this he used to sing fearlessly among the brethren snatches or the lewd and ribald songs which he used to hear in the theatre. Then Abbâ Pachomius, the holy man, called this brother before the brethren, and commanded him to strip off the garb of a monk, and having received such apparel as was worn in the world, to go forth from among the brethren and from the monastery. And that brother fell down at the feet of Pachomius and entreated him, saying, “O father, if thou wilt forgive me this once, and wilt not cast me forth, thou hast it from me that from this time forward I will repent of those things wherein I have hitherto shown negligence, in such a manner that thou shalt be able to see the change which hath taken place in my soul.”
And the holy man answered and said unto him, “Dost thou know how much I have borne from thee, and how many times I have admonished thee, and how many times I have beaten thee? I am a man who hath no wish to stretch out my hands in a matter of this kind, because when, of necessity, I was obliged to act thus in respect of thee, [my] soul suffered far more by the mention of association with passion than thou didst, although the stripes were laid upon thee. I beat thee for the sake of thy salvation in God, so that by that means I might be able to correct thee of thy folly; but since, even though I admonished thee, thou didst not change [thy course of life], and didst not follow after spiritual excellence, even though I entreated thee so to do, and since even when beaten thou wast not afraid, how is it possible for me to forgive thee any more?”
But when Sylvanus multiplied his entreaties, and begged for his forgiveness long and earnestly, and promised that he would amend his life henceforward, Rabbâ demanded a surety from him that after he was forgiven he would no more continue his evil behaviour; and when the venerable man Petronius had made himself a surety for him concerning the things which Sylvanus had promised the blessed man forgave him. Then Sylvanus, having been held worthy of forgiveness, contended with all his soul, and to such good purpose, that he became the pattern of all excellence of the fear of God, both among all the younger and all the elder brethren. Now the virtue which surpassed all the other virtues which he possessed was that of absolute humility, and tears flowed from his eyes so unceasingly that even when he was eating with the brethren he was not able to restrain his weeping, and his tears were mingled with his food. And when the brethren told him that he should not behave thus before the face of strangers (i.e., visitors), or before any people, he took an oath, saying, “I have sought
