mother], “Live ye! Live ye!” but he did not look at them. Now his mother did not recognize him, and she sent in again to the old man a message, saying, “Send me my son, O father, so that I may see him.” Then the old man said unto Mark, “Did I not tell thee to go out and see thy mother?” And he said unto him, “Father, I went forth according to thy word, but I beseech thee do not tell me to go forth again, lest peradventure I feel myself compelled to disobey thee”; and [the old man] spake with her, and quieted her, and sent her away in peace.
242. And they used to tell about two brethren who lived in a monastery, and who both had arrived at a high grade in the ascetic life; the one devoted himself to an austere life of self-denial and poverty, and the other was obedient and humble. And being angry with each other they wished to know which of the two [kinds of] service was the greater, and they went down to the river where there were many crocodiles, and that brother who possessed the faculty of obedience went in, and stood up among them, and they all worshipped him. Then he cried out to his fellow who was a mourner, and said unto him, “Forgive me, O my brother, I have not yet attained to such a high degree of faith as thou hast”; and when they returned to the monastery, the head of the monastery heard a voice, saying, “The man who obeyeth is better than the man who leadeth a life of voluntary poverty.”
243. Abbâ Daniel used to say, “On one occasion Abbâ Arsenius called me and said unto me, ‘Make thy father to be gratified, so that when he goeth to our Lord, he may make entreaties to Him on behalf of thee, and good shall be unto thee.’ ”
244. A certain brother was engaged in a war against Satan, and he told the matter to Abbâ Herakles; and wishing to strengthen and confirm him the old man told him the following story:—There was a certain old man who had a disciple, and he had been very obedient unto him for many years, and when the war came upon him, he made a request to his master, saying, “I beseech thee to make me a monk.” And his master said unto him, “Seek out a place for thyself, and we will build a cell for thee, and thou shalt become a monk.” So the disciple went and found a place, which was distant from his master about one hundred paces, and he made himself a cell. Then the old man said unto that brother, “Whatsoever I say unto thee, that do. When thou art hungry, eat; and when thou art thirsty, drink; and sleep, but thou must not go out from thy cell until the Sabbath Day, when thou shalt come to me.” Then the old man went back to his cell. And the
