Abba Amoun of Nitria ca. 295-353

‘When I am obliged to speak to my neighbor, do you prefer me to speak of the Scriptures or of the sayings of the Fathers?’ The old man [Abba Poemen the Great] answered him, ‘If you can’t be silent, you had better talk about the sayings of the Fathers than about the Scriptures; it is not so dangerous.’ (The Saying of the Desert Fathers, Abba Amoun: 2)