Germanus Is Troubled

After a short sleep we came back for the morning service and were waiting for the old man. Abbot Germanus was deeply troubled by misgivings over the previous discussion. Its force had filled us with the utmost longing for this chastity, which until then had been unknown to us. But the blessed old man, by adding a single sentence, had broken down the claims of human effort. He had added that a man, even if he strives with all his might for a good result, still cannot become master of what is good unless he has received it simply as a gift of God’s generosity, and not by the efforts of his own toil. [a]

While we were puzzling over this question, the blessed Chaeremon arrived at the cell. When he saw that we were whispering together about something, he cut the service of prayers and psalms shorter than usual and asked us what the matter was.