Universalis

Monday, May 08, 2006

It's been a while since I've told a desert story

There were two brothers living in the desert who were also natural brothers, and a demon came to alienate them from one another. One day the younger one lit the lamp, and the demon got involved and knocked over the lampstand. Seeing that the lamp was overturned, his brother struck him in anger. The younger brother apologized, saying, "Be patient, my brother, I will light it again." And behold, the power of the Lord came and tormented the demon all night.

The demon went and told the one who ruled over him what had happened. A priest of the pagans overheard the demon’s tale and went into the desert, became a monk, and from the start persevered in humility. And he used to say, "Humility takes away all of the enemy’s power," just as he himself had heard from the demon, "When I agitate the monks, one of them turns around and apologizes, and destroys all my power."
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