26. The brother asked the elder, saying, "If I see a brother about whom I have heard of any fall, I cannot persuade myself to bring him into my cell; but if I see a good brother, I gladly receive him. The elder said to him: "If you do a little good to a good brother, then you must do twice as much to another brother, for he is weak."

27. The elder said, "I have never desired a work that is profitable for me, but unprofitable for my brother, having the hope that my brother's work is the work of my fruitfulness."

28. (doubtful fragment – ed.) A brother served one of the fathers who was sick. It happened that the body began to decompose, and spewed phlegm with a stinking smell. And he said to his brother the thought, "Run, for you cannot bear the smell of foul things." The brother, taking a clay vessel, collected the patient's phlegm in it, and when he felt thirsty, he drank from it. And the thought began to say to him: "If you do not want to flee, at least do not drink this stench." The brother took courage and worked, drank slop and served the elder. And God, seeing the work of his brother, turned the slop into clean water, and healed the elder.

29. The brother asked the elder, saying, "How can a man receive the gift of loving God?" And he, answering, said, "If a man sees his brother in sin, and cries out to God for him, then he shall receive an understanding of how to love God."

30. The elder said, "Let us acquire the most important of blessings, love." Fasting is nothing, vigilance is nothing, labor in the absence of love is nothing, for it is written: "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

31. And he said, "The fathers said that the devil can imitate everything; fasting – he never ate, vigil – he never slept, and he cannot imitate humility and love. And so, let us have love in us and hate pride, through which the devil descended from heaven.

32. Abba Nicetas said of certain two brethren that they came together with each other, desiring to live together. And one of them thought, Whatever my brother wills, I will do. Another reasoned in a similar way: I will fulfill my brother's desire. And for a long time they lived in this way with great love. Seeing their great love, and not tolerating it, the devil came, and wishing to separate them, stood before the doors, and appeared to one like a dove, and to another a crow. And one of them said to the other, "Do you see this dove?" And he said, "This is a crow." And they began to argue with one another, each saying his own, and getting up, they fought until they bled, and to the complete joy of the enemy they dispersed. Three days later, having come to their senses, they returned to their former way of life and imposed repentance on themselves; each confessed that he had thought in his heart to fulfill the desire of the other. And having understood the warfare of the enemy, they remained together in every world unto death.

33. Once Abba Serapion was passing through a certain village in Egypt and saw that a certain prostitute was standing at her upper room. And the elder said to her, "Wait for me until evening, for I want to come and commit sin with you this night." Answering, she said to him, "Very well, Abba," and she prepared herself and made her bed, and waited for the elder with a gift. When evening came, the elder came to her, bringing nothing, and entering her upper room, said, "Have you prepared the bed?" She said, "Yes, Abba." And they shut the door, being left alone, and the elder said to her, "Wait a little, for we have a rule, until I have fulfilled it first." And the elder began his prayer, and having begun the psalter, after each psalm he made a prayer and asked God that she would repent and be saved. And God heard him: and the woman stood trembling and praying near the elder, and when the elder had finished the psalms, the woman fell to the ground. The Elder began to read from the Epistles, said much from it, and thus performed the prayer. The woman was touched, and realizing that he had come to her not for sin, but to save her soul, she fell down before him, saying: "Show me love, and where I can please God, there lead me." Then the elder took her to the convent and handed her over to the abbess and said: "Receive this sister and do not impose on her a yoke, or commandments, as on other sisters, but if she desires anything, give it to her; if she wishes, let her go out. And when she had lived a few days, she said, "I am a sinner, I want to eat every other day; and after a few more days, she said, summoning the abbess of the monastery: since I have offended God so much by my sins, do love, lead me into the cell and lock it up, and through the window give me some bread and needlework. And the abbess listened to her and did this for her. And so she pleased God for the rest of her life.

34. One of the elders said about malice that he is not overwhelmed by anything at all, or that he has not grieved anyone, or that it is peculiar only to angels not to be grieved by anyone. And to be somewhat confused and soon reconcile with a brother is characteristic of good ascetics. But when someone is confused or offended, they hold grief or anger for a while or a whole day — this is a demonic deed. For such a one becomes a brother of demons and a friend of the devil. For he cannot receive remission of sins from God Himself until he forgives his brother.

35. The elders said that each position of one's neighbor should be one's own, and sympathize with him in everything, and rejoice with him, and weep, and live as if wearing the same body, and take care of oneself if any tribulation befalls him, as it is written: "I am one body in Christ" and "the multitude of the people who believed were of one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:11). 32).

36. Two brothers lived with each other. It happened that the manager of the household brought less than usual, so that he either spent it illegally or joked with him. Wanting to know about this, he followed him. When he entered into a dishonorable place, he also pretended to enter there, and, falling down before him, exhorted him to repent. But even the one who has not sinned often asked the sinner to pray for him as for the fallen. And it happened that the one who had not sinned fell ill, and when he was about to die, he confessed to his brother, saying, "I am clean from the sin of which you think, but I did this for you, that you might repent, and when he died, the sinner took upon himself the feat of repentance."

37. Another, when his brother left the hermit's life and turned to worldly life, showed that he himself had the same intention, and by the mercy of God, repenting, they again took upon themselves a greater asceticism than before.

38. The elder said: "The weakening of love for the brethren happens to you because you take thoughts into yourself out of suspicion and believe them in your heart, and do not want to endure them at will. With God's help, desire above all not to believe your own suspicions, and with all zeal and effort humble yourself before your brethren and cut off your own desire for them.

39. There was a certain hermit who had another hermit under his care in a cell ten miles away. And one day he said to him: "Call your brother, that he may come and take bread." And again he pondered: for the sake of bread I will trouble my brother to walk ten miles, it would be better to bring him half of the bread. And taking it, he went to his brother's cell. And as he walked, he hurt his toe, and when the blood began to flow, he began to weep in pain. And then an angel came, saying to him, Why are you weeping? The hermit said to him: I wounded my finger and felt pain. The angel said to him, "Is this why you weep?" Don't cry. For the steps that you take for the Lord's sake are numbered, and at a great price are reckoned before the Lord. And that thou mayest know, behold, before thee I take thy blood, and lift it up unto God. Then, thanking him, he made his way to another monk, and giving him half of the bread, he told him about God's love for mankind and returned to his cell. A day later, again taking half of the bread, he went to another monk. It happened that this other monk was zealous to do the same and went to another monk. They met each other on the road. And the first, having done a good deed, begins to say to him: "I had treasure, and you wanted to steal it." And the other said to him, "Where is it written that the strait gate is open to you alone?" Allow us also to enter with you. And as they spoke, suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and said to them, "Your dispute has come to the Lord like a smell of fragrance."