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CHAPTER 12. Driving away this demon especially, the Lord in the Gospels commanded to see the sick, and to visit those in prison; “For I was sick, he says, and you visited me, and in prison and you came to me.” However, this must be known, if any of the anchorites, having fallen to this demon, did not receive thoughts of fornication, or did not leave the house of acedia, this one received self-control, and patience coming down from heaven, and he is blessed who has been deemed worthy of such impassibility. But as many as profess reverence for God, and choose to consort with worldly people, let them beware of this demon. For I am ashamed to say, or write, anything more about it, even to men.

CHAPTER 13. All the demons teach the soul to be a lover of pleasure; but the demon of sadness alone, does not deign to do this, but even corrupts the thoughts of those who have entered, cutting off all pleasure and drying it up through sadness. Just as the bones of a sad man dry up, and when it fights moderately it renders the anchorite proven; for it persuades him to accept nothing of this world, and to avoid all pleasure, but when it persists more, it generates thoughts that advise the soul to do away with itself, or that compel it to flee far 79.1216 from the place; which holy Job once thought, and also suffered, being troubled by this demon; “For would that I were able, he says, to lay hands on myself, or having asked another, he would do this for me.” The symbol of this demon is the viper, the beast, whose nature, when given benevolently, destroys the venoms of other beasts, but when taken immoderately it destroys the living creature itself. To this demon Paul delivered the one who had transgressed in Corinth, for which reason he also writes again earnestly; “Confirm, he says to the Corinthians, your love toward him, lest such a one be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.” But it knows how to afflict the spirit of men and to become for them a cause of good repentance; whence also the holy John the Baptist, to those who are pricked by this demon, and who flee to God; “Brood of vipers, he says, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Nevertheless, everyone who imitated Abraham, and went out from his land, and from his kindred, he has also become stronger than this demon.

CHAPTER 14. If someone has conquered anger, he has conquered demons, but if someone has been enslaved to this passion, he is entirely a stranger to the monastic life, and a foreigner to the ways of our Savior; since our Lord himself is said to teach the meek his ways; for which reason the mind of the anchorites becomes hard to catch, fleeing into the plain of meekness; for the demons fear almost no virtue as much as meekness; for that Moses also possessed this, being called meek above all men. And holy David also declared this to be worthy of God's remembrance; “Remember, O Lord, he says, David, and all his meekness.” But also the Savior himself commanded us to become imitators of his meekness; “Learn from me, he says, for I am meek, and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” But if someone abstains from food and drink, but stirs up anger with wicked thoughts, this one is like a sea-faring ship, which has a demon as a helmsman, for which reason it must be heeded, with as much power as possible,

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ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΒʹ. Τοῦτον τὸν δαίμονα μάλιστα φυγαδεύων ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς

Εὐαγγελίοις προσέταξεν ἀσθενοῦντας ὁρᾷν, καὶ τοὺς ἐν φυλακῇ ἐπισκέπτεσθαι· «Ἀσθενὴς γὰρ ἤμην, φησὶ, καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με, καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ καὶ ἤλθετε πρός με.» Πλὴν τοῦτο ἰστέον, εἴ τις τῶν ἀναχωρητῶν, περιπεσὼν τούτῳ τῷ δαίμονι, λογισμοὺς οὐκ ἔλαβε πορνικοὺς, ἢ τὸν οἶκον ἀκηδίας οὐ κατέλιπεν, οὗτος σωφροσύνην, καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἀπ' οὐρανῶν ἐδέξατο κατελθούσας, καὶ μακάριός ἐστι τῆς τοιαύτης καταξιωθεὶς ἀπαθείας. Ὅσοι δὲ τῶν ἐπαγγελλομένων θεοσέβειαν, καὶ κοσμικοῖς συναυλίζεσθαι προαιροῦνται, φυλαττέσθωσαν τούτου τοῦ δαίμονος. Ἐγὼ γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ πλέον τι λέγειν, ἢ γράφειν, καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους αἰσχύνομαι.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΙΓʹ. Πάντες οἱ δαίμονες φιλήδονον διδάσκουσι τὴν ψυχήν· μόνος δὲ

ὁ τῆς λύπης δαίμων, τοῦτο πράττειν οὐ καταδέχεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν εἰσελθόντων τοὺς λογισμοὺς διαφθείρει, πᾶσαν ἡδονὴν περικόπτων καὶ ξηραίνων αὐτὴν διὰ τῆς λύπης. Εἴπερ ἀνδρὸς λυπηροῦ ξηραίνεται ὀστᾶ, καὶ μετρίως μὲν πολεμῶν δόκιμον τὸν ἀναχωρητὴν ἀπεργάζεται· πείθει γὰρ αὐτὸν μηδὲν τῶν κόσμου τούτου προσίεσθαι, καὶ πᾶσαν ἡδονὴν περιίστασθαι, πλεῖον δὲ προσκαρτερῶν, γεννᾷ λογισμοὺς ὑπεξάγειν ἑαυτὸν τῇ ψυχῇ συμβουλεύοντας, ἢ φεύγειν τῶν τόπων μα79.1216 κρὰν ἀναγκάζοντας· ὅπερ λελόγισταί ποτε, καὶ πέπονθε καὶ ὁ ἅγιος Ἰὼβ ὑπὸ τούτου παρενοχλούμενος τοῦ δαίμονος· «Εἴθε γὰρ δυναίμην, φησὶν, ἐμαυτὸν χειρώσασθαι, ἢ δεηθείς γε ἑτέρου, καὶ ποιήσει μοι τοῦτο.» Τούτου τοῦ δαίμονος σύμβολόν ἐστιν ἡ ἔχιδνα, τὸ θηρίον, ἧς ἡ φύσις φιλανθρώπως διδομένη, τοὺς τῶν ἄλλων θηρίων ἰοὺς διαφθείρει, ἀκρατῶς δὲ λαμβανομένη καὶ αὐτὸ διαφθείρει τὸ ζῶον. Τούτῳ τῷ δαίμονι παρέδωκεν ὁ Παῦλος τὸν ἐν Κορίνθῳ παρανομήσαντα, διὸ καὶ γράφει πάλιν σπουδαίως· «Κυρώσατε, λέγων τοῖς Κορινθίοις, εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην, ἵνα μή ποτε τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος.» Ἀλλ' οἶδε τοῦτο θλίβον τοὺς ἀνθρώπου τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ μετανοίας αὐτοῖς ἀγαθῆς πρόξενον γίνεσθαι· ὅθεν καὶ ὁ ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Βαπτιστὴς, τοὺς ὑπὸ τούτου κεντουμένους τοῦ δαίμονος, καὶ προσφεύγοντας τῷ Θεῷ· «Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, φησὶ, τίς ὑμῖν ὑπέδειξε φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς; ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ μὴ δόξητε λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, Πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ· λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν ὅτι δύναται ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ.» Πλὴν πᾶς ὁ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ μιμησάμενος, καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς γῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκ τῆς συγγενείας, αὐτὸς καὶ τούτου τοῦ δαίμονος γέγονεν ἰσχυρότερος.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ι∆ʹ. Εἴ τις θυμοῦ κεκράτηκεν, οὗτος δαιμόνων κεκράτηκεν, εἰ δέ τις

τούτῳ τῷ πάθει δεδούλωται, οὗτος μοναδικοῦ βίου ἐστὶ παντελῶς ἀλλότριος, καὶ ξένος τῶν ὁδῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν· εἴπερ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν λέγεται διδάσκειν τοὺς πραεῖς τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτοῦ· διὸ καὶ δυσθήρατος γίνεται τῶν ἀναχωρούντων ὁ νοῦς, εἰς τὸ τῆς πραότητος φεύγων πεδίον· οὐδεμίαν γὰρ τῶν ἀρετῶν σχεδὸν οὕτω δεδοίκασιν οἱ δαίμονες, ὡς πραΰτητα· ταύτην γὰρ καὶ Μωϋσῆς ἐκεῖνος ἐκέκτητο, πραῢς παρὰ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους κληθείς. Καὶ ὁ ἅγιος δὲ ∆αβὶδ ἀξίαν ταύτην τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ μνήμης ἀπεφθέγξατο εἶναι· «Μνήσθητι Κύριε, λέγων, τοῦ ∆αβὶδ, καὶ πάσης τῆς πραότητος αὐτοῦ.» Ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Σωτὴρ μιμητὰς ἡμᾶς ἐκέλευσε γενέσθαι τῆς ἐκείνου πραότητος· «Μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, λέγων, ὅτι, πρᾶός εἰμι, καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν.» Εἰ δέ τις βρωμάτων μὲν, καὶ πομάτων, ἀπέχοιτο, θυμὸν δὲ λογισμοῖς πονηροῖς ἐρεθίζει, οὗτος ἔοικε ποντοπορούσῃ νηῒ, καὶ ἐχούσῃ δαίμονα κυβερνήτην, διὸ προσεκτέον, ὅση δύναμις,