Lausiac History (recension G)

 having written down the lives of the fathers, Abraham and those who followed, Moses and Elijah and John, they did not relate them in order to glorify

 goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control, is acknowledged. Pref.14 For Paul himself said: For the fruit of the spirit is such and such things.

 being virgins but he entrusted them to Christ, saying: He who created you will provide for your life, as also for me. And there was with his sister

 a judge who orders one to be submitted to debauchery. 3.4 So that one, having gone mad, orders her, having been stripped, to be thrown into the cauld

 but haughty in disposition, exceedingly rich in money, giving † not † to a stranger, not to a virgin, not to the church, not an obol to a poor person.

 So having met and spent three years with the monasteries around Alexandria, with about two thousand most excellent and very zealous men, departing fro

 Lord and what do you command now? I command, he said, that each of us from now on remain by himself. But she did not agree, saying Let us rema

 without a fever, not having been sick, but sewing up the basket, being seventy years old who, having sent for me, and while the last stitch was on it

 at the martyrium called Roufinianais. Whose tomb is said to heal all who suffer from fever.] 12 .tConcerning Benjamin 12.1 In this mountain of Nitria

 were perfected. And some were pleased by this one, others by that one. When a dispute therefore arose among the brotherhood over the praises, they go

 therefore also to banish you from this. 16.3 Therefore, knowing that he had been mocked, he returned again to his first cell. And having completed th

 the tax-collectors are upon you, whose disease you also suffer. And it happened that he disobeyed after the death of Macarius, after another fifteen

 the saint, taking him, prayed over him, beseeching God. And after one or two days, when the affliction subsided, the holy Macarius says to her: 17.13

 ravens before my sight, and saying: What do you want, Macarius? What do you want, monk? Why have you come to our place? You cannot remain here. So I

 he did nothing with his hands. Therefore, when all the ascetics saw this, they rose up against the abbot, saying: From where have you brought us this

 you shall be shaken, I shall not hear you. 18.24 So after falling for a long time, he rose. And when night came, they attacked him again and filling

 fifty miles he went away to where he had his company. This so great man, at long last being pricked with compunction by some circumstance, gave himsel

 so that we should fear these flies more than he feared the demons. This was the way of life of Moses the Ethiopian, who was himself also numbered amon

 of Eulogius and worthily nourished by the disease. But after fifteen years a demon dwelt in him and he rebelled against Eulogius and he began to assa

 Do not turn aside anywhere, depart do not be separated from one another, but go to your cell where you have spent your time. For God is already sendi

 to them a way of life such as never in youth. 22.5 And having moistened palm leaves he says to him: “Take these, weave a rope as I do.” The old man we

 And standing by the rocks on the mountain he prays and says thus: You see, Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, that I will not come

 wisdom no longer approached me. 24 .tConcerning Stephen the Libyan 24.1 A certain Stephen, a Libyan by race, from the region of Marmarica and Mareoti

 to place in the little book for the security of the readers, just as among the holy plants of paradise was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

 he fell into a fall of pride. And opening the window, she received the one serving her and was mixed with him, because she had not maintained her asce

 saying to her, We do not dare to meet them for we know their drunkenness and their recklessness. 31.3 But if you will have mercy both on the whole v

 to the angel that the prayers are few, the angel says to him: I have prescribed these things so that even the lesser ones may be able to complete the

 matter. So when the elder came, the other sisters reported the matter and he ordered that not a single one of their offerings be accepted and as for

 having been enclosed for years and receiving his needs through a window from the one who served him, he was deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy. Amo

 sufficiently, I thanked God when I learned that the pretexts driving me had been accomplished. 35.10 Then again he says to me, joking: Do you want to

 about to give birth, she was having a difficult labor, the spirit crushing her. So while the woman was demon-possessed, her husband came and begged th

 All ran up to him, both those wearing the tribon and those wearing the birrus, saying to him: What is the matter with you? And where are you from? An

 and why should I go out? He says to her: If you have died to the world and the world to you, it is the same to you to go out and not to go out ther

 suggests. 38.6 He says to him: If you listen to your friend, it is not expedient for you to live in this city. Evagrius says to him: If God delive

 he died among them, having partaken of communion on Epiphany in the church. He told us then about death that, It is the third year I have not been tr

 I appoint myself as a host for you. And taking money and partitioning the porticoes and setting up about three hundred beds, he nursed the starving,

 the hill of the ascension from where Jesus was taken up, he continued standing and singing psalms and praying and whether it snowed or it rained or i

 of those boiled by fire. Having persevered in these for eighteen years, he sang the hymn of victory to Christ. This man, having been warred against in

 in Jerusalem for the sake of a vow, bishops and monks and virgins, at their own expense they edified all whom they met, and they healed the schism of

 to many souls, in some there is an excellence of intellect, in others a fitness for discipline. But when neither the action nor the excellence is for

 There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure 47.16 lest ever with the won

 having drawn [their swords], they attacked. And such a thing happened: when he raised the sword and was about to draw it against Gaddana, the hand of

 she led to the solitary life. And having catechized her younger son Publicola, she led him to Sicily and having sold all her remaining property and r

 to her own daughter. 57.2 I knew this woman, who labored through every night, grinding with her hands for the subduing of the body, explaining that,

 of this one, named Taor, who, having been thirty years in the monastery, never wished to receive a new garment or veil or sandal, saying, I have no n

 of her own. And she freed the eight thousand slaves who wished it, for the rest did not wish it but chose to serve her brother to whom she conceded t

 was said to be most learned and most faithful who received Origen the writer, as he was fleeing the insurrection of the Greeks, for two years at her

 they may stir up some of the civil disturbances, falling away from their purpose. 67 .tConcerning Magna 67.1 In this city of Ancyra many other virgins

 to slander a certain lector of the city. And when she was already pregnant, being questioned by her father, she accused the lector. But the presbyter,

 warm loaves in his sheepskin at another time again wine and loaves. At another time again, when he was speaking, I knew that You are in need go the

were perfected. And some were pleased by this one, others by that one. When a dispute therefore arose among the brotherhood over the praises, they go to the blessed Pambo and submit the judgment to him, asking to learn the greater way of life. And he says to them: "Both are perfect; for one showed the work of Abraham, the other that of Elias". 14.5 So some said: "By your feet, how is it possible for them to be equal?" and preferring the ascetic and saying that "He has done an evangelical deed, having sold everything and given to the poor, and hour by hour and day by day and by night bearing the cross, and following the Savior and in prayers". while the others argued against them, saying that "This one showed so much to those in need, as even to sit in the public roads and gather the afflicted; and not only did he give rest to his own soul but also to many others, tending the sick and helping". 14.6 The blessed Pambo says to them: "Again I will say to you: both are equal; but I assure each of you that this one, if he had not practiced asceticism so much, would not have been worthy to be compared to that one's goodness; that one, in turn, giving rest to strangers was also given rest, and even if he seemed to have the burden of labor, yet he also had rest from these very things. But wait, so that I may receive the revelation from God, and after this, come and you will learn". So coming again after some days they beseeched him, and he says to them as before God: "I saw them both standing together in paradise". 15 .tConcerning Macarius the younger 15.1 A certain younger man named Macarius, about eighteen years old, while playing with those of his own age by the lake called Mareotis, pasturing four-footed animals, committed an involuntary murder. And having said nothing to anyone, he takes to the desert, and was driven to such a divine and human fear that he became insensible and for a period of three years remained homeless in the desert. The land is rainless for these, and all know this, both those who have learned through words and those through experience. 15.2 This man later built a cell for himself; and having lived another twenty-five years in that cell was deemed worthy of the gift of spitting upon demons, delighting in solitude. Having spent much time with him, I asked how his mind was disposed toward the sin of the murder; he said that he was so far from grief as to even give thanks for the murder; for the involuntary murder had become for him an occasion of salvation. 15.3 And bringing testimony from the scriptures he said that Moses would not have been deemed worthy of the divine vision and so great a gift and of the writing of the holy words, if not out of fear of Pharaoh because of the murder he committed in Egypt he had taken to Mount Sinai. But I say these things not to make a way for murder, but showing that there are also virtues of circumstance, when one does not come to the good willingly; for of the virtues, some are of choice, others of circumstance. 16 .tConcerning Nathanael 16.1 There was another one of the old men named Nathanael. I did not find him alive; for he had fallen asleep fifteen years before my arrival; but having met those who practiced asceticism with him and spent time with him I inquired about the man's virtue; and they showed me his cell, in which no one lived any longer because it was nearer to the inhabited world; for he had built it at a time when the anchorites were rare. So they related this especially about him, that he had such patience in the cell as not to be shaken from his purpose. 16.2 Among these things, having been mocked at first by the demon who mocks and deceives all, he seemed to grow weary in his first cell; and having gone away he built another nearer to a village. So after he finished the cell and dwelt in it, after three or four months the demon comes by night, holding a whip of ox-hide just like the public executioners, and having the appearance of a soldier wearing rags, and he made noises with the whip. To whom the blessed Nathanael answered and said: "Who are you, who are doing these things in my lodging?" the demon answered: "I am the one who drove you from that cell; I have come

τελειωθέντων· καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἤρεσκεν οὗτος, τοῖς δὲ ἐκεῖνος. Φιλονεικίας οὖν ἐμπεσούσης τῇ ἀδελφότητι ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐπαίνοις, ἀπέρχονται πρὸς τὸν μακά ριον Παμβὼ καὶ ἀνατίθενται αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπίκρισιν, ἀξιοῦντες μαθεῖν τὴν μείζονα πολιτείαν. Ὁ δὲ λέγει αὐτοῖς· "Ἀμφότεροί εἰσι τέλειοι· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἀβραμιαῖον ἐπεδείξατο ἔργον, ὁ δὲ τοῦ Ἠλία". 14.5 Τῶν μὲν οὖν λεγόντων· "Τῶν ποδῶν σου, πῶς δυνατὸν εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἴσους;" καὶ προτιμώντων τὸν ἀσκητὴν καὶ λεγόντων ὅτι "Εὐαγγελικὸν πεποίηκε πρᾶγμα, πάντα πωλήσας καὶ δοὺς πτωχοῖς, καὶ καθ' ὥραν καὶ καθ' ἡμέραν καὶ κατὰ νύκτα τὸν σταυρὸν βαστάζων, καὶ ἀκολουθῶν τῷ σωτῆρι καὶ ταῖς προσευχαῖς". τῶν δὲ ἀντιφιλονεικούντων καὶ λεγόντων ὅτι "Οὗτος τοσαῦτα ἐνεδείξατο τοῖς δεομένοις, ὡς καὶ εἰς τὰς λεωφόρους καθῆσθαι καὶ τοὺς θλιβομένους συνάγειν· καὶ οὐ μόνον τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν ἀνέπαυσεν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν, καὶ νοσοκομῶν καὶ ἐπικουρῶν". 14.6 Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ μακάριος Παμβώ· "Πάλιν ὑμῖν ἐρῶ· ἀμφότεροι ἴσοι εἰσίν· ἕκαστον δὲ ὑμῶν πληροφορῶ ὅτι οὗτος, εἰ μὴ ἤσκει τοσοῦτον, ἄξιος οὐκ ἐγένετο τῆς ἐκείνου ἀγαθότητος συγκριθῆναι· ἐκεῖνος πάλιν ἀναπαύων τοὺς ξένους καὶ συναν επαύετο, καὶ εἰ καὶ ἐδόκει τὸ ἐκ κόπου ἔχειν φορτίον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν παρ' αὐτὰ εἶχεν ἀνάπαυσιν. Ἐκδέξασθε δὲ ἵνα καὶ παρὰ θεοῦ δέξωμαι τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐλθόντες μαθήσεσθε". Ἐλθόντες οὖν μετὰ ἡμέρας πάλιν παρεκάλεσαν αὐτόν, καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὡς ἐπὶ θεοῦ· "Ἀμφο τέρους ἅμα εἶδον ἑστῶτας ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ". 15 .tΠερὶ Μακαρίου τοῦ νεωτέρου 15.1 Νεώτερός τις ὀνόματι Μακάριος, ὡς ἐτῶν δεκα οκτώ, ἐν τῷ παίζειν μετὰ τῶν συνηλικιωτῶν παρὰ τὴν λίμνην τὴν λεγομένην Μαρίαν, τετράποδα νέμων, ἀκούσιον εἰργάσατο φόνον. Καὶ μηδενὶ μηδὲν εἰρηκὼς καταλαμβάνει τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἤλασε φόβον θεῖόν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπινον, ὡς ἀναισθητῆσαι αὐτὸν καὶ ἐπὶ τριετίαν ἄστεγον μεῖναι ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. Ἄβροχος δὲ ὑπάρχει ἡ γῆ τούτοις, καὶ τοῦτο ἴσασι πάντες, καὶ οἱ διὰ λόγων γενό μενοι καὶ οἱ διὰ πείρας. 15.2 Οὗτος ὕστερον ᾠκοδόμησε κέλλαν ἑαυτῷ· καὶ ζήσας ἄλλα εἰκοσιπέντε ἔτη ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ ἐκείνῳ χαρίσματος ἠξιώθη καταπτύειν δαιμόνων, ἐντρυφῶν τῇ μονότητι. Τούτῳ πολλὰ συγχρονίσας ἠρώτων πῶς αὐτοῦ διάκειται ὁ λογισμὸς ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ φόνου ἁμαρτίᾳ· ὃς τοσοῦτον ἔλεγεν ἀπέχειν λύπης ὡς καὶ προσευχαριστεῖν ἐπὶ τῷ φόνῳ· γεγένηται γὰρ αὐτῷ ὑπόθεσις σωτηρίας ὁ ἀκούσιος φόνος. 15.3 Ἔλεγε δὲ ἀπὸ γραφῶν φέρων τὴν μαρτυρίαν ὅτι οὐκ ἂν Μωσῆς ἠξιοῦτο τῆς θεϊκῆς ὀπτασίας καὶ τῆς τοσαύτης δωρεᾶς καὶ τῆς συγγραφῆς τῶν ἁγίων λόγων, εἰ μὴ φόβῳ τοῦ Φαραὼ διὰ τὸν φόνον ὃν ἔδρασεν ἐν τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ κατειλήφει τὸ ὄρος τὸ Σινᾶ. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω οὐχ ὁδοποιῶν εἰς φόνον, δεικνύων δὲ ὅτι εἰσὶ καὶ περιστατικαὶ ἀρεταί, ὅταν μὴ ἑκουσίως τις τῷ ἀγαθῷ προσέλθῃ· τῶν γὰρ ἀρετῶν αἱ μέν εἰσι προαιρετικαί, αἱ δὲ περιστατικαί. 16 .tΠερὶ Ναθαναήλ 16.1 Γέγονεν ἄλλος τις τῶν παλαιῶν ὀνόματι Ναθα ναήλ. Τοῦτον ἐγὼ ζῶντα μὲν οὐ κατείληφα· κεκοίμητο γὰρ πρὸ τῆς ἐμῆς εἰσόδου πρὸ ἐτῶν δεκαπέντε· τοῖς δὲ συνασκή σασιν αὐτῷ καὶ συγχρονίσασι περιτυχὼν ἐφιλοπραγμόνουν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν ἀρετήν· ἔδειξαν δέ μοι αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν κέλλαν, εἰς ἣν ᾤκει μὲν οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς διὰ τὸ ἐγγυτέρω αὐτὴν εἶναι τῆς οἰκουμένης· ἐκεῖνος γὰρ τότε αὐτὴν ἔκτισεν ὅτε σπάνιοι ἦσαν οἱ ἀναχωρηταί. ∆ιηγοῦντο οὖν τοῦτο περὶ αὐτοῦ ἐξαιρέτως, ὅτι τοσαύτην ἔσχεν ὑπομονὴν ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ ὡς μὴ σαλευθῆναι τῆς προθέσεως. 16.2 Ἐν οἷς ἐμπαιχθεὶς κατ' ἀρχὰς παρὰ τοῦ πάντας ἐμπαίζοντος καὶ ἀπατῶντος δαίμονος, ἔδοξεν ἀκηδιᾶν εἰς τὴν πρώτην κέλλαν· καὶ ἀπελ θὼν ἄλλην ἔκτισε πλησιώτερον κώμης. Μετὰ οὖν τὸ τελέσαι τὴν κέλλαν καὶ οἰκῆσαι, μετὰ μῆνας τρεῖς ἢ τέσσα ρας παραγίνεται ὁ δαίμων ἐν νυκτί, ταυρέαν κατέχων καθάπερ οἱ δήμιοι, καὶ σχῆμα ἔχων στρατιώτου ῥακοδυ τοῦντος, καὶ ψόφους εἰργάζετο ἐν τῇ ταυρέᾳ. Πρὸς ὃν ἀπεκρίνατο ὁ μακάριος Ναθαναὴλ καὶ ἔλεγε· "Τίς εἶ σὺ ὁ ταῦτα δρῶν ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ ξενίᾳ;" ἀπεκρίνατο ὁ δαίμων· "Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἐξ ἐκείνης τῆς κέλλης ἐλάσας σε· ἦλθον