in such a way as to be pleasing to God?” The old man said, “It is impossible for a monk to rise to the height of the love of God, unless he first of all regard with affection and love man, the image of God; for this is the end of all the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, even as He Himself said, ‘If ye love Me, keep My commandments.’ ”
651. The brethren said, “An old man said, ‘If there rise up in thy mind a thought about the need of the body, and thou castest it out once, and it cometh to thee a second time, and thou castest it out, should it come a third time, pay no regard to it, for it appertaineth to war’; explain to us these words.” The old man said, “If whilst thou art in seclusion, and art engaged in spiritual labour, Satan, being envious of thee, and wishing to drive thee out of the cell, or to impede thy spiritual progress, stir up in thee one of the thoughts which goad a man into sin, either to eat before the proper time, or to lie down and sleep, or to visit some one, or to do something else; and if he sheweth thee thy power of discretion [saying], ‘It is unseemly for thee to do this thing’; or again, should some evil devil constrain thee, and hinder thee, and wishing to make thee to cease from thy labour, should mock and scoff at thee; then stand thou up quickly, and bestir thyself boldly, and bow thy knee before our Lord, and pray, and ask, and entreat for help, and mercy, and protection. For that brother who soaked palm fibres in water, and who sat down to plait ropes and mats, was engaged in a similar war, and a demon roused up in him the thought to go and visit one of the brethren; and he cast the thought from him twice, and thrice. Now finally, because he did not understand that the war was of the Evil One, who sought to stop [his work] and drive him out of his cell, he was overcome by the war, and he left the palm leaves soaking in the water, and ran and hurried out in great haste. At length the matter was revealed unto one of the holy men who was a neighbour of his, and he cried out to him, saying, Captive, Captive,’ and made him to come back to his cell, and afterwards the devils cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Ye have overcome us, O monks.’ For the demons are so wicked, and they are so envious of the monks when they remain constantly in seclusion for our Lord’s sake, that on several occasions they have, in an irregular manner, driven them out of their cells, as if for a good object, but their object was not a good one.”
652. The brethren said, “Why was it that Abbâ Ammon was not able to overcome the passion of wrath for fourteen years, although he said unto us, that he had entreated God,
