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You have made the entire desiderative part of my soul yours alone, he says, but also if any spark of this desire in the body has turned towards what produces it, through it has flown up to you and depends on you and cleaves to you. For just as for those who indulge in the pleasures of the senses and of corruptible things, the entire desiderative part of the soul is emptied out toward the flesh and for this reason they become wholly flesh and the Spirit (p. 138) of God, according to what is written, cannot remain in them, so for those who have raised their mind to God and have their soul suspended from divine longing, the flesh also, being transformed, is raised up with it and partakes of the divine communion and it too becomes a possession and a dwelling-place of God, no longer having enmity toward God dwelling in it, nor desiring against the spirit.

And what is the more suitable place for the spirit of flesh and mind that ascends to us from below? Is it not the flesh, in which the apostle also says that nothing good dwells before the law of life has settled in? Therefore, this must all the more never be left without attention. For how could it be ours, how could we not leave it, how could we repulse the ascent of the evil one to it, and especially those of us who do not yet know how to spiritually counter the spiritual forces of wickedness, unless we also train ourselves through our outward posture to pay attention to ourselves? And why do I mention those just beginning, when even among the more perfect there are those who, having used this posture during prayer, found God attentive, not only those after Christ, but also those before his advent to us. For even Elijah himself, most perfect in the vision of God, having placed his head between his knees and thus more laboriously gathered his mind into himself and to God, ended that drought of many years. But these men, brother, from whom you say you have heard these things, seem to me to suffer from the disease of the Pharisees, which is why they are unwilling to examine and cleanse the inside of the cup, that is, their own heart, and not adhering to the patristic traditions, they hasten to preside over all as common teachers of the law; and they themselves disdain the posture of that justified publican’s prayer and advise the other (p. 140) supplicants not to adopt it. For just as the Lord says in the Gospels, 'he would not even lift up his eyes to heaven'; this man, indeed, those who pay attention to themselves in prayer emulate in their gaze.

But those who call these men ‘navel-psychics,’ in addition to clearly slandering those they accuse (for which of these men ever said the soul is in the navel?), in addition, then, to revealing themselves as slanderous attackers, they have also shown themselves to be insolent towards those who are praised, and not correctors of those who err, nor writing for the sake of stillness and truth, but for the sake of vainglory, not to lead to watchfulness, but to lead away from watchfulness. For they hasten in every way to despise the work itself and those properly engaged in it because of this very suitable practice. Such men would easily call 'belly-psychics' both the one who said 'the law of God is in the midst of my belly' and the one who said to God 'my belly shall sound like a harp and my inward parts as a bronze wall which you have renewed,' and they would slander in common all those who through bodily symbols figure and name and trace out intelligible and divine and spiritual things. But they will bring no harm upon them by this; rather, indeed, they will become agents of blessings for them and of a greater addition to their crowns in heaven, but they themselves remain outside the sacred veils and will not be able to gaze even at the shadows of the truth, and there is much fear lest they also pay an eternal penalty, not only having separated themselves from the saints, but also having proceeded in speech against them.

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ἐμῆς, φησί, ψυχῆς μόνον ἐπιθυμητικόν ὅλον σόν εἰργάσω, ἀλλά καί εἴ τι ἐν τῷ σώματι ταύτης τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ζώπυρον πρός τήν ἐμποιοῦσαν ἐπιστρέψαν, δι᾿ αὐτῆς πρός σέ ἀνέπτη καί σοῦ ἐξήρτηται καί σοί κολλᾶται. Ὡς γάρ τοῖς τῶν αἰσθητῶν καί φθαρτῶν ἡδονῶν ἀνεχομένοις τό τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιθυμοῦν ὅλον κενοῦται πρός τήν σάρκα καί διά τοῦτο ὅλοι σάρκες γίνονται καί τό Πνεῦμα (σελ. 138) τοῦ Θεοῦ κατά τό γεγραμμένον οὐκ ἔνι καταμένειν ἐν αὐτοῖς, οὕτω τοῖς ἀνυψώσασι τόν νοῦν πρός τόν Θεόν καί τοῦ θείου πόθου τήν ψυχήν ἐξηρτημένοις, καί ἡ σάρξ μετασκευαζομένη συνανυψοῦταί τε καί συναπολαύει τῆς θείας κοινωνίας καί κτῆμα καί αὐτή γίνεται καί οἴκημα Θεοῦ, μηκέτ᾿ ἐνοικουροῦσαν ἔχουσα τήν πρός Θεόν ἔχθραν, μηδέ κατά τοῦ πνεύματος ἐπιθυμοῦσα.

Τίς δέ καί ὁ μᾶλλον ἐπιτήδειος τόπος τῷ κάτωθεν ἐφ᾿ ἡμᾶς ἀνιόντι πνεύματι σαρκός καί νοῦ; Οὐχ ἡ σάρξ, ἐν ᾗ καί ὁ ἀπόστολός φησι μηδέν ἀγαθόν πρό τοῦ ἐγκατοικισθῆναι τόν νόμον τῆς ζωῆς οἰκεῖν; Ταύτην οὐκοῦν καί μᾶλλον δεῖ μηδέποτ᾿ ἀφεῖσθαι προσοχῆς. Πῶς γάρ ἄν ἡμῶν εἴη, πῶς δ᾿ ἄν μή ἀφῶμεν ταύτην, πῶς δ᾿ ἄν ἀποκρουσαίμεθα τήν πρός αὐτήν ἄνοδον τοῦ πονηροῦ, καί μάλισθ᾿ οἱ μήπω πνευματικῶς εἰδότες ἀντεπιέναι τοῖς πνευματικοῖς τῆς πονηρίας, εἰ μή καί διά τοῦ ἔξω σχήματος ἡμᾶς αὐτούς παιδεύσομεν προσέχειν ἑαυτοῖς; Καί τί λέγω τούς ἄρτι ἐπιβαλλομένους, ὅτε καί τῶν τελεωτέρων εἰσιν οἵ τούτῳ χρησάμενοι τῷ σχήματι κατά τήν προσευχήν εὐήκοον τό θεῖον ἔσχον, οὐ μόνον τῶν μετά Χριστόν, ἀλλά καί τῶν πρό τῆς αὐτοῦ πρός ἡμᾶς ἐπιδημίας. Καί αὐτός γάρ ὁ τήν θεοπτίαν τελεώτατος Ἠλίας, τήν κεφαλήν τοῖς γόνασιν ἐρείσας καί οὕτω τόν νοῦν εἰς ἑαυτόν καί τόν Θεόν φιλοπονώτερον συναγαγών, τόν πολυετῆ ἐκεῖνον ἔλυσεν αὐχμόν. Οὗτοι δέ μοι δοκοῦσιν, ἀδελφέ, παρ᾿ ὧν ἀκηκοέναι ταῦτα λέγεις, νοσεῖν τήν τῶν φαρισαίων νόσον, διό καί τό ἔσωθεν τοῦ ποτηρίου, δηλαδή τήν ἑαυτῶν καρδίαν, ἐπισκέπτεσθαι καί καθαίρειν οὐκ ἐθέλωσι καί ταῖς πατερικαῖς μή στοιχοῦντες παραδόσεσι σπεύδουσιν αὐτοί προκαθῆσθαι πάντων ὡς κοινοί νομοδιδάσκαλοι˙ τό τε σχῆμα τῆς δεδικαιωμένης τελωνικῆς εὐχῆς ἐκείνης αὐτοί τε ἀπαξιοῦσι καί τούς (σελ. 140) ἄλλους τῶν εὐχομένων παραινοῦσι μή προσίεσθαι. Καθάπερ γάρ ἐν εὐαγγελίοις φησίν ὁ Κύριος, «ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἤθελεν οὐδέ τούς ὀφθαλμούς εἰς τόν οὐρανόν ἆραι»˙ τοῦτον δή ζηλοῦσι οἱ ἑαυτοῖς ἐν τῷ εὔχεσθαι προσέχοντες τήν ὄψιν.

Οἱ δ᾿ ὀμφαλοψύχους τούτους ὀνομάζοντες, πρός τῷ συκοφαντεῖν σαφῶς ὧν κατηγοροῦσι (τίς γάρ ποτε τούτων ἐπ᾿ ὀμφαλοῦ λέγειν τήν ψυχήν;) πρός γοῦν τῷ γενέσθαι δήλους συκοφαντικῶς ἐπιθεμένους, καί ὑβριστάς τῶν ἐπαινουμένων σφᾶς αὐτούς ἔδειξαν ὄντας, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ διορθωτάς τῶν σφαλλομένων, οὐδ᾿ ἡσυχίους ἕνεκεν καί ἀληθείας, ἀλλά κενοδοξίας χάριν γράφοντας, οὐδ᾿ ἵνα πρός νῆψιν ἐναγάγωσιν, ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα τῆς νήψεως ἐπαγάγωσιν. Αὐτό γάρ τό ἔργον καί τούς ἐμμελῶς ἐπειλημμένους τούτου παντί τρόπῳ σπεύδουσιν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς καταλλήλου πράξεως ἐξουθενεῖν. Οἱ τοιοῦτοι δέ ρᾳδίως καί τόν εἰπόντα ὡς «ὁ νόμος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ κοιλίας μου» καί τόν εἰρηκότα πρός Θεόν ὅτι «ἡ κοιλία μου ἠχήσει ὡς κιθάρα καί τά ἐντός μου ὡσεί τεῖχος χαλκοῦν ὅ ἐνεκαίνισας» κοιλιοψύχους ἄν προσαγορεύσεται καί κοινῇ πάντας διαβάλοιεν τούς διά σωματικῶν συμβόλων τά νοερά καί θεῖα καί πνευματικά τυποῦντας καί καλοῦντας καί ἀνιχνεύοντας. Ἀλλ᾿ ἐκείνοις μέν παρά τοῦτο βλάβος ἐποίσουσιν οὐδέν, μᾶλλον μέν οὖν καί μακαρισμῶν πρόξενοι γενήσονται καί μείζονος προσθήκης τῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς στεφάνων, αὐτοί δέ καί τῶν ἱερῶν παραπετασμάτων ἔξω μένουσι καί οὐδέ πρός τάς σκιάς ἕξουσιν ἀτενίζειν τῆς ἀληθείας, πολύ δέ τό δέος μή καί δίκην τίσωσιν αἰώνιον, οὐκ ἀποδιαστείλαντες μόνον ἑαυτούς τῶν ἁγίων, ἀλλά καί κατ᾿ αὐτῶν τῷ λόγῳ χωρήσαντες.