Knowing oneself and the path to Christ
If you wish to know who you are, do not compare who you were, but what you have become from the beginning. A glory-seeking soul is a dry pit. A proud soul is a receptacle for robbers, and it hates the sound of knowledge.
For a true man, not knowing the Scriptures is a bad wandering. If you fear God, know him through tears. The humility of the soul is an unutterable weapon. A lover of virtue is a tree of paradise. Jesus Christ is the wood of life; use it as is necessary and you shall by no means die for eternity.
Do good to the truly poor and you will eat Christ. To eat the body of Christ is true strength. If you love Christ, you will not neglect to keep his commandments; for from there one shines as a benefactor with God. He who is a friend according to God flows with milk and honey in true words, but a restless soul will not have such a friend.
A glory-seeking thought is a shouting master. To bury the truth is to silence gold. He who fears God does all things according to God.
Greek
θέλῃς σαυτὸν γνῶναι τίς εἶ, μὴ συγκρίνῃς τίς ἦς, ἀλλὰ τί γέγονας ἐξ ἀρχῆς. 59 Λάκκος ανυδρος φιλόδοξος ψυχή. 60Ὑπερήφανος ψυχὴ πανδοχεῖον λῃστῶν, μισεῖ δὲ ἦχον γνώσεως. 61Ἀληθοῦς ἀνδρὸς πλάνη κακὴ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι τὰς Γραφάς. 62 Εἰ 1 φοβῇ τὸν θεόν, ἐκ τῶν δακρύων γνῶθι. 63Ἄρρηκτον ὅπλον ταπεινοφροσύνη ψυχῆς. 64 ∆ένδρον παραδείσου φιλάρετος ἀνήρ. 65Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ξύλον ἐστὶ ζωῆς. χρῶ αὐτῷ ὡς δεῖ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποθάνῃς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 66 Εὐεργέτει τοὺς οντως πτωχοὺς καὶ βρώσῃ Χριστόν. 67Ῥώμη ἀληθὴς τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ σῶμα ἐσθίειν. 68 Εἰ φιλεῖς τὸν Χριστόν, τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ τηρεῖν οὐκ ἐπιλήσῃ· ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ ἀναφαίνεται εὐεργέτης μετὰ θεόν. 69Ὁ κατὰ θεὸν φίλος ῥέει γάλα καὶ μέλι τοῖς ἀληθέσι λόγοις, ῥᾴθυμος δὲ ψυχὴ τοιοῦτον οὐχ ἕξει φίλον. 70Ὠμὸς δεσπότης φιλήδονος λογισμός. 71 Σιγᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν χρυσόν ἐστι θάπτειν. 72Ὁ φοβούμενος τὸν θεὸν κατὰ θεὸν πάντα ποιεῖ. 2
About this text
Short sayings on self-knowledge, truth, and virtue for monks learning to pray.
Original English Translation of Evagrius Ponticus’s Spiritales sententiae per alphabeticum dispositae — new OET from PG 40 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 40 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.