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St. John Cassian
The Conferences

PrayerAsceticismVirtue

The Conferences

St. John Cassian · c. 426–429 AD

17h 13m read

Nicene

Twenty-four conversations with the Desert Fathers of Egypt on the spiritual life, prayer, and monastic practice. A foundational text of Western monasticism and contemplative Christianity.

Table of Contents

1PREFACE 2CONFERENCE 1 1Of our stay in Scete, and that which we proposed to Abbot Moses 2Of the question of Abbot Moses, who asked what was the goal and what the end of the monk 3Of our reply 4Of Abbot Moses' question on the aforesaid statement 5A comparison with a man who is trying to hit a mark 6Of those who in renouncing the world, aim at perfection without love 7How peace of mind should be sought 8Of the main effort towards the contemplation of heavenly things and an illustration from the case of Martha and Mary 9A question how it is that the practice of virtue cannot remain with a man 10The answer that not the reward, but the doing of them will come to an end 11On the abiding character of love 12A question on perseverance in spiritual contemplation 13The answer concerning the direction of the heart towards God, and concerning the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil 14Of the continuance of the soul 15How we must meditate on God 16A question on the changing character of the thoughts 17The answer what the mind can and what it cannot do with regard to the state of its thoughts 18Comparison of a soul and a millstone 19Of the three origins of our thoughts 20About discerning the thoughts, with an illustration from a good money-changer 21Of the illusion of Abbot John 22Of the fourfold method of discrimination 23Of the discourse of the teacher in regard to the merits of his hearers 3CONFERENCE 2 1Abbot Moses' introduction on the grace of discretion 2What discretion alone can give a monk; and a discourse of the blessed Antony on this subject 3Of the error of Saul and of Ahab, by which they were deceived through lack of discretion 4What is said of the value of discretion in Holy Scripture 5Of the death of the old man Heron 6Of the destruction of two brethren for lack of discretion 7Of an illusion into which another fell for lack of discretion 8Of the fall and deception of a monk of Mesopotamia 9A question about the acquirement of true discretion 10The answer how true discretion may be gained 11The words of Abbot Serapion on the decline of thoughts that are exposed to others, and also on the danger of self- confidence 12A confession of the modesty which made us ashamed to reveal our thoughts to the elders 13The answer concerning the trampling down of shame, and the danger of one without contrition 14Of the call of Samuel 15Of the call of the Apostle Paul 16How to seek for discretion 17On excessive fasts and vigils 18A question on the right measure of abstinence and refreshment 19Of the best plan for our daily food 20An objection on the ease of that abstinence in which a man is sustained by two biscuits 21The answer concerning the value and measure of well-proved abstinence 22What is the usual limit both of abstinence and of partaking food 23Quemadmodum abundantia umorum genitalium castigetur.24Of the difficulty of uniformity in eating; and of the gluttony of brother Benjamin 25A question how is it possible always to observe one and the same measure 26The answer how we should not exceed the proper measure of food 4CONFERENCE 3 1Of the life and conduct of Abbot Paphnutius 2Of the discourse of the same old man, and our reply to it 3The statement of Abbot Paphnutius on the three kinds of vocations, and the three sorts of renunciations 4An explanation of the three callings 5How the first of these calls is of no use to a sluggard, and the last is no hindrance to one who is in earnest 6An account of the three sorts of renunciations 7How we can attain perfection in each of these sorts of renunciations 8Of our very own possessions in which the beauty of the soul is seen or its foulness 9Of three sorts of possessions 10That none can become perfect merely through the first grade of renunciation 11A question on the free will of man and the grace of God 12The answer on the economy of Divine Grace, with free will still remaining in us 13That the ordering of our way comes from God 14That knowledge of the law is given by the guidance and illumination of the Lord 15That the understanding, by means of which we can recognize God's commands, and the performance of a good will are both gifts from the Lord 16That faith itself must be given us by the Lord 17That temperateness and the endurance of temptations must be given to us by the Lord 18That the continual fear of God must be bestowed on us by the Lord 19That the beginning of our good will and its completion comes from God 20That nothing can be done in this world without God 21An objection on the power of free will 22The answer; viz., that our free will always has need of the help of the Lord 5CONFERENCE 4 1Of the life of Abbot Daniel 2An investigation of the origin of a sudden change of feeling from inexpressible joy to extreme dejection of mind 3His answer to the question raised 4How there is a twofold reason for the permission and allowance of God 5How our efforts and exertions are of no use without God's help 6How it is sometimes to our advantage to be left by God 7Of the value of the conflict which the Apostle makes to consist in the strife between the flesh and the spirit 8A question, how it is that in the Apostle's chapter, after he has spoken of the lusts of the flesh and spirit opposing one another, he adds a third thing; viz., man's will 9The answer on the understanding of one who asks rightly 10That the word flesh is not used with one single meaning only 11What the Apostle means by flesh in this passage, and what the lust of the flesh is 12What is our free will, which stands in between the lust of the flesh and the spirit 13Of the advantage of the delay which results from the struggle between flesh and spirit 14Of the incurable depravity of spiritual wickednesses 15Of the value of the lust of the flesh against the spirit in our case 16Of the excitements of the flesh, without the humiliation of which we should fall more grievously 17Of the lukewarmness of eunuchs 18The question what is the difference between the carnal and natural man 19The answer concerning the threefold condition of souls 20Of those who renounce the world but ill 21Of those who having made light of great things busy themselves about trifles 6CONFERENCE 5 1Our arrival at Abbot Serapion's cell, and inquiry on the different kinds of faults and the way to overcome them 2Abbot Serapion's enumeration of eight principal faults 3Of the two classes of faults and their fourfold manner of acting on us 4A review of the passions of gluttony and fornication and their remedies 5How our Lord alone was tempted without sin 6Of the manner of the temptation in which our Lord was attacked by the devil 7How vainglory and pride can be consummated without any assistance from the body 8Of covetousness, which is something outside our nature, and of the difference between it and those faults which are natural to us 9How dejection and accidie generally arise without any external provocation, as in the case of other faults. Such is the heading which Gazet gives. Petschenig edits "De ira atque tristitia, quod inter accedentia vitia plerumque [non] inveniantur;" where "non" is his own insertion, and as he frankly tells us, the heading does not suit the chapter 10How six of these faults are related, and the two which differ from them are akin to one another 11Of the origin and character of each of these faults 12How vainglory may be useful to us 13Of the different ways in which all these faults assault us 14Of the struggle into which we must enter against our faults, when they attack us 15How we can do nothing against our faults without the help of God, and how we should not be puffed up by victories over them 16Of the meaning of the seven nations of whose lands Israel took possession, and the reason why they are sometimes spoken of as "seven," and sometimes as "many."17A question with regard to the comparison of seven nations with eight faults 18The answer how the number of eight nations is made up in accordance with the eight faults 19The reason why one nation is to be forsaken, while seven are commanded to be destroyed 20Of the nature of gluttony, which may be illustrated by the simile of the eagle 21Of the lasting character of gluttony as described to some philosophers 22How it was that God foretold to Abraham that Israel would have to drive out ten nations 23How it is useful for us to take possession of their lands 24How the lands from which the Canaanites were expelled, had been assigned to the seed of Shem 25Different passages of Scripture on the meaning of the eight faults 26How when we have got the better of the passion of gluttony we must take pains to gain all the other virtues 27That our battles are not fought with our faults in the same order as that in which they stand in the list 7CONFERENCE 6 1Description of the wilderness, and the question about the death of the saints 2Abbot Theodore's answer to the question proposed to him 3Of the three kinds of things there are in the world; viz., good, bad, and indifferent 4How evil cannot be forced on any one by another against his will 5An objection, how God Himself can be said to create evil 6The answer to the question proposed 7A question whether the man who causes the death of a good man is guilty, if the good man is the gainer by his death 8The answer to the foregoing question 9The case of Job who was tempted by the devil; and of the Lord who was betrayed by Judas: and how prosperity as well as adversity is advantageous to a good man 10Of the excellence of the perfect man who is figuratively spoken of as ambidextrous 11Of the two kinds of trials, which come upon us in a threefold way 12How the upright man ought to be like a stamp not of wax but of hard steel 13A question whether the mind can constantly continue in one and the same condition 14The answer to the point raised by the questioner 15How one loses by going away from one's cell 16How even celestial powers above are capable of change 17That no one is dashed to the ground by a sudden fall 8CONFERENCE 7 1On the chastity of Abbot Serenus. Very little is known of Serenus but what is here told. Cf. the Vitae Patrum, c. l 2The question of the aforesaid old man on the state of our thoughts 3Our answer on the fickle character of our thoughts 4The discourse of the old man on the state of the soul and its excellence 5On the perfection of the soul, as drawn from the comparison of the Centurion in the gospel 6Of perseverance as regards care of the thoughts 7A question on the roving tendency of the mind and the attacks of spiritual wickedness 8The answer on the help of God and the power of free will 9A question on the union of the soul with devils 10The answer how unclean spirits are united with human souls 11An objection whether unclean spirits can be present in or united with the souls of those whom they have filled 12The answer how it is that unclean spirits can lord it over those possessed 13How spirit cannot be penetrated by spirit, and how God alone is incorporeal 14An objection, as to how we ought to believe that devils see into the thoughts of men 15The answer what devils can and what they cannot do in regard to the thoughts of men 16An illustration showing how we are taught that unclean spirits know the thoughts of men 17On the fact that not every devil has the power of suggesting every passion to men 18A question whether among the devils there is any order observed in the attack, or system in its changes 19The answer how far an agreement exists among devils about the attack and its changes 20Of the fact that opposite powers are not of the same boldness, and that the occasions of temptation are not under their control 21Of the fact that devils struggle with men not without effort on their part 22On the fact that the power to hurt does not depend upon the will of the devils 23Of the diminished power of the devils 24Of the way in which the devils prepare for themselves an entrance into the bodies of those whom they are going to possess 25On the fact that those men are more wretched who are possessed by sins than those who are possessed by devils 26Of the death of the prophet who was led astray, and of the infirmity of the Abbot Paul, with which he was visited for the sake of his cleansing 27On the temptation of Abbot Moses 28How we ought not to despise those who are delivered up to unclean spirits 29An objection, asking why those who are tormented by unclean spirits are separated from the Lord's communion 30The answer to the question raised 31On the fact that those men are more to be pitied to whom it is not given to be subjected to those temporal temptations 32Of the different desires and wishes which exist in the powers of the air 33A question as to the origin of such differences in powers of evil in the sky 34The postponement of the answer to the question raised 9CONFERENCE 8 1Of the hospitality of Abbot Serenus 2Statements on the different kinds of spiritual wickednesses 3The answer on the many kinds of food provided in holy Scripture 4Of the double sense in which Holy Scripture may be taken 5Of the fact that the question suggested ought to be included among those things to be held in a neutral or doubtful way 6Of the fact that nothing is created evil by God 7Of the origin of principalities or powers 8Of the fall of the devil and the angels 9An objection stating that the fall of the devil took its origin from the deception of Eve 10The answer about the beginning of the devil's fall 11The punishment of the deceiver and the deceived 12Of the crowd of the devils, and the disturbance which they always raise in our atmosphere 13Of the fact that opposing powers turn the attack, which they aim at men, even against each other 14How it is that spiritual wickednesses obtained the names of powers or principalities 15Of the fact that it is not without reason that the names of angels and archangels are given to holy and heavenly powers 16Of the subjection of the devils, which they show to their own princes, as seen in a brother's vision 17Of the fact that two angels always cling to every man 18Of the degrees of wickedness which exist in hostile spirits, as shown in the case of two philosophers 19Of the fact that devils cannot prevail at all against men unless they have first secured possession of their minds 20A question about the fallen angels who are said in Genesis to have had intercourse with the daughters of men 21The answer to the question raised 22An objection, as to how an unlawful intermingling with the daughters of Cain could be charged against the line of Seth before the prohibition of the law 23The answer, that by the law of nature men were from the beginning liable to judgment and punishment 24Of the fact that they were justly punished, who sinned before the flood 25How this that is said of the devil in the gospel is to be understood; viz., that "he is a liar, and his father."10CONFERENCE 9 1Introduction to the Conference 2The words of Abbot Isaac on the nature of prayer 3How pure and sincere prayer can be gained 4Of the lightness of the soul which may be compared to a wing or feather 5Of the ways in which our soul is weighed down 6Of the vision which a certain Elder saw concerning the restless work of a brother 7A question how it is that it is harder work to preserve than to originate good thoughts 8Of the different characters of prayer 9Of the fourfold nature of prayer 10Of the order of the different kinds laid down with regard to the character of prayer 11Of Supplications 12Of Prayer 13Of Intercession 14Of Thanksgiving 15Whether these four kinds of prayers are necessary for everyone to offer all at once or separately and in turns 16Of the kinds of prayer to which we ought to direct ourselves 17How the four kinds of supplication were originated by the Lord 18Of the Lord's Prayer 19Of the clause "Thy kingdom come."20Of the clause "Thy will be done."21Of our supersubstantial or daily bread 22Of the clause: "Forgive us our debts, etc."23Of the clause: "Lead us not into temptation."24How we ought not to ask for other things, except only those which are contained in the limits of the Lord's Prayer 25Of the character of the sublimer prayer 26Of the different causes of conviction 27Of the different sorts of conviction 28A question about the fact that a plentiful supply of tears is not in our own power 29The answer on the varieties of conviction which spring from tears 30How tears ought not to be squeezed out, when they do not flow spontaneously 31The opinion of Abbot Antony on the condition of prayer 32Of the proof of prayer being heard 33An objection that the confidence of being thus heard as described belongs only to saints 34Answer on the different reasons for prayer being heard 35Of prayer to be offered within the chamber and with the door shut 36Of the value of short and silent prayer 11CONFERENCE 10 1CHAPTER I 2Of the custom which is kept up in the Province of Egypt for signifying the time of Easter 3Of Abbot Sarapion and the heresy of the Anthropomorphites into which he fell in the error of simplicity 4Of our return to Abbot Isaac and question concerning the error into which the aforesaid old man had fallen 5The answer on the heresy described above 6Of the reasons why Jesus Christ appears to each one of us either in His humility or in His glorified condition 7What constitutes our end and perfect bliss 8A question on the training in perfection by which we can arrive at perpetual recollection of God 9The answer on the efficacy of understanding, which is gained by experience 10Of the method of continual prayer 11Of the perfection of prayer to which we can rise by the system described 12A question as to how spiritual thoughts can be retained without losing them 13On the lightness of thoughts 14The answer how we can gain stability of heart or of thoughts 15PREFACE 12CONFERENCE 11 1Description of the town of Thennesus 2Of Bishop Archebius 3Description of the desert where Chæremon, Nesteros, and Joseph lived 4Of Abbot Chæremon and his excuse about the teaching which we asked for 5Of our answer to his excuse 6Abbot Chæremon's statement that faults can be overcome in three ways 7By what steps we can ascend to the heights of love and what permanence there is in it 8How greatly those excel who depart from sin through the feeling of love 9That love not only makes sons out of servants, but also bestows the image and likeness of God 10How it is the perfection of love to pray for one's enemies and by what signs we may recognize a mind that is not yet purified 11A question why he has called the feeling of fear and hope imperfect 12The answer on the different kinds of perfection 13Of the fear which is the outcome of the greatest love 14A question about complete chastity 15The postponement of the explanation which is asked for 13CONFERENCE 12 1ON CHASTITY 14CONFERENCE 13 1CHAPTER I 2A question why the merit of good deeds may not be ascribed to the exertions of the man who does them 3The answer that without God's help not only perfect chastity but all good of every kind cannot be performed 4An objection, asking how the Gentiles can be said to have chastity without the grace of God 5The answer on the imaginary chastity of the philosophers 6That without the grace of God we cannot make any diligent efforts 7Of the main purpose of God and His daily Providence 8Of the grace of God and the freedom of the will 9Of the power of our good will, and the grace of God 10On the weakness of free will 11Whether the grace of God precedes or follows our good will 12That a good will should not always be attributed to grace, nor always to man himself 13How human efforts cannot be set against the grace of God 14How God makes trial of the strength of man's will by means of his temptations 15Of the manifold grace of men's calls 16Of the grace of God; to the effect that it transcends the narrow limits of human faith 17Of the inscrutable providence of God 18The decision of the fathers that free will is not equal to save a man 15CONFERENCE 14 1The words of Abbot Nesteros on the knowledge of the religious 2On grasping the knowledge of spiritual things 3How practical perfection depends on a double system 4How practical life is distributed among many different professions and interests 5On perseverance in the line that has been chosen 6How the weak are easily moved 7An instance of chastity which teaches us that all men should not be emulous of all things 8Of spiritual knowledge 9How from practical knowledge we must proceed to spiritual 10How to embrace the system of true knowledge 11Of the manifold meaning of the Holy Scriptures 12A question how we can attain to forgetfulness of the cares of this world 13Of the method by which we can remove the dross from our memory 14How an unclean soul can neither give nor receive spiritual knowledge 15An objection owing to the fact that many impure persons have knowledge while saints have not 16The answer to the effect that bad men cannot possess true knowledge 17To whom the method of perfection should be laid open 18Of the reasons for which spiritual learning is unfruitful 19How often even those who are not worthy can receive the grace of the saving word 16CONFERENCE 15 1Discourse of Abbot Nesteros on the threefold system of gifts 2Wherein one ought to admire the saints 3Of a dead man raised to life by Abbot Macarius 4Of the miracle which Abbot Abraham wrought on the breasts of a woman 5Of the cure of a lame man which the same saint wrought 6How the merits of each man should not be judged by his miracles 7How the excellence of gifts consists not in miracles but in humility 8How it is more wonderful to have cast out one's faults from one's self than devils from another 9How uprightness of life is of more importance than the working of miracles 10A revelation on the trial of perfect chastity 17CONFERENCE 16 1What Abbot Joseph asked us in the first instance 2Discourse of the same elder on the untrustworthy sort of friendship 3How friendship is indissoluble 4A question whether anything that is really useful should be performed even against a brother's wish 5The answer, how a lasting friendship can only exist among those who are perfect 6By what means union can be preserved unbroken 7How nothing should be put before love, or after anger 8On what grounds a dispute can arise among spiritual persons 9How to get rid even of spiritual grounds of discord 10On the best tests of truth 11How it is impossible for one who trusts to his own judgment to escape being deceived by the devil's illusions 12Why inferiors should not be despised in Conference 13How love does not only belong to God but is God 14On the different grades of love 15Of those who only increase their own or their brother's grievances by hiding them 16How it is that, if our brother has any grudge against us, the gifts of our prayers are rejected by the Lord 17Of those who hold that patience should be shown to worldly people rather than to the brethren 18Of those who pretend to patience but excite their brethren to anger by their silence 19Of those who fast out of rage 20Of the feigned patience of some who offer the other cheek to be smitten 21A question how if we obey the commands of Christ we can fail of evangelical perfection 22The answer that Christ looks not only at the action but also at the will 23How he is the strong and vigorous man, who yields to the will of another 24How the weak are harmful and cannot bear wrongs 25A question how he can be strong who does not always support the weak 26The answer that the weak does not always allow himself to be borne 27How anger should be repressed 28How friendships entered upon by conspiracy cannot be lasting ones 18CONFERENCE 17 1Of the vigils which we endured 2Of the anxiety of Abbot Germanus at the recollection of our promise 3My ideas on this subject 4Abbot Joseph's question and our answer on the origin of our anxiety 5The explanation of Abbot Germanus why we wanted to stay in Egypt, and were drawn back to Syria 6Abbot Joseph's question whether we got more good in Egypt than in Syria 7The answer on the difference of customs in the two countries 8How those who are perfect ought not to make any promises absolutely, and whether decisions can be reversed without sin 9How it is often better to break one's engagements than to fulfil them 10Our question about our fear of the oath which we gave in the monastery in Syria 11The answer that we must take into account the purpose of the doer rather than the execution of the business 12How a fortunate issue will be of no avail to evil doers, while bad deeds will not injure good men 13Our answer as to the reason which demanded an oath from us 14The discourse of the Elder showing how the plan of action may be changed without fault provided that one keeps to the carrying out of a good intention 15A question whether it can be without sin that our knowledge affords to weak brethren an opportunity for lying 16The answer that Scripture truth is not to be altered on account of an offence given to the weak 17How the saints have profitably employed a lie like hellebore 18An objection that only those men employed lies with impunity, who lived under the law 19The answer, that leave to lie, which was not even granted under the old Covenant, has rightly been taken by many 20How even Apostles thought that a lie was often useful and the truth injurious 21Whether secret abstinence ought to be made known, without telling a lie about it, to those who ask, and whether what has once been declined may be taken in hand 22An objection, that abstinence ought to be concealed, but that things that have been declined should not be received 23The answer that obstinacy in this decision is unreasonable 24How Abbot Piamun chose to hide his abstinence 25The evidence of Scripture on changes of determination 26How saintly men cannot be hard and obstinate 27A question whether the saying: "I have sworn and am purposed" is opposed to the view given above 28The answer telling in what cases the determination is to be kept fixedly, and in what cases it may be broken if need be 29How we ought to do those things which are to be kept secret 30That no determination should be made on those things which concern the needs of the common life 31PREFACE 19CONFERENCE 18 1How we came to Diolcos and were received by Abbot Piamun. Piamun, who has already been spoken of in XVII. xxiv., is also mentioned by Rufinus, Palladius (the Lausiac History, clxxii.), and Sozomen (H. E. VI. xxix.), all of whom tell, with slight variation, the same story, how that one day while he was officiating at the altar, he saw an angel writing down the names of some of the brethren, and passing by the names of others, all of whom Piamun on subsequent inquiry found to have been guilty of some grievous sin 2The words of Abbot Piamun, how monks who were novices ought to be taught by the example of their elders 3How the juniors ought not to discuss the orders of the seniors 4Of the three sorts of monks which there are in Egypt 5Of the founders who originated the order of coenobites 6Of the system of the Anchorites and its beginning 7Of the origin of the Sarabaites and their mode of life 8Of a fourth sort of monks 9A question as to what is the difference between a coenobium and a monastery 10The answer 11Of true humility, and how Abbot Serapion exposed the mock humility of a certain man 12A question how true patience can be gained 13The answer 14Of the example of patience given by a certain religious woman 15Of the example of patience given by Abbot Paphnutius 16On the perfection of patience 20CONFERENCE 19 1Of the coenobium of Abbot Paul and the patience of a certain brother 2Of Abbot John's humility and our question 3Abbot John's answer why he had left the desert 4Of the excellence which the aforesaid old man showed in the system of the anchorites 5Of the advantages of the desert 6Of the conveniences of the coenobium 7A question on the fruits of the coenobium and the desert 8The answer to the question proposed 9Of true and complete perfection 10Of those who while still imperfect retire into the desert 11A question how to cure those who have hastily left the congregation of the coenobium 12The answer telling how a solitary can discover his faults 13A question how a man can be cured who has entered on solitude without having his faults eradicated 14The answer on their remedies 15A question whether chastity ought to be ascertained just as the other feelings 16The answer giving the proofs by which it can be recognized 21CONFERENCE 20 1Of the humility of Abbot Pinufius, and of his hiding-place 2Of our coming to him 3A question on the end of penitence and the marks of satisfaction 4The answer on the humility shown by our request 5Of the method of penitence and the proof of pardon 6A question whether our sins ought to be remembered out of contrition of heart 7The answer showing how far we ought to preserve the recollection of previous actions 8Of the various fruits of penitence 9How valuable to the perfect is the forgetfulness of sin 10How the recollection of our sins should be avoided 11Of the marks of satisfaction, and the removal of past sins 12Wherein we must do penance for a time only; and wherein it can have no end 22CONFERENCE 21 1How Theonas came to Abbot John 2The exhortation of Abbot John to Theonas and the others who had come together with him 3Of the offering of tithes and firstfruits 4How Abraham, David, and other saints went beyond the requirement of the law 5How those who live under the grace of the Gospel ought to go beyond the requirement of the law 6How the grace of the gospel supports the weak so that they can obtain pardon, as it secures to the perfect the kingdom of God 7How it lies in our own power to choose whether to remain under the grace of the gospel or under the terror of the law 8How Theonas exhorted his wife that she too should make her renunciation 9How he fled to a monastery when his wife would not consent 10An explanation that we may not appear to recommend separation from wives 11An inquiry why in Egypt they do not fast during all the fifty days (of Easter) nor bend their knees in prayer 12The answer on the nature of things good, bad, and indifferent 13What kind of good fasting is 14How fasting is not good in its own nature 15How a thing that is good in its own nature ought not to be done for the sake of some lesser good 16How what is good in its own nature can be distinguished from other things that are good 17Of the reason for fasting and its value 18How fasting is not always suitable 19A question why we break the fast all through Eastertide 20The answer 21A question whether the relaxation of the fast is not prejudicial to the chastity of the body 22The answer on the way to keep control over abstinence 23Of the time and measure of refreshment 24A question on the different ways of keeping Lent 25The answer to the effect that the fast of Lent has reference to the tithe of the year 26How we ought also to offer our firstfruits to the Lord 27Why Lent is kept by very many with a different number of days 28Why it is called Quadragesima, when the fast is only kept for thirty-six days 29How those who are perfect go beyond the fixed rule of Lent 30Of the origin and beginning of Lent 31A question, how we ought to understand the Apostle's words: "Sin shall not have dominion over you."32The answer on the difference between grace and the commands of the law 33Of the fact that the precepts of the gospel are milder than those of the law 34How a man can be shown to be under grace 35A question, why sometimes when we are fasting more strictly than usual, we are troubled by carnal desires more keenly than usual 36The answer, telling that this question should be reserved for a future Conference 23CONFERENCE 22 1ON NOCTURNAL ILLUSIONS 24CONFERENCE 23 1Discourse of Abbot Theonas on the Apostle's words: "For I do not the good which I would."2How the Apostle completed many good actions 3What is really the good which the Apostle testifies that he could not perform 4How man's goodness and righteousness are not good if compared with the goodness and righteousness of God 5How no one can be continually intent upon that highest good 6How those who think that they are without sin are like purblind people 7How those who maintain that a man can be without sin are charged with a twofold error 8How it is given to but few to understand what sin is 9Of the care with which a monk should preserve the recollection of God 10How those who are on the way to perfection are truly humble, and feel that they always stand in need of God's grace 11Explanation of the phrase: "For I delight in the law of God after the inner man," etc 12Of this also: "But we know that the law is spiritual," etc 13Of this also: "But I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing."14An objection, that the saying: "For I do not the good that I would," etc., applies to the persons neither of unbelievers nor of saints 15The answer to the objection raised 16What is the body of sin 17How all the saints have confessed with truth that they were unclean and sinful 18That even good and holy men are not without sin 19How even in the hour of prayer it is almost impossible to avoid sin 20From whom we can learn the destruction of sin and perfection of goodness 21That although we acknowledge that we cannot be without sin, yet still we ought not to suspend ourselves from the Lord's Communion 25CONFERENCE 24 1How we laid bare the secrets of our thoughts to Abbot Abraham 2How the old man exposed our errors 3Of the character of the districts which anchorites ought to seek 4What sorts of work should be chosen by solitaries 5That anxiety of heart is made worse rather than better by restlessness of body 6A comparison showing how a monk ought to keep guard over his thoughts 7A question why the neighbourhood of our kinsfolk is considered to interfere with us, whereas it does not interfere in the case of those living in Egypt 8The answer that all things are not suitable for all men 9That those need not fear the neighbourhood of their kinsfolk, who can emulate the mortification of Abbot Apollos 10A question whether it is bad for a monk to have his wants supplied by his kinsfolk 11The answer stating what Saint Antony laid down on this matter 12Of the value of work and the harm of idleness 13A story of a barber's payments, introduced for the sake of recognizing the devil's illusions 14A question how such wrong notions can creep into us 15The answer on the threefold movement of the soul 16That the rational part of our soul is corrupt 17How the weaker part of the soul is the first to yield to the devil's temptations 18A question whether we should be drawn back to our country by a proper desire for greater silence 19The answer on the devil's illusion, because he promises us the peace of a vaster solitude 20How useful is relaxation on the arrival of brethren 21How the Evangelist John is said to have shown the value of relaxation 22A question how we ought to understand what the gospel says: "My yoke is easy and My burden is light."23The answer with the explanation of the saying 24Why the Lord's yoke is felt grievous and His burden heavy 25Of the good which an attack of temptation brings about 26How the promise of an hundredfold in this life is made to those whose renunciation is perfect