσῃ, καὶ ἐποίησαν οὕτως, καὶ
μετὰ τὰς δύο ἑβδομάδας, εἶδεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὴν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλθοῦσαν εἰς
τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ παρεκλήθησαν καὶ τῷ Θεῷ εὐχαρίστησαν.
Περὶ τοῦ μηδὲν εἰς ἐπίδειξιν ποιεῖν, καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἀποστρέφεσθαι

256. Ποτὲ εἰς τὰ Κελλία ἑο[f. 220va]ρτῆς γενομένης,9 ἤσθιον οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἐν
τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ ἀδελφὸς καὶ εἶπεν τῷ ὑπηρετοῦντι· Οὐκ ἐσθίω
ἕψημα, ἀλλὰ ἅλας, καὶ ἐφώνησεν ὁ διακονῶν ἄλλον ἀδελφὸν ἔμπροσθε τοῦ
λαοῦ λέγων· Ὁ δεῖνα ὁ ἀδελφὸς οὐκ ἐσθίει ἕψημα, φέρε αὐτῷ ἅλας.10 Καὶ
ἀνέστη τὶς τῶν γερόντων καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Συνέφερέ σοι σήμερον ἐν τῷ
κελλίῳ σου φαγεῖν κρέα, ἢ ἀκοῦσαι τὴν φωνὴν ταύτην ἐνώπιον τοῦ λαοῦ.
1
βουλόμενος C] βουλόμενον S 2
πάλιν post φωνὴ trsp S 3
ἐκ C] ἀπὸ S
4
ἔξωθεν C] ἔξω S 5
κοινοβίου S] κελλίου C 6
ἀδελφέ] μου add S
7
ἐπὶ σὲ post Θεοῦ trsp S 8
αὐτῷ om S
9
Ποτὲ. . . γενομένης C] Ἑορτῆς ποτὲ γενομένης εἰς τὰ Κελλία trsp S
10
φέρε αὐτῷ ἅλας C] ἀλλὰ ἅλας φέρε αὐτῷ S
N.255–6 175
pours it out.” When he came back to his senses the anchorite perceived the
meaning of the vision. He called for the priest and had him make the
offering for him, as before.
N.255/9.18
There were two great brothers at a coenobion and each had been found
worthy to see some of the grace of God on his brother. Now it once
happened that one of them went out of the coenobion on a Friday. He saw
somebody eating early in the morning and he said to him: “You are eating
at this hour on a Friday?” There was a synaxis next day as usual; when his
brother looked at him attentively, he saw the grace of God had departed
from him and he was grieved. When he came into the cell he said to him:
“What have you done, brother, for I did not see the grace of God on you as
before?” In reply [the other] said to him: “I am not aware of any evil in
myself, neither in deed nor in logismos.” His brother said to him: “You did
not say anything either?” Then he remembered and said: “Yesterday I saw
somebody outside the coenobion eating early in the morning and I said to
him: ‘You are eating at this hour on a Friday?’ – that is my sin. But toil
with me for two weeks and let us beseech God to forgive me.” They did so
and, after two weeks, the brother saw the grace of God coming upon his
brother. They were comforted and gave thanks to God.
THAT NOTHING SHOULD BE DONE FOR OSTENTATION

A N D T H A T AV A R I C E S H O U L D B E R E P U D I AT E D
N.256/8.26
There was once a festival at The Cells and the brothers were eating in the
church. There was a brother present who said to the one serving: “I do not
eat mash, only salt[ed food]”, and the attendant called out to another
brother before the company: “Such-and-such a brother does not eat mash:
bring him [something] salt[ed].” Then one of the elders stood up and said
to him: “It would have been better for you to have been eating meat in
your cell this day rather than for that shout to have been heard before
the people.”
257. Ἀδελφὸς ἀσκητὴς μὴ ἐσθίων ἄρτον, παρέβαλέ τινι μεγάλῳ γέροντι·
εὐκαίρησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι ξένοι ἐκεῖ, καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ γέρων μικρὸν ἕψημα δι᾿
αὐτούς, καὶ ὡς ἐκάθισαν φαγεῖν, ὁ ἀσκητὴς παρέθηκεν ἑαυτῷ μόνῳ
[f. 220vb] ἐρεβίνθια βρεκτὰ καὶ ἤσθιεν, καὶ ὡς ἀνέστησαν ἐκ τοῦ φαγεῖν,
ἔλαβεν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων κατιδίαν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀδελφέ, ἐὰν παραβάλῃς
τινί, μὴ ἔκφαινέ σου τὴν πολιτείαν· εἰ δὲ θέλῃς σου τὴν πολιτείαν κρατεῖν,
κάθου εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου καὶ μηδαμοῦ ἐξέρχου. Ὁ δὲ παιδευθεὶς τῷ λόγῳ
τοῦ γέροντος, γέγονε κοινωνικὸς ἐν τῇ ἀπαντήσει τῶν ἀδελφῶν.
258. Γέροντά τις παρεκάλεσε λαβεῖν χρήματα εἰς ἰδίαν χρείαν, καὶ οὐκ
ἐβούλετο, ὡς τῷ ἰδίῳ ἐργοχείρῳ ἀρκούμενος. Ὡς δὲ ἐπέμενε παρακαλῶν,
κἂν διὰ τὴν χρείαν τῶν δεομένων δέξασθαι αὐτά, ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· ὅτι
διπλῆ αἰσχύνη ἐστίν· ὅτι καὶ [f. 221ra] μὴ χρῄζων λαμβάνω, καὶ τὰ
ἀλλότρια παρέχων κενοδοξῶ.
259. Ἦλθέ τις μέγας ἐκ τῆς ξένης ἐνέγκας πολὺ χρυσίον μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἐν
τῇ Σκήτει, καὶ παρεκάλει τὸν πρεσβύτερον ἵνα δοθῇ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς. Εἶπεν
δὲ ὁ πρεσβύτερος· Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἀδελφοί. Καὶ πολλὰ βιασάμενος
αὐτὸν ἔθηκε τὸ σπυρίδιον τοῦ χρυσίου εἰς τὴν θύραν τῆς ἐκκλησίας. Καὶ
εἶπεν ὁ πρεσβύτερος· ὁ1 χρείαν ἔχων, λάβῃ. Καὶ οὐδεὶς ἤγγισεν αὐτό,2
τινὲς δέ οὐδὲ προσέσχον. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ πρεσβύτερος· Ἐδέξατο ὁ
Θεὸς τὴν ἀγάπην.3 Ὕπαγε, δὸς αὐτὰ πτωχοῖς. Καὶ πολλὰ ὠφεληθεὶς
ἀπῆλθεν.
260. Προσήνεγκέ τις γέροντι χρήματα, λέγων· ἔχε εἰς [f. 221rb] ἀνάλωμά
σου ὅτι ἐγήρασας καὶ ἀσθενεῖς, ἦν γὰρ λελωβημένος. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς
εἶπεν· Σὺ δι᾿ ἑξήκοντα ἐτῶν ἦλθες ἆραι τὸν τροφέα4 μου, ἰδοὺ τοσοῦτον
χρόνον ἔχω ἐν τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ μου. Καὶ οὐδενὸς ἐδεήθην, τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἐπιχορηγοῦντος καὶ τρέφοντός με, καὶ οὐ κατεδέξατο λαβεῖν.
1
ὁ S] οὗ C 2
αὐτό C] αὐτῷ S 3
ἀγάπην] σου add S 4
τροφέα S] τορφαία C
N.257–60 177
N.257/8.27
A brother, an ascetic who ate no bread, visited a great elder. There
happened to be other guests there also; the elder cooked a little mash
because of them. When they sat down to eat, the ascetic served himself
alone chickpeas softened by steeping and he began to eat. When they got
up from eating, the elder took him aside and said to him: “Brother, if you
are visiting somebody, do not declare your usual way of life. If you want to
maintain that way of life, stay in your cell and do not ever come out.”
Corrected by what the elder said, the brother became sociable when
meeting with the brothers.
N.258/6.21
Somebody begged an elder to accept money for his own need, but he was
unwilling as he had sufficient from the labour of his hands. As the person
persisted in begging that he receive it even for the needs of those who
lacked, the elder replied: “That is a double disgrace: I both accept without
needing and take pride too in giving away what belongs to another.”
N.259/6.23
Some grandee came into Scete from afar bringing a large amount of gold
with him and entreated the priest that it be given to the brothers. The
priest said: “The brothers are not in need.” He importuned him mightily
and placed the basket of gold at the church door. The priest said: “Let him
who is in need take [some gold].” Nobody came near it though and some
did not even notice it. The priest said to [the visitor]: “God has accepted
your charity; go and give this stuff to the poor.” He went his way greatly
enlightened.
N.260/6.24
Somebody brought money to an elder saying: “Take this for your expenses
for you have grown old and are sick” (he was in fact a leper). But he
replied: “Have you come to deprive me of him who has sustained me for
sixty years? For that is how long I have had my disease and I never lacked
anything with God providing for me and feeding me”, and he refused to
accept [anything.]
261. Διηγήσαντο οἱ γέροντες περί τινος κηπουροῦ ὅτι εἰργάζετο καὶ
πάντα τὸν κόπον αὐτοῦ παρεῖχεν εἰς ἀγάπην καὶ μόνον τὸ ἑαυτοῦ
ἀνάλωμα κατεῖχεν, ὕστερον δὲ ὁ Σατανᾶς ὑπέβαλεν αὐτῷ λέγων· Σύναξον
σεαυτῷ ὀλίγον κέρμα, μήπως γεράσῃς ἢ κακωθῇς, καὶ χρείαν ἔχῃς ἀνα-
λωμάτων. Καὶ συνήγαγε καὶ ἐγέμισε [f. 221va] κεράμιον κέρματος, συνέβη
δὲ αὐτὸν ἀσθενῆσαι καὶ σαπῆναι τὸν πόδα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀναλῶσαι τὸ κέρμα
εἰς ἰατρούς, καὶ μηδὲν ὠφελῆσαι. Ὕστερον δὲ ἔρχεταί τις ἔμπειρος ἰατρός,
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ κοπῇ ὁ πούς σου, ὅλον τὸ σῶμά σου σαπῆναι
ἔχει, καὶ ἔδοξεν ἵνα πρίσῃ αὐτοῦ τὸν πόδα. Τῇ δὲ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ ἐλθὼν εἰς
ἑαυτὸν1 καὶ μεταμεληθεὶς εἰς ὃ ἔπραξεν, στενάξας ἔκλαυσε καὶ εἶπεν·
Μνήσθητι, Κύριε, τῶν ἔργων μου τῶν ἀρχαίων ὧν ἐποίουν ἐργαζόμενος
καὶ παρέχων τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτοῦ εἰπόντος, ἔστη ἄγγελος
Κυρίου καὶ λέγει2 αὐτῷ· Ποῦ ἐστι τὸ κεράμιον ὃ συνήξας καὶ [f. 221vb]
ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ ἐλπὶς ἣν ἐβουλεύσω; Τότε νοήσας εἶπεν· Ἡμάρτηκα, Κύριε,
συγχώρησόν μοι καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν, οὐκέτι αὐτὸ3 ποιῶ. Τότε ὁ ἄγγελος
ἥψατο τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὐθέως ἰάθη, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἔωθεν, ἀπῆλθεν εἰς
τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐργάσασθαι· ἦλθεν οὖν ὁ ἰατρὸς κατὰ τὴν συνταγὴν μετὰ τῶν
σιδηρίων πρίσαι αὐτοῦ τὸν πόδα·4 καὶ μὴ εὑρὼν αὐτόν, ἠρώτησε τὸν
οἰκοῦντα πλησίον αὐτοῦ· Ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ ἀσθενῶν;5 Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ·
Ἀπὸ πρωῒ ἀπῆλθεν6 ἐργάσασθαι εἰς τὸν ἀγρόν. Τότε ἐκπλαγεὶς ὁ ἰατρὸς
ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν ὅπου εἰργάζετο· καὶ ἰδὼν7 αὐτὸν σκάπτοντα τὴν
γῆν,8 ἐδόξασε τὸν θεὸν τὸν δόντα αὐτῷ ὑγείαν.
262. Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφὸς γέροντα λέγων· θέλεις ἵνα κρατήσω ἑαυτῷ

δύο [f. 222ra] ὁλοκότινα εἰς λόγον ἀσθενείας σώματος; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων·
Οὐκ ἔστι καλὸν κρατῆσαι πλέον τῆς χρείας τοῦ σώματος, τὰ οὖν δύο
ὁλοκότινα ἐὰν κρατήσῃς, εἰς αὐτὰ εὑρίσκεται ἡ ἐλπίς σου, καὶ ἐὰν συμβῇ
αὐτοῖς ἀπώλεια οὐκέτι ὁ Θεὸς φροντίζει σου. Τὴν οὖν φροντίδα ἡμῶν
ἐπιῤῥίψωμεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ,9 ὅτι αὐτῷ10 μέλλει περὶ ἡμῶν.
263. Ἦλθόν τινες τῶν Ἑλλήνων δοῦναι ἀγάπην ἐν Ὀστρακίνῃ, καὶ

λαμβάνουσι μεθ᾿ ἑαυτῶν τοὺς οἰκονόμους, ἵνα δείξωσιν αὐτοῖς τίνες εἰσὶν
οἱ ἐπανάγκως11 χρείαν ἔχοντες, καὶ ἀποφέρουσιν αὐτοὺς πρός τινα
λελωβημένον, καὶ διδόασιν αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελε λαβεῖν λέγων· Ἰδοὺ τὰ
μικρὰ [f. 222rb] βαΐα κοπιῶ καὶ πλέκω, καὶ ἐσθίω τὸν ἄρτον μου.
1
ἐλθὼν εἰς ἑαυτὸν C] εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθὼν trsp S 2
λέγει C] εἶπεν S
3
αὐτοῦ τὸν πόδα C] τὸν πόδα αὐτοῦ trsp S
5
καὶ μὴ εὑρὼν. . .. ὁ ἀσθενῶν om C 6
ἀπῆλθεν C] ὑπάγει S 7
ἰδὼν C] ἰδόντα S
8
τὴν γῆν om S 9
αὐτῷ C] αὐτὸν S 10
ὅτι αὐτῷ C] αὐτῷ γὰρ S
11
ἐπανάγκως C] ἐπ᾿ ἀνάγκαις S
N.261–3 179
N.261/6.25
The elders used to tell of a gardener who toiled away and handed over all
[the fruits of] his toil to almsgiving, retaining only what was needed for his
own expenditure. But some time later Satan suggested to him: “Save a little
change for yourself in case you grow old or fall ill and need [to pay]
expenses.” He kept some and filled a jar with change. Then he happened
to fall ill and his foot turned septic; he spent his change on physicians and
reaped no benefit. Later on there came an experienced physician who said
to him: “Unless your foot is cut off, your whole body could become
septic.” He opted for [the physician] to saw [off] the foot. That night he
came to himself and repented of what he had done. Sighing, he wept and
said: “Lord, remember the good works I used to do long ago, labouring
away and providing for the brothers.” When he had said this, an angel of
the Lord stood [there] and said to him: “Where is the jar you saved? Where
is the hope on which you were resolved?” Then he reflected and said:
“Lord, I have sinned; forgive me and from now on I will do it no more”,
whereupon the angel touched his foot and he was immediately healed.
Getting up early in the morning, he went to the field to work. When the
physician came, as agreed, with the iron instruments to saw [off] the foot
and did not find him, he asked the person living close by him: “Where is
the sick one?” They [sic] said to him: “He went out early to work in the
field.” Astonished, the physician then went to the field where he was
working. Seeing him turning the earth with his spade, he glorified the
God who had given him health.
N.262/6.26
A brother asked an elder: “Do you want me to keep two coins for myself in
case of bodily sickness?” The elder replied: “It is not good to retain more
than is sufficient for the needs of the body. If you retain the two coins,
your hope will be found to be in them. And if they chance to be lost, God
will no longer take care of you. ‘Let us therefore cast our worries upon him,
for he cares for us’ [cf. Ps 54:23].”
N.263/6.22
Some pagans came to Ostrakine to distribute alms; they took the stewards
with them to indicate to them those who were seriously in need. These
took them to a leper and they began giving to him but he was unwilling to
Καὶ πάλιν ἀποφέρουσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς κελλίον μιᾶς χήρας μετὰ τέκνων καὶ
κρουσάντων τὴν θύραν, ὑπήκουσεν ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῆς ἔσωθεν τῆς θύρας
γυμνὴ οὖσα, ἡ δὲ μήτηρ αὐτῆς ἦν ἀπελθοῦσα ἐργάσασθαι, ἦν γὰρ
πλύτρια. Καὶ παρέχουσιν αὐτῇ ἱμάτιον καὶ κέρμα. Ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἤθελε λαβεῖν
λέγουσα· Ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ εἶπεν μοι ὅτι θάρσει, ἠθέλησεν
ὁ Θεός, καὶ εὗρον σήμερον ἐργάσασθαι, καὶ ἔχομεν τὴν τροφὴν ἡμῶν.
Καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῆς, παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὴν λαβεῖν1 καὶ οὐκ
ἠθέλησε, λέγουσα· Ἔχω ἐγὼ τὸν φροντιστήν μου Θεόν, καὶ ὑμεῖς θέ
[f. 222va]λετε λαβεῖν2 ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ; Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες τὴν πίστιν αὐτῆς,
ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν.
Περὶ τοῦ δεῖν πάντοτε νήφειν

264. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχὸς καθ᾿ ἑσπέραν καὶ κατὰ πρωῒ ποιεῖν
λόγον πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ λέγειν· Τί ὧν οὐ θέλει ὁ Θεὸς οὐκ ἐποιήσαμεν, καὶ
τί ὧν θέλει ὁ Θεὸς ἐποιήσαμεν, καὶ οὕτως μετανοεῖν· οὕτως χρὴ εἶναι τὸν
μοναχόν· οὕτως ἔζησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀρσένιος.
265. Εἶπεν γέρων· χρυσίον ἐάν τις ἀπολέσῃ ἢ ἀργύριον, δύναται ἀντ᾿
αὐτοῦ εὑρεῖν, καιρὸν δὲ ὁ ἀπόλλων, ἄλλον εὑρεῖν οὐ δύναται.
266. Παρέβαλέ τις τῶν γερόντων ποτὲ πρὸς ἄλλον γέροντα, καὶ
λαλούντων αὐτῶν, ἔλεγεν ὁ εἷς· Ἐγὼ ἀπέ[f. 222vb]θανον τῷ κόσμῳ. Λέγει
ὁ ἄλλος γέρων· Μὴ θαρσήσῃς ἑαυτῷ, ἀδελφέ, ἕως ἂν ἐξέλθῃς ἐκ τοῦ
σώματος, εἰ γὰρ σὺ λέγεις ὅτι ἀπέθανον, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Σατανᾶς οὐκ ἀπέθανεν.
267. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ ὁ στρατιώτης καὶ ὁ κυνηγός, ἀπερχόμενοι

εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα, οὐ φροντίζουσιν εἰ τιτρώσκεται ἄλλος ἢ σώζεται ἄλλος,
ἀλλ᾿ ἕκαστος ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ μόνου ἀγωνιᾷ, οὕτως χρὴ εἶναι τὸν μοναχόν.
1
αὐτὴν λαβεῖν C] λαβεῖν αὐτὴν trsp S 2
λαβεῖν] αὐτὸν add S
N.264–7 181
accept, saying: “Look, I cut and braid a few palm fronds and eat my [own]
bread.” Then [the stewards] also took them to the cell of a widow with
children. They knocked at the door and her daughter answered from
within as she was naked, her mother having gone off to work (she was a
laundress). They offered the daughter something to wear and a bit of
money but she was unwilling to accept, saying: “My mother came to me
and said: ‘Be confident for God willed it and found work today, so we shall
have our food.’” When her mother came [home], they begged her to
accept [help] but she would not. “For my part I have God to take care
of me; do you wish to take him away from me?” she said. They glorified
God when they heard [this expression of] her faith.
T H A T O N E S H O UL D A L W A Y S B E V I G I L A N T
N.264/11.91/Nistheros 5(A)
An elder said: “A monk ought to take account of himself every evening and
at dawn and say: ‘Of the things God wills not, what have we not done?
And of what God wills, what have we done?’ – and repent like that. That is
how a monk should be; that is how Abba Arsenius lived.”
N.265/11.92
An elder said: “If somebody loses gold or silver, he can find some in its
stead; but he who misses an opportunity cannot find another.”
N.266/11.81
One of the elders once visited another elder and, as they were conversing,
one of them started to say: “I died to the world.” The other elder said: “Do
not be so sure of yourself until you depart out of your body. Even though
you say ‘I died’ Satan has not died yet.”
N.267/11.94
An elder said: “As the soldier and the hunter go into combat not caring
whether someone else is wounded or someone else is kept safe, each one
engaging in combat for himself alone, so must the monk be.”
268. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀδικῆσαι τὸν ἐγγὺς τοῦ
βασιλέως ἑστῶτα, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ Σατανᾶς δύναταί τι ποιῆσαι ἡμῖν ἐὰν ἡ
ψυχὴ ἡμῶν ἐγγὺς ᾖ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐγγίσατε γάρ μοί, φησι, καὶ ἐγγιῶ ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿
ἐπειδὴ συνεχῶς μετε[f. 223ra]ωριζόμεθα, εὐχερῶς ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἁρπάζει τὴν
ταλαίπωρον ἡμῶν ψυχὴν εἰς τὰ πάθη τῆς ἀτιμίας.
269. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ἀνιστάμενος τὸ1 πρωΐ, λέγε σεαυτῷ· Σῶμα
ἔργασαι ἵνα τραφῇς· ψυχή, νῆφε ἵνα κληρονομήσῃς.
270. Ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν τινὶ γέροντι· Οὐδὲν βλέπω πολέμου2 ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ

μου· Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ τετράπυλον εἶ, καὶ ὁ θέλων εἰσέρχεται καὶ
ἐξέρχεται διὰ σοῦ, σὺ δὲ οὐ νοεῖς, ἐὰν δὲ ἔχῃς θύραν καὶ κλείσῃς αὐτήν, καὶ
μὴ συγχωρήσῃς εἰσελθεῖν δι᾿ αὐτῆς λογισμοὺς πονηρούς,3 τότε βλέπεις
αὐτοὺς ἔξω ἑστῶτας καὶ πολεμοῦντας.
271. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος, ὅτι ὅτε ἔλεγον αὐτῷ οἱ λογισμοί·
Ἄφες [f. 223rb] σήμερον καὶ αὔριον μετανοεῖς, ἀντέλεγεν αὐτοῖς λέγων·
Οὐχί, ἀλλὰ σήμερον μετανοήσω, καὶ αὔριον τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ γενέσθω.
272. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ μὴ ὁ ἔσω ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος νήφῃ, οὐ δυνατὸν

φυλάξαι τὸν ἔξω.
273. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· ὅτι τρεῖς εἰσὶ δυνάμεις4 τοῦ Σατανᾶ,5 αἵτινες
προπορεύονται πάσης ἁμαρτίας· ἡ λήθη, ἡ ἀμέλεια, καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία· ὅταν
γὰρ6 ἔλθῃ ἡ λήθη, γεννᾷ τὴν ἀμέλειαν, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἀμελείας ἔρχεται ἡ
ἐπιθυμία, ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας πίπτει ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἐὰν δὲ νήφῃ ὁ νοῦς
ἀπὸ τῆς λήθης, οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν ἀμέλειαν, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀμελήσῃ, οὐκ
ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἐὰν δὲ [f. 223va] μὴ ἐπιθυμήσῃ, οὐ πίπτει ποτὲ
χάριτι Χριστοῦ.
1
τὸ S] τῷ C 2
πολέμου om S 3
λογισμοὺς πονηροὺς C] πονηροὺς λογισμοὺς trsp S
4
εἰσὶ δυνάμεις C] δυνάμεις εἰσὶ trsp S 5
τοῦ Σατανᾶ C] τῷ Σατανᾷ S 6
γὰρ om S
N.268–73 183
N.268/11.95
An elder said: “In the same way that nobody can do wrong to one who
stands close to the emperor, neither can Satan do anything to us if our soul
is close to God. ‘Draw close to me and I will draw close to you’, he says
[Zec 1:3]. But since we are continually distracted, the enemy easily snatches
our wretched soul away towards disgraceful passions.”
N.269/11.99
An elder said: “When you get up in the morning, say to yourself: ‘Body,
work in order to be fed; soul, be on your guard so you may inherit [the
Kingdom of Heaven].’”
N.270 = N.57/11.101
A brother told some elder: “I do not see any battle in my heart.” “You are a
building open on all four sides”, the elder said to him. “Whoever wishes
comes in and out through you and you are not aware of it. If you have a
door and close it, refusing entry to wicked logismoi through it, then you
will see them standing outside and doing battle.”
N.271/11.102
They used to say of an elder that when his logismoi used to say to him: “Let
go today and repent tomorrow”, he would contradict them, saying: “No
indeed; today I shall repent and tomorrow the will of God be done.”
N.272/11.103
An elder said: “Unless our inner man be on his guard it is impossible to
protect the outer one.”
N.273/11.104
The elders used to say: “There are three powers of Satan that precede all
sin: forgetting, negligence and desire. When forgetting comes, it begets
negligence and from negligence comes desire: a person falls as a result of
desire. But if the mind is on guard against forgetting, it will not become
negligent and, if it be not negligent, it will not come to desire. If it does not
desire, it will never fall, by the grace of Christ.”
274. Εἶπεν γέρων· Σιωπὴν ἄσκει, μηδενός φρόντιζε,1 πρόσεχε τῇ μελέτῃ
σου, κοιταζόμενος καὶ ἀνιστάμενος μετὰ φόβου Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀσεβῶν ὁρμὰς
οὐ φοβηθήσῃ.
275. Εἶπεν γέρων τινὶ ἀδελφῷ· Ὁ διάβολος ἐστὶν ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ σὺ ὁ

οἶκος· ὁ ἐχθρὸς οὖν, οὐ παύεται ῥίπτων εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου εἴ τι ἂν εὕρῃ
πᾶσαν ἐπιχέων ἀκαθαρσίαν· σοῦ2 δέ ἐστι τοῦ μὴ ἀμελῆσαι3 τοῦ ῥίπτειν
ἔξω. Ἐὰν δὲ ἀμελήσῃς, πληροῦται ὁ οἶκος πάσης ἀκαθαρσίας, καὶ οὐκέτι
ἰσχύεις εἰσελθεῖν ἐκεῖ· ἀλλὰ τὰ πρῶτα ἃ ῥίπτει ἐκεῖνος, ἔκβαλε κατὰ
μικρόν, καὶ μένει ὁ οἶκος σου καθαρὸς διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
276. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων· ὅταν σκε[f. 223vb]πάσωσι τοὺς

ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ βοός, τότε περικάμπτει εἰς τὴν μηχανήν, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ σκε-
πάσωσιν οὐ περικάμπτει, οὕτως καὶ ὁ διάβολος, ἐὰν φθάσῃ σκεπᾶσαι
τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐν παντὶ ἁμαρτήματι ταπεινοῖ αὐτόν, ἐὰν
δὲ φωτισθῶσιν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εὐχερῶς δύναται φυγεῖν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
277. Ἔλεγον ὅτι ἐν τῷ ὄρει τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀντωνίου, ἐκάθηντο ἑπτὰ

ὀνόματα, καὶ τῷ4 καιρῷ τῶν φοινίκων, ἐφύλασσεν ὁ εἷς τοῦ σοβεῖν τὰ
πετεινά· ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ γέρων, καὶ ὅτε ἐφύλαττε τὴν ἡμέραν αὐτοῦ, ἔκραζε
λέγων· Ὑπάγετε οἱ ἔσω πονηροὶ λογισμοὶ καὶ τὰ ἔξω πετεινά.
278. Ἀδελφός τις εἰς τὰ Κελλία ἔβρεξε τὰ θαλλία αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὡς ἐκάθισε
πλέξαι [f. 224ra] λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ λογισμός· Ὕπαγε παράβαλε τῷδε τῷ
γέροντι, καὶ πάλιν λογίζεται ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων· ὅτι μετ᾿ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας
ὑπάγω. Πάλιν λέγει· Ἐὰν ἀποθάνῃ, τί ποιεῖς; ἅμα δὲ καὶ λαλεῖς, διὰ τὸ
θέρος. Λέγει πάλιν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἔστι καιρός. Πάλιν οὖν λογίζεται
λέγων· Ἀλλ᾿ ὡς κόπτεις τὰ θρύα γίνεται καιρός. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Τελέσω τὰ
θαλλία, καὶ οὕτως ἀπέρχομαι. Πάλιν οὖν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγει· Ἀλλὰ καλὸς ὁ
ἀὴρ σήμερον, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἀφῆκε τὰ θαλλία αὐτοῦ5 βρεκτά, καὶ λαβὼν
τὸ μηλωτάριον αὐτοῦ ἀπῄει.6 Ἦν δέ τις γέρων γειτνιῶν αὐτῷ διορατι-
1
φρόντιζε] σιωπὴν ἄσκει add S 2
σοῦ C] σὸν S 3
τοῦ μὴ ἀμελῆσαι C] μὴ ἀμελεῖν S
4
τῷ S] τὸ C 5
αὐτοῦ om S/hab C 6
ἀπῄει S] ἀπίει C
N.274–8 185
N.274/11.105
An elder said: “Practise silence; be anxious about nothing. When lying
down and getting up, apply yourself to your meditation with fear of God
and you will not fear the assaults of the godless.”
N.275/11.107
An elder said to some brother: “The devil is the enemy and you are the
house, for the enemy, pouring over [it] all uncleanness, makes no end of
throwing at your house whatever he finds. It is up to you not to be remiss
in throwing [it] out. If you are remiss, the house is filled with all unclean-
ness and you can no longer enter there. So do you little by little cast out
whatever that one first throws in and your house will remain clean through
the grace of Christ.”
N.276/11.108
One of the fathers used to say: “When they cover the eyes of the ox, then it
turns the mill around; but if they do not cover [them], it does not turn it
around. Similarly, if the devil succeeds in covering the eyes of a man, he
tumbles him into every sin. But if his eyes are enlightened, he can easily
escape from him.”
N.277/11.110
They used to say that there were seven persons living on the mountain of
Abba Antony and that, when it was the season for figs, one of them would
keep watch to drive off the birds. And there was an elder there who, when
it was his day to keep watch, used to cry out: “Away with you, evil logismoi
within and birds without!”
N.278/11.111
A brother at The Cells soaked his palm fronds and, when he sat down to
braid them, his logismos said to him: “Go and visit such-and-such an
elder”, but he in turn thought to himself: “I will go in a few days.” Then
he said: “And what will you do if he should die? At the same time you can
talk to him about the harvest.” “But it is not the time [for the harvest]”, he said
to himself again, but again he reckoned: “But it is the time since you are
cutting reeds”, but he said: “I will finish [braiding] the palm fronds and then
κός· καὶ ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν1 τρέχοντα, ἔκραξε λέγων· Αἰχμάλωτε, αἰχμάλωτε,
δεῦρο ὦδε. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν [f. 224rb] λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὑπόστρεψον εἰς
τὴν κέλλαν σου. Καὶ διηγήσατο ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ2 τὸν πόλεμον καὶ ὡς
εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον, ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν, ἐφώνησαν δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ οἱ
δαίμονες λέγοντες· Ἐνικήσατε ἡμᾶς, ὦ μοναχοί. Καὶ ἐγένετο τὸ ψιάθιον τὸ
ὑποκάτω αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀπὸ πυρὸς κεκαυμένον, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ ὡς καπνὸς
ἀφανεῖς γεγόνασιν.
279. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὁτι ἀπέθνῃσκεν εἰς Σκῆτιν, καὶ
ἐκύκλωσαν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὴν κλίνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐσχημάτισαν αὐτόν, καὶ
ἔβαλον κλαίειν. Ἤνοιξε δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐγέλασεν, εἶτα πάλιν
ἐγέλασεν, ἐγέλασε δὲ καὶ ἐκ τρίτου. Καὶ παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ
λέγοντες· Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν [f. 224va], ἀββᾶ, διατί ἡμεῖς κλαίομεν καὶ σὺ γελᾷς·
Λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἐγέλασα ὅτι πάντες φοβεῖσθε τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τὸ δεύτερον
ἐγέλασα, ὅτι οὐκ ἐστὲ ἕτοιμοι. Τὸ δὲ τρίτον ἐγέλασα, ὅτι ἀπὸ κόπου εἰς
ἀνάπαυσιν ὑπάγω· καὶ εὐθέως ἐκοιμήθη ὁ γέρων.
280. Διηγήσαντο ἀδελφοὶ λέγοντες· ὅτι παρεβάλομεν ποτὲ γέρουσι,

καὶ κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς γενομένης εὐχῆς ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἐκαθέσθημεν,
καὶ μετὰ τὸ λαλῆσαι, μέλλοντες ἀναχωρεῖν ᾐτήσαμεν εὐχὴν γένεσθαι.
Εἶπεν δέ τις τῶν γερόντων πρὸς ἡμᾶς· Τί γὰρ, οὐκ ηὔξασθε; Καὶ εἴπαμεν
αὐτῷ· Ὅτε εἰσήλθομεν, ἀββᾶ, ἐγένετο εὐχή, καὶ ὡμιλοῦμεν ἕως ἄρτι. Λέγει
ὁ γέρων· Συγχωρή[f. 224vb]σατε, ἀδελφοί, μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν καθεζόμενός τις
ἀδελφὸς καὶ ὁμιλῶν ργʹ εὐχὰς ἐποίησεν. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτοῦ εἰπόντος,
ἐποίησαν εὐχὴν καὶ ἀπέλυσαν ἡμᾶς.
Ὅτι χρὴ ἐλεεῖν καὶ φιλοξενεῖν ἐν ἱλαρότητι

281. Γέρων τις ἐκαθέζετο μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ3 κοινόβιον. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἦν
ἐλεήμων. Καὶ γενομένου λιμοῦ ἤρξαντό τινες ἔρχεσθαι εἰς τὴν θύραν αὐτοῦ
λαβεῖν ἀγάπην. Ὁ δὲ γέρων παρεῖχεν4 πᾶσι τοῖς ἐρχομένοις ἀγάπην.
Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸ γινόμενον, λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Δός μοι τὸ μέρος
μου τῶν ἄρτων,5 καὶ ὡς θέλεις σὺ ποίησον τὸ μέρος σου. Ὁ δὲ γέρων
1
αὐτὸν C] αὐτῷ S 2
ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ C] αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς trsp S
3
ἀδελφοῦ] εἰς add S /om C 4
παρεῖχεν post ἐρχομένοις trsp S
5
ἄρτων] μου add C /om S
N.279–81 187
go.” But then again he said to himself: “The weather is fine today”; he got up,
abandoned his soaked palm fronds, took up his sheepskin and set out. Now
there was an elder living close by him who had the second sight. When he saw
the brother running, he shouted: “Prisoner, prisoner, come here!” When he
came, the elder said to him: “Get back to your cell”, and the brother told him
of the battle [he was having]. When he [re]entered his cell, he prostrated
himself and the demons called out with a loud voice saying: “O monks, you
have conquered us!” Τhe rush mat beneath him became as though it was
burning with fire while [the demons] became invisible like smoke.
N.279/11.115
They used to tell of an elder who was dying at Scete. The brothers
surrounded his bed. They put him in the habit and set about weeping.
He, however, opened his eyes and laughed; then he laughed again and
laughed a third time. The brothers implored him, saying: “Tell us, abba,
why are you laughing while we are weeping?” He said to them: “I laughed
because you all are afraid of death. The second time I laughed because you
are unprepared; the third time I laughed because I am passing from toil to
repose”, and the elder promptly fell asleep.
N.280/12.18
Some brothers recounted: “We once visited some elders and, after the
customary prayer, we embraced each other and sat down. After we had
conversed, when we were about to leave, we asked for there to be a prayer.
One of the elders said to us: ‘Why? Did you not pray?’ We said to him:
‘There was a prayer when we came in, abba, and we were talking until
now.’ The elder said: ‘Forgive me, brothers; there is a brother sitting and
speaking with you who offered one hundred and three prayers.’ When he
had said that, they offered a prayer and sent us on our way.”
ON THE NECESSITY OF BEING JOYFULLY

COMPASSIONATE AND HOSPITABLE
N.281/13.15
An elder was living in common with a brother. The elder was compassion-
ate; when a famine arose and some people began coming to his door to
receive charity, the elder provided everybody who came with charity.
διεμέρισε τοὺς ἄρτους καὶ ἐποίει τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην [f. 225ra] ἐκ τοῦ μέρους
αὐτοῦ. Πολλοὶ δὲ συνέτρεχον πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, ἀκούσαντες ὅτι πᾶσι
παρέχει. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι πᾶσι παρέχει εὐλόγησε τοὺς ἄρτους
αὐτοῦ.1 Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς καταφαγὼν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ψωμία, λέγει τῷ γέροντι·
Ἐπειδὴ ἄλλα μικρὰ ψωμία ἔχω, ἀββᾶ, λάβε με πάλιν2 κοινόβιον. Καὶ
εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὡς θέλεις ποιῶ. Καὶ ἐκαθέσθησαν πάλιν κοινόβιον.
Γενομένης δὲ εὐθηνίας, ἤρχοντο πάλιν οἱ χρῄζοντες λαμβάνειν ἀγάπην. Ἐν
μιᾷ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν, εἰσελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφός, εἶδε τοὺς ἄρτους λείψαντας. Ἦλθε
δὲ πτωχός, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων τῷ ἀδελφῷ δοῦναι αὐτῷ ἀγάπην. Ὁ δὲ
εἶπεν· οὐκέτι ἔνι, πάτερ. Λέγει ὁ γέρων [f. 225rb]· Εἴσελθε καὶ ζήτησον.
Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς εἰσελθών, εὗρε τὸ ἀρτοθέσιον πεπληρωμένον ἄρτων. Καὶ
τοῦτο ἑωρακώς, ἐφοβήθη, καὶ λαβὼν ἔδωκε τῷ πτωχῷ. Καὶ γνοὺς τὴν
πίστιν καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ γέροντος, ἐδόξασε τὸν Θεόν.
282. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι3 ἔστι τις πολλὰ ποιῶν καλά, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς
ἐμβάλλει4 αὐτῷ ἀκριβολογίαν εἰς ἐλάχιστον πρᾶγμα, ἵνα τὸν μισθὸν
ἀπολέσῃ πάντων ὧν ἐργάζεται ἀγαθῶν. Καθημένου γάρ μου ποτὲ ἐν
Ὀξυρύγχῳ, παρὰ πρεσβυτέρῳ τινὶ ποιοῦντι5 ἐλεημοσύνας πολλάς, ἦλθε
χήρα αἰτοῦσα αὐτῷ6 σῖτον. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· Φέρε ἱμάτιον καὶ μετρῶ σοι.
Ἡ δὲ ἤνεγκεν καὶ ἀκριβάσας τὸ ἱμά[f. 225va]τιον τῇ χειρί, εἶπεν· Μέγα
ἐστίν, καὶ κατῄσχυνε τὴν χήραν.7 Εἶπον8 αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, πέπραχας τὸν
σῖτον; Λέγει· Οὐχί, ἀλλὰ ἀγάπην δέδωκα αὐτῇ. Εἶπον δὲ αὐτῷ· Εἰ οὖν
τὸ ὅλον δέδωκας αὐτῇ ἀγάπην, πῶς εἰς τὸ μέτρον ἠκριβεύσω καὶ
κατῄσχυνας αὐτήν;
283. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε ἀναχωρητῇ τινὶ καὶ ἐκβαίνων λέγει αὐτῷ·

Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι κατήργησά σε τοῦ κανόνος σου. Ὁ δὲ
ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὁ ἐμὸς κανὼν ἵνα ἀναπαύσω σε καὶ ἀποστείλω
ἐν εἰρήνῃ ἐστίν.9
1
τοὺς ἄρτους αὐτοῦ C] αὐτοῦ τοὺς ἄρτους trsp S 2
πάλιν om S
3
ὅτι om S/hab C 4
ἐμβάλλει S] ἐκβάλλει C 5
ποιοῦντι C] ποιοῦσα S
6
αὐτῷ] μικρὸν add S 7
χήραν] ὅτε δὲ ἀνεχώρησεν ἡ χήρα add S 8
Εἶπον C]-εν S
9
ἐστίν post κανὼν trsp S
N.282–3 189
When the brother saw what was happening, he said to the elder: “Give me
my share of the loaves and do as you like with your share.” The elder
divided the loaves and continued the almsgiving out of his share. Many
were those who came running to the elder on hearing that he provided for
all. God blessed his loaves when he perceived that he provided for all. But
when the brother had consumed his own bread he said to the elder: “Abba,
since I have [only] a few bits of bread; take me back again to live in
common.” “I will do as you wish”, said the elder to him and they lived in
common again. When food became plentiful, those in need came back to
receive charity but one day the brother came in and saw that the loaves had
run out. Then a poor man arrived and the elder told the brother to give
him charity, but he said: “There is no [bread] in there, father, not any
more.” The elder said: “Go in and search.” In went the brother and found
the pantry full of loaves, at the sight of which he was terrified. He took
[some] and gave to the poor man. Recognising the faith and the virtue of
the elder, he glorified God.
N.282/13.16
An elder said: “There can be a person doing many good works but the evil
one causes him to quibble over something of no importance so that he may
lose the reward for all the good works he performs. Once when I was
staying at Oxyrhynchos with a priest who was a great giver of alms, a
widow came asking him for grain. ‘Bring me a cloak and I will measure
[some] out for you’, he said. When she brought the cloak he estimated it
[s capacity] with his hand then said: ‘It is big!’ – and put the widow to
shame. I said to him: ‘Were you selling the grain, abba?’ ‘No,’ he said, ‘I
was giving her charity.’ ‘Well then,’ I said to him, ‘if you were giving it all
to her as charity, why did you estimate the amount and put her to shame?’”
N.283/13.8
A brother visited an anchorite. As he was leaving, he said to him: “Forgive me,
abba, for I diverted you from observing your rule”, but in response he said to
him: “My rule is to refresh you and to send you on your way in peace.”
284. Ἀναχωρητὴς1 ἐκάθητο ἐγγὺς κοινοβίου, πολιτείας ποιῶν πολλάς.
Καὶ συνέβη τινὰς παραβαλεῖν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον καὶ παρεβιάσαντο αὐτὸν
παρ᾿ ὥραν φα[f. 225vb]γεῖν. Μετὰ ταῦτα λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀδελφοί· Ἄρτι
οὐκ ἐθλίβης, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ἡ θλῖψις ἡ ἐμή ἐστιν, ἐὰν ποιήσω τὸ ἴδιον
θέλημα.
285. Ἔλεγον περὶ τινὸς γέροντος ὅτι ἐν Συρίᾳ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν2 ἐρήμου
ἔμενεν, καὶ αὕτη ἦν ἡ ἐργασία αὐτοῦ. Οἷαν ὥραν ἤρχετο μοναχὸς ἐκ τῆς
ἐρήμου, ἀγαθῇ πεποιθήσει ἐποίει αὐτοῦ ἀνάπαυσιν. Ἦλθεν οὖν ποτέ τις
ἀναχωρητής, καὶ ἐποίησεν αὐτῷ ἀνάπαυσιν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠθέλησε λαβεῖν,
λέγων ὅτι ἐγὼ νηστεύω, καὶ λυπηθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Μὴ παρέλθῃς τὸν
παῖδά σου δέομαί σου, μὴ ὑπερίδῃς με· δεῦρο εὐξώμεθα, καὶ ἰδοὺ δένδρον
ἐστὶν ὧδε· ᾧτινι συγκαμφθῇ3 γονυπετοῦντι καὶ προσευχομένῳ [f. 226ra],
τούτῳ ἐξακολουθήσωμεν. Ἔκλινεν οὖν γόνυ ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς εἰς προσευχήν,
καὶ οὐδὲν γέγονεν. Ἔκλινε δὲ καὶ ὁ ξενοδόχος καὶ εὐθὺς ἔκλινε τὸ δένδρον
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ πληροφορηθέντες, εὐχαρίστησαν4 τῷ Θεῷ.
286. Ἦν τις μοναχὸς ἔχων ἀδελφὸν κοσμικὸν πτωχὸν καὶ εἴ τι εἰργάζετο,

παρεῖχεν αὐτῷ· ὅσον δὲ παρεῖχεν αὐτῷ,5 πλέον ἐπτώχευεν. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ὁ
ἀδελφός, ἀνήγγειλε γέροντί τινι τὸ πρᾶγμα. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ
θέλεις μου ἀκοῦσαι μηκέτι δώσῃς αὐτῷ ἀλλ᾿ εἰπὲ αὐτῷ· Ἀδελφέ, ὅτε εἶχον
παρεῖχόν σοι· καὶ σὺ οὖν τὸ εὐοδοῦσαι ἐξ ὧν ἐργάζῃ φέρε μοι, καὶ εἴ τι ἂν
ἐνέγκῃ λάμβανε παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ [f. 226rb] ὅπου οἶδας ξένον ἢ γέροντα
πτωχόν, δὸς αὐτὰ καὶ παρακάλεσον ἵνα εὐχὴν ποιήσωσιν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ.
Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφός, ἐποίησεν οὕτως καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ὁ κοσμικὸς ὁ6 ἀδελφὸς
αὐτοῦ,7 ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ γέρων καὶ ἀπῆλθε λυπούμενος· καὶ
ἰδοὺ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, λαβὼν ἐκ τοῦ κόπου αὐτοῦ λεπτολάχανα,
ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ. Λαβὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτά, ἔδωκε τοῖς γέρουσι, καὶ παρ-
εκάλεσεν αὐτοὺς εὔξασθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐλογηθείς, ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν
οἶκον αὐτοῦ. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πάλιν ἤνεγκε λάχανα καὶ ἄρτους τρεῖς καὶ
λαβὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ, ἐποίησεν ὡς τὸ πρῶτον. Καὶ εὐλογηθεὶς πάλιν
[f. 226va] ἀπῆλθεν. Ἐλθὼν δὲ τὸ τρίτον, ἤνεγκε πολλὰ ἀναλώματα, καὶ οἶνον,
καὶ ἰχθύας, καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἐθαύμασεν, καὶ ἐκάλεσε τοὺς πτωχοὺς
καὶ ἀνέπαυσεν αὐτούς. Εἶπεν δὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ· Μὴ χρείαν ἔχεις ὀλίγου
ἄρτου; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Οὐχί, κύριε, ἡνίκα γὰρ ἐλάμβανον παρὰ σοῦ τίποτε, ὡς
πῦρ εἰσήρχετο εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου καὶ ἀνήλισκεν αὐτόν. Ἐξότε δὲ οὐ λαμβάνω
1
ἀναχωρητὴς C] ἀδελφὸς S 2
ὁδὸν] τῆς add S 3
συγκαμφθῇ S] –εῖ C
4
εὐχαρίστησαν C] ηὐ-S 5
ὅσον δὲ παρεῖχεν αὐτῷ om S 6
ὁ om S
7
αὐτοῦ] ἐποίησεν οὕτως καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ὁ κοσμικὸς ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ add S (obviously a mistake)
N.284–6 191
N.284/13.9
There was an anchorite living close by a coenobion who observed many
disciplines. When some people happened to visit the coenobion, they
urged him to eat at an unusual hour. Afterwards, the brothers said to
him: “Were you not distressed just now, abba?” but he said: “My distress is
if I carry out my own will.”
N.285/13.10
They used to say of an elder that he lived by the road leading to the desert
in Syria and that this was how he kept the commandments: at whatever
time a monk came out of the desert, he would give him refreshment with
great assurance. Once there came some anchorite and he made him
refreshment, but he did not want to accept it, saying: “I am fasting.”
Saddened, [the elder] said to him: “Do not reject your servant, I beg of
you; do not despise me. Come, let us pray. Look, here there is a tree; to
whomsoever it bends as he kneels in prayer, him let us follow.” The
anchorite bent his knee to pray but nothing happened. The host bent
[his knee] too and immediately the tree bent with him. Reassured, they
gave thanks to God.
N.286/13.14
There was a monk who had a brother, a poor worldling for whom he
provided from whatever he worked at. But the more he provided for
him, the poorer he got. The brother went and reported the matter to an
elder. Said the elder to him: “If you want my advice, do not give him any
more but say to him: ‘Brother, when I had [the wherewithal] I provided for
you. So do you [now] bring me the superfluity from what you work at.’
Take from him whatever he brings and, where you know [there is] a
stranger or a poor elder, give it to him and entreat them to offer a prayer
for him.” The brother went his way and did so. When his brother the
worldling came, he spoke to him as the elder told him to and went away
sorrowing. Then behold, on the first day [the worldling] received a few
small vegetables from his toil and brought them to him. His brother took
them and gave them to the elders, entreating them to pray for him and he
went back to his house with a blessing. Likewise [the worldling] also
brought again some vegetables and three loaves; his brother took these
and disposed of them as the first time and again he went away with a
παρὰ σοῦ, ὁ Θεὸς εὐλογεῖ με. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν ὁ ἀδελφός, ἀνήγγειλε τῷ
γέροντι πάντα τὰ συμβάντα, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι τὸ
ἔργον τοῦ μοναχοῦ πῦρ ἐστι καὶ ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν εἰσέρχηται καίει; τοῦτο δὲ
μᾶλλον ὠφελεῖ αὐτόν, τὸ1 ποιεῖν [f. 226vb] ἐκ τοῦ κόπου αὐτοῦ ἐλεημοσύνην
καὶ λαμβάνειν εὐχὴν παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων, καὶ οὕτως εὐλογεῖται.
287. Μοναχός τις Θηβαῖος ἔσχε χάρισμα διακονίας παρὰ2 Θεοῦ, ἵνα
ἕκαστον τῶν προσερχομένων οἰκονομῇ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτόν
ποτε εἰς κώμην τινὰ διδόναι ἀγάπην, καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνή τις ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν
λαβεῖν ἀγάπην φοροῦσα παλαιά. Καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ὅτι παλαιὰ φορεῖ
ἐχάλασε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ3 δοῦναι αὐτῇ πολλά, καὶ συνεστάλη ἡ
χεὶρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνήνεγκεν ὀλίγα. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦλθεν ἄλλη πρὸς αὐτὸν
φοροῦσα καλῶς. Καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτῆς τὰ ἱμάτια ἐχάλασε δοῦναι αὐτῇ ὀλίγα,
καὶ ἡπλώθη ἡ χεὶρ [f. 227ra] αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀνήνεγκε πολλά. Καὶ ἠρώτησε
περὶ ἀμφοτέρων, καὶ εἶπαν·4 Ὅτι ἡ τὰ καλὰ φοροῦσα, ἀπὸ ἀξιολόγων
οὖσα ἐπτώχευσε, καὶ ὑπολήψεως χάριν ἐχρήσατο τὰ καλὰ ἱμάτια· ἡ ἄλλη
δέ, χάριν τοῦ λαβεῖν,5 ἐφόρεσε παλαιά.
288. Παρέβαλόν ποτε δύο ἀδελφοὶ πρός τινα γέροντα, καὶ ἡ συνήθεια
τοῦ γέροντος ἦν μὴ ἐσθίειν καθ᾿ ἡμέραν, καὶ ὡς εἶδεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς, ἐχάρη
καὶ εἶπεν ὅτι ἡ νηστεία6 μισθὸν ἔχει, καὶ ὁ ἐσθίων πάλιν ἀγάπην δύο
ἐντολὰς πληροῖ, ὅτι τὸ ἴδιον θέλημα ἀφῆκε καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἐπλήρωσεν,
καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἀνέπαυσεν.
289. Ἦν τις τῶν ἁγίων ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ οἰκῶν ἐν ἐρήμῳ τόπῳ, ἦν δὲ καὶ

ἄλλος ἀπὸ μή[f. 227rb]κοθεν αὐτοῦ Μανιχαῖος, καὶ αὐτὸς πρεσβύτερος
τῶν λεγομένων παρ᾿ αὐτοῖς πρεσβυτέρων. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθε παραβαλεῖν τινὶ
τῶν ὁμοφύλων αὐτοῦ κατέλαβεν αὐτὸν ἑσπέρα ὅπου ἦν ὁ ἅγιος ὁ
ὀρθόδοξος, καὶ ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐφοβεῖτο πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰσελθεῖν καὶ
κοιμηθῆναι, ᾔδει γὰρ ὅτι γινώσκει ὅτι Μανιχαῖος ἐστίν, καὶ μήποτε οὐ
δέξεται αὐτόν, πλὴν ἀναγκασθείς, ἔκρουσεν καὶ ἀνοίξας ὁ γέρων καὶ
1
τὸ] τοῦ C 2
παρὰ] τοῦ add S 3
αὐτοῦ om S 4
εἶπαν C] εἶπον S [?]
5
λαβεῖν] εὐποροῦσα add S 6
νηστεία] πολὺ add S/om C
N.287–9 193
blessing. [The worldling] came a third time bearing all kinds of victuals:
wine and fish. His brother was amazed when he saw [them]; he invited the
poor and refreshed them. He said to his brother: “Are you not in need of a
little bread?” but he said: “No sir, for when I used to get anything from
you, there came into my house something like fire and consumed it. But
ever since I am not getting anything from you, God is blessing me.” So the
brother went and reported all that had happened to the elder and the elder
said to him: “Are you not aware that a monk’s work is a fire and that it
burns wherever it enters? This is what gives him the greater benefit: giving
alms from his toil and receiving a prayer from the holy ones, and in that
way he is blessed.”
N.287/13.13
A monk from Thebes received from God the gift of being of service, that
he should provide for each of those who came according to need. Once he
happened to be giving out charity in a village and here there came to him
to get charity a woman wearing old clothes. When he saw that she was
wearing old clothes, he let down his hand to give her plenty; but his hand
tightened up and he took out little. Then here there came to him another
[woman], this one well dressed. Seeing her clothes, he let down his hand to
give her a little; but his hand opened up and he lifted out a great deal. He
enquired about them both and they said that the well-dressed one was an
impoverished noble who used good clothes to save appearances while the
other wore old clothes to get charity.
N.288/13.11
Two brothers once visited an elder; it was the elder’s custom not to eat
every day. He rejoiced when he saw the brothers, saying: “Fasting has its
reward, but he who eats again out of charity obeys two commandments:
for he has set aside his own will and fulfilled the law [of hospitality]” – and
he refreshed the brothers.
N.289/13.12
There was one of the holy men of Egypt living in a desert place and there
was another some distance from him, a Manichee – and he a priest, [one]
of those called priests among them. As he came to visit one of his co-
religionists, evening overtook him there where the orthodox holy man was.
γνωρίσας αὐτόν, ἐδέξατο αὐτὸν μετὰ χαρᾶς, καὶ ἠνάγκασεν αὐτὸν
εὔξασθαι, καὶ ἀναπαύσας αὐτὸν ἐκοίμησεν. Ὁ δὲ Μανιχαῖος ἐν ἑαυτῷ
γενόμενος τῇ νυκτὶ εἶπεν· Πῶς οὐδεμίαν ὑποψίαν ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐποίησεν; οὗτος
τοῦ [f. 227va] Θεοῦ ἐστιν. Καὶ ἐλθὼν προσέπεσε πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ
λέγων· Ἐγὼ ὀρθόδοξος εἰμὶ ἀπὸ τὴν σήμερον, καὶ οὕτως ἔμεινε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
Περὶ ὑπακοῆς
290. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι ἐὰν ἔχῃ τις πίστιν εἴς τινα, καὶ δίδωσιν
ἑαυτὸν1 ὑποταγῆναι αὐτῷ, οὐ χρείαν ἔχει προσέχειν ἐντολαῖς Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ
τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ συγχωρεῖν πάντα τὰ θελήματα αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔχει
ἔγκλημα παρὰ Θεῷ, οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς παρὰ τῶν ἀρχαρίων,
ὡς τὸν διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς2 σκυλμόν.
291. Ἀδελφὸς ἐν τῇ Σκήτει ὑπάγων εἰς θέρος παρέβαλε μεγάλῳ γέροντι

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Εἰπέ μοι τί ποιήσω ὑπάγων εἰς τὸ θέρος. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Καὶ ἐάν σοι [f. 227vb] εἴπω πείθῃ μοι; Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Ναί, ἀκούω
σου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ πείθῃ μοι ἀνάστα ἀπόταξαι τῷ θερισμῷ
τούτῳ, καὶ δεῦρο καὶ ἀναγγελῶ3 σοι ὃ ποιήσεις. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς
ἀπετάξατο τῷ θερισμῷ καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου, καὶ ποίησον τὴν πεντηκοστὴν ἅπαξ
ἐσθίων τῆς ἡμέρας μετὰ ξηροῦ ἅλατος, καὶ πάλιν ἀναγγελῶ4 σοι πρᾶγμα
ἕτερον. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ἐποίησεν οὕτως καὶ ἦλθε πάλιν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα.
Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἰδὼν ὅτι ἐργάτης ἐστίν, ἀπήγγειλεν αὐτῷ5 πῶς δεῖ καθίσαι ἐν
τῷ κελλίῳ. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ ἔβαλεν [f. 228ra]
ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἡμέρας τρεῖς κλαίων ἐνώπιον τοῦ
Θεοῦ. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, ὅτε ἔλεγον αὐτῷ οἱ λογισμοί· Ὑψώθης, μέγας
γέγονας, ἔφερεν καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ ἐλαττώματα αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ λέγων·
Καὶ ποῦ εἰσι πᾶσαι αἱ πλημμέλειαί μου; Εἰ δὲ πάλιν ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Πόλλας
ἐποίησας πλημμελείας, ἔλεγε καὶ αὐτός· Ἀλλὰ ποιῶ μικρὰς λειτουργίας τῷ
Θεῷ, καὶ πιστεύω ὅτι ποιήσει6 μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ὁ Θεὸς7 ἔλεος· ἡττηθέντα δὲ τὰ
1
ἑαυτὸν S] αὐτῷ C 2
ὑπακοῆς C] ὑποταγῆς S 3
ἀναγγελῶ C] ἀναγγείλω S
4
ἀναγγελῶ C] ἀπαγγέλλω S 5
αὐτῷ] τὸ add S 6
ποιήσει C] ποιεῖ S
7
μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ὁ Θεὸς C] ὁ Θεὸς μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ trsp S
N.290–1 195
He was on the horns of a dilemma, afraid to go in to him and sleep there,
for he knew the elder was aware that he was a Manichee and might not
receive him. However, obliged by necessity, he knocked. The elder opened
the door, recognised him and received him joyfully. He urged him to pray,
refreshed him and gave him a bed. Awaking in the night, the Manichee
said: “How come he has not shown me any suspicion? This is [a man] of
God.” He came and fell at his feet saying: “I am an orthodox from this day
forward”, and so he remained with him.
ON OBEDIENCE
N.290 (a)/14.20 (b) = 292

(a) The fathers used to say that if somebody has trust in another and gives
himself in subjection to that person, he need not heed the commandments
of God, but concede all his wishes to his father, and (b) God will not
reproach him, for God seeks nothing so much from novices as suffering
through obedience.
N.291/14.23
As a brother of Scete was setting out to harvest he met a great elder and
said to him: “Tell me: what shall I do, going to harvest?” The elder said to
him: “And if I tell you, will you trust me?” The brother said: “Yes: I am
listening to you.” The elder said to him: “If you trust me, get up, discharge
yourself from this harvest then come and I shall tell you what to do.” Off
went the brother, discharged himself from the harvest and came to the
elder. “Go into your cell,” the elder said to him; “pass fifty days eating dry
[bread] with salt once a day, then again I will tell you something else.” He
went off and did so, then came to the elder again. Perceiving that [the
brother] was a worker, the elder informed him how he should stay in his
cell. The brother went off into his cell and flung himself face down on the
ground, weeping before God for three days. After that, when the logismoi
were saying to him: “You have been exalted and become great”, he would
himself bring up his own shortcomings before himself, saying: “And where
are all the things I have left undone?” And again if [the logismoi] were
saying: “You have left many things undone”, for his part he would say:
“But I offer a few acts of worship* to God and trust that God will deal
mercifully with me.” Vanquished, the spirits appeared to him in visible
πνεύματα ἐφάνησαν αὐτῷ αἰσθητῶς λέγοντα· Ἐχειμάσθημεν ἀπὸ σοῦ.
Λέγει αὐτοῖς· Διατί; Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ὑψώσωμέν σε τρέχεις εἰς ταπεί-
νωσιν, ἐάν σε ταπεινώσωμεν1 ἀνάγεις εἰς ὕψος.
292. [f. 228rb] Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι οὐδὲν οὕτως ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς παρὰ
τῶν ἀρχαρίων ὡς τὸν διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς σκυλμόν.2
293. Γέρων τις εἶχε διακονητὴν εἰς τὴν3 κώμην οἰκοῦντα. Συνέβη δὲ
ἅπαξ βραδύναντος τοῦ διακονητοῦ παραγενέσθαι κατὰ τὸ ἔθος λείψαι
τὰς χρείας τοῦ γέροντος· χρονίζοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ, ἀπέσχον αἱ χρεῖαι καὶ τὸ
ἐργόχειρον ὅπερ εἶχεν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐθλίβετο μήτε τι ἐργά-
σασθαι ἔχων, μήτε τὰ πρὸς τροφήν, καὶ λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Θέλεις
ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὴν κώμην; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Ὡς θέλεις ποιῶ. Ἐφοβεῖτο δὲ4 καὶ ὁ
ἀδελφὸς προσεγγίσαι τῇ κώμῃ διὰ τὰ σκάνδαλα, ἵνα δὲ μὴ παρακούσῃ
τοῦ πατρὸς κατεδέξατο ἀ[f. 228va]πελθεῖν. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ὕπαγε καὶ πιστεύω εἰς τὸν Θεὸν τῶν πατέρων μου ὅτι σκεπάζει σε
ἀπὸ παντὸς πειρασμοῦ. Καὶ ποιήσας εὐχήν, ἀπέστειλεν αὐτόν. Ἐλθὼν
δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἰς τὴν κώμην περιειργάσατο ὅπου ᾤκει ὁ διακονητὴς5
καὶ εὗρεν. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτόν τε καὶ τοὺς αὐτοῦ πάντας6 εἰς μνημόσυνον
ἔξω τῆς κώμης εὑρεθῆναι, πλὴν μιᾶς θυγατρὸς αὐτοῦ, ἥτις κρούσαντος
αὐτοῦ τὴν θύραν ὑπήκουσεν· καὶ ἀνοίξασα ἔνδοθεν7 καὶ ἰδοῦσα αὐτόν,8
ἀδελφὸν ἐπερωτῶντα διὰ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῆς, προετρέπετο ἔσω εἰσελθεῖν,
ἅμα δὲ καὶ εἷλκεν. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠνείχετο, ἐπιπολὺ δὲ βιαζομένη, κατίσχυσε
καὶ ἐπεσπάσατο αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυ[f. 228vb]τήν. Ὁ δὲ ἑωρακὼς ἑαυτὸν
εἰς ἀσέλγειαν καὶ9 τοῖς λογισμοῖς συνεχόμενον, στενάξας ἐβόα πρὸς τὸν
Θεόν· Κύριε, διὰ τὰς εὐχὰς τοῦ πατρός μου, σῶσόν με ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ.
Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπών, εὑρέθη ἐξαίφνης10 εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν ὑπάγων εἰς τὸ
μοναστήριον. Καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἀβλαβὴς πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πατέρα.
294. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ σαρκικοὶ παρεγένοντο οἰκῆσαι ἐν μοναστηρίῳ τινί.

Ὁ εἷς ἦν ἀσκητής, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἔχων ὑπακοὴν μεγάλην, καὶ ἔλεγεν
αὐτῷ ὁ πατήρ· Ποίησον τοῦτο, καὶ ἐποίει· Ποίησον ἐκεῖνο, καὶ ἐποίει·
φάγε πρωΐας, καὶ ἤσθιεν, καὶ ἐδοξάζετο ἐν τῷ μοναστηρίῳ διὰ τῆς
ὑπακοῆς. Κεντηθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ ἀσκητὴς εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ·
1
σε ταπεινώσωμεν C] ταπεινώσωμέν σε trsp S 2
τὸν. . . σκυλμόν] Corr., τῶν. . . σκυλμῶν CS
3
τὴν om S 4
δὲ C] γὰρ S 5
διακονητὴς] αὐτοῦ add S
6
πάντας post εὑρεθῆναι trsp S 7
ἔνδοθεν om S 8
αὐτὸν] τὸν S
9
ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἀσέλγειαν καὶ] αὐτὴν μὲν πρὸς ἀσέλγειαν οὕτως ἔχουσαν, ἑαυτὸν δὲ S (the meaning is
better in S)
10
εὑρέθη ἐξαίφνης C] ἐξαίφνης εὑρέθη trsp S
N.292–4 197
form, saying: “We have been floored by you!” “Why is that?” he said to
them and they said to him: “If we raise you up, you rush to humility and,
when we humiliate you, you rise up on high.”
* liturgies [leitourgias], not synaxeis, which one might expect.
N.292/14.24
The elders used to say that there is nothing God requires of novices so
much as sufferings through obedience.
N.293/14.25
An elder had an attendant living in the village. On one occasion the
attendant happened to be late in paying his usual visit and the elder ran
out of necessities. As [the attendant] took his time, [the elder] also ran
short of the things needed for the handiwork that he kept in his cell and he
was frustrated, having neither anything to work at nor the wherewithal to
feed [himself]. He said to his disciple: “Will you go into the village?” “I will
do as you wish”, he said. Now the brother was afraid to approach the
village for fear of scandal but he agreed to go in order not to disobey his
father. “Go”, the elder said to him; “I trust in the God of my fathers that
he will protect you from all temptation.” He offered a prayer and sent him
on his way. When the brother came into the village, he enquired where the
attendant lived and found it. Now it so happened that the man and his entire
household were at a memorial, outside the village – except for one daughter of
his. She answered the door when he knocked and opened it from within.
When she saw him, a brother asking about her father, she invited him to step
inside and she would even have drawn him in – but he refused. She continued
pressing him and she prevailed, drawing him towards herself. But he, seeing
himself being hauled into licentiousness and confounded by his logismoi,
groaned and cried out to God: “Lord, save me in this hour by the prayers
of my father.” Having said this, he was suddenly found by the river, on
his way to the monastery; he was restored to his own father, unharmed.
N.294/14.27 BHG 1438m, de crocodillis

Two natural brothers went to live in a monastery; one of them was ascetic,
but the other possessed [the gift of] great obedience. The father used to say
to him: “Do this”, and he would do it, or: “Do that”, and he would do it; or:
Δοκι[f. 229ra]μάσω αὐτὸν εἰ ἔχει ὑπακοήν, καὶ προσελθὼν τῷ πατρὶ λέγει·
Πέμψον μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἵνα παραβάλωμεν πούποτε, καὶ ἀπέλυσεν
αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς καὶ ᾖρεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀσκητὴς θέλων αὐτὸν πειρᾶσαι, καὶ1
ἐλθόντων δὲ αὐτῶν2 εἰς τὸν ποταμόν, εἶχε δὲ πλῆθος κροκοδείλων πολύ.
Καὶ3 λέγει αὐτῷ· Κατάβηθι εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ πάρελθε.4 Καὶ κατέβη,
καὶ ἦλθον οἱ κροκόδειλοι καὶ5 ἔλειχον αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ οὐκ ἔβλαψαν
αὐτόν.6 Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ ἀσκητὴς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀνάβηθι ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Καὶ
ὁδεύοντες εὗρον σῶμα ἐῤῥιμένον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀσκητής· Εἰ
εἴχομεν παλαίωμα, ἐβάλομεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ. Λέγει δὲ ὁ τὴν ὑπακοὴν ἔχων·
Μᾶλλον εὐξώμεθα, εἴπως ἀνα[f. 229rb]στῇ. Καὶ ἔστησαν εἰς προσευχήν,7
καὶ εὐξαμένων αὐτῶν, ἀνέστη ὁ νεκρός, καὶ ἐκαυχᾶτο ὁ ἀσκητὴς λέγων·
ὅτι διὰ τῆς ἀσκήσεώς μου ἀνέστη ὁ νεκρός. Ἀπεκάλυψε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τῷ
πατρὶ τοῦ μοναστηρίου πάντα· καὶ πῶς ἐπείρασε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἐν
τοῖς κροκοδείλοις, καὶ πῶς ἀνέστη ὁ νεκρός. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθον εἰς τὸ μονασ-
τήριον, λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς τῷ ἀσκητῇ· Τί οὕτως ἐποίησας τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ
ἰδοὺ διὰ τὴν ὑπακοὴν αὐτοῦ ἀνέστη ὁ νεκρός;
295. Ἀδελφός τις βιωτικός, ἔχων παιδία τρία, ἀνεχώρησεν ἐν μονασ-

τηρίῳ ἐάσας αὐτὰ ἐν τῇ πόλει.8 Ὡς οὖν ἔμεινε τρία ἔτη ἐν τῇ μονῇ,
ἤρξαντο οἱ λογισμοὶ φέρειν αὐτῷ μνήμην τῶν [f. 229va] αὐτοῦ παιδίων,9
καὶ ἐλυπεῖτο δι᾿ αὐτὰ σφόδρα· οὐκ ἦν δὲ ἀναγγείλας τῷ ἀββᾷ, ὅτι ἔχει
τέκνα. Βλέπων οὖν αὐτὸν ὁ πάτηρ στυγνάζοντα, λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἔχεις ὅτι
στυγνὸς εἶ; Καὶ διηγήσατο τῷ πατρὶ ὅτι τρία παιδία ἔχω ἐν τῇ πόλει, καὶ
θέλω αὐτὰ ἐνέγκαι ἐν τῇ μονῇ. Καὶ ἐπέτρεψεν ὁ πατήρ, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐν τῇ
πόλει εὗρε τὰ δύο κοιμηθέντα καὶ λαβὼν τὸ καταλειφθέν, ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ
μοναστήριον, καὶ ἐπιζητήσας τὸν πατέρα εὗρεν αὐτὸν10 εἰς τὸ ἀρτοκο-
πεῖον καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ ἠσπάσατο αὐτόν, καὶ λαβὼν τὸ παιδίον
περιεπτύξατο11 καὶ ἐναγκαλισάμενος κατεφίλει, καὶ λέγει τῷ πατρὶ
αὐτοῦ· Ἀγαπᾷς αὐτό; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ναί. Καὶ πάλιν εἶπεν·12 Πά[f. 229vb]νυ
δὲ13 φιλεῖς αὐτό; Καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο· Ναί. Καὶ ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ ἀββᾶς εἶπεν·
Ἆρον, βάλε αὐτὸ εἰς τὸν φοῦρνον ὡς καίεται.14 Λαβὼν ὁ πατὴρ τὸ
1
καὶ ᾖρεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀσκητὴς θέλων αὐτὸν πειρᾶσαι, καὶ om S 2
ἐλθόντων δὲ αὐτῶν S] ἦλθεν C
3
εἶχε δὲ πλῆθος κροκοδείλων πολύ. Καὶ om S
4
πάρελθε] ἦν δὲ πλῆθος κροκοδείλων ἐκεῖ add S
5
Καὶ κατέβη καὶ ἦλθον οἱ κροκόδειλοι C] κατέβη οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ
κροκόδειλοι S
6
καὶ οὐκ ἔβλαψαν αὐτόν] βλάψαντες αὐτὸν οὐδέν S 7
προσευχὴν C] εὐχὴν S
8
ἐάσας αὐτὰ ἐν τῇ πόλει post τρία trsp S 9
αὐτοῦ παιδίων C] παιδίων αὐτοῦ trsp S
10
αὐτὸν S] ἑαυτὸν C 11
περιεπτύξατο] αὐτὸ add S 12
εἶπεν C] ἔφη S
13
δὲ om S 14
καίεται] καὶ add S
N.295 199
“Eat at an early hour”, and he would eat. He began to be esteemed in the
monastery for his obedience. Now his ascetic brother was irritated; he said to
himself: “I will try him out, whether he is really obedient.” So he went to the
father and said: “Send my brother with me to visit somewhere”, and the
abba gave him leave. The ascetic [one] took him with him, wishing to try
him out. When they came to the river which had very many crocodiles he
said to him: “Go down into the river and cross it.” He went down [into it];
the crocodiles came and licked his body but did him no harm. When the
ascetic brother saw, he said to him: “Come up out of the river.” As they were
travelling along they came across a body cast by the wayside. The ascetic
said: “If we had an old garment we would throw it over him.” The one who
had [the gift of] obedience said: “Let us rather pray and maybe he will
revive.” So they stood in prayer and, after they had prayed, the dead person
did revive. “It was because of my asceticism that the dead person revived”,
the ascetic brother boasted, but God revealed everything to the father of the
monastery: how he had tried out his brother among the crocodiles and how
the dead person had revived. When they came to the monastery the abba
said to the ascetic: “Why did you treat your brother like that? You see, it was
due to his obedience that the dead person revived.”
N.295/14.28
A brother living in the world who had three children retired into a
monastery, leaving them in the city. When he had been in the monastery
for three years, his logismoi began to bring his children to remembrance,
and he became very sad on their account. Now he had not reported to the
abba that he had children; when the father saw that he was depressed, he
said to him: “What is the matter, that you are depressed?” and he explained
to the father: “I have three children in the city and I want to bring them
into the monastery.” The father gave permission but, when he went to the
city, he found that two of them had died; he took the one that was left and
came to the monastery. He went looking for the father and found him in
the bakery. The father embraced him when he saw him; he took the child
up in his arms, hugged it and kissed it and said to its father. “Do you love
it?” “Yes”, he said. Again he said to him: “Do you love it very much?”
“Yes”, he replied. On hearing this, the abba said: “Take it and throw it into
παιδίον ἑαυτοῦ, ἔῤῥιψεν εἰς τὸν φοῦρνον, καὶ ἐγένετο παραχρῆμα ὡς
δρόσος ἡ φλόξ. Καὶ ἀνηνέγκατο δόξαν, ὡς ὁ πατριάρχης Ἀβραάμ.
296. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτι ὁ καθήμενος ἐν ὑπακοῇ πατρὸς πνευματικοῦ,

πλείονα μισθὸν ἔχει τοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καταμόνας ἀναχωροῦντος.
297. Εἶπεν γέρων· Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ προκόπτομεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπιστάμεθα τὰ

μέτρα ἑαυτῶν, οὐδὲ ἔχομεν1 ὑπομονὴν ἐν ᾧ ἀρχόμεθα ἔργῳ, ἀλλὰ ἀπόνως
θέλομεν κτήσασθαι τὴν ἀρετήν [f. 230ra].
Περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης
298. Τινὰ τῶν μοναχῶν ἐρημίτην ἄνθρωπος δαιμονιζόμενος καὶ δεινῶς
2
ἀφρίζων ἔτυψε3 κατὰ τῆς σιαγόνος. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐναλλάξας, καὶ τὴν

ἄλλην ὑπέθηκεν. Ὁ δὲ δαίμων, μὴ φέρων τὴν πύρωσιν τῆς ταπεινώσεως,
εὐθέως ἤλετο.4
299. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτ᾿ ἂν λογισμὸς ὑψηλοφροσύνης ἢ ὑπερηφανίας

ὑπεισέλθῃ σοι, ἐρεύνα σου τὸ συνειδὸς εἰ πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς ἐφύλαξας, εἰ
ἀγαπᾷς τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου, καὶ λυπῇ ἐπὶ τῇ ἐλαττώσει αὐτῶν, καὶ εἰ ἔχεις
ἑαυτὸν δοῦλον ἀχρεῖον, καὶ πάντων ἁμαρτωλότερον, καὶ τότε μηδὲ οὕτως
μέγα φρονήσῃς ὡς πάντα κατορθώσας, εἰδὼς ὅτι οὗτος ὁ λογισμὸς πάντα
καταλύει.
300. Εἶπεν [f. 230rb] γέρων· Ὁ πλέον5 τῆς ἀξίας τιμώμενος ἢ ἐπαινού-
μενος πολὺ ζημιοῦται, ὁ δὲ μηδὲ ὅλως τιμώμενος παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων,
ἄνωθεν δοξασθήσεται.
1
ἔχομεν] ἔχωμεν C] 2
μοναχῶν C] γερόντων μοναχὸν S 3
ἔτυψε post ἄνθρωπος trsp S
4
ἤλετο C] ἐξήλλετο S 5
πλέον S] C erased
N.296–300 201
the furnace as it is alight”, and the father took his own child and threw it
into the furnace; but the flame became immediately like the morning dew
and he gained esteem like the patriarch Abraham [Gen 22:1–14].
N.296/14.29a/Rufus
An elder said that one who lives in obedience to a spiritual father has a
greater reward than one who retires into the desert, all alone.
N.297/7.30
An elder said: “This is why we make no progress: we do not understand
our own limits; we do not persevere in the work we undertake and we want
to acquire virtue effortlessly.”
ON HUMBLE-MINDEDNESS
N.298/15.71
A man possessed of a demon, foaming at the mouth dreadfully, struck one
of the monks who was a hermit on the cheek, but the elder turned round
and offered him the other cheek [Mt 5:39]. Unable to withstand the fiery
nature of the humility, the demon immediately took off.
N.299/15.72/Or 11 (440B)
An elder said: “Whenever a logismos of conceit or pride comes upon you,
search your conscience: have you kept all the commandments? Do you
love your enemies and are you grieved at their defeat? Do you regard
yourself as an ‘unprofitable servant’ [Lk 17:10], more sinful than all? And
then do not think highly of yourself either, as having accomplished all
things well, for you know that such a logismos destroys everything.”
N.300/15.74/Or 10
An elder said: “He who is honoured or praised above his worth suffers
great harm. But he who is not at all honoured by men will be glorified
from on high.”
301. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα· Καλὸν ποιῆσαι μετανοίας πολλάς;1
Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ὁρῶμεν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τοῦ Ναυῆ, ὅτι ὄντι ἐπὶ πρόσωπον
ὤφθη αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός.
302. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Διατί οὕτως πολεμούμεθα ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων;

Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἐπειδὴ τὰ ὅπλα ἡμῶν ἀποῤῥίπτομεν, λέγω δὴ τὴν ἀτιμίαν
καὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν καὶ τὴν ἀκτημοσύνην καὶ2 ὑπομονήν.
303. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα· Ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς εἰσάξῃ λόγους ἔξωθεν

πρός με, θέλεις, ἀββᾶ, εἴπω αὐτῷ ἵνα μή [f. 230va] μοι φέρῃ αὐτούς; Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Μή. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Διατί; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Καθότι
οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς ἠδυνήθημεν τοῦτο φυλάξαι μήποτε λέγοντες τὸν πλησίον μὴ
ποιεῖν τοῦτο, εὑρεθῶμεν ἡμεῖς μετὰ ταῦτα ποιοῦντες αὐτό. Λέγει ὁ
ἀδελφός· Τί οὖν δεῖ ποιεῖν; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν θέλωμεν τὸ σιωπᾶν, ὁ
τρόπος ἀρκεῖ τὸ πλησίον.3
304.4 Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί ἐστιν ταπείνωσις; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Ἐὰν ἁμαρ-

τήσῃ5 σοι ὁ ἀδελφός σου καὶ συγχωρήσῃς αὐτῷ πρὸ τοῦ μετανοῆσαί σοι.
305. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐν παντὶ πειρασμῷ μὴ μέμφου ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ

σεαυτὸν μόνον, λέγων ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου ταῦτα6 συμβαίνει.
305 bis. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα τί ἐστι ταπεινοφροσύνη. Καὶ λέγει ὁ

γέρων· ἵνα εὖ ποιήσῃς τοῖς ποιοῦσι κακά. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· ἐὰν μὴ φθάσῃ
τις εἰς τοῦτο τὸ μέτρον τί ποιήσει; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Φευγέτω ἑλόμενος τὸ
σιωπᾶν.
1
πολλάς] καὶ add S 2
καὶ] τὴν add S
3
ὁ τρόπος ἀρκεῖ τὸ πλησίον C] ἀρκεῖ ἡμῖν ὁ τρόπος πρὸς τὸν πλησίον S
4
N.304 and N. 305bis οm S 5
ἁμαρτήσῃ corr] ἁμαρτήσι C 6
ταῦτα] μοι add S
N.301–5 203
N.301/15.75
A brother asked an elder: “Is it good to make many prostrations?” The
elder said: “We see Joshua the son of Nun: God appeared to him when he
was [lying] face-down.”
N.302/15.76
An elder was asked: “Why are we so embattled by the demons?” and he
said: “It is because we throw away our weapons: I mean dishonour,
humility, indifference to possessions and patient endurance.”
N.303/15.77
A brother asked an elder: “If a brother brings me reports from outside, do
you want me to tell him not to bring me them, abba?” “No”, said the elder
to him and the brother said: “Why?” and the elder said: “Because we could
not keep that [rule] ourselves and lest while telling our neighbour not to
do it, afterwards we be discovered doing it ourselves.” The brother said:
“So what must I do?” and the elder said: “If we are willing to keep silent,
that will suffice for the neighbour.”
N.304/15.78
An elder was asked: “What is humility?” He replied: “It is if your brother
sins against you and you forgive him before he asks your forgiveness.”
N.305/15.79/Or 12
An elder said: “Never blame somebody else in each temptation; blame only
yourself, saying: ‘This comes about because of my sins.’”
N.305bis/15.81
A brother asked an elder: “What is humble-mindedness?” and the elder
said: “It is that you do good to those who do bad things.” The brother said:
“If one cannot measure up to that standard, what will he do?” “Let him
run away and choose to remain silent”, said the elder.
306. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ἐστι τὸ ἔργον [f. 230vb] τῆς
ξενητείας; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οἶδα ἀδελφὸν ξενητεύσαντα, καὶ εὑρέθη εἰς τὴν
ἐκκλησίαν καὶ κατ᾿ εὐκαιρίαν ὑπήντησεν ἀγάπῃ, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ τραπ-
έζης μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν φαγεῖν. Εἶπον δέ τινες· Τίς καὶ τοῦτον κατέσχεν;
Καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἔγειρε, ὕπαγε ἔξω. Καὶ ἀναστὰς1 ἀπῆλθεν. Ἕτεροι δὲ
λυπηθέντες, ἀπῆλθον καὶ ἐκάλεσαν αὐτόν· μετὰ τοῦτο ἠρώτησαν αὐτόν·
Ἆρα τί ἐστιν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι ἐξεβλήθης καὶ πάλιν εἰσήχθης. Ὁ δὲ
εἶπεν· Ἐθέμην ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ὅτι ἐν ἴσῳ κυνός εἰμι· ὅς, ὅταν ἐκβληθῇ
πορεύεται, καὶ ὅταν κληθῇ ἔρχεται.
307. Ἦλθόν τινες ποτὲ ἐν Θηβαΐδι πρός τινα γέροντα φέροντες δαιμο-
νιζόμενον ἵνα θεραπεύσῃ [f. 231ra] αὐτόν, ὁ δὲ γέρων πολλὰ παρακληθείς,
λέγει τῷ δαίμονι· Ἔξελθε ἐκ τοῦ πλάσματος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ δαίμων
τῷ γέροντι· Ἐξέρχομαι, ἀλλ᾿ ἐρωτῶ σε2 ἓν ῥῆμα καὶ εἰπέ μοι· Τίνες εἰσὶ τὰ
ἐρίφια καὶ τίνες τὰ ἀρνία; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τὰ ἐρίφια μὲν ἐγώ εἰμι, τὰ δὲ
ἀρνία, ὁ Θεὸς οἶδεν. Καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ δαίμων ἐβόησε φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· Ἰδοὺ διὰ
τὴν ταπείνωσίν σου ἐξέρχομαι. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ.
308. Ἔμεινέ τις μοναχὸς Αἰγύπτιος ἐν προαστείῳ Κωνσταντινουπό-

λεως ἐπὶ Θεοδοσίου τοῦ νέου βασιλέως. Διαβαίνων δὲ τὴν ὁδὸν ἐκείνην ὁ
βασιλεὺς κατέλιπε πάντας καὶ ἔρχεται μόνος καὶ κρούει τῷ μοναχῷ. Καὶ
ἀνοίξας ἐπέγνω μὲν τίς ἦν, ἐδέξατο δὲ αὐτὸν ὡς ἕ[f. 231rb]να ταξεώτην. Ὡς
οὖν εἰσῆλθεν, ἐποίησαν εὐχὴν καὶ ἐκάθισαν. Καὶ ἤρξατο αὐτὸν ἐξετάζειν ὁ
βασιλεύς, πῶς οἱ πατέρες οἱ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· πάντες εὔχονται τὴν
σωτηρίαν σου. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Φάγε μικρόν. Καὶ ἔβρεξεν αὐτῷ ἄρτους
καὶ ἔβαλε μικρὸν ἔλαιον καὶ ἅλας καὶ ἔφαγεν, καὶ ἐπέδωκεν αὐτῷ ὕδωρ καὶ
ἔπιεν. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεύς· Οἶδας τίς εἰμί; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ὁ Θεὸς οἶδεν
σε. Τότε εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐγώ εἰμι Θεοδόσιος ὁ βασιλεύς. Καὶ εὐθὺς προσε-
κύνησεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεύς· Μακάριοι ὑμεῖς οἱ
ἀμέριμνοι τοῦ βίου. Ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ γεννηθεὶς οὐδέποτε
1
ἀναστὰς] καὶ add S 2
σε C] σοι S
N.306–8 205
N.306/15.83
A brother asked an elder: “What is the practice of voluntary exile [xeni-
teia]?” The elder said: “I know a brother who lived as an exile. He found
himself in church and, as chance would have it, he encountered an agapê so
he sat down at table to eat with the brothers, but some of them said: ‘Who
kept this fellow back [after the synaxis]?’ and they said to him: ‘Get up and
get out’, so he got up and left. But other brothers were distressed; they
went and invited him [to stay]. Afterwards they asked him: ‘What is in
your heart because you were thrown out then brought back?’ ‘I put it in
my heart,’ he said, ‘that I am like a dog: it goes when it is driven off and
comes when it is called.’”
N.307/15.84
One day some people of the Thebaid came to an elder bringing with them
a person in the grips of a demon so he might heal him. Seriously entreated,
the elder said to the demon: “Come out of that which God has made”,
and the demon said to the elder: “I am coming out, but I ask you one
question. Tell me: who are the goats and who are the sheep?” [cf. Mt
25:32–3] Said the elder: “The goats, it is I; God knows who the sheep are.”
On hearing this, the demon cried out with a loud voice: “Look, through
your humility, I am coming out!” and out he came at that very hour.
N.308/15.85
An Egyptian monk lived in a suburb of Constantinople in the reign of the
emperor Theodosius the Younger.* Passing along that road, the emperor
abandoned all [his retinue] and came alone knocking at the door of the
monk. He opened the door and recognised who it was, but received him as
though he were an imperial officer. When he came in they offered a prayer
and sat down; then the emperor began examining him concerning the way
of life of the fathers in Egypt. He said: “They are all praying for your
salvation”, and he said to him: “Eat a little something.” He moistened
some bread for him, adding a little oil and salt, and he ate; he gave him
water and he drank. The emperor said to him: “Do you know who I am?”
but he said: “God knows you.” Then he said to him: “I am the emperor
Theodosius” and the elder immediately prostrated himself before him.
Then the emperor said to him: “Blessed are you who take no thought for
your life. In truth, even though I was born in the palace, I never enjoyed
ἀπήλαυσα1 ἄρτου καὶ ὕδατος ὡς σήμερον. Πάνυ γὰρ ἡδέως ἔφαγον
[f. 231va]. Ἤρξατο δὲ ἀπὸ τότε τιμᾶν αὐτὸν ὁ βασιλεύς. Ὁ δὲ γέρων
ἀναστὰς ἔφυγε πάλιν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον.
309. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Ὅταν μὴ πολεμώμεθα, τότε μᾶλλον ταπει-

νοῦσθαι χρή. Ὁ γὰρ Θεός, εἰδὼς ἡμῶν τὴν ἀσθένειαν, σκεπάζει ἡμᾶς, καὶ
ἐὰν καυχησώμεθα, ἀφαιρεῖται ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν τὴν σκέπην αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἀπολλύμεθα.
310. Τινὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐφάνη ὁ διάβολος μετασχηματισθεὶς εἰς ἄγγελον

φωτός, καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐγώ εἰμι Γαβριὴλ καὶ ἀπεστάλην πρὸς σέ.
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὅρα μὴ πρὸς ἄλλον ἀπεστάλης, ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἄξιος.
Ὁ δὲ εὐθὺς ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο.
311. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι κἂν ἀληθῶς ἄγγελός σοι φανῇ, μὴ παρ-
αδέξῃ, ἀλλὰ ταπεί[f. 231vb]νωσον σεαυτὸν λέγων· Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἄξιος ἄγγελον
ἰδεῖν, ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ζῶν.
312. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι καθήμενος ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἀγωνιζόμενος, ἔβλεπε τοὺς δαίμονας φανερῶς, καὶ εὐτέλιζεν αὐτούς. Βλέ-
πων δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἑαυτὸν ἡττώμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος, ἐλθὼν
ἐνεφάνισεν αὐτῷ λέγων· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Χριστός. Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων,
ἐκάμμυσε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος· Τί καμμύεις
τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου; ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Χριστός. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ γέρων εἶπεν
αὐτῷ· Ἐγὼ τὸν Χριστὸν ὧδε οὐ θέλω ἰδεῖν. Ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ διάβ-
ολος, ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο.
313. Ἄλλῳ γέροντι ἔλεγον οἱ δαίμονες· Θέλεις ἰδεῖν τὸν Χριστόν; Ὁ δὲ

εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀ[f. 232ra]νάθεμα ὑμῖν καὶ ᾧ λέγετε.2 Τῷ γὰρ ἐμῷ Χριστῷ
πιστεύω εἰπόντι· Ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ· ἰδοὺ ὧδε ὁ Χριστός, ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖ, μὴ
πιστεύσητε. Καὶ εὐθέως ἀφανεῖς ἐγένοντο.3
1
ἀπήλαυσα S] ἀπέλαυσα C 2
λέγετε S] λέγεται C
3
ἀφανεῖς ἐγένοντο S] ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο C
N.309–13 207
bread and water as I did today; I have eaten with great delight.” From then
on the emperor began to revere him, but the elder got up and fled again; he
went to Egypt.
* Theodosius II, 408–50.
N.309/15.86
The elders used to say: “When we are not being embattled, that is when we
should humble ourselves the more. For, knowing our weakness, God is
protecting us and, if we boast, he removes his protection from us and we
are lost.”
N.310/15.87
The devil appeared to one of the brothers disguised as an angel of light and
said to him: “I am Gabriel and I was sent to you”, but he said to him:
“Make sure you were not sent to another [person] for I am not worthy”,
and [the devil] immediately became invisible.
N.311/15.88
The elders used to say: “Even if an angel really appears to you, do not
receive it, but humble yourself saying: ‘Living in sins, I am not worthy to
see an angel.’”
N.312/15.89
They used to say of a certain elder that he used to see the demons distinctly
while he was living in his cell, fighting the good fight – and that he would
despise them. When the devil saw himself worsted by the elder, he came
and appeared to him, saying: “I am Christ”, but the elder closed his eyes
when he saw him. “Why are you closing your eyes?” the devil said to him;
“I am Christ.” In reply the elder said to him: “I have no wish to see Christ
here.” The devil became invisible when he heard that.
N.313/15.90
The demons said to another elder: “Do you want to see Christ?” but he
said to them: “Anathema to you and to what you are saying. I believe in
my Christ who said: ‘If any man says to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there,
believe it not’” [Mt 24:23] and they immediately became invisible.
314. Διηγήσαντο περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ἐποίησεν ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδο-
μάδας ἅπαξ τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἐσθίων, ᾐτεῖτο δὲ1 περί τινος ῥήματος τῆς
γραφῆς, καὶ οὐκ ἀπεκάλυπτεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Λέγει οὖν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἰδοὺ
τοσούτους καμάτους ἐποίησα, καὶ οὐδὲν ἤνυσα, ὑπάγω οὖν πρὸς τὸν
ἀδελφόν μου καὶ ἐρωτῶ αὐτόν. Καὶ ὡς ἔκλεισε τὴν θύραν αὐτοῦ ἀπελθεῖν,
ἀπεστάλη αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου λέγων· Αἱ ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδομάδες ἃς
ἐνήστευσας, οὐκ ἤγγισαν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ὅτε [f. 232rb] δὲ ἐταπείνωσας
ἑαυτὸν ἐξελθεῖν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, ἀπεστάλην τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαί σοι
τὸν λόγον, καὶ πληροφορήσας αὐτὸν περὶ οὗ ἐζήτει λόγου, ἀπέστη ἀπ᾿
αὐτοῦ.
315. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐάν τις μετὰ φόβου Θεοῦ καὶ ταπεινώσεως ἐπιτάξῃ
ἀδελφῷ πρᾶγμα ποιῆσαι, ὁ λόγος ἐκεῖνος ὁ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἐξερχόμενος,
ποιεῖ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ὑποταγῆναι καὶ ποιῆσαι τὸ ἐπιταχθέν. Εἰ δέ τις θέλων
κελεῦσαι ἀδελφῷ οὐ κατὰ φόβον Θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς δι᾿ αὐθεντίαν θέλων
ἐξουσιάζειν αὐτοῦ, ὁ Θεὸς ὁ βλέπων τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς καρδίας οὐ πληρ-
οφορεῖ αὐτὸν ἀκοῦσαι οὐδὲ ποιῆσαι, ὅτι φανερόν ἐστι τὸ ἔργον τὸ διὰ τὸν
Θεὸν γινόμενον, καὶ φανερὸν τὸ τῆς αὐθεντίας, τὸ γὰρ τοῦ [f. 232va] Θεοῦ
ταπεινόν ἐστι μετὰ παρακλήσεως, τὸ δὲ μετὰ αὐθεντίας, θυμοῦ γέμει καὶ
ταραχῆς, ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ γάρ ἐστιν.
316. Εἶπεν γέρων· Θέλω ἥττημα μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης, ἢ νίκην μετὰ

ὑπερηφανίας.
317. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ καταφρόνει τοῦ παρεστηκότος σοι· οὐκ οἶδας

γὰρ εἰ ἐν σοί ἐστι τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἢ ἐν αὐτῷ. Λέγω δὴ τὸν
παρεστηκότα σοι, τὸν διακονοῦντά σοι.
318. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἐὰν οἰκήσω μετὰ ἀδελφῶν καὶ
ἴδω πρᾶγμα παρὰ τὸ πρέπον,2 θέλεις λαλήσω; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν εἰσὶ
μείζονές σου ἢ συνηλικιῶταί σου, σιωπῶν μᾶλλον ἔχεις ἀνάπαυσιν, ἐν
τούτῳ γὰρ σεαυτὸν ἐλάσσω ποιεῖς καὶ ἀμέριμνον. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός·
Τί οὖν ποιή[f. 232vb]σω πάτερ; ταράσσουσι γάρ με τὰ πνεύματα. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ κάμνεις, ὑπόμνησον ἅπαξ ταπεινοφρονῶν, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ
ἀκούσωσί σου, ἄφες τὸν κόπον σου ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ καταλιπεῖν τὸ
1
δὲ] τὸν Θεὸν add S 2
πρέπον] γινόμενον add S
N.314–18 209
N.314/15.91
They recounted of a certain elder that he went for seventy weeks eating
once a week. He asked about a saying in the Scriptures and God did not
reveal [it] to him. So he said to himself: “Here I performed so many
labours and have achieved nothing, so I will go to my brother and ask
him.” As he closed the door to set out, an angel of the Lord was sent to
him who said: “The seventy weeks of your fasting did not bring [you] close
to God. But when you humbled yourself to go off to your brother I was
sent to explain the saying to you.” When he had assured him concerning
the saying about which he was enquiring he withdrew from him.
N.315/15.93
An elder said: “If, in godly fear and humility, one require a brother to
perform a task, that command, coming as it were from God, makes the
brother obey and do what was stipulated. But if somebody [require it]
wishing to command the brother, not out of fear of God, but wanting to
dominate him by authority, God (who sees the secrets of the heart) does not
dispose [the brother] to obey or to perform it, because self-evident is the
task that takes place in the name of God and self-evident the one deriving
from authority. The one that is of God is humble and polite; the one
from authority is full of temper and agitation, for it is from the evil one.”
N.316/15.94
An elder said: “I prefer defeat with humble-mindedness to victory with
arrogance.”
N.317/15.95
An elder said: “Do not despise your companion; you do not know whether
the Spirit of God is in you or in him. By ‘your companion’ I mean your
attendant.”
N.318/15.96
A brother asked an elder: “If I live with some brothers and I see something
inappropriate, do you want me to speak out?” The elder said: “If they are
older than you or of the same age, you are more likely to maintain your
ἴδιον θέλημα, πρόσεχέ σε1 δέ, μὴ ἐκφανῇς ὅπως γένηται κατὰ Θεὸν ἡ
μέριμνά σου, ὡς δὲ ὁρῶ, καλὸν μᾶλλον τὸ σιωπᾶν, ταπεινοφροσύνη γάρ
ἐστιν.
319. Ἀδελφὸς ἐλυπεῖτο κατὰ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ ἀκούσας ἐκεῖνος, ἦλθε μετα-
νοῆσαι αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἤνοιξεν αὐτῷ τὴν θύραν. Ἀπῆλθεν οὖν πρός τινα
γέροντα καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Ὅρα μὴ δικαίωμα ἔχεις ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὡς μεμφόμενος τὸν ἀδελφόν σου,
ὡς ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐστὶν ὁ αἴτιος, σεαυτὸν δὲ2 [f. 233ra] δικαιοῖς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο
οὐκ ἐπληροφορήθη ἀνοῖξαί σοι, πλὴν τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ λέγω σοι· κἂν ἐκεῖνος
ἥμαρτεν κατὰ σοῦ, ὕπαγε θὲς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου ὅτι σὺ ἥμαρτες κατ᾿
αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφόν σου δικαίωσον, καὶ τότε ὁ Θεὸς πληροφορεῖ αὐτὸν
ὁμονοῆσαί σοι. Καὶ πεισθεὶς ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐποίησεν οὕτως, καὶ ἀπελθών,
ἔκρουσε τῷ ἀδελφῷ, καὶ ὡς μόνον ᾐσθάνθη, ἔσωθεν πρῶτος αὐτῷ μετε-
νόησε. Καὶ ἀνοίξας ἠσπάσατο αὐτὸν ἀπὸ ψυχῆς, καὶ γέγονεν ἀμφοτέροις
εἰρήνη μεγάλη.
320. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἢ φεύγων φεῦγε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἢ ἔμπαιξον τὸν

κόσμον καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, μωρὸν σεαυτὸν εἰς τὰ πολλὰ ποιῶν.
320 bis.3 Εἶπε γέρων· Ἐὰν εἴπῃς τινὶ συγχώρησόν μοι ταπεινῶν ἑαυ-
τὸν, καίεις τοὺς δαίμονας.
321. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν κτήσῃ σιωπήν, μὴ ἔχε [f. 233rb] ἑαυτὸν ὡς
ἀρετὴν κατορθῶν, ἀλλὰ λέγε ὅτι ἀνάξιος εἰμὶ καὶ τοῦ λαλεῖν.
1
σε om S 2
δὲ om S 3
Ν.320Α οm C
N.319–21 211
composure by keeping quiet, for in so doing you make yourself inferior
and without concern.” The brother said to him. “Then what am I to do,
father, for the spirits are disturbing me?” The elder said to him: “If you are
troubled, mention it once [to the brothers] with a humble mind and, if they
do not heed you, then leave your burden before the Lord [cf. Ps 54:23].
[To prostrate oneself before God is]* to abandon one’s own will. But take
care not to show it, to ensure that your concern is according to God’s will.
In my opinion it is good to keep silent, for that is humble-mindedness.”
* There appears to be a lacuna in the text; the words in [. . .] are from APsys 15.96.
N.319/15.111, lines 1–11 and 51–6

One brother was aggrieved with another and, when that one heard, he
came to apologise to him, but [the other brother] would not open the door
to him, so he went to an elder and told him the matter. In reply the elder
said to him: “Make sure there is no self-justification in your heart, as
though laying the blame on your brother for being responsible for this. You
are justifying your own actions and that is why he did not have the confi-
dence to open the door to you. However, this is what I am saying to you,
even though it was he who wronged you. Go and get it into your heart that it
is you who wronged him, putting your brother in the right; God will then give
him confidence to be reconciled with you.” Won over, the brother did so. He
came and knocked on the brother’s [door] and, as soon as he was perceived,
he apologised to him first from within. Then he opened [the door] and
embraced him with all his soul and there was great peace between them both.
N.320/8.31, Or 14
An elder said: “Either make a clean break with men or make a laughing-
stock of the world and of men by playing the fool most of the time.” [or,
“by making yourself a fool in many ways.”]
N.320bis/15.98
An elder said: “If, humbling yourself, you say to somebody: ‘Forgive me’,
you incinerate the demons.”
N.321/15.99
An elder said: “If you acquire silence, do not consider yourself to be
achieving virtue, but say: ‘I am not even worthy to speak.’”
322. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ μὴ ἔβαλεν ὁ ἀρτοκόπος σκεπάσματα τοῖς
ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ κτήνους, ἐστρέφετο ἂν καὶ τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ ἔτρωγεν,
οὕτως καὶ ἡμεῖς λαμβάνομεν κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν Θεοῦ σκεπάσματα, ἵνα μὴ
βλέπωμεν ἃ ἐργαζόμεθα καλὰ καὶ μακαρίζωμεν1 ἑαυτούς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο
ἀπολέσωμεν τὸν μισθὸν ἡμῶν. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀφιέμεθα μίαν μίαν ἐν ῥυπαροῖς
λογισμοῖς καὶ αὐτὸ μόνον βλέπομεν, ἵνα ἑαυτοὺς κατακρίνωμεν καὶ αὐτὰ
τὰ ῥυπαρὰ γίνεται ἡμῖν σκεπάσματα τοῦ μικροῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Ὅταν γὰρ
ἄνθρωπος μέμψηται ἑαυτόν, οὐκ ἀπόλλει τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ.
323. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων τί ἐστὶ ταπείνωσις [f. 233va] καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν·
Ἡ ταπείνωσις μέγα ἔργον ἐστὶν καὶ θεϊκόν. Ἡ δὲ ὁδὸς τῆς ταπεινώσεως οἱ
κόποι οἱ σωματικοὶ εἰσὶν καὶ τὸ ἔχειν ἑαυτὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω
πάντων. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί ἐστιν ὑποκάτω πάντων;2 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
γέρων· Τοῦτό ἐστι· τὸ μὴ προσέχειν ἁμαρτίαις ἀλλοτρίαις, ἀλλὰ τὰς
ἑαυτῶν πάντοτε,3 καὶ δέεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀδιαλείπτως.4
324. Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφός τινα γέροντα λέγων· Εἰπέ μοι πρᾶγμα, ἵνα
τηρήσω καὶ ζήσω δι᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν δυνηθῇς ὑβρισθῆναι
καὶ βαστάξαι, μέγα ἐστὶ τοῦτο ὑπὲρ πάσας τὰς ἀρετάς.
325. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐξουδένωσιν καὶ ὕβριν καὶ ζημίαν ὁ φέρων δύναται
σωθῆναι.
326. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ ἔχε [f. 233vb] γνῶσιν μετὰ ἡγουμένου μηδὲ
πύκναζε πρὸς αὐτόν. Ἐκ τούτου γὰρ καὶ παῤῥησίαν ἕξεις καὶ τοῦ
ἡγεῖσθαι λοιπὸν ἐπιθυμήσεις.
1
μακαρίζωμεν S]-ομεν C 2
Καὶ εἶπεν. . . πάντων; om S
3
πάντοτε] ἔχειν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν add S 4
ἀδιαλείπτως] περὶ αὐτῶν add S
N.322–6 213
N.322/15.100
An elder said: “If the miller did not put a blindfold over the animal’s eyes,
it would turn around and eat his earnings. Similarly we too, by divine
providence, receive blindfolds lest we should count ourselves blessed at the
sight of our good works and thus lose our reward. By this path we are
abandoned day by day to impure logismoi and they are all we see, so that
we condemn ourselves and the very impurities bec0me a blindfold for us
[so we do not see] the little good [we do]. When a person blames himself,
he does not lose his reward.”
N.323/15.103
An elder was asked: “What is humility?” In reply he said: “Humility is a
great and godly work. This is the way of humility: physical labour and
considering oneself to be a sinner, inferior to everybody.” The brother said:
“What does ‘inferior to everybody’ mean?” “It is this,” said the elder: “not
to pay attention to the sins of others but always to have one’s own sins
before one’s eyes and to entreat God without ceasing.”
N.324/15.105
A brother asked an elder: “Tell me something I can keep to and live by.”
The elder said: “If you are capable of being reviled and of enduring it, that
is a great thing, superior to all the virtues.”
N.325/15.106
An elder said: “He who tolerates being held of no account, reviled and
insulted is capable of being saved.”
N.326/15.107
An elder said: “Do not become well-acquainted with a higoumen and do
not be often in his presence, for in this way you will become familiar with
him and then you will long to direct others.”
327. Ἀνὴρ ἅγιος θεωρήσας τινὰ ἁμαρτάνοντα, κλαύσας πικρῶς εἶπεν·
οὗτος1 σήμερον πάντως ὅτι κἀγὼ αὔριον· πλὴν κἂν ὅπως τὶς ἁμάρτῃ
ἐνώπιόν σου μὴ κρίνῃς αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ ἔχε ἑαυτὸν ἁμαρτωλότερον αὐτοῦ.
328. Ἀδελφός τις ἦν ἐν κοινοβίῳ καὶ ὅλα τὰ βάρη τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἔβαλεν
ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἕως πορνείας κατηγόρει ἑαυτοῦ,2 ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐποίησα.
Τινὲς δὲ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀγνοοῦντες τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ ἤρξαντο γογγύζειν
κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· Πόσα κακὰ ἐποίησεν οὗτος καὶ οὐδὲν ἐργάζεται.
Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς [f. 234ra] γινώσκων τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ, ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς·
Θέλω τὸ ἓν αὐτοῦ ψιάθιον3 μετὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης, ἢ ὅλα τὰ ὑμῶν μετὰ
ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ θέλετε πληροφορηθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ; Καὶ ἤνεγκε τὰ
πρὸς τρία αὐτῶν ψιάθια καὶ τὸ ἓν ψιάθιον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ ἅψας πῦρ,
ἔῤῥιψεν αὐτὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐκάησαν ὅλα παρεκτὸς τοῦ ψιαθίου τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο ἰδόντες οἱ ἀδελφοί, ἐφοβήθησαν καὶ ἔβαλον αὐτῷ
μετάνοιαν καὶ ἔσχον αὐτὸν τοῦ λοιποῦ ὡς πατέρα.
329. Μοναχός τις, τραῦμα λαβὼν παρά τινος, κατασχὼν4 τὸ τραῦμα,

μετάνοιαν ἔβαλε τῷ πλήξαντι.
330. Εἶπεν γέρων· Παρακάλεσον τὸν Θεόν, ἵνα δώσῃ πένθος εἰς τὴν
καρδίαν σου καὶ ταπείνωσιν, καὶ [f. 234rb] πρόσεχε πάντοτε ταῖς ἁμαρ-
τίαις σου καὶ μὴ κρίνῃς ἄλλους, ἀλλὰ γενοῦ ὑποκάτω πάντων, καὶ μὴ ἔχε
φιλίαν μετὰ γυναικός, μηδὲ μετὰ παιδίου, μηδὲ μετὰ αἱρετικοῦ, καὶ κόψον
τὴν παῤῥησίαν ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ κράτει τῆς γλώσσης σου καὶ τῆς κοιλίας, καὶ
ἀπὸ οἴνου, καὶ ἐάν τις λαλήσῃ μετὰ σοῦ περὶ πράγματος οἱουδήποτε, μὴ
φιλονείκει ἀλλ᾿ εἰπὲ ναί· ἐὰν δὲ κακῶς εἴπῃ, εἰπέ· Σὺ οἶδας πῶς λαλεῖς, καὶ
μὴ ἔριζε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ πῶς ἐλάλησεν καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ταπείνωσις.
1
οὗτος S] οὕτως C 2
ἑαυτοῦ S] ἑαυτὸν C 3
αὐτοῦ ψιάθιον C] ψιάθιον αὐτοῦ trsp S
4
κατασχὼν corr] κατέσχων C] κατέχων S
N.327–30 215
N.327/15.17 (first sentence only) and 15.19

A holy man wept bitterly when he saw somebody sinning, saying: “He
[sins] today and indeed tomorrow so will I.” Thus, should somebody sin in
your presence, judge him not, but regard yourself as more sinful than him.
N.328/15.109
There was a brother in a coenobion who used to take all the troubles of the
brothers on himself, even to the point of accusing himself of porneia
[saying]: “I did it.” But some of the brothers, unaware of his practice,
began to grumble about him, saying: “What a lot of bad things this one
did – and he does not work!” But the abba (who was aware of his practice)
began saying to the brothers: “I prefer one of his rush mats [made] with
humble-mindedness to all yours [made in] arrogance. Do you want to be
assured by God?” He brought as many as three of their mats and the one
mat of the brother, lit a fire and threw them into it. They were all burned
up, with the exception the brother’s mat. The brothers were terrified on
seeing this; they prostrated themselves before [the brother] and thenceforth
regarded him as a father.
N.329/15.104
A monk who was wounded by somebody patiently endured the wound
and prostrated himself before the one who had struck him.
N.330/1.34/Matoes 11
An elder said: “Entreat God to give you sorrow in your heart and humility.
Be always mindful of your sins and do not judge others; rather become
inferior to all. Form no friendship with a woman, nor with a child nor with
a heretic. Disassociate yourself from careless chatter; keep firm control of
your tongue and your belly, abstaining from wine. If somebody speaks to
you about any matter whatsoever, do not argue with him; but [if he speaks
well]* say ‘yes’ and if he speaks badly, say: ‘You know what you are talking
about’ and do not contend with him about how he spoke; and this is
humility.”
* [. . .] words found in Matoes 11 and APsys 1.34.
331. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ θήσῃς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου
λέγων· Ὅτι νηφαλιώτερός εἰμι καὶ ἀσκητικώτερος, ἀλλ᾿ ὑποτάσσου χάριτι
Χριστοῦ, πνεύματι πτωχότητος1 καὶ ἀγάπης [f. 234va] ἀνυποκρίτου, ἵνα
μὴ πνεύματι καυχήσεως ἀπολέσῃς σου τὸν κόπον, γέγραπται γάρ· ὁ
δοκῶν ἑστᾶναι βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ, ἅλατι δὲ ἠρτυμένος ἔσο ἐν Χριστῷ.
332. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πῶς τινὲς λέγουσιν· Ὅτι βλέπομεν ὀπτασίας

ἀγγέλων; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη λέγων· Μακάριός ἐστιν ὁ βλέπων τὰς ἁμαρτίας
αὐτοῦ πάντοτε.
333. Γέρων τις ἦν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην, καὶ εἰσελθὼν ἐν καύματι εἰς
σπήλαιον, εὗρεν ἔσω λέοντα καὶ ἤρξατο βρύχειν τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτοῦ
καὶ ὠρύεσθαι.2 Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Τί θλίβῃ; ἔνι τόπος χωρῶν ἐμὲ
καὶ σέ. Εἰ δὲ οὐ θέλεις, ἀνάστα ἔξελθε. Ὁ δὲ λέων μὴ βαστάξας ἐξῆλθεν.
334. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Διατί βάλλω μετάνοιαν

[f. 234vb] τῷ ἔχοντι κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ, καὶ ὁρῶ αὐτὸν μὴ καθαρεύοντα μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ;
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰπέ μοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, οὐκ ἔχεις ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ
σου δικαίωμα ὡς βάλλεις αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐσφάλη κατὰ σοῦ, καὶ
διὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν μετανοεῖς αὐτῷ; Καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Ναί, οὕτως ἔχει.
Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ πληροφορεῖ αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς
καθαρεῦσαι μετὰ σοῦ, ὅτι σὺ οὐ βάλλεις αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν μετὰ πληρ-
οφορίας ὡς ἁμαρτήσας κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ3 μᾶλλον ἔχεις ὅτι αὐτὸς
ἥμαρτεν εἰς σέ, πλὴν τοῦτό ἐστιν. Κἂν ἐκεῖνος ἥμαρτεν εἰς σέ, θὲς εἰς τὴν
καρδίαν σου ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτῶν καὶ τὸν ἀδελφόν σου
δικαίωσον, καὶ τότε [f. 235ra] αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς πληροφορεῖ καθαρεῦσαι μετὰ
σοῦ. Καὶ διηγήσατο αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων ὑπόδειγμα τοιοῦτον· Ἦσαν τινὲς
κοσμικοὶ εὐλαβεῖς, καὶ συμφωνήσαντες ἐξῆλθον καὶ γεγόνασι μοναχοί,
καὶ ζήλῳ φερόμενοι κατὰ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν φωνήν, ἀγνοοῦντες δέ,
εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ
ἀρχιεπίσκοπος, ἐχώρισεν αὐτούς. Ἐκεῖνοι δὲ δοκοῦντες ὅτι καλῶς ἐποίη-
σαν, ἠγανάκτησαν κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· Ἡμεῖς εὐνουχίσαμεν ἑαυτοὺς
διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ οὗτος ἐχώρισεν4 ἡμᾶς. Ἄγωμεν,
ἐντύχωμεν κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον5 Ἱεροσολύμων. Καὶ ἀπελθόντες,
1
πτωχότητος C] πτωχείας S j χάριτι Χριστοῦ, πνεύματι πτωχότητος C] πνεύματι πτωχείας, χάριτι
Χριστοῦ trsp S
2
ὡρύεσθαι corr] ὡρύεσθε C] ὀρύεσθαι S 3
καὶ om S
4
οὖτος ἐχώρισεν corr] οὗτοι ἐχώρισαν C S (the reference is to the archbishop and both subject and
verb should be in singular form)
5
τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον C] τῷ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ S
N.331–4 217
N.331/15.73/Or 13
An elder said: “Do not speak against your brother in your heart, saying:
‘I am more vigilant and more ascetic’, but rather submit to the grace of
Christ in the spirit of poverty and unfeigned love, lest you lose your toil in
a spirit of boasting, for it is written: ‘Let him who thinks he stands take
heed lest he fall’ [1 Cor 10:12]. Be in Christ ‘seasoned with salt’ [Col 4:6].”
N.332/15.110
An elder was asked: “How do some people say: ‘We see visions of angels?’”
He replied: “Blessed is he who sees his own sins all the time.”
N.333/19.19
There was an elder on the Jordan who entered a cave in the heat [of the
day] and found a lion inside. It began grinding its teeth and roaring but the
elder said to it: “Why get upset? This is a place with room for you and me.
Get up and leave if you do not like it.” Unable to tolerate this, the lion
went out.
N.334/15.111 lines 11–47

A brother asked an elder: “Why do I prostrate myself to somebody who has
something against me when I see that he is not purging himself in my
regard?” The elder said to him: “Tell me the truth; are you not justifying
yourself in your heart as you prostrate yourself, [saying] that he wronged
you and you are prostrating yourself to him because of the command-
ment?” “Yes,” said the brother, “that is how it is”, so the elder said to him:
“That is why God does not convince him to purge himself in your regard,
for you do not prostrate yourself to him in the conviction that you
wronged him; instead you have it that he wronged you (which he did).
But even though it was he who wronged you, put it into your heart that it
was you who wronged him – and put your brother in the right. Then will
God convince him to purge himself in your regard.” Then the elder
recounted this example to him: “There were some pious worldlings who
made an agreement, went out and became monks. Carried away by
enthusiasm for the Gospel saying (but not understanding it) they ‘made
themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake’ [Mt 19:12]. The
archbishop excluded them when he heard about it. Under the impression
ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ πάντα, καὶ λέγει [f. 235rb] αὐτοῖς ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος·
Κἀγὼ ὑμᾶς χωρίζω. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο λυπηθέντες, ἀπῆλθον ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ
πρὸς τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ τὰ καθ᾿ ἑαυτούς, κἀκεῖνος
ἐχώρισεν αὐτούς. Λέγουσι πρὸς ἀλλήλους· Ἄγωμεν εἰς Ῥώμην, πρὸς τὸν
πάπαν, κἀκεῖνος ἐκδικεῖ1 ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ πάντων τούτων. Ἀπελθόντες οὖν πρὸς
τὸν2 ἀρχιεπίσκοπον Ῥώμης, ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ ἃ ἐποίησαν αὐτοῖς οἱ
ἀρχιεπίσκοποι· Ἤλθομεν δὲ3 πρὸς σέ, ὅτι σὺ εἶ κεφαλὴ πάντων. Εἶπεν
δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτός· Κἀγὼ χωρίζω ὑμᾶς, καὶ κεχωρισμένοι ἐστέ. Ἀπορ-
ούμενοι οὖν πρὸς ἀλλήλους εἶπον· Οὗτοι εἷς τῷ ἑνὶ χαρίζονται, διὰ τὸ ἐν
συνόδοις συνάγεσθαι, ἀλλ᾿ ἄγωμεν εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ θεοῦ Ἐπι[f.
235va]φάνιον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον τῆς Κύπρου, ὅτι προφήτης ἐστὶν καὶ οὐ
λαμβάνει πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπου. Ὡς δὲ ἤγγισαν τῇ πόλει αὐτοῦ,
ἀπεκαλύφθη αὐτῷ περὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ πέμψας εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτῶν εἶπεν·
Μηδὲ εἰς τὴν πόλιν ταύτην εἰσέλθητε. Τότε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς γενόμενοι εἶπον· Ἐπ᾿
ἀληθείας ἡμεῖς ἐσφάλημεν·4 ἔστω ἐκεῖνοι ἀδίκως ἡμᾶς ἐχώρισαν, μὴ καὶ
οὗτος, ὁ προφήτης; ἰδοὺ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπεκάλυψεν αὐτῷ περὶ ἡμῶν. Καὶ
κατέγνωσαν ἑαυτῶν σφόδρα περὶ τοῦ πράγματος οὗ ἐποίησαν. Τότε
ἰδὼν ὁ καρδιογνώστης Θεός, ὅτι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ κατέγνωσαν ἑαυτῶν, ἐπληρ-
οφόρησεν Ἐπιφάνιον ἐπίσκοπον Κύπρου καὶ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ πέμψας ἤνεγκεν
αὐτούς, καὶ παρακαλέσας ἐδέξα[f. 235vb]το εἰς κοινωνίαν, καὶ ἔγραψε τῷ
ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ Ἀλεξανδρείας· Δέξαι τὰ τέκνα σου, μετενόησαν γὰρ ἐν
ἀληθείᾳ. Εἶπεν οὖν ὁ γέρων· Τοῦτό ἐστιν ἡ θεραπεία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου,
καὶ τοῦτο θέλει ὁ Θεός, ἵνα ὁ ἄνθρωπος βάλῃ τὸ σφάλμα5 ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ
ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Περὶ ἀνεξικακίας
335. Φιλόπονός τις ἑωρακὼς ἄνθρωπον βαστάζοντα νεκρὸν ἐν κραββάτῳ,
ἔφη αὐτῷ· Τοὺς νεκροὺς βαστάζεις; ὕπαγε, βάσταζε τοὺς ζῶντας.
336. Ἔλεγον περί τινος μοναχοῦ, ὅτι ὅσα ἄν τις αὐτὸν ὕβριζεν ἢ ἐδόκει
παροξύνειν, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔτρεχε, λέγων· ὅτι οἱ τοιοῦτοι
αἴτιοι κατορθωμάτων γίνονται6 τοῖς σπουδαίοις· οἱ δὲ μα[f. 236ra]
1
ἐκδικεῖ C] εὐδοκεῖ S 2
τὸν] μέγαν add S 3
δὲ] φησὶ add S
4
ἐσφάλημεν] τί οὖν ἑαυτοὺς δικαιοῦμεν add S 5
σφάλμα] ἑαυτοῦ add S
6
κατορθωμάτων γίνονται C] γίνονται κατορθωμάτων trsp S
N.335–6 219
that they had done a good thing, they were angry with him, saying: ‘We
made ourselves eunuchs “for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake” and he
excluded us; let us go and appeal to the archbishop of Jerusalem against
him.’ So they went and told him everything, but the archbishop said to
them: ‘I also am excluding you.’ Grieved at this also, they went to Antioch,
to the archbishop there and told their case to him, but he excluded them
too. ‘Let us go to Rome, to the patriarch,’ they said to each other, ‘and he
will vindicate us against all these.’ So they went to the great archbishop of
Rome and declared to him what the archbishops had done to them [saying]:
‘We came to you because you are the head of all.’ He, however, said to them:
‘I also am excluding you – and excluded you remain.’ Being at a loss, they said
to each other: ‘These [people] do favours for one another, for they meet in
synods, but let us go to the saint of God, Epiphanius, the bishop of Cyprus
[ob 403] for he is a prophet and no respecter of persons.’ But their situation
was revealed to him when they got near to his city; he sent someone to
meet them and to say to them: ‘Do not even enter this city.’ Coming now
to their senses, they said: ‘We were indeed at fault. Maybe the others
excluded us unjustly, but is not this man a prophet? Behold, God has
revealed our case to him’, and they roundly condemned themselves for
what they had done. But when God (who knows [the secrets of] our
hearts) saw that they truly condemned themselves, he gave assurance to
Bishop Epiphanius of Cyprus who personally sent somebody to bring
them. He exhorted them, then he received them back into communion.
He wrote to the archbishop of Alexandria: ‘Receive your children for they
have truly repented.’ Now this is the healing of a man,” said the elder,
“and this is what God desires: that a man cast his fault upon himself in the
presence of God.”
CONCERNING FORBEARANCE
N.335/16.14
One who delighted in hard work saw a man carrying a corpse on a litter
and said to him: “You are carrying the dead? Carry the living!”
N.336/16.16
They used to say of a certain monk that the more somebody insulted and
seemed to annoy him, the more he would run to that person, saying:
“Such people are the occasion of good deeds for the diligent, whereas those
καρίζοντες, πλανῶσι καὶ ταράσσουσι τὴν ψυχήν. Γέγραπται γάρ, ὅτι οἱ
μακαρίζοντες ὑμᾶς πλανῶσιν ὑμᾶς.
337. Ἦλθόν ποτε ἐν μοναστηρίῳ γέροντός τινος λῃσταί,1 καὶ εἶπον

πρὸς αὐτόν· Πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου λαβεῖν ἥκαμεν.2 Ὁ δὲ φησίν· Ὡς
ἂν δοκῇ ὑμῖν, τέκνα, λάβετε. Ἔλαβον οὖν ἃ εὗρον ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ
ἀπῆλθον. Ἐπελάθοντο δὲ3 ἓν μαρσίππιον, ὃ ἦν ἐκεῖ κρεμάμενον. Ὁ οὖν
γέρων, λαβὼν αὐτό, κατεδίωξεν ὀπίσω αὐτῶν βοῶν καὶ λέγων· Τέκνα,
λάβετε ὃ ἐπελάθεσθε ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ ἡμῶν.4 Οἱ δέ, θαυμάσαντες ἐπὶ τῇ
ἀνεξικακίᾳ τοῦ γέροντος, ἀποκατέστησαν αὐτῷ πάντα ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ, καὶ
μετενόησαν εἰπόντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους· Ἀληθῶς ἄνθρωπος Θεοῦ ἐστὶν οὗτος.
338. Ἀδελφοὶ παρέβαλον γέροντι ἁγίῳ εἰς ἔρημον τόπον καθεζομένῳ,

καὶ εὗρον [f. 236rb] ἔξω5 τοῦ μοναστηρίου αὐτοῦ παιδία βόσκοντα καὶ
λαλοῦντα ῥήματα ἀπρεπῆ, καὶ μετὰ τὸ ἀναθέσθαι αὐτῷ τοὺς λογισμοὺς
αὐτῶν καὶ ὠφεληθῆναι ἀπὸ τῆς γνώσεως αὐτοῦ, λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Πῶς
ἀνέχῃ, ἀββᾶ, τῶν παιδίων τούτων, καὶ οὐ παραγγέλλεις αὐτοῖς ἵνα μὴ
στρηνιῶσιν; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Φύσει, ἀδελφοί, ἔχω ἡμέρας θέλων παρα-
γγεῖλαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐπιτιμῶ ἐμαυτῷ6 λέγων· Εἰ τὸ μικρὸν τοῦτο οὐ
βαστάζω, πῶς ἐὰν ἀπολυθῇ μοι πειρασμὸς μέγας βαστάξω; Διὰ τοῦτο
οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς λέγω, ἵνα γένηται νομὴ τοῦ βαστάζειν τὰ ἐπερχόμενα.
339. Ἔλεγον περὶ ἀδελφοῦ τινὸς γειτνιῶντος7 μεγάλῳ γέροντι8 ὅτι

εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ ἔκλεπτεν. Ἔβλεπε δὲ ὁ γέρων καὶ οὐκ
ἤλεγχεν [f. 236va] αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰργάζετο περισσὸν λέγων· ὅτι τάχα χρείαν
ἔχει ὁ ἀδελφός. Καὶ πολλὴν θλῖψιν εἶχεν ὁ γέρων, μετὰ ἐνδείας εὑρίσκων
τὸν ἄρτον αὐτοῦ. Μέλλοντος δὲ τοῦ γέροντος τελευτᾶν, ἐκύκλωσαν αὐτὸν
οἱ ἀδελφοί, καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν κλέπτοντα αὐτὸν λέγει· Ἔγγισόν μοι. Καὶ
καταφιλήσας τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, ἔλεγεν· Εὐχαριστῶ ταῖς χερσὶ ταύταις,
ὅτι δι᾿ αὐτῶν ὑπάγω εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐράνων. Ὁ δὲ κατανυγεὶς καὶ
μετανοήσας, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγένετο δόκιμος μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῶν πράξεων ὧν
εἶδε9 τοῦ μεγάλου γέροντος.
1
λῃσταί] τινὲς add S j λῃσταί τινες post ποτε trsp S
2
ἥκαμεν C] ἥκομεν S j τὰ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου λαβεῖν ἥκαμεν C] λαβεῖν ἥκομεν τὰ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου S
3
δὲ C] οὖν S 4
ἡμῶν S] ὑμῶν C 5
ἔξω C] ἔξωθεν S 6
ἐμαυτῷ S] ἐμαυτὸν C
7
γειτνιῶντος] τινι add S 8
μεγάλῳ γέροντι C] γέροντι μεγάλῳ trsp S 9
ὧν εἶδε om S
N.337–9 221
who speak well of them lead the soul astray and trouble it, for it is written:
‘Those who speak well of you lead you astray.’” [Cf. Is 9:15.]
N.337/16.21
Brigands once came to the monastery of an elder and said to him: “We
have come to take everything in your cell”, and he said: “Take whatever
you like, my sons”, so they took what they found in the cell and went their
way, but they missed one pouch that was hanging there. So the elder took
it and ran after them, calling out and saying: “Take this [pouch] that you
overlooked in our cell, my sons.” They wondered at the forbearance of the
elder and restored everything in the cell to him; they apologised, saying to
each other: “This truly is a man of God.”
N.338/16.23
Some brothers visiting a holy elder living in a desert place found some
children outside his monastery minding [animals] and making inappropri-
ate remarks. After they had revealed their logismoi to him and benefited
from his knowledge, they said to him: “Abba, how do you tolerate these
children and do not tell them not to be boisterous?” The elder said: “There
are indeed some days when I would like to tell them [that] but I rebuke
myself, saying: ‘If I do not stand this little [disturbance], how am I to
withstand severe temptation if it is unleashed upon me?’ For that reason
I say nothing to them so I may be nourished in order to bear the things
that come upon me.”
N.339/16.28
They used to say of a brother who lived close by a great elder that he would
come into the elder’s cell and steal. The elder used to notice this; he did
not reprove him but rather redoubled his efforts, saying: “Perhaps the
brother is in need.” The elder experienced great affliction, earning his
bread in penury. When the elder was about to die, the brothers gathered
round him. Seeing the one who was stealing from him, he said: “Come
near to me.” Then he kissed the brother’s hands, saying: “I am grateful to
these hands, for it is on their account that I am going to the kingdom of
heaven.” [The brother] was conscience-stricken and repented; he became a
tried and tested monk himself – [inspired] by the deeds of the great elder
that he had seen.
340. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων ὅτι ἤκουσα παρά τινων ἁγίων ὅτι εἰσὶ
νεώτεροι καὶ ὁδηγοῦσι γέροντας εἰς ζωήν, καὶ διηγήσατο οὕτως· ὅτι ἦν τις
γέρων μεθυστής, καί [f. 236vb] εἰργάζετο ψιάθιν1 καθημέραν, καὶ ἐπώλει
αὐτὸ εἰς τὴν κώμην καὶ ἔπινε τὴν τιμὴν αὐτοῦ, ὕστερον δέ, ἦλθέ τις πρὸς
αὐτὸν ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἔμεινε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰργάζετο καὶ αὐτὸς ψιάθιν.2
Ἐλάμβανε δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ ὁ γέρων καὶ ἐπώλει, καὶ ἔπινε τὴν τιμὴν τῶν δύο,
τῷ δὲ ἀδελφῷ ἔφερε μικρὸν ἄρτον κατ᾿ ὀψέ, καὶ τοῦτο ποιοῦντος αὐτοῦ
ἐπὶ τρία ἔτη, οὐδὲν ἐλάλησεν ὁ ἀδελφός. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ·
Ἰδοὺ γυμνός εἰμι καὶ τὸν ἄρτον μου μετὰ ἐνδείας ἐσθίω, ἀναστῶ οὖν καὶ
πορευθῶ ἔνθεν. Πάλιν δὲ ἐλογίσατο ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων· Ποῦ ἔχω ἀπελθεῖν;
Καθέζομαι πάλιν, ἐγὼ γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ καθέζομαι κοινόβιον. Καὶ εὐθὺς ἐφάνη
αὐτῷ ἄγγελος λέγων· Μηδαμοῦ ἀναχωρήσῃς, ἔρχομαι [f. 237ra] γὰρ
αὔριον3 ἐπὶ σέ. Καὶ παρακαλεῖ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸν γέροντα κατ᾿ ἐκείνην τὴν
ἡμέραν λέγων· Μηδαμοῦ ἀπέλθῃς, ἔρχονται γὰρ οἱ ἐμοὶ λαβεῖν με
σήμερον. Ὡς οὖν ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα τοῦ γέροντος ἀπελθεῖν, ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ· Οὐκ
ἔρχονται σήμερον, τέκνον, ἐχρόνισαν γάρ. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί, ἀββᾶ, πάντως
ἔρχονται. Καὶ λαλῶν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐκοιμήθη. Ὁ δὲ γέρων κλαίων ἔλεγεν·
Οἴμοι, τέκνον, ὅτι ἐν πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν εἰμὶ4 ζῶν ἐν ἀμελείᾳ, σὺ δὲ ἐν ὀλίγῳ
χρόνῳ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἔσωσας ἐν ὑπομονῇ, καὶ ἀπὸ τότε ὁ γέρων
ἐσωφρόνισε καὶ γέγονε δόκιμος.
341. Διηγήσαντο οἱ γέροντες περὶ ἑτέρου γέροντος ὅτι εἶχε παιδίον

σύνοικον, καὶ εἶδεν αὐτὸ5 ποιοῦν ἔργον μὴ συμφέρον αὐτῷ, καὶ εἶπεν
αὐτῷ ἅπαξ [f. 237rb]· Μὴ ποιήσῃς τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν
αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ παρήκουσεν, ἀπεμερίμνησεν ὁ γέρων, ἐπιῤῥίψας αὐτῷ τὸ
ἴδιον κρίμα. Κλείσας δὲ ὁ νεώτερος τὴν θύραν τοῦ κελλίου ἐν ᾧ ἦσαν τὰ
ψωμία, ἐπὶ ἡμέρας δεκατρεῖς ἀφῆκε τὸν γέροντα νήστην, καὶ οὐκ εἶπεν
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ποῦ εἶ;6 Ἢ ποῦ ὑπάγεις7 ἔξω; Εἶχε δὲ γειτνιῶντα ὁ γέρων,
καὶ ὡς ᾔσθετο ὅτι ἐχρόνισεν ὁ νεώτερος, ἐποίει μικρὸν ἕψημα καὶ παρεῖχεν
αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ τείχους, καὶ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν γεύσασθαι. Εἰ δὲ ἔλεγεν
αὐτῷ· Τί ἐβράδυνεν ὁ ἀδελφός; ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων· ὅτι ἐὰν εὐκαιρήσῃ ἔρχεται.
1
ψιάθιν C] ψιάθιον S 2
ψιάθιν C] ψιάθιον S
3
ἔρχομαι γὰρ αὔριον C] αὔριον γὰρ ἔρχομαι trsp S 4
εἰμὶ S] εἰ μὴ C
5
εἶ corr] εἷς C] ᾖς S 7
ὑπάγεις C] ὑπῆγες S
N.340–1 223
N.340/16.27
One of the elders used to say: “I have heard from some of the holy ones
that there are young men who guide elders towards life”, and he recounted
this: “There was a drunken elder who would make a mat each day, sell it in
the village and drink the price of it. In due course a brother came and
stayed with him and he too would make a mat. The elder would take that
one too, sell it and drink the price of the two of them, but he used to bring
a little bread for the brother in the evening. He went on doing this for
three years and the brother said nothing. Afterwards he said to himself:
‘Here am I, naked and eating my bread in penury; I will get up and go
away from here.’ Then again he thought to himself: ‘But where can I go?
I will go on staying here, because it is for God that I am sharing this life.’
All at once there appeared to him an angel saying: ‘Do not go away
anywhere – for tomorrow I am coming for you.’ The brother begged the
elder that day, saying: ‘Do not go away anywhere for my people are
coming to get me today.’ When it came time for the elder to go, he said
to him: ‘They are not coming today my son; they have been detained.’ ‘Oh
yes, abba, they will certainly come’, he said, and while he was speaking
with him, he died. ‘Woe is me, my son,’ said the elder, in tears, ‘who have
lived many years in carelessness, while you have saved your soul in a short
while by patient endurance.’ From then on the elder learned self-control
and became a tried and tested [monk].”
N.341/16.24
The elders recounted of another elder that he had a youth living with him
whom he saw doing something inappropriate for him. He told him once:
“Do not do that”, but he heeded him not. Since he disobeyed him the
elder put him out of his mind, leaving him to his own discretion. But the
young fellow closed the door of the cell in which the loaves were kept and
left the elder fasting for thirteen days. But the elder did not say to him:
“Where are you?” or: “Where are you going out there?” Now the elder had
a neighbour; when he noticed that the young man was late he would cook
him a little food and pass it through the wall, inviting him to eat. If he said
to him: “Why was the brother late?” the elder would say: “He will come if
he has the time.”
342. Διηγήσαντό τινες ὅτι φιλόσοφοι1 ἠθέλησαν ποτὲ δοκιμάσαι τοὺς
μοναχούς. Παρήρχετο οὖν τις ἐστο[f. 237va]λισμένος καλῶς, καὶ λέγουσιν
αὐτῷ· Σὺ δεῦρο ὧδε. Ὁ δὲ ὀργισθεὶς ὕβρισεν αὐτούς. Ἐπέρασε δὲ καὶ
ἄλλος μοναχὸς Λιβυκὸς καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Καὶ σύ,2 μοναχὲ κακόγηρε,
δεῦρο ὧδε. Ὁ δὲ μετὰ σπουδῆς ἀπῆλθεν, καὶ διδόασιν αὐτῷ ῥάπισμα.
Ὁ δὲ ἔστρεψε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην σιαγόνα. Οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀνέστησαν καὶ
προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες· Ἀληθῶς ἰδοὺ μοναχός. Καὶ καθίσαντες
αὐτὸν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, ἠρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Τί πλέον ἡμῶν ποιεῖτε
εἰς τὴν ἔρημον; Νηστεύετε, καὶ ἡμεῖς νηστεύομεν, ἀγρυπνεῖτε καὶ ἡμεῖς
ἀγρυπνοῦμεν, καὶ3 εἴ τι δ᾿ ἂν ποιεῖτε καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιοῦμεν. Τί οὖν περισσὸν
ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καθήμενοι; Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Εἰς τὴν χάριν
[f. 237vb] τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλπίζομεν ἡμεῖς καὶ νοῦν τηροῦμεν. Λέγουσι καὶ αὐτοί·
Ἡμεῖς τοῦτο φυλάξαι οὐ δυνάμεθα, καὶ ὠφεληθέντες ἀπέλυσαν αὐτόν.
343. Ἦσαν δύο μοναχοὶ εἰς τόπον οἰκοῦντες καὶ παρέβαλεν αὐτοῖς
γέρων μέγας4 καὶ θέλων δοκιμάσαι αὐτούς, ἔλαβε ῥάβδον καὶ ἤρξατο
συντρίβειν τὰ λάχανα τοῦ ἑνός. Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκρύβη. Καὶ ὡς
παρέμεινε μία ῥίζα, λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Ἀββᾶ, ἐὰν θέλῃς, ἄφες αὐτό, ἵνα
ἑψήσω καὶ γευσώμεθα ὁμοῦ. Καὶ ἔβαλεν ὁ γέρων μετάνοιαν τῷ ἀδελφῷ
λέγων· Διὰ τὴν ἀνεξικακίαν σου, ἀναπέπαυται τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον5 ἐπὶ
σέ, ἀδελφέ.
Περὶ ἀγάπης
344. Γέρων τις ἀπέστειλεν τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ εἰς [f. 238ra] Αἴγυπτον, ἵνα
ἐνέγκῃ κάμηλον καὶ λάβωσι τὰ σπυρίδια αὐτῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον. Ὡς δὲ
ἤνεγκεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὴν κάμηλον εἰς Σκῆτιν, ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ἄλλος γέρων
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Εἰ ἔμαθον ὅτι εἰς Αἴγυπτον ὑπάγεις, ἔλεγον ἄν σοι ἵνα
ἐνέγκῃς κἀμοὶ κάμηλον. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν τῷ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ
πρᾶγμα, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἆρον τὴν κάμηλον, καὶ δὸς αὐτῷ,
λέγων, οὔπω ηὐτρεπίσθημεν ἡμεῖς [f. 238rb], λάβε ποίησον τὴν χρείαν σου
καὶ ἄπελθε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ φέρε πάλιν τὴν κάμηλον ἵνα καὶ τὰ
ἡμῶν σκεύη λάβωμεν ἄνω. Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς πρὸς τὸν ἄλλον γέρ-
οντα, εἶπεν· Λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς μου ὅτι οὔπω εὐτρεπίσθημεν ἡμεῖς, λάβε,
ποίησον τὴν χρείαν σου. Καὶ λαβὼν ὁ γέρων τὴν κάμηλον, ἐγέμισε τὰ
σπυρίδια αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ ἔφθασαν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἀπεγέμισαν τὰ σπυρ-
ίδια, λαβὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὴν κάμηλον, εἶπεν τῷ γέροντι· Εὖξαι περὶ ἐμοῦ.
1
φιλόσοφοι post ποτὲ trsp S 2
Καὶ σύ C (C not clear)] Ἐσὺ S 3
καὶ om S
4
γέρων μέγας C] μέγας γέρων trsp S 5
τὸ ἅγιον C] τοῦ Θεοῦ S
N.342–4 225
N.342/16.25
There were those who recounted how philosophers once wished to put the
monks to the test. When one of them dressed in fine clothing came by,
they said to him: “Come over here, you.” Enraged, he railed at them.
Another monk came by, a Libyan, and they said to him: “You too monk,
you wicked old man, come here” – and he came with alacrity and they gave
him a slap. But he turned the other cheek [Mt 5:39]. They immediately
stood up and prostrated themselves before him, saying: “Here is a monk
indeed.” Then they sat him down among them and began asking him
questions: “What do you in the desert do more than we do? You fast, but
we fast too. You keep vigil and so do we keep vigil. Whatever you do, we
also do it. What then, over and above that, do you do, living in the desert?”
The elder said to them: “Us, we hope in the grace of God and keep a watch
on our minds”, to which they responded: “We are incapable of observing
that”, and, edified, they sent him on his way.
N.343/16.22
There were two monks living in a place and a great elder came to visit
them. Wishing to test them, he took a stick and began beating down the
vegetables of one of them; the brother hid himself when he saw it. But
when there remained one plant he said to the elder: “Abba, if you please,
leave that one so I may cook it and we may eat together.” The elder
prostrated himself to the brother saying: “The Holy Spirit has come to rest
on you, brother, on account of your forbearance.”
C O N CE R N I N G C H A R I T Y
N.344
An elder sent his disciple to Egypt to bring a camel so they could take their
baskets to Egypt. When the brother brought the camel to Scete, another
elder met him and said to him: “If I had found out that you were going to
Egypt, I would have told you to bring a camel for me too.” Off went the
brother and told the matter to his father and the elder said to him: “Take
the camel, give it to him and say: ‘We have not yet got ourselves ready.
Take it, do what you need.’ Go to Egypt with him then bring the camel
back so we can take our own wares up there.” The brother went to the
other elder and said: “My abba says that we have not got ourselves ready;
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ποῦ ἀπέρχῃ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Εἰς Σκῆτιν ἵνα ἐνέγκω
καὶ τὰς ἡμῶν σπυρίδας. Καὶ κατανυγεὶς ὁ γέρων, ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν κλαίων
καὶ λέγων· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι, ὅτι ἡ πολλὴ ὑμῶν ἀγάπη τὸν καρπόν μου
ἔλαβεν.
345. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐάν τίς σε αἰτήσῃ πρᾶγμα, καὶ βίᾳ παράσχῃς αὐτῷ,
εὐδοκήσει καὶ1 ὁ λογισμὸς εἰς τὸ διδόμενον, καθὼς γέγραπται ὅτι2 ἐάν τίς
σε ἀγγαρεύσῃ μίλιον [f. 238va] ἕν, ὕπαγε μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ δύο. Τοῦτο δέ3 ἐστιν·4
Ἐάν τις αἰτήσῃ σοι5 πρᾶγμα, δὸς αὐτῷ6 ἀπὸ ψυχῆς καὶ πνεύματος.
346. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν εἰς τὰ Κελλία, ἦν δὲ ὁ εἷς γέρων, καὶ παρεκάλει
τὸν νεώτερον λέγων· Μείνωμεν ὁμοῦ, ἀδελφέ. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐγὼ
ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι καὶ οὐ δύναμαι μεῖναι7 μετὰ σοῦ, ἀββᾶ. Ὁ δὲ παρεκάλει
αὐτὸν λέγων· Ναί, δυνάμεθα. Ἦν δὲ ὁ γέρων καθαρὸς καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν
ἀκοῦσαι ὅτι μοναχὸς ἔχει λογισμοὺς πορνείας. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός·
Ἄφες με ἑβδομάδα, καὶ πάλιν λαλοῦμεν. Ἦλθεν οὖν ὁ γέρων, καὶ θέλων ὁ
νεώτερος δοκιμάσαι αὐτὸν ἔλεγεν· Εἰς μέγα πειρασμὸν ἐνέπεσον, ἀββᾶ,
τὴν ἑβδομάδα ταύτην. Ἀπελθὼν [f. 238vb] γὰρ εἰς τὴν κώμην εἰς διακονίαν
ἔπεσον μετὰ γυναικός. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἔστι μετάνοια; Λέγει ὁ
ἀδελφός· Ναί. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ γέρων· Ἐγὼ βαστάζω μετὰ σοῦ τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς
ἁμαρτίας. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἄρτι δυνάμεθα εἶναι ὁμοῦ, καὶ
ἔμειναν μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς αὐτῶν.
347. Ἔλεγον περί τινος ἀδελφοῦ ὅτι σπυρίδια ποιήσας, καὶ βαλὼν τὰ
ὠτία αὐτῶν ἤκουσε τοῦ γείτονος αὐτοῦ8 λέγοντος· Τί ποιήσω; ὅτι ἡ
ἀγορὰ ἐγγύς ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἔχω ὠτία βαλεῖν εἰς τὰ σπυρίδιά μου. Καὶ
ἀπελθὼν ἀνέλυσε τῶν ἑαυτοῦ σπυριδίων τὰ ὠτία, καὶ ἤνεγκε τῷ ἀδελφῷ
λέγων· Ἰδοὺ ταῦτα περισσὰ ἔχω, λάβε εἰς τὰ σπυρίδιά σου. Καὶ ἐποίησε
τὸ ἔργον τοῦ [f. 239ra] ἀδελφοῦ προχωρῆσαι, τὸ δὲ ἴδιον ἀφῆκεν.
1
καὶ C] δὲ S 2
ὅτι om S 3
δὲ om S 4
ἐστιν] τὸ add S
5
αἰτήσῃ σοι C] σὲ αἰτήσῃ S 6
αὐτῷ C] αὐτὸ S 7
μεῖναι om S 8
αὐτοῦ om S
N.345–7 227
take it and do what you need.” That elder took the camel and loaded up
his baskets. When they got to Egypt and unloaded the baskets, as the
brother took the camel, he said to the elder: “Pray for me.” He said: “But
where are you going?” and the brother said: “To Scete to bring our own
baskets [here] too.” Stricken in his conscience, the elder prostrated himself
in tears, saying: “Forgive me, for your great charity has taken my fruit.”
N.345/17.19
An elder said: “If a person demands something of you, even though you
surrender it under duress, your logismos will joyfully acquiesce in what is
being given, as it is written: ‘If someone presses you [to go] a mile, go with
him two [miles]’ [Mt 5:41], meaning: if someone asks you for something,
give it to him with heart and soul.”
N.346/17.18
There were two brothers at The Cells; one of them was older and he
besought the younger saying: “Let us stay together, brother”, but he said to
him: “I am a sinner and cannot stay with you, abba”, but he besought him
saying: “Yes, we can.” Now the elder was pure and was not willing to hear
of a monk having logismoi of porneia. Said the brother to him: “Leave me
alone for a week, then we shall speak again.” So the elder one came and,
wishing to put him to the test, the younger brother said to him: “I fell into
severe temptation last week, abba. I sinned with a woman when I went
into the village on an errand.” “Is there repentance [in you]?” the elder one
said to him. “Yes”, said the brother. “Then I shall assume responsibility for
the half of your sin”, said the elder one, so the brother said to him: “Now
we can be together”, and they stayed with each other until their death.
N.347/17.20
They used to say of a brother that, having made some baskets, he had put
handles on them when he heard his neighbour saying: “What am I to do,
for market day is near and I have no handles to put on my baskets!” [The
first brother] went and detached the handles from his own baskets,
brought them to the other brother and said: “Look, I have these left over;
take them for your baskets.” He saw to it that the brother’s task succeeded
to the detriment of his own.
348. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος εἰς Σκῆτιν, ὅτι ἠσθένησε, καὶ ἤθελε1
φαγεῖν ἄρτον νεαρόν. Ἀκούσας δέ τις τῶν ἀγωνιστῶν ἀδελφῶν, ἔλαβε τὴν
μηλωτὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ ἄρτους ξηρούς, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καὶ
ἀλλάξας τὰ ψωμία, ἤνεγκε τῷ γέροντι, καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὰ θερμά,
ἐθαύμασαν. Ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐκ ἤθελε γεύσασθαι λέγων· ὅτι τὸ αἷμα τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ μου ἐστίν. Καὶ παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν οἱ γέροντες λέγοντες· Διὰ τὸν
Κύριον φάγε, ἵνα μὴ εἰς κενὸν γένηται ἡ θυσία τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ παρα-
κληθεὶς ἔφαγεν.
348 bis.2 Ὁ Μακάριος ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ παραγενόμενος ποτὲ πρός

τινα ἀναχωρητὴν καὶ εὑρὼν αὐτὸν κακούμενον, ἐπυνθάνετο τί βούλοιτο
τραφῆναι καὶ φήσαντος ἐκείνου πάστιλον, εἰς τὴν Ἀλεξανδρέων πόλιν οὐκ
ᾤκνησεν ὁ ἀνδρεῖος παραγενέσθαι καὶ ἐνέγκαι καὶ δοῦναι τῷ κάμνοντι.
Καὶ τὸ θαυμαστὸν ὅτι οὐδενὶ κατάδηλος γέγονεν.
349. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς εἰσὶ καὶ ἄρτι τινὲς
κοπιῶντες ἐν ταῖς πολιτεί[f. 239rb]αις καὶ οὐ λαμβάνουσι τὴν χάριν ὡς οἱ
ἀρχαῖοι; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Τότε ἀγάπη ἦν, καὶ ἕκαστος τὸν πλησίον
αὐτοῦ εἷλκεν ἄνω, νῦν δὲ ψυγείσης τῆς ἀγάπης, ἕκαστος τὸν πλησίον
αὐτοῦ κατασύρει,3 καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐ λαμβάνομεν τὴν χάριν.
350. Ἀπῆλθόν ποτε τρεῖς ἀδελφοὶ εἰς θερισμόν, καὶ ἔλαβον ἑαυτοὺς4
ἑξήκοντα ἀρούρας· εἷς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἠσθένησε τὴν πρώτην ἡμέραν, καὶ
ἀνέκαμψεν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς τῶν δύο τῷ ἑτέρῳ· Ἰδού,
ἀδελφέ, βλέπεις ὅτι ἠσθένησεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν, βίασαι οὖν τὸν λογισμόν
σου μικρόν, κἀγὼ μικρόν, καὶ πιστεύομεν διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν αὐτοῦ θερίσαι
τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ. Τελεσθέντος δὲ τοῦ ἔργου, ὅτε ἦλθον λαβεῖν [f. 239va]
τὸν μισθόν, ἐφώνησαν τὸν ἀδελφόν, λέγοντες· Ἐλθέ, ἆρον τὸν μισθόν σου,
ἀδελφέ. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ποῖον μισθὸν ἔχω λαβεῖν μὴ θερίσας;5 Οἱ δὲ εἶπον· Διὰ
τῶν εὐχῶν σου γέγονεν ὁ θερισμός σου, καὶ δεῦ6 λάβε τὸν μισθόν σου.
Πολλῆς δὲ ἀμφιβολίας γενομένης ἀναμέσον αὐτῶν, τοῦ μὲν λέγοντος· Οὐ
λαμβάνω, τῶν δὲ μὴ ἀνεχομένων παραχωρῆσαι εἰ μὴ λάβοι, ἀπῆλθον
δικάσασθαι πρὸς μέγαν γέροντα. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Πάτερ,
ἀπήλθομεν θερίσαι οἱ τρεῖς. Ἀπελθόντων δὲ εἰς τὸν ἀγρόν, τὴν πρώτην
ἡμέραν ἠσθένησα, καὶ ἀνέκαμψα εἰς τὴν κέλλαν μου μηδεμίαν ἡμέραν
1
ἤθελε corr, sic APsys 17.21] ἦλθεν αὐτῷ SC 2
Ν.348 bis οm C
3
κατασύρει C] κάτω σύρει S (S gives a better meaning; the comparison needs both ἄνω and κάτω)
4
ἑαυτοὺς C] ἑαυτοῖς S 5
ἔχω λαβεῖν μὴ θερίσας C] μὴ θερίσας ἔχω λαβεῖν trsp S
6
δεῦ C] δεῦρο S
N.348–50 229
N.348/17.21
They used to say of an elder at Scete that he fell ill and wished to eat some
fresh bread. When one of the brothers who was fighting the good fight
heard this, he took his sheepskin with some dried loaves in it and went off
to Egypt. There he took in exchange some morsels [of fresh bread] and
brought them to the elder and they were amazed when they saw that they
were warm. The elder, however, was reluctant to eat [of them], saying:
“This is my brother’s blood.” The elders besought him saying: “Eat, for the
Lord’s sake, lest the brother’s sacrifice be in vain.” Encouraged, he did eat
them.
N.348bis
The servant of God Macarius once went to an anchorite and found him
unwell. He enquired what he would like to eat and, when he said “a
pastry” [?], that valiant one did not hesitate to go to the city of Alexandria
to bring one and give it to the patient. The amazing thing is that he was
not known to anyone.
N.349/17.23
A brother asked an elder: “How is it that nowadays there are some who
labour away in the [various] ways of life but do not receive grace the way
those of old time did?” “Then there was love,” the elder told him, “and
each one promoted his neighbour. But now love has grown cold and each
one is demoting his brother; that is why we do not receive grace.”
N.350/17.24 BHG 1450zd, de tribus fratribus

Three brothers once went away to harvest; they got sixty arourai* for
themselves but one of [the brothers] fell sick the first day and went back to
his cell. Of the two one said to the other: “Look, brother, you see that our
brother has fallen sick; do you make a little effort in your logismos and I a
little too; we trust that, through his prayers, we shall harvest his land.”
When the task was completed and they came to receive the wage, they
called the brother saying: “Come and get your wage brother”, but he said:
“What wage do I have to receive when I did not harvest?” They said:
“Thanks to your prayers, your harvesting was done; come and receive your
wage.” There was a great disputation between them, he saying he was not
θερίσας, καὶ ἀναγκάζουσί με οἱ ἀδελφοὶ λέγοντες· Δεῦ λαβὲ μισθὸν ὃν οὐκ
ἐθέρισας.1 Εἶπον [f. 239vb] δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι δύο· Πάτερ, οἱ τρεῖς ἐλάβομεν
ἑξήκοντα ἀρούρας, καὶ εἰ ἤμεθα οἱ τρεῖς, οὐκ εἴχομεν αὐτὰς τελέσαι, διὰ δὲ
τῶν εὐχῶν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, οἱ δύο ταχέως κατελύσαμεν τὸν θερισμόν, καὶ
λέγομεν αὐτῷ· Λαβὲ τὸν μισθόν σου, καὶ οὐ θέλει. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων,
ἐθαύμασε καὶ εἶπεν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ· Κροῦσον, ἵνα συναχθῶσι πάντες οἱ
ἀδελφοί. Ἐλθόντων δὲ πάντων, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Δεῦτε, ἀδελφοί, ἀκούσατε
σήμερον δικαιοκρισίαν. Καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς πάντα ὁ γέρων, καὶ κατε-
δίκασαν2 τὸν ἀδελφὸν λαβεῖν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ποιῆσαι εἰς αὐτὸ εἴ τι
θέλει, καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς κλαίων καὶ λυπούμενος.
351. Εἶπεν γέρων· οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἔθος εἶχον παρα[f. 240ra]βάλλειν εἰς
τὰ κελλία τῶν νεοφοίτων3 ἀδελφῶν τῶν βουλομένων καταμόνας
ἀσκεῖσθαι4 καὶ5 ἐπισκέπτεσθαι αὐτούς, μήπως τις αὐτῶν πειρασθεὶς ὑπὸ
δαιμόνων ἐβλάβη τὸν λογισμόν.6 Καὶ εἴποτέ τις αὐτῶν βλαβεὶς εὑρίσκετο,
ἔφερον αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, καὶ ἐτίθετο νιπτὴρ καὶ ἐγένετο εὐχὴ περὶ τοῦ
κάμνοντος, καὶ ἐνίπτοντο πάντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ κατέχεον ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ἐκ
τοῦ ὕδατος, καὶ εὐθέως ἐκαθαρίζετο.
352. Δύο γέροντες ἦσαν ἔτη πολλὰ μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων καθήμενοι, καὶ οὐδέ-
ποτε μάχην ἐποίησαν. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ εἷς τῷ ἑτέρῳ· Ποιήσωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς μίαν
μάχην ὡς οἱ7 ἄνθρωποι. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Οὐκ οἶδα πῶς γίνεται
μάχη. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ τιθῶ πλην[f. 240rb]θάριν8 εἰς τὸ μέσον,
κἀγὼ λέγω ὅτι ἐμόν ἐστιν, καὶ σὺ λέγεις ὅτι οὐχί, ἀλλὰ ἐμόν, καὶ ἔνθεν
γίνεται ἡ ἀρχή. Ἔθηκαν οὖν πληνθάριν εἰς τὸ μέσον, καὶ λέγει ὁ εἷς· Τοῦτο
ἐμόν ἐστιν. Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἄλλος· Οὐχί, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμόν.9 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἕτερος· Εἰ σόν
ἐστιν, ἆρον καὶ ὕπαγε. Καὶ ἀνεχώρησαν μηδὲν φιλονικῆσαι μετ᾿ ἀλλήλων
εὑρόντες.
1
καὶ ἀναγκάζουσί με οἱ ἀδελφοὶ λέγοντες· Δεῦ λαβὲ μισθὸν ὃν οὐκ ἐθέρισας om S
2
κατεδίκασαν C]-σε S 3
νεοφοίτων C] νεοφύτων S
4
ἀσκεῖσθαι corr] ἀσκῆσθαι C] ἀσκῆσαι S 5
καὶ C] τοῦ S
6
ἐβλάβη τὸν λογισμόν C] τὸν λογισμὸν ἐβλάβη trsp S
7
οἱ om S 8
πληνθάριν] πληνθάριν S
9
καὶ ἔνθεν γίνεται ἡ ἀρχή . . . Οὐχί, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμόν om S (saut du même au même)
N.351–2 231
taking [it], they that they refused to leave unless he took [it], so they went
to a great elder for arbitration. The brother said to him: “We three went
harvesting, father. When we went into the field the first day I fell ill and
returned to my cell. Not one day did I harvest, yet the brothers are
coercing me saying: ‘Come and receive the wage you have not reaped.’”
The other two said: “We three received sixty arourai. Even if there had
been three of us, we could not have finished them up. Yet, thanks to the
prayers of the brother, we two quickly got in the harvest and we are telling
him: ‘Receive your wage’, but he does not want to.” The elder was amazed
when he heard this; “Give the signal for all the brethren to gather
together”, he said to his brother. When they all arrived he said to them:
“Come, brethren; hear a just judgement this day.” The elder told them
everything: they condemned the brother to receive his wage and to do with
it whatever he liked. The brother went his way weeping and lamenting.
* 1 aroura ¼ 100 cubits2, ¼ ~ /5 of a hectare, so 60 arourai ¼ ~ 12 hectares, ¼ ~ 30
1
acres.
N.351/17.25
An elder said: “Our fathers had the custom of visiting the cells of those
brothers at the beginning of their career who wished to practise their
discipline in solitude. They would examine them in case any one of them,
tempted by demons, was damaged in his logismos. If one of them were ever
found to be damaged, they would bring him into church. A wash-bowl
would be set in place and there would be prayer for the suffering one. All
the brothers would wash themselves and then pour some of the water over
him and the brother would immediately be purged.”
N.352/17.26
Two elders were living with each other for many years and never had a
fight. One of them said to the other: “Let us too have one fight like men
do.” In reply the other said: “I do not know how a fight comes about”, but
the other said to him: “Look, I will put a brick in the middle and I will say:
‘It is mine.’ Then you say: ‘No, it is mine’; it begins from that.” So they
put a brick in the middle and the first one said: “This is mine,” but the
other said: “No, it is mine”, and the first one said: “If it is yours, take it
and go”, and off they went having found nothing to quarrel with each
other about.
353. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐδέποτε ἐπεθύμησα ἔργον ὠφελοῦν με καὶ ζημιοῦν
τὸν ἀδελφόν μου, τοιαύτας ἐλπίδας ἔχων, ὅτι τὸ κέρδος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου,
ἔργον καρποφορίας μοι1 ἐστίν.
354. Ἀσκητής τις εὑρηκὼς τινὰ δαιμονιῶντα μὴ δυνάμενον νηστεύειν, τῇ

τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπῃ, ὡς γέγραπται, μὴ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου
ζητεῖν, ἠξίωσε [f. 240va] μετελθεῖν εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὸν δαίμονα, κἀκεῖνον
ἐλευθερωθῆναι. Καὶ δὴ τῆς δεήσεως ἐπήκουσεν ὁ Θεός, καὶ βαρηθεὶς ὁ
ἀσκητὴς ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος, ἐπέμεινε τῇ νηστείᾳ καὶ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ
ἀσκήσει σχολάσας, τὸ δὲ πλεῖστον διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ, εἴσω ὀλίγων
ἡμερῶν ὁ Θεὸς ἀπήλασεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸν δαίμονα.
355. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· ὅτι εἰσὶ δύο ἀδελφοί. ὁ εἷς
ἡσυχάζει ἕλκων τὰς ἕξ, καὶ πολὺν κάματον ἑαυτῷ παρέχων, ὁ δὲ ἄλλος
κακουμένοις ὑπηρετεῖ· τίνος πλέον τὸ ἔργον δέχεται ὁ Θεός; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Ἐὰν ὁ ἕλκων ἀδελφὸς τὰς ἕξ, κρεμάσῃ ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥόθονος,2
οὐ δύναται ἴσος εἶναι τοῦ ὑπηρετοῦντος τοῖς κακουμένοις.
356. Ἀδελφὸς ὑπη[f. 240vb]ρέτει τινὶ τῶν πατέρων ἀσθενοῦντι. Συνέβη

δὲ αὐτοῦ λυθῆναι τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἐκβάλλειν πῦον3 μετὰ σαπρᾶς4 ὀσμῆς.
Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ λογισμὸς τῷ ἀδελφῷ·5 Φύγε· οὐ γὰρ δύνασαι ὑπενεγκεῖν τὴν
ὀσμὴν τῆς δυσωδίας ταύτης. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς λαβὼν κεράμιον, ἔβαλεν εἰς
αὐτὸ τὸ ἀπόπλυμα τοῦ ἀσθενοῦντος, καὶ εἰ ἤρξατo ὁ λογισμὸς αὐτοῦ
λέγειν ὅτι6 φύγε, ἔλεγεν τῷ λογισμῷ· Ἐὰν θελήσω φύγειν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ
πίνω. Εἶπε δὲ ὁ λογισμὸς αὐτοῦ· Μήτε φύγῃς, μήτε πίῃς τῆς δυσωδίας
ταύτης. Καὶ ἐκοπία ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἐκαρτέρει ὑπηρετῶν τῷ γέροντι, καὶ
ἰδὼν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόπον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, ἰάσατο τὸν γέροντα.
357. Ἀδελφοὶ ἐν Σκήτει ἐκάθισαν καθαρίσαι σειράν· καί τις ἐξ αὐτῶν

ἀσθενῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσκήσεως καὶ [f. 241ra] βήσσων ἀνέφερεν φλέγματα,
καί, μὴ θέλοντος αὐτοῦ, ἀπήρχετο ἀπὸ τοῦ πτύσματος ἐπάνω τινὸς
ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ ὠχλεῖτο ἐκεῖνος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἰδίου λογισμοῦ, εἰπεῖν τῷ
1
μοι C] μου S 2
ῥόθονος C] ῥόθωνος S 3
πῦον corr] ποῖον C] πτῦον S
4
σαπρᾶς S] σαπρῆς C 5
τῷ ἀδελφῷ S] τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ C 6
ὅτι om S
N.353–7 233
N.353/17.28
An elder said: “I have never desired work that benefits me but is to my
brother’s disadvantage, as I have such hopes that my brother’s advantage is
a fruit-bearing task for me.”
N.354/17.17
An ascetic found somebody who was possessed by a demon and unable to
fast. Moved by the love of God (as it is written) and seeking not his own
[wellbeing] but another’s, he asked that the demon should pass into
himself and that the other man be set free. God heeded the request but
the ascetic, though oppressed by the demon, continued to occupy himself
with fasting, prayer and askêsis. Within a few days, God expelled the
demon from him, mainly in consequence of his love.
N.355/17.22
A brother asked an elder: “There are two brothers; one of them lives in
hêsychia, [fasting] six days in a row and giving himself a great deal of hard
labour but the other ones takes care of people in distress; whose task will
God more readily accept?” The elder said to him: “Even if the one who
[fasts] for six days were to hang himself up by the nostril he cannot be
equal to the one who cares for people in distress.”
N.356/17.29
A brother was caring for one of the fathers who was sick and it came about
that his body broke out in a malodorous suppuration. The brother’s
logismos said to him: “Get away, for you cannot tolerate the stench of this
malodour”, but the brother took a pot and put in it the water with which
he had washed the sick man. Then if his logismos began to say: “Get away”,
he would say to his logismos: “If I want to get away, I’ll drink from it”, but
his logismos said: “Neither get away nor drink from this stench.” The
brother laboured on and persevered caring for the elder and, when God
perceived the brother’s labour, he cured the elder.
N.357/4.85
Some brothers at Scete sat cleaning rope. One of them was ill from the
askêsis. He was coughing and spitting and (not that he wanted it to) some
of his spittle landed on one of the brothers. He was prompted by his
ἀσθενοῦντι· Παῦσαι τοῦ πτύειν ἐπάνω μου. Πολεμήσας δὲ τῷ λογισμῷ,
εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Εἰ βούλῃ φαγεῖν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν, εἰπέ. Τότε λέγει· Μήτε
φάγῃς; μήτε εἴπῃς αὐτῷ.
358. Τίς τῶν πατέρων ἀπῆλθεν εἰς πόλιν, πωλῆσαι τὸ ἐργόχειρον

αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδὼν πτωχὸν γυμνὸν ὄντα, καὶ σπλαγχνισθεὶς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ,
ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ λεβήτωνα. Ὁ δὲ πτωχὸς ἀπελθών, ἐπώλησεν
αὐτόν. Ὁ οὖν γέρων μαθὼν ὃ ἐποίησεν, ἐλυπήθη καὶ μετέγνω ὅτι ἔδωκεν
αὐτῷ τὸ ἱμάτιον. Παρέστη οὖν τῷ γέροντι ὁ Xριστὸς κατ᾿ ὄναρ ἐν τῇ
νυκτὶ ἐ[f. 241rb]κείνῃ φορῶν τὸν λεβήτωνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Μὴ λυποῦ,
ἰδοὺ γὰρ φορῶ ὃ δέδωκάς μοι.
Περὶ διορατικῶν
359. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι καθημένων ποτὲ γερόντων καὶ λαλούν-
των περὶ ὠφελείας, ἦν τις ἐν αὐτοῖς διορατικός, καὶ ἔβλεπε τοὺς ἀγγέλους
κατασείοντας καὶ εὐφημοῦντας αὐτούς· ὡς δὲ ἤρχετο ἄλλη ὁμιλία,
ἀνεχώρουν οἱ ἄγγελοι, καὶ ἐκυλίοντο χοῖροι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν μεστοὶ δυσω-
δίας, καὶ ἠφάνιζον αὐτούς. Ὡς δὲ πάλιν ἐλάλουν περὶ ὠφελείας, ἤρχοντο οἱ
ἄγγελοι καὶ εὐφήμουν αὐτούς.
360. Εἶπεν γέρων· Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ γεγραμμένον· ἐπὶ ταῖς δυσὶ καὶ τρισὶν
ἁμαρτίαις Τύρου· ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς τέσσαρσιν οὐκ ἀποστραφήσομαι· τὸ
ἐν[f. 241va]θυμηθῆναι τὸ κακὸν καὶ συγκαταβῆναι τῷ λογισμῷ καὶ τὸ1
λαλῆσαι, τὸ δὲ τέταρτον ἐστὶ τὸ ἐκτελέσαι τὸ ἔργον· ἐπὶ τοῦτο2 οὐκ
ἀποστραφήσεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
361. Ἔλεγον περὶ μεγάλου γέροντος ἐν τῇ Σκήτει· ὅτι ὅτε οἱ ἀδελφοὶ

ᾠκοδόμουν κελλίον, ἐξήρχετο μετὰ χαρᾶς καὶ βάλλων τὸν θεμέλιον οὐκ
ἀνεχώρει, ἕως οὗ ἐτελειώθη. Ποτὲ οὖν ἐξελθὼν εἰς οἰκοδομὴν κελλίου,
ἐστύγναζε πολύ. Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀδελφοί· Τί στυγνὸς εἶ καὶ
λυπούμενος, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἐρημωθῆναι ἔχει ὁ τόπος οὗτος, τέκνα.
Ἐγὼ γὰρ εἶδον ὅτι πῦρ ἀνήφθη εἰς Σκῆτιν, καὶ λαβόντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ βαΐα,
1
τὸ om S 2
τοῦτο C] τούτῳ S
N.358–61 235
logismos to say to the sick man: “Stop spitting on me”, but, battling with
the logsimos, he said to himself: “If you are prepared to eat [his spittle] say
so.” Then he said to himself: “Do you neither eat it nor speak to him.”
N.358
One of the fathers went off to the city to sell his handiwork. He was moved
to compassion at the sight of a naked pauper and gave him his own levitôn,
but the pauper went and sold it. The elder was distressed when he learnt
what he had done and regretted that he had given him the garment. Then
that night Christ appeared to the elder in a dream wearing the levitôn and
said to him: “Do not be distressed for see: I am wearing what you gave me.”
O N T H O S E W H O H AV E T H E G I F T O F S E C O N D S I G H T
N.359/18.29
One of the fathers used to say: “Some fathers were once sitting talking
about what is beneficial [for the soul] and there was one among them who
had second sight. He was seeing angels nodding in approval and praising
them. But when the talk went in another direction, the angels withdrew
and [he saw] stinking pigs rolling about in the middle of them and
obscuring them. But when they were speaking of what is beneficial [for
the soul] again, the angels came and were praising them.”
N.360/18.30
An elder said: “This is the meaning of the passage in Scripture: ‘I will turn
[my wrath] away for two or three transgressions of Tyre, but for four I will
not turn [it] away’ [Amos 1:9]: [the three faults are] to imagine evil, to
consent to it in one’s logismos and to speak of it; the fourth [stage] is to
accomplish the deed. For this the wrath of God will not be turned away.”
N.361/18.31
They used to say of a great elder at Scete: “When the brothers were
constructing a cell, he would come out with joy and, laying the founda-
tions, he would not leave until it was completed. But once when he came
out for the construction of a cell he looked very sad. The brothers said to
τύπτοντες ἔσβεσαν αὐτό. Καὶ πάλιν ἀνήφθη, καὶ πάλιν ἔσβεσαν αὐτό. Τὸ
δὲ τρίτον ἀνήφθη, καὶ ἐπλήρωσε πᾶσαν τὴν Σκῆτιν, καὶ οὐκέτι [f. 241vb]
ἠδυνήθη κατασβεσθῆναι. Διὰ τοῦτο στυγνάζω καὶ λυποῦμαι.
362. Εἶπεν γέρων· Γέγραπται· δίκαιος ὡς φοίνιξ ἀνθήσει, σημαίνει δὲ ὁ

λόγος τὸ ἐκ τῶν ὑψηλῶν πράξεων ἀγαθὸν καὶ ὀρθὸν καὶ γλυκύ. Ἔστι δὲ
καὶ μία τοῦ φοίνικος ἡ καρδία, καὶ αὐτὴ λευκή, πᾶσαν ἔχουσα τὴν
ἐργασίαν αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ὅμοιον ἐπὶ τῶν δικαίων εὑρεῖν, μία γὰρ
αὐτῶν καὶ ἁπλῆ καρδία πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν μόνον ὁρῶσα. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ λευκή·
τὸν ἐκ τῆς πίστεως φωτισμὸν ἔχουσα, καὶ πᾶσα δὲ ἡ ἐργασία τῶν ἁγίων
ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν ἐστιν· τὸ δὲ ὀξὺ τῶν σκολόπων, ἡ πρὸς τὸν διάβολόν
ἐστιν ἀντίστασις.
363. Εἶπεν γέρων·1 Ἡ Σωμανίτις τὸν Ἐλισσαῖον ἐδέξατο, παρὰ τὸ μὴ

ἔχειν αὐτὴν σχέσιν μετά τινος ἀνθρώπου. Λεγέται δὲ ἡ Σωμανίτις πρό-
σωπον ἔ[f. 242ra]χειν τῆς ψυχῆς, τὸν δὲ Ἐλισσαῖον πρόσωπον τοῦ ἁγίου
Πνεύματος. Οἵαν οὖν ὥραν ἡ ψυχὴ ἀφίσταται τῆς σωματικῆς συγχύσεως,
παραβάλλει αὐτῇ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τότε δυνήσεται τεκεῖν, στεῖρα
ὑπάρχουσα.
364. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ τοῦ χοίρου, φυσικῶς
ἔχουσι τὴν πλάσιν, ὥστε ἀνάγκῃ νεύειν εἰς τὴν γῆν, μηδέποτε δὲ
δύνασθαι ἀνανεῦσαι2 εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Οὕτως, φησί, καὶ τοῦ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς
ἐγγλυκανθέντος ἡ ψυχή, ἅπαξ κατολισθήσασα πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἡδυπαθείας
βόρβορον, ἀνανεῦσαι ἀδυνατεῖ.
365. Ἐγένετό τις μέγας διορατικὸς γέρων· οὗτως3 διεβεβαιώσατο

λέγων· ὅτι τὴν δύναμιν ἣν εἶδον ἐπὶ τοῦ φωτίσματος ἑστῶσαν, τὴν αὐτὴν
εἶδον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐνδύματος τοῦ μοναχοῦ, ὅταν [f. 242rb] λαμβάνῃ τὸ
σχῆμα.
1
Eἶπε γέρων om S 2
δύνασθαι ἀνανεῦσαι C] ἀνανεῦσαι δύνασθαι trsp S
3
οὕτως C] οὗτος S]
N.362–5 237
him: ‘Why are you sad and sorrowing, abba?’ ‘This place is going to be laid
waste, my sons,’ he said, ‘for I saw that fire had broken out at Scete. The
brothers took palm fronds and beat it out. It broke out again and again
they put it out. It broke out a third time, spreading to the whole of Scete,
and they were no longer able to put it out. That is why I look sad and am
sorrowing.’”
N.362/18.33
An elder said: “It is written: ‘The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree’
[Ps 91:13]. The saying indicates the goodness, the uprightness and the
sweetness of noble deeds. And the palm tree has a single heart; it is white
and it contains the tree’s entire activity. Something similar is to be found
in the case of the righteous: their heart is single and uncomplicated,
looking to God alone. It is white too, containing the light of faith and
the entire obedience to the commandments of the holy ones is in their
heart. The sharpness of the thorns is opposition to the devil.”
N.363/18.34 (cf. Cronios 1)

An elder said: “The Shunamite woman took in Elisha because she had no
relations with any man [2 Kgs 4:8–37]. The Shunamite woman is said to
represent the soul, Elisha the Holy Spirit. At whatever time the soul
withdraws from physical relations, the Spirit of God comes upon it; then
will it be able to bear fruit even though it be barren.”
N.364/18.35
One of the fathers said: “The eyes of a pig have a natural tendency that
forces them to turn towards the ground and never be able to look up to
heaven. It is the same, he said, for the soul of the person who is addicted
to pleasure. Once it has slipped into the quagmire of enjoyment, it is
incapable of looking up.”
N.365/18.36
There was a great elder who had the second sight; he made an affirmation
thus: “The force I beheld standing by at the baptising, I beheld the same at
the clothing of a monk, when he receives the habit.”
366. Ἐπληροφορήθη γέρων ποτὲ τοῦ ὁρᾶν τὰ γινόμενα, καὶ ἔλεγεν· ὅτι
εἶδον1 ἀδελφὸν μελετῶντα ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἰδοὺ δαίμων2 ἵστατο
ἔξω τοῦ κελλίου. Καὶ ἐν τῷ μελετᾶν τὸν ἀδελφόν, οὐκ ἴσχυεν εἰσελθεῖν· ὡς
δὲ ἐπαύετο μελετῶν, τότε εἰσήρχετο ὁ δαίμων ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ ἐπολέμει
αὐτόν.
367. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἦσαν γειτνιῶντες αὐτῷ,
εἷς ξενικὸς καὶ εἷς ἐγχώριος, ἦν δὲ ὁ ξενικὸς μικρὸν ἀμελέστερος, ὁ δὲ
ἐγχώριος σπουδαῖος πάνυ. Συνέβη δὲ κοιμηθῆναι τὸν ξενικόν, καὶ ὁ
γέρων, διορατικὸς ὤν, εἶδε πλῆθος ἀγγέλων ὁδηγούντων τὴν ψυχὴν
αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὡς ἔφθασε τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰσελθεῖν, ἐγένετο περὶ αὐτοῦ
ζήτησις, καὶ ἦλθε φωνὴ ἄνωθεν λέ[f. 242va]γουσα· Φανερὸν μέν, ὅτι ἀμελὴς
ἦν μικρόν, διὰ δὲ τὴν ξενιτείαν3 αὐτοῦ ἀνοίξατε αὐτῷ. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα
ἐκοιμήθη καὶ ὁ ἐντόπιος, καὶ ἦλθε πᾶσα ἡ συγγένεια αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶδεν4
ὁ γέρων ὅτι οὐδαμοῦ ἄγγελος, καὶ ἐθαύμασεν, καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον
ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγων· Πῶς ὁ ξένος, ἀμελὴς ὤν, τοιαύτης δόξης ἔτυχεν,
καὶ οὗτος σπουδαῖος5 οὐδενὸς τοιούτου ἔτυχεν; Καὶ ἦλθεν αὐτῷ φωνὴ
λέγουσα· Οὗτος ὁ σπουδαῖος ὅτε ἦλθε κοιμηθῆναι, ἤνοιξε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς
αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδε <τοὺς> τοῦ γένους αὐτοῦ κλαίοντας, καὶ παρεκλήθη ἡ
ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ξένος, εἰ καὶ ἀμελὴς ἦν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδένα τῶν ἰδίων αὐτοῦ
εἶδεν, καὶ στενάξας ἔκλαυσε, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς παρεκάλεσεν αὐτόν.
368. Διηγή[f. 242vb]σατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἀναχωρητὴς ἦν εἰς τὴν
ἔρημον Νειλουπόλεως, καὶ διηκόνει αὐτῷ κοσμικὸς πιστός. Ἦν δὲ καὶ ἐν
τῇ πόλει ἄνθρωπος πλούσιος καὶ ἀσεβής, καὶ συνέβη αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν,
καὶ προέπεμψεν αὐτὸν ἡ πόλις καὶ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος μετὰ λαμπάδων καὶ
θυμιαμάτων. Ἐξῆλθε δὲ καὶ ὁ διακονητὴς τοῦ ἀναχωρητοῦ κατὰ τὸ ἔθος
ἀπενεγκεῖν αὐτῷ ἄρτους, καὶ εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν βεβρωμένον ὑπὸ ὑαίνης,6 καὶ
ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγων· Οὐκ ἐγείρομαι, Κύριε,
ἕως οὗ πληροφορήσεις με τί ἐστι ταῦτα, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἀσεβὴς τοσαύτην
ἔσχε φαντασίαν· οὗτος δέ, ὁ δουλεύων σοι νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, οὕτως
ἀπέθανεν. Καὶ ἦλθεν ἄγγελος Κυρίου, καὶ εἶπεν [f. 243ra] αὐτῷ· Ἐκεῖνος
ὁ ἀσεβὴς εἶχεν ἔργον μικρὸν καλόν, καὶ ἀπέλαβεν αὐτὸ ὧδε, ἵνα ἐκεῖ
μηδεμίαν εὕρῃ ἄνεσιν. Οὗτος δὲ ὁ ἀναχωρητής, ἐπειδὴ ἄνθρωπος ἦν
1
εἶδον] ἐν κοινοβίῳ add S 2
δαίμων] ἐλθὼν add S 3
ξενιτείαν C] ξενίαν S
4
εἶδεν corr (S not clear)] ἴδεν C 5
σπουδαῖος] ὢν add S 6
ὑαίνης corr] ὑένης C S
N.366–8 239
N.366/18.38
An elder was once accorded the assurance of seeing what was happening
and he would say: “I saw a brother meditating in his cell and here there was
a demon standing outside the cell. He lacked the strength to enter as long
as the brother was meditating but, while he rested from meditating, then
the demon would go into the cell and do battle with him.”
N.367/18.40 BHG 1440k, de peregrine et indigena

One of the fathers said that there were two brothers who were his
neighbours: one a foreigner, the other a native. The foreigner was a little
too slack, the native very rigorous. It came about that the foreigner died
and the elder (who had second sight) beheld a host of angels accompanying
his soul. When he reached heaven and was going to go in, an enquiry was
made about him and there came a voice from on high saying: “It is clear
that he was a little slack, but open up to him on account of his voluntary
exile.” Later on the native also died; all his family arrived, but the elder saw
no sign of an angel. Amazed by this, he fell on his face before God, saying:
“How is it that the stranger who was slack was so glorified while this
rigorous brother got nothing of the kind?” A voice came to him that said:
“When this rigorous brother was at the point of death, he opened his eyes
and saw his parents weeping – which comforted his soul. But the alien,
even if he was slack, saw none of his own people.” He sighed and wept –
and God comforted him.
N.368/18.41
One of the fathers related the story of an anchorite living in the desert of
Nileopolis who was attended by a faithful worldling. There was also in the
city a rich man who was godless. It came about that [the rich man] died
and the city (including the bishop, accompanied with lights and incense)
formed a cortège for him. The anchorite’s attendant went out as usual to
bring him bread and found that he had been eaten by a hyena. He fell on
his face before God saying: “I will not get up, Lord, until you reassure me
why this is the case: that that godless fellow got such a show while this one
(who served you day and night) died like this.” An angel of the Lord came
and said to him: “That godless fellow did a little good [here] and received
his reward here, so that he finds no rest whatsoever over there. But this
anchorite, a man distinguished in every virtue, nevertheless, being human,
κεκοσμημένος πάσῃ ἀρετῇ, εἶχε δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ἄνθρωπος μικρὸν
σφάλμα,1 ἀπέλαβεν αὐτὸ ἐντεῦθεν ἵνα ἐκεῖ εὑρεθῇ καθαρὸς ἐνώπιον τοῦ
Θεοῦ. Καὶ πληροφορηθείς, ἀπῆλθε δοξάζων τὸν Θεὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς κρίμασιν
αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἀληθινά εἰσιν.
369. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ἐδεήθη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰδεῖν τοὺς
δαίμονας, καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη αὐτῷ· ὅτι οὐ χρείαν ἔχεις ἰδεῖν αὐτούς. Ὁ δὲ
γέρων παρεκάλει λέγων· Κύριε δυνατὸς εἶ σκεπάσαι με τῇ χειρί σου. Ὁ δὲ
Θεὸς ἀπεκάλυψε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶδεν αὐτοὺς ὅτι ὥσπερ
μέλισσαι κυκλοῦσι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, βρύχον[f. 243rb]τες τοὺς ὀδόντας
αὐτῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐπετίμα αὐτοῖς.2
370. Ἀδελφός τις εἶδε τόπον ἐν ἐρημίᾳ3 ἀνακεχωρημένον καὶ

ἡσυχάζοντα, καὶ παρεκάλει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ λέγων· Ἐπίτρεψόν μοι
οἰκῆσαι ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐλπίζω εἰς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ εἰς τὰς εὐχάς σου ὅτι ἔχω
κοπιάσαι πάνυ. Καὶ οὐκ εἴασεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς αὐτοῦ λέγων· Οἶδα ἀληθῶς
ὅτι πολλὰ ἔχεις κοπιάσαι, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν σε γέροντα, θαῤῥῆσαι ἔχεις
εἰς τὸ ἔργον σου ὅτι ἀρέσκει τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ διὰ τὸ θαῤῥῆσαι4 ὅλως ἔργον
μοναχοῦ ἔχεις, ἀπόλλεις τὸν κόπον σου καὶ τὰς φρένας.
371. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος μεγάλου· ὅτι ἦν5 καθήμενος εἰς τὸν
Πορφυρίτην, καὶ ὅταν ᾖρεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς6 εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν [f. 243va]
πάντα ἐθεώρει τὰ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ εἰ κατένευεν καὶ προσέσχεν εἰς τὴν
γῆν, ἔβλεπε τὰς ἀβύσσους καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς.
372. Ἀδελφός τις κινηθεὶς εἰς ὀργὴν κατά τινος, ἔστη εὐχόμενος καὶ
αἰτούμενος μακροθυμῆσαι ἐπὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ, καὶ τὸν πειρασμὸν παρελθεῖν
ἀβλαβῶς, καὶ εὐθέως ὁρᾷ καπνὸν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐξερχόμενον.
373. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὁ διάβολος τῷ ἐλαττώματι τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἐπιτίθεται·

ἔθος γὰρ διὰ μακροῦ χρόνου βεβαιωθέν, φύσεως ἰσχὺν ἔχει, μάλιστα μὲν
οὖν τοῖς ἀμελεστέροις. πᾶν βρῶμα ὃ κατακνίσαν ζητεῖς, μὴ θελήσῃς
δοῦναι, καὶ μάλιστα ὑγιαίνων, καὶ ὃ ἐπιθυμεῖς, μὴ φάγῃς,7 ἐσθίων δὲ τὰ
ἀποστελ[f. 243vb]λόμενά σοι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐχαρίστει πᾶσαν ὥραν.
1
σφάλμα] καὶ add S 2
αὐτοῖς S] αὐτούς C 3
ἐρημίᾳ C] ἐρήμῳ S
4
θαῤῥῆσαι] ὅτι add S 5
ἦν post Πορφυρίτην trsp S 6
ὀφθαλμοὺς] αὐτοῦ add S
7
φάγῃς] corr. φάγεις codd
N.369–73 241
committed a few faults. He paid the penalty for those in this world so that
he might be found spotless before God over there.” He went his way
reassured, glorifying God for his judgements, for they are true [Ps 18:10].
N.369/18.39
They used to say of one elder that he implored God to [let him] see the
demons and it was revealed to him: “You do not need to see them.” But he
begged God: “Lord, you are able to protect me by your hand”, whereupon
God opened his eyes and he saw them and how they swarm about a man
like bees, gnashing their teeth against him; but the angel of the Lord was
rebuking them.
N.370
A brother saw a place in the desert that was remote and tranquil. He
besought his father saying: “Let me live there for I have good hope in God
and in your prayers that I can make a good effort there.” But his abba did
not let him, saying: “I know very well that you can make a good effort but,
because you do not have an elder, you can have confidence in your work
that it is pleasing to God and, through confidence that you have performed
a monk’s work completely you will lose your effort and your reason.”
N.371/18.50
They used to say of a great elder that he was living at Porphyrites and that,
when he lifted his eyes up to heaven, he used to observe everything that
was in heaven and if he looked down and turned his attention to earth, he
would be seeing the chasms and everything in them.
N.372/4.65
A brother, who was moved to anger against somebody, stood in prayer, asking
to be long-suffering towards the brother and that the temptation would
pass harmlessly. Straightaway he saw smoke coming out of his mouth.
N.373/4.67–8
An elder said: “The devil assaults the deficiency of the monk, for a habit
reinforced over a long time has the force of nature, especially for the less
diligent. Do not wish to give [yourself] every food you seek on account of
Tὰ ἀρτίδια1 τῶν μοναχῶν ἀνηλώσαμεν, καὶ ἀκμὴν οὐκ ἐγενόμεθα μοναχοί.
Ἀνδρίζου ἵνα μὴ ἀλλότριον σχῆμα φορεῖς, ἀδελφέ, ἀλλ᾿ ἔχε2 τὴν σφραγίδα
τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τουτέστι τὴν ταπείνωσιν.
374. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχὸς μέχρι θανάτου ἀνταγ-

ωνίζεσθαι πρὸς τὸν δαίμονα τῆς ἀκηδίας καὶ ὀλιγωρίας, μάλιστα ἐν τῷ
καιρῷ τῶν συνάξεων, καὶ ἐὰν τοῦτο σὺν Θεῷ κατορθώσῃς πρόσεχε τῷ
λογισμῷ τῆς αὐταρεσκείας καὶ ἀπονοίας, καὶ λέγε τῷ λογισμῷ· Ἐὰν μὴ
Κύριος οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον, εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὐδὲν γάρ
ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, εἰ μὴ γῆ καὶ σποδὸς, καὶ μνημόνευε3 ὅτι Κύριος ὑπερηφά
[f. 244ra]νοις ἀντιτάσσεται, ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσι χάριν.
375. Παρέβαλον ποτὲ ἀδελφοὶ μεγάλῳ γέροντι καὶ λέγει τῷ πρώτῳ· Τί

ἐργάζῃ, ἀδελφέ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Σειρὰν πλέκω, ἀββᾶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ὁ Θεὸς πλέξει σοι στέφανον, τέκνον. Λέγει καὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ· Καὶ σὺ τί
ἐργάζῃ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ψιαθία. Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ αὐτῷ· Ὁ Θεὸς ἐνδυναμώσει σε,
τέκνον. Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ τῷ τρίτῳ· Καὶ σὺ τί ἐργάζῃ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Κόσκινα.
Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ αὐτῷ· Ὁ Θεὸς φυλάξει σε, τέκνον. Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ τῷ τετάρτῳ·
Καὶ σὺ τί ἐργάζῃ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Καλλιγράφος εἰμί. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Σὺ οἶδας.
Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ τῷ πέμπτῳ· Καὶ σὺ τί ἐργάζῃ; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Τὸ λινυφικόν. Εἶπεν
δὲ γέρων· Ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔχω πρᾶγμα, ὅτι ὁ πλέκων τὴν σειράν, ἐὰν νήφει
[f. 244rb] μετὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, πλέκει ἑαυτὸν στέφανον, τὸ δὲ ψιαθὶν ἰσχὺν
θέλει, ὅτι κόπον ἔχει, ὁ δὲ τὰ κόσκινα φυλακῆς, ὅτι εἰς τὰς κώμας αὐτὰ
πωλοῦσιν, ὁ δὲ καλλιγράφος χρείαν ἔχει ταπεινοῦν τὴν καρδίαν, ἔχει γὰρ
τὸ πρᾶγμα ὑψηλοφροσύνην· τὸ δὲ λινυφικὸν οὐκ ἔχω πρᾶγμα, ὅτι
πραγματεύεται. Ἐὰν γάρ τις ἴδη τινὰ ἀπὸ μακρόθεν βαστάζοντα σπυρ-
ίδια, ἢ ψιαθίν, ἢ κόσκινα, λέγει· Οὗτος μοναχός ἐστιν, χόρτος γάρ ἐστιν τὸ
ἐργόχειρον τοῦ μοναχοῦ καὶ εἰς καῦσιν τοῦ πυρός. Ἐὰν δέ τις ἴδῃ τινὰ
πωλοῦντα ὀθόνια, λέγει· Ἰδοὺ οἱ πραγματευταὶ ἦλθον, τοῦ κόσμου γάρ
ἐστιν τὸ ἐργόχειρον τοῦτο καὶ οὐ πολλοῖς ὠφέλιμον.
1
ἀρτίδια S] ἄρτι διὰ C 2
ἔχε C] ἔσχε S 3
μνημόνευε] τοῦ add S
N.374–5 243
its savour, especially when you are in good health. Eat not what you desire
but, eating that which God sends you, give thanks all the time. We have
consumed the small loaves of monks and have not as yet become monks.
Take courage brother, so you are not wearing a habit that is foreign to you;
but have the seal of Christ, which is humility.”
N.374/7.44
The elders used to say: “The monk ought to struggle against the demon of
accidie and despair until death, especially at the time of the synaxis. And if
(with the help of God) you succeed in this, turn your attention to the
logismos of self-satisfaction and presumption and say to the logismos:
‘Except the Lord build a house, those who build it labour in vain’
[Ps 126:1] for ‘A man is nothing but dust and ashes’ [Sir 17:32] and
remember that ‘The Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble’ [Jas 4:6, cf. Prv 3:34].”
N.375
Some brothers once visited a great elder. He said to the first one: “What
work do you do, brother?” “I braid rope, abba”, he replied. “God will braid
a crown for you, my son”, the elder told him. Then he said to the second
one: “And what work do you do?” “Rush mats”, he said. “God will
empower you, my son”, the elder said to him. He said to the third one:
“And what work do you do?” “Sieves”, he said. The elder said to him:
“God will protect you, my son.” He said to the fourth one: “And what
work do you do?” “I am a scribe”, he said; “Then you have knowledge”,
the elder said to him. Then he said to the fifth one: “And what work do
you do?” but he said: “Linen-making.” “That has nothing to do with me”,
said the elder. “He who braids rope, if he is alert in cooperation with God,
plaits himself a crown. [He who makes] a rush mat wishes for strength, for
it is hard work; the [maker of] sieves [needs] protection, for they sell them
in the villages. The scribe has to humble his heart, for his trade leads to
high-mindedness. As for linen-making, I have nothing to do with it
because he is engaged in business. If someone sees a person afar off carrying
baskets, a rush mat or sieves, he says: ‘That is a monk’, for straw is the raw
material of the monk’s handiwork and is for burning in the fire. But if a
person sees somebody selling linen goods, he says: ‘Look, the businessmen
have come’, for that handiwork is of the world and it is not beneficial
for many.”
376.1 Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων περὶ Λαζάρου τοῦ πτω[f. 244va]χοῦ ὅτι
οὐχ εὑρίσκομεν αὐτὸν2 ὅτι οὐδέποτε κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγόγγυσεν ὡς μὴ
ποιοῦντος μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος, ἀλλὰ μετ᾿ εὐχαριστίας τὸν πόνον αὐτοῦ
ἐβάσταζε, καὶ τὸν πλούσιον οὐ κατέκρινεν, διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς
προσελάβετο.
377. Εἶπεν γέρων· Καθεύδοντός σου ἢ ἐγειρομένου, ἢ ἄλλο τι ποιοῦν-

τος, ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ Θεὸς πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου, ἐν οὐδενὶ δύναταί σε ὁ ἐχθρὸς
ἐκφοβῆσαι, ἐὰν δὲ3 ὁ λογισμὸς οὕτως4 ἐμμείνῃ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἡ δύναμις
τοῦ Θεοῦ μενεῖ ἐν αὐτῷ.
378. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ μισήσῃς πρῶτον, οὐ δύνασαι

ἀγαπῆσαι· Ἐὰν μισήσῃς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ποιεῖς τὴν δικαιοσύνην, καθὼς
γέγραπται· Ἔκκλινον ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν. [f. 244vb] Πλὴν καὶ
ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις, ἡ πρόθεσις ἐστὶν ἡ ζητουμένη πανταχοῦ. Ἀδὰμ γὰρ ἐν
τῷ παραδείσῳ ὤν, παρέβη τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ Ἰὼβ ἐπὶ τῆς
κοπρίας καθήμενος, ἐφύλαξε τοῦ ἐγκρατεύεσθαι. Πρόθεσιν οὖν μόνον
ἀγαθὴν ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἵνα φοβῆται αὐτὸν πάντοτε.
379. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων· ὅτι ὥσπερ ἀδύνατόν ἐστί τινα τὸ
πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ θεωρῆσαι ἐν ὕδατι θολώδει, οὕτως ψυχή, ἐὰν μὴ
καθαρεύῃ ἀλλοτρίων, εὔξασθαι οὐ δύναται.
380. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ᾐτήσατο τὸν Θεὸν ἑπτὰ ἔτη περί
τινος χαρίσματος, καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ. Ἀπῆλθεν οὖν πρός τινα γέροντα, καὶ
ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ διὰ [f. 245ra] τὸ χάρισμα. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων, ἐλυπήθη
λέγων· Μέγας κάματος. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε, ποίησον ἄλλα ἑπτὰ ἔτη
παρακαλῶν τὸν Θεὸν ἵνα ἐπαρθῇ ἀπὸ σοῦ, οὐ συμφέρει γάρ σοι.5
Ἀπελθὼν οὖν ἐποίησεν οὕτως, ἕως οὗ ἤρθη ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
1
Ν.376 om S 2
αὐτὸν] οὐδὲ μίαν ἀρετὴν ποιήσαντα πλὴν add S 3
ἐὰν δὲ C] καὶ ἐὰν S
4
οὕτως S] οὗτος C 5
γάρ σοι C] σοι γὰρ trsp S
N.376–80 245
N.376/7.47
One of the elders used to say of Lazarus the Pauper [Lk 16:19–31] that we
do not ever find him complaining against God for not showing him mercy.
He bore his affliction with thanksgiving and did not condemn the rich
man. That is why God accepted him.
N.377/11.98
An elder said: “Whether you are sleeping or getting up or doing anything
else, if God is before your eyes, the enemy can in no way make you afraid.
And if one’s logismos remain in God like that, the power of God dwells in
him too.”
N.378/11.125
One of the fathers said: “Unless you first hate, you cannot love. If you hate
sin, you do what is righteous, as it is written: ‘Turn away from evil and do
the thing that is good’ [Ps 36:27]. But in all these things it is the intention
that is required everywhere. Adam transgressed the commandment of God
while he was in Paradise, while Job, sitting on the dunghill, maintained
self-control. God only requires a good intention in a man and that he be
ever in fear of him.”
N.379/12.16
One of the fathers used to say: “In the same way that it is impossible for
anyone to see his face in troubled water, so the soul is incapable of prayer if
it has not been purged of alien sentiments.”
N.380/15.92
They used to say of a certain elder that for seven years he besought God for
a particular gift and it was given to him. He went off to an[other] elder and
reported to him about the gift, but the elder was saddened when he heard
of it, saying: “Great work.” But he told him: “Go and spend another seven
years imploring God to take it away from you; it is not to your advantage.”
Away he went and did so until [it] was taken away from him.
381. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ἐστιν ἡ προκοπὴ τοῦ μον-
αχοῦ; Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἡ ταπείνωσις ἐστίν, ἡ εἰς προκοπὴν ἄγουσα τὸν
μοναχόν.
382. Μοναχός τις ἦν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀγωνιζόμενος κατὰ τοῦ Σατανᾶ, ἐξεκόπη

δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ηὔξατο ἀναβλέψαι, καὶ διὰ τὴν
ὑπομονὴν αὐτοῦ, ὁ Θεὸς ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ τὴν ὅρασιν, καὶ ἀνέβλεψεν.
383. Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφὸς τὸν ἀββᾶ Παμβὼ λέγων· Διὰ [f. 245rb] τί
κωλύουσί με τὰ πνεύματα ἀγαθοποιῆσαι τῷ πλησίον; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Μὴ λέγε οὕτως· εἰ δὲ μήγε, τὸν Θεὸν ψεύστην ἀποκαλεῖς, ἀλλὰ
μᾶλλον εἰπέ· Οὐ θέλω ὅλως ποιῆσαι ἔλεος. Προλαβὼν γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς εἶπεν·
Ἔδωκα ὑμῖν ἐξουσίαν πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν
δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ.
384. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων ὅτι ἠρώτησα τὸν ἀββᾶν Σισόην λέγων·
Πῶς λέγουσι περὶ τῶν εἰδώλων ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ εἶναι; Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων·
Γέγραπται περὶ τῶν εἰδώλων· ὅτι στόμα ἔχουσι καὶ οὐ λαλήσουσιν,
ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχουσι καὶ οὐ βλέπουσιν, ὦτα ἔχουσι καὶ οὐκ ἀκούσονται.
Οὕτως ὀφείλει εἶναι ὁ μοναχός· καὶ ὅτι τὰ εἴδωλα βδέλυγμά εἰσιν,
[f. 245va] καὶ αὐτὸς ἡγήσεται ἑαυτὸν βδέλυγμα.
385. Παρέβαλον ποτὲ τρεῖς ἀδελφοὶ τινὶ γέροντι1 ἐν Σκήτει, καὶ ἠρώτη-
σεν αὐτὸν ὁ εἷς λέγων· Ἀββᾶ, ἔλαβον τὴν παλαιὰν καὶ καινὴν Διαθήκην
ἀπὸ στήθους.2 Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐγέμισας τὸν ἀέρα
λόγων. Καὶ ὁ δεύτερος ἠρώτησε λέγων· Κἀγὼ τὴν παλαιὰν καὶ καινὴν
ἔγραψα ἐμαυτῷ. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς3 ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Καὶ σὺ τὰς θυρίδας
ἐγέμισας χαρτίων. Καὶ ὁ τρίτος εἶπεν· Κἀμοῦ εἰς τὸν χυτρόποδα βρύα
ἀνέβησαν. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Καὶ σὺ τὴν φιλοξενίαν
ἐδίωξας ἀπὸ σοῦ.
386. Εἶπεν γέρων· ὅτι χρὴ τὸν μοναχόν, μὴ ἀκροατὴν εἶναι, μὴ κατά-
λαλον, μὴ σκανδαλίζεσθαι.
1
τινὶ γέροντι om S 2
στήθους S] στίθους C 3
Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς C] ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ S
N.381–6 247
N.381/15.97
A brother asked an elder: “What is ‘progress’ for a monk?” “It is humili-
ation that leads a monk to progress”, said the elder.
N.382/7.55
A monk who was contending against Satan on every front had his eyes
knocked out by him. He did not pray to see again and, on account of his
patient endurance, God granted him sight and he did see again.
N.383/10.95
A brother asked Abba Pambo: “Why do the spirits hinder me from being
good to my neighbour?” The elder said to him: “Do not speak like that or
you call God a liar. Say rather: ‘I have no wish at all to show mercy’, for in
anticipation God said: ‘I have given you power to tread on serpents and
scorpions and over all the power of the enemy’ [Lk 10:19].”
N.384/10.97
One of the elders used to say: “I asked Abba Sisoes: ‘What are they saying
in the Psalms about the idols?’ and the elder said: ‘It is written about the
idols: “They have mouths and speak not; they have eyes but they see not.
They have ears . . .” and they will not hear [Ps 134:16–17].’ That is how a
monk ought to be. And just as idols are an abomination, so will [a monk]
regard himself as an abomination.”
N.385/10.147
Three brothers once visited an elder at Scete. One of them asked him:
“Abba, I have learnt the Old and the New Testaments by heart. . .” “You
have filled the air with words”, said the elder in reply to him. The second
one asked: “And I have written out the Old and the New Testaments for
myself. . .” “You have filled the shelves with paper”, the elder replied. Then
the third one said: “And mould has formed in my cooking-pot. . .” “And
you have chased hospitality away from you”, the elder told him in reply.
N.386/10.159
An elder said: “The monk should neither hear nor speak evil of anybody;
neither should he take offence.”
387. [f. 245vb] Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Εἰπέ μοι ῥήμα πῶς
σωθῶ. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Σπουδάσωμεν ἐργάσασθαι κατὰ μικρὸν μικρόν, καὶ
σωζόμεθα.
388. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· ὅτι ταῦτά ἐστιν ἃ ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς παρὰ

χριστιανοῖς, ἵνα τις ὑποταγῇ ταῖς ἁγίαις γραφαῖς, καὶ τὰ λεκτέα πρακτέα,
καὶ πείθεσθαι τοῖς ἡγουμένοις καὶ πατράσι πνευματικοῖς.
389. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι ὀφείλει ἕκαστος τὸ τοῦ πλησίον

οἰκειοῦσθαι, καὶ συμπάσχειν αὐτῷ ἐν ἅπασι καὶ συγχαίρειν καὶ συγκ-
λαίειν αὐτῷ, καὶ οὕτω διακεῖσθαι ὡς τὸ αὐτὸ φορῶν σῶμα καὶ ὡς περὶ
ἑαυτοῦ θλίβεσθαι, εἴ ποτε συμβῇ αὐτῷ θλῖψις καθὼς γέγραπται· Ὅτι ἓν
σῶμα ἐσμὲν ἐν Χριστῷ, καὶ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν πι[f. 246ra]στευσάντων ἦν ἡ
καρδία καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ μία.
390. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ βασιλείας ἐρᾷς, χρημάτων καταφρόνει· ζῆσαι γὰρ

κατὰ Θεὸν ἀδύνατόν ἐστι φιλήδονον ὄντα καὶ φιλάργυρον.
391. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Ποιμένα λέγων· ὅτι ταράσσομαι καὶ
θέλω ἀφεῖναι τὸν τόπον μου. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Διὰ ποῖον πρᾶγμα;
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἐπειδὴ ἀκούω λόγους περί τινος ἀδελφοῦ μὴ
ὠφελοῦντάς με. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθῆ1 ἃ ἤκουσας. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ναί, πάτερ, καὶ γὰρ ὁ εἰπών μοι ἀδελφὸς πιστός ἐστιν.
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ ἔστι πιστός· εἰ γὰρ ἦν πιστός, οὐκ ἔλεγέ σοι
ταῦτα. Ἀκούσας γὰρ ὁ Θωμᾶς οὐκ ἐβούλετο πιστεύειν λέγων· Ἐὰν μὴ ἴδω
[f. 246rb] τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου, οὐ μὴ πιστεύσω. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός·
Κἀγὼ εἶδον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων, ἔλαβε κάρφος μικρὸν
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἐστι τοῦτο;2 Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Καρφίν ἐστιν. Καὶ
προσέσχεν ὁ γέρων εἰς τὴν στέγην τοῦ κελλίου, καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ·
1
ἀληθῆ C] ἀλήθεια S 2
τοῦτο] καὶ add S
N.387–91 249
N.387/10.169
A brother asked an elder: “Utter a saying for me [on] how I am to be
saved.” He said: “Let us make a diligent effort to work a little at a time and
we will be saved.”
N.388/14.21
The elders used to say: “This is what God requires of Christians: that one
be obedient to the Holy Scriptures, practising what is read, and that he
obey higoumens and spiritual fathers.”
N.389/18.44
The elders used to say that each one ought to assume responsibility for his
neighbour’s situation; to suffer with him in everything, to rejoice and to
weep with him. One should have the same sentiments as though wearing
the same body and be afflicted as though one suffered affliction oneself, as
it is written: “We are a single body in Christ” [Rom 12:5] and “The
multitude of the believers had but one heart and a single soul” [Acts 4:32].
N.390 = 410–11
An elder said: “If you long for the kingdom, despise riches. It is impossible
for one who is a lover of pleasure and money to live a godly life.”
N.391/10.51
A brother asked Abba Poemen: “I am troubled and want to leave my
place.” The elder said to him: “For what reason?” The brother said to him:
“Because I am hearing remarks about a brother that are bringing me no
benefit.” “Are the things you heard not true then?” the elder said to him.
“Yes, they are, father,” the brother said to him, “for the brother who told
me is trustworthy.” “He is not trustworthy,” said the elder to him, “for he
would not have been saying these things if he were trustworthy. For when
Thomas heard, he was unwilling to believe; he said: ‘Unless I see with my
eyes I will not believe’ [Jn 20:26].” “But I did see with my eyes”, the
brother said to him. When he heard this, the elder took a sliver of straw
and said to him: “What is this?” “It is a straw”, said the brother. Then,
looking attentively at the roof of the cell, he said to the brother: [“And
Θὲς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου ὅτι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου ὡς ἡ δοκὸς αὕτη εἰσίν, αἱ δὲ
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου ὡς τὸ κάρφος τοῦτό εἰσιν1. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Τιθώης
τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, ἐθαύμασε, καὶ εἶπεν· Τί μακαρίσω σε, ἀββᾶ Ποιμήν,
ὁ λίθος ὁ τίμιος· οἱ λόγοι σου γὰρ μεστοὶ χαρᾶς εἰσι καὶ πάσης δόξης.
392. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅτι2 ἐκέκτητό τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν εὐαγγέλιον μόνον,
καὶ τοῦτο πωλήσας ἔδωκεν [f. 246va] εἰς τροφὴν τοῖς πένησιν,3 ἄξιον
μνήμης ἐπιφθεγξάμενος ῥῆμα· αὐτὸν γάρ φησι, τὸν λόγον πεπώληκα
τὸν λέγοντα· Πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς.
393. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, ἀββᾶ, διὰ τὴν

πορνείαν; Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Περὶ τούτου τοῦ λογισμοῦ ἀσφάλισαι
ὅση δύναμίς σοι ἐστίν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τούτου τοῦ λογισμοῦ ἀπόγνωσις
σωτηρίας τῷ ἡττηθέντι γίνεται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ πλοῖον ἐκ4 τρικυμίαις καὶ
κλύδωνι καὶ θαλάσσῃ μαχόμενον, ἐὰν τὸ πηδάλιον ἀποβάλῃ, κινδυνεύει
μὲν ἀλλ᾿ ἔτι πλέει, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐὰν κλασθῇ τὸ κερατίδιον ἢ τὶ τῶν
τοιούτων, ἔτι ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἐστὶ χρησταῖς τοῦ σκάφους [f. 246vb] σωζομένου,
οὕτως καὶ ὁ μοναχός, ἐὰν ῥαθυμῇ εἰς τὰ ἄλλα πάθη, προσδοκᾷ διὰ τῆς
μετανοίας περιγενέσθαι αὐτῶν, ἐὰν δὲ ἅπαξ εἰς τὸ πάθος τῆς πορνείας
καταπεσὼν ναυαγήσῃ, εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἔρχεται τοῦ πλοίου κάτω
ἀπελθόντος.
394. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, ὅτι οἱ λογισμοὶ

θέλουσί με κυκλεύειν προφάσει τοῦ παραβάλλειν γέρουσιν; Ὁ δὲ γέρων
εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τοὺς λογισμούς σου χάριν στενώσεως θέλοντάς σε
ἐξενεγκεῖν τοῦ κελλίου, ποίησον σεαυτῷ παράκλησιν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου,
καὶ οὐκέτι θελήσεις ἐξελθεῖν. Εἰ δὲ χάριν ὠφελείας ψυχῆς θέλεις ἀπελθεῖν,
δοκίμασόν σου τὸν λογισμὸν καὶ ἔ[247ra]ξελθε. Ἤκουσα γὰρ περί τινος
γέροντος ὅτι, ὅτε ἔλεγον αὐτῷ οἱ λογισμοὶ παραβαλεῖν πρός τινα, ἠγείρ-
ετο καὶ ἐλάμβανε τὸ μηλωτάριον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξήρχετο καὶ ἐκύκλευε τὸ
κελλίον αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσήρχετο καὶ ἐποίει ἑαυτῷ παράκλησιν τοῦ ξένου.
Καὶ οὕτως ποιῶν ἀνεπαύετο.
1
αἱ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου ὡς τὸ κάρφος τοῦτο εἰσιν om S (saut du même au même)
2
ὅτι om S 3
εἰς τροφὴν τοῖς πένησιν C] τοῖς πένησιν εἰς τροφὴν trsp S 4
ἐκ C] ἐν S
N.392–4 251
what is that?” “It is the beam which supports the roof ”, he replied.]*
“Then put it into your heart that your sins are as that beam while your
brother’s are like this sliver of straw” [Mt 7:3–5, Lk 6:41–2]. On hearing
this saying Abba Tithoes was amazed and he said: “How shall I speak your
praises, Abba Poemen, you precious stone [1 Cor 3:12]! Your sayings are
full of joy and all distinction.”
* [. . .] phrase found in APsys 10.51, not in N.391.
N.392/6.6
An elder said that one of the brothers possessed only a Gospel. This he sold
and gave the proceeds to feed the poor, making this memorable statement:
“I have sold the verse itself which says: ‘Sell what you have and give to the
poor’ [Mt 19:21].”
N.393/5.34
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do about porneia abba?” The elder
said to him: “It is up to you to secure [yourself] to the best of your ability
concerning this logismos, for despair of one’s salvation comes about through
this logismos to him who is worsted by it. Just as a ship struggling against
mighty waves, a swell and the sea runs into danger if it loses its rudder
(likewise if the mast or something like that is broken), yet it sails on and there
are still high hopes of the vessel being saved; so the monk, if he is indifferent
with regard to the other passions, expects to overcome them by repentance.
But if he is once shipwrecked by falling into the passion of porneia, he comes
to despair [of his salvation] as his vessel has gone to the bottom.”
N.394/10.171
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do for my logismoi want me to
walk around, ostensibly to visit elders?” The elder said to him: “If you see
that it is because you are cramped that your logismoi want to bring you out
of your cell, make some refreshment for yourself in your cell and then you
will not want to go out any more. But if it is for the benefit of your soul
that you want to come out, test your logismos and come out. I heard of an
elder who, when his logismoi were telling him to visit somebody, used to
get up, take his sheepskin, come out, walk around his cell and go [back] in.
Then he would make a guest’s refreshment for himself and, by so doing, he
[would achieve] repose.”
395. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Διατί ἐπιτελῶν τὴν μικράν μου1
σύναξιν μετὰ ὀλιγωρίας τοῦτο ποιῶ; Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Ἡ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀγάπη ἔνθεν δείκνυται, ὅταν τις μετὰ πάσης προθυμίας
καὶ κατανύξεως καὶ ἀπερισπάστου λογισμοῦ ποιῇ τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ.
396. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων· Εἰ μὴ σαλευθῇ τὸ δένδρον ὑπὸ ἀνέμων,

οὔτε αὔξει [f. 247rb] οὔτε δίδωσι ῥίζας. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ μοναχός, εἰ μὴ
πειρασθῇ καὶ ὑπομείνῃ, οὐ γίνεται ἀνδρεῖος.
397. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἔθνος ὑπὸ τὸν2 οὐρανὸν ὡς
τὸ τῶν χριστιανῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πάλιν ὡς ἡ τάξις τῶν μοναχῶν. Ἀλλὰ
τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ βλάπτον αὐτούς, φέρει αὐτοὺς ὁ διάβολος εἰς μνησι-
κακίαν τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν, λέγοντες ὅτι εἶπεν μοι καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ, καὶ
τὰς ἀκαθαρσίας ἔχει ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ βλέπει αὐτάς, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τὰ τοῦ
πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἀδολεσχεῖ, καὶ ἐκ τούτου μεγάλως βλάπτονται.
398. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἦν τις γέρων μεγάλων ἀξιωθεὶς
χαρισμάτων παρὰ3 τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ περιβόητος γενόμενος διὰ τὴν
ἐνάρε[f. 247va]τον αὐτοῦ πολιτείαν, ἔφθασε τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μέχρι τοῦ
βασιλέως. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς μετεστείλατο αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ ἀξιωθῆναι τῶν εὐχῶν
αὐτοῦ. Συντυχὼν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ πολλὰ ὠφεληθεὶς προσήνεγκεν αὐτῷ
χρυσίον. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐδέξατο καὶ ἐπανελθὼν εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἤρξατο φιλοκαλεῖν
ἀγρὸν καὶ ἑτέραν κτῆσιν. Ἦλθεν οὖν δαιμονιῶν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος καὶ λέγει
ὁ γέρων τῷ δαίμονι· Ἔξελθε ἀπὸ τοῦ πλάσματος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὁ δὲ δαίμων
λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐκ ἀκούω σου. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Διατί; Λέγει ὁ δαίμων ὅτι
γέγονας ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν, καταλείψας τὴν μέριμναν τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ
μερίμνῃ γηίνῃ4 ἀπασχολήσας ἑαυτόν, διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀκούω σου καὶ
ἐξέρχομαι.5
1
μου post ἐπιτελῶν trsp S 2
τὸν C] τὼν S 3
παρὰ C] ἀπὸ S
4
μερίμνῃ γηίνῃ C] γηίνῃ μερίμνῃ trsp S 5
καὶ ἐξέρχομαι C] ἐξελθεῖν S
N.395–8 253
N.395/10.186
A brother asked an elder: “Why is it that when I am offering my little
synaxis I do it inattentively?” In reply the elder said to him: “One’s love for
God is manifest when one performs the work of God* with total enthusi-
asm, grief for sin and an undistracted logismos.”
* to ergon tou Theou ¼ opus Dei.
N.396/10.185
One of the fathers said: “Unless a tree is blown this way and that by the
wind, it neither grows up nor puts down roots. Likewise, a monk: unless
he be tempted and prevail, he will not become established with fortitude.”
N.397/10.187
One of the fathers said: “There is no nation [ethnos] under heaven like the
Christian nation and again no order like the order [tagma] of monks, but
this is the only thing that does them damage: the devil leads them into
bearing grudges against their brothers, saying: ‘He told me. . .’ and: ‘I told
him. . .’ and: ‘He has impurities before him and doesn’t see them, but
shows no restraint concerning his neighbour’s business’ – and from this
they are greatly damaged.”
N.398/11.80
One of the fathers related how a certain elder was found worthy by God of
great spiritual gifts [charismata]. He became famous for his virtuous way of
life and his name reached the ears of the emperor. The emperor sent for
him in order to be thought worthy of his prayers. He met with him,
benefited greatly from him and then offered him gold. The elder accepted
it and, when he got back to his homeland, began to acquire an interest in a
field and in another property. Then someone possessed of a demon came
to him (as was usual) and the elder said to the demon: “Come on out of
that which God has created”, but the demon said to him: “I will not heed
you.” “Why?” asked the elder. “Because you have become one of us”, said
the demon; “you have abandoned concern for God and have dedicated
yourself to earthly concerns. That is why I will not heed you and am not
coming out.”
399. Εἶπεν [247vb] γέρων· Ἡ μέλισσα ὅπου ὑπάγει μέλι ποιεῖ. Οὕτως1
καὶ ὁ μοναχός, ὅπου ὑπάγει τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐργάζεται.
400. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ὁ σατανᾶς σχοινοπλόκος ἐστίν· ὅσον παρέχεις

αὐτῷ λῶμα καὶ αὐτὸς πλέκει. Τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν περὶ τῶν λογισμῶν.
401. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι φιλόπονός τις μοναχὸς προσεῖχεν
ἑαυτῷ καὶ συνέβη αὐτὸν μικρὸν ἀμελῆσαι. Ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀμελεῖν καταγνοὺς
ἑαυτοῦ εἶπεν· Ψυχή, ἕως πότε ἀμελεῖς τῆς σωτηρίας σου καὶ οὐ φοβῇ τὸ
κρίμα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Μὴ καταληφθῇς ἐν τῇ ἀμελείᾳ ταύτῃ καὶ παραδοθῇς ταῖς
αἰωνίαις κολάσεσι. Ταῦτα λέγων ἐν ἑαυτῷ διήγειρεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸ ἔργον
τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ποιοῦντος οὖν αὐτοῦ τὴν σύναξιν ἐν μιᾷ, ἦλθον οἱ δαί[f.
248ra]μονες καὶ ἐθορύβουν αὐτόν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει πρὸς αὐτούς· Ἕως πότε
θλίβετέ με; Οὐκ ἠρκέσθη ἡ ἀμέλεια2 τοῦ παρελθόντος χρόνου; Λέγουσι
αὐτῷ οἱ δαίμονες ὅτι, ὅτε ᾖς ἐν ἀμελείᾳ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἠμελοῦμεν σου, ὡς δὲ
διηγέρθης καθ᾿ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἠγέρθημεν κατὰ σοῦ. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας
διήγειρεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ προέκοπτε χάριτι Χριστοῦ.
402. Ἀδελφός τις πειραζόμενος ἀπῆλθε πρός τινα γέροντα καὶ ἀνέθετο
αὐτῷ τοὺς πειρασμοὺς αὐτοῦ, οὓς ὑπέμεινεν. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Μὴ πτοήτωσάν σε οἱ συμβαίνοντές σοι πειρασμοί. Ὅσον γὰρ ὁρῶσιν οἱ
ἐχθροὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀνιοῦσαν καὶ συναπτομένην τῷ Θεῷ χαλεπαίνουσι
φθόνῳ τηκόμενοι. [f. 248rb] Ἀμήχανον γὰρ μὴ παρεῖναι τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τοὺς
ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς. Μόνον μὴ διαλίπῃς μετὰ ταπεινώ-
σεως πολλῆς ἐπικαλούμενος αὐτόν. Ὅτε οὖν γένηταί σοι τὶ τοιοῦτον,
λάβε εἰς ἔννοιαν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν τὴν δυναστείαν καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν
ἀσθένειαν καὶ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἡμῶν τὴν ὠμότητα καὶ τυγχάνεις τῆς βοηθείας
τοῦ Θεοῦ.
1
οὕτως om S 2
ἀμέλεια] ἀμέλια C
N.399–402 255
N.399/11.86
An elder said: “The bee makes honey wherever it goes; likewise the monk
carries out the work of God wherever he goes.”
N.400/11.106
An elder said: “Satan is a rope-maker; whatever thread you provide him
with, he braids it in.” He said this concerning logismoi.
N.401/11.121
One of the fathers said that there was a hard-working monk who used to
pay heed to himself, but then he happened to become somewhat negligent.
In his negligence, he condemned himself and said: “My soul, how long
are you going to be careless about your own salvation and have no fear of
the judgement of God? Do not let yourself be caught in this negligence
and be delivered into eternal punishments!” Speaking to himself like that,
he roused himself to undertake the work of God. One day, as he was
performing his synaxis, demons came and threw him into confusion, but
he said to them: “How long are you going to trouble me? Were you not
satisfied with my former negligence?” The demons said to him: “While
you were negligent, we also neglected you; but since you have been roused
against us, we too have roused ourselves against you.” When he heard this,
he roused himself to undertake the work of God and, by the grace of
Christ, he made progress.
N.402/11.122
A brother who was being tempted went to an elder and laid before him the
temptations he had endured. The elder said to him: “Do not allow the
temptations that overtake you to alarm you for, whenever the enemies see
a soul rising up and making contact with God, they are aggrieved and
consumed with jealousy. It is impossible for God and his angels to be
absent while we are being tempted; nevertheless, do not cease calling upon
him with great humility. When something like this happens, call to mind
the power of our brother, our own weakness and the savagery of our
enemy and you shall win the help of God.”
403. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ ξενοπάροχος οὐκ ἰσχύει εἰσαγαγεῖν τὸν
ξένον, μηδέπω ἀκούσας ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου τῆς οἰκίας, οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἐχθρός,
ἐὰν μὴ δεχθῇ, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ. Εὐχόμενος δὲ λέγε· Πῶς κτήσομαί σε, Κύριε,
σὺ οἶδας. Ἐγὼ κτῆνος εἰμί, οὐδὲν οἶδα. Σύ με ἤνεγκας εἰς τὸ τάγμα τῆς
σωτηρίας ταύτης, σῶσόν [f. 248va] με. Ἐγὼ δοῦλος σὸς καὶ υἱὸς τῆς
παιδίσκης σου. Κύριε, σῶσόν με ἐν τῷ θελήματί σου.
404. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἀδελφὸς εὐλαβὴς πάνυ εἶχε
μητέρα πτωχήν. Μεγάλου οὖν λιμοῦ γενομένου, λαβὼν ἄρτους ἐπορεύετο
ἀπενεγκεῖν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἰδοὺ φωνὴ ἐγένετο πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα·
Σὺ φροντίζεις τῆς μητρός σου ἢ φροντίζω ἐγώ; Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς διακρίνας
τὴν δύναμιν τῆς φωνῆς ἔρριψεν ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον εἰς τὴν γῆν παρα-
βαλὼν καὶ λέγων· Σύ, Κύριε, φρόντισον ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὑπέστρεψεν
εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγουσα
αὐτῷ1· Ὁ δεῖνα ὁ μοναχὸς ἔδωκέ μοι2 μικρὸν σῖτον. Λάβε αὐτὸν καὶ
ποίησον ἡμῖν [f. 248vb] μικρὰ ψωμία, ἵνα τραφῶμεν. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς
ἀκούσας ταῦτα ἐδόξασε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ εὔελπις γενόμενος προέκοπτε διὰ
τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν ἀρετήν.
405. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν ἀπετάξω διὰ τὸν Θεὸν τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα, μὴ
ἐάσῃς ἡδονὴν ἑλκύσαί σε καθημένου σου ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ οἰκτείρων3 πατέρα
ἢ μητέρα ἢ ἀδελφόν4 ἢ σπλάγχνα υἱῶν ἢ θυγατέρων ἢ γυναικὸς5 φιλίαν.
Πάντα γὰρ κατέλιπες διὰ τὸν Θεόν. Μνήσθητι οὖν τῆς ὥρας τοῦ θανάτου
σου, ὅτι οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν δύναταί σε βοηθῆσαι.
406. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὡς ἐν τοῖς παλαίσμασι γυμνάζεται ὁ ἀγωνιστής,

οὕτως ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχὸς τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἀνασταυροῦν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν
οὐρανὸν καλῶν τὸν Θεόν [f. 249ra] εἰς βοήθειαν. Γυμνὸς ὁ ἀγωνιστὴς
ἕστηκεν εἰς τὸ στάδιον παλαίων, γυμνὸς καὶ ἄϋλος ἀλειφόμενος ἔλαιον
καὶ διδασκόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπιστατοῦντος πῶς δεῖ παλαίειν. Ἔρχεται ὁ
ἀγωνιστὴς ἐξ ἐναντίας ἐπιπάσσει ἄμμον, τουτέστι γῆν, ἵνα οὕτως
αὐτὸν κατάσχῃ εὐχερῶς. Θεώρει τοῦτο εἰς ἑαυτὸν, ὦ μοναχέ.
Ὁ ἐπιστάτης ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παρέχων ἡμῖν τὴν νίκην, οἱ δὲ παλαισταὶ
ἡμεῖς, ἀντίπαλος ὁ ἀντικείμενος τυγχάνει, ἡ δὲ ἄμμος τὰ πράγματα τοῦ
κόσμου. Ὁρᾷς τὴν τέχνην τοῦ ἐχθροῦ; Στῆκε οὖν ἄϋλος καὶ νικᾷς.
Ὅταν γὰρ ὁ νοῦς ὑλικῷ πνεύματι βαρυνθῇ, οὐ δέχεται τὸν ἄϋλον
λόγον.
1
αὐτῷ] ὅτι S 2
μοι] ἡμῖν S 3
οἰκτείρων] οἰκτειρειν S
4
ἀδελφόν] φιλίαν ἀδελφῶν S 5
γυναικὸς] add κλαιειν (? – vix leg.) S
N.403–6 257
N.403/11.116, shorter version 12.28

An elder said: “By the same token that the doorkeeper cannot admit a
stranger until he has heard from the master of the house, neither can the
enemy enter unless he be received [as a guest]. So when you pray, say:
‘Lord, you know how I am to acquire you; I am a beast and know nothing.
It is you who have brought me to the status of this salvation. Save me!
“I am your servant and the son of your handmaiden” [Ps 116:16]; save me
Lord, according to your will.’”
N.404/10.137
One of the fathers recounted the story of a very devout brother who had a
penniless mother. When a severe famine occurred, he took some loaves
and set out to bring them to his mother. And here there came a voice,
saying to him: “Is it you or I caring for your mother?” Discerning the point
the power of the voice had made the brother threw himself face down on
the ground, yielding and saying: “It is you, Lord; take care of us!” – then
he stood up and went back to his cell. Three days later his mother came
saying to him: “Such-and-such a monk gave me a little grain; take it and
make us some small loaves so we may be fed.” The brother glorified God
when he heard this. He became very hopeful and, by the grace of God, he
made progress in every virtue.
N.405/11.118
An elder said: “If you have renounced the things of the flesh for the sake of
God, do not let indulgence draw you, while you are residing in your cell,
into lamenting father or mother or brother, the tender affection of sons or
daughters or love of a wife. You have abandoned everything for the sake of
God; rather call to mind the hour of your death and that not one of those
persons can help you [then].”
N.406/7.58
An elder said: “Just as in wrestling bouts the fighter goes naked, so must
the monk amidst temptations stretch out his hands cross-wise to heaven,
calling God to his aid. When wrestling in the ring, the fighter stands naked
and devoid of any material objects. He is anointed with oil and is
instructed by his trainer how he should wrestle. Then the fighter comes
407. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ἦν τις γεωργὸς πλούσιος σφόδρα καὶ θέλων
διδάξαι τοὺς [f. 249rb] υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ τὴν γεωργίαν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τέκνα,
οἴδατε πῶς ἐπλούτισα· καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν, ἐὰν ἀκούσητέ μου, πλουτήσετε.
Εἶπον αὐτῷ· Παρακαλοῦμέν σε, πάτερ, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν. Ὁ δὲ ἐχρήσατο
τεχνικῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἀμελῶσι, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἔστι μία ἡμέρα τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ
καί, ἐάν τις εὑρεθῇ ἐργαζόμενος ἐν αὐτῇ, πλουτεῖ, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ γήρως
ἐπελαθόμην ποῖα ἐστίν. Μὴ ἀμελήσητε οὖν μηδεμίαν ἡμέραν ἐργαζόμενοι,
μήπως εὑρεθῇ ἡ εὐλογημένη ἐκείνη καὶ οὐκ εἰργάσασθε ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ εἰς
κενὸν κοπιάσητε ὅλον τὸ ἔτος. Οὕτως οὖν1 καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐὰν ἐργαζώμεθα
ἀδιαλείπτως, εὑρίσκομεν τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς ζωῆς.
408. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι πα[f. 249va]ρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν πλησίον
τῆς κώμης, ἔνθα ὁ μακάριος Σιλουανὸς διῆγεν ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ, ἔμενεν
ἀδελφὸς προσποιούμενος μωρίαν. Ὅταν γὰρ ὑπήντα αὐτῷ ἀδελφός,
εὐθέως ἐγέλα. Καὶ λοιπὸν ἕκαστος κατελίμπανεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπήρχετο.
Συνέβη δὲ τρεῖς τῶν πατέρων παραβαλεῖν τῷ ἀββᾷ Σιλουανῷ καὶ μετὰ τὸ
ποιῆσαι εὐχὴν παρακάλουσιν αὐτὸν ἀποστεῖλαί τινα σὺν αὐτοῖς, ὅπως
θεάσωνται τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς2 ἐν τοῖς κελλίοις αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἔλεγον τῷ γέροντι·
Ποίησον ἀγάπην καὶ παράγγειλον τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἵνα πρὸς πάντας λάβῃ
ἡμᾶς. Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν τῷ ἀδελφῷ ἐπὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι πρὸς πάντας τοὺς
πατέρας ἆρον αὐτοὺς κα[f. 249vb]τιδίαν δὲ παρήγγειλεν αὐτῷ λέγων·
Βλέπε μὴ λάβῃς αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὸν σαλὸν ἐκεῖνον, ἵνα μὴ σκανδαλισθῶσιν.
Διερχόμενοι δὲ τὰ κελλία τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἔλεγον οἱ πατέρες τῷ ὁδηγοῦντι
αὐτούς· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, πρὸς πάντας ἆρον ἡμᾶς καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς·
καλῶς. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἔλαβεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ σαλοῦ κατὰ τὸν λόγον
τοῦ γέροντος. Ὡς δὲ ὑπέστρεψαν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἴδετε
τοὺς ἀδελφούς; Οἱ δὲ εἶπον· Ναί, καὶ εὐχαριστοῦμεν. Τοῦτο δὲ λυπούμεθα,
ὅτι πρὸς πάντας οὐκ ἀπήλθομεν. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ λαβόντι αὐτούς·
Οὐκ εἶπόν σοι ὅτι πρὸς πάντας ἆρον αὐτούς; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Οὕτως
ἐποίησα, πάτερ. Πάλιν [f. 250ra] οὖν ἐξερχόμενοι οἱ πατέρες ἔλεγον τῷ
γέροντι· Ὄντως εὐχαριστοῦμεν ὅτι εἴδομεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς, ἀλλὰ τοῦτο
μόνον λυπούμεθα, ὅτι οὐκ εἴδομεν3 πάντας. Τότε κατιδίαν λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς
τῷ γέροντι· Πρὸς τὸν σαλὸν ἀδελφὸν οὐκ ἔλαβον αὐτούς. Ὡς οὖν
ἀπῆλθον οἱ πατέρες, διακρίνας καθεαυτὸν ὁ γέρων τὸ γεγονὸς ἀπέρχεται
πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ὑποκρινόμενον τὴν μωρίαν, καὶ μὴ κρούσας
ἀλλ᾿ ἠρέμα ἀνοίξας τὸ σισίγριν αἰφνιδιάζει τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν
καθεζόμενον εἰς τὸ κάθισμα καὶ δύο μαλάκια, ἓν ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἓν ἐξ
εὐωνύμων. Καὶ ὡς εἶδε τὸν γέροντα κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ἤρξατο γελᾶν. Λέγει
1
οὖν] οm. S 2
τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς] τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς C 3
εἴδομεν] ἴδομεν C
N.407–8 259
from the opposite side, applying sand (meaning earth) to his person in
order to get a better hold that way. Apply this to yourself, oh monk: God is
the trainer, the one who bestows victory on us. We are the wrestlers; our
opponent is the adversary. The sand is the concerns of the world – you
perceive the device of the enemy? Stand then, devoid of material consider-
ations, and you win; for when the mind is weighed down by a materialistic
spirit, it does not receive the immaterial Word.”
N.407/11.126
An elder said that there was a very rich farmer who, wishing to teach his
sons about farming, said to them: “Children, you are aware how I have
become rich. You too shall be rich if you will listen to me.” “Please, father,
tell us [how]”, they said to him. He, tricking them into not being negli-
gent, said to them: “There is one day in the year on which a man becomes
rich if he is found working but, on account of my old age, I have forgotten
which day it is. So do not ever neglect work for a single day, in case that
blessed day turn out to be a day when you did not work, and you have
worked all the year round in vain.” Thus we too shall find the way of life if
we work unceasingly.
N.408/8.32 (cf. John of Maiouma, Plerophoriai,

ed. in PO 8 (1912), 178–9)
One of the fathers said that, along the river near the village in Palestine
where the blessed Silvanus was living, there dwelt a brother who was
pretending to be insane for, whenever a brother met him, he would
immediately laugh; so each one would abandon him and go away. Now
three of the fathers happened to visit Abba Silvanus and, after prayer had
been offered, they asked him to send somebody with them so they could
see the brothers in their cells. “Of your charity, please instruct the brother
to take us to them all”, they said to the elder. In their presence the elder
instructed the brother to take them to all the fathers, but privately he told
him: “See you do not offend them by taking them to see that crazy fellow.”
As they were going round the cells of the brothers, the [visiting] fathers
said to their guide: “Of your charity, take us to them all.” “Very well”, he
replied but, according to the elder’s instructions, he did not take them
to the cell of the crazy one. When they came back to the elder he said to
them: “Did you see the brothers?” “Yes,” they said, “and we are grateful to
you, but this we regret: that we did not go to them all.” Addressing their
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἄφες ταῦτα ἄρτι καὶ εἰπέ μοι τὸ κάθι[f. 250rb]σμά σου. Ὁ
δὲ πάλιν ἐγέλα. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Σιλουανός· Οἶδας ὅτι χωρὶς σαββά-
του καὶ κυριακῆς οὐκ ἐξέρχομαι ἐκ τοῦ κελλίου, ἀλλὰ νῦν ἦλθον εἰς τὸ
μέσον τῆς ἑβδομάδος. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἀπέστειλέ με πρός σε. Φοβηθεὶς οὖν
ἐποίησε μετάνοιαν τῷ γέροντι καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Συγχώρησόν μοι, πάτερ,
ὅτι κατὰ πρωῒ καθέζομαι ἔχων1 τὰς ψήφας ταύτας ἔμπροσθέ μου, καί, ἐὰν
ἐπέλθῃ μοι λογισμὸς ἀγαθός, βάλλω ψῆφον εἰς τὸ δεξιὸν μαλάκιν, ἐὰν δὲ
πονηρός, εἰς τὸ ἀριστερόν. Ἑσπέρας οὖν μετρῶ τὰς ψήφους καὶ ἂν
εὑρεθῶσι τοῦ δεξιοῦ πλείους, ἐσθίω, ἐὰν δὲ τοῦ ἀριστεροῦ, οὐκ ἐσθίω.
Καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν, ἐὰν ἐπέλθῃ μοι πονηρὸς λογισμός, λέγω ἐμαυτῷ·
Βλέπε τί ποιεῖς, [f. 250va] ὅτι πάλιν οὐκ ἐσθίεις. Ἀκούσας οὖν ταῦτα ὁ
ἀββᾶς Σιλουανὸς ἐθαύμασε καὶ εἶπεν· Ὄντως οἱ2 παραβάλοντες πατέρες,
ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι ἦσαν, τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς3 θέλοντες δημοσιεῦσαι. Καὶ
γὰρ πολλῇ χαρᾷ καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ πνευματικῇ γέγονέ μοι τῇ παρουσίᾳ
αὐτῶν.
409. περὶ Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ παραβάτου4

Ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ ἀντάρτου, ὅτε κατῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν Περσίδα,
ἔπεμψε δαίμονα, ἵνα ὀξέως ἀπέλθῃ ἐπὶ τὴν δύσιν καὶ ἐνέγκῃ αὐτῷ ἐκεῖθεν
ἀπόκρισιν τινά. Φθάσαντος δὲ τοῦ δαίμονος εἴς τινα τόπον, ἐν ᾧ μονάζων5
ᾤκει, ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ δέκα ἡμέρας ἀσάλευτος, μὴ δυνάμενος προβῆναι ἐπὶ τὰ
ἔμπροσθεν, διὰ τὸ τὸν μονάζοντα μὴ παύσασθαι ἀπὸ εὐχῆς μήτε νυκτὸς
μήτε ἡμέρας. Καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν ἄπρακτος πρὸς τὸν ἀποστεί[f. 250vb]λαντα
αὐτόν. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ· Διατί ἐβράδυνας; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ δαίμων καὶ εἶπεν· Καὶ
ἐβράδυνα καὶ ἄπρακτος ἦλθον. Παρέμεινα γὰρ δέκα ἡμέρας περιμένων
Πούπλιον τὸν μονάζοντα, εἴπως παύσηται τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ οὐκ ἐπαύσατο,
καὶ ἐκώλυσέ με παρελθεῖν, καὶ ὑπέστρεψα ἄπρακτος. Τότε ὁ ἀσεβὴς
Ἰουλιανὸς ἀγανακτήσας εἶπεν ὅτι ὑποστρέφων ποιήσω τὴν ἐκδίκησίν
μου ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἴσω ὀλίγων ἡμερῶν ἐσφάλη ὑπὸ τῆς προνοίας. Καὶ
εἷς τῶν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀρχόντων εὐθέως ἀπελθὼν πέπρακε πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν
καὶ ἔδωκε τοῖς πτωχοῖς καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα γενέσθαι μοναχός. Καὶ
γενόμενος μέγας ἀσκητὴς ἐτελειώθη ἐν Κυρίῳ.
1
ἔχων] ἔχον C 2
οἱ] σοὶ C 3
ἀνδρὸς] ἀδελφοῦ S 4
tit] om C
5
μονάζων] μονάζον C
N.409 261
guide, the elder said: “Did I not say that you were to take them to
everybody?” “That is what I did, father”, the brother replied. As the fathers
were coming out again, they said to the elder: “We really are grateful for
having seen the brothers, but the one thing we regret is that we did not see
them all.” At that point the brother privately said to the elder: “I did not
take them to the crazy brother.” When the fathers went away, the elder
turned the incident over in his mind; then he went to that brother who
was feigning insanity. He did not knock but, quietly lifting the latch, took
the brother by surprise. He found him sitting on the bench with two
baskets, one on the left and one on the right. When he saw the elder, the
brother began to laugh, as he usually did. “Stop that now and tell me about
your discipline”, the elder said – and at that he laughed again. Abba
Silvanus said to him: “As you are aware, I only come out of my cell on
Saturdays and Sundays, but now I have come to you midweek, for God has
sent me to you.” In fear the brother prostrated himself before the elder and
said to him: “Forgive me father. In the morning I sit with these pebbles
before me; if a good thought comes into my mind, I throw a pebble into
the right-hand basket but, if an evil thought presents itself, I throw one
into the left-hand basket. In the evening I count the pebbles and if there
are more in the right-hand basket, I eat; but if there are more in the left-
hand basket, then I do not eat. Next day, if an evil thought comes to me,
I say to myself: ‘Watch what you are doing, or you will not be eating
again.’” Abba Silvanus was amazed when he heard this and said: “In truth,
those fathers who came visiting were holy angels wanting to make this
brother’s virtue known. I experienced great joy and spiritual delight in
their presence.”
N.409/12.12 BHG 1317e, de monacho publio

Concerning Julian the Apostate
In the time of Julian the Apostate, as [Julian] went down against Persia, he
sent a demon to travel quickly to the west and bring him back an answer of
some kind. When the demon reached a place where a [solitary] monk was
living, he remained there for ten days, unable to move. He could go no
further because the monk never desisted from praying, by day or by night;
so he returned empty-handed to the one who had sent him. “Why have
you taken so long?” that one asked him, to which the demon replied,
saying: “I did take a long time, and I have returned empty-handed too.
410. περὶ Παφνουτίου τοῦ ἐπισκόπου1
Παφνού[f. 251ra]τιός τις ἦν ἐπίσκοπος τῆς ἄνω Θηβαΐδος μιᾶς τῶν
πόλεων.2 Οὗτος δὲ ἦν ἀνὴρ θεοφιλὴς καὶ ἀσκητής, ὡς καὶ σημεῖα
θαυμαστὰ γίνεσθαι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος ἐν καιρῷ τῶν διωγμῶν τὸν
ὀφθαλμὸν τὸν ἀριστερὸν ἐξεκόπη.3 Σφόδρα δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς Κωνσταντῖνος
ἐτίμα τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ συνεχῶς ἐπὶ τὰ βασίλεια μετεπέμπετο καὶ τὸν
ἐξορυγμένον ὀφθαλμὸν κατεφίλει. Τοσαύτη ἦν τῷ βασιλεῖ Κωνσταντίνῳ
εὐλάβεια. Ἑν τι τῶν καλλῶν τοῦ τοίνυν τοιούτου θείου ἀνδρὸς πεπραγ-
μένων διηγήσομαι ἐπὶ λυσιτέλειαν τῆς ἐκκλησίας γενόμενον διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ
συμβολῆς.4 Ἐδόκει τοῖς ἐν Νικαίᾳ ἐπισκόποις συναχθεῖσι κατὰ τοὺς καιρ-
οὺς ἐκείνους νόμον νεαρὸν εἰσφέρειν, ὡς τοὺς ἱερεῖς, λέγω δὴ ἐπισκόπους
[f. 251rb] καὶ πρεσβυτέρους καὶ διακόνους καὶ ὑποδιακόνους, μὴ συγ-
καθεύδειν ταῖς γαμεταῖς ἃς5 ἔτι λαϊκοὶ ὄντες ἠγάγοντο. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐν
μέσῳ τοῦ συλλόγου τῶν ἐπισκόπων Παφνούτιος ἐβόα λέγων· Μὴ βαρὺν
ζυγὸν ἐπιθεῖναι τοῖς ἱερωμένοις ἀνδράσι, τίμιον τὸν γάμον εἶναι λέγων,
καθὼς γέγραπται, μὴ τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς ἀκριβείας μᾶλλον τὴν ἐκκλησίαν
βλάψωσιν. Οὐ γὰρ πάντες δύνανται φέρειν τῆς ἀπαθείας τὴν ἄσκησιν,
ἴσως οὐδὲ φυλαχθήσονται τῇ σωφροσύνῃ· σωφροσύνη δὲ ἐκάλει καὶ τῆς
νομίμου γυναικὸς τὴν συνέλευσιν, ἀρκεῖσθαι δὲ τὸν φθάσαντα κληρικὸν
γενέσθαι μηκέτι ἐπὶ γάμον ἔρχεσθαι κατὰ τὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀρχαῖαν
παράδοσιν, μήτε μὴν ἀποζεύ[f. 251va]γνυσθαι ταύτης, ἣν ἅπαξ ἤδη
πρότερον λαϊκὸς ὢν ἠγάγετο. Καὶ ταῦτα ἔλεγεν ἄπειρος ὢν γάμου, καὶ
ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν γυναικός, ἐκ παιδόθεν γὰρ ἀσκητηρίῳ ἀνετράφη καὶ ἐπὶ
σωφροσύνῃ περιβόητος ἦν. Ἐπείσθησαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἐπίσκοποι τοῖς τοῦ
Παφνουτίου λόγοις, διὸ καὶ τὴν περὶ τούτου ζήτησιν ἔπαυσαν, τῇ γνώμῃ
τῶν βουλομένων ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν γάμων καταλείψαντες.
1
tit. om C 2
τῆς. . . πόλεων] μιᾶς τῶν πόλεων τῆς ἄνω Θηβαΐδος, S
3
. . .. ἐξεκόπη] τὸν ἀριστερὸν ἐξεκόπη τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν, S
4
ἕν τι. . . συμβολῆς] Ἓν δὲ τῶν παρὰ Παφνουτίου πεπραγμένων πρὸς λυσιτέλειαν τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ
καλὸν διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ συμβουλῆς διηγήσομαι. C
5
ἃς] αἷς S
N.410 263
Ten days I was waiting around for Publius the monk to desist from
praying; but desist he did not. He prevented me from passing by and that
is why I have returned empty-handed.” Then, in a rage, the impious
Julian said: “I will have my own way with that one on my return
journey”, but, within a few days, he was overthrown by divine Provi-
dence. One of the officers accompanying him immediately went and sold
all he possessed and gave [the proceeds] to the poor. Then he approached
[Publius] the elder to become a monk. Having become a great ascetic, he
died in the Lord.
N.410 BHG 1438n, de clericis et uxoribus eorum

Concerning Bishop Paphnutius
Paphnutius was bishop of one of the towns of the Upper Thebaid. He was
such a God-fearing and disciplined person that amazing miracles occurred
at his behest. The emperor Constantine greatly esteemed this man, whose
left eye had been excised during the persecutions. He would constantly
invite him to the palace and would kiss the place where his eye had been;
such was the piety of the emperor Constantine. I am now going to narrate
one of the fine achievements of this godly man [Paphnutius] that came
about through his counsel to the benefit of the church. The bishops
assembled at Nicaea in those days were of a mind to introduce a new
law that the sacred ministers (meaning the bishops, priests, deacons and
sub-deacons) should not sleep with the wives whom they had married
when they were still laymen. Rising in the midst of the assembly of
bishops, Paphnutius vociferously spoke against the imposition of a heavy
yoke on the sacred ministers, saying that “Marriage is honourable”, as it is
written [Heb 13:14], and that they should not damage the church by
excessive severity, for not everybody was capable of tolerating the rigour
of impassibility and perhaps they would not be protected by chastity
(he called relations with one’s legitimate wife chastity). It would be
sufficient [he argued] for an [unmarried] person presenting himself for
ordination not to contract a marriage in the future (in accordance with the
ancient tradition of the church) without [a married one] divorcing the
wife whom he had already once married when he was formerly a layman.
He said this even though he had no personal experience of marriage, or, to
speak plainly, of a woman, for he had been raised in a monastery from
infancy and he was famous for his chastity. All the bishops were won over
411. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Ἰδοὺ παραβάλλω εἰς τόπον
μετὰ ἀδελφῶν καὶ παρατίθησιν ἡμῖν φαγεῖν ἢ κανίσκιν. Καὶ πολλάκις οἱ
ἀδελφοὶ ἢ δι᾿ ἐγκράτειαν ἢ ἀπὸ φαγίου εἰσὶ καὶ οὐ θέλουσι φαγεῖν, ἐγὼ δὲ
πεινῶ.1 Τί ποιήσω; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν σὺ πεινᾷς [f. 251vb] πρόσεχε
τοῖς καθημένοις πόσοι εἰσίν, ὁμοίως καὶ τὰ παρατιθέμενα. Καὶ ὃ δοκιμάζεις
ὅτι ἔρχεταί σοι μέρος, τοῦτο φάγε, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι σοι πρόσκομμα, ἀλλὰ τὰ
τῆς χρείας σου ἐποίησας. Ἐὰν δὲ ἡττηθῇς καὶ2 πλεῖον ἐσθίεις, τοῦτο3
ἥττημά σοι ἐστίν.
412. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἰωσὴφ λέγων· Ἐὰν γένηται διωγμός,
καλὸν φυγεῖν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ἢ εἰς τὴν οἰκουμένην; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων·
Ὅπου ἀκούεις ὀρθοδόξους, ἐκεῖ ὕπαγε ἔγγιστα αὐτῶν. Καὶ μὴ ἔχε φιλίαν
μετὰ παιδίου τὸ σύνολον, μήτε μείνῃς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐὰν δυνηθῇς καθίσαι
ἔσω εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου, τοῦτο καλόν. Καὶ φιλοκάλει τὸ λάχανόν σου, παρὰ
τὸ ὑπάγειν σε πρός τινα αἰτεῖσθαι.
413. [f. 252ra] Πάλιν λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Θέλω καθίσαι μετά τινος κοινό-
βιον, ἵνα ἡσυχάζω εἰς τὸ κελλίον μόνος καὶ παρέχῃ4 μοι τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου
καὶ αὐτὸς φροντίζῃ μου. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν οὐκ
ἠθέλησαν τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο. Εἰ δὲ μήγε οὐ παρέχεις τινὶ ἄρτον, ὅτι οὐκ
ἀφίει ὁ Σατανᾶς.
414. Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφὸς γέροντα λέγων· Διατί, ὅτε ἐξέρχομαι εἰς ἔργον,
ῥαθυμῶ περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς μου; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐ θέλεις πληρ-
ῶσαι τὸ γεγραμμένον. Λέγει γάρ· εὐλογήσω τὸν Κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ,
διαπαντὸς ἡ αἴνεσις αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ στόματί μου. Ἐάν τε οὖν ἔσω, ἐάν τε ἔξω,
ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν ὑπάγεις, μὴ ἀποστῇς εὐλογῶν τὸν Θεόν, οὐ γὰρ λόγῳ μόνον,
ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔργῳ καὶ κατὰ διάνοιαν δόξαζέ [f. 252rb] σου τὸν δεσπότην. Οὐ
γὰρ ἐν τόπῳ περιγράφεται τὸ θεῖον, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν παντὶ ὢν τὰ5 πάντα συνέχει
διὰ τῆς θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ.
1
πεινῶ] πινῶ C 2
ἡττηθῇς καὶ] ἡττηθεῖς S, καὶ om S 3
τοῦτο] om S
4
παρέχῃ corr] παρέχει C and S 5
τὰ] add ὄντα S
N.411–14 265
by Paphnutius’ arguments; they stopped discussing this topic, leaving it to
the judgement of those who wished to distance themselves from marriage.
N.411
A brother asked an elder: “Suppose I am visiting somewhere with some
brothers and someone sets food before us or a lunch basket. It often
happens that the brothers do not wish to eat, either through self-discipline
or because they have already eaten, but I am hungry. What should I do?”
The elder replied: “If you are hungry, note how many are sitting [there]
and how much food has been set out, then eat what you gauge to be your
share. You are not at fault in that, for you have [merely] attended to your
needs. But if you give in and eat more, that counts against you as a
reverse.”
N.412
A brother asked Abba Joseph: “If there is a persecution, is it better to flee
to the desert or to where people are living?” The elder said: “Wherever you
hear there are right-believers, go there and be close to them. Have no
friendship whatsoever with a youth and do not live with him. It is good if
you can remain within your cell; cultivate your [own] vegetables rather
than go to somebody begging.”
N.413
Again the brother said: “I want to share my living-space with somebody so
I can live in hêsychia alone in a cell while he provides me with work for my
hands and looks after me.” “Our fathers were not in favour of that kind of
arrangement,” the elder said, “for you would not provide bread for
anybody because Satan would not permit it.”
N.414/12.27
A brother asked an elder: “Why is it that, when I go out to work, I am
neglectful of my soul?” The elder told him: “You do not want to fulfil what
is written, for it says: ‘I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be
continually in my mouth’ [Ps 33:2]. Whether you are indoors or outside,
wherever you go, make no end of blessing God. Glorify your Lord-and-
master not only in word but also in deed and in your mind. For the
415. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες περὶ ἄλλου ἀδελφοῦ ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἀπέστη τοῦ
ἐργοχείρου καὶ ἡ εὐχὴ αὐτοῦ ἀδιαλείπτως ἀνήρχετο πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Ἦν
δὲ καὶ σφόδρα ταπεινὸς καὶ εὐκατάστατος.
416. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ὁ στέφανος τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἐστὶν ἡ ταπείνωσις. Ἐὰν
μέμψηται1 ὁ μοναχὸς ἑαυτὸν ἔν τινι πράγματι μετὰ ταπεινώσεως πολλῆς
καὶ ἀγάπης πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ὅπου ἐὰν2 καθεσθῇ, ἕξεἰ3 ἀνάπαυσιν διὰ τῆς
χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
417. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ἐστι καταλαλιὰ καὶ τί ἐστι τὸ

κατακρίνειν. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Καταλαλιὰ ἐν [f. 252va] πάσῃ λέγεται τὸ δὲ
κατακρίνειν ἐπὶ φανεροῖς. Πᾶν ῥῆμα ὃ οὐ δύναταί τις λαλῆσαι ἔμπροσθεν
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, καταλαλιά ἐστιν. Ἐάν τις εἴπῃ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα ὁ ἀδελφὸς
καλός ἐστι καὶ ἀγαθός, ἀσύστροφος δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἔχει διάκρισιν, τοῦτο
καταλαλιά ἐστιν. Τὸ δὲ κρίναι, ἐάν τις εἴπῃ ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκεῖνος πραγ-
ματευτής ἐστι καὶ φιλάργυρος· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ κρίναι, κατέκρινας γὰρ
αὐτοῦ τὰς πράξεις. Τοῦτο δὲ χεῖρόν ἐστι τῆς καταλαλιᾶς.
418. Εἶπεν γέρων περί τινος ἁγίου ἀνδρὸς ὅτι μὴ μαθὼν παρά τινος
ψαλμοὺς μήτε τὰς εὐχὰς τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων, ἦν γὰρ πρεσβυτερίου
ἠξιωμένος διὰ τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ ἀγάπην τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ὡς [f. 252vb]
μαθὼν τὰ4 πάντα ἐγίνωσκεν. Ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ ἐνάρετος σφόδρα καὶ ἰάσεις
ἐπετέλει. Εἶχεν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο κατόρθωμα μέγα. Εἰς γὰρ τὰ ἑξήκοντα ἔτη
τῆς ἀσκήσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐθεάσατο γυναῖκα, οὐδὲ τὴν τρίχα τῆς κεφαλῆς
αὐτοῦ ἔτεμεν. Ἐν τῷ δὲ τελευτᾶν αὐτόν, πρὸ τριῶν ἡμερῶν προέγνω, καὶ
καλέσας τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ
ἐτελειώθη.
1
μέμψηται] μέμψῃται S 2
ἐὰν] om S 3
ἕξει] ἕξη C 4
τὰ] om S
N.415–18 267
Divinity is not restricted to one place but is in everything, sustaining all
things by his divine power.”
N.415
The elders used to say of another brother that he never desisted from
manual labour and that his prayer continually ascended to God. He was
also exceedingly humble and of a very stable character.
N.416 (cf. Or 9/21.15, N.98)

An elder said that the crown of a monk is humility. If, in great humility
and for love of God, a monk blame himself in any undertaking, he shall
have repose, by the grace of Christ, no matter where he is residing.
N.417
A brother asked an elder: “What is backbiting and what is passing
judgement?” He said: “Backbiting generally means to pass judgement
publicly. Everything that a person cannot say in the presence of his brother
is backbiting. If someone says: ‘Brother so-and-so is fine and good, but he
lacks diligence and discretion’, that is backbiting. As for passing judge-
ment, if one says: ‘That brother is a wheeler-dealer and fond of money’,
that is judging, for you condemned his behaviour; this is worse than
backbiting.”
N.418
An elder spoke of a holy man who, although he had not learnt the psalms
from anybody nor the prayers of the holy mysteries (for he had been
considered worthy of the priesthood on account of his great love for God),
he knew them all as if he had learnt them. He became extremely virtuous
and used to perform healings. He also had this extraordinary accomplish-
ment: during the sixty years of his monastic life he neither set eyes on a
woman nor ever cut the hair of his head. When he was dying, he became
aware of it three days in advance. Summoning his disciples, he announced
this to them then, on the third day, he died.
419. Ἔλεγεν ἀδελφός τις ὅτι οἶδα γέροντα εἰς ὄρος καθήμενον μὴ
λαμβάνοντα τίποτε παρά τινος, ἀλλὰ ἔχων1 μικρὸν ὕδωρ ἐφιλοκάλει τὸ
λάχανον αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦτο διῃτᾶτο ἔτη πεντήκοντα, μηδέποτε ἐξελθὼν τοῦ
προτειχίσματος. Ἐγένετο δὲ ὀνομα[f. 253ra]στὸς διὰ τὰς πολλὰς ἰάσεις ἃς
ἐποίει καθεκάστην τῶν ἐρχομένων πρὸς αὐτόν. Κοιμᾶται δὲ ἐν εἰρήνῃ
καταλιπὼν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ μαθητὰς πέντε.
420. Ἔλεγεν ἀδελφός τις ὅτι ἠρώτησα γέροντα τί ποιήσω τῇ ἀμελείᾳ

μου καὶ λέγει μοι ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ ἐκριζώσῃς τὴν μικρὰν βοτάνην2 ἥτις
ἐστὶν ἡ ἀμέλεια, μέγα ἕλος γίνεται.
421. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ
ἀγωνιζομένου ἔβλεπε τοὺς δαίμονας ὄψιν πρὸς ὄψιν καὶ ἦν κατευτελίζων
αὐτοὺς διὰ τὸ ἀγωνίζεσθαι αὐτόν. Βλέπων δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἑαυτὸν ἡττώ-
μενον ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος, ἐλθὼν ἐνεφάνισεν ἑαυτὸν λέγων· Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ
Χριστός. Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων [f. 253rb] ἐκάμμυσε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς
αὐτοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος· Τί καμμύεις τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου; Ἐγώ
εἰμι ὁ Χριστός. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ τὸν Χριστὸν οὐ θέλω
ἰδεῖν ὧδε. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Ἀπὸ οὖν πολλῆς
ταπεινώσεως ἐχαρίσατο αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς τὸ διορατικόν. Γνοὺς δὲ ὁ γέρων
ὅτε ἐλθεῖν τινὰς εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν αὐτοῦ, ἐδεήθη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἵνα ἀρθῇ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
Καὶ ἀπελθὼν πρὸς ἄλλον γέροντα μέγαν παρεκάλει αὐτὸν λέγων· Συγ-
κακοπάθησόν μοι, ἵνα ἀρθῇ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ καθίσαντες ἕκαστος
ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ ἐδεήθησαν τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ τοῦ3 πράγματος. Ἦλθεν
οὖν φωνὴ τῷ γέροντι λέγουσα· Ἴδε, αἴρω αὐτῷ ἀπὸ σοῦ [f. 253va]4 ἀλλ’
ὅτ’ ἂν θέλεις ἔχεις αὐτό.5
422. Ἀδελφὸς ἦλθεν ἀπὸ Σκήτεως πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀνόφωρ καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Πέμπει με6 ὁ πατήρ μου διακονῆσαι καὶ φοβοῦμαι διὰ τὴν πορ-
νείαν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οἵᾳ7 ὥρᾳ ἔρχεταί σοι ὁ πειρασμός, εἰπέ· Ὁ
Θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου βοήθει μοι καὶ ἐξελοῦ με. Μιᾶς οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν
παρθένος τις ἔκλεισε τὴν θύρα ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ καὶ βοήσας φωνῂ μεγάλῃ
εἶπεν· Ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ πατρός μου βοήθησόν μοι. Καὶ εὐθέως εὑρέθη εἰς τὴν
ὁδὸν τῆς Σκήτεως.
1
ἔχων] ἔχον C 2
βοτάνην] κοτάνην C 3
τοῦ] om C 4
Folio 253v vix leg.
5
ἀλλ’ ὅτ’ ἂν θέλεις ἔχεις αὐτό] S solus [?] 6
πέμπει με] om C 7
οἵᾳ] om C
N.419–22 269
N.419/4.99
A brother said: “I know of an elder living on a mountain who accepted
nothing from anybody. Having a little water supply, he used to cultivate
his own vegetables and that was how he lived for fifty years, never
venturing beyond the garden wall. He became known for the many cures
that he used to perform each day on those who came to him. He fell asleep
in peace, leaving behind five disciples in that place.”
N.420/11.100 and 21.45

A brother said that he asked an elder: “What should I do about my
negligence?” “Unless you root out the little weed (negligence, that is) it
will become a great source of irritation”, came the reply.
N.421 (cf. N.393)

They said of an elder that, while he was staying in his cell, fighting the good
fight, he used to see demons face to face and ridicule them by putting up
such a good fight. Seeing that he was worsted by the elder, the devil came
and showed himself saying: “I am Christ”, but the elder closed his eyes on
seeing him. “Why are you closing your eyes? I am Christ!” the devil said. In
reply the elder said to him: “I have no wish to see Christ here [in this life]”,
and, on hearing that, the devil disappeared. Now, as a result of his great
humility, God granted this man the gift of second sight. When the elder
became aware that people were coming to visit him, he begged God to take
[the gift] away from him. He went off to another great elder and entreated
him, saying: “Mortify yourself together with me, that this thing be taken
away from me.” They remained each one in his cell, interceding with God
about this thing; then there came a voice to the elder telling him: “Yes, I am
taking it away from you but, whenever you desire it, you shall have it.”
N.422
A brother came from Scete to Abba Anophôr and said to him: “My father
is sending me on an errand and I am afraid [of falling into] porneia.”
“Whenever temptation comes upon you,” the elder told him, “say: ‘God of
my father, help me and deliver me.’” There came a day when a virgin
closed the door on him.* Crying out with a loud voice, he said: “God of
my father, help me!” and he promptly found himself on the road to Scete.
* i.e. she shut the two of them up together.
423. Ἐκαθέζετο γέρων ἔτη πολλὰ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἐκοπία πάνυ.
Παραβαλόντες δὲ αὐτῷ ἀδελφοὶ ἐθαύμαζον λέγοντες· Πῶς καρτερεῖς ἐν τῷ
τόπῳ τούτῳ1 ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· [f. 253vb] Ὅλος ὁ χρόνος τοῦ κόπου οὗ
ἐποίησα, οὔπω μιᾶς ὥρας τῆς κολάσεως ἐστίν.
424. Ἄλλος γέρων ἐλθὼν καὶ εὑρὼν ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν2 χάρακα καλάμων
ἡσυχάζοντα ἐκάθισεν καὶ κόπτων φυλλίδια ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἔπλεκε σειρὰν
καὶ ἔβαλλεν εἰς τὸν ποταμόν. Οὕτως ἐποίει, ἕως οὗ ἦλθον οἱ ἄνθρωποι καὶ
εἶδον αὐτόν. Καὶ τότε ἀναστὰς ἀνεχώρησεν. Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τὸ χρῄζειν
εἰργάζετο, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν κόπον καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν.
425. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ἡ κέλλα αὐτοῦ φωτεινὴ ὑπῆρχε
καθάπερ ἡμέρα καὶ ὥσπερ ἀνεγίνωσκε καὶ εἰργάζετο ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ οὕτως
καὶ ἐν τῇ νυκτί.
426. Ἐξῆλθεν εἷς τῶν γερόντων εἰς τοὺς ἀδελφούς, καὶ ἦν παρθένος καὶ
οὐκ ᾔδει ὅλως εἰ ἐκτί[f. 254ra]σθη πορνεία. Καὶ ἀναβλέψας ἰδεῖν3 τοῖς
ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ὁρᾷ τοὺς δαίμονας κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ ὡς Αἰθίοπας, κινοῦντας
αὐτῷ τὸ πάθος. Καὶ αὐτὸς ἔλεγεν ὅτι τὸ μέλος τοῦτο ἔχει ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃν
τρόπον τὸ καυκάλιον ἔχει τὸ μασθὶ εἰς τὸ προχωρεῖν τὸ ὕδωρ ἢ καὶ
χαλάσαι, ὁμοίως παραπέμπει4 τὸ ὕδωρ ὁ μασθός, οὕτως οὖν5 καὶ τὸ
μέλος τοῦτο προχωρεῖ τὸ ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἔπεσε λίθος
ἀπὸ τῆς στέγης καὶ ἤκουσε φωνὴν γλυκεῖαν.6 Καὶ ὡς ἐπηκολούθησεν ὁ
λογισμὸς μικρόν, καὶ ἀναστὰς ἦλθε πρὸς ἕνα τῶν γερόντων καὶ διηγήσατο
αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι ἐγὼ τί ἐστι τοῦτο καὶ
ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Ποιμένα. Καὶ διηγήσατο αὐτῷ τὸ
πρᾶγμα. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν [f. 254rb]· Εἶδες τοὺς δαίμονας καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πέσας
ἔστιν ὁ διάβολος7 καὶ ἡ φωνὴ ἣν ἤκουσας, αὕτη8 ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιθυμία.9
Πρόσεχε οὖν σεαυτῷ καὶ δεήθητι τοῦ Κυρίου ἵνα σοι βοηθήσῃ καὶ
παρέλθῃς τὸν πόλεμον. Καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν πῶς ἀγωνίσασθαι πρὸς τοὺς
δαίμονας καὶ ποιήσας εὐχὴν ἀπέλυσεν αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὸ κελλίον
ἑαυτοῦ ἠγωνίσατο δεόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς προκόψαι
οὕτως ὥστε, εἰ συνέβη ἀδελφὸν τελευτᾶν,10 ἐπληροφορεῖτο εἰ καλῶς ἦν ἡ
ψυχή αὐτοῦ ἢ κακῶς.
1
τούτῳ] τοῦτο C 2
ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμὸν εὑρὼν] om C 3
ἰδεῖν] om C
4
ὁμοίως παραπέμπει]παραπέμπει ὁμοίως S 5
οὖν] om C
6
φωνὴν γλθκεῖαν] φωνῆς γλυκεῐας S 7
ὁ πέσας ἔστιν ὁ διάβολος] ὁ πεσῶν ὁ διάβολος ἔστιν S
8
αὕτη] om S 9
ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιθυμία] ἡ ἐπιθυμία ἐστιν S
10
ἀδελφὸν τελευτᾶν] τελευτᾶν ἀδελφόν C
N.423–6 271
N.423 (cf. N.193)

An elder dwelt in the desert for many years, toiling mightily. Some
brothers who were visiting him said in their amazement: “How can you
stand living in this place, abba?” But he said: “The entire time of the
labour I have accomplished does not amount to one hour of punishment.”
N.424/2.32
Another elder came to the river and, finding a quiet reed-bed, he settled
there. Cutting some shoots at the river he would braid some rope and then
throw it into the river. He went on doing this until people came and saw
him, at which he got up and moved on. He did not work because he
needed to, but for the effort [he made] and for hêsychia.
N.425
They used to say of one elder that his cell was as bright as day and that he
used to read and work as well at night as by day.
N.426
One of the elders went out to [join] the brothers when he was a virgin and
totally unaware that porneia had been created. Lifting up his eyes he beheld
demons like Ethiopians around him, stimulating his desire. He said that
man has that member the same as a bottle has a spout: to pass water then
to retain [?] it. As the spout channels out the water, so the member
channels water out of a man. Then a stone fell from the roof and he heard
a sweet voice. As the thought of this went with him for a little while, he
arose and came to an elder, telling him of the matter. “I do not understand
what this is”, the elder said, and he sent him to Abba Poemen. The man
told him of the matter. “You have seen demons”, he said; “the fallen stone
is the devil, the voice that you heard, that is desire. Pay close attention to
yourself; beg the Lord to help you and you will survive the warfare.” He
showed him how to struggle against the demons then, having offered a
prayer, sent him on his way. The man struggled manfully on returning to
his cell, beseeching God; and God granted him to make such progress that,
if a brother happened to die, he was given certain knowledge of whether
his soul was in a good condition or a bad one.
427. Εἶπέν τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι πολλά ἐστι τὰ τῆς πορνείας πάθη.
Λέγει γὰρ ὁ1 ἀπόστολος ὅτι πορνεία ἢ ἀκαθαρσία ἢ πλεονεξία μηδὲ
ὀνομαζέσθω ἐν ὑμῖν καθὼς πρέπει ἁγίοις, ὅτι ἡ πορνεί[f. 254va]α ἐστὶ τὸ
ποιῆσαι εἰς τὸ σῶμα τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἡ δὲ ἀκαθαρσία τὸ ψηλαφᾶν τὸ σῶμα,
ὁ γέλως τε καὶ ἡ παρρησία. Πολλάκις δὲ καὶ διαλεγόμενος, εἴτε ἀπὸ
ἀγαθοῦ ὡς ἀπὸ δικαιώματος εἴτε καὶ μαχόμενος, πληροῖς τὴν ἀκαθαρσίαν
καὶ αὔξει τὸ πάθος καὶ εἰς πόλεμον ἔρχεται. Ἄρχεται δὲ ὡς ἀπὸ δικαιώ-
ματος εὐλαβείας χάριν λέγων· Καλὸς ὁ ἀδελφός, ἡσυχίαν ἄγει, κτᾶται
παρρησίαν ἐσθίειν τε2 καὶ πίνειν καὶ εἰς παχύτερα ἔρχεται, πολλάκις καὶ τὸ
ὁμοθυμαδὸν εἶναι καὶ λοιπὸν ζῆλος. Ἐὰν δὲ οἰκῇ μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ ἴδῃ τινὰ
ὁμιλοῦντα αὐτῷ θλίβεται λέγων· Τί θέλεις μετὰ ἄλλων ὁμιλεῖν; Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ
μόνος οἰκῇ καὶ παραβάλλῃ αὐτῷ ἄλλος [f. 254vb] ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἴδῃ αὐτὸν
παρρησιαζόμενον μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ εὐθέως πάλιν ταράσσεται λέγων· Τί ἆρα
θέλει μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ; καὶ λοιπὸν εἰς ταῦτα ἀσχολεῖται ἡ ψυχή, καὶ ὁ λογισμὸς
σκοτίζεται ἀπὸ τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ τῆς ἡσυχίας καὶ τοῦ φόβου τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἔλεγε
δὲ πάλιν ὅτι πολλάκις καὶ ἀπὸ θεοσεβείας καὶ διορθώσεως διαλεγόμενος
πληροῖ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ παρερχομένου αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ ὀσμῆς
ἱματίων ἐκπληροῖ τὸ πάθος. Ὀφείλει οὖν νήφειν ὁ μοναχὸς ἐφ᾿ ἑκάστης
ὥρας, ἵνα μὴ διὰ τὴν χαυνότητα προστιθῇ τὸν κόπον διὰ τὸ ζημιοῦσθαι
αὐτὸν εἰς ταῦτα τὰ πάθη.
428. Ἔλεγέ τις γέρων3 περὶ τῶν λογισμῶν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῶν γενομέ-
νων ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ μὴ συντελουμένων· [f. 255ra] Ὥσπερ ἐάν τις ἴδῃ
ἀμπελῶνα καὶ ἐπιθυμήσῃ ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ φαγεῖν σταφυλήν, φοβεῖται
δὲ εἰσελθεῖν καὶ κλέψαι μήποτε πιασθῇ καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, ἐὰν δὲ ἔξω τοῦ
φραγμοῦ πιασθῇ, οὐκ ἀποθνῄσκει, ὅτι οὔτε εἰσῆλθεν οὔτε ἐγεύσατο, ἀλλὰ
μόνον ἐπεθύμησεν. Οὐ μέντοι ἀποθνῄσκει, πληγὰς δὲ λαμβάνει ὅτι ὅλως
ἐπεθύμησεν.
429. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων ὅτι πολεμοῦμαι ὑπὸ τῆς πορ-
νείας. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ μὲν καλόν ἐστιν, διατί ἀπέστης ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ,
εἰ δὲ σαπρόν, διατί ἐπιζητεῖς αὐτό;
1
ὁ] ὁ θεῖος S 2
τε] om S 3
γέρων] τῶν γερόντων S
N.427–9 273
N.427 (cf. N.5.51)

One of the fathers said: “Many are the passions of porneia, for the apostle
proclaims: ‘Porneia, impurity and covetousness, let them not even be
mentioned amongst you, as is fitting for saints’ [Eph 5:3]. For porneia is
sinning against the body, while impurity means titillation of the body,
laughter and licentious talking. Often you commit [the sin of] impurity in
the course of a conversation that might be beneficial and justified, or
contentious in nature; then the passion is enflamed and warfare ensues.
One begins with a justification for the sake of piety, saying: ‘The brother is
good; he lives in hêsychia; he gives himself licence to eat and drink’, then it
gets coarser: often common consent exists, then there is jealousy. If he lives
with a brother, he is upset when he sees somebody else talking to him,
saying: ‘Why do you want to speak with others?’ Or, if he is living alone
and is visited by another brother whom he sees talking freely with him,
again he is immediately troubled, saying: ‘What do you want with him?’
Then the soul becomes obsessed with this matter and the mind is dis-
tracted from prayer, from hêsychia and from the fear of God.” He also said:
“Often too one fulfils the passion by speaking of godliness and behaving
correctly; often too, when returning from an encounter, from the scent of
clothing. Therefore a monk must be on his guard at all times, in order not
to add to his toil through slackness and being damaged in these passions.”
N.428
Concerning those covetous desires that arise in the heart but are not
carried out, an elder said: “It is like when a person sees a vineyard and
heartily desires to eat a bunch of grapes but is afraid to go in and steal
them, in case he is arrested and put to death. If, however, one is arrested
outside the enclosure, he is not put to death, because he has neither gone
in nor tasted [the fruit]; he has merely coveted it. He is not put to death,
but he is beaten for having nevertheless desired it.”
N.429
A brother enquired of an elder saying: “I am embattled by porneia.” “If it is
good,” said the elder, “why did you recoil from it? If it is filthy, why go
looking for it?”
430. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι περιπατῶν εὗρεν ἴχνος γυναικὸς
ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ ἐκάλυψεν αὐτὸ λέγων· Μήπως ἴδῃ αὐτὸ ἀδελφὸς καὶ
πόλεμον λάβῃ.
431. Ἀδελφὸς [f. 255rb] ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι
ἡ κοιλία μου θλίβει με καὶ οὐ δύναμαι αὐτὴν καταλῦσαι καὶ λοιπὸν
στρηνιᾷ1 τὸ σῶμα μου; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ μὴ βάλλῃς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ
φόβον καὶ νηστείαν, οὐκ ὀρθοποδεῖς εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἤνεγκεν
αὐτῷ παραβολὴν τοιαύτην· ὅτι ἄνθρωπός τις εἶχεν ὄνον καὶ ὡς ἐκαθέζετο
αὐτὸν καὶ περιεπάτει, περιέφερεν αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ὧδε καὶ ὧδε.
Καὶ λαβὼν ῥάβδον2 ἔτυπτεν αὐτὸν. Ἔλεγε δὲ αὐτῷ ἡ ὄνος· Μὴ δέρε με
καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ὀρθοποδῶ. Καὶ ὡς προέκοψε μικρὸν κατῆλθεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς
καὶ ἔθηκε τὴν ῥάβδον ἐν τῷ δισακίῳ ἐπάνω τῆς ὄνου. Καὶ οὐκ οἶδεν ἡ ὄνος
ὅτι ἐπάνω αὐτῆς ἐστὶν ἡ ῥάβδος. Καὶ ὡς εἶδε τὸν κύριον αὐτῆς μὴ [f. 255va]
βαστάζοντα τὴν ῥάβδον κατεφρόνησεν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤρξατο περιφέρεσθαι
ὧδε καὶ ἐκεῖ ἐν τοῖς σπορίμοις. Ἔδραμεν δὲ ὁ κύριος αὐτῆς καὶ λαβὼν τὴν
ῥάβδον ἔτυψεν αὐτήν, ἕως οὗ ὠρθοπόδησεν. Οὕτως ἐστὶ καὶ περὶ σώμα-
τος καὶ κοιλίας.
432. Ἀνὴρ ἅγιος θεωρήσας ἕτερον ἁμαρτάνοντα δακρύσας εἶπεν·

Οὗτος3 σήμερον πάντως ὅτι κἀγὼ αὔριον, πλὴν κἄν ὅπως ἁμάρτῃ ἐπὶ
παρουσίᾳ σου τις, μὴ κρίνῃς αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἔχε ἑαυτὸν ἁμαρτωλότερον
αὐτοῦ, κἄν κοσμικὸς εἴη, πάρεξ τοῦ εἰς Θεὸν προσκρούσαντος.
433. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν ὅτι ἐὰν λέγῃς τινὶ περὶ ζωῆς λόγον, μετὰ κατανύξ-
εως καὶ δακρύων εἰπὲ τῷ ἀκούοντι, ἐπεὶ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃς
ἀνωφελὴς μένων ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις [f. 255vb] λόγοις ἄλλους βουλόμενος σώζειν.
1
στρηνιᾷ] στρινιᾷ C 2
ῥάβδον] τὴν ῥάβδον S 3
Οὗτος] Οὕτως C
N.430–3 275
N.430
They said of an elder that, when he came across a woman’s footprint on
the road as he walked along, he covered it up, saying: “In case a brother
sees it and has an attack [of temptation].”
N.431 (cf. 4.100)

A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do, abba, for my belly is afflicting
me and I cannot put it down. As a result, my body is running riot.” The
elder said to him: “You will not travel the way of God correctly until you
impose fear and fasting on it” – and he related a parable something like
this: “A man had an ass and, when he was sitting on it and going around,
the ass would carry him hither and thither down the road; so, taking a
stick, he beat the ass. The ass said to the man: ‘Do not beat me: I will walk
in a straight line from now on.’ After he had gone a little way, the man
dismounted and put the stick in the bag on the ass – and the ass did
not know what was on it[s back]. When it saw the owner was no longer
stick-in-hand, the ass despised him and began wandering here and there
and into the crops too. Its owner ran and got out the stick; then he beat it
until it walked along in a straight line. That is how it is with the body and
the belly.”
N.432 ¼ N.396a
A holy man wept when he saw another person sinning, saying: “It is him
today and me, no doubt, tomorrow.” If it happens that somebody com-
mits a sin in your presence, do not judge him. Rather, provided he has not
offended against God, hold yourself to be more sinful than him even if he
is a worldling.
N.433 (cf. 21.55 ¼ N.396b)

The same [elder] said: “If you say something about life to somebody, speak
to your hearer with grief for sin and in tears. Otherwise, say nothing, lest
desiring to save others, you die deriving no benefit from words that are not
to the point.”
434. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ὁ κύων κρείττων1 μου ἐστίν, διότι2 ἀγάπην ἔχει
καὶ εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται.
435. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὅπου ὑπάγεις, πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ διαπαντός,3 ὅτι

τοῦ ἐρωδιοῦ ἡ κατοικία ἡγεῖται αὐτῶν, τουτέστιν, ὁ μοναχὸς ὅπου ὑπάγει
κατοικία αὐτοῦ ἐστίν. Σπούδαζε οὖν ποιεῖν τὸν κανόνα σου καὶ τὰς ὥρας
καὶ τὰ ἑσπερινά, καὶ τῶν ἐννοιῶν μὴ ἀμέλει. Πάντοτε θλίψιν ἔχε πρὸ
ὀφθαλμῶν σου. Ταῦτα δὲ ἄνευ κόπου πολλοῦ κατορθωθῆναι οὐ δύναται.
436. Εἶπεν γέρων· Γενοῦ ὡς κάμηλος βαστάζων τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου, καὶ
δεδεμένος ἀκολουθῶν τῷ ἐπισταμένῳ τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
437. Εἶπέν τις τῶν ἁγίων ὅτι τὰ μικρὰ περιφρονοῦντες εἰς μεγά
[f. 256ra]λα ἐμπίπτομεν κακά. Σκόπει τὸ λεχθὲν οἷόν τι λέγω. Ἐγέλασέ
τις ἀκαίρως, ἐνεκάλεσεν ἕτερος, ἄλλος ἔλυσε τὸν φόβον εἰπών· Οὐδὲν παρὰ
τοῦτο. Τί γάρ ἐστι τὸ γελᾶν; Λοιπὸν οὖν ἀπὸ τούτου εὐτραπελία ἐτέχθη,
ἐντεῦθεν αἰσχρολογία, ἐντεῦθεν αἰσχραὶ4 πράξεις καὶ παρανομίαι. Οὕτως
οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι μικρῶν τὰ μεγάλα εἰσάγει ὁ πονηρός, ἀπὸ
δὲ τῶν μεγάλων τὸ ἀπογινώσκειν. Τοῦτο δὲ δυσσεβὲς καὶ χαλεπόν. Οὐ
γὰρ οὕτως τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ὡς τὸ ἀπογινώσκειν ἀπόλλυσιν. Ὁ γὰρ μετα-
νοήσας διορθοῦται τὸ σφάλμα, ὁ δὲ ἀπογνοὺς ἀπόλλυται. Μὴ οὖν τὰ
μικρὰ περιφρονῶμεν, μετὰ δόλου γὰρ προσβάλλει, ἐπεί, φανερῶς εἰ ἐπο-
λέμει, εὔκολος ἦν ἡ μάχη [f. 256rb] καὶ ῥαδία ἡ νίκη. Μᾶλλον δέ, ἐὰν
νήφωμεν, νῦν εὔκολός ἐστιν. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς καθώπλισεν ἡμᾶς ποθῶν μηδὲ
τῶν μικρῶν ἡμᾶς καταφρονεῖν. Ἄκουσον5 τί παραινεῖ λέγων· Ὁ εἰπὼν τῷ
ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν, καὶ ὁ ὀφθαλμοῖς ἀκο-
λάστοις ἰδὼν μοιχός ἐστιν. Καὶ τοὺς γελῶντας ταλανίζει καὶ περὶ ἀργοῦ
ῥήματος λόγον ἀπαιτεῖ, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ ἐννοίας παίδων ἐθεράπευεν.
Ταῦτα οὖν εἰδότες ἀσφαλισώμεθα ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὰς προσβολὰς καὶ οὐ μὴ
πέσωμεν ποτέ.
1
κρείττων] κρεῖττον C 2
διότι] ὅτι S
3
Ὅπου. . . διαπαντός] πρόσεχε ἑαυτῷ διὰ παντός ὅπουπερ ἂν ὑπάγεις S
4
αἰσχραὶ] αἱ αἰσχραὶ S 5
Ἄκουσον] Ἄκουσον γοῦν S
N.434–7 277
N.434 = N.397
An elder said: “A dog is better than me, for a dog has love and does not go
passing judgement.”
N.435
An elder said: “Pay attention to yourself all the time, wherever you go, for
‘The dwelling-place of the heron is their guide’ [Ps 103:17], meaning that
wherever the monk goes, that is his dwelling-place. So be diligent in
observing your rule [of prayer]: the hours and the evening office. Keep a
tight rein on your thoughts; always have affliction before your eyes. These
things cannot be correctly accomplished without considerable effort.”
N.436
An elder said: “Be like a camel, bearing your sins and following one to
whom you are tied who understands the way of God.”
N.437
One of the saints said: “If we underestimate small evils, we fall into large
ones. Consider what I mean by this saying: somebody laughed inappropri-
ately; a second person brought a charge while a third threw off restraint,
saying: ‘[He means] nothing by this; what does laughing matter?’ And so
witticism was born from that; from that, shameful talk and, from that,
shameful deeds and transgressions. In this way the evil one induces great
[evils] from those that seem to be small; and from great evils one falls into
despair, which is godless and burdensome; for to sin is not so destructive as
to despair. The one who repents corrects his fault, but he who despairs is
lost. So let us not underestimate the little faults, for the evil one proposes
them with guile. If he prosecuted the war openly, the fight would be
straightforward and victory easily attained. God has armed us in the hope
that we would not underestimate even small matters. He advises by saying:
‘Whosoever shall say to his brother fool shall be in danger of hell fire’ [cf.
Mt 5:22] and he who looks with lusting eyes is an adulterer [cf. Mt 5:28].
God calls those who laugh wretched and he demands a reckoning for an
idle word [cf. Mt 12:36]. That is why Job would correct the thoughts of
[his] children [cf. Job 1:5]. So as we are aware of these things, let us fortify
ourselves against attacks and never fall.”
438. Εἶπεν γέρων· Διὰ τοῦτο οὐ προκόπτωμεν, οὐδὲ ἐπιστάμεθα τὰ
μέτρα ἑαυτῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχομεν ὑπομονὴν ἐν ᾧ ἀρχόμεθα ἔργῳ, ἀλλὰ
ἀπόνως θέλομεν [f. 256va] ἀρετὴν κτήσασθαι, καὶ ἀπὸ τόπων εἰς τόπους1
μεταβαίνομεν νομίζοντες ὅτι εὑρίσκομεν τόπον, ὅπου οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ
διάβολος.
439. Ἀδελφὸς εὗρεν ξύλον ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἀποπεπτωκὸς ἀπὸ τῆς καμήλου

καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸ2 εἰς τὸ κελλίον. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς αὐτοῦ· Πόθεν
ἤνεγκας αὐτό; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ μὲν ἦν3
ἐλαυνόμενον ὑπὸ ἀνέμου, φέρε αὐτὸ ἔσω, εἰ δὲ μή, ὕπαγε θὲς αὐτὸ εἰς τὸν
τόπον αὐτοῦ.
440. Μονάζων τις ἦν μὴ ἐργαζόμενος τὸ σύνολον, ἀδιαλείπτως δὲ

προσευχόμενος. Καθεσπέραν οὖν εἰσῄει εἰς τὸ κελλίον καὶ εὕρισκε τὸν
ἄρτον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤσθιεν. Ἄλλος δὲ μοναχὸς παρέβαλεν αὐτῷ ἔχων μέρ-
ιμνα,4 καὶ ἐποίησε [f. 256vb] τὸν γέροντα ἐργάσασθαι τὰ σεβένινα.
Ἑσπέρας δὲ γενομένης εἰσῆλθε κατὰ τὴν συνήθειαν φαγεῖν καὶ οὐδὲν
εὗρεν. Κοιμᾶται οὖν λυπούμενος καὶ ἀποκαλύπτεται5 αὐτῷ ὅτι, ὅτε μετ᾿
ἐμοῦ ἐσχόλαζες, ἔθρεψά6 σε, ὅτε δὲ ἤρξω ἐργάζεσθαι, ἐκ τοῦ ἐργοχείρου
σου ζήτησον τὴν τροφήν σου.
440bis.7 Γέρων τις ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ εἶχε παῖδα πλησίον σχολάζοντα·

ἐπισκοπὴν δὲ αυτοῦ ποιησάμενος, εἶδεν αὐτὸν εὐχόμενον καὶ ἀξιοῦντα
τὸν δεσπότην ἵνα εἰρηνεύσῃ μίαν τῶν θηρίων. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχήν, οὔσης
πλησίον ὑέννης θηλαζούσης τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς, ὑπέθηκεν ὁ παῖς ἑαυτὸν καὶ
ἤρξατο ἐσθίειν μετ’ αὐτῶν. Ἄλλοτε πάλιν εἶδεν αὐτὸν εὐχόμενον καὶ
ἀξιούντα τὸν Θεὸν ὅτι δός μοι χάρισμα τῷ πυρὶ φιλιάσαι · κὰι ποιήσας
πυράν, ἔκλινα τὰ γόνατα αὐτοῦ μέσον τῆς πυρός, προσευχόμενος τῷ
Θεῷ.
1
τόπων εἰς τόπους] τόπου εἰς τόπον S 2
αὐτὸ] αὐτὸν C 3
ἦν] οὖν S
4
μέριμνα] σεβένινα S 5
ἀποκαλύπτεται] ἀποκαλύφθη S 6
ἔθρεψά] ἔτρεφόν S
7
440bis: non invenitur apud Coislin.
N.438–40 279
N.438
An elder said: “The reason why we make no progress and have no
understanding of our [spiritual] status is this: that we fail to persevere in
the task we begin. We wish to acquire virtue effortlessly; we move around
from place to place, thinking we are finding a place where there is no
devil.”
N.439
A brother found a piece of wood by the wayside that had fallen off a camel
and he brought it to his cell. His abba said to him: “Where did you bring
that from?” “By the roadside”, he replied. “If it was brought by the wind,
carry it inside”, the elder told him; “if not, go and put it [back] in its
place.”
N.440
There was a monk who did not work at all, praying without ceasing. Each
evening he would go into his cell and, finding his bread [there], would eat.
Another monk came visiting him bearing palm fronds; he obliged the elder
to work the palm fronds. But when evening came, he went in to eat as
usual and found nothing. So he went to sleep grieving and this was
revealed to him: “When you were passing your time with me, I used to
nourish you. But since you have begun working, look to the labour of your
hands for your food.”
N.440bis
An elder in the desert had a servant who passed his days nearby. Paying
him a visit, he saw him praying and interceding with the Lord that he
might tame one of the wild beasts. After the prayer, as there was a hyena
nearby suckling her young, the servant lay himself down and began
feeding with them. On another occasion, again he saw him praying
and interceding with God to be given the grace of being reconciled with
fire; whereupon, having made a pyre, he knelt down in the midst of it,
praying to God.
441. Μονάζων τις ἦν1 ὑφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἔχων ἄλλον μονάζοντα καὶ ἦν ἐν
κελλίῳ ἀπὸ δέκα μιλίων2 αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ λογισμὸς αὐτῷ3 καλέσαι
τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ,4 ἵνα ἔλθῃ καὶ λάβῃ τὸν ἄρτον. Καὶ πάλιν
ἐλογίσατο ὅτι διὰ τὸν ἄρτον ἔχω σκύλαι τὸν ἀδελφόν μου δέκα μίλια;
Μᾶλλον ἀπενέγκω αὐτῷ τὸ ἥμισυ τοῦ ἄρτου. Καὶ λαβὼν ἀπῄει5 εἰς τὸ
κελλίον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ [f. 257ra]. Καὶ ὡς ὑπῆγεν προσέκρουσεν εἰς τὸν
δάκτυλον αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποδός,6 καὶ ἐξερχομένου τοῦ αἵματος ἤρξατο ὁ
μονάζων κλαίειν7 ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου. Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος ἦλθε λέγων αὐτῷ·
Τί κλαίεις; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ μονάζων· Τὸν δάκτυλον ἐπλήγην8 καὶ πονῶ.
Ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγελος· Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κλαίεις; Μὴ κλαῖε. Kαὶ γὰρ τὰ
βήματα ἃ ποιεῖς διὰ τὸν Κύριον9 ἀριθμοῦνται καὶ εἰς πολὺν μισθὸν
πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ φαίνονται. Καὶ ἵνα γνῷς, ἰδοὺ ἔμπροσθέν
σου αἵρω ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματός σου καὶ ἀναφέρω πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. Τότε
εὐχαριστῶν ὥδευε πρὸς τὸν ἄλλον μοναχόν. Καὶ δοὺς αὐτῷ τὸν ἄρτον,
διηγήσατο αὐτῷ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὴν
ἰδίαν κέλλαν. Πάλιν10 [f. 257rb] μετὰ μίαν ἡμέραν λαβὼν τὸ ἄλλο ἥμισυ τοῦ
ἄρτου ἀπῆλθε πρὸς ἄλλον μοναχόν. Συνέβη δὲ καὶ τὸν ἄλλον μοναχὸν
ζηλώσαντα οὕτως ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸς ἄλλον μοναχὸν11 ἀπελθεῖν. Ὑπήντη-
σαν οὖν ἀλλήλους ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ ἄρχεται ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἀγαθὸν λέγειν
ἐκείνῳ· Θησαυρὸν εἶχον καὶ αὐτὸν ἐζήτησας συλῆσαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
ἄλλος· Ποῦ γέγραπται ὅτι ἡ στενὴ θύρα σὲ μόνον χωρεῖ; Ἔασον καὶ ἡμᾶς
ἅμα σοι εἰσελθεῖν. Καὶ ἐξαίφνης12 λαλούντων αὐτῶν φαίνεται ἄγγελος
Κυρίου καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ἡ ἔρις ὑμῶν ὡς ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας ἀνῆλθε13 πρὸς
τὸν Θεόν.
442. Ἄρχων τις ἔχαιρεν τῇ θέᾳ τῶν κυνηγίων καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ
ἄλλο τι οὐκ ἦν, εἰ μὴ βρωθῆναι τοὺς κυνηγούς. Συνέβη δὲ αὐτὸν ναυα-
γῆσαι [f. 257va] καὶ ἐβόησε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν λέγων· Κύριε, βοήθησόν μοι ἐν
τῇ ἀνάγκῃ ταύτῃ. Καὶ φαίνεται αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος καθόλου τοῦ σώματος
βεβρωμένος καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὕτως μὲ θέλεις ὁρᾶν καὶ πῶς σοὶ βοηθήσω;
1
ἦν] εἶχεν S 2
μιλίων] μηλίων C 3
αὐτῷ] om S 4
αὐτοῦ] om S
5
ἀπῄει] ἀπίει C 6
ποδός] αὐτοῦ add S 7
ὁ μονάζων κλαίειν] κλαίειν ὁ μονάζων S
8
Τὸν δάκτυλον ἐπλήγην] ἐπλήγην τὸν δάκτυλον ὡς ὁραῖς S
9
ποιεῖς διὰ τὸν Κύριον] διὰ τὸν Κύριον ποιεῖς S 10
Πάλιν] δὲ add S
11
ζηλώσαντα οὕτως ποιῆσαι καὶ πρὸς ἄλλον μοναχὸν] om C 12
ἐξαίφνης] ἐξαίφνις C
13
ἀνῆλθε] ἀνέβη Β
N.441–2 281
N.441
There was a monk who had another monk under his authority who was in
a cell ten miles from him. It occurred to the elder to summon his brother
to come and get some bread. He had second thoughts: “Should I put the
brother to the trouble of [coming] ten miles for bread? Should I not rather
take half the bread to him?” So he took it and went to the brother’s cell.
He hit a toe of his foot as he went along; it was bleeding and the monk
began to weep with the pain. Then here there came an angel who asked
him why he was crying. “I have wounded my toe and am in pain”, the
monk told him. “You are crying for that?” said the angel. “Weep not; for
the steps which you are taking for the Lord’s sake are being counted and
they will appear as a great reward in the sight of God. To make you sure of
this, look – I am lifting up some of your blood in front of you and offering
it to God.” [The monk] then continued his journey to the other monk
with a grateful heart. He gave him the bread, told him about the love of
God for mankind and then returned to his own cell.
Again, the following day, he took the other half of the bread and went
off to another monk. It so happened that the other monk, impassioned by
a desire to do likewise, had set off to another monk. They met each other
on the road; the one who had done the good deed started to tell the other:
“I possessed a treasure and you sought to plunder it.” “Where is it written
that the narrow gate has only room for you?” [cf. Mt 7:14] the other said.
“Let us go in together with you” and, suddenly, as they were speaking, an
angel of the Lord appeared and said to them: “Your rivalry has ascended to
God as a sweet-smelling savour.”
N.442
A grandee who delighted in the sight of hunting; his desire was none other
than that the huntsmen be devoured. It came about that he was
shipwrecked and he called upon God, saying: “Lord, give me your aid in
this anguish.” The Lord appeared to him with his body all torn and said to
him: “You wish to see me like this; how will I help you?”
443. Ἦν τις ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἐπολέμει αὐτῷ ὁ λογισμὸς. Εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν1
ὅτι ὀφείλεις ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἐπισκέψασθαι τόνδε τὸν γέροντα, καὶ ὑπερε-
τίθετο ἡμέραν καὶ ἡμέραν λέγων ὅτι αὔριον ὑπάγω. Ἐπὶ τρία οὖν ἔτη
ἐπολέμησε τῷ λογισμῷ. Ὕστερον δὲ λέγει πρὸς τὸν λογισμόν· Ἴδε νόμι-
σον ἀπῆλθον2 πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ λέγει· ‘Καλῶς ὑγιαίνεις, καλόγηρε.
Πόσον χρόνον ἐπεθύμουν ἰδεῖν τὴν ἁγιωσύνην σου.’ Καὶ στήσας λεκάνην
ὑπένιψεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἔλεγεν ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ γέ[f. 257vb]ροντος·
Καλῶς ἦλθες, ἀδελφέ. Συγχώρησόν μοι ὅτι δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἐκοπώθης. Ὁ Κύριος
δώῃ σοι τὸν μισθόν. Καὶ ποιήσας ἑψητὸν ἔφαγε καὶ ἔπιε καλῶς καὶ εὐθέως
ἀνεχώρησεν ὁ πόλεμος ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.
444. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μοναχὸς ἐὰν ὀλίγας ἡμέρας κοπιᾷ καὶ πάλιν
χαυνοῦται, καὶ πάλιν κοπιᾷ καὶ πάλιν ἀμελεῖ, ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐδὲν ποιεῖ,
οὐδὲ κτᾶται ὑπομονήν.
445. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐγὼ οὐχ ἕνεκεν καλῶν3 ἤ ὠφελείας κάθημαι

ἀσθενῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ταλαιπωρίᾳ. Δυνατοὶ γάρ εἰσιν οἱ ὄντες μεταξὺ ἀδελφῶν.
446. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ἐν τόπῳ ᾧ ἔστι τις, ἐὰν δοκιμάσῃ καλόν τι ποιῆσαι
καὶ μὴ ἰσχύσῃ, μὴ νομίσῃ ὅτι ἀλλαχοῦ δύναται ποιῆσαι αὐτό.
447. Εἶπεν ἡ ἀμμᾶς Εὐγενία· Ἐπαι[f. 258ra]τεῖν ἡμῖν συμφέρει καὶ μόνον
μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ εἶναι. Πλούσιος γάρ ἐστι πᾶς ὁ μετὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὤν, κἂν
σωματικῶς ἢ πένης. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ προτιμῶν τῶν πνευματικῶν
ἀμφοτέρων ἐκπεσεῖται, ὁ δὲ τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς
τεύξεται πάντων4 ἀγαθῶν.
1
Εἰπε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν] supplevi 2
ἀπῆλθον] ἀπῆλθα C 3
ἕνεκεν καλῶν] καλῶν ἕνεκεν S
4
τεύξεται πάντων] πάντων ἐπιτεύξεται S
N.443–7 283
N.443
There was a brother who was being embattled by his logismos. “You should
go and visit father so-and-so”, he told himself, but he put it off day after
day, saying: “I will go tomorrow.” For three years he was embattled by his
logismos but, later, he said to the logismos: “Look, suppose I go to the elder,
and he says: ‘Welcome, good monk; I have desired for so long to see your
holiness.’” He set out a bowl, washed himself, then – as if in the person of
the elder – he said: “You are welcome, brother; forgive me that you have
been so fatigued on my account. May the Lord give you your reward.”
Then, having cooked a meal, he ate and drank well; and the battle
immediately receded from him.
N.444
An elder said: “If a monk toils for a few days and then takes his ease, toils
again then slacks off, such a person achieves nothing; neither does he
acquire patient endurance.”
N.445
An elder said: “It is not for the sake of advantages or benefit that I am
weakly sitting [here] in sickness but because of [my] wretchedness; power-
ful are they who are among brothers.”
N.446/10.118
He also said: “If a person resolves to do some good thing but lacks the
strength [to accomplish it] in the place where he is, let him not think that
he can accomplish it elsewhere.”
N.447
Amma Eugenia said: “It is to our advantage to intercede and just to be with
Jesus, for rich is everyone who is with Jesus, even though poor in bodily
terms. For he who prefers the benefits on earth to spiritual ones will lose
them both, while he who longs for heavenly benefits will obtain all the
earthly ones too.”
448. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες ὅτι Παΐσιος, ὁ ἀδελφὸς τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ποιμένος,
εὗρεν μικρὸν σκεῦος ὁλοκοτίνων. Λέγει οὖν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ τῷ
μεγάλῳ, τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀνούβ· Οἶδας ὅτι ὁ λόγος τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ποιμένος σκληρός
ἐστι πάνυ. Ἀλλὰ δεῦρο, κτίζομεν ἑαυτοὺς1 μοναστήριον πούποτε καὶ
καθήμεθα ἐκεῖ ἀμερίμνως. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνούβ· Καὶ πόθεν ἔχομεν
κτῆσαι; Ὁ δὲ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ τὰ [f. 258rb] ὁλοκότινα. Πάνυ δὲ ἐλυπήθη ὁ
ἀββᾶς Ἀνούβ, λογισάμενος ὅτι ζημία εἰσὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῷ2 καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Καλῶς. Ἄγωμεν καὶ κτίζομεν κελλίον πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Ἔλαβεν
οὖν τὸ σκεῦος ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνοὺβ καὶ ἔβαλλεν εἰς τὸ κουκούλιον αὐτοῦ. Ὡς
οὖν περῶσι τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ ἔφθασαν κατὰ τὸ μέσον, ἐποίησεν ἑαυτὸν ὁ
ἀββᾶς Ἀνοὺβ ὡς περιστρεφόμενον, καὶ ἐξέπεσε τὸ κουκούλιον μετὰ τῶν
νομισμάτων εἰς τὸν ποταμόν. Ἤρξατο οὖν ὡς λυπῆσθαι ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνούβ,
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ Παΐσιος· Μὴ λυπηθεῖς, ἀββᾶ. Ἐξότε ἀπῆλθον τὰ ὁλοκό-
τινα, ἄγωμεν πάλιν πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἀνακάμψαντες ἔμειναν3
[f. 258va] μετ᾿ εἰρήνης.
449. Ἐπηρωτήθη γέρων περὶ τῶν ἔτι περιόντων καὶ εὐχὰς ἐξαιτουμέ-
νων παρ᾿ ἑτέρων, αὐτῶν δὲ ἀμελέστερον βιούντων καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο ὅτι
πολὺ μὲν ἰσχύει δέησις δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη. Συνεργοῦντος δὲ4 καὶ συνα-
γωνιζομένου, δῆλον ὅτι5 τοῦ τὴν εὐχὴν αἰτοῦντος καὶ πάσῃ σπουδῇ μετὰ
πόνου καρδίας ἑαυτὸν φυλάττοντος ἀπὸ λογισμῶν καὶ πράξεων
πονηρῶν. Ἐπεί ἂν6 ἀδιαφόρως διάγῃ, οὐδεμία ὠφέλεια7 ἔσται, κἂν ἅγιοι
εὔχονται περὶ αὐτοῦ. Εἷς γάρ, φησιν, οἰκοδομῶν καὶ εἷς καθαιρῶν, τί
ὠφέλησαν ἀμφότεροι ἢ κόπους; Εἴπω δὲ καὶ πρᾶγμα συμβεβηκὸς8 ἐφ᾿
ἡμῶν τοιοῦτον. Ἀββᾶς τις ἅγιος, κοινοβίου πατήρ, ἐν πάσῃ [f. 258vb]
ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένος, μάλιστα ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ καὶ ἐπιεικείᾳ, ἦν δὲ καὶ
ἐλεήμων καὶ συμπαθής, καὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ ὑπερβάλλων πολλούς. Οὗτος ἐδέετο
τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγων· Κύριε, οἶδα ἐμαυτὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ὄντα, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τοὺς
οἰκτιρμούς σου ἐλπίζω σωθῆναι διὰ τοῦ ἐλέους σου. Δέομαι οὖν τῆς
ἀγαθότητός σου, δέσποτα, μὴ χωρισθῆναί με τῆς συνοδίας μου μήτε ἐν
τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι, ἀλλὰ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ κακείνους ἀξίωσον τῆς βασιλείας σου
διὰ τὴν ἀγαθότητά σου. Ἀεὶ γὰρ καὶ συνεχῶς ταύτην τὴν εὐχὴν9 ποιου-
μένου, ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς ἐπληροφόρησεν αὐτὸν τοιούτῳ τρόπῳ.
Ἔμελλεν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι μνήμη ἁγίων ἐν ἑτέρῳ μοναστηρίῳ ἀπέχοντι οὐ
πολὺ ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν, καὶ [f. 259ra] παραιτουμένου αὐτοῦ ἀπελθεῖν, ἀκούει
καθ᾿ ὕπνους ὅτι Ἄπελθε. Προαπόστειλον δὲ τοὺς μαθητάς σου, καὶ μετὰ
1
ἑαυτοὺς] ἑαυτοῖς S 2
ἔμειναν] ἐμείναμεν S 4
δὲ] om S
5
συναγωνιζομένου δῆλον ὅτι] δῆλον ὅτι συναγωνιζομένου S 6
ἂν] ἐὰν S
7
ὠφέλεια] ὠφέλια C 8
συμβεβηκὸς] συμβεβηκὼς C 9
εὐχὴν] αὐτοῦ add S
N.448–9 285
N.448
The elders used to say that Paesios, the brother of Abba Poemen, found a
small vessel of coins. So he said to his great brother, Abba Anoub: “As you
know, the teaching of Abba Poemen is very severe, but come: let us build
ourselves a monastery somewhere and live there untroubled.” “With what
can we build it?” said Abba Anoub to him, so he showed him the coins.
Abba Anoub was deeply grieved, considering that these were to the
detriment of his soul. “Very well,” he said; “let us go and build a cell
beyond the river.” So Abba Anoub took the vessel and placed it in his
hood. As they were crossing the river, when they arrived in midstream,
Abba Anoub acted as if he was being swirled away. The hood fell into the
river and with it the pieces of gold. When Abba Anoub began to grieve,
Paesios said to him: “Do not grieve, abba; seeing that the coins have gone
their way, let us return to our brother.” They retraced their steps and
remained at peace.
N.449 BHG 1450d, de coenobiarcha qui pauperem

christum gestabat
An elder was asked about those who still go around requesting prayers of
others while they themselves live too negligently. His answer was that “The
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” [Jas 5:16]. This is
the case when he who is requesting the prayer cooperates and struggles
together with him, making every effort with heart-felt endeavour to guard
himself against evil thoughts and actions. But if he lives indifferently, there
will be no benefit to him whatsoever, even if holy men pray for him; “For,”
he said, “if one man is building while another is destroying, what benefit
did they both achieve other than fatigue?” Let me tell you of some such
event that happened in our time. There was a holy abba, the father of a
coenobion, distinguished by all the virtues, especially by humble mind-
edness and lowliness. He was merciful and compassionate, exceeding many
others in charity. He besought God, saying: “Lord, I know that I am a
sinner, but I hope in your mercy to be saved by your pity. I beseech your
goodness, Lord-and-master, that I be not separated from my community,
not even in the next world; but that, through your goodness, you deem
them also to be worthy of your kingdom.” As he was forever and cease-
lessly offering this prayer, God, the lover of men, gave him assurance in
this way. A commemoration of saints was going to be celebrated at a
monastery not too far distant from theirs and the abba was invited to
τοῦτο μόνος ἀπελεύσῃ. Ὁ οὖν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς πτωχεύσας Χριστός, καὶ πᾶσι1
πάντα γενόμενος, ἵνα πάντας σώσῃ, πτωχοῦ σχῆμα ἀναλαβὼν ἀσθενοῦς
κατὰ μέσων ἔκειτο τῆς ὁδοῦ. Ἐλθόντες δὲ οἱ μαθηταὶ καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὸν
ὀδυρόμενον, ἠρώτων τὴν αἰτίαν. Ὁ δέ φησιν· Ἀσθενής εἰμι, καὶ ἐκαθεζόμην
ζώῳ καὶ ῥίψαν με ἔφυγεν, καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἔχω τὸν ἀντιλαμβανόμενόν μοι.
Οἱ δὲ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτόν· Τί σοι ἔχομεν ποιῆσαι, ἀββᾶ; Ἡμεῖς πεζοί ἐσμεν.
Καὶ ἀφέντες αὐτὸν ἀπῆλθον. Μετὰ μικρὸν ἔρχεται ὁ ἀββᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ
εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν [f. 259rb] κείμενον καὶ στένοντα, καὶ μαθὼν τὴν αἰτίαν λέγει
αὐτῷ· Οὐκ ἦλθον τινὲς μοναχοὶ πρὸ μικροῦ καὶ εὗρόν σε οὕτως; Ὁ δὲ Ναί,
φησίν.2 Ἀλλὰ μαθόντες τὴν αἰτίαν παρῆλθον εἰπόντες· Ἡμεῖς πεζοί ἐσμεν,
τί ἔχομέν σοι ποιῆσαι; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς· Δύνασαι μικρὸν μικρὸν 3
περιπατῆσαι καὶ ὑπάγωμεν; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Οὐ δύναμαι. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Δεῦρο οὖν βαστάσω σε, καὶ βοηθεῖ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ ἀπερχόμεθα. Ὁ δέ φησιν·
Πῶς δύνασαι τοσοῦτον διάστημα; Ἀλλ᾿ ὕπαγε, εὔχου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Ἰδού,
λέγει αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ σὲ ἀφήσω. Ἰδοὺ ἡ πέτρα. Τιθῶ σε καὶ ὑπεισέρχομαι καὶ
βαστάζω σε. Καὶ ἐποίησεν οὕτως. Καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ᾔσθετο ὅσον
ἀνθρώπου ἔχοντος βάρος, εἶτα κουφότε[f. 259va]τερος καὶ ἐλαφρότερος
ἐγένετο, εἶτα πάνυ κούφου γενομένου διηπόρει τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ἄφνω δὲ
ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο ὁ βασταζόμενος καὶ φησὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν ἐκεῖνον διὰ
φωνῆς εἶπεν· Ἐπειδὴ ἀεὶ παρεκάλεις ὑπὲρ τῶν μαθητῶν σου, ὥστε σὺν σοὶ
ἀξιωθῆναι τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἰδοὺ ἄλλα τὰ μέτρα τὰ σὰ καὶ
ἄλλα τὰ ἐκείνων. Πεῖσον οὖν αὐτοὺς ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐργασίαν σου καὶ λήψῃ
τὴν αἴτησιν. Δικαιοκρίτης γάρ εἰμι, ἀποδιδοὺς ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα
αὐτοῦ.
450. Ἀνήρ τις ἦν πλούσιος ἐν τῷ Ἰσραήλ, πλουτίσας ἐκ πλεονεξιῶν καὶ

συκοφαντιῶν καὶ ἀδικιῶν. Οὗτος εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐννοήσας τὴν
κρίσιν, προσελθὼν τῷ διδα[f. 259vb]σκάλῳ ἔφη· Δέομαί σου, ὁ νοῦς μου
αἰχμάλωτος γέγονεν εἰς τὰς γηΐνας τοῦ βίου φροντίδας. Θεράπευσόν με
οὖν, ἵνα μὴ ἀπόλλωμαι. Ὡς δὲ μετέδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν Σοφίαν Σολομῶντος
καὶ ἀναγνοὺς εὗρεν Ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχῶν δανίζει Θεῷ, πτύξας τὸ βιβλίον
ἀπέδωκε τῷ διδασκάλῳ λέγων· Καὶ τίς πιστότερος τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃς κεφάλαια
καὶ τόκους ἀποδώσει μοι, ἐμοῦ ἐλεοῦντος τοὺς πτωχούς; Καὶ ἀπελθὼν
πέπρακε πάντα καὶ διένειμε πτωχοῖς, μηδὲν ἑαυτῷ ἐάσας πλὴν τέσσαρας
χρυσίνους εἰς ἀμφίασιν τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γέγονε πτωχὸς σφόδρα
καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἠλέει. Ὕστερον λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Πορεύομαι εἰς Ἰερουσα-
λήμ, πρὸς Κύριον τὸν θεόν μου [f. 260ra] καὶ διακρίνομαι αὐτῷ, ὅτι
ἐπλάνησέ με διασκορπίσαι τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου. Πορευομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ
1
πᾶσι] πάσῃ C 2
φησίν] ἔφη S 3
μικρὸν] semel C
N.450 287
attend. He heard in a dream: “Go, but send your disciples ahead; after-
wards, you will go alone.” Christ, who became poor for us and all things to
all men so that he might save everybody, took upon himself the appearance
of a sick pauper and lay down in the middle of the road. When the
disciples came and found him wailing, they asked him what was the
reason. “I am sick,” he said, “and was sitting on a beast. It threw me and
made off; see, 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 [there], they went
their way. A little later their abba came by and found him lying groaning.
When he learnt the reason, he said to him: “Did not some monks come by
a little while ago and find you like this?” “Yes,” he said, “but when they
learnt the reason, they went their way, saying: ‘We are on foot; what can
we do for you?’” The abba asked him: “Are you capable of walking just a
little bit, so we can go on?” When he said he could not, [the abba] said to
him: “Come on then, I will carry you and, God being our helper, we will
get on our way.” “How can you do that for such a distance?” he said;
“rather do you go your way and pray for me.” “Look,” said the abba; “I am
not going to leave you. See this stone; I will put you on it then get under
you and carry you”, and that is what he did. At first it felt as though he
were carrying the great weight of the man, then he became lighter and
easier to carry. Then the burden became exceedingly light; he started to
wonder what was happening. Suddenly the one being carried disappeared
and he spoke to that abba audibly, saying: “You were always entreating for
your disciples, that together with you they might be deemed worthy of the
Kingdom of Heaven, but look: your stature is not the same as their stature!
So persuade them to conform to your behaviour and you shall receive your
request, for I am a righteous judge, rewarding each one according to his
works.”
N.450 BHG 1438p, de hebraeo divite

There was a rich man in Israel who had acquired his wealth by extortions,
false denunciations and illicit means. When he came to his right mind and
thought about the judgement, he went to the teacher and said to him:
“I beseech you: my soul has become a slave to the material preoccupations
of life. Heal me so that I am not lost.” In response the teacher gave him the
book of the Wisdom of Solomon and, in reading this, he found [the text]:
“He who takes pity on the poor lends to God” [Prv 19:17*]. He rolled up
the book and gave it back to the teacher saying: “Who is more reliable than
God to pay me back capital and interest if I take pity on the poor?” Off he
εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ εἶδε δύο ἄνδρας μαχομένους πρὸς ἀλλήλους, εὑρόντας
λίθον ἀπολεσθέντα ἐκ τῆς διπλοΐδος Ἀαρὼν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως. Αὐτοὶ δὲ
οὐκ ᾔδεισαν ποταπὸς ἦν ὁ λίθος. Λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τί μάχεσθε; Οἱ δὲ εἶπον·
Λίθον εὕρομεν ὁποῖός ἐστιν. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Δότε μοι αὐτὸν καὶ λάβετε
τέσσαρα δηνάρια. Οἱ δὲ μετὰ χαρᾶς ἔδωκαν αὐτῷ τὸν λίθον. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν
εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἔδειξεν αὐτὸν χρυσοχόῳ. Ὁ δὲ ἰδὼν τὸν λίθον λέγει αὐτῷ·
Ποῦ εὗρες τὸν λίθον τοῦτον; Ἰδοὺ τρία ἔτη σήμερον Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἀκατασ-
τατεῖ διὰ τὸν λίθον τοῦτον. Ἀλλὰ ἄπελθε δὸς αὐ[f. 260rb]τὸν τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ
καὶ πλουτῆσαι ἔχεις. Αὐτοῦ δὲ πορευομένου εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, ἄγγελος Κυρίου
εἶπεν τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ· Ἐλεύσεται ἄνθρωπος πρὸς σὲ ἔχων τὸν ἀπολεσθέντα
λίθον. Δὸς οὖν αὐτῷ χρυσίον καὶ ἀργύριον καὶ λίθους τιμίους ὅσους
βουληθῇ. Καὶ μαστίξας αὐτὸν εἰπέ· Μὴ δίσταζε ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, μηδὲ
ἀπίστει τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν θεῷ δανίζει.1 Ἰδοὺ δέδωκά σοι
ἑπταπλασίονα ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι ζωὴν αἰώνιον.
451. Ἦν ποτε ἀναχωρητὴς πάνυ διακριτικὸς καὶ ἤθελε μένειν2 εἰς τὰ

Κελλία καὶ οὐχ εὕρισκε τὸ παρὸν κελλίον. Ἦν δὲ ἐκεῖ γέρων ἔχων παρα-
μέρος κελλίον κατὰ μόνας, καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων λέγων· Δεῦρο,
κάθου ἐκεῖ [f. 260va] ἕως οὗ εὑρεθῇ κελλίον. Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Ἤρχοντο δέ
τινες πρὸς αὐτὸν ὡς πρὸς ξένον φέροντες τὸ κατευοδούμενον, ἵνα
ὠφεληθῶσι, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐφιλοξένει αὐτούς. Ἤρξατο οὖν ὁ γέρων ὁ δοὺς
αὐτῷ τὸ κελλίον φθονεῖν καὶ κακολογεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ3 λέγων· Ἐγὼ πόσα ἔτη
ἔχω ὧδε ἐν ἀσκήσει πολλῇ καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔρχεται πρός με, καὶ οὗτος ὁ
ἐπιθέτης ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἔχει καὶ πόσοι ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτόν. Καὶ λέγει
τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ὕπαγε καὶ εἰπὲ αὐτῷ· Ἀναχώρησον ἔνθεν, ὅτι χρείαν
ἔχω τοῦ κελλίου. Καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ μαθητὴς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς μου
‘Πῶς ἔχεις; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Εὔχηται4 ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι βεβάρηται ὁ στόμαχός
μου. Καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς [f. 260vb] λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Εἶπεν ὅτι βλέπω
κελλίον καὶ ὑπάγω. Καὶ πάλιν μετὰ δύο ἡμέρας λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε εἰπὲ
αὐτῷ ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἀναχωρήσῃς, ἐγὼ ἔρχομαι καὶ μετὰ ῥάβδου σε ἐκβάλλω.
Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἤκουσεν ὁ ἀββᾶς μου ὅτι ἀσθενεῖς
καὶ πάνυ λυπεῖται, καὶ ἀπέστειλέ με ἐπισκέψασθαί σε. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκεῖνος·
Εἰπὲ αὐτῷ ὅτι διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν σου καλῶς ἔσχον. Ἔρχεται οὖν καὶ λέγει τῷ
γέροντι ὅτι εἶπεν ὅτι5 ἕως τῆς κυριακῆς καὶ ἐκβαίνω θελήματι Θεοῦ. Ὡς
οὖν ἦλθεν ἡ κυριακὴ καὶ οὐκ ἐξῆλθεν, λαβὼν ῥάβδον ἀπῆλθε δεῖραι αὐτὸν
καὶ διῶξαι. Λέγει οὖν ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ· Προλαμβάνω ἐγώ, μήπως εὑρ-
εθῶσιν ἐκεῖ τινὲς καὶ [f. 261ra] σκανδαλισθῶσιν. Καὶ προλαβὼν λέγει τῷ
1
Θεῷ δανίζει] δανίζει Θεῷ S 2
καὶ ἤθελε μένειν] ἤθελε οὖν μένειν S 3
καὶ] om S
4
Εὔχηται] Ἵνα εὔχηται S 5
ὅτι] om S
N.451 289
went, sold everything and distributed [the proceeds] to the poor, leaving
nothing for himself other than four pieces of gold for his funeral expenses.
He became extremely poor and nobody took pity on him. Eventually he
said: “I shall go to Jerusalem, to the Lord my God, and have a dispute with
him, for he deceived me into disposing of my goods.” As he was going to
Jerusalem he saw two men arguing because they had found a stone which
had fallen out of the ephod of Aaron, the high priest – although they were
unaware of where the stone had come from. He said to them: “Why are
you arguing?” “We have found some sort of stone”, they replied. “Give it
to me and take these four coins”, he said – and they gladly gave him the
stone. When he got to Jerusalem he showed the stone to a jeweller who,
when he saw it, said: “Where did you get this? It is three years today you see
that Jerusalem has been in uproar because of this stone. Go, give it to the
high priest and you can be rich.” As [the man] was going up to the Temple,
an angel of the Lord said to the high priest: “There is a man coming to you
who has the stone you lost; give him gold, silver and precious stones, as
much as he wants. Chastise him and tell him: ‘Do not doubt in your heart
nor waver in your faith in God, for he who has pity on the poor does indeed
lend to God. See, here I have given you seven times more [than you gave
away] in this world and life eternal in the world to come.’”
* The full quotation (and the whole point of the story) is: “He who takes pity on
the poor lends to God and he will repay him for his deed.”
N.451
There was an anchorite highly gifted in discretion who wanted to reside at
The Cells; but he could not find a cell for the time being. There was,
however, an elder there who had a cell for one person nearby. The elder
invited him, saying: “Come and live there until a cell is found”, and he
went there. People came to him as a newcomer, bearing welcoming gifts,
to benefit from [his presence] and he received them as his guests. The elder
who had provided him the cell began to grow jealous and to speak evil of
him, saying: “How many years have I lived a rigorous ascetic life here and
nobody comes to see me; yet how many come to this impostor after he
has only been here a few days!” He said to his disciple: “Go and say to
him: ‘Leave this place, for I need the cell.’” The disciple came and said
to him: “My abba says: How are you?” “Let him pray for me,” the other
replied, “for I am afflicted in the stomach.” The brother went and said to
the elder: “He says that he has got his eye on a cell and is leaving.” Two
days later [the elder] said to him again: “Go and tell him that, if he does
γέροντι· Ὁ ἀββᾶς μου ἔρχεται παρακαλέσαι σε καὶ λαβεῖν εἰς τὸ κελλίον.
Ὡς οὖν ἤκουσε τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ γέροντος, ἐξῆλθεν εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ,
βάλλων μετάνοιαν ἀπὸ μακρόθεν καὶ λέγων· Ἐγὼ ἔρχομαι πρὸς τὴν
ἁγιωσύνην σου καὶ μὴ σκύλου πάτερ. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν τοῦ
νεωτέρου κατένυξε τὸν ἀββᾶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ῥίψας τὴν ῥάβδον, ἔτρεχεν εἰς τὸν
ἀσπασμὸν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἠσπάσατο αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπήγαγεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον ὡς
μηδὲν ἀκούσαντα. Λέγει οὖν ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Οὐδὲν αὐτῷ1
εἶπες, ὧν εἶπόν σοι; Λέγει· Οὐχί. Πάνυ οὖν ἐχάρη ὁ γέρων καὶ ἔγνω ὅτι
τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἦν ὁ φθόνος καὶ ἀνέπαυσε τὸν γέροντα. Καὶ προσπίπτει τῷ
μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ λέγων· Σύ μου πατήρ, κἀγώ σου μαθητής, ὅτι διὰ τῆς
ἐργασίας σου αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν δύο ἐσώθησαν [f. 261rb].
452. Ἐγένετό τις φιλάδελφος καὶ ἀγαπητικὸς σφόδρα μὴ λογιζόμενος τὸ

κακὸν ποτέ. Ἀδελφὸς δέ τις σκεύη κλέψας ἤνεγκε καὶ παρέθετο αὐτῷ, μὴ
εἰδότος αὐτοῦ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Μετὰ δὲ ἡμέρας ἐγνωρίσθησαν τὰ σκεύη καὶ
τρακτευθεὶς ὁ γέρων ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν λέγων· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι, μετανοῶ.
Μετὰ οὖν ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἦλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ κλέψας τὰ σκεύη καὶ ἐποίησε
διάλογον μετὰ τοῦ γέροντοςς ὧ2 παρέθετο τὰ σκεύη. Καὶ ἔλεγε τῷ
γέροντι· Σὺ ἔκλεψας τὰ σκεύη. Καὶ ἔβαλεν ὁ γέρων [f. 261va] μετάνοιαν
τῷ ἀδελφῷ λέγων· Συγχώρησόν μοι. Οὕτως δὲ καὶ εἴποτε ἔπτεσέ τις τῶν
ἀδελφῶν καὶ ἠρνεῖτο, ἔβαλλε μετάνοιαν λέγων· Ἐγὼ ἐποίησα τὸ σφάλμα.
Συγχωρήσατέ μοι. Τοσοῦτον3 ἦν εὐλαβὴς καὶ ταπεινόφρων, μὴ ἐπιπλήξας
τινὰ ποτὲ κἂν ἕως λόγου ὁ ὅσιος.
1
ὧ] οὗ C 3
τοσοῦτον corr] τοσοῦτος C and S
N.452 291
not leave, I am coming with my staff to throw him out.” The brother came
and said to him: “My abba has heard that you are unwell and is very
grieved. He has sent me to visit you.” “Tell him that, through his prayers,
I have got better”, said the other to him. [The brother] went and told the
elder: “He said that he would be gone by Sunday, God willing.” When
Sunday came around and he had not gone, seizing a staff, the abba set out
to beat him and chase him away. The disciple said to him: “I will go ahead
in case there are any people there who might be offended.” He went ahead
and said to the elder: “My abba is coming to console you and to take you
into his cell.” When he heard of the elder’s concern for him [the anchorite]
went out to meet him. While still at a distance from him, he prostrated
himself, saying: “I am coming to your holiness, do not trouble yourself.”
When God saw what the young [disciple] had done, he pricked his abba’s
conscience so that he threw away the staff and ran to embrace [the
anchorite]. He embraced him and led him to his cell as though he had
heard nothing. The elder said to his disciple: “You didn’t say to him any of
the things I told you to say?” “No”, he replied; the elder rejoiced exceed-
ingly, realising that his jealousy had come from the enemy, and he put the
[other] elder at his ease. Then he fell down before his disciple saying: “You
are my father and I am your disciple; for, by your action, both our souls
have been saved.”
N.452
There was an affable and truly charitable [monk] who never had an evil
thought. A brother who had stolen some utensils brought them and
presented them to him, though he knew nothing of this affair. Some days
later it became known that the utensils [were stolen]. Under examination,
the elder prostrated himself saying: “Forgive me, I am sorry.” A few days
later still, the brother who had stolen the utensils came to have a conver-
sation with the elder to whom he had presented them. “You stole the
utensils”, he said to the elder and the elder prostrated himself before the
brother saying: “Forgive me.” Thus it was that, whenever a brother
defaulted and denied it, he would prostrate himself saying: “It was I who
committed the misdeed; forgive me.” [This] holy one was so god-fearing
and humble-minded that he would never rebuke anybody, not even so
much as a word.
453. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς θλίβουσί με οἱ λογισμοί
μου καὶ πολλάκις ἐπιτιμῶ αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀναχωροῦσιν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τὸν τόπον
αὐτῶν ἵστανται; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ μετὰ πείνης εἴπῃς αὐτοῖς
ὑπάγετε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, οὐκ ἀναχωροῦσιν. Ὅσον γὰρ ἔχουσιν ἀνάπαυσιν οὐκ
ἀναχωροῦσιν.
Περὶ πορνείας
454. Ἀδελφὸς συνώδευέ τινι [f. 261vb] καὶ ἡττήθησαν οἱ λογισμοὶ αὐτοῦ
εἰς πορνείαν. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν εἶπε τοῖς πατράσι λέγων·1 Τί ποιήσω ὅτι οὐ
παρακαλεῖται ἡ καρδία μου, ἐφόσον συγκατέβην τῷ πολέμῳ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ;
Ὁς ποιήσας γὰρ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν εἰμί. Καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ οἱ πατέρες· Οὐκ ἔστι
τελεία ἁμαρτία, ἀλλὰ πειρᾶσαι ἦλθεν ὁ ἐχθρός καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐσκέπασέ σε καὶ
οὐκ ἐπείσθης ὅλως, ἀλλὰ κατερρίφης ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης. Καὶ διηγήσατο ὅτι
δύο ἀδελφοὶ ἀπὸ κοινοβίου ἀποσταλέντες εἰς κώμην τινά, ὥδευον ὁμοῦ
καὶ ὁ δαίμων ἐπολέμησε τῷ μείζονι πεντάκις ἁμαρτῆσαι, καὶ ἀγωνιζόμενος
καθ᾿ ὥραν ἐποίει εὐχήν. Ὑπέστρεψαν δὲ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν καὶ ἦν
τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ τεταραγμέ[f. 262ra]νον καὶ ἐποίησε μετάνοιαν
λέγων· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, πάτερ, ὅτι πέπτωκα εἰς πορνείαν. Καὶ διηγή-
σατο πῶς ἐπολεμήθη ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ. Ἦν δὲ ὁ γέρων διορατικὸς καὶ ἐθεώρει
ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν2 αὐτοῦ πέντε στεφάνους. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Θάρσει,
τέκνον, ὡς γὰρ ἦλθες, εἶδον στεφάνους ὀπίσω3 σου. Οὐ γὰρ ἡττήθης,
ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐνίκησας, ἐφόσον οὐκ ἐτέλεσας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Μέγας γὰρ
ἀγών ἐστιν, ὅταν ἄνθρωπος εὐκαιρίαν λαβὼν ἐγκρατεύσηται. Μέγα μισ-
θὸν ἔχει, ὅτι ἰσχυρότερος καὶ ὀξύτερος οὗτος ὁ πόλεμος τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, καὶ
δυσχερές ἐστι φυγεῖν τὰς παγίδας αὐτοῦ. Τί γὰρ νομίζεις περὶ τοῦ
μακαρίου Ἰωσὴφ ἁπλῶς εἶναι τὸ πρᾶγμα; Ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐπὶ θεάτρου ἦν τὸ
γινόμε[f. 262rb]νον, ὅτι καὶ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτὸν ἐθεώρουν4
ἀγωνιζόμενον, καὶ ὁ διάβολος καὶ οἱ δαίμονες πλέον ἐξεθηρίουν τὴν
γυναῖκα. Ὅτε οὖν ἐνίκησεν ὁ ἀθλητής, πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι φωνῇ μεγάλῃ
ἔδωκαν δόξαν τῷ Θεῷ λέγοντες· Ἐνίκησε ξένην νίκην ὁ ἀθλητής. Καλὸν
οὖν τὸ μηδὲ δι᾿ ἐνθυμήσεως πράττειν τὸ κακόν. Εἰ δὲ πειράζεσαι, ἀγώνι-
σαι μὴ ἡττηθῆναι.
1
εἶπε τοῖς πατράσι λέγων] λέγει τοῖς πατράσι S 2
ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν] ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς S
3
ὀπίσω] ἐπάνω S 4
αὐτὸν ἐθεώρουν] ἐθεώρουν αὐτὸν S
N.453–4 293
N.453 (cf. 4.101)

A brother asked an elder: “How is it that the bad thoughts that afflict me
do not retreat, but stand their ground, even though I frequently rebuke
them?” “Unless you tell them firmly and with fasting: ‘Go from me’, they
will not go away, for as long as they are at ease, they will not retreat”, the
elder replied.
C ON CE RN IN G P O R N E I A
N.454 (cf. 5.52)

A brother was on the road with somebody when his thoughts fell prey to
porneia. He went and spoke to the fathers, saying: “What am I to do, for
my heart is not reassured on account of having succumbed in the battle
with the enemy? I am as one who committed the sin.” The fathers said to
him: “The sin was not carried out; the enemy came to torment you but
God protected you. But you were not completely convinced of this and
became cast-down with grief. Then he [sic] told the story of two brothers
from a coenobion who, having been sent to a village, were travelling
together. Five times the demon assailed the older one to make him sin
while he resisted, offering a prayer all the time. His face was troubled when
they returned to their father. He fell down before him saying: “Pray for
me, father, for I have fallen into porneia”, and he explained how his mind
had been assailed. Now the elder had second sight and he could see five
crowns over the other’s head. “Be of good cheer, child,” he said, “for I saw
crowns behind you as you came in. You were not defeated; rather did you
triumph insofar as you did not carry out the sin. Great is the struggle when
a man maintains his chastity though given the opportunity [to sin]. Great
is his reward, because this onslaught of the enemy is stronger and more
biting [than any other] and it is difficult to escape his snares. What do you
think of the blessed Joseph? [Gen 39:7–23] That it was a simple matter for
him? Yet it was like something that happens in a theatre, for God and
the angels were watching him struggling. Meanwhile, the devil and the
demons were whipping up the beastliness of the woman. So when the
athlete triumphed, all the angels glorified God with a loud voice, saying:
‘The athlete has carried off an extraordinary victory.’ So it is good not to do
evil even in one’s thoughts. If you are tempted, then put up a struggle not
to be overcome.”
455. Ἀναχωρητής τις ἦν παρθένος, γυναῖκα σχεδὸν ἀγνοῶν. Παρη-
νώχλη οὖν αὐτῷ1 δαίμων πορνείας. Οὗτος ἐπυροῦτο μέν, ἠγνόει δὲ ἐξ
ἀπειρίας τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ πράγματος, ὡς ἐρᾶν μόνον μόνον2 τὸν τοῦ
Θεοῦ δοῦλον, μὴ εἰδέναι δέ τινος καθέστηκεν ἐραστής. Δείκνυσιν οὖν
[f. 262va] αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος ἄνθρωπον ἐπάνω κείμενον γυναικὸς ἐπ᾿
αἰσχρότητι. Ὁ Θεὸς δὲ ἑωρακὼς τὴν ἀπάτην τοῦ δαίμονος καὶ τὴν
ὑπερβολήν, ἐσκέπασε τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ τὸν πόλεμον κατέσβεσεν.
456. Ἔλεγον περὶ μεγάλου γέροντος ὅτι παρέβαλεν εἰς κοινόβιον καὶ
εἶδε παιδίον ἐκεῖ καὶ οὐκ ἤθελε κοιμηθῆναι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοί· Καὶ σὺ φοβῇ, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν3· Φύσει οὐ φοβοῦμαι,
τέκνα, ἀλλὰ τίς χρεία πολέμου ἀργοῦ;
457. Ἔλεγον ὅτι ἀπῆλθε ποτὲ ὁ διάβολος καὶ ἔκρουσεν εἰς κοινόβιον καὶ
ὑπήκουσε παιδίον τοῦ δοῦναι ἀπόκρισιν, καὶ θεασάμενος ὁ δαίμων τὸ
μειράκιον λέγει4· Εἰ σὺ εἶ ἐνταῦθα, ἐμοῦ χρεία οὐκ ἔστιν.
458. Ἔλεγον [f. 262vb] οἱ πατέρες ὅτι οὐ φέρει ὁ Θεὸς τὰ παιδία εἰς τὴν
ἔρημον ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Σατανᾶς, ἵνα καταστρέφῃ τοὺς εὐσεβῶς θέλοντας ζῆν.
459. Κατέπλευσέ ποτε πλοῖον ἐπὶ Δίολκον καὶ ὥρμησεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν
μοναχῶν. Καὶ ἐξελθοῦσα γυνὴ ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ βουνόν. Ἐλθὼν
οὖν ἀδελφὸς γεμίσαι ὕδωρ εἶδεν αὐτὴν καὶ ἀνέκαμψε πρὸς τὸν πρεσβύ-
τερον λέγων· Ἰδοὺ παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν γυνὴ καθέζεται, ὃ οὐδέποτε, ἀββᾶ,
γέγονεν ὧδε. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων ἔλαβε τὴν ῥάβδον, καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἔτρεχε
κράζων καὶ λέγων· Βοηθεῖτέ μοι, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι λῃσταί. Καὶ πάντες ἰδόντες
αὐτὸν ἔτρεχον καὶ αὐτοὶ μετὰ ῥάβδων ἐπὶ τὸ πλοῖον. Καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ
ναῦται τὴν ὁρμὴν αὐτῶν ἐννό[f. 263ra]ησαν καὶ ἁρπάσαντες τὴν γυναῖκα
ἄνω, ἔκοψαν τὰ σχοινία καὶ ἀφῆκαν τὸ πλοῖον ἀπελθεῖν τῷ ῥεύματι.
1
αὐτῷ] αὐτὸν S 2
μόνον] om S 3
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν] om S 4
λέγει] εἶπεν S
N.455–9 295
N.455
Τhere was an anchorite, a virgin who scarcely knew what a woman was. So
the demon of porneia began to trouble him and he began to burn; but
owing to his lack of experience he was unaware of his lust to do the deed.
Thus the servant of God only knew desire but was ignorant of what he had
become desirous. So the devil showed him a man lying on a woman for a
shameful purpose. Seeing the deceit of the demon and the extent [of it],
God protected the brother and snuffed out the conflict.
N.456
Τhey used to say of a great elder that, visiting a coenobion, he saw a youth
there and would not sleep at the place. The brothers accompanying him
said to him: “Are you afraid, abba?” “Of course I am not afraid, my sons,”
he said, “but what need is there of fruitless warfare?”
N.457
They used to say that the devil once went and knocked at a coenobion and
a youth came in answer. When the demon saw the young man, he said:
“There is not need of me if you are here.”
N.458
The fathers used to say that God does not bring youths into the desert but
that Satan does, in order to subvert those who wish to live a godly life.
N.459
A ship once sailed to Diolcos* and moored at the mountain of the monks.
A woman got out of the ship and sat down on the hill. A brother coming
for a fill of water saw her; he returned to the priest and said: “Look, there is
a woman sitting by the river, something that never happened here, abba!”
On hearing this, the elder seized his staff and, going out at a run, cried out,
saying: “Help me, brothers, there are robbers!” On seeing him, they all
came running towards the ship, staff in hand. When the sailors saw the
advancing mass of them, they grasped [the situation]. Taking the woman
up they cut the mooring rope and let the ship depart with the current.
* “The region/mount of Diolcos” (at one of the mouths of the Nile) is mentioned
in 3.25/Poemen 72 (340B-C) and in N.614.
460. Παρθένος τις εὐλαβὴς οἰκοῦσα ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἔχουσα στρατιώτην
γείτονα,1 ἀπελθούσης τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς εἰς ὁδόν, ὁ στρατιώτης ἐπιπηδή-
σας ἐβιάσατο τὴν παρθένον. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐξελθεῖν αὐτόν, ἀποδυσαμένη τὸ
σχῆμα τῆς παρθενίας, ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ ψιαθίου θρηνοῦσα, τὴν ἐσθῆτα ἣν
ἐφόρει διαρρήξασα. Ἐλθούσης δὲ τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῆς, διηγήσατο αὐτῇ τὸ
συμβάν. Ἔμεινεν οὖν ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας πενθήρης οὕτως ἡ κόρη
καθημένη. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, παρθενεύουσαι καὶ κληρικοὶ μαθόντες, ἦλθον
πρὸς αὐτὴν λέγοντες· [f. 263rb] Οὐ παρὰ σοῦ γέγονε τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Ἡ δὲ
οὐκ ἐπείθετο λέγουσα· Ἀπεβάλετό με ὁ Θεός, καὶ πῶς ἔχω φορέσαι τὸ
σχῆμα, τοῦ Θεοῦ μὴ θελήσαντός με; Οὐκ ἠδύνατο ὁ Θεὸς κωλῦσαι τὸ
τόλμημα; Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀναξίαν με εἶδεν τοῦ σχήματος, οὕτω μένω. Ἔμεινεν
οὖν μέχρι τελευτῆς ὀδυρομένη καὶ κλαίουσα ἐν σωτηριώδει πένθει μετὰ
κατανύξεως ὑπερβαλλούσης.
461. Συμφωνηταὶ δύο ἐμόνασαν. Οὗτοι ἄσκησιν ὑπερβάλλουσαν καὶ

βίον ἐνάρετον ἐπολιτεύσαντο. Συνέβη δὲ τὸν ἕνα κοινοβιάρχην γενέσθαι, ὁ
δὲ ἄλλος ἀναχωρητὴς μείνας καὶ τελείως ἀσκήσας, θαύματα ἐποίει μεγάλα.
Ἰᾶτο δαιμονιῶντας καὶ προρρήσεις ἔλεγεν καὶ νοσοῦντας ἐθεράπευ
[f. 263va]εν. Ὁ οὖν ἀπὸ ἀσκητῶν κοινοβιάρχης γενόμενος, ἀκούσας ὅτι
τοσούτων χαρισμάτων κατηξιώθη ὁ συμφωνητὴς αὐτοῦ, ἡσύχασεν ἀπὸ
τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἑβδομάδας τρεῖς ἐκτενῶς δεόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποκαλύψαι
αὐτῷ πῶς μὲν ἐκεῖνος θαυματουργεῖ καὶ περιβόητος παρὰ πᾶσι γέγονεν,
ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδενὸς τούτων μετέλαβον. Καὶ ὤφθη αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου
λέγων ὅτι ἐκεῖνος τῷ Θεῷ κάθηται στενάζων καὶ κλαίων πρὸς αὐτὸν
ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς πεινῶν καὶ διψῶν διὰ τὸν Κύριον, σὺ δὲ πολλὰ
μεριμνῶν ἔχεις τὴν τῶν πολλῶν συντυχίαν. Ἀρκεῖ σοι οὖν ἡ παράκλησις
τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
462. Ἀναχωρητής τις γέγονεν ἐπίσκοπος. Οὗτος δι᾿ εὐλάβειαν καὶ

ἡσυχίαν οὐδενὶ ἐπετίμα, μα[f. 263vb]κροθύμως φέρων τὰ ἑκάστου
πταίσματα. Ὁ δὲ τούτου οἰκονόμος οὐ κατὰ λόγον ἐδιοίκει τὰ τῆς
ἐκκλησίας πράγματα. Καὶ λέγουσι τινὲς τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ· Διατί οὐκ ἐπι-
τιμᾷς τῷ οἰκονόμῳ οὕτως καταφρονοῦντι; Παραπέμπεται ὁ ἐπίσκοπος
τὴν ἐπιτίμησιν. Τῇ ἑξῆς ἀνέρχονται πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ κατὰ τοῦ οἰκονόμου
παροξύναντες αὐτόν. Μαθὼν δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἐκρύβη ἔν τινι τόπῳ.
Ἀνελθόντες δὲ ἐκεῖνοι οὐχ εὗρον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον. Πολλὰ δὲ ζητήσαντες
καὶ εὑρόντες λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Διατί ἐκρύβης ἡμῶν; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη ὅτι ἃ
1
γείτονα] γείτωνα C
N.460–2 297
N.460 (cf. 3.49)

There was a devout virgin living in a city whose neighbour was a soldier.
When her mother went away on a journey, the soldier assaulted the
maiden and raped her. When he left, she removed her virgin’s habit and
sat on a mat weeping, having torn up the clothes she had on. When her
mother came, she told her what had happened. For many days the maiden
sat there mourning. Afterwards, when [other] virgins and clergy heard
[what had happened], they came to her saying: “You are not responsible
for the sin”, but she would not be persuaded. “God has cast me off”, she
said. “How can I wear the habit if God did not want me? Could he not
have prevented the affront? But since he found me unworthy of the habit,
then so I remain” – and she continued weeping and lamenting in salutary
mourning, with extreme grief for sin, until her death.
N.461
Two friends agreed to become monks; they lived a severely disciplined and
virtuous life. Then one of them became the superior of a coenobion
whereas the other remained an anchorite and, practising intense discipline,
began to perform great wonders. He healed those possessed of demons; he
uttered prophecies and cured the sick. He who had been called from the
ranks of the ascetics to rule a coenobion, on hearing that his friend had
been accounted worthy of such charismatic gifts, now secreted himself
away from human contact for three weeks, earnestly beseeching God to
reveal to him how the other was performing wonders and had become well
known to everybody, “while I have received none of these [distinctions]”.
An angel of the Lord appeared to him, telling him: “He lives for God,
groaning and crying to him by day and by night, going hungry and thirsty
for the Lord’s sake, whereas you are worrying about many things, in touch
with many people; so human contact is sufficient consolation for you.”
N.462 (cf. 9.23)

There was an anchorite who became a bishop. Of his piety he would
reprove nobody, but used to tolerate the faults of each one with long-
suffering patience. Now his steward was not administering the church’s
affairs according to the book and some people said to the bishop: “Why do
κατώρθωσα ἐν ἑξήκοντα ἔτεσι δεόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ταῦτα1 ὑμεῖς εἰς
δύο ἡμέρας θέλετε συλῆσαι.
463. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὥσπερ εἰς πε[f. 264ra]ζευομένην στράταν οὐκ

ἀνέρχεται χλωρόν2 τίποτε, οὐδὲ κἄν βάλλῃς σπέρμα διὰ τὸ πατεῖσθαι
τὸν τόπον, οὕτως καὶ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν. Ἡσύχασον δὲ ἀπὸ παντὸς πράγματος καὶ
βλέπεις φυόμενα ἃ οὐκ ᾔδεις ὅτι ἔσωθέν σου ἦσαν, ἐπειδὴ εἰς αὐτὰ
περιεπάτεις.
464. Εἶπέν τις τῶν ἁγίων ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ, ἐφόσον ἔχει
τὴν γλυκύτητα τοῦ κόσμου, ἔχειν3 τὴν γλυκύτητα τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πάλιν δέ,
ἐὰν γεύσηται τῆς γλυκύτητος τοῦ Θεοῦ, μισεῖ πάντα τὰ τοῦ αἰῶνος
τούτου, καθὼς γέγραπται εἰς τὰ εὐαγγέλια, οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις
δουλεύειν. Καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐφόσον θέλομεν4 τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν σχέσιν καὶ τὴν
ἀνάπαυσιν τοῦ σώματος, οὐ δυνάμεθα ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς γλυκύτητος τοῦ
Θεοῦ. Τοῦτο δὲ λέγω, [f. 264rb] ὅτι, ἐάν τις καθίσῃ εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ
καὶ σιωπὴν ἀσκήσῃ καὶ εὐχήν, καὶ τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ ποιῇ5 ἀπὸ ψυχῆς ἐν
τῷ καιρῷ τούτῳ, δύναται σωθῆναι.
465. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μοναχὸς πίνων6 ἐπάνω τριῶν ποτηρίων μὴ εὔξηται

ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ.
466. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων ὅτι τὸ κεχρῆσθαι ἀδιαφόρως τῷ

φαγεῖν καὶ τῷ πιεῖν 7 τί γεννᾷ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων ὅτι πᾶν
κακὸν γεννᾷ. Βλέπομεν γὰρ ὅτι ἡ τελεία ἐρήμωσις τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ γέγο-
νεν διὰ Ναβουζαρδὰν τοῦ ἀρχιμαγείρου. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ Κύριος παρήγγειλε
τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ λέγων· Βλέπετε μὴ βαρυνθῶσιν8 ὑμῶν αἱ καρδίαι ἐν
κραιπάλῃ9 καὶ μέθῃ καὶ μερίμναις βιωτικαῖς.
1
ταῦτα] om S 2
χλωρὸν] χλορὸν 3
ἔχειν] καὶ add S 4
θέλομεν] θέλωμεν C
5
ποιῇ] ποιεῖ S 6
πίνων] οἶνον add S 7
τῷ φαγεῖν καὶ τῷ πιεῖν] τὸ φαγεῖν καὶ πιεῖν C
8
βαρυνθῶσιν] βαρηνθῶσιν S 9
κραιπάλῃ] κρεπάλῃ C
N.463–6 299
you not reprimand the steward as he is disdainful in that regard?” – but the
bishop postponed the reprimand. Next day those who had spurred him on
against the steward came but the bishop hid himself somewhere when he
learnt of it. When they came up they could not find the bishop, but they
searched diligently and, when they found him, they said to him: “Why
were you hiding from us?” He answered: “Because in two days you want to
rob me of what I achieved in sixty years by praying to God.”
N.463 (cf. 2.33)

An elder said: “In the same way that no plant whatsoever can come up on a
well-trodden highway, not even if you throw seed on it, because the surface
is trodden down, so it is with us. Retire quietly from all [worldly] business
and you will see things growing that you did not know were in you, for
you were walking on them.”
N.464/2.34
One of the saints said that it is impossible for a man to experience the
sweetness of God as long as he is experiencing the sweetness of the world.
But if, on the other hand, he tastes the sweetness of God, he will detest all
aspects of this world, as it is written in the Gospels: ‘No man can serve two
masters’ [Mt 6:24]. We too are unable to enjoy the sweetness of God as long as
we wish human company and bodily relaxation. Let me say this: as long as a
man remains in his cell, practising silence and prayer, wholeheartedly per-
forming his work in this age, he can be saved. [or: “wholeheartedly performing
his work, he can be saved in this age” depending on the punctuation.]
N.465 (cf. 4.98)

An elder said: “Let no monk who drinks more than three cups of wine pray
for me.”
N.466/4.90
A brother asked an elder: “What effect do indiscriminate eating and
drinking have on a man?” “They produce evil,” the elder replied, “for we
see that the utter desolation of Jerusalem came about because of
Nebuzaradan, the chief cook [2 Kgs 25:8]. Also the Lord gives the com-
mandment to his disciples: ‘Watch out lest your hearts be weighed down
with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life’” (Lk 21:34).
467. Ἔλεγον περὶ τῶν Σκητιωτῶν ὅτι οὐχ ὑπῆρχεν [f. 264va] ἔπαρσις
ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, διὰ τὸ ὑπερβαίνειν ἀλλήλους ταῖς ἀρεταῖς. Ἦσαν δὲ
νηστεύοντες· καὶ ὁ μὲν διὰ δύο ἤσθιεν, ὁ δὲ διὰ τεσσάρων, ἄλλος δι᾿
ἑβδομάδος. Καὶ ὁ μὲν οὐκ ἤσθιεν ἄρτον, ἄλλος δὲ οὐκ ἔπινεν οἶνον. Καί,
ἵνα εἴπω συντόμως, ἐν πάσῃ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένοι ἦσαν.
468. Εἶπεν γέρων· Μὴ θῇς τράπεζαν πρὸ τῆς ὥρας μόνος ὤν, καὶ μὴ
λάλῃ πρὸ τοῦ σὲ ἐρωτηθῆναι. Καί, ἐὰν ἐρωτηθῇς, λάλησον τὸ πρέπον
μετὰ συνέσεως.
469. Ἔλεγον περί τινος ἁγίου ὅτι ὡμολόγησεν ἐν διωγμῷ καὶ πολλὰ
ἐβασανίσθη, ὥστε καὶ καθίσαι αὐτὸν εἰς θρόνον χαλκοῦν πεπυρωμένον.
Καὶ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ ἐγένετο ὁ μακάριος Κωνσταντῖνος βασιλεὺς καὶ ἀπε-
λύθησαν οἱ χριστιανοί. Καὶ θεραπευ[f. 264vb]θεὶς ὁ ἅγιος οὗτος ὑπέσ-
τρεψεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὡς εἶδε τοῦτο μακρόθεν εἶπεν· Οἴμοι, ὅτι
εἰς πολλὰ κακὰ πάλιν ἔρχομαι. Τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν διὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας καὶ πάλας
πρὸς τοὺς δαίμονας.
470. Εἶπεν γέρων· Βλέπεις ὅτι ὁ διάβολος τὴν πρώτην πληγὴν τῷ Ἰὼβ1
εἰς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῷ προσήνεγκε,2 καὶ ἰδὼν3 ὅτι οὐκ ἀπεχώρισε4 τοῦ
Θεοῦ, τότε5 τὴν δευτέραν εἰς τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἐπέφερεν. Καὶ οὐδὲ οὗτoς ὁ
γενναῖος ἀθλητὴς ἥμαρτεν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ6 τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ. Εἶχε γὰρ
ἔσωθεν7 τὰ ὑπάρχοντα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ πάντοτε ἐν αὐτοῖς ἔμενεν.
471. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ὁ εἰσερχόμενος εἰς μυρεψόν, κἂν μηδὲν ἀγοράσῃ,
ἀλλὰ πάντως μεταλαμβάνει τῆς εὐωδίας, οὕτως [f. 265ra] καὶ ὁ παραβάλ-
λων τοῖς πατράσιν, ἐὰν γὰρ θελήσῃ ἐργάσασθαι, ὑποδεικνύουσιν αὐτῷ
τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς ταπεινώσεως καὶ τεῖχος αὐτῷ γίνεται ἐν ταῖς ἐπιδρομαῖς τῶν
δαιμόνων.
1
ὅτι ὁ διάβολος. . .. Ἰὼβ] ὅτι τῷ Ἰὼβ τὴν πρώτην πληγὴν S
2
αὐτῷ] om S, προσήνεγκε] ἐνενήνεγκε S 3
ἰδὼν] ἰδὸν C 4
ἀπεχώρισε] add αὐτὸν S
5
τότε] om S
6
καὶ οὐδὲ οὗτoς. . . τῷ λόγῳ] ουδὲ οὗτως ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησε τὸν γενναῖον ἀθλητὴν, οὐδε ἐν τῷ
λόγῳ S
7
ἔσωθεν] ὁ γενναῖος add S
N.467–71 301
N.467 (cf. 20.10)

They said of the Scetiotes that there was no pride among them to outstrip
[each other] in virtues. When they were fasting one ate every second day,
one every fourth, another once a week. One ate no bread, another did not
drink wine. In short, those saints were distinguished in every virtue.
N.468 (cf. 4.94)

An elder said: “Do not set the table before meal-time when you are alone;
do not speak before being asked and, if you are asked, say what is fitting,
[speaking] intelligently.”
N.469 (cf. 7.61)

They used to say of a certain saint that he bore witness to his faith during a
persecution and was so severely tortured that they sat him on a burning hot
seat of bronze. In the meantime the blessed Constantine became emperor
and the Christians were set free. When this saint was healed, he returned to
his cell. Seeing it from a distance he said: “O dear, I am coming back again
to many woes!” He said this meaning the struggles and battles with the
demons.
N.470
An elder said: “You notice that the first blow the devil struck at Job was
aimed at his possessions. Then, when he saw that he had not separated him
from God, he launched the second one against his body. Not even then
did that noble athlete sin in the words of his mouth, for he had the
possessions of God within [himself] and ever abided in them.”
N.471
An elder said: “A person entering a perfumery, even though he buys
nothing, still takes in the fragrance. So too a person who visits the fathers;
even though he has no wish to work, they show him the way of humility
and it becomes a wall for him in the assaults of the demons.”
472. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τινὰ ἐμπεσόντα εἰς ὕδωρ καὶ δύνασαι
αὐτῷ βοηθῆσαι, χάλασον αὐτῷ τὴν ῥάβδον καὶ ἕλκυσον αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐὰν
μὴ δυνηθῇς ἑλκύσαι αὐτόν, κατάλιπε αὐτῷ τὴν ῥάβδον σου. Ἐὰν δὲ αὐτῷ
δώσῃς τὴν χεῖρα σου καὶ μὴ δυνηθῇς ἑλκύσαι αὐτόν, ἕλκει σε αὐτὸς κάτω
καὶ ἀμφότεροι ἀποθανεῖσθε. Τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν πρὸς τοὺς ἐμβάλλοντας
ἑαυτοὺς βοηθῆσαι τινὶ ἐν πειρασμοῖς ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον ἑαυτῶν.
473. Εἶπεν γέρων· Χρὴ τὸν ἄνθρωπον φυλάττειν τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ

[f. 265rb], ἵνα μὴ ἀπολέσῃ τι ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Ἐὰν γάρ τις ἐργάσηται1 πολλὰ καὶ
μὴ φυλάξῃ, οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ. Ἐὰν δέ τις ἐργάσηται ὀλίγα καὶ φυλάξῃ, στήκει τὸ
ἔργον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ διηγήσατο τοιοῦτον πρᾶγμα, ὅτι ἀδελφῷ τινὶ κατελείφθη
κληρονομία καὶ θέλων ποιῆσαι ἀγάπην ὑπὲρ τοῦ τελευτήσαντος, εὐκαίρη-
σεν ἀδελφὸν ἐλθεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς ξένης. Καὶ ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν τὴν νύκτα λέγων·
Ἐγείρου, βοήθησόν μοι. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς παρεκάλει λέγων ὅτι ἀπὸ κόπου εἰμὶ
καὶ οὐ δύναμαι. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Εἰ μὴ ἔρχῃ, ἀνάστα ὕπαγε. Καὶ ἀνέστη ὁ
ξένος καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. Τῇ οὖν ἐπιούσῃ νυκτὶ θεωρεῖ ἐν ὁράματι ὅτι σῖτον ἔδωκε
τῷ ἀρτοκόπῳ καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἕνα ἄρτον. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἀπῆλ[f.
265va]θε πρός τινα μέγαν γέροντα καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ πάντα. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
γέρων· Καλὸν μὲν ἔργον ἐποίησας, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἀφῆκέ σε ὁ ἐχθρὸς λαβεῖν τὸν
μισθόν. Χρὴ οὖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον νήφειν καὶ φυλάττειν τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ.
474. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν γένηται ἀναμέσον σοῦ καὶ ἄλλου λυπηρὸς
λόγος, καὶ ἀρνήσηται τὸν λόγον, μὴ ἐπιξέσης μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ λέγων ὅτι εἶπες,
ἐπεὶ2 ἐκτρέπεται καὶ λέγει· ‘Ναί, εἶπον. Καὶ τί; Καὶ οὕτως γίνεται μέγας
παροξυσμός. Καὶ διηγήσατο οὕτως ὅτι δύο γέροντες εἰς τὰ Κελλία ἐλά-
λησαν λόγον τῆς Γραφῆς, καὶ ὁ εἷς ἐσφάλη εἰς λόγον καὶ ὁ ἄλλος εἶπεν τῷ
πρεσβυτέρῳ. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἀπῆλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ
εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Σὺ εἶπες τὸν λόγον τοῦτον; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· [f. 265vb] Ναί.
Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἄρνησαι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον.
Καὶ ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ὁ πρεσβύτερος
λέγων· Σὺ εἶπες τὸν λόγον τοῦτον; Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Οὐχί. Καὶ λέγει καὶ τῷ
ἄλλῳ· Σὺ ἤκουσας τὸν λόγον τοῦτον; Καὶ ἠρνήσατο καὶ ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν
καὶ γέγονεν εἰρήνη μεγάλη.
1
ἐργάσηται] ἐργάσῃται S 2
ἐπεὶ corr] ἐπὶ C ἐπῇ S
N.472–4 303
N.472
An elder said: “If you see somebody who has fallen into the water and you
can help him, reach out your staff to him and pull him out. If you cannot
pull him out, leave him your staff. If you give him your hand and
cannot pull him out, he pulls you down and both of you will die.” This
he said to those who thrust themselves forward to help somebody in
temptations beyond their capacity.
N.473
An elder said: “Α man must safeguard his labour to make sure that he loses
none of it. If someone labours mightily but does not safeguard [his
achievement] it does him no good. But if he labours a little and then
safeguards his achievement, it will still be there.” He narrated an occurrence of
this kind: “A brother had been left an inheritance and he wanted to hold an
agape for the deceased. Now it chanced that a brother came from elsewhere.
He got him up in the night, saying: ‘Rouse yourself and help me’, but the
brother besought him saying: ‘I am tired and cannot get up.’ ‘If you are not
coming, get up and go’, the other replied, whereupon the one from elsewhere
got up and left. The next night he had a dream in which he gave grain to the
baker but the baker did not give him so much as a single loaf. He got up, went
to a great elder and told him all about it. ‘You did a good deed,’ the elder said,
‘but the enemy did not allow you to receive the reward [for it]. A man must be
on his guard and safeguard what he has achieved.’”
N.474
An elder said: “If there arises a painful expression between you and
somebody else and he denies the expression, do not get heated with him
and say: ‘You did say it’, then he turns away from you and says: ‘All right,
I said it then; so what?’ – and so an altercation arises.” He then told of two
elders at The Cells who were reciting a passage of Scripture when one of
them made a mistake in the passage. The other told the priest. The priest
got up, went to the [first] elder and said to him: “Did you say this?” “Yes”,
he replied. “Then deny it when you come into church”, said the priest.
When he came into church, the priest asked him: “Did you say this?” to
which he said he did not. Then he said to the other: “Did you hear this
being said?” – to which he said “No”, and prostrated himself; then a great
peace prevailed.
Περὶ τοῦ μὴ κρίνειν

475. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τινὰ τῶν γερόντων, ὥστε συγκρίναι αὐτῷ λόγον
γυμνασίας· Ἰδού, φησί, βλέπω τινὰ ποιοῦντα πρᾶγμα καὶ διηγοῦμαι
αὐτὸ 1 τινί. Καὶ βλέπω, φησίν, ὅτι οὐ κρίνω αὐτὸν ἀλλὰ μόνον λαλοῦμεν,
οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν καταλαλιά; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν κατὰ πάθος λαλῇς
ἔχων τι κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καταλαλιά ἐστιν, ἐὰν δὲ ἐλεύθερος ᾖ ἀπὸ πάθους, οὐκ
ἔστι [f. 266ra] καταλαλιά ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα μὴ αὐξηθῇ τὸ κακόν.2
476. Ἄλλος οὖν ἀδελφὸς εἶπε τῷ γέροντι· Ἐὰν οὖν3 ἔλθω πρός τινα τῶν
γερόντων καὶ ἐρωτήσω αὐτὸν ὅτι θέλω μεῖναι πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα, οἶδεν δὲ ὅτι
οὐ4 συμφέρει μοι, τί ἔχει μοι ἀποκριθῆναι; Ἐὰν εἴπῃ μοι μὴ ἀπέλθῃς, οὐ
κατακρίνει αὐτὸν τῷ λογισμῷ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ταύτην τὴν λεπτότητα
οὐ πολλοὶ ἔχουσιν. Ἐὰν οὖν ἔχῃ5 ἡ κίνησις πάθος καὶ εἴπῃ· ἑαυτὸν
βλάπτει καὶ οὐκ ἔχει ὁ λόγος δύναμιν. τί οὖν λέγει ἐγὼ οὐκ οἶδα, καὶ
ἑαυτὸν ἐλευθεροῖ. Ἐὰν δὲ ἠλευθέρωται ἀπὸ πάθους, οὐ κατακρίνει τινά,
ἑαυτὸν δὲ αἰτιᾶται λέγων· Φύσει ἐγὼ ἀσύστροφός εἰμι καὶ τάχα οὐ
συμφέρει σοι. Καί, ἐὰν ᾖ ἐκεῖνος συνετός, οὐκέτι ὑπάγει. [f. 266rb] Οὐ
γὰρ εἶπεν διὰ κακίαν, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα μὴ αὐξηθῇ τὸ κακὸν.
477. Ἤκουσέ τις τῶν ἁγίων ὅτι ἀδελφός τις ἐνέπεσεν εἰς πορνείαν καὶ
εἶπεν· Ὤ, κακῶς ἐποίησεν. Μετ᾿ ὀλίγας οὖν ἡμέρας ἐκοιμήθη ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ
ἦλθεν ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ μετὰ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ πρὸς τὸν γέροντα
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἴδε, ὃν ἔκρινας ἐκοιμήθη. Ποῦ οὖν κελεύεις βάλλω αὐτόν,
εἰς βασιλείαν ἢ εἰς κόλασιν; Καὶ ἔμεινεν ὁ γέρων ἕως τῆς θανῆς [s.c] αὐτοῦ
αἰτούμενος τὸν θεὸν συγγνώμην, περὶ τούτου δακρύων καὶ πονῶν
μεγάλως.
1
αὐτὸ] αὐτῷ C 2
lacuna? cf. fin. N.476. 3
οὖν] om S 4
οὐ] om C
5
ἔχῃ corr] ἔχει C, εἲη Β
N.475–7 305
ON NOT PASSING JUDGEMENT
N.475 (cf. 9.25)

A brother asked one of the elders to give an opinion on a hypothetical
question. “Supposing,” he said, “I see somebody doing something and
I tell it to somebody else. As I see it,” he said, “I am not passing judgement;
it is only that we are speaking about it, so it is not malicious talk, is it?”
The elder said: “If you speak in a passionate way and have something
against him, then it is malicious talk. But if one is free of passion, this is
not speaking maliciously but so that the evil may be limited.”
N.476 (cf. 9.26)

So another brother asked the elder: “If I go to one of the elders and ask
him if I may stay with so-and-so and he is aware that this is not to my
advantage, what answer should he give me? If he tells me not to go, does
he not judge the other in his mind?” The elder said: “Not many can
make such fine distinctions. If he speaks under the influence of his own
feelings, he does himself harm and his verdict has no validity. So what
should he do? If he says ‘I do not know’ he gets himself out of the
difficulty. If he is free of passion he does not judge anybody, but blames
himself saying: ‘I am slovenly by nature and of no advantage to you.’ And
if the questioner is intelligent, he will not go to live with the other, for
[the elder] did not speak [intending] to do evil, but so that the evil might
be limited.”
N.477
Hearing that a brother had fallen into porneia, one of the saints said: “Oh,
he has behaved badly!” The brother died a few days later; an angel of God
came to the elder with the brother’s soul and said to him: “Look, the one
whom you judged has died; where do you bid me to place him: in the
Kingdom [of Heaven] or in chastisement?” Until [the brother’s] funeral
the elder continued begging God for forgiveness, weeping and agonising
hugely on his account.
478. Εἶπέν τις τῶν ἁγίων ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ταύτης τῆς ἐντολῆς καλλίον, τὸ
μὴ ἐξουθενεῖν τινὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Γέγραπται γάρ· ἐλεγμῷ ἐλέγξεις τὸν
πλησίον σου καὶ οὐ λήψῃ δι᾿ αὐτὸν ἁ[f.266va]μαρτίαν. Ἐὰν οὖν ἴδῃς τὸν
ἀδελφὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἵνα τέως γνῷ τὸ ἴδιον σφάλμα, ἐκ τῶν
χειρῶν σου ἐκζητηθήσεται τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ. Ἐὰν δὲ ἐλεγχθῇ καὶ ἐπιμείνῃ, τῇ
ἁμαρτίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀποθανεῖται. Καλὸν οὖν σοὶ τὸ ἐλέγχειν μετὰ ἀγάπης καὶ
μὴ λοιδορεῖν ἢ ἐξουθενεῖν ὡς ἐχθρόν.
479. Κοινοβιάρχης τις ἦν ἔχων πολλὴν δόξαν παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων,

πατὴρ μοναχῶν διακοσίων. Τούτῳ ὁ Κύριος ὡς γέρων πτωχὸς παρέβαλεν
καὶ τὸν θυρωρὸν παρεκάλεσεν εἰπεῖν τῷ ἀββᾷ ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα ὁ συναδελφός
ἐστι. Καμάτῳ οὖν πολλῷ εἰσῆλθε μηνῦσαι αὐτῷ ὁ θυρωρὸς καὶ εὗρε τὸν
ἀββᾶν ἄλλοις διαλεγόμενον. Σταθεὶς δὲ ὀλίγον προσανήνεγκε περὶ τοῦ
πτωχοῦ, μὴ εἰδὼς ὅτι ὁ Χριστὸς [f. 266vb] ἦν. Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς διεμάχετο
λέγων αὐτῷ· Οὐχ ὁρᾷς με μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλοῦντα; Ἄφες τέως.
Ὁ δὲ ὑπεχώρησεν. Μακροθυμῶν δὲ ὁ Κύριος ἔμεινεν ἐκδεχόμενος ἕως ἂν
ἔλθῃ. Περὶ δὲ πέμπτην ὥραν πλούσιός τις παρέβαλεν, ᾧτινι γοργῶς1
ὑπήκουσεν ὁ κοινοβιάρχης, ὃν ἑωρακὼς σὺν τῷ πλουσίῳ ὁ πλούσιος
ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ταπεινῶν φίλος Θεὸς2 ᾔτησε, παρακαλῶν ὅτι λαλῆσαί σοι
θέλω, ἀββᾶ. Ὁ δὲ σὺν τῷ πλουσίῳ εἰσῆλθεν ἀριστοποιῆσαι σπουδάζων
δῆθεν τὸν ξένον. Πάλιν οὖν μετὰ τὸ ἄριστον προπέμπων ἕως τῆς θύρας
τὸν πλούσιον, ὑπέστρεψε ταῖς πολλαῖς φροντίσιν αἰχμαλωτισθείς, καὶ
ἐπιλελησμένος τῆς παρακλήσεως τοῦ πτωχοῦ καὶ ἀνεξικάκου γέροντος.
Ὀψίας [f. 267ra] δὲ γενομένης καὶ μὴ ἀξιωθέντος δέξασθαι τὸν εὐλογημέ-
νον καὶ ἀληθινὸν ξένον, ἀνεχώρησε δηλώσας αὐτῷ οὕτως· Εἰπὲ τῷ ἀββᾷ·
εἰ τὴν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων θέλεις, ἐγώ σοι διὰ τὸν πρότερόν σου κόπον
καὶ τὰς ποτέ σου πολιτείας ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων μερῶν πέμπω παρακαλεῖν
σοι, ἐπειδὴ χρίειν καὶ χρίεσθαι θέλεις. Τῶν δὲ ἀγαθῶν τῆς ἐμῆς βασιλείας
οὐ μὴ γεύσῃ. Καὶ οὕτως ἐγνώσθη ὁ παντοκράτωρ πτωχός.
1
γοργῶς corr] γοργὸς C and S 2
Θεὸς] Θεοῦ
N.478–9 307
N.478
One of the saints said that there is [nothing] better than this command-
ment not to belittle any of the brothers, for it is written: “With rebuke
you shall rebuke your neighbour without incurring sin on his account”
[Lev 19:17]. So if you see your brother committing sin and you do not
speak up to make him aware of his own fault, his blood will be on your
hands. But if he is rebuked and persists, he will die in his sin. So it is good
for you to rebuke with love: not to deride or belittle him as an enemy
would.
N.479
The superior of a coenobion had a great reputation among men; he was
father to two hundred monks. The Lord came to visit him in the form of
a poor old man; he asked the doorkeeper to tell the abba that his relative
so-and-so was here. After a great deal of effort the doorkeeper went in to
inform him. Finding the abba in conversation with some men, he stood
there a little before reporting to him about the pauper, unaware that it
was Christ. But the abba angrily retorted: “Do you not see that I am
talking to these men? Leave me for a while!” But the long-suffering Lord
remained at the gate until he should come. Now about the fifth hour a
rich person came visiting, to whom the superior gave prompt attention.
Seeing him with the rich man, he who is rich in mercy, God who is the
friend of the humble, made his request, entreating: “I would like to speak
to you, abba”, but in he went with the rich man, most eager to give him
a meal. After the meal he escorted the rich man as far as the gate; he then
returned, a prisoner of his many concerns, oblivious to the entreaty of
the poor, harmless old man. When evening came and nobody had
deigned to receive that blessed and true stranger, he withdrew, having
instructed the door-keeper to tell the abba: “If you wish for a worldly
reputation, given the way you have worked hitherto and your way of life
so far, I will send you visitors from the four corners of the earth, since
you like to flatter and to be flattered. But you will not get a taste of the
good things of my kingdom.” In that way the almighty pauper was
recognised.
480. Ἔλεγον περί τινος ἀδελφοῦ ὅτι ἐκάθητο ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἦν
χλευαζόμενος ὑπὸ δαιμόνων ἐπὶ πολλὰ ἔτη. Αὐτὸς δὲ ἐνόμιζεν ὅτι
ἄγγελοι εἰσίν. Ἐξήρχετο δὲ ὁ κατὰ σάρκα πατὴρ αὐτοῦ διὰ χρόνου
καὶ ἐπεσκέπτετο αὐτόν. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν [f. 267rb] ἔλαβεν
πέλεκυν μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ λέγων ὅτι ἐρχόμενος φέρω μικρὰ ξυλάρια μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ.
Καὶ προλαβὼν εἷς δαίμων εἶπεν τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· Ἰδοὺ ὁ διάβολος ἔρχεται
πρός σε ἐν ὁμοιώματι τοῦ πατρός σου ἔχων πέλυκα1 εἰς τὴν σπυρίδα
αὐτοῦ, ἵνα σὲ φονεύσῃ. Σὺ οὖν προλαβὼν ἆρον τὸν πέλυκα ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ
καὶ φόνευσον αὐτόν. Ἦλθεν οὖν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸ ἔθος καὶ λαβὼν
ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ τὸν πέλυκα ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, κρούσας τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ
ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτόν. Καὶ εὐθέως ἐκολλήθη2 αὐτῷ πνεῦμα πονηρὸν καὶ
ἔπνιγεν αὐτόν.
481. Ἤνεγκαν ποτέ τινες εἰς Σκῆτιν λάχανα καὶ κολοκύνθια καὶ ἔθηκαν
αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἵνα, ὡς ἔρχονται οἱ ἀδελφοί, λάβωσι πρὸς μικρὸν
εἰς [f. 267va] τὰ κελλία αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἔλαβεν εἷς γέρων ὀλίγα λάχανα καὶ
ὀλίγα κολοκύνθια καὶ πορευθεὶς ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ἀπὸ τῆς πείνης ἔφαγεν αὐτὰ
ὠμά. Καὶ ἀπαντήσας αὐτῷ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ποῦ εἰσὶ τὰ λάχανά σου;
Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Ἔφαγον αὐτά. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἰδοὺ τὰ ἐμὰ ἐτήρησα.
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Σὺ οὐκ ἐπείνας, ἀδελφέ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐτήρησας
αὐτά.
482. Ἀδελφός ποτε ἐκάλεσεν ἀδελφὸν ἐν Σκήτει λέγων· Δεῦρο εἰς τὸ

κελλίον μου, ἵνα νίψω τοὺς πόδας σου. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἀπῆλθεν. Πάλιν
δεύτερον καὶ τρίτον εἶπεν αὐτῷ καὶ οὐκ ἀπῆλθεν. Ὕστερον δὲ ἦλθεν
εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ καὶ βαλὼν μετάνοιαν παρεκάλει αὐτῷ λέγων· Δεῦρο
εἰς τὸ κελλίον μου. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἀπῆλθε σὺ[f. 267vb]ν αὐτῷ. Καὶ εἶπεν
αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Πῶς παρακληθεὶς ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ πολλάκις οὐκ ἦλθες; Ὁ δὲ
εἶπεν· Ὅταν λόγῳ μόνῳ ἔλεγες, οὐκ ἐπληροφορούμην ἐλθεῖν, ὅταν δὲ τὸ
μοναχικὸν ἔργον εἶδον, τουτέστι τὴν μετάνοιαν, κἀγὼ χαίρων ἦλθον
μετὰ σοῦ.
1
πέλυκα] πέλεκον S 2
ἐκολλήθη] ἐκωλλήθη C
N.480–2 309
N.480
They used to say of one brother that he lived in the desert for many years
ridiculed by demons but he himself thought they were angels. His natural
father used to go out and visit him from time to time. One day he took
an axe with him, saying: “I will bring a little wood with me as I come.”
One demon arrived first and said to the son: “Look, the devil is coming to
you in the likeness of your father. He has an axe in his basket so he can kill
you. You get in first: take the axe from him and kill him.” When the
father came, as was his wont, the son took the axe from him, struck his
father and killed him. An evil spirit immediately cleaved to him and
strangled him.
N.481 (cf. 4.89)

Some people once brought vegetables and gourds to Scete and set them
down by the church so that, as they came [out] the brothers could take
them a little at a time to their cells. One elder took a few vegetables and a
few gourds and, as he went along the path, ate them raw from hunger.
A brother who met him said to him: “Where are your vegetables?” “I have
eaten them”, he said. “Look,” said the brother to him, “I have kept mine.”
The elder said to him: “You were not hungry brother; that is why you kept
them.”
N.482
Α brother once called to [another] brother at Scete saying: “Come to my
cell so I can wash your feet”, but he did not come. He spoke to him a
second and a third time, but [the other] still did not come. Later on [the
first brother] came to his cell, prostrated himself and begged him saying:
“Come to my cell.” [The other] rose up and came with him. “How is it
that you did not come when I begged you repeatedly?” the brother said to
him. “I was not convinced when you only spoke the words,” he said, “but
when I saw the monastic gesture (the prostration, that is) then I came with
you gladly.”
483. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω ὅτι ἡ κενοδοξία
θλίβει με; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Καλῶς ποιεῖς. Σὺ γὰρ ἐποίησας τὸν
οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦτο1 κατανυγεὶς ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἔβαλε μετά-
νοιαν λέγων· Συγχώρησόν μοι ὅτι οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἐποίησα. Λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Εἰ ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ἐν ταπεινοφροσύνῃ ἦλθεν, σὺ ὁ πηλὸς διατί
κενοδοξεῖς; Τί γάρ ἐστιν τὸ ἔργον σου, ἄθλιε;
484. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα ὅτι [f. 268ra] ποιῶ πάντα τὰ πρέ-
ποντα ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ μου καὶ οὐχ εὑρίσκω παράκλησιν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Τοῦτό σοι συμβαίνει διὰ τὸ συντρίβειν σε ἀπραγο-
τέρῳ καὶ βούλεσθαί σε τὸ θέλημά σου προβῆναι. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ
γέροντι· Τί οὖν θέλεις ἵνα ποιήσω, πάτερ; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ἄπελθε κολ-
λήθητι ἀνθρώπῳ φοβουμένῳ τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ταπείνωσον ἑαυτὸν αὐτῷ καὶ
ἔκδος τὸ θέλημά σου, καὶ τότε εὑρήσεις παράκλησιν παρὰ Θεοῦ.
485. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐδέποτε προέβην βῆμα ποδός, εἰ μὴ ἔμαθον ποῦ

ἔθηκα τὸν πόδα μου, ἀλλ᾿ εἰστήκειν κατανοῶν καὶ ὅλως μὴ ἐνδιδούς, ἄχρις
ἂν ὁ Θεὸς ὡδήγησέν με.
485 bis. Εἷπε γέρων· Ἢ φεύγων φεῦγε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἢ ἔμπαιζον τῷ

κόσμῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, μωρὸν σεαυτὸν ποιῶν.
486. [f. 268rb] Περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης λόγος Γρηγορίου τοῦ θεολόγου

Πῶς εἰς τὴν σωτήριον ταπεινοφροσύνην καταβησόμεθα τὸν ὀλέθριον ὄγκον
τῆς ὑπερηφανίας καταλιπόντες; Ἐὰν διὰ παντὸς ἀσκῶμεν τὸ τοιοῦτον καὶ
μηδὲν παρορῶμεν, ὡς οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο βλαπτόμενοι. Τοῖς γὰρ ἐπιτηδεύμα-
σιν ὁμοιοῦται ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ πρὸς ἃ πράττει τυποῦται καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα
σχηματίζεται. Ἔστω οὖν σοι καὶ σχῆμα καὶ ἱμάτιον καὶ βάδισμα καὶ
καθέδρα καὶ τροφὴ καὶ κατάστασις καὶ στρωμνῆς παρασκευὴ καὶ οἶκος
καὶ τὰ ἐν οἴκῳ πάντα σκεύη πρὸς εὐτέλειαν ἠσκημένα, καὶ μὴν καὶ ψαλμὸς
καὶ ᾠδὴ καὶ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον εὐταξία. Καὶ ταῦτα πρὸς εὐτέλειαν μᾶλλον ἢ
πρὸς ὄγκον ὁράτω [f. 268va]. Μή μοι κόμπους ἐν λόγοις σοφιστικοῖς, μηδὲ
ἐν ᾠδαῖς ἡδυφωνίας ὑπερβαλλούσας, μηδὲ διαλέξεις ὑπερηφάνους καὶ
βαρεῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἅπασιν ὑπαφαιρεῖν τοῦ μεγέθους, χρηστὸς πρὸς τὸν φίλον,
ἥπιος πρὸς οἰκέτην, ἀνεξίκακος πρὸς τοὺς θρασείς,2 φιλάνθρωπος πρὸς
τοὺς ταπεινοὺς, παρηγορῶν κακουμένους, ἐπισκεπτόμενος τοὺς ἐν
1
τοῦτο] τούτῳ S 2
θρασεὶς] θαρσεῖς C
N.483–6 311
N.483
A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do, for vainglory is afflicting me?”
“Well done,” the elder said to him, “for you created heaven and earth.”
Pricked in his conscience by this, the brother prostrated himself, saying:
“Forgive me; I have done nothing of the kind.” Said the elder: “If he who
did create them came in humble-mindedness, why are you, clay that you
are, vainglorious? What is your accomplishment, wretched fellow?”
N.484
A brother asked an elder: “In my cell I am doing everything that is
appropriate, yet I receive no consolation from God.” The elder said to
him: “This is because you are in conflict with a rather idle fellow and you
want your will to prevail.” “What then do you want me to do, father?” said
the brother to the elder. “Go away,” the elder said, “and attach yourself to
a man who fears God; humble yourself before him, surrendering your will;
then you will find consolation from God.”
N.485
An elder said: “I never took a step forward unless I found out where I was
putting my foot. I stood still, reflecting, not giving in at all until God
showed me the way.”
N.485bis (cf. 8.31, N.320 and Or 14)

An elder said: “Either run away and escape from men or mock the world
and men by playing the fool most of the time.”
N.486
A passage from Gregory the Theologian on humble-mindedness
How are we to abandon the destructive ostentation of pride and abase
ourselves in the virtue of redeeming humble-mindedness? By ever discip-
lining ourselves in the exercise of the one and overlooking nothing, since
we are not harmed except in this. For the soul comes to resemble what it is
engaged in; it assumes the character of what it practises and forms itself on
ὀδύναις, μηδένα καθάπαξ παρορῶν, γλυκὺς ἐν προσηγορίᾳ, φαιδρὸς ἐν
ἀποκρίσει, δεξιὸς εὐπρόσιτος ἐν πᾶσιν.
486 bis. Ἦν τις πατὴρ μέγας καὶ τῷ θεῷ ἀνακείμενος, ἔχων μεγάλας
δόξας καὶ φήμας ἀληθεῖς ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ χώρᾳ ἐκ τῆς ἐπιπόνου ἀσκήσεως.
Καὶ δὴ ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀπέρχεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ ἔπαρχος τοῦ Ἰλυρικοῦ,
ἀνὴρ φρόνιμος [f. 268vb] καὶ συνετός, θέλων ἐπὶ πλεῖον ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ στηρ-
ιχθῆναι. Καὶ μετά τινας λόγους ἤρξατο ὁ πατήρ, τῇ συνήθει1 αὐτῷ
ταπεινοφροσύνῃ χρώμενος, πρῶτον μὲν νουθετεῖν τὸν ἔπαρχον περὶ
φιλανθρωπίας τῶν ὑπηκόων, εἶτα περὶ ἑαυτοῦ διεξῄει, μὴ ἄξιον εἶναι,
κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ἀτενίσαι καὶ ἰδεῖν εἰς τὸ ὕψος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐκ τῶν
ἀφάτων αὐτοῦ πλημμελημάτων. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ἔπαρχος· Ὑμεῖς ταῦτα,
πάτερ, λόγοις διεξέρχεσθε2 ταπεινοφρονοῦντες, τί πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἔργοις
τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἐπιτελοῦντας; Πάλιν ὁ πατὴρ ἐμμένων τῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ
λέγει· Οὐχὶ πίστευσον, τέκνον, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπ᾿ ἀληθείας ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ πάντων
ἀνθρώπων ἁμαρτωλότερος καὶ οὐκ ἔχω ἐν λογισμῷ, εἰ μὴ ὅτι πάντως
τοῖς ἐν τῇ γε[f. 269ra]έννῃ μέλλω κατατάττεσθαι καὶ μηδὲ τὸ πρόσωπον
ἀξιωθῆναι ἰδεῖν τοῦ Σωτῆρος, οὕτως ἐν ἀμελείᾳ καὶ ῥαθυμίᾳ τὸν βίον μου
διανύσας. Καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ὁ πατὴρ ταπεινοφρονῶν ὡς εἴρηται διεξῄει.3
Ὁ οὖν ἔπαρχος συνετὸς ὢν καὶ θέλων καὶ τὸν πατέρα διορθωθῆναι ἐν
τούτῳ, πάντα γὰρ καλὰ ἐν καιρῷ αὐτῶν, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοὺς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ
ὠφεληθῆναι, στραφεὶς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἠρέμα τινὰ διεξῆλθεν. Ὁ δὲ πατὴρ
ἠρώτησε· Τί ἂν εἴη τὸ λεχθέν; Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἔκρυπτον. Ὡς οὖν οὐ
συνεχώρει ὁ πατήρ, λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Τοῦτο εἶπεν ἡμῖν, πάτερ,4 ἡ ἐξουσία
αὐτοῦ, ὅτι δεῦτε, ἀδελφοί, ἀπέλθωμεν καί, κἂν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου
ἀπολαύσωμεν, ἐν ὅσῳ ἀπέγνωσται ἡμῖν5 τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας. Εἰ γὰρ οὕτως6
ὁ τηλικαύτην ἄσκησιν ἐκτελῶν [f. 269rb] καὶ οὕτως εὐαρεστῶν τῷ Θεῷ,
οὐδὲ ὅλως λέγει φιλανθρωπίας ἀξιοῦσθαι παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ, τί ἂν εἴποιμεν ἡμεῖς
οἱ τοῖς κακοῖς καθημέραν συμφυρόμενοι; Ματαία γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἀρετῶν
ἄσκησις, διὰ τὸ μηδένα δύνασθαι τῆς τελειότητος ἐφικέσθαι. Ταῦτα ἀκού-
σας ὁ πατὴρ ἔκρουσε τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πρόσωπον καὶ μικροῦ δεῖν καὶ τὴν
ἐσθῆτα διέρρηξε κράζων καὶ λέγων· Μή, τέκνα, μὴ τοῦτο ποιήσηται.7
Κἀγὼ γὰρ καὶ πάντες τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐλπίζομεν τυχεῖν, διότι
νικᾷ τὸ εὔσπλαγχνον αὐτοῦ τὰ ἡμῶν πλημμελήματα. Ἀλλὰ ταπεινῶν τὸν
1
συνήθει] συνήθη C 2
διεξέρχεσθε] διεξέρχεσθαι C
3
ὁ πατὴρ. . .. διεξῄει] ὡς εἴρηται ταπεινοφρονῶν ὁ πατὴρ διεξέρχεσθε S
4
Τοῦτο εἶπεν ἡμῖν, πάτερ] Τοῦτο ἡμῖν, πάτερ, εἶπεν S 5
ἡμῖν] om S 6
οὕτως] οὕτoς S
7
ποιήσηται] ποιήσητε S
N.486 313
that pattern. Let your deportment, your clothing, your walking, your
down-sitting and your uprising [cf. Ps 138:2], your food, your way of life,
the preparation of your bed, your house and all the furnishings of your
house, be fashioned in a simple manner, likewise your psalm, your hymn
and your good behaviour towards your neighbour; let these all be simple
rather than ostentatious. Let there be no boasting in clever language, no
excessively sweet sounds in the singing, no high-flown, no weighty con-
versations but, setting aside one’s status in every activity, be gracious to
your friend, gentle with your servant, forbearing with the bold, charitable
to the lowly, a consolation to those who are badly done to, a visitor of the
ailing; in short, overlooking nobody; cheerful in response, pleasant in
conversation and always approachable. (Basil of Caesarea, De humilitate, PG
31:537, 14–34)
N.486bis
There was a great and godly father who received generous praise and
genuine renown in his own country for the severity of his way of life.
One day there came to him the governor of Illyria, a prudent and intelli-
gent man, wanting to be more firmly strengthened by him. After some
conversation, the father (acting with his customary humble-mindedness)
first began to admonish the governor to be benign in dealing with his
subjects. Then he went on to speak of himself, [saying] that he was
unworthy “to lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven” as it is written
(Lk 18:13) because of his hidden sins. The governor said to him: “Father,
you [monks] speak about these [sins] in words out of humble-mindedness;
but what about us who really do commit sins in our deeds?” Maintaining
his humble stance, the father spoke again: “Not so, believe me my son.
I am in truth more sinful than all men. I have this one thought in mind:
that I am undoubtedly going to be ranked amongst those who are in hell
and not be deemed worthy to see the Saviour’s face because I completed
my life in such negligence and indolence.” The father (in his humility)
recounted other such things as have been said. Now the governor, being an
intelligent man and wishing the father to be set right in this matter (for
everything is good at the right time) and also that those accompanying him
might be edified, turned to them and said something to them in a low
voice. The father asked: “What is it that has been said?” but those who had
heard it kept it to themselves. When the father would not allow this, they
said to him: “This is what His Excellency said to us, father: ‘Come,
ἐμαυτοῦ λογισμὸν καὶ ὑμᾶς νουθετῶν ἐν ταῖς ἀγαθοεργίαις ὑμῶν μὴ
ἐπαίρεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ἐμμένειν τῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ ταῦτα διεξῆλθον πρὸς
[f. 269va] ὑμᾶς. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἔπαρχος· Κἀγὼ ἔγνων τοῦτο, πάτερ, ἀλλὰ
παρακαλῶ σε, μέτρῳ κέχρησο τοῖς λόγοις τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ
μᾶλλον πρὸς τοὺς ἀκούοντας ἁρμοζομένους,1 μήποτε ὡς ὑπεδείχθη ἀρτίως
μὴ μόνον οὐκ οἰκοδομηθῶσιν οἱ ἀκούοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ καταστραφῶσι τῇ
ῥαθυμίᾳ τῆς ἀπογνώσεως κυκλωθέντες. Ἔργοις δὲ ταπεινοῦν ἑαυτὸν2 καὶ
ὑπὲρ μέτρον καλόν, ὠφελεῖ γὰρ τοὺς ὁρῶντας. Καὶ τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Θεοῦ
πάντες ὠφεληθέντες καὶ ἀλλήλοις ὁμολογήσαντες χάριτας καὶ τὸν Θεὸν
δοξάσαντες ἀνεχώρησαν.
487. [f. 269va] Περὶ τῶν ιβ0 ἀναχωρητῶν

Ἀναχωρηταὶ ἅγιοι, σοφοὶ καὶ πνευματικοί,3 τὸν ἀριθμὸν δώδεκα,4
συναχθέντες ἐπὶ τῷ αὐτῷ5 ἀπῄτη[f. 269vb]σαν ἑαυτοὺς6 εἰπεῖν ἕκαστος7
ἃ κατώρθωσεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ8 καὶ ποίαν ἄσκησιν9 ἤσκησε
πνευματικήν.
Ὁ πρῶτος καὶ10 πρεσβύτερος αὐτῶν ἔφη· Ἐγώ, ἀδελφοί, ἀφοῦ ἠρξάμην
ἡσυχάζειν, ὅλον ἐσταύρωσα ἑαυτὸν τοῖς ἔξω πράγμασιν, ἐννοῶν τὸ
γεγραμμένον διαρρήξωμεν τοὺς δεσμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπορρίψωμεν ἀφ᾿ ἡμῶν
τὸν ζυγὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ τεῖχος ποιήσας ἀναμέσον τῆς ψυχῆς μου καὶ τῶν
σωματικῶν, εἶπον ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ11 μου ὅτι, ὥσπερ ὁ ἔσω τοῦ τείχους, οὐχ
ὁρᾷ τὸν ἔξω ἑστῶτα, οὕτως μηδὲ σὺ θελήσῃς ὁρᾶν τὰ ἔξω πράγματα,
ἀλλὰ σεαυτῷ πρόσεχε ἐκδεχόμενος καθημέραν τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Οὕτως δὲ ἔχω τὰς πονηρὰς ἐπιθυμίας ὡς ὄφεις [f. 270ra] καὶ γεννήματα
ἐχιδνῶν καὶ ὅταν αἰσθάνωμαι12 ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ μου ταύτας φυομένας μετὰ
ἀπειλῆς καὶ ὀργῆς ξηραίνω αὐτὰς καὶ οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην ποτὲ ὀργιζόμενος
τῷ σώματί μου καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ μου, ἵνα μηδὲν φαῦλον ποιήσωσιν.
Ὁ δεύτερος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ εἶπον ἐμαυτῷ, ἀφ᾿ οὗ ἀπεταξάμην τῷ κόσμῳ,
ὅτι σήμερον ἀνεγεννήθης, σήμερον ἤρξω δουλεύειν Θεῷ,13 σήμερον ταῦτα
παροικεῖν ἤρξω. Οὕτως ἔσo 14 καθεκάστην ὡς ξένος καὶ αὔριον ἀπαλλασ-
σόμενος· καὶ τοῦτο15 ἐμαυτῷ συνεβούλευον.
1
ἁρμοζομένους] ἁρμοζόμενον S 2
ἑαυτὸν] ἑαυτοὺς S (? vix leg.)
3
καὶ πνευματικοί] om S 4
ἄνδρες πνευματικοί] add S
5
τῷ αὐτῷ corr] τὸ αὐτὸ S τὸ αὐτῷ C 6
ἑαυτοὺς] om S 7
ἕκαστος ἀλλήλοις] S
8
εἰς τὰ κελλία αὐτῶν] S 9
ἄσκησιν] om S, add ἕκαστος 10
καὶ] οm S
11
διανοίᾳ] καρδίᾳ S 12
αἰσθάνωμαι] ἐσθάνωμαι C
13
σήμερον ἤρξω δουλεύειν Θεῷ] om C 14
ἔσο] ἔσω S 15
τοῦτο] τούτῳ C
N.487 315
brothers, let us take pleasure in this world where the things pertaining to
salvation have been given up as hopeless by us. For if this man, who has
passed such a long period of strict discipline and is so well pleasing to God,
now claims that he is not in the least worthy of God’s loving-kindness, what
could we say who are implicated in evil everyday? It is pointless to discipline
oneself in virtue because nobody can achieve perfection.’” On hearing
this, the father struck himself in the face and almost tore his garments,
crying out saying: “No children; do not let this happen! I myself and
everybody, we all hope to experience the loving-kindness of God, for his
tender mercy exceeds our shortcomings. I recounted those things to you
humbling my mind and admonishing you not to become high-and-mighty
in your good deeds, but to stand fast in humility.” “I realised that, father,”
the governor said to him, “but I do beg of you to be moderate when
speaking of humility, matching your words to your audience, lest your
hearers not only fail to be edified (as was shown just now) but also,
overcome by despair, they be subverted by indolence. On the other hand,
to humble oneself in one’s deeds is good (even when carried to excess) for it
edifies the beholders.” By the grace of God they were all edified. They went
away giving thanks to each other and glorifying God.
N.487
The Twelve Anchorites
Some holy, wise and spiritual anchorites, twelve in number, were gathered
together. They asked each other to declare individually what they had
accomplished in their cells and what manner of spiritual discipline they
practised.
The first (who was also the oldest) of them said: “Brothers, since the day
I began living in hêsychia, I have crucified myself entirely to external
considerations, bearing in mind what is written: ‘Let us break their bonds
asunder and cast away their yoke from us’ [Ps 2:3]. I erected a wall between
my soul and bodily matters and said to myself: ‘As he who is inside the wall
does not see the one standing outside, so do you not be wanting to
contemplate external considerations, but rather pay heed to yourself, in
daily expectation of the hope of God.’ In this way I regard evil desires as
‘serpents and offspring of vipers’ [Mt 23.33]. When I perceive these
Ὁ τρίτος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ ἀπὸ πρωῒ ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς τὸν Κύριον μου καὶ
προσκυνήσας αὐτὸν ῥίπτω ἐμαυτὸν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἐξομολογούμενος τὰ
παραπτώματά μου καὶ οὕτως καταβαίνων προσκυνῶ τοὺς ἀγγέ[f.
270rb]λους αὐτοῦ παρακαλῶν αὐτοὺς δεηθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ
πάσης τῆς κτίσεως. Καὶ ὅταν τοῦτο ποιήσω κατέρχομαι ἐν τῇ ἀβύσσῳ
καὶ ὅπερ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ποιοῦσιν ἐπὶ Ἱεροσολύμων ἀπιόντες περισχιζόμενοι
καὶ δακρύοντες1 καὶ πενθοῦντες ἐπὶ τῇ συμφορᾷ τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν,
τοῦτο κἀγὼ ποιῶ, περιέρχομαι τὰς κολάσεις, θεωρῶν τὰ ἴδια μέλη
βασανιζόμενα καὶ κλαίω μετὰ κλαιόντων.
Ὁ τέταρτος ἔφη· Ἐγὼ οὕτως εἰμὶ ὡς ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῶν Ἐλαιῶν καθήμενος μετὰ
τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπον ἐμαυτῷ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μηδένα
γίνωσκε κατὰ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τούτων ἔσο καὶ διαπαντὸς ζητῶν αὐτοὺς καὶ
τὴν πολιτείαν αὐτῶν μιμούμε[f. 270va]νος, ὡς ἡ καλὴ Μαρία παρὰ τοὺς πόδας
τοῦ Κυρίου καθημένη καὶ τὸν λόγον2 αὐτοῦ ἀκούουσα λέγοντος· γίνεσθαι
ἅγιοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἅγιός εἰμι, γίνεσθαι τέλειοι ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς
τέλειός ἐστιν3 καὶ μάθετε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ.
Ὁ πέμπτος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ τοὺς ἀγγέλους θεωρῶ πᾶσαν ὥραν
ἀνερχομένους καὶ κατερχομένους εἰς τὴν κλῆσιν τῶν ψυχῶν · καὶ διαπαν-
τὸς τὸ τέλος προσδοκῶν, λέγω· Ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία μου ὁ Θεός.
Ὁ ἕκτος ἔφη· Ἐγὼ καθημέραν τοὺς λόγους τούτους ἀκούειν νομίζω
παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου· κάμετε δι᾿ ἐμέ, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Ἔτι μικρὸν
ἀγωνίσασθε καὶ δείξω ὑμῖν τὸ σωτήριόν μου καὶ τὴν δόξαν μου. Εἰ
ἀγαπᾶ[f. 270vb]τε με, εἰ τέκνα μου ἐστέ, ὡς πατέρα παρακαλοῦντα
αἰσχύνθητε. Εἰ ἀδελφοί μου ἐστέ, αἰδέσθητέ με ὡς πολλὰ δι᾿ ὑμᾶς ὑπομεί-
ναντα. Εἰ πρόβατά μου ἐστὲ τοῖς δεσποτικοῖς ἀκολουθήσατε παθήμασιν.
Ὁ ἕβδομος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ τὰ τρία ταῦτα συνεχῶς μελετῶ καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως
ἐπιλέγω ἐμαυτῷ· πίστιν, ἐλπίδα, ἀγάπην, ἵνα τῇ μὲν πίστει χαίρω, τῇ δὲ
ἐλπίδι στηριχθῶ, τῇ δὲ ἀγάπῃ μηδένα λυπήσω ποτέ.
Ὁ ὄγδοος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ πετόμενον4 θεωρῶ τὸν διάβολον ζητοῦντα5 τίνα
καταπίῃ6 καὶ ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν ἀπέλθω, θεωρῶ τοῖς ἔσωθεν ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τῷ
1
καὶ δακρύοντες] om S 2
τὸν λόγον] τῶν λόγων S
3
τέλειός ἐστιν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς tr S 4
πετόμενον corr] πετώμενον S and C
5
ζητοῦντα] ζητοῦν C 6
καταπίῃ] καταπίει C
N.487 317
growing in my mind, I wither them with abuse and wrath. I never stop
raging against my body and my soul to ensure that they do no evil.”
The second one said: “I told myself from the time when I renounced the
world: ‘Today you were born again; today you began to serve God; today
you began this sojourn here. Thus live each and every day as a stranger
who is leaving tomorrow.’ That was the advice I used to give myself.”
The third one said: “I go to my Lord early in the morning and, when
I have worshipped him, I throw myself face down, confessing my trans-
gressions. Abasing [myself] like that, I adore his angels, begging them to
beseech God on my behalf and for the whole of creation. While I am doing
this, I arrive in the depths and what the Jews do when they go to
Jerusalem, tearing [their garments], weeping and lamenting over the
misfortunes of their fathers, that I also do. And I run through the [list
of] punishments, observing my own limbs being tortured and I weep with
those who are weeping.”
The fourth one said: “I am as one sitting on the Mount of Olives with
the Lord and his angels, and I said to myself: ‘From now on, have no
knowledge of anyone in the flesh, but be ever with these [angels] and
always in search of them, imitating their way of life, like the good Mary,
sitting at the feet of Christ and listening to his word as he says: “Do you be
holy for I am holy” [1 Pt 1:16] and “Become perfect as your heavenly father
is perfect” [Mt 5:48] and “Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart”,
[Mt 11:29].’”
The fifth said: “I observe angels coming and going all the time to
summon souls. I am in constant expectancy of the end, saying: ‘O God,
my heart is ready’ [Ps 107:1].”
The sixth said: “I think I hear these words every day from the Lord:
‘Labour on my behalf and I will give you rest [Mt 11:28]. Labour on a little
while and I will show you my salvation and my glory. If you love me; if
you are my children, revere [me] as a father who bids you. If you are my
brothers, respect [me] as one who has endured many things on your
behalf. If you are my sheep, follow in the way of your Master’s sufferings.’”
The seventh said: “I constantly meditate and without interruption repeat
to myself these three things: faith, hope and charity [cf. 1 Cor 13:13],
δεσπότῃ μου Θεῷ ἐντυγχάνω κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ,1 ἵνα ἄπρακτος μείνῃ καὶ μηδὲν
ἰσχύσῃ καὶ μάλιστα κατὰ τῶν φοβου[f. 271ra]μένων αὐτόν.2
Ὁ ἔνατος3 εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ καθημέραν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τῶν νοερῶν δυνάμεων4
θεωρῶ καὶ τὸν Κύριον τῆς δόξης ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς ὑπὲρ πάντας λάμποντα.
Ὅταν δὲ ἀκηδιάσω, ἀνέρχομαι εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καὶ θεωρῶ τὰ θαυμαστὰ
κάλλη τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ τοὺς ὕμνους οὓς5 ἀναπέμπουσιν ἀπαύστως τῷ
Θεῷ, καὶ τὰς μελωδίας αὐτῶν, καὶ μετεωρίζομαι ὑπὸ τῶν φθόγγων καὶ
τῆς φωνῆς καὶ τοῦ μέλους αὐτῶν, ὡς ἐννοῆσαι τὸ γεγραμμένον· οἱ οὐρανοὶ
διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σποδὸν καὶ σκύβαλα
ἡγοῦμαι.
Ὁ δέκατος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ τὸν παραμένοντά μοι ἄγγελον θεωρῶ πλησίον
μου καὶ τηρῶ ἐμαυτὸν ἐννοῶν τὸ γεγραμμένον· προωρώμην τὸν Κύριον
ἐνώπιόν μου διαπαντός, ὅτι ἐκ [f. 271rb] δεξιῶν μου ἐστίν, ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῶ.
Φοβοῦμαι οὖν αὐτὸν θεωροῦντά μου τὰς ὁδούς· καὶ γὰρ θεωρῶ αὐτὸν
καθεκάστην ἀνερχόμενον πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ἐμφανίζοντά μου τὰ ἔργα καὶ
τοὺς λόγους.
Ὁ ἑνδέκατος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ πρόσωπον ἐπιθεὶς ταῖς ἀρεταῖς, οἷον τὴν
ἐγκράτειαν, τὴν σωφροσύνην, τὴν μακροθυμίαν, τὴν ἀγάπην, εἰς ἐμαυτὸν
εἵλκυσα κυκλώσας μοι αὐτάς, καὶ ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν ἀπέλθω, λέγω ἐμαυτῷ· Ποῦ
εἰσὶν οἱ παιδαγωγοί σου; Μὴ ὀλιγωρήσῃς, μὴ ἀκηδιάσῃς ἔχων αὐτὰς
ἐγγύς σου διαπαντός. Οἵαν θέλεις ἀρετήν, πάρεστί σοι. Πολλὰ μαρτυρή-
σουσιν ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἐπὶ Θεοῦ, ὡς εὑροῦσαι ἀνάπαυσιν ἐν σοί.
Ὁ δωδέκατος εἶπεν· Ὑμεῖς μὲν πτέρυγας οὐρανόθεν [f. 271va] ἔχοντες
πολιτείαν οὐράνιον κέκτησθε καὶ οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν. Ἐπηρμένους γὰρ
ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ τὰ ἄνω διώκοντας. Τῇ γὰρ δυνάμει καὶ
μετατέθησθε τῆς γῆς οἱ ἑαυτοὺς παντελῶς ἀπαλλοτριώσαντες ἐξ αὐτῆς.
Τί εἴπω ὑμᾶς, ἐπιγείους6 ἀγγέλους ἢ οὐρανίους ἀνθρώπους; Ἐγὼ δὲ
ἐμαυτὸν τοιοῦτον κρίνας ἀνάξιον καὶ τοῦ ζῆν, τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου βλέπω
ἔμπροσθέ μου, ὅπου δ᾿ ἄν ἀπέλθω καὶ ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν περιστραφῶ, βλέπω
αὐτὰς προλαμβανούσας με. Ἐν τοῖς καταχθονίοις οὖν ἐμαυτὸν κατεδίκασα
λέγων· ἔσομαι μετὰ τούτων μεθ᾿ ὧν καὶ ἄξιος εἰμί. Ἐν τούτοις μικρὸν
ὕστερον καταλογισθήσομαι. Θεωρῶ οὖν ἐκεῖ οἰμω[f. 271vb]γὰς καὶ δάκ-
ρυα ἄπαυστα καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητα. Θεωρῶ τινὰς βρύχοντας τοὺς ὀδόντας καὶ
1
αὐτοῦ] αὐτῷ S 2
αὐτόν] αὐτῶν codd 3
ἔνατος] ἔννατος C
4
δυνάμεων] ἀγγέλων S 5
ὕμνους] οὓς om C 6
ἐπιγείους] ἐπιγίους C
N.487 319
that I might rejoice in faith, be strengthened by hope and, in charity,
never cause grief to anybody.”
Said the eighth: “I see ‘the devil flying about seeking whom he may
devour’ [cf. 1 Pet 5:8]. I see [him] with my interior eyes wherever he goes
and I intercede with God, my Master and Lord, against him, that he may
remain unsuccessful and weak, especially against those who fear Him.”
The ninth said: “Every day I behold the assembly of the spiritual forces
with the Lord of Glory in the midst of them, outshining them all. When
I become discouraged, I ascend to heaven and contemplate the wondrous
beauty of the angels, the hymns that they unceasingly offer up to God and
their melodies. Then am I buoyed up by the sounds, their voices and their
tune, so that I have a conception of that which is written: ‘The heavens
declare the glory of God’ [Ps 18:2] and I count everything on earth as ashes
and rubbish [cf. Phil 3:8].”
The tenth one said: “I observe the angel who is [ever] with me close at
hand. I take a hold of myself, having in mind that which is written: ‘I have
set God always before me: for he is on my right hand, therefore I shall not
be shaken’ [Ps 15:8]. Thus I fear him as one who observes my paths;
for I see him approaching God each day to reveal my deeds and words
to him.”
The eleventh one said: “I imagine the virtues (such as abstinence,
sobriety, long-suffering, love) as persons and Ι draw them to myself in a
circle round about me. Then, wherever I go, I say to myself: ‘Where are
your instructors?’ Do not be downhearted or fall into accidie since you
have them ever with you. Whatever virtue you desire, it is there with you.
Finding rest in you, they will frequently bear witness before God on your
behalf.”
The twelfth one said: “It is not in the least surprising that you have
acquired a heavenly way of life since you possess wings from heaven.
I observe you raised up by your deeds and pursuing those things that are
above. You who have completely alienated yourselves from the earth are
raised up from it by the power [of God]. What am I to call you: earthly
angels or heavenly men? I, however, having judged myself such as to be
unworthy even of being alive, see my sins before me. Wherever I go and no
matter in which direction I turn, I see them ahead of me. I condemned
ἁλλομένους ὅλῳ τῷ σώματι καὶ τρέμοντας ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἕως ποδῶν. Καὶ
ῥίψας ἐμαυτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ σποδὸν καταπασάμενος, ἱκετεύω τὸν Θεὸν
τῶν συμφορῶν ἐκείνων πεῖραν μὴ λαβεῖν. Βλέπω δὲ καὶ θάλασσαν πυρὸς
κοχλάζουσαν καὶ διαφυσῶσαν καὶ μυκωμένην, ὡς νομίσαι τινὰ μέχρι τοῦ
οὐρανοῦ φθάνειν τὰ κύματα τοῦ πυρός, καὶ ἐν τῇ φοβερᾷ θαλάσσῃ
ἀνθρώπους ἀναριθμήτους ἐρριμμένους ὑπὸ ἀγρίων ἀγγέλων, καὶ μιᾷ
φωνῇ ἐκείνους πάντας ὁμοῦ ἀλαλάζοντας καὶ βοῶντας, οἵους οὐδεὶς ἤκου-
σεν ὀλολυγμοὺς καὶ φωνὰς καὶ ὥσπερ φρύγανα πάν[f. 272ra]τας καιομέ-
νους καὶ τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποστρεφομένους ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν διὰ τὰς
ἀνομίας αὐτῶν. Καὶ τότε θρηνῶ τὸ γένος τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Πῶς τολμᾷ
λαλῆσαι λόγον ἢ προσέχειν τινὶ τοσούτῳ ἀποκειμένων κακῶν τῷ κόσμῳ;
Ἐν τούτοις τοῖς λογισμοῖς κρατῶ ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ μου τὸ πένθος, ἀνάξιον
ἑαυτὸν κρίνας καὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς πληρῶν τὸ γεγραμμένον·
ἐγενήθη τὰ δάκρυά μου ἐμοὶ ἄρτος ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς.
Ταῦτα τῶν σοφῶν καὶ πνευματικῶν πατέρων τὰ ἀποφθέγματα. Γέν-
οιτο δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς μνήμης ἀξίαν πολιτείαν ἐνδείξασθαι, ἵνα γενόμενοι
ἄμεμπτοι εὐαρεστήσαντες1 τῷ δεσπότῃ ὅτι αὐτῳ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας,
Ἀμήν [f. 272rb].
488. Περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου τοῦ Πολιτικοῦ

Τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν οὐράνων πλουσίων2 χαριζομένου τοῖς ἀξίοις τῶν αὐτοῦ
ἀγαθῶν εἰς ἔπαινον καὶ δόξαν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ σωτηρίαν τῶν
ἐλπιζόντων ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν, δίκαιον λέγειν πρὸς ὠφέλειαν τὰ διὰ τοῦ ὁσίου
Μακαρίου κατορθώματα. Οὗτος γάρ, φησίν, εἰς τελειότητα φθάσας τῆς
κατὰ θεὸν ἀρετῆς καὶ πάντων ὑπεράνω γενόμενος τῶν παθῶν, θεωρίας
κατηξιώθη τῶν ἀσωμάτων καὶ οὐρανίων μυστηρίων, ἰσάγγελος εὑρεθείς,
ὡς διηγοῦνταί τινες, οἱ τούτου μαθηταὶ γεγονότες καὶ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀκού-
σαντες ἀποκαλύψεις ἃς ὁ Θεὸς αὐτῳ γνωρίζειν ἐβούλετο. καὶ φασίν
ἐισιόντι αὐτῳ εἰς τὴν παράδεισον Ἴαννη καὶ Ἴαμβρη [f. 272va] πολλὰ
προσεπάλαισεν ὁ δεινὸς δαίμων καὶ τῆς κακίας εὑρετὴς διάβολος. Ὡς δὲ
οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἐποιεῖτο τῆς μάχης ἡττώμενος, ὁ πανοῦργος ἐμφανίζειν
ἑαυτὸν ἐδόκει τῷ ἁγίῳ καὶ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ ποικίλας τῆς πλάνης τέχνας3
δεικνύειν, ἐπειρᾶτο Θεοῦ τοῦτον ὁμολογεῖν ἀναγκάζοντος καὶ μὴ βουλό-
μενον. Καὶ δὴ πρὸς τὴν βαθυτάτην ὁδεύων ἔρημον ὁ καλὸς στρατιώτης
τοῦ Χριστοῦ Μακάριος ὁρᾷ πρεσβύτην πάνυ προσαπαντῶντα αὐτῷ καὶ
1
εὐαρεστήσαντες] εὐαρεστήσωμεν trad. 2
Τοῦ. . . πλουσίων] non legitur apud C
3
τῆς τέχνας πλάνης S
N.488 321
myself to [be with] those in hell, saying: ‘I shall be with those of whom
I am worthy, for I shall be reckoned among them soon enough.’ There
I observed unending lamentations and endless unspeakable tears; I saw
some who were gnashing their teeth and trembling with their entire body
from head to feet. Throwing myself to the ground and sprinkling myself
with ashes, I supplicate God that I do not experience those misfortunes.
I behold also a sea of fire, bubbling, turbulent and roaring, so that one
thought the waves of fire reached as far as heaven and into the fearful sea,
men without number thrown by angry angels, and them all wailing and
shouting with one voice with wails and cries the like of which nobody ever
heard. They all burn like brushwood, and the mercy of God is turned away
from them on account of their misdeeds. Then do I lament for the human
race: how dare mankind utter a word or pay heed to anything so important
when evils are in store for the world? It is with such thoughts as these that
I maintain sorrow in my heart, having judged myself to be unworthy of
heaven and of earth, fulfilling that which is written: ‘My tears have become
my meat day and night’ [Ps 41:4].”
These are the sayings of the wise and spiritual fathers; may we demon-
strate a way of life worthy of [their] memory so that, being blameless, we
might be well pleasing to the Lord-and-master, for to him be the glory for
ever and ever. Amen.
Cf. J-C. Guy, “La collation des douze anachorètes”, Analecta Bollandiana 76
(1958), 422–7.
N.488
Concerning Abba Macarius the City-dweller
Since the King of Heaven freely bestows of his riches on those who are
worthy of them, to the praise and glory of his name and for the salvation of
those whose hope is in him, it is right to speak of the things achieved
through the saintly Macarius for the benefit [of the reader]. For it says that
this man, once he had attained the ultimate degree of godly virtue and had
mastered all his emotions, was found worthy of contemplating the incor-
poreal and heavenly mysteries. Some of his disciples described him as equal
to the angels and they heard from him revelations that God wished to
make known to him. They said that, as he was entering the Garden of
ἀχθοφοροῦντα σφόδρα, καὶ κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος περικείμενον1
ἀγγείων πλῆθος, ἐν ἑκάστῳ δὲ αὐτῶν πτερὸν φέροντα καὶ ἀντὶ περιβο-
λαίου φορῶν τὴν ὕλην. Πλήξας2 δὲ τὴν ῥάβδον ἔστη φησὶ πρόσωπον πρὸς
πρόσωπον ἀτενί[f. 272vb]ζων, ὁ δὲ ὡς ὕποπτος λωποδύτης ἐρυθριῶν
προσεποιήσατο καὶ φησὶ τῷ δικαίῳ· Τί ποιεῖς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ πλα-
νώμενος; Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος Μακάριος ἀπεκρίθη· Θεὸν εὑρεῖν θέλων· φεύγω τὴν
πλάνην. Σὺ δὲ τίς εἶ, ὦ πρεσβύτα, γνώριζέ μοι· ξένον γάρ σου τὸ σχῆμα
τῆς ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίας. Λέγει3 μοι τί ταῦτά εἰσι τὰ περιέχοντά σε.
Ὁ δὲ ἄκων ὡμολόγει λέγων· Ὃν λέγεται4 Σατανᾶν καὶ διάβολον ἐγὼ
τυγχάνω, καὶ ταῦτά ἐστιν ἐν οἷς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διαφόροις τρόποις ἕλκω
πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν καὶ ἑκάστῳ μέρει τὸ ἁρμόζον εἰς ἀπάτης ἔργον σπουδάζω
τελέσαι5 καὶ πτεροῖς ἐπιθυμιῶν τοὺς ἀκούοντάς μου καταστρέφων,
εὐφραίνομαι ἐπὶ τῇ πτώσει τῶν ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἡττωμένων. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἅγιος
[f. 273ra] Μακάριος καὶ θαρσήσας πρὸς αὐτὸν εἶπεν6· Τοῦ Χριστοῦ σε εἰς
παίγνιον παραδεδωκότος τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀγγέλοις φράσον μοι κατ᾿ εἶδος ὧν
ἔχεις φαρμάκων τὴν ἑρμηνείαν. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἐφάνης, ἵνα ἴδωμεν σου τὰς
πολυπλόκους μαγγανείας τῆς κακῆς7 σου τέχνης, καὶ μαθόντες τὰ πολυ-
μήχανά σου τῆς πλάνης βέλη, μὴ συντιθέμεθά σου τῇ γνώμῃ. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη·
Λέγω σοι καὶ μὴ θέλων τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπιστήμην, οὐ γὰρ δύναμαι κρύπτειν ὃ
βλέπεις. Μάνθανε οὖν τὴν αἰτίαν ἑκάστου ἀγγείου. Ἐὰν εὕρω τινὰ τὸν
μόνον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀδιαλείπτως μελετῶντα, ἐμποδίζω αὐτὸν8 κεφαλαλγίαν
αὐτῷ ἐπιράνας, τοῦ περὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς μου ἀγγείου χρίσας.9 Τὸν δὲ
ἀγρυπνεῖν εἰς ὕμνους καὶ εὐχὰς θέλοντα, λαβὼν ἐκ τοῦ [f. 273rb] περὶ
τὰς ὀφρύας μου ἀγγείου καὶ τῷ πτερῷ προσχύσας εἰς ὕπνον ἕλκειν
βιάζομαι νυσταγμὸν ἐπιφέρων. Τὰ δὲ περὶ τὰς ἀκοὰς ὁρώμενά σου εἰς
παρακοὴν ἔργων10 εἰσὶν ηὐτρεπισμένα καὶ διὰ τούτων ποιῶ μὴ ἀκούειν
τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον11 τοὺς θέλοντας σωθῆναι. Τοῖς δὲ περὶ τὴν
ὄσφρησίν μου μύροις εὐωδίας τοῖς νέοις εἰς πορνείαν, τοῖς δὲ περὶ τὸ
στόμα σκευασθεῖσι μοι φαρμάκοις δελεάζω τοὺς ἀσκοῦντας διὰ βρωμάτων
ἃ θέλω ποιεῖν, ἐπιπέμπων αὐτοῖς διὰ τούτων τὸ τῆς καταλαλιᾶς εἶδος
καὶ12 τὸ τῆς αἰσχρολογίας13 καὶ πάντων ὁμοῦ ἰδίων ἔργων τὰ σπέρματα
εἰς πλῆθος καρπῶν ἐμοὶ ἀξίων γεωργοῦντες οἱ ἐμοὶ ἐρασταί.14 Ὑπερ-
ηφανίᾳ δὲ περιβαλὼν περικλείω τὸν ὑψηλοφρονοῦν[f. 273va]τα διὰ τῶν
1
περικείμενον] περικειμενος S 2
πλήξας] πήξας S 3
λέγει] λέγε S
4
λέγεται] λέγουσι S
5
τὸ ἁρμόζον. . . τελέσαι] εἰς ἀπάτης ἔργον σπουδάζοντες τελέσαι τὸ ἁρμόζον S
6
εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν S 7
κακῆς] κακίστης S 8
αὐτὸν] αὐτῷ S 9
χρίσας] χρείσας C
10
ἔργων] ἔργα S 11
τοῦ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγου S 12
καὶ] om S
13
αἰσχρολογίας] ἐσχρολογίας C
14
ἀξίων γεωργοῦντες οἱ ἐμοὶ ἐρασταί] ὃ ἄξιον γεωργεῖν τοὺς ἐμοὺς ἐραστάς S
N.488 323
Jannes and Jambres, the devil, that terrible demon and the inventor of evil,
put up a tremendous struggle against him. As the all-crafty one was getting
the worst of it and gaining nothing by fighting, he decided to reveal
himself to the holy man and show him his own manifold technique of
leading [men] astray (he was experiencing God compelling him to acknow-
ledge [them] against his will). Consequently, while Macarius, that mag-
nificent soldier of Christ, was travelling into the remotest desert, he beheld
a very old man coming towards him, heavily laden with a quantity of flasks
all about his body and carrying a feather in each flask; he was wearing these
instead of clothing. Planting his staff, the devil stood staring at him, face to
face (he said). Pretending to blush like someone suspected of being a
robber, he said to the righteous one: “What are you doing, wandering in
this desert?” “Wanting to find God; I’m running away from deceit,”
Macarius replied, “but, tell me, who are you, old man, for your clothing
is incompatible with man’s wellbeing? Tell me what those things around
you are.” Against his will, the other confessed, saying: “I am he who is
called Satan and the devil. These are the different ways in which I draw
men to myself; I endeavour to accomplish the deed of deception appropri-
ate to each member. Turning those who listen towards me using the
feathers of their desires, I rejoice at the fall of those who are overcome by
me.” On hearing this, the holy Macarius boldly said to him: “Since Christ
has handed you over as a plaything of his angels, tell me the explanation of
each of the drugs that you have, for it was for this reason that you appeared,
that we might see the multifarious trickery of your evil craft. Also that,
having learnt about your miscellaneous weapons of deceit, we may not fall
in with your way of thinking.” “I will tell you what I understand,” he said,
“even though it is against my will, for I cannot hide what you can see.
Learn, then, the meaning of each flask. If I find somebody meditating solely
and unceasingly on [the law] of God, I interrupt him by giving him a
migraine, anointing him with [the contents of] the flask that is about my
head. As for him who wants to watch all night in hymns and prayers, I take
from the flask hanging at my eyebrows and, sprinkling him with the
feather, I use force to put him to sleep, overcome with fatigue. The flasks
you see about my ears are prepared for your deeds of disobedience and
through them I prevent those who wish to be saved from hearing the word
of truth. With those at my nostrils I entice the young to porneia with
pleasant smells. With the drugs set around my mouth I entice ascetics with
edible delights to do what I want, sending upon them by means of these the
action of backbiting, shameful talking and the seed of all such similar deeds
that those who love me cultivate for me into a multitude of worthy fruits.
ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ μου ὅπλων. Ἐκ τούτων γὰρ ἔχω τοῖς τὰ ἐμὰ φιλοῦσιν ἔργα
ἐν τῷ βίῳ1 δόξαν καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἔργα ἃ δοκεῖ εἶναι ἀγαθὰ τοῖς
ἀπὸ θεοῦ μεμακρυμμένοις.2 Τὰ δὲ περὶ τὸ στῆθος μου βλέπεις τῶν ἐμῶν
ἐννοιῶν εἰσὶ δοχεῖα ἐξ ὧν ποτίζω τὰς καρδίας εἰς μέθην ἀσεβείας, σκοτίζων
τὰς εὐσεβεῖς γνώμας τῶν θελόντων ἐνθυμεῖσθαι τὰ μέλλοντα λήθην τὴν
μνήμην αὐτῶν ἀφανίζων. Τὰ δὲ περὶ τὴν κοιλίαν εἰσί μου ἀγγεῖα ἀνα-
ισθησίας πεπληρωμένα δι᾿ ὧν ἀλόγως καὶ κτηνωδῶς παρασκευάζω τοὺς
ἀνοήτους θηρίων τρόπων τὸ ζῆν αὐτοῖς παρέχων. Τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ γαστέρα μοι
συνόντα πέφυκεν εἶναι πρὸς μίξιν ἀσελγειῶν, ἀκολασίας [f. 273vb] αἰσχρᾶς
διὰ τούτων ποιούμενος. Τὰ δὲ ἐν χερσὶν ὁρᾷς εἰς τὴν τῶν φθόνων καὶ φόνων
εἰσὶν ὑπηρεσίαν ἡτοιμασμένα ἐξ ὧν αἱ πράξεις τῶν ἐμῶν ἔργων
προχωροῦσιν. Τὰ δὲ ὄπισθεν περὶ τὸν νῶτον καὶ τοὺς ὤμους ἠρτημένα3 ὁ
γνόφος ἐστὶ τῶν ἐμῶν πειρατηρίων, δι᾿ ὧν ἰσχυρῶς ἀγωνίζομαι πρὸς τοὺς
ἐμοὶ πολεμεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντας, ἔνεδρα ποιῶν ἐκ τῶν ὀπίσω καὶ ταράσσω4
τοὺς δυναστεία πεποιθότας. Τὰ δὲ περὶ τοὺς μηροὺς καὶ τὰ σκέλη ἕως
ποδῶν προσκείμενα παγίδων εἰσὶ καὶ βρόχων μεσταμένα ἐξ ὧν ἐπιρραίνων
ταράσσω τὰς ὁδοὺς τῶν εὐθέων ἐμποδίζων τρέχειν τὸν την εὐσεβείας
δρόμον καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ ὁδῷ βαδίζειν αὐτοὺς παρασκευάζω5 [f. 274ra]. Ἐν
μέσῳ γὰρ καθήμενος τῶν ὁδῶν ζωῆς καὶ τοῦ θανάτου σκελίζω τοὺς ἐν τῇ
ζωῇ περιπατοῦντας συγκλείων αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θανάτου, ἐνισχύων
αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν πορείαν. Εἰς δὲ τὴν ἐμὴν ἀροτρίαν τριβόλους καὶ
ἀκάνθας κατασπείρω ἐν ᾗ σπειρόμενοι ἀρνοῦνται τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς ἀληθείας.
Σὺ δὲ παντελῶς οὐκ ἠβουλήθης μου ἀκοῦσαι κἄν ἅπαξ, ἵνα ἔχω μικρὰν
παραμυθίαν, ἀλλὰ πυροῖς με πάντοτε ὅπλον ἔχων μέγα, ὅθεν σπεύδω
φυγεῖν εἰς6 τοὺς ἐμοὺς δούλους. Σὺ γὰρ ἔχεις καλὸν δεσπότην μετὰ τῶν
συνδούλων σου, πράως ὁμιλοῦντα καὶ σὲ τηροῦντα ὡς ἴδιον τέκνον.
Ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ δοκιμώτατος ἀθλητὴς ἐπεσφράγισεν ἑαυτὸν εἰπών·
Εὐλο[f. 274rb]γητὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παραδούς σε εἰς αἰσχύνην τοῖς ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπ᾿
αὐτόν, καὶ ἐμὲ φυλάξει τελείως ἀπὸ τῆς σῆς ἀπάτης, ὅπως νικήσας σε λάβω
τὸ βραβεῖον παρὰ τοῦ ἐμοῦ δεσπότου. Φεῦγε τοίνυν μακράν, ὦ Βελίαρ,
Χριστοῦ σε καταργοῦντος. Μὴ ἅπτου τῶν ὀλίγων τῇ στενῇ7 ὁδευόντων
καὶ τραχείᾳ ὁδῷ τῆς σωτηρίας.8 Ἀρκοῦ τοῖς σοῖς καὶ9 φείδου τῶν εἰς
1
τοῖς τὰ ἐμὰ φιλοῦσιν ἔργα ἐν τῷ βίῳ] om S
2
ἔργα ἃ δοκεῖ εἶναι ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἀπὸ Θεοῦ μεμακρυμμένοις] ἔργα ὑπο τῶν τὰ ἐμὰ φιλούντῶν ἔργα ἃ
νομίζεται τοῦ ἀπὸ Θεου μακρυνθεῖσι εἶνει δήπουθεν ἀγαθά S
3
ὄπισθεν. . .. ἠρτημένα] (ἠρτιμένα C) ὄπισθεν ἠρτημένα περί τε τοὺς ὤμους καὶ τὸν νῶτον S
4
ταράσσω corr] ράσσω? C ράσσω S
5
τῇ ἐμῇ ὁδῷ βαδίζειν αὐτοὺς παρασκευάζω] τῇ ἐμῇ βαδίζειν παρασκευάζω ὁδῷ S
6
φυγεῖν εἰς] φεύγειν S 7
τῇ στενῇ] τῶν τὴν στενὴν S
8
τραχείᾳ ὁδῷ τῆς σωτηρίας] τραχείαν σωτηρίας ὁδόν S
9
Ἀρκοῦ τοῖς σοῖς καὶ] om S
N.488 325
With the weapons around my neck I surround and enclose the high-
minded with pride. With these [weapons] I provide glory and riches in
this life for those who love my deeds and any other things that seem to be
good to those who are far removed from God. The flasks you see on my
chest are the repositories of my own thoughts; from these I imbue men’s
hearts with drunkenness and godlessness, darkening the pious aspirations of
those who would contemplate the things that are to come, obliterating their
memory with sleep. The flasks at my belly are filled with insensitivity by
which I cause mindless people to live irrational and beastly lives; to live the
way wild animals do. Using the flasks below the belly I incite [men] to
licentious intercourse and shameful incontinence. Those you see in the
hands are for the envious and the murderers who advance the practice of
my deeds. Those fastened behind my back and on my shoulders are the
shades of my own endeavours by which I bravely struggle against those who
undertake to fight against me by setting snares behind them and throwing
into confusion those who trust in their own power. [The flasks] attached
around my thighs and legs all the way down to my feet are filled with traps
and snares. By distributing these I disturb the paths of the upright,
hindering them from running the race of godliness, causing them to travel
my road. Sitting between the roads of life and death, I trip up those who are
walking in life, restricting them to the way of death and empowering them
for my journey. I sow thorns and thistles in the ground I have worked and
those who are sown there renounce the way of truth. But you would not
hear me at all, not even once, to afford me a little consolation; armed with a
great weapon, you always burn me, hence I am in haste to flee to my
servants. You and your fellow servants have a fine Lord-and-master, one
who speaks kindly to you and watches over you like his own child.”
When the well-tried athlete heard this he signed himself [with the cross]
and said: “Blessed be God who has handed you over to those who hope in
him as a thing of shame and who will completely preserve me from your
deception, so that, having conquered you, I shall receive the reward from
my Lord-and-master. Now get you afar off, Beliar, for Christ has annulled
you; lay not a finger on the few who are travelling the rough and narrow
path of salvation. Be content with those who are yours and spare the ones
in the desert.” As the holy man was saying these things, that one became
invisible, displaying smoke as from a fire. The holy man knelt down and
prayed, saying: “Glory to you, O Christ, the refuge of those who are
tempest-tossed, the salvation of those who seek sanctuary in you. Amen.”
ἐρημίαν.1 Λέγοντος δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου ταῦτα εὐθὺς ἐκεῖνος ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο,
καπνὸν ὡσεὶ πυρὸς ἐπιδείξας. Θείς τε τὰ2 γόνατα ὁ ἅγιος προσηύξατο
λέγων· Δόξα σοι, Χριστέ, ἡ καταφυγὴ τῶν χειμαζομένων, ἡ σωτηρία τῶν
εἰς σὲ καταφευγόντων. Ἀμήν.
489. Περὶ τῶν β0 γυναικῶν3

Εὐχομένου ποτὲ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου ἐν τῷ κελ[f. 274va]λίῳ αὐτοῦ ἦλθεν
αὐτῷ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Μακάριε, οὔπω ἔφθασας εἰς τὸ μέτρον τῶνδε τῶv4
γυναικῶν τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως. Ἀναστὰς δὲ πρωῒ ὁ γέρων καὶ λαβὼν τὴν
βαΐνην ῥάβδον ἤρξατο τὴν ὁδοιπορίαν ποιεῖσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν. Φθάσας
οὖν ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ γνοὺς τὸν τόπον, ἔκρουσε πρὸς τὴν θύραν. Ἐξελθοῦσα δὲ
ἡ μία ἐδέξατο αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν οἶκον. Καθεσθέντος δὲ αὐτοῦ μικρὸν ἦλθε καὶ ἡ
ἄλλη καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτάς. Αἱ δὲ ἐλθοῦσαι ἐκάθισαν συν αὐτῷ. Καὶ λέγει
πρὸς αὐτὰς ὁ γέρων· Δι᾿ ὑμᾶς τὴν πορείαν καὶ τὸν τοσοῦτον κάματον
ὑπέμεινα ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου παραγενόμενος. Εἴπατε οὖν μοι τὴν ἐργασίαν
ὑμῶν πῶς ἔστιν. Αἱ δὲ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Πίστευσον ἡμῖν, πάτερ, οὐκ
ἐσμὲν [f. 274vb] ἐκτὸς τῆς κοίτης τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἑκάστῃ ἡμῶν τὴν ἡμέραν
ταύτην. Ποίαν οὖν ἐργασίαν ζητεῖς παρ᾿ ἡμῶν; Μετανοήσας οὖν αὐταῖς
ὁ γέρων παρεκάλει λέγων· Φανερώσατέ μοι τὴν πρᾶξιν ἑαυτῶν.5 Τότε
λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἡμεῖς κατὰ τὸν κόσμον ξέναι ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων.6 Ἔτυχε δὲ
ἡμᾶς ζευχθῆναι δύο ἀδελφοῖς σαρκικοῖς καὶ ἰδοὺ δεκαπέντε ἔτη σήμερον ἐν
τῇ οἰκίᾳ ταύτῃ οἰκοῦμεν. Οὐκ οἴδαμεν εἴποτε μάχην ἐποιήσαμεν ἢ αἰσχρὸν
ἐλαλήσαμεν. Ἦλθε δὲ εἰς τὸν λογισμὸν ἡμῶν τοὺς μὲν ἄνδρας καταλιπεῖν,
εἰσελθεῖν δὲ εἰς τὸ τῶν παρθένων τάγμα. Καὶ πολλὰ παρακληθέντες παρ᾿
ἡμῶν οἱ ἄνδρες οὐκ ἐπείσθησαν τοῦ ἀπολῦσαι ἡμᾶς.7 Ἀποτυχοῦσαι οὖν
τοῦ σκοποῦ τούτου8 ἐθέ[f. 275ra]μεθα διαθήκην μεταξὺ ἡμῶν καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ
ὥστε μέχρι θανάτου μὴ λαλῆσαι διὰ στόματος ἡμῶν λόγων κοσμικῶν.9
Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος εἶπεν· Ἐν ἀληθείᾳ οὐκ ἔστι παρθένος ἢ
ὕπανδρος ἢ μοναχὸς ἢ κοσμικός, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Θεὸς προαίρεσιν ζητεῖ καὶ τὸ
ἅγιον πνεῦμα πᾶσι παρέχει.
490. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἀντωνίου, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοῦ ποτὲ εὐχομένου
ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ, ἦλθεν αὐτῷ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Ἀντώνιε, οὔπω ἔφθασας
εἰς τὸ μέτρον τοῦδε τοῦ σκυτέως τοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ. Ἀναστὰς οὖν τὸ
1
ἐρημίαν] τὰς ἐρημίας S 2
τὰ] om S
3
καὶ τοῦ Αββα Μακαρίου add S 4
τῶνδε τῶv] τῶν δύο S 5
ἑαυτῶν] ὑμῶν S
6
ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων] ἀλλήλων ἐσμὲν S
7
οἱ ἄνδρες. . .. ἡμᾶς] οἱ ἄνδρες ἡμῶν ἀπολῦσαι ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἐπείσθησαν S 8
τούτου] τοιούτου S
9
λόγων κοσμικῶν] λόγoν κοσμικoν S
N.489–90 327
N.489/20.21 BHG 999yb, de praestantia mulierum duarum

Once when Abba Macarius was praying in his cell, a voice came to him,
saying: “Macarius, you have not yet attained the stature of those two
women of this city.” The elder got up early, took his palm-wood staff
and began to make the journey to the city. When he got there and
identified the place, he knocked at the door. One of the women came
out and invited him into the house. He sat there for a little while then the
other woman came. When he invited them to approach, they did so,
seating themselves beside him. The elder said to them: “It is on your
account that I have put up with the journey and so much toil in getting
here from the desert. Now, tell me about your work; what kind is it?”
“Believe us, Father,” they told him, “we have not been absent from our
husbands’ beds to this very day; what sort of work do you expect of us?”
The elder apologised to them and begged them, saying: “Show me the way
you live”, at which they told him: “We are unrelated to each other in the
worldly sense, but it happened that we were married to two natural
brothers and, look, today we have been living in this house for fifteen
years. We are not aware of ever having quarrelled or spoken a shameful
word. It crossed our mind to leave our husbands and to join the ranks of
the virgins but, despite frequent pleading on our part, our husbands did
not agree to release us. So, frustrated in that project, we took an oath to
each other and before God that we would let no secular talk pass our lips
until we died.” When Abba Macarius heard this, he said: “Truly, there is
no virgin or married woman or monk or worldling, but God looks for a
deliberate choice and he gives the Holy Spirit to everybody.”
N.490
They used to say of the holy Antony that he too was once praying in his
cell when there came a voice to him saying: “Antony, you have not yet
attained the stature of a certain shoemaker in Alexandria.” He rose early,
took his palm-wood staff and set out to see him. When he came to the
place he went in to him; the man was troubled at the sight of him. The
elder said to him: “Tell me what you do.” “I am not aware that I have done
anything worthwhile,” he said, “unless it is that, in the morning when I get
up to sit down to my work, I say that this entire city, from the least to the
great ones, will enter the kingdom by virtue of their righteous deeds, while
I alone will inherit punishment because of my sins. I say the same thing
again in the evening before I sleep.” On hearing this Abba Antony said:
πρωῒ καὶ λαβὼν τὴν βαΐνην ῥάβδον ἀπῄει πρὸς αὐτόν. Ἐλθὼν οὖν εἰς τὸν
τόπον εἰσῆλθε πρὸς αὐτόν. Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνος ἐταράχθη. Λέγει οὖν
πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγων.1 Εἰπέ μοι [f. 275rb] τὰς πράξεις σου. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐκ
οἶδα ἐμαυτὸν τίποτε καλὸν πράξαντα, εἰ μὴ μόνον ὅτι ὡς ἀνίσταμαι τῷ
πρωῒ καθίσαι εἰς τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου λέγω ὅτι πᾶσα ἡ πόλις αὕτη ἀπὸ
μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου αὐτῶν εἰσέρχονται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν διὰ τὰς δικαιο-
σύνας αὐτῶν, ἐγὼ δὲ μόνος κληρονομῶ τὴν κόλασιν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου.
Καὶ πάλιν ὀψὲ πρὶν κοιμηθῶ, λέγω τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς
Ἀντώνιος λέγει· Ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ὡς καλὸς χρυσοχόος καθεζόμενος ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ
μετὰ ἀναπαύσεως τὴν βασιλείαν ἐκληρονόμησας, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀδιάκριτος ὢν
ὅλον μου τὸν χρόνον τὴν ἔρημον οἰκῶν οὐ κατέλαβόν σε [f. 275va].
490 bis. Ἔλεγεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος· Ὅτε ἤμην νεώτερος ἀκηδιάσας ἐν

τῷ κελλίῳ ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον λέγων τῷ λογισμῷ μου2 ὅτι, ὃν ἐὰν
ἀπαντήσῃς, ἐρώτησον αὐτὸν χάριν ὠφελείας. Καὶ εὗρον παιδίον βόσκον
βοΐδια καὶ λέγω αὐτῷ· Τί ποιήσω, παιδίον, ὅτι πεινῶ; Λέγει μοι· Καὶ φάγε.
Πάλιν εἶπον ὅτι ἔφαγον καὶ πάλιν πεινῶ. Πάλιν λέγει μοι·3 Καὶ πάλιν φάγε.
Καὶ πάλιν εἶπον ὅτι πολλάκις ἔφαγον καὶ πάλιν πεινῶ. Τότε λέγει μοι· Τάχα
ὄνος εἶ, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι πάντοτε τρώγειν θέλεις; Καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς ἀνεχώρησα.
491. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τὸ ὄνομα ἐστὶ τὸ σῶζον ἢ τὸ

ἔργον; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οἶδα ἐγὼ ἀδελφὸν εὐχόμενον ποτὲ καὶ
παρεισῆλθεν εἰς τὸν λογισμὸν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἤθελον ἰδεῖν ψυχὴν ἁμαρτωλοῦ
καὶ [f. 275vb] δικαίου ἀνασπωμένην ἐκ τοῦ σώματος. Μὴ θέλων δὲ ὁ Θεὸς
λυπῆσαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καθεζομένου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ
εἰσῆλθε λύκος πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενος τῶν ἱματίων αὐτοῦ τῷ
στόματι ἔφερεν αὐτὸν ἔξω. Ἀναστὰς οὖν ἐπηκολούθησεν αὐτῷ, ἕως οὗ
ἀπήνεγκεν αὐτὸν εἰς πόλιν τινὰ καὶ ἑάσας αὐτὸν ἐν αὐτῇ ἀνεχώρησεν. Ὡς
οὖν ἐκαθέζετο ἔξω τῆς πόλεως εἰς μοναστήριον ἔχον τινὰ οἰκοῦντα ἐν
αὐτῷ ὄνομα μεγάλου ἀναχωρητοῦ ἔχοντα – ἦν δὲ ἀρρωστῶν καὶ
ἐκδεχόμενος τὴν ὥραν αὐτοῦ – ὁρᾷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς πολλὴν ἑτοιμασίαν κηρίων
καὶ κανδηλῶν ἡτοιμασμένων αὐτῷ. Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις ἔκλαιε δι᾿ αὐτόν ὡς
ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τῶν εὐ[f. 276ra]χῶν αὐτοῦ τὸν ἄρτον καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ παρεῖχεν
ἡμῖν καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν ἔσωζεν ὁ Θεὸς δι᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἐὰν οὖν συμβῇ αὐτῷ
τίποτε, πάντες ἀποθνῄσκομεν. Γενομένης δὲ τῆς ὥρας τῆς ἀναγκαίας, ἰδοὺ
προσέχει ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ βλέπει τὸν Τάρταρον τοῦ ᾅδου μετὰ τριόδοντος
πυρίνου καὶ ἤκουσε φωνὴν τοιαύτην·4 Ὥσπερ οὐκ ἀνέπαυσέ με ἡ ψυχὴ
1
λέγων] ὁ γέρων S 2
μου. . . ἐαν] μου ὡς ὅτι ἀν S 3
λέγει μοι] εἶπε S
4
φωνὴν τοιαύτην] φωνῆς τοιαύτης S
N.490–1 329
“Truly, you have inherited the kingdom like a fine goldsmith sitting
restfully in his house while I, failing in perception, have lived the whole
of my time in the desert without catching you up.”
N.490bis
Abba Macarius said: “When I was a young man, assailed by accidie in my
cell, I went out into the desert, saying to myself: ‘Put a question to
whomsoever you meet to gain some benefit.’ Coming across a lad herding
oxen I said to him: ‘What am I to do, boy, for I’m hungry.’ ‘Eat then’, he
told me. Again I spoke: ‘I have eaten and am still hungry’, to which he
again replied: ‘Well, eat again.’ Again I said: ‘I had eaten many times and
am hungry again’, then he said to me: ‘Perhaps you are an ass, abba,
because you want to be always munching.’ Somewhat edified, I went my
way.”
N.491
A brother asked an elder saying: “Is it one’s name or one’s work that
saves?” The elder told him: “I know a brother who once got the idea while
he was praying that he would like to see the soul of a sinner and of a
righteous person being drawn from the body. As God did not want to
disappoint him in his wish, while he was residing in his cell, a wolf came in
to him and, laying hold on his clothing with its mouth, drew him outside.
He got to his feet and followed it until it brought him to a city; there it left
him and went its way. He was staying at a monastery outside the city that
had somebody living there who had the reputation of being a great
anchorite. He was ill, just waiting the hour of death – the brother saw a
great assembly of candles and lamps made ready for him. The entire city
was weeping for him, [declaring]: ‘It is through his prayers that God used
to provide us with bread and water; through him God used to keep the city
safe; if anything happens to him we shall all die.’ When the critical
moment arrived, here the brother (paying close attention) beheld the
hellish devil with a fiery trident and he heard a voice saying this: ‘Since
his soul never gave me a moment’s rest, don’t show him any mercy either
as you draw out his soul, for you will not have [any] rest for eternity.’
Plunging the fiery trident into the man’s heart he tortured him for some
considerable time; and that was how he drew out his soul. After that the
brother went into the city and sat there weeping. Noticing a brother he did
not recognise laying in the square, sick and with nobody to care for him,
αὐτοῦ οὐδεμίαν ὥραν, μηδὲ σὺ αὐτὸν ἐλεήσῃς ἀνασπῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ·
οὐ γὰρ μὴ ἀναπαῇ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Χαλάσας οὖν τὸν πύρινον τριόδοντα εἰς
τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ πολλὴν ὥραν βασανίζων αὐτόν, οὕτως ἀνέσπασε τὴν
ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελθὼν ἐν τῇ πόλει ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκαθέζετο κλαίων
καὶ ὁρᾷ [f. 276rb] ξένον ἀδελφὸν ἐν τῇ πλατείᾳ ἐρριμμένον ἄρρωστον καὶ μὴ
ἔχοντα τινὰ τὸν ἐπιμελούμενον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔμεινε πρὸς αὐτὸν μίαν ἡμέραν. Καὶ
ἐντὸς τῆς κοιμήσεως αὐτοῦ ὁρᾷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸν Μιχαὴλ καὶ τὸν Γαβριὴλ
ἐλθόντας διὰ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ καθεσθεὶς ὁ εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ
ἕτερος ἐξ εὐωνύμων ἔμειναν παρακαλοῦντες τὴν ψυχὴν1 ζητοῦντες παραλα-
βεῖν αὐτήν. Τῆς δὲ μὴ βουλομένης ἐᾶσαι τὸ σῶμα, εἶπεν ὁ Γαβριὴλ πρὸς τὸν
Μιχαήλ· Ἀνάσπασον αὐτήν, ἵνα ἀπέλθωμεν. Καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ
Μιχαήλ·2 Ἐκελεύσθημεν ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσπότου ἡμῶν ἀπόνως αὐτὴν ἐκβαλεῖν,
διὰ τοῦτο οὐ δυνάμεθα αὐτὴν βιάσα[f. 276va]σθαι. Ἐβόησεν οὖν ὁ Μιχαὴλ
φωνῇ μεγάλῃ· Κύριε, τί βούλει περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ταύτης, ὅτι οὐ πείθεται
ἐξελθεῖν; Ἦλθε δὲ αὐτῷ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν Δαβὶδ μετὰ
τῆς κιθάρας καὶ πάντας τοὺς ψάλλοντας, ὥστε ἀκούσασαν αὐτὴν τῆς μελω-
δίας3 τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῶν ἐξελθεῖν μετὰ χαρᾶς, ἐπεὶ μὴ βιάσησθε αὐτήν. Καὶ
κατελθόντων πάντων ἐκύκλωσαν τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἀδόντων τοὺς ὕμνους
ἐκπηδήσασα ἐσκίρτησεν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τοῦ Μιχαὴλ καὶ ἀνελήφθη μετὰ χαρᾶς.
492. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὁ αὐτὸς περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι ἀπῆλθε ποτὲ εἰς
πόλιν πιπράσκων σκεύη καὶ κατ᾿ εὐκαιρίαν ἐκαθέσθη εἰς πυλῶνα τινὸς
πλουσίου [f. 276vb] μέλλοντος τελευτᾶν. Καθημένου δὲ αὐτοῦ προσέσχεν
καὶ ὁρᾷ ἵππους μελανοὺς καὶ οἱ ἐπιβάται αὐτῶν μελανοὶ καὶ φόβου μεστοί,
ἔχοντες πύρινα βάκλα ἐν τοῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν. Φθασάντων δὲ αὐτῶν τὸν
πυλῶνα ἔστησαν τοὺς ἵππους ἔξω καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν. Καὶ ἰδὼν
αὐτοὺς ὁ ἄρρωστος ἐκραύγασε μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ·4 Κύριε, ἐλέησόν με καὶ
βοήθησόν μοι. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀποσταλέντες· Ἄρτι ὅτε ὁ ἥλιος ἔδυσεν,
ἦλθες μνησθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ; Διατί αὐγαζούσης τῆς ἡμέρας αὐτὸν οὐκ
ἐξεζήτησας; Νῦν οὐκ ἔστι μερὶς ἐλπίδος οὐδὲ παράκλησις. Καὶ οὕτως
παραλαβόντες τὴν ἀθλίαν αὐτοῦ ψυχὴν ἀπῆλθον.
493. Ἦν τὶς ἀσκητὴς ὑπὸ φιλαργυ[f. 277ra]ρίας πολεμούμενος. Οὗτος ἐκ

τοῦ ἐργοχείρου αὐτοῦ συνήγαγε νόμισμα ἕν, εἶτα δεύτερον. Εἶτα ἐσπούδασε
ποιῆσαι5 αὐτὰ πέντε καὶ εὐθὺς περιπίπτει πάθει καὶ τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτοῦ
1
τὴν ψυχὴν] αὐτοῦ add S
2
Ἀνάσπασον αὐτήν, ἵνα ἀπέλθωμεν. Καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Μιχαήλ om S
3
τῆς μελωδίας] την μελωδίαν S 4
μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ] μεγάλη φωνή C
5
ποιῆσαι] ποιῆσε C
N.492–3 331
he stayed a day with him. As the man was dying, the brother saw Michael
and Gabriel coming for his soul; one sat on his right side, the other
remained at the left; they remained begging for his soul and seeking to
take possession of it. But as the soul was unwilling to leave the body,
Gabriel said to Michael: ‘Draw it out so we can go away’, but Michael said
to him: ‘we were commanded by our Lord-and-master to remove it
painlessly; for that reason we cannot use force on it.’ So Michael cried
out with a loud voice: ‘Lord, what do you want [us to do] about this soul
because it refuses to come out?’ There came a voice to him saying: ‘Here
I am sending David with his harp and all the singers, so that when it hears
the melody of their sound it will come forth with joy; do not use force on
it.’ When they all came down, they surrounded the soul, singing hymns;
out it came, leapt into Michael’s hands and was borne up with joy.”
N.492/18.51 BHG 1322hi, de morte divitis

The same [person] also told of an elder that he went off into the city,
selling his wares and, by chance, he sat down at the gate of a rich man who
was at the point of death. As he sat there, watching closely, he saw some
black horses and their riders, black and terrifying, with fiery staves in their
hands. When they arrived at the gate they stationed their horses outside
and each of them went in. When the sick man saw them, he cried out with
a loud voice: “Have mercy on me and help me Lord!” Those who were sent
said to him: “Have you only come to mention God now when the sun has
set? Why did you not seek him out in the full light of day? There is not a
scrap of hope or comfort [for you] now”, whereupon they seized his
wretched soul and departed.
N.493
There was an ascetic who was embattled with the love of money. He
acquired one gold piece from the work of his hands, then a second one.
Then he strove to increase them to five and immediately met with
suffering. When his foot became rotten, he spent first one, then the five
[pieces of gold]. Since the suffering did not cease, the physician came next
day and told him: “Your foot ought to be amputated, abba, since your
entire body will become rotten”, so he resigned himself to the surgery. But
during the night, as he was weeping, an angel stood beside him and, when
he became delirious, the angel took hold of the foot, anointed the wound
with his hand and said to him: “Are you making them five? What do you
σαπέντος ἀναλίσκει τὸ ἕν, εἶτα τὰ πέντε. Μὴ παυσαμένου δὲ τοῦ πάθους,
ἔρχεται ὁ ἰατρὸς τῇ ἑξῆς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ ποῦς σου κοπῆναι,
ἀββᾶ, ἐπεὶ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα1 σου σήπει. Καὶ ἐπέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς τομήν. Καὶ δὴ
νύκτωρ κλαίοντος αὐτοῦ ἐφίσταται αὐτῷ ἄγγελος καὶ γενομένου αὐτοῦ
μετεώρου κατέχει τὸν πόδα καὶ τὸ πλῆγμα ἀπήλειψε τῇ χειρὶ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ
ὁ ἄγγελος· Ποιεῖς αὐτὰ πέντε; Τί λέγεις λοιπόν; Καὶ παραχρῆμα ἐθεράπευσεν
αὐτὸν καὶ2 ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Ἔρχε[f. 277rb]ται οὖν ὁ ἰατρὸς ἡμέρας γενομένης
καὶ κρούει τὴν θύραν. Ὁ δὲ ἀναστὰς ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ ἰατρὸς
ἐθαύμασεν καὶ μαθὼν τὸ γεγονὸς3 ἐγένετο χριστιανός, Ἕλλην ὤν.
494. Σταφυλαὶ ἠνέχθησαν τῷ ἀββᾷ Μακαρίῳ ἐπιθυμοῦντι φαγεῖν· ἐνδει-

κνύμενος δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐγκράτειαν, ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὰς πρὸς ἀδελφὸν κάμ-
νοντα καὶ αὐτὸν σταφυλὰς ἐπιθυμοῦντα.4 Ὅστις δεξάμενος καὶ λίαν
περιχαρὴς γενόμενος, κρύπτειν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐγκράτειαν βουλόμενος, πρὸς
ἄλλον ἀδελφὸν αὐτὰς ἐξαπέστειλεν, ὡς αὐτὸς5 ἀνόρεκτος ἔχων6 περὶ τὰ
βρώματα.7 Δεξάμενος δὲ κἀκεῖνος τὸ αὐτὸ πάλιν ἐποίησεν, λίαν ποθῶν καὶ
αὐτὸς μεταλαβεῖν. Ὡς δὲ εἰς πολλοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἦλθον αἱ σταφυλαί, μηδενὸς
βουληθέντος αὐτῶν [f. 277va] μεταλαβεῖν, ὁ τελευταίος πάλιν αὐτὰς λαβὼν
πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Μακάριον αὐτὰς8 ἀπέστειλεν9 ὡς μέγαν10 δῶρον αὐτῷ
χαριζόμενος. Ἐπιγνοὺς δὲ αὐτὰς ὁ Μακάριος καὶ πολυπραγμονήσας,
ἐθαύμασεν εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ αὐτῶν ἐγκρατείᾳ.
495. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀγάθωνος καὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἡρακλείου τοῦ εἰς
Σκῆτιν11 ὅτι καθεζομένων12 αὐτῶν, ἦλθεν ἀναμέσον αὐτῶν μικροψυχία.
Ἀπελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀγάθων εἰς τὴν κέλλαν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἠδύνατο καθίσαι
καὶ ἐλθὼν ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἡρακλείῳ13 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς
Ἡράκλειος·14 Συγχώρησόν μοι ὅτι οὐδὲ εἰς νοῦν μου ἦλθεν ὅτι ἐμικ-
ροψυχήσαμεν. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀβραὰμ [f. 277vb] διηγήσατο τῷ
ἀββᾷ Ποιμένι τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων ὅτι ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀγάθων εὗρε
τὴν ὁδὸν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ15 τὴν ταπείνωσιν ἔδειξεν.
496. Ποτὲ κακούργων ἐπιστάντων16 τινὶ γέροντι ἔθηκεν αὐτοῖς νιπτῆρα

καὶ ἠξίου τοὺς πόδας αὐτῶν νίπτειν, κἀκεῖνοι αἰδεσθέντες ἤρξαντο μετανοεῖν.
1
ὅλον τὸ σῶμα] τὸ ὅλον σῶμα S 2
ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτὸν καὶ] om S
3
γεγονὸς] γεγονὼς C 4
ἐνδεικνύμενος δὲ. . .. σταφυλὰς ἐπιθυμοῦντα] om S
5
ὡς αὐτὸς] om S 6
ἀνόρεκτος ἔχων] ἀνόρεκτον ἔχειν S
7
τὰ βρώματα] τὸ βρώμα αὐτός S 8
αὐτὰς] om. S 9
ἀπέστειλεν] ἐξαπέστειλεν S
10
μέγαν] δῆθεν add S 11
εἰς Σκῆτιν] καθεζομένου add S 12
καθεζομένων] καθημένων S
13
Ἡρακλείῳ] Ἡρακλεῖ S 14
Ἡράκλειος] Ἡράκλῆς S 15
ὅτι ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ] ἔργῳ γὰρ S
16
ποτὲ κακούργων ἐπιστάντων] ἐπιστάντων ποτὲ κακούργων S
N.494–6 333
say, then?” He healed him there and then, and disappeared. When day
came the physician knocked on his door; he rose and went to meet him.
When the physician saw him he was amazed and, learning what had
happened, he became a Christian (for he was a pagan).
N.494
Some grapes were brought to Abba Macarius when he wanted to eat but,
demonstrating his self-control, he sent them to a brother who was sick and
who also wanted grapes. He was exceedingly glad on receiving them but,
wishing to conceal his own self-control, he sent them to another brother,
[declaring] that he had lost his appetite for food. This one received them
and also did the same thing again, even though he longed very much to
partake of them. When the grapes had come to a good number of brothers,
none of whom was willing to partake of them, the last one receiving them
sent them back to Abba Macarius as though he were bestowing a great gift
on him. Macarius recognised them and, after making enquiries about what
had happened to them, filled with wonder, he gave thanks to God that [the
brothers] had such self-control.
N.495
They used to say of Abba Agathon and Abba Heraclius at Scete that, when
they were living there, some small-mindedness arose between them. After
Abba Agathon went off to his cell, unable to stay there, he came and
prostrated himself before Abba Heraclius. Abba Heraclius said to him:
“Forgive me, but it did not even enter my mind that there had been any
small-mindedness.” Abba Abraham went and told Abba Poemen about
them and the elder said that Abba Agathon had found the way, for he had
demonstrated humility by his action.
N.496/John the Persian 3

Once when some evildoers were imposing on an elder he set a basin before
them and deigned to wash their feet; and they, in their confusion, began to
beg his pardon.
497. Ἀδελφὸς διὰ χρόνου παρέβαλε γέροντι καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ
γέρων· Ποῦ ὑπῆρχες, τέκνον, τὸν τοσοῦτον χρόνον; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Ἐν Κων-
σταντινουπόλει, πάτερ, διά τινα χρείαν ἀναγκαίαν ἐμοί. Εἶπεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Καὶ τί σπουδαῖον ἀκήκοας ἢ ἐθεάσω1 ἐκεῖ; Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Σπου-
δαῖον μὲν σχεδὸν οὐδέν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ κομπᾷ ἀλλὰ οὖν 2 γήινα τὰ πολλὰ
κατενόησα. Ἓν δέ με κατέπληξεν. Εἶδον γὰρ [f. 278ra] κοσμικοὺς πλεῖον ἢ
ἔστιν εἰπεῖν τῶν ἐν ἐρήμῳ διαγόντων περιφρονοῦντας χρημάτων. Λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Πῶς; σαφήνισόν μοι τὸν λόγον. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἀδελφός· Δύο τινὰς
πλουσίους ἑώρακα, καὶ ὁ εἷς τῷ ἑτέρῳ ἐνεκάλει λέγων ἐποφείλεσθαι παρ᾿
αὐτοῦ δισχίλια νομίσματα, καὶ προέφερε3 τὴν ὁμολογίαν τοῦ πατρὸς
αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἔλεγεν τὸ μὲν χρέως 4 ἀποδεδόσθαι παρὰ τοῦ οἰκείου πατρός,
τὴν δὲ ὁμολογίαν ἐναπομεῖναι κατὰ γνησιότητα φιλίας. Καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἔπιθον5
ἀλλήλους, ἔληξεν εἰς ὅρκον τὸ πρᾶγμα. Λέγει οὖν ὁ δῆθεν χρεωστῶν· Ἐὰν
ὀμόσω6 ὅτι κατεβλήθη παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου τὸ χρέως, ἔχω νομισθῆναι ὡς
αἰσχροκερδής. Ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον οὕτω γενέσθω, ἢ ὀμνύω ὅτι ἀπεδόθη σοι
τὸ χρέως τῶν [f. 278rb] δισχιλίων νομισμάτων καὶ δίδωμί σοι αὐτὰ ἐκ
δευτέρου, ἢ ὄμοσον σὺ ὅτι ἔτι κεχρεώστησαι αὐτά, καὶ μηδὲν λάβῃς παρ᾿
ἐμοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἀνάδος μοι τὴν ὁμολογίαν. Ἐθαύμασαν πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες
τὴν τοσαύτην σύνεσιν τοῦ ἀνδρός. Λέγει οὖν ὁ γέρων· Καὶ σὺ νέος ὤν,
τέκνον,7 εἰκότως ἐθαύμασας. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἐπισκέψῃ τῷ βάθει8 τοῦ πράγματος,
εὑρήσεις9 μηδὲν ὂν μέγα, ἀλλὰ μόνης κενοδοξίας καὶ ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας
ὑπερβολήν. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Πῶς, πάτερ, εἴ γε περιεφρόνησε τῶν τοσού-
των χρημάτων τῆς ιδίας ὑπολήψεως ἕνεκεν; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· ὁ περιφρονῶν
χρημάτων10 ὀφείλει καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ πλησίον προνοεῖσθαι11 κατὰ
τὸ δυνατόν· τοῦ γὰρ Κυρίου καὶ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἡ ἐντολὴ τὰ ἀμφότερα
κελεύει.12 Εἰ οὖν ᾔδει13 ἀκριβῶς ὅτι κατεβάλετο ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ τὸ χρέως
[f. 278va] καὶ προέτεινεν ἵνα καὶ ὀμόσῃ καὶ πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου αὐτὸ κατα-
βάληται, τί ἕτερον ἔπραττεν ἢ ὅτι παρεδειγμάτιζε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ
καὶ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις ὡς ἄδικον καὶ αἰσχροκερδῆ προφανῆ, ἑαυτὸν
δὲ ἀνεκήρυττε καὶ πλουσιώτατον14 καὶ ἀφιλοχρήματον,15 ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστι
τοσοῦτον ἀκτημοσύνης ἀρετὴ ὅσον κενοδοξίας, ἢ τό γε ἀληθέστερον
εἰπεῖν φθόνου καὶ ὀργῆς ὑποτύπωσις. Λέγει οὖν ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί οὖν ἔδει
αὐτὸν ποιῆσαι ἐπενεχθέντος αὐτῷ16 τοῦ ὅρκου παρὰ τοῦ λέγοντος
1
ἀκήκοας ἢ ἐθεάσω] ἐθεάσω ἢ ἀκήκοας S 2
οὖν] ἦν C 3
προέφερε] προσεκόμιζε S
4
χρέως] χρέος S 5
ἔπιθον] ἔπειθον S 6
ὀμόσω] ὁμώσω C 7
τέκνον] om S
8
τῷ βάθει] τὸ βάθoς S 9
εὑρήσεις] τὸ add S
10
τῆς ἰδίας ὑπολήψεως ἕνεκεν; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· ὁ περιφρονῶν χρημάτων] S solus
11
προνοεῖσθαι] προνοεῖνC 12
κελεύει] περιέχει 13
ᾔδει] ᾔδη C
14
πλουσιώτατον] πλουσιότατον S 15
ἀφιλοχρήματον] ἀφιλοχρηματώτατον S
16
αὐτῷ] αὐτὸ C
N.497 335
N.497 BHG 1317n, de debito bis soluto

A brother was visiting an elder after some time and the elder said: “Where
have you been for so long, my son?” “In Constantinople, father,” he said,
“on some necessary business of mine.” So the elder said to him: “And what
did you hear or see that was of any importance?” “Almost nothing of
importance,” the brother said, “and even if one boasts, I considered them
to be matters of this world for the most part. There was, however, one
thing that surprised me: for I saw some worldlings despising money more
than one might say those living in the desert despise it.” “How so?” said
the elder. “Tell me the story.” The brother replied: “I saw two rich men;
one of them was accusing the other, saying that he was owed two thousand
pieces of gold by him – and he produced the man’s father’s written
acknowledgement. The accused claimed that the debt had been repaid
by his father, the acknowledgement remaining in the name of sincere
friendship. As they were unable to convince each other, the matter ended
up with an oath. The alleged debtor said: ‘If I swear that the debt was
discharged by my father, I could be considered a sordid grasper. Let it be
resolved like this instead: either I swear that the debt of two thousand
pieces of gold was given back and then give them to you a second time, or
you swear that the sum is still owing – in which case you receive nothing
from me but you do give me back the acknowledgement.’ Everybody was
amazed on hearing such sense from the man.” “And you, my son, being
young, were naturally amazed,” the elder commented, “but if you examine
the heart of the matter, you will find no great thing, but a superfluity of
vain pride and of a desire to please.” “How do you say that, father, if he
despised so much money for the sake of his own reputation?” the brother
said. The elder said: “He who despises money ought to take into account
his neighbour’s salvation, so far as possible; the commandment of our Lord
and God stipulates both [Mk 12:31–2 etc.]. Therefore, if he knew for a fact
that his father had discharged the debt and yet was proposing that he
would swear [an oath] and discharge it a second time, what else was he
doing but making an example of his brother before God and men as clearly
unjust and a sordid grasper while proclaiming himself both very wealthy
and totally indifferent to wealth; or, to speak more truthfully, an example
of envy and anger?” Said the brother: “Then what should he have done
when the oath was offered to him by the one who said he was owed?” “Had
he been perfect,” the elder replied, “he ought neither to have sworn nor
have offered an oath in return, especially since he was rich and knew very
well that the loan had been repaid.” The brother said: “So he need not
κεχρεωστῆσθαι;1 Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Εἰ ἦν τέλειος, οὔτε ὀμόσαι ὀφείλει οὔτε
ἀντεπενέγκαι ὅρκον,2 μάλιστα καὶ πλούσιος ὢν καὶ εἰδὼς ἀκριβῶς ὅτι
κατεβλήθη τὸ χρέως. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Οὐκ οὖν ἀνάγκη [f. 278vb] δοῦναι
αὐτὸν τὰ νομίσματα; Λέγει ὁ πατήρ· Καὶ πόσῳ κάλλιον ἦν ζημιωθῆναι
αὐτὸν διὰ τὸ ἐκφυγεῖν ὅρκον καὶ κερδῆσαι καὶ ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν
παρὰ Θεοῦ3 προσδοκᾶν. Εἴπερ διὰ κενοδοξίαν καὶ τὸ δεῖξαι4 τοῖς ἀνθρώ-
ποις ὅτι ἄδικός ἐστιν ὁ ἄγων αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ὅρκον,5 τοῦτο γὰρ φθόνου
ἐστὶν καὶ μισαλληλίας. Ὥστε οὖν πρόσεχε, τέκνον, ὡς ἐκεῖνα μόνα εἰσὶν
ἀποδεκτὰ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, τὰ καλῷ σκοπῷ γινόμενα καὶ θεοφιλεῖ λογισμῷ
μελετώμενα.6 Καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἀνεχώρησεν.
498. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ὁ ἐπαινῶν μοναχὸν παραδίδει7 αὐτὸν τῷ

Σατανᾷ.
499. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ὁ ἔχων ταπείνωσιν ταπεινοῖ τοὺς δαίμονας, ὁ δὲ μὴ

ἔχων ταπεινοῦται ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν.
500. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ἀδύνατον κτήσασθαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν, εἰ μὴ διὰ [f. 279ra]
κόπου καὶ ταπεινώσεως καὶ προσευχῆς ἀπαύστου.
501. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Πάντα ὅσα λογίζεται ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
καὶ κάτω, μάτην λογίζεται. Ὁ δὲ προσκαρτερῶν τῇ μνήμῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ,8
οὗτος ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἐστίν.
502. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐν καιρῷ παρουσίας ἀδελφῶν μὴ ἀπολύσῃς τὴν

καρδίαν σου· μᾶλλον τότε προσεύχου κρυπτῶς, ὅτι τότε ἔστιν ὅλος ὁ
φόβος διὰ τὴν καταλαλιάν.
503. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ἐστι καταλαλιά; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ

γέρων ὅτι, ἐὰν εἴπῃς ὁ δεῖνα ὁ ἀδελφὸς σπουδαῖός ἐστιν καὶ συνετός, ἀλλὰ
μικρὸν εἰς τόδε τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀσύστροφός ἐστιν, ἰδοὺ κατελάλησας αὐτοῦ.
Εἰ δὲ εἴπῃς ὅτι ψεύστης ἐστὶν καὶ ἐπίορκος,9 τοῦτο κατάκρισις ἐστὶν
χεῖρον τῆς καταλαλιᾶς.
1
παρὰ τοῦ λέγοντος κεχρεωστῆσθαι] om S 2
οὔτε ἀντεπενέγκαι ὅρκον] om S
3
παρὰ θεοῦ] παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ S 4
δεῖξαι] δόξαι S 5
εἰς τὸν ὅρκον] εἰς ὅρκον S
6
μελετώμενα] S solus 7
παραδιδεῖ C 8
Θεοῦ] Ιησου S
9
καὶ ἐπίορκος] ἐπίορκος ἐστὶν S
N.498–503 337
have given the gold pieces?” Said the father: “It would have been so much
better for him to suffer the loss in order to escape from an oath and gain
both charity and the expectation of the reward from God. If he did it out
of vainglory and to show men that he who invited him to swear was
unjust, then it was done out of envy and mutual hatred. So take note, my
son, that only those things that are done with a good purpose and are
devised by a god-loving mind are acceptable to God.” The brother went
his way edified.
N.498
An elder said: “He who praises a monk betrays him to Satan.”
N.499
He also said: “He who has humility humbles the demons; he who has it
not is humbled by them.”
N.500
He also said: “It is impossible to possess Jesus other than by labour,
humility and ceaseless prayer.”
N.501
He also said: “Everything a man thinks of, in heaven and below, he thinks
of in vain; but he who perseveres in the recollection of God is in the [way
of] truth.”
N.502
An elder said. “Do not let your heart go at a time when brothers are
present, but rather pray secretly at that time, for that is when fear is ever
present because of backbiting.”
N.503
A brother asked an elder: “What is backbiting?” The elder said: “If you say
that brother so-and-so is zealous and intelligent, but somewhat casual
when it comes to such-and-such a matter, here you have bitten back at
504. Ἀδελφὸς ἦν εἰς τὰ Κελλί[f. 279rb]α καὶ εἰς τοιαύτην ταπείνωσιν
ἦλθεν, ὥστε τοῦτο εὔχεσθαι πάντοτε, ὅτι· Κύριε, πέμψον μοι κεραυνόν·
ὑγιαίνων γὰρ παρακούω σου.
505. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐχ ὁ ἑαυτὸν εὐτελίζων οὕτως ἐστὶ ταπεινόφρων,
ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μετὰ χαρᾶς τὰς παρὰ τοῦ πλησίον ὕβρεις καὶ ἀτιμίας
καταδεχόμενος.
506. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Καλόν ἐστιν, ἀββᾶ, οἰκῆσαι ἐν
τῇ ἐρήμῳ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Οἱ υἱοὶ Ἰσραὴλ ὅταν ἐπαύσαντο τοῦ
περισπασμοῦ τῆς ἐρήμου καὶ ᾤκησαν ἐν σκηναῖς, τότε ἐγνώσθη αὐτοῖς
πῶς δεῖ φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ πλοῖα μέσον τῆς θαλάσσης
χειμαζόμενα ὡς ἄπρακτα μένουσιν, ὅταν δὲ ἔλθωσιν εἰς λιμένα, τότε τὴν
ἐμπορίαν περιποιοῦνται, οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν μὴ καρτερήσῃ εἰς
[f. 279va] ἕνα τόπον, οὐ μὴ λάβῃ τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας. Καὶ γὰρ
πρὸ πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἐξελέξατο ὁ Θεός. Γέγραπται γάρ·
πρὸς τίνα ἐπιβλέψω, ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν πρᾶον καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντά μου
τοὺς λόγους;
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος οἰκῆσαι κατὰ μόνας; Καὶ
ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ὁ ἀθλητής, ἐὰν μὴ πυκτεύσῃ μετὰ πολλῶν, οὐ
δύναται μαθεῖν τὴν τέχνην τῆς νίκης, ἵνα οὕτως δυνηθῇ μετὰ τοῦ ἀντι-
δίκου μονομαχῆσαι, οὕτως καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς, ἐὰν οὖν1 μὴ παιδευθῇ μετὰ
ἀδελφῶν καὶ μάθῃ τὴν τῶν λογισμῶν τέχνην, οὐ δύναται κατὰ μόνας
οἰκῆσαι καὶ2 ἀντιστῆναι τοῖς λογισμοῖς.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἐὰν γένηται ἀνάγκη τινὰ εἰς συντυχίαν γυναικὸς
ἐλ[f. 279vb]θεῖν,3 πῶς δεῖ αὐτῇ ἀπαντῆσαι; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἡ ἀνάγκη
αὕτη τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστίν· καὶ γὰρ πολλὰς προφάσεις ἀναγκαίας ἔχει ὁ
διάβολος. Ἐὰν δὲ γένηται χρεία ἐλθεῖν εἰς συντυχίαν4 γυναικός, μὴ ἐάσῃς
αὐτὴν λαλῆσαι περισσόν. Καὶ σὺ ἐὰν λαλῇς, κεφαλαίωσον ὀλίγα εἰς πολλὰ
καὶ ταχὺ ἀπόλυσον αὐτήν. Ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνῃς μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, γίνωσκε ὅτι ἡ
δυσωδία αὐτῆς τὸν λογισμόν σου κατασπᾷ.
1
οὖν] om S 2
καὶ] οὐδὲ S 3
ἀνάγκη. . .. ἐλθεῖν] ἀνάγκη ἐλθεῖν τινὰ εἰς S
4
χρεία ἐλθεῖν εἰς συντυχίαν] χρεία εἰς συντυχίαν ἐλθεῖν S
N.504–6 339
him. But if you say he is a liar and a perjurer, that is condemnation and it
is worse than backbiting.”
N.504
There was a brother at The Cells who had attained such a degree of
humility that he was always offering this prayer: “Lord, send me an
affliction for, being healthy, I am not obedient to you.”
N.505
An elder said: “It is not so much the one who belittles himself who is
humble-minded but the one who gladly accepts insults and disrespect from
his neighbour.”
N.506 (Regnault 507)

A brother asked an elder: “Is it good to live in the desert, abba?” The elder
replied: “When the children of Israel were at rest from the distraction of
the desert and dwelt in tents, then they became aware of how one ought to
fear God. For while ships are being tossed on the high seas, they remain
unproductive; but when they come into port, then they engage in com-
merce. So it is with a man: unless he perseveres in one place, he will not
receive knowledge of the truth. Indeed, God has selected hêsychia before all
the virtues, for it is written: ‘To whom shall I look, other than to him who
is mild and tranquil [hêsychion] and who trembles at my words?’ [Is 66:2]”
And the brother said: “How can a man live alone?” The elder replied:
“Unless an athlete compete against many, he cannot learn how to win, so
that he can fight in single combat against the adversary. Likewise the
monk, unless he be trained among brothers and learn how to master his
logismoi, he cannot live alone or withstand logismoi.”
The brother said: “If the necessity of coming into contact with a woman
happens to somebody, how should he withstand it?” The elder said: “This
necessity is from the devil for the devil has many a pretext for necessity. If
you are obliged to come into contact with a woman, do not let her say
much. And if you speak [to her], sum it up in a few words and quickly
dismiss her, for if you stay long with her, be sure that her odour will
contaminate your logismos.”
507. Ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν· Ποίῳ λογισμῷ δύναται ἄνθρωπος παύσασθαι
ἀπὸ1 τῆς καταλαλιᾶς; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ὥσπερ ὁ δεχόμενος πῦρ ἐν
κόλπῳ τιτρώσκεται, οὕτως καὶ ὁ δεχόμενος τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων συν-
τυχίαν οὐ μὴ ἀθωωθῇ ἀπὸ τῆς καταλαλιᾶς.
Καὶ εἶπεν [f. 280ra] ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί εἰσὶ τὰ νυκτερινὰ φαντάσματα τοῦ
διαβόλου; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ὥσπερ ἡμέρας ἀλλοτρίοις λογισμοῖς2
ἀσχολεῖ ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸ μὴ σχολάζειν τῇ προσευχῇ ὁ διάβολος, οὕτως καὶ
τὴν νύκτα3 ἀναπτεροῖ τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν φαντάσμασι4 σκοτῶν ἡμᾶς καὶ τῆς
νυκτερινῆς εὐχῆς ἀποστερῶν.
Πάλιν ἠρώτησεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Καὶ τί ποιήσει ἄνθρωπος, πάτερ,
ἵνα λάβῃ τὸ χάρισμα τῶν ἀρετῶν; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐάν τις
θέλῃ μαθεῖν τέχνην, πᾶσαν μέριμναν καταλιμπάνει καὶ αὐτὴ μόνη5
σχολάζει, καὶ παραμένῃ τῷ διδασκάλῳ ταπεινούμενος καὶ κατευτελίζων
ἑαυτόν, καὶ οὕτως μανθάνει τὴν τέχνην, οὕτω καὶ ὁ μοναχός, ἐὰν μὴ
ἐάσῃ6 πᾶσαν μέ[f. 280rb]ριμναν ἀνθρωπίνην καὶ κατευτελίσῃ ἑαυτὸν
τοῦ μὴ λογίσασθαί ποτε ὅτι καλλίων εἰμὶ τινὸς ἢ ἴσος, οὐ μὴ κτήσηται
ἀρετὴν τὸ σύνολον. Ἐὰν δὲ ταπεινώσῃ ἑαυτὸν καὶ εὐτελίσῃ παντὶ
πράγματι, τότε7 εὑροῦσαι αἱ ἀρεταὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν
παραγίνονται.
508. Ἐρώτησις·8 Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γνῶναι9 ὅτι προσδεκτή ἐστιν

ἡ εὐχὴ αὐτοῦ.
Ἀπόκρισις·10 Ὅταν ὁ ἄνθρωπος φυλάξῃ τοῦ μὴ ἀδικῆσαι τὸν πλησίον,
τότε θαρσεῖ τῷ λογισμῷ, ὅτι προσεδέχθη ἡ προσευχὴ11 αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν
Θεόν. Ἐὰν δέ τις ἀδικήσῃ τὸν πλησίον, ἡ εὐχὴ αὐτοῦ βδελυκτὴ καὶ
ἀπρόσδεκτός ἐστιν·12 ὁ γὰρ στεναγμὸς τοῦ ἀδικουμένου οὐ μὴ ἐάσῃ τὴν
εὐχὴν τοῦ ἀδικήσαντος εἰσελθεῖν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
509–10. Ἔλεγον [f. 280va] περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ζήνωνος ὅτι μικροφυὴς μὲν ἦν
καὶ ἰσχνὸς τῷ σώματι, σύννους δὲ ὅλος καὶ προθυμίας καὶ θέρμης κατὰ
Θεὸν πεπληρωμένος. Εἶχε δὲ καὶ συμπάθειαν πολλὴν πρὸς τοὺς
1
ἀπὸ] om S 2
ἀλλοτρίοις λογισμοῖς] τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἡμᾶς λογισμοῖς ὁ διάβολος S
3
τὴν νύκτα] τοῖς φαντάσμασιν add S 4
φαντάσμασι] om S 5
αὐτὴ μόνη] αὐτῇ μόνῃ S
6
ἐάσῃ corr] ἐάσει C and S 7
τότε] om S 8
Ἐρώτησις] πάλιν ἠρώτησε ὁ ἀδελφός S
9
ἄνθρωπος γνῶναι] γνῶναι ἄνθρωπος S 10
Ἀπόκρισις] om S 11
προσευχὴ] εὐχὴ S
12
ἐστιν] γίνεται S
N.507–9 341
N.507
The brother said: “By what kind of logismos might a man refrain from
backbiting?” and the elder replied: “In the same way that one is wounded
who receives fire in his breast, so he who accepts to mingle in the company
of men will not be guiltless of backbiting.”
And the brother said: “What are the night-time fantasies of the devil?”
and the elder replied: “Just as the devil makes us busy in the daytime with
alien thoughts so that we do not have time for prayer, so he excites our
mind with fantasies by night, darkening us and distracting us from
nocturnal prayer.”
The brother also asked: “What shall a man do, father, to receive the gift
of virtues?” and the elder replied: “If somebody wants to learn a skill, he
leaves every concern aside, devoting his attention uniquely to this one and
stays with the teacher, reckoning himself of no account; in this way, he
acquires the skill. That is how it is for the monk. Unless he abandon every
human concern and despise himself to the point of never thinking: ‘I am
better than (or even the equal of) anybody,’ he will not acquire any virtue
at all. But if he humble himself and hold himself of no account in every
respect, then the virtues, finding themselves in action, present themselves
of their own accord.”
N.508
Question: How can a person know whether his prayer is accepted?
Answer: When someone is on his guard not to wrong his neighbour, he
can be confident in his mind that his prayer was acceptable to God. But if
he wrong his neighbour, then his prayer is an abomination and unaccept-
able, for the groaning of the one who is wronged will not allow the prayer
of him who wronged him to come before God.
N.509–10
They used to say of Abba Zeno that, although he was small and skinny of
body, he was highly intelligent and entirely suffused with determination
and fervour towards God. He also had a great concern for people; they
came in droves to him from every direction, worldlings and monks. They
ἀνθρώπους. Τούτῳ πανταχόθεν ἤρχοντο πολλοὶ κοσμικοί τε καὶ μοναχοὶ
καὶ ἀνετίθεντο τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἑαυτῶν1 καὶ ἐθεραπεύοντο. Τινὶ γοῦν τῶν
πατέρων πλησίον ποτὲ μείναντι τοῦ ἁγίου Ζήνωνος συνετύχομεν, καὶ
κινήσαντι πρὸς ἡμᾶς λόγον ὠφελείας ἠρωτήσαμεν αὐτὸν τινὰ λογισμὸν
οὕτως εἰπόντες· Ἐάν τις ἔχῃ λογισμὸν καὶ ὁρᾷ ἑαυτὸν ἡττώμενον, καὶ
πολλάκις ἀναγινώσκει εἰς ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀκούει2 πῶς εἶπαν οἱ πατέρες περὶ
καθαρότητος, καὶ θέλει κατορθῶσαι καὶ οὐ δύναται, καλόν ἐστιν
ἀπαγ[f. 280vb]γεῖλαι τινὶ τῶν πατέρων ἢ σπουδάσαι ὀφείλει χρήσασθαι
ὡς ἀνέγνω, καὶ ἀρκεσθῆναι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ συνειδήσει; Καὶ εἶπεν ἡμῖν ὁ γέρων
ὅτι ὀφείλει ἐξαγγεῖλαι ἄλλῳ δυναμένῳ ὠφελῆσαι αὐτόν, καὶ μὴ
πεποιθέναι ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτῷ. Οὐ γὰρ δύναταί τις ἑαυτῷ βοηθῆσαι καὶ μάλιστα
ἐὰν φθάσῃ καταπονηθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν. Ἐμοὶ γάρ, φησίν, ἐν τῇ
νεότητί μου συνέβη τὶ τοιοῦτον. Εἶχον γὰρ3 πάθος ψυχικὸν καὶ ἡττώμην4
εἰς αὐτό, καὶ ἀκούων περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ζήνωνος ὅτι πολλοὺς ἐθεράπευεν,5
ἠβουλήθην ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἀναγγεῖλαι αὐτῷ. Καὶ ἐνεπόδιζέ με ὁ διάβολος
λέγων ὅτι· ἐπὰν οἶδας τί ὀφείλεις ποιῆσαι, χρῆσαι ὡς ἀναγινώσκεις καὶ τί
ὑπάγεις καὶ σκανδαλίζεις τὸν γέροντα. Καὶ ὅτε [f. 281ra] ἠπειγόμην τοῦ
ἀπελθεῖν, μικρὸν ὁ πόλεμος ἐκουφίζετο ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἀπέλθω. Ὅτε δὲ
ἐπειθόμην τοῦ μὴ ἀπελθεῖν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, πάλιν κατεπόντιζέ με τὸ
πάθος καὶ πάλιν ἐπύκτευον ἀπελθεῖν. Καὶ τὸ αὐτό μοι ἐδολιεύετο ὁ
ἐχθρός, μὴ συγχωρῶν με ἐξαγγεῖλαι τῷ γέροντι. Καὶ πολλάκις ἀπῆλθον
πρὸς τὸν γέροντα εἰπεῖν6 αὐτῷ καὶ οὐκ ἤφιέ με ὁ ἐχθρός, αἰσχύνην
φέρων τῇ καρδίᾳ μου καὶ λέγων ὅτι· ἐπὰν οἶδας πῶς ὀφείλεις ἑαυτὸν
θεραπεῦσαι, τί χρεία λέγειν τινί; Σὺ γὰρ ἀμελεῖς ἑαυτοῦ. Οἶδας πῶς εἶπαν7
οἱ πατέρες. Ταῦτα, φησίν, ὑπέβαλέ μοι ὁ ἀντίδικος, ἵνα μὴ φανερώσω τὸ
πάθος τῷ ἰατρῷ καὶ θεραπευθῶ.8 Καὶ ὁ μὲν γέρων ἐννόει9 ὅτι ἔχω
λογισμούς, οὐκ ἤλεγχέ με δὲ ἀναμέ[f. 281rb]νων ἕως οὗ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ἀνα-
γγείλω αὐτῷ. Ἐδίδασκέ με δὲ περὶ ὀρθοῦ βίου καὶ ἀπέλυεν. Ὕστερον
θλιβόμενος καὶ κλαίων εἶπον τῇ ψυχῇ μου· Ἕως πότε, ἀθλία ψυχή, οὐ
θέλει θεραπευθῆναι; Oἱ ἀπὸ μήκοθεν ἔρχονται πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ
θεραπεύονται καὶ σὺ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ ἐγγὺς ἔχουσα τὸν ἰατρὸν καὶ μὴ
θεραπευομένη; Καὶ πυρωθεὶς, φησί,10 τῇ καρδίᾳ ἀνέστην καὶ εἶπον ἐν
ἑαυτῷ ὅτι, ἐὰν ἀπέλθω πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ μὴ εὕρω ἐκεῖ τινά, οἶδα
ὅτι θέλημα Θεοῦ ἐστιν ἀναγγεῖλαί με11 αὐτῷ τὸν λογισμόν. Καὶ δὴ12
ἀπελθὼν οὐδένα εὗρον, ὁ δὲ γέρων κατὰ τὴν συνήθειαν ἐδίδασκέ με περὶ
1
ἑαυτῶν] αὐτῷ S 2
ἀκούει] ἀκούῃ S 3
γὰρ] om S 4
ἡττώμην] ἡττόμην C
5
ὅτι πολλοὺς ἐθεράπευεν] om S 6
γέροντα εἰπεῖν] γέροντα εἰς τὸ εἰπεῖν S
7
Οἶδας πῶς εἶπαν] Οἶδας γὰρ πῶς εἶπον S 8
θεραπευθῶ] θεραπευθῷ S
9
ἐννόει] ἐνόει C 10
φησί] om S 11
με] μαι C 12
δὴ] δεῖ C
N.509 343
would reveal their individual logismoi to him and be healed. So when we
visited one of the fathers who then lived near the holy Zeno, after he had
spoken some beneficial discourse to us, we questioned him concerning a
certain logismos, speaking like this: “If somebody has a logismos and realises
that he is getting the worse of it; if he frequently reads to himself and hears
how the fathers spoke about purity; if he wishes to live a good life but
cannot, is it good to confess it to one of the fathers, or should he apply
himself to the use of what he has read and be content with his own
conscience?” The elder told us: “You should confess it to someone else
who is capable of doing you some good and not trust in yourself; for one is
incapable of helping oneself, most of all if he happens to be overwhelmed
by obsessions. In my own youth,” he said, “something like this happened
to me. I had a physical obsession and I was getting the worse of it. Hearing
about Abba Zeno, that he healed many people, I wanted to go and confess
to him. The devil held me back saying: ‘Since you know what you ought to
do, just behave according to your reading; why go upsetting the elder?’
When I was hastening to leave, the attack would be lifted from me a little
so that I would not go. But once I was persuaded not to go to the elder, the
obsession would overwhelm me again. Again I would struggle to depart
and again the enemy would deceive me in the same way, preventing me
from confessing to the elder. On a number of occasions I did go to the
elder meaning to speak to him, but the enemy would not allow me to. He
put shame in my heart, saying: ‘What need is there to speak to anybody,
since you know how you ought to heal yourself? For you are neglectful of
yourself; you know what the fathers said.’ Such are the suggestions the
opponent made to me to prevent me from revealing the obsession to the
physician and getting healed. Perfectly aware that I had logismoi, the elder
did not reproach me, but waited until I would confess them to him myself.
He would instruct me concerning the correct way of life and dismiss me.
Later on, in affliction and tears, I said to my soul: ‘Wretched soul, how
long are you refusing to be healed? There are those who come to the elder
from afar and are healed; and are you not ashamed being unhealed when
you have the physician close at hand?’ With a burning heart,” he said,
“I got up and said to myself: ‘If I go to the elder and do not find anybody
[else] there, I know that it is the will of God that I should confess my
logismos to him.’ I went and found nobody [else]. As usual, the elder
instructed me about the salvation of the soul and how one might be
purged of impure logismoi. Yet again I was ashamed; I asked him to dismiss
me without having confessed. Standing up, the elder offered a prayer then
sent me on my way, walking before me as far as the outside gate. Tortured
σωτηρίας ψυχῆς καὶ ὅπως τὶς καθαρθῇ ἀπὸ ῥυπαρῶν λογισμῶν. Ἐμοῦ
δὲ πάλιν αἰσχυνομένου καὶ μὴ ἐξαγγέλοντος [f. 281va] παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν
ἀπολῦσαί με. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὁ γέρων ἐποίησεν εὐχὴν καὶ προέπεμπέ με
περιπατῶν ἔμπροσθέ μου ἕως τῆς ἔξω θύρας. Ἐγὼ δὲ βασανιζόμενος ὑπὸ
τῶν λογισμῶν εἰπεῖν ἢ μὴ εἰπεῖν τῷ γέροντι, ὀλίγον ὀλίγον περιεπάτουν
ὀπίσω, ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐ προσεῖχε μοι, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκράτησε τὴν θύραν πρὸς τὸ
ἀνοῖξαί μοι. Ὡς δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ εἶδέ με βασανιζόμενον τοῖς τῶν λογισμῶν,
στρέφεται1 πρός με καὶ κρούων εἰς τὸ στῆθος μου λέγει μοι· Τί ἔχεις;
κἀγὼ ἄνθρωπός εἰμι. Ὡς δὲ εἶπέ μοι ὁ γέρων τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, ἐνόμισα
ὅτι τὴν καρδίαν μου ἤνοιξεν, καὶ πίπτω ἐπὶ πρόσωπον εἰς τοὺς πόδας
αὐτοῦ παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν μετὰ δακρύων καὶ λέγων· Ἐλέησόν με. Ὁ δὲ
λέγει μοι· Τί ἔχεις; Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· Οἶδας τί χρείαν ἔχω. Καὶ λέγει μοι·
[f. 281vb] Σοῦ χρεία εἰπεῖν τί ἔχεις. Ἐμοῦ δὲ μετ᾿ αἰσχύνης ἀναγγείλαντος
τὸ πάθος μου, λέγει μοι· Καὶ διατί ἠσχύνθης εἰπεῖν μοι, οὐκ εἰμὶ κἀγὼ
ἄνθρωπος; Θέλεις εἴπω σοι τὰ ἐμά; Οὐκ ἔχεις τρία ἔτη ἐρχόμενος ὧδε
ἔχων τοὺς λογισμοὺς τούτους καὶ μὴ ἐξαγγέλων αὐτούς; Ἐμοῦ δὲ
προσπεσόντος καὶ παρακαλοῦντος καὶ λέγοντος αὐτῷ· Ἐλέησόν με διὰ
τὸν Θεόν, εἶπέν μοι· Ὕπαγε, μὴ ἀμέλει τῆς εὐχῆς σου καὶ μηδενὸς
καταλαλήσῃς. Ἀπῆλθον οὖν εἰς τὸ κελλίον μου καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσας τῆς
εὐχῆς μου, χάριτι Χριστοῦ καὶ εὐχαῖς τοῦ γέροντος οὐκέτι ὠχλήθην
ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους ἐκείνου. Μετὰ δὲ ἐνιαυτόν, φησίν, ἐπῆλθέ μοι λογισμὸς
τοιοῦτος, ὅτι μήποτε ὁ Θεὸς κατὰ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ἐποίησε μετὰ σοῦ καὶ
οὐχὶ ἕνεκεν τοῦ γέροντος. Καὶ ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς αὐτὸν [f.282ra] θέλων
πειρᾶσαι αὐτόν. Καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν κατιδίαν ἔβαλον αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν
λέγων· Παρακαλῶ τὴν θεοφίλειάν σου, πάτερ, εὖξαι περὶ ἐμοῦ περὶ τοῦ
λογισμοῦ ἐκείνου, οὔποτε ἐξήγγειλά σοι. Καὶ ἀφῆκέ με κείμενον πρὸς
τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ σιωπήσας μικρὸν λέγει μοι· Ἀνάστα, ἔχε ἐπιστή-
μην. Ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο ἀκούσας ἐβουλόμην εἰ κατέπιέν με ἡ γῆ ἀπὸ
αἰσχύνης, καὶ ἀναστὰς οὐκ ἠδυνόμην ἀτενίσαι τῷ γέροντι. Καὶ ἀπῆλθον
θαυμάζων εἰς τὸ κελλίον μου.
Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς γέρων πρὸς βεβαίωσιν τῶν παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰρημένων ἀρετῶν
καὶ ἡμῶν ὠφέλειαν, διηγήσατο ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦτο, ὅτι ποτὲ δύο ἀδελφοὶ
μένοντες ἐν λαύρᾳ τινί, ἕκαστος ἐν ἰδιάζοντι κελλίῳ, παρέβαλον ἀλλήλοις.
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς τῷ ἑτέρῳ· Ἡδέως ἔχω ἀπελθεῖν [f. 282rb] πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν
Ζήνωνα καὶ ἀναθέσθαι αὐτῷ τινὰ λογισμόν. Εἶπεν δὲ καὶ ὁ ἄλλος· Κἀγὼ
θέλω λογισμὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ.2 Καὶ ἀπῆλθον οἱ δύο ὁμοῦ καὶ λαβὼν ἕκαστος
κατιδίαν ἐξήγγειλαν αὐτῷ τοὺς λογισμοὺς αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν εἷς
1
στρέφεται] ἔρχεται S 2;
λογισμὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ] εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ λογισμὸν S
N.509 345
by my logismoi whether I should speak to the elder about them, I fell to
walking behind him a little. The elder paid no attention to me; he took
hold of the gate to open it for me. But when he saw that I was deeply
tormented by some of the logismoi, he turned to me and struck me on the
chest, saying to me: ‘What is the matter? I too am a man.’ When the elder
said this phrase to me, I thought he had opened my heart. Falling on my
face at his feet, I was begging him with tears and saying: ‘Be merciful to
me!’ But he said: ‘What is the matter?’ ‘You know what my need is’, I said,
and he said to me: ‘You need to say what is the matter.’ When I had
shamefully confessed my obsession, he said to me: ‘Why were you
ashamed to speak to me? Am I not a man too? Do you want me to tell
you about my own [obessions]? Have you not been coming here for three
years with these logismoi, yet not confessing them?’ When I prostrated
myself, begging and saying to him: ‘Have mercy on me for the sake of
God’, he said to me: ‘Go your way; do not neglect your prayers and speak
ill of no man.’ Off to my cell I went; I did not neglect my prayers and, by
the grace of Christ and the elder’s prayers, I was never again afflicted by
that obsession. Then, a year later,” he said, “the following thought came to
me: ‘Maybe it was in his mercy that God dealt with you and not for the
elder’s sake.’ I went to him, wishing to put him to the test. Finding him
alone, I prostrated myself before him, saying: ‘I beg of you father, for your
love of God, to pray for me concerning the logismos that I confessed to
you.’ He remained silent for a while, leaving me lying at his feet, then he
said to me: ‘Get up; use your common sense.’ I was so ashamed when
I heard this that I wanted the earth to swallow me up. I was unable to look
the elder in the face when I got up; I went wondering to my cell.”
To confirm the virtues of which he spoke and for our benefit, the same
elder told us this too: “Two brothers living at a certain lavra, each in his
individual cell, once met each other. One of them said to the other:
‘I really would like to go to Abba Zeno to set a logismos before him.’ Said
the other: ‘I too wish to tell him of a logismos.’ Off the two of them went
together and separately confessed their logismoi to him. One of them fell
prostrate before the elder, beseeching him with many tears. The elder said
to him: ‘Go your way; do not give up on yourself; speak ill of no man and
do not neglect your prayers.’ The brother went his way and was healed.
When the other confessed his logismos, he said to him: ‘Pray for me’, but he
did not ask with anguish. Some time later they chanced to encounter each
other again. Said the one to the other: ‘When we met the elder and you
confessed the logismos, was it the one you said you wanted to say?’ ‘Yes’, the
προσέπεσε τῷ γέροντι μετὰ πολλῶν δακρύων παρακαλῶν αὐτοῦ.1 Ὁ δὲ
γέρων εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε, μὴ προδώσῃς2 ἑαυτὸν καὶ μὴ καταλαλήσῃς
τινὸς καὶ μὴ ἀμελήσῃς τῆς εὐχῆς σου. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐθεραπεύθη.
Ὁ δὲ ἄλλος ἐξαγγείλας τὸν λογισμὸν αὐτοῦ3 εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ·
οὐκ ᾔτησεν δὲ ἐπιπόνως. Μετὰ οὖν χρόνον τινὰ συνέβη αὐτοῖς παρα-
βαλεῖν ἀλλήλοις καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς τῷ ἑτέρῳ· Ὅτε παρεβάλομεν τῷ γέροντι
ἀπήγγειλας αὐτῷ τὸν λο[f. 282va]γισμὸν αὐτοῦ, ὃν εἴπας ὅτι θέλω αὐτῷ
εἰπεῖν; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἆρα ὠφελήθης ἀναγγείλας αὐτῷ;
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ναί, εὐχαῖς τοῦ γέροντος ἐθεράπευσέ με ὁ Θεός. Καὶ λέγει·
Ἐγὼ κἄν ἐξήγγειλα, οὐκ ἠσθάνθην θεραπείας. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ὠφεληθείς·
Καὶ πῶς παρεκάλεσας τὸν γέροντα; Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Εἶπον αὐτῷ ὅτι εὖξαι
ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι τόνδε τὸν λογισμὸν ἔχω. Ὁ δὲ ἄλλος εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ τέως
ἐξαγγέλων αὐτῷ ἔβρεξα τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν δακρύων, παρακαλῶν
αὐτὸν εὔξασθαι περὶ4 ἐμοῦ, καὶ διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν αὐτοῦ ἰάσατό με ὁ Θεός.
Ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγεν ἡμῖν ὁ γέρων, ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ παρακαλῶν τινὰ τῶν
πατέρων περὶ λογισμῶν μετὰ πόνου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας ὡς τῷ Θεῷ5
αἰτεῖν, καὶ ἐπιτυγχάνει. Ὁ δὲ ἀμελῶς ἐξαγγέλων ἢ πειράζων οὐ μόνον οὐκ
ὠφελεῖται, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατακρίνεται [f. 282vb].
511. Εἶπεν γέρων· Οὐαὶ τῷ ἔξω ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔσω, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐαὶ τῷ ἔσω
ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔξω. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ὁ κοσμικὸς εὑρίσκει λαβὴν
κατὰ ἡσυχάζοντος ἢ ἀναχωροῦντος, τοῦτο πτώσις καὶ κρίσις τοῦ
πάσχοντος τὴν λαβήν.
512. Ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ὠχλήθη ὑπὸ πορνείας καὶ ἀπελθὼν

εὗρε φωλεὸν ὑαίνης6 καὶ εἰσελθὼν ἐν αὐτῷ ἔμεινεν ἄσιτος ἡμέρας ἕξ. Εἶτα
ἐλθούσης τῆς ὑαίνης7 φοβηθεὶς εἶπεν· Κύριε, ἐὰν μέλλω τὸ σῶμα μου
μιᾶναι, δὸς αὐτῇ ἐξουσίαν κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ, εἰ δὲ μή σῶσόν με ἀπ᾿ αὐτῆς. Εὐθέως
οὖν ἤκουσε φωνὴν λέγουσαν·8 Εὐνουχίσαντες αὐτὸν ἀπολύσατε. Καὶ
εὐθέως ἀπέστη ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ὁ πόλεμος.
513. [f. 283ra] Μοναχοῦ οἰκοῦντος ἐν Σκήτει προβληθεὶς ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ,

ἀρχέπους9 κατεσχέθη. Ἐδηλώθη οὖν αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῆς μητρὸς τοῦ παιδὸς
ὅτι γράψον τῷ ἄρχοντι ἵνα ἀπολυθῇ. Λέγει οὖν ὁ μοναχός· Ἐὰν οὗτος
1
παρακαλῶν αὐτοῦ] παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν + ὥστε εὔξασθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ S
2
προδώσῃς ἑαυτὸν] προδῷς σεαυτὸν 3
αὐτοῦ] τῷ γέροντι add S 4
περὶ] ὑπὲρ S
5
ὅλης καρδίας ὡς τῷ θεῷ] ὅλης τῆς καρδίας τῷ Θεῷ S 6
ὑαίνης corr] ὑένης codd
7
ὑαίνης corr] ὑένης codd 8
φωνὴν λέγουσαν] φωνῆν λεγούσης S
9
ἀρχέπους] sic codd, possibly ἀρχέσπους? LSJ Supplement quotes the n. ἀρχέποδες from ἀρχέφοδος
= chief of police
N.511–13 347
other replied. The first one said: ‘And did you reap any benefit from
having confessed to him?’ ‘Why yes,’ the other replied, ‘for, by the prayers
of the elder, God healed me.’ ‘I too confessed,’ the first one said, ‘but
I experienced no healing.’ The one who had benefited said to him: ‘In
what way did you plead with the elder?’ ‘I said to him: “Pray for me, for
I have this logismos”’, he said. The other said: ‘But I watered his feet with
tears while I confessed to him, begging him to pray for me and, through
his prayers, God healed me.’” The elder told us this because he who pleads
with one of the fathers about logismoi ought to make his request with
anguish and from his whole heart, as though he were making his request of
God himself, then he will achieve his goal. But somebody who confesses
negligently or puts [a father] to the test will not only reap no benefit, but
will also stand condemned.
N.511
An elder said: “Woe to the one outside from the one within, but woe a
fortiori to the one within from the one without,” for he said: “such is the
case that if a worldling finds occasion to take issue with a person practising
hêsychia or an anchorite, this is the fall and the judgement of the one with
whom issue is taken.”
N.512
A brother living in the desert was afflicted by porneia so he went and found
a hyena’s lair. He entered it and stayed there fasting for six days. Then the
hyena came and, terribly afraid, he said: “Lord, if I am going to soil my
body, give her power over me; if not, save me from her.” Immediately he
heard a voice saying: “Let him go when you [pl.] have made him a
eunuch.” Immediately the affliction withdrew from him.
N.513
The son of a monk living at Scete, a chief of police, was charged and
incarcerated. It was indicated to [the monk] by the mother of the youth
that he should write to the governor to get him released. So the monk said:
“If this one is released, will they not arrest another in his stead?” “Yes”, said
the messenger, and the elder said: “Then what is the advantage to me if, in
releasing him, I put joy in the heart of his mother but, in taking away her
sorrow, I bring it into the heart of another woman?”
ἀπολυθῇ, οὐ κρατοῦσι τὸν ἀνταυτοῦ; Λέγει ὁ ἀποσταλείς· Ναί. Ἔφη ὁ
γέρων· Καὶ τί μοι τὸ ὄφελος ἐὰν ἀπολύσας αὐτὸν βάλλω χαρὰν εἰς τὴν
καρδίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαβὼν τὴν λύπην αὐτῆς, εἰς ἄλλης καρδίαν
γυναικὸς ἐπενέγκω αυτήν;
514. Ὁ αὐτὸς γέρων ἦν ἐργαζόμενος πολὺν ἐργόχειρον καὶ ἤφιε τὸ

ἐπαρκοῦν εἰς τὴν χρείαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν διεδίδου πτωχοῖς. Λιμοῦ οὖν
γενομένου ἔπεμψεν ἡ μήτηρ τὸν υἱὸν1 αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν παρακαλοῦσα
δοῦναι αὐτοῖς μικρὰ ψωμία. Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ γέρων λέγει τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ· [f.
283rb] Εἰσὶν ἄλλοι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ χρῄζοντες ὡς ὑμεῖς; Λέγει· Ναί, εἰσὶ πολλοί.
Καὶ κλείσας τὴν θύραν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ δακρύσας εἶπεν· Ἄπελθε,
τέκνον μου, ὁ τὴν φροντίδα ποιῶν ἐκείνων καὶ τὴν ὑμῶν ποιήσει. Ἠρώ-
τησε δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἄρτι οὐκ ἔκαμες τῷ λογισμῷ, τὸν υἱόν σου
οὕτως ἀποστρέψας; Ἔφη ὁ γέρων ὅτι, εἰ μὴ εἰς ἕκαστον πρᾶγμα βιάσηται
ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτόν,2 μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχει.
515. Εἶπεν γέρων· Πᾶσα πονηρία μὴ τετελεσμένη οὐκ ἔστι πονηρία, καὶ
πᾶσα δικαιοσύνη μὴ τελειωθεῖσα οὐκ ἔστι δικαιοσύνη. Ὅμοιος3 γάρ ἐστιν
ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ μὴ ἔχων λογισμοὺς πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθοὺς γῇ Σοδόμων καὶ
Γομόρρας, ὅτι ἁλμυρά ἐστιν καὶ οὔτε καρπὸν ποιεῖ οὔτε βοτάνην, ἡ δὲ
καλὴ γῆ ἐκβάλλει καὶ σίτον καὶ ζιζάνια.
516. [f. 283va] Ἦν τις ἀναχωρητὴς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ βοσκόμενος μετὰ τῶν

βουβάλων4 καὶ ηὔξατο τῷ Θεῷ λέγων· Κύριε, εἴ τι ὑστερῶ, δίδαξόν με.
Καὶ ἦλθεν αὐτῷ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Εἴσελθε εἰς τόδε τὸ κοινόβιον, καὶ εἴ τι
ἐπιτάσσουσί σοι, ποίησον. Εἰσελθὼν δὲ εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον ἔμεινε καὶ οὐκ
ᾔδει τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Καὶ ἤρξαντο οἱ μοναχοὶ οἱ μικροὶ5
διδάσκειν αὐτὸν τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν λέγοντες· Τοῦτο ποίησον, ἰδιῶτα, καὶ
τοῦτο ποίησον,6 σαλὲ γέρων. Καὶ θλιβόμενος ἤρξατο λέγειν πρὸς τὸν
Θεόν·7 Oὐκ οἶδα τὴν ὑπερεσίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων·8 ἀπόλυσόν με πάλιν
εἰς τοὺς βουβάλους. Καὶ ἀπολυθεὶς πάλιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς
χωρίον βοσκηθῆναι μετὰ τῶν βουβάλων καὶ ἔστησαν παγίδας οἱ ἄνθρω-
ποι ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπίασαν βουβάλια. Ἐπιάσθη δὲ καὶ ὁ γέρων καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
λογισμός· Βάλε τὴν [f. 283vb] χεῖρα σου καὶ λῦσον σεαυτόν. Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς
1
υἱὸν] om S
2
εἰ μὴ. . .. ἑαυτόν] εἰ μὴ βιάσηται ἄνθρωπος ἐφ’ ἑκάστῳ πράγματι (om ἑαυτόν) S
3
ὅμοιος] ὁμοίως C
4
ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. . . βουβάλων] βοσκόμενος μετὰ τῶν βουβάλων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ S
5
οἱ μοναχοὶ οἱ μικροὶ] οἱ μικροὶ μοναχοὶ S 6
τοῦτο ποίησον] ποίησον τοῦτο S
7
τὸν Θεόν] Κύριον S 8
Oὐκ οἶδα τὴν ὑπερεσίαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων] om C
N.514–16 349
N.514
The same elder used to toil enormously at manual labour, setting aside
enough for his needs and giving the rest to the poor. Then there was a
famine; the mother sent his son to him begging him to give them a few
loaves. On hearing this, the elder said to his son: “Are there other people in
there who are in need like you?” “Yes,” he said, “there are many of them.”
[The elder] shut the door in his face and said, with tears in his eyes, “Go
away my child; he who cares for them will care for you too.” The brother
asked him: “Did it not tear your heart to turn your son away like that?”
“Unless a man constrain himself in each situation, he has no reward”, said
the elder.
N.515
An elder said: “No wickedness which is not translated into action is
wickedness; no righteousness which was not translated into action is
righteousness. A man who has neither good nor bad logismoi is like the
land of Sodom and Gomorrah because it is salty, producing neither crop
nor weed, whereas the good ground brings forth wheat and tares.”
N.516
There was an anchorite in the desert grazing with the buffaloes and he
prayed to God, saying: “Lord, let me know if I am falling behind in
anything.” A voice came to him, saying: “Enter this coenobion and, if
they tell you to do anything, do it.” He went into the coenobion and
stayed there, but he had no idea how to serve the brothers. The junior
monks began teaching him how to serve, saying: “Do this, idiot; do that,
crazy old man.” Hurt, he began to say to God: “I have no idea how to serve
men; release me back to the buffaloes.” Released by God again, he went to
a village to graze with the buffaloes. Men used to set traps [in which] they
caught buffaloes and the elder was caught [in one]. The thought suggested
itself: “Put your hand out and release yourself”, to which thought he said:
“If you are a man, release yourself then go to the men. If, on the other
hand, you are a buffalo, you do not have hands”, and he stayed in the trap,
safe and sound, until dawn. The men were alarmed on seeing the elder
τὸν λογισμόν· Εἰ μὲν ἄνθρωπος εἶ, λῦσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ὕπαγε πρὸς τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους, εἰ δὲ βούβαλος εἶ, οὐκ ἔχεις χεῖρας. Καὶ ἔμεινεν εἰς τὴν παγίδα
σῶος1 ἕως πρωΐ. Ἐλθόντες δὲ οἱ ἄνθρωποι πιᾶσαι τοὺς βουβάλους καὶ
ἰδόντες τὸν γέροντα πεπιασμένον ἐφοβήθησαν. Καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐλάλησεν
οὐδέν. Καὶ λύσαντες αὐτὸν ἀφῆκαν, καὶ ἐξῆλθε τρέχων ὀπίσω τῶν βου-
βάλων εἰς τὴν ἔρημον.
517. Φιλόρομός τις ὀνόματι γέγονε μοναχὸς δοκιμώτατος. Ἀπετάξατο

δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ δυσωνύμου βασιλέως καὶ μετὰ παρρη-
σίας διελέγετο αὐτῷ, ὑβρίζων αὐτὸν καὶ ἐλέγχων τὴν μανίαν αὐτοῦ. Ὃν
ξυρισθῆναι ἐκέλευσε καὶ ὑπὸ παιδαρίων εὐτόνως κατακοσισθῆναι ὅστις
ἐγκαρ[f. 284ra]τερήσας τῷ πράγματι καὶ χάριτας αὐτῷ ὡμολόγησεν.
Τούτῳ τῷ2 γενναίῳ ἐπέθετο ὁ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τῆς γαστριμαργίας
πόλεμος, ὅστις νικήσας ἐξήλασε τὰ πάθη ἄκρως ἐγκαρτερήσας3 σιδη-
ροφορίᾳ τε καὶ ἐγκλεισμῷ καὶ ἀποχῇ βρωμάτων καὶ σιτίνου ἄρτου καὶ
ἁπαξαπλῶς πάντων τῶν ἑψομένων διὰ πυρὸς· ἐπὶ δεκαοκτὼ ἔτη4 ἀσκή-
σας τὴν ἐγκράτειαν ἐνίκησε τὸν διάβολον. Ἔλεγε δὲ οὗτος ὁ μακάριος ὅτι
ἐπὶ τριάκοντα καὶ δύο ἔτη οὐδὲ μιᾶς ὀπώρας5 ἡψάμην, δειλίας δέ με, φησί,
πολεμησάσης ποτὲ6 εἰς ἄκρον, ὡς καὶ αὐτὴν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκφοβεῖν με·
μνήματι αὐτὸν ἐγκαθεῖρξα ἐπὶ ἔτη ἕξ, καὶ ταύτης περιεγενόμην τὸν ἐξ
ἐπαφῆς πόλεμον πολεμήσας μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ τὴν δειλίαν μοι
ἐπάγοντος.7 Εἶπεν πάλιν [f. 284rb] ὅτι ἀφοῦ ἐμυσταγωγήθην καὶ ἀνεγεν-
νήθην δι᾿ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἄρτον ἀλλότριον
δωρεὰν8 οὐκ ἔφαγον, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων πόνων·9 διακόσια νομίσματα ἐκ
τοῦ ἔργου τῶν χειρῶν μου δέδωκα λελωβημένοις. Ἦν γὰρ καλλιγράφος
πάνυ εὐφυής, ὃς τοῦ γράφειν οὐκ ἀνεχώρησεν ὀγδοηκοστόν που ἄγων
ἔτος τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ μηδέποτε ἀποστὰς κατὰ νοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ.
518. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος ὅτι καθεζομένου μου ποτὲ ἐγγὺς τοῦ
ἀββᾶ Ἀρφάτ, παρέβαλεν αὐτῷ παρθένος λέγουσα· Πάτερ, ἐνήστευσα
διακοσίας κυριακὰς ἓξ ἕξ, ἀπήγγειλα δὲ τὴν Καινὴν καὶ τὴν Παλαιάν. Τί
ἔτι10 μοι λείπει,11 ἵνα αὐτῷ ἐργάσωμαι; Λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ γέρων· Ἐγένετο ἡ
1
σῶος] σῷος S 2
Τούτῳ τῷ] Τούτῳ οὖν τῷ S
3
ἐξήλασε τὰ πάθη ἄκρως ἐγκαρτερήσας] οm C 4
δεκαοκτὼ ἔτη] δεκαοκτὼ δὲ ἔτη S
5
ὀπώρας] ὠπώρας C
6
με, φησί, πολεμησάσης ποτὲ] με ποτὲ, φησί, πολεμησάσης S
7
μνήματι. . ... μοι ἐπάγοντος] πρὸς τὸ καὶ αὐτῆς περιγενέσθαι ἐγκαθεῖρξα ἑαυτὸν μνήματι ἐπὶ ἔτη ἓξ
καὶ περιεγενόμην αὐτῆς μετὰ καὶ τοῦ ἐξ ἐπαφῆς πολέμου τοῦ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα μοι τῆς δειλίας ἐπ(?)
άγοντος S
8
δωρεὰν] om S 9
πόνων] καὶ add S 10
ἔτι] ἔτη C 11
λείπει corr] λίπει C, λίπη S
N.517–18 351
caught when they came to take the buffaloes. For his part, he said nothing.
They released him and let him go; out he went into the desert, running
with the buffaloes.
N.517
A person named Philoromos became a well tried and tested monk. He
renounced [the world] in the days of the emperor Julian of ill fame with
whom he boldly conversed, upbraiding him and condemning his madness.
The emperor ordered him to be shaved and to be well and truly cropped
by slaves, which, in the event, he endured and expressed his thanks to him.
This noble man was prey to the onslaught of porneia and of gluttony, but
he gained the victory and drove out his passions, persevering to the end, by
wearing irons, by seclusion, by abstaining from food, from wheat bread
and from absolutely everything that was cooked with fire. He conquered
the devil by practising this abstinence for eighteen years. This blessed man
said: “For thirty-two years I have not touched a single fruit. Dread once
afflicted me to such an extent,” he said, “that it terrified me even during
daytime. I shut myself up in a tomb for six years and got the better of that
dread by close combat with the spirit that was imposing dread on me.”
Again he said: “From the day I was initiated and born again by water and
the Spirit [cf. Jn 3:5] until today I never ate another’s bread without paying
for it by my own labours [cf. 2 Th 3:8] and I have given to the lepers two
hundred pieces of gold, the work of my hands.” He was a highly skilled
scribe who did not retire from writing when he reached his eightieth year,
never losing contact with God in his mind.
N.518
Abba Antony said: “Once when I was staying near Abba Arphat, a virgin
visited him saying: ‘Father, I have fasted six days of the week for two
hundred Sundays. I have memorised* the New and the Old Testaments;
what is there left for me to do?’ The elder said to her: ‘Has it not become
an honour to be despised?’ ‘Oh, no!’ she said. ‘Or loss [become] like gain
or aliens like relatives or indigence like luxury?’ ‘No’, she said. The elder
replied: ‘Then you have not fasted six days a week nor have you memor-
ised* the Old and New Testaments; rather are you deceiving yourself. Go
and put yourself to work, for you have accomplished nothing.’”
* apangelo, lit. “recited.”
ἐξουδένω[f. 284va]σις ὡς ἡ τιμή; Λέγει· Οὐχί. Ἢ ἡ ζημία ὡς τὸ κέρδος, ἢ οἱ
ξένοι ὡς τὸ κατὰ σάρκα, ἢ ἡ ἔνδεια ὡς ἡ δαψιλεία; Λέγει· Οὐχί. Ἀπεκρίθη
ὁ γέρων· Λοιπὸν οὐκ ἐνήστευσας ἓξ ἕξ, οὐδὲ Παλαιὰν σὺ καὶ Καινὴν
ἀπήγγειλας, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπατᾷς ἑαυτήν. Ἄπελθε ἐργάζου· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἔχεις.
Περὶ κατανύξεως
519. Ἀδελφὸς σπουδαῖος ἦλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς ξένης καὶ ἔμεινεν εἰς μικρὸν κελλίον
ἐν τῷ Σινᾷ ὄρει. Καὶ ὡς ἦλθε τῇ πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἵνα καθίσῃ, εὗρεν εἰς μικρὸν
ξύλον ἐπιγεγραμμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ ποτὲ μείναντος ἐκεῖ ἀδελφοῦ οὕτως·
Μωϋσῆς Θεοδώρου πάρειμι1 καὶ μαρτυρῶ. Καὶ ἐτίθει2 ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸ ξύλον
ἡμέριον πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠρώτα ὡς παρόντα τὸν γράψαντα·
[f. 284vb] Ποῦ εἶ ἆρα ἄρτι, ἄνθρωπε, ὅτι λέγεις πάρειμι3 καὶ μαρτυρῶ;
Ἆρα εἰς ποῖον κόσμον τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ, ἆρα ποῦ ἔστιν ἡ χεὶρ ἡ ταῦτα
γράψασα; Καὶ οὕτως πᾶσαν ἡμέραν ποιῶν, τοῦ θανάτου μνημονεύων
διέμενε θρηνῶν. Εἶχε δὲ ἐργόχειρον τὸ καλλιγραφικόν, καὶ λαβὼν παρὰ
τῶν ἀδελφῶν χαρτία καὶ ἐπιταγὴν γραψίμων ἀπέθανε μηδενὶ μηδὲν
γράψας. Μόνον δὲ εἰς μικρὸν πιττάκιν γράψας καὶ ἐάσας εἰς τὰ χαρτία
ἑκάστου λέγων· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι, κύριοι μου καὶ ἀδελφοί, ὅτι μικρὸν
ἔργον4 εἶχον μετά τινος καὶ δι᾿ ἐκεῖνο οὐκ εὐκαίρησα ὑμῖν γράψαι.
520. Τούτου πλησίον ἔμεινεν ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς Ἐλίσιος5 τυγχάνων.

Καὶ ἐν μιᾷ ἀπερχομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ κάστρον λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ
[f. 285ra] τῷ καλλιγράφῳ· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, ἀδελφέ, καὶ φρόντισον
τοῦ κήπου ὡς ἔτι ἔρχομαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Πίστευσον, ὅσον
δύναμαι, οὐκ ἀμελῶ. Καὶ ἀπελθόντος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ·
Ταπεινέ, ὡς ἔτι εὗρες εὐκαιρίαν, φρόντισον τοῦ κήπου. Καὶ σταθεὶς
ἀπὸ ἑσπέρας εἰς κανόνα μέχρι πρωῒ οὐκ ἐπαύσατο μετὰ δακρύων
ψάλλων καὶ εὐχόμενος, ὡσαύτως καὶ ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν-ἦν γὰρ ἁγία
Κυριακή. Ἐλθὼν οὖν εἰς ὀψὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ γείτων αὐτοῦ εὗρεν ὅτι τὰ
χοιρογρύλλια ἠφάνισαν τὸν κῆπον καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὁ Θεὸς συγχωρήσει
σοι, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι οὐκ ἐφρόντισας τοῦ κήπου. Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Ὁ Θεὸς οἶδεν,
ἀββᾶ, τὴν δύναμίν μου ἐποίησα καὶ ἐφύλαξα, ἀλλ᾿ ἴδε ὁ Θεός, ἵνα δώσῃ6
ἡμῖν [f.285rb] καρπὸν τὸ μικρὸν κηπίον. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Φύσει,
ἀδελφέ, ὅλον ἠρημώθη.7 Λέγει ὁ καλλιγράφος· Οἶδα, ἀλλὰ πιστεύω τῷ
θεῷ ὅτι πάλιν ἀνθεῖ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος τοῦ κήπου· Ἐλθέ, ἂς8
1
πάρειμι] παρείμη C 2
ἐτίθει] ἐτίθι C 3
πάρειμι] πάρειμη C 4
ἔργον] om C
5
Ἐλίσιος] Ἐλήσιος S (bis) 6
δώσῃ] δώσει S 7
ἠρημώθη] ἠριμώθη S
8
ἂς= let us (do sth)
N.519–20 353
CONCERNING GRIEF FOR SIN [KATANYXIS, COMPUNCTIO]
N.519/15.129
A diligent brother came from a foreign country and lived in a small cell on
Mount Sinaϊ. The first day when he came to stay there he found a small
piece of wood that had been inscribed like this by the brother who had
once lived there: “I, Moses, son of Theodore, am here and bear witness.”
The brother set the piece of wood before his eyes every day and asked the
one who wrote it (as though he were present): “Where are you now, oh
man, that you can say: ‘I am here and bear witness’? In what kind of world
and where is now the hand that wrote this?” Spending the whole day in
this activity and mindful of death, he was constantly grieving. His manual
activity was that of a scribe. Although he was getting paper and orders for
copies from the brothers, he died without writing anything for anybody,
except that he inscribed on a small tablet that he left on the paper of
each one these words: “Forgive me, my masters and brothers; I had a little
business to do with somebody and, for that reason, I did not have time
to write for you.”
N.520
Another brother (his name was Elisha) was living close by that one. One
day, when he was going into the town, he said to the brother who was the
scribe: “Brother, of your charity, please look after the garden until
I return.” The brother said to him: “Believe me, to the best of my ability,
I shall not neglect it”, then, when the brother had left, he said to himself:
“Now, you lowly fellow, care for the garden insofar as you find opportun-
ity to do so.” He was on his feet at worship from evening until dawn,
ceaselessly singing psalms and praying, with tears in his eyes; likewise all
the daytime too, for it was a Sunday. When the brother who was his
neighbour returned towards evening, he observed that the porcupines had
ravaged the garden and he said to him: “May God forgive you, brother, for
not taking care of the garden!” But he said: “God knows, abba, I did what
I could and I kept watch over it. But may God see that the little garden
provide a crop for us.” The brother said: “But it really is completely
devastated!” The scribe said: “I know, but I have faith in God that it will
blossom again.” “Come on then,” said the proprietor of the garden, “let us
water it.” The brother said to him: “You go and water now and I will water
ποτίσωμεν.1 Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ὕπαγε πότισον σὺ ἄρτι κἀγὼ
ποτίζω τῇ νυκτί. Γενομένης δὲ ἀβροχίας ἐλυπεῖτο ὁ κηπουρὸς καὶ λέγει2
τῷ γείτονι3 αὐτοῦ τῷ καλλιγράφῳ· Πίστευσον, ἀδελφέ, εἰ μὴ ὁ Θεὸς
βοηθήσῃ, οὐκ ἔχομεν ὕδωρ ἐφέτος. Λέγει κἀκεῖνος· Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, ἀδελφέ,
ἐὰν ξηρανθῶσιν αἱ πηγαὶ τοῦ κήπου, ἀληθῶς οὐκέτι ἔχομεν σωτηρίαν-
αὐτὸς δὲ περὶ τῶν δακρύων ἔλεγεν.
Ὅτε οὖν ἔμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν οὗτος ὁ καλὸς ἀγωνιστής, παρεκάλεσε
τὸν Ἐλίσιον, τὸν γείτονα αὐτοῦ, λέγων· Ποίησον ἀγάπην μη[f. 285va]δενὶ
εἴπῃς ὅτι ἀσθενῶ, ἀλλὰ παράμεινον ὧδε τὴν σήμερον. Καὶ ὅταν κοιμηθῶ
πρὸς Κύριον, ἆρόν μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ ῥίψον αὐτὸ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, ἵνα
φάγωσιν αὐτὸ4 τὰ θηρία καὶ τὰ πετεινά, διότι ἥμαρτε τῷ θεῷ πολλὰ
καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄξιον ταφῆναι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ κηπουρὸς ὁ Ἐλίσιος· Πίστευ-
σον, ἀββᾶ, διακρίνεται ἡ ψυχή μου ποιῆσαι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο. Ἀπεκρίθη
αὐτῷ ὁ ἀσθενῶν· Τὸ κρίμα τοῦτο ἐπάνω μου καὶ λόγον σοι δίδωμι ὅτι,
ἐάν μου ἀκούσῃς καὶ ποιήσῃς οὕτως καὶ δυνηθῶ, βοηθῶ σοι.Καὶ
ἀποθανόντος αὐτοῦ αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὡς διέταξεν5
αὐτῷ, καὶ ἔρριψε τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ γυμνὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. Ἔμενον γὰρ
ἀπὸ εἴκοσι μιλίων τοῦ κάστρου εἰς τὸ λεγόμενον Μετεμέρ. [f. 285vb] Τῇ
οὖν τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ φαίνεται αὐτῷ κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ὁ ἀπελθὼν πρὸς
Κύριον καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὁ Θεός, ἀδελφέ, ἐλεήσει σε ὡς ἠλέησάς με.
Πίστευσόν μοι, μέγα ἔλεος ἐποίησέ μοι ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὲρ οὗ ἔμεινεν ἄταφον
τὸ σῶμα μου, λέγων μοι· Ἴδε διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ταπείνωσίν σου ἐκέλευσα
εἶναί σε μετὰ Ἀντωνίου. Καὶ ἰδοὺ παρεκάλεσα καὶ περὶ σοῦ. Ἀλλ᾿ ὕπαγε,
ἄφες τὸ κηπίον καὶ φρόντισον τοῦ ἄλλου κηπίου. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ὅτε
ἐξῆλθεν ἡ ψυχή μου, ἐθεώρουν ὅτι τὰ δάκρυά μου ἔσβεσαν τὸ πῦρ, ὅπου
ἔμελλον ἀπελθεῖν.
521. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ σαρκικοὶ ἀπετάξαντο καὶ ἀπελθόντες ἔμειναν ἐν

ὑποταγῇ πατρὸς ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς Νιτρίας. Ἔδωκεν οὖν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς6 δύο
τὸ χάρισμα τῶν δακρύων καὶ [f. 286ra] τῆς κατανύξεως. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν
θεωρεῖ ὁ γέρων ἐν ὁράματι τοὺς δύο ἀδελφοὺς ἱσταμένους εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ
κρατοῦντας χαρτίον γεγραμμένον καὶ βρέχοντας αὐτῷ τοῖς ἰδίοις δάκρυ-
σιν. Καὶ τὰ μὲν γράμματα τοὺ ἑνὸς εὐχερῶς ὑλιαίνοντο,7 τὰ δὲ τοῦ
ἑτέρου μετὰ κόπου. Ἐφαίνοντο γὰρ ὡς ἀπὸ ἐγκαυστοῦ μέλανος. Ἐδεήθη
1
ποτίσωμεν] ποτήσωμεν C 2
καὶ λέγει] λέγει οὖν S 3
γείτονι] γείτωνι C
4
διέταξεν] διετάξατο S 6
τοῖς] τοὺς C
7
ὑλιαίνοντο] ἐλιαίνοντο S
N.521 355
it at night.” Then there was a drought; in his distress the gardener said to
his neighbour the scribe: “Believe me brother, unless God come to our aid,
we shall have no water this year.” The other said: “Then it is woe for us
brother, for if the springs in the garden run dry, we truly have no longer
any chance of survival”, but he was speaking of tears.
When that noble warrior was at the point of death he called his
neighbour Elisha and said to him: “Of your charity, brother, do not tell
anybody I am ill, but stay here today and, when I fall asleep in the Lord,
take up my corpse and cast it into the wilderness so the wild beasts and the
birds can devour it, for it has greatly sinned against God and is not worthy
of burial.” “Believe me, abba, my soul is hesitant to do this thing”, Elisha
the gardener said to him. The sick man answered him: “I am responsible
for this decision and I give you my word that, if you obey me and act in
this way, I will help you if I am able to do so.” So when he died, the very
same day, the brother did as he had told him to do: he threw his body,
naked, into the desert, for they were living some twenty miles from the
town at a place called Metemer. On the third day the brother who had
gone to the Lord appeared to him in his sleep and said to him: “God will
have mercy on you, brother, just as you had mercy on me. Believe me,
God (for whom my corpse remained unburied) has shown great mercy to
me, saying to me: ‘On account of your great humility, I am ordering that
you are to be with Antony’ – and look, I interceded for you. Go now,
abandon the garden and cultivate your other garden [i.e. of the soul], for in
the hour when my soul went out, I observed that my tears had quenched
the fire into which I was heading.”
N.521
Two natural brothers renounced the world; they came and lived in
submission to a father at the mountain of Nitria. God gave them both
the gift of tears and of grief for sin. One day, in a vision, the elder beheld
the two brothers standing in prayer. They were [each] holding a written
document, wetting it with their own tears. The writing on one of them was
easily effaced, but only with difficulty on the other one, for it seemed to be
of encaustic ink. So the elder besought God for the dream to be explained
to him and an angel came to him who said: “The writing on the docu-
ments is their sins. One of the brothers sinned in a natural kind of way and
that is why his offences are easily dissolved, but the other was polluted with
impure and filthy transgressions against nature. That is why he needs more
οὖν ὁ γέρων τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑρμηνευθῆναι αὐτῷ τὸ ὅραμα καὶ παραστὰς αὐτῷ
ἄγγελος λέγει· Τὰ γράμματα τῶν χαρτίων τὰ ἁμαρτήματα αὐτῶν εἰσίν·
καὶ ὁ μὲν εἷς κατὰ φύσιν ἥμαρτεν, καὶ ἐκ τούτου εὐχερῶς λύονται τὰ
πταίσματα, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος εἰς ἀκαθαρσίας καὶ ῥυπαρὰ πταίσματα ἐμολύνθη
παρὰ φύσιν, καὶ ἐκ τούτου κόπου περισσοτέρου χρῄζει πρὸς μετάνοιαν
[f. 286rb] καὶ πολλὴν ταπείνωσιν. Καὶ ἔκτοτε ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων τῷ ἀδελφῷ·
Πόνησον, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι ἔγκαυστά εἰσι καὶ μετὰ κόπου λιαίνονται. Καὶ οὐκ
ἐφανέρωσεν αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μὴ κόψῃ αὐτοῦ
τὴν προθυμίαν. Ἀλλὰ πάντοτε μᾶλλον ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ· Κοπίασον, ἀδελφέ,
ὅτι μετὰ κόπου λιαίνονται.
522. Ἄλλος τις τῶν πατέρων ἔμενεν εἰς Ῥαϊθοῦ εἰς τόπον καλούμενον
Χαλκάν. Τούτῳ παρέβαλέ τις τῶν γερόντων καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ,
θλίβομαι ὅτε1 ἀπολύω ἀδελφὸν εἰς διακονίαν. Λέγει αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτός·
Ἐγώ, ὅτε πέμπω διὰ χρείαν τὸν διακονητήν μου, κάθημαι πλησίον τῆς
θύρας καὶ θεωρῶ· καὶ ὅτε λέγει μοι ὁ λογισμός· ἆρα πότε ἔρχεται ὁ
ἀδελφός, λέγω κἀγώ· εἶτα [f. 286va], ἐὰν προλάβῃ καὶ ἔλθῃ ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς
ἐπαίρων σε2 πρὸς Κύριον, τουτέστιν ἄγγελος, τί γίνεται; Καὶ οὕτως
καθημέραν3 βλέπω τὴν θύραν μεριμνῶν καὶ κλαίων μου τὰς ἁμαρτίας καὶ
λέγω· Ἆρα ποῖος ἀδελφὸς προλαμβάνει καὶ ἔρχεται, ὁ κάτωθεν ἢ ὁ
ἄνωθεν; Καὶ μεγάλως ὠφεληθεὶς ὁ γέρων ἀνεχώρησεν καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ
ἐκράτησε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐργασίαν.
523. Ἀδελφὸς σπουδαῖος ποιῶν τὸν κανόνα αὐτοῦ μετὰ τοῦ ἰδίου
ἀδελφοῦ ἐνικᾶτω ὑπὸ τῶν δακρύων καὶ ἤφιε τὸν στῖχον τοῦ ψαλμοῦ.
Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ4 τὸ τί λογιζόμενος
εἰς τὸν κανόνα οὕτως πικρῶς κλαίει. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ· Συγχώρησόν μοι,
ἀδελφέ. Ἐγὼ πάντοτε εἰς τὸν κανόνα μου [f. 286vb] τὸν Κριτὴν θεωρῶ καὶ
ἐμὲ ὡς κατάδικον παριστάμενον καὶ ἐξεταζόμενον, καὶ αὐτὸν λέγοντά
μοι· διατί ἥμαρτες; Λοιπὸν μὴ γινώσκων τί ἀπολογήσασθαι, φράσσεταί
μου5 τὸ στόμα καὶ ἐκ τούτου ἀπόλλω τὸν στῖχον τοῦ ψαλμοῦ. Ἀλλὰ
συγχώρησόν μοι ὅτι θλίβω σε καί, ἐὰν ἀναπαύῃ, ποιήσει ἕκαστος ἡμῶν6
κατιδίαν τὸν κανόνα αὐτοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Οὐχί, πάτερ· κἄν
γὰρ μὴ πενθῶ ἐγώ, ἀλλ᾿ ὅμως θεωρῶν σε ταλανίζω ἑαυτόν. Καὶ
θεωρήσας ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ταπείνωσιν αὐτοῦ ἐχαρίσατο7 τὸ πένθος τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ.
1
ὅτε] ὅτι C 2
σε] om S 3
καθημέραν] καθήμενος S 4
αὐτῷ] αὐτὸν S
5
ἀπολογήσασθαι, φράσσεταί μου] ἀπολογίσασθαι, φράσσεταί μοι S 6
ἡμῶν] om S
7
ἐχαρίσατο] αὐτῷ add S
N.522–3 357
toil in repentance and much humility.” From that time the elder used to
say to the brother: “Labour on, brother, for [your sins] are in encaustic and
are effaced with toil”, but he did not reveal the occurrence until the end of
his life, in order not to interrupt his effort. Instead, he was always saying to
him: “Toil on, brother, for they are effaced with toil.”
N.522
Another of the fathers was living at Raïthou, in a place called Chalkan.
One of the elders encountered him and said: “Abba, it distresses me when
I send a brother on an errand.” The other told him: “For my part, when
I send my attendant for something needed, I sit by the gate and watch.
And when the thought comes to me: ‘When is the brother coming?’ I tell
myself: ‘And if another brother precedes him and comes to take you to the
Lord (meaning an angel), what then?’ Thus I am daily looking at the gate,
worrying and weeping over my sins and saying: ‘which brother will be the
first to come, the one from below or the one from on high?’” The elder
went his way much enlightened and he adopted the same practice in the
future.
N.523
A diligent brother executing his liturgy with his own brother would be so
overcome with tears that he would miss a verse of the psalm. One day the
other brother asked him to tell him what he was thinking about during the
liturgy that he would weep so bitterly. “Forgive me brother,” he said to
him, “when I am at my liturgy, I see the Judge all the time, with myself
standing there as the accused, being examined; and he is saying to me:
‘Why did you sin?’ So then, since I did not know what to say in my
defence, my mouth becomes blocked up and, as a result, I lose a verse of
the psalm. But forgive me for distressing you and, if you get relief, each of
us will perform his liturgy separately.” The brother said to him: “No,
father, for even though I do not sorrow myself, I debase myself when
I observe you.” When God observed his humility, he gave him the grace of
his brother’s sorrow.
524. Παρέβαλέ τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν τινὶ γέροντι οἰκοῦντι εἰς τὸ Σινᾶ ὄρος
καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Πάτερ, εἰπέ μοι πῶς ὀφείλω εὔχεσθαι;
Πολλὰ [f. 287ra] γὰρ παρώργισα τὸν Θεόν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐγώ,
τέκνον, ὅταν εὔχωμαι, οὕτως λέγω· Κύριε, ἀξίωσόν με δουλεῦσαί σοι ὡς
ἐδούλευσα τὸν Σατανᾶν,1 καὶ ἀξίωσόν με ἀγαπῆσαί σε ὡς ἠγάπησα τὴν
ἁμαρτίαν.
525. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Καλὸν τὸ ἐκτείνειν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν ἀέρα εἰς προ-
σευχὴν καὶ παρακαλεῖν τὸν Θεὸν ἀχειμάστως2 παρελθεῖν τὴν ψυχὴν ἐν τῇ
ἐξόδῳ αὐτῆς πάντας τοὺς ἐμποδίσαι αὐτὴν ἐπιχειροῦντας ἐν τῷ ἀέρι.
526. Ἀδελφὸς μικρὸς ἐπέμφθη ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀββᾶ αὐτοῦ πρός τινα ἀδελφὸν
ἔχοντα κῆπον εἰς τὸ Σινᾶ ἐνέγκαι μικρὰν ὀπώραν τῷ γέροντι. Καὶ ὡς
εἰσῆλθε λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ τῷ κυρίῳ τοῦ κήπου· Ἔχεις, ἀββᾶ, μικρὰν
ὀπώραν, εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς μου; Λέγει αὐτῷ [f. 287rb]· Ναί, τέκνον. Εἴ τι
θέλεις ἐστὶν ὧδε· ἆρον μετὰ καλοῦ. Λέγει ὁ μικρὸς μοναχός· Ἆρα ἔνι ὧδε τὸ
ἔλεος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀββᾶ; Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἐστάθη σύννους προσέχων χαμαί,
καὶ λέγει τῷ παιδίῳ· Τί εἶπες, τέκνον; Λέγει πάλιν τὸ παιδίον· Εἶπον ὅτι
ἆρα, ἀββᾶ, ἔνι ὧδε τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ Θεοῦ; Καὶ πάλιν ἐκ τρίτου ἠρώτησεν
αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον. Καὶ σιωπήσας ἐπὶ μίαν ὥραν ὁ κύριος
τοῦ κήπου οὐχ εὗρε τί ἀπολογήσασθαι3 τῷ παιδίῳ, ἀλλὰ στενάξας εἶπεν·
Βοηθεῖ ὁ Θεός, τέκνον. Καὶ ἀπολύσας τὸ παιδίον εὐθέως ἔλαβε τὸ μηλω-
τάριον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καταλείψας τὸ κηπίον καὶ εἰπών·
Ἄγωμεν ζητήσωμεν τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ Θεοῦ. Εἰ μικρὸν παιδίον ἠρώτησέ με
[f. 287va] καὶ οὐχ εὗρον δοῦναι ἀπολογίαν, τί ποιήσω, ὅταν μέλλω ὑπὸ
Θεοῦ ἐρωτᾶσθαι;
527. Ἀδελφὸς εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν Ἐλαιῶν καθήμενος κατῆλθεν ἐν μιᾷ εἰς τὴν
ἁγίαν πόλιν καὶ προσελθὼν τῷ ἄρχοντι ἐξομολογήσατο αὐτῷ τὰς ἁμαρ-
τίας αὐτοῦ εἰπὼν αὐτῷ· Κόλασόν με κατὰ τοὺς νόμους. Ὁ δὲ ἄρχων
θαυμάσας διεκρίθη ἐν ἑαυτῷ καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ· Ὄντως, ἄνθρωπε,
λοιπὸν ὅτι σὺ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῷ4 ἐξομολογήσω, οὐ τολμῶ κρίναι σε πρὸ τοῦ
θεοῦ, ἴσως γὰρ καὶ συνεχώρησέ σοι. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἔβαλεν ἑαυτῷ
σίδηρα εἰς τοὺς πόδας καὶ εἰς τὸν τράχηλον καὶ ἀπέκλεισεν αὐτὸν5
εἰς κελλίον. Καὶ εἴποτε ἠρώτα αὐτὸν ἄνθρωπος λέγων· [f. 287vb] Ἀββᾶ,
τίς ἔβαλέ σοι τὴν τοιαύτην ἀνάγκην τῶν σιδήρων; ἔλεγεν ὅτι ὁ ἄρχων.
1
τὸν Σατανᾶν] τῷ Σατανᾷ S 2
ἀχειμάστως] ἀχιμάστως C
3
ἀπολογήσασθαι] ἀπολογίσασθαι C 4
ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῷ] ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ S 5
αὐτὸν] ἑαυτὸν S
N.524–7 359
N.524
One of the brothers encountered an elder living at Mount Sinaï and
besought him saying: “Father, tell me how I ought to pray, for I have
angered God greatly.” The elder said to him: “When I pray, my son,
I speak like this: ‘Lord, make me worthy to serve you as I served Satan;
make me worthy to love you as I loved sin.’”
N.525
Again he said: “It is good to raise the hands in the air when praying and to
beg of God that, when the soul departs, it might pass in tranquillity
through all those that attempt to obstruct it in the air.”
N.526
A junior brother was sent by his abba to a brother who had a garden at
Sinaï to bring a little fruit to the elder. As he entered, he said to the brother
who was the owner of the garden: “Abba, my abba says: do you have a little
fruit?” “Yes, son,” he said, “there is anything you want here; take it and
welcome.” Then the junior monk said: “But is the mercy of God here,
abba?” On hearing this he stood in thought with eyes downcast and said to
the youth: “What did you say, my son?” The youth said again: “I asked
whether the mercy of God is here, abba.” Again, a third time, the brother
asked him the same question and, after remaining silent for an hour, the
owner of the garden did not find anything to say in answer to the youth
but heaved a sigh and said: “It is God who helps, young man.” Once he
had dismissed the youth, he immediately took up his sheepskin and went
out into the desert. He abandoned the garden, saying: “Let us go searching
for the mercy of God. If a little youngster asked me a question to which
I found no answer to give, what am I to do when I am about to be
questioned by God?”
N.527/15.130
A brother living on the Mount of Olives came down into the Holy City
one day, went to the governor and confessed his sins to him, saying to him:
“Punish me in accordance with the laws.” Amazed by this, the governor
came to a decision in his own mind. “Really, my man,” he said to the
brother, “now that you have confessed of your own free will, I dare not
Πρὸ οὖν μιᾶς ἡμέρας τοῦ τελευτῆσαι αὐτὸν ἠνοίγησαν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν τὰ
σίδηρα καὶ ἔπεσαν1 ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Ἐλθὼν οὖν ὁ διακονητὴς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰδὼν
ἐθαύμασε καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τίς ἔλυσε τὰ σίδηρα ἀπὸ σοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ·2
Ὁ λύσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου ἐφάνη γάρ μοι χθὲς λέγων· Ἰδοὺ3 διὰ τὴν
ὑπομονήν σου ἔλυσα πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ ἥψατο τῷ δακτύλῳ
αὐτοῦ τῶν σιδήρων καὶ εὐθέως ἔπεσαν4 ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπὼν ὁ
ἀδελφὸς εὐθέως ἀπῆλθε πρὸς Κύριον.
528. Ἦν τις ταξεώτης ἐν Σκυθοπόλει πάμπολλα δεινὰ διαπραξάμενος

καὶ παντοίῳ τρόπῳ μολύνας τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ. Κατανυγεὶς δὲ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἀπετάξατο, καὶ κτίσας ἑαυτῷ κελλίον εἰς ἔρημον τόπον [f. 288ra] εἰς
χείμαρρον κάτω ἐκάθητο φροντίζων τῆς ἰδίας ψυχῆς. Μαθόντες οὖν τινὲς
τῶν γνωρίμων ἤρξαντο πέμπειν αὐτῷ ἄρτους καὶ φοίνικας καὶ τὴν χρείαν
αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ εἶδεν ἑαυτὸν ἐν ἀναπαύσει μηδὲν5 λειπόμενον λέγει ἐν
ἑαυτῷ· Ὄντως ἡ τοιαύτη ἀνάπαυσις τῆς ἐκεῖ ἀναπαύσεως ἐκβάλλει ἡμᾶς·
ταύτης γὰρ ἐγὼ ἄξιος οὐκ εἰμί. Καταλιπὼν οὖν τὸ κελλίον ἑαυτοῦ
ἀνεχώρησε λέγων· Ἄγωμεν ψυχὴ εἰς θλίψιν. Ἐμοὶ γὰρ χόρτος καὶ ἡ τροφὴ
τῶν ἀλόγων πρέπει, διότι τὰ τῶν ἀλόγων ἔργα διεπραξάμην.
529. Διηγήσαντο ἡμῖν τινὲς ἀδελφοί· Παραβαλοῦσιν ἡμῖν6 εἰς Ῥαϊθοῦ

ὅτι ἦν τις γέρων πονικὸς7 καθήμενος εἰς τὰ σπήλαια ἄνωθεν τοῦ λεγομέ-
νου Ἰσραὴλ καὶ τοιαύτην νῆψιν εἶχεν ὁ [f. 288rb] νοῦς τοῦ γέροντος,
ὥστε σχεδὸν κατὰ βῆμα ὅπου8 περιεπάτει, ὁπουδήποτε ἵστατο καὶ
ἐσκέπτετο τὸν λογισμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτόν· Τί ἔνι9 ἀδελφέ; Ποῦ
ἐσμέν; Καὶ εἰ μὲν εὕρισκε τὸν νοῦν αὐτοῦ στιχολογοῦντα ἢ εὐχόμενον εὖ
καὶ καλῶς, εἰ δὲ εὕρισκεν ἑαυτὸν ἄλλο οἱονδήποτε πρᾶγμα λογιζόμενον,
εὐθέως ὕβριζεν ἑαυτὸν λέγων· Δεῦ ἐκεῖθεν κατακέφαλα εἰς τὸ ἔργον σου.
Οὕτως δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντοτε ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων· Ἀδελφέ, ἐγγὺς ἡ ὥρα τοῦ
ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἀκμὴν οὐδὲν θεωρῶ εἰς τὸ μέσον. Τούτῳ ποτὲ ἐφάνη ὁ
Σατανᾶς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί κοπιᾷς; Πίστευσον οὐ σώζεσθαι.10 Λέγει
αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτός· Μὴ μέλει11 σοι ὅτε καὶ οὐ σωθῶ, τέως ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς
σου εὑρίσκομαι ἱστάμενος καὶ ὑπὸ κάτω [f. 288va] πάντων εἰς τὴν
κόλασιν.
1
ἔπεσαν] ἔπεσον S 2
λέγει αὐτῷ om S 3
ἰδοὺ] om S 4
ἔπεσαν] ἔπεσον S
5
μηδὲν] καὶ μηδενὸς S 6
ἡμῖν] ἐν Σκυθοπόλει S 7
πονικὸς] πονηκὸς C
8
ὅπου] ὅτε S 9
ἔνι] εν C 10
σώζεσθαι corr] σώζεσαι codd.
11
μέλει] μέλλει S
N.528–9 361
judge you before God, for perhaps he has forgiven you.” The brother went
away, put his feet and his neck in irons and confined himself in a cell and if
any man asked him: “Abba, who imposed such a necessity of irons on
you?” he would say that it was the governor. But the day before he died the
irons opened of their own accord and fell off him. His attendant, amazed
when he came and saw this, said to him: “Who loosed the irons from you?”
He said to him: “He who loosed my sins appeared to me yesterday saying:
‘Look, I absolved you of all your sins on account of your patient endur-
ance.’ He touched the irons with his finger and they immediately fell away
from me.” Having said this, the brother forthwith departed to the Lord.
N.528/15.131
There was an officer in Scythopolis who had done very many dreadful
things and had defiled his body in every kind of way. Brought to his senses
by God, he renounced the world and, having built himself a cell in a desert
place down in a wadi, he took up residence there, taking thought for his
own soul. When some of his acquaintances learnt of this, they started
sending him bread, dates and whatever he might need. When he realised
that he was living at his ease and that he lacked nothing, he said to himself:
“This repose here is indeed casting us out of the repose that is to come, for
I am unworthy of it.” He abandoned his cell and went away, saying: “Soul,
let us go to affliction. Grass and the food of beasts are appropriate for me,
for I have done the deeds of beasts.”
N.529
Some brothers told us when we visited Raïthou that there was a hard-
labouring elder living in the caves above the place called Israel whose mind
was so vigilant that, almost at every step, no matter where he was walking,
whenever he was standing, he would examine his mind and ask it: “How is
it then, brother? Where are we?” If he found that his mind was repeating a
psalm or offering a prayer, well and good, but if he found himself contem-
plating any other matter whatsoever, he would immediately upbraid
himself, saying: “Come out of there, silly head; to your work!” This is
how the elder always used to speak to him[self]: “Brother, the hour of
departure is near and, at the moment, I see nothing between it and you.”
Satan once appeared to him, saying: “Why are you toiling? Believe me, you
are not being saved.” Says he to him: “Little it matters to you whether I am
or am not to be saved; I shall be found standing above your head even if
I am underneath everyone else in punishment.”
530. Τούτου πλησίον ᾤκει ἀδελφὸς Φαρανίτης ὀνόματι Ἀρέθας, ἀμελέσ-
τερος μικρὸν ἐν τῷ μοναχικῷ ὑπάρχων. Τούτῳ μέλλοντι ἀποθνῄσκειν
παρεκάθηντο τινὲς τῶν πατέρων, καὶ θεωρῶν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων ἱλαρῶς καὶ
μετὰ χαρᾶς ἐκδημοῦντα τοῦ σώματος, καὶ1 βουλόμενος οἰκοδομῆσαι
τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀδελφέ, πίστευσον πάντες γινώσκομεν ὅτι
οὐ πάνυ σπουδαῖος ἐγένου εἰς τὴν ἄσκησιν καὶ πόθεν οὕτως προθύμως
πορεύῃ; Καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Πίστευσον, πάτερ, ἀλήθειαν εἶπες, πλὴν ἀφ᾿
ἧς ἐγενόμην μοναχός, οὐκ οἶδα ὅτι ἔκρινα ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ᾿ εὐθὺς τῇ αὐτῇ
ἡμέρᾳ διηλλάγην αὐτῷ. Καὶ βούλομαι εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ· Σὺ εἴπας μὴ
κρίνετε, δεσπότα,2 [f. 288vb] καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε καὶ ἄφετε καὶ ἀφεθήσεται
ὑμῖν. Πάντων δὲ οἰκοδομηθέντων λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰρήνη σοι, τέκνον,
ὅτι καὶ δίχα κόπου ἐσώθης.
531. Αὕτη δὲ ἦν ἡ συνήθεια καὶ ἐργασία τοῦ γέροντος· καθήμενος ποτὲ

ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ σύννους εἰς γῆν νενευκὼς καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ
διαπαντὸς σείων, ἔλεγεν μετὰ στεναγμοῦ· Ἆρα τί γίνεται; Καὶ πάλιν
σιωπῶν ὡς μίαν ὥραν καὶ ἐργαζόμενος τὴν σειράν, κινῶν δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν
ἀπαύστως ἔλεγεν· Ἆρα τί γίνεται; Οὕτως διετέλεσε πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας
αὐτοῦ μεριμνῶν ἀεὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἔξοδον.
532. Τοῦτο3 παρέβαλεν ἀδελφὸς Αἰγύπτιος πολεμούμενος εἰς

πορνείαν καὶ παρεκάλεσε τὸν γέροντα εὔξασθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα
κουφι[f. 289ra]σθῇ ὁ πόλεμος αὐτοῦ. Ἐπένευσεν οὖν ὁ γέρων καὶ παρ-
εκάλεσε τὸν Θεὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἡμέρας ἑπτά. Τῇ δὲ ἑβδόμῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἠρώτησε
τὸν ἀδελφόν· Πῶς ὁ πόλεμος, ἀδελφέ; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἐκεῖνος· Κακῶς·
φύσει ὅλως οὐκ ἠσθάνθην κουφισμόν.4 Ὁ οὖν γέρων ἐξενίσθη καὶ ἰδοὺ
φαίνεται αὐτῷ ὁ Σατανᾶς τῇ νυκτὶ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Πίστευσον, γέρον,5
ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡμέρας, ὅτε ἐδεήθης τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀνεχώρησα ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾿
ἴδιον δαίμονα ἔχει καὶ ἴδιον πόλεμον ἐκ τῆς γούλας αὐτοῦ, ἐπεὶ ἐγὼ
πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἔχω εἰς τὸν πόλεμον αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν6 πολεμεῖ
τρώγων καὶ πίνων καὶ κοιμώμενος πολλά.
1
καὶ] om S 2
μὴ κρίνετε δεσπότα] δεσπότα μὴ κρίνετε S 3
Τοῦτο] Τοῦτῳ S
4
κουφισμόν] κουφισμοῦ S 5
γέρον] γέρων C 6
ἑαυτὸν] ἑαυτῷ S
N.530–2 363
N.530/15.132 BHG 1440pb, de morte monachi qui fratres

non iudicavit
Near to him there lived a brother from Pharan named Arethas, somewhat
lacking in diligence in the monastic way of life. When he was at the point
of death some of the fathers were sitting with him. Perceiving that this
brother was departing from his body in joy and gladness, and wishing to
edify the brothers, the elder said to him: “Brother, believe me, we all know
that you were not very diligent in your religious exercises; how then are
you departing [this life] so eagerly?” Said the brother: “Believe me father,
what you said is true. Yet from the day I became a monk I do not know
that I ever passed judgement on anybody and did not immediately
reconcile myself with him the same day; and I want to say to God:
‘Lord-and-master, you said “Judge not that you be not judged” [cf. Mt
7:1] and “forgive and it shall be forgiven you”’ [cf. Mt 6:14].” Everybody
being edified, the elder said to him: “Peace be with you, my child, for you
were saved without toil.”
N.531
This was the custom and activity of the elder. Always remaining in his cell,
deep in thought, bowed over towards the earth, continually shaking his
head, he would say with a sigh: “What is going to happen?” Then, keeping
silent again for about an hour and working away at his rope, continually
nodding his head, he would say: “What is going to happen?” That was how
he spent all his days, ever concerning himself with his demise.
N.532/15.133
An Egyptian brother who was attacked by porneia visited him and begged
the elder to pray on his behalf that the assault might be withdrawn from
him. To this the elder agreed and, for seven days, he prayed to God for
him. On the seventh day, he asked the brother: “How goes the battle,
brother?” “Badly,” he said to him; “I have not really experienced any relief
whatsoever”, so the elder was astonished. Then here at night there
appeared to him Satan and said to him: “Believe me, elder, I got right
out of him the first day you prayed to God, but he has his own demon and
his own battle with over-eating; I have nothing to do with his battle. He is
at war with himself, eating, drinking and sleeping a great deal.”
533. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὁ γέρων ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ μοναχός, ὅτε ἔστι μετὰ ἀδελφῶν,
πάντοτε κάτω προσέχειν εἰς [f. 289rb] τὴν γῆν καὶ μὴ προσέχειν ὅλως εἰς
πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπου καὶ μάλιστα νεωτέρου, ὅτε δὲ πάλιν ἐστὶ κατὰ
μόνας, ἄνω πάντοτε ἵνα προσέχει·1 πολλὰ γὰρ θλίβονται καὶ φοβοῦνται
οἱ δαίμονες, ὅταν προσέχωμεν ἄνω πρὸς Κύριον.
534. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τινὰ γελῶντα ἢ ἐσθίοντα πολλά, μὴ κρίνῃς
αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰπέ ὅτι μακάριος ἐστὶν οὗτος, ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἔχει καὶ
ἐξ αὐτοῦ χαίρεται ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ.
535. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὅτι ὅμοιοί εἰσιν2 οἱ πονηροὶ λογισμοὶ μυιῶν

εἰσερχομένων εἰς οἶκον· ἐὰν οὖν καταμέρος φονεύῃς μίαν ὡς ἔρχονται, οὐ
κοπιᾷς, εἰ δὲ ἀφήσεις γεμισθῆναι τὸν οἶκον, πολὺν κόπον εὑρίσκεις εἰς τὸ
ἐκβαλεῖν αὐτάς. Καὶ ἢ ἰσχύσεις ἢ ἀκηδιάσῃς,3 ἀφήσεις λοιπὸν ἐρημωθῆ[f.
289va]ναι τὸν οἶκον.
536. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ταῦτα τῷ4 μετανοοῦντι πρέπουσιν· ἰδιᾶσαι, μεριμ-

νῆσαι, πονῆσαι, πενθῆσαι, ἀμεριμνῆσαι τοῦ κόσμου, μηδένα βαρῆσαι,
ἑαυτὸν θλίψαι,5 ἑαυτὸν ἐλέγξαι, μετὰ στενώσεως ζῆσαι, ἑαυτὸν κρῖναι,
διαπαντὸς ἀγρυπνῆσαι καὶ μετὰ πόνου καρδίας τὸν Θεὸν αἰτῆσαι τὸ6
ἔλεος αὐτοῦ.
537. Παρεβάλομεν εἰς Κάνωπον Ἀλεξανδρείας7 ἀπὸ δέκα μιλίων τῆς

πόλεως καὶ συνετύχομεν τῷ ἀββᾷ Θεοδώρῳ, ἀνθρώπῳ ἀσκητῇ καὶ
χάρισμα ὑπομονῆς ἔχοντι. Οὗτος διηγήσατο ἡμῖν ὅτι ἦν τις ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν
εἰς τὰ Κελλία καὶ ἐκέκτητο τὸ χάρισμα τῆς κατανύξεως.8 Συνέβη οὖν ἐν μιᾷ
τῶν ἡμερῶν καὶ ἀπὸ πόνου καρδίας ἦλθεν αὐτῷ δα[f. 289vb]κρύων
πλῆθος καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἀληθῶς τοῦτο σημεῖόν ἐστιν
ὅτι ἐγγὺς ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ θανάτου μου. Καὶ ὡς τοῦτο ἐλογίζετο, ἔτι τὰ
δάκρυα ἐπληθύνοντο, καὶ ὡς ἔβλεπε ταῦτα πληθυνόμενα, πάλιν ἔλεγεν·
Ἀληθῶς ἤγγικεν ὁ καιρός· καὶ καθημέραν πλείω καὶ πλείω ἐδάκρυεν.
Ὠφεληθέντων δὲ ἡμῶν μεγάλως ἐκ τοῦ διηγήματος τοῦ γέροντος
ἠρωτήσαμεν αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν δακρύων, τὸ διατί ποτὲ μὲν καὶ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν
ἔρχονται, ποτὲ δὲ οὐδὲ9 μετὰ πόνου ἔρχονται, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τὰ
1
προσέχει] προσέχῃ S 2
ὅμοιοί εἰσιν] ὅμοιοί σιν C 3
ἀκηδιάσῃς] ἀκηδιάσας S
4
τῷ corr] τὸ C 5
θλίψαι corr] θλίψε C 6
αἰτῆσαι τὸ] αἰτῆσαι καὶ τὸ S
7
Κάνωπον Ἀλεξανδρείας] Κάνωπον ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείας S
8
τῆς κατανύξεως S] τῆς ταπεινώσεως C 9
οὐδὲ] οὐ S
N.533–7 365
N.533
The elder also said that when a monk is in the presence of brothers, he
ought always to be looking down to the ground and totally refrain from
looking anybody in the face, most of all a youth. But when he is alone
again, he ought always to look up – because the demons are deeply
troubled and afraid when we are looking up to the Lord.
N.534
He also said: “If you see somebody laughing or over-eating, do not judge
him. Say rather that this person is blessed: he has no sins and, for that
reason, his soul is rejoicing.”
N.535
He also said: “Evil logismoi are like mice coming into a house. If you kill
each one as it enters, you do not grow weary. But if you let the house get
filled with them, you will find it very wearisome to get rid of them.
Whether you have the strength or lose heart, you will allow the house to
be devastated.”
N.536
He also said: “These are the things appropriate for a penitent: to live alone,
to show concern, to work hard, to grieve [for his sins], to take no thought
for the world, to be a burden to no man, to afflict himself, to reprove
himself, to live in poverty, to condemn himself, always to keep watch by
night and to implore God for his mercy with a labouring heart.”
N.537 (cf. 15.134)

We visited Canopus, ten miles from the city of Alexandria, and encoun-
tered Abba Theodore, a man of strict self-discipline who had the grace
of endurance. He told us that there was a brother living at The Cells
who possessed the grace of sorrow for sin. One day a flood of tears
happened to come over him from pain in his heart. Perceiving this, the
brother said to himself: “This is certainly an indication that the day of my
death is near” and the tears still multiplied as he contemplated this fact.
δάκρυα ὅμοιά εἰσι τῷ χειμῶνι καὶ τῷ ὑετῷ, ὁ δὲ μοναχὸς ὁ γεωργός,
ὀφείλει ἐρχόμενον ἀγωνίσασθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἀπόληται ἐξ αὐτοῦ τίποτε
[f. 290ra], ἀλλ᾿ ὅλον εἰσέλθῃ εἰς τὸ κηπίον καὶ ποτίσῃ αὐτό. Λέγω γὰρ
ὑμῖν, τέκνα, ὅτι πολλάκις εὑρίσκεται μία ἡμέρα βροχῆς προάγουσα
ὅλου τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ καὶ σώζουσα ὅλους τοὺς καρπούς. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο,
ὅτε νοήσωμεν ὅτι ἦλθεν, ἀγωνισώμεθα καὶ φυλάξωμεν ἑαυτοὺς καὶ
σχολάσωμεν τὸ δεηθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκτενῶς·1 οὐ γὰρ οἴδαμεν ἄλλην
ἡμέραν εἰ εὕρωμεν2 τὸν ὑετὸν ἐκεῖνον.
Ἡμεῖς οὖν πάλιν ἠρωτήσαμεν λέγοντες· Καὶ πῶς φυλάττει ἄνθρωπος,
πάτερ, τὴν κατάνυξιν, ὅτε ἔρχεται; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἵνα μὴ παραβάλῃ
πρὸς ἄνθρωπον τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἢ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ ἵνα φυλάξῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ
κοιλίαν καὶ τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ μὴ φαντασθῆναι ὅτι ὅλως κλαίει, καὶ
σχολάσῃ3 τῇ εὐχῇ καὶ τῇ ἀναγνώσει [f. 290rb]. Πλὴν ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἡμῖν τὸ
πένθος, αὐτὸ διδάσκει ἡμῖν τὰ πράγματα τὰ φέροντα αὐτὸ καὶ τὰ
κωλύοντα αὐτό. Καὶ διηγήσατο λέγων ὅτι οἶδα ἀδελφὸν καθήμενον ἐν
τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐργαζόμενον τὴν σειρὰν καὶ κατερχομένων αὐτοῦ
τῶν δακρύων ἀνίστατο εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ εὐθέως ἐκωλύοντο. Καὶ πάλιν
καθήμενος ἐκράτει τὴν σειρὰν καὶ συνήγαγεν αὐτοῦ τὸν νοῦν καὶ εὐθέως
ἤρχοντο. Καὶ ἐπὶ ἀναγνώσματος ὁμοίως ὅτε κατενύσσετο, ἠγείρετο καὶ
εὐθέως ἀφίστατο4 καὶ ὡς μόνον ἐκράτει τὸ βιβλίον πάλιν ἤρχετο. Καὶ τότε
εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός ὅτι καλῶς εἶπον οἱ πατέρες ὅτι τὸ πένθος διδάσκαλός
ἐστιν· αὐτὸ γὰρ διδάσκει τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὅλα τὰ συμφέροντα αὐτῷ.
538. Διήγησατο δὲ ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦτο ὁ γέρων [f. 290va] ὅτι περ, φησίν, ἐν
τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐπιστάτης μου ἠγάπα εἰς τὰς μακροτέρας ἐρήμους ὑπάγειν
κἀκεῖσε ἡσυχάζειν. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν λέγω αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, διατί οὕτως φεύγεις ἐν
ταῖς ἐρήμοις; ὁ γὰρ μένων πλησίον τοῦ κόσμου καὶ βλέπων καὶ παραβλέ-
πων διὰ τὸν Θεὸν πλείονα μισθὸν ἔχει. Καὶ λέγει μοι ὁ γέρων· Πίστευέ μοι,
τέκνον, ἕως οὗ ἔλθῃ ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὰ μέτρα Μωϋσέως καὶ γένηται σχεδὸν
υἱὸς Θεοῦ, οὐκ ὠφελεῖται ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. Ἐγὼ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὑπάρχω
καί, ὡς ὁ πατήρ μου, ἐπὰν ἴδω τὸν καρπὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, εὐθέως ἐπιθυμῶ
αὐτὸν5 καὶ λαμβάνων καὶ6 ἐσθίω καὶ ἀποθνῄσκω. Διὰ τοῦτο οἱ πατέρες
ἡμῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις ἔφευγον κἀκεῖ ἀπέκτειναν τὴν γαστριμαργίαν μὴ
εὑρίσκοντες βρώματα τὰ γε[f. 290vb]ννῶντα7 τὰ πάθη.
1
τὸ δεηθῆναι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκτενῶς] τοῦ δεηθῆναι ἐκτενῶς τοῦ Θεοῦ S 2
εὕρωμεν] εὕρομεν S
3
σχολάσῃ] σχολάσει C 4
ἀφίστατο] om C
5
ἐπιθυμῶ αὐτὸν] ἐπιθυμῶ λαβεῖν αὐτὸν S 6
καὶ] om S 7
γεννῶντα] γενῶντα C
N.538 367
His tears multiplying, he said again: “The time has certainly come” and,
each day, he wept more and more.
Greatly edified by the elder’s story, we asked him about tears: why do
they sometimes come of their own volition, whereas at other times they do
not come, even with an effort; and the elder said: “Tears are like winter and
the rain; the monk who is the gardener must come and strive to ensure that
none of [the rain] is lost, but that all of it enters the garden and waters it.
For I tell you my sons that there is often one day of rain preceding a whole
year and saving all the crops. For this reason, when we notice that it has
come, let us strive and be on our guard and devote ourselves to praying
continually to God; for we do not know whether we will find that rain
another day.”[15.134 ends here]
So we asked him again: “Father, how does a man preserve sorrow for sin
when it comes?” The elder replied: “Let him not meet anybody that day or
at that time. Let him keep a watch over his own belly and guard his heart
from imagining that he is completely weeping; let him also be assiduous in
prayer and reading. But, in fact, when grief comes upon us, it tells us itself
the things that bring it on and the things that impede it.” Then he told us
a story, saying: “I know a brother who was living in his cell, working at
rope-making and, when tears came upon him, he would stand up to pray
and they were immediately stopped. When he sat down again, took up his
rope and collected his thoughts, they came immediately. In reading
likewise, when grief came upon him, he would get up and it would
immediately stop, but come back again if he so much as handled the
book.” Then the brother said that the fathers had well said that grief is a
teacher, for it does teach a man everything that is useful to him.
N.538
The elder told us this too: “While he lived,” he said, “my director delighted
to travel into the remoter parts of the desert and practise hêsychia there.
One day I said to him: ‘Abba, why do you run away into the desert like
this? For he who stays close to the world, seeing it and despising it for
God’s sake, has a greater reward.’ The elder said to me: ‘Believe me, my
son; until a man attains the stature of Moses and becomes almost a son of
God, he gets no help from the world. I am a son of Adam and, like my
father, when I see the fruit of sin, I immediately long to partake of it; I take
it, eat it and die. That is why our fathers used to take flight into the desert
and put gluttony to death there, for they did not find the foods that
engender passions.’”
539. Ἔλεγε πάλιν ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ἑκουσίως ἐκδίδων ἑαυτὸν εἰς θλίψιν,
πιστεύω ὅτι μετὰ τῶν μαρτύρων αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς λογίζεται· ἀντὶ γὰρ
αἵματος λογίζεται αὐτῷ τὰ δάκρυα.1
540. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὁ γέρων ὅτι ὥσπερ πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ἣν ποιήσει

ἄνθρωπος ἐκτὸς τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν, ὁ δὲ πορνεύων2 εἰς τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα
ἁμαρτάνει, διότι ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐξέρχεται ὁ βιασμός,3 οὕτως πᾶσα ἐργασία ἣν
ποιήσει ἄνθρωπος ἐκτὸς τοῦ σώματός ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ δακρύων τὴν ἰδίαν
ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα καθαρίζει· ἄνωθεν γὰρ καταβαῖνον τὸ δάκρυον ὅλον
τὸ σῶμα ἀποπλύνει καὶ ἁγιάζει.
541. Ἔλεγεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Εὐλόγιος ὁ τοῦ Ἐνάτου ὅτι ἦν τις ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν
εἰς τὰ Κελλία καὶ ποιήσας ἔτη εἴκοσι σχολάζων τῇ ἀνα[f. 291ra]γνώσει
νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, ἀναστὰς ἐν μιᾷ ἐπώλησε τὰ βιβλία ὅσα ἐκέκτητο, καὶ
λαβὼν τὸ μηλωτάριον αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον. Ὑπαντή-
σας δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰσαὰκ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ποῦ πορεύῃ, τέκνον; Καὶ
ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Ἔχω εἴκοσι χρόνους, πάτερ, ἀκούων μόνον
τοὺς λόγους τῶν βιβλίων· ἄρτι δὲ θέλω λοιπὸν ἄρξασθαι καὶ εἰς τὸ ἔργον
ὅπερ ἤκουσα ἐκ τῶν βιβλίων. Καὶ ποιήσας αὐτῷ εὐχὴν ὁ γέρων ἀπέλυσεν
αὐτόν.
542. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι παιδίον βάλλον τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ μεταξὺ τῶν
μειζοτέρων αὐτοῦ ὅμοιόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ῥίπτοντι πῦρ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ.
543. Ἔλεγον οἱ γέροντες· Παιδεύσατε τὰ παιδία, ἀδελφοί, ἵνα μὴ

παιδεύσωσιν ὑμᾶς αὐτά.
544. Ἔλεγον πάλιν [f. 291rb] ὅτι ἡ παγὶς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐν τοῖς μοναχοῖς
ὑπὲρ τὰς γυναῖκας τὰ παιδία εἰσίν.
1
αὐτῷ τὰ δάκρυα] τὰ δάκρυα αὐτοῦ S 2
πορνεύων] πορνεῦον C
3
ὁ βιασμός] ὁ μιασμός S
N.539–44 369
N.539
He also said: “I believe that God counts a man who of his own free will
hands himself over to affliction as one of the martyrs, for instead of blood,
tears are counted to his credit.”
N.540
The elder also said: “Whereas every sin that a man will commit is exterior to the
body, he who commits porneia sins against his own body (because the pollution
comes out of [the body]). So every deed a man will commit is exterior to the
body, but he who weeps cleanses his own soul and body; for since the tear
comes down from above, it washes and sanctifies the entire body.”
N.541
Abba Eulogius of the Ninth [milepost from Alexandria] used to say that
there was a brother living at The Cells who, having spent twenty years
applying himself day and night to reading, one day got up and sold all the
books he possessed and, taking his sheepskin, went off to the inner desert.
Abba Isaac met him and said to him: “Where are you going, my son?”
“I have spent twenty years only hearing the words of the [sacred] books,
father,” the brother answered him, “and now I finally want to make a start
on putting into action what I have heard from the books.” The elder
offered a prayer for him and dismissed him.
N.542
An elder said that a youth expressing his opinion in the midst of those
senior to him is like a man casting fire into his brother’s bosom.
N.543
The elders used to say: “Discipline the children, brothers, lest they
discipline you.”
N.544
They would also say: “Youths are a [worse] snare of the devil among
monks than women.”
545. Ἔλεγον πάλιν· Ὅπου οἶνος1 καὶ παιδία οὐκ ἔστι χρεία τοῦ
Σατανᾶ.
546. Ἀνδρὶ ἁγίῳ κατ᾿ αὐτὴν τὴν ὥραν μέλλοντι τελευτᾶν ἐπιστὰς ὁ
Σατανᾶς λέγει αὐτῷ· Σὺ ἐξήλησάς με. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ οἶδα ἀκμήν.
Ἴδε ἕως πόσου ἔνιφαν2 οἱ πατέρες μὴ καυχᾶσθαι ἔν τινι πράγματι.
547. Ἀδελφὸς ἀπετάξατο τοῦ κόσμου3 σὺν τῷ ἰδίῳ πατρὶ κατὰ4

σάρκα· ἔμειναν δὲ ἀμφότεροι εἰς ἓν μοναστήριον. Μετὰ οὖν χρόνον τινὰ
ἤκουσεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου πατρὸς ὅτι ἰάσατο τινὰ ἀσθενῆ ἀπὸ
δαίμονος, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπήγγειλε μεγάλῳ γέροντι ὡς λυπούμενος καὶ
λέγων· Ἀββᾶ, ὁ πατήρ μου προέκοψε καὶ δαιμόνιον ἀπὸ [f. 291va]
ἀδελφοῦ5 ἀπήλασεν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν ἀμελείᾳ εἰμὶ καὶ οὐδεμία προκοπὴ παρ᾿
ἐμοί. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Φύσει, τέκνον, οὐκ ἔστιν αὕτη προκοπὴ τοῦ
ἐξενέγκαι δαίμονας ἢ ἀσθενοῦντας6 ἰάσασθαι. Ταῦτα οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπός
ἐστιν ὁ ποιῶν ἀλλ᾿ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ πίστις τοῦ προσερχομένου.
Πλὴν ὅτι καὶ πολλοὶ τοῦτο μὴ νοήσαντες εἰς ὑπερηφανίαν ἐκ τῶν ἰάσεων
ἐλθόντες ἀπώλοντο. Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὅτι, ἐὰν ἄνθρωπος ἔλθῃ εἰς ταπείνωσιν
ἀληθινήν, ἄλλη προκοπὴ μείζων7 ταύτης οὐκ ἔστιν μηδέποτε πίπτουσα.
Ὁ γὰρ ἅπαξ ταπεινῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν κάτω, ποῦ λοιπὸν ἔχει πεσεῖν
χαμαὶ βάλλων ἑαυτόν; Τὸ δὲ σημεῖον τοῦ τοιούτου τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἐὰν
ἀτιμαζόμενος χαίρῃ.
548. Ἠρώτησε πάλιν [f. 291vb] ὁ ἀδελφὸς τὸν γέροντα· Πῶς ἔρχεται,
πάτερ, ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ κλαίειν; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τὸ κλαίειν συνήθειά ἐστιν
καὶ ἀδολεσχῆσαι θέλει πολὺν χρόνον ὁ ζητῶν αὐτό, ἵνα ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ
πάντοτε μεριμνᾷ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ ἃς ἔπραξεν, ἢ τὴν κόλασιν, ἢ μνήμην
τοῦ μνήματος, καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅλων τῶν ἐλεεινῶν ἐνθυμήσεων, ἢ τῶν πατέρων
αὐτοῦ, τὸ πῶς παρῆλθον8 καὶ ποῦ ἆρα εἰσὶν ἄρτι. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Καὶ
ὀφείλει, πάτερ, ὁ μοναχὸς ἐνθυμεῖσθαι τῶν γονέων9 αὐτοῦ; Ἀπεκρίθη10
ὁ γέρων· Οἵαν ἐνθύμησιν οἶδας ὅτι φέρει δάκρυα τῇ ψυχῇ σου, ἀδο-
λέσχησον εἰς αὐτήν, καὶ ὅτε ἔλθῃ τὸ δάκρυον, σὺ λοιπόν, ὅπου θέλεις,
μετεγκεντρίζεις αὐτό, εἴτε εἰς τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου εἴτε εἰς ἄλλην ἀγαθὴν
1
οἶνος] ὁ οἶνος S 2
ἔνιφαν] ἔνηφαν S 3
τοῦ κόσμου] τῷ κόσμῳ S
4
πατρὶ κατὰ] πατρὶ τῷ κατὰ S 5
ἀπὸ [f. 291va] ἀδελφοῦ] ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ S
6
ἢ ἀσθενοῦντας] ἢ τὸ ἀσθενοῦντας S 7
μείζων] μεῖζον C
8
ἢ τῶν πατέρων αὐτοῦ, τὸ πῶς παρῆλθον] τὴν ἐνθύμησιν ἔχειν ἢ πῶς οἱ πατέρες αὐτοῦ παρ’ἦλθον S
9
τοὺς γονεῖς] τῶν γονέων S 10
Ἀπεκρίθη] κὰι ἀπεκρίθη S
N.545–8 371
N.545
They would say: “Where there is wine and youths, there is no need of
Satan too.”
N.546
Satan, appearing to a holy man at the very moment when he was about to
die, said to him: “You have driven me out”, and the elder said: “I am not
sure yet.” See to what extent the fathers restrained themselves not to boast
in any matter.
N.547
A brother renounced the world together with his own biological father and
they both lived in one monastery. After a while the brother heard it said of
his father that he had healed a sick person of a demon. Aggrieved, he went
and reported this to a great elder, saying: “Abba, my father has made
progress and has expelled a demon from a brother, while I am neglectful
and no progress is made by me.” The elder said to him: “My son, the
essence of progress is not a matter of drawing out demons or healing
the sick. It is not the man who does these things but the power of God
and the faith of the one who comes [to be cured]. Yet because many people
do not understand this, they get puffed up with pride from the healings
and are lost. But I say to you: if a man arrive at true humility, there is no
progress greater than this never-falling [progress]. For him who (throwing
himself to the ground) has once humbled down his soul – where is there
left for him to fall? And this is the mark of such a man: if he rejoices when
he is reviled.”
N.548
The brother also asked the elder: “How does weeping come to a man,
father?” The elder said: “Weeping is a habit and he who seeks it wants to
meditate a long time so that his mind is ever in remembrance of his sins
that he has committed or of the chastisement or of the memory of the
tomb; in short, of all such pitiful considerations; of his fathers, how they
ἐνθύμησιν. Οἶδα γὰρ ἐγὼ ἀδελφὸν ἐρ[f. 292ra]γάτην ὅτι σκληρᾶς οὔσης
τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ πολλάκις ἔτυπτεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πόνου ἔκλαιεν· καὶ
τότε λοιπὸν ἐνεθυμεῖτο τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ.
549. Ἦλθε ποτὲ ἀπὸ Σκήτεως ἀδελφὸς δόκιμος ἐν Θηβαΐδι καὶ ἔμεινεν
εἰς κοινόβιον. Ἦσαν δὲ σχεδὸν πάντες οἱ τοῦ κοινοβίου ἄνδρες ἅγιοι
τῶν λεγομένων Ταβενησιωτῶν. Ὡς οὖν ἔμεινε μικρᾶς ἡμέρας λέγει τῷ
ἀρχιμανδρίτῃ· Ποίησόν μοι εὐχήν, ἀββᾶ, καὶ ἀπόλυσόν με· οὐ γὰρ
δύναμαι μεῖναι ὧδε. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ πατήρ· Διατί, τέκνον; Λέγει ὁ
ἀδελφός· Ὅτι ὧδε κάματος οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ μισθός· πάντες γὰρ οἱ
πατέρες ἀγωνισταί εἰσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, καὶ ὑπάγω
μᾶλλον ὅπου ὑβρισθῆναι εὑρίσκω καὶ ἐξουδενωθῆναι. Ταῦτα γάρ εἰσιν
τὰ [f. 292rb] σώζοντα1 ἄνθρωπον ἁμαρτωλόν. Θαυμάσας οὖν
ὁ ἡγούμενος καὶ μαθὼν ὅτι ἐργάτης ἐστίν, ἀπέλυσεν αὐτὸν εἰπών·
Πορεύου, τέκνον· ἀνδρίζου καὶ κραταιούσθω ἡ καρδία σου καὶ ὑπόμεινον
τὸν Κύριον.
550. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Φέρμης πρὸς μέγαν γέροντα
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, τί ποιήσω ὅτι ἀπόλλεται2 μου ἡ ψυχή. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Διατί, τέκνον; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὅτι,3 ὅτε ἤμην εἰς τὸν
κόσμον φύσει πολλὰ ἐνήστευον καὶ ἠγρύπνουν καὶ πολλὴ κατάνυξις καὶ
θέρμη ἐν ἐμοὶ ἦν, ἄρτι δέ, ἀββᾶ, οὐδὲ ὅλως ἀγαθὸν θεωρῶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Πίστευέ μοι, τέκνον, ὅτι ὅσα ἐποίεις, ὅτε ᾖς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ,
ἀπὸ κενοδοξίας καὶ τοῦ ἐπαίνου τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἶχες τὴν προθυ
[f. 292va]μίαν καὶ ἀπρόσδεκτα ἦσαν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο
καὶ4 ὁ Σατανᾶς οὐκ ἐπολέμει σε –οὐ γὰρ ἔμελλεν αὐτῷ ἐκκόψαι τὴν
προθυμίαν σου. Ἄρτι δὲ ὁρῶν σε ὅτι ἐστρατεύθης τῷ Χριστῷ καὶ ἐξῆλθες
κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς λοιπὸν ὡπλίσθη κατὰ σοῦ. Πλὴν ἀρέσκει τῷ θεῷ
εἷς ψαλμός, ὃν λέγεις ἄρτι μετὰ κατανύξεως, ὑπὲρ χιλίους, οὓς ἔλεγες ἐν
τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ προσδέχεταί σου τὴν μικρὰν νηστείαν ὑπὲρ τὰς ἑβδομά-
δας, ἃς ἐνήστευες ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Οὐδὲ ὅλως
νηστεύω ἄρτι, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλα τὰ ἀγαθά, ἅπερ εἶχον ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἤρθησαν
1
σώζοντα] σῴζοντα S 2
ἀπόλλεται] ἀπόλλυται S
3
ὅτι] ὅτε S 4
καὶ] om S
N.549–50 373
passed on and where they are now.” The brother said: “Ought a monk
then to consider his parents, father?” The elder answered: “Whatever
consideration you know brings tears to your soul, spend time on it and,
when weeping comes, then graft it wherever you will, either onto your sins
or onto some other good reflection. I know an industrious brother who,
being hard-hearted, often used to strike himself and weep with the pain;
then he would reflect on his sins.”
N.549
A well-tried brother once came into the Thebaid from Scete and stayed at a
coenobion. Almost all the men at the coenobion were saints of the type
known as Tabenesiotes. When he had stayed there a few days, he said to
the archimandrite: “Offer a prayer for me, abba, and dismiss me, for
I cannot stay here.” “Why is that, my son?” the father said to him.
“Because there is no struggling here, no reward,” the brother said, “because
all the fathers are [accomplished] combatants, while I am a sinful man.
I would rather go where I find myself being insulted and despised, for these
are what save a sinful man.” So the higoumen, amazed, and perceiving that
this was serious, dismissed him, saying: “Go forth, my son; ‘Be brave and
let your heart be strengthened and wait upon the Lord’ [Ps 26:14].”
N.550
A brother visited a great elder at the Mountain of Phermê and said to him:
“Abba, what am I to do, for my soul is getting lost.” “Why is that, my
son?” the elder said to him and the brother said: “It is because, when I was
in the world, I fasted a great deal of course and kept watch, and there was
plenteous fervent sorrow for sin in me, whereas now, abba, I see no good
thing in myself at all.” “Believe me, my son,” the elder said to him,
“whatever you did when you were in the world, it was vainglory and the
praise of men that gave you the eagerness to accomplish those things and
they were unacceptable in the sight of God. For that reason Satan was not
at war with you; it was no concern to him to cut out your eagerness. But
now that he sees that you were enlisted in the army of Christ and have set
out against him, he too then armed himself against you. But a single psalm
said now with sorrow for sin is more pleasing to God than a thousand
psalms that you used to say in the world; and he accepts the little bit of
fasting you do now more readily than the weeks you fasted in the world.”
The brother said to him: “I do not fast at all now, but all the good things
ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἀδελφέ, ἀρκεῖ σοι ὃ ἔχεις μόνον· ὑπόμεινον
καὶ καλῶς εἶ.
Τοῦ οὖν ἀδελφοῦ ἐπιμένοντος καὶ λέγοντος ὅτι φύσει, ἀββᾶ,
ἀπόλλε[f. 292vb]ταί1 μου ἡ ψυχή, τότε ὁ γέρων λέγει αὐτῷ· Πίστευσον,
ἀδελφέ, οὐκ ἤθελόν σοι εἰπεῖν, ἵνα μὴ βλαβῇ σου ὁ λογισμός, πλὴν ὁρῶν
σε εἰς ῥαθυμίαν ἐλθόντα ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ λέγω σοι ὅτι αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ
νομίζειν σε ὅτι, ὡς ᾖς ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἀγαθὰ ἐποίεις καὶ καλῶς παρήρχου,
ὑπερηφανία ἐστίν· οὕτως γὰρ καὶ ὁ Φαρισαῖος ἀπώλεσε2 πάντα ὅσα
ἐποίησεν ἀγαθά. Πάλιν δὲ νῦν ὅτι ἔχεις ἑαυτὸν μηδὲν ἀγαθὸν ὅλως
ποιοῦντα, ἀρκεῖ σοι, ἀδελφέ, εἰς σωτηρίαν· ταπείνωσις γάρ ἐστιν καὶ
οὕτως ἐδικαιώθη ὁ τελώνης μηδὲν ἀγαθὸν ποιήσας. Καὶ γὰρ ἀρέσκει τῷ
Θεῷ ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς3 καὶ ἀμελὴς μετὰ συντριμμοῦ4 καρδίας καὶ
ταπεινώσεως ὑπὲρ τὸν πολλὰ ποιοῦντα ἀγαθὰ καὶ ἔχοντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ὅ
[f. 293ra]λως ποιεῖ τὶ ἀγαθόν. Καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς μεγάλως ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἔβαλε
μετάνοιαν τῷ γέροντι λέγων· Σήμερον, ἀββᾶ, ἐσώθη ἡ ψυχή μου διὰ
σοῦ.
551. Ἦν τις γέρων οἰκῶν εἰς τὰ κελλία τὰ λεγόμενα Ἠρεμικά ἔξωθεν

Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ ἦν ὁ γέρων πάνυ ὀξύχολος καὶ ὀλιγόψυχος. Ἀκούσας
οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀδελφός τις νεώτερος συντίθεται διαθήκην μετὰ τοῦ
Θεοῦ λέγων· Κύριε, ὑπὲρ ὅλων τῶν κακῶν ὧν ἐποίησα, ὑπάγω μένω
καὶ ὑπομένω μετὰ τοῦ γέροντος καὶ δουλεύω αὐτῷ καὶ ἀναπαύω.
Ὕβριζεν οὖν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων ὡς κύνα ἐφ᾿ ἑκάστης ἡμέρας. Βλέπων οὖν
ὁ Θεὸς5 τὴν ὑπομονὴν καὶ ταπείνωσιν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, μετὰ ἓξ ἔτη τοῦ
μεῖναι μετὰ τοῦ γέροντος θεωρεῖ κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους τινὰ φοβερὸν βασ-
τάζον [f. 293rb]τα χαρτίον μέγα καὶ ὑποδεικνύοντα αὐτῷ τὸ ἥμισυ τοῦ
χαρτίου6 ἀπαλειφθὲν τὸ δὲ ἥμισυ γεγραμμένον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ
τὰ ἡμίση τοῦ χρέους7 ἐλίανεν ὁ δεσπότης, ἀγώνισαι καὶ περὶ τῶν
λοιπῶν. Ἦν δὲ ἄλλος γέρων πνευματικὸς πλησίον αὐτῶν οἰκῶν καὶ
ἤκουε πάντοτε πῶς ὠλιγώρει8 ὁ γέρων καὶ ἔθλιβε τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ
πῶς ἐκεῖνος ἔβαλεν αὐτῷ μετανοίας καὶ ὁ γέρων οὐ διηλλάσσετο9
αὐτῷ. Καὶ καθότι ὑπήντα τῷ ἀδελφῷ ὁ πνευματικὸς γέρων, ἠρώτα
αὐτόν· Τί ἔν,10 τέκνον; Πῶς ἡ σήμερον διῆλθεν; Ἆρα ἐκερδήσαμεν
1
ἀπόλλεταί] ἀπόλλυταί S 2
ἀπώλεσε] ἐποίησε S
3
ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς] ἁμαρτωλὸς ἄνθρωπος S 4
συντριμμοῦ corr] συντριμοῦ C and S
5
Θεὸς] ἀδελφὸς S 6
χαρτίου] χάρτου S 7
τοῦ χρέους] τοῦ χρέους σου S
8
ὠλιγώρει] ὀλιγώρει C
9
διηλλάσσετο] διηλάσσετο C 10
τί ἔνι] τίεν C
N.551 375
that I had in the world have been taken away from me.” “Brother, what
you have is sufficient and no more,” the elder said to him; “persevere and it
shall be well with you.”
But as the brother persisted, saying: “Abba, my soul really is getting
lost”, then the elder said to him: “Believe me, brother, I did not want to
speak to you for fear of doing violence to your thinking but, seeing you
coming to indifference through Satan, I am telling you that the very fact
of thinking that you were doing good deeds and leading a good life in the
world is arrogance. It was in that way that the Pharisee lost all the good
things he had done. But now that you once again regard yourself,
brother, as somebody who is doing no good thing whatsoever, that
suffices you for salvation, because it is humility and it is how the
Publican (having done no good thing) was justified [cf. Lk 18:10–14].
For a sinful and negligent man with a contrite heart and humility is
pleasing to God rather than one who is doing many good deeds and
regarding himself as doing something completely good.” Greatly edified,
the brother prostrated himself before the elder saying: “Abba, today my
soul has been saved through you.”
N.551 BHG 1445vb, de monacho iracundo

There was an elder living at the cells known as Eremica outside Alexandria
who was very quick to anger and faint-hearted. Hearing of him, a young
brother made a covenant with God, saying: “Lord, on account of all the
bad things I have done, I am going to stay and put up with the elder and
serve him and be in repose.” Every day the elder used to abuse him like a
dog. God noticed the brother’s patient endurance and humility; after he
had been living with the elder for six years, he saw in his sleep a terrifying
figure holding a large document and showing him half the document
effaced, the other half written on. “Look,” he said to the brother, “The
Lord-and-master has erased half your debt: fight on for the remainder.”
Now there was another elder, a spiritual man, living close by them; all the
time he was hearing how the elder belittled and tormented the brother and
how the brother would prostrate himself before him, yet the elder would
still not be reconciled with him. Whenever the spiritual elder met the
brother he asked him: “How is it my son? How did it go today? Have we
gained anything? Did we efface anything from the document?” Being
aware that the elder was a spiritual man, the brother concealed nothing
τίποτε; Ἆρα ἐλιώσαμεν ἐκ τοῦ χάρτου; Γινώσκων οὖν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὅτι ὁ
γέρων πνευματικὸς ἐστίν, οὐκ ἔκρυβεν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ ἀπεκρίνατο λέγων·
Ναί, πάτερ, ἐκάμαμεν1 μικρόν. Εἴ[f. 293va]ποτε οὖν ἐκ διαλειμμάτων
παρῆλθε καὶ οὐχ ὑβρίσθη ἢ μὴ ἐνεπτύσθη ἢ οὐκ ἐδιώχθη ἐκ τοῦ
γέροντος, ἀπήρχετο πρὸς τὸν γείτονα αὐτοῦ εἰς ἑσπέραν κλαίων καὶ
λέγων· Οὐαί, ἀββᾶ, κακή μου ἡ ἡμέρα σήμερον· οὐ γὰρ ἐκέρδησα
τίποτε, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀναπαύσει παρῆλθον. Μετὰ οὖν ἄλλους ἓξ χρόνους
ἐκοιμήθη ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ διεβεβαιώσατο ὁ πνευματικὸς γέρων ὅτι ἑώρ-
ακα αὐτὸν μετὰ τῶν μαρτύρων ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ μετὰ παρρησίας
πολλῆς καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ γέροντος αὐτοῦ τὸν Θεὸν παρακαλοῦντα καὶ
λέγοντα· Κύριε, ὥσπερ ἐμὲ ἠλέησας δι᾿ ἐκείνου, ἐλέησον κἀκεῖνον διὰ
τοὺς οἰκτιρμούς σου καὶ δι᾿ ἐμὲ τὸν δοῦλόν σου. Καὶ μετὰ τεσσαρά-
κοντα ἡμέρας ἔλαβε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὸν γέροντα ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τῆς
[f. 293vb] ἀναπαύσεως. Ἰδοὺ ποίαν παρρησίαν ἔχουσιν οἱ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν
τὰς θλίψεις ὑπομένοντες.
552. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ ταπείνωσις πολλάκις καὶ χωρὶς κόπου ἔσωσε

πολλούς.2 Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ τοῦτο ὁ τελώνης καὶ ὁ ἄσωτος υἱὸς ῥήματα μόνον
μικρὰ εἰπόντες3 καὶ σωθέντες. Οἱ κόποι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, ἐὰν μὴ ἔχωσι
ταπείνωσιν, αὐτοὶ ἀπόλλουσιν αὐτόν· πολλοὶ γὰρ διὰ τῶν μεγάλων
κόπων ὧν ποιοῦσιν, εἰς ὑπερηφανίαν ἔρχονται ὡς ὁ Φαρισαῖος.
553. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Τὸ λαλεῖν περὶ πίστεως καὶ ἀναγινώσκειν δόγματα

ξηραίνουσι τὴν κατάνυξιν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἐξαλείφουσιν αὐτήν, οἱ δὲ
βίοι καὶ οἱ λόγοι τῶν γερόντων φωτίζουσι τὴν ψυχήν.
554. Γέρων τις κατέλαβεν ἐν Σκήτει λῃστὰς συλοῦντας4 τὴν κέλλαν

αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ταχύνατε [f. 294ra] πρὸ τοῦ ἔλθωσιν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ
καὶ κωλύσωσί με πληρῶσαι τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ εἰπόντος· ἀπὸ
τοῦ αἴροντος τὰ σὰ μὴ ἀπαίτει.
1
ἐκάμαμεν] ἐκάμoμεν S 2
πολλοὺς] πολοὺς C
3
εἰπόντες] εἰπόντες πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν S 4
συλοῦντας] συλῶντας S
N.552–4 377
from him, but answered: “Yes, father, we laboured a little.” If ever from
time to time [a day] passed when he was not reviled, spat on or chased
away from the elder, he would go to his neighbour in the evening weeping
and saying: “Oh dear, today was a bad day for me, abba; I did not gain
anything, but passed the day in repose.” After another six years the brother
died and the spiritual elder affirmed: “I saw him there with the martyrs and
he was beseeching God with freedom of access on behalf of his elder,
saying: ‘Lord, as you were merciful to me on his account, do you now, of
your loving kindness and for your servant’s sake, have mercy on him too.’
Forty days later [God] took the elder also to himself in the place of repose.”
Now see what freedom of access have they who endure afflictions for
God’s sake!
N.552
An elder said: “Humility, even without toiling, has often saved many
people. The Publican and the Prodigal Son bear witness to this: all they
did was to speak a few words and they were saved. A man’s toiling will
bring him to perdition if it does not have humility, for many end up
arrogant because of the great toiling they accomplish, as did the Pharisee”
[cf. Lk 15: 11–32; 18:10–14].
N.553
Again he said: “Talking about the faith and reading doctrines dry up a
man’s sorrow for sin and obliterate it, whereas the lives and words of the
elders enlighten the soul.”
N.554
An elder at Scete encountered some robbers plundering his cell and he said
to them: “Be quick before the brothers come and prevent me from
fulfilling the commandment of Christ which says: ‘Do not ask somebody
who takes your things to return them’” [Lk 6:30].
555. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί ἐστι τὸ ὑπὲρ ἀργοῦ ῥήματος διδόναι λόγον;
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Οἱοσδήποτε λόγος περὶ σωματικοῦ πράγματος λαλούμε-
νος1 ἀργολογία ἐστι. Μόνον δὲ2 τὸ λαλεῖν περὶ σωτηρίας ψυχῆς, τοῦτο
οὐκ3 ἔστιν ἀργολογία. Πλὴν τὸ ἐξ ὅλων σκοπῆσαι καὶ σιωπῆσαι κάλλιόν
ἐστιν· ὡς γὰρ λαλεῖς τὸ καλόν, ἔρχεται εἰς μέσον καὶ τὸ κακόν.
556. Γέροντι τινὶ μεγάλῳ συνῴκει ἀδελφὸς ἀμελέστερος καὶ ὁρῶν τὸν
γέροντα διὰ τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἅπαξ ἐσθίοντα λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, λέγουσί
τινες ὅτι ἡ μεγάλη ἄσκησις φέρει τινὰ εἰς ὑπερηφανίαν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων·4 Οὐ[f. 294rb]κοῦν, τέκνον, ἐὰν διὰ τῆς ἀμελείας ἔρχεται ἡ
ταπείνωσις, ἀπελθόντες ἄρωμεν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ φάγωμεν κρέα
καὶ οἶνον πίωμεν. Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, τέκνον, πῶς ἐμπαιζόμεθα καὶ οὐκ οἴδαμεν,
οὐκ ἀκούομεν τοῦ Δαβὶδ λέγοντος· Ἴδε τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου καὶ τὸν κόπον
μου καὶ ἄφες πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου; Ὁ γὰρ ἁμαρτήσας5 τῷ Θεῷ ὀφείλει
ἀποχωρῆσαι ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ πάσης ἀγάπης ἀνθρώπου, ἕως οὗ
πληροφορηθῇ ὅτι ἐγένετο φίλος αὐτοῦ ὁ Θεός. Ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τῶν
ἀνθρώπων πολλάκις χωρίζει ἡμᾶς τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ.
557. Ἦλθέ ποτε ἀδελφὸς Λιβυκὸς πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Σιλουανὸν εἰς τὸ ὄρος
εἰς Πανεφὼ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, ἐχθρὸν ἔχω πολλὰ κακὰ ποιήσαντά
μοι· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸν ἀγρόν μου ὡς ἤ[f. 294va]μην ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἥρπασε καὶ
πολλάκις ἐπεβούλευσέ μοι καὶ φαρμακοὺς ἐκίνησε πρὸς τὸ ἀδικῆσαί με
νῦν, καὶ βούλομαι παραδοῦναι αὐτὸν τῷ ἄρχοντι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ὡς ἀναπαύῃ, τέκνον, ποίησον. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Ναί, ἀββᾶ, φύσει ἐὰν
παιδευθῇ, πάνυ ὠφελεῖται ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ὡς δοκεῖ
σοι, τέκνον, ποίησον. Καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ γέροντι· Ἀνάστα, πάτερ,
ποιήσωμεν εὐχήν, καὶ ἀπέρχομαι πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα. Καὶ ἀνέστη ὁ γέρων,
καὶ λεγόντων αὐτῶν τὸ Πάτερ ἡμῶν, ὡς ἦλθον εἰπεῖν· καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ
ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν. εἶπεν ὁ γέρων ·
ὡς οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν,6 καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ
γέροντι· Μὴ οὕτως, πάτερ. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἀλλὰ πῶς, τέκνον; Φύσει
ἐὰν πρὸς [f. 294vb] τὸν ἄρχοντα βούλει7 ἀπελθεῖν, ἵνα ἐκδικήσῃ σε,
Σιλουανὸς ἄλλην εὐχὴν οὐ ποιεῖ σοι. Καὶ βαλὼν μετάνοιαν ὁ ἀδελφὸς
συνεχώρησε τῷ ἐχθρῷ αὐτοῦ.
1
πράγματος λαλούμενος] λαλούμενος πράγματος S 2
Μόνον δὲ] om S
3
τοῦτο οὐκ] τοῦτο μόνον οὐκ S 4
ὁ γέρων] om S 5
Ὁ γὰρ ἁμαρτήσας κ.τ.λ. = 707
6
Εἶπεν ὁ γέρων. . . ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν] om C 7
βούλει] βούλῃ S
N.555–7 379
N.555
An elder was asked: “What does it mean ‘to give an account for an idle
word’?” [cf. Mt 12:36] and he answered: “Whatever word is spoken
concerning a physical matter is idle talk; but to speak of a soul’s salvation,
that alone is not idle talk. For all that, it is better to look on and keep
silent, for while you are speaking what is good, that which is bad comes
along in the midst of it.”
N.556
A rather negligent brother was living with a great elder and, seeing the
elder eating once a week, he said to him: “Abba, some say that severe self-
discipline brings one to arrogance.” The elder said to him: “Then, my son,
if humility comes through negligence, let us go and get ourselves wives; let
us eat flesh and drink wine. Woe betide us, my son; how deluded we are
and know it not. We do not hear David saying: ‘Look upon my humility
and my toil and forgive all my sins’ [Ps 24:18]. For he who has sinned
against God ought to withdraw himself from all human love until he is
convinced that God has become his friend, for the love of humans often
separates us from the love of God.”
N.557
A Libyan brother once came to Abba Silvanus at Mount Panepho and said
to him: “Abba, I have an enemy who has done me great harm, for he seized
my field when I was in the world. He often plotted against me and now he
has incited sorcerers to harm me; I want to hand him over to the
magistrate.” “Do what might give you relief, my son”, the elder said to
him. “Yes, abba,” said the brother; “naturally his soul will benefit greatly if
he is punished.” “Do as you will, my son”, said the elder. Then the brother
said to the elder: “Stand up, father; let us offer a prayer – then I am going
off to the magistrate.” The elder stood up and, as they were saying the Our
Father, when they came to say: “And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us” [Mt 6:12] the elder said: “as we do not even
forgive those who trespass against us.” “Not like that, father”, said the
brother to the elder, and he said: “How else, my son? Because, naturally, if
you want to go to the magistrate for him to vindicate you, Silvanus is not
offering any other prayer for you.” The brother prostrated himself and
pardoned his enemy.
558. Ἠρωτήθη ὁ ἀββᾶς Λογγῖνος· Ποία ἀρετή ἐστι μείζω πάντων,
πάτερ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Λογίζομαι ὅτι ἡ1 ὑπερηφανία χείρω πάντων
ἐστίν, ὡς καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν οὐρανῶν ἔρριψε τινάς, πάντως καὶ ἡ ταπει-
νοφροσύνη ἰσχύει ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν ἀβύσσων ἀνενέγκαι ἄνθρωπον κἂν ὡς
δαίμων ἐστὶν ὁ ἁμαρτωλός, ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Κύριος μακαρίζει τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῷ
πνεύματι.
559. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ὥσπερ ὁ νεκρὸς οὐκ ἐσθίει, οὕτως ὁ ταπεινόφρων οὐ

δύναται κρῖναι ἄνθρωπον, κἂν ἴδῃ αὐτὸν προσκυνοῦντα εἰδώλοις.
560. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ἡ νηστεία ταπεινοῖ τὸ σῶμα, ἡ ἀγρυπνία

καθα[f. 295ra]ρίζει τὸν νοῦν, ἡ ἡσυχία φέρει τὸ πένθος, βαπτίζει τὸν
ἄνθρωπον καὶ ποιεῖ ἀναμάρτητον.
561. Εἶχε δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Λογγῖνος κατάνυξιν πολλὴν ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ καὶ τῇ

ψαλμωδίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἐν μιᾷ ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ· Ἀββᾶ, οὗτος
ἐστὶν ὁ πνευματικὸς κανών, τὸ κλαίειν ἐν τῇ λειτουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ τὸν
μοναχόν; Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ναί, τέκνον, οὗτος ἐστὶν ὁ κανὼν ὃν χρῄζει
ὁ Θεός. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς οὐκ ἐποίησε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐν κλαυθμῷ ἀλλ᾿ εἰς
χαρὰν καὶ εὐφροσύνην, ἵνα δοξάζῃ Αὐτὸν καθαρῶς καὶ ἀναμαρτήτως ὡς
οἱ ἄγγελοι, ἀλλὰ πεσὼν εἰς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐδεήθη τοῦ
κλαυθμοῦ. Ὅπου γὰρ ἁμαρτία οὐκ ἔστιν, ἐκεῖ οὐ χρεία κλαυθμοῦ.
562. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡνίκα θέλει παραβαλεῖν ἀδελφὸς πρὸς ἀδελφόν, ὁ

δαίμων [f. 295rb] τῆς καταλαλιᾶς ἢ προλαμβάνει αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ ἢ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ
ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφόν.
563. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Οὐδὲν χαλεπώτερον συνηθείας κακῆς· χρόνου γὰρ

χρῄζει καὶ πόνου πολλοῦ ὁ τοιοῦτος πρὸς τὸ ἐκκόψαι αὐτήν· ἐκτὸς γὰρ
χρόνου καὶ πόνου ἀδύνατον ἐκκόψαι συνήθειαν. Τὸν μὲν οὖν πόνον
πολλοὶ ἔσχον, τὸν δὲ χρόνον ὀλίγοι ἔλαβον, ἄλλοι δὲ ταχὺ ἐκόπησαν
ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς μόνος οἶδεν τὸ τί μέλλει ποιεῖν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐν
τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως.
1
ὅτι ἡ] ὅτι εἰ ἡ S
N.558–63 381
N.558
Abba Longinus was asked: “Which virtue is greater than them all, father?” and
the elder said: “If arrogance is worse than all [other sins], to the point that it cast
some out of the very heavens, I think that humble-mindedness is certainly
strong enough to lift a man out of the very abyss, even if the sinner is like a
demon. Thus the Lord pronounces ‘the poor in spirit’ ‘blessed’” [Mt 5:3].
N.559
Again he said: “Just as a corpse does not eat, so he who is humble in mind
is unable to judge a man, even if he sees him worshipping idols.”
N.560
Again he said: “Fasting humbles the body; watching by night purifies the
mind; hêsychia produces sorrow, baptises the man and makes him sinless.”
N.561
Abba Longinus used to experience intense sorrow for sin at prayer and in
his psalm-singing. One day his disciple said to him: “Abba, is this the
spiritual rule that a monk should weep at his liturgy?” “Yes, my son,” said
the elder; “this is the rule that God requires. For God did not create man
in weeping but for joy and gladness, to glorify him in purity and sinless-
ness, as do the angels. But, having fallen into sin, man needed weeping.
Where there is no sin, there is no need of weeping there.”
N.562
An elder said: “When a brother wants to encounter a brother, the demon
of backbiting either precedes him there or comes to the brother with him.”
N.563
He also said: “There is nothing more serious than a bad habit. A person
[who has one] requires time and great effort to eradicate it, for without
time and effort it is impossible to eradicate a habit. Many made the effort
but few took the time, while others were soon cut short by death; and God
alone knows what he is going to do with them at the Day of Judgement.”
564. Ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν ἐν κελλίῳ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν πολλάκις ἤρχετο εἰς
ῥαθυμίαν – ἦν γὰρ πεσὼν εἰς βαρὺ ἁμάρτημα. Λοιπὸν πενθῶν καὶ μὴ
γινώσκων τί ποιήσει, ἔλεγεν· Τὸ γενόμενον ἐγένετο, καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτῷ
[f. 295va] ἡ συνείδησις αὐτοῦ· Ἀλλὰ κακῶς ἐγένετο. Καὶ οὕτως ἐπένθη ἕως
θανάτου.
565. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Σεραπίωνος ὅτι οὕτως ἐγένετο ὁ βίος
αὐτοῦ ὡς ἑνὸς τῶν πετεινῶν, μὴ κτησάμενος ὅλως πρᾶγμα τοῦ αἰῶνος
τούτου μηδὲ εἰς κελλίον καρτερήσας, ἀλλὰ σινδόνα φορῶν καὶ μικρὸν
εὐαγγέλιον ἔχων, οὕτως ἐγύρευεν ὡς ἀσώματος. Πολλάκις οὖν εὕρισκον
αὐτὸν ἔξωθεν κώμης ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ καθήμενον καὶ δεινῶς κλαίοντα καὶ
ἠρώτων αὐτόν· Διατί οὕτως κλαίεις, γέρον;1 Καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτοῖς· Ὁ
δεσπότης μου ἐπίστευσέ μοι τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπώλεσα αὐτὸν καὶ
βούλεταί με τιμωρήσασθαι. Ἐκεῖνοι ἀκούοντες ἐνόμιζον περὶ χρυσίου
αὐτὸν λέγειν, καὶ πολλάκις ῥίπτοντες αὐτῷ μι[f. 295vb]κρὸν ἄρτον ἔλεγον·
Δέξαι, ἀδελφέ, φάγε καὶ περὶ τοῦ πλούτου οὗ ἀπώλεσας, δυνατός ἐστιν ὁ
Θεὸς πέμψαί2 σοι αὐτόν. Καὶ ἀπεκρίνατο ὁ γέρων· Ἀμήν.
566. Ἄλλοτε πάλιν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ συνήντησε ῥιγῶντι πτωχῷ καὶ στὰς

καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἐλογίζετο· Πῶς ἐγὼ ὁ δοκῶν ἀσκητὴς εἶναι φορῶ χιτῶνα καὶ
οὗτος ὁ πτωχός – μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ Χριστός –, ἀπὸ ῥίγους ἀποθνῄσκει; Φύσει ἐὰν
ἀφήσω αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν, ὡς φονεὺς κρίνομαι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως. Καὶ
ἀποδυσάμενος ὡς καλὸς ἀθλητὴς δέδωκε τὸ ἱμάτιον ὃ ἐφόρει τῷ πτωχῷ, καὶ
ἐκάθητο ἔχων ἐν τῇ μάλῃ αὐτοῦ τὸ μικρὸν εὐαγγέλιον ὅπερ ἀεὶ ἐβάσταζεν.
Παρερχόμενος οὖν ὁ λεγόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς εἰρήνης, ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν γυμνόν, λέγει
πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἀββᾶ [f. 296ra] Σεραπίων, τίς σε ἀπέδυσεν; Καὶ ἐξενέγκας τὸ
μικρὸν εὐαγγέλιον λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Οὗτος ἀπέδυσέ με.
Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐκεῖθεν ὑπαντᾷ τινὶ ὑπὸ ἄλλου κρατουμένῳ διὰ χρέoς καὶ
μὴ ἔχων τί δοῦναι, πωλήσας τὸ μικρὸν εὐαγγέλιον ὁ ἀθάνατος οὗτος
Σεραπίων δέδωκεν εἰς τὸ χρέως τοῦ βιαζομένου ἀνθρώπου, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν
εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ γυμνός. Ὡς οὖν εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ γυμνὸν
λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, ποῦ τὸ μικρὸν κολόβιον; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
1
γέρον corr] γέρων C 2
πέμψαι corr] πέμψε C
N.564–6 383
N.564
A brother living in a cell by himself often became indolent, for he would
fall into a grave sin. Then, grieving and not knowing what he was going to
do, he would say: “What is done is done.” “But it was badly done”, his
conscience answered him back, and thus he grieved until he died.
N.565/15.116
They used to say of Abba Serapion that, such was his life that it was like
that of one of the birds. Not a thing of this world did he possess, nor did
he remain in a cell. He used to go around like an incorporeal being,
wearing a sheet and carrying a little gospel [book]. They would often find
him sitting by the roadside outside a village, weeping bitterly. They would
ask him: “Why are you weeping like this, elder?” and he would answer
them: “My Lord-and-master entrusted me with his wealth; but I have lost
and squandered it and he wants to take vengeance on me.” As they listened
to this they used to think that he was talking about money and often,
throwing him a little bread, they would say: “Take this and eat it brother;
and, regarding the wealth you lost, God is powerful enough to send it
[back] to you”, to which the elder answered: “Amen.”
N.566/15.117
Another time he met a pauper in Alexandria shivering with cold. Coming
to a standstill, he thought to himself: “How can I who am supposed to
be a monk be wearing a smock while this pauper (or rather, Christ)
[Mt 25.35–45] is dying of cold? If I leave him to die, naturally I shall be
judged to be a murderer at the Day of Judgement.” Like a good athlete, he
took off the tunic he was wearing and gave it to the pauper. Then he sat
down with the little gospel [book] he always carried tucked under his arm.
When the so-called “guardian of the peace” came by and saw him naked,
he said to him: “Abba Serapion, who stripped you?” – producing the little
gospel [book], he said to him: “This one stripped me.”
Getting up from there, he met a person who was being seized for debt
by somebody else, because he had nothing to give him. This immortal
Serapion sold his little gospel [book] and, giving [the proceeds] for the
debt of the man who was being violated, went naked into his cell. When
his disciple saw him naked, he said to him: “Abba, where is your little
Προέπεμψα αὐτό, τέκνον, ὅπου χρῄζομεν αὐτοῦ. Λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ
ἀδελφός· Ποῦ τὸ μικρὸν εὐαγγέλιον; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Φύσει, τέκνον,
αὐτὸν τὸν λέγοντά μοι καθημέραν πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ
[f. 296rb] δὸς πτωχοῖς, Αὐτὸν ἐπώλησα καὶ ἔδωκα Αὐτῷ, ἵνα ἐν ἡμέρᾳ
κρίσεως εὕρωμεν περισσοτέραν παρρησίαν πρὸς Αὐτόν.
567. Ἔλεγον οἱ πατέρες περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μαρκελλίνου τοῦ τῆς Θηβαΐδος
ὅτι πολλάκις εἶπεν ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ ὅτι μέλλων τῇ κυριακῇ ἐξέρχεσθαι εἰς
σύναξιν ηὐτρέπιζεν1 ἑαυτὸν καὶ μέρος τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν ἀπεστήθιζεν,
ἕως ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ οὕτως αὐτὰ μελετῶν τὰ χείλη αὐτοῦ οὐκ
ἐκινοῦντο, ἵνα μή τις αὐτοῦ ἀκούσῃ. Καὶ ὅτε ἵστατο εἰς τὴν σύναξιν, τὸ
στῆθος αὐτοῦ ἐβρέχετο ἀπὸ τῶν δακρύων. Ἔλεγε γὰρ ὅτι τῆς συνάξεως
ἐπιτελουμένης θεωρῶ ὅλην τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὡς πῦρ καί, ὅταν ἀπολύσῃ ἡ
σύναξις, πάλιν ἀναχωρεῖ τὸ πῦρ.
568. Ἀδελφὸς [f. 296va] ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀρσένιον λέγων· Διατί εἰσί
τινες καλοὶ ἄνθρωποι καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀποθνῄσκειν αὐτοὺς μετὰ ἐπιτιμίας τινὸς
πλησσόμενοι εἰς τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν κοιμῶνται; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων ὅτι,
ὥσπερ ἐν ἅλατι ἁλισθέντες ἐνταῦθα καθαροὶ ἀπέλθωσιν.
569. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε γέροντι καὶ ἠρώτησεν αὐτόν· Πῶς ἔχεις, πάτερ;
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Κακῶς. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Διατί, ἀββᾶ; Λέγει
ὁ γέρων· Ἰδοὺ δεκαοκτὼ χρόνους ἔχω ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ παριστάμενος
καὶ καθημέραν καταρώμενος ἑαυτὸν καὶ λέγων· Ἐπικατάρατοι οἱ ἐκκλί-
νοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου. Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσας ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐξῆλθε πάνυ
ὠφεληθεὶς εἰς τὴν ταπείνωσιν τοῦ γέροντος.
1
ηὐτρέπιζεν corr] εὐτρέπιζεν C
N.567–9 385
smock?” The elder told him: “I sent it on to where we shall need it, my
son.” “And where is the little gospel [book]?” he said. The elder replied:
“Well, naturally, he being the one who says to me every day: ‘Sell all that
you have and give to the poor’ [Mt 19:21], I sold him and gave the proceeds
to him, so that we shall enjoy greater freedom of speech with him at the
Day of Judgement.”
N.567/18.19
The fathers used to say about Abba Marcellinus of the Thebaid that his
disciple often said that when he was going to set out for worship on a
Sunday, he would prepare himself and repeat from memory a passage from
the Scriptures until he came to the church. As he meditated on them
[those words] in this way, his lips did not move, so that nobody might hear
him. And when he was standing in the service, his breast was being
sprinkled with tears. He used to say: “While the service is in progress
I perceive the entire church like fire and, when the congregation is
dismissed, the fire recedes again.”
N.568/10.6
A brother asked Abba Arsenius: “Why are there some good men who, at
the time of death, fall asleep stricken with a kind of punishment to their
bodies?” The elder replied: “It is so they may go away there pure, as though
salted with salt” [Mk 9:49].
[N.603 and N.604 follow here in Sinaï 448.]
N.569
A brother visited an elder and asked him: “How are you, father?” “Badly”,
the elder replied. “Why is that, abba?” said the brother to him. “Look,” the
elder said, “for eighteen years I have been standing before God, cursing
myself every day and saying: ‘Cursed are those who turn from your
commandments’ [Ps 118:21].” Having heard this, the brother went out
greatly edified by the humility of the elder.
570. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς [f. 296vb] Ζήνων ὅτι λόγον διδεῖ1 ὁ μοναχὸς τῷ Θεῷ
ὑπὲρ ὧν λαμβάνει ἀγάπην.
571. Ἦλθε ποτὲ εἰς τὴν Ῥαϊθοῦ ἄνθρωπος πλούσιος ἀπὸ τῆς ξένης καὶ
ἔδωκεν ἀγάπην τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς πρὸς νόμισμα· ἔπεμψε δὲ καί τινι ἡσυχαστῂ
καθεζομένῳ ἐκεῖ ἐν κελλίῳ. Καὶ τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ θεωρεῖ ὁ γέρων ἀγρὸν
μεμεστωμένον ἀκανθῶν καί τινα λέγοντα αὐτῷ· Ἔξελθε θέρισον εἰς τὸν
ἀγρὸν τοῦ δόντος τὴν ἀγάπην. Καὶ πρωΐας μετεστείλατο ὁ ἡσυχαστὴς
τὸν ἀποστείλοντα αὐτῷ τὸ νόμισμα φιλόχριστον καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ
χρυσίον λέγων· Δέξαι σου, ἀδελφέ, τὸ νόμισμα·2 οὐ γὰρ ἀπαντᾷ μοι
ἀλλοτρίας ἀκάνθας θερίσαι · εἴθοις3 τὰς ἑαυτοῦ ἀνασπάσω.
572. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ἄνθρωπος καθήμενος ἐν τῷ κελλί[f. 297ra]ῳ αὐτοῦ

καὶ μελετῶν ἐν τοῖς ψαλμοῖς ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ζητοῦντι τὸν βασιλέα·
ὁ δὲ προσευχόμενος συνεχῶς ὅμοιός ἐστι τῷ λαλοῦντι τῷ βασιλεῖ· ὁ δὲ
μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ αἰτῶν τοὺς πόδας κρατεῖ τοῦ βασιλέως ζητῶν ἔλεος παρ᾿
αὐτοῦ, ὥσπερ ἡ πόρνη πεποίηκεν.
573. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν κάθῃ ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἡσυχάζων, μὴ λογίζου ἐν ἑαυτῷ

ὡς μέγα τὶ ποιῶν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἔχε ἑαυτὸν ὡς κύνα ἐξορισθέντα ἀπὸ
ὄχλου καὶ δεδεμένον διὰ τὸ δάκνειν καὶ ἐπιχειρεῖν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
574. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Ἐν Σκήτει ἦν τὶς ἀδελφός, σπουδαῖος μὲν εἰς τὴν
λειτουργίαν αὐτοῦ ἀμελὴς δὲ εἰς τὰ λοιπά. Καὶ ἐν μιᾷ φαίνεται ὁ Σατανᾶς
τινὶ τῶν γερόντων καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὦ θαῦμα, ὁ δεῖνα ὁ μο[f. 297rb]ναχὸς
ἐν τῇ μάλῃ αὐτοῦ σφίγγει με, ἵνα μὴ ἀναχωρήσω ἐξ αὐτοῦ ποιῶν τὰ
θελήματά μου, καὶ4 καθ᾿ ὥραν λέγει τῷ Θεῷ· Κύριε, ῥῦσαί με ἀπὸ τοῦ
πονηροῦ.
1
διδεῖ] δίδωσιν] S 2
ἀδελφέ, τὸ νόμισμα] τὸ νόμισμα, ἀδελφέ S 3
εἴθοις] εἴθυς C
4
καὶ] om S
N.570–4 387
N.570
Abba Zeno said that the monk gives his promise to God and receives love
in return for it.
N.571
There once came to Raïthou a rich man from a foreign land who made an
offering to the brothers of a gold piece; he also sent [one] to a solitary who
lived in a cell there. That night the elder perceived a field filled with thistles
and somebody saying to him: “Go out and reap the field of the one who
made the offering.” In the morning, the solitary summoned the Christ-
loving man who sent the gold piece to him and gave the gold to him,
saying: “Take your gold piece brother, for it behoves me not to reap
another’s thistles; if only I could eradicate my own!”
N.572
An elder said that a man remaining in his cell and meditating on the
psalms is like a man searching for the king, but he who prays continuously
is as one who speaks to the king, while he who intercedes with weeping is
holding the king’s feet, begging for mercy from him, as did the prostitute
[Lk 7: 37–8].
N.573
An elder said: “If you are living in hêsychia in the desert, do not think to
yourself that you are accomplishing some great deed. Think rather of
yourself as a dog banished from company and tied up for biting and
attacking people.”
N.574
Again he said: “There was a brother at Scete who was diligent in his
performance of his liturgy but negligent so far as the rest was concerned.
One day Satan appeared to one of the elders, saying to him: “O, wonder!
The monk so-and-so is squeezing me under his arm to prevent me from
parting from him. He is carrying out my wishes and says to God all the
time: ‘Lord, deliver me from the evil one’ [Mt 6:13].”
[An Armenian version adds: “God took pity on the monk and sent his
forces to expel Satan from him, but, by the care he took of his body, the monk
would not allow Satan to go out of himself” – Regnault, Anonymes p.209.]
575. Εἶπεν γέρων· Συνήθισον κατὰ μικρὸν τὴν καρδίαν1 σου περὶ ἑνὸς
ἑκάστου τῶν ἀδελφῶν λέγειν·2 Ἐν ἀληθείᾳ οὗτος προάγει μου κατὰ Θεόν,
καὶ πάλιν· οὗτος σπουδαιότερός μου ἐστίν. Καὶ οὕτως λοιπὸν3 ἔρχῃ εἰς τὸ
ἔχειν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὸ κάτω πάντων καὶ οἰκεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν σοί. Ἐὰν
δὲ ἐξουδενώσῃς ἄνθρωπον, ἀναχωρεῖ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ
παραδιδεῖ σε εἰς μολυσμοὺς σαρκός, καὶ σκληρύνεταί σου ἡ καρδία καὶ
κατάνυξις οὐδεμία εὑρίσκεται ἐν σοί.
576. Ἀδελφὸς σπουδαῖος ἐκαθέζετο ἐν κελλίῳ καὶ ἀκούων τὰς [f. 297va]
ἀρετὰς τῶν ἁγίων ἔσπευδε νομίζων αὐτὰς ἐκτὸς4 μεγάλου πόνου καὶ
ἀγῶνος κατορθῶσαι. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν ἀνήγγειλέ τινι μεγάλῳ γέροντι περὶ
τούτου, καὶ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ θέλεις, ὕπαγε γενοῦ ὡς παιδίον
λαμβάνον5 μαθήματα παρὰ διδασκάλου καὶ ἓν ἓν ἀποστηθίζον. Οὕτως καὶ
σὺ δὸς ἑαυτῷ6 τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν τοῦτον πολεμῆσαι, ἕως οὗ κατορθώσῃς μὴ
χορτάζειν κοιλίαν, καὶ πάλιν κοπίασον, ἕως οὗ μισήσῃς ὡς ἐχθρὸν τὴν
κενοδοξίαν. Καὶ ὡς ταῦτα καλῶς ἀπαγγείλῃς, ἀγώνισαι ῥίψαι τὴν7
ὕλην καὶ ἐμπιστεῦσαι τῷ Θεῷ τὴν φροντίδα σου καὶ θάρσει ὅτι, ἐὰν τὰ
τρία ταῦτα κατορθώσῃ ἄνθρωπος, μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀπαντᾷ τῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὅταν
ἔλθῃ.
577. Εἶπεν γέρων· Φύσει ἐάν ἐστιν [f. 297vb] ἄνθρωπος ἀγωνιστής,
ἀπαιτεῖ ὁ Θεὸς παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ ἔχει προσπάθειαν εἰς ὕλην σωματικὴν
ἕως μικρᾶς ῥαφίδος. Δύναται γὰρ ἐμποδίσαι αὐτοῦ τὸν λογισμὸν ἐκ τῆς
ἀδολεσχίας τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τοῦ πένθους.
578. Εἶπεν πάλιν·8 Ἄνθρωπος γευσάμενος τῆς γλυκύτητος τῆς ἀκτη-

μοσύνης βαρεῖται καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τὸ ἱμάτιον ὃ φορεῖ, καὶ εἰς τὸ βαυκάλιον τοῦ
ὕδατος· ὁ γὰρ νοῦς αὐτοῦ λοιπὸν ἀλλαχοῦ ἀδολεσχεῖ.
1
τὴν καρδίαν] ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ S 2
λέγειν] om S 3
οὕτως λοιπὸν] λοιπὸν οὕτως S
4
ἐκτὸς] ἐκ τοῦ S 5
λαμβάνον] μανθάνον S 6
ἑαυτῷ] ἑαυτὸν S
7
ῥίψαι τὴν] ῥίψαι πᾶσαν τὴν S 8
πάλιν] πάλιν ὅτι S
N.575–8 389
N.575
An elder said: “Accustom your heart, little by little, to say of each one of
the brothers: ‘Truly, this one is ahead of me in godliness,’ and again: ‘That
one is more zelous than I am.’ In that way then you will come to think of
yourself as inferior to everybody – and the spirit of God will dwell in you.
But if you belittle a man, the grace of God will depart from you and deliver
you over to the defilement of the flesh. Your heart will be hardened and no
sorrow for sin will be found in you.”
N.576
A conscientious brother was living in a cell. He enthused on hearing of the
virtues of the saints, thinking that he could acquire them without toil and
struggle. He went and spoke to a great elder about this and the elder gave
him this reply: “If you want [to acquire virtue], go and become as a child,
taking lessons from a teacher, and learn them, one by one. Set yourself this
very year to wage war until you have succeeded in not eating to satiety;
then toil away again until you hate vainglory as though it were an enemy.
And when you can recite these [lessons] well, fight to cast off material
[possessions] and entrust God with caring for you. Then rejoice, because if
a man is successful on these three counts, he will meet Jesus with joy when
he comes.”
N.577
An elder said: “Of course, if a man is truly a fighter, God requires of him
that he have no attachment to material goods, not even to a needle, for it
can impede his mind in its intercourse with Jesus and its sorrowing.”
N.578
Again he said: “A man who has tasted the sweetness of indifference to
possessions [aktêmosynê] is even weighed down by the garment he is
wearing and the jar of water, for his mind is occupied elsewhere.”
579. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὅτι ὁ τὴν ὕλην μὴ μισήσας πότε δύναται μισῆσαι τὴν
ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν, κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ δεσπότου.
580. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὅτι, ἐὰν κάμῃ ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸ διαπαντὸς ἐλέγχειν καὶ
ἐπιτιμᾶν καὶ ἐξουθενεῖν κρυπτῶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν, πείθει αὐτὴν ὅτι
ἀτιμωτέρα1 τῶν κυνῶν καὶ τῶν [f. 298ra] θηρίων ἐστίν· ἐκεῖνα γὰρ οὔτε
παρώργισαν τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτὰ οὔτε εἰς κρίσιν ἔρχονται. Πολλῷ οὖν
κάλλιόν μου ἐστιν μὴ ἀναστῆναι εἰς κρίσιν ἢ ἀναστῆναι2 καὶ αἰωνίως
κολασθῆναι.
581. Εἶπεν πάλιν· Οὐαί σοι, ψυχὴ, ὅτι ἐσυνήθισας ἐρωτᾶν μόνον τὸν
λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀκούειν, μηδὲν δὲ ποιεῖν ἐξ ὧν ἀκούεις. Οὐαί σοι,
σῶμα, ὅτι ἔγνως τὰ μολύναντά σε καὶ πάντοτε αὐτὰ ζητεῖς, τὴν
χορτασίαν καὶ τὴν τρυφήν. Οὐαὶ τῷ νεωτέρῳ πληροῦντι γαστέρα αὐτοῦ
καὶ πιστεύοντι τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ, ὅτι εἰς μάτην ἡ ἀποταγὴ αὐτοῦ.
582. Ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν εἰς τὰ Μονίδια πολλάκις ἐξ ἐνεργείας τοῦ διαβόλου

ἔπιπτεν εἰς πορνείαν· καὶ ἔμενε βιαζόμενος ἑαυτὸν μὴ καταλεῖψαι τὸ σχῆμα
[f. 298rb], ἀλλὰ βάλλων τὴν μικρὰν αὐτοῦ λειτουργίαν παρεκάλει τὸν
Θεὸν μετὰ στεναγμοῦ λέγων· Κύριε, κἂν θέλω κἂν μὴ θέλω, σῶσόν με, ὅτι
ἐγὼ ὡς πηλὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ποθῶ, ἀλλὰ σὺ ὡς Θεὸς δυνατὸς κώλυσόν
με. Ἐὰν γὰρ τὸν δίκαιον ἐλεήσῃς, οὐδὲν μέγα, καὶ ἐὰν τὸν καθαρὸν
σώσῃς, οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν ·ἄξιοι γὰρ τοῦ ἐλεηθῆναι εἰσίν. Εἰς ἐμέ, δέσποτα,
θαυμάστωσον τὰ ἐλέη σου καὶ εἰς τοῦτο δεῖξον τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν σου, ὅτι
σοὶ ἐγκαταλέλειπται ὁ πτωχός. Ταῦτα οὖν καθημέραν, εἴτε ἔπιπτεν εἴτε
οὐκ ἔπιπτεν, ἔλεγεν. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν πεσὼν εἰς τὴν κατὰ συνήθειαν ἁμαρτίαν
νυκτός, ἀνέστη εὐθέως καὶ ἤρξατο τοῦ κανόνος. Ὁ δὲ δαίμων θαυμάσας
τὴν ἐλπίδα καὶ τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ [f. 298va] τὴν ἀγαθὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν,
φαίνεται αὐτῷ ὀφθαλμοφανῶς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐν ὅσῳ ψάλλεις, πῶς
οὐκ ἐρυθριᾷς ὅλως στῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἢ ὀνομάσαι τὸ ὄνομα
αὐτοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Τὸ κελλίον τοῦτο χαλκεῖόν ἐστιν· μίαν
σφύραν διδεῖς καὶ μίαν λαμβάνεις. Ὑπομένω οὖν ἕως θανάτου πρὸς
σὲ παλαίων καὶ ὅπου λοιπὸν φθασθῶ τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ. Καὶ ὅρκοις σε
πληροφορῶ – μὰ τὸν ἐλθόντα σῶσαι ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν – οὐ
μὴ παύσωμαι κατὰ σοῦ προσευχόμενος τῷ Θεῷ, ἕως οὗ παύσῃ καὶ σὺ
πολεμεῖν με. Καὶ ἴδωμεν τίς νικᾷ, σὺ ἢ ὁ Θεός; Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ δαίμων
λέγει αὐτῷ· Καὶ ὄντως λοιπὸν οὐκέτι πολεμῶ σε, ἵνα μὴ διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς
1
ἀτιμωτέρα] ἀτιμοτέρα S 2
ἀναστῆναι] ἀναστιστάντα S
N.579–82 391
N.579
He also said that he who has not come to hate material goods is incapable
of hating his own soul, as the commandment of the Lord-and-master
requires [Jo 12:25].
N.580
He also said that if a man continually strive to condemn, to discipline and
to belittle his own soul in secret, he convinces it that it is less honourable
than dogs and wild beasts, for they did not anger their Creator, neither do
they come to judgement. It is far better for me not to rise again for
judgement than to rise again to be punished eternally.
N.581
He also said: “Woe betide you, soul, for you are in the habit of merely
asking for and hearing the word of God, but of doing nothing of what you
hear. Woe betide you, body, for knowing the things that defile you, you
are always looking for them: satiety and delight. Woe betide the young
person who fills his belly and trusts in his own will, for his renunciation [of
the world] is in vain.”
N.582/15.118
There was a brother living at Monidia who used to fall into porneia but
stayed on, constraining himself not to abandon the monastic habit. When
he was offering his private act of worship, he would beseech God with
groans, saying: “Lord, save me whether I want it or not. Because I am but
dust, I long for sin; but you, being a mighty God, restrain me. If you have
mercy on the righteous, that is no great thing; and, if you save the pure,
small wonder! – for these are worthy to receive mercy. But to me, Lord-
and-master, ‘perform the wonder of your mercy’ [Ps 16:7] and show your
loving kindness, for ‘The life of the poor has been left in your hands’”
[Ps 9:35]. These things he would say every day, whether he was falling or
not falling. On one occasion, however, falling into his habitual sin by
night, he promptly got up and began [reciting] the canon [of psalms]. But
the devil, amazed at his hope and his admirable confidence in the face of
God, appeared to him visibly and said to him: “When you are singing,
how is it that you are not utterly ashamed to stand before God or to utter
σου [f. 298vb] στέφανόν σοι προξενήσω. Καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ὁ
δαίμων ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης.
Ἰδοὺ ποῖον ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ἡ ὑπομονὴ καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀπογινώσκειν ἑαυτῶν,1
κἂν συμβῇ πολλάκις πεσεῖν ἡμᾶς εἰς πολέμους καὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ πειρασ-
μούς. Ἐλθόντος οὖν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ εἰς κατάνυξιν τοῦ λοιποῦ ἐκάθητο
κλαίων τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ. Ὅτε οὖν ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ ὁ λογισμὸς ὅτι2 καλῶς
κλαίεις, ἔλεγε καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ λογισμῷ· Ἀνάθεμα τὸ καλὸν τοῦτο. Τί γὰρ
χρῄζει ὁ Θεός, ἵνα ἀπολέσῃ τις τὴν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ καὶ κάθηται θρηνῶν
αὐτὴν καὶ ἢ σώζει αὐτὴν ἢ οὔ.
583. Ἀδελφὸς ἐκάθητο κατὰ μόνας ἐν τῇ μονῇ3 τῶν Μονιδίων καὶ αὕτη
ἦν ἡ εὐχὴ αὐτοῦ πάντοτε· Κύριε, οὐ φοβοῦμαί σε, ἀλ[f. 299ra]λὰ
πέμψον μοι κεραυνὸν ἢ ἄλλη περίστασιν ἢ ἀσθένειαν ἢ δαίμονα, ἵνα κἄν
οὕτως ἔλθῃ εἰς φόβον ἡ πεπορωμένη4 μου ψυχή. Ταῦτα ἔλεγε καὶ παρ-
εκάλει τὸν Θεὸν λέγων· Οἶδα ὅτι ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν ἵνα συγχωρήσῃς μοι –
πολλὰ γὰρ ἥμαρτον εἰς σέ, δέσποτα –, ἀλλ᾿ ἐὰν ἐνδέχεται, διὰ τοὺς
οἰκτιρμούς σου συγχώρησόν μοι. Εἰ δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἐνδέχεται, παίδευσόν
μοι5 ὧδε, δέσποτα, καὶ ἐκεῖ μὴ παιδεύσῃς με. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἀδύνατον,
ἀπόδος μοι ὧδε μέρος καὶ ἐκεῖ κούφισόν μοι6 κἂν μικρὸν τῆς κολάσεως
μέρος. Μόνον ἄρξαι ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν παιδεύειν με, ἀλλὰ μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου,
δέσποτα.
Οὕτως ἐπιμείνας ἐπὶ ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον ἀπαύστως μετὰ δακρύων δυσωπῶν
τὸν Θεόν, ἐν νηστείᾳ καὶ πολ[f. 299rb]λῇ ταπεινώσει λογισμῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ
λέγων· Ἆρα τί ἐστιν ὁ λόγος ὃν εἶπεν ὁ Χριστός· μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες ὅτι
αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται; Ἐν μιᾷ καθημένου αὐτοῦ χαμαὶ καὶ θρηνοῦντος
κατὰ συνήθειαν ἀπὸ ἀθυμίας ἀπενύσταξεν καὶ ἰδοὺ παρίσταται αὐτῷ ὁ
Χριστὸς λέγων αὐτῷ ἱλαρᾷ τῇ φωνῇ καὶ τῷ προσώπῳ· Τί ἔχεις, ἄνθ-
ρωπε; Τί οὕτως κλαίεις; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔπεσον, Κύριε. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
φανεὶς αὐτῷ· Καὶ ἐγείρου. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ κείμενος· Οὐ δύναμαι, ἐὰν μὴ δώσῃς
μοι χεῖρα. Καὶ ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἀνέστησεν αὐτὸν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ
πάλιν ἱλαρῶς· Τί κλαίεις, ἄνθρωπε; Τί λυπῇ σε;7 Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἀδελφός·
Οὐ θέλεις, Κύρι, ἵνα κλαύσω καὶ λυπηθῶ, ὅτι τοσαῦτα σὲ ἐλύπησα; Τότε
ἐκτεί[f. 299va]νας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ὁ φανεὶς ἔθηκεν τὴν παλάμην αὐτοῦ
εἰς τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤλειφεν8 αὐτὴν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Μὴ θλιβῇς,
1
ἑαυτῶν] ἑαυτοῦ S 2
λογισμὸς ὅτι] λογισμὸς αὑτοῦ ὅτι S 3
τῇ μονῇ] τῇ αὐτῇ μονῇ S
4
πεπωρωμένη corr (< πωρόω)] πεπορωμένη Coislin 5
μοι]με C 6
μοι]με C
7
λυπῇ σε] λυπῆσαι S λυπῇ S 8
ἤλειφεν corr] εἴληφεν S and C
N.583 393
his name?” The brother said to him: “This cell is a forge; you give a
hammer-blow and you receive one. I am going on wrestling with you until
death and I finally arrive at the last day. And I assure you with oaths by
him who came ‘to save sinners who repent’ [Lk 5:32] that I shall not desist
from praying to God against you until you too stop fighting against me.
Let us see who will triumph: you or God.” When the demon heard this, he
said to him: “Indeed I will fight with you no longer, for fear that I might
procure a crown for you as a reward for your perseverance”, and the demon
retreated from him from that day on.
See what a good thing it is to persevere and not to despair of oneself,
even though it often happens that we fall into fights, sins and temptations!
When the brother experienced sorrow for sin, he stayed on, weeping for
his sins. When the thought came to him that his weeping was good, he
said to the thought: “A curse on that good, for what good does it do God if
a man ‘loses his own soul’ [Mt 16:25] but goes on weeping for it, whether
he saves it or not?”
N.583/15.119
There was a brother living in isolation at the same monastery, Monidia,
whose constant prayer was: “Lord, I do not fear you; but send a lightning-
strike, some other catastrophe, a sickness or a demon and thus may my
adamantine soul come to fear [of you].” This is what he said and begged
God: “I know it is impossible for you to forgive me, for I have gravely
sinned against you, Lord-and-master. But do you forgive me, if it is
possible, by virtue of your great mercy. If, however, that is not possible
either, then punish me here and now, Lord-and-master, and do not punish
me there. If that cannot be done, then give me a part of my punishment
here and reduce my affliction there a little. Only please do begin punishing
me from right now, but not in your anger [Ps 37:2] Lord-and-master.” He
persisted in this way for a whole year, praying continuously, entreating
God, with tears, with fasting and true humility of mind, saying to himself:
“What could be the meaning of that saying of Christ: ‘Blessed are they
who mourn, for they shall be comforted’ [Mt 5:4]?” Then one day, as he
was sitting on the ground, lamenting as usual, worn out by discourage-
ment, he fell asleep and, here was Christ, standing beside him and speaking
to him with a cheerful voice and countenance: “What is the matter, man?
Why are you weeping so?” The brother said to him: “Because I have been
falling, Lord.” The apparition said to him: “Stand up then!” “I cannot
βοηθεῖ1 ὁ Θεός, λοιπὸν ὅτι σὺ ἐλυπήθης, οὐκέτι ἐγὼ2 λυποῦμαι κατὰ σοῦ.
Διὰ γὰρ σὲ τὸ αἷμα μου ἔδωκα, πόσῳ μᾶλλον καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν μου
δώσω3 ἑκάστῃ μετανοούσῃ ψυχῇ; Καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκ τῆς
ὁπτασίας εὗρε τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ πάσης χαρᾶς πεπληρωμένην. Καὶ
ἐπληροφορήθη ὅτι ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἔλεος καὶ ἔμενε διαπαντὸς
ἐν πολλῇ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ.
584. Ἀδελφὸς ὀχλούμενος ὑπὸ λογισμῶν πονηρῶν ἐθλίβετο καὶ ἐκ

πολλῆς ταπεινώσεως ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἐγὼ τοιαῦτα λογιζόμενος μέτρον σωτηρ-
ίας [f. 299vb] οὐκ ἔχω. Ἀπελθὼν οὖν πρὸς γέροντα μέγαν παρεκάλεσεν
αὐτὸν ἵνα εὔξηται καὶ κουφισθῶσιν οἱ λογισμοὶ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Οὐ συμφέρει σοι, τέκνον. Ὁ δὲ ἐπέμενε βιαζόμενος τὸν γέροντα καὶ
δεηθέντος αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἦρε4 τὸν πόλεμον ἐκ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ εὐθέως
ἐνέπεσεν εἰς ὑψηλοφροσύνην καὶ ὑπερηφανίαν. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν παρεκάλεσε
τὸν γέροντα, ἵνα ἔλθωσιν αὐτῷ πάλιν οἱ λογισμοί, καὶ ἣν ἔσχε πρῶτον
ταπείνωσιν.
585. Ἄλλος τὶς τῶν πάνυ ἀσκητῶν οἰκῶν εἰς τὸ Ἔνατον5 Ἀλεξανδρείας
ἔπεσεν εἰς μέγα ἁμάρτημα καὶ ἀπὸ ῥαθυμίας ἤνεγκαν αὐτὸν εἰς ἀπόγνω-
σιν οἱ δαίμονες. Ἰδὼν οὖν ἑαυτὸν νικώμενον ὑπὸ τῆς λύπης, ὡς
ἔμ[f. 300ra]πειρος ἰατρὸς ἔδωκεν ἑαυτῷ ἐλπίδα ἀγαθὴν καὶ ἔλεγεν· Πισ-
τεύω εἰς τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι πάντως ποιεῖ μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔλεος. Ὅτε
οὖν ἔλεγε τοῦτο, ἔλεγον πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ δαίμονες ὅτι πάντως ποιεῖ σοι
ἔλεος. Ἀπεκρίνατο καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς αὐτούς· Ὑμεῖς γὰρ τίνες ἐστέ, κἂν ποιῇ
κἂν μὴ ποιῇ, ἅπαξ ὑμεῖς υἱοὶ τῆς γεέννης καὶ τῆς ἀπωλείας ἐστέ. Εἰ οὖν ὁ
Θεὸς ἀγαθός, ὑμεῖς τί πρᾶγμα ἔχετε; Καὶ οὕτως αἰσχυνόμενοι ἀνεχώρουν.
1
βοηθεῖ] βοηθῇ C 2
οὐκέτι ἐγὼ] ἐγὼ οὐκέτι S
3
πόσῳ μᾶλλον. . . δώσω] πολλῷ μᾶλλον δώσω τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν μου S 4
ἦρε] ᾖρε S
5
Ἔνατον] Ἔννατον C
N.584–5 395
unless you give me a hand”, replied the one lying on the ground, where-
upon the other stretched out his hand and raised him up, joyfully saying
again to him: “Why are you weeping, man? What is distressing you?” “Do
you not want me to weep and be grieved,” said the brother, “I who have so
grieved you?” Then the apparition stretched out his hand and, placing his
palm on the man’s head, anointed it, saying to him: “Do not torture
yourself; may God help you and, because you were distressed, I am not
being distressed on your account any more. I gave my blood for you; how
much more so then shall I give my loving kindness to each repenting soul?”
When the brother came to himself, after the vision, he found his heart
all replete with joy and he realised that God had dealt mercifully with him
[Lk 10:37]. He ever remained in great humble-mindedness, giving thanks
to God.
N.584
A brother assailed by lascivious thoughts was deeply troubled; in his great
humility he said: “Entertaining such thoughts, I am not good enough to be
saved.” He went to see a great elder and asked him to pray for the thoughts
to be removed from him, but the elder told him: “That would be of no
advantage to you, my son.” But he went on importuning the elder and,
when he did pray to God, [God] relieved the brother of the battle – but he
promptly fell into pride and vainglory. So he went and begged the elder for
the thoughts to come back to him and the humility that he had before.
N.585
Another of the advanced ascetics living at the Ninth [milestone from]
Alexandria fell into grave sin and, playing on his indolence, the demons
caused him to despair. So, seeing himself overcome by distress, like an
experienced physician, he gave himself good hope, saying: “I believe in the
mercies of God and that he will certainly deal mercifully with me.” He
having said this, the demons said to him: “Of course he will deal mercifully
with you!” – and he answered them: “Who do you think you are? Whether
he takes pity on me or not, you are once and for all sons of Gehenna and of
perdition, so what has it got to do with you whether God is good?” Put to
shame like that, they went away.
586. Ἄλλοτε ἐφάνη αὐτῷ ὁ Σατανᾶς καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐκ εἶ Χριστιανός.
Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Εἴ τις ἐὰν εἶμι, τέως προάγω σου.1 Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
Σατανᾶς Λέγω σοι, εἰς τὴν κόλασιν ὑπάγεις. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων · Οὐκ εἶ σὺ
ὁ κριτής μου, οὐδὲ ὁ Θεός μου.2
587. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε τινὶ τῶν πατέρων3 ἐν τῇ λαύρᾳ τοῦ Δουκᾶ

ἄνωθεν Ἱεριχὼ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ἔνι, πάτερ; Πῶς ἔχεις; Ἀπεκρίθη
[f. 300rb] ὁ γέρων· Κακῶς. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Διατί, ἀββᾶ; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων
ὅτι ἰδοὺ τριάκοντα χρόνους ἔχω καθημέραν ἱστάμενος4 ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ μου καὶ ποτὲ μὲν καταρῶμαι ἑαυτὸν καὶ λέγω τῷ Θεῷ· Μὴ
οἰκτειρήσῃς πάντας τοὺς ἐργαζομένους τὴν ἀνομίαν, καὶ ἐπικατάρατοι οἱ
ἐκκλίνοντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντολῶν σου, καὶ πάλιν ψευδόμενος καθημέραν τῷ
Θεῷ λέγω·5 Ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος, καὶ μνησικακῶν
τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου λέγω τῷ Θεῷ· Ἄφες ἡμῖν ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν, καὶ πᾶσαν
τὴν μέριμναν ἔχων εἰς τὸ φαγεῖν λέγω ὅτι ἐπελαθόμην τοῦ φαγεῖν τὸν ἄρτον
μου, καὶ κοιμώμενος ἕως πρωῒ ψάλλω· μεσονύκτιον ἐξεγειρόμην [f. 300va] τοῦ
ἐξομολογεῖσθαί σοι. Κατάνυξιν ὅλως οὐ κέκτημαι καὶ λέγω· Ἐκοπίασα ἐν τῷ
στεναγμῷ μου καὶ ἐγενήθη τὰ δάκρυά μου ἐμοὶ ἄρτος ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός. Καὶ
ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου λογιζόμενος πονηρὰ λέγω τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ἡ μελέτη τῆς
καρδίας μου ἐνώπιόν σου διαπαντός. Καὶ νηστείαν ὅλως μὴ ἔχων λέγω· Τὰ
γόνατά μου ἠσθένησαν ἀπὸ νηστείας. Καὶ ὅλως γέμων ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ
ἄνεσιν σαρκὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐμπαίζω ψάλλων· Ἴδε τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου καὶ τὸν
κόπον μου καὶ ἄφες πάσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου. Καὶ ἀνέτοιμος ὑπάρχων λέγω·
Ἑτοίμη ἡ καρδία μου ὁ Θεός. Καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶσα ἡ λειτουργία μου καὶ ἡ εὐχή
μου εἰς ἔλεγχον καὶ αἰσχύνην μου κατεστάθη. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς [f. 300vb] τῷ
γέροντι· Νομίζω, πάτερ, περὶ αὐτοῦ6 ὁ Δαβὶδ ταῦτα7 πάντα εἴρηκεν. Τότε
στενάξας ὁ γέρων εἶπεν· Τί λέγεις, ἀδελφέ;8 Φύσει ἐὰν μὴ φυλάξωμεν ἅπερ
ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ψάλλομεν, εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγωμεν.
588. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς, πάτερ, ἡ γενεὰ ἡμῶν οὐ

δύναται κρατῆσαι τὴν ἄσκησιν τῶν πατέρων; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων ὅτι οὐκ
ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Θεόν, οὐδὲ φεύγει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, οὐδὲ μισεῖ τὴν ὕλην τοῦ
κόσμου. Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ φεύγων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὴν ὕλην ἀφ᾿ ἑαυ-
τοῦ9 ἔρχεται αὐτῷ ἡ κατάνυξις καὶ ἡ ἄσκησις.10 Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ θέλων
1
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ. . .. τέως προάγω σου] οm C
2
Add. Synagoge i.1.5.3: καὶ μηδὲν ἀνύσας ὁ Σατανᾶς ἀνεχώρησεν 3
Πατέρων] γερόντων S
4
ἱστάμενος] εἰστάμενος C 5
τῷ Θεῷ λέγω] λέγω πρὸς Θεόν 6
αὐτοῦ] ἑαυτοῦ S
7
ταῦτα] om S 8
Τί λέγεις, ἀδελφέ] ἀδελφέ, τί λέγεις S
9
ὕλην ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ] ὕλην μισῶν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ S
10
ἔρχεται αὐτῷ ἡ κατάνυξις καὶ ἡ ἄσκησις] εὑρίσκει τὴν κατάνυξιν καὶ τὴν ἄσκησιν S
N.586–8 397
N.586
Another time Satan appeared to him and said: “You are not a Christian.”
“Whatever I am, I am worth more than you are”, the elder answered him.
Satan said to him: “I am telling you, you are going to punishment”, to
which the elder replied: “You are neither my judge nor my God.”
N.587/15.120
A brother visited one of the fathers at the Lavra of Doukas above Jericho
and said to him: “What then, father, how are you doing?” “Badly”, the
elder replied. The brother said: “Why is that, abba?” The elder replied:
“Look, for thirty years, every day, I have stood before the Lord in my
prayer. Sometimes I curse myself, saying to God: ‘Do not be merciful to all
those who do wickedness’ [Ps 58:6] and: ‘Cursed are they who stray from
your commandments’ [Ps 118:21]. Then again each day I lie, saying to God:
‘You destroy all those who speak lies’ [Ps 5:7]. I who hold a grudge against
my brother say to God: ‘Forgive us as we forgive them’ [Mt 6:12]; I whose
entire concern is with eating say: ‘I forget to eat my bread’ [Ps 101:5]; I who
sleep until dawn sing: ‘At midnight I used to rise to confess to you’
[Ps 118:62]. I have no grief for sin at all and yet I say: ‘I became weary in
my groaning’ [Ps 6:7] and: ‘My tears have been my meat day and night’
[Ps 41:4] and, while entertaining evil thoughts in my heart, I say to God:
‘The meditation of my heart is ever before you’ [Ps 18:15]. A stranger to
fasting, I say: ‘My knees became weak through fasting’ [Ps 108:24]; replete
with pride and bodily repose I mock myself, saying: ‘Consider my humility
and toil and wash out all my sins’ [Ps 24:18] and being unprepared I say:
‘My heart is ready O God!’ [Ps 56:8]. In brief, my entire act of worship and
my prayer have become my reproof and shame.” The brother said to the
elder: “Father, I think it was of himself that David spoke all those things”,
then the elder groaned and said: “What are you saying, brother? It stands
to reason that we are going to perdition if we do not observe the things
we sing in the presence of God.”
N.588/15.121
A brother asked an elder: “How is it that this generation cannot maintain
the discipline [askêsis] of the fathers?” The elder said: “Because it neither
loves God nor flees from men nor hates the material goods of the world.
Sorrow for sin and spiritual discipline come naturally to the man who flees
σβέσαι τὸ πῦρ ἅπτον ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ,1 ἐὰν μὴ προλάβῃ καὶ κόψῃ τὴν
ὕλην τὴν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ, οὐ σβέννυσι αὐτό, οὕτω καὶ ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν
μὴ [f. 301ra] ἀπέλθῃ εἰς τόπον, ὅπου μετὰ κόπου εὑρίσκει καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν
ψωμὸν αὐτοῦ, οὐ δύναται κτήσασθαι τὴν ἄσκησιν. Ψυχὴ γάρ, ἐὰν μὴ
βλέπῃ, οὐδὲ ταχὺ ἐπιθυμεῖ.
589. Γέρων τὶς ἐκάθητο μέγας ἐν Συρίᾳ ἐν τοῖς ὁρίοις Ἀντιοχείας. Εἶχε δὲ
ἀδελφὸν πρόχειρον εἰς τὸ κρῖναι, ἐὰν ἔβλεπε τινὰ πταίοντα. Πολλάκις οὖν
ἐνουθέτει αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων περὶ τούτου λέγων· Φύσει, τέκνον, πλανᾶσαι καὶ
μόνος2 ἀπόλλεις σου τὴν ψυχήν, ἐπεὶ οὐδεὶς οἶδε τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, εἰ μὴ
τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐνοικοῦν ἐν αὐτῷ. Καὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ πολλάκις ἐνώπιον
ἀνθρώπων πολλὰ κακὰ ἐργαζόμενοι κρυπτῶς τῷ Θεῷ μετενόησαν· καὶ
τὴν μὲν ἁμαρτίαν ἡμεῖς εἴδομεν,3 τὰ δὲ ἀγαθὰ ἅπερ ἔπραξε μόνος ὁ Θεὸς
ἐπίσταται. Πλὴν ὅτι πολλοὶ [f. 301rb] πᾶσαν τὴν ζωὴν αὐτῶν κακῶς
ζήσαντες πολλάκις περὶ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὰ τέλη αὐτῶν εἰς μετάνοιαν
εὑρεθέντες ἐσώθησαν· ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ δι᾿ εὐχῆς ἁγίων ἁμαρτωλοὶ
ἐδέχθησαν. Διὰ τοῦτο κἂν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ἴδῃ ἄνθρωπος,
μηδαμῶς κρίνει4 ἄνθρωπον· εἷς ἔστιν ὁ κριτής, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ. Πᾶς δὲ
ἄνθρωπος ὁ5 κρίνων τινὰ ὡς κατάδικος καὶ ἀντίθεος τοῦ Χριστοῦ εὑρ-
ίσκεται, ὅτι τὸ ἀξίωμα καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ πατήρ,
ἥρπασε κριτὴς γενόμενος.
590. Εἶπεν πάλιν ὅτι ὁ κλέπτων ἢ ὁ ψευδόμενος ἢ ὁ ἄλλην ἁμαρτίαν

ποιῶν, πολλάκις εὐθέως τὸ τελέσαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν6 στενάζει ἢ μέμφεται
ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς μετάνοιαν. Ὁ δὲ μνησικακίαν κρατῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ
[f. 301va] εἴτε τρώγει, εἴτε πίνει, εἴτε καθεύδει, εἴτε περιπατεῖ, ὥσπερ ἰὸς
κατεσθίει αὐτόν. Ὅθεν πάντοτε ἀχώριστον τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἔχει καὶ ἡ εὐχὴ
αὐτοῦ κατάρα αὐτῷ γίνεται καὶ ὅλος7 ὁ κόπος αὐτοῦ, κἂν τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ
ἐκχύσῃ8 διὰ τὸν Χριστόν, ἀπρόσδεκτος γίνεται.
591. Ἀδελφὸς ἀποταξάμενος ᾤκησεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Νιτρίας.9 Ἦν δὲ τὸ

κελλίον αὐτοῦ πλησίον ἄλλου ἀδελφοῦ καὶ ἤκουεν αὐτοῦ καθημέραν
πάντως κλαίοντος τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ. Ὅτε οὖν διὰ χρόνου πολλάκις
οὐκ ἤρχετο αὐτῷ δάκρυα, ἔλεγε τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ· Οὐ κλαίεις, ταλαίπωρε,
οὐδὲ θρηνεῖς; Πίστευσον, ἐὰν μὴ θέλῃς κλαῦσαι, ἐγὼ ποιῶ σε κλαῦσαι. Καὶ
ἀνιστάμενος εἶχε μάστιγα ἀπὸ σχοινίου στερεοῦ [f. 301vb] καὶ λαμβάνων
1
αὐτοῦ] om S 2
μόνος] μόνον C 3
εἴδομεν] ἴδομεν C 4
κρίνει] κρίνῃ C
5
ὁ] om S 6
εὐθέως τὸ τελέσαι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν] ἅμα τῷ τελέσαι ἁμαρτίαν S
7
ὅλος] ὅλως C 8
ἐκχύσῃ] ἐκχύσει] C 9
Νιτρίας] Νητρίας S
N.589–91 399
from human company and from material goods. For just as one who wants
to put out a fire burning in his field will not extinguish it unless he gets
ahead of the fire and cuts away the brush in front of it; so too, unless a man
go to a place where he gains his very bread with toil, he cannot attain
spiritual discipline; for if the soul cannot see, neither does it speedily
desire.”
N.589/15.122
There was a great elder living in Syria, in the region of Antioch, who had a
brother who was prone to pass judgement if he saw somebody lapsing. The
elder often exhorted him about this, saying: “My son, you are really going
astray and you alone are losing your soul, for nobody knows a man’s
situation other than the Spirit which dwells within him [cf. 1 Cor 2:10,11].
For there are many people who would often perform many evil deeds in
the sight of men but who then repented in secret before God. We saw the
sin; but God alone knows the good deeds he did. There are moreover
many who, having lived their whole life badly, were often found repenting
in the hour of death, at their end, and were saved. And sometimes sinners
also found acceptance through the prayer of the holy ones. This is why one
man must not in any way judge another, even if he sees with his own eyes.
There is one judge: the Son of God. Every man who judges another is
found guilty and a rival god to Christ for, becoming a judge, he usurped
the dignity and authority that God the Father gave to [Christ].”
N.590/15.124
He also said: “Often, as soon as he has committed the sin, the thief, the liar
or some other kind of sinner sighs or reproaches himself and comes to
repentance. But a man who carries rancour in his soul, whether he is eating
or drinking, sleeping or walking, it consumes him like a poison. Thus he
can never rid himself of the sin; his prayer becomes a curse to him and his
entire toil becomes unacceptable, even if he sheds his blood for Christ.”
N.591
A brother who had renounced the world went to live at the mountain of
Nitria. His cell was adjacent to another brother’s and every day he used to
hear him weeping mightily for his sins. Eventually, when often no tears
came to him, he said to his own soul: “Are you not weeping, wretch? Not
αὐτὴν ἔτυπτεν ἑαυτὸν1 ἱκανῶς, ἕως οὗ πονέσας2 ἔκλαιεν. Θαυμάσας οὖν ὁ
μένων πλησίον αὐτοῦ παρεκάλεσε3 τὸν Θεὸν ἀποκαλύψαι αὐτῷ εἰ ἆρα
καλῶς ποιεῖ βασανίζων ἑαυτόν. Καὶ ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ θεωρεῖ τὸν ἀδελφὸν κατ᾿
ὄναρ φοροῦντα στέφανον καὶ στήκοντα εἰς τὸν χορὸν τῶν μαρτύρων, καί
τινα λέγοντα αὐτῷ θεωροῦντι· Ἴδε ὁ καλὸς4 ἀθλητής, ὁ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν
ἑαυτὸν βασανίσας, πῶς μετὰ τῶν μαρτύρων ἐστεφανώθη.
592.1. Γέρων5 τὶς ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τὸν κόλπον τοῦ μακαρίου Ἀντωνίου
ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ Κλύσματος. Καὶ ἐν μιᾷ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον διὰ χρείαν αὐτοῦ
λαβὼν καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ. Κατελθόντων οὖν εἰς πόλιν λεγομένην
Κυμῶ ἔμειναν ἐ[f. 302ra]κεῖ μίαν ἑβδομάδα, καὶ ἐθεώρουν εὐθέως ἀπὸ
ὄρθρου ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας ἐξερχομένους εἰς τὰ μνήματα καὶ θρηνοῦντας
ἕκαστον τὸν νεκρὸν αὐτοῦ6 ἕως ὥρας τρίτης. Λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ
αὐτοῦ· Βλέπεις, ἀδελφέ, εἰς τί νυκτερεύουσιν οὗτοι; Πίστευέ μοι ὅτι εἰ μὴ
καὶ ἡμεῖς οὕτως ποιήσωμεν,7 εἰς ἀπώλειαν ὑπάγομεν. Καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες
εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἔκτισαν καὶ αὐτοὶ εὐθέως τὰ μνήματα ἑαυτῶν ἀπόμηκα
ἀλλήλων καὶ καθημέραν παρακαθήμενοι ἀπὸ πρωῒ ἔκλαιεν ἕκαστος τὴν
ἰδίαν ψυχὴν ὡς νεκρόν. Εἴποτε oὖν περὶ τὴν πρωΐαν ἀπεκοιμήθη ὁ
μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κανόνος ἔκραζεν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων λέγων· Ἀδελφέ,
ἐγείρου, ἐκεῖνοι λοιπὸν ἔχουσιν ὥραν εἰς τὰ μνήματα καὶ εἰς τὸ ἔργον αὐ
[f. 302rb]τῶν. Λέγει οὖν ἐν μιᾷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ γέροντι· Ἀββᾶ, σκληρά ἐστιν
ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ οὐ δύναμαι κλαῦσαι. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Πύκτευσον,
τέκνον ὀλίγον χρόνον καὶ πόνεσον, καὶ θεωρῶν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν πόνον σου
διδεῖ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸ πένθος εἰς σὲ καὶ οὐκέτι κοπιᾷς. Λέγω γάρ σοι, τέκνον,
ὅτι ὥσπερ, ἐὰν λάβῃ σαγίταν ἡ καρδία οὐκέτι ἔχει ἴασιν, οὕτως καί, ἐὰν ὁ
Θεὸς πλήξῃ αὐτὴν εἰς τὸ πένθος, οὐκέτι ὑπάγει ἐξ αὐτῆς ὁ πόνος, ἀλλὰ
μένει πεπληγμένη ἕως θανάτου, καί, ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν ὑπάγει8 ὁ τοιοῦτος, μετ᾿
αὐτοῦ ἔστιν ἔσωθεν αὐτοῦ τὸ πένθος. Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν θεωρήσας ὁ
γέρων τὸν ἀδελφὸν βαρηθέντα ἀπὸ βρωμάτων – ἦσαν γάρ τινες τὴν
ἑσπέραν παραβαλόντες αὐτοῖς –, λέγει αὐτῷ κατιδίαν· Οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι τὸ
πένθος λυχνάριόν [f. 302va] ἐστιν ἅπτον καί, ἐὰν μὴ ἀσφαλῶς σκεπάσῃς
αὐτό, εὐθέως σβέννυται καὶ ὑπάγει; Οὕτως καὶ τὰ πολλὰ βρώματα
σβεννύουσιν αὐτό, καὶ ὁ πολὺς ὕπνος ἐμποδίζει αὐτό, καὶ ἡ καταλαλιὰ
σβεννύει αὐτό, καὶ ἡ πολυλογία ἀπόλλει αὐτό, καὶ ἁπλῶς πᾶσα ἀνάπαυ-
σις σαρκὸς κωλύει αὐτό. Χρὴ οὖν τὸν ἀγαπῶντα τὸν Θεὸν εἰς ἕκαστον
πρᾶγμα αὐτοῦ ποιεῖν μέρος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
1
ἑαυτὸν] ἑαυτῶν C 2
πονέσας] πονίσας S 3
παρεκάλεσε] παρεκάλεσαι C
4
καλὸς corr] καλῶς C 5
γέρων] γέρον C
6
ἕκαστον τὸν νεκρὸν αὐτοῦ] τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἕκαστον νεκροὺς S 7
ποιήσωμεν] ποιήσoμεν S
8
ὑπάγει] ὑπάγῃ S
N.592 401
lamenting? Believe me, if you do not want to weep, I will make you weep.”
He possessed a scourge of thick cord; getting up, he took it in hand and
flogged himself for some time until he wept with pain. In his amazement
the neighbouring brother begged God to reveal to him whether the other
was acting rightly in torturing himself. Then one night, in a dream, he saw
that brother wearing a crown and standing up in the chorus of the martyrs.
There was somebody saying to him as he saw this: “See how the fine
athlete who tortured himself for the sake of Christ has been crowned with
the martyrs.”
N.592.1
An elder was living on the Gulf of the Blessed Antony since called Clysma.
One day he went away into Egypt on business, taking his disciple too.
They came to a city named Kymo and stayed there for a week. They would
see men and women going out to the tombs, each one mourning his dead,
immediately after dawn until the third hour. Said the elder to his disciple:
“Do you see how those people spend the night, brother? Believe me, unless
we also do likewise, we are heading for perdition.” When they returned to
the cell they immediately constructed their own tombs a little distant from
each other and, each day, sitting by them from early morning, each of
them wept for his own soul as though it were dead. If ever his disciple fell
asleep at dawn after the psalms, the elder would shout at him, saying: “Up,
brother, for those people have put in an hour at the tombs and at their
task.” Then, one day, the brother said to the elder: “Abba, my soul is
obdurate and I cannot weep.” “Battle on for a short while, my son and try
hard,” the elder replied, “and when God sees your effort he himself will
give you sorrow, then you will toil no more. I tell you, my son, that just as
there is no longer a cure when the heart receives an arrow, so too if God
wounds it to bring on sorrowing, the pain never goes out of it; it remains
wounded until death. And wherever such a person goes, sorrow is with
him, within him. One day the elder noticed that the brother had over-
eaten (for some people had visited them the previous evening). He said to
him privately: “Do you not know that sorrow is a lighted lamp and that, if
you do not protect it carefully, it is immediately extinguished and goes
out? Thus excess of food extinguishes it; much sleep obstructs it; slander
puts it out and talking too much destroys it. In brief, all physical relaxation
impedes it. So he who loves God must take the part of Christ in each one
of his undertakings.”
592.2. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Πῶς ἔστιν ὁ λόγος, πάτερ; Λέγει ὁ γέρων·
Ὅταν ἐμπέσῃ ἄρτος καθαρός, ἄφες αὐτὸν λόγῳ ἄλλου καὶ φάγε σὺ τὸν
ῥυπαρὸν διὰ τὸν Χριστόν. Ἐὰν ἐμπέσῃ σοι οἶνος καλός, μίξον εἰς αὐτὸν1
μικρὸν ὄξος καὶ εἰπέ· Διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν πιόντα ὄξος, μὴ2 χορτασθῇς
ἀλλ᾿ ἄφες μικρὸν λέγων· Ἰδοὺ καὶ τὸ μέρος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐὰν εὕρῃς
προσκεφά[f. 302vb]λαιον ἁπαλόν, ἄφες αὐτὸ καὶ βάλε λίθον διὰ τὸν
Χριστόν. Ἐὰν κοιμώμενος ῥιγάσῃς, ὑπόμεινον λέγων ὅτι ἄλλοι οὐδὲ ὅλως
κοιμῶνται. Ἐὰν ὑβρισθῇς, σιώπησον λέγων διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ὅτι καὶ
αὐτὸς3 ὑβρίσθη δι᾿ ἡμᾶς. Ἐὰν ποιήσῃς ἑαυτῷ ἕψημα,4 ἀφάνισον αὐτὸ
μικρὸν λέγων ὅτι ἄλλοι ἄξιοι ἄρτον οὐ τρώγουσι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον5 ἐγὼ ὁ
ἀνάξιος καὶ ἕψημα ἐσθίω, ὀφείλων ἐσθίειν σποδὸν καὶ τέφραν.6 Καὶ ἁπλῶς
εἰς ἕκαστον πρᾶγμά σου μίξον μικρὰν θλίψιν, καὶ εἰς τὸ φαγεῖν, καὶ εἰς τὸ
ὑπνῶσαι, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἐργάσασθαι μετὰ ταπεινώσεως ζῆσον πάντοτε,7
ἐνθυμούμενος πῶς ἔζησαν οἱ ἅγιοι, καὶ ἵνα ἔλθῃ ἡ ὥρα καὶ εὕρῃ ἡμᾶς εἰς
θλίψιν καὶ εἰς στένωσιν καὶ εὑρίσκωμεν8 ἐκεῖ τὴν ἄνεσιν.
592.3. Μὴ ἔχεις ἐν τῷ [f. 303ra] κελλίῳ σου ἱμάτιον κρεμάμενον ἀργόν,

ὅτι θάνατός σοι ἐστίν, διότι ἄλλοι ῥιγῶσι δικαιότεροί σου καὶ σὺ ὁ
ἁμαρτωλὸς περισσὰ ἔχεις. Μὴ κτήσῃ σκεῦος περισσὸν ἀργὸν κείμενον,
ἕως ἑνὸς μυακίου, ἐπεὶ λόγον διδεῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ.
592.4. Μὴ κτήσῃ χρυσίον ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, ἐπεὶ οὐκέτι φροντίζει σου ὁ

Θεός. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐὰν ἐμπέσῃ σοι, εἰ μὲν δέεσαι εἰς ἀνάγκην σου ἢ εἰς ἔνδυμα
ἢ εἰς τροφήν, εὐθὺς ἀγόρασον αὐτό, εἰ δὲ οὐ χρῄζεις, μὴ κοιμηθῇ μετὰ σοῦ.
1
εἰς αὐτὸν] διὰ τὸν Χριστόν add S 2
ὄξος, μὴ] ὄξος καὶ μὴ S
3
διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς] καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς S 4
ἕψημα] ἐψητὸν S
5
πόσῳ μᾶλλον] om S
6
ὀφείλων ἐσθίειν σποδὸν καὶ τέφραν] τέφραν ἐσθίειν ὀφείλων καὶ σποδὸν S
7
μετὰ ταπεινώσεως ζῆσον πάντοτε] μετὰ στενώσεως ζῆσον καὶ ταπεινώσεως πάντοτε S
8
εὑρίσκωμεν] εὑρίσκομεν S
N.592 403
N.592.2
The brother said: “What is the meaning of the saying, father?” The elder
said: “When fresh bread comes your way, leave it for somebody else and
eat stale bread for the sake of Christ. And if good wine comes your way,
mix a little vinegar with it and say: ‘For the sake of Christ who drank
vinegar.’ Do not drink your fill, but leave a little saying: ‘Look, Christ’s
share too.’ If you come across a soft pillow, put it aside and place a stone
for the sake of Christ. If you are cold when you sleep, endure it, saying that
others do not even sleep at all. If you are upbraided, remain silent saying
that this is for Christ who was himself upbraided for us. If you are cooking
yourself something, spoil it a little, saying that others who are worthy eat
no bread; how is it that I, the unworthy one, am eating cooked food
instead when I ought to be eating dust and ashes? Briefly, mix a little
affliction into every undertaking. Live with restriction and humility in
eating, sleeping and working, always mindful of the way the saints lived, so
that the [last] hour may come and find us in affliction and straitened
circumstances here, that we might find repose there.”
N.592.3
You do not have a spare garment hanging in your cell because it is death
to you since you, a sinner, have a superfluity and others more righteous
than you are shivering with cold. Do not keep a superfluous vessel lying
around unused, not even a small spoon, since you [shall] give an account
for it.
N.592.4
Do not possess gold in your lifetime or God will no longer take care of
you. But if [gold] comes your way and if you lack something necessary to
you, either clothing or food, buy it right away. But if you are not in need,
do not let it sleep with you.*
* i.e. do not keep it overnight; “Give it to the poor before evening” adds
Regnault, Anonymes p. 217.
592.5. Ἐὰν εἴπῃ σοι ὁ λογισμὸς εἰς ἑορτὴν ποιῆσαι διάφορα βρώματα,
μὴ ἀκούσῃς αὐτοῦ, ἐπεὶ ἰουδαϊκῶς ἑορτάζεις ·ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ ἑτοιμάζουσι
ταῦτα. Μοναχοῦ δὲ τροφὴ ἀγαθὴ τὸ πένθος καὶ τὰ δάκρυα.
592.6. Ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς περί τινος μισοῦντος σε [f. 303rb] καὶ λοιδοροῦν-
τος, πέμψον ἢ δὸς αὐτῷ μικρὰν εὐλογίαν κατὰ τὴν δύναμίν σου, ἵνα ἔχεις1
παρρησίαν εἰπεῖν ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως· Ἄφες ἡμῖν, δέσποτα, τὰ
ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν.
592.7. Ἐὰν ἔχεις2 κελλίον χωροῦν μόνην τὴν κεφαλήν σου, μὴ κτίσῃς
ἄλλον τὸ σύνολον, ἵνα ἐκεῖ εὕρῃς τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν.
592.8. Ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃς ἐκ τοῦ κελλίου καὶ παραβάλῃς πούποτε καὶ μικρὸν
χαυνωθῇ τὸ πένθος σου, ὑπόστρεψον ταχὺ καὶ ἀναλαβοῦ εὐθὺς τὴν
πρώτην σου τάξιν.
592.9. Ἐὰν παραβάλωσί σοι τινὲς καὶ ἴδῃς αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ μήκοθεν, στῆθι3
εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ εἰπέ· Κύριε Ἰησοῦ Χριστέ, ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ καταλαλιᾶς καὶ
λοιδορίας καὶ μετ᾿ εἰρήνης ἀπένεγκε4 αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τό[f. 303va]που
τούτου.
592.10. Ἐὰν πένθος κτήσασθαι θέλῃς, ἀγώνισαι ἵνα ὅλα τὰ σκεύη σου
καὶ τὰ πράγματά σου πτωχὰ εἰσίν, οἷα τῶν καθημένων ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ
συναδέλφων.
592.11. Ἐὰν κτήσῃ βιβλίον, μὴ κοσμίσῃς τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ κτήσῃ

ἅπλωμα πολύτιμον ἐν τῷ προσκυνήματί σου.
1
ἔχεις] ἔχῃς S 2
ἔχεις] ἔχῃς S 3
στῆθι corr] στὰ C and S
4
ἀπένεγκε] ἀπένεγκαι S
N.592 405
N.592.5
If your mind tells you to make a variety of dishes for a feast, do not listen
to it, since you are celebrating the feast in the Jewish way; for they prepare
such things. Sorrow and tears are good food for a monk.
N.592.6
If you hear of somebody hating and reviling you, send or offer him a small
gift, so much as you are able, so that in the hour of judgement you will be
able to say: “Lord-and-master, forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our
debtors” [Mt 6:12].
N.592.7
If you have a cell with only just enough space for your head, do not under
any circumstances build another one to have plenty of room in it.
N.592.8
If you leave your cell to go visiting somewhere and your sorrowing relaxes a
little, return in haste and immediately resume your former state.
N.592.9
If some people come visiting you and you see them from afar, stand to pray
and say: “Lord Jesus Christ, deliver us from backbiting and reviling; bring
them away from this place in peace.”
N.592.10
If you wish to acquire sorrow, strive to have all your pots and things
pitiable like those of your brothers sitting in the public square.
N.592.11
If you possess a book, do not decorate its binding; do not possess an
expensive vestment [to wear] in your worshipping.
592.12. Σκεῦος ἀργυροῦν ἢ χρυσοῦν μηδὲ ψηλαφήσωσιν αἱ χεῖρες σου
ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου, ἕως μικροῦ τινός.
592.13. Ἱμάτιον κενὸν1 μὴ ἀνέλθῃ εἰς τὸ σῶμα σου, ἕως κουκουλίου

πιθανοῦ.2
592.14. Ἐγχείριον μὴ κρεμάσῃς εἰς τὴν ζώνην σου· ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα
κωλύουσι τὴν κατάνυξιν καὶ τὸ πένθος ἀπὸ σοῦ.
592.15. Καὶ ἁπλῶς πάντα, καὶ ἡ στρωμνή σου καὶ τὰ σκεύη σου καὶ τὰ
ὑποδήματα καὶ ἡ ζώνη σου, τοιαῦτα ἵνα ἔσονται, οἵαν3 κἄν τινες [f. 303vb]
ἔλθωσι συλῆσαι, μὴ ἀρέσωσιν αὐτοῖς ἆραι4 τίποτε ἀπὸ τῶν ὄντων5 ἐν τῷ
κελλίῳ σου.
592.16. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς σκεῦος ἢ ἐργαλεῖον οἱονδήποτε τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου, μὴ

ἐπιθυμήσῃς αὐτό,6 ἐπεὶ εἰς μέγα κακὸν ἐμπίπτεις. Ὁ γὰρ ἐπιθυμῶν τὸ
μικρὸν7 καὶ κακὸν8 πρᾶγμα, ἐὰν ἴδῃ, ἐπιθυμεῖ αὐτό.9
592.17. Ἐὰν ἔχῃς σκεῦος ἢ μάχαιραν ἢ σκαλίδα ἢ ἄλλο οἱονδήποτε καὶ

ἴδῃς ὅτι ὁ λογισμός σου ἀγαπᾷ αὐτό, ῥίψον αὐτὸ ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἵνα10 διδάξῃς
σου τὸν λογισμὸν μηδὲν ὅλως ἀγαπᾶν εἰ μὴ μόνον τὸν Χριστόν.
592.18. Ἐὰν ὀκνήσῃς ἀναστῆναι τῇ νυκτὶ εἰς τὴν λειτουργίαν σου, μὴ

δώσῃς τὴν τροφὴν αὐτοῦ τῷ σώματί σου. Εἶπεν γὰρ ἡ Γραφὴ ὅτι ὁ ἀργὸς
μηδὲ ἐσθιέτω. Λέγω γάρ σοι ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἐάν τις κλέψῃ, μέγα
κρίμα ἔχει, τοι[f. 304ra]οῦτον κρίμα λογίζεται ὁ Θεὸς παντὶ μὴ ἀνισταμένῳ
ἐν τῇ λειτουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ χωρὶς ἀσθενείας καὶ κόπου μεγάλου. Πλὴν καὶ ἐκ
τοῦ νοσοῦντος καὶ κοπιῶντος ἀπαιτεῖ ὁ Θεὸς λειτουργίαν11 ψυχικήν –
ἐκείνη γὰρ καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος δύναται προσφέρεσθαι τῷ Θεῷ.
1
κενὸν] καινὸν S 2
πιθανοῦ] om S 3
ἔσονται, οἵαν] ἔστωσαν, οἵα S
4
ἆραι] ἆρε C
5
ἀρέσωσιν αὐτοῖς ἆραι τίποτε ἀπὸ τῶν ὄντων] ἀρέσθωσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἢ αἰραί τι προθυμηθῶσι S
6
αὐτό] αὐτοῦ S 7
τὸ μικρὸν] τοῦ μικροῦ S 8
κακὸν] ἴσως S (nonne μέγα πρᾶγμα ?)
9
ἐπιθυμεῖ αὐτό] ἐπιθυμῇ σεαυτοῦ S (dubitandum) 10
ἵνα] οὕτω S
11
λειτουργίαν] ἐργασίαν S
N.592 407
N.592.12
Let your hands not even touch a vessel of silver or gold in your cell, not
even a small one.
N.592.13
Let not a new garment come upon your body, not even a cowl that fits.
N.592.14
Do not hang a dagger on your belt for all such things distance sorrow for
sin and grief from you.
N.592.15
Briefly, everything: your bed, your vessels, your footwear and your belt,
they should be such that if persons came to steal, they would not be pleased
with them to the point of taking any of the things that are in your cell.
N.592.16
If you see a vessel or any kind of implement of your brother’s, do not
desire it since you will fall into great evil; for he who desires in a small way,
even if he sees an evil thing, will desire it.
N.592.17
If you have a vessel, a sword, a hoe or anything else whatsoever and you
realise that your mind delights in it, cast it from you – to teach your mind
to take delight in nothing at all except Christ alone.
N.592.18
If you are reluctant to get up in the night for your act of worship, do not
give your body its food, for Scripture says: “If any will not work, neither let
him eat” [2 Thes 3:10]. For I tell you that, just as, in the world, if someone
steals, he has great condemnation, so, except in cases of illness or of hard
labour, God considers that for every person failing to get up for his act of
worship there is a similar condemnation. But God also demands from the
sick and the labourer a spiritual act of worship, for that can be offered to
God regardless of the body.
592.19. Ἐὰν καταλαλήσῃς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου καὶ πλήξῃ σε τὸ συνειδός
σου, ἄπελθε βάλε αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν καὶ εἰπὲ ὅτι κατελάλησά σου, καὶ
ἀσφάλισαι μηκέτι ἐμπαιχθῆναι. Θάνατος γάρ ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ
καταλαλιά.
592.20. Ἐὰν ἐνέγκῃ σοι τὶς ἀγάπην καὶ οἶδας ὅτι πτωχός ἐστι, δὸς
αὐτῷ πλέον1 ὧν ἤνεγκεν. Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔχεις, βάλε αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν λέγων·
Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀδελφέ, διὰ τὸν Κύριον, ὅτι πτωχός εἰμι, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν
μισθὸν δώ[f. 304rb]σει σοι.
592.21. Ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς τὰς μεγάλας πολιτείας τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων,

ἐπιχείρησον καὶ σὺ ἐπικαλούμενος τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵνα ἐνισχύσῃ
σε εἰς τὸ ἔργον ὃ ἐπεχείρησας. Καὶ ἐὰν τελειώσῃς, τῷ Θεῷ ἔχε τὴν χάριν, εἰ
δὲ μὴ τελειώσῃς, μέμψαι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀσθένειαν καὶ ἐπίγνωθι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ
ἀδυναμίαν, καὶ ταπείνωσόν σου τὸν λογισμὸν ἕως ἡμέρας θανάτου, ὡς
ἀνίκανος καὶ πτωχὸς καὶ ἀνυπομόνητος, ἐλέγχων τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν πάν-
τοτε ὡς ἀρξαμένην καὶ μὴ τελειώσασαν.
592.22. Ἐὰν πράξῃς ἁμαρτίας σωματικάς, μὴ λογίζου πῶς ἔπραξας

αὐτάς, ἐπεὶ μολύνεται ἡ ψυχή σου,2 ἀλλ᾿ εὔχου λέγων· Κύριε, σὺ γινώσκεις
αὐτάς, ὡς θέλεις ἐξάλειψον αὐτάς. Ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ τολμῶ ἐνθυμηθῆ[f.
304va]ναι αὐτάς.
592.23. Ἐὰν εἰς ἔρημον οἰκῇς καὶ ἴδῃς ὅτι φροντίζει σου ὁ Θεός, μὴ
ὑψωθῇ ἡ καρδία σου, ἐπεὶ αἴρει ὁ Θεὸς τὴν βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ σοῦ.
Ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰπὲ ὅτι διὰ τὴν ὀλιγωρίαν καὶ ἀσθένειάν μου ποιεῖ ὁ Θεὸς
ἔλεος μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα ὑπομείνω καὶ μὴ ἀκηδιάσω.
1
αὐτῷ πλέον] αὐτῷ πολλῷ πλέον S 2
ἡ ψυχή σου] σου ἡ ψυχή S
N.592 409
N.592.19
If you slander your brother and your conscience troubles you, go, prostrate
yourself before him and say to him: “I slandered you”, and make sure you
are not led astray again. To slander is death to the soul.
N.592.20
If somebody brings you an offering and you know that he is poor, give him
more than he brought. But if you have nothing [to give him] prostrate
yourself, saying: “For the Lord’s sake, forgive me brother, for being poor;
but God will give you the reward.”
N.592.21
If you hear the great ascetic practices of the holy fathers, do you too
attempt them, calling upon the name of the Lord to give you strength to
accomplish the task you have attempted. If you complete it, give thanks to
God. If you do not complete it, blame your own frailty and acknowledge
your weakness and humble your thinking until the day of death as
inadequate, poverty-stricken and lacking in endurance, always condemn-
ing your soul for starting something and not completing it.
N.592.22
If you commit sins of the body, do not wonder about how you committed
them since your soul will be soiled; rather, pray, saying: “Lord, you are
aware of them; blot them out as you will, for I dare not reflect on them.”
N.592.23
If you are living in the desert and you realise that God is caring for you, let
not your heart become exalted since God will remove his help from you;
rather, say that God is being merciful to me because of my negligence and
frailty, so that I may persevere and not fall into accidie.
592.24. Ἐὰν πορνεία πολεμεῖ τὸ σῶμά σου ἢ τὴν καρδίαν,1 ζήτησον
πόθεν σοι ἐκινήθη ὁ πόλεμος καὶ διόρθωσαι· ἐὰν ἀπὸ τρυφῆς ἢ ὕπνου ἢ
ὑψηλοφροσύνης ἢ ἐὰν ἔχῃς ἑαυτὸν κάλλιον τινός, ἢ ἔκρινας τινὰ ἁμαρτή-
σαντα. Χωρὶς γὰρ τούτων οὐ πολεμεῖται ἄνθρωπος εἰς πορνείαν.
592.25. Ἐὰν δώσῃς ἀγάπην καὶ θλιβῇ ὁ λογισμὸς ὅτι πολὺ αὐτῷ
ἔδωκας, μὴ πρόσχῃς τῷ λογισμῷ, σατανικὸς γάρ ἐστιν. Πλὴν ὅσον
δύνασαι με[f. 304vb]τὰ πτωχείας καὶ ταπεινώσεως ζῆσον, ἵνα μᾶλλον σὺ
χρῄζεις λαβεῖν πάντοτε2 ἀγάπην. Ὁ γὰρ διδὼν χαίρεται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ
λογιζόμενος ὅτι καλὸν ἔργον ποιεῖ,3 ὁ δὲ μηδὲν ἔχων, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν πτωχείᾳ
διάγων εἰς μεγάλην ταπείνωσιν ἔρχεται λογιζόμενος ὅτι οὐδὲν ἀγαθὸν
ποιῶ, οὐδὲ τινὶ διδῶ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐντολὴν ζητῶ. Οὕτως ἔζησαν οἱ
πατέρες ἡμῶν, οὕτως εὗρε τὸν Θεὸν ὁ ἀββᾶ Ἀρσένιος.
592.26. Ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ σου, ἐν πάσῃ ὥρᾳ ἵνα λέγῃς ὅτι4 ἐὰν ἐπισ-
κέψηταί με ὁ θεός, τί γίνεται καὶ βλέπε τί ἀποκρίνεταί σοι ὁ λογισμός. Καὶ
ἐὰν κατακρίνῃ σε, ἄφες εὐθὺς καὶ ῥίψον τὸ ἔργον σου, ὃ κρατεῖς, καὶ λάβε
ἄλλο, ἵνα θαρρῇς φθασθῆναι εἰς αὐτό· δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἐργάτην ἐν πάσῃ ὥ[f.
305ra]ρᾳ ἕτοιμον εἶναι τοῦ πορευθῆναι τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ. Κἂν εἰς ἐργόχειρον
κάθῃ, κἂν ἐν ὁδῷ πορεύῃ, κἂν ἐσθίῃς, τοῦτο πάντοτε ἵνα λέγῃς, ὅτι ἄρτι,
ἐὰν καλέσῃ ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός, τί ἆρα γίνεται, καὶ βλέπε τί ἀποκρίνεται ἡ
συνείδησίς σου, καὶ τάχυνον τοῦ ποιῆσαι εἴτι λέγει σοι. Καὶ ἐὰν θέλῃς
μαθεῖν εἰ ἐγένετο ἔλεος μετὰ σοῦ, ἐρώτησον τὴν συνείδησίν σου, καὶ μὴ
παύσῃ τοῦτο ποιῶν, ἕως ἂν πληροφορηθῇ ἡ καρδία σου καὶ ἡ συνείδησίς
σου εἴπῃ σοι ὅτι πιστεύομεν εἰς τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅτι πάντως
ποιεῖ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν δωρεὰν ἔλεος. Πρόσεχε δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου μήπως μετὰ
δισταγμοῦ λέγει τὸν λόγον. Καὶ ἐὰν δυσπιστῇ ὡς τριχὸς μιᾶς, μακράν
ἐστιν ἀπὸ σοῦ τὸ ἔλεος.
1
σου ἢ τὴν καρδίαν] ἢ τὴν καρδίαν σου S
2
σὺ χρῄζεις λαβεῖν πάντοτε] σὺ πάντοτε χρῄζεις λαβεῖν S
3
διδὼν χαίρεται. . . ἔργον ποιεῖ] διδοὺς χαίρει τῇ καρδίᾳ ὅτι καλὸν ἔργον πεποίηκε λογιζόμενος S
4
ὅτι] om S
N.592 411
N.592.24*
If porneia assails your body or your heart, seek to discover whence the
attack arose and correct it: from self-indulgence, from sleep or haughtiness,
or if you hold yourself to be better than somebody else or passed judge-
ment on somebody who sinned; because, in the absence of these things, a
man is not assailed by porneia.
* N.592.25 in Guy, Recherches.
N.592.25*
If you give alms and the thought troubles you that you gave him [too]
much, pay the thought no attention for it is of Satan. But, insofar as you
are able, live in poverty and humility, so that it is rather you who are
always in need of receiving alms. For the giver rejoices in his heart,
thinking that he is doing a good deed, while he who has nothing but lives
in poverty achieves great humility with the thought: “I am doing nothing
good nor am I giving to anybody; but, instead, I am searching [for your]
commandment.” That is how our fathers lived; that is how Abba Arsenius
found God.
* N.592.24 in Guy, Recherches.
N.592.26
In every task you do, at every hour, you should say: “What will happen if
God inspects me?” and see what your mind replies. If it condemns you,
leave the task you are engaged in at once; cast it aside and take up another
so you can be sure to complete it, for the worker must be ready at all times
to go his way. Whether you are sitting working with your hands, travelling
the road or eating, you should always be saying: “What then will happen if
God calls us now?” and see what your conscience replies, then make haste
to do whatever it says to you. And if you wish to find out whether there
was mercy for you, ask your conscience, and do not stop doing so until
your heart is fully assured and your conscience tells you that we believe in
the compassion of God; that he undoubtedly deals with us in mercy, freely
given. But pay attention to your heart that it not speak its message with
hesitation; for if it is disbelieving by so much as a hair’s breadth, mercy is a
long way from you.
592.27. [f. 305rb] Ἐὰν ἐπιλάβῃς ἄσκησιν καὶ χαυνώσῃς, πάλιν
ἐπιχείρησον καὶ μὴ παύσῃ ἕως θανάτου τοῦτο ποιῶν· ὅπου γὰρ φθασθῇ
ἄνθρωπος, ἐκεῖ ὑπάγει, ἐὰν εἰς ἀμέλειαν, ἐὰν εἰς ἐγκράτειαν. Καθεκάστην
ἡμέραν καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν καὶ ἑβδομάδα ἐρεύνησον ἑαυτὸν εἰς τί ἐπρόκοψας·1 εἰς
προσευχήν, εἰς νηστείαν, εἰς ἡσυχίαν, πλείω δὲ πάντων εἰς ταπείνωσιν.
Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀληθὴς προκοπὴ τῆς ψυχῆς, ἵνα ἡμέραν καθημέραν
ταπεινοτέραν ἔχει ἑαυτὴν λέγουσα· ὅτι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος βελτίων2 μου ἐστίν.
Χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τούτου, κἂν σημεῖα ποιήσῃ, κἂν νεκροὺς ἀνασ-
τήσῃ ἄνθρωπος, μακρὰν εὑρίσκεται ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ.
592.28. Ἐὰν παραβάλῃς γέροντι καὶ γένηται εὐχὴ καὶ ἐπιτρέψῃ σοι
καθῆσαι [f. 305va] εἰπὲ αὐτῷ· Πάτερ, εἰπὲ ἡμῖν λόγον ζωῆς, πῶς εὑρίσκο-
μεν τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ εὔξαι μοι ὅτι πολλὰς ἔχω ἁμαρτίας. Καὶ ἕως τούτου καὶ
μὴ λαλήσῃς ἕτερον λόγον, ἐὰν μὴ ἐρωτηθῇς.
592.29. Ἐὰν εἴπῃ σοι ἀδελφὸς μυστήριον καὶ ἄλλος ὁρκίσῃ σοι τοῦ
εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα, μὴ ἐξάξῃς τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου, καὶ μὴ
φοβηθῇς τὸν ὅρκον αὐτοῦ· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἔχει τὸ κρίμα τοῦ ὅρκου.
592.30. Ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃς κατάνυξιν, γίνωσκε ὅτι κενοδοξίαν ἔχεις·3 αὗται

γὰρ οὐκ ἀφίουσι τὴν ψυχὴν κατανυγῆναι.
592.31. Ἐὰν λείψῃ σοι ἡ χρεία τοῦ σώματος, μὴ εἴπῃς ἀνθρώποις

δοῦναί σοι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐπίρριψον ἐπὶ Κύριον τὴν μέριμνάν4 σου, καὶ
αὐτὸς σὲ διαθρέψει, ἐπεὶ ὁ ἀφεὶς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ζητῶν παρὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐ
πιστεύει ὅτι δύναται5 ὁ Θεός φροντί[f. 305vb]σαι αὐτοῦ.
592.32. Ἐὰν ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ δώσῃ6 σοι ἄνθρωπος ἀγάπην καὶ χρῄζῃς,
λάβε. Εἰ δὲ οὐ χρῄζεις, μηδὲ ὅλως δέξῃ. Τάχα γὰρ ὁ Σατανᾶς πειράζει
σε, ἵνα λάβῃς εἴ τι οὐ χρῄζῃς.
1
ἐπρόκοψας] προέκοψας S 2
βελτίων] βέλτιον C 3
ἔχεις] καὶ γαστριμαργίαν add S
4
μέριμνάν] φροντίδα C 5
ὅτι δύναται] ὅτι οὐ δύναται C 6
δώσῃ corr] codd δώσει
N.592 413
N.592.27
If you undertake some spiritual discipline and then give it up, take it in
hand again and do not stop doing so until death, for a man is travelling
towards the goal where he would arrive, whether to negligence or towards
self-control. Every day, every year, every week enquire of yourself whether
you have made any progress, in prayer, in fasting, in hêsychia and, most of
all, in humility. For this is the true progress of the soul, that day-by-day it
holds itself yet more humble, saying that every man is better than I am.
Without this thought, even if a man perform miracles and even raise the
dead, he is found a long way from God.
N.592.28
If you visit an elder, prayer is offered and he allows you to sit down, say to
him: “Father, speak a word of life to us about how we are to find God –
and pray for me, because I have many sins” – say that much and not
another word, unless you are asked a question.
N.592.29
If one brother tells you a secret and another [brother] charges you to tell it
to him, do not divulge your brother’s secret and do not fear the other’s
swearing; it is he who is responsible for the swearing.
N.592.30
If you have no sorrow for sin, be aware that you have vainglory and that
you delight in food, for these will not permit the soul to feel sorrow for sin.
N.592.31
If you are lacking in physical necessities, do not tell men to give to you, but
rather “Cast your care upon the Lord and he will nourish you” [Ps 54:23],
since he who has abandoned God and is seeking [what he needs] from men
does not believe that God is capable of taking care of him.
N.592.32
If a man gives you alms of his own free will and you are in need, then take
it; but do not take it under any circumstances if you are not in need, for it
could be that Satan is tempting you to take something you do not need.
592.33. Ἐὰν ἐπαινέσῃ σε ἄνθρωπος εἰς πρόσωπόν σου, ἐννόησον εὐθὺς
τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ παρακάλεσον αὐτὸν λέγων· Διὰ τὸν Κύριον, ἀδελφέ,
μὴ ἐπαινέσῃς με ὅτι ταλαίπωρός εἰμι καὶ οὐ βαστάζω. Εἰ δὲ μέγας
ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν, εὖξαι τῷ Θεῷ λέγων· Κύριε, σκέπασόν με ἐκ τοῦ ἐπαίνου
καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ψόγου τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
592.34. Συνήθισον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς σου μὴ βλέπειν εἰς σῶμα ἀλλότριον·

εἰ δυνατὸν μηδὲ εἰς τὸ ἴδιον.
592.35. Ἐὰν χαρίσεταί σοι ὁ Θεὸς πένθος, μὴ νομίσῃς ὅτι μέγα1 ποιεῖς·
μακάριος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ μὴ χρῄζων τὸ πένθος. Πλὴν ἐ[f. 306ra]ὰν ἴδῃ ὁ Θεὸς
ἄνθρωπον ὅτι καυχᾶται ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν δακρύων, αἴρει αὐτὰ ἀπ᾿
αὐτοῦ καὶ λοιπὸν μένει ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ2 σκληρὰ καὶ ἀπόλλυται.
592.36. Ἐὰν πολεμῇ σε ἡ ψυχή σου εἰς πολλὰ βρώματα, στένωσον

αὐτὴν καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν ἄρτον, ἵνα παρακαλέσῃ κἂν ἄρτου χορτασθῆναι.
592.37. Ἐὰν ἐρωτᾷς τοὺς πατέρας καὶ ἀκούσῃς παρ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ παρὰ
τῆς Γραφῆς τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, σπεῦσον ποιῆσαι εἴ τι ἀκούεις. Κἂν πρὸς
χρόνον ῥαθυμήσας μὴ ἐργάσῃ, μὴ παύσῃ διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ ἐρωτᾶν· ὁ γὰρ
ἐρωτῶν3 καὶ ἀκούων καὶ παρακούων, κἂν κατακρίνει ἑαυτὸν καὶ ταπει-
νοῦται καὶ εὑρίσκει ἐκ τούτου μικρὸν ἔλεος, ὁ δὲ μὴ ἐρωτῶν οὐδὲ ἀκούει,
οὐδὲ παρακούει, οὐδὲ ταπεινοῦται, οὐδὲ εὑρίσκει ἔλεος[f. 306rb]. Ὥσπερ
γὰρ ἄρρωστος πονῶν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ στόμαχον καὶ πολλῶν βρωμάτων
διδομένων αὐτῷ ἀηδίζεται, ὕστερον δὲ εὑρίσκεται ἓν βρῶμα καὶ δέχεται
αὐτὸ4 ἡδέως, καὶ φαγὼν ὑγιαίνει, οὕτως ἐστὶ καὶ ψυχὴ ὀκνηρὰ καὶ
πολλάκις ἀκούουσα παρακούει, ἀλλὰ πάντως διὰ τοῦ χρόνου αἰσχύνεται
καὶ εἰκὸς εὑρίσκει ἓν πρᾶγμα καὶ ἀρέσκει αὐτῇ καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτὸ καὶ σώζεται5
δι᾿ αὐτοῦ.
1
μέγα] τι add S 2
αὐτοῦ] ὡς λίθος add S 3
ἐρωτῶν] ἐρωτὸν C
4
σώζεται] σῴζεται S
N.592 415
N.592.33
If somebody praises you to your face, immediately reflect on your sins and
entreat him in these words: “For the sake of the Lord, brother, do not
praise me for I am a wretched fellow and cannot bear it.” But if it is a
person of importance, pray to God saying: “Lord, shelter me from the
praise and the censure of men.”
N.592.34
Accustom your eyes not to look at another’s body, not even at your own,
if possible.
N.592.35
If God grants you grief, do not think you are doing a great thing, for
blessed is he who is in no need of grief. But if God sees somebody whose
heart exults in tears, he will take them away from him, his heart remaining
obdurate in future – and he is lost.
N.592.36
If your soul is campaigning against you for many kinds of food, restrict it
to bread alone, so that it begs to be satisfied even with bread.
N.592.37
If you ask of the fathers and hear the word of God from them and from the
Scripture, make haste to perform whatever you hear. And even if for a time
you have become neglectful and are not working, do not cease asking
because of that. For he who asks, hears and yet disobeys, will still find a
little mercy from that, provided he condemn and humble himself, whereas
he who does not ask, neither hears, nor disobeys, nor humbles himself, nor
finds mercy. Just as a sick person suffering with his stomach is nauseated
when given many kinds of food, but later, once one food is found which he
can assimilate comfortably, having eaten it, recovers: so too, the timid soul
that often hears and disobeys but is of course put to shame from time to
time, probably discovers one activity that it delights in, performs it and is
saved through it.
592.38. Ἐὰν πέσῃς εἰς πορνείαν καὶ ἔστιν ἐγγὺς τοῦ τόπου τὸ πρόσω-
πον ὅπου ἔπεσας, ἀναχώρησον ἐκ τοῦ τόπου ἐκείνου, ἐπεὶ οὐ μετανοεῖς.
592.39. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς σου τὸν ἀδελφόν σου πίπτοντα, εὐθὺς
εἰπέ· Ἀνάθεμά σοι, Σατανᾶ, ὁ ἀδελφός μου πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ
ἀσφάλισαι τὴν καρδίαν σου τοῦ1 μὴ κρῖναι τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, ἐπεὶ
[f. 306va] ἀναχωρεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἀπὸ σοῦ.
592.40. Ἐὰν καταλαλήσῃ ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφὸν ἔμπροσθέ σου, βλέπε μὴ

διατραπῇς αὐτὸν καὶ εἴπῃς· Ναί, οὕτως ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ ἢ σιώπα, ἢ εἰπὲ αὐτῷ
ὅτι ἐγώ, ἀδελφέ, κατακεκριμένος εἰμὶ καὶ οὐ δύναμαι κρῖναι ἄλλον, καὶ
σώζεις2 καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἐκεῖνον.
592.41. Ἐὰν ἀσθενήσῃς καὶ αἰτήσῃς πρᾶγμα λαβεῖν3 παρά τινος εἰς
χρείαν σου, καὶ μὴ δώσῃ4 σοι, μὴ θλιβῇς κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰπὲ ὅτι,
εἰ ἤμην ἄξιος λαβεῖν, ἐπληροφόρει ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν δοῦναί μοι ἀγάπην.
Γίνωσκε δὲ ὅτι τρεῖς τάξεις εἰσὶ περὶ τοῦ λαβεῖν ἀγάπην· οἱ τέλειοι ἀσκηταὶ
οὐ ταχὺ ἐδέχοντο πρᾶγμα παρά τινος τὸ σύνολον, οἱ δὲ μέσοι οὐ λέγουσι
τινὶ δοῦναι τίποτε, εἰ δὲ [f. 306vb] ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τὶς δώσῃ5 δέχονται ὡς ἀπὸ
Θεοῦ πεμφθέντα, εἰ δὲ ἀσθενεῖς ἐσμὲν καὶ οὐκ ἰσχύομεν ἐργάσασθαι τὴν
χρείαν ἑαυτῶν, αἰτήσωμεν μετὰ πολλῆς ταπεινώσεως μεμφόμενοι ἑαυτοὺς
διαπαντός.
592.42. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς χρόνον ἐχαρίσατό σοι κατάνυξιν, τῷ
καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ καταφρόνησον καὶ τοῦ ἐργοχείρου σου ὅτι ἐὰν ἴδῃς ὅτι
συμφέρει σοι, καὶ σχόλασον εἰς τὸ πένθος, μήπως ἐγγύς ἐστιν ἡ ἡμέρα τῆς
ἐξόδου σου καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐχαρίσατό σοι ὁ Θεὸς τὸ κλαίειν, ἵνα δι᾿ αὐτοῦ
εὕρῃς μικρὸν ἔλεος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ Σατανᾶς εἰς τὰ τέλη τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
σπεύδῃ6 ἀπολέσαι αὐτόν, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Θεὸς πολλάκις ἐπὶ τὰ τέλη τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου διὰ προφάσεως σώζει7 αὐτόν.
1
τοῦ] om S 2
σώζεις] σῴζεις S 3
πρᾶγμα λαβεῖν] λαβεῖν πρᾶγμα S
4
σπεύδῃ] σπεύδει S 7
σώζει] σῴζει S
N.592 417
N.592.38
If you fall into porneia and the person with whom you fell is near the place,
get away from that place; otherwise, you will not repent.
N.592.39
If you are an eye-witness of your brother falling [into sin], say without
hesitation: “A curse on you, Satan! My brother is not to blame”, and
strengthen your heart against judging your brother, or the Holy Spirit will
withdraw from you.
N.592.40
If one brother speaks ill of another in your presence, see that you do not
turn [the slandered brother] away saying: “Yes, it is so.” But either keep
silent or say to him: “Brother, I myself am being condemned and cannot
judge another.” Thus you are saving both yourself and the other person.
N.592.41
If you are sick and you ask to receive something from somebody for your
need and he does not give it to you, do not get distressed against him, but
rather say: “If I were worthy to receive it, God would have convinced the
brother to give me charity.” Be aware that there are three categories
relating to the receiving of charity. Consummate ascetics do not readily
accept anything at all from anybody; average ones never tell anybody to
give them anything, but if somebody does [give them something] of his
own free will, they receive it as though sent from God. But if we are sick
and incapable of working to supply our own needs, let us ask, in great
humility, ever reproaching ourselves.
N.592.42
If you see that God has granted you sorrow for sin for some time, disregard
your manual labour at that time if it seems advantageous to do so and
devote yourself to grief, in case the day of your departure is near and, for
that reason, God granted you [time] to weep, so that through [weeping]
you might find a little mercy. For just as Satan hastens to bring about the
loss of a man at the end of his life, so too God often provides the occasion
to save a man at the end of his life.
592.43. Ἀνιστάμενος ἀ[f. 307ra]πὸ τοῦ ὕπνου σου εὐθέως πρῶτον
λόγον δοξάσει τὸ στόμα σου τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ἄρξεται εἰς ὕμνον καὶ ψαλμούς.
Εἴ τι γὰρ προλάβῃ ἀπὸ πρωῒ ὁ νοῦς, ὥσπερ μῦλος αὐτὸ ἀλήθει ὅλην τὴν
ἡμέραν· εἴτε σῖτον, εἴτε ζιζάνια. Διὸ προλάμβανε πάντοτε καὶ βάλλε τὸν
σῖτον, πρὶν ὁ ἐχθρός σου βάλῃ τὰ ζιζάνια.
592.44. Ἐὰν δὲ ἴδῃς φαντασίαν γυναικῶν ἐν τοῖς ὕπνοις, ἀγώνισαι μὴ

ἐνθυμεῖσθαι αὐτὰ τὴν ἡμέραν· θάνατος γάρ εἰσι τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ ἀφανισμός.
592.45. Ἀνακείμενος ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ σου μνημόνευσον τοῦ τάφου σου λέγων

ὅτι ἄρα ἐγείρομαι εἰς τὴν αὔριον ἢ οὔ. Καὶ εὖξαι πρὸ ὕπνου ἐκτενῶς καὶ
ἀνιστάμενος καὶ ἀνακείμενος σεαυτῷ πρόσεχε μὴ λογίσῃ ποτὲ ῥυπαρόν
[f. 307rb] μηδὲ ἐνθυμηθῇς ὅλως γυναικὸς κἂν ἁγία ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον
εὐχόμενος ἀφύπνωσον. Εἴ τι γὰρ λογίζεται ἄνθρωπος, τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ τῇ
νυκτὶ ἐργάζεται, εἴτε ἀγαθόν, εἴτε κακόν. Πάντα γάρ εἰσιν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐν
τῇ κλίνῃ. Παρακάθηνται γὰρ αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ μνῆμαι γυναικῶν, καὶ εἰσὶν
ἄγγελοι προσκαρτεροῦντες τῷ μοναχῷ, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο τεταγμένοι εἰς
τὸ φυλάττειν αὐτόν. Ὅταν οὖν εἴπῃ σοι ἡ καρδία σου ἐν νυκτὶ ἢ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ·
Ἀνάστα εὖξαι, γίνωσκε ὅτι ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ παριστάμενός σοι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ
λέγων σοι, καὶ σοῦ ἀνισταμένου αὐτὸς συμπαρίσταται καὶ συνεύχεταί σοι
ἀποδιώκων ἀπὸ σοῦ τοὺς δαίμονας βρύχοντας κατὰ σοῦ τοὺς ὀδόντας. Εἰ
δὲ [f. 307va] παρακούσεις αὐτοῦ καὶ ὀκνήσεις ἀναστῆναι, λοιπὸν καὶ
αὐτὸς ἀναχωρεῖ ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ τότε ἐμπίπτεις εἰς χεῖρας τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου.
592.46. Ἐὰν μὴ ἔχεις ταπείνωσιν πνευματικὴν ἢ προσευχὴν πνευματι-

κήν, κτῆσαι αὐτὰ κἄν σωματικά· καὶ διὰ τῶν σωματικῶν ἔρχονταί σοι καὶ
τὰ πνευματικά, ἐπεὶ μάτην κοπιᾷς.
592.47. Ἐὰν ἐργάζῃ ἐργόχειρον ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου καὶ ἔλθῃ ἡ ὥρα τῆς
εὐχῆς σου, μὴ εἴπῃς πληρώσω τὰ μικρὰ θαλλία μου ἢ τὸ μικρὸν μαλάκιν
καὶ εἰθ᾿ οὕτως ἐγείρομαι, ἀλλ᾿ ἀνάστα ἑκάστῃ ὥρᾳ καὶ ἀπόδος τῷ Θεῷ τὸ
χρέως τῆς εὐχῆς, ἐπεὶ κατὰ μικρὸν συνηθίζεις ἀμελεῖν τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ τῆς
N.592 419
N.592.43
When you rise from your sleep your mouth will immediately glorify God
with its first words, breaking out in hymn and psalms. For whatever the
mind encounters first thing, it grinds it like a mill all the day long, whether
it be wheat or tares. So always be the first to throw in wheat before your
enemy injects tares.
N.592.44
If you see a vision of women when sleeping, make an effort not to call
those things to mind during the day, for they are death and extermination
to the soul.
N.592.45
Remember your tomb when you are lying in your bed, saying: “Shall I rise
up tomorrow or not?” Pray fervently before sleeping and on getting up;
when you lie down, take care never to think an unclean thought; call no
woman at all to mind, even if she is a holy one, but rather fall asleep
praying. For whatever thought a man entertains, the same is at work during
the night, whether good or bad; for all things are for the same purpose when
one is in bed. Memories of women sit beside [the monk] in bed, yet there are
angels dancing attendance on him, expressly charged with preserving him.
When your heart says to you: “Get up and pray”, by night or by day, know
that it is the angel standing beside you who is speaking to you and that, when
you get up, he is standing beside you, praying with you, chasing away from
you the demons who are gnashing their teeth at you. But if you are going
to pay no heed to him and are going to delay rising, in future he too will
depart from you and you shall fall into the hands of your enemies.
N.592.46
If you do not have spiritual humility or spiritual prayer, acquire the
corporal [version] and through the corporal, the spiritual ones will come
to you too; otherwise you are labouring in vain [cf. Ps 126:2].
N.592.47
If you are employed at handiwork in your cell and the time for your prayer
arrives, do not say: “I will just finish the few fronds or the small basket then
I will get up,” but stand up every hour and render God the prayer owing
λειτουργίας σου, καὶ γίνεται ἔρημος ἡ ψυχή σου ἑκάστου ἔργου καὶ
πνευματικοῦ καὶ σωματι[f. 307vb]κοῦ· ἀπὸ πρωῒ γὰρ φαίνεται ἡ
προθυμία σου.
592.48. Ἐὰν παραβάλλῃς πούποτε, μὴ θελήσῃς δεῖξαι τὴν πολιτείαν

σου ἢ ὅτι οὐ τρώγω ἔλαιον, ἢ ἕψημα, ἤ ὀψάριν, μόνον δὲ τὸν οἶνον μὴ
καταλύσῃς ἐὰν φοβῆσαι τὸν πόλεμον· κἂν μέμψωνταί σε τινὲς, μὴ μελήσῃ
σοι.
592.49. Ἐὰν ἔστι τὸ σῶμα σου ἀσθενές, πρὸς αὐτὸ ποίησον καὶ τὴν
χρείαν σου, μήπως πέσῃ εἰς ἀσθένειαν καὶ μέλλεις ζητεῖν βρώματα καὶ
βαρεῖν τὸν διακονοῦντά σοι.
592.50. Ἐὰν ὀχλῶσί σε ῥυπαροὶ λογισμοί, μὴ κρύψῃς αὐτούς, ἀλλ᾿

εὐθέως εἰπὲ αὐτοὺς τῷ πνευματικῷ σου πατρὶ καὶ ἔλεγξον αὐτούς. Ὅσον
γὰρ κρύβει ἄνθρωπος τοὺς λογισμοὺς αὐτοῦ, τοσοῦτον πληθύνονται καὶ
λαμβάνουσι δύναμιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὄφις [f. 308ra] ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ
φωλεοῦ, εὐθὺς φεύγει, οὕτως1 καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς λογισμὸς φανερούμενος
εὐθέως ἀπόλλυται· καὶ ὥσπερ σκώληξ εἰς ξύλον οὕτως πονηρὸς λογισμὸς
ἀφανίζει καρδίαν. Ὁ φανερῶν τοὺς λογισμοὺς αὐτοῦ ταχὺ θεραπεύεται, ὁ
δὲ ἀποκρύπτων αὐτοὺς ὑπερηφανίαν νοσεῖ. Ἐὰν γὰρ οὐ πληροφορῆσαι
εἰς τινὰ τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι αὐτῷ τοὺς πολέμους σου, σημεῖόν ἐστι τοῦτο ὅτι
ταπείνωσιν οὐκ ἔχεις· ὁ γὰρ ταπεινόφρων πάντας ἁγίους καὶ καλοὺς
θεωρεῖ, ἑαυτὸν δὲ μόνον ἁμαρτωλὸν βλέπει. Πλὴν ὅτι,2 ἐὰν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας
ἐπικαλέσηται ἄνθρωπος τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐπερωτήσῃ ἄνθρωπον
περὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ λογισμῶν, ἀποκρίνεται αὐτῷ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, μᾶλλον δὲ
[f. 308rb] ὁ διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὰ συμφέροντα Θεὸς ὁ ἀνοίξας3 τὸ στόμα
τῆς ὄνου ἐπὶ τοῦ Βαλαάμ, κἄν ἀνάξιός ἐστι καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ὁ ἐρωτώμενος.
592.51. Ἐὰν εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ4 ὅπου οἰκεῖς μνήματα, ἀνέρχου συνεχῶς

καὶ κατανόει τοὺς κειμένους ἐκεῖ, μάλιστα ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ πολέμου τῆς
σαρκός. Καὶ ὅταν μάθῃς ὅτι ἀδελφὸς ὑπάγει πρὸς Κύριον, πορεύου καὶ
παράμεινον ἐκεῖ, ὅπως θεάσῃ πῶς ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ σώματος χωρίζεται.
1
οὕτως] οὗτος C 2
ὅτι] om S
3
ὁ ἀνοίξας κ.τ.λ.] ὁ τὸ τῆς ὄνου στόμα διανοίξας ἐπὶ τοῦ Βαλαάμ καὶ δηλοῖ τὸ ἐρώτημα S
4
εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ] ὦσιν ἐν τόπῳ S
N.592 421
him, since [otherwise] you will gradually get used to neglecting prayer and
your worship; your soul will become destitute of any task, spiritual or
corporal; for it is early in the morning that your eagerness is apparent.
N.592.48
If you are visiting somewhere, do not intentionally reveal your ascetic way
of life or [say]: “I do not eat oil or cooked food or fish”, only do not
compromise so far as wine is concerned if you fear the battle; and if some
people reproach you, do not let it trouble you.
N.592.49
If your body is unwell, act in its regard and for your need, lest it become
really sick and you are likely to seek [various] foods, thus imposing upon
your attendant.
N.592.50
If unclean logismoi are troubling you, do not hide them, but tell your spiritual
father about them without delay and castigate them. For as long as a man
conceals his logismoi, so they multiply and gain power. For just as a snake
immediately takes flight if it emerges from its lair, so an evil logismos is
eliminated as soon as it is brought to light. An evil logismos disappears into
the heart just as a worm disappears into wood. He who reveals his logismoi is
quickly healed; he who conceals them suffers with pride, for if you do not
have confidence in someone to declare your battles to him, this is an
indication that you do not possess humility. For the humble-minded person
regards everybody as holy and good, seeing himself alone as a sinner. Except
that if a person calls upon God with all his heart and consults a man about his
own logismoi, the man (or rather, through the man, God – who opened the
mouth of the ass in the case of Balaam) [Nm 22:28] will give him an
appropriate reply, even though the one who is being asked is unworthy and
a sinner.
N.592.51
If there are tombs in the place where you are living, go there continually
and meditate on those who are lying there, especially in time of war against
the flesh. And when you learn that a brother is going to the Lord, go and
stay there so you can see how the soul is separated from the body.
592.52. Ἐὰν αἰτήσῃ σε ἄνθρωπος εὔξασθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ εἰπὲ ὅτι ὁ Θεός,
ἀδελφέ, δι᾿ εὐχῶν τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ καὶ μὲ καὶ σὲ ἐλεήσει ὡς κελεύει.
592.53. Ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς περί τινος ὑβρίσαντός σε καὶ ἔλθῃ πρὸς σέ, μὴ
δείξῃς αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔμαθες, ἀλλὰ χαριεν[f. 308va]τίσθητι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἀγάθυνον τὸ πρόσωπόν σου πρὸς αὐτόν, ἵνα ἔχῃς παρρησίαν ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ
σου.
592.54. Ἐὰν βαρηθῇς πρὸς ὥραν ἀπὸ βρωμάτων, ἐπίδος ἑαυτὸν εἰς
μόχθον τοῦ σώματος, ἵνα πρὸ τῆς νυκτὸς ἐλαφρυνθῶσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ μὴ
ἴδῃς φαντασίας κακάς, καὶ γενοῦ ὡς παλαιστρίτης καλὸς πρὸς τὸν διάβο-
λον. Ἐὰν τύψῃ σε ἔνθεν, τύψον αὐτὸν καὶ σὺ ἐκεῖθεν. Ἐὰν κρατήσῃ σε διὰ
βρωμάτων, κράτησον αὐτὸν δι᾿ ἀγρυπνίας καί, ἐὰν βαρήσῃ σε ὕπνῳ,
σύντριψον αὐτὸν κόπῳ σωματικῷ. Εἰ δὲ πλανήσει σε εἰς κενοδοξίαν,
ποίησον πρᾶγμα ἢ σχῆμα ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα ἀτιμάσωσί σε.
Τοῦτο γὰρ γίνωσκε, ὅτι εἰς οὐδὲν ἄλλο θλίβεται1 ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὥς ὅταν
ἄνθρωπος τὴν τα[f. 308vb]πείνωσιν καὶ τὴν ἀτιμίαν ἐπιποθήσῃ.
592.55. Ἐὰν ἀκμὴν νεώτερος εἶ, φεῦγε τὸν οἶνον ὡς ὄφιν. Κἄν ᾖ 2 ἀγάπῃ
πίῃς μικρόν, παῦσον, κἄν ὁρκίζωσί σε οἱ καλέσαντές σε καὶ ποιῶσί σοι
μετάνοιαν, μὴ πρόσχῃς τοὺς ὅρκους αὐτῶν. Πολλάκις γὰρ ὁ Σατανᾶς
ὑποβάλλει τοῖς μοναχοῖς ἀναγκάσαι τοὺς νεωτέρους εἰς οἶνον· οἶδε γὰρ
ὅτι οἶνος καὶ γυναῖκες χωρίζουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐὰν εὑρεθῇς ἐπὶ ξένης
καὶ μηδείς σε ὑποδέξηται, μὴ λυπηθῇς, ἀλλὰ λέγε· Εἰ ἤμην ἄξιος, ὁ Θεὸς
ἐποίει μοι ἀνάπαυσιν.
592.56. Ἐὰν κρατηθῇς εἰς ἀγάπην καὶ βάλωσί σε εἰς τὸν ἐλάχιστον
τόπον, μὴ γογγύσῃ ὁ λογισμός σου, ἀλλὰ λέγε ὅτι οὐδὲ ὧδε ἤμην ἄξιος.
Τοῦτο γὰρ λέγω σοι, ὅτι οὐδεμία θλῖψις ἔρ[f. 309ra]χεται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, εἰ
μὴ ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς δοκιμὴν καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ
μὴ κρατῶν οὕτως οὐ πιστεύει ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς κριτὴς δίκαιός ἐστιν.
1
θλίβεται] οὕτως add S 2
ᾖ] ἐν C
N.592 423
N.592.52
If someone asks you to pray for him, say: “By the prayers of his saints,
brother, God will have mercy on me and on you according to his will.”
N.592.53
If you hear that somebody has been reviling you and he comes to you, do
not reveal to him that you learnt of it, but deal kindly with him and put
on a good face for him, so you can speak freely in your prayer.
N.592.54
If you are weighed down for a time after food, labour that it may be lightened
from you before night and you not see evil visions. Become like a good
wrestler, facing the devil: if he strikes you here, strike him yourself there. If
he has got a hold on you through food, get a hold on him by night watches.
If he is weighing you down with sleep, trip him up by physical toil. If he is
leading you astray into vainglory, do something to put on an appearance
before men to make them despise you, for realise this: that nothing afflicts
Satan more than when a man earnestly desires humility and dishonour.
N.592.55
If you are still young, flee from wine as from a serpent. If you drink a little at
a love feast, desist. If your hosts bind you with an oath and even prostrate
themselves before you, pay no attention to their oaths. Satan often gives
monks the idea of pressing the young ones to take wine, for he knows
that wine and women separate [us] from God. If you find yourself in
unfamiliar territory and nobody invites you home, do not distress yourself,
but say: “If I were worthy, God would provide refreshment for me.”
N.592.56
If you are obliged to attend a love feast and they put you in the lowest
place, let not your mind complain but say: “I was not worthy to be even
here.” This I am saying to you because no affliction comes upon a man
except from above, from God, to test him and because of his sins; and he
who does not hold fast to that does not believe that God is a just judge
[cf. Ps 7:12].
592.57. Ἐὰν εἰς ἔρημον κάθῃ, βλέπε μὴ χλευάσωσί σε οἱ λογισμοὶ καὶ οἱ
δαίμονες ὅτι καλῶς κάθῃ καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀπηλλάγης τῆς καταλαλιᾶς καὶ1 τῶν
ἀνθρώπων καὶ τοῦ λαλεῖν μάταια καὶ ποιεῖς τὸ μικρὸν τῆς λειτουργίας
σου. Ἐὰν οὖν ταῦτα ἐνθυμηθῇς, ἀπαίρει ὁ Θεὸς τὴν βοήθειαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ
σοῦ, καὶ τότε γινώσκεις τὴν ἰδίαν ἀσθένειαν. Ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον πάντοτε2 λέγε·
Οὐαί μοι, ὅτι τῷ σώματι εἰμὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, τῷ3 δὲ πνεύματι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ
πελάζομαι. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄνθρωποι νομίζουσιν ὅτι τὴν πολιτείαν τῶν
πατέρων κρα[f. 309rb]τῶ μὴ γινώσκοντες πῶς καθημέραν ἐν λογισμοῖς
ῥυπαροῖς καὶ ἀμελείᾳ ἀσχημονῶ τρώγων καὶ κοιμώμενος.
592.58. Ἐὰν ὑπάγῃς ἐρωτῆσαι πατέρα περὶ τῶν λογισμῶν σου, εὖξαι
πρῶτον τῷ Θεῷ καὶ εἰπέ· Κύριε, εἴ τι κελεύεις, δὸς εἰς τὸ στόμα τοῦ
γέροντος, ἵνα εἴπῃ μοι. Ἐγὼ γὰρ ὡς ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου ἀκούω,4 Κύριε,
τὰ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Στήριξον αὐτόν, Κύριε, εἰς τὴν ἀλήθειάν σου, τοῦ ἀκοῦσαί
με δι᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ θέλημά σου. Καὶ οὕτως ὃ5 ἐὰν εἴπῃ σοι ὁ πατήρ φύλαξον
μετὰ ἀσφαλείας6 καὶ φόβου.
592.59. Ἐὰν παραβάλῃ σοι ἀδελφός, ἔπαρον τὸ πένθος τοῦ προσώπου

σου7 καὶ κρῦψον αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, ἕως οὗ ἀπολύσῃς τὸν ἀδελφόν.
Καὶ τότε πάλιν βάλε τὸ πένθος ἐν τῷ προσώπῳ8 σου, ὅτι φεύγουσιν οἱ
[f. 309va] δαίμονες θεωροῦντες αὐτὸ9 μετὰ σοῦ.
592.60. Ἐὰν λογισμὸς ὑπερηφανίας ὀχλήσῃ σοι,10 εἰπὲ τῷ δαίμονι ὅτι

εἶπεν ὁ Θεός· ὅτι ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται. Ἐὰν γὰρ οὐκ ἐνδώσῃς11
τοῦ λέγειν μοι ὅτι καλός εἰμι, πληροφοροῦμαι ὅτι ἀλλότριος τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰμί·
Κύριος γὰρ ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται.
592.61. Ἐὰν πέσῃς εἰς ἁμαρτίαν καὶ ἐπιστρέψῃς ἐξ αὐτῆς καὶ ἄρξῃ εἰς
λύπην12 καὶ εἰς μετάνοιαν, βλέπε μὴ παύσῃ λυπούμενος καὶ στενάζων
πρὸς Κύριον ἕως ἡμέρας θανάτου σου, ἐπεὶ ταχὺ πάλιν εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν
βόθρον ἐμπίπτεις. Ἡ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν λύπη χαλινός ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς, μὴ ἐῶν
αὐτὴν πεσεῖν.
1
καὶ] om S 2
πάντοτε] τότε S 3
τῷ] τὸ C 4
ἀκούω] om C 5
ὃ] om C
6
ἀσφαλείας] ἀσφαλίας C 7
σου] om C 8
προσώπῳ] προσώπου C
9
σοι] σε S 11
οὐκ ἐνδώσῃς] δώσῃς S 12
λύπην] λοίπην C
N.592 425
N.592.57
If you are living in the desert, see to it that your logismoi and the demons
do not lead you astray [saying]: “You are living well; look, you have
distanced yourself from backbiting, from men, from idle chatter and you
are performing your little act of worship.” If you have those thoughts, God
will remove his assistance from you and then you will realise your own frailty.
You should rather always be saying: “Woe betide me, for I am in the desert
in the body but being drawn into the world in the spirit. People think
that I am maintaining the way of life of the fathers, unaware how I disgrace
myself each day with impure logismoi and laxity, eating and sleeping.”
N.592.58
If you are going to ask a father about your logismoi, first pray to God and
say: “Lord, if you are commanding [me to do] something, put it into the
elder’s mouth that he might speak to me, for I will hear what he says as
though it were from your mouth, Lord. Strengthen him in your truth
Lord, that I might hear your will through him.” Then observe whatever
the father says to you with steadfastness and fear.
N.592.59
If a brother visits you, remove grief from your face and hide it in your heart
until you bid the brother farewell. Then put grief back in your face – for
the demons take flight when they see it on you.
N.592.60
If a logismos of high-mindedness trouble you, say to the demon: “God has said:
‘He that exalts himself shall be humbled’ [Lk 14:11 and 18:14]. If you do not
refrain from telling me that I am good, I will be convinced that I am alienated
from God, for ‘the Lord resists the proud’ [cf. Prv 3:34, Jas 4:6, 1 Pt 5:5].”
N.592.61
If you fall into sin then turn your back on it, beginning to lament and
repent, see that you do not cease lamenting and sighing to the Lord until
the day of your death. Otherwise you will quickly fall into the same ditch
again. Godly lamentation is a bridle for the soul, not allowing it to fall.
592.62. Ὅταν ἴδῃ ὁ Σατανᾶς τὸν Θεὸν ἐλεοῦντά σε καὶ διδόντα
κατάνυξιν τῇ ψυ[f. 309vb]χῇ σου, τότε ὑποβάλλει σοι ἔργον εἰς τὸ κελλίον
σου ἀναγκαῖον λέγων· Κάμε τοῦτο σήμερον ὅτι χρεία αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἢ ὅτι
ὕπαγε παράβαλε πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα, ὅτι ἀσθενεῖ. Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ποιεῖ, ἵνα
μὴ ἀφήσῃ σε σχολάσαι καὶ ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς γλυκύτητος τοῦ πένθους. Ἐὰν
δὲ νοήσῃς τὸν δόλον τοῦ Σατανᾶ καὶ φυλάξῃς ἑαυτὸν1 καὶ σχολάσῃς τῇ
εὐχῇ μετὰ κατανύξεως, εὐθέως προσδόκησον πειρασμὸν ἢ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἢ
ἐκ δαιμόνων. Ὁ γὰρ Σατανᾶς τότε πολεμεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον κακῶς, ὅταν
πολεμῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος καλῶς. Ὁ θυμὸς δὲ πλείω πάντων ἀφανίζει τὴν
κατάνυξιν καὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς ψυχῆς. Ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ καθεζομένου
σου περικυκλοῦσί σε οἱ λογισμοὶ καὶ οἱ δαί[f. 310ra]μονες, εὐθὺς ἀνάστα
εὖξαι καὶ περιπάτησον ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω, κἐκεῖνοι σκορπίζονται ἀπὸ σοῦ.
592.63. Ἀγάπησον τὴν πτωχείαν2 πολὺ καὶ μὴ θέλε ἔχειν λεπτὰς ὕλας
ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σου. Ὅτε γὰρ ζητήσῃ3 πρᾶγμα ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ μὴ εὑρίσκῃ,4
στενάζει καὶ ταπεινοῦται, καὶ τότε παρακαλεῖ αὐτὴν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ διδεῖ
αὐτὴν5 κατάνυξιν. Καὶ ἐπὰν γεύσηται ἡ ψυχὴ τῆς γλυκύτητος τοῦ Θεοῦ
μισεῖ λοιπὸν σχεδὸν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἱμάτιον ὃ φορεῖ καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα αὐτῆς.
592.64. Τοῦτο γὰρ λέγω σοι, τέκνον, ὅτι, ἐὰν μὴ μισήσῃ ἄνθρωπος τὸ
ἴδιον σῶμα ὡς ἐχθρὸν καὶ ἀντίδικον ἐν μηδενὶ ποιῶν τὴν θεραπείαν6 αὐτοῦ
ἕως μικροῦ, οὐ μὴ δυνηθῇ ἐλευθερωθῆναι ἐκ τῆς παγίδος τοῦ διαβόλου. Ἡ
γὰρ παγὶς τοῦ διαβόλου πρὸς τὸν [f. 310rb] ἄνθρωπον καὶ μάλιστα
νεώτερον τὸ σῶμα ἡμῶν ἐστιν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἠσαΐας παραγγέλλει
λέγων· Μὴ κρατήσῃς χεῖρα τινός, μηδὲ ἐγγίσῃς σῶμα ἀλλότριον ἐκτὸς7
ἀσθενείας μεγάλης καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ φόβου, μηδὲ προσεγγίσῃς χεῖρα8
ἀλλοτρία, μηδὲ προσκυνήσῃ9 σε, μηδὲ εἴπῃς ποτὲ τινὰ ἆραι φθεῖρα ἀπὸ
τοῦ πώγωνος ἢ τῆς κεφαλῆς σου ἢ ἐκ τοῦ ἱματίου σου, μηδὲ συγκοιμηθῇς
πλησίον τινὸς τὸ σύνολον ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ζωῇ σου, μηδὲ δώσῃς ἀσπασμὸν
παιδίον10 μὴ ἔχοντι γένειον, μηδὲ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ μηδὲ ἐρχομένῳ ἀπὸ
ξένης, μηδὲ συγγελάσῃς παιδίῳ, ἵνα μή σου ἀπόληται11 ἡ ψυχή. Μηδὲ
πλησίον αὐτοῦ καθίσῃς ἢ περιπατήσῃς [f. 310va] ἢ ἐγγίσεται ἀλλήλους,
μηδὲ ἐν ταῖς χρείαις τῆς γαστρός σου καθίσῃς ὅλως μετὰ ἑτέρου· ὁ γὰρ
ἀληθινὸς εὐλαβὴς αἰσχύνεται καὶ ἑαυτόν. Πολλοὶ γὰρ καταφρονήσαντες
τῶν πραγμάτων τούτων ὡς μηδαμινῶν ἔπεσον ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰς βόθρον καὶ
1
καὶ φυλάξῃς ἑαυτὸν] om S 2
πτωχείαν] πτωχίαν C 3
ζητήσῃ] ζητήσει S
4
εὑρίσκῃ] εὑρίσκει S 5
διδεῖ αὐτὴν] δίδωσιν αὐτῇ S 6
θεραπείαν] θεραπίαν C
7
ἐκτὸς] ἐκ τῆς C 8
χεῖρα] χεὶρ S 9
προσκυνήσῃ] προσκνήσι C (προσκνήθω, scratch?)
10
δώσῃς ἀσπασμὸν παιδίον] δώσεις ἀσπασμὸν παιδίῳ S 11
ἀπόληται] ἀπώληται C
N.592 427
N.592.62
When Satan sees God being merciful to you and granting sorrow for sin to
your soul, then he proposes some necessary task to you in your cell, saying:
“Do this today for there is need of it”, or “go and visit so-and-so for he is
ill.” All these things he does to deny you the free time to enjoy the luxury
of grief. But if you are aware of the guile of Satan and are on your guard,
persisting in prayer with sorrow for sin, then expect temptation immedi-
ately, either from men or from demons, for Satan fights bitterly against a
man at the moment when the man is fighting manfully. Anger eliminates
sorrow for sin and humility of the soul more than all other things. There
are times when logismoi and demons are swirling around you while you are
sitting [in your cell]. Get up at once and pray; walk around outside and
they will be scattered away from you.
N.592.63
Be in love with poverty and do not desire to have the slightest material
object in your cell. When the soul seeks for some object and does not find
it, it groans and is humbled. At that point God comforts it and grants it
sorrow for sin. And once the soul tastes the sweetness of God, it almost
hates the very garment it is wearing and even its own body.
N.592.64
I am telling you this, my son, because unless a man hate his own body like
an enemy and an adversary, not caring for it in any way, not even a little
bit, he is incapable of being liberated from the snare of the devil. For the snare
of the devil for [catching] a man (and especially a younger one) is our body,
just as Abba Isaiah proclaims, saying: “Do not hold hands with anybody;
do not go near another’s body, except in the case of severe illness – and
then with fear. Let not another’s hand approach you or caress you and never
tell anybody to remove lice from your beard, your head or your clothing.
Never in your life sleep at all close to anyone; do not give a kiss to a
beardless youth, neither in the church itself nor to one coming from
abroad. Laugh not with a youth lest your soul be lost; do not sit beside
him or go for walks with him or get close to each other. In attending to
the necessities of your belly, definitely do not sit with another person, for
the truly devout is even ashamed of his own person. For many who
spurned these considerations as of no account have fallen into the ditch
ἀπώλοντο. Ἕκαστον γὰρ μέγα κακὸν ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἄρχεται καὶ τότε
γίνεται μέγα. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος συνετίσει ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸν φόβον αὐτοῦ.
593. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι γέγραπται περὶ1 Σολομῶντος ὅτι φιλογύναιος ἦν.
Καὶ πάνυ μὲν ἄρρεν φιλεῖ τὸ θῆλυ ἀλλὰ ἀναγκάζομεν τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἡμῶν
καὶ βασανίζομεν τὴν φύσιν εἰς ἁγνείαν μᾶλλον καὶ μὴ2 εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν
τοιαύτην ἐμπεσεῖν.
594. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐὰν θέλῃ τὶς ἡσυχάσαι, ἢ εἰς ἔρημον οἰκήσει ἢ εἰς
λαύραν [f. 310vb] ἐν μέσῳ3 πολλῶν ἀδελφῶν· ἐὰν δὲ οἰκήσῃ εἰς τόπον
ἐγγύτερον, καὶ παραμέρος εὑρίσκει πολλὴν ὄχλησιν· ὅταν γάρ τις ἔλθῃ εἰς
τὸν τόπον, ἀνάγκην ἔχει ὑπαντῆσαι αὐτῷ–οὐ γὰρ ἔχει ποῦ ἀνα-
παυθῆναι4 ἀλλῇ· ἐὰν δὲ εἰς τόπον μέγαν5 ᾖς, κἂν σὺ μὴ δέξῃ αὐτὸν, οὐ
θλίβεταί σου ὁ λογισμός· εὑρίσκει γὰρ ἀλλαχοῦ ἀνάπαυσιν καὶ τὸ πλῆθος
τῶν ἀδελφῶν γίνεταί σοι σκέπη καὶ δύνῃ ἀναπαυθῆναι.6
595. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἔπαρον τοὺς πειρασμοὺς καὶ οὐδεὶς ἅγιος· ὁ γὰρ
φεύγων πειρασμὸν ἐπωφελῆ φεύγει ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Τοὺς γὰρ στεφάνους
τοῖς ἁγίοις οἱ πειρασμοὶ προεξένησαν.
596.1 Διηγήσατο ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ὁ Σκητιώτης ὅτι ἀδελφὸς ποτὲ ἐν

Αἰγύπτῳ διάγων περιεπάτει ἐν ὁδῷ καὶ ἑσπέρας αὐτὸν [f. 311ra] κατα-
λαβούσης εἰσῆλθεν εἰς μνημεῖον κοιμηθῆναι διὰ τὸ ψύχος καὶ παρ-
ερχομένων δαιμόνων λέγει ὁ εἷς πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον· Βλέπεις ποῖον θάρσος
ἔχει ὁ μοναχὸς οὗτος, ὅτι εἰς τὸ μνημεῖον κοιμᾶται; Δεῦρο, σιάνωμεν
αὐτόν. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἄλλος· Τί θέλωμεν σιάναι αὐτόν; οὗτος ἡμέτερός
ἐστι ποιῶν τὰ θελήματα ἡμῶν, τρώγων καὶ πίνων καὶ καταλαλῶν καὶ τῆς
συνάξεως ἀμελῶν. Μᾶλλον ἀνθ᾿ οὗ ἐξαργοῦμεν εἰς τοῦτον, ἄγωμεν ἂς
θλίψωμεν τοὺς θλίβοντας ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τῆς εὐχῆς πολεμοῦντας ἡμᾶς νύκτα
καὶ ἡμέραν.
1
περὶ] τοῦ add S 2
καὶ μὴ] οὐκ S 3
ἐν μέσῳ] μέσον S
4
ἀναπαυθῆναι] ἀναπαυῆναι S 5
μέγαν] μέγας C 6
ἀναπαυθῆναι] ἀναπαυῆναι S
N.593–6 429
because of them and have been lost. Each great evil sets out as a small
one and then becomes great, but the Lord will instruct us in his fear.”
N.593
An elder said: “It is written of Solomon that he loved women and many a
male loves the female but we suppress our logismoi and coerce our nature
towards purity and not to fall into that kind of desire.”
N.594
An elder said: “If someone wishes to practise hêsychia, he will live either in
the desert or at a lavra, among many brothers. If he dwells in a less remote
place, he will have many distractions on a daily basis, for when somebody
comes there, he must take him in because that person has nowhere else to
lay his head. If you were in a large place, your logismos would not be
distressed even though you did not take him in yourself, for he would find
a place to sleep elsewhere. The numerous brothers become your protection
and you can be at rest.”
N.595
An elder said: “Take away temptations and nobody is holy, for he who
flees from beneficial temptation flees eternal life. It was temptations that
procured crowns for the saints.”
N.596.1
Abba Daniel the Scetiote told how there was once a brother living in Egypt
who was walking in the way. When evening overtook him he went into a
tomb to sleep because of the cold. Demons came by and one said to the
other: “Do you see what audacity this monk has who is sleeping in the
tomb? Come, let us do him a mischief.” “Why would we want to do him a
mischief? He is ours already, doing our will, eating, drinking, backbiting,
neglecting his act of worship”, the other replied. “Rather than waste our
time on him, let us go torment those who torment us, fighting against us
by day and by night with their prayers.”
596.3 Bίος τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δανιὴλ τοῦ Σκητιώτου

Ἦν τὶς γέρων ἐν Σκήτει ὀνόματι Δανιὴλ καὶ εἶχε μαθητήν. Συνῴκη
[f. 311rb]σε δὲ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ ἀδελφὸς ὀνόματι Σέργιος ὀλίγον χρόνον
καὶ ἐκοιμήθη ἐν Κυρίῳ. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Σεργίου
ἔδωκεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ παρρησίαν, ἠγάπα γὰρ αὐτόν.
Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν λαμβάνει ὁ γέρων τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἀνέρχονται ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ – ἔθος γάρ ἐστι τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τῆς Σκήτεως
ἀνέρχεσθαι πρὸς τὸν πάπαν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἑορτῇ. Καὶ ἔφθασαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν
περὶ ὥραν ἐνδεκάτην καὶ ὡς περιπατοῦσιν εἰς τὸν δρόμον, βλέπουσιν
ἀδελφὸν γυμνὸν περιεζωσμένον καμψαρικὸν ἐπὶ τῶν ψoῶν1 αὐτοῦ. Ἦν δὲ
ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκεῖνος προσποιούμενος σαλὸν καὶ ἦσαν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἄλλοι
σαλοί. Καὶ [f. 311va] περιῆγεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὡς σαλὸς καὶ ἐξηχευόμενος καὶ
ἁρπάζων τὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς καὶ παρέχων τοῖς ἄλλοις σαλοῖς. Εἶχε δὲ καὶ
ὄνομα Μάρκος ὁ τοῦ ἵππου, – δημόσιον δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἵππος· ἐκεῖ ἔκαμνεν ὁ
Μάρκος ὁ σαλὸς καὶ κατέλυεν ἑκατὸν νουμία τῆς ἡμέρας, ἐκεῖ2 ἐκοιμᾶτο εἰς
τὰ σκαμνία. Ἐκ τῶν ἑκατὸν3 δὲ νουμίων ἠγόραζεν ἑαυτῷ ἀννῶναν δώδεκα
νουμίων καὶ τὰ ἄλλα παρεῖχε τοῖς ἄλλοις σαλοῖς.
Πᾶσα δὲ ἡ πόλις ἐγνώριζε Μάρκον τὸν τοῦ ἵππου διὰ τὴν ἐξηχίαν
αὐτοῦ. Λέγει δὲ ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ὕπαγε ἴδε ποῦ καταλύει ὁ
σαλὸς ἐκεῖνος. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν ἠρώτησε καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Εἰς τὸν ἵππον·
σαλὸς γάρ ἐστιν. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ συντάξασθαι τῷ πάπᾳ ὁ γέρων, τῇ [f. 311vb]
ἄλλῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν Θεοῦ εὗρε Μάρκον τὸν σαλὸν εἰς τὸ τετρά-
πυλον τὸ μέγα. Καὶ δραμὼν ὁ γέρων ἐδράξατο αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤρξατο κράζειν
λέγων· Ἄνδρες Ἀλεξανδρεῖς, βοηθεῖτε. Ὁ δὲ σαλὸς κατέπαιζε τοῦ γέρον-
τος. Συνήχθη δὲ πλῆθος πολὺ ἐπ᾿ αὐτούς, ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς εὐλαβηθεὶς ἀπὸ
μακρόθεν ἕστηκεν, καὶ πάντες ἔλεγον τῷ γέροντι· Μὴ πάσχε ὕβριν, σαλός
ἐστιν. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Ὑμεῖς ἐστὲ σαλοί. Σήμερον γὰρ οὐχ εὗρον
ἄνθρωπον ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ εἰ μὴ τοῦτον. Ἔφθασαν δὲ καὶ κληρικοὶ τῆς
ἐκκλησίας γνωρίζοντες τὸν γέροντα καὶ λέγουσι αὐτῷ· Τίποτέ σοι ἐποίη-
σεν ὁ σαλὸς οὗτος; Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Ἄρατέ μοι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν
πάπαν. Καὶ ἔλαβον αὐτόν. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων [f. 312ra] τῷ πάπᾳ· Σήμερον
ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ σκεῦος τοιοῦτον οὐκ ἔστιν. Ὁ δὲ πάπας γνοὺς ὅτι ἀπὸ
τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπληροφορήθη περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁ γέρων, ῥίπτει ἑαυτὸν εἰς τοὺς
πόδας τοῦ σαλοῦ καὶ ἤρξατο ἐνορκίζειν αὐτὸν φανερῶσαι ἑαυτὸν αὐτοῖς
τίς ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ ἐλθὼν εἰς ἑαυτὸν ὡμολόγησε λέγων ὅτι μοναχὸς ἤμην καὶ
κατεκυριεύθην ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς πορνείας ἔτη δεκαπέντε. Καὶ ἐλθὼν
1
ψoῶν] ψωῶν C 2
ἐκεῖ] καὶ ἐκεῖ S 3
ἑκατὸν] ἑκατῶν C
N.596 431
N.596.3 cf. BHG 2099z, 2254–5, Marcus salus seu stultus

Alexandriae
The life of Abba Daniel the Scetiote
There was an elder at Scete named Daniel and he had a disciple. A brother
named Sergios lived with Daniel’s disciple for a little time; then he fell
asleep in the Lord. After the death of brother Sergios, Abba Daniel
permitted his disciple to speak freely, for he loved him.
One day the elder took his disciple and came up to Alexandria, for it is
customary for the higoumen of Scete to come up to the pope [of Alexan-
dria] at the great feast [of Easter]. They arrived in the city towards the
eleventh hour and, as they were walking along the way, they saw a naked
brother wearing a bath-attendant’s loincloth about his loins. It was that
brother who used to pretend to be insane and there were other insane
persons with him. The brother went around as one who is insane, uttering
senseless sounds, snatching away things in the marketplace and giving
them to the other insane persons. He had the name of “Mark of the
Hippos”, for the Hippos is a public building; that was where Mark the
insane toiled away, making one hundred noumia a day, and that was
where he slept, on the benches. Out of his hundred noumia, he bought
provisions for himself with twelve noumia; the rest he gave to the other
insane persons.
The entire city knew Mark of the Hippos because of the senseless
sounds he made. The elder said to his disciple: “Go and see where that
insane fellow is lodging”, so he went and asked and they told him: “At the
Hippos, for he is insane.” Next day, after paying his compliments to
the pope, by the providence of God, the elder found Mark the Fool at
the great Tetrapylon [gate]. The elder ran up and laid hands on him and
began to call out: “Oh, men of Alexandria, help! The insane one was
mocking the elder.” A large crowd gathered around them (the disciple was
discreetly standing some distance away) and everybody was saying to the
elder: “Do not take offence: he is insane.” The elder said to them: “It is you
who are insane, for I have not found a man in the city today other than this
one.” Then some clergy of the church who recognised the elder arrived and
they said to him: “What on earth has this insane fellow done to you?” The
elder said to them: “Take him to the pope for me”, and they took him.
εἰς ἑαυτὸν λέγω· Μάρκε, δεκαπέντε ἔτη ἐδούλευσας τῷ ἐχθρῷ, δεῦρο τὰ
ὅμοια δούλευσον τῷ Χριστῷ. Καὶ ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὸ Πέμπτον καὶ ἐκεῖ ἔμεινα
ὀκτὼ ἔτη. Καὶ μετὰ τὰ ὀκτὼ ἔτη λέγω ἐν ἐμαυτῷ· Δεῦρο εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν
πόλιν καὶ ποίησον ἑαυτὸν σαλὸν ἄλλα ὀκτὼ ἔτη. Καὶ ἰδοὺ [f. 312rb]
σήμερον πληροῦταί μου τὰ ὀκτὼ ἔτη τοῦ σαλοῦ. Καὶ ἔκλαυσαν
ὁμοθυμαδὸν πάντες.
Ἐκοιμήθη δὲ ὁ Μάρκος εἰς τὸ ἐπισκοπεῖον μετὰ τοῦ γέροντος καὶ ὅτε
ἐγένετο ἡμέρα,1 λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ἀδελφέ, φώνησόν μοι
τὸν ἀββᾶν Μάρκον, ὥστε ποιῆσαι ἡμῖν εὐχὴν τοῦ ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὸ κελλίον
ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ὁ μαθητὴς εὗρεν αὐτὸν κοιμηθέντα ἐν Κυρίῳ, καὶ
ἐλθὼν ἀνήγγειλε τῷ γέροντι ὅτι ὁ ἀββᾶς Μάρκος ἐτελειώθη. Ὁ δὲ γέρων
ἀνήγγειλε τῷ πάπᾳ καὶ ὁ πάπας τῷ στρατηλάτῃ καὶ κελεύει ἄπρακτα
γενέσθαι ἐν τῇ πόλει. Καὶ πέμπει ὁ γέρων τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ Σκήτει
λέγων· Κρούσατε κρούσμα καὶ συνάξατε τοὺς πατέρας καὶ εἴπατε αὐτοῖς·
[f. 312va] Ἔλθετε καὶ εὐλογήθητε παρὰ τοῦ γέροντος. Καὶ ἀνέβη πᾶσα ἡ
Σκῆτις ἀσπροφοροῦντες μετὰ κλάδων καὶ βαΐων, ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ Ἔνατον2
καὶ τὰ Κελλία καὶ οἱ εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Νιτρίας, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ λαῦραι αἱ κατὰ
Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, ὥστε τὸ λείψανον ἐπὶ πέντε ἡμέρας μὴ ταφῆναι καὶ ἀνα-
γκασθῆναι αὐτοὺς σμυρνίσαι τὸ λείψανον τοῦ μακαρίου Μάρκου. Καὶ
πᾶσα ἡ πόλις μετὰ κλάδων καὶ κηρῶν καὶ δακρύων τὴν μέσην ῥαντίζοντες
ἐξεκόμισαν τὸ λείψανον3 τοῦ μακαρίου Μάρκου τοῦ σαλοῦ δοξάζοντες καὶ
αἰνοῦντες τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεὸν τὸν διδόντα τοσαύτην χάριν καὶ δόξαν
τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτὸν καὶ4 νῦν καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
596.4 [f. 312vb] Περὶ τοῦ μακαρίου συναδελφοῦ τοῦ ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων
Ἄλλοτε πάλιν ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ μετὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀνέβη ἐν Ἀλεξ-
ανδρείᾳ καὶ θεωρεῖ ὁ γέρων ἄνθρωπον ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων γυμνόν, καθήμενον
εἰς τὴν πλατείαν καὶ λέγοντα· Δότε, ἐλεεῖτε. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ
αὐτοῦ· Βλέπεις τὸν ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων τοῦτον; Λέγω σοι ὅτι μεγάλων μέτρων
ἐστίν. Θέλεις οὖν ὑποδείξω σοι τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ; Μεῖνον ἐνταῦθα. Καὶ
ἀπέρχεται ὁ γέρων καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ποίησον ἀγάπην εἰς ἐμέ, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι
οὐκ ἔχω πόθεν ἀγοράσαι μοι βαΐα τοῦ καμεῖν καὶ τραφῆναι. Καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ ὁ ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων· Τί εἶδες εἰς ἐμέ, ἀββᾶ; Βλέπεις μὲ γυμνὸν καὶ
1
ἐγένετο ἡμέρα] ἡμέρα ἐγένετο S 2
Ἔνατον] Ἔννατον C
3
τὸ λείψανον] τὸ τίμιον λείψανον S 4
καὶ] ὅτι αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἡ βασιλεία S
N.596 433
[Then] the elder said to the pope: “There is no such vessel [of grace] in this
city today.” Knowing that the elder had been informed by God concerning
the insane man, the pope threw himself at the feet of the insane and began
adjuring him to reveal to them who he was. He, coming to his senses,
confessed, saying: “I was a monk, and the demon of porneia lorded it over
me for fifteen years. Coming to my senses, I said: ‘Mark, you have served
the enemy for fifteen years; come now, serve Christ in the similar way.’
I went to the Fifth [milepost] and stayed there for eight years; then, after
eight years, I said to myself: ‘Come now, go into the city and make yourself
insane for another eight years’, and behold, this day the eight years of my
insanity are complete.” They all wept with one accord.
Mark slept at the episcopal residence and so did the elder. When it was
day, the elder said to his disciple: “Brother, call Abba Mark for me, to offer
a prayer on our behalf so we can depart for our cell.” The disciple went and
found that [Mark] had fallen asleep in the Lord, so he came and
announced to the elder that Abba Mark had died. The elder reported it
to the pope and the pope to the general officer commanding, ordering no
work to be done in the city. The elder sent his disciple to Scete saying:
“Sound the signal, gather the fathers together and say to them: ‘Come and
be blessed by the elder.’” The whole of Scete rose up, wearing white,
carrying branches and palm fronds, together with [the monks] of the
Ninth [milepost] and of The Cells and of the mountain of Nitria and all
the lavras throughout Alexandria; which meant that the remains were five
days unburied, so they had to embalm the relics of the blessed Mark. Then
the entire city, with branches, candles and tears, sprinkling the main street,
carried out the venerable remains of the blessed Mark the insane, glorifying
and praising God, the lover of men, who endows those who love him with
such grace and glory, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
N.596.4 BHG 2102, de mendico cæco

The blessed brother who was blind
On another occasion when Abba Daniel went up to Alexandria with his
disciple, the elder observed a blind man who was naked, sitting in the
square and saying: “Give; be merciful.” The elder said to his disciple: “You
see that blind man? I tell you, he is a person of great stature. Would you
like me to show you what kind of a man he is? Wait here.” The elder went
προσαίτην καὶ λέγεις δός1 μοι ἵνα ἀγορά[f. 313ra]σω βαΐα καὶ κάμω; Ὅμως
δὲ περίμεινον. Καὶ νεύει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ ἀκολουθῆσαι. Καὶ
ἀπέρχονται εἰς τὸν Ἅγιον Μάρκον ἔξω τῆς πόλεως – ἐκεῖ γὰρ εἶχε τὸ
κελλίον αὐτοῦ2 – καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Περίμεινόν με, ἀββᾶ. Καὶ
εἰσέρχεται καὶ φέρει τῷ γέροντι μαλάκιν ἔχον σταφίδας, ῥόας,3 ἰσχάδας
καὶ τρία κεράτια κέρματος. Καὶ ἐκβαλὼν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἓν
τριμίσιν ἔδωκε τῷ γέροντι λέγων· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἀββᾶ. Καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ
γέρων πρὸς τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ ἔκλαυσε λέγων· Πόσους κρυπτοὺς ἔχει ὁ
Θεός. Ζῇ οὖν Κύριος. Οὐ μὴ ἀποστρέψω τίποτε τῆς εὐλογίας, ὅτι ἀγάπη
ἐστίν.
Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἀναχωρῆσαι αὐτοὺς ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, μετ᾿ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἀκούου-
σιν ὅτι ὁ μέγας οἰκονό[f. 313rb]μος πονεῖ τὸ ἧπαρ αὐτοῦ δεινῶς καὶ
ἀνάκειται εἰς τὸν Ἅγιον Μάρκον. Καὶ παραφαίνεται4 αὐτῷ ὁ ἅγιος
Μάρκος ὁ ἀπόστολος καὶ εὐαγγελιστὴς λέγων αὐτῷ· Πέμψον φέρε τόνδε
τῶν ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων καὶ ἐπιθήσει τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν τόπον τοῦ πόνου
καὶ ὑγιαίνεις. Καὶ πέμψας τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ παῖδας ἔλαβεν αὐτὸν μετὰ παρα-
κλήσεως καὶ βίας· καὶ εὐξαμένου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπιθέντος τὴν χεῖρα παρα-
χρῆμα διεφορήθη ὁ πόνος. Καὶ ἀκουστὸν ἐγένετο ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει καὶ
ἀκούσας ὁ πάπας ἐξῆλθεν ἰδεῖν τὸν5 ἀπὸ ὀμμάτων καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὸν
κοιμηθέντα ἐν Κυρίῳ. Καὶ ἀκουστὸν ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ Σκήτει καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ
πόλει6 καὶ ἀνέβη ὁ γέρων μετὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν
πατέρων συνανέβησαν με[f. 313va]τ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ εὐλογήθησαν παρὰ τοῦ
μακαρίου συναδελφοῦ. Καὶ πᾶσα σχεδὸν ἡ πόλις ἐξῆλθεν καὶ εὐλογηθέντες
ἐξεκόμισαν μετ᾿ εὐχαριστίας καὶ δοξολογίας τὸ τίμιον αὐτοῦ λείψανον καὶ
κατέθηκαν αὐτὸν ἐπάνω τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μάρκου τοῦ σαλοῦ. Ὁ δὲ βίος αὐτοῦ
οὕτως7 ἦν, εἴ τι ἐδέχετο ἀγάπην, ἠγόραζεν ἐξ αὐτῶν μῆλα, σταφίδας,
ῥόας8 καὶ ἐρρόγευε9 δι᾿ ἄλλου τινὸς ἐν τοῖς ξενῶσι τοῖς ἀρρώστοις κατὰ
Κυριακήν. Τεσσαράκοντα ὀκτὼ δὲ ἔτη ἐκτήσατο τὴν ἀρετὴν ταύτην τῆς
διακονίας10 εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ.
1
δός] om C 2
αὐτοῦ] om C 3
ῥόας] ῥοιάς S
4
παραφαίνεται corr] παραφέρετε C and S (φαίνεται in ed. Britt Dahlman)
5
τὸν] τῶν C 6
καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ πόλει] om S 7
οὕτως] οὕτoς S 8
ῥόας] ῥοιάς S
9
ἐρρόγευε corr] ἐρόγευε C and S 10
ταύτην τῆς διακονίας] τῆς διακονίας ταύτης S
N.596 435
and said to him: “Do me a favour brother, for I have nowhere to buy palm
leaves to work and feed myself.” “What did you see in me?” the blind man
said to him. “You can see that I am naked and a beggar, yet you are saying
to me: ‘Give me [some money] that I may buy palm leaves and work?’
Nevertheless, wait” – and the elder signalled his disciple to follow. They
went off to Saint Mark’s, outside the city, for there he had his cell. Saying
to the elder: “Wait for me abba”, he went in and brought the elder a basket
containing raisins, pomegranates, dried figs and three pieces of small
change. He took one-third of a gold piece out of his mouth and gave it
to the elder, saying: “Pray for me, abba.” Coming to his disciple, the elder
wept, saying: “How many hidden [servants] God has! As the Lord lives,
I shall not refuse any of [this] gift because it is charity.”
Some days later, after they had left him, they heard that the Great
Oikonomos was suffering painfully with his liver and that he was laid up at
Saint Mark’s. The holy apostle and evangelist Mark appeared to him and
said: “Send and bring that blind man; he will lay his hand on the place
where the pain is and you will be healed.” Sending his own slaves, he seized
him with entreaty and coercion. When he had prayed and layed on his
hand, suddenly the pain was dispelled – and this became known in the
whole city. When the pope heard of it, he went to see the blind man, and
found him asleep in the Lord. This became known at Scete and through-
out the whole city. The elder went up with his disciple and many of the
fathers went up with them and they received a benediction from the
blessed confrère. Almost the entire city went out and when they had
received a benediction, they carried out his venerable remains with [hymns
of] thanksgiving and glory. They set him on top of [those of] Abba Mark
the Fool. Such was [the brother’s way of] life: whenever he received
charity, he would buy apples, raisins and pomegranates with it and these
he would distribute (by another’s hand) each Sunday among the sick
people in hospices. He kept up this virtuous service for forty-eight years,
to the glory of God.
596.5 Περὶ1 ἁγίας τινὸς καὶ σώφρονος κόρης

Ὁ αὐτὸς ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ἀνέβη μετὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ καὶ
διατριβόντων αὐτῶν ἐκεῖσε γέγονε πρᾶ[f. 313vb]γμα τοιοῦτον. Ἀββᾶς τὶς
τοῦ Ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου Ἀλεξανδρείας ἔσχεν υἱὸν καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἔσχε
γυναῖκα κόρην ὡς ἐτῶν δεκαοκτὼ καὶ ἔμενεν μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἦν
δὲ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἁλιεύς. Ὁ δὲ ἐχθρὸς τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν διάβολος ἤγειρε
πόλεμον σαρκικὸν τῷ ἀββᾷ πρὸς τὴν νύμφην αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐζήτει εὐκαιρίαν
τοῦ συγγενέσθαι μετ᾿ αὐτῆς καὶ οὐχ εὕρισκεν. Ἤρξατο οὖν καταφιλεῖν
αὐτὴν συνεχῶς καὶ ἡ κόρη ἠνείχετο αὐτοῦ ὡς πατρός.
Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἦλθον ἁλιεῖς ἐννύχιον καὶ κράζουσι τὸν νεώ-
τερον, ἵνα ἀπελθόντες ἁλιεύσωσι. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἀναχωρῆσαι τὸν νεώτερον
ἀνέστη ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τῆς κόρης καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ κόρη· Τί ἐστι
τοῦτο, πάτερ; Ὕπαγε κατασφράγισαι· διαβολικὸν γάρ ἐστι τοῦ[f. 314ra]το
τὸ ἔργον. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἠνείχετο ἀπελθεῖν καὶ πολλὰ πυκτεύσας οὐκ ἠνείχετο
αὐτοῦ ἡ κόρη. Ἐκρέματο οὖν ἐπάνω τοῦ κραββάτου τὸ σπαθίον τοῦ υἱοῦ
αὐτοῦ καὶ θέλων αὐτὴν φοβερίσαι γυμνοῖ τὸ σπαθὶν κατ᾿ αὐτῆς λέγων· Ἐὰν
μὴ ἀκούσῃς μου, μετὰ τοῦ σπαθίου τούτου διδῶ σε. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Ἐὰν δεῖ με μέλος μέλος2 γενέσθαι, τὸ παράνομον πρᾶγμα τοῦτο οὐδέποτε
ποιῶ. Καὶ ὀργισθεὶς μετὰ θυμοῦ πέμπει ἄφνω τὸ σπαθὶν3 – κατακυριευθεὶς
ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου – καὶ κατασπᾷ τὴν κόρην κατὰ τῶν αὐτῆς ψoῶν4 καὶ
διχοτομεῖ αὐτήν. Καὶ εὐθέως ἐτύφλωσεν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ περιῆγε ζητῶν
τὴν θύραν καὶ οὐχ εὕρισκεν.
Ἔρχονται οὖν ἄλλοι ἁλιεῖς ζητοῦντες τὸν νεώτερον τὸ [f. 314rb] διά-
φαυμα5 καὶ βαλόντες αὐτῷ φωνὴν ἀπεκρίθη ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ· Ὑπάγει
ἁλιεῦσαι. Ποῦ οὖν ἔστιν ἡ θύρα ὅτι οὐ βλέπω; Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ὧδέ
ἐστι. Καὶ ἀνοιξάντων αὐτῶν καὶ εἰσελθόντων βλέπουσι τὸ πτῶμα τὸ
γεγονός. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Κρατήσατέ με καὶ παράδοτε ὅτι φόνον
πεποίηκα. Καὶ παραλαβόντες αὐτὸν παρέδωκαν τῷ ἄρχοντι τῆς πόλεως.
Καὶ ὁ ἄρχων ἐξετάσας καὶ γνοὺς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν βασανίσας
ἐκόλασεν αὐτόν.
1
Περὶ] + Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ S 2
μέλος] semel S
3
μετὰ θυμοῦ πέμπει ἄφνω τὸ σπαθὶν] πέμπει ἄφνω μετὰ θυμοῦ τὸ σπαθὴν S
4
ψoῶν] ψωῶν C
5
ζητοῦντες τὸν νεώτερον τὸ διάφαυμα] τὸ διάφαυμα ζητοῦντες τὸν νεώτερον S
N.596 437
N.596.5 BHG 2453, 2453b 1 epilogus Taïs Alexandrina

A holy and chaste young woman
The same Abba Daniel went up to Alexandria with his disciple and
something like this happened whilst they were staying there. There was
an abba at [the monastery at] the Eighteenth [milepost] from Alexandria
who had a son, and his son had a young woman of about eighteen years
old who lived with his son as his wife. Now the son was a fisherman. The
devil, the enemy of our souls, incited the abba to physical desire for his
daughter-in-law. He began looking for a chance to be [alone] with her but
he did not find one. Then he began kissing her frequently, and the young
woman accepted that, as she would from her own father.
Then one day some fishermen came by night, calling for the young man
to go fishing. After the young man had left, his father made advances to the
young woman. “What are you doing, father?” she said to him. “Go and
make the sign of the cross, for what you are doing is devilish.” He refused
to leave and, even though he struggled, the young woman refused him.
Now his son’s sword was hanging above the bed. Wishing to frighten her,
the father drew the sword on her, saying: “I will let you have it with this
sword if you do not fall in with my wishes.” She said to him: “Even if
I have to be torn limb from limb, I will never do that iniquitous deed.”
Enraged with anger, all of a sudden, he plunged the sword in (he was
under the control of the devil) and drew it down the girl from her loins,
cutting her in two. God instantly struck him blind; he groped around
looking for the door, but he could not find it.
Some other fishermen came at daybreak in search of the young man;
when they shouted to him, his father replied: “He has gone fishing; but
where is the door, for I cannot see?” “It is here”, they said as they opened it
and went in. Then they saw the calamity that had occurred. He said to
them: “Arrest me and turn me in, for I have committed murder.” They
took him and handed him over to the governor of the city. The governor
examined him and learned the whole truth from him, whereupon he
tortured him and put him to death.
Μετὰ ταῦτα λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ἀπέλθωμεν καὶ
ἴδωμεν τὸ λείψανον τῆς κόρης. Καὶ ἐλθόντων αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ Ὀκτωκαιδέκα-
τον Ἀλεξανδρείας ἤκουσαν περὶ αὐτοῦ οἱ πατέρες τοῦ Ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου
[f. 314va] καὶ οἱ μοναχοὶ ὅτι ἔρχεται ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ καὶ ἐξῆλθον εἰς
συνάντησιν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Ποιήσατε εὐχήν, πατέρες.
Οὐ γὰρ θάπτεται τῆς κόρης ταύτης τὸ λείψανον εἰ μὴ μετὰ τῶν πατέρων.
Καί τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν διεγόγγυζον ὡς ὅτι γυναικὸς λείψανον ἐπιτρέπει
θάπτεσθαι1 μετὰ τῶν πατέρων καὶ αὐτῆς φονευθείσης. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς
ὁ γέρων· Αὕτη ἡ κόρη ἀμμᾶς μου καὶ ὑμῶν ἐστιν·2 καὶ γὰρ περὶ3
σωφροσύνης ἀπέθανεν. Τότε λοιπὸν οὐδεὶς ἠναντιώθη4 τῷ γέροντι καὶ
ἔθαψαν αὐτὴν μετὰ τῶν πατέρων. Καὶ ἀσπασάμενος τοὺς πατέρας ὑπέσ-
τρεψεν ὁ γέρων σὺν τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν.
Ἐν μιᾷ οὖν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἀδελφὸς ἐπολεμήθη ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ Σκήτει5 ὑπὸ
[f. 314vb] τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς πορνείας καὶ ἐνοχλούμενος σφοδρῶς ἐλθὼν
ἀνήγγειλε τῷ γέροντι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὕπαγε εἰς τὸ Ὀκτωκαι-
δέκατον Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ παράμεινον ἐπάνω τοῦ κοιμητηρίου τῶν
πατέρων καὶ εἰπέ· ‘Ὁ Θεὸς Θωμαΐδος βοήθησόν μοι καὶ ῥῦσαί με ἐκ
τοῦ πειρασμοῦ τῆς πορνείας’ καὶ ἐλπίζω εἰς τὸν θεὸν ὅτι ἀπαλάσσῃ
ἐκ τοῦ πειρασμοῦ τούτου. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς λαβὼν τὴν εὐχὴν καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν
τοῦ γέροντος ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ Ὀκτωκαιδέκατον καὶ ἐποίησε καθὼς προσέ-
ταξεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων. Καὶ ἐπανελθόντος αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν μετὰ τρεῖς
ἡμέρας προσπίπτει εἰς τοὺς πόδας τοῦ γέροντος καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Διὰ τοῦ
Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν εὐχῶν σου, δέσποτα, ἠλευ[f. 315ra]θερώθην τοῦ πολέμου
τῆς πορνείας. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Πῶς ἠλευθερώθης; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
ἀδελφός· Μόνον ἐποίησα δώδεκα μετανοίας καὶ ἔθηκα ἐμαυτὸν ἐπάνω
τοῦ κοιμητηρίου καὶ ἀφύπνωσα καὶ ἔρχεται μία κόρη καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἀββᾶ,
ἀββᾶ, λάβε τὴν εὐλογίαν ταύτην καὶ ὕπαγε ἐν εἰρήνῃ εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου.
Καὶ λαβὼν τὴν εὐλογίαν καὶ εὐθέως ἐκουφίσθην τοῦ πολέμου καὶ ἔγνων
ὅτι ἠλευθερώθην. Τί δὲ ἦν ἡ εὐλογία οὐκ οἶδα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Τοιαύτην ἔχουσι παρρησίαν παρὰ Θεῷ οἱ ἀγωνιζόμενοι ὑπὲρ τῆς
σωφροσύνης.
1
ἐπιτρέπει θάπτεσθαι] ἐπιτρέπτεσθαι S 2
καὶ ὑμῶν ἐστιν] ἐστιν καὶ ὑμῶν S
3
περὶ] ὑπὲρ S 4
ἠναντιώθη] ἐναντιώθη C 5
ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ Σκήτει] om S
N.596 439
Some time later Abba Daniel said to his disciple: “Let us go and see the
relics of the young woman”, so they went to the Eighteenth [milestone]
from Alexandria. The fathers of the Eighteenth and the monks heard of
him; that is, that Abba Daniel was coming, and they went out to meet
him. The elder said to them: “Offer a prayer, fathers, for the remains of
that young woman are not to be buried except with the fathers.” Some of
them began to grumble about the relics of a woman being permitted burial
with the fathers – and she the victim of a murder! But the elder said to
them: “That young woman is my spiritual mother [amma] and yours, for
she died in the cause of chastity.” Then nobody opposed the elder and they
buried her with the fathers. When he had embraced the fathers, the elder
returned to Scete with his disciple.
Epilogue
One day, a brother of that same Scete was being assailed by the demon of
porneia. In his severe affliction he came and confessed it to the elder. The
elder said to him: “Go to the Eighteenth [milepost] from Alexandria and
wait before the cemetery of the fathers and say: ‘Oh God of Thomaïs, help
me and deliver me from the temptation of porneia.’ My hope is in God
that you will be relieved of this temptation.” Having received the prayer
and the directive of the elder, the brother came to the Eighteenth and did
as the elder had instructed him. When he returned to Scete three days
later, he fell at the elder’s feet and said to him: “Thanks to God and to your
prayers, lord-and-master, I have been released from the assault of porneia.”
The elder said to him: “How were you released?” The brother said to him:
“I had only just made twelve prostrations and lain down before the
cemetery [of the fathers] when I awoke and a young woman came and
said to me: ‘Abba, abba; receive this gift and go in peace to your cell’ and,
when I had received the offering, the assault was stilled and I knew
that I was free of it. I have no idea what the gift was.” The elder said:
“Ah, they have such freedom of access to God, those who strive in the
cause of chastity!”
596.2 Περὶ1 τῆς πατρικίας τῆς μετονομασθείσης εὐνούχου

Εὐνοῦχος ἔμεινεν εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον τῆς [f. 315rb] Σκήτεως· εἶχε δὲ τὸ
κελλίον ὡς ἀπὸ μιλίων2 δέκα καὶ ὀκτὼ τῆς αὐτῆς Σκήτεως. Ἅπαξ οὖν τῆς
ἑβδομάδος παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Δανιὴλ νυκτός, μηδενὸς γινώσκοντος εἰ μὴ
τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ μόνου. Παρήγγειλε δὲ ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ
ἵνα γεμίζῃ κεράμιον ὕδατος τῷ αὐτῷ εὐνούχῳ ἅπαξ τῆς ἑβδομάδος καὶ
ἀποφέρων καὶ τιθὼν τὸ κεράμιον πρὸς τὴν θύραν3 ἔξω. Κροῦε μόνον καὶ
ἀναχώρει, μηδὲ ὅλως ὁμιλῶν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ μόνον ἐπισκέπτου. Καὶ
εἴποτε εὕρῃς ὄστρακον ἔγγιστα τῆς θύρας τοῦ σπηλαίου γεγραμμένον
φέρε αὐτὸ μετὰ σοῦ. Οὕτως οὖν ἐποίει ὁ μαθητὴς ἐκεῖνος. Ἐν4 μιᾷ οὖν τῶν
ἡμερῶν εὑρίσκει ὄστρακον ὁ μαθητὴς ἐπιγεγραμμένον· [f. 315va] Φέρε τὰ
ἐργαλεῖα καὶ δεῦρο μόνος ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ μαθητής σου. Καὶ ἀναγνοὺς ὁ γέρων
τοῦ ὀστράκου τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν ἔκλαυσε κλαυθμὸν μέγαν καὶ λέγει πρὸς τὸν
μαθητήν· Ἀβάλε τῇ ἐσωτέρᾳ ἐρήμῳ ποῖον στῦλον ἐξαφίει σήμερον. Καὶ
λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Βάστα ταῦτα τὰ σκεύη καὶ δεῦρο ἀκολούθει5 μοι.
Οὐαί, ἄγωμεν συντόμως φθάσωμεν τὸν γέροντα, μήποτε στερηθῶμεν τῶν
εὐχῶν αὐτοῦ· πρὸς τὸν Κύριον γὰρ ὁδεύει. Καὶ κλαύσαντες ἀμφότεροι
ἀπῆλθον καὶ εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὸν πυρετῷ σφοδρῷ κατεχόμενον. Καὶ ῥίπτει
ἑαυτὸν ὁ γέρων εἰς τὸ στῆθος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔκλαυσε πολλὰ καὶ εἶπεν·
Μακάριος εἶ ὅτι τὴν ὥραν ταύτην φροντίζων κατεφρόνησας [f. 315vb]
βασιλείας ἐπιγείους καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ εὐνοῦχος·
Μακάριος εἶ σύ, νέε Ἀβραὰμ καὶ ξενοδόχε Χριστοῦ, ὅτι πόσους καρποὺς
δέχεται ὁ Κύριος διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ποίησον
ἡμῖν εὐχήν, πάτερ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ εὐνοῦχος· Ἐγὼ χρείαν ἔχω πολλῶν
εὐχῶν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ προέλαβον ἐγὼ εἰς τὴν
ὥραν ταύτην εἶχον παρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ σοῦ. Καὶ ἀνακαθίσας ἐπὶ τοῦ
ψιαθίου ὁ εὐνοῦχος περιλαμβάνει τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ γέροντος καὶ κατεφίλει
λέγων· Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ὁδηγήσας με ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ, αὐτὸς πληρώσει μετὰ
τοῦ γήρως 6 σου ὡς μετὰ Ἀβραάμ. Καὶ λαβὼν ὁ γέρων τὸν μαθητὴν
αὐτοῦ ἔρριψεν αὐτὸν εἰς7 τὰ γό[f. 316ra]νατα τοῦ εὐνούχου λέγων·
Εὐλόγησον τὸ τέκνον μου, πάτερ. Καὶ καταφιλήσας αὐτὸν λέγει αὐτῷ·
Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παρεστηκώς μοι ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ τοῦ χωρίσαι με ἐκ τοῦ
σώματος τούτου, ὁ εἰδὼς8 πόσα βήματα ἔβαλεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦτο ὁ
1
Περὶ] + Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ S 2
μιλίων] μηλίων C 3
τὴν θύραν] τῇ θύρᾳ S
4
Ἐν] om C 5
ἀκολούθει] ἀκολούθῃ C 6
γήρως] γήρους C 7
εἰς] ἐπὶ S
8
εἰδὼς corr] εἰδῶς S εἰδὼν C
N.596 441
N.596.2 BHG 79, 80 Anastasia patricia sub Iustiniano

The Patrician Lady renamed as a eunuch
There was a eunuch living in the inner desert of Scete: he had his cell about
eighteen miles from Scete itself. Once a week he came to Abba Daniel by
night, unbeknown to anybody except to Daniel’s disciple alone. The elder
told his disciple to fill a pot with water for that same eunuch once a week,
to take the pot and set it down outside the door. “Knock, but no more,
then leave and certainly do not speak to him. But if ever you find a
potsherd with writing on it at the door of the cave, bring it with you.”
And that is what the disciple used to do. Then, one day, the disciple did
find a potsherd on which was written: “Bring your implement and come
alone, except for your disciple.” When the elder read the writing on the
potsherd he broke down into loud weeping and said to the disciple: “Woe
to the inner desert that it is losing such a pillar today!” And he said to his
disciple: “Carry the vessels and follow me right away; woe! – may we reach
the elder in time and not be deprived of his prayers, for he is going to the
Lord.”
Setting out both of them with tears in their eyes, they found [the
eunuch] burning with a high fever. The elder threw himself down on his
breast and wept a great deal, saying: “Blessed are you who, focussing your
attention on this hour [of death] took no account of an earthly kingdom
and of all men.” The eunuch replied: “Blessed are you, a new Abraham and
a guest-master of Christ; how many fruits God receives at these hands!”
The elder said: “Offer a prayer for us.” The eunuch said to him: “I am in
need of many prayers at this hour.” The elder said to him: “If I had already
come to this hour, then could I have interceded for you.” Sitting up on his
mat, the eunuch took the elder’s head [in his hands] and kissed him,
saying: “The God who led me into this place, he will grant you long life, as
he did for Abraham.” The elder took the disciple and set him down at the
eunuch’s knees, saying: “Bless my child, father.” Kissing him, [the eunuch]
said to him: “The God who is standing beside me at this hour to separate
me from this body, he knows how many steps this disciple took to this cell
for your namesake. May the spirit of his fathers rest upon him, even as the
spirit of Elijah came to rest upon Elisha.” Then the eunuch said to the
elder: “For the sake of the Lord, do not strip me of what I am wearing, but
rather send me to the Lord as I am. And do not ever let anybody other
ἀδελφὸς οὗτος διὰ τὸ ὄνομά Σου, αὐτὸς1 ἀνάπαυσον τὸ πνεῦμα τῶν
πατέρων αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ, ὡς ἀνέπαυσας τὸ πνεῦμα Ἠλιοῦ ἐπὶ Ἐλισσαιέ.
Καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι ὁ εὐνοῦχος· Διὰ τὸν Κύριον μὴ ἀποδύσητέ με ἃ
φορῶ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς εἰμί, οὕτως2 μὲ πέμψατε πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ μὴ μάθῃ ἄλλος τίς
ποτε τὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ, εἰ3 μὴ ὑμεῖς μόνοι.4 Καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Δός μοι
κοινωνῆσαι. Καὶ κοινωνήσας λέγει· Δότε μοι τὴν ἐν Χριστῷ ἀγάπην καὶ
εὔξασθε5 ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ἀναβλέπει6 εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ [f. 316rb] καὶ λέγει· Καλῶς
ἤλθετε, ἄγωμεν. Καὶ ἔλαμψε τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς πῦρ. Καὶ ποιεῖ εἰς τὸ
στόμα αὐτοῦ σταυρὸν καὶ λέγει· Εἰς χεῖρας σου ὁ Θεός7 παρατίθημι τὸ
πνεῦμα μου. Καὶ οὕτως παρέδωκε τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ.
Καὶ κλαύσαντες οἱ ἀμφότεροι ὤρυξαν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ σπηλαίου καὶ
ἀποδυσάμενος ὁ γέρων ἃ ἐφόρει, λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ἔνδυσον αὐτὸν
ἐπάνω ὧν φορεῖ. Ἐφόρει δὲ φασκίδιν σεβεντινὸν ἔσωθεν καὶ κεντόνιν.
Ἐνδύων δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς προσέχει καὶ βλέπει ὅτι τὰ βιζία αὐτοῦ
γυναικὸς εἰσίν καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ φύλλων δύο ξηρῶν καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησεν. Καὶ
θάψαντες αὐτὸν ἐποίησαν εὐχήν. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ·
Καταλύσωμεν σήμερον τὴν [f. 316va] νηστείαν καὶ ποιήσωμεν ἀγάπην
ἐπάνω τοῦ γέροντος. Καὶ κοινωνήσαντες εὗρον ἔχοντα αὐτὸν ὀλίγας
παξαμάδας καὶ βρεκτά.
Καὶ ποιήσαντες ἀγάπην ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ καὶ βαστάξαντες τὴν σειρὰν ἣν
ἔκαμνεν, ἦλθον εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ θεῷ εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἑαυτῶν.8 Λέγει ὁ
μαθητὴς τῷ γέροντι· Οἶδας, πάτερ, ὅτι ὁ εὐνοῦχος ἐκεῖνος γυνὴ ἦν;
Ἐνδύων γὰρ αὐτὸν τὰ βιζία αὐτοῦ εἶδον καὶ γυναικὸς ἦσαν ὡς φύλλα
μεμαραμμένα. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οἶδα, τέκνον, ὅτι γυνή ἐστιν. Θέλεις
οὖν ἐξηγήσομαί σοι τὰ περὶ αὐτῆς; Ἄκουσον.9 Αὕτη πρώτη πατρικία ἦν
τοῦ παλατίου καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουστινιανὸς ἠθέλησε λαβεῖν αὐτὴν ἐν τῷ
παλατίῳ διὰ τὴν πολ[f. 316vb]λὴν σύνεσιν αὐτῆς. Μανθάνει οὖν ἡ
Θεοδώρα καὶ ἀγανακτεῖ καὶ ἐβούλετο ἐξορίσαι αὐτήν. Γνωστὸν δὲ αὐτῇ
ἐγένετο περὶ τούτου καὶ μισθοῦται πλοῖον καὶ νυκτὸς ἐμβαλομένη τινὰ
τῶν αὐτῆς πραγμάτων καὶ φυγῇ χρησαμένη καταλαμβάνει τὴν Ἀλεξάν-
δρειαν καὶ κατοικεῖ εἰς τὸ Πέμπτον Ἀλεξανδρείας, ἐν οἷς καὶ συνεστήσατο
ἐκεῖ μοναστήριον, καὶ10 λέγεται ἕως τῆς σήμερον τὸ Τῆς Πατρικίας. Καὶ
1
αὐτὸς] om C 2
εἰ] ἠ C 4
ὑμεῖς μόνοι] μόνοι ὑμεῖς S
5
εὔξασθε]εὔξασθαι C 6
ἀναβλέπει] εἰς ἀνατολὰς καὶ add S 7
ὁ θεός] om S
8
ἑαυτῶν.] Ὁδευόντων δὲ αὐτῶν add S 9
Ἄκουσον] Ἰδοὺ, ἄκουσον S
10
ἐκεῖ μοναστήριον, καὶ] μοναστήριον ἐκεῖ ὁ καὶ S
N.596 443
than the two of you know about me.” Then he said to the elder: “Give
me communion.” When he had communicated, he said: “Give me the
[sign of] love in Christ and pray for me”, then looking to the right, he said:
“You are welcome; let us go.” With his face shining like fire, he made the
sign of the cross on his mouth and said: “Into your hands, oh God,
I commend my spirit” [Lk 23:46], and thus he surrendered his soul to
the Lord.
They both wept, then they dug a grave before the cave. The elder took
off what he was wearing and said to his disciple: “Dress him in this on top
of what he is wearing” – he was wearing an undergarment of palm fibre
and a patched cloak. While the brother was dressing him, he looked and
saw that he had the breasts of a woman, like two dried-out leaves, but he
said nothing. When they had buried him they offered the prayer and the
elder said to his disciple: “Let us break our fast today and hold a love feast
in the presence of the elder.” After receiving communion they discovered
that [the eunuch] had a few dry loaves and some lentils. They held the love
feast in his presence and, carrying the rope he had fashioned, they came to
their own cell, with thanksgiving to God.
“Father, do you know that this eunuch was a woman?” the disciple said
to the elder. “I saw his breasts when I was dressing him and they were a
woman’s, like withered leaves.” The elder said to him: “I do know that it is
a woman, my son. Do you want me to tell you all about her? Listen. She
was the first lady of patrician rank in the palatine order. The emperor
Justinian wanted to have her in the palace on account of her fine intelli-
gence but, when Theodora learnt of this, she was angry and wished to send
her into exile. When [the lady] got wind of this, she hired a vessel, put
some of her things aboard by night and fled. She reached Alexandria and
took up residence at the Fifth [milestone] where she built a monastery,
known to this day as Patricia’s [monastery]. After Theodora died, again she
learnt that the emperor wished to summon her [to his presence]. Again she
fled by night from Alexandria. She came here, close by me, all alone and
begged me to give her a cell outside Scete, explaining the whole situation
to me in minute detail. I gave her that cave and she changed into man’s
clothing. This day she has already been at Scete twenty-eight years and
nobody knows about her except for you, one other brother and me, the
elder. Whenever I went elsewhere, I used to ask the brother to fill the pot
with water for her. Nobody but you ever learnt who she was. Oh, how
many secret agents the emperor Justinian sent in search of her! And not
μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν τὴν Θεοδώραν πάλιν μανθάνει ὅτι βούλεται1
ὁ βασιλεὺς μεταστείλασθαι αὐτὴν καὶ πάλιν ἔφυγε νυκτὸς ἀπὸ Ἀλεξαν-
δρείας καὶ ἦλθεν ἐνταῦθα ἔγγιστά μου μόνη καὶ παρεκάλεσέ με δοῦναι
αὐτῇ κελλίον ἔξω τῆς Σκήτεως [f. 317ra] καὶ ἀνέθετό μοι πάντα τὸ κατα-
λεπτὸν τοῦ2 πράγματος καὶ ἔδωκα αὐτῇ τὸ σπήλαιον τοῦτο καὶ
μετημφιάσατο εἰς τὸ ἀνδρικὸν σχῆμα. Ἤδη οὖν σήμερον εἴκοσι ὀκτὼ ἔτη
ἔχει ἐν τῇ Σκήτει καὶ οὐδεὶς ἔγνω αὐτὴν εἰ μὴ σὺ καὶ ἄλλος εἷς ἀδελφὸς καὶ
ἐγὼ ὁ γέρων. Ὅτε γὰρ ἀπηρχόμην ἐν τόπῳ τινί, παρήγγελλον τῷ
ἀδελφῷ ἵνα γεμίζῃ αὐτῇ τὸ κεράμιον τοῦ ὕδατος. Οὐδεὶς δὲ ἔμαθε τίς
ἐστιν, εἰ μὴ σὺ ἤδη μόνος. Πόσους οὖν μαγιστριανοὺς ἔπεμψεν ὁ βασιλεὺς
Ἰουστινιανὸς εἰς ἀναζήτησιν αὐτῆς, οὐ μόνον δὲ αὐτὸς ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πάπας
Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις, καὶ οὐδεὶς οἶδε3 τὸ ἐν ποίῳ τόπῳ διάγει4
ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας. Ἴδε οὖν πῶς5 οἱ βασιλικῶς ἀ[f. 317rb]νατραφέντες
ἀγωνίζονται κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ συντρίβουσι τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν, ἡμεῖς
δὲ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ γενόμενοι ἄρτον οὐκ εὐποροῦμεν χορτασθῆναι καὶ εἰς τὸ
μοναχικὸν ἐλθόντες σπαταλῶμεν καὶ μίαν ἀρετὴν κτήσασθαι οὐ δυνάμεθα.
Εὐξώμεθα οὖν ὅπως ὁ Κύριος καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀξιώσῃ τοῦ αὐτοῦ δρόμου τυχεῖν
καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἡμῶν εὑρεῖν ἔλεος ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ
μετὰ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀναστασίου τοῦ εὐνούχου – Ἀναστασία γὰρ ἐλέγετο-,
εὐχαῖς καὶ πρεσβείαις τῆς δεσποίνης ἡμῶν τῆς Θεοτόκου καὶ πάντων τῶν
ἁγίων καὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δανιὴλ ἐπὶ τοῦ φοβεροῦ βήματος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
596.10 Περὶ ἀργυροπράτου τινὸς6 καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ

Ἦν τις ἀργυροπράτης [f. 317va] ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τῇ μεγάλῃ νεώτερος ὀνόματι
Ἀνδρόνικος. Ἔλαβε δὲ γυναῖκα θυγατέρα ἀργυροπράτου ὀνόματι Ἰωάν-
νου, τὸ δὲ ὄνομα αὐτῆς Ἀθανασία, ὄντως γὰρ7 ἀθανασία τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ
τῷ λογισμῷ. Ἦν δὲ ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος εὐλαβὴς πάνυ καὶ καλῶν ἔργων
μεμεστωμένος, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ. Ἦσαν δὲ πλούσιοι σφόδρα.
Οὗτος δὲ ἦν αὐτῶν ὁ βίος· τὰ τοῦ ἀργυροπρατείου καὶ τῆς περιουσίας
αὐτῶν εἰς τρία μέρη διεῖλον, ἓν μὲν μέρος εἰς λόγον τῶν πτωχῶν καὶ τὸ
ἄλλο εἰς λόγον μοναχῶν καὶ τὸ ἕτερον εἰς λόγον τῆς περιουσίας καὶ τοῦ
ἐργαστηρίου. Πᾶσα δὲ ἡ πόλις ἠγάπα τὸν κύριν Ἀνδρόνικον διὰ τὴν
ἐπιείκειαν αὐτοῦ. Ἔγνω δὲ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ8 καὶ συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκεν
υἱὸν καὶ [f. 317vb] ἐπωνόμασεν αὐτὸν Ἰωάννην. Ἔτι δὲ ἐν γαστρὶ λαβοῦσα
1
βούλεται] βούλετε C 2
τοῦ] τὰ τοῦ S 3
οἶδε] ἔγνω S 4
διάγει] διῆγεν S
5
πῶς] πῶς καὶ S 6
Περὶ ἀργυροπράτου τινὸς] Περὶ τοῦ ἀργυροπράτου (om τινὸς) S
7
ὄντως γὰρ] καὶ ὄντως S 8
Ἔγνω δὲ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ] om C
N.596 445
only him, but also the pope of Alexandria and the entire city, yet nobody
knew in what place she was living until today.”
“So see how they who live in palaces are stressed in fighting with the
devil, how they are afflicted in their bodies. Yet we, who, in the world,
could scarcely find a way of being filled with bread, now we are come to
the monastic life, live in excessive comfort without being able to cultivate a
single virtue. So let us pray that the Lord will make us too worthy of his
path, and grant us the good fortune to find mercy in that day at the fearful
judgement-seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with our holy fathers,
also with Abba Anastasius the Eunuch (for she was called Anastasia), by
the prayers and intercession of our Lady the Mother of God and of all the
saints and of Abba Daniel.”
N.596.10 BHG 121 et seq. Andronicus et Athanasia

A silversmith and his wife
There was a silversmith in the great city of Antioch, a young man named
Andronicus. He took for his wife the daughter of a silversmith named
John; her name was Athanasia, for she truly was “deathless” in her deeds
and in her thinking. Andronicus was very God-fearing, full of good works
and his wife was likewise; they were very rich. This was their way of life:
they divided the profits of the business and of their personal fortunes into
three portions: one portion for the good of the poor, one destined for the
monks, the other for their subsistence and the expenses of the workshop.
The entire city loved Master Andronicus for his gentleness. He knew his wife;
she conceived and bore a son and she named him John. Then she conceived
again and bore a daughter, whom they called Mary, but Andronicus did not
proceed to have intercourse with his wife any more after that; all his concern
was with devotion to good works, together with some other Christ-loving
silversmiths. On Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from evening to
dawn, Andronicus used to go to the bathing of the men of the brotherhood;
likewise, his wife to the bathing of the women by way of good works.
After a space of twelve years, one day Mistress Athanasia coming at first
light from performing her good works, went to see her children and found
them groaning. In her distress she got up into her bed and held them both
ἔτεκε θυγατέρα καὶ ἐπωνόμασεν αὐτὴν Μαρίαν. Καὶ οὐκέτι προσέθετο
προσεγγίσαι αὐτῇ ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος, ἀλλ᾿ ἦν αὐτοῦ ἡ σπουδὴ εἰς τὰς
φιλοπονίας μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων φιλοχρίστων ἀργυροπρατῶν. Κατὰ κυριακὴν
καὶ δευτέραν καὶ τετράδα καὶ παρασκευὴν ἀπὸ ἑσπέρας ἕως πρωῒ ὑπῆγεν
ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος εἰς τὰ λούσματα τῶν ἀνδρῶν τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἡ
γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ λούσματα τῶν γυναικῶν τῆς φιλοπονίας ἕνεκα.1
Καὶ μετὰ δωδεκαετῆ χρόνον μιᾷ τῶν ἡμερῶν εἰσῆλθεν ἡ κυρία Ἀθανασία
ἀπὸ τῆς φιλοπονίας ἀπὸ ὄρθρου καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἐπισκέψασθαι τὰ παιδία
αὐτῆς καὶ [f. 318ra] εὑρίσκει αὐτὰ στενάζοντα. Ἡ δὲ ταραχθεῖσα ἀνέβη ἐν
τῇ κλίνῃ αὐτῆς καὶ ἔθηκεν ἀμφότερα ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος αὐτῆς. Ὁ δὲ μακάριος
Ἀνδρόνικος εἰσελθὼν ἤρξατο κατακράζειν τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ ὡς πολλὰ
κοιμωμένης. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Μὴ ὀργίζου, κύριέ μου, τὰ παιδία γὰρ
ἀσθενοῦσιν. Καὶ ἁψάμενος αὐτῶν εὗρεν αὐτὰ πυρετῷ συνεχόμενα καὶ
στενάξας λέγει· Τὸ θέλημα Κυρίου γενέσθω. Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως
προσεύξασθαι εἰς τὸν ἅγιον Ἰουλιανὸν – ἐκεῖ γὰρ κεῖνται οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῶν.
Ἐποίησε δὲ ἐκεῖ ἕως ἕκτης ὥρας καὶ ὑποστρέψας ἀκούει ὀλολυγμοῦ καὶ
θορύβου γινομένου ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ταραχθεὶς ἔδραμε καὶ εὑρίσκει
σχεδὸν πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ [f. 318rb] αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ παιδία
ἀποθανόντα. Καὶ ἰδὼν τὰ νήπια ὁμοῦ κείμενα ἐν τῇ κλίνῃ εἰσελθὼν ἐν
τῷ εὐκτηρίῳ αὐτοῦ ἔρριψεν ἑαυτὸν ἔμπροσθε τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ κλαίων
εἶπεν· Αὐτὸς γυμνὸς ἐξῆλθον ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου, γυμνὸς καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι
ἐκεῖ· ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ Κύριος ἀφείλατο· ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν, οὕτως καὶ
ἐγένετο· εἴη τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου εὐλογημένον ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν καὶ ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος.
Ἡ δὲ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἐζήτει πνίξαι ἑαυτὴν λέγουσα ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τέκνων μου
ἀποθανοῦμαι.
Συνῆλθε δὲ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις εἰς τὸ ἐξόδιον τῶν παιδίων ὥστε καὶ τὸν
πατριάρχην συνόλῳ τῷ κλήρῳ ἐλθεῖν. Καὶ κατέθηκαν αὐτὰ ἐν τῷ μαρ-
τυρίῳ τοῦ ἁγίου Ἰουλιανοῦ ἐπάνω τῶν πάπ[f. 318va]πων αὐτῶν. Λαβὼν
δὲ τὸν μακάριον Ἀνδρόνικον ὁ πατριάρχης εἰς τὸ ἐπισκοπεῖον εἰσῆλθεν, ἡ
δὲ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς ἀπελθεῖν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς τὸ
μαρτύριον ἐκοιμήθη. Μεσούσης δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς παραφαίνεται αὐτῇ ὁ
μάρτυς ἐν σχήματι μοναχοῦ λέγων αὐτῇ· Τί οὐκ ἀφίεις2 ἀναπαῆναι τοὺς
ὧδε; Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Κύριέ μου, μὴ λυπηθῇς κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ἐπειδὴ πονοῦσα εἰμί·
δύο γὰρ τέκνα ἔσχον μόνα καὶ σήμερον τὰ δύο ἐξεκόμισα ὁμοῦ. Ὁ δὲ λέγει
1
ἕνεκα] om C and S, add. mss nonulli 2
ἀφίεις] ἀφίῃς C
N.596 447
to her breast. When the blessed Andronicus came in, he began to upbraid
his wife for sleeping too long but she said to him: “Do not be angry with
me my lord, for the children are unwell.” He touched them and found that
they were in the grip of a fever. He heaved a sigh, saying: “The will of the
Lord be done” and went out of the city to pray at Saint Julian’s, for that
was where their parents were buried. He stayed there until the sixth hour
then, when he returned, he heard a wailing and a disturbance in his house.
In his distress he ran and found almost the whole city at his house – and
the children dead. When he saw the children lying together in the bed, he
went into his oratory, threw himself down before the Saviour and, weep-
ing, said: “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb and naked shall
I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. As it seemed
good to the Lord, so has it come about. Blessed be the name of the Lord
from now on and for ever more” [Jb 1:21 lxx, Psalm 112:2 lxx]. His wife
tried to strangle herself saying: “I shall die with my children.”
The entire city congregated for the funeral of the children so that the
patriarch came too with all the clergy. They buried them in the martyrion
of Saint Julian, together with their grandparents. The patriarch took the
blessed Andronicus and went into the episcopal residence; his wife was
unwilling to return to her house, so she slept at the martyrion. In the
middle of the night the martyr appeared to her in the guise of a monk and
said to her: “Why do you not leave those that are here to their rest?” She
said: “Oh my lord, do not be angry with me, for I am suffering; I had only
two children and today I buried the two of them together.” He said to her:
“What were the ages of the children?” She said to him: “One was twelve
years old and the other ten”, and he said to her: “Then why are you
weeping for them? Would that you were weeping for your sins! I tell you,
woman, in the way that a man’s nature asks for food and it is impossible
not to give it something to eat, so infants ask Christ on that day for the
good things that are to come, saying: ‘Righteous judge, you deprived us of
earthly [pleasures]; do not deprive us of the heavenly ones too.’” She was
deeply moved on hearing this and converted her sorrow into joy, saying:
“If my children are alive in heaven, why am I weeping?” She turned about,
searching for the abba who had spoken to her; she went all around the
church but did not find him. She knocked at the doorkeeper’s and said:
“Where is the abba who came in here just now?” The doorkeeper said to
her: “You can see for yourself that all the doors are fastened, and yet you
are saying: ‘Where is the abba who came in here just now!’” But the
doorkeeper took it with indifference, having realised that she had seen a
αὐτῇ· Πόσου χρόνου ἦσαν τὰ παιδία σου; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Δώδεκα χρόνων1
ὁ εἷς καὶ τὸ ἄλλο δέκα. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν· Τί οὖν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων κλαίεις, εἴθε
ἔκλαιες τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου; Λέγω σοι γὰρ γύ[f. 318vb]ναι ὅτι ὃν τρόπον
ἀπαιτεῖ ἡ φύσις τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὴν βρῶσιν, καὶ ἀδύνατον μὴ δοῦναι αὐτῇ
φαγεῖν, οὕτως καὶ τὰ νήπια ἀπαιτοῦσι τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ τὰ
μέλλοντα ἀγαθὰ λέγοντα· Δικαιοκρίτα, ἐστέρησας ἡμᾶς τῶν ἐπιγείων, μὴ
στερήσῃς ἡμᾶς καὶ τῶν ἐπουρανίων. Ἡ δὲ ἀκούσασα κατενύγη καὶ
μετέβαλε τὸ πένθος εἰς χαρὰν λέγουσα· Εἰ ἆρα ζῶσι τὰ τέκνα μου ἐν
οὐρανοῖς, τί κλαίω; Καὶ στραφεῖσα ἐζήτησε τὸν λαλήσαντα αὐτῇ ἀββᾶν,
καὶ περιελθοῦσα ὅλον τὸν ναὸν οὐχ εὗρεν. Καὶ κρούει τῷ θυρωρῷ
λέγουσα· Ποῦ ἔστιν ὁ ἀββᾶς ὁ εἰσελθὼν ὧδε ἄρτι; Λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ θυρωρός·
Βλέπεις ἠσφαλισμένας τὰς θύρας πάσας2 καὶ λέγεις ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ εἰσελθὼν ὧ
[f. 319ra]δε ἀββᾶς ἄρτι; Καὶ ἐφιλοσόφησεν ὁ παραμονάριος γνοὺς ὅτι
ὀπτασίαν εἶδεν. Ἡ δὲ φόβῳ συσχεθεῖσα παρεκάλεσεν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὸν
οἶκον αὐτῆς. Καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὴν ὁ θυρωρὸς εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὴν εἰς τὸν οἶκον
αὐτῆς. Καὶ διήγησατο τῷ ἀνδρὶ αὐτῆς ἃ εἶδεν. Τότε λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ
μακαρία Ἀθανασία· Ὄντως, κύριέ μου, καὶ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ τῶν νηπίων ἠθέλησά
σοι εἰπεῖν καὶ ἠρυθρίων, ἰδοὺ οὖν καὶ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον αὐτῶν λέγω σοι.
Ἐὰν ἀκούσῃς μου, βάλλεις με εἰς μοναστήριον καὶ κλαίω τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῇ· Ὕπαγε, δοκίμασον τὸν λογισμόν σου μίαν ἑβδομάδα, καὶ
ἐὰν ἐπιμείνῃς τῷ σκοπῷ τοῦτο λαλοῦμεν. Ἡ δὲ πάλιν ἐλθοῦσα τὸν αὐτὸν
λόγον εἶπεν καὶ μετα[f. 319rb]καλεῖται ὁ μακάριος Ἀνδρόνικος τὸν
πενθερὸν αὐτοῦ, παραδιδοὺς αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ λέγων
αὐτῷ·3 Εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους ὑπάγωμεν εὔξασθαι. Ἐὰν οὖν συμβῇ ἡμῖν
τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, ἔχεις πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τὸ πῶς ποιήσεις μετὰ τῆς οὐσίας
ταύτης. Παρακαλῶ σε οὖν καλῶς ποιῆσαι μετὰ τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ
νοσοκομεῖον ποιῆσαι τὰ ὧδε καὶ ξενοδοχεῖον μοναχῶν. Καὶ ἐλευθερώσας
τὰ ἀνδράποδα αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς λεγάτα καὶ λαβὼν μικρὰν εὐλογίαν
καὶ δύο ἄλογα ἐξῆλθε νυκτὸς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ μόνοι.
Ἡ δὲ μακαρία Ἀθανασία μακρόθεν εἶδε τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς καὶ ἀναβλέψασα
εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶπεν· Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εἰπὼν τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῇ Σάρρα [f. 319va]
ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας σου καὶ δεῦρο εἰς γῆν ἣν ἄν σοι
δείξω, αὐτὸς καὶ τὰ νῦν ὁδήγησον ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸν φόβον σου. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ
εἰάσαμεν τὸν οἶκον ἡμῶν ἀνεωγμένον διὰ τὸ ὄνομά σου, μὴ κλείσῃς
ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν τὴν θύραν τῆς βασιλείας σου. Καὶ κλαύσαντες οἱ
ἀμφότεροι ἀπῆλθον.
1
χρόνων] χρόνον C 2
τὰς θύρας πάσας] πάσας τὰς θύρας S
3
Παραδιδοὺς. . . λέγων αὐτῷ] Καὶ παραδιδοὺς αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν περιοὐσίαν αὐτῶν λέγων πρὸς
αὐτόν S
N.596 449
vision. The woman was stricken with fear and asked to return to her house.
The doorkeeper took her and led her to her house and she told her
husband what she had seen. Then the blessed Athanasia said to him: “In
truth, my lord, I wanted to say this to you even when the children were
alive, but I was ashamed. Now I am even saying it to you after their death:
if you heed me, put me in a monastery and let me weep for my sins.” He
said to her: “Go, test out your mind for a week and, if you are still of the
same opinion, we will discuss it.” But she came back and said the same
thing. The blessed Andronicus summoned his father-in-law and handed all
his wealth over to him, saying: “Let us go to pray at the Holy Places. If we
suffer the common fate of human kind, it is between you and God how
you dispose of these assets. I beg you to benefit your soul by building a
hospital here and a hospice for monks.” He freed his slaves, giving them
legacies. Then, taking a small sum of money and two horses, he left the
city by night: he and his wife, alone. When she saw her house from afar off,
the blessed Athanasia looked up to heaven and said: “Oh God, who did say
to Abraham and to Sarah: ‘Leave your own country and your kinsmen and
go to a country that I will show you’ [Gen 12:1]; now guide us in fear of
you for, look, we have left our house open for your name; do not close
the door of your kingdom in our faces”, and, having wept, they both went
on their way.
When they reached the Holy Places, they made their devotions and
then, meeting up with many fathers, they reached Saint Menas’ at
Alexandria where they benefited from the martyr[’s relics]. Andronicus
looked out about the ninth hour and saw a monk disputing with a secular
person. He said to the secular: “Why are you insulting the abba?” and he
said to him: “Lord-and-master, he hired my beast to go to Scete and I said
to him: ‘Let us go now and travel all night and tomorrow until the sixth
hour so we can arrive before the great heat of the day’, but he does not
want to leave now.” Master Andronicus said to him: “Have you one other
beast?” “Yes”, he replied. “Go and fetch it then; come, let me take one
beast, the abba the other – for I too want to go down to Scete.” Andro-
nicus said to his wife: “Stay here at Saint Menas’ while I go down to Scete
to be blessed by the fathers and return.” “Take me with you”, his wife said
Καὶ φθάσαντες τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους προσεκύνησαν καὶ συντυχόντες
πολλοὺς πατέρας καταλαμβάνουσι τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ
ἀπολαύουσι τοῦ μάρτυρος. Παρακύπτει οὖν ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος περὶ ὥραν
ἐνάτην1 καὶ βλέπει μοναχὸν μετὰ λαϊκοῦ μάχην ποιοῦντα καὶ λέγει τῷ
λαϊκῷ· Διατί ὑβρίζεις τὸν ἀββᾶν; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Δέσποτα, ἐπὶ τὴν Σκῆτιν
ἐμισθώσατο τὸ ζῷόν μου καὶ λέγω αὐτῷ ἄγωμεν ἄρτι ἵνα [f. 319vb]
ὁδεύσωμεν ὅλην τὴν νύκτα καὶ αὔριον ἕως ὥρας ἕκτης, ἵνα φθάσωμεν
πρὸ τοῦ καύματος, καὶ οὐ θέλει ἵνα ἄρτι ἀπέλθωμεν. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ κύρις
Ἀνδρόνικος· Ἔχεις ἄλλο ἓν ζῷον; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ναί. Εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ·
Ὕπαγε φέρε μοι αὐτὸ καὶ ἐλθὲ καὶ λαμβάνω ἐγὼ τὸ ἓν ζῷον καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς
τὸ ἕν, ὅτι κἀγὼ εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν θέλω κατελθεῖν. Ὁ δὲ Ἀνδρόνικος λέγει τῇ
γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ· Μεῖνον ὧδε πρὸς τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν, ἕως οὗ κατέρχομαι εἰς
τὴν Σκῆτιν καὶ εὐλογοῦμαι παρὰ τῶν πατέρων καὶ ἀνέρχομαι. Λέγει
αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ· Λάβε με μετὰ σοῦ. Λέγει αὐτῇ· Γυνὴ οὐκ ἀπέρχεται
εἰς Σκῆτιν. Ἡ δὲ λέγει αὐτῷ μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ· Ἔχεις πρὸς τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν,
ἐὰν ἀπομείνῃς καὶ μὴ ἐλθὼν καταστήσῃς με εἰς [f. 320ra] μοναστήριον. Καὶ
ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἐχωρίσθησαν.
Κατέβη δὲ αὐτὸς εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν καὶ προσκυνήσας τοὺς πατέρας κατὰ
λαύραν, ἤκουσε τὰ περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δανιήλ, καὶ ἀπελθὼν κόπῳ πολλῷ
ἠδυνήθη αὐτῷ συντυχεῖν. Ἀνέθετο οὖν πάντα τῷ γέροντι καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ
ὁ γέρων· Ἄπελθε φέρε τὴν γυναῖκα σου καὶ ποιῶ σοι γράμματα καὶ
ἀποφέρεις αὐτὴν εἰς Θηβαΐδα εἰς τὸ μοναστήριον τῶν Ταβεννησιωτῶν.
Ὁ δὲ Ἀνδρόνικος ἐποίησε καθὼς εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἤνεγκεν
αὐτὴν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον τῆς σωτηρίας, καὶ
ποιήσας γράμματα ἀπέστειλεν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ μοναστήριον τῶν Ταβεννη-
σιωτῶν. Καὶ ἐπαναλύσαντι τῷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ ἔδω[f. 320rb]κεν ὁ γέρων τὸ
σχῆμα καὶ ἐδίδαξεν αὐτὸν τὰ τοῦ μοναχικοῦ. Καὶ ἔμεινε παρ᾿ αὐτῷ ἔτη
δώδεκα.
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα παρεκάλεσε τὸν γέροντα ἀπολῦσαι αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς
ἁγίους τόπους. Ὁ δὲ ποιήσας αὐτῷ εὐχὴν ἀπέλυσεν. Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς Ἀνδρό-
νικος κατὰ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ὁδεύων ἐκάθισεν ὑπὸ κάτω ἀκανθαίας, ἵνα λάβῃ
ψυχὴν ἐκ τοῦ καύματος. Καὶ ἰδοὺ κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν θεοῦ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ
ἐρχομένη ἐν ἀνδρικῷ σχήματι ἀπιοῦσα καὶ αὐτὴ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους.
Καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἐγνώρισεν ἡ περιστερὰ τὸν ὁμόζυγον. Αὐτὸς
δὲ πῶς εἶχε γνωρίσαι τοιοῦτον κάλλος μαρανθὲν καὶ ὡς Αἰθίοπα2
φαινομένην; Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ· Ποῦ ἀπέρχῃ, κύρι ἀββᾶ; Λέγει αὐτῇ· Ἐπὶ
1
ἐνάτην] ἐννάτην C and S 2
Αἰθίοπα] Αἰθίωπα C
N.596 451
to him; “But a woman does not go to Scete”, he said. In tears she cried:
“You will have to answer to Saint Menas if you stay [there] and do not
return to put me in a monastery.” They embraced each other and parted.
Down he went to Scete; after he had paid his respects to the fathers at
each lavra, he heard of Abba Daniel. He continued his way and, with great
difficulty, was able to meet him. He explained his whole situation to the
elder and the elder said to him: “Go, bring your wife. I will write a letter
for you and you will take her to the Thebaïd, to the Monastery of the
Tabennesiotes.” Andronicus did as the elder told him; he went and
brought her to the elder and he spoke the word of salvation to them
[both]. He wrote a letter and sent them to the Monastery of the Taben-
nesiotes. When Andronicus returned, the elder gave him the monastic
habit and taught him the monastic [customs]. He stayed with him for
twelve years.
After that [Andronicus] begged the elder’s permission to go to the Holy
Places; the elder offered a prayer for him and sent him on his way. Now as
Abba Andronicus was travelling through Egypt, he sat down beneath an
acanthus tree to gain some relief from the heat of the day when, by the
providence of God, his wife came by dressed in a man’s habit: she also was
on her way to the Holy Places. They embraced each other and the dove
recognised her mate, but how could he recognise such wasted beauty and
one that looked like an Ethiopian? She said to him: “Where are you going,
abba sir?” He said to her: “To the Holy Places.” She said to him: “I too
want to go there”, and he said to her: “Would you like us to travel
together? But let us travel in silence as though we are not together.” “As
you wish,” Andronicus said, and she said to him: “Are you not in fact the
disciple of Abba Daniel?” He said he was, and she continued: “Is your
name not Andronicus?” and he said it was. “May the prayers of the elder
travel with us”, she said to him and Andronicus said: “Amen.”
τοὺς ἁγίους [f. 320va] τόπους. Λέγει αὐτῷ· Κἀγὼ ἐκεῖ θέλω ἀπελθεῖν.
Λέγει οὖν αὐτῇ· Καὶ θέλεις ὁδεύσωμεν ὁμοῦ ἀμφότεροι, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς μὴ ὄντες
ὁμοῦ, οὕτως ὁδεύσωμεν τῇ σιωπῇ; Ὁ δὲ Ἀνδρόνικος λέγει· Ὡς κελεύεις.
Λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὄντως1 οὐκ εἶ ὁ μαθητὴς τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δανιήλ; Λέγει αὐτῇ· Ναί.
Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὐκ Ἀνδρόνικος ὀνομάζει;2 Λέγει· Ναί. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·
Αἱ εὐχαὶ τοῦ γέροντος συνοδεύσουσιν ἡμῖν. Λέγει ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος· Ἀμήν.
Συνοδεύσαντες οὖν καὶ προσκυνήσαντες τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους ἐπανέλυ-
σαν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀθανάσιος τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ·
Θέλεις μείνωμεν ὁμοῦ εἰς κελλίον; Λέγει ὁ Ἀνδρόνικος· Ναί, ὡς κελεύεις.
Θέλω δὲ πρῶτον ἀπελθεῖν καὶ λαβεῖν τὴν εὐχὴν τοῦ γέροντος. Λέγει αὐτῷ
ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀθα[f. 320vb]νάσιος· Ὕπαγε καὶ μένω σε εἰς τὸ Ὀκτωκαιδέκατον,
καὶ ἐὰν ἔρχῃ, ὡς ὡδεύσαμεν3 τῇ σιωπῇ μένομεν, ἐπεί, ἐὰν μὴ βαστάζῃς,4
μὴ ἔλθῃς. Ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰς τὸ Ὀκτωκαιδέκατον μεῖναι ἔχω. Ὁ δὲ ἀπελθὼν
ἠσπάσατο τὸν γέροντα καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν αὐτῷ τὰ περὶ τούτου. Ὁ δὲ
γέρων λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὕπαγε καὶ ἀγάπα τὴν σιωπὴν καὶ μεῖνον μετὰ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ· μοναχὸς γάρ ἐστιν, ὡς δεῖ εἶναι. Ἐπαναλύσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ
εὑρόντος τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀθανάσιον ἔμειναν ὁμοῦ ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ τειχιζόμενοι
ἄλλα δώδεκα ἔτη καὶ οὐκ ἐγνωρίσθη τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ ὅτι ἡ5 γυνὴ
αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.
Πολλάκις οὖν ὁ γέρων ἀνέβαινεν6 εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν αὐτῶν διαλεγόμενος
αὐτοῖς τὰ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν. Ἅπαξ οὖν ἀ[f. 321ra]πελθὼν ὁ γέρων καὶ
συνταξάμενος αὐτοῖς πρὸ τοῦ φθάσαι αὐτὸν τὸν ἅγιον Μηνᾶν, κατέλαβεν
αὐτὸν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνδρόνικος καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀθανάσιος πρὸς
Κύριον ὑπάγει. Καὶ ἐπαναλύσας ὁ γέρων εὗρεν αὐτὸν συνεχόμενον καὶ
ἤρξατο κλαίειν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀθανάσιος. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἀντὶ τοῦ
χαρῆναί σε, ὅτι ἀπέρχῃ ἀπαντῆσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ,7 κλαίεις; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
ἀββᾶς Ἀθανάσιος· Οὐ κλαίω εἰ μὴ διὰ τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀνδρόνικον. Ἀλλὰ
ποίησον ἀγάπην καὶ μετὰ τὸ θάψαι με, εὑρήσεις πιττάκιον πρὸς κεφαλῆς
μου. Ἀνάγνωθι αὐτῷ καὶ δὸς τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ. Καὶ ποιησάντων εὐχὴν
ἐκοινώνησε καὶ ἐκοιμήθη ἐν Κυρίῳ. Ἦλθον δὲ τοῦ κηδεῦσαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἰδοὺ
τῇ φύσει εὑρέθη γυνὴ καὶ ἠ[f. 321rb]κούσθη εἰς ὅλην τὴν λαύραν. Καὶ
πέμψας ὁ γέρων ἀνήνεγκεν ὅλην τὴν Σκῆτιν καὶ τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον. Καὶ
ἀνῆλθον πᾶσαι αἱ λαῦραι Ἀλεξανδρείας, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις συνῆλθε καὶ οἱ
1
ante Ὄντως C add Τὸ 2
ὀνομάζει] ὀνομάζῃ S 3
ὡδεύσαμεν] ὁδεύσαμεν C
4
βαστάζῃς] βαστάζῃ σε S 5
ἡ] om C
6
ὁ γέρων ἀνέβαινεν] ἀνέβαινεν ὁ γέρων S 7
Κυρίῳ] Θεῷ S
N.596 453
When they had travelled together and had made their devotions at
the Holy Places, they returned to Alexandria and Abba Athanasius said
to Abba Andronicus: “Would you like us to live together in a cell?”
Andronicus said: “Yes, if you want; but first I would like to go and
receive the prayer of the elder.” Abba Athanasius said to him: “Go then,
and I will wait for you at the Eighteenth [milestone] and, if you come,
we will live together as we journeyed together: in silence. Otherwise, if
you cannot tolerate this,* do not come; for my part, I shall remain at the
Eighteenth.” He went and greeted the elder then declared the situation
to him. The elder said to him: “Go, devote yourself to silence and
remain with the brother, for he is what a monk ought to be.” He
returned and, finding Abba Athanasius, they lived together, fortified in
the fear of God, for another twelve years and it was not known to Abba
Andronicus that it was his wife.
The elder often went up to visit them, speaking beneficial words to
them. Once when he went up and had taken leave of them, Abba
Andronicus caught up with him before he got as far as Saint Menas’ and
said to him: “Abba Athanasius is going to the Lord.” The elder returned
and found him in pain. Abba Athanasius began to weep and the elder said
to him: “You are weeping rather than rejoicing that you are going to meet
the Lord?” Abba Athanasius said to him: “I am only weeping for Abba
Andronicus; please will you do this favour for me: after my burial, you will
find a note under my pillow. Read it and give it to Abba Andronicus.”
When they had offered a prayer and he had received the communion he
fell asleep in the Lord. They came to bury him and, behold, his sex was
found to be female – and the news of this travelled around the whole lavra.
The elder sent and brought up the whole of Scete and of the inner desert;
all the lavras of Alexandria went up too. The entire city congregated; those
of Scete were dressed in white, for that is the custom of Scete. They buried
the venerable remains of the blessed Athanasia with boughs and palms,
glorifying God who had granted such perseverance to the woman.
Σκητιῶται ἀσπροφοροῦντες – οὕτως1 γάρ ἐστιν τὸ ἔθος ἐν τῇ Σκήτει2-
μετὰ κλάδων οὖν καὶ βαΐων ἐξεκόμισαν τὸ τίμιον λείψανον Ἀθανασίας
δοξάζοντες τὸν Θεὸν τὸν τοσαύτην ὑπομονὴν παρασχόντι τῇ γυναικί.
Καὶ ἔμεινεν ὁ γέρων τὰ ἕβδομα τῆς μακαρίας Ἀθανασίας καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα
ἠθέλησεν ὁ γέρων λαβεῖν μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀνδρόνικον καὶ οὐκ
ἠνέσχετο λέγων· Μετὰ τῆς κυρίας μου τελευτήσω. Καὶ πάλιν συνταξαμέ-
νου τοῦ γέροντος πρὸ τοῦ φθάσαι αὐτὸν τὸν ἅγιον Μη[f. 321va]νᾶν φθάνει
αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς λέγων· Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνδρόνικος συνέχεται. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ
γέρων ἔπεμψεν ἐν τῇ Σκήτει λέγων· Δεῦτε ἀνέλθετε, ὅτι ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀνδρό-
νικος ἀκολουθεῖ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀθανάσιον. Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες ἀνῆλθον καὶ
κατέλαβον αὐτὸν ζῶντα. Καὶ εὐλογηθέντων αὐτῶν παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐκοιμήθη
ἐν Κυρίῳ.
Πόλεμος οὖν ἐγένετο μεταξὺ τῶν πατέρων τοῦ Ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου καὶ
τῶν Σκητιωτῶν λεγόντων· Ἡμέτερός ἐστιν ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ λαβεῖν αὐτὸν
ἔχομεν εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν, ἵνα βοηθῶσιν ἡμῖν αἱ εὐχαὶ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ οἱ τοῦ
Ὀκτωκαιδεκάτου ἔλεγον· Μετὰ τῆς ἀδελφῆς αὐτοῦ καταθήσωμεν αὐτόν.
Οἱ οὖν Σκητιῶται περισσοὶ ἦσαν καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀρχιμανδρίτης τοῦ Ὀκτω-
καιδεκάτου· Εἴ τι εἴπῃ ὁ γέρων [f. 321vb] ποιοῦμεν. Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ
ἔλεγεν ἐκεῖ αὐτὸν ταφῆναι, οἱ δὲ οὐκ ἤκουον αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· Ὁ γέρων
ἄνω ἐστι καὶ οὐκέτι φοβεῖται πόλεμον σωματικόν, ἡμεῖς δὲ νεώτεροι ἐσμὲν
καὶ θέλωμεν τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἵνα βοηθῶσιν ἡμῖν αἱ εὐχαὶ αὐτοῦ. Ἀρκεῖ γὰρ
ὑμῖν ὅτι εἰάσαμεν ὑμῖν τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀθανάσιον. Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ γέρων ὅτι ταραχὴ
μεγάλη γίνεται λέγει τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Φύσει ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσητέ μου, κἀγὼ
ὧδε μένω καὶ μετὰ τοῦ τέκνου μου θάπτομαι. Καὶ τότε ἡσύχασαν καὶ
ἐξεκόμισαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀνδρόνικον. Λέγουσιν οὖν τῷ γέροντι· Ἄγωμεν
εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν. Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· ἄφετε ποιήσω3 τὰ ἕβδομα τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ καὶ οὐκ εἴασαν αὐτὸν μεῖναι. Ταῦτα ἐθάρρησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς
[f. 322ra] Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ. Εὐξόμεθα οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὰ
μέτρα τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀθανασίου καὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀνδρονίκου, εὐχαῖς4 πάντων
τῶν ἁγίων. Ἀμήν.
1
Σκήτει] Σκῆτι C 3
ἄφετε ποιήσω] ἄφετέ με ποιῆσαι S
4
εὐχαῖς corr] εὐχαὶς (?) S εὐχαὶ C
N.596 455
The elder stayed for the seventh day [commemoration] of the blessed
Athanasia after which he wanted to take Abba Andronicus with him, but
he would not. He said: “I will die with my lady.” Again the elder took his
leave but, before he reached Saint Menas’, the brother came to him saying:
“Abba Andronicus is in pain.” Again the elder sent to Scete saying: “Come
on up for Abba Andronicus is following brother Athanasius.” They went
up when they heard this and they reached him still alive; after they had
received a blessing from him he fell asleep in the Lord.
A contention then arose between the fathers of the Eighteenth and those
of Scete, [the latter] saying: “The brother is ours and we are going to take
him to Scete so that his prayers might assist us”, while those of the
Eighteenth said: “Let us bury him with his sister.” Those of Scete being
more numerous, the archimandrite of the Eighteenth said: “We will do
whatever the elder says.” Abba Daniel said he was to be buried there but
they didn’t heed him, saying: “The elder is advanced in age and no longer
fears the war against the body, but we are younger and we want the brother
so his prayers can assist us. It is enough for you that we left you Abba
Athanasius.” When the elder saw what a great disturbance was happening
he said to the brothers: “Of course, if you will not listen to me, I will stay
here and be buried with my son.” They quietened down then and carried
brother Andronicus to his grave. Now they said to the elder: “Let us go to
Scete.” Said the elder to them: “Let me keep the seventh day for the
brother”, but they would not let him stay. These things Abba Daniel
entrusted to his disciple. We will pray that, by the prayers of all the saints,
we too might attain the stature of Abba Athanasius and of Abba Andro-
nicus. Amen
* Or, “If [the elder] will not allow you [to do this]” – Sinaï 448.
596.7 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ τῆς προσποιουμένης μεθύειν

Ἀνέβη ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ἀπὸ τῆς Σκήτεως μετὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν
Θηβαΐδι τῇ ἀνωτέρᾳ1 εἰς τὴν μνήμην τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἀπολλῶ καὶ ἐξῆλθον οἱ
πατέρες ὅλοι2 εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀπὸ σημείων3 ἑπτά. Ἦσαν δὲ ὡς4
πεντακισχίλιοι καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς ἄμμου ἡπλωμένους ἐπὶ κοιλίαν,
ὡς ἐν τάξει ἀγγέλων μετὰ φόβου δεχομένων τὸν Χριστόν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰ
ἱμάτια αὐτῶν ἐστρώννυον ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ, ἄλλοι δὲ τὰ κουκούλια
αὐτῶν, καὶ ἦν [f. 322rb] ἰδεῖν τὰ ἐκχυόμενα5 δάκρυα ὡς πηγὰς βρυούσας.
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ὁ ἀρχιμανδρίτης προσεκύνησεν πρὸ τοῦ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν
ἑπτάκις6 πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καὶ ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἐκάθισαν. Τότε
παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν ἀκοῦσαι λόγον παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ – οὐ ταχέως γὰρ ἐλάλει
τινί. Ὡς οὖν ἐκάθισαν ἔξω τοῦ κοινοβίου ἐπὶ τῆς ἄμμου διὰ τὸ μὴ χωρεῖν
αὐτοὺς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Γράψον·
εἰ θέλετε σωθῆναι, διώξατε τὴν ἀκτημοσύνην καὶ τὴν σιωπήν. Εἰς γὰρ τὰς
δύο ἀρετὰς ταύτας ὅλος ὁ βίος τοῦ μοναχοῦ κρέμαται. Καὶ ὁ μαθητὴς
αὐτοῦ ἔδωκε τινὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰ γράμματα καὶ μεθηρμήνευσεν αὐτὰ
αἰγυπτιστί. Καὶ ὡς ἀνε[f. 322va]γνώσθησαν τοῖς πατράσιν, ἔκλαυσαν
πάντες καὶ προσέπεμπον τὸν γέροντα – οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἐτόλμα εἰπεῖν αὐτῷ·
Ποίησον ἀγάπην.
Καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς Ἑρμόπολιν λέγει τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ὕπαγε κροῦσον εἰς
τὸ μοναστήριον ἐκεῖνο τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ εἰπὲ τῇ ἡγουμένῃ ὅτι ὧδε εἰμί.
Ἦν γὰρ ἐκεῖ μοναστήριον γυναικῶν λεγόμενον Τοῦ Ἀββᾶ Ἰερεμίου καὶ
οἰκοῦσιν ἐκεῖ ὡς τριακόσιαι ἀδελφαί. Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ὁ μαθητὴς καὶ ἔκρουσε
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ θυρωρὸς λεπτῇ φωνῇ· Σωθείης. Καλῶς ἦλθες. Τί κελεύεις;
Λέγει αὐτῇ· Φώνει μοι τὴν ἀμμᾶν τὴν ἀρχιμανδρίτην. Θέλω γὰρ αὐτῇ
λαλῆσαι. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐ συντυγχάνει τινὶ ποτέ, ἀλλ᾿ εἰπέ μοι τί κελεύεις
καὶ λέγω αὐτῇ. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Εἰπὲ αὐτῇ [f. 322vb] μοναχός τις θέλει σοι
λαλῆσαι. Ἡ δὲ ἀπελθοῦσα εἶπεν αὐτῇ καὶ ἐλθοῦσα ἡ ἡγουμένη λεπτῇ
φωνῇ λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ· Ἡ ἀμμᾶς ἔπεμψε λέγουσα τί κελεύεις. Λέγει ὁ
ἀδελφός, ἵνα ποιήσητε ἀγάπην καὶ κοιμηθῶ ὧδε μετὰ ἑνὸς γέροντος, ὅτι
ἑσπέρα ἐστί καὶ7 μήποτε φάγωσιν ἡμᾶς τὰ θηρία. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ ἀμμᾶς·
Οὐδέποτε ἀνὴρ εἰσέρχεται ὧδε. Συμφέρει γὰρ8 ὑμῖν ὑπὸ θηρίων βρωθῆναι
τῶν ἔξω καὶ μὴ τῶν ἔσω. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιήλ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς
1
ἀνωτέρᾳ] ἀνωτέρῳ S 2
οἱ πατέρες ὅλοι] ὅλοι οἱ πατέρες S 3
σημείων] σημεῖον C
4
ὡς] ὡσεὶ S 5
ἐκχυόμενα] ἐκχυνόμενα S
6
πρὸ τοῦ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν ἑπτάκις] ἑπτάκις πρὸ τοῦ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν S
7
καὶ] om C 8
γὰρ] δὲ S
N.596 457
N.596.7 BHG 2101, de virgine quae ebritatem simulabat

She who pretended to be a drunkard
Together with his disciple, Abba Daniel went up from Scete to the Upper
Thebaïd for the commemoration of Abba Apollo and all the fathers came
out about seven miles to meet him. There were about five thousand of
them and, lying face down in the sand, they looked like an order of angels
receiving Christ with fear. Some were spreading their garments before him,
others their cowls; and the tears they were shedding were like flowing
springs. The archimandrite came forward, prostrating himself seven times
before approaching the elder, then they embraced each other and sat
down. Then they begged him to let them hear a discourse from him (for
he did not readily speak to anybody). When they sat down on the sand
outside the coenobion (for the church could not accommodate them)
Abba Daniel said to his disciple: “Write [this] down: If you wish to be
saved, pursue poverty and silence, for on these two virtues depends the
entire monastic life.” His disciple gave what he had written to one of
the brothers and he translated it into Egyptian. When it was read out to
the fathers, they all wept; and they escorted the elder [on his way] for
nobody dared to say to him: “Have the goodness [to stay with us?].”
When he came to Hermopolis, he said to his disciple: “Go and knock at
that women’s monastery and tell the higoumenê that I am here”, for there
was in fact a women’s monastery there known as “Abba Jeremiah’s” with
about three hundred sisters living in it. The disciple went and knocked; the
doorkeeper said to him in a small voice: “May you be saved! Welcome,
what do you want?” He said to her: “Call the mother archimandrite for
me; I wish to speak with her.” She said: “She never meets with anybody;
but tell me what you want and I will tell her.” He said: “Tell her that a
certain monk wishes to speak with her.” She went and told her; then the
higoumenê came and said to the brother in a small voice: “The amma sent
[me] to ask you what you want.” The brother retorted: “[I request] that
you would do us the favour of letting me and another elder sleep here, for
it is evening and the wild beasts might devour us.” The amma said to him:
“No man ever comes in here; it is better for you to be devoured by wild
beasts outside than by those inside.” The brother said: “[The other elder] is
Abba Daniel of Scete.” When she heard this, she opened the two doors and
Σκήτεως. Ἡ δὲ ἀκούσασα ἤνοιξε τοὺς δύο πυλῶνας καὶ ἐξῆλθε τρέχουσα,
ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συνοδία, καὶ τὰ μαφόρια αὐτῶν ἔστρωσαν ἀπὸ τοῦ
πυλῶνος ἕως κάτω ὅπου ἦν ὁ γέρων κυλιόμεναι εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ
λείχου[f. 323ra]σαι1 τὰ πέλματα αὐτοῦ. Καὶ εἰσελθόντων αὐτῶν2 ἔσω εἰς τὸ
μοναστήριον ἤνεγκεν ἡ κυρία ἡ μεγάλη λεκάνην καὶ ἐγέμισεν αὐτὴν
χλιαροῦ καὶ βοτανῶν καὶ ἔστησε τὰς ἀδελφὰς δύο χοροὺς καὶ ἔνιψε τοὺς
πόδας τοῦ γέροντος καὶ τοῦ μαθητοῦ αὐτοῦ και λαβοῦσα καυκίον ἔφερε
τὰς ἀδελφὰς καὶ ἐλάμβανεν ἐκ τῆς λεκάνης καὶ ἐπέχεεν εἰς τὰς κεφαλὰς
αὐτῶν. Ὕστερον δὲ ἐξέχεεν εἰς τὸν κόλπον ἑαυτῆς καὶ εἰς τὴν κεφαλήν.
Ἦν δὲ ἰδεῖν αὐτὰς πάσας ὡς ἐπὶ λίθων ἀκινήτων ἀλάλους, διὰ κρούσ-
ματος δὲ πᾶσα ἡ ἀπόκρισις αὐτῶν ἐγίνετο – αὕτη ἡ κίνησις αὐτῶν ἡ
ἀγγελική. Λέγει οὖν ὁ γέρων τῇ ἡγουμένῃ· Ἡμᾶς εὐλαβοῦνται ἢ οὕτως
εἰσὶ πάντοτε αἱ ἀδελφαί. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Πάν[f. 323rb]τοτε οὕτως εἰσὶν αἱ
δοῦλαί σου, δέσποτα, ἀλλ᾿ εὖξαι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Εἰπὲ τῷ
μαθητῇ μου ὅτι ὡς γότθος μοι ἐπέρχεται. Μία δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔκειτο εἰς τὸ
μέσαυλον κοιμωμένη περισχισμένη καὶ ῥακοφοροῦσα καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων·
Τίς ἐστιν αὕτη ἡ κοιμωμένη; Λέγει αὐτῷ· Μία τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Μεθύστρια
ἐστίν καὶ τί ποιῆσαι αὐτῇ οὐκ οἴδαμεν, καὶ ἐκβάλαι αὐτὴν τοῦ μοναστηρ-
ίου διὰ τὸ κρίμα φοβούμεθα3 καί, ἐὰν αὐτὴν ἐάσωμεν, ἐκβολίζει τὰς
ἀδελφάς. Λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Λάβε τὴν λεκάνην καὶ βάλε
ἐπάνω αὐτῆς. Τοῦ δὲ ποιήσαντος οὕτως ἀνέστη ὡς ἀπὸ μέθης. Λέγει οὖν
ἡ ἀμμᾶς· Δέσποτα, πάντοτε οὕτως ἐστίν.
Καὶ λαβοῦσα ἡ ἡγουμένη τὸν [f. 323va] γέροντα εἰσήνεγκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ
ἀριστήριον4 καὶ ἐποίησεν δεῖπνον ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς λέγουσα· Εὐλόγησον τὰς
δούλας σου, ἵνα ἔμπροσθέν σου γεύσονται. Ὁ δὲ εὐλόγησεν αὐτάς. Αὐτὴ
δὲ καὶ ἡ δευτεραρία μόναι ἐκαθέσθησαν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ παρέθηκε καυκίον
τῷ γέροντι ἔχον βρεκτὰ καὶ ὠμὰ5 λάχανα καὶ φοινίκια καὶ ὕδωρ, τῷ δὲ
μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ παρέθηκε φακὴν ἐκζεστὴν καὶ μικρὸν ψωμίον καὶ εὔκρατον,
ταῖς δὲ ἀδελφαῖς παρετέθησαν φαγία πολλά, ἰχθὺς καὶ οἶνος εἰς πλησμο-
νήν. Καὶ ἔφαγον πάνυ καλῶς καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐλάλησεν. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἀναστῆναι
αὐτοὺς λέγει ὁ γέρων τῇ ἡγουμένῃ· Τί ἐστιν ὃ ἐποίησας, ὅτι ἡμεῖς
ὠφείλομεν φαγεῖν καλῶς καὶ ὑμεῖς6 [f. 323vb] τὰ καλὰ ἐφάγετε; Λέγει αὐτῷ
ἡ ἀμμᾶς· Σὺ μοναχὸς εἶ καὶ τροφὴν μοναχοῦ παρέθηκά σοι καὶ ὁ μαθητής
1
λείχουσαι] λίχουσαι C 2
αὐτῶν] ἡμῶν S
3
μοναστηρίου διὰ τὸ κρίμα φοβούμεθα] μοναστηρίου φοβούμεθα τὸ κρίμα C
4
ἀριστήριον] ἀριστητήριον C 5
ὠμὰ] ὀμὰ C 6
ὑμεῖς] ἡμεῖς S
N.596 459
went out at a run and so did the entire community. They spread their
shawls all the way from the door down to where the elder was, grovelling at
his feet and licking his soles.
When they came into the monastery, the lady [archimandrite] brought a
large basin and filled it with warm water and herbs. She drew up the sisters
in two choirs and she washed the elder’s feet, also the disciple’s. Then,
taking another vessel, she brought the sisters forward and, scooping [water]
from the basin, she poured it on their heads. Finally she poured some on
her own breast and head. All the sisters could be seen speechless as if on
unmoved plinths and all their business took place by means of a striking
[of the signal for worship]; this movement of theirs was angelic. Then the
elder said to the higoumenê: “Are they honouring us or are the sisters
always like this?” She said: “Your servants are always like this, lord-and-
master, but pray for them.” The elder said: “Tell my disciple that he
harasses me like a Goth.” Now one [of the sisters] lay sleeping in the
forecourt dressed in tattered rags. The elder said: “Who is this, sleeping
here?” [The higoumenê] said: “It is one of the sisters; she is a drunkard and
we do not know what to do with her. We are afraid to throw her out of the
monastery because of the responsibility; yet if we leave her here, she
corrupts the sisters.” The elder said to his disciple: “Get the basin and
throw [some water] on her.” When he had done this, she stood up as
though from a drunken stupor. The amma said: “She is always like this,
lord-and-master.”
Then the higoumenê took the elder and led him into the refectory
where she had set out a meal for the sisters, saying: “Bless your handmaids
that they might eat in your presence”, and he blessed them. Only she and
the second in command sat with them; she set before the elder a dish of
soaked pulse, raw vegetables, dates and water. Before his disciple she set
boiled pulse, a little bread and some watered wine. Many dishes were set
before the sisters: fish and wine, as much as they liked. They ate very well,
and nobody spoke. When they had got up, the elder said to the higou-
menê: “What is this you have done? It is we [guests] who ought to have
eaten well, but it is you who ate good things.” The amma said to him:
σου μαθητὴς μοναχοῦ ἐστὶ καὶ τροφὴν μαθητοῦ1 παρέθηκα αὐτῷ, ἡμεῖς δὲ
ἀρχάριαι ἐσμὲν καὶ τροφὴν ἀρχαρίων ἐφάγομεν. Λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ γέρων·
Μνησθείη ἡ ἀγάπη, ὄντως ὠφελήθημεν.
Ἀπερχομένων δὲ αὐτῶν ἀναπαῆναι λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ
αὐτοῦ· Ὕπαγε βλέπε ποῦ κοιμᾶται ἡ μεθύστρια, ὅπου εἰς τὸ μεσίαυλον
ἀνέκειτο. Καὶ ἀπέρχεται καὶ βλέπει καὶ ἔρχεται καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Κατὰ τὴν
ἔκβασιν τῶν σωτηρίων. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Γρηγόρ-
ησον μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὴν νύκτα ταύτην. Καὶ ὅτε ἀνεπάησαν πᾶσαι αἱ ἀ[f.
324ra]δελφαί, λαμβάνει ὁ γέρων τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέρχονται
ὀπίσω τοῦ σιφαρίου καὶ θεωροῦσι τὴν μεθύστριαν ὅτι ἀνέστη καὶ ἐπέτασε
τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὰ δάκρυα αὐτῆς ὡς ποταμὸς καὶ τὰ
χείλη κινούμενα καὶ τὰς μετανοίας ἀναπέμπουσα καὶ καταπίπτουσα εἰς τὸ
ἔδαφος. Καὶ ὅτε ᾐσθάνετο μίαν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀπερχομένην εἰς τὰ ἀνα-
γκαῖα, ἔρριπτεν ἑαυτὴν χαμαὶ ῥέγχουσα. Οὕτως διετέλει πάσας τὰς
ἡμέρας αὐτῆς. Λέγει οὖν ὁ γέρων τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Φώνησόν μοι τὴν
ἡγουμένην εὐφυῶς. Καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἐφώνησεν αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν δευτεραρίαν καὶ
ὅλην τὴν νύκτα ἔβλεπον ἃ ἐποίει. Ἡ δὲ ἡγουμένη ἤρξατο κλαί[f. 324rb]ειν
λέγουσα· Ὤ πόσα κακὰ ἐνεδειξάμην αὐτῇ.
Καὶ ὅτε ἔκρουσε τὸ κρούσμα, θρύλος ἐγένετο περὶ αὐτῆς εἰς τὴν
ἀδελφότητα. Kαὶ ἠσθάνθη καὶ ἀπέρχεται εὐφυῶς ὅπου ἦν κοιμώμενος ὁ
γέρων, καὶ κλέπτει2 τὸ ῥαβδὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἐπεριπτάριν καὶ ἀνοίγει
εὐφυῶς τὴν θύραν τοῦ μοναστηρίου καὶ γράφει πιττάκιν καὶ βάλλει εἰς
τὸ κλείδωμα τῆς θύρας λέγουσα· Εὔξασθαι περὶ3 ἐμοῦ καὶ συγχωρήσατέ
μοι, εἴ τι ἔπταισα εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Καὶ ὅτε ἡμέρα ἐγένετο,
ἐζήτησαν αὐτὴν καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. Καὶ ἀπέρχονται εἰς τὸν πυλῶνα καὶ
εὑρίσκουσιν ἀνεωγμένην τὴν θύραν καὶ τὸ πιττάκιν γεγραμμένον οὕτως
καὶ γίνεται κλαυθμὸς μέγας ἐν τῷ μοναστηρίῳ. Καὶ λέ[f. 324va]γει ὁ
γέρων· Ἐγὼ διὰ ταύτην ἦλθον ὧδε. Τοιούτους γὰρ μεθυστὰς ἀγαπᾷ ὁ
Θεός. Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ συνοδία ἐξωμολογεῖτο4 τῷ γέροντι τὸ τί ἔπραξαν εἰς
αὐτήν. Καὶ ποιήσας ὁ γέρων εὐχὴν ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὸ
κελλίον αὐτῶν δοξάζοντες καὶ εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ τῷ γινώσκοντι
μόνῳ πόσους κρυπτοὺς ἔχει δούλους.5
1
μαθητοῦ] μοναχοῦ S 2
κλέπτει] βλέπει S 3
περὶ] ὑπὲρ S
4
ἐξωμολογεῖτο] ἐξομολογεῖτο C and S
5
τὸ κελλίον. . .. δούλους] τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ δοξαζόντων καὶ εὐχαριστοῦντων τῷ Θεῷ τῷ γινώσκοντι
τοὺς κρυπτοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ S
N.596 461
“You are a monk and I set monastic fare before you. Your disciple is a
monk’s disciple so I set disciple’s food before him. But we are all novices
and we were eating novices’ food.” Then the elder said to her: “May your
love be remembered; we have indeed been edified.”
As they were going to bed, Abba Daniel said to his disciple: “Go and see
if the drunkard is sleeping where she was lying in the forecourt.” He went
and looked then came and said to him: “[She is] by the entrance to the
toilets”, and the elder said to his disciple: “Watch with me this night.”
When all the sisters had gone to bed, the elder took his disciple and went
behind the screen; they saw that the “drunkard” had got up and stretched
her hands to heaven. Her tears flowed like a river; her lips were moving
and she was offering up prostrations, falling down on the pavement. When
she detected one of the sisters coming to the privy, she threw herself to the
ground, snoring. She continued like that all her days. Then the elder said
to his disciple: “Discreetly call the higoumenê for me.” He went and
summoned her and the second in command; then, all night long, they
observed what she was doing. The higoumenê began to weep saying: “Oh,
what badness we have showed her!”
When the signal [for prayers] was given a rumour about her spread
through the sisterhood. She detected this and slipped away discreetly to
where the elder was sleeping, stole his staff and his cowl then discreetly
opened the monastery gate and wrote a note which she thrust in the
keyhole of the door that said: “Pray for me and forgive me any offence
I have given you”; then she disappeared.
When it was day they searched for her but they did not find her. They
came to the porch and found the door open, also the written note; then
there was great lamentation in the monastery. The elder said: “I came here
because of her; God loves drunkards like her.” The whole community
confessed to the elder what they had done to her and, when he had offered
a prayer for the sisters, they went to their cells giving glory and thanks to
God who alone knows how many hidden servants he has.
596.9 Περὶ1 τοῦ λατόμου

Γέγονε κατὰ τὴν Θηβαΐδα ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ὁ πρεσβύτερος τῆς Σκήτεως
ἔχων μεθ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ καί τινα τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ κατερχομένων αὐτῶν
πλέοντες τὸν ποταμὸν παρέβαλον εἰς ἓν κτῆμα, τοῦ γέροντος ἐπι-
τρέψαντος2 τοῖς ναύταις. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Ὧδε ἔχομεν μεῖναι τὴν
σήμερον. [f. 324vb] Καὶ ἤρξατο ὁ μαθητὴς αὐτοῦ γογγύζειν λέγων· Ἕως
πότε γυρεύομεν; Ἄγωμεν λοιπὸν εἰς τὴν Σκῆτιν. Ὁ δὲ γέρων φησίν· Οὐχί,
ἀλλ᾿ ὧδε μένομεν σήμερον. Καὶ ἐκάθισαν εἰς τὸ μέσον τοῦ χωρίου ὡς ξένοι
καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ γέροντι· Ἆρα ἀρέσκει τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι ὡς συναδελφοὶ
καθήμεθα ὧδε; Ἄγωμεν κἂν εἰς μαρτύριον. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Οὐχί, ἀλλ᾿ ὧδε
καθεζόμεθα. Καὶ ἔμειναν ἐκεῖ καθεζόμενοι μέχρις ἑσπέρας βαθείας. Καὶ
ἤρξατο ὁ ἀδελφὸς μάχην ποιεῖν μετὰ τοῦ γέροντος λέγων· Διὰ σὲ ἔχω
ἀποθανεῖν κακῶς.
Αὐτῶν δὲ λαλούντων ἦλθε γέρων τις κοσμικός, μακρός, ὁλοπόλιος καὶ
ἰδὼν τὸν ἀββᾶν Δανιὴλ ἤρξατο τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καταφιλεῖν μετὰ
κλαυθμοῦ. Ἠσπάσατο δὲ [f. 325ra] καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν
αὐτοῖς· Κελεύσατε ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ. Ἐβάσταζε δὲ καὶ φανόν· περιῆγε τὰς ῥύμας
τοῦ χωρίου ζητῶν ξένους. Λαβὼν δὲ τὸν γέροντα καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ
καὶ ὅσους εὗρεν ξένους ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ βαλὼν ὕδωρ εἰς
νιπτῆρα ἔνιψεν τοὺς πόδας τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ τοῦ γέροντος. Οὐκ εἶχε δὲ
τινὰ ἄλλον εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἴδιον, οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν ἄλλῳ τόπῳ, εἰ μὴ μόνον
τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς τράπεζαν καὶ μετὰ τὸ γεύσασθαι αὐτοὺς
λαβὼν τὰ περισσευθέντα κλάσματα τοῖς κυναρίοις τοῦ χωρίου ἔβαλεν –
οὕτως γὰρ εἶχεν ἔθος ποιεῖν – καὶ οὐκ ἤφιεν ἀπὸ ἑσπέρας εἰς τὸ πρωῒ μίαν
ψιχίαν. Καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸν κατιδίαν ὁ γέρων [f. 325rb] ἕως σχεδὸν
διέφαυσεν ἐκαθέζετο λαλῶν αὐτῷ τὰ πρὸς σωτηρίαν μετὰ δακρύων
πολλῶν. Καὶ τῷ πρωῒ ἀσπασάμενοι ἀλλήλους ἀνεχώρησαν.
Γενομένων δὲ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἔβαλεν ὁ μαθητὴς μετάνοιαν τῷ
γέροντι λέγων· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, πάτερ, καὶ εἰπέ μοι τίς ἐστιν ὁ γέρων
οὗτος καὶ πόθεν αὐτὸν γινώσκεις; Καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν εἰπεῖν ὁ γέρων3 τῷ
μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ πάλιν ἐποίησεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφὸς μετάνοιαν λέγων·
Ἄλλα μοι πολλὰ ἐθάρρησας καὶ τὰ τοῦ γέροντος τούτου οὐ θαρρεῖς μοι;
Ἦν γὰρ θαρρήσας αὐτῷ ἀρετὰς πολλῶν ἁγίων. Ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐκ ἠθέλησε
1
περὶ] περὶ Εὐλογίου S 2
ἐπιτρέψαντος] ἐπιτρέψαντος αὐτὸ S
3
εἰπεῖν ὁ γέρων] ὁ γέρων εἰπεῖν S
N.596 463
N.596.9 BHG 618, Eulogius latomus

Eulogius the stonemason
Abba Daniel, the priest of Scete, had been in the Thebaïd accompanied by
one of his disciples. On the return journey, sailing down the river, they
visited an estate, as the elder had directed the sailors. Then the elder said:
“We are going to stay here today”, and his disciple began to complain,
saying: “How much longer are we going to travel around? Let us get to
Scete.” But the elder said: “No; we are staying here today.” They sat down
in the centre of the village like strangers and the brother said to the elder:
“Is it pleasing to God that we are sitting here like club-members? Let us at
least go into a martyr’s shrine.” The elder said: “No; we are sitting here”,
and they remained sitting there until late in the evening. The brother
began to quarrel with the elder, saying: “I am going to die a miserable
death on your account.”
While they were speaking, an elderly wordling came by; tall and
completely grey. On seeing Abba Daniel he began kissing his feet, weeping
all the time. He embraced his disciple too, then said to them: “Make [my]
house your home.” He was carrying a lantern and he was going around the
alleys of the village looking for strangers. He took the elder, his disciple
and as many strangers as he found and went to his house. Pouring water
into a bowl he washed the brothers’ feet and the elder’s. He had no one
else at his own house and not in any other place, other than God alone. He
set a table before them and, after they had eaten, he took the crumbs that
remained and threw them to the village dogs. He was in the habit of doing
that; he would not allow a single crumb to remain from evening to dawn.
Taking him aside, the elder sat talking to him with many tears about the
way of salvation [and continued] until it almost grew light. At dawn they
embraced each other and went their separate ways.
When they were on their way, the disciple prostrated himself before the
elder and said: “Of your charity, father, tell me who that old man is and
where you know him from”, but the elder did not want to tell his disciple.
Again the brother prostrated himself, saying: “You have entrusted many
other things to me, and now will you not confide in me the things
concerning this old man?” He had indeed shared the virtues of many
saints with him in confidence but the elder was unwilling to tell the
λαλῆσαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ τὰ περὶ τοῦ γέροντος τούτου ὥστε1 τὸν ἀδελφὸν
χολέσαι καὶ μὴ λαλῆσαι τῷ [f. 325va] γέροντι ἕως τῆς Σκήτεως. Ἐλθὼν δὲ ὁ
ἀδελφὸς εἰς τὸ κελλίον τὸ ἴδιον οὐκ ἀπήνεγκε τῷ γέροντι τὸ μικρὸν τοῦ
φαγίου κατὰ τὸ σύνηθες· τὴν ἐνδεκάτην γὰρ ὥραν ἐφύλαττεν ὁ γέρων
πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ. Ἑσπέρας δὲ γενομένης ἦλθεν ὁ γέρων
εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Διατί τέκνον εἴασας τὸν
πατέρα σου ἀποθανεῖν ἀπὸ λιμοῦ; Ὁ δὲ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐγὼ πατέρα
οὐκ ἔχω. Εἰ γὰρ εἶχον πατέρα, ἠγάπα ἂν τὸ ἴδιον τέκνον. Καὶ λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Οὐκοῦν, εἰ μὴ ἔχῃς2 πατέρα, παράθου. Καὶ δραξαμένου αὐτοῦ τῆς
θύρας ἀπελθεῖν φθάνει αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ κρατεῖ, καὶ ἤρξατο καταφιλεῖν
αὐτὸν καὶ λέγειν· Ζῇ Κύριος, οὐκ ἀπολύω σε, ἐὰν μή μοι [f. 325vb] εἴπῃς τίς
ἦν ὁ γέρων ἐκεῖνος. Οὐκ ἠδύνατο γὰρ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἰδεῖν τὸν γέροντα
θλιβόμενον ποτέ· ἠγάπα γὰρ αὐτὸν πάνυ. Τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ποίησόν μοι τὸ μικρὸν φαγίον πρῶτον καὶ οὕτως λέγω σοι. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ
γεύσασθαι λέγει τῷ ἀδελφῷ· Μὴ ἵνα ᾖς σκληροτράχηλος, διὰ γὰρ τὸ
ἀντιλέγειν σε εἰς τὸ χωρίον καὶ γογγύζειν οὐκ ἀπήγγειλά σοι τὰ περὶ τοῦ
γέροντος, καὶ νῦν βλέπε μηδενὶ δευτερώσῃς ἃ ἀκούεις. Οὗτος ὁ γέρων
Εὐλόγιος λέγεται, τῇ δὲ τέχνῃ λατόμος ἐστί. Καὶ καταλύει οὖν ἐκ τοῦ
ἐργοχείρου αὐτοῦ ἡμερούσιον3 ἓν4 κεράτιον νουμίων, ἕως ἑσπέρας μὴ
γευόμενος τινὸς καὶ τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ ἐξέρχεται εἰς τὸ κτῆμα καὶ ὅσους εὕρῃ
ξένους λαμβά[f. 326ra]νει αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ τρέφει αὐτούς, καὶ
τὰ περισσεύματα τῶν κλασμάτων παραβάλλει τοῖς κυναρίοις, καθὼς εἶδες.
Ἔχει δὲ τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα τοῦ λατόμου ἐκ νεότητος μέχρι τῆς σήμερον. Ἔστι
δὲ σήμερον ἑκατὸν ἐτῶν πλεῖον ἢ ἔλαττον καὶ χορηγεῖ αὐτῷ ὁ Χριστὸς
δύναμιν καὶ καταλύει ἡμερήσιον τὸ αὐτὸ κεράτιον τῶν νουμίων.
Ὅτε δὲ ἤμην νεώτερος, ὡς πρὸ ἐτῶν τεσσαράκοντα, ἀνέβην πωλῆσαι
τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου εἰς τὸ κτῆμα ἐκεῖνο καὶ τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ ἦλθε καὶ ἔλαβέ με καὶ
ἄλλους σὺν ἐμοὶ ἀδελφοὺς κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς καὶ ἐξενοδόχησεν ἡμᾶς. Ἐγὼ δὲ
ἐλθὼν ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἠρξάμην νηστεύειν ἑβδο
[f. 326rb]μάδας συναπτὰς καὶ παρακαλεῖν τὸν θεὸν χορηγῆσαι αὐτῷ περι-
σσὸν ἀνάλωμα, ἵνα ἔχῃ5 καὶ εὐεργετῇ καὶ ἄλλους πλείονας. Καὶ νηστεύσας
τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ἐκείμην ἀπὸ τῆς ἀσκήσεως ἡμιθανής. Καὶ βλέπω τινὰ
ἐλθόντα ἔγγιστά μου ἱεροπρεπῆ τῷ6 σχήματι καὶ λέγει μοι· Δανιήλ, τί
ἔχεις; Καὶ λέγω αὐτῷ· Λόγον, δέσποτα, δέδωκα τῷ Χριστῷ, μὴ γεύ-
σασθαι ἄρτου, ἕως οὗ ἀκούσῃ μου περὶ Εὐλογίου τοῦ λατόμου, ἵνα
ἐπιχορηγήσῃ αὐτῷ εὐλογίαν, ἵνα καὶ ἄλλους πλείονας εὐεργετήσῃ. Καὶ
1
ὥστε] ὥστε καὶ S 2
ἔχῃς]ἔχεις C 3
ἡμερούσιον] ἡμερίσιον C
4
ἓν] om S 5
ἔχῃ] ἔχει C 6
τῷ] τὸ C
N.596 465
brother the things concerning that old man, with the result that this upset
the brother and he would not speak to the elder until they came to Scete.
Coming to his own cell the brother did not bring him the usual little bit
of food (for the elder was in the habit of fasting until the eleventh hour all
the days of his life). When evening fell, the elder came to the brother’s cell
and said to him: “Why did you let your father die of hunger, my son?” He
said to him: “I have no father; for if I had a father, he would love his own
son.” The elder said: “Very well then, if you have no father, provide for
yourself.” He already had his hand on the door to leave when the brother
overtook him and held him back. He began to kiss him, saying: “As the
Lord lives, I will not let you go unless you tell me who that old man was”,
for, on account of his great love for him, the brother could never bear to
see the elder afflicted. Then the elder said to him: “First make me a little
food and then I will tell you.” When he had eaten, he said to the brother:
“I did not tell you about the old man because you argued in the village and
complained, so you would not be stiff-necked; now, make sure that you do
not repeat what you are hearing to anybody.”
“This old man’s name is Eulogius and he is a stonemason by trade. By
the work of his hands he earns each day the sum of one keration and he eats
nothing until evening. In the evening he comes out to the estate and he
takes home with him as many strangers as he finds. He feeds them and
throws the remains of the broken loaves to the dogs, as you saw. He has
followed the occupation of stonemason from his youth until this day. He is
now about a hundred years old. Christ gives him the strength to earn the
same daily sum of a keration. When I was a young man, about forty years
ago I went up to sell my handiwork on that estate and, when it was
evening, he came and took me and other brothers with me (as was his
habit) and entertained us as his guests. Coming here after seeing the virtue
of the man, I began to fast a whole week at a time, beseeching God that he
would provide him with a larger income so that he could receive and
benefit yet more people. After fasting for three weeks, I lay half dead from
my asceticism. Then I saw a person of sacrosanct form coming very close
to me and saying to me: ‘What is the matter with you, Daniel?’ I said to
him: ‘Lord-and-master, I have given my word to Christ that I will not taste
bread until he hears me concerning Eulogius the stonemason; to provide
him with a blessing for him to benefit many others.’ And he said to me:
‘No, it is well as it is’, and I said to him: ‘You should rather give to him, sir,
so that everybody might glorify your holy name through him.’ He said to
λέγει μοι· Οὐχί, καλῶς ἐστιν. Λέγω αὐτῷ· Μᾶλλον, Κύριε, δὸς αὐτῷ, ἵνα
πάντες δι᾿ αὐτοῦ δοξάζωσι τὸ ὄνομά σου τὸ ἅγιον. Καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἐγώ σοι
λέγω καλῶς ἔστιν οὕτως. Εἰ [f. 326va] δὲ θέλεις ἵνα χορηγήσω αὐτῷ,
ἐγγύησαι περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, ὅτι σώζεται ἐν τοῖς πλείοσι, κἀγὼ
παρέχω αὐτῷ. Λέγω οὖν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν μου ἐκζήτησον
τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ βλέπω ὡς ὅτι εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν ἀνάστασιν ἐστήκαμεν
καὶ μειράκιον ἐκάθητο ἐπάνω τοῦ ἁγίου λίθου καὶ τὸν Εὐλόγιον ἐκ δεξιῶν
αὐτοῦ παριστάμενον. Καὶ πέμπει πρός με τινὰ τῶν παρισταμένων αὐτῷ
καὶ λέγει μοι· Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐγγυησάμενος Εὐλόγιον; Καὶ λέγουσι πάντες·
Ναί, δέσποτα. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Εἴπατε αὐτῷ ὅτι τὴν ἐγγύην ἀπαιτῆσαι
ἔχω; Καὶ λέγω αὐτῷ· Ναί, δέσποτα, πρὸς ἐμέ. Μόνον δὸς αὐτῷ. Καὶ
βλέπω ὅτι ἐκένουν εἰς τὸν κόλπον Εὐλογίου χρήματα πολλὰ πάνυ καὶ
ὅσον ἐκεῖνοι ἐκένουν [f. 326vb], τοσοῦτον ὑπεδέχετο ὁ κόλπος Εὐλογίου.
Καὶ διυπνισθεὶς ἔγνων ὅτι εἰσηκούσθην καὶ ἐδόξασα τὸν Θεόν. Εὐλόγιος
δὲ ἐξελθὼν εἰς τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ κρούει εἰς πέτραν καὶ ἀκούει ὑπό-
κουφόν τινα ψόφον. Καὶ πάλιν κρούει και εὑρίσκει τρυμαλιὰν μικράν. Καὶ
πάλιν κρούει καὶ εὑρίσκει σπήλαιον μεστὸν χρημάτων. Ἔκθαμβος δὲ
γενόμενος ὁ Εὐλόγιος λέγει ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Τὰ χρήματα ταῦτα τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν
εἰσίν. Τί δὲ ποιήσω; Ἐὰν λάβω αὐτὰ εἰς τὸ κτῆμα, ἀκούει ὁ ἄρχων καὶ
ἔρχεται καὶ λαμβάνει αὐτὰ κἀγὼ1 κινδυνεύω. Μᾶλλον οὖν εἰς τὴν ἔξω
χώραν, ὅπου οὐδείς με γινώσκει, ἀπέλθω. Καὶ μισθωσάμενος ζῷα, ὡς ἵνα
κουβαλήσῃ λίθους, νυκτὸς ἐκουβάλησε2 τὰ χρήματα παρὰ [f. 327ra]
ποταμὸν καὶ κατέλυσε τὸ καλὸν ἔργον ἐκεῖνο ὃ ἐποίει ἡμερήσιον. Καὶ
βαλὼν εἰς πλοῖον τὰ χρήματα καταλαμβάνει τὸ Βυζάντιον. Ἐβασίλευε δὲ
τότε Ἰουστῖνος ὁ γέρων. Καὶ δίδωσι χρήματα πολλὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τοῖς
μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ, ὥστε γενέσθαι αὐτὸν ὕπαρχον τῶν ἱερῶν πραιτορίων.
Καὶ οἰκίαν ἠγόρασε μεγάλην καὶ λέγεται Τὰ Αἰγύπτου μέχρι τῆς σήμερον.
Καὶ μετὰ δύο ἔτη βλέπω κατ᾿ ὄναρ τὸ μειράκιον ἐκεῖνο πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἁγίαν
ἀνάστασιν καὶ λέγω ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἆρα ποῦ ἔστιν ὁ Εὐλόγιος; Καὶ μετὰ
μικρὸν βλέπω τὸν Εὐλόγιον συρόμενον ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ μειρακίου
ὑπὸ ἑνὸς Αἰθίοπος. Καὶ διυπνισθεὶς λέγω ἐν ἐμαυτῷ· Ἀβάλε μοι τῷ
ἁμαρτωλῷ, ἀπώλεσά3 μου τὴν ψυχήν.4 Καὶ λαβὼν τὴν πή[f. 327rb]ραν
μου ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὸ κτῆμα ὡς πωλῶν τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου. Καὶ προσδο-
κῶντος μου εὑρεῖν τὸν Εὐλόγιον ἑσπέρα πάνυ ἐγένετο καὶ οὐδείς με5
προετρέψατο. Ἐγείρομαι οὖν καὶ ἐπερωτῶ μίαν γραῦν καὶ λέγω αὐτῇ·
1
κἀγὼ] εγὼ δὲ S 2
] κουβαλήσῃ. . . ἐκουβάλησε] κουβαλίσῃ. . . ἐκουβάλισε C
3
ἀπώλεσά] ἀπόλεσά C 4
μου τὴν ψυχήν] τὴν ψυχήν μου S 5
με] μοι C
N.596 467
me: ‘I am telling you that it is all right as it is. But if you want me to
provide him [with more], guarantee that his soul will be saved while having
more – and then I will supply him.’ So I said to him: ‘Require his soul at
my hands.’
“And then I see as though we are standing in the Holy Sepulchre and a
young man sitting on the Holy Stone and Eulogius was standing at his
right hand. And he sent to me one of those standing by him and said to
me: ‘Is this he who stands warranty for Eulogius?’ and they all said: ‘Yes,
Lord-and-master.’ Again he spoke: ‘Tell him that I have to require the
guarantee’, and I said to him: ‘Yes, Lord-and-master, – of me; only give to
him.’ Then I saw that they were pouring a large amount of money into
Eulogius’ lap and the lap of Eulogius received as much as they poured. On
awakening I knew I had been heard and I glorified God.
“Eulogius went off to his work; striking a rock, he heard a rather hollow
sound. He struck it again and found a small aperture; struck again and
discovered a cave that was filled with money. Flabbergasted, Eulogius said
to himself: ‘This is the Israelites’ money; what am I to do? If I take it onto
the estate, the governor will hear about it; he will come and seize it and
I will be in jeopardy. Let me rather go to a distant country where nobody
knows me.’ So he hired some beasts as though he were going to transport
stones and carried the money along the river by night, abandoning that
good work that he used to perform day by day. Putting the money aboard
ship, he reached Byzantion.
“Now Justin the Elder was reigning at that time. [Eulogius] gave large
amounts of money to the emperor and to his grandees, with the result that
he became commander of the sacred Praetorian Guard. He bought himself
a grand mansion that is known to this day as ‘The Egyptian’s’. Two years
later, in a dream, I saw that youth at the Holy Sepulchre again and I said to
myself: ‘Now where on earth is Eulogius?’ and, shortly after, I saw Eulo-
gius being dragged away from the presence of the young man by an
Ethiopian. On awakening, I said to myself: ‘Ah! Woe to me the sinner!
I have lost my soul!’ I took my pack and went off to the estate as though
I were selling my handiwork. I was expecting to find Eulogius but it got to
be very late in the evening and nobody took me in. So I got up and I asked
an old woman, saying to her: ‘Surely you, mother, will get me three dry
crusts so I can eat, for I have not eaten today.’ She went and brought me a
little cooked food and set it before me. She sat down and began speaking
Ὄντως σύ,1 ἀμμᾶ, λάβε μοι τρία παξαμάτια, ἵνα φάγω, ὅτι οὐκ ἔφαγον
σήμερον. Ἡ δὲ ἀπελθοῦσα ἤνεγκέ μοι ὀλίγον ἑψητὸν καὶ παρέθηκέ μοι.
Καὶ παρακαθίσασα ἤρξατο λαλεῖν μοι2 ὠφελείας ῥήματα λέγουσα· Κύρι
ἀββᾶ,3 οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι νεώτερος εἶ καὶ οὐκ ὤφειλες4 εἰς κτῆμα ἀπέρχεσθαι;
Ἢ οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι τὸ μοναχικὸν σχῆμα ἡσυχίαν θέλει καὶ ἄλλα τινά. Καὶ
λέγω αὐτῇ· Τί οὖν κελεύεις ἵνα ποιήσω, ὅτι τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου ἦλθον
πωλῆσαι. Ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· Κἂν5 τὸ ἐργόχειρόν σου πωλῇς, μὴ ὄψιζε [f. 327va]
οὕτως εἰς κτῆμα. Ἐὰν γὰρ θέλῃς μοναχὸς γενέσθαι ὕπαγε εἰς Σκῆτιν. Καὶ
λέγω αὐτῇ· Ὄντως σὺ6 ἄφες με μὴ τὰς ὁμιλίας ταύτας, οὐκ ἔστιν εἰς τὸ
κτῆμα τοῦτο ἄνθρωπος φοβούμενος τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἐπισυνάγων τοὺς ξένους;
Καὶ λέγει μοι· Ὤ, τί ἐλάλησας, κύρι ἀββᾶ. Εἴχομεν ὧδε λατόμον τινὰ καὶ
πολλὰ καλὰ ἐποίει εἰς τοὺς ξένους. Καὶ ἰδὼν ὁ Θεὸς τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἔδωκεν
αὐτῷ χάριν καὶ ἔστιν ὡς ἀκούομεν πατρίκιος σήμερον. Ἀκούσας δὲ ἐγὼ
ταῦτα λέγω ἐν ἐμαυτῷ· Ἐγὼ τὸν φόνον τοῦτον εἰργασάμην.
Καὶ ἐμβὰς εἰς πλοῖον καταλαμβάνω τὸ Βυζάντιον. Καὶ περιεργασάμενος
τὴν οἰκίαν Εὐλογίου τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου καθέζομαι ἔμπροσθε τοῦ πυλῶνος
αὐτοῦ, ἕως ὅτε προῆλθεν. Καὶ θεωρῶ αὐτὸν ἐν φαντα[f. 327vb]σίᾳ πολλῇ
καὶ κράζω αὐτῷ· Ἐλέησόν με, τίποτε θέλω σοι ἰδιάσαι, καὶ οὐ προσέσχε
μοι, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὀψίκιον αὐτοῦ ἔτυπτέ με. Καὶ προελάμβανον καὶ πάλιν
ἔκραζον καὶ πάλιν ἔτυπτόν με. Καὶ ἐποίησα οὕτως χειμαζόμενος τέσσαρας
ἑβδομάδας καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνήθην αὐτῷ συντυχεῖν. Τότε ὀλιγωρήσας ἀπῆλθον
καὶ ἔρριψα ἐμαυτὸν ἔμπροσθε τῆς εἰκόνος τῆς Παναγίας Θεοτόκου μετὰ
κλαυθμοῦ καὶ λέγω πρὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα· Κύριε, ἢ λῦσον τὴν ἐγγύην τοῦ
ἀνθρώπου τούτου ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἢ κἀγὼ ὑπάγω εἰς τὸν κόσμον. Καὶ ταῦτά
μου ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ λαλοῦντος ἀπενύσταξα. Καὶ ἰδοὺ θόρυβος πολὺς ἤρχετο
καὶ λέγουσι·7 Ἡ αὐγούστα προέρχεται καὶ προῆλθον ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῆς
μυριάδες καὶ χιλιάδες ταγμάτων. Καὶ ἔκραξα [f. 328ra] ἐγὼ καὶ εἶπον·
Ἐλέησόν με, δέσποινά8 μου. Ἡ δὲ ἔστη καὶ λέγει μοι· Τί ἔστιν ὃ ἔχεις; Καὶ
λέγω αὐτῇ· Εὐλόγιον τὸν ὕπαρχον ἐνηγγυησάμην καὶ κέλευσον αὐτῷ
ἐκλυτρῶσαί με τῆς ἐγγύης ταύτης. Ἡ δὲ εἶπέν μοι· Ἐγὼ πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἔχω,
ὡς θέλεις πλήρωσον τὴν ἐγγύην. Καὶ διυπνισθεὶς λέγω ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἐὰν δεῖ
με ἀποθανεῖν, οὐκ ἀναχωρῶ τοῦ πυλῶνος, εἰ μὴ συντύχω αὐτῷ. Καὶ
ἀπῆλθον πάλιν ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ πυλῶνος καὶ ὡς προέρχεται ἔκραξα καὶ
ἐπιτρέχει μοι ὁ ὀστιάριος καὶ δίδωσί μοι βέργας, ἕως οὗ κατέπεσεν ὅλον τὸ
1
σὺ] σοι C 2
λαλεῖν μοι] μοὶ λαλεῖν S 3
Κύρι ἀββᾶ] om S 4
ὤφειλες] ὀφείλες S
5
Κἂν] ἂν S 6
σὺ corr] σοὶ C and S 7
λέγουσι] φησίν add C
8
δέσποινά] δέσποτά C
N.596 469
beneficial words to me saying: ‘Abba, do you not realise, sir, that, being a
young man, you ought not to have gone off to an estate? Or do you not
know that the monastic life requires silence?’ – and other things. I said to
her: ‘But what do you bid me to do, for I came to sell my handiwork?’ She
said: ‘Even if you are selling your handiwork, do not stay late like this on
an estate. If you want to be a monk, get off to Scete.’ I said to her: ‘Really,
spare me these admonishments. Is there not a God-fearing man on this
estate who gathers up the strangers?’ And she said: ‘Ah, abba, what did you
say, sir? We used to have a stonemason here who did many good things for
strangers. God saw his deeds and was gracious to him: from what we hear,
he is now a noble.’ On hearing this I said to myself: ‘It is I who committed
this murder.’
“I boarded a ship and reached Byzantion. After enquiring about the
mansion of Eulogius the Egyptian, I sat down before his gateway until he
should come. I saw him with a numerous retinue and cried out to him:
‘Have mercy on me: I want to say something to you in private’, but he paid
no attention to me and his attendants beat me. I caught up with him and
cried out again, but again they beat me. I spent four weeks suffering
grievously like that and was unable to contact him. Discouraged, I went
and threw myself down before the icon of the all-holy Mother of God.
With weeping I said to the Saviour: ‘Lord, either release me from the
guarantee I made for that man, or I too will return to the world.’
“As I was saying these things in my mind, I was overcome by sleep and,
behold, an uproar began and they said: ‘The empress is approaching’, and
there went before her myriads and thousands of ranks [of angels]. I cried
out saying: ‘Have mercy on me, my Lady.’ Coming to a halt she said to
me: ‘What is the matter with you?’ I said to her: ‘I stood warranty for
Eulogius the commander; if it please you, bid him redeem me from that
guarantee.’ She said to me: ‘This is not my affair; fulfil your guarantee the
best you can.’ When I awoke, I said to myself: ‘If it costs me my life, I will
not leave this gateway unless I contact [Eulogius].’ I went before the
gateway again and, as he approached, I called out but the doorkeeper ran
at me and gave me blows until every part of my body was broken. Then, in
despair, I said to myself: ‘Let us go to Scete and, if God wills it, he will save
Eulogius too.’
“Off I went in search of a ship and found one of Alexandria. No sooner
was I on board but I lay down from exhaustion and fell asleep. Yet again
σῶμά μου. Τότε ὀλιγωρήσας λέγω ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἄγωμεν εἰς Σκῆτιν καί, ἐὰν
θέλῃ ὁ Θεός, σώζει καὶ τὸν Εὐλόγιον.
Ἐμοῦ δὲ ἀπερχομένου ἐρευνῆσαι πλοῖον εὑρέθη ἀλεξανδρινὸν καὶ μόνον
ἀνέβην εἰς [f. 328rb] αὐτὸ ἔθηκα ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ ὀλιγωρίας. Καὶ πάλιν
ἀφυπνώσας βλέπω ἐμαυτὸν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ ἀναστάσει1 καὶ τὸ μειράκιον ἐκεῖνο
καθήμενον ἐπὶ τοῦ λίθου καὶ προσέσχεν με μετὰ ἀπειλῆς, ὥστε ἐκ τοῦ
φόβου αὐτοῦ τρέμειν με ὡς φύλλον2 καὶ μὴ δύνασθαι ἀνοῖξαι τὸ στόμα
ἀπελιθώθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία μου καὶ ἔλεγέ μοι· Οὐχ ὑπάγεις πληροῖς τὴν
ἐγγύην; Καὶ κελεύει δύο τῶν παρισταμένων αὐτῷ καὶ κρεμνῶσι με
ὀπισθάγκωνα καὶ ἔλεγέ μοι· Μὴ ὑπὲρ τὴν δύναμίν σου ἐγγυῶ καὶ μὴ
ἀντίλεγε Θεῷ. Καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνάμην ἀνοῖξαι τὸ στόμα μου κρεμάμενος. Καὶ
ἰδοὺ φωνὴ λέγουσα· Ἡ αὐγούστα προέρχεται. Καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ἔλαβον
θάρσος καὶ προσπεσὼν λέγω αὐτῇ λεπτῇ φωνῇ· Ἐλέησόν με, δέσποινα
τοῦ κόσμου. Καὶ λέγει μοι· Τί πάλιν θέλεις; [f. 328va] Λέγω αὐτῇ· Περὶ τῆς
ἐγγύης3 Εὐλογίου κρέμαμαι. Καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἐγὼ παρακαλῶ ὑπὲρ σοῦ. Καὶ
βλέπω ὅτι ἀπῆλθε καὶ κατεφίλησε τοὺς πόδας τοῦ μειρακίου ἐκείνου. Καὶ
λέγει μοι τὸ μειράκιον· Μηκέτι ποιήσῃς τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο. Οὐχί, δέσποτα,
καὶ ἀποκρίνομαι μετὰ φόβου,4 ἐγὼ γὰρ παρεκάλεσα ἵνα χρήσιμος γένηται
οὐχὶ ἀχρήσιμος.5 Καὶ εἶπον· Ἥμαρτον, δέσποτα. Συγχώρησόν μοι. Καὶ
κελεύει καὶ λύουσί με καὶ λέγει μοι· Ὕπαγε εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου καί, πῶς
φέρω τὸν Εὐλόγιον εἰς τὴν πρώτην τάξιν αὐτοῦ, μὴ μάθῃς. Καὶ διυπνισθεὶς
ἐχάρην6 χαρὰν μεγάλην ἀπαλλαγεὶς τῆς τοιαύτης ἐγγύης, καὶ ἔπλευσα
εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ.
Μετὰ δὲ τρεῖς μῆνας ἀκούω ὅτι ἐτελεύτησεν Ἰουστῖνος ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ
βασιλεύει Ἰουστινιανός. Εἶτα μετ᾿ ὀλίγον χρόνον ἀνταί[f. 328vb]ρουσιν
αὐτῷ Ὑπάτιος καὶ Δεξικράτης καὶ Πόμπιος καὶ ὁ αὐτὸς Εὐλόγιος ὁ
ὕπαρχος. Καὶ οἱ μὲν τρεῖς ἀπεκεφαλίσθησαν καὶ διηρπάγη πάντα τὰ
αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ οὐσία Εὐλογίου. Καὶ φεύγει νυκτὸς ἀπὸ Κωνσταντινουπό-
λεως ὁ Εὐλόγιος καὶ κελεύει ὁ Ἰουστινιανὸς ἵνα, ὅπου εὑρεθῇ ὁ Εὐλόγιος,
ἀποθάνῃ. Τότε φεύγει καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς τὸ χωρίον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀλλάσσῃ7 τὰ
ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ὡς τὰ τῶν χωρικῶν καὶ συνήχθη ὅλον τὸ κτῆμα ἰδεῖν τὸν
Εὐλόγιον καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Καλῶς ἦλθες. Ἠκούσαμεν ὅτι πατρίκιος
ἐγένου. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ναί, εἰ πατρίκιος ἐγενόμην τὴν ὄψιν ὑμῶν
ἔβλεπον; Οὐχί, ἀλλὰ ἄλλος Εὐλόγιος τῆς χώρας ταύτης ἐστίν. Ἐγὼ γὰρ
1
ἀναστάσει] ἱσταμενον add S 2
φύλλον] φύλον C 3
ἐγγύης] τοῦ add S
4
ἀποκρίνομαι μετὰ φόβου] om C 5
ἀχρήσιμος] ἄχρῃστος S
6
ἐχάρην] ἐχάριν C 7
ἀλλάσσῃ] ἀλλάσσει S
N.596 471
I saw myself at the Holy Sepulchre and that young man sitting upon the
Stone. He turned a threatening face towards me, so that I trembled like a
leaf for fear of him and could not open my mouth, for my heart had turned
to stone. ‘You are not going to honour your guarantee?’ he said to me. He
gave orders to two of his attendants who hanged me up with my hands
behind my back and he said to me: ‘Do not offer guarantees which are
beyond your power to fulfil; do not contradict God’, and I could not open
my mouth as I hung there.
“Then, behold, a voice saying: ‘The empress is approaching!’ When
I saw her, I took courage and, falling down before her, I said to her in a
tiny little voice: ‘Have mercy on me, lady-and-mistress of the world.’ She
said to me: ‘Now what do you want?’ I told her: ‘I am hanging here
because of the guarantee I gave for Eulogius’, and she said: ‘I am going to
intercede for you.’ I saw how she went and kissed the feet of that young
man. Then he said to me: ‘Do not ever do such a thing again.’ ‘I will not,
Lord-and-master’, I replied, beseeching him to deal gently with me, not
unkindly. ‘I have sinned, lord-and-master’, I said; ‘forgive me.’ At his
command they let me down; then he said to me: ‘Get to your cell and
do not seek to know how I will bring Eulogius [back] to his first state.’
I awoke and rejoiced with exceeding great joy at having been released from
such a guarantee; I sailed on, giving thanks to God.
“Three months later I heard that the emperor Justin [518–27] had died
and that Justinian [527–65] was reigning. Then, shortly afterwards,
Hypates, Dexikraites, Pompey and Eulogius the proconsul too rebelled
against him. Three of them were executed; all their belongings were
plundered, as was the property of Eulogius, but he fled by night from
Constantinople. Justinian ordered that wherever Eulogius were found, he
was to die. In his flight he came to his village, where he exchanged his
clothes for those of peasants. The entire estate assembled to see Eulogius
and they said to him: ‘Welcome; we heard that you had become a noble.’
He said: ‘Well, and if I had become a noble, would I be looking you in the
face? No, that is another Eulogius from this region, for I was at the Holy
Places.’ Now he came to himself and said: ‘Wretched Eulogius, get up!
Resume your stonemasonry and get to work. There is no palace here in
which you can lose your head.’ So he took his stonemason’s tools and went
εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους τόπους ἤμην. Καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς ἑαυτὸν καὶ λέγει· Ταπεινὲ
[f. 329ra] Εὐλόγιε, ἔγειρε λάβε τὸ λατόμιόν σου καὶ ὕπαγε κάμε. Ὧδε γὰρ
παλάτιον οὐκ ἔστι ἵνα1 μήποτε καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου ἀπολέσῃς. Καὶ λαβὼν
τὸ λατομικὸν ἐργαλεῖον, ἐξέβη εἰς τὴν πέτραν ὅπου τὰ χρήματα εὗρεν ὡς
νομίζων εὑρεῖν ἄλλα· καὶ κρούσας ἕως ὥρας ἕκτης οὐδὲν εὗρεν. Καὶ ἤρξατο
μιμνήσκεσθαι τὰ ὀψίκια, τὴν ἀπάτην καὶ τὴν φαντασίαν καὶ τὰ ἐδέσματα
καὶ πάλιν ἔλεγεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Ἔγειρε, ταπεινὲ Εὐλόγιε, κάμε. Ὧδε Αἴγυπτός
ἐστιν. Καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν μικρὸν κατέστησεν αὐτὸν τὸ ἅγιον μειράκιον καὶ ἡ
δέσποινα ἡμῶν ἡ θεοτόκος εἰς τὴν προτέραν τάξιν αὐτοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ ἄδικος
ὁ Θεὸς ἐπιλαθέσθαι τῶν πρώτων αὐτοῦ καμάτων.
Μετὰ δὲ ὀλίγον χρόνον ἀνέβην εἰς τὸ χωρίον ἐκεῖνο πωλῆσαι τὸ
ἐργόχειρόν μου [f. 329rb] καὶ ἰδοὺ ἑσπέρας ἦλθε κατὰ τὸ πρῶτον ἔθος
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλαβέ με. Καὶ ὡς εἶδον αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ κονιορτοῦ ἀνεστέναξα καὶ
δακρύσας εἶπον· Ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθη τὰ ἔργα σου, Κύριε· πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ
ἐποίησας. Τίς Θεὸς μέγας ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν· σὺ εἶ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιῶν θαυμάσια
μόνος. Ὁ ἐγείρων ἀπὸ γῆς πτωχὸν καὶ ἀπὸ κοπρίας ἀνυψῶν πένητα. Κύριος
πτωχίζει καὶ πλουτίζει, ταπεινοῖ καὶ ἀνυψοῖ. Τὰ θαυμάσιά σου ἢ τὰ κρίματά
σου τίς ἐξιχνιάσει. Ἐγὼ δὲ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐπεχείρησα καὶ παρὰ βραχὺ
παρῴκησε τῷ ᾅδῃ ἡ ψυχή μου. Καὶ λαβών με ἔβαλεν ὕδωρ καὶ ἔνιψέ μου
τοὺς πόδας, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ξένων κατὰ τὸ ἔθος, καὶ παρέθηκεν
ἡμῖν τράπεζαν. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ γεύσασθαι ἡμᾶς λέγω αὐτῷ· Πῶς ἔχεις, ἀβ
[f. 329va]βᾶ Εὐλόγιε; Ὁ δὲ λέγει μοι· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, κύρι ἀββᾶ, ὅτι
ταπεινός εἰμι μὴ ἔχων μετὰ χεῖρας τίποτε. Λέγω αὐτῷ· Εἴθε καὶ ἃ ἔχεις μὴ
εἶχες. Λέγει μοι· Διατί, κύρι ἀββᾶ, τίποτέ σε ἐσκανδάλισα; Λέγω αὐτῷ· Τί
γὰρ οὐκ ἐσκανδάλισάς με; Τότε ἀνεθέμην αὐτῷ ἅπαντα τὰ γενόμενα καὶ
κλαυσάντων ἀμφοτέρων ἡμῶν λέγει μοι· Εὖξαι, κύρι ἀββᾶ, ἵνα πέμψῃ ὁ
Θεὸς τὴν χρείαν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν διορθοῦμαι. Καὶ λέγω αὐτῷ· Ὄντως,
τέκνον, μὴ προσδοκήσῃς ἔτι πιστευθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἄλλο τίποτε,
ὅσον εἶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, εἰ μὴ τὸ κεράτιον τοῦτο τοῦ καμάτου σου.
Καὶ ἰδοὺ τοσούτους χρόνους ἐχορήγησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς τὴν δύναμιν
καταλύειν τὸ κεράτιον τοῦ χειρεργίου αὐτοῦ. Ἰδοὺ οὖν εἶπόν σοι καὶ
πόθεν αὐτὸν γνω[f. 329vb]ρίζω, τέκνον. Καὶ λοιπὸν σὺ μὴ δευτερώσῃς
ταῦτα τινί.
Ταῦτα ἐθάρρησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τὸ ἐπανα-
λύσαι αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ Θηβαΐδος. Θαυμάσαι δέ ἐστιν τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ
φιλανθρωπίαν, πῶς δι᾿ ὀλίγου ὕψωσε τὸν Εὐλόγιον καὶ πάλιν ἐταπείνωσε
1
ἵνα] om C
N.596 473
out to the rock where he found the money, thinking he might find some
more. He struck away until the sixth hour but found nothing. Then he
began to recall the escorts, the treachery, the prestige, the food and drink
and again he said to himself: ‘Up, wretched Eulogius, to work! – for here it
is Egypt’ and, little by little, the holy young man and our lady-and-
mistress, the Mother of God, restored him to his former condition, for
God was not so unjust as to forget his former labours.
“A little while later I went up to that village to sell my handiwork and,
behold, in the evening, he came and took me [in] as he used to do at first.
I sighed to see him covered with dust and, in tears, I said: ‘Oh Lord, how
marvellous are your works: in wisdom have you made them all’ [Ps 103:24],
‘Who is so great a god as our God? You are the only God who does
wonders’ [Ps 76:14], who ‘takes up the poor from the earth and lifts the
needy from the dung-heap’ [Ps 112:7]. ‘The Lord makes poor and makes
rich; he brings low and lifts up’ [1 Sm 2:7]; ‘Who will track down your
wondrous works and your judgements?’ [cf. Sir 18:4b, 6b] I, the sinner,
undertook [to do so] and ‘My soul almost dwelt in Hades’ [Ps 93:17].
“He took me and, putting water in a bowl, washed my feet and the feet
of the other guests in the customary way; then he set a table before us.
When we had eaten I said to him: ‘How is it with you, Abba Eulogius?’ He
said to me: ‘Abba, pray for me sir, for I am a wretched man with nothing
[gained] by my hands.’ I said to him: ‘Would that you did not even have
that which you now possess.’ ‘Abba, why do you say that, sir?’ he rejoined.
‘Have I offended you in some way?’ ‘In what did you not offend me?’
I exclaimed, and then I told him everything that had happened. We both
of us broke into weeping and he said to me: ‘Abba, pray, sir, that God may
send [me] need and from now on I will correct myself.’ I told him:
‘Indeed, my son, do not expect ever to be entrusted by Christ with
anything again as long as you are in this world, other than this keration
[earned] by toiling’, and behold, for so many years God has furnished him
with the strength to earn his keration by the labour of his hands. Look, my
son, now I have told you from where I know him; and you are not to
repeat it to anybody.”
This is what Abba Daniel entrusted to his disciple after they had
returned from the Thebaïd. Wondrous indeed is the love of God for
men, how in a short space he raised Eulogius up and then so humbled
him for his own good. Let us pray that we too might be humbled so that
τοσοῦτον πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον. Εὐξώμεθα οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ταπεινωθῆναι, ἵνα ἐν
τῷ φοβερῷ βήματι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εὕρωμεν ἔλεος
ἐνώπιον1 τῆς δόξης Αὐτοῦ. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.2 Ἀμήν.
597. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἠκούσαμεν παρά τινων ἁγίων τὸν Χριστὸν ἐχόντων
ἐν ἑαυτοῖς λαλοῦντα περὶ συμφωνίας τεσσάρων πρεσβυτέρων ἁγίων,
οἵτινες δεξιὰς ἔδωκαν ἀλλήλοις, ἵνα ὁμοψύχως καὶ ὁμοφρόνως ζήσαντες
ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ὁμοῦ πάλιν [f. 330ra] ἐν οὐρανοῖς εὑρεθῶσι, τῇ
δεσποτικῇ φωνῇ πιστεύσαντες τῇ λεγούσῃ· Ἐὰν δύο ὑμῶν συμφωνήσωσιν
ἐπὶ τῷ3 αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς περὶ παντὸς πράγματος, οὗ ἐὰν αἰτήσωνται,
γενήσεται αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ οἱ μὲν
τρεῖς τῇ ἀσκήσει προσκαρτεροῦντες ἡσύχαζον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὁ δὲ ἄλλος
διηκόνει αὐτοῖς τὰ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν. Συνέβη οὖν τοὺς δύο τελειωθῆναι ἐν
Χριστῷ καὶ ἀναλύσαι ἐκ τοῦ βίου καὶ ἀπενεχθῆναι ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ ἀναπαύ-
σεως, περιλειφθῆναι δὲ τοὺς δύο ἐν τῇ γῇ, τὸν διακονητὴν καὶ ἓνα4
ἡσυχάζοντα. Ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς δὲ τοῦ πονηροῦ δαίμονος περιέπεσεν ὁ δια-
κονητὴς εἰς πορνείαν καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη ἑνὶ τῶν διορατικῶν γερόντων ἁγίων
ὅτι οἱ δύο οἱ τελειωθέντες [f. 330rb] παρεκάλουν περὶ τοῦ διακονητοῦ τὸν
Θεὸν λέγοντες ὅτι παράδoς5 τὸν ἀδελφὸν βρωθῆναι ὑπὸ λέοντος ἢ
ὑπὸ6 ἄλλου θηρίου, ἵνα ἀπονιψάμενος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἔλθῃ εἰς τὸν τόπον
ἐν ᾧ ἐσμέν, καὶ μὴ διαπέσῃ ἡ συμφωνία ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐλθεῖν τὸν
ἀδελφὸν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς διακονίας καὶ ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν πρὸς τὸν
ἡσυχαστὴν ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ λέων καὶ ἐζήτει αὐτὸν θανατῶσαι. Ἔγνω δὲ
ὁ ἡσυχαστὴς τὸ γινόμενον – ἀπεκαλύφθη γὰρ αὐτῷ –, καὶ ἔστη εἰς
προσευχὴν δεόμενος τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ παραυτὰ ἕστη ὁ
λέων. Οἱ οὖν δύο πατέρες, οἱ ἤδη τελειωθέντες, παρεκάλουν τὸν Θεὸν
λέγοντες· Δεόμεθά σου, δέσποτα, συγχώρησον αὐτὸν βρωθῆναι, ἵνα ἔλθῃ
μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐν [f. 330va] τῇ μακαριότητι καὶ μὴ ὑπακούσῃς, ἅγιε, τοῦ
παρακαλοῦντος ὑπὲρ7 αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ γῇ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ σὺν
πάσῃ ἐκτενεῖ8 εὐχῇ μετὰ δακρύων ἱκέτευε τὸν Θεὸν ἐλεηθῆναι τὸν ἀδελφὸν
καὶ ῥυσθῆναι τοῦ λέοντος. Ὑπήκουσε δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τῆς κραυγῆς τοῦ γέροντος
καὶ φησὶ πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας τοὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὄντας, δίκαιόν ἐστιν
ἐκείνου ὑπακοῦσαι. Ὑμεῖς γὰρ ὧδε ἐν ἀνέσει ἐστέ, ἀπαλλαγέντες τῶν
πόνων καὶ τῶν ἱδρώτων τοῦ βίου, ἐκεῖνος δὲ κεκμηκὼς ἐν τῷ μόχθῳ τῆς
σαρκὸς9 καὶ ἐν πάλαις πρὸς τὰ πνεύματα τῆς πονηρίας. Δίκαιον οὖν ἐστὶν
ἐκείνῳ δοῦναι τὴν χάριν ἤπερ ὑμῖν. Εὐθέως οὖν ἀνεχώρησεν ὁ λέων ἀπὸ
1
ἐνώπιον] om S 2
Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας] om S 3
τῷ corr] τὸ C and S
4
ἓνα] ἓν C 5
παράδoς corr] παράδως C and S 6
ὑπὸ] om C
7
ὑπὲρ] om C 8
ἐκτενεῖ] ἐκτενῆ C 9
ἐν τῷ μόχθῳ τῆς σαρκὸς] om C
N.597 475
we find mercy before the awful judgement seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, in
the presence of his glory. To him be the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
N.597
Αn elder said: “From some holy men who had Christ speaking within
themselves we have heard about an agreement of four holy priests who,
having lived [together] of one soul and mind in this world, contracted with
each other to be reunited in heaven, for they trusted in the Lord’s
statement that says: ‘If two of you agree on earth about any request you
have to make, that request will be granted by my heavenly father’
[Mt 18:19]. Three of them devoted themselves to the ascetic life, living in
hêsychia in the desert, while the other attended to their needs. It came
about that two of them died in Christ and departed this life; they were
borne away to a single place of repose, while two of them were left on
earth: the attendant and one living in hêsychia. By the machination of the
evil demon, the attendant fell into porneia. It was then revealed to one of
the holy elders who had second sight that the two who had died were
beseeching God for the attendant, saying: ‘Grant that the brother be eaten
by a lion or by some other beast so that, having washed away his sin, he
may come to the place where we are and our agreement not fall apart.’
Now the [attendant-]brother happened to go on his customary service and,
as he was returning to the one in hêsychia, a lion encountered him and
sought to kill him. The one in hêsychia was aware of what was taking place
(for it was revealed to him) and he stood in prayer, interceding with God
on the brother’s behalf, with the result that the lion immediately desisted.
The two fathers who were already dead prayed to God saying: ‘We beg of
you, Lord-and-master, to let him be devoured in order that he might come
with us into blessedness. Holy one, do not listen to the one who is praying
for him on earth.’ With all fervent prayer and tears the elder in the cell
prayed to God to have mercy on the brother and to deliver him from the
lion. God heard the cry of the elder and said to the fathers who were in
heaven: ‘It is right to hear him. You are here in comfort, set free from the
labour and sweat of life, while he is wearied in the distress of the flesh and
in conflict with the spirits of evil. It is more just to be gracious to him than
to you.’ The lion promptly left the brother alone and he, coming into the
cell, found the elder weeping for him. He told him everything that had
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ εὗρε τὸν γέροντα δακρύοντα ὑπὲρ
αὐτοῦ καὶ διηγήσατο αὐ[f. 330vb]τῷ πάντα τὰ συμβάντα αὐτῷ καὶ
ἐξωμολογήσατο1 τὴν ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γνοὺς ὅτι ἐφείσατο2 αὐτοῦ ὁ
Θεός, μετενόησεν καὶ ἐντὸς ὀλίγου χρόνου ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον μέτρον.
Συνέβη οὖν κοιμηθῆναι ἀμφοτέρους καὶ τελειωθῆναι ἐν Χριστῷ. Καὶ
ἀπεκαλύφθη τῷ προρρηθέντι διορατικῷ ἁγίῳ ὅτι οἱ τέσσαρες ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ
εἰσίν κατὰ τὰς ἀψευδεῖς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
598. Ἄλλος πάλιν ἀποκρισιάριος κοινοβίου μεγάλου ἦν καὶ ἐν τῷ τὰς

ἀποκρίσεις ποιεῖν αὐτὸν τοῦ κοινοβίου συνέβη αὐτὸν ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς τὸν τῆς
ἀκολασίας βόρβορον. Ἐγένετο τοίνυν τελευτῆσαι αὐτὸν καὶ γίνεται τὸ
πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ ἀσβόλη ἀπὸ3 χύτρας. Ὁ οὖν τοῦ μοναστηρίου
πατὴρ πνευματικὸς ὢν [f. 331ra] ὡς εἶδε τὸ γεγονὸς συνήγαγε πᾶσαν τὴν
ἀδελφότητα λέγων· Ὁ ἀδελφὸς οὗτος ὑπεξῆλθε τὸν βίον καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι διὰ
τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀνάπαυσιν καὶ ἡσυχίαν ὁλοψύχως ἔκαμνεν ἐν ταῖς ἀποκρί-
σεσιν καὶ ὑπεσκελίσθη ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ τῇ
προφάσει ἡμῶν ἁμαρτήμασι περιέπεσεν, δεῦτε κάμωμεν ἐκτενῶς ὑπὲρ
αὐτοῦ καὶ παρακαλέσωμεν τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεόν· οἱ γὰρ οἰκτιρμοὶ
αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. Ἤρξαντο οὖν μετὰ δακρύων νηστεύειν
καὶ4 ἱκετεύειν τὸν Θεὸν ἐλεῆσαι αὐτόν.5 Καὶ ἐποίησαν τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ
τρεῖς νύκτας ἄσιτοι πάντες μηδὲν ἐσθίοντες, ἀλλὰ θρηνοῦντες καὶ
ὁλοφυρόμενοι τὴν ἀπώλειαν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ. Καὶ γίνεται ὁ ἀβ[f. 331rb]βᾶς
τῆς μονῆς ἐν ἐκστάσει καὶ θεωρεῖ τὸν Σωτῆρα συμπαθοῦντα τῷ κόπῳ τῶν
ἀδελφῶν. Ὁ δὲ διάβολος ἤρξατο κατηγορεῖν καὶ λέγειν· Δέσποτα, ἐμός
ἐστιν οὗτος, δέομαί σου τῶν ἡμετέρων ἔργων ἐστίν. Ἐγὼ συνήργησα
αὐτῷ εἰς τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν. Δικαιοκρίτης ὤν, Κύριε, δικαίως6 κρῖνον.
Ἀπεκρίθη οὖν ὁ Σωτὴρ λέγων· Δικαιοκρίτης εἰμὶ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐλεήμων, καὶ
πέρας τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη καὶ ἡ φιλανθρωπία μου τυγχάνει.
Καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐλεήμων εἰμὶ καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, εὔλογόν ἐστι μὴ παριδεῖν τοσού-
των ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν7 ἱκεσίαν ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς τραυματισθέντος προσαγομένην
μοι. Καὶ ταῦτα δι᾿ ἐκείνους αὐτοὺς τοὺς παρακαλοῦντας πεσόντος αὐτοῦ
ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἠδύνατο γὰρ καὶ οὗτος [f. 331va] ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ μένειν ὥσπερ
πάντες ἐν τῷ μοναστηρίῳ καὶ ἄτρωτος διαφυλαχθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν
σου, πονηρέ,8 ἀλλὰ προφάσει τῆς ἀποκρίσεως τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὡς ἄνθρωπος
1
ἐξωμολογήσατο corr] ἐξομολογήσατο C and S 2
ἐφείσατο] ἐφήσατο C
3
ὡσεὶ ἀσβόλη ἀπὸ] ὡς ἡ ἀσβόλη ὡς ἀπὸ C 4
νηστεύειν καὶ] om S
5
ἐλεῆσαι αὐτόν] δεόμενοι μετὰ νηστείας τοῦ ἐλεῆσαι τὸν ἀδελφόν S
6
δικαίως] δικαίος C 7
ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν] ἀνδρῶν ἁγίων S
8
σοῦ, πονηρέ] τοῦ πονηροῦ C
N.598 477
happened to him, confessing his sin. Realising that God had spared him,
he repented and, in a short time, regained his former state. Eventually they
both died and completed their lives in Christ. It was revealed to the holy
one with the second sight mentioned above that the four are in one place,
in accordance with the unfailing promises of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
N.598
Again, there was another steward of a large coenobion who, in conducting
the affairs of the convent, happened to fall into the slough of debauchery.
Then it came about that he died and his face became like the soot on a pot.
When the father of the monastery, a spiritual person, saw what had
happened, he called the entire brotherhood together and said: “This
brother has departed from life. As you know, he laboured wholeheartedly
for your comfort and tranquillity in his affairs as steward and, being
human, he was tripped up by the evil one. Since it was on our account
that he fell into sins, come: let us apply ourselves fervently on his behalf,
interceding with God, the lover of men, for ‘His mercies are over all his
works’ [Ps 144:9].” So they tearfully began fasting and supplicating God to
have mercy on the brother. Three days and three nights they did this
without food, everybody eating nothing, mourning and lamenting the loss
of the brother. The abba of the monastery fell into a trance and beheld the
Saviour sympathising with the brothers’ effort, but the devil began accus-
ing, saying: “Lord-and-master, he is mine! I beg of you, he performs as one
of us; I cooperated with him in sin. As you are a just judge, judge justly,
Lord.” The Saviour replied, saying: “A just judge I am, but also merciful;
my justice is limited by mercy and by my love of mankind. As I am
merciful and a lover of mankind, it would be unreasonable for me to spurn
the request brought forth by so many holy men on behalf of one wounded
person; and that too for one who, on account of the very people who are
interceding, fell into sin himself. He could not dwell in hêsychia as do all
those in the monastery and be kept unharmed by your weapons, O evil
one. It was because he was conducting the business of the brothers that,
being human, he slipped up. Can you not see how they have all given
themselves to [the possibility of] death on his account and are all dying for
the sake of the one [brother]? Yet, persuade them to desist from
ὠλίσθησεν. Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς πῶς πάντες εἰς θάνατον ἔδωκαν ἑαυτοὺς ὑπὲρ
αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντες ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀποθνῄσκουσιν, ὅμως μέντοι πεῖσον
αὐτοὺς ἀποστῆναι τοῦ παρακαλεῖν με καὶ λάβε αὐτόν. Εἰ δὲ τοσαύται
ψυχαὶ κινδυνεύουσι ἀπολέσθαι λιμῷ1 τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας,
παρακαλοῦντές με καὶ δεόμενοι μετὰ δακρύων ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μὴ ἀφιστάμενοι
ἀπὸ τῶν προσευχῶν ἐν στεναγμοῖς καὶ γονυκλισίαις καὶ τῇ σποδῷ ᾗ
κατέπασαν τὰς ἑαυτῶν κεφαλάς, τοσοῦτον πλῆθος παρακα[f. 331vb]λεῖ2
καὶ ταῦτα μὴ κατὰ σκοπὸν καὶ μελέτην ἀποστασίας ἁμαρτήσαντος τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ, ἀλλὰ κατὰ συναρπαγὴν πεσόντος ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ὡς ἀνθρώπου,
οὐκ εὔλογόν ἐστιν ἀπολαῦσαι αὐτοὺς τῆς αἰτήσεως αὐτῶν; Εἰ γὰρ τοῖς
ἐπὶ γῆς βασιλεῦσιν, ἐὰν πόλις ὁλόκληρος ἴδῃ κατάδικόν τινα ἀπαγόμενον
ἐπὶ τὸν3 θάνατον, ἀνακαλεῖται τὴν βασιλικὴν ψῆφον ἡ ἱκεσία4 τοῦ
πλήθους καὶ ἐξαρπάζει τῶν τοῦ δημίου χειρῶν τὸν ὑπεύθυνον, πόσῳ
μᾶλλον ἐγὼ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ ὄντως δίκαιος καὶ φιλάνθρωπος χαρίσομαι τοῖς
ἐμοῖς στρατιώταις τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἑνὸς αἴτησιν καὶ ἱκετηρίαν μοι
προσφερομένην.5 Ταῦτα τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος κατῃσχύνθη ὁ διάβολος
καὶ ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Ὡς δὲ ἐπανῆλ[f. 332ra]θεν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκστάσεως ὁ ἀββᾶς
τῆς μονῆς διηγήσατο πάντα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ἐχάρησαν6 χαρὰν μεγάλην
σφόδρα καὶ ἤρξατο τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ κατὰ μικρὸν ἀπο-
καθαίρεσθαι τῆς μελανίας καὶ γέγονεν ὅλον καθαρόν. Καὶ πληρ-
οφορηθέντες ὅτι ἔταξεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ψυχὴν7 αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κλήρῳ τῆς ζωῆς
συνεκόμισαν τὸ λείψανον καὶ ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἠγαλλιάσαντο ἐπὶ τῇ
γενομένῃ παραδόξῳ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, ὅτι ἐγγὺς Κύριος πᾶσι τοῖς
ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.
599. Διηγήσατο ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ὁ ἁπλοῦς ὅτι ἔσχον μαθητὴν καὶ

περιέπιπτεν ἐν διαφόροις ἁμαρτίαις ἐμοῦ μὴ εἰδότος. Συνέβη οὖν τοῦτον
τελευτῆσαι καὶ ἐδεήθην τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκτενῶς καὶ [f. 332rb] παρεκάλεσα τὴν
ἁγίαν Θεοτόκον δειχθῆναί μοι ἐν ποίοις ἐστι μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον τοῦ σώμα-
τος. Καὶ προσκαρτερήσαντός μου τῇ προσευχῇ ἡμέρας οὐκ ὀλίγας ἐγενό-
μην ἐν ἐκστάσει καὶ θεωρῶ τὸν ἐμὸν μαθητὴν βασταζόμενον ὑπὸ δύο
τινῶν, γεγενημένον ὅλον ὄστρακον ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἕως ποδῶν καὶ μηδεμίαν
ἐνέργειαν ἔχοντα μήτε ψυχικὴν μήτε σωματικήν, μήτε λαλοῦντα ὅλως ἀλλ᾿
ὥσπερ ἀπολιθωθέντα. Ἐγὼ δὲ λίαν ἀγωνιῶν καὶ ὥσπερ ἔνθους γενόμενος
ἐμνήσθην τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ Κυρίου εἰρηκότος· Τὸν μὴ ἐνδεδυμένον ἔνδυμα
γάμου δήσαντες αὐτοῦ χεῖρας καὶ πόδας ἐκβάλετε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ
1
ἀπολέσθαι λιμῷ] λιμῷ ἀπολέσθαι S 2
τοσοῦτον πλῆθος παρακαλεῖ] om S
3
τὸν] om S 4
ἡ ἱκεσία] ἱκεσίαι S 5
μοι προσφερομένην] προσφερομένην μοι S
6
ἐχάρησαν] ἐχάρισαν C 7
ψυχὴν] ζωὴν S
N.599 479
interceding with me and take him. For if so many souls are putting
themselves in danger of dying of hunger for three days and three nights,
interceding for him and beseeching me with tears, not desisting from their
prayers offered with groans and prostrations and ashes sprinkled on their
own heads; if such a host is interceding too, and that not for a brother who
sinned intentionally or by contemplating apostasy but [for one] who fell
into sin swept away as a man, is it not reasonable that they should benefit
from their request? If, among the kings of the earth, an entire city sees
somebody unjustly condemned being led to death, the intercession of the
multitude invokes the royal prerogative and snatches the accused from the
hands of the executioner, how much more so shall I, the truly just king and
the lover of mankind, grant my soldiers the intercession and request they
offer me on behalf of one [of them]?” The devil was put to shame when the
Lord said this and disappeared. Returning from his trance, the abba of the
monastery told everything to the brothers and “they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy” [Mt 2:10] and, little by little, the brother’s face began
to be cleansed of its blackness and became entirely clean. Assured that God
had set his soul in the lot of life, they gathered up his remains and buried
them, rejoicing in the miraculous salvation of the brother, because “The
Lord is near to those who call upon him” [Ps 144:18].
N.599
Blessed Paul the Simple related [this]: “I had a disciple who, unknown to
me, used to fall into diverse sins. In due course he died; I earnestly
besought God and called upon the holy Mother of God to show me what
state he was in after leaving the body. After persevering in prayer for a
considerable number of days, I fell into a trance and beheld my disciple
borne by two persons; he had become completely hard like a shell from
head to feet. There was no sign of activity, mental or corporal, no speech
whatever; he was as though petrified. I was deeply distressed and, becom-
ing as though inspired by God, I recalled the word of the Lord which says:
‘Bind the one without a wedding garment hand and foot and cast him into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ [Mt 22:13].
To be bound hand and foot signifies nothing other to us than to be snuffed
out [cf. Is 42:3] and to remain inactive as regards every evil thought and
ἐξώτερον· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυ[f. 332va]γμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. Τὸ
γὰρ δεδέσθαι χεῖρας καὶ πόδας οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἡμῖν αἰνίττεται ἀλλ᾿ ἢ τὸ
σβέννυσθαι καὶ ἀνενέργητον μένειν πᾶσαν ἔννοιαν καὶ προαίρεσιν
πονηρὰν τὴν μὴ κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ πορευθεῖσαν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι
τούτῳ. Ὡς δὲ ἐπανῆλθον, φησίν, ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκστάσεως, ἠρξάμην σφόδρα
λυπεῖσθαι καὶ ἀδημονεῖν, ἐλεημοσύνας τε κατὰ δύναμιν ποιεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ
καὶ προσφορὰς καὶ παρακαλεῖν τὴν ἁγίαν Θεοτόκον ἐλεηθῆναι αὐτὸν καὶ
παρακαλέσαι τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεὸν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἠρξάμην μοχθεῖν ἐν
τῇ Σκήτει καὶ ξηροφαγεῖν εἰς τοιοῦτον γήρας λοιπὸν ἐληλακώς. Μετὰ οὖν
τινὰς ἡμέρας ὁρῶ τὴν παναγίαν Θεοτόκον λέγουσάν μοι· Τί λυπεῖ σε καὶ
[f. 332vb] ἀδημονεῖς, παπία; Καὶ εἶπον· Διὰ τὸν ἀδελφόν, δέσποινά μου, ὅτι
εἶδον αὐτὸν ἐν κακοῖς. Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη καὶ εἶπεν· Οὐχὶ σὺ παρεκάλεσας ἰδεῖν
αὐτὸν βουλόμενος; Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπληροφορήθης. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· Ναί, δέομαί
σου, ἐγὼ παρεκάλεσα, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἤθελον οὕτως ἰδεῖν αὐτόν. Τί γάρ μοι
χρήσιμον τὸ ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ κλαίειν καὶ ὀδυνᾶσθαι; Καὶ λέγει μοι ἡ ἁγία
Θεοτόκος· Ὕπαγε, διὰ τὸν μόχθον καὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν καὶ ἀγάπην σου ἐγώ
σοι αὐτὸν δείκνυμι, ἵνα μὴ λυπῇ. Καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον εἶδον πάλιν τὸν ἀδελφὸν
ἐρχόμενον πρός με περιχαρῆ καὶ δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ περιπατοῦντα καὶ γελῶντα καὶ
λέγει μοι· Αἱ πρεσβεῖαί σου, πάτερ, ἐδυσώπησαν τὴν παναγίαν Θεοτόκον,
διότι πάνυ φιλεῖ σε, καὶ παρεκάλε[f. 333ra]σε τὸν Σωτῆρα καὶ ἔλυσέ με τῶν
δεσμῶν, ὅτι σειραῖς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων μου ἤμην περιεσφιγμένος. Ταῦτα
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ εἰρηκότος ἐγὼ χαρᾶς ἐπληρώθην καὶ εὐθέως εἶδον τὴν πανα-
γίαν Θεοτόκον καὶ λέγει μοι· Ἐπληροφορήθης, πρεσβύτα, κἂν ἄρτι; Ἐγὼ δὲ
εἶπον· Ναί, δέσποινά μου, καὶ πάνυ ἐχάρην ὅτι εἶδον αὐτὸν ἐν ἀνέσει. Ἡ δὲ
εἶπεν πρός με· Ἄπιθι τοιγαροῦν καὶ μέμνησο τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ διαπαντὸς1
ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς καὶ ἐλεημοσύναις καὶ προσφοραῖς ·σφόδρα γὰρ ἐλεεῖ
τὸν κοιμηθέντα ἐλεημοσύνη καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ προσφορά.
600. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀθανάσιος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας ὅτι πολλάκις

λέγει τὶς ὑμῶν· Ποῦ ἐστι διωγμὸς εἰς τὸ μαρτυρῆσαι; Μαρτύρησον τῇ
[f. 333rb] συνειδήσει, ἀπόθανε τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, νέκρωσον τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς
γῆς, καὶ γέγονας μάρτυς τῇ προαιρέσει. Ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς βασιλεῖς καὶ
ἄρχοντας ἐμάχοντο, ἔχεις καὶ σὺ ἀντίπαλον διάβολον τὸν βασιλέα τῆς
ἁμαρτίας2 καὶ ἄρχοντας τοὺς δαίμονας. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τότε ἐκείνοις βωμὸς
καὶ θυσιαστήριον προέκειτο καὶ βδέλυγμα τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ψεκτὸν
εἴδωλον. Νόησον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ τιθέμενος, ἔνι καὶ σήμερον βωμὸς καὶ
θυσιαστήριον καὶ ψεκτὸν εἴδωλον νοητὸν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ· βωμὸς μὲν τῆς
1
τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ διαπαντὸς] διαπαντὸς τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ S
2
διάβολον τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ἁμαρτίας] τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ἁμαρτίας διάβολον S
N.600 481
intention that did not advance in this world according to the will of God.
When I returned from the trance, I began to be very sad and troubled. To
the best of my ability, I started making charitable donations and offerings
on his behalf, beseeching the holy Mother of God to have pity on him and
to intercede with God, the lover of mankind, on his behalf. I began to wear
myself out at Scete and to eat dry food, even though I had come to so great
an age. Some days later, I saw the all-holy Mother of God saying to me:
‘Why are you causing yourself grief and trouble, grandfather?’ I said:
‘Because of the brother, my Lady, for I saw him in a bad way.’ In answer
she said: ‘But did you not beseech [me], wanting to see him? See, your
wish was fulfilled.’ I said: ‘Yes, I did beseech [you] but I did not want to see
him like that. What good did it do me to see him then to weep and
lament?’ The holy Mother of God said to me: ‘Go on, then; for the sake of
your toil, your humility and your love, I will show him to you to prevent
you from being sad.’ The following day I saw the brother again, coming to
me all joyful, walking of his own accord and laughing. He said to me:
‘Father, your prayers have propitiated the all-holy Mother of God, for she
loves you greatly. She pleaded with the Saviour and he loosed me from my
fetters, for I was tightly bound by the chains of my sins.’ I was filled with
joy when the brother said this. At once I saw the all-holy Mother of God
and she said to me: ‘Are you satisfied now, old man?’ ‘Yes, I am, my Lady,’
I said, ‘and great joy it gave me to see him at rest.’ ‘Off you go now,’ she
said, ‘and ever be mindful of the brother in prayers, almsgiving and
offerings, for almsgiving and offering of itself secure mercy for one who
has died.’”
N.600
Abba Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, said: “One of you often says:
‘Where is the persecution so I can be martyred?’ Suffer martyrdom in
your conscience; die to sin; ‘Mortify your members which are upon the
earth’ [cf. Col 3:5] and you will have become a martyr by intention. Those
[former martyrs] fought with emperors and rulers; you have the devil, the
emperor of sin, for adversary and demons for rulers. For at that time a
shrine and an altar stood before them and an abomination of idolatry, an
execrable idol. Take careful thought; even today there is an altar and a
sanctuary and a virtual execrable idol in the soul. An altar, that is luxurious
gluttony; a sanctuary, the longing for delights; an idol, the spirit of
covetousness. For he who is a slave to porneia and spends his time on
the delights of the flesh has denied Jesus and is an idol-worshipper, having
γαστριμαργίας τὸ λίχνον, θυσιαστήριον δὲ τῶν ἡδονῶν ἡ ἐπιθυμία,
εἴδωλον δὲ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὸ πνεῦμα. Ὁ γὰρ πορνείαις δουλεύων καὶ
ἡδοναῖς σχολάζων τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἠρνήσατο [f. 333va] καὶ εἴδωλον προσκυνεῖ·
ἔχει γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης τὸ ἄγαλμα τῆς σαρκὸς τὴν αἰσχρὰν
ἡδονήν. Πάλιν ὁ1 ὁργῇ καὶ θυμῷ ἡττώμενος καὶ μὴ ἐκκόπτων τοῦ πάθους
τούτου τὴν μανίαν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἠρνήσατο καὶ τὸν Ἄρεα ἐν ἑαυτῷ θεὸν ἔχει·
ὑπέκυψε γὰρ τῇ ὀργῇ ὅπέρ ἐστι μανίας εἴδωλον. Ἕτερος φιλάργυρος ὢν
καὶ φιλήδονος κλείων τὰ σπλάγχνα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐλεῶν
τὸν πλησίον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἠρνήσατο καὶ εἰδώλοις λατρεύει· ἔχει γὰρ ἐν
ἑαυτῷ τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ τὸ εἴδωλον, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῇ κτίσει λατρεύει παρὰ τὸν
κτίσαντα ·ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστὶν ἡ φιλαργυρία. Ὥστε τούτων
ἐὰν ἐγκρατεύσῃ καὶ φυλάξῃ τῶν μανικῶν παθῶν, ἐπάτησας τὰ εἴδωλα καὶ
ἠρνή[f. 333vb]σω τὴν δεισιδαιμονίαν καὶ γέγονας μάρτυς ὁμολογήσας τὴν
καλὴν ὁμολογίαν.
601. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος· Τί κρίνεις τοὺς φονεῖς καὶ μοιχοὺς καὶ
τυμβωρύχους καὶ εἴ τινα δήποτε τῶν παρανόμων; ἔχουσιν ἴδιον διδάσκα-
λον καὶ κριτήν. Μᾶλλον δὲ μὴ μονομερῶς ἐξέταζε τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλὰ καὶ
τὰ σεαυτοῦ πταίσματα πολυπραγμόνει καὶ εὑρήσεις ἑαυτὸν πολλάκις
ἐκείνων χείρω. Καὶ γὰρ σὺ2 πολλάκις εἶδες ἀκολάστοις ὀφθαλμοῖς, τοῦτο
δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς οἶδας ὅτι μοιχία ἀπηρτισμένη ἐστίν. Καὶ πολλάκις ἐλοιδόρ-
ησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου· οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς δὲ ὅτι3 καὶ περὶ τούτου ὁ Κύριος
ἀπεφήνατο ὅτι ὁ εἰπὼν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μωρόν, ἔνοχός ἐστιν εἰς τὴν
γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. Τὸ [f. 334ra] δὲ πάντων φρικωδέστερον ἴσως ἀναξίως
προσέρχῃ τοῖς ἁγίοις μυστηρίοις καὶ ἔνοχος γίνῃ τοῦ σώματος καὶ4
αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ ὃν μὲν κρίνεις εὑρίσκεται ὅτι ψιλὸν ἄνθρωπον
ἐφόνευσεν, σὺ δὲ εὑρίσκῃ5 αὐτὸν τὸν Χριστὸν φονεύων καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου
σφαγῆς ὑπεύθυνος ὤν, ἀναξίως μετέχων τοῦ ἀχράντου σώματος καὶ
αἵματος. Ὁ γὰρ ἀναξίως, φησίν, ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων ἔνοχός ἐστι τοῦ σώματος
καὶ6 αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ κρίμα ἑαυτῷ ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει, τοὐτέστιν ὥσπερ
ἐκεῖνοι οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἐσταύρωσαν αὐτόν, οὕτως καὶ οἱ ἀναξίως μετέχοντες
τοῦ σώματος καὶ αἵματος Αὐτοῦ, τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι καὶ μάλα εἰκότως ·ὁ
γὰρ διαρρήξας πορφύραν βασιλικὴν καὶ ὁ ῥυπώσας τὸν αὐτὸν θάνατον
ὑπο[f. 334rb]μένουσιν. Ὥστε οὖν καὶ οἱ κατατεμόντες τὸ σῶμα Αὐτοῦ τότε
καὶ οἱ νῦν ῥυποῦντες αὐτὸ ἐν ἀκαθάρτῳ ψυχῇ μεταλαμβάνοντες αὐτὸ τὴν
αὐτὴν τοῖς σταυρώσασιν αὐτὸν ὑποστήσονται δίκην κατὰ τὴν τοῦ
ἀποστόλου ἀπόφασιν.
1
ὁ] om S 2
γὰρ σὺ C S] σὺ γὰρ trsp V 3
ὅτι post τούτου trsp V
4
καὶ] τοῦ add V 5
εὑρίσκῃ] εὑρίσκει V 6
καὶ] καὶ τοῦ S
N.601 483
within himself the effigy of Aphrodite, i.e. the shameful pleasures of the
flesh. Or again, he who is the slave of anger and wrath and does not
extirpate the madness of this passion, he has denied Jesus, having Ares
within himself for a god, for he is still worshipping wrath which is an idol
of madness. Somebody else who loves money and pleasure but who ‘shuts
up his bowels of compassion’ against his brother [cf. 1 Jo 3:17] and is not
merciful to his neighbour, he has denied Jesus too and serves idols, for he
has the effigy of Hermes within himself, worshipping the creature rather
than the Creator, ‘For the love of money is the root of all evil’ [1 Tm 6:10].
So if you achieve self-control and guard yourself against these raving
passions, you have trodden the idols underfoot, denied superstition and
become a martyr by making a good confession.”
N.601
Abba Macarius said: “Why do you pass judgement on murderers, adulter-
ers, robbers of tombs and anyone of all the iniquitous? They have their
own teacher and judge. Instead, do not examine their actions from one
point of view but concern yourself with your own faults and you will often
find yourself worse than them, for you often looked with licentious eyes,
knowing yourself that this is committing adultery. You often derided your
brother; but are you not aware that, concerning this, the Lord declared
that he who says his brother is a fool ‘is in danger of hell fire’ [Mt 5:22]?
But perhaps the most terrible of all is that you approach the holy mysteries
unworthily and become guilty of the body and blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor
11:27). He whom you judge turns out only to have murdered a man –
while you are discovered to be murdering Christ himself and being
responsible for his slaughter, partaking unworthily of the spotless body
and blood. For, it says: ‘He who eats and drinks unworthily is guilty of the
body and blood of Christ’; he eats and drinks his own condemnation (cf. 1
Cor 11:27 and 29). That is: just as those Jews crucified him, so too do those
who partake of his body and blood unworthily do the same – and very
reasonably, for he who has torn or defiled imperial purple [fabric] suffers
the same death. So those who cut up his body then and they who defile it
now by partaking of it with an unclean soul will undergo the same
punishment as those who crucified him, according to the apostle’s
declaration.”
602. Eἶπεν γέρων· Τὸν ὀκνηρὸν καὶ τὸν ἀργὸν οὐ θέλει ὁ Θεός.1
603.2 Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Οἱ ἀρχαῖοι πατέρες ἐξῆλθον εἰς τὴν

ἔρημον καὶ ἰάθησαν καὶ γεγόνασιν ἰατροὶ καὶ ἀνακάμψαντες ἄλλους
ἰάσαντο. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἅμα τοῦ ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, πρὸ τοῦ ἰαθῆναι,
ἄλλους θέλομεν θεραπεύειν καὶ ἀναλύει ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἡ νόσος καὶ γίνεται τὰ
ἔσχατα χείρονα τῶν πρώτων καὶ ἀκούομεν παρὰ Κυρίου· Ἰατρέ,
θεράπευσον σεαυτὸν πρῶτον.
604.3 Εἶπεν [f. 334va] γέρων· Ὁ Θεὸς ἀνέχεται τὰς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ
κόσμου, τὰς δὲ ἁμαρτίας τῆς ἐρήμου οὐκ ἀνέχεται. Ὁρᾷς, ἀδελφέ μου,
πῶς οὐ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κόσμου ἀναλογίαν καὶ ὁ τοῦ κόσμου ἀναχωρήσας
ἀπαιτεῖται; Ἔχει γὰρ ἐκεῖνος προφάσεις πολλάς, ἡμεῖς δὲ ποίας προφάσεις
εὑρήσομεν προσενέγκαι; Ἀληθῶς δεινὸν πῦρ καὶ πολλαὶ αἱ κολάσεις τῶν
ἐγνωκότων τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ τοῦτο παριδόντων τῷ ἑαυτῶν
θελήματι ἀκολουθούντων. Τρυφῶντες γὰρ καὶ συνηδόμενοι εἰς τὰ μάταια
καὶ πρόσκαιρα λέγουσιν ὅτι διὰ τὴν χρείαν τοῦ σώματος κτῶμαι χρυσὸν
καὶ ὕλας, ἵνα κυβερνήσω τὸ σῶμα. Καλῶς πάνυ αὐτὸς ὁ λόγος τὴν
ἀλήθειαν δείκνυσιν. Εἰ ἆρα τῆς χρείας μόνον [f. 334vb] φροντίζουσιν ἐν
γὰρ τῷ εἰπεῖν ὅτι τὴν χρείαν φροντίζω τοῦ σώματος, οὐ χρὴ λοιπόν, ἐὰν
προσενεχθῶσιν ἐν τῷ μονάζοντι χρήματα ἢ πολυτελῆ βρώματα τούτοις
συναπάγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τῆς χρείας μόνον τοῦ σώματος προνοεῖσθαι
ἀθορύβως. Καὶ ποῦ οἱ τὰ τοσαῦτα κτώμενοι καὶ πάλιν ἄλλα ζητοῦντες,
καὶ οἱ τοσαῦτα ἐσθίοντες καὶ πάλιν μείζονα βρώματα ἐπιθυμοῦντες.
Εἰ μὲν ἐργάζῃ, μὴ δέχου χρήματα, εἰ δὲ δέχῃ, μὴ ἐργάζου, ἵνα μὴ περι-
σπᾶσαι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα θέλομεν. Προηνέγκαμέν σοι γὰρ τὰ
αἴτια τὰ γινόμενα τῶν παθῶν, δι᾿ ὧν ὁ δοκῶν εἶναι μοναχὸς χείρω τῶν
κοσμικῶν κρίνεται, πολλῶν γὰρ κοσμικῶν σεμνῶς βιούντων καὶ ἐλεημο
[f. 335ra]σύνας ποιούντων, τούτου δὲ μηδὲ ἐλεῶντος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἀδελφὸν
ἀλλὰ καὶ σπαταλῶντος καὶ ποιοῦντος τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ οἶκον ἐμπορ-
είου μᾶλλον δὲ ἐργαστήριον καπηλείου, περὶ ὧν κατὰ μέρος εἴπομεν τὰ
συντείνοντα εἰς ματαιότητα, ἵνα γνόντες ἀποφύγωμεν καὶ σωθῶμεν.
Δοκῶμεν γὰρ οἱ πολλοὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ περιβεβλῆσθαι τὸ σχῆμα καὶ ἐν τῷ
λέγειν Κύριε Κύριε καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν μονάζοντες ἔστι τὸ ἐπάγγελμα
τοῦτο. Ἀληθῶς, ἀδελφοί μου, ἐὰν μὴ ἑαυτοὺς προσέχωμεν, χείρω τῶν
κοσμικῶν συμβαίνει ἡμᾶς ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς λάκκον, ἵνα μηδὲ βοῆσαι τοῦ λοιποῦ
1 2 3
Hic N. 605 invenitur apud S item 603 om V item 604 om V
N.602–4 485
N.602/21.5
An elder said: “God does not want the reluctant and the idle person.”
N.603
Abba Antony said: “The fathers of old time went out into the desert. They
were healed and became healers; they came back and healed others. But we
want to treat others as soon as we come out of the world, before being
healed. The illness returns to us; the last state is worse than the first (cf. Mt
12:45, Lk 11:26) and we hear from the Lord: ‘Physician, first heal yourself’
[cf. Lk 4:23].”
N.604
An elder said: “God tolerates the sins of the world but the sins of the desert
he does not tolerate. Do you see, my brother, how what is demanded from
the one who has withdrawn from the world does not follow the reckoning
of the world for [the worldling] has many excuses, but what excuses will we
find to offer? Truly, atrocious is the fire and many the chastisements for
those who knew the will of the Lord and disregarded it, following their
own will. Delighting and luxuriating in vain and transient [pleasures] they
say: ‘It is for needs of the body that I am acquiring money and material
goods, so I can master my body.’ The saying itself very well demonstrates
the truth, for if they were only concerned with need in saying: ‘I am taking
thought for the need of the body’, it would no longer be necessary to be
carried away if money or expensive foods are set forth in front of one who
is living the solitary life, but only quietly to think ahead for the needs of
the body. And where are they who acquire such things and seek again for
others; who eat such things and again long for yet greater foods? If you
work, do not receive money. If you receive [money, then] do not work, in
order not to be distracted; but we want both [money] and [to work]. We
have set before you the causes of the passions for which he who seems to be
a monk is judged worse than the worldlings, for many of them live decent
lives and give alms, while [the monk] has no pity even for his own brother
but lives in excessive comfort, making the house of God a house of
commerce [cf. Mt 21:13] or rather the shop of a retailer. We have said
something of the things that tend towards vanity so that, recognising
them, we can flee from them and be saved. Many of us think that this
[monastic] profession consists of putting on the habit, saying: ‘Lord,
πρὸς Θεὸν δυνηθῶμεν. Φόβου οὖν χρεία καὶ ταπεινώσεως ἀληθινῆς. Οἱ
γὰρ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἀ[f. 335rb]δελφῶν ἡμῶν ἐν ταπεινώσει δοκοῦντες εἶναι
καὶ μοναχικῷ ἀναστρέφεσθαι, τῶν ἰδίων θελημάτων ζητοῦντες ἀνα-
στρέφεσθαι τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ θελήματι οὐχ ὑποτάσσονται, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τοῖς ίοις
θελήμασιν ἁλίσκονται καὶ ἐν ματαίοις περισπασμοῖς καὶ φροντίσιν ἀπόλ-
λουσι τὸν καιρὸν τὸν δοθέντα αὐτοῖς εἰς μετάνοιαν, ὃν πολλὰ ζητήσαντες
μετ᾿ ὀλίγον οὐχ εὑρίσκουσιν.
605. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων περὶ τοῦ ἐνυπνιάζεσθαι ὡσανεὶ1 μίξιν γυναικὸς ἢ

καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν μόνον καὶ ἀπεκρίθη λέγων· Μὴ προσποιεῖσθαι ὅλως ἀλλὰ
νομίζειν ἑαυτὸν ἀπομύσσεσθαι. Ἐὰν γὰρ περιπατῶν δημοσίᾳ ἴδῃς καπη-
λομαγειρεῖον καὶ πλησιάσας ἐν τῷ παρέρχεσθαί σε μεταλάβῃς [f. 335va]
τῆς τῶν κρεῶν ἀναθυμιάσεως, ἔφαγες ἢ οὔ; Πάντως ἐρεῖς ὅτι οὔ. Οὕτως
οὔτε τὸ ἐνυπνιάζεσθαι μολυσμόν σοι παρέξει. Ἐὰν γάρ σε2 ἴδῃ ὁ ἐναντίος
δειλόν, πλέον σοι ἐπεμβαίνει.3 Παρατήρει δὲ ὅπως μὴ ἐν αἰσθήσει ἐλθὼν
συγκαταβῇς τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ.
606. Ἀδελφὸς συλούμενος ἔλεγε τῷ λῃστῇ·4 Τάχυνον πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τοὺς

ἀδελφούς.
607. Ἕτερος πρεσβύτερος ἐπιστάντων κακούργων κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν

τῆς συνάξεως ἔφη5 τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Ἐάσατε αὐτοὺς ποιεῖν τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἔργα
καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ ἡμέτερον ποιήσωμεν.6
607bis (S and V). Ἄλλος κακούργων αὐτῷ ἐπιστάντων νιπτῆρα

προσέφερε καὶ ἠξίου τοὺς πόδας αὐτῷ νίπτειν κἀκεῖνοι αἰδεσθέντες μετέ-
βαλον τὸν τρόπον.
1
ὡσανὶ V 2
σε] σοι V 3
σοι ἐπεμβαίνει] ἐπεμβαίνει σοι V
4
τῷ λῃστῇ] τῷ συλούντι S 5
ἔφη] εἶπε S
6
τὸ ἡμέτερον ποιήσωμεν] ποιήσωμεν τὸ ἡμέτερον S
N.605–7 487
Lord. . .’ and in being known as monastics. In truth, my brothers, if we do
not pay attention to ourselves, it will be worse for us to fall into the lake
than for the worldlings, we being no longer able even to call out to God.
So there is need of fear and genuine humility, for the majority of our
brothers who think they are in humility and living the monastic life, living
[in fact] in search of their own wills, are not subject to the will of God.
They are caught up in their own desires, in vain distractions and concerns,
wasting the time given to them for repentance which, having sought for
many things, they will not find.”
N.605
An elder was asked about having a wet dream, as if it were sexual
intercourse with a woman or with oneself alone and he answered: “Pay
no attention to it whatsoever, but think of yourself as having wiped your
nose. For if while you are walking around in public you see a cook-shop
and come near to it as you are passing and get something of the smell of
the meat, have you eaten it or not? Of course not, you will say. Likewise,
neither will a wet dream impose any defilement on you. If, however, the
enemy sees you apprehensive, he will attack even more. But take care not
to give in to the desire when you return to consciousness.”
N.606
A brother being burgled said to the robber: “Make haste before the
brothers come.” [Cf. N.554.]
N.607
Another priest said to the brothers when evil doers were arriving at the
time for the synaxis: “Let them perform their own tasks and let us do ours.”
N.607bis [S only]
Another brought out a washbowl when evildoers were arriving and began
washing their feet with it and they were so impressed that they changed
their way of life.
608. Δύο ἀδελφῶν συνοικούντων ἀλλήλοις συνέβαινε τὸν τὰς χρείας
οἰκονομοῦντα τὰ ἔλαττον1 κομίζειν τῶν κατὰ συνήθειαν. Ὡς ἐκ τούτου τὸν
ἔνδον καθεζόμενον λογίζεσθαι ἢ καὶ2 ἐμπαί[f. 335vb]ζεσθαι αὐτὸν ἢ παρὰ
λόγον ἀναλίσκειν. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ μαθεῖν βουληθεὶς ἐπηκολούθησεν αὐτῷ.
Τοῦ δὲ εἰς τὸν ἄσεμνον εἰσεληλυθότος τόπον καὶ αὐτὸς προσεποιήσατο
προσεισεληλυθέναι καὶ οὕτως προσπεσὼν αὐτῷ παρεκάλει μετανοεῖν.
Ἀλλὰ πολλάκις παρακαλοῦντος τοῦ μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα
εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἡμαρτηκότος καὶ προτρεπομένου εἰς μετάνοιαν,
συνέβη κληθῆναι τὸν μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντα. Μέλλοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τελειοῦσθαι
ὡμολόγησε τῷ ἀδελφῷ λέγων· Καθαρός εἰμι ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἧς νομίζεις,
ἀλλὰ διὰ σὲ τοῦτο πεποίηκα, ἵνα μετανοήσῃς. Καὶ τούτου κοιμηθέντος
ἐπέτεινε τὴν ἄσκησιν τῆς μετανοίας ὁ ἡμαρτηκώς.
608bis. Ἄλλος ἐπὶ τῆς [f. 336ra] παιδίσκης τῆς κομιζούσης αὐτοῖς3 τὰς
χρείας τοῦτο καταμαθών, οὐκ ἤλεγξε τὸν ἀδελφόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐστέναξε σιωπῶν
καὶ τὴν δέησιν ηὔξανεν ἀξιῶν τὸν συνόντα εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἐπιλέγων πολλὰ ἡμαρτηκέναι καὶ θέλειν πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς τῶν ἁμαρτη-
μάτων ἐλευθερωθῆναι. Τοῦ δὲ ἁμαρτήσαντος θαυμάζοντος καὶ συν-
τρέχοντος αὐτῷ συνέβη κληθῆναι τὸν μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντα, καὶ οὕτως κατὰ
τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τελευτῆς τὸ πρᾶγμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ ἀπεκάλυψεν.
609. Ἄλλος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ καταλείψαντος τὴν μοναδικὴν πολι-

τείαν καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ κοσμικὰ στραφέντος, προσεποιήσατο καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν
αὐτὴν πρόθεσιν ἔχειν καὶ οὕτως πάλιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐλεήσαντος μετανοή-
σαντες ἐπανέλα[f. 336rb]βον τὴν παλαιὰν ἄσκησιν μειζόνως.
610. Ἀδελφοῦ ὁδεύοντος4 καὶ πλανηθέντος τῆς ὁδοῦ ἠρώτησε τινὰς

ὥστε μαθεῖν. Οἱ δὲ ἐτύγχανον κακοῦργοι καὶ ἀπεπλάνησαν αὐτὸν εἰς
ἐρήμους τόπους. Ἐπακολουθήσαντος δὲ ἑνὸς ὥστε ἀποσυλῆσαι καὶ παρα-
κελευομένου διελθεῖν διώρυγα, ἀρχομένων αὐτῶν διαβαίνειν κροκόδειλος
1
τὸν τὰς χρείας οἰκονομοῦντα τὰ ἔλαττον] τὰς χρείας οἰκονομούντων ἔλαττον V // ἔλαττον]
ἐλάττω S
2
καὶ om V 3
αὐτοῖς] αὐτῷ V 4
Ἀδελφοῦ ὁδεύοντος] Ἀδελφοῦ τὴν ὁδὸν ὁδεύοντος S
N.608–10 489
N.608
Of two brothers who were living together, the one who provided the
necessities happened to provide less than usual. Prompted by this, the
[brother] who remained within wondered whether [the other] was being
cheated or was spending unreasonably. Wishing to know this, he followed
him. When the one entered a place of ill repute, the other pretended to
enter and, having done so, fell down before his brother and begged him to
repent. But while the one who had not sinned frequently besought the one
who had sinned to pray for him as one who had sinned and was being
impelled to repentance, the sinless one happened to receive his call; and
when he was about to depart, he confessed to his brother, saying: “I am
clean of the sin that you impute to me; I did this for your sake, so you
would repent.” When he had died, the one who had sinned applied
himself to the discipline of repentance.
N.608bis
Another, learning that his brother [had sinned] with the servant-girl who
provided them with the necessities, did not reprove him, but sighed in
silence and increased his entreaty, asking his companion to pray for him,
adding that he had sinned greatly and wished to be set free of his offences
before he died. While the one who had sinned was amazed and went along
with this, it happened that the sinless one received his call and thus, at the
hour of death, revealed the matter to the brother.
N.609
Another, when his brother abandoned the monastic way of life and
returned to the world, pretended that he too had the same intention and
thus, the Lord yet again having mercy, they repented and resumed their
original discipline yet more vigorously.
N.610
A brother who was travelling lost his way and asked some people so as to
find out but they were evildoers and set him a-wandering in desert places, one
of them following closely in order to rob him. They obliged him to cross a
canal and, just as they were beginning to cross, a crocodile rushed at the
robber. The servant of God did not look the other way, but cried out to
ἐπέδραμεν ἐπὶ τὸν λῃστήν. Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐχ ὑπερεῖδεν, ἀλλ᾿
ἐβόησε πρὸς τὸν κακοῦργον σημαίνων τὴν τοῦ θηρίου ὁρμήν, ὡς σωθέντα
ἐκεῖνον εὐχαριστεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ θαυμάσαι αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀγάπην.
611. Ἠκούσαμεν περί τινος ἀδελφοῦ ἐνδεοῦς καὶ χρῄζοντος ὅτι μετὰ τὸ
ἐνεχθῆναι αὐτῷ τῶν βρωμάτων τὴν χρείαν, εἰ ἔτυχεν ἄλλον ἐνεγκεῖν, οὐκ
ἐδέχετο ταῦτα λέγων· Ἤ[f. 336va]δη διέθρεψέ με ὁ Κύριός μου καὶ ἀρκεῖ
μοι.
611bis (S and V). Εἶπε γέρων· ὁ διάβολος τῷ ἐλαττώματι τοῦ μοναχοῦ

ἐπιτίθεται· ἔθος γὰρ διὰ μακροῦ χρόνου βεβαιωθὲν φύσεως ἰσχὺν λαμβάνει
μάλιστα δὲ ἐν τοῖς ἀμελεστέροις. Πᾶν οὖν βρῶμα, ὃ κατὰ κνίσαν ζητοῦσιν,
μὴ θελήσῃς δοῦναι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ μάλιστα ὑγιαίνουσιν.
611ter (S and V). Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω ὅτι

ἠγάπησα τὴν δόξαν καὶ ταράσσει με; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Καλῶς· σὺ
ἐποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν; Καὶ ἐξενίσθη ὁ ἀδελφὸς εἰς τὸ ῥῆμα
τοῦτο καὶ ἔβαλε μετάνοιαν λέγων· Συγχώρησόν μοι, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι οὐδὲν τῶν
τοιούτων ἐποίησα. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ οὖν ὁ ποιήσας ταῦτα ἐν
ταπεινώσει ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, σὺ ὁ δοῦλος διατί ὑπερηφανεύῃ;
612. Ἠρωτήθησαν οἱ γέροντες τῆς Σκήτεως διὰ τὴν πορνείαν καὶ1 ὅταν
ἴδῃ ἄνθρωπος πρόσωπον, ἐκθαμβοῦται εἰς αὐτὸ ἡ ἐνθύμησις αὐτοῦ, καὶ
ἀπεκρίθησαν ὅτι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο ἔοικε τραπέζῃ πεπληρωμένῃ ἐδεσμά-
των, κἂν γὰρ θέλῃ τὶς καὶ ἐπιθυμῇ τοῦ φαγεῖν ἐξ αὐτῶν, μὴ ἐκτείνῃ δὲ τὴν
χεῖρα αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν ἐξ αὐτῶν – ξένος αὐτῶν γίνεται.
613. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Καλὸν τὸ παραβάλλειν γέρου-

σιν ἢ τὸ ἡσυχάζειν; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·2 Τὸ παραβάλλειν τοῖς γέρουσιν
ἦν ὁ κανὼν τῶν ἀρχαίων πατέρων.3
1
καὶ] ὅτι V 2
Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων om V 3
Hic invenitur N.428 apud S V
N.611–13 491
the evildoer, indicating the onslaught of the beast, with the result that when
he was saved, [the robber] gave thanks to him and wondered at his love.
N.611
We heard about a poor and needy brother that when the food he needed
was brought to him, if it happened that another person brought some, he
would not accept it, saying: “The Lord has fed me already and that is
enough for me.”
N.611bis
An elder said: “The devil attacks a monk’s weakness. A habit that has been
established over a long time takes on the strength of nature, and this is the
case especially with the less careful. For this reason, refuse to give the
brothers any food they seek for its savour, especially when they are
healthy.”
N.611ter (cf. N.483)

A brother asked an elder: “What am I to do, for I loved glory and it
troubles me?” Said the elder to him: “Fine; was it you who made the
heaven and the earth?” The brother was amazed at this saying; he pros-
trated himself saying: “Forgive me, abba, for I did nothing of the sort”, and
the elder said to him: “So then if he who made these things came into the
world in humility, why are you, the servant, high-minded?”
N.612
The elders of Scete were asked about porneia and when a man sees
somebody and his thinking is taken aback by that. “This situation resem-
bles a table filled with dishes, for if someone wishes and desires to eat of
them but does not stretch out his hand to partake of them, he is a stranger
to them”, they replied.
N.613
A brother asked an elder: “Is it a good thing to visit the elders or to remain
in hêsychia?” The elder said to him: “To visit the elders was the rule of
the fathers of old time.”
614. Ἀπῆλθον ποτὲ ἀδελφοὶ εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Διόλκου καθίσαι καὶ
ἔμαθον ἐργάζεσθαι τὸ πλάγιον χαρτίν,1 καὶ εἰργάζοντο ἐπὶ μισθῷ. Καὶ ἐ
[f. 336vb]πεὶ οὐκ ἦσαν τεχνίται οὐδεὶς παρεῖχεν αὐτοῖς ἔργον. Παρέβαλε δὲ
αὐτοῖς εἷς γέρων καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Διατί οὐκ ἐργάζεσθε; Οἱ δὲ εὐλαβεῖς
ὄντες ἀπεκρίθησαν· Ἐπειδὴ κακὰ ἐργαζόμεθα. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ᾔδει τινὰ
ἐργάτην θεοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὑπάγετε πρὸς τὸν δεῖνα2 γέροντα καὶ
παρέχει ὑμῖν ἔργον. Ἀπῆλθον οὖν καὶ μετὰ χαρᾶς παρεῖχεν αὐτοῖς ἔργον.
Οἱ δὲ ἀδελφοὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· Κακὰ ἐργαζόμεθα, πάτερ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων
ἔλεγεν·3 Πιστεύω τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι διὰ τοῦ ὑμῶν ἐργοχείρου καὶ τὰ ἄλλα
προχωροῦσιν. Καὶ τῇ ἀγάπῃ πλεονάζων ὁ γέρων προεθύμαινεν4 αὐτοὺς
τοῦ5 ἐργάζεσθαι. Ἰδοὺ οὖν ἀληθῶς ὅτι6 βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσι τὴν βασιλείαν
τῶν οὐρανῶν.
615. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν Αἰγυπτίων πατέρων7[f. 337ra] ὅτι ποτὲ

ἐνεθυμήθην ξενιτεῦσαι. Καὶ ἐμβὰς εἰς πλοῖον κατήντησα εἰς τὰς8 Ἀθήνας
καὶ μέλλων εἰσιέναι ἐν τῇ πόλει θεωρῶ τινὰ γέροντα μοναχὸν ἐστολισμέ-
νον, ἔχοντα μικρὰν πήραν βαβυλωνικὴν κεκλειδωμένην καὶ ἔτρεχε καὶ
ἄλλοι ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὡς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ
ὄχλος πολὺς καὶ εἷλκον αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ θέατρον. Καὶ ἠρώτων τινὰ ὅτι τίς
ἐστιν οὗτος καὶ εἷπέν μοι· Οὗτος ἀπὸ Ἑλλήνων ἐστὶ μειζότερος ὅλων9 τῶν
φιλοσόφων καὶ γέγονε χριστιανός,10 καὶ ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ μοναστήριον καὶ
γέγονε μοναχὸς11 καὶ διὰ δεκαπέντε ἐτῶν ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, καὶ διὰ
τοῦτο τρέχομεν, ἵνα ἀκούσωμεν τί λέγει. Καὶ ἀπῆλθον κἀγὼ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν
καί, ὡς ἦλθον οἱ ἄρχον[f. 337rb]τες, παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν ὅτι εἰπὲ ἡμῖν
εἴτι12 ἔχεις εἰπεῖν. Καὶ εἶπεν·13 Οὐκ ἔστιν ἔθνος ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν14 ὡς τὸ
τῶν χριστιανῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πάλιν τάξις ὡς ἡ τάξις15 τῶν μοναχῶν.
Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ βλάπτον αὐτούς, ὅτι φέρει αὐτοὺς16 ὁ διάβολος
μνησικακίαν εἰς ἀλλήλους τοῦ λέγειν ὅτι εἶπέν μοι καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ, καὶ τὰς
ἀκαθαρσίας αὐτοῦ ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ ἔχει καὶ οὐ βλέπει αὐτάς. Τοῦτο οὖν
ἀκούσαντες πάντες,17 πολλὰ εὐφήμησαν αὐτὸν καὶ οὕτως ἀνεχώρησεν.
1
χαρτίον V 2
δεῖνα] τὸν add V 3
Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔλεγεν] ὁ δὲ εἶπεν V
4
προεθύμαινεν C V] προεθυμοποίει S 5
τοῦ] om S 6
ὅτι] om S
7
πατέρων] om C 8
τὰς om V 9
ὅλων] ὅλον C 10
χριστιανὸ] μοναχὸς V
11
καὶ γέγονε μοναχὸς om V 12
εἴτι] ὅτι C
13
Καὶ εἶπεν C] Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς V] Ὁ δὲ φήσιν S 14
τῶν οὐρανῶν V 15
τάξις om V
16
αὐτοῖς V 17
πάντες] om S
N.614–15 493
N.614
Some brothers once went off to live on the mountain of Diolcos and they
learnt how to work at paper-making and they worked for wages. But since
they were not skilled, nobody gave them work. Then one elder encoun-
tered them and he said to them: “Why are you not working?” As they were
respectful, they answered: “Because we do bad work.” But the elder knew a
godly workman and he said to them: “Go to such-and-such an elder and
he will provide you with work”, so they went and he gladly provided them
with work. But the brothers said to him: “We do bad work, father”, and
the elder said: “I trust in God that, because you are working with your
hands, the rest will follow” and, overflowing with love, the elder encour-
aged them to work. It is true, you see, that the violent take the Kingdom of
Heaven by force. [Cf. Mt 11:12.]
[The meaning of this passage is unclear.]
N.615
One of the Egyptian fathers related this: “I once took it into my head to go
abroad. I got on board a ship and reached Athens. As I was about to go
into the city I saw an elderly monk wearing a cloak. He had a small, closed
Babylonian bag; he was running and others [came running] after him. As
he came to the city a large crowd met him and conveyed him to the
theatre. I asked somebody who this was and he said to me: ‘This man is
greater than all the philosophers among the Greeks; he became a Christian,
made himself a monastery and became a monk. After fifteen years he has
come to the city and that is why we are running, to hear what he says.’
I went off with them too and when the magistrates came they prayed him:
‘Tell us what you have to say’, and he said: ‘There is no race under heaven
like the race of Christians and moreover there is no order like the order of
monks. But there is just this that spoils them: that the devil brings on
them resentment towards each other so that they say: “He said to me and
I said to him; he has his impurities before him and does not see them.”’
When they had all heard this they spoke very highly of him and thus
he went away.”
616. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἐμίσησα τῶν νεωτέρων τὰς κενοδοξίας, ὅτι κάμ-
νουσι καὶ μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀποβλέποντες1 εἰς τὰς δόξας τῶν ἀνθρώ-
πων. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἄλλος γέρων γνωστικότατος· Ἐγὼ καὶ πάνυ αὐτοὺς
ἀποδέχομαι. Συμφέρει γὰρ τῷ νεωτέρῳ κενοδο[f. 337va]ξεῖν καὶ μὴ ἀμε-
λεῖν. Πάντως γὰρ κενοδοξῶν ἀνάγκη καὶ ἐγκρατεύεται2 καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖ3 καὶ
γυμνητεύει,4 ἀγάπην5 κτᾶται,6 τὰς θλίψεις βαστάζει7 διὰ τὸν ἔπαινον.
Μετὰ οὖν τὸ πολιτεύεσθαι οὕτως ἔρχεται αὐτῷ ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ
λέγουσα αὐτῷ· Διατί οὐ κάμνεις δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἀλλὰ διὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους; Τότε
πείθεται μὴ προσέχειν δόξῃ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ἀλλὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ ἀκούσαντες
εἶπον· Ὄντως8 οὕτως ἔχει.9
617. Ἀδελφὸς ὑπὸ λύπης κρατούμενος ἠνάγκαζε τὸν ἀββᾶν Νόνον

λέγων· Τί ποιήσω ὅτι οἱ λογισμοὶ ἐπιτίθενταί10 μοι λέγοντες ὅτι ἀκαίρως
ἀπετάξω, σωθῆναι οὐ δύνασαι; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Κἂν μὴ δυνάμεθα11
εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, συμφέρει ἵνα τὰ κῶλα ἡμῶν πέσῃ ἐν
τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἢ ὑποστρέψαι εἰς Αἴγυπτον.
618.12 [f. 337vb] Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ἦν τὶς ἐν τῇ ἐσωτέρᾳ ἐρήμῳ οἰκῶν ἀπὸ
χρόνων ἱκανῶν καὶ ἐκτήσατο χάρισμα προορατικόν, ὥστε ὁμιλεῖν αὐτὸν
μετὰ τῶν13 ἀγγέλων. Συνέβη δὲ πρᾶγμα τοιοῦτον. Δύο ἀδελφοὶ μοναχοὶ
ἤκουσαν14 τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπεθύμησαν αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν καὶ ὠφεληθῆναι
παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τῶν κελλίων αὐτῶν ἐπορεύοντο πίστει πρὸς
αὐτὸν καὶ ἐζήτουν τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Καὶ μεθ᾿ ἡμέρας
πολλὰς ἤγγισαν τῷ σπηλαίῳ τοῦ γέροντος καὶ θεωροῦσιν ἀπὸ μακρόθεν
τινὰ ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἀσπροφοροῦντα ἱστάμενον ἐφ᾿ ἓν τῶν ὁρέων ἐκείνων
πλησίον τοῦ ὁσίου ὡς ἀπὸ σημείων τριῶν. Καὶ φωνεῖ αὐτοῖς λέγων·
Ἀδελφοί, ἀδελφοί. Οἱ δὲ15 ἀπεκρίθησαν λέγοντες· Τίς εἶ [f. 338ra] καὶ τί
θέλεις; Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Εἴπατε τῷ ἀββᾷ ἐκείνῳ ᾧ μέλλεται συν-
τυγχάνειν ὅτι μνήσθητι τῆς παρακλήσεως. Οἱ δὲ ἐλθόντες καὶ εὑρόντες
τὸν γέροντα ἠσπάσαντο αὐτόν, καὶ προσπεσόντες αὐτῷ ἠρώτων ἀκοῦ-
σαι παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ λόγον σωτηρίας. Καὶ διδαχθέντες ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἱκανῶς
ὠφελήθησαν. Καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν αὐτῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὗ εἶδον
ἐρχόμενοι πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν δήλωσιν αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας ἔγνω τίς
1
ἀποβλέποντες] ἀποβλέπουσι γὰρ S 2
ἐγκρατεύεσθαι V 3
ἀγρυπνεῖν V
4
γυμνητεύειν V 5
ἀγάπην] τε add V 6
κτᾶσθαι V] καὶ add V
7
βαστάζειν add V 8
Ὄντως om V 9
Hic invenitur N.461 apud S V
10
ἐπιτίθενταί] ὑποτίθεντέ C] ὑποτίθενται V 11
δυνάμεθα C V] δυνώμεθα S
12
item 618 om V 13
τῶν] om S 14
μοναχοὶ ἤκουσαν] ἤκουσαν μοναχοὶ S [sic]
15
Οἱ δὲ] om S
N.616–18 495
N.616
An elder said: “I hated the arrogance of the young because they toil away
and have no reward, looking towards human distinctions.” Another elder,
one of greatest knowledge, said to him: “For my part I entirely approve of
them. It is advantageous for a younger person to be arrogant and not
neglectful; for indeed he who is arrogant must be in control of himself,
must watch and exercise; acquire love and endure affliction [in order to
acquire] praise. After he has lived like this, the grace of God comes to him,
saying to him: ‘Why do you not toil for me, but for men?’ Then he is
persuaded not to pay heed to human distinction, but to that of God.” And
having heard, they said: “Indeed, it is so.”
N.617
A brother in the grip of grief was importuning Abba Nonos saying: “What
am I to do, for my thoughts subvert me, saying: ‘You renounced the world
at the wrong time: you cannot be saved?’” The elder said to him: “Even if
we cannot enter the land of promise, it is better that our bones fall in the
wilderness than to return to Egypt.”
N.618
An elder said that there was someone living in the inner desert for a long
time and he possessed the gift of foresight, so that he conversed with the
angels. Then something like this happened. Two brother monks heard
about him; they longed to see him and to benefit from him. Coming out
of their cells, they journeyed to him in faith and they were seeking the
servant of God in the desert. After many days they approached the cave of
the elder and, from afar, they saw somebody like a man dressed in white
standing on one of those hills near to the holy one, about three miles away
and he called to them, saying: “Brothers, brothers”, and they answered,
saying: “Who are you and what do you want?” and he said to them: “Say to
that abba whom you are about to encounter: ‘Remember the interces-
sion.’” Coming and finding the elder, they embraced him and, falling
before him, they asked to hear a word of salvation from him. And, taught
by him for some time, they received benefit. And they reported to him
about the man whom they had seen while coming to him and what he had
revealed. He knew who it was when he heard, but pretended not to know
anything about him. He said that no other man was living there, but they
ἦν καὶ προσεποιήσατο ἀγνοεῖν περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλεγεν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἄνθρω-
πος ἄλλος οἰκεῖ ἐνταῦθα. Οἱ δὲ ἠνάγκαζον αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν αὐτοῖς τίς ἐστιν ὁ
ὁραθεὶς αὐτοῖς, βάλλοντες αὐτῷ συνεχῶς μετανοίας καὶ κρατοῦντες τοὺς
πόδας αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἤγειρεν αὐτοὺς λέγων· Δό[f. 338rb]τε μοι λόγον, ἵνα
μηδενὶ περιφημίσητέ με ὡς τινὰ τῶν ἁγίων, ἄχρις ἂν ἀπέλθω πρὸς Κύριον,
καὶ ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα. Οἱ δὲ ἐποίησαν καθὼς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς καὶ
λέγει πρὸς αὐτούς·1 Οὗτος γὰρ2 ὃν ἑωράκατε ἀσπροφοροῦντα ἄγγελος
Κυρίου ἐστίν, ὃς καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐνταῦθα παρεκάλει τὴν ἀσθένειάν μου λέγων·
Δεήθητι τοῦ Κυρίου περὶ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα ἀποκατασταθῶ εἰς τὸν τόπον μου, ὅτι
πεπλήρωται λοιπὸν ὁ χρόνος ὁ ὁρισθεὶς κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐμοῦ
δὲ ἐπερωτήσαντος αὐτὸν τίς ἡ αἰτία τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεώς σου, λέγει μοι·
Συνέβη ἔν τινι κώμῃ πολλοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐπὶ πολὺ παρορ-
γίζειν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ἀπέστειλέ με μετ᾿ ἐλέους παιδεῦσαι αὐτούς. Ἐγὼ δὲ
θεασάμενος αὐτοὺς σφόδρα [f. 338va] ἀσεβοῦντας, πλείονα τὴν πληγὴν
ἐπήνεγκα αὐτοῖς, ὥστε πολλοὺς ἀναλωθῆναι. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπὸ ὄψεως
γέγονα τοῦ ἀποστείλαντός με Θεοῦ.3 Ἐμοῦ δὲ λέγοντος· Καὶ πῶς εἰμὶ
ἱκανὸς4 παρακαλέσαι τὸν5 Θεὸν ὑπὲρ ἀγγέλου; ἔφη ἐκεῖνος· Εἰ μὴ ᾔδειν ὅτι
εἰσακούει ὁ Θεὸς τῶν γνησίων δούλων6 αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἂν ἠρχόμην καὶ
ὤχλουν σοι.7 Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐμνήσθην τοῦ ἀφάτου ἐλέους Κυρίου καὶ
τῆς ἀπείρου αὐτοῦ8 ἀγάπης πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὅτι κατηξίωσε καὶ9
λαλεῖν καὶ βλέπει αὐτόν, καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ διακονεῖν αὐτοῖς καὶ
ὁμιλεῖν, ὡς τοῖς μακαρίοις αὐτοῦ δούλοις πεποίηκεν, Ζαχαρίᾳ καὶ Κορνη-
λίῳ καὶ Ἠλίᾳ τῷ προφήτῃ καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἁγίοις, καὶ ἐδόξασα τὴν
εὐσπλαγχνίαν αὐτοῦ ἐκπλαγεὶς ἐπὶ τούτοις. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ δι [f. 338vb]η-
γήσασθαι ταῦτα τὸν μακαριώτατον ἡμῶν πατέρα ἀνεπαύσατο. Καὶ
ἔθαψαν αὐτὸν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἐντίμως μετὰ ὕμνων καὶ προσευχῶν. Οὗ ταῖς
ἀρεταῖς10 καὶ ἡμεῖς σπουδάσωμεν μιμηταὶ γενέσθαι διὰ τῆς ἰσχύος τοῦ
Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ θέλοντος πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι
καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν.
1
πρὸς αὐτούς] αὐτοῖς S 2
γὰρ] om S 3
Θεοῦ] δεσπότου S 4
ἱκανὸς] ἱκανῶς C
5
τὸν] om S 6
δούλων] οm C 7
σοι] σε S 8
αὐτοῦ] om S
9
καὶ] om C 10
ταῖς ἀρεταῖς] τῆς ἀρετῆς S
N.618 497
prevailed upon him to tell them who it was that had appeared to them,
repeatedly prostrating themselves before him and holding his feet. But he
raised them up, saying: “Give me [your] word that you will not talk about
me as one of the saints to anybody until I go to the Lord, and I will tell you
the matter.” They did as he said to them and he said to them: “He whom
you have seen wearing white is an angel of the Lord who, coming here, was
fortifying my weakness, saying: ‘Beseech the Lord for me to be restored to
my place, for the time set by God for me has now been fulfilled.’ When
I asked him: ‘What [was] the reason for your punishment?’ he said to me:
‘It happened that in a village many men greatly angered God with sins and
he sent me to chastise them with mercy. But when I saw them behaving
very wickedly, I inflicted the blow more heavily on them, with the result
that many perished. For that I was removed from the sight of God who
sent me.’ When I said: ‘And how am I competent to intercede with God
on behalf of an angel?’ that one said: ‘Had I not known that God pays heed
to his known servants, I would not have come troubling you.’ Within
myself I brought to mind the unspeakable mercy of the Lord and his
boundless love for man, so that he has condescended to speak to and look
on him, and has made his angels to wait upon them and to speak to his
blessed servants Zacharias and Cornelius and Elijah the prophet and the
rest of the saints, and I glorified his tender mercy, amazed at these things.”
After he had narrated these things our most blessed father went to his rest
and the brothers, with hymns and prayers, honourably buried him, of
whose virtues let us too strive to be imitators, through the strength of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who wills all men to be saved and to come to knowledge
of truth. [Cf. 1 Tm 2:4.]
619. Ἀββᾶς τὶς ἀνεχώρησε σὺν τινὶ ἀδελφῷ εἰς τὴν ἐσωτέραν ἔρημον
καὶ ἦσαν τὰς μὲν ἓξ ἡμέρας ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων χωριζόμενοι, τῇ δὲ ἑβδόμῃ
συνερχόμενοι ὁμοῦ ἐπετέλουν τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ ἐγεύοντο, μηδὲν πλέον ἀλλή-
λοις διαλεγόμενοι. Ἀπερχόμενοι οὖν οἱ δαίμονες πρὸς τὸν ἕνα αὐτῶν,
ἠπάτων αὐτὸν ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ προεσήμαινον αὐτῷ εἰσόδους ἀδελφῶν
καὶ τὰ γι[f. 339ra]νόμενα ἐν πολλοῖς1 τόποις. Ταῦτα ὁρῶν καὶ ἀκούων
αὐτὰ συμβαίνοντα ἐπίστευεν αὐτοῖς, νομίζων ἁγίας δυνάμεις αὐτὰς
ὑπάρχειν. Ἐκώλυσαν δὲ αὐτὸν τοῦ ἀπέρχεσθαι τῇ τεταγμένῃ ἡμέρᾳ πρὸς
τὸν ἀδελφὸν. Κατὰ συνήθειαν2 δὲ ἀπῆλθεν ἐπισκέψασθαι τινὰ ἀδελφὸν
ἀσθενοῦντα καὶ ὑπέβαλε τισὶ τῆς μονῆς, ὡς περὶ ἄλλου τὸν λόγον
φάσκων, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστι τινὰ τὰ3 ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ γινώσκειν. Ἀκούσαντες
δὲ καὶ νοήσαντες ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀπατώμενος, ἐπετίμησαν αὐτῷ
λέγοντες· Εἰ τοιούτοις σχολάζεις, μηκέτι ἡμῖν παραβάλῃς, καὶ εὐθὺς μετε-
νόησεν ἀπαρνησάμενος πάντα ἐκεῖνα. Ἀναχωρήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πάλιν
ἀπῆλθον οἱ δαίμονες πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπατῆσαι [f. 339rb]. Ὁ δὲ ψεύστας
αὐτοὺς ἀπεκάλει καὶ εὐθὺς μετεβλήθη τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν εἰς ζῷα καὶ
ἀπειλήσαντες αὐτῷ ἀπῆλθον.
620. Διηγήσατό τις ποτὲ περί τινος μοναχοῦ ὅτι παρεκάλει τὸν Θεὸν
ἵνα αὐτὸν ἀξιώσῃ γενέσθαι ὡς τὸν Ἰσαὰκ τὸν ἕνα τῶν τότε πατριαρχῶν
καὶ μετὰ πολλὰς αὐτοῦ δεήσεις ἦλθεν αὐτῷ θεόθεν φωνὴ λέγουσα· Οὐ
δύνασαι γενέσθαι ὡς Ἰσαάκ. Καὶ φησὶν ὁ μοναχός· Καὶ ἐὰν μὴ ὡς Ἰσαάκ,
κἂν ὡς Ἰώβ. Καὶ πάλιν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ θεία φωνή· Ἐὰν παλαίσῃς ὡς ἐκεῖνος,
φησί, τῷ διαβόλῳ δύνασαι γενέσθαι. Συντίθεται τοίνυν ὁ μοναχὸς καὶ
ἀκούει παρὰ τῆς θείας φωνῆς· Ἄπελθε, φησίν, εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου. Μεθ᾿
ἡμέρας τοίνυν μετασχηματίζεται ὁ διάβολος εἴς τινα στρα[f. 339va]τιώτην
καὶ παραγίνεται πρὸς τὸν μοναχὸν λέγων· Ἀββᾶ, δέομαί σου τῆς ὁσιό-
τητος ἐλέησόν με διωκόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως μου καὶ λάβε, φησί, τὰς
διακοσίας ταύτας τοῦ χρυσίου λίτρας καὶ τὴν κόρην ταύτην καὶ τὸν
παῖδα καὶ ἀσφάλισαι παρ᾿ ἑαυτῷ ἐν τόπῳ κρυπτῷ. Ἐγὼ δέ, φησίν,
ἀπελεύσομαι ἐν ἑτέρᾳ χώρᾳ. Καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ μοναχὸς μὴ γινώσκων
τὴν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐνέδραν· Τέκνον, οὐ δύναμαι ταῦτα κατασχεῖν· ταπει-
νὸς γάρ εἰμι ἄνθρωπος καὶ ἀδυνατῶ ταῦτα παραφυλάξαι. Παραβιάζεται
τοίνυν ὁ ἐσχηματισμένος στρατιώτης τὸν μοναχὸν καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ
μοναχός· Ἄπελθε, τέκνον, καὶ εἰς τὴν πλησίον πέτραν κρῦψον αὐτά. Τῇ δὲ
ὑ[f. 339vb]στεραίᾳ πεισθέντος τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἔλαβε τὸ χρυσίον καὶ τὴν
κόρην καὶ τὸν παῖδα χλευασθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος. Μεθ᾿ ἡμέρας τοίνυν
κινεῖται πόλεμος τῷ μοναχῷ εἰς τὴν κόρην, καὶ φθείρας αὐτὴν καὶ
1
πολλοῖς] ἄλλοις V 2
συνήθειαν] συντυχίαν S V 3
τὰ] τῶν S
N.619–20 499
N.619
An abba retreated to the inner desert with a brother and they were apart
from each other for six days, but they came together on the seventh,
offered prayers and ate, saying nothing more to each other. Taking off
against one of them, the demons began deceiving him in many things and
showing him beforehand the arrivals of brothers and what was happening
in many places. Seeing these things and hearing them happening, he began
believing in [the demons], thinking that they were holy powers. They
prevented him from going away to the brother on the appointed day. As
was his wont, he went off to visit a sick brother and suggested to some
members of the monastery (as though speaking of somebody else) that it
was possible to know some things in the world. When they heard that,
thinking that it was himself who was being led astray, they rebuked him,
saying: “If you are spending your time on things like that, do not visit us
any more”, and he repented immediately and renounced all those things.
When he had retreated [into the desert] again the demons approached
to lead him astray but he began calling them liars; their persons were
immediately transformed into beasts and, after threatening him, they
went away.
N.620 BHG 1450x, de monacho superbo, excud. J. Wortley,

AB 100 (1982) 351–63
Somebody once told of a monk who used to beseech God to make him
worthy to be as Isaac, one of the patriarchs of those times. After his many
intercessions, a voice came to him from God saying: “You cannot be like
Isaac”, and the monk said: “If not like Isaac, then like Job”, and again the
divine voice [came] to him saying: “If you can wrestle with the devil as that
one did, you can be [like him].” The monk then agreed and he heard from
the divine voice: “Go away to your cell.” Then some days later the devil
transformed himself into a soldier and presented himself to the monk,
saying: “Abba, I beseech you of your holiness to have mercy on me who
am being pursued by my king. Take these two hundred pounds of gold
and this maiden and the slave and keep them safe by you in a hidden
place,” he said, “for I will be going away into another country.” Unaware
of the devil’s snare, the monk said to him: “Son, I cannot hold onto those
μεταμεληθεὶς ἐπὶ τὸ γεγονὸς1 ἀποκτένει ταύτην. Καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ
λογισμός· Φόνευσον καὶ τὸν παῖδα, ἵνα μὴ προδώσῃ τὰ τοῦ πράγματος.
Φονεύει τοίνυν καὶ τὸν παῖδα2 καὶ λέγει πάλιν ὁ λογισμός· Ἆρον τὰ
παρατεθέντα σοι χρήματα καὶ φύγε εἰς ἕτερον τόπον διὰ τὴν τοῦ παρα-
θεμένου ὄχλησιν. Ἀπέρχεται οὖν ἐν ἑτέρᾳ χώρᾳ καὶ κτίζει ἀπὸ τῶν
χρημάτων εὐκτήριον. Καὶ τελειωσάμενος3 αὐτοῦ τὸ ἔργον, ἰδοὺ παρα-
γίνεται4 ἐν σχήματι στρα[f. 340ra]τιώτου ὁ5 διάβολος καὶ ἤρξατο
κράζειν καὶ λέγειν· Ὤ βία, βοηθεῖτε. Οὗτος ὁ μοναχὸς ἐκ τῶν παρα-
τεθέντων αὐτῷ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ χρημάτων τοῦτο ἀνήγειρε τὸ κτίσμα. Καὶ
ἐπεγερθέντες οἱ ἐντόπιοι τῷ στρατιώτῃ τῷ δολίῳ6 μετὰ πάσης ἀπε-
πέμψαντο αὐτὸν ἀτιμίας.7 Ὁ δὲ ταῖς ἀπειλαῖς θρασυνόμενος ἀπῄει
λέγων ἐκεῖνα ποιεῖν τῷ μοναχῷ, ὅσα οὐδὲ εἰς νοῦν ἔλαβε πώποτε,
καὶ ὑποχωρήσας ἀπῆλθεν. Ὁ8 μοναχὸς τοίνυν9 οὐκ ἠρέμει νυκτὸς καὶ
ἡμέρας τοὺς λογισμοὺς10 ἀπομαχόμενος, ἕως οὗ ἀπενίκησεν11 αὐτὸν ὁ
λογισμὸς τοῦ ὑποχωρῆσαι τοῦ τόπου λέγων ὅτι· Λοιπὸν ἔφθασε τὰ
κατ᾿ ἐμὲ φανερωθῆναι. Ἐκ μέρους οὖν λαμβάνω τὰ ὑπολειφθέντα12
χρήμα/[f. 340rb ]τα καὶ ἀπέρχομαι εἰς πόλιν13 μακράν, ὅπου ὁ στρατιώτης
ἐκεῖνος ἐλθεῖν οὐ δύναται. Ἀπέρχεται τοίνυν εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ περιπίπτει εἰς
μίαν κόρην θυγατέρα οὖσαν τινὸς δημίου καὶ λαλήσας τῷ πατρὶ αὐτῆς
ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκα. Μετὰ δὲ χρόνον τινὰ ἔρχεται ὁ νεωστὶ
προβληθεὶς ἐπιχώριος ἄρχων καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς τῆς κόρης τελευτήσαντος
ἐπεζήτησεν ἐκ τῆς τάξεως τὸν ὑπουργῆσαι ὀφείλοντα τῇ δίκῃ δήμιον.
Καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ14 τῆς τάξεως ὅτι συνήθεια κεκράτηκε15 παρ᾿ ἡμῖν, ἵνα ὁ
λαμβάνων ἢ16 τὴν τοῦ τελευτήσαντος δημίου γυναῖκα ἢ θυγατέρα ἐκεῖνος
ὑπεισέλθῃ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑπουργίᾳ, κἂν μὴ βούληται. Καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐ
[f. 340va]τοὺς ὁ ἄρχων· Καὶ ἔστι τοιοῦτος παρ᾿ ὑμῖν;17 Οἱ δὲ ἔστι φασίν,
ὃς καὶ μοναχοῦ τάξιν ἐπέχειν δοκεῖ. Ὁ δέ φησιν· Ὑπάγετε καὶ τοῦτον
ἀγάγετε πρός με. Ἄγουσι τοίνυν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα.18 Συντίθεται
καθυπουργῆσαι τῇ δίκῃ καταναγκαζόμενος. Ἐμπεσόντων δέ τινων ἐγκλή-
μασιν ὑπευθύνων ἐκελεύετο ὁ ποτὲ μοναχὸς νυνὶ δὲ δήμιος, ἐὰν πιστεύητέ
μοι, ἡ τῆς φύσεως συμπάθεια οὐκ ἐᾷ με ἀδακρυτὶ παρελθεῖν τὴν διήγησιν,
ἐκελεύετο ὑπὸ τοῦ ἄρχοντος πίσσαν ἢ ἕτερον ἐπαγαγεῖν κολαστήριον τοῖς
1
τὸ γεγονὸς] τῷ γεγονότι V 2
ἵνα μὴ . . . τὸν παῖδα om V
3
τελειωσάμενος] τελειώσαντος S V 4
παραγίνεται] ὁ add V 5
ὁ om C V
6
τῷ στρατιώτῃ τῷ δολίῳ] τῷ δολίῳ στρατιώτῃ S 7
αὐτὸν ἀτιμίας] τῆς ἀτιμίας αὐτοῦ S
8
Ὁ] δὲ add V 9
τοίνυν om V 10
τοὺς λογισμοὺς] τοῖς λογισμοῖς S V
11
ἀπενίκησεν] ἐνίκησεν S 12
ὑπολειφθέντα] κατα-V 13
πόλιν] χώραν S
14
οἱ] ἐκ V 15
κεκράτηκε] κρατεῖ S 16
ἢ ante γυναῖκα trsp V 17
ὑμῖν] ἡ-V
18
ἄρχοντα] καὶ add V
N.620 501
things for I am a lowly man and incapable of safeguarding them.” Then
the one disguised as a soldier coerced the monk and the monk said to him:
“Son, go and hide them in the adjacent rock.” The next day the monk was
persuaded; deceived by the demon he took the gold, the maiden and the
slave. Some days later a battle raged in the monk concerning the maiden.
He ravaged her then, in remorse at what had happened, he killed her.
Then his conscience said to him: “Kill the slave too, so he cannot betray
what has taken place”, so he killed the slave. Again his conscience spoke
to him: “Take the gold left with you and run away to another place
[to escape] the importuning of him who left it with you.” So he went to
another country and built an oratory out of the money. When he had
completed his task here there came the devil under the appearance of a
soldier and he began crying out, saying: “O, violence, help! This monk
raised up this edifice out of the money left with him by me” and, whipped
up by the guileful soldier, the local people drove him out with utter
disdain. Emboldened by their threats [the “soldier”] departed saying he
would do those things to the monk that had never entered his mind and,
withdrawing, he went away. The monk now knew no peace by day or by
night, fighting with his logismoi, until his conscience convinced him to
depart from the place, saying: “So he succeeded in revealing my situation.
I am taking the rest of the money that remains and going to a distant city
where that soldier cannot come.” Now he went off to the city and there he
came across a maiden who was the daughter of an executioner. He spoke to
her father and took her for his own wife. After a while there arrived the
recently appointed regional magistrate and, since the maiden’s father had
died, he enquired of the department who should serve justice as an
executioner. Those in the department said: “The custom prevails among
us that he who marries the wife of the dead executioner or his daughter
should enter into his office, even if he is unwilling.” The governor said to
them: “Is there such a person among you?” “There is,” they said; “he who
seems to have the status of a monk”, and he said: “Go and bring that one
to me.” So they brought him to the governor and, under coercion, he
ἐξεταζομένοις. Ἐν τῷ οὖν ταῦτα ποιεῖν τὸν νέον δήμιον, ἰδοὺ ὁ Σατανᾶς1
ἐν σχήματι στρατιώτου παραγίνεται καὶ ἤρξατο κράζειν τοιαῦτα, ὥστε
καὶ λαὸν συνα[f. 340vb]χθῆναι πολὺν διὰ τὰς ἐκείνου φωνὰς καὶ πρὸς
ἐκδίκησιν τοῦ ἠδικημένου καταβοῶντος2 τοῦ ἄρχοντος. Ὑπολαβὼν
οὖν ὁ ἄρχων ἔφη πρὸς τὸν στρατιώτην· Κατάστα, ἄνθρωπε, καὶ γενοῦ
σαυτοῦ καὶ νουνεχῶς3 τὰ κατὰ σὲ ἀναδίδαξον καὶ μὴ οὕτως ἐκφώνει
ὥσπερ κύων ὑλάσσων. Καὶ ὁ στρατιώτης πρὸς τὸν ἄρχοντα φησίν·4 Ὁ
δήμιος οὗτος μοναχὸς ἦν ποτέ, καὶ ὑπό τινων ἐχθρῶν καταδιωκομένου
μου παρεθέμην αὐτῷ χρυσίον πολύ, πρὸς δὲ καὶ παῖδα δοῦλόν μου καὶ
παιδίσκην παρθένον, καὶ κελεύσατε τὴν παραθήκην5 ἀναλαβεῖν6 με. Τοῦ δὲ
ἄρχοντος ἡδέως τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ὑφήγησιν προσδεξαμένου κέρδους
ἕνεκα, ἠρώτα τὸν ποτὲ μοναχόν, νυ[f. 341ra]νὶ δὲ δήμιον, εἰ τὰ τοῦ στρα-
τιώτου ῥήματα ἀληθείας εἶναι δοκοῦσιν αὐτῷ. Τοῦ δὲ συνθεμένου καὶ
ἀπαιτουμένου τὴν τούτων7 ἀποκατάστασιν καὶ στενωθέντος περὶ τὴν
ἀπολογίαν τῆς παραθήκης, ὕστερον ὡμολόγησε καὶ μὴ βουλόμενος τὴν
ἀναίρεσιν τοῦ παιδὸς καὶ τῆς παιδίσκης τοῦ τε8 χρυσίου τὴν ἐξανάλωσιν.
Καὶ μὴ εὑρίσκων ὁ ἄρχων τί κομίσασθαι παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ἐκέλευσε τὴν ἐπὶ
θάνατον ἀπαχθῆναι τὸν ἄθλιον δήμιον. Ἀπερχομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ
τέλους τόπον, ἰδοὺ ὁ στρατιώτης9 καὶ κατήγορος ὑπαντᾷ αὐτῷ κατὰ
τὴν ἀγορὰν καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Οἶδας, ἀββᾶ, τίς εἰμί; Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτόν·
Νομίζω, φησίν, ὅτι σὺ ὁ στρατιώτης ὑπάρχεις, ὃν [f. 341rb] ἐγνώρισα
κακῶς, ὁ καὶ παραθέμενός μοι τὸν παῖδα καὶ τὴν παιδίσκην καὶ τὰ
χρήματα. Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη· Ἐγώ εἰμι, φησίν, ὁ Σατανᾶς, ὁ τὸν
πρωτόπλαστον ἀπατήσας Ἀδάμ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πολεμῶν καὶ μὴ
συγχωρῶν ὅσον τὸ ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ σωθῆναί τινα ἢ γενέσθαι ὡς τὸν Ἰσαὰκ ἢ τὸν
Ἰώβ, ἀλλὰ πάντας σπεύδων ποιῆσαι ὡς τὸν Ἀχιτόφελ ἐκεῖνον καὶ Ἰούδαν
τὸν Ἰσκαριώτην, Κάϊν τε καὶ τοὺς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι πρεσβυτέρους καὶ πάντας
τοὺς ὁμοίους αὐτῶν. Ἄπιθι οὖν καὶ σὺ τὸν δόλον ὑπομείνας παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ
καὶ μὴ μεμαθηκὼς πολεμεῖν τὸν ἀόρατον πόλεμον, μὴ ἀλαζονεύου
θρασυνόμενος ὑπὲρ ἐκ περισσοῦ παλαίειν καὶ ἵστασθαι. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ
Ἰὼβ γὰρ ἐκείνου [f. 341va] οὐδὲν τῆς τέχνης παρέλιπον τῆς πολεμικῆς
ταύτης τῆς παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ πάντοτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κινουμένης. Καὶ ταῦτα
εἰπὼν καὶ τούτων πλείονα γέγονεν ἄφαντος. Καὶ ὑπέμεινεν ὁ ἄθλιος τὸν
διὰ τῆς ἀγχόνης θάνατον ὑπὸ δαίμονος χλευασθεὶς διὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ
ὑψηλοφροσύνην. Καὶ ἡμεῖς τοίνυν φυλαξώμεθα τὰ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς10 αἰτεῖν
1
σατανᾶς] ὁ add V 2
καταβοῶντος] καταβοῶν καὶ S
3
γενοῦ σαυτοῦ καὶ νουνεχῶς] om S 4
φησίν] om S
5
παραθήκην] παρακαταθήκην V 6
ἀναλαβεῖν] λαβεῖν S 7
τούτων] αὐτῶν S V
8
τοῦ τε] καὶ τοῦ S 9
ὁ στρατιώτης om V 10
ἡμᾶς] μὴ add V
N.620 503
agreed to serve justice. When some persons fell guilty of accusations, the
former monk, now executioner, was ordered – (if you can believe me, my
natural feelings do not allow me to continue the story without tears) – [the
former monk] was ordered by the magistrate to apply pitch or some other
torture to those being investigated. While the new executioner was doing
this, look – Satan disguised as a soldier came by and started shouting such
things that a large crowd gathered because of the man’s shouts, calling on
the magistrate for vengeance for the man wronged. So, taking up [the case]
the magistrate said to the soldier: “Calm down, man; and, when you are
yourself again, instruct me sensibly about your case and stop yelling in that
way like a barking dog.” Then said the soldier to the magistrate: “This
executioner used to be a monk and when I was being pursued by some
enemies I left much gold with him, together with my young slave and a
virgin handmaid; give an order that I get my deposit back.” The magistrate
gladly accepted the explanation of the matter for the sake of gain. He asked
the former monk, now executioner, whether what the soldier [said] seemed
to him to be words of truth. When he agreed they did and was asked to
restore the [goods], being deficient in the explanation of the deposit, he
eventually and reluctantly confessed the murder of the slave and of the
maiden, also the entire squandering of the gold. Finding that there was
nothing to be gained from him, [the magistrate] ordered the wretched
executioner to be taken away to [his] death. But as he was going off to the
place of his end, here the soldier and accuser met him in the marketplace
and said to him: “Do you know who I am, abba?” “I think that you are the
soldier,” he said, “whom I had the misfortune to know, the one who left
the slave, the handmaid and the money with me.” But he said to him:
“I am Satan,” he said, “the one who led astray Adam, the first one made;
I am at war with men and, so far as I am able, I do not permit anybody to
be saved or to become like Isaac or Job, but strive to make them all like
that Achitophel and Judas Iscariot; like Cain and the elders in Babylon and
all those like them. Away with you too then, who have not withstood my
guile and have not learnt how to fight the unseen warfare. Avoid boasting
with excessive audacity of your ability to wrestle and withstand. In the case
of Job I neglected none of that military skill which was ever mobilised by
me against mankind.” This said and much more, he became invisible and
παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ συντάσσεσθαι ποιεῖν ἅπερ εἰς ἔργον ἀγαγεῖν μὴ
ἐξισχύωμεν. Καλὸν δὲ μᾶλλον τὴν βασιλικὴν ὁδεύειν ὁδόν, δι᾿ ἧς
δυνησόμεθα μὴ ἐκκλίνοντες εἰς δεξιὰ ἢ εἰς ἀριστερὰ σωθῆναι ἐκ τοῦ
ἐνεστῶτος πονηροῦ αἰῶνος ἔχοντες τὴν εἰς πάντα ταπεινοφροσύνην.
621. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν γερόντων ὅτι ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ ἡμῶν κατά τινα [f. 341vb]
καιρὸν συνήγοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους οἱ γέροντες ὠφελείας χάριν. Καὶ ἀνα-
στὰς εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν, λαβὼν τὸ μικρὸν κερβικάριον τὸ ἐπικείμενον τῷ
καθίσματι αὐτοῦ ἔβαλεν ἐπάνω τῶν ὤμων αὐτοῦ, καὶ κρατῶν ταῖς δύο
χερσὶν ἔστη ἐν μέσῳ πάντων κατὰ ἀνατολὰς βλέπων καὶ εὔξατο λέγων·
Ὁ Θεὸς ἐλέησόν με. Καὶ ἀπεκρίνετο ἑαυτῷ1 λέγων· Εἰ θέλεις2 ἵνα σε
ἐλεήσω, θὲς ὅπερ βαστάζεις καὶ ἐλεῶ σε. Καὶ πάλιν ἔλεγεν· Ὁ Θεὸς ἐλέησόν
με. Καὶ ἀπεκρίνετο ἑαυτῷ· Ἤκουσας. Θὲς ὅπερ βαστάζεις καὶ ἐλεῶ σε.
Τοῦτο δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ ποιήσας ἐκάθισεν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ πατέρες· Εἰπὲ
ἡμῖν τί ἐστιν ὃ ἐποίησας. Καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτούς· Τὸ κερβικάριον ὅπερ
ἐβάσταζον ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων μου, τὸ θέλημά μου ἐστίν. Καὶ πα[f. 342ra]ρ-
εκάλουν τὸν Θεὸν ἵνα μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἐλεήσῃ με καὶ εἶπέν μοι· Ἄφες ὃ βαστάζεις
καὶ ἐλεῶ σε. Καὶ ἡμεῖς οὖν, φησίν, ἐὰν θέλωμεν ἐλεηθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ,
ἀφήσωμεν τὸ ἴδιον θέλημα καὶ τυγχάνομεν ἐλέους.
622. Ποτὲ δύο ἀδελφοὶ συνεφώνησαν3 καὶ ἐγένοντο μοναχοί. Καὶ ὡς

κατώρθωσαν ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς4 οἰκοδομῆσαι δύο κελλία ἀπὸ διαστήματος
καὶ ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἀνεχώρησε καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἡσυχίας χάριν. Καὶ ἐπὶ πολλὰ
ἔτη οὐκ εἶδον ἀλλήλους διὰ τὸ μὴ ἐκβαίνειν ἐκ τοῦ κελλίου. Συνέβη δὲ τὸν
ἕνα αὐτῶν ἀσθενῆσαι καὶ ἦλθον οἱ πατέρες ἐπισκέψασθαι αὐτὸν καὶ
συνέβη ἐκλύεσθαι αὐτὸν5 καὶ πάλιν ἀνένιπτεν.6 Καὶ ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν
οἱ πατέρες λέγοντες· Τί ἑώρακας; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Ἀγγέλους [f. 342rb] τοῦ
Θεοῦ ἑώρακα ἐλθόντας7 καὶ ἔλαβόν με καὶ τὸν ἀδελφόν μου καὶ ἀπήγαγον
ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Καὶ ἀπήντησαν ἡμῖν ἀντικείμεναι δυνάμεις καὶ οὐκ
ἴσχυσαν καθ᾿ ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς παρήλθομεν αὐτάς, ἤρξατο λέγειν·
Μεγάλη παρρησία ἡ ἁγνεία. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐκοιμήθη. Καὶ ἰδόντες οἱ
πατέρες ἀπέστειλαν ἀδελφὸν δηλῶσαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐκοιμήθη.
Καὶ ἀπελθὼν εὗρεν καὶ αὐτὸν κοιμηθέντα, καὶ πάντες ἐθαύμασαν καὶ
ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν.8
1
ἑαυτῷ corr] ἑαυτὸ C 2
θέλεις]-ῃς C 3
συνεφώνησαν] non legitur apud C
4
αὐτοῖς] αὐτοὺς C 5
καὶ συνέβη ἐκλύεσθαι αὐτὸν] om C
6
ἀνένιπτεν] ἀνένηφε S] ἀνανεύειν V 7
ἐλθόντας] οἱ add V
8
καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεόν] om S V
N.621–2 505
the wretch suffered death by strangulation, reviled by demons for his
arrogance. So let us guard against asking of God for more than we can
handle and agreeing to do what we are in fact incapable of delivering. For it
is better to travel the royal road by which (deviating neither to right nor to
left) [cf. Nm 20:17] we will be able to be saved from this present wicked
age, having humble-mindedness in all things.
N.621
One of the elders used to say: “In our region, the elders met together one
time for [their] benefit and one of them stood up and took the little
cushion that was lying on his seat and placed it on his shoulders. Holding
it with his two hands, he stood in the midst of them all looking towards
the east and prayed, saying: ‘God have mercy on me’, and he answered
himself, saying: ‘If you want me to have mercy on you, put down what you
are carrying and I will have mercy on you.’ Again he said: ‘God have mercy
on me’, and he answered himself, saying: ‘You heard; put down what you
are carrying and I will have mercy on you.’ When he had done this many
times, he sat down and the fathers said to him: ‘Tell us what this is that
you have done’, and he said to them: ‘The little cushion I was carrying on
my shoulders is my will. I was beseeching God to have mercy on me and
he said to me: “Leave what you are carrying and I will have mercy on you.”
And we (he said) if we wish to be treated mercifully by God, let us
abandon our own will and we shall receive mercy.’”
N.622
Two brothers once agreed together and became monks; having achieved
that, they thought it best to build two cells at some distance apart and each
one withdrew on his own for hêsychia. They did not see each other for
many years as they did not exit from the cell. Then one of them chanced to
fall sick and the fathers came to visit him. He happened to lose conscious-
ness then he began to come around then awoke again. The fathers asked
him: “What did you see?” “I saw angels of God coming”, he said. “They
took my brother and me and led us into heaven. Adverse powers met us
but they were unable [to prevail] against us. And it came about that as we
passed by them he began to say: ‘Purity [confers] great freedom of access’”
and, with those words, he died. When the fathers saw, they sent a brother
to reveal to his brother that he had died and [that brother] found him dead
too; they were all amazed and glorified God.
623. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Καλόν ἐστι μεσάσαι ἀντιλογίαν ἀδελφῶν; Καὶ
ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Φεῦγε τὰ τοιαῦτα. Γέγραπται γάρ· Βαρύνων τὰ ὦτα
αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ ἀκοῦσαι κρίσιν αἵματος καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καμμύων
[f. 342va] τοῦ μὴ ἰδεῖν ἀδικίαν.
624. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος οἰκῆσαι κατὰ μόνας;

Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ὁ ἀθλητὴς ἐὰν μὴ πυκτεύσῃ μετὰ πολλῶν, οὐ
δύναται μαθεῖν τὴν τέχνην τῆς νίκης, ἵνα οὗτως1 δυνηθῇ μετὰ τοῦ ἀντι-
δίκου μονομαχῆσαι. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ μοναχός, ἐὰν μὴ παιδευθῇ μετὰ ἀδελφῶν
και μάθῃ τὴν τῶν λογισμῶν τέχνην, οὐ δύναται οἰκῆσαι κατὰ μόνας, οὐδὲ
ἀντιστῆναι τοῖς λογισμοῖς.
625. Εἶπεν γέρων· Δὸς πρόθεσιν καὶ λαμβάνεις δύναμιν.
626. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Καλόν ἐστιν ἐκλαβεῖν τὰς ἁγίας Γραφάς; Ὁ δὲ

εἶπεν· Τὸ πρόβατον λαμβάνει παρὰ τοῦ ποιμένος καλὴν βοτάνην φαγεῖν,
ἐσθίει δὲ καὶ τὴν τῆς ἐρήμου ὕλην. Ὅταν οὖν καίη[f. 342vb]ται ἀπὸ τῶν
ἀκανθῶν, ἀναμαρυκᾶται τὴν βοτάνην καὶ καταγλυκαίνεται2 τὸ στόμα
αὐτοῦ καὶ παύεται ὁ ὀπὸς τῶν ἀκανθῶν. Οὕτως καὶ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ καλὴ
ἡ τῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν μελέτη πρὸς τὴν τῶν δαιμόνων ἐπιβουλήν. Καὶ γάρ,
ἐάν τις εὐκαιρήσῃ εἴτε μετὰ πολλῶν εἴτε μετὰ ὀλίγων εἰς τὴν ψαλμωδίαν
καὶ φράξῃ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ βοᾶν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, ἐκεῖνος δαιμόνων
ἔργον ἐργάζεται. Καὶ γὰρ οἱ δαίμονες μὴ δυνάμενοι ἀκοῦσαι τὸν ἔπαινον
τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τοὺς ψάλλοντας καταργοῦσιν.
627. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων·3 Διατί οὐ δύναμαι οἰκῆσαι μετὰ ἀδελφῶν; Ὁ δὲ4

εἶπεν ὅτι· Τὸν Θεὸν οὐ φοβεῖσαι. Εἰ γὰρ ἐμνημόνευες τὸ γεγραμμένον ὅτι
ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐσώθη ὁ5 Λὼτ [f. 343ra] μηδένα κατακρίνας, καὶ σὺ ἂν εἰς
μέσον θηρίων ἔβαλες ἑαυτὸν οἰκῆσαι.
1
οὗτως] οὗτος C 2
καταγλυκαίνεται] γλυκένεται V 3
γέρων] παρὰ ἀδελφοῦ add V
4
Ὁ δὲ] καὶ S 5
ὁ om V
N.623–7 507
N.623
An elder was asked: “Is it good to intervene in a dispute between brothers?”
and in answer he said: “Flee from such things, for it is written [that the
righteous man] ‘stops his ears to hear nothing of bloodshed and closes his
eyes to the sight of evil’ [Is 33:15].”
N.624
An elder was asked: “How can a man live alone?” and in answer he said:
“Unless an athlete spar with many, he cannot learn the skill of winning so
that in this way he may be able to fight in single combat with the
adversary. So too the monk; unless he be trained with brothers and learn
the skill of [counteracting] bad thoughts, he cannot live alone nor can he
withstand his bad thoughts.”
N.625
An elder said: “Give the intention you receive strength.”
N.626
An elder was asked: “Is it good to draw upon the Holy Scriptures?” but he
said: “The sheep receives good grass from the shepherd to eat but it also
grazes on the stuff of the desert. When it is burning from the thorns, it
grazes on the grass; its mouth is sweetened and the juice of the thorns is
arrested. Likewise, meditating on the Holy Scriptures is good for the man
against the onslaught of the demons. For it is the case that if somebody
devotes himself to psalm-singing, either together with many or with few,
and he blocks his mouth so as not to call out to God, that man is doing the
work of demons, for the demons, being incapable of hearing the praise of
Christ, hinder those who are singing psalms.”
N.627
An elder was asked: “Why am I unable to live with brothers?” “Because
you do not fear God”, he said. “If you would call to mind how it is written
that, in Sodom, Lot was saved for having judged nobody, then you could
set yourself to live amid wild beasts” [Gen 19:29].
628. Χώρας τινὸς ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος καὶ ἔρχονται οἱ ἐγχώριοι
πρὸς τὸν ἀρχιεπίσκοπον αἰτοῦντες ἵνα χειροτονήσῃ αὐτοῖς ἐπίσκοπον
ἀντὶ τοῦ τελευτήσαντος. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος· Δότε μοι ὃν
οἴδατε ὅτι δόκιμός ἐστι τοῦ ποιμάναι τὸ ποίμνιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ κἀγὼ
χειροτονῶ ὑμῖν. Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Οὐκ ἔχομεν, εἰ μὴ ὃν ὁ ἄγγελός σου1
παράσχοιτο ἡμῖν. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος· Πάντες ὧδε ἐστέ;
Καὶ εἶπαν· Οὔ. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀπέλθετε καὶ συναθροίσθητε πάντες καὶ
ἔλθετε πρός με, ἵνα ἐκ συμφωνίας πάντων γένηται ὁ ψηφιζόμενος ὑμῖν
ἐπίσκοπος. Οἱ δὲ ἀπελθόντες συ[f. 343rb]νηθροίσθησαν καὶ ἦλθον πάντες
δεόμενοι χειροτονηθῆναι αὐτοῖς τὸν ἐπίσκοπον. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Δότε μοι
εἰς ὃν πληροφορεῖσθε καὶ χειροτονῶ ὑμῖν. Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Οὐκ ἔχομεν, εἰ μὴ ὃν
ὁ ἄγγελός σου χαρίσεται ἡμῖν.2 Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Πάντες ὧδε ἐστέ; Καὶ
εἶπαν· Πάντες ὧδε ἐσμέν. Καὶ εἶπεν· Οὐδεὶς ὑμῶν παραλέλειπται; Καὶ
εἶπαν· Οὐδεὶς παραλέλειπται, εἰ μὴ ὁ κατέχων τὸν ὄνον τοῦ πρωτεύοντος
ἡμῶν. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος· Πληροφορεῖσθε ἐὰν δώσω ὑμῖν
εἰς ὃν ἐγὼ πληροφοροῦμαι; Καὶ εἶπαν· Πληροφορούμεθα. Καὶ ἐκέλευσεν ὁ
ἀρχιεπίσκοπος ἐνεχθῆναι τὸν κατέχοντα τὸν ὄνον τοῦ πρωτεύοντος καὶ
ἐχειροτόνησεν αὐτοῖς αὐτὸν ἐπίσκοπον. Καὶ λαβόντες [f. 343va] αὐτὸν
μετὰ χαρᾶς μεγίστης ἀπέπλευσαν εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν χώραν.
Ἐγένετο δὲ εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν ἀβροχία πολλὴ καὶ παρεκάλεσε
τὸν Θεὸν ὁ γενόμενος ἐπίσκοπος περὶ αὐτῆς. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός·
Ἄπελθε εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόρταν τῆς πόλεως ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρθρου καί, ὃν ἂν
ἴδῃς ἐρχόμενον πρῶτον αὐτὸν κάτεχε3 καὶ εὔξεται καὶ ἔρχεται ὁ ὑετός.
Ἐποίησε δὲ4 οὕτως καὶ ἀπῆλθε μετὰ τοῦ κλήρου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκάθισεν
καὶ ἰδοὺ εἰσήρχετο5 εἷς γέρων Αἰθίοψ φορτίον ξύλων βαστάζων, ἵνα
πωλήσῃ εἰς τὴν πόλιν. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος κατέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ
εὐθὺς ἀπέθετο τὸ φορτίον τῶν ξύλων ὁ γέρων. Καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν ὁ
ἐπίσκοπος λέγων· Εὖξαι, ἀββᾶ, ἵνα ἔλθῃ ὁ ὑετός. Ὁ δὲ ηὔξατο καὶ [f. 343vb]
ἰδοὺ εὐθὺς ὁ ὑετός, ὡς οἱ καταρράκται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί, εἰ μὴ πάλιν
ηὔξατο, οὐκ ἐκόπαζεν ὁ ὑετός. Καὶ παρεκάλεσε τὸν γέροντα ὁ ἐπίσκοπος
καὶ εἶπεν· Ποίησον ἀγάπην, ἀββᾶ, καὶ ὠφελείας χάριν εἰπὲ ἡμῖν τὸν βίον
σου, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς ζηλώσωμεν. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Συγχώρησόν μοι, κύρι,
ἰδού, καθὼς βλέπεις με, ἐξέρχομαι καὶ κόπτω ἐμαυτῷ τὸ μικρὸν φορτίον
τῶν ξύλων καὶ εἰσέρχομαι καὶ πωλῶ αὐτό. Καὶ περισσὸν τῶν δύο ψωμίων
ὧν ἐσθίω οὐ κατέχω καὶ κοιμῶμαι εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ πάλιν ἐξέρχομαι
τῇ ἑξῆς καὶ ὡσαύτως ποιῶ. Ἐὰν δὲ γένηται χειμών, μίαν ἢ δύο ἡμέρας
1
σου] σοι S 2
ὑμῖν V 3
αὐτὸν κάτεχε] κράτησον αὐτὸν V
4
Ἐποίησε δὲ] Καὶ ἐποίησε V 5
εἰσήρχετο post γέρων trsp V
N.628 509
N.628/20.24
The bishop of a place died and the people of that place came to the
archbishop asking him to ordain them a bishop to replace the dead man.
The archbishop said to them: “Give me the one whom you know who is
proven capable of being a shepherd of Christ’s flock and I will ordain
him.” They said: “We don’t have one, unless one your angel would
provide for us.” “Are you all here?” the archbishop said to them. “No”,
they said and he said to them: “Go, everybody be gathered together and
come to me, so that your chosen bishop be agreeable to you all.” They
went and were all gathered together and came begging for a bishop to be
ordained for them. “Give me the one in whom you have confidence,” he
said to them, “and I will ordain him for you.” “We don’t have one unless
someone your angel will bestow on us.” He said to them: “Are you all
here?” “We are all here”, they said and he said: “There is not one of you left
out?” And they said: “Nobody has been left out, except the fellow tending
our mayor’s ass.” Then the archbishop said to them: “Do you have
confidence if I give you the one in whom I have confidence?” and they
said: “We have confidence”, and the archbishop ordered the fellow who
was tending the mayor’s ass to be brought in and he ordained him bishop
for them. They accepted him with great joy and sailed back to their own
place
In their place a severe drought ensued; the one who had become bishop
interceded about it and God said to him: “Go out to such-and-such a gate
of the city first thing in the morning and stop whoever you see coming in
first. He will pray – and the rain will come.” He did so; going out with his
clergy he took a seat and – behold! There came in an aged Ethiopian
carrying a load of wood to sell in the city. The bishop stood up and
stopped him, whereupon the old man promptly set down his load of
wood. The bishop begged him, saying: “Abba, pray that the rain might
come!” He prayed and here, straightaway, there was rain like an outpour-
ing of the heavens; and the rain would not have stopped had he not prayed
again. The bishop besought the old man, saying: “Of your charity, abba,
for [our] benefit tell us about your life that we too might emulate it.” The
elder said: “Forgive me reverend sir; look, as you see, I go out and cut
myself the little load of wood [then] come in and sell it. I do not retain
more than [enough for] the two little loaves on which I feed. I sleep at the
μένω νῆστις, ἕως πάλιν γένηται εὐδία καὶ δυνηθῶ ἐξελθεῖν καὶ κόψαι. Καὶ
ὠφελη[f. 344ra]θεὶς ὁ ἐπίσκοπος σὺν τῷ κλήρῳ αὐτοῦ ἐδόξασαν τὸν θεὸν
καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ὄντως σὺ ἐπλήρωσας τὸ γεγραμμένον· Πάροικος ἐγώ
εἰμι ἐν τῇ γῇ.
629. Διηγήσατο μαθητὴς μεγάλου γέροντος περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι
ποτὲ γενομένης τῆς ἐνάτης ὥρας ἐπείνασε καὶ ἠθέλησε γεύσασθαι. Καὶ
θέντες τὴν τράπεζαν ἔστημεν εἰς εὐχὴν καὶ ἐψάλλομεν δύο ψαλμούς. Καὶ
ἤρξατο ὁ γέρων λέγειν1 ἀπὸ στήθους καὶ ἐγένετο ἑσπέρα καὶ ἐγένετο2
πρωῒ καὶ ἐγένετο3 ὥρα ἐνάτη καὶ οὕτως κατέπαυσεν. Ὁ γὰρ νοῦς αὐτοῦ
ἄνω ἐθεώρει μυστήρια.
630. Ἄλλοτε πάλιν ὁδευόντων ἡμῶν κατὰ μικρὸν ἵστατο ὁ γέρων καὶ
εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ,4 ἔλασον ὀλίγον. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπέν μοι· Οὐκ
ἀκούεις; Καὶ εἶπον [f. 344rb]· Τί ἀββᾶ; Καὶ εἶπεν· Οἱ ἄγγελοι ψάλλουσιν
εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Χρὴ οὖν νήφειν καὶ ἡμᾶς. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος εἶπεν
ὅτι μοναχὸν οὐ δεῖ ἄλλο5 φροντίζειν, εἰ μὴ τὴν σωτηρίαν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ.
631. Παρεκάλεσε τὸν Θεὸν τὶς τῶν πατέρων ἵνα αὐτὸν πληροφορ-
ήσῃ6 εἰς ποῖον μέτρον ἔφθασεν καὶ ἀπεκάλυψεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι εἰς
τόδε τὸ κοινόβιον ἔστιν ἀδελφὸς σοῦ βελτίων. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ὁ γέρων ἀπῆλθεν
εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον καὶ ἀπήντησαν αὐτῷ οἱ ἡγούμενοι μετὰ χαρᾶς – ἦν γὰρ
μέγας καὶ ὀνομαστός. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· Θέλω ἰδεῖν ὅλους τοὺς
ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ἀσπάσασθαι. Καὶ κελεύσαντος τοῦ ἡγουμένου ἦλθον οἱ
ἀδελφοὶ καὶ οὐκ ἦλθε περὶ οὗ ἐπληροφορήθη ὁ γέρων7. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς
εἶπεν [f. 344va]· Ἔστιν ἄλλος ἀδελφός; Λέγουσι· Ναί, ἀλλὰ σαλός ἐστι καὶ
εἰς τὸν κῆπον ἀσχολεῖται. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Καλέσατε αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐκάλεσαν
καὶ ἐγένετο8 ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων ἀναστὰς ἠσπάσατο αὐτὸν καὶ
λαβὼν αὐτὸν κατιδίαν ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· Τίς ἐστιν ἡ ἐργασία σου
ἀνάγγειλόν μοι. Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπός εἰμι σαλός. Καὶ
πολλὰ παρακληθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ γέροντος εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι τὸν βοῦν τῆς
μηχανῆς ὁ ἀββᾶς εἰς τὸ κελλίον μου βάλλει μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ καὶ καθημέραν τὰ
σχοινία τοῦ ψιαθίου οὗ ἐργάζομαι κόπτει. Καὶ ἰδοὺ τριάκοντα ἔτη τοῦτο
ὑπομένω καὶ οὐδέποτε συνεχώρησα τὸν λογισμόν μου ἔχειν τὶ κατὰ
τοῦ ἀββᾶ9 μου, οὐδὲ τὸν βοῦν ἔδειρα ποτέ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ μακρο
1
λέγειν] om C 2
ἐγένετο om V 3
καὶ ἐγένετο om V 4
Ἀββᾶ om V
5
ἄλλο] τι add V 6
αὐτὸν πληροφορήσῃ] πληροφορήσῃ αὐτὸν S
7
καὶ οὐκ ἦλθε. . . ὁ γέρων] περὶ οὗ ἐπληροφορήθη ὁ γέρων οὐκ ἦλθε S 8
ἐγένετο] om S
9
τοῦ ἀββᾶ] τὸν ἀββᾶν C
N.629–31 511
church then I go out again next day and do likewise. If the weather is
inclement, I remain fasting one or two days until the weather is nice again
and I can go out and cut [wood].” The bishop and his clergy, having
benefited [from this], glorified God and said to him: “You have really
fulfilled that which is written: ‘I am a stranger on earth’ [cf. Ps 38:13].”
N.629
A disciple of a great elder related of his abba: “Once when it got to the
ninth hour he was hungry and wanted to eat. Having set the table, we
stood in prayer and we sang two psalms. The elder began reciting by heart.
Evening came, dawn came, the ninth hour came and then he desisted, for
his mind was contemplating mysteries on high.”
N.630
“Another time, when we were travelling again, the elder kept stopping
every so often and I said to him: ‘Abba, go forward a little’, but in answer
he said to me: ‘Do you not hear?’ and I said: ‘[Hear] what, abba?’ and he
said: ‘The angels are singing in heaven; we too must be on the alert, for
Abba Antony said that a monk should have no concern other than the
salvation of his soul.’”
N.631
One of the fathers pleaded with God to inform him what stature he had
achieved and God revealed to him: “In such-and-such a coenobion there is
a brother better than you.” The elder got up and went to the coenobion
and the leading monks [hêgoumenoi] met him with joy, for he was great
and famous. The elder said to them: “I want to see all the brothers and to
greet them.” The brothers came at the command of the higoumen, but the
one about whom the elder had been informed did not come. In response
he said: “Is there another brother?” “Yes,” they said, “but he is mad and
spends his time in the garden.” “Call him”, the elder said. They called him
and he was as the elder had seen him. [The elder] got up and embraced
him then took him aside and asked him: “Declare to me what your
labouring is” and, in answer, he said: “Me, I am a madman.” Having been
pleaded with at some length by the elder, he told him: “The abba puts the
ox [that works] the machine in my cell with me and each day it tears apart
the cords of the rush mat on which I am working. Here, I have put up
[f. 344vb]θυμίας πάλιν ἔπλεκον τὰ σχοινία εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ
ἀκούσας ὁ γέρων ἐθαύμασε. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐδήλωσε καὶ1 τὴν λοιπὴν ἐργα-
σίαν αὐτοῦ.
632. Καθημένου ποτὲ τινὸς τῶν πατέρων2 εἰς τὸ ἴδιον κελλίον ἦλθε
δαίμων καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸ κοιτωνάριον τοῦ γέροντος ἀπεστήθιζε τοὺς
Ἀριθμοὺς τὸ βιβλίον. Καὶ ὀλιγωρήσας ὁ δαίμων μετεσχηματίσθη ἐν
σχήματι πτωχοῦ καὶ ἐξῆλθε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα χωλαίνων μετὰ ῥάβδου
καὶ σπυριδίου. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οἴδατε ἀποστηθίζειν; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν·
Ναί, τὴν Παλαιὰν Διαθήκην. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν Καινήν;
Ὡς δὲ ἤκουσεν ὁ δαίμων τὴν Καινὴν ἄφαντος ἐγένετο.
633. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων [f. 345ra]· Tί ἐστι τὸ θέλημα καὶ
τί ἐστι τὸ βιάζεσθαι ἑαυτόν; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὅταν ἡ ψυχὴ σπου-
δάσῃ ἰδεῖν τὸ πάθος ὅπου ὁ λογισμὸς πολεμεῖται, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ θέλημα.
Ὅταν δὲ ἀναγκάσωσί σε οἱ λογισμοί, ἵνα βλέψῃς εἰς τὸ πάθος τὸ ὀχλοῦν3
σοι λέγοντες· Τί γάρ ἐστιν, ἐὰν πρὸς αὐτὸ ἴδῃς ἢ βλέψῃς εἰς αὐτό σὺ δὲ μὴ
καταδέξῃ, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ βιάζεσθαι ἑαυτόν.
634. Εἶπεν γέρων ὅτι ἡ ἔρις παραδιδεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῇ ὀργῇ καὶ ἡ
ὀργὴ παραδιδεῖ αὐτὸν τῇ τυφλώσει καὶ ἡ τύφλωσις ποιεῖ αὐτὸν πᾶν
κακὸν ἐργάζεσθαι.
635. Ἀδελφός τις παρέβαλε γέροντι διακριτικῷ καὶ παρεκάλεσεν αὐτὸν

λέγων· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, πάτερ, ὅτι ἀσθενής εἰμι. Καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ γέρων
εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τίς [f. 345rb] ποτε τῶν πατέρων εἶπεν ὅτι ὁ λαμβάνων εἰς τὴν
χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἔλαιον τοῦ ἀλεῖψαι ἀσθενοῦντα, αὐτὸς πρῶτος μετέχει τῆς
πιότητος τοῦ ἐλαίου διὰ τῆς χειρός, οὕτως καὶ ὁ εὐχόμενος ὑπὲρ ἀδελφοῦ
κοπιῶντος πρὸ τοῦ ἐκεῖνον ὠφεληθῆναι αὐτὸς τῆς ὠφελείας μετέχει διὰ
τὴν προαίρεσιν τῆς ἀγάπης. Εὐξώμεθα οὖν ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων, ἀδελφοί4
μου, ὅπως ἰαθῶμεν. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῖν διὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου
παρεκελεύσατο.
1
καὶ om V 2
τινὸς τῶν πατέρων] τοῦ πατρὸς V 3
ὀχλοῦν] ἐνοχλοῦν S
4
ἀδελφοί S] ἀδελφέ C V
N.632–5 513
with this for thirty years and never allowed my mind to have anything
against my abba. Nor did I ever beat the ox, but always rebraided the cords
with long suffering, giving thanks to God.” The elder was amazed for this
revealed [to him] the rest of his keeping of the commandments too.
N.632
Once when one of the fathers was staying in his own cell, a demon came
and got into the elder’s bed then began reciting the book of Numbers by
heart. Discouraged, the demon transformed himself into the form of a
pauper and went limping out to the elder with a staff and a little basket.
The elder said to him: “Do you know how to recite by heart?” “Yes,” he
said, “the Old Testament.” The elder said to him: “Do you not know the
New [Testament]?” When the demon heard “the New [Testament]” he
became invisible.
N.633
A brother asked an elder: “What is the will and what is it to do violence to
one’s self?” The elder said to him: “When the soul is anxious to see the
passion when the mind is under assault, that is the will. When your
thoughts coerce you to look at the passion afflicting you, saying: ‘What
harm is there if you look at it or see it?’ and you do not concede, that is
doing violence to oneself.”
N.634/10.180
An elder said that strife betrays a man to anger, anger to blindness and
blindness makes him do all manner of evil.
N.635/12.14
A brother visited a discerning elder and pleaded with him, saying: “Pray for
me, father, for I am ill.” In answer the elder said to him: “One of the
fathers once said that he who takes oil in his hand to anoint a sick person,
first himself partakes of the riches of the oil through his hand. Likewise, he
who prays for a suffering brother, even before that one benefits from the
prayer, himself partakes of benefit through his propensity to love. Let us
then pray for each other, my brothers, so we might be healed, for God
commanded us [to do] this through the Apostle” [Jas 5:16].
636. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πῶς δύναται ὁ1 ἄνθρωπος λαβεῖν τὸ χάρισμα
τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν τὸν Θεόν; Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· Ἐάν τις ἴδῃ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐν
πλημμελείᾳ καὶ βοήσῃ περὶ αὐτοῦ εἰς βοήθειαν, τότε λαμβάνει ἐπίγνωσιν
πῶς δεῖ ἀγαπᾶν τὸν [f. 345va] Θεόν.2
637. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ἡ εὐχαριστία πρεσβεύει ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀδυναμίας ἐναν-

τίον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
638. Ἔλεγε γέρων· Καλὸν τὸ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι τοῖς πατράσι τοὺς λογισ-

μούς. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ δύο τινὲς ἦλθον πρός τινα γέροντα, εἷς γέρων καὶ εἷς
νεώτερος. Καὶ ὁ μείζων ἐνεκάλει κατὰ τοῦ νεωτέρου πάνυ. Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος
προσέχων τῷ νεωτέρῳ ἔλεγεν αὐτῷ· Ἀληθῆ λέγει περὶ σοῦ; Ὁ δὲ συνε-
τίθετο λέγων· Ναί, ἀληθῆ· πολλὰ γὰρ αὐτὸν θλίβω. Εἶτα ὁ ἀδελφὸς
ἐπιπλεῖον κατηγόρει. Ὑπογογγύσας δὲ ὁ νεώτερος εἶπε ψιθυρίσας· Σιώπα,
μὴ3 ἀληθῆ νομίσῃ ὁ ἅγιος τὰ παρὰ σοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος γέρων ἀκούσας4
ἀνέκραξεν. Τῶν δὲ ἀδελφῶν ἐρωτώντων αὐτόν· Διατί ἀνέκραξας; Ἀπεκρίθη
λέγων [f. 345vb]· Εἰσελθόντων τῶν δύο ἀδελφῶν τούτων ἐγγύς μου εἷς
μαῦρος βαστάζων τόξον παρειστήκει καὶ κατὰ κατηγορίαν τοῦ μείζονος
βέλος ἔπεμπε κατὰ τοῦ νεωτέρου· τὸ δὲ βέλος οὐδὲ τῶν ἱματίων αὐτοῦ
ἐπετύγχανεν. Τελευταῖον ὑπογογγύσαντος τοῦ νεωτέρου ὁ μαῦρος
πέμψας κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ βέλος ἔμελλεν5 πλήσσειν αὐτόν, ἵνα οὖν μὴ πληγῇ,
ἔκραξα. Τῶν οὖν δύο ἀδελφῶν παρακαλούντων λαβεῖν θεραπείαν τοῦ
πάθους, εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ὅταν ἐμπέσητε εἰς φιλονεικίαν, ἀναμιμνήσκεσθε
τοῦ μαύρου καὶ παύεσθε. Καὶ ποιήσαντες οὕτως ἐθεραπεύθησαν.
639. Διηγεῖτό τις περί τινος ἐπισκόπου ὅτι παρεγένετο ἐν χωρίῳ τινὶ ἐν
τῇ ἁγίᾳ Κυριακῇ καὶ λέγει [f. 346ra] τοῖς διακόνοις αὐτοῦ· Ζητήσατε τὸν
πρεσβύτερον τοῦ χωρίου, ἵνα ποιήσῃ ἡμῖν τὴν ἁγίαν τῶν θείων μυστηρ-
ίων ἀναφοράν. Καὶ ζητήσαντες εὗρον τὸν πρεσβύτερον χωρικὸν6 πάνυ,
ὡς εἰπεῖν7 ἄπλαστον. Καὶ προτραπέντος αὐτοῦ παρὰ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου
προσκομίσαι, θεωρεῖ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος τὸν πρεσβύτερον ἅμα τῷ8 παρα-
στῆναι τῇ θείᾳ τραπέζῃ ὅλον ἐν τῷ πυρὶ ὄντα καὶ μὴ φλεγόμενον. Τῆς
οὖν ἀναφορᾶς πληρωθείσης ἄγει ὁ ἐπίσκοπος τὸν πρεσβύτερον ἐν τῷ
λεγομένῳ διακονικῷ καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Εὐλόγησόν με, ἄξιε τοῦ Θεοῦ
δοῦλε. Ὁ δὲ πρεσβύτερος πρὸς αὐτόν·9 Καὶ πῶς δυνατόν ἐστι, φησίν,
1
ὁ om V 2
Θεὸν] καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν add C sed non sequitur
3
μὴ] μὴ καὶ S] καὶ μὴ V 4
ἀκούσας om V 5
ἔμελλεν] ἔβαλε V
6
χωρικὸν] χορικὸν C 7
εἰπεῖν] καὶ add V 8
τῷ] τὸ C
9
Εὐλόγησόν με, ἄξιε τοῦ θεοῦ δοῦλε. Ὁ δὲ πρεσβύτερος πρὸς αὐτόν] om S
N.636–9 515
N.636/17.30
An elder was asked: “How can a man acquire the spiritual gift of loving
God?” In answer he said: “If someone sees his brother living sinfully and
calls for help on his behalf, then he acquires understanding of how one
should love God.”
N.637
An elder said: “Thanksgiving intercedes for our impotence before God.”
N.638
An elder said: “It is good to confess our logismoi to the fathers. Look, there
were two who came to an elder, one old, one younger. The older one
complained bitterly about the younger but, turning towards the younger
one, the holy one said to him: ‘Is he speaking the truth about you?’ and
the other agreed, saying: ‘Yes, the truth, for I offend him greatly.’ Then the
brother redoubled his accusations. Muttering to himself, the younger one
said in a whisper: ‘Be quiet or the holy one will think it is true what you
are saying.’ On hearing this, the holy elder cried out; when the brothers
asked him: ‘Why did you cry out?’ he answered, saying: ‘When these two
brothers came in and approached me, one black man carrying a bow stood
by and at each accusation by the elder he let fly an arrow at the younger,
but the arrow did not even reach his clothes. Finally, when the younger
one was muttering to himself, the black man let fly an arrow at him that
was going to hit him; it was to prevent him being hit that I cried out.’
When the two brothers begged to receive healing for their passion, the
elder said: ‘When you fall to quarrelling, remember the black man – and
stop.’ They did so – and were healed.”
N.639
Somebody told of a certain bishop who arrived at a place on the holy
Sunday and he said to his deacons: “Search for the priest of the place so he
can celebrate the holy offering of the divine mysteries. They sought and
found the priest, very rustic – uncultured, so to speak. When he was
bidden by the bishop to offer [the gifts], the bishop saw the priest all in
flames when he was standing at the holy table and not burnt. When the
offering was complete, the bishop took the priest into what is called the
ἐπίσκοπον ὑπὸ πρεσβυτέρου εὐλογηθῆναι τοῦ ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ χειρο
[f. 346rb]τονουμένου;1 Ἀλλὰ σύ με εὐλόγησον, πάτερ. Ὁ δὲ ἐπίσκοπος·
Οὐ δύναμαι, φησίν, εὐλογῆσαι τὸν ἐν πυρὶ ἱστάμενον καὶ2 προσκομί-
ζοντα τὰ ἅγια δῶρα τῷ Θεῷ· παντὶ γὰρ τρόπῳ τὸ ἔλαττον ὑπὸ τοῦ
κρείττονος κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον3 εὐλογεῖται. Καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτερος
φησὶ·4 κατὰ τὸ τῆς χώρας ἰδίωμα προσκυνῶ· ὅλως5 ἔστιν ἐπίσκοπος ἢ
πρεσβύτερος τοῖς ἁγίοις παριστάμενος μυστηρίοις καὶ μὴ ἱστάμενος εἰς τὸ
θεῖον πῦρ; Καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσας ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἐθαύμασε σφόδρα εἰς τε τὸ
καθαρὸν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ εἰς τὸ ἁπλοῦν τῶν τρόπων, καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς
ἀνεχώρησεν.
640. Ἔλεγον περί τινος διακόνου τῆς ἐκκλησίας Κωνσταντινουπόλεως

ὅτι διάκονος ὢν ἠρνήσατο τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ γοητείαις καὶ φαρμακείαις
ἐσχό[f. 346va]λασεν. Μετὰ δὲ χρόνον ἱκανὸν ἐγνώσθη τὰ κατ᾿ αὐτόν καὶ
συλληφθεὶς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν εἱρκτὴν6 τοῦ λεγομένου πραίτωρος. Ἐξεταζο-
μένου δὲ αὐτοῦ ἠρωτήθη παρὰ τοῦ πραίτωρος εἰπεῖν πῶς ἐτόλμα τῷ
θείῳ παρίστασθαι θυσιαστηρίῳ καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν ἀναφορὰν ὡς οἱ λοιποὶ
διάκονοι ῥιπίζειν. Ἔφη7 ὅτι8 ἅμα τῷ κρατῆσαι τὸ θεῖον ῥιπίδιον ἄγγελος
Κυρίου ἐρχόμενος ἐλάμβανεν αὐτὸ παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐμὲ ἐξώθει τοῦ τόπου
καὶ αὐτὸς ἀντ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐρρίπιζε9 τὰ ἄχραντα δῶρα δεικνύων10 ἑαυτὸν ὡς
ἐμέ, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ μεταλαμβάνειν ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ Θεοῦ μετελάμβανεν
ἀντὶ ἐμοῦ, κἀμὲ ἐδόκουν ἅπαντες θεωρεῖν μεταλαμβάνοντα. Βλέπομεν
τοίνυν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίαν τοι[f. 346vb]ούτων ἀνεχομένην καὶ11
ἐπεξερχομένην12 δι᾿ οὓς ἐπίσταται τῶν κριμάτων αὐτοῦ λόγους.13
641. Ἦν τις μοναχὸς14 ἐν Θηβαΐδι ἀκροτάτην ἄσκησιν καὶ πολιτείαν

ἔχων. Ἐν πολλαῖς δὲ15 ἀγρυπνίαις καὶ προσευχαῖς καὶ δεήσεσι προσ-
καρτερῶν ἀκτημοσύνην16 παντελῆ μετὰ νηστείας καὶ κόπων τὸ σῶμα
κατατρύχων.17 Καὶ18 τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὀσπρέοις βρεκτοῖς19 τῇ μιᾷ χειρὶ
καθ᾿ ἑσπέραν περιλαμβάνων ἤσθιεν20, ἔπειτα μετὰ χρόνον τινὰ μίαν
1
ἐπίσκοπον. . .. ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ χειροτονουμένου;] πρεσβύτερον εὐλογῆσαι ἐπίσκοπον τὸν
χειροτονοῦντα αὐτόν; S
2
ἱστάμενον καὶ om S 3
κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον om C
4
φησὶ post ἰδίωμα trps S // φησὶ] ἔφη V 5
Ὅλως] Καὶ ὅλως S
6
τὴν εἱρκτὴν] φυλακὴν S 7
Ἔφη] Καὶ ἔφη S V 8
ὅτι om V
9
ἐρρίπιζε corr] ἐρίπιζε C S V 10
δεικνύων] δεικνύον C 11
καὶ] οὐκ add V
12
ἀνεχομένην καὶ ἐπεξερχομένην] μὲν ἀνεχομένην ἐπεξερχομένην δὲ S
13
δι᾿ οὓς ἐπίσταται τῶν κριμάτων αὐτοῦ λόγους] δι’ ὧν ἐπίσταται λόγων τῶν κριμάτων αὐτοῦ S
14
μοναχὸς om V 15
δὲ om S 16
ἀκτημοσύνην] τὲ add S
17
κόπων τὸ σῶμα κατατρύχων] κόπων σωματικῶν ἔχων κατατρύχων τὸ σῶμα παντοδαπῶς S
18
Καὶ om S 19
βρεκτοῖς] χρώμενος καὶ τούτοις add S
20
καθ᾿ ἑσπέραν περιλαμβάνων ἤσθιεν] καὶ οὕτως εὐλαβῶς αὐτῶν μετέλαβεν S
N.640–1 517
vestry and said to him: “Bless me, servant worthy of God”, but the priest
said to him: “How is it possible for a bishop to be blessed by a priest, one
who has been ordained by him? Rather, do you bless me, father.” Said the
bishop: “I am unable to bless one who stands in flames while he is offering
the holy gifts to God. In any case, the lesser is blessed by the better,
according to the Apostle.” The priest said: “I worship according to the
custom of the place; is there anywhere a bishop or priest who assists at
the holy mysteries without standing in the divine fire?” On hearing this,
the bishop was greatly amazed at the purity of the man and at the
simplicity of his ways and he went his way benefited.
N.640
They said of a certain deacon of the church of Constantinople that, while
he was deacon, he denied Christ, studying magic and poisoning. Some
time later his practices became known; he was arrested and thrown into the
gaol of the one called the praetor. While he was being examined, asked by
the praetor to say how he dared to stand beside the divine altar, fanning the
holy offering like the rest of the deacons, he said: “As soon as I take hold of
the sacred fan there comes an angel of the Lord and takes it from me and
pushes me out of the place, fanning the spotless gifts instead of me and
presenting himself as me. At the communion too, the angel of God
communicates instead of me and all think they are seeing me communi-
cating.” So we see the long-suffering patience of God who puts up with
such things and prosecutes their chastisement to the end, on account of the
words of his judgements which he knows.
N.641 BHG 1450y, de monacho ad superbiam propenso

There was a monk of the highest discipline and way of life in the Thebaïd,
persevering with total indifference to worldly goods in many nightwatches,
intercessions and petitions, exhausting his body with fasting and toils. At
first he took one handful of steeped pulse and ate it each evening then,
later on, he was satisfied with this ration every second day. When he had
followed this regime for a long time, he reached the point of having one
eating day in the week, which was a Sunday. So, he lived a long time
making use of the pulse that came to hand or plants growing wild from
Sunday to [next] Sunday evening, marking off the weeks. But the devil,
the originator of evil, was jealous and tried to bring this one down by the
same fall by which he had himself fallen: through pride. He approached
παρὰ μίαν τῷ μέτρῳ τούτῳ ἠρκεῖτο. Καὶ ταύτην ἄγων ἐπὶ πολὺ τὴν
δίαιταν ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ μίαν κατασχεῖν ἡμέραν εἰς βρῶσιν τῆς ἑβδομάδος,
ἥτις1 ἦν κυριακή. Ἀπὸ κυριακῆς οὖν εἰς κυριακὴν τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ2 τοῖς
παρατυχοῦσιν ὀσπρί[f. 347ra]οις ἢ βοτάναις αὐτοφυέσι χρώμενος3
ἐπὶ πολὺν διετέλεσε χρόνον ἕλκων4 τὰς ἑβδομάδας. Ἀλλ᾿ ὁ τῆς κακίας
εὑρετὴς διάβολος ζηλώσας, ᾧπερ5 πτώματι ἔπεσεν ἐκεῖνος διὰ τῆς
ὑπερηφανίας6 καὶ τοῦτον κατενεγκεῖν ἐπειράθη.7 Ὑπεισέρχεται οὖν
αὐτῷ καὶ8 εἰσβάλει οὖν αὐτὸν λογισμὸν9 οἰήσεως, ὡς ὅτι ἀκροτάτην
μετέρχῃ πολιτείαν, καὶ νηστείαν ἣν οὐδεὶς τῶν10 ἀνθρώπων, δεῖ δέ σε
καὶ11 σημείων ἐπίδειξιν ποιήσασθαι, ἵνα καὶ σὺ προθυμότερος περὶ τὴν
ἄσκησιν γένῃ καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οἰκοδομήσῃς ὁρῶντας τὰ θαυμάσια
τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ δοξάζοντας τὸν πατέρα ἡμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
Αἰτήσωμεν12 οὖν τὴν τῶν σημείων ἐνέργειαν·13 αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ
εἴρηκεν· Αἰτεῖτε καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν μοναχὸς τὴν τοιαύτην
[f. 347rb] δέησιν μετὰ αἰτήσεως ἐκτενεστάτης προσῆγε τῷ Θεῷ. Ὁ δὲ
φιλάνθρωπος καὶ ἀγαθὸς Θεὸς ὁ θέλων πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι, ἰδὼν
τὴν πλάνην αὐτοῦ καὶ μνησθεὶς τοῦ κόπου14 αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀσκήσεως,
οὐ συνεχώρησε τῷ ἐχθρῷ τελείως πειράσαι15 αὐτὸν καὶ ῥίψαι16 εἰς τὸ
τῆς ὑπερηφανίας πτῶμα τὸ πάντων χαλεπώτερον, διὸ καὶ τὸ ψαλμικὸν
ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ εὐχερῶς ἁρμόσει λόγιον τὸ ὅταν πέσῃ οὐ καταρραχθήσεται, ὅτι
Κύριος ἀντιστηρίζει χεῖρα αὐτοῦ. Ἔρχεται οὖν αὐτῷ ἔννοια ὅτι φησὶν ὁ
ἀπόστολος οὐχ ἱκανοί ἐσμεν ἐξ ἑαυτῶν τὶ λογίσασθαι. Εἰ οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος
εἶπεν οὐχ ἱκανός εἰμι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐγὼ διδασκαλίας δέομαι; Ἀπέλθω
οὖν πρὸς τόνδε τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν καὶ ὃ ἐὰν εἴπῃ μοι καὶ [f. 347va]
συμβουλεύσῃ, ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ δέξομαι ὁδηγίαν εἰς τὸ σωθῆναί με. Ἦν δὲ ὁ
ἀββᾶς πρὸς ὃν ὑπῆγε μέγας καὶ ὀνομαστός, προκόψας εἰς θεωρίαν
καὶ δυνάμενος ὠφελῆσαι τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας καὶ τοὺς ἐπερωτῶντας
ἁρμοδίως17 οἰκοδομεῖν. Καὶ δὴ18 ἐξελθὼν τῆς κέλλης ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτόν.
Εἰσελθόντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πρὸς αὐτόν,19 εἶδεν ὁ γέρων δύο πιθήκους εἰς
τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ καθεζομένους καὶ ἁλύσει τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ
1
ἡμέραν εἰς βρῶσιν τῆς ἑβδομάδος] ἡμέραν τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἐσθίειν S // ἥτις] ἥντις C
2
τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ] om S 3
χρώμενος] καὶ.. χτο ἑσπέρας ἐκέχρητο S
4
διετέλεσε χρόνον ἕλκων τὰς ἑβδομάδας] γοῦν οὕτως τὰς ἑβδομάδας διατελῶν παρεῖλκε τὸν χρόνον S
5
ᾧπερ] ὅπερ C
6
ὅπερ πτῶμα. . . ὑπερηφανίας] ᾧπερ ἐκεῖνος τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἔπεσε πτώματι τούτῳ S
7
ἐπειράθη] ἐπειράσατο S 8
Ὑπεισέρχεται οὖν αὐτῷ καὶ om S
9
καὶ εἰσβάλει οὖν αὐτὸν λογισμὸν] λογισμὸς V 10
τῶν] om S 11
δέ σε καὶ] σε οὖν καὶ S
12
Αἰτήσωμεν] Αἰτήσομαι V 13
ἐνέργειαν] ἔργων V 14
τοῦ κόπου] τῶν κόπων S
15
πειράσαι] ταπεινῶσαι V 16
ῥίψαι] ῥίψε C
17
τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας. . . ἁρμοδίως] ἁρμοδίως τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας καὶ τοὺς ἐπερωτῶντας S
18
δὴ] δεῖ V 19
πρὸς αὐτόν] om S
N.641 519
him and a thought of self-conceit came into his mind: “You are practising
as high a way of life as possible and fasting such as no other man, but you
must make a demonstration of miracles so you can be more enthusiastic in
discipline and benefit the men who see the wonders of God and glorify our
father who is in heaven [Mt 5:16]. So let us ask for the power [to do] the
miracles, for the Saviour himself has said: ‘Ask and it shall be given to you’
[Mt 7:7].” So the monk offered such a petition to God with most fervent
requesting. But when God who is good and the lover of mankind and
wishes “all men to be saved” [1 Tm 2:4] saw how he was led astray and
remembered his toil and discipline, he did not suffer the adversary to
seduce him altogether and to throw him [down] with the fall of pride, the
most serious fall of all. Hence, the verse in the psalms will fit him well:
“Though he fall, he shall not be cast away for the Lord upholds his hand”
[Ps 36:24]. Then a thought came to him that the Apostle says we are
insufficient to think anything of ourselves [cf. 2 Cor 3:5]. “So if a person
like him said: ‘I am not sufficient’, how much more am I in need of
teaching? So let me go to that solitary and whatever he says to me or
counsels me, I shall receive it as guidance from God towards my salvation.”
Now the abba to whom he was going was great and renowned; greatly
advanced in contemplation, he could be beneficial to those who appealed
to him and edify appropriately those who asked him questions. [Our
monk] came out of the cell and went to him and when he went in to
him the elder saw two monkeys sitting on his shoulders controlling his
neck with a chain, each one pulling to draw it to himself. When the man
saw this and realised the reason for it (he was “taught of God”) [1 Th 4:9],
he sighed and wept in silence. After the prayer and the usual greeting, they
sat there for an hour without speaking, for that was the custom of the
fathers in that place. After that, the visiting monk said: “Father, do me a
favour; give me instructions in the way of salvation.” The elder answered:
“I am not sufficient for that, my son, but am myself in need to be led by
the hand.” But he said to him: “Abba, do not decline to do me a favour sir,
for I have confidence in you and have set my mind to receive your
counsel”, but he shook his head, saying: “You are not listening to me
and that is why I am declining.” Again the monk pledged himself and gave
his word: “If you speak to me, I will listen to you as though to an angel.”
Then the elder said to him: “Take this purse of money; get off to the city
and buy ten loaves of bread, ten measures of wine and ten pounds of meat
then bring them [here].” He began to be very sorrowful but he took [the
purse] and went. On the way he tossed around many thoughts: “What was
in this elder’s mind? How am I to purchase these things? The worldlings
κατέχοντας1 καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἑκάτερος ἕλκειν2 ἐβιάζετο. Καὶ θεασ-
άμενος τοῦτο καὶ γνοὺς τὴν αἰτίαν (ἦν γὰρ θεοδίδακτος ὁ ἀνήρ),
στενάξας ἐδάκρυσεν ἡσυχῇ, καὶ μετὰ τὴν εὐχὴν καὶ τὸν συνήθη ἀσπασ-
μὸν ἐκαθέσθησαν ἐπὶ ὥραν μίαν μὴ λαλοῦντες ·τοῦτο [f. 347vb] γὰρ
σύνηθες τοῖς ἐκεῖσε πατράσι. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα λέγει ὁ παραγενόμενος
μοναχός·3 Πάτερ, ὠφέλησόν με4 καὶ δός μοι ὑποθήκας ὁδοῦ σωτηρ-
ίας. Ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ὁ γέρων· Οὐχ ἱκανός εἰμι, τέκνον, εἰς τοῦτο· καὶ γὰρ
αὐτὸς χρῄζω5 χειραγωγίας. Ὁ δὲ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν· Μὴ παραιτοῦ,
κύρι ἀββᾶ, τοῦ ὠφελῆσαί με· πεπληροφόρημαι γὰρ εἰς σέ, καὶ ἔδωκα
τὸν λογισμόν μου δέξασθαι τὴν συμβουλίαν σου. Ὁ δὲ ἀνένευε λέγων ὅτι
οὐκ ἀκούεις μου καὶ διὰ τοῦτο παραιτοῦμαι. Πάλιν οὖν ὁ μοναχὸς
διεβεβαιοῦτο καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ λόγον ὅτι, ἐὰν εἴπῃς μοι, ἀκούω σου ὡς
ἀγγέλου. Τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Λάβε τὸ βαλάντιον6 τοῦ κέρματος
τοῦτο καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἀγόρασον [f. 348ra] δέκα ἄρτους καὶ
δέκα ξέστας οἴνου καὶ δέκα λίτρας κρεῶν καὶ φέρε. Ἤρξατο οὖν περίλυ-
πος γίνεσθαι,7 ὅμως λαβὼν ἐπορεύετο. Καὶ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ πολλοὺς λογισ-
μοὺς ἀνεκίνει ὅτι τί ἔδοξε τῷ γέροντι τούτῳ καὶ πῶς ἀγοράσω ταῦτα,
σκανδαλίζονται οἱ κοσμικοὶ ἐμοῦ ταῦτα λαμβάνοντος. Κλαίων8 καὶ
δακρύων ἀπῆλθεν καὶ αἰσχυνόμενος δι᾿ ἄλλου μέν τινος τοὺς ἄρτους, δι᾿
ἄλλου δὲ τὸν οἶνον ὠνήσατο. Καὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐαί μοι τῷ ἀθλίῳ, πῶς
κρέα9 ἀγοράσω ἢ δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἢ δι᾿ ἄλλου; Πλὴν μετὰ αἰσχύνης ἠρέμα
εὑρών τινα κοσμικὸν ἔδωκε τὸ κέρμα καὶ ἀγοράσας ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ. Λαβὼν
δὲ ὁ μοναχὸς ἤνεγκεν πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων·
Ἔψησον10 τὰ κρέα. Ὁ δὲ ἤψησε,11 σκυθρωπάζων, τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων·12 Μὴ [f. 348rb] ἐπιλάθῃ ὅτι δέδωκάς μοι λόγον, ὃ ἐὰν εἴπω σοι,
ὑπακοῦσαι. Λάβε οὖν ταῦτα καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸ κελλίον σου καὶ εὐχόμενος
μεταλάμβανε ἄρτον ἕνα καὶ ξέστην οἴνου καὶ λίτραν κρεῶν ἡμέριον καὶ
μετὰ δέκα ἡμέρας ἐλθὲ ἐνθάδε. Ὁ δὲ ἀκούσας καὶ μὴ τολμῶν ἀντειπεῖν
λαβὼν ἀπῄει κλαίων καὶ ἀνιώμενος ἐπὶ τῷ13 πράγματι, ὅτι ἐκ ποίας
νηστείας εἰς τί ἔφθασα, λέγων·14 ποιήσω, μὴ ποιήσω; Ἐὰν μὴ ποιήσω,
προσκρούω τῷ Θεῷ ὅτι λόγον δέδωκα οὕτως ὅτι ὃ15 ἐὰν εἴπῃ μοι ὡς
ἀπὸ Θεοῦ δέχομαι. Καὶ νῦν, Κύριε, ἔπιδε ἐπὶ τὴν ἀθλιότητά μου καὶ
ἐλέησόν με συγχωρήσας τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου ὅτι ἰδοὺ καὶ νῦν ἀναγκάζομαι
πράξαι παρὰ πρόθε[f. 348va]σιν ἣν εἶχον τῆς ἐγκρατείας μου.
1
κατέχοντας] περιέχοντας S 2
ἑκάτερος ἕλκειν] ἕλκειν ἑκάτερος S
3
μοναχός] ἀδελφός S 4
με] μοι V 5
χρῄζων C 6
βαλάντιον C]-λλ-S V
7
γίνεσθαι]-σθε V 8
κλαίων] οὖν add V 9
κρέας V 10
Ἔψησον]-σε V
11
ἤψησε] ἔ-V
12
Ἔψησον τὰ κρέα. Ὁ δὲ ἤψησε, σκυθρωπάζων, τότε λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων] οm C
13
τῷ] τὸ C 14
λέγων] ἔλεγεν οὖν V 15
ὃ om V
N.641 521
will be offended by my taking them!” He went his way weeping and
wailing; then, in shame he purchased the loaves from one person, the
wine from another. And he said: “Woe is me, wretch that I am; how am
I to buy meat myself or through somebody else? Shamefacedly he surrep-
titiously found a worldling and gave him the money; he bought it, and
gave it to him. Then the monk took it and brought it to the elder and the
elder said to him: “Consume the meat.” Reluctantly, he consumed it; then
the elder said to him: “Do not forget; you have given me your word that
you will obey whatever I say to you. So, take these things, go into your cell,
offer a prayer and partake of one loaf of bread, a measure of wine and a
pound of meat each day; then come here after ten days.” Having heard and
not daring to protest, taking [the provisions] off he went, weeping and
grieving over the matter, saying: “What have I come to after such fasting?
Shall I do it, or shall I not? If I do it not, I am at odds with God, having
given my word to the effect that whatever he said to me I receive it as from
God. Lord, look upon my wretchedness and have mercy on me now,
having pardoned me my sins. For look: now I am obliged to act contrary to
the purpose I had for my continence.”
Weeping like this he came to his cell and did as the elder commanded
him. He applied himself to prayer yet more fervently and watered the food
with tears when he was about to eat, interceding and saying: “Lord, were
you trying to abandon me?” So God was attentive to his repentance and
humility. He gave comfort to his heart and he, coming to a recognition of
the reason why it came about that he was indifferent [to food], as he
thought, gave thanks to God and freely assented to the saying of the
Prophet: “All man’s righteousness is as a filthy rag” [Is 64:6] and “Unless
the Lord build a house and keep a city, the guardian stayed awake in vain”
[cf. Ps 126:1]. So he came back to the elder weighed down in body and
worn out more than when he used to go for weeks without food. Seeing
him so humbled, the elder received him with a smiling face and, when they
had offered a prayer, they sat in silence. Then the elder said: “My son,
God, the lover of mankind, watched over you and did not let the adversary
get the better of you – for he is ever accustomed to lead astray those
directed towards virtue with fine-sounding words and to bring them to the
presumptuous state of mind. He also coerces them and leads them on to
undertake high degrees of righteous activity in order to bring them down
this way. There is no sinful passion so abominable in the sight of God as
pride and no righteous activity more honourable with him than that of
humility. See both the examples of the Pharisee and the Publican: the
Καὶ οὕτως δακρύων ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν κέλλαν καὶ ἐποίησε καθὼς ἐνετείλατο
αὐτῷ1 ὁ γέρων. Σφοδρότερον δὲ μᾶλλον τῇ εὐχῇ ἐκέχρητο καὶ ἐν τῷ
μέλλειν αὐτὸν ἐσθίειν ἔβρεχε τοῖς δάκρυσι τὰ σίτα ἐντυγχάνων καὶ λέγων·
Κύριε, ἐγκατέλιπές με; Οὕτως οὖν ὁ Θεὸς προσέχων2 τῇ μετανοίᾳ αὐτοῦ
καὶ τῇ ταπεινώσει ἔδωκε παράκλησιν εἰς τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς
ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς αἰτίας ἐλθὼν δι᾿ ἣν συνέβη αὐτὸν3 ἀδιαφορῆσαι, ὡς ἐνόμι-
ζεν, εὐχαρίστησε τῷ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθωμολογεῖτο τὸ προφητικὸν λόγιον ὅτι
πᾶσα δικαιοσύνη ἀνθρώπου ὡς ῥάκος4 ἀποκαθημένης καὶ τὸ ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος
οἰκοδομήσῃ οἶκον καὶ φυλάξῃ πόλιν εἰς μά[f. 348vb]την ἠγρύπνησεν ὁ
φυλάσσων. Οὕτως ἐπανέρχεται πρὸς τὸν γέροντα καταπεπονημένος τῷ
σώματι καὶ ἐκτετρυχωμένος πλεῖον ἢ ὅτε5 τὰς ἑβδομάδας διετέλει ἄσιτος.
Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ γέρων οὕτως ταπεινωθέντα φαιδρῷ τῷ προσώπῳ
ὑπεδέξατο αὐτόν, καὶ ποιήσαντες εὐχὴν ἐκάθισαν σιωπῶντες. Εἶτα λέγει
ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον, ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς ἐπεσκέψατό σε καὶ οὐκ εἴασε τὸν
ἐχθρὸν κατακυριεῦσαί σου. Ἀεὶ γὰρ ὡς δι᾿ εὐλογοφανῶν εἴωθε τοὺς τὴν
ἀρετὴν μετιόντας ἀπατᾶν καὶ εἰς τὸ τῆς οἰήσεως φρόνημα φέρειν, ἀναγκά-
ζει τε αὐτοὺς6 καὶ προτρέπεται μεγάλα μέτρα7 μετελθεῖν κατορθωμάτων,
ἵνα οὕτως αὐτοὺς κατενέγκῃ. Οὐδὲν γὰρ παρὰ Θεῷ ἁμαρτίας πάθος
οὕτως [f. 349ra] βδελυκτὸν ὡς τὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ οὐδὲν παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ8
κατόρθωμα τίμιον ὡς τὸ τῆς ταπεινώσεως. Καὶ ὅρα ἀμφότερα ἐκ τοῦ
Φαρισαίου καὶ τοῦ τελώνου τὰ ὑποδείγματα· αἱ ἀκρότητες τοίνυν οὕτως
ἐπισφαλεῖς ἑκατέρων μερῶν. Καὶ γάρ τις τῶν γερόντων φησὶν ὅτι τὰ
ὑπέρμετρα τῶν δαιμόνων ἐστίν. Ὁδῷ οὖν βασιλικῇ9 πορεύου κατὰ τὴν
Γραφήν, καὶ μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς δεξιὰ ἢ ἀριστερά, ἀλλὰ μεσότητι κέχρησο ἐν τῇ
μεταλήψει, μέτρῳ ἐσθίων τὸ10 καθ᾿ ἑσπέραν. Εἰ δὲ γένηται χρεία, ἀδιακρί-
τως μετέρχου τὸν καιρόν, κἂν διὰ πάθος ἢ δι᾿ ἄλλην τινὰ αἰτίαν λῦσαι
δέῃ11 τὴν ὁρισμένην ὥραν. Κἄν τε πάλιν μεταλαμβάνειν γένηται παρ᾿
ἡμέραν, μὴ διακριθῇς, [f. 349rb] οὐ γὰρ ὑπὸ νόμoν ἀλλ᾿ ὑπὸ χάριν ἐσμέν.
Ἐσθίων γε μήν, μὴ θέλε κορέννυσθαι, ἀλλ᾿ ἔπεχε σεαυτὸν εἰς ἐγκράτειαν,
μάλιστα ἀπὸ τῶν λιχνοτέρων βρωμάτων. Τὰ εὐτελέστερα δὲ ἀσπάζου
πάντοτε καὶ τὴν καρδίαν σου τήρει παντοίως12 ἀσκῶν τὴν ταπει-
νοφροσύνην, θυσία γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ, ὥς φησιν ὁ προφήτης, πνεῦμα συντε-
τριμμένον, καρδίαν συντετριμμένην καὶ τεταπεινωμένην ὁ Θεὸς οὐκ
ἐξουδενώσει. Καὶ πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ ἅγιος Δαβὶδ13 φησίν· ἐταπεινώθην καὶ
ἔσωσέ με. Καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἠσαΐου φησὶν ὁ Κύριος· ἐπὶ τίνα
1
αὐτῷ om V 2
προσέχων] προσέχον C 3
αὐτὸν] αὐτῷ V 4
ῥάκκος V
5
ὅτε] ὅτι C 6
αὐτοὺς S V] αὐτοῖς C 7
μεγάλα μέτρα] μέτρα μεγάλα S V
8
αὐτοῦ] αὐτῷ S V 9
βασιλικῇ] βασιλικῷ C 10
τὸ] om S 11
δέῃ] δὲ V
12
πάντως V 13
Δαβὶδ om V
N.641 523
extremes of both sides are so precarious, for one of the elders said excess is
of the demons. Follow then the royal way (as the Scripture says), deviating
neither to left nor to right [cf. Nm 10:17] but use moderation in feeding,
eating a little each evening. But if need arise, do not scruple to break the
time-limit; for suffering, or any other reason, you should set aside the
appointed hour. And if it happens that you are eating again in the day [i.e.
twice a day] do not scruple, for we are not under laws but under grace
[Rom 6:14]. When eating, do not desire to fill yourself, but hold yourself in
check, especially with the more tasty dishes. Always go for the more frugal
ones and keep your heart putting into practice humility in every way for, as
the Prophet says, ‘The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and
contrite heart God will not despise’ [Ps 50:19], and again holy David
himself says: ‘I was humbled and he saved me’ [Ps 114:6] and, through
the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord says: ‘With whom shall I take my rest other
than with him that is lowly and of a contrite heart and trembles at my
words?’ [Is 66:2] So, cast all your hope on the Lord, my son; go your way
in peace [Lk 7:50, 8:48] and ‘He shall uphold you’ [cf. Ps 54:23] and ‘he
shall bring forth your righteousness like light and your just-dealing as the
noon-day’ [Ps 36:3].”
Having benefited the brother like this and supported him with what
had been found, he dismissed him, rejoicing in the Lord. As he went
along like this, he said: “Let such as fear you turn me back; even they
that know your testimonies” [Ps 118:79] and: “The Lord has chastened
and corrected me; but he has not given me over to death” [Ps 117:18] and:
“The righteous will smite me in mercy and reprove me” [Ps 140:5] and
to himself he said: “Turn again then unto your rest, O my soul, for the
Lord has dealt bountifully with you” [Ps 114:7]. Returning in this manner
to his cell, he lived according to the elder’s instructions, passing all
the rest of his life in humility and sorrow for sin until he came “unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ” [Eph 4:13].
ἀναπαύσομαι ἀλλ᾿ ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν πρᾶον καὶ ἡσύχιον καὶ τρέμοντά μου τοὺς
λόγους. Πᾶσαν οὖν τὴν ἐλπίδα σου, τέκνον, ἐπιρρίψας ἐπὶ Κύριον, πορ-
εύου ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὴν ὁδόν σου καὶ αὐτὸς ποιήσει καὶ [f. 349va] ἐξοίσει ὡς φῶς
τὴν δικαιοσύνην σου καὶ τὸ κρίμα σου ὡς μεσημβρίαν.
Οὕτως οὖν1 ὠφελήσας τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ στηρίξας καὶ τοῖς εὑρεθεῖσιν,
εὐωχηθεὶς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἀπέλυσεν ἀγαλλιῶντα ἐν Κυρίῳ. Καὶ οὕτως πορ-
ευόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἐπιστρεψάτωσάν με οἱ φοβούμενοί σε καὶ οἱ γινώσκοντες
τὰ μαρτύριά σου καὶ παιδεύων ἐπαίδευσέ με ὁ Κύριος, τῷ δὲ θανάτῳ οὐ
παρέδωκέ με καὶ τὸ παιδεύσει με δίκαιος ἐν ἐλέει καὶ ἐλέγξει με. Καὶ πρὸς
ἑαυτὸν φησίν· Ἐπίστρεψον ψυχή μου εἰς τὴν ἀνάπαυσίν σου, ὅτι Κύριος
εὐηργέτησέν σε καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Καὶ οὕτως ἐλθὼν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ ἐβίωσε κατὰ
τὰς ὑποθήκας τοῦ γέροντος μετὰ ταπεινώσεως καὶ κατανύξεως διατελῶν
τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ, [f. 349vb] ἕως ἔφθασεν εἰς ἄνδρα
τέλειον,2 εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
642–3. Περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δουλᾶ3

Διηγήσατο ὁ ἀββᾶς Δανιὴλ ὅτι ἐγένετό τις μοναχὸς Δουλᾶς ὀνόματι, ὃς
καὶ ἐν τοῖς μεγάλοις τῶν πατέρων ἐλογίσθη.4 Οὗτος5 οὖν ὁ Δανιὴλ τὰ
πρῶτα ἐν κοινοβίῳ ἐκάθισεν ἐπὶ ἔτη τεσσαράκοντα καὶ ἔλεγεν ὅτι δια-
φόρως δοκιμάσας εὗρον ὅτι οἱ ἐν τοῖς κοινοβίοις πλείω μᾶλλον καὶ
ταχύτερον προκόπτουσιν εἰς ἐργασίαν ἀρετῶν, ἐὰν ἐξ ἀληθινῆς καρδίας
ὦσιν ἐν τόπῳ. Ἐγένετο γάρ φησιν ἀδελφός τις ἐν κοινοβίῳ τῷ μὲν
σχήματι6 ταπεινὸς καὶ ἐξουδενωμένος, τῇ δὲ διανοίᾳ μέγας καὶ ἔντιμος.
Οὕτος7 οὖν πάντων ἐξουθενούντων8 αὐτὸν καὶ ἀτιμαζόντων ἔχαιρεν
καὶ ἠγαλλιᾶτο, τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐξ ἐπιβολῆς τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου πικραινομένων9
πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ τῶν μὲν τυπτόντων αὐτὸν τῶν δὲ ἐμπτυόντων, ἄλλων
λοιδορίαις πλυνόντων αὐτόν. Kαὶ ταῦτα ἐπὶ εἰκοστὸν ἔτος ἐν οἷς μὴ φέρων
ὁ ἐχθρὸς τὸ εὔψυχον τῆς ὑπομονῆς αὐτοῦ, ὑποτίθεται τινὶ ἀδελφῷ καὶ,
τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡσυχαζόντων, εἰσελθὼν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, πάντα τὰ ἱερατικὰ
σκεύη ἀποσυλήσας, λαθὼν ἐξῆλθεν τοῦ κοινοβίου. Ὡς δὲ ἐγένετο ὁ καιρὸς
τῆς συνάξεως, εἰσελθὼν ὁ κανονάρχης βαλεῖν τὸ θυμίαμα, εὗρεν πάντα
ἀφαιρεθέντα καὶ ἀπελθὼν ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ ἀββᾶ καὶ κρούει τὸ ξύλον καὶ
συνάγονται οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες καὶ ἤρξαντο ταράττεσθαι καὶ λέγουσιν·
Οὐδεὶς ἔλαβεν αὐτὰ εἰ μὴ ὁ δεῖνα ἀδελφὸς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ εἰς τὴν
1
οὖν om V 2
τέλειον] καὶ add V 3
tit. om V 4
ἐλογίσθη τῶν πατέρων trsp V
5
οὗτος] οὕτως C 6
τῷ μὲν σχήματι] τὸ μὲν σχῆμα V 7
οὗτος] οὕτως C
8
Hic incipit lacuna apud C; ! S solus 9
πικραινόντων V
N.642 525
N.642–3 BHG 2101abc, de coenibita ad iudicem delata,

de Doulo monacho
Abba Doulas
Abba Daniel told how there was a monk named Doulas who was counted
among the great ones among the fathers. At first this Daniel lived in a
coenobion for forty years and he used to say: “Having employed various
tests I found that those [living] in coenobia make rather more and more
rapid progress in practising virtues if they are in the place with a true heart.
There was a brother in a coenobion”, he said, “of a humble and despised
mien but of great and noble mentality. He rejoiced and was glad when
they all set him at naught and looked down on him, when the brothers
were embittered against him (at the instigation of the adversary), some
striking him, some spitting, others covering him with abuse. When this
had gone on for twenty years, the enemy, unable to tolerate the persistence
of his endurance, proposed to some brother that, while the brothers were
taking their siesta, he go into the church, carry off all the priestly equip-
ment [i.e. vestments, vessels etc.] and secretly leave the coenobion. When
it was time for the service, the master of ceremonies came to put the
incense on and found everything removed. He went and reported it to the
abba and sounded the semantron. All the brothers were gathered together
and they began to be troubled and said: ‘Nobody but such-and-such a
brother took them and that is why he did not come to the service. If he did
not do it, he would have come first, now as always.’ They sent and found
him standing in prayer. Having knocked, they went in and dragged him
forcibly. But he besought them saying: ‘What is the matter, fathers?’ but
they, hurling insults and abuse at him, said: ‘Plunderer, unworthy even of
living, are you not satisfied with having troubled us for so many years that
now you have wounded our souls?’ He just said: ‘Forgive me, I did wrong.’
They carried him to the abba and said to him: ‘Abba, this is he who has
been disrupting the coenobion from the beginning’, and one by one they
began to say: ‘I know he eats the cabbages in secret’, another: ‘He used to
steal loaves and give them away outside’, another: ‘I came upon him
drinking the best wine.’ All who were lying were believed while that one
who was telling the truth was not heard. The abba took away his [monas-
tic] habit saying: ‘Those are not [the deeds] of a Christian.’ They put him
in irons and handed him over to the steward of the lavra; he stripped him
σύναξιν ἦλθεν· εἰ μὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐποίησεν, ὡς πάντοτε καὶ νῦν ἤρχετο
πρῶτος.1 Πέμπουσιν καὶ εὑρίσκουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς προσευχὴν ἱστάμενον καὶ
κρούσαντες εἰσῆλθον καὶ σύρουσιν αὐτὸν μετὰ βίας. Ὁ δὲ παρεκάλει,
λέγων · Τί ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα, πατέρες; Οἱ δὲ λοιδορίαις καὶ ἀτιμίαις
βάλλοντες αὐτὸν, ἔλεγον· Ἱερόσυλε, ἀνάξιε καὶ τοῦ ζῆν, οὐκ ἀρκεῖ σοι
ὅτι τοσαῦτα ἔτη ἐτάραξας ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν εἰς τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἔπαιξας;
Ὁ δὲ ἔλεγε· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι ὅτι ἐσφάλην, καὶ φέρουσιν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν
ἀββᾶν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, οὗτος ἐστὶν ὁ ἀπ’ἀρχῆς στρέφων τὸ
κοινόβιον, καὶ ἤρξαντο εἷς καθ’εἷς λέγειν ὅτι οἶδα αὐτὸν λάθρα τὰ λάχανα
φαγόντα, ἄλλος ὅτι τὰ ψωμία κλέπτων ἐδίδου2 ἔξω καὶ ἄλλος ὅτι τὸν
κάλλιστον οἶνον ἔφθασα αὐτὸν πίνοντα. καὶ πάντες ψευδόμενοι ἐπισ-
τεύοντο, κἀκεῖνος ἀληθεύων οὐκ ἠκούετο. Ἐπαίρει οὖν ὁ ἀββᾶς τὸ σχῆμα
αὐτοῦ λέγων ὅτι ταῦτα οὐκ εἰσὶ χριστιανοῦ καὶ σιδηρώσαντες αὐτόν,
παραδίδουσιν3 τῷ οἰκoνόμῳ τῆς λαύρας κἀκεῖνος, γυμνώσας καὶ βου-
νεύροις τυπτήσας, ἐπυνθάνετο εἰ ἀληθῆ εἰσὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ λεγόμενα.
Ὁ δὲ γελῶν ἔλεγεν· Συγχωρήσατέ μοι ὅτι ἐσφάλην. Ἀγριωθεὶς δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ
λόγῳ, κελεύει αὐτὸν βληθῆναι εἰς τὸ κολαστήριον, ξύλον ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ
τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ ἀσφαλισάμενος καὶ γράφει τῷ δουκὶ τὰ τοῦ πράγμα-
τος. Καὶ παρ’αὐτὰ ἔρχονται προάξιμοι καὶ λαμβάνουσιν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπιβι-
βάσαντες αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ἀστρώτου ζῴου (ἔχοντα σίδηρον βαρὺν κατὰ τοῦ
τραχήλου) εἷλκον αὐτὸν μέσον τῆς πόλεως. Καὶ προσαχθεὶς τῷ δικάζοντι,
ἠρωτᾶτο τίς ἂν λέγοιτο καὶ πόθεν εἴη καὶ τίνος χάριν μονάζων γέγονεν· ὁ
δὲ πλέον4 οὐδὲν ἔφησεν ἢ ὅτι ἥμαρτον, συγχώρησόν μοι. Ἐκμανεὶς οὖν ὁ
δοὺξ κελεύει αὐτὸν ταθῆναι καὶ βουνεύροις ὠμοῖς διαρραγῆναι αὐτοῦ τὸν
νῶτον. Ταθεὶς οὖν ἐκ τεσσάρων καὶ τοῖς βουνεύροις ἀνηλεῶς μαστιζόμενος,
μειδιῶν τῷ προσώπῳ, λέγει πρὸς τὸν δοῦκα· Τύπτε, τύπτε, τὸ ἀργύριόν
μου λαμπρότερον ἀπεργάζῃ [f. 350ra],5 κἀκεῖνος φησίν· Ἐγώ σου ὑπὲρ
χιόνα ἀναδείξω τὴν μωρίαν, καὶ κελεύει πῦρ ὑποστρωθῆναι τῇ κοιλίᾳ
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἅλας ὄξει συμφυράσαντας ἐπιχύσαι τοῖς μώλωψιν αὐτοῦ. Οἱ δὲ
παρεστῶτες ἐθαύμαζον ἐπὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ καρτερίᾳ καὶ ἔλεγον πρὸς αὐτόν·
Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν ποῦ ἔβαλες τὰς ἱερατικὰ σκεύη καὶ ἀπολύει.6 Ὁ δὲ ἔλεγεν ὅτι
οὐκ ἔχω πρᾶγμα. Μόλις δὲ ἀνεθῆναι αὐτὸν τῆς βασάνου κελεύσας, εἰς
τὸ δεσμωτήριον προστάττει ἀπαχθῆναι καὶ ἄσιτον καὶ ἀνεπιμέλητον
φυλαχθῆναι.7 Καὶ τῇ ἑξῆς πέμψας ἐν τῇ λαύρᾳ κελεύει ἀχθῆναι τοὺς
τοῦ κοινοβίου καὶ τὸν ἀββᾶν. Καὶ ἐλθόντων αὐτῶν λέγει πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ
1
πρῶτος] καὶ add V 2
ἐδίδου] ἐδίδει V
3
παραδίδουσιν] παραδιδοῦσι S] παρέδωκαν V 4
πλέον] ἐρωτηθεὶς add V
5
Hic desinit lacuna apud C 6
ἀπολύει] ἀπολύῃ S V
7
φυλαχθῆναι] διαφυλαχθῆναι S V
N.642 527
and thrashed him with ox tendons, trying to find out whether the things
being said of him were true. Laughing, however, he just said: ‘Forgive me
for I did wrong.’ Angered by the saying he ordered him to be thrown into a
place of correction having secured his feet with wood[-en stocks] in the
prison, and he wrote to the duke concerning the matter. Thereupon came
commissaries who took him and set him on an ass without a saddle (he had
a heavy iron [collar] round his neck) and dragged him into the city centre.
Brought before the justice he was asked what he was called, where he was
from and why he had become a monk, but he said nothing other than:
‘Forgive me for I have done wrong.’ Furious, the duke ordered him to be
stretched out and for his back to be torn with raw ox tendons. He was
stretched out to four points and mercilessly whipped with tendons, but
with a smiling face he said to the duke: ‘Lay on, lay on; you are making my
silver brighter’, and [the duke] said: ‘I shall demonstrate your madness [yet
brighter] than snow.’ He ordered fire to be spread out under his belly: salt
mixed with vinegar to be poured into his wounds. Amazed at such
endurance, those who were standing by were saying to him: ‘Tell us where
you put the priestly equipment and we will let you go’, but he said: “Not
my affair.” No sooner had [the duke] ordered him to be released from
torture than he commanded him to be brought to the gaol, to be
imprisoned without food and untended. Next day he sent to the lavra
and ordered the [members] of the coenobion and the abba to be brought.
When they came the duke said to them: ‘I have done a great deal and
subjected him to much punishment but have not been able to discover
anything more.’ The brothers said to him: ‘My lord, he did many other
evil things and we put up with him for the sake of God, expecting him to
reform and, look, instead he has come to even worse [behaviour].’ ‘What
am I to do with him?’ he said to them, and they said: ‘What is in
accordance with the laws?’ He said to them: ‘The law executes those guilty
of sacrilege’, and they said: ‘Let him be executed.’ He dismissed them and
brought up the brother. He sat on the judgement seat and said to him:
‘Confess, wretch, and be delivered from death.’ The brother said: ‘If you
are telling me to say what is not [true] I will say it’, and he [said]: ‘I do
not want you to perjure yourself’, but the brother said: ‘I am not aware of
having ever done any of the things concerning which I am being
questioned.’ Realising that he was saying nothing, the duke ordered
him to be beheaded; the executioners took him and led him away to
behead him.
“While he was being led away, the one who had taken the treasures
began to be sorry for his sin and said to himself: ‘Whether now or at some
δούξ· Πάνυ πολλὰ ποιήσας καὶ πολλαῖς τιμωρίαις αὐτὸν ὑπο[f. 350rb]βα-
λὼν, οὐδὲν πλέον ἠδυνήθην εὑρεῖν. Καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὅτι
δέσποτα, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ κακὰ ἐποίησεν καὶ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἐβαστάσαμεν
αὐτὸν προσδοκῶντες αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέφειν καὶ ἰδοὺ εἰς χείρονα μᾶλλον
ἦλθεν. Λέγει αὐτοῖς· Τί οὖν ποιήσω αὐτῷ;1 Λέγουσι· Τὰ δοκοῦντα τοῖς
νόμοις. Λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὁ νόμος τοὺς ἱεροσύλους φονεύει. Λέγουσι·
Φονευθήτω. Καὶ ἀπολύει αὐτοὺς καὶ φέρει τὸν ἀδελφόν, καὶ καθίσας ἐπὶ
τοῦ κριτηρίου λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ὁμολόγησον, ἄθλιε, καὶ ῥύσθητι τοῦ
θανάτου. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Εἰ κελεύεις ἵνα εἴπω τὸ μὴ ὄν, λέγω. Ὁ δέ·
Οὐ θέλω σε2 καταψεύσασθαι ἑαυτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς εἶπεν· Οὐδὲν ὧν
ἐρωτῶμαι3 ποιήσαντα ἐμαυτὸν οἶδα ποτέ.4 Ἰδὼν οὖν ὁ δοὺξ ὅτι οὐδὲν
λέγει, [f. 350va] κελεύει αὐτὸν ἀποκεφαλισθῆναι. Καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὸν οἱ
δήμιοι ἀπήγαγον τοῦ ἀποκεφαλίσαι.
Ἀπαγομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ, εἰς κατάνυξιν ἐλθὼν ὁ ἐπάρας τὰ κειμήλια,
λέγει πρὸς ἑαυτόν·5 Κἄν6 ἄρτι κἄν τε ὁτεδήποτε, γνωσθῆναι ἔχει τὸ
πρᾶγμα. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ὧδε λάθῃς, τί ποιήσῃς7 ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, πῶς
ἀπολογήσῃ περὶ τοιούτων πράξεων; Καὶ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ· Ταχὺ πέμψον, ἵνα μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ ἀδελφός· εὑρέθησαν γὰρ τὰ
ἱερατικὰ8 σκεύη. Πέμπει οὖν καὶ ἀναφέρει τῷ δουκὶ καὶ ἀπολύεται ὁ
ἀδελφὸς καὶ φέρουσιν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον καὶ ἤρξαντο πάντες προσ-
πίπτειν αὐτῷ καὶ λέγειν ὅτι ἡμάρτομεν9 εἰς σέ, συγχώρησον ἡμῖν. Ὁ δὲ
ἤρξατο κλαί[f. 350vb]ειν καὶ λέγειν ὅτι10 συγχωρήσατέ μοι ὅτι μεγάλας
ὑμῖν χάριτας ὁμολογῶ ὅτι διὰ τῶν μικρῶν τούτων πόνων μεγάλων
ἀξιοῦμαι ἀγαθῶν. Μεγάλως γὰρ πάντοτε ἐχαιρόμην,11 ὅτε ἤκουον τὰ
ὑφ᾿ ὑμῶν λεγόμενα ἄτοπα περὶ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι διὰ τῶν ὀλίγων τούτων ἐξουδε-
νώσεων τῶν μεγάλων τιμῶν κατὰ τὴν φοβερὰν ἡμέραν ἀξιωθήσεσθαι
ἔμελλον. Πλείω δὲ νῦν ἔχαιρον ὅτι τοῦτό μοι ἐποιήσατε, εἰ μὴ12 ὅτι
θλίψις μοι ἦν δι᾿ ὑμᾶς·13 προεώρων γὰρ τῆς14 διὰ τούτων τῶν πειρα-
σμῶν προσδοκωμένης ἀναπαύσεως ἐν τῇ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείᾳ τὴν
ἀντίδοσιν.
Ἐπιζήσας δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀπῆλθε πρὸς Κύριον. Καὶ ἐλθὼν εἷς
τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἰδεῖν πῶς ἔχει,15 εὑρίσκει αὐτὸν ἐπὶ γόνατα κείμενον ἦν
γὰρ με[f. 351ra]τάνοιαν ποιῶν καὶ προσευχόμενος καὶ οὕτως ἀπέδωκε
1
αὐτῷ] αὐτὸν V 2
σε] φησὶ add V 3
ἐρωτῶμαι]-οῦμαι V
4
ἐρωτῶμαι ποιήσαντα ἐμαυτὸν οἶδα ποτέ S] ἐρωτῶ[-οῦ-V]μαι οἶδα ποιήσας ποτέ C V
5
ἑαυτόν] αὐτόν C 6
Κἄν] τε add C V 7
ποιήσῃς] ποιήσεις S
8
ἱερατικὰ] ἱερὰ S V 9
ἡμάρτωμεν V 10
ὅτι om V 11
ἐχαιρόμην] ἔχαιρον V
12
εἰ μὴ] εἰμὶ C 13
ὑμᾶς] ἡ-S V 14
τῆς] τὴν C 15
ἰδεῖν πῶς ἔχει] πῶς ἔχει ἰδεῖν S
N.642 529
time or other the matter is going to be known; and if you are undetected
here, what are you to do at that day? How are you to explain your deeds?’
He came to the abba and said: ‘Send quickly so the brother does not die,
for the priestly equipment has been found’, so he sent and reported [this]
to the duke. The brother was set free and they brought him to the
coenobion and everybody began to fall down before him and say: ‘We
sinned against you, forgive us.’ He, however, began to weep and to say:
‘Forgive me, for I owe you great thanks because, through these small
torments, I deserve great benefits. I was always very happy on hearing
the outrageous things said by you about me because, through these few
belittlings, I was going to deserve great honours at the awful day. I would
be rejoicing even more that you did this to me, if I were not afflicted on
your account, for I foresee the rest laid up for me in the Kingdom of
Heaven, the reward for these trials.’
“The brother lived three days more then he went to the Lord. When
one of the brothers came to see how he was, he found him down on his
knees (he was making [an act of] repentance and praying) and that is how
he surrendered his soul: the body remaining still in repentance. The
brother went and told the abba and [he] ordered his body to be brought
into the church to be buried there. When they had placed him before the
altar, [the abba] ordered the semantron to be struck so that the entire lavra
could be assembled and his body be honourably interred. When they were
assembled, each one was wanting to take a relic of him so when the abba
saw, he set his body in the sanctuary and, having secured the keys, waited
for the abba of the lavra so they might bury him publicly. When the father
of the lavra came with the clergy and they had offered a prayer, they said:
‘Abba, open up and bring out the body so it can be buried, for it is already
the ninth hour.’ He opened and found nothing there except for his
clothing and sandals. They were all astounded and began glorifying God
with tears and saying: ‘Brothers, just look what long-suffering and humility
procure for us, as you have seen. Struggle on yourselves like that, enduring
being set at naught and tested, which he knows procures the Kingdom of
Heaven through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.’”
τὴν ψυχήν. Ἔμεινεν οὖν τὸ σῶμα ἔτι κείμενον εἰς μετάνοιαν. Καὶ ἔρχεται ὁ
ἀδελφὸς καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀββᾷ καὶ κελεύει ἐνεχθῆναι τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ
ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἵνα ἐκεῖ ἐνταφιασθῇ. Ὡς οὖν ἔθηκαν αὐτὸν ἔμπροσθε τοῦ
θυσιαστηρίου, κελεύει κροῦσαι τὸ ξύλον, ἵνα καὶ πᾶσα ἡ λαύρα συναχθῇ
καὶ μετὰ δόξης τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ κατατεθῇ. Ὡς δὲ συνήγοντο, ἤθελον
ἕκαστος εὐλογίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπαίρειν. Ἰδὼν οὖν ὁ ἀββᾶς τίθησι τὸ σῶμα
αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἱερατεῖον καὶ ἀσφαλισάμενος τὰ κλειδία ἐξεδέχετο τὸν ἀββᾶν
τῆς λαύρας, ἵνα κοινῇ ἐνταφιάσωσιν αὐτόν. Ὡς οὖν ἦλθεν ὁ πατὴρ τῆς
λαύρας μετὰ τῶν κληρικῶν καὶ ἐποίη[f. 351rb]σαν τὴν εὐχὴν λέγουσιν·
Ἀββᾶ,1 ἄνοιξον φέρε τὸ σῶμα, ἵνα ἐνταφιασθῇ, ὅτι καιρὸς τῆς ἐνάτης ἐστὶ
λοιπόν. Καὶ ἀνοίξας οὐδὲν εὗρεν, εἰ μὴ μόνον τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ
σανδάλια. Καὶ πάντες θαμβηθέντες ἤρξαντο δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν μετὰ
δακρύων καὶ λέγειν· Βλέπετε, ἀδελφοί, οἷα προξενεῖ ἡμῖν ἡ μακροθυμία
καὶ ἡ ταπείνωσις. Ὡς οὖν εἴδετε, οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγωνίσασθε ὑπομένοντες
ἐξουδένωσιν καὶ πειρασμὸν ὅ τι βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν οἶδε προξενεῖν διὰ τῆς
χάριτος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
660. olim N.644. [Vat. Gr. 1599 f. 272v] Ἀδελφὸς ἔμενεν ἐν κοινοβίῳ
ὑποτασσόμενος καὶ ὠφελεῖτο ταπεινούμενος ἐν πᾶσιν· ἐκέρδαινεν δὲ ἐννέα
καὶ ἐλυπεῖτο εἰς ἕν. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εἰς ἄλλο κοινόβιον καὶ ἠλαττώθη2 ἕν,
ἐκέρ[f. 351va]δαινεν δὲ ὀκτὼ καὶ ἐλυπεῖτο εἰς δύο. Καὶ πάλιν ἐξῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν
καὶ ἦλθεν3 εἰς ἄλλο κοινόβιον καὶ πάλιν ἐκέρδαινεν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἐλυπεῖτο εἰς
τρία. Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁμοίως τὸ αὐτὸ ποιῶν. Ἕως εἶδεν ἑαυτὸν κερδαίνοντα
πέντε καὶ λυπούμενον εἰς πέντε πράγματα, ἔσχατον ἠθέλησεν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς
ἄλλο κοινόβιον καὶ πρὶν ἢ εἰσέλθῃ, ἔλαβε χαρτίον καὶ καθίσας λέγει ἐν
ἑαυτῷ· Ἐὰν πεισθῇς τῷ λογισμῷ σου, οὐκ ἐπαρκεῖ4 σοι ὅλος ὁ κόσμος
εἰς μετάβασιν. Ἀλλὰ τάξον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ὅτι5 ὑπομένεις, καὶ γράψον
ἐν τῷ πιττακίῳ τούτῳ· Ἐξῆλθες ἐκ τοῦδε τοῦ κοινοβίου ὅτι εἶχε6
περισπασμὸν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλλου διὰ τόδε. Καὶ τάσσει ὅλας τὰς αἰτίας
τὰς ἐκβαλούσας αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοβίου καὶ γράφει [f. 351vb] ὕστερον
ὅλας ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας εὑρίσκεις7 ὧδε ὑπομένεις; καὶ γράφει· Ἐν ὀνό-
ματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπομένω. Καὶ ἐλίξας αὐτὸ8
βάλλει εἰς τὴν ζώνην ἑαυτοῦ καὶ εὐξάμενος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον. Καὶ
μείνας χρόνον τινά, ἤρξατο βλέπειν τινὰ γινόμενα, ὧν παρετηρήσατο,9
καὶ ὡς ἤρχετο ταράττεσθαι, ἐλάμβανε κατιδίαν τὸ πιττάκιον ἐκεῖνο10 καὶ
1
Ἀββᾶ] τῷ ἀββᾶ S V 2
ἠλαττώθη V] ἠλατώθη C 3
ἦλθεν] οm C
4
ἐπαρκεῖ] ἐπαρκῇ V 5
ὅτι] om V 6
εἶχες V 7
εὑρίσκεις S C] εὑρίσκων V
8
ἐλίξας αὐτὸ S C] περιελίξας αὐτῷ V 9
παρετηρήσατο] παρητήσατο V
10
κατιδίαν τὸ πιττάκιον ἐκεῖνο] τὸ πιττάκιον ἐκεῖνο κατιδίαν V
N.644 531
N.644 = N.660; N.645–51 = N.676–82; N.652–6 = N.684–8;

N.657–9 = N.689–91 [N.303–5]
N.660 BHG 1442kb, de chartula iuramenti
A brother was living in submission at a coenobion and was gaining benefit,
becoming humble in every way. He was making gains on nine points but
disappointed in one. He went out to another coenobion and was defeated
on one: he was making gains on eight but disappointed in two. He went
out from there and came to another coenobion and again he was making
gains on seven and disappointed in three and out he went again, doing the
same. When he realised that he was making gains on five points and
disappointed in five, he wished to enter another coenobion once and for
all. But before he went in, he took a scrap of paper, sat down and said to
himself: “If you believe your own mind the entire world is not sufficient
for your moving around. But get it into your head that you are staying and
write on this note: ‘You came out of this coenobion because you were
distracted and [out of] that one because of such and such. . .’ and set down
all the factors that drove you out of the coenobion.” Then he writes after
that: “If you find all these factors here, will you remain?” – then he writes:
“In the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God, I am remaining.” He rolled it
up, thrust it into his girdle, offered a prayer and went into the coenobion.
When he had been there for some time, he began to notice some of the
things happening which he observed with concern. When he started
getting concerned he would privately take that note and, as he read it,
he would find: “In the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God, I am
remaining”, then he would be relieved and would say to himself: “You
renounced [the world] for God; ask him for aid.” Likewise when he saw
something else [that caused him concern] he would do the same and be
relieved. But the evil one could not bear the brother’s patient endurance.
He gave the brothers occasion to notice how the brother was made well
[with] reading and they said: “He is a magician and [with] reading he is not
distressed when we are distressed.” They came to the abba and said to him:
“We cannot remain with this brother for he is a sorcerer and his sorcery is
in his girdle. If you want to have him [here] then let us go.” Now the abba
was a spiritual person and he was aware of the brother’s humility. He knew
that the allegation arose from the malice of the devil and he said to the
brothers: “Go and pray; I will pray too and after three days I will tell you
the answer.” So while the brother was sleeping, the abba loosened his
girdle, read the note, put it back again and regirdled him. Three days later
the brothers came and said to the abba: “Take pity on us; tell us what you
ἀναγινώσκων εὕρισκε τὸ1 ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ
ὑπομένω καὶ ἀνεπαύετο λέγων ἐν ἑαυτῷ· Τῷ Θεῷ συνετάξω, παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ
αἴτει βοήθειαν. Ὁμοίως καὶ ἄλλο θεασάμενος τὸ αὐτὸ ποιῶν ἀνεπαύετο.
Μὴ φέρων οὖν ὁ πονηρὸς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ὑποβάλλει τοῖς
ἀδελφοῖς κατανοῆσαι πῶς ἀναγινώσκων ὁ ἀδελφὸς θεραπεύεται2 καὶ
λέγουσιν ὅτι φαρμακός ἐστι καὶ ἀναγινώσκων οὐ ταράσσεται ὅταν ἡμεῖς
ταραττώμεθα. Καὶ ἀνέρχονται πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Οὐ
δυνάμεθα μεῖναι μετὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦδε ὅτι γόης ἐστι καὶ ἐν τῇ ζώνῃ
αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ γοητεία αὐτοῦ· ἀλλ’ εἰ θέλεις αὐτὸν ἔχειν, ἀπόλυσον ἡμᾶς.
Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς πνευματικὸς ὢν καὶ γινώσκων τὴν ταπείνωσιν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ
ἐνόησεν ἐκ φθόνου εἶναι τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ λεγόμενον καὶ λέγει τοῖς
ἀδελφοῖς· Ὑπάγετε εὔξασθε κἀγὼ εὔχομαι καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας λέγω
ὑμῖν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν. Ὡς οὖν ἐκοιμᾶτο ὁ ἀδελφὸς λύει ὁ ἀββᾶς τὴν ζώνην
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναγινώσκει τὸ πιττάκιον καὶ τίθησιν αὐτὸ καὶ πάλιν ζώννυσιν
αὐτόν. Καὶ μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἔρχονται οἱ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ λέγουσι τῷ ἀββᾶ·
Ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς· εἰπὲ ἡμῖν τί ποιεῖς καὶ λέγει· Καλέσατε τὸν ἀδελφόν, καὶ
λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς· Διατί σκανδαλίζεις τοὺς ἀδελφούς; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη·
Ἥμαρτον, συγχωρήσατέ μοι καὶ εὔξασθε ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀββᾶς
τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· Τί εἴπατε ὅτι ποιεῖ ὁ ἀδελφὸς οὗτος; καὶ λέγουσιν· Γόης ἐστι
καὶ ἡ γοητεία αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ζώνην αὐτοῦ ἐστι, καὶ λέγει [V f. 273ν] ὁ
ἀββᾶς· Ἐκβάλλετε τὰς γοητείας αὐτοῦ. Ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἤφιεν αὐτοὺς λύσαι τὴν
ζώνην αὐτοῦ, κελεύει ὁ ἀββᾶς καὶ κόπτουσιν αὐτὴν, τότε εὑρέθη τὸ
χαρτίον καὶ παρέχει αὐτὸ ὁ ἀββᾶς τινὶ τῶν διακόνων καὶ κελεύει αὐτῷ
ἐπὶ ὑψηλοῦ σταθῆναι καὶ ἀναγνῶναι λέγων· Ἵνα καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ὁ διάβολος
αἰσχυνθῇ, ὁ διδάσκων τὰς γοητείας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Καὶ ὅτε ἀνεγνώσθη
τὸ μικρὸν χαρτίον καὶ τὸ ἐν ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπομένω τοῖς
ἀδελφοῖς, αἰσχυνθέντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ (μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ διάβολος) ἔβαλον τῷ
ἀββᾶ μετάνοιαν, λέγοντες· Ἡμάρτoμεν.3 Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ ἀββᾶς· Ἐμοὶ
βάλλετε μετάνοιαν; Καὶ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τῷ ἀδελφῷ ποιήσατε μετανοίας,
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς τῷ ἀδελφῷ· Εὐξώμεθα τῷ Θεῷ ἵνα συγχωρήσῃ αὐτοῖς
καὶ ηὔξαντο ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν.
661. [f. 311ra] Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Διὰ τί ἐπιτελῶν τὰς
μικράς μου λειτουργίας, ποτὲ μὲν ὁρῶ ἐμαυτὸν μὴ ἔχοντα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ
μου λιπότητα,4 ποτὲ δὲ προθυμίαν; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Πῶς οὖν
φανήσεται ἄνθρωπος ὅτι ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Θεόν; Εἶπε δὲ πάλιν ὁ γέρων· Ἐμοῦ
τέως οὐκ ἐβάσταξε τὸ σῶμα πεῖσαι πᾶσαν μου τὴν προαίρεσιν.
1
τὸ corr] τῷ C V 2
θερα. . . ! lacuna apud C 3
ἡμάρτωμεν V
4
λιπότητα] λειπότητα S
N.661 533
are doing.” He said: “Call the brother”, and the abba said to him: “Why
are you upsetting the brothers?” and he answered: “I have sinned, forgive
me and pray for me”, and the abba said to the brothers: “What did you say
this brother is doing?” and they said: “He is a sorcerer and his sorcery is in
his girdle”, and the abba said: “Get his sorcery out.” When he would not
allow them to loosen his girdle, the abba gave the order and they cut it.
Then the piece of paper was found; the abba committed it to one of the
deacons and ordered him to stand in an elevated place and read it, saying:
“This is so that, in this also, the devil shall be put to shame, he who teaches
sorcery to men.” Then the piece of paper was read to the brothers, and the
[phrase]: “In the name of Jesus Christ, the son of God, I am remaining.”
The brothers (or rather, the devil) were put to shame; they prostrated
themselves before the abba, saying: “We have sinned.” The abba said to
them: “Are you prostrating yourselves before me? Prostrate yourselves
before God and before the brother”, while to the brother the abba said:
“Let us pray God to forgive them”, and they began praying for them.
N.661/693
A brother asked an elder: “Why is it that, when I am performing my little
acts of worship, sometimes I am aware that there is no fatness* in my heart,
sometimes no eagerness?” The elder said to him: “How will it become
apparent to a man that he loves God?” – and then the elder said: “My body
never yet accepted to obey all I required of it.”
* Cf. N.673.
662. Γέρων τις Σκητιώτης ἔμενεν1 εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Παϊσίου2 καὶ [S f.
311rb] ἠνέχθη αὐτῷ τις τοῦ παλατίου δαιμονιζόμενος καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν
αὐτόν. Καὶ προσήνεγκεν αὐτῷ3 θαλλὶν4 μεστὸν χρυσοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων
οὖκ ἤθελε δέξασθαι. Ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὸν λυπούμενον ἐκράτησε τὸ θαλλὶν
κοῦφον καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τὸ χρυσίον δὲ δὸς τοῖς πτωχοῖς ἀγάπην. Καὶ
ἐποίησεν ὁ γέρων τὸ θαλλὶν κολόβιν – ἦν γὰρ τρίχινον καὶ σκληρόν – καὶ
ἐπὶ χρόνον πολὺν ἐφόρεσεν αὐτό, ἵνα κατατρίψῃ τὰς σάρκας αὐτοῦ.
663. Ἀδελφός τις ἀπῆλθεν ἀγοράσαι λινάρια ἀπὸ χήρας τινὸς [V f.274r]
καὶ ὡς πωλεῖ5 αὐτῷ6 ἀνεστέναξε. Λέγει7 αὐτῇ ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί ἔχεις; Λέγει
αὐτῷ ἡ χήρα· Ὁ Θεὸς ἔπεμψέ σε σήμερον οἰκονομῆσαι8 τοὺς ἀδελφούς
σου καὶ ὀρφανούς μου. Καὶ ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐκεῖνος ἐλυπήθη καὶ
ἔλαβε λινάρια ἐκ τοῦ πλαγίου αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρριψεν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τῆς
χήρας, καὶ οὕτως ἐποίησε πρὸς αὐτὴν χάριν.
664. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί ἐστιν ἡ ζωὴ τοῦ μοναχοῦ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη·

Στόμα ἀληθινόν [f.311va], σῶμα ἅγιον, καρδία καθαρά.
665. Ἔλεγε γέρων ὅτι οἱ πατέρες τῇ ἀποτομίᾳ εἰσῆλθον ἔσω· ἡμεῖς δέ,
ἐὰν δυνηθῶμεν, τῇ χρηστότητι εἰσέλθομεν.9
666. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ὑπερέχιος· μοναχὸς ἄγρυπνος παρεδρεύων

εὐχαῖς10 καὶ δεήσεσιν ἡμέραν τὴν νύκτα ἀπεργάζεται,11 νύσσων δὲ12
καρδίαν αὐτοῦ προχέει δάκρυον καὶ13 οὐρανόθεν προκαλεῖται14 ἔλεος.
667. Εἶπε πάλιν· Ξηρὸν ὑπὸ νηστείας σῶμα μοναχοῦ ψυχὴν ἐκ βυθῶν
ἀνιμᾶται, καὶ ξηραίνει ὀχετοὺς ἡδoνῶν νηστεία μοναχοῦ.
1
ἔμεινεν V 2
Παησίου V 3
αὐτῷ] -ὸ S 4
θαλλὶν] θαλὶν S] θαλλίον V (semper)
5
πωλεῖ corr] πολεῖ S, ἐπώλει V 6
αὐτῷ] αὐτὰ V 7
λέγει] καὶ λέγει V
8
οἰκονομῆσαι] add V in marg. 9
εἰσέλθομεν] εἰσέλθωμεν S, V
10
παρεδρεύων εὐχαῖς] εὐχαῖς παρεδρεύων V
11
ἡμέραν τὴν νύκτα ἀπεργάζεται post Ὑπερέχιος trsp V 12
δὲ] τὴν add V 13
καὶ] οm S
14
προσκαλεῖται V
N.662–7 535
N.662/694
There was an elder of Scete dwelling at the mount of [Abba] Paesios; a
person from the palace was brought to him possessed of a demon and he
healed him. The person offered him a basket full of gold, but the elder did
not want to accept it. Seeing the person distressed, he retained the empty
basket, telling him: “Give the gold as relief for the poor.” The elder made a
tunic of the basket – it was hard and hairy – and wore it for a long time so
it would wear down his flesh.
N.663/695
A brother went to buy flax from a widow; she sighed as she sold it to him.
“What is the matter with you?” the brother said to her. “God has sent you
today to minister to your brothers, my orphans”, the widow said to him –
and that brother was distressed to hear this. Taking some flax out of his
shoulder-bag he tossed it into the widow’s lap; in this way he gave her joy.
N.664/696
An elder was asked: “What is the life of a monk?” and he replied: “It is a
mouth that speaks the truth, a holy body and a pure heart.”
N.665/697
An elder said that the fathers entered within by harshness, but we enter by
gentleness if we are able to do so.
N.666/3.35
Abba Hyperechios said: “The monk who keeps watch and is fervent in
prayer and intercessions turns night into day. By piercing his heart he
pours forth tears and calls down mercy from heaven.”
N.667 (cf. N.4.55 and 2 Kg 6:7)

He also said: “The monk’s body, dried up by fasting, raises the soul up
from the depths; fasting dries up a monk’s channels of delight.”
668. Εἶπε γέρων· Τὸν τῆς γαστριμαργίας δαίμονα ὑπερτίθου λέγων
αὐτῷ·1 Μεῖνον, οὐ γὰρ πεινάσεις.2 Σεμνῶς μᾶλλον ἔσθιε, καὶ ὅσον ἐπείγει,
πλέον σὺ μᾶλλον3 ὁμαλῶς ἔσθιε. Οὕτω γὰρ ἐπείγει τινὰ ὡς θέλειν4 ἀπὸ
μιᾶς πάντα φαγεῖν.
669. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ὑπερέχιος· Ὕμνος πνευματικὸς ἤτω ἐν στόματί σου

καὶ μελέτη ἐπικουφιζέτω σοι τὸ βάρος τῶν ἐπερχομένων πειρασμῶν
[f. 311vb]. Ὑπόδειγμα δὲ τούτου σαφές, ὁδοιπόρος βαρυαχθήσας καὶ
ᾄσματι κλέπτων τῆς ὁδοιπορίας τὸν κόπον.
670. Εἶπε πάλιν· Δέον ἐστὶν ἡμᾶς5 πρὸ τῶν πειρασμῶν ἑαυτοὺς
καθοπλίζειν· ἥξουσι γάρ. Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἐπερχομένων αὐτῶν δόκιμοι
ἀναφανησόμεθα.
671. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμήν· Πάντως ὁ ἐπιδικαζόμενος [V f. 274b] τῆς

φιλίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀφίσταται τῆς φιλίας τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν6
καλὸν τὸ πᾶσιν ἀρέσκειν· Οὐαί, γάρ φησιν, ὅταν καλῶς εἴπωσιν ὑμᾶς
πάντες οἱ7 ἄνθρωποι.
672. Ἔλεγον περὶ τῶν Σκητιωτῶν ὅτι, εἰ8 κατελάμβανέ τις τὴν ἀρετὴν
αὐτῶν, οὐκέτι ὡς ἀρετὴν εἶχον αὐτήν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἁμαρτίαν.
673. Εἶπε γέρων· Τὸ ἀνθρώπινον9 φρόνημα πᾶσαν τὴν πιότητα τοῦ

ἀνθρώπου ἀναιρεῖ καὶ ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν ξηρόν.
1
αὐτῷ] om S V 2
πεινάσεις] καὶ add V 3
μᾶλλον om V 4
θέλειν S] θέλων V
5
ἡμᾶς] ὑ- V 6
οὖν om V 7
οἱ om V 8
εἰ] ἡ V
9
Τὸ ἀνθρώπινον] ἡ ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια Sys 8.23
N.668–73 537
N.668 (cf. N.4.62)

An elder said: “Get the better of the demon of gluttony, saying to him:
‘wait, for you will not be famished’, and eat with restraint. The more he
coerces you, do you consistently eat with restraint. This is how he coerces a
person into wanting to eat everything from the first hour [of the day].”
N.669/7.27
Abba Hyperechios said: “Let there be a spiritual hymn in your mouth and
let meditation lighten the weight of the temptations that assail you. A clear
example of this is one who toils along heavily laden and relieves the
weariness of the journey with a song.”
N.670/7.28
He also said: “We must arm ourselves prior to temptations, for they will
come, and in this way we will be clearly seen to be ready for them when
they come upon us.”
N.671/8.17
Abba Poemen said: “Certainly he who seeks exclusively the friendship of
men distances himself from the friendship of God, so it is not a good thing
to please everybody. ‘Woe unto you’, he says ‘when all men shall speak
well of you’ [Lk 6:26].”
N.672/8.28
They said of the Scetiotes that, if anybody took cognisance of their virtue,
they would no longer regard it as virtue but as sin.
N.673/8.29
An elder said: “Human thought removes all the [spiritual] fat [cf. Ps 62:6]
from a man and leaves him dried out.”
674. Ἔλεγε γέρων περὶ τοῦ Μωϋσῆ ὅτι, ὅτε ἐπάταξε τὸν Αἰγύπτιον,
προσέσχεν ὧδε καὶ ὧδε καὶ οὐδένα ἔβλεπε, τουτέστι τοῖς λογισμοῖς
ἑαυτοῦ1 καὶ εἶδεν ὅτι οὐδὲν [f. 312ra] κακὸν βλέπει ἑαυτὸν ποιοῦντα, ἀλλὰ
διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἦν ποιῶν, καὶ οὕτως ἐπάταξε τὸν Αἰγύπτιον.
675. Ἔλεγε γέρων περὶ τοῦ ῥητοῦ τοῦ ἐν τῷ Ψαλμῷ· Καὶ θήσομαι ἐν
θαλάσσῃ χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν ποταμοῖς δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι περὶ τοῦ
Σωτῆρος· ἡ ἀριστερὰ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν τουτέστιν ὁ κόσμος, τὸ δὲ
ἐν ποταμοῖς δεξιὰν αὐτοῦ, οὗτοι εἰσὶν οἱ ἀπόστολοι οἱ ποτίζοντες τὸν
κόσμον διὰ τῆς πίστεως.
676. Εἶπέ τις τῶν πατέρων· Τὸ καθαρὸν ζῷον, φησί, ἀναμαρυκᾶται τὴν
τροφὴν καὶ διώνυχόν ἐστιν. Οὕτω καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὁ καλῶς πιστεύων καὶ
δεχόμενος τὰς δύο διαθήκας, ἅπερ ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ ἐκκλησίᾳ εὑρίσκεται, ἐν δὲ
ταῖς αἱρέσεσι διαφόρως ἐλλείπει. Ὀφείλει δὲ2 ἄνθρωπος τὴν μὲν καλὴν
τροφὴν ἀναμαρυκᾶσθαι, τὴν δὲ φαύλην οὐχί. Ἔστι δὲ ἡ ἐπωφελὴς τροφὴ
λογισμοὶ ἀγαθοί, παράδοσις διδασκάλων ἁγίων3 καὶ εἴ τι ἕτερον, ἡ δὲ
πονηρὰ τροφὴ λογισμοὶ φαῦλοι [f. 312rb] ἐν διαφόροις ἁμαρτίαις καὶ
σφάλμασιν ἀνθρώπων [V f. 274v end].
677. Εἶπε γέρων ὅτι ἐὰν ῥῆμα ἀνέλθῃ4 ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀδελφοῦ καθημένου
ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ ἐπιδράμῃ τῷ ῥήματι ὁ ἀδελφὸς μὴ φθάσας εἰς τὸ μέτρον
μηδὲ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ἑλκόμενος, ἵστανται οἱ δαίμονες καὶ δεικνύουσιν αὐτῷ τὸ
ῥητὸν ὡς βούλεται.
678. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμήν ὅτι ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ τέλος ἐστὶν ὁ φόβος τοῦ
Θεοῦ. Οὕτω γὰρ γέγραπται· Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου. Πάλιν Ἀβραάμ,
ὅτε ἐτέλεσε τὸ θυσιαστήριον, εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος· Νῦν οἶδα ὅτι φοβῇ σὺ
τὸν Θεόν.
1
ἑαυτοῦ] αὐτοῦ V 2
δὲ] δὲ ὁ V 3
διδασκάλων ἁγίων] ἁγίων διδασκάλων V
4
ἀνέλθῃ] ἀνέλθει C
N.674–8 539
N.674/10.145
An elder said concerning Moses: “When he slew the Egyptian, he looked
this way and that and he saw no man (that is, he looked into his thoughts
and perceived that he was doing nothing wrong, but was acting on behalf
of God), then ‘he slew the Egyptian’ [Ex 2:12].”
N.675/10.146
An elder said concerning the saying written in the Psalms: “I will establish
his hand in the sea and his right hand in the rivers” [Ps 88:26] that this
refers to the Saviour. His left hand in the sea, that means the world; “and
his right hand in the rivers” – those are the Apostles who water the world
by faith.
N.676 = N.645/10.151
One of the fathers said: “It says [Lv 11:3–4] that the clean beast chews its
food and has a cloven hoof. So it is for the man who believes well and
accepts the two Testaments, [believing] what is found in the holy church
but is left aside in various ways among the heresies. A man should
ruminate on the good food, not at all on the bad. The beneficial food is
good thoughts, the tradition of the holy teachers and anything else [like
that]. The bad food is bad thoughts involved in various sins and men’s
iniquities.”
N.677 = N.646/10.164
An elder said: “If a saying suggests itself to the heart of a brother residing in
a cell and the brother makes light of it, neither able to measure up to it nor
drawn by God, the demons are at hand and show him the saying in the
sense he wishes.”
N.678 = N.647/11.60
Abba Poemen said that the fear of God is the beginning and the end, for so
it is written: “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” [Ps 110:10]
and again when Abraham had completed the altar, the Lord said to him:
“Now I know that you fear God” [Gen 22:12].
679. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ὑπερέχιος· Ἡ ἐνθύμησίς σου διαπαντὸς ἔστω ἐν τῇ
βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ ἐν τάχει κληρονομήσεις αὐτήν.
680. Εἶπε πάλιν· Ζωὴ μοναχοῦ κατὰ μίμησιν ἀγγέ[f. 352rb]λου

γινέσθω1 καταφλέγουσα ἁμαρτίας.
681. Εἶπε γέρων· Σπούδασον ἐπιμελῶς μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν, ἵνα μὴ τὸν

συνοικοῦντά σοι Θεὸν ὑβρίσῃς καὶ διώξῃς ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς σου.
682. Ἔλεγε γέρων ὅτι οὐ δεῖ μεριμνᾶν οὐδέν, εἰ μὴ τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Ἔλεγε γὰρ ὅτι, κἂν ἀναγκασθῶ μεριμνῆσαι περὶ χρείας σαρκικῆς, οὐδέ-
ποτε πρὸ τοῦ καιροῦ ἐλογισάμην αὐτήν.
683. Εἶπε γέρων· Ὥσπερ ὁ στρατιώτης καὶ ὁ κυνηγὸς ἀπερχόμενοι εἰς

τὸν ἀγῶνα οὐ φροντίζουσιν εἰ τιτρώσκεται ἄλλος ἢ σώζεται, ἀλλ᾿ ἕκαστος
ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ μόνου ἀγωνιᾷ, οὕτως χρὴ εἶναι τὸν μοναχόν.
684. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου ὧν πράττω, ἐννοῶ εἰς τὸν
καρπὸν αὐτοῦ τί τέξεται, εἴτε ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς, εἴτε ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν.
685. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἀδελφοί, νήψωμεν, γρηγορήσωμεν, προσευχαῖς

σχολάσωμεν, ἵνα σωθῶμεν, τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ Θεῷ ποιοῦντες. Ὁ στρατιώτης
εἰσιὼν ἐν πολέμῳ μόνης τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ φροντίζει· ὁμοίως [f. 352va] καὶ ὁ
κυνηγός. Ὁμοιωθῶμεν οὖν αὐτοῖς· ὁ κατὰ Θεὸν ζῶν σὺν αὐτῷ ζῇ·
Ἐνοικήσω γάρ, φησιν, ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν Θεὸς
καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι λαός.
1
γινέσθω C S] γενέσθω V
N.679–85 541
N.679 = N.648/11.76 Hyperechios 7

Abba Hyperechios said: “Let your thought be always of the Kingdom of
Heaven and you will soon inherit it.”
N.680 = N.649/11.77
He also said: “Let the life of a monk be in imitation of an angel, inciner-
ating sins.”
N.681 = N.650/11.82
An elder said: “Make a diligent effort not to sin, to avoid offending the
God who lives with you and driving him out of your soul.”
N.682 = N.651/11.93
An elder said that one should “take no thought” [cf. Mt 6:23ff] for
anything other than the fear of God. And he said: “If I were compelled
to ‘take thought’ for some bodily necessity, I never gave it a thought before
I had to.”
N.683 = N.267/11.94
N.684 = N.652/11.97
An elder said: “From a small to a large task I perform, I consider its
product and what is going to be brought forth, whether in thoughts or in
deeds.”
N.685 = N.653/11.112
An elder said: “Brothers, let us be sober, vigilant [cf. 1 Pt 5:8] and attentive
to prayers so that, doing the things that are pleasing to God, we may be
saved. The soldier going to war is only concerned for his own life, the
hunter likewise; let us be like them. He who lives according to God lives
with him, for he says: “I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be
their God and they shall be my people” [2 Cor 6:16].
686. Ἦλθεν ποτὲ ἀδελφὸς οἰκῶν εἰς Τὰ Κελλία πρὸς ἕνα τῶν πατέρων
[S f. 312 vb] καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ λογισμὸν ὅτι ἐθλίβετο. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Σὺ ἀφῆκας τὸ μέγα ἐργαλεῖον1 χαμαί, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ,2
καὶ ἔλαβες σεαυτῷ κατέχειν καλαμίνην ῥάβδον, τουτέστι λογισμοὺς
πονηρούς. Μᾶλλον λάβε σεαυτῷ πῦρ,3 ὅ ἐστιν ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ
ἡνίκα ἔρχεταί4 σοι ἐγγίσαι, ὡς καλάμη καίεται ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός. Οὐ γὰρ
ἰσχύει πονηρία κατὰ τοῦ ἔχοντος τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
687. Τίς ποτε ἀνασείστης5 ὁδεύων εὗρεν γέροντα μοναχὸν ἔν τινι

κελλίῳ μόνον καθήμενον. Ἤρξατο οὖν [f. 352vb?] ὁ ἀνασείστης6 βάλλειν
αὐτῷ εὐχὰς καὶ λέγειν· Ἐλέησον ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ταπεινὸν τοῦτον μὴ εἰδὼς τίς
ἐστιν. Καὶ ὑποστρέψας πάλιν τοῦτο ἐποίησεν καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου ἐδικαιώθη.
Τοῦτο δὲ διηγήσατο ὁ γέρων διά τινας τῶν παραβαλλόντων λέγειν τοῖς
γέρουσιν: ὁ Θεὸς ὑμᾶς φυλάξει δι᾿ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἁμαρτωλούς, ἵνα πληρ-
οφορηθῶσιν ὅτι μισθὸν ἔχουσι περὶ τούτου.
688. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἡ γῆ ἐν ᾗ ἐνετείλ[S f. 313ra]ατο Κύριος θυσίας ποιεῖν,

αὕτη ἐστιν ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη.
689. Ἀδελφὸς εἶπε γέροντι· Ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς εἰσάξῃ λόγους ἔξωθεν πρός με,
θέλεις, ἀββᾶ, εἰπῶ7 αὐτῷ, ἵνα μή μοι8 αὐτοὺς9 φέρει;10 Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Μή, καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Διατί; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Καθότι οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς
ἠδυνήθημεν τοῦτο φυλάξαι μήποτε λέγοντες [C f. 353ra] τῷ πλησίον μὴ
ποιεῖν τοῦτο, εὑρεθῶμεν ἡμεῖς μετὰ ποιοῦντες αὐτό. Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί
οὖν δεῖ ποιεῖν; Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν θέλωμεν τὸ σιωπᾶν, ὁ τρόπος
ἀρκεῖ11 τῷ πλησίον.
690. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί ἐστι ταπείνωσις; Ὁ δὲ12 εἶπεν· Ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ13

εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου καὶ συγχωρήσῃς αὐτῷ πρὸ τοῦ σοὶ μετανοήσει.14
691. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἐν παντὶ πειρασμῷ μὴ μέμφου ἄνθρωπον ἀλλὰ

σεαυτὸν λέγων ὅτι διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας μου ταῦτα μοι συμβαίνει.
1
ἐργαλεῖον] ἐργαλεῖον Θεοῦ S 2
τοῦ Θεοῦ] αὐτοῦ S 3
πῦρ] τὸ πῦρ S V
4
ἔρχεταί] ἔρχηταί S 5
ἀνασίστης C S 6
ἀνασίστης C S 7
εἰπῶ C] εἴπω S V
8
μοι om V 9
αὐτοὺς] τοὺς V 10
φέρει C V] φέρῃ S
11
ὁ τρόπος ἀρκεῖ C V] καὶ ὁ τρόπος ἡμῶν ἀρκεῖ S 12
Ὁ δὲ C S] καὶ V
13
ἁμάρτῃ] ἁμαρτήσῃ S V
14
συγχωρήσῃς αὐτῷ, πρὸ τοῦ σοὶ μετανοήσει] συγχωρήσῃς αὐτῷ, πρὸ τοῦ σοὶ μετανοῆσαι V] πρὶν
ἢ μετανοῆσαί σοι αὐτὸν συγχωρήσῃς αὐτῷ S
N.686–91 543
N.686 = N.654/11.117
A brother living at The Cells once came to one of the fathers and told him
about a thought by which he was troubled. Said the elder to him: “You left
the great implement, the fear of God that is, [lying] on the ground and
elected to keep for yourself a reed (wicked thoughts, that is) for a rod. Do
you rather take for yourself fire (the fear of God, that is) and when [an evil
thought] comes to approach you it is burnt up by the fire like a reed; for
evil has no power against him who possesses fear of God.”
N.687 = N.655
A travelling trouble-maker once found an elderly monk living alone in a
cell so the trouble-maker began offering prayers for him and to say: “God
have mercy on this wretch”, not knowing who it was. He did it again on
the way back and, for this, he was justified. The elder narrated this on
account of some visitors saying to the elders: “God protect you for us
sinners”, that they might be assured that they have their reward on this
account.
N.688 = N.656/15.55
An elder said: “The ground which the Lord commanded [us] to till
[Gen 3:23], that is humble-mindedness.”
N.689 = N.657 [N.303]; N.690 = N.658 [N.304];

N.691 = N.659 [N.305]
692. Εἶπε γέρων· Οὐδέποτε τὴν τάξιν μου παρέβην εἰς ὕψος περιπα-
τῆσαι, οὐδὲ καταχθεὶς1 εἰς ταπείνωσιν ἐταράχθην [S f. 313rb]. Ἡ γὰρ
φροντίς μου πᾶσα δέεσθαί με τοῦ Θεοῦ ἕως2 ἐξαγάγῃ με τοῦ παλαιοῦ
ἀνθρώπου.
693. [S lacunosa] Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Ποιμένα διὰ τὰ πάθη τὰ

[f. 353rb] σωματικά.3 Λέγει αὐτῷ· Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ᾄδοντες4 τὴν εἰκόνα5
Ναβουχοδονόσωρ,6 εἰ μὴ γὰρ οἱ αὐλοῦντες ἐσαμβύκησαν7 τοῖς ἀνθρώ-
ποις, οὐκ ἂν προσεκύνησαν τῇ εἰκόνι. Οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἔχθρα ᾄδει τῇ ψυχῇ ἐν
τοῖς παθήμασιν, εἰ ἄρα ἀπατήσειεν αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς πάθεσι τοῖς σωματικοῖς.
694. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Παλλάδιος· Δεῖ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν ἀσκουμένην ψυχὴν ἢ
μανθάνειν πιστῶς ἃ οὐκ οἶδεν, ἢ διδάσκειν σαφῶς ἃ ἔγνω. Εἰ δὲ ὁπότερον
οὐ βούλεται, μανίαν νοσεῖ. Ἀρχὴ γὰρ ἀποστασίας διδασκαλίας κόρος καὶ
ἀνορεξία λόγου,8 ὧν ἀεὶ πεινᾷ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ φιλοθέου.
695. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἐὰν ἴδῃς ἀδελφὸν ἁμαρτήσαντα, μὴ εἰς αὐτὸν λάβῃς
τὴν αἰτίαν, ἀλλὰ εἰς τὸν πολεμοῦντα αὐτὸν καὶ λέγε [C f. 353va]· ὡς οὗτος9
ἡττήθη, οὕτως κἀγώ, καὶ κλαῖε καὶ ζήτει τὴν βοήθειαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ
συμπάθει τῷ ἀκουσίως παθόντι.10 Οὐδεὶς γὰρ θέλει ἁμαρτῆσαι εἰς τὸν
Θεόν, ἀλλὰ πάντες ἀπατώμεθα.
696.11 Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Εὐάγριος· ἐὰν12 ἀθυμῇς, προσεύχου καθὼς

γέγραπται· προσεύχου δὲ ἐμφόβως, ἐντρόμως,13 ἐμπόνως, νηφαλέως τε
καὶ γρηγορότως· οὕτως προσεύχεσθαι δεῖ,14 μάλιστα διὰ τοὺς κακοτρό-
πους καὶ κακοσχόλους τοὺς15 ἐπηρεάζειν ἡμᾶς θέλοντας ἐν τούτῳ τοὺς
ἀοράτους ἡμῶν λέγω16 ἔχθρους.
1
καταχθεὶς C S] καταταχθεὶς V 2
ἕως] ἂν add C V 3
σωματικὰ] καὶ add V
4
ἄδοντες] εἰς add C 5
εἰκόνα] εἰκόνα τοῦ S 6
Ναβουχοδονόσορ S V
7
ἐσαμβύκησαν S] ἐξαμβύκησαν C] ἐζαμβάκισαν V
8
ἀνορεξία λόγου C V] ἀνορεξίας λόγος S 9
ὡς οὕτος !] Codd S V
10
καὶ συμπάθει τῷ ἀκουσίως παθόντι C unclear/Sys 11.114. . . πεσόντι 11
Codd S V
12
ὁ ἐὰν] ὅτ’ἄν V 13
ἐντρόμως post ἐμπόνως trsp V
14
νηφαλέως τε καὶ γρηγορότως· οὕτως προσεύχεσθαι δεῖ] οm V 15
τοὺς om V
16
λέγω] οm V
N.692–6 545
N.692 = N.660/15.80
An elder said: “I have never stepped out of my rank to give myself airs nor
was I troubled when sunk in humiliation; for my entire concern is for me
to pray to God until he draw me out [of the reach] of the old man.”
N.693 = N.661/10.84
Α brother asked Abba Poemen about physical passions. He said to him:
“These are they who sing at the statue of Nebuchadnezzar, for if the flute-
players had not fluted for the people, they would not have adored the
statue [cf. Dn 4:5]. Thus the enemy sings to the soul in the passions, [to
see] whether he can lead it astray through physical passions.”
N.694 = N.662/10.96
Abba Palladius said: “The soul which is in training for God must either
faithfully learn that which it does not know or teach plainly what it does
know. If it wants to do neither, it is suffering from a derangement, for the
beginning of apostasy is disdain for teaching and lack of appetite for [the]
word – the things for which the God-loving soul ever pines.”
N.695 = N.663/11.114
An elder said: “If you see a brother who has sinned, do not blame him for
it, but [blame] the one who fights against him, and say: ‘As he was
defeated, so too could I be.’ Weep and seek the help of God. Nobody
wants to sin against God but we are all led astray.”
N.696 = N.664/12.4
Abba Evagrius said: “If you become despondent, pray as it is written: ‘Pray
with fear and trembling; with effort and sobriety and with watchfulness’
[cf. 1 Pt 5:8]. That is how one should pray, especially against the malignant
and mischievous ones who wish to treat us despitefully in this way: I mean
our invisible enemies.”
697. Εἶπε πάλιν· ὅταν λογισμὸς ἐπιστῇ τῇ καρδίᾳ πολέμιος, μὴ ἄλλα
ἀντ᾿ ἄλλων δι’ εὐχῆς ζήτει, κατὰ δὲ τοῦ πολεμίου τὸ ξίφος τῶν δακρύων
ἀκόνα.
698. Εἶπε γέρων· ἀδελφοί, ἀρχὴν τῶν μαθητῶν1 αὐτοῦ ὁ Σωτὴρ θλί2
[C f. 353vb]ψιν καὶ στενοχωρίαν ἔσχεν. Ὁ δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν φεύγων, ἔφυγε
γνῶσιν Θεοῦ. Ὡς γὰρ τὰ γράμματα ἀρχὴν παιδεύσεως τοῖς παιδίοις
δίδωσι τοῦ εἰδέναι ἐπιστήμην, οὕτως3 καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς ἐν κόποις καὶ
θλίψεσιν ὑπακοὴν ἔχων, γί[S, f. 313vb]νεται Χριστοῦ συγκληρονόμος καὶ
υἱὸς Θεοῦ.
699. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ὑπερέχιος· Δένδρον ζωῆς εἰς ὕψος ἐγειρόμενον4 ἐστὶ
ταπεινοφροσύνη.
700. Εἶπε γέρων· Θέλω διδαχθῆναι ἢ διδάξαι.
701. Εἶπε πάλιν· Μὴ δίδασκε πρὸ καιροῦ, εἰ δὲ μὴ ὅλον τὸν χρόνον σου
ἔσῃ ἐλαττούμενος ἐν συνέσει.
702. Εἶπεν ὁ μακάριος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος· Καθεζομένου σου εἰς

ἀνάγνωσιν λογίων Θεοῦ, πρῶτον ἐπικάλεσαι αὐτὸν ἵνα διανοίξῃ5 τοὺς
ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας σου εἰς τὸ μὴ μόνον ἀναγινώσκειν τὰ γεγραμμένα
ἀλλὰ καὶ ποιεῖν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς κρῖμα ἑαυτῶν· τοὺς τῶν ἁγίων βίους καὶ λόγους
διεξερχώμεθα.
1
μαθητῶν S V (C illegible) 2
Εἶπε γέρων. . . Σωτὴρ θλί] non habet C
3
οὕτως C] οὕτω S V 4
εἰς ὕψος ἐγειρόμενον C S] ἐγειρόμενον εἰς ὕψος V
5
tacet C; ! Codd SV
N.697–702 547
N.697 = N.665/12.5
Again he said: “When an adverse thought arises in the heart, do not seek
some things through prayer to replace others but sharpen the sword of
tears against the adversary.”
N.698 = N.666/14.26
An elder said: “Brothers, the Saviour had affliction and tribulation as the
beginning of his teachings. He who flees from the beginning was fleeing
from knowledge of God. Just as, to begin instruction, they give letters to
children so they can become educated, likewise the monk, acquiring
obedience through labours and afflictions, becomes co-heir with Christ
and a son of God.”
N.699 = N.667/15.67
Abba Hyperechios said: “Humble-mindedness is a tree of life raised up on
high.”
N.700 = N.668/15.101
An elder said: “I would rather be taught than teach.”
N.701 = N.669/15.102
Again he said: “Do not teach before [it is] time otherwise you will be of
limited understanding all your time.”
N.702 = N.670 (incomplete)

The blessed John Chrysostom said: “When you are sitting to read the
sayings of God, first call upon him to open the eyes of your heart so as not
only to read what is written but to do it too lest it be to our own
condemnation. Let us go through the lives and sayings of the saints in
detail.”
703. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μωϋσῆς· Ὁ ἔχων ἔγγιστα αὐτοῦ τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ
ἀδολεσχῶν εἰς αὐτὸν καλῶς ποιεῖ μὴ εἰσφέρων ἄνθρωπον εἰς τὸ κελλίον
αὐτοῦ.
704 = 500
705. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε· Τί ἐστιν ἡ γεωργία τῆς ψυχῆς ἵνα καρποφορ-

ήσῃ [f. 314ra]; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἡ γεωργία τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστὶν ἡ
ἡσυχία τοῦ σώματος καὶ πολλὴ εὐχὴ σωματικὴ καὶ τὸ μὴ προσέχειν
πταίσμασιν ἀνθρώπων ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μόνοις. Ἐὰν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὑπο-
μείνῃ ἐν τούτοις, οὐ χρονίζει1 ἕως οὗ καρποφορήσῃ αὐτοῦ ἡ ψυχή.
705bis. Ἀδελφὸς2 ἠρώτησε· Τί ἐστιν ἡ προκοπὴ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; Καὶ

ἀπεκρίθη ὁ3 γέρων· Ταπείνωσις· ἄλλη γὰρ προκοπὴ οὐκ ἔστιν. Ἐν ὅσῳ
γὰρ καταγίνεται4 εἰς ταπείνωσιν, ἀνάγεται εἰς ὕψος.
706. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Πῶς κτᾶται ἡ ψυχὴ ταπείνωσιν;5 Ἀπεκρίθη·

Ἐὰν τὰ ἑαυτῆς καὶ μόνα μεριμνήσῃ κακά.
707. Εἶπε γέρων ὅτι ὁ ἁμαρτήσας τῷ6 Θεῷ ὀφείλει ἀποχωρῆσαι

ἑαυτὸν ἀπὸ πάσης ἀγάπης ἀνθρώπου, ἕως οὗ πληροφορηθῇ ὅτι ἐγένετο
φίλος αὐτοῦ ὁ Θεός. Ἡ γὰρ ἀγάπη τῶν ἀνθρώπων κωλύει ἡμᾶς τῆς
ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ.
708. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Λογγίνου ὅτι διεβλήθη αὐτῷ ποτέ τις τῶν
μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ, ἵνα δι[f. 314rb]ώξῃ αὐτόν. Καὶ ἐλθόντες οἱ7 περὶ τὸν
ἀββᾶν Θεόδωρον, εἶπον αὐτῷ· Ἀββᾶ, ἀκούομεν περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τούτου
τι ποτὲ πρᾶγμα καὶ κελεύεις λαμβάνομεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ σοῦ καὶ βάλλομέν σοι
καλλίω; Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐ διώκω αὐτόν· ἀναπαύει με γάρ. Ὡς
δὲ ἤκουσε τὴν αἰτίαν ὁ γέρων, εἶπεν· Οὐαί μοι, ὅτι ἐρχόμεθα ὧδε γενέσθαι
ἄγγελοι καὶ γινόμεθα ἄλογα ἀκάθαρτα.
1
χρονίζει] χρονιεῖ V 2
Ἀδελφὸς] om S 3
ὁ om V
4
καταγίνεται S] κατάγεται V 5
ταπείνωσιν] καὶ add V 6
τῷ] om S
7
οἱ] γέροντες add V
N.703–8 549
N.703/2.31
Abba Moses said: “He who is very close to Jesus and interrelates with him
does well not to bring anybody into his cell.”
N.704 = N.500
N.705/11.124
A brother asked: “What is the husbandry of the soul that it might bear
fruit?” and the elder answered: “The husbandry of the soul is the hêsychia
of the body and much physical prayer and to pay no attention to the faults
of men, only to one’s own. If a man persists in these, it will not be long
before his soul bears fruit.”
N.705bis
A brother asked: “What is the progress of man?” and the elder replied:
“Being humbled. There is no other progress. To the extent that one is
brought low in humility one is raised on high.”
N.706 = N.107; N.707 = N.556, finis
N.708/16.7
They used to say of Abba Longinus that one of his disciples was once
slandered to him so he would send him away. Those associated with Abba
Theodore came and said to him: “Abba, we are hearing such-and-such
about this brother; do you bid us to take him away from you and make
things better for you?” But the elder said to them: “I am not sending him
away, for he gives me repose.” When the elder [Theodore] heard the
reason, he said: “Ah me! We come here to become angels and we are
becoming unclean beasts.”
709. Ἔλεγον πάλιν περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι τίς ποτε ναύκληρος ἤνεγκεν αὐτῷ
χρυσίον ἐκ τοῦ πόρου1 τῶν πλοίων αὐτοῦ προσφέρων2 αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ οὐκ
ἤθελε δέξασθαι ἀλλ᾿ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Τῶν τοιούτων3 ὧδε οὐκ ἔστι χρεία, ἀλλὰ
ποίησον ἀγάπην. Ἄνελθε τὸ ζῷον4 σου καὶ σπούδασον καταλαβεῖν τὴν
διαβάθραν τοῦ ἁγίου Πέτρου καὶ εὑρήσεις νεώτερόν τινα φοροῦντα ἱμάτια
τοιάδε, καὶ5 ὅλον6 αὐτῷ δὸς τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ἐρώτησον αὐτόν· Τί ἐστιν ὃ
ἔχει [f. 314va]; Σπουδάσας οὖν ὁ ναύκληρος καὶ ἀπελθὼν εὗρε καθὼς εἶπεν7
ὁ γέρων. Καὶ ἠρώτησεν αὐτόν· Ποῦ ἀπέρχῃ, ἀδελφέ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη·8[. . .]
Ἐν τῷ Ἐννάτῳ ἤμην πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Λογγῖνον καὶ αὐτὸς ἔπεμψέ με πρὸς
σέ, ἵνα δώσω σοι τὸ χρυσίον τοῦτο. Τότε ὁ νεώτερος ἀκούσας καὶ τὰ περὶ
τοῦ ἀββᾶ Λογγίνου, διηγήσατο αὐτῷ τὴν θλῖψιν αὐτοῦ· ὅτι ἐγὼ εἰς
χρήματα πολλὰ σύρομαι καὶ μὴ εὐπορῶν ἐξέρχομαι ἔξω τῆς πόλεως
ἀγχόνῃ χρήσασθαι. Ἵνα δὲ πιστεύσῃς, ἰδοὺ καὶ τὸ σχοινίον ὃ ἐβάστασα,
καὶ ἐξενέγκας ἐκ τοῦ κόλπου αὐτοῦ, ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ. Καὶ δοὺς αὐτῷ τὸ
χρυσίον ὁ ναύκληρος ἐπέτρεψε αὐτὸν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς9 τὴν πόλιν.
Ὑποστρέψας δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Λογγῖνον, διηγήσατο αὐτῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Πίστευσον, ἀδελφέ, εἰ μὴ ἐσπούδασας καὶ
ἔφθασας αὐτόν, ἐγὼ καὶ σὺ κριθῆναι εἴχομεν περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ.
710. Ἄλλοτε10 πάλιν [f. 314vb] καθεζόμενος ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ, πατέρων

παραβαλόντων αὐτῷ, ἀθρόως ἀναστὰς μηδενὶ μηδὲν εἰρηκώς, ἐξῆλθε τοῦ
κελλίου αὐτοῦ καὶ ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὴν λίμνην. Καὶ ὡς ἤγγισε τῇ λίμνῃ, ἰδοὺ
ἐγγίζει τῇ γῇ11 πλοῖον ἐρχόμενον12 ἀπὸ τῶν μερῶν τῆς Αἰγύπτου, ἐν ᾧ ἦν τις
γέρων ἅγιος παραβαλεῖν αὐτῷ θέλων. Καὶ ὡς ἠσπάσαντο ἀλλήλους τῷ
ἁγίῳ πνεύματι ἔστησαν εἰς εὐχήν. Καὶ ἔλεγεν ὁ Αἰγύπτιος πρὸς τὸν Θεόν·
Κύριε, παρεκάλεσά σε ἵνα μὴ γνωστὸν γένηται τῷ γέροντι13 περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ
κόπον ὑπομείνῃ. Καὶ ἐλθόντες εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ ἀββᾶ Λογγίνου μετὰ
ταύτην14 τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκοιμήθη ὁ Αἰγύπτιος γέρων.
711 = 559
712. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ποιμήν· Ποίησον τὴν δύναμίν σου μὴ κακοποιῆσαί

τινα τὸ σύνολον καὶ ἁγνὴν τήρησον τὴν καρδίαν σου μετὰ παντὸς
ἀνθρώπου.
1
πόρου] πόνου S 2
προσφορὰν V (pc?) 3
Τῶν τοιούτων S] τούτων V
4
τὸ ζῷον] ἐν τῷ ζώῳ V 5
καὶ] om V 6
ὅλον Smg] οὐλὸν S V
7
εἶπεν] εἶπεν αὐτῷ V 8
Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη] Καὶ λέγει ὅτι V + lacuna? 9
εἰς] πρὸς V
10
Ἄλλοτε] οm V 11
τῇ γῇ] οm V 12
ἐρχόμενον] om V 13
γέροντι] τὰ add V
14
μετὰ ταύτην] μετ᾿ αὐτὴν V
N.709–12 551
N.709/18.11
They also said of [Abba Longinus] that a certain shipmaster once brought
him some gold [acquired] from plying his vessels and offered it to him.
The abba was unwilling to receive it and said to him: “There is no need of
such as this here, but do me the favour of mounting your beast and going
in all haste to Saint Peter’s Stairs. You will find a young man there wearing
such-and-such. Give him all the gold and ask him what is the matter with
him.” The shipmaster took off without delay and found [the young man]
just as the elder had told him. He asked him: “Where are you going,
brother? For I was at the Ninth [milestone] with Abba Longinus and he
sent me to you to give you this gold.” When the young man heard about
Abba Longinus, he told [the shipmaster] of his trouble. “I am up to
my eyes in debt and, since I am not a man of substance, I have come out
here to hang myself, outside the city. So you will believe [me] look, here is
the rope I brought” and, taking it out of his cloak, he showed it to him. The
shipmaster gave him the gold and prevailed on him to go back into the city.
When he returned to Abba Longinus and told him of the affair, the elder
said to him: “Believe me, brother, if you had not moved quickly and got
to him, both you and I would have had to stand trial for his soul.”
N.710/18.12
Once when [Abba Longinus] was sitting in his cell with some fathers who
were visiting him he suddenly got up and, without a word to anyone, left
the cell and hastened down to the shore. As he drew near to the shore a
boat coming from Egypt put in. On board was a holy elder who wished to
visit him. They greeted each other in the Holy Spirit then stood in prayer.
The Egyptian said to God: “Lord, I have asked you that my circumstances
not be revealed to the elder and that he not be inconvenienced.” They
went into Abba Longinus’ cell and next morning the Egyptian elder died.
N.711 ¼ N.559
N.712/17.12
Abba Poemen said: “Do your best to do no evil to anybody at all and keep
your heart pure with every man.”
713. Μοναχοί τινες [f. 315ra] ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τῶν κελλίων αὐτῶν
συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ λόγον ἐκίνουν περὶ ἀσκήσεως καὶ εὐσεβείας
καὶ πῶς δεῖ ἀρέσαι τῷ Θεῷ. Τούτων λαλουμένων ὤφθησαν ἄγγελοι δύο
τισὶ γέρουσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἐπωμίδας κατέχοντες καὶ εὐφημοῦντες ἕκαστον
τῶν λεγόντων περὶ θεοσεβείας καὶ σιωπῶσιν οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη τὸ ὅραμα.
Τῇ1 ἑξῆς συναχθέντες ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ τόπῳ λόγον ἐκίνησαν περί τινος
ἀδελφοῦ ὡς ἁμαρτήσαντος καὶ ἤρξαντο διαβάλλειν αὐτόν. Ὤφθη οὖν τοῖς
αὐτοῖς2 γέρουσι χοῖρος δυσωδίας ἀποπνέων ὅλος ἀκάθαρτος. Γνόντες δὲ
τὸ πταῖσμα οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη τὸ θέαμα διηγήσαντο τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς καὶ τὴν
τῶν ἀγγέλων εὐφημίαν καὶ τὸ τοῦ χοίρου θεώρημα. Ἔλεγον οὖν οἱ
γέροντες ὅτι ὀφείλει ἕκαστος τὰ τοῦ πλησίον οἰκειοῦσθαι, ὅπως ἂν ἔχῃ,
καὶ ὥσπερ ἐνδύεσθαι αὐτὸν μετὰ τοῦ σώματος καὶ ὅλον φορεῖν τὸν
ἄνθρωπον καὶ [f. 315rb] συμπάσχειν αὐτῷ ἐν ἅπασι καὶ συγχαίρειν καὶ
συγκλαίειν αὐτῷ καὶ ἁπλῶς διακεῖσθαι, ὅτι τὸ αὐτὸ φορεῖ σῶμα καὶ τὸ
αὐτὸ πρόσωπον ἔχει καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ὡς ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ θλίβεσθαι,
εἴ ποτε αὐτῷ συμβῇ3 θλῖψις. Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ γέγραπται ὅτι· Ἓν σῶμά
ἐσμεν ἐν Χριστῷ καὶ Τοῦ πλήθους τῶν πιστευσάντων ἦν ἡ καρδία καὶ ἡ
ψυχὴ μία καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου δὲ ἀσπασμοῦ τοῦτο δηλοῖ.
714. Περὶ τοῦ πῶς δεῖ καθίσαι ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καὶ περὶ θεωρίας·κατ᾿
ἐρώτησιν καὶ ἀπόκρισιν
1.
Ἐρ.· Ἠρώτησεν ἀδελφὸς γέροντα· Τί δεῖ ἀσκεῖν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καθήμενον;
Ἀπ.· Τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ἀνθρώπου μνήμην ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ καθεζόμενον4 τὸ
σύνολον.
2.
Ἐρ.· Ποίαν οὖν ἐργασίαν ὀφείλει ἔχειν ἐν καρδίᾳ;
Ἀπ.· Αὕτη ἐστιν ἡ τελεία ἐργασία τοῦ μοναχοῦ· τὸ προσέχειν τῷ Θεῷ
διὰ παντὸς ἀπερισπάστως.
3.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς οὖν ὀφείλει ἐκδιώκειν ὁ νοῦς τοὺς λογισμούς;
Ἀπ.· Οὐ δύναται ὅλως [f. 315va] ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ οὔτε γὰρ ἔχει ἰσχύν, ἀλλ᾿
ἡνίκα λογισμὸς περιπέσῃ5 τῇ ψυχῇ, φεύγειν ὀφείλει πρὸς τὸν
ποιήσαντα αὐτὴν μετὰ δεήσεως κἀκεῖνος αὐτοὺς διαλύει ὡς κηρόν·
ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον.6
1
Τῇ] οὖν add Vmg 2
αὐτοῖς] om V 3
συμβῇ αὐτῷ trsp V
4
καθεζόμενον] καθήμενον V 5
περιπέσει V 6
καταναλίσκων V
N.713–14 553
N.713/18.43–44 (cf. N.389)

Some monks, coming out of their cells, met together and began to discuss the
ascetic life, piety and how one must please God. As they were speaking, two
angels appeared to some of the elders among them. They were holding stoles
and applauding each of those speaking of godliness, while those to whom the
vision was revealed were keeping silent. Next day, meeting together in the same
place, when they discussed a certain brother on the grounds that he had sinned,
they fell to accusing him. To the same elders there appeared a hog exhaling a
bad smell, totally filthy. Those to whom the vision was revealed, realising the
fault, described for the brothers the angels’ applause and the spectacle of the
hog. So the elders said that each one ought to be compassionate concerning his
neighbour, no matter what his case might be. One should put him on together
with the body and wear the whole man [cf. Eph 4:24]; one should be
sympathetic with him in all things; weep with him and rejoice with him. In
short, be of the same state of mind with him, for he wears the same body, has
the same face, the same soul. [One should] be afflicted as if on one’s own
account whenever affliction comes to him, for thus it is written: “We are one
body in Christ” [Rom 12:5] and “The multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and one soul” [Acts 4:32] and the practice of the holy kiss declares this.
N.714 BHG 1449rb, dialogus de contemplatione cet.

On how one ought to remain in his cell and concerning contemplation,
by question and answer
1.
q: A brother asked an elder: How should one practise asceticism while
staying in his cell?
a: He who stays in his cell should have no memory whatsoever of a man.
2.
q: What kind of activity ought he to have in [his] heart?
a: This is the perfect activity of the monk: always attending to God
without being distracted.
3.
q: How ought the mind to chase out the distracting logismoi?
a: Of itself it absolutely cannot for it has not the strength. But when a
logismos occurs in the soul, he must flee in supplication to him who made
it and that one will melt [the logismoi] like wax, “For our God is a
consuming fire” [Heb 12:29].
4.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς οὖν1 οἱ πατέρες τῆς Σκήτεως τῷ ἀντιῤῥητικῷ λογισμῷ ἐχρῶντο;
Ἀπ.· Κἀκείνη μὲν ἡ ἐργασία μεγάλη καὶ ἐξαίρετος,2 κόπον δὲ ἔχουσα καὶ
οὐ πᾶσιν ἀσφαλής· ἔκστασιν φρενῶν ἔχει.
5.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς;
Ἀπ.· Ὅταν3 λογισμὸς ἐπέλθῃ τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ δυνηθῇ πολλὰ ἀγωνισαμένη
ἐκβαλεῖν αὐτόν, ἄλλος ἐπελθὼν περιλαμβάνει αὐτήν, καὶ οὕτως ἡ
ψυχὴ ἀντιλέγουσα τοῖς λογισμοῖς οὐδέποτε σχολάζει τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ
θεωρίᾳ.
6.
Ἐρ.· Ποίᾳ οὖν τέχνῃ ὁ λογισμὸς καταφεύξεται4 πρὸς τὸν Θεόν;
Ἀπ.· Ἐάν σοι λογισμὸς πορνείας προσγένηται, εὐθὺς ἀποσπάσας τὸν
νοῦν σου5 ἄνω αὐτὸν ἀνενεγκὼν μετὰ σπουδῆς, μὴ χρονίσῃς· τὸ
γὰρ χρονίσαι συγκαταβάσεως [f. 315vb] ὅρον ἔχει.
7.
Ἐρ.· Ἐὰν οὖν κενοδοξίας λογισμὸς ἐπέλθῃ τῇ ψυχῇ ὅτι κατώρθωσας, οὐκ
ὀφείλει ἀντιλέξαι ὁ λογισμός;
Ἀπ.· οἱᾳδήποτε γὰρ ὥρᾳ ἀντιλέγει, ἐκεῖνος ἰσχυρότερος6 καὶ ῥαγδαῖος
γίνεται· πλέον γάρ σου ἐκεῖνος εὑρίσκῃ7 ἀντιλέγειν καὶ οὐ τοσοῦτον
τὸ Πνεῦμα ἀντιλαμβάνεται· εὑρίσκει γὰρ ὡς λέγων ὅτι ἐμαυτῷ
ἐπαρκοῦμαι μαχεσάσθαι8 πρὸς τὰ πάθη. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πατέρα
ἔχων πνευματικὸν πᾶσαν τὴν φροντίδα αὐτῷ παραχωρεῖ καὶ
ἀμέριμνός ἐστι κατὰ πάντα καὶ κρῖμα οὐκέτι9 ἔχει παρὰ Θεῷ, οὕτως
καὶ ὁ Θεῷ ἑαυτὸν ἐκδεδωκὼς οὐκ ὀφείλει ὅλως φροντίδα
ποιήσασθαι λογισμῶν ἢ ἀντιλέξαι ἢ ὅλως τόπον ἀφιέναι εἰσελθεῖν.
Ἐὰν10 καὶ εἰσέλθῃ, ἄνω πρὸς τὸν πατέρα σου ἆρον αὐτὸν καὶ
εἶπον·11 Ἐγὼ οὐκ ἔχω πρᾶγμα, ἰδοὺ ὁ πατήρ μου, αὐτὸς οἶδε. Καὶ
ἔτι σοῦ ἀναφέροντος μέσον τῆς ὁδοῦ καταλείψας σε φεύγει· οὐ γὰρ
δυνήσεται μετὰ σοῦ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἐλθεῖν. Ταύτης τῆς ἐργασίας
[f. 316ra] οὐκ ἔστι μεῖζον οὐδὲ ἀμεριμνώτερον ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ.
1
οὖν om V 2
ἐξαίρετος] ἐξαίρετος καὶ V
3
Ὅταν] Ὅταν ὁ V 4
ὁ λογισμὸς καταφεύξεται] καταφεύξεται ὁ λογισμὸς V
5
σου] om V 6
ἰσχυρότερος om V 7
εὑρίσκει V 8
μαχεσάσθαι] μαχήσασθαι V
9
οὐκέτι] οὐκ ἔχει V 10
Ἐὰν] δὲ add V 11
εἶπον] εἰπὲ V
N.714 555
4.
q: So what use did the fathers at Scete make of the contrary logismos?
a: That activity is enormous and exceptional, demanding great effort and
not safe for everybody; it puts one at risk of losing one’s wits.
5.
q: How is that?
a: When a logismos occurs in the soul and she is able (by making a great
effort) to expel it, another one comes and occupies [her] and, in this
way, the soul opposing the logismoi never has any time for the
contemplation of God.
6.
q: By what procedure can a logismos be referred to God?
a: If a logismos of porneia comes upon you, immediately detach your mind
[from it] and vigorously offer it up without hesitation, for hesitation is
where conceding begins.
7.
q: If a logismos of conceit that one has done very well overcomes the soul,
ought not the mind to contradict it?
a: No matter when one contradicts it, [that conceit] becomes stronger and
more violent. It finds more than you do to refute with and the [Holy]
Spirit does not supply aid to that extent. You find yourself in the
situation of one who says: “I am sufficient in myself to fight against the
passions.” Just as he who has a spiritual father casts all his concern upon
him and is without care in all things and no longer in fear of judgement
by God, so he who has dedicated himself to God ought not to be
concerned about logismoi, to refute them or to allow them any place
whatsoever to come into. And if [one] should get in, lift it up to your
Father and say: “I have no trouble with this; look, [there is] my Father;
he knows”, and while you are still lifting it up half way it has left
you and runs away, for it will not be able to come to him with you. In
the whole church there is not activity greater than this one or more
carefree.
8.
Ἐρ.· Καὶ πῶς οὖν οἱ Σκητιῶται τῷ ἀντιῤῥητικῷ λογισμῷ εὐηρέστησαν2
1
τῷ Θεῷ;
Ἀπ.· Ἐπειδὴ ἐκεῖνοι ἁπλότητι καὶ φόβῳ Θεοῦ ἐποίησαν, διὰ τοῦτο ὁ
Θεὸς ἀντελάβετο αὐτῶν, καὶ ὕστερον ἡ αὐτὴ ἐργασία τῆς θεωρίας
ἦλθεν εἰς αὐτούς, τοῦ Θεοῦ βουληθέντος διὰ τὸν πολὺν κόπον
αὐτῶν καὶ φιλοθεΐαν. Λέγει δὲ ὁ μέγας ὁ καὶ ταῦτα διδάξας ὅτι
γενομένου μου ἐν τῇ Σκήτει παρέβαλον ἑνὶ ἁγίῳ χρονίσαντι ἐκεῖ καὶ
μόνον ἠσπάσατό με. Καὶ καθίσαντες οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀπεκρίθη μοι·
ἀλλὰ καθήμενος ἐγὼ καὶ τῇ θεωρίᾳ σχολάζων κἀκεῖνος τὴν σειρὰν
ἐργαζόμενος οὐκ ἀνένευσεν ὅλως προσέχειν μοι οὐδὲ φαγεῖν
ἐπέτρεψε καίτοι ἔχων ἕξ ἡμέρας μὴ φαγών, ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν
ἐργαζόμενος, πλέκων. Καὶ ὡς ὀψία ἐγένετο πάλιν θαλλία βρέξας,
τὴν νύκτα ἔμεινε πλέκων. Καὶ τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ περὶ ὥραν δεκάτην
[f. 316rb] ἀπεκρίνατό μοι λέγων· Ἀδελφέ, πόθεν εὗρες τὴν ἐργασίαν
ταύτην; Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον· Πόθεν σὺ3 εὗρες αὐτήν; Ἡμεῖς γὰρ παιδόθεν
ταύτην ἐδιδάχθημεν παρὰ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἔφη ὁ
Σκητιώτης γέρων· Ἐγὼ μὲν τοιαύτας διδασκαλίας οὐ παρέλαβον
παρὰ τῶν πατέρων μου, ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ ὁρᾷς με, οὕτως ἔμεινα ὅλον τὸν
χρόνον μου· μικρὸν ἐργόχειρον καὶ μικρὰν μελέτην, μικρὰν εὐχὴν καὶ
τὸ κατὰ δύναμιν καθαρεῦσαι τῶν λογισμῶν καὶ ἀντιλέγειν τοῖς
ἐπερχομένοις· καὶ οὕτως τὸ τῆς θεωρίας πνεῦμα ἦλθεν, ἐμοῦ μὴ
εἰδότος, μηδὲ ὅλως μαθόντος ὅτι τοιαύτην ἐργασίαν τινὲς ἔσχον.
9.
Ἐρ.· Καὶ ἀπεκρίθην ἐγώ· Πόθεν οὕτως ἐδιδάχθη; Ποίῳ τρόπῳ ὁ τοιοῦτος
ὀφείλει προσέχειν τῇ θεωρίᾳ;
Ἀπ.· Αἱ Γραφαὶ ἐδήλωσαν τὸ πῶς.
10.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς;
Ἀπ.· Ὁ μὲν Δανιὴλ ὡς παλαιὸν ἡμερῶν ἐθεώρει, ὁ δὲ Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἐπὶ ἅρματος
χερουβίμ, ὁ δὲ Ἡσαΐας ἐπὶ θρόνου [f. 316va] ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου,
ὁ δὲ Μωϋσῆς τὸν ἀόρατον ὡς ὁρῶν ἐκαρτέρει.
11.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς δύναται ὁ νοῦς ἰδεῖν ὃ οὐδέποτε εἶδε;
Ἀπ.· Βασιλέα οὐδέποτε εἶδες καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν εἰκόνων;
1
Καὶ om V 2
εὐαρέστησαν V 3
Σὺ πόθεν trsp V
N.714 557
8.
q: How were the men of Scete well pleasing to God with the contrary
logismos?
a: Because they acted in simplicity and in the fear of God, for that reason
God came to their aid and, in due course, with the help of God, the
very activity of contemplation came to them through their copious
labour and love of God. The great one who taught these things says:
“When I was at Scete I visited a holy man who had been there a long
time and he did no more than embrace me; we sat there and he
answered me not another word. I stayed there spending my time in
contemplation while he, working at rope [making], did not lift his head
at all to notice me, nor did he – who had gone six days without eating –
invite me to eat. He worked all the day, braiding [rope]. When evening
fell, he wet some fronds and remained braiding during the night. Next
day, about the tenth hour, he answered me, saying: ‘Brother, where did
you learn that activity?’ but I said: ‘Where did you learn your [activity]?
We were taught this from childhood by our fathers.’ The elder of Scete
said: ‘For my part I did not receive such teachings from my fathers but,
as you see me, so I have remained all the time of my life: a little manual
labour, a little meditation, a little prayer and, so far as I am able,
purging the logismoi and arguing with those that enter in – and thus the
spirit of contemplation came without me knowing or having ever learnt
that there are some who have practised such an activity.’”
9.
q: I answered: “Where was there teaching like this? In what way ought a
person to apply himself to contemplation?”
a: The Scriptures revealed how.
10.
q: How so?
a: Daniel envisioned [the Lord] as the Ancient of Days [cf. Dan 7:9, 13,
22), Ezekiel as cherubim in a chariot (cf. Ez 9:3, 10:1–22), Isaiah as on a
throne, high and lifted up [cf. Is 6:1], but Moses persevered as though
seeing the invisible [cf. Ex 3:4–6].
11.
q: How can the mind see what it never saw?
a: You never saw an emperor sitting on a throne as in the icons?
12.
Ἐρ.· Καὶ ὀφείλει ὁ νοῦς διαγράψαι τὸ θεῖον;
Ἀπ.· Κάλλιόν ἐστι διαγράψαι τὸ θεῖον ἢ τοῖς ἀκαθάρτοις λογισμοῖς
συγκατατίθεσθαι.
13.
Ἐρ.· Μήποτε ὡς ἁμαρτία λογισθῇ;
Ἀπ.· Κράτει τοῦτο ὡς οἱ προφῆται εἶδον ἱστορικῶς καὶ ἑαυτῷ τὸ τέλειον
ἔρχεται, καθὼς ὁ ἀπόστολος φησί· Bλέπομεν γὰρ ἄρτι ὡς ἐν
ἐσόπτρῳ καὶ ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον. Τὸ δὲ
τότε δηλοῖ, φησίν, ὅταν ὁ λογισμὸς τελειωθῇ, παρρησίᾳ βλέπει.
14.
Ἐρ.· Οὐκ ἔχει οὖν ἔκστασιν φρενῶν τοῦτο1 τὸ σύνολον, ἐάν τις ἐν ἀληθείᾳ
ἀγωνίζηται;
Ἀπ.· Ἔλεγε δὲ ὅτι ὅλην τὴν ἑβδομάδα ἐποίουν καὶ οὐκ ἐμνημόνευον
ἀνθρωπίνης μνήμης. Ἄλλος ἔφη μοι· Ἤμην περιπατῶν ἐν ὁδῷ ποτὲ
καὶ εἶδον δύο ἀγγέλους2 περιπατοῦντας μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν
καὶ οὐ προ [f. 316vb]σέσχον αὐτοῖς.
15.
Ἐρ.· Διατί;
Ἀπ.· Ἐπειδὴ γέγραπται οὔτε ἀγγέλοι οὔτε δυνάμεις δυνήσονται ἡμᾶς
χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ.3
16.
Ἐρ.· Πάντοτε δύναται ὁ λογισμὸς θεωρεῖν;
Ἀπ.· Εἰ καὶ μὴ4 πάντοτε, ἀλλ᾿ ὅταν ὁ νοῦς καταδυναστευθῇ ὑπὸ τῶν
λογισμῶν καὶ μὴ χρονίσῃ τοῦ προσφυγεῖν Θεῷ οὐκ ἀποστερεῖται
τῆς θεωρίας. Λέγω γὰρ ὅτι, ἐὰν τελειωθῇ ὁ λογισμὸς εἰς τοῦτο,
εὐκοπωτέρως θεωρεῖ, εἰ μὴ κινηθεὶς τὸν λογισμὸν κατενέγκῃς ἄνωθεν.
Ὥσπερ γὰρ κατάδικος εἰς σκότος φυλακισθείς, ἥνικα ἂν ἀπολυθῇ καὶ
τὸ φῶς ἴδῃ, οὐκέτι θέλει μνημονεύειν τοῦ σκότους, οὕτω καὶ ὁ
λογισμὸς ὅταν ἄρξηται τὸ ἴδιον φέγγος ὁρᾶν. Ἔλεγε δέ τις τῶν
ἁγίων ὅτι ποτὲ θέλων τὸν λογισμὸν ἄγξαι, ἔλεγον· Ἐὰν ἀπολύσω
αὐτόν, ὑπάγει ῥέμβεται εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἀπολύσας αὐτὸν ἐστάθη5
1
τοῦτο] ὅλως add V 2
ἀγγέλους δύο trsp V
3
Θεοῦ] Χριστοῦ V 4
μὴ] οὐ V 5
ἐστάθη] ἐστάθη καὶ V
N.714 559
12.
q: Ought the mind to depict the divine?
a: It is better to depict the divine than to associate with impure logismoi.
13.
q: In case it be considered a sin?
a: Prevail in this as the prophets literally saw and perfection comes to
oneself, as the Apostle says: “For now we see darkly as in a glass, but
then, face to face” [1 Cor 13:12]. The “then” reveals (he says) that when
the intellect is made perfect, it will see with unimpeded vision.
14.
q: Is there no danger of losing one’s wits altogether if one fights the good
fight in truth?
a: “I used to spend a whole week,” he would say, “and would not recollect a
human remembrance.” Another said to me: “Once I was walking along
the road and I saw two angels walking with me, one on either side, and
I paid no attention to them.”
15.
q: Why was that?
a: Because it is written: “Neither angels nor principalities will be able to
separate us from the love of God” [cf. Rom 8:39].
16.
q: Can the intellect contemplate all the time?
a: If not all the time, and yet, when the mind is dominated by logismoi
and does not delay to take refuge in God, it is not deprived of
contemplation. For I tell you, if your logismos attains perfection in this
regard, it is easier to move a mountain than to fall back. Just as when a
condemned person imprisoned in darkness is released and sees the light he
no longer wishes to recall the darkness, so it is with the intellect when it
begins to see its own splendour. One of the holy ones used to say: “Once,
wishing to put my intellect to the test, I would say: ‘If I release it, it will go
ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, μὴ εἰδὼς ποῦ ἀπέλθῃ, ἕως οὗ1 πάλιν ἦρα αὐτὸν ἄνω.
ᾜδει γὰρ ὅτι, ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃ ῥέμβεσθαι,2 δαμάσαι αὐτὸν εἶχον. Ταύτην
τὴν ἐργασίαν, ἡσυχία μετὰ προσευχῆς κατορθοῖ. Ἔλεγον δὲ [f. 317ra]
ὅτι τὸ συνεχῶς προσεύχεσθαι ταχὺ εἰς προκοπὴν φέρει τὸν νοῦν.
17.
Ἐρ.· Λέγω αὐτοῖς· Καὶ πῶς δύναται πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι; ἀσθενεῖ γὰρ
τὸ σῶμα πρὸς λειτουργίαν.
Ἀπ.· Οὐ μόνον τὸ στῆναι ἐν καιρῷ προσευχῆς ἐκείνη λέγεται προσευχὴ
ἀλλὰ πάντοτε.
18.
Ἐρ.· Πῶς πάντοτε;
Ἀπ.· Εἴτε ἐσθίεις, εἴτε πίνεις, εἴτε ἔργον τι ποιεῖς, μὴ ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ3 τῆς
προσευχῆς.
19.
Ἐρ.· Ἐὰν οὖν μετά τινος λαλῇ,4 πῶς δύναται πληρῶσαι τὸ πάντοτε
προσεύχεσθαι;
Ἀπ.· Διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν ὁ ἀπόστολος· Διὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως.
Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ σχολάζῃς μετά τινος ὁμιλῶν προσεύχεσθαι, διὰ
δεήσεως προσεύχου.
20.
Ἐρ.· Ποίᾳ εὐχῇ ὀφείλει προσεύχεσθαι;
Ἀπ.· Τὸ Πάτερ ἡμῶν ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς5 καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
21.
Ἐρ.· Πόσον μέτρον ὀφείλει ἔχειν;
Ἀπ.· Μέτρον οὐκ ἐδήλωσε. Τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε6
μέτρον οὐκ ἔχει. Ἐὰν γάρ, ὅτε εἰς προσευχὴν μόνον ἵσταται ὁ
μοναχός, τότε εὔχηται,7 ὁ τοιοῦτος ὅλως οὐ προσεύχεται. Ἔλεγε
[f. 317rb] δὲ ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ τοιοῦτος πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὡς ἕνα ὁρᾶν
καὶ καταλαλιᾶς ἀπέχεσθαι.
1
ἕως οὗ] καὶ V 2
ῥέμβεσθαι] ῥεμφθῆναι V 3
ἀποστῆναι ἀπὸ] ἀποστῇς V
4
λαλῇ] λαλῂς V 5
ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς om V
6
ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε] πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι ἀδιαλείπτως V 7
εὔχηται] εὔχεται V
N.714 561
wandering into the world’ and, when I released it, it stood still in the same
place, not knowing where to go – until I raised it up again. For it knew
that, if it went a-wandering, I would have to restrain it. Hêsychia with
prayer sets this activity on the right track. They used to say that to pray
continually quickly brings progress to the mind.”
17.
q: I say to them: “How can one pray all the time? The body grows weary
at the liturgy.”
a: It is not only standing at the time of prayer that is called praying, but all the
time.
18.
q: How can it be all the time?
a: By not desisting from praying, whether you are eating or drinking or
performing a task.
19.
q: If you are speaking with somebody how can you fulfil [the
commandment] to pray all the time?
a: This is why the Apostle said: “[Praying always] with all prayer and
supplication” [Eph 6:18]. When you are not at liberty to pray because
you are speaking with somebody, then pray with supplication.
20.
q: What kind of prayer ought one to pray?
a: The “Our Father, which art in heaven etc.” [Mt 6:9].
21.
q: What limit should there be?
a: He did not reveal a limit. To say: “Pray without ceasing” sets no limit,
for if it is only when he is standing at prayer that a monk prays, such a
[monk] is not praying at all. He said that such a [monk] should see all
men as one and refrain from backbiting.
715. Διηγήσατό τις γέρων περί τινος ἐπισκόπου, ἵνα μάλιστα καὶ ἐξ
ἐκείνου τὸ θάρσος λαβόντες τῆς ἑαυτῶν γενώμεθα σωτηρίας αἴτιοι.1
Ἠγγέλλετο παρά τινων τῷ παρ᾿ ἡμῖν ἐπισκόπῳ, ὡς αὐτὸς ταῦτα ἔφασκε,
τινὰς τῶν κοσμικῶν δύο ἐλευθέρας γυναῖκας πιστὰς ὡς μὴ σωφρόνως
βιοῦν. Ὁ δὲ ἐπίσκοπος ὑπὸ τῶν ἀπαγγειλάντων παθών τι2 ὑποτοπάσας3
δὲ καὶ περὶ ἑτέρων, τοῦτο ἐπὶ παράκλησιν Θεοῦ ᾔει ἐκεῖθεν τὸ ἀκριβὲς
ἀξιῶν μαθεῖν, οὗπερ καὶ ἔτυχεν. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν θείαν καὶ φοβερὰν ἐκείνην
προσκομιδὴν τῶν προσιόντων εἰς μετάληψιν τῶν ἁγίων μυστηρίων τὰς
ψυχὰς ἑώρα διὰ τῶν ὄψεων, ὁποίαις ἕκαστος ὑπόκειται ἁμαρτίαις καὶ τῶν
ἁμαρτωλῶν ἑώρα τὰς ὄψεις καθάπερ ἀσβόλην, τινὰς δὲ αὐτῶν δίκην
καύματος τὸ πρόσωπον ἔχοντας, τούς τε ὀφθαλμοὺς πυρώδεις [f. 317va]
καὶ ὑφαίμους, ἑτέρους δὲ αὐτῶν λαμπροὺς μόνον τὴν ὄψιν λευκοὺς δὲ τὴν
ἐσθῆτα, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ὡς μετελάμβανον τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου σῶμα4
γίνεσθαι περιφλέγον καὶ διακαῖον,5 τῶν δὲ ὥσπερ φῶς6 [γινόμενον καὶ
διὰ τοῦ στόματος εἰσιὸν, ἅπαν τὸ σῶμα αὐτῶν καταλάμπειν. Ἦσαν δὲ ἐν
αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν τὸν μονήρη βίον ἐπανηρημένων καὶ τῶν ἐν συζυγίαις οἳ
ἔπασχον ταῦτα. Εἶτά φησιν ὁρμᾷ καὶ ταῖς γυναιξὶν αὐτὸς μεταδοῦναι
ὅπως ἂν γνῷ ὁποῖαι καὶ αὐταὶ τυγχάνουσι τῇ ψυχῇ. Καὶ ὁρᾷ τὸν ὅμοιον
τρόπον καὶ αὐταῖς γινόμενα, τὰ πρόσωπα7 μέλανά τε καὶ [V f.281r]
ὕφαιμα καὶ πυρώδη8 καὶ λευκά.] Ἐν ταύταις δὲ παραγίνονται καὶ αἱ
δύο γυναῖκες ἐκεῖναι ἃς διέβαλον τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ, δι᾿ ἃς καὶ μάλιστα ἐπὶ
τὴν τοιαύτην εὐχὴν ἐλήλυθεν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος. Καὶ ὁρᾷ καὶ αὐτὰς ἐν τῇ
προσελεύσει τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ Χριστοῦ μυστηρίων λαμπρὸν μὲν ἐχούσας
τὸ πρόσωπον [f. 317vb] καὶ ἔντιμον, λευκὴν δὲ τὴν ἐσθῆτα περιβεβλημένας
εἶτα καὶ9 μεταλαβούσαις αὐταῖς10 τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μυστηρίων γενέσθαι
τὸ δῶρον περιαστράπτον αὐτάς.11 Ὁ δὲ πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν συνήθη τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἱκεσίαν ἐτρέπετο μαθεῖν ἀξιῶν τῶν δεδιδαγμένων12 αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύψεων
τὸν τρόπον. Παραστὰς δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος Κυρίου περὶ ἑκάστου ἐρωτᾶν
ἐκέλευεν. Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος ἐπίσκοπος εὐθέως περὶ τῶν δύο ἐκείνων ἤρετο13
γυναικῶν, εἰ ἆρα ἀληθὴς ὑπάρχει ἡ προτέρα αὐτῶν διαβολὴ ἢ ψευδής.
Ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος ἀπέφηνεν ἀληθῆ εἶναι τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν ἅπαντα τὰ14 λεχθέντα,
καὶ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος ἔφη πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· Καὶ πῶς ἐν τῇ μεταλήψει τῶν τοῦ
1
αἴτιοι] om SV, supplevi e Guy 2
παθών τι] παθόντι V
3
ὑποτοπάσας] ὑποτωπάσας S
4
ὡς μετελάμβανον τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου σῶμα] τὸ τοῦ Κυρίου σῶμα ὡς μετελάμβανον V
5
γίνεσθαι περιφλέγον καὶ διακαῖον] οὕτως αὐτούς φησι περιφλέγειν καὶ διακαίειν V
6
[. . .] S non legibile; V solus 7
τὰ πρόσωπα] in marg. V
8
ὕφαιμα καὶ πυρώδη] πυρώδη καὶ ὕφαιμα V 9
καὶ om V 10
αὐταῖς] καὶ αὐτὰς V
11
γενέσθαι τὸ δῶρον περιαστράπτον αὐτάς] ἐγένετο ὡς ὑπὸ φωτὸς καταλάμπεσθαι V
12
δεδειγμένων V 13
ἤρετο] ἠρώτα V
14
τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν ἅπαντα τὰ] ἅπαντα τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν λεχ. V
N.715 563
N.715/18.46 BHG 1444j, de episcopo & communicantibus

An elder told this about a certain bishop so that, drawing confidence
especially from it, we might become responsible for our own salvation:
“It was reported by some people to our local bishop (as he himself told it)
that among the laity there were two certain pious ladies of the upper class
who were not living decent lives. Somewhat troubled by the tale-tellers and
suspecting that this might be true of others too, he went to entreat God,
asking to learn the exact [truth] and in this he succeeded. After that divine
and fearful Eucharist, through the faces he beheld the souls of those
approaching to partake of the holy mysteries as to what kind of sins each
one was in thrall to; and he saw the faces of the sinners [black] as soot.
Some of them had faces that looked burnt and fiery with bloodshot eyes.
[He saw] others of them with not only shining faces but white clothing.
When they partook of the Lord’s body, for some it became fiery and as
though it was aflame while for the others it became like a light and,
entering through the mouth, lit up their whole body. Among them there
were some who had taken up the monastic life and some who were married
who experienced these things. Then (he said) he hastened to communicate
the women himself so he might know what kind of women they were in
their souls and the same thing happened for them too: he saw some black
in the face, bloodshot and fiery, [others] white. Among [the women] there
came those two women whom they had accused before the bishop and on
whose account the bishop had especially gone [to offer] such a prayer. At
the approach of the holy mysteries of Christ he saw them possessed of a
shining, respectable face and clad in white raiment. Then, when they had
received the mysteries of Christ, the gift became dazzling for them. For his
part, again he had recourse to his customary intercession with God,
wishing to learn the manner of the revelations vouchsafed to him. An
angel of the Lord presented himself and told him to ask about each matter.
The holy bishop immediately inquired about those two women, whether
the former accusation against them was true or false, but the angel declared
that everything said about them was true. So the bishop said to the angel:
‘How then, in receiving the mysteries of Christ, were they shining in the
face, having white clothing and shedding no small light?’ Said the angel:
Χριστοῦ μυστηρίων λαμπραὶ μὲν τὴν ὄψιν1 ὑπῆρχον, λευκὴν δὲ τὴν ἐσθῆτα
εἶχον, φωτὸς δὲ ἀπέστιλβον οὐκ ὀλίγου; Ἔφη δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος ὅτιπερ εἰς
αἴσθησιν ἐλθοῦσαι τῶν πεπραγμένων αὐταῖς καὶ ἀποστᾶσαι τούτων
δάκρυσι καὶ στεναγμοῖς καὶ ἐλεημοσύναις πενήτων, δι᾿ ἐξομολογήσεως
[S f. 318ra] τῶν θείων ἔτυχον καταλλαγῶν, τοῦ λοιποῦ μηκέτι τοῖς αὐτοῖς
κακοῖς περιπίπτειν ἐπαγγειλάμεναι, εἴπερ ἐπὶ τοῖς προτέροις ἁμαρτήμασι
τύχοιεν συγγνώμης, καὶ τετυχήκασι δὲ διὰ τοῦτο τῆς θείας καταλλαγῆς καὶ
τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἀπελύθησαν. Ζῶσι δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ σωφρόνως καὶ δικαίως
καὶ εὐσεβῶς. Ὁ δὲ ἐπίσκοπος θαυμάζειν ἔφησεν οὐ τὴν μεταβολὴν τῶν
γυναικῶν τοσοῦτον – τοῦτο γὰρ πολλαῖς συνέβη γενέσθαι –, ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ
Θεοῦ δωρεὰν ὡς οὐ μόνον αὐτὰς τιμωρίαις οὐχ ὑπηγάγετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ
τοσαύτης ἠξίωσε χάριτος. Καὶ ὁ ἄγγελος ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν· Δικαίως
θαυμάζεις τοῦτο·2 ἄνθρωπος γὰρ εἶ.3 Ὁ δὲ δεσπότης ἡμῶν τε καὶ ὑμῶν
Θεὸς φύσει ὢν ἀγαθὸς καὶ φιλάνθρωπος τοὺς παυομένους4 τῶν οἰκείων
ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ δι᾿ ἐξομολογήσεως προσπίπτοντας5 αὐτῷ οὐ μόνον εἰς
κόλασιν οὐ πέμπει, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὀργὴν παύει καὶ τιμῆς ἀξιοῖ[f. 318rb]. Καὶ
γὰρ οὕτως ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ
δοῦναι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. Ὁ τοίνυν ἐχθρῶν ὄντων ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν
ἑλόμενος οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον οἰκείους αὐτοῦ γινομένους6 καὶ μεταμελομέ-
νους7 ἐφ᾿ οἷς διεπράξαντο, λύσει μὲν τῆς8 τιμωρίας, ἀξιώσει δὲ καὶ9 τῶν10
παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ εὐτρεπισμένων ἀγαθῶν11 τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν; Τοῦτο τοίνυν ἔσο
εἰδώς, ὡς οὐδὲν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἁμαρτημάτων νικᾷ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ
φιλανθρωπίαν, μόνον ἐὰν διὰ τῆς μετανοίας ἃ πρότερον12 ἔπραξέ τις
ἀπαλείψῃ κακά. Φιλάνθρωπος γὰρ ὢν ὁ Θεὸς ἐπίσταται τὴν ἀσθένειαν
τοῦ ἡμετέρου γένους καὶ τῶν παθῶν τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ τοῦ διαβόλου τὴν
δύναμιν καὶ κακουργίαν. Καὶ πίπτουσι μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἰς ἁμαρτίαν
ὡς υἱοῖς συγγινώσκει13 ἢ14 καὶ ἀναμένει μακροθυμῶν τὴν διόρθωσιν15 ἐπ᾿
αὐτοῖς, μεταμελομένοις δὲ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δεομένοις ἀγαθότητος ὡς ἀσθενέσι
συμπαθεῖ καὶ λύει παραυτίκα τὰς τιμωρίας [f. 318va] καὶ χαρίζεται αὐτοῖς τὰ
ἡτοιμασμένα τοῖς δικαίοις ἀγαθά. Ἔφη δὲ ὁ ἐπίσκοπος τῷ ἀγγέλῳ· Λέξον
μοι λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν τῶν προσώπων διαφορὰν δέομαί σου· ἐπὶ ποίοις
ἁμαρτήμασιν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν διάκειται ἵνα καὶ περὶ τούτων μαθὼν πάσης
ἀγνοίας ἀπαλλαγῶ.16 Ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος Κυρίου λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Οἱ μὲν
1
τὴν ὄψιν] τῇ ὄψει V 2
δικαίως θαυμάζεις τοῦτο] θαυμάζεις τοῦτο δικαίως V
3
εἶ] τυγχάνεις V 4
τοῖς παυομένοις V 5
προσπίπτοντας] corr. προσπίπτουσιν SV
6
γινομένους] γενομένους V 7
μεταμελουμένους V 8
τῆς] τὰς V
9
ἀξιώσει δὲ καὶ] om V 10
τῶν] τῶν δὲ V 11
ἀγαθῶν] παρέξει add V
12
πρότερον] om V 13
συγγινώσκει] συγχωρεῖ V 14
ἢ om V
15
μακροθυμῶν τὴν διόρθωσιν] τὴν διόρθωσιν μακροθυμῶν V
16
ἵνα καὶ περὶ τούτων μαθὼν πάσης ἀγνοίας ἀπαλλαγῶ om S
N.715 565
‘It is because they had come to a realisation of the deeds committed by
them and had desisted from them with tears, sighs and with penitential
almsgiving. By confession they have attained the divine reconciliation,
having firmly declared never again to fall into the same evil [ways] if they
could obtain pardon for their former sins. And through this they have
attained the divine reconciliation and been set free from the accusations.
They are living the rest [of their lives] soberly, righteously and devoutly.’
The bishop professed himself amazed, not so much at the transformation
of the women (for that happened to many of them) as at the generosity of
God since he not only refrained from subjecting them to punishment, but
also deemed them worthy of such grace. ‘You have good reason to wonder
at this, for you are a man,’ said the angel to the bishop; ‘but our Master
and your God, being good by nature and the lover of mankind, not only
does not send to punishment those who desist from their own sins and fall
down before him in confession, but withholds [his] anger and deems them
worthy of honour. For God so loves the world as to give his only begotten
son for them [cf. Jn 3:16]. He then who chose to die for those who were his
enemies, will he not even more so release from punishment those who
have become his friends (they having undergone a change of heart con-
cerning the deeds they had done before) and deem them worthy of the
enjoyment of the good things prepared for them by him? So be well aware
of this: nothing of human transgressions overcomes the love of God for
mankind, if only a person by repentance abandon the evils he formerly
committed. For because God is the lover of mankind he understands the
feebleness of our race, the strength of the passions, the power and malig-
nity of the devil. He forgives men falling into sin like sons or patiently
awaits their self-correction, their change of heart, their supplication of his
goodness. Since he is compassionate with the feeble, he immediately sets
aside the punishments and grants them the good things prepared for the
righteous.’ Then the bishop said to the angel: ‘Now tell me about the
difference in the faces, I beg you; to what kinds of transgressions each of
them is subject so that, learning about these, I might be released from all
ignorance.’ The angel of the Lord said to him: ‘Those with bright and
shining faces are living in sobriety, purity and righteousness; they are
modest, compassionate and merciful. Those who have black faces are the
λαμπροὶ φησὶ καὶ φαιδροὶ τὰς ὄψεις ἐν σωφροσύνῃ καὶ ἁγνείᾳ καὶ δικαιο
[V f. 282r] σύνῃ ζῶσιν, ἐπιεικεῖς τε καὶ συμπαθεῖς καὶ ἐλεήμονές εἰσιν, οἱ δὲ
μελαίνας ἔχοντες τὰς ὄψεις πορνείας καὶ ἀσελγείας εἰσὶν ἐργάται καὶ τῆς
ἄλλης ἀσωτίας καὶ τρυφῆς, οἱ δὲ φανέντες ὕφαιμοι καὶ πυρώδεις πονηρίᾳ
καὶ ἀδικίᾳ εἰσι συζῶντες, φιλολοίδοροί τε καὶ βλάσφημοι, δόλιοί τε καὶ
φόνιοι ὑπάρχουσι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν ὁ ἄγγελος· Βοήθησον τοίνυν
αὐτοῖς εἴπερ τὴν αὐτῶν σωτηρίαν ἐπιποθεῖς, – καὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο, φησί,
τετύχηκας τῶν οἰκείων εὐχῶν –, ἵνα ὄψει μαθὼν τὰς τῶν μαθητευομένων
ἁμαρτίας ταῖς νουθεσίαις καὶ ταῖς παραινέσεσι [f. 318vb] βελτίους διὰ
μετανοίας ποιήσῃς αὐτοὺς τῷ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀποθανόντι καὶ ἐγερθέντι ἐκ
νεκρῶν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. Ὅση σοι τοίνυν ἔστι δύναμις καὶ
σπουδὴ καὶ ἀγάπη περὶ τὸν σὸν δεσπότην Χριστόν, πᾶσαν πρόνοιαν
αὐτῶν ποιοῦ ἐπιστρέφειν αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπὶ τὸν
Θεόν, πείθων αὐτοὺς ὅτι1 ὁποίων2 ἁμαρτημάτων ὑποχείριοί εἰσι καὶ3 μὴ
τῆς ἑαυτῶν4 ἀπελπίσωσι σωτηρίας. Ἔστι γὰρ ἐκ τούτου ἐκείνοις μὲν
μετανοοῦσι καὶ ἐπιστρέφουσι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ψυχῆς τὲ5 σωτηρία καὶ
ἀπόλαυσις τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, σοὶ6 δὲ πολὺς ὁ μισθὸς μιμησαμένῳ
τὸν οἰκεῖον δεσπότην, τὸν οὐρανοὺς μὲν καταλείψαντα τὰς δὲ ἐπὶ γῆς
διατριβὰς ποιησάμενον διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίαν.
716. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἡσαΐας διὰ τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ὅτι γλῶσσαν οὐκ
ἔχει λαλῆσαι πρός τινα ὡς ἀμελοῦντα οὔτε πρὸς ἄλλον ὡς
καταφρονοῦντα, οὔτε ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχει ἄλλων7 ἐλατ[f. 319ra]τώμασι8 προ-
σέχειν, οὔτε ὦτα ἔχει ἀκοῦσαι τὰ μὴ ὠφελοῦντα τῇ ψυχῇ9 αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ
ἔχει μετά τινος πρᾶγμα πλὴν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ πρὸς πάντας
ἀνθρώπους ἐστιν εἰρηνικὸς διὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ οὐ διά τινα
φιλίαν. Ἐὰν γάρ τις νηστεύῃ ἓξ ἓξ καὶ ἐκδῷ ἑαυτὸν εἰς μεγάλους κόπους10
καὶ ἐντολὰς ἐκτὸς τῆς ὁδοῦ ταύτης, μάταιοι πάντες εἰσὶν οἱ κόποι αὐτοῦ.11
1
ὅτι οm S 2
ὁποίων] ἂν add V 3
καὶ om V 4
ἑαυτῶν] αὐτῶν V
5
ψυχῆς τὲ] ψυχῆς αὐτῶν V 6
σοὶ] σὺ V 7
ἄλλων] ἄλλου V 8
ἐλαττώματι V
9
τῇ ψυχῇ] τὴν ψυχὴν V 10
ἐκδῷ (S not clear). . . κόπους] ἴδω αὐτὸν εἰς κόπους μεγάλους V
11
μάταιοι πάντες εἰσὶν οἱ κόποι αὐτοῦ] πάντες οἱ κόποι αὐτοῦ μάταιοί εἰσιν V
N.716 567
workers of porneia, licentiousness and other [kinds of] profligacy and
wantonness. Those who appear bloodshot and fiery are living in knavery
and wrongdoing; they are abusers, blasphemers: treacherous and murder-
ous.’ And again the angel said to him: ‘So now help them, if you desire
their salvation, for this (he said) is why you attained your own prayers, so
that, learning by seeing the sins of those under instruction, you may, by
counsels and exhortations, make them better through repentance in Jesus
Christ our Lord who died and rose from the dead for them. Inasmuch as
you have strength, zeal and love from your Lord-and-master Christ, take
every care of them to turn them away from their own transgressions,
towards God, persuading them of what kind of transgressions they are
subject to and let them not despair of their own salvation. For from this
there is both salvation of the soul for those repenting and turning towards
God and enjoyment of the good things to come. And there is a great
reward for you in having imitated your own Lord-and-master who, for the
salvation of men, left the heavens and made a sojourn on earth.’”
N.716/15.23
Abba Isaiah said concerning humble-mindedness that it has no tongue
with which to say to anybody that he is negligent or to another that he
belittles. Nor does it have eyes to take note of the shortcomings of others,
nor ears to hear things not advantageous to its soul. Nor does it have to do
with anything other than its own sins. But it is peaceable to all men
according to the commandment of God [cf. Jas 3:17] not because of some
friendship. For if someone fasts six days at a time and devotes himself to
severe labour and to commandments extraneous to this path, all his
labours are in vain.
717. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μάξιμος ὥσπερ γὰρ1 ὁ κασσίτερος2 μελαινόμενος
λαμπρύνεται πάλιν, οὕτως καὶ οἱ πιστεύοντες, κἂν μελαίνωνται3 ἁμαρτά-
νοντες, λαμπρύνονται πάλιν μετανοοῦντες· δι᾿ ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ κασσιτέρῳ4
τυχὸν ἡ πίστις παρεικάσθη.
718. Εἶπε γέρων· Μνημονεύσωμεν τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν

κλίνῃ.5 Νόησον, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, καὶ μὴ μεγάλα φρόνει·6 τίς ὢν τί γέγονε διὰ
σὲ ὁ δεσπότης σου· ξένος καὶ οἰκίαν οὐκ ἔχων. Ὢ τῆς ἀφάτου σου
φιλανθρωπίας, Κύριε! Τί τοσοῦτον δι᾿ ἐμέ [f. 319vb], τὸ σὸν πλαστούρ-
γημα, σαυτὸν ἐταπείνωσας! Εἰ ὁ τὰ πάντα λόγῳ ποιήσας οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ
τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ,7 τί περισπᾶσαι, ταπεινὲ ἄνθρωπε, περὶ κτήματα8, τί
[τε]τυφλοῦσαι τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ,9 τί φαντάζῃ, τί οὐ συνάγεις καὶ τρυφᾷς10 τὸν
ἐκεῖ ἀποκείμενον πλοῦτον; Τὰ πάντα γινώσκων, τὸ καλὸν κάτεχε.
719. Ἔλεγεν11 ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰωάννης ὁ Κίλιξ12 ὁ ἡγούμενος τῆς Ῥαϊθοῦ τοῖς

ἀδελφοῖς· Τέκνα, ὡς ἐφύγομεν τὸν κόσμον, φύγωμεν καὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς
σαρκός.
Εἶπε πάλιν· Μιμησώμεθα τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, μετὰ ποίας σκληραγω-
γίας καὶ ἡσυχίας ἐκάθισαν ὧδε. Εἶπε πάλιν· Μὴ ῥυπώσωμεν, τέκνα, τὸν
τόπον τοῦτον ὃν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἐκαθάρισαν ἀπὸ δαιμόνων. Εἶπε πάλιν·
Ὁ τόπος οὗτος ἀσκητῶν ἐστὶν οὐ πραγματευτῶν.13
Εἶπε πάλιν· Ἔφθασα γέροντας ὧδε ἀπὸ ἑβδομήκοντα ἐτῶν ποιήσαντας
βοτάνας καὶ φοίνικας ἐσθίοντας μόνον. Εἶπε πάλιν ὁ γέρων· Ἑβδομή[S f.
319va]κοντα ἓξ ἔτη ἔχω ἐν τῷ τόπῳ [V f. 283r] τούτῳ πολλὰ κακὰ καὶ
δεινὰ παθὼν ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων.
720. Δύο φιλόσοφοι παρέβαλον γέροντι καὶ ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν

αὐτοῖς λόγον ὠφελείας. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἐσιώπα. Πάλιν οἱ φιλόσοφοι εἶπον·
Οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἀποκρίνῃ, πάτερ; Τότε ὁ γέρων λέγει αὐτοῖς· Ὅτι μὲν
φιλόλογοι ἐστὲ οἶδα, ὅτι δὲ οὐκ ἀληθεῖς φιλόσοφοι μαρτυρῶ. Μέχρι οὖν
πότε μανθάνετε λαλεῖν οὐκ εἰδότες; Γενέσθω οὖν ἡ φιλοσοφία ὑμῶν τὸ ἀεὶ
μελετᾶν τὸν θάνατον καὶ τῇ σιωπῇ καὶ τῇ ἡσυχίᾳ ἑαυτοὺς φυλάττετε.
1
γὰρ] φησὶν V 2
κασσίτερος corr.] κασσίτηρος S, κασίτηρος V
3
μελαίνωνται] μελαίνονται V 4
κασσιτέρῳ corr.] κασσιτήρῳ S V
5
κλίνῃ corr in mg S] κλῖναι S V 6
φρόνῃ V 7
κλίνῃ corr in mg S] κλῖναι S V
8
κτήματα] κτημάτων V 9
ἀπιστίᾳ] ἀπληστίᾳ V 10
τρυφᾷς] τρυγὰς V
11
Ἔλεγεν] Εἶπεν V 12
Κίλιξ] Κίληξ S 13
Εἶπε πάλιν. . . πραγματευτῶν] οm V
N.717–20 569
N.717 PG 90: 536, no.32

Abba Maximus said: “Just as pewter that has become black shines again, so
too believers, even if they are blackened by sinning, shine again when they
repent. Perhaps this is why faith was compared to pewter.”
N.718
An elder said: “Let us be mindful of him who had ‘nowhere to lay his head’
[Mt 8:20]. Think of that, O man, and entertain no high thoughts. Being
who he is, [look] what your Lord-and-master became for you: a stranger,
not having a home. Ah! Your unspeakable love of mankind, Lord! Why
did you so humble yourself for me, your creature? If he who made
everything by his word has nowhere to lay his head, why distract yourself
about possessions, wretched man? Why blind yourself by lack of faith?
Why deceive yourself? Why not gather up and treasure the wealth lying
there [above]? Knowing all, retain the good” [cf. 1 Thes 5:21].
N.719 ¼ Pratum Spirituale 115

Abba John the Cilician, higoumen of Raïthou, used to say to the brothers:
“My sons, as we fled from the world, so let us also flee from the desires of
the flesh.”
He also said: “Let us imitate our fathers who lived here in such hêsychia
and hardship. ” He also said: “My sons, let us not defile this place which
our fathers cleansed of demons.” He also said: “This is a place of ascetics,
not of tradesmen.”
He also said: “I came across elders who passed more than seventy years here
eating only plants and dates.” The elder also said: “I have spent seventy-six
years in this place, suffering many wicked and awful things from the demons.”
N.720
Two philosophers visiting an elder entreated him to say something beneficial
to them but the elder remained silent. Again the philosophers spoke: “You
are not giving us any answer, father?” Then the elder said to them: “On the
one hand I am aware that you are men of letters while on the other hand
I bear witness that you are not true philosophers. How long will it be before
you learn, you who know not how to speak? Let your philosophy be always
to meditate on death; keep yourselves in silence and hêsychia.”
721. Εἶπε γέρων· Πολλοὶ τῶν μοναχῶν ἐσκόρπισαν χρήματα, κατέλι-
πόν τε πατέρα καὶ μητέρα,1 ἀδελφοὺς καὶ συγγενεῖς διὰ τὸν2 Θεὸν καὶ τὰς
ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίας. Εἰσελθόντες δὲ ἐν κοινοβίῳ τὰς μέντοι3 μεγάλας ἀρετὰς
κατώρθωσαν, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ μηδαμινῶν σκελισθέντες γεγό
[f. 319vb]νασι δαιμόνων ἐπίχαρμα, διὰ τὸ περιτυπώσασθαι ἑαυτοὺς4
πήρας καὶ ἄρκλας ἔχοντας ἐν αὐταῖς ὀπώρας5 καὶ τραγήματα, βελόνας
καὶ ψαλίδας καὶ σμίλας καὶ ζώνας, οἵτινες ὡς φίλαυτοι ὑπὸ τῶν ὀρθῶς
φρονούντων μὲν ὠνομάσθησαν,6 κατὰ δὲ τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν ὡς κατάρ-
ατοι7 εἰς τὸ ἐξώτερον σκότος πέμπονται. Ἐπικατάρατος γάρ, φησί, ὁ
μετατιθεὶς ὅρους πατέρων, τῆς γὰρ μερίδος Ἰαννῆ καὶ Ἀνανία καὶ
Σαπφείρας ἀξιωθήσονται ὡς μύσται καὶ συμμέτοχοι.
722. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πάτερ, εἰπέ μοι τί ἀγαθὸν

ποιήσω, ἵνα ποιήσω τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπε· Τέκνον, ἐὰν
θέλῃς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ ποιῆσαι, ἀπέχου πάσης ἀδικίας, πλεονεξίας,
φιλαργυρίας, καὶ μὴ ἀποδώσεις κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ, ἢ λοιδορίαν ἀντὶ
λοιδορίας, ἢ γρόνθον ἀντὶ γρόνθου, ἢ κατάραν ἀντὶ κατάρας. Μνημόνευε
τοῦ Κυρίου εἰρηκότος [S f. 320ra]· Μὴ κρίνετε καὶ οὐ μὴ κριθῆτε, ἄφετε καὶ
ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν, ἐλεεῖτε ἵνα ἐλεηθῆτε, γινώσκοντες ἀκριβῶς ὅτι ὀφθαλμοὶ
Κυρίου μυριοπλασίονα ἡλίου φωτεινότεροι εἰσὶν ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώ-
πων καὶ λέληθεν αὐτῷ οὐδέν, οὔτε λογισμὸς8 οὔτε ἔννοια9 οὔτε τι τῶν
κρυπτῶν τῆς καρδίας. Καὶ πάντως δεῖ παραστῆναι τῷ βήματι τοῦ
Χριστοῦ, ἵνα κομίσηται ἕκαστος κατὰ τὰς πράξεις αὐτοῦ. Διὰ τοῦτο
οὖν, τέκνον, ὀφείλομεν δουλεῦσαι αὐτῷ μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου καὶ πάσης
εὐλαβείας καθὼς καὶ10 αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἐδίδαξαν, ἵνα
νήφωμεν εἰς τὰς προσευχὰς καὶ προσκαρτερῶμεν ἔν τε νηστείαις καὶ
δεήσεσιν, αἰτούμενοι τὸν παντεπόπτην Θεὸν τοῦ μὴ εἰσενεγκεῖν11 ἡμᾶς
εἰς πειρασμόν.
1
πατέρα καὶ μητέρα] μητέρα καὶ πατέρα V 2
τὸν] om V 3
μέντοι] μὲν V
4
ἑαυτοὺς] ἑαυτοῖς V 5
ὀπώρας] ὀπώραν V
6
ὀρθῶς φρονούντων μὲν ὠνομάσθησαν] ὀρθᾶ φρονεῖν εἰωθότων πέλουσι V
7
κατάρατοι] κατηραμμένοι V 8
λογισμὸς] λογισμῶν V 9
ἔννοια] ἐννοιῶν V
10
καὶ] om V 11
εἰσενεγκεῖν] εἰσενέγκαι V
N.721–2 571
N.721
An elder said: “Many of the monks dispersed money, leaving father and
mother, brothers and relatives, for the sake of God and their own sins.
Entering a coenobion, they aligned themselves with the great virtues but
tripped up at the small and insignificant ones and became the plaything of
demons. This was because they fashioned themselves bags and chests
containing fruits and sweetmeats, needles and scissors, knives and belts.
These people were called self-centred by those who discern correctly;
according to the sacred Scripture they are sent into outer darkness as
accursed [cf. Mt 22:13, 25:30] for accursed it says is he who changes the
rules of the fathers [cf. Gal 3:10]. They shall be deserving of the lot of
Ananias and Sapphira [cf. Acts 5, 2 Tm 3:8] as [their] initiates and
participators.”
N.722
A brother asked an elder: “Tell me, father, what good might I do in
order to do the will of God?” Said the elder: “If you want to do the will
of God, son, refrain from all wrongdoing, greediness and avarice.
Do not repay evil with evil, railing with railing, [or render] blow for
blow, curse for curse. Remember the Lord who said: ‘Judge not
and you will not be judged’ [Lk 6:37], forgive and it will be forgiven
you, be merciful in order to be treated mercifully, fully aware that ‘the
eyes of the Lord, a myriad times brighter than the sun’ [cf. Sir 23:19]
are on the sons of men and that nothing escapes him, not a thought,
not an idea nor any of the secrets of the heart; that it is indeed necessary
to stand before the judgement seat of Christ [cf. Rom 14:10] so that
each one can be rewarded according to his deeds. For this reason,
son, we must serve him with fear and trembling [cf. Ps 2:11] and all
devotion as he himself stipulated and the apostles taught, so that we
are constant in prayer [cf. 1 Pt 4:7], persevering in fasts and interces-
sions, beseeching the all-seeing God not to lead us into temptation
[cf. Mt 6.13].”
723. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν ὅτι ὀφείλει ὁ διδάσκων ἑτέρους περὶ τῆς αὐτῶν1
σωτηρίας πρῶτος αὐτὸς δρέψασθαι τῆς διδασκαλίας [f. 320rb] τὸν καρ-
πόν2. Ὁ γὰρ ἑαυτὸν μὴ σωφρονήσας πῶς δύναται ἄλλον σωφρονῆσαι, καὶ
ὅστις τῇ φιλαργυρίᾳ σφίγγεται καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ταύτης δαίμονος ἐλαύνεται,
πῶς ἑτέρους περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης διδάξαι δύναται, καὶ ὁ εἰς τὸ δοῦναι καὶ
λαβεῖν καὶ πράσαι καὶ ἀγοράσαι ἑαυτὸν ἀσχολῶν καὶ εἰς τὰς γηΐνους3
φροντίδας τὰς ἡμέρας καὶ τὰ ἔτη αὐτοῦ δαπανῶν καὶ πλανώμενος,4 πῶς
δύναται ἄλλους διδάξαι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ
διδάσκων καταλιπὼν τὰ οὐράνια περὶ τῶν προσκαίρων καὶ παρ-
ερχομένων ἑαυτὸν τέτηκεν; Εὔδηλον ὡς5 οἱ θεωροῦντες αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ6 ὑπ᾿
αὐτοῦ διδασκόμενοι διδαχθήσονται μὲν παρορᾶν τὰ αἰώνια πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν
φροντίδα ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ κτήσασθαι. Τῷ τοιούτῳ λέγει ὁ Θεός· Ἱνατί
σὺ ἐκδιηγῇ τὰ δικαιώματά μου καὶ ἀναλαμβάνῃς7 τὴν διαθήκην μου διὰ
στόματός σου; [S f. 320va V f. 284v] σὺ δὲ ἐμίσησας παιδείαν καὶ ἐξέβαλες
τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω. Καὶ πάλιν· Οὐαὶ δι᾿ οὓς τὸ ὄνομά μου
βλασφημεῖται. Καλὸν τὸ διδάσκειν, ἐὰν ὁ λέγων ποιῇ, ἵνα δι᾿ ὧν λαλεῖ
πράσσῃ καὶ δι᾿ ὧν σιγᾷ γινώσκηται. Μακάριος γὰρ οὐχ ὁ διδάξας ἀλλ᾿ ὁ
ποιήσας καὶ διδάξας.
724. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πῶς οἱ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ βιωτικοὶ

νηστείας ἀμελοῦντες καὶ προσευχῆς καταφρονοῦντες, ἀγρυπνιῶν
ἀπεχόμενοι, πάσης βρώσεως ἐμφορούμενοι κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν
ποιοῦντες εἰς τὸ δοῦναι καὶ λαβεῖν ἀλλήλους κατεσθίοντες, ὅρκοις καὶ
ὁρκωμοσίαις τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς ἡμέρας ἀναλίσκοντες, οὐ πίπτουσιν, οὐδὲ
λέγουσιν ὅτι ἡμάρτομεν, οὐδὲ τῆς κοινωνίας ἑαυτοὺς ἀφορίζουσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ
οἱ μοναχοὶ νηστείαις καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις καὶ χαμαικοιτίαις καὶ ξηροφαγίαις
προσηλούμενοι καὶ πάσης ἀναπαύσεως σαρκικῆς ἐστερημένοι πενθοῦμεν
καὶ [f. 320vb] θρηνοῦμεν καὶ λέγομεν ὅτι ἀπολώλαμεν καὶ τῆς βασιλείας
τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐκπεπτώκαμεν καὶ τῆς γεέννης ὑπεύθυνοι ἐσμέν; Ὁ δὲ γέρων
στενάξας ἔφη· Καλῶς εἶπας, ἀδελφέ, ὅτι οὐ πίπτουσιν οἱ κοσμικοί,
πεσόντες γὰρ ἅπαξ ἐξαίσιον καὶ χαλεπὸν πτῶμα, οὔτε ἀναστῆναι δύναν-
ται οὔτε ἔχουσιν ὅθεν πέσωσι.8 Τίς γάρ ἐστι μέριμνα τῷ διαβόλῳ παλαίειν
τοῖς ἀεὶ κάτω κειμένοις καὶ μηδέποτε ἀνισταμένοις; Οἱ μοναχοὶ ποτὲ μὲν
νικῶντες ποτὲ δὲ νικώμενοι, πίπτοντες ἐγειρόμενοι, θλίβοντες θλιβόμενοι,
πολεμοῦντες πολεμούμενοι ἀντιπαλαίουσι τῷ διαβόλῳ, οἱ δὲ κοσμικοὶ τῇ
1
αὐτῶν] ἑαυτῶν V
2
πρῶτος. . . τὸν καρπόν] πρῶτος τὸν καρπὸν τῆς διδασκαλίας δρέψασθαι V
3
γηΐνους] γηΐνας V 4
δαπανῶν καὶ πλανώμενος] πλανώμενος καὶ δαπανῶν V
5
ὡς] ὅτι V 6
οἱ] om V 7
ἀναλαμβάνῃς] ἀναλαμβάνεις V 8
πέσωσιν V
N.723–4 573
N.723
The same [father] said that he who teaches others about their salvation
must first harvest the fruit of the teaching himself, for how can one who
has not reformed himself reform another? How can one strangled by
avarice and thrown aside by the demon of [avarice] teach other people
about being merciful? And one who occupies himself with giving and
receiving, buying and selling, spending and dissipating his days and years
on earthly concerns, how can he teach others about the good things to
come if he, the teacher, abandoning heavenly things, has wasted himself
away on what is here today and gone tomorrow? Clearly those who see him
and they who are taught by him will learn both to despise what is eternal
and also to invest their entire concern in the present life. To such a one
God says: “Why do you narrate my judgements and take my covenant in
your mouth when you hate to be reformed and have cast my words behind
you” [Ps 49:16–17], and again: “Woe to those through whom my name is
blasphemed” [cf. Rom 2:24]. It is good to teach if he who speaks so act that
his practice accords with his speech – and that he be known through things
he passes over in silence. It is not he who taught who is blessed, but he who
did what he taught.
N.724
A brother asked an elder: “How is it that those living in the world who are
inattentive to fasts, indifferent to prayers, uninvolved in vigils, consume all
kinds of food, devote themselves to giving and receiving just as they wish,
consuming each other and spending the greater part of their days in oaths
and affirmations, how is it they do not fall nor say: ‘We were sinning’ nor
excommunicate themselves, whereas we monks are committed to fasts,
vigils, sleeping rough and eating dry food, deprived of all physical comfort.
We sorrow and lament and say that we are lost; that we have fallen out of
the Kingdom of Heaven and that we are liable [candidates] for Gehenna?”
With a sigh the elder replied: “Brother, you were right to say the world-
lings are not falling for [their] single fall is serious and difficult; neither are
they able to get up nor have they anywhere from which they fell. For what
does it matter to the devil to wrestle with those who are always lying down
and never getting up again? Monks wrestle with the enemy, sometimes
winning, sometimes losing; falling, getting up; afflicting, being afflicted;
attacking and being attacked, whereas the worldlings, content to remain in
profound ignorance, at the first fall, do not even realise they have fallen. So
πρώτῃ πτώσει διὰ πολλὴν ἄγνοιαν ἐναπομείναντες οὐδὲ γινώσκουσιν1
ὅτι πεπτώκασιν. Ἵνα δὲ μάθῃς, τέκνον, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἐγώ τε καὶ σύ, οἱ
δοκοῦντες μὲν2 εἶναι μοναχοὶ μακρὰν δὲ ὄντες τῆς μοναχικῆς πολιτείας
χρῄζομεν πενθεῖν ἀεὶ καὶ θρηνεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι πατέρες χρῄζουσι
τοῦ [f. 321ra] πένθους, τουτέστιν οἱ ἀσκηταὶ καὶ οἱ ἀναχωρηταί.3 Ἄκουε
γοῦν4 συνετῶς καὶ γνῶθι τὸ ψεῦδος ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου εἴρηκε γίνεσθαι5
ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τὸ ἐμβλέψαι γυναικὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι, μοιχείαν ἐλογίσατο
καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ὀργὴν φόνῳ παρείκασε6 καὶ ὑπὲρ ἀργοῦ
ῥήματος λόγον διδόναι ἐφανέρωσε. Τίς οὖν τοιοῦτος ἄνθρωπος καὶ ποῦ
αὐτὸν ζητήσομεν, ὁ καὶ ψεύδους ἀπείραστος καὶ πάσης κατ᾿ ὄψιν
ἐπιθυμίας ἀμύητος καὶ μηδέποτε ὀργισθεὶς τῷ πλησίον εἰκῇ, μηδὲ ἀργοῦ
ῥήματος ὑπαίτιος εὑρεθεὶς ὥστε μὴ χρῄζειν μετανοίας; Τοῦτο οὖν γνῶθι,7
τέκνον, ὅτι ὁ μὴ ἑαυτὸν τελειώσας8 τῷ σταυρῷ, ἐπιδοὺς ἑαυτὸν δηλαδὴ
φρονήματι ταπεινώσεως καὶ ἐξουδενώσεως9 καὶ ῥίψας10 ὑπὸ πάντων
καταπατεῖσθαι καὶ καταφρονεῖσθαι, ἀδικεῖσθαί τε καὶ καταγελᾶσθαι, καὶ
ταῦτα πάντα μετὰ εὐχαριστίας καὶ χαρᾶς διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ὑπομένειν καὶ μὴ
ἐκδικεῖν11 ὅλως [S f. 321rb] τὰ ἀνθρώπινα, τουτέστι δόξαν ἢ τιμὴν ἢ
ἔπαινον ἢ βρώσεως ἡδονήν12 τε καὶ13 πόσεως ἢ ἐνδύσεως, χριστιανὸς
οὗτος οὐ δύναται γενέσθαι ἀληθινός. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἔφη·
Λοιπόν, πάτερ, περισσοτέρου κόπου καὶ μόχθου χρεία.
725. Ὁ ἀββᾶς Εἰρηναῖος εἶπε14 πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφούς· Ἀγωνισώμεθα

καὶ ὑπομείνωμεν πολεμούμενοι, στρατιῶται γὰρ ἐσμὲν τοῦ ἐπουρανίου
βασιλέως Χριστοῦ.15 Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ στρατιῶται τοῦ ἐπιγείου βασιλέως
ἔχουσι περικεφαλαίαν χαλκῆν, ἔχομεν ἡμεῖς16 τὰ οὐράνια χαρίσματα, τὰς
[V f. 285r] ἀρετὰς δηλαδή·17 ἐκεῖνοι ἔχουσι θώρακα ἁλυσιδωτόν,18 ἡμεῖς
πνευματικὸν τὸν τῆς πίστεως χαλκευθέντα ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τῆς θέρμης τοῦ
πνεύματος·19 ἐκεῖνοι20 λόγχην, ἡμεῖς21 προσευχήν· ἐκεῖνοι ἀσπίδα, ἡμεῖς
τὴν εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδα· ἐκεῖνοι θυρεόν, ἡμεῖς τὸν Θεόν· ἐκεῖνοι ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ
1
οὐδὲ γινώσκουσιν] καὶ μὴ δὲ εἰδότες V 2
μὲν] om V
3
πατέρες χρῄζουσι. . . ἀναχωρηταί] πατέρες, οἱ ἀσκηταὶ καὶ ἀναχωρηταί, χρῄζουσι τοῦ πένθους V
4
γοῦν] om V 5
Γίνεσθαι] om V 6
φόνῳ παρείκασε] φθόνῳ παρήκασεν V
7
γνῶθι] om V 8
τελειώσας] τελείως V
9
ἑαυτὸν δηλαδὴ. . . ἐξουδενώσεως] ἐν φρονήματι καὶ ἐξουδενώσεως V 10
ῥίψας] ἑαυτὸν add V
11
ἐκδικεῖν corr] ἐκδικᾶν codd 12
βρώσεως ἡδονήν] ἡδονήν βρώσεως V 13
τε καὶ] ἢ V
14
εἶπεν V 15
τοῦ ἐ. β. Χριστοῦ] Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἐ. β. V
16
ἔχομεν ἡμεῖς] ἡ δὲ ἡμετέρα στρατιὰ ἔχει περικεφαλαῖαν V
17
τὰς ἀρετὰς δηλαδή] τὰς καλὰς ἀρετὰς V 18
ἀλυσειδωτὸν V
19
ἡμεῖς πνευματικὸν. . . τοῦ πνεύματος] καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν θώρακα πνευματικὸν πίστει
χαλκευόμενον V
20
ἐκεῖνοι] ἔχουσι add V 21
ἡμεῖς] δὲ τὴν add V
N.725 575
you might learn, my son, that not only I and you who seem to be monks
(but are far removed from the monastic way of life) need to sorrow all the
time and lament; the great fathers (meaning the ascetics and anchorites)
need to sorrow [too]. So listen carefully and know that God has said that
falsehood is of the devil and that to look at a woman lustfully is counted
adultery [cf. Mt 5:28] and that anger against the neighbour is compared to
murder [cf. Mt 5:22] and he revealed that account must be made for an idle
word [cf. Mt 12:36]. So who is such a man and where do we look for him:
inexperienced in falsehood, totally uninitiated into the satisfaction of a
[pretty] face, never angered with his neighbour, never found responsible
for an idle word so that he need not repent? Know this my son: that he
who does not perfectly dedicate himself to the cross (to a mentality of
humility and contempt) and does not cast himself before all to be trodden
underfoot and despised, treated unjustly and laughed at – and endure all
this with thanksgiving and gladness for the love of God and does not in
the least lay claim to human things, meaning glory or honour or praise
or delight in food, drink and clothing: he cannot be a true Christian.”
On hearing this the brother said: “Ah well, father, there is need of more
labour and toil.”
N.725
Abba Irenaeus said to the brothers: “Let us struggle and patiently endure as
we fight, for we are soldiers of Christ, the heavenly king. And as the
soldiers of an earthly king have a helmet of brass [1 Kg 17:38], we have the
heavenly gifts, meaning the virtues. They have a breastplate of chainmail
[1 Kg 17:5], we have a spiritual one, forged of faith for us by the warmth of
the spirit. They have a spear, we prayer. They have a buckler, we hope in
God. They have a large shield, we have God. They shed blood in the
battle; we offer up the willingness [to do so]. For this reason the heavenly
King allows the demons to make war on us in order that we not forget his
benefits for, when things are quiet, often most men do not pray at all – or
if they pray, they do not really pray but inattentively and absentmindedly –
and this is not to be thought of as prayer since it is not to be considered to
αἵματα ἐκχύουσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὴν προαίρεσιν προσενέγκωμεν. Διὰ τοῦτο
γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἐπουράνιος βασιλεὺς [S f. 321va] παρεχώρησε τοῖς δαίμοσι1
πολεμεῖν ἡμῖν,2 ἵνα μὴ ἐπιλανθανώμεθα τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν αὐτοῦ. Ἐν γὰρ τῇ
ἀνέσει πολλάκις οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὔτε ὅλως προσεύχονται, εἰ δὲ3
καὶ προσεύχονται,4 οὐ προσεύχονται τῷ ὄντι, ῥεμβόμενοι τυχὸν ἢ καὶ
συνεχόμενοι5 τὴν διάνοιαν, ὃ οὐδὲ προσευχὴν νομιστέον, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ εἰσα-
κουστέαν ἡγητέον6. Οἱ γὰρ μόνοις7 τοῖς χείλεσι προσλαλοῦντες Θεῷ8 τῷ
δὲ κόσμῳ9 καρδίᾳ διαλεγόμενοι, πῶς δῆτα10 εἰσακουσθήσονται; Ὅταν δὲ
θλιβώμεθα, τότε νηφόντως11 προσευχόμεθα καὶ πολλάκις τοῖς χείλεσι μὴ
ψάλλοντες τῇ διανοίᾳ προσευχόμεθα, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναπέμποντες τὸ ῥῆμα
τῆς καρδίας καὶ στεναγμοῖς αὐτῷ ὁμιλοῦντες. Τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀδελφοί,
μιμησώμεθα τοὺς τοῦ φθαρτοῦ βασιλέως στρατιώτας καὶ προθύμως
πολεμήσωμεν. Μᾶλλον δὲ τοὺς τρεῖς παῖδας μιμησώμεθα καὶ τὴν κάμινον
τῶν παθῶν ἁγνείᾳ πατήσωμεν [S f. 321vb] καὶ τοὺς ἄνθρακας τῶν πειρ-
ασμῶν τῇ προσευχῇ σβέσωμεν καὶ τὸν νοητὸν Ναβουχοδονόσορ τὸν
διάβολον αἰσχύνωμεν καὶ τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν θυσίαν ζῶσαν12 τῷ Θεῷ
παραστήσωμεν καὶ τὸ εὐσεβὲς φρόνημα ὡς ὁλοκαύτωμα προσενέγκωμεν.
726. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Σιλουανὸν λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, ἀββᾶ;

Πῶς κτήσομαι τὴν κατάνυξιν; Πάνυ γὰρ πολεμοῦμαι ὑπὸ τῆς ἀκηδίας καὶ
τοῦ ὕπνου καί, ὅτε ἀνίσταμαι τῇ νυκτί, πολλὰ πυκτεύω καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ
ἤχου ψαλμὸν οὐ λέγω καὶ οὐ δύναμαι περιγενέσθαι τοῦ ὕπνου. Καὶ
ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον, τὸ λέγειν σε τοὺς ψαλμοὺς μετὰ ἤχου πρώτη
ὑπερηφανία ἐστὶ καὶ ἔπαρσις, τουτέστιν ἐγὼ ψάλλω, ὁ ἀδελφὸς οὐ
ψάλλει. Τὸ γὰρ ᾆσμα σκληρύνει τὴν καρδίαν καὶ πωρώνει καὶ οὐκ ἐᾷ
τὴν ψυχὴν κατανυγῆναι. Εἰ οὖν θέλεις εἰς κατάνυξιν ἐλθεῖν, ἄφες τὸ ᾆσμα
καί, ὅτε ἵστασαι τὰς εὐχάς σου ποι[S f. 322ra]ῶν, ὁ νοῦς σου τὴν δύναμιν
τοῦ στίχου ἂς ἐρευνᾷ καὶ λογίζου ὅτι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ παρίστασαι τοῦ
ἐξετάζοντος13 καρδίας καὶ νεφρούς. Καί, ὅτε ἀναστῇς ἐκ τοῦ ὕπνου, πρὸ
πάντων δοξάσει τὸν Θεὸν τὸ στόμα σου, καὶ μὴ ἄρξῃ τοῦ κανόνος εὐθύς,
ἀλλ᾿ ἐξελθὼν ἔξω τοῦ κελλίου στιχολόγησον τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὸ πάτερ ἡμῶν
1
τοῖς δαίμοσι] τοὺς δαίμονας V 2
ἡμῖν] ἡμᾶς V 3
δὲ] om V
4
προσεύχονται] ἀλλ᾿ add V
5
τῷ ὄντι, ῥεμβόμενοι τυχὸν ἢ καὶ συνεχόμενοι] συνεχόμενοι ἢ καὶ ῥεμβόμενοι V
6
ὃ οὐδὲ προσευχὴν νομιστέον, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ εἰσακουστέαν ἡγητέον] προσευχόμενοι ὡς μὴ
προσευχόμενοι εὑρίσκονται V
7
μόνοις om V 8
τοῖς χείλεσι προσλαλοῦντες Θεῷ] Θεῷ λαλοῦντες τοῖς χείλεσι V
9
κόσμῳ] τῇ add V 10
δῆτα] om V 11
νηφόντως] νήφοντες V
12
ζῶσαν] om V 13
ἐξετάζοντος] ἐτάζοντος V
N.726 577
be heard. They who only speak to God with their lips while dialoguing
with the world in the heart, how indeed might they be heard? But when we
are afflicted, then we pray attentively and often we pray in our mind
without our lips singing, sending up to him the word of our heart and
speaking to him in sighs. So let us now imitate the soldiers of the mortal
king and fight energetically. Let us rather imitate the Three Children and
let us tread underfoot the furnace of the passions with purity and extin-
guish the coals of temptations by prayer and put to shame the devil, that
virtual Nebuchadnezzar, and let us present our bodies as a living sacrifice
to God and let us offer our pious sentiments as burnt offerings.”
N.726
A brother asked Abba Silvanus: “What shall I do, abba? How shall
I acquire sorrow for sin? I am greatly afflicted by accidie and sleep and
when I arise in the night I fight hard and do not recite a psalm without a
tune and cannot resist sleep.” The elder answered: “My son, for you to
recite the psalms with a tune is the highest pride and conceit, implying:
I am offering psalms, the brother is not offering psalms – for the singing
hardens and petrifies the heart, preventing the soul from feeling sorrow for
sin. So if you want to attain sorrow for sin, abandon the singing and, when
you are standing saying your prayers, let your mind contemplate the
meaning of the verse and recall that it is standing before God who ‘searches
the very heart and reins’ [Ps 7:10]. And when you rise from sleep, before all
else, your mouth will glorify God and do not begin the canon at once, but
come out of your cell and recite ‘I believe’ and ‘Our Father which art in
heaven’ and then go in and begin the canon in a relaxed way, sighing and
remembering your sins and the place of punishment in which you are
going to be tortured.” The brother said: “Father, ever since I became a
monk I have been singing the sequence of the canon and the hours and the
[contents] of the Oktoêchos”, and the elder said: “That is why sorrow for
sin and lamenting flee from you. Think of the great fathers, how simple
ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ τότε εἰσελθὼν ἄρξαι τοῦ κανόνος ἄνετος ἄνετος,1
στενάζων καὶ ἐνθυμούμενος τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ τὴν κόλασιν ἐν ᾗ μέλλεις
βασανίζεσθαι ἐν αὐτῇ. Καὶ λέγει ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἐγώ, ἀββᾶ, ἐξ οὗ ἐμόνασα τὴν
ἀκολουθίαν τοῦ κανόνος καὶ τὰς ὥρας καὶ τὰ τῆς ὀκταήχου ψάλλω. Καὶ
λέγει ὁ γέρων· Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ κατάνυξις καὶ τὸ πένθος φεύγει ἀπὸ σοῦ.
Ἐννόησον τοὺς μεγάλους πατέρας πῶς ἰδιῶται ὑπῆρχον καὶ μὴ ἐπιστά-
μενοι εἰ μὴ ὀλίγους ψαλμούς, καὶ οὔτε ἤχους οὔτε τροπάρια ἐγίνωσκον καὶ
δίκην φωστήρων ἐν κόσμῳ [S f. 322rb] ἔλαμψαν. Καὶ μαρτυρεῖ μου τῷ
λόγῳ ὁ ἀββᾶς Παῦλος καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς Παῦλος [V f.
286r] ὁ ἁπλοῦς καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς Παμβὼ καὶ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀπολλὼς καὶ οἱ καθ᾿ ἑξῆς,
οἵτινες καὶ νεκροὺς ἤγειραν2 καὶ κατὰ δαιμόνων τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἐδέξαντο,
οὐκ ἐν ᾄσμασι καὶ τροπαρίοις καὶ ἤχοις ἀλλ᾿ ἐν προσευχῇ καὶ νηστείᾳ. Οὐ
γὰρ ἡ καλλιέπεια τοῦ ἄσματος ὑπάρχει ἡ σώζουσα τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ
φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἡ τήρησις τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐντολῶν. Τὸ γὰρ ᾆσμα
πολλοὺς εἰς τὰ κατώτατα τῆς γῆς κατήγαγεν οὐ μόνον κοσμικοὺς ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἱερεῖς εἰς πορνείαν3 καὶ4 πάθη πολλὰ αὐτοὺς βοθρίσαν. Καὶ τὸ ᾆσμα,
τέκνον, τῶν κοσμικῶν ἐστι· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ συναθροίζεται ὁ λαὸς ἐν
ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. Ἐννόησον, τέκνον, πόσα τάγματα εἰσὶν ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ,
καὶ οὐ γέγραπται περὶ αὐτῶν ὅτι μετὰ τῆς ὀκταήχου ψάλλουσιν ἀλλὰ
τάγμα ἓν ἀκαταπαύστως τὸ ἀλληλούϊα ᾄδουσιν, ἕτερον [f. 322va] τάγμα
τὸ ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριος σαβαώθ, ἕτερον τάγμα εὐλογημένη ἡ δόξα
Κυρίου5 ἐκ τοῦ τόπου καὶ ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ. Σὺ οὖν, τέκνον, ἀγάπησον
τὴν ταπείνωσιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ πρόσεχε σεαυτόν,6 φυλάττων σου7 τὸν
νοῦν ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς προσευχῆς, καὶ ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν παραβάλῃς, μὴ δεικνύεις
ἑαυτὸν ὡς ἀγχίνουν καὶ καθηγητήν, ἀλλ᾿ ἔσο ταπεινόφρων καὶ ὁ Θεὸς
παρέχει σοι8 τὴν κατάνυξιν.9
727. Ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Παλλάδιον ὁ ἄρχων θέλων θεάσασθαι

αὐτόν· ἐνηχήθη γὰρ τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ λαβὼν ταχυγράφον ἐνετείλατο
αὐτῷ λέγων· Ἐγὼ εἰσέρχομαι πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν, σὺ οὖν τὰ ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ πρός
με λαλούμενα σημείωσαι ἐν πάσῃ ἀσφαλείᾳ. Εἰσελθὼν δὲ ὁ ἄρχων λέγει
τῷ γέροντι· Εὖξαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι πολλὰς ἔχω ἁμαρτίας.10 Λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Μόνος ἀναμάρτητος Ἰησοῦς ὁ Χριστός. Λέγει ὁ ἄρχων· Ἆρα,
ἀββᾶ, περὶ ἑκάστης ἁμαρτίας ἔχομεν δοῦναι δίκας; Λέγει ὁ γέρων·
Γέγραπται ὅτι σὺ ἀποδώσεις ἑκάστῳ [f. 322vb] κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.
1
ἄνετος] semel V 2
ἤγειραν] ἀνέστησαν in marg. V 3
πορνείαν] πορνείας V
4
καὶ] εἰς add V 5
Κυρίου] add V in marg. 6
σεαυτόν] σεαυτῷ V
7
σου] τοσοῦτον V 8
παρέχει σοι] προσέχει σου V 9
τὴν κατάνυξιν] τῇ κατανύξει V
10
ἁμαρτίας] add V in marg
N.727 579
they were, knowing only a few psalms. They had no knowledge of tones or
tropes and they shone like luminaries in the world – and witnesses to what
I am saying are Abba Paul, Abba Antony, Abba Paul the Simple, Abba
Pambo, Abba Apollo and so forth, those who raised the dead and received
power over demons, not by tunes and tropes and tones, but in prayer and
fasting. It is not the elegance of the tune that saves the man but the fear of
God and keeping the commandments of Christ. Singing has led many
down into the lowest parts of earth and not only worldlings but priests too;
it entrenched them in porneia and many passions. Singing is for world-
lings, my son; that is why people congregate in churches. Just think how
many ranks [of angels] there are in heaven, my boy, and it is not written of
them that they sing with the eight tones but that one rank unceasingly
sings: ‘Alleluia’, another rank: ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord of Sabaoth’, another
rank: ‘Blessed be the glory of the Lord from this place and from his house.’
So do you, my son, love the humility of Christ and watch over yourself,
keeping watch over your mind at the time of prayer and, wherever you go,
do not display yourself as one of ready wit and a teacher but be humble
and God will grant you sorrow for sin.”
N.727
A governor came to Abba Palladius wishing to see him, for he had heard
about him. Engaging a shorthand writer, he ordered him saying: “I am
going in to the abba, so do you set down what he says to me with great
accuracy.” The governor went in and said to the elder: “Pray for me, abba,
for I have many sins.” The elder said: “Jesus Christ alone is without sin.”
The governor said: “Abba, are we going to be punished for each sin?”
[Ps 61:13] The elder said: “It is written: ‘You render unto every man
according to his work’” and the governor said: “Explain that saying to
me.” “It is self-explanatory”, said the elder, “but listen carefully. Have you
afflicted your neighbour? Expect the same. Have you seized the goods of
those in need? Have you struck a poor person? Have you given partial
judgement? Put anybody to shame? Reviled a person? Blackmailed one?
Borne false witness? Coveted others’ wives? Sworn oaths? Transformed the
ordinances of the fathers? Encroached on orphans’ property? Oppressed
Λέγει ὁ ἄρχων· Ἑρμήνευσόν μοι τὸν λόγον. Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Αὐτερμήνευ-
τος1 ὑπάρχει. Ὅμως ἄκουσον λεπτομερῶς· Ἔθλιψας τὸν πλησίον;
ἐκδέχου τὸ ἴσον. Ἥρπασας τὰ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων2; Κατεκοντύλισας
πένητα; Ἔλαβες πρόσωπον ἐν κρίσει; Κατῄσχυνας; Ἐλοιδόρησας; Ἐσυ-
κοφάντησας; Κατεψεύσω; Ἀλλοτρίοις ἐπεβούλευσας γάμοις; Ἐπιώρκη-
σας;3 Ὅρια πατέρων μετατέθηκας;4 Κτήμασιν ὀρφανῶν ἐπῆλθες; Χήρας
ἐξέθλιψας; Τὴν παροῦσαν ἡδονὴν τῶν ἐν5 ἐπαγγελίαις ἀγαθῶν προετίμη-
σας; Ἐκδέχου τούτων τὴν ἀντιμέτρησιν. Οἷα γὰρ σπείρει ἄνθρωπος,
τοιαῦτα καὶ θερίζει. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ εἴ τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν πέπρακταί σοι,
κἀκείνων ἐκδέχου πολλαπλασίονας6 τὰς ἀνταποδώσεις,7 ὅτι σύ, φησίν,8
ἀποδώσεις ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. Ταύτης μεμνημένος παρὰ πάντα
τὸν βίον τῆς ἀποφάσεως δυνήσῃ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων διαφυγεῖν.
Λέγει ὁ ἄρχων· Καὶ τί δεῖ [f. 323ra] ποιεῖν, ἀββᾶ; Λέγει ὁ γέρων· Λογίζου
τὰ αἰώνια καὶ ἀτελεύτητα καὶ ἀδιάδοχα ἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔνι νύξ, ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι
ὕπνος, τὸ τοῦ θανάτου μίμημα, ἐν ᾗ οὐκ ἔνι βρῶσις, οὐκ ἔνι πόσις, τὰ τῆς
ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ὑπηρετήματα, οὐκ ἔνι νόσος, οὐκ ἔνι ἀλγήματα, οὐκ
ἰατρεῖα, οὐ δικαστήρια, οὐκ ἐμπορίαι,9 οὐ χρήματα, τῶν κακῶν ἡ ἀρχή,
τῶν πολέμων ἡ ὑπόθεσις, ἡ ῥίζα τῆς ἔχθρας, ἀλλὰ χώρα ζώντων, οὐκ
ἀποθανόντων διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, [V f. 287r] ἀλλὰ ζώντων τὴν ἀληθινὴν
ζωὴν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Καὶ στενάξας ὁ ἄρχων λέγει· Ἀληθῶς, ἀββᾶ,
οὕτως ἐστίν, ὡς εἴρηκας. Καὶ ὠφεληθεὶς πάνυ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὰ ἴδια
εὐχαριστῶν τῷ Θεῷ.
728. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Μακάριον· Πάτερ, Τί ἐστι τὸ καρ-

τερεῖν καὶ εὔχεσθαι; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τὸ καρτερεῖν καὶ εὔχεσθαι ἐστὶ τὸ
ὑπομένειν πάντα πειρασμὸν ἐρχόμενον, εἴτε παρὰ ἀνθρώπων εἴτε παρὰ
δαιμόνων καθὼς γέγραπται· Ἐκαρτέρησα ὡς ἡ [S f. 323rb] τίκτουσα,
τουτέστιν ὑπέμεινα ὥστε οὖν καλὴ ἡ ὑπομονὴ καὶ καλὸν τὸ καρτερικῶς10
προσεύχεσθαι. Ὀφείλομεν οὖν δέεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἕως οὗ συνεργήσας
βοηθήσῃ ἡμῖν, ὅπως κατορθώσωμεν τὰ ἤθη ἡμῶν. Ξένον γὰρ μοναχῶν
ξένον11 τὸ ὀργίζεσθαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάλιν ξένον τὸ λυπεῖν τὸν
πλησίον. Ἀλλὰ ἀληθῶς, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ὀφείλομεν καὶ ποιεῖν καὶ
λέγειν. Φησὶ γὰρ ὁ ἀπόστολος· Ὡσπερεὶ καθάρματα12 τοῦ κόσμου
ἐγενήθημεν πάντων περίψημα ἕως ἄρτι καὶ τὸ ἡμεῖς μωροὶ διὰ Χριστὸν καὶ
ἡμεῖς δοῦλοι ὑμῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦν. Ὀφείλομεν χαίρεσθαι ὅταν ἀτιμαζώμεθα
1
αὐτερμήνευτος] ἀνερμήνευτος V 2
τὰ τῶν ὑποδεεστέρων] τὸν ὑποδεέστερον V
3
ἐπιώρκησας om (?) V 4
μετατέθηκας] μετέθηκας V 5
ἐν] add V in marg
6
πολλαπλασίονας] πολλαπλασίους V 7
ἀνταποδόσεις V 8
φησίν] om V
9
ἐμπορία V 10
καρτερικῶς] καρτερῶς V 11
ξένον om V (probably erased)
12
ὡσπερεὶ καθάρματα S V] ὡς περικαθάρματα 1 Cor 4.13
N.728 581
widows? Valued present delights over the good things in the promises?
Expect the retribution for these things, for such as a man sows, such does
he reap [cf. Gal 6:7]. On the other hand, if any of the good things have
been done by you, expect the multiple rewards of those, for ‘You give to
each one according to his works’ it says [Rom 2:6]. If you are mindful of
this explanation throughout [your] life you will be able to escape the
greater part of your offences.” “And what must one do, abba?” said the
governor. The elder said: “Bear in mind the eternal, unending and perpet-
ual things in which there is no night, where there is no sleep (the
recollection of death), in which there is no food, is no drink (the props
of our feebleness), no sickness, no pain, no surgery, no law courts, no
markets, no money (the origin of evils, the premise of wars, the root of
hostility), but a land of the living, of those who do not die on account of
sin but are living the true life in Christ Jesus.” Sighing, the governor said:
“Indeed abba, it is as you have said” and, greatly benefited, he went off to
his own place, giving thanks to God.
N.728
A brother asked Abba Macarius: “What is it to stand fast and pray?” and
the elder said: “To stand fast and pray is to endure every temptation that
comes along, whether from men or from demons, as it is written: ‘I stood
fast like a woman in travail’ [Is 42:14], meaning ‘I endured’, for endurance
is good and it is good to pray steadfastly. So we are obliged to pray to God
until he helps us by cooperation to correct our behaviour. For it is foreign
for a monk, foreign for him to be angry with his brother and again foreign
to distress his neighbour. But, as it is written, we are truly obliged to do
and to speak [cf. Acts 1:1], for the Apostle says: ‘We are treated as the scum
of the earth, the dregs of humanity to this very day’ [1 Cor 4:13], ‘We are
fools for Christ’s sake’ [1 Cor 4:10] and ‘we ourselves are your servants for
Christ’s sake’ [cf. 2 Cor 4:5]. We are obliged to rejoice when we are
dishonoured and to consider the afflictions and injustices that happen to
us for the Lord’s sake to be as good cheer. It is the Apostle Peter who says:
‘If you are reviled because of the name of the Lord, blessed are you, for the
spirit of the glory of God is resting upon you’ [cf. 1 Pt 4:14]. So, when you
καὶ εὐφρασίαν ἡγεῖσθαι τὰς θλίψεις καὶ τὰς ἀδικίας τὰς διὰ τὸν Κύριον
ἡμῖν γινομένας. Πέτρος ὁ ἀπόστολός ἐστιν ὁ λέγων· Εἰ ὀνειδίζεσθε διὰ τὸ
ὄνομα Κυρίου, μακάριοι ἐστέ, ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς
ἀναπαύεται. Ὅταν οὖν ἀτιμάζησθε διὰ τὸν Θεόν, ἀγαλλιᾶσθε λέγοντες·
Μακά[f. 323va]ριοι ἐσμέν, ὅτι κατηξιώθημεν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Θεοῦ
ἀτιμασθῆναι. Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ὀφείλουσι τὰ τέκνα μιμεῖσθαι τοὺς γονεῖς;
Ὀφείλομεν γνῶναι ἀκριβῶς ὅτι τέκνα ἐσμὲν τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων.
Παῦλος γὰρ βοᾷ καὶ λέγει· Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου
ἐγὼ ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα. Τούτων οὖν ὄντες τέκνα ὀφείλομεν μιμεῖσθαι καὶ1 τοὺς
αὐτῶν2 τρόπους καὶ τὰς πράξεις. Οὗτοι γὰρ μαστιζόμενοι ἔχαιρον,
συκοφαντούμενοι ἀτάραχοι ἦσαν, καίπερ ἀκούοντες παρὰ Ἑλλήνων καὶ
Ἰουδαίων ὅτι οὗτοι εἰσὶν οἱ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἀναστατοῦντες ταῖς μαγείαις καὶ
ταῖς φαρμακείαις αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐλυποῦντο
ἀλλὰ καὶ καυχώμενοι ἔλεγον· Λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Διὰ
τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐγράφησαν, ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς μιμησώμεθα καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν ὅταν
ὑβρίζησθε ἢ συκοφαντῆσθε3 ἢ4 πληγὰς λαμβάνητε, οὕτως ὀφείλετε δια-
τίθεσθαι5 τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν,6 ὡς [S f. 323vb] μεγάλα κερδήσαντες καὶ
κοινωνοὶ καὶ συμμέτοχοι τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων
γενόμενοι καὶ μείζονα τούτων προσδοκᾶν, ἵνα καὶ μείζονα ὦσι τὰ κέρδη.
Ταῦτα ὀφείλουσιν οἱ χριστιανοὶ μελετᾶν, ἵνα γνωσθῶσιν ὅτι μαθηταὶ εἰσὶ
τῶν ταῦτα κηρυξάντων, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ οἱ ταπεινοὶ μοναχοί, οἱ ἀποταξάμε-
νοι τῷ κόσμῳ7 καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς8 ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.
729. Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀπολλώς, ὁ μαθητὴς τοῦ ἀββᾶ Σισόη, διηγήσατο ἡμῖν

λέγων ὅτι ἐν ἀρχῇ, ὅτε εἰσῆλθον πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Σισόην, ἐποίησα τρία
ἔτη πολεμούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν καὶ μὴ ἐξαγγέλλων τῷ γέροντι.
Ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ὠχλούμην ὑπὸ τοῦ ψεύδους καὶ τῆς καταλαλιᾶς καὶ τῆς
κενοδοξίας. Ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐκ ἐπαύετο νουθετῶν με – ἦν δὲ ὁ πολύς μου
πόλεμος περὶ ἱερωσύνης-καὶ ἐδείκνυέ μοι ὄνειρα ὡς ὅτι ἐχειροτονούμην
ἐπίσκοπος. Ὁ δὲ ἀββᾶς Σισόης οὐκ ἐπαύετο νουθετῶν καὶ [V f. 288r]
ἐπιπλήττων με9 ὥστε με [S f. 324ra] ἐκ τῆς πολλῆς ὀχλήσεως10 καὶ
νουθεσίας αὐτοῦ ἀποδράσαι ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπιέναι εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν πρὸς
τοὺς κατὰ σάρκα συγγενεῖς μου, ὅπως χειροτονηθῶ καὶ γένωμαι πρε-
σβύτερος ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῆς Ἁγίας Θεοτόκου. Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀπιέναι με ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ
1
καὶ om V 2
αὐτῶν om V 3
συκοφαντεῖσθε V 4
ἢ] καὶ V
5
ὀφείλετε διατίθεσθαι] ὀφείλομεν διακεῖσθαι V 6
ὑμῶν] ἡμῶν V
7
τῷ κόσμῳ] τὸν κόσμον V 8
πᾶσι τοῖς] τὰ V
9
νουθετῶν καὶ ἐπιπλήττων με] νουθετῶν με καὶ ἐπιπλήττων V 10
ἐνοχλήσεως V
N.729 583
are dishonoured for God’s sake, rejoice, saying: ‘We are blessed for we have
been made worthy to be dishonoured on account of the name of God.’ Do
you not know that the children are obliged to imitate the parents? We are
obliged to be well aware that we are children of the holy apostles, for Paul
cries out and says: ‘For you are my offspring in Christ Jesus through the
gospel’ [1 Cor 4:15]. Being then children of these [apostles], we ought to
imitate their way of life and their deeds, for they used to rejoice when they
were flogged and were untroubled when slandered. And when they heard
from Greeks and Jews that it was they who had turned the world upside
down [cf. Acts 17:6] with their spells and poisons, in all these things not
only were they not sorrowful, but spoke out, boasting: ‘Being reviled, we
bless etc.’ [1 Cor 4:12]. This is why they wrote, so that we might imitate
[them]. So when you are reviled or slandered or get wounded, you ought
to have it in your hearts that you are acquiring great things, becoming
companions and associates of the apostles and of the holy martyrs. And
you should expect greater [afflictions] than these in order that the gains
might be greater. Christians ought to contemplate these matters in order to
know that they are disciples of those who preached these things, especially
the humble monks who have renounced the world and everything in the
world.”
N.729
Abba Apollo, the disciple of Abba Sisoes related to us: “At first when
I went to be with Abba Sisoes, I spent three years under attack from the
passions without confessing it to the elder. I was especially afflicted by
lying, backbiting and arrogance. The elder did not desist from exhorting
me (I was having a great struggle concerning the priesthood) and he caused
me to dream that I was being ordained bishop. Abba Sisoes did not desist
from exhorting and reprimanding me, with the result that I ran away from
him because of the excessive annoyance and admonishing. I fled to my
blood relations in Alexandria so that I could be ordained and become a
priest in the church of the holy Theotokos. As I went away, on the road
I saw a tall person, completely naked, with a black face, horrible to behold,
with the head of a fish, small feet, disconnected, without knees, badly put
θεωρῶ ἄνδρα μακρὸν μὲν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, γυμνὸν δὲ ὅλον, μέλανα τὴν ἰδέαν,
σαπρὸν1 τῇ θεωρίᾳ, ἰσχνοκέφαλον, λεπτόπουν, ἀσύνθετον, ἀγόνατον,
κακοστοίβαστον, σιδηρόνυχα, πυρόφθαλμον, ὅλον συαγρώδην,
ἀνδρόθηλυν, ἀσβολόχρουν, παχύχειλον, μαστοὺς ἔχοντα γυναικός,
μεγαλόρχην, σῶμα ἔχοντα ὥσπερ ὄνου.2 Ἦν δὲ ἐπισείων μοι τὸ αὑτοῦ3
αἰδοῖον καὶ δεικνύων μοι τὰ ὀπίσθια ὡς σῶμα γυναικός. Ἐγὼ δὲ
θεασάμενος αὐτὸν καὶ σφόδρα φοβηθεὶς κατεσφράγισα ἐμαυτόν, αὐτὸς
δὲ προσεγγίσας μοι4 περιπλακεὶς κατεφίλει με πυκνῶς λέγων· Τί
κατασφραγίζῃ καὶ ἀποφεύ[S f. 324rb]γεις με;5 Πάντως ἐμὸς εἶ καὶ φίλος
μου ὑπάρχεις ποιῶν τὰ θελήματά μου, διὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ ἦλθον συνοδοι-
πορῆσαί σοι, ἕως οὗ πληρώσω καὶ ποιήσω6 τὰ θελήματά σου. Διὰ τοῦτο
καὶ ἀνδρόθηλυς εἰμί,7 τὰ μὲν ἔμπροσθέ μου κιχρῶ τοῖς ψεύσταις καὶ
ἐπιόρκοις καὶ καταλάλοις, τὰ δὲ ὄπισθε τοῖς κενοδόξοις καὶ ὑπερηφάνοις.
Ἐγὼ δὲ μὴ ὑποφέρων τὴν αὐτοῦ δυσωδίαν ἄρας τὸ ὄμμα εἰς τοὺς
οὐρανοὺς ἔκραξα λέγων· Ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν τοῦ ἀββᾶ8 Σισόη
λύτρωσαί με ἐκ τῆς ἀνάγκης ταύτης. Καὶ εὐθέως γέγονεν ὥσπερ9 γυνὴ
πάνυ ὡραία καὶ εὐειδὴς καὶ γυμνώσασα αὐτὴν10 λέγει μοι· Ἀπόλαυσον
τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν σου, ἐπειδὴ πολλά με ἀνέπαυσας. Καὶ11 ἐγὼ σχοινοπλόκος
εἰμί, ὅσον σὺ παρέχεις τὰ λώματα, τοσοῦτον κἀγὼ πλέκω αὐτά12, ἀλλ᾿
ἐπειδὴ αἱ εὐχαὶ τοῦ φαγοπολίου13 ἀπελαύνουσί με, ἰδοὺ φεύγω14 ἀπὸ
σοῦ. Καὶ εἰποῦσα ταῦτα15 [S f. 324va] γέγονεν ἄφαντος. Ἐγὼ δὲ
ὑποστρέψας προσέπεσον τῷ γέροντι μου16 καὶ διηγησάμην αὐτῷ καὶ
τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς τὰ συμβάντα μοι. Καὶ ποιήσας εὐχὴν ἐκαθέσθην τοῦ λοιποῦ
σὺν αὐτῷ.17
730. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τινὰ τῶν πατέρων περὶ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τῆς
βλασφημίας λέγων· Θλίβεται ἡ ψυχή μου, ἀββᾶ, ἀπὸ τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς
βλασφημίας, ἀλλὰ ποίησον ἔλεος, εἰπέ μοι πόθεν συνέβη μοι καὶ τί
ποιήσω. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων καὶ εἶπεν· Ὁ τῆς βλασφημίας λογισμὸς ἐπι-
συμβαίνει ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ καταλαλεῖν καὶ ἐξουδενοῦν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ κατακρίνειν,
μᾶλλον δὲ δι᾿ὑπερηφανίαν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ποιεῖν τινὰ τὰ θελήματα αὐτοῦ καὶ
ἀμελεῖν τῆς προσευχῆς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ὀργίζεσθαι καὶ θυμοῦσθαι, ἅπερ
1
γυμνὸν. . . σαπρὸν] γυμνὸς δὲ ἦν, ὅλος μέλας τῇ ἰδέᾳ, σαπρὸς V
2
ἰσχνοκέφαλον. . . ὥσπερ ὄνου] ἰχνοκέφαλος, λεπτόπους, ἀσύνθετος, ἀγόνατος, κακοστοίβαστος,
σιδηρόνυξ, πυρόφθαλμος, ὅλος συαγρώδης, ἀνδρόθηλυς, ἀσβολόχρους, παχύχειλος, μαστοὺς ἔχων
γυναικὸς, μεγαλόρχης, σῶμα ἔχων ὥσπερ ὄνου V
3
αὐτοῦ V 4
μοι] καὶ add V 5
με] om V 6
καὶ ποιήσω om V
7
εἰμί] καὶ add V 8
ἀββᾶ] ἀββᾶ μου V 9
ὥσπερ] om V 10
αὐτὴν] ἑαυτὴν V
11
καὶ om V 12
αὐτά] om V 13
φαγοπολίου] φαγοπολέου S, Σισόη add V
14
ἰδοὺ φεύγω] om V 15
εἰποῦσα ταῦτα] ταῦτα εἰποῦσα V 16
μου om V
17
τοῦ λοιποῦ σὺν αὐτῷ] μετ’ αὐτοῦ τὸ λοιπόν V
N.730 585
together, with iron nails, fiery eyes, like a wild boar, androgynous, black as
soot, with thick lips and a woman’s breasts and huge testicles and having
the body like an ass. He was swinging his private parts at me and showing
me his buttocks like [those of] a woman’s body. I was very frightened
when I saw him and I made the sign of the cross but he approached me,
embraced me and kissed me many times, saying: ‘Why do you make the
sign [of the cross] and flee from me? For you are indeed my friend and exist
doing the things I want; for that reason I came to travel along with you
until I have fulfilled and performed the things you want. For that reason
I am androgynous; I lend my forward parts to liars, cursors and backbiters,
my hinder parts to the arrogant and supercilious.’ Unable to tolerate his
stench, I lifted my eyes to heaven and cried out, saying: ‘O God, by the
prayers of Abba Sisoes, deliver me from this peril.’ All at once he became as
though he were a very beautiful and good-looking woman and, making
herself nude, she said to me: ‘Satisfy your lusts for you have greatly
pleasured me. I am a rope-braider and to the extent that you provide
rushes, to that extent I braid them; but since the prayers of the hoary old
glutton are driving me away, see: I am running away from you’ and, saying
this, she became invisible. I returned and fell before the elder. I told him
and the brothers what had happened and, having offered a prayer,
I remained with him thenceforth.”
N.730
A brother asked one of the fathers about the logismos of blasphemy saying:
“Abba, my soul is afflicted by the demon of blasphemy. Be merciful and
tell me whence it came upon me and what I am to do.” The elder answered
him and said: “The logismos of blasphemy comes upon us subsequent to
backbiting and belittling and passing judgement and especially arrogance;
from somebody doing his own will, neglecting his prayer, being angry and
enraged – all of which are a mark of pride. It is pride that predisposes us to
fall into the aforementioned passions of backbiting, belittling and passing
πάντα σημεῖόν ἐστιν ὑπερηφανίας, ἥτις παρασκευάζει ἡμᾶς ἐν τοῖς προ-
λαβοῦσι1 πάθεσι τῆς κατα[f. 324vb]λαλιᾶς καὶ ἐξουδενώσεως καὶ κατακρί-
σεως πίπτειν2 κἀκεῖθεν ὁ τῆς βλασφημίας γεννᾶται λογισμός. Ἐὰν οὖν
χρονίσῃ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ, παραδίδωσιν3 αὐτὸν ὁ δαίμων τῆς βλασφημίας εἰς
τὸν τῆς πορνείας δαίμονα καὶ εἰς ἔκστασιν φρενῶν καὶ εἰ μὴ ἀνανήψῃ ὁ
ἄνθρωπος ἀπόλλυται.
731. Εἶπε γέρων· Ὥσπερ τις ἀποθανὼν ἐν πόλει οὔτε τῆς φωνῆς τῶν
ἐκεῖ ἀκούει οὔτε λαλιᾶς4 οὔτε ἤχου τινός,5 ἀλλὰ καθάπαξ ἀπέθανε καὶ
μετατίθεται ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ, ἔνθα οὐκ εἰσὶ φωναὶ καὶ κραυγαὶ6 τῆς πόλεως
ἐκείνης, οὕτω καὶ ὁ μονάζων, ἐπὰν ἐνδύσηται τὸ σχῆμα καὶ ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τῆς
πόλεως αὐτοῦ [V f. 289r], ὀφείλει καὶ αὐτὸς καταλεῖψαι τοὺς γονεῖς καὶ
οἰκείους καὶ συγγενεῖς καὶ μὴ ἐκδοῦναι ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὰς μερίμνας τοῦ βίου
καὶ εἰς7 τὸν περισπασμὸν καὶ μόχθον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς ταραχὰς καὶ ζάλας τῆς
ματαιότητος τοῦ ψυχοφθόρου κόσμου.8 Ἐὰν δὲ μετὰ τὸ μο[f. 325ra]νάσαι
αὐτὸν μὴ ἐξέλθοι ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἢ τῆς κώμης αὐτοῦ, ἔοικε νεκρῷ κειμένῳ ἐν
οἴκῳ καὶ ὀζέσαντι, οὗτινος πάντες οἱ ὀσφρανθέντες ἀποφεύγουσιν ἀπ᾿
αὐτοῦ.
732. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπε· Μοναχὸς μετὰ τὸ ἀποτάξασθαι αὐτὸν ἐκδοὺς

ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸν περισπασμὸν καὶ μόχθον τοῦ δυστήνου βίου τούτου καὶ
εἰς τὸ δοῦναι καὶ λαβεῖν, ὅμοιός ἐστι πτωχῷ ἐνδεεῖ καὶ λειπομένῳ πᾶσαν
χρείαν βιωτικὴν εἶτα ἀπὸ πολλῆς ἀθυμίας9 κενεμβατοῦντι10 καὶ λογιζο-
μένῳ11 πῶς τραφῇ καὶ ἐνδύσηται καὶ12 τῷ ὕπνῳ ἑαυτὸν ἐκδεδωκότι13 καὶ
ὁρῶντι κατ᾿ ὄναρ14 πλούσιον ἑαυτὸν15 ἀποβεβληκότα τοὺς ῥυπαροὺς
χιτῶνας καὶ ἐνδεδυμένον ἱμάτια λαμπρά, καὶ ἐκ τῆς περιχαρείας ἐξυπ-
νισθέντι καὶ ἐν χερσὶ τὴν πενίαν εὑρόντι.16 Οὕτω καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς ἐὰν μὴ
νήφῃ, ἀλλὰ δαπανᾷ τὰς ἡμέρας [f. 325rb] αὐτοῦ ἐν περισπασμῷ
χλευαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν καὶ δαπανώμενος ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων
τῶν ἐμπαιζόντων αὐτόν, ὅτι διὰ τὸν Θεόν ἐστιν ὁ περισπασμὸς καὶ ὁ
μόχθος αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν ὥρᾳ τοῦ χωρισμοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκ τοῦ σώματος
εὑρίσκει ἑαυτὸν ἐνδεῆ καὶ πτωχὸν καὶ πένητα, λειπόμενον πάσης ἀρετῆς,
1
προλαβοῦσι] προλεχθεῖσι V 2
πίπτειν] om V 3
παραδίδωσιν] παραδίδει V
4
λαλιᾶς] λαλιὰν V 5
ἤχου τινός] ἤχον V 6
φωναὶ καὶ κραυγαὶ] κραυγαὶ καὶ φωναὶ V
7
εἰς] om V 8
ζάλας. . . κόσμου] ζάλας καὶ τρικυμίας τοῦ ματαίου κόσμου καὶ ψυχoφθόρου V
9
ἀθυμίας] ῥαθυμίας V
10
κενεμβατοῦντι] κενεμβατῶν V = step on emptiness, metaph. tread a void, make a vain attempt, lack
solid foundation, lead a frivolous life
11
λογιζομένῳ] λογιζόμενος V 12
καὶ]εἶτα V in marg 13
ἐκδεδωκότι] ἐκδέδωκε V
14
ὁρῶντι κατ᾿ ὄναρ] ὁρᾶ ἑαυτὸν ἐν ὀράματι V 15
ἑαυτὸν] om V
16
ἐξυπνισθέντι καὶ ἐν χερσὶ τὴν πενίαν εὑρόντι] ἐξυπνισθεὶς εὗρε τὴν ἐν χερσὶ πενίαν; V
N.731–2 587
judgement, whence the logismos of blasphemy is generated. If it remain for
some time in [a man’s] soul, the demon of blasphemy hands him over to
the demon of porneia and to mental aberration. Moreover, unless a man
come to his senses again, he is lost.”
N.731
An elder said: “Just as somebody who dies in a city hears neither the voice
of those who are there nor the speaking nor the sound of anybody, but is
transferred once he has died into another place where there are neither
voices nor shouts of that city, so is he who lives the monastic life. Once he
has donned the habit and gone out of his city, he too is obliged to abandon
parents, friends and relations and not devote himself to the cares of life, to
its distraction and distress; to the troubles and disturbances of the vanity of
the soul-destroying world. If he does not come out of his city or his village
when he starts to live as a monk, he is like a corpse lying stinking in a
house, from which all who smell it run away.”
N.732
The same [elder] said: “A monk who, after renouncing [the world] devotes
himself to the distraction and distress of this wretched life, to giving and
receiving, is like an indigent pauper who, lacking every bodily need, yet
leading a frivolous life through his carelessness and wondering how to feed
and clothe himself, gives himself over to sleep. He sees himself in a dream
as a rich man who has cast off his filthy rags and put on glorious vesture;
then, awakening from his joyfulness, he finds the poverty that is his lot. So
it is too with the monk if he does not take a hold on himself but wastes his
days in distraction, ridiculed by logismoi and exhausted by the demons who
deceive him into thinking that his distraction and distress are on behalf of
καὶ τότε νοήσει πόσων ἀγαθῶν χορηγὸς τὸ νήφειν ἦν1 καὶ προσέχειν
ἑαυτῷ καὶ πόσων2 κολάσεων ὁ περισπασμὸς τοῦ βίου ἐγένετο.3
733. Εἶπε πάλιν· Ὥσπερ κρέας, ἐὰν μὴ ἔχῃ ἅλας, σήπεται καὶ πολλῆς
δυσωδίας μεμέστωται, ὥστε πάντας ὑποστρέφειν4 αὐτῶν τὰς ὄψεις ὑπὸ
τῆς κακίστης5 ὀσμῆς καὶ σκώληκες ἕρπουσιν ἐν αὐτῷ ἐμφωλεύουσαί τε καὶ
κατεσθίουσαι καὶ κατανεμόμεναι,6 ἐπὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ ἅλας, ἀναιροῦνται καὶ
αὐτῶν νεκρωθέντων ὁμοῦ7 καὶ ἡ δυσωδία8 πέπαυται τῆς τοῦ ἅλατος
φύσεως ἀναιρετικῆς μὲν τῶν [f. 325va] σκωλήκων, ἀφανιστικῆς δὲ τῆς
δυσωδίας ὑπαρχούσης,9 τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ μοναχὸς ὁ ἐκδεδωκὼς10
ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὰ γήϊνα πράγματα καὶ εἰς τοὺς περισπασμούς,11 μὴ ἡσυχάζων
δὲ12 ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ καθοπλίζων ἑαυτὸν τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ
καὶ μὴ μετέχων τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ εὐχὴ καὶ ἡ ἀγρυπνία
καὶ ἡ νηστεία – τὸ πνευματικὸν ἅλας-, σέσηπεν οὗτος13 καὶ δυσωδίας14
πολλῶν λογισμῶν ἐμπέπλησται πονηρῶν ὥστε ἀποστρέφεσθαι τὸ
πρόσωπον τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων ὑπὸ15 τῆς δεινῆς τῶν ματαίων
λογισμῶν δυσωδίας καὶ τοῦ σκότους τῶν παθῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ψυχῇ
ἐνεργούντων.16 Νόει τοίνυν σκώληκας17 τὰ πνεύματα τῆς πονηρίας καὶ
τὰς δυνάμεις18 τοῦ σκότους,19 οἵτινες ἐμπεριπατοῦσι τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἡμῶν
τοῖς πονηροῖς τε καὶ ῥυπαροῖς ἡ[f. 325vb]μᾶς ὅλους κατανεμόμενοι,
ἕρποντές τε καὶ ἐμφωλεύοντες ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ αὐτὴν ἡμῶν διαφθείρουσαι καὶ
ἐξαφανίζουσαι τὴν ψυχήν, ἐπὰν δὲ προσφύγῃ ὁ μοναχὸς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν
καὶ ἀποσπάσῃ ἀπὸ τοὺς περισπασμοὺς καὶ πιστεύσῃ ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς δύναται
θρέψαι αὐτόν, τότε ἀποστέλλεται αὐτῷ τὸ ἅλας τὸ πνευματικόν, τὸ
ἀγαθὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον Πνεῦμα καὶ ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ φυγαδεύονται τὰ
πάθη.
1
ἦν om V 2
καὶ πόσων] πόσων δὲ V 3
ἐγένετο] ὑπάρχει V
4
ὑποστρέφειν] ἀποστρέφεσθαι V 5
ὑπὸ τῆς κακίστης] ἐκ τῆς κακῆς V
6
ἐν αὐτῷ ἐμφωλεύουσαί τε καὶ κατεσθίουσαι καὶ κατανεμόμεναι] εἰς τὸ σεσηπὸς κρέας καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ
νέμονται καὶ ἐσθίουσι καὶ ἐκεῖ φολεύουσιν V
7
καὶ αὐτῶν νεκρωθέντων ὁμοῦ] καὶ ἀπόλλυνται οἱ ἔσω μενόμενοι σκώληκες V
8
δυσωδία] ὀσμὴ τῆς δυσωδίας V
9
τῆς τοῦ ἅλατος φύσεως ἀναιρετικῆς μὲν τῶν σκωλήκων, ἀφανιστικῆς δὲ τῆς δυσωδίας ὑπαρχούσης]
ἡ φύσις γὰρ τοῦ ἅλατος ἀναιρετικὴ τῶν σκωλήκων ὑπάρχει καὶ τῆς δυσωδίας ἀφανιστικὴ V
10
ἐκδεδωκὼς] ἐκδιδοὺς V 11
περισπασμοὺς] καὶ add V 12
δὲ om V
13
οὗτος] om V 14
δυσωδίας] καὶ add V 15
ὑπὸ] ἀπὸ V
16
ἐνεργούντων] καὶ οἱ κάκιστοι [+ λογισμοὶ in marg] τῇ διανοίᾳ add V
17
νόει τοίνυν σκώληκας] ὅρα τοὺς σκώληκας οἵτινες εἰσὶ V 18
τὰς δυνάμεις] αἱ δυνάμεις V
19
Post hac sic desinit V: ἐν αὐτῷ ἐμπεριπατοῦσι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν νέμονται ἐν τοῖς ῥυπαροῖς λογισμοῖς
καὶ ἕρπουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ φωλεύοντες καὶ αὐτὴν ἐσθίουσι καὶ ἀφανίζουσι καὶ φθείρουσιν ἐπὰν δὲ
προσφύγῃ ὁ μοναχὸς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ ἀποσπάσῃ ἀπὸ τοὺς περισπασμοὺς καὶ πιστεύσῃ ὅτι ὁ
Θεὸς δύναται θρέψαι αὐτόν, τότε ἀποστέλλεται αὐτῷ τὸ ἅλας τὸ πνευματικόν, τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ
φιλάνθρωπον πνεῦμα καὶ [V f. 290r] ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ φυγαδεύονται τὰ πάθη.
N.733 589
God. At the time of the separation of the soul from the body he finds
himself indigent, poor and destitute, devoid of all virtue. Then will he
think of how many good things it would provide [if one were] to get
control of oneself and to pay attention to oneself – and of how many
punishments the distraction of life became.”
N.733
Again he said: “Just as meat decays if salt is not added and it is filled with
much stench so that all persons avert their faces because of the foul odour
and worms wriggle in it, concealed in it and distributed through it, but
when salt comes along, [the worms] are eliminated and, with them dead,
the stench ceases too (the nature of the salt being both eliminative to the
worms and eradicative to the stench), in the same way, the monk who has
dedicated himself to earthly matters and to distractions, not remaining in
hêsychia in his cell, nor arming himself with the fear of God and not
partaking of the power of God (prayer, vigil, fasting that is, – the spiritual
salt) – this one has decayed and is filled with the stench of many wicked
logismoi so that the face of God and of the angels is turned away from the
terrible stench of the vain logismoi and the darkness of the passions at work
in such a soul. Now think of the spirits of wickedness and the powers of
darkness that walk about in our evil and filthy logismoi as worms, eating us
all up, wriggling and teaming in us, destroying and obliterating our very
soul. But when the monk takes refuge in God, detaches himself from
distractions and believes that God is able to heal him, then the spiritual salt
is sent to him, the good and man-loving Spirit; and, when he comes, the
passions take flight.”
734. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πάτερ,1 τί αἰνίττεται ὁ
Προφήτης λέγων· Πολλοὶ λέγουσι τῇ ψυχῇ μου οὐκ ἔστι σωτηρία αὐτοῦ2
ἐν τῷ Θεῷ αὐτοῦ; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τοὺς ἀκαθάρτους λογισμοὺς αἰνίτ-
τεται, τοὺς ἀποστασιάζοντας ἀπὸ3 τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ψυχήν,4 ὅταν ἐν θλίψει
γένωνται5 τῶν συμβαινόντων.
735. Εἶπε γέρων· Χρὴ φυγεῖν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν
ἀνομίαν, κἂν φίλοι ὦσι κἂν συγγενεῖς6 κἂν ἀξίωμα ἱερέων ἢ βασιλέων
[f. 326ra] ἔχωσιν.7 Ἡ γὰρ τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν ἀποστασία
φιλίαν ἡμῖν Θεοῦ καὶ παρρησίαν χαρίζεται.
736. Εἶπε πάλιν ὁ γέρων· Κρεῖσσον οἰκεῖν μετὰ τριῶν φοβουμένων8 τὸν
Θεὸν ὑπὲρ μυρίους μὴ φοβουμένους. Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐν τοῖς
κοινοβίοις εἰς τοὺς ἑκατὸν τὸ πολὺ εὑρεθήσονται ὀλίγοι9 οἱ σῳζόμενοι, εἰς
δὲ τοὺς πεντήκοντα λογίζομαι ὀλιγώτεροι. Πάντες γὰρ τραπήσονται
φιλοῦντες τραπέζας καὶ τὴν γαστριμαργίαν. Πολλοὶ κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ
ἐκλεκτοί. Φιλοῦσι δὲ πάντες καὶ τὴν φιλαρχίαν καὶ τὴν φιλαργυρίαν.
737. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν· Οὐ συμφέρει μετὰ παρανομούντων κολλᾶσθαι οὐκ

ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ, οὐκ ἐν ἀγορᾷ, οὐκ εἰς βουλήν, οὐκ εἰς δικαστήριον, οὐδ᾿ ὅλως
οὐδὲ ἀλλαχοῦ. Χρὴ γὰρ εἰς τὸ παντελὲς τῆς τῶν παρανομούντων κοινω-
νίας ἀπέχεσθαι. Πᾶς γὰρ πα[f. 326rb]ράνομος ἀποστροφῆς ἄξιος καὶ
κολάσεως αἰωνίου μέτοχος.
738. Εἶπε γέρων· Οὐδὲν πτωχότερον διανοίας ἐκτὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ

φιλοσοφούσης τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὀφείλει γὰρ ὁ διδάσκων εἴτε ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ
εἴτε ἐν κελλίῳ ἵνα αὐτὸς ποιήσῃ πρῶτον ἃ λέγει καὶ διδάσκει. Τὸν
κοπιῶντα γάρ, φησί, γεωργὸν δεῖ πρῶτον τῶν καρπῶν μεταλαμβάνειν.
1
Πάτερ om V 2
αὐτοῦ] αὐτῷ V, om Ps 3.3 3
ἀπὸ om V
4
τὴν ψυχήν] ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ V 5
γένωνται] γένηται V
6
ὦσι κἂν συγγενεῖς] ἢ συγγενεῖς ὑπάρχωσι V 7
ἔχωσιν] κέκτηνται V
8
τριῶν φοβουμένων] τρεῖς φοβουμένους V 9
ὀλίγοι] om V
N.734–8 591
N.734
A brother asked an elder: “Father, what does the prophet mean when he
says: ‘Many say to my soul: His salvation is not in his God’ [Ps 3:3]?” The
elder said: “He means the unclean logismoi, the ones that distance the soul
from God when those upon whom they alight are in affliction.”
N.735
An elder said: “One must flee from all workers of iniquity, whether they be
friends or relations or hold the ranks of priests or princes; for keeping apart
from the workers of iniquity provides us with friendship and familiarity
with God.”
N.736
Again the elder said: “It is better to live with three who fear God than with
myriads who do not fear [him]. In the last days, in the coenobia of a
hundred at the most, few will be found who are being saved, fewer in those
of fifty I think for they will all be turned aside, in love with banquets and
gluttony. ‘Many are called but few are chosen’ [Mt 22:14] but many are
addicted to the pursuit of power and money.”
N.737
The same [elder] said: “It is not good to keep company with the iniqui-
tous, neither in church nor in the marketplace; neither in the council nor
in court nor anywhere else at all. One should totally abstain from the
company of the iniquitous for every one of them deserves to be avoided
and is a partaker of eternal punishment.”
N.738
An elder said: “There is nothing more poverty-stricken than a mind
philosophising about God remote from God. For one who teaches,
whether in church or in a cell, he must first himself perform what he says
and teaches. ‘The husbandman that labours must be first partaker of the
fruits’ [2 Tm 2:6].”
739. Εἶπε πάλιν ὅτι προσήκει τῷ μοναχῷ μὴ περὶ δένδρα1 εἶναι
εὔκλωνα2 ἢ σύσκια καλλίροα ἢ λειμῶνας παμποικίλους ἢ πρὸς κηπείοις
καὶ λαχάνοις παντοδαποῖς ἢ ἐν οἰκίαις εὐπρεπέσι ἢ διατριβῶν ἐνθυμήσεσι
γυναικῶν, μὴ πανηγυρικόν, μὴ μεμνῆσθαι φιλοτιμιῶν, μὴ ποίμνης προβά-
των μηδὲ περὶ βοῶν ἀγέλας ἀσχολῆσαι τὸν νοῦν καὶ τῷ δεῖσθαι τῶν
ἀναγκαίων εὐχάριστον καὶ ξένην ἡγεῖσθαι τὸν βίον ὁδὸν πάσης σαρκικῆς
διαθέσεως ἔρημον [f. 326va]. Ἐὰν δὲ χαυνώσας ὁ μοναχὸς ἑαυτὸν τοῖς
τοιούτοις ἐμπλακῇ, οὔτε φίλος τοῦ Θεοῦ γενέσθαι ἰσχύει, οὔτε τοῦ ψόγου
τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀποδράσαι. Ἀπαιτεῖ γὰρ ἑαυτὸν μάχεσθαι περὶ ὅρων καὶ
διὰ τὰς λαμπρὰς οἰκίας, μεγιστάνους ὑποδέχεται καὶ διὰ τοὺς κήπους ὑπὸ
πάντων ὀχλεῖται καὶ διὰ τὰ ποίμνια δουλοῦται καὶ διὰ τοὺς βόας μισ-
θοῦται καὶ διὰ τὰς ἀρούρας καὶ τοὺς ἀγροὺς διαπληκτίζεσθαι ἐπιχειρεῖ καὶ
διὰ τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας καὶ τὰς αὐτῶν ἀρδείας εἰς ἔχθρας ἐμπλέκεται. Ἔλυσέ
τις τῆς ἀμπέλου τὸν τέρμονα3 καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ προσεκλήρωσεν, ἄλλος τῇ
χώρᾳ προσαφῆκε τὸ κτῆνος, ἄλλος τὸ ὕδωρ ἐπιρρέον τῷ κήπῳ μετήγα-
γεν. Οὐκοῦν λυπῆσαι δεῖ καὶ μαχέσασθαι καὶ τῶν μαινομένων χείρονα
διαπράξασθαι καὶ ἄρχοντας πρὸς ἐπικουρίαν μετακαλέσασθαι. Τί γὰρ
ὠφελεῖται μοναχὸς ἀποταξάμενος μὲν [f. 326vb] τῷ βίῳ καὶ τοῖς βιωτικοῖς
πάλιν ἐμπλεκόμενος πράγμασιν. Οὐδείς, φησί, στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέκεται
ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις. Οὐκοῦν ἀρξώμεθα ἀναχωρεῖν τῶν πραγμά-
των, καταφρονήσωμεν χρημάτων, ἀποστῶμεν ἁπάντων τῶν βυθιζόντων
τὸν νοῦν καὶ ὑποβρύχιον ποιούντων αὐτόν, ἀπορρίψωμεν τὸν πονηρὸν
φόρτον, ἵνα μικρὸν ἀναπνεύσῃ τὸ πλοῖον, ἵνα καὶ ὁ κυβερνήτης τῆς ψυχῆς
ἡμῶν νοῦς δυνηθείη πάντως μετὰ τῶν συμπλεόντων αὐτῷ διασωθῆναι
πώποτε λογισμῶν.
740. Διηγήσατο ἡμῖν ὁ ἀββᾶς Θεωνᾶς περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μαρκέλλου ὅτι
ἦν ἡσυχάζων ὁ ἀββᾶς Μάρκελλος πλησίον κώμης μεγάλης, ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι
τοῦ Λιβάνου ἐν σπηλαίῳ τινὶ ὑπὸ τὴν πόδωσιν τοῦ ὄρους. Ἦν δὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς
Μάρκελλος πάνυ πραῢς καὶ ἐπιεικὴς καὶ εὐλαβὴς καὶ ἁγνὸς καὶ σώφρων.
Πολλὴν δὲ πίστιν καὶ πόθον ἔσχον οἱ ἄνδρες τῆς κώμης εἰς αὐτόν, [f. 327ra]
ὥστε καὶ πολλοὺς προστρέχειν αὐτῷ καὶ διδάσκεσθαι ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ. Ποιή-
σας τὲ ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ τόπῳ4 ἔτη ἓξ πολλοὺς πειρασμοὺς ὑπέστη ἐκεῖσε ὁ
γέρων, ὥς μοι τεθάρρηκεν, ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων5 θελόντων αὐτὸν6 ἐξῶσαι7
τὲ8 τοῦ σπηλαίου καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν παρεμποδίσαι,9 ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἴσχυσαν.
1
δένδρα] δένδρων V 2
εὔκλωνα corr] εὔκλονα S εὐκλόνων V
3
τέρμων –ονος = boundary, edge 4
τοιούτῳ τόπῳ] τόπῳ τούτῳ V
5
ὥς μοι τεθάρρηκεν, ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων] ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων ὥς μοι τεθάρρηκεν V
6
αὐτὸν] om V 7
ἐξῶσαι] ἐξεῶσαι V 8
τὲ om V
9
τὴν ἡσυχίαν παρεμποδίσαι] ἐμποδίσαι τῆς ἡσυχίας V
N.739–40 593
N.739
He also said: “It is inappropriate for a monk to be around trees with fine
twigs, pretty shaded streams, well-flowered meadows or near gardens with
all kinds of vegetables or in luxurious houses or to waste time remembering
women. He should not be pompous or ambitious; not let his mind dwell
on a flock of sheep or herds of oxen; not request a free gift of the necessities
of life nor regard life in the desert as a way to all bodily satisfaction. If a
monk lets himself go to the extent of becoming entangled in such things,
neither is he capable of becoming a friend of God nor of fleeing the
censure of men – for it is required of him to contend about property lines
and sumptuous houses. He receives magnates; he is importuned by every-
body concerning gardens; he is a slave to his flocks, occupied with his oxen
and becomes involved in ploughland and fields; he gets into recriminations
about vineyards and the irrigation of them. One person has moved the
landmark of the vineyard and added [the difference] to his own patrimony;
another has let his flock into the pasture while another has diverted the
flow of water into his garden. Thus one is offended and has to fight; to
devise stratagems worse than mad men’s and summon magistrates to back
one up. What good does it do a monk who has renounced [this] life and
the things of this life to be involved in affairs again? ‘No soldier on service
entangles himself in the affairs of this life’ it says [2 Tm 2:4] so let us begin
by withdrawing from affairs. Let us despise money and all the things that
overwhelm the mind and completely submerge it. Let us cast aside the
cargo so that the vessel can sail on a little and that the mind that holds
the rudder can be saved, together with the logismoi that are sailing along
with it.”
N.740
Abba Theonas told us [this] about Abba Marcellus: that Abba Marcellus
was living in hêsychia near a large village somewhere in Lebanon, in a cave
at the foot of the mountain. Now Abba Marcellus was very mild, reason-
able, devout, chaste and self-disciplined. The men of the village had a great
deal of faith in and attraction to him so that many went running to him to
be taught by him. When he had been in that place for six years the elder
underwent many temptations there, from demons wanting to expel him
from the cave and to interrupt [his] hêsychia. But they were not successful
for he easily tolerated every temptation brought against him by the
demons. So in the end the demon disguised himself to look like the elder
Αὐτὸς γὰρ1 πάντα πειρασμὸν ὑπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων αὐτῷ ἐπεισφερόμενον2
ῥᾷον ἐνέγκαι οἷς ἐγίνετο.3 Ἐσχάτως οὖν4 μετασχηματισθεὶς δῆθεν ὁ
δαίμων5 ὡς εἰς τὸν γέροντα, ἤρξατο ἀπατᾶν τὰς γυναῖκας τῶν ἐν τῇ
πόλει οἰκούντων πρωῒ6 ἑσπέρας ζητῶν συγγενέσθαι αὐταῖς καὶ ὁμιλῶν
αὐταῖς7 ὁμιλίας ἀπρεπεῖς, πείθων αὐτὰς ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι τὸ λάθρα πορνεύειν
ἁμαρτία. Ταῦτα οὖν ὁ δαίμων οὐχ ἅπαξ οὐδὲ δὶς ἀλλὰ8 καὶ πλειστάκις
ποιῶν διετέλει.9 Ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν ἑώρα γυναῖκα βαδίζουσαν κατὰ μόνας
μετασχηματιζόμενος10 ὡμίλει11 [f. 327rb] αὐτῇ. Αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες ἀπελθοῦσαι
τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν ἀνήγγειλαν καὶ διεφημίσθη ὁ λόγος ἐν τῇ κώμῃ12 καὶ
συνηθροίσθησαν οἱ13 τῆς πόλεως ἐν τῷ κυριακῷ καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος ὁ
περιοδευτὴς14 τὰς γυναῖκας ἠρώτα μαθεῖν τὸ ἀληθές, εἰ ἄρα οὕτως ἔχει. Αἱ
δὲ γυναῖκες πλείους τῶν εἴκοσι ὑπῆρχον αἵτινες καὶ15 διεβεβαιοῦντο
λέγουσαι· Οὐχ ἅπαξ οὐδὲ δὶς ἀλλὰ καὶ πλειστάκις ἐβιάσατο ἡμᾶς πρὸς
τὸ συγγενέσθαι ἡμῖν. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ περιοδευτὴς σὺν τῷ κλήρῳ μὴ
νοήσας πανουργίαν εἶναι τοῦτο τοῦ δαίμονος, ἀπέστειλε16 νεανίσκους
πρὸς τὸ κακιγκάκως17 ἐκδιῶξαι τὸν γέροντα. Ἀπελθόντες δὲ οἱ νεανίσκοι
ῥοπάλοις αὐτὸν παίοντες18 τίλλοντες καὶ19 τὰς τρίχας τοῦ πώγωνος
αὐτοῦ ἀνέσπασαν20 καὶ σύροντες τοῦ σπηλαίου ἐξέβαλον21 καὶ
τύψαντες22 αὐτὸν σφοδρῶς κατέλιπον23 μέσον τῆς ὁδοῦ ἡμιθνῆτα24 γενό-
μενον.25 Παρερ[f. 327va]χόμενοι δέ τινες τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Βηρυτοῦ εὗρον τὸν
γέροντα ἐρριμμένον καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐκ τῶν πληγῶν ποταμηδὸν26 περιρρέον
αὐτῷ.27 Ἠρώτων δὲ28 μαθεῖν τὰ συμβάντα αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων παρεκάλει
αὐτοὺς ὅπως βαστάσαντες αὐτὸν ἀπενέγκωσιν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ. Οἱ δὲ
ἄνδρες εἴξαντες ἀνήνεγκαν βαστάξαντες29 αὐτὸν ἔνθα ἦν τὸ πρότερον. Οἱ
δὲ τῆς κώμης ἄνδρες μαθόντες ὅτι ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ὑπάρχει, ἐρχόμενοι
ὕβριζον καὶ ἐλοιδόρουν αὐτόν. Ἐγὼ δέ, φησίν, ὑπέμενον εὐχαριστῶν
1
γὰρ] δὲ V 2
ἐπεισφερόμενον] ἐπερχόμενον V 3
ἐνέγκαι οἷς ἐγίνετο] ὑπήνεγκεν V
4
οὖν] δὲ V 5
δῆθεν ὁ δαίμων] ὁ δαίμων δῆθεν V 6
πρωῒ] add καὶ in marg V
7
αὐταῖς] αὐτὰς S 8
οὐδὲ δὶς ἀλλὰ] ἀλλὰ δεὶς [sic] V 9
διετέλει] οm V
10
μετασχηματιζόμενος] ὁ δαίμων add V 11
ὡμίλει] ὁμίλει V 12
κώμῃ] πόλει V
13
οἱ om V
14
περιοδευτής = priest entrusted with visiting and supervising of country districts (Lampe)
15
καὶ om V 16
ἀπέστειλε] ἀπέστειλαν V
17
κακιγκάκως (also κακηγκάκως) = wretchedly] κακηνκάκως V
18
ῥοπάλοις αὐτὸν παίοντες] ἔπαισαν τὸν γέροντα ῥοπάλοις καὶ V
19
καὶ om V] ἀνέσπασαν add V 20
ἀνέσπασαν] om V
21
σύροντες τοῦ σπηλαίου ἐξέβαλον] σύραντες αὐτὸν ἐξέβαλον τοῦ σπηλαίου V
22
τύψαντες] τυπτήσαντες V 23
κατέλιπον] αὐτὸν add V 24
ἡμιθνῆτα] ἡμιθανῆ V
25
γενόμενον om V 26
ποταμηδὸν] ποταμιδὸν V 27
αὐτῷ] om V
28
Ἠρώτων δὲ] Οἱ δὲ ἠρώτων αὐτὸν V 29
βαστάξαντες om V
N.740 595
and began seducing the women living in the city, seeking morning and
evening to be with them and speaking indecently with them, persuading
them that it is not sin to commit porneia in secret. The demon succeeded
in doing these things not just once or twice, but many times. Whenever he
saw a woman going along alone he would speak with her in his disguise.
The women went to their own husbands and reported [this] to them. The
word went round the village and they of the city congregated in the house
of the Lord. The peripatetic priest questioned the women to learn the
truth, whether it really was so and the women – there were more than
twenty of them – insisted, saying: “He coerced us to let him be with us.”
When the peripatetic priest (together with the clergy) heard this, unaware
that this was a cunning trick of the demon, he sent youths to expel the
elder with cruelty. Off went the youths and beat him with rods, pulling
out the hairs of his beard. They threw him out of the cave by dragging him
and, when they had given him a severe beating, they left him in the middle
of the road, half dead. Some people coming from Beirut found the elder
lying [there], blood flowing out of him like a river. They were asking to
find out what had happened to him but the elder begged them to carry
him and bring him to the cave; the men agreed to bear him off and to
bring him to where he was before. The men of the village came there
when they learnt that he was in the cave, insulting and reviling him, “But,”
said he, “I just went on giving thanks to God.” When he had spent
eighteen months in the cave, ridiculed and reviled by all and sending up
prayers to God that their souls might be saved, after that, the matter of the
deception was revealed to the peripatetic priest in dreams. The youths and
the women began to be demon-possessed and to froth at the mouth.
τῷ Θεῷ. Ποιήσας οὖν ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ μῆνας ιη´1 ὑπὸ πάντων
χλευαζόμενος καὶ ὑβριζόμενος καὶ εὐχὰς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν τῷ Θεῷ ἀναπέμπων
ὅπως αἱ ψυχαὶ αὐτῶν σωθῶσι, μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπεκαλύφθη τῷ περιοδευτῇ
δι᾿ ὀνείρων τὰ τῆς φαντασίας. Ἤρξαντο δὲ καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι καὶ αἱ [f. 292r V]
γυναῖ[f. 327vb]κες δαιμονᾶν καὶ ἀφρίζειν. Καὶ γνόντες οἱ τῆς κώμης
ἐξῆλθον σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ παιδίοις πρὸς τὸ εὐλογηθῆναι αὐτοὺς παρ᾿
ἐμοῦ. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀποδράσας ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἐλθὼν κατῴκησα ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῆς
Νιτρίας.2 Καὶ ἔλεγέ μοι ὁ γέρων·3 Ἀββᾶ Θεωνᾶ,4 εἰ βούλει ἀνενοχλήτως
παρελθεῖν τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς σου καὶ μὴ εὑρεῖν τοὺς δαίμονας
πρόφασιν κατὰ σοῦ, μὴ οἰκήσῃς πλησίον πόλεως5 ἢ κώμης καὶ
ἀναπαύσῃ.6
741. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Παλλάδιον λέγων· Πάτερ, εἶπόν7 μοι
τί ποιήσω, ὅτι τρία ἔτη ἔχω νηστεύων ζευγάρια ζευγάρια καὶ οὐ δύναμαι
ἀπαλλαγῆναι τοῦ δαίμονος τῆς πορνείας; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον,
Ἡσαΐας πρὸς τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας8 οὕτως ἔφη·9 Ἀναβόησον ἐν ἰσχύϊ καὶ μὴ
φείσῃ, καὶ ὡς σάλπιγγα ὕψωσον τὴν φωνήν σου καὶ ἀνάγγειλον τῷ λαῷ τὰς
ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν καὶ τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰακὼβ τὰς ἀνομίας αὐτῶν [f. 328ra]. Ἐμὲ
ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ζητοῦσι καὶ ἐγγίζειν τῷ θεῷ ἐπιθυμοῦσι λέγοντες· Τί ὅτι
ἐνηστεύσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἔγνως, ἐταπεινώσαμεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν καὶ οὐκ εἶδες;
Ἀπεκρίθη λέγων αὐτοῖς ταῦτα· Ὅτι ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν νηστειῶν ὑμῶν
εὑρίσκεσθε ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα ὑμῶν, καὶ τοὺς ὑποχειρίους ὑμῶν10
κακοποιοῦντες καὶ πάντας τοὺς ὑπεναντίους ὑμῶν κατανύσσετε,11 καὶ
νηστεύετε εἰς κρίσεις καὶ μάχας ὥστε ἀκουσθῆναι ἐν Κυρίῳ τὴν φωνὴν ὑμῶν.
Οὐ ταύτην τὴν νηστείαν ἐξελεξάμην λέγει Κύριος, οὐδ᾿ ἂν κάμψῃς ὡς κρίκον
τὸν τράχηλόν σου καὶ σάκκον καὶ σποδὸν ὑποστρώσῃς οὐδ᾿ οὕτως
κληθήσεται νηστεία δεκτή. Σὺ οὖν, τέκνον, νηστεύων, πῶς διάγεις; Λέγει
αὐτῷ· Ἐγὼ ἀπὸ πρωΐας βρέχω θαλλία καὶ ἐργαζόμενος μελετῶ ψαλμούς.
Καὶ ὅτε τελέσω μαλάκιον, εὔχομαι. Καὶ πρὸς τῇ μεσημβρίᾳ ὀλίγον
καθεύδω καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐξέρχομαι τοῦ κελλίου καὶ [f. 328rb] πάλιν ἐργάζομαι
ἕως οὗ ποιήσω τρία μαλάκια. Καὶ ἑσπέρας καταλαβούσης εὔχομαι καὶ
ποιήσας ἑκατὸν μετανοίας κοιμῶμαι καὶ εἰς τὸν κανόνα ἐγείρομαι καὶ τῇ
δευτέρᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ὥραν ἐννάτην12 ποιῶ ἑψητὸν καὶ ἐσθίω κόρου. Καὶ λέγει ὁ
γέρων· Τοῦτο, τέκνον, οὐκ ἔστι13 νηστεία. Ἐὰν γὰρ νηστεύῃς ἀπὸ
1
ιη´] ὀκτωκαίδεκα V 2
Νιτρίας corr] Νητρίας S and V 3
γέρων] αὐτὸς V
4
Ἀββᾶ Θεωνᾶ] Ἀββᾶς Θεωνᾶς V] ὅτι add V 5
πόλεως] πόλεων V
6
ἀναπαύσῃ] ἀναπαύσει V 7
εἶπόν] εἰπὲ V 8
τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας] τὸν Ἰσραὴλ V
9
ἔφη] ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν S 10
ὑμῶν] ἡ-V
11
κατανύσσετε V] κατανύσσεται S] ὑπονύσσετε Is 58.3
12
ἐννάτην] ἐνάτην V 13
ἔστι] ἔνι V
N.741 597
“Aware [of what had happened] the people of the village came out with
women and children for them to be blessed by me, but I fled from them.
I came and dwelt in the mountain of Nitria.” And the elder said to me:
“Abba Theonas, if you want to spend the days of your life untroubled
without the demons picking a quarrel with you, do not dwell in proximity
to a town or village – and you shall experience repose.”
N.741
A brother asked Abba Palladius: “Tell me what I shall do, father, because
for three years I have fasted every second day and cannot rid myself of the
demon of porneia.” The elder said: “My son, Isaiah spoke thus to the
Israelites: ‘Cry aloud and spare not and lift up your voice like a trumpet
and announce to the people their transgressions and to the house of Jacob
their iniquities. They seek me day by day and desire to draw near to God,
saying: “Why have we fasted and you know it not; why have we humbled
our souls and you do not see it?”’ He answered saying these things unto
them: ‘Because in the days of your fasts you are found doing the things
that please you and doing evil to those in subjection to you; you exasperate
all your enemies. “You fast with strife and debate that your voice might be
heard in the Lord.” “I have not chosen such a fast,” says the Lord, “Nor is
it to bow down the head as a bulrush nor to spread sackcloth and ashes
under him”’, – no such will be called an acceptable fast (cf. Is 58:1–5). So
my son, when you fast, how do you do it?” He said to him: “From first
thing I steep palms and recite psalms as I work and when I have completed
a small basket, I pray. Towards midday I lie down a little then when I get
up I come out of the cell and work again until I complete three baskets.
When evening falls I pray and, after making a hundred prostrations, I go to
sleep and get up for the canon [of psalms]. On the second day at the ninth
hour I prepare some cooked food and eat as much as I want.” The elder
said to him: “That is not fasting, my son. If you abstain from food and
speak ill of somebody or condemn [him] or bear a grudge or willingly
indulge in evil thoughts or desire anything of the kind in your mind, it
were better for you to eat all day long and avoid [doing] these things than
βρωμάτων καὶ τινὰ κακολογῇς ἢ κατακρίνῃς ἢ μνησικακῇς ἢ πονηροὺς
λογισμοὺς δέχεσαι ἢ κατ᾿ ἔννοιαν ἐπιθυμεῖς1 τι τοιοῦτον, πολὺ συμφέρει
σοι τὴν ἡμέραν πέμπτον ἐσθίειν καὶ τούτων φείσασθαι ἢ μὴ γευσάμενον
ἐκείνων ἐμφορῆσθαι.2 Τίς γὰρ ὠφέλεια βρωμάτων ἀπέχεσθαι πάσης δὲ
ἄλλης ἐπιθυμίας ἐμφορεῖσθαι; Οὐκ οἶδας ὅτι πᾶς ὁ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ
πληρῶν κατ᾿ ἔννοιαν καὶ ἐκτὸς τῶν ἔξωθεν βρωμάτων ἤδη κεκόρεσται καὶ
μεθύει; Ἀλλ᾿ εἰ θέλεις ἐγκρατεύσασθαι καὶ νηστεῦσαι, ἵνα ἡ νηστεία σου [f.
328va] δεκτὴ ᾖ τῷ Θεῷ, πρὸ πάντων φύλαξαι νηστεύειν ἀπὸ παντὸς
ῥήματος πονηροῦ, ἀπὸ πάσης καταλαλιᾶς καὶ κατακρίσεως καὶ ἀπὸ
ἀκοῆς πονηρᾶς, καὶ καθάρισόν σου τὴν καρδίαν ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ
σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος καὶ πάσης μνησικακίας καὶ αἰσχροκερδείας. Καὶ ἐν
ἡμέρᾳ ᾗ νηστεύεις, ἀρκέσθητι ἄρτῳ καὶ ὕδατι καὶ λαχάνοις εὐχαριστῶν
τῷ Θεῷ, συμψηφίσας δὲ τὴν δαπάνην τοῦ ἀρίστου οὗ ἔμελλες ἐσθίειν κατ᾿
ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν, δὸς ἀδελφῷ πτωχῷ ἐπιξενουμένῳ ἢ χήρᾳ καὶ
ὀρφανῷ, ἵνα3 [f. 293r V] εἰληφὼς καὶ ἐμπλήσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν εὔξηται
ὑπὲρ σοῦ πρὸς Κύριον. Δάμασόν σου τὸ σῶμα ἐν πλήθει μετανοιῶν καὶ
ἀγρυπνιῶν ἐν κρυπτῇ μελέτῃ4 καθήμενος δὲ ἀφύπνωσον· ἔασον δὲ καὶ τὰ
μαλάκια καὶ ἐπιλαβοῦ τὰς σπυρίδας. Ἡ γὰρ νεότης, ἐὰν μὴ διὰ πολλοῦ
κόπου καὶ μόχθου,5 νηστείας καὶ ἀγρυπνίας, χαμαικοιτίας τε καὶ ξηρ-
οφαγίας ἑαυτὴν παιδαγωγήσῃ, οὐ δύναται ἐκ τοῦ τῆς πορνείας ἀποδρά-
σαι δαίμονος. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν τοὺς [f. 328vb] νέους οὐκ
ἐθέσπισαν ἐν κελλίῳ καὶ ἡσυχαστηρίοις τόποις καθέζεσθαι ἀλλ᾿ ἐν κοινο-
βίοις, καὶ οὐ μαλακὰ ἀλλὰ ῥακώδη6 καὶ τραχεῖα φοροῦντας καὶ ἐν πάσῃ
ἀσφαλείᾳ κρατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν προεστώτων. Ἡ γὰρ ἀργία καὶ ἡ ἄνεσις
καὶ τὸ ἐσθίειν δὶς τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ ὁ ὕπνος οὐ μόνον τὸν τῆς πορνείας
δαίμονα ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀκηδίας καὶ τὸν τῆς κενοδοξίας καὶ ὑπερηφανίας
ἡμῖν ἐπιφέρειν εἰώθασιν.
742. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Τί ποιήσω, ἀββᾶ, ὅτι ὅταν ἴδω
τινὰ ἁμαρτάνοντα μισῶ αὐτόν, καὶ ἐὰν ἀκούσω περὶ ἀδελφοῦ ἀμελοῦς
κατα7 κρίνω αὐτὸν καὶ ἀπόλλω μου τὴν ψυχήν; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ὅταν
ἀκούσῃς τι τοιοῦτον, ἀποπήδα ταχέως ἀπὸ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τούτου καὶ
τρέχε ἐπὶ τὴν ἔννοιαν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης τῆς φοβερᾶς καὶ ἀναλογίζου
παρὰ σεαυτῷ τὸ βῆμα τὸ φρικῶδες, τὸν δικαστὴν τὸν ἀδέκαστον, τοὺς
ποταμοὺς τοῦ πυρός, τοὺς πρὸ τοῦ βήματος ἐκείνου συρομένους καὶ
1
ἐπιθυμεῖς]-ῇς V 2
ἐμφορῆσθαι]-εῑσθαι V 3
ἵνα] ὁ add V 4
μελέτα V
5
μόχθου] καὶ add V 6
ῥακκώδη V
7
μισῶ αὐτόν, καὶ ἐὰν ἀκούσω περὶ ἀδελφοῦ ἀμελοῦς κατα-] om V (line blank)
N.742 599
to be filled with them while fasting. For what benefit is it to abstain from
foods and to satisfy all other desires? Do you not know that everyone who
satisfies his desire in his mind is already gorged and intoxicated, apart from
external nourishment? But if you want to be in control of yourself and to
fast, in order for your fast to acceptable to God, above all be sure to abstain
from every evil word, from all backbiting, grudge-bearing and condemning
and from hearing evil. Cleanse your heart ‘from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit’ [2 Cor 7:1], from all rancour and sordid greed. And on the day
when you are fasting, be satisfied with bread and water and vegetables,
giving thanks to God. Calculate the cost of the meal you were going to eat
that day and give it to a poor brother come from afar, to a widow and
orphan, so that the one who receives it and fills his own soul will pray to
the Lord for you. Subdue your body with numerous prostrations and vigils
in silent meditation. Sleep sitting up and leave cushions aside too, using
baskets [instead]. For unless youth disciplines itself with much labour and
toil, fasts and vigils, lying on the ground and eating dry food, it cannot
escape from the demon of porneia. This is why our fathers would not
tolerate young men staying in cells or places of hêsychia, but in coenobia,
not wearing soft clothing, but rough and ragged, to be held in complete
security under the superiors. For laziness, relaxation, eating twice a day and
sleep are in the habit of bringing upon us the demon not only of porneia,
but also the [demon] of accidie, arrogance and of pride.”
N.742
A brother asked an elder: “What shall I do, abba? When I see somebody
committing sin, I hate him. If I hear of a negligent brother I condemn him
and I am losing my soul.” The elder said: “When you hear any such thing,
distance yourself quickly from that logismos and run to the thought of that
fearful day. Imagine the awful seat of judgement, the incorruptible judge,
the rivers of fire, those being dragged before the seat of judgement and
quickly blistering in the fire, the sharpened swords, the severe punish-
ments, the unending chastisement, the gloom where there is no light, the
outer darkness, the poisonous worm, the unbreakable fetters, the gnashing
σφοδρότατον1 κοχλάζοντας2 τῇ φλογί [f. 329ra], τὰς ἠκονημένας ῥομφαίας,
τὰς ἀποτόμους τιμωρίας, τὴν κόλασιν τὴν οὐκ ἔχουσαν τέλος, τὸν ζόφον3
τὸν ἀφεγγῆ, τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον, τὸν σκώληκα τὸν ἰοβόλον, τὰ δεσμὰ
τὰ ἄλυτα, τὸν βρυγμὸν τῶν ὀδόντων καὶ τὸν κλαυθμὸν τὸν ἀπαρα-
μύθητον.4 Ταῦτα τοίνυν ἐννόει καὶ τοὺς ἀφύκτους ἐλέγχους. Οὐδὲ γὰρ
κατηγόρων δεῖται ἐκεῖνος ὁ δικαστής, οὐδὲ μαρτύρων, οὐδὲ ἀποδείξεων,
οὐδὲ ἐλέγχων, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐπράχθη παρ᾿ ἡμῶν οὕτως5 ἔλθοι εἰς μέσον καὶ πρὸ
τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τῶν πεπλημμεληκότων στήσεται.6 Τότε οὐδεὶς ὁ7 ἐκπορ-
ευόμενος καὶ ἐξαρπάζων τῆς τιμωρίας, οὐ πατήρ, οὐχ8 υἱός, οὐ θυγάτηρ,
οὐ μήτηρ, οὐκ ἄλλος τις συγγενής, οὐ γείτων, οὐ φίλος, οὐ συνήγορος, οὐ
χρημάτων δόσις, οὐ πλούτου περιουσία, οὐ δυναστεία, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα
πάντα ὥσπερ κόνις ἐκ ποδῶν ἐλαύνεται.9 Μόνος ὁ10 κρινόμενος ἀποτίσει
τῶν αὐτῷ πεπραγμένων καὶ11 ἢ τὴν ἐλευθεροῦσαν ἢ τὴν καταδικάζουσαν
[f. 329rb] ὑπομείνῃ ψῆφον. Τότε οὐδεὶς ὑπὲρ ὧν ἄλλος ἐπλημμέλησε
κρίνεται, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἕκαστος. Ταῦτα οὖν εἰδώς, ὦ τέκνον,12 μηδένα
κατάκρινε καὶ ἔσῃ ἀτάραχος μηδεμίαν πτῶσιν φοβούμενος.
743. Εἶπε γέρων· Μικρὸν ἁψίνθιον ἀφανίζει κεράμιον μέλιτος καὶ

ἁμαρτία σωματικὴ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀπελαύνει καὶ τῇ γεέννῃ
τοῦ πυρὸς παραπέμπει. Φεῦγε, ὦ ταπεινὲ μοναχέ, τὴν13 σωματικὴν
ἁμαρτίαν.14
744. Ἀνερχομένων ἡμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς Γεθσημανῆς ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῶν Ἐλαιῶν,

μοναστήριόν ἐστι τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἁβραμίου. Ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μοναστηρίῳ ἦν15
ἡγούμενος ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἰωάννης ὁ Κιζυκηνός.16 Ἠρωτήσαμεν οὖν αὐτὸν ἐν
[f. 294r V] μιᾷ λέγοντες· Πῶς κτᾶταί τις, ἀββᾶ, ἀρετήν; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη ὁ
γέρων λέγων· Ἐὰν θέλῃ τις ἀρετὴν κτήσασθαι, ἐὰν μὴ μισήσῃ τὴν ἀντι-
διάμετρον αὐτῆς κακίαν, οὐ δύναται αὐτὴν κτήσασθαι. Ἐὰν οὖν θέλῃς
ἔχειν τὸ πένθος ἀεί, μίσησον τὸν γέλωτα. Θέλεις ταπείνωσιν ἔχειν, μίσ-
ησον [f. 329va] τὴν17 ὑπερηφανίαν. Εἰ18 θέλεις ἐγκρατὴς εἶναι, μίσησον τὴν
λαιμαργίαν, εἰ19 θέλεις σωφρονεῖν, μίσησον τὴν λαγνείαν. Θέλεις ἀκτήμων
εἶναι, μίσησον τὴν φιλαργυρίαν. Ὁ θέλων οἰκεῖν τὴν ἔρημον μισεῖ τὰς
πόλεις διὰ τὰ σκάνδαλα. Ὁ θέλων ἡσυχίαν ἔχειν μισεῖ τὴν παρρησίαν.
1
σφοδρότατον] σφοδρότερον V 2
καχλάζοντας V 3
ζῶφον V
4
ἀπαραμύθητον V] ἀπαραμήθυτον S 5
παρ᾿ ἡμῶν οὕτως] τι V 6
στήσεται] om V
7
ὁ] om V 8
οὐχ corr] οὐχ᾿ S & V 9
ἐλαύνεται] καὶ add V 10
ὁ om V
11
καὶ] om V 12
ὦ τέκνον] om V 13
τὴν om V
14
ἁμαρτίαν] ὡς πῦρ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ ταύτης καταφλεχθῇς add Synagoge 15
ἦν] ἐστὶν V
16
Κυζικηνός V 17
τὴν om V 18
Εἰ om V 19
εἰ] om V
N.743–4 601
of teeth and the weeping that cannot be comforted [cf. Mk 9:44–8, Mt
2:18]. Just think of those things and of the inevitable condemnations. That
judge has no need of accusers, witnesses, evidence or charge-sheets, but as
it was done by us, so will it come forward and stand before the eyes of
those who have practised it. Then [there will be] nobody to negotiate or to
pluck one out of punishment; not a father, a son, a daughter, a mother or
any other relation, neighbour, friend or advocate; no gift of money or
abundance of wealth, no lordship – all these things pass away as dust
beneath the feet. Only he who is being judged will pay for the things done
by him and undergo either the liberating or the condemning verdict. Then
nobody is judged for the faults of another but for the [faults] of each one.
Knowing these things, my son, judge nobody and you will be untroubled,
afraid of no falling.”
N.743
An elder said: “A little absinthe will spoil a pot of honey and corporal sin
draws [one] away from the Kingdom of Heaven and despatches [one] to
Gehenna. Humble monk, flee from corporal sin.”
N.744 Pratum Spirituale 187

When we were coming away from Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives,
there is a monastery of Abba Abraham. In that monastery the higoumen
was Abba John of Cyzicus. One day we asked him: “Abba, how does one
acquire a virtue?” The elder replied saying: “If somebody desires to acquire
a virtue, he cannot acquire [it] unless he hates the vice which is the
antithesis of it. If you wish always to have sorrow for sin, hate laughter.
You long for humility? Hate haughtiness. If you wish to be temperate, hate
gluttony. If you want to be pure, then hate lewdness. You wish to be
indifferent to possessions? Hate the love of money. He who would live in
the wilderness, let him hate cities on account of the scandals. He who
wants to attain hêsychia, let him hate unrestricted speech. He who would
be as a stranger, late him hate ostentation. The one who desires to master
Ὁ θέλων ξένος εἶναι μισεῖ τὸ φανητιᾶν. Ὁ θέλων ἐγκρατὴς γενέσθαι τῆς
ὀργῆς μισεῖ τὸ μετὰ πολλῶν διάγειν. Ὁ θέλων ἀμνησίκακος εἶναι μισεῖ τὰς
λοιδορίας. Ὁ θέλων ἀπερίσπαστος εἶναι κατὰ μόνας μείνῃ. Ὁ θέλων
κρατῆσαι γλώσσης φραξάτω τὰ ὦτα αὐτοῦ μὴ ἀκούειν πολλά. Ὁ θέλων
τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχειν ἀεὶ μισήσει τὴν σωματικὴν ἀνάπαυσιν καὶ1
ἀγαπήσει τὴν θλίψιν καὶ τὴν στενοχωρίαν.
745. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Πάτερ, πῶς λέγουσι τινὲς ὅτι
βλέπουσιν2 ἀποκαλύψεις καὶ ὀπτασίας ἀγγέλων; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων·
Μάκαριός ἐστι, τέκνον, ὁ βλέ[f. 329vb]πων τὰς αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτίας πάντοτε,
διότι ὁ τοιοῦτος πάντοτε νήφει. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Ἐγώ, πάτερ,
εἶδον πρὸ ἡμερῶν ἀδελφόν τινα ἐκβαλόντα δαίμονα ἀπὸ ἀδελφοῦ. Καὶ
εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐ θέλω δαίμονα3 ἐκβάλειν4 καὶ πάθη ἰάσαι,5 ἀλλὰ
θέλω καὶ παρακαλῶ τὸν Θεὸν ἵνα μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς ἐμὲ δαίμων, ἵνα καθαρίσω
ἐμαυτὸν ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτων λογισμῶν, καὶ ἰδοὺ μέγας γέγονα. Ἐὰν γάρ τις
καθαρίσῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καρδίαν ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτων λογισμῶν καὶ ἀόκνως
ἐπιτελέσῃ τὰς ὥρας καὶ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τοῦ κανόνος αὐτοῦ, δηλονότι
σὺν τοῖς σημειοφόροις6 πατράσι, τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν
ἀξιωθήσεται.
746. Διηγήσατο ἡμῖν ὁ ἀββᾶς Μηνᾶς ὡς ὅτι καθημένου μου ποτὲ ἐν τῷ

κελλίῳ μου, ἦλθε πρός με [f. 330ra] ἀδελφὸς ἀπὸ ξένης παρακαλῶν με καὶ
λέγων· Λάβε με πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Μακάριον. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἐπορεύθην μετ᾿
αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Καὶ ποιήσας ἡμῖν εὐχὴν ἐκαθέσθημεν καὶ λέγει ὁ
ἀδελφὸς τῷ γέροντι· Πάτερ, ἔχω τριάκοντα ἔτη μὴ φαγὼν κρέας καὶ ἄρτι
πολεμοῦμαι εἰς αὐτό. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Μή μοι εἴπῃς, τέκνον, ὅτι
τριάκοντα ἔτη ἔχεις μὴ φαγὼν κρέας, ἀλλὰ τοῦτό με πληροφόρησον,
τέκνον, καὶ εἰπέ μοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν·7 Πόσας ἡμέρας ἔχεις ὅτι οὐ κατελάλη-
σας8 τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, οὐ9 κατέκρινας τὸν πλησίον σου καὶ οὐκ ἐξῆλθε
λόγος ἀργὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματός σου; Καὶ βαλὼν μετάνοιαν ὁ ἀδελφὸς
λέγει· Εὖξαι με, πάτερ, ἵνα βάλω ἀρχήν.
1
καὶ om V 2
λέγουσι τινὲς ὅτι βλέπουσιν] τινὲς βλέπουσιν V 3
δαίμονα] δαίμονας V
4
ἐκβάλειν corr] ἐκβάλαι codd 5
ἰάσαι] ἰάσασθαι V 6
σημειωφόροις V
7
ἀλήθειαν] τὸ add V 8
οὐ κατελάλησας] οὐκ ἐκατελάλησας V 9
οὐ] οὔτε V
N.745–6 603
[his] anger, let him hate contact with the crowd. He who would bear no
grudges, let him hate recrimination; he who would be undisturbed, let him
live alone. He who wants to master his tongue, let him seal his ears so that
he does not hear much. He who wishes always to have fear of God, he will
hate bodily repose and will love affliction and hardship.”
N.745
A brother asked an elder: “Father, how can some say that they see
revelations and visions of angels?” The elder said: “Blessed is he, my son,
who can always see his own sins, for a man like that is always on the
watch.” The brother said to him: “Father, a few days ago I saw a brother
casting out a devil from [another] brother”, and the elder said to him:
“I have no wish to cast out demons and to heal sicknesses, but I wish and
beseech God that no demon enter into me, so I can cleanse myself of
unclean thoughts and – see – I have become great! For if one cleanse
himself of unclean thoughts and unwaveringly perform the hours and the
liturgy of his rule-of-life, it is clear that he will be reckoned worthy of the
Kingdom of Heaven together with the wonder-working fathers.”
N.746
Abba Menas told us: “Once when I was staying in my cell a brother came
to me from afar, begging me and saying: ‘Take me to Abba Macarius.’ I got
up and went to the elder with him. When he had offered a prayer for us we
sat down and the brother said to the elder: ‘Father, I have spent thirty years
not eating meat and still have a fight not to do so.’ The elder said to him:
‘Do not tell me that you have spent thirty years not eating meat but inform
me about this, my son, and tell me the truth: how many days have you
lived when you did not speak against your brother, did not condemn your
neighbour and when no vain word came out of your mouth?’ The brother
prostrated himself, saying: ‘Pray for me, father, that I might make a start.’”
747. Ἀδελφὸς ἠρώτησε τὸν ἀββᾶν Σισόην λέγων· Τί ποιήσω; Πῶς
σωθῶ; Πῶς εὐαρεστήσω τῷ Θεῷ; Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Εἰ βούλει
εὐαρεστῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ, ἔκστηθι κόσμου, ἀπόστηθι τῆς γῆς, ἄφες τὴν κτίσιν
καὶ πρὸς τὸν κτίστην μετά[f. 330rb]βηθι καὶ διὰ προσευχῆς καὶ πένθους
σύναψον ἑαυτὸν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ εὑρήσεις καὶ ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι καὶ ἐν τῷ
μέλλοντι ἀνάπαυσιν.
748. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν· Εἰσὶ τινὲς ἐν ἀμελείᾳ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἡμέρας δαπα-
νῶντες καὶ λόγῳ μὲν καὶ λογισμῷ [f.295r V] ζητοῦσι σωθῆναι, ἔργῳ δὲ
οὐκ ἐπιτηδεύουσιν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν βίους τῶν πατέρων ἀναγινώσκουσι,
τὴν δὲ ταπείνωσιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἀκτημοσύνην, εὐχήν τε καὶ ἀγρυπνίαν,
ἐγκράτειάν τε καὶ ἡσυχίαν, χαμαικοιτίαν1 καὶ γονυκλισίαν οὐ μιμοῦνται,
ἀλλὰ ψευδοποιοῦσι τοὺς τῶν πατέρων βίους τῇ αὐτῶν οἰήσει, ἀδύνατον
λέγοντες τινὰ τοιαῦτα ὑπομεῖναι, μὴ λογιζόμενοι ὅτι ὅπου ὁ Θεὸς κατοικεῖ
διὰ τῆς τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος2 χάριτος καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας
ὑπὲρ φύσιν τὰ πράγματα καὶ τὰ χαρίσματα γίνεται.
749. Παρέβαλομεν ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ σοφιστὴς Σωφρόνιος τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἰωσὴφ εἰς

τὸ Ἔνατον, ὁ δὲ γέρων ἀσμένως μετὰ πάσης προθυμίας ὡμίλει ἡμῖν
[f. 330va], ἦν δὲ ὁ γέρων πάσῃ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένος, ἔχων πείραν καὶ
τῆς ἔξω παιδείας. Ἡμῶν δὲ καθεζομένων καὶ ὁμιλούντων περὶ ψυχωφελῶν
πραγμάτων, ἰδοὺ φιλόχριστός τις ἐλθὼν ἀπὸ Ἀϊλᾶ δίδωσι τῷ γέροντι
νομίσματα τρία λέγων· Δέξαι ταῦτα, πάτερ τίμιε, ὅπως εὔξῃ ὑπὲρ
τοῦ πλοίου μου, ὅτι ἐνεθηκίασα καὶ ἀπέλυσα αὐτὸ εἰς Αἰθιοπίαν. Ὁ δὲ
γέρων οὐδ᾿ ὅλως προσέσχεν αὐτῷ. Ὁ δὲ κύρις Σωφρόνιος λέγει τῷ γέροντι·
Δέξαι αὐτά, πάτερ, καὶ δὸς ἀδελφῷ χρῄζοντι. Καὶ λέγει ὁ γέρων· Διπλῆ
αἰσχύνη ἐστί, τέκνον, ἵνα λάβω ἅπερ μὴ χρῄζω καὶ ἰδίαις χερσὶ θερίσω
ἀλλοτρίας ἀκάνθας. Εἴθε τὰς τῆς ἰδίας3 ψυχῆς μου4 θερίσω ἀκάνθας.5
Γέγραπται γάρ· Ἐὰν σπείρῃς τὰ σὰ σπεῖρον, τὰ γὰρ ἀλλότρια ζιζανίων
πικρότερα. Καὶ μάλιστα, τέκνον, ὅτι οὐδὲ6 περὶ ψυχῆς ἡ αἴτησις. Καὶ λέγει
αὐτῷ· Τί οὖν ὅσα ποιεῖ ἄνθρωπος ἐλεημοσύνην οὐ λογίζεται αὐτὰ ὁ Θεός;
Καὶ λέγει μοι [f. 330vb] ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον, πολλαί εἰσι διαφοραὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ
σκοποῦ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης. Ἔστι γάρ τις ποιῶν ἐλεημοσύνην διὰ τὸ εὐλο-
γηθῆναι τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς εὐλογεῖ τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. Ἄλλος ποιεῖ
1
χαμαικοιτίαν] τὲ add V 2
βαπτίσματος] καὶ add V 3
ἰδίας S] ἐμῆς V
4
μου om V 5
ἀκάνθας om V 6
οὐδὲ S] οὐκέτι V
N.747–9 605
N.747
A brother asked Abba Sisoes: “What shall I do? How am I to be saved?
How shall I be pleasing to God?” The elder said to him: “If you wish to be
pleasing to God get out of the world, get away from the earth, abandon
creation and approach the Creator. Through prayer and sorrow for sin
unite yourself with God and you will find repose both in the present age
and in the age to come.” [Cf. Mt 11:29.]
N.748
The same [elder] said: “There are those who are wasting away their own
days in negligence, who are seeking to be saved by thought and word but
do not practise in deed. They are reading the Lives of the Fathers but not
imitating [the Fathers’] humility, indifference to possessions, prayer, vigil,
self-discipline, hêsychia, sleeping on the ground, kneeling down, – but are
giving the lie to the Lives of the Fathers by their inactivity, saying that it is
impossible for a person to tolerate such practices, never considering that,
where God dwells through the grace of sacred baptism and performing the
commandments, the [deeds] and the spiritual gifts exceed the natural
ones.”
N.749
Sophronius the sophist and I visited Abba Joseph at the Ninth [milepost];
the elder readily spoke to us with all eagerness for the elder was decorated
with every virtue, experienced in secular learning too. As we were sitting
there speaking of matters beneficial to the soul, here there came a Christ-
loving person from Aila and gave the elder three pieces of gold, saying:
“Take these, honoured father, so you might pray for my vessel, for I have
put a cargo on board and set it sailing to Ethiopia”, but the elder paid no
attention to him at all. Master Sophronius said to the elder: “Take [the
coins], father, and give them to a brother in need.” The elder said: “It is a
double disgrace for me to take what I do not need and to reap others’
thorns with my own hands, my son. Would I could reap the thorns of my
ἐλεημοσύνην διὰ τὸ πλοῖον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐλεεῖ τὸ πλοῖον αὐτοῦ.1 Ἄλλος
ποιεῖ ἐλεημοσύνην διὰ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς φυλάττει τὰ τέκνα
αὐτοῦ. Ἄλλος ποιεῖ διὰ τὸ δοξασθῆναι καὶ ὁ Θεὸς δοξάζει αὐτόν. Καὶ οὐκ
ἀθετεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τινά, ἀλλ᾿ ὃ θέλει ἕκαστος παρέχει αὐτῷ, ὅταν μὴ βλάπτη-
ται ἐκ τούτου ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ. Ἀλλ᾿ οὗτοι πάντες ἀπέχουσι τῶν μισθῶν2
αὐτῶν, οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀπέθεντο ἑαυτοῖς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ σκοπὸς
τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης οὐκ ἦν διὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ὠφέλειαν. Ἐποίησας ἐλεημο-
σύνην διὰ τὸ εὐλογηθῆναι τὸν οἶκον σου; ὁ Θεὸς εὐλόγησε τὸν οἶκον σου.
Ἐποίησας διὰ τὸ πλοῖον; ὁ Θεὸς ἔσωσε τὸ πλοῖον σου.3 Ἐποίησας διὰ τὰ
τέκνα; ὁ Θεὸς ἔσωσε τὰ τέκνα. Ἐποίησας διὰ τὸ δοξασθῆναι; ὁ Θεὸς
ἐδόξασέ σε [f. 331ra]. Tί οὖν σοι χρεωστεῖ ποίησον γοῦν διὰ τὴν ψυχήν
σου καὶ σῴζεται ἡ ψυχή σου. Γέγραπται γάρ· Δώῃ σοι Κύριος κατὰ τὴν
καρδίαν σου. Εἰσὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ πλούσιοι καὶ δοκοῦντες ποιεῖν ἐλεημοσύνην
παροργίζουσι τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ λέγομεν αὐτῷ· Σαφήνισον ἡμῖν τὸν λόγον,
πάτερ. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη·4 Ὁ μὲν Θεὸς προσέταξε τὰς ἀπαρχὰς τῶν γεννημάτων,
σίτου καὶ κριθῆς καὶ χεδρόπων,5 οἴνου τε καὶ ἐλαίου, ἐραίας καὶ ὀπώρας,
καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπων τὰ πρωτότοκα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κτηνῶν τῶν καθαρῶν,
ὥστε μὴ ἔχειν αὐτὰ μῶμον, τουτέστι μὴ εἶναι ὠτότμητον ἢ κολοβόκερκον6
καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν καρπῶν τὰ διάφορα προσφέρειν Θεῷ ὑπὲρ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρ-
τιῶν. Οἱ δὲ πλούσιοι τὸ ἐναντίον ποιοῦσι· τὰ μέντοι χρήσιμα κατεσθίουσι,
τὰ δὲ ἄχρηστα τοῖς πτωχοῖς διαδιδόασι, τὸν μὲν διάφορον οἶνον πίνουσι,
τὸν δὲ ὀξίζοντα χήραις καὶ ὀρφανοῖς παρέχουσιν. Ἱνατί ἀρακώδη7 καὶ
πολύρραφα τοῖς πένησι δι[f. 331rb]δόντες ὀπώραν βεβρωμένην καὶ
σεσηπυίαν ῥογεύοντες καὶ τὸν Κάϊν μιμούμενοι, οἷς καὶ8 ἀπρόσδεκτα
γίνεται9 τῷ Θεῷ τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν10 προσφερόμενα. Καὶ ἐάν τις τῶν
πλουσίων ἔχῃ υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας εὐμόρφους καὶ ὡραιοτάτους11 περὶ
προῖκας καὶ γάμους καὶ νεωτέρους εὐειδεῖς καὶ πλουσίους τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν
περιάγει τε καὶ περισκοπεῖ,12 ὡς πανταχόθεν13 φροντίδα ποιούμενος,
εἰ δὲ κέκτηται υἱὸν ἢ θυγατέρα14 λειψόμελον15 ἢ ἰσχνόσωμον, εἰ μὲν
ἄρρεν εἰς μοναστήριον εὐτρεπίζει, εἰ δὲ θῆλυ εἰς παρθενῶνα αὐτὴν16
1
Ἄλλος ποιεῖ ἐλεημοσύνην διὰ τὸ πλοῖον αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐλεεῖ τὸ πλοῖον αὐτοῦ post δοξάζειν
αὐτὸν trsp V
2
τῶν μισθῶν S] τὸν μισθὸν V 3
σου post ἔσωσε trsp V 4
ἔφη S] φησιν V
5
χεδρόπων S] χεδροπῶν V (LSJ: τὰ χεδροπά = leguminous fruits, pulse; gen. χεδρόπων or
χεδροπῶν)
6
κολοβόκερκον S] κολοβόκερων V (LSJ: κολοβόκερκον,-ον = with a docked tail)
7
ἀρακώδη corr (according to LSJ)] ἀρακκώδη V S 8
οἷς καὶ om V
9
γίνεται S] γίνονται V 10
τῷ Θεῷ τὰ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν S] τὰ ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν Θεῷ V
11
ὡραιοτάτους S] ὡραιοτάτας V 12
περιάγει τὲ καὶ περισκοπεῖ S] σκοπεύων περιάγει V
13
ὡς πανταχόθεν om V 14
θυγατέρα] μονόφθαλμον ἢ add V
15
λειψόμελον S] λειψόσωμον V 16
αὐτὴν om V
N.749 607
own soul! For it is written: if you sow, sow your own [seed] for the more
relentless among weeds are another’s [cf. Mt 13:24–30]; and that especially,
my son, because the request is not about the soul.” He said to him: “Why
does God not take into account whatever acts of almsgiving a man
performs?” The elder said to me: “My son, there are many differences in
the purpose of almsgiving. There is one who gives alms for his house to be
blessed and God blesses his house. Another gives alms for his vessel and
God is merciful to his vessel. Another gives alms for his children and God
protects his children. Somebody else does it to be honoured and God
honours him. God rejects nobody but grants what each one desires,
provided his soul is not damaged by it. But these all come short of their
rewards for they set nothing aside for themselves with God – because the
object of their almsgiving was not concerned with the benefit of the soul.
You gave alms for your house to be blessed? God blessed your house. You
gave for the vessel? God saved your vessel. You gave for the children? God
saved the children. You gave to be honoured? God honoured you. So
whatever you ought to do, do it for your soul’s sake and your soul is saved,
for it is written: ‘The Lord grant you according to your own heart’ [Ps
19:5]. There are many rich persons who, although they appear to be giving
alms, are angering God.” We said to him: “Explain the saying to us,
father”, and he said: “God commanded [them] to offer to God the first-
fruits of produce, wheat, barley, vegetables, wine, oil, wool, fruit, the first-
born of men and of clean beasts such as are without blemish – that is, not
having the ears cropped or the tail docked – and the best of fruits of the
earth, for the remission of sins. But the rich do the opposite: they consume
the serviceable [produce] and give the useless to the poor. They drink the
best wine and supply widows and orphans with the sour. What is the point
of them giving torn and worn out [clothing] to the poor, distributing
rotten fruit, imitating Cain? For them that which is offered on their behalf
becomes unacceptable to God too. And if somebody among the rich has
ἑτοιμάζει. Ἐχρῆν οὖν τοὺς τοιούτους εἰδέναι καὶ διαλογίζεσθαι νηφόντως
ὅτι ἀνθρώπους θνητοὺς καὶ φθαρτοὺς τιμᾶν βουλόμενοι τῶν πρωτείων καὶ
τῶν ἐξαιρέτων αὐτοῖς παραχωροῦμεν κἀκεῖνα προσάγειν σπουδάζομεν ἃ
μάλιστα πάντων αὐτοῖς τιμιώτερα εἶναι δοκεῖ, Θεῷ δὲ πῶς οὐκ ἐχρῆν τὰ
τιμιώτερα καὶ ἐξαίρετα προσάγειν; Φαίνεται γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ [f. 331va]
αὐτὴν τὴν διάθεσιν τὴν διὰ τῶν λόγων καὶ οἷoν1 εὐχαριστίαν ἀπαιτῶν
οὐχ ὡς τῶν ῥημάτων χρῄζων, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα ἡμᾶς παιδεύσῃ εὐγνώμονας εἶναι
καὶ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα διὰ τῶν χειλέων ἡμῶν μὴ ἀθετεῖν, ἤγουν τὰ ἅπερ
συνεταξάμεθα ἢ ὡρίσαμεν δοῦναι Θεῷ μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς καὶ
προθυμίας φόβου τε καὶ πόθου διδόναι. Ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Νῶε θυσία
κνίσα καὶ καπνὸς ὑπάρχων,2 ὀσμὴ εὐωδίας ἐνώπιον Κυρίου προσηνέχθη
ὡς3 γέγραπται καὶ ὠσφράνθη, φησί,4 Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς5 ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας, οὕτω6
καὶ ἡ τῶν πονηρῶν ἀνδρῶν καρποφορία καὶ θυσία καὶ τὰ δῶρα βδέλυγμα
Κυρίῳ λογισθήσεται. Ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Προφήτου πρὸς Ἰουδαίους λέγοντος
καίτοι λαὸς αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχοντας7 τότε τὸ θυμίαμα ὑμῶν8 βδέλυγμά μοί ἐστι
καὶ γὰρ ἡ τῶν προσαγόντων πονηρία τὸ θυμίαμα τὸ εὐῶδες εἰς βδέλυγμα
ὀφθῆναι παρεσκεύασε. Χρὴ [f. 331vb] οὖν πάντα ἄνθρωπον τὸν9 θέλοντα
σωθῆναι οὐ μόνον τὰς εὐχὰς καὶ ἐλεημοσύνας ἐν ἁπλότητι καὶ πάσῃ
προθυμίᾳ ἐπιτελεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἃ προσφέρειν μέλλει τῷ Θεῷ10 τιμιώτερα
πάντων ἔχειν11 καὶ ἐνδοξότερα,12 ἵνα μὴ ἡ προσευχὴ ἡμῶν εἰς κόλπον
ἡμῶν13 μετ᾿ αἰσχύνης ἀποστραφῇ καὶ ἡ θυσία ἡμῶν14 ἐπίμωμος εὑρεθεῖσα
ἀπρόσδεκτος γένηται καὶ οἱ καρποὶ ἡμῶν15 σεσηπότες καὶ ἄχρηστοι ὡς
τὰ τοῦ Κάϊν δῶρα λογισθήσεται.16
Ἡμεῖς δὲ πάλιν ἠρωτήσαμεν αὐτόν· Ἆρα βλάπτεται ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκ τῆς
τοῦ λογισμοῦ συνδυάσεως; Ὁ δὲ φησίν·17 Ἐὰν ἐκ τῶν αἰσχρῶν
καὶ ἀκαθάρτων οὐ βλάπτεται18 οὔτε ἐκ τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ καθαρῶν καὶ
εὐσεβῶν καὶ φιλοθέων ὠφελεῖται. Ὡς γὰρ ταῦτα ὠφελοῦσιν, οὕτως
καὶ ἐκεῖνα βλάπτουσι. Κἂν γὰρ μυρίας εἰρήνης ἔξωθεν ἀπολαύωμεν καὶ
θεραπείας, ἔνδοθεν δὲ τίκτεται ἡμῖν19 ἐκ τῆς τῶν λογισμῶν [f. 332ra]
ταραχῆς ζάλη καὶ θόρυβος οὐδὲν ὄφελος τῆς ἔξωθεν εἰρήνης. Ὥσπερ
οὐδὲ πόλεως, κἂν μυρία τείχη καὶ περιχαρακώματα περιβέβληται ἐκ
1
καὶ οἶoν om V 2
ὑπάρχων S] ὑπάρχουσα V 3
ὡς S] οὕτως V 4
φησί om V
5
ὁ Θεὸς om V 6
οὕτω S] οὕτως V 7
ὑπάρχοντας S]-ες V
8
ὑμῶν S] ἡμῶν? V 9
τὸν om V 10
Θεῷ] τὰ add V 11
πάντων ἔχειν om V
12
ἐνδοξότερα] προσενεγκεῖν add V 13
ἡμῶν S] ὑμῶν V 14
ἡμῶν S] ὑμῶν V
15
ἡμῶν S] ὑμῶν V 16
δῶρα λογισθήσεται S] λογισθήσεται δῶρα trsp V
17
Ὁ δὲ φησίν S] Καὶ εἶπεν V 18
βλάπτεται S] βλάπτηται V 19
ἡμῖν S] ὑμῖν V
N.749 609
handsome and very beautiful sons and daughters, they are looking around
and looking out for dowries and weddings and handsome, rich young
men, making this their entire concern. But if one has a son or daughter
missing a limb or ill-favoured, if a male, he is prepared for a monastery; if
a female, he gets her ready for a coenobion. Such people should have
known and have taken into sober consideration that, wishing to honour
mortal men subject to decay, we concede of our top-quality and outstand-
ing [goods] to them and strive to offer them things which especially seem
to them to be most valuable; so how would it not be required to offer the
most valuable and outstanding [gifts] to God? God is clearly demanding
the very attitude [that is] in our words and just thankfulness, not as though
he needs words, but in order to train us to be right-minded and not set
aside what proceeds from our lips, that is: to give him with much eagerness
and willingness, in affection and fear, that which we agreed and deter-
mined to give to God. Just as the sacrifice of Noah (consisting of savour
and smoke) was brought before the Lord as a sweet-smelling odour, as it is
written: ‘And the Lord God smelt a sweet savour’ [Gen 8:21], so the fruit-
bearing and sacrifice and gifts of wicked men will be reckoned an abomin-
ation to the Lord. Just hear the prophet speaking to the Jews, and they his
own people: ‘Your incense is an abomination unto me’ [Is 1:13], for the evil
of those offerings caused the sweet-smelling incense to be seen as an
abomination. So every man wishing to be saved should not only discharge
prayers and almsgiving in sincerity and with all readiness, but also have
what he is going to offer to God from the most precious of all and the most
outstanding, that our prayer not return into our breast with shame and our
sacrifice, found blameworthy, become unacceptable and our fruits be
discounted as rotting and useless, like the gifts of Cain.”
We also asked him: “Is the soul damaged by harbouring a logismos?” He
said: “If it is not damaged by shameful and impure [logismoi] neither does
it benefit from good, pure, devout and godly [ones]. For just as these are
beneficial, so those also are harmful. For even if we repose in endless peace
τῶν ἔνδοθεν ἐνοικούντων τὴν προδοσίαν ὑπομενούσης.1 Ἐὰν γὰρ
φυλαξώμεθα2 ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ συγκαταθέσεως3 αἰσχρῶν λογισμῶν, μεγάλα
καὶ ὑπέρογκα ἡμῖν ἐπηγγείλατο4 ὁ δεσπότης καὶ ὑπερβαίνοντα τὸν
ἡμέτερον5 λογισμόν, τῆς βασιλείας λέγω τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν, τῶν ἀπορρήτων
ἀγαθῶν τὴν μετουσίαν, τὴν μετὰ ἀγγέλων διαγωγήν, τὴν τῆς γεέννης
ἀπαλλαγήν, ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοιά τε καὶ παραπλήσια πέρας
οὐκ ἐπίσταται, τέλος οὐκ ἐπιδέχεται, μεταβολὴν οὐκ οἶδε, πάγια καὶ
ἀκίνητα ὄντα.
Θεωρῶν δὲ ἡμᾶς ὁ γέρων περὶ τῶν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ λεχθέντων
ἀμφισβητοῦντας, ἀναστὰς ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν καὶ ἄρας τὸ ὄμμα εἰς τὸν
οὐρανόν [f. 332rb], εἰς ἐπήκοον ἡμῶν ἔφη· Ἰησοῦ Χριστὲ6 ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν ὁ
ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν, ὁ λυτρωτὴς καὶ
σωτὴρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν, ἐὰν εἰσὶ τὰ ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς
εἰρημένα ψευδῆ, ἀβλαβὴς μεινάτω ἡ πέτρα αὕτη, εἰ δὲ εἰσὶν ἀλήθεια,7
διαρραγήτω. Καὶ σὺν τῷ λόγῳ ἐρράγη ἡ πέτρα εἰς πέντε τμήματα – ἦν δὲ
ἡ πέτρα κόμμα κίονος ἔχον8 πήχεις9 τέσσαρας. Ἡμεῖς δὲ θαυμάσαντες
καὶ ὠφεληθέντες ἐξήλθομεν. Καὶ προπέμπων ἡμᾶς ὁ γέρων ἔφη· Τέκνα,
τῷ ἐρχομένῳ σαββάτῳ ἔλθετε πρός με, χρεωποιοῦμαι10 γὰρ ὑμᾶς. Καὶ
ἐλθόντες τῷ σαββάτῳ ὥραν τρίτην εὕρομεν αὐτὸν τελειωθέντα. Καὶ
θάψαντες αὐτὸν ἀνεχωρήσαμεν εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ἀξιώσαντι
ἡμᾶς κηδεῦσαι τοιοῦτον ἅγιον.
750. Ἀδελφὸς παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Βίκτορι τῷ ἡσυ[f. 332va]χαστῇ εἰς τὴν

λαύραν Ἐλιαγοῦ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Τί ποιήσω, πάτερ, ὅτι κατακυριεύει μου
τὸ πάθος τῆς ὀλιγωρίας; Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἀρρωστία ψυχῆς ἐστιν.
Ὥσπερ οἱ ὀφθαλμιῶντες ἐπειδὴ πάσχουσι μᾶλλον πλεῖον φῶς δοκοῦσι
βλέπειν, οἱ δὲ ὑγιαίνοντες ὀλίγον, οὕτως καὶ οἱ ὀλιγόψυχοι ὑπὸ μικρὰς
ὀλιγωρίας ταχέως ἐξάπτονται καὶ νομίζουσι πολλὴν εἶναι τὴν ὀλιγωρίαν,
οἱ δὲ ὑγιαίνοντες τὴν ψυχὴν μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς χαίρουσι.
751. Διηγήσατό τις τῶν πατέρων ὅτι ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ ὑπῆρχεν

ἀσκητήριον παρθένων. Μία δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ11 ἐχθροῦ
ἐπολεμήθη ἐξελθεῖν τοῦ μοναστηρίου. Ἐξελθοῦσα δὲ ἔπεσε πορνείᾳ12
ὑπὸ τοῦ χλευάσαντος αὐτὴν δαίμονος εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον καὶ εἰς τοῦτο
1
ὑπομενούσης S] ὑπομένειν V 2
φυλαξώμεθα S] φυλάξωμεν V
3
συγκαταθέσεως S] συνκαταθέσεως V 4
ἡμῖν ἐπηγγείλατο S] ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν trsp V
5
ἡμέτερον om V 6
Χριστὲ om V 7
ἀλήθεια S] ἀληθῆ V 8
ἔχον S] ἔχων V
9
πήχεις V] πήχυς S 10
χρεωποιοῦμαι corr] χρεοποιοῦμαι V S 11
τοῦ] κοινοῦ add V
12
πορνείᾳ S] εἰς πορνείαν V
N.750–1 611
and attention on the outside, yet disturbance and distress are being
brought forth within from the disorder of the logismoi; the external peace
is no advantage – as in the case of a city that, even if it be surrounded by a
quantity of walls and defence-works, suffers betrayal by those living within.
For if we guard ourselves from assenting to shameful logismoi, the Lord-
and-master has promised us great and enormous [things] way beyond what
we can imagine: the repose of the Kingdom I mean, possession of
unspeakable good things; converse with angels; deliverance from
Gehenna. These and their like and more beside understand no limit,
admit no end and know no change, for they are firm and immoveable.”
When the elder saw us in doubt about what he had said, he stood up
before us, raised his eyes to heaven and said in our hearing: “Jesus Christ
our God, who made heaven, the earth and the sea, redeemer and saviour of
our souls, if what I have said to the brothers is false, let this rock remain
unharmed; if true, let it be shattered.” The words were scarcely out of his
mouth when the rock was broken into five pieces (the “rock” was part of a
column four cubits in length).
We were amazed and, having benefited, we departed. As he escorted us,
the elder said: “Come to me next Saturday, my sons: I shall need you.” We
came on Saturday at the third hour and found him dead. We buried him
and went away giving thanks to God for finding us worthy to inter such a
holy one.
N.750
A brother visited Abba Victor living in hêsychia at the Eliagou lavra and
said to him: “What shall I do, father, for the passion of faint-heartedness
is getting the better of me?” The elder replied: “It is a sickness of the soul.
As those afflicted in the eyes seem, when they are suffering, to see rather
more light whereas those who are whole see a little, so too are the faint-
hearted quickly upset by a small reverse and think it is a large one,
whereas those whose soul is in good health tend rather to rejoice in
temptations.”
N.751 BHG 1450xa, de silentio

One of the fathers reported: “In Thessaloniki there used to be a monastery
[askêtêrion] of virgins, one of whom was forced by the working of the
enemy to come out of the monastery [monastêrion]. When she came out
πεσοῦσα ἐποίησεν ἱκανὸν χρόνον ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ. Καὶ μεταμεληθεῖσα ὑπὸ
τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ συνεργή[f. 332vb]σαντος αὐτῇ εἰς τὴν μετάνοιαν,
ἐλθοῦσα εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον αὐτῆς ἐφ᾿ ᾧ μετενόησε, πεσοῦσα πρὸ τοῦ
πυλῶνος ἐτελεύτησε. Καὶ ἀπεκαλύφθη τινὶ τῶν ἁγίων ὁ θάνατος αὐτῆς
καὶ εἶδε τοὺς ἁγίους ἀγγέλους παραλαβεῖν ἐλθόντας1 τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῆς καὶ
δαίμονας παρεπομένους αὐτοῖς. Καὶ ὁρᾷ διάλογον γενόμενον μεταξὺ
αὐτῶν τῶν μὲν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων λεγόντων ὅτι ἐν μετανοίᾳ ἦλθε, τῶν δὲ
δαιμόνων λεγόντων ὅτι ἡμῖν δουλεύει τοσοῦτον χρόνον καὶ ἡμετέρα2
ἐστιν. Ἐπὶ πολὺ οὖν διαλεγομένων αὐτῶν περὶ τούτων ἔλεγον οἱ δαίμονες
ὅτι οὐδὲ ἔφθασεν ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον,3 πῶς οὖν λέγετε ὅτι μετενόησεν;
Ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ εἶπαν4 ὅτι ἐξότε εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν πρόθεσιν
αὐτῆς εἰς τοῦτο κλίνασαν, προσεδέξατο αὐτῆς τὴν μετάνοιαν. Καὶ τῆς μὲν
μετανοίας αὐτὴ μὲν5 ἦν κυρία διὰ τοῦ σκοποῦ οὗ προέθετο, τῆς δὲ ζωῆς ὁ
πάντων δεσπότης [f. 333ra] καὶ Κύριος. Ἐν τούτοις οὖν καταισχυνθέντες
ὑπεχώρησαν οἱ δαίμονες. Ὁ δὲ τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν ἑωρακὼς ἅγιος γέρων ὁ
καὶ ἐπίσκοπος διηγήσατο αὐτά, φησίν, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἠκούσαμεν καὶ6
ἀπηγγείλαμεν ὑμῖν. Τοῦτο οὖν εἰδότες, ἀδελφοί, πρῶτον ἀσφαλισώμεθα
ἑαυτοὺς μετὰ τῆς βοηθείας τοῦ Θεοῦ μὴ ἐνδιδόναι τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἐν μηδενὶ
ἁμαρτήματι, ἀλλ᾿ ἀντιλέγωμεν καὶ ἀντιπολεμῶμεν μάλιστα δὲ περὶ τοῦ μὴ
ἐξελθεῖν τοῦ ἰδίου μοναστηρίου. Οἴδαμεν γὰρ πόθεν ἀναχωροῦμεν, εἰς τί
δὲ μέλλομεν πίπτειν ἀναχωροῦντες ἀγνοοῦμεν.
752. Ὁ μακάριος Σέριδος ἔχων κοινόβιον εἰς Θαυαθᾶ εἶχεν ἀγαπητὸν

τινὰ Αἰγύπτιον οἰκοῦντα ἐν Ἀσκάλωνι ἔχοντα καὶ μαθητήν. Συνέβη δὲ
αὐτῷ χειμῶνος ὄντος πέμψαι τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ μετὰ γραμμάτων πρὸς
τὸν ἀββᾶν Σέριδον ἐπὶ τῷ ἐνεγκεῖν7 αὐτῷ σκυτάλην χαρτίων.8
Ἐρχομένου δὲ τοῦ νεωτέρου [f. 333rb] ἀπὸ Ἀσκάλωνος ἔτυχε γενέσθαι
ὄμβρον πολύν, ὥστε καὶ τὸν ποταμὸν Θύαθον9 ἐλθεῖν ἀγριώτερον. Ὅτε
δὲ ἔδωκε τὰ γράμματα τῷ ἀββᾷ Σερίδῳ βροχὴ ἦν καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ
νεώτερος· Δός μοι τὰ χαρτία, ἀββᾶ, ἵνα ἀπέλθω. Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·10
Βροχή ἐστι καὶ ποῦ ἔχεις ἄρτι ἀπελθεῖν; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ νεώτερος·
Ἐντολὴν ἔχω καὶ οὐ δύναμαι μεῖναι. Ὡς δὲ ἐπέμενεν ὀχλῶν αὐτῷ, δέδω-
κεν αὐτῷ τὰ χαρτία καὶ λαβὼν παράθεσιν καὶ εὐχὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀββᾶ
ἀπῆλθε. Λέγει οὖν ὁ ἀββᾶς τοῖς συμπαροῦσιν αὐτῶν, ἐν οἷς ἦν ὁ ἀββᾶς
1
παραλαβεῖν ἐλθόντας S] ἐλθόντας παραλαβεῖν trsp V 2
ἡμετέρα S] ἡμῶν V
3
ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον S] εἰς τὸ κοινόβιον ἐλθεῖν trsp V 4
εἶπαν S] εἶπον V
5
μὲν om V 6
ἡμεῖς ἠκούσαμεν καὶ om V 7
ἐνεγκεῖν S] ἐνέγκαι V
8
χαρτίων S] χάρτων V 9
Θύαθον S] Θύσθον V
10
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ S] Αὐτὸς δὲ εἶπεν V
N.752 613
she fell into porneia under the influence of the demon who had deceived
her into coming out. Once she had fallen, she spent a considerable amount
of time in porneia. After coming to regret this through the good God
assisting her towards repentance, she came to her coenobion where she
repented and, falling down before the gate, she died. Her death was
revealed to one of the saints; he saw the holy angels coming to receive
her soul and demons accompanying them. He saw a dialogue taking place
between them, on the one hand the angels saying: ‘She came in repent-
ance’, the demons on the other hand saying: ‘She was serving us for such a
long time and she is ours.’ While they argued at length about these things
the demons said: ‘She did not even arrive at the coenobion so how can you
say she repented?’ The angels answered saying: ‘As soon as God saw her
intention leaning in that direction, he accepted her repentance. She was
mistress of repentance by virtue of her intended aim, [the master] of life is
the Lord and master of all.’ The demons were put to shame by these
[arguments] and retreated. The holy elder (he was a bishop too) who had
seen the revelation reported these things,” he said: “meanwhile we heard
them and reported them to you.” So, being aware of these things, brothers,
let us first secure ourselves with the help of God against giving in to
logismoi [to commit] any kind of sin but let us argue against and resist,
especially in order not to come out of one’s own monastery. For we know
from what we are withdrawing, but we do not know what we are going to
fall into when we withdraw.
N.752
The blessed Seridos who directed a coenobion at Thavatha had a beloved
Egyptian living at Ascalon who had a disciple. Once when it was winter
time that person sent his disciple to Abba Seridos with a letter about
bringing him a roll of paper. When the young man was coming from
Ascalon there happened to be much rain, so that the River Thyathon
became swollen. It was raining when he gave the letter to Abba Seridos and
the young man said to him: “Give me the paper so I can go off”, but he
said to him: “It is raining; where can you go now?” The young man said to
him: “I have a commandment and I cannot wait.” As he went on insisting,
[the elder] gave him the paper and he departed with the leave and the
blessing of the abba. Then the abba said to those who were present with
them (among whom was Abba Theodore, who is one of those with us):
“Let us go and see what he does at the river”, for the rain was beating
down. When he arrived at it, he went far from them, took off his clothes,
Θεόδωρος1 τῶν ὄντων σὺν ἡμῖν· Ἀπέλθωμεν2 καὶ3 ἴδωμεν τί ποιεῖ εἰς τὸν
ποταμόν, – ἐπέκειτο γὰρ καὶ ἡ βροχή. Ὡς δὲ ἔφθασεν εἰς αὐτόν, ἀπελθὼν
μακρὰν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπεδύσατο τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ ἐντυλίξας τὰ χαρτία εἰς τὰ
ἱμάτια4 αὐτοῦ καὶ βαλὼν ἐπάνω τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ δήσας εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·
Εὔξασθε ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ καὶ ῥίπτει ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸν [f. 333va] ποταμόν. Ὡς δὲ
ἐπληροφόρησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Σέριδος τοὺς συνόντας, οὐδὲν ἄλλο προσεδό-
κουν5 εἰ μὴ πέμψαι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ εὑρεῖν τὸ λείψανον αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ
ἔμενε πυκτεύων καὶ ἀντιβαίνων τῇ φορᾷ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ μακράν που
κατασυρεὶς ἔφθασεν εἰς τὸ ἄλλο πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Καὶ θαυμάσαντες
τὴν ὑπακοὴν αὐτοῦ τὴν μέχρι θανάτου ἐδοξάσαμεν τὸν Θεόν. Αὕτη ἐστὶν
ἡ ὑπακοὴ ἣν λέγουσιν οἱ πατέρες ἀδιάκριτον, ἥτις πολλὴν παρρησίαν
δίδωσι τῷ καταξιωθέντι αὐτῆς ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καταξιώσει δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς
τῆς αὐτῆς χάριτος, ἵνα ἀμερίμνως καὶ εἰρηνικῶς παρελθόντες τὰς ἡμέρας
ἡμῶν εὕρωμεν ἔλεος μετὰ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
753. Ἔλεγέ τις τῶν πατέρων διὰ τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην παραβολήν, ὅτι
αἱ κέδροι εἶπαν6 τοῖς7 καλάμοις· Πῶς ὑμεῖς ἀσθενεῖς ὄντες καὶ ἀδύναμοι, οὐ
κλᾶσθε8 ἐν [f. 333vb] τῷ χειμῶνι, ἡμεῖς δὲ τηλικαῦται οὖσαι συντριβόμεθα,
ἔστι δὲ9 ὅτε καὶ ἐκριζούμεθα; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ10 κάλαμοι λέγοντες·11
Ἡμεῖς ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ χειμὼν καὶ φυσήσωσιν οἱ σκληροὶ ἄνεμοι, κλινόμεθα
μετὰ τοῦ ἀνέμου ὧδε ἢ ὧδε καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐ κλανόμεθα,12 ὑμεῖς δὲ
ἀνθιστάμενοι τοῖς ἀνέμοις κινδυνεύετε. Τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν ὁ γέρων ὅτι δεῖ
παραχωρεῖν ὅταν λόγος ὕβρεως γένηται ἢ ἀφορμὴ δοσοληψίας ἢ ἄλλο τι
τῶν τοιούτων καὶ διδόναι τόπον τῇ ὀργῇ καὶ μὴ ἐναντιοῦσθαι καὶ πίπτειν
εἰς ἀτόπους λογισμοὺς καὶ πράγματα κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον τῷ ἁγίῳ13
ἀποστόλῳ· Δότε τόπον τῇ ὀργῇ.
754. Εἶπε πάλιν· Οἱ ἅγιοι14 ἔχοντες τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τὰ ὧδε
κληρονομοῦσι διὰ τῆς ἀπαθείας καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὰ ὧδε καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ
τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐστίν, ἤγουν ὁ ἔχων αὐτὸν ἔχει καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ αὐτοῦ.
Ὁ γὰρ ἔχων τὰ πάθη, κἂν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον ἔχῃ οὐ[f. 334ra]δὲν ἔχει, εἰ μὴ
τὰ πάθη κυριεύοντα αὐτοῦ.
755. Εἶπε γέρων· Γνῶθι τῇ πείρᾳ τὸν ἀγαθὸν βίον καὶ μὴ φοβηθῇς ὡς
ἀδύνατον.
1
Θεόδωρος S] Δωρόθεος V 2
Ἀπέλθωμεν S]-ομεν V 3
καὶ om V
4
καὶ ἐντυλίξας τὰ χαρτία εἰς τὰ ἱμάτια om V 5
προσεδόκουν S] προσεδόκων V
6
εἶπαν S] εἶπον V 7
τοῖς S] ταῖς V (LSJ: ὁ κάλαμος) 8
κλᾶσθε S] κλᾶσθαι V
9
δὲ om V 10
οἱ S] αἱ V 11
λέγοντες om V 12
κλανόμεθα] sic codd; κλώμεθα?
13
ἁγίῳ om V 14
ἅγιοι] οἱ add V
N.753–5 615
wrapped the paper in his clothes, put it on top of his head, tied [it] and
said to them: “Pray for me”, – and threw himself into the river. When
Abba Seridos assured his companions [of this] they could think of nothing
else but to send to the sea and find his remains but [the young man]
continued struggling and resisting the rushing water and, swept down-
stream some distance, he arrived at the other bank of the river. Amazed at
his obedience unto death, we glorified God. This is the obedience which
the fathers say is unwavering, which bestows great confidence with God
upon him who was deemed worthy of it. He will deem us worthy of the
same grace too so that, passing our days care-free and peacefully, we may
find mercy with our fathers in the presence of God.
N.753
One of the fathers told a parable about humble-mindedness. The cedars
said to the reeds: “How is it that you who are feeble and frail are not
broken in the storm while we, being so great, are shattered and sometimes
uprooted?” The reeds replied, saying: “When the storm comes and harsh
winds blow, we bend this way and that way with the wind and, for that
reason, we are not broken, while you are in danger from withstanding the
winds.” The elder said this because, when an insulting statement is made
or the onset of a heated exchange or anything else of that kind comes
about, it is necessary to give place to anger and not resist and fall into
inappropriate logismoi and deeds, in accordance with the statement of the
holy Apostle: “Give place unto anger” [Rom 12:19].
N.754
He also said: “The holy ones, having Christ within themselves, inherit
both the things that are here through apatheia and those that are there,
since both these and those are Christ’s; or rather, he that has [Christ] has
both him and what is his. But he who has passions, even if he has the
whole world, has nothing other than the passions that dominate him.”
N.755
An elder said: “Know the good life by experience and do not fear it as
something impossible.”
756. Εἶπε πάλιν· Μὴ θαυμάσῃς εἰ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ἄγγελος γενέσθαι
δυνήσῃ. Πρόκειται γὰρ ἰσάγγελος δόξα καὶ ταύτην ὁ ἀγωνοθέτης τοῖς
ἀγωνιζομένοις ἐπαγγέλλεται.
757. Εἶπε πάλιν ὁ γέρων· Οὐδὲν οὕτω τοὺς μοναχοὺς προσάγει Θεῷ1
ὡς ἡ τὸ εὔσχημον καὶ εὐπάρεδρον τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀπερίσπαστον παρέχουσα2
ἡ καλὴ καὶ σεμνὴ καὶ φιλόθεος ἁγνεία, καθάπερ μεμαρτύρηκεν αὐτῇ τὸ
πανάγιον Πνεῦμα διὰ τοῦ φωστῆρος Παύλου.
758. Ὁ ἀββᾶς Παμβὼ ἀπέστειλε τὸν μαθητὴν αὐτοῦ ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ τῇ

πόλει πρὸς τὸ πωλῆσαι τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ. Ποιήσας δὲ ἡμέρας δέκα ἓξ
ἐν τῇ πόλει, ὡς ἔλεγεν ἡμῖν, τὰς νύκτας ἐκάθευδεν ἐν τῷ νάρθηκι3 ἐν τῷ
ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου Μάρκου. Καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς καθο[f. 334rb]λικῆς
ἐκκλησίας ἀνέκαμψε πρὸς τὸν γέροντα. Ἔμαθε δὲ καὶ τροπάρια. Λέγει
οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ὁρῶ σε,4 ὦ τέκνον, τεταραγμένον. Μή τι5 πειρασμός
σοι συνέβη ἐν τῇ πόλει; Λέγει ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῷ γέροντι· Φύσει, ἀββᾶ, ἐν
ἀμελείᾳ δαπανῶμεν τὰς ἡμέρας ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ καὶ οὔτε κανόνας
οὔτε τροπάρια μανθάνομεν. Ἀπελθόντος γάρ μου ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ εἶδον
τὰ τάγματα τῆς ἐκκλησίας πῶς ψάλλουσι καὶ ἐν λύπῃ γέγονα πολλῇ,
διατί6 ἡμεῖς οὐ ψάλλομεν κανόνας καὶ τροπάρια. Λέγει οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ
γέρων· Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, τέκνον, ὅτι ἔφθασαν αἱ ἡμέραι ἐν αἷς καταλείψουσιν
οἱ μοναχοὶ τὴν στερεὰν τροφὴν τὴν διὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ῥηθεῖσαν
καὶ ἐξακολουθήσουσιν7 ᾄσματα καὶ ἤχους. Ποία γὰρ κατάνυξις, ποῖα
δάκρυα τίκτονται ἐκ τῶν τροπαρίων; Ποία κατάνυξις τῷ μοναχῷ ὅτε ἐν
ἐκκλησίᾳ ἢ ἐν κελλίῳ ἵσταται [f. 334va] καὶ ὑψοῖ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ὡς οἱ
βόες; Εἰ γὰρ ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ παριστάμεθα, ἐν πολλῇ κατανύξει ὀφείλομεν
ἵστασθαι καὶ οὐχὶ ἐν μετεωρισμῷ. Καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἐξῆλθον οἱ μοναχοὶ ἐν τῇ
ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ ἵνα παρίστωνται τῷ Θεῷ καὶ μετεωρίζωνται8 καὶ μελῳδῶ-
σιν ᾄσματα καὶ ῥυθμίζωσιν9 ἤχους καὶ σείωσι10 χεῖρας καὶ μεταβαίνωσι11
τοῖς ποσίν,12 ἀλλ᾿ ὀφείλομεν ἐν φόβῳ πολλῷ καὶ ἐν τρόμῳ, δάκρυσί
τε καὶ στεναγμοῖς, μετὰ εὐλαβείας καὶ εὐκατανύκτου καὶ μετρίας καὶ13
ταπεινῆς φωνῆς τὰς14 προσευχὰς τῷ Θεῷ προσφέρειν. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ
λέγω σοι,15 τέκνον, ὅτι ἐλεύσονται ἡμέραι ὅτε φθεροῦσιν16 οἱ χριστιανοὶ
1
τοὺς μοναχοὺς προσάγει Θεῷ S] προσάγει τῷ Θεῷ τοὺς μοναχοὺς V
2
παρέχουσα S] ἔχουσα V 3
νάρθηκι] τῆς ἐκκλησίας add V
4
ὁρῶ σε] there is a correction in the margin but it is difficult to read 5
τι S] τις V
6
διατὶ] καὶ add V 7
ἐξακολουθήσουσιν S]-σωσιν V 8
μετεωρίζωνται S]-ονται V
9
ῥυθμίζωσιν S]-ουσιν V 10
σείωσι S]-ουσι V 11
μεταβαίνωσι S]-ουσι V
12
τοῖς ποσίν S] πόδας V 13
καὶ om V 14
τὰς om V 15
λέγω σοι S] λέγουσι V
16
φθεροῦσιν S] φθείρουσιν V
N.756–8 617
N.756
He also said: “Do not be amazed that, being a man, you can become an
angel. Glory equal to that of the angels is set before you and the judge of
the contests promises this to the contestants.”
N.757
The elder also said: “Nothing so brings the monks to God as that beautiful
and becoming purity beloved of God, which bestows an unshakeable,
seemly and constant attendance upon the Lord, as the all-holy Spirit has
borne witness through Paul the luminary.” [Cf. 1 Cor 7:34–35.]
N.758 BHG 2329b, apophthegma de cantu monachorum

Abba Pambo sent his disciple into the city of Alexandria to sell his
handiwork. Spending sixteen days in the city, as he told us, he used to
sleep at night in the narthex of the church of Saint Mark. Having
witnessed the rite of the Catholic Church, he returned to the elder. He
had learned the troparia too. So the elder said to him: “My son, I see you
troubled; perhaps some temptation befell you in the city?” The brother
said to the elder: “You know, abba, we are wasting our days in negligence
in this desert and we are learning neither canons nor troparia. When I went
away to Alexandria I saw the ranks of the church and how they sing and
I became very sorrowful because we do not sing canons and troparia.” The
elder said to him: “Woe betide us, my son, for the days have arrived in
which the monks will abandon the solid food spoken of by the Holy Spirit
and go running after songs and tones. What kind of sorrow for sin, what
tears are born of the troparia? What kind of sorrow for sin is there for a
monk when, standing in church or cell, he raises his voice like the oxen? If
we are standing before God, we ought to stand in great sorrow for sin, not
being elated. For the monks did not come out into this desert to stand
before God and be elated, to warble songs, shape tunes, wave their hands
and prance around on their feet. Rather ought we to offer our prayers to
God in great fear and trembling, with tears and sighs, with reverence, in a
thoroughly repentant, moderate and humble voice, well disposed to
τὰς βίβλους τῶν ἁγίων εὐαγγελίων καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων καὶ
τῶν θεσπεσίων προφητῶν λειαίνοντες1 τὰς ἁγίας Γραφὰς καὶ γράφοντες
τροπάρια καὶ ἑλληνικοὺς λόγους καὶ χυθήσεται ὁ νοῦς εἰς τροπάρια καὶ
εἰς τοὺς λόγους τῶν Ἑλλήνων. Διὰ τοῦτο οἱ πατέρες [f. 334vb] ἡμῶν
εἰρήκασιν ἵνα μὴ γράφωσιν οἱ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ ὄντες καλλιγράφοι τοὺς
βίους καὶ λόγους τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἐν βεμβράνοις ἀλλ᾿ ἐν χαρτώοις.
Μέλλει γὰρ ἡ ἐρχομένη γενεὰ λειαίνειν τοὺς βίους τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων καὶ
γράφειν κατὰ τὸ θέλημα αὐτῶν. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί οὖν
ἀλλαχθήσονται τὰ ἔθη καὶ αἱ παραδόσεις τῶν χριστιανῶν καὶ οὐκ ἔσονται
ἱερεῖς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ, ἵνα ταῦτα γένηται; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Ἐν τοῖς
τοιούτοις καιροῖς ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν καὶ ἔσται θλίψις
οὐκ ὀλίγη, ἐθνῶν ἐπιδρομαί, λαῶν κινήσεις,2 βασιλέων ἀκαταστασία,
ἀρχόντων ἀταξία, ἱερέων σπατάλη, μοναζόντων ἀμέλεια. Ἔσονται οἱ
ἡγούμενοι καταφρονοῦντες τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας καὶ τοῦ ποιμνίου,
πρόθυμοι πάντες καὶ σπουδαῖοι εἰς τὰς τραπέζας καὶ μαχιμάριοι,3
ὀκνηροὶ εἰς τὰς εὐχάς,4 ἕτοιμοι εἰς5 καταλαλιάς, πρόχειροι τοῦ κατακρίνειν,
[f. 335ra] βίους γερόντων καὶ λόγους μήτε μιμούμενοι μήτε ἀκούοντες,6
ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ληροῦντες λέγουσιν ὅτι εἰ ἦμεν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτῶν
ἠγωνισάμεθα ἂν7 καὶ ἡμεῖς. Οἱ δὲ ἐπίσκοποι τῶν καιρῶν ἐκείνων ἔσονται
αἰδούμενοι πρόσωπα δυνατῶν, κρίνοντες τὰς κρίσεις ἐν δώροις μὴ ἐν
κρίματι τῶν πτωχῶν ὑπερασπίζοντες,8 θλίβοντες χήρας, καταφρονοῦντες9
ὀρφανῶν. Εἰσελεύσεται δὲ καὶ εἰς τὸν λαὸν ἀπιστία, ἀσωτία, μίσος,
ἔχθρα, ζῆλος, ἐριθεία,10 κλοπαί, κῶμοι, μέθαι, μοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, φόνοι,
διαρπαγαί. Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἀδελφός· Τί οὖν ποιήσει τις ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις
καιροῖς καὶ χρόνοις; Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ γέρων· Τέκνον, ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις ἡμέραις
σῴζῃ ὁ σῴζων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν καὶ μέγας κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ
τῶν οὐρανῶν.
759. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Οὐδέποτέ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος καλός, κἂν

θελήσῃ εἶναι καλός, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ Θεὸς οἰ[f. 335rb]κήσῃ ἐν αὐτῷ. Οὐδεὶς γὰρ
ἀγαθός, εἰ μὴ εἷς11 ὁ Θεός.
1
λειαίνοντες S] λεαίνοντες V (LSJ: λειαίνω and λεαίνω) 2
κινήσεις S] κίνησις V
3
μαχιμάριοι S] μαχημάριοι V 4
εὐχὰς] καὶ add V 5
εἰς] τὰς add V
6
μήτε μιμούμενοι μήτε ἀκούοντες V Spc] μήτε ἀκούοντες μήτε μιμούμενοι Sac 7
ἂν om V
8
μὴ ἐν κρίματι τῶν πτωχῶν ὑπερασπίζοντες S] μὴ ὑπερασπίζοντες τῶν πτωχῶν ἐν κρίματι V
9
καταφρονοῦντες S] καταπονοῦντες V
10
ἐριθεία corr] ἐριθία S] ἐριθεῖα V (LSJ: ἡ ἐριθεία=selfish or factious ambition)
11
εἷς] ἀγαθὸς add V
N.759 619
sorrow for sin. See, I am telling you, my son, the days will come when
Christians will destroy the books of the holy gospels and of the holy
apostles and of the divine prophets, smoothing away the holy Scriptures
and writing troparia and pagan poems; and their mind will be besotted
with troparia and pagan poetry. This is why our fathers have said that the
scribes who are in this desert are not to write the lives and sayings of the
holy fathers on parchment but on paper, for the forthcoming generation is
going to smooth away the lives of the holy fathers and write according to
their own will.” The brother said to him: “What then, will the customs
and traditions of the Christians be changed? And will there be no priests in
the church that this might come about?” The elder said: “In those times
the love of many will grow cold [Mt 24:12]; there will be affliction on no
small scale, incursions of nations, displacement of people, the overthrow of
kings, disorder among rulers, wantonness among priests, negligence
among monks. Higoumens will think nothing of their own salvation and
that of the flock, all eager and zealous about going to table, quick to pick a
fight, slow to prayers, ready to bite back, standing by to condemn, neither
imitating nor listening to the lives and sayings of the elders but rather
foolishly saying: ‘If we had been in their days we would have fought the
good fight too.’ And the bishops of those times will be respecters of
powerful persons, giving their judgements according to bribery, not pro-
tecting the poor in court, afflicting widows, despising orphans. There shall
come among the people unbelief, profligacy, hatred, enmity, jealousy,
intrigue, thefts, carousings, drunkenness, adulteries, fornications, murders
and plunderings.” The brother said: “What shall one do in such times and
seasons?” and the elder said: “In such days he who saves his own soul saves
himself and he will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven” [Mt 5:19].
N.759
Abba Antony said: “A man is never good, even if he wants to be good,
unless God dwells within him: ‘There is none good but one: God’
[Mk 10:18].”
760. Εἶπε πάλιν· Ὁ ἀδικούμενος ἑκουσίως καὶ συγχωρῶν τῷ πλησίον
κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ὁ δὲ μηδὲ ἀδικῶν μηδὲ ἀδικούμενος κατὰ
φύσιν ἐστὶ τοῦ Ἀδάμ, ὁ δὲ ἀδικῶν ἢ τόκους ἀπαιτῶν ἢ κακοπραγμονῶν
κατὰ τὴν τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστί.1
761. Περὶ τῆς ἁλώσεως τῆς Ἰερουσαλὴμ2

Ἐν τῇ λαύρᾳ τῆς Ἑπταστόμου ὡς ἀπὸ σταδίων δεκαπέντε τῆς λαύρας
τοῦ ἁγίου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Σάβα ἦν τις ἀναχωρητὴς θαυμαστὸς ὀνόματι
Ἰωάννης σὺν τῷ ἰδίῳ μαθητῇ καθεζόμενος. Ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς θεωρῶν τὴν
ταραχὴν καὶ τὴν θλίψιν τὴν γινομένην καθ᾿ ἡμέραν ὑπὸ τῶν Περσῶν,
τῆς ἁγίας Χριστοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν πόλεως ὡς ἔμελλε γίνεσθαι παρεκάλει
τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα λέγων· Ἐπειδὴ πέπεισμαι, πάτερ, ὅτι ὅσα ὁ Θεὸς
μέλλει ποιεῖν οὐ μὴ ἀποκρύψῃ ἀπὸ σοῦ, δέομαί σου εἰπέ μοι εἰ παρα
[f. 335va]λειφθῆναι3 μέλλει ἡ πόλις. Ὁ δὲ γέρων λέγει αὐτῷ· Πόθεν ἐγὼ
ἐπίσταμαι περὶ τούτου ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς ὑπάρχων;4 Ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς
ἐπέμενε παρακαλῶν μαθεῖν θέλων. Τότε δακρύσας ὁ γέρων λέγει· Ἐπειδὴ
θεωρῶ σε ἐμπόνως, ὦ τέκνον,5 μαθεῖν θέλοντα6 περὶ τούτου, ἐγώ σοι
ἐρῶ ὅσα ὁ Θεὸς ἔδειξέ μοι. Πρὸ τῶν πέντε ἡμερῶν τούτων ἤμην ἀδο-
λεσχῶν περὶ τούτου καὶ θεωρῶ ἐμαυτὸν ἁρπαγέντα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ ἁγίου
Κρανίου καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς σὺν ὅλῳ τῷ κλήρῳ ἔκραζον τὸ Κύριε ἐλέησον.
Ἀτενίσας δὲ θεωρῶ τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν προσηλωμένον
τῷ σταυρῷ καὶ τὴν παναγίαν Θεοτόκον τὴν δέσποιναν7 τοῦ κόσμου
δυσωποῦσαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαοῦ. Ὁ δὲ ἀπεστρέφετο τὸν λαὸν λέγων· Οὐ μὴ
ἐπακούσω αὐτῶν, ἐβεβήλωσαν γὰρ τὸ θυσιαστήριόν μου. Μετὰ δὲ τὸ
κράξαι8 τὸ Κύριε ἐλέησον σὺν δάκρυσι καὶ στεναγμοῖς ἀπήλθαμεν9 ἐν
τῷ ναῷ τοῦ ἁγίου [f. 335vb] Κωνσταντίνου. Κράζοντες κἀκεῖσε τὸ Κύριε
ἐλέησον συνεισῆλθον δὲ κἀγὼ μετὰ τοῦ ἱερατείου, ἤγουν τοῦ κλήρου ἐν
τῷ ἱερῷ. Ἐμοῦ δὲ ἀπελθόντος προσκυνῆσαι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ ἐν ᾧ ηὕρηνται10
τὰ τίμια ξύλα τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ σταυροῦ ὁρῶ βόρβορον ἐξερχόμενον εἰς
τὸν ναόν. Ἦσαν δὲ ἐκεῖ δύο γέροντες ἱεροπρεπεῖς παριστάμενοι καὶ
λέγω αὐτοῖς· Οὐ φοβεῖσθε τὸν Θεὸν ὅτι οὐδὲ εὔξασθαι δυνάμεθα ἐκ τοῦ
βορβόρου; Πόθεν ἡ δυσωδία ἐνταῦθα κεῖται; Οἱ δὲ λέγουσιν· Ἐκ τῶν
ἀνομιῶν τῶν κληρικῶν τοῦ τόπου τούτου. Ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτούς·
Καὶ οὐ δύνασθε αὐτὸ καθαρίσαι ὅπως συγχωρηθῶμεν εὔξασθαι; Οἱ δὲ
1
ἐστὶ S] ἐστὶν V] φύσιν add V 2
Tit. om V 3
παραλειφθῆναι V] παραληφθῆναι S
4
ὑπάρχων S] ὦν V 5
ὦ τέκνον om V 6
θέλοντα S] θέλων τὰ V
7
δέσποιναν S] δέσποινα V 8
κράξαι] ἡμᾶς add V 9
ἀπήλθαμεν]-ομεν V
10
ηὕρηνται] εὕ-V
N.760–1 621
N.760
He also said: “He who is gratuitously done an injustice and forgives his
neighbour is of the nature of Jesus. He who neither commits nor suffers an
injustice is of the nature of Adam. He who commits injustice or demands
interest or wickedly conspires is of the demon’s nature.”
N.761 BHG 1448w, de anachoreta Ioanne a

Persis occiso
On the taking of Jerusalem
In the lavra of Heptastomos, about fifteen furlongs from the lavra of our
holy father Sabas, there lived an amazing anchorite named John with his
own disciple. Seeing the trouble and affliction that was happening day by
day from the Persians, the disciple besought his own father [to say] what
was going to become of the holy city of Christ our God, saying: “Since
I believe, father, that God will not hide the things that he is going to do
from you, I beg you, tell me whether the city is going to be left”, but the
elder said to him: “How would I know about that, being a sinful man?”
The disciple, however, continued beseeching him, wishing to learn. Then,
in tears, the elder said: “Since I see you diligently wishing to learn about
this, I will tell you the things that God showed me. Five days ago I was
pondering this matter and I observed myself being snatched away before
the holy Calvary and all the people with the entire clergy were crying:
‘Lord have mercy.’ Gazing intently, I saw our Lord Jesus Christ nailed to
the cross and the all-holy Mother of God, the Mistress of the world,
importuning on the people’s behalf. But [Christ] turned away from the
people saying: ‘I will not give ear to them for they have defiled my altar.’
When we had cried ‘Lord have mercy’ with tears and sighs, we went off to
the church of Saint Constantine, crying ‘Lord have mercy’ there too.
I went into the church together with the ordained; with the clergy, that
is. I went off to worship in the place where the precious timbers of the life-
giving Cross are found and I saw sludge coming out into the church. There
were two reverend elders standing there and I said to them: ‘Do you not
fear God, for we cannot even pray because of the sludge. From where
comes the stench that lies here?’ They said: ‘From the irregularities of the
clergy of this place.’ I said to them: ‘And can you not cleanse it so we may
be allowed to pray?’ but they said: ‘Believe me, brother, things around here
will not be cleansed other than by fire.’ And the vision [went] that far.”
λέγουσι·1 Πίστευε, ἀδελφέ, οὐ μὴ καθαρισθῶσι τὰ ὧδε εἰ μὴ διὰ πυρός.
Καὶ ἕως τούτου ἡ ὁπτασία. Ταῦτα οὖν εἰπὼν ὁ γέρων δακρύσας λέγει τῷ
μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Καὶ τοῦτό σοι λέγω, τέκνον, ὅτι ἐξῆλθεν ἀπόφασις ἵνα ἐγὼ
ἀποκεφαλισθῶ.2 Καὶ πολλὰ παρεκάλεσα τὸν Θεὸν ἵνα συγχωρηθῇ μοι
καὶ ἀπεκάλυψέ μοι ὅτι πάντως γενέσθαι ἔχει καὶ Αὐτὸς μόνος ἐπίσταται
ὅτι οὐδέποτε ἐξέχεον αἷμα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Καὶ ταῦτα αὐτῶν λαλούντων ἰδοὺ
οἱ βάρβαροι ἦλθον ἐπ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ μὲν μαθητὴς δειλιάσας ἔφυγεν, τὸν δὲ
γέροντα κρατήσαντες ἀνεῖλον καὶ δρομαῖοι ἀνεχώρησαν. Ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς
ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν τὸν γέροντα αὐτοῦ τεθνεῶτα ἐδάκρυσε πικρῶς καὶ λαβὼν
ἐκήδευσεν αὐτὸν μετὰ τῶν πατέρων.
761bis [= V f. 301r]. Ὁ θαυμάσιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Σαβαΐτης διηγήσατο·

Καθεζομένου μου ποτέ, φησίν, ἐν ἀκροτάτῃ ἐρήμῳ παρεκάλεσέ μοί τις
ἀδελφὸς ἐκ τοῦ μοναστηρίου ἐπισκέψεως χάριν. Ἠρώτων οὖν αὐτὸν πῶς
ἔχουσιν οἱ πατέρες καὶ ἔλεγέ μοι· Καλῶς διὰ τῶν εὐχῶν ὑμῶν. Ἠρώτησα
οὖν αὐτὸν περὶ ἑνὸς ἀδελφοῦ κακὴν φήμην καὶ ὄνομα ἔχοντος καὶ λέγει μοι
καὶ αὐτός· Πίστευσον, πάτερ, οὔπω ἀπηλλάγην τῆς φήμης ἐκείνης. Τοῦτο
οὖν ἀκούσας ἐγὼ εἶπον· Οὔφ! καὶ σὺν τῷ εἰπεῖν με οὔφ! καταφέρομαι ὡς ἐν
ἐκστάσει ὕπνῳ καὶ θεωρῶ ἐμαυτὸν ἔμπροσθε τοῦ ἁγίου Κρανίου ἱστάμε-
νον καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν δύο ληστῶν
ἐσταυρωμένον. Ὥρμησα οὖν τοῦ προσκυνῆσαι καὶ πλησιάσας αὐτῷ
[lacuna?] ὡς τοῦτο ἐθεάσατο ἐπέτρεψε μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ τοῖς παρεστῶσιν
αὐτῷ ἁγίοις ἀγγέλοις λέγων αὐτοῖς· Βάλλετε αὐτὸν ἔξω ὅτι ἀντίχριστός
μου ἐστί. Πρὶν γὰρ ἐγὼ κρίνω, αὐτὸς κατέκρινε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ.
Διωκομένου οὖν μου, ὡς ἦλθον ἐξελθεῖν τὴν θύραν, ἐκρατήθη τὸ παλλίον
μου ἀσφαλισθείσης αὐτῆς καὶ ἐάσας αὐτὸ ἐκεῖσε εὐθέως διϋπνίσθην. Καὶ
λέγω τῷ παραβαλόντι μοι· Πονηρὰ ἡ ἡμέρα [Petropolitanus 381, f. 1va]
αὕτη ἐμοί. Καὶ λέγει μοι·3 Τίνος ἕνεκα,4 πάτερ; Καὶ τότε διηγησάμην
αὐτῷ τὰ ὁραθέντα μοι καὶ εἶπα·5 Τὸ παλλίον μου ἡ σκέπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ
ἐπ᾿ ἐμοὶ ἦν καὶ ἐστερήθην αὐτῆς. Καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης ὡς ἐπὶ Κυρίου
τῆς δόξης ἑπτὰ χρόνους ἐποίησα πελαζόμενος εἰς τὰς ἐρήμους, μήτε ἄρτου
γευόμενος, μήτε ὑπὸ στέγην εἰσελθών, μήτε ἀνθρώπῳ συντυχών, ἕως οὗ
ἐθεασάμην ὁμοίως τὸν Κύριόν μου ἐπιτρέψαντα ἀποδοθῆναί μοι τὸ παλ-
λίον μου. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ θαυμασίου Ἰωάννου ἀκούσαντες εἴπο-
μεν ὅτι εἰ ὁ δίκαιος μόλις σώζεται, ὁ ἀσεβὴς καὶ ἁμαρτωλὸς ποῦ φανεῖται;
1
λέγουσι S]-σιν V
2
S, f. 336ra lacuna starts from this point. The missing text has been added using Vat. gr. 1599 and
Petropolitanus 381, f. 1va-b; the latter is one of the missing folia of Sinai 448.
3
μοι] καὶ αὐτὸς V 4
ἕνεκα] ἕνεκεν V 5
εἶπα] εἶπον V
N.761 623
Having said that, the elder spoke to his disciple in tears: “And I am telling
you this, my son, a declaration went out that I should be decapitated.
I insistently besought God to forgive me and he revealed to me that it
certainly has to happen; and he alone knows that I never used to pour out
blood on the earth.” And while they were saying these things, here the
barbarians came upon them. The disciple fled in terror but they captured
and killed the elder, then made off at speed. The disciple came and, seeing
his elder dead, wept bitterly. He took him and buried him with the fathers.
N.761bis
The wondrous John the Sabaite related: “Once when I was living in the
remotest desert,” he said, “a brother from the monastery called on me for a
visitation. I began asking him how the fathers were and he told me: ‘They
are well, thanks to your prayers’ so I asked him about one brother who had
a bad name and reputation. He said to me himself: ‘Believe me, father,
there is no change in that reputation.’ On hearing this I said: ‘Ah!’ – and as
I said ‘ah!’ I was carried away by sleep as though in an ecstasy and observed
myself standing before holy Golgotha and our Lord Jesus Christ crucified
between the two thieves. I dashed forward to worship and, having got near
him, [prostrated myself]. When he observed this, with a loud voice he
ordered the holy angels standing by him, saying to them: ‘Throw him out
for he is my antichrist: he was condemning his brother before I condemn
him.’ Being pursued, as I was at the point of coming out of the door, my
pallium caught and, leaving it there (as the door was firmly closed),
I immediately woke up. I said to my visitor: ‘This is a terrible day for
me’, and he said to me: ‘Why is that, father?’ and then I described to him
what was seen by me and I said: ‘My pallium was the protection of
God over me and I was deprived of it.’ And from that day I have spent
seven years as though in the glory of the Lord, wandering in the deserts,
neither tasting bread nor going under a roof nor meeting a man until in
a similar way I observed my Lord ordering that my pallium be given back
to me.’” When we heard this about the wondrous John, we said: “If the
righteous will scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner
appear?” [1 Pet 4:18].
761ter (= V f. 301v). Θεοφίλου ἀρχιεπισκόπου Ἀλεξανδρείας περὶ

τῆς ἁγίας προσφορᾶς1
Ἔλεγον περί τινος ἀδελφοῦ ὅτι γενομένης συνάξεως ἐν καιρῷ κυριακῆς
ἀνέστη κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἐχλεύασεν αὐτὸν ὁ
διάβολος λέγων αὐτῷ·2 Ποῦ ἀ[Petropolitanus 381, f. 1vb]πέρχῃ εἰς τὴν
ἐκκλησίαν ἵνα μεταλάβῃ3 ἄρτου καὶ οἴνου καὶ εἴπουσιν4 οἱ ἄνθρωποι ὅτι
σῶμα καὶ αἷμα τοῦ Κυρίου ἐστί; Μὴ χλευάζου. Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς ἐπείσθη τῷ
λογισμῷ καὶ οὐκ ἀπῆλθε κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. Τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν
ἀδελφῶν5 ἐκδεχομένων τὸν ἀδελφὸν – οὕτως γὰρ ἦν τὸ ἔθος τῆς
ἐπισήμου κυριακῆς – οὐ γὰρ ἐποίουν τὴν σύναξιν ἕως οὗ πάντες ἦλθον.
Ἐπιμενόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ πλείω καὶ ἐκείνου μὴ ἐρχομένου, ἀναστάντες
ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγοντες· Ἆρα μὴ ἀσθενεῖ6 ἢ ἀπέθανεν; ὡς δὲ ἦλθον
εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐπυνθάνοντο λέγοντες· Διὰ τί οὐκ ἦλθες εἰς
τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ἀδελφέ; Ὁ δὲ ἀδελφὸς ᾐσχύνετο ἀπαγγεῖλαι αὐτοῖς.
Ἐπιγνόντες7 δὲ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ τὴν τοῦ διαβόλου κακοβουλίαν καὶ τέχνην
αὐτοῦ8 εἶναι, ἔβαλλον9 αὐτῷ μετάνοιαν ἵνα αὐτοῖς ὁμολογήσῃ10 τὴν τοῦ
διαβόλου κακοτεχνίαν. Ὁ δὲ ἀπήγγειλεν11 αὐτοῖς λέγων· Συγχωρήσατέ
μοι, πατέρες, ὅτι ἀ νέστην κατὰ τὸ ἔθος ἐλθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ
εἶπέν μοι ὁ λογισμὸς ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σῶμα καὶ αἷμα τὸ ὑπάγεις μεταλαβεῖν
ἀλλὰ ἄρτος καὶ οἶνος. Εἰ οὖν θέλετε ἵνα ἔλθω μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν,
θεραπεύσατέ μου τὸν λογισμὸν περὶ τῆς ἁγίας προσφορᾶς. Οἱ δὲ εἶπον
αὐτῷ· Ἐλθὲ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ ἡμεῖς παρακαλοῦμεν τὸν Θεὸν
ἵνα σοι δείξῃ τὴν θείαν δύναμιν κατερχομένην. Καὶ ἀναστὰς ἦλθε μετ᾿
αὐτῶν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν καὶ γενομένης μεγάλης ἱκεσίας πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν
περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ οὕτως ἤρξαντο ἐπιτελεῖν τὴν σύναξιν τῆς λειτουργίας
στήσαντες τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς ἐκκλησίας καὶ μέχρις οὗ ἀπέλυσεν ἡ
ἐκκλησία οὐκ ἔπαυσεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς δάκρυσι καταβρέχων τὴν ὄψιν αὐτοῦ.
Μετὰ δὲ τὴν σύναξιν προσκαλεσάμενοι τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἠρώτων αὐτὸν
λέγοντες· Εἴ τι σοι ἔδειξεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀπάγγειλον ἡμῖν ἵνα καὶ ἡμεῖς
ὠφεληθῶμεν. Ὁ δὲ μετὰ πολλῶν δακρύων χαίρων ἅμα καὶ τρέμων ἤρξατο
λέγειν ὅτι ὅτε ἀνεγνώσθη ἡ τῶν ἀποστόλων διδαχὴ καὶ ἀνῆλθεν ὁ
διάκονος ἀναγνῶναι τὸ ἅγιον εὐαγγέλιον εἶδον ἐγὼ τὴν στέγην τῆς
ἐκκλησίας ἀνεῳγμένην καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν φαίνοντα καὶ ἐκλαλοῦντος τοῦ
ἁγίου εὐαγγελίου ὡς πῦρ ἐγένετο ὁ διάκονος ὁ ἑστηκὼς εἰς τὸ
1
προσφορᾶς] ἀναφορᾶς V 2
αὐτῷ] ὅτι add V 3
μεταλάβῃ]-ῃς V
4
εἴπουσιν]-ωσιν V 5
Τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἀδελφῶν] Τῶν δὲ ἀδελφῶν τῶν λοιπῶν trsp V
6
ἀσθενεῖ]-ῇ V 7
Ἐπιγνόντες]-γνῶντες V 8
αὐτοῦ] τοῦτο add V
9
ἔβαλλον] ἔβαλον V 10
ὁμολογήσῃ] ἀπαγγείλλῃ V 11
ἀπήγγειλεν] ἀπήγγειλλεν V
N.761 625
N.761ter 18.48 BHG 1448c, visio de eucharistica oblatione

Theophilos, archbishop of Alexandria, on the Holy Sacrifice
They used to say of a certain brother that, there being a service on a
Sunday, he got up to go to church as usual and the devil deceived him,
saying: “How is it that you are going off to church to partake of bread and
wine and men say that it is body and blood of the Lord? Do not be
deceived!” The brother was convinced by the logismos and did not go to
church as usual. The rest of the brothers were waiting for the brother, for
such was the custom on a special Sunday, for they used not to hold the
service until everybody came. Since they were waiting for too long and he
was not coming, they got up and went to him, saying: “He is surely not
sick or has died, has he?” When they came to the brother’s cell they
enquired, saying: “Why did you not come to church, brother?” but the
brother was ashamed to answer them. Recognising the evil counsel of the
devil and his craftiness, the brothers prostrated themselves [entreating] that
he might confess the wickedness of the devil to them. He gave them an
answer, saying: “Forgive me, fathers: I got up as usual to come to church
and the logismos came to me that it is not body and blood you are going to
partake of, but bread and wine. So if you want me to go to church with
you, cure me of [this] thought concerning the holy sacrifice.” They said to
him: “Come to church with us and we will beseech God to show you the
divine dynamis descending.” He got up and went to church with them and
with a great intercession to God on the brother’s behalf taking place, they
began to celebrate the service of the liturgy, standing the brother in the
midst of the church. And until the congregation was dismissed, the brother
never stopped wetting his face with tears. After the service they called the
brother and asked him, saying: “Declare [it] to us if God showed you
anything, so that we also might gain some benefit.” With many tears,
rejoicing and trembling at the same time, he began telling them: “When
the teaching of the apostles was read and the deacon went up to read the
ἀναλογεῖον. Καὶ εἶδον πάλιν τὴν γῆν ἀνεωχθεῖσαν ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ
θυσιαστηρίῳ καὶ οἱ κατέχοντες τὴν τῶν θείων μυστηρίων δωρεὰν ἱερεῖς
μετὰ φόβου ἵσταντο. Εἶδον δὲ πάλιν τοὺς οὐρανοὺς ἀνεῳγμένους καὶ
κατερχόμενον πῦρ καὶ μετὰ τὸ πῦρ πλῆθος ἀγγέλων καὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν
ἄλλα δύο πρόσωπα ἐνάρετα ἃ οὐκ ἔνι τὰ κάλλη αὐτῶν διηγήσασθαι· ἦν
γὰρ τὸ φέγγος αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ ἀστραπὴ ἡ ἐν τῇ βροντῇ γινομένῃ. Καὶ οἱ μὲν
ἄγγελοι ἐστάθησαν κύκλῳ τῆς ἁγίας τραπέζης καὶ παιδίον μέσον αὐτῶν.
Ὡς δὲ προσήγγισαν οἱ ἱερεῖς κλάσαι τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως εἶδον
ἐγὼ τὰ δύο πρόσωπα ἐπάνω τῆς τραπέζης πῶς ἐκράτησαν τὰς χεῖρας καὶ
τοὺς πόδας τοῦ παιδίου καὶ κατέχοντες μάχαιραν ἔσφαξαν τὸ παιδίον καὶ
ἐξεκένωσαν τὸ αἷμα αὐτοῦ εἰς ποτήριον ὃ ἦν κείμενον ἐπάνω τῆς ἁγίας
τραπέζης καὶ κατακόψαντες τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἔθηκαν ἐπάνω τῶν ἄρτων καὶ
ἐγένοντο οἱ ἄρτοι σῶμα. Καὶ ἐμνήσθην τοῦ ἀποστόλου λέγοντος· Καὶ γὰρ
τὸ Πάσχα ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐτύθη Χριστός. Ὡς δὲ προσήγγισαν οἱ
ἀδελφοὶ μεταλαβεῖν τῆς ἁγίας προσφορᾶς ἐπεδίδοτο σῶμα καὶ ὅτε ἐπε-
καλοῦντο λέγοντες Ἀμὴν ἐγίνετο πάλιν ἄρτος εἰς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶν. Ὡς δὲ
προσήγγισα τοῦ μεταλαβεῖν ἐγὼ τῆς ἁγίας προσφορᾶς ἐπεδόθη μοι σῶμα
καὶ οὐκ ἠδυνάμην αὐτοῦ μεταλαβεῖν καὶ ἤκουσα φωνῆς λεγούσης εἰς τὰ
ὦτα μου· Ἄνθρωπε, διατί οὐ μεταλαμβάνεις; Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο ὃ ἐζήτεις;
Κἀγὼ ἰδὼν εἶπον· Ἵλεώς μοι γενοῦ, Κύριε, σῶμα οὐ δύναμαι μεταλαβεῖν
καὶ ἄλλα πλείονα εἶπέν μοι· Εἰ οὖν ἠδύνατο ἄνθρωπος σῶμα μεταλαβεῖν,
σῶμα Θεοῦ ηὑρίσκετο, καθὼς σὺ εὗρες. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐ δύναται φαγεῖν σῶμα καὶ
διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Κύριος καὶ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἔταξεν ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως. ὥσπερ ἐξ
ἀρχῆς ὁ Ἀδὰμ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐγένετο σὰρξ καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν
αὐτῷ ὁ Θεὸς πνοὴν ζωῆς καὶ ἡ μὲν σὰρξ ἐχωρίσθη εἰς τὴν γῆν τὸ δὲ
πνεῦμα ἔμεινεν, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δίδει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα σὺν
τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι καὶ ἡ μὲν σὰρξ σπανίζεται εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς τὸ δὲ
σῶμα ἵσταται εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν.1 Εἰ τοίνυν2 ἐπίστευσας, μετάλαβε.
Καὶ3 εἶπα·4 Πιστεύω, Κύριε. Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπόντoς μου5 ἐγένετο6 σῶμα ὁ7
ἐν τῇ χειρί μου ἄρτος καὶ εὐχαριστήσας τῷ Θεῷ μετέλαβον τῆς
ἁγίας προσφορᾶς. Ὡς δὲ ἡ σύναξις προέκοψε καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἱερεῖς
ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό, εἶδον πάλιν τὴν στέγην τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀνεῳγμένην καὶ
τὰς θείας δυνάμεις ἀνυψουμένας8 εἰς τοὺς οὐρανούς. Καὶ ταῦτα ἀκού-
σαντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πολλὴν κατάνυξιν λαβόντες τῆς τῶν ἁγίων
1
δίδει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα σὺν τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι καὶ ἡ μὲν σὰρξ σπανίζεται? εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς τὸ δὲ
σῶμα ἵσταται εἰς τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν V] ὡς ἄρτος δὲ δαπανώμενος εἰς οὐρανοὺς μὲν τῆς σαρκὸς
ἀνιούσης ἐμπιεζομένης δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς χάριτος S
2
τοίνυν S] οὖν V 3
Καὶ] ἐγὼ add V 4
εἶπα S] εἶπον V 5
μου post τοῦτο trsp V
6
ἐγένετο] τὸ add V 7
ὁ S] ὃ V] εἶχον add V 8
ἀνυψουμένας S] ὑψουμένας V
N.761 627
holy gospel, I saw the roof of the church opened and heaven visible. And as
the holy gospel spoke forth, the deacon, standing at the analogeion, became
as fire. And again I saw the earth in the holy sanctuary opened and the
priests holding the gift of the holy mysteries standing there in fear. Again
I saw the heavens opened and fire descending and, with the fire, a
multitude of angels and, in the midst of them, two other virtuous person-
ages whose beauty it is not possible to describe, for their brilliance was like
the lightning when there is thunder. And the angels stood around the
holy table with a child in the midst of them. When the priests approached
to break the offering-loaves, I saw the two personages above the table, how
they held the hands and the feet of the child and, holding a sword, slew the
child and emptied out his blood into a cup set on top of the holy table and,
cutting up his body, placed [it] on top of the loaves and the loaves became
body. I remembered the apostle saying: ‘Christ our Passover was slain for
us’ [1 Cor 5:7]. When the brothers approached to partake of the holy
sacrifice there was body given to them and when they cried out saying:
‘Amen’ it became bread again in their hands. But when I approached to
partake of the holy sacrifice there was body given to me and I could not
partake of it and I heard a voice saying in my ear: ‘Man, why are you not
partaking? Is not this what you were looking for?’ I looked and said: ‘Be
gracious with me Lord; I cannot partake of body’, and he said more to me:
‘If a man were able to partake of body, it would be found to be body of
God, as you found. But [man] cannot eat body and, for that reason, our
Lord and God stipulated loaves for the offering. Just as, in the beginning,
Adam became flesh at the hands of God and God breathed into him the
breath of life and the flesh was separated into the earth but the spirit
remained, so too Christ gives his own flesh with the Holy Spirit and: while
the flesh rises into heaven, the body stays in our hearts. So if you have
believed, partake.’ I said: ‘I believe, Lord’, and when I said this, the body in
my hand became bread and, giving thanks to God, I partook of the holy
sacrifice. As the service proceeded and the priests came together, again
I saw the roof of the church opened and the divine powers being lifted up
to the heavens.” After hearing these things and receiving great sorrow for
μυστηρίων δωρεᾶς, ἀνεχώρησαν ἕκαστος εἰς τὰ κελλία αὐτῶν1
δοξάζοντες τὸν Θεόν. Ἀμήν.
762. Περὶ Εὐλογίου2

Διηγήσαντο ἡμῖν οἱ μαθηταὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Εὐλογίου ὅτι ὅτε ἀπέστελλεν3
ἡμᾶς ὁ γέρων εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν πρὸς τὸ πωλῆσαι τὸ ἐργόχειρον, ἐδίδου
ἡμῖν [f. 336rb] ἐντολὰς ἵνα πλείω4 τρεῖς ἡμέρας μὴ ποιήσωμεν. Εἰ δὲ πλείω5
τῶν τριῶν ἡμερῶν ποιήσητε, φησί, ἀθῶος εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας
ὑμῶν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἠρωτήσαμεν αὐτὸν πῶς οἱ μοναχοὶ οἱ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ
κώμαις μετὰ τῶν κοσμικῶν νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν6 συναναστρεφόμενοι οὐ
βλάπτονται. Ἀνοίξας7 δὲ τὸ ἀψευδέστατον στόμα αὐτοῦ ὁ γέρων λέγει
πρὸς ἡμᾶς· Πιστεύσατέ μοι, τέκνα, ἀφ᾿ οὗ ἐμόνασα, ἐποίησα τριάκοντα
ὀκτὼ ἔτη μὴ ἐξελθὼν τῆς Σκήτεως. Καὶ μετὰ τὸ τέλος τῶν τριάκοντα
ὀκτὼ8 ἐτῶν ἀπῆλθον μετὰ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Δανιὴλ πρὸς τὸν πάπαν Εὐσέβιον ἐν
Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ διὰ χρείαν τινὰ καὶ εἰσελθόντων ἡμῶν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ
ἐθεασάμεθα πολλοὺς μοναχοὺς καὶ ἐθεώρουν τοὺς μὲν ἐξ αὐτῶν ὑπὸ
κοράκων ῥαπιζομένους, τοὺς δὲ γυναῖκας γυμνὰς ἀγκαλιζομένας αὐτοὺς
καὶ εἰς τὸ οὖς αὐτῶν ὁμιλούσας. Τοὺς [f. 336va] δὲ ὑπὸ παιδαρίων ἀρρένων
καὶ αὐτοὺς γυμνοὺς κοσίζοντας αὐτοὺς καὶ κόπρον ἀνθρώπειον9 χρίοντας
αὐτούς. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν κρέα10 καὶ οἶνον καὶ σίκερα11 προσοσφραίνοντας
αὐτούς,12 ἐνίους δὲ ἔβλεπον ὅτι κατέχοντες μάχαιραν ἀπιόντες κατέκοπ-
τον σάρκας ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἐδίδουν τοῖς μοναχοῖς πρὸς τὸ φαγεῖν. Καὶ
ἔγνων ὅτι ἕκαστος τῶν μοναχῶν οἵῳ πάθει προσπαλαίει τοιοῦτοι δαί-
μονες ὀψικεύουσι καὶ προσομιλοῦσιν αὐτῷ κατὰ διάνοιαν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο,
ἀδελφοί, οὐ θέλω ὑμᾶς χρονίσαι ἐν πόλει, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ τοιούτων λογισμῶν,
μᾶλλον δὲ δαιμόνων, ὀχληθῆτε.
763. Τις τῶν πατέρων περιώρισεν ἑαυτὸν πρὸ χρόνου τὴν ἁγίαν
τεσσαρακοστὴν τῶν ἁγίων νηστειῶν. Ὁ δὲ διάβολος ὁ ἀεὶ τοὺς ἀγωνι-
ζομένους φθονῶν ἐπλήρωσεν ὅλον τὸ σπήλαιον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐδάφους
ἕως τῆς στέγης κορίδων καὶ τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ τὸν ἄρτον καὶ πάντα τὰ αὐτοῦ
ὥστε μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι τὸ σύνολον13 δά[f. 336vb]κτυλον τοῦ σπηλαίου γυμνόν.
Ὑπομείνας οὖν οὗτος ὁ γενναῖος τὸν πειρασμὸν ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἐάν με δεῖ
1
αὐτῶν S] ἑαυτῶν V 2
Tit. Περὶ Εὐλογίου V S 3
ἀπέστελλεν S] ἀπέστειλεν V
4
πλείω S] πλεῖον V 5
πλείω S] πλέον V 6
ἡμέραν V] ἡμέρα S
7
Ἀνοίξας Vpc S] Ἀνύξας Vac 8
τριάκοντα ὀκτὼ S] λη´ V
9
ἀνθρώπειον S] ἀνθρωπεῖαν V (LSJ: ἡ κόπρος thus ἀνθρωπεῖαν is the correct form)
10
κρέα S] κρέας V 11
LSJ: τὸ σίκερα = fermented liquor, strong drink
12
αὐτοὺς S (looks like the scribe wrote αὐτὺς)] αὐτοῖς Vac] ἑαυτοῖς Vpc 13
τὸ σύνολον om V
N.762–3 629
sin from the gift of the holy mysteries, the brothers withdrew, each one to
his own cell, glorifying God. Amen
N.762 BHG 2128

Concerning Eulogius
The disciples of Abba Eulogius related this to us: “When the elder used to
send us to Alexandria to sell the handiwork, he would give us orders not to
spend more than three days. ‘If you spend more than three days,’ he said,
‘I am not responsible for your sins.’ We asked him how monks in the
cities and villages are not harmed, being in contact with worldlings day
and night. The elder opened his mouth that was totally incapable of lying
and said to us: ‘Believe me, my sons, from the time that I became a
monk, I spent thirty-eight years never going out of Scete. After the end of
the thirty-eight years I went with Abba Daniel to Pope Eusebius in
Alexandria for some necessary reason. When we came into Alexandria
we observed many monks; I watched some of them being pecked by
crows, some with naked women embracing them and speaking in their
ears, others were naked with male youths, violating them and anointing
them with human excrement while others were giving them meat, wine
and strong drinks to smell. And I saw some people going off holding a
sword and they were cutting up human flesh and giving it to the monks
to eat. And I realised that with whatever passion each of the monks was
struggling, similar demons were accompanying him and speaking to him
in his mind. And for that reason, brothers, I do not want you delaying in
the city, in order that you may not be troubled by such logismoi – or
rather, demons.’”
N.763
One of the fathers put himself in temporary confinement for the holy forty
days of the holy fast [Lent]. But the devil, ever envious of those who are
fighting the good fight, filled his entire cave from floor to roof with bugs,
both the water and the bread and everything that was his so that not a
fingers-breadth of the cave was visibly free of them. Enduring the trial, this
noble one said: “Even if I have to die, I am not coming out until the holy
ἀποθανεῖν οὐκ ἐξέρχομαι ἕως τῆς ἁγίας ἑορτῆς. Τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ ἑβδομάδι τῶν
ἁγίων νηστειῶν ἰδοὺ ὁρᾷ ἀπὸ πρωΐας πλῆθος ἀδιήγητον μυρμήκων
τελείων εἰσερχομένων ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ ἐπ᾿ ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν κορίδων καὶ
καθάπερ ἐπὶ πολέμου ἐν τῷ ἐξωτέρῳ ἐκβαλόντες1 πάσας ἐφόνευσαν
καὶ βαστάσαντες τοῦ σπηλαίου ἐξήγαγον. Διὸ καλὴ ἡ τῶν πειρασμῶν
ὑπομονὴ εἰς ἀγαθὸν γὰρ πέρας πάντως ἔρχεται.
764. Τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἡσαΐου2

Διηγήσατο ἡμῖν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἡσαΐας ὅτι καθεζομένου μου ποτὲ πλησίον
τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου ἦλθον ἑπτὰ ἀδελφοὶ ἀπὸ Ἀλεξανδρείας πειράζ-
οντες αὐτὸν καὶ φασίν· Εἰπὲ ἡμῖν, πάτερ, πῶς σωθῶμεν; Λαβὼν3 ἐγὼ
πτύχιον4 καὶ καθεσθεὶς κατιδίαν ἔγραφον τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα διὰ τῶν
[f. 337ra] χειλέων αὐτοῦ. Ὁ δὲ γέρων στενάξας καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ
πεφωτισμένον στόμα αὐτοῦ εἶπεν· Ὦ ἀδελφοί, πῶς5 ἕκαστος ἡμῶν οἶδε
πῶς σῴζεται, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ θέλομεν σωθῆναι. Οἱ δὲ εἶπαν6 πρὸς αὐτόν· Πολλὰ
θέλομεν σωθῆναι καὶ οὐκ ἐῶσιν ἡμᾶς οἱ πονηροὶ λογισμοί. Τί ποιήσομεν;7
Ὁ δὲ γέρων εἶπεν· Εἰ μοναχοὶ ἐστέ, διατί γυρεύετε μετὰ τῶν κοσμικῶν ἢ
πλησιάζετε ὅπου μένει κοσμικός; Οἱ ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ
φορέσαντες τὸ ἅγιον σχῆμα καὶ εἰσὶν ἀνὰ μέσον κοσμικῶν ἑαυτοὺς
φρεναπατῶσιν. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι8 εἰς μάτην κοπιῶσι.9 Τί γὰρ κερδήσουσιν10
ἀπὸ τῶν κοσμικῶν,11 εἰ μὴ σαρκικὴν ἀνάπαυσιν; Ὅπου δὲ ἔστι σαρκικὴ
ἀνάπαυσις ἐκεῖ οὐ δύναται12 φόβος Θεοῦ οἰκῆσαι, μάλιστα δὲ ἐν μοναχῷ.
Διατί μοναχός; Ὅτι μόνος πρὸς Θεὸν νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν13 ὁμιλεῖ. Ὁ δὲ
μοναχὸς ὁ μετὰ κοσμικῶν ποιῶν πλεῖ[f. 337rb]ον ἡμέραν ἤτοι γε τὸ
πλεῖον14 δύο διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι ζῆν ἄνευ τῆς χρείας αὐτοῦ15 διὰ
τὸ τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ πωλῆσαι καὶ ἐπάραι τὰς χρείας αὐτοῦ καὶ
ὑποστρέψας16 μετανοῆσαι γνησίως διὰ τὰς δύο ἡμέρας ἃς ἐποίησεν ἐν
τῇ πόλει πωλῶν τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ. Oὐδὲν ὠφελήθη μοναχὸς ὁ μετὰ
κοσμικῶν διατρίβων. Ταύτας τὰς ἀρετὰς κερδαίνει πρὸ πάντων ὅτε
1
ἐκβαλόντες S] ἐκβαλλόντες V 2
Tit. Τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἡσαΐου S] Ἡσαΐου V
3
Λαβὼν] δὲ add V 4
πτύχιον V] πτυχίον S (LSJ: πτύχιον = folding tablet)
5
πῶς om V 6
εἶπαν S] εἶπον V 7
ποιήσομεν S]-ωμεν V 8
τοιοῦτοι] καὶ add V
9
κοπιῶσι S] ὁ κόπος αὐτῶν V 10
κερδήσουσιν S]-σωσιν V
11
ἀπὸ τῶν κοσμικῶν S] ἐκ τοὺς κοσμικοὺς V 12
ἐκεῖ οὐ δύναται S] οὐ δύναται ἐκεῖ trsp V
13
ἡμέραν V] ἡμέρᾳ S (S: νύκτᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ)
14
πλεῖον S] πλεῖστον V; ὁ δὲ μοναχὸς ὁ μετὰ κοσμικῶν διάγων, ἢ ποιῶν μετ’ αὐτῶν πλεῖον ἡμέρας, ἢ
τὸ πολὺ δύο, καὶ τοῠτο διὰ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν χρείαν καὶ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι ζῆν ἄλλως ἤτοι διὰ τὸ
πωλῆσαι τὸ ἐργόχειρον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὑποστρέψαι μετὰ σπουδῆς, εἶτα μετανοῆσαι κ.τ.λ. Synag.
15
αὐτοῦ] ἢ add V 16
ὑποστρέψας] ὑποστρέψαι V] καὶ add V
N.764 631
feast [Easter].” In the third week of the holy fast, here at dawn he saw an
indescribable multitude of fully grown ants entering the cave to destroy the
bugs and, as though at war, expelling them into the outer part, they killed
them all and got them out of the cave, carrying them. So it is good to
endure trials, for a good ending is sure to come.
N.764
Of Abba Isaiah
Abba Isaiah related to us: “Once when I was staying near Abba Macarius
there came seven brothers from Alexandria and, to put him to the test,
they said: ‘Tell us, father, how are we to be saved?’ Taking up a tablet and
sitting apart, I began to write down what came out of his mouth. With a
sigh the elder opened his enlightened lips and said: ‘O brothers, how each
one of us knows how he is to be saved, yet we do not wish to be saved!’
They said to him: ‘We greatly wish to be saved but the evil logismoi do not
allow us. What shall we do?’ The elder said: ‘If you are monks, why do you
go around with worldlings or approach where a worldling is staying? They
who have renounced the world and wear the holy habit and are in the
midst of worldlings deceive themselves. Such people labour in vain, for
what can they gain from the worldlings other than repose of the flesh? Yet
where there is repose of the flesh, the fear of God cannot dwell, especially
in a monk. Why a monk? Because he alone speaks to God, day and night.
The monk spending even a day or at most two with worldlings to sell his
handiwork and to carry away what he needs (because he could not live
without the necessities of life) had to return and repent sincerely for the
two days he spent in the city selling his handiwork [but] reaped no benefit.
A monk staying with wordlings receives no benefit in spite of the virtues he
acquires before all when he has contact with them: control of the tongue
for a start, fasting then humbling himself until he becomes known and his
reputation spreads that such-and-such a monk is a servant of God. Then
immediately Satan sends him worldlings to supply his every need, of wine,
εἰσέλθῃ· ἡ ἀρχὴ αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχει οὕτως· ἐγκράτεια1 γλώσσης καὶ νησ-
τεύων καὶ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ἕως οὗ γνωρισθῇ καὶ ἐκβῇ φήμη2 αὐτοῦ, ὅτι
ὁ δεῖνα ὁ μοναχὸς δοῦλος τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχει καὶ εὐθέως ὑποβάλλει αὐτῷ
ὁ σατανᾶς τοὺς κοσμικοὺς φέρειν αὐτῷ ἅπασαν χρείαν ἀπό τε οἴνου
καὶ ἐλαίου καὶ χρυσίου3 καὶ παντὸς εἴδους καὶ λέγοντες·4 Ὁ ἅγιος, ὁ
ἅγιος. Καὶ ὡς ἔθος ἐστι τῇ κενοδοξίᾳ, ἀκούων τὸ ἅγιος φυσιοῦται ὁ
ταπεινὸς μοναχὸς [f. 337va] καὶ5 ἄρχεται καθέζεσθαι μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐσθίων
καὶ πίνων καὶ ἀναπαυόμενος. Ἔπειτα δὲ ἀνιστάμενος ἐν τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ
ὑψοῖ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἕως οὗ εἴπωσιν οἱ κοσμικοί·6 Ὁ δεῖνα ὁ μοναχὸς
ψάλλει καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖ, ἕως οὗ ἐπαινέσωσιν αὐτὸν καὶ πάλιν κενοδοξῶν
ἐπαίρεται καὶ ὑψοῦται καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέρχεται ἡ ταπείνωσις ἐξ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ
ἐάν τις εἴπῃ αὐτῷ λόγον τραχύν, ἀποκρίνεται αὐτῷ χείρω.7 Ἔπειτα δὲ
θεωρῶν τοὺς κοσμικοὺς νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν8 τοξεύει αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος εἰς
γυναῖκας καὶ παιδία καὶ μέριμναν τοῦ βίου καὶ ὀχλεῖται, καθὼς καὶ ὁ
Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ εἴρηκεν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ἐμβλέψας
γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτήν, ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ
αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δὲ καὶ μύθους λογιζόμεθα ταῦτα, ἀκούσωμεν τοῦ Κυρίου
λέγοντος· Ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσεται οἱ δὲ λό[f. 337vb]γοι μου οὐ
μὴ παρέλθωσιν. Ἔπειτα δὲ ἐπιχειρεῖ τοῦ σωρεύειν τὰς χρείας τοῦ ἐνιαυ-
τοῦ, ἔπειτα δὲ9 διπλασιάζει10 τοῦ ἐπισωρεύειν11 χρυσίον καὶ ἀσήμιν,12
ἕως οὗ ἐγχαλάσωσιν αὐτὸν οἱ δαίμονες εἰς τὴν ῥίζαν τῆς φιλαργυρίας.
Κἄν τις φέρῃ αὐτῷ μικρόν τι ἀποστρέφει αὐτὸ λέγων· Οὐ δέχομαι
αὐτό, οὐ λαμβάνω γὰρ13 τίποτε. Ἔπειτα14 ἐάν τις φέρῃ αὐτῷ χρυσίον
ἢ ἄσημον ἢ ἱμάτιον15 ἤ τι τὸ ἀρέσκον αὐτῷ, εὐθέως μετὰ χαρᾶς
δέχεται καὶ παρατίθησι16 τράπεζαν λαμπρὰν καὶ ἄρχεται τοῦ ἐσθίειν
καὶ ὁ πτωχός, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ Χριστός, ἔξω τῆς θύρας κρούει καὶ οὐδεὶς
ὁ συνιών, οὐδεὶς ὁ ἀκροώμενος. Πρὸς τούτους εἴρηκεν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν
Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὅτι εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστι κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος
εἰσελθεῖν ἢ πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἀλλ᾿ ἴσως ἐροῦμεν17
ὅτι οὐκ ἐσμὲν πλούσιοι,18 ὅτι19 οὐ χρῄζω τινὰ20 πλούσιος ὑπάρχων21
[f. 338ra] ἀλλὰ πολλάκις δῆθεν λέγομεν ὅτι οὐκ ἀδικῶ τινὰ καὶ22 ἐκ τοῦ
ἐργοχείρου μου καὶ ἐξ ὧν πέμπει ὁ Θεὸς ἔχω. Εἴπατέ μοι, πατέρες, οἱ
1
ἐγκράτεια S] ἐγκρατῆς V 2
φήμη corr] φήμι S] ἡ φήμη V 3
καὶ χρυσίου om V
4
λέγοντες S] λέγουσιν V 5
καὶ] εὐθέως add V 6
κοσμικοί] ὅτι add V
7
χείρω S] χείρων V 8
ἡμέραν V] ἡμέρᾳ S (S: νύκτᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ) 9
δὲ om V
10
διπλασιάζει] καὶ ἐπιχειρεῖ add V 11
ἐπισωρεύειν S] σωρεύειν V
12
ἀσήμιν S] ἄσημον V 13
γὰρ post οὐ trsp V 14
Ἔπειτα S] εἶτα V
15
ἱμάτιον S] ἱμάτια V 16
παρατίθησι S] τιθεῖ V 17
ἐροῦμεν S] λέγομεν V
18
πλούσιοι] ἢ add V 19
ὅτι S] ὅτε V 20
τινὰ S] τινὸς V
21
ὑπάρχων S] ὑπάρχω V 22
καὶ om V
N.764 633
oil, gold and every commodity, saying: ‘The saint, the saint!’ And, as is
usually the case with vainglory, on hearing the word ‘saint’, the humble
monk is puffed up and begins to keep [the worldlings] company, eating
and drinking and taking his ease. Then, when he is standing at the psalm-
singing, he lifts up his voice until the worldlings say: ‘Such-and-such a
monk is singing’ and he keeps vigil until they praise him. Then again he is
lifted up and elevated in his vainglory and straightaway humility departs
from him. And if anybody says a harsh word to him, he answers him with a
worse one. Subsequently, observing worldlings night and day, the devil
needles him towards women and youths and care of life and he is swept
away, as our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Gospel: ‘Everyone looking on
a woman to desire her has already committed adultery in his heart’
[Mt 5:28]. If we think those things are fables, let us hear the Lord saying:
‘Heaven and earth will pass away but my words shall not pass away’
[Mt 24:35]. Then he undertakes to heap up the necessities for a year then
doubles [his efforts] to heap up gold and silver until the demons make him
indulgent towards the root of money-loving. And if anybody brings him a
small thing, he gives it back saying: ‘I am not accepting it, for I do not take
anything.’ Later, if somebody brings him gold or silver, a robe or anything
that pleases him, he immediately accepts it joyfully, sets a festive table and
begins to eat; while the poor man (or rather Christ) is knocking outside the
door and nobody is paying attention, nobody hearing. It was to these
people that our Lord Jesus Christ said: ‘It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of
Heaven’ [Mk 10:25, Lk 18:25; cf. Mt 19:24]. Perhaps we say: ‘We are not
rich’ or ‘I do not need anything for I am rich’ but then we often go on to
say: ‘I do not wrong anybody; I have the proceeds from my handiwork and
of what God sends me.’ Tell me, fathers, the angels in heaven, do they
heap up gold and silver, or glory of God? And we, brothers, why did we
receive the habit: to heap up money and goods, or in order to become
angels? Or are you unaware that the order that fell from heaven is topped
up with monks? So then, brothers, why did we renounce the world? And if
ἄγγελοι ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς χρυσίον καὶ ἄσημον σωρεύουσιν ἢ δόξαν Θεοῦ;
Καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀδελφοί, διατί ἐλάβομεν τὸ σχῆμα, ἵνα χρήματα σωρεύωμεν
καὶ ὕλας ἢ ἵνα γενώμεθα ἄγγελοι; Ἢ ἀγνοεῖτε ὅτι τὸ τάγμα τὸ πεσὸν
ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐκ τῶν μοναχῶν1 τελειοῦται; Λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, διατί
ἀπεταξάμεθα τῷ κόσμῳ; Καὶ εἰ ἀπεταξάμεθα τῷ κόσμῳ,2 διατί πάλιν
χαυνωθέντας ἔστρεψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ διάβολος ἐκ τῆς ὁδοῦ τῆς ταπεινώσεως;
Ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἶνος καὶ γυναῖκες καὶ χρυσίον καὶ σαρκικὴ ἀνάπαυσις
καὶ τὸ πελάζεσθαι ἀνὰ μέσον κοσμικῶν, ταῦτα πάντα χωρίζουσιν ἡμᾶς
ἀπὸ Θεοῦ; Ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστὶν ἡ φιλαργυρία. Ὅσον
ἀπέ[f. 338rb]χει ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει φιλάργυρος
μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἔτι γε μήν, οὐκ ἔστι κακία ὑπὲρ κακίας
φιλαργύρου μοναχοῦ. Μοναχὸς συντυγχάνων ὁμιλίας κοσμικὰς ὁ τοιοῦ-
τος εὐχὰς χρῄζει πολλὰς ἔχειν ἁγίων πατέρων. Ἢ οὐκ ἀκούομεν τοῦ
μακαρίου Ἰωάννου λέγοντος· Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ
κόσμῳ. Ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ.
Ἰάκωβος δὲ πάλιν ὁμοίως· Εἴ τις δοκεῖ φίλος εἶναι τοῦ κόσμου, ἐχθρὸς τοῦ
Θεοῦ καθίσταται. Φύγωμεν ἡμεῖς, ἀδελφοί, ἀπὸ τοῦ κόσμου ὥσπερ φεύγει
τὶς ἀπὸ ὄφεως. Ὁ γὰρ ὄφις ὅπου δ᾿ ἂν κρούσῃ μόλις ὑγιαίνει, οὕτως καὶ
ἡμεῖς ἐὰν θέλωμεν εἶναι μοναχοί, φύγωμεν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. Συμφέρον ἐστίν,
ἀδελφοί μου, ἕνα πόλεμον ἔχειν καὶ μὴ πολλοὺς καὶ ἀναριθμήτους.Εἴπατέ
μοι, πατέρες καὶ ἀδελφοί, οἱ πατέρες [f. 338va] ἡμῶν ποῦ ἐκτήσαντο τὰς
ἀρετὰς · εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἢ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον; Λοιπὸν ἡμεῖς πῶς βουλόμεθα
κτήσασθαι ἀρετὴν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὄντες; Ἐὰν μὴ πεινάσωμεν, ἐὰν μὴ
διψήσωμεν, ἐὰν μὴ ῥιγήσωμεν,3 ἐὰν μὴ μετὰ θηρίων οἰκήσωμεν καὶ
τῷ σώματι ἀποθάνωμεν, πῶς ζήσομεν τῇ ψυχῇ; πῶς βουλόμεθα τὴν
βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν κληρονομῆσαι ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν κοσμικῶν ὄντες;4
Ἐμβλέψωμεν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων,5 ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ πολεμήσῃ ὁ
στρατιώτης καὶ νικήσῃ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα δώσει χρήματα, οὐκ ἐπαίρει
τὴν ἀξίαν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς τρώγοντες καὶ πίνοντες καὶ μέσον6 τῶν
κοσμικῶν ὄντες βουλόμεθα κληρονομῆσαι τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν.
Μὴ ὑποβάλλῃ ἡμᾶς7 ὁ διάβολος λογισμοὺς πονηροὺς λέγων οὕτως
ὅτι ἂς σωρεύω ἵνα ποιῶ καὶ μισθοὺς ὅτι ὁ μὴ θέλων ἀπὸ κόδρας
ποιῆσαι [f. 338vb] ἔλεος οὐδὲ ἀπὸ χιλίων δηναρίων. Μή, ἀδελφοί μου,
ταῦτα κοσμικῶν εἰσίν; Οὐ θέλει ὁ Θεὸς ἡμᾶς τοὺς μοναχοὺς χρυσίον ἔχειν8
1
τῶν μοναχῶν S] τοὺς μοναχοὺς V 2
Καὶ εἰ ἀπεταξάμεθα τῷ κόσμῳ om V
3
ῥιγήσωμεν S] ῥιγάσωμεν V (LSJ: ῥιγόω-ῶ = to be cold, shiver, ῥιγέω-ῶ = shudder or bristle with
fear or horror)
4
ὄντες S] ὑπάρχοντες V 5
ἀνθρώπων V] οὐρανῶν S 6
μέσον S] ἀναμέσον V
7
ἡμᾶς S] ἡμῖν V 8
χρυσίον ἔχειν S] ἔχειν χρυσίον trsp V
N.764 635
we renounced, why, when we became flaccid again, did the devil turn us
aside from the way of humility? Or do you not know that wine, women,
gold, repose of the flesh and going around among worldlings, – that all
these things distance us from God? For ‘the love of money is the root of all
evil’ [1 Tm 6:10]. As far as the heaven is from the earth, so far is the money-
loving monk from the glory of God. Furthermore, there is no evil beyond
the evil of a money-loving monk. A monk who maintains communications
with the worldly, such a one needs to have many prayers of holy fathers.
Or do you not hear the blessed John saying: ‘Love not the world nor that
which is in the world. If one loves the world, the love of God is not in him’
[1 Jn 2:15]. And again James likewise: ‘If one seems to be a friend of the
world, he is in fact an enemy of God’ [Jas 4:4]. Let us flee from the world,
brothers, as one flees from a snake. For the snake, whomever it strikes
scarcely recovers. So too we, if we wish to be monks, let us flee from the
world. It is advantageous for us, my brothers, to wage one war, not many
and innumerable ones. Tell me, fathers and brothers, where did our fathers
acquire the virtues: in the world or in the desert? So we, how do we want to
acquire virtue while we are in the world? If we do not hunger, do not
thirst, do not shiver with cold, do not dwell with wild beasts and do not
die in the body, how can we live in the soul? How shall we, being in the
midst of worldlings, wish to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven? Let us
consider the kingdom of men: unless a soldier fight and triumph and
afterwards give out money, he receives no honour. How much more for us
who wish to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, gobbling and drinking and
being among worldlings?
“Let not the devil propose wicked logismoi to us such as: ‘Let me heap
up in order to make revenue’, because he who is unwilling to give alms
from small change will not give a thousand denarii. Do not be like that, my
brothers, for that is the way of the worldlings. God does not want us
monks to have gold or silver, clothing and goods. The Lord stipulated,
saying: ‘Consider the birds of the sky; they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns; and our heavenly father feeds them’ [Mt 6:26]. The monk who
has gold and silver and goods does not believe that God is able to feed him.
καὶ ἄσημον καὶ ἱματισμὸν καὶ ὕλας. Ὁ Κύριος ἐνετείλατο λέγων· Ἐμβλέ-
ψατε εἰς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὅτι οὐ σπείρουσιν οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν οὐδὲ
συνάγουσιν εἰς ἀποθήκας καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τρέφει αὐτά.
Μοναχὸς ὁ ἔχων χρυσίον καὶ1 ἀργύριον καὶ2 ὕλας οὐ πιστεύει ὅτι ὁ
Θεὸς δύναται θρέψαι αὐτόν. Εἰ ἄρτον3 οὐ δύναται παρασχεῖν ἡμῖν
οὐδὲ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ δοῦναι ἡμῖν. Τοῦτο δὲ γινώσκω, ὅτι ὅτε ἔχω
πρᾶγμα καὶ φέρει μοι ἄλλος ἐξ αὐτοῦ μάλιστα κοσμικός, ἐκεῖνο ἐξ ἐνερ-
γείας τοῦ διαβόλου ὑπάρχει. Ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἔχω καὶ ζητήσω ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς
τότε γινώσκων ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι χρῄζω, φέρει μοι4 ὡς5 τῷ6 Δανιὴλ ἐν τῷ7 λάκκῳ
τῶν λεόντων· εἰ δὲ οὐ χρῄζω, ἀλλ᾿ ἔχω χρυσίον καὶ ἄσημον καὶ ὕλας
καὶ οὐκ ἐκβάλλω, ἀλλὰ περι[f. 339ra]μένω ἵνα φέρῃ τις τὴν χρείαν μου,
συγκοινωνὸς8 τότε γίνομαι Ἰούδα τοῦ Ἰσκαριώτου ὅστις ἀφῆκε τὴν χάριν
τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς φιλαργυρίας ἔδραμεν,
ὅθεν ὁ μακάριος ἀπόστολος τοῦτο γινώσκων οὐ μόνον ῥίζαν πάντων
τῶν κακῶν ταύτην9 εἴρηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰδωλολατρίαν10 αὐτὴν ἐκάλεσεν.
Θεωρήσωμεν τοίνυν πρὸς πόσην κακίαν ἡ νόσος αὕτη τὸν μοναχὸν
παρασύρει ὡς καὶ εἰς εἰδωλολατρίαν11 ἐμβάλλειν αὐτόν. Ἀπέστη γὰρ
ὁ φιλάργυρος μοναχὸς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ εἴδωλα ἀνθρ-
ώπων γεγλυμμένα,12 ἤγουν τὸ χρυσίον13 προσκυνεῖ. Ὢ φιλαργυρία, ἡ
χωρίζουσα τὸν μοναχὸν ἀπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὢ φιλαργυρία δεινὴ
καὶ πικρά, ἡ χωρίζουσα τὸν μοναχὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ τάγματος14 τῶν ἀγγέ-
λων. Ὢ φιλαργυρία, ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν, ἡ ποιοῦσα τὸν μοναχὸν
πάντα μεριμνᾶν, ἕως οὗ ποιήσῃ αὐτὸν καταλιπεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν
[f. 339rb] οὐρανῶν κολληθῆναι τοῖς ἄρχουσι τῆς γῆς. Ὢ φιλαργυρία
πάσης κακίας χορηγέ, ἡ ἐξακονοῦσα τὴν γλῶσσαν τοῦ μοναχοῦ εἰς
ὕβριν καὶ ὀνειδισμοὺς καὶ ταραχὰς ἕως οὗ ποιήσῃ αὐτὸν κρῖναι δίκας
κοσμικῶν. Οὐαὶ ἐκείνῳ τῷ μοναχῷ τῷ διδόντι παρρησίαν τῷ δαίμονι τῆς
φιλαργυρίας. Οὐαὶ τῷ μοναχῷ τῷ φιλαργύρῳ διότι κατέλιπε τὴν ἐντολὴν
τοῦ Σωτῆρος τοῦ εἰπόντος· Μὴ κτήσησθε15 χρυσὸν μήτε16 ἄργυρον. Ἀλλὰ
πολλάκις ὑποβάλλει αὐτῷ ὁ δαίμων λογισμὸν τοιοῦτον· Ἀνάστα ποίησον
ἀγρυπνίαν καὶ αὔριον κάλεσον ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ποίησον ἀγάπην. Εἶτα
ἀπέρχεται ὁ δαίμων πρὸς τοὺς κληθέντας λέγων· Ἄρατε τὰς χρείας ὑμῶν
μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν. Τότε λέγει· Τὸν κανόνα οὐ παραλύω· ποιῶ καὶ17 τρίτην καὶ
τὴν ἕκτην καὶ τὴν ἐννάτην, μὴ εἰδὼς ὅτι οὐ πᾶς ὁ λέγων Κύριε, Κύριε
1
καὶ S] ἢ V 2
καὶ S] ἢ V 3
ἄρτον S] ἄρα τοῦτο V 4
μοι om V
5
ὡς S] ὥσπερ V 6
τῷ S] τὸν V 7
τῷ om V 8
συγκοινωνὸς S] συνκοινωνὸς V
9
ταύτην S] αὐτὴν V 10
εἰδωλολατρίαν S]-είαν V 11
εἰδωλολατρίαν S]-είαν V
12
γεγλυμμένα corr] γεγλυμένα S] ἐγγεγλυμμένα V (v. γλύφω-γέγλυμμαι)
13
τὸ χρυσίον S] τῷ χρυσίῳ V 14
τοῦ τάγματος S] τὸ τᾶγμα V
15
κτήσησθε S] κτήσασθε V 16
μήτε S] ἢ V 17
καὶ] τὴν add V
N.764 637
If he cannot provide us with bread, nor can he give us his kingdom. This
I know: that when I have one thing and another person (especially if he is a
worldling) brings me [something] of his, that [deed] is from the workings
of the devil. But if I have it not and I search once or twice then God,
knowing that I am in need, brings [it] to me as he did to Daniel in the
Lions’ Den [cf. Dn 14:33–9]. If I am not in need but possess gold and silver
and goods and do not throw them away but wait so that somebody brings
me what I need, then I become an accomplice of Judas Iscariot who
forsook the grace given to him and went running to the yearning of the
love of money, which is why the blessed apostle, aware of this, not only
said this was the root of all evils [cf. 1 Tm 6:10], but also called it idolatry
[cf. Col 3:5]. So then, let us observe into what great evil this sickness drags
the monk, so as to cast him into idolatry. The money-loving monk is
separated from the love of God and worships the graven images of men:
gold, that is. O love of money, distancing the monk from the glory of God!
O terrible and bitter love of money, distancing the monk from the order of
angels! O love of money, root of all evils, causing the monk to be anxious
about everything until it makes him abandon the rule of heaven and to
cling to the rulers of the earth. O love of money, provider of all evil, that
sharpens the tongue of the monk for insolence, insults and disturbances
until it makes him judge worldlings’ lawsuits. Woe to that monk who gives
access to the demon of the love of money; woe to the money-loving monk
for he abandoned the commandment of the Saviour who says: ‘Acquire
neither gold nor silver’ [Mt 10:9]. But the demon often proposes this
logismos to him: ‘Get up, observe a vigil and tomorrow, invite the brothers
together and have a love-feast.’ Then the demon goes off to those who
were invited, saying: ‘Take what you need with you.’ Then [the monk]
says: ‘I will not cancel the canon [dawn office]; I will observe the third,
sixth and ninth hour’, not knowing that ‘not everybody who says “Lord
Lord” will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven’ [Mt 7:21]. And ‘what harm
will gold, silver and goods do me?’ – not knowing that where there are
gold, silver and goods, there is access for demons, destruction for body and
soul. There is eternal woe. How will sorrow for sin enter a money-loving
εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ· τί γὰρ βλάψει μοι1 τὸ
[f. 339va] χρυσίον ἢ τὸ ἀργύριον ἢ ἡ ὕλη μὴ, εἰδὼς ὅτι ὅπου χρυσὸς καὶ
ἄργυρος καὶ ὕλαι ἐκεὶ παρρησία δαιμόνων καὶ ἀπώλεια ψυχῆς καὶ σώμα-
τος. Ἐκεῖ οὐαὶ διαπαντὸς πῶς εἰσελεύσεται κατάνυξις εἰς φιλάργυρον
μοναχόν. Ἀφεὶς γὰρ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ ποιήσαντος αὐτὸν2 καλοῦντος πρὸς
ζωὴν αἰώνιον, τὸ χρυσίον σέβεται καὶ περιπτύσσεται, πῶς εἰσελεύσεται
εἰς τοιοῦτον ἄνδρα κατάνυξις; Ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις ὑποβάλλει αὐτῷ ὁ
διάβολος δάκρυα καὶ στεναγμοὺς καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτὸν τύψαι τὸ στῆθος λέγων
αὐτῷ· Ἰδοὺ ἔδωκέ σε ὁ Θεὸς χρυσίον καὶ ἄσημον καὶ κατάνυξιν, ἵνα ὅλως
μὴ ἐκβάλῃ3 τὴν ῥίζαν τῆς φιλαργυρίας ἐξ αὐτοῦ.
Ὦ ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί, πῶς ἡμεῖς οἱ μοναχοὶ ἔχομεν χρυσίον καὶ
ἀργύριον καὶ ἱματισμὸν4 καὶ ὕλας καὶ ἀκμὴν οὐ παυόμεθα τοῦ σωρεύειν
καὶ ὁ πτωχός, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ Χριστός, ἀσθενῶν καὶ πεινῶν καὶ διψῶν καὶ
ῥιγῶν καὶ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον εἰργά[f. 339vb]σασθε εἰς αὐτόν. Τί ἀπολ-
ογησόμεθα, ἀδελφοί, τῷ δεσπότῃ Χριστῷ ὅτι ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ κόσμῳ
πάλιν εἰς αὐτὸν γυρεύομεν καὶ κλονούμεθα ὑπὲρ τοῦ σχήματος ὅτι ἀγγε-
λικὸν ὑπάρχει καὶ ἐποιήσαμεν αὐτὸ5 ἡμεῖς βιωτικὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ χρυσίου,
ὅτι εἶχον καὶ οὐκ ἐδίδουν6 ἐπὶ πάντων ἵν᾿ ὅλως ἐπαινεθῶσι. Μή, ἀδελφοί
μου ἀγαπητοί. Φύγωμεν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. Βία ἐστὶ τοῦ σωθῆναι καὶ7 ἐν
τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ πῶς ἡμεῖς ἀνὰ μέσον οὕτως8 τῶν κοσμικῶν ἐσόμεθα
πάντως οὐ σωθησόμεθα μάλιστα τοῦ Κυρίου λέγοντος ὅτι ὅστις οὐκ
ἀποτάσσεται τῷ κόσμῳ9 καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς αὐτοῦ,10 ἔτι δὲ καὶ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ
ψυχῇ11 καὶ ἄρῃ τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθήσει ὀπίσω μου οὐκ
ἔστι μου ἄξιος. Ζῶ γὰρ ἐγώ, λέγει Κύριος. Ἐξέλθετε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ
ἀφορίσθητε. Ὁρᾶτε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί, πόσον ὄφελος ἐστὶ τὸ φεύγειν
τὰς συντυχίας τῶν βιωτικῶν; Λυσιτελεῖ γὰρ καὶ [f. 340ra] ἡμῖν καὶ αὐτοῖς
ἡ οὖν ὁμιλία αὐτῶν ἐστὶ περὶ πράσεως καὶ ἀγορασίας12 καὶ γυναικῶν
καὶ τέκνων καὶ κτηνῶν καὶ ἡ τοιαύτη συντυχία τὸν λογισμὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ13
Θεοῦ χωρίζει.14 Τὸ συνεσθίειν δὲ15 καὶ πίνειν μετ᾿ αὐτῶν πόσον βλάβος
φέρει. Οὐ γὰρ ὅτι ἀκάθαρτοι εἰσὶ ταῦτα λέγω, μὴ γένοιτο, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτι αὐτοὶ
ἐσθίουσιν ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς τῆς ἡμέρας πάντα τὰ ἐδώδιμα καὶ τὰ θύματα, ἡμεῖς
1
μοι S] με V 2
αὐτὸν] καὶ add V 3
ἐκβάλῃ S]-λλῃ V
4
ἱματισμὸν S] ἱματισμοὺς V 5
αὐτὸ V] αὐτὸν S
6
ἐδίδουν] εἰ δὲ καὶ πολλάκις ἐδίδουν add V 7
καὶ om V
8
ἀνὰ μέσον οὕτως S] οὕτως ἀναμέσον trsp V 9
τῷ κόσμῳ S] τὸν κόσμον V
10
πᾶσι τοῖς αὐτοῦ S] τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ V 11
τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῇ S] τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν V
12
ἀγορασίας S] ἀγορᾶς V (LSJ: ἡ ἀγορασία = purchase) 13
τοῦ om V
14
χωρίζει] Καὶ εἰ ἡ ὁμιλία αὐτῶν μόνον τὸν λογισμὸν ἀπὸ Θεοῦ χωρίζει add V 15
δὲ om V
N.764 639
monk? – for he has abandoned the will of him who made him and called
him to eternal life. He worships gold and embraces it: how can such a man
come to sorrow for sin? Also the devil often suggests tears and sighs to him
and makes him beat his breast, saying to him: ‘Look, God has given you
gold and silver and sorrow for sin’, in order not to tear out completely the
root of love of money from him.
“O my beloved brothers, how can we monks possess gold, silver,
clothing and goods and still do not desist from heaping them up while
the poor man (or rather, Christ) is sick, hungry, thirsty, shivering and you
did no such thing for him? What excuse shall we give, brothers, to Christ
the Lord-and-master if, having renounced the world, we go back to it and
are upset on behalf of the habit because it is angelic and it is we who made
it a thing of this life for the sake of gold because they had it and would not
give it on all occasions in order to be wholly praised by all? No, my beloved
brothers; let us flee out of the world. It is hard to be saved even in the
desert, so how shall we definitely not be saved, we who will be among
worldlings like this, especially when the Lord says: ‘Whoever does not
forsake the world and all that he has [cf. Lk 14:33], even to the extent of his
own soul, and take up his cross and follow behind me is not worthy of me?’
[cf. Mt 10:38] ‘As I live’, says the Lord [cf. Jn 14:19], ‘come out from among
them and be separate’ [2 Cor 6.17; cf. Is 52:11]. You see how great a benefit
it is, beloved brothers, to flee from contacts with those of this life. It is
better both for us and for them because their conversation is about buying
and selling, women and children and possessions – and such contact
distances the mind from God. To eat and drink with them, what great
harm it brings! I do not say this because they are unclean, no indeed! – but
because they eat all kinds of comestibles once and even twice a day while
we refrain from them (comestibles and meat I mean) and we eat [but] once
a day. If they see us eating what is sufficient, they immediately condemn us
and say: ‘Look, the monks are gorging themselves’, not considering that we
too are clad in flesh as they are. And if again they see us abstaining from
δὲ τούτων ἀπεχόμεθα, τῶν τε ἐδωδίμων, φημί, καὶ θυμάτων·1 ἐσθίομεν δὲ
καὶ ἅπαξ τῆς ἡμέρας. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἴδωσιν ἡμᾶς ἐσθίοντας τὸ αὔταρκες, εὐθέως
κατακρίνουσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ λέγουσιν· Ἰδοὺ καὶ οἱ μοναχοὶ χορτάζουσι καὶ οὐκ
ἐνθυμοῦνται ὅτι καὶ ἡμεῖς σάρκα περικείμεθα ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ καί, ἐὰν πάλιν
ἴδωσιν ἡμᾶς ἐγκρατευομένους2 ἐν τοῖς βρώμασιν, αὖθις κρίνουσιν ἡμᾶς
λέγοντες· Ἰδοὺ ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι καὶ ἀπόλλουσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς.
Ἐὰν δὲ πάλιν ἴδωσιν ἡμᾶς [f. 340rb] ἀνίπτοις χερσὶν ἐσθίοντας ἢ τὴν
ἐσθῆτα ῥυπαρὴν ἔχοντας αὖθις λέγουσιν· Ἰδοὺ ἀκαλία. Ἐὰν δὲ πάλιν
ἴδωσιν ἡμᾶς νενιμμέναις χερσὶν ἐσθίοντας λέγουσιν· Ἰδοὺ καὶ οἱ μοναχοὶ
παστρεύονται καὶ οὕτως3 ἀπόλλουσιν ἑαυτοὺς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς καὶ γινόμεθα ἡμεῖς
ἔνοχοι καὶ αἰτία τῆς ἀπωλείας αὐτῶν.
Φεύγοντες φύγωμεν τὰς τραπέζας αὐτῶν. Ζητήσωμεν μᾶλλον τὸν ψόγον
αὐτῶν καὶ μὴ τοὺς ἐπαίνους· ὁ γὰρ ἔπαινος αὐτῶν κολάσεως ἔπαινος4
ὑπάρχει, ὁ δὲ ψόγος αὐτῶν στεφάνων πρόξενος. Τί μοι ὄφελος ἵνα ἀνθρώ-
ποις5 ἀρέσω καὶ παροργίσω Κύριον τὸν Θεόν μου καὶ μάρτυς ὁ ἀπόστολος
Παῦλος. Φησὶ γάρ· Εἰ ἔτι ἀνθρώποις ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐ ἂν ἤμην.
Οὐκοῦν εὐξώμεθα ἐνώπιον Κυρίου λέγοντες· Ἰησοῦ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ῥῦσαι καὶ
ἐξελοῦ ἡμᾶς ἐκ τοῦ ἐπαίνου καὶ ψόγου αὐτῶν καὶ μηδὲν ἐπιτελέσωμεν πρὸς
τὸ ἀρέσαι αὐτοῖς. Ὁ γὰρ ἔπαινος αὐτῶν οὐ δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς εἰσενεγκεῖν εἰς
τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν [f. 340va]. Οὔτε πάλιν ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν ἰσχύει
ἀποκλεῖσαι ἡμῖν τὴν αἰώνιον ζωήν. Γνῶμεν, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ
εὐλογημένοι, ὅτι6 ὑπὲρ ἀργοῦ λόγου λόγον δώσομεν Κυρίῳ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν,
ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.
765.
Ἐρ.· Ποίας ἀρετὰς κτησάμενος ἄνθρωπος δύναται σωθῆναι;

Ἀπ.· Τέσσαρες εἰσὶν ἀρεταὶ προσκείμεναι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἡ νηστεία,7
ἡ προσευχή,8 τὸ ἐργόχειρον καὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος σωφροσύνη.
Ταύταις ταῖς ἀρεταῖς ἀνταγωνισάμενος ὁ σατανᾶς ἐξέβαλε τὸν
Ἀδὰμ ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου διὰ βρώματος πτερνίσας αὐτόν καὶ
καταισχύνας καὶ9 φυγαδεύσας10 τοῦ κρυβῆναι καὶ μὴ ἐλθεῖν
ἔμπροσθε τοῦ Θεοῦ, μήποτε προσκυνήσαντος τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἔμπροσθε11
τοῦ Θεοῦ συγχωρηθῇ αὐτῷ τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Ὡς δὲ ἐξεβλήθη ὁ
Ἀδὰμ ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου ἔμελλεν ὁ διάβολος διὰ τῆς ἀργίας εἰς
ἑτέραν ἁμαρτίαν12 [f. 340vb] κατακρημνίσαι τῆς ἀπογνώσεως πρὸς
1
καὶ τὰ θύματα, ἡμεῖς δὲ τούτων ἀπεχόμεθα, τῶν τε ἐδωδίμων, φημί, καὶ θυμάτων om V
2
ἐγκρατευομένους S]-ωμένους V 3
οὕτως om V 4
ἔπαινος S] πρόξενος V
5
ἀνθρώποις V] ἀνθρώπους S 6
ὅτι] καὶ add V 7
νηστεία] καὶ add V
8
προσευχή] καὶ add V 9
καὶ om V 10
φυγαδεύσας S] ἐφυγάδευσε V
11
ἔμπροσθε S]-εν V 12
ἁμαρτίαν] αὐτὸν add V
N.765 641
our food, they promptly judge us saying: ‘Look, man-pleasers’ and they
lose their souls on our account. If again they see us eating with unwashed
hands or having dirty clothes, they say: ‘Look, how disgusting.’ But if they
see us eating with washed hands, they say: ‘See, even the monks clean
themselves’, and in this way they destroy themselves through us and we
become guilty and responsible for their destruction.
“Fleeing, let us flee from their tables; let us seek their censure rather
than their praises, for their praise constitutes praise of punishment but
their censure procures crowns. The apostle Paul is witness to what benefit
it is to me that I should please men and provoke the Lord my God to
anger, for he says: ‘If I were still pleasing men I would not be a servant of
Christ’ [Ga 1:10]. So then let us pray before the Lord saying: ‘Jesus our
God, deliver and remove us from their praise and censure’ and may we
accomplish nothing to please them, for their praise will not be able to
bring us into the Kingdom of Heaven nor again is their word strong
enough to close eternal life to us. Let us be aware, my blessed and beloved
brothers, that we shall give account for an idle word [Mt 12:36] to the Lord
our God, to whom be the glory and the power unto the ages of ages.
Amen.”
N.765
q: By acquiring what virtues can a man be saved?

a: There are four virtues proposed for a man: fasting, prayer, manual
work and self-control over the body. It was in struggling against
these virtues that Satan cast Adam out of Paradise, tripping him up
with food then putting him to shame and to flight so that he would
hide and not come into the presence of God, lest, having worshipped
in the presence of God, Adam might be forgiven the sin. And, when
Adam was cast out of Paradise, the devil was about to cast [him]
headlong into another sin through neglect, expecting him to be in
ἑαυτὸν προσδοκῶν αὐτὸν κατέχειν. Ὁ δὲ1 δεσπότης εἰδὼς τοῦ

διαβόλου τὴν κακοτεχνίαν ἔδωκε τῷ Ἀδὰμ ἔργον λέγων· Ἐργάζου
τὴν γῆν ἐξ ἧς ἐλήφθης, ἵνα ὁ Ἀδὰμ φροντίζων τοῦ ἔργου τὰς τοῦ
διαβόλου κακοτεχνίας ἀποβάλληται.
Ἀγωνίζεται οὖν ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τῆς νηστείας, κατὰ τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ2 τοῦ
ἐργοχείρου· τὸ γὰρ ἐργόχειρον τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ κακοτεχνίαν ἐκκόπτει.
Ἀγωνίζεται δὲ καὶ κατὰ τῆς ἐναρέτου σωφροσύνης. Ἐὰν δέ τις ἀξιωθῇ
τῆς τῶν τεσσάρων τούτων ἀρετῶν3 ἐργασίας, καὶ πασῶν τῶν ἀρετῶν
κυριεύει.4
1
δὲ] φιλάνθρωπος add V
2
καὶ S] κατὰ V 3
ἀρετῶν om V
4
κυριεύει] S: ἐτελειώθη ἡ βίβλος αὕτη μηνὶ Ἰουνίῳ ιθ´ ἡμέρᾳ β´ ἰνδικτιῶνος β´ ἔτους ςφιβ (= 1004)
γραφεῖσα διὰ χειρὸς Λέοντος ταπεινοῦ καὶ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ἐ. . . διὰ τὸν θεὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ . . . οἱ
ἀναγινώσκοντες.[f. 341r] τὸ παρὸν πατερικὸν ἤφερεν ὁ ἐν ἱερομονάχοις κύρις Κλήμης ὁ Κρήτης
ἀπὸ τὴν Ῥαιθοῦ καὶ τὸ ἐματαστάχωσε ὅτι ἦτον πολλὰ χαλασμένον ἐπὶ ἔτους ζρμε (= 7145 i.e. 1636/7)
καὶ ἐτελιώθη τὸ στάχωμα Ἰαννουαρίῳ μηνί. Καὶ ὡσὰν σφαλήση τὸ μοναστήρι καὶ θέλουν νὰ τὸ
πάρουν ἐκεῖ διὰ νὰ διαβάζουν συγχωρεμένον νὰ τὸ πάρουν. (μονοκόνδυλο) Κοσμᾶς Ἰωά. . .[f. 341v]
αὐτώ ὑπάρχει τοῦ ἁγίου ὁραίστου του ὄντος ἐκ τῆς νίσου Κύπρου
N.765 643
despair on his own account. But the Lord-and-master, knowing the

wicked scheming of the devil, gave Adam work, saying: “Work the
earth from which you were taken”, so that, concerned with the work,
Adam might cast off the wicked schemes of the devil. So the devil
struggles against fasting, prayer and manual labour, for manual labour
cuts back his enormous wicked scheming. He struggles against virtuous
self-control too. But if a person is counted worthy to practise these
four virtues, he masters all the [other] virtues too.
Select bibliography
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Monumenta Ecclesiae Graecae, vol. 1 (Paris 1647), re-ed. Jacques-Paul Migne,
PG 65:71–440
Athanasius of Alexandria, The Life of Antony, the Coptic Life and the Greek Life,
trans. Tim Vivian and A. N. Athanasakis, Collegeville, Minn., 2003
Bousset, Wilhelm, Apophthegmata: Studien zur Geschichte des ältesten Mönchtums,
composed on the basis of Bousset’s literary remains by Theodor Hermann
and Gustav Krüger, Tübingen 1923
Chitty, Derwas, The Desert a City: an Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and
Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire, Oxford 1966
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2002
In the Heart of the Desert: the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers,
Bloomington 2003
Escalon, Philippe, Le Monachisme syrien du ive au viie siècle; un monachisme
charismatique, Paris 1999
Evelyn White, H. G. The Monasteries of the Wadi’n Natrun, vol. 2, The History of
the Monasteries of Nitria and Scetis, New York 1912
Festugière, André-Jean, Les Moines d’Orient, 4 vols. in 5, Paris 1961–5
Gould, Graham, The Desert Fathers on Monastic Community, Oxford 1993
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1996
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Sources Chrétiennes 387, 474 and 498
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Index
Aaron, the high priest, 289 Arethas, brother, 363

Abraham, monastery of Abba, 601 Arphat, Abba, 351
Abraham, patriarch, 201, 441 arrow, 515
absinthe, 601 Arsenius, Abba, 15, 181, 385, 411
accidie, 29, 141, 243, 319, 409, 577, 599 Ascalon, 613
Achitophel, 503 ass, 143, 275, 329, 421, 509, 527, 585
Adam, 245, 621 Athanasia, 445
Adam, forefather, 367 Athanasius, 9
agapê, 139, 175, 205, 303, 423, 443, 637 Athanasius, archbishop of Alexandria, 481
Agathon, Abba, 333 Athens, 493
Aila, 605 athlete, 49, 99, 293, 301, 325, 339, 383, 401, 507
Alexandria, 9, 43, 109, 219, 229, 327, 365, 369, attendant, 21, 53, 175, 197, 209, 239, 265, 357, 361,
375, 383, 431, 433, 437, 439, 443, 449, 453, 469, 421, 469, 471, 475
583, 617, 629, 631 axe, 309
almsgiving, 35, 37, 179, 189, 481, 607
amphora, 107 Babylon, 147, 503
Ananias and Sapphira, 571 Babylonian bag, 493
Anastasia/Anastasius, 445 backbiting, 161, 167, 267, 323, 337, 561, 583, 585
Anastasius the Sinaïte, 623 baker, 303
anchorites, 83 barbarians, 623
Anchorites, the Twelve, 315 basin, 459
Andrew, martyrion of St., 45 bathing, 445
androgynous, 585 bees, demons like, 241
Andronicus, silversmith, 445 beets, 107
angel replaces sinful minister, 517 beginner, 169
angelic order, 131 beheaded, 527
anoint, 33, 67, 87, 89, 99, 257, 331, 395, 513 being punished, 497
Anophôr, Abba, 269 Beliar, 325
Anoub, Abba, 285 belittle, 307, 389, 391
antelopes, 55 Bessarion, 13
Antinoe, 119 black man, 515
Antioch, 41, 219, 399, 445 blasphemy, 585
Antony, Abba, 145, 185, 327, 351, 355, 619 blind, 437
ants, 631 blind man, 35
Apamea, 69 blindness, 513
apatheia, 615 body, disappearing, 529
Aphrodite, 483 book(s), 51, 67, 131, 163, 287, 297, 367, 369, 383,
Apollo, Abba, 457, 579, 583 405, 619
apophthegmata patrum, 377 bowl, 93, 171, 231, 283, 463, 473, 487
archimandrite, 93, 373, 455, 457 breasts, 443, 585
Ares, 483 buffaloes, 85, 349
646
Index 647
bugs, 629 drunkard, 457
building open on four sides, 183 duke, 527
Byzantion, 467
eagle, likeness of, 61
Cain, 503, 607 eating-house, 111
Calvary, 621 elder, how to visit an, 413
camel, 123, 139, 225, 277, 279, 633 Eliagou, lavra, 611
Canopus, 365 Elijah, prophet, 441
cave, 85, 91, 137, 145, 151, 217, 441, 443, 467, 495, Elisha, brother, 353
593, 629 Elisha, prophet, 237, 441
Chalkan, 357 emperor, 253
cheek, 201, 225 empress, 469
children, 369 Enaton, 395, 433, 551, 605
Christ visits a coenobion, 307 engaged to be married, 67
Clysma, 53, 401 Eremica, 375
coenobion, 591 Ethiopia, 605
communion, 443, 453 Ethiopian, 117, 271, 451, 467, 509
complain, 463 Eucharist, vision at the, 625
condemnation, 483 Eugenia, Amma, 283
Constantine the Great, 263, 301 Eulogius the stonemason, 463
Constantine, church of St, 621 Eulogius, Abba, 629
Constantinople, 35, 205, 335, 471, 517 eunuch, 347, 441, 443
contrary logismos, 555 Eusebius, pope of Alexandria, 629
corpse, 587 Evagrius, Abba, 545
corpse revived, 199 executioner, 501
corpse to be cast in wilderness, 355
courtyard, 133 famine, 187, 257, 349
crocodile, 199, 489 fantasies, 341
crown(s), 75, 131, 139, 149, 151, 157, 243, 267, 293, feathers, 323
393, 401, 429, 641 feet, washing, 309, 333
cucumber, 105 fever, 447
curse, 393, 397, 399, 417, 571 field of thistles, 149
cushion, 25, 505, 599 fiery staves, 331
Cyril, pope of Alexandria, 61 fire, 279
fire at Scete, 237
dagger, 407 fire burning in a field, 399
Daniel in the Lions’ Den, 637 fire, a monk’s work is, 193
Daniel of Scete, Abba, 429, 451, 525 fisherman, 437
Daniel, Abba, 629 flagellation, 401
daughter, 13, 49, 135, 181, 197, 445, 501, 601, 609 flax, 535
David, King, 331 fool, 211, 311
debt, 335, 375, 383, 551 fool for the Lord’s sake, 61, 81, 259, 431
despair, 47, 55, 91, 119, 149, 243, 251, 277, 315, 393, foot, septic, 331
395, 567, 643 forge, 393
Diolcos, 295 forget, 55, 183, 397, 521, 575
Diolcos, mountain of, 493 four holy priests, 475
discretion, 3, 31, 51, 69, 75, 77, 131, 155, 159, 161, furnace, 147, 201, 577
223, 267
ditch, 425, 427 Gabriel, 207, 331
document, 355, 375 gaol, 527
dog, 205, 277, 375, 387, 391, 463, 503 garden, 269, 353, 355, 359, 367, 511, 593
doorkeeper, 447 gardener with septic foot, 179
Doulas, monk, 525 garment, 63, 91, 117, 199, 235, 383, 389, 403, 407,
dove, 135, 451 427, 479
drought, 355, 509 Gehenna, 395, 573, 601, 611
648 Index
Gethsemane, 601 Jesus, to possess, 337, 389
girdle, 531 Jewish, 405
goldsmith, 329 Jews, 317, 483
Golgotha, 623 Job, 245, 277, 301, 499
Gospel, 251 John Chrysostom, 547
Goth, 459 John of Cyzicus, Abba, 601
governor, 35, 37, 123, 313, 347, 359, 437, 467, 501, John the Cilician, Abba, 569
579 John the Persian, Abba, 621
grandee, 177, 281 John the Sabaite, 623
grapes, 333 John, silversmith, 445
Great Oikonomos, 435 Joseph of Arimathea, 23
greengrocer, 59 Joseph, Abba, 265, 605
Gregory the theologian, 9, 311 Joseph, patriarch, 293
guardian of the peace, 383 Joshua the son of Nun, 203
Judas Iscariot, 503, 637
habit, bad, 381, 491 judgement, on not passing, 305
habit, monastic, 51, 237 judgement, seat of, 599
hair, 33, 85, 89, 267 Julian, church of St, 447
harvest, 185, 195, 229 Julian, Emperor, 261, 351
hell, 121, 277, 313, 321 Justin I, Emperor, 467
Heptastomos, lavra, 621 Justinian, Emperor, 443, 471
Heraclius, Abba, 333
Hermes, 483 keration, 465
Hermopolis, 457 Kymo, 401
hidden, 435
Hierax, 29 lamp, 19, 33, 65, 103, 119, 135, 401
higoumen, 81, 213, 373, 431, 511, 569, 601 laughing, 51, 97, 187, 211, 277, 365, 427, 481
Holy Places, 449 laughter, 601
Holy Scripture, 507 lavra, 345, 451, 453, 525, 529
horses, black, 331 Lavra of Egypt, 25
hounds, 145 Lazarus, 245
house, 31, 33, 49, 53, 113, 185, 191, 243, 257, 313, Lebanon, 593
327, 329, 365, 447, 463, 607 lend to God, 287
house, collapsed, 113 leper, 33, 173, 177, 179, 351
humility, 371, 377, 381, 413, 549 linen, 35, 53, 85, 243
hunt, 281 lion, 17, 217, 475
husbandry of the soul, 549 liver, 87
hyena, 239, 279, 347 Lives of the Fathers, 605
Hyperechios, Abba, 535, 541 Longinus, Abba, 381, 549
Lot, 507
icon, 469, 557 lunch basket, 265
Illyria, 313 lustration, 231
imperial officials, 31
insects, 135 Macarius, Abba (the Great), 17, 327, 333, 581, 603,
Irenaeus, Abba, 575 631
irons, 351, 361, 525 Macarius of Alexandria, Abba, 321
Isaac, patriarch, 499 Macarius, Abba, madman, 511
Isaiah, Abba, 427, 567, 631 magic, 517
Israel, 287, 339, 361 magistrate, 123, 379, 501
Manichee priest, 193
Jannes and Jambres, the Garden of, 323 Marcellinus, Abba, 385
jealous, 85, 119, 289, 517 Marcellus, Abba, 593
Jeremiah, women’s monastery of Abba, 457 Mark of the Hippos, 431
Jericho, 397 Mark, church of St, 435, 617
Jerusalem, 317, 359, 621 marriage of the clergy, 263
Index 649
martyr, 369 Panepho, Mount, 379
Maximus, Abba, 569 paper, 613
Mazics, 87 Paphnutius, bishop, 263
meditate, 129, 239, 317, 371, 385, 387, parable about humility, 615
421, 569 Paradise, 641
meditation, 83, 113, 161, 185, 397, 537, parish priest, 173
557, 599 Patricia’s [monastery], 443
Menas, Abba, 603 Paul the Simple, Abba, 479
Menas, church of St, 43, 449 pauper, 33, 35, 235, 287, 307, 383, 513, 587
Metemer, 355 perfumery, 301
mice, 365 peripatetic priest, 595
Michael, archangel, 331 persecution, 89, 265, 301
Midianites, 129 Peter, archbishop of Alexandria, 61
mill, 419 pewter, 569
miller, 213 Pharan, 363
mirror, 75, 95, 171 Phermê, mountain of, 373
mistake, 101, 190, 303 Philoromos, monk, 351
money refused, 177 physician, 89, 157, 179, 331, 343, 395, 485
money-changer, 45 pigs, 93, 235, 237, 553
Monidia, 391, 393 Pillar of Cloud, 147
monk, proud, 499 Poemen, Abba, 249, 271, 285, 537, 539, 545
monkeys, 519 poison, 399
Moses, Abba, 133, 549 police, 346–7
Moses, patriarch, 367, 539 porcupines, 353
Moses, son of Theodore, 353 porneia, 273
mother, 71, 95, 107, 127, 143, 181, 257, 297, 347, Porphyrites, 241
571, 601 praetor, 517
Mother of God, 479, 481 Praetorian Guard, 467
murder, 503 pray secretly, 337
prayer, hourly, 419
naked, 33, 49, 53, 85, 91, 181, 223, 235, 257, 355, prayers for the dead, 359
383, 431, 433, 447, 583, 629 priest all in flames, 515
Nathanael, 15 priest, pagan, 65, 135, 137
Nebuchadnezzar, 545, 577 priesthood, 583
Nebuzaradan, 299 prostitute, 39, 41, 387
Nicaea, 263 prostrations, a hundred, 597
Nileopolis, 239 prunes, 105
Nitria, mountain of, 399, 433, 597 Publius the monk, 263
Noah, 609
Nonos, Abba, 495 question and answer, 553
obedience, 195 Raïthou, 83, 357, 361, 387, 569

Olives, Mount of, 317, 359, 601 rape, 297
opportunity missed, 181 read, 51, 67, 141, 249, 271, 343, 367, 377, 441, 457,
order of monks, 139, 171, 493 531, 547, 616
Ostrakine, 179 refectory, 459
ox, 185, 329, 511, 617 relic, 529
Oxyrhynchos, 87, 189 rich, 43, 49, 69, 153, 239, 245, 259, 283, 287, 307,
331, 335, 387, 445, 473, 587, 607, 633
Paesios, Abba, 285, 535 river, 43, 47, 53, 67, 107, 119, 125, 197, 259, 271,
pagan, 333 285, 295, 463, 467
Palestine, 35, 259 robber, 323, 377, 487, 489
Palladius, Abba, 545, 579, 597 rock, 611
pallium, 623 royal road, way, 505, 523
Pambo, Abba, 617 rudder, 251, 593
650 Index
Sabas, lavra of St, 621 steward, 477, 525
salt, 589 steward, bishop’s, 297
Satan, 15, 21, 29, 31, 55, 133, 137, 179, 181, 183, 247, stole, 11, 107, 291
255, 265, 295, 323, 337, 359, 361, 363, 371, 373, stonemason, 465
375, 387, 397, 411, 413, 417, 423, 427, 503, 631, strait and narrow way, 171
641 strangle, 447
Satan has not died yet, 181 strangulation, 505
Scete, journey to, 449 sweetness, 299
scribe, 243, 351, 353, 628 sword, 437, 547, 629
Scythopolis, 361 Symeon, 69
second sight, 4, 27, 57, 71, 157, 187, 235, 237, 239, Syria, 191, 399
269, 293, 475
secret, 83, 391, 399, 413, 443, 595 Tabennesiote(s), 373, 451
Sepulchre, 471 tablet, writing, 631
Sepulchre, the holy, 467 Tamiathis, 15
Serapion, Abba, 383 teach, 55, 63, 121, 157, 167, 259, 367, 407, 545, 547,
Sergios, brother, 431 573, 591
Seridos, the blessed, 613 tears, 367, 369
seven brothers, 631 temperance [egkrateia], 99
sheep and goats, 205 temple of idols, 123
sheepskin, 147, 155, 187, 229, 251, 359, 369 temptation, 429
ship, 251, 295, 339, 467, 469, 493, 605 Tetrapylon, 431
shipmaster, 551 Thavatha, 613
shipwreck, 157, 251, 281 theatre, 493
shoemaker, 327 Thebaid, 29, 85, 127, 151, 205, 263, 373, 385, 463,
shorthand, 579 473, 517
Shunamite woman, 237 Thebes, 193
sick, 9, 21, 25, 33, 53, 91, 93, 101, 103, 105, 107, 133, Theodora, Augousta, 443
141, 149, 153, 177, 179, 229, 233, 235, 287, 297, Theodore, Abba, 365, 613
329, 331, 333, 355, 371, 407, 415, 417, 421, 435, Theodosius II, Emperor, 205
499, 505, 513, 625 Theodotus, 13
sieve, 243 Theonas, Abba, 593
silence [siôpê], 185, 211 Theophilos, archbishop of Alexandria,
silent prayer, 577 109, 625
Silvanus, 259, 379, 577 Theotokos, church of, 583
Silvanus, Abba, 157 Theoupolis [Antioch], 41
silversmith, 445 Thessaloniki, 611
Sinaï, Mount, 353, 359 thistles, 149, 325, 387
singing, 59, 67, 313, 331, 391, 507, 511, 577, Thomaïs, 439
617, 633 Thomas, Apostle, 249
Sisoes, Abba, 247, 583, 605 thorns, 605
sister, 27, 39, 105, 165, 455 throne, 139, 151, 161, 557
slander, 409 Thyathon, river, 613
smoke, 101, 187, 241, 325 Tithoes, Abba, 251
snake, 129, 421, 635 toe, 281
snake-charmer, 129 toilets, 461
Sodom, 507 tombs, brothers’ own, 401
Sodom and Gomorrah, 349 torture, 37, 65, 73, 301, 317, 329, 401, 437, 503,
soldier(s), 181, 297, 323, 499, 541, 575, 593, 635 527, 577
son of disobedience, 133 transgressions against nature, 355
song, 537 tree, 87, 89, 147, 173, 191, 237, 253, 547
soot, 477, 563 trident, 329
Sophronius the sophist, 605 trimesis, 35, 435
sorcerer, 379, 531 troparia, 617
Stairs, St Peter’s, 551 two angels, 553
Index 651
two brothers, 11, 127, 131, 155, 171, 175, 191, 197, wife, 13, 31, 67, 87, 115, 117, 135, 257, 263, 437,
227, 231, 233, 239, 293, 297, 327, 345, 355, 357, 445, 501
489, 505, 515 wine, 53, 99, 101, 107, 193, 215, 299, 301,
two children, 447 371, 379, 403, 421, 423, 459, 519, 525,
two philosophers, 569 629, 631
two vessels, 159 wolf, 329
two women, 327, 563 woman, women, 27, 31, 47, 49, 57, 69, 81, 85, 105,
Tyre, 35, 235 107, 115, 117, 119, 123, 131, 133, 193, 215, 227, 263,
267, 275, 293, 295, 327, 339, 347, 369, 401,
Upper Thebaïd, 457 419, 423, 429, 437, 453, 457, 467, 487, 575, 585,
utensils, 291 595, 633
work of God, 253, 255
vegetables, 59, 109, 191, 225, 265, 269, 309, 459, worms, 589
593, 599 wrestle, 111, 259, 423, 499, 573
vegetables, do not water the, 163
Victor, Abba, 611
vineyard, 593 youth, 71, 81, 115, 167, 223, 265, 295, 343,
virgin, consecrated, 133 347, 359, 365, 369, 391, 427, 467, 495,
voluntary exile [xeniteia], 23, 79, 205, 239 595, 599
wet dream, 487 Zeno, Abba, 341, 387

widow, 49, 69, 181, 189, 535, 599 Zoilos, Abba, 15

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THE ANONYMOUS SAYINGS OF THE

Much of what is known of the earliest history of Christian monasti-

jo h n wo rtl e y is Professor of History Emeritus at the University

© John Wortley 2013

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception

First published 2013

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data

isbn 978-0-521-50988-6 Hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or

Select bibliography 644

This volume contains a ﬁrst complete edition and English translation of

1. Ἠρωτήθη ὁ ἅγιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν Ἀθανάσιος ὁ ἐπίσκοπος Ἀλεξανδρείας·

2. Ἠρωτήθη ὁ ἅγιος πατὴρ ἡμῶν Γρηγόριος ὁ θεολόγος· Πῶς ἴσος ὁ

3. Ὁ αὐτὸς εἶπεν ὅτι τὰ τρία ταῦτα ἀπαιτεῖ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ παντὸς

5. Δύο ἦσαν ἀδελφοὶ ἅμα οἰκοῦντες ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Ὁ δὲ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν

6. Ἦσαν δύο ἀδελφοὶ γειτνιῶντες ἀλλήλοις καὶ ὁ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔκρυπτεν

N.7 BHG 1322hf, de clave adulterina

9. Ἔλεγεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Βισαρίων ὅτι ἦν τις ἀποταξάμενος ἀπὸ κόσμου,

11. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Θεόδοτος· Μὴ κρίνῃς τὸν πόρνον ἐὰν ὑπάρχῃς

13. Ἔλεγον περί τινος ὅτι ἐκάθητο ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐν μονοκελλίῳ· Εἶχε δὲ

14. Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ζωΐλος ὁ πρεσβύτερος ὁ Ταμιαθέως,7 ἀκηκοέναι τοῦ

17. Ἦν τις ἀρχάριος ἀποτάξασθαι θέλων, καὶ λέγει τῷ γέροντι· Θέλω

20. Ἦν τις γέρων καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἐσθίων τρεῖς παξαμάδας· παρέβαλε δὲ

N.19/20.23, Latin only

N.20/9.24 BHG 1440p, de non iudicando fratre

26. Ἀδελφὸς ξενιτεύσας, ἠρώτησε γέροντα λέγων· Θέλω ἀπελθεῖν εἰς τὰ

30. Ἦν τις γέρων ἀσθενῶν καὶ ὡς μὴ ἔχοντα τὰς χρείας, προσελάβετο

N.31 BHG 1322hb, de episcopo fornicato

N.32 BHG 1322h, de paenitentia episcopi

34. Ἦν τις ἀναχωρητὴς ἐν τοῖς μέρεσι τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ἀγωνιζόμενος ἐπὶ

N.34 BHG 1450zh, de anachoreta non tentato

36. Ἀναχωρητής τις εἶδεν δαίμονα προτρεπόμενον ἕτερον δαίμονα,

Περὶ τῶν Μαγιστριανῶν

N.37 BHG 1318r, de magistriano juniore

N.38 BHG 1445x, de magistriano et cadavere nudo

39. Ἄλλος τις μαγιστριανὸς ὑποστρέφων ἐπὶ Κωνσταντινούπολιν ἀπὸ

N.39 BHG 1322a, de mendico caeco

41. Δύο τινὲς ἀδελφοὶ εἱλκύσθησαν εἰς τὸ μαρτυρῆσαι, καὶ βασα-

N.43 BHG 1438h, de scorto converso

45. Γέρων τις ἀπῄει πωλῆσαι τὰ μαλάκια αὐτοῦ. Τούτῳ δαίμων

N.44 BHG 1448zd, tentatus discipulus a seniore salvatur

N.47 BHG 1322zj, de divite sanato quem factae

N.48 BHG 1328g, de ponderatore

[f. 175va] Περὶ τοῦ σχήματος τοῦ ἁγίου τῶν μοναχῶν4

56. Ἔλεγον περί τινος γέροντος ὅτι καθημένου αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ,

63. Ἀναχωρητῇ τινὶ παρέβαλον κοσμικοί, καὶ ἑωρακὼς αὐτοὺς ἐδέξατο

65. Εἶπεν γέρων· Ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστὶν ἡ λήθη.

N.66/18.14 BHG 1438z, de efﬁcacia orationis

N.67/20.22, BHG 1438i, de lachanopola

73. Καταβαίνοντος ποτὲ γέροντος ἐν Σκήτει, συνώδευεν αὐτῷ τὶς

N.72 BHG 1322hd, de silentio patris

75. Εἶπεν γέρων· Εἰ θέλεις νόμῳ Θεοῦ ζῆσαι, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, εὑρήσεις

N.77/15.112 BHG 1318ya, de duobus fratribus

πεποιθότες ἐπὶ Κύριον ὡς ὄρος Σιών. Οὐ σαλευθήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ὁ

82. Μαθητὴς μεγάλου γέροντος, πολεμηθεὶς εἰς πορνείαν ἀπῆλθεν εἰς

N.85/18.42 BHG 1448d, de mensa monachorum

87. Ἔλεγε γέρων· ὅτι πολλάκις τοῦ διακόνου λέγοντος· Ἀσπάσασθε

91. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· Τί δεῖ ποιοῦντας σωθῆναι; Ἦν δὲ σειρὰν ἐργαζό-

92. Ἠρωτήθη γέρων· διατί συνεχῶς ὀλιγωρῶ; Καὶ ἀπεκρίθη· Ἐπειδὴ