nor gave him refreshment; then he went to the blessed Abbâ Moses and he both welcomed him and gave him refreshment. And when one of the great fathers heard [this], he entreated our Lord to reveal to him this matter, saying, “How is it that one fleeth for Thy Name’s sake, and another welcometh and giveth refreshment for Thy Name’s sake?” And there appeared unto him on the river two ships, in one of which were Abbâ Arsenius, and the Spirit of God Who was travelling along in silence, and in the other was Abbâ Moses, who was travelling with holy angels that were feeding him upon honey, with the comb thereof. And by this the fathers understood that the life of silent contemplation was as greatly exalted above alms and ministrations as was the conduct of Matthew the Evangelist above that of Zacchaeus the tax-gatherer.’ ”
607. The brethren said: The brethren asked Abbâ Pambô, saying, “Supposing that a man who liveth in the world hath a wife and children, and supposing that he giveth much alms, and setteth free slaves, and redeemeth those in captivity, and visiteth the sick, and relieveth those who are afflicted, and fulfilleth all the things which are proper for him [to fulfil], is not such a man equal in labour to one of the three classes of monks, that is, to the man that dwelleth in silence, or him that is sick, or him that ministereth unto the poor?”
And the old man said, “Not altogether.”
And the brethren said, “Wherefore?”
And the old man said, “Because, although the man who is in the world leadeth a life of righteousness, his whole conduct is outside the body, but all the labour of the monks is inside the body, that is, fasting, and prayer, and vigil, and hunger, and thirst, and the constraint of the will at every moment, and wars, both secret and manifest. And it is well known and manifest that the men, who are in the world and who are exceedingly excellent in their conduct, are not equal to the monks in their labours; for our Lord Jesus Christ surnamed the monks ‘sons of light,’ and those who are in the world ‘sons of the world.’ Now the monks with their members, and with their thoughts, and with their bodies, and with their conduct serve God perfectly with stern labours and afflictions, and they offer themselves up to God as a living, and rational, and holy sacrifice, with rational and spiritual service, and they are crucified unto the world, and the world is crucified unto them, according to the word of our Lord, Who said, ‘Whosoever wisheth to come after Me, let him take up his cross, and follow Me,’ that is to say, Let him not
