One of the fathers said: when I was in the city of Oxyrhynchus (a city in Central Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile), beggars came there on Saturday evening to beg alms. When they slept, one of them had only a mat - half of it was under him, and half of it was above him. There was a severe frost there. When I went out at night, I heard him shivering from the cold and comforting himself, saying, "I thank You, Lord! How many are now in the prisons of the rich, weighed down with irons, and others have their feet hammered into wood. But I, as a king, can stretch out my legs and go whither I please. I stood and listened as he said it. Going inside, I told this to the brethren, and those who heard it benefited (7:54).

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Abba Isaac of Thebes came to the coenobia, saw his brother who had fallen into sin, and condemned him. When he returned to the wilderness, an angel of the Lord came, stood before the door of his cell and said, "I will not let you enter." The abba begged him, saying, "What is the reason for this?" The angel answered and said to him, "God has sent me to you, saying, 'Ask him, where does He command Me to throw my fallen brother?' Abba Isaac immediately threw himself down on the ground, saying, 'I have sinned against You, forgive me!' - The angel said to him, "Get up, God has forgiven you; but henceforth beware of condemning anyone before God condemns him (9:5).

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One of the fathers, seeing a certain sinner, said with bitter tears: "This one has fallen today, and I tomorrow" (9:17).

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They spoke of Abba Agathon: some came to him, hearing that he had great prudence. Wishing to test him, whether he would not be angry, they asked him: "Are you Agathon?" We have heard of you that you are a fornicator and a proud man. "Yes, that's true," he answered. - They asked him again: are you Agathon, a slanderer and an empty talker? "I am," he answered. "And they also say to him, 'Are you, Agathon, a heretic?' "No, I am not a heretic," he answered. Then they asked him, 'Tell us, why did you agree to everything that was said to you, and did not endure the last word?' - He answered them: "I admit the first vices for myself; for this confession is profitable to my soul. And to recognize oneself as a heretic means excommunication from God, and I do not want to be excommunicated from my God. - When they heard this, they marveled at his prudence, and departed, having received instruction (10:12).

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Abba Pimen said: In my opinion, a person who sins and acknowledges his sin and repents is better than a person who does not sin and does not humble himself. The one considers himself a sinner and humbles himself in his thoughts - but this one presents himself as a righteous man, as if he were righteous, and is exalted (10:50).

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Abba Abraham asked Abba Pimen: "Why are the demons attacking me like this?" "Are you being attacked by demons?" Abba Pimen said to him. - It is not demons that attack us if we do our wills; our desires have become demons for us: they torment us so that we fulfill them. If you want to know with whom the demons fought, it is with Moses and those like him (10:86).

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The elder was asked by a certain soldier: does God accept repentance? - And the elder, having taught him with many words, said to him: "Tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away?" - The warrior says to him: no! but I will sew it up, and I will use it again. The elder said to him: if you spare your clothes in this way, how much more will God not spare His creation? "And a warrior, well convinced of this. departed with joy to his country (10, 162).

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