211. Abbâ John Kolob used to say, “I am like unto a man who is sitting under a great tree, and who seeth multitudes of wild beasts and creeping things coming towards him, and because he is unable to stand up against them, he runneth and goeth up the tree, and is delivered. In like manner I sit in my cell, and I see evil thoughts coming against me, and because I cannot stand against them I flee and take refuge in God by prayer, and I am delivered from the enemies, and I live for ever.”
212. Abbâ Hilarion was asked, “How can it be right for a strenuous brother not to be offended when he seeth other monks returning to the world?” The old man said, “It is meet that he should consider the hunting dogs which follow after hares, for as one of these dogs giveth chase to the hare so soon as he seeth it (now the other dogs which are his companions look at that dog as he runneth, and although they run with him for a certain time, they at length become exhausted and turn back, whilst he continueth his running by himself, and is not impeded in his headlong course, and he striveth to advance, and neither resteth nor ceaseth from running because of those who have remained behind, but he runneth until he hath overtaken that which he seeth, even as I have already said, and he feareth neither the stones which come in his way, nor the thorny brambles and briars, and passeth on among the thorns, and though often torn and lacerated thereby he neither resteth nor ceaseth from his course), so also for the brother, who wisheth to follow after the love of Christ, is it right to fasten his gaze upon the Cross until he overtaketh Him that was crucified, even though he see others who have begun to turn back.”
213. A brother asked an old man, saying, “What work ought the soul to do in order to produce fruits of excellence?” The old man said unto him, “In my opinion the work of the soul is as follows: To live in silence, persistent endurance, self-denial, labour, humility of body, and constant prayer. And a man should not consider the shortcomings of men, but his own lapses; if now a man will persist in these things the soul will after no great time make manifest the fruits of spiritual excellence.”
214. An old man used to say, “Strife delivereth a man over to anger, and anger delivereth him over to blindness of the mind, and the blindness of the mind maketh him to do everything which is bad.”
215. Abbâ Elijah used to say, “I am afraid of three things: When my soul shall be about to go forth from the body; and when I am about to go forth to meet Christ; and when the
