them
interested me more than Ammon. He described to me his journey to Rome,
the Catacombs, the Coliseum, the piety of illustrious women, and a
thousand other things. And yet I was unwilling to go away with him! How
came I to be so obstinate in clinging to this solitary life? It might
have been better for me had I stayed with the monks of Nitria when they
besought me to do so. They occupy separate cells, and yet communicate
with one another. On Sunday the trumpet calls them to the church, where
you may see three whips hung up, which are reserved for the punishment
of thieves and intruders, for they maintain very severe discipline.

"Nevertheless, they do not stand in need of gifts, for the faithful
bring them eggs, fruit, and even instruments for removing thorns from
their feet. There are vineyards around Pisperi, and those of Pabenum
have a raft, in which they go forth to seek provisions.

"But I should have served my brethren more effectually by being a simple
priest. I might succour the poor, administer the sacraments, and guard
the purity of domestic life. Besides, all the laity are not lost, and
there was nothing to prevent me from being, for example, a grammarian or
a philosopher. I should have had in my room a sphere made of reeds,
tablets always in my hand, young people around me, and a crown of laurel
suspended as an emblem over my door.

"But there is too much pride in such triumphs! Better be a soldier. I
was strong and courageous enough to manage engines of war, to traverse
gloomy forests, or, with helmet on head, to enter smoking cities. More
than this, there would be nothing to hinder me from purchasing with my
earnings the office of toll-keeper of some bridge, and travellers would
relate to me their histories, pointing out to me heaps of curious
objects which they had stowed away in their baggage.

"On festival days the merchants of Alexandria sail along the Canopic
branch of the Nile and drink wine from cups of lotus, to the sound of
tambourines, which make all the taverns near the river shake. Beyond,
trees, cut cone-fashion, protect the peaceful farmsteads against the
south wind. The roof of each house rests on slender columns running
close to one another, like the framework of a lattice, and, through
these spaces, the owner, stretched on a long seat, can gaze out upon his
grounds and watch his servants thrashing corn or gathering in the
vintage, and the cattle trampling on the straw. His children p