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AT this the old man seeing that we were astonished, and inflamed at the
words of his discourse with an insatiable desire, stopped his speech for a
little in consequence of our admiration and earnestness, and presently
added: Since your zeal, my sons, has led to so long a discussion, and a
sort of fire supplies keener zest to our conference in proportion to your
earnestness, as from this very thing I can clearly see that you are truly
thirsting after teaching about perfection, I want still to say something to
you on the excellence of discrimination and grace which rules and holds the
field among all virtues, and not merely to prove its value and usefulness
by daily instances of it, but also from former deliberations and opinions
of the fathers. For I remember that frequently when men were asking me with
sighs and tears for a discourse of this kind, and I myself was anxious to
give them some teaching I could not possibly manage it, and not merely my
thoughts but even my very power of speech failed me so that I could not
find how to send them away with even some slight consolation. And by these
signs we clearly see that the grace of the Lord inspires the speakers with
words according to the deserts and zeal of the hearers. And because the
very short night which is before us does not allow me to finish the
discourse, let us the rather give it up to bodily rest, in which the whole
of it will have to be spent, if a reasonable portion is refused, and let us
reserve the complete scheme of the discourse for unbroken consideration on
a future day or night. For it is right for the best counsellors on
discretion to show the diligence of their minds in the first place in this,
and to prove whether they are or can be possessors of it by this evidence
and patience, so that in treating of that virtue which is the mother of
moderation they may by no means fall into the vice which is opposite to it;
viz., that of undue length, by their actions and deeds destroying the force
of the system and nature which they recommend in word. In regard then to
this most excellent discretion, on which we still propose to inquire, so
far as the Lord gives us power, it may in the first instance be a good
thing, when we are disputing about its excellence and the moderation which
we knew exists in it as the first of virtues, not to allow ourselves to
exceed the due limit of the discussion and of our time.
And so with this the blessed Moses put a stop to our talk, and urged
us, eager though we were and hanging on his lips, to go off to bed for a
little, advising us to lie down on the same mats on which we were sitting,
and to put our bundles under our heads instead of pillows, as these
being tied evenly to thicker leaves of papyrus collected in long and
slender bundles, six feet apart, at one time provide the brethren when
sitting at service with a very low seat instead of a footstool, at another
time being put under their necks when they go to bed furnish a support for
their heads, that is not too hard, but comfortable and just right. For
which uses of the monks these things are considered especially fit and
suitable not only because they are somewhat soft, and prepared at little
cost of money and labour, as the papyrus grows everywhere along the banks
of the Nile, but also because they are of a convenient stuff and light
enough to be removed or fetched as need may require. And so at last at the
bidding of the old man we settled ourselves down to sleep in deep
stillness, both excited with delight at the conference we had held, and
also buoyed up with hope of the promised discussion.
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