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| Chapter XXVI. Of the death of the prophet who was led astray, and of the infirmity of the Abbot Paul, with which he was visited for the sake of his cleansing.
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Chapter XXVI.
Of the death of the prophet who was led astray, and of
the infirmity of the Abbot Paul, with which he was visited for the sake
of his cleansing.
And we see clear instance
of this in the case of that prophet and man of God in the third book of
Kings, who was straightway destroyed by a lion for a single fault of
disobedience, in which he was implicated not of set purpose nor by the
fault of his own will but by the enticement of another, as the
Scripture speaks thus of him: “It is the man of God, who was
disobedient to the mouth of the Lord, and the Lord delivered him to the
lion, and it tare him according to the word of the Lord, which He
spake.”1491
In which case the
punishment of the present offence and carelessness together with the
reward of his righteousness, for which the Lord gave over his prophet
in this world to the destroyer, are shown by the moderation and
abstinence of the beast of prey, as that most savage creature did not
dare even to taste the carcass that was given over to him. And of the
same thing a very clear and plain proof has been given in our own days
in the case of the Abbots Paul and Moses who lived in a spot in this
desert called Calamus,1492
| 1492 Cf. on the
Institutes X. xxiv. | for the former
had formerly dwelt in the wilderness which is hard by the city of
Panephysis,1493
| 1493 Cf. on the
Institutes IV. xxx. | which we know
had only recently been made a wilderness by an inundation of salt
water; which whenever the north wind blew, was driven from the marshes
and spreading over the adjacent fields covered the face of the whole
district, so as to make the ancient villages, which on this very
account had been deserted by all their inhabitants, look like islands.
Here, then, the Abbot Paul had made such progress in purity of heart in
the stillness and silence of the desert, that he did not suffer, I will
not say a woman’s face, but even the clothes of one of that sex
to appear in his sight. For when as he was going to the cell of one of
the Elders together with Abbot Archebius1494
| 1494 On Archebius cf.
the note on XI. ii. |
who lived in the same desert, by accident a woman met him, he was so
disgusted at meeting her that he dropped the business of his friendly
visit which he had taken in hand and dashed back again to his own
monastery with greater speed than a man would flee from the face of a
lion or terrible dragon; so that he was not moved even by the shouts
and prayers of the aforesaid Abbot Archebius who called him back
to
go on with the journey
they had undertaken to ask the old man what they had proposed to do.
But though this was done in his eagerness for chastity and desire for
purity, yet because it was done not according to knowledge, and because
the observance of discipline, and the methods of proper strictness were
overstrained, for he imagined that not merely familiarity with a woman
(which is the real harm,) but even the very form of that sex was to be
execrated, he was forthwith overtaken by such a punishment that his
whole body was struck with paralysis, and none of his limbs were able
to perform their proper functions, since not merely his hands and feet,
but even the movements of the tongue, which enables us to frame our
words, (were affected) and his very ears lost the sense of hearing, so
that there was left in him nothing more of his manhood than an
immovable and insensible figure. But he was reduced to such a condition
that the utmost care of men was unable to minister to his infirmity,
but only the tender service of women could attend to his wants: for
when he was taken to a convent of holy virgins, food and drink, which
he could not ask for even by signs, were brought to him by female
attendants, and for the performance of all that nature required he was
ministered to by the same service for nearly four years, i.e., to the
end of his life. And though he was affected by such weakness of all his
members that none of his limbs retained their keen power of motion and
feeling, nevertheless such grace of goodness proceeded from him that
when sick persons were anointed with the oil which had touched what
should be called his corpse rather than his body, they were instantly
healed of all diseases, so that as regards his own malady it was made
clearly and plainly evident even to unbelievers that the infirmity of
all his limbs was caused by the providence and love of the Lord, and
that the grace of these healings was granted by the power of the Holy
Ghost as a witness of his purity and a manifestation of his
merits.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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