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3.39 (λθ') Love and self-control keep the mind dispassionate toward both things and the thoughts of them.

3.40 (μ') The mind of the God-loving man wars not against things, nor against the thoughts of them, but against the passions that are yoked to the thoughts. For example, he does not war against the woman, nor against the one who has caused him grief, nor against the images of these, but against the passions that are yoked to the images.

3.41 (μα') The entire warfare of the monk is against the demons, that he may separate the passions from the thoughts; for otherwise he cannot look upon things with dispassion.

3.42 (μβ') A thing is one thing, a thought is another, and a passion another. A thing is, for example, a man, a woman, gold, and so on. A thought is a simple memory of one of the aforementioned things. A passion is an irrational affection or an indiscriminate hatred for one of the aforementioned things. The monk’s battle, therefore, is against the passion.

14__282 3.43 (μγ') A passionate thought is a composite thought made up of a passion and a thought. Let us separate the passion from the thought, and the simple thought remains. And we separate it through spiritual love and self-control, if we wish.

3.44 (μδ') The virtues separate the mind from the passions; spiritual contemplations, from simple thoughts; and pure prayer presents the mind itself to God.

3.45 (με') The virtues are for the sake of the knowledge of created things; and knowledge, for the sake of the knower; and the knower, for the sake of the One who is known unknowably and who knows beyond knowledge.

3.46 (μστ') Not as one in need of anything did the all-full God bring created things into being, but that they might enjoy Him by participating in Him according to their capacity, and that He Himself might rejoice in His works, seeing them rejoicing and being ever insatiably satisfied by the Insatiable One.

3.47 (μζ') The world has many who are poor in spirit, but improperly so; and many who mourn, but because of the loss of money or the loss of children; and many who are meek, but toward impure passions; and many who hunger and thirst, but to seize what belongs to others and to gain from injustice; and many who are merciful, but toward the body and the things of the body; and pure in heart, but because of vainglory; and peacemakers, but by subjecting the soul to the flesh; and many who are persecuted, but for being disorderly; and many who are reproached, but for shameful sins. But only they are blessed who both do and suffer these things for Christ’s sake and according to Christ. Why? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven and they will see 14__284 God, and so on. So that it is not because they do and suffer these things that they are blessed, for those mentioned before do the same, but because they both do and suffer these things for Christ’s sake and according to Christ.

3.48 (μη') In all that is done by us, the purpose is sought by God, as has often been said, whether we do it for His sake or for something else. Therefore, whenever we wish to do something good, let us not have the pleasing of men, but God as our purpose, so that always looking to Him, we may do all things for His sake, lest we both endure the labor and lose the reward.

3.49 (μθ') Cast out from the mind in the time of prayer both the simple thoughts of human affairs and the contemplations of all created things, lest by imagining lesser things you fall away from the One who is incomparably better than all beings.

3.50 (ν') If we love God genuinely, through this love itself we cast out the passions. And love for Him is to prefer Him to the world, and the soul to the flesh; in despising worldly things, but to Him

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3.39 (λθ') Ἀγάπη καὶ ἐγκράτεια ἀπαθῆ τὸν νοῦν διατηροῦσι πρός τε τὰ πράγματα καὶ πρὸς τὰ τούτων νοήματα.

3.40 (μ') Οὐ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα ὁ νοῦς πολεμεῖ τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ τούτων νοήματα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ πάθη τὰ τοῖς νοήμασι συνεζευγμένα· οἷον οὐ πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα πολεμεῖ οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸν λυπήσαντα οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰς τούτων φαντασίας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ πάθη τὰ ἐν ταῖς φαντασίαις συνεζευγμένα.

3.41 (μα') Ἅπας ὁ πόλεμος τοῦ μοναχοῦ πρὸς τοὺς δαίμονας, ἵνα τὰ πάθη τῶν νοημάτων χωρίσῃ· ἄλλως γὰρ ἀπαθῶς τὰ πράγματα βλέπειν οὐ δύναται.

3.42 (μβ') Ἄλλο ἐστὶ πρᾶγμα καὶ ἄλλο νόημα καὶ ἄλλο πάθος· καὶ πρᾶγμα μέν ἐστιν, οἷον ἀνήρ, γυνή, χρυσὸς καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· νόημα δέ, οἷον μνήμη ψιλή τινος τῶν προειρημένων· πάθος δέ, οἷον φιλία ἄλογος ἢ μῖσος ἄκριτόν τινος τῶν προειρημένων. Πρὸς οὖν τὸ πάθος ἐστὶ τοῦ μοναχοῦ ἡ μάχη.

14__282 3.43 (μγ') Νόημά ἐστιν ἐμπαθὲς λογισμὸς σύνθετος ἀπὸ πάθους καὶ νοήματος. Χωρίσωμεν τὸ πάθος ἀπὸ τοῦ νοήματος καὶ ἀπομένει ὁ λογισμὸς ψιλός· χωρίζομεν δὲ δι᾽ ἀγάπης πνευματικῆς καὶ ἐγκρατείας, ἐὰν θέλωμεν.

3.44 (μδ') Αἱ μὲν ἀρεταὶ τῶν παθῶν τὸν νοῦν χωρίζουσιν· αἱ δὲ πνευματικαὶ θεωρίαι, τῶν ψιλῶν νοημάτων· ἡ δὲ καθαρὰ προσευχὴ αὐτῷ αὐτὸν παρίστησι τῷ Θεῷ.

3.45 (με') Αἱ μὲν ἀρεταί, διὰ τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν γεγονότων· ἡ δὲ γνῶσις, διὰ τὸν γινώσκοντα· ὁ δὲ γινώσκων, διὰ τὸν ἀγνώστως γινωσκόμενον καὶ ὑπὲρ γνῶσιν γινώσκοντα.

3.46 (μστ') Οὐχ ὡς προσδεόμενός τινος ὁ ὑπερπλήρης Θεὸς παρήγαγεν εἰς τὸ εἶναι τὰ γεγονότα, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα αὐτὰ μὲν αὐτοῦ ἀναλόγως μετέχοντα ἀπολαύσῃ, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐυφρανθῇ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ, ὁρῶν αὐτὰ εὐφραινόμενα καὶ τὸν ἀκόρεστον ἀκορέστως ἀεὶ κορεννύμενα.

3.47 (μζ') Πολλοὺς ἔχει ὁ κόσμος πτωχοὺς τῷ πνεύματι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ προσῆκον· καὶ πολλοὺς πενθοῦντας, ἀλλὰ διὰ ζημίας χρημάτων ἢ ἀποβολὰς τέκνων· καὶ πολλοὺς πραεῖς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ ἀκάθαρτα πάθη· καὶ πολλοὺς πεινῶντας καὶ διψῶντας, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἁρπάζειν τὰ ἀλλότρια καὶ κερδαίνειν ἐξ ἀδικίας· καὶ πολλοὺς ἐλεήμονας, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὰ τοῦ σώματος· καὶ καθαροὺς τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἀλλὰ διὰ κενοδοξίαν· καὶ εἰρηνοποιούς, ἀλλὰ τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ σαρκὶ ὑποτάσσοντας· καὶ πολλοὺς δεδιωγμένους, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἀτάκτους· καὶ πολλοὺς ὀνειδιζομένους, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ αἰσχροῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν. Ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι μόνοι μακάριοι οἱ διὰ Χριστὸν καὶ κατὰ Χριστὸν ταῦτα καὶ ποιοῦντες καὶ πάσχοντες. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸν 14__284 Θεὸν ὄψονται, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ὥστε οὐχ ὅτι ποιοῦσι ταῦτα καὶ πάσχουσι, εἰσὶ μακάριοι· καὶ γὰρ οἱ προειρημένοι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν· ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι διὰ Χριστὸν καὶ κατὰ Χριστὸν ταῦτα καὶ ποιοῦσι καὶ πάσχουσι.

3.48 (μη') Ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν πραττομένοις ὁ σκοπὸς ζητεῖται παρὰ Θεῷ, ὡς πολλάκις εἴρηται, εἴτε δι᾽ αὐτὸν εἴτε δι᾽ ἄλλο τι πράττομεν. Ὅταν οὖν τι θέλωμεν πρᾶξαι ἀγαθόν, μὴ τὴν ἀνθρωπαρέσκειαν, ἀλλὰ τὸν Θεὸν σχῶμεν σκοπόν· ἵνα εἰς αὐτὸν ἀεὶ ἀποβλεπόμενοι, δι᾽ αὐτὸν πάντα πράξωμεν· ἵνα μὴ καὶ τὸν κόπον ὑπομείνωμεν καὶ τὸν μισθὸν ἀπολέσωμεν.

3.49 (μθ') Καὶ τὰ ψιλὰ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων νοήματα καὶ τὰ πάντων τῶν γεγονότων θεωρήματα ἀπόβαλε τοῦ νοὸς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς προσευχῆς, ἵνα μὴ τὰ ἥττονα φανταζόμενος τοῦ πάντων τῶν ὄντων ἀσυγκρίτως κρείττονος ἐκπέσῃς.

3.50 (ν') Ἐὰν τὸν Θεὸν γνησίως ἀγαπήσωμεν, δι᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀγάπης τὰ πάθη ἀποβάλλομεν. Ἡ δὲ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπη ἐστὶ τὸ προτιμᾶν αὐτὸν τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τῆς σαρκός· ἐν τῷ τῶν κοσμικῶν μὲν περιφρονεῖν πραγμάτων, αὐτῷ δὲ