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