An Intolerable Accusation

᾽Ελεγον περι τοῦ ἀββᾶ ᾽Αγάθον, ὅτι ἀπῆλθον τινες πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἀκούσαντες ὅτι μεγάλην διακρισιν ἔχει· και θέλοντες δοκιμάσαι ει ὀργιζεται, λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Σὺ εἷ Αγαθων; ἀκούμεν περι σοῦ ὅτι πόρνος εἷ, και ὑπερήφανος. ῾Ο δὲ εἷπεν· Ναι, οὔτως ἒχει. Και λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Σὺ εἷ Αγαθων ὁ φλυαρος και κατάλαλος; ῾Ο δὲ εἷπεν· εγω εἰμι. Λέγουσι παλιν· Σὺ εἷ Αγαθων ὁ αἱρετικός; Και ἀπεκριθη· Οὐκ εἰμι αἱρετικός. Και παρεκάλεσαν αὐτὸν, λέγοντες· Εἰπε ἡμιν διατι τοσαῦτα εἰπομεν σοι, και κατεδέξω, τὸν δὲ λόγον τοῦτον οὐκ ἐβαστασας; Λέγει αὐτοις· Τα πρῶτα ἐμαυτῷ ἐπιγράφω· ὄφελος γάρ ἐστι τῇ ψυχῇ μου· τὸ δὲ αἱρετικός, χωρισμος ἐστιν ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, και οὺ θέλω χωρισθῆναι ἀπὸ Θεοῦ. Οἱ δὲ ἀκούσαντες, ἐθαύμασαν τὴν διάκρισιν αὐτοῦ, και ἀπῆλθον οἰκοδομνθέντες. Ἀποφθέγματα Ἀγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.109c

They said about Father Agathon that no one came to him but hearing him they acquired discernment. Wishing to test if he could be angered, some said to him, 'Are you Agathon? We hear that you are a fornicator and arrogant.' He said to them, ' Yes, so it is.' And then they said to him, 'Are you Agathon the prattler and slanderer?' And he said to them, 'I am.' Again they said to him, 'Are you Agathon the heretic?' And he replied, 'I am not a heretic.' And they cried out to him, saying, 'Tell us why you accepted the first things we said to you and you would not tolerate the last?' He said to them, 'The first things I ascribed to myself since they benefit my soul, but to be a heretic is to be separate from God and I do not wish to be separate from God.' And they were amazed at his discretion and they went away edified. Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia