A Sleepless Night

When the previous conference had ended, and the silence of the night that came after it as well, the holy Abbot Joseph took us to a separate cell for the sake of quiet. But we spent the whole night without sleep, since his words had set a fire raging in our hearts. So we came out of the cell, went off about a hundred yards from it, and sat down in a secluded spot. The darkness of night gave us the chance to talk together privately and freely, and as we sat there Abbot Germanus groaned heavily. [a]