they would give to him; but the elder received it with joy, in order to torment himself; but the disciple, knowing the matter, said to the brothers: For the Lord's sake, do not give it to him; otherwise, he is going to punish himself in his cell. And when the brothers learned this, they no longer offered him anything. Once, as Abba Macarius was coming from the marsh to his cell, he was carrying palm leaves, and behold, the devil met him on the road with a sickle. And when he wanted to strike him, he was not able. And he says to him: Great is the violence from you, Macarius, for I cannot prevail against you; for behold, whatever you do, I also do; you fast; I also; you keep vigil; I also do not sleep at all; there is only one thing in which you overcome me. Abba Macarius says to him: What is that? And he said: Your humility. And because of this I cannot prevail against you. Some of the fathers asked Abba Macarius the Egyptian, saying: How is it that whether you eat or you fast, your body is withered? And the elder says 34.248 to them: The poker that stirs the burning twigs is completely consumed by the fire. So if a man purifies his mind in the fear of God, that same fear of God consumes his body. Once Abba Macarius went up from Scetis to Terenuthis; and he entered the temple to sleep; and there were ancient tombs of the pagans there; and taking one, he placed it under his head as a pillow; so the demons, seeing his boldness, became envious; and wanting to frighten him, they called out a woman’s name, saying: So-and-so, come with us to the bath; and another demon answered from beneath him as if from the dead, saying: I have a stranger on top of me, and I cannot come. But the elder was not frightened, but boldly struck the tomb, saying: Get up, go into the darkness, if you can. And hearing this, the demons cried out with a loud voice, saying: You have conquered us; and they fled in shame. They said concerning Abba Macarius the Egyptian, that coming up from Scetis and carrying baskets, he grew weary and sat down; and he prayed, saying: O God, you know that I have no strength; and immediately he was found at the river. There was a certain man in Egypt who had a paralyzed son; and he brought him to the cell of Abba Macarius; and leaving him weeping at the door, he went far away. So the elder, looking out, saw the child, and says to him: Who brought you here? And he says: My father cast me here, and went away. The elder says to him: Rise up and catch up to him. And immediately being made well, he arose and caught up to his father; and so they went to their home. Abba Macarius the Great said to the brothers in Scetis, as he was dismissing the church: Flee, brothers. And one of the elders said to him: Where can we flee further than this desert? And he placed his finger on his mouth, saying: Flee this. And he would go into his cell and close the door and sit. The same Abba Macarius said: If in rebuking someone you are moved to anger, you satisfy your own passion; for do not, in order to save others, destroy yourself. The same Abba Macarius, being in Egypt, found a man with a beast of burden plundering his things; and he, as if a stranger, standing by the one who was plundering, helped him load the beast, and with great quietness sent him off, saying, that we brought nothing into the world, it is clear that neither can we take 34.249 anything out. The Lord has given; as he himself willed, so also it has happened. Blessed is the Lord in all things. Some people asked Abba Macarius, saying: How ought we to pray? The elder says to them: There is no need to babble, but to stretch out the hands, and say: Lord, as you will and as you know, have mercy; and if war is at hand: Lord, help; and he himself knows what is profitable, and has mercy on us. He said

ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ γέρων μετὰ χαρᾶς ἐλάμβανεν, ἵνα ἑαυτὸν βασανίσῃ· ὁ δὲ μαθητὴς, εἰδὼς τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς· διὰ τὸν κύριον, μὴ δῶτε αὐτῷ· εἰ δὲ μήγε, εἰς τὸ κελλίον μέλλει ἑαυτὸν δαμάζειν. καὶ μαθόντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οὐκ ἔτι αὐτῷ παρεῖχον. Παρερχόμενός ποτε ἀπὸ τοῦ ἕλους εἰς τὸ κελ λίον ἑαυτοῦ ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος, ἐβάσταζε θαλλία, καὶ ἰδοὺ ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν μετὰ δρεπάνου. καὶ ὡς ἠθέλησεν αὐτὸν κροῦσαι, οὐκ ἴσχυσε. καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· πολλὴ βία ἀπὸ σοῦ, Μακάριε, ὅτι οὐ δύναμαι πρὸς σέ· ἰδοὺ γάρ, εἴ τι ποιεῖς, κἀγὼ ποιῶ· σὺ νηστεύεις· κἀγώ· ἀγρυ πνεῖς· κἀγὼ ὅλως οὐ κοιμῶμαι· ἕν ἐστι μόνον, ἐν ᾧ νικᾷς με. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος· ποῖον τοῦτο; ὁ δὲ ἔφη· ἡ ταπείνωσίς σου. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐ δύναμαι πρὸς σέ. Ἠρώτησάν τινες τῶν πατέρων τὸν ἀββᾶν Μακάριον τὸν Αἰγύπτιον, λέγοντες· πῶς ὅτε ἐσθίεις καὶ ὅτε νηστεύεις τὸ σῶμά σου ξηρόν ἐστι; καὶ λέγει 34.248 αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· τὸ ξύλον τὸ στρέφον τὰ καιόμενα φρύγανα δι' ὅλου ἐσθίεται ἐκ τοῦ πυρός. οὕτως ἐὰν καθαρεύσῃ ἄνθρωπος τὸν νοῦν αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, αὐτὸς ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεσθίει τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ. Ἀνέβη ποτὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος ἀπὸ Σκήτεως εἰς Τερενοῦθιν· καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν κοιμηθῆ ναι· ἦσαν δὲ ἐκεῖ σκηνώματα Ἑλλήνων παλαιά· καὶ λαβὼν ἕν, ὑπέθηκε τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῇ ὡς ἐμβρίμιον· οἱ οὖν δαίμονες ὁρῶντες αὐτοῦ τὸ θαρσα λέον, ἐφθόνησαν· καὶ θέλοντες αὐτὸν πτοῆσαι, ἐφώ νουν ὡς γυναικὸς ὄνομα, λέγοντες· ἡ δεῖνα, δεῦρο μεθ' ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ βαλανεῖον· ὑπήκουσε δὲ ἄλλος δαί μων ὑποκάτωθεν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν λέγων· ξένον ἔχω ἐπάνω μου, καὶ οὐ δύναμαι ἐλθεῖν. ὁ δὲ γέρων οὐκ ἐπτοήθη, ἀλλὰ θαῤῥῶν ἔτυπτε τὸ σκήνωμα λέγων· ἔγειραι, ὕπαγε εἰς τὸ σκότος, εἰ δύνασαι. καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσαντες οἱ δαίμονες, ἐβόησαν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ λέγοντες· ἐνίκησας ἡμᾶς· καὶ ἔφυγον καταισχυνό μενοι. Ἔλεγον περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου τοῦ Αἰγυ πτίου, ὅτι ἀναβαίνων ἀπὸ Σκήτεως, καὶ βαστάζων σπυρίδας, κοπιάσας ἐκαθέσθη· καὶ εὔξατο λέγων· ὁ Θεὸς, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι οὐκ ἰσχύω· καὶ εὐθέως εὑ ρέθη ἐπὶ τὸν ποταμόν. Ἦν τις ἔχων υἱὸν παραλυτικὸν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ· καὶ ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ κελλίον τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακα ρίου· καὶ ἀφεὶς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν θύραν κλαίοντα, ἀνεχώρησε μακράν. παρακύψας οὖν ὁ γέρων εἶδε τὸ παιδίον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· τίς ἤνεγκέ σε ὧδε; καὶ λέγει· ὁ πατήρ μου ἔῤῥιψέ με ὧδε, καὶ ἀπῆλθε. λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· ἀναστὰς κατάλαβε αὐτόν. καὶ εὐθέως ὑγιάνας ἀνέστη, καὶ κατέλαβε τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὕτως ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῶν. Ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος ὁ μέγας ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀδελ φοῖς ἐν τῇ Σκήτει, ὡς ἀπέλυε τὴν ἐκκλησίαν· φεύ γετε, ἀδελφοί. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τις τῶν γερόντων· ποῦ ἔχομεν φυγεῖν πλέον τῆς ἐρήμου ταύτης; ὁ δὲ ἐτίθει τὸν δάκτυλον αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ στόμα λέγων· τοῦτο φεύγετε. καὶ εἰσήρχετο εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἐαυτοῦ καὶ ἔκλειε τὴν θύραν καὶ ἐκάθητο. Εἶπεν ὁ αὐτὸς ἀββᾶς Μακάριος· ἐάν τινι ἐπιτιμῶν εἰς ὀργὴν κινηθῇς, ἴδιον πάθος πληροῖς· οὐ γὰρ ἵνα ἄλλους σώσῃς, σεαυτὸν ἀπολέσεις. Ὁ αὐτὸς ἀββᾶς Μακάριος, ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ὤν, εὗρεν ἄνθρωπον ἔχοντα κτῆνος καὶ συλοῦντα τὰς χρείας αὐτοῦ· καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ξένος παραστὰς τῷ συ λοῦντι, συνεγέμου τὸ κτῆνος, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἡσυ χίας προέπεμπεν αὐτὸν λέγων, ὅτι οὐδὲν εἰσηνέγ καμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, δῆλον ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐξενεγ 34.249 κεῖν τι δυνάμεθα. ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκεν· ὡς αὐ τὸς ἠθέλησεν, οὕτως καὶ ἐγένετο. εὐλογητὸς Κύ ριος ἐπὶ πᾶσιν. Ἠρώτησάν τινες τὸν ἀββᾶν Μακάριον, λέγον τες· πῶς ὀφείλομεν προσεύχεσθαι; λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ γέρων· οὐκ ἔστι χρεία βαττολογεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐκτείνειν τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ λέγειν· κύριε, ὡς θέλεις καὶ ὡς οἶ δας ἐλέησον· ἐὰν δὲ ἐπίκειται πόλεμος· κύριε, βοήθει· καὶ αὐτὸς οἶδε τὰ συμφέροντα, καὶ ποιεῖ μεθ' ἡμῶν ἔλεος. Εἶπεν