The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks - 16. Patience (1/2/19)

The brothers said that Gelasius had a parchment book worth eighteen shillings, containing the whole of the Old and New Testaments. The book was put in the church, so that any monk who wanted to could read it. But a travelling monk came to visit the hermit and when he saw the book, he coveted it, stole it, and took it away. The hermit knew who the thief was, but he did not give chase or try to catch him. The thief went to a city and looked for a buyer. He found a man who wanted it, and began asking sixteen shillings for it. The man, who wished to beat him down, said, 'Let me have it first to show someone and get advice, and then I will pay whatever is the right price.' So the monk gave him the book for his purpose. He took the book to Gelasius to discover whether it was a good bargain and worth this high price. He told Gelasius the price the seller was asking. The hermit said, 'Buy it. It is a good bargain, and worth that much.' So he went back to the seller, but instead of doing as the hermit had told him, he said, 'I showed this book to Gelasius and he told me it was too highly priced and not worth what you said.' The thief said, 'Did the hermit tell you anything else?' He answered: 'Nothing.' Then the thief said, 'I don't want to sell it.' Stricken to the heart, he went to the hermit, and did penance, and asked him to take the book back, but he did not want to take it. Then the monk said, 'Unless you take it back, I shan't have peace of mind.' Then the hermit said, 'If you can't have peace of mind unless I take it back, I will do so.' The brother remained with the hermit until his death, and made progress by learning from his patience.