The Conferences of John Cassian.
II. Second Conference of Abbot Moses.
III. Conference of Abbot Paphnutius.
IV. Conference of Abbot Daniel.
V. Conference of Abbot Serapion.
VI. Conference of Abbot Theodore.
VII. First Conference of Abbot Serenus.
VIII. The Second Conference of Abbot Serenus.
IX. The First Conference of Abbot Isaac.
X. The Second Conference of Abbot Isaac.
The Conferences of John Cassian.
The Second Part of the Conferences
XII. The Second Conference of Abbot Chæremon.
XIII. The Third Conference of Abbot Chæremon.
XIV. The First Conference of Abbot Nesteros.
XV. The Second Conference of Abbot Nesteros.
XVI. The First Conference of Abbot Joseph.
XVII. The Second Conference of Abbot Joseph.
The Conferences of John Cassian.
The Third Part of the Conferences
XIX. Conference of Abbot John.
XX. Conference of Abbot Pinufius.
XXI. The First Conference of Abbot Theonas.
XXII. The Second Conference of Abbot Theonas.
XXIII. The Third Conference of Abbot Theonas.
How useful is relaxation on the arrival of brethren.
That most refreshing interlude also of relaxation and courtesy, which sometimes is wont to intervene because of the arrival of brethren, although it may seem to us tiresome and what we ought to avoid, yet how useful it is and good for our bodies as well as our souls you must patiently hear in few words. It often happens I say not to novices and weak persons but even to those of the greatest experience and perfection, that unless the strain and tension of their mind is lessened by the relaxation of some changes, they fall either into coldness of spirit; or at any rate into a most dangerous state of bodily health. And therefore when there occur even frequent visits from the brethren they should not only be patiently put up with, but even gratefully welcomed by those who are wise and perfect; first because they stimulate us always to desire with greater eagerness the retirement of the desert (for somehow while they are thought to impede our progress, they really maintain it unwearied and unbroken, and if it was never hindered by any obstacles, it would not endure to the end with unswerving perseverance), next because they give us the opportunity of refreshing the body, together with the advantages of kindness, and at the same time with a most delightful relaxation of the body confer on us greater advantage than those which we should have gained by the weariness which results from abstinence. On which matter I will briefly give a most apt illustration handed down in an old story.