On the Vices Opposed to the Virtues
De vitiis quae opposita sunt virtutibus
The Opposites of Virtues§1
1On the vices which are opposed to virtues (under the name of Nilus of Ancyra). The same discourse regarding the vices that are the opposites of virtues. It is necessary, I think, to subject the vices that are the opposites of virtues through a cutting-to-the-point method to your love of study; until we have cleared the mind thus, and removed the thorns of the logismoi from the fruitful land. We have not overstepped for this purpose by our own works, but having had a pattern of healthy words which we heard from the Fathers, and having become consistent with some of their actions.
And the whole thing is grace from above, which shows even to sinners the schemes of the foolish, and which secures us, saying: 'For what do you have that you did not receive?' (1 Cor 4:7), so that through receiving we may give thanks to the Giver, not attributing any boast of glory to ourselves, denying the gift. Therefore he says, 'And if you indeed received, why boast, as if you had not received?' (1 Cor 4:7)—'Already, he says, you have become rich'—those who toil in works, or those who have begun to be taught, you have been satisfied, of which error has recently passed into me; through which I have been instructed in reasoning, concealing the toil of works, and through which I have received a judgment countering the apprenticeship of being taught.
But nonetheless, if anyone has held onto forgiveness toward you, grant this also to me, so that I may also subject the vices that are the opposites of virtues by cutting-to-the-point, indicating: what is gluttony, against which is temperance; what is fornication, and against which is self-control; what is avarice, and against which is liberality; sorrow, against which is joy; anger, and against which is patience; and acedia, and against which is endurance; what is vainglory, and against which is humility; envy, and against which is generosity; pride, and against which is lowliness; these things are opposites, and counterparts, and contraries to one another, which we have subjected thus by cutting-to-the-point. Chapter 2. Gluttony is, therefore, the mother of fornication, the nourisher of logismoi.
Greek · §1
De vitiis quae opposita sunt virtutibus (sub nomine Nili Ancyrani) ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΑΥΤΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΑΣ ΑΝΤΙΖΥΓΟΥΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΡΕΤΩΝ ΚΑΚΙΑΣ. 79.1140 ΚΕΦΑΛ. Αʹ. Ἀναγκαῖον ἡγοῦμαι καὶ τὰς ἀντιζύγους τῶν ἀρετῶν κακίας δι' ἐπιτόμου ὑποτάξαι τῇ σῇ φιλοπονίᾳ· ἕως μὲν ὧδε τὴν διάνοιαν ἀροτριάσαντες, τὰς τῶν λογισμῶν ἀκάνθας ἐκ τῆς σπορίμου χώρας ἀνεβάλομεν· οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων δὲ, ἃ ἐποιήσαμεν ἡμεῖς εἰς τοῦτο παρεφθάσαμεν, ἀλλ' ὑποτύπωσιν ἔχοντες ὑγιαινόντων λόγων, ὧν ἠκούσαμεν, παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων, καί τινων τῶν πράξεων συνίστορες γεγενήμεθα. Τὸ δὲ πᾶν ἡ χάρις ἄνωθεν, ἡ καὶ τοῖς ἀμαρτωλοῖς ὑποδεικνύουσα τὰς τῶν φρεναπατῶν ἐπιβουλὰς, ἡ καὶ ἀσφαλιζομένη, καὶ λέγουσα· «Τί γὰρ ἔχεις ὃ οὐκ ἔλαβες;» ἵνα διὰ τοῦ λαβεῖν εὐχαριστῶμεν τῷ δεδωκότι, ὅτι μὴ ἑαυτοῖς ἀποδιδόαμεν καύχημά τι δόξης, τὴν δόσιν ἀρνούμενοι. διόπερ φησὶν, «Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔλαβες, τί καυχᾷ, ὡς μὴ λαβών;» –«Ἥδη, φησὶν, ἐπλουτήσατε» οἱ τοῖς ἔργοις πενόμενοι, ἤδη οἱ τοῦ διδάσκεσθαι ἀρξάμενοι, ἐκορέσθητε, ὧνπερ ἀρτίως ἡ πλάνη μεταβέβηκεν εἰς ἐμέ· δι' ἧς μὲν δεδάνεισμαι λογιστείας, τὴν τῶν ἔργων πενίαν παρακαλύπτων, δι' ἧς δὲ παρῄνεσα γνώμης τὴν τοῦ διδάσκεσθαι μαθητείαν ἀντιπεριτρέπων. Ἀλλ' ὅμως 79.1141 εἴ τις κεκράτηται παρ' ὑμῶν συγγνώμη, κἀμοὶ ταύτην ἀπονείματε, ἵνα καὶ τὰς ἀντιζύγους τῶν ἀρετῶν κακίας δι' ἐπιτόμου ὑποτάξωμεν σημαίνοντες· τί μέν ἐστι γαστριμαργία, καθ' ἧς ἐγκράτεια· τί δὲ πορνεία, καὶ σωφροσύνη· φιλαργυρία δὲ τί, καὶ ἀκτημοσύνη· λύπη, καθ' ἧς ἡ χαρά· ὀργὴ δὲ τί, καὶ μακροθυμία· καὶ ἀκηδία, καὶ ὑπομονή· τί δὲ κενοδοξία, καὶ ἀκενοδοξία, φθόνος, καὶ ἀφθονία, ὑπερηφανία, καὶ ταπείνωσις· ταῦτα ἀντίζυγα, καὶ ἀντίπαλα, καὶ ἀντίθετα ἀλλήλων ὅντα, δι' ἐπιτόμου οὕτως ὑπετάξαμεν. ΚΕΦΑΛ. Βʹ. Ἔστιν οὖν γαστριμαργία, πορνείας μήτηρ, τροφὸς λογισμῶν,
The Metaphorical Definitions of Vices and Virtues§2
2The weakness of fasting, the muzzle of asceticism, the terror of contemplation, the imitation of filth, the shadow-sketch of gluttonies, an unbridled ass, an unbridled madness, a vessel of disease, the envy of health, a dam for pipes, the groan of the intestines, the limit of insolence, a partner in fornication, the filth of the mind, the sickness of the body, a heavy sleep, and a cheerful death. Temperance is a bridle for the stomach, a chew for hunger, a balance for symmetry, a balm for light eating, a cutting off from rest, a rule of hardness, a tamer of thoughts, an eye of wakefulness, a flow of burning, a pedagogue of the body, a tower of labors, and a wall of manners, a restraint of morals, and a check of passions, the death of members, a revival of souls, an imitation of resurrection, and a commonwealth of sanctification.
Fornication is a wave of gluttony, a softener of the heart, a furnace of burning, a bridegroom of idols, an unnatural act, a shadowing form, an imagined entanglement, a bed of dreams, an unfeeling intimacy, the deceit of eyes, the shamelessness of a look, a stumbling block to prayer, the shame of the heart, and a guide to ignorance. Sobriety is an ornament of truth, a crushing of excess, a charioteer of the eyes, a supervisor of thoughts, a circumcision of intention, a cutting away of lawlessness, an opponent of nature, and an opposite to burning, a worker of deeds, and a helper of temperance, a lamp of the heart, and a witness of prayer.
Chapter 3. Love of money is a treasury of idols, a prophecy of the people, a lot for the Sphinx, a calculation of those who depart, wealth of captivity, a race of injustice, a sweetness of diseases, a charm of many years, a song of industry, a counselor of wakefulness, a poverty of the stomach, a uselessness of filth, an insatiable madness, and a multi-anxious evil. Lack of restraint,
Greek · §2
νηστείας ἀτονία, ἀσκήσεως φίμωτρον, στοχασμοῦ φόβητρον, ἐξεικονισμὸς βρωμάτων, σκιαγράφος ἀρτυμάτων, ἀνειμένος πῶλος, ἀχαλίνωτος μανία, δοχεῖον νόσου, ὑγείας φθόνος, φραγμὸς συρίγγων, στεναγμὸς ἐντέρων, ὕβρεων πέρας, πορνείας σύμμιστος, διανοίας ῥύπος, σώματος ἀσθένεια, φορτικὸς ὕπνος, ἀμειδὴς θάνατος. Ἐγκράτεια, γαστρὸς χαλινὸς, ἀπληστείας δὲ μάστιξ, συμμετρίας δὲ σταθμὸς, ἀδηφαγίας δὲ κημὸς, ἀναπαύσεως ἀποταγὴ, σκληρουχίας συνταγὴ, λογισμῶν δαμαστήριον ἀγρυπνίας ὄμμα, πυρώσεως ῥύσις, σώματος παιδαγωγὸς, πόνων πύργος, καὶ τρόπων τεῖχος, ἠθῶν καταστολὴ, καὶ παθῶν ἀναστολὴ, νέκρωσις μελῶν, ἀναβίωσις ψυχῶν, ἀναστάσεως μίμημα, ἁγιασμοῦ πολίτευμα. Πορνεία, λαιμαργίας κύημα, προμαλακτὴρ καρδίας, πυρώσεως κάμινος, νυμφαγωγὸς εἰδώλων, ἀσυγγενὴς πρᾶξις, σκιαζομένη μορφὴ, φανταζομένη συμπλοκὴ, ἐνυπνίων κλίνη, ἀναίσθητος συνουσία, ὀφθαλμῶν δόλος, βλέμματος ἀναίδεια, εὐχῆς ἐντροπὴ, καρδίας αἰσχύνη, ἀγνωσίας ὁδηγός. Σωφροσύνη, ἀληθείας στολὴ, ἀσελγείας πέλυξ, ὀφθαλμῶν ἡνίοχος, ἐπίσκοπος λογισμῶν, ἐννοίας περιτομὴ, ἀκολασίας δὲ ἐκτομὴ, φύσεως ἀντίφυτος, καὶ πυρώσεως ἀντίθετος, ἔργων ἐπεργὸς, καὶ ἐγκρατείας συνεργὸς, καρδίας λαμπτὴρ, εὐχῆς γνώμων. 1 ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ. Φιλαργυρία εἰδώλων φειδωλεῖον, δήμου προφητεία, σφιγγίας ψῆφος, ἐναποθέτων λογιστεία, αἰχμαλωσίας πλοῦτος, ἀδικίας γένος, νοσημάτων πιότης, πολυετίας μάντις, φιλεργίας ἐπῳδὸς, ἀγρυπνίας σύμβουλος, γαστρὸς πενία, βρωμάτων εὐτέλεια, ἀκόρεστος μανία. πολυμέριμνος κακία. Ἀκτημοσύνη,
Antithetical Qualities§3
3I uproot greed for silver, but plant the root of non-greed, the fruit of love, and the cross of life; a painless life, an envy-free treasure, a carefree heaven, an undiverted sun, immeasurable matter, incomprehensible wealth, a sickle for anxiety, the practice of the Gospels, and an unloosed cosmos. A swift-running combatant.
Sorrow: a dweller in loss, a companion of failure, a forerunner of exile, a memory of kinship, a sidekick of constriction, a fellow-traveler of listlessness, a crime of agitation, a reminder of insolence, and a darkening of the soul, a downfall of morals, a drunkenness of prudence, a sleeping antidote, a cloud of form, a worm of the flesh, a grief of thoughts, a people of captivity.
Joy: the destruction of sorrow, and the thanksgiving of misfortunes, the vision of prayers, and the gladness of labors, the cheerfulness of well-doing, an infusion of renunciation, a vessel of hospitality, a refuge of hopes, food for those practicing asceticism, an exhortation for those mourning, a consolation for tears, a grasp for distress, a breath of love, and a companion of patience.
Anger: a robbery of prudence, a reconstruction of order, a confusion of nature, a wild form, a furnace of the heart, a raging flame, a law of passion, the wrath of the insolent, a mother of beasts, a silent battle, a hindrance to prayer.
Patience: a weapon of prudence, a court for anger, a physician of the heart, an admonition for the rash, a calm for the troubled, a harbor without drought, well-doing for those who grieve, gentleness toward all, blessing the blasphemed, rejoicing when insulted, a comfort for the distressed, a mirror for those hoping, a prize for those being mistreated.
Chapter 4. Acedia: an airy friendship, a wanderer of platforms, a hatred of industry, a battle against stillness, a frenzy of psalmody, a weariness of prayer, a loosening of asceticism, untimely...
Greek · §3
φιλαργυρίας ἐκρίζωμα, ἀφιλαργυρίας δὲ ῥίζωμα, καρπὸς ἀγάπης, καὶ σταυρὸς ζωῆς, ἀνώδυνος βίος, ἀνεπίφθονος θησαυρὸς, ἀμέριμνος οὐρανὸς, ἀπερίσπαστος ἥλιος, ἀμέτρητος ὕλη, ἀκατάληπτος πλοῦτος, μερίμνης δρέπανον, Εὐαγγελίων πρᾶξις, ἄλυτος κόσμος. ὀξύδρομος ἀγωνιστής. Λύπη, ζημίας ἔνοικος, ἀποτυχίας συνόμιλος, ξενιτείας πρόδρομος, συγγενείας μνήμη, στενώσεως πάρεδρος, ἀκηδίας σύμφοιτος, παροξυσμοῦ ἔγκλημα, ὕβρεως ὑπόμνημα, καὶ ψυχῆς σκότισμα, ἠθῶν κατήφεια, φρονήσεως μέθη, ὑπνω 79.1144 τικὸν ἀντίδοτον, μορφῆς νέφος, σαρκὸς σκώληξ, λογισμῶν λύπη, αἰχμαλωσίας δῆμος. Χαρὰ, λύπης ὄλεθρος, καὶ συμφορῶν εὐχαριστία, εὐχῶν ὀπτασία. καὶ πόνων εὐφρασία, εὐποιΐας ἱλαρότης, ἀποταγῆς ἔνθεμα, φιλοξενίας δοχεῖον, ἐλπίδων καταφυγὴ, ἀσκούντων τροφὴ, πενθούντων παραίνεσις, δακρύων παρηγορία, θλίψεως ἀντίληψις, ἀγάπης ἔμψηφος, καὶ μακροθυμίας σύμψηφος. Ὀργὴ, φρονήσεως διαρπαγὴ, καταστάσεως ἀνασκευὴ, φύσεως σύγχυσις, ἠγριωμένη μορφὴ, κάμινος καρδίας, ἐρευγομένη φλὸξ, θυμοῦ νόμος, ὕβρεων μῆνις, μήτηρ θηρίων, σιωπῶσα μάχη, εὐχῆς σκῶλον. Μακροθυμία, φρονήσεως ὅπλον, ὀργῆς δικαστήριον καρδίας, ἰατρεῖον, θρασυνομένων νουθεσία, ταρασσομένων γαλήνη, ἀχείμαστος λιμὴν, λυποῦσιν εὐποιΐα, πρὸς πάντας ἠπιότης, βλασφημουμένη εὐλογεῖ, ὑβριζομένη ἀγάλλεται, στενουμένων παραμύθιον, ἐλπιζομένων ἔσοπτρον, κακουχουμένων βραβεῖον. ΚΕΦΑΛ. ∆ʹ. Ἀκηδία, φιλία ἀερικὴ, βημάτων περιαγωγὸς, φιλεργίας μῖσος, ἡσυχίας μάχη, ψαλμῳδίας ζάλη, εὐχῆς ὄκνος, ἀσκήσεως χαύνωσις, ἄωρος
Antithetical Lists of Virtues and Vices§4
4Drowsiness, a sleep that turns one about, the weight of mania, the hatred of the cell, the rival of labors, the counterweight to endurance, a tomb for meditation, ignorance of the Scriptures, a participant in sorrow, the almanac of hunger. Patience, the cessation of acedia, the cutting off of logismoi, the care for death, the meditation on the cross, a fear that holds one nailed down, gold being struck, a lawbook of tribulations, a book of thanksgiving, the armor of stillness, a weapon of labors, a beauty that seeks, a record of virtues.
Vanity, the fantasy of chance, a semblance of fondness, the opposite of truth, the leader of heresies, the presidency of desire, the extreme of social intercourse, the slavery of praise, a much-scheming spirit, a thousand-toothed beast; vanity is enwrapped in the midst of pride and envy, being among one another and warring through one another, the three-fold chain of evils, the three-fold medicinal draught for the passions, the triple tongue of the heretics.
Freedom from vanity, the work of humility, the departure from pleasing-others, the overlooking of praise, the contemplation of knowledge, the opposite of the world, the sensitivity of the soul, the doctrine of simplicity, the secrecy of labors, the hostility to good report, a hidden treasure in a corruptible body.
Envy, the garment of pride, the footwear of humility, the root of slandering, the blindness of cheerfulness, the hypocrisy of friendship, the deceit of boldness, the enmity of love, the jealousy of those prospering, the turmoil of those standing firm, the mockery of those spoken well of, the alteration of the eyes.
Who is the one pure in heart (Matt 5:8), who does not take it upon himself to disregard, or fail, or neglect a commandment of God? But let Christ our Lord be the easy path for every work of His will. To Him be the glory unto the ages. Amen.
Greek · §4
νυσταγμὸς, περιστρεφόμενος ὕπνος, μανίας βάρος, κέλλης μῖσος, πόνων ἀντίπαλος, καρτερίας ἀντίζυγος, μελέτης κήμωτρον, Γραφῶν ἀμαθία, λύπης μέτοχος, ὁρωλόγιον πείνης. Ὑπομονὴ, ἀκηδίας διακοπὴ, λογισμῶν κατακοπὴ, θανάτου μέριμνα, σταυροῦ μελέτη, καθηλωμένος φόβος, τυπτόμενος χρυσὸς, θλίψεων νομοθήκη, βίβλος εὐχαριστίας, θώραξ ἡσυχίας, πόνων ὅπλον, ἀναζέουσα καλλιπονία, ἀρετῶν ὑπογραφή. Κενοδοξία, συντυχίας φαντασία, σχημάτισμα φιλοπονίας, ἀληθείας ἐναντία, αἱρέσεων ἀρχηγέτις, ὄρεξις προεδρίας, ἐσχάτη προσηγορίας, ἐπαίνων δουλεία, πολυσχημάτιστον πνεῦμα, μυριόδοντον θηρίον, κενοδοξίας μέση ὑπερηφανίᾳ πέπλεκται καὶ φθόνῳ, ἐν ἀλλήλοις ὄντα, καὶ δι' ἀλλήλων πολεμοῦντα, ἡ τρίσυρος ἅλυσις τῶν κακῶν, τὸ τριφάρμακον κέρασμα τῶν παθῶν, ἡ τριττὴ γλῶττα τῶν αἱρετικῶν. Ἀκενοδοξία, ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐργασία, ἀρεσκείας ἀποστασία, ἐπαίνων ἀβλεψία, γνώσεως θεωρία, κόσμου ἐναντία, ψυχῆς εὐαισθησία, εὐτελείας δόγμα, πόνων κρυπτηρία, εὐφημίας πολεμία, ἐν φθαρτῷ σώματι ἀπόκρυφος θησαυρός. Φθόνος, ὑπερηφανίας ἔνδυμα, ταπεινοφροσύνης ἀπόδυμα, καταλαλιᾶς ῥίζα, εὐθυμίας ὀφθαλμία, φιλίας ὑπόκρισις, παῤῥησίας δόλος, ἀγάπης ἔχθρα, εὐδοκιμούντων ζῆλος, εὐσταθούντων τύρβη, εὐφημουμένων σκῶμμα, ὀφθαλμῶν ἀλλοίωμα. Τίς ἐστιν ὁ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὁ μὴ λαμβανόμενος ἑαυτοῦ ἐπὶ ἐντολῆς Θεοῦ ἀθετήσει, ἢ ἐλλείψει, ἢ ἐν ἀμελείᾳ; Χριστὸς δὲ ἡμῶν ἔστω παντὶ ἔργῳ θελήματος αὐτοῦ εὔοδος. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν. 2