Rising And Falling

Sicut humor subtilis per exhaltationes a terra sursum rapitur, sic intellectus cordis humani per meditationes et scrutationes subtilis effectus ad alta levatur. Et quemadmodum humor ascends frigore praestringitur, et relabitur unde venerat, sic multi ab intelligentia summorum per ignorantiam cadunt, propterea quod in bonis quae intelligere poterant agendis per desidiam torpescunt. Sed lapsus nivis nec strepitum facit, nec laedit; lapsus et grandinis et strepitum facit, et pondere laedit: quia multi torpent a bono, et nocent in malo; alii torpentes sunt, non nocentes. Hugo De Sancte Victore, Miscellanea, Liber I Tit XXI, De Impedimento Cognitionis Source: Migne PL 177.489c

As a subtle vapour is carried up above by exhalations from the earth, so the understanding of the human heart is lifted up to the heights by the performance of meditations and acute contemplation, but as that rising vapour may be gripped by cold and fall back down to where it came, so many fall from the understanding of high things by ignorance, and because of this, becoming slothful in the good deeds they were able to understand, they grow cold. But as snow falls without a sound and does no harm, and then hail falls noisely and hurts because of its weight, so many who grow cold in good turn to doing harm in evil, while others who grow cold are not harmful at all. Hugh Of Saint Victor, Miscellanea, Book 1, Chap 21, On The Obstruction of Understanding

Seeking And Not Finding

Quaeretis me et non invenietis. Nota, quod a bonis quaeritur Christus et invenitur ab illis; quaeritur autem, sed non invenitur a reprobis, quibus hic dicitur: Quaeretis me et non invenietis. Quare autem non invenitur Dominus a quaerentibus, causa triplex est: una est ex parte temporis, alia ex parte loci, tertia ex parte modi quaerendi. Quaerunt ergo et non inveniunt illi qui quaerunt, non quando inveniri potest, et qui quaerunt, non ubi inveniri potest, et qui quaerunt, non qualiter inveniri potest. Quaerunt, non quando inveniri potest, qui non quaerunt de die, vel qui non quaerunt continue, vel qui non quaerunt tempestive. Quaerunt ergo et non inveniunt qui non quaerunt de die gratiae, sed in nocte culpae; unde Canticorum tertio: Per noctes quaesivi quem diligit anima mea; et sequitur: Quaesivi et non inveni. Nec mirum, quia quaesivit obscuro tempore. Quaerunt et non inveniunt qui quaerunt interrupte, cum ipse sit quaerendus continue; unde in Psalmo: Quaerite Dominum et confirmamini; quaerite faciem eius semper. Nota fabulam de vetula, quae dicebat: Quaere pulcrum maritum. Quaerunt et non inveniunt qui non quaerunt tempestive, sicut illa, de qua Canticorum quinto: Pessulum ostii mei aperui delicto meo; at ille declinaverat atque transierat; et sequitur: Quaesivi et non inveni illum; et loannis septimo dicitur: Adhuc modicum tempus vobiscum sum, et vado ad eum qui me misit; et subiungit: Quaeretis me et non invenietis; quasi dicat: quia tarde quaeritis. Propter haec tria dicitur Isaiae quinquagesimo quinto:Quaerite Dominum, dum inveniri potest. Quaerunt, non ubi inveniri potest, qui quaerunt in lecto carnalis voluptatis, vel qui in foro mundanae negotiationis, vel qui in choro pompae saecularis. Quaeritur ergo in lecto carnalis voluptatis; Canticorum tertio: In lectulo meo quaesivi quem diligit anima mea; sed non invenitur, quia sequitur: Quaesivi illum et non inveni; unde lob vigesimo octavo: Non invenitur in terra suaviter viventium. Quaeritur in foro mundanae negotiationis; Canticorum tertio: Surgam et circuibo civitatem; per vicos et plateas quaeram quem diligit anima mea. Expone de civitate mundi, de qua Psalmus: Vidi iniquitatem et contradictionem in civitate. Sed nec ibi invenitur; unde sequitur: Quaesivi illum et non inveni; Osee undecimo: In medio tui Sanctus, et non ingrediar civitatem; loquitur de se ipso Dominus. Quaeritur in choro pompae saecularis; Lucae secundo: Existimantes, illum esse in comitatu, venerunt iter diei unius, et requirebant eum inter cognatos et notos; sed nec ibi invenitur; unde sequitur: Et non invenientes regressi sunt in lerusalem. Propter haec tria corripit Dominus quaerentes se Lucae secundo: Quid est, quod me quaerebatis? Nesciebatis, quia in his quae Patris mei sunt oportet me esse? Quaerunt et non inveniunt qui non quaerunt, qualiter inveniri potest, ut in quibus est evagatio rationis, vel obliquitas intentionis, vel remissio operis. Non inveniunt in quibus est evagatio rationis de quibus Osee quinto: In gregibus suis et in armentis suis vadent ad quaerendum Dominum; supple: per curiosam cogitationem ; et non invenient; ablatus est ab eis; Sapientiae primo: In simplicitate cordis quaerite Dominum, quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant illum. Item, non invenitur ab his, in quibus est obliquilas intentionis,sive sit intentio maligna, qualem habuit Herodes; Matthaei secundo: Futurum est enim, ut Herodes quaerat puerum ad perdendum eum; sive sit intentio carnalis, qualem habebant turbae; loannis sexto: Quaeritis me, non quia vidistis signa, sed quia de panibus manducastis; sive sit curiosa, qualem habebant Pharisaei, loannis undecimo, qui quaerebant lesum et colloquebantur ad invicem in templo stantes: Quid putatis, quia non venit ad diem festum? Item, non invenitur ab his, in quibus est remissio operis; propter quod dicitur Lucae decimo tertio: Contendite intrare per angustam portam, quia dico vobis, multi quaerent intrare et non poterunt. Propter hoc dicitur Isaiae vigesimo primo: Si quaeritis, quaerite; convertimini et venite. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VII, Collatio XXXII Source: Here, p571-2

You shall seek me and not find me. 1 Note that Christ is sought by the good and He is found by them, but He is sought and He is not found by the wicked, to whom it is said here: 'You shall seek me and not find me.' The reason why the Lord is not found by those who seek Him has a threefold cause, one in time, one in place, and the third by the manner of seeking. Therefore they seek and do not find who seek when He is not to found, where He is not to be found, and in a way by which He is not to be found. They seek when He is not be found who do not seek Him in the day, or who do not seek Him always, or who do not seek Him in a fitting manner. Therefore they seek and do not find who do not seek in the day of grace, but in the night of sin, whence it says in the third chapter of the Song of Songs, 'Through the night I sought him whom my soul loves...' and it follows, 'I sought him and I did not find him.' 2 Indeed because she seeks at the time of darkness. They seek and do not find who seek intermittently, when He should always be sought, whence in the Psalm: 'Seek the Lord and be strengthened, seek His face always.' 3 Note the fable about the old woman who says: Seek a handsome husband. They seek and do not find who do not seek fittingly, as she of whom it says in the fifth chapter of the Song of Songs: 'I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved, but he had turned aside and gone.' And it follows: 'I sought him and I did not find him.' 4 And in the seventh chapter of John: 'I am with you but a little while, and I go to Him who sent me, ' and below, 'You shall seek me and not find me.' 5 As if He said, because you seek me tardily. Because of these three things it is said in the fifty fifth chapter of Isaiah: 'Seek the Lord while He can be found.' 6 They seek where He cannot be found, when they seek Him on the bed of carnal pleasure, or in the marketplace of worldly business, or in the gathering of the pomp of the age. Therefore He is sought on the couch of carnal pleasure when it says in the third chapter of the Song of Songs: 'On my bed I sought Him whom my soul loves,' but He is not found, because it follows, 'I sought him and I did not find him.' 7 Whence in the twenty eighth chapter of Job: 'He is not found in the land of those who live sweetly.' 8 He is sought in the marketplace of worldly business, when it says in the third chapter of the Song of Songs: 'I rose up and went around the city, through the streets and squares I sought him whom my soul loves.' 9 Which speaks of the city of the world, concerning which the Psalm says, 'I saw wickedness and contradiction in the city.' 10 But He is not found there, whence it follows, 'I sought him and I did not find him.' In the eleventh chapter of Hosea: 'In the midst of you I am Holy and I shall not enter the city.' 11 which the Lord says about Himself. He is sought in the gathering of the pomp of the age, as in the second chapter of Luke: 'Thinking that He was among the company, they went one day on their journey, and then they sought Him with their relations and kin, but they did not find Him there,' whence it follows, 'And not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem.' On account of these three things the Lord corrects those who seek Him saying, 'Where were you seeking me? Do you not know that it is necessary for me to be among the things of my Father?' 12 They seek and do not find who do not seek in a way by which it is possible to find, as those who have shifting minds, or hidden intent, or who lack works. Of those who do not find because of shifting minds, it is said in the fifth chapter of Hosea: 'All their flocks and herds will not turn them to seeking the Lord,' which is because of the distraction of their thoughts, 'And they do not find Him because He has withdrawn from them.' 13 In the first chapter of Wisdom, 'In simplicity of heart seek the Lord, because He is found by those who do not put Him to the test.' 14 Likewise He is not found by those in whom there is hidden intent, or in whom there is malign intent, as Herod had in the second chapter of Matthew, 'Herod shall seek the child in order to destroy him.' 15 Or it may be done with carnal intent, as with the crowd in the sixth chapter of John: 'You seek me not because you saw signs, but because you ate bread.' 16 Or it may be from curiosity, as the Pharisees had in the eleventh chapter of John: 'They looked for Jesus and they spoke together standing in the temple: 'What do you think? Shall He not come on the feast day?' 17 Likewise He is not found by those in whom there is a lack of works, because of which it says in the thirteenth Chapter of Luke: 'Strive to enter through the narrow gate, because I say to you that many seek to enter and cannot.' 18 On account of which it is said in the twenty first chapter of Isaiah: 'If you will seek, seek. Turn and come.' 19 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 7 1 Jn 7.34 2 Song 3.1 3 Ps 104.4 4 Song 5.6 5 Jn 7.33-34 6 Isaiah 55.6 7 Song 3.1 8 Job 28.13 9 Song 3.2 10 Ps 54.9 11 Hosea 11.9 12 Lk 2.44-45,49 13 Hosea 5.6 14 Wisd 1.1 15 Mt 2.13 16 Jn 6.26 17 Jn 11.56 18 Lk 13.23 19 Isaiah 21.12

Act And Failure

Τὸν βουληθέντα εὐεργετνσᾶι, μὴ δυνηθέντα δὲ βοηθῆσαι, μὴ ἐκ τῆς ἐκβάσεως μέμφου, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς προθέσεως τίμα· ὅτι τῇ φύσει κεκίνηται, ἂ ἐχρῆν διαπράξασθαι, εἰ καὶ τῇ δυνάμει ἐνάρκησε, μὴ ἰσχύσας ἐργάσασθαι. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΛΕ', Εὐτονιῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 78.375b

He who wishes to do some good deed and is not able to accomplish it, must not by that be blamed, but in the wish is honour, for nature being moved fails to obtain what it would, and torpid in its power it has not the strength to to perform the deed. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 335, to Eutonius the Deacon

Trials And Failure

Τάχα οὐ μόνον ἀπὸ τοῦ νικήσαντος ἀνθρώπου ἀφίστανται πρὸς καιρὸν οἱ πειρασταὶ δαίμονες, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡττηθέντος, δίδωσιν ἀνοχὴν, καὶ ἀνάψυξιν ὀλιγην τῷ νενικημένῳ, ἵνα δυνηθῇ ἀναπνεῦσαι, καὶ συλλέξαι, τὰς οἰκείας δυνάμεις, καὶ πάλιν ἀντᾶραι χεῖρας κατὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Κ', Πτολεμαιῳ Source: Migne PG 79.89b

Perhaps not only from the victorious man does God withdraw trial for a time, but even from the one who fails. For God, having care for His own work, gives rest and a little breathing space for the one who fails, that by respite he be restored and that with his strength regathered, he again might raise his hands against the adversary. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 20 To Ptolemaius

A King's Failure

Nonne postquam tibi ex voto uiolenti regni fantasia cessit, cupiditate inlectus ad viam revertendi rectam, diebus ac noctibus id temporis, conscientia forte peccaminum remordente, de deficio tenore monachorumque decretis sub dente primum multa ruminans, dein popularis aurae cognitioni proferens, monachum sine ullo infidelitatis, ut aiebas, respectu coram omnipotente deo, angelicis vultibus humanisque, ruptis, ut putabatur, capacissimis illis quibus praecipitanter involui solent pingues tauri moduli tui retibus, omnis regni auri argenti et quod his maius est propriae voluntatis distentionibus ruptis, perpetue vovisti, et rete, ac si stridulo cavum lapsu aerem valide secantem saeuosque rapidi harpagones accipitris sinuosis flexibus vitantem ad sanctorum tibi magnopere fidas speluncas refrigeriaque salubriter rapuisti ex corvo columbam? O quanta ecclesiae matri laetitia, si non te cunctorum mortalium hostis de sinu quodammodo euis lugubriter abstraxisset, foret! O quam profusus spei caelestis fomes desperatorum cordibus, te in bonis permanente, inardesceret! o qualia quantaque animam tuam regni christi praemia in die iudicii manerent, si non lupus callidus ille agnum ex lupo factum te ab ovili dominico, non vehementer invitum, facturus lupum ex agno sibi similem, rapuisset! O quantum exultationem pio omnium patri deo sanctorum tua salus servanda praestaret, si non te cunctorum perditorum infaustus pater, veluti magnarum aquila alarum unguiumque, daemon infelici filiorum suorum agmini contra ius fasque rapuisset! E multa, tantum gaudii ac suavitatis tum caelo terraeque tua ad bonam frugem conversio quantum nunc maeroris ac luctus ministrauit ad horribilem, more molossi aegri, vomitum nefanda reversio. Qua peracta exhibentur membra arma iniquitatis peccato ac diabolo quae oportuerat salvo sensu avide exhiberi arma iustitiae Deo. Arrecto aurium auscultantur captu non Dei laudes canora christi tironum voce suaviter modulante neumaque ecclesiasticae melodaie, sed propriae, quae nihil sunt, furciferorum referto mendaciis simulque spumanti flegmate proximos quosque roscidaturo, praeconum ore ritu bacchantium concrepante, ita ut vas Dei quondam honore caelesti putabatur dignum merito proiciatur in tartari barathrum. De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, Sanctus Gildas Sapiens

Was it not that you 1 who after the fantasy of violent rule ceased by a vow, drawn by the desire to return to the right way, perhaps with the consciousness of sins biting days and nights during that time, first ruminating much with yourself on the hard customs and the rules of monks, then, bringing it forward into the knowledge of the open air, did declare yourself, without any thought of deceit, a monk, in the sight of Almighty God, and before the face of angels and men, and had you not broken, as was thought, those great nets, by which fat bulls of your sort are accustomed to be entangled headlong, that is, the net of every kind of rulership, and of gold and silver, and what is mightier than these, of your own bloated will, and did you not, even if you cleaved empty air in most shrill descent, escape the cruel claws of the swift hawk with sinuous windings, and to the faithful and refreshing caves of the saints, profitably race like a dove from the raven? What joy for mother church if the enemy of all mankind had not lamentably dragged you off, so to speak, from her lap. What plentiful kindling for heavenly hope would blaze in the hearts of the desperate, if you had persevered in the good. What and how many rewards of the kingdom of Christ would wait for your soul in the day of judgment if that cunning wolf had not snatched you, you who had become a lamb from a wolf, from the Lord's fold, and not at all against your will, to make you a wolf from a lamb, to make you like himself. What joy to the gracious Father and God of all saints your salvation, if secured, would had given, had not the wretched father of all the lost, the devil. like an eagle of mighty wings and claws, against every right and good, snatched you away to the unhappy brood of his children! In brief, your conversion to good fruit brought forth as much joy and sweetness, both to heaven and earth, as now sorrow and mourning is served up by your accursed reversion to your wretched vomit like a sick dog. Which done displayed your members  as arms of iniquity to sin and the devil, things which should have been eagerly presented as weapons of righteousness to God. And now when the attention of your ears is caught, it is not the praises of God in the tuneful voices of Christ's recruits with its sweet rhythm and the song of church melody, that are heard, but your own, which are nothing, howled by a thievish crew  full of lies and foaming phlegm, so as to sully anyone near, with the mouths of bacchants, so that the vessel once thought worthy of celestial honour is cast into the depths of Tartarus. On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain, Saint Gildas the Wise 1 Maelgwyn, King of Gwynedd

A Damaged Monk

Ἐγγὺς τούτων ἐωράλαμεν καὶ ἕτερον ἀναχωρητὴν ὁμοίως καὶ αὐτὸν ἐνοικοῡντα σπηλαίοις. Οὖτος οἶστρῳ κενοδοξίας ἐμπαιζόμενος ὑπὸ ὀνειράτων ἀντενέπαιζεν τοῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν παραγινομένοις καὶ ἀπατωμένοις. Ἄφρων γεγονὼς κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, τοῖς ἐνυπνίοις ἀναπτερούμενος, ἀνέμους ποιμαίνων, καὶ διώκων σκιάς. Καὶ τὴν μὲν κατὰ τὸ σῶμα σωφροσύνην ἐκέκτητο· καὶ διὰ τὸ γῆρας λοιπὸν καὶ διὰ τὸν χρόνον, τάχα δὲ καὶ διὰ τὴν κενοδοξίαν, τὴν δὲ κατ' ἀρετὴν φρένα ἀπώλεσεν, διαφθαρεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀκαθάρτου κενοδοξίας, καὶ ἐξωκείλας δι' αὐτῆς τῆς ἐνθέσμου πολιτείας. Παλλάδιος, Ἡ Προς Λαυσον Ἱστορια

Near these men we saw also another anchorite dwelling in a cave in similar fashion. He was mocked in dreams by the madness of vainglory and he himself took to mocking his neighbours as men who deceived themselves. 'Fools,' as it is written, 'who would fly away in dreams, herd the winds and chase shadows' 1 And yet he possessed bodily continence on account of his age and his long time in his state, and perhaps it was also thanks to his vainglory, but his mind was ruined in respect of virtue, corrupted owing to the uncleanliness of his vainglory, and by it he was expelled from any lawful state Palladius of Galatia, Lausiac History, 1 cf Prov 9.12 LXX

Renunication Failure

Ἀδελφὸς ἀποταξάμενος τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ διαδοὺς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ πτωχοῖς, παρακατασχὼν δὲ ὀλίγα εἰς λόγον ἑαυτοῦ, παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀντωνίῳ. Καὶ τοῦτο μαθὼν, λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐι θέλεις μοναχὸς γενέσθαι, ἄπελθε εἰς τήνδε τὴν κώμην, καὶ ἀγόρασον κρέας, καὶ περίθες τῷ σώματί σου γυμνῷ, καὶ οὕτως ἐλθὲ ἐνταῦθα. Καὶ ποιήσαντος οὕτως τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, οἱ κύνες καὶ τὰ ὄρνεα τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ κατέτεμνον. Ἀπαντήσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν γέροντα, ἐπύθετο εἰ γέγονεν ὡς συνεβούλευσεν. Ἐκείνου δὲ ἐπιδεικνυμένου τὸ σῶμα διεσπεραγμένον, λέγει ὁ ἅγιος Ἀντώνιος· Οἱ ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ θέλοντες ἔχειν χρήματα, οὕτως ἀπὸ τῶν δαιμόνων κατακόπτονται πολεμούμενοι. Αποφθεγματα των Ἀγιων Γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

A brother renounced the world and gave his possessions to the  poor, but he kept back a little for himself, and so he went to Father Anthony. When he learned of what he had done, the elder said to  him, 'If you want to be a monk, go to this village, buy meat, cover your naked body with it and so come back here.' The brother did so, and the dogs and birds tore at his body. Having returned to the elder, he was asked if he had done as he advised. He showed him his wounded body and the blessed Anthony said, 'Those who renounce the world but want to keep something are torn to pieces by the demons battling against them.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Success And Failure In Prayer

Πρὸς σὲ, Κύριε, κεκρὰξομαι, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν μου δεηθήσομαι. Πολλάκις εἴρηται περὶ τοῦ κεκραγέναι πρὸς Κύριον, ὅτι μόνου τοῦ μεγάλα καὶ ἐπουράνια ἐπιθυμοῦντός ἐστι ὁ κράζειν. Εἰ δέ τις μικρὰ καὶ ἐπίγεια αἰτοίη τὸν Θεον, μικρᾷ καὶ ταπεινῇ κέχρηται τῇ φωνῇ, μὴ φθανούσῃ εἰς ὕψος, μηδὲ ἐρχομένῃ εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς του Κυρίου. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΘ’ Source: Migne PG 29.320b

'To you, Lord, I will cry out and with my God I will plead.' 1 Concerning the act of crying out to the Lord it is often said that only with a great and heavenly passion can one truly be said to cry out, so if someone requests something trivial and worldly from God, the cry of such a voice is small and weak and it does not come to the heights, nor does it reach the hearing of the Lord. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 29 1 Ps 29.9

Promise Of Fruit

Flores multi, multitudinem fructuum pollicentur, sed examinati ventorum flabris, ad fructum paucissimi perseverant : sic credentes in Christo multi Ecclesiae videntur in pace: ubi autem persecutionis procella perflaverit, pauci martyrii reperiuntur in fructu.  Sanctus Petrus Chrysologus, Sermo XCVII Source: Migne PL 52.472

Many blossoms promise abundant fruit, but, put to the test by gusts of wind, very few persevere to bear fruit. So in peaceful times the Church seems to have many who believe in Christ, but when the storm of persecution blows, few are found to bear fruit in martyrdom. Saint Peter Chrysologus, from Sermon 97

The Fall of Ptolemy

Ἄλλος τις πάλιν Πτολεμαῖος ὀνόματι, δυσδιήγητον, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνεκδιήγητον ἀρετῆς βιον ζήσας, τοκατκχὰς οἴκησεν ἐπέκεινα τῆς Σκήτεως τὴν καλουμένην Κλιμακα, Τοπος δέ ἐστιν οὔτω καλούμενος, εἴς ὄν οὐδεις ἠδυνήθη οἴκῆσαί ποτε τῶν μοναχῶν, τοῦ ἀπὸ δεκαοκτὼ σημείων εἰναι τὸ φρέαρ τοῦ ὑδατος. Βαστάσας οὖν ἐκεῖνος κεράμια Κιλικίσια πλείονα ἐκείσε ἀπήνεγκεν. Καὶ τῷ Δεκεμβρίῳ καὶ Ἰανουαρίῳ μηνὶ συναγαὼν τὴν δρόσον ἐκ τών πετρῶν, δροσίζει γὰρ ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς μέρεσι τότε πολλὰ, και τὰ κεράμια πληρώσας τῆς δρόσου διήρκεσεν ἑαυτῷ ἐπὶ δεκαπέντε ἔτη οἰκήσας ἐκεῖ, πλείονα χρόνον μηδενὶ συντυγχὰνων. Ὅς ἀποξενωθεις διδασκαλίας πνευματικῆς, καὶ συντυχίας ἀνδρῶν ὁσιων, και ὠφελείας ἁγίων Πατέρων, καὶ συνεχοῦς κοινωνίας τὡν μυστηρίων τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐμάνη, ἐκτραπεὶς τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ, ὡς τὸ παρά τισι τῶν ἐσεβῶν λεγόμενον, αὐτοματισμὸν και τοῦτον τὸν ἄθλιον ὁμολογειν. Πτολαῖος λεγεται φέρεσθαι μετέωπρος ἐξεστηκὼς τῶν κατὰ φυσιν φρενων μέχρι τῆς δευρο ἀλώμενος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, ἐκδοτον ἑαυτον δεδωκὼς γαστριμαργίᾳ καὶ ὀινοφλυγιᾳ, μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὁμιλῶν, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Οἰς μὴ ὑπάρχει κυβέρνησις, οὖτοι πίπτουσιν ὥσπερ φύλλα.  Παλλαδιος, Ἡ Προς Λαυσον Ἱστορια

Again another monk named Ptolemy sought to live a life of virtue almost impossible to describe, dwelling beyond Scete in a place called Climax, this place being so called because no monk can live there since the well of the brethren is eighteen miles away. But he, carrying a number of pots, collected the dew with a sponge from the rocks during the months of December and January, for there is a plentiful fall of dew then in those parts, and made it suffice during the fifteen years he lived there. During this long time, however, he had no contact with anyone, and so he became a stranger to spiritual teaching and intercourse with holy men, and the benefit derived from the Holy Fathers, and the constant communion of the mysteries of Christ, on account of which he wandered from the straight way and spoke from his own mind that sacred things were nothing. It is said he, suspended aloft in his pride, is roaming about in Egypt up to the present day, and that he has given himself over to gluttony and drunkenness, speaking no edifying word to anyone, as it is written: 'They who have no guidance fall like leaves.' 1 Palladius of Galatia, Lausiac History  1 Prov 11.4 LXX