Story
We know nothing of Abba Alinos, or Alonis, except for a few sayings recorded among the sayings of the desert fathers, including:
Whoever does not say, "There is none in the whole universe except God and me," will not find rest (meaning that he does not do anything to please a man at the expense of the truth).
It was said of Abba Alonis that he was once serving while the brethren sat with him praising him, yet he gave them no answer at all. So one of them said to him, "Why do you not answer the fathers when they question you?" He said, "If I were to answer them, I would become like one who accepts praise."
He also said, "If I had not utterly demolished myself, I would not have been able to rebuild myself anew."
If a man wills, he can in a single day, from morning until evening, attain to the divine stature (bear the divine likeness).
A brother asked Abba Alonis, "What does it mean for a man to despise himself?" The elder said to him, "It means that he sees himself as lower than the beasts, remembering that they are not judged."
If I had not utterly torn myself down, I would not have built myself up.
Finally, there is recorded a conversation between him and Abba Agathon, when the latter asked him how he could refrain from speaking any lie. He answered him that if he were to refrain entirely, he might expose himself to many sins, giving as an example that if he were to see two men going off to commit a crime, and one of them hid himself with him, then if he were asked about him and revealed him, he would expose him to being killed. [Perhaps he means by this that it is not fitting for us, without discernment, to disclose what others have entrusted to us of their secrets on the pretext that we do not lie; for example, if a priest were asked about a particular confession, he has no right to divulge it.]