83. His brother asked him about laziness and carelessness. "Laziness," the elder told him, "arms itself against every good deed, and plunges people into carelessness. But if anyone recognizes its harm, and continues in good work, he is at peace.

84. Abba Pimen also said: "A certain man walks with an axe, works all day, and cannot cut down a tree; and the other, skilled in felling, felled a tree with a few blows. "He called prudence an axe.

85. And he said, "The will of man is a wall of brass between him and God." If a man leaves it, then he also says to David, "By my God I will cross the wall." My God, His way is blameless (Psalm 17:30, 31); when, that is, the righteousness of God is united with his will, then a person does. (cf. John 15:3-5).

86. A brother asks Abba Pimen, "Shall I live with my Abba?" I swallow my soul with him. The elder, seeing that he was suffering harm, wondered how he, receiving such harm, remained with the abba. And he said to him, "If you will, live." "Having left, my brother remained alive. Then he came to the elder again and said: "I suffer harm in my soul, living near my abba." Abba Pimen did not say to him, "Go away from him." "My brother comes for the third time and says, 'In truth, I no longer live with him.' The elder said to him: now you have been delivered from harm, go away, and no longer live with the abba. And then he says: if a man sees harm to his soul, and has the need to ask another, then the way asks about the innermost thoughts, — to test them is the duty of the elders; and there is no need to ask about obvious sins, but they must be cut off immediately.

87. Abba Abraham, a disciple of Abba Agathon, 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 fulfill our desires, but our desires have become demons for us; they torment us so that we do them. If you want to know with whom the demons fought, it is with Moses and those like him.

88. Abba Pimen said: A brother asked Abba Moses, 'How can a man be dead in relation to his neighbor?' The abba said to him: if a man does not put it in his heart that he has been in the tomb for three years, he will not fulfill this word.

89. A brother asked Abba Pimen, "How should one sit in a cell?" The elder said to him: sitting in the cell on the outside consists of needlework, of eating once a day, in silence and teaching; and to sing in secret in a cell means to carry everywhere a reproach of oneself, wherever one goes, not to omit the hours of public service and cell prayers. If sometimes you happen to be without needlework, then go to the service, and pray without distraction. And in conclusion, hold fast to good company and shun evil company.

90. One day two brothers came to Abba Pambo. One of them said to him, "Abba! I fast for two days, and eat only two pieces of bread: will I be saved through this, or am I in error? And I, Abba, said another brother, make two coins every day from my needlework, keep a little for my food, and give the rest to alms: will I be saved or am I in error? The abba did not give them an answer, although they asked for it for a long time. "After four days, when they wanted to return to their place, the clergy came to console them: "Do not grieve, brethren," they said. God will not leave you without a reward – the elder has such a custom that he does not suddenly speak, if God does not inspire him. "The brethren went in to the elder and said to him: pray for us, Abba! "Do you want to go away from us?" The elder asked. "Yes," they answered. "Having in mind their feats, the abba wrote on the ground and said: Pambo fasts for two days and eats two pieces of bread — is he a monk because of this? No! Pambo works every day, produces two coins, and gives them as alms—is he a monk for this reason? Not yet! Then he said to them, "These works are good; but if at the same time you keep your conscience before your neighbor, then you will be saved. The brethren, satisfied with such instruction, went with joy.

91. A brother asks Abba Pambo: Why do the demons prevent me from doing good to my neighbor? "Do not say this," the elder answered him, "otherwise you make God a liar; but it is better to say: I do not want to do mercy myself at all. For God, having preceded it, said: "Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon the serpent, and upon the scorpion, and upon all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19).

92. Abba Palladius said: A soul that strives for God must either learn with faith what it does not know, or clearly teach what it knows. If she does not want to do either, then she suffers from madness; for the beginning of apostasy is satiety with teaching, disgust with the word, with that which the soul of the lover of God thirsts for.

93. One of the elders said, "I asked Abba Sisoi to say a word to me, and he answered me, 'A monk should consider himself inferior to idols.' Having gone to my cell, I reasoned with myself, saying: What does it mean to be below idols? I went again to the elder, and said to him: What does it mean to be lower than idols? The elder answered me, "It is written about idols, 'The mouth hath the mouth, and shall not cry out: the eyes shall have, and shall not see: the ears shall have, and shall not hear' (Psalm 113:13, 14). Such should be a monk. And as an idol is an abomination, so it must consider itself an abomination.

94. The brother said to Abba Sisoi, "Why do the passions not leave me? "Because their vessels are within you," the elder answered; give them their pledge, and they will depart.

95. A certain man came to Abba Silouan in Mount Sinai. Seeing that the brethren were working, he said to the elder: "Do not do that which perisheth (John 6:27): but Mary has chosen the good part (Luke 16:22). The elder said to his disciple: Zachariah! Give your brother a book and take him to an empty cell. When the tenth hour came, the brother listened at the door to see if they were sending him to a meal. But as no one called him, he himself, getting up, went to the elder and said: Abba! Did the brothers not eat today? "Yes," the elder answered. "Why didn't they call me?" asked the brother. "Because," answered the elder, "you are a spiritual man and have no need of such food; but we, as carnal ones, want to eat, and therefore we work. Thou hast chosen the good part, reading all day, and thou wilt not partake of fleshly food. "Hearing this, the brother bowed down to the elder and said, 'Forgive me, Abba! Then the elder said to him: "Truly Mary also has need of Martha; for Mary also boasts because of Martha.

96. The elder said: "A certain man, having fallen into a grave sin, repented of it, and went to reveal it to an elder. But he did not reveal the matter to him, but said this: If such and such a thought comes to someone, can he have salvation? The elder, being inexperienced in reasoning, answered him: "You have destroyed your soul." "When my brother heard this, he said, 'If I have destroyed myself, I will already go out into the world.' On the way, he met Abba Silouan, and revealed to him his thoughts. "And he was great in reasoning. But when the brother came to him, he did not reveal the case to him either: but again he used the same concealment as in relation to the other elder. The father opened his mouth, and began to speak to him from the Scriptures, that those who think are not subject to condemnation at all. Hearing this, the brother had strength and hope in his soul, and revealed to him the matter itself. Having heard the matter, the father, like a good physician, healed his soul with the words of the Holy Scriptures. What is repentance for those who turn to God with consciousness. When the abba came to that elder, he told him about this, saying: this brother, who has lost hope and decided to go into the world, is like a star among the brethren. "I have told you this so that we may know how dangerous it is to talk to people who are inexperienced in reasoning, whether about thoughts or about deeds.