Letter 375

To Aetius the Monk. Since you pursue reading not for the sake of humility but for the sake of vainglory, for this reason the temptation of fornication abides with you; for luxury is not profitable to the fool, nor is it profitable to the conceited man to be forever reading and to take pleasure in lofty discourse. For knowledge greatly puffs up [1 Corinthians 8:1] the man who is vain-minded and reckless, and it injures the boaster, just as wine injures one who is in a fever. Therefore, in order that the swelling of the soul may be emptied out, of necessity the demon stands over you, pressing hard and exposing the man who has been puffed up. And if you wish to see him withdraw more quickly, resolve to reach the unshakable tower of humility, and, having armed yourself with vigils and with many prayers and with the chanting of the psalms, you will behold with your own eyes the destruction of the enemy.

Ἐπειδὴ οὐχὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης χάριν, ἀλλὰ κενοδοξίας μετέρχῃ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν, διὰ τοῦτο παραμένει σοι ὁ τῆς πορνείας πειρασμός· οὐ γὰρ συμφέρει τῷ ἄφρονι τρυφή, οὐδὲ τῷ τετυφωμένῳ τὸ ἀεὶ ἀναγινώσκειν, καὶ τῆς ὑψηγορίας ἀπολαύειν. Ἡ γὰρ γνῶσις φυσιεῖ [φυσία;] ἐπὶ πολὺ τὸν ματαιοφρονοῦντα, καὶ ἀπονενoημένον, καὶ βλάπτει τὸν ἀλαζόνα, ὥσπερ ὁ οἶνος; τὸν πυρέττοντα βλάπτει. Ὥστε οὖν κενωθῆναι τὸ φύσημα τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀναγκαίως ὁ δαίμων ἐφέστηκε πιέζων, καὶ ἐξελέγχων τὸν πεφυσιωμένον. Καὶ δὲ βούλει τοῦτον ἰδεῖν θᾶττον ὑποχωροῦντα, θέλησον φθάσαι τὴν τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης ἀκατάσειστον πύργον, καὶ καθοπλισάμενος ταῖς ἀγρυπνίαις, καὶ ταῖς πολλαῖς προσευχαῖς, καὶ τῇ τῶν ψαλμῶν ἐπῳδῇ, ὀφθαλμοῖς θεωρήσεις τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τὴν ἀπώλειαν.