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| Chapter XXXIX. Of the device of a certain old man by which some work was found for Abbot Simeon when he had nothing to do.
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Chapter XXXIX.
Of the device of a certain old man by which some work
was found for Abbot Simeon when he had nothing to do.
When a brother who was
very dear to us, Simeon by name, a man utterly ignorant of Greek, had
come from the region of Italy, one of the elders, anxious to show to
him, as he was a stranger, a work of charity, with some pretence of the
benefit being mutual, asked him why he sat doing nothing in his cell,
guessing from this that he would not be able to stay much longer in it
both because of the roving thoughts which idleness produces and because
of his want of the necessities of life; well knowing that no one can
endure the assaults made in solitude, but one who is contented to
procure food for himself by the labour of his hands. And when the other
replied that he could not do or manage any of the things which were
usually done by the brethren there, except write a good hand, if any
one in Egypt wanted a Latin book for his use, then he at length seized
the opportunity to secure the long wished for work of charity, under
colour of its being a mutual benefit; and said, “From God this
opportunity comes, for I was just looking for some one to write out for
me the Epistles873
in Latin; for
I have a brother who is bound in the chains of military service, and is
a good Latin scholar, to whom I want to send something from Scripture
for him to read for his edification.” And so when Simeon
gratefully took this as an opportunity offered to him by God, the old
man also gladly seized the pretext, under colour of which he could
freely carry out his work of charity, and at once not only brought him
as a matter of business everything he could want for a whole year, but
also conveyed to him parchment and everything requisite for writing,
and received afterwards the manuscript, which was not of the slightest
use (since in those parts they were all utterly ignorant of this
language), and did no good to anybody except that which resulted from
this device and large outlay, as the one, without shame or confusion,
procured his necessary food and sustenance by the reward of his work
and labour, and the other carried out his kindness and bounty as it
were by the compulsion of a debt: securing for himself a more abundant
reward proportioned to the zeal with which he procured for his foreign
brother not only his necessary food, but materials for writing, and an
opportunity of work.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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