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falling before the philanthropic God, pray with groaning and tears in the pain of your heart for the release from the weight of acedia and evil thoughts, and freedom from these will quickly be given to you who knock laboriously and persist.

ξζ΄. He who has acquired a pure heart has conquered cowardice; but he who is still being purified, sometimes he casts it down, (401) and sometimes he is cast down by it; but he who does not struggle at all is either completely insensible and is a friend of passions and demons, who in addition to vainglory is sick with conceit, supposing to be something when he is nothing, or he is a slave and subject to cowardice, trembling as an infant in his disposition, and fearing a fear there where there is no fear nor cowardice for those who fear the Lord.

ξη΄. He who fears God does not fear the assaults of demons nor their weak attacks, nor even the threats of wicked men; but being wholly like some flame or burning fire, going about in inaccessible and lightless places night and day, he puts the demons to flight, they fleeing from him rather than he from them, lest they be set on fire by the flame-like ray of divine fire sent forth from him.

ξθ'. He who walks in the fear of God, this one, living in the midst of wicked men, is not afraid, having His fear within and bearing the invincible weapon of faith, with which he is strong and able to see all things, even those things that seem to many difficult and impossible; but like some giant in the midst of apes or a roaring lion living in the midst of dogs and foxes, he trusts in the Lord and with the firmness of his mind he astonishes them and terrifies their minds, bringing to bear the word in wisdom like a rod of iron.

ο'. Do not be surprised if, being mastered by cowardice, you tremble fearing everything; for you are still imperfect and powerless and like an infant you are afraid of bogeymen; for cowardice is a childish and ridiculous passion of a vainglorious soul. Against this demon, therefore, do not wish to speak words or make objections; for while the soul is trembling and shaken, words will not help; but leaving these aside, (402) with all your strength humble your thought and you will quickly know cowardice has vanished.

οα'. Someone once, being seized by acedia, had his mind slack and dark and his soul exhausted, so that from this, mourning nearly departed from his heart and the flame of the Spirit in him was extinguished and the whole house of his body was filled with smoke; but not only that, for a numbness of limbs also occurred in him, from idleness he was brought down to immoderate sleep, so that by necessity he even omitted his usual service. But resisting these things through self-control and vigilance, when he conquered sleep, his heart was quickly hardened from conceit, and with mourning ceasing, cowardice crept into him. But when he again perceived it to be in him, he went outside his cell at an untimely hour and went away to a gloomy and dark place, and standing in it and stretching his hands to the heavens and making the sign of the cross on himself, and raising the eye of his soul to God, when he had humbled his thought a little, immediately the demon of cowardice departed from him a little. But his stronger one, the terrible enemy of vainglory, was secretly stealing this one's thought, wishing to drag him down and hand him over again to the demon of cowardice; which when he understood, he marveled and fervently besought God to deliver his soul from such snares of the devil.

οβ'. Great and, I think, difficult for all to understand is the combination and wickedness and method of these demons. For I have known the demon of cowardice to come together and conspire with that of acedia, and this one to help and assist that one, and the first one creates fear in the soul with harshness, while the other creates darkness and paralysis, and further, hardness of soul and mind and despair

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φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ προσπεσών δεήθητι μετά στεναγμοῦ καί δακρίων ἐν ὀδύνῃ καρδίας σου τήν ἀπαλλαγήν τοῦ βάρους τῆς ἀκηδίας καί τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, καί δοθήσεταί σοι ἐμπόνως κρούοντι καί ἐπιμένοντι ἡ τούτων ἐν τάχει ἐλευθερία.

ξζ΄. Ὁ καθαρά τήν καρδίαν κτησάμενος, οὗτος δειλίαν ἐνίκησεν} ὁ δέ ἀκμήν καθαιρόμενος, ποτέ μέν βάλλει αὐτήν, (401) ποτέ δέ βάλλεται ὑπ᾿ αὐτῆς} ὁ δέ μηδόλως ἀγωνιζόμενος, ἤ παντελῶς ἀναισθητεῖ καί ἐν τῷ φίλος εἶναι παθῶν καί δαιμόνων, ὅς πρός τῇ κενοδοξίᾳ καί οἴησιν νοσεῖ δολῶν εἶναί τι μηδέν ὤν, ἤ δειλίας δοῦλος ὑπάρχει καί ὑποχείριος, τρέμων ὡς τῷ φρονήματι νήπιος, καί φοβούμενος φόβον ἐκεῖ ἔνθα φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδέ δειλία τοῖς φοβουμένοις τόν Κύριον.

ξη΄. Ὁ φοβούμενος τόν Θεόν δαιμόνων ὁρμάς οὐ φοβεῖται οὐδέ τάς ἀσθενεῖς ἐφόδους αὐτῶν ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ ἀνθρώπων πονηρῶν ἀπειλάς} ὥσπερ δέ τις φλόξ ἤ φλέγον πῦρ ὅλος ὤν, ἐν ἀδύτοις τόποις καί ἀφεγγέσι νυκτός καί ἡμέρας περιϊών, φυγαδεύει τούς δαίμονας, φεύγοντας μᾶλλον αὐτόν, ἤπερ αὐτούς ἐκεῖνος, μή ἐμπρησθῆναι ὑπό τῆς ἐκπεμπομένης ἐξ αὐτοῦ φλογοειδοῦς ἐκτῖνος τοῦ θείου πυρός.

ξθ'. Ὅς τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ στοιχεῖ, οὗτος μέσον ἀνδρῶν ἀναστρεφόμενος πονηρῶν οὐ φοβεῖται, τόν φόβον αὐτοῦ ἔνδοθεν ἔχων καί φέρων τό ἀκαταμάχητον ὅπλον τῆς πίστεως, μεθ᾿ ἧς ἰσχύει καί δύναται πάντα ὁρᾶν, καί αὐτά τά δοκοῦντα τοῖς πολλοῖς δυσχερῆ καί ἀδύνατα} ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ τις γίγας ἐν μέσῳ πιθήκων ἤ λέων βρυχώμενος ἐν μέσῳ κυνῶν καί ἀλωπέκων διάγων, πεποιθών ἐστιν ἐπί Κύριον καί τῷ στερρῷ τοῦ φρονήματος καταπλήττει αὐτούς καί ἐκδειματοῖ τάς φρένας αὐτῶν, ὡς ῥάβδον σιδηρᾶν τόν ἐν σοφίᾳ λόγον ἐπιφερόμενος.

ο'. Μή θαυμάσῃς, ἐάν ὑπό δειλίας κυρευόμενος πάντα φοβούμενος τρέμῃς} ἔτι γάρ ἀτελής εἶ καί ἀνίσχυρος καί ὥσπερ νήπιον τά μορμολύκεια δέδοικας} ἡ γάρ δειλία πάθος ἐστί νηπιῶδες καί καταγέλαστον κενοδόξου ψυχῆς. Πρός τοῦτον οὖν τόν δαίμονα μή θέλε λόγους λέγειν ἤ ἀντιρρήσεις ποιεῖσθαι} τῆς γάρ ψυχῆς τρεμούσης καί κλονουμένης, οὐκ ὠφελήσουσι λόγοι} ἀφείς δέ τούτους, (402) ὅση σοι δύναμις τόν λογισμόν σου ταπείνωσον καί θᾶττον γνώσεις ἠφανισμένην δειλίαν.

οα'. Ὑπό ἀκηδίας ποτέ τις κατασχεθείς, χαῦνον τόν νοῦν καί σκοτεινόν ἔσχε καί ἔκλυτον αὐτοῦ τήν ψυχήν, ὡς μικρόν ἐκ τούτου τό πένθος ἐκλεῖψαι ἀπό τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ καί τήν φλόγα ἐν αὐτῷ σβεσθῆναι τοῦ Πνεύματος καί πάντα τόν οἶκον τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ πλησθῆναι καπνοῦ} οὐ μήν ἀλλά γάρ καί νάρκωσις μελῶν ἐν αὐτῷ γενομένη, ἐξ ὀκνηρίας εἰς ὕπνον ἄμετρον κατεφέρετο, ὡς ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐλλείπειν αὐτῷ καί τήν συνήθη ἀκολουθίαν. Πρός ταῦτα δέ δι᾿ ἐγκρατείας ἀνθιστάμενος καί ἀγρυπνίας, ὡς τόν ὕπνον ἐνίκησε, θᾶττον ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἐξ οἰήσεως ἐσκληρύνετο, καί πένθους ἐκλείποντος, ἡ δειλία αὐτῷ ὑπεισήρχετο. Ὡς δέ πάλιν ᾔσθετο ταύτην οὖσαν ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀωρί τῆς κέλλης αὐτοῦ ἔξω ἐγένετο καί εἰς ζοφώδη τόπον καί σκοτεινόν ἀπελθών, στάς τε ἐν αὐτῷ καί τάς χεῖρας εἰς οὐρανούς ἀνατείνας καί τό σημεῖον τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐκτυπώσας, ὄμμα τε ψυχῆς πρός Θεόν ἀνατείνας, ὡς μικρόν ἐταπείνωσε τόν λογισμόν, εὐθύς ὁ τῆς διελίας ἐξ αὐτοῦ δαίμων ἀπέστη μικρόν. Ὁ δέ κραταιότερος αὐτοῦ, ὁ δεινός τῆς κενοδοξίας ἐχθρός, ὑπέκλεπτε τούτου τόν λογισμόν, κατασπάσαι βουλόμενος αὐτόν καί αὖθις τῷ τῆς δειλίας δαίμονι παραδοῦναι} ὅπερ κατανοήσας, τεθαύμακε καί τόν Θεόν ἐδυσώπει θερμῶς ῥύσασθαι τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων παγίδων τοῦ διαβόλου.

οβ'. Πολλή καί πᾶσιν, οἶμαι, δυσνόητος ἡ τούτων συμπλοκή καί κακία καί μέθοδος τῶν δαιμόνων ὑπάρχει. Ἔγνων γάρ τόν τῆς δειλίας δαίμονα τῷ τῆς ἀκηδίας συνερχόμενον καί συγκροτοῦντα, καί τοῦτον ἐκείνῳ βοηθοῦντα καί συναιρόμενον, καί τόν μέν πρῶτον φόβον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ μετά σκληρότητος ἐμποιοῦντα, τόν ἕτερον δέ σκότωσιν καί πάρεσιν, ἔτι τε πώρωσιν ψυχῆς τε καί νοός καί ἀπόγνωσιν