Why the Elders Lay These Sins Bare

But let no one think this superfluous or objectionable. For unless the different kinds of sins are first explained, and the origins and causes of the diseases traced out, the proper healing remedies cannot be given to the sick, nor can perfect health be kept by the strong. These matters, and many others besides, are usually set out by the elders in their conferences for the instruction of the younger brothers, since the elders have seen countless falls and the ruin of all sorts of people. And often, when the elders explained and laid bare these things, as men who had themselves been troubled by the same passions, we recognized many of them in ourselves, and we were cured without any shame or embarrassment on our part. For without saying a word, we learned both the remedies and the causes of the sins that beset us. These we have passed over and said nothing about, not out of fear of the brothers, but in case our book should happen to fall into the hands of some who have had no instruction in this way of life, and so reveal to inexperienced people what ought to be known only to those who are toiling and striving to reach the heights of perfection. [a]