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 Thus it gravely debases the mind of the man withdrawn, filling it with many words and ideas and defiling the prayers through which he is eager to heal all the wounds of his soul.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