The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Volume 2: Th–Ō (Thêta–Ōméga) [2] 9780879074920, 9780879072926, 9798400800399, 9780879071097, 9780879071127

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ISBN: 978-0-87907-492-0

“Speaking to us over a distance of some 1700 years, Tim Vivian continues to bring to life the profound but truly human stories and personalities of the Desert Fathers and Mothers. With his fresh translation and extensive footnotes and commentary, this volume, like the first, provides nourishment for the mind and spirit and transports us to an exciting new place that is strangely compelling! ‘For those who are capable of understanding these words and keeping them, there is joy and great profit’ (Barsanuphius of Gaza).” — Lisa Agaiby, St. Athanasius College, University of Divinity “Thanks to the indefatigable work of Tim Vivian (and others) the sayings are now easily accessible in English translation. And not only can they be read by all, but Vivian’s cross-referencing, indexing, and explaining make them understandable even if someone is not a specialist in early monasticism. Scholars of early Christianity can no longer tell the story of the first centuries of the Church without referencing the unique role of the apophthegmata and so much of their availability is because of Tim Vivian.” — Greg Peters, Biola University and Nashotah House Theological Seminary “In our time of division, fear, and constant moving, the desert mothers and fathers tell us otherwise. Sit in your place/cell. Don’t run here and there. Tim Vivian’s lucid translations and discerning commentary bring us the life-giving wisdom of these early monastics, a tremendous gift. We are in their debt, and his!” — The Rev. Michael Plekon, PhD, Professor Emeritus, The City University of New York, Baruch College

“The early ascetics spoke of direction and signposts along the spiritual way. I could think of no better guide in the ‘sayings and stories’ of the desert fathers and mothers than Tim Vivian. With meticulous veneration and observation, Vivian helps put together fundamental pieces of that distinctive, albeit intriguing puzzle of the fourth- and fifth-century Apophthegmata in a way that brings them to life for our admiration, education, and emulation in the twenty-first century.” — John Chryssavgis, author of In the Heart of the Desert and Desert Wisdom for Everyday Life “First-rate scholarship paired with a contemporary idiom. These enigmatic, provocative, and deeply perceptive ‘sayings’ of the Desert Christians come to life in Tim Vivian’s work. Like reading graffiti on a subway wall and pondering the wisdom of the ages at the same time. The desert weaves through these pages with characteristic ferocity and unexpected compassion. I love it.” — Belden C. Lane, author of The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality “Tim Vivian has accomplished something extraordinary: a technical translation that is also user-friendly for those studying the early Christian movement. He has enriched this resource with his discussions around important early monastic and desert themes; footnotes that often provide more than technical information; and his excursuses. This is a great resource. I highly recommend it.” — Laura Swan, OSB, author of The Forgotten Desert Mothers

“A wonderful book. The introduction on its own ought to be required reading in all theological schools and for those interested in literature generally. This collection of The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers is an edition that is destined to become a classic standard. To situate his material, Tim Vivian offers a generous and reflective introduction to the desert tradition that is both scintillating in its intellectual brilliance and moving in its spiritual profundity. The scholarly translations are accompanied at every step by commentary and insight that demonstrate Vivian’s fluent mastery and his status as one of the world’s preeminent leaders in the field. It is a book that scholar and student alike will treasure.” — V. Revd. Prof. John A. McGuckin, Faculty of Theology, Oxford University “Tim Vivian’s translation of The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers offers both scholarly and pastoral insights using contemporary language. The annotations provide valuable revelations into the abstruse aphorisms, rendering it an essential resource for scholars and seekers alike. Vivian emphasizes the practical application of the sagacious wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers in everyday life, making it an indispensable volume for spiritual leaders seeking a profound understanding of early Christian spirituality.” — Father Macarius Refela, Presbyter, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles and Hawaii

cistercian studies series: number two hundred ninety-two

The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers Volume 2: Th–Ō (Thȇta–Ōméga) Translated, Introduced, and Annotated by Tim Vivian Foreword by Rick Kennedy

Cistercian Publications

www.cistercianpublications.org

LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org

A Cistercian Publications title published by Liturgical Press Cistercian Publications Editorial Offices 161 Grosvenor Street Athens, Ohio 45701 www.cistercianpublications.org

Unless otherwise indicated, all biblical quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. © 2023 by Tim Vivian Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, except brief quotations in reviews, without written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Collegeville, MN 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN: 978-0-87907-292-6 ISBN: 978-0-87907-492-0 (e-book) ISBN: 979-8-4008-0039-9 (PDF) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Vivian, Tim, translator. | Norris, Kathleen, 1947– writer of preface. | Kardong, Terrence, writer of foreword. Title: The sayings and stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers / Tim Vivian. Other titles: Apophthegmata Patrum. English Description: Collegeville, Minnesota : Cistercian Publications, [2021]- | Series: Cistercian studies series ; number 287, 292 | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Contents: volume 1. A-H (ēta) — volume 2. I-Z (zeta) | Summary: “A new translation of the Greek alphabetical Apophthegmata Patrum, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Includes expansive notes and glossary texts”— Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020043299 (print) | LCCN 2020043300 (ebook) | ISBN 9780879071097 (v. 1 ; paperback) | ISBN 9780879072926 (v. 2 ; paperback) | ISBN 9780879071127 (v. 1 ; epub) | ISBN 9780879071127 (v. 1 ; mobi) | ISBN 9780879071127 (v. 1 ; pdf) | ISBN 9780879074920 (v. 2 ; epub) | ISBN 9780879074920 (v. 2 ; mobi) | ISBN 9780879074920 (v. 2 ; pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Apostolic Fathers. | Christian literature, Early. Classification: LCC BR60 .A62 2021 (print) | LCC BR60 (ebook) | DDC 271.009/015--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043299 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020043300

To my wonderful editors these thirty years. †Aziz Atiya (Coptic Church Review) Johanna (Jody) Baboukis (American University in Cairo Press) †John Eudes Bamberger, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) †Charles Cummings, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) Elias Dietz, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) Marsha Dutton (Liturgical Press / Cistercian Publications) Rozanne Elder (Liturgical Press / Cistercian Publications) †Patrick Hart, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) †Terrence Kardong, OSB (American Benedictine Review) Colleen Maura McGrane, OSB (American Benedictine Review) Lawrence Morey, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) John Porter (Cistercian Studies Quarterly) Mark Scott, OCSO (Cistercian Studies Quarterly)

Contents Preface by Tim Vivian  xv Foreword by Rick Kennedy  xxi Abbreviations xxvii A Thematic Introduction  xxxv The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers Chapter 8: Th / Thȇta / θ 3 Concerning Abba Theodore of Pherme  3 Concerning Abba Theodore of the Enaton  15 Concerning Abba Theodore of Scetis  16 Concerning Abba Theodore of Eleutheropolis  16 Concerning Abba Theodotus  17 Concerning Abba Theonas  18 Concerning Archbishop Theophilus  18 Concerning Amma Theodora  23 Chapter 9: I / Iȏta / I  31 Concerning Abba John the Little  31 Concerning John the Cenobite  57 Concerning Abba Isidore (of Scetis)  57 Concerning Abba Isidore of Pelusium  62 ix

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Concerning Abba Isaac, the Priest of the Cells  64 Concerning Abba Joseph of Panephysis  68 Concerning Abba James (Jacob)  73 Concerning Abba Hierax  75 Concerning Abba John the Eunuch  75 Concerning Abba John of the Cells  77 Concerning Abba Isidore the Priest  78 Concerning Abba John the Persian  80 Concerning Abba John of Thebes  83 Concerning Abba John the Disciple of Abba Paul  83 Concerning Abba Isaac of Thebes  84 Concerning Abba Joseph of Thebes  86 Concerning Abba Hilarion  87 Concerning Abba Ischyrion  87 Chapter 10: K / Káppa / K  89 Concerning Abba Cassian  89 Concerning Abba Cronius  95 Concerning Abba Carion  99 Concerning Abba Kopri  102 Concerning Abba Cyrus of Alexandria  103 Chapter 11: L / Lámbda / Λ 105 Concerning Abba Lucius  105 Concerning Abba Lot  106 Concerning Abba Longinus  108 Chapter 12: M / Mȗ / M  113 Concerning Abba Macarius of Egypt  113 Concerning Abba Moses  144

Contents  xi

Concerning Abba Matoës  155 Concerning Abba Mark, the Disciple of Abba Silvanus  161 Concerning Abba Milesius  164 Concerning Abba Motios  167 Concerning Abba Megethius  169 Concerning Abba Mios  171 Concerning Abba Mark the Egyptian  173 Concerning Abba Macarius of Alexandria  175 Chapter 13: N / Nȗ / N  177 Concerning Abba Neilos  177 Concerning Abba Nestheros (the Great)  179 Concerning Abba Nestheros the Cenobite  182 Concerning Abba Nikon  183 Concerning Abba Natera  185 Concerning Abba Nicetas  186 Chapter 14: X / Xȋ / Ξ 189 Concerning Abba Xoïos  189 Concerning Abba Xanthias  191 Chapter 15: O / ho mikrón / O  193 Concerning Abba Olympius  193 Concerning Abba Horsisius  195 Chapter 16: P / Peȋ / Π  203 Concerning Abba Poemen  203 Appendix: Sayings of Abba Poemen  266 Concerning Abba Pambo  271 Concerning Abba Pistos  276

xii  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Concerning Abba Pior  278 Concerning Abba Pityrion  280 Concerning Abba Pistamon  280 Concerning Abba Peter the Pionite  281 Concerning Abba Paphnutius  283 Concerning Abba Paul  287 Concerning Abba Paul the Barber  288 Concerning Abba Paul the Great  288 Concerning Blessed Paul the Sincere  289 Concerning Abba Peter of Dios  294 Chapter 17: R / Rȏ / P  295 Concerning the Abba from Rome  295 Concerning Abba Rufus  299 Concerning Abba Romanus  301 Chapter 18: S / Sígma (Sȋgma) / Σ 303 Concerning Abba Sisoës  303 Concerning Abba Silvanus  320 Concerning Abba Simon  324 Concerning Abba Sopatros  325 Concerning Abba Sarmatas  326 Concerning Abba Serapion  327 Concerning Abba Serinos  330 Concerning Abba Spyridon  330 Concerning Abba Saïo  332 Concerning Amma Sarah  333 Concerning Amma Syncletica  336

Contents  xiii

Chapter 19: T / Taȗ / T  357 Concerning Abba Tithoës  357 Concerning Abba Timothy  359 Chapter 20: U / Upsilón / Y  361 Concerning Abba Hyperechius  361 Chapter 21: Ph / Phȋ / Φ 365 Concerning Abba Phocas  365 Concerning Abba Felix  368 Concerning Abba Philagrios  368 Concerning Abba Phortas  369 Chapter 22: Ch / Xȋ / X  371 Concerning Abba Chomai  371 Concerning Abba Cheremon  371 Chapter 23: Ps / Psȋ / Ψ 373 Concerning Abba Psenthaḯsios 373 Chapter 24: Ō / Ōméga / Ω  375 Concerning Abba Ṓr 375 Glossary 381 Dramatis Personae  475 Selected Bibliography  491 Scripture Index  505 General Index  521

Preface Tim Vivian

“We entreat you, make us truly alive.” —Sarapion 1 “There is a prophet within us, forever whispering that behind the seen lies the immeasurable unseen.” —Frederick Douglass 2

For volume two of this book, I’ve made some changes to make the sayings and stories more accessible to readers for further study: • The Introduction to volume one of The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers (Sayings 1:1–85) provides discussion of some key early monastic themes—for example, “inward stillness” (anápausis) and “contemplative quiet” (hēsychía). For readers of this volume who are studying a theme, the brief Thematic Introduction below catalogues those major themes and others, and provides select sayings for them from the sayings in this volume. 1. Bishop Sarapion’s Prayer-Book, trans. John Chryssavgis, In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, rev. ed. (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, 2008). 2. David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018), frontispiece quotation. xv

xvi  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

• For ease of comparison, cross-references in the sayings to the Systematic Apophthegmata (SysAP) now include the volume and page numbers for Jean-Claude Guy’s edition, Les Apophtegmes des Pères: Collection Systématique. • An Appendix to Poemen’s sayings supplies translations of sayings attributed to him from the systematic Apophthegmata that are not in the alphabetical collection. • Numerous additional primary and secondary sources in the footnotes and Bibliography provide more material for further reading and study. • Cross-references in the Dramatis Personae (the personages of the sayings), now boldfaced, let the reader know of other entries in the Dramatis Personae itself as well as in the Glossary. • Some earlier Glossary entries have been expanded with further discussion and bibliographical references; it also contains new entries and boldfaced cross-references to the Glossary itself and to the Dramatis Personae. • Where possible, entries in the Dramatis Personae have quotations from and references to the “Prosopographie des Moines ­Scétiotes” in Guy’s Les Apophtegmes des Pères, 1:46–79. • Wherever possible, further resources now have URLs. Some of them require subscription, available often through a university (for example, JSTOR, OED). • Because early monastic literature is infused with Scripture (usually indirectly), there are more references to Scripture in the footnotes and Glossary. Wendell Berry warns, “we now have ‘Shakespeare scholars’ who cannot recognize Shakespeare’s frequent references to the Gospels.” 3 We cannot understand early monasticism without Scripture. 3. Wendell Berry, “The Presence of Nature,” in A Small Porch: Sabbath Poems 2014 and 2015 together with The Presence of Nature in the Natural World: A Long Conversation (Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2016), 80.

Preface  xvii

• With a number of key words in the Glossary there is added material from the Anchor-Yale Bible Dictionary (online; subscription required).4 • Entries for the Coptic Encyclopedia (CE) are updated to the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont .edu/digital/collection/cce), with CE references retained. • There are many added references in the Glossary and Dramatis Personae to The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (ODCC), Encyclopedia of Monasticism (EM), and Late Anti­quity: A Guide to the Postclassical World (LA). • For the monastics who have sayings, for example Syncletica, a footnote at the beginning of the entry indicates how to pronounce the Greek word. • In addition to such insightful works as Douglas BurtonChristie’s The Word in the Desert, used in Sayings 1 (and here), this volume makes plentiful and grateful use of In the Heart of the Desert by John Chryssavgis. • For ammas and abbas in Dramatis Personae and select entries in the Glossary there are added references to the Index in Burton-Christie, The Word in the Desert.5 • There are added references in the Glossary and notes to ­Lucien Regnault’s very accessible volume The Day-to-Day Life of the Desert Fathers in Fourth-Century Egypt.6 • In conversation with Sayings 1 and the use of works by Greg Boyle, Kent Nerburn, and Kathleen Norris there, the Glossary

4. An older version of the Anchor-Yale Dictionary is available hardbound; many of the entries in the online version have been updated. 5. Douglas Burton-Christie, The Word in the Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993). 6. Lucien Regnault, The Day-to-Day Life of the Desert Fathers in FourthCentury Egypt, trans. Étienne Poirier, Jr. (Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s, 1999).

xviii  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

here includes conversations with one modern monastic writer, Thomas Merton, and a number of non-monastic writers such as Wendell Berry, John Chryssavgis, Jim Forest, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Rebecca Solnit, Simone Weil, and Rowan Williams.

*** I am indebted to numerous scholars and friends for their assistance with this volume: such a work as this is truly a team effort. First, my thanks to my indefatigable editor and friend at Liturgical Press/Cistercian Publications, Marsha Dutton; my longtime friend and colleague Professor Rick Kennedy, who, though an earlyAmerican historian, appreciates the desert mothers and fathers and in his Foreword offers a different perspective; my longtime friend The Rev. Dr. Gary Commins and Carol McDonough for their proofreading efforts; Hany Takla of The Saint Shenouda Coptic Society for his assistance at many points, especially the use of the Society’s volumes of Guy, SysAP; and Dr. Lisa Agaiby, The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, The Rev. Dr. Gary Commins, Dr. Mark Lamas, Professor Maged S. A. Mikhail, Fr. Macarius Rufela, and The Rev. Dr. Joseph Trigg for responding to my email questions. I especially want to thank Mary Cunningham for her fast and replete information about the term Theotokos. My thanks to Chris Livingstone of the CSU Bakersfield Walter W. Stiern Library and to Janet Gonzales in Interlibrary Loan at CSU Bakersfield. I want to thank my early-monastic colleague and fellow long-ago adventurer (with Maged S. A. Mikhail) in the Wadi Natrun, Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, for resources about the archeology of monastic spaces and ways of life in Late Antique Egypt and for the gift of her book The Monastic Landscape of Late Antique Egypt. I am particularly grateful to the editorial staff at Liturgical Press who have assisted me so generously with this book and others. I am particularly conscious of my indebtedness to Hans Christoffersen, Tara Durheim, Deb Eisenschenk, Stephanie Lancour, ­Colleen Stiller, and Angela Steffens.

Preface  xix

I want to thank also some of the many, many scholars who have informed, enriched, and guided my research on the desert fathers and mothers these thirty years: Lisa Agaiby, †Émile Amélineau, †John Eudes Bamberger, †G. J. M. Bartelink, †Walter Bauer, John Behr, John Binns, Roberta Bondi, David Brakke, Darlene Brooks Hedstrom, Peter Brown, Augustine Casiday, Douglas BurtonChristie, †Derwas Chitty, John Chryssavgis, Elizabeth Clark, Sarah Coakley, Stephen Davis, Susanna Elm, †Hugh G. Evelyn-White, James Goehring, Graham Gould, †Jean-Claude Guy, †William Harmless, †Irénée Hausherr, Yizhar Hirschfeld, †G. W. H. Lampe, Maged S. A. Mikhail, Greg Peters, Stelios Ramfos, Boniface Ramsey, †Lucien Regnault, Anthony Rich, †Philip Rousseau, Samuel Rubenson, Laura Swan, †Armand ­Veilleux, †Benedicta Ward, Rowan Williams, Ewa ­Wipszycka, †John Wortley. Finally, I want to thank the exceptional students and guests in my Christianity class, Spring semester, 2022, my final semester of teaching at California State University Bakersfield; they, with virtually no knowledge of the desert fathers and mothers, for fifteen weeks lived, moved, and had their being changed with me by reading and sharing their experiences, thoughts, and feelings about the stories in Sayings 1 and what early-monastic sayings still say to us. Bless you.

Foreword Rick Kennedy

In the cartography of Christian tradition, there is wisdom that is urban and wisdom marked by its wilderness origins.1 Jesus, himself, spoke from both places. So too did Paul, who needed the desert to fill out and affirm his message to the cities. Throughout Christian history, the urban has had the greater benefit of scribal culture with its machinery of education, storage, translation, and publication; however, the wilderness has never been silent. Much of the power in the sayings and stories gathered here comes from their frontier eccentricity. Out on the edges of Christendom, ­disciple-scribes captured in writing, often without much context, uncomfortable conversations by awkward characters. In these snippets is a desert holiness that spoke then, and continues to speak, into the genteel traditions of Christianity. Tim Vivian, the editor, translator, and interpreter of this collection, has had a long career keeping the wilderness writings of these disciple-scribes alive. His translations in Sayings and Stories are vibrant, making it impossible for desert Christianity to be silenced by the cacophony of our times. The sayings and stories

1. For one author, see Belden C. Lane, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), and Desert Spirituality and Cultural Resistance: From Ancient Monks to Mountain Refugees (Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2011) (TV). xxi

xxii  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

are often extremist, but they are extremist in the manner of many of the sayings of Jesus. In the “Translator’s Reflection” to the first volume of Sayings and Stories, Vivian writes of the great extent to which the reported conversations are thoroughly biblical. He does not mean they are full of quotations; rather, the Bible was “a vital part of the air these monks breathed, the work they did, the ground they sat on, the prayers they made, and the counsel they gave.” 2 A pagan priest visits Abba Olympius and asks whether, by his way of life, he is practicing mystical contemplation.3 Olympius offers the abrupt answer “No.” 4 The desert fathers and mothers are extremists as followers of Jesus, not as philosophers. Their goals are biblical. Abba Rufus is remembered in this volume for ranking obedience even above humility.5 Vivian translates with vigor the insistence of Rufus’s call-and-response: Obedience! Salvation of all those who have faith! Obedience! Mother of all virtues! Obedience! That which discovers the kingdom! Obedience! That which opens the heavens and leads people up from the earth! Obedience! The nourishment of all the saints! They’ve nursed at your breasts! 6 And through you they’ve been made perfect! Obedience! You dwell with the angels! 7

By way of foreword, I advise readers to be attentive to the two parallel texts, one running in the body of every page and the other at the bottom. Tim Vivian’s footnotes are an essential guide to the text. He helps readers reach back through layers of ancient languages to clear up confusions and offer ways of understanding. 2. Sayings 1:xxxi. See Counsel in the Glossary (TV). 3. See Mystical experience and Contemplative quiet in the Glossary (TV). 4. Olympius 1. 5. See Obedience and Humility in the Glossary (TV). 6. “Obedience,” hypakoḗ, is a feminine n. in Greek (TV). 7. Rufus 2.

Foreword  xxiii

He thanks fellow scholars, points to helpful secondary sources, gives historical and monastic context, and references biblical allusions. When appropriate, Vivian expands upon what is above, such as when, in reference to John the Little’s statement that he was in prison, Vivian notes “There is deeper meaning here” and further explains the reference and its importance.8 Tim Vivian and I were, long ago, in graduate school together. We went to church together. I was best man in his wedding. At the end of long days in the library, we would stand at the BBQ together in my backyard with our wives and talk about the linkages, back and forth through time and space, of Christian tradition. We wanted to know the church, the bride of Christ in all her fullness. Tim, his wife Miriam, and I were students of Jeffrey Burton Russell, a historian at UC Santa Barbara who taught us that truths about the church and about the cosmos were discoverable by studying history. Strong and long traditions, Russell taught us, have authority within them. Russell also taught us to look in Christian tradition for the dynamic, often contradictory, always tense relationship between what he called prophecy and order. He subtitled the textbook he wrote on medieval Christianity, published in 1968, “Prophecy and Order.” 9 Christianity, he taught, has never in history been static or settled. We embraced this viewpoint in the early 1980s, and I think Tim’s subsequent life as poet, priest, and professor is best understood as having been inspired mostly by the prophetic tradition. This prophetic tradition exists in tension with the university tradition that rose out of the urban centers of Europe and now dominates the structure of higher education around the globe. In many ways Vivian’s The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers can be read as a soft-spoken companion to the scathing assessment of modern, urban, industrialized rationalism in

8. John the Little 27. 9. Jeffrey Burton Russell and Douglas W. Lumsden, A History of Medieval Christianity: Prophecy and Order, 4th ed. (Lausanne, Switzerland: Peter Lang, 2007).

xxiv  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Wendell Berry’s Life Is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition (2000). Tim Vivian and Wendell Berry have much in common. Both tall and lanky, they each see radical implications for the world today if more of us adopted lives of humility, ­community, and love as exemplified by the desert traditions of Christianity. The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers reminds me often of C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters (1942), in which wisdom calls for constant vigilance against the seductive wiles of the Devil. In graduate school, again under the influence of Jeff Russell, who wrote Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (1981), Tim and I were taught to appreciate the way the desert fathers and mothers kept Satan at bay. We learned from Russell the desert story of how subsidiary demons, Screwtape-like, usually managed the temptation of monks, but the Devil himself had to take over the seduction of the desert father Saint Anthony.10 In Tim’s translation, Saint Anthony declares, “I saw all the snares of the Enemy stretched out like a net over the earth, and I cried out and said, ‘Who, then, can escape them?!’ And I heard a voice saying to me: ‘Humility.’ ” 11 The desert fathers and mothers were always alert to the wiles of Satan. If we map the extra-biblical literature of Christian wisdom, The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers is our best source from the frontier. Tim Vivian’s work as compiler, translator, and annotator not only offers us the highest level of scholarly understanding; it also offers us a heartfelt connection to the prophetic soul of Christianity. In these volumes, ancient and outsider fathers and mothers talk directly to us and offer themselves as life-examples. Under the letter R in this volume there is the story of a great man from Rome who left his wealth and power behind to spend many years in the desert of Egypt. A monk who had grown 10. See Demons, Temptation, Monks, and the Devil in the Glossary (TV). 11. Antony 7, Sayings 1:96; see also Vivian and Athanassakis, Life of Antony (TV).

Foreword  xxv

up poor in Egypt comes to visit him. The two do not initially appreciate each other, but eventually become friends and benefit from their differences.12 Christianity in its earthly history is not one thing. In these volumes, Tim Vivian helps us appreciate the varie­ ties of wisdom that the desert fathers and mothers teach.

• In Memoriam Jeffrey Burton Russell August 1, 1934–April 12, 2023

12. The Abba from Rome 1.

Abbreviations ACW AP

Ancient Christian Writers Apophthegmata Patrum; see AlphAP, AnonAP, and SysAP below under “Editions and Translations” BCE Before Common Era (BCE) = BC (Before Christ) CE Common Era (CE) = AD (Anno Domini, in the year of the Lord) CF Cistercian Fathers series. Cistercian Publications CS Cistercian Studies series. Cistercian Publications Ger. German Gk. Greek (classical, biblical, patristic) HB Hebrew Bible; the Christian Old Testament JSTOR A digital online library of academic journals, books, and primary sources Lat. Latin LXX The Septuagint. Septuaginta, ed. Alfred Rahlfs. 2 vols. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung, 1935. academic-bible.com. M. Gk. Modern Greek n. noun NIV New International Version of the Bible NRSV New Revised Standard Version of the Bible NT The New Testament PG Patrologia Graeca. Ed. J.-P. Migne. Turnhout: Brepols, 1857–1866. https://patristica.net/graeca/. pl. plural xxvii

xxviii  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

SCh

Sources chrétiennes (https://about.brepolis.net /sources-chretiennes-online-sco/). sing. singular vb. verb [ ] Translator’s content, corrections, and additions, with accompanying explanatory footnotes.

ABR BSAC CSQ JECS

Journals American Benedictine Review Bulletin de la Société d’archéologie copte Cistercian Studies Quarterly Journal of Early Christian Studies

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Anchor-Yale Anchor-Yale Bible Dictionary. https://www .theologyandreligiononline.com/anchor-yale -bible-dictionary (subscription required). Bauer Walter Bauer. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian ­Literature. Ed. Frederick William Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. 2nd ed. Chicago: ­University of Chicago Press, 1979. A 3rd ed. is now available. CCE Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia (a digital, ­partially revised version of CE, immediately below), https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce. CE The Coptic Encyclopedia. Ed. Aziz S. Atiya. New York: Macmillan, 1991. CGL The Cambridge Greek Lexicon. Ed. J. Diggle, et al. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. EM Encyclopedia of M ­ onasticism. Ed. William M. Johnston. 2 vols. Chicago: Dearborn Publishers, 2000.

Abbreviations  xxix

LA

Lampe

LSJ

Montanari

OCD

ODCC

ODLA

OED

AlphAP

Late Antiquity: A Guide to the Postclassical World. Ed. G. W. Bowersock, Peter Brown, and Oleg Grabar. Cambridge, MA: Belknap/Harvard, 1999. G. W. H. Lampe. A Patristic Greek Lexicon. ­Oxford: Clarendon, 1961. https://archive.org /details/a-patristic-greek-lexicon-edited-by -g.-w.-h.-lampe.-1961pdf. Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott. Rev. Henry Stuart Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon, 1977. www.perseus.tufts .edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999 .04.0057. Franco Montanari, ed. The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek. English edition ed. Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder. Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2015. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Ed. N. G. L. Hammond and H. H. Scullard. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1978. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed. F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. 3rd ed., 1997. The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. 2 vols. Ed. Oliver Nicholson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018. Oxford English Dictionary. www.oed.com /public/freeoed/loginpage (subscription ­required).

Editions and Translations Alphabetical Apophthegmata Patrum. Ed. J.-P. Migne. PG 65:75–440. Turnhout: Brepols, 1864. (The translations in this volume are from the PG,

xxx  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

with occasional variant PG readings given in the notes.) AnonAP Anonymous Apophthegmata Patrum. Ed. and trans. John Wortley. The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers: A Select Edition and ­Complete English Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Antony, Letters Samuel Rubenson, The Letters of St. Antony: Monasticism and the Making of a Saint. Studies in Antiquity & Christianity. Minneapolis: ­Fortress Press, 1995. Bongie = LifeSyn (see below) The Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica: Part One, The Translation. Trans. Elizabeth Bryson Bongie. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005. Toronto: Peregrina Publishing, 2003. Cassian, Conferences John Cassian: The Conferences. Trans. Boniface Ramsey, OP. ACW 57. New York: Paulist Press, 1997. Cassian, Institutes John Cassian: The Institutes. Trans. Boniface Ramsey. ACW 58. New York: Newman Press, 2000. Castelli Elizabeth A. Castelli, trans. “Pseudo-Athanasius, The Life and Activity of the Holy and Blessed Teacher Syncletica.” In Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook, edited by Vincent Wimbush. Studies in Antiquity & Christianity. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. 265–311. Guy, Recherches Jean-Claude Guy. Recherches sur la tradition grecque des Apophthegmata Patrum. Brussels: Bollandistes, 1962.

Abbreviations  xxxi

Hist Mon

The Lives of the Desert Fathers: The Historia Monachorum in Aegypto. Trans. Norman ­Russell. CS 34. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981. Lausiac History Palladius: The Lausiac History. Trans. Robert T. Meyer. ACW 34. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1964. Life of Antony Vie d’Antoine. Ed. G. J. M. Bartelink. SCh 400. Paris: Cerf, 1994. 123–377; The Life of Antony: The Coptic Life and the Greek Life. Trans. Tim Vivian and Apostolos N. Athanassakis. CS 202. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2003. LifeJn Maged S. A. Mikhail and Tim Vivian, eds. The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha. CS 234. ­Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2010. LifeSyn The Life and Regimen of The Blessed and Holy Syncletica: Part One, The Translation. Trans. Elizabeth Bryson Bongie. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005; Toronto: Peregrina Publishing, 2003. Sayings 1 Tim Vivian, trans. The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers: Volume 1, A–H (Ȇta). CS 287. Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2021. St Macarius St Macarius the Spiritbearer: Coptic Texts ­Relating to Saint Macarius the Great. Trans. Tim Vivian. Popular Patristics Series. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004. SysAP Systematic Apophthegmata Patrum. Ed. JeanClaude Guy. Les Apophtegmes des Pères: ­Collection Systématique. 3 vols. SCh 387 (1), 474 (2), 498 (3). Paris: Cerf, 2013.

xxxii  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Wortley = AnonAP (see above) John Wortley, ed. and trans. The Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers: A Select Edition and ­Complete English Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Wortley, Book John Wortley, trans. The Book of the Elders: ­Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Systematic Collection. CS 240. Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2012. Wortley, Give Me John Wortley, trans. Give Me a Word: The ­Alphabetical Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Popular Patristics Series. Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2014.

Studies Binns, Ascetics John Binns. Ascetics and Ambassadors of Christ: The Monasteries of Palestine, 314–631. Oxford Early Christian Studies. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. Burton-Christie, Word Douglas Burton-Christie. The Word in the ­Desert: Scripture and the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Chitty, Desert Derwas Chitty. The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism under the Christian Empire. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1966. Chryssavgis, In the Heart John Chryssavgis. In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and ­Mothers, rev. ed. Bloomington, IN: World ­Wisdom, 2008.

Abbreviations  xxxiii

Elm, “Virgins of God” Susanna Elm. “Virgins of God”: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996. Evelyn-White, Monasteries Hugh G. Evelyn-White. The Monasteries of the Wâdi ’n Natrȗn. Part II. The History of the ­Monasteries of Nitria and of Scetis, edited by Walter Hauser. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1932; repr. Arno Press, 1973. https: //suciualin.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/evelyn -white_monasteries-of-wadi-natrun.pdf. Gould, Desert Fathers Graham Gould. The Desert Fathers on Monastic Community. Oxford Early Christian Studies. ­Oxford: Clarendon, 1993. Quasten, Patrology Johannes Quasten. Patrology. 3 vols. Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1984. Regnault, Day-to-Day Life Lucien Regnault. The Day-to-Day Life of the Desert Fathers in Fourth-Century Egypt. Trans. Étienne Poirier, Jr. Petersham, MA: St. Bede’s, 1999.

A Thematic Introduction The Introduction to volume one of The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers provides discussion of some key early monastic themes, for example “inward stillness” (anápausis) and “contemplative quiet” (hēsychía).1 The Thematic Introduction here will catalogue those major themes and others, and provide select sayings for them from the sayings in this volume. For further resources consult the General Index and the Glossary (entries with an asterisk are in the Glossary). The themes/words are in alphabetical order, and the sayings in the list are in the order in which they occur in the volume.

*** • Act of love: See Love, act of. • Anger* / be angry (orgḗ, orgízomai): John the Little 5–6; Isidore of Scetis 2, 7; Macarius 17; Poemen 91, 118, S16; Pityrion 1; Romanus 1; Hyperechius 3. • Compassion* / show compassion / be compassionate (éleos, splanchnízomai < tò splánchnon, “guts”): Theodore of Pherme 15; Macarius the Great 38; Moses 18 [V], 18 [VII]; Horsisius 12; Pambo 14; Sisoës 20. • Contemplative quiet* (hēsychía): Nilos 9; Paul the Barber 2; Rufus 1; Cheremon 1. 1. See the Glossary for both. xxxv

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• Counsel* (lógos / rȇma): Theodore 3; Isidore of Pelusium 1; Isidore of Scetis S1; Felix 1; Longinus 3; Macarius of Egypt 34; Moses 6; Sisoës 20, 36; Felix 1; Psenthaḯsios 1. • Dead* / to be dead (to the world*) / to die (nekrós / nekróō): Theophilus 5; Isaac 11; Joseph of Panephysis 11; John of the Cells 1; John of Thebes 1; Cassian 5, 8; Macarius of Egypt 23; Moses 11, 12, 14 [I], 15 [II], 18 [V], [VII]; Pambo 8; Poemen 2, 3, 72; Romanus 1; Sisoës 14; Chomai 1. • Discernment* / to discern (diákrisis / diakrínō): John the Little 7; Mios 2; Poemen 20–25, 27–29, 32, 52, 170; the Abba from Rome 1. • Faith* / Have faith (pístis / pisteúō): Poemen 69, X.72; Paphnutius 2; Ṓr 7. • Fast* / Fasting / to fast, nēsteía / nēsteúō: Cassian 1; Poemen 31–32, 170; Silvanus 1; Hyperechius 2. • Fear* of God (ho phóbos toȗ theoȗ): James 3; Cronius 3; Macarius of Egypt 12; Poemen 49, 57, 65, 75, 82, 175, 181, 183, Appendix XI.60. • Flee*/Flight (from the world*) (pheúgō): Theodore of Pherme 14; John the Little 12, 16; Isidore of Pelusium 4; Isaac the Priest 1; John the Eunuch 3; Cronius 5; Cyrus 1; Longinus 1; Macarius of Egypt 16, 27, 41; Moses 7; ­Nestheros the Great 1; Horsisius 1; Poemen 59, 140, 148, Appendix X.180; Philagrios 1; Ṓr 14 (see also Exile* [xenēteía]; Syncletica 17; Tithoës 2). • Forgive (synchōréō): John the Little 40; Isidore of Scetis 1, S1; Isaac of Thebes 1; Moses 2; Poemen 86. • Heart* (kardía): Poemen 2, 12, 15, 34, 63, 80, 102, 154, 164, 183, S1, S14, Appendix X.51; Silvanus 6; Sarah 5; Tithoës 3. • Humility* (tapeinosophrúnē / tapeínōsis): John the Little 20, 22, 34, 38; John of the Thebaid 2; Macarius of Egypt 11, 35;

A Thematic Introduction  xxxvii

Matoës 7, 11; Motios 1; Poemen 36, 49, 158, Appendix XV.55; Pistos 1; Peter the Pionite 3; Paphnutius 1; Peter of Dios 1; the Abba from Rome 2; Sisoës 13; Sarah 5, 6; ­Syncletica 16, S9; Tithoës 7; Ṓr 7, 9, 11. • Inward stillness* (anápausis): Joseph of Panephysis 8; John the Eunuch 1; Nestheros the Great 3; Poemen 81, 84, 141, 149, 154, 159, 163, S4, S19, Appendix X.80; Pistamon 1; Paphnutius 3; Paul the Barber 1; Sisoës 43; Sarah 5; ­Hyperechius 6. • Judgment* / Judging / Condemn (krísis / krínō / katakrínō): Theophilus 4; Joseph of Panephysis 2; Isaac of Thebes 1; Moses 2, 5, 14 [I], 18 [VII]; Mark the Egyptian 1; Xanthias 3; Olympius of the Cells 2; Poemen 70, 114, 131; Pior 3; Paphnutius 1; Sisoës 1, 31. See Discernment* (diákrisis). • Lack of possessions* (aktēmosúnē < ktáomai, “to possess”): Theodore of Pherme 29; John the Persian 2; Macarius of Egypt 18; Megethius 1; Nestheros the Great 4; Syncletica 10; Hyperechius 6. • Love,* act of (agápē): John the Persian 2; Cassian 1; Mios 2; Poemen 8, 22, 104; Pambo 2; Phocas 2; Sisoës 31; Silvanus 1; Serapion 1; Phocas 2. • Mystical* experience (ékstasis): John the Little 14; Poemen 144; Silvanus 1, 2; Tithoës 6. • Need,* give to those in need (eleēmosúnē): Macarius of Egypt 38; Timothy 1. • Obedience,* / obey (hypakoḗ / hypakoúō): John the Little 1; Joseph of Panephysis 5; Mark the disciple of Abba Silvanus 1–3; Mios 1; Pambo 3; Pistos 1; Rufus 2; Sisoës 10; Saïo 1; Syncletica 16; Hyperechius 8. • Passion* / the passions (páthos / páthē): Joseph of Panephysis 3; Longinus 5; Macarius of Egypt 20; Matoës 4; Poemen 8, 127, 161, 184, Appendix X.79; Pityrion 1; Sisoës 6, 22, 44.

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• Patient endurance* / Patiently endure (hypomonḗ / hypoménō): Poemen 21, 102; the Abba from Rome 2; ­Syncletica 8, 9, 14. • Possessions: see Lack of possessions. • Prayer* / to pray (proseuchḗ / proseúchomai): Macarius of Egypt 19; Macarius of Alexandria 3; Neilos 1–7; 2 Poemen 87; Sarah 3. • Repentance* / to repent (metánoia / metanoéō): Macarius of Egypt 21; Mios 3; Poemen 12, 23; Paul the Sincere 1; Sisoës 14, 49. • Save* / be saved (sṓzō): Joseph of Panephysis 4; Hierax 1, S1; Cronius 2; Syncletica S5. • Sexual sin* (porneía): Cyrus 1; John the Little 4; Lot 2; Matoës 8; Poemen 14, 114, 115, 154; Paphnutius 4; Paul the Sincere 1; Sarah 1, 2; Phocas 2. • Silence* / To be, keep silent; to maintain silence (siōpḗ / siōpáō): Nestheros the Great 1; Poemen 37, 45, 78, 79, 84, 147, 150, 168. • Sin / To sin (hamartía / hamartánō): 3 Theophilus 4; Cronius 2; Cyrus 1; Lot 2; Macarius of Egypt 27, 41; Moses 2, 16 [III], 18 [VII]; Matoës 2; Milesius 2; Mark the Egyptian 1; Nikon 1; Poemen 82, 97, 99, 113, 119, 153, 162, 177, S2, S21, Appendix X.51; Paphnutius 1; Paul the Sincere 1; The Abba from Rome 1; Sisoës 5, 19, 34, 36, 41; Sarmatas 1; Serapion 1, 4; Syncletica 2, 7, 8, S2, S7, S10; Hyperechius 2; Psenthaḯsios 1; Ṓr 11.

2. The sayings attributed to Neilos come from Evagrius, Chapters on Prayer; see Bamberger, Evagrius, 43–80. 3. A number of words have come into English from the root hamart-: hamartia (“tragic flaw”), hamartiology, hamartoma, harmatoblastoma.

A Thematic Introduction  xxxix

• Soul (psychḗ): Theodore 10, 11; Theophilus 4; John the Little 3, 13, 16, S4; Isidore of Pelusium 6; Cronius 1; Longinus 5; Moses 18 [V]; Matoës 4; Nestheros the Great 2; Horsisius 2; Poemen 8, 14, 16, 23, 35, 36, 57, 65, 71, 93, 100, 172, S2, S18; Paul the Sincere 1; Rufus 1; Sisoës 20; Syncletica 5, 7, 17, S3, S7; Hyperechius 5; Phocas 1; Ṓr 15 (n. 20). • Temptation* (peirasmós): Poemen 70, 125, 126; Ṓr 12. • Thoughts* (logismós / logismoí): Theodore of Scetis 1; John the Little 12, 35, 36; Cyrus 1; Longinus 1; Poemen 20, 21, 28, 88, 89, 93, 99, 101, 110; Sarah 3; Syncletica S7. • Vigilant* / Be alert (nḗphō): Cronius 1; Syncletica S6. • Virtue* / the Virtues (aretḗ / aretaí ): John the Little 34; Isidore of Pelusium 2–4; Nestheros the Great 2; Poemen 35, 46, 130, 134, 151; Peter the Pionite 4; Serinos 1; Syncletica S3. • (Spiritual) Warfare* (polemós [n.] / poleméō [vb.]): John the Little 13; Poemen 67, 114, 15, S12, S15. • Work* (érgon / ergasía): Theodore of Pherme 9–11; John the Little 2, 37; James 4. • World,* the (kósmos): Theodore 8; Theophilus 4; Theodora S1; John the Little 34, S4; Cassian 7, 8; Cronius 5; Longinus 1; Macarius of Egypt 2, 32; Poemen 26, 62, 66, 109, 123, 182; Pistos 1; Silvanus 2; Sarah 2; Syncletica 2, 4, 17, S8; Ṓr 14.

The Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Chapter 8 1

Th / Thȇ ta / Ɵ Concerning Abba Theodore* of Pherme* 2 1. [PG 65:188] [VI.7; 1:318] 3 Abba Theodore of Pherme* possessed three nice books.* He went to visit Abba Macarius* and said to him, “I have three nice books* and benefit* from them; the brothers who use them benefit* from them, too. Tell me, then, what should I do? 4 Should I keep them for my own benefit* and

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Gk. Theódoros, pronounced Thĕ-OH-dō-rōs. See “Theodore of Pherme” in Dramatis Personae. 3. The number in the first brackets, for example PG 65:188, indicates the page number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 64:220]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example VI.7, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 1:318, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number, e.g.: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. “N” sayings are from AnonAP, the page(s) indicated thus: Wortley, 235. Wortley’s volume is a bilingual text, Greek and English. 4. should, opheílō: earlier “benefit” translates the similar-sounding ōphélōmai, so what’s implied here is “What should I do to benefit?” 3

4  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

the brothers’, or do I sell them and give [the money] to the poor? ” * 5 In reply the elder* said, “Both of these practices are good,6 but better than anything is the lack of possessions.” * When Abba Theodore heard this, he left, sold the books,* and gave [the money] to the poor.* 7 2. [VII.9; 1:340] A certain brother living in solitude in Kellia* felt unsettled,8 so he went to Abba Theodore of Pherme* and told him.9 The elder* said, “Go and humble* your thoughts,* be obedient,* and remain with others.” So the brother later returned to see the elder* 10 and said to him, “I don’t find any inward stillness* with people, either.” The elder* said to him, “If you don’t find inward stillness* by yourself,11 or with others, why have you come out here to be a monk?* Wasn’t it to endure afflictions?* Tell me: How many years have you worn the monastic habit? ” He said, “Eight,” so the elder* said to him, “The fact is, I’ve worn the habit for seventy years, and I haven’t found one day of inward stillness.* And you want to have inward stillness* in eight? ” 5. Should I keep them .  .  . give [the money] to the poor: SysAP VI.7 omits, which may be a mistake on Guy’s part; the response doesn’t make sense without the sentence. 6. good: kalós earlier translates “nice.” Kalós has a wide range of meanings in the NT: “beautiful, handsome, fine”; “good, useful”; and, of moral quality, “good, noble, praiseworthy, contributing to salvation” (Bauer 504b). “I have three nice books,” therefore, could be “I have three useful books” or “I have three spiritually beneficial books.” 7. and gave [the money] to the poor: SysAP VI.7, and gave the money from them to those in need. 8. living in solitude, katamónas: cognate with monachós, “monk.” * 9. and told him: SysAP VII.9, and told him about his suffering.* 10. So the brother later returned to see the elder:* SysAP VII.9, So the brother left for the monastic community* and remained with others. He returned to the elder. 11. by yourself: mónos, cognate with monachós, “monk.” *

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  5

When he heard this, the brother left, firmly established [in the monastic life].12 3. [VIII.9; 1:404] A brother once visited Abba Theodore and spent three days asking* to hear some counsel* from him, but Abba Theodore didn’t answer him, so the brother left, saddened. Abba Theodore’s* disciple said to him, “Abba, why didn’t you offer him counsel?* He went away saddened.” 13 The elder* said to him, “It’s true that I wouldn’t speak to him14—he in fact traffics in the counsel* that others give15 and wants to be acclaimed [for what others actually say].” 4. [X.32; 2:32] He also said, “If you’re friends with someone and he happens to fall into sexual* immorality, if you can, give him a hand and lift him to his feet. But if he falls into heresy* 16 and can’t be persuaded to renounce it,17 quickly cut him off from you18 so you don’t slowly get dragged down with him into the pit.” 19 5. [I.12; 1:108] They used to say about Abba Theodore of Pherme* that he surpassed many in these three main ways: living without possessions,* ascetic practice,* and staying away from people.20

12. SysAP VII.9 omits this sentence, perhaps added as a moral to the story. 13. he went away saddened: SysAP VIII.9, See, he went away saddened! 14. I wouldn’t speak to him: SysAP VIII.9, I wouldn’t speak a word of counsel* to him. 15. the counsel that others give: allótrios can mean “of another, another” (Montanari I:95b(A)), but can also have negative implications: “alien, foreign, strange” (B), “alien, hostile,” “irrelevant,” “artificial, abnormal” (C). 16. “falls into” uses the same construction with píptō, “to fall,” as “be tempted sexually.” 17. renounce, apostréphō: or “turn away from.” 18. cut him off from you: SysAP X.32, cut yourself off from him. 19. pit, bóthros: a variant reading, PG 65:187–88, n. 98, and SysAP X.32, býthos, “the depths of the sea.” On bóthros see Ezek 32:17-32; Matt 15:14. 20. staying away: literally, “to flee,” * pheúgō. Pheúgō occurs often in the sayings, as in “to flee the world.” *

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6. [XV.32; 2:306, 308] Abba Theodore happened to be with brothers [in Scetis*] 21 one time and was eating with them. They were reverently accepting cups [of wine*] while maintaining silence* and not saying “Allow me.” So Abba Theodore said, “The monks* have lost22 their nobility by [not] saying ‘Allow me.’ ” 23 7. [PG 65:189] [VIII.10; 1:406] A brother asked him, “Abba,* do you want me to not eat bread* for a few days? ” and the elder* said to him, “What you’re doing is good. You see, I’ve done the same thing, too.” So the brother said to him, “I want to take my chickpeas to the bakery and make flour from them,” and the elder* said to him, “If you’re going to the bakery, make your bread.* 24 What’s the point of telling me about this? ” 25 8. [X.34; 2:34] One of the elders* 26 came to see Abba Theodore and said to him, “Brother so-and-so has returned to the world,” * and the elder* said to him, “Are you surprised* by this? 27 Don’t be. Instead, be amazed* if you hear that someone has escaped the edge of the Enemy’s* sword.” 28

21. [in Scetis]: a variant reading, PG 65:187–88, n. 99; SysAP XV.32 lacks. 22. lost, apóllumi: or “destroyed.” 23. [not] saying: I have followed the variant reading, PG 65:187–88, n. 1, and SysAP XV.32; the PG text lacks the negative. 24. The elder spoke to him again, “If you’re going to the bakery, make your bread”: SysAP VIII.10, The elder said to him, “If you’re going to the bakery again, make your bread.” 25. As Wortley notes, Give Me, 118, n. 53, this last sentence is not clear. The key word is exagōgḗ, which SysAP VII.10 also has; none of the word’s meanings seems to fit. My translation is based on “bringing to light, exposure, exhibition,” but exagōgḗ can mean “the spending of one’s life,” hence “life, existence” (Lampe 490b). Theodore may be saying, “Sit in your cell. Quit going back and forth to the bakery. What’s more—quit telling me about it!” 26. elders: SysAP X.34, fathers. 27. are you surprised: SysAP X.34, Don’t be surprised. 28. escaped, ekpheúgō < pheúgō: see Flee in the Glossary.

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  7

9.29 [VIII.11; 1:406] A certain brother came to see Abba Theodore and began to talk and question things, although he hadn’t yet worked* to put anything into practice, so the elder said to him, “You haven’t found your ship yet, nor have you loaded the cargo on board, and yet, even before you set sail, you’ve already left for that city.30 First, do your work,* then begin talking about these things you’re talking about now.” 31 10.32 [X.33; 2:34] The same elder* once visited Abba John, a eunuch from birth.33 While they were talking, Abba John said,34 “When I was at Scetis,* the works* of the soul were our primary work,* and the work* we did with our hands was secondary. But now the work* of the soul has become secondary and our [other] work* primary.” 11.35 [X.177; 2:128] A brother asked him,36 “What sort of work* is the work* of the soul, which we now consider secondary, and what sort of work* is secondary, which we now think comes first? ” 37

29. An editor has clearly put Theodore 9–11 together, centered around “work.” In addition to its thematic connection, Theodore 11 uses gígnomi (“comes”) to connect linguistically with Theodore 10 (gígnomi, “become”). 30. that city: that is, the city, goal, destination of the monastic life. In Life of Antony 14.5 (p. 93) Athanasius says that “the desert* was made a city by monks.” * 31. Only when you do your work can you speak about these things: SysAP VIII.11, First do your work; then you can speak about these things. 32. See Theodore of Pherme 11. 33. John the Eunuch has six sayings in this volume. 34. Abba John: the pronouns in Greek here are ambiguous. I am taking John as the speaker and Theodore as the listener. 35. See Theodore of Pherme 10. 36. him: SysAP X.177, a certain elder. 37. What sort of work is the work of the soul, which we now consider secondary, and what sort of work is secondary, which we now think comes first?: SysAP X.177, What sort of work is [the work] of the soul and what sort [of work is the work] of the hands?

8  The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

The elder* said, “Everything that comes through what God commands* is the work* of the soul, but the work* we do according to our own reasoning, and gathering together our earnings—this we ought to consider secondary.” 38 The brother said, “Explain this principle to me.” The elder* said, “Look, you hear about me that I’m sick. So you ought to come check on me, and you say to yourself, ‘Am I going to abandon my work* and leave now? No, first I need to finish what I’m doing. Then I can leave.’ But then another pretext comes to you, and maybe you don’t go at all.39 “Then again, another brother says to you, ‘Give me a hand, brother,’ and you say, ‘Am I going to drop my work* and go away and work* for this guy?’ If then you don’t leave, you’re ‘dropping’ God’s commandment*—that is, the work* of the soul—and you’re doing what’s secondary—that is, working* with your hands.” 40 12. Abba Theodore of Pherme* said, “The person who’s firmly committed to repentance* is not bound by commandment.” * 41 13. The same elder* said, “There is no virtue* other than not being disdainful.” *

38. this we ought to consider secondary: SysAP X.177, this is the work of the hands. Gathering together our earnings: synágō can mean “gather together, perhaps with a commercial connotation: turn into cash” (see Luke 15:13); also used of crops (Matt 25:24, 26). Since the word follows “working,” this is the way I am taking it. “According to our own reasoning” uses lógos, which, in monastic parlance, usually means “counsel”;* thus the saying is warning not to put our own counsel before God’s. 39. and maybe you don’t go at all: SysAP X.177, and you don’t go. 40. God’s commandment—that is, the work of the soul: that is, helping your neighbor.* See Theodore of Pherme 14. 41. firmly committed to (or “steadfast about”): stḗko occurs a number of times in the NT, “to be firmly committed in conviction or belief, stand firm, be steadfast” (Bauer 944b(2)–45a): see 1 Cor 6:13 (“in the faith”); Phil 4:1 (“in the Lord”); Phil 1:27 (“in one spirit”).

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  9

14. He also said, “The person who learns about [PG 65:192] the sweetness of the cell* flees* from his neighbor*—but this doesn’t mean he dishonors him.” 42 15. He also said, “If I don’t cut myself off from these feelings of compassion,* 43 they won’t allow me to be a monk.” * 44 16. [X.35; 2:34] 45 He also said, “There are many at this time* who’ve chosen inward stillness* before God has granted it to them.” 17. He also said, “Do not sleep anywhere where there’s a woman.” * 46 18.47 A brother said to Abba Theodore,* “I want to fulfill the commandments.” * 48 The elder* told him about Abba Theonas,49 that he himself also said one time, “I want to always keep my thoughts* with God.50 So he took some wheat to the bakery and

42. Because early Christians lived in an honor-shame society, I have chosen “dishonor”; atimázō (< timḗ: “honor, esteem,” “price, value, worth”); atimázō, though, has many other negative meanings: “insult,” “maltreat,” “scorn, disdain,” “hold in contempt,” “disgrace” (CGL I:239a). On honor-shame see Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, 3rd ed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001); and Bruce J. Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003). 43. compassion: oiktirmós, “mercy, pity, compassion,” rather than the usual splanchnízomai (vb.). 44. As with most things, moderation is key. We now speak of “compassion fatigue.” As a balance to this saying, see Theodore of Pherme 18. 45. SysAP X.35 is in Latin. 46. anywhere, eis tópon, “in a place,” * but tópos can also mean “monastic community.” 47. See Theodore of the Enaton 1. 48. Implicit in the sentence is “What should I do? ” or “Offer me some counsel.” “Said to”: PG text, “asked.” 49. Theonas has one saying in this volume. 50. keep: a primary meaning of plēróō in the NT is “to keep, fulfill” a commandment or prophecy; a different word, epiteléō, translates as “fulfill” in the first sentence here, and “fulfilled” in the last sentence translates plēróō.

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made some loaves of bread.* When some poor* asked him for some, he gave them the loaves of bread.* Once again, when some other people asked him, he gave them his little baskets and the cloak* he was wearing and went inside his cell,* [his loins] girded with his head-covering. By girding himself, he was once again finding fault with himself, saying, ‘I haven’t fulfilled God’s commandment.’ ” * 51 19. Abba Joseph was sick one time, so he sent for Abba Theodore: “Come, so I can see you before I leave the body.” It was midweek, so Abba Theodore didn’t go but sent [a message]: “If you can wait until Saturday, I’ll come, and52 if you depart [before then] we’ll see each other in that [other] world.” * 53 20. A brother said to Abba Theodore, “Give me some counsel.* I’m lost.” With difficulty Abba Theodore said to him, “It’s me who’s in danger. What can I tell you? ” 21. A brother came to see Abba Theodore, bringing some cord so the elder* could teach him to sew, but the elder* said to him, “Go. Come back early tomorrow morning.” [When the brother returned], the elder* got up, moistened the cord for him, and got the rough stitching done so it was ready to sew, saying, “Do this and this,” left him, and went back inside his cell* and sat down.54 When it was time, he made the brother [something to] eat and sent him away. The brother came back early the next morning, and the elder* said to him, “Take your cord and go away.* You’ve come to lure me into temptation* and anxiety.” And the elder* didn’t let him in again.

51. The sense is that he should have given everything away, thus going into his cell naked; see Matt 19:16-22//Mark 10:17-31//Luke 18:18-30 and, possibly, Mark 14:51-52. Fulfilled: plēróō also occurs above in Theodore of Pherme 18, “keep.” 52. and, dé: or “but.” 53. that [other] world: that is, heaven. “This world” is either neuter or negative; see World in the Glossary. 54. sat down: that is, to work and/or pray.

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22. The disciple of Abba Theodore said, “Someone came one time selling onions and filled a bowl for me.” The elder* said, ‘Fill it with grain for him and give it to him.’ There were two heaps of grain, one cleaned and one not cleaned. I filled the bowl for him with the grain that hadn’t been cleaned. “ The elder* looked at me sharply and with sorrow. Out of fear,* I fell and broke the bowl and prostrated* myself before him. The elder* said, ‘Get up, it’s not you; no, it’s me who’s sinned, because I told you [to fill it].’ “So, going inside, the elder* took hold of his cloak* at his stomach, lifted it up, filled it with cleaned grain, and gave it to the person, along with the onions.”55 23. One time Abba Theodore went with a brother to fetch ­water.56 Getting to the water first, the brother saw a snake.57 The elder* said to him, [PG 65:193] “Go on, stomp on its head,” but, filled with fear,* he didn’t go. The elder* came; the beast saw him and, ashamed,* fled* into the desert.* 24. [VII.10; 1:340] A certain person58 asked Abba Theodore,* “If some kind of misfortune took place,59 would even you be afraid,* abba? ” * 60 The elder* said to him, “Even if heaven attached itself to the earth, Theodore wouldn’t be afraid.” * 61

55. “cleaned” (katharós) and “uncleaned” (akáthartos) are words of ritual purity in the HB (LXX) and NT, so we may well have here a parable on the importance of moral/spiritual/ethical purity. 56. “fetch,” gemízō, is translated as “fill” and “filled” in the previous saying and thus connects the two sayings. 57. “snake” here is drákōn (English dragon), which is not the word that occurs in Gen 3, óphis. 58. person: SysAP VII.10, brother. 59. misfortune, ptṓsis: or “disaster” (English ptosis). 60. even you: or “you too” (kaí). 61. heaven: or “the sky,” ouranós.

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The brother, you see, had been asking God to take away his cowardice. That’s why he asked Abba Theodore the question.62 25. [XV.33; 2:308] It was said about Abba Theodore that when he became a deacon* at Scetis,* he refused to serve as a deacon* and fled* to a number of different places.* 63 The elders* for their part brought him back and said, “Don’t abandon your ministry as a deacon.” * Abba Theodore said to them, “Leave me alone, and I’ll ask God if he wants me to stay here and fulfill my ministry.” 64 Asking God, he said, “If it’s your will65 for me to stay here,66 give me some assurance.” 67 He was shown a pillar of fire rising up from the earth up to heaven,68 and a voice said, “If you can become like this pillar of fire, go, serve as a deacon.” * When he heard this, he decided not to accept [the ministry].69 When he entered the church, therefore, the brothers prostrated* themselves before him, saying, “If you don’t want to serve70 as a deacon,* at least accept the cup.” 71 But he wouldn’t take it, saying, 62. This sentence could be an editorial addition; it occurs also in SysAP VII.10. 63. refused: thélō with a negative can also mean “to not want to,” as below. See n. 70 below. 64. here, tópos: that is, at the monastery; see Place in the Glossary. Ministry: SysAP XV.33, diaconate. 65. will, thélēma, cognate with thélō earlier in the saying. 66. here, tópos (“place” *): a variant reading, PG 65:195–96, n. 2, and SysAP XV.33, “place of ministry,” that is, “my ministerial position.” 67. SysAP XV.33 lacks this sentence; give assurance: plērophoréō can mean “fulfill,” as above (“stay here and fulfill my ministry”) and “give assurance or confidence” (Lampe 1093b). 68. See Exod 13:21, 22. 69. I’ve used the variant “accept the ministry” noted at PG 65:193, n. 3; SysAP XV.33 lacks. 70. don’t want, ou thélō: or “refuse.” 71. My colleague Maged S. A. Mikhail, a deacon in the Coptic Orthodox Church, informs me that the brothers want Abba Theodore to serve the cup: “but it must be as ‘full’ deacon. The more technical aspect here is ‘accepting’ the cup

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“If you don’t release me [from this ministry], I’ll leave* this place.” * So they released him.72 26. They used to say about him that when Scetis* was devastated he went to live in Pherme.* When he got old he got sick, so they [sic] would bring him different kinds of foods. When the first person brought his, Abba Theodore gave it to the second, and did the same with each person in turn: what he got from one he gave to the next. When it came time to eat, he would eat what the person at that time was bringing. 27. 73They used to say about Abba Theodore that when he was living in Scetis* a demon* came, wanting to enter [his cell*], and he tied the demon* up outside the cell.* Now another demon* came inside. He tied this one up, too. When the third demon* came in addition and found the two tied up, he said to them, “Why are you out here? ” They said to him, “He’s sitting inside, and he won’t let us come in.” .  .  .  . part of the old rite is that immediately after ordination the deacon is given the cup to hold as a symbol of his new status, and his ministry is to offer the cup at the end of that liturgy. In that light, it may be the case here that the brothers are basically saying: It’s OK if you don’t want to serve as a full deacon, but at least accept the ordination (which would leave Abba Theodore open to serving as a deacon later in life)—but he refuses both. He does not want the ordination or the function .  .  .  . If not ordained a deacon, he cannot serve the cup—no exceptions to my knowledge.” 72. For a similar story with a different conclusion, see Isaac 1. 73. This saying could well be a parable on the interior life, with the cell* functioning as soul, spirit, and mind that the demons* are trying to invade. When the demon* tries to come inside, Theodore ties him up outside, bound outside the soul. As Chryssavgis, In the Heart, 42, notes, “The cell symbolizes the work of the soul. Like the desert,* it is not merely a place; it is a profound place of the spirit.” Monastic parlance often uses the “interior,” entόs, for what is occurring within, the interior life. Entós, which occurs in the NT only at Luke 17:21 and Matt 23:26, has two basic meanings: (1) “within” (Matt) and (2) “among” (Luke). But Luke 17:21 may mean “the kingdom of God is within you” or “.  .  . among you.” The NRSV has “among” but footnotes “or within.”

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So that demon* got violent and attempted to go inside, but the elder* tied this one up, too. Fearing* the prayers* of the elder,* they begged* him, “Let us go!” The elder* said to them, “Get out of here!” So, then, shamed,* they went away.74 28. One of the fathers related* this story about Abba Theodore of Pherme:* “I went to see him once one afternoon and found him wearing a worn-out old habit; his chest was exposed, and his hood* was lying in front of him. All of a sudden, a comes* came to see him. When he knocked, the elder* came out, opened [the door], and, having greeted the comes,* sat down in the doorway to speak with him.75 So I took part of the abba’s hood* and [PG 65:196] covered his shoulders, but the elder* stretched out his hand and knocked it off. “After the comes* left, I said to him, ‘Abba, why’d you do that? That person came to see you in order to benefit* [from your words*], not to be offended.’* 76 “The elder* said to me, ‘Why are you talking to me, abba?* Are we still slaves to people? We did what we needed to, then he left. The person who wants to benefit* will be benefited,* the person who wants to be offended* will be offended,* but when someone comes, this is the way I greet him.’ “He then instructed his disciple: ‘If someone comes, wanting to see me, don’t ever tell that person what people customarily

74. they went away: there may be a sly joke here. Anachoréō, “to withdraw,” * usually indicates a monk’s withdrawal from the world.* Here, the symbolic demon,* shamed, withdraws from the monastic* world. 75. Monastic hospitality usually requires that a monk invite someone in, to pray and share a meal, but that seems to apply only to monastic visitors. When Theodore doesn’t invite the comes in, he is preserving monastic space as separate from the world;* the doorway, limen in Latin, is a liminal space, and Theodore sits there, both literally and symbolically. 76. It’s not clear to me what the problem is here.

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say,77 but if I’m eating, say “He’s eating.” If I’m asleep, say “He’s asleep.” ’ ” 29. One time three highwaymen* came upon him. Two grabbed hold of him while the other carried off his goods. When he had hauled off his books,* he also wanted to take his habit. Then Abba Theodore said to them, “Leave it,” but they refused. So with his hands he tore it in two. When they saw this, they were afraid,* so the elder* said to them, “Don’t be afraid.* Tear it into four pieces: you take three and leave one.” And this they did. As a result, he wore the one part of his habit to the synaxis.* 78

Concerning Abba Theodore of the Enaton* 79 1. [PG 65:196] 80 Abba Theodore of the Enaton* said, “When I was younger, I was living in the desert.* I went to the bakery to bake two batches of bread* and found there a brother who wanted to bake bread* but didn’t have anyone to give him a hand. I set aside my work and gave him a hand. When I was free to do my own baking, another brother came, and I gave him a hand, too, and made the bread. Again, a third one came, and I did the same as I had before. I was doing this for each of those who came, and made six batches of bread. Afterwards, after everyone had stopped coming, I baked my own two batches.” 2. [VII.11; 1:342] They used to say about Abba Theodore and Abba Lucius, among those at the Enaton,* that they spent fifty [PG 65:197] years mocking their thoughts,* saying, “When 77. what people customarily say: this is periphrasis for anthrṓpinos, “human, of humans, human things, human affairs” (Bauer 179a); ánthrōpos, “person,” occurs twice earlier. Anthrṓpinos in monastic usage is not positive: of or belonging to persons, as opposed to the divine; human, as in merely human. 78. he wore one part: literally “he took [lambánō] the one part.” English loses the play on words in Greek that reinforces the theme of aktēmosúnē, living without possessions.* 79. Gk. Theódoros, pronounced Thĕ-OH-dō-rōs. 80. See Theodore of Pherme 18.

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­ inter’s over, we’re moving away from here.” In turn, when sumw mer was coming, they’d say, “After summer, we’re getting out of here.” And they did this every season, these two fathers, who will always be remembered. 3. [XI.35; 2:152] Abba Theodore, among those of the Enaton,* said, “If God considers* the ways we neglect* our prayers* and the ways we’re distracted from doing our psalmody,* 81 we can’t be saved.” *

Concerning Abba Theodore of Scetis* 82 1. [PG 65:197] Abba Theodore of Scetis* said, “The thought* comes and troubles* me and won’t leave me alone but isn’t strong enough to carry through. No, it only impedes the path* to virtue.* The sober-minded man,83 shaking it off, gets up for prayer.* 84

Concerning Abba Theodore of Eleutheropolis* 85 1. [PG 65:197] Abba Abraham the Iberian86 asked Abba Theodore of Eleutheropolis,* “Which is better, father, to acquire for myself honor or dishonor? ” 87

81. the ways we neglect our prayers and the ways we’re distracted from doing our psalmody: SysAP XI.35, the ways we neglect our prayers and our psalmody. 82. Gk. Theódoros, pronounced Thĕ-OH-dō-rōs. 83. man: anḗr, rather than ánthrōpos, “person.” In what may be a surprise, the sayings rarely use “man,” instead preferring ánthrōpos, “person, human being.” 84. Wortley, Word, 124, n. 57, notes that other versions of this saying give porneía, “sexual immorality or sin,” * as the thought. 85. Gk. Theódoros, pronounced Thĕ-OH-dō-rōs. 86. Iberia was a “kingdom of Eastern Georgia, also known as Kartli, founded in the 3rd century BCE with the help of the Seleucid Empire .  .  .  . In 326 or 327 Iberia was officially converted to Christianity” (ODLA 1:758a). 87. This probably seems a strange question to modern readers. The monastic context makes it less a conundrum, and perhaps more a koan: actually, the monk

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The elder* said, “Thus far I’ve wanted to acquire honor* rather than dishonor because, if I do something good88 and I’m honored* for it, I can pass sentence on my thoughts* because I don’t deserve this honor.* But dishonor comes from doing contemptible things. How can I comfort* my heart,* therefore, when people take offense* at me? So, then, it’s better to do good and be honored.” Abba Abraham said, “You’ve spoken well, father.” 89

Concerning Abba Theodotus 90 1.91 [PG 65:197] [IV.19; 1:194] Abba Theodotus said, “A lack of bread* depletes the monk’s* body,” but92 another elder* used to say, “Lack of sleep depletes the body even more.” S1 [Guy, Recherches, 22; N11] 93 He also said, “If you’re celibate, don’t judge* the person who sins sexually;* if you do, you’re transgressing the law.94 The person who said ‘Do not sin sexually’* also said Do not judge.” 95

wants neither honor nor dishonor. The elders teach not to seek glory*/honor (dóxa). In worldly* (that is, extra-monastic) thinking, “dishonor” (or being shamed) is something a person avoids at all costs in an honor-shame society (see Shame in the Glossary). But monastic thinking is often countercultural: living in poverty* with poor clothing is normally socially shameful, but monks seek out what society often denigrates in order to give their time to God and to others. 88. if I do something good: literally “if I do a good [kalós] work.” * The Letter of James emphasizes the importance of “works” in ten verses but doesn’t use “good works.” See Jas 2. 89. well: kalȏs brings us back to “good work” and “better” (kalȏs) in the first sentence. 90. Gk. Theódotos, pronounced Thĕ-OH-dō-tōs. 91. PG 65:197 misattributes this saying to Theodore of Eleutheropolis. 92. but, dé: or “and.” 93. See AnonAP, N11, Wortley, 13. 94. This may be referring to Matt 7:1-2, or other Scripture. 95. See Jas 2:11 and 4:11; Matt 7:1//Luke 6:37.

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Concerning Abba Theonas 96 1. [PG 65:197] [XI.36; 2:152] Abba Theonas said, “Because the mind* 97 has withdrawn from spiritual contemplation* of God, we’re being taken prisoner by our human passions.* 98

Concerning Archbishop Theophilus* 99 1. [PG 65:197] [XV.31; 2:306] Blessed Archbishop Theophilus* went one time to visit the monastic community* of Nitria,* and the abba* of the community* came to meet him.100 The archbishop said to him, “What have you found on this path* that makes it a fuller one, father? ” 101 The elder* said to him, “To be finding fault with yourself and accusing yourself—always.” Abba Theophilus102 said to him, “There is no other way* than this.” 103 2. [XV.59; 2:324] The same Abba Theophilus* the archbishop went to visit Scetis* one time. Having gathered together, the broth-

96. Gk. Theōnás, pronounced Thĕ-ō-NĂS. 97. the mind: SysAP XI.36, our minds. 98. human, sarkikós < sárx, “flesh”:* the conflict between flesh and spirit is a major theme of Paul’s; see 1 Cor 3:3-4; Bauer 914a(2) suggests that in v. 3, with sarkikós, Paul is speaking of immature Christians. 99. Gk. Theóphilos, pronounced Thĕ-OH-fee-lōs. 100. abba: perhaps “abbot.” Lampe 2a cites only Evagrius, De oratio (PG 79:1165) for this definition, so I prefer to use “abba” here rather than “abbot.” Lampe notes also that “abba” can be “a sign of respect given to priests and bishops as spiritual fathers,” as later in the saying. 101. For “archbishop” see Bishop in the Glossary. 102. Abba Theophilus: SysAP XV.31, The archbishop. 103. There is no other way than this: literally “Another road* is not, except this.” SysAP XV.31 has at the beginning of this statement “In fact/Truly.”

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ers said to Abba Pambo,* 104 “Offer some counsel* to the pope* that he will profit from.” 105 The elder said to them, “If he doesn’t profit from my silence,* he can’t profit from my counsel,* either.” 3. [PG 65:200] [IV.76;1:222, 224. N162] 106 Fathers went one time to Alexandria,* summoned by Archbishop Theophilus,* 107 so [they] could offer prayer* and [he] could tear down the temples.108 While they were eating with him, veal was served, and they were eating it without a second thought.109 Taking a piece of it, the bishop* 110 gave it to the elder* closest to him, saying, “Here, this is good veal. Eat, abba.” * In response they [sic] said, “Until now we were eating vegetables. If this is meat, we won’t eat.” 111 Not one of them came close to tasting it. 104. Pambo has fourteen sayings in this volume. 105. profit, opheléō: or “benefit.” * A variant reading, PG 65:197–98, n. 6, and SysAP XV.59, continue “in this place*/here in this monastic community.” 106. See AnonAP, Wortley, 109. 107. Archbishop Theophilus: N162, blessed Archbishop Theophilus. 108. so [they] could offer prayer and [he] could tear down the temples: Theo­ philus 3, SysAP IV.76, so he could offer prayer and tear down the temples. I’ve followed N162 (Wortley, AnonAP, 109): so they could offer prayer and he could tear down the temples. Thus Theophilus is asking the monks to bless his actions. On the destruction of the Serapeum and the “Christianization of space,” see ­Norman Russell, Theophilus, 7–11; Frankfurter, Christianizing Egypt. On the murder of Hypatia by a Christian mob in 415 (Theophilus died in 412), see Maria ­Dzielska, Hypatia of Alexandria, Revealing Antiquity (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1996). Serapeum: ODLA 2:1359a; Hypatia: ODLA 1:754ab. 109. With “without a second thought” I am trying to capture the layers of the Gk. verb diakrínō. In the middle-passive voice, as here, diakrínomai means “hesitate, be in doubt,” but in the active voice “examine, consider” (Lampe 354ab). Thus the middle-passive here shows that the monks are being unthinking. Just as importantly, the cognate n., diákrisis, means “discernment.” * So the monks here in their actions show lack of discernment. 110. bishop: SysAP IV.76 and N162, archbishop. 111. we won’t eat: Theophilus 3 and SysAP IV.76; N162, Let us not eat.

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4. The same Abba Theophilus* used to say, “What fear* and trembling112 and distress113 we are going to see when the soul is separated from the body!* 114 This is because the powerful army of the opposing powers,* the rulers of darkness, the world-rulers of wickedness, and the authorities,115 the rulers [of the spirit world],116 the [spirits] of wickedness are all coming for us! 117 “With varying kinds of judgment,* they get hold of the soul,118 laying out the charges concerning all of the soul’s sins,* known and unknown, from youth until the time the soul is seized. These spirits will, as a result, accuse the soul of everything it has done. Then what kind of trembling do you think the soul will experience at that hour, until Judgment* comes forth and the soul finds out when it will finally be free. This is its moment of anguish,119 until it sees what is in store for it. “But once again the divine forces stand face to face with their adversaries, laying out the good things that the soul has done.120 Then the soul, standing between [the two forces], comes to under112. See Phil 2:12. 113. See Luke 21:23: distress [anánkē, or: calamity] in the last days (literally in those last days). 114. On the theme of spirit and flesh (body) see Rom 8:1-17. 115. authorities, archḗ (earlier “rulers”): Bauer is good here: “of angelic or transcendent powers, since they were thought of as being a political organization” (138b(6)). 116. rulers, exousía: “of transcendent rulers and functionaries, powers of the spirit world” (Bauer 353b(5b)). 117. [spirits]: PG 65:200, n. 10, corrects katoikeȋs (< katoikís = katoikás, “domestic”) to pneúmata < pneȗma, “spirit/Spirit.” Are all coming for us: this phrase begins the sentence in Greek. See Eph 6:12, slightly rearranged here. 118. get hold of: katéchō has many other meanings that can apply here: “prevent, hinder, restrain”; “hold down, suppress”; “possess”; and “confine, imprison” (Bauer 532b–33a). 119. anguish, anánkē: or, possibly, “torture,” as Bauer suggests for 2 Cor 12:10 (61A(3)). NRSV: “calamities; NIV: “hardships.” 120. forces, dýnamis: or “powers” and “powerful” as earlier; see Power in the Glossary.

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stand the real meaning of fear and trembling until the Judgment* awaiting it receives confirmation from the just Judge.121 If the soul is worthy, those [adversaries] receive their punishment and the soul is snatched away from them. Then [you] [sing.] 122 are without worry—or, rather, [you] are dwelling as it is written: 123 The dwelling place of all who are glad124 is within you.125 Then what is written comes to fulfillment: At that time pain and sorrow and groaning have fled,126 as though all happiness and joy have a dwelling-place in you.127 Then the soul, released, enters into that indescribable joy and glory* 128 into which it is being conducted. “But if the soul is found to have lived in neglect,* it hears the most dreadful voice: Away with the impious, lest they see the glory of the Lord! 129 Then the Day of Wrath130 seizes hold of the soul, the Day of Affliction,* 131 a day of darkness and gloom.132 Handed

121. just Judge: of God; see 2 Tim 4:8. Fear and trembling: 1 Cor 2:3; 2 Cor 7:15; Eph 6:5; and esp. Phil 2:12: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” 122. [you]: I’ve followed the alternate reading of PG 65:200, n. 10, which has the second-person singular rather than the PG text’s third-person singular. 123. [you] are dwelling: because of what follows, I have followed the variant reading, PG 65:199–200, n. 10, rather than the PG text’s “it is dwelling,” referring to the soul. 124. who are glad, euphraínō: or “who rejoice/celebrate”; this is the predominant meaning in the NT. 125. Ps 86:7 (LXX). 126. Isa 35:10, of the return of the Babylonian exiles to Zion. 127. See Isa 26:10 (LXX). 128. indescribable joy and glory: 1 Pet 1:8. 129. Isa 26:10 (LXX). 130. the Day of Wrath: see Rom 1:18–2:16, esp. 2:5. 131. Day of Affliction: a variant reading, PG 65:199–200, n. 11: Affliction and Distress. “The Day of Wrath” and “the Day of Affliction” are anarthrous: they have no articles, either direct (“the”) or indirect (“a”), so one could translate “a Day of Wrath” and “a Day of Affliction” 132. See Amos 5:20 (the day of the Lord).

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over to the outer darkness,133 sentenced to the eternal fire,134 the soul will be punished for unending ages. Where then is the world’s* boasting, where its empty conceit? Its reveling and shortlived indulgences, its pomp and pageantry, its rest and relaxation? 135 Where then ostentatious property and wealth? Where noble birth? Where father, where mother, where brother? 136 Who among these will be able to deliver the soul from being burned by fire, or the soul from being held by bitter punishments? “With these things being so, what kind of holy way of being and godliness must we make ours? What kind of love* ought we possess?* What kind of conduct? [PG 65:201] What way of life?* What course? What kind of standard? What kind of prayer?* What kind of certainty? 137 To be sure, it says, While we are waiting for these things, let us strive to be found spotless by him and without blemish,138 in peace,139 so that we are worthy to hear him who says ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,’* 140 forever and ever. Amen.” 141

133. See Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30. 134. Matt 18:8; 25:41; Jude 1:7. 135. rest and relaxation: anápausis, inward stillness,* is a much desired monastic state; the irony here is acute—that is, where is the false anápausis? See Inward stillness in the Glossary. 136. Most of the vocabulary of these (rhetorical) questions has New Testament significance: outer darkness (Matt 8:12; 22:13; 25:30), eternal fire (Matt 18:8; 25:41), boasting (Jas 4:13-16), empty conceit (Phil 2:3), reveling and short-lived indulgences (Luke 7:25; Heb 11:25), pomp and pageantry (Acts 25:23), property and wealth (Mark 10:23), noble birth (1 Cor 1:26), father, mother, and brother (Luke 14:26). 137. All of these questions could be exclamations. 138. See Deut 17:1; Num 19:2; Eph 5:27; and 1 Pet 1:19, among many. 139. See 2 Pet 3:14. 140. Matt 25:34. 141. See Evagrius 1 (Sayings 1:241–43) and the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Peter (http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/apocalypsepeter-mrjames.html).

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  23

5. [III.15; 1:156] When this same Abba Theophilus* the archbishop142 was about to die, he said, “Blessed are you, Abba ­Arsenius:* you always kept in mind this hour!” 143

Concerning Amma Theodora* 144 1. [PG 65:201] Amma* Theodora* asked Pope* Theophilus* what the Apostle* means when he says, making the most of the opportune time.* 145 He said to her, “The phrase means ‘making a profit.’146 For example: when the time* comes147 that someone insults you, what do you do? With humility* and patient endurance* purchase that time of insult and make a profit for yourself.148 Has there been a

142. this same Abba Theophilus: SysAP III.15, the blessed Theophilus. 143. See Arsenius 40. For Arsenius’s sayings, see Sayings 1:119–47. 144. Gk. Theodṓra, pronounced Thĕ-ō-DŌ-ră. None of Theodora’s seven sayings found their way into the SysAP (editorial prejudice?), but three (S1–S3, below; Guy, Recherches, 22–23) occur elsewhere. Of Sarah’s eight sayings, seven are in the SysAP. All of Syncletica’s eighteen are in the SysAP, and there are ten additional, S1–S10 (Guy, Recherches, 34–35). See Vivian, “Courageous Women,” 75–107; https://www.google.com/books/edition/American_Benedictine _Review_Preview/gRPUDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Courageous+ Women:+Three+Desert+Ammas%E2%80%94Theodora,+Sarah,+and+Syncleti ca&pg=PA27&printsec=frontcover. See Wipszycka, “L’Ascétisme féminin, 337–52 (WorldCat: https://www.worldcat.org/title/5570076095). 145. Col 4:5. opportune time: Gk. kairόs repeats below as “time.” 146. profit, kérdos/kérdē: see Phil 1:21, For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain [kérdos], and 3:7: Yet whatever gains [kérdē] I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 147. See John 7:6. 148. purchase: there is a play on words here: “making the most of” translates exagorázō while “purchase” here and below renders agorázō, both cognate with agorá (English agora, agoraphobia) one of whose meanings is “marketplace.”

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time* when you’ve felt humiliated? 149 With forbearance150 purchase that time,* and make a profit. If we want to, we can profit from every adversity.” 151 2. Amma* Theodora* said, “Make every effort to go through the narrow gate.152 It’s just as with trees: if they don’t have winter and heavy rains, they aren’t able to bear fruit. It’s the same with us, too: this present age* is our winter, and, except through numerous afflictions* and temptations,* we won’t be able to become heirs of the kingdom of heaven.” 153 3. She also said, “It’s good to practice contemplative quiet:* a wise man154 leads a life of contemplative quiet.* It’s truly a great thing for a virgin* or monk* to practice contemplative quiet,* especially those who are young.155 But—know this for a fact—if someone sets out to practice contemplative quiet,* immediately

149. humiliated: a variant reading, PG 65:201, n. 16, adds pseudokatēgoría, “false accusation,” but one word in the note is unintelligible, so it’s not clear how pseudokatēgoría goes with “humiliated.” 150. forbearance: the linguistic idea behind anexikakía is “doing away with evil” (kakós, kakía). It too can mean “patient endurance”; see 2 Tim 2:24 (NRSV: “patient”; NIV: “not resentful”). 151. Susanna Elm, “Virgins of God,” 263, correctly says that “[t]he central theme of Theodora’s Sayings .  .  . is self-discipline, or ‘knowing how to profit in times of conflict’ (Col 4:5), when circumstances are extreme and seemingly unbearable.” 152. narrow gate: see Matt 7:13-14. Make every effort, agōnízomai: see Fight in the Glossary. 153. able (twice), dýnamai, cognate with dýnamis; see Power in the Glossary. Heirs: or “beneficiaries.” Klēronómos (adjective as n.) and its cognate vb. and n. occur more than forty times in the NT. See Rom 8:17 and Jas 2:5. 154. The PG text here, unusually for the AlphAP, has anḗr, “man, male,” instead of ánthrōpos, “human being, person.” 155. young: Lampe does not give novice, that is, a novice monk, as one meaning for néos, but other meanings are apposite here: “young in the faith, of new converts”; “new, of additions to an existing class” (novices?); “of new life in Christ” (904a(B), 904b(IIB), 905b(C8)).

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  25

the Evil One* comes and weighs down that person’s soul: 156 with acedia,* with discouragement,157 with thoughts.* He also weighs down the body, with illnesses, with strained nerves, with weakness in the knees and in every part of the body. And he dissolves the power* of soul and body. As a result, I get weak and don’t have the strength to recite the synaxis.* 158 But—if we’re vigilant, all these things go out like a lamp.159 “Here’s an example: there was a certain monk.* As soon as he began to recite the synaxis,* he would get chills and a fever and was bothered by a headache. So he would say to himself, ‘Look, I’m sick and I may die soon. So before I die I’m going to get up and recite the synaxis.’* He made every effort to resist the thought* [that he might die soon] and recited the synaxis.* When the synaxis* was done, his fever subsided.160 Once again the brother stood up to this thought* [that he might die soon]: he offered the synaxis* and defeated the thought.” * 161

156. The adverbs “truly” (alēthṓs) and “immediately” (euthéōs) in Saying 3, with their sound, in both Greek and English, emphasize “but”: contemplative quiet is truly a great practice and virtue—but the Devil* quickly comes to abort it. 157. discouragement: oligopsychía is literally “small/diminished soul,” echoing the earlier use of “soul,” psychḗ; see 1 Thess 5:14 (NRSV: “fainthearted”; NIV: “discouraged”). 158. Theodora here skillfully moves from the somewhat abstract (third person) to the first-person singular and then with the first-person plural expands what she’s saying to include the whole community. 159. go out: dialúō here combats the Devil’s ability “to dissolve” (lúō). 160. This sentence in Greek uses an A-B-A-B pattern: done (A), the synaxis (B), subsided (A), the fever (B). In Greek both “done” and “subsided” are katapaúō, emphasizing that doing the synaxis made the fever subside; thus the subsiding (katapaúō) of the fever linguistically and thematically brings inward stillness* (anápausis). Katapaúō has other meanings resonant here: “assuage, soothe,” “give peace” (Montanari I:1069c(1A, 1F)). 161. it: a variant reading, PG 65:201, n. 18: evil.

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4A.162 This same Amma* Theodora* used to say, “One time a certain devout person was insulted* by someone, and he said to him, ‘I could say the same thing to you,163 but God’s law keeps my mouth shut.’ ” 164 4B. She also used to say [PG 65:204] this: “A certain Christian was having a discussion with a Manichean* about the body, and he said this: ‘Give the law to the body and you will see that the body belongs to the one who formed it.’ ” 165 5. The same Amma* Theodora* also said, “The person who teaches should be a stranger* to the love of power,166 alien to vanity and self-delusion, far from haughtiness and pride; [that person should] not seek out flattery, be blinded by gifts, be conquered by

162. Theodora 4 appears to combine two sayings, with the subject as God’s law, so I have designated them 4A and 4B. 163. could, dýnamai, cognate with dýnamis, “power.” * 164. Perhaps see 1 Pet 2:23: When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to [the one] who judges justly. Burton-Christie, Word, 272–73, has a good comment on this saying: the monk “does not say that he pondered the meaning of the commandment and has decided it would be better not to speak. Rather, he has appropriated the commandment so completely that it shapes his behavior on the deepest level of his being.” This sentence has an A-B-B-A structure, emphasizing that the one who forms the body also gives the law. 165. First Clement 33:4 states that God “formed humankind with his holy hands.” Elm, “Virgins of God,” 264, notes, “The Christian’s attitude here represented .  .  . corresponds exactly with that expounded half a century earlier by Serapion of Thmuis in his refutation Against the Manichees—a testimony to the unabated Manichaean challenge to Egyptian asceticism.” See further Guy S. Stroumsa, “The Manichaean Challenge to Egyptian Christianity,” in Birger A. Pearson and James E. Goehring, eds., The Roots of Egyptian Christianity (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986), 307–19. 166. love of power, philarchía: a variant reading, PG 65:203–44, n. 20, has the similar-sounding “love of money,” philarguría. The former does not occur in the NT; 1 Tim 6:10 says that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. See the contrast below with philópsychos, “lover of souls.”

Th / Thȇta / Ɵ  27

the belly, or be ruled by anger.* 167 Instead, [the person who teaches should be] patient* and even-tempered, courteous and forbearing and, as far as possible, completely humble,* 168 approved for the position, accommodating, prudent, and a lover of souls.” 6. The same Amma* Theodora* also used to say this: “Neither ascetic* practice nor keeping vigils* nor all kinds of toil and ­suffering will save* [us] without genuine humility.* 169 Here’s why: there was a certain anchorite* who used to drive away demons,* and he would question them: ‘Why do you come out here? In order to fast?’* “They would say, ‘We neither eat nor drink.’ “ ‘In order to keep vigils?’* “They would say, ‘We don’t sleep.’ “ ‘In order to withdraw* from the world?’* “ ‘We live in deserted* places.’ “ ‘Why, then, do you come out here?’ “They would say, ‘Nothing defeats us except humility.’* “Do you see that humility* means victory over demons?” * 7. Amma* Theodora* also said, “There was a certain monk* who had so many temptations* that he said, ‘I’m getting out of here.’ While he was putting on his sandals, he saw another person putting his on, too, and saying to him, ‘You’re not leaving because of me, are you? Look, I’m walking right in front of you, wherever you go.’ ”

167. belly: see Phil 3:19, Their end is destruction, their god is the belly. 168. as far as possible: a variant reading, PG 65:203–4, n. 21, above all. 169. In Syncletica S9, Syncletica makes humility* a precondition for salvation: “Just as a ship cannot be built without nails, so too is it impossible to be saved without humility.” In Life of Syncletica [LifeSyn] 57 (p. 38), referring to Jesus, Syncletica links humility and salvation: “Because humility is good and salvific [sōtḗrios, cognate with sōtḗr, ‘Savior’], the Lord clothed himself in it while fulfilling the economy [of salvation] for humanity. For he says, Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble [tapeinós] of heart” (Matt 11:29).

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S1. [Guy, 22–23] 170 The same Amma* Theodora* was asked about listening to others, “How can a person in general welcome what those in the world* say and ‘be with God alone,’ as you say? ” 171 She said, “It’s like this: if you’re having a meal and there’s plenty to eat, you go ahead and eat, but not with pleasure.172 In the same way, if you hear what those in the world* are saying,173 keep your heart* oriented towards God; by doing this, you will hear them, but not with pleasure, and you won’t be harmed at all.” S2. [Guy, 23] She said,174 “Another monk* was tested* by a whole multitude of lice that caused his body to itch (and he came from wealth).175 And the demons* were saying to him, ‘You’re OK living like this, producing worms?’ And that monk,* through patience,* claimed victory.” 176 S3. [Guy, 23] One of the elders asked Amma* Theodora,* “At the resurrection of the dead, how will we be raised? ”

170. The numbers for the “S” sayings refer to page numbers in Guy, Re­ cherches. 171. See, perhaps, Matt 6:6. 172. This may mean having a meal as a guest; monastic meals were rarely large. 173. what those in the world are saying: literally “worldly* words,” * lógoi kosmikoí. 174. Although this saying does not identify Theodora, it comes between two others and is probably hers. I have added “She said.” 175. It’s striking what this five-word parenthesis says about the rich and the poor, and the chasm between them that the lice from the poor neighborhoods can’t cross. 176. patience, makrothumía: the cognate verb makrothuméō can indicate ­patience in the face of temptation* or trial (Lampe 825a(3)).

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She said, “We have a pledge and a model177 and first fruit178 who died for us179 and was raised—Christ our God.” 180

177. model, hypódeigma: see John 3:15, where Jesus says, I have set you an example [hypódeigma]. 178. first fruit, aparchḗ: in 1 Cor 15 Paul discusses the resurrection of Christ. In 15:20 he declares that in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. The offering of first fruits to God is very important in the HB; see Exod 23:19; Lev 23:10; Deut 18:4. 179. Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:14; 1 Thess 5:10. 180. Rom 8:34. The phrase “Christ our God” does not occur in the NT, but see John 20:28, where Thomas exclaims “My Lord and my God!” and Titus 2:13, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Chapter 9 1

I / Iȏ ta / I Concerning Abba John* the Little2 1.3 [PG 65:204] [XIV.4; 2:254] 4 [LifeJn 25:88–89)] 5 They used to recount* about John* the Little that after he had withdrawn* 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Iōánnēs Kolobós, pronounced yō-ĂN-nees kō-lō-BŌS. “Little” translates kolobós, “small, low,” but the word can have stronger meanings: “mutilated, castrated” (Montanari I:1153a). It just may be that John was a eunuch. Others translate the name as “John the Dwarf,” which is also possible. Of the forty-seven sayings here, almost half (twenty-three) have parallels with the Life of John the Little. I have noted these in the sayings; see Maged S. A. Mikhail and Tim Vivian, eds., The Holy Workshop of Virtue: The Life of John the Little by Zacharias of Sakha, CS 234 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2010) (LifeJn). 3. A longer version of this saying is John Cassian, Institutes 4.24 (pp. 90–91); there the saying is about John of Lycopolis, and the stick does not take root. 4. The first number in the first brackets, for example PG 65:204, indicates the page number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 64:205]—indicates the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example XIV.4, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:254, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number, so: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. “N” sayings are from AnonAP, the page(s) indicated thus: Wortley, 235. Wortley’s volume is a bilingual text, Greek and English. 5. This third set of numbers, for example (LifeJn 25:88–89), gives the section and page number(s) in Mikhail and Vivian, Holy Workshop. 31

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[from the world*] to be with an elder* from Thebes* who was in Scetis,* he was dwelling in the desert.* Taking some dry wood, his abba planted it and said to him, “Water this stick every day with a small flask of water until it bears fruit.” 6 The water was a long way from them, so he left late in the day and returned early in the morning. After three years [the wood] came to life and bore fruit. Taking its fruit, the elder took it into the church and said to the brothers, “Take this, eat the fruit of obedience.” * 7 2. [X.36; 2:34] [LifeJn 34:94] They used to say about John* the Little that one time he said to his older brother, “I [want] 8 to be free of worries, just as the angels are free of worries, not working* at all but worshiping God without ceasing.” 9 He took off his himation* and went out into the desert,* spent a week there, and returned to his brother. When he knocked on the door, his brother answered and, before opening the door, said, “Who are you? ” He said, “I’m John,* your brother.” [PG 65:205] In response his brother said to him, “John* has become an angel and no longer lives among humans.” John* appealed* to him, saying, “It’s me!” 10 His brother didn’t open the door to him but left him there until dawn, in distress.* When he finally opened the door to him, he 6. LifeJn identifies the elder as Abba Amoi. 7. In 1 Cor 11:24, at the Passover, Jesus says, This is my body that is for you (NRSV); the KJV has “Take, eat: this is my body.” In 1 Cor 11:26-27 he does use “eat.” In Gen 3:1-7 Eve eats the fruit in disobedience. 8. [want]: SysAP X.36; the PG text has “I wanted” (imperfect tense). 9. John is, really, being blasphemous here: work (érgon) and working (ergázomai here) are central to early monasticism. The practice of “praying without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17) and thus not working was that of the Euchites.* The ideal was to combine work and prayer. “The work of the Lord,” which the monks believed they were doing, is important for Paul: 1 Cor 15:58; 16:10. On work, Jas 2:17 says, So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead (see 2:1-12). 10. SysAP X.36 continues, “Open the door for me!”

I / Iȏta / I  33

said, “You’re human, so you need to get back to work* so you can eat.” 11 John* prostrated* himself, saying, “Forgive me.” 3. [IV.20; 1:194] [LifeJn 61:109] Abba John* the Little said, “If a king wants to seize an enemy city, he first takes control of the water and food; in this way the enemies, dying off because of hunger, submit to him.12 So, too, with the passions* of the flesh:* if a person maintains the monastic* practice of fasting* and hunger, [his] enemies sicken and waste away from his soul.” 13 4. [V.3; 1:242] He also said: “A person who eats like a pig14 and speaks with a child has already with his thoughts* committed sexual sin.” * 15 11. eat: tréphō has a number of other meanings apposite here: “to nourish, grow, raise”; “feed, nourish, maintain, support”; “nurture, bring up, raise.” It can also be used of animals such as horses: “breed, rear.” 12. an enemy city: literally “a city of enemies.” 13. This saying is nicely written: “enemies” occurs three times; “hunger” occurs twice; “monastic practice” translates politeúomai, cognate with politeía, “citizenship” (pólis), which in monastic parlance came to mean “way of life,* conduct, behavior” (Lampe 1113a(F)). Thus the monastic life is a polis, a community, besieged by enemies whom the monk can ward off with an ascetic* way of life (“fasting and hunger”). Echthroí, “enemies,” often refers to Satan* and demons (see Enemy in the Glossary); see Luke 10:19, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy [or: the Enemy] and Rom 11:28, As regards the gospel they are enemies of God. See Bauer 419ab. 14. “Eats like a pig,” chortázōmai, from chórtos, “enclosure for pasturing; grass forage, hay, fodder,” “usually refers to feeding, usually cattle, but it can refer to pigs” (Montanari II:2370a, 2370c). Compare Ger. fressen vs. essen: essen, “to eat”; fressen: “to eat, to feed on, to devour; (of a person, derogatory) to stuff oneself; to gorge oneself; to eat like a pig” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fressen). In the Parable of the Lost Son (The Prodigal Son), Luke 15:11-32, the prodigal son would gladly have filled himself [chortázōmai] with the pods that the pigs were eating (v. 16). I would translate “would gladly have stuffed himself.” 15. With great economy, and with the statement’s power residing in verbs, “eats like a pig” (chortázō) and “committed sexual sin” (porneúō) are each one word in Greek.

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5. [IV.21; 1:194] He also said, “Going up the road* from ­ cetis* one day with some rope,16 I saw a camel driver who was S talking, and he was making me angry.* I put down what I was carrying and fled.” * 17 6. [LifeJn 45:100] In the same way, another time, at the harvest he heard a brother speaking angrily* to his neighbor,* saying, “You, too?!” Putting down what he had harvested, he fled.* 7. [X.37; 2:36] Some elders* at Scetis* were passing the time* together eating with one another; Abba John* was also with them. A renowned priest18 got up in order to offer [them] a flagon of water, but no one was willing to accept it from him except John* the Little, only he.* The elders* were astonished* and said to him, “How did you, the absolute least [among us],19 dare to be served by the priest? ” He said to them, “As for me, when I get up to offer the flagon, I rejoice if everyone accepts it. This way I have my reward.* So too for me here: I accepted [this flagon] in order to get a reward* for him, and so he wouldn’t be sad and feel afflicted* because no one accepted [the flagon] from him.” They were amazed,* and benefited* from his discernment.* 20

16. “Up” in Egypt often means going south. Because the Nile flows from south to north, upper Egypt means southern Egypt. 17. what I was carrying: tò skeȗos, especially the pl., tà skeúē, often indicates the wares that monks made and sold, often in a nearby town or city. The monks plaited rope and made baskets from palm. 18. A renowned priest: SysAP X.37, A priest/A certain priest. 19. least, mikrós (the comparative mikróteros occurs here): there may be a play on words here. The basic meaning of mikrós is “small, little.” John’s surname, Kolobós, can mean “small, low.” Mikróteros may have a biblical echo here: Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me; for the least [mikróteros] among all of you is the greatest (Luke 9:48). A variant reading, PG 65:205, n. 23, and SysAP X.37 have “least of all/everyone.” See John’s response where he rejoices. 20. benefited from his discernment: SysAP X.37, benefited greatly from his discernment.

I / Iȏta / I  35

8. [XVI.4; 2:394] [LifeJn 12:80–81] One time Abba John* the Little was sitting in front of the church; the brothers were sitting around him and asking him questions about their thoughts.* When one of the elders* saw him, warred* upon by jealousy he said to him, “Your flagon, John,* is filled with poison.” 21 Abba John* said to him, “So it is, abba—and you said this seeing only what’s outside. If you saw what’s inside, what would you have to say? ” 22 9. [III.16; 1:156] [LifeJn 69:114] The fathers used to say that one time when the brothers were eating an agápē meal,* one brother at the table laughed. When Abba John* saw this, he wept and said, “What can this brother possibly have in his heart* [PG 65:208] that he laughed? He should have wept instead because he’s eating an agápē.” 23 10. [XI.37; 2:152] [LifeJn 14:81] One time some of the brothers tested* him: 24 was he accustomed neither to allow his thoughts* to be distracted* nor to speak about some matter regarding this age?* So they said to him, “We give thanks to God that it rained a lot this year so the palm trees got plenty of water and put forth fronds and the brothers have [material for] their handiwork.” *

21. We probably have disorder in the monastic pecking order here: the elder,* as elder, takes umbrage at John, presumably not an elder, for presuming to offer counsel* and having listeners/disciples. This “elder” calls Abba John merely “John,” not “Abba John”; the text resumes with “Abba John,” and Abba John politely refers to his interlocutor as “abba.” 22. inside: ésō, often, as in the Life of Antony and the Life of Paul of Thebes, indicates the interior wilderness or desert* in Egypt, far from civilization, where one especially battles demons.* See John the Little S6 below. 23. See Love in the Glossary. 24. tested: peirázō, also means “to tempt,” as in the Temptation of Jesus: Matt 4:1-11 (v. 1); Mark 1:12-13 (v. 13); Luke 4:1-13 (v. 2). See Temptation in the Glossary.

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Abba John* said to them, “It’s the same with the Holy Spirit: when the Spirit descends into people’s hearts,* 25 they are renewed and put forth fronds in the fear* of the Lord.” 26 11. [XI.38; 2:152] [LifeJn 41:98] They also used to say about him that one time he plaited cord for two small baskets and stitched the cord into one basket and didn’t become aware of it until the basket approached the wall.27 This happened because he was devoting his thoughts* to spiritual contemplation.* 12. [XI.40; 2:154] [LifeJn 13:81] Abba John* said, “I’m like a person sitting under a large tree watching a lot of wild beasts and reptiles coming at him. When he’s not able to stand up to them he scoots up into the tree and is saved.* It’s the same with me: I sit in my cell* and watch the evil thoughts* up above me. When I don’t have the strength [to oppose] them, I flee* to God for refuge; 28 through prayer* I am saved* from the enemy.” * 29 13. [VII.12; 1:342] [LifeJn 21:86–87] Abba Poemen* said about Abba John* the Little that he called* upon God and the passions* were taken away from him, and he became free from anxiety and was tranquil. So he went and said to a certain elder,* “I see myself as one with inward stillness,* with no warfare*

25. people’s hearts: a variant reading, PG 65:208, n. 25, and SysAP XI.37, the hearts of the saints. 26. when the Spirit descends (katabaínō): see Matt 3:16, the descent of the Spirit of God at Jesus’ baptism. Renewed: ananeóō (néos, “new,” English neologism) can mean the sun’s return; in Christian use it can refer to the resurrection of bodies, and “especially of the image of God renewed in [humans] through Christ” (Lampe 114a). In Greek here “renewed” does not have an explicit subject, noun or pronoun, so it could refer to renewing “hearts” or “people.” The fear of the Lord: SysAP XI.37, the fear of God. “The fear of God” or “fear of the Lord” occurs often in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. 27. Here again, the verb has no subject, so it could be “until he approached the wall” (with his basket making). 28. flee for refuge, katapheúgō < pheúgō, “flee.* 29. the enemy: echthrós here may refer to the thoughts threatening from above or to “the Enemy,” that is, Satan.*

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going on,” and the elder* said to him, “Go, call upon* God so that warfare* returns to you, along with the affliction* and humility* you had before,30 because it’s through different battles* that the soul makes progress.” 31 So Abba John* called upon* [God],32 and, when warfare* came, he didn’t pray* for it to be taken away from him but would say instead, “Lord, give me patient endurance* during the different battles.” * 33 14. [XVIII.10; 3:50, 52] [LifeJn 20:85–86] Abba John* said, “One of the elders* had a vision* during mystical* ecstasy: 34 three monks were standing on the other shore of the sea! A voice came to them from the other shore, saying ‘Take wings of fire and come to me.’35

30. along with the affliction and humility you had before: SysAP VII.12 lacks. Humility: tapeínōsis can also mean “self-abasement, mortification” (Bauer 990b). 31. “battles,” pólemos, the word for “warfare” above and below. 32. So Abba John called upon [God]: SysAP VII.12, He said, “Lord, give me strength in the battles.” 33. Once again the phrasing is deliberate: “warfare/battle,” * polemós, occurs four times, once when John is trying to rid himself of it, and three times when he battles as a monk must. He first prays* for the passions* to be taken away (hairéō), only not to pray* for this at the end. 34. had a vision: the text has “saw,” without a direct object; the Latin translation in PG 65 has visionem, which I have followed. Guy, SysAP 3:51, translates “vit en extase.” Ecstasy, ékstasis, literally “standing outside/apart from (oneself),” “a state of being in which consciousness is wholly or partially suspended, frequently associated with divine action, trance, ecstasy” (Bauer 309b). See Gen 2:21 (the story of Adam’s rib); 15:12 (the Lord speaks to Abram) (both in LXX, where the word occurs often). See Acts 10:10; 11:5; 22:17. The KJV, NRSV, and NIV use “trance,” which I don’t agree with; “trance” almost dismisses what’s mystical. See Vision(s)1 and Vision(s)2 in the Glossary. 35. wings of fire: in Ezek 1, “The Vision of the Chariot,” Ezekiel sees “something like four living creatures.” He doesn’t say that the wings are aflame. In Isa 6 the prophet speaks of seraphs, with six wings, but there is no mention of fire. See Ps 104:4; Heb 1:7. Hebrew saraph, though, means “burning one,” one aflame.

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“Two of them took [wing] and flew to the other shore, but the one stayed there, weeping greatly and crying out. Later, wings were given to him, but they weren’t of fire but were feeble, without strength.36 With hard work, being thrown into the sea and arising from it,37 greatly afflicted,* he came to the other side. So too with this generation: even if it does receive wings, they’re not of fire but rather totally feeble, without strength.” 15. [IX.12; 1:436] [LifeJn 64:112–13] A brother asked Abba John,* “How is it that my soul, bearing wounds, is not ashamed to slander* my neighbor? ” * The elder* told him [PG 65:209] a parable because of the slander* going on: “A certain person was poor* and had a wife. He saw another woman;* she was attractive,38 so he took her. Both of the women were naked. Now, a public festival took place somewhere or another, and they urged* him [to take them], saying, ‘Take us with you!’39 So, taking the two, he put them in a barrel and boarded ship, and they arrived at the place.* When it got hot and people were resting,40 one of the women looked out and, not seeing anyone, jumped out, [ran] to the town dump, gathered some old, ragged clothing, made herself something to cover her, and then brazenly walked around.41 36. without strength, adýnamos: an alpha negative + dýnamos, cognate with dýnamis, “power,” * and dýnamai, “can, be able.” 37. arising from: anístēmi is cognate with anástasis, “a rising, resurrection.” 38. attractive: p(e)ithanós here could also mean “docile,” easily persuadable, perhaps even gullible (Montanari II:1663a). 39. Since this story is explicitly a parable, it’s worth noting that “place” * is tópos, which can also mean a monastic community. 40. Parabolic wordplay continues: “resting” translates hēsycházō, cognate with hēsychía, “contemplative quiet.” * 41. something to cover her: perízōma normally means a loincloth or apron, something for the lower body. But one would think that she also covered her upper body. The Bull-Leaping Fresco from Knossos, Crete, shows a woman wearing a perízōma with her upper body uncovered, but this fresco is about 2,000 years earlier than our text. Brazenly: parrēsía, which can be positive or negative; see Confidence in the Glossary.

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“The other woman, sitting [inside the barrel] naked, was saying, ‘Look at this whore,’ [she said,] ‘walking around naked, un­ ashamed!’42 Annoyed, her husband said, ‘Amazing!* She at any rate covers her shame. And you—you’re completely naked and speaking like that without shame?! This is what slander* is.’ ” 16. [LifeJn 67:113] The elder* would also speak to the brother about the soul that wants to repent*: “There was a beautiful ­prostitute* in a certain city, and she had a lot of friends. One governor came to her and said to her, ‘Promise me to be chaste and I’ll take you as my wife,’ and she promised him [she would]. So he took her and led her away to his home. But her friends, looking for her, were saying, ‘This governor has taken her to his home. But if we leave here and go into his home, and he learns about it, he’ll take revenge on us. But let’s go behind the house and whistle for her; when she recognizes the sound of [our] whistling, she’ll come downstairs to us, and we’ll be found without blame.’ But when she heard them whistling, she covered her ears with her hands, hurried to the inner room, and shut the doors.43 “He would say that the prostitute* is the soul, her friends are the passions,* and [we] human beings; the governor is Christ; the interior dwelling is the eternal habitation; 44 those whistling for her are the evil demons.* She’s always fleeing* to the Lord.” 45

42. whore, pornḗ: see Prostitute in the Glossary. 43. Once again, “inner” and “inner room” can be symbolic, as we see in the allegory in the next paragraph: flight from the world* to the inner sanctuary of one’s true self (Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert [New York: New Directions, 1960]). 44. habitation, monḗ: see John 14:2 (In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places [monḗ in pl.]. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?); in Luke 16:9 Jesus uses “eternal homes,” and 2 Esd 2:11 uses “eternal habitations.” There is also a significant play on words here for a monastic audience: monḗ, “habitation,” also means “monastery,” and the cognate mónos can mean “monk.” 45. “She” can refer either to the prostitute or the soul, both feminine nouns, or, since this saying is a parable, both.

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17. [XVII.10; 3:16] One time when Abba John* was going up from Scetis* with other brothers, their guide,46 when it was night, got them lost,47 so the brothers said to Abba John,* “What should we do, abba?* Lost, could we die because the brother has lost the path? ” * The elder* said to them, “If we tell him, he’ll get sad and will feel ashamed.* But look—I’ll pretend to get sick and will say, ‘I can’t travel, so I’ll stay here until dawn,’ ” and he did. So the others said, “We won’t go on, either; no, we’re staying here with you.” And they stayed there until morning and didn’t offend the brother.48 18. [XI.41; 2:154] There was an elder* in Scetis* who worked his body hard but wasn’t conscientious about his thoughts,* so he went to Abba John* to ask him about forgetfulness.49 He got some counsel* from him and returned to his cell*—and forgot [PG 65:212] what Abba John* had said to him.50 So he left again to ask him. After he heard similar counsel* from him he went back, but when he arrived at his cell* he forgot again, and so he left over and over again, and [every time] on his way back he was overcome by forgetfulness.51 46. We may again be in the realm of metaphor and parable: “guide” translates hodēgós < hodós, “way,” * “path.” 47. got them lost: planáō (English planet, something that wanders) may well be parabolic here: “to make err,” “lead into error, cheat, deceive” (Montanari II:1673a(1)). Thus the guide has lost his way and led them astray, but John refuses to pass judgment* on him. 48. offend: again parabolically, skandalízō (English scandalize) can mean “cause to stumble,” “to cause to fall into sin” (Montanari II:1920a); see Matt 5:29; 18:6. 49. forgetfulness, lḗthē, cognate with lanthánō, “to forget” (below in the saying) in classical Greek means “oblivion,” and Lethe is the name of the river of forgetfulness in the underworld. 50. he got some counsel:* literally “He heard a word [lógos].” See Spiritual guidance in the Glossary. 51. overcome: katakyrieúō has kýrios, “lord, master,” as its base and means “to subjugate, overcome, rule, dominate,” so we could say that forgetfulness “lorded it over” the monk.

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Later on, the elder* ran into Abba John* and said, “You know, abba, I kept forgetting what you had told me but, so I wouldn’t bother you, I didn’t come back.” 52 Abba John* said to him, “Go, light a lamp,” and he lit one. He said to him again, “Bring some other lamps and light them from the one lit.” He did this, too. Abba John* said to the elder,* “Was the lamp in any way damaged because you lit the other lamps from it? ” 53 He said, “No.” The elder* [Abba John] said, “It’s the same with John.* If Scetis* came to see me, all of Scetis, it certainly wouldn’t keep me from the grace* of Christ.54 So whenever you want to, come without thinking twice about it.” 55 Thus, through the patient endurance* of both, God took away the forgetfulness from the elder.* This was the practice56 of the monks* of Scetis:* to make eager those waging battle* and with enthusiasm to make themselves fervent to gain one another for what’s good. 19. [XI.44; 2:156] A brother asked Abba John,* “What should I do? Oftentimes a brother comes to take me to work,* and, since I’m both wretched and weak,57 I struggle and get exhausted doing

52. This statement can also be a question, as the PG text has it. SysAP XI.41 (Guy, Apophtegmes, 2:154) has it as a statement. 53. The sentence begins with the negative mḗ, which implies a negative response. 54. the grace of Christ: SysAP XI.41, the grace of God. 55. it certainly wouldn’t keep me from: the basic meaning of empodízō is “to impede, put something in front of one’s feet” (Lat. impedire has the same meaning); it can also mean “to chain, fetter.” Tò empódisma is an obstacle. 56. practice, ergasía < érgon, “work.” * 57. wretched (talaípōros): see Rom 7:24, Wretched [talaípōros] person that I am. Weak: asthenḗs can also refer to the inner life; see Rom 5:6; 1 Cor 8:7-9.

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such work.58 So what should I do on account of the commandment? ” * 59 The elder answered and said, “Caleb said to Joshua son of Nun, ‘I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord from the desert,* 60 sent you and me to this land,61 and now I’m eightyfive. I’m as strong and able now as I was then to go to war* and come back from it.’62 “So, then, the same with you: if you’re able to go and come back [like Caleb], go.63 But if you’re unable to do this, sit in your cell* and weep for your sins, and if they find you sad and grieving, they won’t force you to leave.” 64 20. Abba John* said, “Who sold Joseph? ” and one of the brothers answered, “His brothers,” so the elder* said to him, “No; it was really his humility* that sold him. He could have said, ‘I’m their brother’ and objected, but he remained silent* and, by practicing humility,* sold himself. And humility* appointed him ruler of Egypt.” 65 58. struggle and get exhausted (kopiáō): here again, kopiáō can mean “to exert oneself physically, mentally, or spiritually”; it can be positive, “work hard, toil, strive,” and negative “distress, discomfort, trouble, difficulty” (Bauer 558b). 59. commandment: see perhaps Matt 7:7. 60. desert, érēmos: or “wilderness.” The word occurs numerous times in Exodus; see 8:27-28; 13:18-20. A variant reading, PG 65:212, n. 30, and SysAP XI.44 lack “from the desert.” Servant of the Lord: Exodus refers to Moses as a servant, people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses (Exod 14:31). On Caleb and Joshua see Josh 14-15. 61. sent: apostéllō, “to send forth, as Jesus does,” cognate with apóstolos, “apostle.” 62. Josh 14:10-11 (NRSV); 14:7, 10-11 (LXX); the quotation is not exact. 63. go and come back: literally “come out” and “go in.” 64. sad and grieving: penthéō can also mean “to mourn,” “mourn over the dead.” In 1 Cor 5:1-2 Paul tells the Corinthians to mourn for their sexual immorality. 65. See Gen 37:12-36 and 41:37-45. Ruler, hēgoúmenos:* in the Pachomian* koinonia a hēgoúmenos was a monastic superior, as in the Eastern churches today. Humility: in Matt 11:29 Jesus says, I am gentle and humble in heart.

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21.66 Abba John* said, “We have set aside the light burden— that is, finding fault with ourselves—and are carrying the heavy one—that is, justifying ourselves.” 67 22. [XV.35; 2:308] [LifeJn 23:87] The same [elder] said, “Humility* and the fear* of God68 are greater than all the virtues.”* 69 23.70 The same [elder] was sitting one time in church, and he sighed, not knowing that someone was behind him.71 [PG 65:213] When he realized it, he prostrated* himself, saying, “Forgive me, abba.* I haven’t been [properly] instructed yet.” 72 24. [XI.42; 2:156] The same elder* used to say to his disciple, “Let us honor The One Who Is, and everyone will honor us.73 But 66. It’s possible that an editor has compressed this saying: John says, “We have set aside the light burden and are carrying the heavy one,” and someone asks, “What are the light and heavy burdens? ” and John responds with an explanation. 67. “justifying ourselves” is a pregnant phrase. The root dik-, as in dikaióō, “to justify,” is part of numerous words in the NT: díkaios, “upright, just, fair”; dikaiosúnē, “fairness, justice, righteousness”; dikaíōs, “justly, in an upright manner” (Bauer 246a–50a). This saying may be midrashing Matt 11:28-30 (they have two words in common), but the points they make are very different. 68. fear of God: see Prov 9:10. 69. “greater,” hyperánō; in Luke 14:7-11, which the NRSV titles “Humility and Hospitality,” Jesus tells a wedding guest not to sit at the place of honor but rather when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’ [anṓteros]; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. In an honor-shame* society, “lowest” indicates someone with less honor. So Jesus is saying that if a person begins with humility, the host (that is, God) will seat that person higher, that is, in a place with honor. 70. See Tithoës 6. 71. sighed: stenázō can also mean “to groan.” 72. instructed: katēchéō, cognate with katḗchēsis, “instruction” (English catechism) can mean to instruct catechumens so they can join the church; in the early church, one not catechized and accepted into the church had to leave between the sermon and the Eucharist. John, then, by analogy, in this instance sees himself as a catechumen, not a full member. 73. The One Who Is (ὁ ὤν; ho ṓn): see Exod 3:13-14: But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent

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if we treat The One Who Is—who is God—with contempt, everyone will treat us with contempt, and we’ll be headed for destruction.” 74 25. They used to say about Abba John* that he went into the church in Scetis* and, having heard arguing among some of the brothers, went back to his cell* and walked around it three times and afterwards went in. When some brothers saw him they had no idea why he’d done it. They came and asked him [about it], and he said to them, “My ears were filled with [their] arguing, so I walked around [my cell*] three times so I could cleanse them; this way I went with peace of mind* into my cell.” * 75 26. [LifeJn 56b:106] A brother one time came to Abba John’s* cell* in the evening, in a hurry to get away. While they were speaking about virtues,* dawn arrived, and they weren’t aware of it. Abba John* went outside to see him off, and they continued to talk until the sixth* hour. Abba John* escorted him back inside, they ate, and in this way the brother left. me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am’ [LXX: ᾿Εγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν]. He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am [῾Ο ὤν] has sent me to you.” ’ ” The Wisdom of Solomon 13:1, probably based on Exodus, speaks with the same two words of God as “the one who exists.” The Neoplatonists “shared with the Stoics and the Hermetists (an influential group of Egyptian religious thinkers that predate the rise of Neoplatonism) .  .  . that reality, in all its cognitive and physical manifestations, depended on a highest principle which is unitary and singular. Neoplatonic philosophy is a strict form of principle-monism that strives to understand everything on the basis of a single cause that [the Neoplatonists] considered ­divine, and indiscriminately referred to as ‘the First,’ ‘the One,’ or ‘the Good’ ” (“Neoplatonism,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford .edu/entries/neoplatonism/.) My thanks to The Rev. Dr. Joseph Trigg for supplying much of the information here. 74. destruction: see Matt 7:13; Phil 1:28; Heb 10:39; Rev 17:8, among others. Second Thess 2:3 equates destruction with an anti-Christ figure: Let no one ­deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 75. peace of mind, hēsychía toȗ noós (< noȗs): see Contemplative quiet and Mind in the Glossary.

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27. [XI.43; 2:156] Abba John* used to say: “ ‘Prison’ means to sit in your cell* and keep your mind on God at all times.76 This, then, is [the meaning of] I was in prison, and you came to see me.” 77 28. [IV.61; 1:214] Another time he said, “Who’s as strong as the lion? And yet, because of its belly it falls into a trap and all of its strength is humbled.” * 78 29. He would also say, “The fathers of Scetis,* eating bread* and salt, used to say, ‘Let’s not make bread* and salt mandatory.’ By doing this they had the strength to do God’s work.” * 30.79 A certain brother came to get some baskets from Abba John.* The abba came out and said to him, “What do you want, brother? ” He said, “Some baskets, abba.” He went inside to get some but forgot, and sat sewing. Once again the brother knocked, and when Abba John* came out the brother said to him, “Bring the basket [sic], abba.” 76. at all times: PG 65:213, n. 32, notes an alternate reading, which SysAP XI.43 also has: “at all times with vigilance* [nḗpsis].” Nḗpsis has a range of meaning: “sobriety, temperance”; “sober-mindedness”; “vigilance, alertness.” Nḗpsis doesn’t occur in the NT, but its cognate verb nḗphō, “be well-balanced, self-controlled” (Bauer 672b), occurs twice in 1 Thess (5:6, 8) and four times in the Pastoral Epistles. 77. Matt 25:36. There is deeper meaning here: Jesus says, When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on the throne of glory like a king. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me” (25:31-36). In Philemon 1 Paul twice refers to himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus (1:1, 9). 78. is humbled: tapeinóō, which can also mean “brought down, humiliated,” is cognate with tapeinophrosúnē, an important monastic term: “humility,* modesty,” common in the Pauline material; Phil 2:3 is apposite here: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 79. See the next saying.

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He again went inside and sat sewing, and once again that brother knocked. Abba John* came out and said to him, “What do you want, brother? ” He said, “The basket [sic], abba.” Taking him by the hand, Abba John* brought him inside and said, “If it’s baskets you want, take [what you want] and go. I don’t have the leisure [to deal with such matters].” 80 31.81 [XI.39; 2:152] One time a camel driver came to get some wares from Abba John* and then leave to go elsewhere,82 but when Abba John* went inside to get him some cord, he forgot, keeping his mind extended towards God. So the camel driver knocked on the door again, bothering him.83 Once again, Abba John* went inside and forgot. So, for the third time, the camel driver knocked, went inside, and was saying, “Cord, camel. Cord, camel.” 84 32. The same elder became ardent in spirit.85 Someone visiting him praised his work* [PG 65:216] (he was working* making rope), but Abba John* remained silent.* Again that person began a conversation with him, and Abba John* was again silent.* The third time he said to the visitor, “Ever since you came here, you’ve driven God away from me.” 86 80. A language note: “to have leisure” is scholázō, scholḗ, “leisure employed in learning” (English scholar and school). In other words, to be a scholar, to go to school, you had to have the leisure of not working dawn to dusk. 81. See the previous saying. 82. elsewhere: literally “another place,” * so possibly another monastic community. 83. “To bother,” ochléō, can also mean “disturb, annoy, irritate.” Given the monastic context here, far from the madding crowd, it’s worth noting that ochléō is cognate with ochlós, “crowd, multitude.” 84. PG 65:213, n. 34, notes a longer variant reading: “He was saying this so he [Abba John] wouldn’t forget.” SysAP XI.39 ends with one “Cord, camel.” 85. See Rom 12:11. “Became”: or “was,” gégone, from gí(g)nomai. 86. There is a word play here: “visit” translates parabállō; “driven” translates bállō, whose basic meaning is “throw, cast.” Mark 1:12 uses the verb in the temptation scene; after Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit immediately drove him out [bállō] into the wilderness. (Ameliorating Mark, Matt 4:1 and Luke 4:1 use was

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33. [LifeJn 55:104–5] A certain elder went into Abba John’s* cell* and found him sleeping, and [he saw] an angel standing by him, fanning him. When he saw this, he left. When Abba John* got up he said to his disciple, “Did someone come here while I was sleeping? ” “Yes,” the disciple said, “this certain elder.” * So Abba John* realized that the elder* had reached the same level as he had and that he had seen the angel. 34. [I.13; 1:108] 87 Abba John* said, “As for me, I want to see the person participate a little in all of the virtues.* 88 So, then, when you get up each day at dawn, go back to the beginning with every virtue* 89 and commandment* of God: with the greatest patience,* with fear* and with a steadfast heart,* with love* of God, with complete willingness of soul and body* and complete humility,* patiently* enduring affliction* 90 of heart* and yet keeping watch,* with great prayer* and entreaty,* 91 with sighs and groans, with purity of speech and safeguarding* the eyes, suffering ill-treatment and yet not getting angry,* living in peace, not repaying evil for evil,92 not focusing on the mistakes of others, not esteeming yourself (being beneath the whole of creation), renouncing* the world*

led [anágō/ágō] up by the Spirit.) PG 65:216, n. 35, has a similar-sounding ­variant, élabes (lambánō), instead of the text’s ébales (bállō), “driven.” 87. In the list of virtues in this saying many of the words have multiple meanings; for another translation, see Wortley, Give Me, 139. 88. “the person,” lacking an antecedent, seems odd; SysAP I.13 is the same. Perhaps the saying here is a continuation of a longer saying where “the person” was the subject. Perhaps this person focused on only one or two or a few of the virtues. Or maybe it should be “a person.” 89. There is wordplay here: “participate” translates metalambánō and “go back,” epilambánō. 90. See 2 Tim 4:5. 91. Lampe, 1128b(B2b), points to John 17:20-24, where Jesus entreats his Father on behalf of his followers (for example, v. 23: that they may become completely one). 92. Rom 12:17; 1 Pet 3:9.

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of matter and the world* according to the flesh,* 93 on the cross,* at war,* in poverty* of spirit,94 with dedication and spiritual ­ascetic* practice, with fasting,* with repentance* and weeping, in the combat that war* brings, in discernment,* with purity of soul, sharing in order to benefit* others,95 in contemplative quiet* and working* with your hands, keeping nightly vigils,* in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness,96 laboring hard,97 closing your tomb as though you were already dead so that every hour you’re reflecting on death drawing near.” 98 35. [LifeJn 51:102] It was said about Abba John* that when he would return from the harvest, or from visiting elders,* he would devote himself99 to prayer* and meditation* and psalmody* until his thoughts* were restored to their former condition.100 36. [LifeJn 16:82–84] 101 One of the fathers said about him, “Who is John,* who, because of his humility,* suspends all of Scetis* from his little finger? ” 102

93. Paul uses the phrase according to the flesh in Rom 8:5 and 2 Cor 5:16. 94. poverty of spirit: see Matt 5:3, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The parallel in Luke 6:20 has Blessed are the poor. 95. As one example of a word with many, many possible meanings here, “benefit” here translates chrēstós (which, at this time, had the same pronunciation as Christós, “Christ”): “good,” as in a good way of life; good, honest; virtuous; good, kind” (Bauer 1090a). 96. in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness: 2 Cor 11:27. 97. laboring hard: pónos can also mean “pain, distress, affliction.” 98. every hour: PG 65:216, n. 40, and SysAP I.13, every day. 99. devote himself, scholázō: see John the Little 30. 100. condition: táxis has a wide range of meanings; relevant here are “band or company of troops” (the early monastic* use of warfare* as a metaphor), “order, discipline” (in the church), and “monastic rule” * (Lampe 1372b–73b). 101. Only this sentence occurs in LifeJn 16:84, which suggests that the editor of John 36 took it from the LifeJn. 102. suspends, kremánnumi (first aorist): Matt 22:40, On these two commandments hang [krématai] all the law and the prophets, uses the deponent form kremámai.

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37. [LifeJn 18:85] One of the fathers asked Abba John* the Little, “What is a monk? ” * He said, “Working* hard. Because the monk* works* hard at everything he does.103 This defines the monk.” * 38. Abba John* the Little said, “A certain spiritual elder* shut himself away. He was a distinguished person in the city, held in high estimation. This was manifested to him: ‘One of the holy* ones will soon depart.104 Come, offer him greetings before he sleeps.’ “He thought to himself, ‘If I come out during the day, people will come running, my renown will only grow, and, because of this, I won’t have any inward stillness.* 105 So, then, I’m going to leave late in the evening when it’s dark, [PG 65:217] and no one will know.’106 “So that evening he came out of his cell* late, wanting no one to know about it. But two angels with lamps were sent by God, lighting the way for him! As a result the whole city came running when they saw his divine power.* 107 The more he attempted to 103. at everything he does: pȃn érgon is literally “all work.” * 104. depart: analúō can mean “depart, die”; its basic meaning is “loosen, undo, unbind, liberate” (Montanari I:143b), which reminds me of Hamlet’s “For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come, / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, / Must give us pause” (Hamlet III.1). “Coil” in Shakespeare’s day could mean “noisy disturbance”; “row, tumult, turmoil, bustle, stir, hurry, confusion” (Samuel Johnson in the OED online). 105. renown: dóxa, “glory” * (English doxology), an ambivalent word in early monastic texts. See n. 107. 106. and no one will know: literally “and I’ll forget everyone.” 107. divine power* (or glory*): earlier “high estimation” and “reputation” translate dóxa; in the next sentence “adulation” and “celebrated.” Thus dóxa occurs five times in the saying. Dóxa is an important word in the LXX, NT, and patristic thought, used often of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, used also of “humans involved in transcendent circumstances” (Bauer 257a; see Lampe 380b). The angels are “lighting the way for him”; dóxa also means “the condition of being bright or shining, brightness, splendor, radiance” (Bauer 257a). The whole city: often in the gospels narrative hyperbole has “the whole city” or “all the people” coming out to see Jesus; see Mark 1:5, 33.

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flee* the adulation, the more they celebrated him.108 With these events, what is written is fulfilled: all who humble themselves will be exalted.” 109 39. Abba John* the Little used to say, “It’s impossible to build a house from top to bottom—only from the foundation to the top.” 110 They said to him, “What does this saying* mean? ” He said to them, “The foundation is your neighbor,* someone for you to gain [for Christ],111 and he ought to come first: on him hang all the commandments of Christ.” 112 40. [XIII.17; 2:244–46] 113 They used to say with regard to Abba John* that the parents of a certain young woman died, and she was left an orphan. Her name was Paēsía.114 She decided to make her house a place of hospitality,115 in accordance with what the fathers of Scetis* teach.116 So she remained there a while welcoming the stranger* and caring for the fathers.117 108. The more he attempted [édoxe < dokéō] to flee the adulation [dóxan], the more they celebrated [edoxásthē < doxázō] him. 109. Luke 14:11: For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 110. See Matt 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49, among others. 111. someone for you to gain [for Christ]: Phil 3:8 has “in order that I may gain Christ” (the same construction as here); gain or win for the reign/kingdom of God (1 Cor 9:19-22). 112. Matt 22:39-40. 113. See AnonAP 43; Wortley 38–39. 114. SysAP XIII.17 lacks this sentence. 115. a place of hospitality, in accordance with what the fathers of Scetis teach: SysAP XIII.17, a place of hospitality for the fathers. Place of hospitality, xenodocheȋon, cognate with xénos, “stranger,” * + doch- as in dechomai, “to welcome.” * Thus Paēsía is “welcoming the stranger and caring for the fathers.” 116. in accordance with what the fathers of Scetis teach: literally “In accordance with the word* [lógos] of the fathers of Scetis.” Perhaps reflecting Matt 25:34-36; Luke 11:5-8. See Spiritual guidance and Counsel in the Glossary. 117. welcoming the stranger, xenodochéō (“stranger, foreigner”: xénos); earlier, “a place of hospitality” translates xenodocheȋon. See n. 115 above.

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Later, though, when her wealth was used up, she began to be in need. As a result, twisted people attached themselves to her and led her away from her good intentions; she then began to lead a bad life and, as a result, came to be a prostitute.* When the fathers heard about this, they were afflicted* and greatly saddened, so they called on Abba John* the Little for help and said to him, “We’ve heard that that sister is leading a bad life.118 When she had the means, she demonstrated her love* for us. So now let us ­demonstrate love* for her and help her. Please, therefore, take the trouble of going to see her and, with the wisdom that God has given you, get her situation in order.” So Abba John* went to see her and said to the doorkeeper, an old woman, “Tell your mistress that I’m here,” but she sent him away, saying, “You people—from the very beginning you devoured everything she had! And here she is now, poor.” * Abba John* said to her, “Tell her. To be sure, I have the means to help her.” But her servants, smiling sweetly, said to him, “Since you want to meet her, what do you have to ‘give’ her? ” He answered, saying, “How do you know what I’m going to offer her? ” 119 So the old woman went upstairs and told her about him. The young woman said to her, “These monks, they’re always walking beside the Red Sea and finding pearls.” 120 So she got herself adorned and said, “Please bring him to me.” 121

118. leading .  .  . way of life: diágō is cognate with diagōgḗ, often synonymous with politeía, “(monastic) way of life.” * This is pertinent because the monks* call her “sister” instead of “woman,” * and, for a sister, her way of life is bad. 119. SysAP XIII.17 lacks this necessary sentence. 120. These pearls may be from the Gulf pearl oyster, Pinctada radiata, found in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Mediterranean Sea. 121. A language note: “got herself adorned” translates kosméō, cognate with kósmos (cosmos), which at its base means “order”; thus cosmetics put one’s face in order.

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So, then, when Abba John* came upstairs, she had beforehand situated herself on the bed.122 When Abba John* came in he sat beside her; looking into her face he said to her, “Why do you disregard Jesus [so much] that you’ve come to this? ” 123 When she heard [these words], she was completely at a loss, and Abba John,* leaning his head down, began to weep loudly and deeply.124 She said to him, “Abba,* why are you weeping? ” He lifted his head and once again dropped it, weeping, and said to her, “I see Satan* laughing in your face. So why shouldn’t I weep? ” When she heard this, she said to him, “Is there repentance,* abba? ” He said to her, “Yes.” She said to him, “Take [PG 65:220] me wherever you wish.” He said to her, “Let’s go.” So she got up and followed him.125 Abba John* observed that she neither made any arrangements nor spoke about her house, and was astonished.* 126 When they reached the desert* it was pretty late, so he made her a small ­pillow from sand and, making the sign of the cross,* he said to her, “Sleep here.” 127 He also, a short distance away, made one for

122. bed, klínē: or “couch.” There may be a double meaning here: in Thucidydes (d. ca. 400 BCE) and Plato (d. 348/347 BCE), klínē can mean “coffin, bier” (Montanari I:1140a). 123. disregard: katagi(g)nṓskō can also mean “despise.” 124. at a loss: apotássō, not in the NT but in patristic Greek, means “renounce” (the Devil,* things incompatible with Christianity, the world* for monastic* purposes) (Lampe 216a). “Loudly and deeply”: sphodrȏs can mean “forcefully, vehemently, fervently.” 125. followed: akolouthéō (English acolyte) is an important word in the NT: in Matt 4:25 great crowds followed [Jesus] from Galilee; in Matt 9:9 Jesus sees Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and says to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. Thus, at least linguistically, John is an alter-Christus, saving a ­sinner, now his disciple. 126. See Luke 14:33 about the need to give up everything to follow Jesus. 127. the sign of the cross, sphragízō < sphragís, “sign, seal,” then “of sign of the cross as distinguishing mark” (Lampe 1356a(B)). The first instances that

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himself and, completing his prayers,* lay down. Sometime in the middle of the night, waking up, he saw a certain bright shining path* established and leading down to her from heaven, and he saw the angels of God bearing her soul up [to heaven]. So he got up and went over and nudged her with his foot.128 When he saw that she had died, he threw himself down on his face, petitioning God, and he heard that129 her one hour of repentance* had been accepted more than the repentance* of many who take their time [repenting] and do not demonstrate the ardor of such repentance.* 130 S1. [Guy, Recherches, 23] The elder* also said, “Three philosophers* were friends, and when one of them died he entrusted his son to one of his friends, but when [the son] became a young man he [approached with intentions] the wife of the man who had raised him.131 When that man found out, he threw him out. The young man repented* often, but the man refused to have him back and said to him, ‘Go away. Get work on the River* for three years and I’ll forgive you.’ Lampe gives are apocryphal Acts, 3rd cent., but see Tertullian (d. 220), De corona 3 (New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0304.htm). See Life of ­Antony 13.4 (p. 89) and 35.2–3 (pp. 135, 137). 128. he got up: anastás, from anístēmi, cognate with anástasis, “resurrection.” So, symbolically, her resurrection causes his. 129. he heard that: SysAP XIII.17, he heard a voice say that. 130. accepted: prosdéchomai can mean “accepted as a citizen,” that is, in heaven (Montanari II:1798b); see Lampe 1166a(A): “receive, into communion, referring to [those] lapsed in persecution.” It’s a common early-monastic motif that someone dies soon after repenting, symbolizing the journey from earth to heaven, made explicit here. Perhaps we should see such deaths not as punishment but as rewards for repentance, that is, the opening of heaven’s gates. See Antony 14, Sayings 1:101–2. 131. he [approached with intentions]: The text has apȇlthe prós < apérchomai. The primary meaning of apérchomai is “to leave, depart,” which doesn’t work with the next sentence: “When that man found out, he threw him out.” I don’t find any definition of apérchomai that will work here. I suggest emending the text to prosérchomai, “to approach in love, have a sexual relationship” (Montanari II:1807b). Guy, Recherches, 23, doesn’t give a French translation.

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“So he left for another three years, [returned,] and [the man] once again said to him, ‘You haven’t repented* at all. Go on. Work* another three years, giving away your earnings and allowing yourself to be ill-treated and insulted,’ and he did so. Afterwards [he returned, and the man] said to him, ‘Now go to the city of the Athenians and learn philosophy.’* “Now there was a certain old man sitting at the Philosophers’ Gate, insulting those who were coming through.132 When the young man was insulted, he laughed. The old man said to him, ‘What’s going on? I insulted you—and you laughed!’133 “The young man said to him, ‘Don’t you want me to laugh? Look, for three years I was giving away my earnings so I’d be insulted—and today when I’m insulted, it’s free of charge! 134 That’s why I laughed.’ ” 135 Abba John* said, “This is the gateway of God, and our fathers, on account of numerous insults, joyfully entered the city of God.” S2. [Guy, Recherches, 23] The same [elder*] said to his brother, “Even if we’re of little worth in people’s thinking, let’s nevertheless rejoice in the way we’re honored in God’s presence.” 136 S3. [Guy, Recherches, 24] [LifeJn 53:103–4] Abba Poemen* used to say that Abba John* said, “The saints are like a garden with trees that bear different kinds of fruit, watered by the same

132. old man, gérōn: or “elder.” * 133. and (dé) you laughed: dé can also give “but you laughed.” 134. free of charge, dōreá, “gift, reward”: there may be a play on words here. The root of the word dō- is the same as that of “to give,” dídōmi, which occurs twice earlier in the story. 135. insulted, hubrízō (English hubris). In Luke 18:31-32 Jesus tells the disciples, the Son of Man .  .  . will be handed over to the Gentiles, and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 136. Both “in people’s thinking” and “in the way we’re honored” use enṓpion, “facing, in front of, in the presence of.”

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water.137 The work* of this saint and the work* of that saint may differ, but the same spirit is at work* in all of them.” 138 S4. [Guy, Recherches, 24] [LifeJn 17:84] The same [elder*] said, “If a person has a vessel with God in it in his soul, that person can remain in his cell* even though he doesn’t have a vessel holding [the things] of this world.* 139 If, on the other hand, the person has vessels holding [the things] of this world* and doesn’t have the vessels of God, because of the vessels of the world* he too can remain in his cell.* But there’s no way that such a person can have vessels neither of God nor of this world* and stay in his cell.” * S5. [Guy, Recherches, 25] The elder* also said, “Do you see that the first blow the Devil* landed on Job began first of all with regard to Job’s possessions,* and he saw that this didn’t bother Job, nor did Job withdraw* from God.140 The Devil* landed the second punch on Job’s body, and here, too, the noble athlete didn’t

137. garden, parádeisos, as in Gen 2:8 (And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden), rather than kȇpos. A Persian loan word, parádeisos, “garden, orchard,” came to mean “paradise, Eden”; see Luke 23:43, where Jesus says, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise. Clement* of Alexandria (ca. 150–ca. 215 CE), Stromateis 6.1.2.4, says that “the Savior himself is our spiritual garden” (New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0210.htm). Watered: in patristic Greek, potízō, “to water,” can figuratively indicate a teacher “watering” his or her students (Lampe 1125a(2)). 138. “same” twice translates “one,” emphasizing the monks’ unity (in the Spirit), just as the Trinity emphasizes the oneness of the three. Spirit, pneȗma: “spirit” or “Spirit.” 139. vessel: skeȗos is a wide-ranging word: “vessel, container, implement, utensils, tools.” Perhaps 2 Cor 4:7 is helpful: But we have this treasure in clay jars [skeúesi < skeȗos], so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. “The world,” * ho kósmos, is also very important in Paul’s thought. 140. See Job 1:10, 13-22.

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sin by cursing.141 This is because he had within the possessions* that God had given him, and he held on to these always.” 142 S6. [Guy, Recherches, 24] The same [elder*] was sitting one time in Scetis,* and the brothers were in a circle around him asking him about their thoughts,* and one of the elders* said to him, “John,* you’re like a prostitute* dolling herself all up, thereby increasing her lovers.” Putting his arm around the elder,* Abba John* said, “What you’re saying is true, father.” 143 After this, one of Abba John’s* disciples said, “Doesn’t this bother you, abba, within? ” 144 “No,” he said, “but what I am outside is what I am inside.” 145 S7. [Guy, Recherches, 24] [LifeJn 50:102] They also used to say about him that all the earnings that he made toiling during the harvest he would gather together and bring to Scetis,* saying, “My widows and orphans are in Scetis.* 146

141. Job’s body: Job 2:1-10; by cursing: literally “with the word of his mouth.” Perhaps the phrase implies cursing God (Lev 24:15; Ps 10:3). 142. the possessions that God had given him: literally “the possessions of God” but since the Bible teaches that all good things come of God, “the possessions of God that God had given him” is a reasonable inference. 143. What you’re saying is true: literally, “Truth you say/are saying.” See John 8 above. 144. within: éndon as a metaphor can refer to the spiritual life, the indwelling of Christ, or the indwelling of the Word (Lampe 468b). 145. See Matt 23:28; Luke 11:39-40. 146. The pair “orphans and widows” occurs only in Jas 1:27 in the NT: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.* See also Exod 22:22; Deut 14:29; 27:19; Ps 146:9; and others.

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Concerning John the Cenobite* 147 1. [PG 65:220] There was a brother living in a cenobium* who would undertake great monastic* practices. When some brothers in Scetis* heard about him they went to see him. They entered the place* where he was working,* and, after greeting them, he turned and returned to his work.* When the brothers saw what he did, they asked him, “John, who placed the monastic habit* on you? Who made you a monk?* Didn’t he teach you to take the sheepskin cloak[s] from the brothers and say to them, ‘Offer a prayer,’ or ‘Sit down’? ” 148 He said to them, “John, a sinner, doesn’t have time for these things.”

Concerning Abba Isidore* (of Scetis*)149 1. [PG 65:220] [XVI.6; 2:394, 396] They used to say about Abba Isidore* the priest of Scetis* that if someone had a brother who was weak, neglectful, or arrogant150 and he wanted to throw him out, Abba Isidore would say, “Bring [sing.] him here to me,”

147. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. 148. take the sheepskin cloak[s]: that is, in welcoming them, as a sign of hospitality. 149. Greek Isídōros, pronounced ē-SEE-dō-rōs. Cassian,* Conferences 18.15.2 (pp. 648–50), offers a long story about Abba Paphnutius’s visit to “the holy Isidore, who was priest” in Scetis.* 150. weak, neglectful, or arrogant: each word in this triad has a number of meanings. “Weak,” asthenḗs (1 Cor 8:7-9) (Bauer 142b); “neglectful,” olígōros, can also mean “inattentive in prayer,” even “contemptuous” (Lampe 948ab); “arrogant,” hybristḗs, has the meanings of English “hubris,” but also “violent, insolent, offensive” (Montanari II:1274b).

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and he’d welcome* the brother,151 and, through his patience,* he would save* him.152 2. [IV.24; 1:196] A brother asked him, “Why do the demons* fear* you so much? ” The elder* said to him, “Since I became a monk,* I’ve trained* myself to not allow anger* to rise up in my throat.” 3. [IV.25; 1:196] He also used to say that for forty* years153 he was aware of sin* throughout his thinking,154 and he had never given in, either to lust or to irascibility.155 4. [XI.46; 2:158] Another time he said, “For me, when I was a young man and sitting in my cell,* I didn’t have a timeframe for the synaxis:* both night and day were for me synaxis.” * 5. Abba Poemen* said about Abba Isidore,* “He would plait a bundle of palm fronds each night, and the brothers would encour-

151. he’d welcome the brother: SysAP XVI.6, he’d welcome the brother into his cell.* 152. patience: the usual term is hypothymía but here is makrothymía, which in English can also suggest “long-suffering, endurance” and the verb makrothyméō can mean “be slow to anger.” 153. forty years: SysAP IV.25, thirty years. 154. throughout [katá] his thinking [diánoia]: katá in a hostile sense can mean “against,” thus “opposed to his thinking.” Diánoia has numerous meanings: “thought, intellectual faculty, intelligence, faculty of comprehension”; its cognate verb, dianoéō, can mean “to have in mind,* think,” and, apposite here, “ponder, meditate, reflect” (Montanari I:499c). 155. irascibility, thymós: “vital force, spirit, life,” “soul, spirit, heart, feeling,” “boldness, courage,” but it can also be negative—“animosity, angry impulse, anger” (Montanari I:954c–55a). Lampe, 657ab, makes two important points: (1) thymós is “the active, non-intellectual principle”; epithymía, translated as “lust,” is correlative, “the two moderating each other.” (2) Thymós occurs “of devils, stirring it up for evil ends.” “Patience,” makrothymía, in Isodore 1 has the same root. English thymus derives from thymós. An editor has brought together Sayings 2 and 3, and possibly the first three; an editor of SysAP saw the connection and put 2 and 3 with each other in chapter 4, “Self-control” (Guy, SysAP I.IV, 1:196).

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age* him [to rest], saying, ‘Stop and rest [PG 65:221] yourself a little. You’ve gotten old.’156 “He would say to them, ‘If they were to burn Isidore and scatter his ashes to the wind, then there would be no grace* at all for me, because the Son of God came here on our behalf.’ ” 157 6. The same [elder*] said about Abba Isidore* that his thoughts* would say to him, “You’re a great human being,” 158 and he would say to them, “Am I like Abba Antony?* Or have I then become completely like Abba Pambo?* Or am I like the other fathers who have very much pleased God? ” 159 After he had countered with these [words], he found inward stillness.* But when hatred* and enmity would cause him to be dis­ couraged,160 [saying] that, even after all this, he would be castigated, he would say to them, “Even if I’m thrown into punishment, I’m going to find you beneath me.” 161

156. rest: anapaúō can mean “encourage” among other things; I’ve added “to rest” because the n. anápausis, “rest,” is an important monastic term: “inward stillness.” * 157. the Son of God came: see Matt 11:18-19. 158. great: mégas is the first word in the declaration, thus emphatic. 159. PG 65:221 ends the questioning with an exclamation point, which is reasonable. The first question (one question in Greek) begins with the negative mḗ, which expects a negative response. “Very much pleased,” euarestéō: see Heb 11:5, By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and “he was not found, because God had taken him.” For it was attested before he was taken away that “he had pleased God.” 160. hatred and enmity, ē échthra; the Enemy* (that is, Satan* or the Devil*) is ho echthrós. “Discouraged”: oligopsychéō < psychḗ, “soul,” literally “smallsouled.” One patristics writer uses it of Christ on the cross: “become desolate of soul” (Lampe 948a). 161. “Castigated” and “punished” both translate kólasis, which in 4 Macc 8:9 means “penalty, torture” (dreadful punishments through tortures). In the NT it can mean “transcendent retribution, punishment” (Matt 25:46, And these will go away into eternal punishment); the cognate verb kolázō can refer to the Last Judgment (2 Pet 2:9, punishment until the day of judgment).

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7. Abba Isidore* said, “I went once to the marketplace to sell a few small things, and when I saw anger* coming near, I dropped what I had and fled.” * 8. Abba Isidore* went one time to see Abba Theophilus,* the archbishop of Alexandria.162 When he returned to Scetis,* the brothers asked him, “How are things in the city? ” He said, “To tell you the truth, brothers, I didn’t see a single person’s face, only the archbishop’s.” When they heard this it bothered* them, and they said, “So, were they completely destroyed?!” 163 He said, “Not at all. No, my thoughts* didn’t defeat me and make me look at anyone.” 164 When they heard this, they were astonished* and were strengthened to guard* against raising their eyes [to look at others].165 162. See Bishop in the Glossary. 163. It’s not clear what this question is referring to. I find no other meaning for chaóō (< cháos, “chaos”) than “utterly destroyed/obliterated.” But who/what does “they” refer to? The “thoughts” in the next sentence? Or does “they” refer to “things,” or to the people of Alexandria? In the first Greek Life of Paul of Thebes, Paul exclaims, “Woe to you, Alexandria! You who instead of God worship monsters! Woe to you, you harlot of a city, in whom all the world’s demons have gathered together! What kind of defense do you have, when even the wild beasts confess Christ?!” See Lisa A. Agaiby and Tim Vivian, eds., The Lives of Paul of Thebes (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming 2023). 164. defeat: nikáō can mean “defeat in battle, conquer,” thus possibly indicating monastic warfare.* 165. strengthened, phylássō: see Protect in the Glossary. The point here may be that in the Bible one opens/raises one’s eyes to God or God’s wonders: Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; / be gracious to me [or: give me life] according to your word ” (Ps 119:37); raising: meteōrismós (metéōros), “raised above the ground, elevated, on high”; “high in the air, aloft, in the sky” (Montanari II:133ab; English meteor) can also mean “distraction, inattention,” an important monastic* concern. Demons* can cause distractions that lead to sinful passions* (Lampe 865a). Meteōrismós doesn’t occur in the NT, but the verb meteōrízomai in Luke 12:29 means “be anxious, worried” (NRSV: “worried”) (Bauer 642b). Raising, meteōrismós; the OED entry is fascinating: “μετέωρος (metéōros), raised, lofty, an alteration (with quantitative metathesis) of μετήορος [metḗōros] (in Homer) < μετα- meta- prefix + ἠορ- [ēor-] ablaut variant of the base of ἀείρειν [aeírein], to raise, lift up (see AORTA n.).”

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9. The same Abba Isidore said,* “The understanding of the holy* ones is this: to perceive the will of God.166 You see, a person overcomes everything when obeying the truth: such a person is the image and likeness of God.167 It’s more terrible168 than all the spirits to follow* your own heart,* 169 that is, your own thoughts,* rather than the law of God.170 Afterwards, sadness and mourning come over you because you neither know the mystery,* nor have you found the way* of the holy* ones so you can work* with [your heart].171 Now, therefore, is the appointed time* to work with the Lord, because salvation* [comes] during a time* of ­affliction,* as it’s written: By your perseverance* you will gain* your souls.” 172 S1. [Guy, Recherches, 24–25]. The same elder [John the Cenobite?] used to also say about Abba Isidore* that when he would speak to the brothers in church, this is the only counsel* he would offer: “Brothers, it is written: Forgive your neighbor* so you may receive [forgiveness].” 173 166. the will of God: see Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 1:1; 1 Thess 4:3-5, among many. 167. the image and likeness of God: see Eph 4:24; Jas 3:9. “Image,” eikṓn; “likeness,” homoíōma. See Gen 1:26-27 (LXX) (And God said, “Let us make a human according to our image [eikṓn] and according to our likeness [homoíōsis]”). The HB uses only ṣelem (“image”) in Gen 1:26-27 and two other times in Genesis. The KJV has And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness,” and the NRSV follows: Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.” See Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, 3 vols. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2018), 1.12: And God said, “Let us make a human in our image, by our likeness.” My thanks to my colleague Mark Lamas for his assistance. 168. Using the variant deinóteros, a comparative, rather than the text’s deinós (PG 65:221, n. 48). 169. heart: PG 65:222, n. 49, will. 170. the law of God: see Rom 7:22-23: For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 171. [your heart]: the Greek has a feminine resumptive pronoun, which can represent either “heart” or “way,” both feminine nouns. 172. Luke 21:19. Perseverance, hypomonḗ: see Jas 1:4, let endurance* have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. 173. See Matt 6:12//Luke 11:4.

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Concerning Abba Isidore of Pelusium 174 1. [PG 65:221] Abba Isidore of Pelusium* used to say, “A life without counsel* turns out to be [more] helpful than counsel* without a life.175 The first, even while maintaining silence,* is beneficial;* the second, however, when it cries out, is a bother. But if counsel* and life come together in agreement, they complete the portrait of all philosophy.” * 176 2. The same [elder] used to say, “Honor the virtues;* do not serve happiness, prosperity, or success.177 The former are undying instruments while the latter are easily extinguished.” 178 3. He also said, “Many people [PG 65:224] reach out for virtue* but hesitate to travel the path* that brings them to it.179 Others 174. Greek Isídōros, pronounced ē-SEE-dō-rōs. It’s striking that the six sayings of Isidore here have the same format: (1) in conflict a protagonist (good), (2) an antagonist (bad), and (3) Abba Isidore offering a solution. Sayings 1, 3, 4, and 6 have the antagonist first, while 2 and 5 place the protagonist first. 175. The meaning of this sentence centers around lógos, with its plethora of meanings; apropos here: Jewish and Christian “revealed word; message of Jesus, gospel with the force of law; a creative, vital force” (Montanari II:1249a(D)). And, in the background, as in John 1:1-5, 14, “the Word,” lógos (Christ); Bauer 601a(3): “the independent personified expression of God, the Word.” 176. portrait: the original meanings of álgama is “ornament, glory, pride,” and then “portrait, picture, representation, figure, symbol”; in patristic use, “symbol beneath which divine reality is revealed” (Montanari I:7bc) and of the divine image in human beings (Lampe 6b(C)). 177. happiness, prosperity, or success: euēmería can mean any or all of these, so I’ve used all three, because taken together they reinforce the saying’s theme; euēmería literally means “a good day,” a fine day, thus reinforcing the theme of transitory and non-transitory. English euhemerism comes not from the word here but from Euhemerus, Gk. Euḗmeros (which literally means “good day,” thus the definitions earlier), a fourth-cent. BCE writer: “Euhemerus’s name survives in the modern term ‘euhemeristic,’ applied to mythological interpretation which supposes certain gods .  .  . to be originally heroes” (OCD 414b–15a). 178. extinguished, sbénnumi (English asbestos), as with a fire or flame, has the figurative meanings of “die down, diminish, subside, disappear” (Montanari I:1899b). 179. hesitate: oknéō has other relevant meanings: “delay,” “fear, be afraid of” (Montanari II:1440c).

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think there is no virtue.* Therefore the former need to be persuaded to lay aside their hesitation, and the latter need to be taught that virtue* really does exist.” 4. He also said, “Evil separates people from God and divides them from each other,180 so you need to flee* from it as fast as you can and pursue virtue.* Virtue* guides us to God and unites us with one another. The heights of both virtue* and philosophy* are genuineness combined with intelligence and understanding.” 181 5. He also used to say, “Just as the heights of humility* are great indeed, so too the fall caused by arrogance.182 I advise you [pl.] to embrace the former and not throw yourself at the other.” 183 6. He also said: “The terrible and utterly destructive desire, the love of riches,184 knowing no bounds, drives the captured soul to extreme evils.185 Let us, therefore, drive it away, especially early on. If we hold on to it, it will be untamable.” 186 180. “Separates” and “divides” use different forms of histēmi. 181. heights: tò óros, “mountain,” in monastic Greek usually means a monastery or monastic community.* The next saying uses a different word. “Genuineness”: áplastos can also mean “sincere,” especially of feelings, and “truthful” (Montanari I:239c). 182. fall: ptȏma (English ptosis and ptomaine) can also mean a fallen person, that is, a corpse (Matt 14:12, among others). Arrogance: in 1 John 2:16 a­ lazoneía means the pride a person has in riches or possessions. See Isidore 6. 183. embrace: aspázomai means “to greet warmly,” thus “embrace” (Paul especially uses the word; see Rom 16:3-16). In patristic Greek its cognate n. aspasmós means “salutation, greeting,” but also the kiss of peace at the Eucharist (Lampe 246a). 184. desire: érōs here rather than epithymía (Desire in the Glossary) is usually negative. For a positive use and study of the term, see Tim Vivian, “Introduction: A Spirituality of Desire,” in Tim Vivian and Maged S. A. Mikhail, eds., The Life of Bishoi (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2021), 29–50. 185. captured translates a participle of halískomai: “to be taken, captured, conquered”; “overwhelmed, conquered”; “pronounced guilty, be condemned” (Montanari I:89ab). There may also be a play on words: the participle here is haloȗsan, which sounds similar to aloútan, “unwashed, filthy.” Classical Greek rough breathing, “h,” may not have been pronounced at this time, as in M. Gk., where the “h” is silent, as in Spanish hola. 186. Hold on to: kratéō can mean “take, seize, hold onto,” usually by force (Montanari I:1172a(1)).

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Concerning Abba Isaac, the Priest of the Cells* 187 1. [PG 65:224] One time they came to make Abba Isaac a priest. When he heard about it, he fled* to Egypt* and went off into the fields and hid amid the hay. The fathers therefore went searching for him, following him, and when they had reached the field they stopped there to rest* a little because it was night.188 They set the ass free so it could eat, but the ass went off and stood beside the elder. First thing in the morning, looking for the ass, they found Abba Isaac too, and were amazed.* They wanted to bind him, but he wouldn’t allow it, saying, “I’m not going to flee* any longer; this is God’s will, and wherever I flee* I’ll come to it again.” 2. Abba Isaac said, “When I was a young man I was living with Abba Cronius, and he never told me to do anything [for him], even though he was old and had tremors.189 Despite this, he himself would get up and offer the water jug to me and likewise to everyone. Later, I lived with Abba Theodore* of Pherme,* and he too never told me to do anything; rather, he would set the table by himself and say, ‘Brother, if you want to, come on and eat.’ I would say to him, ‘Abba, I’ve come to benefit* [from being with you].190 Why don’t you ever tell me to do anything?’191 But the elder* kept completely silent. “I left and let the elders* know about this,192 so the elders* came to see him and said to him, ‘Abba,* the brother came to your 187. Greek Isaák, pronounced ē-SĂK. 188. There may be a linguistic irony here: “to rest” translates anapaúō, cognate with anápausis, which does mean “rest” but in early monasticism* also means “inward stillness,” * a key monastic term. So the fathers are literally resting while Isaac, in flight, is figuratively—spiritually—not at rest! 189. anything: érgon, “work, a work.” * 190. to benefit: ōpheléō in the passive voice, as here, means “be helped, receive help or assistance, derive advantage or profit”; in the active voice, though, it means “to help, assist,” thus both meanings aptly fit the narrative. 191. Why don’t you ever tell me to do anything?: Or “So why don’t you ever ask me to do anything? ” 192. “let the elders know” freely translates anangeléō, “bring news, announce.” The NT extends the meaning to “disclose, announce, proclaim, teach” (Bauer

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holiness* to benefit* [from you], so why don’t you ever tell him to do anything? ’193 “The elder said to them, ‘Am I the superior of a cenobium,* someone who gives him orders? Right now I don’t ask him to do anything. But if he wants to, he sees what I’m doing and will do it himself.’ So from that time on I would anticipate [what needed doing] and would do whatever the elder* was about to do. As for him, if he did something he’d do it in silence.* And this taught me to do things while keeping silent.” * 3. Abba Isaac and Abba Abraham194 were [PG 65:225] living together, and Abba Abraham went inside and found Abba Isaac weeping and said to him, “Why are you weeping? ” The elder* said to him, “And why shouldn’t we weep? Where can we go? Our fathers have gone to their rest, and we don’t make enough from our handiwork* to pay for the boats so we can leave to visit the elders.* So now we’ve been orphaned.195 This is why I’m weeping.” 196 4. [IV.22; 1:194] Abba Isaac said, “I know a brother who was harvesting in a field, and he wanted to eat a little grain, so he said to the owner of the field, ‘Is it OK if I eat a little grain?’197 When he heard [what the brother had said], the owner was amazed* and said to him, ‘The field is yours, abba, and you’re asking me?’198

59b), that is, the good news, euangélion, the gospel; ángelos (“messenger, angel”) is one who spreads this good news. The humility that Cronius and Theodore show is a Gospel ethic (Matt 18:4). 193. your holiness: hagiōsúnē (< hágios, “holy, sacred”) could have several meanings here: “holiness,” whether divine or human, given by God (Lampe 19b(1–4); it can also be the title of a bishop*—and of a monk* (6). So “Your Holiness” is possible here. Abba Isaac then asks, “Am I the superior of a cenobium? ” 194. An Abba Abraham has three sayings in the AlphAP, Sayings 1:178–80. 195. orphaned, aporphanízō: see 1 Thess 2:17. 196. why I’m weeping: or “why I weep.” 197. “owner” translates kýrios, which also means “lord/Lord.” 198. The sentence begins with “your,” thus making it emphatic, so I’ve added emphasis.

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This shows the lengths that the brother would go to to demonstrate his rigorous [discipline].” 5. [X.44; 2:40] He would also say to the brothers, “Do not bring children here. Four churches in Scetis* have become deserted on account of children.” 199 6. They used to say about Abba Isaac that he would eat, with his bread, the ashes from the thurible at the eucharistic offering.200 7. [VI.10; 1:322] Abba Isaac would say to the brothers, “Our fathers and Abba Pambo* used to wear palm-fiber clothing with a lot of patches. And now you wear very expensive clothing.201 Get out of here! This is how you’ve laid waste to the desert.” * 202 When he was about to go out to the harvest he would say to them, “I’m not giving you any more instructions—you don’t keep* them!” 203 8. [VI.9; 1:322] One of the fathers related* that one of the brothers came one time wearing a small cloak and entered the church of Kellia* in the time of Abba Isaac.204 The elder went up 199. deserted, érēmos: see Desert in the Glossary. 200. The Greek has “the ashes from the thurible at the eucharistic offering” at the beginning of the sentence, perhaps offering emphasis to Isaac’s actions. 201. Both “a lot of patches” and “very expensive” begin with polý, “much, many,” thus emphasizing the severe contrast between the earlier fathers and the monks now. Pambo has fourteen sayings in this volume. 202. The harsh irony here is that “laid waste” translates erēmóō, cognate with érēmos, “desert,” * but also “solitude,” geographical and spiritual, much desired by the monks (Lampe 548b). Erēmóō is a strong word: “lay waste, depopulate, ravage,” “despoil, deprive, dispossess” (Montanari I:818b). It could have prophetic resonance: in the LXX it occurs sixteen times in Isaiah, five times in Jeremiah, and thirteen times in Ezekiel (see Ezek 33:27-29). 203. instructions, entolḗ: or “commandments.” * 204. cloak, koussoúlion: Lampe 773b cites only here and John Moschos (Gk. Móschos), The Spiritual Meadow 68 (pp. 50–51) and 151 (p. 124). PG 65:235, n. 34, has koukoúllion, “cowl, hood”: “worn by children not adults,” “of virgins,” that is, female monastics; “of [male] monks” * (Lampe 772b). Wortley, Give Me, 148, n. 66, says “or maybe a garment of superior quality.”

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to him and said, “The things here are for monks.* You’re worldly,* you can’t stay here!” 9. Abba Isaac said, “I never brought into my cell* any thoughts* against a brother who’d afflicted* me, and I made every effort not to send away to his cell* a brother who was holding a thought* against me.” 205 10. Abba Isaac was very sick, and it lasted a long time. The brother made for him a little porridge and seasoned it with starflower, but the elder* refused to taste it. The brother encouraged* him, saying, “Eat a little, abba;* you’re ill,” and the elder* said to him, “The fact is, brother, I wanted to keep this illness thirty years.” 206 11. They used to say about Abba Isaac that when he was going to die soon, the elders came to be with him, and they were saying, “What will we do after you’re gone, father? ” He said, “You see how I’ve conducted myself with you.207 If you too desire to follow* [my example] and keep* the commandments* of God, God will send his grace* and protect* this place.* 208 If you don’t keep* them, you most definitely will not remain here. We too grieved when [PG 65:228] our fathers were about to die, but, keeping the Lord’s commandments* and their precepts, we stood fast, as though they were with us. Do the same and you’ll be saved.” * 12. [VI.11; 1:322] Abba Isaac said that Abba Pambo* used to say, “The monk* should wear his cloak in such a way that if he tossed it outside his cell* for three days, nobody’d take it.”

205. “never” begins Isaac’s statement with emphasis. 206. “wanted” translates ḗthelon and “refused” (or: “didn’t want to”), ouk ḗthelon, from thélō, “to want,” emphasizing his two desires (thélēma). 207. conducted myself: literally, “walked,” poreúomai. “To walk” in monastic terms can mean “to walk in/on the way,” hodós, that is, the way* of Christ or in a way of life.* The idea of walking or journeying is important for the monks.* 208. place: tópos can indicate a monastic community or monastery;* “here” in the next sentence translates “in this place.”

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Concerning Abba Joseph of Panephysis* 209 1. [PG 65:228] [XIII.1; 2:228–30] Some of the fathers went up to see Abba Joseph of Panephysis* to ask him about meeting with some brothers who were receiving hospitality* from them, about whether the monks* should engage with them and speak freely* with them. But before they could ask him, the elder* said to his disciple, “Pay attention to what I’m going to do today, and bear [with me].” 210 So the elder* placed two cushions, one to his right and one to his left, and said, “Sit [pl.].” Then he went inside his cell* and put on some clothing, what a beggar would wear, left his cell,* and passed through their midst. Then he went inside again, put on his own clothes, went back out, and sat among them. They were amazed* at what the elder* was doing.211 So he said to them, “Did you pay attention to what I did? ” They said, “Yes.” “Was I changed by that dishonorable clothing? ” 212 They said, “No.” He said to them, “So, if I’m the same [person] with both [kinds of clothing] so that the first set didn’t change me, nor did the second harm me,213 then we need to extend hospitality to all brothers who’re strangers*—in accordance with the holy Gospel: Give, 209. Greek Iōsḗph, pronounced yo-SEEF. On Joseph see Cassian,* Conferences 16 (pp. 551–84) and 17 (pp. 585–619). “The Joseph who presides over this and the following conference,” Boniface Ramsey states in his translation to the Conferences, “is probably the same as the Joseph of Panephysis to whom some eleven sentences [sayings] are dedicated in the Apophthegmata patrum. Archebius, who introduced Germanus and Cassian* to him, was bishop* of Panephysis.* Abba Joseph’s distinguished background (he came from an important family in Thmuis) and his fluency in Greek are worth noting, as Cassian* does, because they were unusual characteristics in the desert” (551). 210. bear, hypoménō: see Patient endurance in the Glossary. 211. what the elder was doing: literally, “the work* of the elder.” 212. The question begins with the negative mḗ, which expects a negative ­answer. 213. That is, first, the monastic garb he was wearing when he first met the ­fathers, and the second set, the beggar’s clothing.

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therefore, it says, to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.214 So, then, when brothers are present,215 let’s welcome* them with open arms,216 but when we’re alone we need to keep sadness and grief with us.” 217 When they heard this they were astonished,* because he told them what was in their hearts* before they even asked him, and they glorified God.218 2. [IX.8; 1:432] Abba Poemen* said to Abba Joseph,219 “Tell me, how can I become a monk? ” *

214. Matt 22:2//Luke 20:25. 215. present: parousía in the NT, when used of Christ, “nearly always [indicates] his Messianic Advent in glory to judge the world at the end of this age” (Bauer 780a(a)). The passage isn’t comparing the brothers to Christ and his advent; rather, the brothers have presence, as does Christ, and the community should welcome them as they would Christ. See Matt 10:40 and 25:35c, where Jesus says, I was a stranger* and you welcomed* me. The righteous answer, “And when was it that we saw you a stranger* and welcomed* you? ” and in the parable Jesus replies, And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.” 216. open arms: parrēsía has a wide range of meaning—“freedom of speech, confidence,* boldness”; “confidence,* trust”; “fearlessness, boldness” (Lampe 1044b–45b)—and brings us back to “speak freely” at the beginning of the saying. See Speak freely in the Glossary. The word is important in the gospels and with Paul: 2 Cor 3:12; Phil 1:20. 217. sadness and grief, pénthos: Jas 4:8-10 helps explain why: “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble* yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” 218. I have to wonder if this final sentence is a happy ending added on (SysAP XIII.1 also has it). The first sentence of the saying sounds as though the visitors are standoffish, even suspicious. Joseph sees this and offers them counsel* about the important virtue of hospitality. 219. Abba Poemen said to Abba Joseph: SysAP IX.8, Abba Joseph asked Abba Poemen.

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He said, “If you want to find inward stillness,* everywhere,220 in everything you do, say ‘I—who am I?’ and don’t pass judgment* on anyone.” 3. [X.38; 2:36–38] The same [elder*] also asked Abba Joseph, “What do I do when the passions* approach? Do I oppose them, or let them in? ” The elder* said to him, “Let them come in, and wage war* with them.” Abba Poemen* went back to Scetis,* therefore, and stayed there. Someone from Thebes* came to Scetis* and was saying to the brothers, “I asked Abba Joseph, ‘If a passion* approaches me, do I oppose it, or let it in?’ and he said to me, ‘No way do you allow the passion* in! [PG 65:229]. Get rid of them [sic] as fast as you can!” When Abba Poemen* heard that Abba Joseph had spoken like this to the Theban,* he got up, went to see him in Panephysis,* and said to him, “Abba, I put my faith* in you concerning my thoughts,* and look—you said one thing to me and another to the Theban.” * The elder* said to him, “Don’t you know I love* you? ” He said, “Yes.” “Weren’t you telling me to speak to you as I would to myself? ” He said, “Well, yes.” 221 The elder* said to him, “If the passions* enter and you go back and forth with them, they’ll make you more tried and true.222 Now, I spoke to you as though to myself. But there are others who will get nothing beneficial* if the passions* approach. No, they need to get rid of them as fast as they can.” 220. everywhere: SysAP IX.8, here and in the coming age. 221. SysAP X.38 continues with Abba Joseph speaking: “Didn’t you say ‘Speak to me as though to yourself?’ ” 222. tried and true: kathístēmi can mean “restore, cure,” “establish,” perhaps with the sense that the passions* will stop their assaults (Montanari I:1006ab).

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4. [X.40; 2:40] A certain brother asked Abba Joseph, “What will I do? I can’t endure hardship, and I can’t work* to give to others as an act of love.” * 223 The elder* said to him, “If you can’t do even one of these, maintain a [clear] conscience with regard to your neighbor* and stay away from anything evil,* and this will save* you.224 5. [X.39; 2:38] 225 One of the brothers used to say, “One time I went to Lower Heracleion* to see Abba Joseph, and within the monastery* was a very beautiful mulberry tree.226 Early in the morning he said to me, ‘Go, eat [some fruit],’ but it was Friday, so I didn’t go because of the fast.* 227 I urged* him [to explain] and said, ‘For God’s benefit,228 explain to me what you mean.229 Look, you said to me, “Go, eat [some fruit],” but I, because of the fast,* didn’t go, and [I was ashamed when I didn’t obey your command.* What did you mean230 when you told me to leave and eat? ’] 231

223. give to others as an act of love:* literally, “give love,” give (an) agápē. Often translated “charity,” an agápē is something done for another out of love for that person, love that is “the quality of warm regard for or interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love” (Bauer 6a). See Love, Act of in the Glossary. 224. AlphAP here is lacking; SysAP X.40 is clearer, so I have followed its reading. PG 65:229, n. 66, and SysAP X.40 continue at the end: “for God seeks/ is seeking the soul without sin.” On the theme of ill-treating one’s neighbor, see Hierax S1. 225. SysAP X.39 is entirely in the third person, with no first-person narrator. 226. SysAP X.39 continues “filled with fruit.” 227. Friday: paraskeuḗ, which is Friday in M.Gk, means “preparation” (Jewish Day of Preparation for the Sabbath), and by extension “training, practice” (Lampe 1025ab). See Mark 15:42//Luke 23:54; John 19:31. This saying shows that by at least the 4th–5th centuries there was Friday fasting.* 228. For God’s benefit: SysAP X.39, For the Lord’s sake/benefit. 229. what you mean: logismós, “thought.” * 230. “What did you mean” uses logismós; see the previous note. 231. leave and eat: that is, leave and eat from the tree. The saying is not clear here; I have followed SysAP X.39. AlphAP Joseph 5: I was ashamed when I thought of your command: “What did the elder mean when he spoke to me? What then should I have done? You were saying to me ‘Go.’ ”

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“Abba Joseph said, ‘At first the fathers do not speak to the brothers straightforwardly but, rather, in a twisted fashion, [and when the fathers see that the brothers are obedient* and doing what they were told,] 232 they no longer speak to them that way, but rather tell them the truth when they see that the brothers are obedient* in every way.’ ” 233 6. [XI.45; 2:156] Abba Joseph said to Abba Lot, “You can’t become a monk* unless you become completely like a burning fire.” 234 7. [XII.9; 2:212] Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as best I can235 I keep my little synaxis,* my little fast,* prayer,* meditation,* and [my practice of] contemplative quiet,* and, to the best of my ability, I purify my thoughts.* So what more do I need to do? ” The elder* therefore stood up and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten flaming lamps. He said to him, “If you want to, become completely like fire.” 8. A brother asked Abba Joseph, “I want to leave the cenobium* and live by myself,” 236 and the elder* said to him, “Wherever you see your soul having inward stillness* and not being harmed, live there.” The brother said to him, “I have inward stillness* both in the cenobium* and living by myself, so what do you want me to do? ”

232. Again, AlphAP Joseph 5 isn’t clear—“and if they see that the brothers are acting in such a fashion”—so I have followed SysAP X.39. 233. twisted: streblós can mean “twisted, crooked,” and also “perverse” (­Montanari II:1973a). It occurs three times in the saying: “in a twisted fashion,” “in such a fashion,” and “that way.” See 2 Pet 3:16 (“twist”). 234. unless you become completely like a burning fire: see the next saying. Abba Lot doesn’t have any sayings in the AlphAP. He appears five times in the SysAP and has one saying (X.11; 3:245a). 235. “as best I can” and “the best of my ability” use dýnamis; see Power in the Glossary. 236. live by myself: katamónas, which uses mon- as in monachós, “monk.” * Although we don’t know if the monk intends it, katamónas could suggest that anchorites* are the true monks.

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[PG 65:232] The elder said to him, “if you have inward stillness* in the cenobium* and living by yourself, place the two thoughts* as though in a balance, and where you see which one is more beneficial* and which thought* guides you, go with that one.” 9. One of the elders* visited his companion so they could leave and observe Abba Joseph and said, “Tell your disciple to get the ass ready for us,” and the other one said, “Call him; he’ll do whatever you want.” The visitor said, “What’s his name? ” He said, “I don’t know.” So the visitor said to him, “How long has he been with you and you don’t know his name? ” and the monk said, “Two years.” The visitor said, “If you don’t know your disciple’s name after two years, why should I learn it in one day? ” 10. Some brothers were gathered one time with Abba Joseph, and as they sat [with him] and asked him questions, he was delighted. In good spirits he was saying to them, “Today I am ­emperor—I have become emperor over the passions.” * 11. They used to say that when Abba Joseph of Panephysis* was about to die, while the elders* were sitting around him, turning his attention to the door he saw the Devil* sitting there, so he called to his disciple, saying “Bring my staff. This guy thinks I’ve gotten old and no longer have the power* to deal with him.” When he took hold of the staff, the elders saw that the Devil* had let himself out through the door, like a dog, and had disappeared.

Concerning Abba James (Jacob)237 1. [PG 65:232] Abba James said, “It’s better to receive hospitality* than offer it.” 238 237. Greek Iákōbos (Jacob), pronounced YĂ-kō-bōs. 238. It’s better to receive hospitality than offer it: literally “It’s better to receive hospitality than to offer hospitality.” On giving and receiving see Acts 20:35.

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2. [XV.108; 2:350] He would also say, “The person being praised needs to reflect on his sins and bear in mind that he doesn’t deserve what they’re saying.” 239 3. [III.17; 1:158] He also said, “Just as a lamp in a darkened bedroom brings light, so too the fear* of God: when it enters the human heart,* 240 it brings light to the person and teaches all of the virtues* and commandments* of God.” 4. [X.111; 2:92] 241 Another time he said, “We need not only sayings* and stories—people have a lot of sayings* and stories these days—but we also need work*: this is what we seek, not just sayings* and stories, which don’t bear fruit.” 242 S1. [Guy, Recherches, 25] 243 He also said that one of the elders* said, “When I was living in the desert* I had a neighbor,* a young man living by himself, who devoted [himself to a monastic* way of life*]. When I visited him to check in [on how things were going],244 I saw him praying,* petitioning God so he’d be at peace with the wild animals. After the prayer,* since a hyena was nearby suckling her young, the young man placed himself underneath and began to suckle with them.” 245 239. reflect on: logízomai is cognate with logismós, “thought(s).” * 240. when [hótan] it enters the human heart: SysAP III.17, if [eán] it enters the human heart. 241. X.111 is in Latin, not Greek, in the SysAP. 242. sayings and stories, lógos; see Spiritual guidance in the Glossary. Sayings and stories, which don’t bear fruit: one can also translate this “sayings and stories that don’t bear fruit.” 243. See also AnonAP 440bis; Wortley 278. 244. visited him to check in [on how things were going]: episkopḗ/episkopéō can mean “visit,” but more commonly it means “to exercise oversight” (episkopḗ), “direct, superintend”; a bishop,* epískopos, means “overseer, superintendent” (Bauer 379a–80a). 245. Two instances of wordplay occur in this sentence: “nearby” and “neighbor” earlier both translate plēsíon, the word for “neighbor” in the NT. The hyena’s young, paidiá, can also mean “children,” and the word is related to paȋs, the sing. of which can also mean “young man,” thus linguistically and thematically connecting the young man and the hyena’s young.

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S2. [Guy, Recherches, 25] Another time I saw [him] praying* and entreating* the Lord, “Give me the spiritual gift of befriending fire.” 246 So he made a fire, kneeled in its midst, and was praying* to the Lord and Master.

Concerning Abba Hierax 247 1. [PG 65:232] A brother asked Abba Hierax, “Offer me some counsel:* How can I be saved? ” * The elder* said to him, “Stay in your cell.* 248 If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re thirsty, drink. And don’t speak badly of anyone, and you’ll be saved.” * 249 2. The same elder* said, “I never said or wanted to hear anything worldly.” * S1 [Guy, Recherches, 25] A brother asked Abba Hierax, “Tell me, how can I be saved? ” * The elder* said to him, “Stay in your cell,* and don’t speak ill of anyone, and you can be saved.” * 250

Concerning Abba John the Eunuch 251 1. [PG 65:232] Abba John the eunuch, being young, asked an elder,* “How are you [pl.] able to do the work* of God while you have inward stillness* while we, working hard at it, can’t do it?* 252

246. “gift,” chárisma, is cognate with cháris, “grace.” * 247. Greek Híerax, pronounced (H)EE-ĕ-răx. See AnonAP 33 (Wortley 29). 248. Stay: kathéomai means “sit,” then by extension “dwell, live.” 249. speak badly: kakologéō combines kakós, “bad, evil,” and log- (lógos, légō, “to speak”), so a translation can be the stronger “Don’t speak evil of anyone.” 250. On the theme of ill-treating one’s neighbor, see Joseph 4. 251. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. 252. “able” and “can’t” in the saying translate dýnamai, cognate with dýnamis, power.*

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The elder* said, [PG 65:233] “We were able to do it because we put the greatest emphasis on the work* of God, the least on bodily needs. You [pl.], however, put the greatest emphasis on bodily needs and don’t consider the work* of God to be the one more necessary.253 This is why you’re toiling so hard,254 and because of this the Savior told his disciples, You of little faith, strive first for the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 255 2. Abba John said, “Our father Abba Antony* said, ‘I never put my own benefit* ahead of what benefited* a brother.’ ” 3. Abba John the Cilician,* the superior of Raïthou,* would say to the brothers, “Children, just as we fled* from the world,* so too let us flee* from the desires* of the flesh.” * 256 4. He also said, “Let us emulate our fathers who lived here with so many austerities [and yet with] contemplative quiet.” * 257 5. Another time he said, “Children, let us not dirty this place* that our fathers cleansed of demons.” * 6. He also said, “This place* is for ascetics,* not businessmen.”

253. more necessary, anankaióteros, a comparative: anánkaios in addition to “necessary” can mean “urgent, compulsory, determinative” (Montanari I:130b). 254. toiling so hard: kámnō can also mean “suffer, be weary, exhausted” (­Montanari I:1029a). 255. You of little faith: Matt 6:30//Luke 12:28; strive first .  .  . : Matt 6:33// Luke 12:31. 256. See Gal 5:17-21: For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law (vv. 17-18). In 5:19-21 Paul gives a list of fifteen “works of the flesh” and adds, “and things like these.” 257. austerities: sklēragōgía means “discipline, austerity of life,” thus also “asceticism” * (Lampe 1239b).

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Concerning Abba John of the Cells* 258 1. [PG 65:233] Abba John of the Cells* once recounted,* “There was a prostitute* in Egypt,* beautiful and very wealthy. The rulers would come to her. One day she found herself in front of the church259 and wanted to go inside, but the subdeacon,260 standing at the doors, wouldn’t let her in, saying, ‘You’re not worthy to enter the house of God. You’re immoral.’ ” 261 As they were arguing, the bishop* heard the uproar and came outside. The prostitute* said to him, “He won’t let me enter the church.” The bishop* said to her, “It is not possible for you to come inside. You are immoral.” Remorseful and penitent, she said to him, “I won’t be a prostitute* anymore.” The bishop* said to her, “If you bring your money here, I will know that you are no longer a prostitute.” * When she brought it, he took it and set it on fire. She went into the church weeping, and said, “If it’s like this for me here, what will I suffer there? ” She repented* and became a chosen vessel.262 2. [XV.36; 2:308, 310] Abba John of the Thebaid* said, “Before anything else, the monk* needs to establish humility.* Humility* is the first commandment* of the Savior. He said, Blessed are the poor* in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 263 258. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. 259. found herself: eukairéō use kairós; see Opportune time in the Glossary. 260. According to Apostolic Constitutions 8.11, “the deacons stand at the doors of the men, and the sub-deacons at those of the women” (New Advent, https: //www.newadvent.org/fathers/07158.htm). The Constitutions, of Syrian provenance, date roughly 350–380; see ODCC 90–91. 261. immoral: akáthartos means “unclean, impure,” but the emphasis in the NT is mostly on moral purity/impurity, not ritual uncleanness. 262. Acts 9:15; there the Lord says of Paul, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen. She and Paul are both forgiven sinners. 263. See Matt 5:3; Luke 6:20 has Blessed are the poor.

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Concerning Abba Isidore the Priest 264 1a.265 [PG 65:233] [IV.23; 1:194, 196] They used to say about Abba Isidore the priest [PG 65:236] that a brother came one time to invite him to the morning meal,266 but the elder* refused to go, saying, “Adam, because he was deceived by food, lived out in the open, outside of Paradise.” 267 The brother said to him, “So you’re absolutely afraid* to leave your cell? ” * He replied, “Child, I’m afraid* because the Devil,* roaring like a lion, is looking for someone he can devour.” 268 1b. [IV.23; 1:196] And often he would say, “If someone gives himself over to drinking wine,* there’s no way he’ll escape the plottings of his thoughts.” * 269 You see, in the same way Lot, compelled by his daughters, got drunk on wine,* and, because of his drunkenness, the Devil* easily set him up270 for unlawful sexual sin.” * 271

264. Greek Isídoros, pronounced ē-SEE-dō-rōs. 265. Saying 1 appears to be two separate sayings, so I’ve divided it into 1a and 1b. SysAP IV.23 also has 1a and 1b as a single saying. 266. Monks commonly fasted* until the ninth hour, that is, about 3 p.m. 267. lived out in the open: an aulḗ is a courtyard, where animals often stayed at night, so the verb aulízō in the active voice means “to dwell,” but usually in the middle-passive means “to dwell in the open,” especially of livestock. In ­monastic use it can mean “dwell away from God.” 268. 1 Pet 5:8. 269. escape: ekpheúgō, cognate with pheúgō, “to flee.” * 270. set him up: the base meaning of skeuázō is “to prepare, to make ready,” and in the NT paraskeuḗ (Friday) is the Day of Preparation for the Passover. The word can, however, have strong negative implications, thus my translation: “to plot, intrigue”; “to bribe, take on, recruit” (Montanari II:1565bc). 271. See Gen 19:30-38; the daughters do indeed get him drunk to have intercourse with him for offspring. For porneía, “sexual sin,” * SysAP IV.23 has práxis, a euphemism here: “deed, act.” The LXX story does not have porneía.

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2. [VI.12; 1:322] [AnonAP 390] 272 Abba Isidore said, “If your desire* is for the kingdom of heaven, despise money and instead pursue divine recompense.” 273 3. [VI.13; 1:322] [AnonAP 390] 274 He also said, “It’s impossible to live a godly life while being a lover of pleasure and money.” 275 4. [X.41; 2:40] He also said, “If you [pl.] are practicing the ascetic* life, fasting* in accordance with what’s prescribed, don’t get all haughty about it. If because of this [fasting] you get boastful, it would be better to eat meat. It’s better for a person to eat meat rather than getting haughty and becoming boastful and arrogant.” 5. [X.42; 2:40] He also said, “Those who are receiving instruction need both to truly love* their teachers as fathers and to fear* them as rulers, neither because of love* weakening fear* nor because of fear* enfeebling love.” * 276 6. [X.43; 2:40] He also said, “If you desire* salvation,* 277 do all the things that lead you to it.” 7. [II.18; 1:134] They used to say about Abba Isidore that when a brother came to see him he would retreat* to the innermost part of his cell.* 278 The brothers would say to him, “Abba,* what are you doing? ”

272. Wortley 249. 273. The HB refers indirectly to the kingdom of heaven, most often in Daniel (see 2:44); in the NT it occurs explicitly only in Matthew, as a substitute for “kingdom of God”—thirty-one times. 274. Wortley 249. 275. being a lover of pleasure and money: literally “a lover of pleasure [philḗdonos, phil- + hēdonḗ] and a lover of money [philárguros, phil- + árguros, “silver, silver coinage, money”].” 276. receiving instruction: a cognate of mathēteúō is mathētḗs, “student, disciple.” The root math- gives us “mathematics.” 277. If you desire salvation: SysAP X.43, If you truly desire salvation. 278. retreat: pheúgō, “flee.” *

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He would say, “The wild animals that flee* into their lairs are also saved.” * He would say these things for the benefit of the brothers.

Concerning Abba John the Persian 279 1. [PG 65:236] A young boy one time came to be healed of a demon,* and brothers from a cenobium* in Egypt* visited. When the elder* came out he saw the brother [sic] sinning with the boy, and he didn’t reproach him. He said, “If God, who created them, sees [what they’re doing] and doesn’t consume them with fire, who am I to reproach them? ” 2. [VI.8; 1:318, 320, 22] One of the fathers recounted* this about Abba John the Persian: because of his great grace,* 280 he pressed forward with a complete lack of evil. He lived in Arabia* of Egypt.281 One time he borrowed a little gold from a brother and bought some linen thread [PG 65:237] so he could do his work.* A brother came and asked* him [for some thread], saying, “Please, abba,* give me a little thread so I can make a léviton* for myself,” and with joy he gave it to him.282 Likewise another brother came and asked him, “Give me a little thread so I can make a head covering.” Abba John likewise gave him some. When others asked, he would joyfully give [them some], without hesitation. Some time later the owner of the solidus* came, wanting it. The elder* said to him, “I’ll go and get it for you.” Not having 279. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. 280. grace: SysAP VI.8, virtue.* 281. This may be Arabia Petraea, “a name dating from the Roman Empire, consisting of land that is now Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, modern Jordan, Palestine, Israel, southern Syria, and western Saudi Arabia,” “Egypt and Arabia petræa,” https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8300.ct000421/?r=-0.781,0.049,2.563,0.912,0. 282. Please .  .  . give: charízō is cognate with cháris, “grace.” * “Joy” is the similar-sounding chará.

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any means to pay him back, he got up and went to Abba James the steward to ask* him to give him the coin so he could pay back the brother.283 On his way he found a solidus* lying on the ground and didn’t touch it; he offered a prayer* and returned to his cell.* The brother came again, bothering him about the coin,284 and the elder* said to him, “I’m seriously pondering the matter.” So when he left again, he found the coin on the ground where it was before. Once again he offered a prayer* and returned to his cell,* and, lo and behold, just as before, the brother who was bothering him came. The elder* said to him, “Seriously, I’ll definitely bring it this time.” 285 So he got up once again, went to that same place,* and found the coin lying there. He offered a prayer* and took it and went to see Abba James. He said to him, “Abba,* on my way to see you I found this coin in the road,* so, please, as an act of love,* let it be known in the district, in case someone lost it, and if the owner’s found, give it to him.” So Abba James went and made it known for three days, and the person who’d lost the coin wasn’t dis­ covered. Then the elder* said to Abba James, “Well, then, if no one lost it, give it to this certain brother. I owe him. While I was coming to you to get [the coin as] an act of charity in order to repay the debt,* I found it.” The elder* was amazed* that, being in debt and finding the coin, Abba John didn’t immediately take it and give it [to the monk* who had loaned it]. And this was the amazing* thing about him: if anyone ever came and needed anything from him, he didn’t himself provide it but would say to the brother, “Go and help yourself to whatever you need.” And if someone brought it back, he would say to that person, “Put it back where it was before.” 283. steward: this is probably the meaning of diakonía here (oikónomos is the usual term), “ministration to need, provision of money,” “of charitable service, poor-relief” (Lampe 351(A2) and 351(B5b)), and it’s possible that James is a deacon (diákonos). 284. bothering him about the coin: SysAP VI.8, wanting to get the coin. 285. Seriously: SysAP VI.8, Forgive [me]. Seriously.

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And if someone who had taken something didn’t return it, he wouldn’t say a word to him.286 3. They used to say about Abba John the Persian that if evil­ doers came upon him, he would bring out a wash basin and ask to wash their feet and they, ashamed, would start repenting.* 287 4. Someone said to Abba John the Persian, “We have toiled so hard288 on behalf of the kingdom of heaven, but tell us, are we going to inherit it? ” 289 The elder* said, “For my part, I have faith* that we will inherit the Jerusalem above, the one inscribed in the heavens.290 The one who promises this is faithful.291 Why should I not believe? 292 I have become one who is hospitable like Abraham, 293 like Moses humble,* [PG 65: 240] holy like Aaron, patient* like Job, humble* like David, one who lives in the wilderness* like John,294 in mourning like Jeremiah, a teacher like Paul, faithful* like Peter, wise like Solomon. I have faith* that, as with the insurrectionist,* 295 the one who graciously gave296 me these things will, out of his own goodness, give [me] the kingdom.” 297

286. The saying emphasizes the theme of need and giving with five words cognate in Greek (chra-/chrḗ): “owe,” “debt” (2x), and “need” (2x). 287. repenting: metanoéō can include an act of prostration,* a metánoia. 288. toiled: kópos can also mean “affliction, suffering.” 289. On inheriting the kingdom, see Matt 25:34; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal 5:21. 290. Gal 4:26 and Heb 12:22-23. 291. The one who promises this is faithful: literally “Faithful [emphatic] is the one who promises,” Heb 10:23. 292. not believe: apistéō is cognate with pístis, “faith” * (see the previous note). “Refuse to believe,” literally “not” (a-) + pisté(u)ō, “believe, have faith in.” Apistéō can also mean “be faithless, deny the faith” (Lampe 185b). 293. hospitable like Abraham: see Gen 18:1-15; Heb 13:2. 294. one who lives in the wilderness, erēmítēs: or “one who lives in the ­desert,”  * érēmos, or “one who is a hermit.” 295. as with the insurrectionist: see Luke 23:39-43. 296. graciously gave, charízomai, cognate with cháris, “grace,* gift.” 297. give, paréchō: or “offer,” “present” (Montanari II:1582a).

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Concerning Abba John of Thebes* 298 1. [PG 65:241] They used to say of little John of Thebes,* the disciple of Abba Ammoës,299 that he spent twelve years ministering to the elder* when the elder* was sick. He would sit on a pallet with him. The elder* had little respect for him, and, although the disciple often worked hard with him, the elder* never said to him, “May you be saved.” * 300 But when he was about to die, with the elders* sitting around him, he took the disciple’s hand and said to him, “May you be saved.* May you be saved.* May you be saved,” * and handed him on to the elders,* saying, “This is an angel, not a [mere] human being.” 301

Concerning Abba John the Disciple of Abba Paul 302 1. [PG 65:240] [XIV.5; 2:256] They would say about Abba John the disciple of Abba Paul that he was extremely obedient.* There were tombs somewhere, and a hyena was living there.303 The elder* saw piles of dung all around the place,* and he told John to go and get them, but Abba John said to Abba Paul, “And what do I do, abba,* about the hyena? ” The elder* jokingly said, “If she happens upon you, tie her up and bring her here.” 298. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. See Ammoës 3, Sayings 1:173. 299. For Ammoës see Sayings 1:172–74. 300. had little respect: oligoréō (< oligós, “little, small, insignificant”) also has stronger meanings: “be neglectful, be negligent,” “be contemptuous, indifferent, think little of” (CGL II:99b). 301. handed on: the basic meaning of paradídōmi is “to give,” “to hand over” (parádosis: “tradition”), but it can have the additional meaning of “to leave as inheritance, transmit to a successor,” appropriate here (Montanari I:1546c). See 1 Cor 11:23, regarding the transmission of the Eucharist: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you. 302. Greek Iōánnēs, pronounced Yō-ĂN-nees. 303. hyena: PG 65:240, n. 76, notes that variants have “an evil/bad [kakós] hyena.” SysAP XIV.5 agrees with the PG 65 text here.

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So the brother went there that evening, and, lo and behold, here comes the hyena at him. In accordance with what the elder* had said,304 he hurled himself [at the hyena] so he could grab her, but the hyena fled.* So he went after it, saying, “My abba* told me to tie you up,” and he grabbed her and tied her up. But the elder* was troubled* and sat waiting for him. And now—here comes the disciple—holding the hyena all tied up! 305 When the elder saw this, he was amazed.” * Wanting to humble* the disciple, he struck him and said, “Idiot! Have you brought me an idiotic dog? ” The elder* immediately freed it and permitted it to leave.

Concerning Abba Isaac of Thebes* 306 1. [PG 65:240] [IX.5; 1:428] One time Abba Isaac of Thebes* visited a cenobium,* saw a brother doing something wrong, and passed judgment* on him. When he went back out into the desert,* an angel of the Lord came and stood in front of the door to his cell* and said, “I’m not letting you in.” Abba Isaac begged* him, saying, “What’s the matter? ” and the angel replied, saying to him, “God sent* me, saying, ‘Tell him: “Where do you propose I put the wrongdoing brother whom you judged? ” ’ ” * 307 Immediately he repented,* saying, “I’ve sinned. Forgive me.” The angel said, “Get up. God has forgiven you, but take care from now on: do not judge* someone before God judges* that person.” 308 304. what the elder had said: literally, “the word of the elder.” See Spiritual guidance in the Glossary. 305. But the elder .  .  . tied up: SysAP XIV.5 lacks. 306. Greek Isaák, pronounced ē-SĂK. 307. sent: apostéllō, cognate with apóstolos, “apostle,” one sent forth. SysAP IX.5 lacks “whom you judged.” 308. take care, phylássō: see Protect in the Glossary.

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2. [PG 65:241] [XI.47; 2:158] Concerning Abba Apollo* 309 they used to say that he had a disciple named Isaac, instructed to the very heights in every good work,* and that he had attained the contemplative quiet* of the Holy Eucharist.310 When he would leave for church he wouldn’t allow people to come into contact with him. He explained it this way: 311 “All good things in their own time;* there’s a time* appropriate for everything.” 312 When the synaxis* had finished, as though fire were coming after him, he’d try to get back to his cell* [as quickly as possible]. Oftentimes dried bread* and a cup of wine* would be given to the brothers after the synaxis,* but he wouldn’t take it, not to be disdainful of the brothers’ blessing* but to acquire and maintain the contemplative quiet* of the synaxis.* It happened that he took to his bed sick. When the brothers heard this, they came to see how things were with him. With the brothers sitting around him, they asked him, “Abba Isaac, why do you hurry away from the brothers at the synaxis? ” * 313 He said to them, “It’s not the brothers I’m fleeing* from, but rather the demons* and their wicked schemes. Look, if a person’s holding a lamp that’s lit and hangs around too long, standing around in the wind, the lamp’s light gets extinguished by the wind. It’s the same with us who’re enlightened by the Holy Eucharist: 314

309. For Apollo, see Sayings 1:183–85. 310. Eucharist: not eucharistía here, “thanksgiving,” but prosphorá, “what’s brought forward,” which can mean “the consecrated bread or elements at consecration, representing the first-fruits of God’s creation” (Lampe 1184b(2iii)). 311. He explained it this way: literally “His word was this.” See Spiritual guidance in the Glossary. 312. See Eccl 3:1; the wording here is that of the LXX. NRSV: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. 313. hurry away, pheúgō: or “flee.” * See the next sentence. 314. Holy Eucharist: an alternate reading, PG 65:241, n. 80, has “by the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist.” SysAP XI.47 agrees with the PG text here.

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if we stand around outside the cell, our minds get inwardly darkened.” 315 This was the way of life* of the holy Abba Isaac.

Concerning Abba Joseph of Thebes* 316 1. [PG 65:241] [I.14; 1:108, 110] Abba Joseph of Thebes* said, “There are three things honored* in the sight of the Lord: [First,] when a person is ill and temptations* come upon him, he accepts them with gratitude.317 The second is when someone keeps all his works* pure in the sight of the Lord,318 with them having nothing of human [work] in them.319 The third is when someone lives by submitting* himself to a spiritual father and separates himself from his own desires.320 This person has an extraordinary crown.321 I, however, have chosen illness for myself.”

315. get inwardly darkened: skotízō can simply mean “get dark, become darkened,” but it and its cognate n. skótos have deeper meanings. Skótos: “the state of spiritual or moral darkness”; skotízō: “become inwardly darkened” (Bauer 932ab). See Rom 1:21: for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. 316. Greek Iōsḗph, pronounced yo-SEEF. 317. gratitude: eucharistía, or “thanksgiving.” 318. See perhaps Prov 16:2: All one’s ways may be pure in one’s own eyes, / but the Lord weighs the spirit. 319. human [work], anthrṓpinos: Lampe notes, 139a(A2), that the adjective can mean belonging to humans, as opposed to the divine. A literal translation of “nothing human” is too stark a dualism. 320. separates: apotássō can mean “detach,” as when one part of an army detaches itself. “Detachment” (from the cries and whispers of the world) is a valued monastic* theme, then and now. SysAP I.14 ends here. 321. The psalms often use crowns to depict wonderful things (Pss 8:5; 21:3; and others); Revelation speaks often of glorious crowns: of life (2:10), golden (4:4), of twelve stars (12:1).

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Concerning Abba Hilarion 322 1.323 [PG 65:241] [XVII.4; 3:12] Abba Hilarion from Palestine* came to the monastic community* to visit Abba Antony,* and Abba Antony* said to him, “It’s good that you’ve come, star of the morning, the one who rises at dawn,” 324 and Abba Hilarion said to him, “Peace be with you, pillar of light who brings light to the whole inhabited world.” 325

Concerning Abba Ischyrion 326 1. [PG 65:241] [XVIII.9; 3:50] The holy fathers prophesied about the final generation: 327 “What have we accomplished? ” they said.328 In reply, a person great among them,329 Abba Ischyrion, said, “We have kept the commandments* of God.” In response they said, “But those after us—what will they do? ” 322. Greek Hiláriōn, pronounced (h)ē-LÁ-ree-ōn. See Jerome Vita Hilarionis; New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3003.htm. 323. This saying is virtually identical with Appendix Antony 6, Sayings 1:119. 324. star of the morning, heōsphóros: Heosphoros or Lucifer (Lat.: Lightbearer). Ironically, the word by the 4th cent. could mean Lucifer = Satan. 325. pillar of light: see Exod 13:22, Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Inhabited world: oikouménē, rather than kósmos, often used negatively. (Cognate with oíkos, “house”; English economy, ecumenical.) Who brings light to the whole inhabited world: a variant, AlphAP 65.241, n. 82, and SysAP XVII.4, who supports and holds up the whole inhabited world. For bastázō I’ve used both “supports” and “holds up” (Lampe 293b(5)). John 19:17 uses bastázō for Jesus’ bearing the cross (NRSV: “carrying”). 326. Greek Ischýriōn, pronounced ē-SKI-ree-ōn. 327. The holy fathers: a variant reading, PG 65:241, n. 83, and SysAP XVIII.9, The holy fathers of Scetis.* 328. accomplished: the verb ergázomai is cognate with érgon, “work.” * 329. a person great among them: a variant reading, PG 65:241, n. 84, and SysAP XVIII.9, great in life and name/reputation, ónoma.

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He said, “They’ll attain half the work* we’ve done.” 330 They said, “And those after them—what? ” He said, “That generation won’t do any of the works* we’ve done. Temptation’s* going to come to get them, and those [PG 65:244] who, tested,* find approval in that age* will be found to be greater than us and greater than our fathers.” 331

330. attain: érchomai translates “going to come” below. 331. find approval, dókimos: Bauer notes that in the NT the word can mean “the process or means of determining the genuineness of something, testing, means of testing” (256a(1)) and, as a result, “being considered worthy of high regard, respected, esteemed” (256a(2)). See 2 Cor 10:18; 13:7; Rom 16:10. This saying is unusual in that it holds out hope for future generations; not only that, but greatness surpassing the great fathers of the past. Some of the early monks, like some of us, have a nostalgia for an allegedly better past.

Chapter 10 1

K / Káppa / K Concerning Abba Cassian* 2 1.3 [PG 65:244] [XIII.2; 2:230] Abba Cassian* recounted,* “The holy Germanus4 and I came to Egypt* to visit a certain elder.5 After he hospitably* welcomed us,6 we asked him, ‘When you

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Kasianós (Lat. Cassianus), pronounced kah-see-ah-NŌS. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:244], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:245]—indicates the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example XIII.2, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:230, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. Germanus was the traveling companion of Cassian and figures in the latter’s Conferences. The two went to a monastery in Palestine to become monks, then traveled to Egypt. They left Egypt after the outbreak of the Origenist* controversy in 399, finding refuge in Constantinople with John Chrysostom, who employed and ordained them. Cassian went to Gaul around 415; Germanus had died by then. 5. came to Egypt: SysAP XIII.2, came to Egypt from Palestine; see the previous note. 6. hospitably welcomed: philoxenéō, “love of (the) stranger,” xénos, as later in the sentence. See Welcome in the Glossary. 89

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have this opportunity to welcome brothers who are strangers,* 7 is there a reason that you don’t observe* our rule* for fasting,* 8 the one that we took on in Palestine? ’ * 9 “He responded: ‘Fasting* is something I do all the time, but you—I can’t keep you here with me forever.10 Fasting* is something both advantageous and necessary, but we do it of our own free will.11 The law of God, however, demands that we fulfill as an obligation the act of love* [by welcoming visitors]. So when we receive Christ among us,12 I have an obligation to honor this, diligently and zealously.13 When I send you on your way, I can resume [our] rule* of fasting.* [You see,] the companions of the bridegroom cannot fast so long as the bridegroom is with them. But when the bridegroom takes leave [of them], then they’ll fast as they choose to do so.’ ” 14 2. He said, “There was an elder,* and he was ministered to by a holy virgin.* 15 People were saying, ‘They’re not pure,’ and the

7. opportunity, kairós: see Opportune time in the Glossary. 8. See Mark 2:19 (2:18-22) and Luke 5:34-35 (5:33-39); Matt 9:15 (9:14-17) has “mourn” for “fast,” which must be a Matthean editorial change. See Cassian, Institutes 5.24 (pp. 132–33). Page number(s) cite John Cassian: The Institutes, trans. Boniface Ramsey. 9. There may be a play on words here: “came to visit” translates parebálomen (parabállō) and “took on” parelábomen (paralambánō). 10. “All the time” and “forever” both translate pántote. See Matt 26:6-13 (v. 11)//Mark 14:3-9 (v. 7). 11. we: in the next sentence the pronoun switches to “I.” In this sentence “we” can be the formal “royal ‘we,’ ” that is, “I.” Or the elder may be saying that “we” as a community welcome, but that he, as the elder,* has a further obligation. 12. See Matt 25:35; Rom 15:7. 13. to honor: in classical Greek, therapeúō can mean “to serve, care for” and “respect, honor, venerate” (Montanari I:935c–36a); in NT and patristic Greek the verb takes on the added meaning “to heal, restore” (Bauer 453a; Lampe 645a) (English therapy, therapeutics). 14. See Matt 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35. 15. ministered: the primary meaning of hypēretéō is “to serve”; a hypēretḗs is a servant. But “serve” here could have an unfortunate sense. See what follows.

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elder* heard it. So when he was about to die, he said to the fathers, ‘When I die, plant my staff on [my] grave and, if it blossoms and bears fruit, you will learn that I am pure with regard to her. But if it doesn’t blossom,16 you’ll know that I fell into sin with her.’17 So the staff was planted, and, on the third day, it blossomed, and bore fruit, and everyone gave glory to God.” 18 3. [XIII.3; 2:232] 19 He also said, “We visited another elder,* and he had us eat. He urged us to satisfy ourselves with more food, yet we’d already had plenty.20 After I’d said that we really couldn’t, he replied, ‘Well, as for me, six times now I’ve set the table for brothers who’ve come here, urging each one to eat together with me, and I’m still hungry! But you [sing.], eating just once, have had so much that you can’t eat any more?’ ” 21 4. [IV.26; 1:196, 198] Another time he related* that Abba John, the hegumen* of a large cenobium,* visited Abba Paësius,22 who

16. if it doesn’t blossom: a variant reading, PG 65:244, n. 89, if it doesn’t blossom and bear fruit. 17. fell: píptō, means “to fall,” but in patristic Greek it can mean “fall into sin” and can specify sexual immorality (Lampe 1082b(B and B4)), so I’ve added “into sin.” Píptō here is in the perfect aspect/tense, péptōka, which means that the effect of a past action continues into the present. 18. “The third day” occurs sixty-seven times in the Bible, for example Gen 1:13, at the creation; “on the third day” occurs often in the NT, for example, Matt 16:21 (Jesus foretells his resurrection on the third day), and Luke 24:46 (the day of his resurrection). In 1 Cor 15:4 Paul writes that Jesus was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. Gave glory to God: see 1 Cor 15:4. On a staff or branch of a tree blossoming in the desert, see John the Little 1. 19. See Cassian, Institutes 5.25 (p. 133). 20. to satisfy ourselves with more: korénnumi can also mean “sate, satiate, glut (oneself),” clearly apposite here (CGL II:823b). “Have had so much”: korénnumi. 21. The pronouns in “I’d said,” “I’ve set,” and “But you” are all emphatic. The question could be a statement. 22. Paësius (Greek Paḗsios) is in SysAP IV.26, XI.59, and XVI.11: A Paësius and Isaiah, “sons of a Spanish merchant,” are in Lausiac History 14 (pp. 49–51). Paësius has no sayings in the AlphAP or SysAP. Paḗsios/Paísios is the Greek version of Coptic Pshoi/Bishoi; see Tim Vivian and Maged S. A. Mikhail, eds.,

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had been living in the outermost desert* for forty* years.23 Abba John had the greatest love* for Abba Paësius and, because of this, could speak freely* and honestly with him; 24 he said to him, “­Living here for so many years and having withdrawn* in such a way that no one easily disturbs [you/your peace], what have you accomplished? ” 25 He said, “Since I started living alone,* [PG 65:245] the sun has never seen me eating.” Abba John said in return, “Nor has it seen me angry.” * 5. [I.15; 1:110] 26 When this Abba John was about to die27 and was eagerly and cheerfully journeying to God, the brothers gathered around him, asking for some brief and saving* counsel* as an inheritance for them so they’d be able to enter into perfection with Christ. Sighing, he said, “Never have I done my own will, nor have I instructed anyone [to do] something unless I had done it first.” 6. [XI.48; 2:158, 160] 28 He also gave an account* of another elder* living in the desert:* this elder* called on* God to show grace* to him so he’d never nod off when a spiritual discussion The Life of Bishoi (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2021). Instead of Paësius, SysAP IV.26 has Arsenius (see Sayings 1:119–47, 320–21) and has a pronoun later. 23. outermost: akrótatos < ákros (Acropolis), “highest, high,” also “outermost, extreme” and “innermost, deep,” all of which apply here (Montanari I:78ac). 24. speak freely and honestly, parrēsía: see Confidence in the Glossary. 25. disturbs: ochléō, cognate with óchlos, “crowd,” means “annoy, bother, cause trouble, be a nuisance” (CGL II:1044b); I think of Thomas Hardy’s novel Far from the Madding Crowd. See Disturb (tarássō) in the Glossary. Accomplished: katorthóō has a number of nuances applicable here: “perform, do good works,” “perform, carry out precepts,” “amend (morally),” “attain, achieve (­virtues*)” (Lampe 734ab). See Longinus 1. 26. See Cassian,* Institutes 5.28 (p. 134). 27. When this Abba John was about to die: SysAP I.15, Abba Cassian* related* concerning Abba John, the head of a cenobium,* that he had led a life of greatness. When this one [Abba John] was about to die .  .  .  . 28. See Cassian,* Institutes 5.29, 31 (pp. 134–35).

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was going on, but if someone was engaging in slander* or idle chatter he’d immediately fall asleep so that his ears would not experience the pain that such things cause.29 He used to say that the Devil* is not only an enthusiastic ­supporter of idle chatter but also the enemy30 of all spiritual instruction, and he’d use this example: “I was talking,” he said, “with some brothers about what is beneficial* when they were possessed by such deep sleep that they couldn’t keep their eyes open.31 Now, as for me, I wanted to demonstrate the work* of the demon* so I began to idly chatter away; at this they immediately woke up, rejoicing. With a groan,32 I said, ‘Until a minute ago we were discussing heavenly matters when, with every one of you, sleep shut your eyes.33 But when idle chatter got going, all of you eagerly woke up.34 So then, brothers,35 I urge* you, be aware of the work* of the evil demon.36 * Pay attention* to what’s going on

29. Engaging in: epiphérō can have stronger meanings: “speak words of ill omen,” “impose, inflict” (CGL I:584ab). To show grace: charízomai is cognate with cháris, “grace,” thus my translation. Also: “grant, allow, offer.” Engaging in: epiphérō can have stronger meanings: “speak words of ill omen,” “impose, inflict” (CGL I:584ab). 30. enemy: not echthrós, “enemy/the Enemy,” * Satan, but polémion, cognate with polemós, “war.” * 31. possessed: katéchō, as with English possessed, can be used of demons* or Satan,* as here; see Justin, Second Apology 6.6, “the possessing devils” (New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0127.htm). 32. With a groan: SysAP XI.48 lacks. 33. shut: synéchō also has stronger meanings: “to cause distress by force of circumstances, seize, attach, distress, torment” (Bauer 971a); see Matt 4:24; Luke 12:50, among others. 34. idle chatter: lógos argós; argología earlier translates “idle chatter” and “chatter away,” but argós can be stronger: “idle/superfluous” can become “­uncultivated, left fallow,” thus “infertile, unfruitful” (Montanari I:290c). 35. brothers: a variant, AlphAP 65.245, n. 92, and SysAP XI.48, beloved (agapētós < agápē, “love” *). 36. The elder uses “the demon” twice. Either “the demon” = the Devil, or this is a particular demon that wreaks havoc on monks’ attention.

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within. Guard* against nodding off when you’re doing something spiritual or listening [to something spiritual].’ ” 7. [VI.14; 1:324] 37 He also said, “A certain senator renounced* [the world*] and gave his possessions* to the poor, and kept some for his own enjoyment, unwilling to undertake the humility* ­necessary for perfect renunciation* and genuine submission* to the cenobitic* rule.* 38 It was about him that Basil* 39 (who’s [now] with the saints) provided [us with] this saying:* ‘You’ve lost senatorial rank and haven’t made yourself a monk.’ ” * 40 8. He also said, “There was a certain monk* living in a cave in the desert,* 41 and this was made known to him by his relatives in the flesh: ‘Your father is exceedingly troubled [by an illness] and is going to die. Come, so you can inherit from him,’ but he replied to them, ‘I, before him, died to the world.* 42 Someone who’s dead doesn’t inherit from someone living.’ ” 43

37. See Cassian,* Institutes 7.19 (pp. 179–80). 38. unwilling, mḕ boulómenos < bouleúō: or “refusing.” In Life of Antony 2.1–3.1 (pp. 59, 61), Antony first “gave away” the land he had inherited from his parents, “sold all his remaining possessions,” * and “distributed it among the poor, keeping a little for his sister.” But soon he “distributed his remaining things among those less well off. His sister he entrusted to well-known and faithful virgins,” * and “from that time on he devoted himself to ascetic* discipline in front of his home.” See the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 4:32–5:11. 39. For Basil’s one saying see Sayings 1:189–90. 40. Lost, apóllumi: or “completely destroyed.” 41. For a monk living in a cave, see Lisa A. Agaiby and Tim Vivian, eds., The Lives of Paul of Thebes (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming 2023). 42. See Gal 6:4; Rom 6:1-11. 43. This sentence is very succinct in Greek—four words—which one could render “The dead don’t inherit from the living.” The first two words are “dead living.”

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Concerning Abba Cronius 44 1. [PG 65:247] A brother said to Abba Cronius, “Tell me a story,” 45 so he said to him, “When Elisha came to the Shunamite woman he found that she would have nothing to do with anyone, yet she conceived and, because of the presence of Elisha, gave birth.” 46 The brother said to him, “What does this story mean? ” The elder said, “The soul, if she’s vigilant* and alert and cuts herself off from distraction* and abandons the things that she wants—then the Spirit of God approaches her and she is then able to give birth, even if she’s sterile.” 47 2. A brother asked Abba Cronius, “What can I do about the forgetfulness that takes my mind prisoner and prevents me from being aware until it brings me to sin itself? ” 48 The elder* said, “When the foreigners49 seized the Ark [of the Covenant] because of the evil activity of the sons of Israel,50 they 44. Greek Krónios, pronounced KRŌ-nee-ōs. 45. story: rȇma can be a synonym for lógos, “Tell me a word,” that is, offer spiritual guidance or counsel.* On the basis of what follows here, the monk is asking for an edifying saying or story. 46. 2 Kgs 4:8-17. The saying is incorrect about her standoffishness. Presence, parousía: literally “being beside,” but it can mean “the universal presence of the Logos,” “a future advent” of Christ, and the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-28) (Lampe 1043b(A2), 1044a(B2c-d)). 47. soul, psychḗ : a feminine n.; normally English uses “it,” but because of the extended metaphor of conception and giving birth, I’ve chosen to use the feminine pronoun here. Approaches: parabállō has a variety of relevant meanings: “arrive, enter,” “break in upon,” “have access to” (Lampe 1007a(B)). 48. forgetfulness: lḗthē is cognate with lanthánomai, “to forget,” but can also mean “oblivion,” as in the river Lethe, the River of Forgetting, which, like the River Styx, takes the souls of the dead to the Underworld. So one could translate “What can I do about being so oblivious? ” 49. See 1 Sam 4–5; the text does not specify what “evil activity of the sons of Israel” is. “Foreigners”: the Philistines. 50. the Ark [of the Covenant]: see Exod 25:10-22; Heb 9:4; Rev 11:19. See C. L. Seow, “Ark of the Covenant,” Anchor-Yale, 653–64.

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dragged it away and brought it to the house of Dagon their God— and then [Dagon] fell on his face.51 The brother said, “What does this mean? ” The elder* said, “If [the enemy*] succeeds in making a prisoner of a person’s mind* by means of his own doings, in the same way they’ll drag him down until they bring him to the invisible passion.* 52 But, in fact, if the mind* while there turns back, seeks God, and bears in mind eternal Judgment,* 53 immediately the passion* falls and disappears. Thus it’s written, When you turn back, groaning aloud, then you’ll be saved* and know where you were.” 54 3. [XV.37; 2:310] 55 A brother asked Abba Cronius, “How does a person attain humility? ” * The elder* said to him, “Through the fear* of God.” 56 The brother said to him, “What does a person do to attain the fear* of God? ” The elder* said to him, “In my opinion, let such a person withdraw* by himself from all [worldly*] matters,57 dedicate himself 51. See 1 Sam 5:1-4. Dagon: see Lowell K. Handy, “Dagon,” Anchor-Yale, 1791: “Dagon is attested as the patron deity of the middle Euphrates region centered around Tuttul, Mari, and esp. Terqa, from the 3d millennium BCE.  .  .  . As divine ruler of his land, Dagon was responsible for king and people; this is well attested in spheres of military expansion, fertility, living and deceased human rulers, and divine advice .  .  .  . All biblical references to Dagon appear in literary narratives and may not be considered primary data.” 52. drag: earlier translates súrō; “drag down,” hyposúrō, both active voice; the latter in the middle voice means “to make collapse, ruin”; in the passive voice “to seduce,” both apposite here. 53. eternal Judgment: a variant reading, PG 65:243, n. 98, eternal punishment. 54. When you turn back .  .  . : see Isa 30:15. 55. Cronius: SysAP XV.37, Isaac. This volume has sayings by two monks named Isaac. 56. fear of God: Luke 18:4; 23:40; Rom 3:18. “Fear of the Lord” occurs often in the HB: Exod 9:30; Deut 6:2; Prov 1:7. 57. withdraw: sustéllō instead of the usual anachoréō. Departure, éxodos, “exodus”; the word may be suggesting here that the body is like a slave in Egypt

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to physical labor, and with all his might be mindful of his body’s* departure and the Judgment* of God.”  4. Abba Cronius said, “If Moses had not led the sheep beneath Mount Sinai,* he would not have seen the fire in the bush.” 58 The brother asked the elder,* “What does the bush signify? ” and he said to him, “The bush signifies physical activity. [PG 65:249] It is written, The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure ­hidden in a field.” 59 The brother said to the elder,* “So, then, without physical labor a person can’t advance to anything of value? ” 60 The elder* said, “As has been written, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross.61 And again, David says, I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, and the rest.” 62 5. Abba Cronius said that Abba Joseph of Pelusium* 63 recounted* this: “When I was living on Sinai,* there was there a brother who as an ascetic* had excellent character and morals, but was also physically handsome.64 He would come to church for the synaxis* wearing a small, patched-up, and ancient old and its exodus will be to the Promised Land. Judgment of God: see Exod 12:12; Ps 82:1; Rom 2:3, 5. 58. See Exod 3:1-12. Exod 3:1 says the mountain is Horeb; for Mt. Sinai see Exod 19. 59. Matt 13:44. 60. To anything of value: Col 2:23, perhaps a Latinism, has the same phrasing. 61. Heb 12:2. 62. Ps 132:4: the psalm continues until I find a place for the Lord, / a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. The early church regarded David as the author of the psalms. 63. This Joseph has no sayings in AlphAP and does not appear in SysAP. 64. A brother who as an ascetic had excellent character and morals: I’ve unpacked this a bit: the text is “a brother good and ascetic,” but good is inadequate here for kalós, so I’ve followed Lampe 699a(D). Men in late antiquity normally wore two garments, inner and outer; perhaps the elder here thinks the brother is being too humble, perhaps even ostentatious, by wearing just one, ratty, garment.

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maphorion.* One time, seeing him come to the synaxis* dressed like that, I said to him, ‘Brother, don’t you see the brothers, how they’re like angels when they’re in church for the synaxis?* Why do you always come in like that?’* “He said, ‘Forgive me, abba, I don’t have anything else.’ So I took him to my cell* and gave him a leviton* and anything else he needed, and from then on he would wear what the other brothers were wearing, and to see him was like looking at an angel. “One time it came about that the fathers needed to send ten brothers to the emperor for something needed,65 and they decided to send him also with those who were going. When he heard about this, he prostrated* himself before the fathers and said, ‘For the Lord’s sake, forgive me.66 I’m a slave belonging to one of the eminent men there; if he recognizes me, he’ll take away my monastic* clothing and take me back to serve him as a slave.’67 “After he had persuaded the fathers, therefore, and they had excused him from going, they learned from someone who accurately understood the brother’s situation: when that brother was living in the world* he was the prefect of the Praetorian Guard.68 In order not to be recognized and harassed by people, he had

65. for something needed: I’ve left this vague because the Greek is “on account of a certain need” but doesn’t specify whose need. 66. There may be a play on words here. “For” in both places translates diá, “for, on account of.” So the fathers have a need, but the brother doesn’t want to go for the Lord’s sake (at least that’s part of his reason). 67. take away my monastic clothing: “monastic clothing” is the schȇma; to remove it or take it away is apó, “away from,” plus schȇma: aposchēmatízō, so the Greek for the phrase is one word. 68. The Praetorian Guard was “the bodyguard formation institutionalized by Augustus [63 BCE–14 CE] and concentrated in the Castra Praetoria in Rome by Tiberius [42 BCE–37 CE].” Cohorts were about 500 and later 1000 and 1500 men. “Constantine* I [emperor 306–337] disbanded the Guard .  .  . although Praefecti Praetorio continued to be appointed and the Castra was mentioned subsequently” (ODLA 2:122b–25a).

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excused himself. Such was the eagerness and diligence of the fathers to flee* the glory* and comforts of this world.” * 69

Concerning Abba Carion 70 1. [PG 65:249] [XV.17; 2:298] Abba Carion said, “I’ve worked very hard,71 more than my son* Zachariah, but I haven’t attained his stature in humility* and silence.” 72 2. There was a certain monk* in Scetis* called Abba Carion. Having two children, he left them with his wife and withdrew.* A while later, a famine took place in Egypt;* in dire straits and grieving, his wife came to Scetis,* bringing the two children with her. (One, the male, was named Zachariah, the other a girl.) His wife remained at the wadi,* at a distance from the elder.* (There’s a wadi* bordering Scetis,* and there the churches were built, and there are springs of [PG 65:252] water there.) This was the custom in Scetis:* when a woman* came, she would speak with her brother or someone not related to her; sitting apart, they would converse with each other.

69. comforts: anápausis means “rest, relaxation,” but in monastic* terms it has the additional meaning of “peace, tranquility”; see Inward stillness in the Glossary. The saying here is contrasting the rest, that is, comforts, of the world* with the inward stillness* that the ascetic life offers. 70. Greek Karíōn, pronounced kah-REE-own. 71. I’ve worked very hard: a variant reading, PG 65:259, n. 1, and SysAP XV.17, I’ve worked very hard physically. 72. In Zachariah 4 (Sayings 1:252) Carion is the abba of Zachariah. “Son,” huiós, can mean “spiritual son,” that is, like téknon, “child,” a disciple; Lampe 1426b(B) adduces the pre-monastic texts of the Epistle of Barnabas (2nd cent.) and Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150). But Carion 2 makes it clear that Zachariah is his offspring.

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So then the woman* said to Abba Carion, “Look, you’ve become a monk,* and there’s famine. So who’s going to feed your children? ” 73 Abba Carion said to her, “Send them here to me.” The woman* said to the children, “Go to your father.” So, then, as they were approaching their father the girl turned back to her mother while the boy approached his birth father. Then Carion said to her [the woman/wife], “You see, this is for the best. Take the girl and leave, and I [will keep] the boy.” So he raised him in Scetis,* and everyone knew that the boy was his child. But when the boy reached adolescence there was grumbling about him among the brothers.74 When Abba Carion heard about it, he said to his child, “Zachariah, come on, let’s get out of here—the fathers are grumbling.” The youth said, “Abba, here everyone knows that I’m your son, but if we leave for someplace else, they won’t be saying that I’m your son.” The elder* said to him, “Get up. We’re leaving.” So they went to the Thebaid.* After they had gotten a cell* and stayed there a few days, the same kind of grumbling arose there concerning the child.* Then the father said to him, “Zachariah, get up, we’re going to Scetis.” * So they came to Scetis,* and, after a few days had passed, once again the grumbling started about him.75 At that 73. woman: gynḗ, like Spanish mujer, can mean either “woman” or “wife,” or both. 74. Nice alliteration here ties together “reached” (literally, “became”) and “grumbling”: gégone goggusmós (with the second “g” in the second word pronounced as “n”). Later in the saying “grumbling arose” and “grumbling started” reverse the order: goggusmós gégone. The brothers: literally, “brotherhood,” adelphótēs < adelphós, “brother.” There may be an intentional irony here; adelphótēs: “fraternal relationship, brotherly feeling of love,” “the Christian brotherhood, the Church,” “of religious [that is, monastic*] community” (Lampe 30b(A)). Grumbling, with its attendant gossip, backbiting, and passive-­ aggressiveness, is not showing fraternal love. See Phocas 1 and Carion S1. 75. him: presumably Abba Carion, but perhaps his son.

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point, the child* Zachariah went to the wadi* of niter and, taking off his clothes, went down into the water, up to his nostrils, then immersed himself in the water.76 And so he stayed [underwater] quite a while, as long as he could, disfiguring his body—he looked like a leper.77 Getting out, he put his clothes on and went back to his father by birth, and his father barely recognized him. When the young man went to Holy Communion as usual, it was revealed to holy Isidore, the priest of Scetis,* what the youth had done.78 When Abba Isidore saw him,79 he was astonished* and said, “Zachariah came last Sunday as a child, and took Communion like any human being, but now he’s become like an angel.” 80 76. The word for “wadi” here, límnēn < límnē, is different from that early in the story, élos, thus there may be wordplay: the similar sounding limḗn means “harbor,” then figuratively “harbor, refuge, shelter” (Montanari II:1240c). “Immersed himself” translates katabaptízō, a compound verb form (katá = “down”) from baptízō, “to dip, baptize.” Katabaptízō can also mean “baptize again,” but only in a negative sense of heretics* (Lampe 705a(2)). 77. disfiguring: the primary meaning of aphanízō (a-, a negative, and phaínō, “show, appear”) is “to render invisible, cause to disappear, conceal,” apt here; he’s hiding from the awful grumblers. The verb then means “to ravage, disfigure” (Montanari I:351c(1) and 352(B)). “Looked like” renders gégone again. Leper: the NT uses leprós rather than the lelōbēménos (“mutilated”) here, but either term would remind the monastic* reader/listener of Jesus and the lepers in the gospels: Luke 17:11-19; Matt 8:1-4, and others. 78. Communion, koinonía, here and in the next sentence, which means “communion,” “communion, fellowship,” “act of sharing, community,” and “sharing” at the Eucharist. The revelation to Abba Isidore reminds us why the young man did what he did: the grumbling, etc., that was going on earlier; thus, the young man’s appearance and disfigurement mirror the “disfigured” spirits of the grumbling monks earlier, that is, it’s a judgment on the other monks because of their lack of koinonia. 79. Isidore the priest has seven sayings in this volume. 80. Become: egéneto, continuing the “ng” alliteration. The saying, then, is about being and becoming: the monks, judgmental, are behaving horribly (unbecoming behavior), and the youth, metaphorically becoming horrible, shows the monks’ ill behavior. Isidore marvels at the transformed boy (human  angel) but does not judge* the monks.

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S1 [Guy, Recherches, 26] Abba Carion said, “If a person living with a child* is not strong, that person will fall into the depths.81 But if the person is strong, he won’t fall into the depths. He will not, however, make progress.” 82

Concerning Abba Kopri 83 1. [PG 65:252] Abba Poemen* used to say about Abba Kopri that he had reached so high a level that when he was sick and bedridden he would give thanks and restrain his own will. 2. Abba Kopri said, “Blessed is the person who endures* hard work with thanksgiving.” 3. [XV.38; 2:310] One time those in Scetis* were gathered together. The topic was Melchizedek,* and they had forgotten to invite Abba Kopri.84 Later, when they did invite him, they were asking him about Melchizedek.* He slapped his [face] 85 three times and said, “Dear Lord, Kopri, you’ve forsaken what God’s been requiring you to do while you’ve been digging into things you shouldn’t!” When the brothers heard what he was saying, they ran off* to their cells. 81. fall into the depths, literally “come down”: kátō means “down,” but can also mean “the depths, the bottom,” then “in the nether regions, in the world below” (Lampe 737a(A1-2)). It doesn’t have this meaning in the NT. 82. make progress: that is, in the ascetic* life; “moral and spiritual progress” (Lampe 1154a(A)). 83. Greek Kópri, pronounced KŌ-pree; Latinized Copre, but I’ve retained the Greek spelling. Kopri 2 uses Kópris. 84. gathered together. The topic was Melchizedek: A variant, PG 65:252, n. 6, and SysAP XV.38, gathered together, together discussing Melchizedek. SysAP XV.38 has “fathers” instead of “those.” Discussing: suzētéō can mean “inquire together,” but also “inquire, debate,” and “dispute, debate, argue” (CGL II:1304a)—the last certainly possible with a figure as murky as Melchizedek. See Gen 14:17-18; Heb 5–7. 85. face: the text has “mouth”; I’ve followed the variant reading of PG 65:252, n. 8, and SysAP XV.38.

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Concerning Abba Cyrus of Alexandria 86 [PG 65:253] [V.5; 1:248] When Abba Cyrus of Alexandria* was asked a question about thoughts* concerning sexual immorality,* 87 he replied this way: “If you don’t have thoughts,* you don’t have hope.* 88 If you don’t have thoughts,* you [nevertheless] do have the actions you take. It’s this way: the person who doesn’t with intelligence fight* against sin or resist it effectively brings it about physically. The person who acts because of these thoughts* isn’t bothered by them.” 89 The elder* asked the brother, “Are you in the habit of talking with women? ” 90 and the brother said, “No. It’s old and new paintings that occupy my thoughts.* Memories trouble me, and images of women.” * 91 The elder* said to him, “Don’t fear the dead; instead, flee* the living. And, more important, make progress in prayer.” * 92

86. Greek Kýros, pronounced KEY-rōs. 87. thoughts concerning sexual immorality: literally, “the thought [logismós] of sexual immorality/sin [porneía].” I have adjusted some singulars to plurals in this saying. Although the saying focuses on sexual sin, the first half of it applies to thoughts in general. 88. you don’t have hope: literally “hope you don’t have.” 89. “actions” and “act” render different forms of práxis. 90. The sentence begins with mḗ instead of ou, anticipating a negative answer. 91. images, eídōlon: or “idols.” “Bothered” and “trouble” translate different forms of ochléō. See Disturb in the Glossary. 92. And, more important, make progress in prayer: SysAP V.5. That is, [flee] acquiescing to sin and sexual activity and, instead, increase your time praying. Make progress, epekteínō: see Phil 3:13, one thing I have laid hold of: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward [epekteínō] to what lies ahead.

Chapter 11 1

L / Lámbda / Λ Concerning Abba Lucius 2 1. [PG 65:253] [XII.10; 2:214] 3 Some people4 one time visited Abba Lucius in Enaton;* they were monks called Euchites.* The elder* asked them, “What work* do you do with your hands? ” They said, “We don’t, like blind men, mess with handiwork.5 No, as the Apostle* says, we pray* without ceasing.” 6 The elder said, “Don’t you eat? ” and they said, “Sure,” so he said to them, “So, when you’re eating, who prays* for you? ” 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Loúkios, pronounced LOU-key-ōs. See Theodore of Enaton 2. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:253], indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example XII.10, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:214, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number, e.g.: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. “N” sayings are from AnonAP, the page(s) indicated thus: Wortley, 235. Wortley’s volume is a bilingual text, Greek and English. 4. Some people: SysAP XIII.10, some monks. 5. like blind men, mess with handiwork: a free translation of psylapháō, “grope,” of a person in the dark; “grope around,” like a blind person; “grope at” problems (CGL II:1519). 6. 1 Thess 5:17. The word order in the saying here, and later in the saying, as in 1 Thessalonians, is “without ceasing pray.” 105

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Then he said to them, “Don’t you sleep? ” and they said, “Yes,” so the elder* said, “When you’re sleeping, who prays* for you? ” and they couldn’t find anything to say to him. He said to them, “Forgive me, but look—you don’t practice what you preach.7 Let me show you: when I’m working,* doing my handiwork, I pray* without ceasing. Sitting with God, I soak a few palm branches and I braid them into rope while saying, Have mercy on me, O God, in accordance with your great compassion,* and blot out my transgressions.” 8 And he said to them, “Isn’t this prayer? ” * They said “Yes,” and he said to them, “When I remain working* and praying* all day long I make sixteen noumía, more or less.9 From them, as an offering I put two outside the door, and with the rest I eat. The person who takes the two noumía prays* for me when I’m eating or when I’m sleeping. Through the grace* of God, then, praying* without ceasing finds fulfillment in me.” 10

Concerning Abba Lot 11 1. [PG 65:253] One of the elders* came to see Abba Lot at the small wadi* of Arsinöe* and asked* him for a cell,* and Abba Lot gave it to him. The elder* was sick, and Abba Lot comforted 7. practice what you preach: literally “do what you say.” 8. Ps 51:1/50:3 (LXX), a direct quotation. The abba’s mantra sounds like a form of the Jesus Prayer; see “Saying the Jesus Prayer,” St Vladimir’s: https: //www.svots.edu/saying-jesus-prayer. Wikipedia has an article with good sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Prayer#:~:text=The%20Jesus%20Prayer %2C%20also%20known,history%20of%20the%20Orthodox%20Church. 9. The nummus (Lat., pl. nummi), Gk. noumíon (pl. noumía) was a small bronze Roman, Greek, and Byzantine coin. 10. finds fulfillment: plēróō can mean “carry out fully,” and its cognate n. plḗrōma “completion, perfection” (Lampe 1094a(C) and 1094b(A4)). 11. Greek Lṓt, pronounced Lōt. John Wortley notes (Wortley, Give Me, 174) that an Ethiopic text says that an Abba Joseph was the disciple of Abba Lot, directing the reader to see Joseph of Panephysis 6 and 7.

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him.12 If people came to visit Abba Lot he would have them visit the sick elder,* too. The elder* began to tell them about some statements of Origen’s.* 13 This bothered Abba Lot, and he said, “Will the fathers consider [PG 65:256] us to be like him? ” But because of the commandment,* he was afraid* to throw him out of the community.14 So Abba Lot got up and went to see Abba Arsenius* and related* to him what the elder* had said.15 Abba Arsenius* said to him, “Don’t drive him away. Instead, say to him ‘Look, eat what God provides and drink whatever you want, only don’t talk about Origen’s* statements any more.’ If he’s willing, he’ll straighten up; if he’s not willing to straighten up, he’ll ask* on his own to leave* the community,* 16 and his departure won’t look like it came from you.” So Abba Lot left and did what Abba Arsenius had advised. When the elder* heard from Abba Lot [what Abba Arsenius had told Abba Lot to say], he refused to straighten up and appealed* to him, saying, “For the Lord’s sake send me somewhere else. I can no longer bear the desert!* And so he got up and left, sent off with love.* 2. Someone recounted* this story about a certain brother who had fallen into sin: “While visiting Abba Lot he was unsettled and kept going in and coming out, unable to sit still, so Abba Lot said to him, ‘What’s going on with you, brother?’ 12. comforted: anapaúō, “to rest, give rest, calm, relieve” (Lampe 116a(A2)), is cognate with the important term anápausis, “rest,” “inward stillness.” * 13. statements, lógos: see Counsel in the Glossary. 14. See Matt 25:35; Rom 12:13. Community: tópos, “place,” * but the word can mean a monastic settlement, even monastery. It’s not clear whether this is a cenobium* or a community of semi-anchorites.* 15. For Arsenius’s sayings see Sayings 1:119–47. 16. leave: anachōréō usually means “to withdraw* from, leave (the world*),” to become a monk, so this Origenist* monk will soon withdraw not from the world but from Lot’s community to go back to the “heretical” Origenists. See Origen and Origenism in the Glossary. Straighten up: diorthṓō has the root orthoas in orthodoxía, “right, open, sound doctrine,” and orthodoxéō, “hold right belief, be orthodox.” “Not willing”: ou thélō, can mean “refuse.” See below.

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“He said, ‘I’ve committed a terrible sin, and I can’t talk to the fathers about it.’ “The elder* said, ‘Confess it to me, and I’ll bear it.’ “Then the brother said to him, ‘I fell into sexual sin* and sacri­ ficed [to idols] to get what I wanted.’ “The elder* said to him, ‘Have courage, there is repentance.* Go, stay in the cave and fast every other day, and I’ll bear half the sin with you.’ “When the three weeks were up, the elder* felt assured that God had accepted the brother’s repentance,* and the brother followed the elder until the day of his death.” 17

Concerning Abba Longinus 18 1. [PG 65:256] [X.45; 2:40, 42] Abba Longinus asked Abba Lucius one time about thoughts:* “I want to live separated from the world, as a stranger.” * 19 The elder* said to him, “If you don’t control your tongue, you won’t be a stranger* no matter where you go. So, then, control your tongue right here and you’ll be a stranger.” * 20 Abba Longinus then said, “I want to fast.” * 17. There’s a wordplay at the beginning of this sentence: “were up” translates plēróō, “be filled, fulfilled,” and “felt assured” plērophoréō. “Followed the elder in word and deed” expands hypotássō in the passive voice: “be submissive, obedient.” The brother became the abba’s disciple; in the sayings obedience* is an important monastic virtue* and theme. 18. Greek Loggȋnos, pronounced lōn-GĒ-nōs. Sayings concerning an Abba Longinus occur in AnonAP 558–61 (Wortley 381) and 708–10 (Wortley 549–51) and SysAP X.45 (2:40, 42; Wortley, Book, 143), XV.113 (2:358; Wortley 275), XIX.6 (3:140, 142; Wortley 352), XIX.7 (3:142; Wortley 352–53), and XIX.9 (3:144; Wortley 353). 19. to live separated from the world, xeniteúō < xénos, “stranger.” * Or “to live as a stranger to the world.” See Lausiac History 4.3 pp. (35–36): “living the life of a solitary away from home.” 20. tongue: see Jas 3:1-12.

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The elder* answered, “Isaiah the prophet said, If you bend your neck as if chained or yoked, not even by doing this will it be called an acceptable fast.* 21 No, instead get control of evil thoughts.” * 22 A third time Abba Longinus spoke, saying to him, “I want to flee* from people.” The elder* replied, “Unless you first live a life of virtue* with people,23 you won’t be able to live one alone.” 24 2. [IV.28; 1:200] Abba Longinus said, “When you feel afflicted,* say ‘So feel afflicted* and die!’ But if you ask me if you can eat other than at the appointed time,* I won’t even provide you with your daily meal.” 3. [XIX.6; 3:140, 142] There was a woman* who was suffering from what’s called breast cancer. Hearing about Abba Longinus, she sought him out to meet with him. He was residing at the ninth milestone of Alexandria.* 25 When the woman* came looking for him, it so happened that that blessed one was gathering driftwood by the sea. When she came upon [PG 65:257] him, she said to him, “Abba,* where does Abba Longinus live, the servant of God? 26 I don’t know where he is.”  He said, “Why do you want that imposter? Don’t go see him, he’s an imposter! What is it you need? ” 21. See Isa 58:4; Abba Lucius loosely quotes the verse in the LXX. Isa 58:3-9 concerns fasting; the NRSV titles Isa 58 “False and True Worship.” 22. evil thoughts: see Jas 2:4. 23. live a life of virtue, katorthóō: or “perform, carry out precepts,” “achieve, realize a state of mind or way of life,” “live a good life” (Lampe 735b(A, bd; B1)). 24. alone: katamónas uses the stem mon- as in monachós, “monk.” * Or, “live as a solitary.” 25. The ninth milestone of Alexandria: that is, the Enaton.* A variant reading, which has correct information, has “the ninth milestone west of Alexandria” (PG 65:255–56, n. 19). On breast cancer in antiquity, see François Pieter Retief and Louise Cilliers, “Breast Cancer in Antiquity,” SAMJ: South African Medical Journal, http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0256 -95742011000800013. 26. servant of God: see Jas 1:1.

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The woman* showed him her cancer. He made the sign of the cross* over the place and dismissed her, saying, “Leave. God is healing you. Longinus can’t be of any help to you.” So the woman* left, having faith* in his counsel,* and she was healed immediately. Afterwards, she recounted* to some people what had happened and described the elder’s* features.27 Only then did she learn that the man was Abba Longinus. 4. [XIX.8; 3:142, 144] Another time, some people also brought someone possessed by a demon,* but he said to them, “I can’t do anything for you; instead, leave and go to Abba Zenon.” 28 Later, Abba Zenon began to intensify an attack on the demon,* chasing it away.29 The demon* began shrieking out, “Abba Zenon, you think now that it’s because of you that I’m leaving? Look, Abba Longinus over there is praying,* making appeals [to God] against me. It’s because I’m afraid* of his prayers* that I’m leaving; otherwise I wouldn’t have responded to you.” 5. Abba Longinus said to Abba Acacius,30 “Women* know they’ve conceived when their blood slows to a drip.31 It’s the same, therefore, with the soul: the soul knows that she’s conceived the Holy Spirit when the flow of passions* from below slows to a drip and leaves her.32 As long as the soul is caught up with the pas27. features, sēmeȋon, “sign”: the word can also indicate a medical condition (Montanari II:1907b(A)), though hers, not his. “Sign” and “signs” (sēmeȋa) are important in John’s gospel, especially the first part (https://www.biblegateway .com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NRSV&quicksearch=sign&begin=50&end=50). 28. Zenon: see Sayings 1:247–51. 29. intensify an attack: epikeímai, “to lie on top,” “be placed on,” can also mean “make an attack,” frequently with the dative case, as here: “press home an attack,” “attack, assault,” “make a verbal attack on, threaten” (CGL I:557b(6)). 30. Acacius has sayings in neither the AlphAP nor SysAP. 31. slows to a drip: staláō can mean the drip of a tear (CGL II:1282b) and may be related to stázō, of parts of the body (CGL II:1282a(2)) or “flow” (Montanari II:1952b). 32. “From below” is multivalent, so I’ve left the literal translation. (1) In Classical Greek kátōthen can mean “up from the underworld” (CGL II:789b(2)). In patristic Greek it can mean “from the nether regions” and also “on earth, here below,” as opposed to heaven (Lampe 738a), thus “worldly.” *

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sions,* how can she believe—falsely—that she no longer has the passions?  * 33 Give blood, receive the Spirit.”

33. is caught up with: enéchō in the middle and passive voices can also mean “be seized or caught,” “be subject or liable to” (Montanari II:694c(2)). No longer has the passions: apathḗ combines the negative a- and páthos, a passion,* so “no-passion.” Apátheia,* “freedom from the passions,” “freedom from sin,” “mastery over the passions” (Lampe 170b), is an important early-monastic and patristic value. Unfortunately, the word in English devolved into “apathy.” In the 17th cent., and as late as 1847, the word could have the positive patristic meaning, but by 1665 one author mocked the idea of apátheia: “Because the Passions are (sometimes) Mutinous, to wish an Apathy, is as unkind to us, as it would be to our Country, To wish we had no Rivers, because (sometimes) they do Mischief” (“Apathy,” OED online).

Chapter 12 1

M / Mȗ  / M Concerning Abba Macarius* of Egypt 2 1. [PG 65:257] [XV.39; 2:310, 312, 314] 3 Abba Macarius* recounted* this story about himself: “When I was a young man and living in a cell* in Egypt,* they grabbed me and made me a member of the clergy in the village.4 Not wanting to be ordained,5 I took off and went somewhere else,6 and there a devout person living in the world* came to me, took my handiwork [probably to sell?], and served me.7 It happened that a certain young woman*

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Makários, pronounced mah-KAH-ree-ohs. Known also as Macarius the Great; see Sayings 1:74, and Antony 2 (Appendix), 1:117. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:257], indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example XV.39, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:310, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. made me a member of the clergy in the village: SysAP XV.39, made me a member of the clergy at the church in the village. 5. Not wanting to be ordained, mḕ thélō: or “refusing to be ordained.” 6. took off, pheúgō: see Flee in the Glossary. “somewhere else” uses tópos; see Monastic settlement in the Glossary. 7. a .  .  . person living in the world: kosmikós < kósmos, “world,” * can mean as opposed to being a monk,* monachikós. Served: diakonéō is cognate with 113

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in the village, because of temptation fell [into sin].8 When she conceived in her womb she was asked, ‘Who might it be who’s done this? ’9 She said, ‘The anchorite.’* “So here they come. They grabbed me and took me with them to the village.10 They hung pots blackened with soot and the small handles of jars around my neck and paraded me around the village through the streets, beating me and saying, ‘This monk* has ­seduced our virgin* and brought her to ruin! 11 Grab him! Grab him!’12 and they beat me almost to death. But one of the elders [of the village] came and said, ‘How long do you plan to beat this foreign* monk?’* The person serving* me was following behind me,13 shamefaced because they were insulting and mocking him and saying, ‘Look at what this anchorite* has done whom you’ve spoken so well about!’14

diákonos, “servant,” and “deacon” in the NT (Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:8, and others; Bauer 231a(2)). Took my handiwork [probably to sell?]: that is, saving Macarius from having to go to Egypt,* that is, a town, village, or city. “Took” and “served” are in the imperfect tense, signaling ongoing action. 8. young woman: parthénos can mean “young woman” or “virgin” or both. See below. Parthénos can also indicate a female monastic; see Virgin in the Glossary. Because of temptation: a variant, PG 65:270, n. 20, because of a diabolical temptation. Fell: expíptō has other meanings apposite here: “to drift or to be blown off course and run aground,” “fail, weaken” (Bauer 308a). Temptation: a variant, AlphAP 65:257, n. 20, and SysAP XV.39, diabolical temptation. 9. conceived: lambánō, and sullambánō can also mean “conceive”; the conjugated forms share the root lab-, as does “devout,” eulabḗs. 10. grabbed me and took: sullambánō. 11. seduced .  .  . brought .  .  . to ruin: phtheírō can mean “to seduce” (­Montanari II:2270c(1B)) but also “destroy, bring to ruin, devastate” (1A). In the culture, the woman* was destroyed, ruined, because she was no longer a virgin and thus no man would want her as wife. Note that she is “our” virgin. See what her parents say to Macarius below. 12. Grab, lábete (pl.), from lambánō: see n. 10. 13. following, akolouthéō (English acolyte): of those, either crowds or disciples, following Jesus; see Matt 4:25; 9:9. 14. spoken so well: marturéō also means “bear witness” (to God, Christ, the faith); martyrs* are those who bear witness unto death.

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“And [PG 65:260] her parents were saying, ‘We’re not letting go of him until he guarantees that he’ll maintain and feed her!’ So I spoke to my servant, and he accepted becoming surety for me.15 So I went inside my cell,* gave him whatever small baskets I had, and said, ‘Sell these and give [the money] to my wife so she can eat.’ Then I was thinking to myself,16 ‘Macarius, look, you’ve found yourself a wife. Now you’re going to have to work* [much harder than what’s normal] in order to feed her.’17 So I was working* night and day and sending [the money] to her. “When the time* came for the poor woman* to give birth, she was in labor for days, suffering, being tested,* and she didn’t deliver the baby,18 so they said to her, ‘What’s going on?’ She said, ‘I know: I slandered* the anchorite,* lied, and falsely accused him, but he’s not responsible—it was this other young guy.’ So the man serving me came and, rejoicing, was saying, [‘That virgin wasn’t able to give birth until she confessed and said,] 19 “It’s not the anchorite* who’s responsible. I lied about him.” Now look, the whole village wants to come here, praising you, and offering their repentance* to you.’

15. The word play here is sly: the parents demand that Macarius “maintain and support” her (literally “furnish a guarantee,” enguētḗs), and Macarius’s servant has now “become surety” (enēnguḗsato < enguáō). 16. I was thinking to myself: literally, “I was saying to my thought.” * 17. [much harder than what’s normal]: SysAP XV.39, perissȏs; the PG text here has mikròn perrisón (variant reading, PG 65:260, n. 23, mikròn perissȏs). Perissȏs is the adverbial form of perissós, “that which exceeds the ordinary ­measure, that goes beyond the norm, extraordinary, uncommon,” “excessive, unrestrained” (Montanari II:1644a(A)), which doesn’t work with mikrós, “small, little.” 18. poor: áthlios can mean “unfortunate,” and also “unhappy” or “wretched”; which word one uses affects the sense considerably. The word doesn’t occur in the NT, but Lampe 46a gives “be made wretched” for the cognate verb athlióomai. 19. [That virgin wasn’t able to give birth until she confessed and said]: SysAP XV.39; the text has “That virgin won’t be able to give birth until she confesses and says .  .  .  .” She’s already confessed, so the person serving Macarius comes running to share the good news.

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“When I heard all this, so people won’t torture me [like this], I got up and fled* here, to Scetis.* This explains why I came here.” 2. [XX.4; 3:164, 166] One time Abba Macarius* of Egypt went from Scetis* to the monastic community* of Nitria* for the Eucharist of Abba Pambo.* 20 The elders* said to him, “Offer a word of counsel* to the brothers, father.” He said, “I’m not a monk* yet,21 but I’ve seen monks.* One time when I was sitting in my cell* in Scetis,* my thoughts* were troubling me, saying, ‘Leave for the desert;* you’ll see something there.’ I continued to wage war* against that thought* for five years, saying [to myself], ‘Maybe it’s coming from demons.’* When the thought* persisted, I left for the desert* and found there a lake [full] of water and an island in the middle of it. The beasts of the desert* came to the lake to drink, and in their midst I saw two naked humans.22 My body trembled with fear*—I thought they were spirits—but when they saw that I was trembling, they said to me, ‘Don’t be afraid*—we’re human, too.’ “I said to them, ‘Where are you from? And why’d you come to this desert?’* and they said, ‘We’re from a cenobium* and came to an agreement, so we came out here. See, we’ve been here forty* years.’23 “One of them was Egyptian, the other Libyan.* They asked me, ‘How’s the world* doing? Does the water [of the Nile] rise when it’s supposed to? Are things prosperous in the world?’* “I said to them, ‘Yes.’ And I asked them, ‘How can I become a monk?’* and they said to me, ‘Without giving up all the things of the world,* a person can’t become a monk.’* 24 20. Pambo has fourteen sayings in this volume. 21. “I’m not a monk yet” uses gí(g)nomai, which can also translate as “I haven’t become a monk yet.” 22. naked: gymnós (English gymnasium) can mean “naked” as we think of it, but it can also mean “inadequately clothed, poorly dressed,” “being lightly clad, without an outer garment” (Bauer 208b (2–3)). 23. On the significance of forty see, among many, Gen 7:4; Exod 16:35; Matt 4:2//Mark 1:13//Luke 4:2. 24. giving up, apotássō: or “renouncing.” *

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“I said to them, ‘I’m weak, I can’t be like you.’25 “They said to me, ‘So if you can’t be like us, sit in your cell* and weep for your sins.’ “I asked them, ‘When winter comes don’t you shiver? And when it’s burning hot don’t your bodies burn up?’ [PG 65:261] “They said, ‘God has ordered things in such a way that neither do we shiver in winter nor does the heat of summer harm us.’26 “This is why I said to you ‘I’m not a monk yet, but I’ve seen monks.’ Forgive me, brothers.” 3.27 [XVIII.13; 3:54, 56, 58] When Abba Macarius* was living in complete desert* (he had withdrawn* there to be alone,28 but farther south there was another desert* with numerous brothers), observing the trail* the elder* saw Satan* passing by him, walking south; he appeared to be wearing human clothing,29 wearing a thin linen* tunic full of holes, and from each hole was hanging a small earthenware container.30 The great elder* said to him, “Where are

25. weak, asthenḗs: or “infirm, sick,” “helpless” (CGL I:228a). “Can’t” twice uses a negative with dýnamai, “can, be able”; see Power in the Glossary. 26. “ordered things in such a way” uses oikonomía, which became an important Christian term and concept: “of God’s unique plan, plan of salvation, i.e., arrangements for redemption of humans” (Bauer 697b(2b)); “dispensation, ordering, of divine dispensation in creation and providential ordering of the world,” “of divine grace or operation of sacraments” (Lampe 941b(C1, 4)). See 1 Tim 1:4 (NRSV “divine training,” with a footnote “Gk. the household management of God”). 27. The monastic brother in this saying is Theopemptos, “sent by God,” and the saying several times uses hodós, “way,* path,” so the saying could well be a parable, even allegory, about the monastic* path—and its difficulty/difficulties because of the machinations of Satan.* 28. alone: mónos is cognate with monachós, “monk.” * 29. clothing: the schḗma, “form, figure” (English schema, scheme, schematic) could also indicate the monastic habit, and the word can mean “appearance, as opposed to reality” (Lampe 1359b(14)), and the verb schēmatízō can mean “to feign, fabricate” (1359b(8)). Thus one could translate “disguised in human clothing.” 30. small earthenware container: lēkýnthion, which doesn’t appear in the four dictionaries I have, but líkēnon is an “earthenware vessel” (Montanari II:1240a),

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you going? ” and Satan* said to him, “I’m going so I can remind the brothers [that I’m still around].” 31 The elder* said, “And why do you have these containers with you? ” and he said, “I’m bringing samples for the brothers to taste.” Abba Macarius said, “All of ’em? ” He answered, “Yep. If the first one I offer doesn’t please that person, I offer a different one, and if that one doesn’t please him either, I give him another one. There’s certainly got to be one among them that pleases him.” After saying this, he went on his way. So the elder* stayed there, keeping an eye on the trails,* waiting for him to return. When the elder* saw him on his way back, he said to him, “I hope you’re well,” but he replied, “How could I be well? ” 32 The elder* said, “Why? ” He said, “Because all of them acted like wild savages with me—and no one put up with me!” 33 so lēkýnthion is a diminutive. The Latin translation transliterates the word to lecythi < lecythus, an “oil flask/bottle/vessel.” The spelling of lēkýnthion shows itacizing (numerous vowels, such as “y [u]” and “ē” [η, ēta]) and diphthongs being pronounced as “ee,” iota,“i,” in M. Gk., thus “itacizing,” which explains lēký- and líkē. SysAP XVIII.13 has lēkýnthion, which Guy, 3:55, translates une petite fiole, “a small flask.” 31. remind, hypomimnḗskō: “recall to one’s memory, remind” (Montanari 3:2226c). PG 65:261, n. 82, says that the Vita Patrum has commovere, “to move violently; displace.” The cognate n. hypómnēsis can also mean “reminder, warning” (Lampe 1452(2)). 32. well: sṓzō, “to save.” * A primary meaning of sṓzō is “save, preserve (from sickness or afflictions)” (Lampe 136ab(A1)), especially “in health, as a salutation” (A2), which fits here. But the monastic* audience would certainly also hear Macarius say, “May you be saved” and Satan* respond, “How could I be saved? ” One can inflect this two ways: “How can I be saved? ” and “How can I be saved? ” 33. put up with: anéchō in the middle voice (CGL I:125a). A variant reading, PG 65:261, n. 25, no one was convinced by me; peíthō in the middle passive can also mean here “no one obeyed my request,” that is, “they all refused my offer” (CGL II:1098a-b). See two sentences below.

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The elder* said to him, “So you don’t have even a single friend there? ” He responded, “Oh yeah, there’s one monk.* He’s my friend,34 and he accepted my offer. And when he sees me, he spins around like the wheel on a winch.” The elder* said to him, “What’s the brother’s name? ” He said, “Theopemptos.” Saying this, he left.35 So Abba Macarius got up and left for the southern desert.* When the brothers, who were carrying palm branches, heard about this, they came to greet him.36 Later, each one was getting [his cell*] ready, thinking that the elder* was going to stay with him, but he was trying to find out who in the monastic community* was named Theopemptos, and, finding him, he entered [PG 65:264] his cell,* and Theopemptos welcomed* him with joy. When he was alone with the monk,* the elder* said, “How’re things going with you, brother? ” Theopemptos said, “With your prayers,* well.” The elder* said, “Don’t your thoughts* wage war* against you? ” 37 He said, “So far, so good.” (He was ashamed to say.)38 The elder* said, “Look at how many years I’ve lived as an ascetic.* 39 I’m honored by everyone, yet even in my old age the spirit of sexual immorality* troubles me.” 34. there’s one monk. He’s my friend: variants, AlphAP 65:261, nn. 26 and 27, and SysAP XVIII.13, only one; I have a brother [who’s a friend]. 35. The irony/joke here is that Theopemptos means “God-sent.” 36. The monks here are already carrying palm branches, undoubtedly back to their cells to work with them, but the branches here can be symbolic: bearing palm branches for a visitor is a sign of respect to honor the person. See Matt 21:8//Mark 11:8//John 12:13. 37. Theopemptos said, “With your prayers, well.” The elder said, “Don’t your thoughts wage war against you? ”: SysAP XVIII.13 lacks. 38. ashamed, aidéomai: or afraid. 39. lived as an ascetic: askéō, cognate with áskēsis, “ascetic* practice, training,” as below with “train.”

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In response Theopemptos said, “Believe me, abba,* me too!” As a pretext, the elder* said that other thoughts* waged war* 40 against him until he made the monk acknowledge41 [that a variety of thoughts* waged war* against him]. Then the elder* said to him, “How do you fast? ” * He said to him, “Till the ninth hour.” * The elder* said to him, “Fast* until evening, keep doing ascetic* practices, and recite by heart* the Gospel and the other Scriptures. And if a thought* rises up,42 never pay any attention to what’s coming up from below. Instead, always focus on what’s above, and the Lord will immediately come to your aid.” 43 After impressing these things on the brother, the elder* went back to his own desert.* 44 Watching [the path*] again, he saw that demon* and said to him, “Where you going this time? ” He said, “To remind the brothers [that I’m still around],” and he went on his way.45 When he came back again, the holy* one said to him, “How are the brothers? ”

40. waged war: SysAP XVIII.13, bothered. 41. acknowledge, homologéō: or “concede” and, in a Christian context, “confess.” In the NT apparently only in 1 John 1:9 does homologéō mean “to confess sin.” 42. thought: SysAP XVIII.13, evil thought. 43. focus on: proséchō has a wide variety of meanings applicable here: “pay attention,” “be concerned,” * “attach, adhere, cling to,” “consecrate oneself (to the service of a god),” “obey, listen to, follow (as a guide).” There is a play on words here: “rises up” translates anabaínō (aná/ánō: “up, above”); then we have “from below” (kátō), and then “what’s above,” ánō. In the NT, ánō is associated with what’s above, that is, heaven, God (John 3:27; 19:11; 3:3, Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above [ánōthen]).” In Paul’s allegory of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4:21-31), Sarah corresponds to the Jerusalem above [ánō]. 44. impressing: tupóō can mean educate, but it’s cognate with týpos, “mark, sign,” “simulacrum, image,” and can mean “impress, stamp with an image,” and in the middle voice “to model, form” (Montanari II:2166c–67b). 45. and he went on his way: SysAP XVIII.13 lacks.

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He said, “They’re in bad shape!” 46 The elder* said, “Why? ” He said, “They’re a bunch of savages, and, even worse,47 even the one friend I had, who would obey* me—I don’t know how things got all messed up, but even he wouldn’t obey* me! 48 No, he’s become more savage than all of them! So I swore I’d never go there again—unless it’s way in the future!” Saying this, he went on his way and left the elder,* so the holy* one went back to his cell.* 4. [VII.14; 1:344] 49 Abba Macarius* the Great visited Abba Antony* at the monastic community.* When he knocked on the door, Abba Antony* came out to meet him and said to him, “Who are you? ” He said, “I’m Macarius.” * Closing the door, Abba Antony* went inside and left him there. When he saw his patient endurance,* he opened the door to him, and, exchanging greetings with him with joy, he said, “For a long time I’ve longed to see you; I’ve heard things about you.” He welcomed* him as he would a stranger,* and Abba Macarius* rested* because he was totally exhausted. When evening came, Abba Antony* moistened some palm branches for himself. Abba Macarius* said to him, “Let me moisten some for myself, too.” Abba Antony* said to him, “Go ahead,” so Abba Macarius* moistened some and made a long rope. As they sat there all evening, they wove together [palm branches], talking about the salvation* of souls,50 and [later, after Abba Antony had left,] the rope 46. They’re in bad shape, kakȏs: literally “badly,” even evilly (< kakós), the irony being that Satan*/the demon* is trying to work evil against the brothers— without success. See the next note. 47. even worse, meízō kakón (< kakós): see the previous note. 48. messed up, diastréphō: “spins around” earlier translates stréphō. 49. For this story see Antony, Appendix Saying 2, Sayings 1:117. Macarius doesn’t appear in the Life of Antony. For Antony’s Greek sayings see Sayings 1:93–119. 50. the salvation of souls: SysAP VII.14, ōphelía, what benefits souls.

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went out the window and down into the cave.51 When blessed Antony* came in at dawn he saw the length of Abba Macarius’s* rope and said, “Great power* is coming from these hands.” 52 5. [XVIII.16; 3:62] Abba Macarius* used to talk with the brothers about the desolation of Scetis:* “When you see a cell* being built near the wadi* you’ll find out that her desolation is approaching.53 When you see trees, it’s at your doors. When you see children, grab your sheepskin cloak, and get out of here.” 54 6. [XVIII.15; 3:62] He would also say, wanting to encourage the brothers, [PG 65:265] “A child possessed by a demon* came here with his mother and kept saying to her, ‘Get up, old woman,* let’s get out of here.’55 “She said, ‘I can’t walk,’ so the child said to her, ‘I’ll carry you.’ “I was amazed* at the demon’s* wickedness,56 how he wanted to drive them away [from Scetis*].” 7. [XIX.12; 3:144, 146] Abba Sisoës* 57 used to say, “When we were in Scetis* with [Abba] Macarius,* 58 we would go up to the harvest with him, seven of us, and, to our surprise, there was a 51. The Life of Antony doesn’t mention a cave. See Vivian, “Journey.” 52. The narrative here isn’t clear. When did Antony leave? SysAP VII.14 has the same text. 53. desolation: erḗmōsis is cognate with érēmos, “wilderness, desert”;* the cognate verb erēmóō means “lay waste,” and also “evacuate, abandon, leave” (CGL I:598a); see Matt 24:15, where Jesus says, So when you see the desolating [erēmṓseōs] sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place . . . then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Near” and “approaching” translate engús. 54. get out: anachōréō, “withdraw,” * is the verb that designates a monk* leaving the world.* 55. Some manuscripts lack graȋa, “old woman,” as does SysAP XVIII.15. 56. wickedness, ponēría: a variant, PG 65:265, n. 29, and SysAP XVIII.15 have panourgía with the same meaning. 57. For Sisoës’s sayings see pp. 303–20. 58. The text lacks “Abba”; since the lack of the honorific is rare, I’ve followed the reading of SysAP XIX.12.

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widow; she was gathering the stubble behind us and never stopped crying.59 So the elder* called the owner of the field and said to him, ‘What’s wrong with this old woman? She’s always crying.’ “The owner said to him, ‘Her husband had a loan from someone; he died unexpectedly and hadn’t said where he had put it, so the lender wanted to take her and her children as slaves.’60 “The elder* said to him, ‘Tell her to come to us where we’ll be resting* from the heat.’61 “When the woman* came, the elder* said to her, ‘Why are you always crying like this?’ and she said, ‘My husband died, having a loan from someone, and when he was dying he didn’t say where he had put it.’ “The elder* said to her, ‘Come and show me where you buried him.’62 So he took the brothers with him and went with her. When they came to the place,* the elder* said to her, ‘Go back home,’ and, as he and the brothers prayed,* the elder* called out to the dead man, ‘You, where did you put the money that someone had loaned you?’ “He replied, ‘It’s hidden in my home, under the foot of the bed,’ and the elder* said to him, ‘Go back to sleep until the day of the resurrection.’63 “When the brothers saw this, out of fear* 64 they fell at the elder’s* feet, and he said to them, ‘It wasn’t because of me that this 59. gathering the stubble: see Lev 19:9; 23:22; Exod 23:11. 60. Richard A. Horsley has written extensively on Jesus, Paul, and the socioeconomic structures of their time—and, as we see, many centuries later, our own; see, most recently, You Shall Not Bow Down and Serve Them: The Political Economic Projects of Jesus and Paul (Eugene, OR: Cascade/Wipf & Stock, 2021). See also the work of Walter Wink; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_A. _Horsley and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Wink. 61. we’ll be resting, anapaúō in the middle passive voice; earlier, “never stopped” translates the cognate paúō. Thus, the monks have rest, and she doesn’t. 62. The Greek for “loan,” “put,” and “buried” all have the thē- root, “put, place.” 63. See 1 Cor 15:51-52. 64. out of fear: SysAP XIX.12 lacks.

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happened, I’m nothing. No, for the sake of the widow and orphans God did this. And this is what is great: God wants the soul that’s without sin, and whatever the soul asks, it receives.’65 So he went and reported to the widow where the loan was; she got it and gave it to her master, and he freed her children.66 Everyone who heard this gave glory* to God.” 8. Abba Peter used to say about the holy* Macarius* [PG 65:268] that one time he happened upon an anchorite,* and, finding him in a bad state, he asked him what he would like to eat (there was nothing in the anchorite’s* cell*).67 When the anchorite* said, “A pastille,” the brave man didn’t hesitate but went to the city of Alexandria,* [got some, returned,] and gave [it/them] to the anchorite* who was suffering. And no one knew about this wondrous work.68 9. He also said, “With simplicity and sincerity,69 Abba Maca­ rius* lived as a member of the community with all the brothers. Some said to him, ‘Why do you go about things the way you do?’ “He said, ‘For twelve years I served my Lord so that he would grant me this charism, and all of you are advising me to set it aside?’ ” 70 10. [IV.29; 1:200] They used to say about Abba Macarius* that if he was having a good time with brothers, he would place limits on himself: “If there’s wine,* for the sake of the brothers drink it, and [afterwards,] because of this cup of wine,* don’t drink any 65. See Matt 7:7-8//Luke 11:9-10, though they use a different word for “receives”: “it is given.” 66. he freed her children: there’s no pronoun, so “she freed her children” is also possible. 67. Two monks named “Peter” have sayings in this volume. 68. wondrous, thaumastós: Macarius was known in the tradition as thaumatoúrgos, “wonder-worker.” See Astonished in the Glossary. 69. With simplicity and sincerity: akakía < kakós, “bad, evil,” so literally “no/ not evil,” also “innocence, guilelessness” (literally “no-wickedness/evil”), considered a monastic virtue.* 70. “grant” (charízomai) and “charism” (chárisma) are cognate with cháris, “grace.”

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water for a day.” The brothers, therefore, would do him this kindness as a form of refreshment.71 The elder* received them with joy in order to put himself to the test.72 His disciple, however, when he found out about this, would say to the brothers, “For the Lord’s sake—don’t give him [wine*]! Otherwise, when he’s back in his cell* he’s going to beat himself up.” When the brothers realized this, they no longer provided him [any wine*]. 11. [XV.40; 2:314] One time when Abba Macarius* was coming from the wadi* to his cell,* carrying palm branches—suddenly he met the Devil* on the road,* with a scythe! Although the Devil* wanted to hit him, he wasn’t strong enough, so he said to Abba Macarius, “There’s great force coming from you, Macarius!* I can’t do anything to you! 73 Look! whatever you do, I do it too. You fast,* so do I[, and I don’t eat anything at all].74 You keep vigil;* likewise, I don’t even sleep at all.75 There’s only one thing you beat me at.” Abba Macarius* said to him, “What’s that? ” He said, “Your humility*—and because of this I don’t have any power* over you.” 76 71. “kindness”: cháris, which is usually “grace”; “refreshment” renders anápausis, “rest,” in monastic terms, “inward stillness.” * The next sentence has the similar-sounding chará, “joy.” 72. put himself to the test: basanízō can mean “to put to the test, thoroughly examine, verify,” but also “to submit to torture” (Montanari I:378c–79a). 73. force: bía can also mean “violence”; see Matt 11:12: From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence [biázetai], and the violent [biastḗs] take it by force. 74. You fast, so do I[, and I don’t eat anything at all]: PG 65:267, n. 31, and SysAP XV.40 continue, “and I don’t eat anything at all.” Since these words comport with what the Devil says next about keeping vigil, and since both a PG variant and SysAP have them, I’ve included them in brackets. 75. keep vigil .  .  . I don’t even sleep: agrupnéō means both; see Luke 21:36: Be alert [agrupnéō] at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man. 76. Your humility—and because of this I don’t have any power over you: SysAP XV.40, Your humility—and only that—and because of this I don’t have any power over you.

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12. [III.18; 1:158] Some of the fathers asked Abba Macarius* of Egypt, “How is it that whether you eat or whether you fast* your body’s lean? ” 77 The elder* said to them, “The stick that pokes the burning twigs is completely eaten up by the fire.78 Likewise, if a person purifies his mind* in the fear* of God, this same fear* of God devours his body.” 79 13. [VII.15; 1:346] One time Abba Macarius* went up from Scetis* to Terenouthis* and went into the temple to sleep.80 There were some old pagan mummies there, so, taking one, he placed it under his head as a cushion. The demons,* therefore, when they saw his audacity and insolence, were jealous and, wanting to frighten him,81 called out to him as though with a woman’s* voice, “Hey, you, come with us to the baths.” Another demon,* hearing this, as though he were underneath him among the dead, said, “I have a stranger* on top of me, so I can’t come!” But the elder* wasn’t terrified; with confidence, he hit the corpse and said, “Get up, leave for the darkness, if you can.” 82 When the demons* heard this, they cried out [PG 65:269] with a loud voice, “You’ve defeated us!” 83 And so they took off, put to shame.84 77. lean: xērós can also mean “dried up, withered,” “austere” (Lampe 933b). 78. There is a play on words here: “lean” earlier translates xērós, and “stick” translates xýlon; at this time the first vowel in each word was pronounced the same, as “ee” in English, as in Spanish pedir. 79. More wordplay: “eat,” esthíō; “eaten up,” esthíō in the passive voice; “devours,” katesthíō. 80. temple, hierós, “sacred, holy”: SysAP VII.15, topári[o]n, a small place. In patristic Greek hierós can mean “sanctuary, church.” Went up: “up” indicates towards upper Egypt, that is, south. 81. insolence: tharsaléon can mean “audacious, spirited, courageous, confident,” but also “bold, impudent, insolent” (Montanari I:925a). 82. for the darkness: SysAP VII.15 lacks. 83. cried out with a loud voice: see Mark 1:21-28, where Jesus heals the man with the unclean spirit; the spirit there also cries out with a loud voice (Mark 1:26), and the text uses the same two words for “loud voice” as here. 84. took off, pheúgō: see Flee in the Glossary.

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14. [XIX.10; 3:144] They used to say about Abba Macarius* of Egypt85 that when he was going up from Scetis* carrying some baskets he was exhausted, so he sat down. He prayed,* “O God, you know that I don’t have the strength [to go on]”—and immediately he found himself at the River.* 15. [XIX.11; 3:144] There was a person in Egypt* who had a paralyzed son, and he brought him to Abba Macarius’s cell,* and, leaving him weeping by the door, he went off into the distance. The elder,* [inside,] bending over, peeked outside, saw the child [weeping],86 and said to him, “Who brought you here? ” The child said, “My father abandoned me here and took off.” 87 The elder* said, “Rise up, catch up with him,” 88 and the boy was immediately cured; he rose up, [left, and] caught up with his father, and in this way they went back to their home.89 16. [IV.30; 1:200, 202] Abba Macarius* the Great used to say to the brothers in Scetis* when he was dismissing the assembly,90 “Flee,* brothers!” and one of the elders* said to him, “Where can we flee* that’s more desert* than this? ” Abba Macarius,* holding his finger to his lips, said, “Flee* this,” and, going into his cell,* he shut the door, and sat down.91 85. Abba Macarius of Egypt: a variant, PG 65:269, n. 32, and SysAP XIX.10, Abba Macarius the Great. 86. [weeping]: a variant, PG 65:269, n. 34, and SysAP XIX.11. 87. abandoned: ríptō can also mean “to expose, abandon, a child for death.” 88. rise up: I’ve used “rise up” (anístēmi) here instead of the usual “get up” because the latter is egeírō and, more important, because anístēmi can mean “to raise by bringing back to life, raise, raise up” (see John 6:35-51, among many), and is cognate with anástasis, “resurrection.” In M. Gk. the Easter proclamation “Christ is risen” is Christós anéstē. By healing the boy’s paralysis Macarius has resurrected him. 89. caught up: one other meaning of katalambánō may be relevant here, “to make something one’s own, win, attain” (Bauer 519b(1)). See Phil 3:12, Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ has laid hold of me. 90. assembly, ekklēsía: perhaps a church assembly, thus congregation. 91. The four verbs in this sentence are all imperfect tense, which intensifies the action: he was holding .  .  . and going into .  .  . and closing .  .  . and sitting.

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17. [IV.31; 1:202] The same Abba Macarius* said, “If, rebuking someone, you’re moved to anger,* you’re [merely] satisfying your own passion.* Don’t lose yourself while trying to save* others.” 92 18. [XVI.8; 2:396] When the same Abba Macarius* was in Egypt,* he found a person with a beast of burden who was plundering his possessions.* Now he himself, standing beside the person plundering [his goods] as though he were a stranger,* like a fellow robber helped him load the beast, then, with great peace of mind,93 sent him on his way, saying, “We brought nothing into the world;* it’s clear that we can’t take anything out of it.94 The Lord has given. What’s happened here is just as he willed it. Blessed is the Lord in all things.” 95 19. [XII.11; 2:214, 216] Some persons asked Abba Macarius,* “How should we pray? ” * 96 The elder* said to them, “You don’t need to keep saying the same thing; instead, stretch out your hands97 and say, ‘Lord, as you wish and as you know, have mercy.’* 98 And if warfare* threatens, ‘Lord, help.’99 The Lord knows what’s helpful and shows us mercy.” * 100 92. Don’t lose yourself: SysAP IV.31, You shouldn’t lose yourself. Lose: apóllumi can mean “lose one’s presence or control,” and also “massacre, kill, put to death, kill off,” “corrupt, ruin,” “lose (to death),” “wreck,” “waste” (CGL I:188a). 93. peace of mind, hēsychía: see Contemplative quiet in the Glossary. 94. it’s clear that we can’t take anything out of it: SysAP XVI.8 lacks. See 1 Tim 6:7. “It’s clear that” is a variant reading in the NRSV and the Greek New Testament. 95. See Job 1:21. 96. The text has “some,” tines, so one could translate it as “some monks.” 97. stretch out your hands: a variant. PG 65:269, n. 36, and SysAP XII.11, stretch out your hands frequently/continuously ( pikná, for piknȏs [?]), adverb of piknós, “frequent, repeated, numerous” (Montanari II:1858a)). 98. Have mercy: PG 65:269, n. 37, and SysAP XII.11, have mercy on me. 99. Lord, help, PG 65:269, n. 38, and SysAP XII.11, help me. 100. helpful: sumphérō can also mean “help to carry or bear,” “be useful, profitable, or advantageous” (CGL II:1314b(8, 8, 11)).

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20. Abba Macarius* said, “If for you contempt and humiliation have become the same as approval and praise, poverty* the same as wealth, being in need the same as abundance, you won’t die.101 It’s impossible for the person whose faith* is sound and who works* devoted to God to succumb to the impurity of the passions* and the deceit of demons.” * 21. They used to say that two brothers in Scetis* stumbled and fell, and Abba Macarius* the citizen threw them out,102 [PG 65:272] so some [of the brothers] went and told Abba Macarius* the Great of Egypt, and, because he loved* Macarius the citizen, Macarius* the Great said, “It’s not the brothers who’ve been driven out; no, it’s Macarius who’s in exile.” 103 Abba Macarius the citizen heard that he’d been exiled by the elder, so he fled* to the wadi.* Abba Macarius* the Great went out and found him being devoured by mosquitoes and said to him, “It was you who threw out the brothers and—look—they’ve left for the village.104 I exiled you and, as a good virgin,* you fled* here, to the inner chamber.105 I summoned the brothers and learned from them [what had taken place], and they said, ‘None of these things [that the two were accused of] happened.’ So you, brother, need to watch out so the demons* don’t make a mockery of you.”

101. you won’t die, apothnḗskō, present tense: or “you are not dying” or “you do not die,” but the present tense can stand for the future, and vice versa. 102. the city-dweller, politikós: Lampe 1114b(3) identifies the word as an epithet applied to Macarius of Alexandria and cites this saying, Palladius, and Sozomen. See the sayings of Macarius of Alexandria below. 103. exile: chōrízomai, in addition to “drive out, throw out,” can mean “to exile,” so “threw them out,” “driven out,” “in exile,” and more below all translate the verb. 104. left, anachōreō: the irony here is that monastic literature often, even usually, uses the verb to mean “to withdraw” * from the world to the monastery.* 105. Song 1:4, 3:4, and 8:2 use a different word for “chamber,” but it indicates the inner bedchamber of a house.

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(Macarius the citizen hadn’t seen anything.) “But prostrate* yourself as a sign of repentance* 106 for your [own] stumbling and fall.” He said, “If you so please, give me a penance.” When the elder saw his humility,* he said, “Go, and fast* for three weeks, eating once a week.” This was his way of life, always—to fast* [like this] each week.107 22. Abba Moses* said to Abba Macarius* at Scetis,* “I want to practice contemplative quiet,* but the brothers won’t let me.” Abba Macarius* said to him, “I see that by nature you’re tenderhearted and you can’t turn a brother away. But if you want to practice contemplative quiet,* go to the inner desert,* to Petra,* and practice contemplative quiet* there.” This he did, and he found inward stillness.* 108 23. [X.47; 2:42] 109 A brother visited Abba Macarius* of Egypt and said to him, “Abba, give me some counsel*—how can I be saved? ” * and the elder* said to him, “Go to the tomb and insult the dead.” So the brother left, insulted [the dead] and threw rocks [at them], and, having come back, reported to the elder.* “They didn’t say anything to you? ” he said. The brother said, “No.” The elder* said to him, “Go again tomorrow and praise them,” so the brother left and praised them, saying, “Apostles holy and righteous.” He went back to the elder* and said to him, “I praised 106. “prostrate yourself as a sign of repentance” uses metánoia, as does “penance” in the next sentence. See Repentance in the Glossary. 107. It’s not clear which Macarius “his” refers to. 108. Once again, “inner” can parabolically mean “within,” deep within oneself where there is peace and inward stillness.* 109. SysAP X.47 has a much shorter version of this saying: A brother asked Abba Macarius, “How can I be saved? ” The elder* responded, “Become like a dead person, thinking about neither dishonor nor honor from people, just like the dead, and you’ll be save[d].” PG 65:272 has the usual sōthȇnai, “be saved.” SysAP X.47 concludes with sōzei, “he/it saves,” meaning “do as I say and it saves.” Guy, however, translates seras sauvé, “you will be saved,” so perhaps Guy’s Greek text is a misprint for sōzeis, second-person sing.

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[them],” and the elder* said to him, “They didn’t say anything to you in return? ” The brother said, “No.” The elder* said to him, “You know how badly you treated them, and they didn’t respond to you, and how much you praised them, and they didn’t say a word. It’s the same with you: if you want to be saved,* become dead.110 Don’t pay any attention either to the injustice people do or to the honor* they have—just like the dead—and you can be saved.” * 111 24. When Abba Macarius* was passing through Egypt* one time with the brothers he heard a young woman* saying to her mother, “Amma, a certain rich man loves* me, and I hate him; and a poor man hates me, and I love* him.” When Abba Macarius* heard this, he was amazed,* and the brothers said to him, “What did you hear, father, that amazed* you? ” The elder* said to them, “It’s the truth—our Lord is rich and loves* us, and we refuse to listen to him,112 but our Enemy* the Devil* is poor and hates us, and we love* his filthy immorality.” 113 25. Abba Poemen,* with numerous tears, called* on [Abba Macarius*] for help and said, “Give me some counsel*—how can I be saved? ” * In response the elder* said to him, “What you’re looking for has now departed from the monks.” * 114

110. if you want to be saved, become dead: see Moses 12 and 14. 111. honor: dóxa, “honor, glory,” is cognate with doxázō, “to praise.” 112. we refuse to listen to him: thélō with a negative, as here, can also mean “we don’t want to listen to him.” Listen: akoúō can also mean “heed, obey.” 113. filthy immorality: akatharsía (“not clean/pure”) can mean both “filthy, dirty, refuse,” and “a state of moral corruption, immorality, vileness”; the NT doesn’t directly link akatharsía to the Devil, but for resonances here see Rom 1:24; Gal 5:19; Col 3:5; Eph 4:19; 5:3 (Bauer 34a). 114. On this theme see Antony 23, Sayings 1:108.

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26. [PG 65:273] Abba Macarius* visited Abba Antony* one time, spoke with him, and returned to Scetis.* The fathers came to meet with him, and as they were speaking the elder* said to them, “I told Abba Antony* that we don’t have the Eucharist in our community.” * The fathers began talking about other matters and didn’t inquire further in order to learn what the elder’s* response would be. Nor did the elder* tell them. Given this, one of the fathers used to say, “If the fathers see that it hasn’t occurred to the brothers to ask about something that would benefit* them, they themselves are obligated to speak up first about the matter. But if they’re not obligated by the brothers [to do this], they don’t say any more about it. They do this so they’re not found speaking without being asked and their speech found to be like small talk or idle chatter.” 27. Abba Isaiah* asked Abba Macarius,* “Offer me some counsel,” * and the elder said to him, “Flee* from people.” 115 Abba Isaiah said to him, “What does this mean—to flee* from people? ” The elder* said to him, “[It means] to sit in your cell* and ­lament your sins.” 116 28. Abba Paphnutius,* the disciple of Abba Macarius* used to say, “I entreated* my father, ‘Give me some counsel.’* 117 “He said, ‘Don’t do evil to anyone, and don’t condemn anyone. Keep these [two], and you’ll be saved.’ ” * 29. Abba Macarius* said, “Don’t sleep in the cell* of a brother who has a bad reputation.” 118 30. Some brothers visited Abba Macarius* in Scetis* one time and didn’t find anything in his cell* except rancid water, so they

115. An Isaiah has eleven sayings, Sayings 1:253–55. 116. lament: klaíō can also mean “weep,” thus “weep for your sins.” 117. A Paphnutius has five sayings in this volume; none mentions Macarius. 118. bad, kakós: or “evil.”

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said to him, “Abba,* come up to the village and we’ll get something to refresh you.” 119 The elder* said to them,” Brothers, do you know so-and-so’s bakery in the village? ” and they said, “Yes.” The elder* said to them, “I do, too. Do you also know so-andso’s fields and farm, where the river flows? ” 120 They said to him, “Yes.” The elder* said to them, “I do, too. So, when I want [water], I don’t need you, [I get it myself.]” 121 31. They used to say about Abba Macarius* that if a brother, trembling with fear,* came to him as to a holy and great elder,* he wouldn’t speak to him, but if one of the brothers spoke to him as though treating him with contempt, [saying,] “So then, abba, when you were a camel driver and would steal niter and sell it, didn’t the guards beat you? ” If someone said words like these to him, he’d with joy speak to him about whatever the person was asking him. 32. They used to say about Abba Macarius* the Great that he, just as it’s written, became a god on earth: 122 just as God protects and shelters the world,* so too Abba Macarius* protected and 119. to refresh: anapaúō is cognate with anápausis, “inward stillness.” * I wonder if these brothers are apoptaktikoí, “renunciants,” ascetics who lived in towns and villages. See James A. Goehring, Ascetics, Society, and the Desert: Studies in Early Egyptian Monasticism, Studies in Antiquity & Christianity (Harris­burg, PA: Trinity, 1999), 53–72; Tim Vivian, “The Origins of Monasticism,” in T&T Clark Handbook of the Early Church, ed. Ilaria L. E. Ramelli, et al. (London: T&T Clark / Bloomsbury, 2022), 483–500. 120. flows: this is uncertain. Kroúō normally means “hit, strike, beat,” but it can mean “to strike, cause to vibrate the strings of a musical instrument” so, perhaps, “where the water sweetly flows,” that is, melodically (Montanari I:1181bc). 121. [I get it myself]: PG 65:273, n. 42, corrects the text’s anabázō to anabibázō. Anabázō is in the dictionaries but doesn’t work here (Montanari I:128b), so I’ve followed the Latin translation in PG: sed mihi apporto. 122. a god on earth: see Apostolic Constitutions 2.26.4: “The bishop .  .  . is the mediator between God and you .  .  .  . He is your ruler and governor; he is your king and potentate; he is, next after God, your earthly god, who has a right

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sheltered moral defects, which he would see as though not seeing and hear as though not hearing.123 33. [XX.3; 3:160, 162, 164] Abba Bitmios124 recounted* that Abba Macarius* used to say, “When I was living one time in Scetis,* two young strangers* came down there one time. One [PG 65:276] had a beard, and the other was beginning to grow one.125 They approached me and said, ‘Where’s Abba Macarius’s* cell?’* and I said, ‘Why do you want him?’ and they said, ‘We heard about him and about Scetis,* so we’ve come to see him.’ “I said to them, ‘Here I am,’ and they prostrated* themselves [before me], saying, ‘We want to stay here.’126 Looking them over, seeing that they were delicate and came from wealth, I said to them, ‘You’re not able to stay here.’127 “The older one said, ‘If we can’t stay here, we’ll go somewhere else.’ I said to myself,128 ‘Why am I driving them away and hurting their feelings? 129 Hard work* will cause them to flee* all on their to be honoured by you” (New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/07152 .htm). 123. protects and shelters: although not in the NT, skepázō occurs often in the LXX; see Ps 27:5; Wis 5:16, and others (Hatch and Redpath 1268c–69a). 124. Bitimios: Bitímios is Bḗtimos in SysAP XX.3; he occurs nowhere else in the AlphAP or SysAP. 125. The two young strangers may well be Maximus* and Domitius: “The Life of the brothers Maximus and Domitius is known through one long document attributed to a certain Pshoi of Scetis,* who professes to be a native of Constantinople and who ended his days at Scetis as a disciple of the great Macarius (died ca. 390). He claims to have received the personal testimony of Macarius” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1306/rec/1; CE 1576a–78a). 126. We want to stay here: Greek “Here we want to stay,” so, perhaps, “It’s here we want to stay.” 127. delicate: trupherós can mean “effeminate” (Montanari II:2162a). You’re not able to stay here: or “You can’t stay [dýnamai] here.” See Power in the Glossary. 128. I said to myself: literally “I said to my thought.” * Later, Macarius battles his thoughts.* 129. hurting their feelings: skandalízō (middle-passive here) has other meanings apposite here: “cause to fall, lead into sin” (Lampe 1235b(1)); see Matt

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own,’ so I said to them, ‘Come on, make yourselves a cell if you can,’ and they said, ‘Show us where, and we’ll make one.’ ” 130 131 So the elder* gave them an ax and a bag full of bread and salt.132 The elder* showed them some hard rock and said, “Quarry here, and bring wood from the wadi* for yourselves, cover them [sic] with a roof, and live here.” (“I was thinking,” he said, “The hard work* will cause them to go away.”)133 “But they asked me, ‘What work* do they do here?’ “I said to them, ‘Rope-making,’ and I got some palm branches from the wadi* and showed them the rudiments of rope-making and what’s necessary for weaving [the fronds]. I said, ‘Make some baskets, take them to those who handle such matters, and they’ll give you some bread.’134 Then I left, and they with patient endurance* did everything I had told them [to do], and they didn’t come to see me for three years. “I went on battling* my thoughts* and saying, ‘So what’s this work* they’re doing [that’s so important] that they haven’t come to ask me about thoughts?* 135 Those far off come to see me—and these fellows, who live nearby, haven’t come, nor have they gone to anyone else! [They don’t go anywhere] except to church,

5:29-30; 1 Cor 8:13. See also Matt 17:27 (“so that we do not give offense”) (Bauer 926a). See Scandalize in the Glossary. 130. Show us where: literally “Show us a place.” * 131. Both the saying and SysAP XX.3 switch to third person here, then, at the end of the paragraph, back to first. 132. bag, anabolídin: a variant, PG 65:276, n. 45, and SysAP XX.3 have ananolídion. The PG Latin translation has pera, “bag, sack, pouch.” I’ve not been able to find the word, so I’ve followed the Latin; Wortley, Give Me, 188: “basket.” 133. go away, anachōréō, “withdraw”:* a variant, PG 65:276, n. 46, pheúgō, “flee.” * 134. those who handle such matters: phýlax, “guard, guardian,” used of God, Christ, guardian angels, and clergy, thus “One who shows care, attention” (Lampe 1492b–93a; 1493a(2)). See Protect in the Glossary. 135. thoughts: the text has the singular; I’ve followed SysAP XX.3, which has the plural.

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k­ eeping silence,* in order to receive Communion.’ I extended my fasting* for God for a week so he’d show me the work* they were doing.136 “When the week was over I got up and went to see them to see how things were going.137 I knocked on the door, and they opened it and greeted me while maintaining silence.* 138 I offered a prayer* and sat down. The older one, nodding to the other to leave, sat plaiting rope, saying nothing. At the ninth* hour he knocked and the younger one came, made a little mush, and set the table when the older one indicated to do so.139 He placed three dried loaves of bread and stood, keeping silence.* I said, ‘Get up, let’s eat,’ so we stood up and ate. He brought the baukalion and we drank.140 “When evening came, they said to me, ‘Are you leaving?’ and I said, ‘No. No, I’m sleeping here,’ so they put a small mat in one corner and for themselves a mat in another corner. “They took off their belts and scapulars and lay down together on the mat opposite me.141 After they lay down I prayed* to God that he would reveal their way of life.* The roof opened,142 and it became as light as day, but they didn’t see the light. When they thought I was sleeping, the older one nudged the younger one in 136. “so he’d show me” uses the same verb as above when Macarius “showed them the rudiments about rope-making.” Thus God, as an abba* to some novices, instructs Macarius, who’s acting petulant, like a novice who hasn’t mastered his or her passions.* 137. “to see how things were going” uses káthēmai, “to live”; thus more formally “to see how they were living,” “to see their way* of life.” 138. See Matt 7:7-8//Luke 11:9-10, which use the same verbs as here. 139. Mush, hépsyma: pl. hepsýmata can indicate garden vegetables used in cooking. 140. “He” is ambiguous; it probably refers to the younger one, who is serving at the table. Baukalion: baukálion is a diminutive of baukálē/baúkalis, “Alexandrian name for a fat narrow-necked, earthenware vessel” (Lampe 294b). 141. On monastic dress see “Clothing,” in Lucien Regnault, The Day-to-Day Life of the Desert Fathers in Fourth-Century Egypt (New York: Fordham University Press, 2002), 51–60. 142. The roof opened: SysAP XX.3, And look! The roof opened.

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the ribs; they got up, got dressed, and stretched out their hands to [PG 65:277] heaven.143 I was watching them, but they weren’t looking at me. And I saw demons* coming upon the younger one like flies; some came and landed on his mouth, and others on his eyes.144 And I saw an angel of the Lord holding a flaming sword; 145 he was defending him and driving the demons* away from him, but the older one they couldn’t get near to. “Towards dawn they lay down. I myself pretended to wake up, and they did likewise. The older one said only this to me: ‘Do you want us to offer up the twelve psalms?’* I said, ‘Yes,’ and the younger one chanted five psalms,* six verses at a time followed by an Alleluia. With each verse a fiery lamp came out of his mouth and ascended to heaven.146 The same with the older one, too: when 143. got dressed: zṓnnumi can mean “gird oneself” for battle, fighting, war, or work (Montanari I:896b), reminiscent of Eph 6:14: Stand therefore, and fasten the belt [perizṓnnumi] of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.” 144. flies: in Exod 8:20-24, flies are the fourth plague that God sends upon Pharaoh and Egypt: great swarms of flies came into the house of Pharaoh and into his officials’ houses; in all of Egypt the land was ruined because of the flies” (24). See Ps 78:45; Wis 16:9. The LXX may connect Beelzebub with the “Lord of the Flies”; see “Beelzebub,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, https://www.new​ advent.org/cathen/02388c.htm; Theodore J. Lewis, “Beelzebul,” Anchor-Yale, 1:638–40: “Scholars have been fascinated with trying to find an etymology for this preeminent satanic being. The etymology of Beelzebul has proceeded in several directions. The variant reading Beelzebub (Syriac translators and Jerome) reflects a long-standing tradition of equating Beelzebul with the Philistine deity of the city of Ekron mentioned in 2 Kgs 1:2, 3, 6, 16. Baalzebub (Heb ba˓al zĕbûb) seems to mean—lord [baal] of flies.” 145. an angel of the Lord holding a flaming sword: see Gen 3:24. 146. a fiery lamp: see Rev 8:10. Ascended: anabaínō refers often to Jesus ascending a mountain in Matthew (5:1; 14:23; 15:29), and John uses it of Jesus’ ascent into heaven (3:13; 20:17). Twelve psalms: see Cassian, Institutes 2, “The Canonical Method of the Nighttime Prayers and Psalms” (pp. 35–55). Cassian notes wide differences in the number of psalms said by the monks; in 2.4 he says “the number of twelve psalms is maintained throughout all of Egypt and the Thebaid in both the evening and nighttime services” (p. 39). In correspondence

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he opened his mouth to chant the psalms,* it was as though a fiery rope came out, reaching up into heaven. I too said a few [psalms*] from memory.147 As I was leaving I said, ‘Pray* for me,’ and they prostrated* themselves in silence. I learned, therefore, that the older one was perfect* while the Enemy* was still waging war* on the younger one. A few days later, the older brother went to his rest and the younger one three days after that.” 148 Whenever some of the fathers visited Abba Macarius, he would take them to their cell,* saying, “Come, see the martyrion of the young strangers.” * 149 34. [III.20; 1:160] The elders* in the monastic community* [of Nitria*] 150 one time sent a request, inviting Abba Macarius* in Scetis* [to visit them].151 They said to him, “So we don’t burden everyone [here] [with making a journey] to see you,152 we’re re-

Hany Takla notes that this refers to “the Horologion prayer practiced in Scetis* at the time. This developed into the Coptic Agbeyia now,” and Maged S. A. Mikhail adds, “the Psalms in the current Coptic Agbiya/practice are fixed, but they were not back then; monks just rotated through the whole Psalter twelve psalms at a time.” My thanks for their help here. See Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West, 2nd ed. rev. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1993). 147. from memory, apò stḗthous: tò stḗthos is the “breast, chest,” then figuratively “heart, breast, spirit.” Apò stḗthous means “by heart,” so one could reasonably translate here “from the heart” (Montanari I:1962c–63a). 148. three: see the prediction about the resurrection of Jesus on the third day: Matt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19, among others. 149. martyrion: martýrion is cognate with martyréō, originally “to bear witness.” See Martyr in the Glossary. See Ramsey MacMullen The Second Church: Popular Christianity A.D. 200–400 (Atlanta: SBL, 2009) for a fascinating discussion of martyria (not only for martyrs), refrigerium (the familial banquet at the deceased’s tomb), and episcopal reactions against the practice (inherited from non-Christians). 150. SysAP III.20 identifies the community as Nitria. 151. a request, inviting: or “a request, urging”: parakaléō, as with “urging” below; see Entreat in the Glossary. 152. burden: I’m taking the text’s skulḗ(i) (which SysAP III.20 also has) as the third-person progressive (present) sing. subjunctive of skúllō, “trouble, annoy,

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questing that you come to us so we may observe you before you leave and journey to the Lord.” 153 When he came to the monastic community,* everyone congregated around him. The elders were urging* him to offer some counsel* to the brothers, but when he heard [what they were asking] he said, “Let us weep and mourn, brothers, and let our eyes pour tears where we stand before we go away to where our tears will scorch and burn our bodies.” 154 All of them wept and mourned and fell on their faces and said, “Father, pray* for us.” 35. Another time a demon* approached Abba Macarius* with a sword, wanting to cut off his penis, but, because of the abba’s humility,* couldn’t.155 The demon* said to him, “Whatever you

esp. take the trouble of a journey, trouble to come or go” (Lampe 1243a) instead of from skuláō, “rob, despoil” (Montanari II:1934b-c), connected with skuleúō, “despoil, plunder” (1934c). Guy 1:161: “De peur que le peuple ne prenne la paine de venir chez toi.” 153. observe, theáomai: or “consider, contemplate,” and the dictionary adds “properly with wonder” (Montanari I:927c); Lampe observes that the later form theáō can mean “to contemplate” (God), and that with Clement* this contemplation can mean “contemplation as a goal of life” (617a). 154. tears: in Acts 20:31 Paul tells the church in Ephesus, Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. In the HB tears indicate pain and sorrow (Ps 102:9) and hope (Ps 126:5). “Tears of fire”/“tears that scorch” don’t occur in the Bible. See Saying 38 below. 155. approached: aphístēmi can also mean “station” (troops), “bring up” (artillery), “bring in” (people as aggressors or enemies) (CGL I:642a(1), 642b(7)). Penis: poús, “foot”: see Sharon R. Keller, “Aspects of Nudity in the Old Testament,” Source: Notes in the History of Art 12, no. 2 (Winter 1993): 32–36, 34: “the most common euphemism [in the HB] for the genitalia, both penis and vulva, is ‘foot.’ ” See Ruth 3:4, 7. In Ezek 16 the prophet calls Jerusalem a whore, and in 16:25 she “opens her feet” to anyone who passes by (NRSV: you, Jerusalem, prostituted your beauty, offering yourself to every passer-by, and multiplying your whoring). See Exod 4:25: But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched Moses’ feet with it. All references are to the LXX.

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[pl.] have, we have, too; only your humility* separates you from us—and you’re victorious!” 156 36. [X.48; 2:42] 157 Abba Macarius* said, “If we keep in mind the bad things that people bring us, we’re destroying the power* that the remembrance of God has,158 but if we keep in mind the evils of the demons,* we’ll be unharmed.” 159 37. Abba Paphnutius,* the disciple of Abba Macarius,* said, “The elder* used to say, ‘When I was [PG 65:280] a child, with the other children I used to lead the young cattle to pasture, and they’d leave to steal small figs. As they were running off, one fig fell from a tree. Picking it up, I ate it. When I remember doing that, I sit down and weep.’ ” 160 38. [III.19; 1:158, 160] 161 Abba Macarius* said, “Walking around in the desert* one time, I found the skull of a dead person flung to the ground. After I moved it with my palm-staff, the skull spoke to me, so I said to it, ‘You, who are you?’ The skull answered and said to me,162 ‘I was the high priest of the idols and the pagans who were living here. But you—you’re Macarius* the

156. separates: diaphérō can also mean “to stand out from, be superior to” + the genitive case, as here (Montanari I:515b(1F)). 157. SysAP X.48 has significant differences: If we keep in mind [mnēmoneúō] the things said [laléō] about us by bad [kakós] people, we’re destroying the power that the remembrance [mnḗmē] of God has, but if we keep [these] in mind [mnēmoneúō] as though they were spoken about us by the demons,* we’ll be unharmed. 158. bad things, kakós: or “evil,” as translated in the next clause. Keep in mind, mimnḗskō: “remembrance” later translates the cognate mnḗmēs (English mnemonics). See “remember” in the next saying. 159. unharmed, átrōtos: or “invulnerable.” 160. See 1 Cor 13:11 (When I was a child ). See Augustine, Confessions 2.4.9, https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/260aug.html. 161. SysAP III.19 is in the third person, which Saying 38 later switches to. 162. I said to it, “You, who are you? ” The skull answered and said: SysAP III.19, The elder* said, “You, who are you? Answer me,” and the skull spoke to him, saying.

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Spiritbearer. Whenever you have compassion* on those being punished163 and pray* for them,164 they’re comforted and encouraged a little.’ ” 165 166 The elder* said, “What sort of comfort and encouragement, and what punishment? ” 167 The skull said to him, “As far distant as heaven is from the earth, just as vast is the fire beneath us, and we’re standing from head to toe in the midst of fire.168 And169 no one can see another person’s face; instead, each person’s face is glued to the other person’s back. So, then, when you pray* for us, one person can just make out another’s face. This is what comforts and encourages [us].” 170 Weeping and moaning, the elder* said, “What an awful day it was when that person was born!” 171 The elder* [now] said to the skull, “Is there another punishment worse [than this one]? ” The skull said to him, “There’s worse punishment below us.” The elder* said, “And who are the people there? ”

163. “being punished” uses kólasis (kolázō): see Matt 25:46: And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. 164. and pray for them: SysAP III.19 lacks. 165. comforted and encouraged: doesn’t translate parakaléō (see Comfort in the Glossary) but rather paramuthéomai (vb.) and paramuthía (n.); see 1 Thess 2:12; 5:14 (vb.); 1 Cor 14:3 (n.). See Montanari II:1559ab; Lampe 1022a. 166. The text and SysAP III.19 switch to third person here. 167. and what punishment: SysAP III.19 lacks. 168. heaven, ouranós: or “sky.” See Isa 55:9, which does not, however, mention fire. See Saying 34 above. 169. And: SysAP III.19, oȗn: “therefore/because of this.” 170. This is what comforts and encourages [us]: SysAP III.19 lacks. 171. A variant reading, PG 65:280, n. 56, and SysAP I.160, What an awful day it was when that person was born, if this is the comfort and consolation for punishment!

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The skull said to him, “Since we didn’t know God, there’s a little compassion* for us,172 but those who acknowledged God and denied him173 are farther below us.” 174 Taking the skull, he buried it.175 39. They used to say about Abba Macarius* of Egypt that he was going up from Scetis* one time to the monastic community* of Nitria.* 176 When he approached the place* he said to his disciple, “Go on ahead a little,” and when the disciple went on ahead, he encountered a certain pagan priest. Shouting, the brother called [to the priest], “Hey, demon.* Hey, you! Where you goin’ in such a hurry? ” Turning around, that demon* hit him numerous times and left him half dead. Securing his cudgel, he took off running. 172. “There’s a little compassion for us” uses eleéō (< éleos, “mercy, compassion, pity, clemency” (Bauer 316a(b)), so instead of “compassion” one could translate “pity” or “mercy.” The verb occurs about twenty-five times in the NT (see Bauer 315b). English has “eleemosynary,” “of or relating to alms, charity, or charitable donations; charitable,” from Gk. eleēmosýny (Matt 6:2-4; Acts 9:36), “goodwill, alms, charitable giving,” via Medieval Latin. 173. those who acknowledged God and denied him: a variant reading, PG 65:280, n. 57, and SysAP III.19, those who acknowledged God, and denied him, and didn’t do his will. At least as early as Justin Martyr (ca. 100–ca. 165), Christians had to deal with the situation of those born before Christ. See Justin, ­Apology 1.46: “we have declared above that He is the Word of whom every race of men were partakers; and those who lived reasonably are Christians, even though they have been thought atheists; as, among the Greeks, Socrates and Heraclitus, and men like them; and among the barbarians, Abraham, and Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael, and Elias, and many others whose actions and names we now decline to recount, because we know it would be tedious” (Early Church Texts, https: //earlychurchtexts.com/public/justin_christians_before_christ.htm). 174. “know” renders oȋda (see Lampe 936b–37a), and “acknowledged” translates epigi(g)knṓskō (< gi(g)knṓskō, “know”): “get to know further, more fully,” “recognize a thing for what it is,” “recognize, acknowledge” (Lampe 519a). Oȋda can also mean “acknowledge, recognize” (937b(B)), but I think the skull is indicating a difference; that said, one could translate the skull’s statement as “Since we didn’t recognize/acknowledge God.” 175. SysAP III.19 continues: and went on his way.* 176. going up: Nitria* is north of Scetis,* so it should be “going down”; up in Egypt means south.

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When he’d gone ahead a little bit, Abba Macarius* encountered him as he was running and said to him, “How are you? I hope you’re well.177 You’re sure working hard.” Amazed,* the priest came over to him and said, “What good did you see in me that you greeted me like that? ” The elder* said to him, “I saw that you’re working hard and didn’t know that you’re laboring in vain.” 178 So the priest said to him, “My conscience was pricked* by your greeting, so I found out that you’re on God’s side.179 Another monk,* an evil one, when he greeted me was acting arrogant and belligerent towards me, so I hit him so often that I beat him to death.” The elder* realized that it was his disciple. The priest [fell to the ground and] took hold of his feet, saying, “I won’t let you go unless you make me a monk!* 180 So they went over where the monk* was, picked him up, and carried him to the community’s* church. When [the brothers] saw the priest with Abba Macarius,* they were amazed,* and they made the priest a monk,* and many pagans became Christians on account of him. Abba [PG 65:281] Macarius* used to say, “A bad word* makes good people bad, while a good word* makes bad people good.” 181 40. They used to say about Abba Macarius* that when he was gone [one time] a bandit entered his cell.* 182 When the elder* 177. How are you? I hope you’re well: sōtheíēs < sṓzō; see Save in the Glossary. 178. laboring in vain: see Isa 49:4; 1 Cor 15:58. 179. My conscience was pricked: literally, “I was pricked,” katanússomai, which can especially refer to being moved to repentance;* katánuxis means “compunction.” See Contrition and Pricked in the Glossary. 180. I won’t let .  .  . go, ouk aphȏ < aphíēmi: here can mean “I won’t forgive,” a sharp irony, given that the priest is saying it. 181. bad, kakós: or “wicked, evil”; as a substantive (noun), it can mean “sin,” “evil” (Lampe 695b–96a). 182. bandit, lē(i)stḗs: the traditional translation has been “thief,” as with the two criminals on crosses at the crucifixion, but Bauer correctly gives “robber, highwayman, bandit” (594a); the word can indicate those who fled Roman rule

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returned to his cell* he found the bandit loading his things onto a camel. Abba Macarius* went inside the cell,* picked up some of the things and, with the man, loaded the camel. When they had finished, the bandit began to beat the camel so it’d get up—but it wouldn’t. Seeing that the camel wouldn’t get up, Abba Macarius* went into the cell* and found a small hoe. Bringing it outside, he put it on the camel, saying, “Brother, the camel’s looking for this,” and he slapped it on the hoof, saying, “Get up,” and immediately it stood up and moved a little away in accordance with what Abba Macarius* had said.183 Then it sat back down, and didn’t get up until they had unloaded all the things and, with this done, the bandit left. 41.184 Abba Aïṓ asked Abba Macarius* [for counsel*], saying, “Offer me some direction.” 185 Abba Macarius* said to him, “Flee* from people. Stay in your cell.* Weep for your sins. And don’t take delight in what people say.186 You’ll be saved.” *

Concerning Abba Moses* 187 1. [PG 65:281] [XVIII.17; 3:62, 64] One time Abba Moses* was fiercely embattled with sexual temptation* 188 and was no longer strong enough to stay in his cell,* so he went to inform and resisted it, often living by theft. Thus we can say that the men crucified with Jesus were “freedom fighters.” Lampe 800b–801b gives only “robber”; a lēstḗrion is a “den of thieves.” So here, three to four hundred years after NT times, lēstḗs does probably mean only “robber, thief.” 183. “what Abba Macarius had said” uses lógos; literally, “according to the word of Abba Macarius.” See Counsel in the Glossary. 184. See Macarius of Egypt 27. 185. Aïṓ: see Sayings 1:186–87. 186. take delight: agapáō, “to love,” * has a wide range of meanings apposite here: “treat with affection,” “cherish,” “value, prize,” “enjoy.” 187. Greek Mōüsḗs, pronounced Mo-ooh-CEASE. 188. Abba Moses, PG 65:281, n. 60, and SysAP XVIII.7, Abba Moses of Petra. embattled: see below and War in the Glossary.

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Abba Isidore about it.189 The elder* encouraged* him to go back to his cell.* Abba Moses* didn’t accept [this counsel], saying, “I’m not strong enough, abba,” * so Abba Isidore, taking Abba Moses* with him, went up to the roof and said to him, “Look to the west,” so he looked, and saw an innumerable crowd of demons;* they were stirred up and shouting, ready to do battle.* Abba Isidore once again spoke to him: “Now look to the east,” so he looked and saw an innumerable multitude of holy angels offer­ ing praise, and Abba Isidore said to him, “Look, these are the ones sent* to the holy* ones by the Lord to help them, but those in the west are the ones who wage war* on them.190 Those with us, then, are more numerous.” And so Abba Moses* gave thanks to God. Encouraged, he returned to his cell.* 2.191 [IX.7; 1:430, 432] One time a brother in Scetis* made a mistake.192 A council took place, and they sent for Abba Moses,* but he refused to come.193 The priest, therefore, sent for him, saying, “Come, everyone’s expecting you.” He got up and went. He got a basket full of holes and, filling it with sand, carried it. Coming out to greet him, the monks* said to him, “What’s this, father? ” The elder* said to them, “My sins [PG 65:284] are flowing out behind me, and I don’t see them—and

189. This could possibly be Isidore of Pelusium or Isidore the priest, both of whom have sayings in this volume. 190. them: PG 65:281, n. 61, and SysAP XVIII.17, us. “Multitude” here and “crowd” earlier both translate plȇthos. 191. For a very similar story see Pior 3. 192. made a mistake, sphállō. One notes the use of sphállō instead of hamartánō, “to sin.” Bauer 979a gives “to lose one’s footing, trip, stumble, fall”; the only appearance in the NT is a variant reading (v. l) at Matt 15:14. Lampe notes, though, that the cognate n. sphálma can mean “fault, sin” (1353a); with “fault,” then, it appears that the monk’s* action was less than “sin.” If this is so, it increases the irony of the story: the monks* have summoned Moses for a minor offense, a misdemeanor instead of a felony. At the end of the story Moses refers to his own sins. 193. refused to come, ou thélō: or “didn’t want to come.” See the next saying.

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I, I’ve come today to judge* another person’s sins!” 194 When they heard this, they didn’t say anything to the brother but rather forgave him. 3. [XVI.9; 2:396] Another time when a council took place in Scetis,* the fathers, wanting to put him to the test,195 disparaged him, saying, “Why did even this Ethiopian come [to live] among us? ” 196 When he heard this, he kept silent.* After the others were dismissed, the fathers said to him, “Abba, weren’t you upset* just now? ” He said to them “I was upset* but I didn’t speak.” 197 4. [XV.43; 2:316] They used to say about Abba Moses* that when he became one of the clergy and they put a stole on him, the archbishop said to him, “Look, you’ve become completely white, Abba Moses.” * 198 The elder* said to him, “Maybe outside, Lord Pope*—or also199 on the inside? 200 The archbishop, wanting to test him,* said to the clergy, “When Abba Moses* enters the sanctuary [of the church], kick him out and follow him to see what he says.” The elder* came in, and they reproached him and kicked him out, saying, “Get out of here, Ethiopian!” So he left, saying to 194. Moses’s statement could be a question. 195. wanting, thélō: in the previous saying, when summoned, Moses “refused to come/didn’t want to come,” ou thélō. 196. did .  .  . come: the verb could be in the historical present, which Greek narrative often uses for events in the past. Or, one could translate “does .  .  . come.” 197. Ps 76:5 (LXX); 77:4 (NRSV), which is quite different. 198. one of the clergy: klērikós is a general term, not designating specifically a priest or deacon. For “archbishop” see Bishop in the Glossary. 199. also: kaí can mean “even” here: “or even on the inside? ” 200. Pope: a variant reading, PG 65:284, n. 66, has “bishop”; SysAP XV.43 agrees with the saying here. Was a scribe or editor trying for a less grand title? The AlphAP ends the sentence with an exclamation point; SysAP XV.43 has it as a question. This could be a reference to Matt 23:27, which uses forms of éxō, “outside,” and ésō, “inside”: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of uncleanness.

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himself, “They did the right thing, you with your sooty skin, you’re black.201 Since you’re not human, why do you come to be with human beings? ” 202

A Personal Note Some of the statements about women* in the AlphAP are uncomfortable—or worse. When I first started reading the AlphAP more than thirty years ago I expected some of the (male) monks to say bad things about women. But when I first read Moses 3 and 4 many years ago, the racism astonished me. It made me cringe— still does.203 Some of my ancestors in Texas were slaveowners; I’ve seen the graveyard, where white prejudice and segregation are evident even in the size and placement of grave markers. A desert amma* or abba* could use that image and fact as a good teaching point. My father’s parents in Texas were horrible racists, but growing up I never heard a racist statement from my father or my mother or my mother’s parents, for which I will always be grateful. When I was vicar of an Episcopal parish in Bakersfield, California, a parishioner and dear friend, a black man in his eighties, told me that I was the only white man he’d ever trusted. I hold on 201. sooty skin: spodódermos can mean “with ash-colored skin” or “blackhaired” (Montanari II:1947c). Spodós means “ashes.” See Frank M. Snowden, Jr., Blacks in Antiquity: Ethiopians in the Greco-Roman Experience (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970); and Brian Noell, “Race in Late-Antique Egypt: Moses the Black and Authentic Historical Voice,” Eras Journal, https:// www.monash.edu/arts/philosophical-historical-international-studies/eras/past -editions/edition-six-2004-november/race-in-late-antique-egypt-moses-the-black -and-authentic-historical-voice. 202. One expects a response from Moses, but neither AlphAP nor SysAP has one. 203. The fact that the monks are testing someone, in this case Moses, a common monastic practice, doesn’t matter. What they say is vile.

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to what he said body, soul, mind, and spirit and have tried to make it lectio for my life: the awful things that my friend Jerry, like Moses, has endured—but also his overcoming of not all, but most, of what he’s experienced and endured. And the joy of his trust, his faith,* in me. With the ever-latent racism in the United States rampant once again, I strongly recommend, I urge, each person reading this book to read The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. It will change you.204 5. [XIII.4; 2:232] A command* was given in Scetis* one time: “Fast* this week.” 205 In a timely fashion some brothers from Egypt* came to visit with Abba Moses,* so he made them a little mush.206 When his neighbors* saw the smoke they told the clergy, “Look, Moses has broken the command207 and made some mush for himself!” 208 They said, “When he comes, we will speak to him.” 209 When Saturday came, the clergy saw Abba Moses’* imposing way of life* and said to him before all the monks,* “Oh, Abba Moses,* you broke the commandment* given by humans and you’ve safeguarded* God’s!” 210 204. Nikole Hannah-Jones, ed., The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story (New York: W. H. Allen, 2021). 205. Fast this week: SysAP XIII.4, Fast this week and observe Easter. 206. mush, hépsyma: pl. hepsýmata can indicate garden vegetables used in cooking. It appears that many monks were vegetarians. 207. Moses has broken the command: SysAP XIII.4, Moses has broken the command of the fathers. 208. command: entolḗ also means “commandment,” as in Exod 24:12 (LXX). Broken: katalúō can have stronger meanings: “destroy, demolish, dismantle” (Bauer 521b–22a). 209. The pronoun “we” is not necessary and is the first word in the clause, thus emphatic. 210. safeguarded, phylássō: see Protect in the Glossary. A variant reading, PG 65:284, n. 68, and SysAP XIII.4, oikodoméō (< oȋkos, “house”), “construct, erect,” “edify, encourage” (Montanari I:1432a), “build up” (Lampe 939c). 1 Cor 8:1: love builds up.

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6. [II.19; 1:134] A brother came to Scetis* to see Abba Moses,* wanting some counsel* from him. The elder* said to him, “Go, sit in your cell,* and your cell* will teach you everything.” 7. [II.20; 1:136] Abba Moses* said, “The person who flees* [people] [PG 65:285] is like a bunch of ripe grapes, but the person among people is like an unripe grape.” 8. [VIII.13; 1:408, 410] One time the governor [of a province] heard about Abba Moses* and went to Scetis* to see him. Some people reported the matter to the elder,* so he got up to flee* to the wadi,* but they [the governor’s party] 211 ran into him and said, “Tell us, old man, where’s Abba Moses’* cell? ” 212 and he said to them, “What do you want with him? He’s an imbecile.” So the governor entered the church and said to the clergy, “I’m hearing things about Abba Moses,* and I have come to see him— but look, an old man on his way to Egypt* ran into us. We said to him, ‘Where’s Abba Moses’* cell?’* and he said to us, ‘What do you want with him? He’s an imbecile.’ ” 213 The clergy were saddened at hearing this and said, “What sort of person was this old man who said these things against the holy* one? ” They said, “An old man, wearing really old clothing, tall and black.” The clergy said, “That was Abba Moses,* and, so he wouldn’t have to meet you,214 he said that to you.” Greatly benefited* by this, the governor went away.215

211. they: SysAP VIII.13, the governor. 212. old man: géron can mean “old man” or “(monastic) elder.” * The governor’s party doesn’t recognize him, so here and below I’ve used “old man” rather than “elder.” 213. He’s an imbecile: SysAP VIII.13, He’s an imbecile and a heretic.* 214. so he wouldn’t have to meet you: SysAP VIII.13, because he didn’t want to meet with you. 215. went away: with a nice touch, the saying ends with anachōréō; see Withdraw in the Glossary.

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9. [XVIII.18; 3:64] 216 Abba Moses* used to say this at Scetis:* “If we keep* the commandments* of our fathers I can guarantee you that, through God, the barbarians* won’t come here.217 But if we don’t keep* them, this place* will be laid waste.” 218 10. [XVIII.18; 3:64, 66] One time when the brothers were sitting with him, he said to them, “Look, the barbarians* are coming to Scetis*—today. Get up. Get out of here!” 219 They said to him, “And you, abba,* aren’t you going to flee? ” He said to them, “For my part, I’ve been waiting for this day for so many years so that the word* of Christ, [our] Lord and Master, might be fulfilled: Everyone who takes up the sword dies by the sword.” 220 They said to him, “We’re not fleeing* either, then. We’ll die with you.” He said to them, “Not my decision. Each person can remain where he’s sitting.” There were seven brothers, and he said to them, “Look, the barbarians* are at the gate,” and the barbarians* came in and massacred them. But one of the brothers221 fled* behind some cord and saw seven crowns descending and crowning them. 11. A brother asked Abba Moses,* “I see something before me, but I can’t get hold of it.” The elder* said to him, “Unless you become dead, like those in the grave, you can’t get hold of it.” 222 216. SysAP XVIII.18 is much longer; see Moses 10. 217. commandments, entolḗ: the same word used for the biblical commandments, thus signifying the authority of the fathers. 218. laid waste: the irony is that the monks* are in the desert* (érēmos), and their place, their monastic community, may be laid waste (erēmóō). 219. Get out of here, pheúgō: see Flee in the Glossary. 220. Matt 26:52. Dies, apothanéō: a variant reading, PG 65:285, n. 70, and SysAP XVIII.18 use apóllumi, which the NT has (NRSV: perishes). 221. one of the brothers: a variant, PG 65:285, n. 71, and SysAP XVIII.18, one of the brothers, afraid. 222. Unless you become dead: see Macarius of Egypt 23 and Moses 11, 14, and 18 (V). Jesus says to love your neighbor* as yourself (Mark 12:31). Caring

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12. [X.92; 2:72] Abba Poemen* said that a brother asked Abba Moses,* “How does a person die to his neighbor? ” * and the elder* said to him, “Unless a person doesn’t hold it in his heart* that he himself is already three days in the tomb,223 he can’t achieve what this saying* is counseling.” * 224 13. [VI.27; 1:334] They used to say about Moses* in Scetis* that when he was about to reach Petra,* he had gotten tired traveling and was saying to himself, “How can I [PG 65:288] get water for myself here? ” 225 A voice came to him saying, “Come inside [sic] and don’t worry about it,” so he went in. Some of the fathers visited him; he didn’t have anything except a small flask of water, and, while he was cooking a few lentils, the water got used up and the elder* was distressed. While he was going in and out, therefore, he was offering prayers* to God—and suddenly a torrent of rain came down on Petra* and filled all of his containers! 226 After this occurred they were saying to the elder,* “Tell us. Why were you going in and out? ” and the elder* said to them, “I was pleading my case with God: ‘You brought me here, and look—I don’t have any water to give to your servants!’ Because of this, I was going in and out, calling on* God until he sent [the rain] to us.”

for fellow monks, and others, is an important theme in the AlphAP; perhaps the saying here is not advocating splendid isolation but rather the contemplative quiet* and inward stillness* that allows one to be at peace and thus not bothered by others. 223. three days: a variant reading, PG 65:285, n. 73, and SysAP X.92, three years. Three days: see the prediction about the resurrection of Jesus on the third day: Matt 16:21; 17:23; 20:19, among others. 224. what this saying is counseling, lógos: for the sense, I’ve expanded the sentence. 225. “can” can’t really capture the Greek: dýnamai is cognate with dýnamis, “power,” * so Moses thinks he’s powerless. But God soon reveals divine power— and Moses has the power, through prayer,* to summon God’s strength. 226. and filled all of his containers: or “and he filled all of his containers.” Torrent: brochḗ can also indicate an inundation of the Nile (Montanari I:408a).

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14 [I].227 Abba Moses* said, “A person has to die to his companion or friend in order not to judge* him about anything.” 228 15 [II]. He also said, “A person has to mortify himself before departing from the body, killing everything that’s evil in order not to harm another person.” 229 16 [III]. He also said, “If a person doesn’t hold it in his heart* that he’s a sinner, God doesn’t listen to him.” The brother said, “What does this mean—‘hold in the heart* that he’s a sinner’? ” 230—and the elder* said, “If someone bears his [own] sins he doesn’t see his neighbor’s.” * 231 17 [IV]. He also said, “If a person’s practice* is not in harmony with his prayer,* he labors in vain.” 232 227. PG 65:288, n. 34, notes that two Greek manuscripts give a title to the next seven sayings, the shorter of which is “Seven Pieces [kephálaios] that Abba Moses* sent to Abba Poemen.” * Wortley, Word, 197–98, numbers through seven­ teen and adds a Roman numeral for each of the seven sayings. I’ve included these as well, but following the AlphAP, have continued the numbering. Kephálaios has a wide variety of meanings: “topic, subject,” “chapter,” “short paragraph” (Lampe 748ab(D)). It’s interesting to note that none of the seven is in SysAP, whereas of the previous thirteen all but one are in that collection. An unnamed “brother” often responds to what Moses says, and Moses explains himself to him. 228. A person has to die to: this is difficult to translate; “to” translates apó, “away, away from,” which usually notes separation (Lat. ab, with the ablative of separation). My understanding is that a person must die to his or her friend or companion’s actions and activities in order not to judge* the other person. See the next note. See Macarius of Egypt 23 and Moses 11. 229. mortify himself, killing: I’ve added “killing.” The phrase uses apó again, “mortify himself from.” I’ve drawn “killing” from “mortify” < Lat. mortus, “dead.” “Mortify” translates nekróō, cognate with nekrós, “dead” (English ­necrotic, necrology); see Macarius of Egypt 23, Moses 11 and 14. 230. hold in the heart: a variant reading, PG 65:288, hold in his heart. “The brother” probably refers either to a disciple or an interlocutor, or to “a brother,” a dramatic construct; see Moses 12. 231. See Matt 7:1-5 and John 7:53–8:11 (the NRSV notes at 8:11: “The most ancient authorities lack 7:53–8:11; other authorities add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations of text; some mark the passage as doubtful”). 232. See Ps 127:1, Unless the Lord builds the house, / those who build it labor in vain.

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The brother said, “What is ‘harmony’ between practice* and prayer?*” and the elder* said, “With regard to the things we pray* for—we no longer do them. When a person leaves behind what he wants, then God is reconciled with him and receives his prayer.” * 233 18 [IVb].234 A brother asked, “With all the hard work* a person does, what help does he get? ” and the elder* said, “It is God who helps. It’s written God is our refuge and strength, powerful help with the afflictions that find us.” 235 18 [V]. The brother said, “The fast* and night vigils* that a person does—what about them? ” The elder* said to him, “These cause the soul to be humbled.* It’s written, Consider my humility* and hard work* and forgive all my sins.236 If the soul brings forth all these fruits, God will have compassion* on the soul because of them.” 237 18 [VI]. The brother said to the elder,* “What does a person do concerning each temptation* that comes upon him? Or each thought* brought by the Enemy?*” 238 The elder* said to him, “He ought to weep in the presence of the goodness of God239 for God to help him, and he will quickly

233. receives: déchomai can also mean here “accepts,” even “welcomes” (CGL I:333b). 234. PG 65:288–89 gives 18 (ιη’) as the last numbered saying, and 18 includes all the rest of the Moses material. Wortley, Word, 197–98, separates the sayings (he doesn’t use “18”) as IVb–VII. For the sake of reference I’ll continue with his divisions of the sayings and Roman numerals. 235. Ps 45:1 (LXX, an exact quote), NRSV 46:1. refuge: for language-lovers, katapheugḗ is cognate with pheúgō, “flee,” and “refuge” derives from the cognate Lat. fugo/fugere, “to flee.” 236. Ps 25:18 (LXX 24:18). 237. This saying uses poiéō (English poet) three times: “does,” “cause,” “brings forth.” The next saying begins with poiḗsō < poiéō (“do”). 238. each thought brought by the Enemy: literally “each thought of the Enemy.” 239. The goodness that the Lord shows occurs in the HB (see 1 Kgs 8:66; 2 Chr 7:10; Jer 31:12) and often speaks of God’s “goodness” (Ps 68:10); Heb 6:5 speaks of the goodness of the word of God.

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find inward stillness* [PG 65:289] if he calls* on God knowledgably. It is written: The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear* anything that a person does to me.” 240 18 [VII]. A brother asked, “Consider this: A person is beating his slave because of a sin that the slave committed. What will the slave say? ” The elder* said, “If the slave is a good one he’ll say, ‘Have mercy* on me! I’ve sinned.’ ” The brother said to him, “Nothing else? That’s it? ” The elder* said, “No. Because from the moment he accepts blame and says ‘I’ve sinned,’ right away the master has compassion* for him.241 What we can conclude from all this is ‘Don’t judge* your neighbor.’* 242 When the hand of the Lord killed all the firstborn in Egypt,* there wasn’t a single house where someone hadn’t died.” 243 The brother said to him, “I don’t understand what you mean.” 244 The elder* said to him, “If we allowed ourselves to see our own sins, we definitely wouldn’t see our neighbor’s.* If a person has his own dead, it’s stupid for him to leave him and go off to weep for his neighbor’s.* 245 As regards your neighbor,* ‘to die’ means to bear your own sins and not worry about everybody else’s—is this neighbor* good, that one bad? 246 Don’t do evil to anyone or contemplate evil in your heart* against anyone.247 And don’t put down someone doing evil. Don’t be persuaded by someone wronging his neighbor* or rejoice with someone who’s doing evil to his

240. Ps 117:6 (LXX); Ps 118:6 (NRSV): With the Lord on my side I do not fear. / What can mortals do to me? 241. master: kýrios also means “lord,” so “his Lord has compassion for him.” 242. See Matt 7:1-5//Luke 6:37-38. 243. See Exod 12:29-30. 244. I don’t understand what you mean: literally “What is this word? ” That is, “What does this counsel* mean? ” 245. stupid, mōría: or “insane.” 246. bad, kakós: or “evil”; see the next sentence. 247. contemplate: logízomai, cognate with logismós, “thought(s).” *

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neighbor.* 248 Don’t speak ill of someone, but say, ‘God knows each person.’249 Don’t allow yourself to be persuaded by someone who’s slandering* [somebody else], or rejoice with someone while he slanders,* or hate someone who’s slandering* his neighbor.* The result here is that you won’t be judged.* 250 Don’t have hatred for any person, and don’t hold on to hatred in your heart.* Don’t hate someone who’s hostile towards his neighbor.* 251 This is peace. Take comfort* for yourself in this: for a little while there’s hard work and then for eternity rest, by the grace* of God the Word. Amen.” 252

Concerning Abba Matoës 253 1. [PG 65:289] [VII.16; 1:346] Abba Matoës used to say, “I want work* that’s without difficulty and lasts rather than [work] that’s onerous from the beginning and quickly abandoned.” 2. [XV.41; 2:314] He also said, “The closer a person gets to God the more he sees himself as a sinner. As an example, when Prophet Isaiah saw God254 he began to say about himself that he was wretched and unclean.” 255 248. “Don’t be persuaded by” uses peíthō in the middle-passive, so other ­ ossibilities are “Don’t be seduced,” “Don’t pay attention to,” and “Don’t give p credence to” (Montanari II:1601c(2)). Wronging: literally “doing evil [kakós].” 249. speak ill, katalalía: or “slander,” * as in the next sentence. 250. The result here is that you won’t be judged: a variant reading, PG 65:289, n. 81, has Do not judge* and you won’t be judged* (that is, Matt 7:1//Luke 6:37). 251. hostile, echthraínō: or “hate” (Montanari I:884c). Echthraínō is cognate with echthrós, “enemy,” and ho Echthrós, “the Enemy,” * Satan.* 252. hard work, kámatos: or “effort, fatigue, pain,” “weariness, exhaustion” (Montanari I:1028c). Rest, anápausis: see Inward stillness in the Glossary. God the Word: see John 1:1. 253. Greek Matóēs, pronounced mah-TOW-ees. The text uses both Matóē and Matóēs. 254. God: a variant, PG 65:289, n. 83, and SysAP XV.41, the Lord. Isa 6:5, my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts! 255. wretched [tálas] and unclean [akáthartos]: see Isa 6:5 (LXX), which uses the same words.

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3. He would also say, “When I was young, I used to say to myself, ‘Maybe someday I’ll do a good work,’* but now that I’ve gotten old I see that I don’t have a single good work* in me.” 256 4. [X.49; 2:44] He also said, “Satan* doesn’t know which passion* defeats the soul.257 He sows, but he doesn’t know whether or not he’ll reap.258 Some people he sows with sexual temptations,* and others with slanderous* thoughts.* So too with the rest of the passions:* if he sees a soul leaning towards some passion* or another, he heaps wood on the fire.” 259 5. [PG 65:292] A brother came to visit Abba Matoës and said to him, “How were the monks* of Scetis,* by loving* their enemies more than themselves, doing a better [job of fulfilling] Scripture? 260 Abba Matoës said to him, “As for me, until now I haven’t loved* the person who loves* me as much as I love* myself.” 6. A brother asked Abba Matoës, “What do I do if a brother visits me and I’m fasting* or if it’s early? I’m concerned about this.” 261 256. good work, érgon kalón: James emphasizes good works (2:14, 17-18); see 3:13: Show by your good [kalós] life that your works [érgon] are done with gentleness born of wisdom. 257. Satan doesn’t know which passion defeats the soul: the text uses the passive voice (“by which passion the soul is defeated”), which I’ve made active. Defeated, hēssáō/hēttáō in the passive can also mean “surrender, yield, be overcome, won over” (Montanari I:918c). 258. sows .  .  . reap: see Gal 6:7-9. 259. Heaps wood on the fire: this is a free translation of “he supplies [chorēgéō] it [the soul],” that is, “he supplies the passion to the soul.” A chorēgós was originally “head of the choir [chorós]” or “the underwriter of the expenses of the choir” (Montanari II:2368bc and 2369b). So Satan here is the chorēgós of the passions.* 260. Loving their enemies: see Matt 5:43, where Jesus says, You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor* and hate your enemy,” but the HB doesn’t say to hate your enemy. See Luke 6:27-28: But I say to you that listen, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.” 261. As a sign of hospitality a monk* will often fix a visitor something to eat; if the brother is fasting, he may not be able to do this. The regular time to eat was the ninth hour, about 3 p.m., so eating early would interfere with that practice.

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The elder* said to him, “If you have concerns262 but eat with the brother, you’re doing what’s right, but if you’re not expecting someone and eat [anyway], you’re following your own will.” 263 7. Abba James said, “I visited Abba Matoës and told him that after I had returned I wanted to visit Kellia,* 264 and he said to me, ‘Greet Abba John for me.’265 So I went to see Abba John, and I said to him, ‘Abba Matoës sends you his greetings,’ and the elder* said to me, ‘Yes, Abba Matoës! Truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’266 “When a year had passed, I went once again to visit Abba Matoës and told him about Abba John’s greeting, and the elder* said, ‘I don’t deserve what the elder* said, but this you should know: when you hear an elder* praising his neighbor* above himself, he’s attained great heights. This is perfection:* to praise your neighbor* more than yourself.’ ” 8. [V.6; 1:248] Abba Matoës used to say, “A brother came to me and told me that slander* is worse than sexual immorality.* I said, ‘That’s a difficult saying,’* so he said to me, ‘How do you understand the matter?’ I said, ‘On the one hand, slander* is bad, but there’s a quick cure267 for it, because the person who’s committed slander* often repents and says, “I’ve spoken badly,” but on the other hand, sexual immorality* is a death that becomes part of one’s nature.” ’ ” 268

262. If you have concerns: the text is “if you don’t have concerns,” but PG 65:292, n. 87, notes that other manuscripts lack the negative, which makes more sense. 263. you’re following your own will: that is, rather than God’s, or the monastic rule* or practice. 264. An Abba James has six sayings in this volume. 265. John of Kellia has two sayings in this volume. 266. John 1:47. 267. cure, therapeía: also “healing.” 268. death that becomes part of one’s nature, physikòs thánatós estin, a difficult phrase to translate. Physikós: “physical,” but also “natural, of nature,” and “belonging to one’s nature, essential.” In theological terms, physikós can mean

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9. [XV.42; 2:314] Abba Matoës went one time from Raïthou* into the district of Babylon.* 269 His brother was with him.270 The bishop* took the elder* and made him a priest.271 While they were [eating] together,272 the bishop* said, “Forgive me, abba,* I know you didn’t want this, but I dared to do it so I could receive your blessing.” The elder* spoke to him with humility:* “In my mind I had little wish for it,273 but what [troubles] 274 me now because of this is that I [now] have to separate from the brother who is with me—I can’t bear to do all the prayers* by myself.” 275 The bishop* said, “If you know he is worthy, I will ordain him too.” Abba Matoës said to him, “Whether he’s worthy or not I don’t know, but I do know this: he’s more virtuous* than I am,” so the bishop* ordained him too.276 The two of them went to their rest [PG 65:293] without ever approaching the altar to celebrate the Eucharist. The elder* used to say, “I have faith* in God that I probably don’t have much to judge* me about concerning the ordination, since I don’t celebrate the Eucharist. Ordination is for those who’re blameless.” 277

“natural, illegitimate,” and “fallen nature” (as opposed to God’s nature) (Lampe 1494a–95a, esp. 1494b (iii.2 and iii.3)). 269. Instead of the text’s Magdolȏn, I’ve followed a variant reading, of Babulȏnos, that is, of Babylon, modern Cairo (PG 65:292, n. 89). SysAP XV.42, Gebálȏn. 270. It’s not clear that this brother is a monk,* but presumably he is. 271. took, kratéō: or “seized.” 272. [eating]: I’ve adopted the variant reading of geusaménōn, “eating,” which a variant, PG 65:292, n. 90, and SysAP XV.42 have, rather than the text’s genoménōn, “being.” 273. “In my mind” uses logismós, “thought/thoughts.” 274. [troubles]: a variant reading, PG 65:292, n. 91, and SysAP XV.42 have thlíbomai, “afflict”; the text has kopiáō, “labor, toil.” 275. Apparently Matoës, now a priest, must say the prayers for the two of them. 276. more virtuous, kalós: or “more suitable” (Montanari I:1026b). 277. Literally “For those who are blameless is ordination.”

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10. Abba Matoës said, “Three elders* went to Abba Paphnutius* (called Kephalas) to ask him for counsel,* and the elder* said to him, “What do you want me to tell you, something about spiritual matters, or something about earthly matters? ” 278 They said to him, “Spiritual.” The elder* said to them, “Go on, then. Love* affliction* more than inward stillness,* dishonor more than honor,279 and giving more than receiving.” 280 11. [I.34; 1:120] 281 A brother asked Abba Matoës a question: “ Offer me some counsel.” * 282 He said to him, “Go, entreat* God to give you sorrow* in your heart,* and humility,* always focus on your [own] sins, and don’t judge* others but rather consider yourself beneath everyone.283 Do not be friends with a child, do not have a sexual relationship with a woman,* do not have a heretic* as a friend.284 Distance

278. something about spiritual matters .  .  . something about earthly matters: pneumatikós [< pneȗma, “spirit”] .  .  . sōmatikós [< sȏma, “body”]. See Lampe 1366a–67a, esp. 1366b. See physikós, n. 268. 279. dishonor, atimía: or “disgrace, infamy, ignominy” (Montanari I:331b); honor, dóxa: or “glory, renown” (Montanari I:548b). 280. See Acts 20:35: “In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” The gospels don’t attest this quotation, but see Luke 6:38. 281. See AnonAP 330; Wortley 215. 282. SysAP 1.34 lacks this sentence. 283. consider yourself: literally “be” or “become,” génou < gí(g)nomai. The NT doesn’t use “beneath” (hypokátō) figuratively. 284. Do not be friends with a child, do not have a sexual relationship with a woman, do not have a heretic as a friend: SysAP 1.34, Do not be friends with a child, nor with a woman, nor a heretic.* Sexual relationship: gnȏsis (“knowledge”), as in English “to know someone,” can mean “relationship,” so “be in relationship with a woman” is possible here. But in the Bible “to know” can be a euphemism for “to have intercourse” with someone. See Montanari I:437c and Lampe 320a(H)). On the monks’ wariness about having children around see Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 34–38.

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yourself from overeager speech.285 Get hold of your tongue and your belly,286 and [stay] away from even a little wine.* 287 If someone speaks to you about some matter or another, don’t argue with him. If what he says is good, say ‘Yes,’ but if it’s bad, say, ‘You know what you’re talking about,’ and don’t disagree with him about what he said. This, then, is humility.” * 288 12. [X.179; 2:130] A brother asked Abba Matoës a question: “Offer me some counsel,” * and he said to him, “Cut yourself off completely from quarreling.289 Weep and mourn: the time* is near.” 290 13. [XI.79; 2:182] A brother asked Abba Matoës a question: “What should I do? My tongue is troubling me: when I go and I’m among people,291 I can’t get it under control but instead condemn them for every good work* that they do and reproach them.292 What do I do? ” The elder* answered, saying, “If you can’t get yourself under control, go away, live by yourself.293 [What you’re doing] is a 285. overeager speech, parrēsía, “a use of speech that conceals nothing and passes over nothing, outspokenness, frankness, plainness; a state of boldness and confidence,” and “courage, confidence, boldness, fearlessness” (Bauer 781b(1 and 3)). But here, especially with “tongue” following, it’s negative: “license, [over-] confidence, impudence” (Montanari II:1590b). In Agathon 1 (Sayings 1:147 and n. 374), the abba offers a lengthy attack on parrēsía. tongue: see ­Matoës 13 below. 286. tongue and your belly: see Matt 12:36-37; Phil 3:19; Jas 3:1-12; 21:26. See Matoës 13. 287. even a little wine: SysAP 1.34, wine. 288. This, then, is humility: SysAP I.34, Then your thoughts will be at peace. 289. quarreling, philon(e)ikía: or “competition” (Montanari I:2282c). 290. he said to him, “Cut yourself off completely from quarreling. Weep and mourn: the time is near”: SysAP X.179, “Cut yourself off completely from quarreling, and you’ll be saved.” There a brother asks an “elder,” not Matoës. The time is near: see Matt 3:2; 26:45; Rom 13:12. 291. people: SysAP XI.79, brothers. 292. condemn, katakrínō: krínō is “to judge,” * diakrínō “to discern”; “discernment” * is diákrisis. 293. go away, pheúgō: or “flee.” * By yourself: katamónas has the root mon-, as in monachós, “monk.” * In other words, “Go, be a real monk.” “Alone” below translates the same word.

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weakness.294 The person who lives among brothers shouldn’t be a square [peg] but a round one so he can roll with everyone.” 295 The elder* added, “It’s not because I’m virtuous* that I live alone but because of weakness. The folks who go to be with people are the strong ones.” 296

Concerning Abba Mark, the Disciple of Abba Silvanus 297 1. [PG 65:293] They used to say about Abba Silvanus that he had a disciple in Scetis* by the name of Mark.298 He was very obedient* and was a scribe.299 The elder* loved* him for his obedience.* He had eleven other disciples, and it bothered* them that the elder* loved* Mark more than them. When the elders* heard this, it saddened* them, so they went to him one day and [PG 65:296] were reproaching him.300 He led them outside and knocked at each cell, saying, “Come, brother so-and-so, I need you,” and not one of them immediately followed him.301 When he came to 294. [What you’re doing] is a weakness: SysAP XI.79 lacks. 295. “The person who lives among brothers shouldn’t be a square [peg] but a round one so he can roll with everyone.” The elder added: “It’s not because I’m virtuous that I live alone but because of weakness. The folks who go to be with people are the strong ones”: SysAP XI.79, The person who lives among brothers shouldn’t be a square [peg] but a round one, and should be sober-minded in order to gain all others, and should keep a watch on his thoughts [literally “mind,” * noȗs] out of fear* of God. Gain, kerdaínō: see Bauer 541a, “gain someone for the Reign of God”; see Matt 18:15; 1 Cor 9:19-22. 296. The elder .  .  . strong ones: SysAP XI.79 lacks. Strong ones: dynatós, cognate with dýnamis, “power.” * 297. Greek Márkos, pronounced MAR-kōs. 298. Silvanus has twelve sayings in this volume. 299. scribe, kalligráphos: literally “beautiful writer”; kalligraphía is “beautiful writing,” hence calligraphy. 300. reproaching, enkaléō: or “blaming.” 301. followed, akolouthéō (English acolyte): Jesus’ disciples follow him (Matt 9:9; Mark 2:14, and others); in other words, Silvanus’s disciples are not true or real disciples.

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Mark’s cell, he knocked and said, “Mark,” and when Mark heard the elder’s* voice he immediately jumped up [and came outside], and the elder* sent him to do something [for him].302 Then he said to the elders,* “Where are the rest of the brothers, fathers? ” Going into Mark’s cell,* he examined his quaternion and found that he had started to write an omega but, when he heard the elder,* he didn’t move the pen further to complete the stroke.303 [After Abba Silvanus told the elders* this], they said, “It’s clear that you love* [him], abba.* We too love* him, and God loves* him.” 304 2. They used to say about Abba Silvanus that when he was walking around in Scetis* one time with the elders,* he wanted to show them his disciple Mark’s obedience* and why he loved* him. When he saw a small wild boar, he said to him, “Do you see that small antelope, son? ” 305 He said to him, “Yes, abba.” * “And its horns, how believable they are? ” He said, “Yes, abba.” * The elders* were amazed* by the disciple’s answer, and were edified by his obedience.* 302. do something [for him], diakonía: the base meaning of the word is “service, function,” and then “ministration” (diákonos: minister) and service to God (Lampe 351ab). The word doesn’t have special significance in the gospels, but by the time of Paul it indicates service to fellow Christians (2 Cor 8:4; 9:1; 1 Tim 1:12, and others). So just as above Silvanus’s disciples are not true or real disciples, Mark here is a true follower. 303. quaternion, Gk. tetrádion: four gathered sheets folded in two for binding together. “In medieval manuscripts, a gathering, or quire, was most often formed of four folded sheets of vellum or parchment, that is, 8 leaves, 16 sides. The term quaternion (or sometimes quaternum) designates such a unit” (Wikipedia, “Section [bookbinding],” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_(bookbinding)). 304. and God loves him: AlphAP 65:293, n. 97, “because God loves him,” which would give “God loves him, it’s clear that you love him, abba, and we too love him—because God loves him.” 305. antelope: the text has boubálion, which Montanari I:398a translates as “squirting cucumber.” Boúbalis is the African antelope, but perhaps boubálion is a diminutive of boúbalis.

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3. [XIV.12; 2:260] Once the mother of [this brother] Mark came down to see him,306 and she came with great pomp and circumstance.307 The elder* came outside to meet her, and she said to him, “Abba,* tell my son to come out so I can see him.” Going inside, the elder* said to him, “Come on out so your mother may see you.” The disciple was wearing patched-up clothes and was blackened with soot from the kitchen. In obedience* he came out; he shut his eyes and said to them, “May you be saved, may you be saved, may you be saved.” * 308 He didn’t look at them, and his mother didn’t recognize him. Once again, therefore, she sent for the elder,* saying, “Abba,* send me my son so I may see him,” and the elder* said to Mark, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Come on out so your mother may see you’? ” and Mark said to him, “I did come out, as you asked, but, please,309 don’t ask me again to come out again—so I don’t disobey you.” 310 So the elder* went out and said to her, “He did come out to meet you and said, ‘May you be saved.’ ” * He comforted* her and she left.311 4. Another time it happened that Abba Silvanus left Scetis* and went to Mount Sinai* and stayed there. Mark’s mother dispatched [a messenger], imploring him with tears that her son come out [of the monastery] so she could see him, and the elder* let him. When

306. [this brother] Mark: the text has “Abba Mark.” PG 65:296, n. 98, has a variant: brother Mark. SysAP XIV.12, “this brother Mark,” which is correct; Mark is a disciple, not an abba,* an elder.* 307. pomp and circumstance: the Greek is instructive. Phantasía < phaínō, “to show forth, appear” (English fantasy, phenomenon), first means “appearance, semblance,” then “image, apparition, vision,” “illusory appearance, illusion,” and then “glory, prestige, ostentation, pomp” (Montanari II:2254c). Thus, seeing here is not believing. 308. It’s not clear who “them” is, presumably Abba Silvanus and the disciple’s mother. But next the mother sends for the abba. 309. please, parakaléō: see Entreat in the Glossary. 310. as you asked: literally, “according to your word.” * disobey, parakoúō; the verb akoúō (English acoustics) means “hear, listen,” and also “listen to, obey.” 311. and she left: or “he dismissed her/sent her off.”

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Mark was putting on his sheepskin cloak in order to go outside [the monastery], he came to greet the elder*—and immediately began weeping and wouldn’t go outside. 5. [XVIII.20; 3:66] They used to say about Abba Silvanus that when he wanted to leave for Syria,* his disciple Mark said to him, “Father, I don’t want to leave here,312 and I won’t let you go either, abba.* Please, remain here for three days,” 313 and on the third day the elder* went to his rest.

Concerning Abba Milesius 314 1. [PG 65:297] [XIX.13; 3:146, 148] When Abba Milesius was passing through a certain place,* he saw a monk* seized by [some people] because he had committed murder.315 The elder* approached, questioned the brother, and, learning that the monk* had been falsely accused,* he said to those holding him, “Where is the person who was murdered? ” 316 and they showed him. So he approached the murdered person and told everyone to pray.* When he had stretched out his hands to God, the dead man got up,317 and the elder* said to him in front of everyone, “Tell us, who was it who murdered you? ” He said, “I went into the church and gave some money to the priest, but he got up and slaughtered me; then he took me outside 312. I don’t want to leave, thélō with a negative: or “I refuse to leave.” 313. for three days: a variant reading, PG 65:296, n. 3, and SysAP XVIII.20, for three days in peace.* 314. Other translators use “Miles.” Greek Milḗsios, pronounced Mee-LEEsee-ohs. 315. [some people]: the text has “someone” but then switches to the plural. SysAP XIX.13, some people. 316. falsely accused, sykophantéō, cognate with sykophántēs (English sycophant): “slanderer, informer.” So “slandered” * is a possible translation. 317. got up, anístēmi: or “arose.” The past tense here, anéstē, is close to the cognate anástasis, “resurrection (of the dead)”; see Acts 1:22; Rom 6:5; Phil 3:10, and others (Bauer 71b–72b). For the verb see John 6:39-40 (“raise up”) and others (Bauer 83ab). See below where the priest gets up.

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and tossed me in the abba’s monastery.* 318 I beg* you: let the money be recovered and given to my children!” Then the elder* said to him, “Go and sleep until the Lord comes and raises you.” 319 2. [VII.17; 1:346, 348] Another time, when he was living with two disciples in Persian* territory, two sons of the king, brothers by birth, came out to hunt, as was their custom. They set traps over a great distance, as much as forty miles, so that if anything was found in the traps, they could catch and kill it with spears. The elder* was discovered with his two disciples, and when the two sons saw that he was hairy, like a wild savage, they were shocked320 and said to him, “Are you human or spirit? Tell us,” 321 and he said to them, “I am human, a sinner, and I’ve come out here to weep for my sins. I worship Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.” 322 They said to him, “There is no god other than sun and fire and water” (which they worshiped). “So, then, come and sacrifice to them.” 323 318. slaughtered, spházō: I’ve chosen to retain the word here (Wortley, Word, 203: “strangled”) because of its biblical and—ironic!—priestly associations. The word means “slaughter” as early as Homer, Odyssey 1.92 (Montanari II:2063a). For the HB, see Gen 22:10 (Abraham and Isaac) and numerous times elsewhere, especially Leviticus (for example, Lev 1, where Aaron’s sons the priests slaughter a bull (Hatch and Redpath 1324b). For the NT, see Rev 5:6, 12; it occurs neither in the gospels nor in Paul’s writings (Bauer 979b). 319. raises: egeírō occurs often in the NT for raising the dead (Bauer 271b– 72c). SysAP XIX.13 concludes, “And immediately he went to sleep,” picking up the earlier “go to sleep.” 320. they were shocked: SysAP VII.17, and, fearful at the sight, they were seized with panic. 321. shocked: ekplḗssō, rather than the usual thaumázō, “be astonished, amazed.” * Ekplḗssō can mean “to shock, stun, astound, frighten” (Montanari I:642ab). 322. Son of the living God: Matt 16:16; the living God occurs often: Isa 37:4, 17; 1 Tim 3:15; 4:10. 323. Since Milesius is in Persia, the two are probably referring to Zoroastrian tenets.

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He said to them, “These things are things made, and you’re heading in the wrong direction.324 So, then, I urge* you to turn around and know the true God, who made all these things.” 325 They said,326 “The one who was condemned and crucified— you’re saying he’s a true god? ” 327 and the elder* said, “The one who crucified sin328 and condemned death to death—I’m saying that he is true God.” 329 After torturing him along with the brothers, the two were [trying to] force them to sacrifice.330 After inflicting numerous tortures, 324. heading in the wrong direction: planáō (English planet) in the middlepassive means “to wander, go wandering,” but also “err”; as a transitive verb it means “to make err, wander” (Montanari II:1673a (1 and 2)). 325. This sentence is redolent theologically: the difference between “things made,” ktísma, ktísis, and God who “makes,” ktízō, lies at the heart of the ArianNicene Christological dispute. In his effort, as he understood it, to preserve monotheism, Arius* argued that Christ was made, not begotten. His opponents accused him of calling Christ “a creature,” that is, a thing made, created. The Council of Nicaea in 325 declared Arius* a heretic* and, concerning Christ, stated that “we believe .  .  . in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made” (see Frances M. Young, From Nicaea to Chalcedon: A Guide to the Literature and its Background [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983]). 326. They said: SysAP VII.17, They laughed and said. 327. a true God: in the previous sentence Milesius says “the true God,” but the brothers’ follow-up question omits the direct article; “a true God,” “true God,” and an anarthrous “the true god” are all possible. In Contra Celsum 11.47, Celsus (according to Origen*) argues that punishment and divinity are incompatible: “Also, as though we maintained that we regard him as Son of God because he was punished, he says, What then, have not many others also been punished and that no less disgracefully? ” (The italicized words in the text indicate Origen’s quotations from Celsus’s work The True Doctrine.) See Origen: Contra Celsum 102 (an older translation is available here: New Advent, https://www.newadvent .org/fathers/0416.htm). 328. The one who crucified sin: see 1 Cor 15:3. 329. condemned death to death, apokteínō: or, “killed death” (Montanari I:255b). Paul discusses this especially in Romans; see Rom 6:9-10. 330. Forced sacrifice, especially to the emperor, was common during the Roman persecution of Christians; thus, by not sacrificing, the three make them-

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the two men beheaded the two brothers. The elder* they tortured many days; afterwards, using [hunting] techniques, they stood him between them and shot arrows [at him], one in front of the elder and the other behind him.331 He said to them, “Since you’re in agreement, and are spilling innocent blood, this time tomorrow, at this very hour, in one stroke may your mother be childless, without you; may she be deprived of your love,* and, with your own arrows, you’re going to spill each other’s blood.” Contemptuous of what he had said,332 they went hunting the next day. When a deer escaped them, they mounted their horses, ran it down, and captured it. Shooting arrows at the deer, they pierced each other’s hearts,* and, in accordance with what the elder* had said to them, cursing them, they died.

Concerning Abba Motios 333 1. [PG 65:300] [VIII.14; 1:410] 334 A brother asked Abba ­Motios, “If I go and live in a monastic community,* how do you want me to conduct myself there? ” 335

selves martyrs,* witnesses, and the two monks* become blood martyrs.* See W. H. C. Frend: Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church, repr. (London: James Clarke & Co, 2008). 331. techniques (sing. in Gk.): there could well be a play on words here. Téchnē can mean “way, manner, means, technique, ability, capacity,” but also “stratagem, scheme, ruse, trick, deceit” (Montanari II:2109b(c)). 332. “said,” here and below, translates rȇma; see Counsel in the Glossary. 333. Greek Mótios, pronounced MŌ-tee-ōs. 334. SysAP VIII.14 has only the first part of Motios 1, and the saying is ­attributed to Matoës, who has thirteen sayings in this volume. Motios occurs nowhere else in the AlphAP or SysAP. 335. conduct myself, diágō: the cognate n., diagōgḗ, can mean “way of life” and the way of life of a monk.* Justin (2nd cent.), First Apology 8.2, uses it of Christians (Lampe 346a(2)).

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The elder* said to him, “If you live in a monastic community,* don’t be wanting to make a name for yourself—about anything: 336 ‘I don’t leave [my cell* even] for the synaxis,’* or ‘I don’t eat at the agápē meal.’* Doing such things creates a reputation that’s hollow, and later you’ll find yourself in trouble.337 Look, where people find such things, that’s where they go running.” 338 So the brother said to him, “So what do I do? ” The elder* said, “Wherever you’re staying, follow* what every­ one else is doing, and if you see people doing what’s devout and good, and you have confidence in them, do [what they’re doing], and you’ll find inward stillness.” * This is humility:* when your way of life* matches theirs. So when people see that you’re [not] being aloof,339 they’ll hold you as an equal with everyone else, and no one will bother you.” 340 2. The disciple of Abba Motios, Abba Isaac (both became bishops*), recounted* that the elder* built a cell* first in Hēraklȃn,341 and, after he withdrew* from there, he went elsewhere, and there he again built [a cell*]. By the agency of the Devil,* 342 there was a certain brother who was hostile to him and tormented* him, so the elder* got up and withdrew* to his own village and built for himself a cell* and shut himself up in it.343 336. about anything: SysAP VIII.14 lacks. 337. reputation: ónoma (English onomastics), “name,” as earlier. 338. I’m not sure what this sentence means. SysAP VIII.14 ends here. 339. [not] being aloof: a variant, PG 65:300, n. 6, not being aloof. 340. being aloof: literally, “not separating yourself.” 341. Hēraklȃn, Lat. transcription Heraclam. Possibly Heracleopolis; see ODLA 1:709ab. 342. agency: enérgeia (English energy), “activity, operation,” is an important monastic and patristic term, one to which Lampe devotes more than five columns (470b–73a); it often refers to divine agency or operation (470b(B)–72b). Enérgeia is cognate with érgon, “work,” * an important monastic word and, thus, ironic here. Hostile, ekthraínō < echthrós, “enemy”; Satan is sometimes “the Enemy” * 343. Cell: monastḗrion can mean “cell” or “monastery”; in pl., monastḗria, “cells” = “monastery” (Lampe 878ab); the hateful brother seems to be part of a monastic community.

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Sometime later, the elders* of the monastic community* that he had left came, and, bringing the brother who had caused him sorrow and suffering, they went to plead* with Abba Motios to let them take him back to his cell.* 344 When they approached where Abba Sṓrēs was, they left their sheepskin cloaks near him and the brother who had caused the sorrow. [They proceeded to Abba Motios’s cell.*] When they knocked, the elder* [Abba ­Motios] set up a ladder, [climbed up,] leaned over to observe them, and, recognizing them, said, “Where are your sheepskin cloaks? ” They said, “See, here they are, with the brother.” When he heard the name of the brother who had caused him sorrow, with joy the elder* took an axe, destroyed the door, and went outside running to where the brother was. First, he prostrated* himself, and then he greeted him and brought him into his cell.* For three days Abba Motios brought them cheer (and himself, too, which was something he didn’t ordinarily do). Then he got up and went with them. Afterwards, because he was a wonder­ worker,* he became a bishop.* 345 As for his disciple, Abba Isaac, blessed Cyril* made him a bishop.*

Concerning Abba Megethius 346 1. [PG 65:300] They used to say about Abba Megethius that he would leave his cell,* and, if the thought* came to him to leave the community, he would withdraw from the place* and wouldn’t return to his cell.* 347 Nor did he ever have any of the material possessions* of this present age* except for a single needle that 344. cell: monḗ can mean either “cell” or “monastery,” or simply “dwelling.” 345. wonderworker: see Wonders in the Glossary. A sēmeiophóros is a wonder­ worker; another term is thaumatoúrgos, applied to Macarius of Egypt (see Macarius of Egypt 8). 346. Greek Megéthios, pronounced Mĕ-GĔ-thē-ōs. Saying 2 speaks of a “­second Megethius.” 347. leave: anachōréō; see Withdraw in the Glossary.

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he would split palm fronds with.348 Each day he would make three small baskets [to earn] his food.349 2. [PG 65:301] [XIV.10; 2:258] 350 They used to say about the second Abba Megethius that he was extremely humble,* instructed by Egyptians, and met with a number of elders,* including Abba Sisoës* and Abba Poemen.* 351 He was staying by the river in Sinai.* It happened that one of the holy* ones visited him (as he himself related*), and he said to Abba Megethius, “How do you live your life here, brother, in this desert? ” * 352 He said, “I fast* every other day, and I eat one loaf of bread.” Then he said to me [sic], “If you’re willing to listen to me, eat half a loaf every day.” 353 He did this and found inward stillness.* [SysAP XIV.10 They used to say about Abba Megethius that he would eat one loaf of bread every other day. Happening upon Abba Sisoës* and Abba Poemen,* he was asking them about this [practice] and they said to him, “Child, if you’ll follow what we say,354 eat half a loaf of bread every day.” Doing as they said, he found inward stillness.*] 3. Some of the fathers asked Abba Megethius: “If there are some cooked vegetables left over to the next day, do you want the brothers to eat it? ”

348. this present age: in the NT aiṓn can indicate the age to come (Matt 12:32), but often it’s negative, “the present age nearing its end” (Matt 13:22: the cares of the world [aiṓn] and the lure of wealth choke the word) (Bauer 32b(2ab)). 349. make, ergázomai, cognate with érgon, “work.” * 350. Because this saying isn’t particularly clear and SysAP XIV.10 is quite different, I’ve added a translation of SysAP XIV.10 below the saying. 351. instructed: mathēteúō, cognate with mathētḗs, “student, disciple,” both cognate with manthánō, “to learn” (English mathematics). 352. live your life here: diágō can mean “exist”; thus, “How do you exist in this desert? ” 353. me: that is, “one of the holy ones” mentioned earlier. “Listen,” akoúō: or “obey.” 354. if you’ll follow what we say: literally “if you want to listen to/obey us.”

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The elder* said to them, “If it’s spoiled, it’s not good for the brothers to be obligated to eat it and get sick. No, throw it out. But if it’s still good and someone arrogantly tosses it out and makes some more, this is bad.355 4. [X.165; 2:120] He also said, “In the beginning, when we would gather together with each other and speak to one another, instructing each other in what was beneficial, we became choirs— choirs [of angels]!—and we were going up into heaven. But now—now—we gather together and we come, each one of us, to slander* the other, and we bring each other down.” 356

Concerning Abba Mios 357 1. [PG 65:301] [XIV.9; 2:258] 358 Abba Mios of Beleos said, “Obedience* responds to obedience.* If someone hearkens to God, God hearkens to him.” 359 2. [XV.47; 2:318, 320] He also said about a certain elder* that he was in Scetis* and had come out of slavery.360 He had extraordinary powers of discernment.* 361 Each year he’d go to Alexandria,* taking his wages [to give] to his masters. When they’d meet him, they’d prostrate* themselves before him. The elder* had put water

355. “Cooked vegetables” translates hépsēma, and “makes” (cooks) translates the cognate hépsō. In Greek, “good,” kalós, and “bad,” kakós, rhyme. 356. “Going up” translates anérchomai and “come” érchomai. “We gather” translates synágō in the middle-passive voice, while “we bring each other down” translates katágō in the active voice. 357. Greek Miṓs, pronounced me-ŌS. 358. SysAP XIV.9 attributes this saying to Abba Moses.* 359. Beleos may be Bēlou in the Fayyum.* Hearkens to, hypakoúō: or “give ear to, listen to” (Montanari II:2185c); See Obedience in the Glossary. 360. a certain elder: SysAP XV.47 names him: Olympius; an Olympius has two sayings in this volume. 361. SysAP XV.47 lacks this sentence.

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in a bowl and brought it in order to wash his masters[’ feet,] 362 but they’d say to him, “No, father, do not weigh down our hearts.” * 363 He would say to them, “I’m acknowledging that I’m your slave, and I’m giving thanks that you gave me my freedom in order to be a slave to God.364 For my part, I wash you, and you accept my wages.” They would argue against receiving [his wages], so he would say to them, “If you refuse to take them, I’m going to remain here, serving you as a slave.” Alarmed at what he was saying,365 they would let him do as he wished. They’d send him off with numerous goods and in great honor* so he could do acts of love* on their behalf. Because of this, he became renowned in Scetis,* and beloved.366 3. [X.176; 2:126, 128] Abba Mios was asked by a soldier whether God in fact accepted repentance.* After he had instructed him at length,367 he said to him, [PG 65:304] “Tell me, beloved, if your mantle is torn, do you throw it away? ” “No,” he said, “I sew it up and use it.” 362. his masters[’ feet]: a variant in PG 65:301, n. 10, and SysAP XV.47; PG 65 reads “his masters.” See John 13:1-11. 363. weigh down our hearts, baréō: I’ve followed the NRSV at Luke 21:34, Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life. 364. to be a slave to God: or “to serve,” douleúō, cognate with doȗlos, “servant, slave”; see 1 Thess 1:9; Rev 15:3. Bauer notes, 259b(2β)): be subject “to transcendent beings, especially in expressions relating to God or Jesus Christ as recipients of undivided allegiance.” On 260b he supplies the verses for “the metaphor of slavery in Pauline Christianity.” 365. alarmed, phobéomai (see Fear in the Glossary): a variant, PG 65:301, n. 12, and SysAP XV.47, eulabéomai, “respect, honor” (Montanari I:852(b)), so “honoring what he said.” 366. and beloved: PG 65:301, n. 15, notes that other manuscripts lack these two words; SysAP XV.47 also lacks them, so they could well be words that a scribe tacked on. 367. instructed: katēchḗō can also mean “instruct, catechize, instruct catechumens” (Lampe 732b(A4)).

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The elder* said to him, “So, then, if you care for your clothing, won’t God care for his own creation? ” 368

Concerning Abba Mark the Egyptian 369 1. [PG 65:304] [IX.6; 1:428, 430] They used to say about Abba Mark the Egyptian that he remained in his cell* for thirty years without coming out. It was the custom of the priest to come and celebrate the Holy Eucharist with him, but the Devil,* when he saw the man’s virtuous patient endurance,* decided on an evil act: he would tempt* the monk* so he’d be condemned.370 He procured someone possessed by an evil spirit to go to the elder* with the pretext of [seeking] prayer.* 371 [When he approached the elder,*] before anything was said372 the one possessed called out to the elder,* “Your priest has the stench of sin! 373 Don’t let him come see you anymore!” The God-inspired man374 said to him, “Child, everyone casts away uncleanness, but you’ve brought it here to me.375 You see, it 368. won’t God care for his own creation?: SysAP X.176, won’t God care even more for his own creation? Filled with hope, he with joy withdrew* to his own [people]. 369. Greek Márkos, pronounced MAR-kōs. 370. so he’d be condemned: SysAP IX.6 lacks. 371. possessed by an evil spirit (pneȗma): Lampe 1104a cites only two examples of the verb pneumatiáō, one of them this saying. Pneúmata, “spirits,” can be evil: “dwell in the soul and war against it,” “cause disease and madness,” “incite to sin” (1104a(XI)). Bauer 833b(4c) gives over thirty NT references for “evil spirit”; see Matt 12:43. 372. The words “said” and “saying” below render lógos; see Counsel in the Glossary. 373. There may be a play on words here: “it was the custom” uses échō, “to have,” but here the priest “has [échō] the stench of sin.” 374. The God-inspired man theópneustos (theós + pneȗma): SysAP IX.7, Abba Mark. See Lampe 630ab. 375. Child, everyone casts away uncleanness, but you’ve brought it here to me: SysAP IX.6 lacks. The word play continues: earlier, the man is “possessed

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is written: Do not judge,* so that you may not be judged.376 Nevertheless, even if he is a sinner, the Lord will save* him.377 You see, it is written: pray* for one another, so that you may be healed.” He followed what he’d been saying with a prayer,* expelled the demon* from the person, and sent him away in good health and whole.378 When the priest came, according to custom, the elder* joyfully welcomed him. When the good God saw the elder’s innocence,379 he gave him a sign.* When the priest was about to take his position before the Holy Table—as the elder* recounted* it, “I saw an angel of the Lord coming down from heaven; 380 he placed his hand on the priest’s head, and the priest became like a pillar of fire.381 Amazed* at the vision, I heard a voice saying to me ‘Human, why are you astonished* at what’s happened here? If an earthly emperor will in no way allow his courtiers to stand before him dirty and foul-looking, even though they have great renown and honor, how much more will the Divine Power* purify the clergy who celebrate the Holy Mysteries as they stand before the Heavenly Glory?’ ” 382

by an evil spirit (pneȗma)”; here, “God-inspired” translates theópneustos < pneȗma. Casts away, éxō bállō: 1 John 4:18, perfect love casts out fear. 376. Matt 7:1//Luke 6:37. “Condemned” earlier translates katákrisis; “judge” * and “be judged” translate the cognate verb krínō. “Discernment,” * diákrisis, to judge through, reflect on a matter, is an important monastic concept and practice. 377. save, sṓzō: SysAP IX.6, sunchōreō, “forgive.” The Lord will save him. It is written: pray for one another, so that you may be healed: SysAP IX.6, the Lord will save him, for I’m a greater sinner than he is. See Jas 5:16. 378. expelled: phygadeúō can also mean “to banish.” 379. innocence, akakía < kakós: “bad, evil”: or “lack of evil.” 380. an angel of the Lord coming down from heaven: SysAP IX.6, an angel coming down from heaven. 381. pillar of fire: see Exod 13–14. 382. how much more will the Divine Power purify: the text has “how much more will the Divine Power not purify.” PG 65:304, n. 18, notes that another manuscript lacks “not” (ou), as does SysAP IX.6.

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Because he didn’t condemn the priest,383 Mark the Egyptian, the noble and generous athlete of Christ who became great,384 was deemed worthy of this spiritual gift.385

Concerning Abba Macarius of Alexandria* 386 1. [PG 65:304] Abba Macarius* of Alexandria* went one time to cut palm fronds, his brothers with him. They said to him the first day, “Come, eat with us, father,” and he went and ate. Once again the next day they asked him to eat, but he refused, saying to them rather, “You all need to eat, children, because you’re still flesh, but I don’t want to eat now.” 387

383. condemn, katakrínō: earlier “judge” * translates krínō. 384. Noble and generous: gennaȋos, Bauer notes, “generally pertains to meeting standards of ancestral prestige,” “of characteristics associated with high-born persons, noble, illustrious.” Fourth Maccabees applies it to martyrs* or witnesses (both mártys in Greek); the Martyrdom of Polycarp 2.2 has “the most noble witnesses [or martyrs*] of Christ” (New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers /0102.htm). 385. Because he didn’t condemn the priest, Mark the Egyptian, the noble and generous athlete of Christ who became great, was deemed worthy of this spiritual gift: SysAP IX.6, Blessed Mark was considered worthy of this spiritual gift ­because he didn’t pass judgment* on the member of the clergy. Spiritual gift, chárisma < cháris, “gift, grace.” * See 1 Cor 12:1-11 for Paul’s discussion of spiritual gifts. 386. Greek Makários, pronounced mah-KAH-ree-ohs. The title has “Concerning Abba Macarius the Citizen.” Since his name is usually “Macarius of Alexandria,” I will use this. It distinguishes him from Macarius of Egypt. 387. The phrases “he refused” and “I don’t want” both translate thélō with a negative (ou).

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2. [X.46; 2:42] Abba Macarius* visited Abba Pachomius* of the Tabennesiotes,388 and Abba Pachomius* asked, “When brothers are acting ill-disciplined, is it good to correct them? ” 389 Abba Macarius* said to him, [PG 65:305] “Correct them, and those who are under you, in an appropriate manner—but those outside [the community], don’t judge* them.390 It is written: Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? God will judge* those outside.” 391 3. One time Abba Macarius* devoted four months to visiting a brother every day, and he didn’t find him [neglecting] his prayers,* not once.392 Marveling* at this, he used to say, “Look here! An angel on earth!”

388. Tabennesiotes: that is, of Tabennese, an abandoned village in Upper (southern) Egypt where Pachomius* went “to pursue his ascetic life” (Armand Veilleux, “Pachomius, Saint,” CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection /cce/id/1497/rec/2; CE 1859a–64b); see Pachomius in the Glossary. 389. correct: paideúō (< paȋs, “child,” English pedagogy) can mean “instruct,” “correct, emend,” and “punish, castigate,” all possible here (Montanari II:1519a(1)). Bauer 749a(2) also has “to assist in the development of a person’s ability to make appropriate choices, practice discipline” (2 Tim 2:25, correcting opponents with gentleness), and “discipline with punishment, mostly of divine discipline” (1 Cor 11:32, disciplined by the Lord). 390. appropriate manner: krȋnon dikaíōs; krȋnon is cognate with the verb krínō, “to judge.” * 391. 1 Cor 5:12. 392. [neglecting]: PG 65:305, n. 19, says another text has ameléō, “to neglect”; the text has eukairéō, “to have free time or opportunity,” which doesn’t fit with the two negatives.

Chapter 13 1

N / Nȗ  / N Concerning Abba Neilos 2 1.3 [PG 65:305] Abba Neilos said, “Whatever you do to retaliate against a brother who has wronged you, all of it will become [an obstacle] for you at the time* of prayer.” * 4 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Neȋlos, pronounced NEE-lōs. The sayings here attributed to Neilos come from Evagrius,* Chapters on Prayer; see Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos, 43–80. The Chapters contain the famous statement “If you are a theologian you pray truly. If you truly pray you are a theologian” (60, p. 65). Nilus the Elder of Sinai (also known as Neilos, Nilus of Sinai, Nilus of Ancyra), 4th–5th cent., was a disciple and defender of John Chrysostom and a prolific author. Since the sayings here are by Evagrius, it’s not clear whether the Neilos here is the famous monastic. On that Neilos see, in Greek, Nikólaos Karýdēs, ΤΑ ΠΑΘΗ ΚΑΙ ΟΙ ΑΡΕΤΕΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΗ ∆Ι∆ΑΣΚΑΛΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΟΣΙΟΥ ΝΕΙΛΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΣΚΗΤΗ (ΑΓΚΥΡΑΣ) (ΑΘΗΝΑ/Athens: ΜΕΤΑΠΤΥΧΙΑΚΗ ∆ΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΙΚΗ ΕΡΓΑΣΙΑ, 2019). My thanks to John Chryssavgis for this reference. The damnatio memoriae of Evagrius (along with that of Origen) led to the loss of many of their works, perhaps the most serious mistake, even tragedy, of the early Church. As the ODCC says, “Recent studies show that [Evagrius] occupies a central place in the history of Christian spirituality,” and yet, “[f]rom 553 onwards he was condemned several times for Origenistic* views” (578ab; 578a). 3. Evagrius, Chapters 13, p. 57. Page numbers in the notes here refer to Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos & Chapters on Prayers, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 3 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981). 4. retaliate against: the n. ámuna can also translate as “seek revenge on.” Obstacle: I’ve followed the alternate reading at PG 65:305, n. 20; the text has kardía, 177

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2.5 He also said, “Prayer* is the offspring of gentleness and freedom from anger.” * 3.6 He also said, “Prayer* is the remedy for anguish and despondency.” 7 4.8 He also said, “Go, sell your possessions* and give [the money] to the poor,9 and take up your cross10 in order to deny yourself so you can pray* without distraction.” 11 5.12 He also said, “Whatever you patiently endure* for love of wisdom,* you’ll find its fruit at the time* of prayer.” * 13 6.14 He also said, “If you desire to pray* as you should, don’t cause your soul grief; otherwise, you’re running in vain.” 15 7.16 He also said, “Don’t wish for what seems [best] to you but for how God wishes things to be for you, and you’ll be untroubled and thankful in your prayer.” * “heart,” thus giving “all of it will be in [your] heart for you,” which is also good. Obstacle, skándalon (English scandal): see Matt 18:7, Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks [skándalon]! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes! See Scandalize in the Glossary. 5. Perhaps Evagrius, Chapters 14, p. 57. 6. Evagrius, Chapters 6, p. 58. 7. The word order in Neilos 2 and 3 in Greek is nice: it saves the “answer” to the end of the sentence. Neilos 2: “Prayer* is of gentleness and freedom from anger the offspring.” Neilos 3: “Prayer is for anguish and despondency the ­remedy.” 8. Evagrius, Chapters 17, p. 58. 9. Matt 19:21//Luke 18:22. The reference here follows Luke; Matt prefaces the statement with If you want to be perfect.* 10. Matt 16:24//Luke 9:23. 11. Here again, word order: “so without distraction you can pray.” 12. Evagrius, Chapters 19, p. 58. 13. love of wisdom, philosophéō, cognate with philosophía: see Philosophy in the Glossary. 14. Evagrius, Chapters 20, p. 58. 15. See Gal 2:2. 16. This is a shortened version of Evagrius, Chapters 31, p. 60; see also Chapters 32, p. 60.

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8.17 He also said, “That monk* is blessed who considers himself every kind of trash.” 18 9.19 He also said, “The monk who loves contemplative quiet* remains continually unharmed by the Enemy’s* javelins, but the person who associates with all kinds of people gets wounded constantly.” 20 10.21 He also said, “Let the slave who neglects doing what his master tells him to do prepare himself to be whipped.” 22

Concerning Abba Nestheros (the Great)* 23 1. [PG 65:305] [VIII.15; 1:410] Abba Nestheros the Great was walking in the desert* with a brother, and when they saw a snake,* they ran from it. The brother said to him, “Are you afraid,* too, father? ” and the elder* said to him, “I’m not afraid,* child, but it

17. Evagrius, Chapters 121, p. 75. 18. See 1 Cor 4:13; the saying and Phil 3:8 use the same word for “trash” (NRSV: “rubbish”). Considers: logízomai, cognate with logismós, “thought/ thoughts.” * 19. I wasn’t able to find a parallel in the Chapters for this saying. 20. remains continually, diaménō: see Gal 2:5, we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you, and Luke 22:28, You are those who have stood by me in my trials. Associate with, sunanam(e)ígnumi: see 1 Cor 5:9; 5:11; 2 Thess 3:14, all of which are negative. 21. I wasn’t able to find a parallel in the Chapters for this saying. 22. master, kýrios: so, also “lord,” or “Lord.” “Slave,” doȗlos, can be “servant.” “What his master tells him to do” uses érgon, “work.” * 23. Greek Nestherós, pronounced Nĕ-sthĕ-RŌS; PG 65 has Nisterȏos, pronounced nee-stair-Ō-ōs. The name has a number of spellings; Guy, SysAP 3.246 column 2, lists three different monks by the name of Nestherós and one Nēstherȏs, whose first syllable at this time had the same sound as in Nisterȏos. Wortley, Word, uses Nisteros; because Nestheros is most common in the SysAP, I’ve ­adopted that spelling there.

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was beneficial* for me to run* away since I wouldn’t have been able to get away from the spirit of arrogance and false pride.” 24 2. [I.18; 1:112, 114] A brother asked an elder,* “What’s an occupation that’s good and worthwhile that I could do and spend my life doing? ” and the elder* said, “God knows what’s good, but [PG 65:308] I heard that one of the fathers asked Abba Nestheros the Great, the friend of Abba Antony,* ‘What sort of work* can I do that’s good?’25 and he said to him, ‘Isn’t every kind of work* equally good? Scripture says that Abraham was someone who welcomed strangers,* and God was with him; 26 Elijah loved* contemplative quiet,* and God was with him; 27 David was humble,* and God was with him.28 So, then, whatever you see your soul wanting to do for God, do that, and [put a watch on]* your heart.’ ” 29 3. Abba Joseph said to Abba Nestheros, “What do I do about my tongue? I can’t get it under control”; 30 and the elder* said to him, “So, if you speak do you have inward stillness?*” He said to him, “No.” The elder* said, “If you don’t have inward stillness,* why are you talking? Better to keep quiet, and if conversation is taking place, listen attentively rather than talking.”

24. get away, ekpheúgō: “ran” and “run” earlier translate pheúgō, “to flee.” * 25. Nestheros is not in the Life of Antony or AlphAP Antony. 26. See Gen 18:1-8; Jas 2:23. 27. Hēsychía occurs only seven times in the LXX, with the sense of “quiet,” not the monastic sense “contemplative quiet,” * and none of the seven occurrences involves Elijah. 28. See 1 Chron 17:16-19. See Luke 14:11: For all who exalt themselves will be humbled,* and those who humble* themselves will be exalted. 29. [put a watch on]: the editor of this saying in PG 65 has put phylássō in brackets; see Protect in the Glossary. SysAP I.18 has tēréō, with essentially the same meaning: “safeguard” here. 30. tongue: see Jas 3:1-12.

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4. A brother saw Abba Nestheros wearing two kolobia* and asked him, “If a poor* person comes and asks you for clothing, which do you give him? ” 31 and he responded, saying, “The one that’s better,” so the brother said, “And if another person asks you, what will you provide that person with? ” and the elder* said, “Half of the one I still have,” so the brother said, “And if yet another person asks you, what will you give him? ” Abba Nestheros said, “I cut what’s left and give him half, and with the rest I cover myself as necessary,” 32 so the brother spoke again: “And if someone wants what’s left from you, what do you do? ” The elder* said, “I provide him with what’s left; then I go and stay someplace until God sends [for me] and covers me. I don’t look for it from anyone else.” 33 5. [XI.91; 2:186] Abba Nestheros34 said, “Monks* both in the evening and early in the morning ought to make an accounting: ‘Of the things that God wishes, what have we done?’ And ‘Of the things that God does not wish, what have we done?’ This way they can investigate themselves their whole lives. This is the way Abba Arsenius* lived his life.35 Make every effort each day to stand before God without sin. Pray* to God as though he were right beside you.36 You see, he really is beside you. Don’t lay down laws for yourself. Don’t judge* anyone. 31. asked: eperōtáō instead of the usual simplex erōtáō; eperōtáō can have the stronger meaning “demand” (Montanari I:750a), so “demanded of him.” 32. I cover myself as necessary: zṓnnumi means “to gird oneself,” as in girding the loins (Exod 12:11; 2 Kgs 4:29; Job 38:3, and others). 33. someplace: literally “in one place,” * but tópos can indicate a monastic community. 34. Abba Nestheros: SysAP XI.91, an elder.* 35. Arsenius: see Sayings 1:119–46. 36. right beside you, páreimi: or “present.” Par-, from pará literally means “beside,” as in Paráklētos, the Paraclete, “one called to stand beside” to support, comfort, defend, NRSV “Advocate.” See John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7; 1 John 2:1-6.

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“It’s foreign37 to the monk* to swear,38 to break an oath,39 to lie,40 to curse,41 to be arrogant,42 to laugh.43 The person honored or praised more than he deserves is being severely punished.” 44 [SysAP XI.91 (2:186) An elder* said, “A monk* both in the evening and early in the morning ought to make an accounting for himself: ‘Of the things that God does not wish, what have I done?’ And ‘Of the things that God wishes, what have I done?’ This way the monk* investigates himself in order to repent. The monk* needs to do this just as Abba Arsenius* lived his life.”]

Concerning Abba Nestheros the Cenobite* 45 1. [PG 65:308] [I.19; 1:114] Abba Poemen* used to say about Abba Nestheros that just as with the bronze serpent that Moses made for the healing* of the people,46 so too was the elder:* he possessed every virtue* and, maintaining silence,* would heal.* 37. foreign: allótrios can have stronger meanings: “alien, hostile, enemy”; in medicine, “abnormal”; in ecclesiology, “excommunicated” (Montanari I:95b(B-C)). 38. See Jas 5:12. 39. See Deut 23:23; Num 30:2. 40. See Lev 19:11; Prov 6:16-19; Col 3:9-10; in John 8:44 the Devil “is a liar and the father of lies.” 41. See Lev 20:9; Ps 62:4; Rom 12:14; Jas 3:10. 42. See 1 Sam 2:3; Ps 10:2; Prov 8:13; Jas 4:16. To be arrogant: (h)ubrízō (English hubris) cognate with (h)úbris has a variety of meanings: “behave arro­ gantly or insolently,” “be self-indulgent,” “be rebellious (against one’s superiors)”; “inflict insult, dishonor someone”; “behave violently or outrageously”; “abuse, mistreat” (CGL II:1405ab). 43. See Luke 6:25. 44. SysAP XI.91 is significantly different, so I’ve supplied a translation of it below this saying. See AnonAP 264 (Wortley 180). 45. Nestheros: see n. 23 above. 46. just as with the bronze serpent that Moses made for the healing of the people: SysAP I.19, just as with the bronze serpent in the wilderness,* if one of the people looked at it, that person was healed.

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2. [XV.46; 2:319] 47 Asked by [PG 65:309] Abba Poemen* how he acquired the virtue* that whenever a difficulty arose in the cenobium* he wouldn’t speak, nor would he get in the middle of it, he replied, “Forgive me, abba.* When I first came to the cenobium,* I reasoned with myself, ‘You, you and the ass are one: just as the ass gets beaten and doesn’t say a word, gets abused and doesn’t respond, it’s the same with you, as the psalmist says: I have become a beast of burden for you, and I am always with you.’ ” 48

Concerning Abba Nikon 49 1. [PG 65:309] [XVI.30; 2:414, 416] 50 A brother asked one of the fathers, “How does the Devil* bring temptations* upon the holy* ones? ” and the elder* said to him, “There was one of the fathers, Nikon was his name, living on Mount Sinai,* and, just imagine, someone entered the tent of a certain Pharanite,51 found the man’s daughter alone, fell [into sin] with her,52 and [then] said to her, ‘Say “The anchorite,* Abba Nikon, did this to me.” ’

47. SysAP XV.46 is much longer, and its introductory material, the first paragraph here, is very different; see Wortley, Book, 259–60. 48. myself: literally “I said to my thought(s).” * See Ps 72:22-23. 49. Greek Níkōn, pronounced NEE-kōn. 50. See Macarius of Egypt 1. 51. Pharanite: a person from Pharan, the name “for a wilderness in the Sinai* peninsula, with anchorites* at the beginning of the 5th century and an oasis city with a bishop* at the beginning of the 5th century” (ODLA 2:1182a). See “Pharan,” CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1573/rec/1; CE 1952b– 53a. 52. Mount Sinai, tò óros tò Sinȃ: since óros, “mountain,” in monastic parlance can mean “monastic community,” one could translate here “at the monastery* on Mount Sinai.” The monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai dates to the mid-6th cent.; see https://www.sinaimonastery.com/index.php/en/history/sinai-monasticism.

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“When her father came and learned [what had happened], he got his sword, left, [and came] down upon the elder.* When her father knocked, the elder* came out and when the father got out his sword to kill Abba Nikon, his hand withered up! 53 “The Pharanite went and told the priests, and they sent for Abba Nikon. The elder* came, and, beating him severely, they wanted to drive him out [of the community], but he begged* them, saying, ‘Let me stay here for God’s sake, so I can repent.’* They excommunicated him for three years and commanded* that no one was to approach him. He spent three years coming [to the church] each Sunday, where he offered repentance* 54 and entreated* all of them, saying, ‘Pray* for me.’ “Later, the person who had committed the sin and had laid the blame for the temptation* on the anchorite* was possessed by a demon.* He confessed to the congregation: ‘I was the one who committed the sin and told [her] to slander* the servant of God.’55 So everyone went and prostrated* themselves in repentance* before the elder,* saying, ‘Forgive us, abba,’ and he said to them, ‘As to forgiveness,* you’re forgiven,* but as for staying here, I won’t be staying with you any longer because not one of you had the discernment* to have empathy for me.’ And so he withdrew* from there.” The elder* said [to the brother], “You see how the Devil* lays temptations* on the holy* ones.” 56

53. Withered, apoxērainō: a variant, PG 65:309, n. 28, and SysAP XVI.30 have apoxoulóomai, “to become hard as wood.” 54. [to the church]: a variant, PG 65:309, n. 30, to the church; SysAPXVI.30 lacks. 55. servant of God: see Rom 13:4; 2 Cor 6:4; Titus 1:1; Jas 1:1. 56. This statement can also be a question. The conclusion of this saying returns us to the beginning: “on” in the final sentence returns us to “upon” in the first sentence; both words translate epánō.

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Concerning Abba Natera 57 1. [PG 65:312] [X.50; 2:44] They recounted* about Abba ­Natera, the disciple of Abba Silvanus,58 that when he was sitting in his cell* on Mt. Sinai* he would conduct himself with moderation with regard to what the body needed, but when he became bishop* of Pharan* he bound himself to numerous strict austerities,59 so his disciple said to him, “Abba,* when we were in the desert* you didn’t have these kinds of ascetic* practices.” The elder* said to him, “there it was desert,* contemplative quiet,* and poverty,* and I wanted to govern my body* so that I wouldn’t become weak and go looking for what I didn’t have. But now it’s the world,* and there are numerous resources. If I weaken here, there’s someone who’ll help me so that I don’t lose the monk.” * 60

57. Greek Natȇra, pronounced nah-TEE-rah. The text has Netrȃ, which seems like a later syncopated form; a variant reading, PG 65:312, n. 34, and SysAP X.50 have Natȇra. For a positive appreciation of the world similar to this saying, see Apphu 1, Sayings 1:182–83. 58. Silvanus has twelve sayings in this volume. 59. committed himself: the base meaning of sphíngō (English sphincter) is “bind fast,” so “bound” is a possible translation here; the word broadens out to “strengthen physically,” “strengthen, reinforce” (Lampe 1353b). Strict austerities: sklēragōgía can mean “discipline, austerity, asceticism” * and appears in numerous patristic writers, including in the letters of Basil, Epistle 81.1.29, and others (Montanari II:1928c; see Lampe 1239b for numerous patristic references). The word is cognate with the adj. sklērós: “rigorous, hard, severe, difficult.” 60. lose, apóllumi: or “destroy.” But now it’s the world, and there are numerous resources. If I weaken here, there’s someone who’ll help me so that I don’t lose the monk: SysAP X.50, But now we’re in the world, and there are many temptations;* therefore I cause the body to waste away so I won’t lose/destroy the monk.* If I weaken here, there’s someone who’ll help me.

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Concerning Abba Nicetas 61 1. [PG 65:312] [XVII.33; 3:32] Abba Nicetas used to talk about two brothers who met and wanted to live together. One of them thought* to himself, “If my brother wants something, I’ll do it.” Likewise the other one thought* to himself, “What my brother wants, that I’ll do.” So they lived [together] many years with great love,* but, when the Enemy* saw [this],62 he wanted to separate them.63 So, standing in the courtyard, he appeared to one of them as a dove and to the other as a crow. One of them said, “Do you see this dove? ” The other one said, “Crow. It’s a crow,” so they began to argue with each other, each saying something different. Getting up, they began fighting, as on a battlefield, nearly drawing blood (to the complete delight of the Enemy),* and went their separate ways.64 65 Three days later they came to themselves, [coming to their senses.] 66 Each prostrated* himself before the other, each repented

61. Greek Nikḗtas, pronounced nee-KEY-tăs; the word derives from níkē, “victory,” as in the Greek god Nike and Nikita Khrushchev. 62. this: SysAP XVII.33, their great love. 63. separate, chōrizō: in Nikon 1 above, “excommunicate” renders the verb “he wanted to separate them.” XVII.33, he couldn’t bear it and wanted to separate them. 64. began fighting, sumbállō (“throw together”): at the beginning of the saying “met” translates sunérchomai (come together”). 65. The end of SysAP XVII.33 is different; see Wortley, Book, 308. 66. [coming to their senses]. The text has ananeúō, “to throw the head back, refute, refuse” (Montanari I:145c), which is incorrect. PG 65:312, n. 36, and SysAP XVII.33 have ananḗphō, “to become sober or in one’s senses again, ­recover, return to oneself” (Montanari I:145c), which is correct. The root nḗphō means “to abstain from wine,* be sober,” “be temperate, alert, prudent” (Montanari II:1398), an important term for Paul and in 1 Peter: 1 Thess 5:6; 5:8 (But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation); 1 Pet 1:13; 4:7; 5:8. See ­Vigilant in the Glossary.

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[what he had said] to the other. So, recognizing the Enemy’s* warfare,* they remained inseparable until their deaths.67

67. “remained inseparable” renders mḕ (“not”) + chōrízō; the verb translates as “separate” above, what the Enemy* wants to do. The negative here shows that the brothers have foiled his plot.

Chapter 14 1

X / Xı̑ / Ξ Concerning Abba Xoïos 2 1. [PG 65:312] 3 A brother asked Abba Xoïos, “If I find myself somewhere and eat three loaves of bread,* is that too much? ” 4 The elder* said to him, “Did you go out onto the threshing floor, brother? ” 5 The brother spoke again, “If I drink three cups of wine,* is that too much? ”

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Xóïos, pronounced KSEE-ē-ōs. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:312], indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example XII.17, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes, SysAP; the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:218, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. Saying 1 doesn’t have a parallel in Guy, but others do. 4. The question begins with the negative mḕ, which anticipates a negative answer. 5. There may be an indirect biblical allusion here: in Matt 3:12//Luke 3:17, John the Baptist says, one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not ­worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. 189

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The elder* said to him, “If there’s no demon,* that’s not a lot, but if there is, it’s a lot. That’s because wine* is foreign to monks* who live in accordance with God.” 2. [SysAP XII.17; 2:218].6 One of the fathers used to say about Abba Xoïos of Thebes* that he went one time to Mt. Sinai,* and as he was leaving the Mount, a brother encountered him. Sighing, the brother said, “We’re really down, abba, on account of the drought.” 7 The elder* said to him, [PG 65:313] “Why aren’t you praying* and calling on* God? ” 8 The brother said to him, “We are praying* and appealing* [to God], and it doesn’t rain.” 9 The elder* said to him, “Without a doubt, you’re not praying* hard enough. Do you want to know that you’re not praying enough? ” and he stretched out his hands to heaven in prayer,* and immediately it rained. When the brother saw [the rain], he was terrified,10 fell flat on his face, and venerated the abba,* but the elder* fled.* The brother announced the news to everyone, and when they heard they gave glory* to God.11

6. Abba Xoïos: SysAP XII.17, an elder. 7. Sighing, stenázō: or “groaning.” 8. The question begins with kaí, “and,” so two other translations are possible: “And why aren’t you praying and calling on God? ” and “So why aren’t you praying and calling on God? ” 9. appealing: litaneúō can mean unceasing prayer and “pray in procession, utter a litany” (Lampe 804a(s)), so the monks could be having processions of prayer and appeals to God. 10. terrified, phobéō: see Fear in the Glossary. 11. SysAP XIII.17 lacks this concluding sentence.

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Concerning Abba Xanthias 12 1. [PG 65:313] Abba Xanthias said, “The brigand on the cross was—by a single word*—made free,13 and Judas, who was numbered among the apostles, in a single night lost everything he had worked for and descended from heaven to Hades.* 14 Therefore no one should boast about everything being great—all those who have trusted [only] in themselves have fallen.” 2. [XIX.20; 3:152, 154] Abba Xanthias15 went up one time from Scetis* to Terenouthis,16 and where he rested, on account of the difficult undertakings of his asceticism,* they brought him a little wine.* When some people heard [that he was there], they brought him a man possessed by a demon,* 17 and the demon* began to

12. Greek Xanthías, pronounced Ksan-THĒ-ăs. 13. made free, dikaióō: the usual translation is “justified”; I’ve followed Bauer 249b(3), “to cause someone to be released from personal or institutional claims that are no longer to be considered pertinent or valid, make free/pure” (see Rom 6:7, For whoever has died is freed from sin). Words with the root dik- occur well over one hundred times in the NT, dikaiosúnē, “justice, righteousness,” one of the most important; as Bauer notes, justice and righteousness, being just/righteous and justified, are a central theme in Paul’s writings (Bauer 249a(β) and 246a–50b). 14. lost, apóllumi: or “destroyed.” The NT does not say that Judas is in Hades/ hell, but the Coptic Book of the Resurrection of Christ by Bartholomew describes Jesus’ encounter with Judas in hell: “he turned to Judas Iscariot and uttered a long rebuke, and described the sufferings that he must endure.” Thirty names of sins are given, which are the snakes that were sent to devour him. After the harrowing of hell, only three souls are found there: Herod, Judas, and Cain. One fragment states that the reason Judas could not be redeemed from hell is that before his hanging he had worshiped the devil in the form of a snake (William Klassen, “Judas Iscariot,” and “E. Judas in Later Christian Tradition,” AnchorYale). 15. Abba Xanthias: SysAP XIX.20, One of the elders from Scetis.* 16. Terenouthis was a city in the northwest part of the Nile Delta, well known in archaeology for its necropolises. Artifacts from Terenouthis show the representation of jackal dogs in burials of the Roman period. 17. See Matt 8:16; 12:22, among many.

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insult the elder:* “You’ve brought me to this guy who drinks wine? ” * 18 Because of this,19 the elder* didn’t want to cast out [the demon],* but because of the insult he said, “I have faith* in Christ that I definitely won’t finish this cup until you come out [of the person].” And as the elder* began drinking, the demon* cried out, “You’re burning me! You’re burning me!” and before Abba Xanthias had finished, by the grace* of Christ the demon* came out [of the person]. 3.20 The same elder* said, “The dog is stronger and mightier than me because it possesses love* and doesn’t come to judgment* about anyone.” 21

18. “You’ve brought me to this guy who drinks wine? ”: literally “To this guy who drinks wine you’ve brought me? ” “Winebibber” came to mind; it first appears in 1535 in the Coverdale Bible, Prov 23:20 (“Kepe no company wt [with] wyne bebbers and ryotous eaters of flesh”), and Matt 11:19, where the word also appears in the KJV. Coverdale invented the word to render Luther’s säufer, weinsäufer (OED online). 19. Because of this: SysAP XIX, tapeinophronéō, “being humble/self-effacing.” See Humility in the Glossary. 20. AnonAP 434; Wortley 277. 21. doesn’t judge anyone: literally “doesn’t come to judgment.”

Chapter 15 1

O / ho mikrón / O Concerning Abba Olympius 2 1.3 [PG 65:313] [XI.109; 2:194] 4 Abba Olympius said, “One time a pagan priest came down to Scetis,” * came into my cell,* and slept [there].5 Observing the monks’* way of life,* he said to me, ‘With such a way of life,* don’t you [pl.] practice mystical* contemplation that comes from your God?’6 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Olýmpios, pronounced o-LEEM-bē-ōs. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:313], indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example XI.109, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:194, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. The narrative of SysAP XI.109 is in the third person; Olympius doesn’t appear, and the priest is conversing with “a certain elder.” * 5. a pagan priest: literally “a priest of the Greeks/pagans.” SysAP XI.109, a priest of the idols. 6. practice mystical contemplation: theōréō, like “observing” (theáomai) ­earlier, means “to see, watch, observe,” but it can have the additional meaning of “contemplate mystically,” through the agency of the Holy Spirit (Lampe 647ab); the cognate n. theṓrēma means “sight, vision,” “contemplative experience, ­mystical vision” (Lampe 647b). Theōría, “seeing, beholding,” gives us English theory. In other words, a theory is not something someone makes up; it’s based on observation. 193

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“I said to him, ‘No,’ and the priest said to me, ‘Yet all the while, when we perform priestly rites for our god, he doesn’t hide anything from us but reveals his mysteries* to us.7 And you—who work so hard, keep the Night Offices,* practice contemplative quiet,* and maintain ascetic* practices—you say, “We don’t practice mystical* contemplation”? 8 There’s no doubt, then, since you don’t practice such contemplation, that you have evil thoughts* in your hearts,* and these thoughts separate you from your god. Because of this, therefore, God’s mysteries* aren’t revealed to you.’ “I left and reported to the elders* what the priest had said.* They were amazed* and said, ‘He’s got it right: unclean thoughts* separate God from us humans.’ ” 9 2. [V.50; 1:302, 304] Abba Olympius of the Cells* was attacked in warfare* by sexual temptation,* 10 and his thoughts* said to him, “Go, take a wife.” Getting up, he made [softened] clay, fashioned a woman,11 and said to himself, “Look, here’s your wife; now you need to work* hard to feed her.” So he was working* extremely hard. A day later, [PG 65:316] he made more [softened] clay, fashioned himself a daughter, and said to his thoughts,* “Your wife has given birth; you need to

7. For a brief introduction to “the mysteries,” the mystery religions, see “Mysteries,” OCD 716b–17b. See Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century (Freiburg, Germany: Herder & Herder, 2004). 8. practice contemplative quiet, and follow ascetic practices: SysAP XI.109 lacks. 9. I left and reported to the elders what the priest had said. They were amazed and said, “He’s got it right: unclean thoughts separate God from us humans”: SysAp XI.109, When the fathers heard this, they were amazed, saying, “Unclean thoughts separate us from God.” 10. Abba Olympius of the Cells was attacked in warfare by sexual temptation, and his thoughts said to him: SysAP V.50, There was an elder* living in Kellia,* and his thoughts said to him. 11. woman, gynḗ (English gynecology, gynophobia) also translates as “wife” in the saying.

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work* even harder now so you can feed your child and clothe her.” This way he wore himself out12 and said to his thoughts,* “I don’t have the strength to bear up under such hard work”;* then he said, “If you’re not strong enough to bear up under such hard work,* don’t keep looking for a wife!” 13 When God saw the ­elder’s* hard work,* he seized the warfare* from him,* and Abba Olympius found inward stillness.* 14

Concerning Abba Horsisius* 15 1. [PG 65:316] [XV.69; 2:330] Abba Horsisius said, “Brick that’s not fired and placed as a foundation next to a river doesn’t last a day but, fired, will endure like stone. It’s the same with a person who has a spirit focused on what’s merely human16 and isn’t tested by fire and thus purified17 in the fear* of God as Joseph

12. This way he wore himself out: SysAP V.50, This way he wore himself out, eliminating his fleshly* desires.* 13. There may be wordplay here: in two sentences (one could punctuate it in Greek as one sentence) we have étekon < tíktō, “given birth”; the cognate n. téknon, “child,” and the unrelated but similar-sounding étēksen, “wore out.” 14. seized: hairéō intensifies the warfare metaphor, “snatch, seize,” “take by force,” “capture,” “take by storm, overcome, conquer,” “win, obtain, conquer” (Montanari I:55a). Warfare: SysAP V.50, thoughts.* 15. Greek Horsísios, pronounced (h)ōr-SI-si-ōs. 16. what’s merely human, sarkikós < sárx, “flesh.” * See 2 Cor 10:4, the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds, and 3:3, or you are still fleshly. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not fleshly and behaving according to human inclinations? See Mark 8:33//Matt 16:23, Jesus to Peter: you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. 17. tested by fire and thus purified, pyróō < pȗr, “fire,” which has numerous metaphorical meanings in patristic Greek: “divine fire,” “as means of testing and purifying,” “hell fire,” in Christian eschatology, “the fire of hell,” and “baptism by fire” (Lampe 1208a–11b). See Isa 48:10; 1 Pet 1:7.

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was; he falls apart as he begins to make progress18 toward being in authority.19 You see, there are a lot of temptations* for such people when they’re among people; it’s good for a person who’s taken stock of himself to flee* from the burden of having authority, and those who are firm in the faith* can’t be budged.20 “With regard to such a person, if he wants to talk about the holy* Joseph, that person will say that Joseph was not of this earth.21 How often was he tempted,* and in a land where there wasn’t a trace of Godly worship! 22 But the God of his fathers was with him and extracted him from every affliction!* And now he’s with his fathers in the kingdom of heaven. So then, for us too, who have taken stock of ourselves, let us toil and strive: 23 by doing this, we’ll be able to barely escape the Judgment* of God.” 24 2. [XI.78; 2:180, 182] He also said, “I think that if a person doesn’t do a good job guarding* his heart,* everything that he’s heard he forgets and neglects.25 In this way, the Enemy* finds a

18. makes progress: patristic Greek can use prosérchomai to speak of both the Son’s and the Holy Spirit’s procession from God (Lampe, 1147a(B1, 3)). 19. in authority: archḗ has numerous meanings. In general, “authority,” “realm, kingdom,” “reign” (CGL I:225a(9–12)); in the NT, “ruler, authority,” “rule, office” (Bauer 138b); in patristic Greek, “ecclesiastic authority, orders of ministry,” also, in pl. (which we don’t have here), “spiritual powers” (Lampe 236a(D, E)). 20. and, dé: or “but.” 21. this earth, epígeios < gȇ, “earth.” Sarkikós can also mean “earthly, of this earth,” as opposed to heavenly things. 22. Godly worship, theosébeia: or “of right belief, orthodoxy,” “of practical piety and right conduct” (Lampe 635b(I, IIA); 636a(IIB)). 23. toil and strive, agōnízomai, originally an athletic term for participants in an ágōn, “athletic festival, games, contest”; see 1 Tim 6:12: Fight the good fight of the faith.* 24. escape, ekpheúgō < pheúgō: see Flee in the Glossary. 25. neglects, ameléō: or “disregards, ignores,” “doesn’t care about” (CGL I:72a).

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place* in him and knocks him to the ground.26 Likewise, a lamp27 that’s been prepared and is providing light—if it’s neglected and doesn’t get more oil, in a little while it’ll burn out, and afterwards, the surrounding darkness gets only stronger.28 And not only that— but when a mouse comes, it will even want to gobble up the wick,29 but it can’t do this until the oil is depleted.30 But if it sees that not only is there no light but also no heat from the fire, then, wanting to pull out the wick, it overturns the lamp,31 and if it’s a clay lamp, it shatters, but if found to be bronze, it’s ready for the householder to get it ready again for use. “Likewise, with regard to the neglectful soul, little by little32 the Holy Spirit retreats until in the end her warmth gets extin­ guished,33 and then the Enemy* devours the ardor of the soul and

26. knocks him to the ground, katabállō: or “strike down,” “overturn,” “pull down, tear down, demolish” (CGL II:748ab). 27. lamp, lúchnos/lúchnon: CGL II:884a notes: “usually of terracotta, with oil feeding a wick.” Prepared, skeuázō: “get ready” below renders the same verb. 28. Two words in the second part of this sentence could well have NT overtones. Burn out, sbénnumi: see 1 Thess 5:19, Do not quench [or: burn out, extinguish] the Spirit. Stronger, endunamóō (cognate with dýnamis, thus “empower”: see Power in the Glossary), “usually of inner or moral strength,” Rom 4:20 (Bauer 333a(2b)). The powerful irony here is that the word is positive in the NT but here neglect empowers the darkness. “Can’t” in the next sentence translates the cognate verb dýnamai + a negative. 29. “gobble up” here and “devour” below translate kataphágō < phágō, “eat,” like Ger. essen, “to eat,” and fressen, “to wolf down.” 30. “depleted” renders sbénnumi; see n. 28 above. 31. knocks over, katabállō: see n. 26 above. 32. little by little: a variant, PG 65:316, n. 40, and SysAP XI.78, in a little while. 33. The wordplay continues. “Retreats” renders hypochōréō, whose root chōris in anachōréō, an important monastic term; see Withdraw in the Glossary. “Extinguished” renders sbénnumi; see nn. 28 and 30.

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the body and, [with] evil,34 disfigures the body.35 But if that person’s disposition towards God is good and has simply been taken captive36 through neglect,37 God, as the Compassionate One,38 casting into him the fear* of God and the recollection of punishments, prepares him to be vigilant* and to keep watch on himself from now on with great assuredness until God’s divine visitation.” 39

Excursus A Small Linguistic and Narrational Masterpiece40 Introduction In terms of both language and narrative, Horsisius 2 is a ­masterpiece. Significant wordplay occurs multiple times, which 34. PG 65 has a typo here, which I’ve corrected with the instrumental dative κακίᾳ, replacing the text’s nominative κακία. 35. disfigures, aphanízō: or “render invisible, cause to disappear,” “suppress, destroy, ravage, annihilate” (Montanari I:351c–52a). 36. taken captive, harpázō: “snatch, carry off, wrench away,” “plunder, sack,” “catch, capture,” “seize, take” (Montanari I:302c). 37. neglect: améleia, cognate with the verb ameléō; see n. 25. 38. the Compassionate One, ho oiktírmōn: oiktírmōn appears only twice in the NT, Luke 6:36 (NRSV: “merciful”) and Jas 5:11: You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about, for the Lord is [very] compassionate [polý-splanchnos] and merciful [oiktírmōn]. Since polýsplanchnos begins with poly-, “much, great, many,” “compassionate” should be “very compassionate.” Splánchnos: see Compassion in the Glossary. 39. to be vigilant, nḗphō: The base meaning is to refrain from wine,* be sober, then sober-minded; also possible here is “to come around, recover” (Montanari II:1398a). Bauer 672b: “be well-balanced, self-controlled.” The word occurs in 1 Thess 5:8 and five times in epistles probably after Paul. 40. By coincidence, the day before I first proofread these pages, my Greek NT students and I were reading Mark 1:16-20 (“The Calling of Four Fisherman”); it struck me, and I pointed out to the students, that in the space of four verses, Mark repeats three words: Jesus twice “saw” two fishermen; the first pair “leaves” nets

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I catalogue below after an introduction. The use of language, especially an extended metaphor, intensifies the Saying’s major theme: the “person” who “doesn’t do a good job guarding his heart” * is like “a lamp that’s been prepared and is providing light—if it’s neglected and doesn’t get more oil, in a little while it’ll burn out, and, afterwards, the surrounding darkness gets only stronger.” Thus this lamp represents the heart* (the text later switches to “the soul”). Such a neglected heart* and lamp attracts “the Enemy,” * Satan*—whom, a bit later, a mouse personifies (a mouse is small but can do great damage). A lamp’s wick, fire, and heat represent the heart/soul—as the mouse seeks to devour the spent lantern’s wick, so too the Enemy* seeks to devour the heart*/ soul that is without heat and light. It is a striking, and memorable, image. It is striking, and perhaps not surprising, that 5/6th of the saying is “negative,” that is, it tells the story of what will happen to the monk* who neglects his or her heart.* The saying, however, concludes positively, optimistically. Such a conclusion is definitely not surprising: the basic formula of the vast majority of sayings is a monk* + a problem + an elder* + the monk* seeking counsel for the problem + the elder* offering a way of life/solution. Thematically, Saying 2 is representative; linguistically it is also: the speakers and writers of the sayings and stories love metaphor. With a brilliant extended metaphor, Saying 2 represents most sayings and stories with their use of simile and metaphor. These get our attention. The monks* inherited this use of language from the Bible, especially the prophets and the New Testament, and above all Jesus (“The Prodigal Son,” “Seed Sown in a Field,” and others). The table below shows how the repetition of words works with metaphor to create a memorable story—and teaching. and the second pair their father, and both follow Jesus (using “behind me”). Of the three gospel writers, Mark is the least proficient in Greek, but his work here is literary, just as much of the writing in the AlphAP is literary. My thanks to Ian, Jaylene (Jay), and Meridian for their patient endurance* (hypomonḗ).

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Table (Words are in the order of their appearance.) 1.  ameléō: neglects 2.  ho Echthrós: the Enemy 3.  katabállō: knocks him to the ground 4.  skeuázō: prepared 1.  ameléō: neglected 5.  sbénnumi: burn out 6.  endunaméō: can’t 7.  kataphágō: gobble up 5.  sbénnumi: depleted 6.  dýnamai: can’t 3.  katabállō: knock over 4.  skeuázō: get ready 1.  ameléō: neglectful 5.  aposbénnumi: extinguished 2.  ho Echthrós: the Enemy 7.  kataphágō: devours 1.  améleia: neglect 4.  paraskeuázō: prepares Six words occur twice (#1–7); one (#1), amél-, “neglect, neglectful,” occurs four times, the last three of which reemphasize one part of the saying’s major theme: neglect. The other half is redemption: it appears with the last appearance of the word: “But if that person’s disposition towards God is good and has simply [emphasis added] been taken captive through neglect, God, as the Compassionate One, .  .  . prepares him to be vigilant and to keep watch on himself from now on.” God’s compassion* finds full expression with skeuázō / paraskeuázō, “prepare, get ready” (#4), which occurs three times. The first time, the lamp has been prepared and “is providing light.” But if it’s neglected and doesn’t

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get more oil, in a little while it’ll burn out, and, afterwards, the surrounding darkness only gets stronger.” But the last appearance of skeuázō, “to prepare,” is a compound verb, paraskeuázō, which acts as an intensive: “prepare,” yes, but more—“to make ready, make able, predispose,” “to dispose favorably” (my italics).41 We prepare a dinner; God predisposes a person. Light over darkness. Mark Twain has an essay, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness.” 42 That title could be the title of this saying: we have light, then dark, then light. “Darkness” itself is metaphor: John 1:5, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake [and/or: overcome, comprehend, katalambánō ] it. The metaphorical lamp here gets knocked over by a mouse (it takes so little to bring darkness, exterior, and interior!): “if it’s a clay lamp, it shatters, but if found to be bronze, it’s ready for the householder to get it ready again for use” (my emphasis). In other words, our spirituality, our “dispositions” as the saying has it, need to be bronze, not clay: even if we get knocked over—and we will—we can set the lamp, which represents us, aright, refill it, and let its, and our, effulgence shine brightly.

41. Montanari II:1565c. 42. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~DRBR/sitting.html; “To the Person Sitting in Darkness,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Person_Sitting_in _Darkness.

Chapter 16 1

P / Peı̑ / Π Concerning Abba Poemen* 2 1. [PG 65:317] [XI.55; 2:166, 168] 3 When Abba Poemen* was young he went one time to see an elder* to ask him about three thoughts.* When he got to the elder* he’d forgotten one of the three and returned to his own cell,* and when he reached for the key [to open the door] he remembered the thought* he had forgotten, so he left the key and returned to the elder.* The elder* said to him, “Back so soon, brother? ” Abba Poemen* related* this to him: “When I reached for the key, I remembered the thought* I’d been looking for, so I didn’t

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Poimḗn, pronounced pea-MEEN. Poimḗn, appropriately, means “shepherd.” He has by far the most sayings in the AlphAP. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:317], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:220]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example XI.55, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:166, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number, e.g.: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. 203

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open [the door]. That’s why I’m back here.” 4 (The way* back was very long.) The elder* said to him, “Shepherd [poimḗn] of the [flocks]—and that will be the name you’re known by throughout all Egypt.” 5 2. [XVI.11; 2:398] Païsius, the brother of Abba Poemen,* was friends with someone outside his cell.* 6 Abba Poemen* didn’t want [this], so he got up and hurried to Abba Ammonas* and said to him, “Païsius, my brother,7 is friends with someone, and I don’t have any inward stillness.” * Abba Ammonas said to him, “Poemen,* are you still among the living? Go on, sit in your cell,* and keep it in your heart* that you’ve already been in the tomb for a year.” 3. [X.53; 2:46, 48] Some priests of the region came one time to the monastery* where Abba Poemen* was, and Abba Anoub went inside [Abba Poemen’s* cell*] and said to him, “Let’s invite the priests [to stay] here today.” 8 Abba Anoub was standing [and waiting] for a long time without Abba Poemen* giving him an answer, and, saddened, he left. Those who were sitting near Abba Poemen* said to him, “Abba,* why didn’t you give him an answer? ” Abba Poemen* said to them, “What’s going on here isn’t my concern. I’m dead, and a dead person doesn’t speak.” 9

4. thought, lógos: see Counsel in the Glossary. 5. [flocks], agélōn < agélē: the text has angélōn, “of angels” (the Greek spelling is aggélōn). The PG Latin translation is Gregum Poemen, id est pastor, “­Poemen of the flocks, that is shepherd/pastor.” SysAP XI.55 doesn’t have the play on words. 6. someone, tinos < tis here and below: a variant, PG 65:317, n. 44, and SysAP XVI.11, tinōn, “some people.” 7. For Ammonas see Sayings 1:161–67. 8. For Anoub see Sayings 1:176–78. He appears in ten of Poemen’s sayings: 3, 15, 22, 72, 76, 98, 108, 131, 172, and 173. 9. A variant, PG 65:317, n. 46, and SysAP X.53 continue, They shouldn’t think that I’m inside with them.

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4. [XVII.11; 3:16, 18] There was an elder* in Egypt* before those associated with Abba Poemen* arrived; he was well known and highly esteemed. When those associated with Abba Poemen* came up from Scetis,* people abandoned him and came to be with Abba Poemen.* [The elder was jealous and bad-mouthed them. When Abba Poemen* heard [about this], he was distressed and said to his brothers,] 10 “What should we do about this great elder?* People are causing us distress by leaving11 the elder* and, although we’re nothing, attaching themselves to us.12 How can we reconcile with the elder? ” * 13 He said to them, “Prepare a little food and get a saïtēs of wine.* 14 Let’s go to him and eat together; perhaps this way we can reconcile with him.” So they took the food and left. When they knocked on the door, the elder’s* disciple heard [them] and said, “Who are you [pl.]? ” 15 They said, “Tell the abba,* ‘Poemen* wants to be blessed by you.’ ” [PG 65:320] When the disciple relayed this to the elder,* the elder* made it clear to them: “Go away! I don’t have time for this!” But they stayed outside in the heat and said, “We’re not leaving unless the elder* thinks we deserve his blessing.” 16

10. A variant, PG 65:317, n. 46, and SysAP XVII.11, The elder was jealous and bad-mouthed them. When Abba Poemen heard [about this] he was distressed and said to his brothers. PG has “He was troubled, and said to his brothers,” but the full story seems to require what the variant and SysAP have. 11. leaving, kataleípō: or “abandoning.” “Abandoned” earlier translates aphíēmi, “cast off, throw away, abandon.” 12. attaching themselves, proséchō: or “clinging.” 13. reconcile with, therapeúō: or “serve,” “heal,” * “console” (Lampe 645a). 14. saïtēs pronounced sa-E-tēs: a liquid measure = 22 sextaria (Montanari II:1891a). One sextarius was 546 mL or 1.5 U.S. pints; so a saïtēs was about 4.25 U.S. gallons. A typical bottle of wine today is 750 mL/one-fifth of a gallon. So, a lot of wine! 15. [them]: PG text, “him.” 16. unless the elder thinks we deserve his blessing: this is periphrasis for the passive voice in the text: unless we’re considered worthy/deserving [kataxióō] of the elder.

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The elder,* when he saw their humility* and patience,* stung,* opened [the door] to them, and they went in and ate with him. As they were eating, the elder* said, “In truth, it’s not just the things I’ve heard about you—I’ve seen one hundred times as much in the works* you do.” From that day he became their friend. 5. [VIII.16; 1:410, 412] The governor of that region wanted to see Abba Poemen,* and the elder* wouldn’t welcome him. So on the pretext that the son of Abba Poemen’s* sister was a criminal, the governor threw the son into prison, saying, “If the elder* comes and intercedes for him, I’ll release him.” 17 So Abba Poemen’s* sister came and was weeping at the elder’s* door, but he didn’t respond to her.18 She was reviling him, saying, “You’re so hardhearted! 19 Have mercy* on me! He’s my only child!” 20 He sent someone to say to her, “Poemen* has not given birth to children,” and so she went away. When the governor heard, he sent someone who said, “If Abba Poemen* orders it, I’ll release him,” but the elder* responded, “Examine him in accordance with the laws and, if he deserves death, let him die. If not, do what you want.” 21 6. [IX.10; 1:432, 434] A brother in a cenobium* did something wrong one time. There was an anchorite* in the vicinity, and no one had gone to see him in a long time.22 The abbot of the ceno-

17. intercedes, parakaléō: see Entreat in the Glossary. 18. he didn’t respond to her: SysAP VIII.16, he didn’t respond to her at all. 19. hardhearted: chalkósplanchnos is an interesting word: chalkós, “copper,” + splanch- > splanchnḗ, “guts”; splanchnízomai means “to have compassion,” * so Poemen’s sister is saying “Have you no compassion?!” 20. only child: the Johannine literature uses monogenḗs for Christ, John 1:14; 3:16; 1 John 1:9. 21. A variant, PG 65:320, n. 50, continues: When the governor heard this, he released him. 22. no one had gone to see him: the base meaning of proérchomai is “go forward, advance, proceed forward, present oneself, appear publicly,” but, relevant here (see below), it can also mean “progress, go to a higher level” (Montanari II:1762ab).

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bium* went to see the elder* 23 and told him about the brother who had done wrong. He said, “Throw him out!” When the brother left the cenobium,* 24 he went into a ravine and was weeping there. Brothers who happened to be leaving to go see Abba Poemen* heard him weeping. They went in and found him in great suffering and urged* him to let [them take him] to the elder.* He refused, saying, “This is where I’m going to die.” 25 26 When they went to Abba Poemen* they related* the situation to him. He urged* them [to do something] and sent them [back], saying, “Tell him ‘Abba Poemen* is inviting you.’ ” [They left and brought him back.] 27 The brother came to Abba Poemen,* and when the elder* saw his affliction* he stood up, greeted him, and, joking with him,28 urged* him to eat something. Abba ­Poemen* sent one of the brothers who were with him to the ­anchorite,* saying, “For many years now, hearing all about you, I’ve wanted to see you but, on account of hesitation on both our parts, we haven’t met. Now, therefore, God willing, and with this opportunity, please take the trouble to come here, and we’ll see one another.” (He was someone who never left his cell.*) When the anchorite* heard [these words], he said, “If God had not given the elder* the assurance [to say this], he wouldn’t have

23. elder: SysAP IX.10, anchorite. 24. When the brother left the cenobium: SysAP IX.10, driven out (diṓkō), which can also mean “persecute,” used of persecution against Christians. The brother went into a ravine: SysAP IX.10, utterly discouraged, he threw himself into a ditch. 25. This is where I’m going to die: SysAP IX.10, This is where I’m going to die because I have sinned. 26. The narrative in this paragraph is confused; SysAP IX.10 has the same narrative. 27. [They left and brought him back]: SysAP IX.10; the PG text lacks. 28. joking: charientízomai means “to be witty, joke” and chariéntisma is “a witty saying” (Montanari II:2340a); they’re both related to cháris, “grace,” so perhaps Poemen is graciously asking the brother to eat. On the other hand, by joking with the brother, Poemen could be trying to lighten the mood.

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sent for me,” so he got up and went to see him. They joyfully greeted each other and sat down. Abba Poemen* said to him, “Two people were in a certain place,* and both had corpses. One of them left his corpse and went and wept with the other person.” When the elder heard this, it pricked* his conscience; he recalled what he had done, and [PG 65:321] he said, “Poemen,* he’s [as high up] as heaven.29 Me? I’m far, far below on the earth.” 30 7. [XIX.14; 3:148, 150] One time many elders* visited Abba Poemen,* and, you see, one of Abba Poemen’s* [relatives in the world*] 31 [was there] and had a child whose face had been turned around by some kind of [diabolical] agency.32 The [child’s] father, seeing the number of fathers, brought the child in front of the monastery* and sat weeping. One of the elders* happened to go outside, saw the father, and said, “Why are you weeping, fellow? ” 33 He said, “I’m a relative of Abba Poemen,* and—look at what kind of trial* has come upon this child! We wanted to bring him to the elder* but were afraid [to do so]—he doesn’t want to see us.34 And now, if he learns that I’m here, he’ll send someone to chase me away! 35 But when I saw you out here, I dared to

29. [high up], ánō: a variant, PG 65:321, n. 52, and SysAP IX.10 have ánō. PG 65:321, n. 32, notes that other manuscripts insert ánō. See John 8:23; 3:3: Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above [ánōthen].” 30. See Poemen 8. 31. [relatives in the world]: I’ve taken this phrase from SysAP XIX.14; the PG text has “one of Abba Poemen’s,” which normally means “one of Abba Poemen’s [disciples]” or something similar. 32. [diabolical] agency: enérgeia (English energy), cognate with érgon, “work,” * has a wide variety of meanings (“activity, operation”) and applications, including “supernatural influence” (Lampe 472b(C), of angels (C2), divine (C3), diabolical influence or possession (C4)), “be possessed by demons” (473a(B3a)). 33. Why are you weeping, fellow?: literally “Why are you weeping, human [ánthrōpos]? ” 34. he doesn’t want to see us, ou + thélō: or “he refuses to see us.” 35. chase away: ironically, diṓkō can mean “to persecute.”

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come.36 So, then, if you’re willing,37 abba, have mercy on me and take the child inside and pray for him.” The elder* took the child and dealt with the situation shrewdly: he didn’t immediately take the child to Abba Poemen,* but, beginning with the more junior brothers, he would say, “Make the sign of the cross* over the child.” When all of them one by one had made the sign of the cross* over the boy, the elder* then brought him to Abba Poemen.* He was unwilling to go near [the child],38 but they were entreating* him, saying, “You too, father, do what all of us did.” Moaning aloud, he stood up and prayed,* saying,* “Dear God, heal your creation so it won’t be lorded over by the Enemy.” * Making the sign of the cross* over the boy, he healed him and gave him back to his father, healthy. 8. [X.54; 2:48, 50] A brother one time left the vicinity where Abba Poemen* was living as a guest for a region he was unacquainted with, and there he happened upon an anchorite.* He was a person full of love,* 39 and many people would go see him. The brother reported to him about Abba Poemen,* and when the ­anchorite* heard about his virtue* he had a desire to see him. A while after the brother had returned to Egypt,* the anchorite* got up and left his foreign land for Egypt* and went to see that 36. when I saw you out here: the Gk. text has “when I saw your presence,” parousía, literally “being beside.” In NT and patristic Greek, the word often has Christological significance: “of Christ, and nearly always of his Messianic Advent in glory to judge the world at the end of this age” (Bauer 781a(a)). Thus the monk, unbeknownst to both of them, is a Christ figure, one who delivers but also one who is indirectly judging* Poemen’s behavior. 37. willing, thélō: earlier, Poemen was unwilling or refused to help. The abba is willing to help the man, whereas Poemen is unwilling, or refuses, to do so. See the next note. 38. unwilling: see nn. 34, 37, 41, and 49. To go near, engízomai: a variant, AlphAP 65:321, n. 54, and SysAP XIX.14, to make the sign of the cross (sphragízō). 39. full of love: SysAP X.54, full of great love. SysAP has a nice repetition: full of great [pollḗn] love, and many [polloí] people went to see him. At this time the ή (ḗ) in pollḗn and the diphthong oí in polloí were pronounced the same, as “lee.”

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brother who had once visited him. (The brother had told him where he was staying.) When the brother saw him, he was amazed* and was very happy [to see him]. The anchorite* said, “Please, do an act of love.* Take me to Abba Poemen.” * So he took the anchorite* and brought him to the elder* and told him about him, saying, “This is a great human being, one who’s grounded in great love,* and he’s very much honored in his own country. I reported to him about you and he came, desiring to see you.” Abba Poemen,* therefore, was happy to welcome* him, and, greeting one another, they sat down. The stranger began reciting from the Scriptures [concerning] spiritual and heavenly matters, but Abba Poemen* turned away his face and wouldn’t respond to him. When the anchorite* saw that Abba Poemen* wasn’t talking with him, saddened, he left and said to the brother who had brought him there, “Is it in vain that I made this long journey? 40 I came to the elder,* and, look, he refuses to speak with me!” 41 The brother entered Abba Poemen’s* cell* and said to him, “Abba, it was on your account that this great person came, someone who’s greatly honored [PG 65:324] where he lives.42 So why didn’t you speak with him? ” The elder* said to him, “He’s from on high and speaks of heavenly matters, but I’m from below and speak of earthly matters.43 If he’d spoken to me about the passions* of the soul, I would have responded to him, but if about spiritual matters—well, concerning these things, I don’t know anything about these.” The brother left and said to the anchorite,* “The elder* doesn’t speak readily about Scripture, but if someone speaks to him about the passions* of the soul, he responds to that person.” His conscience pricked,* the anchorite went into the elder’s* cell* and said to 40. The question could also be a statement. 41. refuses, ou thélō: or “doesn’t want to.” 42. where he lives: in his place.* 43. See the end of Poemen 6.

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him, “What do I do, abba? The passions* of the soul are lording it over me.” Giving him his full attention, the elder* rejoiced and said, “Now your arrival is welcome! Now open your mouth44 and talk about the passions* and fill [our discussion] with good things!” * The anchorite,* greatly benefiting* from this, said, “This really is the true way,” * and, returning to his own country, he was giving thanks to God that he’d been considered worthy to meet such a holy person.45 9. The governor of the region one time seized someone from Abba Poemen’s* village, and everyone came and pleaded* with the elder* to come and get him out [of prison]. He said, “Give me three days, then I’ll come.” So Abba Poemen* prayed* to the Lord, saying, “Lord, do not permit this since[, if you do,] they will not allow me to stay in this place.” * 46 So the elder* went and entreated* the governor, but he said to him, “You’re entreating* [me], abba,* on behalf of a thief, abba? ” 47 The elder* rejoiced that he had not been granted permission by God. 10. Some recounted* that Abba Poemen* and some of his brothers were working* making wicks one time but couldn’t continue because they didn’t have [the money] to buy linen* thread.48 So someone beloved by them related* the situation to a merchant who was a person of faith,* but Abba Poemen* didn’t want to 44. Now open your mouth, ánoixon [< anoígō] sou tò stóma: a variant reading, PG 65:324, n. 36, and SysAP X.54, anoíxō mou tò stóma, “Now I will open my mouth.” 45. “giving thanks” is the first word in the sentence in Greek. 46. permit, dídōmi chárin (cháris): see Grace in the Glossary. “Granted permission” below translates déchomai chárin. 47. “On behalf of a thief” are the first words in the Greek sentence. You’re entreating [me], abba, on behalf of a thief: literally, “On behalf of a thief you’re entreating? ” 48. wicks: skolákis: PG 65:324, n. 84, notes (Lat.), “Scolaces are twisted and fastened cords made for use with candles or chandeliers. This was observed by those ancient and modern” (my translation).

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take anything from anyone, ever, on account of the bother [it caused].49 But the merchant, wanting to help the elder* with his work,* came up with the pretext that he needed wicks; so he brought his camel and took them. When the brother [sic] heard what the merchant had done, he came to Abba Poemen;* wishing to praise the merchant,50 he said, “No doubt, abba,* he took them without really needing them in order to help us with our work.” * When Abba Poemen* heard that the merchant had taken them without really needing them, he said to the brother, “Get up, hire a camel and bring them back. If you don’t bring them back, Poemen’s* not staying here any longer with you [pl.]. Look, I’m not going to wrong some person who’s not in need and make him lose money and take my profit.” 51 So the brother, downhearted, left him and brought them back; 52 otherwise, the elder* was going to leave the brothers.53 When he saw the wicks, therefore, he rejoiced, as though he had found a great treasure. 11. The priest in Pelusium* heard one time about some brothers—they were frequently in the city, going to the baths, and neglecting themselves,54 so he went to the synaxis* and took away 49. didn’t want to, ou thélō: or “refused to.” In the next sentence “wanting” translates thélō, as does “wishing” further below. 50. “Him” is ambiguous; grammatically, it refers to Abba Poemen, but the brother could also be referring to the merchant. 51. It doesn’t say earlier that the merchant paid for the wicks, but presumably he did; if so, it’s not clear what Poemen is saying here. 52. downhearted: literally “with great suffering/toil/struggle [kópos].” Kópos is a common monastic term for hard work, physical and/or spiritual. 53. leave, anachōréō: see Withdraw in the Glossary. 54. See Dallas DeForest, “Baths, Christianity, and Bathing Culture in Late Antiquity,” The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, ed. David K. Pettegrew, William R. Caraher, and Thomas W. Davis, Oxford Handbooks Online (subscription required); Lillian C. Chan, “ ‘A Curiosity Which Has Many Eyes’: Ante-Nicene Church Fathers’ Attitudes Towards Bathing” (https://pdxscholar .library.pdx.edu/younghistorians/2017/oralpres/2/): “According to Titus Flavius Clemens [ca. 150–ca. 215], ‘The baths are opened promiscuously to men and to women; and there they strip for licentious indulgence (for from looking, men get

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their monastic habits.55 [PG 65:325] Afterwards, heart-stricken, regretting [what he had done],56 he went to see Abba Poemen,* flooded with his own thoughts,* 57 carrying with him the brothers’ levitons,* and told the elder* about the matter. The elder* said to him, “Don’t you yourself still have some of the old self? 58 Remove it.” The priest said, “I still belong to the old self.” 59 The elder* said to him, “Well, then, you’re like the brothers: if you’re complicit, even a little, with the old [self], so too are you liable to sin.” * 60 The priest left then, called the brothers, and repented* before the eleven of them, clothed them with the monastic* habit, and let them go.61 to loving), as if their modesty had been washed away in the bath.’ In Paedogogus, one of his greatest theological works, Clemens dedicates two whole passages to denouncing bathhouses.” 55. There was often tension between monks and outside clergy. Did the priest’s reach here exceed his grasp? 56. regretting: Lampe 854a does not give “repent” as a meaning for metameléō, but does give “repentance” for the cognate metaméleia; the usual word for “repentance” * is metánoia. 57. flooded: methúō/methúskō normally means “intoxicate, make drunk” (1 Thess 5:7), but by extension can mean “be steeped, immersed, flooded” (Lampe 839b). 58. the old self: ho palaiòs ánthrōpos, literally “the old person.” See Rom 6:6, We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin; and Col 3:9-10, Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. See Poemen 68, 176. 59. belong to, metéchō: “have” in the previous sentence translates the simplex échō. Thus the priest’s response, both lexically and meaningfully (wordplay intentional) intensifies what Poemen asked him. Metéchō has several meanings apposite here: “to take part, participate” (Montanari II:1332c(1)), “to belong to” (1333a) (see Heb 7:13), “to share responsibility, be complicit with” (1333a), “to partake in, belong to” (1333c(2)). See “complicit with” in the next sentence. 60. liable to, hypokeímai: literally, “to lie beneath.” 61. let them go: apolúō has a number of meanings pertinent here: “set free, dismiss,” “loosen,” “acquit, absolve” (Montanari I:259b(1)).

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12. [X.57; 2:50, 52] 62 A brother said to Abba Poemen,* 63 “I’ve committed a serious sin, and I want to repent* for three years.” The elder* said to him, “That’s a long time,” and the brother said to him, “Well, then, a year? ” Again the elder* said, “That’s a long time.” Those who were present were saying, “How about forty days? ” and again he said, “That’s a long time. Let me tell you: if with his whole heart* 64 a person repents* and is determined not to commit the [same] sin, within even three days God willingly receives him.” 65 13. He also said, “The sign that a person is a monk* becomes clear with the temptations* that person faces.” 66 14. [V.7; 1:248] He also said, “Just as the bodyguard of the emperor stands beside him, always at the ready, so must the soul be ready for the demon* of sexual immorality.” * 15. [X.58; 2:52] Abba Anoub67 asked Abba Poemen* about the unclean thoughts* that a person’s heart* brings into being, and about worthless desires,68 and Abba Poemen* said to him, “Will the axe boast without the one chopping with it? 69 And you—if you don’t lend them a helping hand, they’re impotent.” 70

62. See Sisoës 20. 63. said to, erōtáō: ask. 64. whole heart: see Deut 6:5; Matt 22:37. 65. “three days” here could well signal a spiritual resurrection. See Matt 27:63; Mark 8:31. Receives, déchomai: or “welcomes.” * Forty days: Mark 1:12-13 and pars. 66. The Greek is very economical: The sign of the monk is shown with the temptations. 67. For Anoub see Sayings 1:176–78. 68. worthless, mátaios: I’ve followed the NRSV at Jas 1:26; Titus 3:9 (“futile” at 1 Cor 3:20; 15:17). Bauer 621ab: “of no use, idle, empty; fruitless, useless, powerless, lacking truth.” 69. Isa 10:15 (LXX). The question begins with mḗ, thus expecting a negative answer. 70. if you don’t lend them a helping hand, they’re impotent: a variant, PG 65:325, n. 58, if you don’t give them room or give them power,* they’re impotent.

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16. [IV.32; 1:202] Abba Poemen also said, “If Nebuzaradan71 the head cook had not come, the temple of the Lord would not have been set on fire and burned, that is, if gluttony72 had not found a resting place in the soul,73 the mind* would not have fallen in the war* that the Enemy* brings. 17. [IV.33; 1:202] They used to say about Abba Poemen* that when he was called to eat against his will, he would come weeping so that he wouldn’t disobey his brother and cause him to grieve. 18. [X.65; 2:58] Abba Poemen* also said, “Don’t live in a place* where you see certain people who’re jealous of you. Otherwise, you won’t make progress.” 19. [IV.34; 1:202] Some people reported* to Abba Poemen about a certain monk* that he didn’t drink wine,* and he said, “Wine* has absolutely no connection with monks.” * 20. [PG 65:328] [X.59; 2:52] Abba Isaiah asked Abba Poemen* about filthy thoughts,* 74 and Abba Poemen* said to him, “It’s like a basket filled with clothes; if someone ignores them, in time they rot away.75 It’s the same with thoughts:* if we don’t put them into action,76 in time they disappear—or, rather, rot away. 71. Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of ­ abylon, came to Jerusalem. He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house, B and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down (2 Kgs 25:89). The LXX has archimágeiros, “head cook,” a mistranslation. SysAP IV.32 also has archimágeiros. 72. gluttony, gastrimargía: or “greed.” There’s a play on words here: “head cook” translates archimágeiros, which sounds similar; both words have five ­syllables. 73. resting place, anápausis: the irony here is that anápausis, “inward stillness,” * is a key monastic goal. 74. Abba Isaiah asked Abba Poemen about filthy thoughts: SysAP X.59, Abba Isaiah asked the same question [lógos]. See SysAP X.58, where Abba Amoun asks about filthy thoughts. 75. filthy: ruparós can mean “unclean, defiled” but is not the word for “unclean” in the LXX (see Rev 22:11); “dirty, filthy, soiled,” as with clothing (Zech 3:3-4; Jas 2:2) (Bauer 908a(1, 2)). 76. if we don’t put them into action: literally “if we don’t do/make them bodily/ physically.”

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21. [X.60; 2:52] Abba Joseph77 asked the same thing, and Abba Poemen* said to him, “It’s like someone putting a snake and a scorpion in a container and sealing it: they will definitely die over time. It’s the same with evil thoughts* brought to flower by the demons:* through patient endurance,* they disappear.78 22. [X.66; 2:58] A brother came to Abba Poemen* and said to him, “I sow my field, and with [the money I get from it] I do an act of love.” * The elder* said to him, “Good job,” so he went away, eager, and increased the amount of his act of love.* Abba Anoub79 heard about what Abba Poemen* had said and said to him, “Don’t you fear* God, speaking to the brother like that? ” 80 The elder* remained silent. Two days later, Abba Poemen* sent for the brother and said to him, with Abba Anoub listening,81 “What did you tell me the other day? My mind was somewhere else.” The brother said, “I sow my field, and [with the money I get from it,] I do an act of love.” * Abba Poemen* said to him, “I thought you were talking about your brother who’s in the world.* If it’s you who’re doing this work,* this isn’t what a monk* does.” When the brother heard this, he became sad and said, “I don’t know how to do any kind of work* other than this. And I can’t not sow my field!”

77. In this volume Joseph of Panephysis has eleven sayings and Joseph of Thebes one. 78. brought to flower by the demons: SysAP X.66 lacks. 79. For Anoub see Sayings 1:176–78. 80. what Abba Poemen had said: the word (lógos), that is, the counsel* that the elder had given. 81. The stagecraft here is wonderful: Poemen and Anoub are sitting on the ground together discussing matters, perhaps biblical, perhaps spiritual—and in comes the brother. We don’t know why Poemen’s counsel upset Anoub.

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When he had left, then, Abba Anoub prostrated* himself, saying, “Forgive me,” and Abba Poemen* said, “I knew from the beginning that this isn’t work* that monks* do, but I spoke to his thoughts* and made him eager to progress with his acts of love.* But now he’s gone away sad—and is still doing the same thing.” 23. [X.68; 2:60] Abba Poemen* said, “If a person sins and denies it, saying, ‘I didn’t sin,’ don’t cross-examine him; 82 otherwise, you’ll thwart his zealousness.83 But if you say to him, ‘Don’t get discouraged, brother, but be on your guard* from now on,’84 you’ll rouse his soul to repentance.” * 24. [X.71; 2:62] He also said, “Experience85 is good86 because it teaches a person [how to be] proved [in battle*].” 87 25. [X.72; 2:62] 88 He also said, “A person who teaches but doesn’t do what he teaches89 is like a spring of water that waters and washes everyone but doesn’t know how to cleanse itself.” 90 26. [III.24; 1:162, 164] One time, when Abba Poemen* was passing by [a place] in Egypt* and saw a woman* sitting in a tomb

82. If a person sins and denies it, saying, “I didn’t sin,” don’t cross-examine him: SysAP X.68, If a person sins and doesn’t deny it, don’t cross-examine him. Cross-examine, elénchō (English elenchus, “a logical refutation,” elenchtic): or “reprove, admonish, convict” (Lampe 1446b–47a). See Poemen 157. 83. zealousness, prothymía: translated as “eager” in the previous saying. 84. discouraged, athyméō, cognate athymía, “discouragement, dejection, loss of spirit,” and with prothymía; see the previous note. 85. Experience: peȋra is cognate with peirázō, “test, tempt,” and peirasmós, “trial, temptation,” tried and tested. 86. Experience is good: SysAP X.71, Experience is good, better than words. 87. teaches a person [how to be] proved: a variant, PG 65:328, n. 32, and SysAP X.71, makes a person more reliable. 88. This group of six sayings, 20–25 and, later, 27–29 and others, occurs in Chapter X of the SysAP, “On Discernment* [diákrisis].” 89. See Matt 23:3. 90. A variant reading, PG 65:328, n. 64, continues, but is filled with all kinds of dirt and filth. SysAP 10:72, but rather all kinds of dirt and filth and uncleanness lie within it.

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who was bitterly weeping,91 he said, “ If all the delights of this world* came [now], it certainly wouldn’t change [PG 65:329] this soul from mourning.92 In the same way the monk* should at all times have mourning in himself.” 27. [X.75; 2:64] He also said, “There’s a person who appears to keep silent* while his heart* judges* others. Such a person talks all the time! And there’s another person talking from dawn to dusk—and he keeps silent. That is, unless what he says is benefiting [someone], he doesn’t talk.” 28. [X.81; 2:66] A certain brother came to Abba Poemen* and said to him, “Abba,* I have a lot of thoughts,* and I’m in danger because of them.” The elder* took him outside into the open air and said to him, “Inflate your chest and grab hold of the winds,” 93 but he said, “I can’t do that,” so the elder* said to him, “If you can’t do that, neither can you hinder thoughts* from coming in— but it’s up to you to stand up to them.” 29. [X.76; 2:64] Abba Poemen* said, “If three [brothers] are together and one is doing a good job with contemplative quiet,* one is sick and giving thanks, and the third is ministering [to him/ them] with thoughts* that are pure,94 the three are participating in the same way of life.” 95 91. a woman sitting in a tomb who was bitterly weeping: see Poemen 72. 92. mourning: pénthos can also mean “pain, affliction,” “sorrow,* grief, distress.” 93. See Prov 30:4. 94. ministering: hypēretéō broadly means “to help, serve” (NRSV: “support,” “take care of,” “serve”), but Lampe notes, 1444a, “be a servant, hence minister to, to serve, especially as a duty of Christians.” Bauer 1035a adds “of obedience to God.” 95. thoughts that are pure: instead of “thoughts” (logismós), SysAP has ­sunoidós (< oȋda, “to know”), which Montanari says = súnoida, “to know well, be conscious, aware” (2048a(B)); Lampe 1315a says that sunoidós = suneídēsis, “consciousness, mind,” “conscience.” Thus, a pure/clean conscience = a clear conscience. “The three are participating in the same way of life,” ergasía, cognate with érgon, “work” *: or “the three are all keeping/fulfilling the commandments” (Lampe 545b(3, 4)).

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30. [XVIII.22; 3:66, 68] He also said, “It is written, As a deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.96 Because deer in the wilderness* devour numerous snakes and because the poison burns them, they long to come to the waters: they drink, and the waters cool the snakes’ poison. So, too, with monks:* living in the wilderness,* they get burned by the poison of the evil demons* and long for Saturday and Sunday so they can come to the streams of water, that is, the Body and Blood of the Lord,97 in order to be cleansed from the bitterness of the Evil One.” * 31. [X.61; 2:62, 64] Abba Joseph98 asked Abba Poemen,* “How should a person fast? ” * Abba Poemen* said to him, “My wish is that a person eating each day eat just a little, in order not to get full.” 99 Abba Joseph said to him, “When you were young, abba,* didn’t you fast* every other day? ” and the elder* said, “Actually, even three or four days, even a week, but the elders,* themselves capable, checked on the different ways of fasting* and found that [it’s good] to eat every day, and just a little.100 And they handed on101 to us the King’s Highway because it’s easy to bear.” 102 32. [XI.58; 2:170] They used to say about Abba Poemen* that when he was about to go to the synaxis,* he would sit by himself

96. Ps 42:1 (LXX). 97. the Body and Blood of the Lord: a variant, PG 65:329, n. 65, and SysAP XVIII.22, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 98. Joseph of Panephysis has eleven sayings in this volume and Joseph of Thebes one. 99. Get full, chortázō: there may be a sly reference here. The primary meaning of chortázō is “to feed, lead to pasturage,” of cattle (Montanari II:2370a(1)). 100. [it’s good]: the text lacks; supplied from a variant, PG 65:329, n. 67, and SysAP X.61. 101. handed on: paradídōmi is the verb that Paul uses in 1 Cor 11:23 when he hands on the tradition (parádosis) of the Lord’s Supper. 102. King’s Highway: Num 20:17-22.

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examining his thoughts* for about an hour, and in this way would leave [his cell*].103 33. [X.82; 2:66] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* [PG 65:332] “An inheritance has been left to me. What do I do with it? ” 104 The elder* said to him, “Go, and come back after three days and I’ll tell you.” He left and did as the elder* had instructed him [and returned], and the elder* said, “What can I say to you, brother? If I say to you ‘Give the inheritance to a church,’ they’ll [use the money to] have breakfast there.105 If I say to you, ‘Give it to a relative,’ there’s no profit in it for you. If I tell you, ‘Give it to the poor,’* you won’t have to worry about it.106 So, do whatever you want, it’s not my business.” 34. [XVIII.23; 3:68] Another brother asked him, “What does Do not repay anyone evil for evil mean? ” 107 The elder* said to him, “This passion* works four ways: first, in the heart;* second, with sight; third, using the tongue; and the fourth is not exchanging evil for evil. If you can purify your heart,* [the passion*] won’t catch your eye,108 but if it does, watch out what you say.109 But if you do say something, immediately stop yourself from exchanging evil for evil.” 35. [I.20; 1:114] Abba Poemen* said, “Keeping watch,* caring for yourself, and practicing discernment*—these three are the soul’s guiding virtues.” * 110 103. examining, diakrínō: see Discernment in the Glossary. 104. inheritance: see Life of Antony 1–2 (pp. 56–59). 105. Monks usually fasted until the ninth hour, around 3 p.m. The point may be that if the church is a monastic one, at a monastery,* they’ll use the money to break the monastic rule.* Wortley, a bit freely, catches the idea: “they will have banquets there” (Give Me, 233). 106. Give it to the poor: see Mark 10:21//Matt 19:21; Life of Antony 2.5 (p. 59) and 3.1 (p. 61). 107. Rom 12:17. 108. eye, ópsis: translated earlier as “sight.” 109. watch out, phylássō: see Protect in the Glossary. 110. guiding, hodēgoí, an adjective here: a hodēgós is a guide, a leader, “one who assists another in following a path,” * or the way (of Christ, the spiritual life) [hodós]” (Bauer 690b).

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36. [XV.50; 2:320] He also said, “To throw yourself before God, to not measure yourself [against others], and to throw your own will behind you—these are the working* tools of the soul.” 37. [XVI.12; 2:398] He also said, “Each suffering that comes upon you—victory over it is to be silent.” 111 38. He also said, “It’s an abomination to the Lord each time a person takes it easy with regard to his body.” * 112 39. [III.26; 1:164] He also said, “Sorrow is twofold: it works* hard, and it protects.” * 113 40. [X.83; 2:66] He also said, “If a thought* comes to you concerning the basic needs of the body* and you attend [to it/them] once, and it comes a second time and you attend [to it/them], the third time it comes don’t pay it any attention—it’s infertile.” 41. [XV.53; 2:322] He also said, “A brother asked Abba Alonius,114 ‘What does be treated with contempt mean?’115 and the elder* said, ‘To be lower than the animals that have no reason and to know that they are free from condemnation.’ ” 42. [IV.36; 1:204] He also said, “If a person remembers the saying* that’s written, By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned,116 that person will choose instead to keep silent.” * 117

111. suffering, kópos: or, “toil,” “trouble.” 112. abomination: bdélugma occurs often in the LXX referring to something loathsome, detestable, abhorrent, to persons and/or to God; see Deut 7:25-26. 113. works hard: ergázomai: has other meanings apposite here: “work at, practice” virtue;* “overcome” (Lampe 545b(1, 3)). 114. For Alonius, see Sayings 1:181–82. 115. See Mark 9:12: [Jesus] said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt?” 116. Matt 12:37. 117. It’s possible that this saying is aimed in particular at those who offer sayings, that is, give counsel.* “Saying” translates rȇtos, cognate with rȇma, and “words” translates lógos; both rȇma and lógos can mean counsel.*

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43. [II.24; 1:138] He also said, “The beginning of evils is distraction.” 118 44. [VII.20; 1:350] He also said that Abba Isidore, the priest of Scetis,119 spoke one time to the people, saying, “Brothers, wasn’t it for the sake of struggle and suffering that we came to this place?* 120 Now they’re no longer here, so, for my part, I’m getting my sheepskin cloak121 and going somewhere where there is struggle and suffering—there I will find inward stillness.” * 45. [X.86; 2:68] A brother said to Abba Poemen,* “If [PG 65:333] I see something, do you want me to say something about it? ” The elder* said to him, “It is written, If a person responds before hearing, it is madness, and a reproach for him.122 If you’re asked, speak; otherwise, be silent.” 46. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Can a person be confident with keeping one practice? ” and the elder* said to him, “Abba John the Little* said, ‘I want to participate a little in all the virtues.’ ” 123 47. [IV.37; 1:204] The elder* also said, “A brother asked Abba Pambo* if it’s good to praise your neighbor,* and he said to him, ‘It’s much better to be silent.’ ” * 124 48. [XI.62; 2:170] Abba Poemen* also said, “[Even] if a person makes a new heaven and new earth,125 he can’t be worry free.” 126 118. distraction: perispasmós is the opposite of focus, paying attention, mindfulness, prosochḗ, an important monastic practice and virtue. 119. Isidore the priest has seven sayings in this volume. 120. struggle and suffering, kópos: see nn. 52 and 111. 121. sheepskin cloak, mēlōtḗs: see Life of Antony 91.8 (p. 253). 122. Prov 18:13 (LXX). 123. See John the Little 34 in this volume. 124. “Good” translates kalón (< kalós) and “much better” kalòn mȃllon. A Pambo has fourteen sayings in this volume. Poemen does not appear in any of those sayings. 125. Rev 21:1 (see 21:1-5). See also Isa 65:17-19. 126. he can’t [dýnamai; see Power in the Glossary]. Be worry free: a variant, PG 65:333, n. 73, and SysAP XI.62, he ought [opheílō] not to be worry free.

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49. [XV.48; 2:320] 127 He also said, “A person needs humility* 128 and the fear* of God as much as the breath that comes out of his nose.” 129 50. [III.28; 1:164, 166] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What should I do? ” The elder* said to him, “When Abraham entered the Promised Land, he bought a tomb for himself, and through the tomb he fulfilled [the promise about] the land.” 130 The brother said, “What does ‘tomb’ mean? ” The elder* said to him, “A place* of lament and sorrow.” 51. [XIII.6; 2:234] A brother said to Abba Poemen,* “If I give my brother a little bread* or something else, the demons* defile what I’ve done as just people-pleasing.” The elder* said to him, “Even if it’s done to please people, let’s give the brother what he needs,” and he told him a parable like this: “There were two folks, farmers, living in the same city, and the one sowed and reaped a small, [low-yielding] crop.131 The other one, neglecting* to sow, got nothing at all. When there’s a famine, which of the two will find himself living? ” The brother said, “The one who had the small, [low-yielding] crop.” The elder* said to him, “It’s the same with us, then: let us sow a little, even if it [produces a low yield,] so that we don’t die when there’s famine.”

127. See also SysAP XXI.43. 128. A person needs humility: a variant, PG 65:333, n. 74, and SysAP XV.48, A person needs humility in everything. 129. nose: SysAP XV.48, mouth. 130. See Gen 23:1-16. On the promise see Gen 17:1-8. 131. [low-yielding]: the PG text here and below and SysAP XII.6 have akárthatos, “impure, unclean”; the PG Latin translation has impura. I’ve followed Guy, SysAP XIII.6 (2:235), mauvaise qualité, “poor quality,” which Wortley, Give Me, 235, apparently follows. I’m substituting ákarpos, “pertinent to not bearing fruit, unfruitful, fruitless,” “useless, unproductive” for akárthatos (Bauer 34a). See Matt 13:22.

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52. [X.88; 2:68] Abba Poemen* also said,132 “One person spends all his time carrying an axe and doesn’t figure out how to cut down a tree,133 and there’s another person, practiced in cutting down [trees,] who, with a few strokes, brings down the tree.” 134 He used to say that the axe is discernment.* 53. [I.22; 1:114] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “How should a person live as a member of a community? ” 135 The elder said to him, “Let’s look to Daniel: no accusation was brought against him except in his worship of the Lord his God.” 136 54. [X.89; 2:70] Abba Poemen* said, “A person’s will [PG 65:336] is a bronze wall between that person and God and a stone that resists [all effort to move it].137 If a person abandons the will, that person also says, ‘With my God [beside me,] I’m going over the wall!’138 If, therefore, [a sense of] righteousness* accompanies the will, that person’s in bad shape.” 139

132. Abba Poemen also said that Abba Ammonas said: SysAP X.88, Abba Poemen also said. For Ammonas’s sayings, see Sayings 1:161–67. 133. One person spends all his time carrying an axe: SysAP X.88, One person spends all his time carrying an axe and works hard all day. 134. cut down: kataphérō could have deeper meaning here. One of its basic meanings is “bring down,” as in English “bring down a tree,” but it can also mean “bring back.” Thus, Poemen could be saying that without discernment* a person’s efforts are fruitless, he has nothing to show for them. 135. live as a member of a community: politeúō, in the middle voice (Lampe 1114a(D), “specifically of monastic life.” The verb is cognate with politeía; see Way of life in the Glossary. 136. worship of, leitourgía (English liturgy): or service to (Lampe 705ab(B, C) and 705b(C4)). See Dan 6. 137. a bronze wall: see Jer 1:18. SysAP X.88 lacks “and a stone that resists [all effort to move it].” 138. With my God [beside me,] I’m going over the wall: SysAP X.89, With my God [beside me,] I’m going over the wall—and my God, his way* is without fault. See Ps 17:30(-31) (LXX). 139. righteousness: dikaíōma means “righteousness, justification” (Lampe 371b(2)); context suggests “self-righteousness,” or “if a feeling of righteousness comes along.” I agree with Wortley, Word, 236: “self-justification.” Guy, 2:71:

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55. [XV.54; 2:322] He also said, “The elders* were sitting one time and eating, and Abba Alonius stood and was serving them.140 Seeing what he was doing, they praised him, but he didn’t respond at all. One of them, therefore, just the two of them together, said to him, ‘Why didn’t you respond to the elders* when they were praising you?’ Abba Alonius said to him, ‘If I [had] responded to them, I’d have found myself being like someone who welcomes praise.’ ” 141 56. [VIII.19; 1:412] He also said, “People talk without stopping and achieve hardly anything at all.” 57. [IV.39; 1:204] Abba Poemen* said, “Just as smoke drives away the bees and the sweetness of their work* gets taken away, so does bodily indolence142 drive away the fear* of God from the soul and destroy all the soul’s work.” * 143 58. [XIII.5; 2:232, 234] A brother visited Abba Poemen* for two weeks in Lent,144 and, after disclosing his thoughts* and after success in reaching inward stillness,* he said to Abba Poemen,* “I came close to being prevented from turning up here today.” The elder* said, “Why? ” “Car si la justice se recontre avec la volonté, l’homme s’épuise,” “Because if justice meets the will, the person exhausts himself ” (my translation). 140. For Alonius’s sayings, see Sayings 1:181–82. 141. [had]: the PG text has heurískomai (English heuristics, eureka), present tense; a variant reading, PG 65:336, n. 82, and SysAP XV.54 have different versions of the aorist past, ē(h)euriskómēn and heuriskómēn, respectively, thus a contrary-to-fact statement. 142. indolence: the great irony is that here we have bad anápausis; almost always in monastic texts, anápausis is positive, and much desired, “inward stillness,” * but here it’s cessation of physical labor, hence indolence. See Poemen 66 and 83. 143. work: PG 65:336, n. 83, and SysAP IV.39, good work. 144. Lent: tesserakostḗ, “forty days.” See Maged S. A. Mikhail, “The Evolution of Lent in Alexandria and the Alleged Reforms of Patriarch Demetrius,” in Copts in Context: Negotiating Identity, Tradition, and Modernity, ed. Nelly van Doorn Harder (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2017), 169–80, 262–68.

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The brother said, “I said, ‘Maybe because of Lent [the door] won’t be opened to me.’ ” Abba Poemen* said to him, “We didn’t learn to shut the wooden door but rather the door of the tongue.” 145 59. [II.25; 1:138] Abba Poemen* also said, “It’s necessary to flee* bodily* concerns.146 This is so because when a person [is] 147 near the body’s warfare,* that person is like a man standing above a very deep cistern, and whenever it seems opportune for his enemy,* his enemy* calmly pushes him down [into the water]. But if a person can get far away from bodily* concerns, he’s like a man standing away from the cistern. As a result, even if the enemy* drags him [to the cistern] in order to throw him into it, even as the enemy’s* dragging him and the person’s being forced [to come,] God is sending that person help.” 148 60. [I.23; 1:114, 116] He also said, “Poverty* and affliction* and difficulties and fasting* 149—these are the working* tools of the monastic* life, as it is written: If Noah, Job, and Daniel—these three men—‘It is I who live,’ says the Lord.150 Noah is the face of living without possessions,* Job the face of toil, Daniel the face

145. tongue: see Jas 3:1-12. 146. It’s necessary: SysAP II.25, It’s good. “To flee” is the first word in the Greek. 147. The PG text has the second-person singular, which is incorrect when used with “a person”; SysAP II.25 lacks. 148. forced: biázō in the middle or passive voice. In the active voice the primary meaning is “to do violence,” in the middle voice “to do violence, mistreat, treat harshly,” and in the passive voice “to be forced, subdued by force” (Montanari I:386a); see Matt 11:12: From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and violent people take it by force. 149. Poverty and affliction and difficulties and fasting: SysAP I.23, poverty and affliction and discernment.* 150. “It is I who live,” says the Lord: SysAP I.23 lacks. The quotation is a very truncated version of Ezek 14:14, which, so abbreviated, doesn’t work here. See Ezek 14:12-20 for context; here again, the story in Ezekiel doesn’t work with what Poemen is saying.

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of discernment.* If these three practices are in a person, the Lord is dwelling in such a one.” 151 61. [XV.57; 2:322] Abba Joseph used to say, “While we were sitting with Abba Poemen,* he called Agathon* ‘abba,’* and we said to him, ‘He’s too young, so why are you calling him “abba? ” ’* and Abba Poemen* said, ‘Because his mouth has caused him to be called “abba.” ’ ” 152 62. [V.9; 1:250] One time a brother came to Abba Poemen* and said to him, “What do I do, father? I’m afflicted* by [PG 65:337] sexual sin.* You see, I went to Abba Ibistion, and he said to me, ‘You shouldn’t let it hang around you.’ ” 153 Abba Poemen said to him, “Abba Ibistion—his practices are up above with the angels, and it’s hidden from him that you and I have to deal with sexual immorality.* If a monk* 154 gets control of his belly and his tongue155 and practices isolation from the world,* be assured, that person will not die.” 156 63.157 Abba Poemen* said, “Teach your mouth to say what your heart* holds [within.]” 64. [IX.9; 1:432] A brother asked Abba Poemen, “If I see some lapse by a brother, is it good to keep it quiet? ” 158

151. the Lord: SysAP I.23, God. 152. his mouth has caused him to be called “abba”: that is, Agathon keeps his mouth shut, maintaining silence. For Agathon’s sayings see Sayings 1:147–61. 153. Ibistion appears only here and in the parallel SysAP V.9. 154. If a monk: SysAP V.9, But in my opinion, if a monk. 155. For “belly” see Phil 3:19, and “tongue” Jas 3:5-12. 156. and practices isolation from the world, be assured, that person will not die: SysAP V.9, that person is giving himself courage. Practices isolation from the world: the base meaning of xeniteía is “sojourn or travel in a foreign land, exile,” * and then in a monastic context the way I’ve translated it here. 157. Poemen 163 is identical with this one. 158. keep it quiet, skepázō: “cover, shelter, protect,” “hide” (Montanari II:1922ab); “keep from view, conceal” (Bauer 927b(2)). The word doesn’t occur in the NT but does in the LXX: Ps 26:5 (NRSV 27:5); 30:21 (31:20), and others.

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The elder* said to him, “Any time we keep quiet about our brother’s lapse, God also keeps quiet about ours, and the very hour we make known a brother’s lapse, God makes ours known.” 65. [XI.59; 2:170] Abba Poemen* also said that someone one time asked Abba Paësius, “What do I do about my soul? It’s oblivious and doesn’t fear* God,” 159 and Abba Paësius said to him, “Go, attach yourself to a person who fears* God, and, by your being near him, he’ll teach you also to fear* God.” 160 66. [I.24; 1:116] He also said, “If the monk* defeats two things he can be free of the world,” * 161 and the brother [sic] said, “What things? ” and he said, “Bodily indolence and arrogance.” 162 67. [X.91; 2:70, 72] Abraham,163 Abba Agathon’s* [disciple], asked Abba Poemen,* “How can it be that the demons* are waging war* against me? ” and Abba Poemen* said to him, “The demons* are waging war* on you? The demons* don’t wage war* against us as long as we’re doing whatever we want.164 This is because our wills have become demons.* Our own wills; they’re the ones who afflict us so that we’ll fulfill [what our wills desire.] 165 Do

159. It’s oblivious: anaisthetéō < aisthánomai, “perceive,” “sense” + the negative an-: (English anesthesia and esthetics): or “insensitive,” “stupid,” “­obtuse” (Montanari I:136bc). Literally, “unfeeling.” 160. he’ll teach you also to fear God: SysAP XI.59, he’ll teach you from his [own fear] also to fear God. 161. defeats, nikáō: SysAP I.24, hates (miséō). 162. bodily indolence: sarkikós + anápausis: see Poemen 57 and 83. See Flesh in the Glossary. 163. Abraham: for possible sayings, see Sayings 1:178–80, but the sayings don’t identify him as Agathon’s disciple; neither do Agathon’s sayings, Sayings 1:147–60. 164. whatever we want: literally “our [own] wills,” thelḗmata < thélēma, “will,” as in the next sentence. SysAP X.91, whatever they want; literally “their wills.” 165. [what our wills desire]: the PG text has autá, “them,” a neuter pl. for “wills.”

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you want to see who the demons* wage war* against? 166 It’s with Moses and those like him.” 167 68. [I.21; 1:114] Abba Poemen* said, “God gave this way of life* to Israel to keep away from what goes against nature, that is, anger, animosity,168 jealousy, hatreds, slanders against a brother, and the other things that go with the old [way of life].” 169 69a.170 A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Offer me a word of advice,” 171 and he said to him, “What the fathers set down at the beginning of [monastic] activities, what is profitable,172 is sadness.” 173 69b. [XIII.7; 2:234] The brother spoke again: “Offer me another word of advice.” The elder* answered, “As much as you can, work* with your hands so that by doing so you can [help someone in need,] 174 because it is written, Charitable giving and faith* do away with sins.” 175

166. want: thélō is cognate with thélēma, “will.” 167. See Ps 106; among Israel’s many sins, They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons (v. 37). Moses: it seems that Moses represents obedience* (hypakoḗ / hypotagḗ), doing God’s will, not his own; see Exod 6:28–7:7. 168. animosity: thymós has a wide variety of meanings; other possibilities here are “desire, longing” for food or drink; “irritation, impatience”; “anger.” 169. “The old things” here jibes with Paul’s and Pauline use of pálaios: our old self (Rom 6:6), the old yeast (1 Cor 5:7-8), your old self (Eph 4:22), and the old self (Col 3:9). See Poemen 11, 176. 170. I’ve separated Poemen 69 into two parts because SysAP XIII.7 has only 69b. 171. word of advice, lógos: see Counsel in the Glossary. 172. [monastic] activities, what is profitable: I’ve extrapolated a bit from prȃgma, with its numerous meanings, “interest, business,” “occupation,” “advantageous thing” (Montanari II:1731a(A)). Prȃgma is also cognate with prȃxis, “activity, practice.” 173. sadness, pénthos: or “sorrow.” 174. [help someone in need]: this is the reading of SysAP XIII.7; PG text: that you may do an act of mercy. 175. Prov 15:27a (LXX).

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The brother said, “What is faith? ” * The elder* said, “Faith* is leading a life of humility* and practicing charitable giving.” 70. [XVII.27; 3:28, 30] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “If I see a brother who I hear has committed a lapse,176 I don’t [PG 65:340] want to bring him into my cell,* 177 but if I see [a brother doing] well, I rejoice with him.” 178 The elder* said to him, “If you do a small thing that’s good for the brother who’s doing well, do twice as much for the other one—he’s the one who’s frail.179 You see, there was an anchorite* in a cenobium* by the name of Timothy, and the hegumen* heard a rumor regarding temptation* about a certain brother, so he asked Timothy about him.180 Timothy advised him to throw the brother out. When the hegumen* had thrown out the brother, the same temptation* that the brother had now came upon Timothy until he was in danger. Timothy wept and wailed before God, saying, ‘I have sinned! Forgive me!’ “A voice181 said to him, ‘Timothy, do not think that I did these things [sic] to you for any other reason than because you had disdain for your brother at his time of temptation.’ ” * 71.182 Abba Poemen* said, “Here’s why we’re subjected to so many temptations:* we don’t protect* our [good] names and the

176. See Poemen 64. 177. I don’t want to bring him: SysAP XVII.27, I don’t have any desire [plērophoréō in the middle voice] to bring him. 178. I rejoice with him: SysAP XVII.27, I immediately bring him [in]. 179. SysAP XVII.27 ends here, suggestng that the alphabetical saying may have joined two sayings. 180. rumor: phēmḗ (phēmí, “to speak”) shows how radically a word can change its spots: in Homer, Odyssey 21.105, it means “divine voice, prophetic speech”; in Plato, “rumor,” and in the NT “report, news”; it can also mean “fame, reputation” (Montanari II:2267bc). One should note that this Timothy does not have the honorific “abba.” * 181. There may be a sly wordplay here: “rumor” earlier is phēmḗ (fee-ME), voice is phōnḗ (phō-NE). 182. See the previous saying and Poemen S17.

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rule,* just as Scripture says.183 Can’t we see that the Savior, because the Canaanite woman acknowledged her name, gave her peace and tranquility? 184 And there’s Abigail, because she said to David, ‘The sin is mine,’185 and he heard her and loved her.* 186 Abigail personifies the soul, David the deity. If therefore the soul blames herself before the Lord, the Lord loves her.” 187 72. [III.25; 1:164] Abba Poemen* one time was passing through the region of Diolcus with Abba Anoub,188 and when they came to some tombs they saw a woman* beating [her breast] in a terrible way and weeping bitterly.189 Stopping, they observed her. Going on a little later, they ran into someone, and Abba Poemen* asked him, “What’s causing this woman* to weep so bitterly? ” and the person said to him, “She’s weeping like that because her husband died, and her son and her brother.” In response, Abba Poemen* said to Abba Anoub, “I tell you, unless a person puts to death all the selfish desires of the flesh* 190 and acquires this kind of grieving,* that person cannot become a monk.* You see, her whole life and her mind are given over to grieving.” * 183. subjected to, keȋmai (PG Lat. trans. subiacemus): or “abandoned.” The word can mean “to lie, be outstretched,” dead or wounded, “lie, be abandoned, left unburied.” 184. gave her peace and tranquility: anapaúō, cognate with anápausis, “inward stillness.” * See Matt 15:21-27. 185. See 1 Sam 25:2-42, v. 24 (LXX). 186. The wordplay here suggests that to hear, to listen to someone, is an act of love*: ḗkousen . . . agápēsen. 187. blames, mémphomai: or “criticize, reproach” (Montanari II:1309b(1)). Since Abigail is a woman* and “soul” in Greek is a feminine n., psychḗ, I’ve used feminine pronouns here. 188. For Anoub’s sayings see Sayings 1:176–78. 189. On a woman* weeping at a tomb see Poemen 26. Diolcus, Gk. Díolkos: there was a díolokos, a slipway for ships, at Alexandria, but it’s not clear what the word here is referring to. 190. selfish desires: thélēma, “wish, will”; with the context here, I’ve followed Lampe, 621a(C). See Col 3:5 and Eph 2:3; the latter uses epithymía, basically a synonym.

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73. [XV.51; 2:320] Abba Poemen* said, “Don’t measure yourself,191 but rather stick like glue to someone who practices good behavior.” 192 74. He also said that if a brother visited Abba John* the Little, the elder* would accord him193 the love* that the Apostle* writes about: Love is patient, love is kind.194 75. He also said this about Abba Pambo:* “Abba Antony* said that because Abba Pambo* feared* God he caused the Holy Spirit to dwell in him.” 76. [IV.40; 1:204, 206] One of the fathers recounted* this about Abba Poemen* and his brothers when they were living in Egypt* and their mother, who longed to see them, wasn’t able to. She kept watch when they left for church and came up to them,195 but when they [PG 65:341] saw her they turned around and shut the door in her face. In front of the door she cried out, weeping with great lamentation and mourning and saying, “Let me see you, my beloved children!” 196 When Abba Anoub heard, he went in to see Abba Poemen* and said, “What do we do with this old woman who’s weeping at the door? ” 197

191. Don’t measure yourself: “against others” could be understood here. “Measure,” metréō, can also mean “esteem oneself highly” (Lampe 866b(5b)). Monastic spirituality asks the monastic* to be aware of what’s going on inside, especially with regard to thoughts.* So monks should take account of themselves, but not vis-à-vis (or versus) others, and not get big heads about their progress. See ­Poemen 79. 192. stick like glue, kolláō in the aorist passive means “join with, unite with”; kólla means “glue, paste,” so I’ve gone with the simile. 193. the elder would accord him: the Greek is ambiguous, without a specified noun referent with “he would accord,” so “the brother would accord the elder” is possible. 194. 1 Cor 13:4. John* the Little has forty-seven sayings in this volume. 195. She kept watch: SysAP IV.40, She kept watch one day. 196. and saying, “Let me see you, my beloved children!”: SysAP IV.4 lacks. 197. For Anoub’s sayings see Sayings 1:176–78.

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Standing inside, Abba Poemen* heard her weeping with great lamentation and mourning and said to her, “Why are you crying out like this, old woman? ” When she heard his voice, she began to cry out even more, weeping, and saying, “I want to see you, my children! What will it mean for me to see you? Aren’t I your mother? Didn’t I nurse you? My hair’s white now. When I heard your voice it made me upset!” The elder* said to her, “Do you want to see us here, or in the next world? ” * She said to him, “If I don’t see you here, will I see you in the next world? ” He said to her, “If you can force yourself not to see us here, you will see us there.” She left, rejoicing and saying, “If I will in fact see you there, I don’t want to see you here!” 77. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What does high up mean? The elder said to him, “Righteousness.” * 198 78. Some heretics* came one time to Abba Poemen* and began to badmouth the archbishop of Alexandria,* saying that he had been ordained by priests,199 but the elder* kept silent and called his brother and said, “Set the table, get them something to eat, and send them off in peace.” *

198. This needs unpacking. In Rom 12:16 Paul says do not be arrogant, which in Greek uses hypsēlós. The basic meaning of hypsēlós is “upward, high, tall,” but figuratively it can mean “of high quality, noble, sublime” or “elegant, exalted, haughty, proud.” Paul literally says “Do not consider/think of yourself as high up/way up there.” That is, in English, “Get your nose out of the air.” Paul says do not be hypsēlós; Poemen understands that following Paul’s command makes one righteous. 199. If the archbishop is Athanasius,* the heretics could be Arians;* if Cyril,* Origenists* (see Origen in the Glossary). A bishop* needed to be ordained by bishops, not priests.

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79. Abba Poemen* said, “A brother living with other brothers asked Abba Bessarion,200 ‘What should I do?’ and the elder* told him, ‘Keep silent, and don’t think too highly of yourself.’ ” 201 80. He also said, “Don’t let your heart* get attached to someone whom your heart* has doubts about.” 81. He also said, “If you consider yourself of little worth, you’ll find inward stillness,* wherever you make your dwelling.” 202 82. He also said that Abba Sisöes used to say, “There’s shame that is sin: it has a lack of fear.” * 203 83. He also said, “Willfulness, indolence, and getting accustomed to these are what overthrow a person.” 204 84. He also said, “If you’re inclined to be silent* you’ll have inward stillness* wherever you live.” 205 85. He also said about Abba Pior that he began anew each day.206 86. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “If a person is prevented from [doing] some transgression, then turns away [from it], is he forgiven by God? ” 207 The elder* said to him, “Well, will God, who commands people to do this [with one another] not all the more do this himself? God commanded Peter, saying seventy-seven times.” 208

200. For Bessarion’s sayings see Sayings 1:190–97. 201. See Poemen 73. 202. wherever you make your dwelling: literally “in whatever place* you sit/ live.” Tópos, “place” can indicate a monastery* or monastic settlement. 203. Sisöes has fifty-two sayings in this volume. See Poemen 89. 204. overthrow a person: katabállō has numerous meanings; relevant here: “throw down, overthrow, depose,” with an idea of force or hostility (Montanari I:1043a(1A)), and “bring down, kill,” with a weapon (I:1043b(C)). On indolence, see Poemen 57 and 66. 205. “Wherever you live” uses tópos again. 206. A Pior has three sayings in this volume. 207. turns away [from it], epistréphō: or “repents.” 208. Matt 18:22, where Jesus speaks to Peter; the NRSV notes: “Or seventy times seven.” “God” here = Christ, and vice versa.

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87. [PG 65:344] A brother asked Abba Poemen, “Is it good to pray? ” * The elder* said to him, “Abba Antony* said, ‘This precept comes from the very person of the Lord,209 who says, “ ‘Comfort* my people,’ says the Lord, ‘comfort* [them].’ ” ’ ” 88. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “How can a person rule over all thoughts* and not give even one of them to the Enemy?*” 210 The elder* said, “There’s a person who has ten, and gives one.” 211 89.212 The same brother asked Abba Sisoës* 213 [the same question] and he said to him, “It’s clear that such a person provides the Enemy* with nothing.” 90. There was a great practitioner of contemplative quiet* at the monastic community* of Athlib, and brigands came upon him. The elder* cried out;* when his neighbors heard, they arrested the brigands and sent them to the governor, and he threw them in prison. This saddened the brothers, who said, “It’s because of us that they were handed over,” 214 so they got up and went to Abba Poemen* and described the situation to him. So he wrote the elder,* saying, “Reflect on the first betrayal, how it happened, and 209. the very person: prósopon (English prosopography) has a wide variety of meanings; relevant here are “face, countenance” (Lampe 1186a(I)), “sight, presence” (1186b(III), “visible presentation, person” (1186b(VI)), and, of the Trinity, “person (not transitory or superficial presentation)” (1187a(IX)). See Isa 40:1. 210. rule over, katéchō: or “seize, hold firmly,” “gain possession of” (Montanari I:1098b(1c)), “master, understand,” “keep in memory, remember” (1098c(F)). 211. has, lambánō: or “takes upon oneself, takes responsibility for” (Montanari II:1209c(IA)), “judges, evaluates” (II:1209c(D)), “perceive, understand, comprehend” (II:1209c(E)). 212. Wortley, Give Me, 241, omits this saying and numbers the text’s 90 as 89; thus his numeration thereafter is off one. 213. Sisöes has fifty-two sayings in this volume. See Poemen 82. 214. handed over, paradídōmi: or “betrayed”; paradídōmi, prodídōmi, “betray,” and prodosía, “betrayal,” have the same root, do-, “give,” which is Indo-European and through Latin gives us “donation.” On Judas’s betrayal, see Matt 26:25, 46, 48.

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then you’ll see the second. You see, if you hadn’t been betrayed first from within, you wouldn’t have committed the second betrayal.” After he heard Abba Poemen’s* letter (he was renowned throughout that region and never came out of his cell*), he got up and went to the city, got the brigands out of jail, and in public freed them.215 91. [X.78; 2:64] Abba Poemen* said, “The person who complains is not a monk;* 216 the person who retaliates, angry,* is not a monk.” 217 92. Some elders* visited Abba Poemen* and said to him, “What do you want us to do? If we see brothers who are nodding off at the synaxis,* do we nudge them to keep them watchful during the night vigil? ” * 218 He said to him, “For my part, if I see a brother nodding off, I put his head in my lap and let him rest.” 219 93. They used to say about one of the brothers that he was warred* upon by blasphemy and was ashamed to talk about it. So when he’d hear about great elders* he visited them so he could tell them about it, but when he got there he was ashamed to make a confession. He would often visit Abba Poemen,* too, and when the elder* saw that the brother had thoughts,* he was sad that the brother wouldn’t disclose them. One day, then, as he was sending him on his way, the elder said to the brother, “Look, you’ve been coming here for such a long time, and you have thoughts* you want to tell me about. But when you arrive, you don’t want to talk about them; 220 instead, all at once, you leave, depressed that you have them. Tell me, child, what’s going on? ” 215. got .  .  . out: ekbállō; earlier, the governor threw [bállō] the robbers in jail. 216. complains, mempsímoiros: or “criticizes, blames.” 217. “is not a monk” leads off both sentences. 218. nudge, nússō: or “strike, hit.” 219. rest, anapaúō: cognate with anápausis; see Inward stillness in the Glossary. 220. you don’t want to, thélō with a negative: or “you refuse to.”

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The brother said to him, “The demon* is waging war* against me to blaspheme against God, and I was ashamed to say anything.” So when the disciple related* the situation to Abba Poemen,* he was immediately relieved, and the elder* said to him, “Don’t get down, child. Instead, when the [PG 65:345] thought* comes, say, ‘This has nothing to do with me. May your blasphemy be on your own head, Satan!* My soul wants nothing to do with it!’ Everything the soul doesn’t want lasts only a short while.” 221 Thus healed, the brother left. 94. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Looking at myself, I can see that wherever I go I find help and comfort.” The elder* said to him, “Even those having a sword in their hand [have] God showing them mercy* when the right time* comes. So, then, if we’re courageous, God provides us with his mercy.” * 95. Abba Poemen* said, “If a person finds fault with himself, that person will remain steadfast at all times.” 96. He said also that Abba Ammonas* used to say, “There’s a person who’s spent one hundred years in his cell* and hasn’t learned that he needs to stay in [his] cell.” * 222 97. Abba Poemen* said, “If a person measures up to what the Apostle* says, To the pure all things are pure, he sees himself inferior to all of creation.” 223 The brother [sic] said, “How can I consider myself inferior to a murderer? ” The elder said, “If a person measures up to this saying* and sees a person who’s a murderer, that person says, ‘This person committed only one sin, but I commit murder every day.’ ” 98. The brother asked Abba Anoub about the same matter that Abba Poemen* had responded about,* and Abba Anoub said to

221. doesn’t want, ou thélō: or “refuses.” 222. he needs to stay in [his] cell: PG 65 text: it’s necessary to stay in the cell. For ­Ammonas’s sayings, see Sayings 1:161–67. 223. Titus 1:15.

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him, “If a person measures up to this saying* and sees the shortcomings of his brother, he uses his righteousness* to swallow up the shortcomings.” 224 The brother said to him, “What does his righteousness* consist of? ” The elder responded, “Always to find fault with himself.” 99. A brother said to Abba Poemen,* “If I fall into a miserable transgression, my thoughts* devour me and accuse me: ‘Why did you fall?’ ” 225 The elder* said to him, “At the very moment a person does something wrong and says ‘I’ve sinned,’ that person finds liberation.” 226 100. [X.70; 2:60, 62] 227 A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Why do the demons* 228 persuade my soul to be with someone who’s more advanced than me and make me put down someone lesser than me? ” The elder* said to him, “This is why the Apostle* said, In a great house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay .  .  .  . If a person cleanses himself of all of these, he will become a special utensil, dedicated and useful to the owner229 of the house, ready for every good work.” 230 101.231 A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Why don’t I feel free to unburden myself with the elders* regarding my thoughts? ” * 224. For Anoub’s sayings, see Sayings 1:176–78. 225. miserable: oiktrós also means “worthy of compassion,* or of pity” (oȋktos, a cognate) (Montanari II:1434a). 226. finds liberation: paúō is cognate with anápausis; see Inward stillness in the Glossary. 227. See SysAP IV.27 (1:198, 200). 228. the demons: SysAP X.70, my thoughts.* 229. owner: despótēs (English despot) is a “lord, master,” someone having authority; in patristic Greek particularly of the Devil,* but also of God the Father (Lampe 339a(1, 2b)). 230. 2 Tim 2:20-21, which is a little different. SysAP X.70 continues with an allegory of the house and the things within; see Wortley, Book, 160–61. 231. See SysAP IV.27 (1:198, 200; Wortley, Book, 43–44).

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The elder* said, “Abba John the Little* said, ‘The Enemy* rejoices over nothing more than those who won’t reveal their thoughts.’ ” * 102. [PG 65:348] [VII.19; 1:350] 232 A brother said to Abba Poemen, “My heart* abandons me if I encounter even a little problem.” 233 The elder said, “Don’t we marvel* at Joseph, who, when he was quite a young man of seventeen,234 with patience* endured temptation* to the end and God glorified* him? 235 Also, don’t we see Job—how he didn’t give up his patient endurance* 236 right to the end, and that the things that tested* him weren’t strong enough to shake the foundations of his hope* in God? ” 237 103. [X.74; 2:64] Abba Poemen* said, “The cenobium* requires three practices: one is humility,* one is obedience,* and one is taking action that spurs a person on to do the work* the cenobium* requires.” 104. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “One time* when I was feeling miserable I asked one of the holy* ones for something I needed, and he gave it to me as an act of love.* So if God provides [it for me], should I, like him, do an act of love* for others? Or do I instead [give it] to the holy* one who gave it to me? ” The elder* said to him, “For God, the just thing to do is to give it to the holy* one. It’s his.”

232. See SysAP IV.29 (1:200; Wortley, Book, 44). 233. SysAP VII.19 has the statement as a question. 234. a young man of seventeen: SysAP VII.19, quite a young man in Egypt,* in the land of idolators. “Quite a young man” uses mikrós (English micro-), as does the brother’s “a little problem.” Perhaps Poemen is using the word to connect the brother’s little problem with Joseph’s large ones. 235. See Gen 39 about Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. 236. he didn’t give up his patient endurance right to the end, and that the things that tested him weren’t strong enough to shake the foundations of his hope in God: SysAP VII.19, he didn’t give up holding firmly to God right to the end, and the Enemy* wasn’t able to shake the foundations of his hope* in God. 237. See Job 42, Job’s response to God.

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The brother said to him, “If I take [it to him,] then, and he doesn’t want it and instead says to me, ‘Go, and as you wish, give it as an act of love,’* What do I do? ” The elder* said to him, “In my opinion, here’s the situation: if someone provides you [with something] of his and without your asking him, it’s yours. But if you ask for something from a monk* or from someone in the world* and he refuses to accept it back, here’s the situation: that, with his knowledge, you provide it as an act of love* on his behalf.” 105. [XV.58; 2:302] They used to say about Abba Poemen* that he would never add his own counsel* on top of what another elder* had said but instead would praise him in all matters. 106. Abba Poemen* said, “Many of our fathers were courageous in ascetic* practice,238 but in being able to make subtle distinctions239 [about thoughts* through the use of prayer,*] one here, one there.” 240 107. When Abba Isaac was sitting with Abba Poemen* one time, the crowing of a rooster was heard, and Abba Isaac said to Abba Poemen,* “Are there chickens here, abba? ” 241 In reply, Abba Poemen* said to him, “Isaac, why are you forcing me to speak? You and your like hear such things; for someone who’s got self-control,242 they’re not a concern.” 243

238. were, gí(g)nomai: or “became.” 239. in being able to make subtle distinctions, leptótēs < leptós, “fine, thin, slender”: “subtlety.” 240. [about thoughts through the use of prayer]: supplied from a variant, PG 65:348, n. 1. 241. Isaac, priest at the Cells,* has twelve sayings in this volume, and Isaac of Thebes two. 242. someone who’s got self-control, nḗphō (for enkráteia see Self-control in the Glossary): see 1 Thess 5:6, 8; the NRSV’s “sober,” though etymologically accurate (“to abstain from wine,* be sober”), doesn’t capture the idea here (1 Pet 5:8 is better: “discipline yourselves”). Bauer 672 is good: “in the NT only figurative = be free from every form of mental and spiritual drunkenness.” 243. See Arsenius 25, Sayings 1:128–29.

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108. They used to say that if people came to Abba Poemen* he would send them to Abba Anoub first because he was older,244 but Abba Anoub would say to them, “Go to my brother Poemen*—he has the spiritual gift of [giving] counsel.” * 245 But if Abba Anoub was sitting there, near Abba Poemen,* Abba ­Poemen* wouldn’t speak at all with him present. 109. [XIV.13; 2:260, 262] A person living in the world,* living a very devout life,246 [PG 65:349] visited Abba Poemen.* It happened that others, brothers, were with the elder,* asking to hear some counsel* from him. The elder,* therefore, said to the faithful* person living in the world,* “Offer some counsel* to the brothers.” He entreated,* “Forgive me, abba,* I came to learn.” Compelled by the elder,* he said, “I’m someone living in the world.* I sell vegetables and am a merchant. I get small bundles of them and make smaller bundles. I buy cheap and sell for a lot. I don’t know how to speak using the Scriptures, but I can tell a parable: 247 “A certain person said to his friend, ‘Since I have a desire to see the emperor, come with me,’ but his friend said to him, ‘I’ll make the journey* with you halfway.’ So he said to another friend, ‘Come on, take me to the emperor,’ and he said to him, ‘I’ll take you as far as the emperor’s palace.’ He said to a third, ‘Come with me to the emperor,’ and he said, ‘Sure, I’ll go, and I’ll take you

244. For Anoub see Sayings 1:176–78. 245. spiritual gift: chárisma (English charism, charismatic), from cháris, “gift,” “grace.” * 246. living a very devout life: SysAP XIV.13 lacks this, and “faithful” below. 247. He said, “Forgive me, abba, I came to learn.” Compelled by the elder, he said, “I’m someone living in the world. I sell vegetables and am a merchant. I get small bundles of them and make smaller bundles. I buy cheap and sell for a lot. I don’t know how to speak using the Scriptures, but I can tell a parable”: SysAP XIV.13, The person living in the world said, “I’m a wretched person, what can I offer? ” Under great pressure, he said, “I don’t know anything at all, but I heard a parable from a great elder.” *

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to the palace, stand [beside you], speak [on your behalf], and take you to the emperor.’ ” They were asking him, “What’s the significance of this parable? ” 248 and in response he said to them, “The first friend is ­ascetic* practice; it guides you halfway on your journey.* The second is purity, which gets right up to [the gates of] heaven.249 The third is giving to those in need;* 250 it leads you with confidence to God the King.” Strengthened, the brothers withdrew.* 251 110. A brother was living outside his village; 252 for many years he didn’t go up to the village and would say to the brothers, “Look at how many years it’s been and I haven’t gone up to the village, but you go there occasionally.” They told Abba Poemen* about him, and the elder* said to them, “I used to go up at night and circle the village so my thoughts* wouldn’t brag about my not going up to the village.” 111. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Offer me some counsel,” * and the elder* said to him, “When the cauldron has a fire 248. significance, dýnamis: see Power in the Glossary. 249. purity, hagneía: or “chastity.” 250. giving to those in need: SysAP XIV.13, obedience.* Poemen 109 offers a nice view not only into textual transmission but also into monastic values. Without a critical edition of the AlphAP (and perhaps even then), it’s impossible to know whether “giving to those in need” or “obedience” is the original. The same is also true with “Q,” the hypothesized source of material not in Mark, used by Matthew and Luke; see, for example, Blessed are the poor in spirit (Matt 5:3) vis-à-vis Blessed are the poor (Luke 6:20). Clearly one tradition of Poemen 109 saw obedience as the most important of the three virtues* in the saying, while another tradition believed it was giving to those in need, doing an agape (see Act of love in the Glossary). 251. Strengthened, oikodoméō (< oȋkos, “house”; compare English “edified”): Bauer’s note is good: “To help improve ability to function in living responsibly and effectively, strengthen, build up, make more able,” and adds, “Especially in Paul” (696b(3)). See 1 Cor 8:1; 10:23; 1 Thess 5:11 (NRSV for all: “build up,” which nicely catches the etymology of the word). See Poemen 127, 130. 252. living outside his village: see Life of Antony 3.4 (pp. 61–63).

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beneath it, flies can’t touch it, nor any of the other reptiles [sic], but when the cauldron’s cold, then they light upon it. So, too with the monk:* as long as he continues with spiritual practices, the Enemy* can’t knock him down.” 253 112. Abba Joseph254 used to say about Abba Poemen* that he said, “This is the counsel* written in the Gospel: Let the person who has a cloak sell it [PG 65:352] and buy a sword,255 that is, let the person who’s comfortable abandon it and seize hold of the narrow way.” * 256 113. [IX.21; 1:444] Some of the fathers asked Abba Poemen,* “If we see a brother sinning, do you want us to rebuke him? ” The elder* said to them, “As for me, even if I have to pass by there all the time and I see him sinning, I go on by him and don’t rebuke him.” 114. [IX.22; 1:444] Abba Poemen* said, “It is written, What your eyes have seen—bear witness* to these,257 but I’m saying to you ‘Even if you’ve touched [them] with your hands, do not bear witness* [about them].’ This is because one brother was mocked in a situation like this: he saw his brother as though he were sinning with a woman,* and, besieged [by this],258 he went and nudged them with his foot, thinking it was the two of them. He said, ‘Stop it! Now! How much longer [are you going to do this?!]’ And they were found to be sheaves of wheat! That’s why I said 253. knock him down, kataphérō: or “destroy him.” 254. Joseph of Panephysis has eleven sayings in this volume; Poemen appears in the second and third sayings. Joseph of Thebes has one saying. 255. Luke 22:36. Sword: see Poemen 140, Paphnutius 1. 256. the narrow way: see Matt 7:13-14 where Jesus says, Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road [hodós] is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road [hodós] is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Hodós: see Way in the Glossary. 257. PG 65:351, n. 3; Wortley, Give Me, 246; and Guy, SysAP IX.22 (1:444) cite Prov 25:7-8 (LXX), but Prov 25:7 is a better referent. 258. besieged, poleméō: see War in the Glossary. See the next saying.

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to you [pl.]) ‘Even if you touch [something] with your hands—no rebuking!’ ” 115. [V.11; 1:250] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What should I do? I’m besieged by sexual temptation,* and anger’s [grabbing me by] the throat.” 259 The elder said, “This is why David said, ‘I struck down the lion and throttled the bear,’260 that is, ‘I cut off anger* and with regular hard work crushed sexual temptation.’ ” * 116. [XVII.13; 3:18] He also said, “No one has greater love* than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s neighbor.261 If someone hears a person saying something evil,262 that is, something that causes a person pain, something like what he himself is capable of saying, or if someone is taken advantage of263 but bears it264 and doesn’t pay [that person] back—such a person is giving his life for his neighbor.” * 117. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What’s a hypocrite? ” The elder said to him, “A hypocrite’s someone who teaches his neighbor* something that he himself hasn’t achieved. It’s written, Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye when—look!— there’s a log in your own eye? and what follows.” 265 259. [grabbing me] by the throat, harpázō: “seize, snatch,” supplied from a variant, PG 65:352, n. 9, and SysAP V.11. 260. 1 Sam 17:34-35. 261. John 15:13. Both John and the text here use psychḗ, “soul,” which the NRSV translates “life”; see Montanari II:2409a(1); he notes, 4, that for the preSocratics (6th cent. BCE) it means “life, source of life, breath of life,” like Greek pneȗma and Hebrew ruach. See John 3:8. 262. a person saying: this is periphrasis for lógos, which literally is something that someone says (légō), but lógos most of the time in the sayings means “counsel.” * 263. taken advantage of, pleonektéō in the passive voice, or “cheated, defrauded.” 264. bears it: SysAP XVII.13, bears the violence (bía); see Matt 11:12. 265. Matt 7:3-4//Luke 6:41. And what follows: Or how can you say to your neighbor, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see

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118. [X.67; 2:60] A brother asked Abba Poemen* what it is to be angry* with his brother without a good reason,266 and he said, “All of the arrogance with which your brother mistreats you, and your being angry* with him, is being angry* without a good reason.267 Even if he rips out your right eye and cuts off [PG 65:353] your right hand and you get angry* with him, you’re being angry* with him without a good reason.268 But—if he separates you from God, then get angry* with him.” 269 119. [III.29, III.30; 1:166] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What should I do about my sins? ” The elder* said to him, “The person who wants to be set free from sins sets them free with weeping,270 and the person who wants to acquire virtues* acquires them with weeping.271 Weeping is the path* that Scripture and our fathers passed on to us: they said, ‘Weep.’ There isn’t any other path* than this one.” 272 120. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What is repentance* for sin? ” and the elder* said, “Not to do it again. This is why the

clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. Neither Matt nor Luke has “look! [idoú]”; the word occurs often in the sayings, and in the Gospels (Bauer 468ab). See Poemen 131. 266. Matt 5:22. 267. “arrogance” translates pleonexía, and “mistreats” the cognate verb pleonektéō. Pleonexia in English: “extreme greed for wealth or material possessions; avarice,” which it can also mean in Greek. It came into English with this meaning in 1858 in an expository lexicon for medical science; the lexicon adds “regarded as mental disease” (OED online). 268. and cuts off your right hand: SysAP X.67 lacks. 269. A variant, PG 65:353, n. 10, adds sphodrȏs, that is, “get really angry.” See Matt 5:29-30 and 5:22. 270. set free/sets free, lutróō: see Luke 24:21, we had hoped that he was the one to redeem [lutróō] Israel. “Redeem” means “buy back” (Old French redimer or Lat. redimere). 271. SysAP III.30 begins here with “He also said.” 272. See Poemen S22. Isaiah and Jeremiah speak often of weeping; see Isa 16:9; 22:4; Jer 3:21; 31:9.

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righteous were called ‘unblemished,’ because they abandoned sins and became righteous.” 273 121. He also said, “People’s evil is hidden behind them.” 122. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do with these disturbing things that are troubling me? ” 274 The elder* said to him, “Let us weep before the goodness of God in whatever we’re struggling with until he shows us his mercy.” * 123. Once again the brother asked him, “What do I do about the unprofitable friendships that I have? ” and he said, “There’s a person with a death rattle who’s clinging to friendships in this world.* Don’t go near them or touch them, and they’ll be estranged [from you] on their own.” 124. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Can a person be dead? ” He said to him, “If a person’s already in the company of sin, that person becomes someone who’s dying, but if a person’s already in the company of what’s good, he’ll live and do what’s good.” 125. Abba Poemen* said that blessed Abba Antony* 275 said, “The greatest thing a person can do is to blame himself for his own mistake in the presence of the Lord and to expect temptation* until his last breath.” 276 126. Abba Poemen* was asked, “Who is that verse written to, Do not worry about tomorrow? ” 277 273. unblemished, ámōmos: or “blameless.” In the HB the term indicates unblemished animals fit for sacrifice; see Lev 1:3, 10. The term then became figurative: Ezek 28:15 (“blameless”). 274. disturbing things: tarachḗ; trouble: the cognate verb tarássō/taráttō; see Disturb in the Glossary. Other possibilities for tarachḗ: “disorder, confusion, tumult,” “agitation, turmoil, disturbance, confusion” (Montanari II:2083c). 275. For Antony’s sayings see Sayings 1:93–119. 276. mistake, sphálma: or “fault, sin.” For a slightly different version of this saying see Antony 4, Sayings 1:95. 277. Matt 6:34: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

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The elder* said to him, “It was said for a person who was being tempted* and getting discouraged so that he wouldn’t worry and say, ‘How long will I have this temptation?!’* but that he would reconsider matters and say every day ‘Today!’ ” 278 127. He also said, “Teaching your neighbor* is [the work] of someone who’s healthy and without passions*—since what’s the point of building someone else’s house while tearing down your own? ” 279 128. [X.56; 2:50] He also said, “What good is it if someone goes away [to take on] a craft and doesn’t learn it? ” 129. He also said, “Everything done to excess is [the work] of the demons.” * 130. He also said, “When a person is going to build a house [PG 65:356], he gathers together all the things he needs so he can erect the house. It’s the same with us: let’s procure a little of all the virtues.” * 131. Some of the fathers asked Abba Poemen,* “How did Abba Nestheros put up with so much from his disciple? ” 280 Abba Poemen* said to them, “If it’d been me, I would’ve put the pillow under his head, too.” Abba Anoub said to him, “And what would you have said to God? ” 281 Abba Poemen* said, “I would’ve said, ‘You said, First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.’ ” 282 278. See Heb 3:13: But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 279. Building: “To build a house [oȋkos]” is oikodoméō, which can figuratively mean “edify” (in English cognate with “edifice”), “encourage.” See Poemen 109, 130. 280. Nestheros has five sayings in this volume and Nestheros the Cenobite two. Neither set of sayings mentions a disciple or has the situation that Poemen alludes to. 281. For Anoub’s sayings see Sayings 1:176–78. 282. Matt 7:5. See Poemen 117.

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132. Abba Poemen* said, “Hunger and nodding off don’t give us permission to neglect* the little things.” 133. He also said, “Many have become powerful,* but few [without] becoming exasperating.” 283 134. He also said with a sigh, “All the virtues* entered this house except one, and without that one a person cannot remain steadfast,” so they [sic] asked him, “Which virtue* is it? ” and he said, “That a person find fault with himself.” 135. Abba Poemen* would often say, “We don’t need anything except sober-minded intelligence.” 136. One of the fathers asked Abba Poemen,* “Who is it who says I am a companion of all who fear* you? ” and the elder* said, “The Holy Spirit is the one who’s speaking.” 284 137. Abba Poemen* said that a brother asked Abba Simon,285 “If I leave my cell* and find my brother distracting himself and I join in with him,286 and if I find him laughing and I laugh with him, then if I go back into my cell,* aren’t I abandoning [my ability] to have inward stillness? ” * The elder* said to him, “What do you want? If you leave your cell* and find people laughing and you laugh with them, and find people talking and you talk [with them], and then you go back to your cell,* do you find yourself as you were before? ” 283. [without]: PG 65:356, n. 17, adds mḗ, a negative. “Becoming exasperating,” paroxúnō: one expects something stronger here. Wortley, Give Me, 249 (Poemen 132), uses “irritating.” For paroxúnō Montanari, II:1588bc, adds “to become acute, of fevers”; “to be stricken with a disease.” PG 65:355 translates it as provocantes, for which the three most apposite definitions are “to challenge to a contest, to contend with, emulate, rival, vie with,” “to challenge, incite, provoke to anything,” “to excite, stimulate, exasperate, stir up, rouse with anything” (A Latin Dictionary, ed. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short [1879; Oxford: Clarendon, 1975], www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3 Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3Dprovoco). 284. Ps 119:63 (LXX: 118:63): I am a companion of all who fear you, / of those who keep your precepts. 285. A Simon has two sayings in this volume. 286. I join in with him: literally “I distract myself.”

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The brother said, “So what [do I do]? ” and the elder* replied, “When inside, keep your guard* up, when outside keep your guard* up.” 138. Abba Daniel used to say, “We visited Abba Poemen* one time and ate with him.287 When we were done eating he said to us, ‘Go and rest a bit, brothers,’ so the brothers left to rest a bit, and I stayed behind to talk with him alone. I got up and entered his cell.* When he saw me coming to see him, he lay down as though he were sleeping. This was the elder’s* practice: he did everything in secret.” 139. Abba Poemen* said, “If you see something288 [PG 65:357] and hear something, don’t recount* them to your neighbor*— [doing so] brings the upheaval of war.” * 140. He also said, “The first time, flee;* the second time, flee;* the third time, become a sword.” 289 141. Abba Poemen* also said to Abba Isaac, “Lighten up on this business of your righteousness,* and you’ll have inward stillness* your remaining days.” 290 142. A brother visited Abba Poemen,* and, sitting with some others, he praised a certain brother for his hatred of evil. Abba Poemen* said to the brother who’d spoken, “And what is hatred of evil? ” The brother was astounded* and couldn’t find anything to say in response; 291 he got up, then prostrated* himself before the elder,* saying, “Tell me, what is ‘hatred of evil?’ ”

287. An Abba Daniel has eight sayings in Sayings 1:213–21. 288. something, théama, literally “something seen”: I’ve made the translation nonspecific because the word can simply mean a “visible object,” but also a “public spectacle,” something “wonderful, marvelous,” a “spectacle of horror,” or even “of objects of mystical contemplation” (Lampe 615a). 289. sword: if meant figuratively here, see Eph 6:17: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and Heb 4:12. See Poemen 112, Paphnutius 1. 290. Isaac Priest at the Cells has twelve sayings in this volume and Isaac of Thebes 2. 291. astounded, exístēmi: “frightened” is a possibility.

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The elder said, “Hatred of evil is this: if someone hated his own sins and considered his neighbor* to be in the right.” 292 143. A brother visited Abba Poemen* and said to him, “What do I do? ” The elder* said to him, “Go, live close by someone who says ‘What do I want?’ and you’ll have inward stillness.” * 144. [III.31; 1:166] Abba Joseph recounted* that Abba Isaac said,293 “I was sitting one time with Abba Poemen,* and I saw him having a mystical* experience.294 Since I could easily speak freely* with him, I prostrated* before him295 and entreated* him, saying, ‘Tell me, where were you?’296 “Forced to say something, he said, ‘My thoughts* had me where Saint Mary the Theotokos* was standing.297 She was weeping at the Savior’s cross,* 298 and I was wishing that I could always be weeping like that.’ ”

292. to be in the right, dikaióō, cognate with dikaiosúnē, “righteousness,” “justice.” * 293. In SysAP III.31 Abba Isaac himself tells the story. 294. sitting with, káthēmai: or “living with.” Mystical experience: ékstasis; see Lampe 438b–39a. The word occurs six times in the NT, most often with the sense of amazement/astonishment. With the sense here see Acts 10:10 (“trance,” ékstasis); 11:5 (“trance” and “vision,” ékstasis and hóroma); 22:17 (“trance,” ékstasis). 295. Since I could easily speak freely with him, I prostrated before him: SysAP III.31 lacks. 296. Tell me, where were you?: SysAP III.31, Where were your thoughts,* abba. 297. Forced to say something, he said, “My thoughts had me”: SysAP III.31, The elder said, “Where Saint Mary was and weeping.” Theotokos, Gk, theotókos: “God-bearer.” SysAP III.31, hē hágia María, “holy/Saint Mary.” This word for Mary doesn’t occur in the NT; Lampe 639a(A) says “before 5th c., Christological controversies” (see 639a–41a), but Joseph Trigg tells me, “The word occurs four times [in Origen’s* works], in catena fragments on Luke and once in a fragment on Deuteronomy, all of them referring to the infancy chapters in Luke,” and may belong to Origen’s pen. “The concept of Mary as the mother of God is implicit elsewhere in his work, so it is not implausible that he used the term.” My thanks to him for his observation. See ODCC 1607b–8a. See Theotokos in the Glossary. 298. See John 19:25.

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145. [X.64; 2:56, 58] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do with this weight that’s got me by the throat? ” 299 The elder* said to him, “Ships large and small have these great belts so that when the wind isn’t agreeable [the sailors] put the tow rope and the belts around their chests and little by little drag the boat until God sends wind. But if they see that it’s getting dark and gloomy, then they hurry and bring [the ship] to a post so it won’t be tossed about.300 [A post means ‘to find fault with yourself.’]” 301 146. A brother asked Abba Poemen* about the injuries caused by thoughts,* and the elder* said to him, “This situation is like a man who’s got fire on his left and a large jar of water on his right. So if the fire’s burning [too high?], he gets water from the jar and puts it out. The fire is what the Enemy* sows; the water is to hurl oneself before God.” 147. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Is it better to speak or remain silent? ” The elder* said to him, “The person who speaks on God’s account is doing a good job, and the person who stays silent on God’s account likewise.” 148. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “How does a person avoid speaking ill of a neighbor? ” * 302 The elder* said to him, “We and our brothers are two portraits; whenever a [PG 65:360] person pays attention to himself and finds fault [with what he sees], his brother will be found honorable [by 299. got me by the throat, sunéchō: also “to cause distress by force of circumstances, seize, attack, distress, torment” (Bauer 971a(5)). 300. tossed about: rémbō figuratively here can allude to spiritual practice: “roam, wander, gad about,” “vacillate, be uncertain” (Lampe 1216a). 301. A variant, PG 65:357, n. 18, and SysAP X.64 continue with the final sentence in brackets, which an editor or scribe could have added to explain the metaphor. The text in PG leaves the meaning of the post open-ended. 302. avoid: pheúgō can mean “to flee,” * so “fleeing from” is implied here. Flight from the world* or thoughts* or evil(s) is an important concept and practice in early monasticism.

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him], but when that person appears to himself to be fine, he’s finding his brother second-rate.” 303 149. [X.87; 2:68] A brother asked Abba Poemen* about acedia,* 304 and the elder* said to him, “Acedia stands beside everything begun, and there’s no passion* worse than this one. But if a person recognizes it for what it is, such a person finds inward stillness.” * 305 150. Abba Poemen* said, “There are three bodily practices we can observe with Abba Pambo:* fasting each day until late in the day, silence,* and a lot of working* with [our] hands.” 306 151. He also used to say that Abba Theonas said, “Even if a person acquires a virtue,* God doesn’t provide grace* to him alone.307 This is so because the person knows that he didn’t become faithful* by himself. But if he leaves and goes to his companion, then the virtue* remains with him.” 308 152. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “I want to enter a cenobium* and live there.” The elder* said to him, “If you want to enter a cenobium,* unless you don’t worry about any and all matters and circumstances you won’t be able [to do the work* required in a cenobium.*] 309 There you don’t have any authority, even over a bottle of water.” 303. fine .  .  . second-rate: the text has kalós, “good,” and kakós, “bad.” 304. acedia: SysAP X.87, acedia and neglect[ing the monastic way of life]. 305. Acedia stands beside everything begun, and there’s no passion worse than this one. But if a person recognizes it for what it is, such a person finds inward stillness: SysAP X.87, Acedia wages war* against all good work and hurls people into neglect[ing the monastic way of life]. Therefore, if a person recognizes the damage that acedia causes and persists in good work,* that person finds inward stillness.* 306. Pambo has one saying in this volume. 307. Theonas has one saying in this volume. 308. This compact sentence seems to be saying that just as God helped the brother acquire a virtue, that brother should then help a companion (monastic brother) to do so. 309. The text here is deficient, having only “cenobium”; I’ve followed the variant at PG 65:360, n. 20: literally “the things of the cenobium.”

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153. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do? ” and he said, “It is written, I confess my iniquity, and I will be distressed about my sin.” 310 154. [V.8; 1:248, 250] Abba Poemen* said, “Sexual immorality* and backbiting: a person must neither talk about these thoughts* nor reflect on them in his heart*—at all! If he in any way seeks discernment* about them in his heart* it will not benefit him—at all! 311 No, the person who [avoids them will have inward stillness* and will reap the benefits.*]” 312 155. Abba Poemen’s* brothers were saying to him, “Let’s leave this place*—the cells* in this community* are bothering us, and we’re losing our souls.313 Look, here even crying children are taking away our contemplative quiet!” * Abba Poemen* said to them, “It’s because of the voices of angels that you [pl.] want to withdraw* from here.” 314 156. Abba Bitimios315 asked Abba Poemen,* “If someone feels sorrow because of something I’ve done and I tell him I repent* and he’s not persuaded, what do I do? ” The elder* said to him, “Take two other brothers with you and repent* in his presence, and, if he’s [still] not persuaded, take

310. Ps 37:19 (LXX); Ps 38:18 (NRSV): I confess my iniquity; / I am sorry for my sin. 311. If he in any way seeks discernment* about them in his heart it will not benefit him—at all! SysAP V.8 lacks. 312. The person who [avoids them will have inward stillness and will reap the benefits]: because the text is contradictory (“The person who gets wildly angry about them, however, will have inward stillness”)—anger is the enemy of inward stillness—I’ve followed the reading of SysAP V.8. 313. losing, apóllumi: or “destroying.” See 347, n.260; 351, n.298; 352, n.308; 354, n.324. 314. The sentence can be a question. This saying is very unusual. The abbas are very clear that there are to be no children at a monastery,* no doubt because of noise but also because of sexual* temptation. Pedophilia was common in Greek society. 315. Bitimios doesn’t have any sayings in AlphAP; Bitímios is Bḗtimos in SysAP XX.3 (Wortley, Book, 359–61), where he tells a long story about ­Macarius* the Great.

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another five. And if he’s still not persuaded with these five there, take a priest. And if he’s not persuaded even by this, then calmly pray to God to satisfy him and don’t worry about it.” 316 157. Abba Poemen* said, “Teaching your neighbor is like reprimanding your neighbor.” 317 158. He also said, “Don’t carry out what you want to do; 318 [PG 65:361] you need instead to humble* yourself before your brother.” 159. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “I found a place* that offers perfect inward stillness* for the brothers. Do you want me to live there? ” and the elder* said, “Where you don’t harm your brother—stay there.” 160. [XI.61; 2:170] Abba Poemen* said, “These three statutes offer the most benefit: fear* of the Lord, prayer,* 319 and doing good for your neighbor.” * 161. A brother said to Abba Poemen,* “My body’s* getting feeble, but the passions* aren’t getting feeble.” The elder* said to him, “The passions* are thorny brambles.” 320 162. [III.27; 1:164] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do? ” The elder* said to him, “When God makes an appearance to help, what do we have to be anxious about? ” 321 The brother said to him, “Our sins.” 316. See Matt 18:15-18. 317. reprimanding, elénchō: other possibilities, “rebuking, examining, testing, refuting” (Lampe 446b–47a (A2, B, D, F)). See Poemen 23. 318. what you want to do: literally “your own will.” 319. prayer: a variant, PG 65:361, n. 21, and SysAP XI.61, prayer without ceasing/unceasing prayer; see 1 Thess 5:17. 320. thorny, rousís: Montanari doesn’t have the word; Lampe 1219b = rutís, “wrinkle, fold,” and adds that the latter word can be used metaphorically of moral defects (1218b, 1219b). The Latin translation of the saying has spineae rugae, “thorns and wrinkles.” 321. makes an appearance to help, episképtomai: see Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16.

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The elder* said, “Let’s go to our cells* and, staying there, r­ emember our sins, and the Lord will come to our aid in everything.” 163. A brother on his way to the marketplace asked Abba ­Poemen,* “What do you want me to do? ” The elder* said to him, “Become friends with someone who’s being mistreated, and with inward stillness* sell your goods.” 164. Abba Poemen* said, “Teach your mouth to say what’s in your heart.” * 165. [XI.57; 2:170] Abba Poemen* was asked about defile­ ments,322 and he responded, “If we stick with our ascetic* practices and are diligently soberminded, we won’t find any defilement within ourselves.” 323 166. Abba Poemen* said, “Since the third generation of Scetis* and from the time of Abba Moses,* the brothers haven’t made any progress.” 324 167. [XV.56; 2:322] He also said, “If a person safeguards* his monastic discipline, he won’t be bothered by anything.” 325 168. [X.93; 2:72] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I need to do to live in my cell? ” * 326 He said to him, “The visible manifestations of living in your cell* are working* with your hands, eating once a day, maintaining silence,* and meditating,* and what’s done in secret to make progress in your cell* is to put yourself to the test by shouldering blame, in whatever place,* wherever you go; not neglecting the times for the synaxis,* and [prayer* done in] private. And if an

322. defilements: SysAP XI.57, thoughts.* 323. See 2 Cor 7:1 (the only appearance in the NT): Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God. 324. Moses has twenty-one sayings in this volume. 325. monastic discipline: táxis can mean “the monastic rule” * (Lampe 1372b(5, 6)). 326. live (literally “sit”), kathízō: or “remain.”

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appropriate time* comes to stop your handiwork, go untroubled to the synaxis* until the service ends. Last of all, maintain good fellowship [with others] and stay away from bad fellowship.” 327 169. [PG 65:364] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “If a brother has a little money that I gave him, do you want me to ask him [for/about it]? ” The elder* said to him, “Ask him once.” The brother said to him, “Then what do I do? I can’t stay on top of my thoughts.” * The elder* said to him, “Let your thoughts* die from inactivity; only, don’t bother your brother.” 328 170. It happened that some of the fathers visited the house of a certain lover of Christ; 329 among them was Abba Poemen.* While they were eating, meat was served, and everyone was eating except Abba Poemen.* Knowing his discernment,* the elders* were astonished* that he wasn’t eating.330 When they got up they said to him, “You are Poemen*—and you acted like that? ” In response the elder* said to them, “Forgive me, fathers. You ate, and no one was scandalized.* But for me—if I ate, since many brothers come and are close beside me, they would be hurt and say, ‘Poemen* ate meat, and we don’t get to eat it?’ ” They were amazed* at his discernment.* 171. Abba Poemen* said, “Let me tell you, Satan’s* throwing me where I’m throwing him.”

327. fellowship: synodía combines sýn, “with,” with hodós, “way,* path, j­ ourney.” Thus, fellowship with someone is being a fellow-traveler, a companion on the way. English synod. The word came into Middle English via Latinized sunodus. 328. die from inactivity: Montanari and Lampe suggest “stagnate” and cite only this saying; Wortley, Give Me, 255, has “wither away.” 329. lover of Christ: philóchristos does not occur in the NT; the first use that Lampe 1485a cites is by Athanasius (ca. 296–373). 330. Their thinking is that as a guest Poemen should accept the hospitality given and eat the food.

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172. The same [elder*] said to Abba Anoub,* 331 “Avert your eyes so you don’t see foolishness and folly.332 Licentiousness annihilates the soul.” 333 173. While Abba Poemen* was sitting there, Païsius334 was fighting one time with his brother until blood was flowing from their heads, and the elder* said nothing whatsoever to them. Abba Anoub335 came in, and when he saw them he said to Abba ­Poemen,* “Why’d you let the brothers go on fighting and not say anything to them? ” Abba Poemen* said, “They’re brothers; they’ll make peace again.” Abba Anoub said, “What’re you talking about? You saw what they did and you’re saying ‘They’ll make peace again’?!” Abba Poemen* said to him, “Get it into your heart* that I wasn’t inside.” 174. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “There are brothers dwelling with me; do you want me to tell them what to do? ” The elder* said to him, “No. Instead, first do your work,* and if they want to live, they’ll focus on themselves.” 336 331. For Anoub’s sayings, see Sayings 1:176–78. 332. foolishness and folly: mataiótēs is especially common in Psalms and Ecclesiastes. 333. Licentiousness: Bauer 316b gives only positive meanings for eleuthería, and the term is important for Paul and the Pastoral Epistles; Lampe, too, gives only positive meanings (449ab); Montanari 1:659b gives positive definitions but also “Excessive liberty, license,” thus “licentiousness,” which has meanings outside of the sexual: “wanton disregard or transgression of laws, rules, or moral norms” (Dictionary.com). PG 65:363a has “Averte oculos quos te videant vanitatem.” 334. Païsius is Greek for Coptic Psoi/Bishoi/Bishoy. There aren’t any sayings by Païsius in the AlphAP. A Païsios/Paḗsios appears four times in the SysAP (Guy 3:246–47). See Tim Vivian and Maged S. A. Mikhail, eds., The Life of Bishoi (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2021). 335. For Anoub’s sayings, see Sayings 1:176–78. 336. if they want to live: Possibly “if they want to live with you,” or “live the monastic life,” but I’ve let the Greek be open-ended.

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The brother said to him, “They too, father, want me to tell them what to do.” The elder* said to him, “No. Instead, be a model for them, not a law-giver.” 175. Abba Poemen* said, “If a brother visits you and you see that you’re not benefiting* from his coming, search your thinking and figure out what kind of thoughts* you had before his arrival. Then you’ll realize the reason that you didn’t benefit* [from his visit]. If you do this with humility* and thoughtfulness, you’ll be blameless with regard to your neighbor,* bearing your own deficiencies. You see, if a person is assiduous about his [ascetic* discipline] with godly reverence,337 that person clearly won’t stumble and trip—that’s because God is right in front of him. As far as I can see, from a position such as this a person acquires the fear* of God.” 176. [PG 65:365] He also said, “A person who has a child living with him and has any passion* whatsoever of the old person338 operating in him with regard to the child,339 and [if such a person] still keeps the child with him, such a person is like someone who has a field being greedily devoured by worms.” 340 177. [X.77; 2:64] He also said, “Sinfulness in no way destroys sinfulness. No, if someone does something evil to you, do something good for that person so, by doing something good, you destroy sinfulness.” 178. He also said, “When David was engaged with the lion he grabbed hold of it by the throat and immediately slew it.341 So, then, if we grab hold of our own throat and belly, through God we defeat the lion that’s unseen.” 337. godly reverence, eulábeia: or “godly fear” * (Lampe 567a(1c)). 338. Rom 6:6. See Poemen 11, 68. 339. operating: energéō in the middle voice; in the active voice the verb can mean “to have sexual intercourse” (Montanari I:693b(1, 2)). 340. See Isa 14:11b, maggots are the bed beneath you, and worms are your covering. 341. See 1 Sam 17:31-35.

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179. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do? Affliction* comes to me and I’m rattled [by it].” The elder* said, “Violence causes both small and great to get rattled.” 342 180. They used to say about Abba Poemen* that he was living in Scetis* with two of his brothers, and the younger one was bothering them, so he said to the other brother, “This younger brother of ours is making us weak.343 Get up, let’s get out of here.” So, leaving [the cell*], they left him. So when the brother saw that they’d been gone a long time, he saw them in the distance walking away and began running after them crying out [their names]. Abba Poemen* said, “Let’s wait for the brother; he’s getting tired.” When he came towards them he prostrated* himself and said, “Where are you going, and why are you leaving me by myself? ” The elder* said to him, “Because you’re bothering us, that’s why we’re going away.” 344 He said to them, “Yes! Of course! Wherever you’re going, let’s go together!” When the elder* saw that in his innocence he was being sincere, he said to his [other] brother, “Let’s turn around, brother. He doesn’t mean to do those things. No, it’s the Devil* that’s doing those things to him.” So, turning around, they went back to their place.* 181. The hegumen* of a cenobium* asked Abba Poemen,* “How can I acquire the fear* of God? ”

342. rattled: the basic sense of kinéō is “to move” (English kinetic), but a number of its meanings fit here: “move,” “rouse, spur on,” “incite, provoke,” “shake, ruffle, rattle,” “throw into turmoil,” “disturb” (CGL II:804ab). 343. brother: adelphós can indicate a brother by birth, a fellow monk, or both. 344. going away: anachōréō (English anchorite) usually means “to withdraw” * (from the world*). Thus, the brother is standing in for “the world” and is preventing them from having a monastic way of life.*

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Abba Poemen* said to him, “How can we acquire fear* of God when we have stomachs full of cheese and pots of salted fish inside us? ” 182. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “Abba,* there were two people, one a monk* and the other a person in the world.* The monk* decided one evening that in the morning he’d get rid of [his] monastic habit, and the person living in the world* decided to become a monk.* Both died that night. What, then, does a person conclude about them? ” The elder* said, “The monk* died a monk,* and the worldly* person died a worldly* person. They departed exactly as they were.” 183. [XVIII.21; 3:66] Abba John, [who’d been exiled by the emperor Marcian,] 345 used to say, “Coming from Syria* one time we visited with Abba Poemen,* and we wanted to ask him about hardness of heart.* 346 The elder* didn’t know Greek, there wasn’t an interpreter readily available, and when the elder* saw that we were dismayed [PG 65:368] he began speaking in Greek, saying, ‘Water by nature is soft, rock is hard, but a narrow-necked container hung above the rock and dripping water on it makes a hole in the rock. Likewise, the word* of God is soft,347 but our hearts* 345. A variant, PG 65:365, n. 26, and SysAP XVIII.21 have the text in brackets. Marcian (392–457) was Eastern emperor from 450–457. He called the Council of Chalcedon into session; it “proved to be a landmark in ecclesiastical affairs and earned Marcian acclamation as a ‘New Constantine,’ but the [Council’s] theological definition failed to win the backing of those whom modern scholarship terms Miaphysites, so Marcian had to use military force to install bishops in some major Eastern sees” (ODLA 2:960). On the Miaphysites (formerly called “Monophysites”) see ODLA 2:1016–17, ODCC 1104b–5b (“Monophysistism”). Egypt and Syria were riven by Christological infighting; John was probably exiled for his Miaphysite, non-Chalcedonian views. Modern Miaphysite Churches are the Oriental Orthodox Churches: Syrian, Coptic, Armenian, and Ethiopian. 346. hardness of heart, sklērótēs tȇs kardías; later, “rock” and “hearts” are “hard” (sklērós; English sclerosis, sclerotic). See Matt 19:8//Mark 10:5. 347. soft: hapalós here and earlier also means “tender, delicate” (Montanari I:224b).

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are hard. When a person hears the word* of God often, that person’s heart* is opened to fear* God.’ ” 184. Abba Isaac visited Abba Poemen* and saw him pouring a little water on his feet.348 Since Abba Isaac could speak freely* with him, he asked Abba Poemen,* “Why did some use such severe practices and treat their bodies with such severity? ” and Abba Poemen* said to him, “We were taught not to be people who kill the body but rather people who kill the passions.” * 185. He also said, “There are three wounds that I can’t get rid of—food, clothing, and sleep—but I can partially get rid of them.” 349 186. A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “I eat a lot of vegetables.” The elder* said, “That’s not good for you; 350 instead, eat your bread,* and a few vegetables—and don’t go to your father’s [cell*] because you need something.” 187. They used to say about Abba Poemen* that some elders* were sitting before him and were talking about the elders,* and if they named Abba Sisoës,* Abba Poemen* would say, “Stop talking about Abba Sisoës*—what’s recounted* about him is merely partial.” 351 S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29] 352 He also said, “Teach your heart* to be watchful about what your tongue is teaching.”

348. Isaac, priest at the Cells,* has twelve sayings in this volume and Isaac of Thebes two. 349. wounds, traȗma: a variant reading, PG 65:365, n. 68, has “three things,” which the PG Latin translation follows. “Three things” probably shows amelioration. 350. good for, symphérō: or “permitted” (Montanari II:2012b(1B, C)). 351. Sisoës* has fifty-two sayings in this volume. 352. The twenty-three “S” sayings here are from Guy, Recherches, with the page numbers in brackets. What’s striking about the “S” sayings is their brevity vis-à-vis most of Poemen’s sayings in the AlphAP.

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S2. [Guy, Recherches, 29–30] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “I’m damaging my soul [living] close by my abba.* Should I live close by him? ” Now the elder* knew the brother was being harmed, and he was amazed* that the brother asked, “Should I still live [close by my abba]? ” so he said, “If you want to, stay there,” and the brother left and stayed there. Once again he came and said, “I’m harming my soul,” and the elder* said, “Go.” And a third time he came and said, “Really, I can’t stay there any longer.” Abba Poemen* said to him, “Look, at this very moment you’re saved.* Go on, and don’t stay there any longer.” So the elder* would say, “Really? Does a person who sees the damage being done to his soul need to ask? Such a person is asking about secret thoughts,* and it’s up to the elders* to substantiate [what the person has said]. With regard to sin that’s obvious, there’s no need to ask about it—cut it off, immediately.” S3. [Guy, Recherches, 30] Abba Poemen* said that Abba Paphnutius* was a great person and that he would flee* to [even?] the minor rites.353 S4. [Guy, Recherches, 30] [XV.29; 2:320] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “How should I act in the place* where I live? ” 354 The elder* said to him, “Have the attitude of a foreigner* in the place* where you’re living so what you want to say doesn’t get ahead of you. [Do this,] and you’ll have inward stillness.” * S5. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “This voice calls out to a person until his last breath: “Turn back—today.” 355 353. A Paphnutius has five sayings in this volume. 354. How should I act: literally “How should I be? ” 355. Turn back: in the NT epistréphō can mean “to cause a person to change belief or course of conduct, with the focus on the thing to which one turns” (Bauer 382(a3)); see Luke 1:16-17 and Jas 5:19-20: My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back [epistréphō] by another, you should know that whoever brings back [epistréphō] a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (A note: the NRSV routinely adds “and sisters” for inclusivity.)

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S6. [Guy, Recherches, 30] The same [elder*] said, “David wrote to Joab, ‘Press ahead with the warfare,* and you will overwhelm the city and destroy it.’356 The city is what’s hostile.” 357 S7. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “Joab said to the people, ‘Be brave, and be sons of power,* and wage war* on behalf of the people of God.’358 We are people like these.” S8. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “If Moses had not led the sheep into a sheepfold,359 he wouldn’t have seen what took place at the bush.” 360 S9. [Guy, Recherches, 30] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “How is it that you’re here now in this place? ” * He said, “I wanted my brothers and me to conclude [our time] in Scetis.* And look—here we are.” S10. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “A person saw [something] but didn’t stay on guard.* How can he teach his neighbor? ” * S11. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “A person living with his neighbor* ought to be like a pillar made of stone, being insulted without getting angry,* being praised without getting all puffed up about it.” 361 S12. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “A person can’t know who [the enemies] are outside, but if he wages war* with those inside when they’re rising up in rebellion, he drives them out.”

356. See 2 Sam 11:25. 357. what’s hostile, echthrós in the feminine agreeing with the feminine n. “city”; ho echthrós can mean “enemy” or “the Enemy,” * Satan.* 358. See 2 Sam 10:9-14. 359. sheepfold: or “pen”: mándra can be a figurative term for the sheepfold of the church, of heaven, or of a monastery (Lampe 825b–26a(A2, 5, 6)). See John 10:1-21 (“Jesus the Good Shepherd”). 360. See Exod 3:1-6. 361. See Anoub 1, Sayings 1:176–78; 177. Guy, Recherches, 30, n. 1, correctly points out that the saying here is a much-reduced version of Anoub 1. See also Macarius of Egypt* 23.

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S13. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “When we don’t foresee something, it doesn’t allow us to make progress towards what’s best.” S14. [Guy, Recherches, 30] He also said, “Do not entrust your conscience to a person whom your heart* isn’t certain about.” 362 S15. [Guy, Recherches, 30] Abba Poemen* said, “I’m telling [you]—where there’s war,* that’s where I’m serving as a soldier.” 363 S16. [Guy, Recherches, 30] Abba Poemen* heard about someone who [took on extra ascetic* discipline] for six days because he was angry.* 364 The elder* said, “He learned how to get control [of matters] and didn’t learn how to get rid of anger.” * 365 S17. [Guy, Recherches, 30–31] Abba Poemen* said, “We have to work so hard that we’re worn out because we don’t help our brother whom Scripture prescribes that we welcome.366 Or we don’t see the Canaanite woman who followed the Savior crying out and entreating* him to heal her daughter—and the Savior acknowledged her and gave her peace of mind.” 367 362. entrust: pisteúō, “believe, have faith in,” is cognate with pístis, “faith.” * 363. where: literally “in the place* where,” which could be implying a monastic community. 364. [took on extra ascetic discipline]: I don’t find a good translation for hélkō, whose basic meaning is “draw, drag”; “took on” is the only translation of hélkō that I could see working here, but what did the monk take on? Withdrawal* from the community, extra labor, fasting?* Guy doesn’t supply a French translation; Wortley, Give Me, 260, has “fasting,” which is reasonable, but it’s not clear why he chose it. The verb occurs twenty-three times in the SysAP (3:314a); Guy, Recherches, uses a variety of words, one of which is jeter, “to throw.” 365. The basic idea here is that because he was angry,* a monk* undertook some discipline but Poemen* believes that what the monk* didn’t do was get rid of his anger. 366. welcome, déchomai: as Bauer notes, “to be receptive of someone, receive, welcome, especially of hospitality” (220a). See Matt 10:40-42. 367. See Matt 15:21-28. “Welcome” translates déchomai and “acknowledged” apodéchomai, the latter of which can also mean “receive, welcome.” “Peace of mind” translates anapaúō, “to give peace, quiet, tranquility, rest” (Montanari I:147bc), cognate with anápausis, “inward stillness.” *

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S18. [Guy, Recherches, 31] 368 Abba Poemen* said, “If the soul stays away from every person who loves being contentious during conversation and from human disorder and disturbance, the Spirit of God, although sterile at that time, becomes capable of giving birth.” 369 S19. [Guy, Recherches, 31] 370 A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What should those who live in a cenobium* be like? ” and the elder* said to him, “The person who lives in a cenobium* should look at everybody as one, and pay attention to what he says and sees; 371 [if he does these things,] he’ll have inward stillness* and be free from cares.” S20. [Guy, Recherches, 31] Abba Poemen* spoke about ­Shimei’s slaves: “The subject matter [here] is this—it’s to justify yourself and consider yourself righteous.* Doing these utterly destroys the person holding on to them.” 372 S21. [Guy, Recherches, 31] A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do about my sins? ” The elder* said to him, “Weep [for them] by yourself. Both liberation from sins and the acquiring of virtues* come about from mourning.” S22. [Guy, Recherches, 31] He also said, “Weeping is the path* passed on to us by Scripture and our fathers.” 373 S23. [Guy, Recherches, 31] A brother visited Abba Poemen* and said to him, “What do I do? ” The elder* said to him, “Go,

368. See Cronius 1 (chap 10). 369. the Spirit of God, tò pneȗma toȗ theoȗ: see Gen 1:2 (Ruah [Ruach] ­Elohim; LXX pneȗma theoȗ); Matt 12:28 (pneúmati theoȗ). 370. See SysAP IV.38 (1:204). 371. pay attention to what he says and sees: literally “pays attention to his mouth and eyes.” 372. See 1 Kgs 2:39-46. Two of Shimei’s slaves run away; against orders to remain in the city, he retrieves them, and Solomon has him executed. It’s not clear why Poemen adduces this story; perhaps Shimei, in disobeying Solomon’s orders, was justifying himself and considering himself righteous. 373. See Ps 6:6; John 11:28-36; Jas 4:9. See Poemen 119.

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live close by someone who says ‘What do I want?’ and you’ll have inward stillness.” * 374

Appendix: Sayings of Abba Poemen375 IV.35. (1:202) Abba Poemen* also said, “The soul isn’t humbled* in anything unless it deprives itself of bread.” * V.10. (1:250) A brother asked Abba Poemen* about sexual sin.* The elder* said to him, “God’s help surrounding a person is plentiful, but we’re not granted to see it with our eyes.” VIII.17. (1:412) Abba Poemen* said, “There’s no doubt that people who eagerly seek out friendship with people remove themselves from friendship with God.376 It’s not good to [try to] please everybody. Woe, it says, to you when all speak well of you [pl.].” 377 IX.11 (1:434) A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “What do I do? I’m becoming neglectful sitting [in my cell*].” 378 The elder* said to him, “Don’t denigrate anyone, don’t judge* anyone, don’t slander* anyone, and God will present you with inward stillness,* and your staying [in your cell*] will become untroubled.” 379

374. Poemen 143 is identical. 375. Found in the Systematic Apophthegmata but not in the Alphabetical Collection. References are, first, to the chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP), then, in parentheses, to the volume and page number. 376. eagerly seek out, epidikázō: or “claim” (Lampe 522b). 377. Luke 6:26; the whole sentence is Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets. 378. becoming neglectful: oligōróō is cognate with the adjective olígos (English oligarchy), “small, few, inconsiderable,” so we might say the monk is becoming smaller spiritually, losing monastic purpose, perhaps connected with acedia.* 379. “Sitting” translates kathízomai and “staying” (or “sitting”) the cognate káthisma. Untroubled, atárachos: see Disturb in the Glossary.

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IX.20. (1:442, 444) Abba Poemen* went one time to the region of Egypt* to live, and the person living nearby happened to be a brother, and he had a wife.380 The elder* knew about this and never reproached him. Now it happened that she gave birth one night, and the elder,* knowing this, summoned his younger brother and said, “Take a flask of wine* with you and give it to the neighbor*—he needs it today.” 381 (His brothers didn’t know about it.) The younger brother did as the elder* had commanded him. The brother benefited,* and, remorseful,382 a few days later he dismissed his wife,383 providing her whatever she needed, and came and said to the elder,* “This very day I repent,* abba.” * So, leaving, he built himself a cell* near the elder* and often went to see him. The elder,* guiding him, lighted the way* of God [for him] and gained him [for the kingdom of God].384 X.51. (2:44, 46) A brother asked Abba Poemen,* “I’m upset;* I want to leave my community.” * The elder* said to him, “What’s the problem? ” The brother responded, “It’s because I’m hearing reports about a certain brother that don’t do me any good.” 385 The elder* said to him, “Aren’t the things you heard true? ” “Yes, father, and the brother who told me is trustworthy.” 386 380. brother: adelphós can mean a sibling or a fellow monastic; since we know that Poemen had siblings, it’s ambiguous what “brother,” and “brothers,” means here. 381. wine: see Poemen 19. 382. remorseful, katanugeís < katanússomai: see Pricked in the Glossary. 383. dismissed, apolúō: or “divorced” (Bauer 118a(5)); see Matt 19:1-12// Mark 10:2-12. 384. gained him [for the kingdom of God]: kerdaínō means “to acquire by effort or investment, to gain,” and Bauer notes that in the NT it often means “gain someone for the Kingdom of God” (541a(1)); see Matt 18:15; 1 Cor 19:19-22. 385. The saying has significant wordplay: “reports” translates lógos, “word,” which has many, many meanings, including “counsel”;* “words” and “counsel” occur at the end of the saying.* “Said,” in the saying numerous times, translates the cognate verb légō (present tense used narratively for the past tense). 386. trustworthy, pistós: or “faithful” (pístis, “faith” *).

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The elder* said, “He isn’t trustworthy; if he were trustworthy, he wouldn’t have told you such things. If God, when he heard the report about Sodom, didn’t believe it until he saw it with his own eyes,387 we shouldn’t ever believe what’s being said [unless we see it].” The brother said, “But I did see it with my own eyes.” 388 When the elder* heard this, he turned his attention to the ground and, picking up a small piece of straw, he said to him, “What’s this? ” The brother said, “It’s a piece of straw.” The elder* turned his attention to the roof of the cell* and said to him, “What’s that? ” The brother said, “It’s a wooden beam,” so the elder* said, “Put it in your heart* that your sins are like this beam, and your brother’s are like this piece of straw.” 389 When Abba Tithöes* heard this counsel,* he marveled* and said, “How can I [possibly] pronounce you blessed,* Abba ­Poemen,* you precious stone? 390 Your words are filled with joy and every kind of shining radiance.” 391 X.63. (2:54, 56)392 Another brother, harassed by thoughts* of blasphemy crowding in on him,393 went to Abba Poemen,* wanting to lay out his thoughts* [to him], but he returned without saying 387. See Gen 18:16-33; v. 21: I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know (the NRSV sentence is a bit awkward). 388. In Greek, “to know,” oȋda, and “saw,” eȋdon, with the root id- are cognates, and in late antiquity the first syllables had the same pronunciation. Related are Lat. video, “to see,” and Ger. wissen, “to know.” But here seeing (and hearing) should not be believed! 389. See Matt 7:1-5//Luke 6:37-42. 390. 1 Cor 3:12 (see 1 Cor 3:10-15). 391. shining radiance, dóxa: or “renown, honor, prestige” (Bauer 256b(1), (3)). See Glory in the Glossary. 392. See Poemen 93. 393. harassed .  .  . crowding in on him: I’ve freely translated here; ochléō is cognate with ochlós, “crowd, multitude.”

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anything to the elder.* 394 So once again, seeing himself harassed even more by the spirit, he left to see the elder,* but again, ashamed to explain [matters], he came back and, not having spoken to the elder,* accomplished nothing. He did this over and over, leaving to explain [matters], but, out of shame, returned without having said anything. Now, the elder* knew that the brother was embattled* by thoughts* and was ashamed to say anything. When the brother came to see him yet again, as usual, and not saying anything, Abba Poemen* said to him, “What’s going on, brother? You’re leaving without having said anything.” The brother said, “What can I say, father? ” Abba Poemen* said to him, “I sense that you’re battling* [whether to] share the details [with others].395 I tell you, brother, just as this wall doesn’t say anything, neither will I speak about [a person’s/your] thoughts to anyone else.” Confident now, therefore, the brother said to the elder,* “Father, I’m in danger of losing myself beneath the spirit of blasphemy; 396 it’s almost persuading me that God doesn’t exist—something that the pagans neither say nor consider nor put into practice.” The elder* said to him, “Don’t be disturbed by this thought;* the battles* that our flesh* fights often take place because of neglect,* but this thought doesn’t come upon us—instead, this is a stratagem by the Serpent* himself.397 Therefore, when this thought* 394. blasphemy: Gk. blasphēmía combines forms from bláptō, “to harm,” and phēmí, “to speak,” thus “harmful speech.” 395. The sentence has two instances of wordplay: “thoughts” translates logismós and “reflect” the cognate verb logízomai, both cognate with légō, “to speak, say”; “lay them out” and “share the details” translate exeȋpon, the aorist past tense of légō. All are cognate with lógos, “word”; see Counsel in the Glossary. 396. losing myself, apóllumi: or “getting lost,” “being ruined,” “being destroyed”; Lampe 200b points out that the verb in patristic Greek often speaks of spiritual loss, ruin, destruction. 397. Serpent, óphis: the entry in Lampe 689ab(1–3) is instructive: in Eden (Gen 3), “of the Devil in general”; “of evil principle concealed in the depth of

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comes upon you, get up, pray,* cross* yourself, and say within yourself as though speaking to the Enemy,* ‘You are a­ ccursed, Satan!* 398 I have faith* that God exists and foresees everything! 399 This thought* doesn’t come from me but from you—you’re ­malevolent!’ [Do this,] and I have faith* that God will relieve you of this affliction.” * Leaving the elder,* the brother went and did what the elder* had instructed him to do. When the demon* saw that his stratagem had been thwarted, by the grace* of God he withdrew* from the brother. X.73. (2:62) Abba Seridos one time went with his disciple Isaac to see Abba Poemen* and said to him, “What do I do with this fellow? He readily listens to my words of counsel.” * 400 Abba Poemen* said to him, “If you want to be of benefit* to him, show him virtue* at work* since he stays idle while he’s focusing his attention on your counsel.* If you show him something by working* at it, this will stick with him.” X.79. (2:64) He also said, “The power* of God does not dwell in a person enslaved to the passions.” * X.80. (2:66) He also said, “If we pursue inward stillness,* God’s grace flees* from us—but if we flee* from it, it pursues us.” XI.60. (2:170 )401 He also said, “The beginning and the end is the fear* of God. Thus it’s written, The beginning of wisdom is

the soul.” Stratagem, hypobolḗ, and below: Lampe points out that the word is used especially of the Devil (1445b–46a). 398. accursed, anáthema (English anathema). The original Nicene Creed of 325 hurled anathemas at those, primarily Arians,* who didn’t accept the Creed’s Christological statement. See “Comparison between creed of 325 and creed of 381,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed#Original_Nicene _Creed_of_325. 399. foresees, pronoéō: or “provides for, cares for” (Lampe 1157a). 400. In the AlphAP and SysAP, Seridos is present only in this saying. 401. See AnonAP 678 (Wortley 539).

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the fear* of the Lord.402 And again, when Abraham had completed the altar, the Lord said, Now I know that you fear* God.” 403 XV.52. (2:320, 322) A brother asked the same [elder*], “Abba,* what do I need to pay attention to while sitting in my cell? ” * 404 The elder* said to him, “As for me, right now I’m a person sunk deep in the mire, up to my neck, bearing a load around my neck, and I’m crying out to God ‘Have mercy on me!’ ” 405 XV.55. (2:261)406 He also said, “this ground that the Lord commanded us to sacrifice on is humility.” *

Concerning Abba Pambo* 407 1. [PG 65:368] There was [an elder*] called Abba Pambo,* and it was said about him that for three years he continued to ask God, “Do not glorify* me on earth,” and so God glorified* him; as a result no one could fix his gaze on his face on account of the glory* that his face possessed.408 2. [X.94; 2:172, 74] [Two] brothers409 came to Abba Pambo* one time, and one asked him, “Abba, I fast* every other day and

402. Ps 111:10. 403. Gen 22:12; see 22:1-19. 404. pay attention, proséchō: see Concerned (the cognate prosochḗ) in the Glossary. 405. mire, bórboros: see Jer 45:6 (LXX) (2x). 406. This saying is attributed to “an elder,” but Sayings 48–54 and then 56 refer or probably refer to Poemen. 407. Greek Pambṓ, pronounced păm-BO. He appears in four sayings of Abba Poemen: here, 47, 75, and 150. Pambo was a common name; for the same, or another, Pambo, see Lausiac History 10 (pp. 44–46); “The Life of Pambo,” in Tim Vivian, trans. Four Desert Fathers: Pambo, Evagrius, Macarius of Egypt, and Macarius of Alexandria: Coptic Texts Relating to the Lausiac History of Palladius (Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004), 53–68. 408. See Pambo 12. 409. [Two]: a variant, PG 65:368, n. 31, and SysAP X.94; the PG text lacks.

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[then] eat two loaves of bread.* So, then, am I saving* my soul, or am I making a mistake? ” The other said, “Abba,* I receive410 from my handiwork two keratia* each day; I keep a little for food, and with the rest I do an act of love.* So tell me, am I being saved,* or am I going to be lost? ” 411 Although they pleaded* with him over and over, he didn’t give them an answer. Four days later, they needed to leave, and the clergy comforted* them, saying, “Don’t let it get to you, brothers; God will provide you with a reward.* 412 This is the way the elder* does things; he doesn’t readily speak unless God gives him assurances [to speak].” 413 So they presented themselves to the elder* and said to him, “Abba, pray* for us.” He said to them, “Do you wish to leave? ” They said, “Yes,” so, taking their practices upon himself, writing in the earth,414 he said, “Pambo fasts every other day, and [then] eats two loaves of bread. [PG 65:369] So, tell me, does doing this make me a monk?* No. And Pambo works* for two keratia* and gives them as an act of love.* 415 So, tell me, does this make him a monk?* Not yet.” So he said to them, “Such actions [as these] are good, but if you [sing.] safeguard* your conscience with respect to your [sing.] neighbor,* this is what’s saving* you [sing.].” Reassured, they left, with joy.416 410. receive: I didn’t find a good translation for katalúō here; I’ve followed the PG Lat. translation, excipio, “take out, extract, receive,” and Guy’s translation je retire, “withdraw” (2:72). 411. am I going to be lost: SysAP X.94, am I making a mistake. 412. Although they pleaded* (parakaléō) and the clergy comforted* (parakaléō). 413. SysAP X.94 continues: So they [the clergy] went to the elder* and said to him, “For the Lord’s sake, say something to the brothers.” 414. writing in the earth: see John 8:6-8. 415. Pambo works for two keratia: Sys AP X.94, Pambo works each day and earns two keratia. 416. “Reassured,” and “gives .  .  . assurances” earlier, translate plērophoréō.

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3.417 [XIV.14; 2:262, 264] Four monks from Scetis* wearing animal hides visited Pambo* the Great one time, and each one proclaimed the virtue* of his companion.418 One was fasting* a great deal, the second was without possessions,* and the third possessed great love,* 419 and they said about the fourth that for twenty-two years he’d been obedient* to an elder.* Abba Pambo* responded, “I tell you, the virtue* of this [last] one is the greatest. Each of you has acquired a virtue* by making use of your own will, but this one has cut off his own will and follows the will of another.420 Such as these are those who profess [the faith/a monastic way of life*]—if they safeguard* [their virtue*] to the end.” 421 4. [III.32; 1:166] Athanasius* of sacred memory,* archbishop of Alexandria,* summoned Abba Pambo* to come down from the

417. This story is about possession—and dispossession: the second monk is without possessions (aktḗmōn), but, as we’ll see, he hasn’t given up possession of his will (thélēma); the third monk possesses (the cognate ktáomai) love. Pambo tells the three monks that each of them has acquired (ktáomai = possesses) a virtue “by making use of your own will [thélēma],” thus a possession,* whereas the fourth “is the greatest” because he “cut off his own will” [thélēma] and, both humble* and obedient,* follows the will [thélēma] of another (assuming that the other person he follows is an abba).* 418. the virtue of his companion: SysAP XIV.14, the virtue of another one when the latter wasn’t present. 419. great love, agápē. The Latin translation in PG has multa charitate, and Guy, 2:262, grand charité. As in Pambo 2 above, an act of love* requires a verb of doing; here the monk “possessed” love, ktáomai. 420. cut off: one meaning of kóptō is “to cut off,” figuratively, or literally as with an arm or leg, so the monk* is cutting off part of himself, spiritual surgery. Kóptō can also mean “destroy, slaughter, kill, devastate (a country)” (Montanari I:1160b(1C)). The metaphor here is a very strong one. 421. those who profess: homologētḗs can also indicate those who confessed the faith under torture, “the confessors” (see Martyr in the Glossary). It’s not clear who “such as these” (toioȗtoi), which SysAP XIV.14 also has, refers to. “Safeguard” is subjunctive in Greek—so there’s no guarantee they will safeguard their virtue* to the end.

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desert* to Alexandria.* 422 Having come down, he saw there a woman of the theater,* and he began to weep for her. When those who were with him inquired why he wept, he said, “Two things have moved me: first, her destruction; 423 second, that I’m not as eager to please God as she is to please shameful people.” 5.424 Abba Pambo* said, “Because of God, from the time that I renounced* [the world*], I haven’t regretted a word* I’ve said.” 6.425 He also said, “The monk* should wear his cloak in such a way that if he tossed it outside his cell* for three days, nobody’d take it.” 7. [XVII.14; 3:18] It happened that Abba Pambo* was journeying* one time with brothers in regions of Egypt,* and when he saw some people of the world* sitting [by the road] he said to them, “Get up. Greet the monks* so you may be blessed. They’re continually speaking with God, and their mouths are pure.” 8. [I.25; 1:116] 426 They used to recount* about Abba Pambo* that as he was dying, at the very hour of his death, he said to the holy* ones standing beside him, “From the time I came to this monastic community* in the desert* and built my cell* and lived in it, up to this very hour I don’t recall eating bread* unless I earned it with my own hands, nor have I regretted a single word I’ve spoken427—and yet I’m going away to God as someone who hasn’t even begun to serve him.” 9.428 This is what set him above many: if he was asked about a verse in Scripture or for a word of spiritual counsel,* he wouldn’t

422. Scetis is south of Alexandria; because the Nile flows north to south, “to go down” means to travel north. 423. destruction, apṓleia < apóllumi: as Bauer notes, in the NT apṓleia especially designates “eternal destruction as punishment for the wicked” (127a(2)); see Matt 7:13; Phil 1:28; and others. 424. See Pambo 8, Lausiac History 10.6 (p. 45). 425. See Isaac, Priest of the Cells. 426. See Lausiac History 10.6 (p. 45). 427. regretted, metamélō in the middle voice: or “repented.” 428. See Lausiac History 10.7 (pp. 45–46).

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answer right away [PG 65:372] but would say he didn’t know the answer,429 and if he were [questioned] further,430 he wouldn’t respond. 10. Abba Pambo* said, “If you have a heart* you can be saved.” * 11. [IV.86; 1:228] The priest of Nitria* asked, “How should the brothers live their lives? ” 431 and they said,432 “With serious asceticism* and guarding* one’s conscience with regard to your neighbor.” * 12. They used to say about Abba Pambo* that just as Moses received the image of the glory* of Adam when his face was glorified,* 433 so too did Abba Pambo’s face shine like lightning,434 and he was like an emperor sitting on his throne.435 God worked* the same thing with Abba Silvanus and Abba Sisoës.* 436 13. They used to say about Abba Pambo* that he never smiled,437 so one day the demons* wanted to make him laugh. They tied a wing to a wooden post, carried it, and made a ruckus, saying “Allḗ! Allḗ!” 438 429. answer, lógos; earlier, “a verse” and “a word of counsel” render lógos. 430. [questioned]: the PG text is deficient; the editor has ep[erōtētheís] < eperōtáō. 431. live their lives, diágō: in Plato, one can live a life dedicated to philosophy.* The cognate n. diagōgḗ can mean live a Christian life or, more specifically, a monastic* way of life* ( = politeía). See Montanari I:483c(1B). 432. Pambo 11 has a shortened version of the beginning of SysAP IV.86, which explains the pronoun: They used to say that when Abba Pambo,* Abba Bessarion, Abba Isaiah, and Abba Athre met with each other, the priest of the monastic community* asked them .  .  . the elders replied .  .  .  . For Bessarion see Sayings 1:190–97; Sisoës has fifty-two sayings in this volume; Isaiah and Athre don’t have sayings in the AlphAP. 433. Exod 34:29-35. 434. See Silvanus 12. 435. See Pambo 1. 436. God worked, ergasía, cognate with érgon, “work”:* I’ve followed Lampe 545bb(1), “operation, work” of God in Creation, of God sustaining Creation. 437. he never smiled: literally “his face never smiled”; see the previous saying. 438. The Latin translation, PG 65:371, has “Alle, alle,” “Come, come.”

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When Abba Pambo* saw them, he laughed and the demons* began to dance, saying, “Ha! Ha! Pambo laughed!” 439 In response he said to them, “I did not laugh. No, I laughed at your being so feeble that it takes so many of you to carry the wing!” 14. Abba Theodore of Pherme* asked Abba Pambo,* “Offer me some counsel,” * and with great effort he said to him, “Theodore, go, have compassion* for everyone.” 440 You see, compassion* is confident and bold in God’s presence and may freely approach him.441

Concerning Abba Pistos 442 1. [PG 65:372] [XV.60; 2:324, 326] Abba Pistos443 recounts*: “Seven of us anchorites* 444 went to Abba Sisoës,* who was living in Clysma,445 and invited him to offer us some counsel,* and he 439. Ha! Ha!: Ouà ouá; perhaps a play on Ouaì! Ouaí, as in Ouaí moi, “Woe is me.” 440. compassion, eleós: or “mercy.” Of humans towards humans, see Matt 9:13; 12:7; Jas 2:13; of God towards humans, Luke 1:50; Gal 6:16 (the NRSV uses “mercy” in all of them). 441. confident and bold .  .  . and may freely approach him: I have expanded the basic meaning of parrēsía, “confidence,” “freedom of speech.” Lampe 1044bII: “confidence, boldness, liberty of approach”; 1044b(IIB): “in relationship between God and [humans]; as condition of [humans] before the fall”; 1045b(IIIA): “confidence, trust,” of trust in Christ; II.iii(f): “strictly given only to souls in higher stages of spiritual life.” 442. Greek Pistós, pronounced pē-STŌS, which means “trustworthy, faithful,” cognate with pístis, “faith,* trust in.” 443. Abba Pistos: a variant reading, PG 65:372, n. 36, and SysAP XV.60, Brother Pistos. He doesn’t have any sayings in the SysAP. 444. anchorites: SysAP XV.60, brothers. 445. in Clysma: a variant reading, PG 65:372, n. 37, and SysAP XV.60, the island of Clysma. “Clysma, ancient town a few miles north of modern-day Suez and known for its ruins. They were excavated by B. Bruyère (1966). The site (which some texts call the isle of Clysma) appears to have been inhabited by

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said, ‘Forgive me, I’m just an ordinary guy, but I went to visit Abba Ṓr and Abba Athre.446 Abba Ṓr had been sick eighteen years, and I prostrated* myself before them so they would offer me some counsel.* Abba Ṓr said, “What can I say to you? Go, and what you see, do [that]. God is with the person who aspires for more and works* himself hard in everything [he does].” “Now Abba Ṓr and Abba Athre weren’t from the same area, but there was great peace between them right until they departed the body.* This was because the obedience* of Abba Athre was great, and Abba Ṓr possessed a great deal of humility.* I spent a few days with them, and I studied them; I saw Abba Athre perform a great miracle: someone brought them a small fish and Abba Athre wanted to prepare it for [Abba Ṓr,] the elder.* Abba Athre had a large knife and was cutting the fish when Abba Ṓr summoned him.447 So he left the knife in the middle of the fish and didn’t cut the rest.448 “I marveled* at his great obedience* because he didn’t say, ‘Be patient until I cut [PG 65:373] the fish.’ 449 I said to Abba Athre, ‘Where’d you find such obedience?’ * and he said to me, ‘It isn’t mine. No, it’s the elder’s,’* and he took me [aside] and said, ‘Come on. Observe his obedience,’* and he cooked the fish, deliberately burned it, and took it to the elder,* who ate it without saying a word. So Abba Athre said to him, ‘It’s good, isn’t it, elder?’* and he responded, ‘It’s very good.’ Later, Abba Athre

anchorites very early. It is not known exactly where these anchorites lived. The Mountain [that is, “Monastery” (óros)] of Antony was often called the Mountain of Clysma, for contemporary texts always indicated the name of the nearest town” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/481/rec/1; CE 565ab). 446. Ṓr has fifteen sayings in this volume; Athre doesn’t have any sayings in the AlphAP. 447. summoned him: a variant, PG 65:372, n. 39, and SysAP XV.60, summoned him, saying, “Athre, Athre.” 448. didn’t cut the rest: SysAP XV.60, but went to the elder.* 449. “Marveled at” renders thaumázō and “miracle” thaȗma; see Astonished in the Glossary.

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brought Abba Ṓr a small [fish] that was very good and said, ‘I burned it, elder,’ * and he replied, ‘Yeah, you burned it a little.’ So Abba Athre said to me, ‘Did you see what the elder’s obedience* really means?’ So I left them and, whatever I saw, I made sure I did to the best of my ability.450 “This is what Abba Sisoës* told the brothers. One of us entreated* him, ‘Please, as an act of love,* offer us some counsel* yourself,’ and he said, ‘The person who understands that he isn’t worth much in his own sight is fulfilling all of Scripture.’451 Another of us said to him, ‘What does “separation from the world” * mean, father?’452 and he said, ‘Keep silent,* and say [to yourself] wherever you go, in whatever place,* “This is not my concern.” ’ ” “This is separation from the world.”

Concerning Abba Pior 453 1. Having worked* at the harvest for someone, blessed Pior reminded him that he should receive his wages,454 but the person procrastinated, and blessed Pior went back up to his cell.* 455 When 450. I made sure, phylássō; see Protect in the Glossary. 451. isn’t worth much: Montanari and Lampe give “humble” * for apsḗphiston, citing this saying, but the usual monastic term for “humility” is tapeinós. Apsḗphiston occurs in neither the LXX nor NT. 452. separation from the world, xeniteía < xénos, “strange,” “stranger.” * See Heb 11:13. 453. Greek Píōr, pronounced PEA-or. See Poemen 85. Wortley, Give Me, 265, notes that in a saying preserved only in Latin, “Pior became a monk and a disciple of Antony* at a very young age. For many years he lived a solitary life between Scetis* and Nitria.” * Pior does not appear in the Life of Antony or in AlphAP Antony. 454. wages: the primary meaning of misthós is “remuneration for work done, pay, wages,” and in the NT can have spiritual and soteriological meaning: “recognition (mostly by God) for the moral quality of an action, recompense” (Bauer 653ab(1 and 2)). See Matt 5:46 (with a negative sense); Matt 5:12 (positive); 6:1-4 (negative); Luke 6:23 (positive). 455. cell, monḗ: or “monastery,” * and below.

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the time* called again [for the harvest], Abba Pior worked at the harvest for him, and, after working* diligently and without being provided for, he went on up to his cell.* When a third year had come and gone, the elder* finished his customary work* and left without getting paid. After the Lord made that man’s house prosperous, the man went around to the monasteries,* bringing [the monk’s] wages [with him], looking for the holy* one. As soon as the man found blessed Pior, he fell at his feet and gave him [his wages], saying, “The Lord has produced [this for] me,” but blessed Pior ordered him to present them to the priest at the church. 2. [IV.42; 1:206] Abba Pior used to eat while walking around. When someone inquired, “Why do you eat like this? ” he said, “I don’t want to treat food as work* but as secondary.” 456 To someone else who asked about this he responded, “So my soul doesn’t experience any bodily* pleasure,” he said, “not even while I’m eating.” 3.457 [IX.13; 1:436, 438] There was a council at Scetis* once concerning a brother who had stumbled, and the fathers were speaking, but Abba Pior remained silent.* Later, he got up, went outside, got a bag, filled it with sand, and carried it over his shoulder. Taking a little of the sand, he [put] it in a small basket and carried it in front of him.458 When he was asked by the fathers, “What’s this mean? ” he said, “This bag that I have with a lot of sand—the sand represents my offences—there are a lot of them. And I’ve put them behind me so I don’t cause myself suffering and weep. And look—the little bit [of sand] in front of me represents the few offenses of 456. “Work” translates érgon and “secondary” párergon, something to the side of work, English parergon, “something that is an accessory to a main work or subject.” 457. For a very similar story see Moses 2. 458. [put]: the PG text has labṓn, from lambánō, “get, receive, take”; a variant, PG 65:373, n. 42, and SysAP IX.13 have balṓn, from bállō, “put, place, throw,” which I have used. The mistake is one of metathesis.

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my brother; 459 my going on and on about them judges* him.460 I shouldn’t [PG 65:376] be doing things this way but rather carry my [offences] before me and reflect on them, pleading* with God to forgive me.” 461 Getting up, the fathers said, “Truly this is the way* of salvation.” *

Concerning Abba Pityrion 462 1. [PG 65:376] Abba Pityrion, the disciple of Abba Antony, used to say,* “The person who wants to drive away demons* has to first make slaves of the passions.* 463 Whatever passion* a person prevails over, he drives away that passion’s* demon.* Follow­ ing right behind,” he said, “is the demon* of anger.* If a person gets control over anger,* its demon* has been intercepted and blocked. Likewise with each passion.” *

Concerning Abba Pistamon 464 1. [PG 65:376] [VI.15; 1:324] A brother asked Abba Pistamon, “What do I do? I feel stressed when I sell my handiwork,” * and the elder* responded, “Both Abba Sisoës* and others also used to sell their handiwork;* there’s no harm in it.465 But when you’re selling, state the price of the item once; then, if you want to lower the price a little, it’s up to you. Doing this, you will find inward stillness.” * 459. offenses: SysAP IX.13, sins. 460. And look—the little bit [of sand] in front of me represents the few offenses of my brother: “Few” and “little” both translate mikrós. 461. reflect on, phrontízō: or “worry about.” 462. Greek Pityríōn, pronounced pee-tee-REE-ōn. 463. Pityrion appears neither in the Life of Antony nor in Antony’s sayings in the AlphAP. 464. Greek Pístamōn, pronounced PEA-stă-mōn. 465. Sisoës has fifty-two sayings in this volume.

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The brother spoke to him again, “If now and again I have what I need from some other source, do you want me to be concerned about handiwork? ” * and the elder* replied, “Even if you have as much [as you need] from time to time, don’t abandon your handiwork.* Do what you’re able [to do]; only don’t do it feeling stressed out.”

Concerning Abba Peter the Pionite 466 1. [PG 65:376] [IV.43; 1:206, 208] They used to say about Abba Peter the Pionite in Kellia* that he never drank wine.* When he got old, then, the brothers would make a mixture of water and wine* and would urge* him to accept it, and he would say, “Believe me, I regard this as [I would] spiced wine,” * 467 and he faulted himself for [taking] the diluted wine.* 468 2. [XI.65; 2:172, 174] A brother said to Abba Peter, the [disciple] of Abba Lot,469 “When I’m in my cell,* my soul is at peace, but if a brother visits me and he talks about things regarding the outside [world*], my soul gets upset.” Abba Peter said that Abba Lot used to say, “Your key opens my door.” The brother said to the elder,* “What’s this saying* mean? ” The elder* said, “If someone visits you, you say to him, ‘How are you? Where’re you from? How’s it going with the brothers? 470

466. Greek Pétros, pronounced PĚ-trōs. 467. Lat. conditum, piperatum, and Greek kónditos/kónditon (English condiment) are a family of spiced wines* in ancient Roman and Byzantine cuisine. The Latin name translates roughly as “spiced.” 468. faulted, krínō: or “accused,” “judged.” * Guy, 1:208: “condamnait.” 469. Lot has two sayings in this volume. 470. It first seems that Abba Lot is asking about the brothers where the visitor came from, but the next sentence shows that he’s talking about the brothers in his own community, which indicates that Abba Lot is an anchorite* or semianchorite.

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Did they welcome you, or not?’ And then you open the door for the brother and hear things you don’t want to hear.” The brother said, “That’s how it goes. What does a person do if a brother comes [to visit] him? ” The elder* said, “The only teaching is sorrow,* mourning.471 Where these occur it’s not possible to be protected.” * The brother said, “When I’m in my cell,* these are with me, but if someone comes to [see] me, or if I leave my cell,* I don’t encounter them.” The elder* said, “They’re not yet under your control, but they have a certain usefulness.472 This is so because it’s written in the Law, When you [PG 65:377] acquire a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you for six years, but in the seventh you shall let him go, a free man. If you have given him a wife and she has borne children in your household, and he doesn’t want to go away because of his wife and children, you shall lead him to the door of your home and pierce his ear with a small awl, and he shall be your slave forever.473 The brother said, “What’s this passage mean? ” 474 The elder* said, “If a person works hard at something to the best of his ability, when he looks for it for his own needs, he’ll find it.” 475 The brother said, “Please, as an act of love* tell me what you’ve just said means.” 471. sorrow, mourning: I’ve used two words for pénthos, and thus the plurals that follow. Wortley, Give Me, 268, n. 104, notes: in luctu omnino doctrina est, “there is teaching in all sorrow” (Pelagius and John, a Latin translation of the Apophthegmata Patrum; see Wortley, Give Me, 12). 472. SysAP XI.65 lacks the rest of the saying and concludes, The brother said, “What does this counsel* mean? ” The elder* said, “If a person strives for something, whenever he seeks it for his own use he’ll find it.” 473. Exod 21:2-6 (LXX); the quote here is an abbreviated and often quite different version. 474. passage, rȇma: or “counsel.” * 475. SysAP XI.65 ends here; as Guy notes, 2:175, n. 1: “It is not easy to know whether [the remaining material] has to do with a much earlier tradition or if it is a later contamination of two sayings” (my trans.).

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The elder* said, “Even a bastard son doesn’t remain a slave to someone, but the legitimate son doesn’t put aside his father.” 3. They used to say about Abba Peter and Abba Epimachus that they were companions in Raïthou.* 476 While they were eating in front of the church,477 they were forced to come to the elders’* table. Completely against his will, Abba Peter went by himself. [Later, he returned, and Abba Epimachus was still sitting in front of the church, and Abba Peter sat down with him.] 478 When they got up, Abba Epimachus said to him, “How’d you dare go to the elders’* table? ” and he responded, “If I had stayed with you, the brothers were going to summon me as an elder* to be the first to bless [the meal] and I would have been seen as someone greater than all of you. So now, having gone to be near the fathers, I was less important than all of them and, therefore, my thoughts* were more humble.” * 479 4. Abba Peter said, “There’s no need for us to get all puffed up when the Lord does something through us.480 No, instead, we need to give thanks that we’ve been considered worthy to be summoned by him.” He used to say that with regard to every virtue* it’s better to think like that.

Concerning Abba Paphnutius* 481 1. [PG 65:377] [IX.14; 1:438] Abba Paphnutius* said, “I was traveling the road* when I got lost because of the fog and found

476. Epimachus doesn’t have any sayings in the AlphAP. 477. in front of, en: or “in.” 478. This is needed for a transition. 479. The sequence of events isn’t clear but Peter goes, comes back, and then explains why he went. 480. through us, diá: or “on account of us” or “for us.” 481. Greek Paphnoútios, pronounced păph-NEW-tee-ōs. “Paphnoutios” is Greek for Coptic papnoute, “the person of God” (noute). The CCE lists several Paphnutii, none of whom is in the AlphAP. The two most important abbas for our purposes are Paphnutius of Scetis (Paphnutius Kephalas) (CCE, https://ccdl .claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1520/rec/2; CE 1884ab) and Paphnutius

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myself near a village. I saw some people [obscenely] having sex with one another.482 I stood there, forced to consider my sins.483 And suddenly an angel came, holding a sword,484 and said to me, ‘Paphnutius, everyone who judges* their brothers perishes by this sword, but you, because you did not judge* but instead humbled* yourself before God as though you had committed the sin—­ because of this, your name has been inscribed in the Book of Life.’ ” 485 2. [XVII.15; 3:18, 20] They used to say about Abba Paphnutius* that he didn’t readily drink wine.* Traveling one time, he came upon a band of highwaymen and found them drinking wine.* 486 The head of the highwaymen recognized him and knew that he didn’t drink wine.* When he saw that Abba Paphnutius* was exhausted, he filled a cup with wine* and, sword in hand, said to the elder,* “If you don’t drink [this wine],* I’m going to kill you.”

of Pbow (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1519/rec/1; CE 1883b–84a). See also Paphnutius, Histories of the Monks of Upper Egypt and the Life of Onnophrius, ed. and trans. Tim Vivian, CS 140 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1993). 482. having sex: a variant, PG 65:377, n. 47, and SysAP IX.14 have aischrȏs, obscenely having sex. “Having sex,” homiléō: this word (English homily) illustrates the creativity, border crossing, and unintended humor of etymology. Its basic meaning is “to congregate, gather together,” then “to have relations with, unite,” “follow” a teacher, “have sexual relationship” (as in English “have relations with”); then “speak to, address,” and “preach” (Montanari II:1451bc). 483. to consider my sins: SysAP IX.14, to consider my sins before God. 484. sword: see Poemen 112, 140. 485. Book, bíblos: or “Bible.” Book of Life: see Exod 32:33; Ps 69:28; Jubilees 30:20-22, (http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/jubilees/30.htm); Phil 4:3, these women .  .  . have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life. 486. A highwayman, lēstḗs, could be an insurrectionist who also robbed people, especially those beholden to Rome, as in the two “thieves” crucified with Jesus.

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The elder* knew that he was going to follow God’s commandment,* 487 and he wanted to win over [the highwayman],488 so he took [the wine*] and drank.489 The head of the highwaymen repented* and prostrated* himself before him,490 saying, “Forgive me, abba,* I’ve caused you distress,” and the elder* said, “I have faith* in God that because of this cup he will show you mercy, now and in the age to come.” 491 [PG 65:380] The head of the highwaymen said, “I have faith* in God that from now on without a doubt I will no longer commit any kind of evil,” and the elder* gained* the entire band, abandoning his own will for the sake of the Lord.492 3. Abba Poemen* said that Abba Paphnutius* used to say, “During the lifetimes of the elders* I would visit them twice a month (I was twelve miles distant from them) and would tell them every thought* [I had], and the only thing they’d say to me was this: ‘Wherever you go,493 do not measure yourself [against others], and you’ll find inward stillness.’ ” * 4. There was a brother at Scetis* with Abba Paphnutius,* and he was embattled by sexual temptation* and would say, “If I take ten wives I won’t satisfy my lust.”

487. follow God’s commandment: see the next note. 488. win over, kerdaínō: or “gain,” gain someone for the reign of God; see Matt 18:15; 1 Cor 9:19-22; Phil 3:8. 489. he took [the wine] and drank: see Matt 26:27//Mark 14:23; the text here uses the same words for “take” and “drink” as the gospel accounts of the Last Supper. Potḗrion is also the word for “cup” in the gospel accounts of the Last Supper. Thus we have here both its remembrance and a eucharistic moment; repentance liturgically and spiritually precedes the taking of Communion. 490. repented and prostrated himself, metanoéō (metánoia: “repentance”): the action of repentance often took the form of prostration. 491. the age to come: see Mark 10:30//Luke 18:30. 492. for the sake of the Lord: a variant, PG 65:380, n. 54, and SysAP XVII.15, for the sake of God. 493. Wherever: literally “to what place,” * thus the elders could mean “Whatever monastic community you visit.”

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The elder* would comfort* him, saying, “No, child, it’s the warfare* of the demons.” * He wasn’t convinced; instead, he left for Egypt* and took a wife. After some time had passed the elder* went up to Egypt* and ran into him carrying baskets of potsherds.494 The elder didn’t recognize him, but [the brother] said to him, “I’m your disciple, so-and-so.” When the elder* saw that monk* in such a dishonorable state,495 he wept and said, “How could you abandon that honorable estate and come to this dishonorable one? Did you in fact take ten wives? ” Groaning, he said, “Really, I took only one—and I’m miserable. How do I earn enough bread* to feed her? ” 496 The elder* said, “Come back with us,” and the brother said, “Is there repentance,* abba? ” * and Abba Paphnutius* said, “There is.” So the brother abandoned everything and followed* him and entered Scetis,* and from that trial he became a tried and true monk.* 497 5. A thought occurred to a brother living in the desert* of the Thebaid,* saying, “Why stay [here], it’s fruitless. Get up. Go to a cenobium,* and there you’ll bear fruit.” So he got up and went to Abba Paphnutius* and told him about the thought,* and the elder* said to him, “Go, stay in your cell* and offer one prayer* at dawn, one in the evening, and one at night. When you’re hungry, eat; when you’re thirsty, drink; when you get tired, sleep. Remain in the desert,* and don’t be persuaded by the thought.” * 494. potsherds, óstrakon (English ostracize): or “terracotta vases.” Those who condemned Socrates wrote their votes on óstraka, ostracons. 495. a dishonorable estate, atimía: see Rom 1:26 (“dishonorable”), 2 Cor 6:8 (“of ill repute”), 1 Cor 15:43 (“dishonor”). The people at this time lived in an honor-shame society, so “dishonorable” is a harsh judgment. See Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, 3rd ed. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001); and Bruce J. Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh, Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003). 496. to feed: chortázō means to feed animals, lead them to pasture. 497. trial: peíra is cognate with peirázō, “to test, tempt.”

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He went to Abba John and told him what Abba Paphnutius had counseled,* and Abba John said, “Don’t pray* at all, just stay in your cell,” * so he got up and went to Abba Arsenius,* 498 told him everything, and the elder* said to him, “Hold on to what the fathers told you. More than this, I don’t have anything to tell you.” So, convinced, he left.

Concerning Abba Paul 499 1. [PG 65:380] [XIX.15; 3:150] One of the fathers related* about a certain Paul who was in Lower Egypt, living in the Thebaid,* 500 that he would hold asps and snakes in his hands and cut them in two.501 The brothers prostrated* themselves before him, [PG 65:381] saying, “Tell us what you undertook502 to receive this grace.” * He said, “Forgive me, fathers, if a person comes to possess purity, everything is subjected to him,503 as with Adam when he was in Paradise before he transgressed the commandment.” * 504

498. For Arsenius’s sayings see Sayings 1:119–47. 499. Greek Paúlos, pronounced PAV-lōs. Paul was a very common Christian name. 500. There is no indication here that this is the Paul in The Life of Paul of Thebes; see Lisa Agaiby and Tim Vivian, eds., The Lives of Paul of Thebes (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming 2023). 501. asps and snakes: SysAP XIX.15, asps and snakes and scorpions. See Mark 16:18; Luke 10:19. Snakes are often venomous in the HB: Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Jer 8:17. 502. undertook: ergasía, “activity, operation,” is cognate with érgon, “work.” * In monastic Greek it could also mean “keeping, fulfilling” of commandments,* or “way of life,” * that is, politeía (Lampe 545b(3, 4)). 503. subjected: hypotássō in the passive voice; see Rom 8:20a; 1 Cor 15:28; Eph 5:24. The latter two involve being subjected to Christ, so Paul here may be an alter Christus. 504. See Gen 3.

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Concerning Abba Paul the Barber 505 1. [XVI.10; 2:398] Abba Paul the Barber and Timothy his brother were living in Scetis,* and, for various reasons, disagreements arose between them. Abba Paul said, “How long are we going to keep doing this? ” Abba Timothy said to him, “Please, as an act of love,* when I come at you, bear with me, and when you come at me I’ll also bear with you.” So, doing this, they found inward stillness* the rest of their days. 2. [XI.64; 2:172] The same Abba Paul and Timothy were barbers in Scetis,* and they were being bothered by the brothers, so Timothy said to his brother, “What do we want to do with this trade of ours? All day long we’re not allowed any contemplative quiet.” * Abba Paul said to him, “The contemplative quiet* of night is sufficient for us if our minds are in control and vigilant.” 506

Concerning Abba Paul the Great 507 1. [PG 65:381] [VII.21; 1:350] Paul the Great, from Galatia,* said, “A monk* who has a few necessities in his cell* and leaves his cell to worry [about other matters] is being mocked by demons.* 508 You see, I’ve suffered* this, too.”

505. Greek Paúlos, pronounced PAV-lōs. Paul was a very common Christian name. See Hist Mon 8.59. 506. if our minds are in control and vigilant: SysAP XI.64, if our minds are in control and vigilant before God. Our minds: literally “our mind”; SysAP XI.64 also has the singular. 507. Greek Paúlos, pronounced PAV-lōs. Paul was a very common Christian name. 508. [about other matters]: állōn < állos, from SysAP VII.21.

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2.509 Abba Paul used to say, “I’m sinking myself into mud and slime up to my neck, and I’m crying out before God, saying, ‘Have mercy* on me!’ ” 510 3. [IV.41; 1:206] They used to say about Abba Paul that he kept Lent [by eating] a small measure of lentils and [drinking] a small flask of water, weaving and unweaving a small basket until the feast [of Easter].511 S1 [Guy, Recherches, 32] Abba Paul said, “Follow* Jesus.”

Concerning Blessed Paul the Sincere 512 1. [PG 65:381] [XVIII.26; 3:74, 76, 78, 80] Blessed Paul the Sincere, the disciple of Saint Antony,* related* to the fathers a matter like this: one time, when he arrived at a monastery* for a visitation and for the benefit* of the brothers,513 after some discussion took place among all of them they went inside the holy church of God, as was the practice to perform the synaxis.* Blessed Paul, he said, [sic] paid attention to each of the [monks] entering the church [to check on] what kind of shape each person’s soul was

509. See SysAP XV.52 (2:320, 322). 510. mud and slime: see Paul the Sincere 1. 511. until the feast [of Easter]: SysAP IV.41 lacks. 512. Greek Paúlos ho haploȗs, pronounced PAV-lōs (h)o (h)a-PLOUS. The usual translation is Paul “the simple,” and haploȗs can mean “simple-minded,” but Lampe notes that in patristic Greek it can indicate moral and spiritual simplicity as a virtue, or “implying childlikeness” (187b(B.a, B.b)). A Paul appears in Antony 31 (Sayings 1:111). See Lausiac History 22 (pp. 76–81), where Paul, tried and tested by Antony,* becomes his disciple. In 22.9 (p. 79) Antony* “is satisfied .  .  . that Paul’s soul was perfect—he was very simple, and grace cooperated with him,” and in 22.13 (p. 81) the chapter concludes, “This is the marvel of Paul who was called ‘the Simple’ by the entire congregation.” See Hist Mon 24 (pp. 114–15). No monk named Paul appears in the Life of Antony. 513. visitation: epískepsis can be an investigation or the visitation by the superior of a monastery.

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in as he went to the synaxis.* To be sure, he had this gift, given to him by the Lord,514 so that he could see what kind of shape each person’s soul was in, the same way we see each other’s faces. Everyone was going in, their appearances shining and face gleaming, each person’s angel rejoicing for him. One, he said, he saw whose body* was all dusky and black, with demons* on each side constraining him and dragging him [PG 65:384] towards them, having put a rope through his nose, and his holy angel following* at a distance, downhearted and dejected. Paul, weeping and beating his breast with his hand, was sitting in front of the church deeply lamenting the person he’d seen looking like this. When they saw Abba Paul’s strange behavior and his precipitous change, moved as he was to tears and misery,515 they were asking him, pleading* with him, to tell them why he was weeping, thinking that he was passing judgment* on all of them.516 They urged* him too to come to the synaxis,* but Paul, shaking them off, stayed sitting outside, keeping silent and deeply lamenting the person he’d seen in such a condition.517 Not long afterwards, with the synaxis* finished and everyone coming out, once again Paul was observing each person, wanting to know how each person coming out was doing, and he saw that man, the one whose whole body had been all dusky and black before, coming out of the church, his face shining, his body

514. the Lord: a variant, PG 65:381, n. 61, and SysAP XVIII.26, God; the narrative has “God” below. Gift, cháris: or “grace.” * 515. When they saw Abba Paul’s strange behavior and his precipitous change, moved as he was to tears and misery: SysAP XVIII.26, When they saw [Abba Paul’s] strange behavior and his precipitous change, they too, moved and in misery. 516. thinking that, nomízō: a variant, PG 65:384, n. 69, and SysAP XVIII.26, fearing that (díō). “Passing judgment,” katagi(g)nṓskō: or “despising,” “judging” (Montanari I:1046b(1A, 1B), 1046c(1D)). 517. stayed sitting outside: a variant, PG 65:384, n. 69, stayed sitting outside and rejected [their request].

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white,518 and the demons* somewhere following far behind; the holy angel was staying right beside him, rejoicing fully for him.519 Paul rushed [towards the man] with joy, shouting out and praising520 God, saying, “Oh, God’s goodness and love for humankind goes beyond words!” 521 He ran up to a high step and, in a loud voice, said, “Come and see the works of God,522 how awe-inspiring and worthy of [our] astonishment* they are! 523 Come and see the One who wants all people to be saved* and come to an awareness of the truth! 524 Come, let us worship and fall down before him,525 and say, ‘You alone are able to take away sins!’ ” 526 Everyone came eagerly running, saying they wanted to hear [Paul speak], and when they were all gathered together Paul recounted* what he’d seen in front of the entrance to the church, and afterwards he requested that that man explain the reason for such a transformation that God, showing his grace,* had so unexpectedly granted him.527 Persuaded by Paul,528 the person, in front of everyone, related* straightforwardly the situation with 518. In the early church, baptismal robes were white; see Lampe 798b. 519. beside him and rejoicing fully for him: a variant, PG 65:384, n. 74, and SysAP XVIII.26, beside him and rejoicing fully for him, cheerful and in good spirits. 520. praising, eulogéō: or “blessing” (eulogía). 521. goodness and love for humankind: PG 65:384, n. 75, goodness and love for humankind and God’s kindness that’s beyond measure; SysAP XVIII.26, goodness and love for humankind. 522. See Ps 45:9 (LXX), 46:8 (NRSV). 523. awe-inspiring, phoberós < phóbos, “fear” *: or “fearful.” 524. 1 Tim 2:4. 525. Ps 94:6 (LXX), 95:6 (NRSV). 526. See Mark 2:7. 527. showing his grace .  .  . granted: I’ve expanded a bit to catch the sense of charízomai, “grant, bestow,” because it’s cognate with cháris, “gift,” “grace.” * 528. Persuaded: the primary meaning of elénchō is “to reproach, blame, accuse,” which doesn’t fit here, but Montanari also gives “examine, put to the test” (658c(1B)). Wortley, Give Me, 273: “encouraged”; Guy, Apophtegmes, 379, convaincu, “convinced, persuaded.”

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regard to himself, saying, “I’m a sinful person, and I’ve been living in sexual sin* for a long time now. When I entered the holy church of God just now, I heard the holy prophet Isaiah reciting—or, rather, God was speaking through him: Wash yourselves, become clean. Cast [pl.] away your evil deeds529 from your hearts,* 530 the ones before my eyes. Learn to do good.531 If your sins are like scarlet, make them white as snow. If you are willing and obey me, you shall eat the good of the land.532

“And I,” he said, “the one sinning sexually, my soul pierced by the word* of the prophet, my very being now groaning, I said to God, ‘You are God, who came into the world* to save* sinners.533 What you have just now proclaimed through your prophet, fulfill these things also in me, [PG 65:385] one who is a sinner, and unworthy. Here now, see! From now on, I give you my word,* I promise, and from my heart* confess to you, that I will no longer do any of those evil things. Yes, I reject all wrongdoing and will serve you from now on with a clear conscience.534

529. The similarity in sound between “evil,” ponēría, and “sexual sin,” porneía, helps make the connection between Isaiah and the monk. 530. hearts: a variant reading, PG 65:384, n. 79, and SysAP XVIII.26, souls. 531. Learn to do good: SysAP XVIII.26, Learn to do good. Seek out [or: ­demand] an accounting (krísis: see Judge in the Glossary). 532. Isa 1:16-19 (in part, with changes). 533. See 1 Tim 1:15; Rom 5:8. 534. wrongdoing: paranomía (“beside/outside the law”) has as its root nómos, “law”; in patristic Greek paranomía can refer to the actions of demons,* Judas’s treachery, Cain’s crime, heresy, and, regrettably, Jewish attitude toward Christ (Lampe 1022b).

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“ ‘Today, Lord, and from this very hour, receive me as one who repents* and falls before you, a person who from now on is staying away from all sin.’ ” With such vows as these,535 he said, “I left the church, decreeing within my very soul that I would never commit any kind of wickedness536 before God.” 537 All those who heard this cried out as one voice to God, “How manifold are your works, Lord! In wisdom you have made them all.” 538 “Christians! May we come to understand from the holy Scriptures and from the holy revelations what great goodness God has towards those who sincerely take refuge [in God] and, through repentance,* amend their shortcomings! 539 [May we come to understand also] that God gives in return540 the good things [that have been] promised—and doesn’t require any kind of penalty for our former sins. [And let us] not despair of our own salvation.541 Just as God promised through the prophet Isaiah to wash clean those sunk down in the mud of sin,542 and to make them as white as wool or snow,543 [and just as God promised] to make us

535. vows: I don’t find the adjective sýnthēkos in the dictionaries, but the cognate n. synthḗkē can mean “pact, agreement” and, in Christian writing, “covenant,” “pledge,” “commitment in Christian profession,” “of baptismal promises,” and “monastic vows” (Lampe 1331a). 536. wickedness, phaȗlos: a variant, PG 65:385, n. 83, wrongdoing. As above. SysAP XVIII.26, wickedness. 537. before God: SysAP XVIII.26, before the eyes of God. 538. Ps 103:24 (LXX), Ps 104:24 (NRSV). 539. shortcomings: eptaisménon (in pl. here) < ptaíō, “stumble, trip, fall” (Bauer 894b). Guy, 3:81, manquements. PG 65:385, n. 26, notes that the Latin translator, Pelagius, used delicta, from delinquo, “fail, be lacking.” See Rom 11:11 (stumbled so as to fall); Jas 3:2 (mistakes). 540. gives in return, apodídōmi: or “restores” (Montanari I:246c(1)). 541. despair: apelpízō, cognate with elpís, “hope” + apó, “away from,” so “lack of hope.” 542. mud: see Paul the Sincere 2. 543. See Ps 50:9 (LXX); Isa 1:18.

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worthy of the good things in the heavenly Jerusalem,544 so too as a consequence does God through the holy prophet Ezekiel promise not to destroy us: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that the sinner turn from his ways and live.’ ” 545

Concerning Abba Peter of Dios 546 1. If Peter, the priest of Dios, was ever praying with others, although because of the priesthood he was obliged to stand in front, in his humility* he stood behind them, making confession, just as it’s written in the Life of Antony.547 He would do this without making anyone sad.548

544. [and just as God promised] to make us worthy of the good things in the heavenly Jerusalem: SysAP XVIII.26 lacks. See Gal 4:21-31, the midrash on/ allegory of Sarah (“the Jerusalem above”) and Hagar (“the present Jerusalem”). 545. Ezek 33:11. 546. Greek Pétros ho tȏn Díon, pronounced PEH-trōs (h)ō tōn DI-ōn. 547. Such a scene doesn’t occur in the Life of Antony, nor does this Peter appear. 548. making .  .  . sad, lupéō: or “annoying, bothering.”

Chapter 17 1

R / Rȏ  / Ρ Concerning the Abba from Rome 2 1.3 [PG 65:385] [X.110; 2:86, 88, 90] 4 A certain monk* from Rome5 came one time and lived in Scetis* near the church, and he had one servant who served him. When the priest saw how weak* he was and learned what an easy life he had had,6 going

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. That is, “the Roman.” Greek Rōmaȋos, pronounced ro-MEH-ōs. 3. Arsenius* also came to the desert from power and wealth; compare this saying with Arsenius’s austerities, Sayings 1:119–47. 4. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:385], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:386]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example X.110, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:86, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 5. A certain monk from Rome: a variant, PG 65:385, n. 85, and SysAP X.110, a certain great monk from the palace. 6. what an easy life he had had: I’ve expanded on anápausis, whose basic meaning is “rest, relaxation,” but which became a very important concept and practice in early monasticism: “inward stillness.” * Earlier in the sentence the priest sees the Roman’s “weakness” (asthéneia). 295

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into the church, he would send the monk* [whatever God supplied].7 So after the monk* from Rome spent twenty-five years in ­Scetis,* he became discerning, with insight and[, because of this,] famous. When one of the great ones from Egypt* heard about him, he went to see him, expecting to find in him a remarkable way of life* with regard to the way he disciplined his body. Going into [his cell,] he embraced him, and, after they offered a prayer,* they sat down. The Egyptian saw that he was wearing soft, luxurious clothing,8 was sitting on sheepskin, and had [PG 65:388] a small pillow; his feet were clean, and he was wearing sandals. When he saw all this, he was scandalized,* because in that monastic community* there was no such way of life,* but rather ascetic* discipline and austerity. Because the elder* had insight, he knew that the visitor was scandalized,* so he said to the person serving him, “Prepare us a feast for the abba* today.” There happened to be a few vegetables, and the servant cooked them, and when it was time they got up and ate. The elder* had a little wine* because of his illness, and they drank it. When evening came they offered the twelve psalms* and then slept. Likewise during the night. The Egyptian* got up at dawn and said to him, “Pray* for me,” and he left without benefiting* at all. Now when he had gone a little way the elder,* wanting to do something beneficial* for him, sent for him and called him back, and when he came the elder* once again joyfully welcomed him and asked him, “What region are you from? ” He said, “Egypt.” * “From what city? ”

7. he supplied him whatever [he needed] and, going into the church, sent it to him: PG 65:385, n. 86, and SysAP X.110 have the better reading, which I have used. 8. See Luke 7:25.

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He said, “I’m not a city-dweller at all, [but rather a villager].” 9 The elder* said, “What sort of work* do you do in your village? ” He said, “Watchman,” and the elder* said, “Where do you sleep? ” He said, “In the field.” The elder* said, “Do you have bedding under you? ” and he said, “Would I have bedding to put under me in the field? ” “But how [do you sleep]? ” and he said, “On the ground.” The elder* continued, “Did you have food in the field? Or what kind of wine* did you drink? ” He responded, “Do bread* and drink exist in the field? ” “Well, then,” he said, “How did you live? ” He said, “I’d eat dry bread,* drink water, and, if I had any, I’d eat a small salted fish.” The elder* replied, “That’s hard labor! Was there a bathhouse in the village, so you could wash? ” and he said, “No, instead, [we bathed] in the river when we wanted to.” When the elder* got all this from him, wanting to do something beneficial* for him, he related* to him the affliction* caused by his former way of life when he was in the world:* “The wretched person whom you see, me, I’m from the great city of Rome and I was a great personage in the palace of the emperor.” When the Egyptian* heard the beginning of the story, he was moved and was now listening attentively to what the elder* was saying to him. The elder* continued, “I abandoned the city, therefore, and came to this desert.” * And again: “I, whom you see, possessed great houses and a great deal of money.10 When I came to disdain these things, I came to this small cell.” * And again: “I, whom you see, possessed beds made entirely of gold, and these had very valuable bedding; instead of these, God has given me 9. [but rather a villager]: SysAP X.110; PG lacks, but the alternate reading supplies a segue to the next question. 10. money, chrḗma: and/or “possessions.”

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this mat and the sheepskin. Here again—my clothing was expensive and very valuable, and instead of those things I wear these simple clothes.” Again: “A great deal of gold was spent on my morning meal,11 and instead of this God gave me these few vegetables and a small flask of wine.* There were numerous slaves serving me, and here, instead of these, God spurred on this elder* to serve me. Instead of baths, I throw a little water on my feet, and the sandals are because of my weakness.” * Again: “Instead of musicians and cithara players, I say the twelve psalms.* It’s the same at night—instead of the sins [PG 65:389] I used to commit, now, with inward stillness,* I offer my small rite. So, I beg* you, abba, don’t be scandalized* at my weakness.” * When the Egyptian* heard these things, coming to himself he said, “Oh, no! Wretched me! I came from great affliction* caused by the world* to inward stillness,* and what I didn’t have back then I have now. But you’ve come from a life of rest and relaxation to affliction,* 12 and from great glory* and wealth you’ve come to humility* and poverty.” * Having greatly benefited* [from his encounter], the Egyptian left and became the elder’s friend and often visited him because of these benefits.* This was because the Roman was a man of discernment* and was filled with the sweet smell of the Holy Spirit.13 2. [XVI.26; 2:408] The same elder* said,14 “There was an elder* who had a good disciple, and because the elder was contemptuous, he threw him out,15 along with his sheepskin cloak,16 11. “Spent,” analískō can also mean “squander.” Morning meal: áriston; the adjective áristos means “excellent, very good, the best, the noblest” (English aristocracy). 12. a life of rest and relaxation: the basic meaning of anápausis is “rest,” so the saying is emphasizing the vast difference between the rest the world* offers and the anápausis, “inward stillness,” * that a monastic way of life* offers. 13. filled with: plḗrēs can mean “complete, perfect” (Lampe 1093a(3)). 14. The same elder said: SysAP XVI.26 lacks. 15. he threw him out: a variant, PG 65:389, n. 95, he threw him out the door. SysAP XVI.26 has the PG text. 16. along with his sheepskin cloak: SysAP XVI.26 lacks.

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but the brother stayed sitting outside. The elder* opened [the door], found him sitting there, and prostrated* himself before him, saying, ‘Dear Father,17 your humility* and what you’ve endured have defeated my contemptuousness. Come inside. From now on you’re the elder* and father and I’m the young newcomer and disciple.’ ” 18

Concerning Abba Rufus 19 1.20 [PG 65:389] [II.35; 1:142, 144] A brother asked Abba Rufus,21 “What is ‘contemplative quiet,’* and what’s its benefit? ” * The elder* said to him, “Contemplative quiet* is to remain in your cell* with fear* and the knowledge of God [gained through being contemplative], staying away from resentment and arrogance. Such contemplative quiet* is the mother of all the virtues* and protects* the monk* from the flaming arrows of the Enemy22 and doesn’t allow him to be wounded by them. Yes, brother, hold on to such contemplative quiet,* being mindful of the departure that death brings. You don’t know at what hour the thief is coming.23 Therefore, keep control over your own soul.” 24 2. [XIV.29; 1:200] 25 Abba Rufus said, “The person who lives in obedience* to a spiritual father has a greater reward than the

17. Dear Father: SysAP XVI.26, Peter. 18. I’m the young newcomer and disciple: SysAP XVI.26 continues, “Because by your work* you have surpassed my being an elder.” * 19. Gk. Roúphos, pronounced ROO-phōs, the Gk. form of Lat. “Rufus,” “­red-headed.” 20. AlphAP Rufus 2 is much shorter than SysAP II.35. Guy, 2:147, n. 1, says that SysAP II.35 is an “amplification” of the AlphAP version, but AlphAP Rufus 2 may be an abridgement of SysAP II.35; the latter has a long ode to hēsychía. 21. Abba Rufus: SysAP II.35, an elder.* 22. Eph 6:16. 23. Luke 12:39. 24. keep control, nḗphō: see Vigilant in the Glossary. 25. See AnonAP 296 (Wortley 200), which consists of only the first sentence, spoken by “an elder.” *

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person who withdraws* into the desert* by himself.” He used to say that one of the fathers recounted,* “I saw four orders in heaven. In the first, a person was sick and was giving thanks to God; in the second order a person who was practicing hospitality stuck with it and served* [others]. In the third order a person pursued [life in] the desert* without seeing anyone. In the fourth order a person lived in obedience* to a father, subjecting himself to him for the sake of the Lord. The one practicing obedience* was wearing [a crown and necklace made of gold],26 and he possessed more honor* than the others. “And I,” he said, “I said to the person who was guiding me, ‘How can this person, lower in rank than the others, have more honor* than the others?’ In response, he said to me, ‘Because the person who’s practicing hospitality is doing his own will, and the person who’s withdrawn* [is doing so] by his own will. This person who practices obedience* [PG 65:392] has left behind all those things that the will desires and relies on God and on his own father. Because of this, he’s received greater glory than the others.’ Therefore, children, obedience* practiced for the Lord’s sake is good. You’ve heard, children, in part, just one small portion of this achievement. “Obedience!* Salvation* of all those who have faith!* “Obedience!* Mother of all the virtues!* “Obedience!* That which discovers the kingdom! “Obedience!* That which opens the heavens and leads people up from the earth! “Obedience!* The nourishment of all the saints! They’ve nursed at your breast! 27 And through you they’ve been made perfect!* “Obedience!* You who dwell with the angels!”

26. [a crown and necklace made of gold]: I’ve followed SysAP XIV.29; PG text: a golden crown and shield. 27. “Obedience,” hypakoḗ, is a feminine n.

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Concerning Abba Romanus 28 1. [PG 65:392] When Abba Romanus was about to die, his disciples gathered around him, saying, “How ought we to be governed? ” The elder* said, “I can’t think of a time when I told one of you to do something unless first I had it in my thoughts* not to get angry* if you didn’t do what I had asked, and, by doing this, we lived in peace the whole time.”

28. Greek Romános, pronounced ro-MĂ-nōs.

Chapter 18 1

S / Sígma (Sı̑ gma) / Σ Concerning Abba Sisoës* 2 1. [PG 65:392] [XVI.13; 2:398, 400] 3 A brother who’d been mistreated by another brother came to Abba Sisoës* 4 and said to him, “I’ve been mistreated by a certain brother, and I want to avenge myself.” 5

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Sisóēs, pronounced see-SO-ease. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:392], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:395]—indicates the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example XVI.13, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:398, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number, e.g.: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. 4. Sisoës: a variant, PG 65:392, n. 99, and SysAP XVI.13, Sisoës the Theban.* 5. mistreated, adikéō < dikḗ, “justice”: or “wronged,” “damaged.” “offended” (Montanari I:32a(2)). Forms with dik- occur five times in this saying: ekdikéō, “avenge, avenging” and “revenge,” “procure justice, grant justice,” “inflict appropriate penalty for a wrong done” (Bauer 300b–301a); ekdíkēsis, “meting out of justice,” “vengeance, punishment” (301a). See Luke 18:1-8. 303

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The elder* was entreating* him, “No, child, instead leave the avenging to God,” but the brother kept saying, “I won’t rest until I avenge myself!” 6 The elder* said, “Let us pray,* brother,” and standing up, the elder* said, “Oh, God, we no longer need you to take thought about us—we’re getting revenge for ourselves.” When the brother heard this, he fell at the elder’s* feet and said, “I won’t sit in judgment* on my brother any more! Forgive me, abba!” 2. [IV.45; 1:208] A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “What do I do? I appear in church, and oftentimes there’s an agápē meal,* and [the brothers] get hold of me.” 7 The elder* said to him, “That’s a tough call,” so Abraham, his disciple, said, “If your appearing [in church] is on Saturday or Sunday, and a brother drinks three cups [of wine],* isn’t that a lot? ” The elder* said, “If Satan* isn’t [there], it’s not a lot.” 8 3. [II.26; 1:138] The disciple of Abba Sisoës* would say to him,9 “Father, you’ve gotten old, so let’s go near where there are people.” The elder* said to him, “Where there’s no woman*—let’s go there.” His disciple said to him, “And where is there a place* that doesn’t have a woman* except the desert? ” * The elder,* therefore, said to him, “Take me into the desert.” * 4. [IV.46; 1:208, 210] Oftentimes the disciple of Abba Sisoës* would say, “Abba, get up, let’s eat,” and he would say to him, “Haven’t we eaten, child? ” The disciple: “No, father,” and the 6. I won’t rest until I avenge myself: the irony here is that “rest” translates paúō, which is cognate with anápausis, “inward stillness.” * The monk is doing the opposite of seeking inward stillness! 7. get hold of: kratéō can also mean “seize, capture.” 8. On wine see Sisoës 8. 9. The disciple of Abba Sisoës: SysAP II.26, Abraham, the disciple of Abba Sisoës.

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elder* would say, “If we haven’t eaten, bring [some food], and we’ll eat.” 5. [IV.47; 1:210] [PG 65:393] Speaking openly, Abba Sisoës* said, “Be confident. Look now, I’ve been [in the desert] thirty years, and I’m no longer pleading with God about sins. Instead, this is what I pray:* ‘Lord Jesus,10 protect me from my tongue.’11 Even now I fall every day because of it and sin.” 6. [X.98; 2:76] A brother said to Abba Sisoës,* “Why don’t the passions* withdraw* from me? ” The elder* said, “Their equipment’s within you; give them their due,12 and they’ll pull back.” 13

Appendix: A Brief Discussion from Colleagues Michael Plekon asks, “Is this not the insight that the passions* are constituent of who we are, part of our humanity? A passion* can be destructive, but dealt with appropriately, rechanneled, that passion* can be a force for good. I think I absorbed this from some very down-to-earth, working-class-origin Carmelite friars when I was in formation as a novice and student friar years ago.” Fr. Macarius Rufela adds, “Based on the writings of Evagrius* Ponticus, it appears that what is being spoken about as ‘equipment’ is the different facets of the soul that are geared towards being utilized in their appropriate fashion to the glorification of God in [each human]. The logistikon, thymikon, and epithymikon, 10. Lord Jesus: SysAP IV.47, Lord Jesus Christ. 11. See Jas 3:1-12. 12. “Give them their due” uses arrabṓn, a Semitic loanword, “payment of a part of a purchase price in advance, deposit, down payment” (Bauer 134b), which is how Guy (SysAP), 2:76 translates it: “donne-leurs leurs arrhes,” “give them their deposit.” See 2 Cor 1:21-22: But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, who has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a down payment. In Eph 1:14 Christ is the pledge of our inheritance. 13. Both skeúos, “equipment” here, and hypágō, “pull back,” can be military terms.

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if fed with the appropriate sustenance, would allow for [a person] to grow accordingly. Evagrius, Praktikos 86: “The rational soul works according to nature when its concupiscible part desires* virtue, the irascible does battle for it, and the rational devotes itself to a contemplation of the created.” In conjunction with the original saying by Abba Sisoës,* it appears, then, that the passions* do not withdraw from the inquirer, because the equipment of the soul is not being fed with the appropriate spiritual food. Rephrased, then, perhaps what Abba Sisoës* is saying is “The tools of the soul that are within you hunger for the food appropriate to their sustenance; give them what is their due, and the passions* that manifest themselves as aberrations of the powers of the soul will withdraw.” 14 7. [XX.5; 3:166, 168] Abba Sisoës* was living [alone] 15 one time in the monastic community* of Abba Antony,* 16 and his attendant was delaying in going to see him—Abba Sisoës* hadn’t seen a single person for upwards of ten months. While he was walking around the area he came across a Pharanite* hunting wild animals, and the elder* said to him, “Where are you from, and how long have you been out here? ” 17 The person said, “The truth is, abba,* I’ve been in this area eleven months, and I haven’t seen one human being except you.” When the elder* heard what he’d said, he returned to his cell* and beat himself up,18 saying, “Look at you, Sisoës!* You thought you’d accomplished something—and you haven’t accomplished yet what this fellow from the world* has!” 14. Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos & Chapters on Prayers, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 3 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981), 37. 15. [alone]: a variant, PG 65:393, n. 5, and SysAP XX.5, was living alone. This fits the context better. 16. Sisoës doesn’t appear in the Life of Antony or in the sayings of Antony in the AlphAP. 17. “area” here and below translates óros, “mountain,” which often means a monastic settlement, as at the beginning of the next saying. 18. beat himself up: literally “hit/struck/beat himself.”

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8. [IV.44; 1:208] An offering took place in the monastic community* of Abba Antony,* and a measure of wine* was there.19 One of the elders,* taking a small container and cup, brought them to Abba Sisoës* and gave them to him, and he drank. Likewise a second round, and he accepted.20 The elder* offered him also a third round, and he wouldn’t take it, saying, “Stop, brother—or don’t you know that this is Satan? ” * 21 9. [XV.62; 2:326, 328] One of the brothers visited Abba Sisoës* at the monastic community* of Abba Antony,* and, while they were talking, he said to Abba Sisoës,* “Haven’t you now reached the stature of Abba Antony,* father? ” and the elder* said to him,22 “If I had even one of the thoughts* that Abba Antony* has, I’d become all fire.23 Yet I do know a person who, with great effort, can carry his thoughts.” * 10. [XIV.15; 2:264] One of the Thebans* came to Abba Sisoës,* wanting to become a monk,* and the elder* asked him, “Do you have someone in the world? ” * He said, “I have a son,” and the elder* said to him, “Go, throw him in the River;* then you can become a monk.” * When he left, therefore, to throw [his son in the River*], the elder* sent a brother to stop him. The brother said, “Stop! What’re you doing?!” and he said, “The abba told me to throw him [in the River*],” [PG 65:395] so the brother said, “But the elder* also said, ‘Do not throw him [in the River*].’ ” So, taking his leave, the Theban* went to the elder* and became a tried and true monk* because of his obedience.* 24

19. offering: prosphorá can also mean an offering of consecrated bread. 20. accepted: SysAP IV.44, accepted and drank. 21. On wine see Sisoës 2. 22. Before the next sentence, SysAP XV.62 adds, How could I have [possibly] reached the stature of the holy one? 23. See Arsenius 27 (Sayings 1:129) and Joseph of Panephysis 7. 24. tried and true, dókimos: or “esteemed, notable, distinguished, excellent” (Montanari I:546c). See Gen 22, the sacrifice of Isaac.

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11. [XV.63; 2:328] A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “Did Satan* persecute the ancient ones as he does now? ” The elder* said to him, “More now—his time* has drawn near, and he’s very agitated.” 25 12. [XIX.18; 3:152] Abraham, the disciple of Abba Sisoës,* was tempted* by a demon,* and the elder* saw that he had fallen, so he got up and stretched his hands to heaven, saying, “God, whether you’re OK with it, or not, I’m not letting go of you unless you heal him.” And immediately he was healed.26 13. [XV.65; 2:328] A brother made this request of Abba Sisoës:* “I see that, as regards me, the remembrance of God remains with me.” The elder* said to him, “It’s not that big a deal for your thoughts* to be with God, but it is important for you to see yourself as beneath all of creation. This and physical labor is what guides* a person into practicing humility.” * 27 14. [XX.7; 3:168, 170] They used to say about Abba Sisoës* that when he was going to die and the fathers were sitting around him, his face shone like the sun, and he said to them, “Look, Abba Antony’s* come!” and a bit later he said, “Look, the choir of prophets has come!” And once again his face lit up like a lamp, only much brighter, and he said, “Look, the choir of apostles has come!” And now his face [shone]—only twice as much! And look, it was as though he were talking with some folk! So the elders* begged him, “Who [sing.] are you talking to, father? ” He said, “Look! The angels have come to take me, and I’m entreating* them to let me repent* for a while,” so the elders* said to him, “You don’t need to repent,* father.” 28 25. draw near, engízō: the verb is common in the NT in an eschatological sense (NRSV: is at hand): the hour (Matt 26:45), the day (Rom 13:12), the approaching reign of God (Matt 3:2) (Bauer 270b(2)). 26. What is striking here is that being tempted, not the follow-through, is to fall. 27. guides: hodēgéō is cognate with hodós, “way.” * 28. “I was entreating them to let me repent for a while.” So the elders said to him, “You don’t need to repent, father”: see Sisoës 49.

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The elder* said to them, “In fact, I myself don’t know that I’ve even made a beginning.” All of them learned [then] that he was perfect.* Now once again, and suddenly, his face was like the sun, and all of them were afraid,* so he said to them, “Look! The Lord has come!” He said, “Bring me the [chosen] vessel of the desert!” 29 and he immediately handed over the spirit [to God]. There was something like a streak of lightning,30 and the whole house was filled with a fragrant smell.31 15. [VIII.20; 1:412, 414] Abba Adelphius, bishop* of Nilopolis,32 came to visit Abba Sisoës* at the monastic community* of Abba Antony.* When [Abba Adelphius and his group] were about to leave, before they set out on their way* the elder* had them eat something early in the morning, but it was a fast* day. As he set the table, all of a sudden brothers were knocking [on the door], and he said to his disciple, “Give them [the brothers] a little porridge; they’re exhausted.” Abba Adelphius said to him, “Wait a bit so they don’t say that [PG 65:397] Abba Sisoës* eats in the morning.” 33 The elder* acknowledged the bishop* and said to his disciple, “Go on, give them [some porridge].” When they [the brothers] saw the porridge, though, they said, “But don’t you have visitors? Isn’t the elder*

29. [chosen] vessel: a variant, PG 65:396, n. 14, and SysAP XX.7 have this reading, which is from Acts 9:15. 30. lightning: astrapḗ: see Matt 24:27, For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 31. fragrant smell, euōdía: see 2 Cor 2:15, For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 32. Nilopolis was an “ancient Egyptian religious center” in the Fayyum; probably in Nilopolis, as occurred in nearby Karanis, Christianity “took root there early. In the middle of the third century .  .  . some inhabitants gave their sons Christian names” (CCE, “Karanis,” https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection /cce/id/1146/rec/1; CE 1390a–91a). “During the third century, the church made considerable progress throughout the country. There were bishops in Alexandria and in Nilopolis and Hermopolis” (CCE, “Paganism,” https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/1500/rec/1; CE 1865a–71a). 33. Monks normally ate at the ninth hour, roughly three p.m.

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[who’s visiting] eating with you? ” and the brother said to them, “Yes.” This began to trouble them and they said, “May God forgive you—you’ve allowed the elder* to eat at this hour! Or don’t you know that he’s got to work hard for several days? ” 34 The bishop* heard them and prostrated* himself before the elder* and said, “Forgive me, abba.* I was thinking as a human being; you, however did [the will] of God.” Abba Sisoës* said to him, “Unless God glorifies* a person, the glory* of humans is nothing.” 16. [XV.64] [2:328] Some people visited Abba Sisoës* in order to hear some counsel* from him,35 and he wouldn’t say anything to them. [Every time] [they would ask him about something] he would say “Forgive me.” 36 Seeing his baskets, they said to his disciple, Abraham, “What are you doing with these baskets? ” 37 and he said, “We [sell] them here and there.” 38 When the elder* heard this, he said, “And Sisoës* eats from here and from there,” and the visitors left, rejoicing, edified by his humility.* 17. [VIII.21; 1:414] Abba Ammoun39 of Raïthou* made this request of Abba Sisoës:* “When I read Scripture, my thoughts* want me to prepare something to say so I have a response [if someone asks me a question].”

34. Perhaps before he eats? 35. Some people: a variant, PG 65:396, n. 17, and SysAP XV.64, Some others. This provides a segue from the previous saying. 36. [Every time]: I’ve followed the variant in AlphAP 65:397, n. 18, and SysAP XV.64, pántote, rather than the PG text’s pánta, “all things, everything.” 37. “What are you doing with these baskets? ” Or “Why do you make these baskets? ” 38. [sell]: the basic meaning of analískō is “to spend (money).” Wortley, Give Me, 285, and Guy (SysAP), 2:238 (vendons), translate the verb as “sell,” which in a monastic context makes sense. The PG Lat. translation, 65:398, has impendimus, “we spend.” Sisoës’s gnomic response in a minute doesn’t really clarify matters. 39. For Ammoun’s sayings see Sayings 1:174–76.

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The elder* said to him, “There’s no need to do that; instead, from purity of mind acquire for yourself [the ability] not to worry and [ability about] what to say.” 40 18. [XIX.17; 3:150, 152] A person living in the world* who had a son set out to visit Abba Sisoës* one time at the monastic community* of Abba Antony,* and along the way* his son happened to die. The person was not distraught but took his son in faith* to the elder* and, with his son, threw himself down as though prostrating* himself in order to receive a blessing* from the elder.* 41 The father [of the boy] stood up, left his son at the elder’s* feet and went out, leaving [the cell]. The elder,* thinking that the boy was making a prostration,* said to him, “Get up, go outside” (he didn’t know that the boy had died). And immediately the boy got up and went outside! 42 When his father saw him, he was astounded* and went inside and as an act of reverence bowed down to the elder* and reported to him what had happened. When the elder* heard this, he was saddened—he didn’t want this to happen. His disciple instructed the man not to say anything until after the elder had died.43 19. Three elders* visited Abba Sisoës,* having heard things about him, and the first one said to him, “Father, how can I be saved* from the fiery river? ” 44 He didn’t answer him. 40. from purity of mind acquire for yourself [the ability] not to worry and [ability about] what to say: SysAP VIII.21, from purity of mind acquire for yourself ability regarding what you think and say. See Matt 6:25-34//Luke 12:22-33. 41. as though prostrating [himself], metanoéō (metánoia: “sin”): or “as though repenting.” See Sisoës 20. 42. “Get up” and “got up” translate different forms of anístēmi (ē anástasis: “the resurrection”); thus, Sisoës, like other esteemed early monastics, raises the dead as Jesus raised the dead (John 6:39-40) and God raised Jesus (Acts 2:24). For the Greek Orthodox the call on Easter is Christós anéstē! and the response is Alēthȏs anésti (“Christ is risen! He is risen indeed/Truly he is risen.”) See Sisoës 38. 43. The father reports to the elder, anangéllō, and the elder’s disciple “un-­ reports,” that is, he “instructs,” parangéllō, the father to say nothing for now about what took place. 44. Dan 7:10 (LXX): river of fire; NRSV: A stream of fire.

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The second said to him, “How can I be saved* from the gnashing of teeth and from the worm that doesn’t die? ” 45 [He didn’t answer him.] The third said to him, “Father, what can I do? Recollecting the outer darkness is killing me.” 46 Answering, the elder* said to them, “I don’t have recollection of any of these. God is [the] friend of compassion;* I have faith* [PG 65:400] that God will show me mercy.” * When the elders* heard what Abba Sisoës* was saying, they left, saddened.47 But the elder* didn’t want to let them go away saddened. He had them turn back and said to them, “Brothers, you are blessed—I was happy for you! The first among you spoke about the fiery river, the second about Tartarus,* and the third about darkness. If, therefore, your mind is lord and master of recollection[s] such as these, it’s impossible for you to sin. I’m hard-hearted, what can I do? I’m not allowed even to know whether there is punishment for [us] humans, and, because of this, I’m sinning all the time.” 48 Prostrating* themselves before him, they said to him, “Just as we have heard, so too have we [now] seen.” 20.49 Some [of the brothers] asked Abba Sisoës,* “If a brother falls [into sin], shouldn’t he do a year’s penance? ” and he said, “That’s difficult counsel.” * They said, “How about six months? ” and he said, “That’s too long.” They said, “For forty days? ” and again he said, “That’s too long.”

45. Matt 8:12. 46. Matt 8:12. 47. “what Abba Sisoës was saying” uses lógos, “word, counsel,” * cognate with légō, “speak, say.” 48. I’m not allowed, mḕ sunchōréō in the middle voice. The verb often means to forgive; with the negative mḗ in front of it, it can suggest “not forgiven.” 49. See Poemen 12.

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They said to him, “Well, what then? If a brother falls [into sin] and then an agápē * meal occurs immediately afterwards, may he come to the agápē ? ” * The elder* said to them, “No. Instead, he needs to do penance for a few days.50 I have faith* in God that if such a person repents* with his whole soul, in three days God will accept him.” 51 21. When Abba Sisoës* went to Clysma* one time, some people living in the world* paid a visit in order to see him, and they talked a lot, and he didn’t respond with a single word.* Then one of them said, “Why are you bothering the elder?* He doesn’t eat. Because of this, he can’t say anything. The elder* responded, “Me? When I need to eat, I eat.” 52 22. Abba Joseph asked Abba Sisoës,* “How long should a person cut off the passions? ” * 53 The elder* said to him, “You want to know how long? ” Abba Joseph said, “Yes,” so the elder* said, “Whenever a passion* comes, immediately cut it off.” 23. A brother asked Abba Sisoës* of Petra* about his way of life,* and the elder* said to him, “Daniel said, ‘I didn’t eat bread* that I longed to eat.’ ” 54 24. [XX.6; 3:168] They used to say about Abba Sisoës* that when he was sitting in his cell* he always kept the door closed. 25. Some Arians* came to see Abba Sisoës* one time at the monastic community* of Abba Antony* and began to slander the orthodox, but the elder* didn’t say anything to them in reply. He 50. Both “do penance” and “repents” in the next sentence translate metanoéō (metánoia: “repentance” *). See Sisoës 18. 51. accept, déchomai: or “receive, welcome.” 52. Perhaps the people, knowing of the monastic practice of offering food to a visitor in hospitality, brought some food for Sisoës. 53. cut off: ekkóptō can also mean “lop off, amputate,” “demolish, destroy” (Montanari I:633c). The last sentence of the saying uses the simplex kóptō. Abba Joseph of Panephysis has eleven sayings in this volume and Abba Joseph of Thebes one. 54. Dan 10:3 (LXX).

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called his disciple and said, “Abraham, bring me the book by the holy Athanasius* and read it [to them].” 55 While they kept silent,* their heresy* became clear, and Abba Sisoës* dismissed them in peace.56 26. Abba Ammoun went one time from Raïthou* to Clysma* to visit Abba Sisoës.* Seeing that he was upset* because he had left the desert,* Abba Ammoun said to Abba Sisoës,* “Why are you upset, abba?* What more could you do57 [PG 65:401] in the desert* now that you’ve gotten old? ” The elder* gave him a harsh look and said, “What are you telling me, Ammoun? Wasn’t just my freedom of thought* sufficient for me in the desert? ” * 27. Abba Sisoës* was sitting in his cell* one time, and his disciple knocked on the door. The elder* shouted “Go away, Abraham! Don’t come in. I don’t have time for what’s going on around here.” 28. A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “Why’d you leave Scetis* where you were with Abba Ṓr and come and live here? ” 58 The elder* said to him, “When Scetis* started getting a lot of people and I heard that Abba Antony* had gone to his rest, I got up and came here to this community.* When I found out that things here were good for practicing contemplative quiet,* I stayed here for a little while.” 55. This is probably Athanasius’s work in the 340s, Orations against the ­Arians, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2816.htm. 56. “Read” translates anagí(g)nomi and “became clear” gí(g)nomi; thus the reading of Athanasius’s book made clear the Arian* heresy. As the ODCC notes, “As bishop he was the greatest and most consistent theological opponent of Arianism” (120a). 57. What more could you do: I’m not sure how to translate hēdúnō (cognate with hēdonḗ, “pleasure, sweetness,” English hedonism); the PG 65:399 Lat. translation has quid enim iam inde poteras. Wortley, Give Me, 287, translates the sentences as I have. Perhaps the verb dýnamai, “can, be able,” is what the sentence needs. 58. leave, kataleípō: or “abandon.” Abba Ṓr has fifteen sayings in this volume.

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The brother said to him, “How long have you been here? ” The elder* said to him, “Seventy-two [years].” 59 29. Abba Sisoës* said, “When a person’s taking care of you, there’s no need for you to assign him work* to do.” 30.60 A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “If we’re walking on the road* and our guide gets lost, should we tell him? ” 61 The elder* said to him, “No,” so the brother [said], “And we just let him get us lost? ” The elder* said to him, “What are you going to do, take the staff you’ve got [in your hands] and beat him? 62 I know some brothers who were walking, and at night their guide got them lost.63 There were twelve of them, and they all knew that they’d gotten lost, and each of them was struggling not to say anything. “When day came, when the guide realized that they had lost the path,* he said to them, ‘Forgive me, I’ve gotten lost,’ and everyone said, ‘We knew, too, but we kept quiet about it.’ When he heard this, the guide was amazed.” * [Abba Sisoës added,] “Until they died they disciplined themselves not to say anything,” and he gave glory* to God.64 The miles they had wandered off the road* were twelve. 31. Some Saracens* came one time and stripped the elder* and his brother [of everything they had]. When the two went outside into the desert* to look for something to eat, the elder* found 59. Seventy-two [years]: The PG text lacks “years”; a variant, SysAP 65:401, n. 25, has “Seventy-two years.” 60. See John the Little 17 and SysAP XVII.10 (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:16). 61. gets lost: planáō (English planet) in the active voice can mean “lead astray, deceive,” and in the passive “go astray.” Thus the saying here is also a parable about what to do when one goes astray morally or spiritually. “Guide,” hodēgós, is cognate with hodós, “path, way,” * which intensifies the parabolic idea. 62. beat: dérō can be even stronger here, “flay, skin” (an animal), so “skin him alive” (Montanari I:467c). 63. John the Little 17: “One time when Abba John was going up from Scetis* with other brothers, their guide, when it was night, got them lost.” 64. The PG text is deficient here, having the guide say, “Until they died they disciplined themselves not to say anything.”

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camel dung and, breaking it apart, found barley seeds. He ate one seed and kept one in his hand. When his brother came he found him eating and said to him, “Is this an act of love?* You found something to eat—and you’re eating it by yourself? And you didn’t call me? ” Abba Sisoës* said to him, “I didn’t wrong you, brother. Look, here’s your share. I kept it in my hand.” 32. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* of Thebes* that he was staying in Qalamun in the Arsinoite* nome,65 and another elder* in a different laura* was sick. When Abba Sisoës* heard, it saddened him. He was fasting* every other day, and on a day he wasn’t eating he heard about the elder* and in his thoughts* asked, “What do I do? If I leave, maybe the brothers [there] will make me eat,66 and if I wait till tomorrow he may die. OK, this is what I’ll do: [PG 65:404] I’ll go, and I won’t eat.” And so he went, fasting,* fulfilling God’s commandment,* and for God he didn’t ease up on his way of life.* 33. One of the fathers recounted* about Abba Sisoës* of Qalamun, “One time he wanted to conquer sleep and suspended himself from the precipice of Petras,* and an angel came, freed him, and ordered him not to do that any more or to hand on such a tradition to others.” 34. One of the fathers asked Abba Sisoës,* “If I’m living in the desert* and a barbarian* comes wanting to kill me, do I kill him if I can? ” and the elder* said, “No, instead hand him over to God. When temptation* comes, a person can do nothing better than say ‘It’s because of my sins that this has happened,’ but if it’s something good it’s at God’s direction.”

65. nome: “From early times the territory of Egypt was divided into units called nomes. While changes occurred in the number of nomes and their boundaries, this system of land administration was maintained by the Ptolemies [fourth cent. BCE–first cent. BCE] and then the Romans. Nomes allowed the rulers to assess and collect tax revenues easily” (ODLA 2:1083). 66. the brothers [there] will make me eat: that is, as a sign of hospitality.

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35. A brother made this request of Abba Sisoës* of Thebes:* “Offer me some counsel,” * and he said, “What have I got to say to you? I read the New Testament and head back to the Old.” 36. The same brother asked Abba Sisoës* of Petras* about the counsel* that Abba Sisoës* of Thebes had told him, and the elder* said, “In sin I go to sleep and in sin I get up.” 37. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* of Thebes* that when church finished he would flee* to his cell,* and they would say, “He has a demon,” * but he was doing God’s work.* 38. A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “What do I do, abba,* I’ve fallen [into sin].” The elder* said to him, “Get up again.” 67 The brother said, “I did get up, and I’ve fallen again,” and the elder* said, “Get up again and again,” so the brother said, “How long? ” The elder* said, “Until you remain either good or fallen. Look, in whatever condition a person is found, that’s also how that person will proceed.” 39. [PG 65:405] A brother asked an elder,* “What do I do? I’m feeling oppressed* about my handiwork. I love* braiding rope, and yet I’m not able to keep doing my work.” * The elder* said, “Abba Sisoës* used to say that we shouldn’t do work* that provides us rest.” 68 40. Abba Sisoës* said, “Seek God, but don’t seek God where he dwells.” 41. He also said, “Self-confidence and fearlessness often bring sin [with them].” 42. A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “What do I do? ”

67. Get up: anéstē < anístēmi. See 1 Thess 4:14, For since we believe that Jesus died and rose [anéstē] again. See Sisoës 18. 68. “Provides us rest” translates anapaúō, cognate with anápausis, “inward stillness,” * so it’s not clear what the elder intends. See Sisoës 43.

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He said to him, “What you’re looking for is humility* and to be completely silent.* It’s written, Blessed are those who remain faithful in him.69 This is how you can persevere.” 70 43. [I.26; 1:116] Abba Sisoës* said, “Become of no value at all, throw your will behind you, and become someone without worry.71 [Do this and] you’ll have inward stillness.” * 44. A brother asked Abba Sisoës,* “What do I do about the passions? ” * and the elder* said to him, “Each person is tempted* by his own desires.” * 72 45. A brother made this request of Abba Sisoës,* “Offer me some counsel,” * and he said, “Why are you forcing me to offer some idle words? Look, what you see me doing, do.” 46. Abraham, the disciple of Abba Sisoës,* left one time on some ministry, and for days Abba Sisoës* refused to be ministered to by anyone else, saying, “Can I allow anyone else to be close to me except my brother? ” So he wouldn’t accept [anyone] until his disciple returned, putting up with the bother. 47. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* that he was sitting [in his cell*] and cried out in a loud voice, “What wretchedness!” His disciple said to him, “What’s wrong, father? ” The elder* said to him, “One person—I’m looking for one person to talk to, and I can’t find anyone!” 48. One time Abba Sisoës* left the monastic community* of Abba Antony* for the more distant community* in the Thebaid,* and he stayed there. There were some Melitians* there, living in

69. Isa 30:18b (LXX); NRSV: blessed are all those who wait for him. 70. persevere, hístēmi: or “stand straight, raise oneself up,” “make a beginning” (Montanari I:990b(B)). 71. become someone without worry: SysAP I.26, become someone who doesn’t worry about the things of the world.* “Become”: gí(g)nomi: or “be.” Worry, amérimnos: see Matt 6:25, Therefore I tell you, do not worry [amerimnáō] about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 72. Jas 1:14.

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Qalamun in the Arsinoite* nome.73 When some [brothers] heard that he’d left for the more distant community* they wanted to go check on him, and they were saying, “What’ll we do? There are Melitians* at that community.* We know that the elder* won’t be harmed because of them, but maybe those of us who want to meet with him will succumb to temptation* [and follow] the heretics.” * 74 So, in order to not come into contact with the heretics,* they didn’t leave to go see the elder.* 49. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* that he was sick [PG 65:408] and was sitting, with some elders* beside him, as he spoke to some other people.75 They said to him, “What are you seeing, abba? ” * and he said to them, “I see some people coming for me, and I’m entreating* them to give me a little more time to repent.” * 76 One of the elders* said to him, “Even if they give you more time, at this point is it useful for you to repent? ” * The elder* said to him, “If I can’t do that, nevertheless I can groan a little over my soul, and that’ll be good enough for me.” 50. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* that when he came to Clysma* he fell ill. While he was sitting with his disciple in the cell,* there was a sudden knocking on the door. When the elder* became aware of this he said to his disciple, Abraham, “Say to the person who’s knocking ‘I, Sisoës,* in the monastic community;* I, Sisoës,* in the ravine.’ ” When the person knocking heard this, he disappeared. 51. Abba Sisoës* of Thebes* said to his disciple, “Tell me what you see in me, and I’ll tell you what I see in you.” His disciple said to him, “You have a good mind, but you’re a bit too hard.”

73. nome: see n. 65 above. 74. temptation [and follow] the heretics: literally “temptation of the heretics.” 75. elders: a variant, PG 65:408, n. 29, fathers. 76. I’m entreating them to give me a little more time to repent: see Sisoës 14.

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The elder said to him, “You’re good, but your thinking’s muted.” 52. They used to say about Abba Sisoës* of Thebes* that he wouldn’t eat bread,* and on the feast of Easter the brothers prostrated* themselves before him, asking him to eat with them. Responding, the elder* said to them, “I can do one thing—either participate with you in eating bread* or eating whatever you’ve prepared.” They said to him, “Eat just bread,” * and that’s what he did.

Concerning Abba Silvanus 77 1. [PG 65:408] [IV.48; 1:210] Abba Silvanus and his disciple Zachariah visited a monastery* one time, and [the brothers] made them eat at least a little before they went on their way.* After the two left, his disciple found water [alongside] the road* and wanted to take a drink, so the elder* said to him, “Zachariah, today’s a fast* day,” and he said, “Didn’t we just eat, father? ” The elder* said, “When we ate back there it was an act of love,* but child, let’s keep our own fast.” * 2. [III.33; 1:166, 168] The same [elder*] was sitting one time with some brothers, and he had a mystical* experience and fell on his face. Quite a while later he stood up and was weeping, so the brothers entreated* him, saying, “What’s happening to you, father? ” He remained silent* and was weeping, but forced by them to say something, he said, “I was seized and carried off to eternal punishment, and I saw a lot of people, monks* like us, going away to such punishment, and many people living in the world* going off into the kingdom.” 78 The elder* was in mourning and refused 77. Greek Silouanós, pronounced sea-lou-ah-NŌS. 78. eternal punishment: the base meaning of kólasis is “punishment,” but in the NT (Matt 25:46, the word’s only appearance) and patristic Greek it can mean “punishment hereafter, eternal punishment” (Lampe 764b–65a).

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to come out of his cell.* If he was forced to come out, he would cover his face with his hood and say, “Why do I want to see this transitory light that has nothing beneficial* about it? ” 79 3. [PG 65:409] [XVIII.27; 3:80, 82] Another time, his disciple Zachariah came into [the elder’s* cell] and found him having a mystical* experience, and his hands were stretched out to heaven. Closing the door, he left. He came back about the sixth* and ninth* hours and found him the same.80 About the tenth hour he knocked and, going in, found him in a state of contemplative quiet,* and said to him, “What was going on with you today, father? ” and he said, “I was ill today, child.” Zachariah grabbed hold of Abba Silvanus’s feet, saying, “There’s no way I’m letting go of you unless you tell me what you saw!” The elder* said to him, “I was seized and carried off to heaven, and I saw the glory* of God. I was standing there until now, and now I’ve been dismissed.” 4. [XI.68; 2:174, 176] Abba Silvanus was living one time at Mount Sinai;* 81 his disciple Zacharias left on some ministry* and [before doing so] said to the elder,* “Release the water and irrigate the orchard.” Going out, Abba Silvanus covered his face with his hood and could see only his footsteps. A brother came to visit [him] at that very hour, saw Abba ­Silvanus from a distance, and was observing what he was doing.82 When the brother entered [the cell of Abba Silvanus], he said, “Tell me, abba,* why did you cover your face with your hood, watering the orchard that way? ” The elder* said to him, “Child, I do it so my eyes don’t see the trees and distract my mind* from the work* it’s doing for them.”

79. transitory, próskairos: see 2 Cor 4:18, what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. 80. sixth and ninth hours: about noon and 3 p.m. 81. at Mount Sinai,* tò óros tò Siná: or “at the monastic community* [óros] on Sinai.* 82. came to visit [him]: the PG text omits him, added here from a variant, AlphAP 65:409, n. 32, and SysAP XI.68, came to visit him.

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5. [X.99; 2:78] A brother visited Abba Silvanus at Mount Sinai,* and, when he saw the brothers working,* he said to the elder,* “Do not work* for the food that perishes. Mary has chosen the good part.” 83 The elder* said to his disciple, Zachariah, “Give this brother a chapter of the Bible84 and put him in an unoccupied cell.” * 85 When the ninth* hour came, the brother started watching the door, wondering if they would send someone to summon him to eat. When no one summoned him, he got up, went to the elder,* and said, “Didn’t the brothers eat today, abba? ” * The elder* said to him, “Yes,” and he said “Why didn’t you summon me? ” The elder* said to him, “Since you’re a spiritual person,86 you don’t need to eat this food, but we, flesh and blood, want to eat, and that’s why we’re working.* But you, you have chosen the good part, reading all day, so you don’t want to eat physical food.” When he heard these words, he prostrated* himself, saying, “Forgive me, father!” The elder* said to him, “Mary absolutely needs Martha—and it’s because of Martha that Mary gets praised.” 87 6. [XI.70; 2:176] They asked Abba Silvanus one time, “What way of life* did you work* at, father, to acquire such wisdom? ” and he responded, “I’ve never allowed into my heart* a thought* that would make God angry.” * 7. [PG 65:412] They used to say about Abba Silvanus that he sat hidden away in his cell,* having some small chickpeas with him, and for work* he sifted them, dropping them in a bowl and

83. John 6:27 and Luke 10:42. 84. a chapter of the Bible, biblíon, a diminutive of bíblos, “book”: so, one could translate the word as “book.” SysAP X.99 lacks. Complete Bibles were rare. 85. put, bállō: an early listener or reader could well have chuckled; a basic meaning of bállō is “to throw”; thus, “throw him in a cell.” 86. spiritual, pneumatikós < pneȗma, “spirit”: or “heavenly.” 87. See the story of Mary and Martha, Luke 10:38-42.

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taking them out a hundred times.88 And now a person from Egypt* came with a donkey loaded with bread,* knocked on [the door of] the cell,* and left [the bread]. So, taking the chickpeas, the elder loaded them onto the donkey and sent the person off. 8. They used to say about Abba Silvanus that his disciple Zachariah left [the cell*] without him and, taking the brothers, removed the garden fence and made the garden larger. When the elder* learned about this, therefore, he took his sheepskin cloak and left, saying to the brothers, “Pray* for me.” When they saw him [leaving], they fell at his feet, saying, “Tell us what’s the matter, father.” He said to them, “I’m not going back inside, and I’m not [throwing off] the sheepskin cloak until you bring the fence and put it back where it was.” 89 They removed the fence and put it where it was before, so the elder* returned to his cell.* 9. [VI.28; 1:334] Abba Silvanus said, “I’m a slave, and my master said to me, ‘Do the work* I tell you to do, and I’ll feed you.90 Where [the food] comes from, don’t ask; whether it’s mine or I steal it or borrow it, don’t ask. Just do your work* and I’ll feed you.’ As for me, then, if I work* I eat because of my wages, but if I don’t work,* I’m eating because of an act of love.” * 91 10. [XXI.36; 3:208] 92 He also said, “Woe to that person whose reputation is greater than what that person accomplishes.” 93

88. for work he sifted them, dropping them in a bowl and taking them out a hundred times: I’ve expanded the text here, trying to capture what I think the situation is. PG text: for work he sifted them a hundred times. PG 65:411a, Lat. translation: confecerit centum cribra, “he completed a hundred sieves [siftings].” 89. [throwing off]: reading katabállō instead of the PG text’s katabaínō, “to come down.” 90. master: kýrios, thus also “lord,” “the Lord.” 91. an act of love: meaning that either a fellow monk or God provides his food. 92. See AnonAP 117; Wortley, 78–79. 93. what that person accomplishes: the basic meaning of ergasía is “work” * (érgon), but in patristic Greek it can also mean “way of life” and “keeping, fulfilling the commandments” (Lampe 545b(3, 4)).

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11. [XI.69; 2:176] Abba Moses* asked Abba Silvanus, “Can a person make a new beginning every day? ” and the elder* said, “If he’s a [person who works*], he can, [every day,] and every day he can make a new beginning.” 94 12.95 One of the fathers said that he happened to meet Abba Silvanus one time, and, when he saw his face and body shining like an angel’s, he fell on his face [before him]. He used to say that others had this spiritual gift.* 96

Concerning Abba Simon 97 1. [VIII.22; 1:414] A governor came one time to see Abba Simon, but when he heard about it he took his belt and went and sat in a palm tree. Those who had come cried out “Elder,* where’s the anchorite? ” * and he said, “There’s no anchorite* here,” and when they heard this they left.98 2. [VIII.23; 1:414, 416] Another time, another governor again came to see him, and the clergy, anticipating the governor’s arrival, said to Abba Simon, “Abba,* get ready, the governor’s heard about you and is coming to be blessed* by you.” He said, “Sure, I’ll get myself ready,” so, wearing patched-up clothing and taking bread* and cheese in hand, [PG 65:413] he got up and sat at the gate, eating. When the governor came with his contingent and saw him, they belittled him, saying, “This is the anchorite* we’ve heard about?!” and they immediately turned around and left.

94. If he’s a [person who works], he can, [every day,]: I’ve followed the reading of PG 65:412, nn. 38 and 39, and SysAP XI.69. 95. See Pambo 12. 96. spiritual gift: chárisma, cognate with cháris, “grace,” * “gift.” 97. Greek Símōn, pronounced SEE-mown. 98. left, anachōréō: see Withdraw in the Glossary.

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Concerning Abba Sopatros 99 1. [XIV.16; 2:264] Someone requested of Abba Sopatros, “Give me a commandment,* abba,* and I’ll keep* it.” He said to him, “Don’t allow a woman* into your cell,* don’t read apocryphal* writings,100 and don’t go looking for [discussion] about the Likeness.101 This last isn’t heresy* but rather [discussion that’s] affectation and chicanery—on both sides [of the argument]. The whole of creation isn’t able to grasp this matter.” 102 99. Greek Sṓpatros, pronounced SO-pah-trōs. 100. apocryphal writings: apókryphos means “hidden, concealed,” then “private, esoteric, secret.” In the first three centuries the canon of Christian Scripture was fluid. The first references Lampe 198b–99a gives of “books not read in churches, hence apocryphal” are mid-third century, but we know of them in the second century. In the mid-fourth century Athanasius* was apparently the first bishop to declare a closed canon of Scripture: “Of the particular books and their number, which are accepted by the Church. From the thirty-ninth Letter of Holy Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, on the Paschal festival; wherein he defines canonically what are the divine books which are accepted by the Church” (Festal Letter 39, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2806039.htm). See ODCC 83b–85b; The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/cathen /01601a.htm. See Howard Clark Kee, NRSV Cambridge Annotated Study ­Apocrypha (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019). 101. Likeness, eikṓn (“image, likeness,” English “icon”) can be a Christological term for “the Logos or Son as image of the Father,” “of Son as image of attributes of God,” and of “the Son’s humanity” (Lampe 415CE). See 2 Cor 4:4: the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The argument was one of the nature of Christ vis-à-vis the Father; those who wanted to subordinate Christ to the Father (“subordinationism”) could use the term to argue their positions (see Arianism in the Glossary). See Frances M. Young, From Nicaea to Chalcedon: A Guide to the Literature and its Background (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1983), 190. There is very little Christological discussion in the AlphAP; the focus is soteriological, a “realized soteriology” that is, here and now. 102. Sopatros here finds a companion in the American writer Wendell Berry: “I will say that it has always been easy to be of two minds about the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they appear in their places as ‘characters’ so to speak, in the Gospels, I have found simply recognizable or imaginable as such, but I think of them as members of ‘the Trinity’ only deliberately and without so much interest. As an idea, the Trinity, the three-in-one, the three-part

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Concerning Abba Sarmatas 103 1. [PG 65:413] Abba Sarmatas said, “I want a person who’s sinned if he knows that he’s sinned and repents,* more than a person who hasn’t sinned and considers himself righteous.” * 2. They used to say about Abba Sarmatas that because it’s what Abba Poemen* wished he would often undertake forty* days [of fasting*], and the days went by like nothing.104 So Abba Poemen* came to see him and said to him, “Tell me, what’ve you seen, working so hard at this? ” He would say to him, “Not much.” Abba Poemen* said to him, “I won’t let you go if you don’t tell me something,” and he said, “I discovered one thing: If I say to sleep ‘Go away,’ it goes away, and if I say ‘Come here,’ it comes.” 3. A brother brought a matter to Abba Sarmatas and said, “My thoughts* are saying to me ‘Don’t work;* instead, eat, drink, and sleep.’ ” The elder* said to him, “When you’re hungry, eat; when you’re thirsty, drink; when you’re nodding off, sleep.” Another elder* happened to come by to see the brother, and the brother told him what Abba Sarmatas had said, so the elder* said to him, “This is what Abba Sarmatas told you: When you’re really hungry and so thirsty that you can’t [bear it] any longer, then eat and drink, and when you’re nodding off while keeping the night vigil, sleep. This is what the elder* was telling you.” 4. The same brother once again brought a matter to Abba ­Sarmatas and said, “My thoughts* are telling me ‘Go outside and visit the brothers,’ ” and the elder* said to him, “Don’t pay any godhead, seems to me austerely abstract, complicated, and cold. The more it is explained, the less believable it becomes” (Wendell Berry, A Small Porch: Sabbath Poems 2014 and 2015 together with The Presence of Nature in the Natural World: A Long Conversation [Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2016], 90–91). 103. Greek Sarmatȃs, pronounced sah-mahr-TAHS. 104. Poemen, with three groupings, has 224 sayings in this volume.

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attention to what they’re saying; instead, say, ‘Look, I heard you the first time, I’m not listening to you anymore.’ ”

Concerning Abba Serapion 105 1. [PG 65:413] [XVII.34; 3:34, 36] One time Abba Serapion was passing through a certain village in Egypt,* and he saw a prostitute standing [in front of] her room,106 and the elder* said to her, “Wait for me this evening; I want to come [PG 65:416] see you and spend tonight beside you.” She responded, “Very well, abba,” * and she got ready and prepared the bed.107 When it was evening the elder* came to see her,108 went into her room, and said, “Did you get the bed ready? ” and she said, “Yes, abba,” * so he closed the door and said to her, “Wait a little. We have a rule,* wait until I finish it.” So the elder* began his synaxis* and, beginning the psaltery, with each psalm* he offered a prayer,* calling on God on her behalf so she’d repent* and be saved,* and God gave ear to him. The woman got up and stood near the elder,* trembling and praying.* When the elder* finished the psaltery, the woman fell to the ground. Starting with the Apostle,* the elder* recited much of [the ­service] and thus finished the synaxis,* 109 and the woman, her conscience pricked,* understood that he hadn’t come to her to sin 105. Greek Serapíōn, pronounced sĕ-rah-PEA-ōn. 106. [in front of ] her room: SysAP XVII.34, room; kellíon, can also mean the monastic “cell.” * 107. prepared the bed: a variant, PG 65:413, n. 42, and SysAP XVII.34, prepared the bed and waited for the elder* with what was necessary. 108. The elder came to see her: a variant, PG 65:416, n. 43, and SysAP XVII.34, the elder came to see her, bringing nothing. 109. The Apostle: Wortley, Give Me, 296, n. 111, suggests: “The book containing the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles.” Maged S. A. Mikhail informs me that in the Coptic Church the Liturgy of the Word the first reading is Pauline, from “the Apostle,” that is, Paul.

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but to save* her soul110 and threw herself at his feet, saying, “As an act of love,* abba, lead me wherever I can be pleasing to God.” Then the elder* led her to a monastery* for virgins,* turned her over to the amma,* and said, “Receive this sister and don’t place on her a yoke or commandment* as you do on the sisters, but give her whatever she wants and let her go wherever she wants.” When she had spent a few days there, she said, “I’m a sinner, I want to eat every other day,” 111 and a few days later she said, “I have a lot of sins [to atone for]; I want to eat only every fourth day.” 112 A few days later she entreated* the amma,* saying, “Since I’ve so often made God sad with my transgressions,113 as an act of love* put me in a cell,* block the door, and through an opening pass me a little bread* and material for my handiwork,” and the amma* did this for her, and she pleased God for the rest of her life. 2. [VI.16; 1:324] A brother asked Abba Serapion, “Offer me some counsel.” * The elder* said to him, “What can I tell you, that you took the possessions of widows and orphans and put them in this niche? ” He said this because he saw that the niche was full of books.* 3. [XI.71; 2:176] Abba Serapion said, “Just as the emperor’s soldiers standing guard in front of him cannot turn their attention to the right or the left,114 it’s the same with a person standing before God, who every moment in fear* keeps his attention on God: nothing that the Enemy* can do causes him to be afraid.” 110. Save her soul: SysAP XVII.34, save her. 111. Every other day: SysAP XVII.34, once a day. 112. And a few days later she said, “I have a lot of sins [to atone for]; I want to eat only every fourth day”: SysAP XVII.34 lacks. 113. Transgressions, ánomos, literally “without law” (English anomie): SysAP XVII.34, sins, hamartía (English hamartia, “tragic flaw”). 114. Just as the emperor’s soldiers standing guard in front of him cannot turn their attention to the right or the left: variant readings, PG 65:416, nn. 47, 48, and SysAP XI.71, Just as the emperor’s soldiers standing guard before him do not dare to turn their attention to the right or to the left.

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4. [VIII.12; 1:406, 408] 115 When a brother visited Abba Serapion, the elder* invited him to offer a prayer,* as was the custom, but he declined, saying he was a sinner and wasn’t worthy of [wearing] the monastic* habit. The elder* wanted to wash the brother’s feet, but using the same words* he refused. The elder* made him eat something, and he himself began to eat, and he admonished the brother,116 saying, “Child, if [PG 65:417] you want to be benefited,* persevere by staying in your cell* and dedicate yourself to your handiwork.* Look, coming out [of your cell*] doesn’t benefit* you as much as staying [in it].” When he heard these things he was stung and became so angry* that he couldn’t say anything to the elder,* 117 so Abba Serapion said to him, “Just before you were saying ‘I’m a sinner,’ and were accusing yourself of not being worthy to live—and yet when with love* I warned you, why’d you become like a wild beast? 118 If you want to be humble,* therefore, learn to bravely endure what’s offered to you and don’t grab onto words of counsel* that don’t do any good.” When he heard these things, the brother prostrated* himself before the elder* and left, having benefited* a great deal.119

115. SysAP VIII.12 has Cassian* as the speaker; see Cassian, Conferences 18.2–4 (pp. 643–44), which attributes the story to Serapion. 116. And he admonished: SysAP VIII.12, and with/in love he admonished. 117. And became so angry: literally “his appearance changed so much.” See below. 118. Become like a wild beast, thērióō < thēríon, “wild animal, beast.” Perhaps pertinent here, Lampe, 652a, notes, “turn into a wild beast, of humankind losing the divine image” (Gregory of Nyssa [ca. 335–395], “Homily 8,” in Homilies on the Song of Songs, trans. Richard A. Norris, Jr. [Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012], http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/Homilie_on_the_Song_of _Songs-Gregory_of_Nyssa_St_&_Norris_5413.pdf). 119. Left, anachōréō: see Withdraw in the Glossary.

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Concerning Abba Serinos 120 1. [PG 65:417] They used to say about Abba Serinos that he worked* very hard and would always eat two loaves of dried bread.* Abba Job,121 his companion, himself a great ascetic,* came to see him and said to him, “In my cell* I maintain my [ascetic*] practice,122 but when I leave I hang around with the brothers,” and Abba Serinos said to him, “It’s not particularly virtuous* when you maintain your ascetic* practice in your cell,* but it is virtuous* when you maintain it outside your cell.” * 2. Abba Serinos said, “I’ve spent my time harvesting, stitching, and braiding, and, doing all these things, I wouldn’t have been able to be fed unless the hand of God fed me.”

Concerning Abba Spyridon 123 1. [PG 65:417] 124 With regard to [Abba] Spyridon, so great was his holiness when he was a shepherd that he was also considered worthy to be a shepherd of people.125 He was called to the episcopacy of one of the cities of Cyprus called Trimithus.126 Because of his simple ways and great humility* he would shepherd the sheep while he held the episcopacy.127 In the middle of the night thieves furtively entered the sheepfold and busied themselves

120. Greek Serȋnos, pronounced seh-REE-nōs. Cassian,* Conferences 7 and 8 (pp. 245–83, 285–322) gives two conferences of an Abba Serenus. 121. Abba Job: a variant, PG 65:417, n. 50, Abba Joseph. 122. maintain, phylássō, and below: see Protect in the Glossary. 123. Greek Spyrídōn, pronounced spee-REE-dōn. 124. The two sayings here are from Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History 1:12, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/26011.htm. 125. a shepherd of people: see Matt 2:6. 126. Trimithi is a small town on the Turkish-controlled north shore of Cyprus. 127. See John 10:11, I am the good shepherd. See the next note.

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stealing the sheep,128 but God, saving* the shepherd, also saved* the sheep: the thieves, you see, were bound just outside the sheepfold by an invisible power.* At dawn, the shepherd arrived where the sheep were; when he found the thieves with their hands [tied] behind their backs he realized what had happened. While praying,* he released the thieves and for a long time admonished them and urged them to pursue honest labor rather than live an ill-gotten life.129 With grace,* he gave them one ram and set them free and, joking,130 shouted to them, “[The ram’s] so you won’t seem to have been up all night for nothing!” 131 2. They also used to say that he had a virgin* daughter, Eirene by name, and she shared her father’s reverence for God.132 Someone known to this woman* entrusted to her a very valuable piece of jewelry; for greater safety she hid what was given to her in the earth, but a short time later she left this life. [PG 65:420] After a while, the person who had entrusted [the jewelry to her] came and, unable to find the virgin,* accused her father, Abba Spyridon [of taking the jewelry], alternatively abusing and begging* him.133 Since the elder* regarded what the person had entrusted to his daughter as his own, he went to his daughter’s

128. sheepfold: mándra can figuratively refer to the sheepfold of the church. 129. “pursue” translates spoudázō, as does “busied” above. “Honest” renders díkaios and “ill-gotten” adikía, alpha-privative (negative) + díkē, “right, just.” 130. “With grace, he gave” translates charízō in the middle voice (cháris, “grace” *), and joking chariéntōs. 131. have been up all night: agrypnéō which, as a monastic term, means “keep the night vigil.” * The composer of this saying had great fun with the conclusion. 132. reverence for God: the basic meaning of eulábeia is “cautious fear,” then “godly fear, reverence,” “piety,” and “religious life” (Lampe 567a(1, 2, 4)). 133. A note on language: “accused her father [of taking the jewelry]” uses plékō, which normally, especially in a monastic context of handiwork, means “plait, twine,” and only sometimes “plot, fabricate a charge” (Lampe 1091a). The figurative meaning reminds me of a line from Sir Walter Scott’s Marmion, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” (1808).

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tomb and called upon God to show him the promised resurrection before its appointed time,* and he certainly wasn’t wrong in his faith.134 The virgin,* once again alive, appeared to her father and indicated to him the place* where the jewelry lay; then she withdrew.* 135 Taking what had been entrusted [to his daughter], the elder* returned it.

Concerning Abba Saïo 136 1.137 They used to say about Abba Saïo and Abba Moue that they were living together. Abba Saïo was very obedient* but was also very rigid. The elder,* testing* him, would say to him “Go, steal [something],” and he would go and, because obedient,* steal from the brothers, giving thanks to the Lord for everything. The elder* would take what had been stolen and ­secretly return it. One time, then, when they were traveling,* Abba Saïo got exhausted, and the abba* left him there as a sign of contrition.138 He left and said to the brothers, “Go [pl.], bring Abba Saïo back, he’s lying [in the road], enfeebled,” 139 so they went and brought him [back].

134. wrong: the base meaning of hamartánō is “to miss the mark,” an archery term. Other meanings accrued, and in NT and patristic Greek it means “to sin” (hamartía: “sin”). So the point here could be “his faith didn’t lead him astray,” or even “what he did in faith [that is, raising the dead] wasn’t a sin.” 135. where the jewelry lay: a variant, PG 65:420, n. 53, where she had hidden the jewelry. 136. Greek, Saïō, possibly pronounced sah-ē-O. 137. Wortley, Give Me, 300, notes “This somewhat disreputable tale” doesn’t occur elsewhere in the Apophthegmata. 138. A sign of contrition, suntríbō: This is a difficult one. The verb means “shatter, shiver, crush,” “hit, strike,” “afflict, oppress,” “mortify” (as in to mortify one’s body), and Lampe notes that the perfect passive participle, which we have here, as a neuter substantive (noun) can mean “contrition” (Lampe 1343a). 139. enfeebled, kláō, perfect passive participle: or “broken.”

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Concerning Amma Sarah* 140 1. [PG 65:420] [V.13; 1:252] They related* about Amma* Sarah* that for thirteen years she remained fiercely embattled* by the demon* of sexual immorality* 141 and never once prayed* for the battle* to cease but rather would say,142 “Oh, God, give me strength.” 143 2. [V.14; 1:252] One time the same spirit of sexual immorality* attacked her even more fiercely, whispering in her ear144 the empty and useless things of the world.* 145 She, however, did not give up on her fear* of God and her ascetic* discipline: one day she went up to her roof146 to pray,* and the spirit of sexual sin* appeared 140. Greek Sárra, pronounced SAR-rah. On the three desert Ammas—Theodora, Sarah, and Syncletica—see Vivian, “Courageous Women,” 75–107; https: //scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/publications/h415pf584. 141. In Praktikos 23, Evagrius gives a vivid metaphor concerning anger and sexual sin: they cause the mind “to be defiled”; then “the demon of acedia* falls upon you without delay. He falls above all upon souls in this state and, dog-like, snatches away the soul as if it were a fawn” (Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos & Chapters on Prayers, trans. John Eudes Bamberger, CS 3 [Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981], 22–23). 142. but rather would say: SysAP V.13, but would only say. 143. See Luke 22:42-43 where Jesus cries out on the Mount of Olives, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me, yet not my will but yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. 144. whispering in her ear: the basic meaning of hypobállō is “to throw, put, or lay under,” but it can also mean “suggest, whisper,” as a prompter does (LSJ 1875b). I have followed this idea for the image of the demon whispering in her ear. Lampe notes, 1445b–46a, that the cognate n. hypobolḗ can mean a “suggestion,” especially of the Devil. 145. empty and useless: mátaois occurs frequently in HB (LXX), especially in the Psalms, Proverbs, and prophets. Mataiótēs is the word Ecclesiastes uses so frequently (“vanity,” KJV and NRSV; “futile,” New English Bible; “meaningless,” NIV). 146. she went up to her roof: SysAP V.14, she went up to the roof by herself. Houses in Egypt and Greece, especially in the countryside, often have flat roofs. The semi-anchorite I visited in Egypt near the Red Sea Monastery of St. Antony put a flat roof on top of his cell as one of his prayer stations; see Tim Vivian, “A Journey to the Interior: The Monasteries of Saint Antony and Saint Paul by

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to her in bodily form147 and said to her, “You have defeated me, Sarah!” 148 She said, “I didn’t defeat you, but rather Christ, my Lord and Master.” 149 3. [VII.26; 1:356] They used to say about her that for sixty years she remained living [in a place] overlooking the River* and did not [once] peep out the window to look at it.150 4. [X.107; 2:84] Another time, two elders,* great anchorites,* left the region of Pelusium* and came to visit [her].151 While they were on their way, they were saying to one another, “Let’s humble* 152 this old woman.” 153 the Red Sea,” in Tim Vivian, Words to Live By: Journeys in Ancient and Modern Egyptian Monasticism, CS 207 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2005), 78–85; https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/publications/6682x8354?local e=en. 147. In Life of Antony 6.1–2 (pp. 69–71) the Devil* appears to Antony “in the illusory form of a black boy” and declares “I am the friend of fornication [porneía]!” 148. Since the personal pronoun in Greek, as in Spanish, is not required, “You” here is emphatic. You have defeated me: see Matt 4:1–11//Luke 4:1–13. See Life of Antony 7.1 (p. 71), where Antony defeats the Enemy* (Satan*), defeating the forces of evil. 149. Lord and Master, despótēs (English despot): as Lampe notes, 339a, despótēs usually equals kýrios, “Lord,” which in the LXX refers to God and in the NT to Christ. Lampe also notes that in patristic Greek the term can refer to the Devil* as “Lord and master of the world.” 150. [once]: SysAP VII.26. 151. [her]: SysAP X.107. 152. Let’s humble, tapeinóō: the verb can be either positive or negative in the NT (Bauer 990a). If we take it negatively here, we get “Let’s humiliate this old woman”; colloquially, “Let’s put her down.” John Wortley’s “take her down a peg or two” is good (Give Me, 301). But—and an astute monastic listener would hear this—in Luke 1:48 God has looked with favor on Mary’s lowliness (tapeínōsis). Sarah, then, like Mary, is humble, but the arrogant (male) elders want to humiliate her. “Humble” in English is cognate with “humility” as a n. and “humiliate” as a vb., all etymologically linked with humus. 153. old woman, graḯs. The irony here is that the two are “old men,” gérontes, from gérōn, literally “old man,” a monastic honorific for a wise and experienced monk, an elder,* of whatever age, while Sarah is just some “old woman” they think they can demean. It is just possible, though, that they want to test* her,

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[So when they arrived,] 154 they said to her, “See to it155 that your thoughts* don’t get all high and mighty.156 Say [to yourself],157 ‘Look! The anchorites* are coming to see me, even though I’m a woman.’ ” * 158 Amma* Sarah* said to them, “By nature I’m a woman,* but not in my thoughts.” * 159 5. [X.108; 2:86] Amma* Sarah* said, “If I pray* to God, asking that all people find fulfillment in me,160 I will be found at the door of each one of them, asking for forgiveness.161 No, I will instead pray* to have a pure heart* with everyone.” 162 6. [PG 65:422] [XI.127; 2:206] She also said,163 “When I put my foot on the ladder to climb up, I also place death right before my eyes before I climb up the ladder.” common in monastic practice but, if so, one would expect the verb “to test,” dokimázō. 154. I have added this phrase for continuity. 155. See to it: SysAP X.107, See to it, amma.* 156. high and mighty: epaírō, essentially the opposite of tapeinóō, “to be humble,” * means “be presumptuous” (Bauer 357b), put on airs (2 Cor 11:20). 157. Say [to yourself]: The PG text has “say”; I’ve followed SysAP X.107, Say to yourself. 158. me, even though I’m a woman: or “although I’m a woman”; literally, “me, being a woman”; the participle in Greek is very flexible with regard to subordinate phrases. 159. By nature I’m a woman, but not in my thoughts: Perhaps with this statement Sarah is not denying her gender but is rather saying “By nature I’m a woman, but not in my thoughts; by nature you’re men—and you think like men!” One goal of the ascetic* life is to transcend one’s given nature, phýsis, for the divine, as Paul says, So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16; see also 2 Pet 1:4). See Sarah S1 below. 160. find fulfillment, plērophoréō: perhaps Col 4:12 offers a good gloss on what Sarah means. Epaphras is always wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, so that you [pl.] may stand mature and fully assured [peplērophorémenoi] in everything that God wills. 161. forgiveness: metánoia can mean both “repentance” and “forgiveness.” The cognate verb metanoéō can mean “to prostrate* oneself.” 162. pure heart: see Matt 5:8; 1 Tim 1:5; 2 Tim 2:22. 163. She also said: SysAP XI.127, Amma Sarah said.

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7. [XIII.19; 2:250] She also said,164 “It’s good to give to those in need; 165 even if you do it to please people, it will come to please God, too.” 166 8. One time some monks* from Scetis* came to visit Amma Sarah,* and she set before them a basket of fruit. The visitors set aside the good fruit and ate the rotten. She said to them, “You really are from Scetis.” * S1. [Guy, Recherches, 34] Again she said to the brothers, “I am a man; you’re the ones who are women.” *

Concerning Amma Syncletica* 167 1.168 [PG 65:421] [III.34; 1:168] Amma Syncletica* 169 said, “It is a struggle* and very hard work for those who are drawing closer

164. She also said: SysAP XIII.19, Amma Sarah said. 165. to give to those in need, eleēmosúnē, English eleemosynary, traditionally translated “almsgiving.” The root of the n. is éleos, “mercy, pity.” In LifeSyn 73 (Bongie, 46), Syncletica says that “almsgiving has been instituted not so much for the nourishing of the poor person as for the sake of love.” See Need in the Glossary. 166. A variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 55, offers a nice symmetry: “to please people” is one word in Greek, anthrōpareskía, “people” + “please.” In our text, “to please God” is three words, but the variant reading makes it one word, in parallel with anthrōpareskía: theareskía, “God” + “please.” Given the sophisticated Greek text here, I’m inclined to take the variant reading as the primary reading: Because even if you do it to please people, it will come to please God, too. SysAP XIII.19, because even if you do it to please people at first, nevertheless the desire to please people turns into fear* of God. 167. Greek Synklētikḗ, pronounced seen-klē-tee-KEY. The three desert Ammas in the AlphAP, all in this volume, are Theodora, Sarah,* and Syncletica.” See Vivian, “Courageous Women,” https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/publications/h415pf584. 168. See LifeSyn 60 (Bongie 39). Because most of the sayings here come from the Life of Syncletica, which is an excellent literary work, and because Syncletica was probably upper class, I’ve decided to use more formal language for her sayings. 169. Amma Syncletica: SysAP III.34, Blessed Syncletica.

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to God—at first.170 But then comes indescribable joy.171 Just as those who want to light a fire first get assailed by smoke and then weep and, by doing this, obtain the desired* fire (in fact, it says Our God is a consuming fire),172 in the same way we too have to kindle the divine fire for ourselves with tears and affliction.” * 173 2. [IV.49; 1:210] 174 She also said,175 “We who have taken on and profess this way of life must hold fast in the strongest way possible to good judgment,* moderation, and self-control.176 To be sure, these seem to be exercised by those in the world,* 177 but right alongside them, with those in the world,* come bad judgment,* immoderate behavior, and lack of self-control,178 because 170. Drawing closer, prosérchomai: Lampe offers two other appropriate meanings: “apply oneself to” and “strive towards” (1169a). 171. 1 Pet 1:8. Indescribable joy, aneklálētos < eklaléō: the adjective can also mean “ineffable,” of the divine mysteries (Lampe 131b). This first sentence has much in common with Life of Antony 36.4 (p. 137), where “inexpressible joy” can replace fear caused by demons.* 172. Heb 12:29 (Deut 4:24; 9:3): Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” 173. affliction, pónos: a variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 57, and SysAP III.14, kópos, “troubles, difficulties”; “hard work” at the beginning of the saying. 174. See LifeSyn 21. 175. She also said: SysAP 4.49, Blessed Syncletica said. 176. good judgment, moderation, and self-control: sōphrosúnē is a difficult word to translate simply, so I have used Bauer’s tripartite definition (987a). Lampe notes that the word is especially applicable to sexuality, hence “chastity” (1370ab), which is how Bongie 21, and Castelli 277, translate the word. 177. exercised: with politeúō Syncletica is implying a great deal more than “exercise” can carry. The verb is cognate with politeía, a key monastic term: monastic/ascetic way of life;* thus politeúō can mean “perform ascetic* exercises” (Lampe 1114ab). Therefore, with what is coming up in the sentence, the word could be the intentionally quite ironic “seem to be exercised.” Those in the world: LifeSyn 24, those women in the world. 178. bad judgment, immoderate behavior, and lack of self-control (see n. 176 above): aphrosúnē is the opposite of sophrosúnē (the a- at the beginning is a negative, an alpha privative, as in English “atypical”): lack of good judgment, “foolishness, lack of [good] sense” (Bauer 159a), so I’ve given the negative versions of “good judgment, moderation, and self-control.” LifeSyn 23 (Bongie

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they sin with all their other senses. It is a fact: 179 they look at things in an unsuitable way and laugh in an irresponsible manner.” 180 3. [IV.50; 1:210] 181 Again she said, “Just as the harshest of poisons drives away venomous wild beasts,182 so too prayer* with fasting* drives away evil thought.” * 183 4. [IV.51; 1:212] 184 She also said, “Do not let the delight185 that those in the world* take in wealth on account of its empty pleasures deceive186 you [sing.] into thinking that there is anything 20–21; Castelli, “Pseudo-Athanasius,” 277) also has this wordplay. See Mark 7:22 (NRSV: “folly”), where the term joins a long list of evil intentions, Jesus says, that come from the human heart. 179. It is a fact, kaì gár: the Greek is very allusive here. “It is a fact” picks up the earlier use of kaì gár, translated “to be sure,” thus reinforcing Syncletica’s point of the bad behavior of those in the world. 180. The structure of this sentence in Greek is A-B-A-B, with the sounds linking the words more explicitly than the English can: they look (A: horḗsin) in an unsuitable way (B: aprepós) and laugh (A: gelṓsin) in an irresponsible manner (B: atáktos). The Greek sentence is succinct: seven words. 181. See LifeSyn 80 (Bongie 49). 182. wild beasts: a variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 58, and SysAP IV.50 have “animals,” as does LifeSyn 80. The idea here is clear, but the saying has lost its context in LifeSyn 80, where Syncletica offers an extended (and somewhat convoluted) metaphor/allegory on lice and forests; see Bongie’s comment 80–81, n. 80. 183. This sentence in Greek also has an A-B-A-B structure. Prayer with fasting drives away evil thought; a variant, PG 65:421–22, n. 59, and SysAP IV.50 have “prayer with fasting repulses filthy and unclean [hruparós] thought,” as does LifeSyn 80. This saying is the last sentence in LifeSyn 80, and the saying here loses the vivid extended metaphor in the LifeSyn about lice, cleaning house, and fumigants. 184. See LifeSyn 95 (Bongie 58). 185. delight: truphḗ is a very sharp double-edged sword: in addition to meaning “joy, delight,” it can mean “luxury, luxurious living,” “rioting, wantonness,” and “self-indulgence” (Lampe 1417b–18a). 186. deceive: deilázo means “catch with bait, entice, deceive”; it is cognate with délear, “bait,” which has both literal and figurative uses. The idea here, then (at least linguistically), is that worldly* delights lure the unsuspecting person. See Syncletica 7. Empty pleasures: a variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 62, lacks “empty,” as do SysAP IV.51 and LifeSyn 95.

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beneficial* there. Those folk value culinary skills,187 while you yourself, through fasting* and the use of frugal and simple things, surpass188 their plentiful foods. This is true because it189 says A soul that takes delight makes fun of honeycombs.190 Do not stuff yourself with bread,* and you will not desire* wine.” * 5. [VI.17; 1:324, 326] 191 Blessed Syncletica* was asked whether it is a perfect* good to go without possessions.* She said, “Yes, it is perfect* 192 for those193 who are able to do it.194 To be sure, those who endure* this do bear with physical affliction,* 195 but

187. Those folk value culinary skills: SysAP IV.51, for the sake of pleasure, those folks value culinary skills. Value: timáō can also mean “honor, revere.” 188. surpass, hyperbállo: 2 Cor 9:14 is apropos here: the surpassing grace of God. A variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 63, makes the present progressive indicative here an imperative (command), as do SysAP 1V.51 and LifeSyn 95. 189. it: SysAP IV.51, Scripture. 190. Prov 27:7 (LXX). SysAP IV.51 and LifeSyn 95, instead of truphḗ(i), “delight,” have plēsmonḗ(i), “a soul that is satiated”; a variant reading, PG 65:421– 22, n. 64, has “satiated with foods.” “Delight” could well be echoing its occurrence in the first sentence of the saying. Perfect good, téleios agathós: in the NT both téleios and agathós have a moral sense; see the next saying. Téleios, “perfect,” can also mean “mature” (see Eph 4:13). 191. See LifeSyn 95. 192. Perfect: SysAP VI.17, good. 193. In LifeSyn 30 (Bongie 24–25) the pronoun “those” here and in the next sentence is feminine plural, referring to women. An editor undoubtedly changed the gender to masculine (which, in Greek, includes both genders). 194. Those who are able to do it: a variant reading, PG 65:421–22, n. 65, has “those who are able to bear it,” perhaps assimilated from the next sentence. SysAP VI.17 has “those who are able to do it.” Instead of “perfect,” SysAP VI.17 and LifeSyn 30 have “good” (agathós). 195. Physical affliction: literally “affliction in the flesh/body.” “Physical” translates sárx, “flesh,* body,” * a key word in Paul’s thought, as is “affliction,” * thlípsis. Burton-Christie, Word, 218–19, points out how Syncletica understands “physical affliction” differently from Paul; for Paul the phrase is negative (1 Cor 7:28), while Syncletica “takes it to refer to voluntary poverty,* which, while undeniably difficult, leads to something of great value,” having a soul at peace. Syncletica’s understanding typifies early monastic thought.

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their souls have inward stillness.* 196 Just as clothing stiff with dirt is trodden on and twisted while being washed,197 in the same way, through voluntary poverty* the soul that is strong is strengthened even more.” 198 6. [VII.22; 1:350] 199 She also said,200 “If you [sing.] are living in a cenobium,* 201 do not leave it for another place:* this will cause you great harm. [PG 65:424] Just as a bird that gets up and leaves her eggs causes them to not have a yolk and therefore become infertile, in the same way the faith of a monk* or a virgin* 202 who wanders from place* to place* becomes cold and dies.” 7. [VII.23; 1:352] 203 She also said, “The Devil* has numerous ways to ambush us.204 If he has not shifted the soul through poverty,* he offers wealth as bait. If he does not prevail through insults and rebukes, he ostentatiously makes a show of offering compliments and the idea of glory.* Has he been defeated by good 196. inward stillness, anápausis: SysAP VIII.2, ánesis (Guy, Apophtegmes, 1:327, “le repos”), which is a mistake for anápausis. 197. washed: SysAP VI.17 and LifeSyn 30, washed and whitened; possibly from Rev 7:14. 198. See Zech 3:3-4. This sentence also has an A-B-A-B structure; the two parts (A-B, A-B) conclude with similar-sounding verbs: plúnetai (“washed”) and kratúnetai (“strengthened”). 199. See LifeSyn 94. 200. She also said: SysAP VII.22, Blessed Syncletica said. 201. living in a cenobium, koinóbion: SysAP VII.22, if you are living in a cell (monḗ) in a cenobium; LifeSyn 94, Are you living in a cenobium? Koinóbion (“life in common”) can indicate both “community” generally, as in Syncletica 16 and 17, and a cenobium,* as in Syncletica 6, a formally organized monastery* like that of the Pachomian* Koinonia. 202. monk or a virgin: Syncletica 6 and SysAP VII.22; LifeSyn 94, virgin or monk. 203. See LifeSyn 98 (Bongie 59–60). 204. “numerous” is the first word in the Greek sentence, thus emphatic; so too with “wealth,” “poverty,” “insults,” etc. Numerous ways to ambush us: the metaphor in SysAP VII.23 and LifeSyn 98 is completely different, “The Devil has numerous goads [kéntron].” Bauer 539b–40a: “a pointed stick that serves the purpose of a whip, a goad.” Kéntron can also mean “the sting of an animal.”

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health? He afflicts* the body with illness. If he has been unable to beguile a person by offering pleasures, he tries to lead that person astray by causing unwanted sufferings.205 It is a fact that he supplies certain grievous maladies as he wishes so that through them he can shake up those who because of them are growing fainthearted in their love* for God. “But even when your body is cut and slashed by raging fever and is suffering with unquenchable thirst,206 if you as a sinner bear up under these afflictions,* keep in mind the retribution to come and the eternal fire207 and judicial punishments, and by no means become fainthearted at the way things are now.208 Rejoice that God is exercising care and supervision over you,209 and keep that renowned saying on your lips: The Lord has disciplined and instructed me,210 but he has not handed me over to death.211 You have become iron, and through fire you are also sloughing off iron’s rust.212 And if you get sick, even though you are righteous,

205. causing unwanted sufferings: SysAP VII.23 and LifeSyn 98, causing the soul unwanted sufferings. 206. even when your body .  .  . thirst: LifeSyn 98 and SysAP VII.23, even when your body is cut and slashed and is consumed by a raging fire and is being afflicted with unrelieved and ungoverned thirst. 207. Matt 18:8. In Greek “fire” is pýr and “fever” is pyretós (English pyrotechnics, pyromania). 208. retribution to come and the eternal fire and judicial punishments: see Matt 18:8; 25:41, 46; Heb 10:29; Jude 7. 209. care and supervision: episkopéō and its cognate nouns episkopḗ and epískopos (English episcopal and bishop*) occur numerous times in the NT; see Bauer 379a–80a. 210. disciplined and instructed, paideúon, epaídeuse: paideúō (from paȋs, genitive sing. Paidós, “child,” English pedagogy) can also mean “discipline, with punishment,” “chastise” (Lampe 996b; Bauer 749ab), mostly of divine punishment; see Luke 23:16, 22 (of Jesus); Heb 12:6, 10b. 211. See Ps 116:8 (LXX 117:7). Death: LifeSyn 98, death of/from/because of sin. 212. See Ezek 24:11-12 (of Jerusalem).

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you are advancing from great things to even greater ones.213 You are gold, and through fire you are also becoming even more tried and true.214 A messenger was given to you in the flesh.* 215 Rejoice! Look at whom you have come to resemble! You have become worthy to share in Paul’s portion.216 Have you been tried and tested* through fire,* through shivering with the discipline of cold? On the other hand, Scripture* says, We went through fire and water, and you have brought us to where we feel relief and can rest.217 “Have you been through the former? 218 Wait for the latter.219 As you practice virtue,* cry out the words of the holy one: 220 he says, Poor* and suffering am I.221 You will become full grown and 213. great things to even greater ones: SysAP VII.23, small things to greater ones. See John 14:12, where Jesus is also assuring: the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 214. tried and true: as we see from Syncletica’s metaphors, dokimós is used of metals; the metallurgical term “assay” captures the sense. See Jer 9:7, Jas 1:12, among many. 215. This is an allusion to what Paul says in 2 Cor 12:7: Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger [ángelos] of/ from Satan to torment me. At the beginning of the saying here Syncletica speaks of the works of the Devil.* SysAP VII.23 makes the allusion clear by having thorn, and LifeSyn 98 makes it explicit: a messenger, Satan.* 216. See Col 1:12. Portion: LifeSyn 98, gift. 217. See Ps 66:12 (LXX 65:12). Feel relief and can rest, anápsychē: In Acts 3:11-26 Peter speaks from Solomon’s Portico; in 3:19 the cognate n. anápsyxis is soteriological and messianic, which could well be Syncletica’s intention here. You have brought us to where we feel relief and can rest: SysAP VII.23, and afterwards a place of refreshment was prepared; LifeSyn 98, is being prepared. 218. This question could be a statement. 219. Wait for the latter: or “Expect the latter,” prosdokáō. In Matt 11:3 and Luke 7:19-20 the verb is soteriological and messianic, reinforcing Syncletica’s theme. 220. the holy one: SysAP VII.23 and LifeSyn 98, holy David. 221. Ps 69:29 (LXX 68:30). Poor and suffering am I: SysAP VII.23, Poor and suffering and in need am I.

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mature222 through these two afflictions;* 223 this is so because it says, In affliction you have made me more open.224 Rather than focusing on our troubles, let us train the soul with spiritual disciplines.225 Here is the truth: we can see the Adversary* right in front of our eyes.” 226 8. [VII.24; 1:354] 227 She also said, “If illness troubles us, let us not get distressed228 about it if, because of illness and damage to the body, we are not able to sing the psalms* aloud as we normally do.229 To be sure, all these things have been prepared for us in order to subjugate our desires.* 230 You see, because of the pleasures we enjoy, fasting* and sleeping on the ground have been prescribed for us. If, then, illness has blunted our desires* for such pleasures, enough said. This is the great ascetic* practice: to remain steadfast during times of illness and to offer up to God hymns of thanksgiving.”

222. full grown and mature, téleios: or “perfect.” * 223. SysAP VII.23 and LifeSyn 98 have “three” because their quotation of the psalm has Poor and suffering and in need am I. The LXX version of the psalm lacks “in need.” 224. In affliction: or “Through affliction,” Ps 4:1; see 2 Cor 6:11: my heart is wide open. 225. train, askéo, cognate with áskēsis (English ascesis, asceticism*): LifeSyn 98, especially with these exercises, let us train our souls. Áskēsis is a key monastic term and concept, originally a term in athletics; “disciplines” translates gymnásios, another athletic term (LifeSyn 13: progymnázō, “trained”). Lampe 243b notes that askéo especially applies to training by affliction* and in practicing and cultivating the virtues,* both apposite here. Athletic terms and metaphors abound in the LifeSyn. 226. Adversary: Satan.* Antípalos originally meant a rival in wrestling. The NT always uses diábolos, “Devil.” * 227. See LifeSyn 99. 228. get distressed, lupéō: or “become saddened.” 229. we are not able to sing the psalms aloud: SysAP VII.24, we are not able to stand in prayer* or sing the psalms aloud. 230. subjugate: kathaíresis can also mean “destruction, demolition”; “reduction,” “abolition,” “removal” (Lampe 681b).

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[(8.)231 [VII.24; 1:354] 232 She also said, “If illness troubles us, let us not get distressed about it if, because of illness and damage to the body, we are not able to stand in prayer or sing the psalms aloud as we normally do. To be sure, all these things have been prepared for us in order to subjugate our desires.* Because of the horribly shameful pleasures we enjoy, fasting* and sleeping on the ground have been prescribed for us. If, then, illness has blunted our desires* for pleasure, enough said. Why do I say ‘Enough said’? These destructive, sinful, failures have been laid to rest by illness as if cured with a greater and stronger medicine.233 “This is the great ascetic* practice: to remain steadfast during times of illness and to offer up to the Almighty hymns of thanksgiving.234 Are we losing our sight? Let us not take it as a burden: we have cast away organs that look on everything with insatiable greed, but with inward sight we contemplate [the glory of the Lord] as in a mirror.235 Have we become deaf? Let us give thanks that we have succeeded in casting away the empty and vain things we hear. Do we suffer from arthritis in our hands? But we have inte-

231. Because SysAP VII.24 and LifeSyn 99 differ considerably from and are considerably longer than AlphAP Syncletica 8, I am including both versions. 232. See LifeSyn 99 (Bongie, 60–61). 233. destructive, sinful, failures, olethriophóra symptṓmata: Lampe notes that ólethros, “destruction,” is “of a moral or spiritual nature” (947b); olethriophóros means “destruction-bearing.” Methodius of Olympus (d. 311) uses the word to describe humanity’s fall (Symposium 3.6, New Advent, https://www.newadvent. org/fathers/0623.htm). Sýmptōma originally meant “mischance, accident” and then “attack, onset”; it also, as with English symptom, became a medical term (LSJ 1686b). Lampe notes that in the 4th cent. it could mean “fall into sin”; Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 330–ca. 395) uses it to describe the fall of Adam (1291a). 234. the Almighty: kreittōn (or kreíssōn) means “stronger, mightier, more powerful” (LSJ 993a) and, by the fourth century, came to designate God Almighty (Lampe 777a). 235. 2 Cor 3:18. Guy, 1:354, has added the glory of the Lord from 2 Cor 3:18 and notes that the phrase occurs also in the LifeSyn 99 and PG 28:1548D, as I have confirmed.

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rior readiness236 and preparation to wage war* against the Enemy.* Does illness have hold of one’s whole body?* But with our interior selves health increases all the more.”] 9. [VII.25; 1:356] 237 238She also said, “While fasting,* do not use [sing.] illness as an excuse to stop: to be sure, those who do not fast* often239 succumb to various kinds of illnesses.240 Have you begun to do good? 241 Do not [PG 65:425] flinch now when the Enemy* blocks your path;* even he is made powerless by patient endurance.* You see, when those who set out sailing first encounter a favorable wind,242 they unfurl the sails; later, when they meet an opposing wind,243 the sailors do not abandon their ship just because they have happened upon it.244 They sit still245 for a while or even fight* against the surging of the sea, and then once again they continue sailing. It is the same with us: when an 236. Interior, éndothen: or “spiritual.” 237. See LifeSyn 102 (Bongie 62–63). 238. She also said, “While fasting”: SysAP VII.25, She also said “in the world,* those who make a mistake, even involuntary, are thrown into prison, and we, because of our sins, we imprison ourselves so that this voluntary judgment* scares off/chases away the punishment to come. Do you fast? ” * 239. often: in the Greek text “often” is in the middle of the sentence, so it can be modifying either part of the sentence. It can read two ways: (1) those who do not fast, often succumb; (2) those who do not fast often, succumb. SysAP VII.25 and LifeSyn 102 lack “often.” 240. illnesses: nósēma (English nosology) can indicate spiritual sickness (Lampe 922b). 241. This question could be a statement. 242. favorable wind, déxios pneȗma: since pneȗma can also mean “spirit/ Spirit,” the phrase also means “right spirit”; see Ps 51:10. 243. opposing: although not in the NT, enántios in patristic Greek can mean “hostile” and as a n. can indicate the Devil* (Lampe 464a). 244. In Greek, “sailor,” naútēs, and “ship,” naȗs, are cognate (English nautical, navy, navigate). 245. They sit still: Syncletica’s words continue to be allusively monastic. “Keep still” translates hesycházō, “keep silence,” in the monastic life tranquility conducive to prayer* (Lampe 608b–9a). Its cognate n. is hesychía, “contemplative quiet” * (609a–10a). See Theodora 3.

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opposing wind comes against us, instead of extending sails let us set up the cross* and freely complete our voyage.” 10. [X.101; 2:80] 246 She also said,247 “After they have acquired a great deal, those who accumulate material wealth248 through hard work and the dangers of the sea desire* even more; they regard what they already have as nothing, and they make every effort to acquire what they do not have.249 We, however, have nothing that others seek; because of our fear* of God, we do not want to possess* anything.” 11. [XV.68; 2:330] 250 She also said, “Imitate the tax collector so you will not be condemned with the Pharisee,251 and choose the gentleness and humility* of Moses in order to transform your flinty heart into springs of running water.” 252 246. The saying here is a very condensed and paraphrased version of LifeSyn 37 (Bongie 27–28). 247. She also said: SysAP X.101, Saint/Holy* Syncletica said. 248. material wealth: “material” translates aisthētós (< aisthánomai, “perceive with the senses”; English esthetics) what is “sensible, that which the senses perceive,” but, as Lampe catalogues, aisthētós can be opposed to the mental and spiritual (53ab). See Syncletica S6. 249. make every effort to acquire, epekteínomai: there is a striking biblical irony here. Those who are acquisitive and greedy make every effort to lay their hands on the material things they do not yet have. In Phil 3:13-14, Paul too is making every effort, straining forward [epekteinómenos] to what lies ahead. But rather than wanting to acquire more material possessions, Paul is pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. A cognate, aktēmosúnē, literally, “without possessions,” * is a vital monastic virtue* and practice. 250. This saying is not in the LifeSyn; it combines, with variants, two sayings from the Adhortatio ad monachos 73–74 by Hyperechius. See James Vaughan Smith, “Resurrecting the Blessed Hyperechius,” PhD dissertation, Loyola University Chicago, 2003, 119 (English), 220 (Greek); Tim Vivian, “So Far Away, Yet Ours, and Us: Exhortation to the Monks by Hyperechios,” forthcoming (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2024). Hyperechius has eight sayings in this volume. 251. See Luke 18:9-14. 252. Ps 113:8 (LXX; NRSV 114:8). “Flinty” looks ahead to “springs of running water” (see Exod 15:27); see also Wis 11:4. It can also refer to Josh 5:2; in his Commentary on John 6.45, Origen states that “the sons of Israel were circumcised

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12. [X.104; 2:82, 84] 253 She also said, “It is dangerous for a person to teach254 who has not been raised up through a life of practice and experience.255 For example, if someone with a dilapidated house256 welcomes strangers,* 257 that person will harm [the guests] if the house collapses.258 It is the same with these teachers: if they do not first lay a foundation for themselves,259 they will ruin those who come to them to be taught.260 With the teacher’s words,* those who have come for teaching have been summoned for salvation,* but instead, the teachers, through the evil way they behave, have wronged261 these combatants.” 262 with a flinty stone [= knife] by Jesus.” Bauer notes that the use of “spring” or “fountain” (pēgḗ means both) in the NT can be “quite symbolic” (810b–11a): the spring of the water of life (Rev 21:6) and a spring of water welling up for eternal life (John 4:14). 253. See LifeSyn 79 (Bongie 48–49). 254. It is dangerous for a person to teach: SysAP X.104 and LifeSyn 79, It is dangerous for a person to attempt to teach. 255. Practice and experience, praktikós: “practical, active,” “of active as opposed to contemplative qualities, as mutually complementary”; praktikḗ, a feminine n.: “active life of good works,” almost equals áskēsis,” “asceticism” * (Lampe 1127a). See Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos, which has translations of the Praktikos and Chapters on Prayer. 256. dilapidated house: my thanks to John Wortley, Give Me, 305, for this phrase. 257. welcomes strangers, xénos hypodéchomai: see Gen 18:1-15; hypodéchomai: see Luke 10:38 where Martha welcomes Jesus; in Luke 19:l-10, Zacchaeus welcomes Jesus. 258. if the house collapses: SysAP X.104 lacks. 259. lay a foundation: SysAP X.104 and LifeSyn 79, lay a safe foundation. There is a significant play on words here: “lay a foundation” is oikodoméo, and “house” earlier is oȋkos and oíkēma. See Matt 7:24-27. 260. ruin: apóllumi can also mean “destroy,” or it can mean “lose.” See 253 n.313; 351 n.298; 352 n.308; 354 n.324. It occurs over fifty times in the NT, especially in the gospels and Paul; see for example Rom 14:15 (“being injured”), Matt 2:13 (Herod looking to “destroy” baby Jesus), and Matt 12:14 (Pharisees conspiring to “destroy” Jesus). 261. wronged, adikéō: or “harmed, damaged.” 262. combatants: athletḗs: or “athletes,” which does not occur in the NT, but its cognate verb athléō does; see 2 Tim 2:5. A variant reading, PG 65:425–26,

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13. [X.103; 2:82] 263 She also said, “It is good not to get angry,* but, if you [sing.] do, Paul has not allowed you to hold on to this passion* for even twenty-four hours. He said, Do not let the sun go down.264 You, then—would you wait until your whole life had set? 265 Why do you hate the person who has caused you grief? It is not the person who has wronged you,266 but the Devil.* Hate the illness, not the person who is ill.” 267 14. [X.106; 2:84] 268 She also said, “The more progress athletes make, the greater an opponent269 they come into conflict with.” 270 15. [X.105; 2:84] 271 She also said. “There is also a form of ascetic* practice that comes from the Enemy:* his disciples practice this. How, then, do we distinguish* godly and royal ascetic*

n. 74, has “disciples”; SysAP X.104, those in training/ascetics/monks, askētḗs; LifeSyn 79, those assembled, sullégontes. See Syncletica 14. 263. See LifeSyn 64 (Bongie 44). 264. Eph 4:26: Do not let the sun go down on your anger. 265. until your whole life had set: that is, until your whole life had set like the sun. SysAP X.103, until your whole life had been completed. SysAp X.103 and LifeSyn 64, then have, “Do you not know that he [Jesus] said, Today’s evil is enough for today? ” (Matt 6:35; NRSV: today’s trouble). 266. It is not the person who has wronged you: SysAP X.103, It is not the person who has caused you grief. 267. It appears that an editor has linked Syncletica 13 with Syncletica 12 with one word, or possibly two: the last word of 12 in the Greek text is “wronged,” and it occurs also at the end of 13. Another link, possibly, is with the root dech-: in 12 a person welcomes strangers, hypodexámenos (from hypodéchomai); in 13 Syncletica asks the person if he or she will wait, ekdéchē(i). SysAP confirms this link, putting these two sayings in Chapter X, “On Discernment.” * 268. See LifeSyn 26 (Bongie 22). 269. the greater an opponent: SysAP X.106, the greater the opponents. 270. As the English shows, we have an extended athletic metaphor here: “­athlete” (athlētḗs) and “opponent” (antagōnistḗs, English antagonist). See ­Syncletica 12. Antagōnistḗs, which in patristic Greek can refer to the Devil,* does not appear in the NT, but its cognate verb antagonízomai occurs once, in Heb 12:4: in your [pl.] struggle [antagōnizómenoi] against sin. 271. See LifeSyn 100 (Bongie 61–62).

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practice272 from the tyrannical and demonic?* 273 Clearly, it is a matter of a person’s ability and capacity. “Let there be a single rule for you regarding fasting.* 274 Do not fast* for four or five days and then the next day break* [your fast] by eating a lot of food.275 A lack of moderation is always deadly.276 Fast* while you are young and in good health, because old age will bring with it weakness. While you are able, therefore, with regard to food store up treasure for yourself277 in order to find inward stillness* when you are not able to store up treasure.” 278 16. [XIV.17; 2:264] 279 She also said,280 “While we are living in community,* let us choose obedience* [PG 65:428] over ascetic* 272. royal, basilikós (English basilica): although not in the NT, in patristic Greek this adjective as n. can refer to God. In the NT, the cognate n. basileús can indicate the messianic king or God (Bauer 170a). 273. demonic, daimoniōdḗs: see Jas 3:15, Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish [daimoniōdḗs]. The text concerns distinguishing between wisdom that is “from above” (ánothen, see John 3:3, 31; 19:11) and “wisdom” that is devilish and demonic.* 274. Let there be a single rule for you regarding fasting: SysAP X.105, At all times let there be set for you a rule for fasting. 275. break [katalúo] your fast: Syncletica 15 and SysAP 105; LifeSyn 100, lose (lúō) your ability (to fast). Eating a lot of food: SysAP X.105 and LifeSyn 100 continue, “out of weakness: this delights the Enemy.” 276. There is a play on words here: “lack of moderation” translates ámetros (a-, “not,” + métron, “measure”), while “ability and capacity” renders summetrías (sun/sum, “with,” and metrías). The first, thus emphatic, word in the Greek sentence is “Always.” After “deadly,” SysAP X.105 continues with words that sound like Syncletica’s: Do not remove and surrender your weapons, finding yourself exposed and easily captured. Our weapons are the body; our soul is the soldier, take care of both, therefore, in anticipation of need and difficulty. See Rom 13:12. 277. Matt 6:20. 278. While you are able, therefore, with regard to food store up treasure for yourself in order to find inward stillness when you are not able to store up treasure: SysAP X.105 and LifeSyn 100, While you are able, store up treasure in order to find it when you are not able to. 279. See LifeSyn 100. 280. She also said: SysAP XIV.17, Blessed Syncletica said.

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practice: the latter teaches disdain, while the former teaches281 humility.” * 282 17. [XIV.18; 2:266] 283 She also said,284 “We have to govern the soul with discernment,* 285 and while we live in community* not seek what we want or, to be sure, be a slave to our own views,286 but rather obey* our father in faith.* 287 288[We have handed ourselves over into exile,* that is, we are now outside of worldly* concerns.289 Let us, then, not seek those things that belong to the world* from which we have been released. There we used to have fame and prestige, here we have reproach and disgrace: there we

281. teaches: SysAP XIV.17 and LifeSyn 100, promises (or: offers), epangéllomai, a much-used word in the NT. 282. the latter .  .  . : literally “the one teaches disdain, while the other teaches humility.” Syncletica leaves ambiguous which teaches what, but it is a monastic commonplace that obedience* teaches humility.* At first, it is surprising that she says that ascetic* practice teaches a monk* to disdain others (one is tempted to translate “the latter can teach disdain,” but that may be facile amelioration), but her statement is a warning that the ego can overtake even the best intentions. 283. See LifeSyn 101. 284. She also said: SysAP XIV.18, Blessed Syncletica said. 285. with discernment, diákrisis: with the addition of one word, páse(i), LifeSyn 100 can read three ways: (1) with full discernment; (2) each day with discernment; (3) each day with full discernment. 286. slave, doȗlos: see Paul’s midrash-allegory of Sarah and Hagar, especially Gal 4:24-25 (douleían and douleúei). In Matt 6:24 Jesus says, No one can serve [douleúō; or “be slave to”] two masters; Luke 6:13 has no slave [doúlos] can serve [douleúō, or “be slave to”] two masters. 287. father: LifeSyn 101, mother. 288. SysAP XIV.18 continues. 289. handed ourselves over: paradídomi occurs about seventy-five times in the NT and has numerous meanings; the most apposite here, in addition to “hand/ give over” are “entrust” (Matt 25:20, 22) and “hand over, turn in, give up” a person (in Luke 23:25 Judas “hands over,” or “betrays,” Jesus); see Bauer 761b– 63a. Thus what the monks* are doing is an anti-betrayal, getting away from the world’s* concerns—which include (Judas’s) greed.

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had as much food as we could eat,290 here we have a scarcity even of bread*.]” 291 18. [XVIII.28; 3:82] 292 She also said,293 “It is written, Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.294 To be wise as serpents means that we are not to lose sight of the assaults and cunning machinations of the Devil* (this is so because like quickly recognizes like).295 Harmless as doves indicates purity of practice.” S1.296 [II.27; 1:138] Amma* Syncletica* said, “Many people, when they are in the mountains,297 do things the way they do them while in the city and get lost.298 It is possible299 while being with 290. as much food as we could eat, adephagía: or “a glut of foods,” that is, gluttony. 291. The words in brackets are in SysAP XIV.18 and, in different form, LifeSyn 101 (Bongie 62). 292. See LifeSyn 28 (Bongie 23). 293. She also said: SysAP XVIII.28, The holy Syncletica said. 294. Matt 10:6. Let us be: gígnomai, or “Let us become.” Cunning machinations: panoȗrgos, “craftiness,” means both “clever, astute,” in a good sense and, in a bad sense, “crafty, deceitful, cunning,” used of evil spirits, Arianism,* and of Satan* in the baptismal renunciation (Lampe 1003b). Bauer notes, “in our literature exclusively in an unfavorable sense” (754a). It appears that here, as with paradídomi above, Syncletica is using Satan’s* language against him. She also said, “It is written: Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”: SysAP XVIII.28 and LifeSyn 28, Saint/Holy* Syncletica said, “Let us be wise as serpents and innocent as doves, reasoning with craftiness against the traps that he lays.” In SysAP XVIII.28 and LifeSyn 28, “traps”: see AlphAP Antony 7, Sayings 1:96; reasoning, logísmós: see Thought(s) in the Glossary. 295. machinations, methodeías: SysAP XVIII.28, skills, téchnas. 296. The texts for these 10 “S” sayings are in Guy, Recherches, 34–35. S1: see LifeSyn 97 (Bongie 56–57). 297. when they are in the mountains: or “although they are in the mountains.” Since “mountain” (óros) in Greek and as a loan word with Coptic* toou, can indicate a monastic community,* she is clearly offering an allegory here of monastery* vis-à-vis “the world” * (“the city”). 298. lost: apóllumi can also mean “perish.” Get lost: LifeSyn 97, have gotten lost. See 253 n.313; 351 n.298; 362 n.308; 354 n.324. 299. get lost. It is possible: SysAP II.27, get lost, and many people, while [or: although] they are in cities, do the things that those in the desert* do, and are saved.*

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numbers of people to keep your thinking to yourself300 and, while being with numbers of people, continue to be a solitary in your disposition and understanding.” 301 S2.302 She also said, “In the world,* those who make a mistake and stumble,303 even if they do not do so intentionally, we throw into prison. So, let us, because of our sins, throw ourselves into prison304 in order that, through our voluntary recollection of what we have done, the punishment to come will be driven away.” 305 S3.306 [VIII.24; 1:416] She also said,307 “Just as buried treasure, when someone makes it known publicly, disappears, in the same way virtue,* when it becomes known and famous and gets talked about by everyone, disappears from sight. Just as wax softens before a fire, in the same way, the soul, dissolved by praise, throws away everything it has toiled and suffered for.” 308 S4. [VIII.25; 1:416] 309 She also said, “Just as it is not possible to be plant and seed simultaneously, so too is it impossible, while

300. keep .  .  . to yourself: monázō, cognate with monachós, “monk,” * can also mean “live in solitude,” “become a monk” * (Lampe 876b–77a). 301. solitary, mónos; see the previous note. 302. See LifeSyn 101 (Bongie 62). 303. make a mistake and stumble: Bauer, 894b, defines ptaíō as “stumble, trip” and glosses its use in Rom 11:11 (have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling salvation has come to the Gentiles): “The ‘stumbling’ means to make a mistake, go astray, sin”; Bauer uses “sins” in Jas 3:2a (NRSV: “stumble”). The cognate n. paráptōma, “a violation of moral standards, offense, wrongdoing, sin” (Bauer 770b) occurs in the gospels and in Paul’s writings. 304. throw ourselves into prison: LifeSyn 101, throw the sins themselves in jail. 305. recollection, mnḗmē: LifeSyn 101, judgment, gnṓmē. 306. See LifeSyn 38 (Bongie, 28). 307. She also said: SysAP VIII.24, Holy Syncletica said. 308. wax: Ps 68:2-3, as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. Disappears from sight, apóllumi. Throws away, apobállō: SysAP VIII.24, loses/destroys, apóllumi. See nn. 261, 299, and 325. 309. See LifeSyn 78 (Bongie 48).

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earthly* power and glory* lie all around us,310 to bear heavenly fruit.” 311 S5. [XI.72; 2:176] 312 She also said,313 “Children, we all want to be saved,* 314 but because of our own negligence315 we lose our salvation.” * 316 S6. [XI.73; 2:176] 317 She also said, “Let us be vigilant:* 318 you see, it is through our senses, even if it is not what we want, that thieves enter.319 How can a house, when smoke is billowing outside and even with the doors shut, not be blackened? ” S7. [XI.74; 2:178] 320 She also said, “We need to put on all kinds of armor against the demons.* 321 We need to do this because they 310. Lie all around us: perikeímai can also mean “enclosed,” “be clothed with” (Lampe 1066a). 311. bear .  .  . fruit: karpophoréō occurs seven times in the New Testament. For Paul, fruit bearing is Christological and soteriological: Christ has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God (Rom 7:4). 312. See LifeSyn 22 (Bongie, 19–20). 313. She also said: SysAP XI.72, Amma Syncletica said. 314. we all want to be saved: SysAP XI.72 and LifeSyn 22, we all know what it means to be saved.* 315. negligence: Lampe defines ameleía as “carelessness, indifference, ­neglect,” and adds “especially moral indifference” (85b). See Bauer 52b. See Syncletica S8. 316. We lose: apolimpánō is a late form of apoleípō, “lose, forsake, abandon” (LSJ 206a), which SysAP XI.72 and LifeSyn 22 have, so one could justifiably use a stronger word here. See Bauer 115b. 317. See LifeSyn 25 (Bongie, 21). 318. Let us be vigilant, nḗphō: LifeSyn 25, But it is not possible to guard against these things [see LifeSyn 24] if we are continually appearing in public. In the NT nḗphō can also mean “well-balanced, self-controlled, sober-minded” (the etymology is “not-drinking, sober”) (Bauer 672b). 319. See Matt 6:19-20. 320. See LifeSyn 45 (Bongie 31–32). 321. Put on .  .  . armor, hoplízō: see Eph 6:11-13; 1 Pet 4:1. Bauer points out that the cognate n. hóplon (English hoplite) designates “a Christian life as a battle against evil” (716b). Paul especially uses the word this way: 2 Cor 6:7; 10:4; Rom 13:12. LifeSyn 45 (Bongie 31–32) lacks “against the demons.”

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come from outside and are set in motion from within.322 The soul is like a ship: sometimes it is overwhelmed and sunk by huge waves [from outside],323 while at other times it sinks beneath the waves because of too much bilge water within, in the hold. It is the same with us, therefore: sometimes we get lost because of sins we commit outside in our everyday lives,324 while at other times we are led astray325 because of our interior thoughts.* So, then, we have to both watch carefully for attacks from people326 on the outside and bail out the thoughts* gushing forth from within.” 327 S8. [XI.75; 2:178] 328 She also said, “We are never free from cares here; it is as Scripture says: Let the person who thinks he is standing watch out that he does not fall.329 We sail in uncertain

322. We need to do this .  .  . from within: LifeSyn 45, We need to do this because they charge inside, and nothing worse is set in motion from outside. Set in motion, kinoȗntai, the passive voice of kinéō: Bauer points out that the passive voice can be used intransitively: “move around” (545a). See Acts 17:28. See AlphAP Antony 22 (Sayings 1:106–8) on the body and soul’s movements. 323. [from outside]: the text has ésōthen, “from within,” but for sense and parallelism it should be éxōthen, “from outside”: éxōthen .  .  . éndon (“within”) . . . éxōthen .  .  . éndon. Both SysAP XI.73 and LifeSyn 25 (21) have éxōthen; thus I’ve made the correction. 324. Get lost: or “perish,” apóllumi. See nn. 261, 299, and 309. 325. Led astray, aphanízomai: SysAP XI.74, defiled, miaínō. 326. People, ánthrōpos: SysAP XI.74 and LifeSyn 45, spirits, pneȗma. Jude 12-13 warns about false teachers who are waterless clouds carried along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the deepest darkness has been reserved forever. Syncletica’s point here is not clear: she first warns about “sins we commit outside,” then about “attacks from people on the outside,” which comports with Jude. 327. thoughts gushing forth, anablúzō: SysAP XI.74 and LifeSyn 45, immoral thoughts (akatharsía). With “within” (éndon) Syncletica may be echoing the inner [ésō] person/being [ánthrōpos] in Eph 3:16: strengthened in your inner being with power through [God’s] Spirit. “From within” in Greek can be éndon or ésōthen. 328. See LifeSyn 47 (Bongie 32). 329. 1 Cor 10:12.

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waters: the holy psalmist330 says that our life is a sea,331 but some parts of the sea are rocky, some are infested by wild beasts, and some are calm.332 “We, then, seem to be sailing on the calm part of the sea while those living in the world* are tossed about by the waves; 333 so, too, we sail by day guided* by the sun of righteousness,* 334 [while they, out of ignorance, sail by night].335 But it is often possible that the person living in the world,* sailing during winter and in darkness,336 can by being vigilant* 337 bring his own boat to safety.338 We, on the other hand, through negligence,339 although we are sailing in calm waters, by letting go of the rudder of righteousness,* can sink beneath the waves.” 340 330. The holy psalmist: SysAP and LifeSyn 47 (Bongie 32), the holy psalmist David. 331. See, perhaps, Ps 69:1-2 (LXX 68:2-3). 332. some parts of the sea are rocky, some are infested by wild beasts: SysAP XI.75, some parts of the sea are infested by wild beasts. “Wild beasts” can refer to fish in the sea. Perhaps she’s thinking of sharks, or of Leviathan; see Ps 74:14, Isa 27:1. 333. are tossed about by the waves: SysAP XI.75 and LifeSyn 47 (Bongie 32), are in dangerous waters. 334. See Mal 4:2. In Homily 2 on Psalm 67:6-7, Origen* offers a lengthy exegesis of the sun, both the “sun of unrighteousness” and the “sun of righteousness.” See Lorenzo Perrone, ed., Die neuen Psalmenhomilien: Eine kritische Edition des Codex Monacensis Graecus 314, Origenes Werke Dreizenter Band (Göttingen: Walter de Gruyter, 2015), 215–17; for the English translation see Joseph Trigg, trans., Origen: Homilies on the Psalms: Codex Monacensis Graecus 314 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2021), 169–71. 335. The PG text lacks the phrase in brackets, which both SysAP XI.73 and LifeSyn 25 (Bongie 21) have. 336. darkness: SysAP XI.75, danger. 337. by being vigilant: SysAP XI.75 and LifeSyn 47 (Bongie 32), by crying out and being vigilant. 338. In De principiis (On First Principles) 3.1.19, Origen* emphasizes free will; https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/media/1873/rel11origen.PDF. 339. negligence, ameleía: see Syncletica S5. 340. sink, buthízō: 1 Tim 6:9 is apposite here: harmful desires that plunge [buthízō] people into ruin and destruction.

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S9. [XV.66; 2:328] 341 She also said,342 “Just as a ship cannot be built without nails, so too is it impossible to be saved* without humility.” * S10. [X.102; 2:82] 343 She also said, “There is sorrow that is beneficial,* and there is sorrow that is deadly: useful sorrow is to lament one’s own sins and the illness of one’s neighbor344 in order not to fail in one’s resolve and plans but rather to lay one’s hands on perfect goodness.345 “But there is also a sorrow that comes from the Enemy,* completely irrational, which has been called ‘acedia’* by some.346 Therefore, one needs to drive off this spirit with prayer* and especially by singing psalms.” *

341. See LifeSyn 56 (Bongie 37–38). 342. She also said: SysAP XV.66, Blessed Syncletica said. 343. See LifeSyn 40 (Bongie 29). 344. Illness, arrōstía: or “weakness.” SysAP X.102 and LifeSyn 40 (Bongie, 29), struggle/conflict (with Satan* or with thoughts*), agōnisía, cognate with agonízomai (English agony). See Fight in the Glossary. 345. SysAP X.102 continues: these are the ways that a sorrow in accordance with God expresses itself; LifeSyn 40, these are the forms of sorrow that are genuine and good. 346. But there is also a sorrow .  .  . by some: SysAP X.102 and LifeSyn 40 (Bongie 29), But with regard to these matters, there is also a certain connection with the Enemy;* he himself even implants sorrow, completely irrational, which has been called “acedia” by many.

Chapter 19 1

T / Taȗ  / T Concerning Abba Tithoës 2 1. [PG 65:428] [XII.13; 2:216] 3 They used to say about Abba Tithoës that he wouldn’t readily lower his hands when he stood for prayer,* his mind* carried off and above.4 If, therefore, it happened that some brothers were praying* with him, he quickly made every effort to lower his hands so his mind* wouldn’t be carried away but would stay [focused on what’s above]. 2. [IV.52; 1:212] Abba Tithoës said, “Exile* is a person keeping control over his mouth.” 5

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Tithóēs, pronounced tea-THŌ-ease. See Sisoës in Dramatis Personae. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:428], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:220]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example XII.13, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 2:216, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. The early monks in Egypt prayed in the orans position, standing up with arms raised. See Aleteia, https://aleteia.org/2017/06/14/in-what-posture-did-the -early-christians-pray/. 5. Exile: a variant, PG 65:428, n. 81, and SysAP IV.52, our exile. 357

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3. [XI.67; 2:174] A brother asked Abba Tithoës, “How do I protect* my heart? ” * 6 The elder* said to him, “How do we protect* our heart* with our tongues wagging and our bellies always wanting more? ” 7 4. Abba Matoës used to say this about Abba Tithoës: “No one could find [a reason] to open his mouth against him about anything. Like pure gold lying set in a balance—so, too, Abba Tithoës.” 8 5. One time while staying in Clysma,* Abba Tithoës, reflecting on it, decided to say to his disciple, “Child, release the water to irrigate the palm trees,” and the disciple said, “We’re in Clysma,* abba.” The elder* said, “What am I doing in Clysma? * Take me back to the monastery.” * 6.9 Abba Tithoës was sitting one time, and there was a brother [sitting] near him, and, not knowing [that], he sighed. (He wasn’t aware that a brother was nearby because he was having a mystical* experience.) He prostrated* himself and said, “Forgive me, brother, because I haven’t become a monk* yet—I sighed in your presence.” 7. [XV.61; 2:327] A brother asked Abba Tithoës, [PG 65:429] “What sort of path* leads a person to humility? ” * and the elder* said, “This is the path of humility:* abstinence, prayer,* and thinking yourself inferior to all of creation.” 10

6. How do I protect my heart?: SysAP XI.67, I want to keep a watch on my heart but I can’t. 7. our tongues wagging and our bellies always wanting more: literally “our tongue and our belly open.” How do we protect our heart with our tongues wagging and our bellies always wanting more: SysAP XI.67, How do we protect our heart with the door to our mouth [literally “tongue”] wide open. 8. Matoës has thirteen sayings in this volume. 9. See John the Little 23. 10. prayer, and thinking yourself inferior to all of creation: SysAP XV.61, praying to God and striving to be inferior to all of creation.

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Concerning Abba Timothy 11 1. [PG 65:429] [XIII.18; 2:248, 250] Abba Timothy the priest inquired of Abba Poemen,* “There’s a woman* in Egypt* who’s a prostitute, and she gives what she earns to others in need,” 12 and Abba Poemen* said, “She won’t remain in prostitution—the fruit of faith* manifests itself in her.” * 13 It happened that the mother of Timothy the priest came to see him, and he asked her, “That woman—is she still a prostitute? ” and she said, “Yes, and she’s added to the number of her lovers, but she’s also increased what she gives to others in need.” * Abba Timothy reported this to Abba Poemen,* and he said, “She won’t remain in prostitution.” Abba Timothy’s mother came once again and said to him, “Did you know that that prostitute was asking to come with me so you might pray* for her? ” 14 When Abba Timothy heard this, he reported it to Abba Poemen.* The elder* said to him, “No, instead you leave and go meet with her.” So Abba Timothy left and met with her. When she saw him and heard the word* of God from him, she was heart-stricken and wept and said to him, “From today on I’m going to stick with God and won’t work as a prostitute anymore.” 15 So she immediately entered a monastery* and greatly pleased God.16

11. Greek Timótheos, pronounced tea-MO-thĕ-ōs. 12. “she gives what she earns to others in need” uses eleēmosúnē; see Need in the Glossary. 13. “Prostitute” and “prostitution” use forms of porn-; see Sexual immorality in the Glossary. 14. that prostitute was hoping to come with me so you might pray for her: a variant, PG 65:429, n. 84, and SysAP XV.61, that prostitute was asking to come with me so you might pray for her, and I wouldn’t allow it. 15. and won’t work as a prostitute anymore: SysAP XIII.18, and won’t work as a prostitute any more and will keep close the fear* of God. 16. A monastery: SysAP XIII.18, a monastery of/for women. For a parallel to this saying see Serapion 1.

Chapter 20 1

U / Upsilón / Y Concerning Abba Hyperechius 2 1. [PG 65:429] [IV.53; 1:212] 3 Abba Hyperechius said, “Just as the lion scares the wild asses,4 so too the tried-and-tested monk* [scares] lustful thoughts.” * 5

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Hyperéchios, pronounced (h)ē-pĕr-EH-kē-ōs. J-M Sauget notes, “We know absolutely nothing of this holy monk (probably 5th cent.). His Exhortation to the Monks, preserved in Greek, is a collection of 160 spiritual sentences on the exercise of the monastic virtues” (Encyclopedia of the Early Church, ed. Angelo Di Berardino, trans. Adrian Walford, 2 vols. [New York: Oxford University Press, 1992], 401b). The AlphAP has eight sayings here, and he appears in the SysAP (see Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:249b). See F. Poswick, trans., Collectanea Cisterciensia 32 (1970): 245–55; James Vaughan Smith, “Resurrecting the Blessed Hyperechius,” PhD dissertation, Loyola University Chicago, 2003; Tim Vivian, “So Far Away, Yet Ours, and Us: Exhortation to the Monks by Hyperechios,” CSQ, forthcoming 2023. See Syncletica 11. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:429], indicates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:430]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example IV.53, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 1:212, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. See Prov 13:19. 5. Lustful thoughts, epithymía + logismós: a variant, PG 65:429, n. 85, and SysAP IV.53, pleasurable thoughts ((h)ēdypatheía + logismós (Lampe 603a: “pleasures, enjoyments”; “delicacies for the table” [Clement of Alexandria]). One could translate “inordinate desires” to cover all unhealthy desires. 361

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2. [IV.54; 1:212] He also said, “Fasting* is a bit and bridle for the monk* with regard to sin: the person who tosses them away finds himself to be a stallion wild for a mare.” 6 3. [IV.57; 1:214] He also said, “The person who doesn’t get control of his tongue when he’s angry*—such a person won’t get control of the passions*[, either].” 7 4. [IV.59; 1:214] He also said, “It’s good to eat meat and drink wine and not eat brothers’ flesh with backbiting.” 8 5. [IV.60; 1:214] He also said, “When it whispered, the snake* drove Eve out of the garden.9 This, then, is also like the person who talks behind a neighbor’s* back: 10 such a person destroys the neighbor’s* soul when the neighbor* hears [slander like this]. And—such a person doesn’t provide safe passage for his own soul[, either].” 11 6. [VI.18; 1:326] [Hyperechius said,] “The monk’s* treasure is voluntary poverty.* Brother, store up that treasure in heaven: the ages* of inward stillness* are infinite.” 12 7. [XI.76; 2:181] He also said,13 “Let your conception of God always be [PG 65:432] on the kingdom of heaven, and very soon you will inherit it.” 14 6. Jer 5:8. 7. The person: a variant, PG 65:429, n. 86, and SysAP IV.57, The monk.* 8. Ascetic practice often excluded meat and wine, so Hyperechius is saying here that it’s better to go against monastic practice than to backbite. 9. garden, parádeisos: or “paradise.” See Gen 3:1-5. Parádeisos is an Old Persian loanword that Genesis uses; kȇpos is the nonbiblical term for “garden.” Parádeisos occurs only three times in the NT (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor 12:4; Rev 2:7). In patristic Greek it means “paradise,” past, present, or future (Lampe 1010b–13a). Hyperechius here uses óphis for “snake/serpent,” as in Gen 3. 10. the person who talks behind a neighbor’s back, katalaléō: or “the person who slanders* his neighbor.” 11. provide safe passage, diasṓzō: “save* [sṓzō],” “preserve, maintain,” “escort or conduct safely” (Lampe 361a). On one’s neighbor, see Matt 19:19 (you shall love your neighbor as yourself  ), and others. 12. Matt 6:19-20. [Hyperechius said,]: SysAP VI.18. 13. He also said: SysAP XI.76, Hyperechius said. 14. the kingdom of heaven, and very soon you will inherit it: see 1 Cor 6:9-10.

U / Upsilón / Y  363

8. [XIV.19; 2:266] He also said,15 “Valuables stored away— that’s what obedience* is for the monk.* The person who possesses it will be listened to by God,16 and that person will with confidence17 stand by the Crucified One. This is true because the crucified Lord was obedient* even unto death.” 18

15. He also said: SysAP XIV.19, Hyperechius said. 16. will be listened to by God: SysAP XIV.19, will be listened to. 17. confidence, parrēsía: see Confidence in the Glossary. 18. Phil 2:8.

Chapter 21 1

Ph / Phı̑  / Φ Concerning Abba Phocas 2 1. [PG 65:429] 3 Abba Phocas of the cenobium* of Abba Theognius4 of Jerusalem used to say, “When I was living in Scetis* there was an Abba James, a young man at Kellia,* whose father was both his father according to the flesh and his spiritual father.5 Kellia* had two churches, one for the Orthodox, where he received Communion, and one for the schismatics.6 Because Abba James had the grace* of humility,* he was loved* by everyone, both those of the church and the schismatics. The Orthodox, therefore would say to him, ‘Abba James, be sure that the schismatics don’t 1. Unless otherwise indicated, the Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Phōkâs, pronounced phō-KĂS. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example [PG 65:429], indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example III.36, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 1:168, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. “S” sayings are from Guy, Recherches, for example, the “S” number followed by Recherches, then the page number: S1. [Guy, Recherches, 29]. “N” sayings are from AnonAP, the page(s) indicated thus: Wortley 235. Wortley’s volume is a bilingual text, Greek and English. 4. Theognius: see Binns, Ascetics. 5. A James has six sayings in this volume; none link him to Kellia.* 6. schismatics: Nestorians;* see below. 365

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deceive you and drag you into their fellowship.’7 Likewise, the schismatics would say to him, ‘Just so you know, Abba James, if you maintain fellowship with the dyophysites* you will lose your soul.8 They’re Nestorians,* you see, and they slander the truth.’ “Now, Abba James was genuine, sincere, without prejudice,9 and, caught in the middle by what both sides were saying and at a loss what to do, he left and called on God [to help him].10 So he hid himself in a cell* outside the laura,* in contemplative quiet,* wearing graveclothes as though he were about to die. (You see, the Egyptian fathers have the custom of safeguarding* the leviton* that they’re wearing when they receive the holy monastic* habit and the cowl, continuing to safeguard* them until they die in order to be buried in them, wearing them only on the Lord’s Day* for Holy Communion, and then immediately removing them.) “Having left, therefore, [and keeping himself] in that cell,* he called on* God, grew weak with fasting,* fell to the earth, and remained lying there. (He would say that in those days he suffered mightily because of the demons,* especially in his thoughts.*) When forty* days had passed he saw a child, extremely happy, enter [the cell], and say, ‘Abba James, what are you doing here?’ Immediately enlightened, and gaining strength from what he was seeing,11 he said to the child, ‘Lord and Master, you know what I’m dealing with. Some are saying to me, “Do not forsake the church!” while others are saying to me, “Don’t let the Dyophysites lead you astray!” and I’m at a loss. Not knowing what to do, I came [here] to do what I’ve been doing.’ “In response the Lord said to him, [PG 65:433] ‘You are doing the right thing where you are,’ and immediately, with that one

7. fellowship, koinonía (or “community”). 8. lose, apóllumi: or “destroy.” 9. genuine, sincere, without prejudice, akéraios: I’ve expanded the translation to better capture the sense. See Matt 10:16 (innocent as doves), others. 10. called on .  .  . to help him, parakaléō: see Entreat in the Glossary. 11. strength, dýnamis: see Power in the Glossary.

Ph / Phȋ / Φ  367

statement,12 he found himself in front of the doors of the Holy Church of the Orthodox, those who subscribe to the Council of Chalcedon.” * 2. Abba Phocas also said, “When Abba James came to be among those in Scetis* he was violently embattled* by the demon* of sexual sin.* When he was close to being in danger he came to me and laid out what was going on with him, telling me, ‘In two days I’m leaving for a certain cave. I’m entreating* you, for the Lord’s sake, not to tell anyone, not even my father. Count off forty* days, and when the forty* days are up, do an act of love* and come see me, bringing with you Holy Communion. If you find me dead, bury me, and if I’m alive have me receive Holy Communion with you.’ “Heeding what he had said to me, when the forty* days were up, getting the Holy Communion, some ordinary white bread,* with a little wine,* I left to go see him. When I had barely gotten close to the cave, I smelled a horrible stench that came from his mouth. I said to myself ‘The blessed one is at peace,’ but when I entered [the cave and went] towards him, I found him half-dead. When he saw me, he moved his right hand a little, as best he could, and with it gestured towards the Holy Communion. I said, ‘I have it,’ so I wanted to open his mouth but found it shut tight. I had no idea what to do so I went out into the desert* and found a twig from a small tree, and with great effort I was barely able to open his mouth just a little. “I poured in some of the precious Body [sic] and Blood, making it as thin as possible, and he gained some strength from the Holy Communion. A little later, I soaked a few small crumbs of the regular bread* and brought it to him and after a bit some more, as much as he could handle. This way, by the grace* of God, a day later he went with me, making his way* to his own cell* and, with God, rid himself of the deadly passion* of sexual sin.” *

12. One statement, lógos: or “counsel.” *

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Concerning Abba Felix 13 1. [PG 65:433] [III.36; 1:168, 170] Some brothers visited Abba Felix, and they had with them some people living in the world.* They urged* him to offer them some counsel,* but the elder* remained silent.* Because they were urging* him over and over to speak, he said to them, “Is it counsel* you want to hear? ” They said to him, “Yes, abba.” The elder* said to them, “As of now there isn’t any counsel* [to offer]. When the brothers used to ask the elders* [for some counsel*] and did what the elders* had told them, God would provide the elders* with something to say. Now, though, since the brothers ask but don’t follow through on what they hear, God has taken away from the elders* the spiritual gift of providing counsel,* 14 and, since no one’s doing the work* [that the elders* counseled*], they don’t find anything to say.” When the brothers heard this, they groaned and said, “Pray* for us, abba.” *

Concerning Abba Philagrios 15 1. [PG 65:436] [VI.19; 1:326] Among the holy ones was a certain Philagrios living in the desert* of Jerusalem,16 working* hard to make [enough money] for his bread.* When he was standing in the marketplace selling his handiwork—someone had lost a pouch with a thousand coins in it! When the elder* found it, he stood right where he was, saying, “The person who lost this has got to come [back for it]”—and here he came, weeping! Taking him aside, the elder* gave the pouch to him. That person embraced 13. Greek Phílix, pronounced FEE-leaks. 14. spiritual gift, cháris: “grace.” * 15. Greek Philágrios, pronounced fee-LĂ-gree-ōs. 16. living in the desert of Jerusalem: SysAP VI.19, living among those in Jeru­ salem.

Ph / Phȋ / Φ  369

Abba Philagrios and wanted to share some of it with him, and the elder* refused.17 The person began to cry out “Come here! See a person of God and what he’s done!” 18 But the elder* secretly fled* the city so he wouldn’t be celebrated.19

Concerning Abba Phortas 20 1. [PG 65:436] Abba Phortas said, “If God wants me to live, he knows how he’ll govern me; if he doesn’t, what’s the point of my being alive? ” He wouldn’t accept anything from anyone, even though he was confined to his bed. This was because he’d say, “If someone brings me something, whatever it may be, and doesn’t do it on behalf of God, then neither do I have anything to give him, nor does he receive a reward* from God. This is because that person didn’t bring it on behalf of God, so he finds himself wronged. Those who belong to God and look to God alone must remain devout,21 fully established [in the faith], so that, even if they’re wronged ten thousand times, they don’t consider those wrongs a violent outrage.”

17. wanting, ethélō: “refused” translates (e)thélō with a negative. 18. a person of God: “person of God” lacks an article, so “the person of God is possible.” 19. the elder secretly fled the city so he wouldn’t be celebrated: SysAP VI.19, the elder secretly fled* the city so what he had done wouldn’t be recognized and so he wouldn’t be celebrated. Celebrated, doxázō: or “glorified” (dóxa: “glory”).* 20. Greek Phortas, pronounced phōr-TĂS. 21. belong to renders anakeȋmai, and “remain” diakeȋmai.

Chapter 22 1

Ch / Xı̑  / X Concerning Abba Chomai 2 1. [PG 65:436] [I.27; 1:116] 3 They used to say about Abba Chomai that when he was about to die he said to his sons,* “Do not live with heretics,* do not have relationships with those in authority, do not extend your hands to receive, but rather extend them to give.” 4

Concerning Abba Cheremon 5 1. [PG 65:436] They used to say about Abba Cheremon in Scetis* that his cave was forty miles from the church and twelve miles from the wadi* and its water, so he would bring his handiwork* to his cave, carrying two small flasks of water side by side, and would live there practicing contemplative quiet.* 6 1. The Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Chomaí, pronounced hō-MĚ. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example PG 65:436, indicates the column number in PG 65. The first number in the second brackets, for example I.27, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 1:116, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. See Acts 20:35. 5. Greek Chaíremōn, pronounced HEH-ree-mōn. 6. One would think, given the abba’s distance from water, that he would be carrying jars, but the saying is probably emphasizing his asceticism.* 371

Chapter 23 1

Ps / Psı̑ / Ψ Concerning Abba Psenthaḯsios 2 1. [PG 65:436] Abba Psenthaḯsios, Abba Souros, and [Abba] Psoïos said, “We benefited* so much listening to the counsels* of our father Abba Pachomius,* and it stirred us to be zealous about doing good works.* 3 Seeing the counsel* he gave about his ascetic* practice while keeping silent,* we were amazed and were saying to one another, ‘We used to think that all the holy* ones had been made holy and unchanging by God from their mother’s womb,4 and not by free will, and that sinners were unable [PG 65:437] to live holy and devout lives, because they had been created like that. But now we see the goodness of God clearly manifested in this our father. Although his parents were pagans, he has become so devout and is imbued with all of God’s commandments.* Because

1. The Saying in this chapter is translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Psenthaḯsios, pronounced sin-thă-Ē-si-ōs. 3. None of the abbas listed here has sayings in the AlphAP. The fact that Pachomius* and Shenoute* have no sayings in the AlphAP shows that the collection focuses on Lower (northern) and Middle Egypt, not Upper (southern) Egypt, then moving on to Palestine. Pachomius and Shenoute are without a doubt the two most important monks* of cenobitic* monasticism in Egypt. 4. See Ps 51:5. 373

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of this, all of us can follow him, just as he follows the holy* ones. Because of this, it is written, Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.5 So let us die [to the world*] together and live with this person—he’s leading us straight to God.’ ”

5. Matt 11:28. Mark and Luke do not have the saying.

Chapter 24 1

Ō / Ōméga / Ω Concerning Abba Ṓr 2 1. [PG 65:437] [III.37; 1:170] 3 They used to say about Abba Ṓr and Abba Theodore4 that they were making a cell* out of clay and said to each other, “If God visited us right now, what would we do? ” 5 and, weeping, they put down the clay and each withdrew* to his cell.* 2. [XX.8; 3:170] They used to say about Abba Ṓr that he never lied, swore, or cursed anyone, nor did he speak unless it was necessary.

1. The Sayings in this chapter are translated from PG 65. 2. Greek Ṓr, pronounced Or. 3. For the numbers in brackets, the first number, for example PG 65:437, indi­ cates the column number in PG 65; each time the PG text moves to a new page, another bracketed reference—e.g., [PG 65:220]—will indicate the new page number. The first number in the second brackets, for example III.37, indicates chapter and saying number in Guy, Apophtegmes (SysAP); the second number in the second brackets, for example 1:170, indicates volume and page number(s) in Guy. 4. Chapter 8 has sayings by or concerning four monks named Theodore; Abba Ṓr appears in none of the sayings. 5. visited, episképtomai: or “examined.” See Luke 1:68: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, / for he has looked favorably on [episképtomai] his people and redeemed them. For “he has looked favorably on,” the NRSV notes “Or has visited.” 375

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3. [XX.9; 3:170] Abba Ṓr would say to his disciple Paul,6 “See to it that you never bring any kind of inappropriate speech into this cell.” * 7 4. Paul, the disciple of Abba Ṓr, left one time to buy palm fronds and found that others had got there first and put down a deposit. (Now, Abba Ṓr never put down a deposit for anything; at the appropriate time,* rather, he’d send what it cost and would buy it.) The disciple, therefore, left and went somewhere else for the palms, and the person in charge of the stand of palms said to him, “Someone some time or another put down a deposit but still hasn’t come [for the palms], so take ’em.” So, taking them, he went to the elder* and reported everything to him. When the elder* heard, he clapped his hands and said, “Ṓr is not working* this year!” and wouldn’t allow the branches inside until, [finally], his disciple took them back to the place* where he’d gotten them. 5. Abba Ṓr said, “If you see me holding a thought* against anyone, you’ll know that he also has the same thought* against me.” 6. There was a certain count in the area where Abba Ṓr was living called Longinus who was often helping people in need,* and he urged* one of the fathers who was visiting him to take him to Abba Ṓr, so the monk* left and went to Abba Ṓr and praised the count, saying that he was a good person and was often helping people in need.* Thinking about it, the elder* said, “Yes, he’s a good person.” So the monk* began to urge* [PG 65:440] him, 6. Chapter 16 has sayings by or concerning four monks named Paul; Abba Ṓr appears in none of the sayings. 7. inappropriate speech: allótrios lógos can have a number of meanings here. Allótrios: “alien, foreign, strange”; “alien, hostile, enemy”; “abnormal” (Montanari I:95c); “alien,” “of apostates and heretics”; “excommunicated”; “alien, of what is contrary to Christian faith” (Lampe 77a(1)). Lógos: “word,* speech”; “counsel”;* “doctrine”; “rumor, hearsay, news”; “discussion, dispute”; of Christian “Scripture,” “literature” (Montanari II:1249a-b). Wortley, Give Me, 321: “alien discourse”; Guy (SysAP), 3:171, “un mot étranger.”

Ō / Ōméga / Ω  377

saying, “Allow him to come to see you, abba,” and in response the elder* said, “I’m telling you, he is not to cross this valley and see me.” 7. Abba Sisoës* asked Abba Ṓr, “Give me some counsel,” * and Abba Ṓr said to him, “Do you have faith* in me? ” and he said, “Yes,” so he said to him, “Go, and what you see me doing, you do too.” He said, “What, father, do I see in you? ” The elder* said to him, “My thoughts* are inferior to [the thoughts*] of every human being.” 8. They used to say about Abba Ṓr and Abba Theodore that they were always making good beginnings and giving thanks to God. 9.8 Abba Ṓr said, “A monk’s* crown is humility.” * 10. [XV.74; 2:334] The elder* said, “The person who’s honored or praised more than he deserves suffers great damage, and the person who’s not honored at all will receive glory* above.” 9 11.10 [XV.72; 2:334] He also said, “When a thought* of arrogance or hubris comes upon you, investigate your conscience [to see] whether you’ve observed all the commandments,* 11 whether you love* your enemies and are distressed at their weakness, whether you regard yourself as a worthless slave, more sinful than everyone,12 and then don’t think so highly of yourself, as though you’ve done everything correctly. All this because you know that such a thought* destroys everything.” 12. [XV.79; 2:336] He also said, “With regard to every temptation,* do not blame someone else—only yourself, saying, ‘Because of my sins, these things happen to me.’ ” 13 8. See AnonAP 98; Wortley 75, which has “the elders” instead of “Abba Ṓr.” 9. and, dé: or “but.” 10. See AnonAP 299; Wortley 201. 11. observed, phylássō: see Protect in the Glossary. 12. Luke 17:10. 13. these things: I’ve translated taȗta literally; because the word is neuter pl. it can’t be referring to peirasmós (masc.), “temptation.”

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13.14 [XV.73; 2:334] He also said, “Do not have your heart* speak against your brother, saying, ‘I’m more sober-minded and austere in my asceticism,’* 15 but rather subordinate yourself to Christ’s grace* with the spirit of poverty* and unfeigned love* so that you don’t fall because of the spirit of boasting16 and destroy all your hard work.17 It is written, If you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall, and be seasoned with salt in the Lord.” 18 14.19 [VIII.31; 1:420] He also said, “Fleeing,* flee* other people or, by making yourself a fool all the time, make a laughingstock of people and the world.” * 20

14. See AnonAP 331; Wortley 217. 15. more sober-minded, the comparative of nēphálios, cognate with nēphō: “abstain from wine, be sober,” then “be sober-minded.” See Vigilant in the Glossary. In the NT nēphō is figurative; Rom 12:3 may be in the background here: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. “Austere in my asceticism” translates the comparative of askētikós, “ascetic,” * but askētikós can also mean “monastic,* the monastic life,” so Abba Ṓr is also saying, “Don’t (try to) be more monastic than someone else,” as if it were a competition! 16. See Jas 4:16: As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17. fall: peripíptō often means to fall into evil; see “fall,” píptō, later in the saying. “Destroy,” apóllumi: or “lose.” 18. 1 Cor 10:12 and Col 4:6. 19. See AnonAP 320; Wortley 320/8.31, 211. 20. all the time, eis tà pollá: or “in everything.” Make a laughingstock, empaíxō, “mock, scorn.” My thanks to John Wortley here for his translation (Give Me, 323). “Fool,” mōrón (English moron): the apostle Paul often criticizes his fellow Christians for their foolish behavior, but “foolishness,” mōría, is important for Paul because it upends the world’s* way of thinking/being; see 1 Cor 1:18: For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved* it is the power* of God; 1:20: Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?; 1 Cor 1:18-25, and others.

Ō / Ōméga / Ω  379

15.21 He also said, “If you slander your brother and your conscience comes knocking, leave [your cell*], prostrate* yourself before him, and say ‘I slandered* you,’ and make sure you’re not deceived anymore.” The end of the alphabetical collection.

21. See AnonAP 592/19; Wortley 409. The anonymous saying ends, “Slander* is the death of the soul” (409).

Glossary Vocabulary, Places, People Because some Greek words in context require different words in English, a number of words have cross references. Sometimes different words in Greek translate as the same word in English, so I have tried to list all of them. Initial “h” (rough breathing: ‘), as in ἡσυχία, hēsychía, “contemplative quiet,” was beginning to disappear in Greek in Late Antiquity and is absent in Modern Greek, but I have retained the “h” in transliterations for convenience. Examples from the Septuagint (LXX: the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) and New Testament (NT) are rarely exhaustive; for more examples, see the page numbers supplied from Bauer (full citations of abbreviated works are found in the Bibliography). For a selection of the names of the ammas and abbas of the Greek alphabetical Apophthegmata see Dramatis Personae. Cross-references in boldface refer to entries in the Glossary or Dramatis Personae (persons). I have shortened the titles of most sources; full titles and publishing information are in the Bibliography. Abba.  The Aramaic word for father used by Jesus and Paul in the NT (Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6), transferred as a title of respect to respected or venerated monks. On the pedagogy of the abbas and ammas, see Gould, Desert Fathers, “The Abba and His Disciple,” 26–87, chap. 2; André Louf, “Spiritual Fatherhood in the Literature of the Desert,” in J. R. Sommerfeldt, ed., Abba: Guides to Wholeness and Holiness East and West, CS 38 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian 381

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Publications, 1982); and Gabriel Bunge, Spiritual Fatherhood: Evagrius Ponticus on the Role of Spiritual Father (Yonkers, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018). Ability. Gk. dýnamis: See Power. Acedia. Gk. akēdía, Lat. and English acedia: “the noonday demon,” “indifference, apathy”; “weariness, torpor” (Montanari I:67bc); kȇdos, “care, thought”; “anxiety, worry, pain, agonizing suffering, grief” + a-, alpha-privative negative (Montanari I:1122a). See ­Poemen 149. See Ps 91:1-6 (LXX 90:1-6): Those “who live in the shelter of the Most High / .  .  .  . will not fear / .  .  . the pestilence that stalks in darkness, / or the destruction that wastes at midday.” The “noonday demon,” de daemonio meridiano, comes from ­Jerome’s Vulgate (Latin) translation; the modified Vulgate has ­pernicie quae vastat meridie, “the destruction that wastes at midday” (Biblia Sacra iuxta Vulgatem Clementiam: Nova Editio [Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1977], 531). Cassian devotes the Tenth Book of the Institutes to “The Spirit of Acedia” (217–38); he defines it as “a wearied or anxious heart” and continues that it “is akin to sadness and is the peculiar lot of solitaries and a particularly dangerous and frequent foe of those dwelling in the desert. It disturbs the monk especially around the sixth hour [noon]” (219). Donald Grayston, Thomas Merton, 12–32, chap. 1, gives a good survey; on 13 he gives good reasons to transliterate rather than translate acedia. Kathleen Norris states it well: “Acedia is not a relic of the fourth century or a hang-up of some weird Christian monks, but a force we ignore at our own peril.” 1 Acedia is a key monastic term. Lampe 61b–62b is instructive: “fatigue, exhaustion; weariness, inertia”; “listlessness; torpor, boredom.” Its causes can be natural (B3a) or preternatural (B3b), attributed to a particular demon. With its effects (B4) it “causes monks to leave monasteries”; its remedies are (B5) “prayer and work.” 2 Dom Bernardo Olivera offers this etymological insight: in Latin “there is a family of words related to 1. Norris, Acedia, 130. 2. See further Siegfried Wenzel, “Ἀκηδία: Additions to Lampe’s Patristic Greek Lexicon,” Vigiliae Christianae 17 (1963): 173–76; Aaron Taylor, “Logismoi,” http://logismoitouaaron.blogspot.com/2010/03/demon-of-noondayst-cassian -evagrius-on.html.

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acedia, such as acer (sharp, bitter), acetum (vinegar), and acerbum (harsh), which, taken figuratively, [make] us think that persons suffering from acedia have received a high dose of acidity,” and thus, Norris adds, “are incapable of appreciating the sweetness of life.” 3 Evagrius says that the other demons “are found only in a part of the soul. The noonday demon, however, is accustomed to embrace the entire soul and oppress the spirit.” 4 Mary Schaffer argues for “the pervasive and undeniable influence of Evagrius” on the Life of Syncletica and sees a “close harmony” with Cassian, Conferences 14. She states that acedia is “one of the [Life’s] major themes.” 5 See Cassian, Institutes, 10.6 See Gabriel Bunge, Despondency: The Spiritual Teaching of Evagrius Ponticus on Acedia (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011). For modern reflections and many insights on acedia, see Grayston, Thomas Merton; Norris, Acedia & Me; and Andrew Solomon, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression (2001; New York: Scribner, 2015). Norris speaks highly of Aldous Huxley’s essay “Accidie”; I could not find it, but “Mind Your Maker, Aldous Huxley on Accidie” appears to have portions of it (https://mindyourmaker.com/2008/10/03/aldous -huxley-on-accidie-aka-melancholy-boredom-ennui-despair/). Acquire. Gk. ktáomai: See Possess/Possessions. Action. Gk. érgon: See Work. Active. Gk. energéō: See Work. Activity. Gk. ergasía is cognate with érgon; see Work. Act of love. Gk. agápē: See Love, act of. Adversary, the. See Satan. In the NT, see 1 Pet 5:8 (antídikos) and 2 Thess 2:4 (see 2:1-12) (antikeímenos); only 1 Pet 5:8 connects the adversary explicitly with the Devil (“Like a roaring lion your 3. Norris, Acedia, 203; Bernardo Olivera, “The Sadness Corroding Our Desire for God,” 2007 circular letter, https://test.saintleoabbeyoblates.info/resources /2015-08-03%20for%20Sept%20class%20Dom%20Bernardo%202007%20EN .pdf. 4. Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos, 36 (p. 26); see 23 (p. 22), 27 (p. 23), 29 (p. 24). 5. Schaffer, The Life and Regimen of the Blessed and Holy Syncletica by Pseudo-Athanasius, Part Two: A Study of the Life (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2005; Toronto: Peregrina Publishing, 2001), 11. 6. Cassian, Institutes, 217–34.

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adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.”) Antídikos: see Bauer 88b; antikeímenos < antikeímai: Bauer 88b– 89a; Lampe 154ab; Origen uses antikeímenos to refer to Antichrist, a word that does not appear in either the AlphAP or SysAP. See 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7 (sing.); 1 John 2:18 (pl.). For patristic use, see Lampe 160a–62a. Afflict. Gk. thlíbō (vb.), thlípsis (n.) can also mean “crush,” of crushing corn. The etymology of English oppress, from Latin opprimere, “press down, crush,” is apposite here. Thlíbō and its cognate n. thlípsis occur frequently in the NT, especially in Paul’s letters; see 2 Cor 1:6; 2 Cor 7:5. See 2 Cor 4:8, We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed (stenochōroúmenoi < stenochōréō; stenόs, “narrow, a strait,” as in English “straitened circumstances”). In 2 Cor, especially, Paul emphasizes that affliction (thlípsis) is temporary, that God will heal it (1:3, 4, 8). Second Cor 4:17 is key: For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond measure. Lampe 653a notes that some found affliction’s origin in sin, and others declared that God was not its source. Afraid, be. Gk. phobéomai: See Fear. The aorist aspect often has the sense “become frightened” (Bauer 1060b–61a). Agápē meal. Gk. agápē, “love” (see Love): Early Christians used the word for a communal meal, often combined with or following ­Communion. See Jude 12. Bauer 7a notes that “the details are not discussed in the NT, although Paul implicitly refers to it in 1 Cor 11:17-33.” As a technical term, Lampe 8a explains it as “denoting a common meal of fellowship to which the poor were invited or from which distribution was made to those supported by the Church.” In early monasticism the term also refers to such a meal, often on Saturday, when the anchoritic and semi-anchoritic monks would leave their cells and gather in a central location, often in the church. In Arsenius 11 and 20 (Sayings 1:122, 126) agápē indicates “an act of love or charity,” especially of helping those in need. Age. Gk. aíōn. Aíōn is a laden term in the NT; see Bauer 32a–33a. For Paul it designates the present age, nearing its end (1 Cor 3:18), the world, as opposed to God (Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 1:20): The god of this world [aíōn] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers (2 Cor 4:4). It and kairós (see Opportune time) can be eschatological. Alert. Gk. nḗphō: See Vigilant.

Glossary  385

Alexandria.  Alexandria was “the pre-eminent emporium for trade and commerce” in the eastern Mediterranean. “Yet Alexandria underwent considerable change across Late Antiquity, and it was appreciably different from the city that had once been the dynastic capital of the Ptolemies” (ODLA 1:47b–49b). It was the home of such great early Christian thinkers as Clement and Origen. See Christopher Haas, Alexandria, and Marjorie S. Venit, “Alexandria,” Oxford Handbook of Roman Egypt, 103–22. See Egypt. Wipszycka, Second Gift, 9, argues that in “writing about the history of Christianity in Egypt, it is possible—and indeed necessary—to abandon the distinction between Alexandria and Egypt.” See Egypt. I think that with regard to the desert monastics, we need to keep the distinction. Alone / Living alone. Gk. monázō < mónos, “alone,” is cognate with numerous words, for example, monastḗrion, “monastery”; monachós/monachḗ, “male/female monastic.” See Monk. Amazed, be. See Astonished, be. Amma.  “Mother,” used of venerable female monks. See Abba. The literature on the desert mothers is considerable. Among many, see Elm, “Virgins of God”; Swan, Forgotten Desert Mothers; ­Wipszycka, “L’Ascétisme féminin.” See Woman. Anchorite. Gk. anachōrētḗs, cognate with anachōréō, “to withdraw”: Davis, “Archaeological Evidence,” has pointed out that the threefold typology of anchorite, semi-anchorite, and cenobite, used then and today, “derives from the late fourth-century writings of Jerome,” and that “Jerome’s typology was more prescriptive than descriptive,” and with a clear hierarchy that values “most highly” the anchoritic and cenobitic. “Jerome’s aim therefore .  .  . was to authorize two (and only two) forms of practice and to derogate (or ignore) all others” (Kaczynski, The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 100–127; here 109). Anchorites were monks who lived by themselves or with only a disciple or two. Athanasius’s Life of Antony 3.1–3; 11.1 (61–63, 85) claims that Antony’s great innovation was to withdraw from village asceticism into the desert. See Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, chap. 8, “A Day in the Life of an ­Anchorite,” 96–111; Vivian, “Anchorites, Semi-Anchorites, and Cenobites,” in Vivian, “Origins,” 493–98; LA 298a. Anger. Gk. orgḗ (n.), orgízomai (vb.) (English orgasm): Anger is a chief concern of the ammas and abbas. See Matt 5:22; Rom 2:5; 2 Cor

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12:20; Jas 1:19–20. See Cassian, Institutes, 8 (pp. 191–208). See Gould, Desert Fathers, 107–37, esp. 112–20. Gould correctly observes, “With the exception of the conduct of the teaching relationship, there is no area of personal relationships with which the Desert Fathers show themselves more concerned than the problems arising from anger, judgement, dispute, and slander” (112). See BurtonChristie, Word, “Overcoming Anger,” 267–73. See Eph 4:26-27: Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the Devil. David Konstan, “Affect and Emotion in Greek Literature,” has a good discussion of anger (and other emotions) in “Classical Greek Thought” (Oxford Academic, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb /9780199935390.013.41). Aristotle connected the idea of anger with revenge. On the physiology see Heinrich von Staden, “The Physiology and Therapy of Anger: Galen on Medicine, the Soul, and Nature”: “On no emotion did Galen of Pergamum (AD 129–ca. 216) dwell at greater length and with greater frequency than on anger; indeed, he discussed anger in more than forty of his extant works. Of all the emotions, he deemed anger to be the most common and the most difficult emotion to treat successfully” (https://brill.com /view/book/edcoll/9789004217768/B9789004217768_006.xml, access required). Antioch.  Antioch on the Orontes (modern Antakya, Turkey) was “Metropolis of Syria Prima (Syria Coele, seat of the Comes Orientis, the principal civil administrator of the Dioecesis of Oriens, frequently in the 3rd and 4th centuries an imperial residence, a leading literary centre, and the home of a distinctive school of Christian theology)” (ODLA 1:84a–85b, here 84a). Apatheia.  It’s unfortunate that English has turned Gk. apátheia into apathy, because apathy is the opposite of a sustained spiritual life striving for apátheia.7 Indifference is a besetting problem/sin in modern American life. Norris correctly points out that apátheia “has nothing to do with 7. First use cited by the OED, 1603, where the word has the ancient meaning: “Apathies, that is to say, Impassibilities [not subject to the passions].” By the time of Alexander Pope, 1773, it has the modern meaning: “In lazy Apathy let Stoics boast Their Virtue fix’d” (https://www-oed-com.falcon.lib.csub.edu/view /Entry/9052?redirectedFrom=apathy#eid).

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apathy, but is a blessed state of equilibrium, free from distraction or regret.” 8 Apátheia comes from the Greek word páthos, “incident, accident, change,” then “calamity,” “disease,” then “emotion, passion,” + a-, a negative. See Passions. Lampe 170a uses “impassibility”; another traditional translation is “passionlessness.” But these are formidable words. “Freedom from emotion,” “absence of sin or sinful emotions,” hence “mastery over the passions, detachment, tranquility.” The NT uses neither apátheia nor its cognate apathḗs, “free of suffering,” “without suffering, uninjured” (Bauer 95b). One should carefully note the emphasis among the monastics on removing sinful emotions; the monks are not advocating catatonia in their cells. Apátheia literally means to be “without passion/the passions,” a much-desired state. The monks considered passions to be disordered desires that distract a person from (literally “draw away from”) following God. In his discussion of self-care and philosophy in Antiquity and Late Antiquity, Zachary Smith makes this connection: “The final state in philosophies of self-care finds the tranquil, passionless body and soul in perfect harmony and under perfect self-control, expressed in the AP as apatheia” (PhilosopherMonks, 182). Evagrius often discusses the passions and apatheia; see the Index, 88a, in Evagrius, Praktikos. See Behr, Asceticism, esp. 185–207, chap. 6; Joseph H. Nguyen, SJ, Apatheia in the Christian Tradition: An Ancient Spirituality and Its Contemporary Relevance. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018. Apocryphal texts. Gk. tà apócrypha, “the hidden things”: “The biblical Books received by the early Church as part of the Gk. version of the OT [HB], but not included in the Hebrew Bible, being excluded by the non-Hellenistic Jews from their Bible” (ODCC 83b–85a, here 83b). “A modern title for various early Christian texts outside the Canon of the NT which are similar in form or content to the canonical Scriptures. The epithet ‘apocryphal’ does not of itself convey the modern sense of fictitious invention” (ODCC 85ab, here 85a). As David Frankfurter emphasizes, “monasteries represented social sites of Christianization that were distinctively textual—that is, distinctively interactive with books. And yet the Christianity that 8. Norris, Acedia, 280; see 280–82. The OED online basically equates apatheia with apathy, but a sidebar notes that the entry hasn’t been updated from the 1885 edition.

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emerged from this monastic scribal enterprise of recording, collecting, exchanging, copying, editing, and composing texts was also a function of the types of literary materials that monks were reading or hearing. These materials were clearly not just biblical and patristic writings but, rather, all kinds of apocryphal texts—apocalypses,9 acts, gospels, and what François Bovon once called ‘books useful for the soul’—as well as martyr legends, saints’ lives, prophetic fragments, and magical texts .  .  . scribal interests in copying and collecting books well outside the (albeit still disputed) boundaries of the canon. Overall, the evidence of Christian manuscripts and library lists in late antique Egypt shows no gradual sloughing off of extracanonical materials in favor of the canon Bishop Athanasius declared in 367; rather, from the fourth century on, it demonstrates an increasing interest among monastic scribes in extracanonical, and especially apocalyptic, writings” (Christianizing Egypt, 190). One has to wonder, given this, if the later editors of the apophthegmatic texts that we have, edited and then reedited later, expurgated and expunged extracanonical writings from the earlier layers of the sayings. See LA 306a–7a. See Books. Apostle, the.  The Apostle Paul, a common reference in early Christianity; the phrase doesn’t occur in the NT. Appeal. Gk. parakaléō: See Entreat. Arabia of Egypt.  Provincia Arabia was a Roman province extending “from the province of Syria down to the Red Sea Coast and into [what is now] northern Saudi Arabia .  .  .  . In c. 295 the province was reconfigured in two parts: Arabia in the north with the addition of parts of southern Syria .  .  . and the larger Palaestina in the south” (ODLA 1:111a). Barrington Atlas, 77 3F, shows nine monasteries. In AlphAP John the Persian 2, “Arabia of Egypt” may be Arabia Petraea, “a name dating from the Roman Empire, consisting of land that is now Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, modern Jordan, Palestine, ­Israel, southern Syria, and western Saudi Arabia,” “Egypt and Arabia petræa,” https://www.loc.gov/resource/g8300.ct000421/?r=-0.781 ,0.049,2.563,0.912,0. Arcadius and Honorius.  Sons of Theodosius and, later, emperors. Arcadius Flavius (ca. 377–408) was the elder son of Theodosius and was the Eastern Roman emperor 395–408 (ODLA 1:119–20); 9. See “Apocalyptic literature,” ODCC 82b–83a.

Glossary  389

Honorius, the younger son (384–423), was the Western Roman emperor from 395–423 (ODLA 1:739–40). Both have entries in The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, 1:99 and 1:442, respectively. My thanks to H. A. (Hal) Drake for this reference. Archbishop. Gk. archiepískopos: See Bishop. The first reference that Lampe gives (237b) for Alexandria is Athanasius (ca. 296–374, see ODCC 119b–20b). “In the 4th and 5th c. the title was applied to the patriarchs and holders of other outstanding sees [episcopal seat, that is, where the archbishop presided]. Later its use was extended to metropolitans (or primates) having jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province” (ODCC 81a). Arianism.  “a doctrine derived originally from a priest of the church of Alexandria named Arius (ca. 270–336). It concentrated mainly on the status of the Son within the godhead, and held that he had originated at some point by the creative act of the Father’s will. Arius at first held that the Son had been made ‘out of nothing,’ but he and his followers soon dropped this idea. Though eternal and enjoying the attributes of divinity, the Son was inferior in every respect to the Father” (“Arianism,” CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce/id/232/rec/22; CE 230ab). See also “Arius and the Arian Controversy,” ODLA 1:133a–35a; “Arianism,” ODCC, 99a–100b; Rowan Williams, Arius: History and Tradition, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002); and John Behr, The Nicene Faith, vol. 2, The Formation of Christian Theology (Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004). Arsinoë / Arsinoite Nome.  “Capital city and administrative district, respectively .  .  .  . The villages on its outer rim have been a source .  .  . of Greek and demotic Egyptian papyri; these same marginal villages were abandoned in the 3rd–6th centuries. Greek papyri from the later centuries (6th–8th) come mostly from the ancient mounds .  .  . on the northwest outskirts of today’s Madinat al-Fayyum.  .  .  . Arsinoë/Fayyum had a bishop as early as the middle of the third century, when Nepos administered in the city. Monasticism made an early entry into the area.” See CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/845/rec/8; CE 1100ab. Artábe. Gk. artábē is, like parádeisos, “paradise” (Gen 2:8 [LXX]), a Persian loan-word that became an Egyptian measurement, quantity uncertain, later equaling an amphora, 39 liters, which is too large a quantity for the amount in AlphAP Ammoës 5 (Sayings 1:173);

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there he makes 50 artabas of bread, 2000 liters = 528 gallons. R. P. Duncan-Jones, “The Choenix,” speaks of “the confusion in available sources about the absolute size of the attested artaba measures.” He calculates that the artaba consisted of three modii of 8.62 liters each, equaling about twenty-six liters or seven US gallons. Ascetic activity. Gk. politeía. See Way of life, monastic. Ascetic practice. Gk. en askḗsei < áskēsis: “To cultivate the intimacy with God initiated by penthos [see Sorrow], the monks had to face on a daily basis the most perplexing of challenges: rooting out the sources of evil within themselves” (Burton-Christie, Word, 192; see “Asceticism and the Struggle against Evil,” 192–203). The origins of ascesis are athletic—“exercise, practice, training”—and by the time of Lucian in the 2nd century CE it could mean “mode of life, profession” (LSJ 257b). On ascesis as self-care, see Zachary Smith, Philosopher-Monks, 203–50. Griggs, Early Egyptian Christianity, 64, makes an important observation: “One should observe that while Clement considered asceticism one of the main indicators of Christian gnostic heresy, Eusebius (certainly looking back through the perspective of a developing ascetic tradition within the monastic movement—and looking favorably at that) mentions in positive terms Origen’s own tendency towards asceticism.” See James A. Francis, Subversive Virtue: Asceticism and Authority in the Second-Century Pagan World (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995); Shaw, Burden of the Flesh, esp. the Introduction, 5–10; Behr, Asceticism and Anthropology, esp. 129–207; Finn, “Gospel Asceticism”; ODCC 113a–14b; EM 1:92a– 94a; Leif E. Vaage and Vincent L. Wimbush, eds., Asceticism in the New Testament (London: Routledge, 1999); Krawiec, “Asceticism”; Philip Rousseau, Pachomius: The Making of a Community in FourthCentury Egypt (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985, rev. ed. 1999); LA 317a–18a; Sarah Coakley, The New Asceticism: Sexuality, Gender and the Quest for God (London: Bloomsbury, 2015). Ashamed, be. See Shame. Astonished / Astounded / Amazed, be. Gk. thaumázō (vb.), thaumastόs (n.) (English thaumaturgy); exhístēmi, and ekthambéomai (vbs.). Also, “marvel”: “To be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something” (Bauer 444b–45a). The word occurs often in the NT for those amazed or impressed by things Jesus does (Matt 15:31; Luke

Glossary  391

8:25; John 3:7). The American poet Galway Kinnell concludes his poem “Astonishment” with “Before us, our first task is to astonish / And then, harder by far, to be astonished” (The New Yorker, 23 July 2012; www.newyorker.com/contributors/galway-kinnell). Athanasius.  Lived about 296 to 373. Archbishop of Alexandria and author of the Life of Antony. See “Athanasius I,” CCE, https://ccdl .claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/268/rec/1; CE 298a–302b; ODCC 101b–12a; ODLA 1:170b–72b; LA 320b–21a. For an introduction, see Alvyn Pettersen, Athanasius (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 1995). See Brakke, Athanasius. Attendants. Gk. diakonētḗs (diákonos: deacon), those who attended to a senior monk in a monastery (Lampe 351a). Attention, pay. Gk. prosochḗ (n.), proséchō (vb.): See Concerned, be. Attitude. Gk. logismós. See Thought/s. Awe-inspiring. Gk. thaumastόs. See Astonished. Babylon.  Upper Babylon is “the oldest part of the city of Cairo .  .  . situated on the east bank of the Nile, to some extent on the border between Upper and Lower Egypt .  .  .  . In late antiquity ‘Babylon’ designated the settled country between Heliopolis and the Roman fortress situated to the south” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/289/rec/2; CE 317a–23b). Bandit. Gk. lēstḗs. Bauer 594a correctly points out that lēstḗs, etymologically connected with the word for “booty, spoils,” does not mean a simple thief: “robber, highwayman, bandit,” “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla.” The old translation of thief for lēstḗs is inaccurate; some of them were, as we say, freedom-fighters. The Roman state executed Jesus as a lēstḗs. So Jesus was crucified not with two thieves but with two bandits/insurrectionists (Matt 27:38); John 18:40 identifies Barabbas as a bandit. Barbarians.  Nomadic tribes from the west (the Libyan desert), including the Mazices, invaded Scetis a number of times in the 5th and 6th centuries. The first invasion took place in 407–8. See Chitty, Desert, 60–61. “Scetis was raided by barbarians, with destruction of buildings and temporary dispersal of the monks, in 407, 434, and 444” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1715/rec/3; CE 2102–6a). For a good discussion, see Evelyn-White, Monasteries, 2:150–67. See Patrick J. Geary, “Barbarian Migrations,” LA 107–29, and “Barbarians, Roman attitudes to,” LA 334b–35a.

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Basil.  Basil (the Great) lived roughly from 330 to 379, bishop of ­Caesarea in Asia Minor (now Turkey) and famous monastic founder. See ODLA 1:217b–20a; ODCC 166a–67a. Bear. Gk. bastázō is the word in John 19:17 for bearing the cross. In the parable of the laborers and the vineyard (Matt 20:1-16), some of the workers complain that they have “borne [bastázō] the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” See Support. Be at peace. Gk. anápausis: See Inward stillness. Beg. Gk. parakaléō: See Entreat. Believe. Gk. pisteúō, cognate with pístis, “faith, trust (in),” “have faith.” See Faith. Beneficial / Benefit. Gk. ōpheléō, “to provide assistance, help aid; benefit, be of use to”; “accomplish” (Bauer 1107b–8a). Having and doing beneficial things and being benefited by something or someone is very important in early monasticism. Beseech. Gk. parakaléō: See Entreat. Bishop.  In the NT, an epískopos (English episcopate) is “one who has the responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it that something is done in the correct way, guardian” (Bauer 379b–80a); episkopéō (vb.) means “to give attention to, look at, take care, see to it,” “to accept responsibility for the care of someone, oversee, care for” (Bauer 379a). See Acts 20:28; Phil 1:1; 1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:7. As Bauer notes, “The ecclesiastical loanword ‘bishop’ is too technical and loaded with late historical baggage for precise signification of usage of epískopos and cognates in our literature, esp. the NT” (379b). See Lampe 532b–34a. “The first witness to monepiscopacy (only one bishop at the head of each local church) is found in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch .  .  .  . By the middle of the second century, the Ignatian type of church order, with a single bishop at the head of each Christian community, was generally observed” (Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 150b–54a, here 151b); see ODLA 1:209b–10b; ODCC 209b–11b; LA 341b–43b. On the Alexandrian episcopacy, see chaps. 2, 5, 9–12 in ­Wipszycka, The Alexandrian Church. See Brakke, Athanasius, esp. 80–141. Monks became bishops quite early, for example, Serapion of Thmuis (bishop mid-4th cent.), but it is uncertain when bishops started to come exclusively from the monasteries, as they do in the Coptic Church today. See Zachary Smith, Philosopher-Monks,

Glossary  393

65–122; he partially concludes, “Travelogues, histories, and monastic sources suggest debates in late antiquity about the relationship between monks and bishops in Egypt. Taken together, the texts present a muddled view of the relationship between monks and ecclesiastical authorities in Egypt.” See EM 1:154a–55b. See Griggs, Early Egyptian Christianity, 79–115. For a detailed focus on Egypt, see Davis, Early Coptic Papacy, esp. 43–84. See also “Monasticism, monks” in his Index, 249a. Bishoy, Abba.  Pshoi in Coptic and Paḯsios in Greek. A fourth- to fifthcentury Egyptian monk who gathered a community around him in Scetis. See Vivian and Mikhail, The Life of Bishoi. He does not have any sayings in the AlphAP or SysAP. See “Pshoi of Scetis,” CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1631/rec/6; CE 2028b–29a. Black man. See Ethiopian(s). Blessed. Gk. makários: Often used to pun on the name of Macarius of Egypt. Each verse of the Beatitudes, Matt 5:3-11, begins with Makárioi (“Blessed”; the translation “Happy” is an abomination). Blessing. Gk. eulogía: Blessing has a wide range of meanings: “blessing as a mark of favour bestowed by God” (Lampe 569b(B)), “blessing, gift, benefit” (569b(B4)), “gift of blessed bread, in early times the Eucharist itself sent to absent members, and to bishops in other parts as a pledge of unity” (570a(E)) and, probably here, bread “blessed separately and distributed in church as panis benedictus, pain bénit” (570a(E2)). Body. Gk. sȏma: In Matt 6:25 Jesus is proto-monastic: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Paul speaks of the body of sin (Rom 6:6) and this body of death (7:24), but also What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body (1 Cor 15:42-44). In the AlphAP the monks usually view the body negatively, but áskēsis, ascetic practice, at its best works with body, mind, soul, and spirit, the whole person. See Coon, “The Architecture of the Ascetic Body,” in Kaczynski, The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 51–65.

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Book(s).  David Frankfurter notes, “monasteries represented social sites of Christianization that were distinctively textual—that is, distinctively interactive with books” (Christianizing Egypt, 190). The monks had varying views about books, and their efficacy—or lack thereof; for example, see AlphAP Bessarion 12 (Sayings 1:194–95), Ephraim 2 (1:232), Epiphanius 8 (1:229), Euprepius 7 (1:239), Serapion 2 in this volume. As Burton-Christie notes, “there was a genuine ambivalence in the desert toward possessing and reading books. In a predominantly oral culture, books were seen by many as presenting a threat to the spiritual life proclaimed by Scripture.” See Burton-Christie, “The Written Word,” in Word, 111–14; here, 111. See Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 92–93. The Life of Antony portrays Antony as illiterate: 1.1 (p. 57), 72.1 (p. 209), and 73.3 (p. 211). But see R ­ ubenson, Antony, Letters. In Arabic AlphAP Antony 20, Antony advises “If you sit in your cell, don’t neglect these things: reading books, beseeching God, and working with your hands.” See Agaiby and Vivian, Door of the Wilderness, 124. There is no mention of books in Greek AlphAP Antony. See “Libraries, monastic, Eastern,” ODLA 2:909b; “Libraries, monastic, Western,” 909b–10a; “Monastic Libraries and Eclectic Scribes,” “Monastic Settings of Scribal Mediation” in Frankfurter, Christianizing Egypt, 190–92, 192–97; LA 345b–47b. See Apocryphal texts. Bother. Gk. tarássō: See Disturb. Bread.  Bread, with salt, was the main part of the monastic diet. See Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 65–69. Bread, dried. Gk. paximátion or paximádion: In Lausiac History 22.6 (p. 78), “Paul the Simple,” the loaves of dry bread weigh six ounces each; Antony, “who had adopted a way of life more severe than he had ever practiced in his younger days,” moistens one to eat and gives three to his hungry guest, who has not eaten in three days. Life of Antony 12.4 (p. 89) states that Antony lays away “enough bread for six months (those from the Thebaid do this, and often the bread is stored for even an entire year without harm).” Call / call on. Gk. parakaléō: See Entreat. Canopus.  A “city located on the northern coast of the western Delta, 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Alexandria .  .  .  . Rufinus [ca. 345– 411] (Historia ecclesiastica 2.26–27) relates that in his day (second half of the fourth century) the Egyptian god Serapis still held sway

Glossary  395

in Canopus .  .  .  . Jerome relates that monks from the monasteries of Pachomius settled in Canopus and followed the Pachomian rule .  .  .  . In order to avoid the pagan associations evoked by the name Canopus, the monks changed the name of their dwelling to Monastery of the Metanoia” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce/id/1329/rec/1; CE 31b–32a). This monastery was probably outside of, not in, Canopus. AlphAP Arsenius 42 (Sayings 1:145) says that he spent three years in Canopus but does not specify this monastery. Careful watch. Gk. phylakḗ: See Protect / Protection. Carry. Gk. bastázō: See Bear. Catechumen. Gk. katēchéō (Lampe 732–33a) and related words: In the early church the catechumenate became a rigorous and lengthy time of instruction (katḗchisis, 733a). The catechumenate could last up to three years, and catechumens left the church before the Eucharist began. See Luke 1:4; Acts 21:24; 1 Cor 14:19; Gal 6:6. See Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 185–86; New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia), https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03430b.htm. The vb. occurs only once in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:55; Wortley, Book, 37): X.176.2 (AlphAP Mios 3). Cause to sin. Gk. skandalízō: See Scandalize. Cell. Gk. kéllion, monastḗrion, monḗ: Today a cell imprisons a person or hides terrorists; for the early monastics a cell could set a person free, liberate him or her. See Regnault, “Life in the Cell,” in ­Day-to-Day Life, 82–95; Brooks Hedstrom, “The Archaeology of Monastic Households,” in Kaczynski, The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 185–203; and Brooks Hedstrom, Monastic Landscape, esp. 125–31. “The cell symbolizes the work of the soul. Like the desert, it is not merely a place; it is a profound way of the spirit .  .  .  . The reality of the cell should spill over into the reality of our life. The boundaries of our cell are gradually expanded to include every moment in our life and every detail in our world” (Chryssavgis, In the Heart, 42–43. See Moses 6, Poemen 168. See Keller, Oasis, chap. 4, pp. 47–61. Cells, the. See Kellia. Cenobium. Gk. koinóbion, “common life.” A monastic community where the monks lived together, “cenobites” (as opposed to anchorites and semi-anchorites) under an abbot and a Rule. See Pachomius. See Vivian, “Anchorites, Semi-Anchorites, and Cenobites,” in

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Vivian, “Origins,” 493–98. See Michael Casey, Coenobium: Reflections on Monastic Community, MW 64 (Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2021). Chalcedon.  The Council of Chalcedon took place in 451. Its history, and the Christological fisticuffs and even bloodshed that took place there, is complex. See ODCC 315ab; Young, From Nicaea to Chalcedon. “The Council issued a Definition, affirming the authority of the three previous councils, and affirmed that in Christ there are two perfect natures, divine and human .  .  .  . The definition resulted in a schism in the East between those who maintained that the council had betrayed Cyril in affirming a duality of natures, and those who believed that it had upheld his teaching” (ODLA 1:314ab). See “Chalcedonian, Definition of,” ODCC 315ab. See “Miaphysite,” ODLA 2:1016b–17a; “Monophysitism,” ODCC 1104b–1105b); 10 LA 369a–70b. While the majority in Egypt were Miaphysite, the majority in Palestine embraced the Chalcedonian Definition. Thus Gelasius 4 (Sayings 1:206–8) clearly shows a Palestinian setting. Cilicia.  Cilicia Prima and Secunda were “Provinces of southeast ­Anatolia” (the peninsula of Asia Minor) in the Diocese of Oriens. The area was evangelized early (Paul was from there; see Acts 21:39; 22:3), and “Numerous bishops from the region attended the Council of Nicaea in 325” (ODLA 1:45ab). See Gal 1:21; Acts 6:9. Clement.  Clement of Alexandria (ca. 150–ca. 215), a theologian, “agreed with the Gnostics in holding ‘gnosis,’ religious knowledge or illumination, to be the chief element in Christian perfection.11 But for him the only true ‘gnosis’ was that which presupposed the faith of the Church” (ODCC 303ab). See Quasten, Patrology, 2:5–36, and Behr, Asceticism and Anthropology. Cloak. See Clothing, monastic. Clothing, monastic.  The sources, written and pictorial, are often not clear or consistent about monastic dress. See Coquin, “À propos des vêtements des moines égyptiens”; Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 51–60; Tovar, “Terminology.”

10. “Monophysite” and “Monophysitism” are derogatory terms for the Coptic Orthodox Church and others; thus, scholars now use Miaphysite. 11. See “Gnosticism,” ODCC 683b–85a. See Bauer 203b–4a for NT occurrences; Paul uses the term frequently.

Glossary  397

Coat. Gk. melόtē: See Innemée, Ecclesiastical Dress: “The melote is used as a traveling-coat which one takes off at arrival” (106–7). Combatant. See War. Comes. Gk. deílēs: “Although often translated as ‘count,’ the root meaning of comes is ‘companion,’ an allusion to proximity to the emperor. As such it was a term which had long been used informally to refer to those who accompanied the emperor when travelling. In Late Antiquity, however, it became a formal title for a range of offices associated with the imperial court, most prominently” financial offices. “A specifically military usage also emerged (Comes Rei Militaris), referring to officers commanding detachments of the field army” (ODLA 1:375a). Comfort. Gk. parakaléō (vb.): In John 14:16 Jesus tells the disciples that he will send “another Paraclete [paráklētos],” usually translated “advocate,” “intercessor,” or “spokesman”; “comforter, consoler” (Lampe 1018b); Bauer 766ab: “mediator, intercessor, helper.” In Matt 2:18 and 5:4, in the context of mourning, the vb. means “comforted.” Lampe 1017a also has “summon, exhort.” A paráklētos originally meant a person “called to one’s aid” (literally “called [kaléō] to one’s side [pará]” (LSJ 1313a). Also “appeal to” and “call on,” “summon,” “entreat.” Command / Commandment. Gk. entolḗ (n.) and entéllō / entéllomai (vb.) occur fifty-six and six times, respectively, in the SysAP (Guy, 3:317b). See Exod 15:26; Isa 48:18; Matt 22:38-40. Community. Gk. tópos: See Place. Compassion. Gk. eleéō (vb.), éleos/eleḗmōn (n.): translated in the literature (usually) as “mercy,” “have mercy on,” but the words also mean “compassion,” “have compassion for” (Bauer 315b and 316ab); I usually use the latter. I am not clear on the distinctions in Greek between eleéō, éleos/eleḗmōn (“mercy”) and splanchnízomai (vb.), “have compassion,” of Jesus, see Matt 14:14; Luke 7:13; Mark 6:34. Bauer 938b points out that splánchnon / splánchna initially means “the inward parts of a body, including esp. the viscera, inward parts, entrails,” and continues, “as often in the ancient world, inner body parts served as referents for psychological aspects .  .  . of the seat of the emotions, in our usage a transference is made to the rendering ‘heart.’ ” See Matt 9:27; 15:22; 18:27; 20:29-34; Rom 12:8. See Matt 9:36 (When he saw the crowds, he had compassion [splanchnízomai] for them because they were harassed and helpless).

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See AnonAP 281–89 (Wortley, Anonymous, 187–95); BurtonChristie, Word, “Compassion,” 282–87. Simone Weil’s understand­ ing “of compassion, and love of one’s neighbor, had much in common with those of the rabbis of the Talmud, for whom charity, tzedakah, was the most important of all the commandments.  .  .  . compassion is intimately linked with that act of looking [prosochḗ; see Concerned], of paying attention. Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity, she writes.” 12 A tzaddik, a righteous person, is thus one who has compassion—and gives to others. See Righteous/Just (díkaios). Concerned, Be. Gk. proséchō has a wide variety of meanings in the NT apposite here: “be concerned about, care for, take care,” with the reflexive pronoun, as here, “be careful, be on one’s guard,” “pay close attention to, give heed to” (Bauer 879b–80a). It occurs numerous times in the LXX; see Deut 4:9: But take care and watch yourselves closely. See Acts 20:28 and Luke 17:3. Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:418ab, lists seventy occurrences in the SysAP. Conclude. Gk. logízomai: See Thoughts. Confidence. Gk. parrēsía is a linguistic mixed bag: “freedom of speech, free speaking, frankness”; “power, faculty, liberty” (see Montanari II:1590b). It and its cognate vb. parrēsiázomai are positive in the NT: in addition to the meanings above, it can also mean “courage, confi­ dence, boldness, fearlessness” (Bauer 781b). But the word can also mean “license, [over-]confidence, impudence” (Montanari II:1590b). Parrēsía is an important virtue in the NT, in John and Paul especially, and passed into monasticism: “a use of speech that conceals nothing and passes over nothing, outspokenness, frankness, plainness,” “a state of boldness and confidence, courage, fearlessness” (Bauer 781ab). Lampe offers a very important further definition: “strictly given only to souls in higher stages of spiritual life” (II.iii(f)). Paul uses the term often: 2 Cor 3:12; 7:4; Phil 1:20; Phlm 8, and in the Pauline or deutero-Pauline Eph 3:12; 6:19. Burton-Christie, Word, 110, says that “freedom of speech [parrēsía] .  .  . characterized the elders of the desert and the authority their words enjoyed.” See Merton, “Free Speech (Parrhesia),” in Merton, The New Man, 71–98. 12. Sylvie Weil, Introduction to Simone Weil, Awaiting God: A New Translation of Attente de Dieu and Lettre à un Religieux, trans. Bradley Jersak (Abbots­ ford, BC, Canada: Fresh Wind Press, 2012), 5.

Glossary  399

Conscience-stricken. See Contrition. Consider. See Thoughts. Constantine.  “The Great” (d. 337) became emperor in 312. He legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire. See ODLA 1:383b–87a, ODCC 405a–6a; LA 389b–91a. See Jonathan Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012); H. A. Drake, Constantine and the Bishops: The Politics of Intolerance, Ancient Society and History (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins, 2002); Noel Lenski, ed., The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006). Constantius.  Constantius II (317–361): Caesar 324 onwards, Augustus 337–61. See ODLA 1:405a–6b. Contemplation. Gk. theōría < theoréō, literally “seeing,” “beholding” (English theory, theorize): In the NT, “to come to the understanding of something, notice, perceive, observe, find” (Bauer 454b (2)); see Acts 17:22; John 4:19. Later, the higher level of ascetic practice, gained through hesychía, “contemplative quiet,” “quiet contemplation”; meditation whose goal is union with God. See Lampe 648a– 49b, “spiritual contemplation, not always to be distinguished from philosophical contemplation” (648a(C)), “of visions of prophets and apostles” (649a(D)). Contemplative quiet. Gk. hēsychía (English hesychast, hesychasm): Contemplative quiet, outer and inner silence and peace; live a life of contemplative quiet, hēsycházō. Hēsychía is a key monastic term and concept, and a word difficult to capture in English (in his translations John Wortley leaves it transliterated): “silence, of God prior to the revelation of his mysteries”; “tranquility, quiet, as a state of the soul necessary for contemplation”; “tranquility as a state of separation from the world = solitude” (Lampe 609ab). In the NT see (vb.) 1 Thess 4:11, and (n.) 2 Thess 3:12, although the words in the NT do not reflect later developments. On hēsychía see SysAP II:1–35 (Guy, Apophtegmes, 1:124–47; Wortley, Book, 15–24); AnonAP 133–43 (Wortley, Anonymous, 93–99). See Gould, Desert Fathers, 167–77, esp. 171–77, for a good discussion of hēsychía vis-à-vis personal and communal relationships. In chapter 7, “Silence and Tears,” In the Heart of the Desert, 45–51, John Chryssavgis translates hēsychía as “silence.” In Sayings 1 and this volume the translation of anápausis is “inward stillness.”

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The two terms and “silence” are triplets or, with a different metaphor, a three-legged stool: removing one leg makes the stool unusable—or, as the monks and Chryssavgis say, makes life unlivable. “Silence,” Chryssavgis points out, “is a way of waiting [see hypomonḗ, Patient endurance], a way of watching [phylakḗ, see Protect], and a way of listening [prosochḗ, Attention] to what is going on within and around us. It is a way of interiority, of stopping and then of exploring the cellars of the heart and the center of life” (45, emphases his).13 He adds, “Words are ways of affirming our existence, of justifying our actions. We speak in order to excuse ourselves, within ourselves and before others, whereas silence is a way of dying—within ourselves and in the presence of others. It is a way of surrendering life, always in the context and in the hope of new life and resurrection” (46). See “Hesychasm,” EM 1:586a–87b; see Keller, Oasis, chap. 6, 78–94. Contend. Gk. agōnízomai: See Fight. Contrition. Gk. katánuxis, often translated “compunction” (Lat. compungere, “severely sting, prick,” English puncture), “stung to the heart.” See Pricked. The base meaning of katanússomai (vb.) is “to sting, prick, goad,” and the cognate adjective katanuktikós can indicate a “piercing bird song,” then “causing compunction, heartsearching,” so I have used the metaphor “stung to the heart” to capture the sense. In patristic Greek, katanússomai can specifically indicate “of moving to repentance.” Its n., katánuxis, means “compunction,” so “stab of conscience” and “conscience-stricken” are good (all Lampe 713a). See SysAP III.1–56 (Guy, Apophtegmes, 1:25–37; Wortley, Book, 25–37) and AnonAP 519–50 (Wortley, Anonymous, 353–75). Control/Get control of. Gk. enkratḗs: “self-control” or “moderation” (often translated “abstinence”). Enkratḗs and enkráteia are key monastic terms; see Self-control. On enkráteia see SysAP IV.1–104 (Guy, Apophtegmes, 1:184–239; Wortley, Book, 38–58). Co-operation. Gk. synergía (English synergy), literally “working together.” See Work. 13. See also nȇpsis, “vigilance, alertness” (Lampe 913b(5)).

Glossary  401

Copt / Coptic.  “It should be noted that contemporary Copts’ venerable and linguistic and religious heritages have influenced our use of the term for the period of late antiquity, although there was no designation then. Copt is an anglicized version of the Arabic Qibt, which was itself a variant of the Greek Aigyptios, meaning, simply, Egyptian” (LA 395a–96b, here 395a). See “Coptic (language)” and “­Coptic Church,” ODCC 416ab and 416b–17a; “Coptic Language, Spoken,” CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce /id/520/rec/15; CE 604a–7a. Counsel.  Literally, “Tell me a word [lógos].” See Spiritual Guidance. Cross.  Make the Sign of the Cross, Gk. sphragízō (vb.), sphragís (n.) “sign, seal”: The earliest examples that Lampe (1354b[B]) adduces for making the Sign of the Cross are The Acts of John and The Acts of Matthew (ca. 260–ca. 339), but in The Acts of Paul and Thecla 22, possibly as early as 100 CE, Thecla, about to be martyred (God rescues her), “having made the sign of the cross .  .  . went up on the pile [of wood, to be burned].” 14 Eusebius (d. 339) writes, in Demonstratio evangelica 7:14, “it is the custom for us to be sealed with the sign of Christ”; Life of Antony 13.5 by Athanasius (d. 373): “But you—cross yourselves and go away strengthened and encouraged, and leave the demons to deceive themselves. So they went away, protected by the sign of the cross” (pp. 89, 91). See also 13.5 (p. 91), 23.4 (p. 113), 79.4 (p. 227), and 80 (pp. 225, 227); Tertullian (ca. 160–ca. 225), De corona 3: “At every forward step and movement, at every going in and out, .  .  . in all the ordinary actions of daily life, we trace upon the forehead the sign.” “Cross,” staurós, occurs only eleven times in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:428, “Index des mots Grecs”). In his First Apology 55, Justin Martyr (ca. 100–ca. 165) asks whether “all things in the universe .  .  . could be governed or held together in fellowship without this figure [that is, the cross]. For the sea cannot be traversed unless the sign of victory, which is called a sail, remain fast in the ship.” In Apology 55 Justin does not use staurós, but context makes it clear that the cross is what he is alluding to in several places, and

14. Fathers of the Church, New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers /0126.htm.

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the translator of The First Apology 55 is justified in glossing “it” prior to the quotation above with “[the cross].” See The First Apology of Justin, the Martyr, trans. Edward Rochie Hardy, in Cyril C. Richardson, ed., Early Christian Fathers (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953), 1:278. See New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org /fathers/0126.htm (unknown translator). I wish to thank Rick ­Kennedy for this reference. The locus classicus for the hero bound to a mast is in Odyssey Book 12; see “The Mast that is the Cross,” in Rahner, Greek Myths, 371–90. As Rahner notes, 371–72, “If in the course of time Christians regarded the mast to which the immortal seafarer [Odysseus] was bound as a symbol of the cross, they were by no means guilty of any forced or arbitrary association of ideas, nor would their pagan predecessors or contemporaries who sailed these same Mediterranean waters in the same kind of ships ever have accused them of that.” Cyril of Alexandria.  Patriarch of Alexandria (412–444), “one of the most powerful churchmen of his age, and a sublime theologian known especially for his exposition of Christology” (ODLA 1:444b, here 444b–45b). CCE, “Cyril I, Saint,” https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/553/rec/1; CE 671b–75b; ODCC 443a– 44a; LA 403b–4b. Deacon. Gk. diákonos. See Diaconate. Deceitful One. See Satan. Deed. Gk. érgon. See Work. Demon(s).  Gk. daimónion, “spirit, power, hostile divinity, evil spirit,” occurs over fifty times in the NT (Bauer 210ab), and daímōn, “evil spirit, demon,” six times (Bauer 210b–11a). The vb. daimōnízomai, “be possessed by an evil spirit,” fourteen times; see Mark 5:18; Luke 8:36. SysAP: daimónion, four times; daímōn, 145; daimōnízomai, nine (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:294ab). The subject of demons and early monasticism is vast. In Life of Antony 21–44 (pp. 107–51), Antony gives a long discourse on the Devil and demons. As Gould notes, Desert Fathers, 173, “[AlphAP] Isaac [the Theban 2] shares with Agathon that it is the aim of the demons to distract a monk from prayer [see Agathon 9, Sayings 1:152]—that prayer is, in effect, an extension of combat” (see War). See “Demons,” Index, Sayings 1:347. Michael A. Williams points

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out that in Life of Antony 21.3 (p. 109), Antony quotes Eph 6:12, as does the Gnostic Nag Hammadi text The Hypostasis of the Archons at the beginning of the text, saying that the evil powers’ “chief is blind.” 15 See the role of demons in Evagrius, Praktikos 15–39, 40–62 (pp. 19–26, 27–33). John Eudes Bamberger in Evagrius, Praktikos, 4, notes that of “the hundred chapters that make up the Praktikos, demons are mentioned in sixty-seven.” See his discussion, 4–10. See the work of Evagrius against demons, Antirrhetikos (Refutation) in Guillaumont, Un philosophe, 242–66; Brakke, Talking Back. For an introduction, see Regnault, chap. 14, “Angels and Demons,” in Day-to-Day Life, 174–93; and Jeffrey Burton Russell, Satan, esp. 149–85, chap. 6, “Dualism in the Desert.” See Chryssavgis, In the Heart, 37–39 and, for an insightful understanding, Rousseau, Pachomius, 134–41, esp. 135; Burton-Christie, Word, 200, says that Moses 18 [VI] “suggests that the work of resisting the attacks of the demons had less to do with a strenuous ascetical effort or even with recitation of particular texts from Scripture than with a total release into the arms of God.” See “Demons,” Index, 329. Kathleen Norris provides two good insights for moderns about demons: she wonders “why, if we have effectively banished the word demon, we are still so demon-haunted,” and comments, “A friend who is a monk, a scholar, and, like some contemporary Benedictines, the client of a psychiatrist and a user of psychotropics, once remarked that what we call ‘issues’ the early monks called ‘demons.’ It’s probably not that simple, but I’m tempted to brandish my poetic license and say that he’s right.” 16 Demons figure very prominently in Life of Antony; see especially Life 8, 9, 21–35 (pp. 79, 81–83, 107–37), and the Index, pp. 283–84. See LA 406a–7b. Denigrate. Gk. exouthenéō: see Disdain. Desert / Deserted places. Gk. érēmos, “wilderness” or “desert”: As John Chryssavgis concludes In the Heart of the Desert, 109: “The desert is a profound myth. It is a powerful symbol. These 15. Michael A. Williams, “The ‘Life of Antony’ and the Domestication of Charismatic Wisdom,” JAAR Thematic Studies 48, nos. 3, 4 (1982): 23–45, here 31. The Hypostasis of the Archons, trans. Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Society Library (http://gnosis.org/naghamm/hypostas.html). 16. Norris, Acedia, 131 (emphasis hers), and 33, respectively.

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fourth-century elders are reminders of fundamental truths about our world and ourselves, which we tend to forget and which they translate for all generations through the ages. They should be considered as prophets of another reality—in many ways, the only reality— rather than strange representatives of a remote past or inaccessible examples of former times.” “Wilderness” or “desert” is where humans do not normally live and where demons often are. This is where John the Baptist emerges from, The voice of one crying out in the wilderness [érēmos] (Matt 3:3; Isa 40:3), and where Jesus goes out to a deserted place (Matt 14:13, 15). See Elm, “Virgins of God,” 260; she quotes Origen: the desert is where “the air is more pure, the sky more open, and God more familiar” (Homilies on Luke 1, in Latin). See EM 1:371b–73b, “Desert Fathers”; “Desert Mothers,” 373b– 75a. For modern appreciations see Chryssavgis, “The Desert as Space,” In the Heart of the Desert, 33–36; Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry (New York: Seabury, 1981); Belden C. Lane, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality (Oxford: ­Oxford University Press, 1998), Desert Spirituality and Cultural Resistance: From Ancient Monks to Mountain Refugees (Winnipeg: CMU Press, 2011), and Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014); Stelios Ramfos, Like a Pelican in the Wilderness: Reflections on the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2000); Greg Peters, The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018); Keller, Oasis, 156–65, chap. 10. Desire(s). Gk. epithymía / thélēma can indicate “forbidden or inordinate” desire, “craving, lust” (Bauer 372ab). See Gal 5:17-21. As the great Anglican phrase has it, “the devices and desires of our own hearts.” See Sheridan, “The Desert Was Made a City.” Detachment.  Gk. apotagḗ (n.) / apotássō (vb.): Bauer, apotássō: “say farewell to, take leave of,” “renounce, give up” (123b); see Luke 14:33: So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Lampe: “take leave of, part from,” “renounce, give up” things (see Possessions), the world (see Lampe 226ab); it’s cognate with apotaktikós/ḗ, a male or female “renun-

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ciant,” the proto-monastic village ascetics. See Vivian, “Origins,” 489–91; Goehring, Ascetics, 53–72. Devil. Gk. diábolos: The LXX and NT translation of the OT sātan. Sātan is a judicial term referring to an “accuser,” “slanderer,” “­calumniator,” or “adversary” in court (see Ps 109:6). The NT also uses the transliteration sátanos, which is synonymous with diábolos (see Rev 12:9). Diábolos is rare outside the LXX and the NT. It occurs in Wis 2:23-24, which identifies the serpent of Gen 3 with the Devil (in the NT only at Rev 12:19, 15). Diábolos occurs forty-seven times in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:297a). See ODCC 474b– 75b. See Satan. Diaconate. Gk. diakonía: Deacons were ministers who attended to the needs of the monks and the monasteries, handling such things as money and charitable relief, and caring for the sick, dying, and dead. In Phil 1:1 Paul greets “all the saints,” with the bishops (epískopos) and deacons (diákonos); 1 Tim 3:8-13 lists the qualifications to be a deacon. The terms deacon and diaconate are not prolific in the SysAP, with only fourteen instances for the former and eight for the latter (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:298). Diocletian.  Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. He instituted the last great persecution of the Church, especially in Egypt. See ODLA 1:485b–87; ODCC 482b–83b; CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/742/rec/2; CE 904a–8a. See W. H. C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church: A Study of a Conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, reprint ed., 2014). Discernment. Gk. diákrisis. An older translation is “discretion”; chap. X of the SysAP has 194 sayings, showing the term’s importance (Guy, Apophtegmes, 2:14–134; Wortley, Book, 143–88). It is thus the longest chapter in the systematic collection. Wortley translates diákrisis as discretion, Guy as discernement. In the Copto-Arabic letters of Antony, 62, “Discernment,” Antony teaches, “Therefore beseech the Lord with tears by day and by night to have the spirit of discernment, so that you may abound in every good thing and attain perfection” (Agaiby and Vivian, Door of the Wilderness, 142–43). Discernment is a vital part of monastic practice; the locus classicus is Praktikos 6–14 (pp. 16–20), where Evagrius discusses the eight kinds of evil thoughts, and 15–39 (pp. 20–26) where he

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offers antidotes for them. The discussion of the medicine there is almost twice as long as that for the disease(s)! See esp. Rich, Discernment; Wortley, “Discretion”; Bernadette McNary-Zak, Useful Servanthood: A Study of Spiritual Formation in the Writings of Abba Ammonas, CS 224 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2010), esp. chap. 4, “The Gift of Discernment,” 64–84, and chap. 5, “A Community of Discernment,” 85–108. See AnonAP 216–56 (Wortley, Anonymous, 155–75); Cassian, Conferences 2 (pp. 77–112); and Gould, Desert Fathers, 48–52. Peter Maurain, cofounder with Dorothy Day of The Catholic Worker Movement, defined “discernment” thus: “meeting for the clarification of thought.” 17 See Judge. Disdain/Be disdainful.  Gk. exouthenéō has a striking and cautionary etymology. Outhén is a later variant of oudén, “nothing,” so to be disdainful is to consider someone or something as nothing, which is hubris. Dispirited. Gk. akēdía: See Acedia. Distraction. Gk. perispasmós. The cognate vb. perispáō can mean “to strip away from,” “to drag, pull by force,” “rob, carry off” (­Montanari II:1643b(1)). It is very much like Latin traho / trahere, whose past participle is tractum, as in “tractor.” Thus, in both Greek and Latin, distractions are what pull/drag a person away from God and/or an ascetic/monastic life (áskēsis, politeía). Disturb. Gk. tarássō has a wide range of meanings; in Matt 14:26 the word indicates what the disciples experience (they were terrified) when they see Jesus calm the waters and walk on the water. Bauer 990b–91a offers these synonyms for various biblical passages: “to cause inner turmoil, stir up, disturb, unsettle, throw into confusion.” One can stir up a crowd (Acts 17:8). In the passive voice, the vb. means “be troubled, frightened, terrified” (Matt 2:3; 14:26). Domitius. See Maximus. Dwell. Gk. káthēmai/kathízomai: See Sit. Dyophysite. Gk. dyophysȋtai, “two natures”: “A title given by the Monophysites [that is, Miaphysites] to the Catholics in reference to the belief that in the Person of Christ there coexist the two distinct

17. Quoted by Jim Forest, Writing Straight with Crooked Lines: A Memoir (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2020), 91.

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Natures of God and [human], and not one composite nature” (ODCC 520b). See Nestorius. Eager. Gk. spoudázō has a number of nuances apropos to early monasticism: “hurry, hasten”; “be zealous/eager”; “take pains, make every effort, be conscientious” (Bauer 939ab). See Gal 2:10 and Eph 4:3, among many. Eating early.  The usual meal time for anchorites and semi-anchorites was the ninth hour, about 3 p.m. Ecstasy. Gk. ékstasis (literally “stand out of/away from”) can be positive or negative: “alienation or separation of mind, trance,” or mystical ecstasy, combined with visions. Patristic writers use the term of Adam, Christ, David, the apostles, and martyrs (Lampe 438b–39a). See Gould, Desert Fathers, 177–82, chap. 6.2, “Ecstasy.” See Mystical experience. Edifying. Gk. lógos: See Spiritual Guidance. Effort, make every. Gk. agōnízomai. See Matt 7:13//Luke 13:24 (NIV). See Fight. Egypt. Wipszycka, Second Gift, 9, argues that in “writing about the history of Christianity in Egypt, it is possible—and indeed necessary—to abandon the distinction between Alexandria and Egypt,” but in monastic parlance, “Egypt” usually represents the “civilized” places away from Scetis, the world, that is, Alexandria or Babylon (Old Cairo), or other settled areas. See EM 1:432b–36a. Eighth hour.  The ancients reckoned the beginning of each day at sunup, roughly 6 a.m., depending on the time of the year. The eighth hour, then, was approximately 2 p.m. Elder. Gk. gérōn means “old person,” but a monastic elder need not be old in years but rather mature in his or her way of life. In some sayings it’s clear that the elder is old chronologically, but in most it’s not. See Regnault, chap. 10, “Elders and Disciples,” in Day-toDay Life, 126–38. Eleutheropolis.  “A titular see in Palaestina Prima .  .  .  . Its first known bishop is Macrinus (325); five others are mentioned in the fourth and two in the sixth century .  .  .  . At Eleutheropolis was born St. Epiphanius, the celebrated bishop of Salamis in Cyprus .  .  . he established a monastery which is often mentioned in the polemics

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of St. Jerome with Rufinus and John, Bishop of Jerusalem.18 The city was, moreover, an important monastic centre at least till the coming of the Arabs” (Catholic Encyclopedia [New Advent, https:// www.newadvent.org/cathen/05380a.htm]). Embattled. See War / Wage War. Enaton.  “The Enaton (from the Greek ennéa [‘nine’]) derives its name from its location near the ninth milestone west of Alexandria on the coastal road to Libya. At the beginning of the twentieth century, archaeologists discovered funerary stelae, on which one of the monasteries of the complex appeared, and the remains of a church. As a consequence of those discoveries, the tendency is to locate the Enaton in the neighborhood of the present village of Dikhaylah, on the taenia (coastal strip) separating the sea from the western tongue of Lake Mareotis. But nothing is less certain, and the forceful discussion of the epigraphic data by E. Schwartz in the 1920s shows that Dikhaylah is more likely to be the site of the ancient monastery of the Pempton [that is, at the fifth milestone],19 and that we must look for the Enaton on the taenia but some miles west of Dikhaylah on Kom al-Zujaj. Like other communities on the taenia, the monastery had at its disposal a sea anchorage and access to the lake. These geographical features were favorable to the vitality of economic and religious relations. We must bear them in mind in the light of human factors when we examine the historical role of the Enaton,” CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce /id/784/rec/1; CE 954b–58b. Endurance. Gk. hypomonḗ: See Patience / Patient Endurance. Enemy, the. Gk. ho echthrós, that is, Satan, the Devil. Echthrós carries “hateful, hatred, hostile” with it (Lampe 187b.2(5)). Echthrós as an appellation of the Devil does not occur in the NT; Acts 13:10 comes close when Paul there says to a magician, “You son of the devil, you enemy [echthré] of all righteousness.” Echthrós occurs eightytwo times in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:334ab). “Enemies” can mean the demons but can also be generic. A modern reader

18. For Epiphanius’s AlphAP sayings, see Sayings 1:225–31. 19. CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1544/rec/1; CE 1931ab.

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should be aware that a monastic listener or reader would easily make the connection between “enemy” and the “Enemy,” as the NRSV translates Matt 6:13, And do not bring us to the time of trial, / but rescue us from the evil one (ho pónērós). See Jeffrey Burton Russell, Satan, esp. 149–85. Entreat. Gk. parakaléō: “call to one’s side,” “call upon for help,” “appeal to, request, implore, entreat” (Bauer 765b–66a). See Comfort. Equanimity. Gk. anápausis: See Inward Stillness. Ethiopian(s).  The belief that the Devil and demons took the form of Ethiopians was common in early monastic literature; as Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, points out, “The form [that the Devil] appears to like best is that of an Ethiopian man or woman whose dark skin evokes the black tint of malice” (187); see Arsenius 32–33 (Sayings 1:133–35); Heraclius 1 (1:258–60) and Moses 3, 4 in this volume. See Brian Noell, “Race in Late-Antique Egypt: Moses the Black and Authentic Historical Voice,” Eras Journal (https://www.monash .edu/arts/philosophical-historical-international-studies/eras/past -editions/edition-six-2004-november/race-in-late-antique-egypt -moses-the-black-and-authentic-historical-voice), and the notes at the end for further resources. See “Nubia,” LA 613b–15a; ODLA 2:1089ab. Euchites.  “Messalians, also known as Euchites, a pietistic mendicant sect. Their name is derived from a Syrian word which, like the corresponding Greek [euchȋtai < euchḗ, “prayer”], means ‘praying people.’ They appear to have originated in Mesopotamia after the middle of the fourth c. and to have spread to Syria, Asia Minor, Thrace, etc., and later to Egypt .  .  .  . They survived .  .  . down to the 7th c. They held that in consequence of Adam’s sin, everyone had a demon substantially attached with their soul, and that this demon, which was not expelled by Baptism, was completely liberated only by constant and ceaseless prayer” (ODCC 1075a). Eusebius.  Eusebius of Caesarea (ca. 260–ca. 339): “Biblical exegete, Christian apologist in the era of the Great Persecution, author of various historical and geographical works, and (from ca. 313) Bishop of Caesarea of Palestine” (ODLA 1:565b–67b, here 565b; see ODCC 574a–75a). He is best known for his Ecclesiastical (or Church) History, Life of Constantine, and Demonstration of the Gospel; all are online. See LA 438b.

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Evil one. Gk. ho ponērós can mean “evil” or “the evil one.” See the end of the Lord’s Prayer at Matt 6:13: “And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.” See Enemy. Exile. Gk. xeniteía: See Tithoës 3. See Stranger. Faith. Gk. pístis. NT: “faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment,” “trust, confidence, faith” (Bauer 818b–20b); Matt 23:23; 1 Thess 1:8. For a discussion of faith and Paul, see N. T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013), 75– 195. The cognate vb. pisteúō means “to have faith in,” “trust,” “­believe in,” much more than believe a set of propositions. See Faithful. Faithful. Gk. pistós has biblical resonance. It can mean “trustworthy, dependable, inspiring trust/faith,” and, with emphasis on its cognate pístis, “trust, faith,” it can refer to a person of faith or to God “as the one in whom we can have full confidence” (Bauer 820b–21b). See Faith. Falsely accuse.  Gk. sykophantéō: see Slander. Fast / Fasting / To fast. Gk. nēsteúō (vb.), nēsteía (n.): For an introduction to monastic fasting, see Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 61–65; on fasting and hospitality, see Gould, Desert Fathers, 142–49. See especially Shaw, Burden of the Flesh. On Fasting by Tertullian (ca. 160–ca. 220) “reveals voluntary fasting until the ninth hour [about 3 p.m., a common monastic practice] on Wednesdays and Fridays at Carthage by the early third century” (Finn, “Gospel Asceticism,” 23). A section of the Didascalia, probably 3rd century, speaks of “an evening meal of bread, salt, and water” during Lent (Finn, 24). This, often with vegetables, comprised the common early-monastic meal. Finn, 24, asks, “What did fasting mean for most Christians? For many it expressed a sinner’s humility before God, something early Christianity owed to its ­Jewish roots. Fasting was a part of humble prayer. In Letter to the Corinthians (1 Clement) at the end of the first century, Clement of Rome “twice uses the phrase ‘fasting and humility’ and links it to how Moses and, separately, Esther ‘win salvation from God for the Jewish people’ ” (Finn, 24).20 Citing Judith Lieu, Finn notes, 26, 20. See New Advent, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm.

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that “ ‘in Athenagoras [2nd cent.] asceticism becomes an intrinsic part of Christian self-presentation.’ ” 21 See Krawiec, “Asceticism.” See Ascetic activity. Father.  A spiritual father. The term also hearkens back to the father-son advice in the Wisdom literature of the HB. See Gould, Desert ­Fathers, 26–87. Fayyum.  “The capital of the province of Fayyum. In ancient Egypt the city, then named after the crocodile god Sebek (Greek Suchus), was an island in a lake called Moeris (now Birkat Qarun). The Romans called the city Crocodilopolis, and its name in Coptic was eiom (sea), probably because of the size of Lake Moeris, which surrounded the city. In Greek the city was known as Arsinoites, so named after Arsinoë, the wife of Ptolemy II. “Arsinoë / Fayyum had a bishop as early as the middle of the third century, when Nepos administered the city. Monasticism made an early entry into the area. Saint Antony visited monks in the Fayyum and John Moschos wrote at the beginning of the seventh century that the place was a thriving monastic center” (Pratum Spirituale 44, 71).22 (CCE, “Fayyum, City of,” https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/845/rec/8; CE 1100ab). See also CCE, “Monasteries of the Fayyum” (https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce/id/1363/rec/2; CE 1650b–51b); “Arsinoe and ­Arsinoite nome,” ODLA 1:148b–49a; CCE, “Fayyum, City of,” https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/845/rec/8; CE 1100ab; LA 448ab. Fear / Be frightened. Gk. phóbos (n.), phobéomai (vb.), English ­phobia: The fear of God or the Lord is a common theme in both the HB and NT: Exod 18:21; Deut 6:24; 31:12-13; Ps 112:1; Matt 10:28; Luke 1:50; 2 Cor 7:1; and 1 Pet 2:17. See Gould, Desert Fathers, 62–63, 90–91. As Gould notes, 91, “The fear of God, for the Desert Fathers, was generally a positive quality, a means to the attainment of virtue.” Fearlessly / Speak freely. Gk. parrēsía: See Confidence.

21. Lieu, Christian Identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman World (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 202. 22. Moschos, The Spiritual Meadow, 35, 54.

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Fight. Gk. agōnízomai (vb.) (English, agony, antagonist): As in Paul, early Christianity uses athletic metaphors. Originally, an agṓn was “a place of contest, the arena,” then “a contest for a prize at the games” (see Phil 3:14), then generally “any struggle, trial, or danger” (LSJ 18b–19a). Early monastics used these athletic metaphors to connote spiritual struggle, engagement, in the spiritual life. Also: struggle. Fighter. Gk. agōnistḗs: See Fight. Flee. Gk. pheúgō has important biblical and spiritual meanings. Bauer 1052ab gives three apposite definitions: (1) “to seek safety in flight, flee” (Matt 26:56, where the disciples desert Jesus and flee); (2) “to become safe from danger by eluding it or avoiding it, escape” (Mark 14:52); (3) “to keep from doing something by avoiding it because of its potential damage, flee from, avoid, shun” (1 Cor 6:18: shun fornication!). See John the Eunuch 3. One can connect monastic flight with detachment (apotagḗ). As John Chryssavgis emphasizes, “Detachment is not the inability to focus on things, material or other; it is the spiritual capacity to focus on all things, material or other, without attachment. It is primarily something spiritual; it is an attitude of life. And in this respect, detachment is ongoing, requiring continual refinement .  .  .  . There are stages in detachment that one undergoes in the desert. Detachment resembles the shedding of a number of coats of skin .  .  . until our inner vision becomes keen .  .  .  . Finally, detachment signifies letting go of our very being. It is a sign of humility, which in the desert is treasured ‘above all virtues.’ ” 23 Flesh. Gk. sárx (n.), sarkikόs (adj.): See Bauer 914b–16b. Lampe 115a–16a says that the term can be neutral but can also mean “carnal,” that is, “worldly” and “sensual” (as opposed to the spiritual); moderns often misconstrue the word as having to do with sex. Sarkikós and sárx figure prominently in Paul’s writing. The NRSV translates the former as either “material,” belonging to the physical realm (Rom 15:27; 1 Cor 9:11), or “(merely) human” (1 Cor 3:4; 2 Cor 10:4). Rom 7:7-25, here 7:17: For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I

23. Chryssavgis, In the Heart, 69–73, here 69, 73. See John the Little 22.

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cannot do it. See 2 Cor 10:4 (the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds) and 3:3 (or you are still fleshly. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not fleshly and behaving according to human inclinations?). See Mark 8:33//Matt 16:23, Jesus to Peter: you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things. John Chryssavgis continues what Jesus says: “It appears that the desert treats the body harshly; but in fact, the emphasis is on shedding the excess layers, on getting rid of the dead layers, which they define as ‘flesh’ ” (Chryssavgis, In the Heart, 82). The metaphor “getting rid of one’s baggage” captures the sense. Follow. Gk. akolouthéō (English acolyte): In the NT akolouthéō can mean “to follow someone as a disciple, be a disciple” (Bauer 36b– 37a); see Matt 9:9; Mark 1:18; Luke 5:40, 43. Foreigner. See Stranger. Forty.  “Forty” is a highly symbolic number in the HB, NT, and early Christianity. Days: Gen 7:1–8:12 (the Flood); Exod 24:9-18 (Moses on the Mount); Matt 4:1-11//Mark 1:12-13//Luke 4:1-13 (the Temptation of Jesus); Acts 4:1-4 (Jesus’ resurrection appearance to the apostles). Years: Exod 16:31-36 (Manna in the Wilderness); Acts 7:30-34 (Moses and the Burning Bush); Heb 3:7-19 (God’s anger at Israel). Fourth hour.  The ancients reckoned the beginning of each day at sunup, roughly 6 a.m., depending on the time of the year. The fourth hour, then, was approximately 10 a.m. Free (from the passions). Gk. apátheia, “without the passions.” See Apatheia and Passion/s. Fulfill. Gk. plērόō: “to make full, fill”; “fill (up), complete”; “complete, finish”; “fulfill” (Bauer 827b–29b). See Matt 1:22; 3:13-15; Rom 13:8. Fulfill, wanting to.  Gk. tēréō: Often used in “keeping the word” (tēréō + lógos), or commandment. See Matt 19:17, where Jesus says, If you want to enter life, keep [tēréō] the commandments. In the NT, tēréō has a number of meanings: “keep watch over, guard”; “keep, hold, reserve, preserve”; “keep, observe, fulfill, pay attention to” (Bauer 1002ab). See especially John 15:9: If you keep [tēréō] my commandments.” See Protect.

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Gain. Gk. kerdaínō (vb.), kérdos (n.); ktáomai (vb.): Gain “moral and spiritual benefit, advantage” (Lampe 748a). In the NT a person gains his or her neighbor for the kingdom of God (Matt 18:15; 1 Cor 9:19-22; Phil 3:8; 1 Pet 3:1) or gains Christ or makes Christ one’s own (Phil 3:8) (Bauer 541a (1b)). It can also mean “keeping, fulfilling commandments” (Lampe 545b). See Fulfill, wanting to, and Protect. See Gould, Desert Fathers, 93–95. Galatia.  A province in central-western Anatolia; Ancyra (modern ­Ankara in Turkey) was its principal city. The apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians shows a church there by the mid-first century. “Christianization was well advanced by the 4th century, as appears with disputes with the Montanist movement” (ODLA 1:634b).24 Gift. Gk. eulogía. The basic meaning is “blessing, blessing as a mark of favor bestowed by God,” then “benefit, gift”; see Rom 15:29; Gal 3:14. In the Eucharist, it means “consecration” and thence “gift of blessed bread” (Lampe 569a–70b). Eulogia is still passed out regularly at the end of the Coptic eucharistic liturgy, and the term ­eulogia is used, especially by the younger clergy, but luqmat baraka, “blessed bread,” the Arabic equivalent, also occurs frequently and is normative with the older generation. There is a great deal of evidence that monks received a ration/measure of wine as part of their weekly supplies well into the 8th century, but it is not clear that it was part of the eulogia in the 4th–5th centuries; it is not part of the eulogia today or for some time, perhaps because of Muslim criticism. Wine also appears as a normative aspect of the monastic table in Egypt at least until the 11th century. My thanks to Maged S. A. Mikhail for this information. Give an Account. Gk. diēgéomai: See Recount. Glory/Glorify. Gk. dóxa (n.), doxázō (vb.) (English doxology): In the NT dóxa can mean “fame, recognition, renown, honor, prestige” (Bauer 256b–58a), but it and its cognate vb. doxázō often mean “to praise, honor, extol” God the Father and “glorify” the Son and the Father; doxázō “is a favorite term in John .  .  . in which the whole life of Jesus is depicted as a glorifying of the Son by the Father” (Bauer 258ab; 258b(2)).

24. On the Montanists see “Montanism,” ODCC 1107b–8a.

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Gnostics.  Gnosticism is a “Generic term in modern scholarship for a diverse set of religious teachings and sects within and on the margins of Christianity in the 2nd to 5th centuries AD. It includes those opposed by heresiologists from Irenaeus onwards as being ‘Gnostics’ (from Gk. gnȏsis, a higher knowledge, theoretical or mystical”) (ODLA 1:669ab); ODCC 683b–85a. See Knowledge. The scholarship is vast: see David Brakke, The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012), and Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York: Vintage, 1989). For up-to-date bibliographies, see ODLA 1:669ab and ODCC 685a; see LA 471a–72b. Go away. See Withdraw. Governance. Gk. oikonomía (from oȋkos, “house”; English economy) has a wide range of meanings: “ministration, management, charge”; “good management,” “disposition, organization, constitution,” “dispensation, ordering” (Lampe 940b–43a). Patristic theologians came to talk about God’s “economy” in ordering the things of heaven and earth. An oikónomos was a steward in a monastery, helping to keep things running smoothly in the community. Governor. Gk. árchōn (English archetype): The NT itself shows the “civilizing,” even forgetful, embracing of “governor,” that is, the state (the NT almost always uses hēgemṓn for “governor” instead of árchōn). Except for the neutral use of “governor” in Luke 2:2, the term is always negative in the Synoptic gospels (John does not use it): they persecute and kill, and Pilate is their archetype (Matt 27:2). In John 12:31 Jesus says, Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler [árchōn] of this world will be driven out. In 1 Cor 2:6, 8, Paul speaks negatively of the rulers (archṓntōn < árchōn) of this age. The writer of 1 Peter, though (late 1st–early 2nd cent.), no longer sees things this way: For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors [hēgemṓn] (1:13-14). In the 4th–5th centuries, with Christ as governor, we see the apotheosis of the term. In Rev 1:5 Christ is the ruler / governor [árchōn] of the kings of the earth. Grace. Gk. cháris (English charisma, charismatic): Grace of Christ: See Rom 5:15; 16:20; 2 Cor 13:3; Gal 6:18; Eph 4:7. Cháris has a wide range of meanings: “favor, benefit,” “votive gift, thank-­ offering,” “favor, grace, kindness” (Montanari II:2341a–42a, here

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2341a). For the NT, see Bauer 1079a–81a. Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Native American person with great insight, after seeing neighboring woods clearcut, tells us, “I fear that a world made of gifts cannot exist with a world made of commodities.” 25 Wendell Berry has this poetic insight: “And the bluebells, whose perfume / cannot be recalled until / they are called back again. Who / would refuse this joy, this gift, / because in time it cannot last? ” 26 Guard. Gk. phylássō: See Protect. Guidance. See Spiritual Guidance. Hades. Gk. Hádēs: In Classical Greek, Hades is the god of the underworld (Odyssey 4.834: “the house of Hades”) and occurs in Sophocles and Aristophanes (Montanari I:29bc). The word occurs often in the LXX, esp. in Job, Proverbs, and Isaiah (“Sheol”); in Isa 14:11 the prophet warns, Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, / and the sound of your harps; / maggots are the bed beneath you, / and worms are your covering. The word occurs eight times in the NT: “the nether world,” the place of the dead (Bauer 19b). In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, Luke 16:19-30, the rich man is being “tormented” there; in Rev 20:14, Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. The other six references offer no details. See “Hell,” LA 486b–88a. Handiwork. Gk. ergócheiron (“work” + “hand”): See Regnault, Dayto-Day Life, 96–102; and Brooks Hedstrom, Monastic Landscape. See Pistamon 1. See Work (érgon). Hand on (as Tradition). Gk. paradídōmi: In 1 Cor 11:23 Paul says, I received from the Lord what I also handed on [paradídōmi] to you, then discusses the Lord’s Supper / Eucharist. In patristic Greek the cognate n. parádosis came to mean “teaching, tradition” (Bauer 762b(3)–63a). Ironically, the verb and the noun can also mean “to betray” and “betrayal,” respectively, “hand over” (to the police or courts). See Matt 10:4: Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed [paradoús, a participle of paradídōmi] him. See the note about “betrayal” at Bauer 762(2b).

25. Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 164. 26. Berry, “Sabbaths 2015, VI,” A Small Porch, 59.

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Heart.  Gk. kardía (English cardiac, cardiology): Most of the early monastics spoke Coptic, not Greek, but Greek was the language of the literate, as with the AlphAP. Coptic ϨHT (pronounced “heat”) means both “heart” and “mind,” with many compound words built from it (Crum, A Coptic Dictionary, 714a–17a). John Chryssavgis puts it very well: “Once we enter the heart, what do we discover? This is perhaps the essence of the desert message. What we discover is that we are not in control of ourselves, that we are wounded. We discover our passions, which are sometimes naïvely identified with sins or vices, but which are much more than this. Passions are our inner wounds, those deep marks in the space of our heart that require healing. In the mind of the desert elders, this means that we need to attend to and tend them. If we are going to be a healing presence in the world, then we need to comprehend our passions. In fact .  .  . we need even to embrace these passions.” 27 See Harriet A. Luckman and Linda Kulzer, eds., Purity of Heart in Early Ascetic Monastic Literature (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999). Hegumen.  Gk. hēgoúmenos < hēgéō, “to lead, command” (English hegemony): “Ruler, of clergy and bishops,” “monastic superior” (Lampe 601ab). The head of a religious community (as a small monastery) in the Eastern Churches, including the Coptic Church. An archimandrite is the superior of a large monastery or group of monasteries. Heracleion.  “Before the rise of Alexandria in the fourth century BC, the ancient port city of Thonis-Heracleion at the mouth of the Nile was the gateway to Egypt for foreign traders. The city and a suburb, Canopus, also served as a center of Egyptian religious life before a series of natural disasters submerged them by the eighth century AD” (Benjamin Leonard, “Egypt’s Temple Town,” Archaeology (November / December 2019), https://www.archaeology.org/issues/359-1911 /trenches/8092-trenches-egypt-thonis-heracleion). Heresy / Heretic. Gk. (h)aíresis/(h)airetikós; hairéō, “take hold of, grasp,” middle voice “choose” (CGL I:36a–37b): Heresy and orthodoxy are not significant issues in the AlphAP, but some sayings raise the issue. “Heresy” and its cognates occur only eleven times 27. Chryssavgis, “The Treasury of the Heart,” In the Heart, 53–62, here 53 (emphasis his).

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in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:258). Rowan Williams’s observation is salutary: “we are able to speak of a continuing identity sustained and strengthened in the process of argument. Alasdair MacIntyre famously defines a ‘living tradition’ as ‘an historically extended, socially embodied argument,’ embodying ‘continuities of conflict.’ A study of the texts of the fourth Christian century will undoubtedly bring into focus the difficulties of identifying the boundaries between ‘orthodoxy’ and ‘heresy’ as the writers of that age understood that term.” 28 See ODCC 758b–59a; “Heresiology,” LA 488b–90a; “Heresy, Laws on,” 490a–91a. See Walter Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1971). Hermopolis Magna.  Modern el-Ashmunein, on the west bank of the Nile in the Thebaid, between al-Minya and Asyut (Lycopolis). Hesychast.  From Greek hēsychía, “silence, quiet, stillness, tranquility,” an important monastic term for interior stillness, contemplative peace. A hesychast was one who practiced hēsychía. See Contemplative Quiet. Highwayman. Gk. lēstēs: See Bandit. Himation. Gk. himátion: An outer garment worn by the ancient Greeks over the left shoulder and under the right. Holy, Holy ones. Gk. hágios in pl., hágioi, can mean “the saints,” “those of outstanding virtue,” living or dead (Lampe 18b); “worshippers of the true God” (18b); “the saints,” meaning “fellow Christians” in the NT; or the angels (Bauer 10b–11b). See Peter Brown, The Cult of the Saints: Its Rise and Function in Latin Christianity (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014). It’s not clear to me when hágios came to mean a canonized saint, for example ho hágios Athanásios, Saint Athanasius; Latin sanctus.29 Hood. Gk. koukoúllion: See Tovar, “Terminology,” 221–22. Hope. Gk. elpís; have hope, elpízō: Noun and verb occur numerous times in the NT: “to look forward to something, with the implication of confidence about something coming to pass” (Bauer 319ab). Thus the word is stronger than the usual meaning of hope now. See 1 Cor 13:13: And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three. 28. Rowan Williams, “Introduction,” 1–15, here 6; MacIntyre, After Virtue: A Story in Moral Theory (London: Duckworth, 1981), 206–7. 29. See “Saints, devotion to the,” ODCC 1444b–45b.

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Hour, this.  The normal time for eating was the ninth hour, about 3 p.m., but it could be later on Friday (often a fast day) or put off until the synaxis on Saturday. Humble. Gk. tapeinóō: See Humility. Humility. Gk. tapeinóō (vb.), tapeínosis (n.), tapeinosophrúnē (n.): A key monastic aspiration, practice, and virtue. In the gospels the words specifically refer to Jesus (Matt 11:29; 21:5). Three passages illustrate the centrality of humility in the NT: (1) In Luke 1:48 God has looked with favor on Mary’s lowliness [better: humility, tapeínosis]. (2) Paul, perhaps quoting from an early Christian hymn, declares that Christ humbled [tapeinóō] himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross (Phil 2:8). (3) In Luke, Jesus, with his use of contraries, sounds like an early monastic: all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Luke 14:11). Phil 2:3 is proto-monastic: Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility ­regard others as better than yourselves. Tapeinophrosúnē does not occur in the gospels, but its cognate vb., tapeinóō, occurs numerous times (Bauer 990ab), esp. in the Pauline (Phil 2:3), deutero-Pauline, and Pastoral Epistles (Bauer 989b). It can also mean “constrain, mortify” (Bauer 990a). In Pistos 1, Abba Sisoës tells the brothers, “The person who understands that he isn’t worth much in his own sight is fulfilling all of Scripture.” On humility, see Burton-Christie, Word, “The Humble Way of Christ,” 236–60: “Humility was the starting point for the desert monks” (236) and “Humility as Power,” Word, 256–58. AnonAP 298–334 (Wortley, Anonymous, 201–18) are on humility; “Humility” in the SysAP has 136 sayings (Guy, Apophtegmes, XV, 2:284– 389; ­Wortley, Book, 236–88). For humility’s contemporary importance, see Boyle, Barking to the Choir, 91–105, chap. 5, and Keller, Oasis, 131–55, chap. 9. In A Small Porch, vis-à-vis Alain de Lille’s De planctu Naturae (The Complaint of Nature, ca. 1202–3), Wendell Berry discusses our lack of humility and what we’ve done with this corrosive absence: “It belongs .  .  . to the great western family of writings that warn us against what we now call reductionism, but which traditionally we have called the deadly sin of pride or hubris: the wish to be ‘as gods,’ or the assumption that our small competence in dealing

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with small things implies or is equal to a great competence in dealing with great things. In our time we have ceased to feel the traditional fear of that equation, and we have a world of waste, pollution, and violence to show for it” (92). Hypostasis (pl. hypostases). Gk. hypóstasis / hypostáseis: A concrete manifestation of an abstract reality: being, substance, reality. For its many nuances, with patristic citations, see Lampe 1454–61. Implore. Gk. parakaléō. See Entreat. Inner Cell.  Many monastic dwellings consisted of two rooms: a front room for work and receiving guests and a back room for prayer and sleep. See Cell. Intention. Gk. lógos: See Thoughts. Interior way of life. “Interior,” tò éndon, “within,” in addition to being spatial, can refer to the interior spiritual and moral life (Lampe 468b). Invite. Gk. parakaléō: See Entreat. Inward stillness.30 Gk. anapaúō and anapaúomai (vb.), anápausis (n.): A condition or state much desired by the monks. Anápausis comes to mean “cessation from wearisome activity for the sake of rest; rest, relief”; “repose, rest, refreshment”; “a result of training in practice of virtue” (Bauer 69a). It can mean “rest in eternity” and “tranquility, peace” (Lampe 115a–16a). Matt 11:29 gives us the biblical resonance: Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest [anápausis] for your souls. For the synonym katápausis, see Heb 3:11, 18; 4:1-10. The Abba from Rome 1 provides good insight into monastic thinking: the basic meaning of anápausis is “rest,” so the saying is emphasizing the vast difference between the rest the world offers and the anápausis, “inward stillness,” that a monastic way of life offers. As John Chryssavgis sees it, “We should enter those moments of stillness and understand them. We should also speak from those moments of silence and act out of them. We are what we do with that stillness and silence” (In the Heart, 109).

30. I wish to thank Graham Gould, Desert Fathers, 131, for “inward stillness.”

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Isaiah of Scetis.  Died 491. Also known as Isaiah the Hermit, and “possibly to be identified with Isaiah of Gaza” (“Isaiah of Scetis, Saint,” CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1036/rec /2; CE 1305a–6b): he was a “fifth-century anchorite whose spiritual advice to other monks greatly influenced the Eastern churches .  .  .  . Of all the Isaiahs mentioned in Egyptian monastic sources of the fourth and fifth centuries, the most renowned is the author of the ascetic treatises that had a wide vogue in the Christian Orient. Unfortunately, we do not find in these treatises much in the way of autobiographical information. We learn merely that Isaiah had begun his life as a monk in Egypt, probably at Scetis where he was in contact with several personalities mentioned in the Apophthegmata Patrum.” He later moved to Gaza. See ODLA 1:788a. On Isaiah see John Chryssavgis and Pachomios (Robert) Penkett, Abba Isaiah of Scetis: Ascetic Discourses, CS 150 (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 2002). John of Lycopolis.  John was a well-known monk who, oddly, does not have any sayings in the AlphAP. He appears numerous times in the SysAP (see Guy, 3:243). See Lausiac History 35 (pp. 81–85), and Hist Mon 1 (pp. 52–62). Judge / Judgment. Gk. krínō (vb.), krísis (n.): “select, prefer”; “to pass judgment upon (and thereby seek to influence) the lives and actions of other people, judge, pass judgment upon, express an opinion about”; “criticize, find fault with, condemn”; “reach a decision, decide, propose, intend” (Bauer 567b–69a). “In Chinese .  .  . the written word for crisis is made up of the ideograms for disaster and opportunity.” 31 In Greek, “judge,” “justice,” “righteousness” and “discernment” (root: dik-) are etymological siblings. See Matt 7:1; Rom 2:1. See SysAP IX (1:426–49; Wortley, Book, 133–42), and AnonAP 475–518 (Wortley, Anonymous, 304–51). See Gould, ­Desert Fathers, 107–37, esp. 123–37; Burton-Christie, Word, “On Not Judging,” 273–82. There is, however, a final judgment. In Theophilus 4, the archbishop gives an extended lesson/sermon on the “Day of Affliction,” 31. Rebecca Solnit, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster (New York: Viking, 2009), 142.

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the “Day of Wrath.” As Burton-Christie points out, “The sense of urgency which accompanied such awareness was clearly a significant factor in leading the monks to adopt their severe way of life in the desert. Yet it was not only fear which led them to the desert. Consciousness of judgment was also something which helped one in ‘returning to one’s senses and seeing new possibilities for one’s life’ ” (Word, 185). Just. See Righteous / Just. Keep (a commandment). Gk. phylássō: See Watch. Kellia.  Kellia (Cells), a monastic settlement about 18 km. (11 miles) south of Nitria, “is one of the most important and most celebrated monastic groupings in Lower Egypt.” Palladius reports that “nearly 600 monks were living in Kellia at the end of the fourth century” (CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1156/rec /1; CE 1396b–1410a, here 1396b); LA 532b–33a. See Evelyn-White, Monasteries, 2:24–27; Wipszycka, Second Gift, 306–8, 313–15, 487–89. Knowledge. Gk. gnȏsis occurs twenty-seven times in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:292). Wipszycka, Second Gift, 89, in what may be an overstatement, says “In Egypt it was widely believed at the time that true piety was founded on knowledge (gnosis) and that this knowledge could be attained solely by people who renounced the world.” Elaine Pagels prefers “insight” or “understanding,” since she believes that gnȏsis “refers to ‘knowledge of the heart.’ ” 32 Evagrius gives a monastic understanding of knowledge in Praktikos 32 (p. 24), “contemplative knowledge,” and 68 (p. 66), “immaterial knowledge.” In Chapters on Prayer 86 (p. 69, inclusivized) Evagrius exclaims: “Knowledge! A human being’s great possession. It is a fellowworker with prayer, acting to awaken the power of thought to contemplate the divine knowledge.” See Everett Ferguson, Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 78–79; and, for gnȏsis and Origen, “Gnostics,” in John Anthony McGuckin, ed., The Westminster Handbook to Origen (Louisville and London: Westminster John Knox, 2004). See also

32. Elaine Pagels, Why Religion? A Personal Story (New York: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2018), 28.

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Behr, Asceticism and ­Anthropology, esp. 185–207. In the Life of Antony 77 (pp. 219–23), Athanasius downplays the gnȏsis of the philosophers and shows that true gnȏsis is faith in God. Kolobion.  Gk. kolóbion: “tunic without sleeves or [with] short sleeves”; “a short-sleeved garment” (Montanari I:1153a). Lampe notes that it was worn especially by monks (Lampe 765b). See Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 51–60. Sofía Tovar notes, “Generally, in monastic literature the habit is called λεβιτών [lebitṓn] in Greek, lebitou and other variants in Coptic, and lebiton or lebitonarium in Latin, often given together with another term, κολόβιον [kolóbion], which we normally find in the papyri, mainly from the second to the sixth centuries. This is the regular term in Egypt for this kind of tunic without sleeves, stemming from the word κολοβόω [kolobóō], ‘to cut or mutilate.’ The term λεβιτών [lebitṓn] is also attested in the Greek papyri, albeit in only three instances. It is a peculiar phenomenon that κολόβιον [kolóbion], the popular term, as proven by the occurrences in the papyri, is mentioned only in literary texts as a synonym of λεβιτών [lebitṓn], which occurs only rarely in the papyri. It is also remarkable that the earliest attestations of the term λεβιτών [lebitṓn], in AD 330–40, are not Greek, but Coptic (P. Lond. 1920 and 1922)” (Tovar, “Terminology,” 220–21). See Leviton. Laura (Lavra).  Gk. laúra (pronounced lá-vra): “alley or lane in a city”; “monastery, a collection of individual cells of monks gathered together under one leader” (Lampe 794a), used mostly in Palestinian monasticism. See “Lavra,” EM 1:746a–47b. Leave. Gk. anachōréō: See Withdraw. Leviton. Gk. lebitόn: According to E. A. Sophocles, Greek Lexicon, lebitόn is the same as kolóbion, and is Semitic in origin. See ­Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 51–60. John Chryssavgis informs me that kolóbion is still used by Greek monks, but not frequently. See Kolobion. Libya.  On the African Mediterranean, Libya was colonized by the Greeks in the mid-7th century BCE, was conquered by the Persians one hundred years later, and then became Greek again with ­Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies in the late 4th century BCE. Simon of Cyrene was from Libya (Matt 27:32 and parallels). See ODLA 2:910b.

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Linen. Gk. linárion, a diminutive of línon, is “anything made from flax” (Lampe 1051b). So possibly “thread,” with another possibility being linen sails (Lampe). In the NT línon can mean “lamp-wick,” “linen garment,” or “fish-net” (Bauer 596b). Because of the ambiguity, I have rendered it more generally as “linen,” which means some linen product. Cassian, Institutes, 1.4 (p. 24) says that “the wearing of linen clothing is to teach them that they have utterly died to a worldly way of life.” See “Textiles, Coptic,” CCE. https://ccdl .claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1830/rec/1; CE 2210b–30b. Naphtali Lewis, Life in Egypt, 134, notes that “Egypt was famous for two of its manufactures, linen and papyrus.” An early fourthcentury papyrus, P. Berl. inv. 13897 (Naldini, no. 36), has “Didyme and the sisters,” possible monastics writing about linen and a linenweaver (Naldini, Il Cristianesimo in Egitto: Lettere private nei papiri dei secoli II–IV [Florence: Le Monnier, 1968]). Listlessness. Gk. akēdía: See Acedia. Lord’s Day.  Gk. kyriakḗ (ēméra): Sunday. Love (n.). Gk. agápē, cognate with the vb. agapáō (see below), “esteem, affection, regard, love” (Bauer 6a–7a). As Thomas Merton emphasizes, “All throughout the Verba Seniorum [The Sayings of the ­Elders, that is, the Latin AlphAP] we find a repeated insistence on the primacy of love over everything else in the spiritual life: over knowledge, gnosis, asceticism, contemplation, solitude, prayer. Love in fact is the spiritual life, and without it all the other exercises of the spirit, however lofty, are emptied of content and become mere illusions.” 33 The word occurs perhaps 50 times in the NT and is the word for love in Paul’s memorable profession in 1 Cor 13:13: And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love. Agápē and agapáō occur 40 and 122 times, respectively, in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:253) for a total of 162, while philía, “friendship, love,” and philéō occur respectively only 10 and 4 times (Guy, Apophtegmes, 3:452) for a total of 14, thus demonstrating the key importance of agápē in monastic thought and spirituality. Norris, Acedia, 110, calls freedom to love “the ultimate freedom.”

33. Merton, Wisdom, 8, 17. My thanks to Michael Plekon for this reference.

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See SysAP XVII (3:14–37; Wortley, Book, 300–309). See Behr, Asceticism and Anthropology, 185–207, chap. 6. See Love (vb.) and Love, act of. Love (vb.). Gk. agapáō, cognate with agápē. See Matt 22:37-38; John 3:16. See Love (n.) and Love, act of. Love, act of. Gk. agápē: When making a request, monks often literally say “Do an act of love.” This can equal “Please,” but the NT understanding of agápē (see Love) intensifies the sense. Agápē especially indicates “fraternal love.” Lampe 7a notes, “denoting especially God’s or Christ’s love for [humans], [humans’] love for God, and fraternal charity of Christians.” Agápē evolved from an abstract noun (although Paul’s list of what love is and is not is not abstract) to a noun of praxis, an agápē. See AnonAP 334–58 (Wortley, Anonymous, 225–35), and Gould, Desert Fathers, 96–102; Burton-Christie, Word, “The Commandment of Love,” 261–95. The first instances that Lampe (8a(B)) cites for the “act of love or charity” are the Sibylline Oracles 8.497 (2nd–3rd cent.) and John Chrysostom (d. 407). Loved / Beloved. Gk. agapētós < agápē, “love”: See John 21:20, of the disciple whom Jesus loved [agapētós]. Lycopolis.  Coptic Siout, now Asyut, was a metropolis “in Middle Egypt strategically located on the west bank of the Nile at a bend in the river and at a terminus of a Western Desert route .  .  .  . The hermit, prophet, and healer John of Lycopolis lived on the Western Mountain” (ODLA 2:929ab). Lycopolis, “home of a Christian community since at least as early as the great persecution of Diocletian at the beginning of the fourth century, became one of the most important centers of Christianity in Egypt during the Roman and Byzantine periods” (“Asyut,” CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce/id/264/rec/2; CE 296a–97b). Mad. Gk. orgḗ / orgáō (vb.): See Anger. Maintain. Gk. phylássō: See Protect. Manichean.  Manichaeism (a heresiological term coined by its opponents) was a late-antique dualistic religion founded by Mani (216– ca. 276); it was heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism. “Mani taught a theogonic myth detailing a universal conflict between the powers of Light and Darkness.” See ODLA 1:950b–53a, here 952a; “Mani,”

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ODCC 1027a–28a; “Manichaeism,” CCE. https://ccdl.claremont .edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1256/rec/1; CE 1519a–23a; LA 555b–56b. Maphorion. Gk. Maphórion: Originally a “veil” “covering the head and shoulders” (Lampe 834b) worn in public by women, appropriated by monastics female and male as a sign of modesty and humility, but this doesn’t seem to fit with the word in Cronius 5. The maphorion appears to be like a hijab. The word occurs in Lausiac History 59.2 (p. 140), where the female elder Taor dresses in rags. Meyer, 140, translates maphórion as “hood,” which is better; ­Wortley, Give Me, 169, translates it as “shawl.” See Regnault, Dayto-Day Life, 51–60. See Tovar, “Terminology,” 223. Martyr. Gk. mártyr originally meant “witness.” In Christian times martyrs were those who witnessed to their faith. During the periodic and sporadic persecutions against Christians until the early 4th cent., those who died for their faith were “martyrs,” while those who bore witness but were not killed were “confessors.” 34 The AlphAP deals with the period beginning after the persecutions ended (but see Life of Antony 46, pp. 157–59), and the word’s meaning has broadened. On the monk as martyr, see Edward E. Malone, The Monk and the Martyr: The Monk as the Successor of the Martyr (New York: Literary Licensing, 2011 [repr.]). For a fascinating detailed discussion of the development of martyria, burial shrines for martyrs and saints, see MacMullen, Second Church. See “Martyrium,” ODLA 2:975b. See EM 827a–31a; “Western Christian,” 831a–33a. See LA 567b–68b. Marvel. Gk. thaumázō: See Astonished. Master. Gk. despótēs (English despot): “one who has legal control and authority over persons, such as subjects or slaves, lord, master”; “ruler of a city.” Luke 13:25 (in Papyrus 75), 2 Pet 2:1, and Jude 4 use it of Christ; the Song of Simeon, Luke 2:29, uses it of God. Matins.  The late-night Office. Maximus and Domitius.  “The Life of the brothers Maximus and Domitius is known through one long document attributed to a certain

34. Though a bit dated now, on the persecutions see W. H. C. Frend, Martyrdom and Persecution in the Early Church: A Study of a Conflict from the Maccabees to Donatus (New York: New York University Press, 1967).

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Pshoi of Scetis .  .  .  . Pshoi’s long account is not the oldest life of Maximus and Domitius. In fact, he quotes—using the formal epithet ‘it is written that’—an apothegm of Saint Macarius 33 .  .  .  . The episode tells anonymously how Saint Macarius received two young ‘Romans’ (i.e., Greeks) in the desert of Scetis, and how that was the occasion of the founding of a monastery .  .  .  . Nobody has cast doubt on the reality of the foundation of the Dayr al-Baramus (or pa-Rhomaios, that of the Romans)35 by the two brothers received by Macarius, but their names appear only in Pshoi’s Life” (CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1306/rec/1; CE 1576a–78a). Mazices.  According to Evelyn-White, Monasteries, 2:151–53, the fifthcentury Mazices were probably the Mastikos or Marikos, Berbers who dwelled in the western desert of Egypt. Sometimes the sources differentiate them from the barbarians and sometimes seem to conflate them. See “Berber,” ODLA 1:231b–32b; LA 340b–41a. Meditate / Meditation.  Gk. meletáō (vb.) / meletḗ (n.): The basic meaning is “practice, exercise,” giving “care or attention” to, “usage, habit” (Montanari II:1303b–4a); in monastic Gk., meditation (meletáō), to meditate on Scripture, is quietly to utter on one’s lips the words of Scripture, most commonly the Psalms. Burton-Christie, Word, 123, notes, “Meditation was not, as the word has come to imply today, an interior reflection on the meaning of certain words. It was first and foremost the utterance, or exclamation of words, which were originally digested and interiorized.” Meletáō can also mean “take thought, take pains,” “practice”; “train oneself” (Bauer 627a). See Psalm(s). With regard to the importance of the psalms, Norris paraphrases Jeremy Driscoll: “The psalter is not merely a collection of prayers; it is meant to be a song that resonates in the monk’s soul, accompanying him on life’s journey and illuminating his path.” She quotes Luke Dysinger: the psalms are “a vision of the whole of creation” and “the training-ground of the Christian contemplative.” 36 Lucien Regnault notes that “even what the elders called ‘meditation’ was not today’s mental prayer but formed a part,

35. CCE. https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/2063/rec/1; CE 789a–94b. 36. Norris, Acedia, 277 and 276, respectively (sources not given).

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along with vocal prayer, of corporal practices, since it consisted of repeating, more or less out loud, the words of Holy Scripture.” 37 See “Meditation: Christian Perspective,” EM 2:847b–50b. Melchizedek.  Melchizedek was the king of Salem who blessed Abram (Gen 14:17-18); in Ps 110:4 God says (of Simon Maccabeus?), “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” “Thus Melchizedek,” Michael C. Astour points out, “is here not only the human archetype of the ideal-priest king of Jerusalem, but the eternal priest of Yahweh, a supernatural being engendered by Yahweh and comparable to the mythological figure of Day Star, son of Dawn” (Isa 14:12). The Essenes “gave Melchizedek a very high place in their heavenly hierarchy and eschatology.” 38 He is less exalted in Philo and Josephus. See Michael C. Astour, “Melchizedek (Person),” Anchor-Yale 4.684b–86b; see 685b–86a, “D. The Letter to the Hebrews,” for a discussion of Melchizedek in that book. Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1, 10-11, 15, and 17 connect Jesus and Melchizedek. The Nag Hammadi Library contains a very fragmentary Coptic tractate, “Melchizedek”; see Birger A. Pearson, trans., “Melchizedek,” in The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, ed. Marvin Meyer (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2007), 595–605. See CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu /digital/collection/cce/id/1310/rec/1; CE 1583b–84a. Melitians.  The Melitian schism began “when Melitius, bishop of ­Lycopolis (modern Asyut) in Upper Egypt, objected to the terms set by Peter I of Alexandria for the readmission of lapsed Christians. Melitius began to ordain supporters of his stricter policy, and they constituted the core of the movement. Persecution continued, and Melitius was exiled. Upon his return from exile (after CE 311), he began to organize a schismatic church .  .  .  . There is papyrological evidence for a thriving Melitian monasticism in the fourth century. The Melitian monks lived together in groups, but it is unclear whether they had structured cenobia (like the Pachomians) or semi-eremitic communities (like the monks of Nitria and Scetis)” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1305 /rec/9; CE 1584a–85a). See also “Melitian Schisms” (1), ODCC

37. Regnault, Day-to-Day Life, 112. 38. On the Essenes see ODCC 562ab.

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1067b–68a. Sisoës 48 calls Melitianism a heresy, but it didn’t involve a theological dispute but rather ecclesiological differences. Memphis.  “The Greek name of the city known in Egyptian as Mennufer and in Coptic as membe or menf (variant spellings of the name abound in Coptic documents). The city was one of the most populous places in ancient Egypt and played an important part in the administrative and religious life of the Egyptian people. The remains of Memphis, which include a number of temples, a palace, an embalming house, tombs, and necropolises, are located near the modern village of Mit Rahinah on the west side of the Nile about 12 miles (19 km) south of Cairo” (CCE, https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital /collection/cce/id/1319/rec/1; CE 1586b–87b). Miaphysites / Miaphysitism.  Gk. mía, “one,” + phýsis, “nature,” one nature: “The doctrine that in the Incarnate Christ there is only one nature, not two .  .  .  .” It “represents a strict form of Alexandrian Christology, covers a variety of positions” (“Monphysitism,” ODCC 1104b–5b). (The article clearly has a Dyophysite view.) The term “Monophysite” appears after the Council of Chalcedon (451). “­Miaphysite” is now the preferred, more neutral, term. See ODLA, “Monophysite,” 2:1033ab; LA, “Monophysites,” 586b–88a. Mind. Gk. noȗs represents the habitation of the interior, spiritual life. As Bauer shows, noȗs in Greek is multivalent: “the faculty of intellectual perception, mind, intellect,” “way of thinking, mind, attitude,” “result of thinking, mind, thought” (680ab). Miracle-worker.1  The more common Gk. word for “wonder-worker” is thaumatoúrgos (Macarius of Egypt); thaumatoúrgos occurs in only one saying in the SysAP (Guy, Apophtegmes 3:425), parallel with AlphAP Daniel 8 (Sayings 1:220–21), and, strikingly, sēmeióphoros (see Miracle-worker 2) occurs not at all (Guy 3.339). Neither term occurs in the NT. Thaumatoúrgos occurs in the title of SysAP XIX.1–26 (426–49; Wortley, Book, 351–57), “Concerning Wonder-Working Elders”—but, oddly, not in the book itself. Miracle-worker.2 Gk. sēmeióphoros, literally a “sign/miracle-worker”: sēmeía, “signs, wonders,” are very important in John’s gospel; see Wonders. Sēmeióphoros can also mean a “standard-bearer,” a “confessor for the Faith, of the Fathers of Nicaea” (Lampe 1231a). Given Cyril’s role in Christological controversies, it could certainly mean that in Daniel 8 (Sayings 1:220–21).

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Monastery.  See Monastic community. Monastic community / Monastic settlement / Monastery. Gk. tópos, óros, monastḗrion: Tópos (“place”) and óros (“mountain”) often indicate a monastic settlement; monastḗrion in sing. can mean “cell,” and in pl. a monastery. See Brooks Hedstrom, “The Archaeology of Monastic Households,” 185–203. As Wipszycka notes, S­ econd Gift, 4, “In Greek sources the whole desert zone is referred to as óros, which normally means ‘a mountain’ or ‘a hill,’ but in Egypt took on the meaning of ‘a desert’ .  .  .  . the very same word óros (and its Coptic equivalent toou) was also used to denote m ­ onastic communities, both hermitages and monasteries, which resulted from the fact that they came into existence primarily in the desert.” “Monastery,” ODCC 1029a–30b; “Monasticism,” 1030b–31b; “Women’s Monasteries,” EM 2:1404a–9b; LA 583b–84b; “Monastery,” ODLA 2:1029a–30b; “Monasticism,” 1030b–31b; LA 585a–86b. For fascinating studies of Shenoute’s White Monastery see ­Stephen J. Davis, et al., “Archaeology at the Shenoutean Monastic Federation, 2010–2019: A Report on the Last Decade of YMAP’s Work,” Coptica 19 (2020; publ. in 2022): 1–31, and Louise Blanke, An Archaeology of Egyptian Monasticism: Settlement, Economy, and Daily Life at the White Monastery Federation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019). Monk. Gk. monachós, from mónos, “single,” or “one alone”: “The original meaning of the word is uncertain. In popular use it is applied to any member of a religious community of men living under vows [see Rule] of chastity, poverty, and obedience. Its use is properly confined to hermits [see Anchorites] or members of a monastic community, whose principal duty is to offer praise to God within the confines of the monastery” (ODCC 1104b). See Virgin. Mother.  See Amma, Woman. Mountain.  In monastic parlance, “mountain” (Coptic toou and Greek óros) signifies a place away from the fertile and inhabited Nile flood plain. See Monastic community / Monastery. Mourning. Gk. pénthos: See Sorrow. Moved, deeply. Gk. katanússō, katanússomai. See Pricked. Movement(s).  In his first letter, Antony speaks of the soul’s movements; see Antony, Letters, 197–202. Mysteries, holy. Gk. mystḗria (pl.): Communion, the Eucharist.

Glossary  431

Mystery. Gk. mystḗrion, mystḗria (pl.): “the unmanifested or private counsel of God, (God’s) secret” (Matt 13:11: To you it has been given to know the secrets [mystḗria] of the kingdom of heaven). “That which transcends normal understanding, transcendent/ultimate reality, secret, with focus on Israelite/Christian experience” (Bauer 661b–63b). Mystḗria has a fascinating etymology: mystḗria < mýstēs, “initiate” in the mysteries < múō, “to close (one’s eyes)” (Montanari II:1374ab). Mystical experience. Gk. ékstasis, literally “standing out of.” The word occurs six times in the NT, most often with the sense of amazement/ astonishment. See Acts 10:10-23; 11:5; 22:17-21. See John the Little 14; Silvanus 2, 3; and Tithoës 6. See Lampe 438b–39a; “Mysticism,” ODCC 1127b–28b; LA 599b–600b. See Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism: Origins to the Fifth Century, The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism, vol. 1 (Freiburg: Herder & Herder, 2004), esp. chapter 5, “The Monastic Turn and Mysticism,” 131–85; Olivier Clément, The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic Era with Commentary (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1993); Andrew Louth, The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition from Plato to Denys (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981). Philip Sheldrake, A World Transfigured: The Mystical Journey (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2022); see chapter 1, “What is Mysticism? ” 3–25. He makes a number of good points (all here p. 11): “For me, mysticism is an intensification of the spiritual path within Christianity and the other world religions,” involving “a deepened consciousness of God’s transforming presence.” “In the early Church, that is, the so-called patristic period, the very heart of Christian theology was mystical”; each person “was drawn into the divine mystery through belonging to the ‘fellowship of the mystery,’ that is, the Christian community .  .  .  . mysticism, like spirituality more broadly, concerns the whole process of life rather than merely being a question of dramatically altered states of consciousness.” As the American farmer, writer, and prophet Wendell Berry reminds us, “Each form is made / by reaching among shadows for light. It is shaped / by circumstances that its shaping changes.” 39 39. Berry, “12. There is nothing random,” A Small Porch, 28.

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Need.  Give to those in need, eleēmosúnē (n.) (English eleemosynary): The early monastics saw such giving, acts of love, as coequal with a life of contemplative quiet and inward stillness. The word is cognate with éleos, “kindness or concern expressed for someone in need, mercy, compassion, pity, clemency” (Bauer 316ab). The traditional translation is “alms, almsgiving.” See Matt 6:2-4. See “Almsgiving,” LA 287b–88b. Neglect. Gk. améleia (n.), ameléō (vb.): Neglect is an important monastic concern (compare forgetfulness in the Qur’ān): 40 neglect of salvation (Heb 2:3); neglect of a (spiritual) gift (1 Tim 4:14). Neighbor. Gk. plēsíon has deep biblical resonance, beginning with Lev 19:18. Several times in the NT Jesus says, Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31, 33; Matt 19:19; 22:39; Matt 5:43; Luke 10:27), and Paul reiterates, the whole law is summed up in a single commandment: ‘You shall love your neighbor’ (Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14). See Gould, Desert Fathers, 88–106. See Kengo Akiyama, The Love of Neighbour in Ancient Judaism: The Reception of ­Leviticus 19:18 in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Book of Jubilees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2018). Nestorius / Nestorianism.  Nestorius (d. 451) was “Patriarch of ­Constantinople” from 428–431. Nestorians: “The first theologicalChristological clash between the Nestorian doctrines and Alexandrian orthodoxy took place at the Council of Ephesus (431). Cyril I (412–44) faced a new phase in Christology as preached by the scholar Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople. The Alexandrian theologians, led by Saint Cyril, taught that Jesus Christ was the Eternal Logos under the condition of humanity. All the actions predicated to Jesus as a man were predicated to the Divine Logos as well; His mother, therefore, is the Theotokos mother of God.41 According to Nestorius, Mary was only the mother of the man. This led to the doctrine of the dual nature of Jesus. Saint Cyril addressed himself to the pope of Rome, Celestine, in order to attract Roman attention to the irregularity of Nestorian doctrine. Saint Cyril hurled 40. For a brief introduction see Islamic Insights, https://www.islamicinsights .com/religion/forgetfulness.html. 41. See Lampe 639a–41a.

Glossary  433

twelve anathemas against Nestorius from Alexandria, the center of the orthodox Christian world. This preeminent position and the Nestorian struggle led to the division of the church after the Council of Chalcedon (451)” (“Nestorians and Copts,” CCE, https://ccdl .claremont.edu/digital/collection/cce/id/1430/rec/1; CE 1785b–86a). See ODCC 1138b–39b; EM 2:931a–34a; LA “Nestorians,” 602a–3a; “Nestorius,” 603a–4b. See Dyophysite. See J. F. Bethune-Baker, Nestorius and His Teaching: A Fresh Examination of the Evidence (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1998); and Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996). In Sopatros 1 the elder in part advises a monk seeking “a commandment,” “don’t go looking for [discussion] about the Likeness.42 This last isn’t heresy but rather [discussion that’s] affectation and chicanery—on both sides [of the argument]. The whole of creation isn’t able to grasp this matter.” Sopatros here finds a companion in the American writer Wendell Berry: “I will say that it has always been easy to be of two minds about the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they appear in their places as ‘characters’ so to speak, in the Gospels, I have found them simply recognizable or imaginable as such, but I think of them as members of ‘the Trinity’ only deliberately and without so much interest. As an idea, the Trinity, the three-in-one, the three-part godhead, seems to me austerely abstract, complicated, and cold. The more it is explained, the less believable it becomes” (Berry, A Small Porch, 90–91). Nicopolis.  Biblical Emmaus, west of Jerusalem; a city with the name of Nikopolis dates from 221 CE. There was a Late Antique basilica there and a martyrium (ODLA 2:1074b).

42. Likeness, eikṓn (“image, likeness,” English icon) can be a Christological term for “the Logos or Son as image of the Father,” “of Son as image of attributes of God,” and of “the Son’s humanity” (Lampe 415CE). See 2 Cor 4:4: the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. The argument was one of the nature of Christ vis-à-vis the Father; those who wanted to subordinate Christ to the Father (“subordinationism”) could use the term to argue their positions. See Young, From Nicaea to Chalcedon, 190. There is very little Christological discussion in the AlphAP; the focus is soteriological, a mostly “realized soteriology” that is, salvation here and now.

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Night Office. Gk. agrypnía: Agrypnós means “without sleep, sleepless,” thus “keeping vigil”; agrypnía means “watching, vigil,” as an ascetic practice, often at night, “the night office,” but it can also refer to a Sunday vigil and the Easter vigil (Lampe 24ab). Gk. nukterinḗs (