Abba John the Dwarf said, 'a house is not built by geginning at the top and
working down. You must begin with the fundations in order to reach the top.
They siad to him, 'What does this saying mean?' He said, 'The foundation is
our neighbour, whom we must win, and that is the place to begin. For all the
commandments of Christ depend on this one.'

Abba Poemen said that Abba John said that the saints are like a group of
trees, each bearing different fruit, but watered from the same source. The
practices of one saint differ from those of another, but it is the same Spirit
that works in all of them.

Abba John said to his brother, 'Even if we are entirely despised in the eyes
of men, let us rejoice that we are honoured in the sight of God.'