Palladius of Galatia

They say concerning Abba Apollo, who lived in Scete, that he was originally a rude and brutish herdsman, and that he [once] saw in the fields a woman who was with child and that, through the operation of the devil, he said, “I wish to know the condition of the child that is in the womb of this woman,” and that he ripped her open and saw the child in her belly; then straightway he repented, and he purged his heart, and having repented he went to Scete and revealed unto the fathers what he had done. And when he heard them singing the psalms and saying, “The days of our years are threescore years and ten, and with difficulty [we come] to fourscore years,” he said to the old men, “I am forty years old this day, and I have never prayed; and now, if I live for forty years more, I will never rest nor cease nor refrain from praying to God continually that he may forgive me my sins.” And from that time onwards he did even as he had said, for he never toiled with the work of his hands, but he was always supplicating God and saying, “I, O my Lord, like a man, have sinned, and do you, like God, forgive me”; and he prayed this prayer both by night and by day instead of reciting psalms. And a certain brother who used to dwell with him once heard him say in his prayer, now as he spoke he wept, and groaned from the bottom of his heart and sighed in grief of heart, “O my Lord, I have vexed you; have pity on me, and forgive me so that I may enjoy a little rest.” Then a voice came to him that said, “Your sins have been forgiven you, and also the murder of the woman; but the murder of the child is not yet forgiven you.” And one of the old men said, “The murder of the child also was forgiven to him, but God left him to work because this would prove beneficial to his soul.”

There was a certain old man who used to live in the desert that is called Scete, and he had a disciple who lived with him; now this [latter] brother was adorned with the spiritual excellences of every kind that befit those who are in subjection to old men, and he was exceedingly conspicuous for his obedience, which was the greatest of all his virtues. And he was sent to the village continually by the old man to sell their work and to bring back whatsoever was needed for their habitation, and that brother, without any compulsion whatsoever, performed every command that the old man gave him with zeal and diligence. Now when the enemy of righteousness, the foe of the human race, and especially of the orders of the monks, that is to say, Satan, the opponent of all virtues and the hater of the upright life of the children of humankind, saw that this brother was overcoming and bringing to naught all his crafty designs by the might of his simple obedience, which was full of discretion, he made a plan to lay two snares for him in the path of his spiritual excellence, even as it is said concerning him in the psalm, as it were by the mouth of those who cultivate spiritual excellence and who walk in the way of righteousness, “In the way of my steps have they hidden snares for me.” Now the two snares were these: The first consisted in making that brother to pursue fornication, and the second was in making him to fall into disobedience; and the enemy, in his cunning, expected that the brother would not only be caught by one of these, and so become involved in both, but also that deliverance from the one would be found to be the occasion for his falling into the other, for he saw that he was being sent continually to Egypt by his master [on the business] of the work of their hands and of the matter of their need.

Which damage does not derive from the excess of eating and drinking? Diseases, strife and all kinds of problems derive from the satiety of the belly, with all their consequences. When did it happen that Eve went out looking for something outside of paradise? Was it not perhaps when she listened to the snake and ate of the fruit of the tree in order to please herself with the fruit that had been forbidden to her? When did it happen that Cain decided to commit the abomination of killing his brother? Was it not perhaps when he tasted the fruit of the firstfruits, reserving the best for his own appetite? When did it happen that the sons of Job suddenly found their tombs in the same place as they were eating? Was it not perhaps while they were attempting to eat and to drink [to excess]? When did it happen that Esau fell from divine blessing? Was it not perhaps when, for the attraction of the gullet, he became a slave to his belly? When did it happen that Saul fell from his royal status? Was it not perhaps when he ate the meat of the precious sheep against the prohibition of the law? When did it happen that the people of Israel provoked the temper of God? Was it not perhaps when they mourned for the dishes of the Egyptians, expecting from their leader meats and pots of stew? Hofni and Phineas, Eli’s sons, how is it that they did not survive even a single hour but were killed in battle? Was it not perhaps because they secretly stole the offerings of meat destined for the sacrifice? And as for Jacob, one who was naturally blameworthy, is it not that he began revolting “when he ate and was not filled up, he grew fat and became thick and broad”? And when did it happen that the Sodomites took to stimulating themselves against the laws of nature? Was it not perhaps when they corrupted their minds in their continuous banquets? This in fact is what Ezekiel recalls to their shame when he says, “In the abundance of the wine and the satiety of the bread they abandoned helping others,” and he says this regarding the city of Sodom. But then he adds, “And also her daughters,” namely, the suburbs that always imitate the customs of the city. And what happened when the purpose of temperance was abandoned by that ancient people? Was it not perhaps when, in a similar way, they got older they began to lie around on the couch, which is how they are described with some disdain by the prophet: “They eat lambs from the flock, and the year-old calves are removed from the stable still nursing. And they drink filtered wine, after which they are massaged with precious ointments; they abandon themselves to the comfort of their couches, while they suffer nothing over the ruin of Joseph”? And Isaiah, against whom has he turned his complaints? Is it not perhaps against those who rise up early in the morning in order to feast? And thus he exclaims, “Woe to those who rise up early in the morning and go in search of inebriating drinks, who hang around late in the evening until they are inflamed in their faces with wine; they drink the wine, accompanied by the lyre and harp, but they do not attend to the deeds of the Lord.” And when the priests of Bel were confounded by Daniel? Was it not perhaps when they left a trail through the ashes that their treachery was uncovered because they had gone to take the food and drinks meant for Daniel?

It is better to drink wine in moderation than to drink water in excess. Some who are holy drink wine in moderation. Some who squander water immoderately may be depraved and pleasure-loving. So it appears to me. Do not therefore ascribe blame or praise to the eating of food as such, or to the drinking of wine, but rather to those who make proper or improper use of food and drink. Recall Joseph who in patriarchal times drank wine with the Egyptians and was in no way injured in his judgment, having taken heed to the admonitions of his conscience. But then compare the sorrier examples of Pythagoras, Diogenes and Plato, and with them also the Manichaeans, and other sects of philosophers, who did not heed these admonitions. Some of them came to such a pitch of sensuality or pride that they even forgot the God of the universe and worshiped lifeless images. So the blessed Apostle Peter and those who were with him did not hesitate to receive wine and make use of it. It was just because of this that our Lord’s detractors actively reproached the redeemer of all and their teacher, and made complaints against him, saying, “Why do not your disciples fast like John?”