Nilus of Ancyra→Paul|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To the same person.
Whenever some righteous and holy man comes upon one who is harassed by a [evil] spirit, then the afflicted one is disturbed all the more. So it is, then, when we too are singing psalms and praying: the demons, tormented and in agony, as though some righteous and warlike man—namely, the work of piety—had charged against them, are inflamed and stirred up, and rage the more at that moment; and, being able to do nothing further, they hurl the forbidden thoughts against us like fiery darts. Only let us not cease from praying and singing psalms, and we shall see them, before long, dwindling away from us like smoke.
Whenever some righteous and holy man comes upon one who is harassed by a [evil] spirit, then the afflicted one is disturbed all the more. So it is, then, when we too are singing psalms and praying: the demons, tormented and in agony, as though some righteous and warlike man—namely, the work of piety—had charged against them, are inflamed and stirred up, and rage the more at that moment; and, being able to do nothing further, they hurl the forbidden thoughts against us like fiery darts. Only let us not cease from praying and singing psalms, and we shall see them, before long, dwindling away from us like smoke.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.