A Letter to Nicolas the Monk, by the Same Venerable and God-bearing Father Mark the Ascetic
The occasion of the letter
Beloved son Nicolas, some time ago you told us about yourself: how you grieved over your salvation and were full of many concerns, living for God; with what labours and with what fervent longing you desired to cleave to the Lord, giving attention to Him by your manner of life, by self-restraint, by patience under every evil, by frequent vigilance and by strong prayer. You told us also how the many passions of the flesh rise up in our fleshly nature, and how a law of sin rises up against the soul, opposing the law of our intellect.
You complained that you were exceedingly grieved by the passions of anger and of desire, and you sought some way and some counsel in words: what labours and what struggles should be undertaken in order to conquer these destructive passions. And at that time we counselled your love as far as we were able, offering thoughts profitable to the soul, and showing by what labours and ascetic efforts — with understanding and with the illumination of spiritual knowledge — a soul that lives by faith according to the Gospel, when it is upheld by grace, can overcome those evil passions which take their origin from sin.
Against those passions towards which the soul seems to have taken on a form, through inclination and habit — those that attract it more than the rest — the soul must raise up a vigilant and unceasing struggle, until it subdues the fleshly and irrational activities of the heart, which it had at first obeyed and which drew it away and enchanted it, since it remembered them often and was filled with evil thoughts.
Since we are now a little distant from you — in body, not in heart — having gone into the desert to the true labourers and ascetics of Christ, that we too, moving even a little among brethren who fight against the adversary and manfully resist the passions, may lay aside laziness, drive away despondency, reject negligence and take up all diligence and watchfulness, hastening to please God, therefore I have taken the trouble to set down in writing for your sincerity a little counsel and instruction. What I told you in person you will now read, briefly set forth in the short counsels of our letter, and you will gain spiritual profit as though we were present with you.
Remember the benefits of God
The beginning of your profit according to God, O son, must start from here. Do not forget, but constantly remember, in unceasing edification, all the designs and benefits of the God who loves mankind, which have served you and are still working for the salvation of your soul; and do not, covering them over with hidden forgetfulness or through despondency, forget His many and great benefits, and so pass your time unprofitably and ungratefully.
Such an unceasing remembrance, like a goad in the heart, will always prompt it to confession, to repentance, to thanksgiving with a broken soul, to every good effort, to good habits and to every virtue according to God. The heart will always incline, with a conscientious thought, to the words of the prophet: «What shall I render to the Lord for all that He has given me?» (Ps. 115:3).
When the soul considers the benefits of the God who loves mankind, which it has experienced from its birth — from how many troubles it was saved many times, or how many times, having fallen under the power of evil and having fallen into sin many times of its own free will, it was not justly handed over to destruction and death at the hands of the spirits that tempted it, but the long-suffering Lord who loves mankind, despite its sins, awaited its return, while it of its own will served the passions and the enemies and the evil spirits; how He nourished it, covered it and cared for it in every way, and at last, with the good gesture of His hand, guided it to the path of salvation, and put into its heart the love of the ascetic life, and strengthened its desire to leave the world and its delusion of fleshly passions with joy, and adorned it with the angelic habit of the ascetic order, and brought it about that holy men should readily receive it into the assembly of the brotherhood — who, having a good conscience and thinking in this way, will not always have a broken heart, having received such a pledge of good deeds beforehand, without having first done a single good deed himself?
Will not such a man always have firm hope, saying to himself: «Although I have done no good deed, but have sinned much before Him, and lived in fleshly impurities and in many other sins, He did not requite me according to my sins, nor repay me for my iniquities, but gave me such gifts and blessings for my salvation. When I give myself completely to serving Him further, living blamelessly and rising in the virtues, with what blessings and spiritual gifts will He grace me, strengthening, purifying and instructing me in every good work?»
Therefore he who always holds such a thought and does not forget God’s benefits urges himself on, and directs himself, and compels himself to learn the virtue of goodness; and he is always alert for every act of truth, always ready to do the will of God.
Guard against forgetfulness and the passions
For this reason, my beloved son, since by the grace of Christ you have a sound intellect, keep this constant reflection and good instruction always within you, so that you may not be overshadowed by harmful forgetfulness nor hindered by unbelief, which make the intellect vain and lead it away from life; that you may not be caught by gross carelessness, nor led away by fleshly desire, nor overcome by gluttony, nor have your intellect enslaved by lust; that you may not consort with wandering thoughts and so be defiled; that anger, which gives birth to hatred of the brethren, may not prevail; that you may not be saddened by some insignificant matter; that malicious thoughts about your neighbour may not come into your mind, turning you aside from pure prayer to God; that the intellect may not fall into captivity and take to watching over a brother of like mind with a beastly notion.
For because of such irrational habits of fleshly wisdom the intellect is bound in the conscience and handed over for a certain time to be chastised by the evil spirits which it obeyed — until it comes to itself, and is overwhelmed by sorrow and despondency, and by that which has destroyed its desire for God through all the things mentioned; and then it begins again, with great humility, to take up the beginning of the path of salvation. And having laboured much in prayers and all-night vigils, destroying those things by humility and by disclosing them to God and to his neighbour, he begins to become sober, and, illumined by evangelical understanding and enlightened by God’s grace, he knows that whoever has not given himself entirely to the cross with humble and lowly wisdom, and has not cast himself beneath the feet of all to be trampled upon, and humiliated, and mocked, and insulted, and who does not endure all this with joy for the Lord’s sake, taking no account at all of human glory, or honour, or praise, or the pleasure of food and drink — such a man cannot be a true Christian.
The judgement of the hidden things
Since, then, such struggles and honours and crowns await us, how long shall we pretend to a piety we do not have, we who ought to serve the Lord with all our strength? People honour us, seeing us as such; but He who knows what is secret sees us as quite otherwise. Though many honour us as saints, we are still fierce in temper, and of us the Apostle says: «They have a form of godliness, but deny its power» (2 Tim. 3:5). Many honour us as virgins and pure, yet before Him who knows what is secret we are defiled by impure union with dissolute thoughts and stained by the workings of the passions, dulled by human praise and blinded in the intellect.
As long as we walk in the vanity of the intellect, not taking up evangelical wisdom and not knowing a life lived according to conscience so as to follow it diligently and to find courage in the conscience, are we not still founded upon the imaginary righteousness of the outward man, deprived of true knowledge and flattering ourselves with outward teachings, wishing to please people and seeking from them glory and praise and honour?
The incorruptible Judge will truly come and «will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will disclose the thoughts of the heart» (1 Cor. 4:5) — He who is neither abashed before the rich nor indulgent towards the poor, who looks past appearances and reveals the truth hidden within. True ascetics and sufferers who live according to conscience will be crowned in the presence of the angels before their Father; but those who feign piety in outward appearance, and only display a visible manner of life before people and vainly pride themselves on this, flattering themselves in the intellect — these He will expose before the heavenly Church of the saints and before all the host of heaven; and, deeply ashamed, they will be sent into outer darkness like the foolish virgins.
Those virgins outwardly kept their virginity — they were not shut out for that — and they even had a little oil in their vessels, that is, they had a share in certain virtues and outward labours and certain gifts. That is why their lamps burned for a time. But through carelessness, and ignorance, and despondency they did not consider or recognise within themselves the multitude of passions at work through the malicious spirits; and through these contrary workings their knowledge melted away, as they mingled with such thoughts and were secretly tempted; and they were overcome by the most spiteful envy, and by jealousy that hates the good, by discord, love of strife, hatred, anger, sorrow, malice, hypocrisy, fury, pride, vainglory, love of human praise, self-indulgence, love of money, despondency, desire of the flesh, lustful thoughts and unbelief. The fear of God was not in them; they were overcome by fear, sadness, contention, weakness, sleep, haughtiness, self-justification, arrogance, gluttony, intemperance, and the fiercest despair, and by the subtle workings of sin.
Those virgins had good deeds and an honourable life, which they wished to display before people in order to have praise from them; and although they had a share in certain gifts, they sold them to the spirits of vainglory and of love of human praise, and, mingling them with the other passions, they mixed their good deeds with cunning and fleshly reasonings. Therefore they became unacceptable and unclean, like the sacrifice of Cain; they lost the joy of the Bridegroom and did not enter the heavenly dwelling.
Thinking and pondering on this, and testing ourselves, let us know and understand in what works we ourselves stand; and while there is still time for repentance and conversion, let us make sure that our good works, performed in purity, are true and good, not mixed with fleshly wisdom, and not rejected like a faulty sacrifice because of insolence and negligence and the impoverishment of true knowledge — lest, having borne the labour of virginity, and self-restraint, and vigilance, and fasting, and love of strangers, we should waste our life through the passions mentioned, and our supposed excuses should turn out to be a faulty sacrifice and become unacceptable to Christ, the heavenly Priest.
The need for guidance and knowledge
Therefore, my son, it is good for those who wish to take up the cross and follow Christ to take thought beforehand for knowledge and understanding, ceaselessly testing their thoughts within themselves, striving in many ways for salvation and knowledge, burning with great love for God, and questioning like-minded servants of God who strive in the same struggle. For he who does not know where and how he walks is in the dark, walking without the light of a lamp. He who walks on his own, without evangelical understanding and guidance, stumbles much and falls into many pits and nets of the evil one, and wanders much, and falls into many troubles, and does not know what his end will be. For many have passed through many labours and endured fasting, patience and numerous toils for God’s sake, yet self-will and imprudence and the failure to seek a neighbour’s help made all their labours feeble and vain.
You, then, my beloved son, at the beginning of your instruction, do not forget the benefits of the God who loves mankind towards you, whenever you are drawn away by the deception of sin and by unbelief; but keeping before your eyes the benefits, both bodily and spiritual, which you have experienced from your very birth until this day, measure them and learn from them always, as it is said: «Forget not all His benefits» (Ps. 102:2). Thus the heart is easily moved to the fear of God and to love, to live a watchful life as far as you are able, to have a virtuous life, a pious conscience, a virtuous word, a right faith, a humble mind — in other words, to give your whole self to God, persuading yourself by the remembrance of the benefits you have received from the good God who loves mankind. Let your heart be wounded by love and longing at the remembrance of these good deeds and of the help that has come to you, since to others far better than you He did not work such wonders as He worked for you in His unutterable love for mankind.
Everything, therefore, that has come to you from God, strive to keep for ever in your memory. Remember unceasingly that great and wonderful grace and kindness which He showed you when you were sailing with your mother, as you told us: when that fearful and fierce storm and tumult arose in the night, and all who were on the ship, together with the sailors and with your mother herself, perished in the deep, and by the glorious divine power you alone and two others were cast ashore and saved; and how He arranged for you to come to Ancyra, and how a generous friend of the poor received you there in a fatherly manner, and joined you in love with a most reverent son, Epiphanius, so that both of you, taught by a reverend man, came to the path of salvation, and the holy servants of God received you as their children.
What have you that is worthy to repay Him who called your soul to eternal life, for all the benefits that God has given you? Now you must live righteously, not for yourself but for Christ, who died and rose again for you, in every virtue and righteousness, in the fulfilment of every commandment, always seeking «what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect» (Rom. 12:2), and striving with all your strength to lay hold of it.
On the struggle for purity
Even in your youth, son, obey the word of God as much as it requires of you: present your body «as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your reasonable worship» (Rom. 12:1). Reduce and dry up every excess of fleshly desire by small needs and a small measure of drink, and by all-night vigils, so that you may say, as it is written: «I have become like a wineskin in the frost, yet I have not forgotten Thy statutes» (Ps. 118:83). And knowing that you are Christ’s, crucify your flesh, as the Apostle said, with its «passions and desires» (Gal. 5:24), and the earthly members of death — that is, not only unchastity, but also the impurity which the evil spirits stir up in the flesh.
And the struggle of true and undefiled virginity, for one who awaits the crown, does not lie in this alone; but, following the words of the Apostle, the ascetic also puts to death the very manifestations and movements of passion. Nor does he stop even at these struggles, hoping to dwell in an angelic and pure virginity in his body; but he who ascends prays also to destroy the very recollection of subtle desire in the thought alone, without any movement or activity of bodily passion, at the moment when the intellect becomes inattentive. It is possible to deal with this only by help and strength from above, and by the presence of the Spirit. Are there any worthy of such grace?
He who thus awaits the crown of pure, supernatural and undefiled virginity crucifies the flesh with active labours, puts to death the earthly members by long and continuous self-restraint, wearing down the outer man and refining him, weakening and drying him up, so that by faith and by deeds and by the action of grace the inner man may be renewed day by day, moving towards what is better, growing in love, adorned with meekness, rejoicing in the joy of the Spirit; so that the soul may be endowed with the peace of Christ together with love, guided by grace, guarded by goodness, embraced by the fear of God, illumined by understanding and knowledge, enlightened by wisdom, taught by humility. When the intellect is renewed by the Spirit with these and similar virtues, it will recognise in itself the tracing of the divine image, and will see the noetic and indescribable beauty of the Lord’s likeness, and with self-taught and self-perceiving wisdom will lay hold of the riches of the law bequeathed to it.
Refine, therefore, O son, your young flesh; and with all that we have already said enrich your immortal soul; with the aforesaid virtues renew the intellect through the cooperation of the Spirit. Young flesh, weighed down with various dishes and with the drinking of wine, becomes like an animal ready for slaughter, and the soul is pierced by the burning of bodily pleasures, and the intellect is taken captive by the kindling of fierce desire, because it cannot resist fleshly sweetness. The rush of blood causes the departure of the Spirit. Let young men especially not come near wine, so that the great fire which shows itself in the inward working of passion, and which is doused from without by the drinking of wine — whereby fleshly passion is inflamed still worse — may not drive away the spiritual delight of painful compunction and create an idol and insensibility in the heart. Rather, longing for spiritual things, let young men not even drink water to the full — and this is a very great help, for a lack of water helps to preserve purity. When you test it in practice, you will see for yourself. We do not lay this upon you as a yoke, by law or by command, but we give it as a thought and a way — a good help towards true virginity — and we kindly teach and counsel a certain virtue, leaving it to your free will to do as it wishes.
On the passion of anger and the humility of Christ
Come now, and let us speak a little about the irrational passion of anger, which devastates and disturbs and darkens every soul, and, when it is at work and in motion, makes a man resemble a beast — especially the man who is very prone to it and is quickly ready for it. This passion is especially established and strengthened by pride, and it cannot be destroyed while it remains. As long as this devilish tree of bitterness and anger and rage is watered with the evil water of pride, so long will it flourish and grow well and bear the fruits of many iniquities. So strong is the building of wickedness in the soul, established and strengthened upon the foundation of pride.
When, therefore, you wish this tree of iniquity, of passion, of bitterness and anger and rage to wither in you and become barren, let the axe of the Spirit come and cut it down and throw it into the fire, as the Gospel says, and destroy it together with all sin. When you wish to destroy and pull down this house of iniquity, which the evil one is always fiercely building in your soul — gathering, like stones, various weighty and senseless reasonings, works of nature and words in the thoughts, and raising the building of sin in your soul, propping it up and strengthening it with thoughts of pride — then have in your heart the humility of the Lord: who the Lord is and what He has become for us, and from what height the light of the manifested Godhead came down, which the beings on high can behold according to their power.
In the heavens all rational beings glorify Him — angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities, cherubim and seraphim, and the unnamed spiritual powers whose names are not known to us; yet He, according to the word of the Apostle, descended into the depths of human lowliness out of unutterable goodness, becoming in all things like us who sat in darkness and the shadow of death and were in the captivity of Adam’s transgression, while the enemy ruled over us through the working of the passions. When we were in such a fierce captivity, and an invisible and bitter death reigned over us, the Lord of all creatures visible and invisible was not ashamed, but humbled Himself, accepting the dishonour of the passions and the prohibition and the Master’s sentence pronounced upon the condemned man, becoming in all things like us except for sin, that is, except for the dishonour of the passions. And what was laid upon man by the Sovereign judgement as a punishment for sinful transgression — that is, death, labour, hunger, thirst — all this He accepted, and became like us, so that we might become like Him. The Word became flesh, that the flesh might become word; being rich, He became poor for our sake, that we might be enriched by His poverty; He was conformed to us through His great love for mankind, that we might be conformed to Him in every virtue.
Since Christ came, the new man is truly renewed by the grace of the Spirit according to the image and likeness, reaching the measure of perfect love, which casts out fear and is not subject to falling: love never fails. «God is love», says the Apostle John, «and whoever abides in love abides in God» (1 John 4:16). Of this measure the apostles were counted worthy; and men like them learned virtue and appeared perfect before the Lord, and followed Christ with perfect longing throughout their lives.
Since, then, the Lord accepted such humility out of love for us in His unutterable love for mankind, think always upon this and never forget it: the indwelling of God the Word in the womb, the assumption of human nature, the birth from a woman, the growth in the flesh, the dishonour, the annoyances, the contempt, the ridicule, the reproaches, the beatings, the spitting, the mockery and derision, the purple robe, the crown of thorns, the words of the rulers, the cries of the lawless among His own people: «Away with Him! Crucify Him!»; the cross, the nails, the spear, the drink of vinegar and gall, the triumph of the pagans, the laughter of those who passed by and said: «If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross, and we will believe in you» (cf. Matt. 27:40); and the other sufferings which He endured for us: the crucifixion, the death, the three-day burial in the tomb, the descent into hell. Think also on the fruits of the passion — what they are and how many: the resurrection from the dead, the release of hell and death from their captives, the souls that followed the Lord, the ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand of the Father, «far above every principality and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named» (Eph. 1:21); honour and glory and the worship of all the angels offered to Him who first rose from the dead, on account of His passion, according to the word of the Apostle, who says: «Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth» (Phil. 2:5ff.).
This is the glory and the height to which God’s righteousness led the Lord’s humanity for the sake of His sufferings. Therefore, when you remember this with love and longing in your heart, never forgetting it, you will not be overcome by the passion of bitter anger and rage. When the foundation of pride is destroyed by the humility of Christ, the whole building of iniquity, of rage and anger and sorrow, will easily collapse of itself. What cruel and stony heart will not be broken, washed and humbled, when it holds always in mind the Only-begotten God who humbled Himself for us, and remembers the sufferings recounted above? Will not the pride of one’s own will become earth and dust, to be trampled underfoot by men, as the Scriptures say? Can rage take hold of a soul that humbles itself and is broken, looking upon the humility of Christ? Will anger master it? Will it be overcome by bitterness?
The three chief adversaries: forgetfulness, ignorance and despondency
But it seems that the forgetting of these useful and life-giving thoughts, and its sister despondency, together with ignorance, are of one mind and act in common; these are the most difficult of the passions of the deepest part of the soul, not easily discovered or corrected. Covering and darkening the soul with fierce curiosity, they help the other sinful passions to act and to nest within it; for they drive the fear of God out of the soul, put carelessness about good deeds into it, and allow every passion to enter boldly and to act.
When the soul is covered with complete forgetfulness, and with ruinous despondency and ignorance — the mother and nurse of all evils — then the wretched and blinded intellect becomes attached to everything that can be seen or thought or heard. So, when it sees a woman’s beauty, it is at once seized by fleshly desire; and so with everything else that sinks into a memory possessed by passion, whatever is pleasant to see or hear, or whatever is imagined in the thoughts. And this evil learning draws all this within the imagination and defiles the wretched intellect, possessed by passions through the action of the wandering spirits. Besides this, the flesh, when it is well fed, or young, or full of humours, is easily excited by such recollections and by passion to do what it does, moving towards desire, and committing impurity either in sleep or in waking, even though it does not actually touch a woman.
Such a man, whom many consider whole and virginal and pure — and who even considers himself a saint — will be judged as unclean before Him who sees what is hidden, and as a fornicator and an adulterer; and he will be righteously condemned on that day, if he does not weep and lament and, having refined the flesh with fasting and vigils and unceasing prayers, and having healed the intellect with the remembrance and teaching of the word of God, bring forth fruits worthy of repentance to God, before whom he thought or did evil. For it is the living voice that said: «I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with desire has already committed adultery with her in his heart» (Matt. 5:28).
Therefore it is profitable, and most of all for the young, so far as possible not to hold conversation with women at all, even if they seem to be holy. And if it is possible to avoid people altogether, the battle will be easier and progress more evident. Watch over yourself also, eat little, drink little water, and, keeping vigil much, be in prayer; and hold converse with and live among experienced spiritual fathers, and strive to learn from them. It is harmful to live alone, by oneself, without supervision; and it is harmful to live with those who are inexperienced in spiritual struggle, for with such men things turn out otherwise. For sin works in many ways, and the enemy’s ambushes and nets are set everywhere. Therefore, if possible, one should walk in company, that is, strive to come often to wise men; for when a man does not himself possess the lamp of true knowledge, because of the immaturity and childhood of his spiritual age, then, walking with one who has it, he will not be in darkness, nor fall into snares and nets, nor be seized by the noetic beasts that feed in the darkness and seize and kill those who walk without the lamp of the divine word.
The weapons of victory
If you wish, my son, to have in your soul the lamp of that light and of spiritual understanding, so as to walk without stumbling in the dark night of this age, and that the Lord may direct «your steps» (Ps. 118:133) when you desire the evangelical path, according to the word of the prophet — that is, to follow the most perfect evangelical commandments with ardent faith and to become a partaker of the Lord’s sufferings through longing and prayer — then I will show you a wonderful skill and purpose of spiritual practice, which requires not bodily labour or struggle, but labour of the intellect and steadfastness of mind and attentiveness, accompanied by the love of God and the fear of God. With such a plan you may easily defeat the army of the enemy, after the example of the blessed David, who by faith and trust in God killed a mighty foreigner, and thus with his men defeated tens of thousands of enemies.
Our discourse wishes to point to three strong and mighty champions, upon whom the opposing power of the noetic Holofernes is established; when these are overthrown and slain, all the power of the evil spirits will quickly grow weak. These forces of evil, supposedly strong, are the three already named: ignorance, the mother of all evils; forgetfulness, its sister and helper; and despondency, which weaves for the soul a garment blacker than a black cloud and covers it, and confirms and strengthens the first two and unites them, and makes evil strong and unshakeable in a careless soul. And from despondency, forgetfulness and ignorance the other passions are strengthened and spread. They help one another and cannot exist without one another; they appear as the strong forces of the adversary and the mighty princes of the evil one; they command a whole army of evil and reinforcing spirits, and help to accomplish what is planned; and without them the other passions cannot appear.
When you wish to gain the victory over these passions and easily to defeat the regiment of noetic foreigners, then with prayer and God’s cooperation gather yourself within and enter the depths of your heart, and track down these three strong forces — forgetfulness, despondency and ignorance — the support of the noetic foreigners, through which the other sinful passions are commanded, and by which the passions act and live and gain strength in voluptuous hearts and in untaught souls. And with great attentiveness, and with the guidance of the intellect by help from above, you will find the evil that is most harmful and unknown to others.
Against it stands the weapon of righteousness: the remembrance of good, which is the cause of every good; and the enlightened intellect, gladdened by which the soul drives away the darkness of ignorance; and the greatest possible watchfulness, which prepares and prompts the soul towards salvation. Having put on this armour of virtue, by the power of the Holy Spirit, with all prayer and supplication, you will valiantly and courageously defeat the noetic foreigners — those three champions of whom we spoke — and above all by the remembrance of God. «Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good report; if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, think on these things» (Phil. 4:8), driving away from yourself the forgetfulness that deceives, destroying the ruinous ignorance of darkness with enlightened and heavenly knowledge, and banishing with the most virtuous and best watchfulness that ungodly despondency which plants evil in the soul.
Having acquired virtue not by your own will alone, but also by the power of God and the help of the Holy Spirit, with great attentiveness and prayer, you will be able to free yourself from those three mighty forces of evil. And when there is preserved in the soul the agreement between true knowledge and the remembrance of the words of God, and good watchfulness, which is created by the action of grace, then even the trace of forgetfulness and of ignorance and of unbelief is destroyed in it and comes to nothing; and thereafter grace reigns in the soul, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Note: In the printed collection there follows an editorial remark introducing the next author of the Philokalia, Saint Symeon. Our venerable father Symeon, called the New Theologian on account of the grace of theology given him by God, lived in the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in the tenth century after the Nativity of Christ. He was a disciple of Symeon called the Pious and, having learned ascetic struggle from him, rose to such a height of virtue and dispassion and received so great a divine grace that it can hardly be described. This is set out in detail in his Life, which consists of many verses. For, so to speak, he took into himself all the power of the Spirit, the Comforter, and, having absorbed His radiance, appeared as a fountain of theology, an inn of divine illumination, a sweet dwelling of unutterable mysteries, an abode of all wisdom and of divine knowledge. Being enlightened by such power, he composed a great number of writings on various themes, written both in prose and in verse and filled with great profit. Choosing only some of these, we shall include them in this book; and through them a great and immeasurable profit is opened to the readers.