away from him; and one of the brethren had some dried prunes, and because of the severe illness of the old man he cooked a little food, and put some of the prunes in it, and brought it to him, and entreated him, saying, “Father, do [me] an act of grace, and take a little of this stew, for perhaps it will do thee good.” And the old man lifted up his eyes and looked at him, and said, “In which of the Scriptures hast thou found this thing? Verily I have wished that God would leave me in this illness for the last thirty years, for when I am weak then am I strong”; and the old man, although he was grievously sick, would not take even a little of the food, and when the brother saw [this] he took it and went back to his cell.
67. They used to say concerning Abbâ Macarius, the Egyptian, that if it happened that he ate with the brethren, he would make an agreement with himself that if there was wine [on the table] and he drank one cup of it, he would drink no water for a whole day; now the brethren, wishing him to be refreshed (or pleased), used to give him wine, and the old man took it joyfully so that he might torment his body. And when his disciple saw this thing, he said unto the brethren, “I entreat you, for our Lord’s sake, not to give him wine to drink, for if he drinketh it he will go to his cell and afflict himself because thereof”; and when the brethren knew this they did not give him any more wine to drink.
68. There was a certain old man who made a vow not to drink any water during the Fast of Forty Days; and when he became thirsty (literally, hot) he would wash a potter’s vessel, and fill it with water, and hang it up in front of him. Then the brethren asked him why and wherefore he acted thus, and he said, “That I may labour the more, and receive a reward from God”; now he said this that he might incite them to great labours.
69. A brother asked an old man questions about comforts [or pleasures], and the old man said unto him, “Eat grass, wear grass, and sleep on grass, and then thy heart will become like iron.”
70. A certain brother was hungry one morning, and he fought against his inclination and determined not to eat until the third hour; and when the third hour had passed, he dipped his bread in water, and sat down to eat, but he forced himself to wait until the sixth hour arrived, when he said within himself, “Let us wait till the ninth hour.” And when the ninth hour had come, he prayed, and saw the working of Satan rising up before him like smoke, and he suppressed his desire [to eat], and his hunger passed away from him.
71. A certain brother from the Cells brought some new bread, and he invited all the old men who were under vows at
