How to Quarrel Like a Monk

Br. Monday doesn’t know what he would do with a brick, but he still wants it.

Two hermits lived together for many years without a quarrel. One said to the other, “Let’s have a quarrel with each other, as is the way of men.” The other answered, “I don’t know how a quarrel happens.” The first said, “Look here, I put a brick between us, and I say, That’s mine. Then you say, No, it’s mine. That is how you quarrel.” So they put a brick between them, and one of them said, “That’s mine.” The other said, “No; it’s mine.” He answered, “Yes, it’s yours. Take it away.” They were unable to argue with each other.

Source: The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

I think we all know who the real winner is. The monk with the brick.