Offence And Progress

Εἶπεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἠσαΐας, ὅτι οὐδὲν οὕτως λυσιτελεῖ τῷ ἀρχαρίῳ, ὡς ἡ ὕβρις. Ὥσπερ γὰρ δένδρον καθ' ἑκάσατην ποτιζόμενον, οὕτως ἀρχάριος ὑβριζόμενος καὶ ὑπομένων. Ἀποφθεγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65 180d-181a

Father Isaiah said, 'There is nothing so useful to the beginner as insults. For like a tree that is watered every day, so is the beginner who is insulted and endures.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia