Someone asked Abba Agathon, “Which is better, bodily asceticism or interior vigilance?” The old man replied, “Man is like a tree, bodily asceticism is the foliage, interior vigilance is the fruit. According to that which is written, ‘Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’ (Matt 3:10). It is clear that all our care should be directed toward the fruit, that is to say, guard the spirit; but it needs the protection and the embellishment of the foliage, which is bodily asceticism.”
