437. A certain brother vexed an old man several times by saying unto him, “What shall I do in respect of the wicked and filthy thoughts of all sorts and kinds which go through me?” And the old man answered and said unto him, “Thou art like unto a stagnant pool which is at one time filled with water, and which at another, when water hath been drawn up from it, runneth dry. Why canst thou not rather be like unto the spring which never faileth? Patient persistence is victory, and victory is constancy, and constancy is life, and life is kingdom, and kingdom is God.”
438. Abbâ Epiphanius used to say, “Whatsoever food thou wishest to eat with pleasure desire not to give to thy body, especially when thou art not sick, and that food for which thou lustest thou shalt not eat. When, however, thou art eating the things which aresent unto thee by God, give thanks unto Him at all times, and be grateful unto Him. We have received pleasures and delights because of the name of monastic life, but we perform not the works of monks, and it shall be that thou art not a monk. What then? Wilt thou not play the man that, peradventure, thou mayest be clothed in the apparel which is alien unto thee? Tell me, O brother, how can a man possess the seal of service unless he possesseth humility? For the humble man who seeth another sinning weepeth bitterly, saying, ‘This man may perhaps sin to-day, but how many times shall I sin to-morrow?’ But, if any man sin before thee, no matter who he may be, condemn him not, but consider thyself to be a greater sinner than he is, even though he be both a child of this world, and make people to sin against God.”
439. He also used to say, “Know thyself, and thou shalt never fall. Give work unto thy soul, that is to say, constant prayer, and the love which is in God, before another can give it evil thoughts; and pray ye that the spirit of error may be remote from you.”
440. He also used to say, “Whatsoever thou doest successfully, and makest a boast of, that destroy, for it is not right for a monk to boast about his good deeds, and if he boasteth he will fall.”
441. “When thou prayest say with a hidden voice unto God, ‘Lord, how am I to acquire Thee? Thou, even Thou knowest that I am a beast, and that I know nothing. Thou hast brought me to the highest point of this life, O redeem me for Thy mercy’s sake. I am Thy servant and the son of Thine handmaiden. O Lord, by Thy wish make me to live.’ ”
442. The old man is falsehood, and the new man is truth. Truth is the root of good works, falsehood is death.
