entreated him to receive his hire. But when the holy man refused the wages and said, “Perhaps thou hast need of them, and as for me God will give me my hire,” the man increased his supplications unto him, and finally the holy man permitted him to give the money to the church.
195. An old man used to say, “We do not advance because we do not know our capacity, and we have not sufficient patience in the work which we begin, and we wish to possess spiritual excellences without working for them, and we go from place to place, and expect to find some spot where Satan is not, and when we see the temptation of Satan in that place whereunto we have been called, he who knoweth what the war is will remain in God. For the kingdom of heaven is within you.”
196. An old man used to say, “If it should happen that a sickness of the body overtake thee, let it not be grievous unto thee, for if thy Lord wisheth thee to be sick in the body, who art thou that thou shouldst be in despair? Doth He not take care for thee in everything? Couldst thou live without Him? Be patient, and entreat thou Him to give thee such things as are helpful, and which are according to His will; and besides this eat thou His food of grace with long-suffering.”
197. Abbâ Poemen used to say, “The certain sign that a monk is a monk is made known by trials (or temptations).”
198. A certain brother was estranged from a fellow monk, and he came to Abbâ Sisoes the Theban, and said unto him, “I am estranged from a fellow monk, and I wish to take vengeance for myself”; and the old man said, “Let us pray.” And whilst he was praying, he said in his prayer, “O God, henceforward we have no need of Thee to take care of us, for we will take vengeance for ourselves”; and when the brother heard these words he fell down at the feet of the old man straightway, and said unto him, “Henceforward I will not enter into judgement with that brother. Forgive me, O Father.” And thus Abbâ Sisoes healed that brother.
199. They say that Abbâ John the Less, the Theban, the disciple of Abbâ Ammon, ministered unto the Abbâ in his sickness for twelve years, and he sat by him when the old man was in a state of exhaustion, and he persevered and endured so patiently, even whilst he was performing great labours, that the old man never once said unto him, “Rest, my son; rest, my son!” And when the old man was about to die, and the other old men were sitting before him, Abbâ Ammon took his hand, and said unto him, “Live, my son, live!” Then he committed
