He who loveth money hath a doubt in his mind concerning God, and he prepareth [the means of] life before God giveth them unto him; and, although in his words he rejoiceth in the promises, he maketh them to be a lie by his deeds.True is the word of our Lord, Who said, ‘It is as difficult for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God, as for a camel to go into the eye of a needle’ (St. Matthew 19:24); to possess both God and mammon in one abode is impossible. Now those who follow the ascetic life do not belong to the things which are seen.”
692. The brethren said, ‘Who is truly the man of ascetic excellence?” The old man said, ‘He who at all times crieth out that he is a sinner, and asketh mercy from the Lord, whose speech beareth the sense of discretion, whose feelings bear the excellence of works, who though silent yet speaketh, and who though speaking yet holdeth his peace, and whose acts and deeds bear good fruit to his temporary life and the manifestation of Christ.”
693. The brethren said, “Which is the way of life?” The old man said, “That whereby a man goeth forth from this world in his entrance into the other; but if a man forsaketh his childhood of humility, and cometh to the old age of this world in his love, he revealeth the way of life. Now the true departure from this world is remoteness therefrom.”
694. A brother said, “What shall I do to this world when it troubleth me?” The old man said, “The world troubleth thee because the cares thereof are in thy mind, and love therefor is in thy body, and its delights are in thy heart. Let the world depart from thee, and tear out from thee all the roots (or branches) thereof, and lo, the war thereof will cease from thee. For as long as thy body seeketh [its] pleasures, and its lust is of the world, it is impossible for thee to live.”
695. The brethren said, “What is pure prayer?” The old man said, “That which is of few words and is abundant in deeds. For if [thy] actions be not more than thy petition, thy prayers are mere words wherein the seed of the hands is not; and if it be not thus, why do we ask and not receive, since the mercy of Grace aboundeth. The manner of the penitent is one thing, and the labour of the humble is another; the penitent are hirelings, but the humble are sons.”
696. The brethren said, “By what is the love of money produced?” The old man said, “From lust, for except a man lusteth he will not possess [money], and if he doth not possess [money] he will not lust. When a man lusteth he possesseth [money], and having acquired it he fulfilleth his lust;
