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the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever, and this: There is no want to them that fear him.

1.83 (83) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, and what follows. By "earth" he named the mindset of the flesh; by "fornication" he meant sin in act; by "uncleanness" he called assent; by "passion" he named the passionate thought; by "evil desire" the mere reception of the desirous thought; by "covetousness" he named the matter which both begets and increases passion. All these things, therefore, as being members of the mindset of the flesh, the divine Apostle commanded to be mortified.

14__202 1.84 (84) First, memory brings a mere thought to the intellect; and when this lingers, it stirs passion; and if this is not destroyed, it bends the intellect to assent; and when this has happened, it comes finally to sin in act. Therefore the all-wise Apostle, writing to those from the nations, commands first to destroy the result of sin; then, retracing the steps in order, to end up at the cause. And the cause is covetousness, which, as has been said before, both begets and increases passion. And I think that here he signifies gluttony, as being the mother and nurse of fornication. For covetousness is evil not only in regard to money, but also in regard to food; just as self-control is good not only in regard to food, but also in regard to money.

1.85 (85) Just as a sparrow with its foot tied, beginning to fly, is pulled down to the earth, drawn by the cord; so also the intellect, not yet having acquired dispassion and flying toward the knowledge of heavenly things, is pulled down to the earth, drawn by the passions.

1.86 (86) When the intellect is completely freed from the passions, then it journeys unswervingly to the contemplation of beings, making its way to the knowledge of the Holy Trinity.

1.87 (87) When the intellect is pure, on receiving the concepts of things, it is moved to their spiritual contemplation; but when it has become impure through negligence, it imagines the concepts of other things as mere ideas, but on receiving human concepts, it turns them into shameful or wicked thoughts.

1.88 (88) When at the time of prayer no worldly 14__204 thoughts at all disturb the intellect, then know that you are not outside the bounds of dispassion.

1.89 (89) When the soul begins to be aware of its own health, then it also begins to see the images in dreams as simple and untroubled.

1.90 (90) Just as the beauty of visible things draws the physical eye, so also the knowledge of invisible things draws the pure intellect to itself; and by invisible things I mean incorporeal things.

1.91 (91) It is a great thing not to be affected by things; but it is much greater to remain dispassionate towards the images of them. For the war waged against us by the demons through thoughts is more difficult than the war through things.

1.92 (92) He who has achieved the virtues and is rich in knowledge, henceforth discerning things naturally, both acts and speaks all things according to right reason, not being turned aside at all. For by using things reasonably or unreasonably we become either virtuous or wicked.

1.93 (93) A sign of perfect dispassion is that the mere concepts of things always ascend to the heart both when the body is awake and during sleep.

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φόβος Κυρίου ἁγνός, διαμένων εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος, καὶ τό· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστέρημα τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν.

1.83 (πγ') Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακὴν καὶ τὴν πλεονεζίαν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Γῆν μὲν ὠνόμασε τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκός· πορνείαν δὲ εἶπε τὴν κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτίαν· ἀκαθαρσίαν δὲ τὴν συγκατάθεσιν ἐκάλεσε· πάθος δὲ τὸν ἐμπαθῆ λογισμὸν ὠνόμασεν· ἐπιθυμίαν δὲ κακὴν τὴν ψιλὴν τοῦ λογισμοῦ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας παραδοχήν· πλεονεξίαν δὲ τὴν γεννητικήν τε καὶ αὐξητικὴν τοῦ πάθους ὠνόμασεν ὕλην. Ταῦτα οὖν πάντα ὡς μέλη ὄντα τοῦ φρονήματος τῆς σαρκὸς ἐκέλευσεν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος νεκρῶσαι.

14__202 1.84 (πδ') Πρῶτον μὲν ἡ μνήμη ψιλὸν τὸν λογισμὸν ἐπὶ τὸν νοῦν ἀναφέρει· καὶ τούτου ἐγχρονίζοντος, κινεῖ τὸ πάθος· τούτου δὲ μὴ ἀναιρουμένου, κάμπτει τὸν νοῦν εἰς συγκατάθεσιν· ταύτης δὲ γενομένης, ἔρχεται λοιπὸν εἰς τὴν κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἁμαρτίαν. Ὁ οὖν πάνσοφος Ἀπόστολος πρὸς τοὺς ἀπὸ ἐθνῶν γράφων, τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα πρῶτον κελεύει ἀναιρεῖν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· εἶτα κατὰ τάξιν ἀναποδίζοντας, εἰς τὴν αἰτίαν καταλήγειν. Ἡ δὲ αἰτία ἐστὶν ἡ γεννητική, ὡς προείρηται, καὶ αὐξητικὴ τοῦ πάθους πλεονεξία. Οἶμαι δὲ ἐνταῦθα τὴν γαστριμαργίαν σημαίνειν ὡς μητέρα καὶ τροφὸν τῆς πορνείας ὑπάρχουσαν. Ἡ γὰρ πλεονεξία οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ χρημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ βρωμάτων κακή· ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἐγκράτεια οὐ μόνον ἐπὶ βρωμάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ χρημάτων καλή.

1.85 (πε') Ὥσπερ στρουθίον τὸν πόδα δεδεμένον ἀρχόμενον πέτεσθαι, ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν κατασπᾶται, τῷ σχοινίῳ ἑλκόμενον· οὕτω καὶ ὁ νοῦς μήπω ἀπάθειαν κτησάμενος καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν οὐρανίων γνῶσιν πετόμενος, ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν καθελκόμενος ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν κατασπᾶται.

1.86 (πστ') Ὅταν ὁ νοῦς τελείως τῶν παθῶν ἐλευθερωθῇ, τότε ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν τῶν ὄντων ἀμεταστρεπτὶ ὁδεύει, ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος τὴν πορείαν ποιούμενος.

1.87 (πζ') Καθαρὸς ὑπάρχων ὁ νοῦς, τὰ νοήματα τῶν πραγμάτων ἀναλαμβάνων εἰς τὴν πνευματικὴν θεωρίαν αὐτῶν κινεῖται· ἀκάθαρτος δὲ ἐκ ῥαθυμίας γεγονώς, τὰ μὲν τῶν λοιπῶν πραγμάτων νοήματα ψιλὰ φαντάζεται, τὰ δὲ ἀνθρώπινα δεχόμενος εἰς αἰσχροὺς ἢ πονηροὺς λογισμοὺς μετατρέπεται.

1.88 (πη') Ὅταν ἀεὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς προσευχῆς μηδὲν τῶν τοῦ κόσμου 14__204 νοημάτων διενοχλήσῃ τῷ νῷ, τότε γίνωσκε σαυτὸν μὴ ἔξω εἶναι τῶν ὅρων τῆς ἀπαθείας.

1.89 (πθ') Ὅταν ἡ ψυχὴ ἄρχηται τῆς ἰδίας ὑγιείας ἐπαισθάνεσθαι, τότε καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς ὕπνοις φαντασίας ψιλὰς καὶ ἀταράχους ἄρχεται βλέπειν.

1.90 (ƒ') Ὥσπερ τὸν αἰσθητὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἡ καλλονὴ τῶν ὁρατῶν, οὕτω καὶ τὸν καθαρὸν νοῦν ἡ γνῶσις τῶν ἀοράτων πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἐπισπᾶται· ἀόρατα δὲ λέγω τὰ ἀσώματα.

1.91 (ƒα') Μέγα μὲν τὸ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα μὴ πάσχειν· μεῖζον δὲ πολλῷ τὸ πρὸς τὰς φαντασίας αὐτῶν ἀπαθῆ διαμεῖναι. ∆ιότι ὁ διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν πρὸς ἡμᾶς τῶν δαιμόνων πόλεμος τοῦ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων πολέμου ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερος.

1.92 (ƒβ') Ὁ τὰς ἀρετὰς κατορθώσας καὶ τῇ γνώσει πλουτήσας, ὡς φυσικῶς λοιπὸν τὰ πράγματα διορῶν, πάντα κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον καὶ πράττει καὶ διαλέγεται, τὸ σύνολον μὴ παρατρεπόμενος. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ εὐλόγως ἢ ἀλόγως τοῖς πράγμασι χρήσασθαι ἢ ἐνάρετοι ἢ φαῦλοι γινόμεθα.

1.93 (ƒγ') Σημεῖον ἄκρας ἀπαθείας τὸ ψιλὰ τὰ νοήματα τῶν πραγμάτων ἀεὶ ἀναβαίνειν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν καὶ ἐγρηγορότος τοῦ σώματος καὶ κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους.