Gravy and Sauce

[Shin]

'Abba Achilles came one day to Abba Isaiah's cell at Scetis, and found him in the act of eating something. He had mixed it with salt and water on a plate.

The old man, seeing that he was hiding it behind some plaited reeds, said to him, "Tell me, what are you eating?"

He replied, "Forgive me, Father, I was cutting palm-leaves and I went out into the heat; and I put a morsel into my mouth, with some salt, but the heat burnt my throat and the mouthful did not go down. So I was obliged to add a little water to the salt, in order to swallow it. Forgive me, Father."

The old man said, "Come, all of you, and see Isaiah eating sauce in Scetis. If you want to eat sauce, go to Egypt."

- from the sayings of the Desert Fathers