even as do they. And through the words of these foolish and insolent men all the spiritual excellences which are cultivated in the monastery will perish and come to an end. And according to what I say, if the Fathers set the life of contemplation in silence against the whole of the labour of the ascetic life, and if it be more excellent than it all, who would blame him that loveth spiritual contemplation and repose, and the quiet of the cell?”
665. The brethren said, “On one occasion a congregation of monks assembled on the great festival of the Resurrection, and there were gathered together in the monastery all the Fathers, and all the recluses, and other monks, and all the old men in the congregation were asked, Which is the mightiest and most severe war which can come upon monks? And they all agreed that no war is harder or more cruel than that which maketh a man to leave his cell and depart, and that when that war is fought down, all other contests may be easily reduced. Explain to us the meaning of these words.” The old man said, “Constant spiritual repose in a cell hath hope closely bound up in it, but going out there from is united to despair. As long as a man liveth in spiritual repose, and loveth the quiet of the cell, little by little he goeth forward, one step at a time, according to the order of succession; and he hath hope that in our Lord he will vanquish each of the passions, and that through his repose and labours he will acquire spiritual excellences and the grace of Christ. But if the life becometh tedious to him, and he go forth and leave his cell, and wander about, he will neither vanquish the passions, nor acquire spiritual virtues, but he will incline to despair, and to utter destruction. Therefore the Fathers have well said that no war is more cruel than the war of wandering.”
666. The brethren said, “Abbâ Theodore and Abbâ Lûkî passed fifty years in being harassed by their thoughts which urged them vexatiously to change [their] place [of living]; and they said, ‘When the winter cometh we will change.’ And when the winter had come, they said, ‘We will change in the summer’; and thus they continued to do till the end of their lives. Reveal to us if it were the devils who were urging these famous Fathers to go forth from their cells for a period of fifty years, that is, until their death.” The old man said, “The devils urged the great Fathers to wander and to go forth from their spiritual repose because they well knew the benefit which accrued to them therefrom, and these holy Fathers were urged by the devils also, but did not leave their cells. To-day, however, in this generation, the same
