are powerless against the faith which is in the Lord. Now this gift was given unto him, even as he had asked, for a certain time, and because he was pure, his heart used to see God, Who is invisible, as in a mirror.
109. They used to say about Abbâ Pachomius and Abbâ John that they lived together in the same religious house (now John was larger in stature than Pachomius), but both had adopted a life of poverty voluntarily, and they possessed nothing whatsoever except the fear of God. Whatsoever they gained by the work of their hands they gave to those who were in need, and they kept for themselves only what was sufficient for their bare necessities; in respect of clothes they were well-nigh destitute, and they had so few of them that they were obliged to wash those which they wore [and put them on again]. Now Abbâ Pachomius always wore a garment made of hair, because of the toil of his body. And whensoever they wished to refresh their bodies by a little sleep after their vigil and prayer, each of them would sit down in the middle of the cell, and, without leaning against a wall, would go to sleep. And they continued to do this for fifteen years, and many of the fathers heard of them, and saw them living thus, and they also strove in like manner to humble their bodies for the redemption of their souls.
110. They used to say about Abbâ Joseph that when he was about to die, and the old men were sitting about him, he looked at the window and saw Satan sitting there; and he cried out to his disciple and said, “Bring me a stick here, for this devil thinketh that I have become old, and that I am no longer able to stand up against him,” and as soon as he grasped the stick in his hand, Satan, in the form of a dog, threw himself from the window, and the old man saw him taking to flight.
111. They used to relate concerning Abbâ Sisoes that if he did not bring down his hands swiftly when he was standing up in prayer, his mind would be carried off on high; but whensoever it chanced that one of the brethren was with him he would bring his hands down hurriedly lest peradventure his mind should be carried off, and he should be left alone.
112. Abbâ Isaiah, the elder of the church, rebuked the brethren when they were eating that which had been prepared for them because they began to talk with each other, and he said to them, “Hold ye your peace, O my brethren. I know a brother who eateth with us and drinketh with us full (?) cups even as we do, and yet his prayer ascendeth up before God like fire.”
113. One day Abbâ Arsenius called Abbâ Alexander and Abbâ Zôîlâ,
