Aurelius, and he laboured so hard that he might have been thought to be a shadow because of his disposition to work; during the Forty Days’ Fast he used to pass whole weeks [without eating], and in respect of the other days he would eat only once every two or three days.
358. An old man was asked [by a brother], “If I see the sin of my brother am I to despise him?” And the old man said, “If we hide [the fault] of our brother God will also hide our [faults]; and if we expose our brother’s [faults], God will also expose ours.”
359. An old man was wont to say, “There was a brother whose name was Timothy, and he used to lead a life of silent contemplation in a religious house; and a temptation came upon one of the brethren of that house, and the head of the house asked Timothy, saying, ‘What shall I do to this brother?’ Timothy said unto him, ‘Expel him’; and when he had expelled him, the temptation of that brother was sent upon Timothy, and he cried out to God, saying, ‘I have sinned, O my Lord, have mercy upon me.’ And he passed the whole night in a grave of dead men, crying out and saying, ‘I have sinned, O my Lord, forgive me,’ and the temptation was upon him until he was greatly exhausted. And a voice came to him, saying, ‘Timothy, do not imagine that these things have happened unto thee for any other reason than because thou didst offend thy neighbour in the time of his trial.’ ”
360. A brother asked an old man, saying, “How shall I be able to avoid despising my brother?” The old man said unto him, “We and our neighbour are two faces. Now if we provide the mirror of prayer we shall see the beam in our own eye, and we shall also see in the mirror the face of our brother polished and pure.”
361. A brother asked an old man and said, “What shall I do? For there is no feeling in my soul, and I have no fear of God.” The old man said unto him, “Seek thou out a man who feareth God, and then cling closely to him, and from him thou shalt learn to fear God.”
362. Abbâ Poemen said that Abbâ Athanasius used to say, “Unless a man possess good works before God giveth him a gift because of himself, it is well known that no one can be made perfect through the weariness which cometh to him through himself; but if he reveal [it] to his neighbour, he will then receive the gift because of his neighbour, and be gratified.”
363. A brother asked an old man, saying, “Shew me a word whereby I may live.” The old man said unto him, “Work with thy hands with all thy power, and give alms.”
