tranquillity of mind [which he will acquire] in silent contemplation, he will remember his sins, and when he hateth his passions, and hath petitioned for the remission of his sins, and hath suppressed his thoughts, and hath become constant in pure prayer, and hath cleansed his heart from odious thoughts, then shall he be worthy to see in his heart, even as in a polished mirror, the light of the revelation of our Lord [shine] upon it, even as the Fathers say. Well, then, did that holy man say to those brethren, Visit the sick, reconcile the men of wrath, for he who cultivateth spiritual excellences in the world cannot, by reason of the commotion of the affairs thereof, see his sins; but if he continue in silent contemplation and prayer he shall see God.”
661. The brethren said, “What is [the meaning of] that which Abbâ Sisoes said to Abbâ Ammon, ‘Freedom of my thoughts in the desert is sufficient for me?’ ” The old man said, “Sisoes was a great and a perfect old man, and he dwelt all the days of his life in the remote desert, and after he had become old, and was exceedingly feeble, the Fathers brought him to the monastery of the brethren, who used to go in and visit him each day, for the sake of some profitable discourse and helpful prayer. And because he was unaccustomed to feel comfortable in the presence of many folks, his mind began to wander about in remembering the brethren, and to meditate upon many things, and he was unable to find that dominant freedom for the continuous, secret prayer of the mind, which is superior to every influence that would make it decline, and is free from every [other] attraction, and he was, therefore, rightly grieved. Now one day, Abbâ Ammon went to visit him, and he saw that he was sorry about his coming from the desert, and he said unto him, ‘Father, it is not right for thee to be sorrowful because thou hast drawn nigh to the place where the brethren dwell, for thy body hath become feeble, and thou art unable to perform those works wherein thou wert wont to labour in the desert.’ Now when Abbâ Sisoes heard these things, he looked at Abbâ Ammon sternly, and he answered him with indignation, saying, ‘What sayest thou to me, Ammon? Was not the freedom of the thoughts which I had in the desert sufficient to take the place for me of all labours? And as regards thyself also, O Ammon, who art conscious of the life and acts of the freedom of the mind, and who art not subject unto the constraint of wandering and disturbance of the mind, and who art not impeded by old age and infirmity, tell me what thou art able to do in the desert at thy great age? Even if I be unequal to the labours of the
