me, and I have great happiness in those who, through my crafts and wiles, stumble and fall.”
And when the blessed Macarius had heard these things, he plucked up courage, and said unto Satan, “By Christ, Who caused thee to make a mockery of the holy angels, explain to me, one by one, each and all of the things which thou carriest, for by this thou shalt be revealed, so that a man may see the insidiousness of thy arts and wiles, and may learn thy hidden snares, and may recognize the multitude of the burning arrows of thine error, and may flee from the performance of thy will.” Then the Calumniator answered and said, “I must reveal unto thee my craftiness, even though I be unwilling so to do, for it is impossible for me to hide from thee any of the things which thou seest; learn thou the use (or reason) of each pot. If I find a man who meditateth continually on the Law of God, I pour out upon him from the pot which is on my head dizziness and headache, and I restrain him [from this work] thereby. On the man who hath chosen to watch by means of [the recital of] prayers and psalms I pour out from the pot which is on my eyelids a disposition to sleep, and I lead and drive him along by main force into slumber. These which thou seest that I have on my ears are prepared for disobedience and the transgression of the Commandments, and by their means I trap those who wish to lead a good life to disobey the word of truth. From those which hang from my nose I sprinkle on the young the sweet smell of happiness, and lead them into fornication. From those which are on my mouth I throw out flowers (?), and I incite the ascetic by means of blandishments, and I make to sin those who live a life of abstinence and self-denial by means of such dainty meats and foods according to my desire; and by means of those which are on my mouth I also draw many into the utterance of calumnies, and into filthy talk, and to speak briefly, in each one of these pots is the seed which is most useful for increasing the fruits which are worthy of me, and which may be gathered from the labours of the husbandmen who labour in my vineyard. And from the pots which are hung about my neck I pour out pride, and I enclose with my nets those who are haughty in their minds; and so by means of all these I possess in the world multitudes of subjects who love the things which are mine, that is to say, worldly praise and wealth, which are the things that, by those who are remote from God, are believed to be good things in the world.
“And the pots which thou seest hanging from my breasts are full of my imaginings, and with some of these I water
