The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Of self-restraint

Certain brethren, being minded to go from Scete to the abbot Antony, went aboard a ship that they might go to him: and they found in that same ship an old man who likewise was minded to go to Antony. But the brethren did not know him. And as they sat in the ship they talked with one another about the sayings of the Fathers and about the Scriptures, and again about the work that they did with their hands. But the old man held his peace through all. When they reached the harbour, they perceived that the old man also was on his way to the abbot Antony. And when they had come to him, the abbot Antony said to them, "Ye have found a good companion for your journey in this old man." And he also said to the old man, "Thou didst find good brethren to company thee, Father." Then said the old man, "Indeed they be good, but their house hath no door. Whosoever will, may enter into the stable and loose the ass." Now he said this because whatsoever came into their hearts, that they spoke with their mouths.

The abbot John of short stature said, "Once when I was climbing up the road that leads to Scete wth palmleaf mats, I saw a camel-driver, and he began speaking and rousing me to fury. And I dropped what I was carrying and fled."

One of the brethren asked the abbot Isidore, an old man in Scete, saying, "Wherefore do the devils fear thee so mightily?" And the old man said to him, "From the time that I was made amonk, I have striven not to suffer anger to mount as far as my throat."

And again the abbot Macarius said, "If in desiring to rebuke any one thou art thyself moved to anger; thou dost satisfy thine own passion; in saving another, lose not thyself."

A certain brother brought fresh loaves into his cell, and invited his elders to the table. And when they had eaten a farl apiece, they stopped. But the brother, knowing their travail of abstinence, began humbly to entreat them, saying, "For God's sake, eat this day until ye be filled." And they ate another ten. Behold therefore how these that were true monks and sincere in abstinence did eat more than they had need of, for God's sake.

Of fornication

The abbot Cyrus of Alexandria, questioned as to the imagination of lust, made answer: "If thou hast not these imaginings, thou art without hope: for if thou hast not the imaginations thereof, thou hast the deed itself. For he who fights not in his mind against sin, not gainsays it, sins in the flesh. And he who sins in the flesh, hath no trouble from the imagination thereof."

Two brethren made their way to the city to sell their handiwork: and when in the city they went different ways, divided one from the other, one of them fell into fornication. After a while came his brother, saying, "Brother, let us go back to our cell." But he made answer, "I am not coming." And the other questioned him, saying, "Wherefore, brother?" And eh answered, "Because when thou didst go from me, I ran into temptation, and I sinned in the flesh." But the other, anxious to help him, began to tell him, saying, "But so it happened with me: when I was separated from thee, I too ran into fornication. But let us go, and do peneance together with all our might: and God will forgive us that are sinful men." And they came back to the monastery and told the old men what had befallen them, and they enjoined on them the penance they must do. But the one began his penance, not for himself but for his brother, as if he himself had sinned. And God, seeing his love and his labour, after a few days revealed to one of the old men that for the great love of this brother who had not sinned, He had forgiven the brother who had. And verily this is to lay down one's soul for one's brother.

Of patience or fortitude

A certain brother while he was in the community was restless and frequently moved to wrath. And he said within himself, "I shall go and live in some place in solitude: and when I have no one to speak to or to hear, I shall be at peace and this passion of anger will be stilled." So he went forth and lived by himself in a cave. One day he filled a jug for himself with water and set it on the ground, but it happened that it suddenly overturned. He filled it a second time, and again it overturned: and he filled it a third time and set it down, and it overturned again. And in a rage he caught up the jug and broke it. Then when he had come to himself, he thought how he had been tricked by the spirit of anger and said, "Nehold, here am I alone, and nevertheless he hath conquered me. I shall return to the community, for in all places there is need for struggle and for patience and above all for the help of God." And he arose and returned to his place.

At one time an old man who lived the solitary life fell ill: and as he had no one to tend him, he would rise and eat whatever he could find in his cell: and the days passed and no one came to visit him. But when thirty days had gone by and no one came, the Lord sent His angel, and he ministered unto him. So it was for seven days, and then the fathers remembered and said one to another, "Let us go and see if perchance that old man is ill." But when they came and knocked, the angel departed from him. And the old man called out from within, "Go hence, my brethren." But they liften the door from its hinge and entered in and asked him why he had called out. And he said, "For thirty days I travailed in my infirmity, and no one visited me, and lo! it is now seven days since the Lord sent His angel to minister unto me, and when ye came, he departed from me." And saying these words he slept in peace. But the brethren marvelled and glorified God, saying, "The Lord doth not leave them that hope in Him desolate."

That nothing ought to be done for show

The holy Syncletica said, "A treasure that is known is quickly spent: and even so any virtue that is commented on and made a public show of is destroyed. Even as wax is melted before the face of fire, so is the soul enfeebled by praise, and loses the toughness of its virtue."

That one ought not judge any man

It happened that temptation fell upon a brother in the monastery of abbot Elias, and they cast him out: and he came to the mountain, to abbot Antony. After he had been with him for some time, Antony sent him back to the community whence he had come out. But when they saw him, they again drove him away: and again he made his way to the Abbot Antony, saying, "They would not receive me, Father." Then the old man sent to them, saying, "A ship was wrecked at sea, and lost all the cargo that it carried, and with hard toil was the empty ship brought at last to land. Is it your wish to sink on land the ship that hath come safe from sea?" And the recognised that it was the abbot Antony who had sent him back and straightway they took him in.

Of discretion

There came three old men to the abbot Achilles: and one of them was ill spoken of. And one of the three said to the abbot, "Fahter, make me a fishing-net"; but he refused. And the second said, "Make it for us, so that we may have something to remember thee by in our monastery." And he said, "I have not time." Then the third, he that was ill-spoken of, said to him, "Make me a net, so that I may have a blessing from thine own hands, Father." And he straightway answered him, "I shall make it for thee."
Then the first two whom he had refused asked him privately, "How was it that thou wouldst not make it for us when we asked thee, and yet saidst to this man, 'I shall make it for thee'?" And the old man made answer, "I said to you, 'I shall not do it, because I have not time,' and ye were not grieved: but if I did not do it for this man, he would say, 'The old man has heard about me, that I have an ill name, and for this reason he would not make the net': and I straightway set to upon the cord soothe his spirit, lest he should be swallowed up of sadness."

They used to tell of the abbot John of short stature that he once said to his elder brother, "I would fain be secure as the angels are secure, toiling not, but serving God without stay," and stripping himself of his garments, he went into the desert. And when a week had been spent there, he returned to his brother: and while knocking at the door, his brother answered before he would open, saying, "Who are thou?" And he said, "I am John." And his brother answered and said to him, "John is become an angel and is no longer among men." However, he went on knocking saying, "I am he." And he would not open to him, but sent him away in distress. Then afterwards opening the door he said to him, "If thou art a man, thou must needs work again, so as to live: if however thou art an angel, why dost thou ask to come into the cell?" And he did penance, saying, "Forgive me, brother, for I have sinned."

The abbot Pastor said, "If a man has sinned and denies it not, but says 'I have sinned,' scold him not, for thou wilt break the purpose of his heart. But rather say to him, 'Be not sad, my brother, but watch thyself hereafter,' and thou wilt rouse his heart to repentance."

An old man said, "The prophets wrote books: then after them came our fathers, and wrought much upon them, and again their successors committed them to memory. But then came the generation that now is, and wrote them on papyrus and parchments, and laid them idle in the windows."

That one ought to pray without ceasing, and soberly

There came to the abbot Lucius in Enna certain monks of the kind called Euchitae, that is, the Men of Prayer: and the old man asked them, saying, "What kind of handiwork do ye do?" And they said, "We touch no kind of handiwork, but as the Apostle says, we pray without ceasing." The old man said to them, "So ye do not eat?" They said, "Yea, we eat." And the old man said, "Now while ye are eating, who prays for you?" And again he questioned them, saying, "Ye do not sleep?" And they said, "We sleep." And the old man said, "And while ye sleep, who prays for you?" And they could find no answer.
And he said to them, "Forgive me, my brethren, but behold ye do not do as ye have said: but I shall show you how in working with my hands, I pray without ceasing. For I sit, by the help of God, steeping my few palm-leaves and from them I weave a mat, and I say, 'Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.'" And he said to them, "Is this a prayer or no?" And the said to him, "Yea." And he said, "When I abide all the day working and praying with heart and nouth, I make sixteen denarii more or less, and out of them I leave two at the door, and I spend the rest on food. But whoso finds the two denarii prays for me while I eat and sleep: and so by God's grace there is fulfilled in me as the Scripture saith, 'Pray without ceasing.'"

Of humility

The abbot Antony, being at a loss in his meditation on the depth of the judgments of God, prayed, saying, "Lord, how comes it that some die in so short space of life, and some live to the further side of decrepit old age: and wherefore are some in want, and others rich with various means of wealth, and how are the unrighteous rich and the righteous oppressed by poverty?" And a voice came to him saying, "Antony, turn thine eyes upon thyself: for these are the judgments of God, and the knowledge of them is not for thee."

At one time there came old men to the abbot Antony, and the abbot Joseph was with them. And the abbot Antony, wishing to prove them, brought the discourse to the Holy Scriptures. And he began to question, beginning with the younger men, what this or that word might mean. And each made answer as best he could. But he said to them, "Ye have not found it yet." After them he said to the abbot Joseph, "What dost thou say this word might be?" He answered, "I know not." And the abbot Antony said, "Verily the abbot Joseph alone hath found the road, who saith that he doth not know."

Of patience

There once came thieves into an old man's cell, and said to him, "Whatever thou hast in thy cell, we have come to take away." And he said, "Take whatever you see, my sons." So they took whatever they could find in the cell, and went away. But they forgot a little bag that was hidden in the cell. So the old man, picking it up, followed after them, shouting and saying, "Mys ons, ye forgot this: take it." But they, marvelling at the patience of the old man, brought everything back into his cell, and they all did penance, saying one to another, "Truly, this is a man of God."

Of love

At one time the abbot John was climbing up from Scete with other brethren: and he who was by way of guiding them mistook the way: for it was night. And the brethren said to the abbot John, "What shall we do, Fahter, for the brother has missed the way, and we may lose ourselves and die?" And the old man said, "If we say aught to him, he will be cast down. But I shall make a show of being worn out and say that I canot walk, but must lie here till morning." And he did so. And the others said, "Neither shall we go on, but shall sit down beside thee." And they sat down until morning, so as not to discountenance their brother.

Of the excellent way of life of divers holy men

This same abbot Sisois sitting in his cell would ever have his door closed. But it was told of him how in the day of his sleeping, when the Fathers were sitting round him, his face shone like the sun, and he said to them, "Look, the abbot Antony comes." And after a little while, he said again to them, "Look, the company of the prophets comes." And again his face shone brighter, and he said, "Look, the company of the apostles comes." And his face shone with a double glory, and lo, he seemed as though he spoke with others. And the old man entreated him, saying, "With whom art though speaking, Father?" And he said to them, "Behold, the angels came to take me, and I asked that I might be left a little while to repent." The old men said to him, "Thou has no need of repentance, Father." But he said to them, "Verily I know not if I have clutched at the very beginning of repentance." And they all knew that he was made prefect. And again of a sudden his face was as the sun, and they all were in dread. And he said to them, "Look, behold the Lord cometh, saying, 'Bring me my chosen from the desert.'" And straightway he gave up the ghost. And there came as it might be lightning, and all the place was filled with sweetness.

Divers sayings

An old man was asked by a certain soldier if God received a penitent man. And after heartening him with many words, he said to him at the last, "Tell me, beloved, if thy cloak were torn, wouldst thou throw it away?" He said, "Nay, but I would patch it and wear it." The old man said to him, "If thou wouldst spare thy garment, shall not God have mercy on His own image?"

Other sayings of the Fathers

At one time certain brethren went forth from their monastery to visit the Fathers who dwelt in the desert. And on their coming to a certain aged hermit, he welcomed them with great joy and as the custom is, set a little meal before them. For he saw that they were tired after their journey, and so he made them eat before the ninth hour, and whatever he had in his cell he set down for them to eat, and made much of them. And when evening was come, they recited the customary prayers and psalms, and at night they did likewise. Now the old man was lying quiet by himself in a place apart, and he heard them talking among themselvesa dn saying: "These hermits keep a better and more plentiful table than we who live in monasteries." And the old man heard it and held his peace. And when day broke, they took the road to visit another hermit, who lived in the neighbourhood of the old man. But as they were going out the old man man said to them: "Greet him from me and say to him, 'Be careful not to water the vegetables.'" So when they came to the other old man, they gave him the message. And he understood the reason of it, and kept the brothers with him, and gave them baskets to weave, and himself sitting with them, and working without a pause. When evening was come at the lighting of the lamps he added others to the wonted psalms, and when prayers were ended he said to them: "It is indeed not our custom to eat every day, but since you have come we must make a feast to-day:" and he set dry bread before them, and salt, saying, "On your account we must make a better cheer," and he set out a little vinegar and salt and a trifle of oil: and when they had risen from the table, he again began upon the psalter till it was close on dawn: and he said to them: "Since you are here, we cannot sing the whole canon, because you must rest a little, being weary from your journey." When morning had come, they would fain have left him at Prime, but the old man would not suffer it, saying: "Rather must you order it to stay with us several days: I shall not let you go to-day, but for love's sake keep you another three." And when they heard that, they rose by night and they stole away from that place before the day would break.

A certain monk Serapion owned a Gospel: and he sold it and gave it to the hungry, following the memorable saying: for, said, he, "I sold that same word that ever used to say to me 'Sell that thou hast and give to the poor.'"

One of the brethren, that had been insulted by another, came to the abbot Sisois and told him the scorn that had been put upon him, and said, "I am set to revenge myself, Father." And the old man began to entreat him to leave vengeance to God. "I shall not stay till I have stoutly avenged myself." So the old man said, "Since thou hast made up thy mind once for all, now let us pray," and rising, he began to pray in these words, "God, Thou art no longer necessary to us, that Thou needst be anxious for us: for we ourselves, as this brother hath said, are both willing and able to avenge ourselves." But when the brother heard it, he fell at the old man's feet seeking his pardon, and promised that he would contend no more with the man against whom he was angered.

There were two old men living together in one cell, and never had there risen even the paltriest contention between them. So the one said to the other, "Let us have one quarrel the way other men do." But the other said, "I do not know how one makes a quarrel." The first said, "Look, I set a tile between us and say, 'That is mine,' and do thou say, 'It is not thine, it is mine.' And thence arises contention and quabble." So they set the tile between them, and the first one said, "That is mine," and the second made reply: "I hope that it is mine." And the first said, "It is not thine: it is mine." To which the second made answer, "If it is thine, take it." After which they could find no way of quarrelling.

One of the Fathers used to say, "Every labour of the monk, without humility, is vain. For humility is the forerunner of love, as John was the forerunner of Jesus, drawing all men to him: even so humility draws to love, that is to God Himself, for God is love."

Once when the abbot Macarius was climbing up the mountain in Nitria, he bade his disciple go a little way before him. And as he went on ahead, he met a priest of the idols, hurrying swiftly, and carrying a great log. And the disciple shouted at him, "Whither so fast, devil?" At which the irate priest beat him so soundly that he left him half dead: and again hurried on his way. A little further on, he met the blessed Macarius, who said to him, "May it be well with thee, O toiler, may it be well!" The priest, in surprise, said, "What good dost thou see in me that thou shouldst wish me well?" To which the old man made answer, "Because I see thee toiling and hasting, thou knowest not why." And the priest said, "And I, moved by thy salutation, knew thee for a great servant of God: now some other miserable monk, I know not who, met me and threw insults at me, but I gave him back blows for words." Then, seizing the feet of the blessed Macarius, he cried to him, "Unless thou makest me a monk, I shall not let thee go." So taking the road together they came to the place where the stricken brother lay, whom they both lifted up, and as he could not walk, they carried him in their arms to the church. But when the brethren saw the priest in the company of the blessed Macarius they were dumb-founded: and in wonderment they made him a monk, and because of him many pagans were made Christian. And the abbot Macarius would say, "That a proud and ill speech would turn good men to evil, but a good and humble speech would turn evil men to better."

A brother asked the abbot John saying, "These fasts and vigils that we keep, what do they do?" He answered, "They bring it about that the soul becomes humble. For it is written, Look upon my humility and my pain, and forgive all my sins. For if the soul travaileth in these, God will have compassion, and suffer with it."

Excerpted from: 'The Desert Fathers' by Helen Waddell