The Agitation of the Soul and Demonic Strategy

The demon of vainglory, having blown against us, will cause us to receive a shipwreck. Therefore also our Lord in the Gospels, training the mind's ruling power, says: 'Take care not to perform our almsgiving before men to be seen by them, but if not, you shall not have a reward from your Father who is in the heavens' (Matt 6:1, 4). And again: 'When you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand praying in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, so as to appear to men; truly I say to you, they have received their reward' (Matt 6:5). And again he says: 'When you fast, do not become like the hypocrites, gloomy-faced; for they make their faces disappear, so as to appear to men fasting; truly I say to you, they have received their reward' (Matt 6:16).

But one must pay attention here to the Physician of souls, how through almsgiving he heals the passion, through prayer he cleanses the mind, and again through fasting he weakens the desire, from which the new man is composed, being renewed according to the image of the Creator of him, in whom there is no male and female through holy impassibility, nor through the one faith and love, Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, slave and free, but all things in all are Christ (Gal 3:28).

Chapter 4. And it must be sought how in the fantasies during sleep the demons strike our governing faculty and shape things; for such a thing seems to happen to the mind, either through the eyes seeing, or through the hearing, or again through a sense making, or from the memory which, governing faculty, moves these things, not through the body, except what it had through the body. The demons, then, it seems to me, moving the memory, strike the governing faculty; for the organ is held inactive by sleep. How, then, again they move the memory, it must be sought, perhaps through the passions? And this is evident from the fact that the pure and impassible ones no longer suffer such a thing. And there is also a certain movement occurring by us, or by holy powers, through which we encounter holy ones in dreams and converse with them and are gathered together. However, one must pay attention that what the soul receives as images along with the body, the memory receives these without the body.

This also moves the soul, which is clear from the fact that we suffer this even in sleep while the body is at rest. For just as one remembers water, both when thirsty and without thirst; so it is to remember gold, both with greed and without greed, and likewise regarding other matters. But for the mind to find differences between such and such fantasies is a recognition of their bad craftsmanship.

And this must also be understood: that the demons also make use of external things for their fantasies, as the sound of waves does for the many. Our passion, moving by nature, is extremely helpful to the demons' aim, and becomes most useful for all their schemes; therefore, none of them refrains from agitating this passion by night and during the day. But when they see him having been caught by gentleness, they immediately release him upon such pretexts as they please, so that, having become sharper, he may be useful to their beastly thoughts; therefore, it is necessary that he either agitates himself not for just things, nor for unjust things, or gives an evil sword to those who are being subjugated. Of which I often observe many doing, and more than is necessary, being agitated by small pretexts.

Chapter 5. For for what purpose, tell me, do you rush so quickly into battle—if it is that you have despised foods, and reputation, and material things? And why do you feed the dog, promising it nothing? If this dog hunts and also attacks men, it is evident that he possesses something within and wishes to guard these things. But I am persuaded that for such a person, distant, through pure prayer, the passion is muddied, knowing such a thing.

And regarding these things I marvel, even concerning the forgotten words of the saints: of David crying out, 'Cease from anger, and forsake your wrath' (Ps 37:8); of the Preacher commanding, 'Remove anger from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh' (Eccl 11:10); and of the Apostle commanding, 'Without anger and doubts, in every place lift up holy hands to the Lord' (1 Tim 2:8). And do we not learn from the mysterious and ancient habit of men, where dogs pursue people from houses at the time of prayer, and this being hinted at, that the passion should not be present with those praying? And again: 'The wine of the wrath of dragons' Rev 17:6.