Kontent from the Kindle
Are there half-monks, fish who must hurry to the sea half the time? All must withdraw on occasion, hence the strong allure of the poustinia, but must some withdraw more often than others?
"Nevertheless–or rather, precisely because of this charitable activity, which brought such abundant blessings–the hermit was drawn again and again to seclusion. He had to flee the crowd, as even the Divine Redeemer did, so as to regain his strength, humanly speaking, and to be completely united with his Father. Once when he was called down from the mountain, this time by a general, Anthony explained the necessity of solitude for a monk in these words: 'Just as fish die if they stay too long on dry land, monks also grow feeble if they stay too long with you and loiter among you. Like fish hurrying to the sea, therefore, we too must hurry back to the mountain or we will stay too long and forget what is within [i.e., the interior life]'" Peter H. Görg, The Desert Fathers: Saint Anthony and the Beginnings of Monasticism.
