And when he had finished sewing it, he said unto me, “Take this mat from my hands, so that thou mayest keep me in remembrance, for I have nothing else whatever to leave thee”; and having given it unto me he straightway died. And I wrapped his body in linen swathings, and buried him, and then I departed from the desert; and I shall treasure the mat as a sacred relic until the day of my death.
Now at the time of the death of this holy man Pambô there were standing before him certain famous men, Origen the priest and steward, and Ammonius, together with the remainder of the brethren, and they told [me] that at the time of his death, he said, “From the day wherein I came into this desert and built this cell in which I have lived [until this day] I know not that I have [ever] eaten the bread of idleness (or bread) which did not come from the labour of mine own hands; and my soul repenteth not that I have ever spoken an empty word in my life; thus I go to God like one who hath, as yet, not made a beginning in the fear of God.” And Origen and Ammonius, the servants of Christ, in telling us the story of his life, bore witness concerning him that he was never asked a question by any man about a saying from the Book, or about the rules and labours of the ascetic life which he did not either answer immediately, or say, “I have not as yet understood the matter.” Now there were times when he spake these words [only] after three months’ consideration of a matter; and he used to make answer with such understanding that every man received the things which were said by him with as great reverence as if they had [been said] by God. Now this excellence was also attributed to Anthony the Great and to the rest of the holy men. Among other things which are said concerning the holy man Pambô is the following. The blessed man Pîôr once went to Pambô’s cell and took with him some bread, and Pambô made a complaint, saying unto him, “Why hast thou done this?” Then Abbâ Pîôr made answer, saying, “Let [this thing] be not grievous unto thee”; but Pambô was silent and sent him away. And after some time Rabbâ Pambô went to the cell of Abbâ Pîôr, and he took with him bread which had been dipped in water; and being asked, “Why hast thou done this?” the blessed man Pambô said unto him, “Let it not be grievous unto thee that I have also dipped the bread in water.”
