Open sample · Desert literature
Apophthegmata Patrum: Alphabetical Collection
Selections from the sayings of the desert fathers, in a fresh translation.
Editorial introduction
The Apophthegmata Patrum, "Sayings of the Fathers", survives in several distinct recensions: the alphabetical, organised by the name of the speaker; the systematic, organised by theme; the anonymous, transmitting sayings whose attribution has been lost; and various translations and adaptations in Syriac, Latin, Coptic, Ethiopic, and Armenian. The alphabetical collection presented here is the most familiar in the Greek tradition; it begins with Abba Antony (the entries are too numerous to be presented in this open sample in full) and concludes with Or, which in the conventional numbering yields some thousand and seventy short pieces.
The translation that follows is fresh and works from the Migne text with the textual notes assembled by Jean-Claude Guy in his unfinished critical edition. The older English translation by Benedicta Ward (1975; revised 1984) has been our companion; we have learned from her work and have noted our principal departures in the apparatus to the full edition.
The sayings are by their nature short. They are often, however, more difficult to translate than their brevity suggests. Their language is the spoken Greek of the desert, lightly literary, idiomatic in ways that the Greek lexicons do not always record. Several sayings turn on a single word that has been variously translated; in such cases we have favoured what we believe to be the desert sense of the word, rather than its later monastic or theological sense. Where this choice is consequential, the apparatus indicates the alternatives.
The selection presented below is from the entries for Antony, Arsenius, Macarius the Egyptian, and Poemen.
Selected sayings
Antony 1. When the holy Abba Antony lived in the desert he was beset by accidie, and assaulted by many sinful thoughts. He said to God, "Lord, I want to be saved but these thoughts do not leave me alone; what shall I do in my affliction? How can I be saved?" A short while afterwards, when he got up to go out, Antony saw a man like himself sitting at his work, getting up from his work to pray, then sitting down and plaiting a rope, then getting up again to pray. It was an angel of the Lord sent to correct and reassure him. He heard the angel saying to him, "Do this and you will be saved." At these words, Antony was filled with joy and courage. He did this, and he was saved.
Antony 7. Abba Antony said: "I saw the snares that the enemy spreads out over the world and I said, groaning, 'What can get through from such snares?' Then I heard a voice saying to me, 'Humility.'"
Antony 27. A certain hunter, observing Antony enjoying himself with the brethren, was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brethren, the elder said to him, "Put an arrow in your bow and stretch it." He did so. The old man said again, "Stretch it further", and he stretched it. Again he said to him, "Stretch it yet again." The hunter said to him, "If I stretch it too far, the bow will break." The old man said to him, "It is the same way with the work of God. If we stretch the brethren beyond measure, they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs." When he heard these things, the hunter, having been thoroughly humbled, departed; and the brethren were strengthened, and went back to their place.
Arsenius 2. While still in the palace, Abba Arsenius prayed to God in these words, "Lord, lead me in the way of salvation." A voice came to him saying, "Arsenius, flee from men, and you will be saved."
Arsenius 13. Abba Arsenius said: "I have often regretted having spoken, but never having kept silent."
Arsenius 28. A brother came to Abba Arsenius for advice. The old man said to him, "Whatever your zeal, struggle to make your inner work conformable to God, and you will conquer the outer passions." Another time the same brother came again, asking for instruction, and the old man would not answer him for a long time. At last he said, "I do not have anything to teach you. Go, and apply what I have already told you, and then return for more."
Macarius the Egyptian 11. Abba Macarius said: "If we keep remembering the wrongs which men have done us, we destroy the power of the remembrance of God. But if we remind ourselves of the evil deeds of the demons, we shall be invulnerable."
Macarius the Egyptian 19. Abba Macarius said: "Imitate the dead, who neither think about the slights of men nor about their praises, and you will be saved."
Macarius the Egyptian 23. One day, Abba Macarius was walking with a brother, who, when he saw the old man, made way for him. Abba Macarius said to him, "When you reach my age, you also will not need to make way for anyone."
Poemen 27. Abba Poemen said: "Teach your mouth to say what is in your heart."
Poemen 84. Abba Poemen said: "If you see a man laughing, do not laugh with him; for the cause of his laughter may be sin, and you do not know it."
Poemen 173. A brother asked Abba Poemen, "Some brothers live with me; do you want me to be in charge of them?" The old man said to him, "No, just be their example and not their lawgiver."
Poemen 174. Abba Poemen said: "Vigilance, self-knowledge and discernment: these are the guides of the soul."
A note on numbering
The numbering of the sayings follows the standard Migne edition, which has remained the editorial reference for over a century notwithstanding the considerable work that has gone into the textual history of the collection. Where individual sayings have a different number in the Patrologia Latina, in Cotelier, or in Ward's English translation, the alternative numbers are recorded in the apparatus.
This open sample contains a small representative selection. The full edition of the Alphabetical Collection, A–K, is available to members; the L–Ω portion is in active preparation.