We Seek Out Abbot Moses in Scete

When I was in the desert of Scete, where the most excellent monastic fathers live and where all perfection flourishes, I sought out Abbot Moses together with the holy father Germanus. Germanus had been my closest companion since the earliest days and the very beginning of our spiritual service, both in the coenobium and in the desert, so that, to show the harmony of our friendship and aims, everyone would say that a single heart and soul lived in our two bodies. Moses was outstanding among those splendid flowers, not only in practical but also in contemplative excellence, and I was eager to be grounded by his instruction. Together we begged him to give us a talk to build us up, and not without tears. For we knew very well his determination never to consent to open the gate of perfection except to those who desired it with all faithfulness and sought it with all sorrow of heart. He feared that if he showed it at random to those who cared nothing for it, or who desired it only halfheartedly, he would be opening what is necessary, and what ought to be disclosed only to those seeking perfection, to unworthy people who received it with scorn; and so he might seem to lay himself open either to the charge of boasting or to the sin of betraying his trust. At last, overcome by our prayers, he began as follows. [a]