Some Sayings of the Desert Fathers
 

A  brother who had sinned was turned out of the church by the priest.  Abba
Bessarion got up and went out with him, saying, "I, too, am a sinner."

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Abba Anthony said: "From our neighbor is life and death.  If we gain our
brother, we gain God, but if we cause our brother to stumble, we sin against
Christ."

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Amma Theodora said that neither asceticism, nor vigils nor any kind of
suffering are able to save, only true humility can do that.  There was an
anchorite who was able to banish the demons; and he asked them, "What makes
you go away?  Is it fasting?"  They replied, "We do not eat or drink."  "Is
it vigils?"  They replied, "We do not sleep."  "Is it separation from the
world?"  "We live in the deserts."  "Then what power sends you away?"  They said,
"Nothing can overcome us, but only humility."  Amma Theodora concluded by
saying, "Do you see how humility is victorious over the demons?"

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One day Abba Isaac went to a monastery.  He saw a brother committing a sin
and  he condemned him.  When he returned to the desert, an angel of the Lord came
and stood in front of the door of his cell, and said, "I will not let you
enter."  But he persisted saying, "What is the matter?"  And the angel
replied, "God has sent me to ask you where you want to throw the guilty
brother whom you have condemned."  Immediately he repented and said, "I have
sinned, forgive me."  Then the angel said, "Get up, God has forgiven you.
But from now on, be careful not to judge someone before God has done so."

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Amma Syncletica said: "Imitate the Publican and you will not be condemned
with the Pharisee.  Choose the meekness of Moses and you will find your heart
which is a rock changed into a spring of water."

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      A brother once went out on a pilgrimage from the monastery of Abba
Poemen, and came to a hermit, who lived in love towards all and received
many  visitors.  The brother told the hermit stories of Abba Poemen.  And when he
heard of Poemen's strength of character, he longed to see him.
     The brother returned to Egypt.  And after some little time, the hermit
rose and went from his country to Egypt to see the brother who had visited
him: for he had told him where he lived.  When the brother saw the hermit,
he was astonished, and very glad.  The hermit said to him, "Of your charity
towards me, take me to Abba Poemen."  And the brother rose up and showed him
the way to the old man.
     And the brother told Abba Poemen this about the hermit, "A great man
of much charity, and particular honor in his own province, has come here
wanting to see you."  So the old man received him kindly.  And after they
had  exchanged greetings, they sat down.
     But the hermit began to talk of the Holy Scripture, and of the things
of the spirit and of heaven.  But Abba Poemen turned his face away, and
answered nothing.  When the hermit saw that he would not speak with him, he
was distressed and went out.  And he said to the brother who had brought him
there, "My journey was useless.  I went to the old man and he does not deign
to speak to me."
     The brother went to Abba Poemen, and said, "Abba, it was to talk with
you that this great man came here, a man of much honor in his own land.  Why
did you not speak to him?"  The old man answered, "He is from above, and
speaks of the things of heaven.  I am from below, and speak of the things of
the earth.  If he had spoken with me on the soul's passions, I would
willingly have replied to him.  But if he speaks of the things of the spirit, I know
nothing about them."
     So the brother went out and told the hermit, "The reason is that the
old man does not easily discuss Scripture.  But if anyone talks to him about
the soul's passions, he answers."
     Then the hermit was stricken with penitence, and went to the old man
and said, "What shall I do, Abba?  My passions rule me."  And the old man
gazed at him with gladness and said, "Now you are welcome.  You have only to
ask and I will speak with understanding."  And the hermit  was much
strengthened by their discourse, and said, "Truly, this is the way of love."
And he thanked God that he had been able to see so holy a man, and returned
to his own country."

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     It was said of Abba John the Persian that when some evildoers came to harm
him, he took a basin and wanted to wash their feet.  But they were filled
with confusion, and began to do penance.

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     A provincial magistrate heard about Abba Moses one day and he went to Scetis

to visit him.  They told the old man.  When he heard it, he got up and fled towards

the marsh.  Along the way, the magistrate and his entourage met him and said, "Old man,

can you tell us where the cell of Abba Moses is?"  He said to them, "What do you want

with him?  He's a fool and a  heretic!"  So the magistrate continued to Scetis and said to

the brothers, "I heard people talking about Abba Moses and I wanted to see him, but

there was an old man going into Egypt who crossed our path and we asked him where

Abba Moses' cell was, and he said to us, 'What do you want with him?  He's a fool and a 

heretic.'"  When they heard this, the brothers were greatly scandalized and  said, "What

sort of an old man was it who dared to speak like that about the  holy man?"  He said,

"He was an old man wearing a tattered cloak, a big black man."  They said to him, "That

was Abba Moses himself.  He spoke like that in order not to be questioned and honored

by you."  And the magistrate went away greatly edified.

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     A brother came to see Abba Poemen and said to him, "Abba, I have many
thoughts and they put me in danger."  The old man led him outside and said to him,
"Expand your chest and do not breathe in."  He said, "I cannot do that."
Then the old man said to him, "If you cannot do that, no more can you prevent
thoughts from arising, but you can resist them."

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Abba Xanthias said, "The thief was on the cross and he was justified by a
single word; and Judas who was counted in the number of the apostles lost
all  his labor in one single night and descended from heaven to hell.  Therefore
let no one boast of his good works, for all those who trust in themselves fall."

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    To uproot sin and the evil that is so imbedded in our sinning can
be done only by divine power, for it is impossible and outside man's
competence to uproot sin.  To struggle, yes, to continue to fight, to
inflict blows, and to receive setbacks is in your power.  To uproot,
however, belongs to God alone.  If you could have done it on your own,
what would have been the need for the coming of the Lord?  For just as
an eye cannot see without light, nor can one speak without a tongue,
nor hear without ears, nor walk without feet, nor carry on works without
hands, so you cannot be saved without Jesus nor enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven.

St, Macarius, Homily 3.4

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   Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, "Abba, as far as I can

I say my little rule of prayer, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I

live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts.  What else can

I do?"  Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards

heaven.  His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him,

"If you will, you can become all flame."

                               

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    Then we saw another old man, called Abba Bes, who surpassed everyone
in meekness.  The brothers who lived round about him assured us that he
had never sworn an oath, had never told a lie, had never been angry at
anyone, and had never scolded anyone.  For he lived a life of the
utmost stillness, and his manner was serene, since he had attained
the angelic state.  He was extremely humble and held himself of no
account.  We pressed him strongly to speak a word of encouragement
to us, but he only consented to say a little about meekness, and was
reluctant to do even that.
    Once when a hippopotamus was ravaging the neighboring countryside
the farmers called on this father to help them.  He stood at the place
and waited, and when he saw the beast, which was of enormous size, he
commanded it in a gentle voice, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ,
I order you not to ravage the countryside anymore."  The hippopotamus,
as if driven away by an angel, vanished completely from that district.
On another occasion he got rid of a crocodile in the same way.

Historia Monachorum in Aegypto 4
 

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    The story is told of Blessed Basil that, making a visitation of
his monasteries, he said to one of the hegemons, "Have you got any
saints here?"  The Abba said, "Through your prayers, my lord, we all
desire to be saints."  And again, Blessed Basil said to him, "No, I
mean have you GOT any saints here?"  And the Abba tumbled to it (for
he, too had spiritual insight).  "Yes," he says, and he sent for a
certain brother.  When he arrived, the Saint said to him, "Wash my
feet," and he went and fetched what was necessary.  And after his
feet were washed, Basil said to the brother, "Wait till I wash your
feet."  And without a murmur he allowed himself to be washed by the
holy man.  After testing the brother in this way, he said, "When I
enter the sanctuary, you come too!  And remind me to ordain you."
Again without a murmur, the brother obeyed, and when he saw the holy
Basil in the inner sanctuary, he went up and reminded him, and Basil
ordained him and took him with him, for who else but this blessed
brother was suitable to be with the holy god-bearing father?  You do
not have experience of this unmurmuring obedience; neither do you
know what real internal peace is.

Dorotheos of Gaza, On Renunciation

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Abba Isidore said, "If you fast regularly, do not be inflated with
pride, but if you think highly of yourself because of it, then you had
better eat meat.  It is better for a man to eat meat than to be
inflated with pride and to glorify himself."
 

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    When Abba Romanus was at the point of death, his disciples
gathered round him and said, "How ought we to conduct ourselves?"
The old man said to them, "I do not think I have ever told one of
you to do something, without having first made the decision not to
get angry, if what I said were not done; and so we have lived in
peace all our days."
 
 

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    (At the consecration of a monastic church dedicated to St. Macarius,
the Coptic patriarch Benjamin I, 622-661, relates) When I had finished
the divine service and communicated the clergy, I saw again a great
grace which I must not hide from thee.  For when the old men came up
for communion, I saw a vapour of incense ascending like perfume from
their mouths, so that I thought that each one of those fathers and
monks carried incense when he came up to communion.  Then the roof
of the church opened, and that perfume ascended from it.  And I
observed their mouths as they prayed when they approached the Lamb,
and I saw the words and the incense which issued from their mouths
ascending to heaven.  So I was assured then that it was their
petitions and their prayers, which they uttered when the received
the Holy Mysteries, which are the Body and Blood of the pure Lord
Jesus Christ.  And I saw the angels receiving those prayers of theirs,
and carrying them up before the throne of the Lord.  And, on account
of the power of their prayers and supplications, I thought: Verily this
is the golden candlestick holding the lamp; and this is the precious
jewel; and this is the morning star which rises and shines upon the whole
world.  And I sang the hymn of the three young men, Ananias, Azarias,
and Misael, which they recited in the furnace of burning fire: Blessed art
Thou O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified for ever.
And blessed in truth is the Lord, the God of these saints, by whom and by
whose like He directs the world.  This is the meeting-place of angels,
and the harbor of all the souls which flee to God, the Deliverer of all
souls.  Then I glorified and thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, who made me
worthy to witness what I saw.

from Severus ibn al-Muqaffa, History of the Patriarchs, 14 (247-248)
 

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A man should know that a devil's sickness is on him if he is
seized by the urge in conversation to assert his opinion, however
correct it may be.  If he behaves this way while talking to his
equals, then a rebuke from his elders may heal him.  But if he
carries on in this way with those who are greater and wiser than
he, his sickness cannot be cured by human means.

St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent 4
 

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   One day the patriarch John (the Almsgiver) gave to one of his servants who had
been reduced to extreme poverty two pounds of gold with his own hands
so that no one might know of it.  When his servant said, "After this
gift I shall no longer have the courage to look you in the face, a
face so dear, so like an angel's," he made this wise and praiseworthy
answer, "I have not yet shed my blood on your behalf, brother, as
Christ, our God, my Master and the Master of us all, commanded me."

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    While there was a crowd of refugees in the city, one of the
strangers, noticing John's remarkable sympathy, determined to test
the blessed man.  So he put on old clothes and approached him as he
was on his way to visit the sick in the hospitals (for he did this
two or three times a week) and said to him, "Have mercy on me for I
have been a prisoner of war."
    John said to his purse-bearer, "Give him six nomismata."  After the
man had received these he went off, changed his clothes, met John again
in another street, and falling at his feet said, "Have pity on me for I
am in want."  The Patriarch again said to his purse-bearer, "Give him
six nomismata."  As he went away the purse-bearer whispered in the
Patriarch's ear, "By your prayers, master, this same man has had alms
from you twice over!"  But the Patriarch pretended not to understand.
Soon the man came again for the third time to ask for money and the
attendant, carrying the gold, nudged the Patriarch to let him know that
it was the same man, whereupon the truly merciful and beloved of
God said, "Give him twelve nomismata, for perchance it is my Christ
and He is here to test me."
 

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    Now it happened one year that the Nile did not rise enough to
water all our fields, and a multitude of the poor came to Abba Aaron
weeping and saying, "Our holy father, we and our children are going to
die because the waters have not risen!" He said to them, "Believe in God
and He will deliver you.  As it is written, 'The prayer of the poor man
who is downhearted, he pours out entreaty before the Lord.' Again it
says, 'The Lord has heard the desires of the poor.'"  He quoted them
numerous other passages from scripture and explained them to them,
and he comforted them, and in this way they departed from him praising
God.  Now the holy man Aaron was not unconcerned about their distress,
and he would go to the river each evening and immerse himself in the
water up to his neck and he would pray to God, saying, "My good Christ,
compassionate one, have compassion upon your image and likeness."
Indeed, he continued this practice until God had compassion for his
tears and made the waters of the Nile flow over the face of the whole
country.

Paphnutius, Life of Abba Aaron, 131 (trans. Tim Vivian)

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Hold me worthy, O Lord, to behold your mercy in my soul before I depart
from this world; may I be aware in myself at that hour of your comfort,
along with those who have gone forth from this world in good hope.

Open my heart, O my God, by your grace and purify me from any
association with sin.

Tread out in my heart the path of repentance, my God and my Lord,
my hope and my boast, my strong refuge, by whom may my eyes be
illumined, and may I have understanding of your truth, O Lord.

Hold my worthy, Lord, to taste the joy of the gift of repentance,
by which the soul is separated from cooperating with sin and the
will of flesh and blood.  Hold my worthy, O Lord, to taste this
state, wherein lies the gift of pure prayer.

O my Saviour, may I attain to this wondrous transition at which
the soul abandons this visible world, and at which new stirrings
arise on our entering into the spiritual world and the experience
of new perceptions.

St. Isaac the Syrian
 

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   Abba Agathon said, "If I could meet a leper, give him my body, and
take his, I should be very happy."  That indeed is perfect charity.

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It was said concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him,
having heard tell of his great discernment.  Wanting to see if he would
lose his temper, they said to him, "Aren't you that Agathon who is said
to be a fornicator and a proud man?"  "Yes, it is very true," he
answered.  They resumed, "Aren't you that Agathon who is always talking
nonsense?"  "I am."  Again they said, "Aren't you Agathon the heretic?"
But at that, he replied, "I am not a heretic."  So they asked him,
"Tell us why you accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated
this last insult."  He replied, "The first accusations I take to
myself, for that is good for my soul.  But heresy is separation from
God.  Now I have no wish to be separated from God."  At this saying
they were astonished at his discernment and returned, edified.

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Someone asked Abba Agathon, "Which is better, bodily asceticism or
interior vigilance?"  The old man replied, "Man is like a tree, bodily
asceticism is the foliage, interior vigilance the fruit.  According to
that which is written, 'Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
shall be cut down and cast into the fire' (Matt.3:10) it is clear that
all our care should be directed towards the fruit, that is to say,
guard of the spirit; but it needs the protection and the embellishment
of the foliage, which is bodily asceticism."

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    Look what good things occur to someone as a result of divine care!
Sometimes, when a person is on his knees at the time of prayer, with
his hands outspread or extended heavenwards, his eyes gazing on the
Cross, and with the whole movement of his mind, as it were, stretched
towards God in entreaty, during the time while such a person is thus
engaged in supplication and groanings, all of a sudden a fountain of
sweetness is stirred up from his heart.  His limbs become feeble, his
sight dim, he bows his head; his thoughts are altered and he can no
longer kneel on the ground as a result of the exultation at the sign
of grace which surges through his entire body.
    Therefore, my reader, pay attention to what you are reading.
Indeed, can such things as these be known from writings in ink?
Can the taste of honey pass over from a written text to the palate
of the reader?
    If you do not strive, you will not find; and if you do not knock
eagerly at the door and keep long vigil before it, you will not receive
an answer.

St. Isaac the Syrian (of Nineveh), 7th century

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An Athonite elder said: "A monk does not just study dogmas; he lives
by them.  When he reads the Holy Scripture or the patristic writings,
he is not doing it to gain knowledge but to learn a language of
ineffable words with which God speaks through one's prayer.
 
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Let what we call quicksilver (mercury) be a paradigm of perfect
obedience.  Roll it with any substance you wish, and it will
nevertheless run to the lowest place and mix with nothing defiled.

St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 4

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    A brother questioned Abba Motius, saying, "If I go to dwell
somewhere, how do you want me to live?"  The old man said to him,
"If you go live somewhere, do not seek to be known for anything
special; do not say, for example, I do not go to the synaxis; or
perhaps, I do not eat at the agape.  For these things make an empty
reputation and later you will be troubled because of this.  For men
rush where they find these practices."  The brother said to him,
"What should I do, then?" The old man said, "Wherever you live,
follow the same manner of life as everyone else, and if you see
devout men whom you trust doing something, do the same thing and
you will be at peace.  For this is humility: to see yourself to be
the same as the rest.  When men see you do not go beyond the limits,
they will consider you to be no different than anyone else, and no
one will trouble you."

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A possession ought to belong to the possessor, not the possessor to
the possession.  Whosoever, therefore, does not use his patrimony as
a possession, who does not know how to give and distribute to the
poor, he is the servant of his wealth, not its master; because like
a servant he watches over the wealth of another and not like a master
does he use it of his own.  Hence, in a disposition of this kind, we
say that the man belongs to his riches, not the riches to the man.

St. Ambrose of Milan
 
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Abba Zosimos the Cilician said: When I was a young man, I left Mt. Sinai and
went to Ammoniac to stay there in a cell.  There I found an elder dressed in
a short-sleeved shirt of palm-fibre.  When the elder saw me, before greeting
me, he said, "Why have you come here, Zosimos?  Get away from here.  You cannot
stay in this place."  I thought he knew me.  I made a prostration before him
saying, "Of your charity, elder, whence do you know me?"  He said to me,
"Two days ago, a being appeared to me who said, 'A monk is coming to you whose
name is Zosimos.  Do not allow him to stay here.  It is my will to entrust him
the church of the Egyptian Babylon (Old Cairo).'  He fell silent and left
me, going about a stone's throw from me.  There he spent some two hours in
prayer.  Then he came back to me and kissed me on the forehead, saying,
"Naturally, child, you are welcome, for God has brought you here to bury my
body."  I asked him, "How many years have you been here, abba?"  "I am
completing my forty-fifth year," he replied.  It looked to me as though his
face were of fire.  He said to me, "Peace be with you, child; pray for me."
And with that, the servant of the Lord lay down and fell asleep.  I dug a
grave and buried him. Two days later I went on my way, glorifying God.

John Moschus, Leimonarion (The Spiritual Meadow) 123

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While he was still living in the imperial palace, Abba Arsenius prayed to
God in these words, "Lord lead me in the way of salvation."  And a voice came to
him saying, "Arsenius: flee from men and you will be saved."

Having withdrawn to the solitary life he made the same prayer again and he
heard a voice saying to him, "Arsenius: flee, be silent, pray ceaselessly,
for these are the sources of sinlessness."

It happened that when Abba Arsenius was sitting in his cell one day that he
was harassed by demons.  His servants, on their return, stood outside his
cell and heard him praying to God in these words, "O God, do not leave me.  I
have done nothing good in your sight, but according to your goodness, let me now
make a beginning of good."

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One of the fathers who had gone to Constantinople to attend to some
necessary business said:
    Whilst I was sitting in the church, a man who was illustrious in the
worldly sense but also a great lover of Christ came in; and when he saw me,
he sat down.  He then began asking about the salvation of the soul.  I told him
that the heavenly life is given to those who live the earthly life in a
befitting way.  "You have spoken well, abba," he said.  "Blessed is the man
whose hope is in God and who presents himself as an offering to God.  I am
the son of a man who was very distinguished by the standards of the world.  My
father was very compassionate and distributed huge sums amongst the poor.
    One day he called me.  Showing me all his money, he said to me, "Son,
which do you prefer; that I leave you my money, or that I give you Christ as
your guardian?"  Grasping the point he was making, I said I would rather
have Christ.  For everything that is here today shall be gone tomorrow.  Christ
remains forever.  So from the moment he heard me say that, he gave without
sparing, leaving very little for me when he died.  So I was left a poor man
and I lived simply, putting my hope in the God whom he bequeathed to me.
    There was another rich man, one of the leading citizens, who had a wife
who loved Christ and feared God.  And he had one daughter, his only child.
The wife said to the husband, "We have only this one daughter, yet the Lord
has endowed us with so many goods.  What does she lack?  If we seek to give
her in marriage to somebody of our own rank whose way of life is not
praiseworthy, it shall be a continual source of affliction to her.  Let us
rather look for a lowly man who fears God; one who will love her and cherish
her according to God's holy law."  He said to her, "This is good advice.  Go
the church and pray fervently.  Sit there, and whoever comes in first, he it
is whom the Lord has sent."
    This she did.  When she had prayed, she sat down and it was I who came
in at that moment.  She sent a servant to call me straightaway and she began
asking me where I was from.  I told her that I was from this city, the son
of such-and-such a man.  She said, 'He who was so generous to the poor?  And
have you a wife?'  I said that I had not.  I told her what my father had said to
me and what I had said to him.  She glorified the Lord and said, 'Behold, the
Good Guardian whom you chose has sent you a bride -- and riches, so that you
may enjoy both in the fear of God.'  I pray that I might follow in my
father's footsteps to the end of my days."

John Moschos, Leimonarion (The Spiritual Meadow) 201
 

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     A brother at Scetis committed a grave sin.  A council was called to which Abba

Moses was invited, but he refused to go to it.  Then the priest sent someone

to say to him, "Come, for everyone is waiting for you."  So he got up and

went.  He took an old basket, filled it with sand, and carried it on his back.

The others came out to meet him and said to him, "Father, what is this?"  The

old man said to him, "My sins run out behind me, and I do not see them, and

today I come to judge the sins of another."  When they heard this they said no

more to the brother but forgave him.

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    It is no great thing not to judge, and to be sympathetic to someone who is
in trouble and falls down before you, but it is a great thing not to judge
or to strike back when someone, on account of his own passions, speaks
against you.  Likewise, it is a great thing not to disagree when someone
else is honored more than you are.

Dorotheos of Gaza
6th century

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     It happened that Abba Moses the Ethiopian was struggling with the temptation
of fornication.  Unable to stay any long in the cell, he went and told Abba
Isidore.  The old man exhorted him to return to his cell.  But he refused,
saying, "Abba, I cannot."  Then Abba Isidore took Moses out onto the terrace
and said to him, "Look towards the west."  He looked and saw hordes of
demons flying about and making a noise before launching an attack.  Then Abba
Isidore said to him, "Look towards the east."  He turned and saw an innumerable
multitude of holy angels shining with glory.  Abba Isidore said, "See, these
are sent by the Lord to the saints to bring them help, while those in the
west fight against them.  Those who are with us are more in number than they
are."  Then Abba Moses gave thanks to God, plucked up his courage, and returned to
his cell.

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Abba Isidore said, "One day I went to the marketplace to sell some small
goods.  When I saw anger approaching me, I left the things and fled."
 

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If any of them committed a fault, many of the brothers would seek his
permission to take the matter to the abbot and to accept both the
responsibility and the punishment.  When the great man found out that his
disciples did this, he inflicted easier punishments, in the knowledge that
the one punished was actually innocent.  And he made no effort to discover the
real culprit.

St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, 4

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      In this monastery there was another maiden who feigned madness and
demon-possession.  The others felt such contempt for her that they never ate
with her, which pleased her entirely.  Taking herself to the kitchen, she
used to perform menial service and she was, as the saying goes, the sponge of the
monastery, really fulfilling the Scriptures, "If any man among you seems to
be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise."  She wore a
rag around her head.  All the others had their hair closely cropped and wore
cowls.  In this way she used to serve.  Not one of the four hundred ever saw
her chewing all the years of her life.  She never sat down at table or
partook of a particle of bread, but she wiped up with a sponge the crumbs from the
tables and was satisfied with scouring pots.  She was never angry at anyone,
nor did she grumble or talk, either little or much, although she was
maltreated, insulted, cursed, and loathed.
       Now an angel appeared to St. Piteroum, the famous anchorite dwelling
at Porphyrities, and said to him, "Why do you think so much of yourself for
being pious and residing in a place such as this?  Do you want to see
someone more pious than yourself, a woman?  Go to the women's monastery at Tabennisi
and there you will find one with a rag on her head.  She is more advanced
than you.  While being cuffed about by such a crowd, she has never taken her
heart off God.  But you dwell here and wander about cities in your mind."
      And he who had never gone away left that monastery and asked the
prefects to allow him to enter into the monastery of women.  They admitted
him, since he was well on in years and, moreover, had a great reputation.
So he went in and insisted upon seeing all of them.  She did not appear.
Finally he said to them, "Bring them all to me, for she is missing."  They told him,
"You have seen them all, except for one we have in the kitchen who is mad."
He told them, "Bring her to me.  Let me see her."
      They went to call her, but she did not answer, either because she knew
of the incident or because it was revealed to her.  They seized her forcibly
and told her, "The holy Piteroum wishes to see you," for he was renowned.
When she came, he saw the rag on her head and, falling down at her feet, he
said, "Bless me!"  In a similar manner, she too fell down at his feet and
said, "Bless me, lord."  All the women were amazed at this and said,
"Father, take no insults.  She is mad."  Piteroum then addressed the women, "You are
the ones who are mad!  This woman is a spiritual mother (amma) to both you
and me, and I pray that I may be deemed as worthy as she on the Day of
Judgment."
      Hearing this, they fell at his feet, confessing various things - one
how she had poured the leavings of her plate over her head; another had
beaten her with her fists; another had blistered her nose.  So they confessed
various and sundry outrages.  After praying for them, he left.  And after a few days
she was unable to bear the praise and honor of the sisters, and all their
apologizing was so burdensome to her that she left the monastery.  Where she
went and where she disappeared to, and how she died, nobody knows.

Palladius, Historia Lausiaca 36
early 5th century

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Abba Hyperchius said, "He who does not control his tongue when he is angry,
will not control his passions either."
 

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Abba Isaiah said, "A beginner who goes from one monastery to another is like
an animal who jumps this way and that, for fear of the halter."
 
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A brother asked one of the elders, "What shall I do?  My thoughts are always
turned to lust without allowing me an hour's respite, and my soul is
tormented by it."  He said to him, "Every time the demons suggest these thoughts to
you, do not argue with them.  For the activity of demons always is to suggest,
and suggestions are not sins, for they cannot compel.  But it rests with you to
welcome them, or not to welcome them.  Do you know what the Midianites did?
They adorned their daughters and presented them to the Israelites.  They did
not compel anyone, but those who consented, sinned with them, while the
others were enraged and put them to death.  It is the same with thoughts."  The
brother answered the old man, "What shall I do, then, for I am weak and
passion overcomes me?"  He said to him, "Watch your thoughts, and every time
they begin to say something to you, do not answer them but rise and pray;
kneel down, saying, 'Son of God, have mercy on me.'"
 

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     Another father, called Abba Helle, had persevered since childhood in
the ascetic life.  He often carried fire to his neighboring brethren in the
fold of his tunic, and stimulated them to advance to the point of performing
miracles, saying to them, "If you practice true ascesis, then you will show
the supernatural signs of virtue."
     Once on a Sunday he went to see some monks and said to them, "Why have
you not celebrated the Divine Liturgy today?"  When they replied that it was
because the priest had not come from the other side of the river, he said to
them, "I shall go and call him."  But they said it was impossible for anyone
to cross the ford, partly because of the depth, but most of all because
there was a huge beast at that spot, a crocodile which had devoured many people.
The father did not hesitate.  At once he jumped up and rushed into the ford.
And immediately the beast took him onto its back and set him down on the
other side.  On finding the priest at his place, he entreated him not to neglect
the community of brothers.  The priest, seeing that he was dressed in a rag with
many patches, asked him where he had found it, saying, "You have a most
beautiful mantle for your soul, brother," for he was amazed at his humility
and poverty.  He followed Helle back to the river.  As they failed to find a
ferry, Helle let out a cry calling the crocodile to him.  The animal obeyed
him instantly and offered its back as a raft.  Helle asked the priest to
climb on with him.  But the priest was terrified at the sight of the beast and
backed away.  While he and the brothers who lived on the other bank watched,
seized with dread, he crossed the ford with the beast, came ashore, and
hauling the beast out of the water, said to it, "It is better for you to die
and make restitution for all the lives you have taken."  Whereupon the
animal at once sank onto its belly and died.

Historia Monachorum in Aegypto 12.1,6-9

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Abba Evagrius said: If you know how to practice patience, you shall always
pray with joy.