The abbot Theodore of Pherme had three fine codices. And he came to the abbot Macarius and said to him. “I have three codices, and I profit by the reading of them. And the brethren also come seeking to read them, and they themselves profit. Tell me, therefore, what I ought to do?” And the old man answering said, “These are good deeds: but better than all is to possess nothing.” And hearing this, he went away and sold the aforenamed codices, and gave the price of them to the needy.
