They said of Abba Tithoes that when he stood for prayer, if he did not quickly lower his hands, his mind was caught up above. Therefore, if brothers happened to be praying with him, he took care to lower his hands immediately, lest his mind be caught up and he delay them.
Abba Tithoes said, “Strangerhood is for a person to control his mouth.”
A brother asked Abba Tithoes, “How shall I guard my heart?” The elder answered, “How shall we guard our heart when our tongue and our stomach are open?”
Abba Matoes said of Abba Tithoes, “No one can find anything for which to open his mouth against him. As pure gold stands on the scales, so is Abba Tithoes.”
Once Abba Tithoes was sitting at Clysma and, fully aware of what he was saying, told his disciple, “My son, release the water to the palm trees.” The disciple said, “Abba, we are at Clysma.” The elder replied, “What am I doing at Clysma? Take me back to the mountain.”
Once, while Abba Tithoes was sitting, a brother was beside him. Not realizing it, Tithoes sighed, for he was in ecstasy and had not noticed that the brother was near. He made a prostration and said, “Forgive me, brother, for I have not yet become a monk, since I sighed in your presence.”
A brother asked Abba Tithoes how he could come to humility. The elder answered, “The path of humility is this: self-control, prayer, and considering yourself beneath every creature.”