While still in the palace, Abba Arsenius prayed to God, saying, ‘Lord, guide me so that I may be saved.’ A voice came to him saying, ‘Arsenius, flee from people, and you will be saved.’
After he had withdrawn to the solitary life, he prayed again, saying the same words. He heard a voice say to him, ‘Arsenius, flee, be silent, practice stillness; these are the roots of sinlessness.’
Once the demons attacked Abba Arsenius in his cell and afflicted him. Those who served him came by and stood outside the cell. They heard him crying out to God, ‘O God, do not abandon me. I have done nothing good before you, but in your goodness grant me to make a beginning.’
They said of him that just as no one in the palace wore finer clothing than he did, so no one in the church wore poorer clothing than he did.
Someone said to blessed Arsenius, ‘How is it that we, despite so much education and wisdom, have nothing, while these Egyptian peasants have acquired so many virtues?’ Abba Arsenius said to him, ‘We have gained nothing from the education of the world, but these Egyptian peasants acquired the virtues through their own labors.’
Once Abba Arsenius was asking an Egyptian elder about his own thoughts. Someone else saw him and said, ‘Abba Arsenius, since you know so much Roman and Greek learning, why do you ask this peasant about your thoughts?’ He replied, ‘I know Roman and Greek learning, but I have not yet learned the alphabet of this peasant.’
Once the blessed Archbishop Theophilus came to Abba Arsenius with a certain magistrate. He asked the elder for a word. After being silent for a little while, the elder answered, ‘If I tell you something, will you keep it?’ They agreed to keep it. The elder said to them, ‘Wherever you hear that Arsenius is, do not come near.’
On another occasion the archbishop wanted to visit him and first sent someone to find out whether the elder would open the door to him. Arsenius sent word: ‘If you come, I will open the door to you; and if I open it to you, I open it to everyone. Then I will no longer stay here.’ When the archbishop heard this, he said, ‘If by going I drive him away, I will not go to him again.’
A brother asked Abba Arsenius for a word. The elder said to him, ‘Strive with all your strength so that your inner work may be according to God, and you will overcome the outward passions.’
He also said, ‘If we seek God, he will appear to us; and if we hold fast to him, he will remain with us.’
Someone said to Abba Arsenius, ‘My thoughts afflict me, saying, “You cannot fast or work; at least visit the sick, for this too is love.”’ The elder, knowing what the demons were sowing, said to him, ‘Go, eat, drink, sleep, and do not work. Only do not leave your cell.’ For he knew that perseverance in the cell brings a monk into his proper order.
Abba Arsenius used to say, ‘A monk who is a stranger in a foreign country should not involve himself in any matter, and he will have rest.’
Abba Mark said to Abba Arsenius, ‘Why do you avoid us?’ The elder said to him, ‘God knows that I love you, but I cannot be with God and with people. The thousands and tens of thousands above have one will, while people have many wills. So I cannot leave God and come to be with people.’
Abba Daniel used to say of Abba Arsenius that he spent the whole night keeping vigil. When it came toward morning and nature compelled him to sleep, he would say to sleep, ‘Come, wicked servant.’ Sitting down, he would snatch a little sleep, and immediately he would get up.
Abba Arsenius used to say, ‘One hour of sleep is enough for a monk, if he is a fighter.’
The elders used to say that once a few dried figs were given in Scetis. Since they were worth almost nothing, they did not send any to Abba Arsenius, so that he would not be insulted. When the elder heard about it, he did not come to the synaxis, saying, ‘You have cut me off by not giving me the blessing that God sent to the brothers, which I was not worthy to receive.’ Everyone heard this and benefited from the elder’s humility. Then the priest went and brought him the dried figs, and brought him to the synaxis with joy.
Abba Daniel used to say, ‘He lived with us for so many years, and we provided him with only one basket of wheat for the whole year. When we visited him, we ate from it ourselves.’
Abba Daniel also used to say of the same Abba Arsenius that he changed the water for the palm leaves only once a year, and otherwise only added more water. For he plaited rope and sewed until the sixth hour. The elders pleaded with him, saying, ‘Why do you not change the water for the palm leaves, since it smells?’ He said to them, ‘In return for the incense and perfumes I enjoyed in the world, I must receive this smell.’
Abba Daniel also said that when Arsenius heard that every kind of fruit had ripened, he would say on his own, ‘Bring me some.’ He would taste just a little of each kind, only once, giving thanks to God.
Once Abba Arsenius fell ill in Scetis and needed even a single piece of linen. Since he had no means to buy it, he received charity from someone and said, ‘I thank You, Lord, that You have counted me worthy to receive charity for Your name’s sake.’
It was said of him that his cell was thirty-two miles away and that he did not come out readily, for others attended to his needs. When Scetis was laid waste, he went out weeping and said, ‘The world has lost Rome, and the monks have lost Scetis.’
Abba Mark asked Abba Arsenius, ‘Is it good for someone to have no comfort in his cell? I saw a brother who had a few vegetables and was uprooting them.’ Abba Arsenius said, ‘It is good, but it depends on a person’s disposition. For if he does not have the strength for such a way of life, he will plant others again.’
Abba Daniel, the disciple of Abba Arsenius, related: ‘Once I was near Abba Alexander. Pain seized him, and because of the pain he stretched himself out looking upward. It happened that the blessed Arsenius came to speak with him and saw him stretched out. After they had spoken, he said to him, “And who was the layman I saw here?” Abba Alexander said, “Where did you see him?” He replied, “As I was coming down from the mountain, I looked this way toward the cave and saw someone stretched out looking upward.” Alexander prostrated himself before him in repentance and said, “Forgive me. It was I, for pain had seized me.” The elder said to him, “So it was you? Good. I thought it was a layman, and that is why I asked.”’
Another time Abba Arsenius said to Abba Alexander, ‘When you have finished splitting your palm leaves, come and eat with me. But if visitors come, eat with them.’ Abba Alexander worked steadily and carefully. When the time came, he still had palm leaves left, and wanting to keep the elder’s word, he waited until he had finished them. When Abba Arsenius saw that he was late, he ate, thinking that perhaps Alexander had visitors. Abba Alexander finished late and then came. The elder said to him, ‘Did you have visitors?’ He said, ‘No.’ Arsenius said, ‘Then why did you not come?’ Alexander replied, ‘Because you told me, “When you have finished splitting your palm leaves, come.” Keeping your word, I did not come because I have only just finished.’ The elder marveled at how exactly he had kept the instruction and said to him, ‘Break your fast at once, so that you may perform your synaxis and drink your water. Otherwise your body will soon grow weak.’
Once Abba Arsenius came to a place where there were reeds, and they were moved by the wind. The elder said to the brothers, ‘What is this shaking?’ They said, ‘They are reeds.’ The elder said to them, ‘Naturally, if someone is sitting in stillness and hears the sound of a sparrow, his heart no longer has the same stillness. How much more so for you, with the shaking of these reeds.’
Abba Daniel used to say that some brothers who were going to the Thebaid for flax said, ‘While we have the opportunity, let us also see Abba Arsenius.’ Abba Alexander went in and told the elder, ‘Some brothers who have come from Alexandria want to see you.’ The elder said, ‘Find out from them why they have come.’ When he learned that they were going to the Thebaid for flax, he told the elder. Arsenius said, ‘They certainly will not see the face of Arsenius, because they did not come for me but for their business. Give them hospitality, send them away in peace, and tell them that the elder cannot meet them.’
A brother went to the cell of Abba Arsenius in Scetis and looked through the little window. He saw the elder entirely like fire, for the brother was worthy to see this. When he knocked, the elder came out and saw the brother standing amazed. He said to him, ‘Have you been knocking for a long time? Did you perhaps see anything here?’ He said, ‘No.’ After speaking with him, the elder sent him away.
Once, while Abba Arsenius was living at Canopus, a very wealthy, God-fearing virgin of senatorial rank came from Rome to see him. Archbishop Theophilus received her, and she asked him to persuade the elder to receive her. Theophilus went to Arsenius and pleaded with him, saying, ‘A certain woman of senatorial rank has come from Rome and wants to see you.’ But the elder refused to meet her. When this was reported to her, she ordered mounts to be saddled, saying, ‘I trust in God that I will see him. I did not come to see a man, for there are many men in our city; I came to see a prophet.’ When she reached the elder’s cell, by God’s providence he happened to be outside. When she saw him, she fell at his feet. He raised her up angrily and looked directly at her, saying, ‘If you want to see my face, here—look.’ But from shame she did not look at his face. The elder said to her, ‘Have you not heard of my works? Those are what you need to look at. How did you dare make such a long voyage? Do you not know that you are a woman? You ought not to be going out anywhere. Or did you come so that you can return to Rome and say to the other women, “I have seen Arsenius,” and they will make the sea a road for women coming to me?’ She said, ‘If the Lord wills, I will not allow anyone to come here. But pray for me and remember me always.’ He answered her, ‘I pray to God that He will wipe the remembrance of you from my heart.’ When she heard this, she left deeply troubled. When she reached the city, grief brought on a fever, and blessed Archbishop Theophilus was told that she was ill. He went to her and asked what was wrong. She said to him, ‘If only I had not come here! I said to the elder, “Remember me,” and he said to me, “I pray to God that the remembrance of you may be wiped from my heart.” And now I am dying from grief.’ The archbishop said to her, ‘Do you not know that you are a woman, and that through women the enemy wars against the saints? That is why the elder said this. But he prays continually for your soul.’ In this way her troubled thought was healed, and she returned home with joy.
Abba Daniel related of Abba Arsenius that once an imperial official came, bringing him the will of a senator who was his relative and had left him a very large inheritance. Arsenius took the will and was about to tear it up. The official fell at his feet and said, ‘I beg you, do not tear it up, or they will cut off my head.’ Abba Arsenius said to him, ‘I died before he did; he has only just died.’ He sent the will back and accepted nothing.
It was also said of him that late on Saturday, as Sunday began, he would leave the sun behind him and stretch out his hands to heaven in prayer until the sun shone again on his face. Then he would sit down.
It was said of Abba Arsenius and Abba Theodore of Pherme that more than anyone else they hated human glory. Abba Arsenius therefore did not readily meet anyone; Abba Theodore would meet people, but he was like a sword.
Once, while Abba Arsenius was living in the lower regions and was being troubled there, he decided to leave his cell. Taking nothing from it, he went to his disciples from Pharan, Alexander and Zoilus. He said to Alexander, ‘Get up and sail upstream.’ And he did so. To Zoilus he said, ‘Come with me as far as the river and find me a boat going down to Alexandria; then you too sail upstream to your brother.’ Zoilus was troubled by these words and remained silent. So they parted from one another. The elder went down to the region of Alexandria and fell seriously ill. His attendants said to one another, ‘Perhaps one of us grieved the elder, and that is why he separated from us.’ But they found nothing in themselves, not even that they had ever disobeyed him. When the elder recovered, he said, ‘I will go to my Fathers.’ So he sailed upstream and came to Petra, where his attendants were. While he was near the river, an Ethiopian servant girl came and touched his sheepskin. The elder rebuked her. The girl said to him, ‘If you are a monk, go to the mountain.’ Pierced to the heart by these words, the elder kept saying to himself, ‘Arsenius, if you are a monk, go to the mountain.’ At that point Alexander and Zoilus met him. When they fell at his feet, the elder also threw himself down, and both sides wept. The elder said, ‘Did you not hear that I was ill?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ The elder said, ‘Then why did you not come to see me?’ Abba Alexander said, ‘Your separation from us was not well received, and many were not helped by it, saying, “If they had not disobeyed the elder, he would not have left them.”’ He said to them, ‘Then people will say again, “The dove found no rest for her feet and returned to Noah in the ark.”’ In this way they were reconciled, and he remained with them until his death.
Abba Daniel said, ‘Abba Arsenius told us this as though it were about someone else, though perhaps it was about himself. While a certain elder was sitting in his cell, a voice came to him, saying, “Come, and I will show you the works of men.” He got up and went out. The voice led him to a certain place and showed him an Ethiopian cutting wood and making a great load. The man tried to carry it but could not; instead of taking some away from it, he cut more wood and added it to the load. He kept doing this for a long time. Going a little farther, the voice showed him a man standing by a pit, drawing water from it and pouring it into a leaking cistern, so that the same water flowed back into the pit. Then the voice said to him again, “Come, I will show you something else.” He saw a temple and two men sitting on horses, carrying a piece of wood crosswise, one opposite the other. They wanted to enter through the gate but could not because the wood lay crosswise. Neither humbled himself to go behind the other and carry the wood straight, and so they remained outside the gate. The voice said, “These are those who carry a yoke of righteousness with pride and have not humbled themselves to correct themselves and walk the humble way of Christ; therefore they remain outside the kingdom of God. The man cutting wood is a man in many sins; instead of repenting, he adds other lawless deeds on top of his sins. The man drawing water is one who does good works, but because evil is mixed in with them, through this he loses even his good works. Therefore everyone must keep watch over his works, so that he does not labor in vain.”’
The same Abba related that once some of the Fathers came from Alexandria to see Abba Arsenius. One of them was an uncle of the earlier Archbishop Timothy of Alexandria, who was called the Poor, and he had one of his nephews with him. The elder was ill at the time and did not want to meet them, lest others also come and disturb him. He was then at Petra of Troe. So they turned back saddened. Then an incursion of barbarians occurred, and he chose to remain in the lower regions. When they heard this, they came again to see him, and he received them with joy. The brother who was with them said to him, ‘Abba, do you not know that we came to meet you at Troe and you did not receive us?’ The elder said to him, ‘You tasted bread and drank water. But I, my child, neither tasted bread nor water, nor even sat down, but punished myself until I reckoned that you had reached your own place, because you too had been wearied because of me. But forgive me, brothers.’ They were comforted and departed.
The same Abba said, ‘One day Abba Arsenius called me and said to me, “Give your father rest, so that when he departs to the Lord, he may intercede for you and it may go well with you.”’
It was said of Abba Arsenius that once, when he fell ill in Scetis, the priest went and brought him to the church and laid him on a small bed, with a little pillow under his head. One of the elders came to visit him, and when he saw him on the bed with the pillow beneath him, the sight caused him to stumble, and he said, ‘Is this Abba Arsenius? And is he lying like this?’ The priest took him aside and said, ‘What was your work in your village?’ He said, ‘I was a shepherd.’ ‘And how did you live your life?’ He said, ‘I lived with much hardship.’ The priest said to him, ‘And how do you live now in your cell?’ He said, ‘I have more rest.’ The priest said, ‘Do you see this Abba Arsenius? When he was in the world, he was a father to emperors, and a thousand servants wearing golden belts, necklaces, and garments entirely of silk stood beside him; costly coverings were spread beneath him. But you were a shepherd and did not have in the world the rest you have now, while he does not have here the luxury he had in the world. So now you have rest, while he is afflicted.’ When he heard this, the elder was pierced to the heart and prostrated himself in repentance, saying, ‘Forgive me, Abba; I have sinned. Truly this is the true way: he has come to lowliness, while I have come to rest.’ Having benefited, the elder departed.
One of the Fathers came to Abba Arsenius. When he knocked at the door, the elder opened it, thinking it was his attendant. When he saw that it was someone else, he fell on his face. The Father said to him, ‘Get up, Abba, so that I may greet you.’ The elder said to him, ‘I will not get up unless you leave.’ Though he pleaded with him for a long time, Arsenius did not get up until he left.
It was said of a certain brother who came to Scetis to see Abba Arsenius that when he came to the church, he asked the clerics to arrange for him to meet Abba Arsenius. They said to him, ‘Rest a little, brother, and you will see him.’ He said, ‘I will taste nothing unless I meet him.’ So they sent a brother to take him there, since Arsenius’s cell was far away. They knocked at the door and went in; after greeting the elder, they sat in silence. Then the brother from the church said, ‘I am leaving; pray for me.’ The visiting brother, not finding freedom to speak with the elder, said to the brother, ‘I am coming with you too.’ So they went out together. Then he asked him, ‘Take me also to Abba Moses, the former robber.’ When they came to him, he received them with joy, treated them kindly, and sent them away. The brother who had brought him said, ‘See, I have taken you to the foreigner and to the Egyptian. Which of the two pleased you?’ He answered, ‘For my part, the Egyptian pleased me.’ When one of the Fathers heard this, he prayed to God, saying, ‘Lord, show me what this means: one flees for Your name’s sake, while the other embraces people for Your name’s sake.’ Then two large boats on the river were shown to him. He saw Abba Arsenius and the Spirit of God sailing together in stillness in one boat, and Abba Moses and the angels of God sailing together in the other, and they were feeding him honey cakes.
Abba Daniel said that when Abba Arsenius was about to die, he instructed them, saying, ‘Do not concern yourselves with making agapes for me; for if I have made an agape for myself, I will find it.’
When Abba Arsenius was about to die, his disciples were troubled. He said to them, ‘The hour has not yet come. When the hour comes, I will tell you. But I will have to be judged together with you before the dread judgment seat if you give my remains to anyone.’ They said, ‘Then what will we do? We do not know how to perform a burial.’ The elder said to them, ‘Do you not know how to tie a rope to my foot and drag me up the mountain?’ This was the elder’s saying: ‘Arsenius, why did you leave? I have often regretted speaking, but never being silent.’ When he was near death, the brothers saw him weeping and said to him, ‘Truly, Father, are you afraid too?’ He said to them, ‘Truly, the fear that is with me now in this hour has been with me ever since I became a monk.’ And so he fell asleep.
It was said that throughout his whole life, while sitting at his handiwork, he kept a rag in his lap because of the tears falling from his eyes. When Abba Poemen heard that he had fallen asleep, he wept and said, ‘Blessed are you, Abba Arsenius, because you wept for yourself in this world. For whoever does not weep for himself here will weep eternally there. So whether willingly here or there because of torments, it is impossible not to weep.’
Abba Daniel related concerning him that he never wanted to discuss any question from Scripture, although he could have done so if he wished. Nor did he readily write a letter. When from time to time he came to church, he sat behind a pillar so that no one would see his face and he himself would not pay attention to anyone else. His appearance was angelic, like Jacob’s. He was completely gray-haired, graceful in build, and lean. He had a long beard reaching to his belly. His eyelashes had fallen out from weeping. He was tall, but bent with age. He reached ninety-five years. He spent forty years in the palace of Theodosius the Great, of divine memory, becoming a father to the most august Arcadius and Honorius; forty years in Scetis; ten years at Troe in Upper Babylon opposite Memphis; and three years at Canopus of Alexandria. For the remaining two years he returned again to Troe, and there he fell asleep, finishing his course in peace and in the fear of God, for he was ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.’ He left me his leather tunic, a white hair-shirt, and palm-leaf sandals. And I, unworthy as I am, wore them so that I might be blessed.
Abba Daniel also related of Abba Arsenius: ‘Once he called my Fathers, Abba Alexander and Zoilus, and humbling himself said to them, “Since the demons wage war against me and I do not know whether they steal me in sleep, labor with me this night and watch me to see whether I doze during the vigil.” So from evening they sat in silence, one on his right and one on his left. My Fathers said, “We fell asleep and woke, and we did not notice him dozing. Early in the morning—God knows whether he did it deliberately so that we would think he had dozed, or whether the nature of sleep truly came upon him—he breathed out three times and immediately got up, saying, ‘I dozed, yes.’ We answered, ‘We do not know.’”’
Some elders once came to Abba Arsenius and pleaded with him at length so that they might meet him. He opened the door to them. They asked him to speak a word to them about those who practice stillness and meet no one. The elder said to them, ‘As long as a virgin is in her father’s house, many want to be betrothed to her. But once she takes a husband, she does not please everyone: some despise her and others praise her, and she no longer has the same honor as at first, when she was hidden. So it is also with the things of the soul: once they are made public, they cannot satisfy everyone.’