St. Athanasius: The Paradise of the Holy Fathers

[Stone]

THE RULE OF PACHOMIUS AT TABENNA

CHAPTER XVI

OF HOW ABBA PACHOMIUS WOULD NOT KEEP BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS

THE blessed man Pachomius built an oratory in his monastery, and he made pillars [for it], and covered the faces thereof with tiles, and he furnished it beautifully, and he was exceedingly pleased with the work because he had built it well; and when he had come to himself he declared, through the agency of Satan, that the beauty of the oratory was a thing which would compel a man to admire it, and that the building thereof would be praised. Then suddenly he rose up, and took ropes, and fastened them round the pillars, and he made a prayer within himself, and commanded the brethren to help him, and they bowed their bodies, and the pillars and the whole construction fell [to the ground]; and he said to the brethren, “Take heed lest ye strive to ornament the work of your hands overmuch, and take ye the greatest possible care that the grace of God and His gift may be in the work of each one of you, so that the mind may not stumble towards the praises of cunning wickedness, and the Calumniator may not obtain [his] prey.”

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CHAPTER XVII


OF HOW WHEN ON A CERTAIN OCCASION THE HERETICS CAME TO HIM HE DID NOT YIELD TO THEM,
AND OF HOW HE LET THEM RECEIVE AN EXPERIENCE OF HIM BY THE SIGN WHICH THEY ASKED AT HIS HAND

AND it came to pass on a certain occasion that certain heretical monks, who were in the habit of wearing garments made of hair, and who had heard concerning the blessed Pachomius, rose up and came to his monastery; and they said unto certain monks of Rabbâ, “Our father hath sent us to your Rabbâ with a message, saying, ‘If thou art in truth a man of God, and if thou art confident that God will hearken unto you, come hither, and let us walk together across the river on our feet, so that every man may know which of us hath more freedom of speech before God than the other.’ ” And when the brethren informed Rabbâ concerning these things, he was exceedingly angry with them, and said unto them, “Why did ye undertake to listen to those who have said these things? Know ye not that requests of this kind are things which are foreign to God, and are wholly alien to our rule? And besides this, they are not even things which are thought well of by men who live in the world. For what law of God teacheth us to do these things? And moreover, our Redeemer commandeth us to the contrary in the Holy Gospel, saying, ‘Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth’ (St. Matthew 6:3). For thou [thinkest] of something which is more wretched than the want of mind [i.e., foolishness] in imagining that I should give up mourning for my sins, [or cease to think] how I may flee from everlasting punishment, or that, even if I were a boy in my thoughts I could ever come to [make] such a demand as that.”

And the brethren answered and said unto him, “How is it then that this man, who is a heretic and alien to God, should be so bold as to call upon thee to do this [thing]?” And Rabbâ answered and said unto them, “He is able to pass over the river as one who travelleth over dry land through the neglect of God, and the Calumniator helpeth him, so that his wicked heresy may not be brought to naught, and so that the faith of those who have gone astray may be more finally established by means of works of audacity which he performeth through him. Get ye out then, and say unto those who have brought such a message as this: ‘Thus saith the man of God, Pachomius, I devote all my strivings, and all my anxious care, not that I may pass over the river by walking on the waters thereof, but in trying to flee from the judgement of God, and to escape, by the might of the Lord, from such Satanic wiles as these.’ ” Then having said these things to the brethren he strictly forbade them to think greatly of their integrity, and to lust after the sight [of him walking across the river on the water], and to go with those who pry into such matters as these; [and he said] “We must not voluntarily follow after such matters as these, and we must not put God to the test by such questions, for concerning the knowledge of events before they happen He hath commanded us by His Holy Scriptures, saying, ‘Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God, saith the Lord’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16).

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CHAPTER XVIII


OF THE QUESTION WHICH A CERTAIN BROTHER BROUGHT TO HIM, AND ITS ANSWER

RABBÂ was on one occasion asked by a certain brother, who said, “Why is it that, before the coming of that devil who vexeth us, we possess the understanding of the mind in a healthy state, and are able to make use of philosophy for the sake of self-denial, and humility, and the other virtues, but that when it cometh to us to make manifest in very deed the virtues of philosophy, that is to say, longsuffering in the hour of wrath, and the keeping of the temper in the season of anger, and a frame of mind from which vainglory is absent, and when there are praises [ascribed to us], and many other things which are akin thereto, the mind (or understanding) languisheth and becometh destroyed?”

And Rabbâ answered and said unto him, “It is because we are not perfectly skilled in the performance [of these things], and because we are not so thoroughly acquainted with all the mind and vague thoughts of the devils that we are able, through the power of the sight of the soul, to recognize in quiet contemplation the advent of him who causeth us vexation, and who watcheth that he may be able to gather together the outpouring of suchlike thoughts. Therefore, every day and every hour it is the portion of the soul to watch, and we must pour out upon it, like oil, the fear of God, that is to say, the efficacious performance of work, and the lamp which will enable us to see the things which are falling upon us in the healing of the mind. Whosoever then will not be strenuous [will come] to anger, and wrath, and ill-temper, and to each of the passions which lead us on to wickedness. And the soul will see, and will depart to that incorporeal country, and it will make the mind to hold in contempt the things which are wrought by the devils, and will compel it to trample under foot serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the Enemy.”

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CHAPTER XIX


OF HOW UNCLEAN AND CONTEMPTIBLE IN THE SIGHT OF RABBA WAS THE MAN WHO TOILED WITH THE LABOUR OF HIS HANDS

 FOR THE SAKE OF VAINGLORY

ON one occasion when Rabbâ was sitting with a number of the other brethren in a certain place in the monastery, [he was told that] one of the monks in the monastery used to make two mats of plaited palm leaves daily and that day he placed them in front of his cell, opposite the place where Rabbâ was then sitting with the brethren. Now he did this because he was [unduly] exalted with the thought of vainglory, and he believed that he would be praised for such assiduity, because the rule [of the fathers] was that each monk should make one mat daily. And Rabbâ perceived that the monk did this for the purpose of making a display, and he understood the intention which was stirring in the man and moving him; and he sighed heavily and said unto the brethren who were sitting with him, “See ye this man who toileth from morning to evening? He hath endowed Satan with all his labour, and hath left nothing whatsoever of his work for the comfort of his own soul. He hath toiled overmuch for the praise of the children of men, and he hath not worn out his body with all this work for the sake of God, and his soul is empty of work through the pleasure of him that doeth it, for he hath loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” Then he called that brother, and rebuked him, and charged him to stand up behind the brethren when they were praying, and to hold the two mats, and to say to them, “O my brethren, I beseech you to pray for my degraded soul, in order that through your prayers God may shew abundant mercy to it, for I have held these mats in greater honour than His kingdom.” And he also commanded that the man should stand up with the mats among the brethren when they were sitting at meat until they rose up from the table; and he commanded likewise that after this he should be confined to his cell for a period of five months, and should make two mats daily, and should eat bread and salt only, and that no man should visit him.

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CHAPTER XX


OF A CERTAIN MONK WHO BELONGED TO THE MONASTERY

NOW before we bring this history to a close we are obliged to mention, in addition to those of whom we have already spoken, another holy monk who was thoroughly trained in the spiritual excellence of the brethren, so that we may narrate a few of the things which were wrought by him for edification. This brother, of blessed memory, because he was afflicted in his body had a cell separate from the brethren; he lived upon bread and salt only, and he used to make one mat of plaited palm leaves each day, and it would happen often, when he was plaiting the ropes which were being used in making the mats, that his hands would become covered with blood, and they were so full of wounds caused by the reeds, that the very mats which he was making were wetted with blood. But although he suffered from such a weakness as this, he never turned away from the congregation of the brethren, and he never lay down to sleep in the daytime until the end of his life. And it was his habit every night before he lay down to sleep to repeat some portion of the Scriptures, and then he would go to sleep until they beat the board to summon the congregation to the service of the night.

Now on one occasion a certain brother went to him, and seeing that his hands were covered with blood through plaiting mats, he said unto him, “Why dost thou work and toil in this manner, seeing that thou art so seriously ill? Thinkest thou that thou wouldst not obtain permission not to work and to be idle from God? God knoweth that thou art sick, and no man who hath thy complaint hath ever worked. We feed and take care of strangers and poor folk, and are we not in duty bound to minister unto thy wants, thou who art one of us, and art so holy a man, with all our soul and with the greatest joy and gladness?” And the monk said unto him, “It is impossible for me not to work,” and the brother replied, “If it pleaseth thee to act thus, at least anoint thy hands with oil at eventide, for thou wilt not become as weary as thou art now, and thou wilt not become covered with blood.” And the monk hearkened unto that brother, and anointed his hands with oil, even as he had told him to do, yet because they were tender they were grievously chafed, and cut, and torn by the sharp reeds (or palm-grass). Then Rabbâ himself went to visit him in his cell, and he said unto him, “Thinkest thou, O Theodore, that the oil had any beneficial effect upon thee? Who forced thee to work? Didst thou not place thy hope of being healed rather upon the operation of the oil than upon God? Peradventure was not thy God able to heal thee? Yet when He saw that thou wast ordering help for thyself He left thee [to fall into] this pain.” Then the monk answered and said unto Rabbâ, “O father, I have sinned against God, and I give thanks (or confess), and I entreat thee that God may forgive me this sin.”

And, according to what those fathers who were with him said, he passed a full year in mourning for this act of folly; and he ate once every two days. And at the beginning of the period wherein this man began to gain strength considerably, Rabbâ was in the habit of sending him to every monastery that he might be both the foundation and the type of all the brethren, because he endured the cruel weakness of that disease with such patience.

Here endeth the History of the Followers of Pachomius, which is called in Greek the Asketikon of the Followers of Pachomius