it that the soul which hath blemishes in itself is not ashamed to speak about its neighbour, and to calumniate it?” And the old man spake unto him a word concerning calumny, saying, “There was a certain man who was poor, and he had a wife, and he saw another woman who hearkened unto him, and he took her to wife also; now the two women were naked. And when there was a fair in a certain place the two women persuaded him to take them to it, and he took his two wives, and put them in a boat, and when he had gone up out of the boat he arrived at a certain place. Now when the day had waxed hot, and every man was resting, one of the women looked out and saw that there was no man outside, and she leaped up and went forth to a heap of waste rubbish, and chose therefrom some old rags and made a girdle for herself, and then walked about boldly. Meanwhile her companion was sitting down naked, and she said unto her husband, ‘Look at that harlot going about naked and without shame’; then her husband, with sadness, said unto her, ‘The thing to be wondered at is that, whilst she hath, at least, covered her shame, thou art entirely naked, and dost speak these words without being ashamed.’ Now a calumny [uttered] against a neighbour is like unto this.”
43. They used to say that one of the old men asked God that he might see the fathers, and he saw them [all], with the exception of Abbâ Anthony; and he said unto him that shewed [them] to him, “Where is Abbâ Anthony?” And he said unto him, “Wheresoever God is there is Anthony.”
44. Abbâ Poemen used to say, “This is what is written, As the hart crieth out for the water-brooks, even so crieth out my soul unto Thee, O Lord’ (Psalm 42:1). For the harts in the desert swallow many serpents, and when the poison of these maketh them hot within, they cry out to come to the water-brooks, but as soon as they have drunk the burning which cometh from the serpents inside them is cooled. And thus is it with the monks who are in the desert, for they are burnt up by the envy of evil devils, and they wait for the Saturday and Sunday that they may come to the fountain of water, that is to say to the body of Christ, and they sweeten and purify themselves from the gall of the Evil One.”
45. On one occasion when the brethren were sitting with Abbâ Moses, he said unto them, “Behold, this day have the barbarians come to Scete; rise up and flee.” And they said unto him, “Wilt thou not flee, father?” He said unto them, “I have been expecting this day to come for many years past, so that might be fulfilled the command of our Redeemer,
