On Silence and Solitude (II) A catena of sayings, drawn at random from the desert ascetics of the early Christian centuries, well expresses the value and necessity of authentic silence, silence of the heart. “A brother asked Abba Pambo if it is good to praise one’s neighbor, and the old man said to him, ‘It is better to be silent.’” “A brother asked Abba Poemen, ‘Is it better to speak or to be silent?’ The
The Gift of Silence (II) There is an obvious and deep irony in any attempt to talk about silence. It’s like trying to describe the ineffable or depict the invisible. The task itself is inherently impossible. Silence can only speak for itself: not through words, but through experience. The best way to begin, therefore, is not by any definition or analysis, but by a story. There is a familiar little account in the alphabetical collection
The elders knew that words have great power to harm and distract or to give life and edify. Since human speech affects the lives of others in such profound ways the abbas and ammas valued silence as a steward of both hearing and speech. They took the power of words very seriously and, as illustrated in the incident about Abba Ammoes and his disciple, guided the patterns of their relationships to ensure appropriate use of
Abba Poemen said, “In Abba Pambo we see three bodily activities; abstinence from food until the evening every day, silence, and much manual work.”26 A brother asked Abba Poemen, “Is it better to speak or to be silent?” The old man said to him, “The man who speaks for God’s sake does well; but he who is silent for God’s sake also does well.”27 Stillness provides an environment for silence. Abba Poemen understands silence as
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