Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series • VOLUME 11
Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lerins & John Cassian
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Chapter XXVII.
Chapter XXVII. Scripture proofs by which one who is aiming at perfection is taught not to take back again what he has given up and renounced. If then through the desire of perfection you have forsaken all things and followed Christ who says to thee, "Go sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasur…
717 wordsSECTION 202Book VIII.
Book VIII. Of the Spirit of Anger. Chapter I. How our fourth conflict is against the sin of anger, and how many evils this passion produces. In our fourth combat the deadly poison of anger has to be utterly rooted out from the inmost comers of our soul. For as long as this remains in our hearts, and blinds with its hurtful d…
882 wordsSECTION 203Chapter IV.
Chapter IV. In what sense we should understand the passions and human arts which are ascribed to the unchanging and incorporeal God. And so as without horrible profanity these things cannot be understood literally of Him who is declared by the authority of Holy Scripture to be invisible, ineffable, incomprehensible, inestimabl…
814 wordsSECTION 204Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. Of the righteous and unrighteous passion of wrath. From almost every cause the emotion of wrath boils over, and blinds the eyes of the soul, and, bringing the deadly beam of a worse disease over the keenness of our sight, prevents us from seeing the sun of righteousness. It makes no difference whether gold plates, …
857 wordsSECTION 205Chapter X.
Chapter X. Of the sun, of which it is said that it should not go down upon your wrath. And of this sun God clearly makes mention by the prophet, when He says, "But to those that fear my name the sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings." [935] And this again is said to "go down" at midday on sinners and false…
785 wordsSECTION 206Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII. That we should not retain our anger even for an instant. Or how can we think that the Lord would have it retained even for an instant, since He does not permit us to offer the spiritual sacrifices of our prayers, if we are aware that another has any bitterness against us: saying, "If then thou bringest thy gift t…
740 wordsSECTION 207Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII. That the peace of our heart does not depend on another's will, but lies in our own control. The chief part then of our improvement and peace of mind must not be made to depend on another's will, which cannot possibly be subject to our authority, but it lies rather in our own control. And so the fact that we are n…
761 wordsSECTION 208Chapter XX.
Chapter XX. Of the way in which auger should be banished according to the gospel. Wherefore if we wish to gain the substance of that divine reward of which it is said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," [946] we ought not only to banish it from our actions, but entirely to root it out from our inmost soul…
883 wordsSECTION 209Book IX.
Book IX. Of the Spirit of Dejection. Chapter I. How our fifth combat is against the spirit of dejection, and of the harm which it inflicts upon the soul. In our fifth combat we have to resist the pangs of gnawing dejection: for if this, through separate attacks made at random, and by haphazard and casual changes, has secured…
777 wordsSECTION 210Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. That no one comes to grief by a sudden fall, but is destroyed by falling through a long course of carelessness. [958] For no one is ever driven to sin by being provoked through another's fault, unless he has the fuel of evil stored up in his own heart. Nor should we imagine that a man has been deceived suddenly whe…
832 wordsSECTION 211Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. That except that wholesome sorrow, which springs up in three ways, all sorrow and dejection should be resisted as hurtful. Wherefore except that sorrow which is endured either for the sake of saving penitence, or for the sake of aiming at perfection, or for the desire of the future, all sorrow and dejection must e…
1,024 wordsSECTION 212Chapter III.
Chapter III. Of the different ways in which accidie overcomes a monk. And so the wretched soul, embarrassed by such contrivances of the enemy, is disturbed, until, worn out by the spirit of accidie, as by some strong battering ram, it either learns to sink into slumber, or, driven out from the confinement of its cell, accustom…
1,952 wordsSECTION 213Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII. That he is sure to be restless who will not be content with the work of his own hands. "Because we were not restless among you." When he wants to prove by the practice of work that he was not restless among them, he fully shows that those who will not work are always restless, owing to the fault of idleness. "Nor…
860 wordsSECTION 214Chapter XI.
Chapter XI. That he preached and taught men to work not only by his example, but also by his words. But lest haply it might be thought that, while he worked in silence and tried to teach them by example, he had not instructed them by precepts and warnings, he proceeds to say: "For when we were with you, this we declared to you…
770 wordsSECTION 215Chapter XV.
Chapter XV. How kindness should be shown even to the idle and careless. Nevertheless, like a far-sighted and careful physician, he is not only anxious to heal the wounds of the sick, but gives suitable directions as well to the whole, that their health may be preserved continually, and says: "But be not ye weary in well doing:…
969 wordsSECTION 216Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX. How we should understand these words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." And he says that this is a command of the Lord: "For He Himself," namely the Lord Jesus, said he, "said it is more blessed to give than to receive." That is, the bounty of the giver is more blessed than the need of the receiver, wh…
1,238 wordsSECTION 217Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII. How the brethren in Egypt work with their hands, not only to supply their own needs, but also to minister to those who are in prison. And so taught by these examples the Fathers in Egypt never allow monks, and especially the younger ones, to be idle, [999] estimating the purpose of their hearts and their growth i…
808 wordsSECTION 218Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV. The words of Abbot Moses which he said to me about the cure of accidie. When I was beginning my stay in the desert, and had said to Abbot Moses, the chief of all the saints, that I had been terribly troubled yesterday by an attack of accidie, and that I could only be freed from it by running at once to Abbot Paul,…
1,010 wordsSECTION 219Chapter V.
Chapter V. A comparison which shows the nature of vainglory. Our elders admirably describe the nature of this malady as like that of an onion, and of those bulbs which when stripped of one covering you find to be sheathed in another; and as often as you strip them, you find them still protected. Chapter VI. That vainglory is…
704 wordsSECTION 220Chapter IX.
Chapter IX. That vainglory is the more dangerous through being mixed up with virtues. Lastly, other passions which are entirely different from the virtues which are their opposites, and which attack us openly and as it were in broad daylight, are more easily overcome and guarded against: but this being interwoven with our virt…
785 wordsSECTION 221Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. Several testimonies against vainglory. And so the Apostle warns us: "Be not desirous of vainglory." [1012] And the Lord, rebuking the Pharisees, says, "How can ye believe, who receive glory from one another, and seek not the glory which comes from God alone?" [1013] Of these too the blessed David speaks with a thr…
892 wordsSECTION 222Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII. How faults cannot be cured unless their roots and causes have been discovered. I thought it well to insert these things in this little work of mine, that we might learn, not only by reason, but also by examples, about the force of temptations and the order of the sins which hurt an unfortunate soul, and so might …
719 wordsSECTION 223Book XII.
Book XII. Of the Spirit of Pride. Chapter I. How our eighth combat is against the spirit of pride, and of its character. Our eighth and last combat is against the spirit of pride, which evil, although it is the latest in our conflict with our faults and stands last on the list, yet in beginning and in the order of time is th…
1,084 wordsSECTION 224Chapter V.
Chapter V. That incentives to all sins spring from pride. This is the reason of the first fall, and the starting point of the original malady, which again insinuating itself into the first man, [1020] through him who had already been destroyed by it, produced the weaknesses and materials of all faults. For while he believed th…
1,123 wordsSECTION 225Chapter IX.
Chapter IX. How we too may overcome pride. And so we can escape the snare of this most evil spirit, if in the case of every virtue in which we feel that we make progress, we say these words of the Apostle: "Not I, but the grace of God with me," and "by the grace of God I am what I am;" [1042] and "it is God that worketh in us …
707 wordsSECTION 226Chapter XII.
Chapter XII. That no toil is worthy to be compared with the promised bliss. For all the long years of this present life disappear when you have regard to the eternity of the future glory: and all our sorrows vanish away in the contemplation of that vast bliss, and like smoke melt away, and come to nothing, and like ashes are n…
1,025 wordsSECTION 227Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI. That we cannot even make the effort to obtain perfection without the mercy and inspiration of God. We ought therefore, in accordance with their teaching and instruction, so to press towards it, and to be diligent in fastings, vigils, prayers, and contrition of heart and body, for fear lest all these things should …
1,096 wordsSECTION 228Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII. How we are protected by the grace of God not only in our natural condition, but also by His daily Providence. Not alone giving thanks to Him for that He has created us as reasonable beings, and endowed us with the power of free will, and blessed us with the grace of baptism, and granted to us the knowledge and a…
1,104 wordsSECTION 229Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII. That every proud soul is subject to spiritual wickedness to be deceived by it. And this clearly shows that every soul of which the swellings of pride have taken possession, is given over to the Syrians of the soul, [1076] i.e., to spiritual wickedness, and that it is entangled in the lusts of the flesh, that the …
783 wordsSECTION 230Chapter XXVI.
Chapter XXVI. That a man whose foundation is bad, sinks daily from bad to worse. Those then who are possessed by such distrust of mind, and who through the devil's own want of faith fall away from that spark of faith, by which they seemed in the early days of their conversion to be enkindled, begin more anxiously to watch over…
949 wordsSECTION 231Chapter XXVIII.
Chapter XXVIII. On the pride of a certain brother. I have heard while I have been in this district a thing which I shudder and am ashamed to recall; viz., that one of the juniors--when he was reproved by his Abbot because he had shown signs of throwing off the humility, of which he had made trial for a short time at his renunc…
741 wordsSECTION 232Chapter XXXI.
Chapter XXXI. How we can overcome pride and attain perfection. Wherefore if we wish the summit of our building to be perfect and to rise well-pleasing to God, we should endeavour to lay its foundations not in accordance with the desires of our own lust, but according to the rules of evangelical strictness: which can only be th…
838 wordsSECTION 233Preface.
Preface. The obligation, which was promised to the blessed Pope Castor in the preface to those volumes which with God's help I composed in twelve books on the Institutes of the Coenobia, and the remedies for the eight principal faults, has now been, as far as my feeble ability permitted, satisfied. I should certainly like to se…
1,111 wordsSECTION 234Chapter I.
Chapter I. Of our stay in Scete, and that which we proposed to Abbot Moses. When I was in the desert of Scete, where are the most excellent monastic fathers and where all perfection flourishes, in company with the holy father Germanus (who had since the earliest days and commencement of our spiritual service been my closest co…
736 wordsSECTION 235Chapter III.
Chapter III. Of our reply. And when he insisted on eliciting an opinion from us on this question, we replied that we endured all this for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Chapter IV. Of Abbot Moses' question on the aforesaid statement. To which he replied: Good, you have spoken cleverly of the (ultimate) end. But what sho…
1,124 wordsSECTION 236Chapter VI.
Chapter VI. Of those who in renouncing the world, aim at perfection without love. For hence it arises that in the case of some who have despised the greatest possessions of this world, and not only large sums of gold and silver, but also large properties, we have seen them afterwards disturbed and excited over a knife, or penc…
880 wordsSECTION 237Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII. Of the main effort towards the contemplation of things and an illustration from the case of Martha and Mary. This then should be our main effort: and this steadfast purpose of heart we should constantly aspire after; viz., that the soul may ever cleave to God and to heavenly things. Whatever is alien to this, how…
771 wordsSECTION 238Chapter X.
Chapter X. The answer that not the reward, but the doing of them will come to an end. Moses. I did not say that the reward for a good work would be taken away, as the Lord Himself says: "Whosoever shall give to one of the least of these, a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall not lo…
721 wordsSECTION 239Chapter XI.
Chapter XI. On the abiding character of love. And why do you wonder that those duties enumerated above will cease, when the holy Apostle tells us that even the higher gifts of the Holy Spirit will pass away: and points out that charity alone will abide without end, saying "whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether …
1,210 wordsSECTION 240Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV. Of the continuance of the soul. Wherefore every one while still existing in this body should already be aware that he must be committed to that state and office, of which he made himself a sharer and an adherent while in this life, nor should he doubt that in that eternal world he will be partner of him, whose ser…
1,562 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.