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The Metaphysics of Temptation in Eastern Orthodox Monasticism
Ilias Bantekas
I. INTRODUCTION
The object of this treatise is to set out the
teachings and monastic tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church regarding the
nature of temptations and the remedies available to combat them. In order to do
so we examine the origin of temptations as mental representations, the role of
demons as the senders of temptations, the mechanisms whereby their addressees,
namely human souls, receive the mental representations and thereafter inflame
the irascible and concupiscible faculties of the soul and produce an impulse.
Moreover, we observe the nature of the warfare between the demons and human
beings and the role of God in allowing us to be afflicted by demons and their temptations.
We also examine in what way God himself tempts us and what is the purpose of
such intervention. Finally, we examine the remedies proposed by the most
experienced monks, as these have come down through oral and written tradition,
classifying such remedies into those appropriate for all monks irrespective of
experience (universal) and those reserved only for the most experienced
brethren. It should be noted from the outset that the premise of the sources
used in this thesis have as their primary audience monastic communities and not
secular people. Thus, although it is possible for people from all walks of life
to understand and follow the prescripts outlined here – at least to some
degree, as far as people living in the world are concerned - the context and
the audience are specific in the minds of their authors.
II. LOGISMOI OR MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS
The Orthodox
tradition believes that passions and bad thoughts or suggestions are stored in
our heart, and it is from there that they afflict our body and intellect. Mat.
15:19 claims that “for out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery,
fornication, theft, false witness, slander”. How is this to be explained in
practical and experiential terms? Temptations and logismoi are
synonymous terms, at least in their effect. The latter signify a suggestion or
mental representation whose origin lies outside the heart, and which according
to the disposition and content of the suggestion this may be a good or bad one.
In this essay we are concerned with bad logismoi, which are always bad suggestions,
in the sense that they bring turbulence to where should otherwise reign
internal peace and they urge the mind towards vice.
Monastic
tradition explains that temptations as logismoi
correlate to the three faculties of the soul, that is the rational, the
concupiscible (appetitive) and the irascible (thumikon) and
thus three types of logismoi are
borne: From the rational originate the logismoi of
faithlessness towards God, non-discernment and all those typically described as
blasphemous.[1]
From the concupiscible faculty are borne the logismoi of
hedonism, ambition, love for money and all those generally called filthy logismoi.[2] From the irascible faculty
are derived the logismoi of
murder, revenge, hate, upheaval and all those known as wicked.[3] As we shall observe in
proceeding sections, St. Nicodemus puts forward the notion that one should
fight such logismoi by nurturing
their opposite virtues. Evagrius Ponticus is best known for his thorough
examination and categorisation of thoughts and temptation in his works On Thoughts and the Praktikos (abbreviated Greek version of The Monk: A Treatise on the Practical Life). The
three principal evil thoughts are gluttony, vainglory and avarice. These give
rise to the other five, namely, lust, despondency, pride, dejection and anger.[4] He teaches that each of
these vices has its associated demon and that they are all linked to the
principal three as follows: gluttony is the gateway to lustful thoughts and
leads the unwary ascetic to fornication through the disturbance of the soul’s
concupiscible faculty. Avarice culminates in a fight over food, possessions, or
human esteem and disturbs the irascible part of the soul. Finally, privation of
any of these leads to despondency and failure to destroy avarice leads to
pride.[5]
In attempting to
find an answer as to the origin of these mental representations, the
apologists, chiefly Origen, and the early Church Fathers, turned to the sixth
petition in the Lord’s prayer, i.e. “lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil”. Origen, a master of allegory, did not sanction a literal
interpretation, since in his view temptations are a necessary part of our human
condition. The consequence of this exegesis is that the petition concerns our
efforts against succumbing to temptations and not that they should cease
altogether.[6]
For Gregory of Nyssa, temptations are inevitable in worldly life since the
world lies in the Evil one. The Evil is known by many names, in accordance with
its numerous evil manifestations. In this sense, he describes logismoi as attacks by Evil in the form of
worldly allurements.[7]
Gregory’s perception of temptation is therefore no different from Origen, but
whereas the latter views temptation as a transitory stage in our earthly
struggle, Gregory suggests without hesitation that the cure lies in asceticism.[8] Neither of these
definitions, however, explain why temptations persist in the ascetic struggle –
and to a far higher degree than in worldly life – as well as why God allows
Evil to provoke our soul and with almost certainty lead us to succumb to sin.
Finally, to Macarius of Egypt, the spiritual inheritance of the Fall is
indwelling sin, “the evil inheritance of the passions”.[9]
To Orthodox
ascetics the Evil one is both a corporeal and non-corporeal entity. It is
chiefly against him that their entire worldly (that is, both corporeal and
mental) struggle is concentrated. His only goal is to obstruct our vision of
God’s ineffable light and glory by keeping us in our current darkness through
an endless chain of worldly allurements. This concept, however, contains a
number of theological contradictions. For one thing, God is the primary cause
of all existence and therefore of Evil. Secondly, God alone is Goodness, Love
and Justness, hence it is not possible that He may wish our imprisonment to
Satan. The only rational conclusion is thus that God permits Evil to inflict
tempting logismoi to humanity so
that we may arrive to a humble knowledge of ourselves and of our weakness and
receive His grace.[10] Equally, because of our
natural will, which is shaped on the basis of God’s indivisible qualities, it
is not futile for us to expect to defeat temptations if we put aside our gnomic
will[11] and live a life in
Christ. Satan, or the Evil One, comes to us either as a corporeal entity and
inflicts actual bodily pain and sufferings (this is rare, however),[12] but he primarily imparts
suggestions or logismoi which
find their way to our mind and heart and in turn stir up various passions. The
former – that is, the corporeal presence of Satan - is beyond the scope of
temptations as such, so we shall confine our analysis only to the latter.
Temptations, therefore, are personified and evoked by the demons. Evagrius
differentiates between two classes of demons and their corresponding vices. The
first tempt the human person as a human being, while the second as an
irrational animal. The first instil in us mental representations of vainglory
and pride – to which irrational beings are insusceptible – while the second
class move our irascibility and concupiscibility contrary to nature.[13]
St. Athanasius
describes the logismoi
inflicting St. Anthony in the desert, and emanating from Satan, as being of two
kinds: those that exist only in the form of filthy thoughts and those that are
generated through the impersonation by Satan of enticing objects or living
entities, such as women, glory and gold.[14] The latter kind does not
constitute a suggestion per se, but
much like a suggestion it arouses and kindles the passions of the heart through
the medium of sight. Satan’s temptation is therefore both a logismos, or suggestion that is not
transmitted via the five senses, as well as a conception that is mediated
through one of the five senses. This necessarily means that neither the logismos, nor the sense perception, are in
themselves powerful enough to provoke deviation from Christ. Rather, they are
part of the chain of causes that lead to sin in the following sequence: logismos --> flaring of passion -->
action upon the passion. This explanation is helpful in understanding in later
sections why Orthodox ascetics claim that our struggle is viable only at the
stage of fighting logismoi,
whereas the next stage wherein the logismoi have
kindled the passions is extremely difficult to be overcome, much like a dam
whose protective wall has given way to the surging water.
Since Satan
tempts us to the end, thus our life is a constant fight with him.[15] In fact, Satan, who is
the source of evil, made that most evil suggestion to our first parents.[16] St. Paul succinctly describes the purpose of
our earthly struggle as being “not against enemies of blood and flesh, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this
present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”.[17] Orthodox tradition
believes that Satan’s grandest success is convincing us of his non-existence.
According to St. Nicodemus, Satan – who is in fact more than one entity – dwells
around the heart by virtue of his energy and not by essence. Before baptism,
grace moves man to good deeds from outside, while Satan dwells inside the
heart. Following baptism, however, God allows Satan to wonder in the periphery
of the heart in order to test our will. It is there that the Evil one tries to
“smoke out the mind with lust for the flesh”. That is why, argues St.
Nicodemus, the fathers vehemently stress that Satan does not want people
knowing where he dwells, so that they will not fight him.[18] Satan struggles against
us in six ways: up, down, right left, front and back. Up, corresponds to our
struggles towards virtue; below, our omissions through negligence which we
suffer in order to attain this virtue; the right represents the demons fooling us
with a good cause in order to turn us towards evil; left denotes that although
evil is staring us in the eye, they urge us to sin; front is when the demons
fight us with logismoi and
images of things which are to follow; behind, finally, their fight against us
with memories and prejudices of things past.[19]
We have seen in
what way God allows Satan to attack us with logismoi or
perceptible objects, but it is equally true that God himself inflicts
temptations upon us for much the same reason. God’s temptations, however, are
an emanation of what God is, Love, and this is the way in which they come to
us. Satan’s afflictions are not caused by love but are ultimately sanctified by
God for our benefit. Thus, St. John of Damascus, interprets Mark 5:13 – Christ
giving permission to the demons to enter the swines – as God permitting:
… even the just man to meet with misfortunes so that the virtue hidden
in him may be made known to others, as in the case of Job. At other times, He
permits something iniquitous to be done so that through this apparently
iniquitous action some great and excellent thing may be brought about, as was
the salvation of men by the Cross. In still another way, He permits the devout
man to suffer evil either so that he may not fall into the presumption from the
strength and grace that have been given him, as in the case of Paul. Someone
may be abandoned for a while for the correction of others so that by observing
his state they may be instructed. … God provides for all creation, and through all
creation He does good and instructs, oftentimes using even the demons
themselves for this purpose, as in the case of Job and in that of the swine.[20]
It is evident,
therefore, that God himself tempts us with logismoi and
perceptible images for our benefit.[21] Temptations, whether as logismoi, or perceptible images or
situations, are numerous in kind, ranging from lustful thoughts to calamities
such as death of familial persons and sicknesses. As we shall see in the
section on remedies, self-control over the three principal vices/temptations,
coupled with ascetic/bodily and spiritual exercises helps to avoid any adverse
turbulence in the spirit and does not kindle the passions contrary to nature.
It is not clear from the relevant literature whether the early church fathers
and later ascetics considered that Satan has the power to inflict the whole
range of perceptible images – including death and sickness - or rather, whether
God’s Providence
allows him to do so. The question is all the more relevant in light of the
fathers’ admission that Satan at times assumes a corporeal existence in order
to physically harm those ascetics that have erected an impregnable wall to his logismoi. The answer must necessarily be an
affirmative one, since even individuals can harm each other. We must, however,
qualify Satan’s power over man and predicate it always on God’s loving
providence.
Finally, in some
writings a third origin of temptation is cited; other people and our sinful
nature.[22] It is doubtful, however,
that we are able to produce temptations for ourselves, as this would negate the
rationale for the temptation itself. Instead, when one says that through our
sins we tempt ourselves, the correct interpretation must be that we employ
gnomic will vis-à-vis our temptations. As regards temptations emanating from
and directed towards other human beings, these constitute a third type to the
extent that they are not provoked by God or Satan. It is irrational to consider
that even these do not have a place within God’s Providence, although they are subject to the
free will of the tempter.
III STIRRING OF PASSIONS AS A RESULT OF TEMPTATIONS
Christ’s temptation in the garden of Gesthemane
constitutes the archetypal temptation of human existence. The temptation in
that case was impending death by crucifixion and the fear produced as a result.
However, Christ does not allow his gnomic will to overpower his natural will
and thus prevents through free will the penetration of temptation into the
heart where it inflames the passions which eventually lead to sin.
St. John Damascus eloquently explains the domino
effect that results in the arousal of passion.
Passion is a
movement of the appetitive faculty which is felt as a result of a sensory
impression of good or evil. It may also be defined in another way: passion is
an irrational movement of the soul to an impression of good or evil. Thus, the
impression of good arouses the desire, whereas that of evil arouses the anger.
Passion in the general or common sense is defined thus: passion is a movement
in one thing caused by another.[23]
Passion is indeed a reaction to an external event.
However, even where the external event (logismos)
is not prevented from entering the soul’s faculties, we, unlike brute
irrational animals, are equipped with an internal mechanism – through our
cognitive and vital faculties - by which to dissipate it before giving rise to
uncontrolled impulses. In brute animals, when an appetite for something arises
it is immediately followed by an appetite to act because their appetite is
irrational and they lack a natural will. Our soul, on the other hand, possesses
natural will and as a result any external suggestion giving rise to an appetite
goes through a successive process of deliberation,
followed by judgment, then by opinion, finally culminating in choice or selection. It is then that one
moves to act, and this is called impulse.[24] It is evident
that the natural will of the soul sets in motion its cognitive faculties in
order to prevent the logismos from
succumbing to gnome. It follows that
they who do not employ, or who have blunted, their cognitive faculties will
inevitably give in to gnomic
impulses. The danger in this case is, as St. Gregory of Nyssa points out, that
succumbing to one passion gives rise to all passions, since human weaknesses
are linked together and related to each other and if one of them destroys the
protective barrier of our rational faculty, the whole train of passions enters
the soul.[25]
While the terminology employed by the early and later
fathers, as well as by more contemporary ascetics, is not consistent, they are
generally agreed that the phase of passion encompasses the moment where the logismos enters the soul until such time
as it is refined into an impulse against or in favour of evil. Evagrius is
rather more specific on the matter. He distinguishes in man a concupiscible
(desire) and an irascible (incensive) power, both given to him by God and
constituting an integral part of his nature. The irascible faculty is intended
to drive away wolf-like intellections, while the desire serves to lovingly tend
the sheep and produce feelings of compassion and love.[26] While it is
evident that these two faculties are designed to serve a spiritual purpose,
Evagrius calls them passions to the extent that they are unchecked and
uncontrolled, the misuse of which can lead to exactly the opposite effect for
which they were given to us (e.g. the incensive turns to wrath and the desiring
turns to lust). The passion is a potentially flammable material, but it is ignited
only by logismoi and other external
images and free will against its true nature. Therefore, it is not the logismos or temptation that is itself
the vainglory injected in the soul, but the unchecked logismos inflames the vice of vainglory in the irascible part of
the soul. In this sense, we can defend ourselves from logismoi and temptations, but we cannot obliterate the underlying
passions that lie scattered around the heart because they are part of our
nature.[27] Obviously, for
the untrained soul, the passing of the temptation into the rational faculties
will almost certainly lead to a sinful impulse, but it is not impossible for a
strong gnomic will to be defeated at
that stage. However, it is for this reason that the trained ascetics warn us
against entertaining bad logismoi,
even where we perceive ourselves to be spiritually strong.[28] We become
unsusceptible to passion when our vision is guided solely by our natural will.
In this way, “our souls are moved by intelligent energies in the direction of
the things of the intellect [and it is then that] our senses and all that go
with them are no longer needed”.[29]
IV. THE NATURE OF THE “ENEMY’S” STRUGGLE AGAINST US
We have already
noted that Satan’s greatest victory is his hiding and thus our false certainty of
his non-existence. It is well understood that Evil, or Satan and all his
manifestations are not self-subsistent. Pseudo-Dennys,
for example, delves into an examination of evil in order to demonstrate the
superabundance of Good and the Goodness of Being in God. He explains that since
God is Good and the cause of being, every created being is necessarily good as
stemming from his nature. Evil has therefore originated from Good and is
potentially good, being a weakness and deficiency of the good.[30] Assuming that we have
knowledge of, or faith in the Evil’s existence, of what help is this to us if
we cannot discern where he is and what he is doing to divert our attention to
evil rather than Good. Evil fights us with bad logismoi
alone, as it is unable to penetrate our hearts or take command itself of our
soul. Since evil is itself a creature of God in the same way as we are, and
since the substance and energy of souls is the creation of God alone, no
creature can create a new soul or destroy an existing one. All that is
permitted by our Creator is the blurring of the vision of the soul’s natural
will. Satan, therefore, does not have any power upon us, unless we accept his
suggestions and allow them to obfuscate our natural will.
In this internal
struggle, therefore, St. Nicodemus admonishes the young monks to be fearful of
themselves, as well as of their countless enemies, to which, he adds, they are
powerless of offering even the slightest resistance. He further admonishes fear
of the enemy’s habit of constant fighting, his stratagems and transformations
into angels of light,[31] as well as his numerous
traps.[32] A monk’s vigilance – as
well as any person who wants to avert Satan from molesting one’s soul – is
never-ending; it is constant until the very last breath of one’s life. The monk
is aware, more than anyone else, that our only chance against the onslaughts of
Satan, whose only weapon is constituted by logismoi or
external representations (that excite our sensory faculties and give rise to logismoi), is to block logismoi from penetrating our mind. We will
examine in other sections how this may be achieved through constant prayer,
chanting, fasting and other means. It is exactly this aspect of our struggle
that is emphasised in Scripture in unequivocal terms: “Give heed to thyself,
lest perhaps a wicked thought steal in upon thee”.[33] St. Basil explains that
men are very easily prone to sins of thought because the movement of the mind
does not require any physical exertion and may even be accomplished in a state
of weariness. The mind must, therefore, exercise precaution constantly in
prohibiting any unchecked thoughts, imaginings or sensual images to infiltrate
the soul.[34]
He explains the precise meaning of the command “give heed to thyself” in terms
of our spiritual struggle as meaning:
Keep the eye of your soul sleeplessly on guard, for “Thou art going in
the midst of snares”.[35]
Traps set by the enemy lie concealed everywhere. Look about you in all
directions, therefore, “that you may be saved as a swallow from the traps and
as a bird from the snare”.[36]
The deer cannot be caught with traps because of the keenness of his vision;
whence its name, deriving from its own sharpsightedness. A bird, if alert,
easily flies out of the range of the huntsman’s snare. See to it, then, that
you are not more remiss than the animals in protecting yourself. Never let
yourself be caught in the snares of the Devil and so become his prey, the
captured plaything of his will.[37]
Evil does not present the same temptations or external
images to all people. It does so according to each person’s inclinations toward
sin and the intensity varies in accordance with each individual’s personal
struggle. For those who are strong in the spiritual life, the Devil seeks to
win their mind with theological and philosophical intrigues. Thus, he provides
those with an acute mind and those that are prone to a high opinion of their
intellect, pseudo-lofty ideas and philosophical enquiries.[38] This pride that
comes with boasting in human wisdom that was severely criticised by Paul in 1
Cor. 1:18-31 is an example of allowing the logismos
of pride in the minds of those claiming to possess worldly wisdom. To those who
are prone to entertaining lustful thoughts the Devil showers them with external
images and logismoi that flare their
passions. People that have not exercised heed in themselves, or who postpone
advent towards a spiritual life, cannot perceive that such logismoi are unnatural and that they have a particular origin,
target and purpose. Each of these persons allows the logismos to penetrate the mind and from there to flare the passion
until it becomes an inescapable impulse, being wholly unaware of the overall
scheme.
However, even they who are aware of this overall
scheme, particularly monks and pious individuals, find the devil’s snares no
less difficult to combat against. The harder they resist, the more Evil
intensifies its efforts through luring temptations. St. Nicodemus warns that
when Evil knows that we are resisting hard against temptations and we actually
seem to be victorious, Evil takes all temptations away from us so that we may
fall into pride and vainglory. Thus, when we have committed ourselves to a
struggle against Satan, and the latter removes all temptations from our
existence, we should make a mental effort to bring to our mind those
temptations that afflict us the most and proceed to fight them as though they
were real and hate them from within our hearts.[39] This idea that
we should fight the devil in the attacking sense, rather than wait for him to
tempt us in order that we may then resist, is central to St. Nicodemus’s
ascetic theology for those individuals that have advanced in their spiritual
ascent. This is in accord with the theological literature we have examined thus
far, which suggests that our struggle against Satan in our worldly life does
not end. The consequence of this observation is that absent God’s grace, we
have no absolute mastery over our soul and body in this life. St. Nicodemus
grounds his rationale regarding an attacking stance towards Satan not only in
monastic tradition and experiential asceticism, but also in Scripture,
particularly Psalm 18:37-38, which reads: “I pursued my enemies and overtook
them and did not turn my back until they were consumed. I struck them down so
that they were not able to rise; they fell under my feet”. He explains that
when we are improving in the virtues, Satan transforms himself into goodness so
that we may follow him to a certain height, only to drop us suddenly and thus
cause us worldly grief and alienation from God.[40]
It is not clear from the theological literature why it
is that Satan wants to tempt us and lure us away from God. St. John Climacus
teaches that demons afflict us either because we are sensual, proud, or out of
sheer envy. The last of these is a ground for rejoicing, the middle for pity,
whereas the first leads to a prospect of lifelong failure.[41] St. Nicodemus
briefly states that peace is a state of tranquillity achieved through grace and
struggle, which Satan wants to disturb and destroy.[42] This still fails
to explain why. We have already explained that Satan is a creature of God and
therefore good by nature, but obfuscated by gnome,
and thus lacking natural will. Despite being a creature like us, he possesses
powers which we have not realised yet, failing ourselves to employ our natural
will. One may venture to conjecture that our temptations originate in Satan
(and God for educational purposes), but Satan is not subject to temptations by
God because he remembers his union with Him and does not feel any loss in being
apart from Him. Therefore, the educational purpose of temptations granted us by
God would have no effect on Satan. We can only conclude that the purpose of
temptations originating from Satan is adherence to gnomic will. This, moreover,
demonstrates the extent of our free will as a present from our Creator, since
God will not force even Satan to return to Him, who has seen and remembers His
glory. In the next section we shall examine the origination of logismoi and other temptations from God
Himself.
V. TEMPTATIONS INFLICTED DIRECTLY BY GOD AND THEIR ULTIMATE PURPOSE
God as Goodness naturally wills that the whole of
humanity be saved. Nonetheless, the Creator’s Providence is responsible in that respect
only with regard to those things that do not depend on us; to those that do, we
are responsible through the exercise of our free will.[43] God’s
providential scheme is therefore focused around our salvation and this is his
particular justice. Since this informs His nature it is beyond our
comprehension, since we cannot know his nature, as the creature cannot know its
Creator. For the church fathers and ascetics all that happens to us and which
is beyond our control belongs to the realm of God’s justice. At times it
appears as a disparaging calamity, as in the case of death and sickness, while
in others it is revealed in the powerlessness of the individual in the face of
adversities, vanity and lack of self-control. To the one of little faith, all
these instances demonstrate either the lack of God, or the existence of a cruel
God, but to the one who believes strongly in God’s providence and Goodness, he
accepts it as part of God’s justice that is intended to train us in ascending
to Him. St. John Damascus thus explains that:
Some of the
things that are due to providence are by approval, whereas others are by
permission. All those that are undeniably good are by approval, whereas all
those that are by permission [there are many kinds]. Thus, He often permits
even the just man to meet with misfortunes so that the virtue hidden in him may
be made known to others. At other times, He permits something iniquitous to be
done so that through this apparently iniquitous action some great and excellent
thing may be brought about, as was the salvation of men by the Cross. In still
another way, He permits the devout man to suffer evil either so that he may not
depart from his right conscience or so that he may not fall into presumption
from the strength and grace that have been given him, as in the case of Paul.[44]
Thus, where God inflicts certain conditions upon us,
or permits Satan to infiltrate our mind with logismoi,[45] His purpose is
soteriological. A death in the family, a sudden sickness, etc, involve a
radical reappraisal of one’s life and stance towards the will of God and it is
subsequently a question of which logismos
the inflicted person will retain; the good one, which has faith in God’s
justice and gives thanks to Him despite the misfortune and the pain it is
causing, or the bad one, which blinded by pain does not believe in the
existence of God. God allows for all these misfortunes so that we may come to a
humble knowledge of ourselves and of our weaknesses.[46] Rational
thinking suggests that as long as evil persists during our lifetime,
temptations emanating from that source will not cease and neither will those
derived from God himself. We are therefore destined to live in a perpetual
state of temptations while in the flesh. Equally, any attempt to obliterate
temptations altogether is futile, since even if we could overpower Satan who is
a creature like us, we cannot overpower that which pertains to the substance of
God (i.e. the providential origin of temptations). Temptation is therefore
ultimately providential and not the result of evil. It is to be welcomed, but
fought. This oxymoron is obvious primarily in the Lord’s Prayer, particularly
the part where we ask that we not be led into temptation, while at the same
time asking that God’s will be done. If God’s will within His scheme of
providential justice involves our affliction with temptations, we would be
negating our demand of His will if were to demand that we not be afflicted with
temptations. It must be, therefore, that this latter part of the Prayer has a
meaning which is consonant with God’s will. If our metaphysical understanding
of God is through the manifestation of His effects, the Orthodox ascetic will
find it utterly natural to accept all misfortunes and calamities as gifts from
God. He will thank God for these and will pray that he not be permitted to
indulge in sorrowful thinking or sink into bad logismoi as a result. The ascetic will have faith and pray that he
harvest the maximum crop out of every sorrow in life so that he will be
showered with an abundance of grace in this and the afterlife. Thus, there is
no oxymoron in the Lord’s Prayer, simply our inability to conceive and
understand God’s justice and love.
The ascetic fathers, therefore, confirm that God does
not obliterate all temptations, but leaves some to fight us until death, so
that we may not forget the war and allow passions to take us over and in order
to always seek God, avoid love for self, hate our passions deep within our
hearts, be tested until the end and to learn by such test the value of virtue and
never let it go and to fear not death when it comes.[47] For the ascetic
who understands this process, his exercise encompasses besides defence to
temptations also an immeasurable amount of patience and forbearing. We must
assume that since Christ suffered from temptations until His very end, God does
not remove them by grace even vis-à-vis the most uplifted spiritual beings
because of the danger of vainglory. The ascetic fathers teach that in those
exceptional cases where a monk has managed to erect an impenetrable wall
against the temptations of Satan, that person must either strive to discover
within himself and uproot the passions that would have been inflamed by
intruding temptations, and/or retain a trace of temptations, in order to keep
awake the soul’s struggle and vigilance.[48] St. Nicodemus
instructs younger monks as follows: One must contemplate that temptations
themselves are necessary instruments in order to acquire the virtues. Thus,
when one requests the virtues from God, one essentially requests these
instruments and temptations too. Otherwise, our prayer is in vain and is done
merely to annoy God. What is more, God does not grant the virtue of patience
without the sorrows that are the result and instrument of patience. Neither
does He grant humility without frown and contempt. For this reason, we must
love, invite and thank God for these temptations.[49]
God is, however, especially discerning in the way
which He provides temptations to human beings. St. Nicodemus explains to his
audience what they should have already observed; that serious temptations and
afflictions only occur to those that more than others want to give themselves
to the service of God and turn away from things that harm them. Such
temptations do not arise immediately in their struggle, but only after having
served God for some time and cleansed their hearts somewhat. St. Nicodemus
explains that we never see sinners and those who have given their life to the
world suffering from such afflictions, or even complain of being tempted.[50] The experienced
ascetic and the pious man is discerning of the existence of temptations,
temptations themselves, the inflammable nature of passions and the impulse to
sin and they also have faith in God’s justice. While it would be true to say
that ascetics have an acute awareness of temptation because they have full
knowledge of and live by the yardstick of piety and are thus able to perceive
every bad logismos and affliction,
ordinary people who live by the flesh alone are imperceptible to the origin,
existence and effects of logismoi and
take every affliction for granted without further examination. This does not
mean, contrary to what St. Nicodemus suggests, that non-ascetics are less
fought by logismoi and misfortunes
than ascetics, since we have already explained that the purpose of God is to
save everyone. Rather, on the one hand ascetics are more discerning of their logismoi and on the other God’s
temptations correspond to the measure of each person’s weakness and are meant
to build up through exercise. This is a slow process, but the speed of progress
belongs to each one of us and is a matter of free will.
It is, therefore, out of love that God gives us
temptations, so that we can remove ourselves from a false viewing of our
existence. As an example, or a type, he brought the Apostle Peter in such a
position as to renounce Christ thrice and thus realise his natural condition
and sickness and repent through humility. Again, to Paul he gave vision of all
there is in heaven, but afflicted him with a physical condition, so that by
humbling himself he should only boast about his sickness.[51] The diversity in
temptation is exemplified by the diversity in human life and character and thus
God’s gifts are individual. It is the way that we ultimately receive them and
deal with them that is crucial for our spiritual advent.
VI. REMEDIES AGAINST TEMPTATIONS
The treatises examined in this article, it should be
remembered, are addressed to those engaged in the monastic life. While the
nature of this struggle against the demons is one and objective, the remedies
offered are of two kinds: a) those that are suited for everyone, and; b)
remedies administered in accordance with experience and spiritual progress, and
which are not to be exercised by inexperienced brethren.[52] Among the
universal remedies are included: a) practicing of the opposing virtue that
corresponds to each temptation; b) discernment; c) prayer, psalmody and vigils.
The most common exercises reserved only for the most experienced monks are the
direct use of the irascible faculty to attack the demons and a direct
confrontation against them.
The early desert fathers analyse each form of
temptation on its own specific merits. The demon of fornication is to be fought
through regimented fasting and other practices that prevent the body from
succumbing to sensual appetites, such as all night vigils, labour and other
bodily toils.[53] At the same
time, the monk should pray ceaselessly and engage in psalmodies. The latter are
intended to prevent the logismos/temptation
from entering the intellect, and the monk, at least in his/her early stages,
must avoid any contact with the opposite sex and fight through prayer the
intrusion of lustful thoughts.[54] Evagrius
suggests a complementary exercise for fighting the demon of fornication. He
argues that the demon of vainglory and that of fornication are naturally
opposed, because the former promises honours and the latter is the forerunner
of dishonour. In this manner, they are unable to attack the soul simultaneously
and thus [experienced monks may] if one of these demons approaches, one may
employ the thoughts of the opposing demon.[55] The demon of
avarice is to be curbed through renunciation of all worldly possessions. The
fathers teach, however, that when monks practice such renunciation, the demon
of avarice suggests to them in more subtle ways and under the guise of charity
that if they were to be entrusted with the administration of property or the
accumulation of wealth they would be able to provide for the poor. The monk who
succumbs to such logismoi is not only
overcome by the demon of avarice, but also by the demons of vainglory and pride
who at that stage have convinced their poor victim of his/her glorious
hospitality, charity and goodness.[56] The demons of
vainglory and pride usually attack the monk during such time as he/she has
achieved some spiritual progress. Evagrius teaches that alone among all
thoughts, vainglory encompasses an abundance of matter, filling the mind of the
anchorite with numerous words and objects.[57] This demon may
suggest to the monk that he now requires solitude in order to perfect himself
and thus urges him to abandon the monastery and the guidance of his/her
spiritual father. The advice in this case is to remain in one’s cell and not
only to remain in the monastery, but also to avoid contact with the outside
world for fear that the demon of fornication may find him unprotected. Each
author gives a particular emphasis on a virtue that he considers central to
ascetic spiritual efforts. For St. John Climacus, the destruction of vainglory
and pride through humility is key to opposing all other demons. Such humility
is particularly achieved through strict and unwavering obedience to one’s
spiritual father,[58] by remembrance
of death,[59] mourning[60] and by meekness.[61]
The demon of anger finds fertile ground to attack the
monk when he/she is fighting for food, wealth or esteem.[62] If one,
therefore, masters the three principal temptations, then the demon of anger
will be defeated as well. Equally, the demons of dejection and despondency
attack the ascetic either during particular parts of the day, or as constant logismoi. Unlike other demons, that of
despondency does not involve the element of pleasure in his mental
representation sent to the monk. Both the temptations of despondency and that
of dejection urge the monk to leave his cell and even the monastery on a
permanent basis because he cannot find any form of spiritual rest or solace as
a result of the temptation. The remedy for this temptation is to close one’s
thoughts to such suggestions and remain in one’s cell until such time as the
demon is defeated.[63]
Ascetic discernment is of two types: a) the first is
an exercise that is intended for the struggling ascetic in order to
differentiate between those thoughts and visions which come from God and those
that come from the demons, whereas; b) the second type is the state attained by
those who are pure in heart, body and speech and through which they possess a
solid understanding of the will of God at all times, places and in all things.[64] As far as the
first type of discernment is concerned, Evagrius distinguishes between three
types of thoughts, i.e. angelic, human and demonic.[65] We have
discussed the latter, but the monk must constantly be alert in order to distinguish
the origin of each thought. Evagrian discernment encompasses an intellectual
exercise. He teaches that when a logismos
is afflicting a monk, he/she must intellectually distinguish “the thought
[itself], what it is, how many elements it consists of, and among these what
sort of thing it is that most afflicts the mind”. A thorough application of
this exercise helps to dissipate the thought and make the demon flee.[66] Evagrius also
proposes an additional mental exercise that is only reserved for the more
experienced and purified ascetics. This exercise involves contemplating the
limited power of demons and their total inability in perverting the will of God
when that is expressed.[67] This is
tantamount to rationalising one’s fears, as is for example the rationalisation
of the fear of darkness, but in the case of the demons this is intellectually
possible only if one actually perceives the activity of the demons. St. John
Cassian suggests that true discrimination comes only as a result of humility
and this in turn is achieved by confession not only of what a monk does but
also of what he/she thinks and by never trusting one’s own thoughts and always
being immersed in obedience.[68]
When an inexperienced monk is attacked by a particular
demon, he/she is not always well placed to defend with mental exercises. The
demons find as easy prey a coarse, overfed and over-indulging body and a
defenceless from external thoughts mind. The ascetic must therefore avoid
exposing his body to over-indulgence and his mind to any sort of appeasement
and relaxation. This involves a very strict and strenuous regime of fasting –
the early desert ascetics ate and drank water once a day – all night vigils and
ceaseless prayer. Sleep is deemed not only to invite the demons to tamper with the
concupiscible and irascible faculties of the soul,[69] but is also an
over-indulgence which the monk has to combat in order to avoid being attacked
by those temptations that are grounded in the body. In their early stages,
monks will find it particularly difficult and exhausting to fast in such a way,
to stay awake for the better part of the day and concentrate on their prayer,
but these difficulties are as much attributed to habit as well as to the demons
themselves. This constant alertness is best exemplified in the words of St.
John Climacus, who argues that when temptation comes the best weapons are:
“sackcloth and
ashes, all-night vigils, standing up, hunger, the merest touch of water when we
are thirsty, time passed among the burial places of the dead, and most
important of all, humility of heart; and if possible a spiritual director or a
helpful brother, old in wisdom rather than years, should also support us”.[70]
Recalling the words of St. Paul (Eph. 5:19), Evagrius tells us that
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs call the mind to the constant remembrance of
virtue, cooling our boiling irascibility and extinguishing our desires.[71] Prayer,
similarly, has a twofold purpose for Evagrius. On the one hand, it invigorates
and purifies the mind for the struggle ahead “since it is naturally constituted
for prayer even without this body”, while on the other hand it is useful for
fighting the demons on behalf of all the powers of the soul.[72] The twentieth
century Russian Athonite, St. Silouan, was in his early monastic years troubled
by demons during his prayer. In fact, he himself recalls how his cell was
filled with demons that made every effort to prevent him from praying with a
pure mind. The Lord communicated to the staretz’s (Russian monastic elder) soul
that the proud always suffer from devils to which St. Silouan asked the Lord
what he should do to make his soul humble. The Lord responded as follows: “Keep
thy mind in hell, and despair not”.[73]
Finally, let us discuss the remedies suitable only for
the experienced ascetics. The first of these is the employment of anger against
demonic thoughts. The irascible part of the soul is naturally inclined against
the demons and it is only unnaturally that it is directed otherwise.[74] Impassibility
and perfection may be deemed attained when perfect hatred against the demons is
coupled with absence of anger against other human beings. Such natural hatred,
however, is reserved for the experience ascetics, particularly those that have
overcome human anger. Evagrius claims that when the soul has forgotten its
natural relationship with the irascible faculty, God abandons the monk by
permitting him to suffer terror at the hands of the demons for some time, until
the soul returns to its original hatred.[75] The second
remedy for the experienced ascetics that have overcome vainglory involves a
direct confrontation with the demons, either by citing passages from the Bible
– as did Jesus himself when tempted – or through speaking the true word of God
and thus proving to Satan that he is wrong. Such methods are strongly
discouraged in the case of persons that have yet to achieve some degree of
impassibility, urging them instead to fight logismoi
through contempt, silence and turning one’s eyes from them.[76]
VII. CONCLUSION
The Eastern Orthodox Church and its monastic community
have developed a long and consistent theology on temptations afflicting ascetic
life. Temptations are viewed as mental representations, otherwise known as logismoi, which are conveyed by the
demons in order to cause the stirring of the passions in human beings.
According to the Evagrian scheme regarding the classification of demonic
thoughts – and which has been accepted down the centuries with very slight
modifications, if any – three principal demons/temptations exist: gluttony,
avarice and vainglory. These give rise to the other five, namely, lust,
despondency, pride, dejection and anger. Rejection of the principal three
necessarily cuts off access to the latter five. The purpose of such temptations
is their intrusion in the human soul and inflaming of its irascible and
concupiscible faculties, thereby giving rise to an impulse and perpetration of
the corresponding vice. This constitutes an unnatural exercise of the two
faculties, whose existence in the soul is reserved for love and procreation
(concupiscible) and hatred of the demons (irascible).
The fact that the demons are responsible for this
invisible warfare does not mean that they are capable of challenging God for
spiritual dominion. On the contrary, they too are creatures of God and as such
were made in his image, which is Good. Therefore, demons and evil in general
are a perversion of goodness, not a self-subsistent reality. This means that
the demons can afflict us but they do not know the inner depths of our souls.
The Lord allows them to tempt us so that through such a struggle we can come to
realise our weaknesses and infirmities. This is consistent with Christian
doctrine that no one can be saved contrary to his/her own will. The affliction
of logismoi differ from person to
person and Orthodox monks are adamant that the demons’ greatest achievement is
to convince people that they do not in fact exist. Secular people, preoccupied
with a myriad or worldly affairs, do not ponder on the origin and content of their
thoughts, whereas monks, having set aside all worldly affairs, are constantly
conscious of this warfare in their souls.
Monastic tradition since the days of the early desert
fathers of the fourth century has developed antidotes to the war against spiritual
life. For one thing, they teach us to practice the opposing virtues that
corresponding to each vice. In its extreme form, this is very difficult for
those leading a secular life, but not for the monk whose ascetic environment
and vow of poverty is ideally suited for practicing the opposing virtues of
gluttony, vainglory and avarice. Nonetheless, no monk has ever been free from
these three demons and the example of the demon of avarice subtly intruding the
soul of even the most committed brethren by suggesting that if he were to
administer property or own some money he/she could do many charitable works, is
instructive. The boundaries between avarice and vainglory, gluttony and
fornication are so close that the monks are instructed to confess all thoughts
to their spiritual fathers and strictly abide with their advice, as well as
practice discernment with regard to their thoughts. Those individuals that
overindulge in bodily pleasures and have a slack mind (these two are connected
in any event) fall easy prey to the demons. Therefore, it is important that the
body be hardened and the mind not be allowed to wander. The former is achieved
through fasting, all night vigils, manual labour, austerity, while the latter
by ceaseless prayer and psalmody. An exercise typically reserved for the most
experienced brethren, involves employment of the irascible faculty of the soul
to stir up hatred against the demons.
Notes:
* LLB ( Athens),
LLM (Liverpool), Ph.D ( Liverpool), Dip.
Theology ( Cambridge); Professor of International
Law and Head of Law, Brunel
University.
[1] St. Nicodemus Agiorite, Invisible War [ Aoratos Polemos], p. 53. This treatise was composed
in the latter half of the 18 th century.
[4] Evagrius, On Thoughts 1, translated by R. E. Sinkewitz, Evagrius
of Pontus (OUP, 2003); see also, St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, translated by C. Liubheid and N.
Russell (SPCK, 1982), who follows the Evagrian scheme of evil thoughts and
vices, at pp. 235-55; similarly, St. John Cassian, On the Eight Vices, in the Philokalia, translated by
G. E. H. Palmer, P. Sherrard and K. Ware (Faber and Faber, 1979-1995), pp.
73-93.
[5] Evagrius, On Thoughts 1, id.
[6] St. Gregory of Nyssa, The
Lord’s Prayer,
Introduction, pp. 14-15.
[9] St. Macarius, in M. Plested, The
Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian
Tradition (OUP
2004), p. 79.
[10] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, pp. 23, 133.
[11] See Maximus Confessor, Opuscule 3.
[12] St. Athanasius, The Life of Saint Anthony, pp. 26-29; see also, Gerontikon: Compilation of the Wisdom of the
Fathers [ Gerontikon: Stalagmaties apo tên Peterikê Sophia], pp. 389-91. This treatise, also known as Euergetinos, is compiled with anecdotal stories
and sayings of the desert fathers of the first six centuries.
[13] Evagrius, On Thoughts 18, supra note 4.
[14] St. Athanasius, supra note 12, pp. 22-23.
[15] St.
John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions, pp. 182-84.
[16] Gen. 3:1; see also St. John Damascus, Orthodox
Faith: Book Two,
pp. 228-29.
[18] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, p. 120.
[19] St. Nicodemus, id, p. 135.
[20] St. John Damascus, supra note 16, pp. 261,
263.
[21] See St. Macarius of Egypt, in Plested, supra note 9,
pp. 36-38. Macarius calls the advent of temptation an education for the soul.
[22] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, p. 23; St.
Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, pp. 33-34; Gerontikon, supra note 12, p. 387.
[23] St. John Damascus, Orthodox
Faith: Book Two,
pp. 246-47.
[25] St. Gregory Nyssa, On Virginity, p. 25.
[26] Evagrius, On Thoughts 17; St. John Climacus, supra note
4, at p. 251.
[27] Evagrius demonstrates the arousal of passions
absent temptations by reference to demonic arousal of passions during sleep,
wherein the perceptive senses are shut off to logismoi. Hence, passions exist within us in
dormant form and can be aroused by memory. On
Thoughts 4, 27-29, id.
[28] Gerontas Paisios Aghiorite, Lectures C: Spiritual Struggle [Gerontas Paisios, Logioi G: Pneumakitos Agônas] (2004), pp. 20-32.
[29] Pseudo- Dennys, Divine Names 4:11.
[32] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, pp. 22-23.
[34] St. Basil, Ascetical Works, vol. I, pp. 432.
[37] 2 Tim. 2:26; St. Basil, Ascetical
Works, vol. I, p.
434.
[38] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, p. 37.
[41] St. John Climacus, supra note 4, at p. 239.
[42] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, at p. 124.
[43] St. John Damascus, Orthodox
Faith: Book Two,
pp. 260-61.
[46] St. Nicodemus interprets 2 Cor. 1:9, where
Paul says that on account of their terrible afflictions in Asia they “would
rely not on [themselves] but on God who raises the dead”, as exalting one to
ponder at one’s own sickness by observing one’s thoughts and deeds for a single
day in order to realise how ignorant, selfish and stupid these are. Supra note
1, pp. 23, 133.
[47] St. Nicodemus, id, p. 63.
[52] St. Nicodemus, id, pp. 50-51, distinguishes
between remedies suitable for the weak and alternative ones for the more
experienced brethren.
[53] Such asceticism is not contrary to the bodily
hardships castigated by St. Paul
in Col. 2:20-23, because in the Colossian context Paul criticised severity that
by itself and without the intervention of grace was preached as providing
spiritual maturity and knowledge of all things. Monks, on the other hand,
practice asceticism in order to invite God’s grace.
[54] Evagrius, On Thoughts 3 and 16; St. John Cassian, On
Eight Vices, supra
note 4, p. 76.
[55] Evagrius, Praktikos
58.
[56] Evagrius, On
Thoughts 21; Evagrius, Praktikos
18.
[57] Evagrius, On Thoughts 14, 15.
[58] St. John Climacus, supra note 4, pp. 91-120
[62] Evagrius, Thoughts 1.
[64] St. John Climacus, supra note 4, p. 229.
[65] Evagrius, Thoughts 8.
[66] Evagrius, Thoughts 19.
[68] St. John Cassian, On the Holy Fathers of Sketis, p. 103, in Philokalia, supra note
4.
[69] Evagrius, Praktikos 54, 55.
[70] St. John Climacus, supra note 4, p. 179.
[71] Evagrius, Praktikos
71.
[73] Sophrony, Archimandrite, The Undistorted Image: Staretz Silouan (The Faith Press, 1958), p.
200.
[74] Evagrius, Thoughts 5; St. John Climacus, supra note 4,
p. 153.
[76] St. Nicodemus, supra note 1, pp. 50-51.
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