Book X (continued)

Chapter XCIX
The life of  ANTONIUS, an old man of the monastery of Scopulus.

The fathers of the monastery of our holy father Theodosius also told us the following:
"It is some years now since a certain old man called Antonius died. He gave great attention to fasting during his lifetime and lived at a distance in a place called Cotulas. One day in the desert there were some Saracens coming towards him, and one of them saw him and drew his sword meaning to kill him. When he saw the Saracen coming towards him however he looked up to heaven and said, "Lord Jesus Christ your will be done". And the ground immediately opened up and swallowed the Saracen, so the old man was saved and went back to the monastery glorifying God.

Chapter C.
The Life of PETER,  a monk of Ponticus

The fathers of this place also told us that there was a monk from Ponticus there called Peter who was adorned with many splendid virtues. Theodore the bishop of Rosus told us that Peter one day met him at the monastery of Turrius, where he was staying at that time.
"Do me a favour, brother Theodore," he said, "come with me to Mount Sinai which I have made a vow to visit."
"All right, let's go," he said, although he did not really want to.
"Come, brother Theodore," he said, after they had crossed the Jordan, "let us pray that neither of us will eat anything until we get to Mount Sinai."
"Truly, father, I would not be able to do that," he said. But the old man prostrated himself and prayed and did in fact eat nothing until they got to Sinai, where he first of all partook of the sacred mysteries before taking food. In the same way, as they travelled from Sinai to visit the holy Menas [assistant to the archbishop] at Alexandria the old man ate nothing. There again he communicated first before eating. From there they came back to the holy city, and the old man ate nothing on the way. In this holy place where Christ our God rose from the dead he eagerly received the most holy mysteries, and then took food. So in this long and difficult journey the old man ate only three times, once on Sinai, once in Alexandria, and once in the holy city.

Chapter CI
The Life of  PARDUS,  a monk of Rome

The fathers of this monastery also told us about another old man who had recently died, called Pardus, who came from Rome. When he was a young man he had been a muleteer, and once when he had gone to Jericho with his mules he was resting in a hostelry when one of his mules kicked a little boy and killed him while Pardus wasn't looking. Abba Pardus was terribly upset by this and went to Arnon where he became an anchorite, and kept on grieving incessantly.
"I have committed murder," he would say, " and in the day of judgment it is as a murderer that I shall be condemned."
Now there was a lion there near the river. Every day Pardus would go to the lion's den, teasing and provoking the lion, hoping that it would come out and devour him, but the lion never did him the slightest harm. The old man began to realise that he was not going to have any success.
"I shall lie down on the track which the lion takes to the river," he said to himself, "so that when he goes down to drink he will make a meal of me."
The lion came out soon after he had lain down, and as if endowed with the gift of reason, he quite peacefully jumped over the old man and did him no harm at all. By this the old man was persuaded that God had forgiven him his sins. He came back to the monastery again and lived in great abstinence, edifying everyone by the example of his lifestyle until the day he died.

Chapter CII
The account of  SOPHRONIUS SOPHISTA, of what happened to him while on a journey.

Abbot John the scholar, abbot Quiricus and several other fathers and myself were all with Sophronius one day when in response to a question he said:
"I was walking along this road when a number of dancing young people formed a ring around me singing: 'Welcome, Sophronius! Sophronius is king!'"

Chapter CIII
The life and virtues of abba STRATIGIUS.

The fathers of the monastery said of abba Stratigius, who also was a father of this famous monastery of our holy father Theodosius, that he was possessed of three virtues to a greater extent than any other of the monks of our time - fasting, vigils, ceaseless striving (iuge opus)

Chapter CIV
The life of abba NONNUS, who was a presbyter

While we were in the coenobium of our holy father Theodosius, the abbot Theodosius who was bishop of Capitulias told us about abba Nonnus the presbyter.
"One night before the signal had been given for the night office I was lying in my bed when I heard a gentle voice saying, Kyrie Eleison. After this had been repeated fifty times I wanted to see who it was that was saying this. And looking through the window of my cell I saw an old man in the church bending his knees to make prostrations. There was a star shining over his head enabling me to see that it was Nonnus."
Another of the old men in this coenobium told us the following about abba Nonnus:
"One night before the signal was given I left my cell to go to the church, and I saw the old man standing outside the church praying, with his hands stretched out to the heavens. And his fingers shone like lamps of fire. I was badly shaken, and went away."

Chapter CV
The life of the holy old man CHRISTOPHORUS, who was a Roman.

When we were in Alexandria we went to visit abba Theodore, who was at St Sophia near the Lighthouse, who told us the following story:
I first renounced the world when I was in the coenobium of our holy father Theodosius, in the desert near the holy city of Christ our God. I met there a great old man called Christophorus, who was a Roman, before whom one day I prostrated myself
"Do me a favour, father," I said, "and tell me how you went on when you were young."
After being asked again and again, the old man eventually realised that I was enquiring for the good of my own soul, and agreed to my requests.
"I was full of great zeal, my son," he said, "when I first renounced the world, and embraced the monastic life with great eagerness. During the day I took part in the regular times of psalmody, and at night went down into the cave where the holy Theodosius and the other holy fathers were accustomed to pray. I went down the eighteen steps into the cave one at a time, prostrating myself a hundred times on each one. When I got down there I stayed until the signal was given, then went to the synaxis with the fathers. I did this work for eleven years without a break, with many fasts, continence, obedience and with nothing apart from the barest essentials.
"Then one night as I was going down according to my usual custom, doing all my usual acts of reverence, I got to the floor of the cave and fell into an ecstasy, and saw the floor of the cave full of candles, some of which were lit and some not. I saw two men wearing cloaks on top of white habits tending to the candles.
"'Why have you put these candles here,' I asked, preventing us from coming in to pray?'
"'The candles belong to the fathers,' they said.
"'Then why are some alight and some not?' I asked.
"'There are some who want their candles lit and some who don't,' they said.
"'Tell me, please,'  I said, 'is my candle lit or not?'
"'Pray, and we will light it,' they said.
"'I pray constantly,' I said. 'What more can I do?'
"As I said this I came to my senses, and looking round, could see nobody.
"'Christophorus,' I said to myself, 'there is much greater labour for you to do yet.'
"Next morning I left the monastery and travelled to Mount Sinai, taking nothing with me but the clothes I stood up in. I worked there for fifty years at the end of which a voice came to me:
"'Christophorus, Christophorus, go back to your own coenobium where you strove so valiantly, and there you will be gathered to your fathers.'
And soon after he had told me all this his holy soul rested in peace.

Theodore also passed on to us the following story, which abba Christophorus had told him:
"One day I went in to the holy city in order to venerate the holy cross. After I had done so and was going out I saw a brother in the doorway of the chapel of the holy cross. I also saw two crows impudently flying around in front of his face, flapping their wings in his eyes and preventing him from going in. I knew at once that these were demons.
"'Tell me, brother,' I said, 'Why are you standing in the middle of the doorway without going in?'
"'Forgive me, father,' he said, 'but it's my thoughts. One of them says: go in and adore the precious cross, the other says: no, just go away make baskets, and come back to worship another day.'
"Hearing this, I took him by the hand and led him in to the chapel, and immediately the crows flew off. I got him to adore the holy Cross and the holy resurrection of Christ our God, and sent him away in peace."
The old man told me these things, said Theodore, because he saw that I was burdened with a lot of tasks to perform and neglectful of my prayer.
.
Chapter CVI
The story of abba THEODORE, about the monk from Syria, who was a Severian.

Abba Theodore also told us the following:
There is a guest house here near the Lighthouse between St Sophia and St Faustus and the man in charge invited me one day to go and stay there for a few days. So I went, and found that one of the guests there was a monk from Syria who had nothing except his tunic and mantle and a few loaves of bread. He was standing in a corner, saying psalms day and night, and speaking to no one. When Sunday came I approached him.
"Come with me, brother, to St Sophia," I said, "so that you can communicate in the holy and venerable mysteries."
"No, I am not coming," he said.
"Please, why not?"
"I am a follower of Severianus, and I don't communicate in the Church."
On being told that he would not communicate in the holy and apostolic Church, and yet being aware that he seemed to have an excellent way of life full of virtues, I went away grieving to my cell and shut the door. I prostrated myself before God for three days and prayed with many tears.
"Christ our God and Ruler," I prayed, "who of thy immense and ineffable mercy turned from heaven and came down for our salvation, who became flesh of our holy Lady, Mary ever virgin and birthgiver of our God, show me who has the right and proper belief, us who belong to the holy Church, or those who follow Severianus."
On the third day a disembodied voice came to me.
"Go, Theodore, and you will see his faith."
So next day I went and sat near him, waiting to see something to explain the meaning of what the voice had said. As God is my witness, my son, I saw a dove as black as soot as if it had flown down the chimney, dirty and bedraggled. And I realised that his faith was just like this sooty and disgusting bird that I could see.
This holy soul truly told us all this with many tears and sighs.

Chapter CVII
The life of abba GERASIMUS.

About a mile away from the Jordan there is a monastery known as abba Gerasimus' monastery. When we visited it the old men living there told us about abba Gerasimus.
One day as he was walking by the banks of the Jordan he met a lion in the way, roaring loudly. He was holding in the air one swollen paw covered in bloody matter, caused by a sharp sliver of reed embedded in it. When the lion saw the old man he stood still and held out the wounded paw with the reed in it, as if weeping and asking to be cured. When the old man realised the plight the lion was in he took the lion's paw, probed the wound and drew out the reed along with a quantity of pus, carefully cleaned the wound and bandaged it and sent the lion on his way. But when the lion realised he had been cured he refused to desert the old man but followed him everywhere like a disciple following a master. The old man was amazed at the gratitude which a wild beast was capable of, and looked after it from then on, feeding it on bread and soaked vegetables.
Now this monastery had an ass, which they used for carrying water from the Jordan to supply the brothers' needs. And it became the old man's custom to let the lion guard the ass while it was grazing. The lion would go with the ass down to the banks of the Jordan and watch it while it grazed. One day, however, the lion wandered off for quite a distance, just when a camel driver from Arabia came along, saw the ass, caught it and took it away with him. Finding the ass missing the lion returned to the monastery and hung his head, obviously grief-stricken, before abba. Gerasimus, who thought that the lion must have eaten the ass.
"Where is the ass?" he said.
But the lion, just as human being might do, looked away and said nothing.
"Well the Lord be blessed if you haven't eaten it!" said the abba. "So everything that the ass used to do you will have to do from now on."
So the lion henceforth had to carry a harness containing four amphorae in which he carried water for the monastery.
One day a soldier came to the old man to ask his blessing. When he saw the lion carrying water and learned the reason for it, he took pity on the lion, and offered the old men three numismas to buy another ass for this task, so that there would be no need for the lion to do it. Soon after this transaction was completed and the lion relieved of his burden, the camel driver who had stolen the ass came back carrying wheat for sale in the holy city and he still had the ass with him. As he was crossing the Jordan he met the lion, and as soon as he had seen it he let the camels go and fled. But the lion recognised the ass, ran up to it and took the ass's halter in his mouth just as he used to do. He joyfully led the ass and three camels back to the old man, roaring loudly, because he had found the ass which was lost. So the old man who had thought that the lion had swallowed the ass now learned that the lion had suffered a great injustice. He called the lion "Jordan", and he never left the old man but continued to live in the monastery with the brothers for more than five years.
In the providence of God the lion was not in the monastery when the old man passed to the Lord and was buried. But a little while after the lion came into the monastery and abba  Sabbatius, Gerasimus' disciple, noticed the lion looking for the old man.
"Jordan," said Sabbatius, " our father has left us both orphans and passed to the Lord. Try and get used to it, and come and take some food."
But the lion would not eat, and kept on looking about this way and that way, searching for the old man, roaring loudly, unable to bear the old man's absence. Abba Sabbatius and the other old men stroked his neck and told him over and over again that the old man had passed to the Lord and had left us, but whatever they said they were unable to lessen his grief or his roaring. The more they tried to cherish and console him by their words, the greater his grief, the louder he roared and lamented, showing in his voice, his face and his eyes his distress at not seeing the old man.
"Come with me, seeing that you don't believe us," said abba Sabbatius to him at last, "and I will show you where our old man has been laid." So he led the lion to where the old man was buried, about five paces outside the church.
"This is where our old man is buried," said abba Sabbatius to the lion, as he stood above abba Gerasimus' grave. And Abba Sabbatius prostrated himself over the old man's grave. The lion understood what was said to him, and when he saw abba Sabbatius prostrate on the grave, weeping, he too lay down, striking head forcefully on the ground and roaring. And suddenly, there he died, on the old man's grave.
Now all this happened not that a lion should be thought to have a rational soul, but because God wishes those who glorify him to do so not only in this life but also after death, and to show us what kind of dependence the beasts had upon the first man, before he was disobedient to the command and was expelled from the paradise of delights.

Chapter CVIII
The life of a PRESBYTER, who was a virgin, and also his WIFE, a virgin likewise.

In the island of Samus there is a coenobium known as Charixenus' monastery, and there we met the prior, abba Isodore, a man of great virtue, of great charity towards everyone, notable for his simplicity and humility, who we know was made bishop of that region a little later. This is what he told us:
About eight miles from the city there is a village with a church, in which there is a rather wonderful presbyter. In spite of his protests, his parents compelled him to take a wife, although he did not want to. He was still a young man and legitimately married to a wife, but not only did he refrain from the enticing delights of passion, but also persuaded his wife to live chastely and modestly. They both learned the psalter by heart, and sang the psalms together in the church, keeping their virginity to the end.
One day a false accusation was made to the bishop against this presbyter, and the bishop, who was unaware of his way of life, had him taken out of the village into the prison in which clerics who had erred were locked up and given remedial treatment. On the first Sunday on which he was in prison a most beautiful youth appeared to him.
"Come, sir presbyter," said the youth, "go into the church and offer the holy oblation."
"I can't. I'm locked up," he replied.
"I will unlock the prison. Come, follow me."
And he unlocked the doors and went out in front of him. Once they were out he walked to the village, a mile distant.
When daylight came the governor of the prison went to see his prisoner, and when he saw he wasn't there he ran to the bishop.
"The presbyter has escaped," he said, "even though the key has never left my possession."
The bishop guessed where he might have fled to, sent one of his servants off.
"Go and see if the presbyter has gone back to his own village," he said. "But don't speak to him for the time being."
The servant went off and found that the presbyter was in the church offering the holy oblation. He went back to the bishop and told him that that was where the presbyter was, and that he was making the offering. The bishop became more and more angry and swore that next day he would deprive the presbyter of his office in total disgrace.

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