fulfil his own will, but let him do My will only, and bear tribulations of all kinds. And monks shall leave father, and mother, and brothers, and sisters, and kinsfolk, and country, and in return for these they shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. And to the men who are in the world, He said, ‘Acquire for yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it hath come to an end they may receive you into their everlasting habitations.’ For as men who are in the world receive monks into their houses, so shall the monks receive those who have lived in the world into the kingdom of heaven; and by this our Lord shewed that all the good things of God and His kingdom belong to the monks who, from their youth even to their old age, have laboured to God in the excellent works of the ascetic and monastic life. But it is right that we should know to what degree the soul is superior to the body. The life which is led by the monks in silent contemplation, and the works thereof, are as much superior to the life which is led by righteous men in the world, as the life and conduct of the angels are superior to those of men. And the life and conduct of the monks are superior to those of men who are in the world, because the latter please God because of their love for men, whilst the monks do so because of their love for God.”
608. The brethren said, “Into how many orders have the fathers arranged the monastic life?” And the old man said, “Into three orders.”
609. The brethren said, “What are they?” And the old man said, “The perfect, those who are half perfect, and the beginners.”
610. The brethren said, “Whence canst thou prove to us that this is so?” The old man said: “From the words of our Lord in the Gospel. For he said, ‘The sower went forth to sow. And some [seeds] fell on the roadside, and others fell on the rock, and others among thorns’ (St. Matthew 13:3 ff.) Now these three [kinds of] seed are those who are in the world. And as concerning the other seed of which He spake, saying that it fell on good ground, and gave fruit, some thirtyfold, and some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold, these are the grades of monks, for the seed which yielded fruit thirtyfold is the beginners, and that which yielded sixtyfold is the half-perfect, and that which yielded one hundredfold is the perfect.”
611. The brethren said, “And supposing a man in the world conducteth himself in a wholly perfect manner, and according to what is right, is not his labour equal unto that of a beginner?” The old man said, “No.”
