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I have this one for the Lord's sake, but this is cut off when the tempter comes and suggests practicing hospitality for the sake of glory. Again: I have a thought of hospitality in order to appear so to men, but this too is cut off when a better thought comes, one that directs our virtue rather toward the Lord, and compels us not to do these things for the sake of men. If therefore, through our actions, we persist in the former thoughts while being tempted by the latter, we will have the rewards of only the former thoughts that were set forth, because being men, and wrestling with demons, we do not have the strength always to hold on to the right thought incorruptibly, nor again to have the evil thought untempted, 79.1209 having acquired the seeds of virtue. But if one of the cutting thoughts lingers, it establishes itself in the region of the one being tempted, and then the man, being moved by that thought, will act. With much observation we have come to know this difference between angelic thoughts, human thoughts, and those from demons, that first, the angelic ones investigate the natures of things and trace out their spiritual meanings. For example, for what purpose was gold made, and why is it like sand, and scattered somewhere below in the parts of the earth, and found with much toil and pain? And how, when found, it is washed with water, and handed over to fire, and thus is cast into the hands of craftsmen, who make the lampstand of the tabernacle, and the censer, and the incense-dishes, and the bowls, in which the Babylonian king no longer drinks, because of the grace of our Savior, but Cleopas bears a heart burning because of these mysteries. The demonic thought, however, neither knows nor understands these things; it only suggests the acquisition of perceptible gold, and foretells the luxury and glory that will come from it; the human thought, however, neither seeks its acquisition, nor investigates what gold is a symbol of, but only brings into the mind the bare form of gold, separated from the passion of greed; and the same reasoning will be stated for other things as well, being mystically trained according to this rule.

CHAPTER 8. There is a demon, called the wanderer, and especially toward dawn he presents himself to the

brothers, who leads the mind of the anchorite from city to city, and from house to house, and from village to village, at first making the encounters seem innocent, meeting certain acquaintances, and speaking at greater length, and corrupting his own state of mind towards those he meets, and becoming distant, little by little he falls into forgetfulness of the knowledge of God, and of virtue, and of his profession. The anchorite must, therefore, watch this one, from where he begins and where he ends; for not in vain, nor by chance does he make that long circuit, but wanting to corrupt the state of the anchorite, he does these things, so that the mind, inflamed by these things and intoxicated by the many encounters, may immediately fall prey to the demon of fornication, or of anger, or of grief, which especially ruin the brightness of his state. But we, if we aim to know his cunning clearly, let us not quickly speak out against him, nor reveal what is happening, how in the mind he works the encounters, and in what way he little by little drives the mind towards death, since he will flee from us; 79.1212 for he does not consent to be seen doing these things; and then we will know nothing of what we were eager to learn. But let us allow him for another day, or even a second, to complete his drama, so that, having accurately learned his depravity, we may then put him to flight by rebuking him with a word.

4

τοῦτον ἔχω διὰ τὸν Κύριον, ἀλλ' οὗτος ἐπελθόντος τοῦ πειράζοντος τέμνεται καὶ δόξης χάριν φιλοξενεῖν ὑποβάλλοντος. Πάλιν· ἔχω φιλοξενίας λογισμὸν πρὸς τὸ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις φανῆναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος ἐπελθόντος κρείττονος λογισμοῦ διατέμνεται, τοῦ πρὸς τὸν Κύριον μᾶλλον ἡμῶν τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀπευθύνοντος, καὶ μὴ δι' ἀνθρώπους ταῦτα πράττειν ἡμᾶς ἀναγκάζοντος. Ἂν οὗν διὰ τῶν ἔργων λοιπὸν τοῖς προτέροις ἐμμείνωμεν ὑπὸ τῶν δευτέρων πειραζόμενοι, μόνων τῶν προτέρων τεθέντων λογισμῶν ἕξομεν τοὺς μισθοὺς, διότι ἄνθρωποι ὄντες, καὶ παλαίοντες δαίμοσιν, ἀεὶ κατέχειν τὸν ὀρθὸν λογισμὸν ἄφθαρτον οὐκ ἰσχύομεν, οὐδὲ πάλιν τὸν πονηρὸν λογισμὸν ἔχειν ἀπείραστον, 79.1209 ἀρετῶν σπέρματα κεκτημένοι. Πλὴν ἐάν τις χρονίσῃ τῶν τεμνόντων λογισμῶν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τοῦ πειραζομένου καθίσταται, καὶ κατ' ἐκεῖνον λοιπὸν τὸν λογισμὸν ὁ ἄνθρωπος κινούμενος ἐνεργήσει. Τῶν ἀγγελικῶν λογισμῶν, καὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ τῶν ἐκ δαιμόνων ταύτην τὴν διαφορὰν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παρατηρήσεως ἐγνώκαμεν εἶναι, ὅτι πρῶτον μὲν οἱ ἀγγελικοὶ τὰς φύσεις τῶν πραγμάτων περιεργάζονται, καὶ τοὺς πνευματικοὺς αὐτῶν ἐξιχνιάζουσι λογισμούς. Οἷον, τίνος χάριν γεγένηται ὁ χρυσὸς, καὶ διὰ τί ψαμμώδης, καὶ κάτω που τοῖς μορίοις τῆς γῆς ἐγκατέσπαρται, καὶ μετὰ πολλοῦ καμάτου, καὶ πόνου εὑρίσκεται; ὅπως τε εὑρεθεὶς ὕδατι πλύνεται, καὶ πυρὶ παραδίδοται, καὶ οὕτως εἰς τεχνιτῶν ἐμβάλλεται χεῖρας, τῶν ποιούντων τῆς σκηνῆς τὴν λυχνίαν, καὶ τὸ θυμιατήριον, καὶ τὰς θυΐσκας, καὶ τὰς φιάλας, ἐν αἷς οὐκέτι νῦν πίνει διὰ τὴν χάριν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ὁ Βαβυλώνιος βασιλεύς, Κλεόπα δὲ φέρει καρδίαν καιομένην ὑπὸ τούτων μυστηρίων. Ὁ δὲ δαιμονιώδης λογισμὸς, ταῦτα μὲν οὔτε οἶδεν, οὔτε ἐπίσταται· μόνην δὲ τὴν κτῆσιν τοῦ αἰσθητοῦ χρυσίου ὑποβάλλει, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτου τρυφήν τε καὶ δόξαν ἐσομένην προλέγει· ὁ δὲ ἀνθρώπινος λογισμὸς, οὐδὲ τὴν κτῆσιν ἐπιζητεῖ, οὔτε τίνος περιεργάζεται σύμβολον ὁ χρυσὸς, ἀλλὰ μόνον εἰς τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ χρυσοῦ τὴν μορφὴν εἰσφέρει ψιλὴν, πάθους πλεονεξίας κεχωρισμένην· ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς λόγος, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων πραγμάτων ῥηθήσεται, κατὰ τὸν κακόνα τοῦτον μυστικῶς γυμναζόμενος.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ηʹ. Ἔστι δαίμων, πλάνος λεγόμενος, καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν ἕω μάλιστα τοῖς

ἀδελφοῖς παρίσταται, ὅστις περιάγει τοῦ ἀναχωρητοῦ τὸν νοῦν ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν, καὶ ἀπὸ οἰκίας εἰς οἰκίαν, καὶ ἀπὸ κώμης εἰς κώμην, ψιλὰς δῆθεν πρῶτον τὰς συντυχίας ποιούμενον, καὶ γνωρίμοις τισὶ τυγχάνοντα, καὶ λαλοῦντα μακρότερα, καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας κατάστασιν διαφθείροντα, καὶ μακρὰν γινόμενον, κατ' ὀλίγον τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ τοῦ ἐπαγγέλματος λήθην λαμβάνοντα. ∆εῖ οὖν τὸν ἀναχωροῦντα, τοῦτον τηρεῖν, πόθεν τε ἄρχεται, καὶ ποῦ καταλήγει· οὐ γὰρ εἰκῆ, οὐδὲ ὡς ἔτυχε μακρὸν ἐκεῖνον κύκλον ἐργάζεται, ἀλλὰ τὴν κατάστασιν τοῦ ἀναχωρητοῦ διαφθείρειν βουλόμενος, ταῦτα ποιεῖ, ἵνα ἐκκαυθεὶς ἐκ τούτων ὁ νοῦς, καὶ ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν συντυχιῶν μεθυσθεὶς εὐθέως τῷ τῆς πορνείας, ἢ τῆς ὀργῆς, ἢ τῷ τῆς λύπης δαίμονι περιπέσῃ, οἵτινες μάλιστα λυμαίνονται τῆς καταστάσεως αὐτοῦ τὴν λαμπρότητα. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς, εἴπερ ἔχομεν σκοπὸν τοῦ γνῶναι σαφῶς τὴν τούτου πανουργίαν, μὴ ταχέως φθεγξώμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν, μηδὲ δεικνύωμεν τὰ γινόμενα, πῶς κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν τὰς συντυχίας ἐργάζεται, καὶ τίνα τρόπον κατ' ὀλίγον συνελαύνει τὸν νοῦν πρὸς τὸν θάνατον, ἐπεὶ φεύξεται ἀφ' ἡμῶν· 79.1212 ὁρᾶσθαι γὰρ ταῦτα πράττων οὐ καταδέχεται· καὶ οὐδὲν λοιπὸν εἰσόμεθα ὧν μαθεῖν ἐσπουδάκαμεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλην μίαν ἡμέραν, ἢ καὶ δευτέραν συγχωρήσωμεν αὐτῷ τελειῶσαι τὸ δρᾶγμα, ἵνα ἀκριβῶς μαθόντες αὐτοῦ τὸ σκαιώρημα, λόγῳ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐλέγξαντες αὐτὸν φυγαδεύσωμεν.