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90. EVEN if you suppose yourself to be with God, guard against the demon of sexual immorality, for he is very deceitful and extremely vengeful; and he wants to be quicker than the movement and watchfulness of your nous, so that he can tear it away from God, while it stands beside Him in reverence and awe.	̈ϛ´. ^[79.1187] Κἂν μετὰ Θεοῦ δοκῇς εἶναι φυλάττου τῆς πορνείας δαίμονα, Λίαν γάρ ἐστιν ἀπατεὼν, καὶ φθονερώτατος, καὶ βούλεται ὀξύτερος εἶναι τῆς κινήσεως καὶ νήψεως του νοός σου, καὶ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ ἀποσπᾷν αὐτὸν παρεστῶτα αὐτῷ μετ' εύλαβείας, καὶ φόβου.
91. If you are cultivating prayer, get ready for attacks from the demons and endure their blows resolutely. They will assault you like wild beasts and damage. your whole body.	ϛΑ´. ̓Εὰν προσευχῆς ἐπιμελῇ, ἑτοιμάζου πρὸς ἐπαγωγὰς δαιμόνων, καὶ καρτερῶς τὰς παρ' αὐτῶν μάστιγας ὑπόμενε· ὡς γὰρ θῆρες ἄγριοι ἐπελεύσονταί σοι, καὶ πᾶν σου κακώσουσι τὸ σῶμα.
92. Prepare yourself like a skilled warrior not to be disturbed, even if you suddenly see some visage, and not to be upset, even if you see a sword drawn against you or a torch threatening to ravage your face, and not to lose your nerve, even if you see some hideous, gory shape Stand firm, making your good confession of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), and you will soon face your enemies more easily.	ϛΒ´. Παρασκευάζου ὡς ἔμπειρος ἀγωνιστὴς, κἂν ἀθρόως ἴδῃς φαντασίαν, μὴ κλονεῖσθαι, κἂν ῥομφαίαν κατὰ σοῦ ἐσπασμένην, ἢ λαμπάδα κατέχουσάν σου τὴν ὄψιν μή ταράττεσθαι, κἂν μορφήν τινα ἀηδῆ, καὶ αἱματώδη, μηδόλως καταπίπτειν σου τὴν ψυχὴν, ἀλλὰ στῆθι ὁμολογῶν τὴν καλήν σου ὁμολογίαν, καὶ ῥᾷον ἐποψῃ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου. [Φ 184-185]
93. If you endure the pains of life, you will also obtain the Joys, and anyone who is patient with unpleasant things will not be without a share in what Is pleasant.	ϛΓ´. Ὁ τὰ λυπηρὰ ὑποφέρων, καὶ τῶν περιχαρῶν τεύξεται, καὶ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ἀηδέσι καρτερῶν, τῶν ἡδέων οὐκ ἀμοιρήσει.
94. SEE that the evil demons do not deceive you with some vision: be deeply thoughtful, turn to prayer, and call upon God to enlighten you himself as to whether the idea *(noema)* comes from him; or if not, to quickly expel the deception from you. And take courage: the dogs will not withstand you, if you are experienced in wielding the staff of supplication to God against them . For they will instantly be driven far away, invisibly and secretly flogged by the power of God.	̈ 94. Ὅρα μή σε ἀπατήσωσι διά τινος ὀπτασίας οἱ πονηροὶ δαίμονες· ἀλλὰ γίνου σύννους, τρεπόμενος εἰς προσεὐχὴν καὶ παρακάλει τὸν Θεόν, ἵνα εἰ μὲν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐστι τὸ νόημα, αὐτός σε φωτίσῃ, εἰ δὲ μήγε, τὸ τάχος τὸν πλάνον ἀπελάσῃ ἀπὸ σοῦ. Καὶ θάρσει, ὡς οὐ στήσονται οἱ κύνες, σοῦ ἐμπείρως τῇ βακτηρίᾳ τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἐντεύξεως κεχρημένου εὐθέως γάρ, ἀοράτως καὶ ἀφανῶς Θεοῦ δυνάμει μαστιζόμενοι, μακρὰν ἐλασθήσονται.
95. It is also right that you should not be ignorant of this trick: at times the demons divide themselves into two parties, and if you appear to be calling for help, the second party comes on disguised as angels and drives away the first party. This is to deceive you into believing that they are holy angels.	ϛΕ´. Δίκαιόν ἐστι μηδὲ τὸν δόλον τοῦτόν σε ἀγνοεῖν, ὅτι ἐν καιρῳ μερίζονται ἑαυτοὺς οἱ δαίμονες, καὶ εἰ δόξης βοήθειαν ἐπιζητεῖν, εἰσίσιν οἱ λοιποὶ ἐν σχήμασιν ἀγγελικοῖς τοὺς πρώτους ἐξελαύνοντες, πρὸς τὸ σε ἐξαπατᾶσθαι ὑπ' αὐτῶν, τῇ γνώμῃ, ὡς δῆθεν ἁγίων ὄντων ἀγγέλων.
96. Take care to acquire great humility and courage, and no demonic spite will accost your soul and ‘the scourge will not draw near your tent, for God will give his angels charge over you to guard you’ (Ps. 90:10-11), and unseen they will chase away from you the whole enemy - maneuver.	96. Ταπεινοφροσύνης πολλῆς ἐπιμέλησαι καὶ ἀνδρείας καὶ οὐ μή σου ἐπήρεια δαιμόνων καθάψηται τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ μάστιξ οὐκ ἐγγιεῖ τῷ σκηνώματί σου, ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ διαφυλάξαι σε, καὶ ἀφανῶς ἄπασαν τὴν ἀντικειμένην ἐνέργειαν ἀποδιώξουσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ.
97. Noises, crashes, voices, and tortured [screams] will he hear - the person carefully attending to pure prayer: but he will not cave in or surrender his rationality, saying instead to God, ‘I will not fear evil things, for you are with me,’ (Ps. 22:4) and other similar [verses].	97. Ψόφους μὲν καὶ κτύπους καὶ φωνὰς καὶ αἰκισμοὺς ἐκ δαιμόνων ἀκούσεται ὁ καθαρᾶς ἐπιμελούμενος προσευχῆς, ἀλλ' οὐ συμπεσεῖται, οὐδὲ προδώσει τὸν λογισμὸν λέγων πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· Οὐ φοβηθήσομαι κακὰ, ὅτι σὺ μετ' ἐμοῦ εἶ· καὶ τὰ ὅμοια.
98. In the circumstance of these sorts of temptations, make use of a short, intense prayer.	98. ̓Εν καιρῷ τῶν τοιούτων πειρασμῶν, βραχείᾳ καὶ ἐπιτεταμένῃ προσευχῇ κέχρησο.
99. If demons threaten to appear suddenly to you out of the air to terrify you and snatch away your nous or to harm your flesh like wild beasts, do not let them fluster you, do not pay any attention at all to their threats. They are trying to frighten you, to test whether you are taking any notice of them or whether you ignore them totally.	99. ̓Εὰν ἀπειλήσωσί σοι οἱ δαίμονες ἀθρόως ἐκ τοῦ ἀέρος προφαίνεσθαι καὶ ἐκπλήττειν σε, καὶ διαρπάζειν τὸν νοῦν σου ἢ ὡς θῆρες ἀδικεῖν τὴν σάρκα σου, μὴ πτοηθῇς αὐτοὺς μηδὲ ὅλως φροντίσῃς τῆς τούτων ἀπειλῆς. ̓Εκφοβοῦσι γάρ σε πειράζοντες εἰ ἄρα προσέχεις αὐτοῖς εἰ τέλειον αὐτῶν κατεφρόνησας.
100. If it is God you are waiting on in prayer, God the Almighty, the creator of the universe, whose providence enfolds everything, why do you wait on him so irrationally as to bypass the unsurpassable fear of him and tremble at gnats and beetles? Did you not hear what was said, ‘You shall fear the Lord your God’ (Deut. 6:13) and again, ‘Whom all things fear and tremble at, before the Face of his power’ (Dan. 6:27 [Theodotion] + Joel 2:11?)?	Ρ´. Εἰ Θεῷ παντοκράτορι, καὶ δημιουργῷ, καὶ προνοητῇ τοῦ παντὸς παρίστασαι ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ, τί οὔτως ἀλόγως αὐτῷ παρέστηκας, ὡς παρελθόντα τὸν ἀνυπέρβλητον αὐτοῦ φόβον, καὶ κώνωπας, καὶ κανθάρους δεδίττεσθαι; ἢ οὐκ ἤκουσας τοῦ λέγοντος· <Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου φοβηθήσῃ;> καὶ πάλιν· <ὃν φρίττει καὶ τρέμει πάντα ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ;> καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
101. Just as bread is nourishment for the body and virtue [is nourishment] for the soul, so spiritual prayer is the nourishment for the nous.	101.[Τ 19; 79.1189] ̔́Ωσπερ ἄρτος τροφή ἐστι τῷ σώματι καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ τῇ ψυχῇ, οὕτως καὶ τῷ νῷ ἡ πνευματικὴ προσευχὴ τροφὴ ὑπαρχει.
102. Do not pray like the Pharisee, but like the publican, in the holy place of prayer, so that you too will be justified by God (Luke 18:10-14).	ΡΒ´. Μὴ φαρισαϊκῶς, ἀλλὰ τελωνικῶς προσεύχου ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τόπῳ τῆς προσευχῆς, καὶ σὺ δικαιωθῇς ὑπὸ Κυρίου.
103. Strive not to pray against anyone in your prayer, so that you will not destroy what you build by making your prayer detestable.	ΡΓ´. ̓Αγωνίζου μὴ κατεύξασθαί τινος ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ σου, ἴνα μὴ ἃ οἰκοδομεῖς καταλύσῃς βδελυκτὴν ποιῶν τὴν προσευχήν σου. [Φ186]
104. You should learn the lesson from the man who owed ten thousand talents: if you do not forgive your debtor, you will not win forgiveness for yourself. It says, 'He handed him over to the torturers.	ΡΔ´. ̔Ο χρεωφειλέτης τῶν μυρίων ταλάντων παιδευέτω σε, ὡς, εἰ μὴ ἀφήσῃς τῷ ὀφειλέτῃ, οὐδὲ αὐτὸς τεύξῃ τῆς ἀφέσεως· παρέδωκε γὰρ, φησὶν, αὐτὸν τοῖς βασανισταῖς.
105. During your service of prayer, dismiss your bodily needs, in case the bite of a flea or a louse or a gnat or a fly makes you lose the immense benefit of your prayer.	ΡΕ´. Παραπέμπου τὰς ἀνάγκας τοῦ σώματος, ἐν τῇ παραστάσει τῆς προσευχῆς, ἵνα μὴ νυττόμενος ὑπὸ ψύλλης, ἢ φθειρὸς, ἢ κώνωπος, ἢ μυίας, ζημιωθῇς τὸ μέγιστον κέρδος τῆς προσευχῆς σου.
106. A report has reached us of how, when one of the saints was praying, the evil one was so determined to stop him that, as soon as the man raised his hands, he transformed himself into a lion and, lifting his front paws straight up, fixed his claws in the champion's thighs on both sides and would not let go until he lowered his hands. But the saint did not let them fall until he had finished his usual prayers.	Ρϟ´. ̓́Ηλθεν εἰς ἡμᾶς, ὥς τινι τῶν ἁγίων προσευχομένῳ, τοσοῦτον ἀνθίστατο ὁ πονηρὸς, ὡς ἅμα τῷ ἐκτεῖναι τὰς χεῖρας, ἐκεῖνον εἰς λέοντα μετασχηματίζεσθαι, καὶ ἀνεγείρειν εἰς ὀρθὸν τοὺς ἐμπροσθίους πόδας, καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους ὄνυχας ἑκατέρωθεν ταῖς δυσὶ ψύαις ἐμπείρειν τοῦ ἀγωνιστοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἀφίστασθαι πρὶν τὰς χεῖρας κατάξει. Τον δὲ μηδὲ πώποτε ὑποχαλάσαι ταύτας ἄχρις οῦ̔ τὰς συνήθεις εὐχὰς ἀπλήρωτε.
107. Another one we know to have been like this was the monk who lived in seclusion in a pit, John the Small, I mean, or rather John the supremely great. He remained without budging from his communing with God while the demon wrapped himself round him in the form of a snake and chewed his flesh, spitting it out in his face.	ΡΖ´. Τοιοῦτον ἔγνωμεν γεγονέναι, καὶ τὸν ἐν λάκκῳ ἡσυχάσαντα ̓Ιωάννην τὸν Μικρὸν, ἤτοι ὑπερμεγέθη μοναχὸν ὃς ἀκίνητος ἔμεινεν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ συνουσίας, τοῦ δαίμονος ἐν εἴδει δράκοντος περιειλιχθέντος, καὶ μασσομένου αὐτοῦ τὰς σάρκας, καὶ τῷ προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐπερευγομένου.
108. And surely you have read the lives of the monks of Tabennesi, where it is said that while Abba Theodore was speaking a word to the brethren, two vipers crawled towards his feet; but he, undisturbed, made them a kind of chamber [with his feet] and let them stay there until he had finished his word. Then he showed them to the brethren and told them what had happened.	108. [Τ20; ] ̓Ανέγνως πάντως καὶ τοὺς βίους τῶν ταβεννησιωτῶν μοναχῶν, καθά φησι ὅτι λαλοῦντος τοῦ ἀββᾶ Θεοδώρου λόγον τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἦλθον δύο ἔχιδναι πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ἀταράχως ποιήσας αὐταῖς ὡσεὶ καμάραν, ὑπέλαβεν αὐτὰς ἔνδοθεν ἕως ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν τὸν λόγον, καὶ τότε αὐτὰς ὑπεδείκνυ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, ἐξηγούμενος τὸ πρᾶγμα.
109. And there is another spiritual brother too of whom we have read that while he was praying a snake came and fastened itself on to his foot. He did not lower his hands until he had finished his normal prayer, and he suffered no harm from loving God more than he loved himself.	ΡΘ´. Περὶ ἑτέρου πάλιν ἀνέγνωμεν πνευματικοῦ αδελφοῦ, ὅτι προσευχομένου αὐτοῦ, ἔχιδνα ἐλθοῦσα, καθήψατο τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ οὐ πρότερον καθῆκε τὰς χεῖρας, ἄχρις οὗ τὴν συνήθη ἐξετέλεσεν εὐχὴν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἐβλάβη ὁ ἀγαπήσας τὸν Θεὸν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτόν.
110. Hold your eye from wandering while you pray; deny your flesh and your soul, and live the life of the nous.	ΡΙ´. ̓Αμετεώριστον ὄμμα ἔχε ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ σου καὶ ἀρνησάμενός σου τὴν σάρκα, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν, κατὰ νοῦν ζῆθι.
111. Another holy solitary in the desert was attacked by demons while he concentrated on his prayer: for two weeks they played ball with him, tossing him up in the air and catching him in a mat. They were entirely unable to drag his nous down from its fiery prayer even for a moment.	ΡΙΑ´. ̔Ετέρῳ τινὶ εὐτόνως εὐχομένῳ ἁγίῳ ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἡσυχάζοντι, δαίμονες ἐπιστάντες ἐπὶ δύο ἑβδομάδας, τοῦτον εσφαίριζον, καὶ ἐτίνασσον εἰς τὀν ἀέρα, δεχόμενοι αὐτὸν ἐν τῳ ψιαθίῳ καὶ οὐδόλως ἴσχυσαν κατάγειν τὸν νοῦν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς ἐμπύρου προσευχῆς.
112. Then there was another lover of God who was paying attention to his prayer while he walked in the desert; two angels came and walked with him, one on either side, but he paid no attention to them at all, to make sure he did not lose what was even better. He remembered the apostolic saying that 'neither angels nor principalities nor powers will be able to separate us from the love of God' (Rom. 8:38-9).	ΡΙΒ´. Ἄλλῳ πάλιν φιλοθέῳ καὶ προσευχῆς πρόνοιαν ποιουμένῳ, ἐν ἐρήμῳ βαδίζοντι, ἄγγελοι ἐπέστησαν δύο, καὶ ἐμέσαζον αὐτὸν συνοδοιποροῦντες αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ οὐδόλως τούτοις προσεῖχεν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ κρεῖττον ζημιωθῇ. 'Εμνημόνευσε γὰρ τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ ῥητοῦ τοῦ φάσκοντος· <Οὔτε ἄγγελοι, οὔτε ἀρχαὶ, οὔτε δυνάμεις δυνήσονται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ.>

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