Treatise to the Monk Eulogius

in his disposition towards them, dividing himself between both, indignant at the oppressors and compassionate toward the oppressed, full of anger ^A and yet inclined to mercy, agitated and wounded in his inward parts, and sometimes even complaining to God, who remains silent, because of His great patience. For the prophet Habakkuk, having once suffered this, shows it, and demonstrates what he himself suffered to those who were likewise suffering, saying: “Why have You shown me troubles and pains, that the impious man tyrannizes over the just, and You have made men as the fishes of the sea, who devour one another?” He expresses this about such tolerance and permission—as if there were a lack of a Sovereign—with a zeal that is indeed burning, but too boldly entering into contention with God. ^B And what necessity compels one to be present at the evils of others when he is able to offer no help, and even sins in doing so? For even if it be nothing great, to be troubled by the things others do wickedly—when the mind ought to be at peace—is a fault. Thus, those who live within the multitude sin, while those who are separated from the multitude do not, and those in the multitude lose the rewards of their labors for the sake of human glory. For even if those who admire them more than those who live in quiet, a thousand times over, say that this admiration is due to them because they dwell among the crowd, they are nevertheless clearly ^C manifest as being held by that same bond: namely, that they have chosen to inhabit places that inflict damage; places that cry out against them with a clear voice and without an accuser. Conversely, those who are separated far from those who praise them bear witness clearly by their works that they have trampled upon the glory that is admired by many. Fasting does not fall away for them, vigil is not lost, prayer does not suffer wreck, perseverance is not despoiled, nor is any other virtue stolen away; for there is no applause of those celebrating them present, which would have the power to rob them of their labors. God alone sees, who is present with them, and encourages them toward greater combats and rewards, and sharpens the alacrity of their soul, providing assistance now, and after their passing, eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power into the ages of the ages. Amen.

BY THE SAME DISCOURSE TO EULOGIUS THE MONK.

CHAPTER I.

Those who dwell in the heavenly place, by labors, and not by the belly, nor by the solicitude of corruptible things, look ^D fixedly—

^A as if with eyes unwavering, just like those who perform prayers for the sake of gain, thinking godliness to be a profit. But those incorrupt assemblies, illuminated on all sides by the light from the glory, are partakers of things sublime which piety nourishes. And you yourself also (O initiate of the sacred virtues, Eulogius), nourished in your sacred being by the radiance of the highest things, divest yourself of the burden of the flesh through the collection of thoughts, knowing well that the whole of the flesh is established as food for thoughts. Just as one who has grasped the machinations by the goad of labors, you appoint me to become the mouth of your deeds against them. And if it were not a bold thing to break the commandment of charity, I would have refused such a seafaring voyage; but because it is better to obey those of one mind than to oppose them, be to me an assistant in those things which pertain to God, so that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, and I shall be to you the instrument of ^B obedience, that you may be granted the harvest of the fruits of the seed.

CHAPTER II.

The first of the noble contests is pilgrimage, and especially when you go abroad to it alone, away from your own people, athleticly and firmly divesting yourself of country, kin, and possessions, and standing before the noble contests. If you begin thus according to God, walking in the way of the beginning with burning faith, and in the divine Spirit, and preserving it whole to the end of patience, the soul will have wings of virtue gilded, withdrawing itself from its own places and hastening to fly forth unto heaven itself 38. Truly the author of malice plots to cut off the wings of such a practice, reflecting as in a mirror the race of the earth from which each one has departed, especially in the evil attacks of sickness which may supervene. And as for remaining ^C firm, he little by little draws one back, or dissuades from the most fervent pilgrimage, until he perceives that the soul is nauseated in troubles; and then the nocturnal raven, bringing in the night of thoughts, darkens the soul, obscuring the ray of better things. But if one should be fighting alone in the wrestling ground of the desert, and it happens that the body is wounded by infirmity, he (the enemy) demonstrates the pilgrimage to the soul as being all the more grievous, suggesting that things pertaining to virtue are brought to perfection prosperously not in place, but in manner; and that having consolation at home from kinsmen, one could there preserve without labor the rewards which follow renunciation (made to the world); where also there is the pleasant attendance of the sick, and not the miserable treatment and the painful swooning of mind as at present; and most especially because even the zeal for hospitality, which is owed by the fraternity, is very rare. And ^D for this very reason he says: "Go, carrying joy to your kinsmen and glory to yourself, for you have left them an intolerable grief without any compassion." For many also, not having fled their country, have chosen virtue from the midst of their kin. But he who has put on the purple of afflictions in the battle-line of pilgrimage, and has been crowned with the hopes of his labors by faith, patience

and thanksgiving, shakes off the snowflakes of these thoughts from things outside; and in proportion as they burrow into and pierce his heart, all the more let us sing of them: “Lo, I fled afar, and lodged in the wilderness” (Ps. LIV, 8). ^A For they also afflict with reproaches, and they flatter that we might turn back, so that by emptying us of our purpose, they might also interrupt the thanksgiving produced in patience, and so henceforth extend their snares with great boldness and from the things that are near at hand.

CHAPTER III.

For this reason, he who begins to lay hold of virtue must also calculate the war that advances against it, so that, not being seen as untrained, he may not be dragged down as unprepared. ^B For while the bravery of virtue is praiseworthy even when there is peace, exceeding praiseworthy is its prowess when war also stands present. For this is virtue: not only through the things which it works, but also through the terrible things by which it is warred upon. The one who has overcome suffering through many wars is dispassionate, but the one who claims to possess virtue without being warred upon is susceptible to passions. For against the battle-line of the strategic conduct of labors, the malice of the adversaries is also arrayed; a heart that does not have war has been deprived of being in virtue. For virtue is called an active name because of the prizes of struggle. Virtue does not seek praises from men, for it does not take pleasure in honor, the mother of evils. ^C For the beginning of honor is the pleasing of men, and the end of it is pride. For he who demands honors exalts himself, and such a one does not know how to bear despising. The desire for honor is a fantasy, for he who loves it also imagines that he is called to the prizes. Let the labor of virtues be honor to you, and let voluntary reproach be for you as a dishonor; do not seek glory from the flesh, you who are destroying the passions of the flesh; rather, seek the better thing, and there will be glory for you. He who wishes to be honored envies the one who excels him. And to this malice, he who is defeated by excessive honors heaps up jealousy; he wishes no one to be preferred above himself, ^D but snatches at the first places, lest he appear inferior; he does not endure to honor one who is more esteemed when he is absent, but even in his labors, he mocks and criticizes his low-ranking glory; the desire for glory is a most bitter slaughter, and he does not entirely escape the wrath that comes from it.

CHAPTER IV.

Such a one serves a barbarous mistress and has been sold to many masters: elation, and envy, and jealousy, and the aforementioned spirits of the passions. But he who beats down the spirit of honor with humility will overthrow the whole legion of demons; he who through a humble mind offers himself as a servant to all will be made like unto Him who humbled Himself, and [who took on] the form...

of a servant. If you measure yourself by the smallest measure, you will not measure yourself against your companion; and he who discloses the infirmity of his soul through lamentations will not think proudly of those things upon which he has expended his labor. Demons bring baseness and contempt upon those who are humble-minded, so that, unable to endure the abasement, they may flee from humility; but he who through humility nobly bears affronts is rather lifted up to the height of philosophy through them. David, when affronted, did not contradict, but even suppressed the vengeance of Abishai ^B. You also, when injured by insults, do not repay insults, but, as is right, appease him who is taking revenge; endure the injury, which is your progress, and with your lips close the door of anger, and do not answer those who threaten at all, that by your silence you may lull to sleep the smoldering lips; you will then cause pain to those who threaten and insult when you place a bridle upon your jaws. For you, by keeping silent, will not be consumed by the insult, but he is much more bitten by your silence when you patiently endure the boldness of the insulter; cast out human praise from your inner thoughts, so that you may shake off the thought-process that willingly displays itself before it even arrives. But guard also with diligent observation, taking care to avoid the desire of pleasing yourself, especially in solitary silence, lest perhaps you esteem as nothing the one who, out of boldness, spoke against you and acted fiercely. One of the brothers was injured by insults from a venerable man, and, enduring an unjust injury, he went away, divided between joy and ^C sorrow; the former, because he had been unjustly subjected to insult and had not been disturbed in return; the latter, because that religious man had been deceived, and, having deceived, had rejoiced. Understand, however, that the deceiver also suffered those two things: namely, in that he caused disturbance, he rejoiced; but in that he was not disturbed in return, he was affected by a greater sorrow.

CHAPTER V

When the demons see us not at all inflamed by the very sting of insults, then, arriving from their ambushes during a time of quiet, like a lever they move the ruling part of the mind, so that we may become more audacious toward those with whom, when they were present, we had peace. When, therefore, you have carried out a contradiction or an insult against a brother, consider yourself to have been deceived, lest, while you are at rest, you find a battle of thoughts in your heart, the one reproaching the manner of the insults, the other on the contrary dictating the reproaches as if they were indeed ^D grievous, and you had not repaid the injuries. When irritation embitters brothers who live in community, then thoughts rush in dictating that one should proclaim the solitary life blessed, so that, draining us of long-suffering, they may even separate us from charity. But he who by long-suffering has overthrown anger, and by charity sadness—two evil beasts fighting with a hostile spirit—fells them with a double prowess: he who implores, and as a suppliant falls to the knees of him who has stirred up to anger, drives both from himself; for the one who brings peace to those who are angry makes war against the spirit of anger; he will appease the anger of those of the same race who are stirring it up against him, because he has accepted for himself the battle of his neighbors, he who...

sustains a man endowed with a bold heart endeavors to be a son of peace; but the bond of peace must not be sought among men only, but also in your body, and in your spirit, and in your soul.

CHAPTER VI

For when you unite the bond of your triad with peace, then, as one joined by the commandment of the divine Trinity, you will hear: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. v. 9). For if you bring the flesh—which struggles against the spirit—to peace by labors, you shall obtain the glory of the beatitudes beyond this age, having conquered the war in your body that battles against the law of your mind and makes you captive to the law of sin which is in your members (Rom. vii. 23). Great is the bond of peace, in which joy also is united, illuminating the eye of the intellect for the contemplation of better things. If, therefore, we acquire this peaceful joy in our labors, we shall repel all troublesome insults by giving thanks through it, and we will not let in the demon of sadness who roars—who, maiming especially in times of affliction, leaps upon the soul and prepares a place for the spirit of despondency so that they may darken the soul and at the same time collect labors. Let the joy of peace, therefore, be written as a law of our heart, sinking sadness, driving away hatred, vanishing wrath, dissolving despondency, and changing sadness. For, lingering in peaceful long-suffering and in thanksgiving and abiding in patience, it is a sea of virtues, sinking the battle line of the devil drawn up against it by the cross. Understand also that the contrary joy presents itself as troubled, lest you be deceived by being shaded so that you hold one thing instead of another. For demons disguise themselves as spiritual graces so that, having deceived the mind with a shaded mist, they may lead it away from prudent judgment. For spiritual joy comes upon the heart when nothing is set before it, because it finds the leader of sadness which is according to God—either upright or suspended in the mind—and then delivers the soul to the spirit of sadness (which is likewise according to God), because it has made it a captive of spiritual joy.

CHAPTER VII

I say also this, as the experience of things sought for dictated to a certain brother: that instead of rejoicing in the Lord, the hostile demon, who perpetrates evils that must not be forgotten, introduces his own joy in return; and instead of the sadness which is according to God, he tempts the mind to the contrary, stirring it up so that, by opposite changes, he may darken the soul through anxieties and deprive it of the light of better things. Two-fold are the sadnesses of wickedness, joined in every operation; one indeed comes upon the heart, troublesome

^A and as if intruding of itself, is born of unusual causes; sadness according to God calls back the soul with tears, not admitting joy, and while they exist in opposition, it anxiously meditates upon the death and judgment that are imminent, and gasps, slowly awaiting this. Desires, if they are frustrated in any way, beget and produce sorrows; but prayers and acts of thanksgiving render these flaccid; in the midst of those who are angry, a moderate sadness is agitated. He, therefore, who first wakes up, if he rises from the passion and extends a hand of excuse to another, repels bitter sadness. Sadness becomes a sickness of the soul and of the flesh; it takes the former captive, and makes the latter immediately languish. Sadness is generated from adversaries, and from sadness comes indignation; from these is birthed the raving reproach of the mind. If you wish to trample upon sadness and indignation, embrace the long-suffering of love, and put on the joy of simplicity. Let not your joy be a source of sorrow for another; for he who rejoices over injustice will grieve in benevolence, and he who, suffering unjustly, endures pains, will exult and rejoice splendidly; for things to come are contrary to things present. ^B

CHAPTER VIII

CAPUT IX.

^A In some places, the psalm should be sung at the vigil with a resonant voice; in others, it is considered useful to pray through the psalms with constant harmony. For, in accordance with the ambushes of the enemy, it is necessary that we, too, change our forms; because sometimes they suggest that we urge on the tongue—when sloth encompasses the soul—and at other times they incite us to sing the words melodiously, as the intellectual eye receives strength, like food, from the light. For he who stretches himself toward the vision of sublime things will receive an eye that sees more acutely, after the example of Elisha. When a hostile thought attacks your heart, do not seek one thing instead of another in prayer, but sharpen the sword of tears against the warrior; for if we thus erupt most mightily into the battle, we shall cause him to depart from us all the more quickly.

Cherish honesty, but along with the work of the hands, cultivate especially the memory of prayer; for the former is not always possible, but the latter has the indefectible benefit of practice. Do not delay in paying the debt of prayer, by yielding to the intellect through the approach of works, and do not be disturbed in the work by agitating the body, lest you simultaneously disturb the heart of prayer. ^B Just as our exterior man works with his hands so as not to be a burden to anyone, so let the interior man work, so as not to burden the intellect. For then the thoughts offer their own proper operation to the soul, when they find it idle with thoughts that are according to God. Plow, then: the works of the hands for the purpose of philanthropy, but the mind of the rational faculty for the desire of wisdom; so that the former may be a hospitality for strangers and a burning away of sloth, but the latter a guide to contemplation, and an effervescence of thoughts. Let us boldly rebuke the pleasures of the thoughts, turning all our wrath upon them, so that, by not receiving what comes from them with pleasure, we do not, in an inverse manner, become mild toward them.

CAPUT X.

Prepare yourself to be meek and also a fighter: the former toward one’s fellow tribesman, the latter toward the enemy; for in this, the use of the irascible faculty is found, namely, in ^C fighting hostily against the serpent; but in this, furthermore, lies the gentleness and modesty of the meek man: in tolerating one’s brother charitably, and in fighting against the thought. Therefore, be a meek fighter, with your meekness divided from the thoughts that arise from a crafty mind, just as the battle itself is divided from those who are by nature joined together; do not turn the use of your wrath against him who is (according to nature) yours, so that you might indeed become angry at your brother according to the likeness of the serpent, while entering into friendship with the serpent according to the assent of your own thoughts.

The meek man, even if he suffers grievous things, does not depart from charity; for the sake of this, he is long-suffering, he bears, he shows kindness, and he endures. For if being long-suffering is of charity, then to fight with anger is not of charity; for anger stirs up sorrow and hatred, but charity diminishes these three. If you have a firm foundation ^D in charity, pay more attention to this than to him who offends you; serve God with fear and with charity, the former as Lord and...

judge, the latter as one kind toward men and as a nourisher. He who has acquired the virtues of charity leads the depraved passions into captivity; and he who possesses these three from the holy Trinity—faith, hope, and charity—will be a city surrounded by a triple wall and fortified with virtues as with towers. You will be shown to be endowed with charity not only in that you do not receive from another, but you will also be recognized as a renouncer of the world by giving profusely; while you provide material, strive to cast pure seeds, lest instead of wheat, a nettle should grow for you. In these things that you provide, be mindful of God, who is both the giver and the acceptor, so that He may impute to you the rewards of the renunciation of the world with praises. ^A

CHAPTER XI

He who possesses nothing perceives the pleasure of a life free from care; but he who loves possessions has the constant torture of anxiety for his wealth. You will then drive away the captive assembly of thoughts when you do not surrender your heart to the cares of worldly defilements; and then you will carry the cross without any distraction, when you refuse the desire to possess. Moreover, the thought of worldly defilements predicts for you old age and diseases, so that it may divide your hope in God with riches. Let him who has proposed to practice the renunciation of the world be surrounded by faith as by a wall, and be strengthened by charity, and confirmed by hope; for faith is not ^B abandonment, but the subsistence of better things in the hope of patience, and in the charity of life. When you renounce all external defilements, pay attention to the dark thoughts that reproach you with poverty, and offer you destitution, baseness, and disgrace, so that those homicidal spirits may craftily work the undoing of this bright virtue in you. If, therefore, you pay attention to the prudence of the contest, you will rather discover this—namely, that the crown is woven for you by those very things for which they criticize you; for in renouncing, you renounce specifically because of those contests for which you are subjected to reproaches. Do not, therefore, yield to the struggle of interior thoughts, because the end is not commended at the beginning of renunciation, but at the end ^C of patience the beginnings are crowned, nor are contests applauded only in bodily exercise, but in the struggle of thoughts—which pertains to the crown—it is required.

CHAPTER XII

Judge your thoughts in the tribunal of the heart, so that when the robbers are killed, their leader may be afraid; for he who is an accurate examiner of thoughts is also a true lover of the commandments. When, therefore, a thought difficult to discover has invaded your heart, then kindle even more vehement labors against it; for it will either flee, not bearing the heat as something contrary, or it will endure it, as being familiar to that which is a truly righteous way. Moreover, it sometimes happens that demons, suggesting a thought that is seemingly good to your heart, and immediately being transformed, feign that they themselves are resisting the thought, so that from the opposition you might think that they even know what ^D your heart is judging.

^A And there are times when they reveal your own schemes to you, so that you might appear wise to yourself. When thoughts move you to the place to which they suggested we should love, then they make you repent again, in order to make us unstable in every way, and barren. Therefore, let us not cast ourselves from place to place, but let us rather bend ourselves toward stillness and labors, because it is from our own sloth that thoughts take their strength against us. He who knows the experience of a thought in the place where he was called, let him remain there before God; but he who does not know, is still walking in the struggle. The changing of places should be toward things that are more spiritual, and not toward those that are more restful; for patience, and long-suffering, and love give thanks in afflictions; but acedia, and levity, and self-love rejoice in recreations. A restless man is warred against in his soul through his senses turned toward outer things, but he who loves stillness, guarding his senses, makes war against the thoughts.

CHAPTER XIII.

Therefore, by the ordinance of the law of the senses, let your leader gather together the order, so that you may not, by sight and hearing, disturb your soul with the scourges of evils. Since you exist in two essences, take care to distribute the order to each, so that one may fight most bravely, and the other may not contradict, and do not grant commands to the tyrant; for having been given over to that fire, you will pay even the last copper coin. When, warring against the causes of the passions, you put them to flight and conquer them, do not let an evil thought exalt you, lest perhaps by trusting in a spirit of error, you also become stunned in your mind; but endeavor to count the excesses of those things in which you labor, so that you may not be defrauded of the ends of your right actions by inward thoughts. Some, having been praised for their right actions, in the course of time neglected their labors, and the applause of praise departed with a sound, but their labors perished, dissolved. Others, having been hardened ^C by the tumor of the vices, were considered great, and while their soul’s conscience was ulcerated, the disease of favorable acclamations was ^D dilated; and the thoughts, causing the soul to wander from its wounds, snatched away its labors amidst favorable omens. Whenever those who are most laborious have become enriched with honors from men, then the demons also, appearing, bring on disgraces, so that, having fallen from their honors, they might not suffer these things and might not bear the insults. When you are performing great penance for your sins, then the thoughts, magnifying the struggles of your labors, diminish your sins, and often cover them with forgetfulness, or even signify that they have been forgiven, so that, gradually yielding in your labors, you may not count out the lamentations that ought to burst forth more abundantly against the very transgressions themselves.

CHAPTER XIV.

He, however, who, in order to cut down the passions that have attacked him,

^A acts as a fierce pugilist who has marshaled more armed men than there are passions, advances to the fight like a general of an army. Do not forget that you have sinned, even if you have done penance, but keep the mourning for your sin as a reminder for your humiliation, so that, having been humbled, you may necessarily cut away pride. If any of those who have committed unjust acts should wish to change their life to the best path, let him stand opposite his actions with a change to better ones; for he who sets his action against each wickedness, pierces the dragon with the arrows of the provident quiver of the virtues. But the sharpest armor of this beast ^B is vainglory, which pierces the labors with its darts; he who anticipates it with the secret strategies of his works will hasten to bring down the whole head of the devil. Seal the aromatics of your labors with silence, so that they may not be stolen by being loosened by the tongue for the sake of glory; hide your tongue in the practical manner of asceticism; for by keeping silent, you shall obtain as faithful witnesses and convictors of your life, those very labors. He who at no time has anyone by whom he might bear witness to himself from his present labors, let him not bear witness to himself with his tongue; for some, having stripped themselves with the hardness of their labors, as a covering for their laziness, ^C present the actions of past times as obvious witnesses, providing them as uncertain witnesses to the present works. Just as you hide your secret sins from men, so also hide your labors from them; for regarding the secret things of the heart, the subtilties that happen secretly, and the preparations for the bouts of wrestling, he sets them against them in opposition. But if we hide our transgressions with security, and, conversely, reveal the labors performed against them, we work in a way that is little safe and contrary for both. But you are ashamed of the publication of shameful deeds, lest perhaps you act so that what is useful to your soul becomes your disgrace and contempt. Fear also the exhibition of your labors, lest by chance you bring about a charge of man-pleasing, which is the destruction of the soul; but if you reveal the shameful transgressions to God alone, ^D do not reveal to men the struggles against them, so that they may not be thought to be crowns of victory.

CHAPTER XV

Those who receive the strength for their labors from grace must not think that they have it as if from their own power; for the Word of the commandments is the author of all good things for us, just as the deceitful one is of evils. Therefore, offer thanksgiving to God, the author of all good things, for the things which you have done well; but whatever evil things bring trouble to you, cast them upon him who was the principal cause of them. At the end of every undertaking, offer thanksgiving to the better one, so that by your lawfully presented offering, malice may be covered with shame; for he who has joined thanksgiving to his operation will possess the treasure of the heart, which he will be able in no way to plunder, inasmuch as he has built up a double wall against malice into the height of a tower. Praiseworthy is the man who connects the cognitive life to the practical, so that from both fountains the field of the soul may be irrigated toward virtue; for the cognitive power gives wings to the rational essence

^A toward the contemplation of higher things; but the active power puts to death the members which are upon the earth: fornication, impurity, passion, and evil desire. Those, therefore, who are enclosed on all sides by the panoply of both will easily overcome the malice of the demons from then on. The demons wage war against the soul through thoughts, and those who fight back more arduously through patience, and who timidly approach the battle thereafter, suspecting a powerful leader of the fight. If you wish to act as a general against the phalanx of the demons, block the gates of your soul with quiet, and touch your ear with the words of the fathers, that then, having learned more, you may burn up the thorns of your thoughts when you listen to paternal admonition. Do not be a judge of deeds, but an examiner of words.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHAPTER XVII.

taste that bitter remedy, lest you too happen to dose another with the same; do not bewitch your ear with backbitings, that being sold to passion, you may not serve various passions; for one passion out of many, when it finds a place in you, brings others into the same stable as well: then the governing mind is reduced to servitude when it has detached its labors from the passion to which they were joined. He who attempts to examine the actions of others does not in reality scrutinize his own; do not mock one who has departed from life as though he had lived carelessly, lest, as if you were by habit a harsh and bitter judge of the living, you be made one also of the dead. Do not look upon those who sin with a boastful disposition, raising yourself up as if you were a judge, but pay attention to yourself with a sober mind, as an examiner of your own actions. Lament when you sin, and do not swell with pride when you succeed; do not be someone who is easily despised, nor be boastful, so that you do not clothe yourself in evil as if it were an ornament. For some, being unable to be known for a devoted piety, have hastened to be known at least for a vice; others, having grown through envy, shoot pretexts from on high, and consider those who are established in virtues to be for nothing. Some, celebrated by the rumor of the surrounding crowd on account of bad things, take on a grave and honorable life, not so that they might lament their wicked sins with labors, but so that they might overshadow the rumors of slanders. But do not strive to please the one who deceives you, boastful in your glory, nor rejoice with gladness because you are deceived; for if you pursue all manner of studious things on account of a mere name, you are working not for God, but for men; do not offer confidence to one who lives without labor, even if he displays a great name in that matter; for such a man is a friend for the sake of the person’s favor, and time becomes his accuser. ^B

CHAPTER XVIII

Have a friend who fears [God] as a mocker, so that you may find a defense for your own offenses. When your friend, overcome by the auspicious reputation of your labors, turns himself to envy, so that before those standing around he shoots forth words of vainglory at your labors, in order that he may overshadow the glory currently surrounding you with scoffing jests cast at you: then do not, by paying attention to his envy, be bitten, so that you do not draw out the bitter poison for your soul; for this is the work of Satan, so that he might inflame that man with envy, but consume you with bitterness. ^C But let us rather be humbled, and let us anticipate such men with honor, and let us soften the frame of mind that has been made wild by emulation through the table. Do not censure your friend out of envy as if from another person, so that, as if blaming him from the mouth of another, you might make yourself appear innocent ^D and exalt yourself as blameless. For this is the transfiguration of Satan, who, from the person of the serpent, was blaming the Most High, in order that, as if from another mouth, he himself might attribute his own envy to God, while he himself might be considered exempt from envy; do not, as if wanting to have a brother as a subject, try to catch his sin, so that you are not found to be a cooperator of Satan. He who has sinned should not observe what others say or whether they sin, as though he were not alone, he who

^A in falling into evil; for this itself is the primary work of the devil’s fall. Let him be penitent in the deeds he has committed, ^B recognizing the lamentation of sorrow against them, and let him draw to himself quiet, the leader of labors, which shows him the multi-eyed contemplation of the virtues. He who keeps his tongue in silence should put on a manly spirit against his thoughts; for the fortitude of the soul is not shown only in the quiet of the mouth, but also in the vigor of the thoughts and the stability against insults and injustices; for thence are the terrible scourges of the devil shaken off in conversations.

Chapter XIX.

CAPUT XX.

they have brought the thought inside. When you have spent a long time abstaining from wine and oil and any superfluities of any kind, then your thoughts begin to calculate the years and seasons with praises, in order to make you yield to the efforts of those who exercise the body. You may rightly, therefore, speak against these mischievous calculators, using whatever oppositions lie ready to overthrow their wickedness. Which of the brothers, when praised within by the demons for his labors, has sung: «Let them be turned back at once in shame, those who say to me: Euge! euge!» Do not endure the thought that comes from them, which suggests that you have remained in the monastic life for a cycle of many years, lest they make your labors depend upon the years, nor let yourself be captured by pride in the patience of the desert; ^B but in the patience of simplicity, remember that you are an unprofitable servant. Someone was trying to take a certain elderly hermit, a man of steadfast character, out of the desert on account of his advanced old age. But he said to him: "Cease from this violence; for I, the evildoer, have not yet been recalled from exile." And to me, as I sought to learn this word of doctrine, he said: "Seek first laboriously the inborn fear, and then you will find within the experienced word, which teaches man knowledge." The same man, when asked about fear, answered as follows: "He who solicitously remembers death is led also, as if by a straight path, to the fear of judgment." Through fear, become a daily familiar of the divine Scriptures; for by the association with these, you will cast out the habits of [hostile] thoughts. He who, by meditation, stores the holy Scriptures in his heart as if they were a treasure, easily casts out thoughts from it. ^C In our night-time vigils, listening to the divine Scriptures, let us not deaden what we have heard with sleep, nor surrender our soul to the captivity of thoughts, but let us prick our heart with the goad of the holy Scriptures, so that by this prick of diligence we may cut away the opposing negligence.

CAPUT XXI.

Some, for the sake of reputation and not for the diligent care of the soul, become friends with those who are devout, in order to acquire for themselves glory without labor; but he who is inflamed by charity through the memory of heavenly things, purges his intellect from the complacency of earthly things. Do not abandon your conscience, which acts as a witness to you, to a thought that despises [the truth] and treats sin with sweet words; do not associate with one who loves to contend, so that, by fighting passion with passion, you do not fall away from virtue; do not be carried away by a proud thought ^D to the blowing wind, which stirs up the breeze from one direction, and then returns blowing from the other side. There is no praise for a tongue that rolls out words rapidly like a wheel, but glory remains with lips moved steadily and safely: when you hear words, interrogate your mind, and then, having judged the opinion, you will pronounce it; do not deceive your mind by using false argumentation.

^A If, however, you do not reject them and do not cast them upon the devil, you rouse against yourself a throng of your own thoughts, and you further provoke yourself to fashion arrows, while the soul, being wounded by these things, collapses. If you should travel to a foreign land for the sake of some service, see to it that you are not prepared to be hosted by all, deeming yourself unworthy of such glory, so that you may thus drive away the thought of insult, and speak the truth. I think that if charity is not present, you will not forget an injury when you are bitten by the greatest insults or unjustly oppressed, but rather you will bless. For he who keeps a grudge against demons does not keep a grudge against men; yet he who keeps a grudge against a brother makes peace with the demons. Resentment of contradiction is a burning of the heart, whereas the souls of those who do not keep grudges are refreshed spiritually; as coals of fire belch forth sparks, so too do the souls of those who keep grudges belch forth evil thoughts; just as a scorpion’s strike has a most stinging pain, so too does a soul that keeps a grudge bear a most bitter venom. ^B

CHAPTER XXII

Be mindful of injuries ^C and keep a grudge of heart against the spirits of fornication and vainglory, two bitter demons contrary to one another; for the one flees from faces, while the other rejoices in faces. And the demon of unchastity suddenly hurls its filth at the athlete of asceticism and attacks him sharply, not bearing the heat of the torch of his labors; but he who has been relaxed from self-control through the flattery of pleasures, he [the demon] gradually occupies and invades, in order to converse with the heart, so that, having been ignited by vices, it might converse and be taken captive, and in the end be led toward the obscene lust of sin. But the deceitful spirit of vainglory, happening to be popular, stands over the soul of those who are willing in a shadowy way, hunting for the glory that they produce by their labors. If, therefore, anyone wishes, with God, to overcome these, let him attenuate the flesh against fornication, and let him humble the soul against vainglory. For thus will we easily drive out the vain glory, and we shall be pleasing to God; and we shall blow away the impure fantasies of the other, and we shall make the heart free from pleasures. It is a most grievous thing for the heart to be buried by the habit of pleasures, and it requires many labors to cut off the fodder of evils to its furthest extremity. Therefore, do not allow your intellect to converse with pleasures; for in a gathering of evils, fire is ignited. ^D For in this way, while they make you warm, they cause you to think that it is a great labor to restrain the fire of nature, and that the life of self-control is long and that the time is heavy and the life of continence is burdensome; moreover, they also bring to you memories of those shameful things which they imagine for you at night, fashioning for you the stinging idols of deception, and then, having kindled the fever in your flesh more intensely, they suggest to you internally, according to the law of sin, that you have no strength to restrain the force of nature, and that even if you sin today out of necessity, you will repent tomorrow because of the commandment. For the law is merciful, and grants forgiveness to those who repent. And they bring forward some of those who...

having fallen while practicing continence, have done penance again, so that from these examples they may persuade you to accept their counsel of deception; whereby, restoring the soul which turns away in repentance, they make the temple of temperance into a brothel and a place of prostitution. In the restless workshop of the heart, bilinguous serpents whisper such a thought. ^A

CHAPTER XXIII.

But you, O man of temperance, do not let yourself be deceived again by uncertain hopes under the pretext of repentance. For many who have fallen were immediately snatched away, while others have been unable to rise, bound as if by law to the habit of pleasures. For what do you know, O man, if you will live, so that you may do penance, since you stipulate for yourself years of life? Even here, while sinning, you indulge your flesh; it would be better for you to grant yourself the memory of death, so that it may depict in your heart the fearsome justice of the judgment, if by any chance you might be able to extinguish the burning passion of the flesh. For you will not otherwise extinguish your passions, until you mingle with your flesh the labors of their destruction. Nor again, will you extinguish the passions of the soul, before you pour out upon your heart the fruits of charity like rain. ^B Corporate passions indeed take their beginning from those things which are natural to the flesh, against which temperance also fights; but the passions of the soul have their conception from those things which pertain to the quality of the soul, against which charity also fights. Charity is the bond of impassibility and the destruction of the passions, which brings forth longsuffering, cools the effervescent spirit, produces humility, and casts down pride. Charity has nothing of its own except God; for she herself is God. He who has been added to the shining senate of the monks should put aside the promises of glory offered by his kindred, and seek not the praise that comes from men, but that blessedness which proceeds from the commandments. ^C But let him take courage against the terrors of the demons that assault him; for you have not received the spirit of timidity unto fear again; therefore, let him not strike himself down with a spirit of timidity, nor tremble at the crashes and nocturnal noises of the demons, since they do not even have power against swine. Therefore, at evening hours, when going out of your cell, do not be disturbed, nor flee back inside, just as if the demons were indeed pursuing you, but bending your knees in the place where you feel fear, pour out a prayer; for they will not fall upon you, even if they have troubled you in this way. But after you have risen, make your heart bold, and with the singing of the Psalms pray, saying: ^D "You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the thing that walks in darkness, nor of the stumbling-block, and of the demon of noonday." For thus, having done this once and many times over, you will the more quickly drive away from yourself the demon of timidity. For, being unable to harm by deed, they make the soul cowardly with phantasms, so that...

men, and the mighty to be thought of as having strength. ^A

CHAPTER XXIV.

Do not wrap yourself in the most beautiful garments, so that you do not clothe yourself the more clearly in the demon of vainglory; for virtues are not worn in the beauty of garments, but labors are worn like gilded vestments in the beauty of the soul. Rather, clothe yourself in the fear of the punishments of God's judgment, so that by the fear of fire you may put on an inextinguishable fervor, and be more quickly instructed in wisdom against the malice of thoughts; for the beginning of wisdom is fear. He who declares the deception of thoughts through experience will not be known well to all, except to those who have experience, for the path of knowledge in this regard is constant experience; for the practical life is the cause of both, which as we possess it more laboriously, we shall know ourselves, and condemn our thoughts, and know God. ^B He who by practical exile and cognitive indwelling of thoughts anoints the simple with art, let him beware lest he boast of his knowledge for the sake of showing off glory; but if a thought of these things exalts and plunders him, then like a thief, let him take as an aid the Gentile Jethro, who gave the great prophet Moses wise counsel for judgment and benevolence. 438 Let the power of your thoughts be works, for things to be done are more philosophical than things to be said, just as they are more laborious; when action is present, words flash like lightning, but when works are not present, words do not flash with the power of works. A crime of the elders is a younger word, and boastful lips shaken with laughter; but he who is troubled and troubles others in vain, will be outside of tranquility, and when there is no wave, he is tempest-tossed. ^C

CHAPTER XXV.

Do not hunt for an intemperate tongue, so that you do not suffer the same thing yourself from those from whom you do not wish. Beware of tripping up the tongue of your neighbor, so that you also may escape the tripping of the devil; beware of reproaching the sin of your brother, so that you may not fall away from compassion as if you were of a different nature. He who does not have kindness and love toward his brother, how could he be a member of the love that bears Christ? When a brother approaches during your intense fast, do not accept the bitterness of thoughts suggesting ^D to you that he is a disturbance to your quiet and an impediment to your fast; they do this so that, seeing your brother, you may not behold him as God Himself. Let us not say that the constant inspections by our brothers are disturbances, but rather that they are a common campaign; let us entrust their gathering together to be an array against the phalanx of the adversary. For thus, united by the love of affection, we shall drive out malice, and we shall transfer the works of our hands to the treasury of hospitality.

^A Let us not receive them as if we were bestowing a favor upon our brothers, but rather as if we were debtors to a loan, and with supplication, as Lot showed, let us receive them into hospitality. Some, as if because of a foreigner’s dignity, also carry themselves in a foreign way; and indeed, when they invite a known guest, they do not entreat him at all, but even exaggerate the word of the invitation with the insolence of pride, and they complain of the one who declines as if he were offering an insult: thus, a great puffing up is rekindled from this; for the thoughts, pricking the eye of the soul, blind it, so that we use the most excellent commandments in the most wretched way.

CHAPTER XXVI

When a thought hinders you from compelling a brother overmuch to ^B take a seat at the table, it is mocking you at that very moment, [suggesting] that you must not have a tongue forcing him with great intensity toward the violence of love; for it perhaps suggests to you that the brother is one of the vagabonds or commoners, and that he will leave content with bread, while into the other’s mind it injects the idea that he has found no hospitality whatsoever at your table; for since the thought itself carries the appearance of his actual change, it injects one into the other’s heart, so that it might cut off the hospitality of the one, and cause the other to germinate with insult. ^C Abraham, sitting before the tent, if he saw anyone passing by, would receive him with action; indeed, he spread the table for those living in impiety, and while receiving barbarians, he did not miss out on angels. Those who have been received under it into the hospitality of a foreigner know the sweetness of hospitality, since a gentle word also seasons the table to be sweet for the heart. Therefore, with great zeal let us exercise hospitality, so that we may receive not only angels, but God Himself. "For as much," He says, "as you did it to one of these least of My brothers, you did it to Me." ^D One of those pursuing virtue with greater knowledge responded thus: "Zeal for hospitality is wont to entirely abolish the fantasies of demons resounding in the heart, along with abundant ministry performed willingly, if only one has been altogether freed from worldly filth: but these things, done with humility and contrition of heart, more quickly free the one laboring from fantasies; for the demons greatly fear humility, knowing it to be a master’s commandment." One of the most approved men, initiating a discourse on humility, also signified this, saying that, indeed, their father, among those who were highly approved by man, when struck on the jaw by a demonized man who was dreadfully insane, immediately turning, presented the other [cheek] ready, and the demon, as if struck by the lightning of humility, and crying out, immediately jumped off that creature.

CHAPTER XXVII

Indeed, the following saying also belongs to the holy bishop Epiphanius: He says that there was a son of a faithful widow who had

^A a son possessed by a Pythonic demon, and who, despite remaining a long time under that affliction, did not receive healing. But when his mother was humbled by grief, gratitude cooled the passion; and, having suspended her soul from the Cross, she cast out the demon from the boy by her prayers. For as the youth wandered through the surrounding regions and the mother prayed at home, the demon, crying out his own name, was tormented by tortures. She, hearing this, did not rush to see the matter, binding the conflict of nature with humility, but was dragged off involuntarily by others. And there the demon was driven by a furious impulse to take flight. She, therefore, persevering and embracing her son with tears, opposed the demon with the giving of thanks and humiliation. When she had wept bitterly and besought Christ as a suppliant, and had made the sign of the cross, the demon fled from the boy more quickly than many scourges could have forced it. Demons fiercely envy those who shine in subjection to a Father, and they gnash their teeth against them because they have joined the renunciation of the world to an anxiety-free ^B state of subjection. Against these, they accurately search out pretexts and prepare provocations; and when the mind is kindled, they engrave anger within, and afterwards they gradually brew hatred against the Father, as if he were unjustly afflicting and rebuking them to their face—so that, by surrounding the soul in different ways, they might scatter it from the paternal arms. Therefore, let him who is in subjection to a Father yield to insults and conquer with humility, and be tempered with long-suffering, and let him not endure murmuring thoughts against austerity and the boldness of the brothers.

CHAPTER XXVIII

That freedom from ^C burdensome servitude (which the demons dictate) is not equal—indeed, they introduce many more things—is certain, so that when they have made one bold against the authority to which he is subject, they may easily fasten him to worldly defilements. For they are eager to separate some from the paternal bond by these things, and others by different means. "Work," and "receive travelers hospitably," the demons urge from within, so that you may acquire for yourself a famous name; for from these seemingly good things they sow the tares of malice bit by bit. At the beginning, they allow him to find sweetness in vainglory, and to stay sober with continuous fasting, and to rise eagerly for prayers and sacred assemblies, so that he might reason: "When I was under authority, I was not like this. For there, there were insults, sorrows, and disturbances; but here, there is peace, tranquility, and joy. There, there was the Father's austerity, fear, and rebuke; but here, there is freedom from care, fearlessness, and calm." And thus, having stolen his mind in these things, they carry it off. Then, ^D suddenly falling upon him, they sprinkle his soul with fear in his sleep beyond the proper time, and they cut off sacred assemblies with negligence and listlessness, and suggest that hospitality is a burden; and they bring forth all the wiles of malice, so that, having cast listlessness upon him, they may produce hatred for the life itself, and thus, naked of

^A virtues, they may expose him to the angels. ^D Sometimes the demons exalt these labors through thoughts, and at other times they belittle them, as if they were achieving nothing, so that where they can they may implant arrogance, and where they can they may sow despair. For those who are not inclined to be puffed up, they exalt the labors so that they might implant arrogance; but to those who are not persuaded to be bent by arrogance, they do nothing more than play upon the labors, so that, having relaxed and wearied them, they may sow despair in them.

CHAPTER XXIX

When, therefore, the thoughts proclaim great labors, by rejecting them, let us belittle our soul; but when on the contrary they diminish the labors, as though we were achieving nothing, let us, as far as our strength allows, exalt the mercies of Christ. For the more harshly you treat your body, the more you should scrutinize your conscience. Know yourself, perceiving the depradations of thoughts in the occult, lest perhaps, carried along insensibly about their clandestine thefts, we be overshadowed, thinking that we acquire virtues solely by the austerity of our diet. For in this way some, having fallen into fancies, were driven out of their minds like locusts, as the demons cut off their imaginations and twisted and depraved their visions, and sometimes even robbed their soul with fear. To one of the brothers who was awake at night, the demons imprinted gloomy imaginations, not only upon his outward appearance, but also upon his inner sight, so that his mind, vexed by the fear of the following and impending night, was in danger of a robbery of his senses, and for many nights the war was carried to his soul, as if flying. But he who was in danger strove to retain the leader of his mind within, suspending his soul upon the bestower of prayer, and by bringing forth the deeds of his transgressions against himself, he strove to look into himself; afterwards, by distracting his soul, he terrified it with the fire of judgment, so that by clashing fear with fear, he might repel timidity—just as, indeed, it happened, as he who endured the war related. For while the demons were terrifying the soul in many ways, he who was burdened sought God through prayer; but while they were dragging the soul here and there through imaginations, he, turning over in his mind the piled-up heap of his transgressions, showed them to God, the inspector of all things. But when they again pulled away the gaze of his prayer, he, opposing it with the fear of judgment, destroyed the timidity caused by the eyes of the deluding images; for the one part, since it had abounded more than the other, he overcame, with God as his guide, the deception. For the soul, humbled by the remembrance of sins and awakened as if from sleep by the fear of judgment, blew away the terrors of the demons from its inner parts. All this, however, was the power of supreme grace, namely, to have driven away the terrors of the demons and to have supported the soul that was falling. ^B "For the Lord supports all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down." ^C

CHAPTER XXX.

^A It happens sometimes that we strive to pour forth a pure prayer, and yet we are not able; and on the other hand, it occurs occasionally that, without our striving, the soul is inclined to pure prayer—for the first is of our own infirmity, but the latter is of the grace from above inviting us to return to the purity of the soul, while at the same time, through both, it teaches us not to attribute to ourselves what we pray purely, but to recognize the giver; for we do not know how we ought to pray. When, therefore, we strive to purify our prayer and are unable, but are overwhelmed by darkness, then, irrigating our cheeks with tears, let us beseech God as suppliants that the dark night of war may be dissolved and that the brilliance of the soul may be illuminated.

When a brother who lives with you goes away abroad for the sake of ^B ministry, in accordance with the custom of prayer, renew his memory; yet, beyond measure, do not conjure up his image, lest the demons, taking from you the beginning of anxiety, exacerbate it by sharpening it, rendering it much more acute, and overshadowing you with it during the chanting of the psalms and in the very divine offices, depriving you of the care which is according to God: so that, by repelling care with care, they may carry us off as captives from better things, and we may not think of that saying: "Cast your care upon the Lord." For they know that, from the superfluous anxiety for the brother, they can, by disturbing the leading faculty of our reason, engrave afflictions upon us; and furthermore, they also kindle complaints of tardiness, as if the brother were acting somewhat negligently regarding the labor of his ministry, so that a very anxious desire might perhaps be turned even into hatred.

^C Furthermore, in the anxieties which one has regarding someone who is abroad, it is a custom of the demons to do this also: on the day they know he is to return, they are accustomed to exhibit him through a dream as if in a mirror, so that from the dream that has occurred, they may cause us, at the time of those who travel abroad, to expect again prophets or interpreters of dreams, whom one ought rather to shun and turn away from entirely, lest perhaps from these, they deceive the soul in other things as well.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Verily, these brothers themselves have no foreknowledge; but what they see happening, they report and imagine. ^D Often, therefore, when we are resting in peaceful quiet, they have signaled to us through our thoughts a brother coming to us, to whom one must not give credence—even though they may deem them to be speaking the truth—because through that truth, as it were, they slip in a lie, so that out of the particular case they may sketch out snares upon the paths that are before us. Just as raw gold, thrown into a crucible where metals are melted and liquefied, comes out purer; so also the novice monk in the cenobium, as if he were metal, being placed there so that his character may be purged, is rendered brilliant through acts of endurance; for through the command of the brothers, he learns to work out obedience; and through him who provokes, he prepares his nature [to have] patience.

When, therefore, he receives insults with joy, and in humility embraces lowliness, having become superior to the passions that contradict him, he strives to shine forth in the virtues, as grace grants him power even more abundantly. Just as those who descend into the roots of the earth dig up gold, so those who descend into the golden virtue of humility bring back the virtues. Then the intellect perceives rest, when, having cut away the causes of the passions, it is occupied with contemplation; but before the cutting away of these, it feels toil and hardship, approaching the battle with the opposing powers in weakness. ^A

CHAPTER XXXII.

The elders gladly embrace the solitary retreat when it is attained gradually, provided that one, having perfected the virtues in the cenobium, has come to that point; and indeed let him test himself whether he is able to progress in retreat, but if, not being able, he is frustrated in virtue, let him turn his path back to the cenobium, lest perhaps, not having been able to contend with the machinations of the thoughts, he fall from his senses. ^B Just as children are the consolation of a mourning widow, so are labors the consolation for a soul that has sinned; these dissipate the despair of the thoughts, sow the confidence of repentance, proclaim and broadcast the mercies of Christ, and condemn the sins that have been committed. We ought not, therefore, to apply ourselves to labors merely as if by custom, but [also] with a prudent mind of thanksgiving, lest the soul be found naked of such wisdom; for if in every action we rightly acknowledge Him who grants the ends of our labors, let us seal it with thanksgiving. Just as a puppy lies in wait to snatch bread from an infant, so does an evil thought [lie in wait to snatch] prudence from the heart; let us not therefore act foolishly, making use of the malice of opposing works, so that we do not abandon our soul to them as prey. ^C Just as the dance of the stars, bearing a torch, makes the heaven splendid, so the truth of words, holding a lamp, makes a man bright. Let us therefore bear one manner of truth upon our tongue, because "God makes those of one way to dwell in a house" (Ps. LXVII, 7). Just as sharp lightning flashes, striking forth, betoken thunder, so too do accurate and just words, when they approach, betoken faith. Let us, therefore, be eager to be faithful to the truth, so that we may progress toward love, the metropolis of the virtues. ^D As the sun smiles upon the entire world with its golden-rayed beams, so does truth, with radiant actions, gladden and congratulate every soul; and if we have obtained this, we have extinguished the passions and have shone forth as far as the heavens. You shall undergo every labor until you acquire holy love; because, if this is absent, nothing of the present things is of any benefit; for indeed anger grows wild, and morals become harsh, and labors undertaken without [love] are mingled with conceit. Through the humility of the soul, David, with mourning

^A fasted, and let us too through fasting humble the soul.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

He who exercises himself more harshly in bodily labors should not work for praise, nor be puffed up by glory. For if ^B in these things the demons make the soul swell with great conceit, they will reinforce both the harshness and the bodily exercise with glory, and they will draw one on to take up greater labors, so that he may be even more puffed up. For they speak within, injecting such things ^C through thoughts, saying: "Just as such-and-such a person, having exercised himself rigorously, was greatly famed, and even when dead is still spoken of, so do you also ascend to the highest peak of exercise, that you may procure glory for yourself and your name may go forth great, for you to be spoken of beyond measure even after death." Through such deceived thoughts they not only attack your bodily labors, but they even call them to their alliance, because through them they touch the soul in more troublesome ways; for they enthrone him and exalt him to a teacher's discourse, so that he may be praised as having the first place among the great-laborers and the knowers. They also inject zeal and envy against those who are praised for their accomplishments, and whose action is more miraculous and near, and whose wisdom is similar. Sometimes ^D they even deceptively lull the burning of his flesh, banishing the impure thoughts from within, so that one might think that he has conquered the spirit of fornication by the inheritance [of virtue], and has purified his heart according to the brightness of the saints, and has ascended to the arch of holiness. And concerning the foods from which he has abstained, and continuous fastings, they confirm to him the years in which he ought, as a champion, to boast and to be puffed up against the brotherhood as if it were worthless; and they make him narrate his struggles as if they were accomplished by his own strength alone—that "I have done such things, and I have exercised myself thus, and I have suffered hardships"—still stopping his mouth from saying, "Not I, but the help that was in me." For they do not allow him to confess God as the helper in those things in which they make him boast, so that, having finished the whole of the struggles as if by his own strength, he might demand the praises of the prizes in their entirety, so that he might also be plunged into the abyss of blasphemy, insensibly showing himself to be his own helper.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Wherefore, the heart being thus schooled by the thoughts of glory, and not resisting, will not be outside of the hidden madness of the mind, with the leader of the mind in danger of being shaken out, either through dreams believed to be true, or in vigils transformed, or in the transfiguration of light seen. For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light

transfigured for our deception, perhaps by demonstrating that he will give graces, so that you might fall and worship him, or by announcing that as another Elijah he is to be taken up, or by promising to sanctify; some who accepted their faith on this point missed the truth and became bereft of their senses. You, therefore, O supplicant of the holy Trinity, knowing these things in which you labor, keep your heart with all vigilance, lest perchance, while paying heed only to external labors, you be craftily ensnared in those within. My words, then, O son, have been spoken to you; but may your heart keep my sayings; remember Christ who guards you, and do not forget the adorable and consubstantial Trinity, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

OF THE SAME: A TREATISE ADDRESSED TO THE SAME, CONCERNING THE VICES WHICH ARE OPPOSED TO THE VIRTUES.

^BCAPUT 1.

I deem it necessary to submit also the vices which are opposed to the virtues to your diligence in a brief summary; for while we have until now cultivated the mind, we have cast out from the tilled land the thorns of our thoughts: yet we have not arrived at this point by works which we ourselves have done, but by holding to the pattern of sound words which we have heard from the Fathers, and of which we have become conscious in certain of our actions. But the whole is grace from above, which even to sinners points out the deceits of those who mislead minds, and which makes us secure and says: "What have you that you did not receive?" that through receiving we might give thanks to the Giver, because we do not attribute to ourselves any boast of glory, denying the donation; and therefore it says: "If you even received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" "Now," it says, "you have become rich," you who are poor in works; "now," you who have begun to be taught, "you are filled," the deception of whom has recently passed over to me: both through the discourse which I received as a loan, putting forward the poverty of my works, and also through the counsel by which I have admonished ^C that the doctrine of ^D discipline