THE PARADISE OF THE HOLY FATHERS is the classic compilation
of the lives and teachings of the early monastic saints. THE
PARADISE OR GARDEN OF THE HOLY FATHERS refers to the histories
of the anchorites, recluses, monks, coenobites, and ascetic Fathers
of the Deserts of Egypt compiled by Athanasius Archbishop of Alexandria,
Palladius Bishop of Helenopolis, Saint Jerome and others. It has
been said that for a monastic to achieve perfection there are only
two books needed: the Bible and THE PARADISE OF THE HOLY
FATHERS.
THE PARADISE OF THE HOLY FATHERS consists of two volumes.
Volume I contains the Life of St. Anthony by St Athanasius the Great,
the Paradise by Palladius, the Rule of St Pachomius, and the History
of the Monks by St Jerome. Volume II contains the Sayings of the
Fathers and Questions and Answers about the monastic life. These
volumes are translated from a Syriac manuscript discovered in 1888.
……And whose life was one of spiritual excellence, and who had lived
in a cave for sixty years. And he commanded me to live with him,
and to lead a life of self-denial with him for a period of three
years, so that the passions of the flesh might leave me. For the
blessed Isidore knew that blessed old man, and he knew that his
life was stern and severe, and he admonished me saying, "When thou
hast completed this period of three years, return unto me for the
remainder of the doctrine of spiritual knowledge." But I was unable
to fulfill these three years with him, on account of a severe illness
into which I fell, and so I departed from Dorotheos before the end
of the period, and I returned to him that had brought me out, and
entered his abode that I might learn the doctrine of the spirit.
Now the life of Dorotheos was one of exceedingly hard toil, and
the manner thereof was severe, and his food was meager and wretched,
for he lived on dry bread. And he used to go round about the desert
by the side of the sea the whole day long in the heat of the noonday
sun and collect stones with which he built cells, which he gave
to brethren which were unable to build cells for themselves; and
he used to finish one cell each year. One day I said unto the holy
man, "Father, why workest thou thus in thine old age? For thou wilt
kill thy body in all this heat." And he said unto me, "I kill it
lest it should kill me." He used to eat one small bread cake, which
weighed about six ounces, each day, and a little bundle of green
herbs; and he drank water by measure. What then? I know not. As
God is my witness, I never saw this man stretch out his legs and
lie down as men usually do; and he never slept upon a bed of palm
leaves, or upon anything else, but he used to work the whole night
long weaving baskets made of palm leaves to provide himself with
the daily bread which he required and food. Now I imagined at first
that he used to work in this manner because I was present, and then
I thought, "Peradventure it is only for my sake, and to show me
how to perform such severe labours, that he doeth this. So I made
enquiries of many of those who had been his disciples and who were
then living by themselves and were emulating his spiritual excellencies,
and I also asked others of his disciples who were living by his
side if in very truth he always laboured in this wise, and they
said unto me, "He hath held unto this practice from his youth up,
and he hath never been in the habit of sleeping according to what
is right. In the daytime he never sleepeth willingly, but sometimes
when he is working with his hands, or when he is eating, he closeth
his eyes and is snatched away by slumber. As he sitteth working
he is eateth, and unless slumber overcame him suddenly he would
never sleep at all. Many and many a time he is overcome by slumber
while he is eating, and the morsel of bread falleth out of his mouth
because he is overcome with drowsiness." And when from time to time
I used to urge him to sit down, or to throw himself upon a mat of
palm leaves and to rest a little, he would answer and say unto me
in a grieved manner, "If thou art able to persuade "the angels to
sleep, then thou wilt be able to persuade me."
One day, towards the ninth hour, Dorotheos sent me to the fountain
from which he drank water to fetch him some water, so that he might
eat his meal, for he used to eat about this time, and when I had
gone there I chanced to see a viper going down the well; and because
of my fear I was unable to fill the pitcher with water, and I went
back to him, and said unto him, "O, father, we shall die, for I
have seen a viper going down into the water." Now when he heard
these words he laughed reverently, and constrained himself, and
he lifted up his face and looked at me not a little time, and he
shook his head, and said unto me, "If it were to happen that Satan
had the power to show thee in every fountain an asp, or again to
cast into them vipers or serpents or tortoises, or any other kinds
of venomous reptiles, wouldst thou be able to do without drinking
water entirely?" And when he had said these words unto me, he went
forth and departed to the fountain and drew water, and brought it
back and having made the sign of the Cross over it he straightway
drank there from before he ate anything. And he constrained me to
drink and said unto me, "Where the sign of the Cross is, the wickedness
of Satan hath no power to do harm."
And this blessed man Isidore, the overseer of the hospital in Alexandria,
related unto me the story of Dorotheos, which is worthy of record,
and he heard it from the blessed Anthony where he lived with him
in the desert in the days of Emperor Maximinus, the prosecutor.