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And what does Saint Paul say to Titus? “In your teaching show integrity, a sound word, beyond reproach, so that the one who opposes you may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say about us;” and the blessed David also prays, saying: “Redeem me from the oppression of men,” calling both men and demons men on account of the rationality of their nature; but the Savior also in the Gospels called the one who sowed the weeds of wickedness among us an enemy man. From whom may we be delivered by the grace of our Christ and God, to whom be honor and glory forever. Amen. 40.1240

66. There are some unclean demons, who always to those who are reading

sit before them and attempt to snatch away their mind, often taking pretexts from the divine Scriptures themselves, and leading them into evil thoughts; and there are times when, contrary to habit, they compel them to yawn, and impose a very heavy sleep, much different from the usual; as some of the brothers have imagined, by an ineffable natural opposition; but I, having observed many times, have learned it thus; touching the eyelids and the whole head, and chilling it with their own body; for the bodies of demons are exceedingly cold, and like crystal; whence we feel the head being drawn with a grinding sound, as if by a cupping-glass. They do this, so that by drawing to themselves the heat stored in the skull, the eyelids, then slackened by the moisture and cold, may droop over the pupils of the eyes. Many times, indeed, upon touching them, I found the eyelids hardened like crystal, and the whole face deadened and shivering. And yet natural sleep is wont to warm bodies. and it makes the faces of the healthy florid, as can be learned from experience itself; but they cause unnatural and prolonged yawns, by making themselves thin and touching the inside of the mouth. But this I did not understand until today, although I had often suffered it; but I heard the holy Macarius speak this to me, and bring as proof the signing of the mouth of those who yawn, according to an ancient, ineffable tradition. We suffer all these things because we do not attend soberly to our reading, nor remember that we are reading the holy oracles of the living God. 40.1241

67. Since there are also successions of demons, when the first during the

war has grown weak and is unable to stir up the passion dear to it, having observed these, we discover them thus: When thoughts of a certain passion have been rare for a long time, and there is a sudden boiling up and movement of it, when we have given no pretext out of negligence, then we know that a demon more grievous than the former has succeeded, and this one, holding the place of the one who has fled, has supplemented it with its own wickedness. But our soul also understands this very well, being warred against much more vehemently than usual, and having suddenly fallen away from the thoughts of yesterday and the day before, with no external pretext having intervened. Let the mind, therefore, observing these things, flee to the Lord, having received the helmet of salvation, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having drawn the sword of the spirit, and having lifted up the shield of faith, let it say, looking up to its own heaven with tears: ‘Lord’ Christ, ‘the strength of my salvation, incline your ear to me, make haste to deliver me. Be to me a defending God, and a place of refuge to save me.’ But especially with fasts and vigils let it polish the sword. For in seven whole days it will be afflicted, being warred against, and struck by the flaming arrows of the Evil One, and after

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καὶ ὁ ἅγιος Παῦλος τί φησι τῷ Τίτῳ; «Ἐν τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ, ἄφθορον λόγον, ὑγιῆ, ἀκατάγνωστον, ἵνα ὁ ἐξ ἐναντίας ἐντραπῇ, μηδὲν ἔχων λέγειν περὶ ἡμῶν φαῦλον·» ὁ δὲ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ καὶ προσεύχεται λέγων· «Ῥῦσαί με ἀπὸ συκοφαντίας ἀνθρώπων,» ἀνθρώπους καὶ τοὺς δαίμονας ὀνομάζων διὰ τὸ τῆς φύσεως λογικόν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, ἐχθρὸν ἄνθρωπον εἶπε τὸν σπείραντα ἡμῖν τὰ τῆς κακίας ζιζάνια. Οὗ καὶ ῥυσθείημεν χάριτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, ᾧ πρέπει τιμὴ καὶ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν. 40.1240

Ξ†ʹ. Εἰσί τινες τῶν ἀκαθάρτων δαίμονες, οἵτινες ἀεὶ τοῖς ἀναγινώσκουσι

προκαθέζονται, καὶ τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν ἁρπάζειν ἐπιχειροῦσι, πολλάκις καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν τῶν θείων Γραφῶν λαμβάνοντες ἀφορμὰς, καὶ εἰς λογισμοὺς πονηροὺς καταλήγοντες· ἔστι δ' ὅτε καὶ παρὰ τὴν συνήθειαν χασμᾶσθαι καταναγκάζοντες, καὶ ὕπνον βαρύτατον ἐπιβάλλοντες, πολὺ τοῦ συνήθους ἀλλότριον· ὡς μέν τινες τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐφαντάσθησαν, κατὰ φυσικὴν ἀντίθεσιν ἄῤῥητον· οὕτω δὲ ἐγὼ παρατηρήσας πολλάκις, κατέμαθον· ἐφαπτόμενοι τῶν βλεφάρων καὶ ὅλης τῆς κεφαλῆς, καὶ ταύτην τῷ οἰκείῳ σώματι καταψύχοντες· ψυχρὰ γὰρ λίαν τὰ τῶν δαιμόνων σώματα, καὶ κρυστάλλῳ παρεμφερῆ· ὅθεν καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ σικύας αἰσθανόμεθα τῆς κεφαλῆς ἑλκομένης μετὰ τρισμοῦ. Τοῦτο δὲ ποιοῦσιν, ἵνα τὴν ἐναποκειμένην τῷ κρανίῳ θερμότητα πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπισπώμενοι, ὑπὸ τῆς ὑγρότητος λοιπὸν καὶ ψυχρότητος χαλασθέντα τὰ βλέφαρα, περιῤῥυῇ ταῖς κόραις τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν. Πολλάκις γοῦν ψηλαφήσας, κατέλαβον δίκην κρυστάλλου πεπηγότα τὰ βλέφαρα, τὴν δὲ ὄψιν νενεκρωμένην ὅλην καὶ φρίσσουσαν. Καίτοι ὁ φυσικὸς ὕπνος θερμαίνειν μὲν τὰ σώματα πέφυκε. καὶ τῶν ὑγιαινόντων τὰς ὄψεις ἀνθηρὰς ἀπεργάζεται, ὡς ἔστι καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς πείρας μαθεῖν· τὰς δὲ παρὰ φύσιν καὶ διατεταμένας, χάσμα ποιοῦσι, λεπτύνοντες ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ τῶν ἔνδον τοῦ στόματος ἐφαπτόμενοι. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἐγὼ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον οὐκ ἐνόησα, καίτοι πολλάκις αὐτὸ πεπονθώς· τοῦ δὲ ἁγίου Μακαρίου ἤκουσα τοῦτό μοι λελαληκότος, καὶ εἰς ἀπόδειξιν φέροντος, τοῦ σφραγίζειν τοὺς χασμωμένους τὸ στόμα, κατὰ ἀρχαίαν παράδοσιν ἄῤῥητον. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα πάσχομεν, διὰ τὸ μὴ προσέχειν νηφόντως ἡμᾶς τῇ ἀναγνώσει, μηδὲ μεμνῆσθαι, ὅτι λόγια ἅγια Θεοῦ ζῶντος ἀναγινώσκομεν. 40.1241

ΣΖʹ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ γίνονται καὶ διαδοχαὶ τῶν δαιμόνων, τοῦ πρώτου κατὰ τὸν

πόλεμον ἀσθενήσαντος, καὶ τὸ προσφιλὲς αὐτῷ πάθος κινῆσαι μὴ δυναμένου, ταύτας παρατηρήσαντες, εὑρίσκομεν οὕτως· Ὅταν πάθους τινὸς ἐν χρόνῳ πολλῷ σπανίσωσι λογισμοὶ, καὶ γένηται αἰφνίδιος τούτου ζέσις καὶ κίνησις, ἡμῶν μηδεμίαν ἀφορμὴν δεδωκότων ἐξ ἀμελείας, τότε γινώσκομεν, ὅτι χαλεπώτερος ἡμᾶς τοῦ προτέρου διεδέξατο δαίμων, καὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦ πεφευγότος οὗτος τηρῶν, οἰκείᾳ πονηρίᾳ προσανεπλήρωσεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ οὗτος τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν πάνυ συνίησι, πολλῷ σφοδρότερον παρὰ τὴν συνήθειαν πολεμούμενος, καὶ τῶν χθὲς καὶ τρίτην ἡμέραν λογισμῶν ἀθρόως ἐκπεπτωκὼς, μηδεμιᾶς ἔξωθεν παρεμπεσούσης προφάσεως. Φευγέτω τοίνυν ὁ νοῦς ταῦτα θεώμενος πρὸς τὸν Κύριον, τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τὴν σωτηρίου δεξάμενος, καὶ τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐνδυσάμενος, καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν σπασάμενος τοῦ πνεύματος, καὶ τὸν θυρεὸν κουφίσας τῆς πίστεως, λεγέτω εἰς τὸ οἰκεῖον μετὰ δακρύων ἀναβλέψας οὐρανόν· «Κύριε» Χριστὲ, «δύναμις τῆς σωτηρίας μου, κλῖνον πρός με τὸ οὖς σου, τάχυνον τοῦ ἐξελέσθαι με. Γενοῦ μοι εἰς Θεὸν ὑπερασπιστὴν, καὶ εἰς τόπον καταφυγῆς τοῦ σῶσαί με.» Μάλιστα δὲ νηστείαις καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις στιλβωσάτω τὴν μάχαιραν. Ἐν ἑπτὰ γὰρ ὅλαις ἡμέραις θλιβήσεται πολεμούμενος, καὶ βαλλόμενος τοῖς πεπυρωμένοις βέλεσι τοῦ Πονηροῦ, καὶ μετὰ