Dear Prudence

Some brothers once asked Silvanus, "What way of life did you follow to be endowed with such prudence?"

He answered, "I have never let any bitter thought remain in my heart."

~~Prudence by Shawn McNulty

Every Day, Every Hour

Moses asked Silvanus, "Can a monk live every day as though it were the first day of his monastic life?"

Silvanus answered, "If you are truly committed to your way of life, you can live every day, every hour, as though it were the first day or hour of your monastic life."

O for Obedience

They said that Silvanus had a disciple in Scetis called Mark, who possessed the virtue of obedience in large measure. He was a copyist of old manuscrips: and Silvanus loved him for his obedience.

Silvanus also had seven other disciples, and they were sad that he loved Mark more than them. When the nearby hermits heard that he loved Mark above the others, they took it badly.

One day when they visited him, Silvanus took them with him out of his cell, and began to knock on the door of each of his disciples, saying, "Brother, come out, I have work for you." Not one of them appeared immediately.

When he came to Mark's cell, he knocked, saying, "Mark," and as soon as Mark heard the voice of Silvanus he came out and Silvanus sent him on an errand.

So, Silvanus said to the other hermits, "Where are my other disciples?" He went into Mark's cell, and found a book he had just begun to copy, and he was making the letter O, but when he had heard the voice of Silvanus, he had not finished the line of the O.

The visitors said, "You are right, abba, and we also love the one whom you love, for God loves him too."

Nothing Done for Show

Zeno, the disciple of Silvanus, said, "Never stay in a well known place nor sit with a famous man, or lay a foundation on which you might sometime build yourself a cell."

~~I was looking for a picture to illustrate this and was failing when I found this. This "Praying Monk" from Italy, circa 1870, is actually a nutcracker made out of hammerwood.