The Histories of the Monks of Egypt (Syriac Version) (chapters 9. The Triumph of the Blessed Apollo [and Ammon]–14. The Triumphs of Abba Copres and of the Blessed Petarpemotis)

The Histories of the Monks of Egypt (Syriac Version)

continued

Chapter 9. The Triumph of the Blessed Apollo [and Ammon]

1 And we saw also another priest, whose name was Apollo, who lived in the Thebaid, on the borders of Hermopolis, whereunto our Redeemer went with Mary and Joseph, that there might be fulfilled the word of Isaiah (xix, i), who said, "Behold the Lord is mounted upon swift clouds and shall go into Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall tremble before Him, and shall fall upon the earth." And we also saw there the house of idols wherein all the idols that were in it fell down upon their faces on the ground when our Redeemer went into that city. And we saw, moreover, that this man who dwelt in the desert was the Abbâ of five hundred monks who lived in the monasteries which stood around the base of the mountain, and that he was exceedingly well known throughout the land of Thebaïs; for he possessed the excellent virtues of the ascetic life, and God performed many great and mighty deeds through him, and very many signs took place by his hand. And this man Apollo, whose ascetic labours were so wonderful from his youth up, in the time of his old age was held to be worthy of an act of grace from God, for when he was eighty years of age he took possession of a great monastery containing five hundred marvellous men, who were also able to work miracles, and when he was fifteen years [older] (i.e., when he was ninety-five years of age), he departed from this world, having lived for forty years in the inner desert, where he led a perfectly spiritual life.

2 And towards the end he heard a voice like unto that of an angel, which said unto him, "Apollo, I am about to destroy the wisdom of the wise men of Egypt by thy hands, and I will remove the knowledge, which is not knowledge, of the fools of the nations; and thou shalt destroy for Me with them also the wise men of Babel (i.e., Babylon of Egypt), and thou shalt wipe out all the service of devils. And now, get thee away quickly to the desert, to the region thereof which is nigh unto the habitations of men, for thou shalt beget for Me a holy people, who shall be exalted by [their] good works." Then Apollo made answer, and said, " My Lord, take Thou away from me pride, lest peradventure I become [unduly] exalted over the brotherhood, and I lose all the blessing thereof." And the [divine] voice spoke again unto him, and said, " Place thine hand upon thy neck, and whatsoever thou layest hold upon, take it down and bury it in the sand"; then he quickly laid his hand upon his neck, and laid hold upon a small Ethiopian, and he buried him in the sand, as the creature cried out and said, " I am the spirit of pride." And again the voice came to him, and said, " Get thee gone, and whatsoever thou shalt ask from thy God shall be given unto thee."

3 So the blessed man, having heard [this], straightway set out to come to Shainâ, in the time of Julian, the Emperor [and] tyrant. And at first he lived in the desert which was nigh unto Shainâ, in a small cave which he found there on the side (or base) of the mountain, and his occupation was as follows:—he offered up prayer unto God the whole day through, that is to say, he prayed one hundred times in the night, and as many times in the day, and he bowed his knees when he prayed. As concerning his food he took no care whatsoever, for that was given unto him by God, and it was brought into the desert by an angel; his apparel consisted of a short-sleeved garment which covered his body, and a small napkin which he wore on his head, and these remained upon him in the desert and never wore out. He lived in the desert which was nigh unto Shainâ in the power of the spirit, and he worked miracles, and performed many wonderful cures, the glory of which it is impossible for a man to describe, but we have heard thereof from the elders who were with him, and who were also perfect men, and from the heads and governors of the brotherhood. This man, then, was famous as a new prophet, and as an apostle who had appeared in our generation.

4 And when his fame had travelled abroad on all sides, all the monks who lived scattered about in various places came unto him in a body as unto a true father, and they offered themselves to him as an offering. And the blessed man stirred up some of them to divine visions, and others to glorious deeds of spiritual excellence, but he first of all shewed them by actual examples the things which he was exhorting them to do by his words, and he incited them on several occasions to perform work of ascetic excellence. One Sunday after another he ate with them, but he tasted nothing but the herbs which grew of themselves in the earth, and he ate neither bread, nor pulse, nor the fruit of trees, nor anything which had been prepared by fire. 5 Now in the reign of Julian, the blessed Apollo heard that a certain brother, who had been seized for military service, had been thrown into prison, and he took brethren, and went to visit him, and to comfort him; and having gone to him, he told that brother to endure the suffering, and to despise the tribulations which were surging in upon him, for the sake of the hope which is to come. Now that time was a season of strife, and the believing mind was sorely tried by the temptations which came upon it. And when he had strengthened the soul of the brother by such words as these, one of those who had been appointed by the Chiliarch to guard [him] came and said unto the Chiliarch, "The brethren wish to get that man out [of the prison]. Now when the Chiliarch heard this, he rose up, and came in an evil fury, and shut the doors of the prison, and set seals [upon them], and appointed stricter guards, and thus confined the blessed man, and all the brethren who were with him, in the prison, saying, "These men also are useful for military service," and then he departed to his house without listening to the petition they made to him.

6 But in the middle of the night the angel of the Lord, who held a lamp in his hand, lit up with his light the whole prison-house so brightly that all the watchmen were astonished, and they entreated the brethren who were therein to go away from them, and the doors were opened before them; and they said, "It is better for us to die for them, than to neglect the freedom which hath been sent from God to men who have been imprisoned in an unseemly manner. And the Chiliarch and the noblemen who were with him came in the morning to the prison-house, and pressed the brethren to depart from the city, for his house had fallen down through an earthquake, and had buried the noble folk of his house; and when they heard this they went forth, and glorified God with a loud voice, and they departed to the desert with rejoicings.

7 Now all these brethren lived together after the example of the Apostles, and they possessed one mind and one soul, and the blessed man admonished them daily that they should excel in glorious works, and that they should drive away quickly and immediately to a distance, before they came, the evil crafts of the Calumniator which burst into the thoughts. For he said, "When the head of the serpent is bruised all his body dieth, for our Lord commanded us to be watchful against the head of the serpent, which is this:—We must not only take care that filthy and corrupt thoughts do not come into our minds, but we must blot out also the hateful appearances which are produced in our minds. Now, therefore, strive eagerly and earnestly that ye may emulate each other in the gloriousness of the ascetic works, so that no man may be found to be in any way inferior to his neighbour in spiritual excellence. And this is the sign that ye have approached the glory of ascetic labours, if ye can keep your bodies from the passions of the lusts; for the beginning of the gift of God is when a man acquireth also the manifestation of the wonderful [character] which is from God, lest peradventure he become [unduly] exalted thereby, or be lifted up in his thoughts, as if he were superior to his fellows, and lest he become like a man who maketh it to appear that he is worthy of all this grace; but if not, he will certainly forget that he lacketh divine grace, and that it hath been snatched away from his mind."

8 Now therefore this man possessed the precious treasure of great doctrine in his mind, which we also heard from him on another occasion, and his works were more excellent than his teaching; for every petition which he asked of God was granted unto him, and visions also appeared unto him; for on one occasion he saw that his brother, who was older than he, and who also brought his life to an end in the desert, possessed more spiritual works than himself. And he saw, as in a dream, that he had become a counterpart of the Apostles, and that God had made him to inherit glory, and he was begging and entreating Him to bring about his departure from the world speedily, so that he might rest with him in heaven, and that it was said unto him by our Redeemer, "It is necessary for Apollo to live upon the earth a little longer, until many shall become perfect through envy of his glorious deeds, for he is prepared to be set over a great nation of monks, and of men who cultivate righteousness, so that he may receive glory proportionate to his labour."

9 Such were the things which he saw, and they came to pass in connexion with the congregation of monks who came to him, and who, through his abundant doctrine, and through his numerous ascetic habits, became aliens to the world. And a great monastery for brethren grew up about him in the mountain, and at length five hundred men came to live there together; they had their habitation in common, and they sat at meat at one table, and verily, they appeared to be as angels, and they were like unto workers who were ornamented with princely ornaments, and were arrayed in white apparel. Thus were fulfilled the words of the Scriptures which say, "The dry desert shall rejoice, and the open plain shall leap for joy" (Isaiah xxxv, 1); and, again, "Shout, and cry out, O thou who hast never brought forth, for the children of the barren woman are more numerous than those of her who hath had a husband" (Isaiah liv, 1). And the word of the Prophet concerning the church among the Gentiles was fulfilled, and was completed also by the desert of Egypt, for the sons of God were more numerous there than in the land which had become settled and occupied by people. For in many of the cities of Egypt true congregations of monks increased even as they drew nigh to God in the desert thereof, and in proportion as the nation was at peace even so did the monks multiply in the desert of Egypt, and in them were fulfilled the words of the Apostle (Romans v, 20), who said, "Where sin increased there also did grace abound."

10 Now at one time in Egypt the exceedingly abominable worship of idols was more common than among any other nation, for they worshipped dogs, and apes, and other things, and even garlic, and onions, and common garden herbs were considered to be gods, according to what we heard the holy man Apollo say, and he described the reason for the worship of idols which existed among the Egyptians, and said, "These heathen, and the early inhabitants of the country worshipped the bull because he was useful in ploughing the ground wherefrom they obtained their food, and they worshipped the waters of the Nile which irrigated their whole country, and also the earth itself which yielded to them excellent crops, and which is far more excellent than the soil of other countries. And they held in reverence their other polluted things, that is to say, dogs, and apes, and all their abominable animals and vegetables, because they had been to them the cause of redemption; now they had been brought to naught in the time of Pharaoh, when he and those who were with him were drowned whilst the children of Israel were pursued by them. For they did not cleave unto Pharaoh in that day, but each man among them made that which was his familiar [spirit] his god, and said, 'This is my god, and through him I shall not perish with Pharaoh.'"

11 Such were the things which were in the discourse of Apollo, but it is meet that we should write down his deeds before his words. Once heathen peoples dwelt in the various places which were round about the blessed man, and the ten villages which were near him were very wicked, and they went astray in respect of the worship of idols. In one of these villages was a temple, and the idol which was in that village was very famous, and he was made of wood, and the priests danced before him, and carried him about in a procession from village to village, and then the people who were with him leaped and danced about. And once, when they were performing their play on the bank of the river, the blessed Apollo, and a few brethren who were with him, happened to be passing through the district at that time, and, when from a distance he saw the crowd which had begun its devilish sports, he bowed the knee on the spot where he was, and prayed to the Redeemer of all, and straightway all the people became bound with cords, and he put all the heathen in such a state that they were unable to crawl away from where they were, and as they were not able to depart from that place, one by one became parched [with thirst], and was obliged to suffer under the fierce heat of the sun the whole day long, and they marvelled at what had happened to them. Then their priests said, "There is a certain Christian in your borders, and it is he who hath done these things to them," now they were speaking of the blessed man Apollo, who, by means of his prayers had brought to naught their festival, "and it is right that we should make entreaty unto him that we may not come into tribulation."

12 And when the inhabitants of the country round about them heard [these things], they came at the sound of the uproar and asked them, saying, "What is this commotion which hath suddenly come upon you? And what is the cause thereof? And they said, "We do not know, but we have a suspicion, we confess, of a certain man who is a Christian, and who liveth on the side of the mountain, and it is right that we should make entreaty to him. Then the inhabitants bore testimony, saying, "Yea, this blessed man did pass through this country," and the priests begged them that they would help them at once; and, wishing [to know] whether they were able to move the idol from his place, they brought oxen to draw him along, but the idol and the oxen became like unto beings who had been fixed there a long time. Now when there was not a (successful) issue to their undertaking on any side whatsoever, and no [help could be obtained] by entreating the people round about them, the priests of the idol sent to the holy man, saying that, if they were delivered from that place, they would turn aside from all their error. And when all these things had been told to the blessed man by a message, that servant of God came down quickly, and prayed over them, and released them from that restraint;

13 and straightway they all followed him, and they believed in the Redeemer, the Lord of all, Who doeth wonderful things, and they straightway delivered the idol over to burn in the fire, and they became converted, and were baptized, and were added to the number of the sons of the Church, and many of them live to this very day in the habitation of the monastery. Thereupon the report of this old man went forth quickly into every place, and so many people believed on the Lord through him that in those borders henceforward no man gave himself the name of "heathen." 14 And after a short time two villages quarrelled and fought over certain fields, and as soon as the blessed man heard thereof he went down to them quickly, that he might sow peace between them; now the men who were on one side would not be persuaded by his words, but they disputed them for the reason that they were relying, forsooth, upon a certain mighty man, who was a captain of a band of thieves, and he stood up on their behalf in the struggle. And when the holy Apollo saw this man disputing fiercely, he said unto him, "If thou wilt be persuaded by me, O my beloved, I will beseech our Lord to forgive thee thy sins"; and when the man heard these words, without any hesitation whatsoever he threw his weapons away from him, and fell at the knees of the holy man, and he turned his partisans back into their houses. And when there was peace between them, and every man had departed to his place this famous captain of thieves clung to the blessed man, and entreated him and openly demanded from him [the fulfilment of] his promise; and the holy man took him with him to the desert, and entreated him, and admonished him to be patient and said unto him, "God is able to grant thee this thing."

15 And when it was night the two men saw in a dream that they were standing before the throne in heaven, and the two men also saw that the angels and the righteous men were worshipping God; and when they also knelt down on their knees, and bowed down on their faces before Christ, the voice of God came to them, saying, "What connexion hath light with darkness? Or what portion hath the believer with the unbeliever? (2 Corinthians vi, 14, 15.) Why then doth this murderer stand with this righteous man, seeing that he is not worthy of this sight? But, O man, get thee gone, for behold, this little one among thy sons who hath taken refuge in thee shall be saved because of thee." Now they saw and also heard many other things which the mouth must not dare to utter nor the ear to hear. And when they woke up they related the dream to those [who were with them], and those who heard how exceedingly glorious were the stories of these men [marvelled] that two men were able to relate one and the same dream. Now the captain of thieves remained in the monastery with the monks, and led therein a life of ascetic excellence until his departure from the world; and from being a wolf he had turned into a simple lamb; and in him was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (xi, 6, 7), who said, "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chopped straw like the ox."

16 And we saw also there Ethiopians who lived with the monks, and they excelled to such a degree in the ascetic life that in them were fulfilled the words which are said in the Book, "Kûsh (Ethiopia) shall deliver the hand unto God" (Psalm lxviii, 31). And on another occasion when [the heathen] were arming against the Christians because of [a dispute concerning] the boundaries of certain territories, the blessed Apollo came to make peace between them. Now a certain chief of the force of the heathen was boasting and saying, "There can never be peace until death," and the blessed man said unto him, "According to thy word even so let it be, for no man on either side shall die except thyself; and the earth shall not be thy grave, but the bellies of wild beasts." And it came to pass that the man died, and in the morning his body was found, having been torn to pieces by vultures and hyenas; and when the conclusion of the matter was known they gave thanks, and believed in Christ, saying, "This man is certainly a prophet."

17 Now the dwelling-place of the blessed Apollo was formerly in a cave, with five brethren who had been converted by him in the desert before he left the wilderness. And when the Easter Festival came, and they had performed the service of God in the cave, they made ready to eat whatsoever food they had; now their food consisted of a small quantity of dried bread and pickled vegetables. And the blessed Apollo said unto them, "O my sons, if we are believers and true servants of Christ, each one of us, let us entreat God to give us whatsoever He willeth to eat"; and they devoted their whole petition to this object, despising themselves as men who were unworthy of this gracious gift. And when the blessed man had prayed with a joyful countenance, and had made an end of his prayer, and they had all said, "Amen," they found there in the night certain men standing by the door of the cave, and the men were strangers, whom no man knew, and they said concerning themselves that they had come from a far country. And they had brought with them from that country many things of which the brethren had never heard, and which existed not in the land of Egypt, that is to say, various kinds of fruits from Paradise;

18 grapes, and pomegranates, and figs, and nuts, and almonds, which at that period did not exist [in Egypt], and honey in the comb, and a box of milk (or butter), and dates of huge size, and ten loaves of bread which were still hot; and the men who had brought these things gave them unto them under the pretence that they had been sent by a great and rich and honourable man, and then they returned to their own country with the greatest haste and diligence. Then the holy men partook of what had been sent to them, and the food was sufficient [to last them] until Pentecost. And whilst they were wondering and saying, "Verily, these have been sent unto us by God," one of the monks who were with him entreated the blessed Apollo that he might offer up a prayer for him to be worthy of the gracious gift, and having offered up a prayer on his behalf, the graces of humility, and of graciousness (or happiness), and of patient endurance, were bestowed upon him to such a degree that many marvelled at the excellence of the humility which he possessed. And the fathers related to us stories of the wonderful and mighty works which he performed, and many brethren testified concerning the miracles [which he wrought].

19 And a short time afterwards there was a great famine in the district of Thebaïs, and when the peoples of the country who were dwelling in that place heard that the monks who were with the blessed man were living without labour, they gathered themselves together, and came to him with their wives and children, and asked him for alms and for food, and he, like a man who did not fear that peradventure food would be wanting for himself and those who were with him, gave unto all those who had come to him that which was sufficient for each one of them from day to day. And when three baskets full of bread were all that remained, and the famine was still severe, he commanded and they brought these baskets into the midst [of them, and he found that] they would only suffice for one day's food for the monks and those who were with them; and in the presence of all the crowds, who were listening, and the whole brotherhood of monks, he said with a loud voice, "Is not the hand of the Lord able to increase [these]? "For thus saith the Holy Spirit, 'Bread shall not be wanting'" "in these baskets until we all eat new bread.'" And all those who were near him said, "In very truth the bread was sufficient to feed them for four months.

20 And he was in the habit of doing thus from time to time in respect of oil and wheat, until Satan came and said unto him, "Peradventure," "thou art Elijah, or another of the Prophets, or one of the Apostles that thou darest to act thus? Then the blessed man said to him, "And why should I not act thus? Were not the holy Prophets and the blessed Apostles men? And have not [the Fathers] handed down [to us] the tradition that they used to do such things? Or, is our Lord akin to them at one time and remote from them at another? Therefore, at all times God is able to do things like unto these, and there is nothing which is difficult for Him. If then God is good, why art thou, O corrupt one, evil?" 21 Why now should I not describe the things which we saw with our own eyes? Now at the time when the five hundred brethren were about to refresh themselves the baskets came in full, and when the brethren had eaten and were filled from them, by the blessing of the blessed man they went forth still being full. And it is right that we should describe another miracle which we saw there and marvelled at. Now when we three brethren went to visit the blessed Apollo, and the brethren saw us from where he was, they recognized us by the descriptions which they had heard from him of our journey, and they met us with gladness and sang songs of praise, for such is the custom with all the brethren. And having bowed down with their faces to the ground, they rose up, and gave us the salutation of peace, and said to their companions, "Behold, the brethren of whom our Abbâ spake unto us three days ago have come to us," for he had said, "Behold, after three days three brethren will come to you from Jerusalem." And some of the brethren were going before us, rejoicing and singing Psalms, and some followed behind answering them, until we arrived at the place where the blessed man was; and when our father Apollo heard the sound of their singing, he also came forth to meet us, according to the custom of the brethren, and when he saw us, he was the first to bow low to the ground, and he stretched out his hand, and rose up, and kissed us, and he led us in, and prayed, and washed our feet with his own hands, and pressed us to rest ourselves and to partake of food, for it was his custom to do this to all the brethren who came to visit him.

22 Now the brethren who were with him did not approach their food straightway, but they first of all partook of the Eucharist of Christ together; and they used to do this daily at the season of prayer at the ninth hour, and afterwards they ate their meal; whilst they were sitting at meat they learned his commandments until the time for sleep, and afterwards some of them would go forth into the desert and repeat the Scriptures by heart, the whole night long, whilst others would take their meal with him and would glorify God until the morning. And we ourselves saw that such men began to sing the Psalms and hymns of praise in the evening, and that they continued to sing them until the day broke. Now many of them used to come down at the time of the ninth hour and receive the Eucharist, and then return to their places, and the spiritual food alone would be sufficient for them till the ninth hour on the day following; even thus did they, and many of them would continue to do thus, and remain without [ordinary] food for several days at a time, even from one Sunday to another.

23 And we observed their joy in the desert, with which nothing on the earth, and no bodily delight, can be compared, for there was among them no man who was sorry or afflicted with grief, and if any man was found to be in affliction, our father Apollo knew the cause thereof, and was able to make known to him the secret thoughts of his mind. And he would say unto such an one, "It is not seemly for us to be afflicted at our redemption, for we are those who are about to inherit the kingdom of heaven; but let the Jews weep, and let the men of iniquity be in mourning, and let the righteous rejoice. For they have their happiness in earthly things, and they cultivate the things of earth, and why should not we, who are worthy of the blessed hope, rejoice always, even according to the encouraging words of the blessed Apostle Paul, who said unto us, 'Rejoice in our Lord always, and pray at all seasons, and in everything give thanks" (1 Thessalonians v, 16-18).

24 And what shall a man say concerning the grace which dwelt in the words of the blessed Apollo, and concerning his other glorious qualities, about which, because of their great number, we keep silence, and concerning which we have heard from others? Now he discussed many things concerning strenuousness in ascetic deeds together with us, and exhorted us how to receive the brethren, and he told us that when the brethren came to visit us it was seemly to bow low before them, "Not," he said, "that we bow down before them, but before the God Who is in them. [When] thou seest thy brother, thou seest Christ. The custom of urging the brethren from time to time to come in and rest and refresh themselves we have derived from Abraham, and also from Lot, who pressed the angels [to stay with him]. And if it be possible it is fitting that the monks should partake of the Mysteries of Christ each day, and whosoever shall make himself to be remote from them shall remove himself from God; and whosoever shall do this shall receive our Redeemer always. For the voice of our Life-giver saith thus, 'He who eateth My Body, and drinketh My Blood, remaineth in Me and I in him,' and it is very helpful to monks to remember the Passion of our Redeemer at all times, because by the remembrance thereof which we thus keep we become worthy of the forgiveness of our sins always. Therefore it is right that we should always make ourselves worthy to receive the holy Mysteries of our Redeemer.

25 "Let then no man remit the well-known fasts which have been ordained unless it be for some cause [which] worketh tribulation. We keep the fast on the fourth day of the week because on that day the Jews plotted to betray our Lord, and also on the eve of the Sabbath because on that day He was crucified, and he who remitteth these becometh one of the betrayers and a Jew; but if thy brother cometh to thee during a period of fasting, and is in need of refreshment, although the time be unseasonable, set before him thy table [and let him eat] by himself, and if he wisheth not this, constrain him not, for this is an universal tradition [of hospitality]." And the blessed man blamed severely those who wore woven stuffs and dressed their hair in such a way that they would be seen by children of men to be fasting, and he called them seekers after the vainglory of men, for monks should humble their bodies by fasting and abstinence, and should work the things which are good in secret; and those who do not these things shew themselves only unto the multitude.

26 And what shall one say concerning all the teachings of the blessed man, which resembled his life and deeds, and which it is impossible for a man to write down, or even to mention in a fitting manner? On several occasions we conversed together the whole Sabbath, and when he was escorting us [on our way back] he said to us, "May ye have peace one with one another, and let no man separate himself from his companion on the way." Then he said to the brethren who were with him, " Who among you is willing of his own accord to go and escort [these] brethren on the way to the other fathers?" And, with but very few exceptions, all the brethren sought anxiously to go with us and to escort us on our way; but the holy man Apollo selected three of them, men who were mighty in their ascetic labours, and understanding in their speech. Now they had been instructed in the languages of the Greeks, and the Romans, and the Egyptians, and, sending them with us, he commanded them not to leave us until we had seen all the fathers whom we wished to see, and had rejoiced in holding converse with them. Now it would have been impossible for a man to see all the fathers, even in the whole period of his life. Then he blessed us, and sent us away, saying, "May the Lord bless thee out of Zion, and may ye see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life" (Psalm cxxviii, 5).

27 And as we were journeying along our way through the desert, at the season of noon, we suddenly saw the marks of a monster serpent which had been lying like a log of wood on the sand, and we were afraid, but the brethren who were with us bade us be of good courage, saying, "Fear ye not, but come and see us slay him by faith For we have slain with our own hands many snakes, and asps, and vipers, so that there may be fulfilled that which is written, 'I have given to you power to trample under foot serpents and scorpions, and all the power of the Enemy'" (St. Luke x, 19). Now we, because of our terror, begged the brethren that we might go straight on our journey, and might not follow the trail of the serpent, but one of them left us, and went forth and wandered about tracking the creature by the marks which it had left behind it, until at length he stood over its hole, and he besought us to go and see it, and the brethren who were with us encouraged us so to do, and we went there feeling afraid. Then a certain brother came to meet us, and led us to the monastery, and he said to us, "Ye are not able to resist the attack of the serpent, for he is fifteen cubits long, and, moreover, I have never seen a serpent larger than this one"; and conformably to his words we remained in our places. And the brother [who had found the serpent's hole] went and begged that brother to let us go and slay the serpent, and blamed us because of our little faith, but he turned him back, and then took all of us into his monastery, and made us rest therein, and he related to me the following story:—

28 In the times which are past a certain holy man, whose name was Ammon, used to dwell in this monastery, and he it was who converted me, and the thieves used to vex him, for they stole his apparel and his food, and by reason of their vexatious attacks he went forth and departed into the desert; and he brought two great serpents and commanded them to guard the door of his abode, and when the thieves came according to their custom, they saw the serpents and marvelled, and, by reason of their fear, they fell down on their faces upon the ground. Then, having gone forth and seen the thieves, the blessed man spake unto them, and reviled them, saying, "Observe how much worse ye are than the serpents! These creatures are, for God's sake, obedient to our command, but ye are neither afraid of God, nor do ye hold His servants in reverence"; and he took them into his dwelling, and fed them, and admonished them, and told [them] that they ought to change their mode of life. And straightway they repented and took up their habitation in a monastery, and they excelled more than many in spiritual works, until at length they also were able to work miracles.

29 Now on another occasion the inhabitants of that country came to the blessed Ammon, and made complaints to him about another serpent, and they entreated him to destroy it off their land because it used to slay their sheep and cattle; but he, as one who was not able to help them, dismissed them, and they went away in sorrow. And in the morning he rose up, and went to the place over which that serpent used to pass, and he knelt down there in prayer; now when the serpent came to pass by there, according to his wont, and saw the blessed man, he blew upon him, and hissed, and darted forward to strike him three times. Then the blessed man said unto him boldly, "May Christ, the Son of God, Who is about to destroy the great serpent, destroy thee also"; and immediately that he had uttered the word, the serpent burst asunder, and all his gall and blood came forth. And when the inhabitants of the country came and saw the serpent, they marvelled, and at the command of the blessed man, because of the stench, they heaped up the sand upon the serpent, but without the word of Abbâ Ammon they would not have approached the reptile, even though he was dead.

30 And on one occasion, whilst a certain youth was pasturing sheep, it happened that he saw that serpent, and he was smitten with wonder, and threw himself down in the field without saying a word; and his kinsfolk went forth to seek him, and they found him at eventide in a wretched and terror-stricken state, and they brought him to the blessed Ammon, and told him that they did not know the cause of his condition, and were ignorant of what had happened unto him; and the blessed man prayed, and anointed him with oil, and the boy was healed, and related what had happened to him, and for this reason especially the blessed man was constrained to destroy that serpent.

Chapter 10. The Triumphs of Abba Apellen

1 And we saw also another Abbâ whose name was Apellen, and he had persevered in the sternest and most austere ascetic labours with the brethren who were by his side, from his youth up; and on several occasions he carried fire in his bosom, and stirred up the brethren to give a manifestation also of the miracles [which] they could [work], and he said unto them, "If ye are, in very truth, servants of God, make manifest forthwith glorious miracles." And whensoever he was by himself in the desert, and the desire to eat honey rose up in him, straightway he would find a honeycomb on a rock, and he used to say, "Get thee gone from me, O evil desire, for it is written, 'Ye shall walk in the spirit, and ye shall not perform the lust of the flesh" (Galatians v, 16); and then he would leave the honeycomb [on the rock] and depart. And again, when he had fasted for three weeks in the desert, and he found some fruit which had been blown down,

2 353 he answered and said, "I will neither taste nor touch it, lest I make to offend my brother, that is to say, myself. For it is written that 'man liveth not by bread alone'" (St. Matthew iv, 4). Then he fasted another week also, and he slept a little, and an angel came unto him in a dream, and said unto him, "Rise up, and take as much as thou canst, and eat [it]." Then he rose up, and looked round about him, and he saw a fountain of water, and roots, which were exceedingly to be desired, were growing round it; and when he had drunk [some] water, and had eaten [some] green herbs, he said, "There is nothing so sweet and pleasant as this anywhere." Now he found in that country a little cave, and he dwelt therein for a few days without any food, and when he began to feel an hungered, he knelt down, and prayed, and straightway he found his food placed by his side, that is to say, hot bread, and olives, and fruits of various kinds.

3 And from time to time he used to visit the brethren who lived near him in the desert, and he admonished them frequently. On one occasion he was very anxious to go to his own desert, and to carry there such things as were necessary for him of the blessings (i.e., gifts) which the brethren had given him, and as he was going along the way he saw some goats feeding and he said unto them, "In the Name of Jesus Christ, let one of you carry this load"; and straightway one of them came, and he placed his hands upon [its back], and bowed himself, and sat upon it, and he arrived at his cave in one day. On another occasion the blessed man spread out his bread in the sun, and the wild animals came according to their custom to the fountain of water [where it was], and any animal which approached the bread died.

4 And on another occasion he went to certain monks on the first day of the week, and he saw that they were ceasing to perform the service of the Holy Mysteries, and he blamed them, saying, "Why do ye not perform your service? And they said unto him, "Because no priest hath come unto us from over the river"; and he said unto them, "I will go after him, and call him. Then they made answer unto him, saying, "It is impossible for any man to cross over the river, both on account of its depth, and because of the crocodiles which destroy human beings"; but he went a little distance and came to the place where the river was usually crossed, and he seated himself fearlessly upon the back of a crocodile, and passed over [to the other side]. And having gone and found the priest, he entreated him not to neglect the brethren, and when the priest saw that Apellen was dressed in old and ragged garments, he marvelled at his humility, and at the poorness of his apparel; and he clung to him, and followed him to the cave. Now when they came [to the river] and found no boat to take them over, the blessed man Apellen cried out with a loud voice to that crocodile, which straightway heard him and came to him, and it made ready its back before the holy man to sit upon;

5 and the blessed man entreated the priest to sit with him and pass over to the other side, but when the priest saw the crocodile, he was afraid, and he returned to his own place. And the brethren, who were dwelling in the mountain on the other side of the river, feared when they saw the blessed man sitting in the water on the back of the crocodile; and as soon as he had crossed over on to dry land, and had come up [out of the water], he slew the crocodile, saying, "Death is better for thee than punishment for the souls which thou hast already slain, and wouldst slay"; and the animal died straightway. 6 And Apellen remained with the brethren three days, and he sat and taught them the commandments, and the thoughts which one of them had secretly he made clear and plain before them, saying, "This man is vexed by lust, and this man by love of vainglory, and this by evil dislike, and this by pride, and this by arrogance, and this by envy, and this by boasting, and this by anger, and this by greediness, and this by avarice; and this man is humble, and this man is straight, and these men are praiseworthy and good, and these are bad and rebellious." And he admonished [them] and shewed forth [these things], and when the brethren heard them they marvelled, for in very truth it was even as [he had said]. And he also said, "Prepare for us a meal of garden herbs, for many brethren are coming to us," and when they had prepared them, the brethren came, and they saluted each other; and one of them entreated him to let him be with him in the desert, and the blessed man said unto him, "Thou art not able to endure the temptations of devils," and at length the brother said, "I can bear everything." Then having received him Abba Apellen commanded him to dwell in a cave by the side of him. But the devils came by night and sought to strangle him. Now first of all they troubled him sorely with filthy thoughts, and that brother fled, and departed from the cave. And when he had shewn all these things to the blessed Apellen, the Abba set out and made for him an abode at a distance, and he commanded them to there live without fear.

7 And on a certain occasion when they were in the cave they lacked bread, and an angel in the form of a brother brought them food, and once, when ten of the brethren had been seek- 355 23a ing him by another way, and had found him after they had been fasting for seven days, he commanded them to come in and to rest and refresh themselves in his cave; and when they reminded him about the food, he said unto them, "God is able to prepare for us food in the wilderness," and immediately an angel of God in the form of a beautiful youth stood and knocked at the door whilst they were praying; and they opened the door, and [found there] a youth carrying a large basket wherein were bread and olives, and they took it from him, and ate therefrom, and gave thanks unto God, and the youth removed himself from them. These and many other wonderful things were performed by the blessed Apellen.

Chapter 11. The Triumphs of another Apollo, and of John, the dweller in the Desert

1 And we also saw another holy man in the region of 'Or (or Akûr, i.e., Acre), whose name was also Apollo, who was a righteous man; his handicraft was originally that of a blacksmith, but he had been converted to the way of truth, and he laboured afterwards in the service of the brethren, and supplied their needs. And on one occasion Satan came unto him in the form of a woman, who appeared to be anxious to work in the service of the brethren, and the blessed man happened at the time to be working at his trade, and he took up the red-hot iron and thrust it into the woman's face, and burned it so severely that she shrieked out, and the brethren who were in the chambers heard her cries. And from that time forward the blessed man was able to hold red-hot iron in his hands without being hurt. And this man also received us, and gave us refreshment, and he related unto us the histories of the men who had lived with him in that country, and of those who still lived there, and said :—

2 There is in this desert one of our brethren whose name is John, who is now exceedingly old, and whose works of ascetic excellence are superior to those of all the other monks in the country. No man can find him at once, because he wandereth about from place to place in the desert. During the early period [of his life] he stood for three whole years praying, and he never sat down or went to sleep, but he was in the habit of snatching a little sleep as he stood. A certain priest used to bring him the Offering (i.e., sacramental bread) from Sunday to Sunday, and besides that he ate nothing. And one day the devil stood up in the form of a priest, and was exceedingly anxious to bring him a woman, but as soon as the blessed John had recognized him, he said unto him, "Out upon thee, O thou who art full of guile, thou father of all falsehood, thou enemy of all righteousness! Wilt thou never cease to lead astray the souls of Christians? And dost thou dare to trample underfoot even the Holy Mysteries? Then the Devil said unto him, "A very little more, and I should have been master over thee in thy fall, for thus have I led many a man astray, and I have driven him out of his mind and made him mad, but when many holy men made supplication to God on his behalf in their prayers, he came back to his senses.

3 And having said these things unto him the Devil departed from him. Now the legs of the blessed man burst open because of standing over much upon them, and a discharge of water and pus ran from them; but the angel [of the Lord] drew nigh unto him and said, " The Lord shall be thy meat and the Holy Spirit thy drink, and thou mayest be certain that this spiritual food shall suffice for thee. And having healed his wounds he made him to pass from that place. Then the blessed man went about in the desert and fed himself upon roots, and he used to come Sunday by Sunday to his place and partake of the Holy [Offering]. 4 Now a certain man who was paralysed wished to go to him and be healed, and immediately his legs touched the back of the ass which he was going to ride, through his faith only they were healed, before the holy man had offered up even a prayer on his behalf. On one occasion the holy man John begged the priest who ministered unto him to bring him a few palm leaves, as it were for pleasure, and he brought them to him, and the blessed man plaited them together; and the priest took some of the plaits and made a girth of them for his ass. Now there was a certain paralytic who wished to go to the blessed man and be healed, and he entreated the priest to carry him to him; and the priest took him and set him upon the ass, and immediately his legs touched the back of the ass which he was going to ride and the girth which the blessed man John had plaited, through his faith only they were healed, before the holy man had offered up even a prayer on his behalf. (Such is the story as told in another manuscript.) On another occasion he sent a gift (or blessing) to those who were ill, and immediately they had tasted it they were healed of their sicknesses.

5 And on another occasion it was revealed to him that some of the brethren of his monasteries were not upright in their lives and works; and he wrote an epistle to them all, and accused the elders of being negligent, and the brethren of running after adulation, and it was known that this really was so. And he wrote also to the fathers who were neglectful, and who held lightly the salvation of the brethren who were with them, and he told the others to amend their lives, and to make their deeds better, and he revealed [to them] also how that a reward (or penalty) was laid up for both groups of them. And he called the others to perfection in the spiritual life and its works, and he reminded them that they must neglect the things which are visible, and follow after those which are invisible. "For it is time that we shewed forth the manner of our life and the works thereof, and it is meet that we should not pass the whole period of our lives [as] children and youths, but we must draw nigh unto the perfection of knowledge, and take up our stand upon the majesty of [its] glory." These and many other things did our father, the holy man Apollo, relate to us concerning the blessed John, and we marvelled at the greatness thereof. Now we have not written them all down, not because they were not true, but because of the want of faith of various men; but we ourselves believe them to be true, and we are fully persuaded that they are so, because those who related unto us the wonderful things of his life and deeds had certainly seen them with their own eyes, and these men were both numerous and great.

Chapter 12. The Triumphs of Abba Paphnutius, the Spiritual Merchant

1 And we saw also the place of the dwelling of the blessed Paphnutius, a great and glorious man who had departed from this world, and had brought his life to a close but a very short time before in the district of Herakleia which is in Thebaïs; and concerning this man many men relate very many mighty things. For after he had performed great spiritual deeds, he entreated God to inform him which of the saints whose lives had been pleasing unto Him he resembled; and an angel appeared unto him and said, "Thou art like such and such a singer who liveth in such and such a city." Then the blessed man made his way to the singer with great zeal and diligence, and having found him, he asked him about his deeds, and made enquiries [concerning his life]. And the singer made answer unto him, telling him at the same time what was actually the truth, saying, "I am a sinner, and a miserable wretch, and a whoremonger, and it is only a short time ago since I gave up a life of theft and became as I am." And when Paphnutius enquired of him, "What hast thou done which is good?" he made answer unto him, saying, "I did not know that I had ever done anything good except once. When I was a thief I saw a certain virgin of God being forced by thieves, and she was nearly seduced, and I rescued her from them and carried her by night to the city.

2 "And on another occasion I found a beautiful woman wandering about in the desert, and she had fled from the men of the company of the general and counsellor because of a debt for taxes which her husband had incurred; and she was crying to herself because of her troubles, and because she was compelled to roam about and wander in the desert, and when I saw her I asked her the cause of her weeping. And she made answer unto me and said, 'My lord, ask me no questions, and make no enquiries about a miserable woman [like myself], but take me to be thine handmaiden, and carry me whithersoever thou pleasest. My husband oweth a debt of three hundred darics for taxes to the governor, and behold, during the whole of the past two years he hath been scourged and kept in prison; my three beloved children have been sold into slavery, and I myself have been seized on several occasions, and carried off and beaten cruelly, and [finally] I escaped and fled, and I have been cast forth from place to place. And now I am here wandering about in this desert, and behold, for the last three days I have eaten nothing whatsoever.' Thereupon I had compassion upon the woman, and I took her to my cave, and gave unto her three hundred dinârs, and then I carried her off to the city so that she might be able to free herself, and to redeem her children and her husband."

3 Then the blessed Paphnutius made answer unto him, and said, "I do not know in myself that any such thing as this hath been done by me, but thou must have heard concerning my labours and that I am famous, for I have never passed my life in negligence; now God revealed unto me concerning thee and told me that thou wast not inferior to me in thy works. Since the care which God hath for thee is not small, even as He Himself hath shewn me, O brother, neglect not thyself as if thou wert of no account." And immediately the singer cast away from him the reed pipe which he was holding in his hands, and he abandoned the songs which he used to sing to cheer the workmen, and he turned to the sweet words of the Holy Spirit, and he clung to Paphnutius and departed to the desert. And having passed three years in strenuous labour [there] he brought to an end the period of his life with praises and prayers, and with other works of ascetic excellence, and he travelled the road of the heavenly beings, and was numbered among the company of the holy ones and among the army of the righteous, and went to his rest.

4 And having despatched this man unto God with good and glorious works, and since he had added excellence to his own labours, Paphnutius asked God again to inform him which of the saints he resembled. And again a divine voice came to him, and said, "Thou art like unto a certain chief of a village which 'is near thee"; and straightway Paphnutius went down thereto, and when he had knocked at the door, the master of the house came nigh, as was his wont, to receive strangers, and he opened the door, and brought him inside, and he washed his feet, and set a table before him and entreated him to eat. And the blessed man asked him, saying, "Tell me, O man, 'what fair deeds and actions thou doest, for, according to what God hath made known to me, thou art more excellent than many monks. Then the man said unto him concerning himself, "I am a sinner, and I am not worthy of the heaven 'of the monks. And the blessed man having made enquiries of him persistently, the man answered and said unto him, "I 'do not feel constrained overmuch to relate to thee the history of my deeds, but since thou hast said, I have been sent by God', I will shew thee what I have done. Behold, for the 'last thirty years I have kept myself away from my wife, and three times only have I had intercourse with her; I have three children by her, and they minister unto my affairs.

5 But to this very day I have never ceased to receive strangers, and no man in my village can boast that he hath excelled me in hospitality to strangers, and no poor man and no stranger have ever departed from me with an empty hand, or without having been suitably supplied by me with provisions for the way. I have never neglected to comfort with my gifts the poor man who hath been brought low. I have never accepted the person of my son in judgement. The possessions of strangers have never entered my house. No strife hath ever taken place near me which I have not ended peacefully. The members of my house have never been blamed for the committal of abominable deeds, and my flocks and herds have never drawn nigh to the fruits of strangers. I have never sowed my fields except for the poor, and I have set them aside for the pleasure of every man, and I have gathered in that which remained over. I have never allowed the poor man to be carried away by the rich man by force. I have never made a man to grieve in [all] my life. And I have never passed a decree of wickedness upon any man. These, according to the will of God, I know within myself that I have done."

6 And when the blessed Paphnutius heard the glorious character of the life and works of the man, he kissed him upon the head, and said unto him, "May the Lord bless thee out of Zion, and mayest thou look upon the prosperity of Jerusalem! (Psalm cxxviii, 5.) For these things thou hast performed well, but thou art lacking one of the prime virtues, that is to say, the knowledge of the wisdom of God, which thou wilt not be able to acquire without any labour whatsoever, for a man must deny the world and himself, and must take up the Cross of our Lord, and follow Him." And when that man had heard these things, straightway, without taking counsel with the children of his house, he clung to the blessed man, and went forth with him to the mountain. And when they had come to the bank of the river, and found that there was no boat to be seen, the blessed Paphnutius commanded that they should pass over it on foot, a thing which no man had ever done at this place because of the depth of the stream. And as they were passing over at that place, the water reached up to their backs; and when they had passed over, Paphnutius left him at the place in that country where he, the first one, went to his rest and completed [his life].

7 Now when he had gone from him a little way, Paphnutius entreated God that he might see which was the most excellent of these, and after the short period of three years, he saw an gels carrying the soul of that man up to heaven, and praising God, and saying, "Blessed is the man in whom Thou hast pleasure, and whom Thou bringest to dwell in Thy habitation" (Psalm lxv, 4); and the righteous were also returning answer, and saying, "May the peace of those who love Thy law increase" (Psalm cxix, 165); and Paphnutius knew that that man had filled full his measure. 8 And when he had continued in prayer, and had fasted for very long periods, he prayed to God and again entreated Him to shew him which of the saints he resembled, and again the Divine Voice said unto him, "Thou art like unto a merchant who is seeking for beautiful pearls. But arise, and make no long tarrying, for thou shalt meet a man who resembleth thee." So the blessed man went down [from the mountain], and he saw a certain God-fearing Alexandrian merchant, who was trafficking with twenty thousand [pieces of] gold and three ships, and who had come down from the upper part of the Thebaid, and he used to give all his possessions and merchandise to the poor, and to the brethren [and] monks, and he and his household used to take up ten sacks of garden herbs to the blessed man every year. Now when the blessed Paphnutius saw him, he said unto him, "What [meaneth] this, O my beloved?" And the merchant said unto him, "The fruits of my trafficking are for the relief of the righteous, and I offer them unto God." Then the blessed man said unto him, "Wherefore is it that thou art not honoured by the same name as that which we have?" And the merchant answered and said unto him, "I confess that I have great anxiety so to be called"; and the blessed man said unto him, "How long wilt thou occupy thyself with such earthly things, and wilt not draw nigh unto the things of heaven? Leave, even this very moment, such things to others, and do thou cling to Christ in the things which are [more] excellent, for after a little thou shalt depart unto God."

9 Then the merchant with joy commanded the members of his household to distribute the remainder of his possessions among the poor, and he went up the mountain, and he confined himself to that place wherein the two men had been crowned, and he awaited God with prayers, and tears, and abundant fastings. And after a short time he also left his corruptible body, and became a son of the city of the heavenly beings. Now since Paphnutius had escorted this man also to heaven, he asked for death for himself also, after the manner of one who was not able to live the life of the upright and glorious deeds which are exalted in majesty; and an angel stood by his side, and said unto him, "Come now, O blessed old man, and take thy rest in the everlasting tabernacles which God hath prepared for the blessed, who stand there [waiting] to receive thee, that is to say, the Prophets in their companies, and the Apostles in their grades; these are they whom thou resemblest. I did not reveal this unto thee earlier, lest through being exalted [overmuch] thou mightest lose somewhat of thine honour." Now after these words Paphnutius lived one day only. And when all the things which had been done by him had been narrated in the presence of the elders who had come unto him through a revelation, he delivered up his soul, and those same priests, after his death, plainly saw him carried upwards with the companies of the saints, and with angels who were praising God.

Chapter 13. The Triumphs of the Blessed Eulogius

1 And we saw also another mighty elder whose name was Eulogius, who entreated God to give him at the time when he was about to offer up the Offering such knowledge that he might be able to know the mind of each and every one of the monks who drew nigh to [partake of] the Holy Things; and on several occasions this man saw monks prepared to draw nigh to the Holy and Glorious Mysteries, and restrained them, saying, "How is it that ye dare to draw nigh to the Holy Mysteries [seeing that] ye have evil minds?" And to another of them also he said, "This night thou hast pondered in thy mind about filthy fornication." And to another he said, "Thou hast thought in thy mind that whether a man be righteous or wicked there is nothing to hinder thee from drawing nigh to the goodness of God." And to another he said, "Thou hast had doubt in thy mind whether the Holy Things are able to sanctify those who draw nigh to them; therefore keep thou away for a little from the Holy Mysteries, and repent with all thy soul, so that thou mayest obtain remission of [thy] sins, and thou mayest be held worthy of association with Christ. For if ye do not cleanse your thoughts before ye draw nigh [to them] ye will be unable to [obtain forgiveness]."

Here endeth the Triumph of Eulogius Chapter xiv. The Triumph of Isidore

2 And we also saw in Thebaïs the monastery of the blessed Isidore, which was a strong building with a high brick wall, and in it dwelt thousands of monks; in it also were a well, and a garden, and whatsoever was required for the food of its inhabitants. None of the monks ever went forth from the monastery, for they had as a doorkeeper a certain elder who would neither permit any man to depart, nor to come in, except him who had determined in his mind to remain there until the day of his death, and never to leave. And this doorkeeper had a small house by the side of the gate wherein he received such strangers as came [by night], and in the morning he would give them a blessing (i.e., a gift) and dismiss them in peace. Now there were two of the elders who used to go outside the building, and they did so to sell the work of the brethren, and to bring in such things as were required by them. And the elder who was always at the door was in the habit of saying that all the monks who dwelt within the building were so holy that all of them could work miracles, and that it was impossible for any one of them to fall into sickness before the day of his departure from the world, and that whensoever the end of any of them was coming he knew it beforehand, and told all the the brethren about it, and then he lay down and died.

Here end the Triumphs of Isidore Chapter xv. The Triumph of Dioscurus

3 And we saw also another holy man in Thebaïs, whose name was Dioscurus, and he was the Abbâ of one hundred monks. And when the monks were about to draw nigh to the gracious gift of the Mysteries, he would say to them, "Peradventure there is a man among you who dareth to draw nigh to the Holy Things, in whose mind the lust for women hath risen up during the night. The nocturnal pollution which is not of the thoughts, is a customary though involuntary emission, and it is not the result of desire, for it is a natural result, and is derived from the actual substance of the body; therefore we are not guilty of sin. On the other hand, the filthy vision proceedeth from the mind, and the evil desire is the cause of the same." And Dioscurus used to say, "It is right that a monk should be superior to the law of nature, and that the smallest impurity whatsoever should not be in his body; but he should humble himself in such wise that owing to much fasting the physical matter of the body may not be able to increase. And it is not right for a monk to approach lusts, for if he doth, in what respect are we superior to the men of this world whom we see in several cases curbing their lusts, either for the sake of the health of the body, or for other befitting causes? How much more, then, is it fitting for a monk to take care concerning the health of his mind, and of his soul, and of his spirit?"

Chapter 14. The Triumphs of Abba Copres and of the Blessed Petarpemotis

1 And again we saw another holy man whose name was Copres, and he dwelt in the desert, and was the archimandrite of fifty men; he used to perform many mighty deeds, for he could cure many sicknesses and diseases of various kinds, and he cast out devils, and drove away evil spirits, and did other wonderful works, some of which we saw with our own eyes. Now when he saw us, he saluted us, and prayed over us, and washed our feet, and he began to ask us questions about the world and the affairs thereof, but we entreated him to relate to us the story of his life and works first of all, and how it came to pass that God gave him such gifts, and by what kind of works he had become worthy of the same. And the blessed man, in whose mind there existed not the smallest degree of pride, began to tell us about his own life and works, and also about those of the great, and wonderful, and perfect fathers, the examples of whose lives and works he strove both to imitate and to emulate; and he answered and said unto us:— O my sons, my manner of life and my mourning are not to be compared with those of the early fathers.

2 For there was here before me a certain man, whose name was Petarpemōtis, who was first and chief of all the monks who dwelt in this place; it was he who first made manifest (i.e., wore) this garb, and it was he who invented it. Now formerly he had been a thief, and a plunderer of the tombs of the heathen, and he had a great reputation for committing wickednesses of every kind connected with robbery and theft, and the following matter was the cause of [his finding] life. He once went to rob the religious house of a certain blessed woman who dwelt therein chastely, and without knowing it he found himself upon the roof of her house; and being unable to go into her house and plunder it, because the roofs of the house were as flat as the ground and they had no rain water pipes [leading thereto], for there is no rain in Thebaïs, and there was no place on the roof whereby he could enter the house, or by which he could leave it again, and he was neither able to descend nor to escape from it, he [was obliged to] stay there until the morning, and he wondered meanwhile in his mind what he should do until the daylight came. And whilst he was there he sank into a light sleep, and he saw in the form of a man an angel who said unto him, "Devote thou not such close attention, and diligence, and watching to thy life of thievery.

3 If thou 'wishest to change thy wickedness into a life of good deeds thou must serve with the service of angels before Christ the King, and thou shalt receive from Him this power and authority. And immediately he had heard [these things] he received [them] from him with gladness, and he who had appeared unto him in the form of an angel shewed him a company of monks, and commanded that he should have dominion over them. 4 And when he woke up from his slumber, he saw the nun standing before him, and saying unto him, "O man, what 'doest thou here? And what is thy report? Whence comest thou? Who art thou? He saith unto her, "I know not, but 'I beseech thee to shew me the church. And when she had shewn him the church, he went and fell down before the feet of the elders, and he entreated them that he might become a Christian, so that he might find an occasion for repentance. Now when the elders knew who he was, they marvelled at him, and they began to admonish him that henceforth he must not be a slayer of men; and he begged them that he might [be allowed] to learn the Psalms, and when he had learned three verses of the first Psalm, he said, "These are sufficient for me 'to learn. And he tarried with the elders for three days, and straightway he went forth from them, and departed into the desert. And when he had lived [there] for five weeks without bread, a man came to him carrying bread and water, and he entreated him to eat thereof and to refresh himself. Now Petarpemôtis lived there for three years in prayer and tears, and he fed himself upon the roots which were in the desert, and wandered about eating them;

5 and after three years he returned to the church, and repeated before the fathers the belief and all the doctrine of the Church, and although he had never learned letters, he could repeat the Scriptures by heart. Then the elders marvelled at him and wondered how a man of his kind could have attained such a degree of learning and asceticism, and they gave him further light in respect of speech and learning, and when they had bestowed baptism upon him, they entreated him to remain with them. And he tarried with them for seven days more, and he went forth and departed to the desert, where he lived for a further period of seven years; and this blessed man was held to be worthy of a constant [gift of] bread, which was found every Sunday in his pillow-cloth. When he had prayed and given thanks, he would partake thereof, and then he would fast again until the following Sunday without in any way suffering.

6 And he came back again from that wilderness with works of spiritual excellence, and he departed from the desert, and made manifest his rule of abstinence and self-denial, and he incited many to follow after him. Now there drew nigh unto him a certain young man who entreated him that he might become his disciple, and having received him Petarpemôtis dressed him in the way that he himself was dressed, that is to say, he wore a shirt with short sleeves, and an outer garment, and he placed a cowl upon his head, and tied a napkin about his loins, and he showed him the way and the rules of a life of mourning, and he trained him [in the life and deeds of the monks], and he placed a cape on his shoulders. 7 Now the custom of the blessed man was as follows: When a Christian died he remained with him the whole night long in vigil and prayer, and he would reverently dress him and bury him. And when that disciple saw him dressing the Christians who died in this way, he said unto him, "Wilt thou also dress me in this manner when I die, O master?" And he said unto him, "I will dress thee in this fashion, and I will wrap thee in a shroud until thou shalt say unto me, 'I have enough.'" Now after no great length of time that disciple died, and the words of his master were indeed fulfilled, for Petarpemôtis dressed him reverently in the fear of God, as was right, and he said in a loud voice before all those who were standing [there], "Have I dressed thee well, O my son, or dost thou still lack anything?" And the dead man sent forth a voice, and they all heard it, saying, "Thou hast dressed me, O my father, thou hast fulfilled thy promise, and hast completed thine undertaking"; and wonder laid hold upon all those who were standing there, and they glorified God. Then the blessed man departed into the desert according to his custom, and he went that he might occupy himself in his daily round of devotion, even as a man who fleeth from vainglory.

8 And after these things he went forth from the desert and departed to work for the brethren who were his disciples, and who were sick; now one of these was nigh unto death, and this God had revealed unto him, and the day wherein he would pass away was nigh, and the village was far away. And because he did not wish to enter therein by night (for he suspected evil), and because he would fulfil the word of our Lord, which said, "Walk in the light whilst ye have the light, and he who walketh in the light shall not be tripped up" (St. John xii, 35), when he saw that the day was declining, he answered and said unto [the sun], "Tarry thou on the path of thy course, and wait for me a short time until I can come to the village"; and the sun stood still for a while, and went not down, and remained in his place, and he neither set nor went to rest until Petarpemôtis had entered the village. Now this appearance was known unto all those who dwelt in the village, and they all ran, and stood still, and gazed for a long time at the sun, which set not. And when they saw Petarpemôtis coming from the desert, they asked him, "What is the meaning of the sign of this sun which goeth not down?" Then he said unto them, "Do ye not remember the word of our Lord which said, 'If ye have in you faith like unto a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall work miracles which shall be greater and more excellent than these'?" (St. Matthew xvii, 20.) Now when they heard these things great fear laid hold upon them, and they knew immediately that it was he who had held back the sun, and large numbers of them remained with him and became his disciples.

9 And he went into the house of one of his disciples who had been sick, and found that he was dead, and he drew nigh to the bier whereon the dead man was lying, and he prayed, and kissed him, and said unto him, "Dost thou desire to depart to God now, O my son, or wouldst thou remain alive in the body?" And the dead man sat up, and made answer unto him, saying, "It is better for me to leave the body that I may be with Christ, for I have no desire to live in the body"; and the blessed man said unto him, "Then die in peace, my son, and make entreaty before God on my behalf that thou mayest go unto Him." And immediately the blessed man had said these words the man died on his bier. Then fear fell upon all those who were standing there, and they said, "Verily this is a man of God"; and when the blessed man had dressed him carefully (or well), he kept vigil the whole night [by him] and prayed and sang Psalms, and [then] he buried him in a proper manner.

10 And Petarpemôtis went and visited another brother who was sick, and he saw that he was dying with difficulty, and that he was troubled in his mind; now his mind was rebuking him, and his conscience was pricking him because of his wickednesses. And the blessed man said unto him, "How canst thou go to God seeing that thou art prepared to carry with thee the accusation of neglect of thy works, that is to say, lax intentions in respect of thy manner of life?" Then that brother begged and entreated him to pray to God on his behalf, that there might be given unto him a little longer period of life so that he might amend his ways and deeds. And he answered and said unto him, "Now that thy life hath come to an end thou askest for time for repentance! What hast thou been doing all thy life long? Wast thou not able to heal thy blemishes? Yet thou hast added others to thy negligence!" But the man made supplication the more to him, and begged and entreated him to pray that he might rise up [again from his bed of sickness]. And Petarpemôtis said unto him, "If thou wilt not add sins to thy sins, but wilt seek with all thy soul to repent, I will entreat God on thy behalf, for He is good and merciful, and ask Him to grant thee time and life that thou mayest pay back all that thou owest." And when he had prayed he said unto him, "God hath granted thee to live in the body for three years longer, but only through earnest supplication (?)"; then he took him by the hand and raised him up from his sickness straightway, and he led him away with him and carried him off to the desert, where he lived with him for three years.

11 And when the three years were ended, he brought him back to his village, and set him before God, not as an ordinary man merely, but as a messenger who had been chosen by God, and they all marvelled at his works. And when the brethren were gathered together to him, Petarpemôtis set that brother in the midst, and he narrated unto them the doctrine of life the whole night long; and suddenly he sank into a slumber, wherein he departed from this life to our Lord. Then the blessed man dressed him for burial, and he accompanied him to the grave with prayers. 12 Now they used to say that very many wonderful works were wrought by him, and they testified that on several occasions he walked upon the waters. And besides this he was once found in an upper chamber with the brethren, although the doors had been shut, for he had come in to them in the air by the power of angels. And they also said that he obtained from God everything which he asked for, and that he had the power to go whithersoever he pleased and whensoever he pleased, without trouble. And the blessed Petarpemôtis once related to the brethren a story of how, on one occasion when he had gone out from the desert, he saw in his dream as if he had been taken up into heaven, and he saw there the good things that were prepared for the monks, and that the mouth of man could not describe, and that could not be uttered thereby. And he also said, "I saw Paradise with the eyes of this body, and I saw there the many multitudes of the saints, and I tasted the fruits of Paradise." And he produced a proof of his assertion, that he might shew that the things which had been said by him were true, for he gave his disciples to eat [of the fruit of] a great, and marvellous, and extraordinarily large fig-tree, which possessed an odour that was different from any other smell in the world.

13 And whilst this holy man Copres was relating unto us all these things concerning Petarpemôtis, he said, "I have seen in my youth [portions] of that fig-tree in the hands of his disciples, and I kissed them, and wonder at the odour thereof laid hold upon me; and the tree remained with his disciples for many years as a manifestation [of the truth of his words] unto many. For it was great beyond measure, and it had such wonderful properties that any sick person who inhaled its odour was straightway healed of his sickness." 14 Now they say that at the beginning of his going into the desert, when he had not tasted food of any kind whatsoever for five weeks he found a man in the parched desert carrying bread and water, who begged of him to eat, and when he had done so he removed himself from him. And on another occasion the Evil One shewed him some fine gold which [in quantity] surpassed the treasures of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he answered and said unto him that showed him the gold, "May thou and thy money go to hell." These and suchlike great things were, according to what they said, performed by Abbâ Petarpemôtis, and they spake many other things before us the which [if written] the world could not contain. And, according to what these men said, Petarpemôtis spake unto us, saying, "If we who are little people perform things which are little, like unto ourselves, that is to say, if we heal the halt and the blind, which selfsame things the physicians do by means of their art, in what consisteth the greatness?" Now whilst Copres, the elder, was relating these things unto us, one of us slumbered and fell into a sleep, and this man did not believe the things which he had heard the blessed man say. And having fallen asleep, he saw a marvellous book, and the book was laid upon the knees of this elder, and it was written wholly in gold, and above it there stood an old man who said unto him

15 369 in a very threatening manner, "Didst thou not hear well what was being said that thou didst fall asleep?" Then immediately the man awoke from his sleep, and told us in the Greek tongue what he had seen. 16 Now whilst our brother was relating this dream to us, a certain villager was found to be standing there before him bearing upon his shoulders a bucket of sand, and he was waiting there to hear the end of his story; and we begged him to tell us why he was carrying the sand, and why he stood there, and what he wanted. Then Abbâ Copres answered and said unto us, "My sons, it is not seemly for us to boast, but it is fitting that we should declare before you the triumphs of the fathers, so that we may not be unduly exalted in our minds, and so lose our reward. Nevertheless, because of the earnestness, and for the sake of the welfare of you who have come unto us from a distance, we will not deprive you of benefit, and we will relate before your brotherhood whatsoever God hath wrought by our hands. At one time the land which is about us produced nothing, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the villagers who owned it were able to gather from it as much again as they sowed, for the worms were produced in the ears, and they destroyed all their harvest. Now some of those husband-men had been converted by us, and they begged us to pray for their harvest, and we said unto them, 'If ye have faith in Godeven this desert sand shall bring forth crops for you'.

17 Then, without any doubt whatsoever, they filled their bosoms with the sand which is trodden under our feet, and they entreated us to bless it, and when we had prayed that it might be unto them even according to their faith, they went and mixed it with the wheat and sowed it in their fields, and immediately their land produced for them abundant crops, and they were larger than the crops obtained from the other lands in Egypt. Thus it became the custom for them [to bring sand] each year, and to trouble us [to bless it]." 18 And he also related unto us a certain wonderful thing which the Lord had wrought for us when large numbers of the brethren were gathered together, and he said, "On one occasion I went down to the city, and I found there a certain Manichean who was leading the multitudes into error, and because I was unable to rebuke and convince him openly I turned towards the multitudes, and said unto them, 'Kindle ye a large fire, and let the two of us go into it when it is burning brightly, and he who remaineth in the fire without being burnt shall be the man who possesseth the true faith.' And when this had been done, and the crowd had lit a fire with ready zeal, I urged the Manichean to go with me into it, but he said, 'Let each of us go in by himself, and, moreover, it is meet that thou shouldst be the first to go in because thou didst give the command to have it made.' Then, having made upon myself the sign of the Cross in the Name of Jesus Christ, I went into the fire, and was unharmed thereby, for the flame parted asunder on this side and on that, and it vexed me in no wise. And when I had remained in the fire for half an hour, and the multitudes had seen the wonderful thing, they cried out, and gave thanks to God, and compelled the Manichean to go into the fire, and when, because of his fear, he was unwilling to go into it, the crowd took him, and pushed him into the fire, and he was wholly consumed. As for me they took me, and escorted me to the church, and ascribed praise to God as they went.

19 "And on another occasion when I was passing by a certain heathen temple, the heathen were offering up sacrifices to their idols; and I said unto them, 'Why do ye who are rational beings offer up sacrifices to things which are dumb? Are ye of your own will dumb that ye sacrifice to dumb things?' And they admitted that what I said was good, and they came after me, and believed in Christ. "And, moreover, we had a garden in a certain neighbouring place which was [intended] for the pleasure of the brethren who came unto us from afar off, and a certain poor man used to work therein. And one of the heathen went into the garden and stole some vegetables and departed; but he was not able to cook them, for although he kept the fire burning under the saucepan for three hours, they remained in the same state as when they were taken from the garden, and even the water would not boil! And when the man came to his senses he took the vegetables and brought them to us, and he begged that he might be forgiven the offence, and become a Christian; and he actually became one. Now on that very day certain brethren came unto us from a distance, and it is probable that those vegetables were brought on their account, so that they might enjoy them; and when we had tasted them, we gave thanks unto our Lord, for we had a twofold joy, first, because of the redemption of the soul of the man who had stolen them, and secondly, because the brethren who had come to us enjoyed them."

20 These and many other wonderful things did our holy father Copres relate to us, and when he had made us rest, he took us into his garden and shewed us the palms and other fruit trees which Kopris [sic] had planted with his own hands for the encouragement of those husbandmen who believed in Christ, and to whom he had said that this desert was able to bring forth fruit for those who believed in God; "And," said he, when "I saw that they had sown sand, and that their crops were abundant, I also planted this garden for the enjoyment of the brethren, and it has come to its present state [of perfection]."