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Do not various spiritual contemplations also succeed it? For one frees the mind only from intemperance and hatred, while others deliver it also from forgetfulness and ignorance; and so it will be able to pray as it ought.

2.6 (6th) Of pure prayer there are two supreme states: the one occurring in the active, the other in the contemplative. And the one comes to the soul from fear of God and good hope; the other, from divine love and the highest purity. The signs of the first measure are: for the mind to be gathered within from all the thoughts of the world, and, as if God Himself were present to it, as indeed He is, to make its prayers without distraction and without disturbance; of the second: for the mind, in the very impulse of prayer, to be seized by the divine and infinite light and to be conscious neither of itself nor of any other existing thing at all, except only of Him who through love is working such an illumination in it. Then also, being moved concerning the words about God, it receives pure and clear revelations concerning Him.

2.7 (7th) Whatever one loves, to this one holds on completely and despises all things that hinder it, so that one may not be deprived of it; and he who loves God is diligent in pure prayer and casts out from himself every passion that hinders him in this.

2.8 (8th) He who has cast out the mother of the passions, self-love, with God's help easily puts aside the rest as well, such as anger, grief, remembrance of wrongs 14__214 and the like; but he who is overcome by the first is wounded by the others even if he does not wish it. For self-love is the passion for the body.

2.9 (9th) For these five reasons people love one another, either in a praiseworthy or a blameworthy way: for instance, either for God's sake, as the virtuous man loves all, and as one loves the virtuous man even if he is not yet virtuous; or by nature, as parents love their children and vice versa; or for vainglory, as he who is glorified loves him who glorifies him; or for avarice, as one loves the rich man for what he can get; or for the love of pleasure, as he who serves his stomach and what is below the stomach. And the first is praiseworthy; the second, intermediate; the rest, impassioned.

2.10 (10th) If you hate some, and others you neither love nor hate; others you love, but moderately, and still others you love very much; from this inequality know that you are far from perfect love, which presupposes loving every person equally.

2.11 (11th) Depart from evil and do good. That is: wage war against the enemies, that you may diminish the passions; and then be watchful, that they may not increase. And again: wage war, that you may acquire the virtues, and afterwards be watchful, that you may preserve them. And this would be "to till and to keep."

2.12 (12th) Those who tempt us by God's permission either inflame the desiring part of the soul, or disturb the irascible part, 14__216 or darken the rational part, or inflict the body with pains, or plunder our bodily possessions.

2.13 (13th) The demons tempt us either by themselves or they arm against us those who do not fear the Lord; and by themselves, when we are separated from people, as they also did to the Lord in the wilderness; but through people, when we associate with them, as also they did to the Lord through the Pharisees. But let us, looking to our example, repel them in both ways.

2.14 (14th) When the mind begins to advance in the love of God, then also the demon of blasphemy begins to tempt it and suggests to it such thoughts as no man, but only their father the devil, invents. He does this, envying the God-loving one, so that having come to despair as

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μὴ καὶ διάφοροι αὐτὸν διαδέχονται πνευματικαὶ θεωρίαι. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἀκρασίας καὶ μίσους μόνον τὸν νοῦν ἐλευθεροῖ, αἱ δὲ καὶ λήθης καὶ ἀγνοίας αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάττουσι· καὶ οὕτω δυνήσεται ὡς δεῖ προσεύχεσθαι.

2.6 (στ') Τῆς καθαρᾶς προσευχῆς δύο εἰσὶν ἀκρόταται καταστάσεις· ἡ μὲν τοῖς πρακτικοῖς, ἡ δὲ τοῖς θεωρητικοῖς ἐπισυμβαίνουσα. Καὶ ἡ μὲν ἐκ φόβου Θεοῦ καὶ ἐλπίδος ἀγαθῆς τῇ ψυχῇ ἐγγίνεται· ἡ δέ, ἀπὸ θείου ἔρωτος καὶ ἀκροτάτης καθάρσεως. Γνωρίσματα δὲ τοῦ μὲν πρώτου μέτρου, τὸ ἐντὸς συναγαγεῖν τὸν νοῦν ἐκ πάντων τῶν τοῦ κόσμου νοημάτων καὶ ὡς αὐτῷ αὐτοῦ παρισταμένου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ καὶ παρέστη, ποιεῖσθαι τὰς προσευχὰς ἀπερισπάστως καὶ ἀνενοχλήτως· τοῦ δὲ δευτέρου, τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὁρμῇ τῆς προσευχῆς ἁρπαγῆναι τὸν νοῦν ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου καὶ ἀπείρου φωτὸς καὶ μήτε ἑαυτοῦ μήτε τινὸς ἄλλου τῶν ὄντων τὸ σύνολον ἐπαισθάνεσθαι, εἰ μὴ μόνου τοῦ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης ἐν αὐτῷ τὴν τοιαύτην ἔλλαμψιν ἐνεργοῦντος. Τότε δὲ καὶ περὶ τοὺς περὶ Θεοῦ λόγους κινούμενος, καθαρὰς καὶ τρανὰς τὰς περὶ αὐτοῦ λαμβάνει ἐμφάσεις.

2.7 (ζ') Ὅ τις ἀγαπᾷ, τοῦτο καὶ ἀντέχεται πάντως καὶ πάντων τῶν πρὸς τοῦτο ἐμποδιζόντων αὐτῷ καταφρονεῖ, ἵνα μὴ αὐτοῦ στερηθῇ· καὶ ὁ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπῶν ἐπιμελεῖται καθαρᾶς προσευχῆς καὶ πᾶν πάθος πρὸς τοῦτο ἐμποδίζον αὐτῷ ἀποβάλλει ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ.

2.8 (η') Ὁ τὴν μητέρα τῶν παθῶν ἀποβαλῶν φιλαυτίαν, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ εὐχερῶς σὺν Θεῷ ἀποτίθεται, οἷον ὀργήν, λύπην, μνησικακίαν 14__214 καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ προτέρου κρατούμενος, ὑπὸ τῶν δευτέρων κἂν μὴ θέλῃ τιτρώσκεται. Φιλαυτία δέ ἐστι τὸ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα πάθος.

2.9 (θ') ∆ιὰ τὰς πέντε ταύτας αἰτίας οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἀγαπῶσιν ἀλλήλους εἴτε ἐπαινετῶς εἴτε ψεκτῶς· οἷον ἢ διὰ τὸν Θεόν, ὡς ὁ ἐνάρετος πάντας καὶ ὡς ὁ τὸν ἐνάρετον κἂν μήπω ἐνάρετος· ἢ διὰ φύσιν, ὡς οἱ γονεῖς τὰ τέκνα καὶ ἔμπαλιν· ἢ διὰ κενοδοξίαν, ὡς ὁ δοξαζόμενος τὸν δοξάζοντα· ἢ διὰ φιλαργυρίαν, ὡς ὁ τὸν πλούσιον διὰ λήψιν· ἢ διὰ φιληδονίαν, ὡς ὁ τὴν γαστέρα θεραπευόμενος καὶ τὰ ὑπογάστρια. Καὶ ἡ μὲν πρώτη, ἐπαινετή· ἡ δὲ δευτέρα, μέση· αἱ δὲ λοιπαί, ἐμπαθεῖς.

2.10 (ι') Ἐὰν τινὰς μὲν μισῇς, τινὰς δὲ οὐδὲ ἀγαπᾷς οὐδὲ μισῇς· ἑτέρους δὲ ἀγαπᾷς, ἀλλὰ συμμέτρως, ἄλλους δὲ σφόδρα ἀγαπᾷς· ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ἀνισότητος γνῶθι ὅτι μακρὰν εἶ τῆς τελείας ἀγάπης, ἥτις ὑποτίθεται πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐξ ἴσου ἀγαπῆσαι.

2.11 (ια') Ἔκκλινον ἀπὸ κακοῦ καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν. Τουτέστι· πολέμησον τοὺς ἐχθρούς, ἵνα μειώσῃς τὰ πάθη· ἔπειτα δὲ νῆφε, ἵνα μὴ αὐξήσωσι. Καὶ πάλιν· πολέμησον, ἵνα κτήσῃ τὰς ἀρετάς, καὶ μετέπειτα νῆφε, ἵνα αὐτὰς διαφυλάξῃς. Καὶ τοῦτο ἂν εἴη τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ φυλάσσειν.

2.12 (ιβ') Οἱ κατὰ συγχώρησιν Θεοῦ πειράζοντες ἡμᾶς ἢ τὸ ἐπιθυμητικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκθερμαίνουσιν ἢ τὸ θυμικὸν ἐκταράσσουσιν 14__216 ἢ τὸ λογιστικὸν ἐπισκοτίζουσιν ἢ τὸ σῶμα ὀδύναις περιβάλλουσιν ἢ τὰ σωματικὰ διαρπάζουσιν.

2.13 (ιγ') Ἢ δι᾽ ἑαυτῶν ἡμᾶς οἱ δαίμονες ἐκπειράζουσιν ἢ τοὺς μὴ φοβουμένους τὸν Κύριον καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐφοπλίζουσι· καὶ δι᾽ ἑαυτῶν μέν, ὅταν ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἰδιάσωμεν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· διὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων δέ, ὅταν μετ᾽ αὐτῶν συνδιατρίψωμεν, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸν Κύριον διὰ τῶν Φαρισαίων. Ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς εἰς τὸν τύπον ἡμῶν ἀποβλεπόμενοι ἀμφοτέρωθεν αὐτοὺς ἀποκρουσώμεθα.

2.14 (ιδ') Ὅταν ἄρχηται ὁ νοῦς εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ προκόπτειν, τότε καὶ ὁ δαίμων τῆς βλασφημίας ἄρχεται ἐκπειράζειν αὐτὸν καὶ τοιούτους αὐτῷ λογισμοὺς ὑποβάλλει, οἵους ἀνθρώπων μὲν οὐδείς, μόνος δὲ ὁ τούτων πατὴρ διάβολος ἐφευρίσκει. Τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ φθονῶν τῷ θεοφιλεῖ, ἵνα εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐλθὼν ὡς