The Ladder of Divine Ascent -- St. John Climacus A discerning man once asked me: ‘Tell me, tell me, for I desire to know which of the spirits are liable to depress the mind when we sin and which of them to lift it up?’ But I was embarrassed by the question, and on oath I affirmed my ignorance. Then he who wished to learn taught me himself, saying: ‘I shall give you in a few words the leaven of discernment, and then I shall leave you to seek the rest by your own industry. The spirit of lust, the spirit of anger, the spirit of gluttony, the spirit of despondency the spirit of sleepiness have no tendency to lift up the horn of the mind. But the spirit of love of money, ambition, talkativeness and many others add evil to evil. That is why the spirit of criticism is near to the latter.’
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 10:42:44 +0000