The Histories of the Monks of Egypt (Syriac Version) (chapters 15. The Triumphs of Abba Hôr, and Isaiah, and Paul, and Nôpi, the Confessors–28. The Triumphs of Apollo the Less, the Reader and Martyr)
The Histories of the Monks of Egypt (Syriac Version)
continued
Chapter 15. The Triumphs of Abba Hôr, and Isaiah, and Paul, and Nôpi, the Confessors
1 On a certain occasion it happened that Abbâ Hôr and Isaiah, and Paul met each other by chance by the side of a great river, and all three of them were chaste and perfect ascetics, who were going to visit a certain great confessor whose name was Nôpi, who lived at a place which was three stages distant, and they said to each other, "Let each of us shew the other his triumphs, and in what way, and to what extent he is, on account of his deeds, honoured by God." And Abbâ Hôr said unto them, "I beg God for this gift—that we may journey to the place in that country by the might of the Holy Spirit, without any labour [on our part]"; and immediately he had prayed, a boat was found to be ready, and a wind favourable for its journey was blowing, and they sailed up against the stream, and in a short time found themselves at that place.
2 And when they had gone up from the river, Isaiah said unto them, "O my beloved, would it not be a greater [display of the power of] God if that man whom we are going to see were to come to us and meet us, and were to describe to each of us his life and works?" And Paul said unto them, "God hath revealed unto me that after three days He will take him, and that the man whom we are going to see will depart from this world into life." Now when they had journeyed onwards a short distance from that place, the man himself met them, and saluted them; and Paul said unto him, "Brother, explain to us thy manner of life and works, for the day after to-morrow thou wilt go to God." And Abbâ Nôpi said unto them, "Blessed be God, Who hath also revealed these things unto me, and hath shewn me concerning your coming and concerning your life and works." And when he had described the upright dealings of each one of them, and how they lived, and how they laboured, he afterwards began to speak and to describe his own life and works, and he spake thus:—
3 "Since the day wherein I confessed the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and God, no falsehood whatsoever hath gone forth from my mouth on earth, and I have never taken any earthly thing, for an angel hath fed me each day with heavenly food. In my heart I have never had any other desire than that which is of God; and God hath not hidden from me anything which is honourable and glorious; and I have never been deprived of or lacked the light of mine eyes. I have never gone to sleep in the daytime, and during the night season I have never rested from making supplication to God, and the angel of God hath accompanied me always and hath shewn me the might of the world which is to come, and His light hath never gone out in my mind. Every request which I made unto God I have received straightway. At all times I have seen myriads of angels standing before God. I have seen the companies of the saints. I have seen the congregations of the martyrs. I have seen the triumphs of the monks who mourn. I have seen the works of the solitary brethren, and the congregations of the righteous. I have seen all created things glorifying God. I have seen Satan delivered over to the burning fire. I have also seen his angels suffering torments, and the righteous enjoying the happiness which hath no cessation." And, having told us these things, and many others which were like unto them, on the third day he delivered up his soul; and straightway the angels and the armies of the martyrs received it, and took it up into heaven, and we saw them singing praises and heard them.
4 Here end the Triumphs of Abba Dor, and Isaiah, and Paul, and Ropi, the Confessors
Chapter 16. The Triumph of Evagrius
1 And we also saw Evagrius, who was a man of great ability and learning, and who, through the experience of the matters which had passed over him, had acquired the discernment of good thoughts; and he had on several occasions gone down to the city of Alexandria and shut the mouths of the heathen philosophers. Now he commanded the brethren who were with us not to drink their fill of water, because devils were always to be found in the places where there were fountains of water, even according to the word of our Lord, Who said, "When the evil spirit hath gone forth from a man, it departeth and wandereth about in the places wherein there is no water seeking rest, which it findeth not" (St. Matthew xii, 43). And he spake unto us many things concerning the labours of ascetic excellence, and he confirmed our souls in the faith. Now many of the monks neither ate bread nor fruit (God forbid!), but bitter herbs and vegetables soaked in vinegar; and some of them never slept at all during the night, but, either sitting up or standing, they continued to pray until the morning.
2 Here endeth the Triumph of Evagrius
Chapter 17. The Triumph of Abba Pithyrion
And we also saw in Thebaïs a certain high mountain which lay by the river, and it was an exceedingly terrible mountain with high barren peaks, and in the caves thereof there dwelt many monks; and these men had as Abbâ one Pithyrion, who was a disciple of the holy man Anthony. He was the third who had received that place from Anthony, and he used to perform many mighty deeds, and to carry on the persecution of devils openly; and since he was the man who had received the place of Anthony, the blessed and great man, and of Ammonius his disciple, he received also, and rightly so, the inheritance of his labours. Now Pithyrion spake many other things, and he discoursed with power, especially on the faculty of discerning spirits, saying, "There are certain devils which cling to the passions, and on several occasions they turn our good desires into evil; therefore, O my sons, those of you who wish to drive away devils must first of all bring into subjection your lusts, for a man must vanquish not only every lust, but he must drive away the devil thereof. It is right that ye should overcome your lusts little by little, so that in the same way ye may drive away the devils which appertain thereto. There is a devil which belongeth to a wasteful and dissolute life, and he who is able to conquer the desire therefor is also able to drive away that devil." And this man used to eat twice a week, that is to say on Sunday, and on Thursday, and his food consisted of a little flour and some water which he baked into a thin cake; and he was unable to eat anything else, because his nature was thus.
Chapter 18. The Triumphs of the Blessed Fathers
1 And we also saw many other fathers and monks in several places throughout Egypt who used to work mighty deeds and miracles, but they were so many in number that we cannot mention them all, and we therefore only narrate a few things out of many. For what shall we say of the upper part of the Thebaïd, namely that [which is near] Syene, wherein live many wonderful men, and countless monks, who lead lives which are wholly beyond the nature of ordinary men? For at the present time they raise the dead, and, like Peter, they walk upon the water, and, to this very day, everything which our Redeemer performed by His saints is performed by these holy men. Now because of the great danger which we should run of thieves and barbarians falling upon us, we did not dare to go up the Nile any further to the south than Lycus, and therefore could not see the holy men who were there. Now we were not able to know even the fathers of whom we have spoken above without toil and tribulation, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that we were able to narrate their histories, for in order to do this we had to suffer much, and we were within a very little of having to endure many tribulations; but at length we were worthy to see these men. For on seven occasions we were delivered, and on the eighth evil came not nigh unto us, because, at all times, God protected us.
2 On the first occasion we nearly perished of hunger and thirst whilst we were wandering about in the desert [without food] for five days and five nights. On the second occasion we fell among savage, rugged mountains until our feet were pierced by the stones, and we suffered very great pain, and very nearly had to yield up our souls. On the third occasion we sank in the mud several times up to our backs, and there was none to help [us], and we cried out the words of the blessed David, "Save me, O God, for the waters have come even unto my soul, I have sunk into a dark abyss, wherein is no place on which to stand. Save me from the mire that I sink not" (Psalm lxix, 1, 2). On the fourth occasion a flood of many waters burst upon us at the period of the inundation of the Nile, and we walked about in the water, and we sank down very nearly to the nostrils [of the animal which we rode], and we cried out and said, "Drown us not, O Lord, in a whirlpool of waters, and let not the abyss swallow us up, and let not the pit close its mouth over us" (Psalm lxix, 14, 15).
3 On the fifth occasion we fell in with some river thieves whilst we were walking along on the river banks to go into the city of Dekapliôs, and they pursued us and sought to capture us, until very little breath was left in our nostrils, for they chased us for a distance of ten miles. On the sixth occasion we were sailing on the Nile when the boat capsized and sank under us. On the seventh occasion we were arriving at Lake Mareotis, and we were cast up on a small desert island, where the papyrus plant groweth, and we passed there three whole days and nights under the open sky in severe cold and with the rain falling upon us; now the season was the days of the Epiphany. 4 The story of the eighth occasion may be superfluous, but it is helpful. For when we were going to Nitria we passed a great deep place in one of the fields, which was full of water, and after the waters had run off the fields several crocodiles remained therein; now three very large crocodiles were stretched out on the edge of the pool, and we drew nigh to them that we might see them, because we thought they were dead. But they ran after us very fast, and we cried out with a loud voice, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, spare our souls," whereupon the crocodiles, as if they had been driven away from us by angels, cast themselves into the water. And we made our way to Nitria with all possible haste, and as we went we meditated upon the words of the righteous man Job, who said, "Seven times He shall deliver thee from tribulation, and on the eighth evil shall not draw nigh unto thee" (Job v, 19). Therefore we gave thanks unto our Lord, who had redeemed us out of all tribulations, and had made manifest unto us great and marvellous revelations by the hands of his believing saints and monks.
Chapter 19. The Triumphs of the Monks who were in Nitria
1 And we came also to the district of Nitria, where we saw many great disciples who had departed from the world, and some were natives of the country, and some were strangers (i.e., foreigners), who were more excellent in glory than the others, and they were emulating each other in the beautiful deeds of strenuousness, and were striving to outstrip each other in their noble and glorious lives and works. Now some of them possessed divine vision, and others works of ascetic excellence. And as we were coming from the desert some of their number saw us when we were afar off, and they met us on the way, and some of them brought water, and others washed our feet, and others washed our garments, and others entreated us to eat, and others called us to the doctrine of glory, and others to the vision of divine knowledge, and each one of them wished to help us so far as it lay in his power to do so. And however much a man might speak about their glorious life, it would be impossible for him to describe it as it really is.
2 For they dwell in a waste place, and their dwellings are remote, and the men live apart from each other so that one man may not be known to his fellow, and that he may neither be seen readily nor his voice heard, and they live in the strictest silence, and each one of them is secluded within his cell, and only on Saturday and Sunday do they assemble in the church, and so meet each other. On several occasions many of them have been found dying in their chambers without ever having seen each other except when assembled for service in the church; for some of them only assembled once every three or four months, and thus they were remote from each other. Now these monks have much affection both for each other and for the rest of the brethren, for each one of them would be exceedingly anxious to give up his chamber to any man who wished to seek for grace.
Chapter 20. The Triumph of Ammon the First
1 There was in the early times in Nitria a certain man whose name was Ammon, whose soul the blessed Anthony saw being taken up to heaven, and this man became the chief of the monks who were in Nitria. He belonged to a noble family, and because his parents were exceedingly rich, they urged him to marry a wife, although he was unwilling to do so; and having persisted in urging him [he did so], but in the wedding chamber he persuaded the maiden who became his bride to keep [her] virginity, and he promised to do the same. Now after a few days he departed to the country of Nitria, and the maiden herself called all the members of her household to virginity, and turned her house into a nunnery. Now the blessed Ammon was living by himself in the country of Nitria, and they brought unto him a certain young man who had been seized with madness and he was bound with chains; a mad dog had bitten him, and the madness of the animal had entered into him, and his body was torn by the severe pain which was in it. And when the blessed man saw that the relatives of the young man were making supplication unto him, he said unto them, "What are ye bringing to me, O men? Ye are seeking from me what is greater than my power, and besides it lieth in your own hands to help and to heal the young man. Get ye gone, and restore [the value of] the widow's bull which ye slew secretly, and your son shall be given back to you healed." Then they, as people who had been rebuked, fulfilled his commandment with gladness, and he prayed straightway, and their son was healed.
2 And on one occasion certain people came to visit the blessed Ammon, and he, having learned their mind, said unto them, "Bring hither to me a large potter's vessel, so that there may be an abundance of water for the people who come here." Now, although they promised him that they would do so, one of them, as soon as he had gone to his village, took counsel and said unto his companion, "I am not going to carry the potter's vessel on my camel and kill it"; and when the other man heard this, he saddled his asses, and carried the vessel to the holy man with great labour. And the blessed man Ammon said unto the man before he could speak, saying, "What [is this]? Behold, thy friend's camel died whilst thou wast coming here"; and when the man returned he found that the camel had been killed by wolves. And many [other] miracles were worked by this man.
Chapter 21. The Triumph of another Ammon who was in Nitria
And we also saw there a certain Abbâ whose name also was Ammon, and he possessed [a number of] small houses which were exceedingly beautiful, and a courtyard, and a well of water, and other things for use; and a certain brother, who wished earnestly to obtain mercy, came to him, and said unto the blessed man, "Build me a little house wherein I may dwell." Then the holy man, like one who was going forth [to do] this, ordered him not to depart from these chambers until he could find one which would be convenient for him; and he left to him everything he had, together with the chambers, and went and shut himself up in a house which was far away from that place. And if the brethren who came to him seeking to have mercy shown to them were many, he would assemble the whole brotherhood, and [tell] one to draw water, and another to bring bricks, and a house for them would be completed in a day. Then the brethren would invite those who were ready to inhabit the chambers to refresh themselves in the church, and whilst they were resting there he would fill his cloak, and baskets also, with bread and with other things which they would want to make use of, and would carry them to the new house, and it was not known to any man that he was the source (or head) of the gifts of each one of them. And at eventide the brethren who were ready to take up their abode in these [new] chambers would come there, and would find ready before them whatsoever they required.
Chapter 22. The Triumph of Didymus
And we also saw there another blessed man whose name was Didymus, and he was very far advanced in years, and his countenance was beautiful; and this man used to kill scorpions and other venomous reptiles with his feet, which no other man dared to do.
Chapter 23. The Triumph of Chronius
And we also saw another brother among the monks whose name was Chronius, and he had arrived at a good old age, and was one of the first men who were contemporaneous with Abbâ Anthony; he was about one hundred and ten years of age, and he comforted us greatly and admonished us by his humility, which he had preserved even in his old age.
Chapter 24. The Triumph of Three Brethren
Nd we saw there also three brethren who were learned in speech and glorious in their lives and deeds, and because of their splendid works they were about to be raised to the grade of the episcopate. They had cut off their ears in the fear of God, but although they had done this with great boldness (or presumption), the object with which they had done it was a good one, for [they wished] that henceforth no man might vex them.
Chapter 25. The Triumph of Philemon
Nd we also saw there a certain elder who was exceedingly holy and humble, and he was constantly seeing revelations, and his name was Philemon; and when this man was offering unto God the service [due] to him, he saw an angel standing at the right hand of the altar. He used to write and set down in a book the names of those brethren who drew nigh to the Gift of Grace, and he took care that the names of those who did not come to the congregation were erased, and such men, after three days, died. On several occasions the devils beat this man, and they brought so many sicknesses upon him that he was unable to stand by the altar, and could not even offer up the Offering; but an angel came and took him by the hand, and straightway he received strength, and the angel made him to stand up healed before the altar. And the brethren saw the scars made by his beatings, and marvelled.
Chapter 26. The Triumph of John
And we saw another blessed man whose name was John, and he was an Abbâ of the monks in the city of Dikâpôlis; and grace clung to him even as unto Abraham, and his beard flowed down like that of Aaron. He worked many mighty deeds and cures, and he healed those who were afflicted with gout, and the sick, and those who were paralytics.
Chapter 27. The Triumph of Serapion
And we also saw in the regions of Arsinoïtes a certain elder whose name was Serapion; he was the father of all the monasteries, and the head of numerous brotherhoods, which contained about ten thousand men, and he took the greatest care in providing for the wants of all the brethren. And in the season of harvest he would make those who worked for hire from year to year bring and gather together to him twelve ardebs of wheat, that is to say, forty bushels, that it might serve for his ministrations to those in want, and might be distributed by his hands, so that in that district no destitute man might be found, and he sent to the needy in Alexandria the Great their gifts. Now the fathers of whom we have already spoken did not at any time neglect to visit the whole of Egypt, but as a result of the toil of the brethren they used to fill boats with food and apparel, and send them year after year to the poor who were in Alexandria, because the poor and needy who lived round about them were too few [to exhaust their benevolence]. And we saw in the region of Babylon and Memphis many great fathers, and many, yea innumerable, monks who were adorned with works which were glorious before God.
Chapter 28. The Triumphs of Apollo the Less, the Reader and Martyr
1 And we saw also the granaries of Joseph (i.e., the Pyramids of Gizah) wherein he collected grain in the time of famine. And there was there, in Thebes, a certain monk whose name was Apollo, and he made manifest many mighty deeds, and led a life of great works; he was held to be worthy of the office of deacon, and his works of spiritual excellence were as glorious and renowned as [those of] the famous monks of old. During the period of the persecution he made many martyrs by putting courage into the hearts of the confessors of Christ, but at length he himself was seized and put under ward in the prison-house, and the wickedest men among the heathen used to come to him and heap words of hatred and blasphemy upon him. Now one of those who behaved thus was a certain singer, who was a famous man, and was beloved by all the people; and this man drew nigh and reviled the blessed Apollo, and called him a wicked man, and a liar, and a hater of all mankind, and said that he was guilty of death before all the people. Then to him the blessed man Apollo made answer, and he said unto him, "O man, may God have mercy upon thee, and may the sin which hath been uttered by thee not be accounted unto thee as anything."
2 Now when the man who was a singer, whose name was Philemon, had heard these things, he repented at the words of the blessed man, because he had gone into the place where he was, and caused him pain, and he went down immediately, and stood up before the throne of the judge, and in the presence of all the people said unto him, "O judge, thou art acting wickedly in tormenting the servants of God without a cause, for the Christians neither say nor do wicked things, on the contrary, they even bless their enemies." Now when the judge heard the things which Philemon was saying, he thought at first that he had gone mad through his pride, and that having gone mad he had spoken; but as soon as the judge perceived that he persisted in his words, he answered and said unto him, "Thou art mad, O man, and hast suddenly become a fool." And Philemon made answer to him and said, "I have not gone mad, O thou wicked judge, but I am a Christian, and I fear the God of heaven." And the judge and all the people wished to persuade him [to be quiet] by means of flattering speeches, but, when they saw that he would not yield to them, they applied to him all kinds of wicked tortures. And after these things they seized the blessed and holy Apollo, and brought him [there], and they laid many stripes upon him, and they scourged him as men scourge those who are wicked and who lead the people into error.
3 Then the blessed Apollo spake unto the judge, saying, "I pray God that thou also, O judge, and all those who are here present with thee may follow after my error"; and when the judge perceived that he had spoken such words unto him, he commanded that both Apollo and Philemon should be delivered over to be burnt by fire in the presence of all the multitude. And when they were in the blazing fire before the judge the blessed Apollo cried out with a loud voice unto God, so that all the assembly and even the judge himself might hear, saying, "O Lord, give not to be broken the souls which confess Thee, but make us to see Thy deliverance boldly." Then straightway a brilliant cloud, which was laden with dew, appeared, and it enveloped these men and quenched the flames of fire; and the crowds and the judge marvelled and cried out, saying, "One is the God of the Christians."
4 And certain wicked men made known the things which had taken place to the governor of Alexandria, and he chose out from among his bodyguard some savage and merciless men, and sent them for all those who were with the judge, and for Philemon, and the blessed Apollo, and other confessors came with them. And as they were going along the road, the gracious gift of the Spirit lighted upon Apollo, and he began to teach the soldiers, and as he spake they hearkened unto him, and they repented at his words, and believed in Christ, and they all stood up with the prisoners before the throne. And as soon as the governor perceived and knew that they could not be changed from the faith of Christ, he commanded that they should be cast into the depth of the sea; and since they were drowned of their own will for Christ's sake, this became unto them a sign of baptism. Now the sea refused to keep them, and it brought them together near the shore, and on the spot where they had lain a temple was built in their honour, and in it great miracles were wrought; and such grace was found with the blessed man, and he was so greatly honoured that he was heard by Christ in respect of the things for which he prayed and made supplication. And we ourselves saw the martyrium wherein he and those who had testified with him were laid, and we prayed and worshipped God, and also touched their dead bodies, for they were not as yet buried because of the inundation of the Nile, but lay embalmed upon their biers in Thebaïs, and for this reason we made ready to insert here the history of the man.
5 Here end the Triumph of Apollo, the Monk and Martyr, and the other Histories of the Holy Men which were written by Hieronymus the Monk. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now, and always, and for ever and ever. End of Volume the First