Moses Breaks Off for the Night

At this the elder, seeing that we were astonished, and that his words had fired us with a desire that could not be satisfied, broke off his talk for a little because of our wonder and eagerness. Then presently he added: My sons, your zeal has led to this long discussion, and a kind of fire gives our conference a keener edge in proportion to your eagerness. From this very thing I can clearly see that you are truly thirsting for teaching about perfection. So I want to say something more to you about the excellence of discernment, the grace that rules and holds the field among all the virtues. I want to prove its value and usefulness not only by examples from daily life, but also from the past deliberations and opinions of the fathers. For I remember that often, when men begged me with sighs and tears for a talk of this kind, and I myself was eager to give them some teaching, I could not manage it at all. Not only my thoughts but even my very power of speech failed me, so that I could not find a way to send them off with even a little comfort. By these signs we clearly see that the grace of the Lord inspires speakers with words according to the deserving and the zeal of the hearers. [a]

Now the very short night before us does not allow me to finish the talk. Let us rather give it to bodily rest, for if a reasonable part of it is refused to rest, the whole of it will have to be spent that way. Let us save the complete plan of the talk for unbroken consideration on another day or night. For it is right that the best counselors on discernment should show the diligence of their minds first of all in this, and prove by this evidence and patience whether they possess it, or can possess it. So in treating that virtue which is the mother of moderation, they will by no means fall into the vice that is its opposite, that is, going on too long, and so by their actions and deeds destroy the force of the system and nature they recommend in words. As regards this most excellent discernment, then, which we still mean to inquire into as far as the Lord gives us power, it may be a good thing, first of all, while we are discussing its excellence and the moderation we know it holds as the first of the virtues, not to let ourselves go beyond the proper limit of the discussion and of our time.

With this the blessed Moses put a stop to our talk. Eager as we were, hanging on his lips, he urged us to go off to bed for a little. He advised us to lie down on the same mats we were sitting on and to put our bundles under our heads instead of pillows. These are made of the thicker leaves of papyrus, gathered into long, slender bundles and tied evenly, six feet apart. At one time they give the brothers a very low seat, in place of a footstool, when they sit at the service; at another, put under their necks when they go to bed, they give the head a support that is not too hard, but comfortable and just right. The monks consider these especially fit and suitable for such uses, not only because they are fairly soft and are made at little cost of money and labor, since papyrus grows everywhere along the banks of the Nile, but also because they are of a handy material, light enough to be moved or fetched whenever need requires. So at last, at the elder’s bidding, we settled down to sleep in deep stillness, both thrilled with delight at the conference we had held and buoyed up with hope of the discussion he had promised. [b]