"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"

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Added on April 10, 2026
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ProverbsChristian textsMonasticismDesert Fathers
Original Language: English

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Just as fish die if they stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their cells or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of inner peace. So like a fish going towards the sea, we must hurry to reach our cell, for fear that if we delay outside, we will lose our interior watchfulness. — Abba Anthony, Saying 10, Page 3