On Not Returning Evil for Evil

Ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἄλλος ἀδελφὸς, λέγων· Τί ἐστι, Μή ἀποδώσεις κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ; Λέγει αὐτῷ γέρων· Τὸ πάθος τοῦτο τέσσαρας ἔχει τρόπους· πρῶτον ἀπὸ καρδίας, δεύτερον ἀπὸ ὄψεως, τρίτον γλώσσης, τέταρτόν έστι, τὸ μὴ ποιῆσαι κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ. Ἐὰν δύνασαι καθαρίσαι τὴν καρδίαν σου, οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν ὄψιν· ἐὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ εἰς τὴν ὄψιν, φυλάττου τὸ μὴ λαλεῖν· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ λαλήσῃς, ταχὺ κόψον τοῦ μὴ μοιῆσαι κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ. Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.332a-b

Another brother questioned Father Poimen, saying, 'What is it not to return evil for evil?' 1 The elder said, 'This passion has four stages, first from the heart, second from appearance, third from the tongue, fourth from the act of not returning evil for evil. If you can keep your heart pure it will not come to appearance, if it comes to appearance, guard against speaking, if you speak, quickly stop yourself less you return evil for evil.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 1 Thess. 5.15

The Pentecostal Fast

Hodiernam, dilectissimi, festivitatem descensione sancti Spiritus consecratam sequitur, ut nostis, solemne jejunium, quod animis corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum, devota nobis est observantia celebrandum. Repletis namque apostolis virtute promissa, et in corda eorum Spiritu veritatis ingresso, non ambigimus inter caetera coelestis sacramenta doctrinae, hanc spiritalis continentiae disciplinam de Paracleti magisterio primitus fuisse conceptam: ut sanctificatae jejunio mentes conferendis sibi charismatibus fierent aptiores. Aderat quidem Christi discipulis protectio omnipotentis auxilii, et principibus nascentis Ecclesiae tota Patris Filiique Divinitas in praesentia sancti Spiritus praesidebat. Sed contra instantes impetus persequentium, contra minaces fremitus impiorum, non corporis fortitudine, nec carnis erat saturitate certandum; cum hoc maxime hominis interiora corrumpat, quod exteriora delectat; et tanto fiat rationalis anima purgatior, quanto fuerit substantia carnis afflictior. Hi itaque doctores, qui exemplis et traditionibus suis omnes Ecclesiae filios imbuerunt, tirocinium militiae christianae sanctis inchoavere jejuniis: ut contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi, abstinentiae arma caperent, quibus vitiorum incentiva truncarent. Invisibiles enim adversarii et incorporales hostes non erunt contra nos validi, si nullis carnalibus desideriis fuerimus immersi. Cupiditas quidem nocendi in tentatore perpetua est, sed inermis atque inefficax erit, si nihil in nobis unde contra nos pugnet invenerit. Quis autem hac fragili carne circumdatus, et in isto mortis corpore constitutus, etiam qui multum valideque profecerit, ita jam de sua salute securus sit, ut ab omnium se illecebrarum periculo credat alienum? Donet licet sanctis suis quotidianam gratia divina victoriam, non aufert tamen dimicandi materiam: quia et hoc ipsum de misericordia protegentis est, qui naturae mutabili, ne de confecto praelio superbiret, semper voluit superesse quod vinceret. Igitur post sanctae laetitiae dies, quos in honorem Domini a mortuis resurgentis, ac deinde in coelos ascendentis, exegimus, postque perceptum sancti Spiritus donum, salubriter et necessarie consuetudo est ordinata jejunii: ut si quid forte inter ipsa festivitatum gaudia negligens libertas et licentia inordinata praesumpsit, hoc religiosae abstinentiae censura castiget: quae ob hoc quoque studiosius exsequenda est, ut illa in nobis quae hac die Ecclesiae divinitus sunt collata permaneant. Templum enim facti Spiritus sancti, et majore quam umquam copia divini fluminis irrigati, nullis debemus concupiscentiis vinci, nullis vitiis possideri, ut virtutis habitaculum nulla sit contaminatione pollutum. Quod utique regente atque adjuvante Domino omnibus obtinere possibile est, si per jejunii purificationem, ac per misericordiae largitatem studeamus et peccatorum sordibus liberari, et charitatis fructibus esse fecundi. Quidquid enim in cibos pauperum, in curationes debilium, in pretia captivorum, et in quaelibet opera pietatis impenditur, non minuitur, sed augetur, nec umquam apud Deum perire poterit quod fidelis benignitas erogarit, dum quodcumque tribuit ad subsidium, id sibi recondit ad praemium. Beati enim misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus; neque delictorum memoria erit ubi testimonium pietatis affuerit. Quarta igitur et sexta feria jejunemus; sabbato autem apud beatissimum Petrum apostolum vigilias celebremus, cujus nos orationibus et a spiritalibus inimicis et a corporeis hostibus confidimus liberari. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo LXXVIII, De Jejunio Pentecostes I Source: Migne PL 54.415b-418a

Today's feast, dearly-beloved, consecrated by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know, by a solemn fast, which being a salutary institution for the healing of soul and body, we should attend to with devout observance. For when the Apostles had been filled with the promised power and the Spirit of Truth had entered into their hearts, we do not doubt that among the rest of the mysteries of heavenly teachings this discipline of spiritual continence was first thought of at the prompting of the Paraclete so that minds sanctified by fasting might be more fit for the chrism which was to be bestowed on them. The disciples of Christ had the protection of Almighty aid, and the princes of the infant Church were watched over by the whole Godhead of the Father and the Son by the presence of the Holy Spirit. But against the threatened assaults of persecutors, and against the terrifying cries of the impious, they could not struggle with bodily strength or with pampered flesh, since that which delights the outer man gravely corrupts the inner man, and the more one's fleshly substance is afflicted the more the rational soul is purified. Thus these teachers, who have imbued all the sons of the Church with their example and their traditions, established the rudiments of Christian warfare with holy fasts, so that having to fight against spiritual wickedness men might take up the armour of abstinence to cut off the incentives to vice. Invisible adversaries and incorporeal enemies will have no power over us if we are not entangled in any of the desires of the flesh. Certainly the tempter always desires to hurt us, but he will be disarmed and powerless if he can find nothing in us by which he might attack us. But encompassed with this frail flesh and established in this body of death, even if a man has made evident progress, who can be so certain of his safety so that he thinks himself far from the peril of all allurements? Although Divine Grace gives daily victory to its holy ones, it does not remove the need for struggle, because even this is part of His protecting mercy, He who, lest we become proud over a battle ended, has always designed for our changeable nature that they should be something to win. Therefore, after the days of holy joy which we have devoted to the honour of the Lord rising from the dead and then ascending into heaven, and after the reception of the gift of the Holy Spirit, a fast is ordained as a wholesome and needful practice so that if through neglect or disorder amid the joys of the feast any undue license has come about it may be corrected by the censures of holy abstinence, which must be most scrupulously carried out so that what was on this day Divinely bestowed on the Church may remain in us. For having been made the temple of the Holy Spirit and watered with a greater supply than ever of the Divine Stream, we should not be conquered by any desires, nor possessed by any vices, by which the habitation of virtue is defiled with pollution. And it is possible for everyone to obtain this with the Lord's aid and guidance, if by the purification of fasting and by merciful liberality we strive to be freed from the filth of sins and to be rich in the fruits of love. For whatever is spent on feeding the poor, on caring for the sick, on ransoming prisoners, or on any other deed of piety, is not diminished but increased, nor will what the kindness of one of the faithful has expended ever be lost to God, since whatever a man gives for relief he lays up for his own reward. For 'Blessed are the merciful, since God shall have mercy on them.' 1 Nor will errors be remembered where the witness of piety is present. On the fourth and and sixth days, therefore, let us fast, and on Saturday let us keep vigil in the presence of the most blessed Apostle, Peter, by whose prayers we surely trust to be set free both from spiritual foes and bodily enemies, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen. Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 78, On The Pentecostal Fast 1 Mt 5.7

The Church And The Devil

Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem et semen tuum. Mulierem, hic Ecclesiam dicit, cui diabolus contrarius est. Semen vero mulieris bona opera sunt Ecclesiae, semen serpentis, opera omnis iniquitatis. Haec est enim mulier illa, de qua Joannes in Apocalipsi dicit, quod eam draco perseqeretur, volens eam devorare, postquam etiam fluvium ex ore euo emisit, quia persecutionem gentium contra Ecclesiam suscitavit. Ipsa conteret caput tuum. Id est, Ecclesia conteret caput tuum, id est, initium malae voluntatis, antequam ad opus prorumpat. Unde et in psalmo beatus dicitur qui parvulus Babylonis tenuerit, et ad petram alliserit. Parvuli Babylonis est initium peccati et orgio malae voluntatis. Hi sunt parvuli confusionis qui, antequam proficient, allidendi sunt ad petram, id est Christum. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Caput III Source: Migne PL 131.66b-c

I shall set hostility between you and the woman and your seed. 1 'The woman,' he speaks of the Church, against which the devil is hostile. But the seed of the woman is the good works of the Church, and the seed of the serpent is every work of wickedness. Indeed this is the woman of whom John speaks in the Apocalypse, that the dragon shall persecute her, wishing to devour her, and later he pours forth a river from his mouth, because he stirs up the persecution of the Gentiles against the Church. 2 'She shall crush your head.' 1 That is, the Church 'shall crush your head,' that is, the beginning of evil desires, before they burst forth into deeds. Whence it is said in the Psalm: 'Blessed is he who takes hold of one of the little ones of Babylon, and smashes it against a rock.' 3 The little ones of Babylon are the beginning of sin and the source of evil desire. These are the little ones of confusion who before they come forth should be smashed against the rock which is Christ. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 3 1 Gen 3.15 2 Apoc 12.13 3 Ps 136.9

Anger And Sin

Ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε, λέγετε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς κοίταις ὑμῶν κατανύγητε... Ταύτην τὴν λέξιν παραλαβὼν ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐπήγαγεν αὐτῇ· ̔Ο ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῷ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν, μηδὲ δίδοτε τόπον τῷ διαβόλῳ. ὁ ταύτην καταδεξάμενος τὴν ἀποστολικὴν προτροπὴν ὀργισθεὶς οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει τοῦ κατ' ὀργὴν διακειμένου ἐπίμονον αὐτὴν ἔχοντος ὄν καὶ μηνιαστὴν ἔθος καλεῖν. βεβαιοῖ ταύτην τὴν νόησιν τὸ ἑξῆς ἐπιφερόμενον· Ἄ λέγετε γάρ φησίν, ὀργισθέντες δηλονότι, ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, ἐπὶ ταῖς κοίταις κατανύγητε, ὥστε ἀναστάντας ἐξ ὕπνου μηδὲν πρᾶξαι ἤ εἰπεῖν τῶν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐν ὀργῇ διεσκεμμένων. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος Δ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1168a

Be angry and sin not, the things you say in your hearts, fight with on your beds... 1 This line is taken up by the Apostle when he says: 'Do not let the sun go down on your anger, do not give a place to the devil.' 2 And to receive the Apostolic admonition is not to sin because of anger when one is angered. Rather let him who is troubled by anger have that endurance that is by custom called restraint of anger. And the sense of this is confirmed a little after, for it says, 'The things you say,' clearly by those who are angered, 'in your hearts, fight with on your beds', that rising from sleep you resolve to act nothing like them, in deed or by speech in the heart, because of anger. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.5 2 Ephes 4.26-27

The Worst And The Middle

Nec illud otiosum quod primo dixit, quia memor fuit Dominus Noe, deinde bestiarum, postea jumentorum, hoc est, cur non ea animantia quae mitiora sunt, post hominem nominavit, sed ferociora. In quo videtur illa esse ratio, ut ea quae ferociora erant, utriusque partis vicinitate mansuescerent. Quod videtur etiam in illo versu poetico declarari: κακοὺς δ' ἐς μέσσον ἔλασσεν. Hinc enim etiam poeta usurpavit, ut dispositionem dimicaturi ita ordinaret exercitus; quo inferiores collocaret in medio, quo magis hinc inde a fortioribus juvarentur, et dimicationem utriusque partis assumerent. In his scriptis series manifestatur. Altiore autem sensu certum est quod justus in medio habet non in parte cogitationes cordis sui: et quoad carpit hanc vitam, habeat necesse est in corpore tamquam in illa arca bestias graves. Nulla enim mens est, nulla anima, quae non recipiat etiam malarum motus agrestes cogitationum. Itaque insipientis anima ferinos acuit motus, atque adolet venena serpentum: sapientis autem vigor mitigat et coercet. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput XVI Source: Migne PL 14.387c-388a

Not without purpose was it said that He first remembered Noah, and then beasts, and finally cattle, 1 that is, there is a reason why he did not name the more peaceful animals after man, but the fiercer ones. The reason seems to be this: that those which were fiercer were mollified by the presence of the others on both sides. Which indeed is seen in the verse of the poet that declares: 'but the worst he drove into the middle.' 2 Hence indeed the poet presents it, that the disposition of an army to fight is ordered so that the worst are gathered in the middle, and this so that they may be better helped by the stronger, with both sides lifting them up in battle. With these words the order is made clear. But there certainly is a higher meaning, because the righteous man does not have his thoughts in the middle part of his heart, as long as he holds to this life where it is necessary in this body, as in the ark, to have burdensome beasts. There is no mind, no soul, which does not receive the wild motions of wicked thoughts. The soul of the unwise man is provoked by fierce motions, and the venom of the serpents burns, but the power of the wise man soothes and restrains. Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 16 1 Gen. 8.1 2 Homer Iliad 4.299

Wine And Moderation

Μὴ ὕβριζε τὴν θείαν λειτουργίαν. Μὴ ἀτίμαζε τὴν τῶν καρπῶν εὐλογανίαν. Μὴ τῷ κόρῳ τὴν πόσιν πλεονέκτει. Μὴ τῇ ἀμετρίᾳ τὴν συμμετρίαν κακοποίει. Μὴ τὰς φρένας πρόπινε πίνων. Ἀλλὰ μεμνημένος ὡς αἵμα Χριστοῦ τὴν τούτο ἀπαρχὴν τὸ θείον ἐργάζεται Πνεῦμα, οὕτως αὐτῷ κέχρησο, ὡς ἀσθενὴς καὶ χρῇζων αὐτοῦ εἰς βοήθειαν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ὡς δυσμενὴς, ὅπλῳ τῷ οἴνῳ κατὰ πάντων κεχρημένος, καθ' ἑαυτοῦ δὲ μᾶλλον, ὑπὸ τούτου σηπόμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙΓ' Ζωσιμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.364c

Do not run riot in the Divine liturgy. Do not dishonour the blessing of the fruits. Do not exceed the appropriate portion. Do not because of immoderation act wickedly against what is well measured. Do not give away your mind in drinking. But mindful that the blood of Christ is the Divine first fruit made by the Holy Spirit, thus attend to it, as weak and needy for its aid, not as an enemy, with wine raising up arms against all, for it is rather against yourself, you being made rotten by this. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 313, To Zosimus

The Left And The Right

Te autem faciente eleemosynam, nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua. Jamdudum significavimus haec omnia ad animam dici, non ad carnem, quod hic sermo manifeste declarat. Alioqui quantum ad corpus, quomodo potest fieri ut nesciat sinistra quid dextera faciat, cum ambae manus in adjutorium sibi invicem sint creatae, ut altera alteri administret, nec cito inveniatur opus quod una manus sine altera possit implere? Sed secundum quod diximus supera, dextera manus est voluntas animae, semper ad bonum contendens; sinistra autem voluntas carnis, semper Deo contraria. Nesciat ergo carnis voluntas, quod facit voluntas animae. Quando ergo voluntas est nobis faciendi eleemosynas propter Deum, voluntas est animae, et dextera manus nostra. Si subeuntem nobis voluntatem vanam, ut ab hominibus videamur, id est voluntatem carnis, et manum sinistram represserimus, nescit sinistra voluntas quid facit dextera. Si autem subeunti hujusmodi vanae vountati consenserimus, conjunximus sinistram voluntatem dextrae, et dextram sinistrae: et notum facimus sinistrae quod dextera operabatur. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XIII Source: Migne PG 56.707

But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 1 Earlier we remarked that all these things speak of the soul, not of the flesh, and this passage manifestly declares it. Besides, as much as it concerns the body, how is it possible that the left hand does not know what the right is doing, when both hands were created for the help of one another, that one administer to the other, and it is not easy to find some work in which one hand can perform it without the other? But according to what we have said previously, the right hand is the will of the soul which always strives for the good, but the left hand is the will of the flesh, which is always opposed to God. 2 Therefore let not the will of the flesh know what the will of the soul is doing. When, therefore, it is for us to give alms for the sake of God, it is the will of the soul, and it is our right hand. If there comes upon us a wish to be seen by men, this is the desire of the flesh, and with its restraint the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. If, however, there comes upon us the same vain wish and we consent, we join the left's desire to the right, and the right to the left, and we make known to the left what the right was doing. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 13 1 Mt 6.3 2 cf Galat 5.17

The Carnal And The Spiritual Fast

Cum ergo universa vitia per continentiam destruantur, et quidquid avaritia sitit, quidquid superbia ambit, quidquid luxuria concupiscit, hujus virtutis soliditate superetur; quis non intelligat quantum nobis praesidii per jejunia conferatur? In quibus indicitur, ut non solum a cibis, sed etiam ab omnibus carnalibus desideriis temperetur. Alioqui superfluum est suscipere esuriem, et iniquam non deponere voluntatem; reciso affligi cibo, et a concepto non resilire peccato. Carnale est, non spiritale jejunium, ubi soli corpori non parcitur, et in iis quae omnibus deliciis nocentiora sunt, permanetur. Quid prodest animae foris agere quasi dominam, et intus servire captivam, membris propriis imperare, et jus propriae libertatis amittere? Et merito plerumque patitur famulam rebellantem, quae non reddit Domino debitam servitutem. Jejunante ergo corpore ab escis, mens jejunet a vitiis, et curas cupiditatesque terrenas regis sui lege dijudicet. Meminerit primam dilectionem Deo, secundam deberi proximo, omnesque affectus suos hac regula dirigendos, ut nec a cultu recedat Domini, nec ab utilitate conservi. Quomodo autem Deus colitur, nisi ut quod ipsi placet, placeat et nobis; nec ab ejus imperio noster umquam resultet affectus? Quoniam si hoc quod ille vult volumus, ab illo sumet infirmitas nostra virtutem, a quo ipsam accepimus voluntatem: Deus est enim, sicut ait Apostolus, qui operatur in nobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Nec superbia itaque homo inflabitur, nec desperatione frangetur, si bonis divinitus datis in gloriam dantis utatur, et ab iis desideria sua revocet quae sibi nocitura cognoscit. Abstinens enim ab invidiae malignitate, a luxuriae dissolutione, a perturbatione iracundiae, a cupiditate vindictae, purificabitur veri sanctificatione jejunii, et incorruptibilium deliciarum voluptate pascetur, ut per usum spiritalem etiam terrenas copias in coelestem noverit transferre substantiam, non sibi condendo quae acceperit, sed magis magisque multiplicando quod dederit. Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XIX, De Jejunio Source: Migne PL 54.187a-188b

Since therefore all vices are destroyed by continence, and whatever avarice thirsts for, and whatever pride strives for, and whatever luxury lusts after, is overcome by the firmness of this virtue, who does not understand how much protection may be given to us by fasting? In which is signified not only restraint from food, but from all carnal desires. Otherwise it is pointless to take up hunger and yet not cast out an iniquitous will, to be afflicted by cutting off food and yet not to shrink from sinful thought. That is a carnal, not a spiritual fast, where the body alone is restrained and those things persisted in are more harmful than all delights. What profit to the soul to act outwardly as mistress of the house and within to be a captive and a slave, to command the limbs and to lose the right to her own liberty? Rightly does she for the most part suffer rebellion from her servant who does not pay to God the service due. Therefore when the body fasts from food, let the mind fast from vices, and give judgment on all worldly cares and desires by the law of its king. Be mindful that love is firstly for God, secondly for our neighbour, and that all our affections should be directed by that rule which never draws one away from the worship of God, nor from being helpful to a fellow servant. 1 And how shall we worship God unless that which is pleasing to Him is also pleasing to us? For if what He wills we will, our weakness will take up strength from Him, from whom we received the will. As the Apostle says: 'For it is God who works in us, both to will and to act for His good pleasure.' 2 So neither will pride puff up a man, nor will he be crushed by despair, if he uses the goods God has given to His glory, and withholds his desires from those things which he knows will harm him. For in abstaining from the wickedness of envy, and from the dissolution of luxury, and from the perturbations of anger, and from the lust for vengeance, he will be purified to sanctification by true fasting, and will be fed with the joy of incorruptible delights, so that he will know how to transform worldly riches by spiritual use into heavenly substance, not by hoarding up for himself what he has received, but by multiplying it more and more by what he gives. Pope Leo the Great, from Sermon 19, On Fasting 1 cf Mk 12.30-31 2 Philip. 2.13

Three Thoughts

Ἠρώτησεν ὁ ἀββᾶς Λογγῖνος τὸν ἀββᾶν Λούκιόν ποτε τρεϊς λογιμσοὺς, λεγων· Θέλω ξενιτεῦσαι. Λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ κρατήσῃς τῆς γλώσσης σου, οὐκ εἶ ξένος, ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς. Καὶ ὧδε οὖν κράτησον τῆς γλὼσσης σου, καὶ ξένος εἶ. Λέγει αὐτῷ πάλιν· Θέλω νηστεῦσαι. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Εἶπεν Ἠσαῗας ὁ προφήτης· Ἐὰν κάμψῃς ὠς λοιὸν καὶ κρικον τὸν τράχηλόν σου, οὐδὲ οὕτως κληθήσεται νηστεία δεκτή· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κράτησον τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν. Λέγει αὐτῷ τὸ τρίτον· Θέλω φυγεῖν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον κατορθώσῃς μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐδὲ καταμόνας δύνασαι κατορθῶσαι. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.256c

One time father Longinus asked father Lucius about three thoughts saying, 'I wish be an exile.' The elder said to him, 'If you do not control your tongue, you will not be an exile anywhere you would go. Control your tongue here and you will be an exile.' Again he said to him: 'I wish to fast,' the elder replied, 'Isaiah the prophet said: 'If you bend your neck like a rope or a bulrush, that shall not be called an acceptable fast.' 1 Rather control your wicked thoughts.' A third time he said to him: 'I wish to flee men.' The elder replied: 'If you have not first lived rightly among men, you will not be able to live rightly alone.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Isaiah 58.5

Fasting And Silence

Τῆς σαρκὸς τὸ σκίρτημα, καὶ τὴν αἰσχρὰν ἔφεσιν, τῷ τῆς νηστείας ἰμάντι μαστιξαντες, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ πείσωμεν ἡσυχάζειν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΞΗ´, Σωφρονι Τριβουνῳ Source: Migne PG 79.149b

The exaltation of the flesh and the shameful urge is disciplined with the whip of fasting, even by this use of reason we persuade it to enter into silence. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 168 to Sophronius the Tribune

Master And Servant

Δεσπότης ἐστὶν ὁ νοῦς, δοῦλος δὲ τὸ σαρκίον. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸν δοῦλον ἀμέτρως θεράπευε διὰ γαστριμαργίας, ἵνα μὴ ἐπιλαθόμενος τῶν ἰδίων μέτρων εἰς τυραννίδα ἔλθῃ, καὶ ὅπλα πολμήσῃ ἆραι κατὰ τοῦ κτησαμένου· διόπερ ὁ Σολομὼν ἐπιστράμενος τὴν ἀφορσύνην τοῦ σώματος ἔλεγεν· Οὐ συμφέρει τῷ ἄφρονι ἡ τρυφὴ, κἂν οἰκέτης ἄρχῃ μεθ' ὕβρεως τοῦ ἰδίου δεσπότου. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΞ Δεκουριωνι Source: Migne PG 79.148c

The mind is the master, flesh the servant. Do not then indulge the body in gluttony without measure, lest neglecting the proper rule a tyrant come forth, and he dares to equip himself that he might take possesion. On account on which insolence of the body Solomon said: 'Do not give yourself to mindless luxury, lest an insolent house servant comes to rule over the master.' 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 147, to Decurion 1 Prov 19.10

Controlling The Tongue

Τινές σε γλῶσσαν ἔχειν ἀκρατῆ κωμῳδοῦσι, καὶ τῶν πηγῶν τῆς λοιδορίας ὑπάρχειν ποταμὸν, τὰ ἐκείνης δαψιλῶς καὶ δεχόμενον καὶ ἐρευγόμενον ῥεύματα, ἄπερ εἰς θάλασσαν ἐμβάλλει τιμωρίας. Ἤν εἰ θέλεις ἐκφυγεῖν, τῶν ζώντων μᾶλλον ναμάτων τὸ φρέαρ ἐξερεύνησον, ὅπερ χαρίζεται καὶ τὸ μηκέτι διψᾷν, καὶ τῇ γλώσσῃ ὀρέγει φυλακὴν, μὴ εἰς λόγους ἐκκλίνειν πονηρίας. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΚΘ' Ἀνατολιῳ Source: Migne PG 78.372c

Some ridicule you for your unbridled tongue, and from the fonts of abuse comes a river, which things profusely receiving, so it bursts forth in flow, as a casting into the sea for punishment. Which if you desire to flee, seek out rather the well of living waters, which satisfy and do not allow later thirst, 1 and supplying a guard for the tongue, do not incline to wicked speech. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 328, To Anatolius 1 Jn 4.14

Considering Rewards

Ἀδύνατον δέ τινα τῶν παθῶν τούτων περιγενέσθαι, μὴ παντελῶς βρωμάτων καὶ χρημάτων, καὶ δόξης ὑπεριδόντα, ἔτι δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος διὰ τοὺς ῥαπίζειν αὐτὸ πολλάκις ἐπιχειροῦντας· Πᾶσα οὖν ἀνάγκη μιμεῖσθαι τοὺς κινδυνεύοτας εν θαλάττη, καὶ τῶν σκευῶν ἐκβολὴν ποιουμένους διὰ τὴν βίαν τῶν ἀνεμων καὶ τῶν ἐπανισταμένων κυμάτων. Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα προσεκτέον ἀκριβῶς, μή πως ἐκβολὴν ποιούμενοι τῶν σκευῶν, πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ποίσωμεν· ἐπεὶ ἀπέχομεν τὸν μισθὸν ἡμῶν, καὶ ἄλλο τοῦ προτέρου χαλεπώτερον διδέξεται ἡμᾶς ναυάγιον, τοῦ τῆς κενοδοξίας ἡμῖν ἀντιπνεύσαντος δαίμονος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, τὸν κυβερνήτην νοῦν παιδεύων, προσέχετε, φασὶν, τὴν ἐλημοσύνην ἡμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸ θεαθεῖναι αὐτοῖς, εἰ δὲ μήγε μισθ̀ον οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοὶς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ πάλιν· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε, φησὶν, οὐκ ἔσεσθε ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ, ὅτι φιλοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς, καὶ ἐν ταῖς γωνίαις τῶν πλατειῶν ἑστῶτες προσεύχεσθαι, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· Ὅταν νηστεύητε, μὴ γίνεσθε, ὥσπερ οἱ ὑποκριταὶ σκυθρωποὶ· ἀφανίζουσι γὰρ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν, ὅπως φανῶσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις νηστεύοντες· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσιν τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Ἀλλὰ προσεκτέον ἐνταῦθα τῷ ἰατρῷ τῶν ψυχῶν, πῶς διὰ μὲν τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τὸν θυμὸν θεραπεύει, διὰ δὲ τῆς προσευχῆς τὸν νοῦν καθαρίζει, καὶ πάλιν διὰ τῆς νηστείας τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καταμαραίνει, ἐξ ὧν συνίσταται ὁ νέος ἄνθρωπος, ὁ ἀνακαινούμενος κατ̓ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτὸν, ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι διὰ τὴν ἀγίαν ἀπάθειαν ἄρσεν, καὶ θῆλυ, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν μίαν πίστιν, καὶ ἀγάπην, Ἕλλην, καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ, καὶ ἀκροβυστία, Βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, καὶ ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσι Χριστός. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν, Κεφαλ Γ' Source: Migne PG 79 1224d-1225a

It is impossible to overcome the passions unless we can rise above attachment to food and possessions and honour, and even to our own body, by which the demons often assault us. There is every need, then, to imitate people who are in danger at sea and who throw things overboard because of the violence of the winds and the height of the waves. But here we must be very careful lest we throw things away that we may be seen to be doing so by men, since we shall receive our reward for that, but then we shall suffer another shipwreck, worse than the first, blown off our course by the demon of vainglory. That is why our Lord in the Gospels, teaching the helmsman's mind, says, 'Take care that you do not give alms in front of others that you be seen by them, lest you  have no reward from your Father in heaven.' Again He says: 'When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in synagogues and at street corners, so they be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. Moreover when you fast, do not put on a gloomy face, like the hypocrites; for they disfigure their faces so that they may be seen by men to be  fasting. Truly I say to you, they receive their reward.' 1 But observe the physician of souls here, how by mercy He treats our irascibility; how by prayer He purges the mind, and again how by fasting He causes desire to wither, and by this the new man is fashioned, renewed according to the image of his Creator, in whom, on account of holy apatheia, there is neither male nor female, nor is there, by one faith and love, Greek or Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all in all. Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Wicked Thoughts, Chapter 3 1 Mt 6.1-5

Songs And Education

Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ Ἰδιθοὺμ, Ψαλμὸς τῷ Δαβίδ.   Δύο Ψαλμοὺς ἒγνωμεν Ὑπὲρ Ἰδιθοὺμ ἔχοντας τὴν ἐπιγραφήν· τόν τε τριακοστὸν ὄγδοον καὶ τὸν ἐν χερσὶ. Καὶ λογιζόμεωα μὲν Δαβὶδ εἶναι τὴν σύνταχιν τῆς πραγματείαης· τῷ μέντοι Ἰδιθοὺμ δεδόσθαι εἰς ὠφέλειαν αὐτοῦ, ἐπὶ διορθώσει τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ παθημάτων, καὶ εἰς μελῳδίαν τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ λαοῦ· δι' ἧς καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐδοξὰζετο, καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τῆς ἁρμονίας ἐανωρθοῦντο τὰ ἤθη. Ἦν γὰρ καὶ ὁ Ἰδιθοὺμ ἱεροψάλτης, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ ἡμῖν ἡ ἱστορία τῶν Παραλειπομένων, λέγουσα· Καὶ μετ' αὐτῶν Αἰμὰν καὶ Ἰδιθοὺμ, σάλπιγγές τε καὶ κύμβαλα τοῦ ἀναφωνεῖν, καὶ ὄργανα τῶν ᾠδῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ μετ' ολίγα φησί· Καὶ ἔστησε Δαβὶδ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς δυνάμεως εἰς τὰ ἔργα τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἀσὰφμ ςαὺ Αἰμὰν, καὶ Ἰδιθοὺμ, τοὺς ἀποφθεγγομένους ἐν κινύραις, καὶ ἐν νάβλαις, καὶ ἐν τυμπάνοις. Περὶ ὑπομονῆς, τοίνυν ἐκάτερος ψαλμὸς τὴν πλείστην ποιεῖται πραγματείαν, δι' ἧς καταστέλλεται μὲν τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ θυμούμενον, ὑπερηφανίας δὲ πάσης ἐξορισθείσης, κατορθοῦται τεπείνωσις. Ἀμήχανον γὰρ τὸν μὴ καταδεξάμενον τὸ πρὸς πάντας ὑποδεὲς καὶ ἔσχατον δυνηθῆναι ποτε ἢ λοιδορούμενον θυμοῦ κρατῆσαι, ἤ θλιβόμενον διὰ μακροθυμίας περιγενέσθαι τῶν πειρασμῶν. Ὁ γὰρ τὴν ἄκραν τεπαίνωσιν κατορθώσας, ἐν μὲν ταίς λοιδορίαις πλείονα ἑαυτοῦ προκαταγνοὺς τὴν εὐτέλειαν, οὐ κινηθήσεται τὴν ψυχὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων τῆς ἀτιμίας· ἀλλ' ἐὰν μὲν ακούσῃ πένης, οἶδεν ἑαυτὸν πτωχὸν ὄντα, καὶ πάντων ἐνδεῆ, καὶ τῆς καθ' ἡμέραν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου χορηγίας ἐπιδεόμενον· ἐὰν δὲ ἀκούσῃ δυσγενὴς καὶ ἐξ ἀφανῶν, προειλημμένον ἔχει ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ καρδίᾳ τὸ ἐκ πηλοῦ γεγενῆσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΞΑ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29 469b-472a

To the end, for Idithum, a Psalm of David. 1 We know two Psalms which have the inscription, 'For Idithum,' the thirty eighth and this one we have before us. And we judge that this is a work composed by David but given to Idithum for his use, that the passions of the soul be corrected by a pleasing melody in the presence of the people, by which God is glorified and the manners of the people who hear the harmony are improved. For Idithum was a musican of the sacred Psalms, to which the history found in the Paralipomena bears witness, saying, 'And after them Heman and Idithum for the playing of the trumpet and cymbals and the instruments for the songs of God.' 2 And a little after it continues, 'King David and the princes of the army set apart the sons of Asaph and Heman and Idithum for the making of song on the cithar and harp and cymbals. 3 And both Psalms for the greater part speak of patience, by which the indignation of the soul is soothed, thus exterminating all pride, and correcting to humility. For it is not possible that he who does not wish to have the lowest and last place among all 4 is able either to control his passion while being abused, or in affliction is able to overcome temptation by endurance. He who comes to the height of humility, before he is abused already knows the greater part of his vileness, and so by ignominious words is not moved, but if he is called a beggar, he knows himself to be impoverished and unworthy of anything, even to have the daily work of God for his coin, if however he is called ignoble and obscure, before it is said he is conscious in his own heart that he was made from mud.  Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 61 1  Ps 61.1 2 1 Chron 16.41-42 3 1 Chron 25.1  4 Lk 14.10

Dealing With Anger

Rex. Utinam, pater, retribuere possim inimicis meis juxta impetum et desiderium irae meae : irasci possum et plusquam volo, sed retributionem in mea non habeo potestate ; ille qui omnia potest retribuat abundanter facientibus mihi superbiam et accipiat anima mea de illorum confusione laetitiam. Abbas. Illustrissime rex, proprium est hominis quandoque irasci, sed cavendum est ne ira convertatur in odium et peccatum, sicut scriptum est: Irascimini, et nolite peccare. Prohibet autem Deus ne cadat Sol super iracundiam vestram, et, ut hoc simpliciter exponamus, induret ira nostra a mane usque ad vesperum. Habeamus itaque in omnibus patientiam: si quis offenderit nos, personae peccatum habeamus odio, non personam; hoc enim perfectorum odium sive perfectum, sicut scriptum est: Perfecto odio oderam illos. Abjectis ergo maledictionibus reddamus maledicentibus et malefacientibus bona pro malis: habeamus exemplum in beato Stephano, qui pro persequutoribus suis oravit et obdormivit in Domino. Ille etiam, qui docet hominem scientiam, suo nos docet et informat exemplo, dum pro suis crucifixoribus orans, Pater, inquit, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt. Si maledixerimus hominibus, maledictio convertetur in sinum nostrum, et ira quam habemus erga illum, qui Dei est imago, omnem nobis reddet iratum. Si quis, pater, multos haberet filios et aliquis illorum alium flagellaret in oculis patris, credo quod non irasceretur filio pater flagellato, sed potius flagellanti. Coelesti ergo patri reservemus omne judicium, nec faciamus malum aut oremus malum malefactoribus nostris, ne nobis fiat oratio nostra in peccatum. Petrus Blenensis, Dialogus Inter Regem Henricum II et Abbatem Bonaevallensem Source:  Migne PL 207.980a-d

King: That, father, I might return to my enemies according to the passion and desire of my anger. I am able to be angry and more I wish to do it, but in me I do not have the power to return it. That one who is able to do everything, may he return it abundantly to those who are proud before me and may my soul receive joy from their confounding. Abbot: Illustrious king, sometimes anger comes upon a man, but let us be wary lest we turn our anger into hate and sin, as it is written, 'Be angry and sin not.' 1 Indeed God prohibits us from letting the sun go down on our anger, 2 and if we may explain this simply, makes numb our anger from morning to night. So let us have patience in all things. If someone offends us, let us hate the sin of the person, but not the person, for this is the hatred of those who are perfect, or the perfect hatred, as it is written, 'With perfect hatred I have hated them.' 3 Therefore let a refusal to speak ill of those who speak ill of us be our return to those who speak ill of us and to evil doers let us return good for evil. Let us have an example in blessed Stephen, who prayed for his persecutors and slept in the Lord. 4 He who indeed teaches men wisdom 5 teaches and fashions us with His example, praying during his Crucifixion: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' 6 If we curse men, the curse returns into our own laps, and the anger which we have against another, he who is an image of God, shall be returned to us. If there is a father of many sons, and one of them whips another before the eyes of his father, I believe that the father will not be angry with the one who is whipped but rather with the one who is doing the whipping. To our heavenly Father is reserved all judgement. Let us neither do evil to those who do evil to us, nor let us pray for evil to come to them, lest our prayer be accounted a sin. Peter of Blois, from a Dialogue Between King Henry the Second and the Abbot of Bonneval 1 Ps 4.5 2 Ephes 4.26 3 Ps 138.22 4 Acts 7.59 5 Ps 93.10 6 Lk 23.34

Fasting, Reason And Peace

Τῆς σαρκὸς τὸ σκίρτημα, καὶ τὴν αἰσχρὰν ἔφεσιν, τῷ τῆς νηστείας ἱμάντι μαστίξαντες, καὶ τῷ λόγῳ πείσωμεν ἡσυχάζειν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΡΞΗ' , Σωφρονι Τριβουνῳ Source: Migne PG 79.149b

The unruly flesh and shameful appetites are beaten down with the whip of fasting, and thus in possession of reason we may enter into peace. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 168, to Sophron the Tribune

The Spirit's Warfare

Ὁρᾶτε τὰς ἐναντίας γλώσσας ἡμερουμένας, καὶ τοὺς θεότητι πολεμοῦντας ἡμῖν ἡσυχάζοντας; Καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ Πνεύματος, καὶ τοῦτο τῆς γεωργίας τῆς ἡμετέρας. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπαιδεύτως παιδεύομεν, οὐδὲ ταῖς ὕβρεσι βάλλομεν, ὅπερ πάσχουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ, μὴ τῷ λόγῳ μαχόμενοι, τοῖς δὲ λέγουσι, καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἔστιν ὅτε τῶν λογισμῶν ταῖς ὕβρεσι συγκαλύπτοντες· ὥσπερ τὰς σηπίας λόγος ἐμεῖν τὸ μέλαν πρὸ ἑαυτῶν, ἵνα τοὺς θηρεύοντας διαφύγωσιν, ἢ τῷ λανθάνειν θηράσωσιν. Ἀλλὰ τὸ περὶ Χριστοῦ πολεμεῖν δείκνυμεν, ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι κατὰ Χριστὸν, τὸν εἰρηνικόν τε καὶ πρᾶον, καὶ τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν βαστάσαντα. Οὔτε εἰρηνεύομεν κατὰ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας, ὑφιέντες τι διὰ δόξαν ἐπιεικείας· οὐ γὰρ κακῶς τὸ καλὸν θηρεύομεν· καὶ εἰρηνεύομεν ἐννόμως μαχόμενοι, καὶ εἴσω τῶν ἡμετέρων ὅρων, καὶ κανόνων τοῦ Πνεύματος. Περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων οὕτως γινώσκω, καὶ νόμον τίθημι πᾶσι τοῖς ψυχῶν οἰκονόμοις, καὶ τοῦ λόγου ταμίαις· μήτε τῷ σκληρῷ τραχύνειν, μήτε τῷ ὑπεσταλμένῳ κατεπαίρειν· ἀλλ᾿ εὐλόγους εἶναι περὶ τὸν λόγον, μηδετέρῳ τὸ μέτρον ὑπερβαίνοντας.  Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος Μβ΄. Συντακτήριος, εἰς τὴν τῶν ρν' ἐπισκόπων παρουσίαν Source: Migne PG 36.472d-473b

Do you see that adverse tongues have been soothed and that those who had made war upon the Godhead against us have been pacified? This is of the Spirit and of our husbandry. For we are not untaught when we teach, nor do we throw insults, as many fall to doing, who do not strive with the argument but the one who speaks, and by their abuse would hide the weakness of their reasoning, just as cuttlefish are said to cast forth ink before them, that they escape those who hunt them, or unseen hunt others. But we show that we fight for Christ by fighting in the manner of Christ, the peaceable and meek, 1 who bore our infirmities. For we are not peaceable on account of the word of truth, that we would yield to gain renown for reasonableness, for one does not gain the good by wickedness, but we are peaceable by the lawfulness of our fighting, which is set within our own limits, and the rules of the Spirit. Concerning these things, then, such is our knowledge, and I set down a law for all carers of souls and dispensers of the Word, that they neither offend with harshness, nor embolden by submissiveness, but that they use good words concerning the Word, and in neither direction overstep the mean. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 42,The Final Farewell in the Presence of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops 1 Mt 11.29

Anger And Control

Ὀργίζεσθε καὶ μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε... Ἄπασι μὴν ἀνθρώποις συμβαίνει τὸ τῆς ὀργῆς πάθος, μητέρα ἔχον λύπην ἢ μικροψυχίαν ἢ πλεονεξίαν ἢ τὴν παρά τινων λοιδορίαν. Ἔξεστι δὲ ταύτην ἀνακόπτειν, καθάπερ καὶ τὰς σωματικὰς ὀρέξεις. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ μηδόλως αὐτὰς ἐν ἡμῖν κινεῖσθαι, τάχα που καὶ ἀνέφικτον καὶ οὐκ ἐφ' ἡμῖν. Ἐν ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ ἐπιτιμᾷν τοῖς κινήμασιν· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ὀργῆς· δριμὺμὲν γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν ἐστιν, ὅτε ποιεῖ ται τὸ κίνημα, πλὴν ὥσπερ τισὶ χαλινοῖς ἀνακόπτεται, τοῖς εἰς τὸ ἄμεινον ἐπιλογισμοῖς. Καὶ ἕως μὲν ἀδρανές ἐστι ἔτι τὸ πάθος ἐν ἡμῖν, συγγνώμης ἀξιοῦ ται παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἐπειδ' ἂν δὲ τὰ ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐμ φαίνηται κακὰ, τότε τὰς δίκας ὑφέξομεν. Τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν σαρκικῶν ὀρέξεων· ἀπρακτούσης γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν τῆς φαύλης ἡδονῆς, συνηρεμήσει πάντως καὶ αὐτῇ ὁ κολάζων νόμος· ἐνηνεγμένης δὲ ἤδη πρὸς πέρας, τὰ τῆς δίκης συνεκτείνεται. Φησὶν οὖν καὶ νῦν ὁ Δαβὶδ, ὅτι Κἂν ἀπροαιρέτως ὀργισθῆτε, ὅπερ οὐχ ἁμάρτημα τέλειον, μὴ προσθῆτε καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἵνα μὴ τέλειον ᾖ τὸ ἁμάρτημα. Εὐφυῶς γὰρ συγχωρεῖ τὸ ἔλαττον ὡς ἀσθενεστέροις, τὴν ὀργὴν λέγω, ἵνα κωλύσῃ τὸ μεῖζον, τουτέστι τὸν φόνον καὶ ὅσα ἐκ τοῦ θυμοῦ μὴ κολαζομένου τίκτεται. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Δ' Source: Migne PG 69.737

Be angry and sin not... 1 The passion of anger comes to every man, having for its mother distress, or some meanness, or over-reaching, or some other thing which vexes. We should cut off this anger, just like the bodily appetites. For that these things be not a trouble to us is perhaps impossible and not a matter of our choice but we are able to deplore these disturbances, even anger, which indeed is most biting when it acts within us, and indeed, better it is that some sort of bridle be put on it by our reason. For while that passion within us is ineffective, we merit forgiveness by God, but if the same evil affection burst forth then we deserve punishment. And so it is with the carnal appetites, for while depraved desire is inert in us, the penalty of the law is also quiescent, but if it proceeds to an act then at the same time punishment is prepared. Thus David said here: 'If you are angered without choice, it is not a sin if it is not consummated, that is, if it does not go forth to the deed, but if it is consummated it is indeed a sin. For know that he who indulges the least part of his weaknesses, I speak of anger, so he shall be punished more for what it goes to, that is to wounding, and whatever is born from it being unbridled. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.5

Caught Up On High

Νοῦς σὺν Θεῷ πρακτικὴν κατορθώσας καὶ προσπελάσας τῇ γνώσει ὀλίγον ἢ οὐδ' ὅλως τοῦ ἀλόγου μέρους τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπαισθάνεται, τῆς γνώσεως αὐτὸν ἁρπαζούσης μετάρσιον καὶ χωριζούσης τῶν αἰσθητῶν. Ἀπάθειαν ἔχει ψυχή, οὐχ ἡ μὴ πάσχουσα πρὸς τὰ πράγματα, ἀλλ' ἡ καὶ πρὸς τὰς μνήμας αὐτῶν ἀτάραχος διαμένουσα.  Ὁ τέλειος οὐκ ἐγκρατεύεται, καὶ ὁ ἀπαθὴς οὐχ ὑπομένει, ἔπερ τοῦ πάσχοντος ἡ ὑπομονή, καὶ τοῦ ὀχλουμένου ἡ ἐγκράτεια.  Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Ὁ Πρακτικός

A mind that has, with God’s help, been successful in the ascetic life and come near to knowledge, hardly, if at all, perceives the irrational part of the soul, because knowledge catches it up on high and separates it from sensible things. The soul is passionless not when it is unmoved by things, but when it remains undisturbed even by the memory of them. The perfect man does not practice self control, and the passionless man does not endure, for endurance is for passions and self control for tribulation. Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos

A Gift of Love

Et omnia dona excedit hoc donum, ut Deus hominem vocet filium, et homo Deum nominet patrem: per his enim appellationes semitur et discitur quis ad tantam altitudienm ascendat affectus. Nam is in progenie carnali et stirpe terrena claris parentibus genitos vitia malae conversationis obscurant, et ipso majorum suorum lumine soboles indigna confunditur; in quem exitum venient, qui propter amorem mundi a generatione Christi non metuunt abdiscari? Si autem ad humanam pertinet laudem ut patrum decus in prole resplendeat, quanto magis gloriosum est ex Deo natis in auctoris sui imaginem refulgere, et illum in se qui eos generavit ostendere, dicente Domino: 'Sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et magnificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est.' Scimus quidem quod, sicut Joannes apostolus dicit, ' totus mundus in maligno positus est'; et insidiante diabolo et angelis ejus, hoc innumeris tentationibus laboratur, ut hominem ad superna nitentem, aut adversa terreant, aut secunda corrumpant; sed major est qui in nobis est quam qui adversum nos est, et pacem cum Deo habentibus, ac semper Patri toto corde dicentibus, Fiat voluntas tua', nulla praevalere certamini, nulli possunt nocere conflictus. Accusantes enim nosmetipsos confessionibus nostris, et consensum animi carnis concupiscentiis denegantes, inimicitias quidem adversum nos ejus, qui peccati auctor est, commovemus, sed inexpugnabilem cum Deo pacem gratiae ipsius serviendo firmamus, ut Regi nostro non solum obedientia subjiciamur, sed etiam judicio copulemur. Quoniam si in eadem sententia sumus, si quod vult volumus, et quod improbat improbamus, ipse jam pro nobis omnia bella conficiet, ipse qui dedit velle, donabit et posse: ut simus cooperatores operum ejus, et propheticum illud cum fidei exsultatione dicamus: 'Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea; quem timebo? Dominus defensor vitae meae; a quo trepidabo? Sanctus Leo Magnus, Sermo XXVI

And every gift this gift exceeds, that God should call man son, and man should name God Father, for by these names we grasp and learn the love which has reached so great a height. For if in  progeny of the body and earthly families those who are born of good parents are soiled by the vices of evil intercourse, and unworthy offspring are disgraced by the brilliance of their elders, to what end will they come who through love of the world do not fear to be cast out from the family of Christ? But if it gains the praise of men that the father's glory should shine in offspring, how much more glorious is it for those who are born of God to blaze with their Creator's image and to show in themselves Him who begot them, as the Lord says: 'Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven ?' 1 Certainly we know, as the Apostle John says, that 'the whole world in evil is placed,' 2 and that by Devil's plots and his angels numberless efforts are made to frighten man in his struggle upwards by adversity, or to spoil him by prosperity, but 'greater is He that is in us, than he that is against us ,' 3 and they who have peace with God and are always saying to the Father with their whole hearts 'your will be done, ' 4 cannot be overcome in struggle, cannot be harmed by any assault. For accusing ourselves in our confessions and denying the spirit's consent to the desires of our flesh, we incite against us the hostility of him who is the author of sin, but secure a peace with God that cannot be destroyed, accepting His gracious service, not only that we may subject ourselves in obedience to our King but also be to joined in free will. For if we are of the same mind, if what He wishes we wish, and disapprove what He disapproves, He will finish all our battles for us, He Who gave the will, will also give the power, so that we may be fellow workers in His works, and with the exultation of faith may give voice to that prophetic song: 'the Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defender of my life: of whom shall I be afraid ?' 5 Pope Leo the Great, Sermon 26 1 Mt 5:16 2 1 Jn 5:19 3 1 Jn 4.4 4 Mt 6:10 5 Ps 26.1