Desert Fathers

"Ward: A brother asked Abba Poemen, "Can a man keep all his thoughts in control, and not surrender one to the enemy?" And the old man said to him, "There are some who receive ten and give one.""

"Ward: [Abba Poemen] also said, "The first time flee; the second time, flee; and the third, become like a sword.""

"Ward: Abba Poemen said to Abba Isaac, "Let go of a small part of your righteousness and in a few days you will be at peace.""

"Ward: A brother going to market asked Abba Poemen, "How do you advise me to behave?" The old man said to him, "Make friends with anyone who tries to bully you and sell your produce in peace.""

"Ward: Abba Poemen said, "Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart.""

"A brother once erred at Scete and a council was held. They sent for Abba Moses but he was unwilling to come. So the priest sent to him, saying: “Come, for the company is waiting for you.” He got up and came; he took a basket with many holes, filled it with sand and carried it [with him]. Coming out to meet him, they said to him: “What is this, father?” and the elder said to them: “My sins are running out behind me and I do not see them—yet here I have come today to pass judgment on the faults of another!” They said nothing to the brother when they heard this, but forgave him."

"They used to say of Abba Moses that when he became a cleric and they put the stole on him, the archbishop said to him: “Look, you have become all white, Abba Moses.” The elder said to him: “Maybe outside, my lord Pope, but what about inside?” The bishop wanted to put him to the test; so he said to the clergy: “When Abba Moses comes into the sanctuary, chase him away and follow him to hear what he says.” The elder came in; they denounced him and chased him off, saying: “Get out, Ethiopian.” Out he went, saying to himself: “They treated you rightly, ash-skinned black [man]; since you are not human, why come among humans?”"

"A brother visited Abba Moses at Scete asking him for a saying. The elder said to him: “Go and stay in a cell; your cell will teach you everything.”"

"By crouching a little we are able to spring upwards; and in the same way our faculty of discrimination, after stooping to attend to the needs of the body, can once more look upwards unimpeded, separating itself from all worldly thoughts."

"Who, when asked, will refuse to give what is needful to one who lives a holy life?"

"How was Moses able to withstand Pharaoh when he had nothing but holiness to give him courage (cf. Exod. 5)? ... A solitary prophet once censured a king for his unlawful acts, when the king had his whole army with him. ... These holy men achieved such things because they had resolved to live for the soul alone, turning away from the body and its wants. The fact of needing nothing made them superior to all men. They chose to forsake the body and to free themselves from life in the flesh, rather than to betray the cause of holiness and, because of their bodily needs, to flatter the wealthy."

"But, as for us, when we lack something, instead of struggling courageously against our difficulties, we come fawning to the rich, like puppies wagging their tails in the hope of being tossed a bare bone or some crumbs. To get what we want, we call them benefactors and protectors of Christians, attributing every virtue to them, even though they may be utterly wicked."

"We should not flatter, because of our needs, those who value highly the very things it is our vocation to despise."

"Why do we cling to money and possessions, and disperse our intellect among a host of useless cares? Our preoccupation with such things diverts us from what is more important and makes us neglect the well-being of the soul, leading us to perdition."

"One was not rich while another was destitute, nor did one overeat while another starved. The generosity of those who were well off made good what others lacked, this willingness to share eliminating every anomaly and establishing equality and fairness - though even then inequality still existed, produced not as it is now by the mad struggle for social status, but by a great desire to live more humbly than others. Envy, malice, arrogance and haughtiness were banished, along with all that leads to discord."

"The philosopher must be above all a free man, and not a slave of the passions."

"Philosophy is a state of moral integrity combined with a doctrine of true knowledge concerning reality."

"When bodily concerns predominate, everything in man is asleep: the intellect, the soul and the senses."

"We should turn our attention to material things only in so far as some necessity forces us to do so. But always to be creeping on the ground in search of pleasure is defiling and degrading for someone with experience of spiritual knowledge."

"Men ... have been given legs that bend: in this way they can descend sometimes to fulfill the needs of the body, and at other times ascend to fulfill those of the soul."

"Improbable details are often included in a story because of the deeper truth they signify."

"673. Εἶπε γέρων· Τὸ ἀνθρώπινον φρόνημα πᾶσαν τὴν πιότητα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀναιρεῖ καὶ ἀφίησιν αὐτὸν ξηρόν."

"684. Εἶπε γέρων· Ἀπὸ μικροῦ ἕως μεγάλου ὧν πράττω, ἐννοῶ εἰς τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ τί τέξεται, εἴτε ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς, εἴτε ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν."

"700. Εἶπε γέρων· Θέλω διδαχθῆναι ἢ διδάξαι."

"701. Εἶπε πάλιν· Μὴ δίδασκε πρὸ καιροῦ, εἰ δὲ μὴ ὅλον τὸν χρόνον σου ἔσῃ ἐλαττούμενος ἐν συνέσει."

"One of the monks was apprised of the death of [his] father. To the person who reported this he said: ‘Stop your blaspheming: my father is immortal.’"

"The same [elder] said: ‘If you are staying somewhere and you see some folk living comfortably, do not have anything to do with them. But if there be another person who is poor, have to do with him as long as he has no bread and you shall experience repose.’"

"An elder was asked: ‘Why do you never become faint-hearted?’ ‘Because each day I expect to die’, he replied."

"Some elders said: ‘When Moses entered into the cloud he was speaking with God: when he came out of the cloud, with folk. So it is with the monk: when he is in his cell, he is speaking with God, but when he comes out of his cell he is among demons.’"

"An elder said: ‘The monk ought not to enquire how this one is or how that one is doing; for by asking questions he is turned aside from prayer, turned toward distractions and much talking. So, nothing is better than keeping quiet.’"

"Abba Moses used to address those who lived alone, saying: ‘There are four principal observances: keeping quiet, observing the commandments of God, humbling oneself, and oppression by poverty. But these three virtues a man acquires with difficulty: that is, by grieving all the time, ever being mindful of his own sins, and always confronting his eyes with death.’"

"A brother enquired of an elder: ‘Do you think it is a good thing to be highly regarded among people?’ He replied: ‘Their regard is of no worth. Run away rather than wish to be highly regarded by your brother.’"

"An elder said: ‘The work of a monk is to see his logismoi from afar.’"

"An elder said: ‘A monk ought to be courageous and single-hearted – then he will be saved.’"

"An elder said: ‘To be humble and self-deprecatory is like a protective wall for a monk.’"

"Abba Moses gave the following seven precepts to Abba Poemen which, if observed, will lead to salvation for anybody, whether in a coenobion or in solitude or in the world itself: 1. In the first place, as it is written a man must love God with all your heart and with all your mind. 2. A man must love his neighbour as himself. 3. A man must do to death all evil in him. 4. A man must not judge his brother in any dispute. 5. A man must do no evil to another person. 6. Before departing this life, a man must cleanse himself of every fault of mind or body. 7. A man must always be of a humble and contrite heart. This can be achieved by anyone who thinks of his own sins all the time and not of his neighbour’s, with the assistance of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns world without end. Amen."

"Abba Sisoes showed us about Abba Antony and said, ‘So then, in the cave of a lion a fox dwells.’"

"Ὥσπερ οἱ ἰχθύες ἐγχρονίζον τες τῇ ξηρᾷ τελευτῶσιν, οὕτως καὶ οἱ μοναχοὶ, βρα δύνοντες ἔξω τοῦ κελλίου, ἢ μετὰ κοσμικῶν διατρί βοντες, πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἡσυχίας τόνον ἐκλύονται. Δεῖ οὖν, ὥσπερ τὸν ἰχθὺν εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, οὕτως καὶ ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ κελλίον ἐπείγεσθαι, μήποτε βραδύνοντες ἔξω ἐπιλαθώμεθα τῆς ἔνδον φυλακῆς"

"A brother asked an elder, ‘If I am in a beautiful place and the time of worship has arrived, should I return?’ The elder said to him, ‘Who is it that, when he remembers wealth, returns to poverty?’"

"An elder was asked: ‘Why am I fearful on going into the desert?’ He said: ‘Because you think yourself alone, and you do not see God with you.’"

"Father Makar [Macarius] said to the young brother Zak’arē [Zacharaeus]: ‘What is the task of the solitary?’ And Zak’arē said: ‘To give thanks for temptations and to be silent.’ [in hêsychia]"

"An elder said: ‘If you wish to be known to God, be unknown to mankind.’"

"Abba Elijah was asked: ‘How will we be saved these days?’ He replied: ‘We will be saved through each of us having no regard for himself.’"

"A brother asked an elder and said to him: ‘Do you wish me to meditate on what people read in the Scriptures when I go to church?’ The elder said to him: ‘You are going to the source of life.’"

"I heard that my father, Abba Paphnutius, said: ‘If a man does not change the skin of his face [to be] as the sole of his foot, he cannot be a monk at all.’"

"I heard that the great Abba Agathon used to say: ‘All the time God was showing me the way that I was to take.’"

"Abba Sisoes of Petra, [a disciple] of Abba Antony, said: ‘If a man does good, he will moor his boat in a good port.’"

"When Abba Arsenius was still in the palace, he prayed to God saying: “Lord, guide me as to how I can be saved,” and there came to him a voice saying: “Arsenius, flee from people and you shall be saved.”"

"When the same [person] had retired into the solitary life he prayed again, offering the same prayer, and he heard a voice saying to him: “Arsenius, take flight, keep silent and maintain hesychia, for these are the roots of sinlessness.”"

"A brother asked Abba Arsenius if he could hear a saying from him. The elder said to him: “As much as you are able, strive so that what goes on inside you be godly and you conquer your external passions.”"