The Serpent Pleasure

Ἥ τούτου χάριν, τὸ κατὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν πάθος ὅφις ὑπὸ τῆς Γραφῆς ὀνονμάζεται, ᾤ ἡ φύσιη ἐστὶν, εἰ ἡ κεφαλὴ πρὸς τὴν ἁμονίαν τοῦ τοίχου παραδυείη, πάντα τὸν κατόπιν ὁλκὸν συνεισάγεσθαι. Οἵον τι λέγω· Ἀναγκαίαν αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποιεῖ ἡ φύσις τὴν οἴκησιν· ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς χρείας ταύτης, ἡ ἡδονὴ τῇ ἁρμονίᾳ τῆς ψυχῆς παραδευῖσα εἰς ἅμετρόν τινα καλλωπισμοῦ πολυτέλειαν· τὴν χρείαν παρέρεψεν, καὶ τὴν σπουδὴν μετεποίησεν· εἶτα πρὸς ἀμπελῶνας τινας, καὶ κολυμβήθρας καὶ παραδείσους καὶ τὰ τῶν κήκων ἐγκαλλωπίσματα, μεθέρπει τὸ θηρίον ἡ ἡδονή. Μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπικορυφοῦται τῇ ὑπερηφανίᾳ, καὶ τῷ τύφῳ περιελίσσεται, τὴν κατὰ τῶν ὁμοφύλων ἀρχήν ἑαυτῇ ὑποζεύξασα. Ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν τῆς φιλοχρηματίας ὁλκὸν ἐπισύρεται, ᾦ κατὰ ἀνάγκην ἔπεται τὸ ἀκόλαστον, τὸ ἔσχατόν τε καὶ οὐρανῖον μέρος τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν θηριώσεως. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ οὐραίου τῆς ῥαχίας τὸν ὄφιν ἀνελκυσθῆναι, φυσικῶς τῆς φολίδος πρὸς τὸ ἔμπαλιν τοῖς ἐφελκομένοις ἀντιβαινούσης· οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῶν τελευταίων ἄρξασθαι τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξοικίζειν τὴν τῆς ἡδονῆς ἐρπηδόνα, εἰ μή τις τῷ κακῷ τὴν πρώτην εἴσοδον ἀποκλείσειε.  Διὸ καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αῡτου ἐπιτηρεῖν ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑφηγητῆς ἐγκελεύεται, κεφαλὴν ὀνομάζων τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς κακίας, ἧς μὴ παραδεχθείσης, ἄπρακτόν ἐστι τὸ λειπόμενον.  Ὁ γὰρ καθόλου πρὸς τὴν ἡδονὴν πολεμίως προστεθυὶς, οὐκ ἄν ταῖς μερικαῖς προσβολαῖς τοῦ πάθους ὑπενεχθείη· ὁ δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ πάθους ὑποδεξάμενος, ἅπαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ θηρίον συμπαρεδέξατο. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἐκκλησιασην, Ὁμιλια Δ'

Because of the affliction on account of pleasure, Scripture names it a serpent 1 whose entire body enters once it pokes its head through a hole in the wall. What do I mean? Nature makes a fitting habitation for man but passing through the needful pleasure disturbs the harmony of the soul with immoderate, extravagant need for ornamentation, and what is necessary it slides past and zeal creates. Then this beast pleasure seeks the attractions of vinyards and pools and beautiful gardens, vineyards, baths and fountains. And after priding itself on these adornments then the serpent winds back around in blindness to the beginning of the same things it has yoked to itself, dragging to the love of money which leads to the lack of all discipline, the last and most awful part of pleasure's savagery. But just as the serpent cannot pull with its tail because its rough scales naturally resist anything it draws, so we cannot cast out the slithering of pleasure from our soul's extremities if we do not close up evil's entrance. Because of this the teacher of virtue bids us to attend to the head of the serpent, the head being named the beginning of evil, which if it is not let in can achieve nothing. For a man hostile to pleasure is not subject to the individual assaults of passion, but one who has accepted the beginning of passion has taken in the whole beast. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Ecclesiastes, Homily 4 1 Gen 3.1