The Good of a Break When Brothers Visit

There is also that most refreshing break of rest and courtesy which sometimes comes when brothers arrive. Though it may seem tiresome to us and something we ought to avoid, you must listen patiently to a few words on how useful it is, and how good for our bodies as well as our souls. It often happens, not only to beginners and the weak but even to those of the greatest experience and perfection, that unless the strain and tension of their minds is eased by the relief of some change, they fall either into coldness of spirit or at any rate into a very dangerous state of bodily health. [a]

So when visits from the brothers come, even frequent ones, those who are wise and perfect should not only bear them patiently but even welcome them gladly. First, because they spur us on to long ever more eagerly for the seclusion of the desert. Somehow, while they are thought to hinder our progress, they really keep it going unwearied and unbroken; if it were never held up by any obstacles, it would not last to the end with unswerving perseverance. Next, because they give us the chance to refresh the body along with the benefits of kindness, and at the same time, through a most delightful relaxation of the body, they do us more good than we would have gained from the weariness that comes from abstinence. On this point I will briefly give a very fitting illustration, handed down in an old story.