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 brother with thee, and send me an old man because of him; and because I could not trust myself to send him alone I did not send him at all.” Now when the steward had come to the old man Nastîr, he told him his thoughts, and Abbâ Nastîr healed him. And afterwards the old man asked Abbâ Poemen, saying, “Whence hast thou gotten such humility that whensoever it happeneth that there be trouble in the coenobium thou dost not speak, and dost not interfere to put an end to contention?” And the old man having pressed the brother, Abbâ Poemen answered and said unto him, “Forgive me, father! When I first entered the coenobium I said unto my mind, I and the ass are one. As the ass is beaten and speaketh not, and is cursed and maketh no answer, so also act thou, according to what the blessed David said, ‘I was a beast with Thee’ ” (Psalm 73:22).

182. On one occasion Saint Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria, came to Scete, and when the brethren were gathered together they said unto Abbâ Pambô, “Speak a word to the Bishop, so that we may be built in this place”; the old man said unto them, “If by my silence [we] are not helped, [we] shall not be builded by my word.”

183. One of the brethren entreated Abbâ Sisoes, saying, “Do an act of love, father, and do thou thyself speak to me a word”; and he answered and said, “He who holdeth with knowledge [the belief] that a man should not esteem himself fulfilleth the whole Book.”

184. An old man used to say, “This is what is written: Because of two, and because of three transactions of Tyre, yea, because of four, I will not turn back from them” (Amos 1:9); [that is to say,] to be content with wickedness, to fulfil a thought, and to utter it; and the fourth is to carry a thought into effect. For at such a thing as this [last] the wrath of the Lord turneth not back.”

185. They used to say concerning a great old man who dwelt in Scete that, whenever the brethren were building cells in Scete, he would go out and lay the foundation, and would not depart until [the building] was completed. Once, however, when he went forth to build, he was exceedingly sad, and very sorry, and the brethren said to him, “Why is it that thou art thus grieved and sorry?” And he said unto them, “My sons, this place shall be laid waste. For I have seen a fire kindled in Scete, and have seen that the brethren took palm leaves and beat upon it until they extinguished it; and it broke out again, and the brethren took palm leaves and extinguished it; but it broke out a third time, and it filled all Scete, and the brethren were never again able to extinguish