Struggling with logismoi

We have learnt, after much observation, to recognize the difference between angelic thoughts, human thoughts, and thoughts that come from demons...Evagrius Ponticus...Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts

"Alone of all the intelligences, Christ was faithful in His contemplation of the Divine. He, the healer and educator, shows men — or more precisely, the logikoi — the way back to their original innocence. It was against this background that Evagrios describes the ascetical and mystical processes (praktike); the struggle against the devil, control of the imagination, warfare against the eight passions (pride, hate, anger, lust, etc.), the acquisition of dispassion (apatheia), reaching beyond the physical world with spiritual knowledge of gnosis. The logikos or superior element of the self (with its "spiritual body"), having been enlightened by the knowledge (gnosis) of God, the supreme Intelligence, escaping the world and the apokatastasis returns to the primordial unity (the Henad)"....COMMENTARY ON THE PHILOKALIA: THE CONDEMNATION OF EVAGRIOS PONTICOS...by Archbishop Lazar Puhalo

Evagrius Ponticus developed a comprehensive list in 375 AD of eight evil thoughts (logismoi) or eight terrible temptations, from which all sinful behavior springs. This list was intended to serve a diagnostic purpose: to help readers identify the process of temptation, their own strengths and weaknesses, and the remedies available for overcoming temptation.

The eight patterns of evil thought are:

• gluttony
• fornication
• avarice
• sorrow
• discouragement
• anger
• vainglory
• and pride.

Some two centuries later in 590 AD, Gregory the Dialogist would revise this list to form the more commonly known Seven Deadly Sins, where St. Gregory the Great rolled acedia (discouragement) & tristitia (sorrow) into a newly defined sin of Sloth; Vainglory a part of Pride; and added Envy to the newly defined "Seven Deadly Sins". ...Wikipedia

"Building on an age-old tradition of spiritual counseling, the Eastern Orthodox churches have taken a lead in integrating exorcism and psychotherapy. Spiritual counselors perform exorcism to dispel logismoi, or what are variously depicted as demons, elementals, or negative thoughtforms. They recognize that logismoi can cause a variety of psychological conditions from mild neurosis to severe psychosis; in turn psychosis can manifest in physical pathologies. The existence of logismoi has almost entirely been dismissed in the west. To be sure, Jesus and apostles are reported to have driven out “demons;” but modern western scholars have tended to explain them away as figments of ignorant superstitions, predisposition to sin, primitive understanding of the cause of sickness, or unspecified mental illness. Similarly, reports that the early desert fathers, like Anthony of Egypt, confronted demons are dismissed as isolation-driven hallucinations or the side-effects of sexual frustration. Eastern Chrisitanity has always taken the existence of demons more seriously, and in consequence its healing ministry is more comprehensive."....Christianity: the One, the Many, Volume 2...by John F. Nash

• Evagrius Ponticus (345 - 399)
• Defining Logismoi—From Evagrius to Brad Pitt
• How to Quiet Your Mind
• 6 Steps to Eliminate Limiting Beliefs
• How To Be Quiet and Stop Thinking

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Didymus the Blind (313 – 398)

Excerpts from
De Vitis Patrum, Book II
By Rufinus of Aquileia
Chapter XXIV
DIDYMUS

Among the seniors we also met a good man called Didymus in whom were many graces from God, as [the beauty of] his face showed. This man got rid of insects which lie on the earth in wait for the feet, such as scorpions, horned caterpillars (? cerastas quos cornutas vocant) and snakes which flourish in these places because of the heat of the sun, so that no one was ever stung by them.

Saint Didymus the Blind, lost his eyesight at the age of four, but due to his ardent desire for learning, invented the method of engraved writing for reading with his fingers, fifteen centuries before Braille. By this method, he learnt by heart the Holy Bible and the Church doctrines. He became dean of the School of Alexandria, and among his disciples were Saint Gregory of Nazienza, Saint Jerome, Rufinus and Palladius. In his dispute with the Arians, he conquered them. Saint Anthony said to Saint Didymus: "Do not be sad that you have no eyesight with which the animals, and even the insects, share, but remember that you have divine insight with which you can see the light of divinity"...Coptic Church

Didymus the Blind (c. 313 – 398) was a Coptic Church theologian of Alexandria, whose famous Catechetical School he led for about half a century. He became blind at a very young age, and therefore ignorant of the rudiments of learning. Yet, he displayed such a miracle of intelligence as to learn perfectly dialectics and even geometry, sciences which especially require sight.

Didymus wrote many works: Commentaries on all the Psalms, the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of John as Against the Arians, and On the Holy Spirit, which Jerome translated into Latin. He also wrote on Isaiah, Hosea, Zechariah, Job, and many other topics.

Didymus’ biblical commentaries (supposedly on nearly all the books of the Bible) survive in fragments only, and those on the Catholic Letters are of dubious authenticity. He is probably the author of a treatise on the Holy Spirit that is extant in Latin translation...Wikipedia

Didymus the Blind, of Alexandria, b. about 310 or 313; d. about 395 or 398, at the age of eighty-five. Didymus lost the use of his eyes when four years old, yet he became one of the most learned men of his period. He prayed earnestly in his youth, we are told by Rufinus, not for the sight of his bodily eyes, but for the illumination of the heart. He admitted to St. Anthony that the loss of his sight was a grief to him; the saint replied that he wondered how a wise man could regret the loss of that which he had in common with ants and flies and gnats, and not rather rejoice that he possessed a spiritual sight like that of the saints and Apostles. St. Jerome indeed habitually spoke of him not at "the blind" but as "the Seer". Didymus studied with ardor, and his vigils were long and frequent, not for reading but for listening, that he might gain by hearing what others obtained by seeing. When the reader fell asleep for weariness, Didymus did not repose, but as it were chewed the cud (says Rufinus) of what he had heard, until he seemed to have inscribed it on the pages of his mind. Thus in a short time he amassed a vast knowledge of grammar, rhetoric, logic, music, arithmetic, and geometry, and a perfect familiarity with Holy Scripture. He was early placed at the head of the famous catechetical school of Alexandria, over which he presided for about half a century. St. Athanasius highly esteemed him. The orator Libanius wrote to an official in Egypt: "You cannot surely be ignorant of Didymus, unless you are ignorant of the great city wherein he has been night and day pouring out his learning for the good of others. He is similarly extolled by his contemporaries and by the historians of the following century, Rufinus was six years his pupil. Palladius visited him four times in ten years (probably 388-398). Jerome came to him for a month in order to have his doubts resolved with regard to difficult passages of Scripture. Later ages have neglected this remarkable man. He was a follower of Origen, and adopted many of his errors. Consequently when St. Jerome quarrelled with Rufinus and made war on Origenism, he ceased to boast of being a disciple of Didymus and was ashamed of the praise he had formerly given to the "Seer". When Origen was condemned by Justinian and then by the Fifth General Council, Didymus was not mentioned. But he was anathematized together with Evagrius Ponticus in the edict by which the Patriarch Eutychus of Constantinople gave effect to the decree of the council; and he was (perhaps in consequence of this) included in the condemnation of the Origenists by the sixth and seventh councils. But this censure is to be taken as applying to his doctrine and not to his person. It has had the unfortunate effect of causing the loss to us of most of his very numerous writings, which, as the works of a supposed heretic, were not copied in the Middle Ages.

Didymus always remained a layman. The idea that he was married rests on a mistaken identification of him with a Didymus to whom one of the letters of St. Isadore of Pelusium is addressed. He seemed on the contrary to have lived the life of an ascetic, although in the city and not in the desert. A curious story was told by him to Palladius. One day, when dwelling on the thought of Julian as a persecutor, and on this account having taken no food, he fell asleep in his chair and saw white horses running in different directions, while the riders cried out, "Tell Didymus, today at the seventh hour Julian died; arise and eat, and inform Athanasius the bishop, that he may also know it." Didymus noted the hour and the month and the week, and it was even so...Didymus the Blind

Didymus the Blind (born ~313, died ~398 CE Alexandria)

Didymus the blind was a celebrated head of the catechetical school at Alexandria. Although he was a layman and had become blind at the age of 4, he memorized great sections of the scriptures and, by means of secretaries, dictated numerous exegetical works. Among those holding him in great esteem were Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, who made him head of the Alexandrian school; and Jerome, who acknowledged Didymus as his master. Jerome later retracted, however, when the issue of Origenism became the subject of a heated controversy that subsequently culminated in the second Council (553) of Constantinople, in which Didymus' works - but not his person - were condemned for teaching Origenist doctrine. Because of this condemnation, most of his works were not copied during the Middle Ages and thus were lost...The Development of the Canon of the New Testament

"Origen’s work in the fields of exegesis and mystical theology was continued by St. Didymus the Blind. According to Socrates, St. Didymus wrote a defense and exposition of Origen’s De Principiis, of which nothing is extant. He dared to defend Origen and his work as entirely orthodox. He endeavored to show that Origen had been misunderstood by simple people who could not grasp his ideas. St. Jerome reports that Didymus gave an orthodox interpretation of Origen’s Trinitarian doctrine but accepted without hesitation his other errors regarding the sin of the angels, the pre-existence of souls, the apokatastasis. No wonder then that in the sixth and following centuries he was condemned as a believer in the pre-existence of the soul and in the apokatastasis. In 553 A.D the Chalcedonians anathematized him together with Origen and Evagrius Ponticus for these doctrines in the Council of Constantinople.

St. Didymus taught St. Gregory of Nazianzen (329-389 A.D), Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 345-410 A.D), and St. Jerome (c. 342-420 A.D), three figures who spread Origen’s influence and preserved his works."...Origen and Origenism...Coptic Orthodox Church Network

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The Hermit Life and Mental Health

• Did Evagrius Ponticus (AD 346–99) have obsessive–compulsive disorder? by Jonathan Hill, Journal of Medical Biography, Vol. 18:49-56, 2010
  "Evagrius Ponticus was one of the most important and influential spiritual writers in the early Christian church. This author argues that he suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder: in particular, the demonic ‘thoughts’ which he repeatedly describes meet all the criteria for obsessions. If this is true, it offers a new perspective on the relation between pastoral theology and psychiatric disorders: the spiritual tradition which Evagrius helped found may, as a result, have tended to exacerbate such symptoms in others, but it also possessed the resources to address them in a practical way."
• Was St. Anthony Crazy?: visionary experiences of the desert fathers...by Greg Mahr In IMAGINATION AND ITS PATHOLOGIES, MIT Press 2003.
  "...To consider Anthony's visions purely as a product of depressive psychosis is inconsistent with the descriptions of his cheerful demeanor. The contagious quality of his visions and the power they had to influence others are also difficult to explain according to a depressive model.
  
  This very power of Anthony's visions and the influence he had over Western culture for centuries suggest not only the weak claim that Anthony was not delirious, crazy, or sick but the stronger claim that his visions gave him powerful insight. His insight, colored by his visions, resonated so powerfully in the culture as a whole that he was able to reshape that culture. His visionary experiences must not only be de-pathologized but reconsidered as examples of human creative power."

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Abba Philimon...Excerpts from The Philokalia

Abba Philimon

(? 6th – 7th Century)

(Volume 2, pp. 343-357)

Introductory Note

The Discourse that follows, unlike most of the material in the Philokalia, is narrative in form; doubtless it was included by the editors because of the long and important passages on inward meditation and on watchfulness. Apart from what is recorded in the present text, nothing is known about Abba Philimon. The Discourse, while stating that he lived in Egypt and was a priest, provides no clear indication of his date. Certainly he was earlier than the twelfth century, since the Discourse is mentioned by St Peter of Damaskos. Egypt seems in Philimon's day to be still part of the Roman Empire, which suggests that he lived in the sixth century, or at the latest in the early seventh just before the Arab conquest.[1] The Jesus Prayer is cited by Philimon in what has come to be regarded as its standard form, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me': the Discourse seems to be the earliest source to cite explicitly this precise formula.

[1] Hieromonk [now Archbishop] Basile Krivocheine, 'Date du texte traditionnel de la “Priere de Jesus”,’ Messager de I'Exarchat du Patriarche russe en Europe occidentale 7-8 (1951), pp. 55-59; I. Hausherr, The Noine of Jesus, trans. by C. Cummings (Cistercian Studies Series 44: Kalamazoo, 1978), pp. 270-7.

A Discourse on Abba Philimon

It is said that Abba Philimon, the anchorite, lived for a long time enclosed in a certain cave not far from the Lavra of the Romans. There he engaged in the life of ascetic struggle, always asking himself the question which, it is reported, the great Arsenios used to put to himself: ‘Philimon, why did you come here?’ He used to plait ropes and make baskets, giving them to the steward of the Lavra in exchange for a small ration of bread. He ate only bread and salt, and even that not every day. In this way he took no thought for the flesh (cf. Rom. 13:14) but, initiated into ineffable mysteries through the pursuit of contemplation, he was enveloped by divine light and established in a state of joyfulness. When he went to church on Saturdays and Sundays he walked alone in deep thought, allowing no one to approach him lest his concentration should be interrupted. In church he stood in a comer, keeping his face turned to the ground and shedding streams of tears. For, like the holy fathers, and especially like his great model Arsenios, he was always full of contrition and kept the thought of death continually in his mind.

When a heresy arose in Alexandria and the surrounding area, Philimon left his cave and went to the Lavra near that of Nikanor. There he was welcomed by the blessed Paulinos, who gave him his own retreat and enabled him to follow a life of complete stillness. For a whole year Paulinos allowed absolutely no one to approach him, and he himself disturbed him only when he had to give him bread.

On the feast of the holy resurrection of Christ, Philimon and Paulinos were talking when the subject of the eremitical state came up. Philimon knew that Paulinos, too, aspired to this state; and with this in mind he implanted in him teachings taken from Scripture and the fathers that emphasized, as Moses had done, how impossible it is to conform to God without complete stillness; how stillness gives birth to ascetic effort, ascetic effort to tears, tears to awe, awe to humility, humility to foresight, foresight to love; and how love restores the soul to health and makes it dispassionate, so that one then knows that one is not far from God.

He used to say to Paulinos: ‘You must purify your intellect completely through stillness and engage it ceaselessly in spiritual work. For just as the eye is attentive to sensible things and is fascinated by what it sees, so the purified intellect is attentive to intelligible realities and becomes so rapt by spiritual contemplation that it is hard to tear it away. And the more the intellect is stripped of the passions and purified through stillness, the greater the spiritual knowledge it is found worthy to receive. The intellect is perfect when it transcends knowledge of created things and is united with God: having then attained a royal dignity it no longer allows itself to be pauperized or aroused by lower desires, even if offered all the kingdoms of the world. If, therefore, you want to acquire all these virtues, be detached from every man, flee the world and sedulously follow the path of the saints. Dress shabbily, behave simply, speak unaffectedly, do not be haughty in the way you walk, live in poverty and let yourself be despised by everyone. Above all, guard the intellect and be watchful, patiently enduring indigence and hardship, and keeping intact and undisturbed the spiritual blessings that you have been granted. Pay strict attention to yourself, not allowing any sensual pleasure to infiltrate. For the soul’s passions are allayed by stillness; but when they are stimulated and aroused they grow more savage and force us into greater sin; and they become hard to cure, like the body’s wounds when they are scratched and chafed. Even an idle word can make the intellect forget God, the demons enforcing this with the compliance of the senses.

‘Great struggle and awe are needed to guard the soul. You have to divorce your self from the whole world and sunder your soul’s affection for the body. You have to become citiless, homeless, possessionless, free from avarice, from worldly concerns and society, humble, compassionate, good, gentle, still, ready to receive in your heart the stamp of divine knowledge. You cannot write on wax unless you have first expunged the letters written on it. Basil the Great teaches us these things.

‘The saints were people of this kind. They were totally severed from the ways of the world, and by keeping the vision of heaven unsullied in themselves they made its light shine by observing the divine laws. And having mortified their earthly aspects (cf. Col. 3:5) through self-control and through awe and love for God, they were radiant with holy words and actions. For through unceasing prayer and the study of the divine Scriptures the soul’s noetic eyes are opened, and they see the King of the celestial powers, and great joy and fierce longing bum intensely in the soul; and as the flesh, too, is taken up by the Spirit, man becomes wholly spiritual. These are the things which those who in solitude practice blessed stillness and the strictest way of life, and who have separated themselves from all human solace, confess openly to the Lord in heaven alone.’

When the good brother heard this, his soul was wounded by divine longing; and he and Abba Philimon went to live in Sketis where the greatest of the holy fathers had pursued the path of sanctity. They settled in the Lavra of St John the Small, and asked the steward of the Lavra to see to their needs, as they wished to lead a life of stillness. And by the grace of God they lived in complete stillness, unfailingly attending church on Saturdays and Sundays but on other days of the week staying in their cells, praying and fulfilling their rule.

The rule of the holy Elder was as follows. During the night he quietly chanted the entire Psalter and the Biblical canticles, and recited part of the Gospels. Then he sat down and intently repeated ‘Lord have mercy’ for as long as he could. After that he slept, rising towards dawn to chant the First Hour. Then he again sat down, facing eastward, and alternately chanted psalms and recited by heart sections of the Epistles and Gospels. He spent the whole day in this manner, chanting and praying unceasingly, and being nourished by the contemplation of heavenly things. His intellect was often lifted up to contemplation, and he did not know if he was still on earth.

His brother, seeing him devoted so unremittingly to this rule and completely transformed by divine thoughts, said to him: ‘Why, father, do you exhaust yourself so much at your age, disciplining your Body and bringing it into subjection?’ (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27). And he replied: ‘Believe me, my son, God has placed such love for my rule in my soul that I lack the strength to satisfy the longing within me. Yet longing for God and hope of the blessings held in store triumph over bodily weakness.’ Thus at all times, even when he was eating, he raised his intellect up to the heavens on the wings of his longing.

Once a certain brother who lived with him asked him; ‘What is the mystery of contemplation?’ Realizing that he was intent on learning, the Elder replied: ‘I tell you, my son, that when one’s intellect is completely pure, God reveals to him the visions that are granted to the ministering powers and angelic hosts.’ The same brother also asked: ‘Why, father, do you find more joy in the psalms than in any other part of divine Scripture? And why, when quietly chanting them, do you say the words as though you were speaking with someone?’ And Abba Philimon replied: ‘My son, God has impressed the power of the psalms on my poor soul as He did on the soul of the prophet David. I cannot be separated from the sweetness of the visions about which they speak: they embrace all Scripture.’ He confessed these things with great humility, after being much pressed, and then only for the benefit of the questioner.

A brother named John came from the coast to Father Philimon and, clasping his feet, said to him: ‘What shall I do to be saved? For my intellect vacillates to and fro and strays after all the wrong things.’ After a pause, the father replied: ‘This is one of the outer passions and it stays with you because you still have not acquired a perfect longing for God. The warmth of this longing and of the knowledge of God has not yet come to you.’ The brother said to him: ‘What shall I do, father?’ Abba Philimon replied; ‘Meditate inwardly for a while, deep in your heart; for this can cleanse your intellect of these things.’ The brother, not understanding what was said, asked the Elder: ‘What is inward meditation, father?’ The Elder replied: ‘Keep watch in your heart; and with watchfulness say in your mind with awe and trembling “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me.” For this is the advice which the blessed Diadochos gave to beginners.

The brother departed; and with the help of God and the Elder’s prayers he found stillness and for a while was filled with sweetness by this meditation. But then it suddenly left him and he could, not practice it or pray watchfully. So he went again to the Elder and told him what had happened. And the Elder said to him: ‘You have had a brief taste of stillness and inner work, and have experienced the sweetness that comes from them. This is what you should always be doing in your heart: whether eating or drinking, in company or outside your cell, or on a journey, repeat that prayer with a watchful mind and an undeflected intellect; also chant, and meditate on prayers and psalms. Even when carrying out needful tasks, do not let your intellect be idle but keep it meditating inwardly and praying. For in this way you can grasp the depths of divine Scripture and the power hidden in it, and give unceasing work to the intellect, thus fulfilling the apostolic commando “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Pay strict attention to your heart and watch over it, so that it does not give admittance to thoughts that are evil or in any way vain and useless. Without interruption, whether asleep or awake, eating, drinking, or to company, let your heart inwardly and mentally at times be meditating on the psalms, at other times be repeating the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me.” And when you chant, make sure that your mouth is not saying one thing while your mind is thinking about another.’

Again the brother said: ‘In my sleep I see many vain fantasies.’ And the Elder said to him: ‘Don’t be sluggish or neglectful. Before going to sleep, say many prayers in your heart, fight against evil thoughts and don’t be deluded by the devil’s demands; then God will receive you into His presence. If you possibly can, sleep only after reciting the psalms and after inward meditation. Don’t be caught off your guard, letting your mind admit strange thoughts; but lie down meditating on the thought of your prayer, so that when you sleep it may be conjoined with you and when you awake it may commune with you (cf. Prov. 6:22). Also, recite the holy Creed of the Orthodox faith before you fall asleep. For true belief in God is the source and guard of all blessings.’

On another occasion the brother asked Abba Philimon: ‘In your love, father, explain to me the work in which your intellect is engaged. Then I too may be saved.’ And the Elder said: ‘Why are you curious about these things?’ The brother got up and, clasping and kissing the saint’s feet, he begged for an answer. After a long time, the Elder said: ‘You cannot yet grasp it: for only a person established in righteousness can give to each of the senses the work proper to it. And you have to be completely purged of vain worldly thoughts before you are found worthy of this gift. So if you want such things, practice the inward meditation with a pure heart. For if you pray ceaselessly and meditate on the Scriptures, your soul’s noetic eyes are opened, and there is great joy in the soul and a certain keen and ineffable longing, even the flesh being kindled by the Spirit, so that the whole man becomes spiritual. Whether it is at night or during the day that God grants you the gift of praying with a pure intellect, undistractedly, put aside your own rule, and reach towards God with all your strength, cleaving to Him. And He will illumine your heart about the spiritual work which you should undertake.’ And he added: ‘A certain elder once came to me and, on my asking him about the state of his intellect, he said: “For two years I entreated God in my whole heart, unremittingly asking Him to imprint in my heart continuously and undistractedly the prayer which He Himself gave to His disciples; and seeing my struggle and patient endurance, the munificent Lord granted me this request.” ‘

Abba Philimon also said this: ‘Thoughts about vain things are sicknesses of an idle and sluggish soul. We must, then, as Scripture enjoins, guard our intellect diligently (cf. Prov. 4:23), chanting undistractedly and with understanding, and praying with a pure intellect. God wants us to show our zeal for Him first by our outward asceticism, and then by our love and unceasing prayer; and He provides the path of salvation. The only path leading to heaven is that of complete stillness, the avoidance of all evil, the acquisition of blessings, perfect love towards God and communion with Him in holiness and righteousness. If a man has attained these things he will soon ascend to the divine realm. Yet the person who aspires to this realm must first mortify his earthly aspects (cf. Col. 3:5). For when our soul rejoices in the contemplation of true goodness, it does not return to any of the passions energized by sensual or bodily pleasure; on the contrary, it turns away from all such pleasure and receives the manifestation of God With a pure and undefiled mind.

‘It is only after we have guarded ourselves rigorously, endured bodily suffering and purified the soul, that God comes to dwell in our hearts, making it possible for us to fulfill His commandments without going astray. He Himself will then teach us how to hold fast to His laws;’ sending forth His own energies, like rays of the sun, through the grace of the Spirit implanted in us. By way of trials and sufferings we must purify the divine image in us in accordance with which we possess intelligence and are able to receive understanding and the likeness to God; for it is by reforging our senses in the furnace of our trials that we free them from all defilement and assume our royal dignity. God created human nature a partaker of every divine blessing, able to contemplate spiritually the angelic choirs, the splendor of the dominions, the spiritual powers, principalities and authorities, the unapproachable light, and the refulgent glory. Should you achieve some virtue, do not regard yourself as superior to your brother, thinking that you have succeeded whereas he has been negligent; for this is the beginning of pride. Be extremely careful not to do anything simply in order to gain the esteem or goodwill of others. When you are struggling with some passion, do not flinch or become apathetic if the battle continues; but rise up and cast yourself before God, repeating with all your heart the prophet’s words, “0 Lord, judge those who injure me (Ps. 35:1. LXX); for I cannot defeat them.” And He, seeing your humility, will quickly send you His help. And when you are walking along the road with someone, do not indulge in idle talk, but keep your intellect employed in the spiritual work in which it was previously engaged, so that this work becomes habitual to it and makes it forget worldly pleasures, anchoring it in the harbor of dispassion.’

When he had taught the brother these and many other things, Abba Philimon let him go. But after a short time the brother came back to him and began questioning him, saying: ‘What must I do, father? During my night rule sleep weighs me down and does not allow me to pray with inner watchfulness, or to keep vigil beyond the regular period. And when I sing psalms, I want to take up manual work.’ Abba Philimon said: ‘When you are able to pray with inner watchfulness, do not engage in manual work. But if you are weighed down by listlessness, move about a little, so as to rid yourself of it, and take up manual work.’

The brother again asked him: ‘Father, are you not yourself weighed down by sleep while practicing your rule?’ He replied: ‘Hardly ever. But if sleep does sometimes lay hold on me a little, I move about and recite from the Gospel of John, from the beginning, turning the mind’s eyes towards God; and sleepiness at once disappears. I do the same with regard to evil thoughts: when such a thought comes, I encounter it like fire with tears, and it disappears. You cannot as yet defend yourself in this manner; but always meditate inwardly and say the daily prayers laid down by the holy fathers. By this I mean, try to recite the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Hours, Vespers and the night services. And, so far as you can, do nothing simply to gain the esteem or goodwill of others, and never bear ill will towards your brother, lest you separate yourself from God. Strive to keep your mind undistracted, always being attentive to your inner thoughts. When you are in church, and are going to partake of the divine mysteries of Christ, do not go out until you have attained complete peace. Stand in one place, and do not leave it until the dismissal. Think that you are standing in heaven, and that in the company of the holy angels you are meeting God and receiving Him in your heart. Prepare yourself with great awe and trembling, lest you mingle with the holy powers unworthily.’ Arming the brother with these counsels and commending him to the Lord and to the Spirit of His grace (cf. Acts 20:32), Abba Philimon let him go.

The brother who lived with the Abba also related the following:

‘Once, as I sat near him, I asked him whether he had been tempted by the wiles of the demons while dwelling in the desert. And he replied: “Forgive me, brother; but if God should let the temptations to which I have been subjected by the devil come to you, I do not think you would be able to bear their venom. I am in my seventieth year, or older. Enduring a great number of trials while dwelling in extreme stillness in solitary places, I was much tempted and suffered greatly. But nothing is to be gained by speaking of such bitter things to people who as yet have no experience of stillness. When tempted, I always did this: I put all my hope in God, for it was to Him that I made my vows of renunciation. And He at once delivered me from all my distress. Because of this, brother, I no longer take thought for myself. I know that He takes thought for me, and so I bear more lightly the trials that come upon me. The only thing I offer from myself is unceasing prayer. I know that the more the suffering, the greater the reward for him who endures it. It is a means to reconciliation with the righteous Judge.


‘”Aware of this, brother, do not grow slack. Recognize that you are fighting in the thick of the battle and that many others, too, are fighting for us against God’s enemy. How could we dare to fight against so fearful an enemy of mankind unless the strong right arm of the Divine Logos upheld us, protecting and sheltering us? How could human nature ‘withstand his ploys? ‘Who’, says Job, ‘can strip off his outer garment? And who can penetrate the fold of his breastplate? Burning torches pour from his mouth, he hurls forth blazing coals. Out of his nostrils come smoke of burning soot, with the fire of charcoal. His breath is charcoal, a flame comes from his mouth, power lodges in his neck. Destruction runs before him. His heart is hard as stone, it stands like an unyielding anvil. He makes the deep boil like a cauldron; he regards the sea as a pot of ointment, and the nether deep as a captive. He sees every high thing; and he is king of all that is in the waters’ (Job 41:13, 19-22, 24, 31-32, 34. LXX). This passage describes the monstrous tyrant against whom we fight. Yet those who lawfully engage in the solitary life soon defeat him: they do not possess anything that is his; they have renounced the world and are resolute in virtue; and they have God fighting for them. Who has turned to the Lord with awe and has not been transformed in his nature? Who has illumined himself with the light of divine laws and actions, and has not made his soul radiant with divine intellections and thoughts? His soul is not idle, for God prompts his intellect to long insatiably for light. Strongly energized in this way, the soul is not allowed by the spirit to grow flabby with the passions; but like a king who, full of fire and fury against his enemies, strikes them mercilessly and never retreats, it emerges triumphant, lifting its hands to heaven through the practice of the virtues and the prayer of the intellect.” ‘

The same brother also spoke as follows about the Elder; ‘In addition to his other virtues, Abba Philimon possessed this characteristic: he would never listen to idle talk. If someone inadvertently said something which was of no benefit to the soul, he did not respond at all. When I went away on some duty, he did not ask: “Why are you going away?”; nor, when I returned, did he ask: “Where are you coming from?” Or “What have you been doing?” Once, indeed, I had to go to Alexandria by ship; and from there I went to Constantinople on a church matter. I said goodbye to the brethren at Alexandria, but told Abba Philimon nothing about my journey. After spending quite a time in Constantinople, I returned to him in Sketis. When he saw me, he was filled with joy and, after greeting me, he said a prayer. Then he sat down and, without asking me anything at all, continued his contemplation.

‘On one occasion, wanting to test him, for days I did not give him any bread to eat. And he did not ask for any, or say anything. After this I bowed low to him and said: “Tell me, father, were you distressed that I did not bring you your food, as I usually do?” And he replied: “Forgive me, brother, even if for twenty days you did not bring me any bread, I would not ask you for it: so long as my soul can last out, so can my body.” To such a degree was he absorbed in the contemplation of true goodness.’

‘He also used to say: “Since I came to Sketis, I have not allowed my thought to go beyond my cell; nor have I permitted my mind to dwell on anything except the fear of God and the judgment of the age to be; for I have meditated only on the sentence which threatens sinners, on the eternal fire and the outer darkness, on the state of the souls of sinners and of the righteous, and on the blessings laid up for the righteous, each receiving ‘his own payment for his own labor’ (1 Cor. 3:8); one for his growing load of suffering, another for his acts of compassion and for his unfeigned love, another for his total shedding of possessions and renunciation of the whole world, another for his humility and consummate stillness, another for his extreme obedience, another for his voluntary exile. Pondering these things, I constrain all ‘other thoughts; and I can no longer be with people or concern my intellect with them, lest I be cut off from more divine meditations.”



‘He also spoke of a certain solitary who had attained dispassion and used to receive bread from the hand of an angel; but he grew negligent and so was deprived of this honor. For when the soul slackens the intellect’s concentration, darkness comes over it. Where God does not illumine, everything is confused, as in darkness; and the soul is unable to look only at God and tremble at His words. “I am a God close at hand, says the Lord, not a distant God. Can a man hide himself in secret, and I not see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord” (Jer. 23:23-24. LXX). He also recalled many others who had similar experiences, among them Solomon. For Solomon, he said, had received such wisdom and been so glorified by men that he was like the morning-star and illumined all with the splendor of his wisdom; yet for the sake of a little sensual pleasure he lost that glory (cf. 1 Kings 11:1-11). Negligence is to be dreaded. We must pray unceasingly lest some thought comes and separates us from God, distracting our intellect from Him. For the pure heart, being completely receptive to the Holy Spirit, mirrors God in His entirety.

‘When I heard these things’, said the brother, ‘and saw his actions, I realized that all fleshly passions were inoperative in him. His desire was always fixed on higher things, so that he was continually transformed by the divine Spirit, sighing with “cries that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26), concentrating himself within himself, assessing himself, and struggling to prevent anything from clouding his mind’s purity and from defiling him imperceptibly.

‘Seeing all this and spurred to emulate his achievements, I was continually prompted to question him. “How, like you, can I acquire a pure intellect?” I asked. And he replied: “You have to struggle. The heart has to strive and to suffer. Things worth striving and suffering for do not come to us if we sleep or are indolent. Even earth’s blessings do not come to us without effort on our part. If you want to develop spiritually you must above all renounce your own will; you must acquire a heart that is sorrowful and must rid yourself of all possessions, giving attention not to the sins of others but to your own sins, weeping over them day and night; and you must not be emotionally attached to anyone. For a soul harrowed by what it has done and pricked to the heart by the memory of past sins, is dead to the world and the world to it; that is to say, all passions of the flesh become inoperative, and man becomes inoperative in relation to them. For he who renounces the world, ranging himself with Christ and devoting himself to stillness, loves God; he guards the divine image in himself and enriches his likeness to God, receiving from Him the help of the Spirit and becoming an abode of God and not of demons; and he acts righteously in God’s sight. A soul purified from the world and free from the defilements of the flesh, ‘having no spot or wrinkle’ (Eph. 5:27), will win the crown of righteousness and shine with the beauty of virtue.

‘ “But if when you set out On the path of renunciation there is no sorrow in your heart, no spiritual tears or remembrance of endless punishment, no true stillness or persistent prayer, no psalmody and meditation on the divine Scriptures; if none of these things has become habitual in you, so that whether you like it or not they are forced on you by the unremitting perseverance of the intellect; and if awe of God does not grow in your mind, then you are still attached to the world and your intellect cannot be pure when you pray. True devoutness and awe of God purify the soul from the’ passions, render the intellect free, lead it to natural contemplation, and make it apt for theology. This it experiences in the form of bliss, that provides those who share in it with a foretaste of the bliss held in store and keeps the soul in a state of tranquility.

‘ “Let us, then, do all we can to cultivate the virtues, for in this way we may attain true devoutness, that mental purity whose fruit is natural and theological contemplation. As a great theologian puts it, it is by practicing the virtues that we ascend to contemplation. Hence, if we neglect such practice we will be destitute of all wisdom. For even if we reach the height of virtue, ascetic effort is still needed in order to curb the disorderly impulses of the body and to keep a watch on our thoughts. Only thus may Christ to some small extent dwell in us. As we develop in righteousness, so we develop in spiritual courage; and when the intellect has been perfected, it unites wholly with God and is illumined by divine light, and the most hidden mysteries are revealed to it. Then it truly learns where wisdom and power lie, and that understanding which comprehends everything, and ‘length of days and life, and the light of the eyes and peace’ (Baruch 3:14). While it is still fighting against the passions it cannot as yet enjoy these things. For virtues and vices blind the intellect: vices prevent it from seeing the virtues, and virtues prevent it from seeing vices. But once the battle is over and it is found worthy of spiritual gifts, then it becomes wholly luminous, powerfully energized by grace and rooted in the contemplation of spiritual realities. A person in whom this happens is not attached to the things of this world but has passed from death to life.

‘ “The person pursuing the spiritual life and drawing close to God must, therefore, have a chaste heart and a pure tongue so that his words, in their purity, are fit for praising God. A soul that cleaves to God continuously communes with Him.

‘ “Thus, brethren, let our desire be to attain the summit of the virtues, and not to remain earth-bound and attached to the passions. For the person engaged in spiritual struggle who has drawn close to God, who partakes of the holy light and is wounded by his longing for it, delights in the Lord with an inconceivable spiritual joy. It is as the psalm says: ‘Delight in the Lord, and may He grant you the petitions of your heart… May He reveal your righteousness like the light, and your judgment like the noonday’ (cf. Ps. 37:4, 6. LXX). For what longing of the soul is as unbearably strong as that which God promotes in it when it is purged of every vice and sincerely declares: ‘I am wounded by love’ (Song of Songs 5:8. LXX)? The radiance of divine beauty is wholly inexpressible: words cannot describe it, nor the ear grasp it. To compare the true light to the rays of the morning star or the brightness of the moon or the light of the sun is to fail totally to do justice to its glory and is as inadequate as comparing a pitch-black moonless night to the clearest of noons. This is what St Basil, the great teacher, learnt from experience and subsequently taught us.” ‘

The brother who lived with Abba Philimon related these and many other things. But equally wonderful, and a great proof of his humility, is the fact that, although Abba Philimon had long been a presbyter and both his conduct and knowledge were of a celestial order, he held back from fulfilling his priestly functions to such an extent that in his many years of spiritual struggles he hardly ever consented to approach the altar; and in spite of the strictness of his life, he never partook of the divine mysteries if he had been talking with other people, even though he had not said anything worldly and he had spoken only to help those who questioned him. When he was going to partake of the divine mysteries, he supplicated God with prayers, chanting, and confession of sins. During the service, he was full of fear when the priest intoned (he words, “Holy things to the holy.’ For he used to say that the whole church was then filled with holy angels, and that the King of the celestial powers Himself was invisibly celebrating, transformed in our hearts into body and blood. It was on account of this that he said that we should dare to partake of the immaculate mysteries of Christ only when in a chaste and pure state, as it were outside the flesh and free from all hesitation and doubt; in this way we would participate in the illumination that comes from them. Many of the holy fathers saw angels watching over them, and so they maintained silence, not entering into conversation with anyone.

The brother also said that when Abba Philimon had to sell his handiwork, he pretended to be a fool, in case speaking and answering questions might lead him into some lie, or oath, or chatter, or some other kind of sin. Whenever anyone bought anything he simply paid what he thought fit. The Abba, this truly wise man, made small baskets, and accepted gratefully whatever was given, saying absolutely nothing.

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Evagrios the Solitary...Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness

Excerpts from The Philokalia

Evagrios the Solitary

(345/6-399)

Volume 1: p. 53

Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness

1. A monk should always act as if he was going to die tomorrow; yet he should treat his body as if it was going to live for many years. The first cuts off the inclination to listlessness, and makes the monk more diligent; the second keeps his body sound and his self control well balanced.

2. He who has attained spiritual knowledge and has enjoyed the delight that comes from it will no longer succumb to the demon of self-esteem, even when he offers him all the delights of the world; for what could the demon promise him that is greater than spiritual contemplation? But so long as we have not tasted this knowledge, let us devote ourselves eagerly to the practice of the virtues, showing God that our aim in everything is to attain knowledge of Him.

3. We should examine the ways of the monks who have preceded us, and achieve our purpose by following their example. One of their many helpful counsels is that a frugal and balanced diet, accompanied by the presence of love, quickly brings a monk into the harbor of dispassion.

4. Once I visited St Makarios1 at noon and, burning with intense thirst, I asked for a drink of water. But he said: 'Be satisfied with the shade, for at this moment there are many travelers who lack even that.' Then, as I was telling him of my difficulties in practicing self-restraint, he said: 'Take heart, my son; for during the whole of twenty years I myself have never had my fill of bread, water or sleep; but I have carefully measured my bread and water, and snatched some sleep by leaning a little against the wall.

5. Spiritual reading, vigils and prayer bring the straying intellect to stability. Hunger, exertion and withdrawal from the world wither burning lust. Reciting the psalms, long suffering and compassion curb our incensive power when it is unruly. Anything untimely or pushed o excess is short-lived and harmful rather than helpful.

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Evagrios the Solitary...Introductory Note

Excerpts from The Philokalia

Evagrios the Solitary

(345/6-399)

Volume 1. pp. 29-71

Introductory Note

Evagrios the Solitary, also known as Evagrios Pontikos, was born in 345 or 346, probably at Ibora in Pontus, although according to another opinion he was a native of Iberia (Georgia). A disciple of the Cappadocian Fathers, he was ordained reader by St Basil the Great and deacon by St Gregory the Theologian (Gregory of Nazianzos), and he accompanied the latter to the Council of Constantinople in 381 (the second Ecumenical Council). Evagrios was never ordained priest. After a brief stay in Jerusalem, he went in 383 to Egypt, where he spent the remaining sixteen years of his life. After two years at Nitria, where he became a monk, he moved to the more remote desert of Kellia, dying there in 399. While in Egypt he had as his spiritual father the priest of Kellia, St Makarios of Alexandria, and it is probable that he also knew St Makarios the Egyptian, the priest and spiritual father of Sketis. In the person of these two saints, he came into contact with the first generation of the Desert Fathers and with their spirituality in its purest form.

In the numerous writings of Evagrios there may be discerned two tendencies, the one 'speculative' and the other 'practical'. On the 'speculative' side he relies heavily upon Origen (c. 185-c. 254), borrowing from him in particular certain theories about the pre-existence of human souls and the apokatastasis or final restoration of all things in Christ. These theories were condemned at the fifth Ecumenical Council (553). On the 'practical' side he draws upon the living experience of the Desert Fathers of Egypt, mainly Copts, among whom he spent the last years of his life. He possessed to an exceptional degree the gifts of psychological insight and vivid description, together with the ability to analyze and define with remarkable precision the various stages on the spiritual way. Here his teachings, so far from being condemned, have exercised a decisive influence upon subsequent writers. His disciple St John Cassian, while abandoning the suspect theories that Evagrios derived from Origen, transmitted the 'practical' aspect of Evagrios' teachings to the Latin West. In the Greek East the technical vocabulary devised by Evagrios remained thereafter standard: it can be found, for example, in the writings of St Diadochos of Photiki, St John Klimakos and St Maximos the Confessor, as also within the Syriac tradition, in the Mystic Treatises of St Isaac of Nineveh. The works included by St Nikodimos in the Philokalia all belong to the'practical' side of Evagrios, and contain little if any trace of suspect speculations.

Several of Evagrios’ works have come down under the name of other authors. This is the case with the writing On Prayer, which in the Greek Philokalia is ascribed to Neilos; but recent research has made it plain beyond any reasonable doubt that this is a writing of Evagrios.[1]

[1] See the studies by I. Hausherr, 'Le Traite de 1'Oraison d'Evagre Ie Pontique', in Revue d'Ascetique et lie Mystique, XV (1934), pp. 34-93, 113-70; and Les lefons d'un contempjatif. Le Traite de 1'Oraison d'Evagre Is f antique (Paris, 1960). The Evagrian authorship of the work On Prayer is accepted by a previous English translator, John Eudes Bamberger, in his introduction to Evagrius Ponticus; The Praktikos; Chapters on Prayer (Cistercian Studies Series, No. 4, Spencer, Mass., 1970 [i.e. 1972]).

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Evagrios the Solitary...Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts

Excerpts from The Philokalia

Evagrios the Solitary

(345/6-399)

Volume 1: p. 38

Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts

1. Of the demons opposing us in the practice of the ascetic life, there are three groups who fight in the front line: those entrusted with the appetites of gluttony, those who suggest avaricious thoughts, and those who incite us to seek the esteem of men. All the other demons follow behind and in their turn attack those already wounded by the first three groups. For one does not fall into the power of the demon of unchastity, unless one has first fallen because of gluttony; nor is one's anger aroused unless one is fighting for food or material possessions or the esteem of men. And one does not escape the demon of dejection, unless one no longer experiences suffering when deprived of these things. Nor will one escape pride, the first offspring of the devil, unless one has banished avarice, the root of all evil, since poverty makes a man humble, according to Solomon (cf. Prov. 10:4. LXX). In short, no one can fall into the power of any demon, unless he has been wounded by those of the front line. That is why the devil suggested these three thoughts to the Savior: first he exhorted Him to turn stones into bread; then he promised Him the whole world, if Christ would fall down and worship him; and thirdly he said that, if our Lord would listen to him, He would be glorified and suffer nothing in falling from the pinnacle of the temple. But our Lord, having shown Himself superior to these temptations, commanded the devil to 'get behind Him'. In this way He teaches us that it is not possible to drive away the devil, unless we scornfully reject these three thoughts (cf. Matt. 4:1-10).

2. All thoughts inspired by the demons produce within us conceptions of sensory objects; and in this way the intellect, with such conceptions imprinted on it, bears the forms of these objects within itself. So, by recognizing the object presented to it, the intellect knows which demon is approaching. For example, if the face of a person who has done me harm or insulted me appears in my mind, I recognize the demon of rancor approaching. If there is a suggestion of material things or of esteem, again it will be clear which demon is troubling me. In the same way with other thoughts, we can infer from the object appearing in the mind which demon is close at hand, suggesting that object to us. I do not say that all thoughts of such things come from the demons; for when the intellect is activated by man it is its nature to bring forth the images of past events. But all thoughts producing anger or desire in a way that is contrary to nature are caused by demons. For through demonic agitation the intellect mentally commits adultery and becomes incensed. Thus it cannot receive the vision of God, who sets us in order; for the divine splendor only appears to the intellect during prayer, when the intellect is free from conceptions of sensory objects.

3. Man cannot drive away impassioned thoughts unless he watches over his desire and incensive power. He destroys desire through fasting, vigils and sleeping on the ground, and he tames his incensive power through longsuffering, forbearance, forgiveness and acts of compassion. For with these two passions are connected almost all the demonic thoughts which lead the intellect to disaster and perdition. It is impossible to overcome these passions unless we can rise above attachment to food and possessions, to self-esteem and even to our very body, because it is through the body that the demons often attempt to attack us. It is essential, then, to imitate people who are in danger at sea and throw things overboard because of the violence of the winds and the threatening waves. But here we must be very careful in case we cast things overboard just to be seen doing so by men. For then we shall get the reward we want; but we shall suffer another shipwreck, worse than the first, blown off our course by the contrary wind of the demon of self-esteem. That is why our Lord, instructing the intellect, our helmsman, says in the Gospels: 'Take heed that you do not give alms in front of others, to be seen by them; for unless you take heed, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.' Again, He says: 'When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street-corners, so as to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they get the reward they want. . . . Moreover when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face, like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, they get the reward they want' (cf. Matt. 6: 1-18). Observe how the Physician of souls here corrects our incensive power through acts of compassion, purifies the intellect through prayer, and through fasting withers desire. By means of these virtues the new Adam is formed, made again according to the image of his Creator - an Adam in whom, thanks to dispassion, there is 'neither male nor female' and, thanks to singleness of faith, there is 'neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all' (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3: 10:11).

4. We shall now enquire how, in the fantasies that occur during sleep, the demons imprint shapes and forms on our intellect. Normally the intellect receives these shapes and forms either through the eyes when it is seeing, or through the ears when it is hearing, or through some other sense, or else through the memory, which stirs up and imprints on the intellect things which it has experienced through the body. Now it seems to me that in our sleep, when the activity of our bodily senses is suspended, it is by arousing the memory that the demons make this imprint. But, in that case, how do the demons arouse the memory? Is it through the passions? Clearly this is so, for those in a state of purity and dispassion no longer experience demonic fantasies in sleep. There is also an activity of the memory that is not demonic: it is caused by ourselves or by the angelic powers, and through it we may meet with saints and delight in their company. We should notice in addition that during sleep the memory stirs up, without the body's participation, those very images which the soul has received in association with the body. This is clear from the fact that we often experience such images during sleep, when the body is at rest.

Just as it is possible to think of water both while thirsty and while not thirsty, so it is possible to think of gold with greed and without greed. The same applies to other things. Thus if we can discriminate in this way between one kind of fantasy and another, we can then recognize the artfulness of the demons. We should be aware, too, that the demons also use external things to produce fantasies, such as the sound of waves heard at sea.

5. When our incensive power is aroused in a way contrary to nature, it greatly furthers the aim of the demons and is an ally in all their evil designs. Day and night, therefore, they are always trying to provoke it. And when they see it tethered by gentleness, they at once try to set it free on some seemingly just pretext; in this way, when it is violently aroused, they can use it for their shameful purposes. So it must not be aroused either for just or for unjust reasons; and we must not hand a dangerous sword to those too readily incensed to wrath, for it often happens that people become excessively worked up for quite trivial reasons. Tell me, why do you rush into battle so quickly, if you are really above caring about food, possessions and glory? Why keep a watchdog if you have renounced everything? If you do, and it barks and attacks other men, it is clear that there are still some possessions for it to guard. But since I know that wrath is destructive of pure prayer, the fact that you cannot control it shows how far you are from such prayer. I am also surprised that you have forgotten the saints: David who exclaims, 'Cease from anger, and put aside your wrath’ (Ps. 37:8. LXX); and Ecclesiastes who urges us, 'Remove wrath from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh' (Eccles. 11:10. LXX); while the Apostle commands that always and everywhere men should 'lift up holy hands, without anger and without quarrelling’ (1 Tim. 2:8). And do we not learn the same from the mysterious and ancient custom of putting dogs out of the house during prayer? This indicates that there should be no wrath in those who pray. 'Their wine is the wrath of serpents' (Deut. 32:33. LXX); that is why the Nazarenes abstained from wine.

It is needless to insist that we should not worry about clothes or food. The Savior Himself forbids this in the Gospels: 'Do not worry about what to eat or drink, or about what to wear' (cf. Matt. 6:25). Such anxiety is a mark of the Gentiles and unbelievers, who reject the providence of the Lord and deny the Creator. An attitude of this kind is entirely wrong for Christians who believe that even two sparrows which are sold for a farthing are under the care of the holy angels (cf. Matt. 10: 29). The demons, however, after arousing impure thoughts, go on to suggest worries of this kind, so that 'Jesus conveys Himself away', because of the multitude of concerns in our mind (cf. John 5:13). The divine word can bear no fruit, being choked by our cares. Let us, then, renounce these cares, and throw them down before the Lord, being content with what we have at the moment; and living in poverty and rags, let us day by day rid ourselves of all that fills us with self-esteem. If anyone thinks it shameful to live in rags, he should remember St Paul, who 'in cold and nakedness' patiently awaited the 'crown of righteousness' (2 Cor. 11:27; 2 Tim. 4:8). The Apostle likened this world to a contest in an arena (cf. 1 Cor. 9:24); how then can someone clothed with anxious thoughts run for 'the prize of the high calling of God' (Phil. 3:14), or 'wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world' (Eph. 6:12)? I do not see how this is possible; for just as a runner is obstructed and weighed down by clothing, so too is the intellect by anxious thoughts - if indeed the saying is true that the intellect is attached to its own treasure; for it is said, 'where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Matt. 6:21).

6. Sometimes thoughts are cut off, and sometimes they do the cutting off. Evil thoughts cut off good thoughts, and in turn are cut off by good thoughts. The Holy Spirit therefore notes to which thought we give priority and condemns or approves us accordingly. What I mean is something like this: the thought occurs to me to give hospitality and it is for the Lord's sake; but when the tempter attacks, this thought is cut off and in its place he suggests giving hospitality for the sake of display. Again, the thought comes to me of giving hospitality so as to appear hospitable in the eyes of others. But this thought in its turn is cut off when a better thought comes, which leads me to practice this virtue for the Lord's sake and not so as to gain esteem from men.

7. We have learnt, after much observation, to recognize the difference between angelic thoughts, human thoughts, and thoughts that come from demons. Angelic thought is concerned with the true nature of things and with searching out their spiritual essences. For example, why was gold created and scattered like sand in the lower regions of the earth, to be found only with much toil and effort? And how, when found, is it washed in water and committed to the fire, and then put into the hands of craftsmen who fashion it into the candlestick of the tabernacle and the censers and the vessels (cf. Exod. 25:22-39) from which, by the grace of our Savior, the king of Babylon no longer drinks (cf. Dan. 5:2, 3)? A man such as Cleopas brings a heart burning with these mysteries (cf. Luke 24:32). Demonic thought, on the other hand, neither knows nor can know such things. It can only shamelessly suggest the acquisition of physical gold, looking forward to the wealth and glory that will come from this. Finally, human thought neither seeks to acquire gold nor is concerned to know what it symbolizes, but brings before the mind simply the image of gold, without passion or greed. The same principle applies to other things as well.

8. There is a demon, known as the deluder, who visits the brethren especially at dawn, and leads the intellect about from city to city, from village to village, from house to house, pretending that no passions are aroused through such visits; but then the intellect goes on to meet and talk with old acquaintances at greater length, and so allows its own state to be corrupted by those it encounters. Little by little it falls away from the knowledge of God and holiness, and forgets its calling. Therefore the solitary must watch this demon, noting where he comes from and where he ends up; for this demon does not make this long circuit without purpose and at random, but because he wishes to corrupt the state of the solitary, so that his intellect, over-excited by all this wandering, and intoxicated by its many meetings, may immediately fall prey to the demons of unchastity, anger or dejection - the demons that above all others destroy its inherent brightness.

But if we really want to understand the cunning of this demon, we should not be hasty in speaking to him, or tell others what is taking place, how he is compelling us to make these visits in our mind and how he is gradually driving the intellect to its death - for then he will flee from us, as he cannot bear to be seen doing this; and so we shall not grasp any of the things we are anxious to learn. But, instead, we should allow him one more day, or even two, to play out his role, so that we can learn about his deceitfulness in detail; then, mentally rebuking him, we put him to flight. But because during temptation the intellect is clouded and does not see exactly what is happening, do as follows after the demon has withdrawn. Sit down and recall in solitude the things that have happened: where you started and where you went, in what place you were seized by the spirit of unchastity, dejection or anger and how it all happened. Examine these things closely and commit them to memory, so that you will then be ready to expose the demon when he next approaches you. Try to become conscious of the weak spot in yourself which he hid from you, and you will not follow him again. If you wish to enrage him, expose him at once when he reappears, and tell him just where you went first, and where next, and so on. For he becomes very angry and cannot bear the disgrace. And the proof that you spoke to him effectively is that the thoughts he suggested leave you. For he cannot remain in action when he is openly exposed. The defeat of this demon is followed by heavy sleepiness and deadness, together with a feeling of great coldness in the eyelids, countless yawnings, and heaviness in the shoulders. But if you pray intensely all this is dispersed by the Holy Spirit.

9. Hatred against the demons contributes greatly to our salvation and helps our growth in holiness. But we do not of ourselves have the power to nourish this hatred into a strong plant, because the pleasure-loving spirits restrict it and encourage the soul again to indulge in its old habitual loves. But this indulgence - or rather this gangrene that is so hard to cure - the Physician of souls heals by abandoning us. For He permits us to undergo some fearful suffering night and day, and then the soul returns again to its original hatred, and learns like David to say to the Lord: 'I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them my enemies' (Ps. 139: 22). For a man hates his enemies with perfect hatred when he sins neither in act nor in thought - which is a sign of complete dispassion.

10. Now what am I to say about the demon who makes the soul obtuse? For I am afraid to write about him: how, at his approach, the soul departs from its own proper state and strips itself of reverence and the fear of God, no longer regarding sin as sin, or wickedness as wickedness; it looks on judgment and the eternal punishment of hell as mere words; it laughs at the fire which causes the earth to tremble; and, while supposedly confessing God, it has no understanding of His commandments. You may beat your breast as such a soul draws near to sin, but it takes no notice. You recite from the Scripture, yet it is wholly indifferent and will not hear. You point out its shame and disgrace among men, and it ignores you, like a pig that closes its eyes and charges through a fence. This demon gets into the soul by way of long-continuing thoughts of self-esteem; and unless 'those days are shortened, no flesh will be saved' (Matt. 24:22).

This is one of those demons that seldom approach brethren living in a community. The reason is clear: when people round us fall into misfortune, or are afflicted by illness, or are suffering in prison, or meet sudden death, this demon is driven out; for the soul has only to experience even a little compunction or compassion and the callousness caused by the demon is dissolved. We solitaries lack these things, because we live in the wilderness and sickness is rare among us. It was to banish this demon especially that the Lord enjoined us in the Gospels to call on the sick and visit those in prison. For 'I was sick,' He says, 'and you visited Me' (Matt. 25:36).

But you should know this: if an anchorite falls in with this demon, yet does not admit unchaste thoughts or leave his cell out of listlessness, this means he has received the patience and self-restraint that come from heaven, and is blessed with dispassion. Those, on the other hand, who profess to practice godliness, yet choose to have dealings with people of the world, should be on their guard against this demon. I feel ashamed to say or write more about him.

11. All the demons teach the soul to love pleasure; only the demon of dejection refrains from doing this, since he corrupts the thoughts of those he enters by cutting off every pleasure of the soul and drying it up through dejection, for 'the bones of the dejected are dried up' (Prov. 17:22. LXX). Now if this demon attacks only to a moderate degree, he makes the anchorite more resolute; for he encourages him to seek nothing worldly and to shun all pleasures. But when the demon remains for longer, he encourages the soul to give up, or forces it to run away. Even Job was tormented by this demon, and it was because of this that he said: '0 that I might lay hands upon myself, or at least ask someone else to do this for me' (Job 30:24. LXX).

The symbol of this demon is the viper. When used in moderation for man's good, its poison is an antidote against that of other venomous creatures, but when taken in excess it kills whoever takes it. It was to this demon that Paul delivered the man at Corinth who had fallen into sin. That is why he quickly wrote again to the Corinthians saying: 'Confirm your love towards him . . . lest perhaps he should be swallowed up with too great dejection' (2 Cor. 2:7-8). He knew that this spirit, in troubling men, can also bring about true repentance. It was for this reason that St John the Baptist gave the name 'progeny of vipers' to those who were goaded by this spirit to seek refuge in God, saying: 'Who has warned you to flee from the anger to come? Bring forth fruits, then, that testify to your repentance; and do not think that you can justsay within yourselves. We have Abraham as our father' (Matt. 3:7-9). But if a man imitates Abraham and leaves his country and kindred (cf. Gen. 12:1), he thereby becomes stronger than this demon.

12. He who has mastery over his incensive power has mastery also over the demons. But anyone who is a slave to it is a stranger to the monastic life and to the ways of our Savior, for as David said of the Lord: 'He will teach the gentle His ways' (Ps. 25:9). The intellect of the solitary is hard for the demon to catch, for it shelters in the land of gentleness. There is scarcely any other virtue which the demons fear as much as gentleness. Moses possessed this virtue, for he was called 'very gentle, above all men' (Num. 12:3). And David showed that it makes men worthy to be remembered by God when he said: 'Lord, remember David and all his gentleness' (Ps. 132:1. LXX). And the Savior Himself also enjoined us to imitate Him in His gentleness, saying: 'Learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart: and you will find rest for your souls' (Matt. 11:29). Now if a man abstains from food and drink, but becomes incensed to wrath because of evil thoughts, he is like a ship sailing the open sea with a demon for pilot. So we must keep this watchdog under careful control, training him to destroy only the wolves and not to devour the sheep, and to show the greatest gentleness towards all men.

13. In the whole range of evil thoughts, none is richer in resources than self-esteem; for it is to be found almost everywhere, and like some cunning traitor in a city it opens the gates to all the demons. So it greatly debases the intellect of the solitary, filling it with many words and notions, and polluting the prayers through which he is saying anything that contributes to the sense of your own importance.

14. When the intellect of the solitary attains some small degree of dispassion, it mounts the horse of self-esteem and immediately rides off into cities, taking its fill of the lavish praise accorded to its repute. But by God's providence the spirit of unchastity now confronts it and shuts it up in a sty of dissipation. This is to teach it to stay in bed until it is completely recovered and not to act like disobedient patients who, before they are fully cured of their disease, start taking walks and baths and so fall sick again. Let us sit still and keep our attention fixed within ourselves, so that we advance in holiness and resist vice more strongly. Awakened in this way to spiritual knowledge, we shall acquire contemplative insight into many things; and ascending still higher, we shall receive a clearer vision of the light of our Savior.

15. I cannot write about all the villainies of the demons; and I feel ashamed to speak about them at length and in detail, for fear of harming the more simple-minded among my readers. But let me tell you about the cunning of the demon of unchastity. When a man has acquired dispassion in the appetitive part of his soul and shameful thoughts cool down within him, this demon at once suggests images of men and women playing with one another, and makes the solitary a spectator of shameful acts and gestures. But this temptation need not be permanent; for intense prayer, a very frugal diet, together with vigils and the development of spiritual contemplation, drive it away like a light cloud. There are times when this cunning demon even touches the flesh, inflaming it to uncontrolled desire; and it devises endless other tricks which need not be described.

Our incensive power is also a good defense against this demon. When it is directed against evil thoughts of this kind, such power fills the demon with fear and destroys his designs. And this is the meaning of the statement: 'Be angry, and do not sin' (Ps. 4:4). Such anger is a useful medicine for the soul at times of temptation.

The demon of anger employs tactics resembling those of the demon of unchastity. For he suggests images of our parents, friends or kinsmen being gratuitously insulted; and in this way he excites our incensive power, making us say or do something vicious to those who appear in our minds. We must be on our guard against these fantasies and expel them quickly from our mind, for if we dally with them, they will prove a blazing firebrand to us during prayer. People prone to anger are especially liable to fall into these temptations; and if they do, then they are far from pure prayer and from the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ.

16. As sheep to a good shepherd, the Lord has given to man intellections of this present world; for it is written: 'He has given intellection to the heart of every man' (cf. Heb. 10:16). To help man He has given him incensive power and desire, so that with the first he may drive away wolflike intellections, while with the second he may lovingly tend the sheep, even though he is often exposed to rains and winds. In addition, God has given man the law, so that he may shepherd the sheep; He has given him green pastures and refreshing water (cf. Ps. 23:2), a psaltery and harp, a rod and staff. In this way he gathers hay from the mountains, and is fed and clothed from his Hock; for it is written, 'Does anyone feed a Hock and not drink its milk?' (1 Cor. 9:7). Therefore the solitary ought to guard this Hock night and day, making sure that none of the lambs is caught by wild beasts or falls into the hands of thieves. Should this happen in some valley, he must at once snatch the creature from the mouth of the lion or the bear (cf. 1 Sam. 17:35).

What does it mean for the lambs to be caught by wild beasts? It means that when we think about our brother we feed on hatred; when we think about a woman we are moved with shameful lust; when we think about gold and silver we are filled with greed; and likewise when we think about gifts received from God, our mind is gorged with self-esteem. The same happens in the case of other intellections if they are seized by the passions.

We must not only guard this flock by day, but also keep watch at night; for by having fantasies of shameful and evil things we may lose some of the sheep entrusted to us. And this is the meaning of Jacob's words: 'I did not bring you a sheep which was caught by wild beasts; I made good of myself the thefts of the day and the thefts of the night. I was parched with heat by day, and chilled with frost by night, and sleep departed from my eyes' (Gen. 31:39-40. LXX).

If a certain listlessness overtakes us as a result of our efforts, we should climb a little up the rock of spiritual knowledge and play on the harp, plucking the strings with the skills of such knowledge. Let us pasture our sheep below Mount Sinai, so that the God of our fathers may speak to us, too, out of the bush (cf. Exod. 3) and show us the inner essence of signs and wonders.

17. Our spiritual nature, which had become dead through wickedness, is raised once more by Christ through the contemplation of all the ages of creation. And through the spiritual knowledge that He gives of Himself, the Father raises the soul which has died the death of Christ. And this is the meaning of Paul's statement: 'If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him' (cf. 2 Tim. 2:11).

18. When the intellect has shed its fallen state and acquired the state of grace, then during prayer it will see its own nature like a sapphire or the color of heaven. In Scripture this is called the realm of God that was seen by the elders on Mount Sinai (cf. Exod. 24:10).

19. Of the unclean demons, some tempt man in so far as he is man, while others disturb him in so far as he is a nonrational animal. The first, when they approach us, suggest to us notions of self-esteem, pride, envy or censoriousness, notions by which non-rational animals are not affected; whereas the second, when they approach, arouse incensive power and desire in a manner contrary to nature. For these passions are common to us and to animals, and lie concealed beneath our rational and spiritual nature. Hence the Holy Spirit says of the thoughts that come to men in so far as they are men: 'I have said, you are gods, and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die as men, and fall as one of the princes' (Ps. 82:6-7). But what does He say of the thoughts which stir in men non-rationally? 'Do not be as the horse and mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be controlled with bit and bridle in case they attack you' (Ps. 32:9). Now if 'the soul that sins shall die' (Ezek. 18:4), it is clear that in so far as we die as men we are buried by men, but in so far as we are slain or fall as non-rational animals, we are devoured by vultures and ravens whose young 'cry' to the Lord (Ps. 147:9) and 'roll themselves in blood' (Job 39:30. LXX). 'He that has ears to hear, let him hear' (Matt. 11:15).

20. When one of the enemy approaches you and wounds you, and you wish to turn his sword back into his own heart (cf. Ps. 37:37:15), then do as follows: analyze in yourself the sinful thought that has wounded you, what it is, what it consists of, and what in it especially afflicts the intellect. Suppose, for instance, that a thought full of avarice is suggested to you. Distinguish between the component elements: the intellect which has accepted the thought, the intellection of gold, gold itself, and the passion of avarice. Then ask: in which of these does the sin consist? Is it the intellect? But how then can the intellect be the image of God? Is it the intellection of gold? But what sensible person would ever say that? Then is gold itself the sin? In that case, why was it created? It follows, then, that the cause of the sin is the fourth element, which is neither an objective reality, nor the intellection of something real, but is a certain noxious pleasure which, once it is freely chosen, compels the intellect to misuse what God has created. It is this pleasure that the law of God commands us to cut off. Now as you investigate the thought in this way and analyze it into its components, it will be destroyed; and the demon will take to flight once your mind is raised to a higher level by this spiritual knowledge.

But before using his own sword against him, you may choose first to use your sling against him. Then take a stone from your shepherd's bag and sling it (cf. 1 Sam. 17) by asking these questions: how is it that angels and demons affect our world whereas we do not affect their worlds, for we cannot bring the angels closer to God, and we cannot make the demons more impure? And how was Lucifer, the morning star, cast down to the earth (cf. Isa. 14:12), 'making the deep boil like a brazen cauldron’ (Job 41:31. LXX), disturbing all by his wickedness and seeking to rule over all? Insight into these things grievously wounds the demon and puts all his troops to flight. But this is possible only for those who have been in some measure purified and gained a certain vision of the inner essences of created things; whereas the impure have no insight into these essences, and even if they have been taught by others how to outwit the enemy they will fail because of the great clouds of dust and the turmoil aroused by their passions at the time of battle. For the enemy's troops must be made quiet, so that Goliath alone can face our David. In combat with all unclean thoughts, then, let us use these two methods: analysis of the thought attacking us, and the asking of questions about inner essences.

21. Whenever unclean thoughts have been driven off quickly, we should try to find out why this has happened. Did the enemy fail to overpower us because there was no possibility of the thought idea of bread persists in a hungry man because of his hunger, and the idea of water in a thirsty man because of his thirst, so ideas of material things and of the shameful thoughts that follow a surfeit of food and drink persist in us because of the passions. The same is true about thoughts of self-esteem and other ideas. It is not possible for an intellect choked by such ideas to appear before God and receive the crown of righteousness. It is through being dragged down by such thoughts that the wretched intellect, like the man in the Gospels, declines the invitation to the supper of the knowledge of God (cf. Luke 14:18); and the man who was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness (cf. Matt. 22:13) was clothed in a garment woven of these thoughts, and so was judged by the Lord, who had invited him, not to be worthy of the wedding feast. For the true wedding garment is the dispassion of the deiform soul which has renounced worldly desires. [In the texts On Prayer it is explained why dwelling on ideas of sensory objects destroys true knowledge of God.]

23. As we stated at the beginning, there are three chief groups of demons opposing us in the practice of the ascetic life, and after them follows the whole army of the enemy. These three groups fight in the front line, and with impure thoughts seduce our souls into wrongdoing. They are the demons set over the appetites of gluttony, those who suggest to us avaricious thoughts, and those who incite US to seek esteem in the eyes of men. If you long for pure prayer, keep guard over your incensive power; and if you desire self-restraint, control your belly, and do not take your fill even of bread and water. Be vigilant in prayer and avoid all rancor. Let the teachings of the Holy Spirit be always with you; and use the virtues as your hands to knock at the doors of Scripture. Then dispassion of heart will arise within you, and during prayer you will see your intellect shine like a star.

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Evagrius Ponticus...Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life

Excerpts from The Philokalia

Evagrios the Solitary

(345/6-399)

VOLUME 1: Page 31

Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life

In Jeremiah it is said: 'And you shall not take a wife in this place, for thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place: . . . they shall die grievous deaths' (Jer. 16:1-4). This shows that, in the words of the Apostle, 'He that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife', and he is inwardly divided, and 'she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband' (1 Cor. 7:32-34). It is clear that the statement in Jeremiah, 'they shall die grievous deaths', refers not only to the sons and daughters born as a result of marriage, but also to those born in the heart, that is, to worldly thoughts and desires: these too will die from the weak and sickly spirit of this world, and will have no place in heavenly life. On the other hand, as the Apostle says, 'he that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord' (1 Cor. 7:32); and he produces the fruits of eternal life, which always keep their freshness.

Such is the solitary. He should therefore abstain from women and not beget a son or daughter in the place of which Jeremiah speaks. He must be a soldier of Christ, detached from material things, free from cares and not involved in any trade or commerce; for, as the Apostle says, 'In order to please the leader who has chosen him, the soldier going to war does not entangle himself in the affairs of this world' (2 Tim. 2:4). Let the monk follow this course, especially since he has renounced the materiality of this world in order to win the blessings of stillness. For the practice of stillness is full of joy and beauty; its yoke is easy and its burden light.

Do you desire, then, to embrace this life of solitude, and to seek out the blessings of stillness? If so, abandon the cares of the world, and the principalities and powers that lie behind them; free yourself from attachment to material things, from domination by passions and desires, so that as a stranger to all this you may attain true stillness. For only by raising himself above these things can a man achieve the life of stillness.

Keep to a sparse and plain diet, not seeking a variety of tempting dishes. Should the thought come to you of getting extravagant foods in order to give hospitality, dismiss it, do not be deceived by it: for in it the enemy lies in ambush, waiting to tear you away from stillness. Remember how the Lord rebukes Martha (the soul that is overbusy with such things) when He says: 'You are anxious and troubled about many things: one thing alone is needful' (Luke 10:41-42) - to hear the divine word; after that, one should be content with anything that comes to hand. He indicates all this by adding: 'Mary has chosen what is best, and it cannot be taken away from her' (Luke 10:42). You also have the example of how the widow of Zarephath gave hospitality to the Prophet (cf. 1 Kings 17:9-16). If you have only bread, salt or water, you can still meet the dues of hospitality. Even if you do not have these, but make the stranger welcome and say something helpful, you will not be failing in hospitality; for 'is not a word better than a gift?' (Eccles. 18:17). This is the view you should take of hospitality. Be careful, then, and do not desire wealth for giving to the poor. For this is another trick of the evil one, who often arouses self esteem and fills your intellect with worry and restlessness. Think of the widow mentioned in the Gospel by our Lord: with two mites she surpassed the generous gifts of the wealthy. For He says: 'They cast into the treasury out of their abundance; but she . . . cast in all her livelihood' (Mark 12:44).

With regard to clothes, be content with what is sufficient for the needs of the body. 'Cast your burden upon the Lord' (Ps. 55:22) and He will provide for you, since 'He cares for you' (1Pet. 5:7). If you need food or clothes, do not be ashamed to accept what others offer you. To be ashamed to accept is a kind of pride. But if you have more than you require, give to those in need. It is in this way that God wishes His children to manage their affairs. That is why, writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle said about those who were in want:

'Your abundance should supply their want, so that their abundance likewise may supply your want; then there will be equality, as it is written: "He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that gathered little had no lack”’ (2 Cor. 8:14-15; Exod. 16:18). So if you have all you need for the moment, do not be anxious about the future, whether it is one day ahead or a week or months. For when tomorrow comes, it will supply what you need, if you seek above all else the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness of God; for the Lord says: 'Seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things as well will be given to you' (cf. Matt. 6:33). Do not have a servant, for if you do you will no longer have only yourself to provide for; and in that case the enemy may trip you up through the servant and disturb your mind with worries about laying in extravagant foods. Should you have the thought of getting a servant to allow your body a little ease, call to mind what is more important – I mean spiritual peace, for spiritual peace is certainly more important than bodily ease. Even if you have the idea that taking a servant would be for the servant's benefit, do not accept it. For this is not our work; it is the work of others, of the holy Fathers who live in communities and not as solitaries. Think only of what is best for yourself, and safeguard the way of stillness.

Do not develop a habit of associating with people who are materially minded and involved in worldly affairs. Live alone, or else with brethren who are detached from material things and of one mind with yourself. For if one associates with materially minded people involved in worldly affairs, one will certainly be affected by their way of life and will be subject to social pressures, to vain talk and every other kind of evil: anger, sorrow, passion for material things, fear of scandals. Do not get caught up in concern for your parents or affection for your relatives; on the contrary, avoid meeting them frequently, in case they rob you of the stillness you have in your cell and involve you in their own affairs. 'Let the dead bury their dead,' says the Lord; 'but come, follow me' (cf. Matt. 8:22). If you find yourself growing strongly attached to your cell, leave it, do not cling to it, be ruthless. Do everything possible to attain stillness and freedom from distraction, and struggle to live according to God's will, battling against invisible enemies. If you cannot attain stillness where you now live, consider living in exile, and try and make up your mind to go. Be like an astute business man: make stillness your criterion for testing the value of everything, and choose always what contributes to it.

Indeed, I urge you to welcome exile. It frees you from all the entanglements of your own locality, and allows you to enjoy the blessings of stillness undistracted. Do not stay in a town, but persevere in the wilderness. ‘Lo,' says the Psalm, 'then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness' (Ps. 55:7). If possible, do not visit a town at all. For you will find there nothing of benefit, nothing useful, nothing profitable for your way of life. To quote the Psalm again, 'I have seen violence and strife in the city' (Ps. 55:9). So seek out places that are free from distraction, and solitary. Do not be afraid of the noises you may hear. Even if you should see some demonic fantasy, do not be terrified or flee from the training ground so apt for your progress. Endure fearlessly, and you will see the great things of God, His help. His care, and all the other assurances of salvation. For as the Psalm says, 'I waited for Him who delivers me from distress of spirit and the tempest' (Ps. 55:8. LXX).

Do not let restless desire overcome your resolution; for 'restlessness of desire perverts the guileless intellect' (Wisd. 4:12). Many temptations result from this. For fear that you may go wrong, stay rooted in your cell. If you have friends, avoid constant meetings with them. For if you meet only on rare occasions, you will be of more help to them. And if you find that harm comes through meeting them, do not see them at all. The friends that you do have should be of benefit to you and contribute to your way of life. Avoid associating with crafty or aggressive people, and do not live with anyone of that kind but shun their evil purposes; for they do not dwell close to God or abide with Him. Let your friends be men of peace, spiritual brethren, holy fathers. It is of such that the Lord speaks when he says: 'My mother and brethren and fathers are those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven' (cf. Matt. 12:49-50). Do not pass your time with people engaged in worldly affairs or share their table, in case they involve you in their illusions and draw you away from the science of stillness. For this is what they want to do. Do not listen to their words or accept the thoughts of their hearts, for they are indeed harmful. Let the labor and longing of your heart be for the faithful of the earth, to become like them in mourning. For 'my eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me' (Ps. 101:6). If someone who lives in accordance with the love of God comes to you and invites you to eat, go if wish, but return quickly to your cell. If possible, never sleep outside your cell, so that the gift of stillness may be with you. Then you will be unhindered on your chosen path.

Do not hanker after fine foods and deceitful pleasures. For 'she that indulges in pleasure is dead while still alive', as the Apostle says (1 Tim. 5:6). Do not fill your belly with other people's food in case you develop a, longing for it, and this longing makes you want to eat at their table. For it is said: 'Do not be deceived by the filling of the belly' (Prov. 24:15. LXX). If you find yourself continually invited outside your cell, decline the invitations. For continual absence from your cell is harmful. It deprives you of the grace of stillness, darkens your mind, withers your longing for God. If a jar of wine is left in the same place for a long time, the wine in it becomes clear, settled and fragrant. But if it is moved about, the wine becomes turbid and dull, tainted throughout by the lees. So you, too, should stay in the same place and you will find how greatly this benefits you. Do not have relationships with too many people, lest your intellect becomes distracted and so disturbs the way of stillness.

Provide yourself with such work for your hands as can be done, if possible, both during the day and at night, so that you are not a burden to anyone, and indeed can give to others, as Paul the Apostle advises (cf. 1 Thess. 2:9; Eph. 4:28). In this manner you will overcome the demon of listlessness and drive away all the desires suggested by the enemy; for the demon of listlessness takes advantage of idleness. 'Every idle man is full of desires' (Prov. 13:4. LXX).

When buying or selling you can hardly avoid sin. So, in either case, be sure you lose a little in the transaction. Do not haggle about the price from love of gain, and so indulge in actions harmful to the soul - quarrelling, lying, shifting your ground and so on - thus bringing our way of life into disrepute. Understanding things in this manner, be on your guard when buying and selling. If possible it is best to place such business in the hands of someone you trust, so that, being thus relieved of the worry, you can pursue your calling with joy and hope.

In addition to all that I have said so far, you should consider now other lessons which the way of stillness teaches, and do what I tell you. Sit in your cell, and concentrate your intellect; remember the day of death, visualize the dying of your body, reflect on this calamity, experience the pain, reject the vanity of this world, its compromises and crazes, so that you may continue in the way of stillness and not weaken. Call to mind, also, what is even now going on in hell. Think of the suffering, the bitter silence, the terrible moaning, the great fear and agony, the dread of what is to come, the unceasing pain, the endless weeping. Remember, too, the day of your resurrection and how you will stand before God. Imagine that fearful and awesome judgment-seat. Picture all that awaits those who sin: their shame before God the Father and His Anointed, before angels, archangels, principalities and all mankind; think of all the forms of punishment: the eternal fire, the worm that does not die, the abyss of darkness, the gnashing of teeth, the terrors and the torments. Then picture all the blessings that await the righteous: intimate communion with God the Father and His Anointed, with angels, archangels, principalities and all the saints, the kingdom and its gifts, the gladness and the joy.

Picture both these states: lament and weep for the sentence passed on sinners; mourn while you are doing this, frightened that you, too, may be among them. But rejoice and be glad at the blessings that await the righteous, and aspire to enjoy them and to be delivered from the torments of hell. See to it that you never forget these things, whether inside your cell or outside it. This will help you to escape thoughts that are defiling and harmful. Fast before the Lord according to your strength, for to do this will purge you of your iniquities and sins; it exalts the soul, sanctifies the mind, drives away the demons, and prepares you for God's presence. Having already eaten once, try not to eat a second time the same day, in case you become extravagant and disturb your mind. In this way you will have the means for helping others and for mortifying the passions of your body. But if there is a meeting of the brethren, and you have to eat a second and a third time, do not be disgruntled and surly. On the contrary, do gladly what you have to do, and when you have eaten a second or a third time, thank God that you have fulfilled the law of love and that He himself is providing for you. Also, there are occasions when, because of a bodily sickness, you have to eat a second and a third time or more often. Do not be sad about this; when you are ill you should modify your ascetic labors for the time being, so that you may regain the strength to take them up once more.

As far as abstinence from food is concerned, the divine Logos did not prohibit the eating of anything, but said: 'See, even as I have given you the green herb I have given you all things; eat, asking no questions; it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man' (cf. Gen. 9:3; 1 Cor. 10:25; Matt. 15: 11). To abstain from food, then, should be a matter of our own choice and an ascetic labour.

Gladly bear vigils, sleeping on the ground and all other hardships, looking to the glory that will be revealed to you and to all the saints; 'for the sufferings of this present time', says the Apostle, 'are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us' (Rom. 8 :18).

If you are disheartened, pray, as the Apostle says (cf. Jas. 5: 13). Pray with fear, trembling, effort, with inner watchfulness and vigilance. To pray in this manner is especially necessary because the enemies are so malignant. For it is just when they see us at prayer that they come and stand beside us, ready to attack, suggesting to our intellect the very things we should not think about when praying; in this way they try to take our intellect captive and to make our prayer and supplication vain and useless. For prayer is truly vain and useless when not performed with fear and trembling, with inner watchfulness and vigilance. When someone approaches an earthly king, he entreats him with fear, trembling and attention; so much the more, then, should we stand and pray in this manner before God the Father, the Master of all, and before Christ the King of Kings. For it is He whom the whole spiritual host and the choir of angels serve with fear and glorify with trembling; and they sing in unceasing praise to Him, together with the Father who has no origin, and with the all-holy and coeternal Spirit, now and ever through all the ages. Amen.

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