They used to say that Abba Sylvanus had in Scete a disciple whose name was Mark, and that he possessed to a great degree the faculty of obedience, he was a scribe, and the old man loved him greatly for his obedience. Sylvanus had eleven other disciples, and they were vexed because they saw that the old man loved Mark more than them. When the old men who were in Scete heard of this they were afflicted about it. One day when they came to him to reprove him about this, Sylvanus took them, went forth, and passed by the cells of the brethren. He knocked at the door of each cell, and said, “O brother, come forth, for I have need of you.” He passed by all their cells, and not one of them obeyed him quickly. But when they went to the cell of Mark, he knocked at the door and said, “Brother Mark.” As soon as Mark heard the voice of the old man, he jumped up straight way, and came out, and Sylvanus sent him off on some business. Then Sylvanus said to the old men, “My fathers, where are the other brethren?” They went into Mark’s cell, looked at the quire of the book which he was writing, and they saw that he had begun to write one side of the Greek letter o (or w). As soon as he heard the voice of his master, he ran out and did not stay to complete the other side of the letter. When the old men perceived these things, they answered, and said to Sylvanus, “Truly, O old man, we also love the brother whom you love, for God also loves him.”
