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St Philotheos of Sinai
(?9th-10th century)
(Volume 3, pp. 15-31)
Introductory Note
'It is not clear', states St Nikodimos, 'at what date our holy father Philotheos flourished and died.' He is known to
us solely as the author of the present work Forty Texts on Watchfulness. From his name it is evident that he was a
monk of Mount Sinai, while the content of his Forty Texts shows that he followed in the tradition of St John
Klimakos, abbot of Sinai (sixth-seventh century), whom he quotes (§20; cf §34). His spiritual teaching is also close
to that of another Sinaite author, St Hesychios the Priest (?eighth-ninth century);' the three of them may be
regarded as forming together a distinctively Sinaite 'school' of ascetic theology. Certainly later in date, then, than
Klimakos, and probably likewise later than Hesychios, Philotheos may have lived in the ninth or tenth century.
Clear and concise, the Forty Texts are especially valuable for the simple definitions that they give of key
concepts. As the title indicates, St Philotheos assigns central significance to the quality of watchfulness or spiritual
sobriety (nipsis). In common with St Hesychios, he sees this as closely connected with inner attentiveness and the
guarding of the intellect: the three notions are virtually synonymous. But he underlines, more explicitly than does
Hesychios, the importance of bodily asceticism and the keeping of the commandments; the inner and the outer
warfare go together. Like the other two members of the Sinaite 'school', he commends the invocation of the Holy
Name, 'the unceasing prayer of Jesus Christ' (§2), which has power to 'concentrate the scattered intellect' (§27),
thereby enabling it to maintain continual mindfulness of God. Particularly striking is Philotheos' insistence upon the
remembrance of death, which is to be viewed not as something morbid and 'world- denying', but rather as
enhancing the unique value of each moment of time.
Contents
Forty Texts on Watchfulness VOLUME 3: Page 16
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1 . There is within us, on the noetic plane, a warfare tougher than that on the plane of the senses. The Spiritual
worker has to press on with his intellect towards the goal (cf. Phil. 3:14), in order to enshrine perfectly the
remembrance of God in his heart like some pearl or precious stone (cf. Matt. 13:44-46). He has to give up
everything, including the body, and to disdain this present life, if he wishes to possess God alone in his heart. For the
noetic vision of God, the divine Chrysostom has said, can by itself destroy the demonic spirits.
2. When engaged in noetic warfare we should therefore do all we can to choose some spiritual practice from
divine Scripture and apply it to our intellect like a healing ointment. From dawn we should stand bravely and
unflinchingly at the gate of the heart, with true remembrance of God and unceasing prayer of Jesus Christ in the
soul; and, keeping watch with the inteUect, we should slaughter all the sinners of the land (of. Ps. 101:8. LXX).
Given over in the intensity of our ecstasy to the constant remembrance of God, we should for the Lord's sake cut off
the heads of the tyrants (cf. Hab. 3:14. LXX), that is to say, should destroy hostile thoughts at their first appearance.
For in noetic warfare, too, there is a certain divine practice and order. Thus we should force ourselves to act in this
way until it is time for eating. After this, having thanked the Lord who solely by virtue of His compassion provides
us with both spiritual and bodily food, we should devote ourselves to the remembrance of death and to meditation;
on it. The following morning we should courageously resume the same sequence of tasks. Even if we act daily in
this manner we will only just manage, with the Lord's help, to escape from the meshes of the noetic enemy. When
this pattern of spiritual practice is firmly
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established in us, it gives birth to the triad faith, hope and love. Faith disposes us truly to fear God. Hope,
transcending servile fear, binds us to the love of God, since 'hope does not disappoint' (Rom. 5:5), containing as it
does the seed of that twofold love on which hang 'the law and the prophets' (Matt. 22:40). And 'love never fails' (1
Cor. 13:8), once it has become to him who shares in it the motive for fulfilling the divine law both in the present life
and in the life to be.
3. It is veiy rare to find people whose intelligence is in a state of stillness. Indeed, such a state is only to be
found in those who through their whole manner of life strive to attract divine grace and blessing to themselves. If,
then, we seek - by guarding our intellect and by inner watchfulness - to engage in the noetic work that is the true
philosophy in Christ, we must begin by exercising self-control with regard to our food, eating and drinking as little
as possible. Watchfulness may fittingly be called a path leading both to the kingdom within us and to that which is
to be; while noetic work, which trains and purifies the intellect and changes it from an impassioned state to a state of
dispassion, is like a window full of light through which God looks, revealing Himself to the intellect.
4. Where humility is combined with the remembrance of God that is established through watchfulness and
attention, and also with recurrent prayer inflexible in its resistance to the enemy, there is the place of God, the
heaven of the heart in which because of God's presence no demonic army dares to make a stand.
5. Nothing is more unsettling than talkativeness and more pernicious than an unbridled tongue, disruptive as it
is of the soul's proper state. For the soul's chatter destroys what we build each day and scatters what we have
laboriously gathered together. What is more disastrous than this 'uncontrollable evil' (Jas. 3:8)? The tongue has to be
restrained, checked by force and muzzled, so to speak, and made to serve only what is needful. Who can describe all
the damage that the tongue does to the soul?
6. The first gate of entry to the noetic Jerusalem - that is, to attentiveness of the intellect - is the deliberate
silencing of your tongue, even though the intellect itself may not yet be still. The second gate is balanced self-
control in food and drink. The third, is ceaseless mindfulness of death, for this purifies intellect and body. Having
once experienced the beauty of this mindfulness of death, I
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was so wounded and delighted by it - in Spirit, not through the eye - that 1 wanted to make it my life's companion,
for 1 was enraptured by its loveliness and majesty, its humility and contrite joy, by how full of reflection it is, how
apprehensive of the judgment to come, and how aware of life's anxieties. It makes life-giving, healing tears flow
from our bodily eyes, while from our noetic eyes rises a fount of wisdom that delights the mmd. This daughter of
Adam - this mindfulness of death - 1 always longed, as 1 said, to have as my, companion, to sleep with, to talk with,
and to enquire from her what will happen after the body has been discarded. But unclean forgetfulness, the devil's
murky daughter, has frequently prevented this.
7. It is by means of thoughts that the spirits of evil wage a secret war against the soul. For since the soul is
invisible, these malicious powers naturally attack it invisibly. Both sides prepare their weapons, muster their forces,
devise stratagems, clash in fearful battle, gain victories and suffer defeats. But this noetic warfare lacks one feature
possessed by visible warfare: declaration of hostilities. Suddenly, with no warning, the enemy attacks the inmost
heart, sets an ambush there, and kills the soul through sin. And for what purpose is this battle waged against us? To
prevent us from doing God's will as we ask to do it when we pray 'Thy will be done'. This will is the commandments
of God. If with the Lord's help through careful watchfulness you guard your intellect from error and observe the
attacks of the demons and their snares woven of fantasy, you will see from experience that this is the case. For this
reason the Lord, foreseeing the demons' intentions by His divine power, set Himself to defeat their purpose by
laying down His commandments and by threatening those who break them.
8. Once we have in some measure acquired the habit of self-control, and have learnt how to shun visible sins
brought about through 'the five senses, we will then be able to guard the heart with Jesus, to receive His illumination
within it, and by means of the intellect to taste His goodness with a certain ardent longing. For we have been
commanded to purify the heart precisely so that, through dispelling the clouds of evil from it by continual
attentiveness, we may perceive the sun of righteousness, Jesus, as though in clear sky; and so that the principles of
His majesty may shine to some extent m the intellect. For these principles are revealed only to those who purify their
minds.
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9. We ought to make ourselves each day such as we should be when we are to appear before God. For the.
prophet Hosea says: 'Hold fast to mercy and judgment, and always draw close to your God' (Hos. 12:6. LXX).
Again, Malachi, speaking in God's name, says: 'A son honors his father, and a servant his lord. If 1 am a father,
where is the honor due to me? And if 1 am Lord, where is the fear? So says the Lord Almighty' (Mai. 1:6. LXX).
And St Paul states: 'Let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit' (2 Cor. 7:1). And again.
Wisdom says: 'Guard your heart with all diligence, for on this depends the outcome of life' (Prov. 4:23). And our
Lord Jesus Christ said: 'Cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside may also be clean' (Matt. 23:26).
10. Untimely talk sometimes provokes hatred in those who listen, sometimes - when they note the folly of our
words - abuse and derision. Sometimes it denies our conscience, or else brings upon us God's condemnation and,
worst of all, causes us to offend against the Holy Spirit.
11. If with the Lord's help you cleanse your heart and uproot sin - struggling for the knowledge that is more
divine and seeing in your intellect things invisible to most people - you must not on this account be arrogant towards
anyone. For an angel, being incorporeal, is more pure and full of spiritual knowledge than any other created thing;
yet it was an angel who, in exalting himself, fell like lightning from heaven. Thus his pride was reckoned by God as
impurity. But those who dig up gold are known to all.
12. St Paul says: 'The person engaged in spiritual warfare exercises self-control in all things' (1 Cor. 9:25). For,
bound as we are to this wretched flesh, which always 'desires in a way that opposes the Spirit' (Gal. 5:17), we cannot
when sated with food stand firm against demonic principalities, against invisible and malevolent powers; 'for the
kingdom of God is not food and drink' (Rom. 14:17), and 'the will of the flesh is hostile to God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, nor indeed can it be' (Rom. 8:7). It is clear that it cannot be because it is earthly, a compound of
humors, blood and phlegm, and always gravitating downwards. Thus it is always attached to earthly things and
relishes the corrupting pleasures of the present life. 'For the will of the flesh is death' (Rom. 8:6); and 'they that are
in the flesh cannot conform to God's will' (Rom. 8:8).
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13. Guarding the intellect with the Lord's help requires much humility, first in relation to God and then in
relation to men. We ought to do all we can to crush and humble the heart. To achieve this we should scrupulously
remember our former life in the world, recalling and reviewing in detail all the sins we have committed since
childhood (except carnal sins, for the remembrance of these is harmful). This not only induces humility but also
engenders tears and moves us to give heartfelt thanks to God. Perpetual and vivid mindfulness of death has the same
effect: it gives birth to grief accompanied by a certain sweetness and joy, and to watchfulness of intellect. In
addition, the detailed remembrance of our Lord's Passion, the recollection of what He suffered, greatly humbles and
abashes our pride, and this, too, produces tears. Finally, to recount and review all the blessings we have received
from God is truly humbling. For our battle is against proud demons.
14. Do not reject out of self-love these saving medicines of the soul. If you do, you are no disciple of Christ or
imitator of St Paul. For St Paul says: T am not fit to be called an apostle' (1 Cor. 15:9); and again: 'I was once a
blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent, insolent man' (1 Tim. 1:13). Do you see, proud man, how the saint was
not forgetful of his former life? Indeed, all the saints, from the beginning of creation to the present day, have put on
this lowliest holy cloak of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, being God incomprehensible, unknown and
ineffable, wishing to show us the way of eternal life and holiness, was clothed in humility during His whole life in
the flesh. Thus holy humility ought truly to be called a divine virtue, a royal robe and commandment. Moreover, the
angels and all the radiant and divine powers practice and preserve this virtue, knowing how Satan fell when he
became proud, and how he hes in the abyss as a fearful warning of such a fall to both angels and men. Through his
pride he proved himself in God's sight more degraded than any other created thing: We also know what fall Adam
fell through pride.
Since we have so many examples of this virtue that confers such blessings on the soul, let us follow them as
fully as possible and humble ourselves in every way. Let us humble ourselves in soul and body, in thought and will,
in words and ideas, in our outer bearing and our inner state. For unless we strive to do this we will
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turn our advocate, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God, against us. For the Lord 'ranges himself against the proud,
but gives grace to the humble' (Jas. 4:6); and: 'Everyone that is arrogant is unclean before the Lord' (Proy. 16:5.
LXX): and: 'He who humbles himself will be exalted' (Matt. 23:12)' and: 'Learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart' (Matt. 1 1 :29). So we must be careful.
15. Our Savior says: 'Watch yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness and
worldly cares' (Luke 21:34); and St Paul says: 'The person engaged in spiritual warfare exercises self-control in all
things' (1 Cor. 9:25). Aware of all that is said to us in divine Scripture, let us lead our life with self-control,
especially in regard to food. Let us accustom our body to virtuous and orderly habits, nourishing it with moderation.
For in this way the upsurges of the soul's desiring power are more easily calmed and subdued by its sovereign
aspect, the intelligence; and in fact the same is true where the soul's mcensive power is concerned, as well as our
other faults. For those with experience regard virtue as consisting in an all-inclusive self-control, that is, in the
avoidance of every kind of evil. For the pre-eminent source of purity is God, the source and giver of all blessings;
but next comes self-control with regard to food, exercised in the same regular manner each day.
16. It is through us that Satan fights God, trying to nullify God's will, embodied as it is in the divine and life-
giving commandments, by preventing us from carrying them out. Similarly, it is through us, and through the help
which He gives us, that God seeks to accomplish His holy- will and so to defeat the devil's lethal purpose. In vain
does the devil strive to oppose God by making men disobey the commandments; for God in His turn uses human
weakness to overthrow the devil's schemes. And you can see that this is the case. For it is evident that all the
commandments of the Gospel legislate for the tripartite soul and make it healthy through what they enjoin. They do
not merely seem to make it healthy, but they actually have this effect. The devil, on the other hand, fights day and
night against the tripartite soul. But if he fights against it, it is clear that he fights against Christ's commandments,
since Christ legislates for the tripartite soul through the commandments. The three parts of
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the soul are represented by its incensive power, its desiring power and its intelligence.
Note how Christ says, 'Whoever is angry with his brother without good cause will be brought to judgment'
(Matt. 5:22), and then tells us how anger may be healed. But the enemy in his turn tries to subvert this
commandment by stirring up strife and thoughts of rancor and envy within us. For he too knows that the intelligence
should control the mcensive power; and so, by bombarding the intelligence with evil thoughts-with thoughts of
envy, strife, contention, guile, self-esteem-he persuades the intelligence to abandon its control, to hand the reins over
to the-incensive power, and to let the latter go unchecked. And the incensive power, having so to speak unseated its
rider, disgorges through the mouth in the form of words all those things stored up in the heart as a result of the
devil's wiles and the intellect's negligence. And the heart is then seen to be full, not of the divine Spirit and of
godlike thoughts, but of evil. It is as the Lord said: 'The mouth expresses what fills the heart' (Matt. 12:34). For if the
devil can induce the person he has taken possession of to utter what is harbored within, then that person will not
merely call his brother 'dolt' or 'fool' but may well pass from insulting words to murder. It is in these ways that the
devil fights against God and the commandment God gave about not being angry with one's brother without good
cause. But the insulting words and their consequences could have been avoided had their initial provocations been
expelled from the heart through prayer and attentiveness. Thus the devil achieves his purpose when he makes us
break God's commandment by means of the thoughts that he insinuates into the heart.
17. What does the Lord command where the appetitive aspect or desiring power of the soul is concerned?
'Whoever looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart' (Matt. 5:28). Aware of
this injunction, the devil weaves a kind of mental net in order to undermine its effect. He does not attack us by
exciting desire through an actual physical woman, but he operates inwardly by projecting into our intellect
lascivious figures and images, and by insinuating words that rouse desire, and by other methods of this kind which
those who have experience of the intellect know about.
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18. What commandments are directed at the intelligence? 'I tell you, never swear an oath... but simply say "Yes"
and "No"' (Matt. 5:34, 37); and: 'He who does not renounce everything and follow Me is not worthy of Me' (cf
Matt. 10:37-38); and: 'Enter through the narrow gate' (Matt. 7: 13). These are instructions to the intelligence. Again,
the enemy - wanting to overpower the intelligence, a skilled commander - first addles its wits with gluttonous and
promiscuous thoughts, treating it derisively and dismissing it from its command as though it were a drunken general;
then he uses anger and desire as servants of his own will. Free in this way from the control of the intelligence, these
powers-the desiring and the mcensive powers-use the five senses as aids in sinning openly. And these are the sins
into which we then fall: our eyes become inquisitive, not having the intellect controlling them from within; our ears
love to hear frivolous things; our sense of smell becomes effeminate and our tongue unbridled, and our hands touch
what they ought not to touch. With this goes injustice instead of justice, folly instead of moral judgment,
licentiousness instead of self-restraint, slavishness instead of courage. For these four principal virtues - justice,
moral judgment, self-restraint and courage-govern the three aspects of the soul. When these aspects are properly
guided, they keep the senses away from degrading things. Then the intellect, tranquil, its powers with God's help
under control and tractable, fights the noetic battle readily and bravely. But if, being inattentive, it is defeated by the
devil's provocations and its powers, are thrown into confusion, it breaks the divine commandments. Such violation,
if not followed by the appropriate degree of repentance, will certainly lead to chastisement in the future. The
intellect, consequently, should always be watchful. In this way it maintains its natural state and is a true guardian of
the divine commandments.
19. The soul is walled off, fenced in and bound with chains of darkness by the demonic spirits. Because of the
surrounding darkness she cannot pray as she wants to, for she is fettered inwardly, and her inner eyes are blind. Only
when she begins to pray to God, and to acquire watchfulness while praying, will she be freed from this darkness
through prayer. Otherwise she will remain a prisoner. For through prayer the soul discovers that there
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is in the heart another fight and another hidden type of opposition, and a different kind of warfare against the
thoughts provoked by the evil spirits. Holy Scripture bears witness to this when it says Tf the spirit of the ruler rises
up against you, do not desert your place' (Eccles. 10:4). The place of the intellect is its firm stand in virtue and to
watchfulness. For one can take a firm stand with respect to virtue and vice. Thus the psalmist says: 'Blessed is the
man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and has not stood in the path of sinners' (Ps. 1:1); and St
Paul says: 'Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth' (Eph.6:14).
20. With all our strength let us hold fast to Christ, for there are always those who struggle to deprive our soul of
His presence; and let us take care lest Jesus withdraws because of the evil thoughts that crowd our soul (cf. John
5:13). Yet we will not manage to hold Him without great effort on the soul's part. Let us study His life in the flesh,
so that in our own life we may be humble. Let us absorb His sufferings, so that by emulating Him we may endure
our afflictions patiently. Let us savor His ineffable incarnation and His work of salvation on our behalf, so that from
the sweet taste in our soul we may know that the Lord is bountiful (cf. Ps. 34:8). Also, and above all, let us
unhesitatingly trust in Him and in what He says; and let us daily wait on His providence towards us. And whatever
form it takes, let us accept it gratefully, gladly and eagerly, so that we may learn to look only to God, who governs
all things in accordance with the divine principles of His wisdom. If we do all these things, we are not far from God;
for godliness is 'perfection that is never complete', as one who was divinely inspired and-spiritually perfect has said.'
21. He who really redeems his life, always dwelling on the thought and remembrance of death, and wisely
withholding the intellect from the passions, is in a far better position to discern the continual presence of demonic
provocations than the man who chooses to live without being mindful of death. The latter, by purifying the heart
through spiritual knowledge alone, but not keeping in mind any thought of grief, may sometimes appear to control
all the destructive passions by his skill; yet he is unwittingly fettered by
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one of them, the worst aU - pride, into which, abandoned by God, he sometimes falls. Such a person mast be very
vigilant lest, deluded by conceit, he becomes deranged. For, as St Paul says (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6, 18, 19; 8:1), souls that
gather knowledge from here and there tend to become .haughty and disdainful towards their inferiors, as they regard
them; they lack the spark of the love which builds up. But he who all the day long is mindful of death discerns the
assaults of the demons more keenly; and he counterattacks and repels them.
22. The blessed remembrance of God - which is the very presence of Jesus - with a heart full of wrath and a
saving animosity against the demons, dissolves all trickeries of thought, plots, argumentation, fantasies, obscure
conjectures and, in short, everything with which the destroyer arms himself and which he insolently deploys in his
attempt to swallow our souls. When Jesus is invoked. He promptly bums up everything. For our salvation lies in
Christ Jesus alone. The Savior Himself made this clear when He said: 'Without Me you can do nothing' (John 15:5).
23. At every hour and moment let us guard the heart with all diligence from thoughts that obscure the soul's
mirror; for in that mirror Jesus Christ, the wisdom and power of God the Father (cf. 1 Cor. 1:24), is typified and
luminously reflected. And let us unceasingly seek the kingdom of heaven inside our heart (cf. Luke 17:21), the seed
(cf. Luke 13:19), the pearl (cf. Matt. 13: 45) and the leaven (cf. Matt. 13:33). Indeed, if we cleanse the eye of the
intellect we will find all things hidden within us. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ said that the kingdom of heaven
is within us, indicating that the Divinity dwells in our hearts.
24. Watchfulness cleanses the conscience and makes it lucid. Thus cleansed, it immediately shines out like a
light that has been uncovered, banishing much darkness. Once this darkness has been banished through constant and
genuine watchfulness, the conscience then reveals things hidden from us. Through the intellect it teaches us how to
fight the unseen war and the mental battle by means of watchfulness, how we must throw spears when engaged in
single combat and strike with well-aimed lances of thought, and how the intellect must escape being hit and' avoid
the noxious darkness by hiding itself in Christ, the tight for which it longs. He who has tasted this light will
understand what I am talking about.
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The soul is never sated with it, but the more it feeds on it, the hungry it grows. It is a light that attracts the intellect as
the sun the eye. Inexplicable, it yet becomes explicable through experience. This experience I have known or, more
precisely, I have been wounded by it; but it commands me to be silent, even though my intellect would delight in
speaking of it. 'Pursue peace with all men and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord' (Heb. 12:14). Do
this in order to acquire love and purity, for these are peace and holiness.
25. You must direct your wrath only against the demons, for they wage war upon us through our thoughts and
are full of anger against us. As regards the manner of the hourly warfare within us, listen and act accordingly.
Combine prayer with inner watchfulness, for watchfulness purifies prayer, while prayer purifies watchfulness. It is
through unceasing watchfulness that we can perceive what is entering into us and can to some extent close the door
against it, calling upon our Lord Jesus Christ to repel our malevolent adversaries. Attentiveness obstructs the
demons by rebutting them; and Jesus, when invoked, disperses them together with all their fantasies.
26. Be extremely strict in guarding your intellect. When you perceive an evil thought, rebut it and immediately
call upon Christ to defend you; and while you are still speaking, Jesus in His gentle love will say: 'Behold, I am by
your side ready to help you.' When this whole detachment of the enemy has been put out of action through prayer,
again turn your attention to your intellect. There you will see a succession of waves worse than before, with the soul
swimming among them. But again, awakened by His disciple, Jesus as God will rebuke the winds of evil (cf. Matt.
8:23-27). Having found respite for an hour perhaps, or for a moment, glorify Him who has saved you, and meditate
on death.
27. Let us go forward with the heart completely attentive and the soul fully conscious. For if attentiveness and
prayer are daily joined together, they become like Elijah's fire-bearing chariot (cf 2 Kgs. 2:11), raising us to heaven.
What do I mean? A spiritual heaven, with sun, moon and stars, is formed in the blessed heart of one who has
reached a state of watchfulness, or who strives to attain it; for such a heart, as a result of mystical contemplation and
ascent, is enabled to contain within itself the uncontainable God. If,
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then, you aspire to holiness. Cry with God's help to invoke the Lord and wholeheartedly to turn words into actions.
By restraining with a certain forcefulness the five senses through which the soul can be injured, you with certainly
make the struggle within the heart lighter for the intellect. So, by means of certain ploys, keep out all external
enemies, and with incorporeal. God-given weapons fight against the thoughts .which they produce inside you. Avert
sensual pleasure through strenuous vigils, and be sparing in food and drink. Keep the body properly slim so that you
reduce the burden of the heart's warfare, with full benefit to yourself. Chastise your soul with the thought of death,
and through remembrance of Jesus Christ concentrate your scattered intellect. It is particularly at night that the
intellect grows lucid in its radiant contemplation of God and of divine realities.
28. We should not reject the practice of bodily asceticism; for as wheat comes from the earth, so from such
practice grows spiritual joy and benediction. Nor should we try to evade our conscience when it speaks to us of
things conducive to salvation that we ought to do, and constantly tells us what is right and what is our duty. This it
does especially when purified through active, applied, and meticulous watchfulness of intellect; for then, owing to
its pure state, the judgments of the conscience tend to be all-embracing, to the point, and indisputable. So it should
not be evaded, since it tells us inwardly how to live in conformity to God's will, and by severely censuring the soul
when the mind has been infected by sins, and by admonishing the erring heart to repent, it provides welcome
counsel as to how our defective state can be cured.
29. Smoke from wood kindling a fire troubles the eyes; but then the fire gives them light and gladdens them.
Similarly, unceasing attentiveness is irksome; but when, invoked in prayer, Jesus draws near. He illumines the heart;
for remembrance of Him confers on us spiritual enlightenment and the highest of all blessings.
30. Forcing his way into our intellect, our enemy tries to compel us - created in God's image though we are - to
eat the dust and to creep on our bellies as he does (of. Gen. 3:14). This is why God says: 'I will put enmity between
you and him' (of. Gen. 3:16). Hence we must always breathe God, so that we are
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never wounded by the devil's fiery darts (cf. Eph. 6:16). 'I shall protect him'. He says, 'because he has known My
name' (Ps. 91:14. LXX); and: 'His salvation is near those who fear Him' (Ps. 85:9).
31. St Paul, the 'chosen vessel' (Acts 9:15) who spoke In Christ' (2 Cor. 2:17), out of his great experience of
invisible noetic warfare wrote to the Ephesians: 'We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against demonic
principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in the celestial
regions' (Eph. 6:12). And the Apostle Peter says: 'Be watchful, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Stand against him, steadfast in faith' (1 Pet. 5:8). And our
Lord Jesus Christ, speaking of the various attitudes of those who hear the words of the Gospel, says: 'Then comes
the devil, and snatches the word out of their hearts' - that is to say, he steals it by inducing them to forget it - 'lest
they should believe and be saved' (Luke 8: 12). And again Paul says: 'For with the inward man I delight in the law of
God; but I see another law ... warring against the law of my intellect, and bringing me into captivity' (Rom. 7:22-
23). They said these things to instruct and enlighten us about what we fail to perceive.
32. In the absence of self-reproach and humility, spiritual knowledge puffs us up, making us feel superior to
others (cf. 1 Cor. 8: 1). But if we are aware of our own weakness we will keep in mind Paul's words when he says:
'My brethren, it is not as though I had already grasped it or were already perfect... but forgetting what lies behind,
and reaching forward to what lies in front, I pursue my purpose, aiming at the prize of the high calling of God' (Phil.
3:13-14). And again; 'I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box by beating the air with my fists. But I discipline my body
harshly, and bring it into subjection; for I fear lest, after preaching to others, I myself should be cast away' (1 Cor.
9:26-27). Do you not see how humility is a road to holiness, and what humility the great. St Paul had? He said:
'Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst' ( 1 Tim. 1:15). Should we not humble ourselves,
then, because of the lowliness of our nature? For what is more lowly than day? And we must be mindful of God,
since we have been created for this. But we must also practice
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self-control, so that with our Lord's help we may advance unhampered in the spiritual life.
33. The person who gives himself over to evil thoughts cannot keep his outer self free from sin; and if evil
thoughts have not been uprooted from the heart, they are .bound to manifest themselves in evil actions. We look on
things adulterously because the inner eye has become adulterous and darkened; and we want to hear about foul
things because our soul's ears have listened to what the foul demons inside us have whispered to us. Consequently,
with the Lord's help, we must cleanse ourselves -withm and without. We must guard our senses and free each of
them from impassioned and sinful influences. And just as, ignorant and full of futility, we used to live in the world
with intellect and senses enslaved to the deceit of sin, so now, having changed to the life according to God, we must
dedicate intellect and senses to the service of the living and true God, and of God's justice and will.
34. First there is provocation; then a coupling with the provocation; then assent to it; then captivity to it; then
passion, grown habitual and continuous. This is how the holy fathers describe the stages through which the devil
gets the better of us.
35. Provocation, they say, is a thought still free from passion, or an image newly engendered in the heart and
glimpsed by the intellect. Coupling is to commune with this thought or image, in either an impassioned or a
dispassionate way. Assent is the pleasurable acceptance by the soul of the thing seen. Captivity is the forcible and
enforced abduction of the heart, or persistent intercourse with the object, disrupting even our best state. Passion, in
the strict sense, they define as that which lurks impassionably in the soul over a long period. Of these stages the first
is sinless; the second, not altogether free from sin; the sinfulness of the third stage depends on our inner state; and
the struggle itself brings us either punishment or crowns of victory.
36. Captivity is one thing at the time of prayer, another when we are not engaged in prayer. Passion, however,
incontestably leads either to a corresponding repentance or to future chastisement. But the person who rebuffs
the initial provocation, or who regards
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it dispassionately, has at one stroke cut off all the sinful stages that follow. Such, then, is the strategy employed by
the evil demons in their war against both those who are monks and those who are not; and the issue is either defeat
or victory, as we have said. The victors are rewarded with crowns; those who fall and do not repent are punished. So
let us wage noetic war against the demons, lest we translate their evil purposes into sinful actions. Let us cut sin out
of our heart, and we will find within us the kingdom of heaven (cf. Luke 17:21 ). Let us preserve our heart's purity
and always be filled with deep compunction towards God through this best of undertakings.
37. Many monks are not aware how the demons deceive the intellect. Being naive and undeveloped, they tend
to give all their attention to the practice of the virtues and do not bother about the intellect. They move through life, I
fear, without having tasted purity of heart, and are totally ignorant of the darkness of the passions within. Such
people, unaware of the battle about which Paul speaks (cf. Eph. 6:12) and not imbued with personal experience of
true goodness, regard as lapses only those sins which are actually put into effect. They do not take into account the
defeats and the victories that occur on the plane of thought, for these, bemg internal, cannot be seen by natural sight
and are known only to God our judge, and to the conscience of the spiritual contestant. I take it that the scriptural
words, 'They said, "Peace", but there was no peace' (Ezek. 13:10), apply to such people. The other brethren pray for
them in their simplicity, and as best they can teach them to avoid the actual commission of sin. But for those who
have a divine desire to cleanse the vision of the soul there is another form of activity in Christ and another mystery.
38. Vivid mindfulness of death embraces many virtues. It begets grief; it promotes the exercise of self-control in
all things; it is a reminder of hell; it is the mother of prayer and tears; it induces guarding of the heart and
detachment from material things; it is a source of attentiveness and discrimination. These in their turn produce the
twofold fear of God. In addition, the purging of impassioned thoughts from the heart embraces many of the Lord's
commandments. The harsh hour-by-hour struggle in which so many athletes of Christ are engaged has as its aim
precisely this purging of the heart.
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39. An unexpected event or misfortune considerably disrupts the mind's attentiveness; and, by dislodging the
intellect from its concentration on higher realities and from its noble state of virtue, it diverts it towards sinful
quarrelsomeness and wrangling. The cause of this overthrow is assuredly our lack of attention to the enemy's
attacks.
40. None of the painful things that happen to us every day will injure or distress us once we perceive and
continually meditate on their purpose. It is on account of this that St Paul says: 'I take delight in weakness, insults
and hardships' (2 Cor. 12:10); and: 'AH who seek to live a holy life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution' (2 Tim.
3:12). To Him be glory through all the ages. Amen.
[V3] 32
Ilias the Presbyter
{? Late 11th — early 12 century)
(Volume 3, pp. 32-65)
Introductory Note
'Ilias the Presbyter and Ekdikos', as he is called in the manuscripts, was - so his designation suggests - a lawyer who
subsequently entered the ranks of the clergy. The title ekdikos signifies a judge attached to the ecclesiastical court at
the Great Church of the Holy Wisdom ('St Sophia') in Constantinople. Evidently Ilias resigned from this legal post,
becoming in all probability a monk before his ordination to the priesthood. He seems to have lived around the end of
the eleventh or the beginning of the twelfth century. It is possible, although not certain, that he knew the writings of
St Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022), whose influence some have detected in what Ilias says about tears and
the divine light. He cannot in any case be later than the twelfth century, since the earliest manuscript of his work
dates from this time. He may be the same person as Ilias, Metropolitan of Crete in the early twelfth century, the
author of commentaries on St Gregory of Nazianzos and St John Klimakos.'
In the surviving manuscripts A Gnomic Anthology appears variously under the names of St John of Karpathos
(?seventh century)," St Maximos the Confessor (580-662),^ and Ilias himself. Almost certainly the third of these
attributions is correct. Although styled an 'anthology', the work is not in fact a collection of excerpts from other
authors but is Ilias' own composition. It is divided into four sections, each preceded by a couplet in verse. (The
Greek Philokalia provides
' St Nikodimos suspends judgment here. The identification is accepted by V. Laurent, in Kevue des etudes byzamines xvi (19(8). pp. 121 — 5,
and in Diawnnaire d'histoire et de geographic tcclesiasiKfnes xv (1963), col. 187-8; but it is denied by M.-Th. Disdier, 'Elic I'Ecdicos et les
hetera kephalaia attribucs a saint Maxime le Confesseur et a Jean de Carpathos', Echos d'Oncnt xxxi (i»}2), pp. 17-43. On the theology of llias,
see also M.-Th. Disdier, 'La vie spirituelle scion Elie I'Ecdicos', Echos d'Onem xxxi (1952), pp. 144-64; J. Darrouzes, m Dicuonnam de spimuahif
iv (1960), col. nfr-8; N. G. Politis, "The path to contemplation in llias the Ekdikos' (in Greek), Epetiris Hetairew Vyzantinon Spoudon xliii
(1977—8), pp. 345—64.
' See The Philokalia, vol. i, p. 297.
' Op. cit., vol. ii (London &. Boston, 1981), p. 48.
[V3] 33
Introductory Note
continuous numbering for parts I-II, and likewise for parts III-IV, but there are in reality four parts, not two.) The
poetic epigraphs provide a general indication of the contents of each section:
Part I: moral teaching (fasting, ascetic effort, the vices and virtues, with special emphasis on humility).
Part II: prayer.
Part III: spiritual contemplation (with particular reference to 'natural contemplation' or the 'contemplation of
nature', that is, knowledge of the inner essences or principles of created things - of what in III, 1 3 are termed 'the
world's foundations').
Part IV: the practice of the virtues (praxis) and contemplation (theoria) (taking up all the main themes mentioned
in the earlier parts).
llias delights in vivid imagery taken from the world of nature, and also employs the nuptial symbolism of the
Song of Songs. Like St Maximos, he makes a clear distinction between 'thought', on the discursive and rational
level, and 'intellection', understood as the non-discursive apprehension of spiritual truth (III, 1-5). Following
Evagrios, he speaks about a vision of the innate 'luminosity' of the intellect (II, 82, 89); beyond this, there is the
higher vision of the divine light, in which the body also shares (II, 104-6). Here the Gnomic Anthology points
forward to the teaching of the fourteenth-century Hesychasts, especially St Gregory Palamas. Four times llias refers
to evchi monologistos, 'single -phrased prayer' (II, 94, 104; IV, 65, 75), a term that links him with the Sinaite 'school'.
In St John Klimakos this expression, used with the additional word lisoii, 'of Jesus', definitely signifies the Jesus
Prayer,' and in our translation we have taken the view that llias means it in the same sense, although in the Greek he
does not actually add the qualification 'of Jesus'.
In making our English version we have compared the text in the Greek Philokalia with that found among the
works of St Maximos (P.G. xc, 1401-61): the latter frequently, but by no means invariably, gives a better sense.
Subtle and highly concentrated, the short paragraphs of the Gnomic Anthology disclose their true meaning only if
read with unusually close attention. Few other authors have been able, in so short a space, to provide such a
comprehensive guide to the spiritual way.
'Ladder, Step 15 (8890; E.T, p. 154).
Contents
A Gnomic Anthology
Parti VOLUME 3: Page 34
Part II 43
Part III 47
Part IV 52
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Ilias the Presbyter
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Parti
Here you will find, if you truly search,
Afiowing spring, a pure fount of moral teaching.
1 . No Christian believing rightly in God should ever be off his guard. He should always be on the look-out for
temptation, so that when it comes he will not be surprised or disturbed, but will gladly endure the toil and affliction
it causes, and so will understand what he is saying when he chants with the prophet: 'Prove me, Lord, and try me'
(Ps. 26:2. LXX). For the prophet did not say, 'Thy correction has destroyed me', but, 'it has upheld me to the end'
(Ps. 18:35. LXX).
2. The first step towards excellence is fear of God, the last is loving desire for Him.
3. The first step towards perfection is spiritual knowledge put into practice and practice imbued with spiritual
knowledge. For practice without such knowledge is of no value, and so is such knowledge when unaccompanied by
practice.
4. Practice where the body is concerned consists of fasting and vigil; where the mouth is concerned it consists of
psalmody. But prayer is better than psalmody, and silence is more valuable than speech. In the case of the hands,
practice is what they do uncomplainingly; and of the feet, it is what they do as soon as they are urged to do it.
5. Where the soul is concerned, practice is self-control accompanied by simplicity, and simplicity animated by
self-control.
6. In the case of the intellect, practice is prayer in contemplation and contemplation in prayer.
7. Mercy and truth precede all the other virtues. They in their turn produce humility and so discrimination; for,
according to the fathers,
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discrimination conies from humility. Without discrimination, neither practice nor spiritual knowledge can fulfill its
purpose. For practice uncontrolled by such knowledge strays here and there aimlessly, like a calf; while knowledge
that refuses to clothe itself in the honorable vesture of practice lacks nobility, however much it may pretend to
possess it.
8. A courageous soul acts correctly when it is master of both practice and contemplation, like a woman who keeps
two lamps burning throughout her hfe. But a soul debilitated by sensual pleasure fails to do what it should.
9. Suffering deliberately embraced cannot free the soul totally from sin unless the soul is also tried in the fire of
suffering that comes unchosen. For the soul is like a sword: if it does not go 'through fire and water' (Ps. 66:12.
LXX) - that is, through suffering deliberately embraced and suffering that comes unchosen - it cannot but be
shattered by the blows of fortune.
10. Trials and temptations subject to our volition are chiefly caused by health, wealth and reputation, and those
beyond our control by sickness, material losses and slander. Some people are helped by these things, others are
destroyed by them.
11. Desire and distress subsist in the soul; sensual pleasure and pain in the body. Sensual pleasure gives rise to
pain, and pain to sensual pleasure (for, wanting to escape the wearisome feeling of pain, we take refuge in sensual
pleasure); while desire results in distress.
12. The virtuous may appear to be bad, but essentially they are good; superficially the self-important and pleasure-
loving may appear to be good, but basically they are evil.
13. The person who hates evil commits it but seldom and then not intentionally. But the person attached to the
causes of evil commits it frequently and deliberately.
14. Those who deliberately refuse to repent sin continually; those who sin without meaning to not only repent
with all their heart, but also do not often have cause to repent.
15. Let your words combine insight and self-awareness, so that the peaceable divine Logos may not be ashamed
to enshrine Himself in them because of their brashness and lack of restraint.
16. A person may have sullied his soul with words even if he has not degraded it by actions; and he may still be
impure in his
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thoughts even if he watches over his words. For there are three different ways of sinning.
17. You will not be able to perceive the face of virtue so long as you still look on vice with a feeling of pleasure.
But vice will appear hateful to you when you hunger for the taste of virtue and avert your gaze from every form of
evil.
18. Demons wage war against the soul primarily through thoughts, not through things; for things fight against us
in their own right. Hearing and sight are responsible for the warfare waged through things, habit and the demons for
that waged through thoughts.
19. The soul is liable to sin in three ways: in actions, in words, and in thoughts. We attain freedom from sin in six
ways: by preserving the purity of the five senses and of the spoken word. Whoever succeeds in doing this is indeed
perfect, capable also of keeping every aspect of the body under control.
20. The soul's non-intelligent or passible aspect consists of the five senses and the faculty of speech. When in a
state of dispassion, the faculty of speech is preserved fully integrated with the soul's passible aspect; but when in an
impassioned state, it receives the evil influences that the passible aspect communicates to it.
21. The body cannot be purified without fasting and vigil, the soul without mercy and truth, and the intellect
without contemplation of God and communion with Him. These pairs constitute the principal virtues in these three
aspects of the human person.
22. When the soul moves in obedience to these virtues, her citadel - patient endurance - is not disturbed by
temptations. 'You will gain possession of your souls through your patient endurance' (Luke 21:19), says the Logos.
Otherwise the soul will be shaken by fits of cowardice, as an unwalled city is by a distant uproar.
23. Not all those who are discreet in their words are also circumspect in their thought. Nor are all those who are
circumspect in their thought also discreet where their external senses are concerned. For although all men are subject
to the senses, not all pay them the same amount of tribute. In their artlessness, most men do not know the price the
senses demand for what they supply.
24. Although moral judgment is by nature indivisible, there are none the less different degrees of it One person
may be given more of it, another less, so that practical virtue, having grown with the help of the principal virtues,
may bring to fruition in each person the
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goodness of which he is capable. But most people fail to a greater or lesser degree to practice the virtues, and the
degree of moral judgment granted to them varies accordingly.
25. Few are circumspect with regard to what is according to nature, but many with regard to what is contrary to
nature. For having expended out of fear all their intrinsic quota of circumspection on what is contrary to nature, they
have little left to exercise with regard to what is according to nature. Indeed, they expend most of it on superfluous
things and what is by nature worthless.
26. A sense of the right moment and a sense of proportion go hand in hand with an intelligent silence. Truth is the
banquet of all the three together. Where there is such a banquet, the father of lies, confronting a soul as it departs
from this life, will not find in it any of the things he looks for.
27. A truly merciful person is not one that deliberately gives away superfluous things, but one that forgives those
who deprive him of what he needs.
28. Some men through acts of charity acquire spiritual wealth by means of material wealth; others renounce their
material wealth altogether on becoming aware of the spiritual wealth that is inexhaustible.
29. Everyone likes to be rich in spiritual blessings, but it is grievous to be rich in such blessings and not to be
allowed to enjoy them for long.
30. From the outside a soul may appear to be healthy, while within, in the depths of consciousness, it may suffer
from some hidden sickness. It can be healed from the outside through being pierced by reproof, and from within
through the renewal of the intellect. Whoever, then, rejects such reproof, and shamelessly continues to lie on his bed
in the sickroom of lethargy, is a fool.
3 1 . Do not be angry with a person who unwittingly operates on you like a surgeon. Look rather at the abomination
he has removed and, blaming yourself, bless him because through God's grace he has been of such service to you.
32. If you are concerned for your soul's health, do not despair of your sickness as though it were incurable; but
apply to it the potent medicine of ascetic effort and you will get rid of it.
33. Do not shun the person who opportunely berates you; but go to him and he will show you how much evil lies
hidden from your
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consciousness. Once you have swallowed the bitter and nauseous draught, you will taste the sweet nourishment of
health.
34. The greater the pain that you feel, the more you should welcome the person whose reproof makes you feel it.
For he is bringing about within you that total purification without which your intellect cannot attain the pure state of
prayer.
35. When you are reproved, you ought either to remain silent, or else gently to defend yourself to your accuser —
not indeed in order to gain his approval, but to help him rise up in case he has stumbled by reproving you in
ignorance.
36. If someone is rightly offended with you, but you repent before he calls on you to do so, you lose nothing; but
if you repent only after you have been asked to, you forfeit half the harvest. If you never cause estrangement by
giving offence to others, you recover all the seed that you sowed; but if you always put the blame on yourself, you
gain in addition more than you originally laid out.
37. A haughty person is not aware of his faults, or a humble person of his good Qualities. An evil ignorance blinds
the first, an ignorance pleasing to God blinds the second.
38. As regards his good qualities, the proud man does not want to be compared with his equals; but as regards his
failings, he is quite content to be compared with those worse than himself.
39. Reproof strengthens the soul, whereas praise debilitates it and makes it even more sluggish in its spiritual
struggle.
40. The substance of wealth is gold; of virtue, humility. Just as he who lacks gold is poor, even though this may
not be outwardly apparent, so the spiritual aspirant who lacks humility is not virtuous.
41. Lacking gold, a merchant is not a merchant, even though he may be very skilful in trading; similarly, lacking
humility, a spiritual aspirant will never possess the joys of virtue, however great the confidence he places in his own
intelligence.
42. The higher a man ascends in humility, the lower he appears in his own eyes; but if he lacks humility, the
higher he appears. The humble man does not wish to be compared even with the most lowly, and is grieved when he
is given first place at table (cf Luke 14:7-10).
43. It is good for the spiritual aspirant to regard a task as beyond him, but to be in his actions superior to this
diffidence. In this way he will both earn men's respect and in God's sight will be 'a worker who has no cause to be
ashamed' (2 Tim. 2:25).
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44. He who is afraid of being cast out of the bridal chamber as an interloper (cf. Matt. 22:1 1-13) should either
carry out all God's commandments, or else should strive to fulfill just one of them - humility.
45. Combine simplicity with self-control, and unite truth with humility, and you will keep house with justice, at
whose table every other virtue likes to gather.
46. Truth without humility is blind. That is why it becomes contentious: it tries to support itself on something, and
finds nothing except rancor.
47. A good character testifies to the beauty of virtue, just as soundness of body bears witness to a peaceful soul.
48. It is best not to go astray at all. Second best is not to hide your error through shame, or be shameless about it,
but to humble yourself and, when reproved, to reprove yourself likewise, gladly accepting the punishment. If you do
not do this, everything you offer to God is valueless.
49. In addition to voluntary suffering, you must also accept that which comes against your will - 1 mean slander,
material losses and sickness. For if you do not accept these but rebel against them, you are like someone who wants
to eat his bread only with honey, never with salt. Such a man does not always have pleasure as his companion, but
always has nausea as his neighbor.
50. He who washes his neighbor's garment with inspired words, or who sews it up by contributing to his needs,
has the outward appearance of a servant, but is really a master. But when he acts in this way he must be careful to do
so truly as a servant, lest by growing conceited he loses both his reward and his proper rank.
51. Just as faith gives substance to the things for which we hope (cf. Heb. 11:1), so moral judgment gives
substance to the soul and humility to virtue. And it is extraordinary how things perfect in themselves become
imperfect when deprived of the qualities that should be associated with them.
52. 'The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in' (Ps. 121:8): that is. He will enable you by means of
self-control to watch over the food you-take in and the words you give out. For the person who exercises self-control
over food and speech escapes the desire that enters through the eyes, and calms the anger that issues from a
disordered mind. The spiritual aspirant must exercise the greatest
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care and exert himself in every way in relation to these two passions. By so doing he will strengthen his practice of
the virtues and put his contemplation on a sound basis.
53. Some are most careful about the food they take in but negligent about the words they give out. To adapt
Ecclesiastes (11:10. LXX), such men do not know how to remove anger from the heart or desire from the flesh.
Only through the removal of these things is a pure heart established within us by the renewing Spirit (cf Ps. 51:10).
54. You can achieve frugality by lowering the quantity of your food, and smlessness in speech by raising the
quality of your silence.
55. Sear your loins by abstaining from food, and prove your heart by controlling your speech, and you will
succeed in bringing the desiring and mcensive powers of your soul into the service of what is noble and good.
56. Sexual desire diminishes in the spiritual aspirant once the body has passed its prime; but gluttony continues
unless properly disciplined. You must try to prevent the disgrace of the effect by removing its cause; otherwise in
the life to come you will be found lacking in the virtue of self-control and will be covered with shame.
57. The ascetic has to know when and by means of what foods to treat the body as an enemy, when to encourage
it as a friend, and when to succor it as an invalid. Otherwise he may unwittingly offer to the friend what is proper for
the enemy, or to the enemy what is proper for the friend, and to the invalid what is proper for either of the other two;
and having alienated all three he may find them fighting against him in time of temptation.
58. If, when eating, the nourishment in your food is more important to you than its savor, then the grace of tears
will be given to you and you will begin to find spiritual refreshment; and you will forget all other taste, relishing its
sweetness beyond that of anything else.
59. The tears of the man who scatters his energies dry up, but they gush forth in the man who keeps to the narrow
path(cf Matt. 7:13-14).
60. Neither the sinner nor the righteous man is free from remorse: the first, because he has not altogether
abandoned evil; the second, because he has not yet attained perfection.
61. Among the things that lie within our power are the virtues of prayer and silence; among the things that depend
for the most part not on us, but on the constitution of the body, are fasting and vigil. Hence
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the spiritual aspirant must try to attain whatever is more accessible to him.
61. Patience is the house of the soul, for in it the soul is safeguarded. Humility is the soul's wealth, for the soul is
nourished through it.
63. If you do not bear criticism patiently, you will not be honored with praise. If before indulging in pleasure you
reflect on the pain inherent in it, you will escape the distress to which it gives birth.
64. Do not fetter yourself to a small thing and you will not be enslaved to a greater one. For the greater evil is
built up only on the basis of the smaller.
63. By being mindful of greater evils, you will also be fearful of smaller ones; but if you give way to the greater
evils, you will shamefully indulge in the lesser as well.
66. You will not be able to attain the greater virtues until you have fully achieved those which lie within your
power.
67. In those in whom mercy and truth prevail, everything is godlike; for truth judges no one without mercy, while
mercy never manifests compassion apart from truth.
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