110. Satan appeared before one holy man, at the very hour of his death, and said to him: "You have escaped me". The elder replied: "I do not know yet".
You see to what extent the fathers were vigilant, so as not to boast of any deed.
298. A brother came to an elder and said to him: Abba! Tell me, how to be saved? The elder said to him: if you come to someone, do not start talking before he asks you. The brother, having come to contrition from these words, made a bow to the elder and said: indeed, I read many books, but nowhere did I find such an instruction. And, having received a great benefit, he left.
One brother lived in silence, and the demons in the form of angels sought to seduce him on a pretext of a brethren’s meeting for prayer. They arouse him, ask him and show him some sign of light. He then went to one elder and told him: Abba, angels come to me with light and wake me up to join the brethren for our common prayer. And the elder says to him: ‘Don’t listen to them, my child! They are demons; but when they come to wake you, tell him I will stand up only when I want and I won’t listen to you.’ The brother, having accepted the elder’s instruction, went to his cell. The next night again demons came and woke him up again. He answered them, as the elder commanded him to answer, saying: I would stand up when I wanted, and I would not listen to you. The demons told him: ‘This evil elder was a liar, he deceived you. For his brother came to him, wanting to borrow money, and he, having the money, told him a lie, saying: “I have no money” - and did not give him. From this, understand that he is a liar.’ Brother got up, went to the elder and told him about it. The elder told him: ‘You are right, I had money, and when my brother came and asked me, I did not give it, because I knew that if I gave it to him, it would be bad for his soul. So I decided to break one commandment instead of ten so we wouldn’t grieve. Do not listen to the demons who seek to deceive you.’ And this brother, much confirmed by the elder, went to his cell.
16. The ascetic, seeing a certain demon possessed who could not fast, being moved by love for God and seeking not his own, but his neighbor’s benefit, prayed that a demon would transfer into him, and the possessed would be freed from it; and God heard his prayer; instead, the ascetic was burdened with a demon; he continued fasting, practicing the prayer and ascetic deeds, and mainly for his love, after a few days, God expelled a demon from him.
40. The same Elder both in order to prove the virtues of the law and to teach us told us this story: two brothers who lived in Lavra in separate cells used to visit each other. Once one of them said to his brother, ‘I would like to visit Abba Zenon to reveal him a thought of mine.’ The latter answered, ‘So would I.’ Therefore, they went together. Each of them confided their thoughts to Abba privately. The first one prostrated before Abba with begging him with tears and Abba told him, ‘Go, do not neglect, do not judge, and do not omit your prayer.’ Then that brother came back to his cell, spiritually healed. The latter, however, did not beg Abba with pain but said only, ‘Pray for me.’ After a certain time two monks got together and one asked another, ‘Did you reveal your thought to Abba you wanted?’ He said, ‘I did.’ The brother asked again, ‘Did you get any benefit revealing it?’ He said again, ‘I did; God has healed me by the prayers of the Elder.’ The latter said, ‘I did reveal my thought; however, I did not get any relief.’ Then the healed one said, ‘How did you ask the Elder?’ The brother told that he asked to pray for him, as he has such and such thoughts. The healed brother answered, ‘I poured my tears on his feet and begged him to pray for me, when revealing him my thoughts, and God healed me by his prayers.’ Therefore, concluded the Elder his story, a brother, who is asking an Abba about his thoughts, has to beg him with all his might and pain, as if he were asking God himself, and he will get help then; the one, however, who reveals neglectfully or even tempting his Abba, not only will get no help whatsoever, but will be condemned.
