Snares in the Church

Qui enim vitae pessimae est, non facile homines ad falsum dogma sollicitat, nec potest per umbram sanctitatis audientium decipere simplicatatem. Qui vero sermoe perversus, et disciplinis saluti contrarius, mores autem compositos et ornatos habet, nihil facit aliud, nisi accipit indumenta varia instituti boni, et conversationis quietae, et circumbat ea idolis suis, ut magis decipiat audientes. Idcirco sollicitie caveamus haeriticos, qui conversationis optimae sunt, quorum forte vitam non tam Deus quam diabolus instruxit. Nam quomodo quasdam illecebras escarum aucupes proponunt, ut facilius aves capiant per oblectamentum gulae, sic, ut audacius dicam, est quaedam castititas diaboli, id est decipula humnae animae, ut per isiusmdoi castitatem, et mansuetudinem, et justitiam possit facilius capere, et falsis sermonibus irretire. Diversis diabolus pugnat insidiis, ut miserum perdat hominem, et bonam malis tribuit vitam ad decipiendos videntes, et malam bonis inurit conscientiam. Mihi ipsi qui in Ecclesiam ex mea conversatione confundat. Et ideo plus hi qui sunt in medio oppugnatur ab inimico, ut per ruinam unius hominis quae celari non potest, omnibus scandalum fiat, et impediatur fides per conversationem pessimam clericorum. Omnia, ut diximus, diabolus operatur, et ea quae videntur esse bona, nec sunt, et ea quae per naturam suam mala sunt; omnia adversum humanam commentatur animam. Unde qui curam habet vitae suae, neque mansuetudine haereticorum capitur, ad consentiendum doctrinae eorum, neque meis delictis qui videor in Ecclesia praedicare, scandalizabitur, sed ipsum dogma considerans et pertractans Ecclesiae fidem, a me quidem aversabitur, doctrinam vero suscipiet secundum praeceptum Domini, qui ait: 'Super cathedram Moysi sederunt scribae et Pharisae, Omnia quaecunque vobis dicunt, audite, et facite, juxta opera autem illorum nolite facere; dicunt quippe, et non faciunt.' Iste sermo de me est, qui bona doceo, et contraria gero, et sum sedens super cathedram Mousi quasi Scriba et Pharisaeus. Praeceptum tibi est, o popule, si non habueris accusationem doctinae pessimae, et alienorum ab Ecclesia dogmatum, conspexeris vero mean culpabilem vitam, atque peccata, ut non habeas justa dicentis vitam tuam instituere, sed ea facere quae loquor. Nullum imitemur, et si volumus imitari quempiam, propositus est nobis ad imitandum Christus Jesus. Descripti sunt actus apostolorum, et prophetarum gesta de sacris boluminibus agnoscimus; illud exemplar firmum est, illud propositum solidum, quod qui sequi cupit, securus ingreditur. Si vero quaerimus nobis culpabiles ad aemulandum, ut cum dicamus, ille docet, et his quae docet facit ipse contraria, adversum praeceptum Domini facimus, qui mandavit doctrinas magistrorum magis considerari debere quam vitas. Haec dicimus de eo quo scriptum est : Acceptisti vestem versicolorem, et operuisti illa,' id est vasa glorificaitonis, quae in idola commutasti. Origenis, Homiliae in Ezechielem, Homilia VII

He who exhibits a wretched life does not easily attract men to false teaching, nor does he who has the mere pretense of sanctity deceive an innocent audience. But he who is perverse in speech and opposed to the discipline of salvation adorns himself with well arranged conduct and does nothing unless with the varied coverings of good acts and tranquil ways he surrounds himself, as with idols, all that he might successfully deceive his hearers. Therefore let us beware of heretics whose ways are of the best, who perhaps in such a life are taught by the devil rather than by God. For just as those who catch birds lay out enticing foods that they more easily seize them by the pleasures of taste, so, if I may be so bold to say, there is a purity of the devil for the snaring of the human soul, that through this purity and meekness and righteousness, he can more easily capture one in the net of false doctrine. The devil uses various tricks to attack and ruin wretched man, giving to evil a good manner of life to deceive the onlooker and branding a bad conscience on the good. He even sows confusion by me in the Church so that those in it are assaulted by the enemy, and so that through the errors of one man, which cannot be hidden, many may be scandalised and the faith obstructed by the poor behaviour of clerics. Everything, as we have said, the devil does, that things which are in their nature evil appear to be good, as he considers all the ways to oppose the human soul. Whence he who has care for his own life is not seized by the pleasantness of heretics to agree with their teaching, and neither do my errors, which I seem to display in the Church, scandalise, but he considers the dogma, and exerts himself in the faith of the Church, and recoiling from me takes up the teaching, according to the precept of the Lord who says: 'The scribes and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses, so practice and observe whatever they tell you but not what they do, for they preach, but they do not practice'. 1 This teaching is for you, O people, if you are not stained with the teaching of the wretched and the precepts of those separated from the Church, you who have seen my flawed life and sins, that you not have your life instructed by that as righteousness, but you do  those things which I preach. Let us imitate none, if we would imitate, than that which is proposed for us for imitation by Jesus Christ. We know that the acts of the Apostles and the doings of the Prophets are given to us in Holy Scripture; and there is a sure model, an unwavering guide, which he who desires, may enter upon securely. But if we seek to emulate those who are faulty, that when we say 'He teaches so,' and these things which he teaches we do the opposite, against the teaching of the Lord we act, He who has commanded us that we should consider more the teaching of the teachers than their lives. And concerning this it is written: 'You received a multicolored vestment and you have obscured it.' that is, a vase of glory, which you have fashioned into an idol. 2 Origen, Homilies On Ezekiel, from Homily 7 1 cf Mt 23. 2-3 2 cf Ez 16.18, 17

Avoiding Snares

Multi enim laquei quacumque progredimur. Laquei in corpore, laquei in Lege, laquei in pinnis templorum, in crepidinibus pariteum tenduntur a diabolo. Laquei in philosophis, laquei in cupiditatibus; oculus enim meretricis laqueus est peccatoris: laqueus in pecunia, laqueus in religione, laqueus in studio castitatis. Exiguis enim momentis mens inclinatur humana, et huc atque illuc per versutias suadentis frequenter impellitur. Videt aliquem diabolus religiosum virum, Deo venerabiliter deferentem, et quod sacrosanctum est aestimantem, nullius capacem injuriae; in ipsa eum religione supplantat, ut faciat non credere quod Dei Filius vere hanc nostram susceperit carnem, hoc nostrum corpus, hanc nostrorum membrorum fragilitatem; cum utique passio corporis fuerit, divinitas exsors injuriae manserit. Ita de religione fit culpa; omnis enim qui negat Jesum Christum in carne venisse, de Deo non est. Videt integrum et illibatae castimoniae virum, suadet ut nuptias damnet; quo ejiciatur ab ecclesia, et studio castitatis a casto corpore separetur. Audivit alius quia Unus Deus ... ex quo omnia, adorat, atque veneratur. Insidiatur ei diabolus, claudit aures ne audiat, quia Unus Deus per quem omnia: ita nimia pietate impium esse compellit; ut dum Patrem a Filio separat, Patrem Filiumque confundat, et personam unam putet esse, non potestatem. Itaque dum mensuram fidei nescit, perfidiae incurrit aerumnam. Quomodo igitur hos laqueos evitabimus; ut possimus et nos dicere: Anima nostra sicut passer erepta est de laqueo venantium: laqueus contritus est, et nos liberati sumus? Non dicit: Ego contrivi laquem: non ausus est hoc dicere,  David sed: Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini; ut ostenderet unde laqueus solveretur. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Evangelii secundum Lucam, Liber IV

Many are the snares which we pass through. Snares of the body, of the Law, of the parapet of the temple, of the foundation of the walls, set by the devil. Snares in philosophy, snares in desires, for the eye of the harlot is a trap for the sinner, a snare in money, a snare in piety, a snare in zeal for chastity. For every moment the mind of man shifts, and from one thing to another by cunning persuasion he is often driven. Sometimes the devil sees the religious man, one who thinks respectfully of God, one who judges Him to be inviolable and having no capacity for injury, and in his faith he trips him, that he makes him doubt that the Son of God truly took up our flesh, our body, our fragile members, and undergoing the passions of the body the Divine part remained uninjured. So from faith he makes fault, for everyone who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is not of God. 1 Then he sees the upright and immovable man of chastity and he persuades him to condemn marriage, by which he is cast out of the Church and by zeal for chastity he is separated from the chaste body. Another hears that there is one God from whom are all things, and he adores and venerates, and the devil laying in wait blocks his ears lest he then hear that there is one God through whom is all things, 2 and thus by excessive piety to impiety he is driven, for separating the Father from the Son, the Father and the Son he confuses, and he thinks there is but one person, not power. Thus while he does not grasp the measure of faith, he runs into the wretchedness of treachery. How then shall we avoid these snares, that we can say, 'Our soul like a sparrow was seized from the trap of the hunter; He broke the trap and freed us?  3 He does not say, 'I broke the trap,' he does not dare say this, but David says, 'Our help is in the name of the Lord,' 4 that he show how the trap may be destroyed. Saint Ambrose, On The Gospel of Luke, Book 7  1 2 Jn 7  2 1 Cor 8.6  3 Ps 123.7  4 Ps 123.8

Ways Of Temptation

'Ut ne intretis in tentationem.'  Hoc, secundum quod multi intelligunt, tale est ac si dicat, ut non tentemini. Si autem sic placuerit Dei, acquiescite Deo, sicut me audistis orantem. Considera autem si possibile est sic intelligere magis, quoniam vita nostra ipsa tentatio est secundum Job; intrare autem in tentationem, aut venire in tentationem, est cadere in tentationem, et vinci ab ea. Et puto quia nemo venit ad Jesum simul et in tentationem; si autem venit in tentationem, non venit ad Jesum. Ad Jesum enim nemo venit, nisi quem trahit Pater ad Jesum, ut resuscitetur ab eo. Ad Jesum ergo venimus, ut et si tentator nos fuerit persecutus, et mala ex eo, non comprehendamur ab eis, sicut scriptum est: Persequentur te mala, et non comprehendant. Ad peccatorem autem dicitur: Consequentur te mala, et comprehendent te.    Origenes, In Matthaeum, Commentariorum in Matthaeum

'That you enter not into temptation' 1 Many understand this as if it were said, 'That you be not tempted.' If indeed it is has pleased God, with God's consent, so hear my prayer. But consider if it is possible to understand this further, because our life is a trial according to Job; 2 and then there is an entering into temptation and a going into temptation which is to fall into temptation and to be conquered by it. And I think that no one comes to Jesus at the same time he has gone into temptation. If indeed he goes into temptation, he does not come to Jesus. For no one comes to Jesus unless the Father brings him to Jesus, that he be restored by Him. To Jesus therefore we come, even if the tempter has pursued us and yet we are not captured by evil. So it is written, 'Evils will pursue you and they will not seize you.' 3 But to the sinner it is said, 'Evils will come after and they will seize you.' Origen, Commentary on Matthew, 'Commentariorum Series'  1 Mt 26.41 2 Job 7.1 3 cf Prov 13.21

A Young Man's Counsel

Εἶπέ ποτε ὁ ἀββᾶς Μωσῆς τῷ ἀδελφῷ Ζαχαρίᾳ· Εἰπέ μοι τί ποιήσω; Ἀκούσας δὲ ἔῥῥιψεν ἑαυτὸν χαμαὶ εἰς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, λέγων· Σύ με ἐρωτᾷς, Πάτηρ; Λέγει αὐτῷ γέρων· Πίστευσόν μοι, τέκνον μου Ζακαρία· εἶδον τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἄγιον κατελθὸν ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ ἐκ τούτου αναγκάζομαι ἐρωτῆσαί σε. Τότε λαβὼν ὁ Ζακαρίας τὸ κουκούλιον αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ, ἔθηκεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόσας, καὶ καταπατήσας αὐτὸ εἶπεν· Ἐὰν μὴ συντριβῇ οὕτως ἄνθρωπος, οὐ δύναται εἶναι μοναχός. Ἀποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

One time Abba Moses said to brother Zacharias, 'Tell me what I should do?' Hearing this he fell down on the ground at the elder's feet and said, 'Are you asking me, Father?'  The old man said to him, 'Believe me, Zacharias, my child, I saw the Holy Spirit descending upon you and on account of it I am bound to ask you.' Then Zacharias took the hood off his head, put it under his feet, and trampling upon it, said, 'A man who will not be treated so, cannot be a monk.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

God and Testing

Et tentavit Deus Abraham. Quaeri solet quomodo hoc verum sit, cum dicat in Epistola sua Jacobus quod Deus neminem tentat: nisi quia locutione Scripturarum solet dici, tentat, pro eo quod est probat. Tentatio vero illa de qua Jacobus dicit, non intelligitur nisi qua quisque peccato implicatur. Unde Apostolus dicit: Ne forte tentaverit vos is qui tentat. Nam et alibi scriptum est, Tentat vos Dominus Deus vester, ut sciat si diligitis eum: etiam hoc genere locutionis, ut sciat, dictum, ac si diceretur, ut scire vos faciat; quoniam vires dilectionis suae hominem latent, nisi divino experimento etiam eidem innotescant. Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, Quaestionum in Heptateuchum, Liber I, Cap LVII

'And God tested Abraham.' 1 It is often asked how this may be true, when James says in his Epistle that God tempts no one, 2 unless that by this locution Scripture is accustomed to use 'test' when what is meant is 'prove'. For that testing which James speaks of is not to be understood unless some sort of sin is involved. Whence the Apostle says, 'Lest perhaps he had been tempting you, the one who tempts.' 3 For even elsewhere it is written, 'The Lord our God tests you that He might know if you love him.' 4 and even with this locution, 'that He might know' it is as if it is said, 'that He might make you know', because the strength of a man's love is hidden from a man, unless by Divine trial it is made known to him.  Saint Augustine of Hippo, Questions on the Heptateuch, Book 1, Chap 57 1 Gen 22.1 2 Jam 1.13 3 1 Thes 3.5 4 Deut 13.3

Abstaining From Evil and Doing Good

Ἔκκλινον ἀπὸ κακοῦ, και ποίησον ἀγαθόν.  Ἐλευθερώσας σεαυτὸν πάσης κακίας, ἐπὶ σοὶ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο, καὶ βουληθεὶς δυνήσῃ· οὐ μὴν ἥδη τέλειος ἔσῃ τοῦτο πράξας, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸ δεύτερόν σοι παρείη·  τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶ τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι τὸ ἀγαθόν. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ μὴ κλέπτειν προσήκει σε καὶ τῶν σῶν ὑπαρχόντων τοῖς δεομένοις κοινωνεῖν· καὶ πρὸς τὸ μὴ πλεονεκτεῖν, ἕτερον, τὸ καὶ εὐεργετεῖν τοὺς δεομένους· καὶ πρὸς τὸ κακίας ἀπέχεσθαι, τὸ καὶ ἑτέρους ἀπὸ κακίας ῥύεσθαι. Ἐπὰν δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσῃς κατασκήνου, φησὶν, εἰς αἰῶνα αἰῶνος.  Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους. ψαλμος ΛϚ

'Decline from evil and do good.' 1 When you have freed yourself from every evil, for that you can do, and if you wish you are able, doing this you are not yet made perfect unless you proceed to what comes next, that is, you do good. For you may not be that one who does not steal unless you share your own goods with those who lack, nor will you be that one who is not avaricious unless you are charitable to the needy, nor will you be that one who abstains from evil unless you save others from evil. And whenever you do these things, you have, it says, a dwelling place for eternity. 1 Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 36 1Ps 36.27

Sin And Healing

Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Δεσπότης των ὅλων, σαφῶς καὶ διαῥῥήδην ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἀνακαλεῖ τοὺς ἀπὸ παντοίας κακίας βεβαρημένους· Δεῦτε πρός με, κραυγάζων, κὰγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καθόδου τὸ αἴτιον γεγενῆσθαι διεβεβαιώσατο· Οὐ γὰρ ἦλθον δικαίους καλέσαι, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς πρὸς τὸ μετανοῆσαι. Καὶ, Οἱ ἰσχύοντες οὐ χρῄζουσιν ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες. Εἰ τοίνυν ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, μηδαμῶς ἀπογίνωσκε, μᾶλλον δὲ ῥώννυτο ταῖς χρηστοτέριας ἐλπίσιν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤϚ, Καλοχυρῳ

The Divine Christ, and Lord of all, clearly and openly in the Gospels calls all those who are burdened by every sort of evil, saying, 'Come to me, crying out, and I shall restore you.' 1 For He announces that this is the reason why He descended from heaven. 'For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to penitence.' And 'He who is well does not need a physician, but he who is sick.' 2 If then these things are so, we should certainly not despair, but rather by hope of better be strengthened. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 306 To Kalochyros 1 Mt 11.28 2 Mt 9. 13, 12

Sin And Enemies

Μή ποτε εἴπε ὁ ἐχθρος μου· Ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτον.   Ὁσάκις ἁμαρτάνομεν, τοσαυτάκις λέγει τοῦτον ὁ ἐχθρος· Ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτον. Οἱ θλίβοντές με ἀγαλλιάσονται, ἐὰν σαλευθῶ. Οἱ ἄγγελοι χαίρουσαν ἐπὶ τοῖς μετανοῦσιν, οἱ δαίμονες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἀγάλλονται. Οἱ μὲν γάρ τέ εἰσιν ἀρετῆς, οἱ δὲ κακίας ἐρασταί. Ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει ἔσονται καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ, ἐὰν μόνον ἴδωσί με τῆς εἰς σὲ ἐλπίδος ἐκπεπτωκοτα καὶ ἀπελπίσαντα. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΒ'

Lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him.' 1 As many times as we sin, as many times the enemy says, 'I have prevailed over him.'  For 'They who trouble me exult if I am shaken.' 1 Angels rejoice over those who are penitent, demons exult over those who sin. For the former are lovers of virtue, the latter of wickedness. In exultation and joy the latter shall be, if ever they see me falling from hope in you and despairing. Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 12 1 Ps12.5

A Way of Correction

Πᾶσα κεφαλὴ εἰς πόνον, φησὶν ὁ Ἡσαὶς, καὶ πᾶσα καρδία εἰς λύπην ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κεφαλῆς. Καὶ μετ' ὀλίγα· Ἡ γῆ καὶ ὑμῶν ἕρημος, τὴν χώραν ὑμῶν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἀλλότριοι κατεσθίουσιν.'  Δὶα μὲν τῶν ποδῶν τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους, διὰ δὲ τῆς καφαλῆς τοὺς καθηγουμένους αἰνιττόμενος, πονηρίας ἀπάσης ἐμπεπλησμένους· πᾶσα γὰρ κεγαλὴ εἰς πόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν εἰς πονηρίαν τρέχουσιν, ὠς ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ εἴρηκεν ὁ Προφήτης. Πόνον τοιγάρτοι τὴν πονηρείαν νόει, καθὼς λέγει ὁ Δαυῒδ περὶ ψυχῆς βεβήλου, ὅτι Συνέλαβες πόνον, καὶ ἕτεκες ἀνομίαν. Ἡ γὰρ πονηρεία τὴν ἀνομίαν πέφυκεν ἀποτίκτειν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐν τῷ καταφρονεῖν, καὶ ἀγαπᾷν τὰ φαῦλα, πολλάκις κρίσει Θεοῦ τὸ σκυθρωπα καὶ λυπηρὰ ἔπεται, πρὸς διόρθωσιν ἐκκαλούμενα τοὺς ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκε· Καὶ πᾶσα καρδία εἰς λύπην. Λυποῦνται γὰρ Ἰουδαῖοι ὑπὸ Θεοῦ, δι' ἀνθρωπίνης χειρὸς τιμωρούμενοι καὶ καταθλιβόμενοι.  Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΝΕ' Ζωσαριῳ Τριβουνῳ

'Every head in grief,' says Isaiah 'and every heart mournful from the foot to the head.' 1 And a little after, 'Your land a  waste and foreigners devouring your county before your eyes.' 2 And by feet they are subdued, and with nodding heads led away, with wickedness spread everywhere; for every head is in grief because their feet bore them rapidly on a course of wickedness, as the Prophet says also in another place. 3 So the grief of wickedness is to be understood, which David speaks of concerning the profane soul, 'You conceived grief and you birthed iniquity.'  4 Wickedness by its own nature births iniquity. And then when a man has become contemptuous and a lover of evils, there often follows the troublesome and tearful judgement of God for the cause of the correction of sinners, since it is said 'And every heart in sorrow.' For by God the Hebrews are joined to grief, while the human hand castigates and oppresses. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 55 to Zosarius the Tribune 1 Isa 1.5  2 Isa 1.7  3 Is 59.7  4 Ps 7.15

Prayer and Pride

Μὴ ἐλθέτω μοι ποὺς ὑπερηφανίας καὶ χεὶρ ἁμαρτωλῶν μὴ σαλεύσαι με. Οἶδεν ὁ θεῖος λόγος ταῖς λεγομέναις μεταβολαῖς χρῆσθαι, ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα τῆς ὑπερηφανίας οὐ ζῴου ποδώτου ἀλλ' ἐξεως οὐσης πόδα ὠνόμασεν, καὶ ἐν Παροιμίαις Τῆς γὰρ ἀφροσύνης οἱ πόδες κατάγουσι· ὁ γοῦν εὐχεται τοῦτό ἐστιν· μὴ λάβοι χώραν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ μου ἐπελθεῖν ἡ ὑπερηφανία ωστε ἀπατῆσαί με, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ χείρ, τουτέστι πρᾶξις ἁμαρτωλοῦ σαλεύσαι με· εἰ γὰρ πράξοιμι τὰ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, κλονηθήσομαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς. Δυδυμος του Αλεξανδρεως, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΛΕ'

'May the foot of the proud not come to me, nor the hand of the sinner move me.' 1 Here the Divine speech is used metaphorically, so here the living foot of the proud is not spoken of but the foot, the lowest part, of the interior state, as in Proverbs it is said, 'For with thoughtless feet  they are led away.' 2 So this is what he prays for: that I might not have a place in my soul where pride may enter and deceive me, nor may the hand, which is the deed, of the sinner move me, for if I perform the works of sinners, I am driven away from virtue. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 35 1 Ps 35.12 2 Prov 1.16

Turning The Back

Verterunt ad me tergum et non faciem. Qui projiciunt sermones Dei retrorsum, ipsi vertunt contra eum tergum et non faciem. Quando enim magister praecipit, obedientis indicium est si demisso contra audiat capite. Sin autem vertat tergum, signum est contemnentis; ut in alio loco scriptum est: 'Et verterunt ad me scapulam recedentem. 2 In tantum, inquit Deus, mea contempsere praecepta, ut ne audire quidem voluerint, sed tumorem animi, gestu corporis indicarint. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Jeremiam Prophetam, Liber I, Caput II

'They turned their back to me and not their face.'  1 They who cast the words of God behind them, 2 turn their backs to Him and not their face. For when a teacher commands, it is a sign of obedience if the pupil listens with head lowered before him. But when he turns the back it is a sign of contempt, and so in another place it is written, 'And they turned to me a stubborn shoulder.' 3 They disdain my teachings so much, says the Lord, that they do not even wish to hear them, but the bloated nature of their souls they show by the posture of the body. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah, Book 1, Chapter 2 1  Jer 2.27 2 cf Ps 49.17 2 Zach 7.11

Shipwrecks and the World

Omnis etenim anima infidelis, in saeculi hujus tamquam maris profundo naufraga, incerto motu vagoque differtur, et diversarum cupiditatem aestu mobilis fluctuat potestate diaboli saeculum incolentis illusa, et nulla ad resistendum onnitendumque ei subjectae soliditatis firmitate consistit: ex quo facile est, incentivis circumagentium cupiditatem pendulam vagamque jactari. Quod autem saeculi hujus motus atque fluctus undantis maris sit aestibus comparatus, qui dominantis sit diaboli incolatus, secundum propheticam et allegoricam intelligentiam, psalmus centesimus et tertius sub corporali tamen creaturarum significatione demonstrat: Hoc mare magnum et spatiosum, illic serpentes quorum non est numerus. Animalia pusilla et magna: illic naves pertransibunt. Draco iste quem formasti ad illudendum ei. Et rursum in sexagesimo octavo psalmo: Veni in altitudinem maris, et tempestas demersit me. Unigenitus itaque Dei filius, et Dei Verbum, et Deus verbum ad eruendos nos ex profundo saeculi hujus naufragio descendit, doctrinae suae reti, cui regnum coelorum simile est, haec universa piscium genera extracturus. Ab impio populo proditur et inhonoratur: seseque populus conformatus ad illudendum, draconi socium ipse demergit, et in hoc se profundum ad incolatus ejus consortium praecipit. Sic et incredulus Moysi Aegyptiorum populus praecipitari demergique meruit, et impiam gentem refusi in se maris fluctus absorbuit Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum LI Source: Migne PL 9.316a-c

Every unfaithful soul in this age is like a shipwreck in a deep sea, scattered amid uncertain and vague motions, and in the waves of many desires he shifts easily, a plaything of the devil dwelling in this age, and he may not offer any resistance nor struggle against him, for he has no firmness of solidity in him, by which he is easily tossed about by the billowing and wandering desires that surround him. For the shifts and changes of the world may be compared to the undulations of the waves of the sea, where he dwells who is under the dominion of the devil, according to the prophetical and allegorical understanding, and the hundred and third Psalm shows this under the figure of corporeal creatures: 'This great and wide sea, from there serpents without number, animals great and small, whence the ships shall pass. The dragon which you formed to play with him.' 1 And again in the sixty eighth Psalm: 'I have come into the depths of the sea, and the storm has drowned me.' 2 Thus the only begotten Son of God, and the Word of God, and God's word descends to take us from the shipwreck of the depths of this age, and His teachings are nets, to which the kingdom of heaven is compared, 3 extracting every type of fish. By the impious He is betrayed and dishonored, and the same people are shaped to be a plaything, and they are drowned to be associates of the dragon, and He orders them to a dwelling in the deep. So even the people of Egypt who did not believe in Moses merited to be cast down and drowned, an impious nation absorbed in the waves of the gleaming sea. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 51 1 Ps 103.25-26 2 Ps 68.3 3 Mt 19.47

The Melting Mountains

Τὰ ὄρη ὠσεὶ κηρὸς ἐτάκησαν. Ὄρη δέ φησιν τὰς ὑψηλὰς καὶ ὑπερηφάνους δυνάμεις τὰς ἀντικειμένας, ἥγουν τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τούτου, διὰ πολλὴν ἄγαν ὑπερηφανίαν ὄρεσι παρεικαζομένους. Ἅς κατέτηξεν ὁ Σωτὴρ ὡσεὶ κηρὸν, οἵον τι πῦρ κηρῷ προσβεβληκός. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός ϞϚ'

'The mountains melted like wax.' 1  Mountains he names the high and proud and hostile powerful ones who are the world rulers in this darkness, those who on account of their great pride are likened to mountains. These the Savior melted like wax, as a fire falling on wax. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 96  1 Ps 96.5

Conflict and Friendship

Καιρὸς γὰρ, φησὶ, πολέμου, καὶ καιρὸς εἰρήνης.  Ὁρᾷς τῶν ἀντικειμένων παθῶν τὴν παράταξιν, τὸν νόμον τῆς σαρκὸς, τὸν ἀντισταρευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Πρόσχες τῇ ποικίλῃ τῆς μάχης διασκευῇ, πῶς μυριότοπος ἐστι κατὰ τῆς σῆς πόλεως ἡ τοῦ ἀντικειμένου στρατηγία· κατασκόπους πέμπει προδότας ὑποποιεῖται, ταῖς ὁδοῖς ἐφεδρεύει, λόχους καὶ ἔνεδρα συνίστησι, συμμαχους προσεταιρίζεται, μηχανήματα κατασκευάζει, σφενδονίτας καὶ τοξότας καὶ τοὺς συστάδην συμπλεκομένους, καὶ τὴν ἱππικὴν δύναμιν, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα κατὰ σοῦ ἐκστρατεύεται. Πάντως δὲ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς τὴν τῶν εἰρημένων διάνοιαν, τίς ὁ προδότης, τίς ὁ κατάσκοπος, τίνες οἱ ἐνεδραυταὶ, τίνες οἱ σφενδονῖται, τίνες οἱ τοξόται, καὶ τίνες οἱ ἀγχέμαχοι, καὶ τῶν ἱππέων ἵλη. Πάντα οὖν βλέποντας χρὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς καθοπλίζεσθαι, καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους παρακαλεῖν, καὶ φιλοκρινεῖν ἐν τοῖς ὑποχειρίοις, μή τις τὰ τῶν πολεμίων φρονεῖ, προβλέπειν τε τὰς παροδίους ἐνέδρας, καὶ τυρεοῖς τὰς βολὰς ἀσφαλίζεσθαι, πρός τε τοὺς συστάδην ἡμῖν συμπλεκομένους ἄνωθεν, καὶ ἀποταφρεύειν τοῖς καθ' ἡμῶν ἱππόταις τὴν πάροδον. Ἥρμοζε δέ τισι καὶ προσβολαῖς τὰ τείχη καταφαλίζεσθαι, ὡς ἄν μὴ κατασεισθείη τοῖς μηχανήμασι. Πάντω; δὲ οὐδενὶ λόγῳ τὰ καθ' ἔκαστον  ἑρμηνευόμεθα, πῶς ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῆς ἐκάστον ἡμῶν πόλεως τῆς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ  παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ συνῳκισμένης, ἢ διὰ κατασκόπων ἀποπεριᾶτα ἡμῶν τῆς δυνάμεως, καί τινας ἔχει τοὺς ἐξ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν προδότας γινομένους τῆς ἡμετέρας δυνάμεως. Ὡς δ' ἄν φανερώτερον τὸ νόημα ἐκκαλυφθείη, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ἡ πρώτη τοῦ πειρασμοῦ προσβολῆ, ὅθεν τὰ πάθη τὴν ἀρχὴν λαμβάνει. Οὗτος τῆς ἡμετέρας δυνάμεως κατάσκοπος γίνεται· οἷον, ἐνέπεσε τῷ ὀφθαλμῳ θέαμα τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἀνακεινίσαι δυνάμενον. Διὰ οὖν τούτου κατασκοπεῖ τὴν ἐν σοὶ δύναμιν ὁ πολέμιος, εἴτε ἰσχυρά τις καὶ εὐπαράσκευος ἐστιν, εἴτε ἄτονος καὶ εὐαλωτος. Εἰ γὰρ οὐκ ὤκλασας τῷ σχήματι, οὐδέ σοι πρὸς τὸ φανὲν διελύθη τῆς διανοίας ὁ τόνος, ἀλλ' ἀπαθῶς παρέμψας τὴν συντυχίαν, εὐθὺς  ἐπτόησας τὸν κατάσκοπον, οἶον ὁπλιτῶν τινα φάλαγγα τοῖς δόρασι φρίσσουσαν, τὴν τῶν λογισμῶν λέγω παρασκευὴν τῷ κατασκόπῳ δείξας. Εἰ δὲ μαλαχθείη δι' ἡδονῆς πρὸς τὴν θέαν ἡ αἴσθησις, καὶ τὸ τοῦ χαρακτῆτος εἴδωλον ἐντος τῆς διανοίας διὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν εἰσδύῃ, τότε καταπολεμεῖται μὲν ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν ἔνδον ὁ νοῦς, ὡς οὐδὲν ἀνδρῶδες ἢ νεανικὸν ἔχων, ἀλλὰ βλακώδης τις καὶ ἔκλυτος ὤν, καὶ πλῆθος προδοτῶν ἐκ τοῦ δήμου τῶν λογισμῶν περὶ τὸν κατάσκοπον συγκροτεῖται. Οὕτοι δέ εἰσιν οἱ προδόται, περὶ ὦν φησιν ὁ Κύριος, ὅτι Οἱ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οἱ οἰκειακοὶ αὐτο· οἱ τῆς καρδίας ἐκπορευόμενοι, καὶ κοινοῦντες τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὦν τὰ ὀνόματα σαφῶς ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου μαθεῐν. Τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτο, οὐκεται ἄν σοι γένηται δυσχερὲς, δι' ἀκολούθου τὰ καθ' ἔκαστον τῆς πολεμικῆς ἐκείνης διασκευῆς κατανοῆσαι τῆς ἐκ τοῦ ἀφανοῦς προλοχεύοντος, οἶς περιπίπτουσιν οἱ ἀπροόπτως κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου ὁδὸν πορευόμενοι. Οἱ γὰρ ἐν σχήματι φιλίας καὶ εὐνοίας πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὄλεθρον καθέλκοντες τὸν πειθόμενον, οὗτοι εἰσιν οἱ κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς ἐνεδρεύοντες, οἱ τῆς ἡδονῆς ἐπαινέται, οἱ πρὸς τὰ ἀποδεικύοντες, καὶ δι' ὦν ποιοῦσι πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὁμοίων μίμησιν ἐκκαλούμενοι, ἀδελφοὺς ἑαυτοὺς καὶ φίλους ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ τῶν ἀπολλυμένων κατονομάζοντες. Περὶ ὦν γέγραπται, ὅτι Πᾶς ἀδελφὸς πτέρνῃ πτερνιεῖ· καὶ πᾶς φίλος δόλῳ πορεύσεται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἐκκλησιασην, Ὁμιλια Η'

'There is a time for peace and a time for war'. 1  Observe the marshaling of the conflicting passions, the law of the flesh which has been drawn up for the law of sin. 2 Take note of the various devices of battle and how vast is the army drawn up against your city. The enemy sends out scouts, dispatches spies, lays snares on roads, sets ambushes and traps, calls up allies, prepares machines of war, and places his slingers and archers and close combat warriors and cavalry, and all such things by which he can overcome you. Certainly you are acquainted with the ways of those we speak of, of the traitor, the scout, those who set snares, the slingers, the archers, those who engage in close combat, the troop of cavalry. Everyone then observing these must equip himself and summon his allies, mark well the state of those he rules lest they think to turn to revolt, watch out for snares on the road, protect himself with shield against wounds from flying shafts and the close combat warriors, dig trenches against the cavalry, and raise ramparts and protect the walls against assaults so that war machines may not shatter them. But there is no need to speak of everything by which the enemy of each of our cities in our souls established by God takes measure of our strength by scouts and by that implants traitors in the midst of our power. Such does this image revealed clarify the first attack of temptation, which is the beginning of passion. Such is the one who spies on our strength and marks with his eye what assaults  stir up our desire. Thus the enemy examines your strength, learning whether you are strong and prepared, or weak and negligent. For if this examination does not make you faint, nor the gaze weaken the firmness of your mind, and if you shake it off free from passion, you immediately frighten the spy like some phalanx of arms bristling with spears, which are your thoughts, I say, prepared to expose the spy. But if softness by pleasure has come in by vision, an image entering the inner place of the mind through the eyes, then the mind of the commander within is overcome, since he not only lacked bravery or was youthful, but was lazy and negligent on account of which many traitors from the people of our own thoughts will assist the spy. These are the traitors of whom the Lord says, 'A man's foes will be of his own household'. 3 He refers to the things going forth from the heart which defile a man, 4 which we clearly learn from the Gospel. And by this no longer is it unclear to us what are the devices of our enemy, that he sets ambushes to fall unexpectedly upon travellers going along the road of this life. Those who assume the mask of amity and goodwill in order to draw a person to sin and so destroy him, these are the ones who skulk at the roadside, those who praise pleasure and lead one to the shows, and by which they draw others to imitate their behaviour, to utter ruin calling themselves brothers and friends. Concerning whom it is written: 'Every man will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily' 5 Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Ecclesiastes, from Homily 8 1 Eccl 3.8 2 Rom 7.23 3 Mt 10.36  4 Mt 15.18  5 Jer 9.4

Vainglory and Pride

Μόνος τῶν λογισμῶν ὁ τῆς κενοδοξίας ἐστὶ πολύυλος, καὶ ὅλον σχεδὸν περιλαμβάνων τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς δαίμοσιν ὑπανοίγων τὰς θύρας, ὥσπερ τις προδότης πονηρὸς ἀγαθῆς γενόμενος πόλεως.  Διὸ καὶ πάνυ ταπεινοῖ τοῦ ἀναχωροῦντος τὸν νοῦν, πολλῶν λόγων αὐτὸν καὶ πραγμάτων πληρῶν, καὶ τὰς προσευχὰς αὐτοῦ λυμαινόμενος δι' ὧν πάντα τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ τραύματα θεραπεύειν σπουδάζει.  Τοῦτον τὸν λογισμὸν συναύξουσι πάντες ἡττηθέντες οἱ δαίμονες, καὶ πάλιν δι' αὐτοῦ πάντες εἰς τὰς ψυχὰς λαμβάνουσιν εἴσοδον, ποιοῦντες ὄντῶς τὰ ἔσχατα, χείρονα τῶν πρώτων.  Εκ τούτου δὲ γεννᾶται τοῦ λογισμοῦ, καὶ ὁ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τὸ ἀποσφράγισμα τῆς ὁμοιώσεως, καὶ τὸν στέφανον τοῦ κάλλους ἀπ' οὐρανῶν εἰς γῆν κατασείσας.  Ἀλλ' ἀποπήδησον τούτου, καὶ μὴ χρονίσῃς, ἵνα μὴ προδῶμεν ἄλλοις τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον βίον ἀνελεήμοσι.  Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν δαίμονα φυγαδεύει ἐκτενὴς προσευχὴ,  καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἑκόντα ποιεῖν, τῶν συνελούντων πρὸς τὴν ἐπάρατον δόξαν.  Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν

Of evil thoughts none is richer in resources than vainglory, and it is to be encountered almost everywhere in the world, and secretly it opens the gates to all the demons, like some wicked traitor in a city of the good. Thus it gravely debases the mind of the man withdrawn, filling it with many words and ideas and defiling the prayers through which he is eager to heal all the wounds of his soul. All the other demons defeated gather together to augment the strength of this evil thought and by it again receive entry into the soul, thus making the last state worse than the first 1. And from it rises pride, that which cast down from heaven to earth the impression of God's likeness and the crown of beauty. So leaping away from it, staying not for a moment, let us not give up our life to these and our years to the merciless one 2. And this demon is driven out by intense prayer and by not doing anything that would add to the sense of one's own woeful importance.   Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Evil Thoughts 1 cf. Mt 12:45  2 cf. Pr 5:9