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to shake off every pleasure of the throat with joy; and not to fear enemies and to persevere eagerly in terrible things, is of endurance and courage; and of justice, to work out a certain symphony and harmony of the parts of the soul.

90 The fruit of seeds is the sheaves, but of virtues, knowledge; and as tears follow the seeds, so joy follows the sheaves.

t91100 Sayings of holy monks

91 It is necessary also to inquire about the ways of the monks who have gone before correctly and to be set right by them; for it is possible to find many things both said and done well by them; among which one of them also says this, that the drier and not irregular diet, when yoked with love, more quickly brings the monk into the harbor of dispassion. And the same man delivered one of the brothers who was troubled by phantoms at night, by ordering him to serve the weak after fasting; for, he said when asked, by nothing are such passions extinguished as by mercy.

92 To the just Anthony one of the wise men of that time came and said, "How do you persevere, O father, being deprived of the consolation from books?" And he says: "My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and it is present whenever I wish to read the words of God."

93 The chosen vessel, the Egyptian elder Macarius, asked me: "Why is it that when we bear a grudge against men we destroy the memory-faculty of the soul, but when we bear a grudge against demons we remain unharmed?" And when I was at a loss for an answer and asked to learn the reason, that one says, "Because the former is contrary to nature, but the latter is according to the nature of anger." 94 I came upon the holy father Macarius at the very peak of midday and, being exceedingly inflamed by thirst, I asked for water to drink; and he says: "Be content with the shade; for many now journeying on foot or sailing are deprived even of this." Then, as I was exercising my words with him concerning self-control; "Take courage," he says, "O child, for in twenty whole years I have not taken my fill of either bread, or water, or sleep; for I ate my bread by weight, and I drank water by measure, and leaning myself against the walls I snatched some small portion of sleep."

95 To one of the monks the death of his father was announced; and he said to the one who announced it, "Cease," he says, "from blaspheming; for my father is immortal."

96 One of the brothers asked one of the elders if he would command him to eat with his mother and his sisters when he visited their house; and he said, "With a woman, you will not eat."

97 One of the brothers possessed only a Gospel, and having sold this he gave it for food to the hungry, uttering a saying worthy of memory; "For," he says, "I have sold the very word that says to me: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor.'"

98 And there is an island near Alexandria, lying in the northern part of the lake called Maria, and on it dwells a most approved monk of the Gnostic company; who declared that all things done by monks are done for five reasons: for God, for nature, for custom, for necessity, for the works of their hands. And the same man said again that virtue is one by nature, but it takes specific forms in the powers of the soul; for indeed the light of the sun

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πᾶσαν ἡδονὴν τοῦ φάρυγγος μετὰ χαρᾶς ἀποσείεσθαι· μὴ δεδιέναι δὲ τοὺς πολεμίους καὶ προθύμως ἐγκαρτερεῖν τοῖς δεινοῖς, τῆς ὑπομονῆς καὶ τῆς ἀνδρείας ἐστί· δικαιοσύνης δὲ τὸ συμφωνίαν τινὰ καὶ ἁρμονίαν τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς μερῶν κατεργάζεσθαι.

90 Καρπὸς μὲν σπερμάτων τὰ δράγματα, ἀρετῶν δὲ ἡ γνῶσις· καὶ ὡς ἕπεται τοῖς σπέρμασι δάκρυα, οὕτω τοῖς δράγμασιν ἡ χαρά.

t91100 Ῥήσεις μοναχῶν ἁγίων

91 Ἀναγκαῖον δὲ καὶ τὰς ὁδοὺς τῶν προοδευσάντων ὀρθῶς διερωτᾶν μοναχῶν καὶ πρὸς αὐτὰς κατορθοῦσθαι· πολλὰ γὰρ ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ὑπ' αὐτῶν ῥηθέντα τε καὶ πραχθέντα καλῶς· ἐν οἷς καὶ τοῦτό φησί τις αὐτῶν, τὴν ξηροτέραν καὶ μὴ ἀνώμαλον δίαιταν ἀγάπῃ συζευχθεῖσαν θᾶττον εἰσάγειν τὸν μοναχὸν εἰς τὸν τῆς ἀπαθείας λιμένα. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς ταρασσόμενόν τινα νύκτωρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν φασμάτων ἀπήλλαξεν, ἀσθενοῦσι μετὰ νηστείας ὑπηρετῆσαι προστάξας· οὐδενὶ γὰρ οὕτως, ἐρωτηθεὶς ἔφη, ὡς ἐλέῳ τὰ τοιαῦτα κατασβέννυται πάθη.

92 Τῷ δικαίῳ Ἀντωνίῳ προσῆλθέ τις τῶν τότε σοφῶν καὶ πῶς διακαρτερεῖς, εἶπεν, ὦ πάτερ, τῆς ἐκ τῶν βιβλίων παραμυθίας ἐστερημένος; Ὁ δέ φησι· τὸ ἐμὸν βιβλίον, φιλόσοφε, ἡ φύσις τῶν γεγονότων ἐστί, καὶ πάρεστιν ὅτε βούλομαι τοὺς λόγους ἀναγινώσκειν τοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ.

93 Ἠρώτησέ με τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς ὁ Αἰγύπτιος γέρων Μακάριος· τί δήποτε μνησικακοῦντες μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὴν μνημονευτικὴν δύναμιν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀφανίζομεν, δαίμοσι δὲ μνησικακοῦντες ἀβλαβεῖς διαμένομεν; Κἀμοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ἀπορήσαντος καὶ παρακαλοῦντος τὸν λόγον μαθεῖν, διότι, φησὶν ἐκεῖνος, τὸ μὲν πρότερον παρὰ φύσιν, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον κατὰ φύσιν ἐστὶ τοῦ θυμοῦ. 94 Παρέβαλον κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν σταθερὰν μεσημβρίαν τῷ ἁγίῳ πατρὶ Μακαρίῳ καὶ λίαν ὑπὸ τῆς δίψης φλεγόμενος ᾔτουν ὕδωρ πιεῖν· ὁ δέ φησιν· ἀρκέσθητι τῇ σκιᾷ· πολλοὶ γὰρ νῦν ὁδοιποροῦντες ἢ πλέοντες καὶ ταύτης ἐστέρηνται. Εἶτα λόγους μου πρὸς αὐτὸν περὶ ἐγκρατείας γυμνάζοντος· θάρσει, φησίν, ὦ τέκνον, ἐν ὅλοις ἔτεσιν εἴκοσι οὔτε ἄρτου, οὔτε ὕδατος, οὔτε ὕπνου κόρον εἴληφα· τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἄρτον μου ἤσθιον σταθμῷ, τὸ δὲ ὕδωρ ἔπινον μέτρῳ, τοῖς τοίχοις δὲ ἐμαυτὸν παρακλίνων μικρόν τι τοῦ ὕπνου μέρος ἀφήρπαζον.

95 Ἐμηνύθη τινὶ τῶν μοναχῶν θάνατος τοῦ πατρός· ὁ δὲ πρὸς τὸν ἀπαγγείλαντα, παῦσαι, φησί, βλασφημῶν· ὁ γὰρ ἐμὸς πατὴρ ἀθάνατός ἐστιν.

96 Ἐπύθετό τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἑνὸς τῶν γερόντων εἰ κελεύοι τῇ μητρὶ καὶ ταῖς ἀδελφαῖς συμφαγεῖν αὐτὸν παραβαλόντα τῷ οἴκῳ· ὁ δέ, μετὰ γυναικός, εἶπεν, οὐ βρώσῃ.

97 Ἐκέκτητό τις τῶν ἀδελφῶν εὐαγγέλιον μόνον, καὶ τοῦτο πωλήσας ἔδωκεν εἰς τροφὴν τοῖς πεινῶσιν, ἄξιον μνήμης ἐπιφθεγξάμενος ῥῆμα· αὐτὸν γάρ, φησί, τὸν λόγον πεπώληκα τὸν λέγοντά μοι· πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς.

98 Ἔστι δέ τις παρὰ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν νῆσος κατ' αὐτὸ τὸ βόρειον μέρος τῆς λίμνης κειμένη τῆς καλουμένης Μαρίας, προσοικεῖ δὲ αὐτῇ μοναχὸς τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν γνωστικῶν ὁ δοκιμώτατος· ὅστις ἀπεφήνατο πάντα τὰ πραττόμενα ὑπὸ τῶν μοναχῶν πράττεσθαι δι' αἰτίας πέντε· διὰ Θεόν, διὰ φύσιν, διὰ ἔθος, διὰ ἀνάγκην, διὰ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς ἔλεγε πάλιν μίαν μὲν εἶναι τῇ φύσει τὴν ἀρετήν, εἰδοποιεῖσθαι δὲ αὐτὴν ἐν ταῖς δυνάμεσι τῆς ψυχῆς· καὶ γὰρ τὸ φῶς τὸ ἡλιακὸν