Who fashioned him seeth [him], and is long-suffering, for it He so desired He could consume him, who am I that I should rebuke him?”
246. I heard that the blessed man Anthony used to say, “God doth not permit wars to wax as fierce in this generation as as He did in the generations of old, for He knoweth that men are [more] feeble [now], and that they could not bear [them].”
247. Abbâ Macarius used to say to the brethren concerning the desert of Scete, “Whensoever ye see cells which are turned towards the wood, know that the fall thereof is near; and whensoever ye see trees planted near the doors, [know] that it is near the door; and whensoever ye see young men dwelling therein, then take up your possessions and depart.”
248. Abbâ Muthues used to say, “Satan knoweth not by means of what passion the soul may be conquered, but he soweth, not knowing whether he will reap; but with the thoughts of fornication, and of calumny, and of all the passions towards which he seeth the soul incline doth he fight against it, and fetter it.”
249. When, on one occasion, I was sitting with a certain old man at Oxyrhyncus, now this old man used to make great alms and oblations, a widow came to him and demanded a little wheat, and he said unto her, “Go and bring a measure, and I will measure out [some] for thee.” And when she had brought it, and he took the measure in his hand he said unto her, “This is too large”; and he put the widow to the blush. And when she had gone, I said unto the Abbâ and priest, “Wast thou selling the wheat to the widow?” and he said, “No; I gave it to her in charity.” Then I said unto him, “If thou didst give all this wheat to her in charity, why didst thou act harshly with her, and measure it, and [so] put her to shame?”
250. Three of the fathers came on one occasion to an old man at Scete, and one of them spoke to him, saying, “I repeat the Old and the New Testaments by heart”; and the old man answered and said unto him, “Thou hast filled the air with words”; and the other father spoke to him, saying, “I have copied the Old and New Testaments”; and the old man said unto him, “Thou hast filled the cupboards with quires of paper”; and the third father answered and said unto him, “In my fire-place the grass groweth”; and the old man answered and said unto him, “Thou hast also driven away the love of strangers from thee.”
251. Abbâ Poemen used to say that Abbâ Isidore used to twist into ropes a great bundle of palm leaves each night, and [on one occasion] the brethren entreated him, saying, “Rest
