Saint John Cassian the Roman on the Eight Passionate Thoughts
Among these writings I composed a Word on the common life, and in this Word, relying on your prayers, I have ventured to write about the eight sinful thoughts: about gluttony and unchastity, about avarice, anger, dejection, listlessness, vainglory and pride.
On self-control of the stomach
First of all we shall speak about self-control of the stomach, which is the opposite of overeating, and about the manner of fasting, and the quality and quantity of food. And we shall speak not out of ourselves, but as we have received it from the holy fathers. They did not hand down to us a single rule of fasting, nor a single manner of eating, nor a single measure for everyone, since not all have the same strength, whether because of age, or infirmity, or the habits of the body. But they did hand down to all one and the same aim in fasting: not to eat much and to avoid a variety of dishes.
They proved by experience that it is more profitable to eat moderately every day, and thus easier to remain pure, than to fast for three or four days or even a whole week. For it is said that those who undertake an excessive fast often eat to excess afterwards. Sometimes the body wearies from excessive fasting and grows sluggish for spiritual service; sometimes, weighed down with many dishes, it brings listlessness and slackness upon the soul. We also know by experience that not everyone can live on herbs and vegetables, nor can everyone eat dry bread. One man ate two pounds of bread and still wanted more; another ate a pound and a little and was satisfied. Therefore, as we have said, one limit of self-control was set for all: not to fill one’s stomach and not to be led away by the sweetness of the palate.
Not only the variety of dishes but also their quantity kindles the burning arrows of unchastity. With whatever food you fill your stomach, it will bring forth the seed of unchastity. And again: not only an excess of wine intoxicates the intellect, but an excess of water and food also weighs it down and leads to drowsiness. For the Sodomites the cause of their fall was not food and drink as such, but satiety of bread, according to the prophet (Ezek 16:49). The abstinence of the flesh is not opposed to purity of heart when we give the flesh what it needs for its weakness and not for pleasure. We take food so that it may serve us for life, not for the impulses of the body.
Thoughtful moderation in food keeps the body healthy; it does not destroy the sanctuary. As you know, the limit of self-control and the rule handed down from the fathers are these: whoever eats some food and still wants more, let him hold back from it and not eat until he is full. And the Apostle, saying «make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts» (Rom 13:14), forbade eating more than the body requires and taking thought for pleasures.
Yet abstinence from food alone will not bring the soul to complete purity if the other virtues are not added to it. Humility joined with obedience and the mortification of the flesh will help us greatly. Abstinence from the love of money means not only not to have money but not even to desire it, and this leads to purity of soul. Withdrawal from anger, dejection, vainglory and pride — all this leads to the soul’s chief purity. And chastity, that is, self-control, and fasting lead to a partial purity. It is impossible with a full stomach to fight in thought against the spirit of unchastity. Therefore let our first struggle be mastery over the belly and the subjection of the body, not only by fasting but also by vigils, by labour, by reading, and by fixing the heart upon the fear of hell and upon the Kingdom of Heaven.
On unchastity and carnal desire
Our second struggle is against the passion of unchastity and carnal desire. This desire begins to trouble a man from an early age. It is a great and difficult struggle and requires a twofold effort, for other vices fight only in the soul, but this one is twofold — in the soul and in the body — and therefore a twofold warfare must be waged. For it is not enough merely to fast in the body in order to gain complete integrity and true purity, if there is not also a contrite heart, and unceasing prayer to God, and frequent instruction in the Scriptures, and labour, and handiwork, which restrain the restless impulses of the soul and turn it away from evil fantasies.
And before all else humility of soul will help us; without it neither unchastity nor anything else can be overcome. And until we gain humility, we must guard the heart as closely as possible from impure thoughts; «for out of the heart», according to the word of the Lord, «proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications» (Mt 15:19). For fasting is appointed for us not only to subdue the body but also for the sobriety of the intellect, that it may not be darkened by an abundance of dishes and lose the power to discern its thoughts. Therefore we must not only fast diligently but also be attentive to our thoughts and to spiritual instruction; without this it is impossible to reach the height of true integrity and purity. According to the word of the Lord, we must cleanse «first the inside of the cup and the dish, that the outside may be clean also» (Mt 23:26).
If, then, there is zeal in us, according to the Apostle’s words, to accomplish the struggle and be crowned among those who have overcome the unclean demon of unchastity, let us remember that we dare this not by our own strength and effort, but with the help of the Lord our God. This spirit will not cease to conquer a man until he truly believes that it is not by his own vigilance and not by his own labour, but by God’s protecting help, that he is freed from this sickness and reaches the height of purity. This is only natural; and he who has trampled upon the burning of the flesh and its sweetness finds himself as though outside the body. Therefore I will say this: it is impossible for a man to fly on his own wings to this high and heavenly sanctuary and become the fellow of the angels, unless the grace of God raise him from the earth and the mire. In no other virtue do men, clothed in flesh, resemble the angels so closely as in wholeness of body. Through it, while still living upon the earth, they receive, according to the Apostle, their «citizenship in heaven» (Phil 3:20).
A sign that we have perfectly acquired this virtue is that the soul receives not a single image of evil fantasy in sleep. Although such a movement is not reckoned a sin, it shows that the soul is sick and has not yet been freed from passion. Let us therefore believe that the evil fantasies which occur in sleep point to a previous slackness and weakness in us. They reveal a sickness hidden in the recesses of the soul, when an unclean temptation occurs in dreams. And so the Physician of our souls, knowing whence the cause of the sickness comes, placed the remedy in the hidden places of the soul, saying: «Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart» (Mt 5:28) — thereby correcting not only the curious and unrestrained glance but the soul itself, which so badly uses the eyes God gave it for good.
That is why the book of Proverbs does not say «guard your eyes» but rather: «Above all else, guard your heart» (Prov 4:23). It is best to guard the heart; then you will use your eyes rightly. And it must be guarded in this way: when the cunning of the devil brings into our thoughts the memory of some woman — whether a mother, a sister, or some other reverent woman — let us swiftly cast this memory out of our hearts. If it remains long in our memory, the evil tempter will lead the intellect from the memory of persons to foul and harmful thoughts. And the commandment which God gave to the first-formed Adam bids us crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15), that is, the beginnings of harmful thoughts, by which the serpent tries to creep into our soul; for if we let in the head, that is, the first attachment of the thought, we shall let in the body as well, that is, the whole body of the serpent. And from there he will lead the thought on to an unlawful deed.
But we must strike down «every morning all the sinners of the earth» (Ps 100:8), as it is written — that is, by the light of knowledge we must judge and destroy the sinful thoughts of our earth, which is our heart. And while the children of Babylon are still infants, that is, evil thoughts, we must take them and dash them against the rock (Ps 136:9), and the rock is Christ. But if they join themselves to us and grow strong, they will not be overcome without much labour and groaning.
It is good to add the words of the holy fathers to the words of divine Scripture. Saint Basil, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, said: «I do not know woman, and yet I am not a virgin.» From these words it is clear that the gift of virginity consists not so much in bodily abstinence as in the holy purity of the soul, which is acquired through the fear of God. The fathers also say concerning this that we cannot perfectly acquire the virtue of purity unless we first acquire true humility and wisdom in our hearts, and true knowledge, so long as the passion of unchastity remains in the depths of the soul.
Let us say with the Apostle that this is universal, recalling one of his sayings: «Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord» (Heb 12:14). And to this he adds: «lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau» (Heb 12:16). The greater the angelic and heavenly holiness, the fiercer the assaults of the enemy. Therefore we must strive to learn not only bodily self-control but also contrition of heart and frequent prayer with sighs, so that the furnace of our body, which the king of Babylon kindles every day with the desires of lust, may be quenched by the dew of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Besides this we have another mighty weapon for the battle: vigil for God’s sake. For as a day spent in zeal preserves the holiness of the night, so vigil at night preserves the purity of the soul by day.
On the love of money
Our third struggle is against the spirit of avarice. This warfare is foreign to our nature and begins sometimes through lack of faith. For the causes of the other passions, that is, of the incensive power and of desire, lie in the body’s burning, and they seem inborn, since they accompany a man from birth; and therefore much time is needed to overcome them. But the love of money is a sickness that comes from outside, and it is easier to be rid of it if one is diligent and attentive. If it is neglected, it becomes the most destructive of all the passions, and then it is not easy to be rid of it. «For the love of money is the root of all evils» (1 Tim 6:10), says the Apostle.
And let us take note of this. The natural movements of the body appear not only in children, who do not yet distinguish good from evil, but even in the smallest infants, who, having in them no trace of pleasure, still make natural movements according to the flesh. In infants too the sharpness of the incensive power is visible, when we see how they rage against those who have wronged them. I say this without blaming nature as the cause of sin — let no one think so. But I wish to show how the incensive power and desire, though given by the Creator for man’s benefit, become through negligence unnatural instead of natural. The bodily urge to beget children and to continue the race was not given by the Creator for unchastity; and the movement of anger is given to us so that we may be angry at sin and not at our neighbour. Let us not, then, blame nature or the Creator when we misuse this movement, just as we cannot blame the man who gave a knife for proper use and need, if the one who took the knife committed murder with it.
We have said this to show that the passion of avarice does not come from nature but only from an evil and corrupt consent. When this sickness finds a cold and faithless soul at the beginning of the monastic life, it suggests certain plausible and justified reasons for retaining what one acquires. It paints in the monk’s mind a long old age and bodily weakness; it suggests that what the monastery provides for the needs of the body is not enough even for the healthy, let alone for the sick; that in the monastery no one cares for the sick, that they are wholly neglected; and that if a monk has no gold laid by, he will die a hard death. Then it suggests that he cannot remain in the monastery because of the heavy labour and the strictness of the fathers. And when such thoughts have tempted him to keep at least a little money, it persuades him to learn some handicraft secretly from the abba, so that he may increase the money he desires. Next it tempts the wretched man with uncertain hopes, telling him of the profit from his handiwork and, thanks to the profit, of an easier and more carefree life.
Then the monk begins to think only of gain, and no longer sees the evil around him: neither the fierce anger when he suffers loss, nor the darkening by dejection when he loses hope of profit. As for others the belly becomes a god, so for him gold becomes one. Therefore the blessed Apostle, knowing this, calls the love of money not only the root of all evils (1 Tim 6:10) but idolatry as well. So we see to what great sin this sickness drives a man, that it can even lead to idolatry (Col 3:5); for the lover of money turns his intellect away from the love of God and loves human idols made of gold.
Darkened by such thoughts, the monk inclines to the worse and can no longer keep any obedience. He is indignant, agitated, and murmurs against everything; he contradicts, and there is no longer any reverence in him. He gallops through the ravines like a maddened horse, is not satisfied with the daily food and, without shame, says that he cannot bear it; he says that God is not only here and that he can be saved elsewhere too, and that if he does not leave this monastery he will perish. Having become the accomplice of this corrupt thought, he intends, as though on light wings, to leave the monastery; and so he objects proudly and stubbornly to every instruction, behaves like a stranger who has come from somewhere else, and as soon as he sees anything in the monastery that needs correction, he despises it at once, and grumbles, and mocks everything there. He also gives cause for others to be angry or offended with him, so that he himself may not seem frivolous when he leaves the monastery without reason. If he can lead someone else out of the monastery by whispering and empty words, he will not hesitate to do so, in order to have a companion in his weakness.
The lover of money is scorched by the fire of his money, and so he will never be able to keep stillness in the monastery or live according to the rule. When the devil, like a wolf, has stolen him from the fold and separated him from the flock, as one destined for his feast, then he teaches him to do in his cell all the things he was careless about at the appointed hours in the monastery. He does not let him keep the usual prayers, or fasts, or rules of vigil, but binds him with an insane love of money and teaches him to take up his handiwork as diligently as possible.
There are three kinds of this sickness, all alike rejected by holy Scripture and by the teaching of the fathers. The first teaches wretched monks to acquire and gather what they did not have in the world. The second stirs up regret in those who have renounced their possessions and urges them to seek back what they have given to God. And the third binds a man from the very beginning with faithlessness and coldness, preventing him from renouncing worldly things entirely, teaching him to fear poverty and not to trust in God’s providence, and making him a transgressor of the vows he made when he renounced the world.
We have already said that in the divine Scriptures we find examples of the condemnation of these three kinds. We see how Gehazi (2 Kg 5:22) wished to acquire property he had not had before, and lost the prophetic grace which his teacher wished to give him; and instead of a blessing, the prophet’s curse and everlasting leprosy fell upon him. And Judas wished to take back the property he had left behind when he followed Christ, and not only betrayed the Lord (Mt 26:15) and fell from the rank of the apostles, but ended his bodily life by suicide. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1) held back part of the proceeds, and the apostles punished them with death. And the great Moses in Deuteronomy mysteriously commands those who promise to renounce the world and yet cling to earthly things out of faithless fear, saying: «Whoever is fearful and faint-hearted, let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brothers grow faint like his» (Deut 20:8). Is there anything more certain or more plain than this testimony? Do we not learn from it, we who renounce the world, to renounce it entirely and to go into battle in such a way that we do not begin weak and corrupt, and thereby turn others away from evangelical perfection by making them afraid?
Some misinterpret the words of divine Scripture, «It is more blessed to give than to receive», applying them to their own delusion and their desire for money, twisting the meaning of what is said and distorting the Lord’s teaching, which says: «If you would be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow Me» (Mt 19:21). They suppose that instead of poverty it is better to have wealth and to give alms out of the surplus. Let such men know that they have not yet renounced the world and have not attained any perfection, since they are ashamed to become poor with the Apostle for Christ’s sake, and to serve themselves and the needy with the labour of their hands, and to fulfil their vow, and to be glorified with the Apostle, who gave away all his wealth and was often «in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness» (2 Cor 11:27). Let such men strive in good works together with the apostle Paul.
If wealth were necessary for perfection, the Apostle himself would have understood this and would not have set aside his standing, for he was a Roman citizen. And those in Jerusalem who sold their houses and estates and laid the price of what was sold at the apostles’ feet would not have done so if the apostles had taught them that it is better to live on one’s own property than on one’s own labour and on what people give. The Apostle speaks of this still more plainly in the Epistle to the Romans, saying: «Now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they are their debtors» (Rom 15:25-27). And he himself was often in chains, and sat in prison, and endured the hardships of travel, yet he earned his bread by the labour of his own hands. Telling how he received alms from the brethren who came to him from Macedonia, he says: «My need was supplied by the brethren who came from Macedonia» (2 Cor 11:9). And he writes to the Philippians: «You Philippians know that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no Church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only; for even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my needs» (Phil 4:15-16).
According to the lovers of money, the Philippians were better than the Apostle, since they gave him alms from their possessions. But there is surely no one so completely senseless as to dare to say this. When we wish to follow the Gospel commandment and the whole Church, which was built from the beginning upon the apostles, let us not listen to our own opinion nor twist good words, but, rejecting a cold and false opinion, let us accept the truth of the Gospel. Thus we shall be able to follow our fathers, and we shall not transgress the rules of the common life, and we shall truly renounce this world.
It will be good here to recall the words of the saint. It is said that Saint Basil, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, said to a certain senator who had renounced the world but kept some of his property: «You have both lost your senatorship and failed to become a monk.» We must cut out of our soul with all vigilance the root of all evils, which is the love of money. It is well known that where the root remains, the branches easily grow again. And the virtue of possessing nothing is not easy to fulfil for those who do not live in a coenobium; in the coenobium one need not be anxious even about the most necessary things.
Remembering the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, let us be afraid to keep back anything of our property. Let us fear the punishment that Gehazi suffered for his love of money, who was struck with leprosy, and let us not dare to gather for ourselves such estates as we did not have in the world. Let us remember Judas too, who hanged himself, and let us be afraid to gather possessions when we ourselves have renounced them. And above all, let us always remember death, since we do not know how or at what hour our Lord will come and find our conscience defiled with the love of money, and say to us, as He said in the Gospel to the rich man: «Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; and the things you have gathered, whose will they be?» (Lk 12:20).
On anger
Our fourth struggle is against the spirit of anger. With God’s help we must drive its deadly poison from our souls. When it settles in our heart and blinds the eyes of the heart with dark confusion, we can neither acquire prudence in useful matters, nor spiritual knowledge, nor keep perfect good counsel, nor become partakers of true life; and our intellect will not be able to contemplate the divine and true light, for it is said: «My eye is troubled by anger» (Ps 6:8). We shall not partake of divine wisdom, though everyone should think us very wise, for it is written: «Anger rests in the bosom of fools» (Eccl 7:9). We shall not be able to receive saving thoughts and counsels, though men may take us for wise, for it is written that anger destroys even the wise. We shall not be able to keep to the way of truth with a sober heart, for it is said: «The wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God» (Jas 1:20). Nor shall we be able to acquire that gentleness and good nature which all men praise, for it is said: «An angry man is not seemly» (cf. Prov 29:22).
Whoever wishes to become perfect and to undertake the spiritual struggle lawfully, let him turn away from every vice, from anger and rage. And let him hear what the chosen vessel, the apostle Paul, commands him: «Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour and slander be put away from you, together with all malice» (Eph 4:31). In saying «all», he leaves us no ground for anger, as though it were important or necessary for us. Whoever wishes to correct his brother when he sins, or to restrain him, let him himself remain untroubled, lest, wishing to heal another, he bring sickness upon himself and the Gospel word be said to him: «Physician, heal yourself» (Lk 4:23). And again: «Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and not notice the beam in your own?» (Mt 7:3).
The movements of anger, kindled for whatever reason, blind the eyes of the soul and do not let it see the Sun of righteousness — like a man who has placed plates of gold or of lead over his eyes and does not let them see, and makes no distinction between the precious and the base metal that is before them. Thus, whether the reason be good or bad, anger is kindled and darkens the soul. Only then do we use the incensive power according to nature, when we raise it against passionate and pleasure-loving thoughts. So the prophet teaches us, saying: «Be angry, and do not sin» (Ps 4:5) — that is, raise your anger against your passions and evil thoughts, and do not sin by listening to what they cast at you. And the prophet adds this thought: «Have compunction for what you say in your hearts upon your beds» — that is, when evil thoughts come into your heart, drive them out with anger against them, and when you have driven them out and find yourself upon the bed of stillness, then have compunction.
The apostle Paul agrees with this, confirms it and adds: «Let not the sun go down on your wrath, and do not give place to the devil» (Eph 4:26-27). That is, do not act so that the Sun of righteousness, Christ, should set in your heart through anger and association with evil thoughts; for when Christ departs, then the devil finds a place in you. Of this Sun God Himself says through the prophet: «Upon those who fear My name the Sun of righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings.» If we understand what is said in the Scriptures, we shall learn that we may not hold our anger even until the sun goes down.
What, then, shall we say of those who, in the fury and frenzy of a passionate disposition, not only keep their anger until sunset but drag it out for many days, not speaking to one another and not listening to one another, multiplying the poison of malice to their own destruction? They do not know that it is good to refrain not only from the anger that bursts out but from the anger that stays in the thoughts, so that the intellect may not be darkened by the gloom of malice, may not fall from the light of good judgment, and may not lose the presence of the Holy Spirit within it. That is why the Lord commands in the Gospel to leave your gift before the altar and go to be reconciled with your brother (Mt 5:24); for our sacrifice will not be acceptable to God while we keep rage and malice within us. And the Apostle, commanding us to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17) and to lift up reverent hands in every place without anger, teaches us to consider this. It remains for us either never to pray, and so transgress the Apostle’s commandment, or, striving to fulfil his command, to pray without anger and malice (1 Tim 2:8).
And since we often neglect brothers who are offended or aggrieved, saying: «They are not grieved on our account», the Physician of souls, wishing to uproot such self-deception from our hearts, orders us to leave our gift and make peace with our brother not only when we ourselves are offended by him, but also when he is offended with us, rightly or wrongly — to deal with him in reconciliation, and only then to bring our gift.
But why dwell so long on the Gospel and apostolic commandments? You may learn the same thing from the Old Testament, which is supposedly more lenient with us, yet says: «You shall not hate your brother in your heart» (Lev 19:17). And again: «The way of malice leads to death» — and here it is forbidden not only to show anger but to keep it in the thoughts.
Therefore those who follow the divine law must struggle with all their strength against the spirit of anger and against the weakness that lies within us, and not, being filled with rage against people, go off into the desert and the caves of darkness, on the grounds that there is nothing there to provoke them to anger and that in solitude it is easy to acquire the virtue of patience. It is out of pride, and because we do not wish to blame ourselves and to ascribe the cause of our disturbance to our own negligence, that we wish to withdraw from the brethren. And as long as we ascribe the causes of our weakness to others, it is impossible for us to attain complete patience.
The beginning of our correction and peace does not lie in our neighbour bearing with us, but in our doing no harm to our neighbour. When, shrinking from the struggle for patience, we go off into the desert and solitude, we take our passions with us, not healed but hidden. For the desert and solitude, in those who have not been rid of their passions, not only preserve the passions but conceal them, and do not let a man feel which passion is mastering him. On the contrary, the desert throws up such dreams of virtue and persuades men that they have already attained enduring grace and humility, so long as there is nothing to annoy or tempt them. But when some cause arises that provokes and excites them, then the passions hidden within, which lay concealed before and fed on silence and idleness, break out of their stables like unbridled horses and carry their rider more fiercely and violently to destruction.
The passions we learn about from other people rage in us all the more, and even the shadow of patience and endurance that we ought to have we lose when we find ourselves among brethren, because we were careless in labour and in solitude. As poisonous beasts lying in their lairs in the desert show their venom when they sense someone approaching, so passionate men keep silence not out of love for virtue but because the desert compels them, and then they pour out the poison of their souls when someone comes near and irritates them.
Therefore whoever wishes to attain perfect gentleness, let him strive in every way not to be angry — not only with people but also with animals and with inanimate things. I remember how, when I was in the desert, I grew angry with the reed I wrote with, because it was too coarse or too fine, and I grew angry with a piece of wood when I could not cut it quickly. So it is that anger, when it spreads, attacks even inanimate things.
But if we wish to receive the Lord’s blessing, we must not only restrain the outward manifestations of anger but not be angry even in our thoughts. It is not so useful for us to restrain our mouths in a time of rage and not speak fierce words, as it is to cleanse our hearts of malice and not to turn evil thoughts against our brother in our minds. The Gospel teaches us to cut off the roots of sins rather than their fruits. When you have cut the root of anger from your heart, no deeds of envy or hatred will be done. «Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer» (1 Jn 3:15), for he kills his brother in his imagination without seeing him. Men do not see his blood shed by the sword, but God sees the man slain in thought and disposition; for He rewards everyone not only for deeds but also for thoughts, whether with crowns or with torments, as He Himself says through the prophet: «I am coming to gather their works and their thoughts.» And the Apostle says: «their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts accusing or else excusing one another, in the day when God will judge the secrets of men» (Rom 2:15-16).
The Lord Himself, teaching us how we must reject all anger, says in the Gospels: «Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment» (Mt 5:22). Thus it is firmly established in the Scriptures. The Lord’s intention is that we should cut off by every means the root and spark of anger and keep within ourselves not a single cause of it; for anger can begin with an apparently valid reason and then lead to frenzy and speechless rage. The best remedy for this sickness is to believe that we must not give way to anger, whether rightly or wrongly. When the spirit of anger darkens our thought, then neither the light of prudence, nor the confirmation of right counsel, nor the ordering of truth will be found in us, and our soul will not be able to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, because the spirit of anger has darkened our thought and has ruled over us.
And finally, we should remember our death every day, for we do not know when it will come; and we should know that it will profit us nothing to have fasted, or renounced the world, or kept vigils, if we are possessed by anger and hatred, for then we shall be condemned.
On dejection
Our fifth struggle is against the spirit of dejection, which darkens all spiritual vision in the soul and hinders it from doing good works. When this evil spirit takes hold of the soul and darkens it wholly, it will not let it pray fervently, nor read the holy Scriptures with profit, nor be gentle and kind to the brethren, and it instils hatred for every task and even for the life we have vowed. Dejection so confuses the soul that it cannot hear any plain and saving counsel; it weakens its strength and patience and makes it as though senseless and insensible, bound by the thought of despair.
Therefore, if we intend to accomplish the spiritual struggle and to overcome the evil spirits with God’s help, let us guard our hearts as far as we can from the spirit of dejection. As a moth eats a garment and a worm eats wood, so dejection eats away a man’s soul, teaching him to avoid every kind conversation and not to accept counsel from sincere friends, not allowing him to answer them well and peaceably, but, having covered the whole soul, filling it with bitterness and listlessness. And in the end it suggests that he flee from people, as though they were the cause of his confusion. Dejection does not let the soul know that its sickness comes not from outside but is hidden within itself, and is revealed when temptations come and rouse it by their movements. A man is never harmed by anything if the cause of the passions is not already within him.
Therefore God, the Creator of all and the Physician of our souls, who alone sees the wounds of the soul, commands us not to depart from people but to cut off the causes of vice within us, and to know that the health of the soul is gained not by distance from people but by living among the virtuous and by struggle. When we leave our brethren for reasons that seem good, we do not remove the causes of dejection but only change them, and our sickness goes on hiding within and is revealed by something else. That is why we all struggle against our inner passions. When by grace and God’s help they have been cast out of the heart, then it will be easy for us to live not only with people but even with wild beasts, according to the words of blessed Job: «The wild beast shall be at peace with you» (Job 5:23).
Above all we should struggle to drive from our hearts the spirit of dejection, which casts the soul into the depths. This spirit kept Cain from repenting of fratricide, and Judas after his betrayal of the Lord. Let us keep only that sorrow which comes in repentance for sins, and which is accompanied by good hope; of it the Apostle says: «Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation» (2 Cor 7:10). Godly sorrow nourishes the soul with the hope of repentance and is joined with joy. Therefore it makes a man alert and ready for every good work, approachable, humble, gentle, free from rancour, patient in all good works and in endurance. This is sorrow according to God, and through it the fruits of the Holy Spirit are recognised in a man, that is, joy, love, peace, long-suffering, kindness, faith and self-control. And in the opposite kind of dejection we recognise the fruits of the evil spirit: listlessness, impatience, rage, hatred, quarrelling, despair and slothfulness in prayer. This dejection we must avoid just as we avoid unchastity, and the love of money, and rage, and the other passions. And it is healed by prayer, by hope in God, by the study of the divine words, and by reverent company with other people.
On listlessness
Our sixth struggle is against the spirit of listlessness, which is joined with and works together with the spirit of dejection. This is a fierce and strong demon that wars continually with monks. He attacks a monk about the sixth hour, instils terror in him and rouses hatred for the place itself, and for his fellow brethren, and for all work, and for the reading of the divine Scriptures, and gives him thoughts of moving to another place, suggesting that if he does not move, all his labours and all his life will be in vain. In addition to all this he also suggests hunger at the sixth hour, such as would not come upon him even after a three-day fast, or the longest journey, or the hardest work. He also makes him think that he cannot be rid of this sickness and this burden in any other way than by frequent walks and visits to the brethren, supposedly for the sake of profit or to visit the sick. If this spirit cannot seduce the monk with such thoughts, then it brings a deep sleep upon him and attacks him with greater strength and persistence; and it is relieved by nothing else than prayer, withdrawal from idle talk, study of the divine words, and patient endurance of temptations.
When the devil finds a monk who is not armed with these weapons, then, taking aim at him with his arrows, he makes him a wanderer, slothful and idle, prompting him to go round numerous monasteries and to care about nothing except to see where dinners and feasts are held. He who has fallen into listlessness thinks only of such useless things. Then the devil slowly drags the monk into worldly affairs, leading him little by little by such harmful pursuits, until he pulls him away entirely from his vows.
The Apostle, like a wise physician, shows how to tear this out of our souls by the root and points out the causes that give rise to it, saying: «We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who lives in idleness and not according to the tradition which you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us. We were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labour and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you — not because we do not have the right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone will not work, neither let him eat. Yet we hear that some among you live in idleness, doing nothing but being busybodies. Such persons we command through our Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own bread» (2 Thess 3:6-12).
Hear how plainly the Apostle shows us the causes of listlessness. He calls those who do nothing idle, and with this one word he rebukes them for their sin. He who does nothing is idle, and irreverent, and bold in his words, quick to reproach, and therefore incapable of stillness and of faith. The Apostle orders us to keep away from such people, that is, to shun them as a deadly disease, because they live «not according to the tradition» which the faithful received from the apostles. With these words the Apostle says that they are proud, and scoffers, and destroyers of the apostolic traditions. And he also says: «They did not eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but night and day they worked with labour and hardship, so as not to be a burden to any of you» (2 Thess 3:8). The teacher of the nations, the preacher of the Gospel, who was caught up to the third heaven, though he taught that the Lord commanded preachers of the Gospel to live by their preaching, himself worked night and day so as not to burden anyone. What then shall we do, who are too lazy to work and pursue bodily ease? We are not entrusted with the oversight of Churches or with preaching the Gospel; we need only oversee our own souls.
Still more plainly the Apostle points out the harm of idleness when he says: «doing nothing but being busybodies». From idleness comes curiosity, from such curiosity lawlessness, and from lawlessness every sin. Showing how it must be treated, the Apostle adds: «Such persons we command and exhort to work quietly and to eat their own bread.» And to this he adds a prohibition: «If anyone will not work, neither let him eat» (2 Thess 3:12, 10).
The holy fathers in Egypt, having learned from these words of the Apostle, do not allow monks to be idle for a single moment, especially the young monks, knowing that through hard work they drive away listlessness, and earn their own bread, and help the poor. They work not only for their own needs but also give from their labour to strangers, to the poor and to prisoners, believing that such almsgiving is a holy sacrifice pleasing to God. And the fathers also say that whoever works fights with one demon and is oppressed by him alone, but the idle man is attacked by many spirits.
It will be good also to recall the words of Abba Moses, the most experienced of the fathers, which he spoke to me. When I had been in the desert for a while, I was tormented by listlessness; I came to the abba and said that the day before I had been tormented by listlessness and had grown very weary, and that I had not been rid of it until I went to Abba Paul. Abba Moses answered me, saying: «No. You have not freed yourself from it; on the contrary, you have given way to it all the more. Know that it will attack you still more when you leave your post, until at last you overcome it by patience, prayer and handiwork.»
On vainglory
Our seventh struggle is against the spirit of vainglory. This is a many-sided and most subtle passion, and the one whom it attacks will not quickly notice it. The provocations of the other passions are more obvious, and it is easier for the soul to fight them when it knows who its enemy is, opposes him and drives him off with prayer. But the sin of vainglory, since it takes so many forms, is not easily overcome. It comes in every beginning, in a glance, in a word, in silence, in deed, in vigils, in fasting, in prayer, in reading, in stillness and in long-suffering. Vainglory attaches itself to all these and tries to wound the soldier of Christ.
He whom it cannot tempt to vainglory with luxurious clothing, it tempts with shabby clothing. Whom it cannot exalt by honours, it exalts by his so-called patience in dishonour. Him whom it cannot make show off his eloquence, it flatters for his silence, as though he were mute. Whom it cannot relax with exquisite dishes, it relaxes with praise for fasting. Thus in every deed and in every undertaking it gives the evil devil an occasion to attack. And besides this, it teaches a man to dream of ecclesiastical rank.
I remember a certain elder: while he was living in a hermitage, he went to a brother’s cell to visit him, and when he came near the door he heard the brother talking inside. The elder supposed that the brother was reading the Scriptures, and began to listen, and heard that the brother, struck by vainglory, was ordaining himself a deacon and dismissing the catechumens. Hearing this, the elder knocked at the door and went in. The brother met him, bowed as is customary, and tried to find out how long the elder had been standing at the door. And the elder answered him gently, saying: «I came when you were dismissing the catechumens.» Hearing this, the brother fell at the elder’s feet and begged him to pray for him, that he might be freed from this delusion. I have mentioned this in order to show to what insensibility this demon drives a man.
Whoever wishes to accomplish the struggle perfectly and be crowned with the crown of righteousness, let him strive by every means to overcome this many-headed beast, always remembering David’s words: «God has scattered the bones of those who please men» (Ps 52:6). Let him do nothing for the sake of human praise and hope for a reward from the Lord alone. Always rejecting the thoughts that come into his heart and praise him, let him humble himself before God. So he will be able to be freed from the spirit of vainglory.
On pride
Our eighth struggle is against the spirit of pride. It is the fiercest and most evil of all. It attacks the perfect above all and tries to turn back those who have risen almost to the summit of virtue. As a deadly disease destroys one part of the body and ruins the whole, so pride destroys not a part of the soul but the whole of it. Of the other passions, each, though it troubles the soul, fights only against one virtue, and in trying to overcome it darkens the soul in part and confuses it. But the passion of pride darkens the whole soul and leads to the greatest fall.
To understand better what has been said, let us look at it this way: gluttony tries to destroy self-control; unchastity, chastity; the love of money, poverty; rage, gentleness; and the other sins try to destroy the virtues opposed to them. But when the sin of pride takes possession of a wretched soul, it destroys it like some fierce tyrant who has captured a great city.
The witness of this is that angel who fell from heaven because of pride, who was created by God and adorned with every virtue and wisdom, but wished to ascribe this to his own nature and not to God’s grace. That is why he imagined himself equal to God. Exposing this thought of his, the prophet says: «You said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High» (Is 14:13-14). And yet you are a man, not God. And another prophet says: «Why do you boast in malice, you who are mighty in iniquity?» (Ps 51:3).
Knowing this, let us be afraid and with all vigilance guard our souls from the deadly spirit of pride whenever we manage to acquire some virtue, repeating the Apostle’s words: «Not I, but the grace of God which is with me» (1 Cor 15:10); and the words the Lord spoke: «Without Me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5); and the words of the prophet: «Unless the Lord builds the house, in vain do the builders labour» (Ps 126:1). And again it is said: «It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy» (Rom 9:16). Even if a man is inflamed with the greatest zeal and burns with desire, being limited by flesh and blood he cannot reach perfection except by the mercy of Christ and His grace. For the apostle James also says: «Every good gift comes down from above» (Jas 1:17). And the apostle Paul: «What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you had not received it?» (1 Cor 4:7) — as though it were your own. And that our salvation is by God’s grace and mercy is witnessed by the thief, who received the Kingdom of Heaven not as a reward for his virtues but by God’s grace and mercy.
Knowing this, our fathers all with one voice told us that there is no other way to attain the perfection of virtue than through humility, which comes through faith, and the fear of God, and gentleness, and complete detachment. Through humility we shall gain perfect love, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.