The Church Fathers Library

Library › Filed under Daniel of Scetis (disciple of Arsenius)

Sayings of Daniel of Scetis

Apophthegmata

Date written: collected about 450 to 500; the place is not known. The date is the usual view of scholars; some doubt it.

Daniel of Scetis (disciple of Arsenius) did not write this text. Another person wrote it about Daniel of Scetis (disciple of Arsenius), or wrote down what Daniel of Scetis (disciple of Arsenius) said.

Sayings and short stories of Daniel of Scetis, taken from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Sayings · first written in Greek

The sayings in the corpus file are those of the 5th-century Daniel. The catalog label points to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_of_Scetis , which is about this same Daniel, the disciple of Arsenius. A 6th-century abbot of Scetis has the same name; he is another man. Daniel did not write this. The sayings are spoken words and stories that the unknown collectors of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers wrote down. The corpus files it under Daniel.

Translated by E. A. Wallis Budge (1907). The Paradise or Garden of the Holy Fathers, vol. 2 (London: Chatto & Windus, 1907); sayings picked out of it Public domain. Source and rights

This text is read by a machine from a scan of the printed book. It has reading errors, and some headings can be wrong or missing.

About this text (1 note)

The sayings in the corpus file are those of the 5th-century Daniel. The catalog label points to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_of_Scetis , which is about this same Daniel, the disciple of Arsenius. A 6th-century abbot of Scetis has the same name; he is another man. Daniel did not write this. The sayings are spoken words and stories that the unknown collectors of the Sayings of the Desert Fathers wrote down. The corpus files it under Daniel.

How we know the date and place
Date written probable
Sayings were gathered and written in Greek in the later 5th century (W. Bousset, Apophthegmata, 1923; J.-C. Guy, Sources Chretiennes 387, 1993)
The man spoke in his own lifetime; this date is for the written collection. The English is from Budge, Paradise of the Fathers (1907), made from the 7th-century Syriac of Anan-Isho.
Place written not known
Guy (SC 387) and L. Regnault think the Greek collection was made in Palestine; no town is known

2,522 words. 1 section.

Sayings of Daniel of Scetis

§ 1

99. Abbd Daniel used to say, " In proportion as the body "groweth, the soul becometh enfeebled; and the more the ' ' body becometh emaciated, the more the soul groweth. "

133. And Abbd Daniel used to say concerning Abbd Arsenius that he would pass the whole night in vigil, and when, for the sake of nature, he wished for the approach of the morning so that he might have some relief, he would struggle against sleep, and say, 4 4 Get thee gone, O wicked handmaiden"; then he would snatch a very little slumber and stand up straightway.

243. Abbd Daniel used to say, "On one occasion Abbd * * Arsenius called me and said unto me, * Make thy father to " 'be gratified, so that when he goeth to our Lord, he may " 'make entreaties to Him on behalf of thee, and good shall " 4 be unto thee.'"

317. AbbA Daniel used to say that on one occasion certain fathers came from Alexandria to see Abbd Arsenius, and one of them was the brother of Timothy, Patriarch of Alexandria, and they were taking his nephew also. Now the old man was ill at that season, and he did not wish to spend much time with them, lest, peradventure, they should come to visit him another time and trouble him; and he was then living in PatdrA of Est6ris, and the fathers went back sorrowfully. And it happened on one occasion that the barbarians invaded the country, and then Abbd Arsenius came and dwelt in the lower countries; and when those same fathers heard [of his coming] they went to see him, and he received them with gladness. Then the brother who belonged to them said unto him, " Father, know- "est thou not that when [these fathers] came to thee on the " first occasion at Estoris thou didst not protract thy conversa- " tion with us?" The old man said unto him, 4< My son, ye ate " bread, and ye drank water, in very truth, but I refused to eat " bread and drink water, and I would not sit upon my legs " through torturing myself, until the time when I knew from ex- " perience that ye must have arrived at your homes, for I knew " that for my sake ye had given yourselves trouble. " Thus they were pleased and gratified in their minds and they departed rejoicing.

318. Abbd Daniel used to say: Abbd Alexander dwelt with Abb£ Agathon, and the old man loved Abbd Alexander because he was a man of labour, and he was gentle and gracious. And it happened that all the brethren were washing their linen armcloths in the river, and Alexander was quietly washing his with them ; but the brethren said unto Abbi Agathon, " Brother Alexander doeth nothing," and the^oldman, wishing to quiet his disciples, said unto him, " Wash well, O brother, for "the armcloth is [made] of linen." Now when Alexander heard [this] he was grieved, and afterwards the old man entreated him, saying, " What then? Do I not know that thou "canst wash well? But I spake as I did to thee before them "so that I might rebuke their minds by thine obedience."

344. Abb! Daniel used to tell concerning Arsenius that he never wished to speak about any investigation into the Scriptures, although he was well able to speak [on the subject] if he had been so disposed, but he could not write even a letter quickly.

381. Abbd Daniel used to say, " On one occasion we went "to Abbd Poemen, and having eaten together, he said unto "us subsequently, 'Go ye and rest yourselves a little, O my " 'brethren'; and when the brethren had gone to rest them- " selves I remained that 1 might be able to talk to the old man "privately. And I rose up and came to his cell, and I saw that " he was sitting outside on a mat, and seeing me he lay down; "now he did not know that I had seen him seated, and he "pretended to be asleep. And this was the custom of the old " man, for everything which he did was done by him in secret. "

448. Abb£ Daniel used to relate a story, saying: — There was with us in Babylon of Egypt the daughter of a man who was the captain of a company of soldiers, and she was possessed of a devil, and her father took her to many places, but she could not find healing. Now her father had a friend who was a monk, and he said unto him, " No man is able to cure her ex- " cept those monks of whom I spake unto thee, but even if we " entreat them to do this they will not agree to it, because they "flee from the love of the approbation [of men]. Nevertheless, "when they come to sell [their] baskets, ye shall pretend that " ye wish to buy some, and when they come to sell and to take "the price of the baskets from thy house, we will say unto " them, * Put up a prayer, and this maiden shall be healed' "; and the man did so. And they came as it were to buy baskets, and they found the disciple of these holy men sitting down and selling [them], and they took him and the baskets , and carried him to their houses, and then they set another man in his place, and commanded him when the monks came to bring them to them. Now when their disciple entered the house, the maiden who was possessed of a devil went forth and smote him on the cheek, but that brother fulfilled the commandment and turned to her the other cheek, and straightway that devil, who was unable to bear the

XCbe Savings of tbe Dels jfatbers

blow of the commandment of Christ which was fulfilled, cried out with a loud voice, and departed. And when the monks came [the people in the house] related unto them the reason for what had happened, and they glorified God, and said, 44 It 44 is customary for the boasting of the Evil One to fall before 44 the humility of the commandments of Christ."

568. A brother asked Abbd Daniel, and said unto him, "De- " liver to me a commandment"; [and he said unto him], "Never " place thy hand in a dish and eat with a woman, and thou wilt "be able to flee from the devil of fornication."

18. Abba* Daniel used to say about Abba* Arsenius that immediately he heard that the fruits were [ripe] on the trees, he would tell them in his desire to bring him some, and that he used to eat once a year of every kind of fruit, so that he might give thanks to God.

Gbe Sayings of tbe f>ols jf atbers

22. Abbd Daniel Parndyd, the disciple of Abb£ Arsenius, used to tell about a man of Scete, and say that he was a man of great labours but simple in the faith, and in his ignorance he considered and declared that the bread which we receive is not in very truth the Body of Christ, but a similitude of His Body. And two of the fathers heard this word which he spake, but because they knew of his sublime works and labours, they imagined that he had spoken it in his innocence and simplemindedness ; and they came to him and said unto him, 4 4 Father, 44 we have heard a thing from a man which we do not believe, 44 for he saith that this bread which we receive is not in very 44 truth the Body of Christ, but a mere similitude." And he said unto them, 4 4 It is I who have said this thing," and they entreated him, saying, 4 4 Thou must not say thus, father, but 44 according to what the Holy Catholic Church hath handed

Zbc QayinQS of tbe f)olu jf atbers

" down to us, even so do we believe, that is to say, this bread " is the Body of Christ in very truth, and is not a mere simili- " tude. As, in truth, God straightway took dust from the earth, " and fashioned man in His image, [and no man is able to say " that he is not the image of GodJ, so also was it the case of the " bread of which He said, 'This is My Body/ for it is not to be " regarded as a merely commemorative thing, and we believe " that it is indeed the Body of Christ." And the old man said, "Unless I be convinced by the thing itself I will not hearken " [to this]"; then the fathers said unto him, "Let us pray to " God for the whole week on this mystery, and we believe that " He will reveal [it] unto us," and the old man agreed to this with great joy, and each man went to his cell. Then the old man prayed unto God, saying, "O Lord, Thou knowest that it "is not from wickedness that I do not believe, but in order 4 4 that I may not go astray through ignorance, reveal Thou "therefore unto me, O Lord Jesus Christ, this mystery"; and the two other old men prayed unto God and said thus, " O Lord "Jesus Christ, make Thou this old man to have knowledge "concerning this mystery, and we believe that he will not " destroy his labours."

And God heard the entreaty of the two fathers, and when the week was ended they came to the church, and the three of them sat down by themselves on one seat, and the old man was between the other two ; and the eyes of their understandings were opened, and when the time of the Mysteries had arrived, and the bread was laid upon the holy table, there appeared to the three of them as it were a child on the table. And when the priest stretched out his hand to break the bread, behold the angel of the Lord came down from heaven with a knife in his hand, and he slew the child and pressed out his blood into the cup ; and when the priest broke off from the bread small members, the old man drew nigh that he might partake of the Holy Offering, and a piece of living flesh smeared and dripping with blood was given to him. Now when he saw [this] he was afraid, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "I believe, O Lord, " that the bread is Thy Body, and that the cup is Thy Blood"; and straightway the flesh which was in his hand became bread like unto that of the Mystery, and he took it and gave thanks unto God. And the old men said unto him, "God knoweth the "nature of men, and that it is unable to eat living flesh, and " for this reason He turneth His Body into bread, and His " Blood into wine, for those who receive Him in faith." Then they gave thanks unto God for that old man, and because he had not permitted Satan to destroy him from his labours, and the three of them went to their cells in gladness.

dfcuestfons ant> Hnswers on tbe ascetic IRule

23. Abbd Daniel used to say that Abbd Arsenius told him a story, as if he were speaking of some other man, saying: — Whilst a certain old man was sitting in his cell, there came unto him a voice which said, " Come hither, and I will shew "thee the works of the children of men"; and he rose up and went out. And the voice led him out and shewed him an Ethiopian cutting wood, and he made up a large bundle and wished to carry it away, but he was unable to do so. Then instead of making the bundle smaller, he went and cut down some more wood, and added thereto, and this he did many times. And when he had gone on a little further, the voice shewed him a man who was standing by a pit drawing up water, which he cast in a certain hollowed out place, and when he had thrown the water therein it ran down again into the pit.

And again the voice said unto him, "Come, and I will shew " thee other things." Then he looked, and, behold, there was a temple, and two men, who were riding horses, were carrying a piece of wood as wide as the temple was, and they wanted to go in through the door, but the width of the wood did not permit them to do so, for they would not humble themselves to go in, one after his companion, and to bring it in end-wise, and therefore they remained outside the door. Now these are the men who bear the yoke of righteousness with boasting, and they will not humble themselves to make themselves straight and go in the humble way of Christ, and therefore they remain outside the kingdom of God. And the man who was cutting wood is the man who laboureth in many sins, and who, instead ofrepenting and diminishing from his sins, addeth other wickednesses thereunto. Now he who was drawing water is the man who doeth good works, and who, because other things are mingled in his good works, destroyeth his works thereby. Now it is meet that a man should be watchful in his labour, lest he toil in vain.

108. They used to say that when the barbarians came the brethren took to flight, and that Abb£ Daniel, who was in Scete, said, " Unless God taketh care for me, why should I "live?" And he passed through all the barbarians, and they saw him not. Then afterwards he said in himself, "Behold God " hath cared for me, and I am not dead, I also will do as a man "doeth, and I will flee as the [other] fathers have fled."

496. Abb! Daniel used to say, 4 4 Constant vigil especially 44 drieth up and maketh the body to diminish."

517. Abbd Daniel used to say that a man of business once came to Abbd Arsenius, and brought him a testament of a certain kinsman who had left him a very large inheritance, and having received the deed he wished to tear it to pieces. Then the man of business fell down at his feet, and said, "I beseech " thee, do not tear it up, for if thou dost I shall die." And Abb£ Arsenius said unto him, "I died before he did, though he hath "only now died, but shall I live?" And he sent the man of affairs away without having taken anything.