John Cassian brought the teaching of the Egyptian monks to the West: the twelve books of the Institutes on the monk's life and the eight principal faults, the twenty-four Conferences with the Abbots of Egypt, and his seven books On the Incarnation against Nestorius. Modern English from the Post-Nicene Fathers translation.
Sign in to track your progress, highlight verses, and follow a reading plan.
Contents
The Conferences, Conference 17
1A Sleepless Night2Germanus Worries About Our Promise3My Advice4Joseph Asks Why We Are Sad5Why We Wanted to Stay in Egypt6Joseph Asks Whether Egypt Profits Us More7The Customs of the Two Countries Compared8Promises Should Not Be Made Rashly9When It Is Better to Break One’s Word10Our Fear of Breaking Our Oath11The Purpose Counts More Than the Deed12A Good Outcome Does Not Help the Wicked13Why We Took the Oath14Changing the Plan Without Fault15Would This Give the Weak an Excuse to Lie?16Scripture Is Not Changed for the Sake of the Weak17A Lie Used Like Hellebore18Were Lies Allowed Only Under the Law?19Lying Was Forbidden Even of Old, Yet Many Rightly Used It20When Even the Apostles Found a Lie Useful21Should a Secret Fast Be Hidden by a Lie?22Hide the Fast, but Keep to a Refusal23Stubbornness in Such a Decision Is Unreasonable24How Abbot Piamun Hid His Abstinence25What Scripture Shows About Changing a Decision26Holy Men Are Not Hard and Stubborn27Does the Psalmist’s Oath Contradict This?28When a Decision Must Be Kept and When It May Be Broken29How to Handle What Should Stay Secret30No Fixed Resolutions About the Needs of Daily Life