About Abba Philemon: A Most Profitable Discourse
It was related of Abba Philemon the anchorite that he withdrew into a cave called Romeou, not far from the Lavra, and there laboured in the struggle of prayer, repeating in his intellect the words he had heard from Arsenios the Great: «Philemon, why did you leave the world?»
He lived in that cave for a very long time, weaving ropes and baskets; he gave them to the steward and received from him a little bread. He ate nothing but bread and salt, and even that only once in several days. From this it is clear that he took no thought for his body, because he dwelt in divine illumination; and he was full of joy, for he had received an indescribable knowledge of the mysteries.
He went to church alone on Saturdays and Sundays, allowing no one to come near him, lest his intellect be drawn away from what it was doing. Having entered the church, he would stand in a corner and, bowing his head, weep bitterly, sighing without ceasing, as he called to mind the death and the life of the holy fathers, and especially of Arsenios the Great, whom he strove to imitate.
The move to the Lavra of Nicanor
When heresy arose in Alexandria and the surrounding region, he went to the Lavra called the Lavra of Nicanor. He was received by the God-loving Paulinus, who assigned him a remote place to live in, which greatly helped his silence. For a whole year Paulinus allowed no one to come to him and did not disturb him himself; he came only to bring him bread.
When the feast of the Holy Resurrection of Christ arrived and they came together, and a conversation arose between them about the anchoritic life, blessed Philemon perceived that this most reverent brother had a good intention towards the life of stillness. So he taught him the words of ascetic struggle handed down from the fathers, both written and unwritten, showing him in everything that without complete silence it is impossible to please God — just as Moses of old, that divine father, taught in all wisdom: that stillness gives birth to ascetic labour, labour gives birth to weeping, weeping gives birth to fear, fear gives birth to humility, humility to insight, insight to love, and love makes the soul free from pain and from passion; and then a man knows that he is not far from God.
The teaching of Abba Philemon on stillness
And then he said to him: «It is good for you to purify the intellect completely through stillness and to give it unceasing spiritual activity. Just as the eye gazes upon the things of sense and marvels at what is visible, so the pure intellect contemplates noetic realities and is caught up in spiritual contemplation, and it is not easy for it to tear itself away. In the measure that it is freed from the passions by stillness, in that measure is it made like unto knowledge. The intellect becomes perfect when it casts off its own natural manner of thinking and is united with God; for then, having the dignity of a king, it will no longer suffer, nor be drawn away by base desires.
«When you wish to lay hold of all these virtues, do not be anxious about any one of them separately. Flee from the world and walk diligently along the path of the saints. Let your appearance be unadorned, your clothing simple and poor, your manners plain, your speech plain, your gait unproud, your voice free from flattery. Desire to live in poverty and to be despised by all; and above all, keep sobriety of intellect and patience in every strait, and keep whatever is good whole and undamaged. Be careful to take nothing from the sweetnesses that come.
«The passions of the soul can be quieted by stillness; but when they are inflamed and enraged, they rage all the more and urge the man in whom they nest to sin still further. When the wounds of the body are torn and lacerated, they are not easily healed. An idle word can draw the intellect away from the remembrance of God, for the demons stir it up and the senses obey them. It is a great and fearful struggle to guard the soul.
«Therefore it is good for you to withdraw from the whole world and to detach your soul from love of the body, having nothing of your own — neither place nor cell; to be free from the love of money, to receive no visitors, to be without cares, not to seek friends, not to know the ordinary affairs of men; to be humble, merciful, kind, gentle, silent, and ready to receive in the heart the imprints of divine knowledge. For you cannot write upon wax until you have smoothed away what was written before — so Basil the Great teaches us.
«Such was the countenance of the saints, wholly withdrawn from life in the world, who kept within themselves, without wavering, the wisdom of heaven. They were enlightened by the divine laws and shone with pious words and deeds, putting to death their earthly members by self-restraint, by the fear of God, and by love. Through unceasing prayer and the study of the Divine Scriptures the noetic eyes of the soul are opened, and they behold the King of Hosts; and there is great joy, and a burning desire is kindled in the soul. The body too shares in this desire under the action of the Spirit, and thus the whole man becomes spiritual. Such are the labourers of blessed stillness and of the hard ascetic life, who have withdrawn from all human pleasures and are united to the one Lord who is in heaven, holding pure converse with Him.»
In the Lavra of John Kolovos
When that God-loving brother heard this, and his soul was struck by divine love, he went with Philemon to Skete, where the great holy fathers had accomplished their beloved works of piety. They settled in the Lavra of Saint John Kolovos, leaving all their cares in the hands of the steward of the Lavra, because they wished to be in stillness. And by the grace of God they went to church on Saturday and Sunday, while on the other days of the week they remained in their cells, each one keeping his prayers and his rule.
The holy elder had this rule: at night he chanted the whole Psalter and recited passages from the Scripture; then he would sit down and repeat in his soul, «Lord, have mercy», for a long time, until he fell asleep a little. Then, sitting in his place facing the east, he chanted psalms and afterwards read the Gospel. And he performed this rule every day, praying and rejoicing, for his intellect was often raised up to contemplation, so that he did not know whether he was still upon the earth.
His brother, seeing how the monk laboured in unceasing worship and was transformed by divine thoughts, said to him: «Father, do you at such an age still need to labour so hard, mortifying your body and bringing it into subjection?» And the venerable one answered him: «Believe me, child, God has placed such zeal and desire to serve in my soul that I cannot restrain these impulses; and love for God and the desire for the good things to come overcome the weakness of the body.» Such was the longing of his intellect, that even during a meal it soared to heaven upon wings.
Once a brother who lived with him asked: «What mysteries are revealed to you in contemplation?» And when the venerable one saw that the brother was zealous and longing for contemplation, he answered: «I tell you, child, that when a man purifies himself deliberately, God reveals to him a vision of the ministering powers and of the ranks of heaven.»
The brother also asked him this: «Why, father, do you delight in the Psalms more than in the other words of the Divine Scriptures, and why, when you chant softly, do you pronounce the words as though you were speaking with someone?» And he said: «I tell you, child, God has so impressed the power of the psalms upon my humble soul, as He did upon the prophet David, that I cannot tear myself away from the sweetness of knowing them, for they embrace the whole of Divine Scripture.» He told this with great humility, for his brother’s benefit, and only after the brother had long entreated him.
Hidden meditation and the prayer of Jesus
A certain brother named John, from the coastlands, came to this holy and great father Philemon and, falling at his feet, asked him: «What must I do, father, to be saved? I see that my intellect wanders here and there, and this is not pleasing.» Philemon was silent for a while and then said: «This passion comes from things outside, and it abides in you because you do not yet have perfect love for God; you have not yet reached the warmth of love for Him and the knowledge of Him.» The brother said: «What then should I do, father?» And he answered: «Go, keep the hidden meditation in your heart, and it will cleanse your intellect of everything.»
The brother did not understand what was said, for he was unlearned, and said to the elder: «What is hidden meditation, father?» And the elder answered: «Go, be sober in your heart, and with a sober intellect repeat with fear and trembling: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.’» This is how blessed Diadochos also taught beginners.
The brother departed and, with God’s help and by the prayers of his father, he remained in silence and for a time enjoyed the hidden meditation. Then the sweetness left him, and he could no longer meditate and pray with sobriety. So he went back to the elder and told him what had happened. And the elder said to him: «You have now learned the way of stillness and of the activity of prayer, and you have tasted its sweetness. Keep this activity always in your heart: whether you are eating or drinking, or speaking with someone, whether you are outside the cell or on the road, never forget to pray this prayer with a sober intellect and without delusion; and chant, and study in prayers and psalms. Even when you are occupied with the most necessary things, do not let your intellect be idle: let it labour in prayer and in hidden meditation.
«In this way you will be able to grasp the depths of Divine Scripture and the power hidden within it, and to give the intellect an unceasing activity; and so you will fulfil the words of the Apostle, who says: ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17). Therefore be watchful and guard your soul, that it may not entertain cunning, vain and useless thoughts. Whenever you lie down and whenever you rise, when you eat or drink or speak, let your heart meditate on the psalms; and pray thus: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me.’ And also: when you chant with your tongue, take care that your mouth does not say one thing while your thought says another.»
And the brother said: «In my sleep I see many empty things.» The elder answered him: «Do not be slothful, and do not neglect to say many prayers in your heart before you go to sleep; and renounce your thoughts, that the will of the devil may not rule over you and that God may receive you. Struggle as much as you have strength, so that you fall asleep with psalms and noetic meditation; do not grow careless and do not let your intellect accept thoughts that are foreign to it; but with whatever thoughts you have prayed, with those go to your rest, that they may accompany you in sleep and speak with you when you awake. And before you fall asleep, recite the holy Symbol of the Orthodox faith, for right thoughts about God are the source and the safeguard of all good things.»
«Go and labour»
And again the brother asked him, saying: «Show me love, father, and tell me in what activity your intellect is exercised. Teach me, that I too may be saved.» The elder answered him: «Why do you need to know this?» At that the brother rose, embraced the saint’s feet, kissed them and begged him to answer. Several hours passed thus, and the elder said: «You cannot yet endure such a struggle. To give each sense the work that befits it is a struggle for a man accustomed to strive for what is good. He who has not yet completely cleansed himself of vain worldly thoughts cannot be worthy of such a gift. Therefore, if you desire it, keep the hidden meditation in a pure heart. If your prayer and your study of the Scriptures are unceasing, the noetic eyes of your soul will be opened, and there will be great joy in it, and a certain indescribable and strong desire in the body, which the Spirit will kindle — and then the whole man will become spiritual. And when God grants you a pure intellect for pure prayer, whether by day or by night, then do not hold to your rule, but strive as far as you can to obey God, and He will enlighten your heart in the spiritual work you have begun.»
And Abba Philemon told him this: «An elder once came to me. I asked him about the state of his intellect, and he said: ‘For two years I prayed to God with all my heart, asking without ceasing that the prayer which He Himself taught His disciples might be imprinted in my heart always and without effort. The great Lord saw my labour and my patience, and gave me what I asked.’»
Abba Philemon also said that vain thoughts are the sickness of a slothful and slack soul. It is good for us, as it is written, to guard our intellect in every way, to chant unceasingly in the intellect and to pray with a pure mind. Therefore, brethren, God wills that we should first show our zeal for Him in labour, and likewise in love and in unceasing prayer; and then He provides the way of salvation.
From this it may be seen that no other path leads to heaven like complete stillness, withdrawal from every evil, the acquisition of what is good, perfect love for God, and abiding with God in reverence and in truth. Whoever abides in all this will very soon draw near to the choir of heaven. And whoever wishes to ascend to this height must mortify his earthly members. When our soul delights in the contemplation of the true good, it does not turn aside to any passion; but, turning back from all fleshly desire, it receives the vision of God with a pure and undefiled thought.
We have great need to guard our hearts, to labour bodily and to purify our souls, so that God may dwell in our hearts, and that we may go on fulfilling His divine commandments without sin, and that He Himself may teach us to keep His laws firmly, spreading His influence like the rays of the sun through the blessing of the Spirit sent down upon us. By labours and temptations it is good for us to purify the image according to which we were made rational and received all knowledge of God and the likeness of God, so that our senses, as though forged in the fire of temptation and transformed into royal dignity, may let no defilement enter in. God created human nature capable of partaking in every good: it can behold noetically the joy of the angels, the glory of dominions, of powers, of principalities, of authorities, the unapproachable light, the shining glory.
On the struggle with the passions and with the enemy
«When you have accomplished a virtue, do not fall into a proud thought against your brother, and do not think that you have mastered the virtue while your brother has neglected it; this is the beginning of pride. Let us watch with all our strength that we do nothing for the sake of men’s praise. When you struggle against a passion, do not give in to sorrow and weariness; and when the passion does not yield but attacks you all the more, fall down before God with all your heart, saying with the prophet: ‘Judge, O Lord, those who wrong me’ (Ps. 34:1) — I cannot fight against them. And the Lord, seeing your humility, will send His help at once. When you walk with someone on the road, do not begin an idle conversation, but give your intellect to spiritual activity, that it may grow accustomed to what is good, forget worldly pleasures and reach the dwelling of dispassion.»
With these and many other words the elder taught his brother and let him go. After a time the brother came to him again and asked: «What should I do, father, when during the night office sleep weighs me down and does not let me pray soberly or listen any longer, so that while chanting I want to take up work in my hands?» The elder answered: «When you are able to pray soberly, do not turn to work. When despondency strikes you, take up work and labour a little, to drive away the thoughts.»
The brother asked again: «And you yourself, father, are you not weighed down by sleep at your office?» The elder answered: «It is not easy; but when I begin to fall asleep, I walk about a little and recite the beginning of the Gospel of John, raising the eye of my intellect to God — and then sleep flees. I do the same with thoughts: when a thought comes, I meet it as with fire, with tears. But you cannot yet arm yourself in this way; rather, always keep the hidden meditation and the daily prayers handed down by the holy fathers, that is, the third, sixth and ninth hours, and strive to perform vespers and the night office. Watch with all your strength to do nothing for the praise of men, and never be at enmity with your brother, lest you fall away from your God. Guard your thoughts, that they may not wander, and examine the thoughts that come. When you are in church and wish to partake of the Divine Mysteries of Christ, do not leave the church until you have received complete peace. Stand still and do not depart until the dismissal. Consider that you are standing in heaven with the holy angels before God, and receiving Him into your heart. Prepare yourself with great fear and trembling, lest you become an unworthy partaker of the holy powers.»
Having thus armed his brother well, the elder committed him to the Lord and to the Spirit in His grace, and let him go.
The account of the brother who lived with him
And the brother who was then with the elder related the following: «I once sat beside him and asked him how he had learned to overcome the assaults of the devil while living in the desert.» And he answered: «Forgive me, brother. If God were to allow such temptations to come upon you as I suffered from the devil, I do not think you could endure their bitterness. I am seventy years old, or even more, and I have endured many temptations, and have lived in various deserts in the greatest possible stillness. I have experienced and endured so much from the demons that it is not profitable to speak of the bitterness of those sufferings to those who have not yet tasted silence.
«This is what I always did in temptations: I placed all my hope in God, before whom I had made my vows of renunciation. And God at once delivered me from every sorrow. Therefore, brother, I no longer take thought for myself. I know that God cares for me, and so I can more easily bear the temptations that come. The only thing I bring of my own is unceasing prayer; for I know that the more fiercely the assaults increase, the more crowns are prepared for the patient. This the righteous Judge has promised.
«Know this, brother, lest you fall into weariness when you see yourself in the midst of the battle; and know that there are many who fight on the side of God’s enemy. Would we dare to fight against so terrible an enemy of our race, if the all-powerful right hand of God did not uphold us, shielding and covering us? How could human nature withstand his assaults? Of him it is written in the Book of Job that no one has lifted the covering of his garment, nor passed through his double armour; that torches issue from his mouth and fiery sparks leap out; that smoke comes from his nostrils as from a furnace; that his breath is like a burning coal, and a flame comes from his mouth; that strength dwells in his neck and his heart is hard as a stone, standing unmoved like an anvil; that beneath him the deep boils as a cauldron, and the sea is to him like a pot of ointment; that he looks upon all high things and is king over all that is in the waters (cf. Job 41). Our struggle is against him, brother. Thus does the Word describe the tormentor.
«Yet it is not hard to defeat him if one takes up another manner of life; for those who have renounced the world and possess great virtues have nothing in common with him, and indeed have the advantage over those who fight against us. Tell me: is there anyone who has come to the Lord and, keeping the fear of the Lord in his intellect, has not been changed in his nature? Who, being enlightened by the divine laws and works, has not made his soul bright and illumined it with divine understandings and thoughts, not allowing it to be idle? For he has God, who moves the intellect to desire the light insatiably. And when a man does this to his soul, the spirit of passion cannot weaken it. Like a king breathing fierce anger against his enemies, the soul slays them without mercy and never turns back; and acting thus, it lifts up its hands to heaven and, making its prayer, conquers the enemy.»
The silence and humility of the elder
The brother said that Abba Philemon had also acquired this virtue: he could not bear to hear idle words. When someone, through inattention, said something that was not profitable for the soul, he gave no answer at all. When the brother went about his business, the elder did not ask him, «Where are you going?»; and when he returned, he did not ask, «Where have you been and what have you done?»
«Once», said the brother, «I sailed to Alexandria on business, and from there I went to Constantinople to buy what was needed for the church; I visited the well-ordered brethren who live there, and I said nothing of this to the servant of God. Having stayed there as long as was necessary, I returned again to the hermitage. Seeing me, he rejoiced, and after greeting me he said a prayer and sat down, asking me nothing at all and practising contemplation.
«Once, wishing to test him, I did not bring him bread for several days. He made no enquiry and said nothing. When several days had passed, I bowed down before him and asked: ‘Show me love, father, and tell me: are you not offended that I did not bring you food as usual?’ And he answered: ‘Forgive me, brother; even if you gave me no food for twenty days, I would not take offence at you. As long as I endure with my soul, I endure with my body also.’» So diligently did he practise the contemplation of the true good.
He spoke of himself as follows: «Since I came to the hermitage, I have not let my thoughts go outside the cell, and I have received no other thought into my intellect but the fear of God and the judgement of the age to come: thinking of the sentence of judgement upon sinners, of the eternal fire and the outer darkness; and where the souls of sinners will be settled and where those of the righteous; and of the good things prepared for the righteous, and how each shall receive according to his labours. Some will have their reward for great labours, others for almsgiving and unfeigned love, some for freedom from possessions and renunciation of the whole world, some for humility and complete stillness, some for true obedience, and others for hospitality. Thinking of all this, I have allowed no other thought to act within me; and therefore I cannot be among people, so as to exercise my intellect with them, lest I wander from divine thoughts.»
Before that he had also spoken of a certain monk, saying: «He attained dispassion, and an angel gave him bread for his sustenance; but through negligence he lost such an honour. When the soul weakens the strength and firmness of the intellect, then night overtakes the soul. Where God does not shine with His light, everything is lost in darkness, and one cannot contemplate the one God nor tremble at His words. ‘Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I shall not see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord’ (Jer. 23:23-24).»
And he mentioned many others who had suffered something similar. He recalled also the fall of Solomon, saying that Solomon had received great wisdom and that all men praised him; he was like the morning star, for he enlightened all with the light of wisdom; yet for the sake of a little sweetness he lost all his glory. Negligence is a fearful thing. It is good for us to pray without ceasing, so that no other thought may come and separate us from God, nor set anything else before our intellect. A pure heart becomes the vessel of the Holy Spirit and clearly beholds God Himself.
«Hearing this», says the brother who lived with father Philemon, «I understood from his very actions that the carnal passions had already ceased to work in him; he yearned with all his strength for what is better, and therefore he saw how the Divine Spirit was at work in him. He sighed with unutterable sighs, and turned in upon himself and reasoned with himself, and feared lest some thought should come and disturb the purity of his intellect, and lest any impure secret should enter into him.»
Seeing all this, the brother often questioned the elder, for he wished to imitate such virtues. «How can I», he asked, «acquire a pure intellect like yours?» And the elder answered: «Go and labour. Hard work is needed, and pain of heart. Spiritual blessings are given to us when we labour and watch, not when we are slack and asleep. No one acquires even earthly goods without hard labour. He who wishes to make progress in spiritual things must first of all renounce his own desires and always have weeping and contrition. Do not look at the sins of others, but only at your own; weep over them day and night, and do not become familiar with people.
«The soul that suffers because of its own misfortune and bears wounds, remembering its sins, becomes dead to the world, and the world dead to it; that is, those passions of desire cease to work in a man, and the man ceases to serve them. For he who has renounced the world and been united to Christ, who lives in stillness, loves God, preserves His image and enriches the likeness — such a man will receive from God yet another shoot of the Spirit from on high, and will become a house of God, offering God righteous deeds. The soul purified by a righteous life, free from the defilements of the body, having no blemish and no vice, will adorn itself with the crown of truth, shining with the fair countenance of integrity.
«When a man from the very beginning of his renunciation has no weeping in his heart, no spiritual tears, no remembrance of eternal torment, no true stillness, no unceasing prayer, no psalmody and study of the Divine Scriptures; when he does not accustom himself to endless patience and to the activity of the intellect, and does not dwell in the fear of God in his mind — this means that he is still in love with the world and cannot have a pure intellect in prayer.
From action to contemplation
«Piety and the fear of God cleanse the soul of the passions and make the intellect free; they lead it to natural knowledge and urge it on towards theology, which it receives in the beatitudes — and these serve even now as a pledge for ascetics and keep them steadfast. Let us strive with all our strength for effective action, which raises us to piety, that is, to purity of thoughts, whose fruit is natural and theological contemplation. For action is the ascent to contemplation, as the insightful and theological Gregory says. When we neglect action, we set ourselves far from all wisdom.
«Even if a man has reached the highest summit of virtue, he still needs vigorous labours to suppress the idle impulses of the body, and he must guard his thoughts. The more truth prevails in us, the more spiritual courage is added. When the whole intellect has become perfect, it cleaves to God and is illumined by the divine light, and then indescribable mysteries are revealed to it. Then it truly learns where wisdom is, where strength is, where the knowledge to understand all things, where length of days and life, where the light of the eyes and peace. While the intellect is still at war with the passions, it has no leisure to delight in all this. Both virtues and sins blind the intellect: the first, that it may not see the virtues; the second, that it may not see the sins. When the struggle ceases and the intellect is endowed with spiritual gifts, then it becomes wholly luminous; it is upheld by grace and remains steadfast in the contemplation of spiritual things. Such a man is not attached to earthly things, and he shall pass from death to life.
«He who wishes to live a life worthy of imitation and to draw near to God must have a pure heart and pure lips; for only a pure word coming from the mouth can worthily praise God. A soul attached to God converses with Him without end. Let us hasten, then, brethren, to reach the summit of the virtues, and not to remain upon the earth nailed down by the passions. Whoever struggles and succeeds in drawing near to God, and in partaking of the holy light, and in being struck by the love of God, enjoys a certain spiritual and incomprehensible divine joy, as the divine psalmist says: ‘Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart… And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgement as the noonday’ (Ps. 36:4, 6).
«What love of the soul can be so ardent and so overwhelming as that which is born of God in a soul cleansed of every vice — in the soul which says out of true zeal: ‘I am faint with love’ (Song 2:5)? Unutterable and unspeakable is the radiance of divine beauty. You cannot describe it in words; it does not enter into the ear. Recall the brightness of the morning star or the brightness of the moon: they are unworthy even to be likened to that glory, and their beauty is as far from the beauty of the true light as deep night or fearful darkness is from clear noonday. This the divine Basil learned from his teachers and handed down to us.»
His reverence before the Holy Mysteries
This and much more was related by the brother who lived with the elder. Nor will anyone be surprised at it, having so great a sign of the elder’s humble wisdom.
Though by his understanding of life he touched heavenly things, he refused to be counted worthy of the priesthood; he avoided serving the divine Liturgy, and for many years he did not approach the holy table, not accounting himself worthy of communion in the Divine Mysteries. Although he lived so zealously, he did not receive communion after speaking with people, even though he spoke of nothing earthly, but only of what was profitable to those who conversed with him. And when he wished to partake of the Divine Mysteries, he first appeased God with prayers, psalmody and confession.
He was greatly moved when, before Communion, the priest proclaimed: «Holy things for the holy.» He said that the whole church is then filled with divine angels, and that the King of Hosts Himself mysteriously consecrates the gifts and changes them into the Body and Blood within our hearts. Therefore he said: «It is good for us to approach the Holy Communion of the most pure Mysteries of Christ blamelessly and purely, as though we were outside the body, without sorrow and without confusion, and with courage, that we may become partakers of their illumination. Many of the holy fathers saw the angels who guarded them, and therefore they kept themselves in stillness and spoke with no one.»
The brother related this also: «When the elder had to sell his handiwork, lest through questions and answers some untruth, or much speaking, or some other sin should creep in, he would feign foolishness; and everyone who wished to buy from him took what he wanted and paid him what he wished. The elder wove small baskets and accepted whatever price was given him; and this truly all-wise man said nothing.»
Note: In the printed collection the following editorial remark stands at this point, referring to the next author of the Philokalia, Saint Theodore of Edessa. Our holy father Theodore lived in the reign of Heraclius and Constantine the Bearded, in the six hundred and sixties. He first struggled in the monastery of Saint Sabbas, and afterwards by divine choice was raised to the episcopal throne of the city of Edessa; he worked many miracles both during his life and after his death, and by his teaching he brought forth many martyrs and saved many. On the eleventh day of July he departed to his eternal dwelling, as is written in his Life in the book Kalokairina. Whether any further writings remained after him, we cannot say with certainty. These hundred chapters which he composed are placed among the other ascetic books. They offer abundant fruits of sacred sobriety and spiritual profit to those who read them with discernment and desire salvation. Come, then, and gather this most bountiful fruit. At the end of these chapters is added a certain Discourse bearing Theodore’s name; and the fact that it is appended to the chapters on sobriety and follows immediately after them is, we think, a sign that Theodore did indeed write it.