Leisure and Truth

Μή γένοιτο οὖν ἡμᾶς σχολὴν ποιῆσαι τῷ ἀντικειμένῳ πρὸς τὴν εἴσοδον, ἀλλὰ ἀσχολήσωμεν ἡμῶν τὸν ἔσω οἶκον, προενοικίσαντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τὸν Χριστόν. Μετὰ γοῦν τὸ χαρίσασθαι τὴν εἰρήνην τοῖς τέως ταρασσομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, τότε λέγει τὸ, Σκολάσατε ἀπὸ τῶν περισπώντων ὑμᾶς ἐχθρῶν, ἵνα ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ τοὺς περὶ τῆς ἀληθείας θεωρήσητε λόγους. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος, Πᾶς ὅστις οὐκ ἀποτάσσεται, φησὶ, πᾰσι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν, οὐ δύναταί μου εἶναι μαθητής. Σκολάσαι οὖν δεῖ ἀπὸ τῶν γαμικῶν ἔργων, ἵνα σχολάσωμεν τῇ προσευχῇ· σχολάσαι ἀπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν πλοῦτον σπουδῶν, ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ τὸ δοξάριον τοῦτο ἐπιθυμίας, ἀπὸ τῶν πρὸς ἀπολαυσιν ἡδονῶν, ἀπὸ φθόνου καὶ πάσης τῆς εἰς τὸν πλησίον ἡμῶν πονηρίας, ἵνα, γαληνιωσης ἡμῶν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ ὑπ' οὐδενὸς πάθους ταρασσομένης, οἷον ἐν  κατόπτρῳ τινὶ καθαρὰ γένηται καὶ ἀνεπισκότητος ἡ ἔλλαμψις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΕ' Ψαλμον

May it not be on account of leisure that we make a way of entry for the enemy, but let us be occupied with holding our interior dwelling for Christ whom we receive through the Holy Spirit. After which He gives rest to those who have been troubled by enemies and says, 'Be at leisure from the distractions of your enemies that in quiet you are able to contemplate the word of truth.' Whence even the Lord says, 'Everyone who does not renounce everything he possess is not able to be my disciple.' 1 Let us therefore be at leisure from works of marriage that we have leisure for prayer, let us be at leisure from the desire for wealth, from the longing for glory, from the use of pleasure, from envy and all malignity against our neighbour, that obtaining tranquility for our soul and being untroubled by any movement of passion, there comes to be, as in some clear mirror, the flash of the unobscured God. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 45 1 Lk  14.33

He Will Be Called A Philosopher

Εἴ τις εὐχαρίστως ἤνεγκε, καὶ ἀνδρείως τὴν τοῠ ποθουμένου ἀποβολὴν, φιλόσοφος τε κληθήσεται, καὶ μεγαλόφρων, καὶ πολλὰ διαλύσεται τῶν προγενομένων ἁμαρτημάτων. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤΙΒ' Θεωνᾳ Source: Migne PG 79.196c

If someone has joyfully brought forth and bravely cast out passions, he will be called a philosopher and high minded, and he shall put an end to many things in which he erred before. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 312, to Theona

Knowledge and Wickedness

Subiiciamus ergo animam Deo, si volumus servituti subiicere corpus nostrum, et de diabolo triumphare. Fides est prima quae subiugat animam Deo; deinde praecepta vivendi, quibus custoditis spes nostra firmatur, et nutritur caritas, et lucere incipit quod antea tantummodo credebatur. Cum enim cognitio et actio beatum hominem faciant; sicut in cognitione cavendus est error, sic in actione cavenda est nequitia. Errat autem quisquis putat veritatem se posse cognoscere, cum adhuc nequiter vivat. Nequitia est autem mundum istum diligere, et ea quae nascuntur et transeunt, pro magno habere; et ea concupiscere, et pro his laborare, ut acquirantur; et laetari, cum abundaverint; et timere, ne pereant; et contristari, cum pereunt. Talis vita non potest puram illam et sinceram et incommutabilem videre veritatem, et inhaerere illi, et in aeternum iam non moveri. Itaque priusquam mens nostra purgetur, debemus credere quod intellegere nondum valemus; quoniam verissime dictum est per prophetam: Nisi credideritis, non intellegetis Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi,De Agone Christiano

Let us therefore submit the soul to God, if we wish to subdue our own bodies to service and to triumph over the devil. Faith is what first subjugates the soul to God, then the precepts of life, by which guarding our faith is made firm and our love nourished, and that which before was scarcely believed begins to profit. For thought and deed make the blessed man, and as in thought one should be wary of error, so in action one should be wary of evil. And he errs who thinks that truth is able to be known when he lives wickedly. Wickedness is love of this world, and to reckon great things which are born and pass away, and to desire these things, and to strive for them, that one acquire them, and to be joyful when they abound, and to fear lest they be lost, and to grieve when they are lost. The life of such folk is not able to be so pure and upright that it may see the eternal truth, and to adhere to it, when it is not yet moved to eternity. Thus before we have cleansed our minds, we should think that we are not yet able to understand, because most truly it said through the Prophet, 'Unless you believe, you will not understand.'  Saint Augustine of Hippo, On The Christian Struggle 1 cf Is 7.9

Understanding and the Way

Ψαλῶ καὶ συνήσω ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ. Ψαλῶ σοι, φησὶν, ὦ Δέσποτα, καὶ δοξολογήσω σε διηνεκῶς· συνήσω δὲ καὶ ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ. Τουτέστι, μετὰ συνέσεως καὶ σοφίας βαδιοῦμαι τὴν ὀρθὴν καὶ ἀδιάστροφον καὶ ἀμώμητον ὁδόν. Χρὴ γὰρ ἡμᾶς εἶναι συνετωτάους τοὺς ἐθέλοντας εὑαρεστεῖν τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ σοφίας μεμεστωμένην ἔχειν τὴν καρδίαν· σοφίας δὲ οὐ τῆς ἐπιγείου καὶ κοσμικῆς, ἐκείνης δὲ μᾶλλον ἥν χαρίζεται Χριστός. Ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ πάντες εἰσὶν οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως ἀπόκρυφοι· καὶ αὐτὸς σοφοῖ τυφλοὺς, καὶ συνέσεως ἀπάσης ἐστὶ χορηγός. Καὶ τί δὴ τοῦτό ἐστιν; Ἔως μὲν γάρ ἐσμεν ἐν ῥύποις καὶ ἁμαρτίαις, οὐκ ἔχομεν ἑαυτοῖς κατοικοῦντα Χριστόν· ὅταν δὲ τοὺς τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπονιψώμεθα ῥύπους, καὶ καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελέσωμεν δὲ καὶ ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ, τότε γὰρ παρ' ἡμῖν γίνεται, καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν αὐλίζεται, καὶ οἶκός ἐσμεν αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Εἰς Τους Ψαλμους, Ψαλμός Ρ'

I shall sing a Psalm and I shall understand on the immaculate way. 'I shall sing a psalm to you, O Lord,' he says, 'and I shall glorify you thoroughly, for indeed I shall understand on the immaculate way.' That is, with understanding and wisdom I shall walk on the right and flawless and immaculate way. For it is necessary that we be people of great understanding who wish to please God, and have the fullness of wisdom in the heart, and wisdom is not of the world and the age but rather it is what is given by Christ. For in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden, 2 and He is the supplier of wisdom to the blind and every understanding.  And why is this? For while we are amid filth and sin we do not have Christ dwelling in us, but when we cleanse ourselves from the dirt of sin and we purge ourselves of the every defilement of flesh and spirit we shall attain to perfect sanctity in the fear of God, for then He is with us, in us abiding and we are His dwelling. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 100 1 Ps 100.2 2. Col 2.3

Seeking Wisdom

Omnia haec tentavi in sapientia et dixi: Sapiens efficiar, et ipsa longius facta est a me, magis quam erat, et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam? Dicit se, ut Regnorum quoque testantur libri, ultra omnes homines quaesisse sapientiam, et tentasse ad finem illius pervenire, sed quanto plus quaesierit, tanto minus reperisse, et in mediam demersum caliginem, tenebris ignorantiae circumdatum. Aliter: Vir qui eruditus fuerit in Scripturis, quanto plus scire coeperit, tanto ei in his quotidie oritur major obscuritas. Aliter: Contemplatio sapientiae in hac vita in speculo videtur et in imagine: cum ergo recognitavero in futuro facie ad faciem ejus notitiam revelandam, tunc liquido recognoscam longe me nunc ab ejus notitia dissidere. Sanctus Hieronymous, Commentarius Ecclesiasten, Caput VII Source: Migne PL 23 1070a-b

And I tested all things by wisdom and I said, 'I shall be wise,' and wisdom was made more far from me, more than it was, and the depths of profundity who shall discover? 1 He speaks of himself, as is also witnessed in the books of Kings, 2 that he had sought wisdom beyond all men, and that he tried to reach the end of it, but the more he sought, the less he discovered, and he was submerged in the midst of darkness, with the shadows of ignorance surrounding him. That is, the man who would be learned in Scripture the more he begins to understand so much more around him does arise a great obscurity. That is, the contemplation of wisdom in this life is as in an mirror and in an image. When therefore I have come to behold in the future face to face His knowledge revealed, then clearly I shall know how far removed from me was His knowledge. Saint Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 7 1 Eccles 7.24-25 2 3 Kings 3-4

Visions of God

Τί λέγεις, εἰπέ μοι, Ἰωάννη; Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε. Τί οὖν ποιήσομεν τοῖς προφήταις λέγουσιν ὅτι εἶδον τὸν Θεόν;  Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἡσαΐας φησίν·Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου. Ὁ δὲ ∆ανιὴλ πάλιν· Εἶδον ἕως οὗ θρόνοι ἐτέθησαν καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκάθητο. Ὁ δὲ Μιχαίας· Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καθήμενον ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἕτερος προφήτης πάλιν· Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον ἑστῶτα ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ εἶπέ μοι· πάταξον ἐπὶ τὸ ἱλαστήριον. Καὶ πολλὰς τοιαύτας ἔστι συνάγειν μαρτυρίας. Πῶς οὖν ὁ Ἰωάννης φησὶν ὅτι Θεὸν οὐδεὶς ἑώρακε πώποτε; Ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι τὴν ἀκριβῆ αὐτοῦ κατάληψιν καὶ τὴν τετρανωμένην γνῶσιν λέγει. Ὅτι γὰρ πάντα ἐκεῖνα συγκατάβασις ἦν καὶ ἀκραιφνῆ τὴν οὐσίαν οὐδεὶς εἶδεν ἐκείνων, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ διαφόρως ἕκαστον ὁρᾶν. Ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς ἁπλοῦς καὶ ἀσύνθετος καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος· οὗτοι δὲ ἅπαντες σχήματα ἔβλεπον διάφορα. Τοῦτο γοῦν αὐτὸ δι' ἑτέρου προφήτου ἐμφαίνων πάλιν καὶ πείθων αὐτοὺς ὡς οὐκ ἀκριβῆ τὴν οὐσίαν εἶδον, ἔλεγεν· Ἐγὼ ὁράσεις ἐπλήθυνα καὶ ἐν χερσὶ προφητῶν ὡμοιώθην. Οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν οὐσίαν ἔδειξα τὴν ἐμήν, ἀλλὰ συγκατέβην, φησί, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὁρώντων ἀσθένειαν.   Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος Περὶ Ἀκαταληπτου, Ὁμιλὶα Δ'

Why do you say, tell me, John, 'No one has ever seen God? 1 What, then, shall we make of the Prophets saying that they saw God? For Isaiah said, 'I saw the Lord sitting on His high and exalted throne .' 2 And again Daniel: 'I saw until the thrones were placed, and the ancient of days sat.'  3 And Micah: 'I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne,' 4 and again another Prophet: 'I saw the Lord standing on the altar and He said to me: Strike the mercy seat.' 5 And many such things may be gathered to give similar witness. How is it, then, that John says, 'No one has ever seen God?'  That you might learn that he speaks of a clear knowledge and a perfect comprehension of God. All those passage I just gave were instances of God's condescension, and that none of the Prophets saw the pure essence is clear from their different ways of seeing. God is simple, He is not composed of parts or forms, but all these Prophets saw different forms. Enlightenment is given through the mouth of another Prophet and persuasion that those other Prophets did not see the exact essence when he said: 'I have multiplied visions, and by the hand of the Prophets I was represented.' 6 That is, 'I did not show my very essence but I condescended according to the weakness of those who saw.' Saint John Chrysostom, On The Incomprehensible, Fourth Homily 1 1 Jn 4.12 2 Is 6.1 3 Dan 7.9 4 3 Kings 22.19 5 Amos 9.1 6 Hosea 12.10

Prayer and Ascent

Beatus vir, cuius est auxilium abs te, ascensiones in corde suo disposuit in valle lacrymarum, in loco, quem posuit.  Cum beatitudo nihil aliud sit, quam summi boni fruitio; et summum bonum sit supra nos: nullus potest effici beatus, nisi supra semetipsum ascendat, non ascensu corporali, sed cordiali. Sed supra nos levari non possumus nisi per virtutem superiorem nos elevantem. Quantumcumque enim gradus interiores disponantur, nihil fit, nisi divinum auxilium comitetur. Divinum autem auxilium comitatur eos qui petunt ex corde humiliter et devote; et hoc est ad ipsum suspirare in hac lacrymarum valle, quod fit per ferventem orationem. Oratio igitur est mater et origo sursum actionis. Ideo Dionysius in libro De mystica theologia volens nos instruere ad excessus mentales, primo praemittit orationem. Oremus igitur et dicamus ad Dominum Deum nostrum: Deduc me, Domine, in via tua, et ingrediar in veritate tua; laetetur cor meum, ut timeat nomen tuum. In hac oratione orando illuminatur ad cognoscendum divinae ascensionis gradus. Cum rerum universitas sit scala ad ascendendum in Deum; et in rebus quaedam sint vestigium, quaedam imago, quaedam corporalia, quaedam spiritualia, quaedam temporalia, quaedam aeviterna, ac per hoc quaedam extra nos, quaedam intra nos: ad hoc, quod perveniamus ad primum principium considerandum, quod est spiritualissimum et aeternum et supra nos, oportet, nos transire per vestigium, quod est corporale et temporale et extra nos, et hoc est deduci in via Dei; oportet, nos intrare ad mentem nostram, quae est imago Dei aeviterna, spiritualis et intra nos, et hoc est ingredi in veritate Dei; oportet, nos transcendere ad aeternum, spiritualissimum, et supra nos aspiciendo ad primum principium, et hoc est laetari in Dei notitia et reverentia Maiestatis. Haec est igitur via trium dierum in solitudine; haec est triplex illuminatio unius diei, et prima est sicut vespera, secunda sicut mane, tertia sicut meridies; haec respicit triplicem rerum existentiam, scilicet in materia, in intelligentia et in arte aeterna, secundum quam dictum est; fiat, fecit, et factum est; haec etiam respicit triplicem substantiam in Christo, qui est scala nostra, scilicet corporalem, spiritualem et divinam. Secundum hunc triplicem progressum mens nostra tres habet aspectus principales. Unus est ad corporalia exteriora, secundum quem vocatur animalitas seu sensualitas: alius intra se et in se, secundum quem dicitur spiritus; tertius supra se, secundum quem dicitur mens. - Ex quibus omnibus disponere se debet ad conscendendum in Deum, ut ipsum diligat ex tota mente, ex toto corde et ex tota anima, in quo consistit perfecta Legis observatio et simul cum hoc sapientia christiana.  Itinterarium Mentis in Deum, Sanctus Boneventura

'Blessed the man whose help is from You, ascensions in his own heart he has disposed in the vale of tears, in the place which He put them.' 1  Since beatitude is nothing else but the enjoyment of the Most High Good, and the Most High Good is above us, no one can be made blessed unless he ascends above himself, not by a bodily ascent but by the heart. But we are not able to be raised above ourselves unless a superior virtue elevates us. For however much the interior steps are arranged, nothing is done, unless accompanied by Divine Assistance. The Divine Assistance accompanies those who seek it from a heart humble and devout, and this is to sigh for it in this vale of tears, which is done by fervent prayer. Therefore prayer is the mother and font of upward action. And so Dionysius the Areopagite in his book On Mystical Theology, wishing to instruct us regarding mental seeking, first places a prayer.  Let us pray, then, and let us say to the Lord Our God: 'Lead me, Lord, on your way, and I shall enter into your truth; let my heart rejoice that it fears your Name.' In the praying of this prayer one is enlightened by the knowledge of the steps of the Divine ascension. That everything is a stairway to ascend into God; that there is in things a certain vestige, a certain image, certain corporal things, certain spiritual things, certain temporal things, certain eternal things, and by this, certain things outside of us, certain things inside us, and for this purpose, that we come to consideration of the First Principle, which is most spiritual and eternal and above us. It befits that we pass through the vestige, which is corporal, temporal and outside of us, and this is to be led in the way of God; it befits that we enter into our mind, which is an eternal image of God, spiritual and within us, and this is to enter into the truth of God; it befits that we pass over to the eternal, most spiritual, and what is above us, by looking towards the First Principle, and this is to rejoice in the knowledge of God and the reverence of His Majesty. This, therefore, is the way of three days in the solitude; 2 this is the threefold illumination of one day, and the first is like the evening, the second like morning, the third like midday; and this looks back to the threefold existence of things, that is in matter, in understanding and in the art eternal, according to which is said: 'Let it be, He has made, and it has been made'; 3 and this also looks back to the threefold substance in Christ, who is our ladder, that is, the corporal, the spiritual, and the Divine. According to this threefold progress our mind has three principle visions. One is towards exterior corporals, according which it is named the animal or the sensory, the second within the self and in the self, according to that which is called the spirit; the third above the self, according to that which is called the mind. From all of which should be arranged  to ascend into God, to love Him with the whole mind, and with the whole heart, and with the whole soul, 4 in which consists the perfect observance of the Law and at the same time with this, Christian wisdom. The Journey of the Mind into God, Saint Bonaventura 1 Ps 83.6 2 Ex. 3.18 4 Gen. 1.3 3 Deut 6.5, Mt 22.37, Mk. 12.30, Lk 10.27

Believing and Knowing

Καὶ γνῶτε, ὅτι ἐθαυμάστωσε Κύριος τὸν ὅσιον αὐτοῦ. Ὁ προφήτης περὶ Χριστοῦ διδάσκει ἡμᾶς, ὅς ἐστιν ἀληθὴς ὅσιος, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν τῷ ιεʹ ψαλµῷ·. καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι δὲ ἐµαρτύρησαν, ὡς περὶ Χριστοῦ προφητευοµένου λέγοντες εἰρῆσθαι τὸ, Οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν µου εἰς ᾄδην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σοῦ ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν. Δυνατὸν δὲ καὶ περὶ παντὸς ὅσίου διδάσκεσθαι ἡμὰς. Οὐ ταυτὸν δὲ ἐστι πιστεῦσαι, ὅτι ἐθαυμάστωσε Κύριος τὸν ὅσιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ γνῶμαι, ὡς οὐδὲ ταυτόν ἐστι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πιστεῦσαι, καὶ γνῶναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ πιστεῦσαι τῷ Θεῷ καὶ γνῶναι τὸν Θεόν. Οἱ ἀπόστολοι οὖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ ἐπίστευον· ἀλλ' οὐ παντως ὅτε ἐπίστευον ἐγνώκεισαν αὐτήν. Ἀπόδειξις δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ἐνθα εἴρηται· Εἀν μείνητε ἐν τῷ ἐμῷ λόγῳ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μού ἐστε, καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς. Πιστεύουσι γὰρ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, φησὶ, τὸ γνώσεσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν· κατὰ γὰρ τοὺς προφήτας πιστεῦσαι δεῖ πρὶν συνιέναι καὶ λαλῆσαι· τοῦ μὲν Ἠσαῖου λέγοντος· Ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε, οὐδ' οὐ μὴ συνῆτε· τοῦ δὲ Δαυΐδ· Ἐπίστευσα, διὸ ἐλάλησα. Ὅτι δὲ τὸ γινώσκειν τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ πιστεύειν αὐτῷ διαφέρει, ἐν τοῖς Ψαλμοϊς ἀναγέγραπται διὰ ποῦ, Σχολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε, ὅτι εγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεός· οὐ γὰρ τοῖς ἀπιστοῦσι φησι· Σχολάσατε καὶ γνῶτε, ὅτι εγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεός. Ἐπὶ γνῶσιν οὖν ἡμας ὁ λόγος προκαλούμενος ὑποβάλλει καὶ τὴν τίνος γνῶσιν ἀναλαβειν ἡμᾶς χρὴ, ὥς εἰσιν ὑπο Θεοῦ τεθαυμαστωμένοι οἱ ὅσιοι, θαύμασι προσαχθέντες τῶν ἀποῥῥήτων μυστηρίων καὶ τῶν ἁγίων θεωρημάτων, καὶ αὐτοὶ δι' αὐτὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριν καὶ θείαν ἐπισκοπὴν θαυμαστοὶ γενόμενοι. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος Δ'

And know that the Lord makes a wonder of His holy one. 1 The Prophet teaches us concerning Christ, He who is truly holy, according to which it is said in the fifteenth Psalm, and the Apostles bear witness that it is spoken prophetically of Christ: 'Do not abandon my soul to the inferno, nor allow your holy one to see corruption.' 2 And this is able to teach us about every sort of holiness. It is not the same to believe that the Lord has made a wonder of his holy one, and to know it, because it is not the same to believe the truth and to know it, and to believe in God and to know God. The Apostles certainly believed in truth, but while they believed they did not completely know it. Which we say is well demonstrated by this passage of the Gospel: 'If you remain in my word, you shall truly be my disciples and you shall know truth, and the truth shall make you free.' 3 For they believe in truth, that know the truth, for according to the Prophets, belief is first and then we understand and we speak; as Isaiah says, ' If you do not believe nor shall you understand.' 4 And David says, 'I believed and so I spoke.' 5 Which shows there is a difference between knowing God and believing in God, which in the Psalms is described in these words: 'Be free and see that I am God.' 6 For this is not said to unbelievers: 'Be free and see that I am God.' When thus we are called to knowledge, as in this Psalm, it indicates at the same time knowledge of that thing which we should take up, that the holy have been made wonders by God, they who are moved wondrously by unutterable mysteries and sacred insights, and that they by the grace of God are beholders of Divine wonders. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 4 1 Ps 4.4 2 Ps 15.10, Acts 2.27 3 Jn 8, 31-32 4 Isa 7.9 5 Ps 115.10 6 Ps 45.11

A Gift of Knowledge

Domine, quid est homo, quia innotuisti ei, aut filius hominis, quod deputas eum? Homo vanitati smilis factus est: dies ejus sicut umbra praetereunt. Non differenter in octavo quoque psalmo proclamat Spiritus Sanctus: Quid est homo, quod memor es ejus, aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum? Confessio ista pulcherrima est, ut indignum se homo tanto munere ipse testetur. Et cum se indignum confitetur, gratiam ejus qui sibi hac largiatur extollit. Quod enim meritum hominis est, ut ei se cognoscibilem Deus praestet, ut incognoscibilis natura cognitioni nostrae sese ipsa submittat? Aut quae dignitas est filii homnis, ut deputetur? Deputatur autem, quidquid de eo in quo est in aliud destinatur. Rei naturam verborum virtus eloquitur. Homo vanitati similis effectus, et cujus dies tamquam umbra praetereunt, per indultam cognitionem Dei deputatur. Vanitas saeculum est, cujus habitus et forma tolletur. Deo enim inane est, quidquid quamvis exstet, tamen non ita subsistit ut maneat: et umbra quaecumque, etiamsi sit, tamen non est; quia cum fit, abeunte eo per quem efficiebatur eximitur. Homo itaque non umbra, sed umbrae similis; neque vanitas, sed similis vanitati per intercessionem mortis effectus; per indultam vero sibi cognitionem Dei deputatur. Et in quid deputetur, cognitio indulta testatur. Si enim cognitus fieri Deus homini, nisi assumpto homine, non potuit; quia incognoscibilem cognoscere, nisi per naturam nostram, natura nostra non potuit; et per hanc cognitionem homo qui deputatur, necesse est ut in id deputetur, in quo Deum ipse cognovit, scilicet, ut conformis Deo fiat, quia haec sit deputatio cognitionis indultae. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXLIII

Lord, what is a man, that you take notice of him, or the son of a man, that you esteem him? A man is fashioned like a vanity, and his day passes like a shadow. 1 This is not different from the eighth Psalm in which the Holy Spirit declares: 'What is a man that you what have memory of him, or the son of man that you would visit him?' 2 This confession is most beautiful, that man bears witness that he is unworthy of such a gift. And when he confesses himself unworthy, He who gives him this grace he praises. For what worth has a man that God should furnish him with knowledge of Himself? That he should grant His unknowable nature to our cognition? Or what worth has a son of man, that he be esteemed? He may indeed esteem that to which he has destined something. The force of the words speaks the nature of the thing. A man is made like a vanity, and his days as a shadow pass, and by a gift of the knowledge of God he is esteemed. Vain the world, and its fashions and ways pass. For to God a thing is inane which though it exists does not subsist that it may persist, and like a shadow it is which even if it is, yet it is not, because coming to be it swiftly flies away and is not. A man therefore is not a shadow but like one and not a vanity but like a vanity because of the intervention of death, and by the gift of the knowledge of God he may be esteemed. And by what is esteemed, he gives witness to the knowledge given. For the knowledge of God cannot be in a man unless a man be lifted up, because to know the unknowable, if limited to our nature, is not possible for our nature, and by this knowing is the man who is esteemed, for it must be that in what he is esteemed, by which he knows God, he is made to conform to God, because this is the value of the gift of the knowledge. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 51 1 Ps 143. 3-4 2 Ps 8.5

Benvolence, Discipline and Knowledge

Inter caetera quibus beatus David infirmitatibus nostrarum medetur animarum, sub quadam trinitatis regula orandi nos formam tenere, tanquam peritissimus magister erudit, dicens, 'Bonitatem, et disciplinam, et scientiam, doce me.' Sollicitius itaque, fratres, intendite quas sibi potissimum virtutes tribui rex propheticus deprecatur. Bonitatem, inquit, et disciplinam et scientiam doce me.' Recte novit vivere, qui recte novit orare. Non enim petiit mundanarum divitiarum thesauros, non regna finitima, non tempora prolixiora vivendi; sed bonitatem se doceri simul et disciplinam poposcit. Bonitas enim facit amabliem disciplinam, et disciplina efficit inculpabilem bonitatem. Nec quemquam latere puto quia bonitas sine disciplina mater delictorum est, et disciplina sine bonitate tristis quaedam amaritudo vivendi. Scientiam etiam praestari sibi pariter implorat, ut noverit scienter sapienterque distinguere qui sint termini bonitatis, et quam debeat habere disciplina mensuram,ne forte aut nimiae remissionis vitio incognita foedetur, aut disciplina durior ipsa sui austeritate erubescat. Vis, frater, bonus esse peccanti? Benigne quidem facis; sed ut vere sis bonis, rigorem ei adhibe disciplinae, ut tua illi proficiat bonitas in salutem, quam utique si nulla coercentis censura increpationis terrueris, perniciosa erit ei haec bonitas tua, quia permittis perire peccantem, quem potueras salvare correctum. Rursus: si nimio disciplinae rigore nullam sanantis bonitatis praetenderis medicinam, dum terrorem tuum refugit peccans, peccantis aegritudinem non curabis. Et quae tandem vivendi ratio erit, quae justitia, si aut solutior lenitas conniventiam praebeat peccatori, aut immoderata severitas a lapsu non revocet delinquentem? Ut autem bonitas hujus disciplinaeque magisterium in nostris fuisse majoribus plenius perfectiusque discamus. Sanctus Maximus Taurinensis, Homilia CVII

Among other things by which the blessed David heals the infirmities of our souls, as a most expert teacher, he instructs by prayer that we hold to a certain threefold rule, saying, 'Goodness and discipline and knowledge, teach me.' 1 Thus diligently attend, brothers, to what are the most potent virtues for which the regal prophet prays. 'Goodness,' he says, 'and discipline and knowledge, teach me.' Rightly he knows how to live who knows how to pray. He does not seek a treasury of worldly riches, nor a temporal kingdom, nor a long span of life, but to to be taught benevolence, at the same time asking for discipline. Benevolence indeed makes discipline loveable, and discipline creates faultless benevolence. It should not be hidden from anyone, I think, that goodness without discipline is the mother of wickedness and discipline without benevolence is the bitterness of a grievous life. And he asks for knowledge together with these that he have the knowledge and the wisdom  to distinguish where goodness ends and what is the measure of discipline, lest perhaps either by excessive lenity he be unknowingly defiled with vice, or by harsh discipline he disgrace himself with severity. You wish, brother, to be good to a sinner? Certainly be kind, but that you may do good, adhere to the rigour of discipline, that your benevolence profit him to salvation, for if you never trouble with a warning cry of censure, your benevolence will be a wicked thing to him, because you allow the sinner to perish, he whom you were able to save. Again, if with excessive rigor of discipline you do not bring the medicine of healing kindness, the sinner will flee the threat of you and there will be no remedy for the sickness of sin. And how will he be said to live well, that is, with righteousness, if either with soft indulgence he overlooks the sinner, or if on account of immoderate severity he cannot call back the delinquent from a fall? Thus with his teaching of kindness and discipline in us we may learn to attain to a greater perfection. Saint Maximus of Turin, from Homily 107 1. Ps 118.66

Learning And Peril

Gentilis quidam est, ad fidem tendit: catechumenus est, majorem vult accipere doctrinae et fidei plenitudinem; caveat ne dum vult discere, male discat, et discat a Photino, discat ab Ario, discat a Sabellio: tradat se hujusmodi magistris quorum quaedam eum teneat auctoritas; et inductus quadam magistrorum praesumptione, teneris sensibus impressa dijudicare non noverit. Prius igitur oculis mentis perspiciat quid sequatur: videat ubi vita sit: tangat denique divinarum vitalia lectionum, ut nullo pravo offendatur interprete. Legit illi Sabellius: Ego in Patre, et Pater in me, et dicit unam esse personam. Legit Photinus: Quia mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus. Et alibi: Quid me vultis occidere hominem? Legit etiam Arius quia dixit: Quoniam Pater major me est. Legitur quidem manifestum: sed qua ratione dictum sit, debet ante pertractare secum, ut rationem dictorum possit advertere. Ducitur quadam magistrorum auctoritate; et profuisset ei non quaesisse, quam talem invenisse doctorem. Sed etiam gentilis si quis Scripturas accipiat, legit: Oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente. Legit etiam: Si scandalizaverit te dextera tua, abscinde illam; non intelligit sensum, non advertit divini arcana sermonis, pejus labitur, quam si non legisset. Et ideo docuit quemadmodum Dei Verbum investigare deberent, non perfunctorie, non improvide, sed diligenter atque sollicite: Quod erat, inquit, ab initio, quod audivimus, et quod vidimus, oculis nostris perspeximus, et manus nostrae perscrutatae sunt de Verbo vitae: et vidimus et testamur, et annuntiamus vobis. Vides quod ante velut manibus quibusdam perscrutatus sit Dei verbum, et postea annuntiaverit: et ideo nihil Adae et Evae fortasse nocuisset verbum, si pertractantibus diligenter mentis quibusdam manibus ante tetigissent. Infirmi enim pertractando, et diligentius requirendo, uniuscujusque quam non intelligunt, possunt investigare naturam. Certe illi infirmi id lignum in quo scientiam mali esse cognoverant, ante quemadmodum tangerent, debuerant perscrutari. Nam et mali saepe nobis potest prodesse cognitio. Et ideo diaboli fraudes vel in hac legimus lectione, vel in prophetia, ut discamus quemadmodum artes ejus cavere possimus. Cognoscenda sunt enim tentamenta ejus, non ut sequamur, sed ut docti instructique caveamus. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Paradiso, Caput XII

Some of the Gentiles, one who inclines to the faith and becomes a catechumen, who wishes to receive a greater fullness of the teachings and the faith, should be wary lest while he wishes to learn, he learns evil, from Photinus and Arius and Sabellius, so that he gives himself over to such teachers and their authority rules over him, and he is beholden to the assumption of these teachers, with tender senses so impressed, because he does not know how to judge. Before such a thing, then, let him discern with the eyes of the mind what he should follow, let him see where life is, then let him touch the vivifying things of Scripture, that he is not corrupted by a depraved interpretation. Sabellius reads to him: 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me' 1 and says that the person is one. Photinus reads, 'Because the mediator of God and of men, the man Jesus Christ,' 2 and elsewhere 'Why do you wish to kill me a man?' 3 And Arius reads: 'Because the Father is greater than me.' 4 The reading is easy, but the reason why it is said, a man should ponder to himself, that he be able to grasp the meaning of the words. He is led by the authority of certain teachers and not what he sought is given him when he has such teachers. But even the Gentile if he read the Scriptures, saying 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' 5 and he reads, 'If your right hand scandalises you, cut it off' 6 he does not understand the meaning, he does not perceive the secrets of the Divine speech, and he falls further than if he had not read at all. And therefore this teaches that we should investigate the word of God, not hastily, nor improvidently, but with love and care, 'What was, 'he says, 'from the beginning, whom we heard, and whom we saw, and gazed upon with our own eyes, and our hands  examined, the word of life, this we saw and give witness, and we announce it to you.' 7 You see that before with the hands, as it were, he examined, if he might be the word of God, and after announced it, and therefore perhaps no harm would have come to Adam and Eve by that speech if, as with the examination with the hands, with the mind they had they examined. Even the weak by pondering, which requires great diligence, that which they are not able to understand, are able to investigate the nature of a thing. Certainly those weak ones should have first thought how they were to touch the tree in which they knew there was knowledge of evil. For even the knowledge of evil is able to profit us. And therefore we have the deceits of the devil which we may read in scripture, or in prophecy, 8 by which we learn what his art is and what we should beware. For let his snares be known, that we not fall into them, but being learned and instructed we be wary of them. Saint Ambrose, On Paradise, Chap 12 1 Jn 1.10 2 1 tim 2.5  3 Jn 8.40  4 Jn 14.28  5 Lev 24.20  6 Mt 5.30  7 1 Jn 1, 1,2  8 Ez 27.18

True Knowledge

Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἡ γνῶσις ἡ ἀληθινὴ ἡ κατὰ Χριστὸν σύνεσις, ἦν ὁ Παῦλος καλεῖ τὴν σοφίαν Θεοῦ ἐν μυστηρίῳ τὴν ἀποκεκρυμμένην, ἤν ὁ ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος οὐ δέχεται, ὁ λόγος τοῦ σταυροῦ, οὗ ἐάνπερ τις γεύσηται, οὐ μὴ ἂν προσελεύσεται ταῖς παραδιατριβαῖς καὶ λογομαχίαις τῶν τετυφωμένων καὶ φυσιουμένων, τῶν ἃ μὴ ἐωράκασιν ἐμβατευόντων. Ἀσχημάτιστος γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδία σου, ὡς ὁ αὐτὸς ἀπόστολος λέγει; εὐμαθὴς τοῖς πειθομένοις. Ὁμοίους γὰρ Χριστῷ ἡμᾶς ποιεῖ, εἰ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτου καὶ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῶν αὐτοῦ παθημάτων γνῶμεν. Αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιλογὴ τῆς ἀποστολικῆς διδασκαλίας καὶ τῆς ἁγιωτάτης πίστεως τῆς ἡμῖν παραδοθείσης, ἤν οἱ ἰδιῶνται δέχονται καὶ οἱ ὀλιγομαθεῖς ἐδίδαξαν, οἱ ταῖς γενεαλογίαις ταῖς ἀπεράντοις οὐ προσέχοντες, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον περὶ τὴν τοῠ βίου ἐπανόρθωσιν σπουδάζοντες, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ θείου πνεύματος ἀποστερηθέντες ἀποτύχωσι τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τὸ γὰρ πρῶτον μὲν ἔστι τὸ ἀπαρνῆσαι σεαυτὸν καὶ τὸ ἀκολουθῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ οἱ ταῦτα ποιοῦντες εἰς τελειότητα φέρονται, πᾶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ διδασκάλου πεπληρωκότες, υἱοὶ Θεοῦ διὰ τῆς παλιγγενεσίας τῆς πνευματικῆς γινόμενοι καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν κληρονόμοι, ἤν πρῶτον ζητοῦντες οὐκ ἀφεθήσονται.  Ἅγιος Εἰρηναίος, Ἐκλογὴ

True knowledge, then, is the understanding according to Christ, which Paul calls the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which 'the material man receives not,' 1 the teaching of the cross, which if anyone taste, he will not partake of the disputes and word wrangling of ignorant and puffed-up folk, 2 who rush into matters of which they have no grasp. 3 For the truth is not excessively complex, and 'Near to you is the word, in your mouth and in your heart,' 4 as the same Apostle declares, being easy to understand by the obedient. For it makes us like Christ if we know 'the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.' 5 For this is the Apostolic teaching and the most holy 'faith handed down to us,' 6 which the simple receive and those of little knowledge have taught, 'not caring for endless genealogies,' 7 but rather studious for a flawless life, lest having been deprived of the Divine Spirit they fail to achieve the kingdom of heaven. For first one must deny one's self and follow Christ, and those who do this are brought to perfection, having fulfilled the will of the teacher, becoming sons of God by spiritual regeneration and heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and those who seek this first shall not be forsaken. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Fragment 1 1 Cor 2.14 2 1 Tim 6.4-5 3 Colos 2.18   4 Rom 10.8, Deut 30.14  5 Philip 3.10  6 Jude 3  7 1 Timothy 1.4

Philosophy and Peace

Philosophi saeculi solent amorem veterem amore novo, quasi clavum clavo expellere. Quod et Assuero regi septem principes fecere Persarum, ut Vasthi reginae desiderium, aliarum puellarum amore compescerent. Illi vitium vitio, peccatumque peccato medicantur, nos amore virtutum, vitia superemus. Declina, ait, a malo, et fac bonum. Quare pacem, et persequere eam. Nisi oderimus malum, bonum amare non possumus. Quin potius faciendum est bonum, ut declinemus a malo. Pax querenda, ut bella fugiamus. Nec sufficit eam quaerere, nisi inventam fugientemque omni studio persequamur, quae exsuperat omnem sensum: in qua habitatio Dei est, dicente Propheta: Et factus est in pace locus ejus Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula CXXV, Ad Rusticum Monachum

The world's philosophers are accustomed drive out an old love with a new one, as one nail another. So it was with the seven princes of Persia and king Assuerus, for they suppressed his desire for the queen Vashti by the love of other ladies. 1 They cured one fault by another fault and one sin by another sin; but we should overcome faults by the love of the virtues. 'Depart from evil,' it is said, 'and do good; seek peace and pursue it.' 2 For if we do not hate evil we are not able to love good. Or rather we must do good if we are to depart from evil. We must seek peace that we avoid war. And it does not suffice to seek it, unless when we have found it and when it flees from us we pursue it with all our strength, that which 'passes all understanding,' 3 in which is the habitation of God, for as the Psalmist says, 'In peace is His habitation.' 4 St Jerome, from Letter 125, To Rusticus the Monk 1 Esther 2:1-4 2 Ps 36.37 3 Philip 4:7 4 Ps 75.2

The Poor Man's Blessing

Ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τῇ πτωχείᾳ τὸν μακαρισμὸν ἀπεκλήρωσεν· μόνη γὰρ αὕτη οἴδε τηρειν τὰ μέτρα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ταλαιπωρίας, μισεῖ τὸν ὅγκον, συστέλλει τὸ φρόνημα, ταπεινοῖ λογισμοὺς, ὑπερηφάνειαν αἰσχύνεται, βλέπει τοῦ βίου τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πείθει λαθεῖν, ἵνα μὴ λάθῃ σωζόμενος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΛΗ' Σοφιανῳ Σκολαριῳ Source: Migne PG 79.169c

Our Lord Jesus Christ attributes a blessing to the poor man. 1 For only He knows the true measure of human wretchedness, He who hates arrogance and casts down boasting, and maintains humility in thought, and marks pride as disgraceful. Only He sees the life of man, and He knows what to hide of it, that he not be hidden to salvation. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 238, To Sophianus 1 Mt 5.3

The Perils of Avarice

Πάνυ γὰρ ποικίλος μοι φαίνεται τῆς φιλαργυρίας ὁ δαίμων, καὶ πρὸς ἀπάτην εὐμήχανος, ὃς πολλάκις στενωθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς ἄκρας ἀποταγῆς, τὸν οἰκονόμον εὐθὺς, καὶ φιλόπτωχον ὑποκρίνεται, καὶ τοὺς μηδέπω παρόντας ὑποδέχεται ξένους γνησιώτερον, καὶ ἄλλοις λειπομένοις ἀποστέλλει διακονίαν, καὶ δεσμωτήρια πόλεως ἐπισκέπτεται, καὶ τοὺς πιπασκομένους δῆθεν ἐξαγοράζει, γυναιξί τε κολλᾶται πλουσίαις, καὶ ἄλλους πάλιν ἀποτάξασθαι νουθετεῖ βαλάντιον ἀδρὸν κεκτημένους, καὶ οὕτως ἐξαπατήσας κατὰ μικρὸν τὴν ψυχὴν, τῆς φιλαργυρίας αὐτὴν λογισμοῖς ὑποβάλλει, καὶ τῷ τῆς κενοδοξίας παραδίδωσι δαίμονι. Ὡς πλῆθος εἰσάγει τῶν δοξαζόντων ἐπὶ ταῖς οἰκονομίαις ταύταις τὸν Κύριον, καί τινας κατ' ὀλίγον περὶ ἱερωσύνης συλλαλοῦντας προβάλλων λοιπὸν προμαντεύεται ταχὴν θάνατον τοῦ ὄντος ἱερέως, καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἃν ἐκφύγῃ μυρία ποιήσας προστίθησι, καὶ οὕτως ὁ παλαίπωρος νοῦς ἐνδεθεὶς τούτοις τοῖς λογισμοῖς, τοῖς μὲν μὴ κατεξαμένοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαμάχεται, τοῖς δὲ τοῦτο καταδεξαμὲνοις, ἑτοίμως δῶρα χαρίζεται, καὶ τῆς εὐγνωμοσύνης αὐτοὺς ἀποδέχεται· τινὰς δὲ διστασιάζοντας, τοῖς δικαστασαῖς παραδίδωσι, καὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐξορίζεσθαι παραγγέλλει·   τούτων δὲ λοιπὸν ἔνδον ὄντων, καὶ στρεφομένων τῶν λογισμῶν, εὐθὺς καὶ ὁ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἐφίσταται δαίμων, ἀστραπὰς συνεχεῖς κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα τῆς κέλλης τυπῶν, καὶ δράκοντας πτερωτοὺς ἐπιπέμπων, καὶ τὸ τελευταῖον κακὸν, στέρησιν φρενῶν ἐργαζόμενον, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς τούτοις τοῖς λογισμοῖς  ἀπώλειαν ἐπευξάμενοι, μετ' εὐχαριστίας τῇ πενίᾳ συζήσωμεν, ̧ Οὐδὲν γὰρ εἰηνέγκαμεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οὐδὲ ἐξενεγκεῖν τι δῆλον ὅτι δυνάμεθα· ἔχοντες δὲ τροφὰς, καὶ σκεπάσματα, τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα, μεμνημένοι καὶ Παύλου, ῥίζαν πάντων τῶν κακῶν τὴν φιλαργυρίαν εἰπόντος. Εὐάγριος ὁ Ποντικός, Περὶ διαφόρων πονηρῶν λογισμῶν

For indeed it seems to me that the demon of avarice is exceedingly complex and most capable in his deceits, he who often when we are bemoaning the strictness of our renunciation, feigns to be a carer and a lover of the poor, and he would have us prepare a welcome for guests who have not yet arrived, or send supplies to those who are far away. He makes us consider those in the city prisons and the ransoming of those long enslaved, and that we should ingratiate ourselves with wealthy women, and again he inclines us to be obsequious to others who have a heavy purse, and thus, little by little, deceiving the soul, he casts it into avaricious thoughts and hands it over to the demon of vainglory. He then brings forth a crowd praising the Lord on account of our works, and in a little while has us talking to others about our ordination, and he prophesisies  that the present priest will soon die, and our long degenerate minds entangled in these thoughts, attacks any man who does not support us, while to those who do support it is ready to give gifts and judge them upstanding fellows, and some of those who doubt us we would have hauled before the judges and demand their expulsion from the city. And with these things within us and thoughts on them circling in our mind, the demon of pride is beside us, filling the room of our cell with lightning and winged dragons, trying to work that final evil, the utter loss of reason. But on all such thoughts let destruction come and with thanks let us live in poverty. 'For we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain that we can take nothing out of it. Having food and clothing, let us be content with them', 1 And remembering that St Paul said, 'Avarice is the root of all evil.' 2   Evagrius Ponticus, On Various Evil Thoughts 1 1 Tim 6.7-8 2 1 Tim 6.10