Apophthegmata Concerning Abba Macarius the Egyptian. Abba Macarius related concerning himself, saying: When I was younger and was sitting in a cell in

 You cannot as we do, sit in your cell, and weep for your sins and I asked them: When it becomes winter, do you not shiver? and when it becomes hot, a

 from much labor. When evening came, Abba Anthony soaked palm leaves for himself and Abba Macarius says 34.244 to him, Give the word, that I also may

 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: F

 Abba Macarius: If scorn has become to you as praise, and poverty as wealth, and want as abundance, you will not die. For it is impossible for one who

 of a matter that benefits them, they compel themselves to begin to speak but if they are not compelled by the brethren, they no longer speak the word

 of them. And rising after the week, I went to them to see how they were sitting and when I knocked they opened, and they greeted me in silence and h

 little figs and as they were running, one of them fell, and having taken it, I ate it and whenever I remember it, I sit weeping. Abba Macarius said

 Macarius flee men sit in your cell, and weep for your sins, and do not love the talk of men and you will be saved.

Apophthegmata Concerning Abba Macarius the Egyptian. Abba Macarius related concerning himself, saying: When I was younger and was sitting in a cell in Egypt, they seized me and made me a cleric in the village; and not wishing to accept, I fled to another place. And a pious layman came to me, and he would take my handiwork and serve me. But it happened through temptation that a certain virgin in the village fell; and having conceived, she was asked who it was who had done this? And she said: The hermit. And coming out, they seized me into the village, and hung on my neck sooty pots and handles of jars, and paraded 34.237 me around the village street by street, beating me and saying: This monk has defiled our virgin, take him, take him. And they beat me almost to death. But one of the elders came and said: How long will you beat the foreign monk? And he who served me followed behind me, being ashamed; for they were insulting him greatly and saying: Behold the hermit for whom you vouched, what has he done? And her parents say: We will not release him until he gives a guarantor to support her. And I spoke to my servant, and he vouched for me. And going to my cell, I gave him all the baskets I had, saying: Sell them and give to my wife to eat. And I said to my thought: Macarius, behold you have found yourself a wife; you must work a little extra in order to support her. And I worked night and day, and sent to her. And when the time came for the wretched woman to give birth, she remained in torment for many days, and did not give birth. And they say to her: What is this? And she said: I know; that I slandered the hermit, and lying I accused him; and this man has nothing to do with it, but so-and-so the younger. And he who served me came rejoicing and said that that virgin was not able to give birth until she confessed, saying that the hermit has nothing to do with it, but I lied against him; and behold the whole village wants to come here with glory and repent to you. But when I heard this, so that people would not trouble me, I arose and fled here to Scetis. This is the beginning of the reason why I came here. Macarius the Egyptian once came from Scetis to the mountain of Nitria, for the offering of Abba Pambo; and the elders say to him: Speak a word to the brothers, father. And he said: I have not yet become a monk, but I have seen monks. For once as I was sitting in my cell in Scetis, my thoughts troubled me, saying: Go away into the desert and see what you see there. And I remained fighting the thought for five years, saying, lest it be from demons. And as the thought persisted, I went away into the desert; and I found there a lake of water, and an island in its midst; and the beasts of the desert came to drink from it; and I saw in their midst two naked men; and my body trembled; for I thought that they were spirits. But when they saw me trembling, they spoke to me: Do not be afraid; we too are men. And I said to them: Where are you from, and how did you come to this desert? And they said: We are from a cenobium; and an agreement was made between us, and we came out here; behold forty years. And one is an Egyptian, and the other is a Libyan. 34.240 And they also asked me, saying: How is the world? And if the water comes in its season, and if the world has its abundance, And I said to them: Yes. And I asked them: How can I become a monk? And they say to me: Unless one renounces all the things of the world, he cannot become a monk. And I said to them: I am weak and I am not able as you are. And they also said to me: And if

Apophthegmata Περὶ τοῦ ἀββᾶ Μακαρίου τοῦ Αἰγυπτίου. ∆ιηγήσατο περὶ ἑαυτοῦ ὁ ἀββᾶς Μακάριος, λέγων· ὅτε ἤμην νεώτερος καὶ ἐκαθήμην εἰς κελ λίον εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ἐκράτησάν με καὶ ἐποίησαν κληρικὸν εἰς τὴν κώμην· καὶ μὴ θέλων κατα δέξασθαι, ἔφυγον εἰς ἕτερον τόπον. καὶ ἦλθε πρός με εὐλαβὴς κοσμικὸς, καὶ ἐλάμβανε τὸ ἐργόχειρόν μου, καὶ διηκόνει μοι· συνέβη δὲ ἀπὸ πειρασμοῦ παρθέ νον τινὰ εἰς τὴν κώμην ἐκπεσεῖν· καὶ λαβοῦσα κατὰ γαστρὸς ἠρωτᾶτο τίς εἴη ὁ τοῦτο πεποιηκώς; ἡ δὲ ἔλεγεν· ὁ ἀναχωρητής. καὶ ἐξελθόντες συνέλαβόν με εἰς τὴν κώμην, καὶ ἐκρέμασαν ἐν τῷ τραχήλῳ μου ἠσβολωμένας χύτρας καὶ ὠτία κούφων, καὶ περι 34.237 επόμπευσάν με ἐν τῇ κώμῃ κατὰ ἄμφοδον, τύπτον τές με καὶ λέγοντες· οὗτος ὁ μοναχὸς ἔφθειρεν ἡμῶν τὴν παρθένον, λάβετε αὐτὸν, λάβετε. καὶ ἔτυψάν με παρὰ μικρὸν τοῦ ἀποθανεῖν. ἐλθὼν δέ τις τῶν γερόν των εἶπεν· ἕως πότε τύπτετε τὸν ξένον μοναχόν; ὁ δὲ διακονῶν μοι ἠκολούθει ὀπίσω μου αἰδούμενος· ἦσαν γὰρ ὑβρίζοντες αὐτὸν πολλὰ καὶ λέγοντες· ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀναχωρητὴς, ὃν σὺ ἐμαρτύρεις, τί ἐποίησε; καὶ λέ γουσιν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῆς· οὐκ ἀπολύομεν αὐτόν, ἕως δῷ ἐγγυητὴν τοῦ τρέφειν αὐτήν. καὶ εἶπον τῷ διακονητῇ μου· καὶ ἐνηγγυήσατό με. καὶ ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὸ κελλίον μου, ἔδωκα αὐτῷ ὅσα εἶχον σπυρίδια, λέγων· πώλησον καὶ δὸς τῇ γυναικί μου φαγεῖν. καὶ ἔλεγον τῷ λογισμῷ μου· Μακάριε, ἰδοὺ εὗρες ἑαυτῷ γυναῖκα· χρὴ ἐργάζεσθαι μικρὸν περισσὸν, ἵνα τρέ φῃς αὐτήν· καὶ εἰργαζόμην νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ ἔπεμπον αὐτῇ. καὶ ὅτε ἦλθεν ὁ καιρὸς τῇ ἀθλίᾳ τε κεῖν, ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ πολλὰς ἡμέρας βασανιζομένη, καὶ οὐκ ἔτικτε. καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῇ· τί ἐστι τοῦτο; ἡ δὲ εἶπεν· ἐγὼ οἶδα· ὅτι τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν ἐσυκοφάντησα, καὶ ψευσαμένη ᾐτιασάμην· καὶ οὗτος οὐκ ἔχει πρᾶ γμα, ἀλλ' ὁ δεῖνα ὁ νεώτερος. καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ διακονῶν μοι χαίρων ἔλεγεν, ὅτι οὐκ ἠδυνήθη τεκεῖν ἡ παρθέ νος ἐκείνη, ἕως οὗ ὡμολόγησε λέγουσα, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχει πρᾶγμα ὁ ἀναχωρητής, ἀλλ' ἐψευσάμην κατ' αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἰδοὺ πᾶσα ἡ κώμη θέλει ἐλθεῖν ὧδε μετὰ δόξης, καὶ μετανοῆσαί σοι. ἐγὼ δὲ ἀκούσας ταῦτα, ἵνα μὴ θλίψωσί με οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἀνέστην καὶ ἔφυγον ὧδε εἰς Σκῆτιν. αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς αἰτίας, δι' ἣν ἦλθον ὧδε. Ἦλθέ ποτε Μακάριος ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ἀπὸ Σκήτεως εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῆς Νιτρίας, εἰς τὴν προσφορὰν τοῦ ἀββᾶ Παμβῶ· καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ γέροντες· εἰπὲ ῥῆμα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, πάτερ. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· ἐγὼ οὔπω γέγονα μοναχός, ἀλλ' εἶδον μοναχούς· καθημένῳ γάρ μοί ποτε ἐν τῷ κελλίῳ εἰς Σκῆτιν, ὤχλησάν μοι οἱ λογισμοὶ λέγοντες· ἄπελθε εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ ἰδὲ τί βλέπεις ἐκεῖ· ἔμεινα δὲ πολεμῶν τῷ λογισμῷ πέντε ἔτη, λέ γων, μήπως ἀπὸ δαιμόνων ἐστίν. καὶ ὡς ἐπέμενεν ὁ λογισμὸς, ἀπῆλθον εἰς τὴν ἔρημον· καὶ εὗρον ἐκεῖ λίμνην ὑδάτων, καὶ νῆσον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς· καὶ ἦλθον τὰ κτήνη τῆς ἐρήμου πιεῖν ἐξ αὐτῆς· καὶ εἶδον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν δύο ἀνθρώπους γυμνούς· καὶ ἐδειλίασε τὸ σῶμά μου· ἐνόμισα γὰρ ὅτι πνεύματά εἰσιν. αὐτοὶ δέ με ὡς εἶδον δειλιῶντα, ἐλάλησαν πρός με· μὴ φο βοῦ· καὶ ἡμεῖς ἄνθρωποί ἐσμεν. καὶ εἶπον αὐτοῖς· πόθεν ἐστέ, καὶ πῶς ἤλθετε εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην; καὶ εἶπον· ἀπὸ κοινοβίου ἐσμέν· καὶ γέγονεν ἡμῖν συμφωνία, καὶ ἐξήλθομεν ὧδε· ἰδοὺ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη. καὶ ὁ μὲν εἷς Αἰγύπτιος, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος Λιβυκὸς 34.240 ὑπάρχει. καὶ ἐπηρώτησάν με καὶ αὐτοὶ λέγοντες· πῶς ὁ κόσμος; καὶ εἰ ἔρχεται τὸ ὕδωρ κατὰ καιρὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰ ἔχει ὁ κόσμος τὴν εὐθηνίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἶπον αὐτοῖς· ναί. κἀγὼ αὐτοὺς ἠρώτησα· πῶς δύναμαι γενέσθαι μοναχός; καὶ λέγουσί μοι· ἐὰν μὴ ἀποτά ξηταί τις πᾶσι τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου, οὐ δύναται γενέσθαι μοναχός. καὶ εἶπον αὐτοῖς· ἐγὼ ἀσθενής εἰμι καὶ οὐ δύναμαι ὡς ὑμεῖς· καὶ εἶπόν μοι καὶ αὐτοί· καὶ ἐὰν