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On James

20 of 27
  1. James 3:5-6
    Pambo said to Antony, ‘What shall I do?’ Antony said, ‘Do not trust in your own righteousness. Do not go on sorrowing over a deed that is past. Keep your tongue and your belly under control.’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  2. James 3:13
    Hyperichius said, ‘He who teaches others by his life and not his speech is truly wise.’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  3. James 4:7
    A brother came to Poemen and said to him, ‘Many thoughts come into my mind and put me in danger.’ He sent him out into the open air, and said, ‘Open your lungs and do not breathe.’ He replied, ‘I can’t do that.’ Then he said to him: ‘Just as you can’t stop air coming into your lungs, so you can’t stop thoughts coming into your mind. Your part is to resist them.’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  4. James 4:7
    A brother felt hungry at dawn, and struggled not to eat till nine o’clock. When nine o’clock came, he made himself wait till noon. At noon he dipped his bread and sat down to eat, but then got up again, saying, ‘I will wait till three.’ At three o’clock he prayed, and saw the devil’s work going out of him like smoke; and his hunger ceased.

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  5. James 4:7-10
    A hermit said, ‘If anyone says “Forgive me”, and humbles himself, he burns up the demons that tempt him.’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  6. James 4:8
    One of the hermits said, ‘No one can see his face reflected in muddy water; so the soul cannot pray to God with contemplation unless it is first cleansed of harmful thoughts.’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

  7. James 5:16
    Cassian said, ‘Moses the Hermit told us, “It is good not to hide our thoughts; we ought to disclose them to discreet and devout elders; but not to those who are old merely in years, for many have found final despair instead of comfort by confessing to those whom they saw to be old, but who were in fact inexperienced.” ’

    The Desert Fathers, Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

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