Life of Pachomius, Book 1a (continued)

Chapter XXXVIII
A certain young man named Silvanus gave up his life on the stage to live in the monastery with Pachomius. But after being received he continued living in the same disreputable worldly way, ignoring the disciplines of the Rule and neglectful of his own salvation. He spent his days in the ridiculous empty pastimes of his former life, and even achieved some following among the brothers persuading them to imitate him. Most of the brothers objected to this and urged the holy Pachomius to expel him from the monastery. But he would not agree to that, but bore it all with equanimity. He spoke to the brother, urging him to amend his ways and give up his former lifestyle. He prayed constantly to God for him, that out of the accustomed abundance of his mercy he might fill the young man's heart with compunction. But the youth persisted in his dissolute ways, an example of a lost soul if ever there was one, until at last everyone agreed that he should be cut off from the congregation as being completely unworthy.
But Pachomius still begged to differ. He plied him with the most wise and gentle warnings, and gave him instructions in the wisdom of heaven, with the result that he began to burn so fiercely with the fear of God, and was filled with such trepidation about his future fate, that from then on he was completely unable to refrain from tears. Completely reformed, he became like a book in which everyone else could read what conversion really was. He wept continually wherever he was and whatever he was doing.  Even when the brothers were eating he could not cease from lamentation. This annoyed many of the monks.
"Stop your everlasting weeping," they said. "Please, just throw off these expressions of grief."
"However much I try," he replied, "I simply cannot stop crying, as you ask. For my breast burns as if it is on fire, and gives me no peace."
"Well weep privately, then, or if you must, during the prayers, but at least when we gather for a meal you ought to stop weeping and eat. For it is perfectly possible to maintain compunction in your soul without all these exterior manifestations of grief. Many of the brothers are quite put off their food when they see you weeping so freely. Tell us now, why is it that you can't moderate your tears?"
"Would you not have me weep, when I am aware of how much I am supported by you holy brothers? I worship the dust under your feet and don't consider myself at all worthy of being part of your company.  Should I not weep, when a man of the stage, guilty of many sins, receives such kindnesses? I go in constant fear lest like Dathan and Abiron I should be swallowed up in my wickedness by a hole in the earth (Numbers 16.32). Those men of unclean hands and deeds had attempted to take over power; and I who am so much aware of the gifts of God have likewise scorned my own salvation by reason of my disgraceful deeds. With this constantly in mind I am not ashamed to weep in front of you all. For I know what sins I am capable of, and I must needs expiate them by my constant fountains of tears. So if I pour out my soul in lamentations it is not really any great thing I am doing. Indeed, at this time I cannot think of any punishment adequate for my sins."
This brother progressed to better things day by day and outstripped all his brothers in humility. So much so that the holy Pachomius had this to say about him in the presence of all the brothers:
"I tell you my brothers and sons, before God and the holy Angels by whom this coenobium was founded, there is only one person that I know of who has followed my teachings on humility."
Some of the brothers thought he was talking of Theodore, others of Petronius, others yet again of Orsesius. Theodore begged him to tell whom he was talking about, the holy man demurred, and Theodore asked him again more urgently. The greater part of the brothers also strongly urged him to say who it was who merited such praise.
"Well, I wouldn't tell you," said Pachomius, "if I thought that the person of whom I have been speaking would succumb to vainglory, but I have not the slightest doubt that by the grace of Christ he would increase in humility however much he might be praised, so I need have no fear in openly singing his blessed praises.
"Now you, Theodore, and others like you, have trapped the devil like a sparrow in a cage, and by the grace of God you have trampled him under your feet and crushed him to dust. But if, which God forbid, you are neglectful in anything he who is under your feet will rise up and rave against you with a terrible fury. But this young Silvanus, whom not long ago you wanted to drive out of the monastery, has put to death his own desires and laid the enemy so low that no one can compare with him. His humility is greater than anyone's. Indeed, whereas you, my brothers, derive satisfaction from the works of righteousness that you do, this young man judges himself to be lower than everyone, however hard he fights himself. With complete conviction he judges himself to be useless and lacking in every kind of virtue. That is why he cries so readily, because he lowers himself and humiliates himself, and does not reckon anything that he does to be important. There is nothing like the humility of a pure heart, together with amendment of life, to destroy the power of the devil."
Silvanus valiantly fought under the banner of Christ for another eight years before coming to the end of his life in peace. The blessed Pachomius testified of his going that a host of holy Angels carried off his soul with great rejoicing, offering him up as a chosen vessel in the sight of Christ.

Chapter XXXIX
At this time, the way in which Pachomius was presiding over such a remarkable way of life came to the attention of Varus, the bishop of the city of Panos. He was a man highly respected in all his doings, devoted to God, standing out as one who fervently loved the true faith. He sent letters to Pachomius, telling him at great length of his desire that Pachomius should come and build monastic cells (monasteria) near his city. For a number of reasons he agreed to the bishop's request, and as he set out on his journey he decided it would be right to visit on the way the monasteries under the bishop's pastoral care. As he approached one of these monasteries he met the funeral procession of one of the brothers who had recklessly taken his own life. The brothers of the monastery were conducting the funeral with all ceremony, singing the usual psalms, with the friends and relations of the dead person all present. When they saw Pachomius they set down the bier and asked him to pray for the dead man as well as for themselves. Having finished the required prayer he turned to the brothers.
"Stop singing psalms," he said. "Take off those splendid vestments you have clothed him with, burn the lot of them, and take the corpse to be buried without any further psalm-singing."
The parents of the dead man, the brothers, and everyone else that was there were thus suddenly confronted in utter astonishment with this unheard of situation. They begged the old man that at least they should be permitted to sing the usual psalms over him, but he wouldn't agree.
"What is the idea of this new procedure?" the parents asked accusingly. "Who would not pay their respects to the dead, even if they are in disgrace? The tragedy of his death in itself is quite enough to bear. What you are doing is worse than behaving like a wild beast and does not say much for your reputation of holiness. Besides, our own reputation will become completely dishonoured, and we shall be suspected of all sorts of other hidden wickednesses. If only we had never come to this place; if only he had never become a monk! Don't inflict on us a grief which will never go away. We beg that you will restore the singing of the usual psalms for the dead."
"Truly, my brothers and children," said Pachomius in reply, "I grieve for you in the presence of this dead person inasmuch as you are thinking only of what is visible and temporal. My concern is for his present state which we cannot see, which is why I have made these decisions. And you would be bringing even more grief upon him by these so-called honours. I want him to expiate his evil deed, in the hope that he might gain some small measure of eternal rest. I am not thinking of his bodily life. What I have decided is for the benefit of his immortal soul, which will be given back his flesh incorrupt and whole in the day of resurrection. If I were to agree to what you want I would be thought of as one who bowed to human judgment, but I scorn to be seen as one who seeks only to satisfy your wishes for this present moment, rather than seek the best interests of this man in the world to come.
"Our God is the fountain of all goodness, and he seeks opportunities to pour out upon us the overflowing gifts of his own beneficence and to forgive us our sins, not only in this world but in the world to come. It says in the Gospel, 'Whoever blasphemes against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this world or in the world to come' (Matthew 12.32), which means that there are some sins which undoubtedly can be forgiven if penance is done for them. We have been considered worthy by the power of Christ to administer the medicine prescribed by his godhead, and if we do not pronounce judgments appropriate for each particular case we shall fall into disrepute as despisers, as Scripture says, 'Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish' (Habakkuk 1.5 & Acts 13.41). So, therefore, I beg you to allow this dead person to be humiliated because of his sins, if only so that he may be found worthy of obtaining some measure of rest in the day of judgement. Bury him without the psalms, as I have said. Our kind and clement and most merciful God is well able to grant him eternal rest in response to our unadorned prayers."
When he had finished, they all went on their way and did as the venerable father had said, burying him on the mountainside where his tomb had been prepared.

Chapter XL
The holy man stayed with the monks for several days, and taught them first of all how each one should live in the fear of God, and then how they should fight against the devil, and by the grace of Christ turn away from his attacks.
Messengers then came to tell him that a brother of the monastery of Chinobosci was seriously ill, and begged the blessing of a final prayer from Pachomius. The man of God immediately set off in all haste with the messengers, and as they were hurrying along about two or three miles from the monastery they were going to, he heard the most beautiful voice sounding in the air, and looking up saw that brother's soul being swiftly carried up to the blessed realms of everlasting life by Angels praising the Lord. Pachomius' companions neither heard nor felt anything at all, but only saw him gazing steadily towards the East.
"Why are you just standing there, father?" they asked him. "We need to hurry if we are to get there in time."
"There is no point in hurrying," he said. "What I have been gazing at for so long is the brother being taken up into the joys of eternity."
They asked him to explain how he had seen the soul, and he told them what he had seen in as far as they could understand it. When they arrived at the monastery they asked what time the brother had fallen asleep, and found that everything they had learned from the holy man was true.
I have told you about this for two reasons. Firstly, to show that this blessed old man had supersensitive sight and possessed the gift of prophecy, being able to see things at a distance by intellectual vision, and secondly, that we who follow in the footsteps of such men should carefully avoid the company of the wicked. And I think that I have now said enough about such things.

Chapter XLI
When the holy Pachomius and the monks came at last to the bishop of Chinobosci, he was welcomed with the greatest of respect, and a great celebration was held because of his arrival. He was told the places where it was hoped that monastic cells would be built, as was stated in the letters some time before, and the venerable man set about building them immediately. In the process of building surrounding walls to prevent break-ins, some detestable people, blinded with envy by the devil, came by night and destroyed what had been built so far. The punishment for their wrongdoing was not long delayed. For while the old man was urging his disciples to put up with all this patiently, those wicked people came intending to finish the destruction which they had begun. But the Angel of the Lord immediately consumed them by fire, and they were reduced to nothing, like wax cast into the flames.
The brothers then quickly finished the whole building, where Pachomius installed religious men as monks, and put Samuel in charge of them. He was a very pleasant man, endowed with a great gift of self-denial. Once the monastic cells had been built, the holy man decided to stay there for some time, until those whom he had brought together should become established in the gifts of Christ.

Chapter XLII
During this time a philosopher of that same city came to visit them, having heard of their reputation as servants of God, wanting to know what they were like and what they thought they were doing. Seeing some of the monks he asked them to call the father, as he had several things he would like to discuss with him. When Pachomius knew it was a philosopher, he sent Cornelius and Theodore to him, telling them to answer his questions as prudently as they could.
"We have heard many accounts," said the philosopher when they met, "of how you give yourselves to the study of wisdom, and that you are known to be able to give wise answers to anyone who enquires about your religion, for which you have a great love. I would like to ask you about what you have gathered in to your store of wisdom."
"Ask what you like," said Theodore.
"Would you settle the question for me about anything I might ask you?"
"Tell me what you have in mind."
"Who died without being born? Who was born but never died? Who died but did not suffer corruption?"
"There is nothing very difficult about your questions, O philosopher. They can easily be answered. He who died without being born was Adam, the first man. He who was born but never died was Enoch, who pleased God and was translated (Genesis 5.24). The one who died but did not suffer corruption was Lot's wife who was turned into a pillar of salt, and remains there to this day as an example to all who do not believe (Genesis 19.26). And my advice to you, O philosopher, is that you give up your inept propositions and empty questions and turn without delay to the true God whom we worship, and receive remission of your sins to your eternal salvation."
Quite confounded, the philosopher went away without asking any more questions, overcome with admiration at the sharpness of the reply which he got so quickly.

Chapter XLIII
Pachomius spent several more days in these newly constructed cells before going on to another monastery under his control. As all the brothers hurried out to meet him with a great welcome, a little child from the congregation, running about among them, shouted out to Pachomius.
"Truly, father, since the last time you were here there have not been any vegetables or pulses cooked for us."
"Don't worry, my son," Pachomius replied kindly, "I will cook you some."
He went into the monastery and after the prayers went to the kitchen where he found the brother in charge making psiathoi (that is, rush mats), known in the vernacular as mattae.
"Tell me, brother," asked Pachomius, "how long is it since you cooked any vegetables or pulses for the brothers?"
"Almost two months."
"Why have you been acting like this against the Rule and depriving the brothers of this benefit?"
"I had been trying daily, venerable father," he replied, making his humble excuses, "to carry out my duty, but whatever it was that I cooked did not get eaten because they were all fasting. The boys were the only ones who ate anything cooked. So in order not to waste this food prepared with so much labour and expense I just stopped cooking it. And to keep myself from idleness I have chosen to weave psiathoi with the brothers. Only one of my assistants is needed for preparing what little food the brothers want for their meals, that is olives and herbs."
"And how many psiathoi do you reckon you have you made?"
"Fifty."
"Bring them out for me to see."
And when they had been laid out in front of him, he immediately ordered them to be thrown into the fire!
"Since you have despised the Rule given you of looking after the brothers, then I condemn your labours to be consumed by fire. For you must know how pernicious it is to break the rules set out by the fathers that provide for the salvation of souls. And are you not aware of what a glorious thing it always is to fast in this present life? The Lord greatly rewards anyone who, as far as he is able, fasts out of consideration for the love of God. But when he has no choice in the matter but is compelled to it by necessity, his forced abstinence is useless, and he can expect a reward in vain. But when there is a variety of dishes placed in front of them, by partaking sparingly of them they demonstrate that their whole hope is in God. If they don't see the food, if they are never given any chance of seeing it, how can they expect a reward from God for their abstinence? For the sake of a petty concern for cost the brothers ought not to be deprived of this opportunity." 

Chapter XLIV
As soon as he had finished speaking and correcting their errors the gatekeeper came to him in some haste, saying that certain highly respected anchorites had arrived wanting to see him. He said they were to be brought in, and after greeting them with due reverence and saying a prayer he showed them round the brothers' cells and all the other parts of the monastery. They then asked the old man if they could discuss certain matters with him, so he took them to his own cell and sat down with them. As they began a heated discussion about certain abstruse and arcane subjects Pachomius began to notice a terrible smell. It was so bad that he couldn't think, much less contribute to the discussion. When the time for the evening meal at the ninth hour drew near they stood up and said they must go. The holy man strongly invited them to stay for a meal, but they would not, saying that they had to return to their own place before sunset. They bade farewell and set out without delay.
The holy Pachomius, wanting to know the cause of the smell, then prostrated himself in prayer, begging the Lord to reveal to him what kind of people these were. It was made known to him then that it was the impiety of the opinions which they held that had sent out such a stench from their hearts. Without delay he followed them and caught them up.
"I would just like to ask you something," he said.
"Ask, by all means."
"You have been reading the Commentaries of Origen, haven't you."
Of course, they denied it.
"Before God I say to you that anyone who reads Origen and agrees with his depraved opinions will be sent to the lowest parts of Hell, where his inheritance will be worms and outer darkness, where the souls of the wicked suffer eternal punishment. See now, I have taken care to pronounce to you what has been revealed to me by God, so I am in the clear. You will know if you have spurned what is right. If you would agree with me and please God in all things, drown all the books of Origen in the river lest you be also drowned with them."
Upon which he left them and went back to resume his accustomed life of virtue, where he found the brothers standing in prayer, and joined with them in singing the hymns and spiritual canticles.

Chapter XLV
As the monks went to their meal Pachomius betook himself to his own cell where he was accustomed to pray to the Lord. Shutting the door he fell to earnest prayer as he thought of the vision which he had just seen. He begged the Lord to reveal to him what would be the future state of his monks and what would happen to his congregation after he was dead. He prayed from the ninth hour up to the time when the brother in charge of the night prayers called him to the usual offices, thus extending the time of his own supplications.
As he persevered in prayer, suddenly about midnight he saw a vision in answer to his prayer, which enlightened him a great deal about the state of those who were to come after him. As his monastery grew in size he saw there would be many living devoutly and chastely, but also a great number living negligently who would completely lose their chance of salvation. He saw, so he told me, a crowd of monks in a deep and dark valley, with some of them trying to climb out of it but not being able to. They could not make each other out and so were running about bumping into each other, completely unable to find the way out of that deep and dark place. Some tried in vain because they became overcome with weariness and sank down to lower places still. Others were lying about, weeping with tearful voices. But there were others climbing up with an infinite labour, and as they climbed they were suddenly bathed in light, and gave thanks to God that they were able to escape.

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