The Monk Who Left the Desert

“A certain young man from Asia, very wealthy, of a distinguished family, and with a wife and a little son, happened to be serving as a tribune in Egypt. In frequent campaigns against the Blemmyes he had come into some parts of the desert and had seen a number of the tents of the saints, and he heard the word of salvation from the blessed John. He did not then delay to show his contempt for a useless military life and its empty honor. He went bravely into the wilderness, and in a short time he became known as a man perfect in every kind of virtue. He could fast for long periods, he stood out for his humility, and he was steadfast in faith, so that he had easily gained a reputation in the pursuit of virtue equal to that of the monks of old. [a]

“But before long a thought, which came from the devil, entered his mind: that it would be more fitting for him to go back to his native land and be the means of saving his only son and his household, along with his wife. Surely, he thought, that would be more pleasing to God than if he were content to rescue only himself from the world and, not without impiety, neglected the salvation of his own people. Won over by the plausible look of that kind of counterfeit righteousness, the recluse, after nearly four years, left his cell and the purpose to which he had devoted his life. On reaching the nearest monastery, where many brothers lived, he answered their questions by telling them why he was leaving and what he had in view. All of them, and especially the abbot of that place, tried to hold him back; but the intention he had so unhappily formed could not be rooted out of his mind. So, with an unhappy stubbornness, he went out and, to the grief of all, left the brothers.

“But scarcely had he passed out of their sight when a demon took possession of him. Vomiting bloody froth from his mouth, he began to tear at himself with his own teeth. The brothers carried him back to the same monastery on their shoulders; and since the unclean spirit could not be held in check within its walls, they had no choice but to load him with iron fetters, binding him hand and foot. It was a punishment a runaway deserved, since chains now held the man whom faith had not held. At last, after two years, he was set free from the unclean spirit by the prayers of the saints, and he at once returned to the desert he had left. In this way he was himself corrected and was also made a warning to others: that the shadow of a counterfeit righteousness should deceive no one, and that a shifting, fickle character should lead no one, through useless inconstancy, to abandon the course he has once entered on.

“Let it be enough for you now to have learned these things about the various works of the Lord, which he has carried out in the persons of his servants, either to spur others on to the same kind of conduct or to hold them back from particular actions. But I have by now fully satisfied your ears, and have in fact gone on longer than I should have.” At this he turned to me. “Now you pay me the return you owe, by letting us hear you talk, in your usual way, about your friend Martin. I have been longing for this for a long time now.”