ISIDORE THE PRIEST

1. It was said of Abba Isidore, priest of Scetis, that when anyone had a brother who was sick, or careless or irritable, and wanted to send him away, he said, 'Bring him here to me.' Then he took charge of him and by his long-suffering he cured him.

2. A brother asked him, 'Why are the demons so frightened of you?' The old man said to him, 'Because I have practised asceticism

* 41-7 are additions from J.-C. Guy's text (pp. 23-4).

since the day I became a monk, and not allowed anger to reach my lips.'

3. He also said that for forty years he had been tempted to sin in thought but that he had never consented either to covetousness or to anger.

4. He also said, 'When I was younger and remained in my cell I set no limit to prayer; the night was for me as much the time of prayer as the day.'

5. Abba Poemen used to say this about Abba Isidore: every night he plaited a bundle of palms, and the brethren pleaded with him saying, 'Rest a little, for you are getting old.' But he said to them, 'Even if Isidore were burned, and his ashes thrown to the winds, I would not allow myself any relaxation because the Son of God came here for our sake.'

6. The same abba said concerning Abba Isidore that his thoughts said to him, 'You are a great man.' He said to them, 'Am I to be compared with Abba Anthony; am I become like Abba Pambo, or like the other Fathers who pleased God?' When he said this he was at peace. When the demons who are at war with men tried to make him afraid, suggesting that, after all this, he would still go to hell, he replied, 'Even if I am sent there, I shall find you beneath me.'

7. Abba Isidore said, 'One day I went to the market place to sell some small goods; when I saw anger approaching me, I left the things and fled.'

8. Abba Isidore went one day to see Abba Theophilus, archbishop of Alexandria and when he returned to Scetis the brethren asked him, 'What is going on in the city?' But he said to them, 'Truly, brothers, I did not see the face of anyone there, except that of the archbishop.' Hearing this they were very anxious and said to him, 'Has there been a disaster there, then, abba?' He said, 'Not at all, but the thought of looking at anyone did not get the better of me.' At these words they were filled with admiration, and strengthened in their intention of guarding the eyes from all distraction.

9. The same Abba Isidore said, 'It is the wisdom of the saints to recognize the will of God. Indeed, in obeying the truth, man sur-

passes everything else, for he is the image and likeness of God. Of all evil suggestions, the most terrible is that of following one's own heart, that is to say, one's own thought, and not the law of God. A man who does this will be afflicted later on, because he has not recognized the mystery, and he has not found the way of the saints in order to work in it. For now is the time to labour for the Lord, for salvation is found in the day of affliction: for it is written: "By your endurance you will gain your lives." ' (Luke 21.19)

10. Abba Poemen also said about Abba Isidore that wherever he addressed the brothers in church he said only one thing, 'Forgive your brother, so that you also may be forgiven.'*