The Monk of Mesopotamia Who Turned to Judaism

It would take a long time, too, to tell the story of how that monk of Mesopotamia was deceived. He kept an abstinence that few in that country could imitate, and he had practiced it for many years, shut away in his cell. At last he was so deceived by revelations and dreams that came from the devil that, after so many labors and good deeds, in which he had surpassed all who lived in those parts, he actually fell away miserably into Judaism and circumcision of the flesh. For the devil, by getting him used to visions, wanted in the end to entice him to believe a falsehood. So for a long while, like a messenger of truth, he revealed to him things that were perfectly true. At length he showed him the Christian people, together with the leaders of our religion and creed, namely the apostles and martyrs, in darkness and filth, foul and disfigured with every kind of squalor; and on the other side the Jewish people, with Moses, the patriarchs, and the prophets, dancing with all joy and shining with dazzling light. And so he persuaded him that if he wanted to share their reward and bliss, he must at once submit to circumcision. None of these would have been so miserably deceived if they had tried to gain the power of discernment. So the mishaps and trials of many show how dangerous it is to be without the grace of discernment. [a]