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Sayings of Moses the Black

Apophthegmata

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

Moses the Black did not write this text. Another person wrote it about Moses the Black, or wrote down what Moses the Black said.

Sayings and short stories of Moses the Black, taken from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers.

Sayings · first written in Greek

Moses 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 Moses.

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)

Moses 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 Moses.

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

1,426 words. 1 section.

Sayings of Moses the Black

§ 1

Then he entreated him, saying, "Take me also to Abb£ " Moses who was a thief," and when they went to him, the old man received them with joy, and having refreshed them greatly he dismissed them in peace. And the brother who had

brought the visitor to Abb& Moses said unto him, " Behold, " I brought thee to a man from a foreign land, and to an " Egyptian, which of the two pleaseth thee? " And he answered and said unto him, " The Egyptian who hath just received me, "and refreshed me." And when one of the old men heard what had happened, he prayed to God, and said, "O Lord, shew "me this matter; one fleeth from the world for Thy Name's "sake, and another receiveth and is gracious for Thy Name's "sake," And behold, suddenly there appeared unto him on the river two great boats, and lo, Abbd Arsenius and the Spirit of God were travelling in silence in the one, and Abbd Moses and the angels of God were in the other, and they were feeding the monk with honey from the comb.

31. Abbd Poemen said: — Abb£ Moses asked Abbi Zechariah a question when he was about to die, and said unto him, "Father, is it good that we should hold our peace?" And Zechariah said unto him, "Yea, my son, hold thy peace." And at the time of his death, whilst Abb& Isidore was sitting with him, Abbk Moses looked up to heaven, and said, "Re- " joice and be glad, O my son Zechariah, for the gates of heaven "have been opened."

35. Abb£ Moses used to say, "The man who fleeth from the "world is like unto ripe grapes, but he who dwelleth among "the attractions of the children of men is like unto sour "grapes."

40. Abba Moses besought Abba* Zechariah, saying, "Speak "a word of consolation to the brethren"; and Zechariah took his cloak, and placed it under his feet, saying, ' ' Except a man "die thus he cannot be a monk."

62. A certain brother went to Abb£ Moses in Scete, and asked him to speak a word; and the old man said unto him, " Get thee gone, and sit in thy cell, and thy cell shall teach " thee everything."

441. On one occasion a command was given to the brethren who were in Scete, and it was said unto them, 4 4 Fast ye this 44 week, and celebrate the Passover." And it happened that some brethren came from Egypt to Abb£ Moses, and whilst

he was boiling for them a little food, his neighbours saw the smoke [of his fire] rising up, and they said to the clergy, " Be- 44 hold, Moses hath broken the command, and hath boiled "some food in his cell"; and they said unto them, "Hold ye "your peace, and when he cometh to us we will speak to him. " Now when the Sabbath arrived, the clergy, having regard to his great ascetic labours, said unto him before the whole as* sembly, "O AbbA Moses, though thou dost break the com- "mand of men, thou stablishest [that of God]."

543. Abba Moses entreated Abba* Zechariah, saying-, " Speak a word of consolation unto the brethren," and Zech- " ariah took his cloak, and laid it beneath his feet, saying, ' * Except a man let himself be trodden upon thus he cannot "be a monk."

562. On one occasion Abba Moses of Patard was engaged in a war against fornication, and he could not endure being in his cell, and he went and informed Abbd Isidore of it; and the old man entreated him to return to his cell, but he would not agree [to this]. And having said, "Father, I cannot bear it,"

619. They used to say that, when on one occasion, AbbA Moses of Scete was going into Pat&r£, he grew weary through the length of the road, and he was afraid and said, "How can " I bring water for myself into this place?" And a voice was heard by him, saying, "Go on, and fear not." Now one day a large number of the fathers came to him, and he had there only one vessel of water, and having boiled some lentiles the water came to an end; at this the old man was troubled, and went out and in, and prayed to God, and afterwards a great cloud came and poured down upon them much rain, and it filled all the vessels which he had with water. Then afterwards the fathers said unto him, "Abb£ Moses, tell us why " thou didst come in and out"; and he said unto them, "I en- " tered into judgement with God, who brought me hither be- " cause there was want of water, and because I had no water "for His servants to drink; therefore I came in and out."

II9 # These are the words which Abba Moses said to Abba Poemen, and the first word which was spoken by the old man was :

240. Abb& Moses asked Abb£ Sylvanus, saying, "Is it possible for a man to make a beginning each day?" And he said unto him, 4 4 If he be a man who is a worker it is possible for 4 4 him to make a beginning every day."

617. The brethren said, "Why is itthat though the holy fathers * * incite us continually to the labours of excellence, and to the "contending against passions and devils, Abba* Isidore restrained Abb£ Moses the Ethiopian from works, and from " contests with devils, saying, ' Rest thee, Moses, and quarrel

669. The brethren said, 44 Abbd Moses the Ethiopian was on 44 one occasion reviled by certain men, and the brethren asked 44 him, saying, 'Wast not thou troubled in thy heart, O father, 44 4 when thou wast reviled?' And he said unto them, 4 Although 4 4 4 1 was troubled, yet I said nothing.' What is the meaning 4 4 of the words, 4 Although I was troubled I spake not 1 ?" The old man said, 44 The perfection of monks consisteth of two 44 parts, that is to say, of impassibility of the senses of the body, 44 and of impassibility of the senses of the soul. Impassibility of 44 the body taketh place when a man who is reviled restraineth 44 himself for God's sake and speaketh not, even though he be 44 troubled; but impassibility of the soul taketh place when a man 44 is abused and reviled, and yet is not angry in his heart when 44 he is abused, even like John Colobos. For on one occasion 44 when the brethren were sitting with him, a man passed by 44 and upbraided him, but he was not angry, and his coun- 4 tenance changed not ; then the brethren asked him, saying, 4 4 Art thou not secretly troubled in thy heart, O father, being 4 4 reviled in this fashion?' And he answered and said unto 4 them, 4 1 am not troubled inwardly, for inwardly I am just 4 4 as tranquil as ye see that I am outwardly'; and this is per- 4 feCt impassibility. Now at that time AbbA Moses had not 4 arrived at this state of perfection, and he confessed that al- 4 though outwardly he was undisturbed, yet he was waging a 4 contest in his heart, and he maintained silence and was not 4 angry outwardly; and even this was a spiritual excellence, 4 although it would have been a more perfeCt thing had he not 4 been angry either inwardly or outwardly. And the blessed 4 Nilus made a comparison of these two measures of excellence 4 in the cases of the blessed men Moses and Aaron. The aft of 4 covering the breast and heart with the priestly tunic which Aaron performed when he went into the Holy of Holies represented the state of a man who, though angry in his heart, suppresseth his wrath by striving and prayer; and the state of a man not being angry at all in the heart, because he hath been exalted to perfection by [his] victory over the passions

Moses the Black, or the Indian, Abba, 1, 215ft, 228, 267; n, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 50, 83, 102, 103, 112, 122, 123, 143, 144, 165, 180, 203, 284, 285, 289, 290. 317, 325