Wortley ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 2011 John Wortley Discretion: Greater than All the Virtues John Wortley εἶπεν γέρϱων· ὅτι µείζων πασῶν τῶν ἀρϱετῶν ἐστιν ἡ διάκϰρϱισις1 T IS GENERALLY BELIEVED that the “Desert Fathers,” those first Christian monks (and some nuns) who began to people the deserts of Egypt and Syria-Palestine in the fourth century A.D., practiced a wildly excessive asceticism. The Rule of Saint Benedict has frequently been praised for introducing a note of moderation into what is perceived as a prevailing monasticism notorious for its absence of restraint. But in fact those early monks may well have been more discreet in their disciplines than rumour allows. There are of course certain aspects of the monastic life which are and must always be pur- sued without restraint, since monks are responding to certain absolute commands of Jesus. “If you would be perfect,” he says (and elsewhere: “Be perfect even as your heavenly father is per- fect,” Mtt 5:48) “go sell your property (τὰ ὑπάρϱχοντα ὑµῶν), give [the proceeds] to the poor (you will have treasure in heaven) then come and follow me” (Mtt 19:21, Lk 12:33, cf. Mk 10:21). It was precisely in response to such absolute injunc- tions that so many people took the desert road. For them there could be no partial renunciation, no conditional following, as this tale demonstrates (N 17): 1 N 106, 21.25. As explained in GRBS 42 (2001) 290 n.5 and more fully in 46 (2006) 327–328, references to the Apophthegmata are in the form of: Name, number, and ref. to PG 65 for APalph; by the letter N+number to APanon (forthcoming, ed. J. Wortley, CUP); by chapter and item [XX.YY] to Guy’s edition of APsys. I JOHN WORTLEY 635 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 There was a novice who wished to renounce [the world] and he said to the elder: “I want to become a monk.” The elder said: “You are not able.” He said: “I am able.” The elder said to him: “If you are willing, go and renounce [the world], then come and reside in your cell.” He went off and, keeping back a hundred pieces of gold for himself, gave away what he possessed, then came to the elder. But the elder [said] to him: “Go and reside in your cell.” He went and took up residence but, while he was residing there, the logismoi said: “The door is old; it wants to be [replaced].” Coming to the elder, he said: “The logismoi are saying that the door is old and wanted to be [replaced].” The elder said to him: “You have not renounced [the world] but go, renounce [it] and reside here.” So off he went and gave away ninety pieces of gold, concealing ten pieces for himself. Coming to the elder he said: “Look, I have renounced [the world].” Said the elder to him: “Go and reside in your cell.” He went and took up residence there, but while he was residing there the logismoi said that the roof was old and wanted to be [renewed]. He went away and said to the elder: “My logismoi are telling me that the roof is old and wanted to be [renewed].” “Go and renounce [the world],” the elder said, and he went off and gave away the ten pieces of gold too, came back and said to the elder: “Look, I have renounced [the world].” When he had taken up residence, the logismoi said to him: “Everything here is old and the lion is coming to devour me.” He tells his logismoi to the elder and the elder says to him: “I am expecting everything to come down on top of me and the lion to come and eat me up so I may be at rest. Go, reside in your cell and pray to God.” No less stringent than the forbidding of property is the ex- clusion of relatives. Jesus also said: “If a person comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:26, cf. Mtt 10:37–38). The Jerusalem Bible footnotes the word hate: “Hebraism: an emphatic way of expressing a total detachment”—which is precisely what was required of the person aspiring to be a monk. This com- mandment too is absolute: it leaves no room for compromise. The same however is not by any means true of many of Jesus’ other commandments. He says that he came “not to 636 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 dissolve, but to fulfil, the law and the prophets” (Mtt 5:48), which is usually taken to mean: to replace the multiple regula- tions of the Mosaic Law by certain general principles. In theory at least, the precise directives of the law required little more of the person than obedience, although, as Jesus points out, in fact one’s judgement sometimes had to be brought into play, e.g.: “Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a well and will not straightway draw him up on the Sabbath day?” (Lk 13:15 and esp. 14:5). That is a relatively easy matter: whether or not to obey the fourth commandment to “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:9). But Jesus utters com- mandments that require a far more demanding application of one’s judgement, e.g. to “love one’s neighbour as oneself” (Mtt 22:39, Lk 10:27); the so-called “Golden Rule,” “Do unto others” etc. (Mtt 7:12, Lk 6:31); “Love your enemies” (Mtt 5:44, Lk 6:27); and the “New Commandment,” “That you love one another” (Jo 13:34). Even where Jesus’ directions regard specific topics such as almsgiving, fasting, forgiveness, humility, judging, and so forth, they are rarely explicit in the way the regulations of the Mosaic Law were explicit. Far more often do they require one to engage one’s intelligence and to make moral judgements, at times very fine moral judgements. The Gospels give little guidance as to how such judgements are to be made, and Paul not much more (his “Let your mag- nanimity [ἐπιεικϰές] be manifest to all,” Phil. 4:5, however, should not be overlooked). Once (and once only) the word διάκϰρϱισις (discretion, discernment, or discrimination) is found in the Christian Scriptures in the sense of discerning good and evil (πρϱὸς διάκϰρϱισιν κϰαλοῦ τε κϰαὶ κϰακϰοῦ, Heb. 5:14). The word is only found two other times, each time with a different meaning: διακϰρϱίσεις διαλογισµῶν, Rom 14:1, and διακϰρϱίσεις πνευµάτων, 1 Cor 12:10 (the verb διακϰρϱίνω only means “to observe” in the NT). While early Christian writers borrowed Paul’s expression discernment of spirits, in the course of the fifth century the word διάκϰρϱισις did eventually recover the sense it JOHN WORTLEY 637 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 carries in Heb. 5:14 and “s’enrichit de sens nouveaux: celui d’aptitude à discerner le juste milieu, celui de mesure et de modération.”2 The Hellenes had long experimented with the idea of virtue in terms “de mesure et de moderation,” defining “the good” as a mean (τὸ µέσον, hence aurea mediocritas) between two ex- tremes; as an avoiding of excess (µηδὲν ἄγαν), and of all things being done in due proportion (µέτρϱον). This kind of thinking, however, is rarely found in early Christian thought—until the advent of Christian monachism, that is. It is precisely in the literary débris of that movement, the Apophthegmata Patrum, that the word discretion begins to appear in the sense indicated; not only to appear, but to be accorded a status of the highest im- portance. One father says: “Discretion is greater than all the virtues” (N 106, 21.25), and when “an elder was asked: ‘What is the monk’s task (τὸ ἔρϱγον)?’ ‘Discretion’, he replied” (N 93, 21.9). When Paul Euergetinos drew up his great Synagoge in the eleventh century he could affirm “that discretion is the greatest among the virtues and the man of faith must do what he does with [discretion] (ὅτι µεγίστη ἐν ἀρϱεταῖς ἡ διάκϰρϱισις κϰαὶ δεῖ τὸν πιστὸν µετ᾽᾿ αὐτῆς ποιεῖν ἃ ποιεῖ) for those things which are brought about without discretion or aimlessly reap no benefit even though they be good, and sometimes they even do damage.”3 In the form in which the “Systematic” collection of Apo- phthegmata Patrum (APsys) has come down to us, the longest (194 items) of its 21 sections is the one concerned with discretion. Section 10 (περϱὶ διακϰρϱίσεως) begins with this categorical saying attributed to Antony the Great: “There are some who wore their bodies away with askesis but became far from God be- cause they did not have discretion” (διὰ τὸ µὴ ἐσχηκϰέναι αὐ- 2 André Cabassut, “Discrétion,” DS 3 (1957) 1311–1330, at 1312, and citing 1247 ff. 3 Paul Euergetinos, Συναγωγή [A Collection of the inspired sayings of the godly and holy fathers] (Venice 1783; 6th ed. in 4 vols. Athens 1980: III 372, hypoth. III.31). 638 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 τοὺς διάκϰρϱισιν, Antony 8, 77B, 10.1). That is clear enough, but the person who wishes to learn more about discretion and how it is to be acquired is doomed to be somewhat disappointed by what follows, for, its title notwithstanding, the section does not have much to say about the nature of discretion. The noun διάκϰρϱισις only occurs five more times in Section 10, the verb διακϰρϱίνειν only three times, thus: On hearing how Abba Agathon willingly accepted all kinds of slander except the charge that he was a heretic, “they were amazed at his discretion and went their way enlightened” (Aga- thon 5, 109C, 10.12). Charged with presumption when he accepted the water-bottle from a priest, John the Dwarf replied: “I accepted in order to get a reward for him and so he would not be distressed that nobody accepted from him.” “They were astonished when he said this and much enlightened by his discretion,” the passage concludes (John Colobos 7, 205C, 10.37).4 A brother asks an elder whether one has salvation if such-and- such a logismos comes to him. “Having no experience in discre- tion, that [elder] replied: ‘He has lost his soul’.” [The brother goes to] “report his logismoi to Abba Silvanus, for he was one of great discretion [who] poulticed [κϰατέπλασεν] his soul [with texts] from the sacred Scriptures [indicating] that there is re- pentance for those who consciously turn to God … I have told these things so we might see that there is danger in speaking of either our logismoi or our actions to indiscreet/undiscerning per- sons” (ἀδιακϰρϱίτοις ἀνθρϱώποις) (N 217, 10.100). A devout brother reproved by “a voice,” having distinguished the power of the voice (διακϰρϱίνας τὴν δύναµιν τῆς φωνῆς), modified his behaviour (N 404, 10.137). While it is clear from these apophthegms that discretion is admirable, useful, and essential in a confessor, they tell us almost nothing about what discretion is; there is however one more saying that does shed a little light: Synkletike 15, 425CD.5 4 See also the apophthegm Poemen 52, 333CD, 10.88 (cited 651 below). 5 This is an extract from the Vita of the fourth-century Amma Synkletike, JOHN WORTLEY 639 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 Here is posed the very question one would like to have an- swered: “There is an intensified askesis that is of the enemy and his disciples practice it; how then are we to discriminate the godly and royal askesis from that which is tyrannical and demoniacal?” (πῶς οὖν διακϰρϱίνωµεν τὴν θείαν κϰαὶ βασιλικϰὴν ἄσκϰησιν ἐκϰ τῆς τυρϱαννικϰῆς κϰαὶ δαιµονιώδους;). In other words, how is one to exercise discretion? Then the good amma goes on: “Is it not clear from due proportion?” (ἢ δῆλον ὡς ἀπὸ τῆς συµµετρϱίας;) and a little further on she says: “For lack of proportion is destructive everywhere” (πανταχοῦ γὰρϱ ἡ ἀµετρϱία φθορϱοποιὸς τυγχάνει). συµµετρϱία, ἀµετρϱία: due proportion, lack of proportion; that which is within the limit (µέτρϱον) and that which is beyond it, in either the sense of falling short of or of exceeding the limit: these are what discretion is to discern and avoid, for there is danger in both. E.g.: “one can suffer damage from dispropor- tionate (ἀµετρϱία) weeping” (N 135, 3.38). Amma Synkletike goes further: the enemy “will project a totally unreasonable sorrow that has been called accidie by many people” (Synkletike S 10,6 10.103). Evagrius Ponticus, “the philosopher of the desert,” stresses that there is a proper time as well as proportion for every practice (Practicus 15, 10.25): Reading, watching, and prayer stabilize a wandering mind; hunger, labor, and isolation quench burning desire; psalm- singing, long-suffering, and mercy put anger to rest, if these things are activated at the appropriate times and in due pro- portion (κϰαὶ ταῦτα τοῖς πρϱοσήκϰουσιν χρϱόνοις τε κϰαὶ µέτρϱοις γινόµενα). For that which is disproportionate or not in due season (τὰ γὰρϱ ἄµετρϱα κϰαὶ ἄκϰαιρϱα) is short-lasting and harmful rather than beneficial. The word µέτρϱον is employed in two spiritual senses in the apophthegmata. On the one hand it is used to denote a person’s actual stature, meaning the point to which he has advanced in ___ BHG 1694, PG 28.1487–1558, ch. 100. 6 Jean-Claude Guy, Recherches sur la tradition grecque des Apophthegmata Patrum (Brussels 1962, rpt. 1984 with corrections) 35. 640 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 his spiritual progress, e.g.: µακϰάρϱιε, οὔπω ἔφθασας εἰς τὸ µέτρϱον τῶνδε τῶv [aut τῶν δύο] γυναικϰῶν τῆσδε τῆς πόλεως.7 Although the monk is repeatedly warned not to attempt to measure him- self or to assess his own progress8 the question is frequently asked: “have I arrived” (or it is said: “you have not yet ar- rived”) “at the stature (µέτρϱον) of …”9 On the other hand µέτρϱον can mean both a person’s potential or his capability, hence the limit beyond which he is incapable of proceeding: Abba Orsisios said: “Unbaked brick set in a foundation near to a river does not last one day, but it lasts like stone if it is baked. Likewise a person with a carnal mentality and not purged by the fire of the word of God like Joseph [Ps 104:19, LXX only] falls apart when he proceeds to govern. For there are many tempta- tions for such people. A person aware of his own limitations (τὰ ἴδια µέτρϱα) does well to flee from the burden of authority; but they who are firm in the faith are immoveable … As for our- selves, knowing our own limitations (µέτρϱα), let us fight the good fight for in that way we are only just able to escape the judge- ment of God” (Orsisios 1, 316AB, 15.69). An elder said: “This is why we make no progress: we do not un- derstand our own limitations (οὐκϰ ἐπιστάµεθα τὰ µέτρϱα ἑαυτῶν); we do not persevere in the work we undertake and we seek to acquire virtue effortlessly” (N 297, 7.30). A brother asked an elder: “What is humble mindedness?” “It is to do good to those who wrong you” the elder said. “And if one cannot measure up to that stature (ἐὰν µὴ φθάσῃ τις εἰς τὸ 7 N 489, 20.21, BHG 999yb De praestantia mulierum duarum. The plural is also found in this sense: “Until a man attains the stature of Moses (εἰς τὰ µέτρϱα Μωϋσέως) and become almost a son of God, he gets no help from the world” (N 538). See also N 449, ἰδοὺ ἄλλα τὰ µέτρϱα τὰ σὰ κϰαὶ ἄλλα τὰ ἐκϰείνων. 8 Thus Poemen 36 and 73, 15.50 and 51. Isaiah of Scete as quoted in 5.23, 10.28, and 15.26: “The task (ἔρϱγον) of humility is this: silence and not to measure oneself in anything”; the same injunction is attributed to Ma- carius the Great (1.16) and to John Colobos 34, 216AC (µὴ ἑαυτὸν µετρϱεῖν). 9 Thus N 67, 20.22; N 489, 20.21; Eucharistus 1, 168D–169C, 20.2; N 646, 10.164; Carion 1, 249CD, 15.17; Sisoes 9, 393BC, 15.62. JOHN WORTLEY 641 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 µέτρϱον τοῦτο), what should he do?” the brother said. “Let him run away and elect to remain silent” (φευγέτω ἑλόµενος τὸ σιω- πᾶν) the elder said (N 305A,10 15.81). It is clear that the monk needs to be aware of his own limits and potential. It is perhaps even more important that one who is directing others be aware of (and respect) their µέτρϱα. This is the point of a well-known story about Antony the Great (Antony 13, 77D– 80A, 10.3): There was somebody in the desert hunting wild beasts and he saw Abba Antony enjoying himself (χαρϱιεντιζόµενον) with the brothers. He was offended, so the elder wanted to convince him that the brothers needed to relax from time to time. He said to him: “Put an arrow to your bow and draw it.” He did so. He said to him again: “Draw,” and he drew. Again he said: “Draw.” The hunter said to him: “If I draw too much (ὑπὲρϱ τὸ µέτρϱον) my bow will break.” Said Abba Antony to him: “So it is too with the work of God (τὸ ἔρϱγον τοῦ Θεοῦ). If we draw beyond measure (πλεῖον τοῦ µέτρϱου) on the brothers they will soon collapse; so they must relax from time to time. Writing ca. 419 about Pachomius (ca. 290–346), the alleged founder of coenobitic monachism, Palladius says that an angel gave him a bronze tablet on which were inscribed instructions on how to administer the young monks he was about to gather to- gether to live a common life under his direction:11 Let each one eat and drink according to his strength (κϰατὰ δύνα- µιν) and do you give them tasks proportionate to the strength (πρϱὸς τὰς δυνάµεις) of those who eat. Do not prevent them from fasting or eating but give the physically demanding tasks to the stronger ones who are eating, imposing easy tasks (τὰ ἄτονα) on the less strong and more ascetic ones (τοῖς ἀτονωτέρϱοις κϰαὶ ἀσκϰητικϰωτέρϱοις. Thus “From each according to his ability, to each according to 10 Guy, Recherches 90 n.1. 11 HL 32.2, ed. Butler 88–89; cf. Soz. HE 3.14.10–11. 642 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 his need” (as one would later express it) appears to have been a basic element of the monastic way of life, extending beyond the merely material and physical aspects of that life, as this extract from the section on Discretion makes clear (N 216, 10.112): An experienced elder told a brother: “It is required of a [monk] according to the capability of each one” (πρϱὸς τὸ µέτρϱον ἑκϰά- στου ζητεῖται παρϱ᾽᾿ αὐτοῦ). The brother begged the elder: “For the Lord’s sake, explain this saying to me.” The elder said to him: “Suppose there is a highly desirable object lying here and two brothers came in, one of great capability, the other less so (ὁ εἷς ἔχων µέτρϱα µεγάλα, ὁ δὲ ἕτερϱος ἥττονα). If the logismos of the perfect brother says: ‘I would like to possess that object’ and, without hesitation, he immediately represses it, he is not defiled. And if the one not so advanced should covet the object and en- tertain the thought in his mind but still does not take it, neither is he defiled.” It is no easy matter to identify one’s own or (a fortiori ) another’s limitations. Fine distinctions are to be made to arrive at a satis- factory conclusion, distinctions of which only a subtle discretion is capable. While there is little to be learnt from the Apophthegmata about what precisely the Fathers meant by discretion, there is one Father who has good deal to say about it: John Cassian (ca. 360–435). Although John was very much part of the eremitic tradition (there are eight sayings attributed to him in APalph, 244A–246D) in a number of important ways he was not as others were. Indeed he resembles Evagrius (whose disciple he was) more than any other of the Fathers. As a young man he enrolled as a monk at Bethlehem but within a few years (certainly after 385) he left for Egypt with his friend Germanus. For some time (maybe for as many as fourteen or as few as two years) he was at Scete and The Cells but in 399 or 400 he went to Constantinople. There he was raised to the diaconate by John Chrysostom who sent him on an embassy to the then Pope of Rome, Innocent I. John appears to have remained in the west for the rest of his life, mainly in Provence, where he founded two monasteries near Marseilles. Some time after 425 he produced the two works for which he is famous: the Institutes of the Coenobia (twelve books) and the Conferences (Conflationes) (twenty-four books). In these works he JOHN WORTLEY 643 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 sought to set out and adapt the theory and practice of Egyptian monachism for monks in Provence. Unlike the apophthegmata, John’s books are sustained discourses. They were written in Latin —which may have been his mother tongue, for he was probably born and raised in the west, possibly in Provence.12 Much of what he writes is put into the mouth of one or other of the Desert Fathers he had known in Egypt, or even one of their predeces- sors, e.g. Antony the Great (whom one of them claimed to have heard speaking.) But, bearing in mind that it must have been at least a quarter of a century since John had been in Egypt when he set himself to writing about the way they lived and taught there and that he was adapting his material to the needs of the west, the question arises of how accurately his work portrays Egyptian ideals. But after considering all the available evidence, Owen Chadwick concludes: “Cassian’s testimony therefore is not far from the original Egyptian tradition.”13 What then does John have to say about discretion? The second book of Conferences, “De discretione,” is entirely concerned with this topic, which has however already been broached at the end of the previous book. There Abba Moses of Scete engaged in a dialogue with Germanus (the friend of John) and one or more unnamed companions (of whom we are allowed to assume that John was one). Having spoken at length of the goal of the monk (de monachi destinatione vel fine) Moses goes on to say (Conf. 1.23.1): Tomorrow I want to tell you a little more about the excellence and grace of discretion (volo vobis adhuc super discretionis eximietate vel gratia) which among all the virtues holds the supreme and first place (quae inter cunctas virtutes arcem ac primatum tenet) and to dem- onstrate its excellence and usefulness not only by day-to-day examples but also by the ancient opinions and sayings of our fathers (excellentiamque eius et utilitatem non solum cotidinianis exemplis sed etiam antiquis patrum consultationibus ac sententiis adprobare). 12 Owen Chadwick, John Cassian, a Study in Primitive Monasticism2 (London 1968) 9. 13 John Cassian 13. 644 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 Next day Moses starts out by asserting that discretion “is not some small virtue nor one that can be attained by human effort along the way unless it be conferred by divine generosity” (est enim non mediocris quaedam virtus nec quae humana passim valeat in- dustria comprehendi, nisi divina fuerit largitate conlata, 2.1.3). “So you see,” he says a little later, “the gift of discretion is nothing earthly or of small account but the highest award of divine grace” (videtis ergo non terrenum nec parvum esse discretionis munus, sed divinae gratiae maximum praemium, 2.1.4). In accordance with his promise to illustrate his message with examples from the past, Moses goes on to recall how, as a young man, he once heard Antony the Great discussing the following question at great length: “What virtue, what obser- vance could always keep the monk protected from the snares and deceptions of the devil and bring him in a straight line and with a sure pace to the summit of perfection?” (2.2.1–2). An- tony’s response echoes his apophthegm quoted above (Antony 8): that some, having led lives of impeccable and severe asceti- cism, came to a bad end (detestabili fine concluserint), their lack of discretion having barred them from persevering to the end (2.2.3–4): One can see no other reason for their fall other than that they did not have the opportunity of being instructed by those of old time and were not able to acquire that virtue [sc. discretion] which, keeping itself distant from the two opposing extremes, teaches the monk always to proceed along the Royal Way, per- mitting one neither to diverge to the right (to exceed the limit of just self-control by excessive fervour and inappropriate self- advancement) nor to the left (to relaxation and vice under the pretext of ruling the body correctly in a slackness of spirit) (minus a senioribus instituti nequaquam potuerunt rationem discretionis adipisci, quae praetermittens utramque nimietatem via regia monachorum docet semper incedere et nec dextra virtutum permittit extolli). Prompted by many psalms, the ascetic endeavour is fre- quently referred to as “the way,” “the way of God,”14 and 14 E.g. εἰς τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ bis in N 248, 10.115, and “the strait and JOHN WORTLEY 645 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 rather magnificently as “the Royal Way” (to which Synkletike may have been making oblique reference with her “godly and royal askesis,” 639 above) This is a reference to a passage in Numbers: requesting permission to lead the Israelites through the land of Edom, Moses assures its king, “We will go along the Royal Way; we will not turn aside to the right side nor to the left until we have passed your borders” (ὁδῷ βασιλικϰῇ πορϱευσό- µεθα, οὐκϰ ἐκϰκϰλινοῦµεν δεξιὰ οὐδὲ εὐώνηµα ἕως ἂν παρϱέλθωµεν τὰ ὅρϱιά σου, Num 20:17, 21:22; cf. Prov 4:27). The idea ap- pealed to the desert-dwellers: “Abba Benjamin would say to his disciples: ‘Travel the Royal Way (ὁδῷ βασιλικϰῇ πορϱεύεσθε), count [“do not count” nn] the mile-posts and be not discour- aged’ ” (Benjamin 5, 145A, 7.5). When Abba Poemen advo- cated a moderate degree of fasting Abba Joseph commented: “Τhey gave us this way because it is royal and light”15 (παρϱέ- δωκϰαν ἡµῖν τὴν ὁδὸν ταύτην ὅτι βασιλικϰή ἐστι κϰαὶ ἐλαφρϱά, Poemen 31, 329C, 10.61). And at the conclusion of what may well be the most enigmatic item in the entire apophthegmatic canon, the writer concludes: “Let us guard against asking of God for more than we can handle and agreeing to do what we are in fact incapable of delivering. For it is better to travel the Royal Way by which (deviating neither to right nor to left) we will be able to be saved from this present wicked age, having humility in all things.”16 Sayings such as these may have been inspired by Basil of Caesarea (Basil the Great, ca. 330–379). In the fourth chapter of his Monastic Constitutions, headed “That one must adjust ab- stinence to the strength of the body” (ὅτι δεῖ τῇ δυνάµει τοῦ ___ narrow way” (Mt 7:14) in 10.116, N 249, Ammonas 1 124A. See also ἡ ἀληθινὴ ὁδός at the end of Poemen 8, 324B, 10.54. 15 Surely a subtle allusion to Christ who is the way (ἡ ὁδός, Jn 14:6) and whose burden is light (ἐλαφρϱόν, Mtt 11:30). 16 κϰαλὸν δὲ µᾶλλον τὴν βασιλικϰὴν ὁδεύειν ὁδὸν δι’ ἧς δυνησόµεθα µὴ ἐκϰκϰλίνοντες εἰς δεξιὰ ἢ εἰς ἀρϱιστερϱὰ σωθῆναι, N 620: J. Wortley, “A ‘Narratio’ of Rare Distinction: de monacho superbo,” AnalBol 100 (1982) 351– 363, and “De monacho superbo: BHG 1450x,” Florilegium 1 (1979) 126–139. 646 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 σώµατος µετρϱεῖν τὴν ἐγκϰρϱάτειαν, PG 31.1345D), he says: “It is appropriate for the ascetic to be detached from all conceit and to travel the truly middle and royal road, not at all inclining to either [side]: neither embracing relaxation nor disabling the body by excessive abstinence.”17 He makes a similar reference to Num 20:17, 21:22, in the Homily εἰς τὸ πρϱόσεχε σεαυτῷ: “If you are a traveller, pay heed to yourself like the one who prayed ‘Direct my steps’ [Ps 118:113], lest you turn aside from the way and incline to left or to right: travel the Royal Road.”18 John Cassian avers that it is by discretion that one discerns the Royal Way and by discretion that “we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left until we have passed your borders.” He makes Abba Moses assert that “the lamp of the body” in the Gospel (Mtt 6:2–23, Lk 11:34–36) is discretion (2.2.5) and give various examples, in the course of which he says: “For the parent, the guardian, and the moderator of all the virtues is discretion” (omnium namque virtutum generatrix, custos moderatrixque discretio est, 2.4.4). Three striking examples of the use of discretion follow, ending with the statement: “So you see how dangerous it is not to have discretion” (2.8). Germanus now asks a very pertinent question: “It is abundantly clear from these recent examples and the pro- nouncements of those of old time that discretion is the source and in a way the root of all virtues (fontem quodammodo radicemque cunctarum esse virtutum). We want to be taught in what way one 17 Const.ascet. 4.2 (PG 31.1349B): τύφου παντὸς ἀπηλλάχθαι πρϱοσήκϰει τὸν ἁσκϰετήν, κϰαὶ τὴν µέσην ὄντως κϰαὶ βασιλικϰὴν ὁδὸν πορϱευόµενον, ἐπὶ θάτε- ρϱα µηδαµῶς ἀποκϰλίνειν· µήτε τὴν ἄνεσιν ἀσπαζόµενον, µήτε τῇ ὑπερϱβολῇ τῆς ἐγκϰρϱατείας ἀχρϱειοῦντα τὸ σῶµα. 18 ὁδοιπόρϱος εἶ ὅµοιος τῷ εὐχόµενῳ· τὰ διαβήµατά µου κϰατεύθυνον. πρϱόσεχε σεαυτῷ µὴ παρϱατρϱαπῇς τῆς ὁδοῦ, µὴ ἐκϰκϰλίνῃς δεξιᾷ ἢ ἀρϱιστερϱᾷ· ὁδῷ βασιλικϰῇ πορϱεύου: L’Homélie de Basil de Césarée sur le mot ‘Observe-toi toi- même’, ed. Stig Y. Rudberg (Uppsala 1962) 29, PG 31.206C; English transl. (from PG) M. M. Wagner, Saint Basil: The Ascetical Works (New York 1950) 431–446. Further on (ch. 8) one is advised to devote his entire endeavour towards the upward journey, ὅλην ἔχειν τὴν ὁρϱµὴν πρϱὸς τὸν ἄνω πορϱείαν (Rudberg 36, PG 216C). JOHN WORTLEY 647 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 should acquire [discretion] or how it is possible to know whether things are true and godly or false and devilish” (2.9.1). Moses’ answer is formal (2.10.1): True discretion is not acquired other than by true humility. The first evidence of this humility is if everything, not only that which is to be done but also what is contemplated, be submitted to the judgement of the elders (seniorum reserventur examini) so that one trust nothing to one’s own judgement but acquiesce in their decisions in all things and learn from their tradition what he ought to judge to be right and wrong. “Therefore the footsteps of the elders should always be fol- lowed with closest attention and everything that arises in our hearts be brought to them without the veil of shame” (2.11.8)— but there follows a warning which found its way into APsys as an apophthegm (5.4, from Conf. 2.13): Abba Cassian said: “Abba Moses used to tell us: ‘It is good not to hide the logismoi but to declare them to spiritual and discern- ing elders (γέρϱουσι πνευµατικϰοῖς κϰαὶ διακϰρϱιτικϰοῖς); not to those who have only gone white with time, for many are they who, considering [a father’s] age, confess their own logismoi and, in- stead of healing, fall into despair on account of the inexperience (ἀπειρϱίαν) of the one hearing [the confession]. This point is made at some length (74 lines), leaving no doubt that, for John, discretion is in fact a habit of following in the footsteps of those who have gone before, not of exercising one’s own judgement. “For in this way we can easily attain the knowledge of true discretion (ad scientiam discretionis verae pervenire facillime poterimus): walking in the footsteps of the ancients, let us not presume either to do anything novel or to conclude any- thing by our own judgement" (neque agere quicquam novi neque discernere nostro iudicio praesumamus, 2.11.6). Thus John seems to be saying that while on the one hand we can “easily attain” (pervenire) discretion, on the other hand we must always have recourse to the counsel of the fathers to guide us rather than exercise a grace granted to the individual. “For by no other vice does the devil lead and draw the monk to a sudden death as when he persuades him to neglect the counsels of the elders 648 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 and to trust in his own judgement and his own understanding” (2.11.7). This however is not really consonant with a scriptural text (which John has himself previously quoted) that seems to say that discretion can grow in a person through experience: “Solid food is for full grown men who by reason of use [or: “trained by experience”] have their senses exercised to discern good and evil” (τῶν διὰ τὴν ἕξιν τὰ αἰσθητήρϱια γεγυµνασµένα ἐχόντων πρϱὸς διάκϰρϱισιν κϰαλοῦ τε κϰαὶ κϰακϰοῦ: Heb 5:14, Conf. 2.4.3). And in fact, elsewhere John concedes that this can be so for those well advanced in asceticism (Inst. 5.4.1): There is an old and admirable saying of blessed Antony [non inveni] that if after living in a coenobium a monk seek to attain a higher [degree of] perfection, having acquired the gift of discre- tion, he is then capable of relying on his own judgement and, attaining the summit of anachoresis, he does not in the least have to ask of one person, even the greatest, about any of all the vir- tues (et adprehenso discretionis examine proprio iam potens est stare iudicio atque ad arcem anachoreseos pervenire, minime debere ab uno quamvis sum- mo universa genera virtutum expetere). Later (5.36.1) he characterises anchorites as those who dwelling for a long time in coenobia, having been carefully and thoroughly instructed in the rule of patience and discretion, having mastered the virtues of both humility and poverty and having totally destroyed every vice, penetrate the deep recesses of the desert in order to engage in terrible combat with the demons. The dictum “Every effort should be made through the virtue of humility for the grace of discretion to be acquired (discretionis bonum … adquiri) which can keep us undamaged from either extreme” (Conf. 2.16.1) forms a bridge passage, assuring one that discretion is something that can be acquired and moving towards a more formal definition of what it is: “For there is an old saying: ἀκϰρϱότητες ἰσότητες, extremes meet each other.” The final section of this conference then proceeds to speak of fasting, using it as an example to illustrate the nature of discre- tion. For it is a simple fact that some people need more food and drink, also more sleep, than others, just as some can work harder and longer than others. Likewise for certain activities JOHN WORTLEY 649 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 there is a right time for some people that would be wrong for others. To deviate from the right path, either by (for instance) drinking too much or too little, is equally harmful and in the end the harm produces an equally noxious result. One who fasts too much will suffer malnutrition, he who eats too much will be in danger of losing his soul—and so forth. Discretion is what teaches a person to identify the way that is correct for him and to walk the tightrope between too much and too little. While the various sections of APsys do not by any means consist only of items clearly related to the stated topic of the section, they do for the most part contain a significant number of items clearly pertinent to that topic. Section ten appears to be an exception. If one were to be asked to read through its 194 items and then suggest what it was all about, he/she might be hard pressed to give an answer. This is explained in an apophthegm which is found in the Discretion-section of APanon (N 216–253) but not (together with N 253, 1.31) in APsys ch. 10 (N 225): An elder said: “This is the life of the monk: work, obedience, meditation, not judging, not back-biting …” [he runs the gamut of monastic morality] “nor to fill one’s belly, but to do every- thing with discretion (ἐν διακϰρϱίσει δὲ πάντα πρϱάττειν). In this the monk consists.” Here is the root of the matter: one can regard discretion as a virtue not unlike others, but it has this distinction: that it is universally applicable. The monk must “do everything with discretion”; discretion is required at all times and in every situ- ation. Discretion can be compared to history: on the one hand, history is a discreet discipline, but on the other hand it is uni- versal in that there is a history of all things. So it is by no means inappropriate that a section on discretion be the longest of all, for it is in the exercise of discretion that the σωφρϱοσύνη, the for- bearance and restraint characteristic of eremitic monachism, are truly revealed. And they are never more in evidence than when the demands on the capacity of the individual are being adjusted, e.g. Ammonas 4, 120BC, 10.20: 650 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 [Somebody asked]: “Three logismoi perplex me: whether to dwell in the desert, to go to a foreign land where nobody knows me, or to shut myself up in a cell, meeting nobody and eating every second day.” Abba Ammonas said to him: “It will not do you any good to do any one of the three. Do you rather remain in your cell, eat a little each day and always have in your heart what the Publican said [cf. Luke 18:13, “God be merciful to me a sinner”]—then you can be saved.” The ability of the discreet elder to adjust the “normal” rules to the needs of the individual (and indeed to go to the heart of the supposed “rules”) is well illustrated by this saying (Longinus 1, 256CD, 10.45): Abba Longinus asked Abba Lucian about three logismoi: “I want to live in a strange land.” The elder said to him: “Unless you hold your tongue wherever you go, you are no stranger. So hold your tongue here and you are a stranger.” He also said: “I want to fast every other day.” Abba Lucian said to him: “The prophet Isaiah said: ‘If you bend you neck like a bulrush, not even so will he call it an acceptable fast’ [Is 58:5]. Do you rather abstain from evil logismoi.” A third time he spoke to him: “I want to get away from people,” but he said to him: “Unless you first get it right with people, you will not be able to get it right living alone either.” Abba Poemen said: “There is a person who seems to keep silent while, in his heart, he is passing judgement on others. Such a person is speaking all the time. Another person is speaking from dawn to dusk yet maintains silence: I mean, he says noth- ing that is not beneficial” (Poemen 27, 349A, 10.75). Discretion can cut through appearances to the reality behind them: “Our mouth stinks from fasting; we have learnt the scriptures by heart; we have perfected [our knowledge of the Psalms of] David and yet we do not possess what God is looking for—fear, love, and humility” (N 222, 10.135). These and several other items like them appear to be saying that, while one can err to one side or the other, by attempting to do more or achieving less than one is capable of, one can also err in failing to perform in the right spirit, like not being in love and charity with one’s neighbour, e.g. Joseph of Panepho 4, 229AB, 10.40: JOHN WORTLEY 651 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 A brother asked Abba Joseph: “What am I to do, for I can neither endure distress nor work to provide charity?” The elder said to him: “If you can do neither of these things, keep your conscience clear with respect to your neighbour and refrain from all evil; then you will be saved, for God seeks the sinless soul.” Abba Poemen cuts to the quick: “There is a person carrying an axe who chops away the whole day long and does not succeed in getting the tree down. There is another person, experienced in felling, who brings the tree down with a few cuts,” and he used to say: “The axe is discretion“ (Poemen 52, 333CD, 10.88). This is illustrated in a hitherto unpublished anonymous tale of a monk in the Thebaid who led a life of utter asceticism, pursuing all the disciplines, eating a meal on Sundays only. The devil gave him to think that he excelled in fasting and ought now to perform miracles, but God inter- vened. The monk resolved to go to some experienced elder to receive divine guidance on how he might be saved (ὡς ἐκϰ Θεοῦ δέξοµαι ὁδηγίαν εἰς τὸ σωθῆναί µε). The elder sent him to buy a quantity of bread and wine then to sit quietly in his cell con- suming it. He obeyed, praying fervently; gradually he began to understand why it came about that he was living indiscrim- inately and as he pleased (εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς αἰτίας ἐλθὼν δι᾽᾿ ἣν συνέβη αὐτὸν ἀδιαφορϱῆσαι ὡς ἐνόµιζεν). Returning to the elder in due course, he received this sage advice:19 My son, God, the lover of mankind, watched over you and did not let the adversary get the better of you—for [the adversary] is ever accustomed to lead astray those directed towards virtue with fine-sounding words and to bring them to the pre- sumptuous state of mind. He also coerces them and leads them on to undertake high degrees of righteous activity (ἀναγκϰάζει τε αὐτοὺς κϰαὶ πρϱοτρϱέπεται µεγάλα µέτρϱα µετελθεῖν κϰατορϱθωµά- των) in order to bring them down this way. There is no sinful passion so abominable in the sight of God as pride: no righteous activity more honourable with him than that of humility. See both the examples of the Pharisee and the Publican [Lk 18:9– 19 N 641, BHG 1450y De monacho ad superbiam propenso. 652 DISCRETION: GREATER THAN ALL THE VIRTUES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 51 (2011) 634–652 14]; the extremes of both sides are so precarious (αἱ ἀκϰρϱότητες τοίνυν οὕτως ἐπισφαλεῖς ἑκϰατέρϱων µερϱῶν), for one of the elders said: “Excess is of the demons.” Follow then the Royal Way (as the Scripture says), deviating neither to left nor to right. Use moderation in feeding (τὰ ὑπέρϱµετρϱα τῶν δαιµόνων ἐστίν. ὁδῷ οὖν βασιλικϰῇ πορϱεύου κϰατὰ τὴν Γρϱαφήν, κϰαὶ µὴ ἐκϰκϰλίνῃς δεξιὰ ἢ ἀρϱιστερϱά [Num 20:17, 21:22], ἀλλὰ µεσότητι κϰέχρϱησο ἐν τῇ µεταλήψει) eating moderately (µέτρϱῳ) in the evening. But if need arise, do not scruple to break the time-limit; for suffering, or any other reason, you should set aside the appointed hour. And if it happens that you are eating again in the day [i.e. twice a day] do not scruple, for we are not under law but under grace. The concluding phrase echoes Paul’s οὐ γάρϱ ἐστε ὑπὸ νόµον ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ χάρϱιν (Rom 6:14) and, so far as this writer can discover, this is the only reference to that statement in the apo- phthegmata. This is unfortunate because here Paul unequivocally states precisely why the Christian (monk or worldling) is obliged to exercise discretion in his practice. September, 2011 Department of History University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada R3T 2N2 wortley@cc.umanitoba.ca