"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
They said of a monk that the more bitterly anyone injured or assailed him, the more he was well disposed to that person, for he said, “People like this are a means to cure the faults of serious men. People who make them happy do their souls harm. For it is written, ‘They that call thee blessed, deceive thee'”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
A brother asked one of the hermits, “If I happen to oversleep, and am late for the hour of prayer, I am ashamed that others will hear me praying so late, and so I become reluctant to keep the rule of prayer.” He said, “If ever you oversleep in the morning, get up when you wake, shut the door and the windows, and say your psalms. For it is written, “The day is thine and the night is thine” (Ps 74:16). God is glorified whatever time it is.
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Cassian said, “We came from Palestine to Egypt, and visited one of the hermits. After he had welcomed us, we asked him, “When you receive guests, why don’t you fast? In Palestine they do.”
He answered, “Fasting is always possible but I cannot keep you here for ever. Fasting is useful and necessary, but we can choose to fast or not fast. God’s law demands from us perfect love. I receive Christ when I receive you, so I must do all I can to show you love. When I have said goodbye to you, I can take up my rule of fasting again. “The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken from them, then they can fast” (Matt 9:15).”‘
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
Cassian told a story of a hermit who was living in the desert…
He asked God to grant that he should never fall asleep when the conversation was edifying but that if anyone spoke with back-biting or hate, he should nod off at once so that he would not hear poisonous words. He said that the devil strives hard to make men speak idle words, and fights against letting anyone hear any spiritual teaching.
He gave the following example of this: Once when I was talking to some brothers for the good of their souls they became so drowsy that they could not even keep their eyelids open. I wanted to show them that this was the devil’s work, so I started gossiping, and at once they sat up and began to enjoy what I was saying. But I said saldy, “We were talking of heaven just now, and your eyes were closing in slumber: but the moment the talk became frivolous, you all began to listen eagerly. I beg you then, dear brothers, since you know that this is the work of the devil, be watchful and beware of falling asleep when you are hearing about spiritual things.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
While Poemen was living in community, he heard of Nesteros and wanted to see him. So he sent a message to his abbot to ask him to let Nesteros come to see him, but the abbot did not want to and refused.
A few days afterwards the steward of the monastery asked the abbot to let him go and see Poemen, so that he could tell him his thoughts. When the abbot was giving him leave, he said to him, “Take with you the brother Nesteros whom the hermit asked me to send. I did not dare to let him go alone, and have put off sending him until now.”
When the steward reached the hermit, he talked to him about his thoughts, and the hermit healed his mind by his answers. Then Poemen turned to the brother and said, “Nesteros, how is it that you have the strength, if there is trouble in the monastery, not to say anything but remain at peace?”
The brother had to be pressed by him for an answer. In the end he said, “It is like this, abba. When I first entered the community, I said to my soul, You and the donkey must be alike. The donkey says nothing when he is beaten. That is what you must do, as you read in the psalm, “I am become as a beast before thee, yet I am always with thee: (Psalm 73:22-23).’
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V
A man who gives way to his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, catches the arrow in his hands, and then plunges it into his own heart.
A man who is resisting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, and although the arrow hits him, it does not seriously wound him because he is wearing a breastplate.
But the man who is uprooting his passions is like a man who is shot at by an enemy, but who strikes the arrow and shatters it or turns it back into his enemy’s heart.
– Dorotheos
John told this story. Anub and Poemen and some others who were born of the same mother were monks in Scetis. Some savage Mazicae came and sacked Scetis. The brothers fled and went to a place called Terenuthis; they stayed a few days there in an old temple while they discussed where to live.
Anub said to Poemen, “Of your kindness, let me live apart from you and our brothers, so that we do not see each other during this week.” Poemen said, “Let us do as you wish,” so that is what they did.
There was a stone statue in the temple. Every day at dawn Anub got up and pelted the face of the statue with stones and every day at evening he said to it, “Forgive me.” Every day for a week he did this: and on Saturday they met again, Poemen said to Anub, “I saw you throwing stones at the face of the statue every day this week, and later doing penance to the statue. A true Christian would not have done that.”
Anub answered, “I did it for your sake. When you saw me throwing stones at the statue’s face, did it speak? Was it it angry? Poemen said, “No.” He said, “When I did penance before the statue, was it moved in its heart? Did it say, “I won’t forgive you?”‘ Poemen answered, “No.” Anub said, “Here we are, seven brothers. If we want to stay together, we must become like this statue, which is untroubled by the injuries done it. If you will not become like this statue, see, there are four doors to this temple, and each of us may go in the direction he chooses.” At these words they fell upon the ground before Anub, and said to him, “Let it be as you say, abba. We will do what you tell us.”
Poemen described what happened afterwards. “We remained together all our lives, doing our work and everything else as Anub directed us. He appointed one of us as a steward, and we ate whatever he put before us; no one could have said: “Bring something else to eat,” or “I will not eat that.” So we passed our lives in quiet and peace.”
– De vitis Patrum, Sive Verba Seniorum, Liber V