Death, where is thy sting?

They told a story of a hermit who was dying in Scetis. The brothers stood around his bed, and clothed him, and began to weep. But he opened his eyes and began to laugh; this happened three times. So the brothers asked him, “Abba, why are you laughing when we are weeping?”

He told them, “I laughed the first time because you fear death; I laughed the second time because you are not ready for death; I laughed the third time because I am passing from labour to rest, and yet you weep.” As he said this, he closed his eyes and died.

– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V