inside; but if not, go and put it in the place wherefrom thou didst take it.”
273. They used to say that Zechariah, the disciple of Abbâ Sylvanus, took certain brethren, and without [the knowledge of] Abbâ Sylvanus, they broke through the fence of the garden, and enlarged the garden, and then built up the fence again. And when the old man learned this, he took [his cloak], and wrapped himself up therein, and went forth, and he said to the brethren, “Pray ye for me.” Now when they saw him, they fell down at his feet, saying, “Tell us, father, what hath happened to thee”; and he said unto them, “I will neither go inside [my cell], nor unwrap myself from my cloak until ye bring the fence back to its former position”; and [when they had done so] straightway the old man went into his cell.
274. They used to say that when the old man Rabbâ Magatîs went forth from his cell, and the thought rose up in his mind that he would depart from the place, he returned not to his cell; now he possessed nothing whatsoever of the things which are required in this world. But he took pleasure in the work of splitting up the palm leaves which he twisted into ropes, for he performed sufficient labour each day to provide him with the very small amount of food which he needed.
275. A brother asked an old man, saying, “If a certain brother cometh to me, and saith, ‘Perform an act of love, and come with me here, or go [with me] to a certain place,’ and I am inconvenienced by the command, what am I to do?” The old man said unto him, “If thou knowest that without offence thou canst fulfil the commandment, go, and it shall be accounted unto thee as an acceptable sacrifice; but if thou knowest that there will be some offence, thou shalt not go. And if thou dost go, take good heed to thy soul.”
276. A brother asked an old man, saying, “How is it that there are at this present men who labour, but who do not receive grace as the early fathers did?” The old man said unto him, “Formerly love existed, and one brother was raised up by the other; but now love hath grown cold, and we each drag the other down, and in consequence we do not receive grace.”
277. They used to say that when Abbâ Theodore dwelt in Scete, a devil came and wanted to go into him, and the old man perceived that he wanted to go into [his cell], but he kept him fettered outside. Then another devil came to go in, and the old man fettered him also, and a third devil also came, and finding the other two fettered by the door, he said unto them, “Why do ye stand outside here?” They said unto him, “He who dwelleth within will not permit us to go in”; and the
