And it came to pass that another brother was buried by a fall of earth when he was digging a well.
And another died of want of water as he was coming from Scete.
And in addition to these [we wished to learn] concerning the matter of Stephen, which ought not to be spoken about, for he fell into foul lasciviousness.
And [we asked] concerning Eucarpius, and those which concerned Hero the Alexandrian, and the Palestinian, and Ptolemy the Egyptian, who were in Scete. And we were asking among ourselves the question, “What is the reason why men live lives of this kind in the desert, whereby some receive injury mentally, and some are ensnared by lasciviousness?” Whereupon Paphnutius, that man of great learning, made answer unto us in the following words, saying, “All the various things which take place in the world must be divided into two categories, for some happen through the direct Will of God, and the others by His permission only; the things which are wrought to the praise of God, especially happen by the direct desire of God, but all those which appertain to loss (or injury), and danger, and to matters which produce tribulation take place by the permission of God. Now permission ariseth from a fault on the part of the mind. For it is impossible for the man who thinketh rightly to fall into foul sins, or into the error which ariseth from the devils, for all of these take place through a corrupt intent (or disposition), and through the [love of the] approval of the children of men, and by the daring of the thoughts, [which] hope to make perfect spiritual excellence. Such men fall into reprehensible wickedness, and God permitteth them so to do, that they may be a help unto others, that when they feel the difference which hath come upon them through this permission, they may remember themselves and may turn again unto spiritual excellence, either that which existeth in the mind, or that which existeth in deeds. And sometimes it is the mind which sinneth, that is to say, when that sin which taketh place is committed with evil intent; and sometimes it is the deeds themselves which must be rejected, as, for example, when they are performed in a manner which is quite beyond everything which is right and seemly, and this latter case happeneth frequently. Thus a man of lust will, with corrupt design, give alms unto young women in order that he may fulfil his foul desire, even though at the beginning he may say, ‘It is a beautiful act for us to offer help to the maiden who is an orphan, and alone [in the world] and in misery.’ ”
