Man is Like a Tree

Agatho was asked, "Which is more difficult, bodily discipline or guard over the inner self?"

He said, "Man is like a tree. His bodily discipline is like the leaves of a tree, his guard over the inner self is like the fruit. Scripture says that 'every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire' (Matthew 3:10). So, we ought to take every precaution about guarding the mind, because that is our fruit. Yet we need to be covered and beautiful with leaves, which is bodily discipline."

Agatho was wise in understanding, earnest in discipline, armed at all points, careful about keeping up his manual work, sparing in food and clothing.

Psalm 58:1

In Scetis there was a meeting to discuss something; and after the decision was taken, Agatho came in and said, "You have not made a good decision."

They said to him, "Who are you to say that?"

He answered, "A son of man, for it is written, 'If ye truly speak righteousness, judge ye the thing that is right, O ye sons of men' (Psalm 58:1).

~~Son of Man, 1964, by Rene Magritte (1898-1967)

Refrain from Anger

Agatho said, "If an angry man were to raise the dead, God would still be displeased with his anger."

~~Raising The Dead by Dwight Juda Ward

Wise as an Owl

They said of Agatho that some people went to him because they heard he was a man of great discretion. Wanting to test whether he was irritable, they said to him, "Are you Agatho? We have heard that you are an adulterer and a proud man."

He answered, "It is true."

They said to him, "Are you that Agatho who gossips and slanders?"

He answered, "I am."

They asked him, "Are you Agatho the heretic?'

He answered, "I am no heretic."

So they asked him, "Why did you patiently bear it when we slandered you, but did not endure it when we said you were a heretic?"

He answered, "I agreed to the first charges against myself for the good of my soul. But I didn't accept it when you said I was a heretic because that is to be separated from God, and I don't want to be separated from God."

They admired his discretion, and went away edified.

~~Wise Old Owl by Amy Huntington

A Fierce Drought

Peter, the disciple of Lot, told this story: "I was once in the cell of Agatho, when a brother came to him and said, 'I want to live with the monks; tell me how to do so.'"

Agatho said, "From the first day you join them, remember you're a pilgrim all the days of your life, and do no be too confident."

Macarius said to him, "What does confidence do?"

He replied, "It is like a fierce drought. When it is dry everyone flees away from the land because it destroys even the fruit on the trees."

Macarius said, "Is it only false confidence that is like that?"

Agatho answered, "No passion is worse than confidence; it is the mother of all passion. It is best for the monk's progress that he should not be confident at all, even when he is alone in his cell."

Leave It Be

Once Agatho was going on a journey with his disciples. One of them found a small bag of green peas on the road, and said to him, "Abba, if you say so, I will pick it up."

Agatho looked at him in astonishment and said, "Did you put it there?"

The brother replied, "No."

Agatho said, "Why do you want to pick up something you did not put down?"

God is the Friend of Silence

They said of Agatho that for three years he kept a stone in his mouth in order to teach himself silence.

~~Nicholas Lochoff (d.1948) after Fra Angelico (Florentine, 1400?-1455)St. Peter Martyr Enjoining Silence. Original (after 1438)in the Cloister of San Marco, Florence Fresco

Sleep With A Clear Conscience

Agatho said, "I tried never to go to sleep while I kept a grievance against anyone. Nor did I let anyone go to sleep while he had a grievance against me."

~~Photo of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome by Frank Logue

Let Us Go Hence

They told this story about Agatho. He and his disciples spent a long time building his cell. When they finished it he lived in it, but in the first week he saw a vision which seemed harmful to him. So he said to his disciples what the Lord said to his apostles, "Rise, let us go hence" (John 14:31).

But the disciples were exasperated and said, "If you meant the whole time to move from here, why did we have to work so hard and spend so long in building you a cell? People will begin to be shocked by us and say: 'Look they are moving again, they are restless and never settle.'"

When Agatho saw that they were afraid of what people would say, he said, "Although some may be shocked, there are others who will be edified and say, 'Blessed are they, for they have moved their abode for God's sake, and left all their property freely.' Whoever wants to come with me, let him come; I am going anyway."

They bowed down on the ground before him, and begged to be allowed to go with him.

Obedience

A brother asked Agatho, "I have been instructed to go somewhere, and I have serious doubts about the place where I have been told to go. I want to obey the order and yet I am frightened of the inner struggle that will follow."

Agatho replied, "Agatho was like that. He obeyed orders and so he won the battle."

~~photo by Griffin Logue

Pray to God

The brothers asked Agatho, "Abba, which virtue in our way of life needs most effort to acquire?"

He said to them, "I may be wrong, but I think nothing needs so much effort as prayer to God. If anyone wants to pray, the demons try to interrupt the prayer, for they know that prayer is the only thing that hinders them. All the other efforts in a religious life, whether they are made vehmently or gently, have room for a measure of rest. But we need to pray until our dying breath. That is the great struggle."

Welcoming Death

Agatho said, "A monk ought not to let his conscience accuse him of anything."

When Agatho was on his death-bed, he lay for three days with his eyes open, without moving. The brothers nudged him, saying, "Abba, where are you?"

He said, "I am standing before the judgement of God."

They said to him, "Are you afraid?"

He said, "I worked as hard as I could to keep the commandments of God but I am only human, and I do not know if my works will be pleasing in God's sight."

The brothers said to him, "Don't you trust in your work? They were in accordance with God's will."

He said, "I can't rely on that when I come before God, for the judgement of God is not the judgement of men." When they still tried to make him talk, he said to them, "Please don't talk to me, I'm busy." At these words, he breathed forth his soul with joy. They saw him welcoming death as one greets a dear friend. In everything Agatho was vigilant, and he used to say, "No one can achieve any of the virtues without taking care."

~~photo by Griffin Logue

Silence

It was said of Abbot Agatho that for three years he carried a stone in his mouth until he learned to be silent.

~~photo by Victoria Logue