[Tactics] FOR THE EIGHT
[Tempting-]THOUGHTS

Πρὸς τοὺς ὀκτὼ λογισμούς

15. THE wandering nous is stabilized by
[1] reading,
[2] vigils and
[3] prayer.

  ιε´.  Νοῦν μεν πλανώμενον ἵστησιν
   ἀναγνωσις καὶ
   ἀγρυπνία  και
   προσευχή·

  Burning epithumia (desire) is quenched by
[1] hunger,
[2] toil, and
[3] solitude. 

 ἐπιθυμίαν δὲ ἐκφλογουμένην μαραίνει
   πεῖνα  καὶ
   κόπος καὶ
   ἀναχώρησις·

  Churning thumos (indignation) is calmed by
[1] the singing of Psalms, by
[2] patient endurance and
[3] mercy. 

θυμὸν δὲ καταπαύει κυκώμενον
    ψαλμῳδία καὶ
   μακροθυμία καὶ
   ἔλεος·

 But all these practices are to be engaged in at proper times and in proper measure.  What is done untimely or without measure is temporary.  And what is temporary is more harmful and not beneficial.

καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς  προσήκουσι χρόνοις τε καὶ μέτροις γινόμενα· τὰ γὰρ ἄμετρα καὶ  ἄκαιρα ὀλιγοχρόνια· τὰ δὲ ὀλιγοχρόνια βλαπερὰ μᾶλλον καὶ  οὐκ ὠφέλιμα.

16.  WHEN our soul desires a variety of foods, then It should be confined to bread and water to make it thankful for a mere mouthful. It is satiety which yearns for varied foodstuffs; hunger considers it sheer bliss just to have enough bread.

  ις'  Ὁπηνίκα διαφόρων βρωμάτων ἐφίεται ἡμῶν ἡ ψυχή, τὸ τηνικαῦτα ἐν ἄρτῳ στενούσθω καὶ ὕδατι ἵν' εὐχάριστος γένηται καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ ψιλῷ τῷ ψωμῷ· κόρος γὰρ ποικίλων ἐδεσμάτων ἐπιθυμεῖ, λιμὸς δὲ τὸν κόρον τοῦ ἄρτου μακαριότητα εἶναι νοίζει.

17.  TO deprive oneself of water helps a great deal towards continence; let the three hundred Israelites who defeated Midian with Gideon (Judges 7:5-7) persuade you of this.

  ιζ'  Πάνυ πρὸς σωφροσύνην συμβάλλεται ἡ τοῦ ὕδατος ἔνδεια· καὶ πειθέτωσάν σε τῶν  Ἰσραηλιτῶν οἱ μετὰ Γεδεὼν τριακόσιοι τὴν Μαδιὰμ χειρωσάμενοι.

18.  IT is impossible for life and death to be in the same subject at the same time; in the same way it is impossible for love to coexist with wealth. Love is not only destructive of wealth, it is destructive even of this temporal life of ours.

  ιη'  Ὡς ζωὴν καὶ θάνατον ἅμα συμβῆναι τῷ αὐτῷ τῶν οὐκ ἐνδεχομένν ἐστιν, οὕτως ἀγάπην χρήμασι συνυπάρξαι τινὶ τῶν ἀδυνάτων ἐστιν· ἀναιρετικὴ γὰρ οὐ μόνον χρημάτων ἡ ἀγάπη, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς ἡμῶν τῆς προσκαίρου ζωῆς.

19.  ANYONE who flees from all worldly pleasures is a tower which cannot be breached by the demon of gloominess. Gloominess is the deprivation of pleasure, either an actual or an expected pleasure. So long as we have any attachment to anything on earth, it is impossible for us to drive away this enemy. He sets his trap and produces gloominess just where he sees that our inclinations lead us.

  ιθ'  Ὁ φεύγων πάσας τὰς κοσμικὰς ἡδονὰς πύργος ἐστὶ τῷ τῆς λύπης ἀπόσιτος δαίμονι· λύπη γάρ ἐστὶ στέρησις ἡδονῆς  ἢ παρούσης ἢ προσδοκωμένης· ἀδύνατον δὲ τὸν ἔχοντας ἡμᾶς προσπάθειαν· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἵστησι τὴν παγίδα καὶ τὴν λύπην ἐργάζεται ὅπου βλέπει μάλιστα νενευκότας ἡμᾶς.

20.  ANGER and hatred increase indignation: merciful compassion and gentleness diminish it when it is present.

  κʹ  Ὀργὴ μὲν καὶ μῖσος αὔξει θυμόν· ἐλεημοσύνη δὲ καὶ πραΰτης καὶ τὸν ὄντα μειοῖ.

21.  THE sun should not set on our anger (Eph. 4:26): so that the demons do not, rising up by night, terrify the soul and make the nous  more cowardly the day after for the fight. For terrifying phantasms are produced by the disturbance of indignation.  And nothing makes a deserter out of the nous as much as disturbed indignation.

  καʹ  Ὁ  ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπἰ τῷ παροργισμῷ ἡμῶν, ἵνα  μὴ νύκτωρ ἐπιστάντες οἱ δαίμονες ἐκδειματώσωσι τὴν ψυχὴν  καὶ δειλότερον ποιήσωσι τῇ ἐπιούσῃ τὸν νοῦν πρὸς τὸν  πόλεμον· τὰ γὰρ φοβερὰ φάσματα ἐκ τῆς ταραχῆς τοῦ θυμου  πέφυκε γίνεσθαι· οὐδὲν δὲ λειποτάκτην οὕτως ἄλλο τὸν νοῦν  ἀπεργάζεται ὡς θυμὸς ταρασσόμενος.

22.  WHEN the irascible part of our soul (thumikon) seizes on some excuse and gets disturbed, then the demons suggest to us what a good thing it is to withdraw; this is to prevent us from resolving the cause of the sorrow and freeing ourselves from the disturbance.

  κβʹ  Ὁπηνίκα προφάσεως ἐφαψάμενον τὸ θυμικὸν ἡμῶν μέρος  τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκταράσσεται, τὸ τηνικαῦτα καὶ οἱ δαίμονες τὴν  ἀναχώρησιν ἡμῖν ὡς καλὴν ὑποβάλλουσιν, ἵνα μὴ τὰς αἰτίας  τῆς λυπης λύσαντες ταραχ͂ς ἑαυτοὺς ἀπαλλάξωμεν. 

But when our desiring part is enflamed, then they make us sociable and call us grim and uncivilized, to make us desire bodies and encounter bodies. We should not obey them in either case, but rather do the opposite.

Οταν  δὲ τὸ ἐπιθυμητικὸν ἐκθερμαίνηται, τότε πάλιν φιλανθρώπυος  ἡμᾶς ἀπεργάζονται σκληροὺς καὶ ἀγρίους ἀποκαλοῦντες, ἵνα 7 σωμάτων ἐπιθυμοῦντες σώμασιν ἐντυγχάνωμεν. Οἷς οὐ 8 πείθεσθαι δεῖ· μᾶλλον δὲ τὸ ἐναντίον ποιεῖν.

23.  DO not give yourself to the [tempting-] thought of anger by fighting in your mind the distressing person; nor to that of fornication by spending most of the time in fantasies of pleasures. For the one darkens the soul, the other summons it to burn with passion.  Both of these pollute your nous .

  κγʹ  Μή δῷς σεαυτὸν τῷ τῆς ὀγῆς λογισμῷ κατὰ διάνοιαν  τῷ λελυπηκότι μαχόμενος· μηδ' αὐ πάλιν τῷ τῆς πορνείας  ἐπἰ πλεῖστον τἠν ἡδονὴν φανταζόμενος· τὸ μἐν γὰρ ἐπισκοτεῖ  τῇ ψυχῇ, τὸ δὲ πρὸς τὴν πύρωσιν τοῦ πάθους αὐτὴν προσκαλεῖται·  ἑκάτερα δὲ τὸν νοῦν σου ῥυπῶντα ποιεῖ·

And [thus] at the time of prayer [you will] fantasize images: and not [being able] to offer pure prayer to God, you will immediately fall victim to the demon of acedia. This demon readily leaps upon such states and, like a dog with a young deer, tears the soul to pieces .

καὶ παρὰ  τὸν καιρὸν τῆς προσευχῆς τὰ εἴδωλα φανταζόμενος καὶ  καθαρὰν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν εὐχὴν μὴ προσφέρων εὐθὺς τῷ τῆς  ἀκηδίας δαίμονι περιπίπτεις· ὅστις μάλιστα ταῖς τοιαύταὶς  ἐφάλλεται καταστάσεσι καὶ δίκην κυνὸς καθάπερ νεβρὸν  τὴν ψυχὴν διαπάζει.

24. THE nature of indignation is to fight the demons and to struggle for any sort of pleasure. For this reason the angels suggest to us spiritual pleasures and the blessedness [coming] from them; they encourage us to direct our anger towards the demons.  The latter, however, draging us towards worldly desires, violently force our indignation against nature to fight human beings, so as to darken the nous , separating it from Knowledge, and [thus] making it a traitor to the virtues.

  κδʹ Φύσις θυμοῦ τὸ τοῖς δαίμουσι μάχεσθαι καί ὑπὲρ ἡστινοσοῦν  ἡδονῆς ἀγονίζεσθαι.  Διόπερ ὁι μὲν ἄγγελοι τὴν πνευματικὴν  ἡμῖν ἡδονὴν ὑποβάλλοντες καὶ τὴν ἐκ ταύτης μακαριότητα,  πρὸς τοὺς δαίμονας τὸν θυμὸν τρέψαι παρακαλοῦσιν· ἐκεῖνοι  δ' ἆυ πάλιν πρὸς τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπιθυμίας ἕλκοντες ἡμᾶς τὸν  θυμὸν παρὰ φύσιν μάχεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις βιάζονται, ἵνα  σκοτισθεὶς ὁ νοῦς καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐκπεσὼν προδότης γένηται  τῶν ἀρετῶν.

25.  GUARD yourself, that you never so provoke any of the brethren that he runs away, or you will never escape during your lifetime from the demon of despondency, which will always become an obstacle for you at the time of prayer

  κεʹ Πρόσεχε σεαυττῷ μήποτε φυγαδεύσῃς τινὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν  παροργίσας, καὶ οὐκ ἐκφεύξῃ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου τὸν τῆς λύπης  δαίμονα παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς προσευχῆς ἀεί σοι σκῶλον  γινόμενον.

26.  GIFTS quench resentment. Let Jacob persuade you of this. He got round Esau with gifts, when he vas coning against him with four hundred men (Gen. 32).  We who are poor should make up for our lack of other things by being hospitable at table.

  κς  ʹ Μνησικακίν σβέννυσι δῶρ· καὶ πειθέτω σε Ἰακὼβ τὸν  Ἐσαῦ δόμασιν ὑπελθὼν μετὰ τετρακοσίων εἰς ὑπάντησιν  ἐξελθόντα.  Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς πένητες ὄντες τραπέζῃ τὴν χρείαν  πληρώσωμεν.

27.  WHEN we are oppressed by the demon of listlessness, we should tearfully divide our soul in two, making one part encourage the other, sowing good hopes in ourselves and singing David’s words, ‘Why are you depressed, my soul, why do you disturb me? Hope in God, because I will praise him, the Savior of my person, my God’ (Ps. 41:6).

  κζ'  Ὅταν τῷ τῆς ἀκηδίας περιπέσωμεν δαίμονι, τὸ τηνικαῦτα τὴν ψυχὴν μετὰ δακρύων μερίσαντες τὴν μὲν παρακαλοῦσαν τὴν δὲ παρακαλουμένην ποιήσωμεν, ἐλπίδας ἀγαθὰς ἑαυτοῖς ὑποσπείροντες καὶ τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Δαυΐδ κατεπᾴδοντες· ἵνα τί περίλυπος εἶ, ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ ἵνα τί συντααράσσεις με; ἔλπισον ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, ὅτι ἐξοολογήσομαι αὐτῷ· σωτήριον τοῦ προσώπου μου καὶ ὁ Θεός μου.

28.  AT the time of temptation we should not abandon our cell, whatever plausible pretext we nay invent; we should stay in it and persevere and valiantly tackle all comers, particularly the demon of listlessness, which is the most oppressive of them all, and so particularly brings out the quality of the soul. Running away from such conflicts and trying to evade this teaches the mind to be helpless, cowardly and fugitive.

  κη Οὐ δεῖ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῶν πειρασμῶν καταλιμπάνειν τὴν κέλλαν προφάσεις εὐλόγους δῆθεν πλαττόμενον , ἀλλ' ἔνδον καθῆσθαι καὶ ὑπομένειν καὶ δέχεσθαι γενναίως τοὺς ἐπερχομένους ἅπαντας μέν, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ τὸν τῆς ἀκηδίας δαίμονα, ὅστις ὑπὲρ πάντας βαρύτατος ὢν δοκιμωτάτην μάλιστα τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπεργάζεται.  Τὸ γὰρ φεύγειν τοὺς τοιούτους ἀγῶνας καὶ περιίστασθαι ἄτεχνον τὸν νοῦν καὶ δειλὸν καὶ δραπέτην διδάσκει.

29.  OUR holy teacher, who was very experienced in the ascetical life (praktikotatos), said, ‘The monk ought always to be ready as if he were to die tomorrow, but at the same time he should use his body as if he were going to live with it for many years to come. The first [approach] cuts back the thoughts of acedia and makes the monk more zealous, while the second preserves the body and keeps its self-control balanced.’

  κθ'  Ἔλεγε δὲ ὁ ἅγιος καὶ πρακτικώτατος ἡμῶν διδάσκαλος· οὕτω δεῖ ἀεὶ παρσκευάζεσθαι τὸν μονοχὸν ὡς αὔριν τεθνηξόμενον, καὶ οὕτω πάλιν τῷ σώματι κεχρῆσθαι ὡς ἐν πολλοῖς ἔτεσι συζησόμενον.  Τὸ μὲν γάρ, φησί, τοὺς τῆς ἀκηδίας  λογισμοὺς περικόπτει καὶ σπουδαιότερον παρασκευάζει τὸν μοναχόν· τὸ δὲ σῶον διαφυλάττει τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἴσην αὐτοῦ ἀεὶ συντηρεῖ τὴν ἐγκράτειαν.

30.  IT is difficult to escape from the [tempting-] thought (logismos) of vainglory, because whatever you do to eliminate it becomes the occasion for a new vainglory. Not all our right thoughts (logismoi) are opposed by the demons; some of them are opposed by our own characteristic vices.

  λ'  Χαλεπὸν διαυγεῖν τὸν τῆς κενοδοξίας λογισμόν· ὃ γὰρ ποιεῖς εἰς καθαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ τοῦτο ἀρχή σοι κενοδοξίας ἑτέρας καθίσταται.  Οὐ παντὶ δὲ λογισμῷ ἡμῶν ὀρθῷ ἐναντιοῦνται οἱ δαίμονες ἀλλά τισι καὶ αἱ κακίαι αὗται καθ' ἃς πεποιώμεθα.

31.  I HAVE known the demon of vainglory being chased away by almost all the demons, and then, when its pursuers fail, it approaches shamelessly and shows the monk how great his virtues are.

  λα'  Ἔγνων τὸν τῆς κενοδοξίας δαίμονα σχεδὸν ὑπὸ πάντων διωκόμενον τῶν δαιμόνων καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς τῶν διωκόντων πτώμασιν ἀναιδῶς παριστάενον καὶ τῷ μοναχῷ μέγεθος ἀρετῶν ἐμφανίζοντα.

32. ONE who has reached knowledge and culled the pleasure it brings will no longer be persuaded by the demon of vainglory offering him all the pleasures of the world. What could it promise him that would be better than spiritual contemplation? But to the extent that we lack the taste of knowledge, we should eagerly engage in the ascetical life [praktike], showing our aim to God, namely that we are doing everything for the sake of knowledge of him.

  λβ'  Ὁ γνώσεως ἐφαψάμενος και τὴν ἀπ' αὐτης καρπούμενος ἡδονὴν οὐκέτι τῷ τῆς κενοδοξίας πεισθήσεται δαίμονι,  πάσας αὐτῷ τὰς ἡδονὰς τοῦ κόσμου προσάγοντι· τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ ὑπόσχοιτο μεῖζον πνευματικῆς θεωρίας;  Ἐν ὅσῳ δέ ἐσμεν γνώσεως ἄγευστοι, τὴν πρακτικὴν προθύμως κατεργαζώμεθα, τὸν σκοπὸν ἡμῶν δεικνύντες Θεῷ ὅτι πάντα πράττομεν τῆς αὐτοῦ γνώσεως ἕνεκεν.

33.  RECALL your former way of life and your old faults, and how, when you were subject to passions, you crossed over to apatheia by the mercy of Christ, and then how you left the world which laid you low so often and in so many ways. Reflect also on this: who is it who guards you in the desert and drives away the demons which gnash their teeth against you? Thoughts [logismoi] like this will instill humility and leave no room for the demon of pride.

  λγ'  Μέμνησο τοῦ προτέρου σου βίου καὶ ἀρχαίων παραπτωμάτων, καὶ πῶς ἐμπαθὴς ὢν ἐλέει Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἀπάθειαν μεταβέβηκας, καὶ πῶς πάλιν ἐξῆλθες τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ πολλὰ καὶ πολλάκις σε ταπεινώσαντος.  Λόγισαι δέ μοι  καὶ τοῦτο· τίς ὁ ἐν τῆ ἐρήμῳ φυλάσσων σε, καὶ τίς ὁ ἀπελαύνων τοὺς δαίμονας βρύχοντας κατὰ σοῦ τοὺς ὀδόντας αὐτῶν.  Οἱ γὰρ τοιοῦτοι λογισμοὶ ταπεινοφροσύνην μὲν ἐμποιοῦσιν, τὸν δὲ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας οὐκ εἰσδέχονται δαίμονα.