judgement upon him, and his mind would have been darkened, as if he had held in contempt and treated his brethren in the spirit in a dishonourable fashion, and had done more honour to his brother according to the body than to them. This is the meaning of what he said, ‘I cannot go forth, for if I do, my heart will not be pure before God.’ ”
648. The brethren said, “The sage said, ‘Whosoever possesseth not the art of labouring, that is, either the things which belong to the labour of the spirit, whereby he may find consolation from God in his inner man in the spirit, or the things which belong to the art of human labour, cannot tarry long in his cell; whosoever doth not possess one or other of these cannot tarry long in his cell.’ Explain to us the words of the old man.” The old man said, “The things which belong to the art of human labour are well known unto every man; but things which belong to labour of the spirit he calleth the following: fasting, vigil, the singing of psalms and hymns, the prayers which are said kneeling down, anguish, weeping, tears, and other labours which are like unto these. And together with these [there must be the recital of] the offices for the seven hours [of the day and night], and the reading of the Holy Scriptures and of the [books of] doctrine of the old men, and these make the monk to acquire patient endurance, and the ability to live the ascetic life alone in a cell, and they produce for him joy and spiritual comfort. If he be a beginner in the ascetic life and strong, and he toileth in labours, he will acquire consolation; and if he be a feeble old man, or sick, he will labour in the labours of the mind, and will find joy. For as all the objects which are of gold are wrought by means of anvil, and a hammer, and a pair of tongs, so by means of the labour of the body in a place of silence and seclusion, and the striving of the mind, are wrought all the fruits of the spirit, which the Apostle said were love, joy, peace, faith, humility, graciousness, pleasantness, long-suffering and patient endurance.”
649. The brethren said, “On one occasion, when the brethren were sitting down and asking questions about the thoughts, one of them said, ‘It is not a great matter if a man seeth thoughts afar off.’ What did he want to say? Explain to us the words of the old men.” The old man said, “When the brethren drew nigh to the Fathers and asked them questions [wishing] to learn concerning the mode of action and thought in respect of the wars of the devils, the Fathers did not persuade those among them who appeared to possess subtlety of thought, and intelligence, and understanding, and to hate the passions, and to be fervent in the
