sell them at the price which I have named; but whatsoever ye wish to give [me] for them, that give’; and they gave me what it pleased them to give me, and I never counted the oboli which were given unto me by them.” When Rabbâ had heard [these things] he said, “Thou hast sinned greatly in loving excess, but run quickly, and give back the excess in price to those who gave it to thee, and come and repent because of this offence, and sit in the monastery and perform the work of thy hands, for it is not good that thou, O my son, shouldst do again work of this kind”; and the brother did even as the old man had said unto him. Then Rabbâ appointed the holy man Zakkai, a good man, who overcame all the praises of the children of men by the manifestation of good deeds, and he administered all the affairs of the monastery.
Chapter XIII: Of A Certain Ascetic Brother Who Was In The Monastery, And Who Desired A Crown Of Martyrdom Unseasonably
AND there was also [there] among those who were very famous a certain brother who cultivated the ascetic life by himself, and when he heard of the divine rule of our holy Father Pachomius he entreated him to receive him in the monastery; and when Rabbâ had received him, and he had passed a little [time] with the brethren, he desired greatly to bear witness (i.e., to become a martyr), although the world was in a state of peace, and the Church was flourishing and was, by the grace of God, at peace, and the blessed Constantine, who had put on Christ, was at that time reigning. And this brother was continually entreating the blessed man Pachomius, and saying, “Pray for me, O father, that I may become a martyr”; but Rabbâ admonished him that he should not permit this thought to enter his mind again, and said unto him, “Brother, endure the strife of the monks mightily and blamelessly, and make straight thy life in the way which will please Christ, and thou shalt have companionship with the martyrs in heaven.”
As, however, the brother made his desire for this thing stronger each day, and he was wearying the holy man therewith, Rabbâ, wishing to drive away this kind of desire from him, said unto him, “I will pray [for thee], but if thou seekest for this thing thou wilt be vanquished. And put armour on thy soul, lest, when the hour cometh wherein thou hast to bear witness, thou shalt deny Christ. Verily thou wilt certainly commit sin, because of thine own will thou drawest nigh unto temptation, although our Lord Jesus commanded us, saying, ‘Pray that ye fall not into temptation’ ” (St. Matthew 26:41; St. Mark 14:38; St. Luke 22:40, 46).
