him to the old men and said unto them, “This is an angel, and not a man.”
200. Abbâ Paulê and Tîmâth his brother dwelt in Scete, and there was contention between them frequently; and Abbâ Paulê said, “How long are we to remain thus?” Abbâ Tîmâth said unto him, “When I come upon thee bear with me; and when thou comest upon me I will bear with thee.” And from that time they were at peace.
201. Certain brethren asked Abbâ Sisoes a question, and said unto him, “If we are going along a road, and he who is conducting us forgetteth the way, is it necessary for us to tell him?” And Abbâ Sisoes said unto them, “No.” Then a brother said unto him, “Are we then to let him lead us astray?” And the old man said unto him, “What then? Thou hast a stick, canst thou not take it and smite him? Now I knew twelve brethren who were travelling along the road, and in the night time he who was leading them lost the way, and all the brethren knew that he had done so; and every one of them struggled with his thoughts, [and decided] not to tell him. And when the day had come he who had been leading them learned that he had wandered off the road, and he made excuses and said unto them, ‘Forgive me because I lost the way’; and they all said, ‘We all of us knew it, brother, but we held our peace.’ And when he heard this he marvelled, saying, ‘The brethren would endure even unto death and would utter never a word’; and he glorified God. Now the distance which they had wandered from the road was twelve miles.”
202. Certain brethren came unto Abbâ Anthony, and said unto him, “Speak unto us a word whereby we may live”; and the old man said unto them, “Behold, ye have heard the Scriptures, and they are sufficient for you,” and the brethren said, “We wish to hear [a word] from thee also, O father.” Abbâ Anthony said unto them, “It is said in the Gospel, ‘If a man smite thee on the [one] cheek, turn to him the other also’ ” (St. Luke 6:29); and they said unto him, “We cannot do this.” Abbâ Anthony said unto them, “If ye cannot turn the other cheek, continue [to be smitten] on the one cheek”; and they said to him, “And this we cannot do.” The old man said unto them, “If ye cannot do even this, do not pay back blows in return for the smiting which ye have received”; and they said, “We cannot even do this.” Then the old man said unto his disciples, “Make then for the brethren a little boiled food, for they are ill”; and he said to them, “If ye cannot do this, and ye are unable to do the other things, prayers are necessary forthwith.”
