C. Yannaras, / metaphysiki tou somatos, Spoudi ston loanni tis Klima-

kos [The metaphysics of the body. A study of John Climacus] (Athens 1971) (helpful discussion of the body, eros and dispassion).
I have not been able to consult the unpublished Ph.D. disserta- tion of T.W. Blair, Climacus and Christianity. A Study of the Effects of John Climacus' Conceptual Commitments on his Perception of Christianity (Duke University 1977).
On monastic life in the Sinai peninsula, see H. Skrobucha, Sinai (London 1966), pp. 19^7; D.J. Chitty, The Desert a City (Oxford 1966), pp. 168-78 (scholarly and perceptive).
Bishop Kallistos Lianfilo
Commemoration of the Holy Prophet Moses 4/17 September 1980
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RnUAUTY
Step 1
ON RENUNCIATION OF LIFE
When writing to the servants of God,, one should begin with our God and King Himself, the good, the supremely good, the all-good. Of all created and rational beings, endowed with the dignity of free will, some are friends of God, some are His true servants, some are useless servants (cf. Luke 17:10), some are entirely estranged, and there are some who, for all their weakness, take their stand against Him. We simple people assume that His friends, O holy Father, are properly speaking those intelligent and bodiless beings who surround Him. His true servants are all those who have done and are doing His will without hesitation or pause. His useless servants are those who think of themselves as having been worthy of the gift of baptism, but have not at ail guarded their covenant with Him; while, it seems to us, the strangers from God, His opponents, are the unbelievers or heretics. His enemies are those who not only contravene and repudi- ate the commands of the Lord, but make stern war against all who obey Him.
Each of the above has his own special character and is deserving of fitting analysis. But for ignorant people like ourselves there is nothing to be gained by investigating these now. So, then, with un- questioning obedience let us reach out our unworthy hand to the true servants of God, to those who devoutly urge us on and in faith com pel us by their commands. Let us make a treatise, with their kiiowl edge as the implement of writing, a pen dipped in their subdued yri
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glorious humility, applied to the smooth white parchments of their hearts, or rather resting on the tablets of the spirit. Let us write on it divine words, or rather seeds,' and let us begin like this.
God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of be- lievers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the im- pious, of those freed from the passions or caught up in them, of monks or those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of the healthy or the sick, of the young or the very old. He is like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the changes of the weather, which are the same for everyone without exception. "For God is no respecter of persons" (Rom. 2:1 1). An impious man is a ra- tional being, one that must die, who willingly runs away from life, and refuses to believe in the existence of his own everlasting Creator. A transgressor is someone who observes the divine law only in his own depraved fashion and holds on to heretical belief in opposition to God. A Christian is an imitator of Christ in thought, word and deed, as far as this is humanly possible, and he believes rightly and blame- lessly in the Holy Trinity. A friend of God is the one who lives in communion with all that is natural and free from sin and who does not neglect to do what good he can. The self-controlled man strives with all his might amidst the trials, the snares, and the noise of the world, to be like someone who rises above them. The monk finds himself in an earthly and defiled body, but pushes himself into the rank and status of the incorporeal angels. The monk clings only to the commandments and words of God in every season and place and mat- ter. The monk is ever embattled with what he is, and he is the unfail- ing warder of his senses. The monk has a body made holy, a tongue purified, a mind enlightened. Asleep or awake, the monk is a soul pained by the constant remembrance of death. Withdrawal from the world is a willing hatred of all that is materially prized, a denial of nature for the sake of what is above nature.
. All this is done by those who willingly turn from the things of this life, either for the sake of the coming kingdom, or because of the number of their sins, or on account of their love of God. Without such objectives the denial of the world would make no sense. God who judges the contest stands waiting to see how it ends for the one who has taken on this race.
The man turning away from the world in order to shake off the
1. The phrase "or rather seeds" only occurs in some texts.
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burden of his sins should imitate those who sit by the tombs outside the city. Let him not desist from ardent raging tears, from the word- less moans of the heart, until he sees Jesus Himself coming to roll back the rock of hardness^ off him, to free the mind, that Lazarus of ours, from the bonds of sin, to say to His ministering angels, "Loose him from his passions and let him go to blessed dispassion."-'' If it is not done thus, then it is all for nothing.
Those of us who wish to get away from Egypt, to escape from Pharaoh, need some Moses to be our intermediary with God, to stand between action and contemplation, and stretch out his arms to God, that those led by him may cross the sea of sin and put to flight the Amaiek of the passions.* Those who have given themselves up to God but imagine that they can go forward without a leader are surely de- ceiving themselves. The fugitives from Egypt had Moses, while those escaping from Sodom had an angel for a leader. The former are like those who heal the passions of the soul by the care of doctors; they are the ones who have come out of Egypt. The latter long to shed the un- cleanness of the wretched body, for which ceason they need an angel or the help of some like being. We must have someone very skilled, a doctor, for our septic wounds.
Violence (cf. Matt. 11:12) and unending pain are the lot of those who aim to ascend to heaven with the body, and this especially at the early stages of the enterprise, when our pleasure-loving disposition and our unfeeling hearts must travel through overwhelming grief toward the love of God and holiness. It is hard, truly hard. There has to be an abundance of invisible bitterness, especially for the careless, until our mind, that cur sniffing around the meat market and revel- ling in the uproar, is brought through simplicity, deep freedom from anger and diligence to a love of holiness and guidance. Yet full of pas-
2. GK poroseos. Rader's text has /Jjrowoj-, "of burning."
i. Throughout this work "dispassion" translates the Gk apatheia. For St. John Cli- rnaeus dispassion is the denial of the passions, not merely in a negative way by ascetic discipHne, but by redirecting the natural impulses of the soul and body toward their proper goal. See the Preface, p. 32.
4. John is referring to Exod. 17:11-13 and applying to it an allegorical interpreta- tion. In the battle against the Amalekites (the passions) the Israelites (souls under a .spiritual director) prevailed as long as the arms of Moses (the guide) were held raisfil in prayer by Hur (action) on one side and Aaron (contemplation) on the other. Aciiiin (praxi!) is the ascetic struggle to practice the virtues and overcome the ]>assion.s. Il \s ihr necessary foundation for contemplation Uhcoiiu), which is ihe direcl afipri-lHMHiim oi vision oi Ciod by the intellect.
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sions and weakness as wc iirc, Ici iis talic hcnri .iiui let us in total con- fidence carry to C^hiisi in our n^-ht liniul aiul oinCoss to Him our helf>le.ssness and our fragility. Wc will carry away more help than we deserve, if only we constantly push ourselves down into the depths of humility.
Let all those coming to this marvelous, tough, and painful — though also easy — contest leap, as it were, into a fire, so that a non- material flame may take up residence within ilieni. Hut let each one test himself, draw food and drink from the bread of pain and the cup of weeping, lest he march himself to judgment.
If all are not saved who have been baptized, 1 will pass in silence over what follows.^
But to secure a rocklike foundation, those with a mind for the re- ligious life will turn away from everything, will despise everything, will ridicule everything, will shake off everything. Innocence, absti- nence, temperance — these make a fine thrice-firm foundation. Let all infants in Christ begin with these, taking real infants as their exam- ple; for among children no evil is found, nothing deceitful, no insatia- ble greed or gluttony, no flaming lust, but it seems that as you feed them more, they grow in strength until at last they come upon pas- sion.
It is detestable and dangerous for a wrestler to be slack at the start of a contest, thereby giving proof of his impending defeat to ev- eryone. Let us have a firm beginning to our religious life, for this will help us if a certain slackness comes later. A bold and eager soul will be spurred on by the memory of its first zeal and new wings can thus be obtained.
When the soul betrays itself, when that initial happy warmth grows cold, the reasons for such a loss ought to be carefully sought and, once found, ought to be combated with all possible zeal, for the initial fervor has to turn back through that same gate through which it had slipped away. The man who renounces the world because of fear is like burning incense, which begins with fragrance and ends in smoke. The man who leaves the world in hopes of a reward is like the millstone that always turns around on the same axis. But the man who leaves the world for love of God has taken fire from the start, and like fire set to fuel, it soon creates a conflagration.
i. I.e., if not all the hapti/.cd are saved, not all monks will reach their goal.
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Some people when they build a house place bricks on top of rocks. Others raise columns up from the ground, Others still, when taking a walk, go slowly for a while, thus giving sinews and joints a warming up, and then stride out vigorously. Let the perceptive mind understand this analogy. Let us run our race eagerly as if summoned to it by our God and King. Our time is short. Let us not be found barren on the day of death and perish of hunger. Instead let us please the Lord as soldiers please the emperor; for at the end of the cam- paign we must give a good account of ourselves. We should be afraid of God in the way we fear wild beasts. I have seen men go out to plunder, having no fear of God but being brought up short some- where at the sound of dogs, an effect that fear of God could not achieve in them.
We should love the Lord as we do our friends. Many a time I have seen people bring grief to God, without being bothered about it, and I have seen these very same people resort to every device, plan, pressure, plea from themselves and their friends, and every gift, sim- ply to restore an old relationship upset by s6me minor grievance.
At the beginning of our religious life, we cultivate the virtues, and we do so with toil and difficulty. Progressing a little, we then lose our sense of grief or retain very little of it. But when our mortal intel- ligence turns to zeal and is mastered by it, then we work with full joy, determination, desire, and a holy flame.
All praise to those who from the beginning keep the command- ments of God, and do so gladly and eagerly; and greatly to be pitied are those who after a long time in the ascetic life still keep them with great labor if they keep them at all. And let us not be horrified at or judge harshly those who renounce the religious life because of exter- nal circumstances. I have seen some men run away and accidentally meet the emperor, tarry with him, go to live in his palace, and take food with him. I have watched seed that accidentally fell into the ground bear much fruit again and again, though the opposite has also happened. I have seen someone go to a doctor for one kind of prob- lem, and, because of that doctor's skill, be treated with an astringent and be cured of failing eyesight, for it often happens that very defi- nite and lasting results emerge through chance rather than through the workings of prescience and planning. So let no one tell me that he is unfit for the monastic life because of the weight and number of his misdeeds, or that because of his addiction to pleasure he nuisl he ex- cused for remaining stuck in his sin. The more the puircliKlinti, (hs
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greater the need for treat ineiii, if Mic iinclcanness is to be done away witli, for ihf healthy do not make ihcii' way to the doctor's surgery.
In this world when an enipcror siimiiions us to obedience, we leave everything aside and answer the call at once without delays or hanging back or excuses. We had lieiter be careful then not to refuse, through laziness or inertia, the call lo the heavenly life in the service of the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the God of gods. Let us not find ourselves unable to defend ourselves at the great tribunal of judgment. Someone caught up in the affairs of the world can make progress, if he is determined. But it is not easy. Those bearing chains can still walk. But they often stumble and are thereby injured. The man who is unmarried and in the world, for all that he may be bur- dened, can nevertheless make haste toward the monastic life. But the married man is like someone chained hand and foot.^
Some people living carelessly in the world put a question to me: "How can we who are married and living amid public cares aspire to the monastic life?"
I answered: "Do whatever good you may. Speak evil of no one. Rob no one. Tell no lie. Despise no one and carry no hate. Do not separate yourself from the church assemblies.'^ Show compassion to the needy. Do not be a cause of scandal to anyone. Stay away from the bed of another, and be satisfied with what your own wives can pro- vide you. If you do all this, you will not be far from the kingdom of heaven."
Let us hasten with joy and trepidation to the noble contest and with no fear of our enemies. They are themselves unseen but they can look at the appearance of our soul. If they are really to see our spirits bowed down by fear, then indeed they will make a harsher sally against us, knowing how much we tremble. Let us courageously arm ourselves against them. No one goes to battle against a plucky fighter.
The Lord has wisely eased the struggles of novices, lest they be driven back into the world during their first battles. So then rejoice always in the Lord, all you servants of God. Recognize this first sign of the Lord's love. It is He Who has summoned you. He has often been known to act in the following way: when He sees courageous
6. Some versions add; "so when he wants to run he cannot."
7. Gk ton synaxeon. The synaxis was an assembly in church for the Office or ihc Eucharist. Here lay people are being told that they must not be absent from the u cekh- celebration of the Eucharist.
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souls He permits them to be embattled from the very beginning, in order the sooner to reward them.
The Lord has concealed from those in the world the tough, but fine, nature of this struggle. Indeed, if people really understood it, no one would renounce the world. Still, offer your labors gladly to Christ in your youth and He will make your old age happy with abundant goodness.^ The things which they have gathered in their youth will come to the support and encouragement of those worn down by age, so we should toil zealously when we are young and run our course with serious hearts. Death can come at any time, and we have countless hidden enemies — evil enemies, harsh, deceitful, wick- ed enemies with fire in their hands, wishing to set the Lord's temple alight with the flame that is in it. These enemies are powerful, un- sleeping, incorporeal and unseen. No novice should heed the devilish words of his foes as they murmur: "Do not wear out your body, in case you fall prey to disease and weakness." Hardly anyone can be found in this day and age willing to bring low the body, although they may deny it the pleasure of abundant food. The aim of this de- mon is to make our entrance into the stadium weak and lethargic, and a fitting end will follow this beginning.
The real servants of Christ, using the help of spiritual fathers and also their own self-understanding, will make every effort to select a place, a way of life, an abode, and the exercises that suit them. Com- munity life is not for everyone, because of gluttonous tendencies, and the solitary life is not for everybody, on account of the tendency to anger. Let each seek out the most appropriate way.
All monastic life may be said to take one of three forms. There is the road of withdrawal and solitude for the spiritual athlete; there is the life of stillness' shared with one or two others; there is the prac- tice of living patiently in community. "Turn neither to right nor left," says Ecclesiastes (Prov. 4:27) but rather follow the royal way. The second of the three ways is said to be suitable for many people.
H. Gk agatheias, a haj>ax tegninevon; the HTM reading is "dispa.ssion," apalheias.
9. Stillness (hesychia) is a deep interior peace attained by those who practice (he constant remembrance of God. It is the subject of Step 27. Although stillness is not im- possible for monks living in community, solitude or near solitude is most conducive lo it. According to the context, therefore, hesychia is sometimes translaied as "solitude- *' Stillness is equivalent to contemplation, for "he who has achieved silliness Ini^ urciwil at the very center r>f ihc mysteries"
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"Woe to the man living ;ilonc wiicii he fulls into despondency'" or sleepiness, carelessness or despair, lor then he has no one among men to lift him up." This is what Fxclesiasies says (Fxcles. 4:10), and the Lord says: "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them" (Matt. 18:20).
Who, then, is the faithful and wise monk? It is the man who has kept unquenched the warmth of his vocation, who adds fire each day to fire, fervor to fervor, zeal to zeal, love to love, and this to the end of his life.
This is the first step. Let him who has set foot on it not turn back.
10. Desp>ondency (akidia) is a listlessness or torpor — "accidie" — that affliOii i monk when he relaxes his struggle to attain the virtues. It begins as a loss of a stnsc of purpose and ends in despair and spiritual death. See Step 13.
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Step 2
ON DETACHMENT
If you truly love God and long to reach the kingdom that is to come, if you are truly pained by your failings and are mindful of pun- ishment and of the eternal judgment, if you are truly afraid to die, then it will not be possible to have an attachment, or anxiety, or con- cern for money, for possessions, for family relationships, for worldly glory, for love and brotherhood, indeed for anything of earth. All worry about one's condition, even for one's body, will be pushed aside as hateful. Stripped of all thought of these, caring nothing about them, one will turn freely to Christ. One will look to heaven and to the help coming from there, as in the scriptural sayings: "I will cling close to you" (Ps. 62:9) and "I have not grown tired of following you nor have I longed for the day or the rest that man gives" (Jer. 17:16).
It would be a very great disgrace to leave everything after we have been called — and called by God, not man — and then to be wor- ried about something that can do us no good in the hour of our need, that is, of our death. This is what the Lord meant when He told us not to turn back and not to be found useless for the kingdom of heav- en. He knew how weak we could be at the start of our religious life, how easily we can turn back to the world when we associate with worldly people or happen to meet them. That is why it happened that when someone said to Him, "Let me go away to bury my failu-r," I Ic answered, "Let the dead bury the dead" (Matt. H:22). Ihcrf urc tic-
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mons to assail us after our irnmuini mn ol ihc world. They make us envy those who remain on the ouiside mul u ho arc merciful and com- passionate. They make us regret that ue seem deprived of these vir- tues. Their hostile aim is to bring us hy way of false humility either to turn back to the world or, if we remain monks, to plunge down the cliffs of despair.
Conceit may lead us to disparage the secular life or secretly to de- spise those on the outside. We may act in this way in order to escape despair or to obtain hope. We should therefore heed the Lord when speaking to the young man who kept almost all the commandments: "You need one thing, to sell what you have and to give it to the poor" (Mark 10:21), for by making himself a pauper the young man would learn to accept the charity of others.
If we really wish to enter the contest of religious life, we should pay careful heed to the sense in which the Lord described those re- maining in the world as living corpses (Matt. 8:22). What he said was, in effect, "Let the living dead who are in the world bury those dead in the body." Riches did not prevent the young man from coming to re- ceive baptism, and it is quite wrong to say, as some do, that the Lord told him to dispose of his wealth so that he could be baptized. Let us be sure of this, and let us be satisfied with the promise of very great glory that goes with our vocation. We should investigate why those who have lived in the world, and have endured nightlong vigils, fast- ing, labors, and suffering, and then have withdrawn from their fel- lowmen to the monastic life, as if to a place of trial or an arena, no longer practice their former fake and spurious asceticism. I have seen many different plants of the virtues planted by them in the world, watered by vanity as if from an underground cesspool, made to shoot up by love of show, manured by praise, and yet they quickly withered when transplanted to desert soil, to where the world did not walk, that is, to where they were not manured with the foul-smelling water of vanity. The things that grow in water cannot bear fruit in dry and arid places.
If someone has hated the world, he has run away from its misery; but if he has an attachment to visible things, then he is not yet cleansed of grief. For how can he avoid grief when he is deprived of something he loves? We need great vigilance in all things, but espe- cially in regard to what we have left behind.
I have observed many men in the world assailed by anxiety, l>y
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worry, by the need to talk, by all-night watching, and I have seen them run away from the madness of their bodies. They turned to the monastic life with totally free hearts, and still were pitiably corrupted by the stirrings of the body.
We should be careful in case it should happen to us that while talking of journeying along the narrow and hard road we may actual- ly wander onto the broad and wide highway.
Mortification of the appetite, nightlong toil, a ration of water, a short measure of bread, the bitter cup of dishonor — these will show you the narrow way. Derided, mocked, jeered, you must accept the denial of your will. You must patiently endure opposition, suffer ne- glect without complaint, put up with violent arrogance. You must be ready for injustice, and not grieve when you are slandered; you must not be angered by contempt and you must show humility when you have been condemned. Happy are those who follow this road and avoid other highways. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
No one can enter crowned into the heavenly bridechamber with- out first making the three renunciations. He has to turn away from worldly concerns, from men, from family; he must cut selfishness away; and thirdly, he must rebuff the vanity that follows obedience. "Go out from among them," says the Lord. "Go apart from them. Do not touch the uncleanness of the age" (2 Cor. 6:17).
Who in the outside world has worked wonders, raised the dead, expelled demons? No one. Such deeds are done by monks. It is their reward. People in secular life cannot do these things, for, if they could, what then would be the point of ascetic practice and the soli- tary life?
Whenever our feelings grow warm after our renunciation with the memories of parents and of brothers, that is all the work of de- mons, and we must take up the weapons of prayer against them. In- flamed by the thought of eternal fire, we must drive them out and quench that untimely glow in our hearts. If a man thinks himself im- mune to the allurement of something and yet grieves over its loss, he is only fooling himself. Young men who still feel strongly the urge for physical love and pleasure and yet who also want to take on the regime of a monastery must discipline themselves with every form of vigilance and prayer, avoiding all dangerous comfort, so that their last state may not be worse than their first. For those sailing the tides of spirituality know only too well that the religious life can lie ii hur
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bor of salvation or a haven of dfstnitiion, and a pitiable sight indeed is the shipwreck in port of someone who hud safely mastered the ocean.
This is the second step, and if you take it, then do as Lot did, not his wife, and flee.
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Step 3
ON EXILE
There is such a thing as exile, an irrevocable renunciation of ev- erything in one's familiar surroundings that hinders one from attain- ing the ideal of holiness. Exile is a disciplined heart, unheralded wisdom, an unpublicized understanding, a hidden life, masked ideals. It is unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty, the longing for what is divine. It is an outpouring of love, a denial of vainglory, a depth of silence.
For followers of the Lord, this manner of thinking operates abundantly at the beginning and they are greatly disturbed by it, as though by some holy fire. I mean separation from their relations for the sake of hardship and simplicity which drives on the lovers of this good. Yet for all that it is praiseworthy, it requires discretion, since not every kind of exile is good if taken to extremes.
The Lord says that every prophet is without honor in his own country (cf. John 4:44). If He is right, then we had better be careful that our act of renunciation is not for empty honor. Exile is a separa- tion from everything, in order that one may hold on totally to God. It is a chosen route of great grief. An exile is a fugitive, running from all relationships with his own relatives and with strangers. Do not wait for souls enamored of the world when you are pressing on towards solitude and exile. In any case, death comes when least evpccied. Many set themselves the aim of rescuing the indifferent ami llu' lazy — and end up lost themselves. The flame within them iJftN dim
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with the passage of time. So, if you have the fire, run, since you never know when it may be doused, leaving you stranded in darkness. Not all of us are summoned to rescue others. "My brothers, each one of us will give an account of himself to God," says the holy Apostle (Rom. 14:12). Again, he declares, "You teach someone else, but not yourself" (Rom. 2:21). It is as if he were saying, "I do not know about the oth- ers, but we have surely to look to what we must do ourselves."
If you choose to go into exile, then be on the watch for the de- mon of wandering and of pleasure, since there is an opportunity here for him.
Detachment is good and its mother is exile. Someone withdraw- ing from the world for the sake of the Lord is no longer attached to possessions, that he should not appear to be deceived by the passions. If you have left the world, then do not begin to reach out for it. Oth- erwise your passions will come back to you. Eve had no wish to be driven from Paradise, whereas a monk will abandon his homeland willingly; she would have wished again for the forbidden tree, but he has rebuffed the sure danger coming from the kinship of the flesh. Run from the places of sin as though from a plague. When fruit is not in plain sight, we have no great urge to taste it.
You have to beware the ways and the guile of thieves. They come with the suggestion to us that we should not really abandon the world. They tell us of the rewards awaiting us if only we stay to look on women and to triumph over our desire for them. This is some- thing we must not give in to at all. Indeed, we must do the very oppo- site.
Then again we manage for some time to live away from our rela- tives. We practice a tittle piety, compunction, self-control. And then the empty thoughts come tramping toward us, seeking to turn us back to the places we knew. They tell us what a lesson we are, what an example, what a help to those who witnessed our former wicked deeds. If we happen to be articulate and well informed, they assure us that we could be rescuers of souls and teachers to the world. They tell us all this so that we might scatter at sea the treasures we have assem- bled while in port. So we had better imitate Lot, and certainly not his wife. The soul turning back to the regions from which it came will be like the salt that has lost savor, indeed like that famous pillar. Run from Egypt, run and do not turn back. The heart yearning for the land there will never see Jerusalem, the land of dispassion."
1 1. "The land of dispa.ssion" is an intcrprctiition of flic meaning of "|i'iijs;ilcin."
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Leaving home, some at the beginning are full of innocence. Their souls are clean. And then they want very much to go back, thinking, perhaps, that they might bring salvation to others, having attained it themselves. xMoses, that man who saw God, returned. In his case it was to save the members of his tribe. Still, he ran into many dangers in Egypt and was caught up in the darkness of the world.
Offend your parents rather than God. He, after all, created and saved us, while they at times even killed the ones they loved, or hand- ed them over to destruction.
A true exile, despite his possession of knowledge, sits like some- one of foreign speech among men of other tongues.
If we have taken up the solitary life, we certainly ought not to abhor our own relations or our own places, but we ought to be care- ful to avoid any harm that may come from these. Here, as in every- thing, Christ is our teacher. It often looked as if He were trying to rebuff His earthly parents. Some people said to Him, "Your mother and your brothers are looking for you," and at once Christ gave an example of detachment that was nonetheless" free from any harsh feel- ings. "My mother and my brothers are those who do the will of my Father in heaven," He said (Matt. 12:50). So let your father be the one who is able and willing to labor with you in bearing the burden of your sins, and your mother the compunction that is strong enough to wash away your filth. Let your brother be your companion and rival in the race that leads to heaven, and may the constant thought of death be your spouse. Let your longed-for offspring be the moanings of your heart. May your body be your slave, and your friends the holy powers who can help you at the hour of dying if they become your friends. "This is the generation of those who seek the Lord" (Ps. 23:6).
If you long for God, you drive out your love for family. Anyone telling you he can combine these yearnings is deceiving him.self. "No one can serve two masters" (Matt. 6;24). "I did not come to bring peace on earth," says the Lord, knowing how parents would rise up against sons or brothers who chose to serve Him. "It was for war and the sword" (Matt. 10:34), to separate the lovers of God from the lovers of the world, the materially-minded from the spiritually-minded, the vainglorious from the humble.
Contradiction and dissent are pleasing to God when they ari.se from love of Him, but have a care that you do not find yourself .swejn away on a tide of .sentiment while you are yet passionately attiuhcd u> what was fatniliar (o you. Do not let the tears of parents or (Virtiitf* fill
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you with pity, lest yoii tiiul yoursflt weeping forever in the afterlife. When they circle .iroiind ynii like l>ee,s, or rather wasps, when they pour out their iametii.s over you, ilo not hesitate at all but think at once of your death and keep the eye of your sou! directed unswerv- ingly to what it used to do, that you may lie able to counteract one pain with another. Our kin, even our friL-tuls, make us false promises so as to restrain us from that noble eorUesi and so as to draw us back to their own goal. We had better withdraw from had better flee to places which are less consoling and more conducive to lack of vanity and to humility. Otherwise we will take flight with our passions.
You are of noble birth? Hide the fact. You are famous? Do not discuss it. Otherwise your status and your deeds may come into con- flict.
['here is no greater example of renunciation than that great man '2 who heard the command, "Leave your country and your fam- ily and the house of your father" (Gen. 12:1). Obediently he went to a foreign country where the language was different. And so it is that anyone following this model of renunciation is glorified all the more by the Lord.
But even though this glory is given by God, it is still good to de- flect it with the protective shield of humility. When demons or men lavish praise on us for our exile as if it were a great achievement, let us remind ourselves at once of Him Who came down from heaven for our benefit and exiled Himself to earth. Nothing we could ever do would match that.
An attachment to any of our relations or even to a stranger is hard enough to deal with. It can gradually pull us back toward the world and make cool the fire of our contrition. You cannot look to heaven and to earth at the same time; similarly, if you have not turned your back completely on your relatives and others in thought and in body, you cannot avoid endangering your soul.
To establish a good and firm character within ourselves is some- thing very difficult and troublesome, and one crisis can destroy what we have worked so hard to set right. Bad, worldly and disorderlv company destroys good character (cf. 1 Cor. 15:33). When a man has renounced the world and still returns to its affairs or draws near lo it, he will either fall into its snares or will defile his heart with thoughts
12. Abraham.
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of it. He may perhaps be uncorrupted himself But if he comes to feel contempt for those who are corrupted, then assuredly he will join them in their corruption.
Concerning the dreams of novices
Our mind is the instrument of knowledge, but it is very imper- fect and filled with all sorts of ignorance. This is a fact that cannot be disguised.
Now the palate discriminates between various kinds of food, the hearing distinguishes between the things it perceives, the sun shows up the weakness of the eyes, and words reveal the ignorance of a soul. Nevertheless, the law of love urges us to reach beyond ourselves, and so it seems to me — and I do not wish to be insistent — that, immediate- ly after this discussion of exile, or rather, in the course of it, some- thing ought to be said about dreams. For we should not be unaware of this type of deceit practiced by our wily enemies.
A dream is a stirring of the mind during the body's rest, while a fantasy is something that tricks the eyes whcta the intellect is asleep. Fantasy occurs when the mind wanders, while the body is awake. A fantasy is the contemplation of something that does not actually exist.
It must be clear why I have decided to speak here about dreams. After we leave home and family for the sake of the Lord, after we have gone into exile for the love of God, the demons try to shake us with dreams. They show us our relatives grieving, near death, pover- ty-stricken or imprisoned because of us. But the man who believes in dreams is like someone running to catch up with his own shadow.
The devils of vainglory do their prophecies in dreams. They guess the future and, as part of their deceit, they inform us of it so that we are astonished to discover our visions coming true. Indeed we get carried away with the notion that we are already close to the gift of foreknowledge.
To the credulous, a devil is a prophet; and to those who despise him, he is just a liar. Because he is a spiritual being, he knows what is happening in the lower regions, that someone is dying, for instance, so by way of dreams he passes the information on to the more gull- ible. However, demons lack actual foreknowledge. If they did not, the.se tricksters would be able to foretell our deaths.
Devils often take on the appearance of angels of light or nuirlyrs and they appear to us in sleep and talk to us, so thai they can push ii>* into unholy joy and conceit when we wake u[). Bui lliis very efltHM
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will reveal their trick, for what an^'cls actually reveal are torments, judgments, and separation, wi(h ilic result that on waking up we tremble and are miserable. And il we stnri to believe in the devils of our dreams, then we will be their playthings when we are also awake. The man who believes in dreams shows his inexperience, while the man who distrusts every dream is very sensible. Trust only the dreams that foretell torments and judgment for you, but even these dreams may also be from demons if they produce despair in you.
This is the third step, equaling the number of the Three Persons. Whoever has reached it should look neither to right nor left.
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Step 4
ON OBEDIENCE
It is right that our treatise should now deal with the warriors and athletes of Christ.
As flower comes before every fruit, so exile of body or will pre- cedes all obedience. On these two virtues, as on two golden wings, the holy soul rises serenely to heaven. Perhaps it was of this the prophet sang when, filled with the Holy Spirit, he said, "Who will give me the wings of a dove?" and, "The active life will give me flight and I will be at rest in contemplation and lowliness" (Ps. 54:7).
We ought not omit in this treatise a clear description of the weapons of those noble fighters, the shield of faith which they hold up before God, and before their trainer, and with which they ward off, so to speak, all thought of unbelief or backsliding; the spiritual sword that is always drawn and lays low every selfish longing; the iron breastplate of meekness and patience to ward off every insult, ev- ery jab and missile; the protective prayer of their spiritual master which they have as a saving helmet. They do not stand with their feet close together, but one foot is advanced towards service, while the other stays firmly planted in prayer.
Obedience is a total renunciation of our own life, and it shows up clearly in the way we act. Or, again, obedience is the mortification of the members while the mind remains alive. Obedience is unques- tioned movement, death freely accepted, a simple life, danger fined without worry, an unprepared defense before Ciod, fearlcsMicsi be
VI
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fore death, a safe voyage, a sleeper's foiirney- Obedience is the burial place of the will and the resiirreiiinn of l()whness. A corpse does not contradict or debate the good or u hatever seems bad, and the spiritu- al father who has devoutly put the disciple's soul to death will answer for everything. Indeed, to obey is, with all deliberateness, to put aside the capacity to make one's own judgment.
The beginning of the mortification both of the soul's will and also of the body's members is hard. The halfway stage is sometimes difficult, sometimes not. But the end is liberation from the senses and freedom from pain.
The blessed living corpse grows sick at heart when he finds him- self acting on his own behalf, and he is frightened by the burden of using his own personal judgment.
So you have decided to strip for the race of spiritual profession, to take Christ's yoke on your neck, to lay your own burden on the shoulders of another, to pledge your willing surrender to slavery? And for this you want it in writing that you get freedom in return, even when you swim across this great sea borne up on the hands of others? Very well, then. But you had better recognize that you have undertaken to travel by a short and rough road, along which there is only one false turning, that which they call self-direction'-^ and if that is avoided — even in matters seemingly good, spiritual, and pleasing to God — then straightaway one has reached journey's end. For the fact is that obedience is self-mistrust up to one's dying day, in every mat- ter, even the good.
When humbly and with true longing for salvation we resolve to bend the neck and entrust ourselves to another in the Lord, there is something to be done before we start. If there happens to be any cun- ning in us, any prudence, then we should question, examine, and, if I may say so, put to the test our master, so that there is no mistaking the sailor for the helmsman, the patient for the doctor, the passionate for the dispassionate man, the sea for the harbor — with the resulting shipwreck of our soul. But having once entered the stadium of holy living and obedience, we can no longer start criticizing the umpire, even if we should notice some faults in him. After all, he is human
[}. "Self-direction" (iiliorytbmia), says .scholion 2, Step 27 {1117B), "is to follow one's own regime and to satisfy one's own will." According to John it lends tfi hvpofri- sy (26|I024B1, p. 2.W),
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and if we start making judgments, then our submissiveness earns no profit.
If we wish to preserve unshaken faith in our superiors, we must write their good deeds indelibly in our hearts and preserve them in our memories so that, when the demons scatter distrust of them among us, we can repel them by what we have retained in our minds. The more faith blossoms in the heart, the more the body is eager to serve. To stumble on distrust is to fall, since "whatever does not spring from faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). When the thought strikes you to judge or condemn your superior, leap away as though from forni- cation. Give no trust, place, entry, or starting point to that snake. Say this to the viper: "Listen to me, deceiver, I have no right to pass judg- ment on my superior but he has the authority to be my judge. I do not judge him; he judges me."
The Fathers have declared the singing of psalms to be a weapon, prayer to be a wall, and honest tears to be a bath. To them, blessed obedience is confession of faith, without which no one subject to pas- sions will see the Lord. '
He who is submissive is passing sentence on himself. If his obedi- ence for the Lord's sake is perfect, even when it does not appear to be so, he will escape judgment. But if in some things he follows his own will, then even though he thinks of himself as obedient, he takes the burden onto his own self. If the superior continues to rebuke him, then that is good; but if he gives up, I do not know what to say.
Those who submit to the Lord with simple heart will run the good race. If they keep their minds on leash they will not draw the wickedness of demons onto themselves.
Above all let us make our confession to our good judge, and to him alone, though to ail if he so commands. Wounds shown in public will not grow worse, but will be healed.
In a monastery I once saw a judgment that was truly terrible. It was made by a superior who was good as a man and as a shepherd, and it happened while I was staying there. A robber sought admission to the monastic life, and that excellent superior, that man of healing, ordered him to take seven days of complete rest so that he might get to know the kind of life in the place. After a week the superior sent for him and asked him privately if he would like to live there among them. When the other man showed genuine enthusiasm for (his, he asked him what wrong he had done in the world, and on obsirviug the ready admi.ssion of everything, he tested him further, "I wmii vou
Vt
JOHN CLIMACUS
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
to tell this to the brethren," he said. Since the other man had really come to hate his wrongdoing and was not troubled by shame, he promptly agreed. "I will confess in the middle of Alexandria itself, if you wish," he said.
And so the superior gathered his flock into the church. There were 230 of them, and when the holy service was in progress, and the gospel had been read — for it was Sunday — this irreproachable convict was led out by some of the brethren who hit him, but lightly- He had his hands tied behind his back, he was wearing a hair shirt, and ashes had been sprinkled on his head. Everyone was amazed, and there were some shouts, for it was not clear what was happening. But when the robber appeared at the doors'* of the church, that very charitable superior said loudly to him: "Stop! You are not worthy to come in here."
The robber was astounded by the voice of the superior coming from the sanctuary. (He swore afterwards that he thought he heard thunder and not a human voice.) At once he fell on his face and he trembled and shook with fear. While he lay on the ground, moisten- ing the floor with his tears, the marvelous healer turned to him, try- ing everything so as to save him and to give everyone else an example of salvation and true humility. Before all, he exhorted him to describe in detail everything he had done. Terrified, the robber confessed all, sins of the flesh, natural and unnatural, with humans and with beasts; poisonings, murders, and many other deeds too awful to hear or to set down on paper. Everyone was horrified. But when he had finished his confession, the superior allowed him to be given the habit at once and to be included in the ranks of the brethren.
I was amazed by the wisdom of that holy man, and when we were alone 1 asked him why he had contrived such an extraordinary spectacle. "For two reasons," this true healer replied. "First, so that this man, having confessed now in shame, might in the future be spared fresh remorse for these deeds, which is what happened. He did not rise up from the floor, Brother John, until he had been granted forgiveness of all his sins. Have no doubt about this. Indeed one of the brethren who was present told me he saw a terrifying figure holding a book and a pen and crossing off each sin as it was confessed. Now this is quite probable if you bear in mind the words, 'I shall confess
my wrongdoing to the Lord and You have taken away the wickedness of my heart' (Ps. 31:5). But there was a second reason. There are some among the brethren who have not confessed their sins and I want to encourage them to make their confession, for without this no one will be pardoned."
I saw many other wonders and marvels in the company of that unforgettable pastor and his flock, and I will try to tell you a great deal about them. For I stayed quite a while with this man, studying their way of life and being constantly amazed at how these men of earth succeeded in imitating heavenly beings.
An unbreakable bond of love joined these men together, and more wonderful was their freedom from all familiarity and idle chat- ter. Above all, they strove never to injure a brother's conscience. And if ever someone showed haired of another, the shepherd banished him like a convict to the isolation monastery.'^ Once when a brother spoke ill of a neighbor, the holy man, on hearing him, had him ex- pelled immediately. "I'm not having a visible devil here along with the invisible one," he said.
Among these holy fathers I saw things that were really profitable and worthy of admiration. I saw a fraternity assembled and united in the Lord and with a wonderful combination of action and contempla- tion. They were so taken up with the things of heaven and they prac- ticed so much good that they had little need of the promptings of the superior, and it was out of their own goodwill that they stirred each to divine vigilance. They had certain holy and divine exercises that were laid down, studied, and established. If the superior was away and a brother began to resort to abusive language, criticism of others, or merely idle chatter, a discreet nod from another pulled him up short and quietly stopped him. If it happened that the brother did not notice, then the one who reminded him would prostrate himself be- fore him and then go away.
If they had to speak, what they talked about all the time was the remembrance of death and the thought of everlasting judgment.
I must tell you about the astonishing achievement of the baker they had there. Noticing that during his work he preserved a totally recollected state and a capacity for tears, I asked him how he had managed to be granted such a grace. He answered me when I became
!4. Between the main body of the church and the narthex.
I S. 1 his is (he "Prison" which i.s described in detail below (p. 105 and Siep ^).
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JOHN CLIMACUS
insistent: "It always seems to me that I serve Clod and not men," he said. "And so I judge myself to be undeserving of any rest. And this fire'^ here reminds me of the everlasting fire to come."
There is another achievement of theirs about which we should hear. Even in the refectory they did not cease from mental prayer/' and by secret signs and gestures these holy men reminded each other of it. And they did this not only in the refectory, but everywhere they met or assembled.
If one of them committed a fault, many of the brothers would seek his permission to take the matter to the shepherd and to accept both the responsibility and the punishment. When the great man found out that his disciples did this, he inflicted easier punishments, in the knowledge that the one punished was actually innocent. And he made no effort to discover the real culprit.
And what of idle talk and levity? Or if one of them started a row with a neighbor, a third who happened to pass by would undertake penance for it — and thus dissolve the anger. If he noticed that bad feeling somehow persisted among the disputants, he would report the matter to the father who was next to the superior and he would pre- pare for a reconciliation to be made before sundown. But if they per- sisted in their hard feelings, they would get no food until they had resolved their difference, or else they were driven from the monas- tery.
Praiseworthy sternness of this kind has reached a high point among them and bears plenty of fruit. Many of these holy fathers be- came experts in active life and in spirituality, in discernment and hu- mility. Among them was the awful and yet angelic sight of men grey-haired, venerable, preeminent in holiness, still going about like obedient children and taking the greatest delight in their lowliness. I have seen men there who lived in total obedience for all of fifty years, and when I begged them to tell me what consolation they had won from so great a labor, some answered that having arrived thereby ai the lowest depths of abasement they could repel every onslaught, while others declared that they had attained complete freedom from the senses and had obtained serenity amid every calumny and insuli.
16. I.e., of the bakery.
17. By mental prayer itinera ergasia)](yhn means a concentrated state of recollect mjii in the depths of the heart. Elsewhere he says, "If you arc careful to train your iniiul ne%er to wander, it will stay by you even at mealtimes" (28 [1 1.5 .'A|, p- 27fi).
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
I saw others among these wonderful fathers who had the white hair of angels,'^ the deepest innocence, and a wise simplicity that was spontaneous and yet directed by God Himself, The fact is that just as an evil person is two-faced, one thing in public and another in pri- vate, so a simple person is not twofold, but something whole.''' 'I'here is no one among them who is silly and foolish in the way that some old men in the world are, as they say, senile. No indeed. They are openly gentle, kindly, radiant, genuine, without hypocrisy, affecta- tion, or falsity of either speech or disposition — something not found in many. Spiritually, they are like children, with God and the superi- or as their very breath, and with the mind's eye on strict lookout for demons and the passions.
Holy Father and Brothers in God, a lifetime would not be enough to allow me to describe the virtue of those blessed men, or the heavenly life they lead. Still, their great struggles rather than my meager suggestions should adorn this treatise and should rouse you to be zealous in the love of God. After all, the lowly is adorned by the excellent, and I would only ask you to refr^ain from thinking that what I write is something made up, for a suspicion of this kind would only take away from its value.
So, then, let us resume.
In this monastery to which I have been referring, there was a man named Isidore, from Alexandria, who having belonged to the ruling cla.ss had become a monk. I met him there. The most holy shepherd, after having let him join, discovered that he was a trouble- maker, cruel, sly, and haughty, but he shrewdly managed to outwit the cunning of the devils in him. "If you have decided to accept the yoke of Christ," he told Isidore, "I want you first of all to learn obedi- ence."
"Most holy Father, I submit to you like iron to the blacksmith," Isidore replied.
The superior, availing of this metaphor, immediately gave exer- cise to the iron Isidore and said to him: "Brother, this is what I want you to do. You are to stand at the gate of the monastery, and before
18. White hair is often a.ssociated with angels {cf Tk Liz-cs of the Desert Fath-rs | I'hc Hislnria Motiacborum m Aegypto] II, 1, Abba Or). The mona.stic life is the angelic lilc "U earth because those who have truly attained it are Irke the antfcls; .servants of (iod .ind of men, free Ironi sin, and as fret a,s is hurnaniv possible from maierial needs,
I''. I Ills senience is nnssin^r in some versions.
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JOHN CLIMACUS
everyone passing in or out you iire to bend the knee and say, 'Pray for me, Father, because I am an epileptic' " And Isidore obeyed, like an angel obeying the Lord.
He spent seven years at the gate, and achieved deep humility and compunction.
After the statutory seven years^" and after the wonderful stead- fastness of the man, the superior deemed him fully worthy to be ad- mitted to the ranks of the brethren and wanted to ordain him. Through others and also through my feeble intercession, Isidore begged the superior many times to let him finish his course. He hint- ed that his death, his call, was near, which in fact proved to be so. The superior allowed him to stay at his place, and ten days later, humbly, gloriously, he passed on to the Lord. A week after his death the porter of the monastery was also taken, for the blessed Isidore had said to him, "If I have found favor in the sight of the Lord, you loo will be inseparably joined to me within a short time." That is exactly what happened, in testimony to his unashamed obedience and his marvel- ous humility.
While he was still alive, I asked this great Isidore how he had oc- cupied his mind while he was at the gate, and this memorable man did not conceal anything from me, for he wished to be of help. "At first I judged that I had been sold into slavery for my sins," he said. "So I did penance with bitterness, great effort, and blood. After a year my heart was no longer full of grief, and I began to think of a reward for my obedience from God Himself. Another year passed and in the depths of my heart I began to see how unworthy I was to live in a monastery, to encounter the fathers, to share in the divine Mysteries. I lost the courage to look anyone in the face, but lowering my eyes and lowering my thoughts even further, I asked with true sincerity for the prayers of those going in and out."
Once when I was sitting in the refectory with the superior, he asked me in a whisper if I would like to see holy prudence in someone very old. When I said I wished that very much, he summoned from the second table a man called Lawrence who had been about forty- eight years in the monastery and was second priest in the monastery.
20. No monastic rule laid down a seven year probation. But a seven years' penanct' was required by the Apostolic Canons for fornication. In view of the deacon Macedon- ius' reference to the "fornication of disobedience" (p. 101), it mav be that the superior treated l.sidore's haughtincs.s as f
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
He came, genuflected before the abbot and received his blessing. When he stood up the abbot said nothing at all to him but left him standing beside the table and not eating. It was just the start of the midday meal .so that he was left standing there a full hour, probably two. 1 was embarrassed to look this hard-working man in the face, for he was completely white-haired and all of eighty years. He stayed there until we had finished eating, and when we got up, the holy man sent him off to the great Isidore to recite to him the beginning of the thirty-ninth psalm, ^^
Being myself a bad character, I did not let slip the chance to tease the old man, so I asked him what he had been thinking about as he stood by the table. "I thought of the shepherd as the image of Christ," he said. "I thought of the command as coming not from him but from God, And so. Father John, I stood praying as if I were in front of the altar of God rather than the table of men; and because I trust and love my shepherd, I had no malevolent thoughts concerning him. It is said that love does not reckon up injury. But be sure of this much, Father, that anyone who freely chooses to be simple and guileless provides the devil with neither the time nor the place for an attack."
And the just Lord sent that shepherd of the holy flock someone just like himself to be bursar of the monastery. He was modest, like few others, and gentle as very few are. As a help to the others, the great elder once pretended to get angry with him in church and or- dered him out before the usual time. Now I knew that he was inno- cent of the charge laid against him by the pastor, and when we were alone I started to plead with the great man on behalf of the bursar. But this is what the wise man said: "Father, I too know he is inno- cent. But just as it would be a pity and indeed quite wrong to snatch bread from the mouth of a starving child, so too the director of souls does harm to himself and to the ascetic if he denies him frequent op- portunities to gain crowns such as the superior thinks he deserves at each hour, through having to put up with insults, dishonor, con- tempt, and mockery. Three things happen that are very wrong: first, the director misses the rewards due to him for making corrections; second, the director fails to bring profit to others when he could have done so through the virtue of that one person; but third, and worst, is that those who seem to be the most hard-working and obedient and hence confirmed in virtue, if left for any length of time without being
21. "1 wailed |iaiiemly for the Lord, Me inclined to itic and heard my cl'y '
•;<>
JOHN CI.IMACUS
censured or reproached by the superior, lose that meekness and obe- dience they formerly had. CJood, fruitful, and fertile land, if left with- out the water of dishonor, can revert in being forest and can produce the thorns of vanity, cowardice,^'^ and arrogance. The great Apostle understood this. Hence his instruction to Timothy: "Be insistent, criticize them, rebuke in season and out of season" (2 Tim. 4:2).
But when I argued the matter with that true director, reminding him of human frailty, I suggested that punishment, deserved or other- wise, might lead many to break away from the flock. That man, in whom wisdom had made a home, had this to say to me: "A soul bound in faith and love to the shepherd for Christ's sake does not go away, even when blood is spilt. He certainly does not leave if through the shepherd he has received the cure for his wounds, for he bears in mind the words, 'Neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers nor any other creature can separate us from the love of Christ' (cf Rom. 8:38-39). If a soul is not attached, bound, and devoted to the shepherd in this fashion, it seems to me that the man should not be here at all; for what binds him to the shepherd is hypocrisy and false obedience." And the truth is that this great man is not deceived, for he has guided, led to perfection, and offered to Christ blameless sacrifices.
Let us listen to the wisdom of God found in earthen vessels and marvel at it.
While I was there I was astonished by the faith and the patience of the novices. With unshakable courage they accepted the criticisms of the superior and indeed of those far below him in rank.
For my own edification I put questions to one of the brothers, called Abbacyrus, who had lived fifteen years in the monastery and who, as I saw, was badly treated by nearly everyone. Those serving at table drove him out almost daily for being naturally unrestrained in his talk. "Brother Abbacyrus," I asked, "why do I see you thrown out of the refectory every day and going without supper to bed?"
"Father," he answered, "you may be sure that they are testing me to find out if I would ever make a monk. They do not really mean to be harsh. I know what the superior and they are trying to do, and so I put up with all this and do not become burdened by it. I have done it now for fifteen years. At the time I came into the monastery they told me that those who renounce the world are tested for thirty
22. In place of "cowardice" Rader's text has "lewdness" (porneia).
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years. And they are right, Father John, for gold is not purified unless it has been tested."
This fine man Abbacyrus lived for two more years after my arri- val at the monastery. Just before he passed on to the Lord, he said this to the fathers: "I thank the Lord and I thank you. For my own salva- tion you put me to the test, and for seventeen years now I have lived without being tempted by devils." And the just superior gave orders that he had earned the right to be buried as a confessor with the local saints.
Now I would do wrong to all those eager for perfection if I were to bury in the tomb of silence the achievement and the reward of Macedonius, the first of their deacons, a man zealous for God.
On one occasion, just two days before the feast of the Holy The- ophany,^^ he asked the superior for permission to go to Alexandria for a certain personal matter. He promised to get back from the city in time for the preparation for the feast. The devil, however, who loathes everything good, contrived to put an obstacle in the way of the archdeacon, who, although permitted to, leave the monastery, did not return for the holy feast at the time set by the superior. He came back a day late, was deposed from the diaconate by the pastor, and was put in the rank of the lowest novices. This good deacon^* of obe- dience, this archdeacon of patience, accepted the decision of the fa- ther as calmly as though the punishment had been meted out to someone else. After forty days in that state, he was restored to his pre- vious rank by the pastor; but scarcely a day later the archdeacon begged to be put back to his former condition of discipline and dis- honor, saying, "I committed an unforgivable sin while I was in the city." This was untrue, and the holy superior knew it. The ascetic was looking for punishment for the sake of humility, and his wish was granted. Then came the spectacle of a white-haired elder passing his days as a novice, and sincerely begging everyone to pray for him. "I fell into the fornication of disobedience," he said, but secretly this great Macedonius explained to me, lowly that I am, why he had vol- untarily adopted a humbled life of this kind. "I have never felt such absence of conflict within me, such sweetness of divine light, as now," he said. "It is said of angels that they do not, or, as some would
2}. January 6.
?4, "Deiu'oti" niciins "servant" in Greek.
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have it, that they cannot fall. But men fall, yet they can quickly rise again as often as this may happen to them. Devils, and devils only, never rise once they have fallen."
There was a brother there, the bursar of the monastery, who had this to say to me in confidence: "When I was young and had charge of the animals,^^ I had a very bad spiritual failure, but since it was never my custom to conceal a snake in the hiding place of my heart I grabbed it forthwith by the tail — meaning that I ended the matter — and I revealed it at once to the healer. He gave me a light blow on the chin, smiled, and said to me, 'AH right, child, go back to your job and do not be in the slightest way afraid.' With heart on fire I did as I was told, and within a few days I knew I was cured; and so, with a mix- ture of joy and fear, I carried on."
They say that every creature has differences that mark it off from others. That is how it was in the assembly of the brothers, where dif- ferences of success and disposition were to be found. If the healer ob- served some showing off before visitors to the monastery from the outside world, he used to heap the worst insults on them in the pres- ence of the visitors and used to send them off on the most humiliating jobs, with the result that they would hastily retreat, and the arrival of the secular visitors would turn out to be an opportunity for self-mas- tery. Thus there was to be seen the extraordinary spectacle of vanity chasing herself out of sight.
The Lord did not want to deprive me of the prayer of one of the holy fathers in the monastery. And so a week before I left He took to Himself a marvelous man called Menas, the second priest of the mon- astery, a man who for fifty-nine years had lived in the community and had served in every office. Three days after the death of this saintly monk, when we had finished with the customary rites, the place where he lay was suddenly filled with a great fragrance. We were allowed by the superior to open the coffin in which he lay, and when this was done we had sight of what seemed like two streams of myrrh flowing from his venerable feet. The teacher said to all of us: "Look, the sweat of his labors has been offered up as myrrh to God, and has been truly accepted."
The fathers of that place described many of the triumphs of this holy saint Menas. Among them were what follows. On one occasion the superior wanted to test his God-given patience. Coming in the
2.^. I.e., the beasts of burden belonging to the monastery (cf. 1-' [KKSUCJj, p. 17?)
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evening to the abbot's cell he prostrated himself and, in the custom- ary fashion, he asked for his instructions. However, the abbot left him on the ground until the time came for the Office and only then did he give him his blessing. But the holy man, knowing his heroic endur- ance, criticized him for self-display and impatience. He did it for the edification of everyone.
This story was confirmed by a disciple of the holy Menas. "I wanted to find out if he had fallen asleep while he was prostrate on the ground before the holy abbot. But he assured me that he had recit- ed the entire psalter while lying down."
There is an emerald to adorn the crown of this discourse, and I must not forget to tell of it. For on one occasion I initiated a discus- sion of stillness among the most experienced elders there. They smiled and in their own cheerful way they spoke to me courteously as follows: "Father John, we are corporeal beings and we lead a corpore- al life. Knowing this, we choose to wage war according to the mea- sure of our weakness, and we think it belter to struggle with men who sometimes rage and are sometimes contrite than to do battle with demons who are always in a rage and always carrying arms against us."
One of those memorable men showed me great love according to God. He was outspoken, and once, in his own kindly fashion, he said this to me: "Wise man, if you have consciously within you the power of him who said, 'I can do everything in Christ Who strengthens me' (Phil. 4:13), if the Holy Spirit has come upon you as on the Holy Vir- gin with the dew of purity, if the power of the Most High has cast the shadow of patience over you, then, like Christ our God, gird your loins with the towel of obedience, rise from the supper of stillness, wash the feet of your brethren in a spirit of contrition, and roll your- self under the feet of the brethren with humbled will. Place strict and unsleeping guards at the gateway of your heart. Practice inward still- ness amid the twistings and the turbulence of your limbs. And, strangest of all perhaps, keep your soul undisturbed while tumult rages about you.
"Your tongue tongs to jump into argument, but restrain it. It is a tyrant, and you must fight it daily seventy times seven. Fix your mind to your soul as to the wood of a cross, strike it with alternating hammer blows like an anvil. It has to be mocked, abused, ridiculed, and wronged, though without in any way being crushed or broken; indeed it must keep calm and unstirred. Shed your will as if it were
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some disgraceful garment, and having thus stripped yourself of it, go into the practice arena. Put on the breastplate of faith, which is so hard to come by, and let it not be crushed or damaged by distrust of your trainer. Let the rein of temperance curb the shameless onward leap of the sense of touch. With meditation on death bridle those eyes so ready to waste endless hours in the contemplation of physical beauty. Hold back your mind, so busy with its own concerns, so ready to turn to the reckless criticism and condemnation of your brother. Show instead every love and sympathy for your neighbor. Dearest father, all men will come to know that we are disciples of Christ if, as we live together, we have love for one another. Stay here with us, my friend, stay. Drink down ridicule by the hour, as if it were living water. David tried every pleasure under the sun, and at the end was at a loss saying, 'Behold, what is good or what is pleas- ant?' (Ps. 132:1). And there was nothing except that brothers should live together in unity. But if this blessing of patience and obedience has still not been given to us, then the best thing to do is, having dis- covered our weakness, to stay away from the athletes' stadium, to bless the contestants, and to pray that it might be granted to them to endure."
Such was the discourse of this good father and excellent teacher, who argued with me in an evangelical and prophetic way, like a friend. And I was persuaded, so that with no hesitation I agreed to give first place to blessed obedience.
When I have noted down a further profitable virtue of these blessed fathers, one that is surely from Paradise, I will come back to my own unlovely and useless briar patch.
The blessed pastor noticed that some continued to talk while the rest of us were standing at prayer. He made them stand in front of the church for a whole week and they had to make a prostration be- fore everyone going in or out. And, what was even more surprising, he did it to people of clerical rank, that is, to priests.
I noticed one brother during the singing of the psalms. He showed more feeling than many of the others, and his movements and expressions were such as to make it look as though he were carrying on a conversation with someone. This was particularly so at the be- ginning of the hymns. I asked the holy man to explain this to me and because he knew it was to my advantage that he should not be reti- cent about it, he said this to me: 'Tather John, it is my custom at the very start to gather my thoughts, my mind and my soul. 1 call to them
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and cry out, 'Come! Let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King and God' " (cf. Ps. 94:6).
I also paid special attention to the brother in charge of the refec- tory. I noticed that he had a small book hanging in his belt, and I learned that every day he noted down his thoughts^^ in it and showed them to the shepherd. I found out that many of the brothers did this also as well as he, and I was told that this was on the instructions of the superior.
The shepherd once expelled a brother for having described a neighbor to him as a gossip and a blatherer. For an entire week the expelled monk remained at the gates of the monastery, begging entry and forgiveness. Now when that lover of souls discovered this, when he heard that the brother had eaten nothing for six days, he said to him: "If you really want to live in the monastery, I will put you down into the ranks of the penitents." The contrite monk gladly agreed, and the shepherd ordered him to be taken to the separate monastery for those who are in mourning for their failures. And so it was done.
But since I have mentioned this monastery I must say a few words about it.
A mile away from the great monastery was a harsh place called the Prison where smoke,^^ or wine, or oil for food or anything else was never seen, only bread and chopped vegetables. Here were shut up without permission to go out those who after entering monastic life had fallen into sin. Nor were they all together. Each had his own cell, or two at most might be together until the Lord gave the superi- or some assurance regarding each one of them. A great man named Isaac was in charge of them, and he demanded of them that they pray with scarcely an interruption. To ward off despondency they were given great quantities of palm leaves. ^^ Such was their existence and rule, such their life-style, these men who truly sought the face of the God of Jacob!
It is a good thing to admire the labors of holy men; to imitate them procures salvation. But it is unreasonable and impossible to wish to imitate, on a sudden whim, every aspect of the way they live.
26. rhese thoughts {logismoi) are not simply reflections but inward promptings, some of which may be demonic. The superior would be able to discern which are help- ful and which are not.
27. I.e., cooked food.
2H. I'or niiikinfj baskets and plaiting mats.
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JOHN CIJMACUS
When wc arc bitten by rebukes, Ifi ns be mindful of our sins un- til the Lord, seeing the deterininaiion o) our efforts, wipes away our sins and turns to joy thm sadness cjiiing our hearts. It is written: "Your consolations have gladdened my .soul according to the number of my sorrows" (Ps. 93:]'>), and at the right lime we should remember the words spoken to the Lord: "How many troubles and evils have You shown me, and You turned around to revive me. You brought me up from the depths of the earth when I had fallen" (Ps. 70:20).
Bles.sed is he who, slandered and despi.sed every day for the Lord's sake, still restrains himself. He will be in the chorus of martyrs and will talk familiarly with angels. Blessed is the monk who thinks of himself by the hour as having earned all dishonor and contempt. Blessed is he who mortifies his will to the very end and who leaves the care of himself to his director in the Lord. He will be placed at the right hand of the Crucified. But he who refuses to accept a criticism, just or not, renounces his own salvation, while he who accepts it, hard or not though it may be, will soon have his sins forgiven.
Show God in your heart the faith you have in your spiritual fa- ther and the honest love you have for him. God in ways unknown will urge him to be well disposed to you and fond of you, just as you are well disposed toward him.
He who exposes every serpent shows the reality of his faith, while he who hides them still walks the trackless wastes.
A man will know that he truly loves his brother when he weeps for the sins of that brother and is delighted by his progress and by the gifts given to him.
A man should know that a devil's sickness is on him if he is seized by the urge in conversation to as.sert his opinion, however cor- rect it may be. If he behaves this way while talking to his equals, then a rebuke from his seniors may heal him. But if he carries on in this way with those who are greater and wiser than he, his sickness can- not be cured by human means.
He who is not submissive in his talk will certainly not be so in what he does. To be unfaithful in the small things is to be unfaithful in the great, and this is very hard to bring under control. Such a monk labors in vain, and from holy obedience he will bring nothing but judgment on himself.
Someone with a totally clear conscience in the matter of being obedient to his spiritual father waits each day for death — as though it were sleep, or rather life; and he is unafraid, knowing with certainty
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that when it is time to go, not he but his spiritual director will be called to render an account.
If someone freely undertakes a task for his spiritual father and falls while doing it, he should blame not the father who gave him the weapon but himself. For it was he who accepted the weapon of battle against the enemy, but has turned it instead against his own heart. But if for the Lord's sake he compelled himself to accept the task, even though he first explained his own weakness to the spiritual fa- ther, then let him take heart. He may have fallen, but he is not dead.
One sweet loaf of virtue I have forgotten to set before you, my friends. I saw there servants of the Lord who subjected themselves to insult and contempt for God's sake, so that by this kind of prepara- tion they would not falter beneath the insults coming from others.
Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects on it from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark.
If we picture for ourselves the face of the superior whenever he happens to be away, if we think of him as Always standing nearby, if we avoid every gathering, word, meal, sleep, or indeed anything to which we think he might object, then we have really learned true obedience. False children are glad when the teacher is away, but the genuine think it a loss.
I once asked a very experienced father how humility is achieved through obedience. This was his answer: "A wisely obedient man, even if he is able to raise the dead, to have the gift of tears, to be free from conflict, will nevertheless judge that this happened through the prayer of his spiritual director; and so he remains a stranger and an alien to empty presumption. For how could he take pride in some- thing that, by his reckoning, is due to the effort not of himself but of his director?"
Now, of course, the practice of the above virtue is not something known to the hermit. ^^ His conceit attributes his righteous acts to himself, suggesting that his achievements are the result of his own ef- forts. For the fact is that he who lives in obedience has eluded two snares^o and remains an obedient servant of Christ for the future.
29. (jk hesycbastis, one who practices stillnes,s (cf. note 9), whether alone, with one or two others, or in community, '['he word is translated by 'hermit" or "holiiury" when the monk is clenrly alone; otherwise the term "hesychast" is used.
to. I.c , (liNol(r)liriiir iinil Conceit.
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The devil goes to battle with those in obedience. Sometimes he defiles them with bodily pollutions and hardheartedness or makes them more restless than usual, sometimes he makes them dry and bar- ren, sluggish at prayer, sleepy and unilluminated. He does this to bring discouragement to their efforts, making them think that their obedience has brought no profit and that they are only regressing. He keeps them from realizing that very often the providential withdraw- al of what seem to be our goods is the harbinger of our deepest humil-
That deceiver is often overcome by patient endurance, and yet while he is still talking there is another angel standing by to cheat us a little later in a different fashion.
I have known men living under obedience who, guided by their director, became contrite, meek, self-controlled, zealous, free of tur- moil, fervent. Then came the demons. They suggested to them that they were now qualified for the solitary life, that as hermits they would win the ultimate prize of total freedom from passion. Thus fooled, they left harbor and put to sea, and when the storm lowered onto them, their lack of pilots left them pitifully exposed to disaster from this foul and bitter ocean.
This sea has to be stirred up, provoked and made angry so as to jettison onto dry land the wood, the hay, the corruption carried into it by the rivers of passion. Notice what happens in nature. After a storm at sea comes a deep calm.
The man who sometimes obeys his director and sometimes not resembles the person who puts into his eyes now medicine and now quicklime. It is said, "When one man builds and another pulls down, what has been the profit of their labor?" (Eccius. 34:2?).
Son, obedient servant of the Lord, do not be so fooled by the spir- it of conceit that you confess your sins to your director as though they were someone else's. Lay bare your wound to the healer. Only through shame can you be freed from shame.-" Tell him, and do not be ashamed: "This is my wound. Father; this is my injury. It hap- pened because of my negligence and not from any other cause. No one is to blame for this, no man, spirit or body or anything else. It is all through my negligence."
At confession you should look and behave like a condemned man. Keep your head bowed and, if you can, shed tears on the feet of your
31. In H'i'M's text the sentence later in brackets is inserted here.
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judge and healer, as though he were Christ. (Very often demons man- age to persuade us either to omit confession, or else to confess as though the sins were committed by someone else or else to blame oth- ers as responsible for our own sins.)
Habit forms things and follows them. And it is particularly true that virtue depends on habit, and here God is the great collaborator.
My son, if at the very start you manage to allow your entire soul to suffer indignities, you will not have to struggle for many years in search of blessed peace.
You must not imagine that prostrating yourself in confession to your helper, as if he were God Himself, is in any way wrong. Con- demned criminals, by their sorry looks, by earnest confession and pleadings, have softened the harshness of a judge and turned his rage to mercy. I have seen it happen. That is why John the Baptist de- manded of those who came to him that they make their confession be- fore baptism, not because he wanted to know their sins, but in order to bring about their salvation.
We ought not be surprised if the attack; continue to come even after confession. In any case, it is better to be battling with our thoughts^^ rather than our self-esteem.
Do not get excited or carried away by the stories concerning he- sychasts and hermits. You are marching in the army of the First Mar- tyr, and in the event of a fall you should remain on the practice ground, since then more than ever one needs a healer. He who strikes his foot against a rock while being helped would not only have stum- bled unaided, but would have died.
It is when we are brought low that the demons quickly pounce. They suggest what looks like a reasonable pretext — though in fact it is not — to take up the life of solitude. Our enemies hope to wound us when we are committing sin.
When a doctor says he cannot help you, then you must go to an- other, since few are cured without one. Who, indeed, would disagree if I were to say that a ship wrecked while there was a skilled pilot aboard would quite certainly have been lost if there had been no pilot at all?
Humility arises out of obedience, and from humility itself comes dispassion, for "the Lord remembered us in our humility and saved us from our enemies" (Ps. 135:23-24). So we can rightly say that from
12. Riiiler's Icvl rcnits "finllutions" (molysmois), not "thoughts" (logismois).
]{)')
JOHN CLIMACUS
obedience comes dispassion, through which the goal of humiHty is at- tained. Humihty is the beginning of dispassion, as Moses is the begin- ning of the Law, as the daughter completes the mother and Mary completes the synagogue.
The sick who try out a healer, receive help from him, and then, before being fully cured, jettison him for the sake of another deserve every punishment from God. Do not run from the hands of him who has brought you to the Lord, for never in your life again will you re- spect anyone as you did him.
It is not safe for an untried soldier to leave the ranks and take up single combat. Equally, it is dangerous for a monk to undertake the solitary life before he has had plenty of experience and practice in the battle with the passions of the soul. The one man jeopardizes his body, the other his soul. Now Scripture says, "Two are better than one" (Eccles. 4:9), meaning that it is better for a son to be with his father as, aided by the divine power of the Holy Spirit, he fights against his predispositions. He who deprives a blind man of his guide, a flock of its shepherd, a lost man of his counselor, a child of its fa- ther, a sick man of his doctor, a ship of its pilot, becomes a menace to everyone. And he who tries to fight unaided against the spirits gets himself killed by them.
Those entering a hospital for the first time should indicate where they hurt, and those entering on obedience should show their humil- ity. Relief from pain is the sign of a return to health for the one, while increasing self-criticism is the sign for the other. Indeed, there is no clearer sign.
It is enough that your conscience should be the mirror of your obedience.
Those living in stillness and subject to a father have only demons working against them. But those living in a community have to fight both demons and human beings. The first kind keep the commands of their master more strictly since they are always under his scrutiny, while the latter break them to some extent on account of his being away. Still, the zealous and the hard-working more than compensate for this failing by their persistence, and accordingly they win double crowns.
We ought to be very careful to keep a watch on ourselves. When a harbor is full of ships it is easy for them to run against each other, particularly if they are secretly riddled by the worm of bad temper.
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We should practice complete silence and ignorance in the pres- ence of the superior, for a silent man is a son of wisdom and is always gaining great knowledge. I have watched while a monk anticipated the words of his superior, but I trembled for his obedience because I observed that this tendency led him to pride rather than lowliness.
Let us be all vigilance, care, and watchfulness as to when and in what form service should take precedence over prayer. For you can- not do all things all the time.
Watch yourself when you are in the presence of your brothers and under no circumstances should you put yourself forward as being better than they. For if you do, then you will be doubly in the wrong, provoking them with your fake zeal and stirring yourself up to pre- sumption.
Be zealous within your soul, but do not give the slightest sign, word, or hint of it outwardly; and you will manage this as soon as you stop looking down on your neighbor, something you may be inclined to do. And if so, then become like your brethren in order not to differ from them solely by the measure of your cdnceit.
I once saw an inexperienced disciple who used to boast in certain quarters about the achievement of his teacher. He imagined that in this way he would win glory for himself from another's harvest. But he only got a bad name for himself, for everyone put this question to him: "How then could a good tree grow such a dead branch?"
We do not get the name of being patient when we bravely endure the derision of our father, but only when we endure it from every kind of person. For we put up with our father out of respect and be- cause it is our duty.
Drink deeply of scorn from every man, as though it were living water handed you to cleanse you from lust. Then indeed will a deep purity dawn in your soul and the light of God will not grow dim in your heart.
If someone observes that his brothers are satisfied with him, let him not start boasting to himself. There are thieves all around. Re- member the warning: "When you have done all that was laid on you to do, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We did only what we had to' " (Luke 17:10). We will find out at the time of death what judg- ment has been passed on us.
A monastery is heaven on earth, so let us tune our hearts like an- gels serving the L
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heaven possess hearts of stone. Yet by means of compunction they ac- quire consolation so that they escape from conceit, and they hghten their labors with their tears.
A small fire can soften a great lump of wa.x, and a small indignity will often ease, sweeten, and wipe away all the heart's harshness, in- sensibility and hardness.
I once saw two people sitting out of sight and watching the toils and hearing the groans of the ascetics. One did this so as to be able to imitate them. But the other did it so that when the time came he could laugh at God's laborer and get in the way of his good work.
Do not become silent in an unreasonable way that causes distur- bance and hard feeling in others, and do not let your behavior and progress slow down when you have been told to hurry. Otherwise you will be worse than the possessed and the rebellious. I have often seen such things as these, as Job says (cf, Job 13:1), that is, souls bur- dened sometimes by slowness of character and sometimes by exces- sive eagerness. I was astounded by the variety of evil.
He who is in the company of others can get more benefit from prayer than from singing the psalms, for the confusion of voices makes the psalms indistinct.
Fight always with your thoughts and call them back when they wander away. God does not demand of those under obedience that their thoughts be totally undistracted when they pray. And do not lose heart when your thoughts are stolen away. Just remain calm, and constantly call your mind back.
Whoever has secretly vowed not to give up the struggle until his verv last breath, to endure a thousand deaths of body and soul, will not fall easily into any of these difficulties, for it is inconstancy of heart and unfaithfulness to one's place that bring about stumblings and disasters. Those who readily go from monastery to monastery are totally unfit since nothing is more conducive to barrenness than im- patience.
If you come upon a doctor and a hospital hitherto unknown to you, behave like a passerby and quietly examine the expertise of those living there. But if you discover that the doctors and the workers in that place can cure you of your ailments and, especially, of the spiri- tual pride that weighs you down, then go to them, buy your healing with the gold of humility, and write your terms in letters of service on the parchment of obedience, and let the angels be your witnesses as you tear up before them the book of your willfulness.
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If you wander from place to place, you fritter away the gold with which Christ ransomed you. So let the monastery be for you a tomb before the tomb. No one can come out of the tomb before the general resurrection, and if there be monks who have gone out, then they are really dead. Let us beg the Lord not to let this happen to us.
When the more lazy find orders heavy, they decide that prayer is better for them. But when they are given something easy to do they run from prayer as if from a conflagration.
Imagine a particular task. Some leave it aside for the sake of a brother's peace of mind, some leave it because they are lazy; but then some stay with it out of vainglory and some stay with it out of zeal.
If, having bound yourself to certain obligations, you become aware of the fact that your soul's eye has made no progress, do not seek permission to quit. The authentic monk will persevere anywhere and the converse is also true.
In the world, slander has caused many a breakup, but in monas- tic communities it is gluttony that brings about all the falls and trans- gressions. Keep mistress gluttony under corttrol and every abode will then give you dispassion, but let her take hold of you and every place outside the grave will be a menace to you.
The Lord, who makes wise the blind (cf. Ps. 145:8), opens the eyes of the obedient to the virtues of their spiritual director and blinds them to his faults, but does the opposite to the hater of what is good.
Let what we call quicksilver be a paradigm of perfect obedience. Roll it with any substance you wish, and it will nevertheless run to the lowest place and mix with nothing defiled.
The zealous should be especially careful not to condemn the easygoing in case they draw down a worse sentence on themselves. That, I think, was why Lot was justified. Despite the sort of people he lived with, he never seems to have condemned them.
On every occasion, but especially during the singing of hymns, we should be still and undistracted, for it is by means of distractions that devils try to make our prayers useless.
A servant of the Lord^^ stands bodily before men, but mentally he is knocking at the gates of heaven with prayer.
Insults, belittlings, and such like have the bitterness of worm- wood for the soul of the novice; praise, honor, approval, are like hon-
I V , ,i ilr.iii'ii III fliiiri'li W\' iiolf 2-), p, 1(H)
I i
JOHN CUMACUS
ey and give birth to every kind ot swct-incss in pleasure lovers. But we should remember the nature of each of them. Wormwood purifies all internal filth, while honey increases j,'all.
Regarding those who have undertaken to care for us in the Lord, we should trust them completely, even when they order us to do something that looks like being contrary to our salvation. That is the time when our faith in them is tested as in a furnace of humiliation, and the sign of the most genuine faith is when we obey our superiors without hesitation, even when we see the opposite happening to what we had hoped.
From obedience comes humility, as we have already said. And from humility comes discernment. That is what the great Cassian has said in that marvelously philosophic and sublime chapter of his on discernment.^* From discernment comes insight, and from insight comes fore.sight. And who would not run this fine race of obedience when such blessings are there ahead of him? The good p.salmist had this great virtue in mind when he said: "O God, in Your goodness You have made ready Your presence in the heart of the poor obedient soul"{Ps. 67:10).
As long as you live, remember that great athlete who for eighteen whole years never heard with his outward ears his superior say to him, "May you be saved." Yet within him each day he heard from the Lord not just, "May you be saved," an uncertain wish, but, "You are saved," definite and sure.-''*'
There are some living in obedience who, on noticing the kind- ness and indulgence of their superior, seek his permission to follow their own wishes. Phey ought to know that if they get this, they de- prive themselves completely of their confessor's crown. Obedience is foreign to hypocrisy and willfulness.
A monk was given an order once. He saw that the intention be- hind it was that no pleasure would come to him through having car- ried it out. So he asked to be excused. Another monk understood the intention but obeyed at once. The question is: Which of them acted more piously?
The devil cannot act contrary to his own will. Those living a negligent life, whether alone or in community, should convince you
34. John Cass\in, Second Conference, ch. 10.
34a. John the Theban: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, John the Theban.
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of this. And if there is a temptation on us to move from a place, let that be proof that our life there is pleasing to God. War against us is proof that we are making war.
Now I will not be silent about something that should not be kept quiet. It would be against my fellowman to keep to myself what peo- ple should know.
The renowned John the Sabbaite^^ told me things well worth hearing. He was detached and was uncontaminated by any falsehood, evil word, or bad deed, as you yourself know, holy father, from per- sonal experience.
This is what he told me: "In my monastery in Asia (this good man came from there), there was a certain elder who was extremely careless and undisciplined. I say this not to pass judgment on him, but merely to state the truth. He acquired a disciple — I could not say how — a young man called Acacius, good-hearted and sensible, who put up with so much from this elder that many will hardly believe it. He was tormented daily, not only with insults and indignities, but even with blows; and yet he accepted it, tho,ugh not blindly. I would see him every day, and his condition was very bad, like that of the lowest slave. 1 often spoke to him when I met him. 'What is it. Broth- er Acacius? How is it with you today?' He would show me a black eye, or a bruised neck or head. Knowing that he was a worker, I used to say to him, 'Well done, well done. Put up with it, and it will be for your own good.' So for nine years he endured this pitiless elder, and then departed to the Lord. Five days after he had been buried in the cemetery of the fathers, Acacius's master went to a certain great elder living there, and said to him: 'Father, Brother Acacius is dead,' The old man answered: 'Elder, I assure you I do not believe it!' 'Come and see,' the other said. The elder immediately rose up and went to the cemetery with the master of the blessed ascetic. And he called to him who in death was truly alive, and he spoke to him as to a living being: 'Are you dead, Brother Acacius?' And this most obedient man, obedi- ent even in death, answered the great elder: 'How could someone tru- ly obedient die, Father?' The elder who had been Acacius's master
.*5. John, formerly of the mona.stery of St. Sabbas in Palestine, is an elder known to u.s from I he narratives of Anastasius of Mount Sinai (see F. Nau, "l,e tcMc grec lies rccits du moine Anastase sur les saints Peres du Sinai", (hiens Chrislianiis m | \'M)2\ |i[i .fH-gy, ^ f> and .14).
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grew terrified and fell on his face weeping. Later he asked the abbot of the Laura36 for a cell near the tomb. He lived devoutly there, and to the fathers he used to say; i have committed murder.' " And, Fa- ther John, I think that the one who spoke to the dead man was the great John himself. For that blessed soul told me another story as though about someone else, when in fact it was about himself, as I learned afterwards for sure.
"In the same monastery in Asia," said John, "there was someone who became a disciple of a monk who was very meek, gentle, and peaceable. When he realized that the elder respected him and cared for htm, he decided, quite rightly, that this was something that could harm many. So he asked the elder to send him away, and this would cause no inconvenience since the elder had another disciple. He went away, therefore, and a letter from the elder got him into a monastery in Pontus. On his first night there he dreamed that his account was being made up, and after he had settled that dreadful reckoning he was still in debt to the extent of one hundred pounds of gold. He thought about this dream after he had awakened and said, 'Poor An- tiochus (for this was his name), you certainly are very far short of your debt.'
" 'And,' he continued, 'after living for three years in total obedi- ence in this monastery, despised by everyone, insulted as a foreigner, for there was no other foreign monk there, then again 1 had a dream in which someone gave me a note crediting me with ten pounds of my debt. When I woke up I thought about my dream and said: "Only ten! When will I ever pay the rest?" After that 1 said, "Poor Antio- chus! Still more hard work and dishonor for you!" Thereafter I pre- tended to be a fool,^^ though without neglecting anything of my service of everyone. When those pitiless fathers saw that 1 willingly served in the same status, they loaded all the heavy work of the mon- astery onto me. I spent thirteen years this way, and then in a dream I saw those who had appeared to me before, and they gave me a receipt to mark full payment of my debt. When, therefore, the monks im- posed in any way on me, I remembered my debt and took heart.' "
3fi, A laura is technically a loo.se community of hermits whose cells open onto an alleyway. I'his laura, however, is under an abbot (higoumenos) and is referred to in the next paragraph as a cenobium.
37. Gk exichon. Not the technical word for someone who pretended to be a fool as an ascetic discipline (salos), but clearly in the same tradition (cf, Palladius, The I.amiac History, ch. 34).
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So, Father John, the wise John said all this to me as if about someone else. That was why he changed his name to Antiochus.^^ But in fact it was he who cancelled the bond courageously by his pa- tience (cf. Col. 2:14).
Let us hear what a gift of discernment this holy man obtained through his perfect obedience. While he was living in the monastery of Saint Sabbas, three young monks came to him wishing to be his disciples. He received them gladly and gave them generous hospital- ity, for he wanted to refresh them after their long journey. After three days he said to them: "Brothers, I am very inclined to fornica- tion, and I cannot receive any of you as disciples." But they were not scandalized, for they knew the good work of the old man. Yet for all that they begged him, they still could not make him change his mind. Then, prostrating themselves before him, they begged him at least to provide them with a rule by which they might know how and where to live. He gave in to their pleas and, understanding well that they would accept a rule from him in all humility and obedience, he said to one of them: "My son, the Lord wants yoi^ to live in a solitary place under the guidance of a spiritual director." To the second he had this to say: "Go, sell off your will, hand it over to God, take up your cross, and persevere in a community and monastery of brothers. Then you will surely have treasure in heaven." To the third he said: "Draw in inseparably with your breathing the phrase which says, 'He who per- severes to the end will be saved' (Matt. 10:22). 3*' Go now and find, if you can, the harshest and strictest trainer in the Lord, and persever- ing daily imbibe insult and scorn as if they were milk and honey." Then the brother said to the great John: "But if the trainer is some- how lax, what then?" This is what the elder replied: "Even if you see him fornicating, do not go away from him. Just say to yourself, 'Why are you here, friend?' (Matt. 26:50). Then you will see all pride aban- don you and lust dry up."
Those of us who wish to fear the Lord should strive mightily to avoid picking up, in the school of virtue, malice and wrongdoing, cunning and craftiness, curiosity and anger. It can happen, nor is it surprising. When a man is just a private citizen, a sailor, a laborer on the land, the enemies of the King do not take up arms against him.
IH. With a pun on anii-ocheo, "to bear adversities."
jy, An early instance of linking prayer with breathing, but not yet culiivated as u (echnii|uc.
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But when they see him accept the King's seal,*'' the shield, the dagger, the sword, the bow, the uniform of a soldier, then they gnash their teeth and do all they can to destroy him. So let us not be caught nap- ping.
I have seen innocent lovely children come to school for wisdom, education, and profit, and learn only cunning and vice through the contact they make with other students. The wise man will under- stand what I am saying.
Those striving completely to learn a craft make daily progress. It has to be so. But some know how they are progressing. Others, by di- vine providence, do not know. Now a good banker never lets an eve- ning pass without his reckoning profit and loss. However, he can have no clear picture of this unless he makes hourly entries in his rec- ord books. For it is the hourly account that yields the daily account.
A silly person feels hurt when accused or shouted at. He tries to answer back or else at once apologizes to his accuser, not for reasons of humility but to put a stop to his reproaches. In fact you should be silent when ridiculed. Accept patiently these spiritual cauterizations, or rather, purifying flames. And when the doctor has done his work, ask him to forgive you, for he may not accept your apology when he is angry.
Those of us who live in community must fight by the hour against ail the passions and especially against these two: a mania for gluttony and bad temper. There is plenty of food for these passions in a community.
The devil proposes impossible virtues to those who live under obedience, and unsuitable ideas to those living in solitude. If you look at the thinking of inexperienced novices living under obedience, you will find ideas out of step with one another — desire for stillness, for extreme fasting, for unbroken prayer, for total freedom from vanity, for continual remembrance of death, for unceasing compunction, for absolute release from anger, for deep silence, for outstanding purity. And should they happen by divine providence to be without these at the start, they rush vainly toward a different life because they have been deceived. The enemy persuades them to look too soon for these
40. Soldiers were branded or tattooed. The "seal" (sphrugidu) also alludes to the seal of bapti.sm; cf. John Chrysostom, Horn. .?, 7 in !! Cor. (PC 6\, 41«), where the coinparisuii is made explicit.
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virtues, so that they may not persevere and attain them in due time. And to those living in solitude, the deceiver heaps praise on the hospi- tality of those living under obedience, on their service, their brother- ly love, their community living, their visits to the sick. What the devil is trying to do is to make both restless.
Very few are able to live in solitude. This is really so. Indeed only those can do so whose labors have been encouraged by God and whose struggles have received His help.
We should analyze the nature of our passions and of our obedi- ence, so as to choose our director accordingly. If lust is your problem, do not pick for your trainer a worker of miracles who has a welcome and a meal for everyone. Choose instead an ascetic who will reject any of the consolation of food. If you are arrogant, let him be tough and unyielding, not gentle and accommodating. We should not be on the lookout for those gifted with foreknowledge and foresight, but rather for those who are truly humble and whose character and dwelling place match our weaknesses. And remember the example of the righteous Abbacyrus, mentioned above. 'Adopt the fine habit, so conducive to obedience, of always assuming that the superior is test- ing you, and you will not be far wrong. If you are constantly upbraid- ed by your director and thus acquire great faith in him and love for him, then you may be sure that the Holy Spirit has taken up resi- dence invisibly in your soul and the power of the Most High has overshadowed you. But you must not boast or celebrate when you manage to be brave under insults and indignities. Rather should you mourn for having earned criticism and for having stirred your direc- tor to anger against you. And what I am going to say to you now must not shock you. (In any case I have the support of Moses in this.) It is better to sin against God than against our father. If we make God angry, our director can reconcile Him to us. But if he is angry, then there is no one to speak up for us before God. And in any case, the two situations are really the same. Or so it seems to me.
Let us be vigilant and very carefully and prudently decide when we should gladly and silently endure accusations made against us to our pastor, and when we ought to speak up for ourselves to him. I think we should always be silent when some indignity is offered to us, since we can profit from that. But where another person is in- volved we should make a defense so as to keep unbroken the bond of love and peace.
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JOHN CI.IMACUS
Those who havL' lirokcii iiwny from obedience will insist on its value, for only then huve ihey liilly understood the heaven in which they were living.
He who strives for dispassion ;nui for (;<>d considers lost any day on which he was not criticized. Like Irccs swayed by the wind and driving their roots deeper into the ground, those who live in obedi- ence become strong and unshakable souls.
When a monk living in solitude has reali/,ed what his weak point IS, and when he changes place and sells himself to obedience, then, blind as he was once, he recovers sight and can see Christ without dif- ficulty.
So then, keep running, brother athletes, and again I say to you, keep running. Listen to the cry of wisdom: "The Lord has tried them' like gold in a furnace," or, rather, in a community, "and he has re- ceived them as burnt offerings into his bo.som" (Wisd. 3:6). Glory and eternal dominion are His, in company with the eternal Father and the holy and adorable Spirit. Amen.
This step is of equal number with the evangelists. Keep running, athlete, and do not be afraid.
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ON PENITENCE
Once John outran Peter, and now obedience is placed before re- pentance. For the one who arrived first represents obedience, the oth- er repentance.*'
Repentance is the renewal of baptism and is a contract with God for a fresh start in life. Repentance goes shopping for humility and is ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is critical awareness and a sure watch over oneself. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the refusal to despair. (The penitent stands guilty — but undis- graced.) Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord by the perfor- mance of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins. It is the purification of conscience and the voluntary endurance of affliction. The penitent deals out his own punishment, for repentance is the fierce persecution of the stomach and the flogging of the soul into in- tense awareness.
Come, gather round, listen here and I will speak to all of you who have angered the Lord. Crowd around me and see what he has revealed to my soul for your edification.
Let us give first place to the story of the dishonored workers — who still earned respect. Let us listen, take heed, and act — we who may have suffered an unexpected fail. Rise up and be seated, all you
•II. In Railcr's tt-xl xh\s scnttnt'c \s aitai-hcd Id llic i-nd t)t Stri> 4
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who have been laid low by your sins. Hear what I have to say, my brothers. Listen, all you who long to be reconciled with God again in a true conversion.
I, the weakling, heard that there was a great and strange way of life and lowliness for those living in a separate monastery called "The Prison." It was under the authority of that man, that light of lights, referred to above, and during my visit I asked the good man to let me see it. This great man, who wished never to cause grief to any soul, gave his permission.
I went therefore to that abode of penitents, to that place of true grief, and if I may be so bold as to say so, I actually saw what the eye of an inattentive man never saw, what the ear of a lackadaisical man never heard, what never entered the heart of a sluggard (cf. I Cor. 2:9). I saw things done and said that could only draw down the mercy of God, deeds and attitudes of body that quickly win His love for men.
I 1 saw some of those accused yet innocent men stand all night un- (til dawn in the open air, their feet never moving, pitifully pounded by the natural urge to sleep, giving themselves no rest, reproaching themselves, driving sleep away with abuse and insults.
Others raised their eyes to heaven, wept, cried, and implored help from there.
Others prayed with their hands tied behind their backs, like criminals, their faces blackened with grief and bent earthward, since they thought themselves unworthy to look up to heaven. Overcome by their reflections and the weight of conscience, they could not speak, could not pray to God, could not even make a beginning of prayer; and filled, as it seemed, with darkness and empty despair, they could offer God only a blank soul and a wordless mind. /
Others sat in sackcloth and ashes on the ground, hiding their faces between their knees, striking the earth with their foreheads.
Others constantly beat their breasts, recalling their past lives and the condition of their souls. Some shed their tears on the ground, while others, unable to weep, struck themselves. Some raised over their own souls a lament for the dead, since the strength to bear their heart's grief had left them. Others moaned inwardly, stifling the sounds of their wailing until, unable to bear it any longer, they would suddenly cry out.
I saw men who in look and disposition seemed out of their minds, made dumb by the complete darkness of their despair, insensi-
ble to the life around them, their minds sunk in the depths of humil- ity, their eyes' tears dried up in the fire of despondency.
Others sat in deep thought with gaze rooted to the earth. Their heads were moving constantly. Like lions they roared and moaned from their innermost depths. Some were full of hope as they begged complete forgiveness, while others, out of extreme humility, con- demned themselves as being unworthy to be forgiven and wailed that it was not in their power to justify themselves before God. Some im- plored the Lord to punish them here and to show mercy in the next life. Others, weighed down by the burden of conscience, would say in all sincerity, "We are unworthy of heaven, but to be spared from fu- ture punishment will satisfy us."
I saw there humble and contrite souls who were saddened by the weight of their burden. The stones themselves would have been moved to pity by their voices and by their cries to God. Looking down to the ground, they would say this: "We know, we know that we deserve every punishment and every torment. Rightly so. How could we make up for all that we owe, even i£ we had the entire world there to weep for us? All we ask, all we pray for, all we implore is that 'in Your anger You do not rebuke us or chasten us in Your wrath' (Ps. 6:2). Be sparing. It is enough for us if You deliver us from Your great threat and from unknown and hidden torments. We dare not ask for complete forgiveness. How could we, when we have failed to keep our vow unstained, but after all Your past laving kindness and for- giveness have defiled it?"
The words of David could surely be seen to be fulfilled there, for there were men in hardship and bowed down to the end of their lives, going about each day in sadness, their bodies' wounds stinking of rot- tenness (Ps. 37:6-7) and yet unnoticed by them. They forgot to eat their bread; their drink was mixed with tears. They ate dust and ashes instead of bread; their bones stuck to their flesh and they were dried up like grass (Ps. 101:4-12). The only words you could hear from them were these; "Woe, woe, alas, alas! It is just, it is just. Spare us, spare us, O Lord." Some said, "Be merciful, be merciful"; others, more sadly: "Forgive us. Lord, forgive us if it is possible."
\'ou could see the tongues on some of them dry and hanging from their mouths in the manner of dogs. Some punished them.selvcs in the bla/.ing sun, others tortured themselves in the cold, while oth- ers, again, drank only as much water as would keep them from dylny of thirst. Some munched on a bit of bread, flung away what whn Icfr
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of it and proclaimed themselves unworthy to be fed like human be- ings since they had behaved like animals.
Would you witness any laughter among them? Idle talk? Irrita- tion? Anger? No, indeed. They no longer knew what it was for a man to be angry, for grief had done away with their capacity for rage.
Where was quarreling among them? Or merrymaking? Or bold speech? Or concern for the body? Where among them was any trace of vanity, or longing for comfort, or the thought of wine, or the taste of fresh fruit, or the enjoyment of cooked food, or the pleasing of the palate? The fact was that even the hope of such things in this world had been extinguished in them.
Did any of them worry about earthly things? Or pass judgment on anyone? Certainly not.
These were the shouts and cries they raised to the Lord without ceasing. Striking their breasts, as though standing before the gates of heaven, some would say to God; "Open up to us, O Judge! Open up! We have shut ourselves out with our sins. Open up to us!" Others would say, "Just show the light of Your face and we will be saved" (Ps. 79:4). Another would say: "Give light to those sitting humbly in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Luke 1:79). Another would say, "Ah, Lord, let Your mercy go speeding before us (Ps. 78:8) for we have perished in despair and have fallen completely away." Some said: "Will the Lord ever again show the light of His face to us?" (Ps. 66:2) and others, "Will our souls survive the unbearable debt?" (Ps. 123:5), while yet others said, "Will the Lord be moved at last to have mercy on us? (Judges 2:18). Will we ever hear him say to those of us in endless bondage, 'Come forth' (Isa. 49:9) and to those of us in the hell of penance, 'Be forgiven'? Has our cry come to the ears of the Lord?"
All of them sat ceaselessly contemplating death, saying, "How will it go for us? What will be the verdict on us? How will life end for us? Will we receive pardon? Will there be forgiveness for those in darkness, for the lowly, for the convicted? Is our prayer vigorous enough to come before the face of the Lord, or has it been rejected— and rightly so — for being worthless and shameful? Or, if it came as far as the Lord, how much could it sway Him? Would it be success- ful? Powerful? Profitable? Effective? Coming as it does from unclean lips and bodies, it does not have much power. Would our prayer rec- oncile us completely with the Judge or only in part, only to the extent of half our wounds, which are very great and require much sweat and hard work? Are the guardian angels standing by us, or are they still at
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a great distance? For until they come close to us, our efforts are vain and futile. Our prayer has neither the power of access nor the wings of purity to reach the Lord, unless our angels draw near to us and take it and bring it to the Lord."
With failing confidence, they would often speak to one another as follows: "Brothers, are we getting anywhere? Will we be granted what we ask? Will the Lord accept us once more? Will He open up to us?" Others would answer: "As our brothers the Ninevites said, Who knows if God will change His mind (Jon. 3:9) and deliver us from mighty punishment? Let us do what we can. If He opens the door, well and good; if not, then blessed be the Lord God Who in His jus- tice has shut the door on us. At least we should continue to knock at the door as long as we live. Maybe He will open to us on account of our persistence." And so they encouraged one another, saying, "We must run, brothers, we must run. We have to run very hard because we have fallen behind our holy company. So let us run, driving on this foul and wicked flesh of ours, killing it as it has killed us."
And that precisely is what these holy mfen who had been called to account were doing. With knees like wood, as a result of all the pros- trations, with eyes dimmed and sunken, with hair gone and cheeks wasted and scalded by many hot tears, with faces pale and worn, they jwere no different from corpses. Their breasts were livid from all the I beatings, which had even made them spit blood. There was no rest ■for them in beds, no clean and laundered clothing. They were bedrag- jgled, dirty, and verminous. Compared with this, what are the suffer- ings of the possessed, of those mourning the dead, of the exiled, or of those condemned for murder? These are suffering involuntary tor- ture and punishment. But this is nothing in comparison with suffer- ings deliberately sought.
Believe me, brothers, I am not making all this u p. Often they came to the great judge, to that angel among men — I mean the shepherd — and they would plead with him to put irons and chains on their hands and necks, to bind their legs in the stocks and not to release them until death — or even afterwards.*^
I will certainly not pass over the marvelous humility of these
42. The body nf a monk named Sarapion ha.s been discovered in Egypt wearing ii collar, bell, bracclci.s and anklets of iron (Palladiu.s, The t.ausiac History, cd, Hiitlcr, vol ii, (). 21^ note h't). Snob practicfs, however, were unusual in Kgypi, alihiiUKh eoiiuiioii in carlv Svriaii iiioiia.stici.sni.
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holy men, their contrite love for God, and their penance. When one of these good citizens of the land of repentance was about to die and to stand before the impartial Judge, when he saw that his end was near, he would implore the man in charge of them with oaths to in- tercede with the abbot on his behalf and to beg that he be denied hu- man burial, but that he be flung into a river bed, like some dumb animal, or thrown to the wild beasts in the field. And often the abbot, that great discerning light, would give instructions that the dead be carried away without the singing of psalms or without any sort of re- spect shown.
The last hour of one of these was fearful to behold. When the penitents in the prison learned that one of their number was finish- ing his course and going on ahead of them, they would gather round while his mind was still working. Thirsty, tearful, and sad, they would look at him compassionately, shaking their heads, racked with tenderness, and they would speak to the dying man: "Brother and fel- low penitent, how is it with you? What will you say? What are your hopes and expectations? Have you achieved what you worked for so hard, or have you not? Has the door been opened to you, or are you still under sentence? Did you reach your goal, or did you fail? Has any kind of assurance come to you, or are you still uncertain in your hopes? Are you free at last, or does darkness and doubt still hang over your thoughts? Have you sensed any illumination in your heart, or is it still in darkness and dishonor? Did you hear an inner voice saying, 'You are made whole' (John 5:14) or 'Your sins are forgiven you' (Matt. 9:2) or 'Your faith has saved you' (Mark 5:34)? Or did~4^ voice say, 'Let sinners be cast into hell' (Ps. 9:18); 'Bind him hand and^oot, and throw him into the darkness outside' (Matt. 22:13); 'Let the wick- ed man be expelled so that he may not see the glory of the Lord' (Isa. 26:10)? Can you say anything to us, brother? Please tell us, so that we may know how it will be for us. Your time is over and you will never have another chance." Some of the dying would answer: "Blessed be God Who has not turned away my prayer nor His mercy from me" (Ps. 65:20). Others would say, "Blessed be the Lord Who has not given us a prey to their teeth" (Ps. 123:6). But others would be sad and say: "Will our soul pass through the impassable water of the spirits of the air?" (Ps. 123:5). These would be unsure, and would be worried about the rendering of accounts after death. And more sadly yet, others would say; "Woe to the soul that has not kept its vow unblemished! In
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this hour, and in this one only, it will discover what is prepared for it."
I came close to despair when I had seen and heard all this among them and when I had compared my own indifference with what they went through. W hat a dreadful place they li ved in! It was dark, slink- ing, fil thy, and squalid . To call it a prison or house of convicts was an accurate description. Just the sight of it would teach you penitence and mourning.
Yet what for some is hard and unbearable is easy and tolerable for those who have fallen away from virtue and spiritual treasures. A soul that has lost its one-time confidence and abandoned its hope of dispassion, that has broken the seal of chastity, that has squandered the treasury of divine graces, that has become a stranger to divine consolation, that has rejected the Lord's command, that has extin- guished the beautiful fire of spiritual tears*^ — and that is wounded and pierced by sorrow as it remembers all this — will not only take on the labors mentioned above with all eagerness, but will even decide devoutly to kill itself with penitential works.^It will do so if there is in it only the tiniest spark of love or of fear of the Lord. And of such a kind were these blessed men. Remembering all this, thinking of the heights of virtue from which they had fallen, they would say: "We re- member the old days (Ps. 142:5) and that fire of our zeal." Some would cry to God, "Where are Your old mercies. Lord, which in Your truth You would reveal to our souls? Remember the reproach and the hardship of Your servants" (Ps. 88:50-5 1). Another would say: "Ah, I wish 1 were back as I used to be in the months of the days when God watched over me, when the lamp of His light shone over the head of my heart" (Job 29:2-3).
They would think of their former achievements and, weeping for them as though they were children that had died, they would say: "Where is the purity of my prayer? The confidence that was in it? Where are the sweet tears, instead of these bitter ones? Where is that hope of perfect chastity and purification? Where is that expectation of blessed dispassion? Where is my faith in the shepherd? Where is the result of his prayer for us? It is all lost and gone, as though it had nev- er appeared. It has vanished as though it had never been there."
Some prayed to be possessed by devils, others that they might be-
41, Suiiii.- MSS ciiiiil
spinui;il
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come epileptics. Some wished for blindness so that they might be a pitiful spectacle, others sought paralysis so that they might not have to suffer later. And I, my friends, was so pleased by their grief that I was carried away, enraptured, unable to contain myself. But I must return to my discourse.
For all that I am impatient by nature, I stayed thirty days in that prison before returning to the main monastery and to its great shep- herd. He noticed that I was very much changed and that I had yet to recover my former self. He understood what the change meant, for he was a very wise man. "So, Father John," he said, "you saw how these men were struggling?"
"I saw them. Father, and I was amazed," I replied. "It seems to me that those who have fallen and are penitent are more blessed than those who have never fallen and who do not have to mourn over themselves, because through having fallen, they have pulled them- selves up by a sure resurrection."
"That is how it is," he said, and he told me this true story: "I had a brother here about ten years ago, and he was very active and enthu- siastic. When I saw how zealous he was, I really trembled for him in case the devil, in envy, should trip his foot against an obstacle as he sped along — something that can happen to those in a hurry. And in fact it happened that way. One evening, late, he came to me, showed me an open wound, looked for a dressing, requested cauterization, and was in a very alarmed state. The physician did not wish to make too deep an incision, for the man deserved sympathy. But when the brother saw this, he flung himself on the ground, clasped my feet, moistened them with copious tears, and asked to be shut up in the prison you have seen. 'It is impossible for me to avoid going there,' he cried, and — something most unusual among the sick4-he pleaded with the physician to change his kindness to harshnesi, and he hur- ried off to become a companion and fellow sufferer among the peni- tents. The grief that comes from loving God pierced his heart like a sword, and on the eighth day he died, having asked not to be given burial. But I brought him here and had him buried among the fathers, as he had deserved, because after his week of slavery he had been freed on the eighth day. And let me tell you that someone surely knows that he did not rise up from my foul and wretched feet before he had won God's favor. It is not to be wondered at, for having re- ceived in his heart the faith of the gospel harlot, he moistened my
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humble feet with the same trust. Everything is possible for the believ- er, said the Lord (cf. Mark 9:23). I have watched impure souls mad for physical love but turning what they know of such love into a reason for penance and transferring that same capacity for love to the Lord. I have watched them master fear so as to drive themselves unsparing- ly toward the love of God, That is why, when talking of that chaste harlot, the Lord does not say, 'because she feared,' but rather, 'be- cause she loved much' she was able to drive out love with love" (Luke 7:47).
Now I know well, my friends, that these labors I have described will seem unbelievable to some, unattainable to others, and be a source of despair to others still. Yet they will actually be an incentive to a brave soul, a fiery blast, so that he will go away with zeal in his heart, whereas the man who feels a great incapacity in himself will understand his own weakness, be humbled easily by the reproach he levels against himself, and will at least try to follow the soul who is brave. And I am not at all sure but that he may even overtake him. But the careless man had better stay away fr9m my stories, for other- wise he may fall into despair, throw away the little he has achieved, and prove to be like the man of whom it was said: "From the man who has no eagerness, even that which he seems to have will be taken away" (cf. Matt. 25:29). It is impossible for those of us who have fallen into the sink of iniquity ever to be drawn out of it unless we also plumb the depths of the humility shown by the penitent.
The sad humility of penitents is one thing. The reproach of con- science of those who are still sinners is another. The blessed treasure of humility that, with God's help, the perfect manage to attain is yet another. And we should be in no hurry to find words adequate to this third kind of humility, for our effort will be useless. But a sign of the second kind is the perfect bearing of indignity.
An old habit often dominates even someone who mourns. No wonder, for the judgments visited by God and our own lapses make up a list hard to understand, and it is impossible to be sure which of our failings are due to carelessness, which are due to the fact that God permitted them, and which arise from God's having turned away from us, I have been told, however, that lapses occurring as a result of divine providence cause us to repent swiftly, since He Who delivers us docs not permit us to i)e held captive for long. But above all wc mu.st fight off the demon of dejection whenever we happen lo slip,
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JOHN CLIMACUS
for he comes right beside us when we are praying and reminds us of our former good standing with God and tries to divert us from our prayer.
Do not be surprised if you fall every day and do not surrender. Stand your ground bravely. And you may be sure that your guardian angel will respect your endurance. A fresh, warm wound is easier to heal than those that are old, neglected, and festering, and that need extensive treatment, surgery, bandaging, and cauterization. Long ne- glect can render many of them incurable. However, all things are possible with God (Matt. 19:26).
God is merciful before a fall, inexorable after — so the demons say. And when you have sinned, pay no attention to him who says in regard to minor failings: "If only you had not committed that major fault! This is nothing by comparison." The truth is that very often small gifts soften the great anger of the Judge.
He who really keeps track of what he has done will consider as lost every day during which he did not mourn, regardless of whatever good he may happen to have done.
Let no one who grieves for his sins expect reassurance at the hour of death. There can be no assurance about the unknown. "Spare me before I depart from here, unsure of my salvation" (Ps. 38:14).
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the chains of sin are let loose; where there is real humility, all bonds are made free; but those without the one or the other should not be deceived: they are in bond- age. Those living in the world, and they alone, are without these two assurances, especially the first, unless, through almsgiving, some so run their race that they know at the moment of death how much they have gained.
He who weeps for himself will not be wrapped up in the grief, lapse, or reproach of someone else, A dog injured by a wild animal becomes all the more maddened against it and is driven to implacable .rage by the pain of the injury.
We ought to be on our guard, in case our conscience has stopped troubling us, not so much because of its being clear but because of its being immersed in sin.
A proof of our having been delivered from our failings is the un- ceasing acknowledgement of our indebtedness.
Nothing equals the mercy of God or surpasses it. To despair is therefore to inflict death on oneself.
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A sign of true repentance is the admission that all our troubles, and more besides, whether visible or not, were richly deserved.
After Moses had seen God in the bush, he went back to Egypt, that is, to the darkness and the brick making of Pharaoh, who is to be understood here in a spiritual sense. But he returned to the bush. And not only to the bush, but to the mountaintop. For anyone who has experienced contemplation will never despair of himself. The great Job became a beggar, but afterwards he became twice as rich.
If you have no courage, if you are lazy, then lapses that occur after entering religious life are hard to bear. They wipe out the hope of dispassion and they make us imagine that true blessedness is sim- ply to rise from the pit of sin. But note well that we never return by the road on which we strayed, but rather by a different and a shorter route.
I saw two men traveling the same route to the Lord, and at the same time. One of them was older, and had worked harder. The oth- er, his disciple, soon overtook him and was first to arrive at the sepul- chre of humility.
All of us— but especially the lapsed— should be especially careful not to be afflicted with the disease of the godless Origen.*-* This foul disease uses God's love for man as an excuse and is very welcome to those who are lovers of pleasure.
In my meditation, or more accurately, in my acts of repentance, a fire of prayer will burn and will consume everything material. Let the holy prisoners, described above, be a rule for you, a pattern, a model, a true picture of repentance, so that for as long as you live you will have no need of a treatise; until at last Christ, the divine Son of God, will enlighten you in the resurrection of true repentance. Amen.
Through repentance you have reached the fifth step. You have, in this way, purified the five senses, and by choosing to accept pun- ishment have thereby avoided the punishment that is involuntary.
44, I.e., thai all would finally Ik- saved. The teaching of Ori^jen U: \H'i ,•. i'i-i) mi univiTsal .Siilviition was eontlonineci ai the f-'iffh Kcurnenical CiitJticil (SSI)
n
Step 6
ON REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH
As thought comes before speech, so the remembrance of death and of sin comes before weeping and mourning. It is therefore appro- priate to deal now with this theme.
To be reminded of death each day is to die each day; to remember one's departure from life is to provoke tears by the hour. Fear of death is a property of nature due to disobedience, but terror of death is a sign of unrepented sins. Christ is frightened of dying but not ter- rified, thereby clearly revealing the properties of His two natures.
just as bread is the most necessary of all foods, so the thought of death is the most essential of all works. The remembrance of death brings labors and meditations, or rather, the sweetness of dishonor to those living in community, whereas for those living away from turbu- lence it produces freedom from daily worries and breeds constant prayer and guarding of the mind, virtues that are the cause and the effect of the thought of death.
Tin has a way of looking like silver but is of course quite distinct; and for those with some discernment, the difference between natural and contranatural fear of death is most obvious. You can clearly sin- gle out those who hold the thought of death at the center of their be- ing, for they freely withdraw from everything created and they renounce their own will.
The man who lives daily with the thought of death is to be ad- mired, and the man who gives himself to it by the hour is surely ,\
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saint. And yet not every desire for death is good. A habitual sinner prays humbly for death, but the man who does not want to change his ways may, in sheer despair, actually long for death. And there are some who out of conceit consider themselves to be dispassionate, and for a while they have no fear of death, while a rare few hunger to leave by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Some, because they are puzzled, ask the following question: "If the remembrance of death is so good for us, why has God concealed from us the knowledge of when we will die?" In putting such a ques- tion, they fail to realize how marvelously God operates to save us. No one who knew in advance the hour of his death would accept baptism or join a monastery long before it, but instead would pass all his time in sin and would be baptized and do penance only on the day of his demise. Habit would make him a confirmed and quite incorrigible sinner.**^
When you are lamenting your sins, do not ever admit that cur which suggests that God is soft-hearted toward men. (Such a notion may on occasion be of help to you when you see yourself being dragged down into deep despair.) For the aim of the enemy is to di- vert you from your mourning and from that fear of God which, how- ever, is free from fear.
The man who wants to be reminded constantly of death and of God's judgment and who at the same time gives in to material cares and distractions, is like someone trying at the same time to swim and to clap his hands.
If your remembrance of death is clear and specific, you will cut down on your eating; and if, in your humility, you reduce the amount you eat, your passions will be correspondingly reduced.
To have an insensitive heart is to be dulled in mind, and food in abundance dries up the well of tears. Thirst, however, and the keep- ing of vigils afflict the heart; and when the heart is stirred, then the tears may run. Now all this may sound disgusting to the gluttonous and unbelievable to the sluggish, but a man pursuing the active life will try this course and the experience will make him smile, whereas the one who is still casting about him will become even more de- pressed.
I'he [''athers assert that perfect love is sinless. And it seems lo ine that in the same way a perfect .sen.sc of death is free from fear.
44ii I liis wtitLMU'i' i>i n
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JOHN CUMACUS
There are many things that the mind of a man leading the active life can do. One can think about the love of God, the remembrance of death, the remembrance of God, the remembrance of the kingdom, the zeal of the holy martyrs, the remembrance of the presence of God as described in the saying, "I saw the Lord before me" (Ps. 15:8), the remembrance of the holy and spiritual powers, the remembrance of death, judgment, punishment, and sentence. The list begins with the sublime and ends with that which never fails.
This is what an Egyptian monk once said to me: "If it ever hap- pened that I was inclined to offer some comfort to this carcass of mine, the remembrance of death that had been so firmly established in my heart would stand before me like a judge; and — a wonderful thing — even if I wanted to push it aside, I simply could not do so." Another monk, this time an inhabitant of the place called Tholas,'*^ would go into an ecstasy at the thought of death, and when the broth- ers found him they had to raise him up and carry him, scarcely breathing, like someone who had fainted or had suffered an epileptic fit. And I must certainly tell you about Hesychius the Horebite. All his life he was careless and he paid not the slightest attention to his soul. Then a very grievous illness came on him, so that he was for a whole hour absent from the body. After he had revived, he begged us all to go away at once, built up the door of his cell, and remained twelve years inside without ever speaking to anyone and taking only bread and water. He never stirred and was always intent on what it was he had seen in his ecstasy. He never moved and had the look of someone out of his mind. And, silently, he wept warm tears. But when he was on the point of death, we broke in and we asked him many questions. All he would say was this: "Please forgive me. No one who has acquired the remembrance of death will ever be able to sin." It astonished us to see the blessed change and transformation that had taken place in someone hitherto so negligent. We buried him reverently in the cemetery near the fort;**^ and, some days later, when we looked for his holy remains, we could not find them. Such had been the marvel of his repentance that the Lord demonstrated to us
45. At the foot of Mount Sinai about five miles from the fort, St, John Climacii'- spent fortv vears there as a solitary (see the Preface, pp. 4-.';).
46. The fort was built in 556-7 to protect the monk.s of Sinai from dtscri raiilers. It is the present-dav monastery of St. Catherine.
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that fact that He accepts those who wish to make amends, even after the most prolonged negligence on their part.
Just as some declare that the abyss is infinite, for they call it a bottomless pit, so the thought of death is limitless and brings with it chastity and activity. The saint mentioned above proved this. Men like him unceasingly pile fear on fear, and never stop until the very strength in their bones is worn out.
We may be sure that remembrance of death, like every other blessing, is a gift from God. How else can you explain the fact that often we can be dry-eyed and hard at a cemetery, yet full of compunc- tion when we are nowhere near such a place?
The man who has died to all things remembers death, but whoev- er holds some ties with the world will not cease plotting against him- self.
Do not search about for the words to show people you love them. Instead, ask God to show them your love without your having to talk about it. Otherwise you will never have time enough both for loving gestures and for compunction. ,
Do not deceive yourself, foolish worker, into thinking that one time can make up for another. The day is not long enough to allow you to repay in full its debt to the Lord,
Someone has said that you cannot pass a day devoutly unless you think of it as your last. Even the Greeks have said some such thing, because they describe philosophy as meditation on death.
This, then, is the sixth step. He who has climbed it will never sin. "Remember your last end, and you will never sin" (Ecclus, 7:36),
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Step 7
ON MOURNING
Mourning which is according to God is a melancholy of the soul, a disposition of an anguished heart that passionately seeks what it thirsts for, and when it fails to attain it, pursues it diligently and fol- lows behind it lamenting bitterly.
Alternatively, mourning is a golden spur within a soul that has been stripped of all bonds and ties, set by holy sorrow to keep watch over the heart.
Compunction is an eternal torment of the conscience which brings about the cooling of the fire of the heart through silent confes- sion.
Confession is a forgetfulness of nature, since because of this a man forgot to eat his bread (cf. Ps. 101:5).
Repentance is a cheerful renunciation of every creature comfort.
Those making some progress in blessed mourning are usually temperate and untalkative. Those who have succeeded in making real progress do not become angry and do not bear grudges. As for the perfect — these are humble, they long for dishonor, they look out for involuntary sufferings, they do not condemn sinners and they are in- ordinately compassionate. The first kind are acceptable, the second praiseworthy, but blessed surely are those who hunger for suffering and thirst for dishonor, for they will be filled to abundance with the food that cannot satiate them.
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If you are endowed with mourning, hold fast to it with all your strength, for it can easily be lost if it is not well secured. Like wax melting near fire, it can easily be dissolved by noise, worldly cares, and luxury, but, in particular, by garrulity and frivolity.
The tears that come after baptism are greater than baptism itself, though it may seem rash to say so. Baptism washes off those evils that were previously within us, whereas the sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears. The baptism received by us as children we have all defiled, but we cleanse it anew with our tears. If God in His love for the human race had not given us tears, those being saved would be few indeed and hard to find.
Groans and sadness cry out to the Lord, trembling tears inter- cede for us, and the tears shed out of all-holy love show that our prayer has been accepted.
If nothing befits mourning as much as humility, certainly noth- ing opposes it as much as laughter.
Hold fast to the blessed and joyful sorrow of holy compunction and do not cease laboring for it until it lifts.you high above the things of the world to present you, a cleansed offering, to Christ.
Never stop imagining and examining the abyss of dark fire,*' its cruel minions, the merciless inexorable judge, the limitless chaos of subterranean flame, the narrow descents down to underground chambers and yawning gulfs, and other such images. Then lust in our souls may be checked by immense terror, by surrender to incorrupt- ible chastity, and receive that non-material light which shines beyond all fire.
When you pray and plead, tremble like a convict standing before a judge. The way you look and the disposition of your heart may overcome the anger of the just Judge. He will not turn away from the widowed soul standing before Him, burdened with sorrow and wea- rying the Tireless One (cf. Luke 18:5).
He who has the gift of spiritual tears will be able to mourn any- where. But if it is all outward show, there will be no end to his discus- sion of places and means. Hidden treasure is more secure than that which is exposed in the marketplace. Ponder this, and apply it to yourself.
47. The flames of hell htirn uithnur light (ef. St. Basil, Ihtn, in lY H, { H |l' 372AI).
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Do not imitate those who in Jurying the dead first lament them — and then go oil to gel drunk. K.iiher, lie like those prisoners in the mines who are flogged every liour hy their warders.
The man who mourns at one time ;>iid then goes in for high liv- ing and laughter on another occasion is like someone who pelts the dog of sensuality with bread. It looks as if he is driving him off when in fact he is actually encouraging him to stay by him.
When you are recollected do not show off. Withdraw into your heart, and remember that devils fear recollection as thieves fear dogs.
We have not been called here to a wedding feast. No indeed. He who has called us has summoned us to mourn for ourselves.
Blind tears are suitable only to irrational beings, and yet there are some people who try, when they weep, to stifle all thought. Tears are actually the product of thought, and the father of thought is a ra- tional mind.
Think of your lying in bed as an image of the lying in your grave; then you will not sleep so much. When you eat at table, re- member the food of worms; then you will not live so highly. When you drink water, remember the thirst of the flames; then you will cer- tainly do violence to your nature.
When the father superior visits an honorable rebuke, reprimand, or punishment on us, let us not forget the fearful sentence of the Judge, so that with meekness and patience — a two-edged sword — we may kill the irrational sorrow and bitterness that will surely be sown in us.
Job says: "The sea wastes with time" (Job 14:11). And with time and patience, the things I have been talking about are gradually ac- quired and made perfect within us.
Let the thought of eternal fire lie down with you in the evening and get up with you in the morning. Then indolence will never over- whelm you when it is time to sing the psalms.
Wear something to encourage you in your mourning. Those who lament the dead wear black. And if you find yourself unable to mourn, then lament that very fact; but if you are able to mourn, be sure to lament that by your sins you have brought yourself down from a condition free from toil to one that is full of labor.
Regarding our tears, as in everything else about us, the good and just Judge will certainly make allowances for our natural attributes. I have seen small teardrops shed like drops of blood, and I have seen floods of tears poured out with no trouble at all. So I judge toilers by
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their struggles, rather than their tears; and I suspect that God does so too.
Theology and mourning do not go together, for the one dissi- pates the other. The difference between a theologian and a mourner is that the one sits on a professorial chair while the other passes his days in rags on a dungheap. This, I think, is the reason behind the answer given by David. Although he was a teacher and a wise man, when he was asked why he was in mourning he said: "How shall I sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" (Ps. 136:4). He means, of course, the land of the passions.
In the domain of creation as in that of compunction, there is that which moves itself and that which is moved by some other agent. When the soul grows tearful, weeps, and is filled with tenderness, and all this without having striven for it, then let us run, for the Lord has arrived uninvited and is holding out to us the sponge of loving sorrow, the cool waters of blessed sadness with which to wipe away the record of our sins. Guard these tears like the apple of your eye until they go away, for they have a power greater than anything that comes from our own efforts and our own meditation.
A man misses the true beauty of mourning if he can mourn at will, rather than because he genuinely wants to, or, more accurately, because God wishes him to. The ugly tears of vainglory mingle fre- quently with mourning which is pleasing to God, as we shall discover by experience whenever we find ourselves mourning and yet doing wrong.
True compunction is pain of soul without any distraction. It of- fers itself no rest and thinks hourly of death. It stands in wait for the God Who brings comfort, like cool waters, to humble monks. And those gifted with the heart's depth of mourning regard their lives as detestable, painful, and wearying, as a cause of tears and suffering, and they turn away from their body as from an enemy.
If we observe anger and pride in those who have the appearance of mourning in a fashion pleasing to God, then such tears will seem contradictory to us. "For what fellowship is there between light and darkness?" (2 Cor. 6:14). True compunction brings consolation while that which is bogus produces self-esteem. Like the fire that consutnes the straw, so do real tears consume impurity of body and soul.
Many ttf the Lathers declare that this problem of tears, cspfci.ilU where it concerns beginners, is a very obscure inatler niiil Imid u> analy/.c since tears can come about in various ways. I cHtfi coiih' Ikuii
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nature, from God, from suffering good and bad, from vainglory, from licentiousness, from love, from the remembrance of death, and from numerous other causes. Having trained ourselves in all these ways by the fear of God, let us acquire the pure and guileless tears that come with the remembrance that we must die. There is nothing false in these, no sop to self-esteem. Rather do they purify us, lead us on in love of God, wash away our sins and drain away our passions.
It is not to be wondered at if mourning begins with good tears and ends with bad, but it is admirable if ordinary and natural tears can be turned round to become spiritual. This is something that will be understood by those inclined to vainglory.
If your soul is still not perfectly pure, then be suspicious of your tears, for wine drawn straight from the presses cannot be trusted.
No one will deny that all tears that are pleasing to God are prof- itable. But only at death will we find out where the profit lies.
The man who mourns constantly in a way that pleases God does not cease to celebrate daily, but tears without end are in store for the man who does not abandon bodily celebrations.
There is no joy or pleasure to be had in prison, and genuine monks do not feast on earth. There, perhaps, lies the reason for the sad statement: "Lead my soul out of prison so that henceforth it may rejoice in Your ineffable light" (Ps. 141:8).
In your heart be like an emperor, seated high in humility, com- manding laughter: "Go!" and it goes; and sweet weeping: "Come!" and it comes; and our tyrant and slave, the body: "Do this!" and it does it.
The man wearing blessed, God-given mourning like a wedding garment gets to know the spiritual laughter of the soul.
Has any one ever lived so piously under a monastic regime that he never missed a day or hour or moment, but spent all his time for the Lord? And remember that never in your life can you see the same day twice.
Blessed is the monk who can lift up the eyes of his soul to the powers of heaven. And truly safe from lapse is the man who remem- bers sin and death constantly and who moistens his cheeks with liv- ing tears from his bodily eyes. It seems to me that the second state must surely lead to the first.
I have seen petitioners and shameless beggars melt even the hearts of kings by the artful words they use. But I have also watched another kind of beggar, those poor in virtue, men who have no knack
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with words, who talk in humble, vague, and halting fashion, who are not ashamed to implore the King of heaven persistently from the depths of a desperate heart and who by their tenacity lay siege to His inviolable nature and His compassion.
The man who takes pride in his tears and who secretly condemns those who do not weep is rather like the man who asks the king for a weapon against the enemy — and then uses it to commit suicide.
God does not demand or desire that someone should mourn out of sorrow of heart, but rather that out of love for Him he should re- joice with the laughter of the soul. Take away sin and then the sor- rowful tears that flow from bodily eyes will be superfluous. Why look for a bandage when you are not cut? Adam did not weep before the fall, and there will be no tears after the resurrection when sin will be abolished, when pain, sorrow, and lamentation will have taken flight.
I have seen mourning in some; in others I have watched mourn- ing for the inability to mourn, for though they have it they act as if they did not, and through such splendid ignorance they remain invio- late. Regarding such, it was said: "The Lord makes wise the blind" (Ps. 145:8).
Silly men often take pride in their tears — hence the reason some are not granted the gift of mourning. And men of this kind, discover- ing that they cannot weep, think of themselves as wretched and give themselves over to sighs and lamentation, sorrow of soul, deep grief, and utter desolation, all of which can safely take the place of tears, though the men in question regard these as nothing and benefit ac- cordingly.
Devils play cruel tricks on us, as we will discover if we are obser- vant. When we have a full stomach they make us feel guilty. When we fast they harden our hearts with the result that we can deceive our- selves with spurious tears and then give ourselves over to high living, which is the mother of passions. So do not listen to them, and act in a way opposite to what they suggest.
As I ponder the true nature of compunction, I find myself amazed by the way in which inward joy and gladness mingle with what we call mourning and grief, like honey in a comb. There must be a lesson here, and it surely is that compunction is properly a gift from God, so that there is a real pleasure in the soul, since (iod sccrci- ly brings consolation to those who in their heart of hearts arc repen- tant.
Listen to a story that is a sad one but beneficial to the soul, Li,*il(-M
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to it, for it is an inducement to most valuable mourning and sorrow.
A man called Stephen once lived here as a solitary. He spent many years in the wrestling-school of monastic life. Tears and fasting adorned his soul, as did many other fine achievements. His cell was on the side of the sacred mountain where the holy prophet and seer of God Elijah had once lived. He became famous and later he decided to practice a vastly more effective, ascetic and strict life of penance, and so moved on to Siddim, an abode of hermit.s. He spent several years there and lived very strictly. It was a place lacking every comfort and was rarely visited, since it was about seventy miles from the fort. Near the end of his life, the old man returned to the holy mountain, to his ceil of which two holy disciples from Palestine had taken care. After a few days he was stricken by the illness from which he would eventually die. On the day before his death, he went into ecstasy and began to look to the right and to the left of his bed. He seemed to be rendering an account to someone, and in the hearing of the bystand- ers he said: "Of course it is true. That was why I fasted for so many years." Or again: "Yes, that is correct, but I wept and served my brothers." Or again: "No. You are accusing me falsely." Or some- times: "Quite right. No, I have no excuse. But God is merciful." This unseen and relentless interrogation was a truly awful and frightening spectacle. Worst of all was the fact that he was charged with offenses of which he was innocent, and, what is extraordinary, regarding some of them this hesychast and hermit would say; "I do not know how to answer." And yet he had been a monk for almost forty years and he had the gift of tears as well. Alas, alas! Where, then, was the voice of Ezekiel, to say to the tormentor: "I will judge you as I find you, says God" (Exek. 33:13-20)? He was truly unable to say such a thing. And why was that? Glory to Him who alone knows, and this was a man who had reared a leopard by hand in the desert,*^ or so I was solemn- ly told. So ther^ he was now, called to account, and he died while it was happening! leaving us unsure of the judgment passed on him, of his final end or'; sentence or of the verdict rendered him.
Like the widow who has lost her husband and whose only son is the single comfort remaining to her after the Lord, the only comfort
48. Or: "fed a leopard from his hand." An Adamic clo.senes.s to animaLs was a char- ism of the Desert Fathers.
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for a lapsed soul at the moment of death is the toil of fasting and of tears.
Such people never sing, never raise a loud song, for mourning would thus be lost. And if you think you can summon it in this fash- ion, you have a long way to go. Mourning, after all, is the typical pain of a soul on fire.
For many people, mourning prepared the way for blessed dispas- sion. It worked over, ploughed, and got rid of what was sinful. Some- one well practiced in this said to me: "Very often when I was tempted to be vain, angry, or gluttonous, the thought of mourning within me would protest: 'Do not be vain or else I shall abandon you.' The same thing happened when other passions troubled me. I would declare: 'I shall never disobey you until you present me to Christ.' "
The depths of mourning have witnessed comfort, and enlighten- ment has followed on purity of heart. Enlightenment is something in- describable, an activity that is unknowingly perceived and invisibly seen. Comfort is the balm of a distressed soul, which at the same time both cries and shouts happily, just like a child. Divine help is the re- newal of a soul bowed by grief in such a way that painful tears are marvelously transformed into painless ones.
Tears over our death produce fear, but when fear begets fearless- ness, then what a joy comes dawning! When joy is without interrup- tion, holy love comes blossoming forth.
Drive off with lowly hand every passing joy as something of which you are unworthy, for if you let it in, you may be admitting a wolf instead of a shepherd.
Do not hurry to contemplation at the wrong time. Rather, let it come to you, seeking out the beauty of your lowliness, ready to join you for all time in a spotless marriage.
When a baby starts to recognize its father, it is filled with happi- ness. If the father has to spend time away on business before return- ing home, it has its fill of joy and sadness — joy at seeing the one it loves, sadness at the fact of having been deprived so long of that same love. Sometimes a mother hides from her baby and is delighted to note how sadly the child goes about looking for her, because this is how she teaches the child to be always attached to her and stirs up the flame of its love for her. He who has ears to hear, let him listen, as the Lord has .said (cf. Luke 14:3.';).
A man who has heard himself sentenced to death will nu( worry
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about the way theaters are run. Similarly, a man who is truly in mourning will never go back to high living, glory, anger, or irritabil- ity. Mourning is the kind of sorrow which belongs to the penitent soul whose pains multiply hke those of a woman in childbirth.
The Lord is just and is holy (Ps. 144:17). He leads the inwardly silent man to inward compunction, and every day He brings joy to the one who is inwardly obedient. But he who does not practice com- punction or submission with sincerity is deprived of mourning.
Drive far away that hound of hell which comes at the time of your deepest mourning and whispers that God is neither merciful nor compassionate. You will find, if you take the trouble, that before you sinned he was assuring you that God is loving, compassionate, and forgiving.
Meditation gives birth to perseverance, and perseverance ends in perception, and what is accomplished with perception cannot easily be rooted out. On the other hand, however exalted our style of life may be, we may label it state and bogus if our heart is still without contrition; for, if I may so express the matter, it is absolutely essential that those who have lapsed after baptism should clean the pitch from their hands with continuous fire of the heart and with the oil of God.
I have seen men who reached the ultimate in mourning, with the blood of a suffering and wounded heart actually flowing out of their mouths, and I was reminded of the saying: "Like grass I am cut down and my heart is dried up" (Ps. 10] ;5).
Tears caused by fear give some protection, but tears produced by a love that, as may well happen, has not yet attained perfection can be easily stolen. Of course, the reminder of eternal fire can stir the heart at certain efficacious times, and this humbler way is, surprisingly, very often the safer way.
There are material substances that can dry up the sources of our tears, and there are others that can produce mud and reptiles. From the former came the unlawful intercourse of Lot with his daughters (cf. Gen. 19:30-38). From the latter came the devil's fall from heaven.*''
The forces against us are so abominable that they can even turn the mothers of virtue into the parents of vice, and they can turn into pride those very things that should produce humility in us.
49. The material substances are rhose which cause drunkenne.ss on the one hiiiui and pride on the other.
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It often happens that the very sight of our solitary dwellings can stir our minds to compunction. Joshua, Elijah, and John are proof of this, and yet they were accustomed to solitary prayer. I have seen men moved to tears in cities and among crowds so that the thought has come that great assemblies of people may actually do us no harm. Yet they may draw us back too close to the world, since the evil spir- its are working hard to bring this about.
A single word has often dispelled mourning. But it would be strange indeed if a single word brought it back.
When we die, we will not be criticized for having failed to work miracles. We will not be accused of having failed to be theologians or contemplatives. But we will certainly have some explanation to offer to God for not having mourned unceasingly.
Such, then, is the seventh step. May he who has been found wor- thy of it help me too. He himself has already been helped, for by tak- ing this seventh step he has washed away th« stains of the world.
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Step 8
ON PLACIDITY AND MEEKNESS
As the gradual pouring of water on a fire puts out the flame com- pletely, so the tears of genuine mourning can extinguish every flame of anger and irascibility. Hence this comes next in our sequence.
Freedom from anger is an endless wish for dishonor, whereas among the vainglorious there is a limitless thirst for praise. Freedom from anger is a triumph over one's nature. It is the ability to be im- pervious to insults, and comes by hard work and the sweat of one's brow.
Meekness is a permanent condition of that soul which remains unaffected by whether or not it is spoken well of, whether or not it is honored or praised.
The first step toward freedom from anger is to keep the lips si- lent when the heart is stirred; the next, to keep thoughts silent when the soul is upset; the last, to be totally calm when unclean winds are blowing.
Anger is an indication of concealed hatred, of grievance nursed. Anger is the wish to harm someone who has provoked you.
Irascibility is an untimely flaring up of the heart- Bitterness is a stirring of the soul's capacity for displeasure. Anger is an easily changed movement of one's disposition, a disfigurement of the soul.
Just as darkness retreats before light, so all anger and bitterness disappears before the fragrance of humility.
Some unfortunate people, who have a tendency to anger, neglect
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the treatment and cure of this passion and so give no thought to the saying, "The moment of his anger is his downfall" (Ecclus. 1:22).
A quick movement of a millstone can grind in one moment and do away with more of the soul's grain and fruit than another crushes in a whole day. So we must be understanding and we must pay atten- tion, for a strong sudden wind may fan a blaze that will cause more damage to the field of the heart than a lingering flame could ever manage to achieve. Let us not forget, my friends, that evil demons sometimes leave us unexpectedly, with the result that we may become careless about these strong passions within us, thinking them to be of no consequence, and become, therefore, incurably ill.
Take a hard stone with sharp corners. Knock it and rub it against other stones, until its sharpness and hardness are crushed by the knocking and rubbing and, at last, it is made round. So too, take a soul that is rough and abrupt. Put it into the community and company of tough, short-tempered men. One of two things must happen: Either it learns through patience to cure its wound, or it will run away and, by so doing, it will learn its weakness, its cowardly flight showing it up as if in a mirror.
An angry person is like a voluntary epileptic who, through an in- voluntary tendency, breaks out in convulsions and falls down.
Nothing is quite so out of place in a penitent as an unruly spirit, for conversion requires great humility, and anger is an indication of all kinds of presumptuousness,
A sign of utter meekness is to have a heart peacefully and loving- ly disposed toward someone who has been offensive, and a sure proof of a hot temper is that a man, even when he is alone, should with word and gesture continue to rage and fulminate against some absent person who has given offense.
If it is true that the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be and as, indeed. He is, and if anger is disturbance of the heart, as it really is and as it is said to be, then there is no greater obstacle to the presence of the Spirit in us than anger.
We know that the fruits of anger are abundant and unacceptable, yet we recogni/.e that one of its involuntary offspring, though unlaw- ful, is nevertheless quite useful. 1 have seen people delivered from passion by the very fact that they had flared up and then fxuircd oiii their long-stf>red grievance and, in addition, thev got from their of- Icnder cither some reparation or some e.xplanalion lor wlml hrtd caused the long-standing grievance. On the other hiind, I have Pipcfl
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men who appeared to be displaying stolid patience, but who, in reali- ty, were silently harboring resentment within themselves. These, it seems to me, were much more to be pitied than the men prone to ex- plosions of temper, because what they were doing was to keep away the holy white dove with that black gall of theirs. So this is a serpent that has to be handled carefully, for, like the snake of sensuality, it has nature for an ally.
I have seen angry men push food away out of sheer bitterness. And yet by this kind of unreasonable abstinence they merely added poison to poison. 1 have seen others who on being offended for some apparently justifiable reason gave themselves over to stuffing them- selves, so that from the pit of anger they fell headlong over the preci- pice of gluttony. But others, again, I have seen who were intelligent about this matter and, like good doctors, they mixed both, and from moderate consolation they got very great profit.
Singing, in moderation, can occasionally ease bad temper. But if it is untimely and immoderate, it may open the path to pleasure. We should therefore set specific times for singing and make good use of it.
Once, while engaged on some task, 1 happened to be sitting out- side a monastery and near the cells of those living in solitude. I could overhear them raging alone in their cells and in their bitter fury leap- ing about like caged partridges, leaping at the face of their offender as if he were actually there. My humble advice to them was to abandon solitary living in case they be turned from human beings into devils.
I have also noticed that people who are sensual and corrupt at heart are often meek. They manifest a kind of flattery, a display of familiarity, a love of beSutiful faces. To these I gave the advice that they should undertake the solitary life, using it like a scalpel to cut away sensuality and corruption of the heart. Otherwise they might turn from being rational beings into pitifully irrational animals.
■ But, again, some told me that they were completely in the grip of anger and sensuality. I therefore forbade them to live as they wished and, in my concern for them, I suggested to their superiors that they should allow them sometimes to live one way, sometimes the other, but always in complete subjection to those in charge of them. There is the risk that a sensual person may harm himself and perhaps a close friend as well; while the angry person, like a wolf, often disturbs the entire flock and causes offense and discouragement among many souls.
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The eye of the heart should not be troubled by anger. Remember the saying: "My eye is troubled from anger" (Ps. 6:8). Worse, howev- er, is to give way to harsh words which reveal the upheaval in one's soul. But actually to start fighting is completely inimical to and at variance with the monastic, angelic, and divine life.
You wish, or rather, have decided, to remove a splinter from someone? Very well, but do not go after it with a stick instead of a lancet for you will only drive it deeper. Rough speech and harsh ges- tures are the stick, while even-tempered instruction and patient repri- mand are the lancet. "Reprove, rebuke, exhort," says the Apostle (2 Tim. 4:2), not "batter." And should a beating be necessary, make sure this does not happen often and get someone else to do it instead of you.
You will note that many irritable persons practice vigils, fasting, and stillness. For the devils are trying to suggest to them, under cover of penance and mourning, what is quite likely to increase their pas- sion.
If what I said above is true, namely, that a single wolf, helped by a demon, can trouble an entire flock, then surely a single very wise brother, helped by an angel, may calm the waves and make a smooth path for the ship by pouring a good skin full of oil on the waters. And as the sentence on the one will be heavy, so the reward for the other from God Will be very great, and he will become an edifying example to everyone.
The first stage of blessed patience is to accept dishonor with bit- terness and anguish of soul. The intermediate stage is to be free from pain amid all such things. The perfect stage, if that is attainable, is to think of dishonor as praise. Let the first rejoice and the second be strong, but blessed be the third, for he exults in the Lord.
Angry people, because of their self-esteem, make a pitiable sight, though they do not realize this themselves. They get angry and then, when thwarted, they become furious. It was amazing to see one fall punished by another and I was full of pity for them as I saw them taking revenge on sin by sin. The trickery of devils frightened me and I came close to despair for my own life.
Someone who notices that he is easily overcome by pride, a nasty temper, malice, and hypocrisy, and who thinks of defending himscit against these by unsheathing the d and piuierice, sucli a man if he wishes to break free cniiri'ly limn these vices ought to go live in a monastery, as if it were u (uilrr's nIii)|>
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of salvation. In particular, he should choose the most austere place. He will be spiritually stretched and beaten by the insults, injuries, and rebuffs of the brothers. He may even be physically beaten, tram- pled on, and kicked, so that he may wash out the filth still lying in the sentient part of his soul. There is an old saying that reproof is the washtub for the soul's passions, and you ought to believe it, for people in the world who load indignities onto someone and then boast about it to others like to say, "I gave him a good scrubbing." Which, of course, is quite accurate.
The absence of a tendency to anger when it is found in novices and is the result of mourning — this is one thing; the peace found in the perfect is something else. In the one, tears, acting like a bridle, hold in the anger; but, among the perfect, anger has been mortified by mastery of the passions, like a snake killed by a sword.
I once saw three monks receive the same type of injury at the same time. The first felt it keenly, but did not speak; the second was delighted by the thought of the reward the injury would bring him and he felt compassion for the wrongdoer; the third wept fervently at the thought of the harm his offending neighbor was suffering. At work, then, were fear, the sense of a reward due, and love.
The fever suffered by the body is a single symptom but has many causes. Similarly, the seething movement of our anger and of our oth- er passions arises for many different reasons, so that the same cure cannot be offered for all of them. Hence I would propose that each sick man should very carefully look for his own particular cure, and the first step here is the diagnosis of the cause of the disease. When this is known, the patients will get the right cure from the hands of God and from their spiritual doctors. Those who. wish to join us in the Lord should therefore come to the spiritual tribunal where we can be tested in various ways and find out about the passions referred to above as well as their causes.
So, then, anger the oppressor must be restrained by the chains of meekness, beaten by patience, hauled away by blessed love. Take it before the tribunal of reason and have it examined in the following terms; "Wretch, tell us the name of your father, the name of the mother who bore you to bring calamity into the world, the names of your loathsome sons and daughters. Tell us, also, who your enemies are and who has the power to kill you." And this is how anger replies: "1 come from many sources and I have more than one father. My mothers are \'ainglory. Avarice, Greed. And Lust too. My father is
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
named Conceit. My daughters have the names Remembrance of Wrongs, Hate, Hostility, and Self-justification. The enemies who have imprisoned me are the opposite virtues — Freedom from Anger and Lowliness, while Humility lays a trap for me. As for Humility, ask in due time who it was that bore her."
On the eighth step the crown is freedom from anger. He who wears it by nature may never come to wear another. But he who has sweated for it and won it has conquered all eight together.
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Step 9
ON MALICE^^^
The holy virtues are like the ladder of Jacob and the unholy vices are like the chains that fell off the chief apostle Peter. The virtues lead from one to another and carry heavenward the man who chooses them. \'ices on the other hand beget and stifle one another. And be- cause we have just heard senseless anger describe remembrance of wrongs as its offspring, we had better say something about it now.
Remembrance of wrongs comes as the final point of anger. It is a keeper of sins. It hates a just way of life. It is the ruin of virtues, the poison of the soul, a worm in the mind. It is the shame of prayer, a cutting off of supplication, a turning away from love, a nail piercing the soul. It is a pleasureless-^° feeling cherished in the sweetness of bit- terness. It is a never-ending sin, an unsleeping wrong, rancor by the hour. A dark and loathsome passion, it comes to be but has no off- spring, so that one need not say too much about it.
The man who has put a stop to anger has also wiped out remem- brance of wrongs, since offspring can come only from a living parent.
A loving man banishes revenge, but a man brooding on his ha- treds stores up troublesome labors for himself. A banquet of love does
49a. !n this Step mnisiiakm is rendered sometimes as "malice" and sometimes as the more specific "remembrance of wrongs."
SO. Reading
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away with hatred and honest giving brings peace to a souk^^" but if the table is extravagant then license is brought forth and gluttony comes jumping in through the window of love.
I have seen hatred shatter a lecherous relationship, and then afterwards remembrance of wrongs stood in the way of restoring the relationship. Now this is amazing, one devil cured by another. Still, this may be the work of divine providence rather than of demons.
Remembrance of wrongs is far removed from sturdy, natural love, but like a flea hidden on a dove, may live next door to fornica- tion.
Let your malice and your spite be turned against the devils. Treat your body always as an enemy, for the flesh is an ungrateful and treacherous friend. The more you look after it, the more it hurts you.
Malice is an exponent of Scripture which twists the words of the Spirit to suit itself. Let the prayer of Jesus*' put it to shame, that prayer which cannot be uttered in the company of malice.
If after great effort you still fail to root out this thorn, ^^ go to your enemy and apologize, if only with empty words whose insincer- ity may shame you. Then as conscience, like a fire, comes to give you pain, you may find that a sincere love of your enemy may come to life.
A true sign of having completely mastered this putrefaction will come not when you pray for the man who offended you, not when you give him presents, not when you invite him to share a meal with you, but only when, on hearing of some catastrophe that has afflicted him in body or soul, you suffer and you lament for him as if for your- self.
A malicious hesychast is like a lurking snake carrying about its own deadly poison.
50a. 1 he words "A banquet of love does away with hatred and honest giving brings peace to a soul" are not in Rader's text.
.?!. The words "prayer of Jesus" {lisoti t pnsevchi) are sometimes understood as re- ferring here to the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Chri.st, Son of God, have mercy on me," Kut more prol)alily (^limacus means the Lord's Prayer. The petition, "I'orgivc ns mtr irespasses as we fnryive those «ho trespass against ns," is particularlv upfjiisiie in ihc present eonlext. See ilit Preface, p]>. 45-i i.
52. Or: "de.slriiy tins siuiiililing-hlock completely,"
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JOIINCI.IMACUS
I he remembnituc ol what Jesus suffered is a cure for remem- brance of wrongs, sli;iming ii powerfully with His patient endurance.
Worms thrive in ;. rotn-ti tree; malice thrives in the deceptively meek and silent. He who has evpc-licd malice has found forgiveness, but he who hugs it is deprived ot mercy.
Some labor and struggle hard lo earn forgiveness, but better than these IS the man who forgets the wrongs done to him. Forgive quickly and you will be abundantly forgiven. To forget wrongs is to prove oneself truly repentant, but to brood on them and at the same time to imagme one is practicing repentance is to act like the man who is con- vmced he is running when in fact he is fast asleep.
I have seen malicious people recommending forgiveness to others and then, shamed by their own words, they managed to rid them- selves of this vice.
Never imagine that this dark vice is a pa.ssion of no importance, for It often reaches out even to spiritual men.
Such is the ninth step. Let him who has taken it have the courage henceforth to ask Jesus the Savior to free him from his sins.
Step 10
ON SLANDER
I imagine that no one with any sense would dispute that slander IS the child of hatred and remembrance of wrongs. Hence the need to discuss It next in the order after its forbears.
Slander is the offspring of hatred, a subtle and yet crass disease, a eech in hiding and escaping notice, wasting and draining away the hfeblood of love. It puts on the appearance of love and is the ambassa- dor of an unholy and unclean heart. And it is the ruin of chastity
I here are girls who flaunt their shamelessness, but there are oth- ers who are much worse, for they put on the appearance of great modesty while secretly engaging m abominable behavior. So it is with shameful vices. And indeed there are numerous insincere maid- ens: hypocrisy, cunning, melancholy, brooding over past injuries se- cret contempt for others. They put on a show of doing one thing- and then act otherwise.
I have rebuked people who were engaged in slander, and, in self- deferise, these evildoers claimed to be acting out of love and concern for the victim of their slander. My answer to that was to say "Then stop that kind of love, or else you will be making a liar out of him who declared, 'I drove away the man who secretly slandered his neighbor (Ps. 100:5). If, as you insist, you love that man, then do not beniakmga mockery of him, but pray for him in .secret, for this is the kind of love that is acceptable to the Lord. And remember-now 1 say this as .something to be pondered, and do not start passing judgnirnt
\54
\i^
JOHN c;limacus
on the offender — Judas w;i.s nnc nt ihe company of Christ's disciples and the robljcr was in ilie lompuny of killers. Yet what a turnabout there was when the decisive mornent arrived!"
If you want to overcome the spirit of slander, blame not the per- son who falls but the prompting demon. No one wants to sin against God, even though all of us sin without being compelled to it.
I knew a man who sinned openly but repented in secret. I de- nounced him for being lecherous but he was chaste in the eyes of God, having propitiated Him by a genuine conversion.
Do not allow human respect to get in your way when you hear someone slandering his neighbor. Instead, say this to him; "Brother, stop it! I do worse things every day, so how can I criticize him?" You accomplish two things when you say this. You heal yourself and you heal your neighbor with the one bandage.
Do not make judgments, and you will travel no quicker road to the forgiveness of your sins. "Judge not, so that you may not be judged" (Luke 6:37).
Fire and water do not mix, neither can you mix judgment of oth- ers with the desire to repent. If a man commits a sin before you at the very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned great- ly in the open but have done greater good deeds in secret, so that those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke in- stead of sunlight in their eyes. So listen to me, all you accountants of other people's faults, listen well; for if, as is certain, it is true that "you shall be judged with the judgment you have used yourselves" (Matt. 7:2), then whatever sin of body or spirit that we ascribe to our neighbor we will surely fall into ourselves.
Those who pass speedy and harsh judgments on the sins of their neighbors fall into this passion because they themselves have so far failed to achieve a complete and unceasing memory of and concern for their own sins. Anyone untrammeled by self-love and able to see his own faults for what they are would worry about no one else in this life. He would feel that his time on earth did not suffice for his own mourning, even if he lived a hundred years, and even if a whole Jordan of tears poured out of his eyes. Mourning of that kind has, as I know, no trace in it of slander or harsh judgment.
It is the murdering demons who push us into sin. If they are balked here, they get us to pass judgment on those who are sinning, thereby smearing us with the stain we are denouncing in others.
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You can always recognize people who are malicious and slander- ous. They are filled with the spirit of hatred. Gladly and without a qualm they slander the teaching, the doings and the virtues of their neighbor. I have known men who secretly had committed very grave sins and had not been found out, yet cloaked in their supposed good- ness they lashed out against people who had done something minor in public.
To pass judgment on another is to usurp shamelessly a preroga- tive of God, and to condemn is to ruin one's soul.
Self-esteem, even when there are no other attendant vices, can bring a man down. Similarly, if we have got into the habit of passing judgments, we can be destroyed completely by this alone, for the Pharisee was condemned for this very thing.
A good grape picker chooses to eat ripe grapes and does not pluck what is unripe. A charitable and sensible mind takes careful note of the virtues it observes in another, while the fool goes looking for faults and defects. It is of such a one that it was said, "They have searched out iniquity and died in the search'' (Ps. 6?:7).
Do not condemn. Not even if your very eyes are seeing some- thing, for they may be deceived.
This is the tenth step, and he who succeeds in it has practiced love or mourning.
1.^7
Step 11
ON TALKATIVENESS AND SILENCE
The brief discussion in the previous chapter was concerned with the great danger of passing judgment on others, or rather with being judged and being punished by one's tongue, and it touched on the fact that this vice can lay hold of the most apparently spiritual people.
The time has come now to indicate the cause of this vice and to give an adequate account of the door by which it enters — or, more ac- curately, by which it goes out.
Talkativeness is the throne of vainglory on which it loves to preen itself and show off. Talkativeness is a sign of ignorance, a door- way to slander, a leader of jesting, a servant of lies, the ruin of com- punction, a summoner of despondency, a messenger of sleep, a dissipation of recollection, the end of vigilance, the cooling of zeal, the darkening of prayer.
Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, freedom from bond- age, custodian of zeal, a guard on our thoughts, a watch on our ene- mies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, a sure recollection of death, a painter of punishment, a concern with judgment, servant of anguish, foe of license, a companion of stillness, the opponent of dog- matism, a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hid- den progress, the secret journey upward. For the man who recognizes
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his sins has taken control of his tongue, while the chatterer has yet to discover himself as he should.
The lover of silence draws close to God. He talks to Him in se- cret and God enlightens him. Jesus, by His silence, shamed Pilate; and a man, by his stillness, conquers vainglory. Peter wept bitterly for what he had said. He had forgotten the one who declared: "I said: I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue" (Ps. 38:1). He had forgotten too the saying, "Better to fall from a height to the ground than to slip with the tongue" (Ecclus. 20:18).
I would prefer not to write too much about this, despite the urg- ings of my wily passions. Someone who had asked me once about stillness told me that talkativeness invariably results from one of the following causes; from a bad or relaxed life-style ("the tongue," he said, "is a member of the body, like the rest, and therefore needs to be trained in its habits"); or it comes from vainglory, a particular prob- lem with ascetics; or it comes at times from gluttony, which is why many who keep a hard check on the stomach can more easily restrain the blathering tongue.
The man who is seriously concerned about death reduces the amount of what he has to say, and the man who has received the gift of spiritual mourning runs from talkativeness as from a fire.
The lover of stillness keeps his mouth shut, but the man who likes to ramble outside is driven from his cell by this passion.
The man who has known the odor of heavenly fire runs from a gathering of men, like a bee from smoke, since smoke drives off a bee just as company militates against a man.
It is hard to keep water in without a dike. But it is harder still to hold in one's tongue.
This is the eleventh step. He who succeeds in taking it has with one blow cut off a host of evils.
I s
Step 12
ON FALSEHOOD
From flint and steel comes fire; from chatter and joking comes lying. Lying is the destruction of charity, and perjury the very denial of God.
No sensible man imagines that lying is a minor failing. Indeed the All-Holy Spirit pronounced the most dreadful sentence on this sin above all others; and if, as David says to God, "You will destroy everyone speaking a lie" (Ps. 5:7), what will happen to those who swear to their lies on oath?
I have seen men, proud of their ability to lie, and exciting laugh- ter by their clowning and joking, who have miserably destroyed in their hearers the habit of mourning. But when the demons observe that we stay clear of the sallies of some outstanding wit, as though we were avoiding the plague, they try to catch us with two seemingly plausible thoughts, namely that we should not be offensive to the per- son telling the witty story and we should not give the appearance of loving God more than he does. Be off! Do not dawdle! Otherwise the jokes will start coming back to you when you are at prayer. But do not simply run away. Break up the bad company in a devout way by setting before them the thought of death and judgment, and if a few drops of vainglory fall on you, what harm? Provided of course, that you become a source of profit to many.
Hypocrisy is the mother of lying and frequently its cause. Some
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would argue that hypocrisy is nothing other than a meditation on falsehood, that it is the inventor of falsehood laced with lies.
The man gifted with fear of the Lord has given up lying, for within him he has conscience, that incorruptible judge.
Various kinds of harm can be observed in the passions, and lying is no exception. So one judgment awaits the man who lies out of fear, another the liar who has nothing at all to worry about. One man lies for the sheer pleasure of it, another for amusement, another to raise a laugh among bystanders, another to trap his brother and do him harm.
Magistrates can root out lying with tortures, though it is an abundance of tears that truly destroys it. A man may lie on the grounds of prudence, and indeed regards as an act of righteousness the actual destruction of his own soul. The inventor of lies declares that he is following the example of Rahab and maintains that his own destruction is the cause of salvation for others. ^^
Only when we are completely free of the urge to lie may we re- sort to it, and then only in fear and out of necessity. A baby does not know how to lie, and neither does a soul cleansed of evil.
A man drunk on wine unwittingly tells the truth about every- thing. And a man drunk with compunction cannot lie.
This is the twelfth step. The man who has taken it has obtained the root of all blessings.
5.!, Kiihiili lied ti) .vavc the lives (if her family, (.'.t Joshun 2: lit.
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Step 13
ON DESPONDENCY
Despondency or tedium of the spiriti^* as I have often said, is fre- quently an aspect of talkativeness and indeed is its first child. For this reason I have given it an appropriate place in the chain of vices.
Tedium is a paralysis of the soul, a slackness of the mind, a ne- glect of religious exercises, a hostility to vows taken. It is an approval of worldly things. It is a voice claiming that God has no mercy and no love for men. It is a laziness in the singing of psalms, a weakness in prayer, a stubborn urge for service, a dedication to the work of the hands, an indifference to the requirement of obedience.^* An obedi- ent person does not know such tedium, for he has used the things of the senses to reach the level of the spirit.
Tedium is rebuffed by community life, but she is a constant com- panion of the hermit, living with him until the day of his death, struggling with him until the very end. She smiles at the sight of a hermit's cell and comes creeping up to live nearby.
A doctor calls on the sick in the morning, but tedium visits the hermit at noon.^*
54. Akidia (see note 10, p. 80).
55. Translating Rader's emendation, en hypakoi adokimos, although al! MSS read en hypakoi dokimos, with the opposite sense.
56. The Fathers commonly attribute despondency to the noonday demon of Ps. 90:6.
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Tedium loves to be involved in hospitality, urges the hermit to undertake manual labor so as to enable him to give alms, and exhorts us to visit the sick, recalling even the words of Him Who said, "I was sick and you came to visit me" (Matt. 25:36). Tedium suggests we should call on the despairing and the fainthearted, and she sets one languishing heart to bring comfort to another. Tedium reminds those at prayer of some job to be done, and in her brutish way she searches out any plausible excuse to drag us from prayer, as though with some kind of halter.
At the third hour, the devil of tedium causes shivering, headache, and vertigo. By the ninth hour, the patient has recovered his strength, and when dinner is ready, he jumps out of bed. But now when the time for prayer comes, his body begins to languish once more. He be- gins his prayers, but the tedium makes him sleepy and the verses of the psalms are snatched from his mouth by untimely yawns.
There is a particular virtue available to overcome all the other passions. But tedium is a kind of total death for the monk.
A brave soul can stir up his dying mind, but tedium and laziness scatter every one of his treasures.
Tedium is one of the eight deadly vices, and indeed the gravest of them all, and so I must discuss it as I did the others. Still, just note this much. When the psalms do not have to be sung, tedium does not arise, and the Office is hardly over when the eyes are ready to open again.
The real men of spirit can be seen at the time when tedium strikes, for nothing gains so many crowns for a monk as the struggle against this. Note how tedium hits you when you are standing, and if you sit down, it suggests that it would be a good thing to lean back. It sugge-sts that you prop yourself up against the walls of your cell. It produces noise and footsteps— and there you go peeping out of the window.
The man who mourns for himself does not suffer from tedium. This tyrant should be overcome by the remembrance of past sins, bat- tered by hard manual labor and brought to book by the thought of the blessings to come. And when led before the tribunal, let the.se be the questions put to him: "You there! You crass and sluggish creature, what was it that evilly begot the likes of you? Who are your children? Who are your enemies' Who can destroy you?" And tedium nuiv i»c constraiiied to reply: "I cannot lay my head among those who are Ini- ly obedicnl, and I live tjuietly where 1 may. I have niiiny ipioiIiit.* -
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JOHN CMMACUS
Stolidity of Soul, Forgetlulncss ul the Things of Heaven, or, some- times, loo Heavy a Hiirtk-ii of IrnnUks. My children who live with me are Changing from Place to IMacc, Disobedience to One's Superi- or, Forgetfulness of the Judgmeiil to (x)mc, and sometimes, the Aban- donment of One's Vocation. I'hc singing of (xsalms and manual labor are my opponents by whom I am now bound. My enemy is the thought of death, but what really slays me is prayer backed by a firm hope in the blessings of the future. And as to who gave birth to Prayer, you must ask her."
This is the thirteenth victory. He who has won it is really out- standing in all virtue.
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Step 14
ON GLUTTONY
In our self-criticism we must refer particularly to the stomach, and indeed I wonder if anyone breaks free of this mistress before he dies.
Gluttony is hypocrisy of the stomach. Filled, it moans about scar- city; stuffed, and crammed, it wails about its hunger. Gluttony thinks up sea.sonings, creates sweet recipes. Stop up one urge and another bursts out; stop that one and you unleash yet another. Gluttony has a deceptive appearance; it eats moderately but wants to gobble every- thing at the same time. A stuffed belly produces fornication, while a mortified stomach leads to purity. The man who pets a lion may tame it but the man who coddles the body makes it ravenous.
The Jew celebrates on Sabbaths and feast days. The gluttonous monk celebrates on Saturdays and Sundays.^^ He counts the days to Easter, and for days in advance he gets the food ready. The slave of the belly ponders the menu with which to celebrate the feast. The servant of God, however, thinks of the graces that may enrich him,
If a visitor calls, then the slave of gluttony engages in charitable acts— but for the reasons associated with his love of food. He thinks that l)y allowing rcla.vations for himself, he is bringing consolation (o his brother. He thinks that the duties of hospitality cniillc liiiii to
UlUltf! II, IK.
lA,^
JOIINCLIMACUS
help himself to sonic uiiu', sn ihat while apparently hiding his virtu- ous love of temperance, lie is .u-tmilly ii.rninj; into a slave of intem- perance.
Vanity and gluttony sometimes vie with one another and they struggle for the poor monk as if he uere an ac(]uired slave. The one tells him he should take it easy and the other suggests that he ought to emerge virtuously triumphant over his urge to gratify his appetite. A sensible monk, however, will avoid both vices, using one to repulse the other.
As long as the flesh is in full vigor, we should everywhere and at all times cultivate temperance, and when it has been tamed—some- thing I doubt can happen this side of the grave— we should hide our achievement.
I have seen elderly priests tricked by demons so that on feast days they dispensed the young men with a blessing, though they were not in their charge, from abstinence from wine and so on. Now if priests giving such permission are quite clearly holy men, we may indulge. But within limits. If such priests tend to be careless, then we should Ignore the permission they give, and we should do so especially if we are in the thick of the fight against the flesh.
I remember the case of Evagrius.^s whom an evil demon led to the notion that of all men he was the most sensible in all he thought and said. The poor man was quite mistaken, of course, and in this matter as in many others he proved himself outstandingly foolish. He says: "When our soul wants different foods, keep it on bread and wa- ter,"5a" a statement that is like telling a child to climb the entire lad- der in a single stride. So let us reject him and say: When our soul wants different foods, it is looking for what is proper to its nature. Hence, we have to be very cunning in the way we deal with this most skillful opponent. Unless we are caught up in some crisis or unless we happen to be doing penance for some particular failings, what we
.58. Evagrius Ponticus (c. 345-399) left a promising ecclesiastical career in Constan- tinople to become a monk first in Palestine and then in Egypt, where he spent two years in Nitna and fourteen at the Cells. He became there the leading theoretical exp nent of the monastic life. His Origenist cosmology led to his condemnation at the Fifth Lcumenical Council of 55 3. But his ascetic theology, with its .sharp distinction between action and contemplation, its list of eight principal temptations, and its account of dis- passion leading to love, remained fundamental for monasticism. Climacu.s, in spite .)f his abuse of E\agrius, is clearly much influenced by him (see the Preface, p. rtO),
5Sa. Evagrius, Pructkus 16 (ed. Guillaumont, Smirtres chretiennes 171, p, 54(1).
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ought to do is to deny ourselves fattening foods, then foods that warm us up, then whatever happens to make our food especially pleasant. Give yourself food that is satisfying and easily digestible, thereby counteracting endless hunger by giving yourself plenty. In this way we may be freed from too great a longing for food as though from a plague by rapid evacuation. And we should note too that most food that inflates the stomach also encourages desire.
Be sure to laugh at the demon who, when supper is over, says that in future you should eat later, for you may be sure that at the ninth hour he will change the arrangements made on the previous day.
There is one sort of temperance for those of good conduct and another for those inclined to particular weaknesses. Among the for- mer any kind of bodily stirring evokes an immediate urge to restraint, while among the latter there is no relief or relaxation from such stir- rings until the very day they die. The former strive always for peace of mind, but the latter try to appease God by their spiritual grief and their contrition. ,
Joy and consolation descend on the perfect when they reach the state of complete detachment. The warrior monk enjoys the heat of battle, but the slave of passion revels in the celebrations of Easter. ^9
In his heart, the glutton dreams only of food and provisions whereas all who have the gift of mourning think only of judgment and of punishment.
Control your appetites^-o before they control you, and shame will greatly help you to maintain such mastery. Those who have tumbled headlong into the pit of sin know what I am talking about, and indeed only the eunuch is without such knowledge.* ^ So let us restrain our appetites with the thought of the fire to come. Some have been so mightily enslaved by their appetites that they actually cut off their own genitals, and thereby died twice over." For the truth is, as one
59. Laterally: "the Feast of feasts and Festival of festivals."
M). l^iterally: "the belly." Among the ascetic writers gluttony and lust arc ai«-avs closely connected.
ftl. "The eunuchs are those of whom the Lord said that they have imulc lin-iu selves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake (Matt. 19:12), and who are praclicind ii general absiineiKe. For the other kind of eunuchs do not differ at all (nun ordiimry men as far as the passions into which they fall arc concerned" (scholion I 1 IH7r>H|)
A2. I.e., physically and .spiritually; the 24th Apostolic Canon seiilciiir* ,i U\u\m\ w ho rniililiiies himself lo three years' di')>rivalion of Commiiiiioii
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JOIINCMMACUS
will discover, thai llic liL-lly is ilu- cause of all human shipwreck.
A fasting man prays austerely, liui the mind of someone intem- perate is filled up with uticlean inia^Miiinys.
A full stomach dries up one's weeping, whereas the shrivelled stomach produces these tears. And the man who looks after his belly and at the same time hopes to control the spirit of fornication is like someone trying to put out a fire with oil.
Begrudge the stomach and your heart will be humbled; please the stomach and your mind will turn proud. And if you watch your- self early in the morning, at midday, and in the hour before dinner, you will discover the value of fasting, for in the morning your thoughts are lively, by the sixth hour they have grown quieter and by sundown they are finally calm. If you can begrudge the stomach, your mouth will stay closed, because the tongue flourishes where food is abundant. Fight as hard as you can against the stomach and let your vigilance hold it in. Make the effort, however little, and the Lord will quickly come to help you.
If leather bottles are kept supple, they can hold more; but they do not hold so much if they are neglected. The man who stuffs food into his stomach expands his insides, whereas the man who fights his stomach causes it to shrink, and once it has shrunk there is no possi- bility of overeating, so that henceforth one fasts quite naturally.
Sometimes thirst quenches thirst, but it is difficult if not impossi- ble to end hunger by means of hunger. And if the stomach triumphs over you, tame it with hard work, and if you are too weak for this, fight it by keeping vigil. If you find yourself getting sleepy, turn to manual work, but keep away from that if you happen not to be sleepy, for you cannot serve both God and Mammon." That is to say, you cannot turn your attention at the same time to God and to the work of your hands.
You should remember that frequently a demon can take up resi- dence in your belly and keep a man from being satisfied, even after having devoured the whole of Egypt and after having drunk all of the Nile. After we have eaten, this demon goes off and sends the spirit of fornication against us, saying: "Get him now! Go after him. When his stomach is full, he will not put up much of a fight." Laughing, the spirit of fornication, that ally of the stomach's demon, comes, binds us
63. Monks supported themselves by the sale of their handiwork.
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hand and foot in sleep, does anything he wants with us, befouls body and soul with his dirty dreams and emissions.
It IS truly astounding how the incorporeal mind can be defiled and darkened by the body. Equally astonishing is the fact that the im- material spirit can be purified and refined by clay.
If you have promised Christ to travel the straight and narrow road, then keep your stomach in check; for if you give in to it, if you enlarge it, you are breaking your promise. Listen and hear the word of warning: "Wide and spacious is the road of gluttony. It leads to the catastrophe of fornication, and there are many who travel that way. The gate is narrow and the way of fasting is hard, that way leading to the life of purity, and there are few to make the journey" (cf. Matt 7:13-14).
The fallen Lucifer is prince of the demons, and gluttony is prince of the passions. So when you sit at a well-laden table, remem- ber death and remember judgment, and eveft then you will only man- age to restrain yourself a little. And when you drink, keep always in mind the vinegar and gall of your Lord. Tiien indeed you will be ei- ther temperate or sighing; you will keep your mind humble. For you must not fool yourself. You will not escape from Pharaoh and you will not see the heavenly Passover unless you constantly eat bitter herbs and unleavened bread, the bitter herbs of toil and hard fasting, the unleavened bread of a mind made humble. Join to your breathing the word of him who said: "When devils plagued me, I put on sack- cloth, humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer stuck to the bo- som of my soul" (Ps. 34:13).
To fast is to do violence to nature. It is to do away what whatever pleases the palate. Fasting ends lust, roots out bad thoughts, frees one from evil dreams. Fasting makes for purity of prayer, an enlightened soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance from blindness. Fasting is the door of compunction, humble sighing, joyful contrition, and end to chatter, an occasion for silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening of sleep, health of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins, the gate, indeed, the delight of Paradise.
Let us put a question to this enemy of ours, this architect of our misfortunes, this gateway of passion, this fall of Adam and ruin of E.sau, this destroyer of the Israelites, this one who bares the sliatiic of Noah, this betrayer of Gomorrah, this reproach of Lot, thi.s killer nt the sons of Kli the priest, this guide to every uncleatincss. Let ns nfik
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JOIINCI.IMACUS
her from whom she is l.orri, who ht-r childrt-n are, what enemy there IS to crush her, who lirirtlly bnnf^s hrr low. Let us ask this bane of all men, this purchaser of everything with the gold coin of greed: "How did you gain access to us? lo what does your coming lead? How do you depart from us?"
Angered by such abuse, raging and foaming, (jiuttony answers us: "Why are you complaining, you who are my servants? How is it that you are trying to get away from me? Nature has bound me to you. The door for me is what food actually is, its character and quali- ty. The reason for my being insatiable is habit. Unbroken habit, dull- ness of soul, and the failure to remember death are the roots of my passion. And how is it that you are looking for the names of my off- spnng? For if I were to count them, their number would be greater than the total of the grains of sand. Still, you may learn at least the names of my firstborn and beloved children. My firstborn son is the servant of Fornication, the second is Hardness of Heart, and the third IS Sleepiness. From me flow a sea of Dirty Thoughts, waves of Filth, floods of unknown and unspeakable Impurities. My daughters are La- ziness, Talkativeness, Breezy Familiarity, Jesting, Facetiousness, Con- tradiction, Stubbornness, Contempt, Disobedience, Stolidity of Mind, Captivity, Boastfulness, Audacity, Love of Worldly Things, followed by Impure Prayer, Distracted Thoughts, and sudden and often unex- pected Catastrophes, with which is linked that most evil of all my daughters, namely, Despair. The thought of past failings is an obsta- cle to me, but hardly overcomes me. The thought of death is my ene- my always, but nothing human can really wipe me out. He who has received the Paraclete prays to Him against me; and the Paraclete, when entreated, does not allow me to act passionately. But those who have never tasted Him inevitably seek pleasure in my sweetness."
\'ictory over this vice is a brave one. He who is able to achieve it should hasten towards dispassion and total chastity.
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ON CHASTITY
We have heard from that raving mistress gluttony, who has just spoken, that her offspring is war against bodies. And no wonder, for our ancient ancestor Adam also teaches us this. Indeed if he had' not been overcome by the belly he would not have known what a wife was. Therefore tho.se who keep the first commandment do not fall into the second transgression, but remain sons of Adam without knowing what Adam was. They were made a little lower than the an- gels (cf. Ps. 8:6) in being subject to death.&* And this was to prevent evil from becoming immortal, as he who is called the Theologian says.***^
To be chaste is to put on the nature of an incorporeal being. ^'S Chastity is a supernatural denial of what one is by nature, so that a mortal and corruptible body is competing in a truly marvelous way with incorporeal spirits. A chaste man is someone who has driven out bodily love by means of divine love, who has used heavenly fire to quench the fires of the flesh.
64. The words "in being subject to death" do not occur in winif versions,
fi4a. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 4S, 8 U'G 56, 63.1 A).
^.5. RaJer's text is tran.slated here although a .sentence hav iiiul.iiiblrdlv .lni|>l)pd am. irtM add.s: "I'urily i.s thi- loiigcd-fiir house of Christ and the i-arthlv lir.ivi-n nt ih« hcuri." Kader'f. own Latin iiaiislaii.m reads; "I'uritv is the longed (ur lioiiir of (liriit and lhe
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Chastity is a name coiiimon Id all viriiics.
A chaste man feels no stirrings or change within himself even when he is asleep. A chaste man is toinpletejy oblivious to the differ- ence between bodies.
The rule and Hmit of absolute chastity is to have the same feel- ings regarding animate and inanimate beings, rational and irrational.
Anyone trained in chastity should give himself no credit for any achievements, for a man cannot conquer what he actually is. When nature is overcome, it should be admitted that this is due to Him Who is above nature, since it cannot be denied that the weaker always yields to the stronger.
The beginning of chastity is refusal to consent to evil thoughts and occasional dreamless emissions; the middle stage is to be free of dreams and emissions even when there are natural movements of the body brought on by eating too much; the completion of chastity comes when mortified thoughts are followed by a mortified body.
Truly blessed is the man totally unstirred by any body, any color or any beauty. The chaste man is not someone with a body undefiled but rather a person whose members are in complete subjection to the soul, for a man is great who is free of passion even when touched, though greater still is the man unhurt by all he has looked on. Such a man has truly mastered the fires of earthly beauty by his attention concentrated on the beauties of heaven. In driving off this dog by means of prayer he is like someone who has been fighting a lion. He who subdues it by resistance to it is someone still chasing an enemy. But the man who has managed to reduce its hold completely, even when he himself is still in this life, is someone who has already risen from the dead.
A sign of real chastity is to be unaffected by the dreams that come with sleep. Equally, a sign of complete sensuality is to be bable to emissions from bad thoughts when one is awake.
The man who struggles against this enemy by sweat and bodily hardships is like someone who has tied his adversary with a reed. If he fights him with temperance, sleeplessness, and keeping watch, it is as if he had put fetters on him. If he fights with humility, calmness, and thirst, it is as though he had killed the enemy and buried him in sand, the sand being lowliness since it does nothing to feed the pas- sions and is only earth and ashes.
One man keeps this tormentor under control by struggling hard, another by being humble, another by divine revelation. 'I'hc first man
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is hke the star of morning, the second tike the moon when it is full, the third like the blazing sun. And all three have their home in heav- en. Light comes from the dawn and amid light the sun rises, so let all that has been said be the light in which to meditate and learn.
A fox pretends to be asleep; the body and the demons pretend to be chaste. The former is on the watch to seize a bird, the latter to catch a soul. So as long as you live, never trust that clay of which you are made and never depend on it until the time you stand before Christ Himself. And never imagine that abstinence will keep you from falling. It was a being who never ate that was nevertheless thrown out of heaven.
Some wise men have said that renunciation is hostility to the body and war against the stomach.
Among beginners lapses usually occur because of high living, something that, together with arrogance, brings down also those who have made some progress. But among those nearing perfection, a lapse is solely due to the fact of passing judgment on one's neighbor.
Some have praised those who are naturally eunuchs. They say of them that they have been freed from the martyrdom of the body. But as far as I am concerned my praise goes out each day to those who take the knife, so to speak, to their own evil thoughts.
I have seen men who lapsed against their will and I have seen men who would willingly lapse but are unable to do so. These I pity far more than the daily sinner, for though impotent they long for cor- ruption.
Pity the man who falls, but pity twice over the man who causes another to lapse, for he carries the burden of both as well as the weight of pleasure tasted by the other.
Do not imagine that you will overwhelm the demon of fornica- tion by entering into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and he has the best of the argument. So the man who decides to struggle against his flesh and to overcome it by his own efforts is fighting in vain. The truth is that unless the Lord overturns the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man wishing to overcome it has watched and fasted for nothing. Offer up to the Lord the weak- ness of your nature. Admit your incapacity and, without your know- ing it, you will win for yourself the gift of chastity.
A victim of .sensuality who had overcome his weakness lold me once that within people of his kind there flourishes a ycaiiiin^ i<>r bodies, a shameless and terrible spirit that asserts itself ni ilii- vrry
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JOHN CLIMACUS
heart's core. Sheer physical puin burns so fiercely in the heart that it is like being scorched by an of this he has no fear of (iod, he spurns ihc thought of punishment, turns away from prayer, and the sighi of a corpse moves him no more than if it were a stone. He is like sonieonc out of his mind, in a daze, and he is perpetually drunk with desire f limit were not placed on the activities of this demon, no one would be saved, no one who is made of clay mingled with blood and foul mois- ture. How could they be saved? After all, everything created longs in- satiably for its own kind, blood for blood, the worm for a worm, clay for clay. And what does flesh desire if not flesh?
Those of us who try to restrain nature and who long to take the kingdom of heaven by force (cf. Matt. 11:12) try various artifices again.st this demon. Lucky the man who has not experienced the kind of conflict I have been talking about! So let us pray that we may al- ways escape from such a trial because those who slide into the pit fall far below those others climbing up and down the ladder. ^^ \j^^ in- deed they have to sweat copiously and practice extreme abstinence if they are ever to get far enough out of that pit to be able to start the climb again.
When our spiritual foes are drawn up to do battle with us, we should ponder what it is they can do, just as we would take precau- tions in a visible war. For those foes have their proper tasks, strange as this may seem. And whenever I thought about those who were tempted. I noted that their lapses were of varying seriousness. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt. ]1;15).
In his battle against ascetics and those leading the solitary life, the devil regularly uses all his force, zeal, and low skill, all his in- trigue, cleverness, and evil designs to overpower them by means that are unnatural rather than according to nature, And so it happens that when ascetics meet women and find themselves assailed neither by desire nor by evil thoughts, they occasionally come to imagine that they have achieved true blessedness. Poor idiots! They do not realize that a smaller lapse was not required since a major fall had in fact been prepared for them.
Those accursed murderers, in my opinion, manage to attack us poor wretches and bring us down with unnatural sins for the follow-
66. I.e., the angels whom Jacob saw in his dream ascending and descending a lad- der reaching up to heaven (Gen. 28:12).
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ing two reasons: first, that everywhere we may have plenty of oppor- tunity for lapses; and second, that we may receive greater punishment. The truth of all this was personally discovered by the man who formerly was in charge of donkeys but then wretchedly fell under the sway of wild donkeys and was deluded. He had once fed on the bread of heaven but now he lost it, and even after he had repent- ed, our founder Antony said,^*^ with bitter lament, that a great pillar had fallen. That wise man drew a veil over the nature of the sin, and he knew well that the sin of fornication does not require the availabil- ity of another body.
We carry a sort of death within us, a sin that is catastrophic, al- ways with us and especially when we are young. I have not the cour- age to describe it, for my hand is restrained by him who said it is a shame to talk of, write about, or hear of the things done by them in secret (cf. Eph. 5:12).
This flesh of mine, and yet not mine, this enemy and friend, was called death by Paul, "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" he asked (Rom. 7:24). Another theologian^^idescribed it as passionate, slavish and nocturnal. For a long time I wondered why they spoke this way. If, as was said above, the flesh is death, then whoever defeats it will surely not die. And yet, who is the man who will live and not see death in all the impurity of his body?
I ask you to consider who is greater, the man who dies and rises again, or the man who does not die at all. Those who would pick the latter are certainly wrong, for Christ Himself died and rose. But he who opts for the former suggests in effect that one should not despair over the dying, or, rather, the lapsing.
Our relentless enemy, the teacher of fornication, whispers that God is lenient and particularly merciful to this passion, since it is so very natural. Yet if we watch the wiles of the demons we will observe that after we have actually sinned they will affirm that God is a just and inexorable judge. They say one thing to lead us into sin, another thing to overwhelm us in despair. And if we are sorrowful or inclined to despair, we are slower to sin again, but when the sorrow and the despair have been quenched, the tyrannical demon begins to speak to us again of God's mercy.
H.
rt6a. A rclurcncr ic> Si. .■\iiiiinv ilie f I'riMt: /'hi' SiDiini;! iif ihc Ikstit l'iil/itt\, Aiiliiiiy ft7. Si. (ircyory nt Nii/i4iii/.ii)(; il th 4S, n (l'(, 16, M-fAH)
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JOHN CMMACUS
I he Lord, being iiKiirni|)til)lr ;itui incorporeal, rejoices in the purity and cleanliness of our hndirs. As lur the demons, nothing is said to please them more th:in ilie loul .smell ing delights them as much as the defilement of the body.
Chastity makes us as familiar with (Jud and as like Him as any man may be.
The mother of sweetness is earth and dew. The mother of chasti- ty is stillness and obedience. Often the dispa.ssion of body attained by stillness has been disturbed whenever the world impinged on it. But dispassion achieved through obedience is genuine and is everywhere unshakable.
I have seen humility emerge from pride, and I thought of the man who said: "Who has fathomed the mind of the Lord?" (Rom. 11: 34). The pit and the fruit of arrogance is a fail; but a fall is often an occasion of humility for those willing to profit by it.
The man who imagines he can conquer the demon of fornication by gluttony and by stuffing himself is quite like someone who quenches fire with oil. And the man who tries to put an end to this struggle by means of temperance only is like someone trying to es- cape from the sea by swimming with just one hand. However, join humility to temperance, for the one is useless without the other.
The man who observes himself succumbing to some passion should first of all fight against this, especially if it has made its abode with him, for until this particular vice is wiped out it will be useless for us to have mastered other passions. Kill this Egyptian and we will surely have sight of God in the bush of humility (cf. Exod. 2:12; 3:2). In the season of temptation I had the feeling that this wolf was giving me joy, tears, and indeed consolation in my spirit. Of course I was being deceived when I childishly imagined that I was deriving benefit instead of harm from this.
Every other kind of sin is external to the body, but the sin of im- purity is a sin against the body, since the very substance of the flesh is defiled by pollution in a way that cannot happen in the case of other sins. And a good question to ask is this: "Why do we normally say re- garding every other kind of sin that so-and-so has slipped, whereas we say sorrowfully that someone has fallen when we di.scover that he has committed fornication?"
A fish turns swiftly from the hook. The passionate .soul turns from solitude.
When the devil decides to forge some disgraceful bond between
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two people, he goes to work on the inclinations of each of them — and then lights the fire of passion.
It often seems that those who incline towards sensuality tend to be sympathetic, merciful, and possessed of compunction, while those eager for chastity appear to lack these capacities in some measure.
A very well-informed man once put this question to me: "Leav- ing aside murder and the denial of God, what is the most serious of sins?"
"To lapse into heresy," I replied.
"In that case," he said, "why does the Catholic Church readmit heretics who have honestly come to reject their beliefs? Why are they deemed fit to share in the holy Mysteries when, by contrast, a man who has committed fornication is excluded from these sacred Myster- ies for a number of years, and this by the direct command of the Apostolic Canons, even though he may have not only confessed but even abandoned his sinful ways?" The question astonished me, and I still do not know the answer. ^'^
During the singing of the psalms wcj should examine, consider, and observe what kind of sweetness comes to us from the devil of for-
68. When the .same question was put to Timothy of Alexandria (archbishop 380-5) he replied: "Because the one, the sin of the heretic, is connmirted with the free co-oper- ation of the will through ignorance; and so the Church's discipline is designed to make heretics more ready to return and fornicators less eager to sin" iResp. Can. 20, in J.B. Pitra, luris Eccltsiastict Groecorum Histaria et Alonumenta, vol. i, p. 635). The canonical po- sition seems to have been as follows. F.-Kclusion from Communion was a penitential dis- cipline for those who had sinned after baptism (i.e., for those who were already in the Church). The Apostolic Penitential Canons prescribed seven years' deprivation of Communion for fornicators. Heretics were deemed outside the Church. They were bapti/.ed and chrismated on reception and could then proceed to Communion without further delay (cf. Canon 7 of Laodicea). However, those heretics who had lapsed after receiving Catholic Baptism and who then returned to the Church had to spend three years In the catechumenate, followed by a further ten years without Communion un- les.s their repentance was especially fervent (cf. Canon 12 of Slicaea). Heretics were therefore not treated so much more leniently than fornicators, The point was that the former, if they had not previously been Catholics, were not liable to disciplinary mea- sures. The scholiast to account for the apparently more serious nature of fornicaiion suggests the following: "Heresv is a deviation of the mind and a ministry of llie looj^ur, whence comes error. I'ornication seduces and transforms all the senses and tai uities ol the body and soul, changing them from the image and likeness and cj.sting ihcin iiilii nothingness; therefore it is iilso called a fall. Heresy comes from pre!iuni()Mon, wlldc fornication comes from Ijodily comfort Herelics therefore aiiain prrfceUim lhri"tn(ll luiiniliation, sensualists lhroii|jh Imdily arriiction" (scliolion ^6 !'/t.'l) ''I IA|)
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nication and what kind comes In us from the words of the Spirit and from the grace and power which is in (hem. Know yourself well, young man. For in fact I have seen men pray earnestly for their loved ones, men who thought they were fulfilling the requirements of love, when in reality it was the spirit of fornication that was stirring them.
The body can be defiled by the merest touch, for of all the senses this is the most dangerous. So think of the man who wrapped his hand in an ecclesiastical garment when he was about to carry his sick mother.^**" Let your hand be dead to everything natural or otherwise, to your own body or to that of another.
I do not think anyone should be classed as a saint until he has made holy his body, if indeed that is possible.
We have to be especially sober and watchful when we are lying in bed, for that is the time when our mind has to contend with de- mons outside our body. And if our body is inclined to be sensual then it will easily betray us. So let the remembrance of death and the con- cise Jesus Prayer go to sleep with you and get up with you, for noth- ing helps you as these do when you are asleep.
Some think that struggles with passion and ejaculations during sleep are caused solely by what we have eaten. Yet I have noticed that very sick people or strict practitioners of fasting can also fall prey to these defilements. I once asked a very experienced and celebrated monk about this, and the holy man clearly explained the matter to me. "Emissions during sleep are the result of eating too much and liv- ing too well," this famous man declared. "They come too when we get complacent or when we preen ourselves because a long time may have elapsed since we experienced such emissions. They come also if we start passing judgment on our neighbor. The last two problems can occur even among the sick, and perhaps all three." If someone dis- covers that he is untroubled by these, he is surely lucky to be free of such passions. And if ever he suffers it, the reason must lie in the jeal- ousy of the demons, something God allows to happen for a while in order that this man, after such an accident, which of course is free from sin, may achieve the purest humility.
Never brood by day over the fantasies that have occurred to you
6Ka. Rosweyde, yitue Patntm v, ^ 68, p. .i72: PL 73, 873B; ed. Nau, $ i5a: Revue i!e ! 'Orient Chretien xiii (19Q8), p. .i2.
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during sleep, for the aim of the demons is to defile us while we are still awake by causing us to harp on our dreams.
Let us pay attention to another trick of our enemies. Just as bad food makes one sick after some time or indeed after some days, the same can happen in the case of actions that defile the soul. I have seen men give way to soft living and not notice at once the onset of the enemy. I have seen others take a meal with women, talk to them, and all the time be unafflicted by bad thoughts of any kind. In this way they were deceived and encouraged to grow careless and to imagine that they were safe and at peace. Then came sudden destruction in their cells. What bodily and spiritual destruction afflicts us when we are alone? The man who suffers temptation knows well. And the man who goes about untempted has no need to know.
When temptation comes, our best weapons are sackcloth and ashes, all-night vigils standing up, hunger, the merest touch of water when we are thirsty, time passed among the burial places of the dead, and most important of all, humility of heart; and if possible a spiritual director or a helpful brother, old in wisdom rather than years, should also support us. Indeed it would come as a great surprise if anyone could, by his efforts alone, save his ship from the sea.
The same sin earns punishment a hundred times greater for one person rather than another, depending on character, place, progress, and much else besides.
I was told once about an astonishing level of chastity attained by someone. "There was a man*^ who, having looked on a body of great beauty, at once gave praise to its Creator and after one look was stirred to love God and to weep copiously, so that it was marvelous how something that could have brought low one person managed to be the cause of a heavenly crown for another. And if such a man feels and behaves in similar fashion on similar occasions, then he has al- ready risen to immortality before the general resurrection."
The same guideline ought to direct us when we sing songs and hymns, for the lovers of God are moved to holy joy, divine love, and tears by songs both worldly and spiritual, just as lovers of pleasure are moved to the opposite.
Some solitary monks, as I have said already, have to face vastly
fiV. St. Nonrui'., Iiishoii i>) I li-lin]>nlis (Kn^wcydf,
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JOHNCLIMACUS
more dangerous attacks {'rom ilu- deinotis. And no wonder, since these are the places where the devils fhoose to lurk, because the Lord, out of concern for us, has driven them to desert places''" and to the dark reaches of hell. The devils of fornication launch vicious attacks on solitary monks. They try to drive them back into the world, by making them think that their time in the desert has been wasted. Dev- ils do not bother us when we are in the world, and this is because they think that, if we are not attacked there, we will continue to stay with worldly-minded people. The place of temptation is the place where we find ourselves having to put up a bitter fight against the enemy, and wherever we are not involved in a struggle is surely the place where the enemy is posing as a friend.
If we have to go out into the world on some legitimate task, we have the hand of God to guard us, probably because our spiritual di- rector is praying that we may not be a cause of blasphemy against the Lord. Sometimes we are protected by our insensitivity or by the fact that long experience has exhausted for us the spectacle of the world, its sounds and all its works. But sometimes the reason lies in the fact that the devils have left deliberately so that only the demon of pride remains to take over from all of them.
But all of you who wish to practice purity and preserve it should listen now to another cunning stratagem of that deceiver, for I have been told by someone who had to suffer the experience that the de- mon of sensuality often hid himself completely. Then he would have a monk sit or talk with women. He would inspire him with great pi- ety and even a flood of tears, and then suggest that he speak about the remembrance of death, judgment, and chastity. The unfortunate women, deceived by his words and spurious piety, would rush to him, thinking him to be a shepherd instead of the wolf he really was. Acquaintance would grow into familiarity, and the wretched monk would suffer his downfall.
,We should strive in all possible ways neither to see nor to hear of that fruit we have vowed never to taste. It amazes me to think we could imagine ourselves to be stronger than the prophet David, some- thing quite impossible indeed (cf. 2 Kings [2 Sam.] 11:2^).
Purity deserves such great and mighty praise that some of the Fa-
70. It was a common idea that demons dwelt in the desert; solitaries wetn then partly to do battle with them.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
thers have actually dared to call it freedom from passion. But there are some who would claim that anyone who has tasted sin can never be called pure. I disagree, and for the following reason. You can easily graft a good olive onto a wild olive if you so wish. Now if the keys of the kingdom had been given to someone who had lived always in vir- ginity, the claim mentioned above might have some force. But let the proponents of the claim be silenced by the man who had a mother-in- law and who nevertheless received the keys of the kingdom after he had become pure.''
The serpent of sensuality has many faces. To those who have had no experience of sin he suggests the idea of trying it once and then stopping. Then the crafty creature, exploiting the recollection of hav- ing sinned once, urges them to try again. And many of the people without experience feel no conflict within themselves because they do not know what is evil, whereas the experienced, knowing the evil for what it is, suffer disturbance and conflict, though sometimes the opposite can happen too.
When we rise from sleep in a good and peaceful frame of mind, we may assume that this is a secret gift frorn the heavenly angels, par- ticularly if we had gone to sleep after much prayer and vigil. Some- times, however, we get up in a bad mood, and this is caused by bad dreams and fantasies. For "I have seen the enemy all puffed up, high and tossing in me like the cedars of Lebanon" (Ps. 36:35) and I passed by with temperance, and see, his rage was not as it had been before, and I looked for him with humble mind and no place or trace of him could be found in me.
To have mastered one's body is to have taken command of na- ture, which is surely to have risen above it. And the man who has done this is not much lower than the angels, if even that.
That spirit should fight with spirit is not surprising. The real wonder is that a man dwelling in his body, and always struggling against this hostile and canny matter, should manage to rout spiritual foes.
The great concern of the good Lord for us is shown by the fact that shyness acts as a curb on the shamelessness of women. For if the woman chased the man, no flesh would be saved.
Among the discerning Fathers, distinctions are recogn i/.cd be-
71. I'etcr was itiarrieil; see Mm. 16;!^, l.iikc 4:.iS ;ind I Cor. '^;,'.
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JOHN CI.IMACUS
cween provocation, coupling, usscnt, captivity, struggle, and the dis- ease called passion, vi/hich is in tlic soul.''' These blessed Fathers say that provocation is a simple word or inuige encountered for the first time, which has entered into the heart. (Coupling is conversation with what has been encountered, whether this he passionately or other- wise. Assent is the delighted yielding of the soul to what it has en- countered. Captivity is a forcible and iniuilling abduction of the heart, a permanent lingering with what we have encountered and which totally undermines the necessary order of our souls. By strug- gle they mean force equal to that which is leading the attack, and this force wins or loses according to the desires of the spirit. Passion, in their view, is properly something that lies hidden for a long time in the soul and by its very presence it takes on the character of a habit, until the soul of its own accord clings to it with affection.
The first of these conditions is free of sin, the second sometimes, and the condition of the soul determines whether or not the third is sinful. Struggle can earn a crown or punishment, Captivity is judged in different ways, depending on whether it happens at the time of prayer or at some other time, whether it happens in regard to what is unimportant or in the context of evil thoughts. But passion is un- equivocally denounced in every situation and requires suitable repen- tance or future punishment. From all of which it follows that he who regards the first encounter with detachment cuts off with one blow all the rest that follow.
The most exact of the spiritual Fathers point to another more subtle notion, something they call pararripismos, or disturbance'-' of the mind. What happens is this. In a moment, without a word being spoken or an image presented, a sudden passionate urge lays hold of the victim. It comes faster than anything in the physical world and is swifter and more indiscernible than any spirit. It makes its appear- ance in the soul by a simple memory, which is unconnected with any- thing, independent of time and inexpressible, and in some cases comes without the person himself realizing the fact. Someone who
72. Sec, for example, St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual La'j;, §5 l.'y-42 [I'd 6\ 921-4: E'l' Phil., 55 l.!K-4l, pp.! 19-20), and St. Maximos the Confessor, ()» f.oir, 1 «4, II 31 {FG yo, 980. 99.!; FT '/'he Philokalia, vol. ii). There is a valuable analysis of the terms which Climacus uses in the Glossary of I'he Philokulia, vol. i, pp. 364-6.
7 J. This is an expression used by St. Mark the Ascetic, Letter to Nicolas the Solitary, I'G 65, 104tlB (ET Phil. p. I.f3).
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has been able to detect such a subtlety, someone with the gift of mourning, may be able to explain how with the eye alone, with a mere glance, by the touch of a hand, through a song overheard, the soul is led to commit a definite sin of unchastity without any notion or evil thought.
Some say that it is the thought of fornication that introduces pas- sion into the body, while others deny this, insisting that evil thoughts derive from the capacity of the body to experience things sensual. The former declare that if the mind had not taken the lead, the body would not have followed.'^" But the latter maintain that their view is proved by the depravity of bodily passion, for, very often, a pleasing sight, a touch of the hand, the scent of perfume, or the sound of sweet voices can be enough to generate evil thoughts. If anyone can do so in the Lord, let him explain what really happens. It would greatly bene- fit those living actively to understand this, though this problem need not really concern those practicing virtue with simple hearts. Still, not everyone has the necessary degree of understanding and not ev- eryone possesses the holy simplicity that is^a breastplate against the cunning of evil demons.
Some passions enter the body by way of the soul, and some work in the opposite way, the latter affecting people living in the world, the former assailing those living the monastic life and, hence, lacking stimulus from the outside. All I can say here about it is that if you look for wisdom among evil men, you most certainly will not find it (cf. Prov. 14:6).
After we have fought long and hard against this demon, this ally of the flesh, after we have driven it out of our heart, torturing it with the stone of fasting and the sword of humility, this scourge goes into hiding in our bodies, like some kind of worm, and it tries to pollute us, stimulating us to irrational and untimely movements. This partic- ularly happens to those who have fallen to the demon of vainglory, for since dirty thoughts no longer preoccupy their hearts they fall victim to pride. Such people can discover whether or not this is true if once they have attained a certain stillness they quietly take stock of themselves. F{)r they will then discover that deep down in iheir hearts, like a snake in dung, is the notion that by their uwn cHiiriN and enthusiasm they made great advances in purity, Poor wrcK hrs'
7.t,i. See St, M.irk the ,\vceiic, On the S[iintual I mo, 4 12*1 (/''- 6S, >)m.. I 1 I'M, | 119, p. 1 IH).
IKI
JOHN CLIMACUS
They forget the saying: "What have you got that you did not receive as a gift either from God or as a result of the help and prayers of oth- ers?" (cf. 1 Cor. 4:7). Let them beware then. Let them with all zeal eject from their hearts the snake mentioned above. Let them kill it with great humility, so that when they have got rid of it they may be stripped of their garments of skin'"* and sing, like pure children, a tri- umphant hymn of chastity to the Lord. Only let us hope that when they are thus stripped, they may not find that they are bereft of the humility and freedom from malice so natural to children.
This demon is especially on the lookout for our weak moments and will viciously assail us when we are physically unable to pray against it.
The effort of bodily prayer can help those not yet granted real prayer of the heart. 1 am referring to the stretching out of the hands, the beating of the breast, the sincere raising of the eyes heavenward, deep sighs and constant prostrations, But this is not always feasible when other people are present, and this is when the demons particu- larly like to launch an attack and, because we have not yet the strength of mind to stand up against them and because the hidden power of prayer is not yet within us, we succumb. So go somewhere apart, if you can. Hide for a while in some secret place. If you can, lift up the eyes of your soul, but if not, the eyes of your body. Stand still with your arms in the shape of the cross so that with this sign you may shame and conquer your Amalek.'^^ Cry out to God, Who has the strength to save you. Do not bother with elegant and clever words. Just speak humbly, beginning with, "Have mercy on me, for I am weak" (Ps. 6:}). And then you will come to experience the power of the Most High and with help from heaven you will drive off your in- visible foes. The man who gets into the habit of waging war in this way will soon put his enemies to flight solely by means of spiritual resources, for this is the reward God likes to bestow on those who put up a- good struggle, and rightly so.
74. The "garments of skin" allude to Gen, i:2 1 and represent that which was add- ed to human nature as a result of the fall, i.e., the passions, sexual stirrings and mortal- ity. For a discussion of the patristic use of this expression see Gregory of Nyssa, I'hr Life of Moses, F.'V Malherbe and Ferguson (The Classics of Western Spirituality), pp. 160-!, note 29.
75. Like Moses with his arms raised in the battle with the Amalekites (cf. Exod. 17:11).
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I was once at a gathering of holy men and I noticed a zealous brother troubled by evil thoughts. There was no place where he could go aside for secret prayer, and so he went out, as if on a call of nature. There he armed himself with intense prayer against the enemy. 1 criticized him for having gone to an inappropriate place, but the an- swer he gave me was this: "I chose an unclean place in which to pray to be cleansed from filth, that I might drive out unclean thoughts."
All demons try to darken our minds so that they may then sug- gest to us what they want us to do, and so long as the mind stays awake we will not be robbed of our treasure. But the demon of forni- cation tries harder than all the others. First, by darkening our minds, which guide us, it urges and inclines us in the presence of other peo- ple to do things that only the mad would think of. Then when our minds are cleared we become ashamed of these unholy deeds, words, and gestures, not only before those who saw us but before ourselves, and we are astounded by this earlier blindness of ours. The result is that frequently as a consequence of realizing what had happened, men turn away from this particular evil. ,
Drive out that enemy which, after you have sinned, comes be- tween you and your prayers, meditation, and vigil. Remember the saying; "Because the soul tormented by earlier sin is a burden to me, I will save it from its enemies" (cf. Luke 18:5),
Who has won the battle over the body? The man who is contrite of heart. And who is contrite of heart? The man who has denied him- self, for how can he fail to be contrite of heart if he has died to his own will?
There is a kind of passionate person, more passionate than most, who confesses his defilements with pleasure and delight.
Dirty, shameful thoughts in the heart are usually caused by the deceiver of the heart, the demon of fornication, and only restraint and indeed a disregard for them will prove an antidote.
By what rule or manner can I bind this body of mine? By what precedent can I judge him? Before I can bind him he is let loose, be- fore I can condemn him I am reconciled to him, before I can punish him I bow down to him and feel sorry for him. How can I .ale him when my nature disposes me to love him? How can I break away from him when I am bound to him forever? How can 1 escape troni him when he is going to rise with mc? How can 1 make him intiirrii|il when he has received a corruptible nature? Mow can I niyur wilh him when all the arguments of nature are on hi.s side? v
IH5
JOHN CIJMACUS
If I try to bind him through lasiing, then I am passing judgment on my neighbor who does not last — with the result that I am handed over to him again. If I defeat him by not passing judgment I turn proud — and I am in thrall to him once more. I ie is my helper and my enemy, my assistant and my opponent, a protector and a traitor. I am kind to him and he assaults me. If 1 wear him out he gets weak. If he has a rest he becomes unruly. If I upset him''' he cannot stand it. If I mortify him I endanger myself If I strike him down I have nothing left by which to acquire virtues. I embrace him. And I turn away from him.
What is this mystery in me? What is the principle of this mixture of body and soul? How can I be my own friend and my own enemy? Speak to me! Speak to me, my yoke-fellow, my nature! I cannot ask anyone else about you. How can 1 remain uninjured by you? How can I escape the danger of my own nature? I have made a promise to Christ that I will fight you, yet how can I defeat your tyranny? But this I have resolved, namely, that I am going to master you.
And this is what the flesh might say in reply: "I will never tell you what you do not already know. I will speak the knowledge we both have. Within me is my begetter, the love of self The fire that comes to me from outside is too much pampering and care. The fire within me is past ease and things long done. I conceived and give birth to sins, and they when born beget death by despair in their turn. And yet if you have learned the sure and rooted weakness with- in both you and me, you have manacled my hands. If you starve your longings, you have bound my feet, and they can travel no further. If you have taken up the yoke of obedience, you have cast my yoke aside. If you have taken possession of humility, you have cut off my
head."
This is the fifteenth reward of victory. He who has earned it while still alive has died and been resurrected. From now on he has a taste of the immortality to come.
76. Gk sainomenos. HTM reads stainomenos, "if 1 turn away in [(wthtiig.'
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Step 16
ON AVARICE
As most of the experts reckon the matter, the demon of avarice, that spirit of countless heads, comes next after the tyrant described above, and who am I to run counter to the sequence which these learned men suggest? Hence I follow the same practice, and after a few words on the disease would like to talk briefly about the remedy.
Avarice is a worship of idols and is the offspring of unbelief It makes excuses for infirmity and is the mouthpiece of old age. It is the prophet of hunger, and the herald of drought.
The miser sneers at the gospel and is a deliberate transgressor. The man of charity spreads his money about him, but the man who claims to possess both charity and money is a self-deceived fool. The man who mourns for himself has renounced even his body and does not spare it in due season.
Do not say that you are interested in money for the sake of the poor, for two mites were insufficient to purchase the kingdom (cf Luke 21:2).
A generous man met a miser, and the miser said the other man was without discernment.
The man who has conquered this vice has cut out care, but tlu' man trapped by it can never pray freely to God.
The prcifxt of almsgiving is the start of avarice, and the finidh In detestation of the poor. The collector is stirred by charity, Iml, whm the money is in, the gri]> tiglitcns.
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JOHN CMMACUS
I have seen the poverty-stricken grow rich and forget their want, through living with the poor in spirit.
The monk who is greedy for money is a stranger to tedium of the spirit. Always he turns over within himself the words of the Apostle: "The man who does not work does not cat" (2 Thess. 3:10) and, "These hands of mine have served me and those who were with me" (Acts 20:34).
Such then is the sixteenth contest, and the man who has tri- umphed in it has either won love or cut out care.
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Step 17
ON POVERTY
The poverty of a monk is resignation froln care. It is life without anxiety and travels light, far from sorrow and faithful to the com- mandments. The poor monk is lord of the world. He has handed all his cares over to God, and by his faith has obtained ail men as his ser- vants. If he lacks something he does not complain to his fellows and he accepts what comes his way as if from the hand of the Lord. In his poverty he turns into a son of detachment and he sets no value on what he has. Having withdrawn from the world, he comes to regard everything as refuse. Indeed he is not genuinely poor if he starts to worry about something.
A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure, while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.
Those living in obedience to another are free of all cupidity, for when the body has been given up, what else is there to call one's own? The only way they can be harmed is by readily and easily moving from place to place. I have seen monks content to remain in one local- ity on account of material possessions, but my praise is for those who are pilgrims for the Lord.
The man who has tasted the things of heaven easily think.s noih- ing of what is below, but he who has had no taste of heaven {\\n\n pleasure in possessions,
A man who is poor for no good reason falls into ,\ ilmtbir iiiiNfof
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JOHN CLIMACUS
tune. He goes without present goods and is deprived of these in the
future.
We monks should be careful not to be less trusting than the birds, which are not anxious and do not gather into barns (cf. Matt.
6:26).
The man who gives up possessions for religious motives is great, but the man who renounces his will is holy indeed. The one will earn money or grace a hundred times over, but the other will inherit eter- nal life.
Waves never leave the sea. Anger and gloom never leave the mi- serly.
The man who thinks nothing of goods has freed himself from quarrels and disputes. But the lover of possessions will fight to the death for a needle. Sturdy faith cuts off cares, and remembrance of death denies the body. There was no trace of avarice in Job, and so he remained tranquil when he lost everything.
Avarice is said to be the root of all evil {1 Tim. 6:10), and it is so because it causes hatred, theft, envy, separations, hostility, stormy blasts, remembrance of past wrongs, inhuman acts and even murder. A smalt fire can burn down an entire forest. But one virtue can help many to escape all the vices mentioned above. That virtue is de- tachment, which is a withdrawal from all evil desires, and which grows from an experience and taste of the knowledge of God and from a meditation on the account to be rendered at death.
The careful reader will recall the story of the mother of every evil.^*" Listing her wicked and accursed offspring, she named the stone of insensitivity as her second child. The many-headed serpent of idolatry prevented me from giving it its own due place. The dis- cerning Fathers, for reasons unknown to me, give it third place in the chain of eight capital sins.
I have said enough about avarice, and I plan to say something about insensitivity as the third infirmity, despite being born second. Then I will go on to discuss sleep, keeping vigil, as well as childish cowardly fear, all failings of beginners.
This is the seventeenth step. He who has climbed it is traveling to heaven unburdened by material things.
76a. See 14 (869D), p. 17(1.
191)
Step 18
ON INSENSITIVITY
Insensitivity is deadened feeling in body and spirit, and comes from long sickness and carelessness. Lack of awareness is negligence that has become habit. It is thought gone numb, an offspring of pre- disposition, a trap for zeal, a noose for courage, an ignorance of com- punction, the gateway to despair, the mother of forgetfulness giving birth to loss of fear of God and, in turn, to a deadened spirit, like a daughter bearing her own mother.
The insensitive man is a foolish philosopher, an exegete con- demned by his own words, a scholar who contradicts himself, a blind man teaching sight to others. He talks about healing a wound and does not stop making it worse. He complains about what has hap- pened and does not stop eating what is harmful. He prays against it but carries on as before, doing it and being angry with himself. And the wretched man is in no way shamed by his own words. "I'm doing wrong," he cries, and zealously continues to do so. His lips pray against it and his body struggles for it. He talks profoundly about death and acts as if he will never die. He groans over the separation of soul and body, and yet lives in a state of somnolence as if he were eternal. He has plenty to say about self-control and fights for a gour- met life, lie reads about the judgment and begins nt smile, uliout vainglory and is vainglorious while he is reading, lie recites wlijl hr has learnt about keeping vigil, and at once drojTs off lo s\rv\i I'l iiyrr he evtols, and runs Irnm il as il frnm a plague. Hlcssing*) hr ^hnurrN
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JOHN CLIMACUS
on obedience, and is the first to disobey. Detachment he praises, and he shamelessly fights over a rag. When he is angry he gets bitter, and then his bitterness makes him angry, so that having suffered one de- feat he fails to notice that he has suffered another. He gorges himself, is sorry, and a little later is at it again. He blesses silence and cannot stop talking about it. He teaches meekness and frequently gets angry while he is teaching it. Having come to his senses, he sighs and shak- ing his head embraces his passion once more. He denounces laughter, and while lecturing on mourning he is all smiles. In front of others he criticizes himself for being vainglorious, and in making the admission he is looking for glory. He looks people in the eye with passion and talks about chastity. Out in the world he is full of praise for the soli- tary life and cannot see how much he is disgracing himself. He glori- fies almsgivers and despises the poor. In everything he shows himself up for what he is, and does not come to his senses, though I would not say he was incapable of doing so.
I have seen such men weep as they hear of death and the dread judgment, and with the tears still in their eyes they rush off to din- ner. And it amazed me to see how this stinking tyrant by means of complete insensitivity could even manage to overpower mourning.
I have described, as much as my poor talents permit, the wiles and the havoc wrought by this stony, stubborn, raging, ignorant pas- sion, and I refuse to dwell on it. If there is anyone with the God-given skill to heal the sores, let him not shrink from the task. I am not ashamed to admit that my powers fail here, for I am very sorely tried by this vice and I would not h^ve been able alone to analyze its wily ways if I had not laid hold of it, gripping it hard, examining it to dis- cover what has been described above, scourging it with fear of the Lord and endless prayer. That is why this tyrannical evildoer said this to me: "Those who are under my sway laugh when they see the bodies of the dead. At prayer they are stony, hard, and blinded. In front of the altar they feel nothing. They receive the Holy Gift as if it were ordinary bread. And I laugh at people when I see them stirred by compunction. My father taught me to kill everything born of cour- age and love. I am the mother of Laughter, the nurse of Sleep, the friend of the Full Stomach. When I am found out 1 do not grieve, and I am the ally of Fake Piety."
Amazed by the words of this demented fury, I asked, in my as- tonishment, for the name of her father. "I was not born of just one parent," she said, 'i am of mixed and uncertain origin. Big meals
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
keep me going, time adds to my stature and bad habit fixes me in such a way that he who possesses me will never be rid of me. But if you arc always on the watch and think of eternal judgment, maybe I shall let go of you to some extent. If you discover why I came to be within you, it will be possible for you to do battle with my mother, since she is not the same for all. Pray often where the dead are laid out and paint in your heart an indelible image of them, traced there with the brush of fasting. For otherwise you will never defeat me."
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Step 19
ON SLEEP, PRAYER
AND THE SINGING
IN CHURCH OF PSALMS
Sleep is a natural state. It is also an image of death and a respite of the senses. Sleep is one, but like desire it has many sources. That is to say, it comes from nature, from food, from demons, or perhaps in some degree even from prolonged fasting by which the weakened flesh is moved to long for repose.
Just as too much drinking comes from habit, so too from habit comes overindulgence in sleep. For this reason one has to struggle against it especially at the start of one's religious life, because a long- standing habit is very difficult to correct.
Let us observe and we shall find that the spiritual trumpet^' that summons the brethren together visibly is also the signal for the invisi- ble assembly of our foes. Some stand by our bed and encourage us to lie down again after we have got up. "Wait until the first hymns are over," they say. "Then it will be time enough to go to church." Oth- ers get those at prayer to fall asleep. Still others cause bad and unusu- al stomachache, while others encourage prattle in the church. Some
77. The usual means of summoning monks to prayer was by a wooden gong or plank known later as the talanton. Jerome, however, says that Pachomian monks wert' summoned by the sound of a trumpet (PI- 23, 69B).
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCEN I
inspire bad thoughts, others get us to lean against the wall as though we were weary or to start yawning over and over again, while still others cause us to laugh during prayer so as to provoke the anger of God against us. Some get us in our laziness to hurry up with the sing- ing, while others suggest we should sing slowly in order that we may take pleasure in it. Others, by sitting on our mouths, shut them so that we can scarcely open them.
However, the man who considers with sensitivity of heart that he is standing before God will be an immovable pillar in prayer, and none of the demons mentioned above will delude him.
The truly obedient monk often becomes suddenly radiant and ex- ultant during his prayers. He is like a wrestler who was earlier trained and made eager for his enterprise.
Everyone can pray in a crowd. For some it is a good thing to pray with a single kindred soul. But solitary prayer is only for the very few.
When chanting hymns with others it may be impos.sible to pray with the wordless prayer of the spirit. But jtour mind should meditate on the words being chanted or read. Or else you should have a set prayer to say while you are waiting for the alternate verse of the chant. But no one should undertake any additional task, or rather, dis- traction, during the time of prayer. This is something that Antony the Great learned clearly from his attendant angel.''"
A furnace tests gold. Prayer tests the zeal of a monk and his love for God.
To draw close to God, to drive out the demons — there is a task to be praised!
77ii. Tht Suyitigs itl tlv llfieit t'alhrti, Aiiiiiny I.
I'M
Step 20
ON ALERTNESS
Some stand weaponless and without armor before the kings of earth, while others hold insignia of office, shields, and swords. The former are vastly superior to the latter since they are regularly the personal relations of the king and members of the royal household.
Let us see now what happens when we stand in prayer during the evening or throughout the day and night before God our King. Some keep nightlong vigil, their hands raised in prayer like spirits free of every burden. Others sing the psalms or read, while some, out of weakness, bravely fight sleep by working with their hands. Others think constantly of death and try in this way to obtain a contrite heart. Of all these types, the first and last persevere in nightlong vigil out of love for God, the second do what is appropriate for a monk, and the third travel the lowliest road. Still, God accepts and judges the offerings of each type in accordance with their intentions and their abilities.
Alertness keeps the mind clean. Somnolence binds the soul. The alert monk does battle with fornication, but the sleepy one goes to live with it. Alertness is a quenching of lust, deliverance from fanta- sies in dreams, a tearful eye, a heart made soft and gentle, thoughts restrained, food digested, passions tamed, spirits subdued, tongue controlled, idle imaginings banished.
The vigilant monk is a fisher of thoughts, and in the quiet of the night he can easily observe and catch them.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
The bell rings for prayer. The monk who loves God says, "Bra- vo! Bravo!" The lazy monk says, "Alas! Alas!"
Mealtime reveals the gluttonous, prayer time the lovers of God. The former dance and the latter frown when the table is made ready.
Long sleep produces forgetfulness, but keeping vigil clears the memory.
The farmer collects his wealth on the threshing floor and in the winepress. Monks collect their wealth and knowledge during the hours of evening and night when they are standing at prayer and con- templation.
Excessive sleep is a bad companion, stealing half a lifetime or more from the lazy man.
The inexperienced monk is wide awake when talking to his friends but half asleep at prayer time. The lazy monk is a great talker whose eyes begin to shut when the sacred reading is started. When the trumpet sounds the dead will rise, and when idle talk begins the dozing wake.
The tyrant sleep is a cunning fiend who slips away from us when our stomachs are full and attacks strongly when we are hungry and thirsty. It proposes that we do manual work at prayer time, for in no other way can it interfere with the prayers of those who are keeping watch. Its first step is to attack beginners, trying to make them care- less from their first day. Or it strives to prepare the way for the de- mon of fornication. Hence until we conquer it we ought never seek to be absent from common prayer, since shame at least may keep us from dozing off.
The demon of vainglory is the enemy of sleep, just as the hound is the enemy of hares.
At day's end the merchant counts his profits, and the monk does the same when psalmody is over.
When prayer is over, wait quietly and you will observe how mobs of demons, as though challenged by us, will try to attack us after prayer by means of wild fantasies. Watch carefully and you will note those that are accustomed to snatch away the first fruits of the soul.
It can happen that our meditation on the psalms may persi.st even into our time of sleeping. This can sometimes be caused by demons in order lo lead us lo vainglory I would not have menliniicd (liis Ihid I not bccri compelled tn do .s pied by day with (he word of (Jod will love to be prcocctipictl by il In
vn
JOHN (;i,iMACUS
sleep too. This second grace is properly a reward for the first and will help us to avoid spirits'^ and fantasies.
Such then is the twentieth step, He who has climbed it has re- ceived light in his heart.
78. Gk pnevmaton. HTM rea.ds ptomaton, "falls.'
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Step 21
ON UNMANLY FEARS
If you pursue virtue in a monastery or in gatherings of holy men, you are unlikely to be attacked by cowardice. But if you pass your time in solitary abodes, you must strive not to be mastered by cow- ardice, the child of vainglory, the daughter of unbelief.
Cowardice is childish behavior within a soul advanced in years and vainglory. It is a lapse from faith that comes from anticipating the unexpected.
Fear is danger tasted in advance, a quiver as the heart takes fright before unnamed calamity. Fear is a loss of assurance.
A proud soul is the slave of cowardice. Trusting only itself, it is frightened by a sound or a shadow.
Those who mourn and those who are insensitive suffer no cow- ardice, but the fearful and the frightened often collapse and their minds are unhinged. Nor is this unreasonable. For the Lord rightly withdraws His protection from the proud so that the rest of us may not become vain.
While cowards are vainglorious, not everyone who is free from fear is also humble. I'hieves and grave robbers may be uniroubUul by fear.
Do not hesitate to go in the dark of the night lo ihnsc pliiiCK where you arc normnlly frighlencd. The sliglucsi conicsMnii in iIiIm weakness means iluit tlii.s ttiildi.sh ami absurd iii;il;uly uitl giuw old
\W
JOHNCLIMACUS
with you. So as you go u lu-rc Iright will lay hold of you, put on the
armor of prayer, atui wluii y r;uh i he spot, stretch out your hands
and flog your encniit-s with iIk- n.imt. „f Jesus, since there is no stronger weapon in heaven .)r on t-anh. And when you drive the fear away, give praise to the (Jod Who lias delivered you, and He will pro- tect you for all eternity, provided you remain grateful. Just as one morsel will not fill your stomach, so you will not defeat fear in one move. It will fade in proportion to your mourning and the less we mourn the greater will be our cowardice.
"My hair and my flesh shuddered" (Job 4:15). These were the words of Eliphaz when he was talking about the cunning of this de- mon. Fear starts sometimes in the soul, sometimes in the body, and the one communicates the weakness to the other. But if your soul is unafraid even when the body is terrified, you are close to being healed. '« However, it is barrenness of soul, not the darkness or the emptiness of places, which gives the demons power against us. And the providence of God sometimes allows this to happen so that we may learn from it.
The servant of the Lord will be afraid only of his Master, while the man who does not yet fear Him is often scared by his own shad- ow. The body is terrified by the presence of an invisible spirit. Yet when an angel stands nearby, the soul of the humble is exultant. So if we detect an angel by the effect he is producing, let us hasten to pray since our heavenly guardian has come to join us.^°
79. H'l M adds: "But actual freedom from cowardice comes when we eagerly ac- cept all unexpected events with a contrite heart."
80. HTM adds; "He who has conquered cowardice has clearly dedicated liis l,fV and soul to God."
200
Step 22
ON VAINGLORY
Some would hold that vainglory i^ to be distinguished from pride, and so they give it a special place and chapter. Hence their claim that there are eight deadly sins. But against this is the view of (iregory the Theologian^' and other teachers that in fact the number is seven. I also hold this view. After all, what pride remains in a man who has conquered vainglory? The difference is between a child and ■A man, between wheat and bread, for the first is a beginning and the second an end. Therefore, as the occasion demands, let us talk about I he unholy vice of self-esteem, the beginning and completion of the passions; and let us talk briefly, for to undertake an exhaustive discus- sion would be to act like someone who inquires into the weight of the winds.
V rotn the point of view of form, vainglory is a change of nature, a perversi ty, it is a waste of work and sweat, a betrayal of treasure, an offspring
HI In fflct (irejfory the CJrcat. The eight principal templaiinnri of l';vii«rMi jjlllHotiy, lust, avarice, Je|ectii)n, anger, despondency ('accidie"), viiin([l(irv tiiiil )iritl(>
CDMfiitin inlriKluccd lln.s list to the West. Pi.pe (Jreyorv the (irem rcdiucd llii- t Iirt
lo nrvrti l>\ jmalnarnalinj! vainglory wilh pride and dejection « nh d« ' itnil In inliodui lll^ cnvv (■( llic frerace, p. ftl
Hlii I he M'tlw is iiol clear One vtonid e ,itrtltHlil, Y\t. "• W- Jumt III lalir n.itr o( cnneism," at in ijic I, nun traiislalnin l/'(r MM, 'iy\\\i
20 1
|()IIN CMMACUS
of unbelief, a harhinger of pride, shipwreck in port, the ant on the threshing floor, small and y labor. The ant waits until the wheat is in, vainglory until the riches of excellence are gathered; the one a thief, the other a wastrel.
The spirit of despair exults at the sight of mounting vice, the spirit of vainglory at the sight of the growing treasures of virtue. The door for the one is a mass of wounds, while the gateway for the other is the wealth of hard work done.
Watch vainglory. Notice how, until the very day of the burial it rejoices in clothes, oils, servants, perfumes, and such like.
Like the sun which shines on all alike, vainglory beams on every occupation. What I mean is this. I fast, and turn vainglorious. I stop fasting so that I will draw no attention to myself, and I become vain- glorious over my prudence. I dress well or badly, and am vainglorious in either case. I talk or I hold my peace, and each time I am defeated. No matter how I shed this prickly thing, a spike remains to stand up against me.
A vainglorious man is a believer — and an idolater. Apparently honoring God, he actually is out to please not God but men. To be a showoff is to be vainglorious, and the fast of such a man is unreward- ed and his prayer futile, since he is practicing both to win praise. A vainglorious ascetic doubly cheats himself, wearying his body and getting no reward. Who would not laugh at this vainglorious worker, standing for the psalms and moved by vainglory sometimes to laugh- ter and sometimes to tears for all to see?
I he Lord frequently hides from us even the perfections we have obtained. But the man who praises us, or, rather, who misleads us, opens our eyes with his words and once our eyes are opened our trea- sures vanish.
The flatterer is a servant of the devils, a teacher of pride, the de- stroyer of contrition, a vandal of excellence, a perverse guide. The prophet says this; "Those who honor you deceive you" (Isa. 3:12).
Men of high spirit endure offense nobly and willingly. But only the holy and the saintly can pass unscathed through praise. And I have seen men in mourning who, on being praised, reared up in an- ger, one passion giving way to another as at some public meeting.
"No one knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit within him" (1 Cor. 2:11). Hence those who want to praise us to our face should be ashamed and silent.
When you hear that your neighbor or your friend has denounced
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCKN I
you behind your back or indeed in your presence, show hint Imr und try to compliment him.
It is a great achievement to shrug the praise of men off one's soul Greater still is to reject the praise of demons.
It is not the self-critical who reveals his humility (for does not ev- eryone have somehow to put up with himself?). Rather it is the m.m who continues to love the person who has criticized him.
I have seen the demon of vainglory suggesting thoughts to one brother, revealing them to another, and getting the second man to tell the first what he is thinking and then praising him for his ability to read minds. And that dreadful demon has even lighted on parts of the body, shaking and stirring them.
Ignore him when he tells you to accept the office of bishop or ab- bot or teacher. It is hard to drive a dog from a butcher's counter.
When he notices that someone has achieved a measure of interior calm, he immediately suggests to him the need to return from the des- ert to the world, in order to save those who are perishing.
Ethiopians have one kind of appearance, statues another. So too is it the case that the vainglory of those living in community is differ- ent from that which obtains in the desert.
Vainglory anticipates the arrival of guests from the outside world. It prompts the more frivolous monk to rush out to meet them, to fall at their feet, to give the appearance of humility, when in fact he is full of pride. It makes him look and sound modest and directs his eye to the visitors' hands in the hope of getting something from them. It induces him to address them as "lords and patrons, graced with godly life." At table it makes him urge abstinence on someone else and fiercely criticize subordinates. It enables those who are standing in a slovenly manner during the singing of psalms to make an effort, tho.se who have no voice to sing well, and those who are sleepy to wake up. It flatters the precentor, seeks the first place in the choir, and addres.scs him as father and master while the visitors are still there.
X'aingiory induces pride in the favored and resentment in those who are slighted. Often it causes dishonor instead of honor, bcciiust- it brings great shame to its angry disciples. It makes the tjuick tiMiipcml look mild before men. It thrives amid talent and freipietiily Ihiiijj^ I'u (astrophc on those enslaved to it.
I hnvc seen a demon harm and rha.se away his own Itnittiri S'lui- tors Inuii till- outside world came just al a monu iit wlirii it l»tiilh«r
iUi
JOHN CLIMACUS
got angry and the wretched man gave himself over to vainglory. He was unable to serve two passions at the one time.
The servant of vainglory leads a double life. To outward appear- ance, he lives with monks; bin in his heart of hearts he is in the world. If we really long for heavenly things, we will surely taste the glo- ry above. And whoever has tasted that will think nothing of earthly glory. For it would surprise me if .someone could hold the latter in contempt unless he had tasted the former.
It often happens that having been left naked by vainglory, we turn around and strip it ourselves more cleverly. For I have encoun- tered some who embarked on the spiritual life out of vainglory, mak- ing therefore a bad start, and yet they finished up in a most admirable way because they changed their intentions.
A man who takes pride in natural abilities — I mean cleverness, the ability to learn, skill in reading, good diction, quick grasp, and ail such skills as we possess without having to work for them — this man, I say, will never receive the blessings of heaven, since the man who is unfaithful in little is unfaithful and vainglorious in much. And there are men who wear out their bodies to no purpose in the pursuit of total dispa.ssion, heavenly treasures, miracle working, and prophetic ability, and the poor fools do not realize that humility, not hard work, is the mother of such things. The man who seeks a quid pro quo from God builds on uncertainty, whereas the man who considers himself a debtor will receive sudden and unexpected riches.
When the winnower^^ tells you to show off your virtues for the benefit of an audience, do not yield to him. "What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and destroy himself?" (Matt. 16:26).
Our neighbor is moved by nothing so much as by a sincere and humble way of talking and of behaving. It is an example and a spur to others never to turn proud. And there is nothing to equal the benefit of this.
A man of insight told me this: "I was once sitting at an assem- bly," he said. "The demon of vainglory and the demon of pride came to sit on either side of me. One poked me with the finger of vainglory and encouraged me to talk publicly about some vision or labor of mine in the desert. I shook him off with the words: 'Let those who wish me harm be driven back and let them blush' (Ps. .?9:15). Then the demon on my left at once said in my ear: 'Well done! Well done!
82, I.e., the devil.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
You have become great by conquering my shameless mother.' Turn- ing to him 1 answered appropriately, making use of the rest of the verse: 'Defeat and shame on all who say, "Well done! Well done!" ' " And how is it, I asked him, that vainglory is the mother of pride. His answer was this: "Praise exalts and puffs me up, and when the soul is exalted, pride lifts it up as high as heaven — and then throws it down into the abyss."
But there is a glory that comes from the Lord. "1 will glorify those who glorify Me," He says (1 Kings [1 Sam.] 2:30). And there is a glory that follows it which is contrived by the demons, for it is said, "Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you" (Luke 6:26). You can recognize the first kind of glory when you look on it as dangerous and run from it in every possible way, hiding your life-style wherever you are. And you may be certain of the other sort when you find yourself doing something, however small, with the hope that men may notice you.
Dread vainglory urges us to pretend that we have some virtue which does not belong to us. It encourages us with the text: "Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good deeds" (Matt. 5:16),
The Lord often humbles the vainglorious by causing some dis- honor to befall them. And indeed the first step in overcoming vain- glory is to remain silent and to accept dishonor gladly. The middle stage is to check every act of vainglory while it is still in thought. The end — insofar as one may talk of an end to an abyss — is to be able to Hcccpt humiliation before others without actually feeling it.
Do not conceal your sin because of the idea that you must not Rcandali/e your neighbor. Of course this injunction must not be ad- IutihI to blindly. It will depend on the nature of one's sinfulness.
If ever we seek glory, if it comes our way uninvited, or if we plan dome course of action because of our vainglory, we should think of our mourning and of the bles.sed fear on us as we stood alone in prayer l)eforc Ciod, If we do this we will assuredly outflank shameless vuinglory, that is if our wish for true prayer is genuine. This may be ihsiilluietn. In which case let us briefly remember that we nuisi die. Should tliis also prove ineffective, let us at least go in friir o( ihi' uluiitie thill always comes after honor, for assuredly lie wht» fXiiIlM hini'.cli will be hnnibk-d not only there but here also.
When those who praise us, or, rather, liiose who Irtiil iim iiKlrtty, begin to cxrtit ti.s, we should briefly remember the nitiliiliiilr (if iiiir
205
JOIINCMMACUS
sins and in this way wc u ill discover that we do not deserve whatever is said or done in our honor.
Some of the prayers the attention of God, but He regularly anticipates their wishes and petitions so that their pride may not be increased by the success of their prayers.
Simpler people do not usually succumb to the poison of vainglo- ry, which is, after all, a loss of simplicity and a hypocritical mode of behavior.
A worm, fully grown, often sprouts wings and can fly up high. Vainglory, fully grown, can give birth to pride, which is the begin- ning and the end of all evil.
Anyone free of this sickness is close to salvation. Anyone affected by it is far removed from the glory of the saints.
Such, then, is the twenty-second step. The man untouched by vainglory will not tumble into that senseless pride which is so detest- able to God.
206
Step 23
ON PRIDE
Pride is a denial of God, an invention of the devil, contempt for men. It is the mother of condemnation, the offspring of praise, a sign of barrenness. It is a flight from God's help, the harbinger of mad- ness, the author of downfall. It is the cause of diabolical possession, the source of anger, the gateway of hypocrisy. It is the fortress of de- mons, the custodian of sins, the source of hardheartedness. It is the denial of compassion, a bitter pharisee, a cruel judge. It is the foe of God, Ii is the root of blasphemy.
Pride begins where vainglory leaves off Its midpoint comes with the humiliation of our neighbor, the shameless parading of our iicliicvcmcnts, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out. It ends with the spurning of God's help, the exalting of one's own ef- forts and a devilish disposition.
Listen, therefore, all who wish to avoid this pit. This passion of- ten draws strength initially from the giving of thanks, and at first ii (jocN not sliitmelessly urge us to renounce God. I have seen people w ho .s[)ei>k aloud their thanks to (lod but who in their heart", arc glo- rifyiiig themselves, .something demonstrated by that Pharisee with hi* "()
I'ridc lakes tif> residence wherever wc liavc lapsed, toi ii ItipNC In Ml bid tin indicniion of pride. And an adniirabK m;iii suit! niicp tii m»i
107
JOHN CIJMACUS
"Think of a dozen shameful passions. Love one of them, I mean pride, and it will take up the spate of all the other eleven. "*2a
A proud monk argues hitu-rly with others. The humble monk is loath to contradict them.
The cypress tree does not bend to the ground in order to walk, nor does the haughty monk in order to yaiii obedience.
The proud man wants to be in charge of things. He would feel lost otherwise.
"God resists the proud" (James 4:6). Who then could have mercy on them? Before God every proud man is unclean and who then could purify such a person?
For the proud correction is a fall, a thorn (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7) is a dev- il, and abandonment by God is madness. Whereas in the first two in- stances there are human cures available, this last cannot be healed by man.
To reject criticism is to show pride, while to accept it is to show oneself free of this fetter.
Pride and nothing else caused an angel to fall from heaven. And so one may reasonably ask whether one may reach heaven by humil- ity alone without the help of any other virtue.
Pride loses the profits of all hard work and sweat. They clam- ored, but there was none to save them, because they clamored with pride. They clamored to God and He paid no heed since they were not really trying to root out the faults against which they were pray- ing.
An old man, very experienced in these matters, once spiritually admonished a proud brother who said in his blindness: "Forgive me, father, but I am not proud." "My son," said the wise old man, "what better proof of your pride could you have given than to claim that you were not proud?"
A help to the proud is submissiveness, a tougher and humbler mode of life, and the reading of the supernatural feats of the Fathers. Even then there will perhaps be little hope of salvation for those who suffer from this disease.
While it is disgraceful to be puffed up over the adornments of others, it is sheer lunacy to imagine that one has deserved the gifts of
82a. St. Mirk the Aacetic, (hi Ihe Spirhuiil Law, § 136 (/'G' 65, 921C) (reading i/w/ya-a): ET Pbil., § 135, p. 119.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
God. You may be proud only of the achievements you had before the time of your birth. But anything after that, indeed the birth itself, is a gift from God. You may claim only those virtues in you that are there independently of your mind, for your mind was bestowed on you by God. And you may claim only those victories you achieved indepen- dently of the body, for the body too is not yours but a work of God.
Do not be self-confident before judgment has been passed on you. Remember the guest at the marriage feast. He got there, and then, tied hand and foot, he was thrown into the dark outside (cf. Matt. 22:13). So do not be stiff-necked, since you are a material being. Many although holy and unencumbered by a body were thrown out even from heaven.
When the demon of pride finds a place for himself among his own, he appears to them, in sleep or awake, and he looks like a holy angel or martyr and he hints at mysteries to be revealed or spiritual gifts to be granted, that the wretches may be deceived and driven ut- terly out of their minds.
If we were to die ten thousand times for Christ, we would still not have repaid what we owe, for in value rather than physical sub- stance there is no comparison between the blood of God and that of 1 lis servants.
We should always be on the lookout to compare ourselves with the Fathers and the lights who have gone before us. If we do, we will discover that we have scarcely begun the ascetic life, that we have hardly kept our vow in a holy manner, and that our thinking is still rooted in the world.
A real monk is one whose soul's eye is not haughty and whose l)odily senses are unmoved.
A monk is one who fights his enemies, like the wild beasts that they are, and harries them as he makes his escape from them.
F'o be a monk is to know ecstasy without end and to grieve for life,
A monk is shaped by virtues in the way that others are shaped by pleasures.
A ninnk ha.s an urifailing light in the eye of the heart. '' A monk is an abyss of humility in which every evil spirit Uan been plunged and smothered.
Pride mukes us forge! our sins, for the remembnitice of (ht'in lends io liuiiiilii\'
Pride is uiiei- poverty of soul disguised as rielu-s, iinttiiHitiiv Itulil
2flW
JOHN CUMACUS
where in fact there is darkness. This abominable vice not only stops our progress but even tosses us down from the heights we have reached.
The proud man is a pomegranate, gone bad within, radiant out- side.
A proud monk needs no demon. He has turned into one, an ene- my to himself.
Darkness is alien to light. Pride is alien to every virtue.
Blaspheming words rise up in the hearts of the proud, heavenly visions in the hearts of the humble.
A thief hates the sun. A proud man despises the meek.
It happens, I do not know how, that most of the proud never really discover their true selves. They think they have conquered their passions and they find out how poor they really are only after they die.
The man ensnared by pride will need God's help, since man is of no use to him.
I captured this senseless deceiver once. It was rising up in my heart and on its shoulders was vainglory, its mother. 1 roped them with the noose of obedience and flailed them with the whip of humil- ity. Then I lashed them and asked how they had managed to gain ac- cess to me. "We have no beginning and no birth," they said, "for we are the source and the begetters of all the passions. The strongest op- position to us comes from the contrition of heart that grows out of obedience. We can endure no authority over us, which is why we fell from heaven where we surely had authority. In short, we are the au- thors and the progenitors of everything opposed to humility, for ev- erything that favors humility brings us low. We prevail everywhere except in heaven. So, then, where will you run to escape us? You will find us often where there is patient endurance of dishonor, where there is obedience and freedom from anger, where there is willing- ness to bear no grudge, where one's neighbor is served. And our chil- dren are the falls of those who lead the life of the spirit. Their names: Anger, Calumny, Spite, Irascibility, Yelling, Blasphemy, Hypocrisy, Hatred, Envy, Argumentativeness, Self-will, Disobedience.
"There is only one thing with which we cannot interfere, and the violence you do us will make us admit what this is. If you can honestly condemn yourself before the Lord, then indeed you wilt find us as flimsy as a cobweb. For, you see, Vainglory is pride's sad- dle-horse on which 1 am mounted. But holy Humility and Self-depre-
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
cation will laugh at the horse and its rider and will joyfully sing the song of triumph: 'Let us sing to the Lord, for He has been truly glori- fied. Horse and rider He has thrown into the sea' (Exod. 15:1), into the depths of humility."
Such is the twenty-third step. Whoever chmbs it, if indeed any- one can, will certainly be strong.
Concerning unspeakably blasphemous Thoughts
As we have already heard, from a troublesome root and mother comes a most troublesome offspring. What I mean is that unspeakable blasphemy is the child of dreadful pride. Hence the need to talk about it, since it is no ordinary foe but is far and away the deadliest enemy of all. Worse still, it is extremely hard to articulate and to confess it and therefore to discuss it with a spiritual healer, and the result has been to cause frustration and despair in many people, for like a worm in a tree this unholy enemy gnaws away all hope.
This atrocious foe has the habit of appearing during the holy ser- vices and even at the awesome hour of thcjMysteries, and blasphem- ing the Lord and the consecrated elements, thereby showing that the.se unspeakable, unacceptable, and unthinkable words are not ours but rather those of the God-hating demon who fled from heaven be- cause, it seems, of the blasphemies he uttered there too against the Lord. It must be so, for if these dreadful and unholy words are my own, how could I offer humble worship after having partaken of the sacred gift? How could I revile and praise at the same time?
I'his deceiver, this destroyer of souls, has often caused men to go mad. And no other thought is as difficult to admit in confession, which is why so many are dogged by it all their days. In fact nothing gives demons and evil thoughts such power over us as to nourish them and hide them in our hearts unconfessed.
If you have blasphemous thoughts, do not think that you are to blame, (iod knows what is in our hearts and He knows that ideas of ihis kind come not from us but from our enemies.
Drunkenness leads to stumbling. Pride leads to unholy ihoiighis. 'i'hc drunkard will be punished not for his stumbling bui lor liiN dnnikcnness.
I hose unclean and unspeakable thoughts come at us vvlictt Wf arc [iraying, hut, if we ctmiinuc to pray to the end, tlicy will rrltrai, for they do iiol struggle against those who resist ihcm.
[his unholy demon not only blasphemes (mhI tind t l>ili
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JOHN CLIMACUS
that is divine. It stirs up the dirtiest and most obscene thoughts with- in us, thereby trying to force us to give up praying or to fall into de- spair. It stops the prayer of many and turns many away from the holy Mysteries. It has evilly and tyrannously caused the bodies of some to be worn away with grief. It has exhausted others with fasting and has given them no rest. It has struck at people living in the world, and also at those leading the monastic life, whispering that there is no sal- vation in store for them, murmuring that they are more to be pitied than any unbeliever or pagan.
Anyone disturbed by the spirit of blasphemy and wishing to be rid of it should bear in mind that thoughts of this type do not origi- nate in his own soul but are caused by that unclean devil who once said to the Lord: "I will give you all this if only You fall down and adore me" (Matt. 4:9). So let us make light of him and pay no regard whatever to his promptings. Let us say: " 'Get behind me, Satan! I will worship the Lord my God and I will serve only Him' (Matt. 4:10). May your word and your effort rebound on you, and your blas- phemies come down on your own head now and in the world to come." To tackle the demon of blasphemy in any way other than this is to be like a man trying to hold lightning in his hands. For how can you take a grip on, seize, or grapple with someone who flits into the heart quicker than the wind, talks more rapidly than a flash, and then immediately vanishes? Every other kind of foe stops, struggles a while, lingers and gives one time to grapple with him. But not this one. He hardly appears and is gone again immediately. He barely speaks and then vanishes.
This particular demon likes to take up residence in the minds of simpler and more innocent souls, and these are more upset and dis- turbed by it than others. To such people we could quite rightly say that what is happening to them is due not to their own undue self- esteem but to the jealousy of the demons.
Let us refrain from passing judgment or condemnation on our neighbor. If we do, then we will not be terrorised by blasphemous thoughts, since the one produces the other.
The situation here is like that of someone shut up in his own house who overhears but does not join in the conversation of passers- by. The soul that keeps to itself overhears and is disturbed by the blasphemies of devils who are merely transients.
Hold this foe in contempt and you will be liberated from its tor- ments. Try cleverly to fight it and you will end up by surrendering.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
for the man who tries to conquer spirits by talk is like someone hop- ing to lock up the winds.
There was once a zealous monk who was badly troubled by this demon. For twenty years he wore himself out with fasting and vigils, but to no avail, as he realized. So he wrote the temptation on a sheet of paper, went to a certain holy man, handed him the paper, bowed his face to the ground and dared not to look up. The old man read it, smiled, lifted the brother and said to him: "My son, put your hand on my neck." The brother did so. Then the great man said: "Very well, brother. Now let this sin be on my neck for as many years as it has been or will be active within you. But from now on, ignore it." And the monk who had been tempted in this fashion assured me that even before he had left the cell of this old man, his infirmity was gone. The man who had actually experienced this told me about it, giving thanks to Christ.
He who has defeated this vice has banished pride.
311
Step 24
ON MEEKNESS,
SIMPLICITY,
GUILELESSNESS,
AND WICKEDNESS
The light of dawn comes before the sun, and meekness is the pre- cursor of all humility- So let us listen to the order in which Christ, our Light, places these virtues. He says: "Learn from Me, because I am meek and humble of heart" (Matt. 11:29). Therefore before gazing at the sun of humility we must let the light of meekness flow over us. If we do, we will then be able to look steadily at the sun. The true order of these virtues teaches us that we are totally unable to turn our eyes to the sun before we have first become accustomed to the light.
Meekness is a mind consistent amid honor or dishonor. Meekness prays quietly and sincerely for a neighbor however troublesome he may be. Meekness is a rock looking out over the sea of anger which breaks the waves which come crashing on it and stays entirely un- moved. Meekness is the bulwark of patience, the door, indeed the mother of love, and the foundation of discernment. For it is said: "The Lord will teach His ways to the meek" (Ps. 24:9). And it is meekness that earns pardon for our sins, gives confidence to our prayers and makes a place for the Holy Spirit. "To whom shall 1 look if not the meek and the peaceful?" (Isa. 66:2).
Meekness works alongside of obedience, guides a religious com-
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
munity, checks frenzy, curbs anger. It is a minister of joy, an imita- tion of Christ, the possession of angels, a shackle for demons, a shield against bitterness. The Lord finds rest in the hearts of the meek, while the turbulent spirit is the home of the devil. "The meek shall inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:.'>), indeed, rule over it; and the bad-tem- pered shall be carried off as booty from their land.
A meek soul is a throne of simplicity, but a wrathful mind is a creator of evil.
A gentle soul will make a place for wise words, since the "Lord will guide the meek in judgment" (Ps. 24:9), or rather, in discretion.
An upright soul is the companion of humility, but an evil one is the daughter of pride.
The souls of the meek shall be filled with wisdom, but the angry mind will cohabit with darkness and ignorance.
A bad-tempered man met a dissembler, and not an honest word passed between them, for if you open the heart of the one you will find frenzy, and if you examine the soul of the other you will see malice. ^
Simplicity is an enduring habit within a soul that has grown im- pervious to evil thoughts.
Evil is a deliberate kind of knowledge. Or, rather, it is a deformi- ty of the devil. There is no truth in it. And it imagines it can avoid being detected by many.
Hypocrisy is soul and body in a state of opposition to each other, intertwined with every kind of invention.
Guilelessness is the joyful condition of an uncalculating soul.
Honesty is innocent thought, a genuine character, speech that is neither artificial nor premeditated.
Innocence is a soul as pure as the day it was created and always concerned for everyone.
Malice is honesty perverted, a deluded thought, a lying disposi- tion, perjury, and ambiguous words. Malice is a false heart, an abyss of cunning, deceit that has become habitual, pride that is second na- ture. It is the foe of humility, a fake penitence, mourning depleted,"' a refusal to confess, an insistence on getting one's own way. It is ilir agent of lapses, a hindrance to resurrection, a tolerance of wrrmgdo- ing, false grief, false '•cverence. It is life gone diabolical.
I'lu- tvil man is the namesake and companion of the devil, whii l
HI. (ik fnijti'vimi'.r. 1 1 I \t rr.iits miiiryfimts, "iiii (*slrMii|{c'iiu'ril Iikiii iiiiMlfMillH "
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JOIINCIJMACUS
is why the Lord inuj^lii us in I'lill the devil by that name, saying, "De- liver us from the I'vil Otu-" (Mnii. 6;1.?).
Let us run honi ilu' i)rrri()icf of hypocrisy, from the pit of du- plicity. Let us heed the words of him who said: "The evildoers shall be destroyed" (Ps. ^{y.')]- "like ihc tjr;iss they shall wither and like green herbs shall they f;ill nwiiy" (ef, Ps. .^6:2). People of this kind are fodder for demons.
God is called uprightness just ;is I le is called love. This is why in the Song of Songs the wise man says to the [Hire heart: "Uprightness has loved you" (Song of Songs 1:4). Ihe father of the wise man says: "The Lord is good and upright" (Ps 24:M). I le says that those who are God's namesakes are saved: "He saves the upright of heart" (Ps. 7:11). "His countenance sees and visits the honest and the just" (Ps. 10;8).
Unadorned simplicity is the first characteristic of childhood. As long as Adam had it, he saw neither the nakedness of his soul nor the indecency of his flesh.
Good and blessed is that simplicity which some have by nature, but better is that which has been goaded out of wickedness by hard work. The former is protected from much complexity and the pas- sions, while the latter is the gateway to the greatest humility and meekness. There is not much reward for the one and no end of re- ward for the other.
If you wish to draw the Lord to you, approach Him as disciples to a master, in all simplicity, openly, honestly, without duplicity, without idle curiosity. He is simple and uncompounded-^"* And He wants the souls that come to Him to be simple and pure. Indeed you will never see simplicity separated from humility.
The evil man is a false prophet. He imagines that from words he can catch thoughts, from appearances the truth of the heart.
1 have seen good souls turn evil from the example of evil people, and it amaxed me that they could so quickly shed their natural sim- plicity and innocence. But it is as easy for the honest to lapse as it is hard for evildoers to change their ways. Still, a genuine turning away from the world, obedience, and a guarding of the lips have often proved very effective and have wonderfully restored those who seemed to be beyond recall.
If knowledge can cause most people to become vain, perhaps ig-
K4. Cf. St. Basil, Adversus Eiinomium I, 23 {FG 29, .564A).
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
norance and lack of learning can make them humble. Yet now and again you find men who pride themselves on their ignorance.
Paul the Simple,^' that thrice-blessed man, was a shining exam- ple to us. He was the measure and type of blessed simplicity, and no one has ever seen or heard or could see so much progress in so short a time.
A simple monk is like a dumb but rational and obedient animal. He lays his burden on his spiritual director. And like the animal who never answers back to the master who yokes him, the upright soul does not talk back to his superior. Instead, he follows where he is di- rected to go and will raise no protest even if sent to his death.
"It is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom" (Matt. 19:23). It is hard too for the foolishly "wise" to enter simplicity.
A lapse often saves the clever man, bringing him salvation and innocence in spite of himself.
Fight to escape from your own cleverness. If you do, then you will find salvation and an uprightness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. ,
If you have the strength to take this step, do not lose heart. For now you are imitating Christ your Master and you have been saved.
K,'. Puul ihc Sirnplf went off to \mn St. Antony in the desert nftor iMUhiim Kin wife in the uct of adultery. Si. Aniony thiiught hitti too old to licioinc .\ tnoiilt, Iml l*iilll KuliIllittLHl 111 iKf srvrrcM disfiivlitii- viilli siifh tinijUcMioniiiH tilinliencf lliiM HI il tfll' lively sliurl Iiimc Iu- LUiiuiri-il s|iinlii.il (lowers t-irii ^ri-JlLM- lliiin llnnr nl Nt AltMiliy, Sci- I'iiil.iiiius, ihr l.iiiitiiii l/itliiry. I'll .'2, I'/jf livfs ii/' llv DvinI l',il/ifi\, i'|( J4| Th Stt^lHgl uj llv Dru-ii lulhii, I'rtili ihr Sini|ilr,
217
Step 2S
ON HUMILITY
Do you imagine that plain words can precisely or truly or appro- priately or clearly or sincerely describe the love of the Lord, humil- ity, blessed purity, divine enlightenment, fear of God, and assurance of the heart? Do you imagine that talk of such matters will mean any- thing to someone who has never experienced them? If you think so, then you will be like a man who with words and examples tries to convey the sweetness of honey to people who have never tasted it. He talks uselessly. Indeed I would say he is simply prattling. The same applies in the first instance. A man stands revealed as either having had no experience of what he is talking about or as having fallen into the grip of vainglory.
Our theme sets before us as a touchstone a treasure stored safely in earthen vessels, that i.s, in our bodies. This treasure is of a quality that eludes adequate description. It carries an inscription of heavenly origin which is therefore incomprehensible so that anyone seeking words for it is faced with a great and endless task. The inscription reads as follows: "Holy Humility."
Let all who are led by the Spirit of God come with us into this spiritual and wise assembly. Let them hold in their spiritual hands the tablet.s of knowledge inscribed by God Himself. We have come to- gether. We have put our questions. We have searched for the meaning of this precious inscription.
2IH
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
"Humility is constant forgetfulness of one's achievements," someone says.
"It is the admission that in all the world one is the least impor- tant and is also the greatest sinner," another says.
"It is the mind's awareness that one is weak and helpless," a third says.
"It is to forestall one's neighbor at a contentious moment and to be the first to end a quarrel."
"It is the acknowledgement of divine grace and divine mercy." "It is the disposition of a contrite soul and the abdication of one's own will."
I listened to all this and thought it over carefully and soberly, and was not able to grasp the sense of that blessed virtue from what I had heard. I was the last to speak; and, like a dog gathering crumbs from a table, I collected what those learned and blessed fathers had said and went on from there to propose my own definition: "Humil- ity is a grace in the soul and with a name known only to those who have had experience of it. It is indescribable wealth, a name and a gift from God. 'Learn from Me,' He said; that is, not from an angel, not from a man, not from a book, but 'from Me,' that is, from My dwell- ing within you, from My illumination and action within you, for 'I tm gentle and meek of heart' (Matt. 11:29) in thought and in spirit, and your souls will find rest from conflicts and relief from evil thoughts."
The appearance of this sacred vine is one thing during the winter of passions, another in the springtime of flowering, and still another in the harvesttime of all the virtues. Yet all these appearances have one thing in common, namely, joy and the bearing of fruit, and they all give sure signs and evidence of the harvest to come. As soon as the clu.ster of holy humility begins to flower within us, we come, after hard work, to hate all earthly praise and glory. We rid ourselves of r»ge and fury; and the more this queen of virtues spreads within our souls tlirough spiritual growth, the more we begin to regard all our j|ood deeds as of no consequence, in fact as loathsome. For every day We soriiehow imagine that we are adding to our l)urdcn bv hit iniio- nini scaiiering, that the very abundance of CJod's gifts to \\s i,« iti) much in excess of what we deserve that the punishment due to iin Im»« comes thereby nil the greater, I lence our minds rem;im %r-i uic, Im Itt'il Up 111 the purse of inodcsly, iiwarc of the knocks .iiul liir \w\^ u|
2 IV
JOHN CI.IMACUS
thieves and yet uiilrouhlid l>v itu-tn, because modesty is an unassail- able strongroom.
We have so far risked ;t lew words of a philosophical kind regard- ing the blossoming and the growth of this everblooming fruit. But those of you who are close to the Lord [[iniself must find out from Him what the perfect reward is of this holy virtue, since there is no way of measuring the sheer abundance of such blessed wealth, nor could words convey its quality. Neveriheless, we must try to express the thoughts that occur to us about its distinguishing characteristics.
Real repentance, mourning scrubbed of all impurity, and holy humility among beginners are as different and distinct from one an- other as yeast and flour from bread. The soul is ground and refined by visible repentance. The waters of true mourning bring it to a cer- tain unity. I would even go so far as to speak of a mingling with God. Then, kindled by the fire of the Lord, blessed humility is made into bread and made firm without the leaven of pride. The outcome of all this is a three-stranded cord (cf. Eccles. 4:12), a heavenly rainbow coming together as a single power and energy, with its own effects and characteristics. Speak of one and we imply the other two. And I will now briefly try to prove the truth of what I am saying.
The first and principal token of this excellent and admirable tri- ad is the delighted readiness of the soul to accept indignity, to receive it with open arms, to welcome it as something that relieves and cau- terizes diseases of the soul and grevious sins. The second token is the wiping out of anger — and modesty over the fact that it has subsided. Third and preeminent is the honest distrust of one's own virtues, to- gether with an unending desire to learn more.
"The end of the law and the prophets is Christ, for the justifica- tion of every believer" (Rom. 10:4). And the end of impure passions is vainglory and pride for every man who fails to deal with the problem. But their destroyer is a spiritual stag*^ which keeps the man who lives with it safe from every poison. The deadly bane of hypocrisy and of calumny can surely never appear where there is humility. Where will this snake nestle and hide? Will it not be pulled out from the heart's earth to be killed and done away with? Where there is hu-
86, The stag was thought to be able to kill snakes after first drawmg iheiii out of their holes with the breath of its nostrils (cf. Origen, Horn. 2, II in Cant. : PC, 13. if>C).
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
mility there will be no sign of hatred, no species of quarrelsomeness, no whiff of disobedience — unless of course some question of faith arises. The man with humility for his bride will be gentle, kind, in- clined to compunction, sympathetic, calm in every situation, radiant, easy to get along with, inoffensive, alert and active. In a word, free from passion. "The Lord remembered us in our humility and deliv- ered us from our enemies" (Ps. 135:23-24), that is, from our passions and from our impurities.
A humble monk will not preoccupy himself with mysteries. A proud monk busies himself with the hidden judgments of God.
Demons once heaped praise on one of the most discerning of the brothers. They even appeared to him in visible form. But this very wise man spoke to them as follows: "If you cease to praise me by way of the thoughts of my heart, I shall consider myself to be great and outstanding because of the fact that you have left me. But if you con- tinue to praise me, I must deduce from such praise that I am very im- pure indeed, since every proudhearted man is unclean before the Lord (cf. Prov. 16:5). So leave me, and I shall become great, or else praise me, and with your help I shall earn more humility." Struck by this dilemma, they vanished.
Let not your soul be a hollow in the stream of life, a hollow some- times full and sometimes dried up by the heat of vainglory and pride. Instead, may your soul be a spring-head of dispassion that wells up into a river of poverty. Friend, remember that corn and the fruit of the spirit will stand high in the valleys (cf. Ps. 64:14). The valley is a soul made humble among the mountains of labors and virtues. It al- ways remains unproud and steadfast. In Scripture are the words, "I humbled myself, and the Lord hastened to rescue me" (Ps. 1 14:6); and these words are there instead of "I have fasted," "I have kept vigil," "I lay down on the bare earth."
Repentance lifts a man up. Mourning knocks at heaven's gate. Holy humility opens it. This I say, and I worship a Trinity in Unity mid a Unity in Trinity.
The sun lights up everything visible. Humility reaches across ev- erything done according to reason. Where there is no light, all is in ditrkiiess. Where there is no humility, all is rotten.
In the entire universe there is a unique place that shw ihr inn )u!it once. And tlu-re is :i unititic thought that has given rise lo liuiiiil-
321
JOHN CIJMACUS
ity. ! here was ;i uni(|U(' tl.iy on which the whole world rejoiced. And there is n uiiicjuc viriiie ihc demons c;innot imitate. ^^
I o exalt orie.scir isoiie iliirij^, not to do .so another, and to humble oneself is something el.se entirely. A man may always be passing judg- ment on others, while .iiintiu-r man passes judgment neither on others nor on himself. A third, however, though actually guiltless, may al- ways be passing judgment oti himself".
There is a difference l>etween being humble, striving for humil- ity, and praising the humble. I he first is a mark of the perfect, the second of the obedient, and the third of all the faithful.
A man truly humble within himself will never find his tongue betraying him. What is not in the treasury cannot be brought out through the door.
A solitary horse can often imagine itself to be at full gallop, but when it finds itself in a herd it then discovers how slow it actually is. A first sign of emerging health is when our thoughts are no long- er filled with a proud sense of our aptitudes. As long as the stench of pride lingers in the nose, the fragrance of myrrh will go unnoticed.
Holy humility had this to say: "The one who loves me will not condemn someone, or pass judgment on anyone, or lord it over some- one else, or show off his wisdom until he has been united with me. A man truly joined to me is no longer in bondage to the Law."
1 he unholy demons once began to murmur praise in the heart of an ascetic who was struggling to achieve blessed humility. However, God inspired him to use a holy trick to defeat the cleverness of these spirits. The monk got up and on the wall of his cell he wrote in se- quence the names of the major virtues: perfect love, angelic humility, pure prayer, unassailable chastity, and others of a similar kind. 1 he result was that whenever vainglorious thoughts began to puff him up, he would say: "Come! Let us go to be judged." Going to the wall he would read the names there and would cry out to himself: "When you
H7. The scholiast explains two of these allusions a,s follows: "The unique place is the floor of the Red Sea during the crossing of Israel. The day of universal joy is none other than the day of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, on which our race wa.s freed from the eternal bonds of Hades. Others say that it is the day of the nativity, on which the glory to God in the highest of the angels was heard. Others say that it is the day on which Noah and his companions came out of the ark" (scholion 10 (lOO.iBI). Ac- cording to another scholion, attributed to John of Raithu, the unique thought i.s "the constant thought of death, and meditation on eternal judgment and on the Cros.s and death of Christ" (PC «8. 12.?6C). The unique virtue is humility.
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THE LADDER OF DI\TNE ASCENT
have every one of these virtues within you, then you will have an ac- curate sense of how far from God you still are."
No one of us can describe the power and nature of the sun. We can merely deduce its intrinsic nature from its characteristics and ef- fects. So too with humility, which is a God-given protection against seeing our own achievements. It is an abyss of self-abasement to which no thief can gain entry. It is a tower of strength against the enemy. "Against him the enemy will not prevail and the son (or, rath- er, the thought) of iniquity will do him no harm and he will cut off his enemies before him" (Ps, 88:23-24) and will put to flight those who hate him.
The great possessor of this treasure has other properties in his soul besides those referred to above. These properties, with one ex- ception, are manifest tokens of this wealth. You will know that you have this holy gift within you and not be led astray when you experi- ence an abundance of unspeakable light together with an indescrib- rtl>le love of prayer. Even before reaching this stage, you may have it, if in your heart you pass no judgment on the faults of others. And a precursor of what we have described is hatred of all vainglory.
The man who has come to know himself with the full awareness of his soul has sown in good ground. However, anyone who has not sown in this way cannot expect humility to flower within him. And anyone who has acquired knowledge of self has come to understand the fear of the Lord, and walking with the help of this fear, he has urrived at the doorway of love. For humility is the door to the king- dom, opening up to those who come near. It was of that door, I be- lieve, that the Lord spoke when He said: "He shall go in and come out of life" and not be afraid "and he shall find pasture" (John 10:8-9) and the green grass of Paradise. And whoever has entered monastic life by some other door is a thief and a robber of his own life.
I hose of us who wish to gain understanding must never stop ex- amining ourselves and if in the perception of your soul you realize lliiU your neighbor is superior to you in all respects, then the mercy of (ioti is surely near at hand.
Snow cannot burst into flames. It is even less possible for humil- ity 1o al)i(le in a lieretie. This achievement belongs only tn the pious and the faithful, anti then only when they have been puiilnd |. Most of us would describe ourselves as sinners. And ))rrliii|>k wo rriilly (hitik so. \hn it is iniligiiit\' iliui shows up the true Mute nt llip hcnirt.
I2i
JOHN CLIMACUS
Whoever is eiiyer for the peaceful haven of humility will never cease to do nil In- possibly ciHi to get there, and with words and thoughts, with consider;)! ions and explanations, with questionings and probings, with c\ery device, with prayer and supplication, with meditation and reflection, he v,\\\ push onward, helped by God, hu- miliated and despised and toiling mightily, and he will sail the ship of his sou! out from the ever-stormy ocean of vainglory. For the man de- livered from this sin wins ready pardon for all his other sins, like the publican in Scripture.
Some drive out empty pride by thinking to the end of their lives of their past misdeeds, for which they were forgiven and which now serve as a spur to humility. Others, remembering the passion of Christ, think of themselves as eternally in debt. Others hold them- -selves in contempt when they think of their daily lapses. Others come to possess this mother of graces by way of their continuous tempta- tions, weaknesses, and sins.^^ There are some — and I cannot say if they are to be found nowadays — who humble themselves in propor- tion to the gifts they receive from God and live with a sense of their unworthiness to have such wealth bestowed on them, so that each day they think of themselves as sinking further into debt. That is real hu- mility, real beatitude, a real reward! And you may be sure that it is by this particularly blessed route that anyone has traveled who in a few short years has arrived at the summit of dispassion.
Love and humility make a holy team. The one exalts. The other supports those who have been exalted and never falls.
There is a difference between contrition, self-knowledge, and hu- mility.
Contrition is the outcome of a lapse. A man who has lapsed breaks down and prays without arrogance, though with laudable per- sistence, disarrayed and yet clinging to the staff of hope, indeed using it to drive off the dog of despair.
Self-knowledge is a clear-eyed notion of one's own spiritual ad- vance. It is also an unwavering remembrance of one's lightest sins.
Humility is a spiritual teaching of Christ led spiritually like a bride into the inner chamber of the soul of those deemed worthy of it, and it somehow eludes all description.
8K. H'['M has a fuller version of -this sentence: "Others, as a result of their licsti- ting temptations, infirmities and sins, have mortified their pride. Others for want of graces have appropriated the mother of graces (i.e. humility)."
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A man says that he is experiencing the full fragrance of this myrrh within him. Someone happens to praise him, and if he feels the slightest stir of the heart or if he grasps the full import of what is be- ing said, then he is certainly mistaken, and let him have no illusion about that fact.
"Not to us, not to us, but to Your name, O Lord, give glory" (Ps. 113:9). I once heard a man say this with total sincerity. He was a man who well understood that human nature is such that it cannot remain unharmed by praise. "My praise shall be from You in the great assem- bly, Lord" (Ps. 21:26), that is, in the life to come, and 1 cannot accept it before that without risk to myself
If the outer limit, the rule, and the characteristic of extreme pride is for a man to make a show of having virtues he does not actu- ally possess for the sake of glory, then surely the token of extreme hu- mility will be to lower ourselves by claiming weaknesses we do not really have. This was what one man did when he took the bread and cheese in his hands. ^' This too was the way of the man who was free of all fleshly lust but who used to take his'clothes off and parade na- ked through the whole city.^° Men like these do not worry about giv- ing scandal, for through prayer they have received the power to reassure all men invisibly. Indeed, to be afraid of censure is to show lack of ability in prayer. And when God is ready to hear our prayers we can achieve anything.
Better to offend man than God. For God is delighted when He sees us courting dishonor for the purpose of crushing, striking, and destroying our empty self-esteem. And virtue of this sort comes only from a complete abandonment of the world and only the really great can endure the derision of their own folk. This should not surprise you. The fact is that no one can climb a ladder in a single stride. And in this matter it is not on account of the devils subjected to us that men will recognize us as disciples of God, but because our names are written in the heaven of humility (cf. Luke 10:20).
A lemon tree naturally lifts its branches upwards when it has no fruit. The more its branches bend, the more fruit you will find there. The meaning of this will be clear to the man disposed io undcrst.itid it.
Holy humility receives from God the power to yield liiiii iliitiv
H'>, ,'\Uliii Siiniin il.v Siiym^i III llie tkuil iulhfis, Sitnuii.
WO, S(ini|>uiii ili(- Siiiilonitr: t'nlliailluii, Tb
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JOHN CLIMACUS
fold, sixtyfokl ;iiui a lMin ld. The dispassionate attain that last degree, the couiMgcoiis ihc middle, and everyone can rise to the first.
The man who has cotnc (o know himself is never fooled into reaching for what is beyond him. He keeps his feet henceforth on the blessed path of humilitv.
Just as birds fear the sight of a hawk, those who practice humility fear the sound of an argument.
Many have attained salvation without the aid of prophecies, illu- mination, signs and wonders. But without humility no one will enter the marriage chamber, for humility is the guardian of such gifts. Without it, they will bring disaster on the frivolous.
Because of our unwillingness to humble ourselves, God has ar- ranged that no one can see his own faults as clearly as his neighbor does. Hence our obligation to be grateful not to ourselves but to our neighbor and to God for our healing.
A humble man will always hate his own will as a cause of error. In his petitions to the Lord which he makes with unwavering faith he learns what he should do and obeys. He does not spend his time scru- tinizing the lifestyle of his superiors. He lays all his burden on the God Who used an ass to teach Balaam what had to be done. All the acts, thoughts, and words of such a man are directed to the will of God and he never trusts himself. Indeed, to a humble man, self-confi- dence is as much a thorn and a burden as the orders of someone else are to a proud man.
In my opinion, an angel is characterized by the fact that he is not tricked into sinning. And I hear those words of an earthly angeh'^ "I am aware of nothing against myself and yet I am not thereby justi- fied. It is the Lord Who is my Judge" (1 Cor. 4:4). So we must always condemn and criticize ourselves in order that by means of deliberate- ly chosen humiliations we may protect ourselves from unwitting sin. And if we do not do this, our punishment at death will be heavy in- deed.
The man who asks God for less than he deserves will certainly receive more, as is shown by the publican who begged forgiveness but obtained salvation (cf Luke 18:10-14). And the robber asked only to be remembered in the kingdom, yet he inherited all of Paradise (cf. Luke 23:43).
In the created world fire cannot naturally be both small and
91. [n Greek "angel" means "messenger."
22f>
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCEN I
great at one and the same time. Humility cannot be genuine and at one and the same time have a worldly strain.''^ Genuine humility is not in us if we fall into voluntary sin, and this is the sign that there is something material still within us.
The Lord understood that the virtue of the soul is shaped by our outward behavior. He therefore took a towel and showed us how to walk the road of humility (cf. John 13:4). The soul indeed is molded by the doings of the body, conforming to and taking shape from what it does. To one of the angels it was the fact of being a ruler that led to pride, though it was not for this reason that the prerogative was origi- nally granted to him.
A man who sits on a throne acts in one way, and the man who sits on a dunghill acts in another. That, perhaps, is the reason why that great and just man''^ sat on the dunghill outside the city. Totally humbled, he said in all sincerity, "I despise myself, waste away" (Job 42:6), and have regarded myself as dust and ashes.
I note that Manasseh sinned like no other man. He defiled the temple of God with idols and he contaminated the sacred Liturgy (cf 4 [2] Kings 21:4). A fast by all the world could not have made repara- tion for his sin, and yet humility could heal his incurable wound. "If You wanted sacrifice I would have given it," David says to God, "but You will not be satisfied with holocausts," that is, with bodies worn out by fasting. "The sacrifice for God is a contrite spirit. God will not despise a humble and contrite heart" (Ps. 50:17). Following on adul- tery and murder, blessed humility once cried out to God, "I have sinned against the Lord," and the reply was heard: "The Lord has put away your sin" (2 Kings [2 Sam.] 12:13).
The wonderful Fathers proclaimed physical labor to be the way to and the foundation of humility. To this I would add obedience and honesty of heart, since these are by nature opposed to self-aggrandize- ment.
If pride turned some of the angels into demons, then humilitv can doubtless make angels out of demons. So take heart, all you sin- ners.
'>}. This pus.snyt' is iilisfiirtv It rriiiy he rranshiiod alternatively: "ll is iiiipim^ililr HI Me a fire, wIumIht sitiull nr uri'.il, cviMinn by iiaturL- in aii\ creiiuiriv Sniillitily, II || impdssiblc III set- iiiiv inn'c nl llic- (ixtn ul Miiilter (i.r., sml rMslinji m KPttlllMt* ilUltlll'
lt,v"
'-It. If, Joli.
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JOHN CLIMACUS
Let us strive with all our might to reach that summit of humility, or let us at least chmh onto her shoulders. And if this is too much for us, let us at least not tumble out of her arms, since after such a tumble a man will scarcely receive any kind of everlasting gift.
Humility has its signs. It also has its sinews and its ways, and these are as follows — poverty, withdrawal from the world, the con- cealment of one's wisdom, simplicity of speech, the seeking of alms, the disguising of one's nobility, the exclusion of free and easy rela- tionships, the banishment of idle talk.
Nothing can ever so humble the soul as destitution and the sub- sistence of a beggar. We will show ourselves true lovers of wisdom and of God if we stubbornly run away from all possibility of aggran- dizement.
If you wish to fight against some passion, take humility as your ally, for she will tread on the asp and the basilisk of sin and despair, and she will trample under foot the lion and the serpent of physical devilishness and cunning
Humility is a heavenly waterspout which can lift the soul from the abyss up to heaven's height.
Someone discovered in his heart how beautiful humility is, and in his amazement he asked her to reveal her parent's name. Humility smiled, joyous and serene: "Why are you in such a rush to learn the name of my begetter? He has no name, nor will I reveal him to you until you have God for your possession. To Whom be glory forever." Amen.
The sea is the source of the fountain, and humility is the source of discernment.
22H
Step 26
ON DISCERNMENT
Among beginners, discernment is real self-knowledge; among those midway along the road to perfection,' it is a spiritual capacity to distinguish unfailingly between what is truly good and what in na- ture is opposed to the good; among the perfect, it is a knowledge re- suiting from divine illumination, which with its lamp can light up what is dark in others. To put the matter generally, discernment is — and is recognized to be — a solid understanding of the will of God in all times, in all places, in all things; and it is found only among those who are pure in heart, in body, and in speech.
The man who has devoutly destroyed within himself the three has also destroyed the five.^"* If he has neglected any of the former, then he will not be able to overcome even a single passion.
Discernment is an uncorrupted conscience. It is pure perception.
No one seeing or hearing something in monastic life that has a force over and beyond nature should, out of ignorance, become unbe- lieving. For much that is supernatural happens where the supernatu- ral (iod abides.
Kvery demonic upheaval within us arises from the following three related causes, namely, carelessness, pride, or the envy of dc>
'■H Aii-oi'(iiiij; m l''viij.(riiis {I'hil., p'K), llii- throe priiu-ijwl rvil ili(ii (iiiij. Viiiii|,{loiv mill iiviirirc, llirx" hivt risf t'> tlic oilier live, liisi, ili't|iiMl
dcici'ii'iii mill .iiiK
220
JOHN CUMACUS
mons. The first is fiiiial.Ic, the second deplorable, but the third is blessed.
Let our (.■oti-directiHl'''^ loiiscience be our aim and rule in every- thing so that, knowing how ihc wind is blowing, we may set our sails accordingly.'**'
Amid all our efforts to please (;<>d, three pitfalls lie, prepared for us by demons. First is their attempt to impede any sort of worthwhile achievement; and if this fails, they strive secondly to ensure that what we do should not be in accordance with the will of God. And if the scoundrels fail in this too, then they stand quietly before our soul and praise us for the fact that in every respect we are living as God would wish. We should fight these risks, the first by zeal and fear of death, the second by obedience and self-abasement, the third by unceasing self-condemnation. "This work is ahead of us until the fire of God shall enter our sanctuary" (of. Ps. 72:16-17), and then indeed the pow- er of our predispositions will no longer constrain us. For our God is a fire consuming all lusts, all stirrings of passion, all predispositions, and ail hardness of heart, both within and without, both visible and spiritual.
Demons, on the other hand, bring about the very opposite to all this. Grabbing a soul, they put out the light of the mind until in our wretchedness we find ourselves lacking sobriety or discernment, self- knowledge or shame; and we are burdened instead with indifference, insensitivity, want of discernment, and blindness.
All of this is well known to those who have abandoned fornica- tion and become chaste, who have reined in their tongues and switched from shamelessness to modesty. They know that when the mind was cleansed, its callousness ended, or rather its mutilation healed, shame filled them for what they said and did previously in the season of their blindness.
95. HTM reads meta tbeon instead of kata theon: "After God, let us have our con- science," etc.
96. The scholiast comments: "A ship is sometimes overwhelmed by storms from without, and sometimes sinks through springing a leak within. We too sometimes per- ish through sms committed externally, and sometimes are destroyed bv evil thoughts withm. We must therefore both keep watch for the external attacks of spirits and bail out the impurity of evil thoughts within. Only more effort must be made w.th the un- derstanding against evil thoughts" Ucholion 4 [1037AB]).
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
If the day of our soul does not turn to evening and become dark, no thieves will come then to rob or slay or ruin our soul.''
Robbery is a hidden bondage of the soul. The slaying of the soul is the death of a rational mind that has fallen into evil ways. Ruin is despair of oneself following on a breach of God's law.
No one should plead inability to do what is asked of us in the gos- pels, since there are souls who have accomplished far more than is commanded. Of this truth you will be entirely persuaded, given what is said about the man who loved his neighbor more than himself and who laid down his life for him, in spite of the fact that the Lord had not ordered him to do so.''*'
Those who have been humbled by their passions should take heart. Even if they tumble into every pit, even if they are trapped by every snare, even if they suffer every disease, still after their return to health they become a light to all, they prove to be doctors, beacons, pilots. They teach us the characteristics of every malady and out of their own experience they can rescue those about to lapse.
Anyone in the grip of previous bad [labits and yet still able to give teaching, although only by their words, should do so. (Of course, they should not hold positions of authority.) Shamed by their own words, they may finally begin to practice what they preach. And there may even happen in their case what I have seen happen with people stuck in the mud. Mired themselves, they warned passersby, telling how they had sunk, explaining this for their salvation so that they too might not fall in the same manner, and the omnipotent God rescued them from the mud so that the others might be saved.
But anyone who is dominated by passions and who quite willing- ly embraces pleasure should be a lesson by his very silence. Jesus be- gan both "to do and to teach" (Acts 1:1).
We humble monks have to travel a truly dangerous sea, a sea full of winds, rocks, and whirlpools, of pirates, waterspouts, and shallows, of mon.sters and waves. A rock in the soul is wild and sudden anger. A whirlpool is the hopelessness that lays hold of the mind on every side and struggles to drag it into the depths of despair. A shallow is
V7. MTM adds two senlenccM "Theft is loss of properly, lliid iv itiiiii|{ whill ll liol )j
K. Aliba l.eoof ( :apfiadiK'ia, whn |{iivc his life to redeem ihrcr I'UjiOvp (lMlllk«i tIPf |iihii Miisiliiis, I'liiiiiiii SfiinlHdIf. ill 112,
.'11
JOHN CLIMACUS
the ignorance that makes a good of what is evil. A monster is this gross and savage body. Pirates are those deadly servants of vainglory who snatch our cargo, the hard-won earnings of our virtues. A wave is the swollen and packed stomach that by its gluttony hands us over to the beast. A waterspout is pride, the pride that flings us down from heaven, bears us up to the sky, and then dashes us into the lowest depths.
Educators can distinguish between the programs of study suit- able for beginners, for the intermediate, and for teachers. And we ought to ensure that we do not spend an unduly long time at the be- ginner's stage, for it would be a disgrace to have an old man going to kindergarten.
Here for everyone is an excellent alphabet: A — obedience, B — fasting, r— sackcloth, A— ashes, E — tears, 2 — confession, H — silence, 0— humility, I— vigil, K— bravery. A— cold, M— struggle, N— hard work, E— humiliation, O — contrition, 0— forgetfulness of wrongs, P — brotherly love, 2 — meekness, T — simple and unquestioning faith, Y — freedom from worldly concern, — unhating rejection of parents, X — detachment, f — innocent simplicity, ft — voluntary abasement.
For the advanced, the following is a good plan and indeed a sign of progress: lack of vainglory, freedom from anger, good hope, still- ness, discernment, continuous remembrance of the judgment, com- passion, hospitality, gentleness in criticism, passionless prayer, lack of avarice.
And a measure, rule, and law for those in the flesh aiming at per- fection in spirit and body is the following: A — an unfettered heart, B — perfect love, F — a well of humility, A — a detached mind, E — an indwelling of Christ, Z — an assurance of light and of prayer, H — an outpouring of divine illumination, — a wish for death, I — hatred of life, K — flight from the body, A — an ambassador for the world, M — an importuner of God, N — fellow worshiper with the angels, S — a depth of knowledge, O — a dwelling place of mysteries, FT — a custodi- an of holy secrets, P — a savior of men, 1 — lord over the demons, T — master of the passions, Y — lord of the body, 4> — controller of nature, X — a stranger to sin, f — home of dispassion, il — with God's help an imitator of the Lord.
We have to be particularly vigilant whenever the body is sick, for at such a time the demons, observing our weakness and our inability to fight against them as usual, rush in to attack us. In times of illness the demon of anger and even of blasphemy may be discovered around
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
those who live in the world. Those leading a religious life but having alt they need of a material kind may suffer the onslaught of the de- mon of gluttony and fornication. But ascetics who live without com- forts may find themselves plagued by the tyrant of despondency and ingratitude.
And I have noticed how the wolf of fornication increased the suf- ferings of the sick and, while they were laid low, caused stirrings of the flesh and even emissions. It was amazing to see how the body, for all its agonies, could still rage and lust. And when I looked once more I saw sick men comforted by the power of God or by the workings of compunction, and because they were comforted they kept the pain at bay and even arrived at a disposition where they had no wish to re- cover from their illness. At other times I saw men freed from their souls' passion by grave sickness, as though it were some kind of pen- ance, and I could only praise the God who cleans clay with clay.
A mind disposed to the things of the spirit is certainly endowed with spiritual perception and this is something that, whether we pos- sess it or not, we should always seek to have. And when it comes, our senses desist from their natural activities. This is why a wise man once said, "You shall obtain a sense of what is divine.'"'^
In the matter of actions, words, thoughts, and movements, the monastic life has to be lived with a perceptive heart. '°° Otherwise it will not be monastic or indeed angelic.
One has to distinguish between divine providence, divine assis- tance, divine protection, divine mercy, and divine consolation. Provi- dence is shown in all of nature, assistance among the faithful alone, protection among those believers whose faith is most alive, mercy among those who serve God, and consolation among those who love Him.
One man's medicine can be another man's poison, and something can be a medicine to the same man at one time and a poison at an- other. So I have seen an incompetent physician who by inflicting dis- honor on a sick but contrite man produced despair in him, and I have seen a skillful physician who cut through an arrogant heart witli the knife of dishonor and thereby drained it of all its foul-smellin|j pns I
W. It TM says lluil i\ Kiissi;iii imti- iittriliulcs ihi.s .Siivinj; In Si Ntlim ii( Sinm II i' , |)irsiiiM;ilily Niliis III" Aticyrn).
UXI. riic . niiivcmcntK, even ilmse nC hio ihotiKJitii" (xi'holjon IH | HH(l|)|)
iu
JOHN CLIMACUS
have seen a sick man striving to cleanse his impurity by drinking the medicine of obedience, by moving, walking, and staying awake. That same man when the eye of his soul was sick did not move, made no noise, and was silent. Therefore, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Luke 14:35).
Since I am not so proud as to pry into the gifts of God, I cannot say why it is that some people appear to be naturally inclined to tem- perance or silence or purity or modesty or meekness or contrition. Others have to fight hard against their own natures to acquire these, they have to force themselves on to the best of their ability, suffering occasional defeat on the way; and it seems to me that the very fact of having to struggle against their own natures somehow puts them into a higher category than the first kind.
Never boast, man, about the wealth you acquired without having to work for it. The heavenly Giver anticipates how you may be in- jured, weakened, or ruined and therefore gives you some help by way of those gifts, which you certainly did not deserve.
What we learned as children, our education and our studies, may be a help or a hindrance to us in virtue in monastic life, when we come of age.
Angels are a light for monks and the monastic life is a light for all men. Hence monks should spare no effort to become a shining exam- ple in all things, and they should give no scandal in anything they say or do. For if the light becomes dark, then all the deeper will be the darkness of those living in the world.
And if you will lend a willing ear to what I have to say, you will agree that it would be bad for us to spread ourselves too thinly, to have our wretched souls pulled in all directions, to take on, alone, a fight against thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten thousands of enemies, since the understanding of their evil workings, indeed even the listing of them, is far beyond our capacities. Instead, let us summon the Holy Trinity to help us as we marshal three against three. ^°' If we fail to do this we will make very hard work for ourselves. For if God really dwells in us, the God Who made dry land of the sea, then the Israel within us, the mind that looks to God, will surely make a safe crossing of this sea and it will look on the Egyp-
101. Seif-control, love and humility, says the scholia.st, against sensuality, avarice anrf arnbition (scholion 29 [1044AB]): the three latter are the principal evil thoughi.s ac- cording to Evagrius (see note 'H, p. 32^).
2.14
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
tians sunk in the waters of tears. But if God has not yet arrived in us, who will understand the roaring waves of the sea, that is, of our bod- ies? Whereas if, because of our works, God rises within us. His ene- mies will be scattered; and if we draw near to Him through contemplation, "those who hate Him will run from before His face" (Ps. 67:2) and from ours.
Let us seek to discover the things of heaven through the sweat of our efforts, rather than by mere talk, for at the hour of death it is deeds, not words, that must be displayed.
Those who learn of treasure hidden away somewhere look for it, and when they find it, they make sure to hold on to what they have found. But those who get rich without any effort are quick to squan- der what they have.
It is hard to shake off old habits, especially bad ones; and when others are added to these, despair can result and obedience proves to be without value. Still, I know that God. can do anything, that for Him nothing is impossible.
Certain people put a particular question to me, a question very difficult to solve and certainly beyond my capacities. Nor is it dealt with in any of the books that have come my way. The question took this form: "What are the special offspring of the eight deadly sins, and which of the three chief sins produce the other five?" To my credit, I pleaded ignorance and was therefore put in the position of being able to learn the following from those men of great holiness: "Gluttony is the mother of lust and vainglory is the mother of de- spondency. Dejection and anger are the offspring of those three, '°-^ and the mother of pride is vainglory."
The statement of these ever-memorable fathers inspired me to put more questions regarding the lineage of the eight sins, which pro- duced which. And these men, free as they were from passion, kindly instructed me, saying that no order or reason can be found among the irrational passions, that indeed every brand of disorder and chaos may be discovered in them. The blessed Fathers confirmed all this with persuasive examples and numerous proofs, some of which I in- clude in this section. They will be a light by which to anaty/c 'lie others.
102. I.e. (in the r".va((rinii schriiic) of gliillony, vainglory ami avji i( i- lliil ( 'lltH does no! in fact inciilioti iiviiritc it) ll>c [ircsenl ]>assage, jltlunnjli he (ri'uil II ■!• the ihriT chief vices In Step 17.
2J5
JOHN CLIMACUS
For instance, jokes at the wrong time can be the product of lust, or of vainglory when a man impiously pretends to be pious, or high living. Excessive sleep can arise from luxury, from fasting when those who fast become proud of it, from despondency, or sometimes from nature. Garrulity sometimes comes from gluttony, and sometimes from vainglory. Despondency can derive now from high living, now from lack of fear of God. Blasphemy is properly the child of pride, but can often arise out of the readiness to condemn one's neighbor for the same offense, or it can be due to the untimely envy of demons. Hardheartedness is sometimes the consequence of gluttony, frequent- ly of insensitivity, and also of being grasping. And to be grasping can be due to lust, avarice, gluttony, vainglory, and indeed to many other causes. Malice comes from conceit and from anger, while hypocrisy comes from independence and self-direction.
The virtues opposed to these are born of opposing parents. And since I have not the time to examine them in detail, I will merely ob- serve that the remedy for all the passions listed above is humility. Those who possess that virtue have won the whole battle.
The mother of all wickedness is pleasure and malice. If these are in a man, he will not see the Lord; and to abstain from the first with- out also giving up the second will not be of much use.
The fear we have in the presence of rulers and of wild beasts could serve as an example of fear of the Lord, and physical love can be a paradigm of the longing for God. (There is nothing wrong with us- ing opposites for the purposes of finding examples of the virtues.)
This present generation is wretchedly corrupt. It is full of pride and hypocrisy. It works as hard as the Fathers of old, but it has none of their graces. And yet there has been no era so much in need of spiritual gifts as today. Still, we got what we deserved, since God is made manifest not in labors but in simplicity and in humility. If the power of the Lord is brought to perfection in weakness, the Lord will definitely not reject a humble worker.
If we happen to observe that one of our spiritual athletes is seri- ously ill, we must not maliciously try to discover the reason for his illness. Simply and lovingly we should do what we can to heal him as though he were a part of our own body and because he is a fellow campaigner hurt in battle.
Illness can occur sometimes to cleanse us from our sins and sometimes to humble our thinking. When our ever-gracious Master
2.16
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
and Lord discovers people getting lazy in their religious lives. He may humble their bodies by illness, as if by a lighter form of asceti- cism. Illness too can sometimes purify the soul from evil thoughts and passions.
Whatever happens to us, whether seen or unseen, can be accept- ed by us well, or passionately, or in some intermediate fashion. I once saw three brothers punished. One was angry, one did not feel any grief, but the third profited greatly from the fact that he rejoiced in his punishment.
I have watched farmers sowing the same type of seed, and yet each one had different ideas of what he was doing. One was planning to pay off his debts. Another was hoping to get rich. Another wanted to be able to bring gifts to honor the Lord. Another was hoping to earn praise for his work from the passers-by in life. Someone else wanted to irritate a jealous neighbor, while there was yet another who did not want to be reproached by men for laziness. And as for the seeds thrown into the earth, their names are fasting, keeping vigil, almsgiving, service, and suchlike. So let our brethren in the Lord keep a careful eye on their motives.
When we draw water from a well, it can happen that we inadver- tently also bring up a frog. When we acquire virtues we can some- times find ourselves involved with the vices which are imperceptibly interwoven with them. What I mean is this. Gluttony can be caught up with hospitality; lust with love; cunning with discernment; malice with prudence; duplicity, procrastination, slovenliness, stubbornness, wilfulness, and disobedience with meekness; refusal to learn with si- lence; conceit with joy; laziness with hope; nasty condemnation with love again; despondency and indolence with tranquillity; sarcasm with chastity; familiarity with lowliness, And behind all the virtues follows vainglory as a salve, or rather a poison, for everything.
We must not become upset if for a while the Lord seems to allow our requests to go unheard. Naturally the Lord would be delighted if in one moment all men became disspasionate. But He knows, in I lis providence, that this would not be to their advantage.
When requests are made to God and are not immediately an- swered, the reason may be one of the following: either that I he pcli« ti(m is [iremauire, or because it has been made unvvorilidv or vaitigloriously, or liecause, if granled, it would lead to ciiiucit, or ba« CiUise rtegligoiu-f luul ciireioNsncss would resutl.
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Demons and passions quit the soul entirely or for some length of time. No one can deny that. However, the reasons for such a depar- ture are known to very few.
Some of the faithful and even of the unfaithful have found them- selves in the position of being bereft of all passions except one, and that one proved so overwhelming an evil that it took the place of all the others and was so devastating that it could lead to damnation.
The material of the passions is done away with when consumed by divine fire. It is uprooted, and all evil urges retire from the soul unless the man attracts them back again by his worldly habits and by his laziness.
Demons leave us alone so as to make us careless, then pounce on our miserable souls. And those beasts have another trick, of which I am aware; namely, to depart when the soul has become thoroughly imbued with the habits of evil, when it has turned into its own be- trayer and enemy. It is rather like what happens to infants weaned from the mother's breast, who suck their fingers because the habit has taken hold of them.
There is a fifth kind of dispassion. It comes from great simplicity and from admirable innocence. "To such is help rightly given by the God Who saves the upright of heart" (Ps. 7;11) and Who rids them of all evil without their perceiving it. They are like infants who when undressed have no realization of the fact that they are naked.
Evil or passion is not something naturally implanted in things. God is not the creator of passions. On the other hand, there are many natural virtues that have come to us from Him. These clearly include the following: mercy, something even the pagans have; love, for even dumb animals bewail the loss of one of their own; faith, which all of us can generate of ourselves; hope, since we all lend, and take to the sea, and sow seed, expecting to do well out of it. Hence if love comes naturally to us — and it has been shown to be so — if it is the bond and the fulfilment of the law, virtues cannot be too far from nature. For which reason, those who claim to be unable to practice the virtues should be very ashamed of themselves.
At a level above nature are chastity, freedom from anger, humil- ity, prayer, keeping vigil, fasting, uninterrupted compunction, and we learn about these from men, from angels, and from the Teacher and Giver, God the Word.
When confronted by evils, we should choose the least. For in-
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stance, we are standing at prayer and some brothers approach us. We have to do one of two things, either to cease praying or to upset a brother by ignoring him. Now love is greater than prayer, since the latter is a particular virtue while the former embraces all virtues.
Long ago, in my young days, I came to a city or to a village, and while sitting at table I was afflicted at the same time by thoughts of gluttony and of vainglory. Knowing and fearing the outcome of glut- tony, I decided to give in to vainglory. I also knew that in the young, the demon of gluttony often overcomes the demon of vainglory. This is not to be wondered at, for among people of the world love of mon- ey is the root of all evil, whereas in monks it is gluttony.
God in His providence often leaves some vestiges of passion in people of a very spiritual disposition. He does so in order that, by their endless condemnation of what are very minor defects, they may obtain a wealth of humility that no one can plunder.
Humility can come only when you have learned to practice obe- dience. When a man has a self-taught skill, he may start having high notions about himself. '
The Fathers say that two virtues dominate the active life, name- ly, fasting and obedience. They are quite right about this, since fast- ing destroys sensuality and obedience completes the destruction by bringing in humility. Mourning too has a double effect by destroying sin and producing humility.
A pious man tends to give to anyone who asks. Someone more than usually pious gives even to those who do not ask. But to omit the opportunity to demand the return of .something from the person who took it is characteristic, I think, only of the dispassionate.
Regarding every vice and every virtue, we must unceasingly scrutinize ourselves to see what point we have reached, a beginning, a middle, or the end.
Attacks by demons afflict us for three reasons: because we are sensual, because we are proud, or because the demons envy us. The last is a ground for rejoicing, the middle for pity, and where the first is concerned, the prospect is lifelong failure.
Endurance of hardship is a kind of perception or habit. I he riiiin who has it will never he afraid of pain, or toil or hardship, nor u ill lio run from them. It was this marvelous grace that cnabUil ilir s the martyrs to rise superior to their lormenis.
Keeping guiutl over oiie'.s thoughts is one thing; Wtllcltlrig iiV«r
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one's mind another. Distant from each other as the east from the west, the latter is more significant and more laborious than the for- mer.
It is one thing to pray for rescue from bad thoughts, another to stand up agamst them, and another still to despise and ignore them The first situation is exemplified by the one who said: "O God come and help me*' (Ps. 69:2); the second by, "I will speak a word of contra- diction to those who reproach me" (Ps. 118:42), and "You have made us a contradiction to our neighbors" (Ps. 79:7). And of the third the witness IS the psalmist: "I was silent and did not open my mouth, I put a guard on my mouth when the sinner was before me" (Ps. 38' 10)- "The proud have gone too far in breaking the law, but I have not turned aside from my contemplation of You" (Ps. 1 18:51). So the man who stands in the middle position will often make use of the first of these, since he is insufficiently prepared, whereas the man who is still at the first stage cannot use the second method as a way of overcom- ing his enemies. However, the man who has come as far as the third step will completely ignore the demons.
The incorporeal cannot be hemmed in by what is corporeal; but the man who has God for his possession can do anything at all.
Everyone with a healthy sense of smell can detect hidden per- fumes, and a pure soul can quickly recognize in others the sheer fra- grance of goodness that he himself has received from God. And indeed he can also recognize— as others cannot— the foul odor from which he himself has been liberated.
Not everyone can achieve dispassion. But all can be saved and can be reconciled to God.
Have a care that alien thoughts may not secure a hold over you. I mean those that push you into being anxious to probe either the un- speakable decisions of God's providence or those visions that by com- ing to others give rise to the notion that the Lord shows favoritism. Such thoughts are the manifest outcome of pride.
There is a demon of avarice that often takes on the guise of hu- mility. I here are demons of vainglory and of sensuality and these en- courage the giving of alms. If we can keep ourselves clear of these, we ought to do the works of mercy without cease.
Some hold that demons work against each other. But I do know that all of them work to destroy us.
Our own determination and intention together with the help of God come into play in every spiritual act of ours, visible or not, and
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the latter is unlikely to operate without the former.
Ecclesiastes declares that there is a time for everything under heaven (cf Eccles. 3:1), and "everything" may be taken to refer to our spiritual life. If this is so, then we ought to examine the matter; and we should do everything in proper season. For those entering the struggle — I mean novices — there is a time for dispassion and a time for passion. There is a time for tears and a time for hardness of heart, a time for obedience and a time for command, a time for fasting and a time for eating, a time for the battle against the body our enemy and a time for quiet in our flesh. There is a time for the soul's upheaval and a time for calm in the mind, a time for heart's sorrow and a time for joy of spirit, a time for teaching and a time for listening, a time for pollutions, perhaps on account of conceit, and a time for cleansing by humility, a time for effort and a time for secure rest, a time for still- ness and a time for undistracted distraction, a time for unceasing prayer and a time for honest service. Proud zeal must therefore never be allowed to deceive us and we should never strain for what will come in its own good time, since winter is goods nor seedtime the proper season for the harvest. There is a time for the sowing of labors and a time to reap the astounding fruits of grace; and if it were otherwise we would not receive in due time whatever was proper to the season.
God in His unspeakable providence has arranged that some re- ceived the holy reward of their toils even before they set to work, oth- ers while actually working, others again when the work was done, and still others at the time of their death. Let the reader ask himself which one of them was made more humble.
There is a despair that results from the great number of one's sins. It comes from a burdened conscience and intolerable grief, when the soul, engulfed by the mass and the burden of its wounds, slips into the deep waters of hopelessness. But there is also another kind of sorrow. It comes from pride and conceit and arises when a man thinks it unfair that he lapsed in some way. Now there is a distinctive aspect to each of these conditions which the observant will discover. The one man gives himself over to indifference, the other coniiiiue.H to practice his ascetic disciplines even though his despair ]>cr>iiNis in him, which is ;) (•(iMir;i the first man; the oilier will Ik- cured by humility ntul by tlip |irMr(ii of judging no one,
W'f sliould he iifillier mtia/ed nor shocked when Wf litlil oil!
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JOHN CLIMACUS
selves watching someone do evil behind a cloak of fine words. After all, it was overweening pride that destroyed the serpent in Paradise.
Whatever you do, however you live, whether you live under obe- dience or whether you are independent, in what you do openly or in your spiritual life, let it be your rule and practice to ask if what you do is in accordance with the will of God. When we novices, for in- stance, do something and the humility deriving from that action is not added to the possessions of our souls, then the action, great or small, has not been undertaken in deference to the divine will. For those of us who are untried recruits in the life of the spirit, growth in humility comes out of doing what the Lord wants; for those who have reached midway along that route, the test is an end to inner conflict; and for the perfect there is increase and, indeed, a wealth of divine light.
The tiniest thing may not seem so to the great. But to those who are small, even great things are not quite perfect.
The sun is bright when clouds have left the air; and a soul, freed of its old habits and also forgiven, has surely seen the divine light.
Distinctions have to be made between sin, idleness, indifference, passion, and a lapse. The man who can analyze such matters, with God's help, should do so.
Some people are full of praise for the gift of miracle working and for those other spiritual gifts that can be seen. What they do not know is that there are many more important gifts and that these are hidden and are therefore secure.
A perfectly purified man can look into the soul of his neighbor — not of course into its actual substance — and can discern its present state. He who progresses further can even tell the state of the soul from the body.
A small fire can wipe out an entire forest and a small fault can ruin all our work.
There comes a breathing space from hostility when the powers of the mind are awakened without stirring the fire of passion. There is too an exhaustion of the body that can actually evoke the flesh's lust. So "we shall put no trust in ourselves" (2 Cor. 1:9). We ought, rather, to depend on God, Who in His own secret way can mortify our living lusts.
If it comes to our attention that there are some who love us in the Lord, we must be very careful to keep our distance from them, since nothing can so damage love and produce hatred as familiarity.
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The eye of the soul is spiritual and very beautiful and next to in- corporeal beings it surpasses everything. And so it happens that peo- ple who are still subject to the effects of the passions can frequently tell what the thoughts are of others because of their great love for them. This is particularly true of those who have not been over- whelmed by the defilements of the flesh. For there is nothing so di- rectly opposed to immaterial nature as material nature. Let him who reads understand.
For laymen, superstitious observances are contrary to God's providence. But for monks they are contrary to spiritual knowledge.
Faltering souls should recognize the visitation of the Lord from their bodily circumstances and dangers and outward temptations. The perfect should recognize it from the coming of the Holy Spirit and the acquisition of graces.
There is a demon who attacks us when we are lying in bed. He fires evil and dirty thoughts at us, so that, too lazy to get up and arm ourselves against him with prayer, we might fall asleep with all these dirty thoughts in us and have dirty dreams.'
There is a demon called the forerunner. He lays hold of us as soon as we awaken and defiles our very first thought.
Give the first fruits of your day to the Lord, for it will determine the rest of the day. An excellent servant of the Lord once said to me something well worth hearing. "I can tell from my morning how the rest of the day will go."
There are many roads to holiness — and to hell. A path wrong for one will suit another, yet what each is doing is pleasing to God.
Demons, using the temptations that occur to us, fight to make us say or do something improper. If they cannot get at us in this way, they turn quiet and whisper to us that we should offer up arrogant thanks to God.
Those with minds centered on the things of heaven, after the sep- aration of soul and body rise up on high in two parts. '°^ Those with minds directed to what is below will travel that downward route, for there is no intermediate halting place for souls separated from their bodies, Only one of God's creations has its being in something else and not in itself.'"* Yet it is amazing how it can come to exist nuiside that in which it received bciiiy.
11)!. i.e., firit thf soul uml llicn, nflflf th« resnrrfction. ilir titulv 104. I.e., llir uiiil Itiik it« lii'iii|j iM llwbCKly
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JOHN CLIMACUS
Pious mothers bear pious daughters, and the mothers themselves are born of the Lord. And it makes good sense to apply this norm in reverse.
The coward should not go out to battle. This was the injunction of Moses, or rather of God Himself (cf. Deut. 20:8), and the reason, a good one, was in case the last spiritual lapse should be worse than the first fall of the body.
Our eyes are a light to all the body. Discernment of the virtues is a light to all the mind.
On Expert Discernment
As the hart parched with thirst pants for running water (cf. Ps. 41:2), the monk longs for a knowledge or grasp of the good and divine will. And indeed he longs also for knowledge of what is not totally of God, even of what is opposed to God. There is here a vitally impor- tant theme, and one not easily explained. What I mean is this. What should we do at once, with no delay and as soon as possible, as is rec- ommended in the saying, "Woe to him who delays from day to day" (Ecclus. 5:7-8) and from period to period? On the other hand, what should be done moderately and with discretion, in accordance with the saying, "War is made by leadership" (Prov. 20:18) and "Let all things be done decently and in due order" (1 Cor. 14:40)? Not every- one can make quick and precise decisions in such delicate matters and even that man who had God within him and the Holy Spirit speaking for him, even he prays for this gift and says: "Teach me to do Your will, since You are my God" (Ps. 142:10), and "Direct me to your truth" (Ps. 24:5), and "Show me. Lord, the road I must travel, for 1 have lifted up my soul to You" (Ps. 142:8) from all the cares and pas- sions of this life.
Those who wish to di.scover the will of God must begin by morti- fying their own will. Then having prayed in faith and simplicity, all malice spent, they should turn humbly and in confidence to the fa- thers or even the brothers and they should accept their counsel, as though from God Himself, even when that counsel goes against the grain, even when the advice comes from those who do not seem very spiritual. God, after all, is not unjust. He will not lead astray the souls who, trusting and guileless, yield in lowliness to the advice and deci- sion of their neighbor. Even if those consulted are stupid, God imma- terially and invisibly speaks through them and anyone who faithfully submits to this norm will be filled with humility. If a man can ex-
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press on a harp whatever ails him, surely a rational mind and a rea- sonable soul can provide better teaching than something inanimate.
Yet this perfect and easy rule is rejected by many for reasons of pride. Instead they have sought to discover the will of God by their own resources and within themselves and have then proceeded to of- fer us numerous and different opinions on this whole issue.
Some of those trying to discover the will of God abandoned ev- ery attachment. They asked God to be the arbiter of any thoughts they might have concerning the stirrings of their souls, whether to do something or to resist it. They prayed hard for a fixed number of days and they laid aside any inclination of their own. In this way they found out what God willed, either through some direct manner of in- telligible communication from Him or by the complete evaporation from their souls of whatever it was they had proposed to do.
Others found so much trouble and distraction in whatever they were doing that they were led to think that bother of this sort could only have come from God, in accordance with the saying, "We want- ed to come to you once and once again, 6ut Satan prevented us" (1 Thess. 2:18).
But there were others who found that a venture of theirs had proved unexpectedly successful, and so they inferred that it had pleased God, and they went on to declare that God helps everyone who chooses to do the right thing (cf. Rom. 8:28).
The man who through illumination has come to possess God within himself both in things requiring immediate action and in those that take time will find immediate divine reassurance by the second way.
Wavering judgment and lingering doubt are the signs of an un- enlightened and vainglorious soul.
God is not unjust. He will not slam the door against the man who humbly knocks,
In everything we do, in what has to be done now or later, the ob- jective must be sought from God Himself; and every act that is not the product of personal inclination or of impurity will be imputed to us for good, especially if done for the sake of God and noi for sumc- one else. This is so, even if the actions themselves are not compielcly good.
There is always :t danger in seeking for whm is l)c'vi»(nl onr jtn* modiale reach, ;uid whm (ioil lins decided for us is hard lo pi-iu-li'iltC> In His providence, He often coiueals His wilt from iiN, for \h Itliuwil
i4S
JOHNCIJMACUS
that even if wc kiic-w ^il.mit it, wc would disobey it, thereby rendering ourselves lial)lc to grt-ntir [xiiiishinent.
An honest heart is utishnkoi by the various sorts of distraction It sails along safely in tlu- ship of innocence.
There are brave souls who iovin^rly and humbly undertake tasks that are well beyond thcin. i lu-re are proud hearts that do the same. Now It often happens that our enemies deliberately inspire us to do things beyond our capacities, and their objective is to make us falter so that we abandon even what lies within our power, and make our- selves ridiculous to our enemies.
I have observed men who were sick in soul and body and who out of a sense of the great number of their sins, tried to do what was beyond their power, and therefore failed. To these I say that God judges our repentance not by our exertions but by our humility.
Sometimes one's upbringing may be respons'ible for the greatest evils. Sometimes it may be the company we keep. And often it may be the sheer perversity of the soul that produces disaster. The monk who IS free of the first two may escape the third as well. But the man af- flicted by the third is discredited everywhere, for there is no place safer than heaven. '°5
In any conflict with unbelievers or heretics, we should stop after we have twice reproved them (cf. Titus 3:10). But where we are deal- mg with those who are eager to learn the truth, we should never grow tired of doing the right thing (cf. Gal. 6:9). And we should use both situations to test our own steadfastness.
A man who despairs of himself after hearing about the supernat- ural achievements of the saints is very unreasonable. In fact they should teach you one of two things, either to be courageous like them in the striving for excellence, or else to be deeply humble and con- scious of your inherent weakness by way of thrice-holy humility.
Some of the impure demons are worse than others. They tell us not to sin alone but to bring company with us, and thev tell us this in order that our punishment may be all the more severe. 1 have wit- nessed the case of someone who learned a sinful habit from another. 1 he latter came to his senses, repented, and desisted from evil, but his change of heart was of no use because of what his disciple was doing. The wickedness of the evil spirits is truly astounding and i^ is something not witnes.sed by many, and indeed even those few who
10.^. Yet Satan tell from heaven.
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appreciate it see it only in part. How is it, for instance, that when wc are living in luxury and abundance we can keep vigil and remain awake, whereas while fasting and wearing ourselves down with toil, we are wretchedly overcome by sleep? Why is it that our hearts grow calloused when we are dwelling alone in silence, and yet compunc- tion may be stirred in us when we are involved with others? How is it that dreams tempt us when we are hungry and omit to do so when we are full? Amid want we become gloomy and incapable of compunc- tion, while after some wine we grow happy and are quite able to be contrite. {Anyone who, with God's help, can shed light on this ought to do so, for the sake of the unenlightened. For we really are unillu- minated where all this is concerned.) But switches of this sort, of course, do not always come from demons. In my own case — and for reasons I do not understand — I too experience this kind of change as a result of the temperament which I have been given and my burden of grubby and greedy flesh.
Regarding these changes mentioned above, changes that are so hard to explain, let us sincerely and humbly pray to the Lord. But if after time and prayer we still experience the same force at work in us, we should accept that this is due to nature and not to demons. And divine providence often likes to help us by means of adversity and to restrain our pride in every way.
It is a hardy enterprise to inquire into the depths of God's judg- ment, for the inquisitive sail in the ship of conceit. ^°^
Someone asked this question of a discerning man: "Why is it that Ciod confers gifts and wonder-working powers on some, even though He knows in advance that they will lapse?" His answer was that God does this so that other spiritual men may grow cautious, and to show that the human will is free, and to demonstrate that on the day of judgment there will be no excuse for these who lapsed.
The Law, in its imperfection, says: "Attend to yourself" (Deut. 4:^). The Lord, in His perfection, tells us to correct our brother, say- ing, "If your brother sins against you, etc." (Matt. 1S:15). If your re- proof, or rather your reminder, can be pure and humble, then ilo as the Lord cominandcd, particularly in the case of those who will nc ccpi it, But if your progress has not reached this far, ai Iciisi ilo witttt I he I .aw says. ^
10^. M IM ;i(IiIm "Vi'I lH'1'uii.iir iil thr wrnkncK.s iil iiuiny, tinnptliHtg ultiiilltl In
Nil ill "
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jOIINCLIMACUS
Y,H, should MO, |,c surprised if those you love turn against you .fter you have rcl,ul..| „...„. Tl.c- frivolous are instrumentfof theT mons and aro used, espceially against the demons' enem.es
.s t that when we have Ahu,gh,y Ciod, the angels, and the saints to help us toward virtue, and when only the devifis against u s we t H nchne so read.ly to the pass.ons= I do not want to go .nto detail on h.s. In fact cannot. And ,f everything that has come .nto being on" inues to hold onto ,ts nature, how is .t. as the great Gregory puts" hat I am the ,mage of God, yet mingled w.ch ciayP-v j,^, ^'l^^^
continuously try to return to its original cond.tion? Indeed everyone should struggle to raise his clay, so to speak, to a place on the thZe
and the do r "" ^x "1' "'"" ^° "^^'^ "^'^ -«"^' ^-^ ^^e way and the door he open. 7 o hear about the achievements of the spiritual l^athers stirs mmd and soul to imitation '"s ^
tr.v.?"'"''"^/''''""^- '° *' ' ''^^' '" '^''^'''''^ ' ™d home to the lost erer ot health, a destroyer of sickness.
Those who look with admirat.on on trifles do so for two reasons^ either through profound ignorance or else because they make much hu^X ""'''°" ^'^'■^^^ '^ ^-^^^ ^^^-^ '-^--'-s maj ZTl
on r!^' '^"['^ r 'P"" ^''^ ^'"^^"^' ^'^ 'Should make outright war on them. In the f.rst case a fall is sometimes given or taken, but in the latter case the enemy is always under fierce attack
The man who has conquered the passions has injured the de- mons, and by pretending to be st.ll subject to them he deceives h s
d.sgrace but n his heart he was untroubled by it and .n his mind he was prayerful However, he lamented aloud and by feigned passion hid h,s dispassion. Another pretended to be eager for the job of fatTer upenor when m fact he had no wish at all for it. And iow am I o .peak of the chastity of the brother who entered a brothel for whit
108. HTM ha. a longer version of th,s sentence: "It excites the mind ,nd mhiI lo emuhfon to he.r the .pir.tud feats of the Fathers, and their ..e..h.u, ad,,,, rs
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appeared as a determination to commit sin, and who actually enticed the harlot to take up the ascetic life?^"'' Or, again, it once happened that a bunch of grapes was brought early one morning to an ascetic. When the person who brought the grapes had left, the hermit ate them, seeming to stuff them in, but in fact taking no pleasure in them, and in this way he fooled the demons into imagining that he was a glutton. Another one of the brethren once lost a few palm leaves' 1° and he pretended all day to be very upset about this.
However, people like this should be wary. In their efforts to fool the demons they may fool themselves. It was to these that the refer- ence was made: "As deceivers and yet true" (2 Cor. 6:8).
If anyone wishes to present to the Lord a pure body and a clean heart, he must persevere in freedom from anger and in chastity. All our work is useless if we lack these.
Eyes show different colors and the sun of the spirit may shine in different ways in the soul. There is the way of bodily tears and there is the way of the tears of the soul. There is the way of the contempla- tion of what is before us and the way of the contemplation of what remains unseen. There is the way of things heard at second hand and the way of spontaneous joy within the soul. There is the way of still- ness and the way of obedience. And in addition to these there is the way of rapture, the way of the mind mysteriously and marvelously carried into the light of Christ.
There are virtues, and there are begetters of virtues, and it is with these latter that a wise man would have his deaHngs. The teach- er of these parent virtues is God Himself in His proper activity, and there are plenty of teachers for the derivative virtues.
We should be careful not to make up for lack of food by sleeping too much, and vice versa. This is a practice of foolish men. I have seen a.scetics who, having yielded a little to their appetites, afterwards pun- ished their poor stomachs by standing all night, thus teaching them m be content if they were not filled up.
The demon of avarice fights hard against those who have noth ing. When it fails to overcome them, it begins to tell them about (he wretched conditie)ns of the poor, thereby inducing those in the rcli- giou.s life to become concerned once more with material ihinn.t,
Id';. Hunijviiii) ihc Siiiilnnitri wp Iv Nmi, "Histoin- de I liiii*", lnnrilr> dii UMlm (iuimet v\«, f,.
III) Si-i- lliiU' :H, || IIH.
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When you are depressed, bear in mind the Lord's command to Feter to forgive a sinner seventy times seven (cf. Matt. 18-22) And you may be sure that He Who gave this command to another will Himself do very much more. But if, on the other hand, we become too self-assured, let us remember what has been said about the person who keeps the whole spiritual law and yet, having slipped into one passion, that of pride, is guilty of all (cf. James 2:10).
Some evil and jealous spirits of their own accord leave holy men so as to deprive these of the opportunity to win the prize of victory over them, '
Blessed are the peacemakers (Matt. 5:9). No one will deny this But I have seen foemakers who are also blessed. Two monks once de- veloped an unhealthy fondness for one another. But a discerning and very experienced father brought them to the stage of detesting each other. He made them enemies by telling each man he was being slan- dered by the other, and by this piece of chicanery he warded off the demon s malice, and by causing hatred he brought an end to what was an unclean affection.
Again, there are some who infringe a commandment for the sake of a commandment. I have known young men who were bound by ties of honorable affection but who, to avoid any scandal, agreed to avoid each other's company for a time.
Like a wedding and a funeral, pride and despair are opposites liut sufficient confusion can be caused by demons to make them seem 01 a kind.
When we begin religious life, some unclean demons give us les- sons in the interpretation of scripture. This happens particularly in the case of people who are either vainglorious or who have had a secu- kr education, and these are gradually led into heresy and blasphemv One may detect this diabolical teaching about God, or rather war against God, by the upheaval, confusion, and unholy joy in the soul during lessons.
The things that have come into being have received from the Creator their proper place, their beginning and, in some cases, their end. But there is no boundary to virtue. The psalmist says "I have seen the end of all perfection, but Your commandment is Very broad and IS without limit" (Ps. 1 18:96). Now if it is true that some good as- cetics pass from the strength of action to the strength of ctmrcmnla- tjon (cf. Ps. 83:7), and if it is true that love never fails (i Cor 1 ^H) uut
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that the Lord will guard the coming in of your fear and the going out of your love (cf. Ps. 120:8), then love has no boundary, and both in the present and in the future age we will never cease to progress in it, as we add light to light. Perhaps this may seem strange to many. Never- theless it has to be said, and the evidence we have, blessed Father, would lead me to say that even the angels make progress and indeed that they add glory to glory and knowledge to knowledge.
Do not be surprised if demons often inspire good thoughts in us, together with the reasoned arguments against them. What these ene- mies of ours are trying to do is to get us to believe that they know even our innermost thoughts.
Do not be a harsh critic of those who resort to eloquence to teach many important things, but who have few actions to match their words. For edifying words have often compensated for a lack of deeds. All of us do not get an equal share of every good, and for some the word is mightier than the deed (cf. Ps. 102:20-21; 1 Pet. 5:8) and vice versa for others.
, God neither caused nor created evil and, therefore, those who as-
\ sert that certain passions come naturally to the soul are quite wrong.
I What they fail to realize is that we have taken natural attributes of our own and turned them into passions. For instance, the seed which we have for the sake of procreating children is abused by us for the sake of fornication. Nature has provided us with anger as something
I to be turned against the serpent, but we have used it against our neighbor. We have a natural urge to excel in virtue, but instead we compete in evil. Nature stirs within us the desire for glory, but that glory is of a heavenly kind. It is natural for us to be arrogant — against the demons. Joy is ours by nature, but it should be joy on account of the Lord and for the sake of doing good to our neighbor. Nature has given us resentment, but that ought to be against the enemies of our souls. We have a natural desire for food,''' but not surely for profli- g-icy.
An active soul is a provocation to demons, yet the greater our conflicts the greater our rewards. There will be no crown for the iHiin who has never been under attack, and the man who perseveres in ipite of any failures will be glorified as a champion by ilie aiiKcl.*,
Ill 1 1 IM I'cildN "plc«l*ii( tlth)\) t'lir "liiml" (trnpbis).

JOHN CLIMACUS
He Who was three nights in the earth came back and lived forev- er. He who has conquered three hours will never die.^'^
If, after rising in us, the sun "knows his going down" (Ps. 103:19) for our providential chastening, "he made darkness the place of his concealment" (Ps. 17:12). The night came on, the night in which the fierce young lions go prowling once more after they had left us alone, the lions and all the beasts of the woods of thorny passions, roaring to seize the hope that is in us, and seeking from God their food of the passions either in thought or in deed. Through the darkness of our humility, the sun rises over us, and the wild beasts gather where they belong, in sensual hearts and not in ours (cf. Ps. 103:22). Then the de- mons speak to one another: "The Lord delighted in doing great things for them." And we speak: " 'He has done great things for us and we are glad' (cf. Ps. 135:4) but you are banished." "See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud," on the soul raised above earthly longings, "and He shall come into Egypt," into the darkened heart, "and He shall shatter the man-made idols" (Isa. 19:1), the empty fashionings of the mind.
Christ, although all-powerful, fled bodily from Herod. So let the foolish learn not to fling themselves into temptation. It is said: "Let not your foot be moved and let not vour guardian angel slumber" (cf Ps. 120:3).
Like bindweed round a cypress, vanity twines itself around cour- age. And we must be ever on guard against yielding to the mere thought that we have achieved any sort of good. We have to be really careful about this, in case it should be a trait within us, for if it is, then we have certainly failed.
If we watch out continually for signs of the passions, we will dis- cover that there are many within us which, in our sickness, we never noticed. We were too weak, or they were too deeply rooted.
God judges us by our intentions, but because of His love for us
112. What is meant by "three hours" is obscure. Scholion 2Ia (1081A), quoting :i saying of Abba Elias, suggests that they are death, the coming into the presence of (;od, and judgment. Scholion 21b (1081A) offers other interpretations; youth, maturity ami old age, or pleasure, vainglory and avarice, or the three temptation.s of the dtiuon l]>re- sumably the three temptations of Christ in the wildernc.s.s). As the conqueror of ilu- three hours is Christ Himself, the expression could well refer iu ihe ihree hours on the cross.
2.^2
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
He only demands from us such actions as lie within our power. Great is the man who does all that lies within his power, but greater still is the man who, in all humility, tries to do more.
Demons often prevent us from doing what would be easy and valuable for us. Instead they like to push us into trying what is hard- er.
I find that Joseph is deemed blessed because he avoided an occa- sion of sin and not because he showed evidence of dispassion (cf. Gen. 39:12). Hence the question of the type and number of sins, the avoid- ance of which is rewarded by a crown. There is a difference between running from a shadow and the greater act of hastening toward the sun of righteousness. For to be in darkness is to stumble and to stum- ble is to fall, and to fall is to die.
Those brought down by wine often wash with water, but those brought down by passion wash with their tears.
There is a distinction between clouding, darkness, and blindness. Temperance will cure the first, solitude the second. The third will be cured by obedience and by the God Who fpr our sakes became obedi- ent (cf. Phil. 2:8).
Two examples, drawn from the world, will provide useful analo- gies for those with minds intent on the things of heaven. A monastic community living according to the Lord is like a laundry where the dirt, grossness, and deformity of the soul are scrubbed away; and the solitary life for those who are moving from the monastery to total se- clusion is like the dye-works where lust, the harboring of wrongs, and anger are erased.
Some would claim that our repeated lapses in some matter are caused by our failure to do adequate penance for earlier falls. But the problem then arises as to whether those who have not fallen into the same type of sin over and over again have actually repented as they should. People commit the same sin again and again either because they have thoroughly forgotten their previous sins, or because in their own pleasure-loving way they keep thinking that God is merci- ful, or because they have given up all hope of salvation. Now — and I may be severely criticized for this — it seems to me that their real diffi- culty is that they have not had the strength to grip firmly whai in (act i.s a dominating habit.
Hero is a tincsiioii Why docs the incorporeal soul fail lo prrrcivo the real characicr o( (In- rvil spniis thai come lo dwell with it? Tttf answer, perhaps, lies in the union of the soul with ihc ImhIv, Imi It lli
25.1
JOHN CLIMACUS
known only to the One Who bound them together in the first place. An experienced man once asked me earnestly to tell him which spirits were accustomed to depress the mind when we sin and which to exalt it. The question left me at a loss, and 1 had to swear my igno- rance. So this man, himself so eager for knowledge, taught me, say- ing: "I shall give you the leaven of discernment briefly and I shall leave you to find out the rest by your own efforts. The spirits of lust, of anger, of gluttony, of despondency, and of sleepiness do not usual- ly rai.se up the horn of the mind. But the spirits of money-grubbing, of ambition, of talkativeness, and many others pile evil onto evil. This also is the reason why the spirit of criticism is so near the latter."
A monk who has spent an hour or a day visiting people out in the world or entertaining them as guests should rejoice at the time of parting, like someone released from a trap. If however what he feels is a pang of regret, then this shows that he has become the plaything either of vainglory or of lust.
We must always find out which way the wind blows, lest we set our sails against it.
Show kindness and give a little respite to old men leading the ac- tive life whose bodies are worn out by ascetical practice. But insist that young men who have exhausted their souls with sin must be re- strained and must think of the eternal torments.
I have already said that at the beginning of one's life as a monk one cannot suddenly become free of gluttony and vainglory. But we must not counter vainglory with high living simply because among novices, to defeat gluttony is to run into vainglory. So let us fight it by way of frugality. The time will come— and indeed is already here for those really wishing it— when the Lord will enable us to trample on this vice.
At the start of religious life, the young and those of advanced years are not troubled by the same passions, since very often thev have quite opposite failings. Hence the fact that humility is so truly blessed, for it makes repentance safe and effective for both young and old.
Do not make a fuss about what I am going to say now. There are souls, true, upright, and rare, who know nothing of malice, hypocrisy and deceit, and who are quite unable to live in religious communities. Helped by a spiritual director, they can leave the harbor of solitude and rise heavenward without ever wishing for and experiencing ihe ups and downs, the stumbling blocks of community life.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCEN I
Men can heal the lu.stful. Angels can heal the malicious. (July God can heal the proud.
It may be that an aspect of love is to allow a neighbor who comes on frequent visits to do what he pleases. Certainly we must show him every kindness.
Here is another problem. Is there a kind of repentance that can destroy good in the same way as evil? If so, how, to what extent, and in what circumstances?
We must be very shrewd in the matter of knowing when to stand up against sin, when and to what extent to fight against whatever nourishes the passions, and when to withdraw from the struggle. Be- cause of our weakness there are times when we must choose flight if we are to avoid death. We must watch and see (for perhaps there are times when we can neutralize gall with bitterness) which of the de- mons uplift us, which depress us, which make us hard, which bring us consolation, which darken us, which pretend to enlighten us, which make us lazy, which shifty, which make us sad and which cheerful. ,
At the start of our religious lives, we may find that our passions are stronger than they were when we were in the world. This should not upset us, and if we remove the causes of our sickness, then health will come to us. Those beasts were formerly concealed in us, but they did not reveal themselves.
It may happen that those who are otherwise attaining perfection are tripped up by the demons on some minor matter. They should at once use every means to wrench this out of themselves a hundred times over.
Like the winds, which sometimes in calm weather ruffle only the surface of the sea and at other times stir up the depths, so there are the dark blasts of evil. Think about them. They reach down to disturb the very hearts of those dominated by the passions, whereas among those who have made progress, they merely ruffle the surface of the mind. That is why the latter soon recover their usual calm for their hearts were left un defiled.
It is characteristic of the perfect that they always know whether a thought comes from within themselves, or from God, or from ihc demons. Kerncmher ih:it demons do not automatically propose evil iit the outset. I lerc wc hnve ii piobkm truly hard to penclriite,
'J'wo ctirporeiii eyes H'^"' ''W'" '** 'he body, 'Mul (he cyt*'* of the hcurl lire ciiii^hii'Mcd by disiernnicnt in things .seen ,uui unnccii,
25J
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ALL THE PRECEDING STEPS
A strong faith is the mother of renunciation. The opposite of this is quite evident.
Unswerving hope is the gateway to detachment. The opposite of this is perfectly obvious.
Love of God is the foundation of exile, The opposite of this is quite evident.
Self-criticism begets obedience and the longing for health.
Self-control is the mother of health. The mother of self-control is the thought of death and the memory of the gall and vinegar of God our Lord.
The solitary life is the helper and the foundation of chastity. Fasting quenches the fires of the flesh. And contrition of heart is the foe of dirty thoughts.
Faith and withdrawal from the world are the death of avarice.
Compassion and love are betrayers of the body.
Unremitting prayer is the death of despondency.
Remembrance of the judgment is an encouragement to zeal.
Love of being dishonored is a cure for anger. And the singing of hymns, the display of compassion, and poverty are quenchers of sor- row.
Detachment from the things perceived by the senses means the vision of things spiritual.
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCEN F
Silence and solitude are the foes of vainglory. If you are in a crowd, seek out dishonor.
A gloomy environment will cure open pride, but only He who is invisible from all eternity can cure the pride hidden within us.
The deer destroys all visible serpents and humility destroys those of the spirit. '^^
We can learn to perceive intelligible things clearly by means of every thing that exists in the natural world.
A snake can shed its old skin only if it crawls into a tight hole, and we can shed our old tendencies, our worn-out soul, and the gar- ment of the old man only if we take the straight and narrow path of fasting and dishonor.
Just as a large-bodied bird cannot fly heavenward, neither can anyone who feeds his flesh and gives in to it.
Dried-up mud draws no pigs. Dried-up flesh harbors no demons.
Too many sticks can choke a fire and put it out, causing a lot of smoke. An excess of sorrow can often make a soul turn smoky and dark and dries up the stream of tears. i
A blind archer is useless. An argumentative disciple is a lost one.
Tempered iron can sharpen what is untempered. A zealous brother can frequently save a lazy one.
Eggs warmed in dung''* hatch out. Unconfessed evil thoughts hatch evil actions.
Galloping horses vie with each other. A zealous community en- courages individual zeal.
Clouds hide the sun. Evil thoughts bring shadows to the mind and ruin it.
A condemned man on his way to execution does not discuss the theater. A man genuinely lamenting his sins will never pander to his stomach.
Poor men are all the more conscious of their own deprivation when they look at regal treasures. A soul reading of the great virtues of the Fathers adopts a much more humble outlook.
Iron is drawn willy-nilly by a magnet. A man in the grip of \i,h\ habits is mastered by them.
Oil tames the reluctant sea, Fasting puts down the nivolvirnury fires of the body,