DAY EIGHT
10. He said also, “Just as fish die if they stay too long out of water, so the monks who loiter outside their cells or pass their time with men of the world lose the intensity of inner peace. So like a fish going towards the sea, we must hurry to the cell, for fear that if we delay outside we will lose our interior watchfulness.
11. He said also, “He who wishes to live in solitude in the desert is delivered from three conflicts: hearing, speaking, and seeing; there is only one conflict for him and that is with fornication.”
DAY NINE
12. Some brothers came to find Father Anthony to tell him about the visions they were having, and to find out from him if they were true or if they came from the demons. Now they had a donkey which died on the way. When they reached the place where the elder was, he said to them before they could ask him anything, “How did the little donkey die on the way here?” They said, “How do you know about that, Father?” And he told them, “The demons showed me what happened.” So they said, “That was what we came to question you about, for fear we were being deceived, for we have visions which often turn out to be true.” And the elder convinced them by the example of the donkey that their visions came from the demons.
DAY TEN
13. A hunter in the desert saw Father Anthony enjoying himself with the brothers and he was shocked. Wanting to show him that it was necessary sometimes to meet the needs of the brothers, the elder said to him, “Put an arrow in your bow and shoot it.” So he did. The elder then said, “Shoot another,” and he did so. Then the elder said, “Shoot yet again,” and the hunter replied, “If I bend my bow so much I will break it.” Then the elder said to him, “It is the same with the work of God. If we stretch the brothers beyond measure they will soon break. Sometimes it is necessary to come down to meet their needs.” When he heard these words the hunter was pierced by remorse and, greatly edified by the elder, he went away. As for the brothers, they went home strengthened.
DAY ELEVEN
14. Father Anthony heard about young monk who had performed a miracle on the road. Seeing some elders walking with difficulty along the road, he ordered the wild donkeys to come and carry them until they reached Father Anthony. Those whom they had carried told Father Anthony about it. He said to them, “This monk seems to me to be a ship loaded with goods but I do not know if he will reach harbor.” After a while, Anthony suddenly began to weep, to pull out his hair and lament. His disciples said to him, “Why are you weeping, Father?” and the old man replied, “A great pillar of the Church has just fallen (he meant the young monk) but go to him and see what has happened.” So the disciples went and found the monk sitting on a mat and weeping for the sin he had committed. Seeing the disciples of the elder he said, “Tell the elder to pray that God will give me just ten days and I hope I will have made satisfaction.” But after five days he died.
DAY TWELVE
15. The brothers praised a monk before Father Anthony. When the monk came to see him, Anthony wanted to know how he would bear insults; and seeing that he could not bear them at all, he said to him, “You are like a village beautifully decorated on the outside, but destroyed from within by robbers.”
~Taken from the Website of Father Arseny, 38 Sayings of Saint Anthony, http://www.fatherarseny.com/38-sayings-of-saint-anthony.html.
