ship, and thou hast not let down in it thy possessions, and before thou hast embarked thou hast gone to the city whereto thou wishest to go. First of all do the work, and then thou shalt arrive at that concerning which thou art now talking.”
35. A brother asked Abbâ Anthony, saying, “What [commandment] shall I keep so that I may please God?” And he answered and said unto him, “That which I command thee observe. Set thou God before thine eyes continually, wheresoever thou goest; whatsoever thou doest make to it a witness (or testimony) from the Scriptures; and in whatsoever place thou dwellest be not easily moved therefrom, but abide therein persistently. Observe these three things, and thou shalt be saved.”
36. They used to say about a certain old man that whensoever he sat in his cell toiling in the contest, he saw the devils face to face, and that he treated them with contempt and despised them through his contest. Now when Satan saw that he was being overcome by the old man, he appeared unto him in human form, and said unto him, “I am Christ.” And when the old man saw him, he winked his eyes and made a mock of him. Then Satan said unto him, “Why dost thou wink thine eyes? I, even I, am Christ.” And the old man answered and said unto him, “I do not desire to see Christ here”; and when Satan heard these things he departed from him and was no more seen.
37. Abbâ John used to say, that he saw in a vision one ot the old men in a state of stupefaction, and behold, three monks were standing on the shore of a lake, and a voice came to them from heaven (or from the other shore of the lake), which said, “Take ye wings of fire and come to me”; and two of them took wings of fire and flew over to the other side, even as it was told them. Now the third remained behind, and he wept abundantly, and cried out, and at length wings were given to him also, but they were not of fire like those of his companions, for they were weak and feeble wings, and it was only with the greatest difficulty, and after dropping down into the water, and with most painful exertions that he reached the [opposite] shore. And even so is it with this generation, for although it taketh to itself wings, they are not the powerful wings of fire, but it forceth itself to take weak and feeble wings.
38. An old man used to say, “Every wickedness which is not perfect is not wickedness, and every righteousness which is not perfect is not righteousness; for the man who hath not good and evil thoughts is like unto the land of Sodom,
