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THE CLASSICS OF WESTERN SPIRITUALITY
A Library of the Great Spiritual Masters

President and Publisher

Kevin A. Lynch, C.S.P.

EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor-in-Chief
Richard J. Payne
Associate Editor
John Farina
Editorial Consultant
Ewert H. Cousins—Professor and Director of Spirituality
Graduate Program, Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.
John E. Booty—Professor of Church History, Episcopal
Divinity School, Cambridge, Mass.
Joseph Dan—Professor of Kaballah in the Department of Jewish
Thought, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.
Albert Deblaere—Professor of the History of Spirituality,
Gregorian University, Rome, Italy.
Louis Dupré—T.L. Riggs Professor in Philosophy of
Religion, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Rozanne Elder—Executive Vice President, Cistercian
Publications, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Mircea Eliade—Professor in the Department of the History of
Religions, University of Chicago, Chicago, III.
Anne Fremantle—Teacher, Editor and Writer, New York, N.Y.
Karlfried Froelich—Professor of the History of the Early and
Medieval Church, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.
Arthur Green—Assistant Professor in the Department of
Religious Thought, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.
Stanley S. Harakas—Dean of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox
Seminary, Brookline, Mass.
Jean Leclercq—Professor, Institute of Spirituality and
Institute of Religious Psychology, Gregorian University, Rome, Italy.
Miguel Leon-Portilla—Professor Mesoamerican Cultures
and Languages, National University of Mexico, University City,
Mexico.
George A. Maloney, S.J.—Director, John XXIII
Ecumenical Center, Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y.
Bernard McGinn—Professor of Historical
Theology and History of Christianity, University of Chicago
Divinity School, Chicago, III.
John Meyendorff—Professor of Church History, Fordham
University, Bronx, N.Y., and Professor of Patristics and Church
History, St. Vladimir’s Seminary, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr—Professor of Islamics, Department of
Religion, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa., and Visiting Professor,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Heiko A. Oberman—Director, Institute fuer
Spaetmittelalter und Reformation, Universitaet Tuebingen, West
Germany.
Alfonso Ortiz—Professor of Anthropology, University of
New Mexico, Albuquerque, N. Mex.; Fellow, The Center for
Advanced Study, Stanford, Calif.,
Raimundo Panikkar—Professor, Department of Religious
Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara, Calif.
Jaroslav Pelikan—Sterling Professor of History and Religious
Studies, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
Fazlar Rahman—Professor of Islamic Thought, Department of Near
Eastern Languages and Civilization, University of
Chicago, Chicago, III.
Annemarie B. Schimmel—Professor of Hindu Muslim Culture,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Sandra M. Schneiders—Assistant Professor of New
Testament Studies and Spirituality, Jesuit School of Theology,
Berkeley, Calif.
Huston Smith—Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion,
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
John R. Sommerfeldt—Professor of History, University of
Dallas, Irving, Texas.
David Steindl-Rast—Monk of Mount Savior Monastery,
Pine City, N.Y.
William C. Sturtevant—General Editor, Handbook of North
American Indians, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
David Tracy—Professor of Theology, University of Chicago
Divinity School, Chicago, III.
Victor Turner—William B. Kenan Professor in
Anthropology, The Center for Advanced Study, University of
Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
Kallistos Ware—Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford;
Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies, Oxford
University, England.
John-Climacus
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

TRANSLATION
BY
COLM LUIBHEID and
NORMAN RUSSELL

NOTES ON TRANSLATION
BY
NORMAN RUSSELL

INTRODUCTION
BY
KALLISTOS WARE

PREFACE
BY
COLM LUIBHEID

NR
PAULIST PRESS
EE ET

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eennn aE EEEEEEUEEEEEEES SEES

Copyright © 1982 by the

Missionary Society of St. Paul
the Apostle in the State of New York

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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 Contents

FOREWORD

ABBREVIATIONS

PREFACE XI

INTRODUCTION

THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT 71

INDEXES 293
 Translators of This Volume
COLM LUIBHEID was born in Dublin in 1936 and received his
B.A. and M.A. from University College, Dublin. He was awarded a
Ph.D. in Classics from Princeton University. Since 1961 he has been a
member of the teaching staff at University College, Galway. His
scholarly interests focus on the early Church in the eastern half of the
Mediterranean between the third and fifth centuries. In addition to
publishing two books on Eusebius, he is preparing a volume on John
Cassian for this series. Dr. Luibheid lives with his wife and four chil-
dren in the village of Abbeyknockmoy, near Galway.

REV. NORMAN VICTOR RUSSELL was born in Belfast in 1945

and was educated at King’s College, University of London. Subse-
quently he took his theology degrees at Oxford. In 1971 he was or-
dained Deacon in the Church of England. After being received into
the Catholic Church a year later he was ordained a priest of the Con-
gregation of the Oratory. Father Russell is an editor of Sobornost and
has contributed to the English editions of the Philokalia and The Lives
of the Desert Fathers.

Author of the Introduction

BISHOP KALLISTOS WARE was born in Bath in 1934 and was
educated at the Westminster School, London, and Magdalen College,
Oxford where he studied Classics, Philosophy and Theology. Re-
ceived into the Orthodox Church in 1958, he was ordained a priest in
1966, the same year he took monastic vows at the Monastery of St
John the Theologian in Patmos. In 1982 he was consecrated titular
Bishop of Diokleia and appointed assistant bishop in the Orthodox
Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Since 1966 he has been
been Spalding Lecturer in Eastern Orthodox Studies at Oxford, and
in 1970 he became a Fellow at Pembroke College. He is the co-editor
of Sobornost and the author of many books, including The Orthodox
Church.
 FOREWORD

If there are numerous and well-founded doubts concerning the

few spare details of the biography of John Climacus, or John Scholas-
ticus, there is little risk of over-estimating the influence of the treatise
which emerged from the pen of this notably elusive figure whose life
touched the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh centu-
ries. The Ladder of Divine Ascent is undeniably a classic of early Chris-
tian spirituality. It offers advice, counsel and guidance to those
capable of embarking on that difficult road whose summit is encoun-
ter with God, and it embodies the fruit both of long personal experi-
ence and of the intensely dynamic insights of earlier generations of
men caught up in the first great surge of monasticism.
The present translation is based on the text printed by Migne—
Patrologia Graeca 88. Apart from the details to be gathered in the stan-
dard handbooks of patrology, a most useful and wide-ranging bibliog-
raphy has been supplied by Guerric Couilleau at the end of his
article, Jean Climaque in Dictionnaire de Spiritualité, Fasc. 1ii-1iii (Paris)
1972. This is to be strongly recommended to anyone wishing to ex-
plore the various issues raised by the impact of The Ladder of Divine
Ascent.
 ABBREVIATIONS

DHGE: Dictionnaire d’bistoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques (Paris)

DS: Dictionnaire de spiritualité (Paris)
DTC: Dictionnaire de théologie catholique (Paris)
ET: English translation
HTM: _ St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, translated by
Archimandrite Lazarus (Moore) (revised edition by the
Holy Transfiguration Monastery: Boston, Massachusetts
1978).
PG: J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca (Paris)
PE J.-P. Migne, Patrologia Latina (Paris) .
Phil.: St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of
Corinth, The Philokalia, translated by G.E.H. Palmer, P.
Sherrard and K. Ware, vol. 1 (London & Boston 1979).
Rader: Matthew Rader, editor of the text printed in Migne.

References to St. John Climacus, The Ladder, are given as follows: first
the number of the step; then the column number from PG 88; finally
the page number of the present translation. Thus “4 (677C), p. 45”
signifies: Step 4, PG 88, col. 677C, p. 45 below.
To the Shepherd (Ad Pastorem) is cited as Past., followed by the
chapter number and the column number in PG 88, and then the page
number of the HTM translation.
Old Testament references are to the Septuagint.
 PREFACE

To Western eyes, the monk increasingly is a figure of yesterday,

and the commonest images of him are of the kind to make easy the
patronizing smile, the confidently dismissive gesture, or that special
tolerance extended to the dotty and the eccentric. Around Friar
Tuck, with his cheerful obesity, and Brother Francis, harming no one
as he talks to birds and animals, vaguer ghosts manage to cluster,
gaunt, cowled, faintly sinister, eyes averted or else looking heaven-
ward, a skull clutched in a wasted hand, with gloom arising and
laughter dead. Somewhere in the background there are bells and
hymns, and psalms chanted long after midnight; and, as if to confirm
that these are only the leftovers of a past surely and mercifully gone,
there is the dumb presence of all those European monasteries visited
for ten scheduled minutes during a guided tour, or else sought out on
warmer evenings by courting couples.
But for the Christian, that is, for someone who believes that there
is a God, that God has manifested Himself in historical surroundings
in the person of Christ, and that insights and obligations are thereby
held up to everybody, the monk cannot easily be shrugged off. Cer-
tainly in the aftermath of the immense changes that have occurred in
the outlook of Christians since the end of World War II, the future of
the religious order or community as such may well be problematic,
but this in no way alters the deeper challenge presented by the monk.
For here is someone who, so it would-appear, has deliberately with-
drawn from the usual patterns of living.
In this matter, of course, one has to tread with great care, since
the meaning of such a withdrawal is not absolute, but is conditioned

Xi
 PREFACE

by and must be understood in terms of the norms and customs of the

era in which it occurs. And even if historical evidence can help to iso-
late what seem to be the characteristic features of a widely shared out-
look at a given time, this still leaves mostly untouched the precise set
of reasons impelling a particular person to choose a type of living that
involves some form of renunciation, some decision to opt out of the
way of the world.
But again, the difficulties begin to multiply. A linguistic usage,
so long employed by Christians that it has the look of being quite sim-
ply “natural,” surrounds the individual monk with a wall of venera-
ble words, a wall more solid and enduring than any that may set the
boundaries of the area where he actually lives. For the talk is of
“withdrawal” from “the world,” of “renunciation,” of a “monastic
life” in contrast with the way other people happen to live, of being
“apart from,” “away from” the rest of mankind, of pursuing a “‘dedi-
cated” and “consecrated” path. And this language, with its emphasis
on the differences between the monk and all others, very quickly be-
gins to generate something more than a mere set of descriptions. It
begins to imply a value system, a yardstick of achievement and worth
until at last, and not surprisingly, there grows the irresistible urge to
speak of a “higher,” “fuller,” and “more perfect” way of life.
Words of this sort, words lined and laced with implications of
particular values, are the co-relations of belief, of commitment, and of
action. Language of this kind, endlessly repeated by ecclesiastical
writers and preachers, has long been characteristic of Christian prac-
tice and has been received largely without demur. But the power of
words is not a constant; and the impact of a terminology that claims,
among other things, that the clerical, and specifically the monastic,
way is a “higher” calling grows greater or lesser in proportion to the
number and availability of competing terminologies. And when, as in
the last quarter of the twentieth century, there is in fact a prolifera-
tion of serious and compelling value systems, then the force of an ex-
clusively Christian rhetoric is inevitably weakened, even for
Christians. The mere assertion of a value is no longer matched, as it
used to be in other days, by a willingly affirmative response, and the
timely quotation from Leo XIII or from Thomas Aquinas cannot
now be relied on to still doubts or to answer questions.
There is in all of this a situation unique in Christian experience,
for it has long been a popular notion that Christianity is a religion of
the book; and it has certainly been the case that the Bible, the com-

Xi
 PREFACE

mentary, and the exegetical tract have supplied the material and the
language in which the sermon, the homily, and the theological analy-
sis have been firmly grounded. The pastoral letter, the authorized
hymn, and the training manual for future clerics have extended the
range and the reach of a discourse whose themes and elaborations
have reverberated ceaselessly in the consciousness of believers. Year
after year, scripted prayers have been read aloud to a congregation
that is either silent or else invited to repeat them, and stock themes of
petition or praise, with all that this implies by way of what is accept-
able or not, have directed the minds of worshipers to a landscape of
concern, a domain of reality that for long had the appearance of being
unique. Until, that is, the coming of other rhetorics and other certain-
ties. So that now there are, in a sense, too many books, too many
claims to attention in a world geared for the instant transmission of
every idea, event, and apocalypse. And the Christian, bombarded
from every quarter by the exigencies of the day, is less and less able to
operate exclusively within the frontiers established for his forebears
by a language rooted in biblical detail.
Given those circumstances, it is reasonable to wonder how a
Christian may now cope with the vast literature to which he is heir. It
is also reasonable to anticipate that he will approach it with some-
thing less than automatic deference. And amid all the competing
voices, his capacity to deploy a commitment and a sustained interest
may well diminish as he strives to assemble for himself and for his
friends criteria of evaluation that make some kind of accepted sense.
eee ro al work like The Ladder of Divine

But for the moment they

must be directed to this treatise, which had a very considerable influ-
ence during a lengthy era in the history of the Church. And, in any
case, if something useful can be said of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, it
may contribute a little to the resolution of the problem presented to-
day by the figure of the monk.
The setting at least can be readily established. The Ladder is a
product of that great surge of monasticism which appeared first in
Egypt during the third century, spread rapidly through all of Eastern
Christendom, and eventually reached the West by way of the mediat-

Xili
 PREFACE

ing zeal of figures such as John Cassian. The general history of this
most influential development in the life of the early Church is well
known, even if details and certain interpretations continue to preoc-
cupy scholars, and there is no need to attempt here a sketch of what
has been so well described by others. But in justice to the author of
the Ladder it would be important to make a few preliminary com-
o lessen the pose of serious Des ndersiane Nee:
itshould
be obser tna d $s1i0n OF ea vy mol sti-

complete without its due quota ot ibrious tales. The ap-

palled scholar and the generous opponent of zealotry can choose from
and grade a seemingly endless supply of horror stories, and someone
familiar with the relevant literature finds himself on the lookout for
the better-known figures: the monk who constructed for himself a
cell too tiny to permit him ever to stand up or to lie down, the stylites
who perched for decades on top of their sunscorched pillars, the
Egyptian whose boast was that he was closer to being a corpse than
anyone else. These are not the figments of some Gothic imagination,
and frequently one may construct from various sources solid bio-
graphical details. Take, for instance, the case of Barsauma, a fifth-cen-
tury monk from Syria, a region notable for the numbers who
displayed a positive genius in the extravagant penances they managed
to devise for themselves. Barsauma first had himself chained to a
rock-face, and only when it was pointed out to him that he would be
unlikely to survive long enough to practice the penance he had in
view did he change his plans. Instead he took to wearing an iron tu-
nic, vowed never to sit or to recline, hung himself in an upright posi-
tion whenever he had to sleep, and attracted in this way fascinated
and uncritical disciples who, at his bidding, wrecked and looted syna-
gogues in the name of the God they all worshiped.
Barsauma was not unique, and the Ladder too has its own contri-
bution to make to this image of extremism:

. there were men in hardship and bowed down to the end

of their lives, going about each day in sadness, their bodies’
wounds stinking of rottenness and yet unnoticed by them.
They forgot to eat their bread; their drink was mixed with
tears. They ate dust and ashes instead of bread; their bones
stuck to their flesh and they were dried up like grass....
You could see the tongues on some of them dry and hanging

X1V
 PREFACE

from their mouths in the manner of dogs. Some punished

themselves in the blazing sun, others tortured themselves in
the cold, while others, again, drank only as much water as
would keep them from dying of thirst.... With knees like
wood, as a result of all the prostrations, with eyes dimmed
and sunken, with hair gone and cheeks wasted and scalded
by many hot tears, with faces pale and worn, they were no
different from corpses. Their breasts were livid from all the
beatings, which had even made them spit blood. There was
no rest for them in beds, no clean and laundered clothing.
They were bedraggled, dirty, and verminous. (Step 5)

Such tales earn a disproportionate measure of attention among

many of those dealing with the phenomenon of early monasticism.
The stories are too vivid, too imperious for the imagination to be able
to remain unengaged, and the decent witness or the gentle historian,
accustomed to worthy ideals and the advantages of hygiene, recoils in
distaste from what he takes to be the repulsive excesses of guilt-ridden
and maddened wretches. Indeed, so intense is the inclination to dwell
on the spectacular or the repulsive aspects of the first Christian
monks that the attempt to describe their hopes and practices regular-
ly degenerates into caricature or well-bred irony. And this is surely
regrettable since even the available evidence points unambiguously to
the fact that very many of the first monks were wholly admirable
men, gentle, wise, and loving, capable of great heroism and moved by
an abiding trust in God. Figures remarkable by any standard
emerged from their monastic surroundings to leave an enduring
mark on the character and quality of their times; and in the fourth
and fifth centuries some of the most effective men, some of the men
most able to provide leadership and inspiration to countless thou-
sands, were actually dedicated ascetics. In other words, the emphasis
on the sensational features of early monastic life is apt to provide a
lopsided and seriously misleading historical picture.
But whether the focus of attention be on the saint, on the fanatic,
or indeed on the common and ordinary human, no one would deny
that hardship and strict regimentation marked the lives of the early
monks. And this too calls for brief comment, since a complex net-
work of incentives—religious, psychological, social, and anthropo-
logical—is in play whenever the issue of discipline is seriously

XV
 PREFACE

invoked. There seems to be an attraction in the spectacle of discipline,

irrespective of the values that may happen to underlie it in a given
context. A strangely recurrent terminology shows up among Chris-
tians, Marxists, Manichees, army officers, revolutionaries, right-wing
extremists, and racists, and it consecrates the inherent worth of re-
straint, self-sacrifice, manliness, solidarity with one’s comrades, the
“cause,” the need to struggle, and the requirement to fight against
sin, corruption, and weakness. Translated into practice, this vocabu-
lary can be brought to exemplify what is manifestly right—or righ-
teous. Such proclaimed values draw continued admiration, regardless
of the brotherhood that may happen to have betrayed them; and pre-
cisely because they have long held so great an appeal for so many, it is
foolish to try (as some do) to confine within a comfortable generaliza-
tion the reasons why men in their thousands join a particular move-
ment. A student of motives is not much helped by the statement that,
for instance, the national humiliation stemming from the Versailles
treaty was the cause of the growing membership of the Nazi party, or
the economic and social dislocation of the third century was responsi-
ble for the rise of monasticism.
However, there is one feature of the unrelaxed severity and disci-
pline of early monastic life that certainly ought to be adverted to and
that offers a clue to the reasons why some men resolve to join a reli-
gious community; namely, the undeniable correlation between hard-
ship and an intense marshaling of inner, and frequently unsuspected,
resources. Words cannot really encompass what happens here. But
the fact seems well established. In the evidence of the Gulag Archi-
pelago, in the testimony of men like Solzhenitsyn, Tertz, Panin, and
Shifrin, in the records of the tidal wave of misery let loose by German
Nazism, there is a persistent and humbling proof of the capacity of
individuals, trapped amid the worst conditions of deprivation, to un-
lock an inner dynamism, which often is manifested as a commanding
faith in God and which must never be confused with the understan-
dable motive of escapism. It has happened too often in twentieth-cen-
tury experience to be trivialized or explained away; and somewhere
within it lies a common bond with the ordeals, voluntarily undertak-
en, and the achievements of the first monks of the Church. Sharp dif-
ferences of time and circumstance do not alter the shared character of
the early saint and that prisoner of our day who has climbed beyond
gross suffering and oppression to arrive at a level of richness beyond

Xv1
 PREFACE

all common imagining. And because this is so, the decision of a man
to take on himself the discipline of a hard religious life may not, after
all, be so odd and unintelligible.
That many of the first monks had glimpsed a connection be-
tween the experience of hardship and an enhanced spirituality is evi-
dent in the writings of the early Church. And in the neighborhood of
that perceived connection were other sources of the resolve to enter
on a monastic life. There was, for instance, the belief that, given the
right conditions and preparation, a man may even in this life work
his passage upward into the actual presence of God; and there, if God
so chooses, he can receive a direct and intimate knowledge of the Di-
vine Being. Such knowledge is not the automatic or the guaranteed
conclusion of a process. It is not like the logical outcome of a faultless-
ly constructed argument. There is no assurance that a man will come
to it at the end of a long journey. But to many it was a prize and a
prospect so glittering that all else looked puny by comparison; and,
besides, there were tales told of some who, so it seemed, had actually
been granted that supreme gift of a rendezvous.
Something of what was meant is found in a section of the Confes-
sions of Augustine:

Imagine a man in whom the tumult of the flesh goes silent,

in whom the images of earth, of water, of air and of the skies
cease to resound. His soul turns quiet and, self-reflecting no
longer, it transcends itself. Dreams and visions end. So too
does all speech and every gesture, everything in fact which
comes to be only to pass away. All these things cry out: “We
did not make ourselves. It is the Eternal One who made us.”
And after they have said this, think of them falling silent,
turning to listen to the One Who created them. And imagine
Him speaking. Himself, and not through the medium of all
those things. Speaking Himself. So that we could hear His
word, not in the language of the flesh, not through the
speech of an angel, not by way of a rattling cloud or a myste-
rious parable. But Himself. The One Whom we love in ev-
erything. Imagine we could hear Him without them.
Reaching out with speeding thought we come to Him, to the
Eternal Wisdom which outlasts everything. And imagine if
sight of Him were kept available, while all lesser sights were

XVil
 PREFACE

taken away. Think of this encounter, seizing, absorbing,

drawing the witness into the depths of joy. Eternal life
would be of a kind with this moment of understanding.
(Confessions ix, 10, 25)

Augustine is talking of a one-to-one encounter with God. That

anyone should dream of such an encounter in this life may seem bold
and surprising to a believer from the twentieth century, surrounded
as he is by countless men of goodwill unable to accept that there is a
God at all. But the dream was clearly there, and there was much to
keep it alive. To writers of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, the
cultural and intellectual resources of the age supported them and co-
operated with them as they confidently formulated convictions of the
kind laid out by Augustine. They had, too, a thriving, dynamic sense
of the reality of God. And from this they turned to the life and, espe-
cially, the resurrection of Christ as an unambiguous proof of the exis-
tence of a sure road, a high road, into the actual living presence of the
Creator. Journey’s end might not perhaps be reached until the after-
life, but to these men, with their great capacity to love, their hunger
for salvation, and their bitter awareness of the fact of sin, the way was
already marked out, and only the obstacles had to be overcome.
But whatever the combination of motives that might operate for
individuals entering on the path of monasticism, there was one factor
that set the tone of all else; namely, the distinction, profoundly felt,
between soul and body, a distinction regularly understood in terms of
a conflict, endless and without respite, between two irreconcilable
antagonists yoked together for a lifetime. The body was the foe—
gross, corrupt, and greedy, reaching out for its own crass satisfactions
or else generating subtle, even civilized, needs against which the soul
had always to struggle. This notion of a deadly antagonism at the
very center of a man’s own being was a theme older than Christian-
ity, but in the literature of early monasticism it became a focal point
of agonized reflection. For to be alive at all is to be in the world, en-
suring one’s survival, entering into relationships with others, gazing
on the beauty rising before the eye, encountering at every turn the
achievements of art and intellect, feeling the stirrings of delight, and
discovering the outward reach of desire, of passion, and of the urge to
possess. And all this in the arena where the body feels most at home.
Even the hours awake and the sleep of the night are but aspects of the

XVill
 PREFACE

body in command; and, seemingly, no hour or place can offer the soul
an instant of SUM peace 2

By what rule or manner can I bind this body of mine? By

what precedent can I judge him? Before I can bind him he is
let loose, before I can condemn him I am reconciled to him,
before I can punish him I bow down to him and feel sorry
for him. How can I hate him when my nature disposes me to
love him? How can I break away from him when I am bound
to him forever? How can I escape from him when he is going
to rise with me? How can I make him incorrupt when he has
received a corruptible nature? How can I argue with him
when all the arguments of nature are on his side? ... If I
strike him down I have nothing left by which to acquire vir-
tues. I embrace him. And I turn away from him. What is this
mystery in me? What is the principle this mixture of body
and soul? (Step 15)

More typical, perhaps, was the following reflection by Basil of

Caesarea, himself the single most influential figure in the monasti-
cism of the eastern half of the Roman Empire:

There is only one way out of this, namely, total separation

from all the world. But withdrawal from the world does not
mean physical removal from it. Rather, it is the withdrawal
by the soul of any sympathy for the body. One becomes
stateless and homeless. One gives up possessions, friends,
ownership of property, livelihood, business connections, so-
cial life and scholarship. The heart is made ready to receive
the imprint of sacred teaching, and this making ready in-
volves the unlearning of knowledge deriving from evil hab-
its. To write on wax, one has first to erase the letters
previously written there, and to bring sacred teaching to the
soul one must begin by wiping out preoccupations rooted in
ordinary habits. (Basil, Letter 2)

XIX
 PREFACE

John Climacus, Basil, and many other leading figures were pro-
claiming in effect that the only safe gaze was heavenward, that the
only unblemished gesture was the signal of prayer or of compunc-
tion, that the only secure involvement with others was the unstinted
offer of charity. Temperament and available insights would deter-
mine the extent and the degree to which, for individuals, all this
would be translated into hatred of the body and hence of the world.
But whatever the disparate motives at work, a man seized by a love of
God and a man lacerating himself in a frenzy of penance had at least
in common the abiding sense of a war within them, of the soul facing
the body in an unending and possibly mortal combat. No other factor
was more decisive in shaping the morality and the disciplinary prac-
tices of the first monks, and its influence can still be seen at work, for
instance, in many of the pronouncements on the subject of marriage
or in the nervous efforts of some ecclesiastical celibates to cope with
the fact that half, if not more, of the members of the human race are
women.
But a vastly more troublesome problem arises in the context of
this deeply felt antagonism between soul and body, and it is a prob-
lem that will today strike someone reading The Ladder of Divine Ascent.
It is also an issue that can be touched on here in only the briefest fash-
ion. There is now in the consciousness of the West a terminology and
a set of value judgments centered on the person. From the era of the
Renaissance and Reformation up to the present time, there has been a
steady progress in the insistence on the reality and the inherent
worth of the individual. Some philosophers, of course, would argue
that man the word-spinner has in this merely demonstrated once
again his capacity to sublimate reality and has only succeeded in hid-
ing from himself that he is no more—and no less—than a very com-
plex organism. But this is not a widely shared view. Instead, there is
much talk of human rights, of one man’s being as good as another, of
the right of the poor to share in the goods of the world, of one-man-
one-vote. What all this has done to belief in God is a theme of major
import. However, on a more restricted plane, a se for anyone
today reading ar te that in
these a some i is at work. If modern
(PE
Sy ee een
value
of the in-
dividual pe 5 O patio

Still, whether incompatible or not with the modern sense of the

XX
 PREFACE

self and of identity, The Ladder of Divine Ascent remains what it has
long been, a text that had a profound influence, lasting many centur-
ies, in the monastic centers of the Greek-speaking world. As such it
deserves at least a hearing, if only to ensure that the awareness of the
Christian past is not impoverished. And in any case it has in its own
fashion a contribution to make to the problem of what the monk
could possibly signify in the life of today. For the Ladder was, of
course, addressed specifically to monks.
Hardly anything is known of the author, and the most reliable
information about him can be summarized in the statement that he
lived in the second half of the sixth century, survived into the sev-
enth, passed forty years of solitude at a place called Tholas; that he
became abbot of the great monastery of Mount Sinai and that he com-
posed there the present text. The Ladder was written for a particular
group, the abbot and community of a monastic settlement at Raithu
on the Gulf of Suez. It was put together for a restricted audience and
to satisfy an urgent request for a detailed analysis of the special prob-
lems, needs, and requirements of monastic life. John Climacus was
not immediately concerned to reach out to the general mass of believ-
ers; and if, eventually, the Ladder became a classic, spreading its ef-
fects through all of Eastern Christendom, the principal reason lay in
its continuing impact on those who had committed themselves to a
disciplined observance of an ascetic way as far removed as possible
from daily concerns.

nn retoteniinadie also a,
stern, and conscious
of protocol. Like the emperor, in fact: _

Those of us wishing to stand before our King and God and

to speak to Him should not rush into this without some
preparation, lest it should happen that—seeing us from afar
without arms and without the dress appropriate to those
who appear before the King—He should command His ser-
vants and His slaves to lay hold of us, and to drive us out of
His sight, to tear up our petitions and to throw them in our
faces. (Step 28)

Xx1
 PREFACE

The emperor, in the world known to John, presided over a society

rigidly stratified, with the common man living at the base of a trian-
gle whose apex was remote, distant, and fearsome. Most of those who
came into the imperial presence would do so with nervous apprehen-
sion, with a sense of risking some terrible displeasure. But at least for
the majority of his subjects the emperor lived far away in a distant
capital, whereas God is ever present, ever on the watch, noting and
recording, ever directing toward the individual His knowing stare.
in case the analogy here is not properly understood, John offers
some others: URE eee Z

If you ever found yourself having to appear before a human

judge, you may use that as an example of how to conduct
yourself in prayer. Perhaps you have never stood before a
judge nor witnessed a cross-examination. In that case, take
your cue from the way patients appeal to surgeons prior to
an operation or a cautery. (Step 28)

“With no anaesthetic,” the modern scholiast might add.

Before the face of this King, the monk puts on a lifetime perfor-
mance, one, moreover, that at every turn is imperiled by virtually un-
limited hazards. Had John lived in the twentieth century, he might
have spoken of the monk as journeying through a minefield; but, as it
is, the image of the strait way suffices, and that a moment might ever
come when it would be otherwise, when a man might briefly relax, is
nowhere hinted at in the course of the long, often melancholy, analy-
sis of the spiritual life. For not only is the monk caught up inan end-
eee ee
perpetual insecurity, v perhap n intimation whether
of
isstrugglehas eee Psuiceese
a ar.ychsthen heise” ASATORaeveT ISinen:
tion sufficient for the weight and gravity of his sins:

Let no one who grieves for his sins expect reassurance at the
hour of death. There can be no reassurance about the un-
known. (Step 5)

And he has to beware even this insecurity, since “to despair is ... to
inflict death on oneself” (ibid.).
Yet
the whole point of The Ladder of Divine Ascent is that a great
amount of wisdom and insight is available
to enable the monk to cope

XXli
 PREFACE

he perils of his situation. There is knowledge to be handed on

to him, and aed steps that, if taken, must show him how to trans-
form his life, how to transcend his condition, provided he has within
himself the necessary faith and zeal. The form of John’s text—with its
y
sectionsor steps—is suggested bythe biblical image of the lad-
pes and such an image, rooted he certainties of scripture, .
must be taken to imply that despite themyriad difficulties rising up
before him, the way of the monk is not in fact impassable. But it has
its own specialecharacter and its own particular objectives, and these
must be understood from the beginning and accepted for what they
are. The monk, after all,

finds himself in an earthly and defiled body, but pushes him-

self into the rank and status of the incorporeal.... With-
drawal from the world is a willing hatred of all that is
materially prized, a denial of nature for the sake of what is
above nature. (Step 1)

esther ds, the monk, unlike the majority of believers, is so over-

_whelmed by his sense of the reality of God and of the afterlife that he
_
turns away, by a deliberate choice, from the concerns of the here and
now, renounces as far as possible the alliance of soul and body, and
lives to the extent that he can the life of the spirit. Of all tasks this is
surely the most formidable; and yet, John is saying, at the top of the
ladder, on the thirtieth step of striving, there awaits a promise for the
man whose heart longs to be there: love clarified, God made present.
To get there, however, the monk has first to enter the arena of
renunciation. It is easily said, and the inexperienced onlooker will
have his own way of constructing the image of the bolt on the cloister
gate, of the cell entered for a lifetime. Or the talk can be of what a
man has decided to forego—a varied diet, physical comfort, sexual ex-
perience, possessions, the security and self-respect provided by the
love and esteem of one’s time, of neighbors, of society. And these are
indeed among all that the monk has decided to renounce. But wherev-
er a man is, however far he has retreated from what the world may
have to offer, he remains a man, endowed, among other attributes,
with a capacity to remember and to imagine, and in the drabbest by-
way of the rockiest desert he would be less than human if he did not
think sometimes of the road not taken—which would mean that he
had not yet achieved renunciation.

Xxill
 PREFACE

And suppose that he manages at least to reduce to a minimum his

taste—real, remembered, dreamed—for the first-line comforts of the
world. He has still to run a gauntlet of entanglements, all centered on
his genuine humanity, all deriving from the fact that as a person, an
amalgam of body and soul, he has an inherent tendency to impinge
voluntarily on his surroundings. He has the urge to speak, to act, to
form judgments about whatever he hears and sees, and, on this ac-
count, John maintains, catastrophe looms over him, since the asser-
tion of his own opinion, of his own proposal for how things should be
done, of his own criteria of evaluation, may well amount to an illegiti-
mate and unwarranted promotion of the self at the expense of that
goal of “denying nature for the sake of what is above.”
As if this were not more than enough to cope with, there is a fur-
ther problem with which the monk must somehow deal, namely, the
unending assault of demons, of evil spirits hovering and lurking ev-
erywhere, restless and vicious, ever on the watch for an opportunity
to turn a believer, but especially a monk, away from the path of right
conduct. In this matter John is at one with his numerous predecessors
and, like them, he refers constantly to the war on two fronts, against
the self and againstahe posts of marauding devils.

We have countless hidden enemies—evil enemies, harsh, de-

ceitful, wicked enemies with fire in their hands, wishing to
set the Lord’s temple alight with the flame that is in it.
These enemies are powerful, unsleeping, incorporeal and
unseen. (Step 1)

And they cooperate, these enemies, this self and these circling de-
mons, to lift their persuasive words toward the monk, calling him and
enticing him to whatever corner of the world where he is most likely
to weaken.
In these conditions he must therefore decide if his vocation is
more likely to be realized in solitude than in a religious community,
as an anchorite rather than a cenobite. The two options lie before
him, and he has numerous exemplars to help him make up his mind.
As an anchorite, living totally alone or with fellow anchorites nearby,
he can choose for himself the ascetical regime that appears most suit-
able to his needs. While he may seek guidance from many quarters
and may feel bound to follow in detail the advice of someone else, the
decision as to how he should conduct himself remains within his own

XXIV
 PREFACE

person and under his own control. The cenobite, on the other hand,
while renouncing the world as the anchorite does, also abdicates his
capacity to decide his future for himself. To him, the “I,” with its
power of decision, is the enemy, always insidious, ever exploited by
demons, endlessly a prey to deceit from within and from outside; and
because of this, the solitary life appears too hazardous, too filled with
risk. So he joins a community, a resolve in which he will be encour-
aged by John, who is convinced of the fact that only a special few are
able to live in solitude and that in community life the monk will find
at least one major instrument for his own progress, namely, the strat-
egy of obedience.
It is no accident that one of the longest and most impressive sec-
tions in The Ladder of Divine Ascent is given over to obedience, which is
variously described, but which involves above allthe decision “to put
aside the capacity to make one’s own judgment.” With care and fore-
sight the monk, knowi his
ng own special failings and proclivities,
chooses a director or superior and then submits completely to him in
everything great or small, reserving to himself not even the tiniest do-
main of personal initiative.

I have seen men there who lived in total obedience for all of
fifty years, and when I begged them to tell me what consola-
tion they had won from so great a labor, some answered that
having arrived thereby at the lowest depths of abasement
they could repel every onslaught, while others declared that
they had attained complete freedom from the senses and had
obtained serenity amid every calumny and insult. (Step 4)

To emphasize this aspect of the matter, John puts forward sever-

al anecdotes of which the following is typical:

The superior ... said to (Isidore): “Brother, this is what I

want you to do. You are to stand at the gate of the monas-
tery, and before everyone passing in or out, you are to bend
the knee and say: ‘Pray for me, Father, because I am an epi-
leptic.’” And Isidore obeyed (and) spent seven years at the
gate. ... I asked this great Isidore how he had occupied his
mind while he was at the gate.... “At first I judged that I
had been sold into slavery for my sins,” he said. “So I did
penance with bitterness, great effort and blood. After a year

XXV
 PREFACE

my heart was no longer full of grief, and I began to think of

a reward for my obedience from God Himself. Another year
passed and in the depths of my heart I began to see how un-
worthy I was to live in a monastery, to encounter the fa-
thers, to share in the Divine.Mysteries. I lost the courage to
look anyone in the face, but lowering my eyes and lowering
my thoughts even further, I asked with true sincerity for the
prayers of those going in and out.” (Step 4)

From this, and from the many other incidents and comments set
down by John, it becomes clear that the requirement of obedience im-
plies very much more than what the term would suggest today. It is
not a question of agreeing to accept the rules of a club that one has
voluntarily joined. Nor is the obedience invoked here the phenom-
enon one associates with a soldier, who, in following highly danger-
ous and even very stupid orders, can still preserve an independence of
view concerning them. The submission of the monk goes much far-
ther and includes the surrender of even the capacity to hold a private
and unspoken attitude of critical reserve or judgment regarding the
commands meted out to him. And this is not to be confused with
blind obedience. For the obedience is indeed purposeful, because the
monk in his awareness within himself of particular failings, actual or
potential, has chosen a superior who will correct these; and his total
unquestioning submission will then be the avenue by which to tran-
scend weakness and to advance toward increasingly important spiri-
tual goals:

The surest sign of our faith is when we obey our superiors

without hesitation, even when we see the opposite happen-
ing to what we had hoped. (Step 4)

Let what we call quicksilver be a paradigm of perfect obedi-

ence. Roll it with any substance you wish and it will never-
theless run to the lowest place and mix with nothing defiled.
(Ibid.)

When a monk living in solitude has realized what his weak

point is, and when he changes place and sells himself to obe-
dience, then, blind that he was once, he recovers sight and
can see Christ without difficulty. (Ibid.)

XXV1
 PREFACE

He who strives for dispassion and for God considers lost any
day on which he was not criticized. Like trees swayed by the
wind and driving their roots deeper into the ground, those
who live in obedience become strong and unshakable souls.
(Ibid.)

All this because the self, reduced through obedience not only to a
humble recognition of its own insignificance, but also to an actualiza-
tion of that insignificance, will then lie open to receive the grace of
becoming someone pleasing in the sight of God, pleasing as a show-
place of the virtues.
These virtues, and the vices that shadow them, form the subject
matter of the greater part of The Ladder of Divine Ascent. They are sub-
mitted to penetrating analysis, classification, and subdivision. They
are treated in a sequence more or less logical and in a manner occa-
sionally reminiscent of a soul owner’s manual. Yet this too can be
misleading, as indeed the image of the ladder itself is somewhat mis-
leading. For it would be wrong to think in terms of a solid progres-
sion up from one firm level to that above it. A more appropriate
metaphor would be the text of a play or the notations of a musical
composition whose internal patterns and consistencies may well be
described and established, but which really come to true being only
in a living enactment. In The Ladder of Divine Ascent the monk can
study the virtues as an actor studies his lines, but the exercise is only
of secondary interest if it is not followed by the actual performance, a
performance that, in the case of the monk, will be in an ambience of
prayer, in a continuous “dialog and union of man and God” (Step 28).
Here, perhaps, is the crucial point. For John Climacus is con-
cerned not so much with the outward trappings of monasticism as
with its vital content. To him the monk is a believer who has under-
taken to enter prayerfully into unceasing communion with God, and
this in the form of a commitment not only to turn from the self and
world but to bring into being
any oO ne es aS po Die

O > a OVE c S e e

a vocation turns him into a marked man, not just in the sort of milieu
known to John Climacus, but at any time, even where the name of
God is something to be shrugged off or rejected.

XXVil
 PREFACE

t } . Hence monks should

spare no effort to become a shining example in all things,
and they should give no scandal in anything they say or do.
For if the light becomes dark, then all the deeper will be the
darkness of those living in the world. (Step 26)

Such, in outline, is the perspective in which The Ladder of Divine

Ascent was written, and the work was quickly recognized as impor-
tant. Influential texts, of course, have a life and season of their own.
They supply the dominant themes of an era, acquire eventually the
status of the honorably mentioned and the unread, emerge once again
to promote undreamed-of perceptions, and then slip, perhaps forever,
out of sight and out of reckoning. But in a time of rapid change, such
as today, even the capacity to ponder or to remember can be so blunt-
ed that not only will an individual work sink from view, but the very
realm it opened up, the vein it disclosed, will also disappear, leaving
men with an impoverished vision and a diminished grasp of the avail-
able images and ideals from which to construct for themselves a
worthwhile sense of meaning and purpose. To lose the awareness of
the choices on offer, to be locked without respite into a single, all-per-
vasive bias, is a disaster. This much at least is clear amid the unfin-
ished history of the twentieth century, with its countless grim
examples of unsheathed bigotry, rampant prejudice, and dreadful un-
reason. But in the meantime, there is still the influential text, like
some shining life, presenting as does The Ladder of Divine Ascent one of
the many opportunities to confront a view of being and of man. And
if the fruit of such a confrontation is a researched ‘‘No,” or a reasoned
acquiescence, then indeed the sum of human enrichment can confi-
dently be held to have been augmented.

XXVill
 INTRODUCTION

I. THE AUTHOR AND HIS BACKGROUND

Sinat and Tabor

With the exception of the Bible and the service books, there is no
work in Eastern Christendom that has been studied, copied and trans-
lated more often than The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Clima-
cus. Every Lent in Orthodox monasteries it is appointed to be read
aloud in church or in the refectory, so that some monks will have lis-
tened to it as much as fifty or sixty times in the course of their life.
Outside the monasteries it has also been the favorite reading of count-
less lay people in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, and throughout
the Orthodox world. The popularity of The Ladder in the East equals
that of The Imitation of Christ in the West, although the two books are
altogether different in character.
The author of The Ladder lived in the desert of Sinai, at the foot of
Jebel Musa, Moses’ Mount, that rises rocky and precipitous to a
height of nearly 7,500 feet. The surroundings would often have called
to his mind the scene in Exodus: the lightning and thunder, the
mountain shrouded in thick cloud, and Moses climbing up alone into
the darkness to speak with God face to face (Exod. 20:18-21). But St.
John Climacus was also reminded constantly of another mountain-
top, belonging to the New Covenant—Tabor, “the high mountain
apart” (Matt. 17:1), where our Lord was transfigured before the three
disciples. For, when he prayed in the church built for the monks of
Sinai by the Emperor Justinian in 556-7, each time he looked up John
 INTRODUCTION

would have seen in the apse at the east end the great mosaic that still
survives to this day, depicting Christ’s Transfiguration. !
Visually and spiritually, then, John’s imagination was dominated
by these two mountains, Sinai and Tabor, and both alike are reflected
in the book that he wrote. In its severity, its refusal of compromise,
and its demand for total dedication, The Ladder calls to mind the arid
desert, and the rocks and darkness of Sinai. But those prepared to
look deeper will discover that the book speaks not only of penitence
but of joy, not only of self-denial but of man’s entry into divine glory.
Together with the gloom of Sinai there is also the fire of the Burning
Bush and the light of Tabor.

The Three Monastic Paths

Little is known, beyond the bare outlines, about the life of St.
John Climacus.? In Greek he is called Joannis tis Klimakos, “John of the
Ladder,” after the book that he wrote. In Latin this came to be ren-
dered Joannes Climacus, and so in English his title has become “Clima-
cus.” In Greek he is also named “John the Scholastic” (scholasttkos),
while the term used here could mean a lawyer, it is often more broad-
ly applied to someone well educated or widely read, and this seems to
be the sense in John’s case. .
John’s dates have been much debated. According to the view
most commonly accepted, he was born in or shortly before 579, and
he died around 649;3 but some scholars put his birth as early as 525
and his death around 600,* while others place his death as late as 670-

1. The mosaic dates probably from 565-6, nine years after the building of the
church. See V. BeneSevic¢, “Sur la date de la mosaique de la Transfiguration au Mont
Sinai’, Byzantion i (1924), pp. 145-72.
2. The main source is the Life by Daniel of Raithu: Greek text in PG 88, 596-608;
ET, HTM, pp. xxxiv—xxxviii. Daniel writes as if he were John’s contemporary but he
is not very well informed. For further details about John’s life, see the Narratives attrib-
uted to Anastasius of Sinai, §§ 5-7, 32, 34, 39: ed. F. Nau, Oriens Christianus ii (1902), pp.
58-89; cf. PG 88, 608-9, and HTM, pp. xxxix—xl. There is some doubt how much of this
material in Anastasius in fact refers to Climacus.
3. F. Nau, “Note sur la date de la mort de S. Jean Climaque”’, Byzantinische Zeit-
schrift xi (1902), pp. 35-37.
4. S. N. Sakkos, Peri Anastasion Sinaiton (Thessalonica 1964), p. 180. An early date is
also preferred by Benesevic¢, art. cit.. Byzantion i (1924), pp. 168-9: in his view Climacus
was born before 532 and died before 596.
 INTRODUCTION

80.° While certainty is not possible, it seems reasonable to regard

John as an author of the seventh rather than the sixth century, as":
contemporary, that is to say, of St. Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-
662). It is not known where he was born. His delight in metaphors
drawn from the sea has led some to conclude that his early years were
spent near the coast,° but this is no more than a speculation.
John was sixteen when he came to Sinai.? Here he would have
found a monastic center already well established, containing in close
proximity all the i at he describes in
Step 1 of The Ladder.8 First, inside the fortress walls built a
of
Justinian, and occupying the buildings around the church with its
mosaic of the Transfiguration, there was a fully organized cenobium, a
monastic brotherhood pursuing the common life under the direction
of an abbot (bigoumenos). Second, scattered through the surrounding
desert there Sit neem | edicated to the solitary life. And in the _

shared with one or two others,” as he terms it, John himself expresses
a
preference: it avoids the dangers of excessive isolation, while being
at the same time less “structured” and more personal than life in a
large-scale monastery, and providing more opportunities for silence.
In the course of his life St. John Climacus had experience of all
these three forms. Initially, so it seems, he adopted the middle way,
taking as his spiritual father a certain Abba Martyrius. After three
years, when John was nineteen or twenty, Martyrius took him to the

5. H.-G. Beck, Kirche und Theologische Literatur im Byzantinischen Reich (Munich

1959), p. 451.
6. S. Rabois-Bousquet, “‘Saint Jean Climaque: sa vie et son oeuvre”, Echos d’Orient
xxii (1923), pp. 442-3.
7. Daniel of Raithu, Life (597A). But L. Petit, DTC viii (1924), cols. 690-3, doubts
whether Climacus entered the monastic life so young, and prefers to identify him with
a certain John the Rhetorician, a married man in Alexandria, who is mentioned by
Sophronius, Miracles of St. Cyrus and St. Jobn, §§ 61, 70 (PG 87, 3640A, 3673A); in Petit’s
view, Climacus is also the John mentioned in Moschus, The Spiritual Meadow, § 102 (PG
87, 2960D). But this theory that Climacus only became a monk at a mature age, after
marriage and a secular career, remains hypothetical and has not been widely accepted.
8. 1 (641D), p. 79.
 INTRODUCTION

chapel at the top of Moses’ Mount and there, following the custom of
the time, he tonsured John as a monk. Coming down from the sum-
mit, the two met Anastasius, the abbot of the central monastery, who
had not seen John before. “Where does this boy come from,” asked
Anastasius, “and who professed him?” Martyrius replied that he had
done so. “How strange!” Anastasius exclaimed. “Who would have
thought that you had professed the abbot of Mount Sinai!” Martyrius
and John Climacus continued on their way, and paid a visit to the
celebrated solitary John the Sabbaite, who washed John Climacus’
feet and kissed his hand, but took no notice of Martyrius. John the
Sabbaite’s disciple was scandalized by this, but after the two visitors
had left the old man assured him: “Believe me, I don’t know who that
boy is; but I received the abbot of Sinai and washed his feet.”? Forty
years later these prophecies were fulfilled.
Martyrius, so it seems, died soon after John’s profession.'® John
now retired into solitude, settling as a hermit at Tholas, some five
miles from the fortress housing the main monastery. Yet he was not
altogether isolated, for there were certainly other monks in the imme-
diate vicinity. According to John’s biographer Daniel of Raithu, dur-
ing his years of retreat at Tholas he received the gift of tears and the
grace of continual prayer. He reduced sleep to a minimum but dis-
played a prudent moderation in his fasting, for it was his custom to
eat everything allowed by the monastic rule, but in extremely small
quantities. In time he became known and respected as a spiritual
guide, and he began to receive frequent visits from his fellow
monks—so frequent, indeed, that some criticized him for being a gos-
sip and a chatterbox. Thereupon John kept total silence for a year,
only agreeing to speak once more with his visitors when entreated to
do so by the very monks who had been his critics.*?
At some point during his time in Tholas John made a journey to
Egypt, staying at a large monastery on the outskirts of Alexandria.
What he witnessed in this community of several hundred monks
made a lasting impression on him, as can be gauged from the lengthy
description that he gives in Steps 4 and 5 of The Ladder. Since his own

9. Anastasius, Narratives, §§ 34 and 6.

10. Daniel of Raithu’s language (597B) is ambiguous: it may mean that Martyrius
died, not when John was nineteen years of age, but when John had been nineteen years
in the monastic life (i.e. when he was about thirty-five).
11. Daniel, Life (600A-601A, 604D-605
A).
 INTRODUCTION

early years as a monk had been spent in the third way, in a small her-
mitage and not in a large cenobium, it is easy to understand the impact
which life at the Alexandrian house must have had upon him. He was
struck in particular by the abbot’s power of insight, and by the com-
bination of sternness and affection which he showed in his treatment
of the monks. John was also impressed by the “Prison,” a mile from
the main monastery, in which erring monks were confined; here he
stayed for a month.!? His vivid account of the physical austerities and
the mental anguish undergone by the monks in this “Prison” is likely
to prove, for most Western readers, by far the least attractive section
of The Ladder; at times, so one modern critic has complained, it sounds
like “‘a badly run psychiatric institution.” But John was impressed by
other things as well during his visit to the Alexandrian monastery—
by the unity prevailing among the brethren, by the warmth and sen-
sitivity of their mutual love, and by their unceasing inward prayer. !3
After forty years of hermit life at Tholas, against his will John
was elected abbot of the central monastery at Sinai. On the day of his
installation as abbot, a party of six hundred pilgrims chanced to ar-
rive at the monastery. While they were all being given a meal, John
saw “a man with short hair, dressed like a Jew ina white tunic, going
round with an air of authority and giving orders to the cooks, cel-
larers, stewards and other servants.” Once the meal had finished, the
man was nowhere to be found. “It was our lord Moses,” said John.
“He has done nothing strange in serving here in the place that is his
own.”’!* To the monks the sign was significant; for they were soon to
feel that, in the person of their new abbot John, they had indeed
found another Moses.!5
How long John continued in office is unknown. It was during
this last period of his life, while abbot, that he composed The Ladder of
Divine Ascent, at the request of another John, the superior of a nearby
monastery at Raithu.!© “Tell us in our ignorance,” asked John of
Raithu, “what like Moses of old you have seen in divine vision upon
the mountain; write it down in a book and send it to us as if it were

12. 5 (776B), p. 128.

13. 4 (685ABO), pp. 95-96.
14. Anastasius, Narratives, § 7.
15. Daniel, Life (605B).
16. Probably to be identified with Tor, on the Gulf of Suez near the southern tip
of the Sinai peninsula.
 INTRODUCTION

the tables of the Law, written by God.” In his reply John Climacus
protests that the task is beyond his strength: “I am still among the
learners.” But, he says, constrained by the virtue of obedience, he has
complied with the request, composing “in my stammering way” what
is no more than “an outline sketch.”!”
Shortly before his death John} longing to enjoy once more the
stillness in which he had lived as a solitary, resigned his position as
abbot, appointing his brother George to replace him.*”*
There is nothing to indicate that St. John Climacus was ever or-
dained a priest. His appointment as abbot is not in itself proof that he
was in holy orders.

Il. THE LADDER: PURPOSE AND STRUCTURE

Jobn’s Audience
The Ladder was written, then, by one who, after living for most of
his monastic life as a hermit, had in old age been entrusted with the
pastoral care of a large community; it is the work of a solitary writing
for cenobi i that John has in view is monasti
ook, however,
for the entirety of humankind.
Salvation is offered to all ali

God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of believ-

ers or unbelievers, of the just or the unjust ... of monks or
those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of
the healthy or the sick, of the young or the very old. He is
like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the
changes of the weather, which are the same for everyone
without exception. “For God is no respecter of persons”

ee oa
(Rom. 2:11).18

17. For John of Raithu’s letter and John Climacus’ reply, see PG 88, 624-8; ET,
HTM, pp. xli-xliv.
17a. Anastasius, Narratives, §32, mentioning John the Sabbaite, but probably refer-
ring to John Climacus (cf. PG 88, 609A).
18. 1 (633A), p. 74.
 INTRODUCTION

Do whatever good you may. Speak evil of no one. Rob no

one. Tell no lie. Despise no one... . Show compassion to the
needy.... Be satisfied with what your own wives can pro-
vide you. If you do all this, you will not be far from the king-
dom of heaven.!9

Later in the work, he points out that purity is by no means the mo-
nopoly of those who have never married, and he cites as proof the ex-
ample of the apostle Peter, “who had a mother-in-law and who
nevertheless received the keys of the kingdom.”?°
But, having insisted in this manne:
God’s saving

: Goes it ‘ O OW d DE AakeCT O 20 interest t

those
“wo in the rldSurely
”? not. It has in fact been read with the ut-
most profit by many thousands of married Christians; and, whatever
the author’s original intention, there is nothing surprising in that.
Monasticism, as St. Basil the Great observes, is nothing else than “life
according to the Gospel.”2! the

The Need for Personal Experience

St. John Climacus, like St. Symeon the New Theologian an d St.
Gregory Palamas at a later date,?? avy yon the need
PINUNENIEREREC hr istiarten as he sees it, is much more than
the exterior acceptance of doctrines and rules. No one can be a true
Christian at second hand; there must be a personal encounter, in
which each knows, sees, tastes and touches for himself.
This applies first of all to anyone who teaches others:

The true teacher is one who has received directly from heav-
en the tablet of spiritual knowledge, inscribed by God’s own
finger, that is, by the active working of illumination. Such a

19. 1 (640D), p. 78.

20. 15 (896A), p. 181.
21. Letter 207, 2 (PG 32, 761B).
22. Cf. K. Ware, ‘Tradition and Personal Experience in Later Byzantine Theol-
ogy”, Eastern Churches Review iii (1970), pp. 131-41.
 INTRODUCTION

man has no need of other books. It is not right for teachers to

give instruction by copying out what other people say.?3

And just as the true teacher is the man of personal experience, who
has seen for himself, so likewise the teacher’s aim in giving instruc-
tion is to bring his disciples to the. point of crisis and confrontation,
will see for themselves. John, as we shall see, attaches
ofound 1 , affirming that
none should embark upon the inward journey without a guide. The
spiritual father, however, i
is function is not to experience things on our behalf,
thereby dispensing us from the need to experience them personally,
but the precise opposite. He is the very one who says to us: Open
your own eyes, look and see for yourselves. To see, so John insists, it
is not sufficient to listen to directions from other people; you need to
use your own natural power of sight. “In the same way, you cannot
discover from the teaching of others the beauty of prayer.”*4 He takes
as an example the taste of honey:

Do you imagine that plain words can . . . describe the love of

God... and assurance of the heart? Do you imagine that talk
of such matters will mean anything to someone who has nev-
er experienced them? If you think so, then you will be like a
man who with words and examples tries to convey the
sweetness of honey to people who have never tasted it. He
talks uselessly.?°

This firm belief in the necessity for personal experience has de-
termined the character which John gives to his book. Convinced as he
is of the n r and participation, for direct tasting and
touching, See ene ib hrcmnmemmianatlentasabssowort ch-
i ; in his
. As the late Fr. Georges
Florovsky put it, ‘The Ladder is an invitation to pilgrimage.” It is an
existential work, and only those who read it existentially will appreci-
ate its true value.

23. Past. 1 (1165C), p. 231.

24. 28 (1140C), p. 281.
25. 25 (988AB), p. 218.
 INTRODUCTION

Faithful to this existential stance, in The Ladder Joh

i ivi ai s about what foods to eat, how
much and when, about hours of sleep and the daily program of man-
ual labor. We search in vain through the pages of The Ladder for that
kind of guidance. When discussing prayer, he likewise gives no de-
scription of the liturgical offices, no advice about preparation for
Holy Communion and its frequency, no specific instructions about
methods of private prayer, about formulae, bodily posture, breathing
exercises and the like. eggs OAHPAaliberstentigte

In Scripture are the words, “I humbled myself, and the Lord

hastened to rescue me” (Ps. 114:6); and these words are there
instead of “I have fasted,” “I have kept vigil,” “I lay down on
the bare earth.”26

What he offers is hot techniques and formulae but away Oflife, not
regulations but a path of initiation.
Because his aim is to impart a living,
often intentionall enigmatic. Like Lord
out withHis
parables,ik
personal experience, John
y
is

the Zen masters with their koans or the Sufis with their “scatter”
technique, John avoids spelling out his conclusions too plainly, for he
wants the reader to work out the answer for himself. When the point
of his examples is left unclear, or he seems to jump in arbitrary fash-
ion from one idea to another, normally this is due, not to carelessness
or incompetence, but to deliberate purpose. dlestalcessanegnseious:::

If all are not saved who have been baptized, I will pass in si-
lence over what follows.

In the entire universe there is a unique place that saw the

sun just once.

Let us summon the Holy Trinity to help us as we marshal

three against three.

26. 25 (992D), p. 221.

 INTRODUCTION

Why is it that there were not as many lights among the holy
fathers at Tabennisi as at Scetis? Cope with that question if
you can. I cannot say why. Or rather, I do not wish to.?7

In
ovoke the r into a
ounter.

Style and Structure: The Thirty Steps

With this objective in view, St. John Climacus has adopte d
a dis-
in The Ladder. At first sight the Greek may seem
abrupt and rough, but the book is in fact composed with subtlety and
conscious art, in a rhythmic prose often not far removed from poetry.
he author lo s,
; or his p
the reader up. He excels in quaint illustrations, marked by a monastic
sense of humor that has amused his audience over the centuries:

... like someone trying at the same time to swim and to clap
his hands....

... like someone who pelts [a] dog with bread... .

Do not imitate those who in burying the dead first lament

them—and then go off and get drunk.

A man who has heard himself sentenced to death will not

worry about the way theaters are run.

The thought of the hesychast keeps hold of his spiritual

mouse.?®
We are left with the impression that, behind the unusual style and
picturesque images, here is an author with a strongly marked person-
ality: exacting, with a sharp eye for the weaknesses of his fellow
monks, yet also full of humor and unexpected compassion, realistic—
but with the realism that springs from living prayer.
John’s basic image, around which the entire
is’structured,
book is

27. 1 (636C), p. 76; 25 (993A), p. 221; 26 (1021A), p. 234; 27 (1105C), p. 265.

28. 6 (796A), p. 133; 7 (804D-805A, 813D), pp. 138, 143-4; 27 (1097C), p. 262.

10
 INTRODUCTION

of ladd saa iinioal

MECH Which Jacob’sn
(Gen. 28:12). Earlier writers, such as St. Gregory of Nazianzus2° and
St. John Chrysostom?° in the fourth century, and Theodoret of Cyrr-
hus?! in the fifth, had already spoken of the spiritual life as a ladder,
up which by God’s grace we mount step by step. But in St. John Cli-
macus the analogy is far more developed. PMUUGRlehiarycun
D one r ea ea . the hi en fe of Christ before is 0a p-
John’s ingenious use of the ladder-image at once catches the
reader’s attention, giving to his book as a whole a distinctive flavor
and unity. Indeed, his symbolic ladder soon became part of the spiri-
tual imagination of the Christian East, and is frequently represented
in panel ikons, refectory frescoes and illuminated manuscripts.?3
John is usually shown standing to one side, near the foot, holding a
scroll and pointing to the ladder. The monks are struggling laborious-
ly upward, while at the top Christ reaches out His arms to welcome
those who have completed the ascent. On the right of the ladder an-
gels encourage the monks as they climb, on the left demons try to trip
them up and pull them off, and at the bottom the dragon of the abyss
waits with open jaws.
As a supplement to the thirty steps of The Ladder, John also wrote
a short treatise entitled To the Shepherd, describing the task of the ab-
bot or spiritual father. Sometimes reckoned as the thirty-first step,
this is likewise addressed to John of Raithu.34
While The Ladder of Divine Ascent is not in the strict sense a sys-
tematic treatise—John modestly calls himself a ‘second-rate archi-

29. Oration 43, 71 (PG 36, 529D).

30. Homilies on John 83, 5 (PG 59, 454).
31. History of the Monks in Syria 27 (PG 82, 1484C). The image of a “‘soul ladder’”’ is
widespread in the ancient world: see A. B. Cook, Zeus. A Study in Ancient Religion, vol. ii
(Cambridge 1925), pp. 114-40; E. Bertaud and A. Rayez, ‘Echelle spirituelle’, DS iv
(1958), cols. 62-86.
32. Brief Summary (1161A), p. 291.
33. See J. R. Martin, The Illustration of the Heavenly Ladder of John Climacus (Prince-
ton 1954); M. Heppell, introduction to St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent,
ET Archimandrite Lazarus (London 1959), pp. 29-31.
34. Greek text, PG 88, 1165-1208; ET, HTM, pp. 231-50; not included in the pres-
ent volume.
35. 27 (1105B), p. 265.

11
 INTRODUCTION

i s)
’

- The work falls into three main

sections,of unequal extent. In the first three steps John describes the
break with the “world,” the renunciation both outward and inward
that forms the presupposition of any spiritual ceceteallleliliate
longer section (Steps 4-26), he discusses the ‘“‘active life” ice
the
virtues
of ” (praxis, praktiki), along with the corresponding pas-
sions that must be uprooted. Finally, REP PoUPHegeare devoted to
e “contemplative life” (theoria), to stillness, prayer and union with
God.
As this summary implies, John accepts in general terms the dis-
tinction drawn by Evagrius of Pontus (c. 345-99) between the active
and themaetineie nn life. But, as Dr. Christos Yannaras rightly ob-
he Evagrian scheme with any great ex-
: e
; y mplatio uch in the ear-
lier ies a The Laiddin rile to the ciontonyplative as well as to the
a ive life, while t al step on love 0 DO 2
tive and the conte : at once; a e love
J U arp diirere ation DetWw e two.
the bade pattern of the thirty steps of The Ladder can be present-
ed thus:37

I. The Break with the World

1. Renunciation
2. Detachment
gh tit 4‘ |
II. The Practice of the Virtues (“Active Life’’)
(i) Fundamental Virtues a
; ja
4. Obedience Wy
5. Penitence ae
6. Remembrance of Death wh
7. Sorrow —\

36. I metaphysiki tou somatos (Athens 1971), pp. 58-62.

37. This scheme is taken, with some modifications, from G. Couilleau, DS viii
(1972), col. 373. I am in general much indebted to this article.

‘12
 INTRODUCTION

(ii) The Struggle Against the Passions

me v ‘ (a) Passions That Are Predominantly Non-physical
che :a V5, m-e2 KNB 65
4 . Malice
-iS 10. Slander '
11. Talkativeness VO, <1 le nN Ce /
12. Falsehood 7
13. Despondency
(b) Physical and Material Passions a ‘
3 Glumony. —Vi C<¢s
5. Lust v§ pM v4 a
pati Avarice :
(c) Non-Physical Passions (cont.)__
—yi Ces
18-20. Insensitivity yo, yy
GiNance.
21. Fear
22. Vainglory
23. Pride (also Blasphemy)
(iii) Higher Virtues of the “Active Life” —— va c ne ues
24. Simplicity |
25. Humility
26. Discernment
ar TE, Ca
III. Union with God (Transition to the “Contemplative Life”) ~ at aeiXe S

27. Stillness wa

28. Prayer
29. Dispassion
30. Love

While the book as a Ae oe in a — a cia defined struc-

t ibs mosta ihe iy a onaalie vices are siete onnthe

following pattern:
Brief introductory statement, indicating the source of the vice
and its place in the sequence of The Ladder;
Short definitions;
More detailed analysis: causes, symptoms, effects, remedies (with
illustrative anecdotes);
Final summary.

13
 INTRODUCTION

Glancing through the outline given above, a reader may gain the
impression that John’s sesis for the most part negative. For,
out of thirty chapters, si

But this initia

vices are usual ter th 10se fourteen
steps on the vir added ogether, are considerably 10re than ice

aslong asthe sixteen steps on the vices. Second, the chapters on the
i’VICES speak also o Step 8, for instance,
_deals with meekness as well as anger, “Step 11 with silence as well as
_talkativeness, Step 15 with purity as well as lust, Steps 18-20 with
|vigilance as well as insensitivity. Third and most fundamentally, as
we shall see shortly, penitence, sorrow and dispassion are far from be-
| ing predominantly negative.
Within this general scheme that we have indicated, there are
skillfully balanced correspondences and contrasts:
I (1-3) balances III (27-30).
II i (4-7) balances IT iii (24-26). .
II ii b (14-17), on passions of a material type, is flanked by two
balancing sections, each of six steps—II ii a (8-13) and II ii c (18-23)—
on passions of a less physical character.
) Closer examination reveals more detailed structures of “type”
Sat and ‘“antitype.” A theme is adumbrated in the earlier part of the
oaks work, and then taken up again at a higher level in the second part:

i mS Step 2 (detachment) =: Step 29 (dispassion)

Step 4 (obedience) : Step 26 (discernment)3®
Step 5 (penitence) : Step 25 (humility)
y | Step 13 (despondency) : Step 18 (insensitivity)

divine
a. Certainly, God’s grace isHabsalinely indis-
pensable for the attainment of any virtue, however humble. Yet,

38. The connection is made clear in the definition of obedience as “with all deli-
_berateness, to put aside the capacity to make one’s own judgment”; or, more literally, as
“an abandonment of discernment in a wealth of discernment”: 4 (680A), p. 92.

14
 INTRODUCTION

while both the divine and the human elements are pice enEO aE
out the ascent of the ladder, on :

an d. What begins
as painful warfare ends as spontaneous joy:

At the beginning of our religious life, we cultivate the vir-

tues, and we do so with toil and difficulty. Progressing a lit-
tle, we then lose our sense of grief or retain very little of it.
But when our mortal intelligence turns to zeal and is mas-
tered by it, then we work with full joy, determination, de-
sire, and a holy flame.39

Two further things are apparent in the structure of The Ladder.

First, by far the larger part of the work is concerned with the practice
of the virtues and the struggle against the vices; by comparison, the
section on the contemplative life (Steps 27-30) is relatively brief—to
many, no doubt, disappointingly so. But John has good reasons for .

aod tenrne peTenbean omen TheBadd displays:invit

regard a marked sobriety. 34° and
it is significant that much the longest chapters in the book are those
on obedience (Step 4) and on discernment or discretion (diakrisis; Step
26).
John is constantly warning us not to attempt too much too soon;
we cannot “climb the entire ladder in a single stride.”*! When, in the
monastery at Alexandria, John tried to start a discussion about still-
ness or inner silence (hesychia), he was kindly but firmly rebuked by
his hosts:

Father John [they said], we are corporeal beings and we lead

a corporeal life. Knowing this, we choose to wage war ac-
cording to the measure of our weakness.*?

39. 1 (6370), p. 77.

40. 3 (669B-672B), pp. 89-90.
41. 14 (865B), p. 166; cf. 25 (997D), p. 225.
42. 4 (700B), p. 103.

15
 INTRODUCTION

John took the point. In The Ladder he insists that ja—meaning

,’43 only for those who have been prepared

i in the practice of the virtues. No one
y,’in the sense of the contemplative life,
“It is risky to swim in
one’s clothes. A slave of passion should not dabble in theology.”44
That is why John speaks at length about the warfare against sin, but
offers no more than a few veiled hints about the final transfiguration
of the human person, in soul and body, by the uncreated light. His
reticence is deliberate. He does not want us to reach out for the iced
cakes before we have eaten the bread and butter.
Secondly, John did not mean the image of the ladder, which
dominates the book, to be interpreted too literally. While placed in
ordered sequence, thedifferentsteps are not to be regarded as strictly
, the one terminating before the next commences.
For, even though by God’s grace we gradually progress to the higher
steps, w-
e s well. This is true in particular of the fifth step, penitence,
and of the seventh step, sorrow or mourning (penthos). These are
things that i ow; they continue un-
ceasing up to the gates of death. As John insists:

When we die, we will not be criticized for having failed to

work miracles. We will not be accused of having failed to be
theologians or contemplatives. But we will certainly have
some explanation to offer to God for not having mourned
unceasingly.*5

In our beginning is our en ; im of the

spiritual path isa , the contemplation or visio
ion of
God. B , our end-point is
our starting-point: penitence.

43. 4(725C), p. 119.

44. 27 (10970), p. 262.
45. 7 (816D), p. 145.

16
 INTRODUCTION

Ill. THE SPIRITUAL TEACHING OF ST. JOHN CLIMACUS

Imitation of Christ, Spirituality and Dogma, Grace and Free Will

Without attempting a full analysis, let us considera few master
f The Ladder.
In the first step, at the very beginning of the work, St. John Cli-
macus briefly indicates the essence
spiritual
of the life:

A Christian is an imitator of Christ in thought, word and

deed, as far as this is humanly possible, and he believes right-
ly and blamelessly in the Holy Trinity.*¢

In the final step he returns to the same idea:

Love, by its nature, is 2 ieemmombbeds insofar as this is

humanly possible.*7

The hristiatr owever, does not oO!

rightly.” For St. John Climacus spiri

connected; there can be no true life of prayer without a right faith in
God. “It is characteristic of The Ladder,” writes the Serbian D. Bog-
danovi¢, “that in it dogmatic themes are constantly overflowing into
the ethical realm. Dogma forms here .. . the theoretical basis of eth-
ics.”48 As Archimandrite Sophrony observes, throughout The Ladder
John raises the discussion ‘“‘from the purely ascetic to the mystical and
theological level.’”4°
From this it follows that The Ladder, in common with any authen-
tically Christian work of spirituality, is theocentric rather than an-

46. 1 (633B), p. 74. Compare the last letter of the spiritual alphabet, 26 (1017C), p.
232: “With God’s help an imitator of the Lord.”
47. 30 (1156B), p. 286.
48. Jean Climaque dans la littérature byzantine et la littérature serbe ancienne (Belgrade
1968), p. 218.
49. “De la nécessité des trois renoncements chez St. Cassien le Romain et St. Jean
Climaque”, Studia Patristica v (Texte und Untersuchungen 80: Berlin 1962), p. 395.

17
 INTRODUCTION

thropocentric; its purpose is s,

way its
with God.
relationship To quote Bogdanovié once more, “For Clima-
cus the virtues are not so much qualities of man as qualities of God;
t ivine attributes.”>° in a ee
in the virt
See ee
dogma without alluding to it»explicitly, but such occasional refer-
ences as he makes to dogmatic questions are sufficient to indicate the
closeness of the connection. He explains, for example, the relation be-
tween obedience and stillness (hesychia) by comparing the doctrine of
the Trinity with that of Christ,>! and goes on to illustrate the interde-
pendence between prayer and the remembrance of death by invoking
the definition of Chalcedon (451):

Some claim that prayer is better than the remembrance of

death. But for my part, my praise goes out to the two natures
in one person.>?

In other words, prayer and the remembrance of death are both equal-
ly necessary: the two form a unity similar to that between Christ’s
humanity and His divinity.
he
Pye esneiiioei Get seamaaienss

naiesaientiniel satel fi perivereiy clear-

lyrevealing the properties of His two natures.°?
'

John is thinking here of the Monothelete controversy which was rag-

ing in his day, and in which his contemporary St. Maximus the Con-
fessor was deeply involved. Although John was less directly
concerned with the dispute, from his words here it is evident that he
took the same view as Maximus.

50. Op. cit., p. 218.

SV427, (117A) pa 273:
52. 28 (1137A), p. 279.
53. 6 (793C), p. 132. On this passage, see D.J. Chitty, The Desert a City (Oxford
1966), p. 174.

18
 1e
presence
of these two wills most plainly mani-
; i i iliation. joni s standpoint in
Step 6 is similar. The passage quoted is to be understood as a gloss on
Hebrews 4:15, “. .. tempted in everything just as we are, only without
sin.” Christ’s fear of death indicates that He has a genuinely human
nature, and so a genuinely human will, for He could not experience
such fear in His divine nature or His divine will. At the same time

cdeabeielanl iiS, i says, bial for man, Rene pader the ipadions of
the fall, to fear death; terror of death, on the other hand, comes from:a
sense of unrepented sins. Now Christ is not Himself a sinful man, but
at His oe He = *to matinout HT RR eno ~

In all this John, like Maximus, is not just splitting hairs. The doc-
trinalspesti technical seas itay be, is vital for Rad Es pistons

our human EDIE Fe a human will—and so BEpeeencing

from within all our moral |eee our fears and temptations, “only

Faith in the two natures and two wills of ae incarnate Savior im- al
plies that the spiritual way, understood as an f voutaoe of Christ,”
involves the convergence or syne ctors, un-
equal in value but both equally necessary: ace a i
freedom. “Without Me you can do nothing” ae 5: 5): what God
does is incomparably the more important. Yet our part is also essen-
tial, for God does not save us against our will. This is exactly the posi- ,
tion of St. John Climacus. At first sight it might appear that in The
Ladder he overstresses the human aspect, putting too great an empha-

19
 INTRODUCTION

sis on man’s effort and saying too little about God’s initiative. But in
fact he is in no doubt whatsoever about the necessity for divine grace:

Anyone trained in chastity should give himself no credit for

any achievements. ... When nature is overcome it should be
admitted that this is due to Him Who is above nature....
The man who decides to struggle against his flesh and to
overcome it by his own efforts is fighting in vain.... Admit
your incapacity.... What have you got that you did not re-
ceive as a gift either from God or as a result of the help and
prayers of others?... It is sheer lunacy to imagine that one
has deserved the gifts of God.54

John is certainly no Pelagian!

‘

. always bearing about in our body the dying of the Lord Je-
sus, that the life of Jesus may also be made manifest in our body” (2
Cor. 4:10): the imitation of Christ signifies sharing at one and the
same time both in His death and in His resurrection. But does not St.
John Climacus lay too much stress upon the burdens of cross-bearing,
and too little upon the joyfulness of the risen life? Does not The Ladder
serve to repel rather than to encourage?
It is certainly true that The Ladder offers no encouragement to
those who look for compromise. John asks from us, in Christ’s name,
a complete, unsparing dedi ing is ever enough. Yet hevis

anity: Evagrius fails to allow for hu-

man weakness, John says; we need to grow accustomed gently to the
rigors of fasting, advancing little by little.55 Although his strictures
on the failings of his brother monks come close at times to caricature,
John is hee ever censorious: “his attitude,” as Dr. Muriel Heppell
remarks, “is that of the Publican rather than the Pharisee.’’5¢ He free-
ly admits his own defects, confessing that he cannot say much, for in-

54. 15 (881A, 884BC, 900B), pp. 172, 173, 184; 23 (968B), pp. 208-9.
55. 14 (865AB), p. 166.
56. Introduction to The Ladder of Divine Ascent, EY Archimandrite Lazarus, p. 17.

20
 INTRODUCTION

stance, about insensitivity because he is himself ‘very sorely tried by

this vice.”’57
The key to a true appreciation of The Ladder is to recognize
throughout its pages Lemp ncen necarrornamentwho see in the
work nothing except harsh demands for sel al and ascetic strug-

hope.
Fundamental to dole s Sperdnie — is his sense pothy reali-

state? Concerning the falland the resulting distortion of lhendauna-

ture, John is indeed highly negative, although never sweepingly con-
demnatory in the manner of Augustine or Calvin; he nowhere
suggests that the fall has led to a total corruption. But when he speaks
about the condition prior to the fall—about humankind’s true and
natural state, which in Christ we can now regain—he is not only af-
firmative but optimistic: pee is no att reac pennenh

personhood: “No one wants to sin againge God.” There

are man
natural virtues, but no natural vices:
Evil or passion is not something naturally implanted in
things. God is not the creator of passions. On the other
hand, there are many natural virtues that have come to us
from Him

—and these include the highest virtues-of all, faith, hope and love.©°
Such, then, is the basic dualism underlying John’s ascetic theol- _
ogy: not a dualism between God and matter, for God is the creator of _
matter; not a dualism between soul and body, for The Ladder views the
human person as an integral unity; but a dualism between the unfal-

57. 18 (933B), p. 192.

58. 26 (10680), p. 251.
59. 10 (845D), p. 156.
60. 26 (1028A), p. 238.

21
 INTRODUCTION

len and the fallen, between the natural and the contranatural, be-
tween immortality and corruption, between life and death.
“True to this "GUATSOeER a BPORCES-
. VSUBHUGERherLaadlemao hn
s. The monk is “‘a soul pained by
the constant remembrance of death,” yet the motives for his renunci-
ation are positive: not just sorrow for sins and fear of punishment,
but love of God and longing for the future Kingdom.®! The monas-
tery is ‘a tomb before the tomb,” but it is also “heaven on earth.”©?
Exile involves a painful sacrifice—the loss of parents, friends, famil-
iar surroundings—but its overriding motive is creative, to make us
free for God: “Exile is a separation from everything, in order that one
may hold on totally to God.”®3 Obedience is ‘‘a total renunciation of
our own life ... death freely accepted,” but it is also a “resurrec-
tion.”©* We are to hold the hour of death in constant remembrance,
regarding each day as our last; at the same time we should await
death “as though it were life.’

at the Menatan monastery. Per-

haps leksmeant us to be shocked by it: “One may suppose,” says Fr.
Derwas Chitty, pela the writer ansbadest those who were not ready

3 ' al se |
iin doth but fe ASA TNENGtemmnbapsionetTepemenasion.7° It is
not despair but hope:

61. 1 (633C), p. 74.

62. 4 (716B, 713B), pp. 113, 111.
63. 3 (664C), p. 85.
64. 4 (680A), pp. 91-92.
65. 6 (797C), p. 135.
66. 4 (705B), p. 106.
67. The Desert a City, p. 174.
68. 5 (769B), p. 124.
69. 5 (781A), p. 131.
70. 5 (764B), p. 121.

22
 INTRODUCTION

Repentance is the daughter of hope and the refusal to de-

spair. (The penitent stands guilty—but undisgraced.) Repen-
tance is reconciliation with the Lord.7!

| oO repent
1s not é 1 to His love:
the grief that accompanies penitence is “the ones that comes from
loving God.”?2
John’s dialectical approachi evident in S yn s
ig. This chapter on the aire of tears has mma to be
one
one of the most influential in the whole of The Ladder.73 God, so John \/2
points out forcefully—and here his basic optimism is plainly in evi-
dence—created us for laughter, not for tears:

God does not demand or desire that someone should mourn

out of sorrow of heart, but rather that out of love for Him he
should rejoice with the laughter of the soul. Take away sin
and then the sorrowful tears that flow from bodily eyes will
be superfluous. Why look for a bandage when you are not
cut? Adam did not weep before the fall, and there will be no
tears after the resurrection when sin will be abolished, when
pain, sorrow and lamentation will have taken flight.’4

Tears, then, reflect man’s fallen state and express his mourning
for sin. Yet there is more to them than that. Tears can be “sweet”
well as “bitter.”7> Tears that begin by being “painful” become in
course of time “painless”; tears of fear develop into tears of love.’°

71. Ibid.
72. 5 (776D), p. 128.
73. The basic modern study on the gift of tears is still I. Hausherr, Penthos. La doc-
trine de la componction dans | Orient chrétien (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 132: Rome 1944),
especially pp. 137-73. See also M. Lot-Borodine, “Le mystére du ‘don des larmes’ dans
YOrient chrétien”, La vie spirituelle (supplement for September 1936), reprinted in O.
Clément and others, La douloureuse joie (Spiritualité orientale 14: Bellefontaine 1974), pp.
131-95; L. Gillet, “The Gift of Tears”, Sobornost n.s. 12 (1937), pp. 5-10; G.A.
Maloney, The Mystic of Fire and Light: St Symeon the New Theologian (Denville, N.J. 1975),
pp. 129-37; K. Ware, “The Orthodox Experience of Repentance”, Sobornost ii (1980),
pp. 26-28.
74. 7 (809C), p. 141.
75. 5 (776A), p. 127.
76. 7 (813B), p. 143.

23
 INTRODUCTION

. Tears, like the

experience of repentance, spring from a sense not only of our sinful-
ness but of God’s mercy; there is gladness in them as well as grief.
John sums up the point in the composite word charmolypi, apparently
of his own invention, signifying “joyful : .’77 The repentant
person is like a child who cries, yet smiles in the middle of his tears.78
Spiritual mourning leads to spiritual laughter; it As a wedding gar-
ment, not a funeral robe: 4

The man wearing blessed, God-given mourning like a wed-

ding garment gets to know the spiritual laughter of the
soul.79

Joy goes with sorrow like honey in a comb:

As I ponder the true nature of compunction, I find myself

amazed by the way in which inward joy and gladness mingle
with what we call mourning and grief, like honey in a comb.

Such compunction, he immediately adds, is a divine charism, not just

the fruit of human striving:

There must be a lesson here, and it surely is that compunc-

tion is properly a gift from God®°

—a gift, he notes, not conferred upon all, but only upon such as God
chooses in His own wisdom.?®!
There are, however, many different kinds of tears, and it is im-
portant to discriminate between them. The basic distinction is be-
tween tears that are simply the consequence of our own efforts, and
those that come as a gift from God®2—in other words, between “ordi-

77. 7 (804B), p. 137.

78. 7 (813B), p. 143.
79. 7 (809A), p. 140.
80. 7 (812A), p. 141.
81. 7 (808A), p. 139,
82. 7 (805D), p. 139.

74
 INTRODUCTION

nary and natural tears” and tears that are “spiritual.”83 As John ob-
serves, this is a distinction not always easy to apply in practice:

This problem of tears, especially where it concerns begin-

ners, is a very obscure matter and hard to analyze since tears
can come about in various ways. Tears come from nature,
from God, from suffering good and bad, from vainglory,
from ee from love, from the remembrance of
death....

although John himself does not actually use this terminology—as con-
tranatural, natural, and supranatural.. First, tears may come “from
vainglory, from licentiousness.” Tears of this kind, tears of frustra-
al, an expression of
our “tatlen self,and as es they :are sinful and iep ONs: oe our

esa case . they-may beneutral, atthe? eednorrad cMabuasuerve

d, as with the healing and purifying tears that we
shed for the departed. It is not always easy to distinguish between the
second level and the third, between natural tears that are pure and
beneficial, and the i i t
_and_ special sense, “from God.” Nature presupposes grace, and grace
builds upon nature; so it is possible for natural tears to develop, grad-
ually and almost unnoticed, into spiritual tears, without the point of
transition being clearly evident to the one who weeps. John believes,
nevertheless, that a distinction needs to be made, and that it is only to.

When John speaks of “‘spiritual” tears, it should not be imagined

that he means tears that are merely inward and metaphorical. Tears,
in his view, even when speraer are still manifested visibly and phys-
Sar by bs 73 gift of tears” he means something specific and con-
irit TIN teat sae AN MELCALN RH ei oh:
iT LU) Ss pnys

83. 7 (808C), p. 140.

84. 7 (808B), pp. 139-40.

25
 INTRODUCTION

enuinely spiri
even stand on a level higher than baptism itself:

The tears that come after baptism are greater than baptism
itself, though it may seem rash to say so. Baptism washes off
those evils that were previously within us, whereas the sins
committed after baptism are washed away by tears. The bap-
tism received by us as children we have all defiled, but we
cleanse it anew with our tears. If God in His love for the hu-
man race had not given us tears, those being saved would be
few indeed and hard to find.®°

Here the positive character of spiritual tears is manifest. Bay

eC ciation o , bu also in a positivesense reb = rec-
ion, € inn eee Orr of
supranatural tea gatively it invc ourning for ou s, but
VU y Cxpre C OY d OU reco ] ation. C Drod by a ]

wept as he sat in exile among the swine, shedding tears of sorrow for
his sins. But no doubt he also wept on his return home, when the Fa-
ther embraced him, clothed him in the festal robe, and put a ring on
his hand; and this time the tears were sweet rather than bitter, ex-
pressing joy at the love with which he had been welcomed back. The
gift of tears includes both these moments on our inward pilgrimage.
St. Isaac the Syrian, John’s younger contemporary—but there is
no reason to believe that they knew each other—develops this same
point in his o istic wa ‘GER ie Gye a ese of
, the frontier between me.
The newborn child weeps on first coming into the world; in the same
way the Christian weeps as he is reborn into the age to come:

The fruits of the inner man begin only with the shedding of
tears. When you reach the place of tears, then know that
your spirit has come out from the prison of this world and
has set its foot upon the path that leads towards the new age.
Your spirit begins at this moment to breathe the wonderful
air which is there, and it starts to shed tears. The moment
for the birth of the spiritual child is now at hand, and the

85. 7 (804B), p. 137.

26
 INTRODUCTION

travail of childbirth becomes intense. Grace, the common

mother of us all, makes haste to give birth mystically to the
soul, God’s image, bringing it forth into the light of the age
to come. And when the time for the birth has arrived, the
intellect begins to sense something of the things of that other
world—as a faint perfume, or as the breath of life which a
newborn child receives into its bodily frame. But we are not
accustomed to such an experience and, finding it hard to en-
dure, our body is suddenly overcome by a weeping mingled
with joy.®¢

Here we catch sbesen the same note as we have eee vepegiesin

The Ladder; ne vhat \
c
The cardinal importance of tears is manifest, but are they essen-
tial? Did St. John Climacus consider that only those who have passed
through this particular experience of weeping can be regarded as tru-
ly repentant and genuinely reborn into the “new age’? St. Symeon
the New Theologian (949-1022), who is much influenced by John’s
theology of tears, certainly came close to adopting such a view. But
iehn himself iis more cautious. We should allow, he urges, for differ-

all; God looks, not at crevoutward Tease pi weeping, but atmeh

9 Aes of our heart. Saaannenitein ccc

t. “Some are not — the gift of mourning,” but the fee

plition that they feel at their lack of tears may take the place of the
gift itself.8”
It seems that John’s attitude is more qualified than Symeon’s.
While Symeon thinks in terms of the way of tears, John thinks rather
of the gift of tears. For Symeon tears are the King’s highway, the roy-
al road that all are to follow. For John tears are a charism conferred
only upon some, whereas on others God bestows some different gift
that takes its place.

86. Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh, ET A. J. Wensinck (Amsterdam 1923), p. 85

(adapted).
87. 7 (805C, 809D), pp. 138-9, 141. Cf. 26 (1088D), p. 259.

a7
 INTRODUCTION

b)

Thedisleesioaltssanse displayed by St. John Climacus in his treat-

ment of repentance and tears is to be seen equally in:his attitude to
: adversary
inasmuch as it has been marred
by the fall, friend inasmuch as it re-
_ mains God’s creation and is called to share in the resurrection glory.
To appreciate John’s attitude aright, and to avoid unjustly accusing
him of an anti-Christian body-soul dualism, gino
‘mine on what level he is speaking in each particular passage: whether
of the body in its true and natural_state, asformed by the Creator, or
tion.
It is not difficult to find negative statements about the body in
The Ladder:

Those gifted with the heart’s depth of mourning regard

their lives as detestable, painful, and wearying, as a cause of
tears and suffering, and they turn away from their body as
from an enemy.

Treat your body always as an enemy, for the flesh is an un-

grateful and treacherous friend. The more you look after it,
the more it hurts you.

The man who pets a lion may tame it but the man who cod-
dles the body makes it ravenous.

Some wise men have said that renunciation is hostility to the

body.

A monster is this gross and savage body.88

But, as the context makes clear in these passages, it is the body in

sits
fallen
state that John has here in view. Etienne

88. 7 (808B), p. 139;

9(841C), p. 153; 14 (864D), p. 165; 15 (881D), p. 173; 26 (1016D),
p. 232.

28
 INTRODUCTION

By what rule or manner shall I bind this body of mine?...

How can I hate him when my nature disposes me to love
him? How can I break away from him when I am bound to
him forever? How can I escape from him when he is going to
rise with me? How can I make him incorrupt when he has
received a corruptible nature? ... He is my helper and my
enemy, my assistant and my opponent, a protector and a
traitor. ... I embrace him. And I turn away from him. What
is this mystery in me? What is the principle of this mixture
of body and soul? How can I be my own friend and my own
enemy?®?

9 soul and body: “I am boundto him foreve ... he

ris
going to rise with me.” For the Christian t not a tomb or
prison, not a piece of clothing to be worn for a time and then cast
aside, but Nora ee Scripture teaches us to be-
lieve not just in the immortality of the soul but in the resurrection of
the body. Even though, as a result of the fall, body and soul are sepa-
rated at death, this severance is no more than tem and we look
beyond it. TARAS CCIM REFEREES te cette
it is to be rendered spiritual, with-
out thereby losing any of its God-given materiality. “Your body,” we
are told, “is a temple of the Holy Spirit ... glorify God with your |
body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20),; Christ “will transfigure the body of our hu-
miliation, so as to conform it to His own glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
St. John Climacus shares the standpoint of St. Paul. Alongside
the passages in The Ladder which treat th enemy, there are
i rticipation in t ife,
ry. The gift of tears, already dis-
cussed, is part of the process of bodily transfiguration: it represents
the spiritualization of the senses. Nor is it only in Step 7 that this
theme of bodily glory is in evidence. At the very outset of The Ladder
John affirms that the monk’s aim is “‘a body made holy”;?° we seek “‘to

89. 15 (901C-904A), pp. 185-6.

90. 1 (633C), p. 74.

29
 INTRODUCTION

ascend to heaven with the body.”?! The same point recurs later in the
work: “Everyone should struggle to raise his clay, so to speak, to a
place on the throne of God.... I do not think anyone should be
classed as a saint until he has made holy his body, if indeed that is
possible.” And what he here regards as a doubtful eventuality, else-
where he affirms as a realized fact:

A man flooded with the love of God reveals in his body, as if

in a mirror, the splendor of his soul.... Men who have at-
tained this angelic state often forget to eat, and I really think
they do not even miss their food.... Indeed I suspect that
the bodies of these incorruptible men are immune to sick-
ness, for their bodies have been sanctified and rendered in-
corruptible.??

In certain instances, so John believes, bodily resurrection has ac-

tually been anticipated; one example is Hesychius the Horebite,
whose tomb was found to be empty.°* Hesychius’ experience is a
striking case of the “inaugurated eschatology” assumed in The Ladder;

. Already in this life the righteous enjoy the first-fruits of

the last things, having “ri i i 2

Ithough a consequence of the fall and

therefore no true part of human nature, are merely the distortion
of

. While repudiating the:passions, we should not reject the natural,

\ God-given impulses that underlie them, but should restore to good
use that which has become misdirected as a result of the fall. In the

91. 1 (636B), p. 75.

92. 26 (1064A), p. 248; 15 (889C), p. 178.
93. 30(1157B), p. 288. Cf. the story of the monk Menas at Alexandria, whose body
flowed with myrrh after his death: 4 (697C), p. 102.
94. 6 (797A), p. 134.
95. 19 (893A), p. 179; cf. 15 (904C), p. 186; 28 (1129B), p. 274.

30
 INTRODUCTION

warfare against the passions, our watchword should be “transfigure,”

not “suppress”; “‘educate,” not “eradicate”:

We have taken natural attributes of our own and turned

them into passions. For instance, the seed that we have for
the sake of procreating children is abused by us for the sake
of fornication. Nature has. provided us with anger as some-
thing to be turned against the serpent, but we have used it
against our neighbor. ... We have a natural desire for food,
but not surely for ptufligady: 28

practice of fascine cepiliesanno eiwiiaueistion upon ee action Sy eat-

ing, but serves to make that action sacramental and Sn meg
ange in Db u O good fi O SEXU pulse, th
Stole to Piein he life af the spirit. Vokiis
a divine gift, and nds its
not afraid to take the term for physical love,eros—which has in Greek
many of the same associations as the English word “erotic”—and to
The erotic impulse is not to be sup-
pressed but redirected:

I have watched impure souls mad for physical love (eros) but
turning what they know of such love into a reason for pen-
ance and transferring that same capacity for love (eros) to the
Lord.

A chaste man is someone who has driven out bodily love

(eros) by means of divine love (eros), who has used heavenly
fire to quench the fires of the flesh.9”

Although John says that “bodily love”—meaning in this context fall-

en, impure eros—is to be “driven out,” yet its place is to be taken, not
by a state of frigid detachment, but by a “divine erotic impulse.” Fire
is quenched by fire, not by water!

96. 26 (1068C), p. 251.

97. 5 (777A), p. 129; 15 (880D), p. 171.

3]
 INTRODUCTION

and divine love as“opposites,” John still regards the earthly as'a-true
image of the heavenly:
Physical love can be a paradigm of the longing for God....

Lucky the man who loves and longs for God as a smitten lov-
er Coes for his beloved. ...

Someone truly in love keeps before his mind’s eye the face of
the beloved and embraces it there tenderly. Even during
sleep the longing continues unappeased, and he murmurs to
his beloved. That is how it is for the body. And that is how it
is for the spirit.%°

The importance of these passages has been rightly emphasized by Dr.

Yannaras.??
nd
i . Sin is evil, but not the
body and its natural impulses. i ; Not

igin; for the devil

fell before man did so, and the devil has no body.
These conclusions about eros, the body and the
passions
are con-
firmed by an analysis of the term “dispassion” (apatheia), as used by
John in Step 29 and elsewhere in The Ladder. See mene nese
tive but positive: St. Diadochus of Photice (mid fifth century) even
speaks of “the fire of dispassion.”’!°° It is a denial of the passions, re-
garded as the contranatural expression of fallen sinfulness; but it is a
i ul a dy.
It connotes not repression but reorientation, not inhibition but free-
dom; having overcome the passions, we are free to be our true selves,
free to love others, free to love God. Dispassion, then, is no mere mor-
tification of the passions but their replacement
by a new and better
venergy. Using once more the language of “inaugurated eschatology,”

98. 26 (1024B), p. 236; 30 (1156CD), p. 287.

99. I metaphysiki tou somatos, pp. 149-66, ‘Eros divin et éros humain selon S. Jean
Climaque’”’, Contacts xxi (1969), pp. 190-204.
100. Century 17: ET Phil., p. 258.

32
 INTRODUCTION

John defines dispassion, not as a form of death, but as “resurrection

of
the soul prior to that of the body.”°
John underlines the dynamic, affirmative character ofdispassion
to such an extent that he virtually
identifies the two:

Love, dispassion and adoption are distinguished by name,

and name only....

To have dispassion is to have the fullness of love, by which I

mean the complete indwelling of God.1°2

C ads usc

“dispassioned” is to relate to God, to have His energy active within

us: “A man is truly dispassionate ... when he keeps his soul contin-
ually in the presence of the Lord.’’!93

n, impeccability, a condition in which we are

no longer capable of sinning. John is entirely clear that no such state
is possible “this side of the grave,”!°* and he quotes with approval the
words of the archdeacon Macedonius:

It is said of angels that they do not, or, as some would have

it, that they cannot fall. But men fall, yet they can quickly
rise again, as often as this may happen to them.19

John agrees with Isaac the Syrian: “Dispassion consists, not in no

GLEN alrececncqninacenowsocepcingstietn 9106
As inward resurrection, as a personal relationship with God in
love, dispassion signifies the return to man’s unfallen state in para-

101. 29 (1148C), p. 282.

102. 30 (1156B), p. 287; 26 (1092C), p. 260.
103. 29 (1148B), p. 282. On the “relational” character of apatheia, see Yannaras, /
metaphysiki tou somatos, p. 178.
104, 14 (865A), p. 166.
105. 4 (696D), pp. 101-2.
106. Mystic Treatises, EY Wensinck, p. 345 (adapted).

33
 INTRODUCTION

dise, the recovery of the “undying beauty” which he possessed “be-

fore this clay.”!°? In paradise man was not a disembodied soul, but a
unity of soul and body, a psychosomatic whole; and so dispassion, as
the return to paradise, involves not the repudiation of the body and
its impulses but their reintegration with the soul and their deliver-
ance from “corruption.”!°8
ae:

ar wre has been blamed, not only for what its critics see as
undue severity and pessimism, but r its apparent individual-
St.
h. He never speaks
of the episcopate, and his few allusions to y are on the whole
?
uncomplimentary.!° He writes for the most part as.1 astic
n, without forming part of any
wider ecclesial structure; the all-embracing unity of Christ’s Body
seems to be ignored. Scarcely any reference is made to the heavenly
Church: pret NmCeracrsrcineiacrca and although John
about the a , there is very little about the
i regularly
does speak a phe ; hurch festi-
he-C
c
vals are only touched on once or twice in.passing.
Silence, however, does not necessarily;imply contempt. Pope
Gregory the Great in his huge masterpiece the Moralia says almost
nothing about the Eucharist, although the work was written at the
very heart of ecclesiastical life in Rome; Bernard of Clairvaux, in a
sermon delivered at Mass on Maundy Thursday, makes no more than
a single brief allusion to Holy Communion.'!° Failure to mention
such things need not mean that they are being dismissed as peripher-
al; perhaps they are everywhere presupposed, like the air we breathe
and the light that enables us to see.
John in any case is writing specifically for monks, and so it is not
surprising if he has little to say about Church life outside the monas-
tery. As a matter of fact, esd eS agli morro P=
vice to society. The monk helps others, so he believes, not so much

107. 29 (1149D), p. 284.

108. 29 (1148B), p. 282.
109. See, for example, 4 (701C), p. 104; 14 (865A), p. 166.
110. C. Butler, Ways of Christian Life (London 1932), pp. 51-52.

34
 INTRODUCTION

visibly as invisibly—not through exterior works but through inward

prayer, and by acting as a presence, a sign, an example:

Angels are a light for monks and the monastic life is a light
for all men. Hence monks should spare no effort to become a
shining example in all things, and they should give no scan-
dal in anything they say or do.!11

On the contrary, he insists very

strongly upon the e. No one,
he stresses, should embark on the solitary life unless he has first un-
dergone the experience of living with others, either in a fully orga-
nized monastery or in some smaller spiritual “family” pursuing the.
third way. Through , in particular, John underscores the ne-
cessity for i ?

: d obedience. Love forms the top-

most rung on the spiritual ladder—love for God, but also love for
neighbor, since the two are inseparable: “He who loves the Lord has
first loved his brother, for the latter is proof of the former.”!!3 Love
for neighbor signifies first of all love for my immediate neighbor, and
so in the monk’s case it means love for his fellow monks dwelling
with him in the same community. The true monk shares to the full in
the joys and sorrows of each brother—“he weeps for the sins of that
brother and is delighted by his progress’”’!!4—although this love does
not need always to be expressed outwardly in words.!!5 As we have
noted, what most impressed John at the monastery that he visited in
Egypt was precisely the quality of loving compassion shown by the
monks toward one another:

An unbreakable bond of love joined these men together. .. .

Above all, they strove never to injure a brother’s conscience.

111. 26 (1020D), p. 234.

112. 4 (708A, 709C, 712A), pp. 107, 109, 110, ete.
113. 30 (11570), p. 288.
114. 4 (705A), p. 106.
115. 6 (797C), p. 135.

35
 INTRODUCTION

And if ever someone showed hatred of another, the shepherd

banished him like a convict to the isolation monastery. Once
when a brother spoke ill of a neighbor, the holy man, on
hearing him, had him expelled immediately. “I’ ninot having
a visible devil here along with the invisible one,” he said.’'°

i i an
ouse wo . The brethren them-
selves, obedient to St. Paul’s injunction, “Bear one another’s bur-
dens” (Gal. 6:2), in mutual love gladly took responsibility for each
other’s faults.!!7 It was these features above all that made the monas-
tery at *s eyes.
Along with brotherly love, the unda tue of the
nce
By this John
monk in community is obedie :
does not mean pri-
e; in fact, he nowhere
makes any reference to such a rule. He is thinking in more personal
terms—of obedience to Christ, and of obedience to the spiritual father
as the earthly ikon of Christ the Good Shepherd. For a monk in a
fully organized monastery, the spiritual father will normally be the
abbot; for a monk following the third way, he will be the geron or
abba, the ‘old man” who heads the small monastic “family.”
of the
John is emphatic about the impor spiritual-father.
tance
The ascent of the ladder is not to be undertaken in isolation, but un-
der the immediate direction of a guide. Here John takes up a theme
central to monasticism from its earliest days.!!8 In the words of the
father of Egyptian monasticism, St. Antony:

I know of monks who fell after much toil and lapsed into
madness, because they trusted in their own d forgot
the commandment that says, comin til
‘tell you” (Deut. 32:7). So far as possible, for every step that a
monk takes, for every drop of water that he drinks in his cell,

116. 4 (685A), p. 95; cf. 4 (701A), p. 104.

117. 4 (685D), p. 96.
118. On spiritual fatherhood, see I. Hausherr, Direction spirituelle en orient autrefots
(Orientalia Christiana Analecta 144: Rome 1955); K. Ware, ““The Spiritual Father in Or-
thodox Christianity”, Cross Currents xxiv (1974), pp. 296-313.

36
 INTRODUCTION

he should entrust the decision to the old men, to avoid mak-

ing some mistake in what he does.!!9

Such also is John’s conviction. At penta taaseest each speaks, of

the monk’s need» for-‘‘some» Moses” to guide him to the Promised
Land:
Those of us who wish to get away from Egypt, to escape
from Pharaoh, need some Moses to be our intermediary with
God, to stand between action and contemplation, and stretch
out his arms to God, that those led by him may cross the sea
!2°
of sin and put to flight the Amalek of the passions.

He returns to the point in the summary at the end of Step 26:

A ship with a good navigator comes safely to port, God will-

ing. A soul with a good shepherd climbs easily heavenward,
even if it has earlier done much wrong.

A man, no matter how prudent, may easily go astray on a

road if he has no guide. The man who takes the road of mo-
nastic life under his own direction may easily be lost, even if
he has all the wisdom of the world.!?!

isciple receives guidance from his

spiritual
father chiefly in two
ways: . ple which the
spiritual father sets in daily life;!2? second, through the “disclosure of
thoughts,” through opening his heart to the spiritual father in what

understood as part of iastical

penance; for while it may sometimes overlap with sacramental con-
fession, it is broader in scope:

119. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Alphabetical collection, Antony 37-38 (PG 65,
88B): ET Sister Benedicta Ward (London 1975), p. 7.
120. 1 (633D-636A), p. 75.
121. 26 (1089B), p. 259.
122. 4 (680D), p. 93.

37
 INTRODUCTION

First, eeepantomnlsaerma gaia aliacsemninessesee Pm

necessar ily In all the many passages in The Ladder where
be a priest.
John refers to spiritual fatherhood, as also in the special treatise that
he wrote on this subject, To the Shepherd, it is in fact nowhere specified
that the spiritual father should be in priestly orders; and, as we have
seen, there is no evidence that John’himself was so ordained, although
he certainly exercised the ministry of spiritual fatherhood.
Second, what the monk i not
re gen-
” (logismoi), which may be neutral or even God-
inspired as well as sinful. In this disclosure of thoughts the spiritual
child lays before his father, so far as he can, all the events that are oc-
curring in his life, whether outward or inward, even those that seem
to him insignificant; for the spiritual father may see in them a deeper
meaning of which the disciple is himself unaware.
St. John Climacus implies that this confession to the spiritual fa-
ther Pe SNR yet ere ome and he mentions the practice of
certain monks at Alexandria who wrote down their thoughts at once
in a notebook hanging from their belt, which they later showed to the
abbot.!23 Normally the disclosure of thoughts is in private, but the
insi , for the
good of the disciple or perhaps of the community.!?* Whether the
confession is private or public, the underlying principle is the same:
“Nothing gives demons and evil thoughts such power over us as to
nourish them and hide them in our hearts unconfessed.”’!?° But, once
brought into the open, they become powerless. As one of the monks
at Alexandria said to John, describing what had happened to him
after “a bad spiritual failure”:

But since it was never my custom to conceal a snake in the

hiding place of my heart I grabbed it forthwith by the tail—
meaning that I ended the matter—and I revealed it at once to
the healer. He gave me a light blow on the chin, smiled, and
said to me, “All right, child, go back to your job and do not

123. 4 (701CD), p. 105.

124. 4 (681B), p. 93.
125. 23 (976D), p. 211.

38
 INTRODUCTION

be in the slightest way afraid.” With heart on fire I did as I

was told, and within a few days I knew I was cured.12¢

(1, TO ar OF reviving ‘ niui impulse within 5

This is the case in particular with sins against chastity: “Do not in-
sist,” John advises, “on confessing your carnal acts in detail, since you
might become a traitor to yourself.”!27 As St. Mark the Ascetic (alias
Mark the Hermit or Monk) observes, “To recall past sins in detail in-
flicts injury on the man who hopes in God.... They pollute him
again with the old defilement.”!28
In the passage quoted above, it is significant that the Alexandrian
MS Spiri This is characteris-
tic of The Ladder. When speaking of
confession, John employs by pref-
erence imagery that is i cal. Confession
does not merely bestow absolution from guilt, understood in a formal
on Gependllstitafashign, but on a deeper, more organic level it confers
healing and restoration to wholenes Sin is disease;
s. to go to confes-
sion is to enter the hospital.and to expose our wounds; the spiritual
father is the doctor who makes us inwardly whole by prescribing
medicines, by bandaging, cauterizing, amputating.12°
In this relationship between patient and physician—between
spiritual child and father i i i
is‘opennes of heart.sIf this is lacking, if the disciple in disclosing his
thoughts deliberately conceals or misrepresents, then obviously the
whole object of the confession is frustrated; the doctor cannot help if
the patient lies about his ailments. 13° i e
iri ild needs to show trust and faithfulness Look
. carefully,
John urges, before choosing your spiritual father; but, having once
chosen him, remain with him permanently. Those who move light-

126. 4 (697A), p. 102.

127. 28 (1140A), p. 281.
128. On those who think that they are made righteous by works, § 139 (PG 65, 952B),; ET
Phile Smolen. 13.8:
129. For such metaphors, see for example 4 (716A), p. 112; 5 (776C), p. 130; and
above all Past. 2 (1168D-1169C), pp. 232-3. On confession as a form of healing, see K.
Ware, “The Orthodox Experience of Repentance”, Sobornost ii (1980), pp. 22-26.
130. Past. 7 (1184AB), p. 236.

39
 INTRODUCTION

mindedly from one confessor to another make no progress, and ‘“‘de-

serve every punishment from God.” !3! Even if your spiritual father is
guilty of fornication, you should not leave him.’°? It is not for you to
judge him and his actions:

When the thought strikes you.to judge or condemn your su-

perior ... give no trust, place, entry, or starting point to that
snake. Say this to the viper: “Listen to me. . . . I do not judge
him; he judges me.”’!33

But of course on his side the spiritual father isresponsible before God
ld
act with
for the example that he sets his disciples: he shou pru-
, for fear of giving
needless scandal.!54
What does the AR TGHRERRERETSHReinvetern for this openness
and trust? He is, as we have seen, the physician who makes us inward-
ly whole. This he does, not only by his words of advice, but by his
b mpar 4 D 0 DCTia DU ov. offer-

y a D Ofna d Ss estaDlisned a a

. The spiritual father helps his children by interceding for

them. This is clearly seen in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: what you
say when you visit your abba is ‘‘Pray for me.” John also insists on
this,!35 remarking that the obedient monk, even if he raises the dead,
will nevertheless believe that it is the prayers of his spiritual father
which have enabled him to do this.1%°

, an “intermediary”
(mesitis) who reconciles us to Him.!37 He is the friend of the Great
King, who can plead on our behalf with boldness in the royal pres-

131. 4(680D, 709D), pp. 92, 110.

132. 4 (724B), p. 117.
133. 4 (681A), p. 93.
134. Past. 8 (1184C), p. 237.
135. See for example 4 (677D), p. 91; 15 (893B), p. 180.
136. 4(705D-708A), p. 107.
137. 1 (636A), p. 75.

240
 INTRODUCTION

ence.'*® This means, says John, that to sin against our spiritual father
is in a sense worse than to sin against God:

What I am going to say to you now must not shock you. .

It is better to sin against God than against our father. If we
make God angry, our director can reconcile Him to us. But
if he is angry, then there is no one to speak up for us before
God.!39

The paradox is deliberate, but the point is clear. This Presiation,

furthermore, works in both directions.
s toGod,buthe alsorepresent d tous.Hiswords
one of the e tuie at Alexandria
said to Toh sca che abbot:

I thought of the shepherd as the image of Christ.... I

thought of the command [that he gave me] as coming not
from him but from God.14°

or another. In John’s
view, the spiritual father does nothing less than assume responsibility
for his disciple’s sins, for which he will answer before God at the Last
Judgment. Thus the disciple can face death without anxiety, “know-
ing with certainty that when it is time to go, not he but his spiritual
director will be called to render an account.’ !42
“I thought of the shepherd as the image of Christ,” said the Alex-
andrian monk to John. As sponsor or anadochos, the shepherd of souls
is called to be a living ikon of the unique Good Shepherd. He is to

138. Past. 3 (1172D), p. 233.

139. 4(725D), p. 119.
140. 4 (692B), p. 99; cf. 4 (709A), p. 109.
141. Past. 10 (1185B),p. 237.
142. 4 (705B), p. 107.

41
 INTRODUCTION

show the same sacrificial love as the Savior displayed when dying on
the Cross for the sins of the world:

It is love that shows who is the true shepherd; for by reason

of love the Great Shepherd was crucified.'*°

Among the many qualities that John mentions in his treatise on spiri-
tual fatherhood To the Shepherd, this is the most important. The father
—— discretion, dispassion, gentleness tempered by
severity. for with-
after theher
out such love no one can be a’shep Christ. He
image of d
needs to have compassion, using this word in its true and full sense;
he is required to lay down his life for his children, offering up on
their behalf all that he has and all that he is. As John puts it, “spiritual
responsibility (anadochi) in the proper sense ... is a laying down of
one’s soul on behalf of the soul of one’s neighbor in all matters.” !44
s, the
r: “Let your father be
the one who is able and willing to labor with you in bearing the bur-
den of your sins.”!45 By thus interpreting the spiritual father’s role in
terms of Galatians 6:2, St. John Climacus shows himself a true follow-
er of the sixth-century school of Gaza—of St. Varsanuphius, St. John
the Prophet, and St. Dorotheus—all of whom appeal to the same Pau-
line precept.!4¢ Applying their teaching, John gives an example from
his own experience: for twenty years a monk had suffered from un-
speakable and blasphemous thoughts, and could gain no relief. Even-
tually he wrote the temptation on a piece of paper, went to a holy
man and gave him the paper. After reading it, the old man said: “My
son, put your hand on my neck.... Now let this sin be on my
neck.... From now on, ignore it.” At once the brother was freed

143. Past. 5 (1177B), p. 234.

144. Past. 12 (1183B), p. 239.
145. 3 (665D), p. 87. Cf. 24 (984C), p. 217; Past. 2 (1169B), p. 233; 12 (1189BO), pp.
239-40.
146. Varsanuphius and John, Correspondence, ed. S. Schoinas (Volos 1960), §§ 168-9,
189, 191, 199, 203, 206, 239, 483; French trans. by L. Regnault (Solesmes 1972), §§ 72-73,
94, 96, 104, 108, 111, 239, 483, et passim. Dorotheus, Instructions iv (ed. L. Regnault,
Sources chrétiennes 92 [Paris 1963], §§ 56-57, pp. 240-2); vi (§ 79, p. 288).

+42
 INTRODUCTION

from the thoughts of blasphemy, nor did they trouble him

subse-
quently.!47
From all this it is abundantly clear how exacting, in the eyes of
St. John Climacus, are the demands made upon the spiritual father.
There can, indeed, be no earthly vocation higher than this:

We can offer to God no gift so acceptable as to bring

Him
through repentance souls made in His image. The whole
world is not worth so much as a soul.!48

e
“Prayer,” says St. John Climacus, “is by nature
.” As such, it is ‘ a--
“Its effect is to hold the world together.”’!49 It is
the primary end for which the human person was created—“What
higher good is there than to cling to the Lord and to persevere in un-

: “Your prayer shows where you stand....

Prayer is a monk’s mirror.”!5! In the words of Bishop Theophan the
Recluse: ‘‘Prayer is the test of everything... . If prayer is right, every-
thing is right.’’!52
TSE I Pe errmenpce EERE TEPBAREGBienge co
Heartfelt thanksgiving should have first place in our book of
prayer. Next should be confession and genuine contrition of

147. 23 (980AB), p. 213. For parallels to this incident in other texts, see J. Gouil-
lard, “Christianisme byzantin et slave”, Ecole pratique des hautes études. V section. Sciences
religieuses. Annuaire \xxxii (Paris 1974), pp. 215-17.
148. Past. 13 (1196D), p. 244. John refers to spiritual brotherhood as well as spiritu-
al fatherhood: 15 (892C), p. 179; 26 (1057B), p. 244.
149. 28 (1129A), p. 274.
150. 28 (1136A), p. 278.
151. 28 (1136Q), p. 278.
152. In Igumen Chariton of Valamo, The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology (Lon-
don 1966), p. 51.

43
 INTRODUCTION

soul. After that should come our request to the universal

King.1>$

We are not tobegin byconfessing our sins. Before peering downward

at ugliness, we are to gaze outward and upward at the beau-
POPCRETSo it is in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (not
that St. John Climacus appeals to this particular example): we do not
commence with an act of penitence but with a proclamation of divine
glory, “Blessed is the Kingdom of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. .. ab
Only after receiving a glimpse of this heavenly Kingdom can we be-
gin to repent as we should. Otherwise penitence becomes a form of
grumbling, an expression of bitterness or self-loathing rather than
hope. Penitence, John adds, should accompany us throughout the
journey of prayer: “Even if you have climbed the whole ladder of the
virtues, pray still for the forgive fis.
71%
J e value our prayer.
We are to avoid garrulousness, i S:

Pray in all simplicity. The publican and the prodigal son

were reconciled to God by a single utterance.... In your
prayers there is no need for high-flown words, for it is the
simple and unsophisticated babblings of children that have
often won the heart of the Father in heaven. Try not to talk
excessively in your prayer, in case your mind is distracted by
the search for words. One word from the publican sufficed
to placate God, and a single utterance saved the thief.
Talkative prayer (polylogia) frequently distracts the mind
and deludes it, whereas brevity (monologia) makes for concen-
tration. If it happens that, as you pray, some word evokes de-
light or remorse within you, linger over it.5°

; r stages, to use

fo urges!>—these words should be as di-

rect, concise and uncomplicated as possible.

153. 28 (1132A), p. 275.

154. 28 (1132B), p. 276.
155, 28 (1129D, 1132AB), pp. 275-6.
156. 28 (11320), p. 276.

44
 INTRODUCTION

In thus recommending the use of short, simple prayers, it seems

that John had in view v ae: this is implied by the
advice just quoted, “if ... some word evokes delight or remorse with-
in you, linger over it.”” Sometimes, like the Desert Fathers in fourth-
century Egypt, he suggests the employment of a verse from the
Psalms:

Cry out to God, Who has the strength to save you. Do not
bother with elegant and clever words. Just speak humbly,
beginning with, “Have mercy on me, for I am weak” (Ps.
Grays

asia) erated sabicslsliiicee ntscriptasaltease,for the

monk to ponder, leaving him free to choose which he prefers: for, as.
he puts it, “all the loaves of heavenly bread do not have the same ap-
pearance.’’158
There is, however, one type of simple prayer to whichoe
attaches potas ee See th

imes!©° in the entire Lido so that it cannot be regarded as.a

dOWiinant Tene in j his spiritual teaching as a whole. In this respect
there is a marked contrast between John and his follower St. Hesy-
chius of Sinai, who mentions the Jesus Prayer continually throughout
his work On Watchfulness and Holiness. But the three passages in The

157. 15 (900D), p. 184. On the Egyptian practice, see Dom L. Regnault, ‘La priére
continuelle ‘monologistos’ dans la littérature apophtegmatique”, /réntkon xlvii (1974),
pp. 467-93.
158. 27 (1116A), p. 272. Short prayers can be used in particular during the antipho-
nal recitation of the Divine Office, while the opposite side of the choir is singing: cf. 19
(937D), p. 195.
159. For Climacus’ teaching on the Jesus Prayer, see ““‘Un Moine de |’Eglise d’Or-
ient” [Archimandrite Lev Gillet (1892-1980)], La Priére de Jésus (3rd ed., Chevetogne
1959), pp. 27-28; ET, “A Monk of the Eastern Church”, The Prayer of Jesus, translated by
“A Monk of the Western Church” (New York/Tournai 1967), pp. 28-29; I. Hausherr,
Noms du Christ et voies doraison (Orientalia Christiana Analecta 157: Rome 1960), pp. 248-
53; ET The Name of Jesus, translated by C. Cummings (Cistercian Studies Series 44: Kalama-
zoo 1978), pp. 280-6. Fr. Hausherr, while rightly protesting that too much should not
be read into the short statements of Climacus, surely goes too far in the opposite direc-
tion, adopting an unduly “reductionist” view.
160. Possibly there is a fourth reference in 9 (841C), p. 153, where Climacus speaks
of Fisou i prosevchi; but more probably this means the Lord’s Prayer.

45
 INTRODUCTION

Ladder, since they have greatly influenced subsequent writers, deserve

to be considered with particular care.
hen discussing the impure thoughts suggested to
us by the demons immediately before we go to sleep, John says:

Let the remembrance of death and the concise Jesus Prayer

go to sleep with you and get up with you, for nothing helps
you as these do when you are asleep.!®!

Note here, first of all, the words “Jesus Prayer” (Jisou evchi): St. John
Climacus is, it seems, the earliest author to use this expression. At the
same pds he describes therjesusPrayerasticonciseimony more literal-
ly, as “monologic”’ (monologistos), a term that mea ting in a
single phrase”: John seems to be once again hone NS ae,
The epithet monologistos calls to mind the con-
trast, in the passage cited earlier,!©? between talkativeness (polylogia)
and brevity (monologia); thus the Jesus Prayer is being commended as
an example of short, sim pleTeale

a.
The same is true of John’s followee: a es while very frequently
using the term “Jesus Prayer”—and on one occasion the phrase ‘‘mon-
ologistos prayer” ©3he refrains from giving a precise form of words.
It has been argued—in particular by Fr. Hausherr—that John merely
envisages, in a general way, any brief prayer for help, not necessarily
including the name of Jesus. But in that case why should John say,
not just “single-phrase prayer,” but “single-phrase Jesus Prayer’’?
Surely it is more probable that the prayer contained the actual word
“Jesus” as part of the “single phrase.” s-
5 plicitly mention-

Yet, if our supposition is correct, it does not therefore follow that

the “single-phrase Jesus Prayer” contains only the name of Jesus and
nothing else. To judge from other writers prior to The Ladder or con-

161. 15 (889D), p. 178.

162. 28 (1132B), p. 275: see above, note 155.
163. On Watchfulness and Holiness ii, 72 (PG 93, 1536B); ET Pbil., § 174, p. 193 (the
translators have added the word “Jesus” before “prayer’’).

46
 INTRODUCTION

further words a : sioving

the invocation “Jesus” on its own. Diadochus of Photice, for example,
advises the use of a prayer beginning “Lord Jesus. . .”, apparently fol-
lowed by something more, although he does not tell us what.!6* Var-
sanuphius and John of Gaza suggest various formulae, such as:!65

“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me”

“Lord Jesus Christ, save me”
‘‘Master Jesus, protect me”
“Jesus, help me”

—but never “Jesus” alone. What inlater Orthodox spirituali

hasty
be-
x of
God, have mercy on me,” is first found in The Life of Abba Philemon, 16°
an Egyptian text perhaps more or less contemporary with The Ladder.
It is probable, then, that the ‘“‘single-phrase Jesus Prayer” contained
more than the simple invocation of the name. however,
John, does not
tell us.exactly what is in his “single phrase,” and so it may be that,
like Varsanuphius and John of Gaza, he envisages a variety of possi-
ble texts. Writing as he was at a time when the wording of the Jesus
Prayer had not yet become stereotyped, he may have preferred to
leave each reader free to make his own choice among the different
forms.
Lo pipeline ld in
‘Step 15. First, itis linked with th . This sug-
ests that John saw the Jesus Prayer as, among other things, prayer
a
emanenapameEKE FHobably, then, he expected the Prayer to
include the words “have mercy on me” or the equivalent; as already
note ecommends the use of Psalm 6:3, ‘““Have mercy on me... .”
, the Prayer is seen as a weapon against the demons. Third, its
use is specially commended when on the threshold ofsleep. On the

164. Century 59, 61: Phil, pp. 270-1.

165. Correspondence (ed. Schoinas), §§ 39, 126, 255, 268, 446, 659; French trans. by
Regnault, §§ 39, 175, 255, 268, 446, 659. See also Dorotheus, Life of Dositheus 10 (ed. Reg-
nault, Sources chrétiennes 92, p. 138).
166. Philokalia ton ieron niptikon (Greek text), vol. ii (Athens 1958), p. 244. On the
importance of this text, see B. Krivochéine, “Date du texte traditionnel de la ‘Priére de
Jésus’ ”, Messager de l’Exarchat du Patriarche russe en Europe occidentale 7-8 (1951), pp. 55-59.

Ay
 INTRODUCTION

second and the third point, John’s approach resembles that of Diado-
chus.!67
(2) The second of the three passages occu
“nasi
iiildiaasioemtbateiaianieiamnonimeeh*
deia ¥ Ken enter:
ing some dark place alone. The solution, he says, is to arm yourself
with prayer:

When you reach the spot, stretch out your hands and flog
your enemies with the name of Jesus, since there is no
stronger weapon in heaven or on earth.!®8

Here, certainly, John has in view

but specifically the invocation ofthe name “Jesus. ” As in Step 15, this
is seen as'a weapon against the demons. He further suggests a particu-
lar bodily posture, with the arms outstretched in the form of a cross.
This he also recommends elsewhere, but without referring to the
name of Jesus.!©?
(3) The third and most important passage comes in Step 27, on
solitude or stillness:

Stillness (besychia) is worshipping God unceasingly and wait-

ing on Him. Let the remembrance of Jesus be present with
your every breath. Then indeed you will appreciate the val-
ue of stillness.!7°

There is no explicit reference here to “‘the Jesus Prayer” or to “the

name of Jesus,” but only to “ .’ It may be, then,
that in this passage John is not thinking of a short formula of prayer,
frequently repeated, of“‘keeping
but Jesus in mind” in a more dif-
fused and general sense. But it is also possible that the “remem-
brance” is in fact the “single-phrase
same as the Jesus Prayer”; and
that is how most later readers of The Ladder have understood the text.
a arise in this passage. First, John states
that theeee teeerrerensi ould be so far as possible uninter-
“rupted: In the other two passages the Jesus Prayer or invocation of

167. Century 31: Phil., pp. 261-2.

168. 21 (945C), p. 200.
169. 15 (900C), p. 184.
170. 27 (1112C), pp. 269-70.

48
 u

fe
INTRODUCTION \A2 4 {°

the name is recommended for use in particular situations -

“ing
asleep, when alone in the dark—but in this third text John envis-
ages something all-embracing and continuous. Once more, his
teaching resembles that of Diadochus, who insists emphatically that
the remembrance or invocation of Jesus shall be unceasing.!7!
Second, John says that the remembrance of Jesus is to “be pres-
ent with your every breath”; a more literal translation would run, “‘be
united with your breathing.” The phrase has been eS rimilise
. Some see in it no more than a metaphor: we should remember
God a 172__John is simply underlining his point
about “worshipping God unceasingly.” Others give the phrase a far
in their view, John has in mind a physical tech-
nique whereby the “single-phrase Jesus Prayer” is linked with the
. Such a technique is certainly advocated in a
Coptic source, not easily dated, but perhaps slightly later than John:

Is it not easy to say with every breath, “Our Lord Jesus

Christ, have mercy on me; I bless Thee, my Lord Jesus, help
met el7s

In the Greek tradition, however, there are no clear and unambiguous

references to a “breathing technique” until the late thirteenth and the
early fourteenth century, in the works of St. Nicephorus of Mount
Athos, St. Gregory of Sinai, St. Gregory Palamas, and others.!74
Now it is true that St. John Climacus accepts the basic principle
underlying the physical method propounded by these later writers;

171. Century 59, 85, 88, and especially 97: Phil., pp. 270, 285, 287, 293-4.
172. Compare, for example, Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 27, 4 (PG 36, 16B), and
Nilus of Ancyra, Letters I, 239 (PG 79, 169D), where the meaning is apparently no more
than metaphorical.
173. “The Virtues of St. Macarius”, ed. E. Amélineau, Histoire des monastéres de la
Basse-Egypte (Annales du Musée Guimet xxv: Paris 1894), p. 161; cited in J. Gouillard,
Petite Philocalie de la priére du coeur (Paris 1953), p. 68; 2nd ed. (Paris 1968), p. 55. On the
Jesus Prayer in the Coptic Macarian cycle, see A. Guillaumont, “Une inscription copte
sur la ‘Priére de Jésus’”, Orientalia Christiana Periodica xxxiv (1968), pp. 310-25; “The
Jesus Prayer among the Monks of Egypt”, Eastern Churches Review vi (1974), pp. 66-71.
Professor Guillaumont dates the text quoted to the 7th—-8th centuries.
174. See I. Hausherr, La méthode d’oraison hésychaste (Orientalia Christiana ix, no. 36:
Rome 1927); J. Gouillard, “A Note on the Prayer of the Heart”, in J.-M. Déchanet,
Christian Yoga (Perennial Library: New York 1972), pp. 217-30; K. Ware, “The Jesus
Prayer in St Gregory of Sinai”, Eastern Churches Review iv (1972), pp. 14-16.

49
 INTRODUCTION

like them,
ut only in this one
sentence in Step 27 does he refer specifically to the breathing in con-
nection with the name of Jesus; the point is not developed, and it
would be perilous to base too much on a single phrase. In default of
further idence CaSeTe eSaTONTTTOPSeeREP TaaTTena igm.
“Tye Probably the parallel phrase in Hesychius!7° should also be given
a metaphorical sense; but Hesychius’ wording is slightly more precise
than John’s, for he alters ‘‘remembrance of Jesus” to “Jesus Prayer,”
and when speaking elsewhere of the Jesus Prayer he makes a number
of other references to the breathing.!77
‘Third, in the passage quoted John indicates a connection be-
tween ‘ ss (hesy-
chia). Constantly to keep Jesus in remembrance is attaining
a way of
i iet: the Jesus Prayer
‘chast,” one who possesses silence of heart. Hesychia!78 is a key word in
John’s doctrine of prayer, and the step which he devotes to it has
proved, with the possible exception of Step 7 on the gift of tears, the
most influential in the whole of The Ladder. By “‘stillness’’ he means
b rmi olitary, living
in a cell on his OWN wiliigiainpammmmanaciapesition of continual
prayer, as in the passage under discussion: ‘Stillness is worshipping
God unceasingly.”!79
)

175. 15 (900C), p. 184; 26 (1000D-1001A), p. 227; 28 (1133B), p. 277; but in these

passages there is no reference to the breathing. The allusion to “breathing God” in 4
(688C), p. 97, is surely metaphorical. But in 4 (724B), p. 117 and 14 (869A), p. 169, the
sense is less clear: John may mean that the repetition of a short phrase from Scripture
is to be linked with the rhythm of the breathing, but once more a metaphorical sense is
possible.
176. “Let the Jesus Prayer cleave. to your breath [or breathing]: On Watchfulness
and Holiness ii, 80 (PG 93, 1537D): ET Phil., § 182, p. 195.
177. On Watchfulness and Holiness i, 5; ii, 68, 85, 87 (1481D, 1533C, 1540CD); Phil., §§
5, 170, 187, 189 (pp. 163, 192, 195, 196). But in none of these passages is a metaphorical
interpretation excluded.
178. See I. Hausherr, “L’hésychasme. Etude de spiritualité”, in Hésychasme et priére
(Orientalia Christiana Analecta 176: Rome 1966), pp. 163-237; K. Ware, “Silence in
Prayer: the Meaning of Hesychia”, in B. Pennington (ed.), One yet Two (Cistercian Studies
Series 29: Kalamazoo 1976), pp. 22-47.
179. See note 170.

50
 INTRODUCTION

_Physical isolation businteriorsilence. Sometimes, certainly, he has in

view both the outward and the inward at the same time:

Close the door of your cell to your body, the door of your
tongue to talk, and the gate within to evil spirits.1#°

But more often it is the inward level, “the

within,”
gate of which he is
speaking, as in his celebrated definition of the hesychast:
Strange as it may seem, the hesychast is a man who fights to
keep his ee self shut up in the house of the body.1#?

The meaning here is, not that the hesychast dwells spatially separated
from others 1in the desert, but that

gle point. The hesy-

chast’s not outward and physical, into the wilderness,
but i 1, into the sanctuary of the heart. John is say-
ing the same as St. Basil the Great:

When the intellect is no longer dissipated among external

things or dispersed across the world through the senses, it
returns to itself; and by means of itself it ascends to the
thought of God.1*

TypdhesnebeeniastheanmmnissstmsSeet siento who has, in

St. Isaac the Syrian’s phrase, ‘entered into the treasure house that is
within.”/83 He has constantly within him what John calls “unseen
emits “mental prayer” or “noeticactivity” (noera ergasia).'®°
Understanding stillness in this inward sense, we see that it is pos-
sible to be a hesychast even though committed to works of direct ser-
vice to others: the hesychast isnot just the solitary, but anyone who

180. 27 (1100A), p. 263.

181. 27 (1097B), p. 262.
182. Letter 2 (PG 32, 228A). ;
183. Mystic Treatises, EY Wensinck, p. 8 (adapted).
184. 3 (664B), p. 85.
185. 4 (685C), p. 96.

51
 INTRODUCTION

stillness in the isolation of a hermit’s cell; but ‘

, living outwardly with men but inwardly

with God.” 187
Interpreted in this manner, as the hidden silence of the heart, be-
SyePta signifies in The Ladder more particularly s ter
”—prayer, that is to say, y words, im-
ages or concepts. “Stillness means the expulsion of thoughts,” writes
John,!®° adapting a well-known phrase of Evagrius, “Prayer is the ex-
pulsion of thoughts.”!89 But “expulsion” is perhaps too violent a
word. John and Evagrius employ the term s
" ”: not a savage extirpation or brutal sup-
pression of our thoughts, but a gentle yet persistent act of detachment
or “letting go.”

ace peristoll as distinguished from the singing of psalms and hymns,

the liturgical prayer of the divine office. Evidently it is this “pure” or
wordless prayer of stillness that John has in view when he describes
prayer as “a turning away from the world, visible and invisible,”!9!
1.77192
; ae
We can ie yaaa ni what John intends when, in Step
27, he connects the “remembrance of Jesus” with the state of stillness.
The remembrance or invocation of Jesus is one of the ways—not nec-
essarily the only one—whereby the aspirant upon the spiritual way is
enabled to advance from oral to wordless prayer. Here, as so often in
his teaching on the Jesus Prayer, John seems to be following Diado-
chus of Photice. The human intellect, so Diadochus observes, cannot
rest inactive; if it is to be prevented from dispersing itself among a

186. 4 (700C), p. 103.

187. Past., 9 (1185A), p. 237; cf. 27 (1097B), p. 262.
188. 27 (1112A), p. 269.
189. On Prayer, § 70 (PG 79, 1181C): ET Phil, § 71, p. 64. ;
190. 19 (937D), p. 195: literally “non-material prayer.”
191. 28 (1133C), p. 277. ;
192. 28 (1136D), p. 279. :

52
 INTRODUCTION

multiplicity of ay objects, it must be provided with some inner

task to satisfy its “need for activity.” This need, according to Diado-

intellect eanciauallyy concentrate on these words idan its

inner shrine with such intensity that it is not turned aside to
any mental images.!93

ass from multiplicity

to unity, and so to reach out beyond all words into the pure prayer of
stillness. Such is Diadochus’ teaching. John is less explicit, but he
seems to uphold the same standpoint: the invocation of the Holy
Name forms the gateway to hesychia.

ship of God. For the true

asa continuous state; it is not merely one activ-
ity among others, bu He strives to fulfill
the command, “ g” (1 Thess. 5:17). His prayer con-
tinues s John puts it, “A hesychast is like an angel
on earth ... he says, ‘I sleep, but my heart is awake’ ” (Song of Songs
5:2);194 he is “at work not only when awake but also when he is
asleep.”195 In the words of St. Isaac the Syrian, “Even when he is im-
mersed in sleep, the perfumes of prayer will breathe in his soul spon-
taneously.”’!9 In this way the hesychast is

Ss pra ecomes in the true sense prayer of the heart, meaning by

“heart” not only the emotions and affections but, as in Scripture, the
totality of the human. person dwelling incommunion with God. In
the words of The Ladder: “‘‘I cried out with all my heart,’ said the

193. Century 59: Phil., p. 270.

194. 27 (1100A), p. 263.
195. 27 (1116B), p. 272; cf. 20 (941C), pp. 197-8.
196. Mystic Treatises, EY Wensinck, p. 174.

53
 INTRODUCTION

psalmist (Ps. 118:145). He is referring to body, soul and spirit.”!°? So

the hesychast prays with his whole heart, with every aspect of his be-
ing, conscious, subconscious, supraconscious. He is identified with
his prayer.

e
di-
> .

rect touching, a simple gazing upon God that will be, so far as possi-
ble, conti i Uf
And what lies beyond this? John is guarded.
i n” (theosis), widespread among
the Greek Fathers. But, while offering no detailed descriptions, he
provides a few hints. The highest level of prayer, he says, is “rapture
(arpagi) in the Lord,”!8 but he does not develop the point. Once he
alludes to a visionary experience of his own;!%? evidently this was ec-
static in character, for he says, recalling St. Paul’s words (2 Cor. 12:2),
‘and whether, during all this, I was in the body or out of it, I cannot
rightly say.” Yet in this vision it was not with Christ Himself that
John spoke, but with an angel.
T i oreover, an isol e; he does not speak else-
where of receivi Ss er
, although it is not
easy to determine how far the language is intended to be more than
metaphorical. The main passages are these:
(1) Overcome by pilin the lust in our souls “receives that
non-material (aylon) light which shines beyond all fire.”?
(2) Fesaiealaianalig 46s to “enlightenment” or “illumination.”
This “is something indescribable, an activity [or energy (energeia)] that
is unknowingly perceived and invisibly seen.”?°!
(3) eesTbe i monk often becomes suddenly radiant
and exultant during his prayers.’

197. 28 (1140B), p. 281. For this sense of “heart,” as signifying the spiritual center
of the human person, see A. Guillaumont, “Les sens des noms du coeur dans |’anti-
quité”, in Le Coeur (Etudes carmélitaines xxix: Bruges 1950), pp. 41-81; “Le ‘coeur’ chez
les spirituels grecs a l’€poque ancienne”, DS ii (1952), cols. 2281-8.
198. 28 (1132D), p. 276.
199. 27 (1109C), p. 268.
200. 7 (804C), p. 137. Cf.7 (808D), p. 140, referring to the “ineffable light” of God.
201. 7 (813B), p. 143.
202. 19 (9370), p. 195.

254
 INTRODUCTION

(4) “aadaiay Yo will know that you have this holy gift
within you ... when you experience an abundance of unspeakable
light”203
(5) “For the perfect there is increase and, indeed, a wealth of di-
vine light.... A soul, freed of its old habits and also forgiven, has
surely seen the divine light.”’2°4
(6) “In addition to these there is th kstasis), the
way of the mind mysteriously and marvellously carried into the light
of Christ.”25
(7) Someemerge
from prayer ‘as if they were resplendent with
light.”206
(8) “When the -heart
is cheerful; the face beams, and a man
flooded with the love of God reveals in his body, as if in a mirror, the
splendor of his soul, a glory like that of Moses when he came face to
face with God” (cf. Exod. 34:29-35).207
(9) ere 1S a Oe e

You have ascended to the height ll

—I mean the
thrice gloomy darkness of ignorance. ‘You have drawn nigh”
t ich is far more awesome, brilliant and sub-
\_ lime than the flame in the bush.... While still in this life,
you perhaps saw future things aoc: behind (cf. Exod.
33:23)—I mean that illumination of knowledge which will
come to pass in the last time.... You were glorified in the
countenance of both your soul and your body.?

In all of these passages a figurative or metaphorical interpreta-

tion ete
is no means Legs But al

203. 25 (996A), p. 223.

204. 26 (1033B), p. 242.
205. 26 (1065A), p. 249.
206. 28 (1137C), p. 280.
207. 30 (1157B), p. 288.
208. Past. 15 (1204C), p. 248.

yD
 INTRODUCTION

Oo s “invisi ” while they could apply to a

metaphorical enlightenment of the mind, may also denote a higher,
mystical illumination, whereby the initiate gazes—through his physi-
not upon the
material objects of normal sense-perception, but upon the ‘“‘non-mate-
rial” light of God. So far as the ei e is concerned, the glory.
shin free Ree PNT, as described in Exodus 34, is certainly
not just metaphorical, for Moses has to place a veil over his face to
protect the Israelites from its brightness. John seems to be thinking
here of ChaaeeneTOnOp FORPeeeieaaacaaiiallaceleemeontags,
when the body of the holy man or woman shines visibly with divine
light, as Christ’s body shone at the transfiguration on Mount Ta-
bor.?°9 It is significant that in this passa ha-
t i a
foretaste of the “illumination” that ‘will come to pass in the last
time.” According to the traditional teaching, t
come is an existent reality, not a mere metaphor.
Witle-SomresheutettS iO pnsarareanlace-Seelaboaslienanss in
the tradition of the “light mystics” of the Christian East, along with
the Homilies attributed to St. Macarius (fourth-fifth centuries), with
St. Symeon the New Theologian (eleventh century), and St. Gregory
Palamas (fourteenth century). ‘ailentoner tonne neaammmliaiaaghen
they—and certainly we cannot find in The Ladder, in any clearly ar-
ticulated form, the Cappadocian and Palamite distinction between
God’s essence and His energies?!°—y : i
—eoperrpeemali tains ly
, not only in the age to come but in this
present life, and not only with the soul but with the body also.

tion of “darkness mysticism,” represented by Philo the Jew (first cen-

tury), St. Clement of Alexandria (third century), St. Gregory of
Nyssa (fourth century), and St. Dionysius the Areopagite (fifth cen-
tury). When, as in the ninth passage cited above, John refers to the

209. See K. Ware, “The Transfiguration of the Body”, in A.M. Allchin (ed.), Sacra-
ment and Image (The Fellowship of St. Alban and St. Sergius: London 1967), pp. 17-32.
210. But in 25 (993CD), p. 223, John uses the essence-energies distinction with ref-
erence to the sun.

56
 INTRODUCTION

darkness of Sinai, he takes this as signifying sinful ignorance, not di-

vine transcendence and mystery. Unlike Philo, eS ee, of
ile and ea p npha on tl

1 er. We are left orm Fs impression that John

does indeed regard God as beyond human understanding, but he does
not discuss the matter in detail.
But, even though John has not followed sates of mks in his
oe of the ee of Sinai

ite
hn does not use Gregory’s technical term epekta-
sis,211 but the concept itself is plainly present in his work.
ean ieenaasinteennnbareentteN remneranereNaNE either in this
life or in the age to come:

There is no boundary to virtue. The psalmist says, “I have

seen the end of all perfection, but Your commandment is
very broad and is without limit” (Ps. 118:96).... Andvif itis
tru
sent and in the future age
will never cease to progress in it, as we add light to light. . .
Even the angels make progress ... they add glory to glory
and knowledge to knowledge.?!2

angels aswellashumankind. Hie

T Leeeneaor periection’sconsists para-
doxically in the fact that webct aO
the on
ceasingly “from glory to glory.” In John, as in Gregory,
211. But see 29 (1148BC), p. 282, which uses the verb epekteinomaz (cf. Phil. 3:14),
shortly before a description of apatheia in terms of perpetual progress: “... the uncom-
pleted perfection of the perfect.” On epektasis, see Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses,
ET A.J. Malherbe and E. Ferguson (The Classics of Western Spirituality: New York 1978),
esp. pp. 12-14.
212. 26 (1068AB), pp. 250-1.
213. 30 (1160B), p. 289. Cf. 28 (1129B), p. 274: prayer is ‘action without end.”

ou]
 INTRODUCTION

for this view is that both of them envisage eternal life in terms of
personal love.?!4 i
etween tw never ex-
haustively explored, but implies always fresh growth, movement and
discovery. e
persons of the Holy Trinity; and so it is between the human iid and
God.
John is most insistent about the primacy of love, a i ere
with his contemporary St. Maximus the Confessor. reo eee
ea “insofar as this
i umanly possible.”2!5 L ta i
TR
ee

After all his negative words against sin, after all his austere de-
mands for self-denial, St. John Climacus concludes the final chapter
of The Ladder with words that are entirely positive: “Love is the great-
est of them all.”2!¢

IV. SOURCES AND INFLUENCE

T rk, the fruit of creative

originality, a drawing upon
the past.
To St. John Climacus, as we have seen,!7 Christian
the life was a
[aac aRa ateive insists, for the spiri-
tual teacher merely to-repeat with accuracy things said by others;
each must relive for himself what he has inherited from the past. The
Ladder is therefore, as might be expected, strongly personal in’charac-
ter.

214. In Gregory of Nyssa, epektasis is connected with apophatic theology as well as

love: progress is infinite because God can never be known exhaustively. This apophatic
aspect of epektasis is not brought out in The Ladder.
215. 30 (1156B), p. 286.
216. 30 (1160D), p. 290.
217. See above, pp. 7-8.

58
 INTRODUCTION

eee eT G ERD and men whom he has himself met, such

as John the Sabbaite?!® or George Arsilaites.2!9 But, while John
speaks about the experience of others, with the reticence characteris-
tic of the Christian East he keeps silent, except on one occasion, about
the events in his own inner life. In Step 28 on prayer, for example, we
may be confident that he iis speaking from direct experience, yet in
fact he ma

: When he wrote his Bates monasticism ehall

already eaisted as an established institution for more than three cen-
turies. The golden age of the pioneers was long since over; there ex-
isted by John’s day a mass of precedents, regulations and written
texts. John is closely familiar with much of this earlier material; al-
though insisting on his lack of learning, he is in reality far more wide-
ly read eae he would oe us believe. e]

: ntegrating into a nant whole the many disparate strands of

previous tradition. It is a first, and remarkably successful, attempt to
produce a “directory” of monastic spirituality.

a. Each in his own way gathered together the fruits of the

past and transmitted them to a new age.
e: S) eter for, while
he Bes sronally, cites them by name, more eetiee we borrows anony-
mously. It is at once clear that he is indebted first of all to the Bible,
from which he quotes with great frequency. Next to Scripture his
chief debt is to The Sayings of the Desert Fathers—known in Greek as the
Gerontikon and in Latin as the Apophthegmata Patrum—which dates

218. 4(720A-724B), pp. 115-7.

219. 27 (1112B), p. 269.

59
 INTRODUCTION

back substantially to the fourth and fifth centuries.?2° Even when he

is not quoting directly from this, it has often influenced his style and
presentation. At the same time, in The Ladder John draws together
and unites the two major strands in the early spiritual tradition of the
Christian East: the “intellectualist” approach exemplified by Eva-
grius of Pontus, and the “experiential” approach represented by the
Homilies attributed to St. Macarius.
Although John mentions Evagrius only once, and then with dis-
approval,??! and although he makes far les f technical Evagrian
erminology than Maximus does, yet traces of on
any par lad nakes uSe OF 1 ASI i

theoria),?22 although aes is not fallowed out consistently in The Lad-

pai co Evagriuser
sis of the 27 the elase link between dispassion and love, and
ide of thoughts.
rsaltogether F ius’* spect tive molog

Whether or not oe waseee acquainted wi ian

writings—for he never cites them explicitly—he agrees at
many
points,
as for example in his view of the heart as the unifying

220. From the Apophthegmata Climacus derives his stories about Antony, Arsenius
and others in 4 (717C), p. 114; 15 (885C, 889C, 892D), pp. 175, 178, 179; 19 (937D), p. 195;
25 (997C), p. 225; 27 (1112D), p. 270; 29 (1148CD), p. 283. He is also familiar with similar
material in other early monastic texts: e.g. Pachomius, First Greek Life (27 [1117A], p.
273), Palladius, The Lausiac History (24 [984C], p. 217; 25 [997C], p. 225); John Moschus,
The Spiritual Meadow (26 [1016B], p. 231); The Story of Thais (26 [1064C], p. 249). For de-
tailed references, see the relevant footnotes below.
221. 14 (865A), p. 166.
222. See, for example, 4 (677D, 685A), pp. 91, 95; 26 (1021B, 1068B), pp. 235, 250; cf.
above, p. 12. But John nowhere uses Evagrius’ threefold scheme of praktiki, physiki
(“natural contemplation”), and theoriaof God.
223. See below, pp. 62-66. Climacus seems to be familiar with the work attributed
to Nilus, but probably written by Evagrius, On the Eight Spirits of Wickedness (PG 79,
1145-64), also with another compilation circulating under the name of Nilus, On the
Eight Evil Thoughts (PG 79, 1436-64), which is in fact a translation (in abbreviated form)
from the Latin of St. John Cassian: see S. Marsili, “Résumé de Cassien sous le nom de
saint Nil”, Revue dascétique et de mystique xv (1934), pp. 241-5.
224. See above, p. 33.
225. See above, p. 52.

60
 INTRODUCTION

center of the human person, body, soul and spirit,226 and in the pri-
macy which he assigns to love. But he speaks far less than the Homilies
do about the work of the Holy Spirit.

uNnd a CO!
a | approaches.
A s Cin t
fifth-century writers, St. Mark the Ascetic and St. Diadochus of Pho-
tice. Even though John does not mention either of them by name,
there can be little doubt that he is familiar with their writings. From
Mark almost certainly he derives his analysis of temptation in Step
15.227 Points of resemblance between Diadochus and John include
their teaching on the invocation or remembrance of Jesus; a cautious
attitude towards dreams;228 the distinction between the two forms of
the withdrawal of God’s grace—between the temporary and provi-
dential abandonment permitted by God for our own good, and the far
graver abandonment due to God’s turning away from our sin;?29 and
the belief that anger can be turned to good use.23°
er, John is probably influenced
also by the school
a
of Gaza (early
~~ sixth
SsIxtn
century)—by St. Varsanu
CPN

St. John the Prophet, and their disciple St. Dorotheus—but once
again he does not mention them by name. His.understanding of spiri-
tual fatherhood seems likewise to be indebted to the school of Gaza;
and his moderate use of Evagrian terminology, in a not very system-
atic manner, resembles that found in Dorotheus. Another Palestinian
writer, not explicitly cited, on whom John seems to draw is Abba Isa-
ias (fifth century); both have similar views on what is “according to
nature.”’23!

226. See 28 (1140B), p. 281, quoted above, p. 53. Cf. 4 (700C), p. 103: the gateway of
the heart; 7 (805A), p. 138: “Withdraw into your heart”; 15 (900C), p. 184: prayer of the
heart; 28 (1137B), p. 280: watching over the heart. The phrase “perception (aisthisis) of
the heart” occurs frequently.
227. See below, pp. 182-3 (with the notes). Mark is also cited, but not by name, in
23 (965D), p. 208.
228. 3 (669B-672B), pp. 89-90; cf. Diadochus, Century 36-38 (Phil., pp. 263-4),
229. See 4 (708B), p. 108; 5 (777C), p. 129; 21 948A), p. 200; 26 (1069A), p. 252; and
in particular 7 (813C), p. 143; cf. Diadochus, Century 86 (Phil., p. 286), using the same
metaphor of a mother with her child.
230. 26 (1068D), p. 251; cf. Diadochus, Century 62 (Phil., p. 272).
231. 26 (1068CD), p. 251; cf. Isaias, Discourse ii: ed. Avgoustinos (Jerusalem 1911),
pp. 4-6; see also Phil., p. 22.

61
 INTRODUCTION

rigen (men-
tioned once, with disapproval),232 St. Gregory of Nazianzus, the
“Theologian” (cited several times),?93 St. John Cassian?34 and St.
Ephraim the Syrian?35 (both cited once). He does not mention St.
Dionysius the Areopagite, and it i3.not clear how far he is influenced
by the Dionysian writings.

A particular problem arises over the classification of the vices in

oe _ The eae Hee regarding blasphemy as a vice distinct
as an aspect of insensitivit

gluttony
lust )
avarice of 0 aw
dejection (/ypi) 7 G0 tt
anger ;
despondency (akidia)
vainglory
pride

cts,
‘first, the general development of the spiritual life: beginners contend
against the grosser and more materialistic sins (gluttony, lust, ava-
rice); those in the middle of the journey are confronted by the more
inward temptations of discouragement and irritability (dejection, an-

232. 5 (780D), p. 131.

233. 15 (880C), note 64, p. 171; 22 (949A), p. 201—but this is possibly a reference to
Pope Gregory the Great (see below, note 246); 26 (1064A), p. 248; 28 (1137C), p. 280.
234. 4 (717B), p. 114. For Climacus’ debt to Cassian, and also for the manner in
which he transforms what he borrows, see Archimandrite Sophrony, “De la nécessité
des trois renoncements chez St. Cassien le Romain et St. Jean Climaque’”’, Studia Patris-
tica v (Texte und Untersuchungen 80: Berlin 1962), pp. 393-400.
235. 29 (1148D), p. 283, cited simply as “the Syrian.”
236. On the Eight Thoughts, 1 (PG 40, 1272A). Evagrius is probably drawing upon
Origen: see I. Hausherr, “L’origine de la théorie orientale des huit péchés capitaux” ’

Orientalia Christiana xxx, no. 86 (Rome 1933), pp. 164-75.

62
 INTRODUCTION

ger, despondency); the more advanced, already initiated into contem-

plation, still need to guard themselves against the most subtle and
“spiritual” of the vices, vainglory and pride. Seco he list of
eight vi lects r | divisi MT
e incensive an e intelligent as (epithymitikon,
thymikon, logikon).23’ Gluttony, nd avarice are more especially
linked with the appetitive aspect; dejection, anger and despondency,
with the incensive power; vainglory and pride, with the intelligent
aspect.?38
Evagrius’ disciple, St. John Cassian, transmitted this list of the
eight “thoughts” to the West, but made one change in the sequence:
to make more evident the connection between dejection and despon-
dency, he moved anger up to the fourth place, after avarice.??? Fur-
ther changes were made by St. Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome
(590-604), known in the East as “Gregory the Dialogist.” He set pride
in a class on its own, as the source and mother of all other vices, and
omitted dejection, regarding this as the same as despondency, while
adding envy to the list. In this way he produced the catalogue of the
ee to the Western Middle Ages:?4°

inanis gloria (vainglory)

invidia (envy)
ira (anger)
tristitia (dejection)
avaritia (avarice)
ventris ingluvies (gluttony)
luxurtia (lust)

237. On this threefold division, see the note in Phil., pp. 357-8. First formulated by
Plato (see Republic, Book iv, 434D-441C), it is widely used by the Fathers: Evagrius,
Practicus 89 (ed. A. Guillaumont, Sources chrétiennes 171 [Paris 1971], pp. 680-9), says that
he has taken it from Gregory of Nazianzus (see his Poems, II, i, 47: PG 37, 1381A-
1384A). For Climacus’ use of the Platonic scheme, see for example Past. 15 (1205B), p.
249.
238. The vices are explicitly linked with the three aspects of the soul in John Cas-
sian, Conferences xxiv, 15: Cassian gives a list of eighteen vices in all, including all eight
from the Evagrian list. Couilleau, DS viii, col. 377, assimilates Climacus’ list to that of
Cassian, but the correspondence is by no means exact.
239. See Institutes, Books v—xii.
240. Moralia xxxi, 87 (PL 76, 621).

63
 INTRODUCTION

He points out that sin, being by its very nature disordered and amor-
phous, cannot be classified with precision.?*! He is familiar with the
eightfold scheme of Evagrius,?4? and like Evagrius he sometimes
makes a distinction between the three chief sins of gluttony, vainglo-
ry and avarice, and the remaining five which spring from them.?*?
But, alongside this eightfold scheme, John is also familiar with a se-
venfold scheme, for which he expresses a preference: this treats vain-
glory and pride as a single vice.?44 In practice, however, he usually
‘ distinguishes between the two, discussing them separately in Steps 22
and 23; on the other hand he commonly omits dejection or gloom
(lypi) from his list,2+> presumably because like Pope Gregory he con-
siders this identical with despondency (akidia); and so, after all, he
ends up with the number seven (for he omits envy, which figures on
Gregory’s list).24© Thus in Step 29 he gives the following list:?47

gluttony
lechery (lust)
cupidity (avarice)
despondency
anger
vainglory
pride

241. 26 (1021D), p. 235.

242. 13 (860C), p. 163; 17 (929B), p. 190.
243. 17 (929B), p. 190; 26 (1013A, 1021C), pp. 229, 235. For a somewhat different
distinction between the five and the three, see 27 (1109A), p. 267.
244. 22 (948D-949A), p. 201.
245. Lypi is mentioned, however, in the list of the passions that assail the monk at
different times of the day: 27 (1112C), p. 269.
246. Was Climacus aware of Pope Gregory’s list? In 22 (949A), p. 201, when men-
tioning the sevenfold scheme as distinguished from the eightfold, he refers to “Gregory
the Theologian” as one of those who prefer to reckon the vices as seven in number.
Normally this would mean Gregory of Nazianzus; but I know of no such teaching in
his works. John may therefore mean Pope Gregory; perhaps “Theologos” is a scribal
error for “Dialogos” (cf. Couilleau, DS viii, col. 376). But John’s list is not the same as
Gregory the Great’s: for, although both leave out dejection, John retains pride as one of
the seven, and does not include envy.
247. 29 (1149AB), pp. 283-4.

64
 INTRODUCTION

Apart from the fact that dejection is omitted and that despondency
precedes anger, these are the same as the eight “evil thoughts” of Eva-
grius, and are given in the same order.
In Steps 8-23, however, John expands Evagrius’ listaddingby
seven further vices, dependet €primary seven..In his list of the
‘ven he follows Tage except that hemeenaomits _dejection;
buthe n moves; anger and
« « despondency up to theae aning, thus Plac-

tive nee a
wr

Evagrius oe Climacus ee
Pa anger y by VI
rd despondency —
gluttony gluttony “
lust lust we aA) we,
avarice f avarice oer.

anger
despondency
vainglory vainglory
pride pride

John is normally careful, in Steps 8-23, to point out how the depen-
dent vices are linked with the primary seven: just as the virtues form
a ladder, so the vices form a chain.?*® In detail his scheme takes this
form:
roa ee) dependent vices: malice (9)
A
RPa ft
j
Est os pe gf
hl
5
ee LOM OGM yIf

248. 9 (840D-841A), p. 152. Thus:

anger leads to malice: 9 (841A), p. 154;
malice leads to slander: 10 (845B), p. 155;
slander leads to talkativeness: 11 (852A), p. 158;
talkativeness leads to (1) falsehood: 12 (853D), p. 160;
(2) despondency: 13 (857D), p. 162,
despondency leads to lust: 26 (1109D), p. 268;
gluttony leads to (1) lust
(2) insensitivity: 14 (869D), p. 170; 17 (929B), p. 190;
insensitivity (“unbelief”) and vainglory lead to fear: 21 (945B), p. 199;
vainglory leads to pride: 22 (949A), p. 201;
pride leads to blasphemy: 23 (976B), p. 211.

65
 INTRODUCTION

slander (10)
talkativeness (11)
falsehood (12).
despondency (13) A oe,
gluttony (14) y)
lust (15) 8 !
avarice (16) { S
dependent vices: insensitivity (18)&
fear (21) Z
0
vainglory (22) \ -
pride (23) 0 i
\ dependent vice: blasphemy (23)

John’s classification of the vices, drawing as it does upon earlier

authorities yet adhering slavishly to none of them, illustrates the way
in which he combines tradition and personal originality in The Ladder.
What he borrows he makes his own.

: ; k, and has ¢:
caug
imagination of innumerable readers. ASE ATES ATER lly, its popu-
larity is surely due to ee ee
mor,to his skill in drawing so many themes into a single synthesis
and above all to the depth of his spiritual insight.
i r
anton senha sometimes illustrated, and — sane
scholia or commentaries.*°° The respect felt for its author is evident
from the unusual prominence that he enjoys in the ecclesiastical year.
Besides having in the oe way an annual commemoration on

refer to. him.?*} unday Rav RRNTTHIGT in

249. On the influence of The Ladder, see M. Heppell, introduction to The Ladder of
Divine Ascent, EY Archimandrite Lazarus, pp. 25-31; Couilleau, DS viii, cols. 382-8.
250. Some of these scholia appear in Rader’s edition, and are reprinted in PG 88.
251. See The Lenten Triodion, EY Mother Mary and Archimandrite Kallistos Ware
(London 1978), pp. 353-67.

66
 INTRODUCTION

lence, whose
writings provide a standard and model for the whole Church. As al-
ready mentioned, The Ladder is appointed to be read in Orthodox

we Sinai ‘elt his Taehine onaopraver ‘td valid Pilates

was developed by Hesychius (?eighth-ninth century) and Philotheus
(?ninth-tenth century). The first of these, in his work On Watchfulness
and Holiness, takes up the scattered allusions in The Ladder to the Jesus
Prayer and the invocation or remembrance of Jesus, and makes this
his dominant theme. Although surprisingly The Ladder is nowhere
cited in the vast eleventh- -century anthology entitled Evergetinos, it
was certainly read and valued by St. Symeon the New Theologian.
Nicetas Stethatos, Symeon’s biographer, recounts how, on a visit to
his family home shortly before his profession as a monk, Symeon
found the book in his father’s library: “‘and, becoming closely familiar
with it, like good earth he accepted the seed of the word in his
heart.”’?52 The Ladder’s influence can be seen in particular in Symeon’s
teaching on the gift of tears, and in his picture of the spiritual father
in the Discourse on Confession.
St. Peter of Damascus (twelfth century) quotes The Ladder at least
thirteen times, and the fourteenth-century Hesychasts draw heavily
upon it. There are thirteen citations from The Ladder in St. Gregory
of Sinai—far more than from any other author—and, in his list of
writers approved for monastic reading, Gregory puts first the name
of John Climacus.?> In the Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts by
St. Gregory Palamas, The Ladder is quoted some twenty-five times,
and in the Century of St. Kallistos and St. Ignatios Xanthopoulos more
than thirty times. The parts of The Ladder to which these fourteenth-
century writers chiefly refer are Step 27 on hesychia and John’s state-
ments on the invocation of the name of Jesus.

‘Christian
East: into Syriac before the end of the seventh century,

252. Life of St. Symeon the New Theologian 6 (ed. I. Hausherr, Orientalia Christiana xii,
no. 45 [Rome 1928], p. 12): Symeon was particularly helped by Step 13. The Ladder is
cited twice in Symeon’s Catecheses (4, lines 540-2; 30, line 141), although not apparently
in his other writings; but Symeon hardly ever makes explicit citations from other writ-
ers.
253. On Stillness and the Two Methods of Prayer \\ (PG 150, 1324D).

67
 INTRODUCTION

within a few decades of John’s death; into Arabic and Georgian by

the tenth century, and also into Armenian; into Slavonic by the tenth
century, and into Romanian early in the seventeenth century. Its in-
fluence in fifteenth-century Russia can be seen both upon the leader
of the Non-Possessors, St. Nil Sorskii, and upon his chief opponent
among the Possessors, St. Joseph ‘of Volokalamsk. In the correspon-
dence of Tsar Ivan IV, often styled “the Terrible,” next to the Holy
Scriptures the book most often quoted is The Ladder.*°+ The anony-
mous Russian Pilgrim, in the middle of the nineteenth pecan is also
familiar with the work.?°>
In the West a first translation in Latin, perhaps only partial, was
made in the eleventh century; a second version was made in the thir-
teenth or early fourteenth century by the Franciscan “spiritual” of
the Strict Observance, Angelus Clarenus.?5° The first English trans-
lation appeared in 1858, the second in 1959 (revised edition, 1978);2°7
the present English rendering, in the series The Classics of Western
Spirituality, is thus the third.

But John never meant it to be read in that manner.

in a spirit of compunction, and with a sincere in-
tention on the reader’s part to change his way of life; and if the book
has proved deeply influential, that is because so many have read it in
precisely way, applying the words personally to their own sit-
uation. This is a ladder t mu es.

Bibliographical Note
(I) The Greek Text. There exists as yet no fully critical edition of
the Greek text of The Ladder and To the Shepherd. The Greek is at pres-
ent available in two independent editions:
(i) By Matthew Rader (Paris 1633). Twice reprinted:
(a) J.-P. Migne, PG 88 (Paris 1864), cols. 632-1208.

254. See HTM, p. xxvii.

255. The Way ofaPilgrim, ET R.M. French (London 1954), pp. 80, 82, 143, 191, 227.
256. See J. Gribomont, “La Scala Paradisi, Jean de Raithou et Ange Clareno”, Stu-
dia Monastica ii (1960), pp. 345-58.
257. For details, see below, “Bibliographical Note.”
258. Brief Summary (1161A), p. 291.

68
 INTRODUCTION

(b) P. Trevisan, Corona Patrum Salesiana, series graeca 8-9 (2

vols., Turin 1941); includes some minor corrections of (a).
(ii) By the hermit Sophronios, monk of the Holy Mountain
(Constantinople 1883); often superior to the text of Rader-Migne.
(II) English Translations.
(i) Father Robert, Monk of Mount St. Bernard’s Abbey (Leices-
tershire, England), The Holy Ladder of Perfection, by which we may ascend
to beaven (London 1858). Often more a paraphrase than an exact ren-
dering. Omits most of Step 27 on stillness: “this Degree,” says Father
Robert, “as chiefly appertaining to solitaries, has been abridged by
the translator” (p. 392).
(ii) Archimandrite Lazarus (Moore), The Ladder of Divine Ascent,
with an introduction by M. Heppell (London 1959). Far more accu-
rate than (i). Reissued in revised form by the Holy Transfiguration
Monastery (Boston, Massachusetts 1978); this reissue includes, besides
The Ladder, the work To the Shepherd (omitted in the 1858 and 1959
translations). As well as using the different printed editions of the
Greek, the revisers consulted the ninth-century Sinai manuscript no.
421; but regrettably the helpful introduction by Dr. Heppell has been
omitted.
(IID) Studies. For a short but balanced survey of Climacus’ life and
teaching, with bibliography, see G. Couilleau, DS viii (Paris 1972),
cols. 369-89.
Consult also:
M.O. Sumner, St. John Climacus: the Psychology of the Desert Fathers
(The Guild of Pastoral Psychology, Guild Lecture no. 63: London
1950) (an attempt to understand Climacus in terms of Jungian analyt-
ical psychology; too brief to be fully convincing, but indicates an im-
portant field for further research).
J.R. Martin, The Illustration of the Heavenly Ladder ofJohn Climacus
(Studies in Manuscript Illumination 5: Princeton 1954) (on illustrated
manuscripts of The Ladder).
I. Hausherr, “‘La théologie du monachisme chez saint Jean Clima-
que”, in the collective volume Théologie de la vie monastique (Paris
1961), pp. 385-410.
W. Volker, Scala Paradisi. Eine Studie zu Johannes Climacus und zug-
leich eine Vorstudie zu Symeon dem Neuen Theologen (Wiesbaden 1968) (the
fullest and most systematic existing study).
D. Bogdanovié, Jean Climaque dans la littérature byzantine et la lit-
térature serbe ancienne (Institut d’Etudes Byzantines, Monographies,

69
 INTRODUCTION

Fascicule 11: Belgrade 1968) (in Serbo-Croat, with summary in

French on pp. 215-25; important).
C. Yannaras, “Eros divin et éros humain selon S. Jean Clima-
que”, Contacts xxi (1969), pp. 190-204.
C. Yannaras, J metaphysiki tou somatos. Spoudi ston Ioanni tis Klima-
kos [The metaphysics of the body. A study of John Climacus} (Athens 1971)
(helpful discussion of the body, eros and dispassion).
I have not been able to consult the unpublished Ph.D. disserta-
tion of T.W. Blair, Climacus and Christianity. A Study of the Effects of
Jobn Climacus’ Conceptual Commitments on his Perception of Christianity
(Duke University 1977).
On monastic life in the Sinai peninsula, see H. Skrobucha, Sinat
(London 1966), pp. 19-47; D.J. Chitty, The Desert a City (Oxford 1966),
pp. 168-78 (scholarly and perceptive).

Bishop Kallistos
Llanfilo
Commemoration of the Holy Prophet Moses
4/17 September 1980

70
John -Climacus
THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

coarmamce
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THECIASSICS
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RITUALITY
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. =e TO,
 Step 1

ON RENUNCIATION OF LIFE

the all-good.
Of all created and rational beings, endowed with the dignity of is
will, some are friends of God,
ere ees Luke 17:10), some are entirely estranged, oa
there are some who, for all their weakness, take their stand against
Him. We simple people assu t His friends, O holy Father, are
roperly speaking ese LEA ETT SENT DEgro RORTEAETd
Hitn, Histrue servants are all nora ho have done ans are doing His
will without hesitation or pause. His useless servants are e who
think of t ift of baptism, but
a ssccripes asacsarrrcTitn soa it seems to
onents, a r
is enemies are those who not only contravene and repudi-
ate the commands of the Lord, but make stern war against all who

So, then, with un-

eeomersEne e
s , to those who devoutly urge us on and in faith com-
pel us by their commands. Let us make a treatise, with their knowl-
edge as the implement of writing, a pen dipped in their subdued yet

73
 JOHN CLIMACUS

glorious humilit pplied to the smooth white parchments of their

hearts, or ratl | i S wri eon it

lievers ¢ s, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the im-

pious, of those freed from the passions or caught up in them, of
monks or those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of
the healthy or the si the very old. He is like the
eR gre einai or the changes of the
weather, which are the same for everyone without exception.“For
God is no respecter of persons” (Rom. 2:11). Ro cacttess is a ra-
tional being, one that must die, who ingly runs away from life,

etical belief in opposition to

God. cGiaammeerenen thought, word and deed,
as far as this is humanly possible, and he BeRLSSeT ght ERO.
A friend of God is the one who lives in
and free from sin and who does
not ppfnitialiedaeltiheietoodshenses, The self-controlled man strives
is might amidst the trials, the snares, an noise of the
world, to be like someone who ri : finds
himself in an earthly and defiled body, but pushes himself into the
rank and status of the incorporeal angels. THeeeRetinclin gs only to the
commandments and words of God in every season and place and mat-
ter. is ever embattled with what he is, and he is the unfail-
ing warder of his senses. The monk has a body made holy, a tongue
purified, a mind enlightened. Asleep or awake, the monk is a soul
pained by the constant remembrance of death. Withdrawal from the
world is a willing hatred of all that is materially prized, a denial of
nature for the sake of what i :

su O oe a O WO Gd WOUId ake No

who judges the contest stands waiting to see how it ends for the one
who has taken on this race.
The man turning away from the world in order to shake off the

1. The phrase “or rather seeds” only occurs in some texts.

74
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

burden of his sins should imitate those who sit by the tombs outside
the city. leven ceTORRPTT ONTTIGHT REROTeOmahenverd.
elf comi l
b rock o off him,.to free the mind, that Lazarus of
ours, from the ae of sin, to say to His ministering angels, “Loose

are
him from his passions and let him go to blessed dispassion.”? If it is
not done thus, then it is all for nothing. —.——----______-——_——
Those ofuswhowishtogetawayfromEgypt,to escape from
Pharaoh, need sc Moses to be our intermedia od, to stand
between action and contemplation, and stretch out his arms to God,
that those led by him may cross the sea of sin and put to flight the
Amalek of the passions.* Those ne have given themselves upeto God

| had an Moise oontrae gue ately are= Hike

those whe heal netspassions of the soul by the care of doctors; they are
the ones who have come out of Egypt. The latter long to shed the un-
cleanness of the wretched body, for which reason Bidneed an anes!
or the help of some like being. V
doctor, for our septic wounds.
Violence'(cf. Matt. 11:12) and unending pain are the lot of those
who aim to ascend to heaven with the body, and this especially at the
early stages of the enterprise, when our pleasure-loving disposition
and our unfeeling hearts must travel through overwhelming grief
toward =6 love of God and holiness. It is hard, truly har s
be an 2 ance of in\ ess, especially for the careless,
until our mind, thatcur sniffing around the meat market and revel-

ance. Yet full of pas-

2. GK poroseos. Rader’s text has pyroseos, “of burning.”

3. Throughout this work “dispassion” translates the Gk apatheia. For St. John Cli-
macus erent not merely in a negative way by ascetic
discipline, but by redirecting the natural impulses of the soul and body toward their
ee goal. See the Preface, ss Bz

prayersae Hur aceon on one ae ahd eso Bae tires, on fhe other. Action
(praxis) is the ascetic struggle to practice the virtues and overcome the passions. It is the
necessary foundation for contemplation (theoria), which is the direct apprehension or
vision of God by the intellect.

TS
 JOHN CLIMACUS

sions and weakness as we are, let us take heart and let us in total con-
fidence carry to Christ in our right hand and confess to Him our
helplessness and our fragility. we

Let all those coming to this ‘marvelous, tough, and painful—

though also easy—contest ; we ire, so that a non-
material flame may take up residence within them. But let each one
test himself, draw food and drink from the bread of pain and the cup
of weeping, lest he march himself to judgment.
s nce
ows.>
But to secure a
o , will despise everything,
will ridicule he ae will shake offavenudiing! Innocence, ee
ese make a fine thrice-firm foundation»Letall
nts as their exam-
d, nothing deceitful, no insatia-
ble greed or alactoniye no fla g lust, but it seems that as you feed
them more, they grow in strength until at last they come upon pas-
sion.
It is detestable and dangerous for a wreslen to be slack at the
start of a contest, thereby givi oof of his impending defeat to ev-
eryone. Let us haveafirmbeginningto oureligiousiefor this will
help us if a certain slackness comes later. A bold and eager soul will
be spurred on by the memory of its first zeal and new wings can thus
be obtained.
When the soul betrays itself, when that initial happy warmth
grows cold, the reasons for such a loss ought to be carefully sought
and, once found, ought to be combated with all possible zeal, for the
initial fervor has to turn back ee that same gate through which
it had slipped Ne T an who | se of
feat :
smoke. The ma
nen,
mil! é at a 2 rt around
on the same

who lea ;' r love of God has taker

and li i cr s

5. Le., if not all the baptized are saved, not all monks will reach their goal.

76
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

Some people when they build a house place bricks on top of

rocks. Others raise columns up from the ground. Others still, when
taking a walk, go slowly for a while, thus giving sinews and joints a
warming up, and then stride out visors!

<cilladaseadianelaia deodndinleeganareeneerOe:. “etaeannne egeta

nde on the oy of cent andvoi of pungen Instead let us please
{ ror; fo the end of the cam-
paign we must give a cessaccount ourselves. We
should be afraid
of God in the way we fear wild beasts. I have seen men go out to
plunder, having no fear of God but being brought up short some-
where at the sound of dogs, an effect that fear of God could not
achieve inthem. ~
ro ord as we do 0 iends. Many a time I
have seen decoiile bring |grief to God, ore being bothered about it,
and I have seen these very same people resort to every device, plan,
pressure, plea from themselves and their friends, and every gift, sim-
ply to restore an old relationship upset by some minor grievance.
At the beginni ues,
and we do so with toil and difficulty. Progressing a little, we then lose
our sense ofparichoor retain very little of it. But when our mortal intel-

great
laboritheyKepthemaalAndletus notbehorrified ato
pangen I ey seen some men run away and accidentally
meet the emperor, tarry with him, go to live in his palace, and take
food with him. I have watched seed that accidentally fell into the
ground bear much fruit again and again, though the opposite has also
happened. I have seen someone go to a doctor for one kind of prob-
lem, and, because of that doctor’s skill, be treated with an astringent
and be cured of failing eyesight, for it often happens that very defi-
nite and lasting results emerge through chance rather than through
the workings of prescience and planning. So let no one tell me that he
i 8 (OT ci ionastic life pecause OF tne V ig 1d number Cc i
 JOHN CLIMACUS

STOaTEPeNeTEeE YOR Perea, if the uncleanness is to be done away

with, for the healthy do not way to the doctor’s surgery.

ays or
hanging back or excuses. e,
through laziness or inertia, the call ife in the service
of the King of kings, the Lord ods. Let us not
ind ourselves of
j . Someone caught up in the affairs of the world can make
progress, if he is determined. But it is not easy. Those bearing chains
can still walk. But they often stumble and are thereby injured. The
man who is unmarried and in the world, for all that he may be bur-
dened, can nevertheless make haste toward the monastic life. But the
married man is like someone chained hand and foot.®
living ca in the world put a question to me:

and carry no hate.

separate oursell from the church assemblies.? Show compassion to
the needy. e a cause of scandal to anyone. Stay away from the
bed of another, and be satisfied with what your own wives can pro-
vide you. If youldouallithis, you will not be far from the kingdom of
heaven.”
Let us hasten wi d trepi ion to the noble contest and
with but they can
look at the appearance of our soul. If they are really to see our spirits
bowed down by fear, then indeed they will make a harsher sally
w much we tremble. rm
. No one goes to battle against a plucky fighter.
, lest they be
driven back i eir first battles. So then rejoice
, all you serva : pagan’ this first sign
of the Lord’s love. ned you. He has often
been known to act in the following way: when He sees courageous

6. Some versions add: ‘“‘so when he wants to run he cannot.”

7. Gk ton synaxeon. The synaxis was an assembly in church for the Office or the
Eucharist. Here lay people are being told that they must not be absent from the weekly
celebration of the Eucharist.

78
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

souls He permits them to be embattled from the very beginning, in

order the sooner to reward them.

h and He will ike your old age happy with

abundant goodness.* The things which they have gathered in their
youth will come to the support and encouragement of those worn
down by age, so we should toil Specie when we are une and run
our course with serious hearts. Death ca a +, and
uae coe dca shears cv enemies, Harsh: see aisle
ed enemies with fire in their hands Jaleo to set the ponds temple
alight with the flame that is in it. are po
sleeping, incorporeal and unseen. No novice sould heed ne devilish
words of his foes as they murmur: “Do not wear out your body, in
case you fall prey to disease and weakness.” Hardly anyone can be
found in this day and age willing to bring low the body, although
ee may He it theeee of abundant food. Maeanaiainene

ames a we is not ce eae. ee ofcan Cendeacias: and

the solitary life is not for everybody, on account of the tendency to
anger. Let each seek out the most aPPIOPN ae Wa

the road of tude fon on spiritual ae there is

the life of stillness? shared with one or two others; there is the prac-
tice of livi i i unity. “Turn neither to right nor
left,” says Ecclesiastes (Prov. 4:27) but rather follow the royal way.
The second of the three ways is said to be suitable for many people.

8. Gk agatheias, a hapax legomenon; the HTM reading is “dispassion,” apatheias.

9. Stillness (besychia) is a deep interior peace attained by those who practice the
constant remembrance of God. It is the subject of Step 27. Although stillness is not im-
possible for monks living in community, solitude or near solitude is most conducive to
it. According to the context, therefore, hesychia is sometimes translated as “solitude.”
Stillness is equivalent to CORSETS for “he who has achieved stillness has arrived
at the very center of the mysteries” (27 [1100C], p. 264). See the Preface, pp. 50-53.

79
 JOHN CLIMACUS

RSS"
theorarelinimysaT
0O new TET HEMM HTOaCRpeMGen cy!° or
sleepiness, carelessness or despair, for then he has no one among men
to lift him up.” This is what Ecclesiastes says (Eccles. 4:10), and the
Lord says: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I
om therso, 2mpng: theta Matialtie mmm ap
then, is the faithful and‘wise ? It is the man who has
kept unquenched the warmth of his vocation, who adds fire each day
to fire, fervor to fervor, zeal to zeal, love to love, and this to the end of
his We

back.

10. Despondency (akidia) is a listlessness or torpor—“accidie”—that afflicts a

monk when he relaxes his struggle to attain the virtues. It begins as a loss of a sense of
purpose and ends in despair and spiritual death. See Step 13.

80
 Step 2

ON DETACHMENT

and long to reach the kingdom that is to

come, if you are truly pained by your failings and are mindful of pun-
ishment and of the eternal judgment, if you are truly afraid to die,
then it wil , or con-
c , s, for family relationships, for worldly
glory, for love and brotherhood, indeed for anything of earth. All
i ed
e Stripped of all thought of these, caring nothing about
as hateful.
asid
them, one will turn freely to Christ. One will look to heaven and to
the help coming from there, as in the scriptural sayings: “I will cling
close to you” (Ps. 62:9) and “I have not grown tired of following you
nor have I longed for the day or the rest that man gives” (Jer. 17:16).
we
have been called—and called by God, not man—a or-
about
somet
ried that can do us no good in the hour of our need,
hing
that is, of our death. Lan pes ponySeta aers nT OO
not to turn back and not to be found useless for the kingdom of heav-
en. e at the start of our religious life,
how easily we can turn back to the world when we associate with
worldly people or happen to meet them. That is why it happened that
= 4 pare ‘ | @ aIiim Let me go away to utbury my father,” He
answered, ‘“‘Let the dead bury the dead” (Matt. 8:22). ™

81
 JOHN CLIMACUS

TOTS COSST HSHEE OUPFER feorotate lela

envy those who remain on the outside and who are merciful and com-
passionate. gret that we seem deprived of these vir-
tues. to bring us by way of false humility either to
turn back to the world or, if we remain monks, to plunge down the
cliffs of despair.
age the secular life or secretly to de-
spise those on the outside.
despair or to obtain hope. We s
ing to the young man w t almost all the coe
a a a a and to give it to the poor”
(Mark 10:21), for by making himself a pauper the young man would
learn to accept the siommroniag
of others.

in effect, “Let the faving dead who are in the world bury those dead in
the body.” "Riches did not prevent the young man from coming to re-
ceive b
im to dispose i e¢ us

op have lived in the world, and hate oiihited hightlowe vigils fasts
la nd suffering, and el-
Oo , as if to a place of trial or an arena, no
longer practice their former fake and spurious asceticism. I have seen
many different plants of the virtues planted by them in the world,
watered by vanity as if from an underground cesspool, made to shoot
up by love of show, manured by praise, and yet -HOPUOMnaasiale red
oil, to where the world did not walk,
that is, to where they were not manured with the foul-smelling water
of vanity. The things that grow in water cannot bear fruit in dry and
arid places.

t
pat For how can he avoid grief when he is deprived of
something he loves? We need great vigilance in all things, but espe-
cially in regard to what we have left behind.
I have observed many men in the world assailed by anxiety, by

82
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

totally free hearts, and

SO ~- DOAY. :

We should be careful in case it should happen to us that while

talking of journeying along the narrow and hard road we may actual-
ly wander onto the broad and wide highway.
Mortification of the appetite, nightlong toil, a ration of water, a
short measure of bread, the bitter cup of dishonor—these will show
you the narrow way. Derided, mocked, jeered, you must accept the
denial of your will. You must patiently endure opposition, suffer ne-
y d @ STIEVE eC are Slandered;
you must
not be angered by contempt and you must show humility when you
have been eo dorcel SRDDpeReTR So NSP tearcad and
avoid other highways. Theirs is the ki Im. O. heaven.
No one can enter crowned into the heavenly bridechamber with-
renunciations.
out first making the three He has to turn away from
worldly concerns, from men, cop darniliae : ust cut selfishness
away; and thirdly, he must rebuff the vanity that follows obedience.
“Go out from among them,” says the Lord. “Go apart from them. Do
not touch the uncleanness of the age” (2 Cor. 6:17).
Who in See the dead,
eTTT ise WORESd wonders raised
Ce aa a ne OF oat It is their
reward. People in secular life : ings, for, if they
could, what then would be the point of ascetic practice and the soli-
tary life?

~and we must take up the weapons of prayer against them. In-

flamed by the thought of eternal fire, we must drive them out and
quench that untimely glow in our hearts. If a man thinks himself im-
mune to the allurement of something and yet grieves over its loss, he
Oo men VNO 1 ee ongly the urge
f=

vet who also want to take on the

regime of a monastery pline themselves with eve
vigilan ce and prayer, avoidi ng all danger ous comfort, so that their
last state may not be worse than their first. For those sailing the tides
of spirituality know only too well that —— an

83
 JOHN CLIMACUS

SenOPERTOROF PRI OP Recor inda pitiable sight indeed

is the shipwreck in port of someone who had safely mastered the
ocean.
, ake it, then do as Lo '

84
 Step 3
a

\
ON EXILE 4" \or\e

wisdom, an unpublicized ameeestanaiees a hidden te masked ideals.

It is unseen meditation, the striving to be humble, a wish for poverty,
the longing for what is divine. It is an outpouringof love, a denial of
vainglory, a depth of silence.
For followers of the Lord,

though by some holy fire. I mean separation from their relations for
the sake of hardship and simplicity which drives on the lovers of this
Se Met i a that it is pinnemeaiiica iapequiiananeianenyede ce

The werd says that every eeesshiel4is Sittin honor in his own
country (cf. ions a Aay, a He is Aes then we had better be careful
e y honr. Exile is a separa-
tion from ver jenntieiniataey thatonemay.holdontotally toGod.It
is a chosen route of great grief. An exile is a fugitive, running from all
relationships with his own relatives and with strangers. Do not wait
ld when you are pressing on towards
an and soe In any case, bitnemmecaeneeMeen mone

HIS eRe BE ENE flame within thei gets dim

85
 JOHN CLIMACUS

with the passage of time. So, ifyou have the fire, run, since you never
_know when it may be doused, leaving you stranded in darkness. Not
all of us are summoned to rescue others. “My brothers, each one of us
will inane astamieaiansePORT: —ceyeeiceninalgnciamast|c (Rom.
14:12). Again, sy Are “You teach someone else, but not yourself”
(Rom. 2:21). It is as if he were saying, “I do not know about the oth-
ers, but we have surely to look to what we must do.ourselves.”
If you choose to go into exile, then be erepagenpeie:
mon
wandering
of and of pleasure, since there is an opportunity here
for him.
. Someone withdraw-
ing from the world for the sake of the Lord is no loners attached to
Ors: that he no Dear to ece he Se

erwise yo i C 4 Q ama no a to be
driven from Paradise, eer, coer abandon his homeland
willingly; she would have wished again for the forbidden tree, but he
has rebuffed the sure danger coming from the kinship of the flesh.
Run from the places of sin as though from a plague. When fruit is not
i
You have to beware the ways'and the guile of thieves. They come
with the suggestion to us the
pa tell us of the rewards awaiting us if only we stay to look
on and to triumph over our desire for them. This is some-
thing we must not give in to at all. Indeed, ii, il
sitew
Then again we manage for some time t way from o la-
tives. We practice a little piety, compunction, self-control. And then
t , seeking to turn us
back to the places we knew. They tell us what a lesson we are, what
an example, what a help to those who witnessed our former wicked
deeds. If we happen to be articulate and well informed, s
at we could be rescueofrs
souls and 0 t] rid. They tell
auneie at we ni r at sea the trea ave assem-
pra wisic We, SEREA
Wid HORhis
TAG
he soul ee back to the regionson which it came will be
like ame salt that has lost savor, indeed like that famous pillar. Run
from Egypt, PURO HOP BckesT he heart yearning for the
land there will never see Jerusalem, the land of dispassion.!!
11. “The land of dispassion” is an interpretation of the meaning of “Jerusalem.”

86
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

Leaving home, some,at)the

beginning are full of innocence.
Their souls are clean. And t ck,
thinking, perhaps, that they might bring salvation to others, having
attained it themselves. Moses, that man who saw God, returned. In
his case it was to save the members of his tribe. ¥
dangers in Egypt and was caught up in the darkness of the world.
Offend your parents rather than God. He, after all, created and
saved us, while they at times even killed the ones they loved, or hand-
ed them over to destruction.
A true exile, despite his possession of knowledge, sits like some-
one of foreign speech among men of other tongues.

ect these. Here, as in every-

ae? silaiiecanchinnescs: It often Na as if He were trying to
rebuff His ous parents. Some people said to Him, “Your mother
r brothers are looking for you,” and at once Christ gave an
example.of dpeatninent that was nonetheless free from any harsh feel-
ings. “My
mother and my broth will of my
Father in heaven,” He said (Matt. 12:50). er be the one
who is able and willing to labor with you in bearing the burden of
your sins, andyyour mother the compunction that is strong enough to
wash away your filth. Let your brother be your companion and rival
in the race that leads to heaven, and a the constant thought of
death be your spouse. Let your lo ffspring be the moanings
of your heart. May your body be yourPee aod your friends the holy
powers who can help you at the hour of dying if they become your
friends. “This is the generation of those who seek the Lord” (Ps. 23:6).
: ily Anyone
. ese yearnings is deceiving himself. “No

one can serve two masters” (Matt. 6:24). “I did not come to bring
peace on earth,” says the Lord, knowing how parents would rise u
_againstbrothers
sons or who chose to serve Him. “It was for war and
the sword” (Matt. 10:34), to separate the lovers of God from the lovers
of the world, the materially-minded from the spiritually-minded, the
vainglorious -from the humble.

87
 JOHN CLIMACUS

you with lest you find yourself weeping forever in the afterlife.

, do not he ll but think at

once of your death and keep the eye of your soul directed unswerv-
ingly to what it used to do ou may be able to ne
pain with another. anh PRE OTERO. Gin oromtes
so as to restrain noel ana eeens* and so as to draw us back
to their own goal. ette from our own locality. We
had better flee to places which are my SANDE ADd more conducive
to lack of vanity and to humility
ility. ise we ight wit
ol Re
. You are famous? Do not
discuss it. Otherwise your status and your deeds may come into con-
flict.

foreign country where the language was v different ined so it is that

anyone following this model of renunciation is glorified all the more
by the Lord.
But even though this glory is given by God

raise
On us for Our exile as if it were a J ’ let
nd.ourselves at once ofHim Who came foun rom heaven for
our benefit and exiled Himself to earth. Nothing we could ever do
would match that.
An attachment to any of our relations or even to a stranger is
hard enough to deal with. It can gradually pull us back toward the
world and make cool the fire of our contrition. You cannot look to
heaven and to earth at the same time; similarly, if»youw have. not

To establish a good and firm character within Biitehvessis some-

thing very difficult and troublesome, and one crisis can destroy what
we have somes so hard to set right. Bad, wha and disorder]
compa god character a peers

12. Abraham.

88
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

of it. He may perhaps be uncorrupted himself. But if he comes to feel

contempt for those who are corrupted, then assuredly he will join
them in their corruption.

Our mind is the instrument of knowledge, but it is very imper-

fect and filled with all sorts of ignorance. This is a fact that cannot be
disguised.
Now the palate discriminates between various kinds of food, the
hearing distinguishes between the things it perceives, the sun shows
up the weakness of the eyes, and words reveal the ignorance of a soul.
Nevertheless, the law of love urges us to reach beyond ourselves, and
so it seems to me—and I do not wish to be insistent—that, immediate-

A ee is a stirring of the mind during the body’s rest, while a

fantasy is something that tricks the eyes when the intellect is asleep.
Fantasy occurs when the mind wanders, while the body is awake. A
fantasy is the contemplation of something that does not actually exist.
It must be clear why I have decided to speak here about dreams.
_After we leave home and family for the sake of the Lord, after we
have gone into exile for the love of aN ee

ohSta Ee orimprisoned tbecause o

Fus,Butthemanwho s in

O C edulous, a devil 1S 4 phnet; anc who des

(nose

“him, he is just aliar. Because he is a spiritual being, he knows what is

happening in the lower regions, that someone is dying, for instance,
so by way of dreams he passes the He esa on to the more gull-
ible. However, demons lack actual foreknowledge. hey did not,
foretellour deaths |
‘eseecksterswoldbe ablewo
canc-chey T8880 TS TET ETEES a talk to us, soo that eyescan push us
into unholy joy and conceit when we wake up. But this very effect

89
 JOHN CLIMACUS

will reveal their trick, for what angels actually reveal are torments,
judgments, and separation, with th waking up we
tremble and are miserable. An
our dreams, then we will be their playthings when we are also awake.
The man who believes in dreams shows his inexperience, while
. Trust only the
dreams that foretell torments and judgment for you, but even these
dreams may also be from demons if they produce despair in you.
* * *

"This isthethird step, equaling the number ofthe Three Persons.

ft.

90
 Step 4

ON OBEDIENCE

As flower comes before every fruit, so ex1 -

Mhe
. Perhaps it was of this the prophet
sang when, filled with the Holy Spirit, he said, “Who will give me the
wings of a dove?” and, “The active life will give me flight and I will
be at rest in contemplation and lowliness” (Ps. 54:7).
We ought not omit in this treatise ipti e
r i ith which they hold
up before God, and before their trainer, and with which they ward
off, so toSadat au thought of unbelief or packseine ‘the spiritual
wn and lays low every selfish longing; the
iron breastplate of meekness and patience to ata af every insult, ev-
ery jab Ae Giselle: the protective prayer of their spiritual master
which they have as a saving helmet. They do not stand with their feet
close together, but one foot is advanced towards service, while the
other mee firealy plantogsin prayer.
O e r¢ Sup

Or, again,1,
obedience isi themortification of

tioned movement, deatl epted yle ange

without worry, an Henan saipeiee cee God, i OCR be-

91
 JOHN CLIMACUS

fore death, a safe voyage, a uae s journey.

: whatever seems bad, and the net

al fechas who has devoutly put the disciple’s soul to death will answer
for everythin ed, to obey is, with all deliberateness, to put aside
t oma juc te
g of the mortification both of the soul’s will and
also of the body’s members is hard. 7 ieshllonaicasia° is sometimes
difficult, sometimes not. But the end is liberation from the senses and
freedom from pain.
The blessed living corpse grows sick at heart when he finds him-
self acting on his own behalf, and he is frightened by the burden of
using his own personal judgment.
SB POW RAVE Beeiaed to strip for the race of spiritual profession,
to take Christ’s yoke on your neck, to lay your own burden on the
shoulders of another, uJ
co
And for this you want it in writing that you get freedom in retu
even when you oss this great sea eis i on the hands of
others? '

whi self-di soaehae ai if that

is
imayolied’s- even in matters seontingly geod: spiritual, and pleasing to
God—then straightaway one has reached journey’s end. For the fact
is that o , IN every mat-
ter, even the good.
When humbly and with true longing for salvation we resolve to
bend the neck and entrust ourselves to another in the Lord; there is
s . If there happens to be any cun-
ning in us, any prudence, e, and, if I
may say so, staking
n, the patient for the doctor, the passionate
for the dispassionate man, the sea for the harbor—with the resulting
shipwreck of our soul um of holy
living and obedience, ire,
even if we should notice some faults in him. After all, he is human

13. “Self-direction” Ose says scholion 2, Step 27 (1117B), “is to follow

one’s own regime and to satisfy one’s own will.” According to John it leads to hypocri-
sy (26 [1024B], p. 236).

92
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ws ther
goddadsndetlyin ou hear
and preserve tthem iin
our memories so tha nth ns scatte
among us, wecanrepelthem byrae we have Aenean in our aida
The more faith blossoms in the heart, the more the body is eager to
serve. To stumble on distrust is to fall, since eu hareres oes not
an from faith is sin” sce 14:— en the U strike
dge : eap away asSaou ee forni-
cation. Give no trust, aaaes Jae or starting point to that snake. Say
this to the viper: “Listen to me, deceiver, I have no right to pass judg-
ment on my superior but he has the authority to be my judge. I do not
judge him; he judges me.”
Ee Si of pDSalm WV

prayer to be a wall, and honest tears to be a Bath, To meee reseed

obedience is confession of faith, without which no one subject to pas-
sions will see the Lord.
He who is submissive is passing sentence on himself. If his obedi-
ence for the Lord’s sake is perfect, even when it does not appear to be
so, he will Saga esiceallioe But ifin some thingshe followshis own

burden onto his own-self If the superior continues en stnike hie

then that is good; but if he gives up, I do not know what to say.
Those who0 digpeibledtahisad Ord.re vil run the
good race. If th ey keep their minds on leash they will not draw the
wickedness of eomons onto Here

him alone, though to all if blsso eonningids: Wounds shown inapublic

will not grow worse, ob _ be healed.

was made ysa superior raven was¢ ood as a man and as a shepherd,
and it happened while I was staying there.
i and that excellent superior, that man of healing,
ordered him to take seven days of complete rest so that he might get
to know the kind of life in the place. After a week the superior sent
for him and asked him privately if he would like to live there among
them. When the other man showed genuine enthusiasm for this, he
asked him what wrong he had done in the world, and on observing
the ready admission of everything, he tested him further. “I want you

93
 JOHN CLIMACUS

to tell this to the brethren,” he said. Since the other man had really
come to hate his wrongdoing and was not troubled by shame, he
promptly agreed. “I will confess in the middle of Alexandria itself, if
you wish,” he said.
And so the superior gathered his flock into the church. There
were 230 of them, and when the holy service was in progress, and the
gospel had been read—for it was Sunday—this irreproachable convict
was led out by some of the brethren who hit him, but lightly. He had
his hands tied behind his back, he was wearing a hair shirt, and ashes
had been sprinkled on his head. Everyone was amazed, and there
were some shouts, for it was not clear what was happening. But when
the robber appeared at the doors!* of the church, that very charitable
superior said loudly to him: “Stop! You are not worthy to come in
here
The robber was astounded by the voice of the superior coming
from the sanctuary. (He swore afterwards that he thought he heard
thunder and not a human voice.) At once he fell on his face and he
trembled and shook with fear. While he lay on the ground, moisten-
ing the floor with his tears, the marvelous healer turned to him,es
ing everything so as to save him and to
of salvation and true humility. B

sins of the flesh, natural and unnatural, with humans and with beste:
poisonings, murders, and many other deeds too awful to hear or to set
down on paper.

an of the brethren.
I was amazed by the wisdom of that holy man, and when we
were alone ary
as ” this true healer replied. ‘First, so that
this man, having confessed e
. He did
not rise up from the floor, Brother John, until he had been granted
forgiveness of all his sins. Have no doubt about this. Indeed one of the
brethren who was present told me he saw a terrifying figure holding
a book and a pen and crossing off each sin as it was confessed. Now
this is quite probable if you bear in mind the words,

14. Between the main body of the church and the narthex.

94
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

my wrongdoing to the Lord-and You have taken away the wickedness

fa eeprom SO There are some
hre O eir sins and I want to
Poeaatas ee to male hehe fonhisides for without this no one will
bepardoned.’"
r and ie Fidler‘fie:fjwill try to tell you awere
deal about them. For I stayed quite a while with this man, studying
their way of life and being constantly amazed at how these men of
earth Suicocoedi in bitte laa us

owe they strov e neve O71 jure 2 e = : a And

ter. Abo

if ever someone showed hatred of another, a corer aepanicked him

like a convict to the isolation iionskeery: 15 Once when a brother
spoke ill of a neighbor, the holy man, on hearing him, had him ex-
pelled immediately. “I’m not having a visible devil here along with
the invisible one,” he said.

; ction and weBritempla-

ef They were so iesupmre fifemeee: Kelvan and they prac-
ticed so much good that they had little need of the promptings of the
superior, and it was out of their own goodwill that they stirred each
to divine vigilance. They had certain holy and divine exercises that
were laid down, studied, and established. If the superior was away
and a brother began to resort to abusive language, criticism of others,
or merely idle chatter, a discreet nod from another pulled him up
short and quietly stopped him. If it happened that the brother did not
notice, then the one who reminded him would prostrate himself be-
fore him and then go away.
If they had to speak, what they talked about all the time was the
remembrance of oe aedand the le of Nena incre

aida RancHe thiat

adeine his sore his sieionved a seially
recollected state and capacity
a for tears, I asked him how he had
managed to be granted such a grace. He answered me when I became

15. This is the “Prison” which is described in detail below (p. 105 and Step 5).

95
 JOHN CLIMACUS

insistent: “It always seems to me that I serve God and not men,” he
said. ‘“‘And so I judge myself to be undeserving of any rest. And this
fire!® here reminds me of the everlasting fire to come.”
we should
4
17
s)

and by secret signs and gestures these holy men reminded each other
of it. And they did this not only in the refectory, but everywhere they
met or assembled.

in the ouleseeadthat the one panied wasaac innocent.

it.And
he made noeffort todiscover thereal culprit.
if one of them started a row
with a neighbor, a third who happened to pass by would undertake
eninge for it—and thus dissolve the anger. ia:
add. eel

CM Ae oe TEP

sisted in their aed feelings, ae walle get no feed until they had
resolved their difference, or else they were driven from the monas-
tery.

: | y, in disceunmnene and hu-

calle Among them was the astil and vet angelic sight of men
grey-haired, venerable, preeminent in holiness, still going about like
obedient children and taking the greatest delight in their lowliness. I
have seen menthere wholivedintotalobedience for
allof
fiftyyears,

from so great a labor, some answered that having arrived thereby at

the lowest depths of abasement they ught,
while others declared that hey had attained complete freedom from
the senses and had ult.

16. Le., of the bakery.

17. By mental prayer (noera ergasia) John means a concentrated state of recollection
in the depths of the heart. Elsewhere he says, “If you are careful to train your mind
never to wander, it will stay by you even at mealtimes” (28 [1133A], p. 276).

96
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ngels,!® the dee nnc e, and a wise simplicity that was

spontaneous and yet directed by God
G Himself.
HAT Ag as
posers "SOI C
vate, sc no
is merenreseibiypelicnihdsscinenanfoolish |in iN a that some
old men in the world are, as st say, senile. No indeed. They are
openly gentle, kindly, radiant nuine ut hypocrisy, affecta-
tion, or falsity of either epecehioor ene not found
in many. a en, eae ene. with God and the superi-
or as their very breath, and with the mind’s eye on strict lookout for
demons and the ae
her and Brothers ir od, a lifetime would not be
enough to allow me to describe the virtue of those blessed en, or the
pa
heavenly life lead. S great struggles rather than my
0 ould adorn this treatise and should rouse you to
» Hi EHin the ar of Godt After all, abe lowa
excellent, and

ake away from its value

takeaayfrom
isval
In this monastery to which I have been referring, there was a
, from Alexandria, who having belonged to the
ruling class had become a monk. I met him there. The most holy
shepherd, after having let him join, discovered that he was.a trouble-
maker, cruel, sly, and haughty, but he shrewdly managed to outwit
the cunning ofthe eaindsin him: if yen oe decics to accept the
yoke of Christ,” he Isidore, “I want yo eart
ence.”
‘Most holy Father, I submit to you like iron to the blacksmith,”
Isidore replied.
The superior, availing of this metaphor, diane tees Boe exer-
cise to thei08Beak and said to him: e is is

18. White hair is often associated with angels (cf. The Lives of the Desert Fathers |The
Historia Monachorum in Aegypto] II, 1; Abba Or). The monastic life is the angelic life on
earth because those who have truly attained it are like the angels: servants of God and
of men, free from sin, and as free as is humanly possible from material needs.
19. This sentence is missing in some versions.

97
 JOHN CLIMACUS

me, Mither«becauseslourt™ epileptic.’ ” And Isidore obeyed, like an

angel obeying the Lord.
, and achieved deep humility and
compunction.
the sta rs29 and after the wonderful stead-
fastness of the man, the superior déemed him fully worthy to be ad-
mitted to the ranks of the brethren and wanted to ordain him.
Through others and also through my feeble intercession,
ie
, was near, which in fact proved to be so. The
superior allowed him to coy at his place, and ten days later, humbly,
week after his death the porter
of the monastery was also taken, for the blessed Isidore had said to
him, “If I have found favor in the sight of ie Lord, you too will be
dasepatably ete to me within a short time.’ ’ That is exactly what

Saorloensicesneienaiitaniag si
cupi his mind
ed while he was at the gate, and this memorable man
did not conceal anything from me, for he wished to be of is “At
first I judged that I-had been sold into:slavery for my sins,” he said.
“So-I-did penance with bitterness, great effort, and blood. After a
year my-heart-was-no-longer-full.of grief, and I began to think of a
reward for my obedience from God Himself..Another»year passed
and in the depths of my heart I-began to see- how unworthy I was to
live in a monastery, to encounter the fathers, to share in the divine
Mysteries, sIGanaen PesReunite c in the face, but lowering
my eyes and lowering my thoughts even further, asked
I with true
out.”
Once when I was sitting in the refectory with the superior, he
asked me in a whisper if Iwould like to see Ral pradeneeleeontebne
very old. When I said I wished that very much, he summoned from
the second table who had been about forty-
eight years in the monastery and was second priest in the monastery.

20. No monastic rule laid down a seven year probation. But a seven years’ penance
was required by the Apostolic Canons for fornication. In view of the deacon Macedon-
ius’ reference to the “fornication of disobedience” (p. 101), it may be that the superior
treated Isidore’s haughtiness as fornication.

98
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

He came, genuflected before the abbot and received his blessing.

When he stood up the abbot said nothing at all to him but left him
standing beside the table and not ne
midday meal so he gt 1 fu negra Srattbly
two. I was embarritece toMCor this hardAroriae man in the face, for
he was sane aoa pai haired and all of ah ua Hewseyed

Being myself a bad character, I did not let Ne the Bee to tease
the old man, a wha ad bee ab
stood by the table. “]mode tof thes epherd as eneimage off Christ,a
he said. “I thought of the ous as rea not from him but from
God. And so, Father John, I stoox 1

that love does not Preckeli up injury. Bue be sure ofawerents Father,
that anyone who freely chooses to be simple and guileless provides
the devil with neither the time nor the peesfor an attack.”

ju

cent OF the iin ye laid sivainet him By the pastor, and when we were
alone I started to plead with the great man on behalf of the bursar.
But se, is what the wise mana caeamana erent ie

absas the superior cats te deserves at

each hour, through having to put up with insults, dishonor, con-
tempt, and mockery. Three things ‘HAS PEN SERS Ter TO enrst,
the director misses the rewards due to him for making corrections;
second, the director fails to bring profit to others when he could have
done so through the virtue of that one person; but third, and worst, is
that those who seem to be the most hard-working and obedient and
hence confirmed in virtue, if left for any length of time without being

21. “I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry.”

99
 JOHN CLIMACUS

censured or reproached by the superior, lose that meekness and obe-

dience they formerly had. pate i er al es

t and arrogance. The great Rea

understood this. Hence his instruction to Timothy: “Be insistent,
criticize them, rebuke in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).
But when I argued the matter*with that true director, reminding
him of human frailty,
That man, in
whom wisdom had made a home, had this to say to me: “A soul bound

through the
shepherd he has received the cure for his wounds, for he bears in
mind the words, ‘Neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers nor
any other creature can separate us from the love of Christ’ (cf. Rom.
8:38-39). oul is not attached, bound 1 to the ‘
in this fashion, it seems to me that the ma ould not be he
for what binds him to the shepherd is hypocrisy and false obedience.”
And the truth is that this great man is not deceived, for he has guided,
led to perfection, and offered to Christ blameless sacrifices.
Let us listen to the wisdom of God found in earthen vessels and
marvel at it.
ile s astonis e fai lence
of
novices.
the With unshakable courage they accepted the criticisms
of the superior and indeed of those far below him in rank.
hers,
called Abbacyrus, who had li e€ monastery and
who, as I saw, was badly treated by nearly everyone. Those serving at
table drove him out almost daily for being naturally unrestrained is
Metalk. ames se eheRaN veces remecuwinieeis nies:

“Father,” iceanswered
me to find out if I would ever make a monk. They do not really mean
‘to
harsbe I know what the superior and they are trying to do, and
h.
so I put up with all this and do not become burdened by it. I
have
Ss. ry
at those who re r thirty

22. In place of “cowardice” Rader’s text has “lewdness” (porneia).

100
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

years. And they are right, Father John, for gold is not purified unless
it has been tested.”
ears after my arri-
val at the monastery. Aegean ipa this
to the fathers: “I than the k
Lord an ank you. For my own salva-
tion. you. put me to the test, and for sseventeen years now I have lived
without being tempted by devils.” And the just superior gave orders
that he had earned the right to be buried as a confessor with the local
saints.
Now I would do wrong to all those asco tos peceneys isI were
to bury in the tomb of silence the achie nd the rewai
I : eitbuccnlicceeanet:
— one occasion, just two days before the feast of the Holy The-
ophany,?3 ae aE Se IS SUES EEREOPaU "ROOYDNT,a
. He promised to get back from the city
in time for the preparation for the feast. The devil, however, who
loathes everything good, contrived to put an obstacle in the way of
the archdeacon, who, although permitted to leave the monastery, didia’
r. He came
nee maepesedalidtiaihieadiaconatsabydhenastanaged
was putin the rank of the lowest novices. This good deacon?‘ of obe-
dience, this archdeacon of patience, accepted the decision of the fa-
ther as calmly as though the punishment had been meted out to
someone else. After forty days in that state, he was restored to his pre-
vious rank by the pastor; but scarcely a day later the archdeacon
ine and dis-
pener saying, “I committed an unforgivable sin while I was in the
city.’ ” This was untrue, and the jel heaiae knew it. The ascetic
ment for sa 1umility, and his wish
was granted. Then came the anentacle aea canine:haired elder passing
his days as a novice, and sincerely begging prenone to pray for him.
“I fell into the fornication of disobedience,” he said, but secretly this
dia aay prac ris
to me, sanethat I am,why hehadvol
rily ad e such

23. January 6.
24. “Deacon“ means “servant” in Greek.

101
 JOHN CLIMACUS

have it, that they cannot fall. But men fall, yet they can quickly rise
again as often as this may happen to them. Devils, and devils only,
never rise once they have fallen.”
There.was'a irs 5 ho had
° i ifidence:“When I.waseu and had chard of
the ontinales a> ae ao but since it was never
my custom to conceal a snake in the hiding place of my heart I
grabbed it forthwith by the tail—meaning that I ended the matter—
and \sScticalasieeie caitlin He gave me a light blow on the
chin, smiled, and said to me, right, child, go back to your job and
do not be in the slightest way afraid.’ was
ithi ed; and so, with a mix-
ture of joy and fear, I carried on.”

hraidle weal) he used to ae the worst insults on them in the pres-

ence of the visitors and used to send them off on the most humiliating
jobs, with the result that they would hastily retreat, and the arrival of
the secular visitors would turn out to be an opportunity for self-mas-
tery. Thus there was to be seen the extraordinary spectacle of vanity
chasingherself out of sight. : =e
ace enenAnd so a week before I left He took to
Himself sasha aaacaalesienenes. the second priest of the mon-
astery, a man who for fifty-nine years had lived in the community
and had served in every office. Three days after the death of this
saintly monk, when we had finished with the customary rites, the
place where he lay was suddenly filled with a great fragrance. We
were allowed by the superior to open the coffin in which he lay, and
when this was done we had sight of what seemed like two streams of
myrrh flowing from his venerable feet. The teacher said to all of us:
66 od,

and has been ey accepted.”

ys as. An fo . On one occasion

the superior wanted to test his God- -given patience. Coming in the

25. I.e., the beasts of burden belonging to the monastery (cf. 15 [885BC], p. 175).

102
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

evening to the abbot’s cell he prostrated himself and, in the custom-

ary fashion, he asked for his instructions. However, the abbot left him
on the ground until the time came for the Office and only then did he
give him his blessing. But the holy man, knowing his heroic endur-
ance, criticized him for self-display and impatience. He did it for the
edification of everyone.
This story was confirmed by a disciple of the holy Menas. “I
wanted to find out if he had fallen asleep while he was prostrate on
the ground before the holy abbot. But he assured me that he had recit-
ed the entire psalter while lying down.”
There is an emerald to adorn the crown of this discourse, and I
Must not forget totell of it. For on one occasion Iinitiated a discus-
ere. They
smiled and in their own cheerful way they spoke to me courteously as
follows: “Father John, we are corporeal beings and we lead a corpore-
al life. Knowing this, we choose to wage war according to the mea-
sure of our weakness, and we think it better to struggle with men
who sometimes rage and are sometimes contrite than to do battle
with demons who are always in a rage and always carrying arms
against us.”
g to
God. He was outspoken, and once, in his own kindly fashion, he said
this to me: “Wise man, if you have consciously within you the power
of him who said, ‘I can do everything in Christ Who strengthens me’
(Phil. 4:13), if the Holy Spirit has come upon you as on the Holy Vir-
gin with the dew of purity, if the power of the Most High has cast the
shadow of patience over you, then, like Christ our God, gird your
loins with the towel of obedience, rise from the supper of stillness,
wash the feet of your brethren in a spirit of contrition, and roll your-
self under the feet of the brethren with humbled will. Place strict and
unsleeping guards at the gateway of your heart. Practice inward still-
ness amid the twistings and the turbulence of your limbs. And,
strangest of all perhaps, keep your soul undisturbed while tumult
rages about you. AA

and wronged, though without in any way being crushed or broken;

indeed it must keep calm and unstirred. Shed your will as if it were

103
 JOHN CLIMACUS

some disgraceful garment, and having thus stripped yourself of it, go

into the practice arena. Put on the breastplate of faith, which is so
hard to come by, and let it not be crushed or damaged by distrust of
your trainer. Let the rein of temperance curb the shameless onward
leap of the sense of touch. With meditation on death bridle those eyes
so ready to waste endless hours in the contemplation of physical
beauty. Hold back your mind, so: busy with its own concerns, so
ready to turn to the reckless criticism and condemnation of your
brother. Show instead every love and sympathy for your neighbor.
Dearest father, all men will come to know that we are disciples of
Christ if, as we live together, we have love for one another. Stay here
with us, my friend, stay. Drink down ridicule by the hour, as if it
were living water. David tried every pleasure under the sun, and at
the end was at a loss saying, ‘Behold, what is good or what is pleas-
ant?’ (Ps. 132:1). And there was nothing except that brothers should
live together in unity. But if this blessing of patience and obedience
has still not been given to us, then the best thing to do is, having dis-
covered our weakness, to stay away from the athletes’ stadium, to
bless the contestants, and to pray that it might be granted to them to
endure.”

pean I was ea ea so rele ask no hesioaion I seed to

give first place to blessed obedience.

and they had to make a prostration be-

fore everyone going in or out. And, what was even more surprising,
he did it to people of clerical rank that is, to priests.

sh y of the others, and his movements Sand

expressions were such as to make it look as though he were carrying
on a conversation with someone. This was particularly so at the be-
ginning of the hymns. me and
because he knew it was to my advantage that he should not be reti-
cent about it, he said this to me: “ he
ve : m

104
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

KingandGodt. Deus worship and fall down before Christ, our

King and God’ ” ( s. 94: 6).
I alse
caiielieninces nie he had a~smallvbookehanging in hi ins belt, and I
learned that every day he noted down his thoughts?¢ in it and showed
them to the shepherd. I found out that many of the brothers did this
also as well as he,» and Iwas told that this.was.on the instructions of
superior.
the

the ga f ns ging entry

Sieongierone eee een ane Hine of Bie Sense ie when
he heard that the brother had eaten nothing for six days, he said to
him: “If you really want to live in the monastery, I will put you down
into the ranks of the penitents.” ans contrite monk uci es
and the shepherd ordered him to be taken: tc ery

ords about it.

A mile away from the great monastery was a harsh place called
else
never seen, only les. Here were shut
up without permission to go out those who after entering monastic
life had-fallen into.sin, Nor were they all together. ferhernirown
cell, or two at most might be together until the Lord gave the superi-
or some assurance regarding each one of them. great:A man named
ie ey and he demanded of them that they pray
with scarcely an interruption. To ward off despondency they were
given great quantities of palm leaves.28 Such was their existence and
rule, such their life-style, these men who truly sought the face of the
God of Jacob!
itate
them. procures’ salvation. and impossible to
wish to
imitate, on a sudden whim, every aspect ofthe way they live.

26. These thoughts (/ogismoi) are not simply reflections but inward promptings,
some of which may be demonic. The superior would be able to discern which are help-
ful and which are not.
27. I.e., cooked food.
28. For making baskets and plaiting mats.

105
 JOHN CLIMACUS

When we are bitten by rebukes, let us be mindful of our sins un-

til the Lord, seeing the determination of our efforts, wipes away our
sins and turns to joy that sadness eating our hearts. It is written:
“Your consolations have gladdened my soul according to the number
of my sorrows” (Ps. 93:19), and at the right time we should remember
the words spoken to the Lord: “How many troubles and evils have
You shown me, and You turned around to revive me. You brought
me up from the depths of the earth when I had fallen” (Ps. 70:20).

. He will be in the chorus of martyrs

a . Blessedis the monk who thinks
of himself by the hour as having earned all dishonor and contempt.
a mortifies his will to the very end and who leaves
the care of himself to his director in the Lord. He will be placed at the
right hand of the Crucified. But he who refuses to accept a criticism,
just or not, renounces his own salvation, while he who accepts it,
hard or not though it may be, wi ave his sins forgiven.
the faith you have in your spiritual fa-
ther and the honest love you have for him. God in ways unknown
will urge him to be well disposed to you and fond of you, just as you
are well disposed toward him.
He who exposes every serpent shows the reality of his faith,
while he who hides them still walks the trackless wastes.
hen he weeps
for the sins of that brother and is delighted by his progress and by the
gifts given to him.
n him if he is
seized by the urge in conversation to assert his opinion, however cor-
rect it may be. If he behaves this way while talking to his equals, then
a rebuke from his seniors may heal him. But if he carries on in this
way with those who are greater and wiser than he, his sickness can-
not be cured by human means.
ot be so in
what he does. To be unfaithful in the small things is to be unfaithful
in the great, and this is very hard to bring under control. Such a
monk labors in vain, and from holy obedience he will bring nothing
but judgment on himself.
f being
as though it
were sleep, or rather life; and he is unafraid, knowing with certainty

106
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

that when it is time to go, not he but his spiritual director will be
called to render an account.

falls while “igsit, he should b ame not athe father wheegaveamiethe

weapon but himself. For it was he who accepted the weapon of battle
against the enemy, but has turned it instead against his own heart.
But if for the Lord’s sake he compelled himself to accept the task,
even though he first explained his own weakness to the spiritual fa-
ther, hee let him take heart. He may have Semnete but he is not dead.

od”s sake, so that by this kind eeprepara-

tion they would not falter beneath the insults coming from others.
Co at keeps the soul which reflects on it
from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to
do without fear as if in the dark.
If we picture for ourselves the face of the superior whenever he
happens to be away, if we think of him as always standing nearby, if
we avoid every gathering, word, meal, sleep, or indeed anything to
which we think he might object, then we have really learned true
obedience. False children are glad when the teacher isaway, but the
genuine think it a loss.
[once asked avery experienced father how humility isachieved
through obedience. This was his answer: “A wisely obedient man,
even if he is able to raise the dead, to have the gift of tears, to be free
from conflict, will nevertheless judge that this happened through the
prayer of his spiritual director; and so he remains a stranger and an
alien to empty presumption. For how could he take pride in some-
thing that, by his reckoning, is due to the effort not of himself but of
his director?”

it eocsting that his dehievemients areeclie résult of bis own ef-

forts. For the fact is that he who lives in obedience has eluded two
snares2° and remains an obedient servant of Christ for the future.

29. Gk hesychastis, one who practices stillness (cf. note 9), whether alone, with one
or two others, or in community. The word is translated by “hermit” or “solitary”
when the monk is clearly alone; otherwise the term “hesychast” is used.
30. I.e., disobedience and conceit.

107
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Tisoninsiinpoeosenaanisieasishethaaninsalnadiaiiea ometinics he
defiles them with bodily pollutions and hardheartedness or makes
them more restless than usual, sometimes he makes them dry and bar-
ren, sluggish at prayer, sleepy and unilluminated. Fox more
sbringediscouragement*to*thelr effort: making them think that their
obedience has brought no profit and that they are only regressing. He
keeps them from realizing that very often the providential withdraw-
al of what seem to be our goods is the harbinger of our deepest humil-
ity.

7 ave known i who, guided by their

director, became contrite, meek, self-controlled, zealous, free of tur-
moil, fervent. . They suggested to them that
they were now qualified for the solitary life, that as hermits they
would win the ultimate prize of total freedom from passion. Thus
fooled, they left harbor and put to sea, and when the storm lowered
onto them, their lack of pilots left them pitifully exposed to disaster
from this foul and bitter ocean.
i i ry so as to
jettison onto dry land the wood, the hay, the corruption carried into
it by the rivers of passion. Notice what happens in nature. After a
storm at sea comes a coer calm.

rson
resembles thepes who pat A717 a epaennamedaasne
q : aid, “When one man builds wen aes pulls do
what has Perntthe eat ofedie labor?” —— 34:23).

ae Ss. rey bare your sey to the healer. Onk

through shame can you be freed from shame.?! Tell him, and do not
be ashamed: “‘This is my wound, Father; this is my injury. It hap-
pened because of my negligence and not from any other cause. No
one is to blame for this, no man, spirit or body or anything else. It is
all through my negligence.”
an.
Keep your head bowed and, if you can, shed tears on the feet of your

31. In HTM’s text the sentence later in brackets is inserted here.

108
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

judge and healer, as though he were Christ. (Very often demons man-
age to persuade us either to omit confession, or else to confess as
though the sins were committed by someone else or else to blame oth-
ers as responsible for our own sins.).
: me a
that
depends
virtue on habit, and here God is the great soiree
My son, if at the very start you manage to allow your entire soul
to suffer indignities, you will not have to struggle for many years in
search of blessed peace.

doumreg"CPTRR Is ‘iehott sorry leaks by earnest auifessan ie

pleadings, judge and turned his rage
to mercy. I have seen it happen. That is why John the Baptist de-
manded of those who came to him that they make their confession be-
fore baptism, not because he wanted to know their sins, but in order
to bring about their salvation.
en
: pe NAN any case, it is better to be battling with our
thoughts%? rather than our self-esteem.
Do.not get excited or carried away by the stories concerning he-
sycha hermits. You are marching in the army of the First Mar-
andsts
tyr, and inthe event of a fall you should remain on the practice
er. He who strikes
his fou against a rock while being helped would not only have stum-
bled unaided, but would have died.
i ce.
They suggest what looks like a reasonable pretext—though in fact it
is not—to take up the life of solitude. Our enemies hope to wound us
when we are co i
en a doctor says he canno an-
oth i e. Who, indeed, would disagree
if I were to say that a ship wrecked while there was a skilled pilot
aboard would quite certainly have been lost if there had been no pilot
at all?
and from humility itself comes
dispassion, for “the Lord remembered us in our humility and saved
us from our enemies” (Ps. 135:23—24). So we can rightly say that from

32. Rader’s text reads “pollutions” (mo/ysmois), not “thoughts” (/ogismois).

109
 JOHN CLIMACUS

obedience comes dispassion, through which the goal of humility is at-

tained. Humility is the beginning of dispassion, as Moses is the begin-
ning of the Law, as the daughter completes the mother and Mary
completes the synagogue.
then,
before bei jetti i e
e . Do not run from the hands of him who
has brought you to the Lord, for never in your life again will you re-
spect a eeemianiatbimieniiaicaar:
as you did him. aan
ea
singlecomba. Equal eis dangerousfor monk under the
soli
The one man aaenranes his
body, the other his soul. Now Scripture says, ““Iwo are better than
one” (Eccles. 4:9), meaning that it is better for a son to be with his
father as, aided by the divine power of the Holy Spirit, he fights
against his predispositions. He who deprives a blind man of his guide,
a flock of its shepherd, a lost man of his counselor, a child of its fa-
ther, a sick man of his doctor, a ship of its pilot, becomes a menace to
everyone. And he who tries to fight unaided against the spirits gets
BYDSOE ae by them. ;

ity.Reliefron oh is hessign ofa return to eal fod fhe one, while

increasing self-criticism is the sign for the other. Indeed, there is no
clearer sign.

oO bedience.—

ons
WwW ight
The first kind keep the commands of
their master more strictly since they are always under his scrutiny,
while the latter break them to some extent on account of his being
away. Still, the zealous and the hard-working more than compensate
for this failing by their persistence, and accordingly they win double
crowns.
bray oar cea appre rar eemeeinmmennnsabiler When
a harbor is full of ships it is easy for them to run against each other,
particularly if they are secretly riddled by the worm of bad temper.

110
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

or, for a silent man is a sontoe wisdom andiiss always

gainingy great knowledge. I have watched while a monk anticipated
the words of his superior, but I trembled for his obedience because I
observed that this tendency led him to pride rather than lowliness.
Let us be all vigilance, care, and watchfulness as to when and in
w er. For you can-
not do all things all the time.

an they. For ifi you do, icayou will be doubly in an wrong,

provoking them with your fake zeal and stirring yourself up to pre-
ee

word, or hint of it outwardly;and youingill manage this as soon as you

stop looking down on your neighbor, something you may be inclined
to do. And if so, then become like your brethren in order not to differ
from them sigh pei — measure isyour conceit.

uN the ihetaene ephis cree ie evaded thatin

this way he would winpane:for himself from another’s harvest. But
he only ge name self, for everyone put this question to

eX Bue al when we sae itbela every

kind of person. For we put up with our father out of respect and be-
cause it is our duty.

purity aie in your an ay itielight of Ged will not grow dim in

your a

member cae warning: “When you itive done all that was laid on ye
to do, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We did only what we had
to’” (Luke 17:10). We will find out at the time of death what judg-
ment has been salseson us.

111
 JOHN CLIMACUS

heaven possess hearts of stone. Yet by means of compunction they ac-

quire consolation so that they escape from conceit, and they lighten
their labors with their tears.
A small fire can soften a great lump of wax, and a small indignity
will often ease, sweeten, and wipe away all the heart’s harshness, in-
sensibility and hardness.
I once saw two people sitting out of sight and watching the toils
and hearing the groans of the ascetics. One did this so as to be able to
imitate them. But the other did it so that when the time came he
could laugh at God’s laborer and get int
reasonable way that causes
bance an i and do not let your behavior and
progress slow down when you have been told to hurry. Otherwise
you will be worse than the possessed and the rebellious. I have often
seen such things as these, as Job says (cf. Job 13:1), that is, souls bur-
dened sometimes by slowness of character and sometimes by exces-
sive eagerness. Twas astounded by th
H others can get more ben
pr
S1 istinct.
Fela nar
see REO EEE ea
PE nciatiaaal ey
od does not demand of those under obedience that
their thoughts be totally undistracted when they pray. And do not
lose heart when your thoughts are stolen away. Just remain calm, and
constantly call your mind back.
e il his
very
breath,
last to endure a thousand deaths of body and soul, will
ily i r it is inconstancy of
heart and unfaithfulness to one’s place that bring about stumblings
and disasters. Those who readily go from monastery to monastery are
totally unfit since nothing is more conducive to barrenness than im-
patience.
If you come upon
ad ran ite to
O 1, behave like a passert \ ieth) amine g 1 ose
living there. But if you discover that
ure you of your ailment
tual pride that weighs ealing
with the gold of humility, and write your terms in letters of service
on the parchment of obedience, and let the angels be your witnesses
as you tear up before them the book of your willfulness.

112
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

». No one can come out of the tomb before the general

resurrection, and if there be monks who have gone out, then they are
really dead. Let us beg the Lord not to let this happen to us.
er is

Imagine a particular task. Some leave it aside for the sake of a

brother’s peace of mind, some leave it because they are lazy; but then
some stay with it out of vainglory and some stay with it out of zeal.
If, having bound yourself to certain obligations, you become
aware of the fact that your soul’s eye has made no progress, do not
seek permission to quit. PireaeitinennestiSne THT MEREPEP
Sharmmhere
a €.
ander has caused many a breakup, but in monas-
tic communities itis glutton bic eines ere allthe ‘falls and trans-
gressions. KOE OETERUE under control and every abode will
then give you dispassion, but let her take hold of you and every place
outside the grave will be a menace to you.
The Lord, who makes wise the blind (cf. Ps. 145:8), opens the
e o the virtues tor and
blinds them to his faults, but does the opposite to the hater of what is
good.
Let what we call quicksilver be a paradigm of perfect obedience.
Roll it with any substance you wish, and it will nevertheless run to
the lowest place and mix with nothing defiled.

n case they draw down a worse sentence on themselves.

That, I think, was why Lot was justified. Despite the sort of people he
lived with, he never seems to have ac aeoaths them.
On every occasion, but especial ring the singin
we should be still and undistracted, er it is anmeans of ners
that devils try to make our prayers useless.
A servant of the Lord33 stands bodily before men, but mentally
he is knocking at the gates of heaven with prayer.
Insults, belittlings, and such like have the bitterness of worm-
wood for the soul of the novice; praise, honor, approval, are like hon-

33. L.e., a deacon in church (cf. note 24, p. 101).

113
 JOHN CLIMACUS

ey and give birth to every kind of sweetness in pleasure lovers. But

we should remember the nature of each of them. Wormwood purifies
all internal filth, while honey increases gall.

time when our faith in

j histisaeaned as in a furnace of humiliation,
and the sign of the most genuine faith is when we obey our superiors
without hesitation, even when we see the opposite happening to what
we had hoped.
From obedie umility, as i nd
froGT BUITEy eomneelisacaieig Tatis what the great Cassian has
said in that marvelously philosophic and sublime chapter of his on
discernment.*4 From discernment comes insight, and from insight
comes foresight. And who would not run this fine race of obedience
when such blessings are there ahead of him? The good psalmist had
this great virtue in mind when he said: ‘““O God, in Your goodness
You have made ready Your presence in the heart of the poor obedient
soul” (Ps. 67:10).
As long as you live, remember that great athlete who for eighteen
whole years never heard with his outward ears his superior say to
him, “May you be saved.” Yet within him each day he heard from the
Lord not just, “May you be saved,” an uncertain wish, but, “You are
saved,” definite and sure.34#

prive themselves caoiplerel of inks epntesae s crown. @ieuegee is

foreign to hypocrisy and willfulness.
A monk was given an order once. He saw that the intention be-
hind it was that no pleasure would come to him through having car-
ried it out. So he asked to be excused. Another monk understood the
intention but obeyed at once. The question is: Which of them acted
more piously?
The devil cannot act contrary to his own will. Those living a
negligent life, whether alone or in community, should convince you

34. John Cassian, Second Conference, ch. 10.

34a. John the Theban: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, John the Theban.

tia
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

of this. And if there is a temptation on us to move from a place, let

that be proof that our life there is pleasing to God. War against us is
proof that we are mak
pt

D i should know.

He was detached and was uhohnmentideed by any falsehood,

evil word, or bad deed, as you yourself know, holy father, from per-
sonal experience.
is i “In my monastery in Asia (this good
man came from there), ly
d. I say this not to pass judgment on him,
but merely to state the truth say
how—a young man» called Acacius, good-hearted and sensible, who™
put up with so much from this elder that many will hardly believe it.
He was tormented daily, not only with insults and indignities, but
even with blows; and yet he accepted it, though not blindly. I would
see him every day, aridabioansatdinion ae TETPa d, like that of the
lowest slave. I often spoke to him when I met him. ‘What is it, Broth-
er Acacius? How is it with you today?’ Pete show Nes Black
‘or head. Knowing that he was a worker, I used
to say to him, ‘Well done, well done. Put up with it, and it will be for
your own good.’ Sofornineyearsheendured thispitilesselder,and_
pereerennn ins is A ive days after he had been buried in the
cemetery of the fathers, Acacius’s master went to a certain great elder
living there, and said to him: ‘ Phe
old man answered: ‘Elder, I assure you I do not believe it!’ ‘Caine and
see,’ the other said. The elderear liste rose up and went to the
eme vith the master o € ssed_ascetic. And he called to him
who in Ficath was ie alive, and he cane to him as to a living being:
Loans And this most obedient man, obedi-

35. John, formerly of the monastery of St. Sabbas in Palestine, is an elder known
grec des
to us from the narratives of Anastasius of Mount Sinai (see F. Nau, ‘“‘Le texte
ii [1902] pp.
récits du moine Anastase sur les saints Péres du Sinai”, Oriens Christianus
58-89, §§ 6 and 34).

Was
 JOHN CLIMACUS

g. Later he asked the abbot

of the Laura*¢ for a cell near the tomb. He lived devoutly there, and
to the fathers he used to say: ‘I
committed:murder.’”
have And, Fa-
ther John, I think that the one who spoke to the dead man was the
great John himself. For that blessed soul told me another story as
though about someone else, when in fact it was about himself, as I
learned afterwards for sure.
€
came a dis
nedtltible When he realized that the elder respected him and cared
for him, he decided, quite rightly, that this was something that could
harm many. So he asked the elder to send him away, and this would
cause no inconvenience since the elder had another disciple. He went
away, therefore, and a letter from the elder got him into a monastery
in Pontus. On his first night there he dreamed that his account was
being made up, and after he had settled that dreadful reckoning he
was still in debt to the extent of one hundred pounds of gold. He
thought about this dream after he had awakened and said, ‘Poor An-
tiochus (for this was his name), you certainly are very far short of
ee your debt.’
“ ‘And,’ he continued, ‘after living for three years in total obedi-
ence in this monastery, despised by everyone, insulted as a foreigner,
for there was no other foreign monk there, then again I had a dream
in which someone gave me a note crediting me with ten pounds of
my debt. When I woke up I thought about my dream and said: “Only
ten! When will I ever pay the rest?” After that I said, “Poor Antio-
med chus! Still more hard work and dishonor for you!” Thereafter I pre-
tended to be a fool,37 though without neglecting anything of my
Saeed
service of everyone. When those pitiless fathers saw that I willingly
served in the same status, they loaded all the heavy work of the mon-
astery onto me. I spent thirteen years this way, and then in a dream I
saw those who had appeared to me before, and they gave me a receipt
to mark full payment of my debt. When, therefore, the monks im-
posed in any way on me, I remembered my debt and took heart.’ ”

36. A laura is technically a loose community of hermits whose cells open onto
an
alleyway. This laura, however, is under an abbot (higoumenos) and is referred
to in the
next paragraph as a cenobium.
37. Gk exichon. Not the technical word for someone who pretended to be a
fool as
an ascetic discipline (sa/os), but clearly in the same tradition (cf.
Palladius, The Lausiac
History, ch. 34).

116
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
NX
So, Father John, the wise John said all this to me as if about
someone else. That was why he changed his name to Antiochus.%®
But in fact it was he who cancelled the bond courageously by his pa-
tience (cf. Col. 2:14).
at a gif F discernment this holy man obta ied
paniallacnshosesewenicnce. While he was living in the monastery
of Saint Sabbas, three young monks came to him wishing to be his
disciples. He received them gladly and gave them generous hospital-
ity, for he wanted to refresh them after their long journey. After
three days he said to them: “Brothers, I am very inclined to fornica-
tion, and I cannot receive any of you as disciples.” But they were not
scandalized, for they knew the good work of the old man. Yet for all
that they begged him, they still could not make him change his mind.
Then, prostrating themselves before him, they begged him at least to
provide them with a rule by which they might know how and where:
to live. He gave in to their pleas and, understanding well that they
would accept a rule from him in all humility and obedience, he said to
one of them: “My son, the Lord wants you to live in a solitary place
under the guidance of a spiritual director.” To the second he had this
to say: “Go, sell off your will, hand it over to God, take up your cross,
and persevere in a community and monastery of brothers. Then you
will surely have treasure in heaven.” To the third he said: “Draw in
inseparably with your breathing the phrase which says, ‘He who per-
severes to the end will be saved’ (Matt. 10:22).3? Go now and find, if
you can, the harshest and strictest trainer in the Lord, and persever-
ing daily imbibe insult and scorn as if they were milk and honey.”
Then the brother said to the great John: “But if the trainer is some-
how lax, what then?” This is what the elder replied: “Even if you see
him fornicating, do not go away from him. Just say to yourself, ‘Why
are you here, friend?’ (Matt. 26:50). Then you will see all pride aban-
don you and lust dry up.”

ongd oing,
avoid picking up | cach
. ree eee HEI NID AE ITT eNO

Pin a scree
§-
“S

38. With a pun on anti-ocheo, “to bear adversities.”

yet cultivated as a
39. An early instance of linking prayer with breathing, but not
techniqu e.

117
 JOHN CLIMACUS

; ‘
1e sword.
the bow he 0 orm oO SOId nen he O

teeth and do all they can to destroy him. So let us not be caught nap-
ping.

ord books. For it is the hourly account that yields the daily account.
sels hur nm accused
or shouted a rie
answer back or else at once apologizes to his accuser, not for reasons
of humility but to put a stop to his reproaches. In fact you should be
Si . Accept patiently these spiritual cauterizations,
or rather, purifying flames. And when the doctor has done his work,
ask him to forgive you, for he may not accept your apology when he
is angry.

against al

gluttony | temper. There is plenty of food for these passions in

a community.
proposes impossible virtues to
d unsuitable ideas to those ng in solitude.
If you look
xperienced novices living under obedience, you
will find ideas out of step with one 2 er—desire for stillness, for
extreme fasting, for unbroken prayer, for total freedom from vanity,
for continual remembrance of death, for unceasing compunction, for
absolute release from anger, for deep silence, for outstanding purity.
And should they happen by divine providence to be without these at
the start, they rush vainly toward a different life because they have
been deceived. “PNO-OHEI percuscdo hen Peeoteeoenesnenteatid.

40. Soldiers were branded or tattooed. The “seal” (sphragida) also alludes to the seal
of baptism; cf. John Chrysostom, Hom. 3, 7 in II Cor. (PG 61, 418), where the comparison
is made explicit.

118
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

‘virtues,so that they may not persevere and attain them in due time.
And to those living in solitude, the deceiver heaps praise on the hospi-
tality of those living under obedience, on their service, their brother-
ae love, their eee. siege nea their visits to the sick. Whatthe devil

only ise can doeiner) labors anal encouraged by ern and

whose struggles have received His help.

do not Seieb Fockee trainer a artes of earacles who has a welcome

and a meal for everyone. Choose instead an ascetic lhe will reject
any of the consolation of food. If you are arrogant, |
and unyielding, not gentle and nee vent We should not be on
the lookout for those gifted with foreknowledge and foresight, but
rather for those who are truly humble and whose character and
dwelling place match our weaknesses. And remember the example of
the righteous Abbacyrus, mentioned above. Adopt the fine habit, so
conducive to obedience, of always assuming that the superior is test-
ing you, and you will not be far wrong d-
irector and thus acquire great faith in him and love for
him, then you may be sure that the Holy Spirit has taken up resi-
dence invisibly in your soul and uit Eaee ot ~ Most High has
overshadowed you. t boast or cele’
manage to be brave under insults ina sadieaitibe ‘Rucker should you
mourn for having earned criticism ane for ee stirred your ee

chineswe me siwaiys be bite ahen some indignity is offered to

us, since we can profit from that. But where another person is in-
volved we should make a defense so as to keep unbroken the bond of
love and peace.

9
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Those who have broken away from obedience will insist onits
value, for only then have they fully understood the heaven in which
they were living.
alee a aa agi considers lost any day
on which he was not criticized. Like trees swayed by the wind and
driving their roots deeper into the ground, those who live in obedi-
ence become strong and unshakable souls.
When a monk living in solitude ized what his weak point
is, and when he changes place sells hims en,
S he aoe :
Bind ss ee
overs sight and can see Christ without dif-

9, brother a etes, an ga a ;
keep running. Listen to the cry of wisdom: “The Lord has tried them
like gold in a furnace,” or, rather, in a community, “and he has re-
ceived them as burnt offerings into his bosom” (Wisd. 3:6). Glory and
eternal dominion are His, in company with the eternal Father and
the holy and adora
fo) equal num er with the evangelists. ning,
raid.

120
 Step JS

ON PENITENCE

Repentanee'is'th®
renewal ofbaptism ard is'a’contract with God
fe. Repentance goes shopping for humility and is
ever distrustful of bodily comfort. Repentance is critical awareness
and a sure watch over oneself. Repentance is the er O e
and the refusal'to despair. (The penitent stands guilty—but undis-
graced.) Repentance is SESHETLOR OP TRE Pied by the
perfor-
mance
of good deeds which are the opposites of the sins. It is the
Pp d the voluntary endurance of affliction.
out his ishment, for repentance is the
fierce persecution of the stomach and the flogging of the soul into in-
tense awareness.
Come, gather round, listen here and I will speak to all of you
who have angered the Lord. Crowd around me and see what he has
revealed to my soul for your edification.
Let us give first place to the story of the dishonored workers—
who still earned respect. Letus listen, take heed, and act—we who
may have suffered an unexpected fall. Rise up and be seated, all you

41, In Rader’s text this sentence is attached to the end of Step 4.

121
 JOHN CLIMACUS

who have been laid low by your sins. Hear what I have to say, my
brothers. Listen, all you who long tobe reconciled with God again in
a true conversion.
, e way of
life and lowliness for those living in a separate monastery called “The ©
atesa A It was under the authority of that man, that light of lights,
referred to above, and during my visi e
seeit.This great man, who wished never to cause grief to any soul,
gave his permission.
nts, to that place of true
grief, and if I may be so bold as to say so, I actually saw what the eye
of an inattentive man never saw, what the ear of a lackadaisical man
never heard, what never entered the heart of a s ard (cf. I Cor.
Ro) | SPER EeACE PTR ROUTTCAI Meee a teemnowey
, deeds and attitudes of body that quickly win His love for
men.
nN-

een their feet never moving, pitifully pounded

by the natural urge to sleep, giving themselves no rest, reproaching
themselves, driving sleep away with abuse and insults.
t, cried, and implored
help from there.
ks, like
criminals, their faces blackened with grief and bent earthward, since
they thought themselves unworthy to look up to heaven. Overcome
D : 5S and ne weien O] onscience ne could not

f ould could not even make a beginning of

prayer; and filled, as it seemed, with darkness and empty despair,
they could offer God only a blank soul and a wordless mind.
i loth and ashes on the ground, hiding their
faces between their knees, striking the earth with their foreheads.
Others constantly beat their breasts, recalling their past lives and
the condition of their souls. 5 eA Pear E
eee d
while others, unable to weep, struck themselves. Some raised over
their own souls a lament for the dead, since the strength to bear their
heart’s grief had left them. Others moaned inwardly, stifling the
sounds of their wailing until, unable to bear it any longer, they would
suddenly cry out.
I saw men who in look and disposition seem
out ed
of their
pair, insensi-

122
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ble to the life around them, their minds sunk in the depths of humil-
ity, their eyes’ tears dried up in the fire of despondency.

eads g constantly. Li ons y roared and

a!

from their innermost depths. Some were full of hope as they begged
complete forgiveness, while others, out of extreme humility, con-
~demned themselves as being unworthy to be forgiven and wailed that
it was not in their power to justify themselves before God. Some im-
pl them here and to show mercy in the next
life. Others, weighed down by the burden of conscience, would say in
all sincerity, ““‘We are unworthy of heaven, but to be spared from fu-
ture punishment will satisfy us.”
I saw there humble and contrite souls who were saddened by the
weight of their burden. n
cries to God. Looking »
down to the ground, they would say this: ‘““We know, we know that
nt and every torment. Rightly so. How
could we make up for all that we owe, even if we had the entire world
there to weep for us? All we ask, all we pray for, t
in You nge Ou do uKE U OF nastel ur wra h’ (Ps.
6:2). sparing.
Be It is enough for us if You deliver us from Your great
threat and from unknown and hidden torments. We dare not ask for
complete forgiveness. How could we, when we have failed to keep
our vow unstained, but after all Your past loving kindness and for-
giveness have defiled it?”
The words of David could surely be seen to be fulfilled there, for
there were men in hardship and bowed down to the end of their lives,

(Ps. 37:6-7 é noticed by . They forgot to eat

their bread; their drink was mixed with tears. They ate dust and ashes
instead of bread; their bones stuck to their flesh and they were dried
up like grass (Ps. 101:4-12). The only words you could hear from
them were these: ‘“‘Woe, woe, alas, alas! It is just, it is he angel,
”” Some said, “Be merciful, be merciful’; others,
more sadly: “Forgive us, Lord, forgive us if it is possible.”
uld se ] ongue O O eC O em ad

in the blazing sun, others tortured themselves in the cold, while oth-
ers, again, drank only as much water as would keep them from dying
of thirst. Some munched on a bit of bread, flung away what was left

123
 JOHN CLIMACUS

of it and proclaimed themselves unworthy to be fed like human be-

ings since they had behaved like animals.

ed. They no longer knew what it was for a man

to be angry, for grief had done away with their capacity for rage. .
ng? Or bold
speech? Or concern for the body? Where among them was any trace
of vanity, or longing for comfort, or the thought of wine, or the taste
of fresh fruit, or the enjoyment of cooked food, or the pleasing of the
ple? Theft was
that
eventhe
hopeof
suchthingsin
this
Word

easing iking the sasts, as though standing before the gates of

heaven, some would say to God: “Open up to us, O Judge! Open up!
We have shut ourselves out with our sins. Open up to us!” Others
would say, “Just show the light of Your face and we will be saved”
(Ps. 79:4). Another would say: “Give light to those sitting humbly in
darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79). Another would say,
“Ah, Lord, let Your mercy go speeding before us (Ps. 78:8), for we
have perished in despair and have fallen completely away.” Some
said: “Will the Lord ever again show the light of His face to us?” (Ps.
Pa and others, “Will our souls survive the unbearable debt?” (Ps.
123:5), while yet others said, ‘Will the Lord be moved at last to have
mercy on us? (Judges 2:18). Will we ever hear him say to those of us in
endless bondage, ‘Come forth’ (Isa. 49:9) and to those of us in the hell
of penance, ‘Be forgiven’? Has our cry come to the ears of the Lord?”
; ow
will itgofor us? What will be the verdict on us? How will life end for
us? Will we receive pardon? Will there be forgiveness for those in
darkness, for the lowly, for the convicte Isd?our prayer vigorous
enough to come before the face of the Lord, or has it been rejected—
and rightly so—for being worthless and shameful? Or, if it came as
far as the Lord, how much could it sway Him? Would it be success-
ful? Powerful? Profitable? Effective? Coming as it does from unclean
lips and bodies, it does not have much power. Would our prayer rec-
oncile us completely with the Judge or only in part, only to the extent
of half our wounds, which are very great and require much sweat and
hard work? APOIO GETTIN ase Wading by us, or are they still at

124
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

a great distance? For until they come close to us, our efforts are vain
and futile. Our prayer has neither the power of access nor the wings
of purity to reach the Lord, unless our angels draw near to us and
take it and bring it to the Lord.”

as we be granted
what we ask? Will the Lord accept us once more? Will He open up to
us?” Others would answer: “As our brothers the Ninevites said, Who
knows if God will change His mind d deliver us from
mighty punishment? Let us do what we can. If He opens the door,
well and good; if not, then blessed be the Lord God Who in His jus-
tice has shut the door on us. At least we should continue to knock at
the door as long as we live. Maybe He will open to us on account of
our persistence.”
n. We have to run very hard because -
we have fallen behind our holy company. So let us run, driving on
this foul and wicked flesh of ours, killing it as it has killed us.”
shasta pce raceme OnaTeUeHoTyRISA DM La eI OallEd Oo
g. With knees like wood, as a result of all the pros-
trations, with eyes dimmed and sunken, with hair gone and cheeks
wasted and scalded by many hot tears, with faces pale and wor
squib ucilissenisinomesonpses. Their breasts were livid from all the
eatings, which had even made them spit blood. There was no rest
for them iin beds, no clean and laundered clothing. P

Ortenthey
cameothe gen
judeto that angeleee Flare
ead w r and
n their s saa necks, to bind their 1a in the sas and
not to release them until death—or even afterwards.*?
I will certainly not pass over the marvelous humility of these

42. The body of a monk named Sarapion has been discovered in Egypt wearing a
collar, belt, bracelets and anklets of iron (Palladius, The Lausiac History, ed. Butler, vol.
ii, p. 215, note 69). Such practices, however, were unusual in Egypt, although common
in early Syrian monasticism.

125
 JOHN CLIMACUS

holy men, t i i n one

of these good citizens of the land of repentance w ie and
to stand before the impartial Judge, when he saw that his end was
near, he would implore the man in charge of them with oaths to in-
tercede with the abbot on his behalf and to beg that he be denied hu-
‘man burial, beat PeaU rserenneetTee rene
animal, or thrown to the wild beasts in the field. And often the abbot
that great discerning light, would give instructions that the dead be
carried away without the singing of psalms or without any sort of re-
spect shown.
The last hour of one of these was fearful to behold. When the
penitents in the prison learned that one of their number was finish-
ing his course and going on ahead of them, d
while his mind was still working. Thirsty, tearful, and sad, they
would look at him compassionately, shaking their heads, racked with
tenderness, and an: ‘‘Brother and fel-
low penitent, howiis it with you? your
s? Have you achieved what “ee worked for so
hard, or have you not? Has the door been opened to you, or are you
still under sentence? Did you reach your goal, or did you fail? Has
any kind of assurance come to you, or are you still uncertain in your
hopes? e at last, or does darkness and doubt still hang over
your vhoceten Heat sed any illumination in your heart, or is
it still in darkness and dishonor? Did you hear an inner voice saying,
‘You are made whole’ (John 5:14) or ‘Your sins are forgiven you’
(Matt. 9:2) or ‘Your faith has saved you’ (Mark 5:34)? Or did a voice
say, ‘Let sinners be cast into hell’ (Ps. 9:18); ‘Bind him hand and foot,
and throw him into the darkness outside’ (Matt. 22:13); ‘Let the wick-
ed man be expelled so that he may not see the glory of the Lord’ (Isa.
26:10)? Can you say anything to us, brother? Please tell us, sothat we
may know how it will be for us. Your time is over and you will never
have another chance.” Some of the dying would answer: “
e”
(Ps. 65:20). Others would say, “Blessed be the Lord Who has not given
us aeee to their teeth” (Ps. 123: :6). But others would be sad and say:
s our soul pa e
water of the spirits of the
ai (Ps. 123:5). These would be unsure;
and would be worried about
the rendering of accounts after death. And more sadly yet, others
would say: ‘“‘Woe to the soul that has not kept its vow unblemished! In

126
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

this hour, and in this one only, it will discover what is prepared for
1a

of
dispassion, that has broken the seal of chastity, that has squandered
the treasury of divine graces, that has become a stranger to divine
consolation, that has rejected the Lord’s command, that has extin-
guished the beautiful fire of spiritual tears+3—and that is wounded
and pierced by sorrow as it remembers all this—will not onl on
the labors mentioned above with all eagerness, but wi
aS AARNE RI Recess oa It will do so if there is in
it only the tiniest spark of love or of fear of the Lord. And of such a
kind were these blessed men. Remembering all this, thinking of the
heights of virtue from which they had fallen, they would say: ‘We re-
member the old days (Ps. 142:5) and that fire of our zeal.’ Some
would cry to God, “Where are Your old mercies, Lord, which in
Your truth You would reveal to our souls? Remember the reproach
and the hardship of Your servants” (Ps. 88:50—51). Another would say:
“Ah, I wish I were back as I used to be in the months of the days
when God watched over me, when the lamp of His light shone over
the head of my sks — 29:2-3).

Where are the sweet tears, instead of these bitter ones? Where is that
hope of perfect chastity and purification? Whereis that expectation of
blessed dispassion? Where is my faith in the shepherd? Where is the
result of his prayer for us? It is all lost and gone, as though it had nev-
er po aas It bes posses asBshOUE it had never pecs there.”

43. Some MSS omit “spiritual.”

127
 JOHN CLIMACUS

come epileptics. Some wished for blindness so that they might be a

pitiful spectacle, others sought paralysis so that they might not have
to suffer later. And I, my friends, was so pleased by their grief that I
was carried away, enraptured, unable to contain myself. But I must
return to my discourse.
For all that I am impatient by nature,

coma STEEN He ae ee thesae meant, for he

was a very wise man. “So, Father John,” he said, “you saw how these
men were struggling?”
ares erg egrece peer praesent “It seems to
me that those who have fallen and are penitent are more blessed than
who do not have to mourn over
themselves, because through having fallen, they have pulled them-
selves up by a sure resurrection.”
<3 i -

sas, When I saw show zealous he was, I really tnaribtedl He him in

case the devil, in envy, should trip his foot against an obstacle as he
sped along—something that can happen to those in a hurry. And in
fact it happened that way. One evening, late, he came to me, showed
me an open wound, looked for a dressing, requested cauterization,
and was in a very alarmed state. The physician did not wish to make
too deep an incision, for the man deserved sympathy. But when the
brother saw this, he flung himself on the ground, clasped my feet,
moistened them with copious tears, and asked to be shut up in the
prison you have seen. ‘It is impossible for me to avoid going there,’ he
cried, and—something most unusual among the sick—he pleaded
with the physician to change his kindness to harshness, and he hur-
ried off to become a companion and fellow sufferer among the peni-
tents. The grief that comes from loving God pierced his heart like a
sword, and on the eighth day he died, having asked not to be given
burial. But I brought him here and had him buried among the fathers,
as he had deserved, because after his week of slavery he had been
freed on the eighth day. And let me tell you that someone surely
knows that he did not rise up from my foul and wretched feet before
he had won God’s favor. It is not to be wondered at, for having re-
ceived in his heart the faith of the gospel harlot, he moistened my

128
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

humble feet with the same trust. Everything is possible ie

£ the believ-
er, said the Hore (cf. Mark 9: an I ha : e mad {

I have acted thes master sfeat so as to five Coppa unsparing-

ly toward the love of God. That is why, when talking of that chaste
harlot, the Lord does not say, ‘because she feared,’ but rather, ‘be-
cause she loved much’ she was able to drive out love with love” (Luke
7:47).

a
i s, be humbled easily by the re
a decadlseeshs seri lice
reek who is
brave. and I am not at inksure but that he way even overtake him.
tine a} ’ 7 | + = . . 7 c er-

rrp erie throw away the eee he has achieved,

and prove to be like the man of whom it was said: “From the man
who has no eagerness, even that which he seems to have will be taken
away” (cf. Matt. 25:29). It is impossible for those of us who have fallen
into the sink of iniquity ever to be drawn out of it unless we also
“onanthe so ealof theuek Spee ahossoasaaeae

anot. «And wesoo in

in
1dof bumidisai
third kind ou

cicese for ce Fee. ea d byGod oer our ownn lapses make

up a list hard to understand, and it is impossible to be sure which of
our failings are due to carelessness, which are due to the fact that God
aaaee — and which ariseoo od Sies turned away
Ricans ae cars piel aise See an

must
righ: olf“i demon of dejection whenever: we happen to slip,

129
 JOHN CLIMACUS

for he comes right beside us when we are praying and reminds us of

our former good standing with God and tries to divert us from our
prayer.
D

respec nce. A faiteswarm Mowndl is easier to

heal than those that are old, neglected, and festering, and that need
extensive treatment, surgery, bandaging, and cauterization. Long ne-
glect can render many of them incurable. However, all things are
possible with God (Matt. 19:26).
God is merciful before a fall, inexorable after—so the demons
say. And when you have sinned, pay no attention to him who says in
regard to minor failings: “If only you had not committed that major
fault! This is nothing by comparison.” The truth is that very often
small gifts soften the great anger of the Judge.
He who really keeps track of what he has done will consider as
lost every day during which he did not mourn, regardless of whatever
good he may happen to have done.

eon
Sew hose living in the world, and they alone, arecapitan these two
assurances, especially the first, unless, through almsgiving, some so
run their race that they know at the moment of death how much they
have gained.
0 wi i ief,
: tse. eee ‘anne by a wild gaimoal
baconiés allchemore hae yee against it and is driven to implacable
rage by the pain of the injury.
in case our conscience has stopped
troubling us, not so much heeduse of its being clear but because of its
being immersed in sin.
A proof of our having been delivered from our failings is the un-
ceasing acknowledgement
of our indebtedness.
Nothing equals the mercy of God or surpasses it. To despair is
therefore to inflict death on oneself.

130
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

A sign of true repent is the admissio hat all our troubles,

and more besides, Hie Bisitle or not, were richly deserved.
After Moses had seen God in the bush, he went back to Egypt,
that is, to the darkness and the brick making of Pharaoh, who is to be
understood here in a spiritual sense. But he returned to the bush. And
not only to the bush, but to the mountaintop. For auyone who has
Se aatbie gene ae will never despai

If.you aversno courage, ifsyou are 1 then lapses that occur

after entering religious life are hard to bear. They wipe out the hope
of dispassion and they make us imagine that true blessedness is sim-
ply to rise from the pit of sin. But note well that we never return by
the road on which we strayed, but rather by a different and a shorter
route.
I saw two men traveling the same route to the Lord, and at the’
same time. One of them was older, and had worked harder. The oth-
er, his disciple, soon overtook him and was first to arrive at the sepul-
chre of humility.
: r but especially
the lapsed—should
be especially careful
not to be afflicted with the disease of the godless Origen.*4 This foul
lisease uses God’s love for man as an excuse and is very welcome to
hose who are lovers of pleasure.
In my meditation, or more accurately, in my acts of repentance, a
fire of cae will burn and sl consume oat materi

inbidedeclaany sO OOP FEDERER, so that = as ie asa tive you

will have no need of a treatise; until at last Christ, the divine Son of
God, will enlighten you in the resurrection of true repentance.
Amen. OY re ey

Throug th repentance yyou ha ve reached the ifth | step. You have,

way, purified the five senses, and by
choosing to accept pun-
thereby avo: mentthat is involuntary.

54) on

13i1
 Step 6

ON REMEMBRANCE OF DEATH

As thought comes before speech, so the remembrance of death

and of sin comes before weeping and mourning. It is therefore appro-
priate to deal now with this theme.
To be reminded of death each day is to die each day; to remember
one’s departure from life is tolia, tears siene ane

st essential of al works. The pananbeeee

t of death
aie are ar oe eisceneor rather, the sweetness of dishonor to
those living in
i community, whereas i rbu-
ies and breeds constant
prayer and guarding of the mind, virtues that are the cause and the
effect of the thought of death.
Tin has a way of looking like silver but is of course quite distinct;
and for those with some discernment, eee ee
and
contrana fear of death is most obvious.
tura l You can clearly sin-
gle out those who hold the thought of death at the center of their be-
ing, for they freely withdraw from everythin created
g and they
renounce their own will.

iffiPeipand he aia ay aegives himself to ‘chy ihe REE surely a

132
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

saint. And Setaniolnsietyvedesiaenfomcteathnis good. A.habienal sir

prays humbly for death, but the man who does not want to change his
ways may, i ally long for death. And there are
some who out of conceit consi sionate, and
for a while they have nofear ofdeath, while arare few hunger to
leave by the inspiration of the el Spirit.

one ae net in eet the hotre of his Pee would acceptonan.

or joina ioc long before it, but instead mae ps all his time
in sin and anc
abit Higals flake tim a edntumed ae quitesiWcanipible
sinner.*44
When you are lamenting your sins, donot éver admit that cur
ich suggests that God is soft-hearted toward men. (Such a notion
may on occasion be of help to you wh ou see yourself being
dragged down into deep despair.) FOP Ai PRC LHeHNMTENDdi-
vert
you from your mourning and from that fear of God’which, how-
ever, is free from fear.
The man who wants to’be’reminded constantly of death and of
God’s judgment and who at the same time gives in to material cares
and distractions, is like someone trying at the same time to swim and
If your remembrance of death is clear and specific, you will cut
down on your eating; and if, in your humility, you reduce the amount
you eat, your passions will be correspondingly reduced.
Toh sensitive heart is to be dulled in mind, and food in
abundance dries up well of tears. Thirst, however, and the keep-
igi i t; and when the heart is stirred, then the
ow all this may sound disgusting to the gluttonous
and unbelievable to the sluggish, but.a man pursuing the active life
will try this course an the experience will make him smile, whereas
the on de-
pressed:
The Fathers assert that perfect love is sinless. And it seems to me
that in the same way a perfect sense of death is free from fear.

44a. This sentence is not in Rader’s text.

133
 JOHN CLIMACUS

There are many things that the mind of a man leading the active
life can do. e of

the zeal of the holy martyrs, the remembrance of the presence of God
as described in the saying, “I saw the Lord before me” (Ps. 15:8), the
remembrance of the holy and spiritual powers, the remembrance of
death, judgment, punishment, and sentence. The list begins with the
sublime and ends with that which never fails
Thisis whatan Beyptisnmonlapgiesaideigament it ever hap-
pened that I was inclined to offer some comfort to this carcass of
mine, the remembrance of death that had been so firmly established
in my heart woul before me like a judge; and—a wonderful
thing— anted to ; of
5,45
h, and when the broth-
ers found him they had to raise him up and carry him, scarcely
breathing, like someone who had fainted or had suffered a ileptic

yy? Const
fit. And I must certainly tell you about cage ABI A

so that he was for a

dy. After he had revived: he begged us

shout ever speaking to anyone and taking only

bread and water. and was always intent on what it
was he had seen in his ecstasy. He never moved and had the look of
someone out of his mind. And, ‘silently, he»wept.
warm tears. But
when he was on the point of death, we broke in and we asked him
many questions. All he would say was this: “

pe ain the cemetery near the fort;*° and, some days later, when
Saar ea Such had
been the marvel of his repentance that the Lord demonstrated to us

45. At the foot of Mount Sinai about five miles from the fort, St. John Climacus
spent forty years there as a solitary (see the Preface, pp. 4-5).
46. The fort was built in 556-7 to protect the monks of Sinai from desert raiders.
It is the present-day monastery of St. Catherine.

134
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

that fact that He accepts those who wish to make amends, even after
the most prolonged negligence on their part.
Just as some declare that the abyss is infinite, for they call it a
bottomless pit, so the thought of death is limitless and brings with it
chastity and activity. The saint mentioned above proved this. Men
like him unceasingly pile fear on fear, and never stop until the very
strength in their bones is worn out.

God. How else can you Sala the fact oe

often we can ibe dry-eyed and hard at a cemetery, yet full of compunc-
tion when we are nowhere near such a place?

ABBR Gaeuwises you will never ite time cnipitgtalmet for loving
gestures and for compunction.
Do not deceive yourself, foolish worker, into thinking that one
time can make up for another. The day is not long enough to allow
you to repay in full its debt to the Lord.
: Someone has said that you cannot pass a day devoutly unless oe
you
because they describe A suraeiiae as meditation onn death.
Thi he mbed

135
 Step 7

ON MOURNING

: : L
a rt that passionately seeks what it
thirsts for, and when it fails to attain it, pursues it diligently and fol-
lows behind it lamenting bitterly.
in a soul that has
been stripped of allbonds and ties, set by holy sorrow to keep watch
ove
Compunction is cience which
brings about the cooling of the fire of the heart through silent confes-
sion.
this a
f?Psi-10025).
Re iati ort.
Those making some progress in blessed mourning are usually
temperate and untalkative. Those who have succeeded in making real
progress do not become angry and do not bear grudges. As for the
perfect—these are humble, they long for dishonor, they look out for
involuntary sufferings, they do not condemn sinners and they are in-
ordinately ey sige ae The first kind are acceptable, the second
Braisswer By :

fad that cannot satiate them.

. 136
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ike wax
melting near fire, it can easily be dissolved by noise, worldly cares,
and luxury, but, in particular, by garrulity and frivolity.
elf,
though it may seem rash to say so. Baptism washes off those evils that
were previously within us, whereas the ism
cena Wt rail The baptism received by us as children we
have all defiled, but we cleanse it anew with our tears. If God in His
love for the human race had not given us tears, those being saved
would be few indeed and hard to find.

If nothing befits mioarnidg as much as humility, certainly noth- .

ing 2 it as Liss as laughte

and do not cease Labtesng oa it until it hits youare above the things
of the world to Si ic ag a —— roftering, to Christ.

cruel minions, the ricalless erngere wade! the Miinitless chaos of

subterranean flame, the narrow descents down to underground
chambers om oe — and ‘iaas such images.

allfire.
When you pray and plead, een tte

vercor ea the jus : Ee will not turn away from the

plies soul Biidinig before Him, burdened with sorrow and wea-
ome the Tireless a (cf. Luke 18:5).
iritual tea

Bidden treasure is more secure than that

which is exposed in the marketplace. Ponder this, and apply it to
yourself.

47. The flames of hell burn without light (cf. St. Basil, Hom. in Ps. 33, § 8 [PG 29,
372A)).

137
 JOHN CLIMACUS

the mines who arere,flopped every hour by their warders.

liv-
ing and laughter on another occasion is like someone who pelts the
dog of sensuality with bread. It looks as if he is driving him off when
in fact he is actually encouraging ‘him to stay by him.
neem ia into your
heart, and remember that devils fear recollection as thieves fear dogs.
‘ a wedding feast. INO | im C

Blind tears are suitable only to irrational Bohne and yet there
are some people who try, when they weep, to stifle all thought. Tears
a : i -

gra C a

member the food of worms; hick you1 will not live so highly AiMilngn
er, remember the thirst of the flames; then you will cer-
tainly do violence to your nature.
When the father superior visits an honorable rebuke, reprimand,
or punishment on us, let us not forget the fearful sentence of the
Judge, so that with meekness and patience—a two-edged sword—we
may kill the irrational sorrow and bitterness that will surely be sown
in us.
Job says: “The sea wastes with time” (Job 14: Oe And with time

of eternal fire lie down with you in the evening

and jet up we you in the morning. Then indolence will never over-
whelm you when it is time to sing the psalms.
i g. Those who
lament the dead wear black. And if you find yourself unable to
mourn, then lament that very fact; but if you are able to mourn, be
sure to lament that by your sins you have brought yourself down
from a condition free from toil to one that is full of labor.
e good and
; Terre ET s. 1
have seen small teardrops shed like drops of blood, and I have seen
floods of tears poured out with no trouble at all. So I judge toilers by

138
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

their struggles, rather than their tears; and I suspect that God does so
too.

L ic © C S le OTOT SOT Td ra| W II C 1e othe pa ee

RT ny I think, is the reason behind the

answer given by David. Although he was a teacher and a wise man,
when he was asked why he was in mourning he said: “How shall I
sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Ps. 136:4). He means, of
course, the land of the passions.
In the domain of creation as in that of compunction, there is that
which moves itself and that which is moved by some other agent.
When the soul grows tearful, weeps, and is filled with tenderness,
and all this without having striven for it, then let us run, for the Lord
has arrived uninvited and is holding out to us the sponge of loving.
sorrow, the cool waters of blessed sadness with which to wipe away
the record of our sins. ard these tears | the apple of your eye
n eV VO awd &rC hey nave af h ore =r | an anvtni @ at

come ron OUT ' 0 ¢ re ] AT . WT ditat

C (ne fue DEeAaAUT of mour ing i ne 7 m.0 mn at

Seige hierthan because he Sominele wants to, or, more accurately,

because God wishes him to. T re-
ich i as we shall discover
by experience whenever we find ourselves mourning and yet doing
wrong.
. It of-
fers itself no rest and thinks hourly of death. It stands in wait for the
God Who brings comfort, like cool waters, to humble monks. And
those gifted with the heart’s depth of mourning regard their lives as
menestap lespatnfuls and ee | g,

contradictory to uss.“For what follodiak ohis bshere neican ake and

darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). True compunction brings consolation while
that which is bogus ie ee self-esteem. Like the fire that consumes
the straw, so ee Mech tears consume i sel of sitio ane soul.

where it concerns ait sare ait lh to

ys. Lears come from

139
 JOHN CLIMACUS

nature, from God, from suffering good and bad, from vainglory, from
licentiousness, from love, from the remembrance of death, and from
numerous other causes. Having trained ourselves in all these ways by
the fear of God, let usacquire the pure and guileless tears that come
with the remembrance that we must die. There is
nothi ng
false in
o sop to self-esteem. Rather do they purify us, lead us on in
love of God, wash away our sins and drain away our passions.
It is not to be wondered at if mourning begins with good tears
and ends with bad, but iti i i i s
itual. This is something that will
be understood by those inclined to vainglory.
If your soul is still not perfectly pure, then be suspicious of your
tears, for wine drawn straight from the presses cannot be trusted.
No one will deny that all tears that are pleasing to God are prof-
itable. But only at death will we find out where the profit lies.
The man who mourns constantly in a way that pleases God does
not cease to celebrate daily, but tears without end are in store for the
man who does not abandon bodily celebrations.
There is no joy or pleasure to be had in prison, and genuine
monks do not feast on earth. There, perhaps, lies the reason for the
sad statement: “Lead my soul out of prison so that henceforth it may
rejoice in Your ineffable light” (Ps. 141:8). ;
In your heart be like an emperor, seated high in humility, com-
manding laughter: “Go!” and it goes; and sweet weeping: “Come!”
and it comes; and our tyrant and slave, the body: “Do this!” and it
does it.
The man wearing blessed, God-given mourning like a wedding
garment gets to know the spiritual laughter of the soul.
Has any one ever lived so piously under a monastic regime that
he never missed a day or hour or moment, but spent all his time for
the Lord? And remember that never in your life can you see the same
day twice.
_ Blessed. isthe monk. who can. lift-up»the eyes ofhis’soulto the
bowers of heaven. And ate om lapse |} he mar o re n-
oers sin and death constan nd no moistens Cheeks
Nis Ww! iv-
ing tears from his bodily ¢ to me that the second state
- must surely lead to the first.
I have seen petitioners and shameless beggars melt even the
hearts of kings by the artful words they use. But I have also watched
another kind of beggar, those poor in virtue, men who have no knack

140
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

with words, who talk in humble, vague, and halting fashion, who are
not ashamed to implore the King of heaven persistently from the
depths of a desperate heart and who by their tenacity lay siege to His
inviolable nature and His compassion.

for a ae uhh you are not cut? Adam did not weeppbbinre the
fall, and there will be‘no tears after the resurrection when sin will be
abolished, when pain, sorrow, and lamentation will have taken flight.
I have seen mourning in some; in others I have watched mourn- °
ing for the inability to mourn, for though they have it they act as if
they did not, and through such splendid ignorance they remain invio-
late. Regarding such, it was said: ““The Lord makes wise the blind”
(Ps. 145:8).

sad utter alae “all of dinieh can safely take the place of tears,
though the men in question regard these as nothing and benefit ac-
eroeer
L
leant: weohave a full avseae coke us feelseer Wkes we
fast they harden our hearts with the result that we can deceive our-
selves with spurious tears and then give ourselves over to high living,
which is the nother of pasyons ; ina

hat we cal mourning andgrief, like honey in omk here mu

be-a-lessonhere, and it surely is that compunction is properly a gift
from God, so that there iis a real pleasure iin the soul, SHEE CBE GEERt-
 JOHN CLIMACUS

to it, for it is an inducement to most valuable mourning and sorrow.

p< Pe here as a solitary. He spent
many years in the wrestling-school of monastic life. Tears and fasting
adorned his soul, as did many other fine achievements. His cell was
on the side of the sacred mountain where the holy prophet and seer of
God Elijah had once lived. He became famous and later he decided to
practice a vastly more effective, ascetic and strict life of penance, and
so moved on to Siddim, an abode of hermits. He spent several years
there and lived very strictly. It was a place lacking every comfort and
was rarely visited, since it was about seventy miles from the fort.
Near the end of his life, the old man returned to the holy mountain,
to his cell of which two holy disciples from Palestine had taken care.
After a few days he was stricken by the illness from which he would
eventually die. On the day before his death, he went into ecstasy and
began to look to the right and to the left of his bed. He seemed to be
rendering an account to someone, and in the hearing of the bystand-
ers he said: “Of course it is true. That was why I fasted for so many
years.” Or again: “Yes, that is correct, but I wept and served my
brothers.” Or again: “No. You are accusing me falsely.”” Or some-
times: ‘“‘Quite right. No, I have no excuse. But God is merciful.” This
unseen and relentless interrogation was a truly awful and frightening
spectacle. Worst of all was the fact that he was charged with offenses
of which he was innocent, and, what is extraordinary, regarding some
of them this hesychast and hermit would say: “I do not know how to
answer.” And yet he had been a monk for almost forty years and he
had the gift of tears as well. Alas, alas! Where, then, was the voice of
Ezekiel, to say to the tormentor: “I will judge you as I find you, says
God” (Ezek. 33:13-20)? He was truly unable to say such a thing. And
why was that? Glory to Him who alone knows, and this was a man
who had reared a leopard by hand in the desert,*® or so I was solemn-
ly told. So there he was now, called to account, and he died while it
was happening leaving us unsure of the judgment passed on him, of
his final end or sentence or of the verdict rendered him.
Like the widow who has lost her husband and whose only son is
the single comfort remaining to her after the Lord, the only comfort

48. Or: “fed a leopard from his hand.” An Adamic closeness to animals was a char-
ism of the Desert Fathers.

142
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

for a lapsed soul at the moment of death is the toil of fasting and of
tears.
Such people never sing, never raise a loud song, for mourning
would thus be lost. And if you think you can summon it in this fash-
ion, you have a long way to go. Mourning, after all, is the typical pain
of a soul on fire.

one well practiced in this said to me: “Very often when I was
tempted to be vain, angry, or gluttonous, the thought of mourning
within me would protest: ‘Do not be vain or else I shall abandon you.’
The same thing happened when other passions troubled me. I would
declare: ‘I shall never disobey you until you present me to Christ.’ ”

nent ha rit heart. Enlightenment is something in-

describable, an activity that is unknowingly perceived and invisibly
seen. Comfort is the balm of a distressed soul, which at the same time
both cries and shouts happily, just like a child. Divine help is the re-
| bowed by grief in such a way that painful tears are
marvelously transformed into painless ones.
fearless

ess, then what a joy ca hen joy is without interrup-

tion, holy love comes blo
Deiennthearihalom 2 passing joy as something of
which you are unworthy, for if you let it in, you may be admitting a
wolf instead of a shepherd.
Rather, let it
come to you, seeking out the beauty of your lowliness, ready to join
you for all time in a spotless marriage.
i it is filled with happi-
ness. If the father has to spend time away on business before return-
ing home, it has its fill of joy and sadness—joy at seeing the one it
loves, sadness at the fact of having been deprived so long of that same
love. Sometimes a mother hides from her baby and is delighted to
note how sadly the child goes about looking for her, because this is
how she teaches the child to be always attached to her and stirs up the
flame of its love for her. im |i e
Lord has said (cf. Luke 14:35).
A man who has heard himself sentenced to death will not worry

143
 JOHN CLIMACUS

about the way theaters are run. Similarly,

Si to i , and every day He brings joy to

the one who is inwardly obedient. But he who does not practice com-
punction or submission with sincerity is deprived of mourning.

y and whispers that God is neither: merciful

nor compassionate. You will find, if you take the trouble, that before
you sinned he was assuring you that God is loving, compassionate,
and forgiving.
Meditation gives birth to perseverance, and perseverance ends in
perception, and what is accomplished with perception cannot easily
be rooted out. On the other hand, however exalted our style of life
may be, we may label it stale and bogus if our heart is still without
contrition; for, if Imay so express the matter, it is absolutely essential
that those who have lapsed after baptism should clean the pitch from
their hands with continuous fire of the heart and with the oil of God.
I have seen men who reached the ultimate in mourning, with the
blood of a suffering and wounded heart actually flowing out of their
mouths, and I was reminded of the saying: “Like grass I am cut down
and my heart is dried up” (Ps. 101:5).
ome

d 1OVC lal, as appcTi, d y d ~GQ Dp C

easily stolen. Of course, the reminder of eternal fire can stir the heart
at certain efficacious times, and this humbler way is, surprisingly,
very often the safer way.
There are material substances that can dry up the sources of
our tears, and there are others that can produce mud and reptiles.
From the former came the unlawful intercourse of Lot with his
daughters (cf. Gen. 19:30-38). From the latter came the devil’s fall
from heaven.*?

( ue | parents of vice, and they can turn into

pride those very things that should produce humility in us.

49. The material substances are those which cause drunkenness on the one hand
* and pride on the other.

144
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

are proof of
this, and yet they w a ne solitary prayer . I have seen
men moved to tears in cities and among crowds so that the thought
has come that great assemblies of people may actually do us no harm.
Yet they may draw us back too close to the world, since the evil spir-
its are working hard to bring this about.
A single word has often dispelled mourning. But it would be
strange indeed if a single word brought it back.
When we die, we will not be criticized for having failed to work
miracles. We will not be accused of having failed to be theologians or
contemplatives. But we will certainly have some explanation to offer
to God for not having mourned unceasingl
Cl

145
 Step 8

ON PLACIDITY AND MEEKNESS

As the gradual pouring of water on a fire puts out the flame com-
pletely, so

Freedom from Hee is an endless wish for dishonor, whereas

among the vainglorious there is a limitless thirst for praise.
e. It is the ability to be im-
pervious to insults, and comes by hard work and the sweat of one’s
brow.

: : al eed f; anger is to keep the lips si-

lent when the Bape is EER the next, to keep thoughts silent when
the soul is upset; the last, to be totally calm when unclean winds are
blowing.
Anger isan indication of concealed hatred, of grievance nursed.
Anger is t ish to harm someone who u.
SE ee Sea eC eae aC. aeeeaeere
stintingofthesoul'scapacity fordispleasure Anger is an easily
changed movement of one’s disposition, a disfigurement of the soul.
Just as darkness retreats before light, so all anger and bitterness
disappears before the fragrance of humility.
Some unfortunate people, who have a tendency to anger, neglect

146
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

the treatment and cure of this passion and so give no thought to the
saying, “The moment of his anger is his downfall” (Ecclus. 1:22).
A quick movement of a millstone can grind in one moment and
do away with more of the soul’s grain and fruit than another crushes
in a whole day. So we must be understanding and we must pay atten-
tion, for a strong sudden wind may fan a blaze that will cause more
damage to the field of the heart than a lingering flame could ever
manage to achieve. Let us not forget, my friends, that evil demons

C eless abc these stron

ssions with n us,
thinking them to be of
eequence, e, and
and become,
becom therefore, incurably ill.
Take a hard stone with sharp corners. Knock it and rub it against
other stones, until its sharpness and hardness are crushed by the
knocking and rubbing and, at last, it is made round. So too, take a soul
that is rough and abrupt. Put it into the community and company of.
tough, short-tempered men. One of two things must happen: Either it
learns through patience to cure its wound, or it will run away and, by
so doing, it will learn its weakness, its cowardly flight showing it up
as if in a mirror.
luntary epileptic who, through an in-
voluntary tendency, breaks out in convulsions and falls down.
i enit as an ent
unruly spirit,
for conversion requires great humility, and anger is an indication of
all kinds of presumptuousness.
r meeceKnNeSS : and loving-
ive, and a sure proof
of a hot temper is that a man, even when he is alone, should with
word and gesture continue to rage and fulminate against some absent
person who has given offense.
If it is true thatga ESSEC see eee as He is said to be
and as, indeed, He is, and if anger is disturbance of the heart, as it
really is and as it is said to be, then there is no greater obstacle to the
presence of the Spirit in us than anger.
We know that the fruits of anger are abundant and unacceptable,
yet we recognize that one of its involuntary offspring, though unlaw-
ful, is nevertheless quite useful. I have seen people delivered from
passion by the very fact that they had flared up and then poured out
their long-stored grievance and, in addition, they got from their of-
fender either some reparation or some explanation for what had
caused the long-standing grievance. On the other hand, I have seen

147
 JOHN CLIMACUS

men who appeared to be displaying stolid patience, but who, in reali-

ty, were silently harboring resentment within themselves. These, it
seems to me, were much more to be pitied than the men prone to ex-
plosions of temper, because what they were doing was to keep away
the holy white dove with that black gall of theirs. So this is a serpent
that has to be handled carefully, for, like the snake of sensuality, it has
nature for an ally.
push food away out of sheer bitterness.
And yet by this kind of unreasonable abstinence they merely added
poison to poison. | Wveuctemniouneo on being offended for some
apparently justifiable reason gave themselves over to stuffing them-
selves, so that from the pit of anger they fell headlong over the preci-
pice of gluttony. pera mape rors eeu were intelligent
about this matter and, like good doctors, they mixed both, and from
moderate consolation they got very great profit.
n moderation, can occasionally ease bad temper. But if
it is untimely and immoderate, it may open the path to pleasure. We
should therefore set specific times for singing and make good use
of it.
Once, while engaged on some task, I happened to be sitting out-
side a monastery and near the cells of those living in solitude. I could
overhear them raging alone in their cells and in their bitter fury leap-
ing about like caged partridges, leaping at the face of their offender as
if he were actually there. My humble advice to them was to abandon
solitary living in case they be an beings into devils.
__Thavealsonoticedthatpeoplewhoare
sens and
corruptat
hea often meek. They manifest a.kind of flattery, a display of
Pete a love of beautiful asse Poallan roe oct
they should undertake the ary life, using it like a scalpel to cut
away sensuality and corruption of the heart. Otherwise they might
turn from being rational beings into pitifully irrational animals.
, again, some told E at they \ Were |complete
anger and sensuality. erefore forbade o live a
and, in my concern for them, I suggested to their superiors that they
should allow them sometimes to live one wa i the other,
but al WayTRTConpletesubjeusion-renth aeee aa There
is the risk that a sensual person may harm himself and perhaps a close
friend as well; while the angry person, like a wolf, often disturbs the
entire flock and causes offense and discouragement among many
souls.

148
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

‘Paanphabebemmehandganbatsnblaisoyeepey Remember
the saying: “My eye is troubled from anger” (Ps. 6:8). Worse, howev-
er, is to give way to harsh words which reveal the upheaval in one’s
soul. But actually to start fighting is completely inimical to and at
variance with the monastic, angelic, and divine life.
You wish, or rather, have decided, to remove a splinter from
someone? Very well, but do not go after it with a stick instead of a
lancet for you will only drive it deeper. Rough speech and harsh ges-
tures are the stick, while even-tempered instruction and paler ai
mand are the lancet. “Re E says the Ap

el, may ca eee’ ersa smoot

path for the ship by pouring a good skin full of oil on the waters. And
as the sentence on the one will be heavy, so the reward for the other
from God will be very great, and he will become an edifying example
to everyone.

pain amid all such things. The perfect stage

think of dishonor as praise. Let the first rejoice and the cer be
rong but pleted be the third, for he exults in the ribet

when thwarted, thst eee furious. It was amazing to see one fall
punished inanother Ei tpprgcme cmnewan OE as I saw them

s
Reape ee oe acRenhiity che double-edged sword of meeknes
and patience, such a man if he wbiies to break free entirely from
igl istery, as if it were a fuller’s shop
 JOHN CLIMACUS

of salvation.
, injuries,
and rebuffs of the rem even De pb beaten, tram-
pled on, and kicke 1 so that he may wash out the filth stil | lying in the
sentient part of his soul. There is an old saying tha teantaalalial?
wwasiatub forthe.soubs.bassians, and, you ought to believe it, for people
in the world who load indignities onto someone and then boast about
it to others like to say, “I gave him a good scrubbing.” Which, of
course, is quite accurate.
The absence of a tendency to anger when it is found in novices
and is the result of mourning—this is one thing; the peace found in
the perfect is something else. In the one, tears, acting like a bridle,
hold in the anger; but, among the perfect, anger has been mortified
by mastery of the passions, like a snake killed by a sword.
once saw three monks receive the same type of injury at the |
‘same time. ‘aenligaipict it keenly, but did not speak; the second was
delighted b by the thought of the reward the injury would bring him
and he felt compassion for the wrongdoer;
the third wept fervently at
the thought of the harm his offending neighbor was suffering. At
work, then, were fear, the sense of a reward due, and love.
The fever suffered by the body is a single symptom but has many
causes. Similarly, t th-
ure

an sl v1 | la and
the first step here is the diagnosis of the cause of the disease. When
this is known, the patients will get the right cure from the hands of
God and from their spiritual doctors. Those who wish to join us in
the Lord should therefore come to the spiritual tribunal where we
can be tested in various ways and find out about the passions referred
to above as well as their causes.

meekness, Deate Datie lauled a essed love. a

before
trib the unal
of reason and have it examined in the following
terms: “‘Wretch, tell us the name of your father, the name of the
mother who bore you to bring calamity into the world, the names of
your loathsome sons and daughters. Tell us, also, who your enemies
are and who has the power to kill you.” And this is how anger replies:
“I come from many sources and I have more than one father. My
mothers are Vainglory, Avarice, Greed. And Lust too. My father is

150
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

named Conceit. My daughters have the names Remembrance of

Wrongs, Hate, Hostility, and Self-justification. The enemies who
have imprisoned me are the opposite virtues—Freedom from Anger
and Lowliness, while Humility lays a trap for me. As for Humility,
ask in due time who it was that bore her.”
2101

151
 S tep 2

ON MALICE?#%

The holy virtues are like the ladder of Jacob and the unholy vices
areone the chains that fell off the chief apostle Peter. The

cause we have just heard wees: anger desea venierhrwes of

wrongs as its offspring, we had better say something about it now.
a
keeper of sins. It hates a just way of life. It is the ruin of virtues, the
poison of the soul, a worm in the mind. It is the sham of prayer,
e a
cutting off of supplication, a turning away from love, a nail piercing
the soul. It is Splereirarees:0 feeling cherished in the sweetness of bit-
terness. It is a never-endingsin, an unsleeping wrong, rancor by the
hour. A dark loathsom
and e passion, it comes to be but has no off-
spring, so that one need not say tooomueh about it.

gs, since offearingy’can come aul rae a living parent.

on his ha-
treds stores up troublesome labors for himself. A banquet of love does

49a. In this Step mnisikakia is rendered sometimes as “malice” and sometimes as

the more specific “remembrance of wrongs.”
50. Reading anidonos for Rader’s anodynos, “painless.”

P52
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

d honest giving brings peace to a soul,°™ but if

° Oro

through the window of love.

ve see
nave 1a tte lec ship, and then
afterwards remembrance of wrongs stood i vay of restoring the
relationship. Now this is amazing, one devil cured by another. Still,
this may be the work of divine providence rather than of demons.
Remembrance of wrongs is far removed from sturdy, natural
love, but like a flea hidden on a dove, may live next door to fornica-
tion.
>t our malice and Our € furne 2 <

Treat your body always as an enemy, for the is an ungrateful

and treacherous friend. The more you look after it, the more it hurts

esus~~ Dp

ompany of malice.

come not when you pray for the man who offended you, not when
you give him presents, not when you invite him to share a meal with
you, but only when, on hearing of some catastrophe that has afflicted
symmeuffer and
him in body or soul lamemta vou asstisloaiom
tiienin
ae ae is like a lurking snake carrying about its
own deadly poison.

50a. The words “A banquet of love does away with hatred and honest giving
brings peace to a soul” are not in Rader’s text.
re-
51. The words “prayer of Jesus” (/isou i prosevchi) are sometimes understood as
me.”
ferring here to the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on
us our
But more probably Climacus means the Lord’s Prayer. The petition, ‘Forgive
in the
trespasses as we forgive those whotrespass against us,” is particularly apposite
present context. See the Preface, pp. 45-53.
52. Or: “destroy this stumbling-block completely.”

153
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Worms thrive in a rotten tree; malice thrives in the deceptively

meek and silent. He who has expelled malice has found forgiveness,
but he who hugs it is deprived of mercy.
OE N

iven. To forget wrongs is to prove

oneself truly repentant, but to brood on them and at the same time to
imagine one is practicing repentance is to act like the man who is con-
vinced he is running when in fact he is fast asleep.
I have seen malicious people recommending forgiveness to others
and then, shamed by their own words, they managed to rid them-
selves of this vice.
Never imagine that this dark vice is a passion of no importance,
for it often reaches out even to spiritual men.
Such isthe ninth step. Let him who has taken ithave the courage
henceforth toask Jesus the Savior tofree him from.his sins.

154
 Step 10

ON SLANDER

I imagine that no one with any sense would dispute

aggr essor iE the need to
iscuss it next in the order after its forbears
Slander is the offspring of hatred, a subtle and yet crass disease, a
leechinin hiding notice, wasting and draining away the
peererenmemas
se eR escaping
lifeblood of love. It puts on the appearance of love and is the ambassa-
dor of an unholy and unclean heart. And:it is the ruin of chastity.
There are girls who flaunt their shamelessness, but there are oth-
ers who are much worse, for they put on the appearance of great
modesty while secretly one Aeiny in abominable behavior. So it is

ictir their slande y: “Then

stop chat kind of love: or “file you will be making a liar out of him
who declared, ‘I drove away the man who secretly slandered his
Shannen (Ps. 100:ue PR cr
MOCKEeTry of hi ray ror 11n secre f 11S s the
be n ja K 9 a

kind of love seeyis aecepenble to the Lord: And remember snow I say
this as something to be pondered, and do not start passing judgment

155
 JOHN CLIMACUS

on the offender—Judas was one of the company of Christ’s disciples

and the robber was in the company of killers. Yet what a turnabout
?
there was when the decisive moment arrived!
er-
FANNIN a earery el No one wants to sin against
od, even though all of us sin without being compelled to it.
I knew a man who sinned openly but repented in secret. I de-
nounced him for being lecherous but he was chaste in the eyes of
God, having propitiated Him by a genuine conversion.

S ! Ido worse chintesevery day so how can I criticize hin You

accomplish two things when you say this. You heal yourself and you
heal your neighbor with the one bandage.
Co) you will travel no quicker road to
the forgiveness of your sins. “Judge not, so that you may not be
judged” (Luke 6:37).

; with the desire to repent. If aman commits a sin nefcne you at the
very moment of his death, pass no judgment, because the judgment of
God is hidden from men. It has happened that men have sinned great-
ly in the open but have done greater good deeds in secret, so that
those who would disparage them have been fooled, with smoke in-
stead of sunlight in their eyes. So listen to me, all you accountants of
other people’s faults, listen well; for if, as is certain, it is true that

(Matt. 7:2), then whatever sin of body or spirit that we ascribe to our
neighbor we will surely fall into ourselves.
Those who pass speedy and harsh judgments on the sins of their
neighbors fall into this passion because they themselves have so far
failed to achieve a complete and unceasing memory of and concern
for their own sins. Anyo: : e and able to see

slvtgPhifeble would feel that his time on earth did not suffice Be his
own mourning, even if he lived a hundred years, and even if a whole
Jordan of tears poured out of his eyes. Mourning of that kind has, as I
know, no trace in it of slander or harsh judgment.
Aiisistthoumucdecin gudeenoanmophtompurstrts Mtoe Ifthey are
balked here, t ; inni
thereby smearing us with the stain we are denouncing in others. a

156
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

quienll hey are . filled wit tladly and without a

ee teaching, the doings aiidae virtues oftheir
I have known men who secretly had committed very grave
sins and had not been found out, yet cloaked in their supposed good-
ness they lashed out against people who had done something minor in
public.

ero even when there are no other attendant vices, can

pringa man down. Similarl

Pharisee was lemadetened for this very iia

A good ‘grape Pes chooses to eat zipe Sues anddoes not

for faukes fad defects. It is of such a one that it was said, ‘““They have
searched out iniquity and died in the search” (Ps. 63:7).
er pea 0: even if your very eyes are seeing some-

157
 Step 11

ON TALKATIVENESS
AND SILENCE

The brief discussion in the previous chapter was concerned with

tegen angeof
passingjudgmenton
otherso rather with being
judged and being punished by one’s tongue, and it touched on the fact
that this vice can lay hold of the most apparently spiritual people.
The time has come now to indicate e and to
give an adequate account of the door by which it enters—or, more ac-
curately, by which it goes out.
Talkativeness is the throne of vainglory on which it loves to
preen itself and show off. Talkatlvepestlsa.siemolanguanammnigg’
way
slander,
to a leader of jesting, a servant of lies, the ruin of com-
punction, a summoner of despondency, a messenger of sleep, a
dissipation of recollection, the end of vigilance, the cooling of zeal,
the Garmening of prayer.
ilence is the mother of ey
a ughts, a ath on our ene-
mies, a prison of mourning, a aa aatears, a sure recollection of
death, a painter of punishment, a concern with judgment, servant of
anguish, foe of license, a companion of stillness, the opponent of dog-
matism, a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hid-
den progress, the secret journey upward. Fonghesaeie retcrnam

. 158
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

eret anil God falighoobe ney ce by His silence, shamed Pilate;

and a man, by his stillness, conquers vainglory. Peter wept bitterly
for what he had said. He had forgotten the one who declared: “I said:
I will guard my ways so that I may not sin with my tongue” (Ps. 38:1).
He had forgotten too the saying, ‘‘Better to fall from a height to the
at’ Haan to jadawith the ee eee 20: 18).

Someone who hed asked me once eal

stillness told me that talka less in’ 1 01 the
i from a a or ree oT (“the congue, ” he
said, ‘‘is a member of the body, like the rest, and therefore needs to be
trained in its habits”); or it comes fret PNAGIOF , a particular prob-.
lem with ascetics; or it comes at times jeonogTt oy, which is why
many who keep a hard check on the stomach can more easily restrain
the blathering tongue.
The man who is seriously concerned about death reduces the
amount of what he has to say, and the man who has received the gift
of spiritual mourning runs from talkativeness as from a fire.

‘he man who bis erased the Ea66 of heavenly: fretrunssifrom a

gathering of men, like a bee from smoke, since smoke drives off a bee
just as company militates against a man.
It is hard to keep water in without a dike. But it is harder still to
hold in one’s tongue.

159
 Step 12

ON FALSEHOOD

From flint and steel comes fire; from chatter and joking comes
lying. Lying is the destruction of charity, and perjury the very denial
of God.
Diauensiblaaneneimssinaistiadialiaipsmmi aomiailins Indeed
the All-Holy Spirit pronounced the most dreadful sentence on this
sin above all others; and if, as David says to God, “You will destroy
everyone speaking a lie” (Ps. 5:7), what will happen to those who
swear to their lies on oath?
I have seen men, proud o

vetie Wooo ote

, av clear of the s > outstanding wit, as though
we
were avoiding the plague, wo seemingly
plausible thoughts, namely that we should not be offensive to the per-
son telling the witty story and we should not give the appearance of
loving God more than he does. Be off! Do not dawdle! Otherwise the
jokes will start coming back to you when you are at prayer. But do
not simply run away. Break up the bad company in a devout way by
setting before them the thought of death and judgment, and if a few
drops of vainglory fall on you, what harm? Provided of course, that
you become a source of prolineto sade
Hypo p 2

2160
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

would argue that hypocrisy is nothing other than a meditation on

falsehood, ‘he itis theiinventor of falsehood laced with lies.

arm can be ed in the passions, and lyi

Soooneindomient awaits the man who lies out of fear,
another the liar who has nothing at all to worry about. One man lies
for the sheer pleasure of it, another for amusement, another to raise a
laugh among bystanders, another to trap his brother and do him
harm.

a man may lie on the

seonnds & pondeate: and indeed regards as an act of righteousness
the actual destruction of his own soul. The inventor of lies declares
that he is following the example of Rahab and maintains that his own.
destruction is the cause of salvation for others.°?

| fear 4 out of necessity. A sae dees not

a
know bon to tie, Sad sfcietoni does a rot geaised of evil.
A man drunk on wine unwittingly tells the truth about every-
thing. And a man drunk with compunction cannot lie.

_ the root ofallblessings.

53. Rahab lied to save the lives of her family. Cf. Joshua 2:1ff.

161
 Step 13

ON DESPONDENCY

% have often said,

is fre-
s fi is
reason I have given it an appropriate ae in bah chain of vices.

is an approva
hse no me
g oO! ms, a weakness in
prayer, a f co ation to the work of the
hands, an sadifesaes to the pag ninenieal of obedience.°° -
, for he has used the things of
- \y? the senses to reach the level of the spine
\ Tedium isrebuffed by community life, lailiseconataniec
\ panion ofee the hermit, living with him until the day of his death
struggling with him until the very end. She smiles at the sight of a
Q) hermit’s cell and comes creeping up to live nearby.

U hermit at noon.°°

54. Akidia (see note 10, p. 80).

55. Translating Rader’s emendation, en hypakoi adokimos, although all MSS read en
Yy hypakoi dokimos, with the opposite sense.
qs 56. ee Fathers commonly attribute despondency to the noonday demon of Ps.
90:6.
\.
x 162
Y
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

e sickPP callie’even che words * ana Who said, ‘I was

sick Ue is came to visit me”ca 2. Tab Teditim Sapgesroume

out any rpIRMSIbIE excuse

6 torene us from prayer, as though with some
kind of halter.
Set devil of ar causes sbi

gins ae prayers, but the fecnry man mn eee ad the verses ef

the psalms are snatched from his mouthal eee yawns.

Tedium is one he eight de est

t d so I must Paictice it as I did dhe others. Still, just note
1
this much. When the psalms do not have to be sung, tedium does not
arise, and the Office is hardly over when the eyes are ready to open
again.

aginsthis.Not iene ‘edie nite you when you are s anding, and if
you sit down, it suggests that it would be a good thing to lean back. It
suggests that you prop yourself up against the walls of your cell. It
produces noise and footsteps—and there you go peeping out of the
window.

SacaAnd witea led Before the eieinaT let these Be the

questions put to him: “You there! You crass and sluggish creature,
what was it that evilly begot the likes of you? Who are your children?
Who are your enemies? Who can destroy you?” And tedium may be
constrained to reply: “I cannot lay my head among those who are tru-
ly obedient, and I live quietly where I may. I have many mothers—

163
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Stolidity of Soul, Forgetfulness of the Things of Heaven, or, some-

times, Too Heavy a Burden of Troubles. My children who live with
me are Changing from Place to Place, Disobedience to One’s Superi-
or, Forgetfulness of the Judgment to Come, and sometimes, the Aban-
donment of One’s Vocation. or
is the
thought obssash. but what really slays me is prayer backed by a firm
hope in the blessings of the future. And as to who gave birth to
Prayer, you must ask her.”
iS IS | Nnirteen

164
 Step 14

ON GLUTTONY

“city; stuffed, and cents it sails neat its pane Glinrony, thinks
up seasonings, ARReomeEKecipes. Stop up one urge and another
bursts out; stop that one and os unleash hi a Gluttony has a

thing at the same time. A cuted bellypnodianaahant Ot while a

mortified stomach leads to purity. The man who pets a lion may tame
it but the |man wis coddles the bodyetmakes it ravenous.

the belly ponder’ the menu ais ich, to celebrate Oh feast. The
the praecs that may enrich him.
servant of God, however, Anis oft

that by silo wing falaeutione ih himself, he is bringingaie HO.

brother.
his’ He thinks that the duties of hospitality entitle him to

57. On the prohibition of fasting on Saturdays and Sundays see John Cassian, /n-
stitutes II, 18.

165
 JOHN CLIMACUS

help himself to some wine, so that while apparently hiding his virtu-
ous love of temperance, he is actually turning into a slave of intem-
perance.
Vanity and gluttony sometimes vie with one another and they
Seng neatonenTenODD srleataliaGelli iasoemee er. The one
tells him he should take it easy and the other suggests that he ought to
emerge virtuously triumphant over his urge to gratify his appetite. A
sensible monk, however, will avoid both vices, using one to repulse
the other.
As long as the flesh is in full vigor, we should everywhere and at
all times cultivate temperance, and when it has been tamed—some-
thing I doubt can happen this side of the grave—we should hide our
achievement.

and so on. Now ifpriests

giving such permission ar men, we may indulge.

ey give, and we should do soespecially if we

are in the thick of the fightEgethe flesh.
I vagrius,°* whom an e fo)

2a statement that is like telling a aa to climb the entire lad-

der in a single stride. So let us reject him and say: When our soul
wants different foods, it is looking for what is proper to its nature.
Hence, we have to be very cunning in the way we deal with this most
skillful opponent. Unless we are caught up in some crisis or unless we
happen to be doing penance for some particular failings, what we

58. Evagrius Ponticus (c. 345-399) left a promising ecclesiastical career in Constan-
tinople to become a monk first in Palestine and then in Egypt, where he spent two
years in Nitria and fourteen at the Cells. He became there the leading theoretical expo-
nent of the monastic life. His Origenist cosmology led to his condemnation at the Fifth
Ecumenical Council of 553. But his ascetic theology, with its sharp distinction between
action and contemplation, its list of eight principai temptations, and its account of dis-
passion leading to love, remained fundamental for monasticism. Climacus, in spite of
his abuse of Evagrius, is clearly much influenced by him (see the Preface, p. 60).
58a. Evagrius, Practicus 16 (ed. Guillaumont, Sources chrétiennes 171, p. 540).

166
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ought to do is to deny ourselves fattening foods, then foods that warm

us up, then whatever Seppe ns to) make our food especially pleasant.
e 1 ¢ |

too great a onging or food as though from a

liane by rapid evacuation. And we should note too that most food
that inflates the stomach also encourages desire.

that in future you should eat later, for you may be sure that at the
ninth hour he will change the arrangements made on the previous
day.
There is one sort of temperance for those of good conduct and
another for those inclined to particular weaknesses. Among the for-
mer any kind of bodily stirring evokes an immediate urge to restraint,
while among the latter there is no relief or relaxation from such stir-
rings until the very day they die. The former strive always for peace
of mind, but the latter try to appease God by their spiritual grief and
their contrition.
Joy and consolation descend on the perfect when they reach the
state of complete detachment. The warrior monk enjoys the heat of
battle, but the slave of passion revels in the bel beanie ofBester i

beaalung into the pit a sinae oie lam talking about, and indeed
only the eas ueasis without — caine eA Somernerestranour
he the » come. Some have been so
cighitily ealeetl by cheit aneceres that ae actually cut off their
own genitals, and thereby died twice over.®? For the truth is, as one

59. Literally: “the Feast cf feasts and Festival of festivals.”

60. Literally: “the belly.” Among the ascetic writers gluttony and lust are always
closely connected.
61. “The eunuchs are those of whom the Lord said that they have made them-
selves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake (Matt. 19:12), and who are practicing a
general abstinence. For the other kind of eunuchs do not differ at all from ordinary
men as far as the passions into which they fall are concerned” (scholion 13 [876B)).
62. I.e., physically and spiritually; the 24th Apostolic Canon sentences a layman
who mutilates himself to three years’ deprivation of Communion.

167
 JOHN CLIMACUS

will discover, es theobey is the cause of all human ea Oo

the ectch oe your bad will turn proud. Aad aeyou watch your-
self early in the morning, at midday, and in the hour before dinner,
you will discover the value of fasting, for in the morning your
thoughts are lively, by the sixth hour they haveAbii. sate ies by

SSH TeabURUEHE Fight as handas you can against stigstannic and let
your vigilance hold it in. Make the effort, however little, and the
Lord will quickly come to help you.
If leather bottles are kept supple, they can hold more; but they do
not hold so much if they are neglected. The man who stuffs food into
his stomach expands his insides, whereas the man who fights his
stomach causes it toshrink, and once it has shrunk there
is nopossi-
bility ofovereating,
ting, so that henceforth one fasts quite naturally.
Sometimes thirst quenches thirst, but it isdifficult if not ene
ble to end hunger by means of hunger. An = stomach tr
OMEL AN SRY Danaea and if you are too rageany for this,
fight it by keeping vigil. If you find yourself getting sleepy, turn to
manual work, but keep away from that if you happen not to be
sleepy, for you cannot serve both God and Mammon.®? That is to say,
you cannot turn your attention at the same time to God and to the
work - your hands:

Shoesredewe a eaten,ths meses goes off and sends the spirit of

fornication against us, saying: ““Get him now! Go after him. When his
stomach is full, he will not put up much of a fight.” Laughing, the
spirit of fornication, that ally of the stomach’s demon, comes, binds us

63. Monks supported themselves by the sale of their handiwork.

. 168
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

hand and foot in sleep, does anything he wants with-us, befouls body
and soul with his aie dreams and emissions.
s truly astounc e incorporeal mind can be defiled
: y the bo fee Rgiially astonishing is the fact that the im-
eer ial spirit can be purified and refined by clay.
If you have promised Christ to travel the straight and narrow
road, then keep your stomach in check; for if you give in to it, if you
enlarge it, you are breaking your promise. Listen and hear the word
of warning: ‘Wide and spacious is the road of gluttony. It leads to the
catastrophe of fornication, and there are many who travel that way.
The gate is narrow and the way of fasting is hard, that way leading to
the life of purity, he there are few to make the journey” (cf. Matt
7:13-14).
PTE Malet” Pretiermistinrineesntthe- Semone naHa plattony is
prince of the passions. So when you sit at
well-laden
a table, remem-
ber death and rememberjjudgment, and even then you will only man-
age to restrain yourself a little. And when you drink, keep always in
mind the vinegar and gall of your Lord. Then indeed you will be ei-
ther temperate or sighing; you will keep your mind humble. For you
must not fool yourself. You will not escape from Pharaoh and you
will not see the heavenly Passover unless you constantly eat bitter
herbs and unleavened bread, the bitter herbs of toil and hard fasting,
the unleavened bread of a mind made humble. Join to your breathing
the word of him who said: ““‘When devils plagued me, I put on sack-
cloth, humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer stuck to the bo-
som of my soul” (Ps. 34:13).

pleases the palate. Fasting ends lust, roots out bad iromeeeetees one
from evil dreams. Fasting makes for purity of prayer, an enlightened
soul, a watchful mind, a deliverance from blindness. Fasting is the
door of compunction, humble sighing, joyful contrition, and end to
chatter, an occasion for silence, a custodian of obedience, a lightening
of sleep, health of the body, an agent of dispassion, a remission of sins,
the gate, indeed, the delight of Paradise.
Let us put a question to this enemy of ours, this architect of our
misfortunes, this gateway of passion, this fall of Adam and ruin of
Esau, this destroyer of the Israelites, this one who bares the shame of
Noah, this betrayer of Gomorrah, this reproach of Lot, this killer of
the sons of Eli the priest, this guide to every uncleanness. Let us ask

169
 JOHN CLIMACUS

her from whom she is born, who her children are, what enemy there
is to crush her, who finally brings her low. Let us ask this bane of all
men, this purchaser of everything with the gold coin of greed: “How
did you gain access to us? To what does your coming lead? How do
you depart from us?”

you. The Hoos ateme isbats food ienaliegis, itsteliawactes and quali-
ty. The reason for my being insatiable is habit. Unbroken habit, dull-
ness of soul, and the failure to remember death are the roots of my
passion. And how is it that you are looking for the names of my off-
spring? For if I were to count them, their number would be greater
than the total of the grains of sand. Still, you may learn at least the
names of my firstborn and beloved children. ie iain

Seep e om imesAlcoataceeee 1Siepaeihouahes, waves ofFilth,

floods of unknown and unspeakable I

CaBtivity? soastful laci “Worldly Things, followed

by
Impure Prayer,Distracted Thoughts and
suddenand otenunex
‘pected Cata es, with which is linked that most evil of all my
daughters, reel) Despair. The thought of past failings is an obsta-
cle to me, but hardly overcomes me. The thought of death is my ene-
my always, but nothing human can really wipe me out. He who has
received the Paraclete prays to Him against me; and the Paraclete,
when entreated, does not allow me to act passionately. But those who
have never B bates Him paisa se pleagutewin my sweetness.’

sail TORT EET.

170
 Step 15

ON CHASTITY

| lies. And no wonder for

our ancient ancestor Adam also teaches us this. Indeed if he had not
been overcome by the belly he would not have known what a wife
was. Therefore those who keep the first commandment do not fall
into the second transgression, but remain sons of Adam without
knowing what Adam was. They were made a little lower than the an-
gels (cf. Ps. 8:6) in being subject to death.°* And this was to prevent
evil from becoming immortal, as he who is called the Theologian
says.©4a

incorpo! rea

bodily lovebymeans of divine love,

quench the fires
of tt sh.

64. The words “in being subject to death” do not occur in some versions.
64a. St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 45, 8 (PG 36, 633A).
65. Rader’s text is translated here although a sentence has undoubtedly dropped
out. HTM adds: “Purity is the longed-for house of Christ and the earthly heaven of the
heart.” Rader’s own Latin translation reads: ‘Purity is the longed-for house of Christ
and the earthly shield of the heart” (PG 88, 879D).

171
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Chastity isaname common toallvirtues.

wi elf even
when he is asleep. A chaste man is completely oblivious to the differ-
ence between Bodies.
The rule and limit of absolute chastity is to have the same feel-
ings regarding animate and inanimate beings, rational and irrational.

is above nature, since it cannot be denied that the weaker always

ttheleStTgHay
yieldsto

and occasional dreamless emissions; the middlé stage is to be free of

dreams and emissions even when there are natural movements of the
body brought on by eating too much; the completion of chastity
comes when mortified thoughts a low tified body.
man totally unstirred by any body, olor
or any beauty. The chaste man is not someone with a body eee
but rather a person whose members are
r a man is great who is free passion
of weed.
though greater still is the man unhurt by all he has looked on. Such a
man has truly mastered the fires of earthly beauty by his attention
concentrated on the beauties of ph ts In driving off this dog by

= subdues itae resistance to it is someone still chasing an enemy.

But the man who has managed to reduce its hold completely, even
when he himself is still in this life, is someone who has already risen
from the dead.

Fhe man myho qiuggle eae ee enemy by sweat and bodily

hardships is like someone who has tied his adversary with a reed. If
he fights him with temperance, sleeplessness, and keeping watch, it is
as if he had put fetters on him. If he fights with humility, calmness,
and thirst, it is as though he had killed the enemy and buried him in
sand, the sand being lowliness since it does nothing to feed the pas-
sions and isonly ez earth and ashes.
One marin keeps this tormentor under control by struggling hard,
_another by being humble, another by divine revelation. The first man

Jh72
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

is like the star of morning, the second like the moon when it is full,
the third like the blazing sun. cnt remnant
_em Light comes from the dawn and amid light the sun rises, so let all
that has gia said be LysR in eel toSeles and pe

ade ae never ora on it nel ie time you stand before

Christ Himself. And never imagine that abstinence wi Pp
from falling. It was a bhidy who never ate that was never
thrown out of heaven.
Some wise men have said that renunciation is hostility to the
body and warhinSa = stomach.
ers lapses usua ccur becaus high living,
sorting a kegeiher wth arrogance, eee down also those who’
have made some progress. But among those nearing Res, a
lapse 1
is Sule dueeeenefact ofee Lr Seloon one’s ce

far more
1 hihite theaie sinner,toe skoughil
asia meet long for cor-
ruption. poet mere Te
Pity the man who falls, but pity twice over the man who causes
another to lapse, for he carries the burden of both as well as the
weight of pleasure tas ed by the other.
ot imagine ttha t you will overwhelm the demon «of fornica-
aman into an argument with him. Nature is on his side and
he has the best of the argument. So the man whodecidesto struggle
against his flesh and to overcomee it by his own efforts is fighti pan
vain. The truth is that 1 s the Lord overturns thehouse |of the
flesh and builds the house af the soul, the man wishing to overcome it
has watched and fasted for nothing. Offer up to the Lord the weak-
ness of your nature. Admit your incapacity and, without your know-
ing it, you will win for yourself the gift of chastity.
A victim of sensuality who had overcome his weakness told me
once that within people of his kind there flourishes a yearning for
bodies, a shameless and terrible spirit that asserts itself at the very

£73
 JOHN CLIMACUS

heart’s core. Sheer physical pain burns so fiercely in the heart that it
is like being scorched by an open fire. The sufferer finds that because
of this he has no fear of God, he spurns the thought of punishment,
turns away from prayer, and the sight of a corpse moves him no more
than if it were a stone. He is like someone out of his mind, in a daze,
and he is perpetually drunk with desire for man or beast. And if a
limit were not placed on the activities of this demon, no one would be
saved, no one who is made of clay mingled with blood and foul mois-
ture. How could they be saved? After all, everything created longs in-
satiably for its own kind, blood for blood, the worm for a worm, clay
for clay. And what does flesh desire if not flesh?
Those.ofus.idha,supatownesenstie Hattie SNe Why tong eae
kingdom of heaven by force (cf. Matt. 11:12) try various amills
against this demon. Lucky the man who has not experienced the ki
of conflict Ihave been talking about! So let us pray that we may al-
ways escape from such a trial because those who slide into the pit fall
far below those others climbing up and down the ladder.®® And in-
deed they have to sweat copiously and practice extreme abstinence if
they are ever to get far enough out of that pit to be able to start the
climb again.
When our spiritual foes are drawn up to do battle with us, we
should ponder what it is they can do, just as we would take precau-
tions in a visible war. For those foes have their proper tasks, strange
as this may seem. And whenever I thought about those who were
tempted. I noted that their lapses were of varying seriousness. “He
who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matt. 11:15).

Ins to Overpow
fo nature. pts i
‘dancer and find themselves assailed neither by
desire nor by evil thoughts, they occasionally come to imagine that
they have achieved true blessedness. Poor idiots! They do not realize
that a smaller lapse was not required since a major fall had in fact
been prepared for them.
cursed murderers, in my oopinion, 1 ee oto ates
poor wretches and bring us down
wn with unnatural sins for the follow-

66. Le., the angels whom Jacob saw in his dream ascending and descending a lad-
der reaching up to heaven (Gen. 28:12).

“174
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

lapses; 1 seco we may “seek greater

apatite” The truth of all chk was personally discovered by the
man who formerly was in charge of donkeys but then wretchedly fell
under the sway of wild donkeys and was deluded. He had once fed on
the bread of heaven but now he lost it, and even after he had repent-
ed, our founder Antony said,° with bitter lament, that a great pillar
had fallen. That wise man drew a veil over the nature of the sin, and
he knew well that the sin of fornication does not require the availabil-
ity of another body.
We carry a sort of death within us, a sin that is catastrophic, al-
ways with us and especially when we are young. I have not the cour-
age to describe it, for my hand is restrained by him who said it is a
shame to talk of, write about, or hear of the things done by them in
secret (cf. Eph. 5: 12).

calleddeathby Pal“Who walk idclioneme eee age ere ofdeath?”

e asked (Rom. 7:24). Another theologian®’ described it as passionate,
slavish and nocturnal. For a long time I wondered why they spoke
this way. If, as was said above, the flesh is death, then whoever defeats
it will surely not die. And yet, who is the man who will live and not
see death in all the impurity of his body?
I ask you to consider who is greater, the man who dies and rises
again, or the man who does not die at all. Those who would pick the
latter are certainly wrong, for Christ Himself died and rose. But he
who opts for the former suggests in effect that one should not despair
over the dying, or, ML the lapsing.
Jur relentless enemy, the teacher of fornication, whispers” that
ticularly 1nerciful to this passion, since itis so
1 is lenient and articn
nome watch the wiles of the demons we will observe
that af ye
actually sinned they will affirm that Godis a just
|inexorable judge. They say one thing to lead us into sin, another
thing to overwhelm us in despair. And if we are sorrowful or inclined
to despair, we are slower to sin again, but when the sorrow and the
despair have been quenched, the tyrannical demon begins to speak to
us again of God’s mercy.

66a. A reference to St. Antony the Great: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Antony
14.
67. St. Gregory of Nazianzus; cf. Or. 45, 15 (PG 36, 644 AB).

15
 JOHN CLIMACUS

The L ing incorruptible and incorporeal, rejoices in the

purity and cleanliness of our bodies. As for the demons, nothing is
said to please them more than the foul smell of fornication, and noth-
ing delights them as much as the defilement of the body.
Chastity makes us as familiar with God and as like Him as any
man may be.
The mother of sweetness is earth and dew. The mother of chasti-
ty is stillness and obedience. Often the dispassion of body attained by
stillness has been disturbed whenever the world impinged on it. But
-dispassion achieved through _ obedience is genuine an erywhere
unshakable.
I have seen humility emerge from pride, and I thought of the
man who said: ‘Who has fathomed the mind of the Lord?” (Rom.
11:34). The pit and the fruit of arrogance is a fall; but a fall is often an
occasion of humility for those willing to profit by it.
e can conquer the demon of fornication
by gluttony and by stuffing himself is quite like someone who
quenches fire with oil. And the man who tries to put an end to this
‘struggle by means of temperance only is like someone trying to es-
cape from the sea by swimming with just one hand. heb ,join

The a vho observes himself succumbing to s i

with him, for until chis aatioahelvice is wiped out it will be useless
for us to have mastered other passions. Kill this Egyptian and we will
surely have sight of God in the bush of humility (cf. Exod. 2:12; 3:2).
In the season of temptation I had the feeling that this wolf was
giving me joy, tears, and indeed consolation in my spirit. Of course I
was being deceived when I childishly imagined that I was deriving
benefit instead of harm from this.
Every other kind of sin isexternal tothebody, but the
sin
ofim-
purity isasin. spielen Aitice* ME PAU REAR IN is
defiled by pollution iin a way that cannot happen in the case of other
sins. And a good question to ask is this: ‘‘Why do we normally say re-
garding every other kind of sin that so-and-so has slipped, whereas we
say sorrowfully that someone has fallen when we discover that he has
committed fornication?”
A fish turns swiftly from the hook. The passionate soul turns
from solitude.
When the devil decides to forge some disgraceful bond between

176
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

two people, he goes to work on the inclinations of each of them—and

then lights the fire of passion.
It often seems that those who incline towards sensuality tend to
be sympathetic, merciful, and possessed of compunction, while those
eager for chastity appear to lack these capacities in some measure.
A very well-informed man once put this question to me: ‘“‘Leav-
ing galaeemurder and the denial of God, what is the mostserious of

“To lapse into heresy,” I replied.

“In tha se,” he said, “why does the Catholic
Church readmit
eretics who have honestly come to reject their beliefs? Why are they
deemed fit to share in the holy Mysteries when, by contrast, a man
who has committed fornication is excluded from these sacred Myster-
ies for a number of years, and this by the direct command of the
Apostolic Canons, even though he may have not only confessed but -
even abandoned his sinful ways?” The question astonished me, and I
still do not know the answer.®
During the singing of the psalms we should examine, consider,
and observe what kind of sweetness comes to us from the devil of for-

68. When the same question was put to Timothy of Alexandria (archbishop 380-5)
he replied: “Because the one, the sin of the heretic, is committed with the free co-oper-
ation of the will through ignorance; and so the Church’s discipline is designed to make
heretics more ready to return and fornicators less eager to sin” (Resp. Can. 20, in J.B.
Pitra, Juris Ecclesiastici Graecorum Historia et Monumenta, vol. i, p. 635). The canonical po-
sition seems to have been as follows. Exclusion from Communion was a penitential dis-
cipline for those who had sinned after baptism (i.e., for those who were already in the
Church). The Apostolic Penitential Canons prescribed seven years’ deprivation of
Communion for fornicators. Heretics were deemed outside the Church. They were
baptized and chrismated on reception and could then proceed to Communion without
further delay (cf. Canon 7 of Laodicea). However, those heretics who had lapsed after
receiving Catholic Baptism and who then returned to the Church had to spend three
years in the catechumenate, followed by a further ten years without Communion un-
less their repentance was especially fervent (cf. Canon 12 of Se
ee ea Oo much n e leniently than forr iCé ors. The point was that the
atho S, Were O
jobletiondiseiplinagy'mea-
sur he scholiast to account for the apparently more serious nature of fornication
suggests the following: ‘Heresy is a deviation of the mind and a ministry of the tongue,
whence comes error. Fornication seduces and transforms all the senses and faculties of
the body and soul, changing them from the image and likeness and casting them into
nothingness; therefore it is also called a fall. Heresy comes from presumption, while
fornication comes from bodily comfort. Heretics therefore attain perfection through
humiliation, sensualists through bodily affliction” (scholion 26 [912D-913A)).

EA?
 JOHN CLIMACUS

nication and what kind comes to us from the words of the Spirit and
from the grace and power which is in them. Know yourself well,
young man. For in fact I have seen men pray earnestly for their loved
ones, men who thought they were fulfilling the requirements of love,
when in reality it was the spirit of fornication that was stirring them.
The body can be defiled by the merest touch, for of all the senses
this is the most dangerous. So think of the man who wrapped his
hand in an ecclesiastical garment when he was about to carry his sick
mother. Let your hand be dead to everything natural or otherwise,
to your own body or to that of another.
I do not think anyone should be classed as a saint until he has

ité Salfeasith pele us.So let the remembrance of death and the con-
cise Jesus Prayer go to sleep with you and get up with you, for noth-
ing helps ae as these do ou are asleep

slogpnnee EUSA y by what we have eaten. Yet“s

very sick people orrstrict practitioners of fasting cands
these defilements. I once ed a very exper celebra
~monk about this, and the eee man clearly explained the m
me. “Emissions during sleep are the result of eating too much and liv-
ing too well,” this famous man declared. ““They come too when we
get complacent or when we preen ourselves because a long time may
have elapsed since we experienced such emissions. They come also if
we start passing judgment on our neighbor. The last two problems
can occur even among the sick, and perhaps all three.” If someone dis-
covers that he is untroubled by these, he is surely lucky to be free of
such passions. And if ever he suffers it, the reason must lie in the jeal-
ousy of the demons, something God allows to happen for a while in
order that this man, after such an accident, which of course is free
from sin, may achieve the purest humility.

68a. Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum v, § 68, p. 572: PL 73, 873B; ed. Nau, § 15a: Revue de
lOrient chrétien xiii (1908), p. 52.

~ 178
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

still awake by ca sing us to harp on our cams.

Let uspay.attention toanother trick of our enemies. Just as bad
food makes one sick after some time or indeed after some days, the
same can happen in the case of actions that defile the soul. I have seen
men give way to soft sot an not notice at once the onset of the
e Si take a meal with women, talk
to them, and
all the time abs unafflicted “sebad olen of any kina In this way
they were deceived and encouraged to grow careless and to imagine
that they were safe and at peace. lineninaiiii eee
theircells. What bodily and spiritual destruction aflicts us when
news oil And the man
alone?
are The man who suffers temptation
who goes about pa has novies to ssl
conde
Ww

when we aree thirsty, time seaamong he burial places of the dead,

and most important of all, humility of heart; and if possible a spiritual
director or a helpful brother, old in wisdom rather than years, should
also support us. Indeed it would come as a great surprise if anyone
could, by his efforts alone, save his ship from the sea.
The same sin earns punishment a hundred times greater for one
person rather than another, depending on character, place, progress,
and much else besides. ia,
I was-told'oonce about an astonishing level of chastity attained by
someone. ‘ ‘There was a man® who, having looked on a body of great
beauty, at once gave praise to its Creator and after one look was
stirred to love God and to weep copiously, so that it was marvelous
how something that could have brought low one person managed to
be the cause of a heavenly crown for another. And if such a man feels
and behaves in similar fashion on similar occasions, then is has al-
ready risen to immortality before the general resurrection.”
The same guideline ought to direct us when we sing songs s al and
, fo God are moved
of s
lover to holy joy, divine lo e, and
ongs both worldly and spicinaall just as love rs
of pleasure
are moved to the opposite.
Some solitary monks, as I have said already, have to face vastly

ee
PL 73, 665).
69. St. Nonnus, bishop of Heliopolis (Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum 1.377:

179
 JOHN CLIMACUS

more dangerous attacks from the demons. And no wonder, since

these are the places where the devils choose to lurk, because the Lord,
out of concern for us, has driven them to desert places?° and to the
dark reaches of hell. The devils of fornication launch vicious attacks
on solitary monks. They try to drive them back into the world, by
making them think that their timesin the desert has been wasted. Dev-
ils do not bother us when we are in the world, and this is because
they think that, if we are not attacked there, we will continue to stay
with worldly-minded people. The place of temptation is the place
where we find ourselves having to put up a bitter fight against the
enemy, and wherever we are not involved in a struggle is surely the
place where the enemy is posing as a friend.
If we have to go out into the world on some legitimate task, we
have the hand of God to guard us, probably because our spiritual di-
rector is praying that we may not be a cause of blasphemy against the
Lord. Sometimes we are protected by our insensitivity or by the fact
that long experience has exhausted for us the spectacle of the world,
its sounds and all its works. But sometimes the reason lies in the fact
that the devils have left deliberately so that only the demon of pride
remains to take over from all of them.
But all of you who wish to practice purity and preserve it should
i ow or I have
been told by someone who had to suffer the experience that the de-
mon of sensuality often hid himself completely. Then
a wo e would inspire him with great pi-
ety and even a floo ars, and then suggest that he speak about the
remembrance of death, judgment, and chastity. The unfortunate
women, deceived by his words and spurious piety, would rush to
him, thinking him to be a shepherd instead of the wolf he really was.
o familiarity, and the
wretched monk
‘would suffer his downfall.
We should strive in all possible ways neither to see nor to hear of
that fruit we have vowed never to taste. It amazes me to think we
could imagine ourselves to be stronger than the prophet David, some-
ching sees SENS ne Hsie 2 Boe [2 Sam. ] 11:2-4).
des such great an q 1e of the Fa-

70. It was a common idea that demons dwelt in the desert; solitaries went there
partly to do battle with them.

180
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ually dared to call it freedom from f But there

are some who would claim that anyone who has 1 sin can never
be call |disagree, and for the following reason. You can easily
graft a good olive onto a wild olive if you so wish. Now if the keys of
the kingdom had been given to someone who had lived always in vir-
ginity, the claim mentioned above might have some force. But let the
proponents of the claim be silenced by the man who had a motner-1in-

Jno T hele eceived the keys of the kingdom afte

had become pure.7!

sensualit
The serpent of hasymany faces. To those who have had
no experience of sin he | then
stopping. Then the crafty creature, exploiting the recollection of hav-
ing sinned once, urges them to try again. And many of the people
without experience feel no conflict within themselves because they
knowing the evil
whereas the rienced,
do not know what is evil, expe
for what it is, suffer disturbance and conflict, though sometimes the
opposite can happen too.
/\ | good and eful fre
we mayassume that this is a secret gift from the heavenly angels, par-
ticularly if we had gone to sleep after much prayer and vigil. Some-
byd
times, however, we get up in a bad mood, and this is cause bad
dre ams
and fantasies. For “I have seen the enemy all puffed up, high
and tossing in me like the cedars of Lebanon” (Ps. 36:35) and I passed
by with temperance, and see, his rage was not as it had been before,
and I looked for him with humble mind and no place or trace of him
could be found in me.
: ere o have ofdna-
taken comman
ove it. And the man who has
done this is not much lower than the angels, if even that.
That spirit should fight with spirit is not surprising. The real
wonder is that a man dwelling in his body, and always struggling
against this hostile and canny matter, should manage to rout spiritual
foes.
The great concern of the good Lord for us is shown by the fact
that shyness acts as a curb on the shamelessness O of WO women. For if the
woman chased th » flesh would be saved.
ig Fathers, distin
are recognions
cti zed be-
)
N1¢0¢°rerni
(a
ISCer iyi

and 1 Cor. 9:5.

71. Peter was married: see Matt. 16:19, Luke 4:38

181
 JOHN CLIMACUS

ase Ca which is in the ie These pica Bsditens say

ation is a simple word or image
apa for the first
time, which has entered into the heart. Coupling is conversation with
what has been encountered, whether this be passionately or other-
wise. Assent is the delighted yielding of the soul to what it has en-
countered. CARMEN rorcible and unwilling abduction of the
heart, a permanent lingering with what we have encountered and
which totally undermines the necessary order of our souls. By strug-
force equal to that which is leading the attack, and this
force wins or loses according to the desires of the spirit. Passion, in
their view, is properly something that lies hidden for a long time 1
the soul and by its very presence it-takes on the character of a habit,
until the soul of its own accord clings to it with affection.
: 8 cond sometimes,
and the soutien of the soul determines erent or not the third is
sinful. Struggle can earn a crown or punishment. Captivity is judged
in different ways, depending on whether it happens at the time of
prayer or at some other time, whether it happens in regard to what iis
unimportant or in the context es evil thoughts. -
equivocally den e e ion and requires suitable repen-
tance or future punishnrene = allof which it follows that he who
regards the first encounter with detachment cuts off with one blow
all the rest that follow.
The most exact of the spiritual Fathers point to cre,
brloniocionastntetiniiond r fie siseaNtnends 6
.Ina moment, without a word being
spoken or an image phase a of
the victim. It comes faster than anything in the physical world and is
swifter and more meee ges ehh wee It makes its appear-

72. See, for example, St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law, §§ 139-42 (PG 65,
921-4: ET Phil., §§ 138-41, pp.119-20), and St. Maximos the Confessor, On Love, I 84, II
31 (PG 90, 980, 993: ET The Philokalia, vol. ii). There is a valuable analysis of the terms
which Climacus uses in the Glossary of The Philokalia, vol. i, pp. 364-6.
73. This is an expression used by St. Mark the Ascetic, Letter to Nicolas the Solitary,
PG 65, 1040B (ET Phil. p. 153).

182
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

has been able to detect such a subtlety, ssomeone

with the gift of
mc 7, may be able to explain how with the eye alone, with a
mere glance,byi touch of a2
“hand, crab ataoe overheard, the

would not have follo ter maintain that their viewis

proved by the depravity Aeradieere aoaay eh very ane, a pleasing
sight, a touch of the hand, the scent of perfume, or the sound of sweet
voices can be enough to generate evil thoughts. If anyone can do so in
the Lord, let him explain what really happens. It would greatly bene-
fit those living actively to understand this, though this problem need
not really concern those practicing virtue with simple hearts. Still,
not everyone has the necessary degree of understanding and not ev-
eryone possesses the holy simplicity that is a breastplate against the
aise of el demons.
9 nse tt dy by y of oul,a some work
in the opposite ee thelatteratfecting peop e iving in the world,
g those living the monastic life and, hence, lacking
stimulus from ‘HiePictiide: All1 can say ohere about it is that if you
look for wisdom among evil men, you most certainly will not find it
(cf. Prov. 14:6).
e fought long and har 5 a Ak y ae Stowe Ae 1, this ally
pbthenesh: after we have driven it out aeourwareaee tor uring it with
the stone o OLY and — of aie this sec eee
1 1€s NC To V
VOrmM, ana 1t C

seats neseo thosepeat eofallen to th e demon of v

for since dirty thoughts no longer preoccupy their hearts they fall
victim to pride. Such people can discover whether or not this is true
take stock of
if once they have attained a certain stillness they quietly
elves. For they will then discover that deep down in their
hearts, like a snake in dung, is the notion that by thea own efforts
and enthusiasm they made anc purity. Poor wretches!
ines

920C: ET Phil., §
73a. See St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law, § 120 (PG 65,
119, p. 118).

183
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Rhey forget the sane. “What have you got that you did not receive
do a result of thehelp and prayers of oth-
eis?" (cl, 1 Cor. 4). LMM Honamembaet. Leethen viraelbzedl
eject from their hearts the snake mentioned above. ‘Let them kill it
with great humility, so that when they have got rid of it they may be
stripped of their garments of skin’ and sing, like pure children, a tri-
umphant hymn of chastity to the Lord. Only let us hope that when
they are thus stripped, they may not find that they are bereft of the
humility and faeespecial malice so natural to children.

against it.
simian co gio
help those
not yet:
cates
prayer of the heart. I am referring to the stretching out of the hands,
the beating of thebreast, the sincere raising of the eyes heavenward,
deep sighs and constant prostrations. But this is not always feasible
when other people are present, and this is when the demons particu-
larly like to launch an attack and, because we have not yet the
strength of mind to stand up against them and because the hidden
power of prayer is not yet within us, we succumb. So goesa
som a
apart, if you can. Hide for a while in some secret place. If you can, lift
up the eyes of your soul, but if not, the eyes of your body. Stand still
with your arms in the shape of the cross so that with this sign you
may shame and conquer your Amalek.’”> Cry out to God, Who has the
strength to save you. Do not bother with elegant and clever words.
Just speak humbly, beginning with, “Have mercy on me, for I am
weak” (Ps. 6:3). And then you will come to experience the power of
the Most High and with help from heaven you will drive off your in-
visible foes. The man who gets into the habit of waging war in this
way will soon put his enemies to flight solely by means of spiritual
resources, for this is the reward God likes to bestow on those who put
up a good struggle, and rightly so.

74. The “garments of skin” allude to Gen. 3:21 and represent that which was add-
ed to human nature as a result of the fall, i.e., the passions, sexual stirrings and mortal-
ity. For a discussion of the patristic use of this expression see Gregory of Nyssa, The
Life of Moses, ET Malherbe and Ferguson (The Classics of Western Spirituality), pp. 160-1,
note 29.
75. Like Moses with his arms raised in the battle with the Amalekites (cf. Exod.
17:11).

184
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

I was once at a gathering of holy men and I noticed a zealous

brother troubled by evil thoughts. There was no place where he could
go aside for secret prayer, and so he went out, as if on a call of nature.
There he armed himself with intense prayer against the enemy. I
criticized him for having gone to an inappropriate place, but the an-
swer he gave me was this: “I chose an unclean place in which to pray
to be cleansed from filth, that I might drive out unclean thoughts.”

gest to us wnat they want us to do, and so long as the mind stays
awake we will not b asure. But the demon of forni-
cation tries harder than all the others. First, by darkening our minds,
which guide us, it urges and inclines us in the presence of other peo-
ple to do things that only the mad would think of. Then when our
minds are cleared we become ashamed of these unholy deeds, words,
and gestures, not only before those who saw us but before ourselves,
and we are astounded by this earlier blindness of ours. The result is
that frequently as a consequence of realizing what had happened,
men turn away from this particular evil.
Vrive out that ene N} ich, after
nich you have sinned, comes be-
C wee! ; : - prayers, meditation, and vigil. Remember the
saying: “Because the soul tormented by earlier sin is a burden to me, I
will save it from its enemies” (cf. Luke 18:5).
10 has won the battle over the body? The man who is contrite
f heart. And who is contrite of heart? The man who has denied him-
self, for how can he fail to be contrite of heart if he has died to his
own will?
There is a kind of passionate person, more passionate than most,
who confesses his defilements with pleasure and delight.
Dirty, shameful thoughts in the heart are usually caused by the
deceiver of the heart, the demon of fornication, and only restraint and
indeed a disregard for them will prove an antidote. E
By what rule or manner can | bind this body of mine? By what
be-
precedent can I judge him? Before I can bind him he is let loose, i_

fore I can condemn him I am reconciled to him, before I can punish

him I bow down to him and feel sorry for him. How can I hate him
whmy en nature disposes me to love him? How can I break away
from
from him when I am bound to him forever? How can I escape
I make him incorrup t
him when he is going to rise with me? How can
How can I argue with
when he has received a corruptible nature?
ae
him when all the arguments of nature are on his side?

185
 JOHN CLIMACUS

If Itry to bind him through fasting, then I am passing judgment

on my neighbor who does not fast—with the result that I am handed
over to him again. If I defeat him by not passing judgment | turn
proud—and I am in thrall to him once more. He is my helper and my
enemy, my assistant and my opponent, aprotector and a traitor. I am
kind to him and he assaults me. If I wear him out he gets weak. If he
hasa rest he becomes unruly. If Iupset him7¢ he cannot stand it. If I
mortify him I endanger myself. If I strike him down I have nothing
left by which to acquire virtues. I embrace him. And I turn away
from him.
What is this mystery in me? What is the principle of this mixture _
of body and soul? How can I be my own friend and my own enemy?
Speak to me! Speak to me, my yoke-fellow, my nature! I cannot ask
anyone else about you. How can I remain uninjured by you? How
can I escape the danger of my own nature? I have made a promise to
Christ that I will fight you, yet how can I defeat your tyranny? But
this I have resolved, namely, that I am going to master you.
nd this is what the flesh might say in reply: “I will never tell
you what you do not already know. I will speak the knowledge we
both have. Within me is my begetter, the love of self. The fire that
comes to me from outside is too much pampering and care. The fire
within me is past ease and things long done. I conceived and give
birth to sins, and they when born beget death by despair in their
turn. And yet if you havelearned the sure and rooted weakness with-
in
both you and me, you have manacled my hands. If you starve your
longings, you have bound my feet, and they can travel no further. If
you have taken up the yoke of obedience, you have cast my yoke
aside. If you have taken possession of humility, you have cut off my
head.”
Thisis the
fifteenth reward of victory. He who has earned it
while still alive has died and been resurrected. From now on hehasa
taste of the immortality to come.

76. Gk sainomenos. HTM reads siainomenos, “if I turn away in loathing.”

186
 Step 16

ON AVARICE

man who mourns for himself has renounced even hisinns aa ae

not spare it in due season.
Do not say that you are interested in money for the sake of the
poor, for two mites were insufficient to purchase the kingdom (cf.
Luke 21:2).
A generous man met a miser, and the miser said the other man
was without discernment.
The man who has conquered this vice has cut out care, but the
man Seale sila it can never pray eae to God.

i ne | 1 eccserps cor erent when

an money is in,1, the grip tightens.

187
 JOHN CLIMACUS

I have seen the poverty-stricken grow rich and forget their want,
through living with the poor in spirit.
The monk who is greedy for money is a stranger to tedium of the
spirit. Always he turns over within himself the words of the Apostle:
“The man who does not work does not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10) and,
“These hands of mine have served me and those who were with me”
(Acts 20:34).
Such then is the sixteenth contest, and |the man who has tri-
umphed in it has either
won love or cut out care.

188
 Step 17

ON POVERTY

The poverty of a monk is resignation from care. It is life without

- anxiety and travels light, far from sorrow and faithful to the com-
_mandments. The poor monk is lord of the world. He has handed all
his cares over to God, and by his faith has obtained all men as his ser-
vants. If he lacks something he does not complain to his fellows and
he accepts what comes his way as if from the hand of the Lord. In his
poverty he turns into a son of detachment and he sets no value on
what he has. Having withdrawn from the world, he comes to regard
everything as refuse. Indeed he is not genuinely poor if he starts to
worry about something.
A man who has embraced poverty offers up prayer that is pure,
while a man who loves possessions prays to material images.
_ Those living in obedience to another are free of all uptellign for
when the body has been given up, what else is there to call one’s own?
The only way they can be harmed is by readily and easily moving
from place to place. I have seen monks content to remain in one local-
ity on account of material possessions, but my praise is for those who
are pi pring for the Lord.

ing of t is below, but He on re had no taste 7% heaven inds

pleasure iinpose one
A man who is poor for no good reason falls into a double misfor-

189
 JOHN CLIMACUS

tune. He goes without present goods and is deprived of these in the

future.
We monks should be careful not to be less trusting than the
birds, which are not anxious and do not gather into barns (cf. Matt.
6:26).
The man who gives up possessions for religious motives is great,
but the man who renounces his will is holy indeed. The one will earn
money or grace a hundred times over, but the other will inherit eter-
nal life.
Waves never leave the sea. Anger and gloom never leave the mi-
serly.
The man who thinks nothing of goods has freed himself from
quarrels and disputes. But the lover of possessions will fight to the
death for a needle. Sturdy faith cuts off cares, and remembrance of
death denies the body. There was no trace of avarice in Job, and so he
remained tranquil when he |

because it

grows from an experience ad §taste of che ena Grledge of God and

from a meditation on the account to be rendered at death.
The careful reader will recall the story of the mother of every
evil.” Listing her wicked and accursed offspring, she named the
stone of insensitivity as her second child. The many-headed serpent
of idolatry prevented me from giving it its own due place. The dis-
cerning Fathers, for reasons unknown to me, give it third place in the
chain of eight capital sins.

This is the seventeenth step. bed traveling.

it is
to heaven u i ings.

76a. See 14 (869D), p. 170.

190
 Step 18

ON INSENSITIVITY

disposition, a Aap for ves a noose for courage, an ignorance of com-

punction, the gateway to despair, the mother of forgetfulness giving
birth to loss of fear of God and, in turn, to a deadened spirit, like a
daughter bearing her own mother.

d lind
mal e talks about healing a wound and
doe Hecomplains abidut what has hap-
pened edi doe : ting what is harmful. He prays against it
but carries on as before, doing’ it aad being angry with himself. And
the eee man is in no way shamed by his own words. “I’m doing
wrong,” he cries, and zealously continues to do so. His li ra
against itandhis body struggles forit. He talks profoun
death and acts as if he will never die. He groans over the separation of
soul and body, and yet lives in a state of somnolence as if he were
eternal. He has plenty to say about self-control and fights for a gour-
met life. He reads about the judgment and begins to smile, about
vainglory and is vainglorious while he is reading. He recites what he
has learnt about keeping vigil, and at once drops off to sleep. Prayer
he extols, and runs from it as if from a plague. Blessings he showers

191
 JOHN CLIMACUS

is sorry, and a little later is at itaa He lesees silence and cannot

stop talking about it. He teaches meekness and frequently gets angry
while he is teaching it. Having come to his senses, he sighs and shak-
ing his head embraces his passion once more. He denounces laughter,
and while lecturing on mourning he is all smiles. In front of others he
criticizes himself for being vainglorious, and in making the admission
he is looking for glory. He looks people in the eye with passion and
talks about chastity. Out in the world he is full of praise for the soli-
tary life and cannot see how much he is disgracing himself. He glori-
fies almsgivers and despises the poor. In everything he shows himself
up for what he is, and does not come to his senses, though I would not

I ie deserted: as ace as my poor ealentes oni the wales

and the havoc wrought by this stony, stubborn, raging, sone pas-

Gould not Rave Been able alone to analyze its wily

ways if Iad not laid hold of it, gripping it hard, examining it to dis-
cover what has been described above, scourgi fear of the
Lord and endless prayer. iba abo,ooo. feeof the
this to me: “Those who are under my sway laugh when they see the
bodies of the dead. At prayer they are stony, hard, and blinded. In
front of the altar they feel nothing. They receive the Holy Gift as if it
were ordinary bread. And I laugh at people when I see them stirred
by compunction. My father taught me to kill everything born of cour-
age and love. I am the mother of Laughter, the nurse of Sleep, the
friend of the Full Stomach. When I am found out I do not grieve, and
I am the ally of iety.”
“Ama a eSthe rez of this demented fury, la sked, inmy as-__
onishment, for Ee aan Hee ether
tonishme
parent,” shewsaide“T-ant
ofmixed and uncertain origin. Big mea s

192
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

. But if you are

ERE 81 onrth Satisee shine ofeternal linden maybe I shall let
go of you to some extent. If you discover why I came to be within
you, it will be possible for you to do battle with my mother, since she
is not the same for al

193
 Step 19

ON SLEEP, PRAYER
AND THE SINGING
IN CHURCH OF PSALMS

at is
to say, it comes from nature, from food, from demons, or perhaps in
some degree even from prolonged fasting by which the weakened
flesh is moved to siege IforBenes

against it areca attite start of one’s religious life, because a long-

standing habit is very difficult to correct.
Let us observe and we shall find that the spiritual trumpet’’ that
summons the brethren togerne) ists heis ake ee aoe es the invisi-

fall salad hs
Still ser cause fia and unusu-
al stomachache, while others encourage prattle in the church. Some _

77. The usual means of summoning monks to prayer was by a wooden gong or
plank known later as the talanton. Jerome, however, says that Pachomian monks were
summoned by the sound of a trumpet (PL 23, 69B).

194
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

inspire bad though

others
ts,get us to lean against the wall as though
we were weary or to start yawning over and over again, while still
others cause us to laugh during prayer so as to provoke the anger of
God against us. SORE EEPUNTS Shrerttessto hurry up with the sing-
ing, while others suggest we should sing slowly in order that we may
take pleasure in it. s, shut so
that we can scarcely open them.

The ie pbedient mink often becoines suddenly radiant and ex-

ultant during his prayers. He is like a wrestler who was earlier
trained and made eager for his enterprise.
Everyone can pray in a crowd. For some it good thing to

ch SCOP TER. Or else you Souk ee a set

prayer to sayPariile you are waiting for the alternate verse of the
chant. But no one should undertake any additional task, or rather, dis-
traction, during the time of prayer. This is something that Antony
the Great learned clearly from his attendant angel.”

77a. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Antony 1.

195
 f Step 20

4 iy
’’ ON ALERTNESS

Some stand weaponless and without armor before the kings of

»} earth, while others hold insignia of office, shields, and swords. The
former are vastly superior to the latter since they are regularly the
personal relations of the king and members of the royal household.

ike spirits
;
g the f read, while some, out
of weakness, peared fight aes o wo W then hands. Others
t h and try in this way to obtain a contrite
heart. Of all these types, the first and last persevere in nightlong vigil
out of love for God, the second do what is apEroprats: Be a monk,
d the third crave! che lowliest road. Still, God accepts judges
the offerings of each ty 1 accordance with their : od
their abilities.
‘ keeps the mind clean. Somnolence binds the sou
onk does batt ication, but the sleepy one goes to
live with it. Alertness is a quench1ing of lust, deliverance from fanta-
sies in dreams, a tearful eye, a heart made soft and gentle, thoughts
restrained, food ee passions tamed, spirits subdued, tongue
ngsbanished.
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

The bell rings for prayer. The monk who loves God says, “Bra-
vo! Bravo!” The lazy monk says, “Alas! Alas!”

The former dance and the latter frown when the table is made ready.
Long sleep produces forgetfulness, but keeping vigil clears the
memory.
The farmer collects his wealth on the threshing floor and in the
winepress. Monks collect their wealth and knowledge during the
hours of evening and night when they are standing at prayer and con-
templation.
i e or
more from the lazy man.

whose eyes en to sha Shen the sacred reading is started. When

the trumpet sounds the dead will rise, and when idle talk begins the
dozing wake.

other way can it valterfere with the prayers of ‘Hose who are keeping
watch. Sac ea tryi are-
less from their first a de-
n. Hence until we conquer it we ought never seek to
be absent from common prayer, since shame at least may keep us
from dozing off.

i
At day’s end the merchant counts his profits, and the monk does
the same when erat is over.

after prayer by means of wild fantasies. Watch eatuily and you vill
note those that are accustomed to snatch away the first fruits of the
soul.

not ‘been compelled to oe so.But in fa

vi caieehbitenicenccione stiriin
 JOHN CLIMACUS

sleep too: This second grace is properly areward for the first and will
help us : Tas si and epee 7
uch then i entieth step. Oo -
ceived light inhis
i heart:

78. Gk pnevmaton. HTM reads ptomaton, ‘‘falls.”

198
 Step 21

ON UNMANLY FEARS

ry or in Bomeues ss= men,

the unexpected.
Fear is dang

ws only itself, it is
eicktened 5aa raedor a shadow.
Those who mourn and those who are insensitive suffer no cow-
ardice, but the fearful and the frightene ose and their
minds are unhinged. Nor is ae TeoneDre pata e» Lord rightly
wingeys His protection from the proud so that the rest of us may
ot become vain.
While cowards are vainglorious, not everyone who is free from
fear is also humble. Thieves HOE bree aitmayibe untroubled by
fear.
Do not hesitate to go in the dark of the night to those places
where you are normally frightened. The slightest concession to this
weakness means that this childish and absurd malady will grow old

199
 JOHN CLIMACUS

o as you go where fright will lay hold of you, put on the

Mesnasabinprayyer, and when you reach the spot, stretch out your hands
and flog your enemies with the name of Jesus, since there is no
stronger weapon in heaven or on earth. And when you drive the fear
away, give praise to the God Who has delivered you, and He will pro-
tect you for all eternity, provided you remain grateful. Just as one
morsel will not fill your stomach, so you will not defeat fear in one
move. It will fade in proportion to your mourning and the less we
mourn the greater will be our cowardice.
“My hair and my flesh shuddered” (Job 4:15). These were the
words of Eliphaz when he was talking about the cunning of this de-
mon. Fear starts sometimes in the soul, sometimes in the body, and
the one communicates the weakness to the other. Butif
unafraid even when the body is terrified, you are close to being
healed.79 However, it is barrenness of soul, not the darkness or the
emptiness of places, which gives the demons power against us. And
the providence of God sometimes allows this to happen so that we
may learn from it.
while
the man who does not wet fear Him is often scared oe his own shad-
; he presence of an in\ : pt Yet

we Beer anse bythe effect henis; producing, ey usSac totae

since our heavenly guardian has come to join us.®°

79. HTM adds: “But actual freedom from cowardice comes when we eagerly ac-
cept all unexpected events with a contrite heart.”
80. HTM adds: “He who has conquered cowardice has clearly dedicated his life
and soul to God.”

- 200
 Step 22

ON VAINGLORY

-who has conquered vainglory? The difference is between a child and

a man, between wheat and bread, for thesfirstasvasbeginning,and,the
second»anvend. Therefore, as the occasion demands, let us talk about.
ni i , the beginning and completion of the
passions; and let us talk briefly, for to undertake an exhaustive discus-
sion would be to act like someone who inquires into the weight of the
winds.
From the point of view of form, vainglory is achange of nature, a
perversi on a taking note
of character, of criticism.’ As for its quali-
ty, it is a waste of work and sweat, a betray of al
treasure, an offspring

81. In fact Gregory the Great. The eight principal temptations of Evagrius were
gluttony, lust, avarice, dejection, anger, despondency (“‘accidie”), vainglory and pride.
Cassian introduced this list to the West. Pope Gregory the Great reduced the number
to seven by amalgamating vainglory with pride and dejection with despondency and
by introducing envy. Cf. the Preface, p. 63.
81a. The sense is not clear. One would expect the opposite to paratirisis, viz. “a re-
fusal to take note of criticism,” as in the Latin translation (PG 88, 950A).

201
 \ N CLIMACUS

7f \
; ide, shipwreck in port, the ant on the
threshing floor, small and yet with designs on all the fruit of one’s
labor. The ant waits until the wheat is in, vainglory until the riches of
excellence are gathered; the one a thief, the other a wastrel.
The spirit of despair exults at the sight of mounting vice, the
spirit of vainglory at the sight ofthe growing treasures of virtue. The
door for the one is a mass of wounds, while the gateway for the other
is the wealth of hard work done.
Watch vainglory. Notice how, until the very day of the burial it

ike the su ry
occupation. W ous. I stop
no
atten
fasting so that I will draw tionto myself, and I become vain-
glo er my prudence. I dress well or badly, and am vainglorious
in either case. I talk o i ated.
No matter how I shed this prickly thing, a spike remains to stand up
against me.
ASIRSIOTICUs han ina Dee Wemagesdectuatiadater: Apparently
honoring God, he actually is out to please not God but men. To be a
showoffis to be vainglorious, and the fast of such a man is unreward-
pract
ed and his prayer futile, since he is icing
both to win praise. A
vainglorious ascetic doubly cheats himself, wearying his body and
getting no reward. Who would not laugh at this vainglorious worker,
standing for the psalms and moved by vainglory sometimes to laugh-
ter and sometimes to tears for all to see?
The Lord frequently hides from us even the perfections we have
obtained. But the man who praises us, or, rather, who misleads us,
9

opensoureyeswithhiswords-and onceoureyesareopenedourtres
su anish.
The flatterer is a servant of the devils, a teacher of pride, the de-
stroyer of contrition, a vandal of excellence, a perverse guide. The
prophet says this: ““Those who honor you deceive you” (Isa. 3:12).
p S Ive jure OFTe S Diy and ing D

have seen men in mourning who, on being praised, reared up in an-

ger, one passion giving way to another as at some public meeting.
“No one knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit within
him” (1 Cor. 2:11). Hence those who want to praise us to our face
should be ashamed and silent.
When you hear that your neighbor or your friend has denounced

202
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

you behind your back or indeed in your presence, show him love and
try to compliment him.

Itiis not the selPeritical i veveals his humility (for does not ev-
eryone have somehow to put up with himself?), Rather it is the man
who continues to love the person who has criticized him.
I have seen the demon of vainglory suggesting thoughts to one
brother, revealing them to another, and getting the second man to tell
the first what he is thinking and then praising him for his ability to
read minds. And that dreadful demon has even lighted on parts of the
body, shaking andee dene them.

BeNERMeAChEr. It is Bard to aes a aes Fatih a bultthist!s counter.

When he notices that someone has achieved a measure of interior —
calm, he immediately suggests to him the need to return from the des-
ert to the world, in order to save those who are perishing.
Ethiopians have one kind of appearance, statues another. So too
is it the case that the vainglory of those living in community is differ-
ent from that which obtains in the desert.

world. It prompts the more frivolous monk to rush out to meet them,
to fall at their feet, to give the appearance of humility, when infact he
isfull of pride. It makes him look and sound modest and directs his
eye to the visitors’ hands in the hope of getting something from them.
It induces him to address them as “lords and patrons, graced with
godly life.” At table it makes him urge abstinence on someone else
and fiercely criticize subordinates. It enables those who are standing
in a slovenly manner during the singing of psalms to make an effort,
those who have no voice to sing well, and those who are sleepy to
wake up. It flatters the precentor, seeks the first place in the choir,
and addresses him as father and master while the visitors are still
there.
ide in the favored and resentment in those
who are slighted. Often it causes dishonor instead of honor, because it
brings great shame to its angry disciples. It makes the quick-tempered
look mild before men. It thrives amid talent and frequently brings ca-
tastrophe on those enslaved to it.
I have seen a demon harm and chase away his own brother. Visi-
tors from the outside world came just at a moment when a brother

203
 JOHN CLIMACUS

got angry and the wretched man gave himself over to vainglory. He
was unable to serve two passions at the one time.

If we ‘peal long for heteealy tee we will carey taste the glo-
ry above. And whoever has tasted that will think nothing of earthly
glory. For it would surprise me if someone could hold the latter in
contempt unless he had tasted the former.
It often happens that having been left naked by vainglory, we
turn around and strip it ourselves more cleverly. For I have encoun-
tered some who embarked on the spiritual life out of vainglory, mak-
ing therefore a bad start, and yet they finished up in a most admirable
way because they changed theiri S.
mean cleverness,
the ability to learn, skill in reading, good diction, quick grasp, and all
such skills as we = passes ine having to work for them—this man,
I Sa ; eceive the ble os of
e is nnfarthfil and angie uch. And there
are nen who wear out their bodies to no purpose in the pursuit of
total dispassion, heavenly treasures, miracle working, and prophetic
ability, and the poor fools do not realize that eee notbats work,

: : e unexpected riches.
When the winnower'®? tells you to show off your virtues for the
benefit of an audience, do not yield to him.‘allie
ntenrrorgain the whole world aneaeseroren
eer?” (Matt. 16:26).
Our neighbor is moved by nothing so much as by a sincere and
humble way of talking and of behaving. It is an example and a spur to
others never to turn proud. And there is nothing to equal the benefit
of this.
A man of insight told me this: “I was once sitting at an assem-
bly,” he said. ““Phedemom
vainglory.and.the,demon:of.pride.came
of
to.sitomeitheriside
of me. One poked me with the finger of vainglory
and encouraged me to talk publicly about some vision or labor of
mine in the desert. I shook him off with the words: ‘Let those who
wish me harm be driven back and let them blush’ (Ps. 39:15). Then
the demon on my left at once said in my ear: ‘Well"done!"Wellidone!

82. L.e., the devil.

» 204
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT
\)&
©
yg (OA
$ 6

ther.’ Turn-
de
p!
ing to him I answered appropriately, making use of the rest of the
verse: ‘Defeat and shame on all who oy ‘Well done! Well done!” ae
And howi ked-him»that-vainglory.is.the mother-of pride.
answer was this:‘nuaiacieiscikdccekiigndcnancuanpdoieeariererehrerstie is
€ a en throws 1 wn

can recognize t eit land 8 Sea when you look on it as ener

and run from it in every possible way, hiding your life-style wherever
you are. And you may be certain of the other sort when you find
yourself doing something, however small, with the hope that men -
may notice you.
Dread vainglory urges us to pretend that we have some virtue
which does not belong to us. It encourages us with the text: “Let your
light so shine before men that they will see your good deeds” (Matt.
5:16).

E
stage is to check every act of vainglory while it is still in thought The
end—insofar as one may talk of an end to an abyss—is to be able to
accept humiliation before others without actually feeling it.
Do not conceal your sin because of the idea that you must not
scandalize your neighbor. Of course this injunction must not be ad-
hered to blindly. It will depend on the nature of one’s sinfulness.
If ever we seek glory, if it comes our way uninvited, or plan
if we
so action because of our vain ’ Id think of
our mourning and of the blessed fear on us as we stood alone in
prayer before God. If we do this we will assuredly outflank shameless
vainglory, that is if our wish for true prayer is genuine. This may be
insufficient. In which case let us briefly remember that we must die.
Should this also prove ineffective, let us at least go in fear of the
shame that always comes after honor, for assuredly he who exalts
himself will be humbled not only there but here also.
When those who praise us, or, rather, those who lead us astray,
begin to exalt us, we should briefly remember the multitude of our

205
 JOHN CLIMACUS

sins and in this way we will discover that we do not deserve whatever
is said or done in our honor.
Some of the prayers of the vainglorious no doubt deserve to win
the attention of God, buc-He-reputarty-andiciparesthicir wisines and
petitions.so-that-their*pride"may not be increased by the»success of
their-prayers.
Simpler people do not usually succumb to the poison of vainglo-
ry, which is, after all, a loss of simplicity and a hypocritical mode of
behavior.
A worm, fully grown, often sprouts wings and can fly up high.
Vainglory,.fully..growan,.can..give=birth=to»pride, which is the begin-
ning and the end of all evil.
Anyone free of this sickness is close to salvation. Anyone affected
by it is far removed from the glory of the saints.
D ne..mMan..untoucne DY

206
 Step 23

ON PRIDE ,2¥ or

| 1€ e F fs of p se

arrenness. Soret icf eet God's esiie engines of mad-

ness, the author of downfall. ause of diabolical possession,
the source of anger, the gateway of hypocrisy.It is the fortress of de

God. atis the root of blasphemy.

: off. Its midpoint comes with
the pac aireszom assay ae shameless parading of our
achievements, complacency, and unwillingness to be found out. It
ends with the spurning of God’s help, the exalting of one’s own ef-
forts and a devilish disposition.
i id this pit. This passion of-
ten draws strength initially from the giving of thanks, and at first it
does not shamelessly urge us to renounce God. I have seen people
who speak aloud their thanks to God but who in their hearts are glo-
rifying themselves, something demonstrated by that Pharisee with his
“O God I thank You” nS 18: i
ke residence wherever
we have mpseatare apse isi
in aean A ee of lie Ral an ainacl e man said once to me:

207
 JOHN CLIMACUS

“Think of a dozen shameful passions. Love one of them, I mean pride,

and it will take up the space of all the other eleven.”’®”
; ‘ re
loatl ict them.
The cypress tree does not bend to the ground in order to walk,
nor does the haughty monk in order to gain obedience.
ep man wants to be in charge of things. He would feel
lost otherwise.
. s the proud” (James 4:6). Who then could have mercy
on them? Before God every proud man is unclean and who then
could purify such a person?
For the proud correction is a fall, a thorn (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7) is a dev-
il, and abandonment by God is madness. Whereas in the first two in-
stances there are human cures available, this last cannot be healed by
man.
To reject criticism is to show pride, while to accept it is to show
oneself free of this fetter.
i i aven. And
so one may reasonably ask whether one may reach heaven by humil-
ity Men without heBgl | any other virtue.
e rofits c ar and sweat. They clam-
ored, Bat chére was none to save heat rsscime they elgmiored with
pride. They clamored to God and He paid no heed since they were
not really trying to root out the faults against which they were pray-
ing. |
An old man, very experienced in these matters, once spiritually
admonished a proud brother who said in his blindness: “Forgive me,
iegpereerettvrniten stcotines ANson,” saidone wise old man, ier
bet é f 2B

heproudissubm: ness, a tougher and humbler

mode offe Be the reading of the Wereer racial feats of the Fathers.
Even then there will perhaps be little hope of salvation for those who
suffer from this disease.
While it is disgraceful to be puffed up over the adornments of
others, itissheer lunacy to imagine that one has deserved the gifts of

82a. St. Mark the Ascetic, On the Spiritual Law, § 136 (PG 65, 921C) (reading dodeka):
ET Phil., § 135, p. 119.

208
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ou may be proud only of the achievements you had before the

time of your birth. But anything after that, indeed the birth itself, is a
gift from God. You may claim only those virtues in you that are there
independently of your mind, for your mind was bestowed on you by
God. And you may claim only those victories you achieved indepen-
oe of the ieeefor the ae too is not ns but a wongof God.

then, tied hand ine cise ie was ana intoasthe dark outside (cf.
Matt. 22:13). So do not be stiff-necked, since you are a material being.
Many although holy and unencumbered by a body were thrown out
even from iS.

gifts toabe granted, that the wretches may be deceived and driven ut-
terly out of their minds.

stance Weiereidis no comparison teeeyeen the blood of God and that of

His servants.
We should always be on the lookout to compare ourselves with
the Fathers and the lights who have gone before us. If we do, we will
discover that we have scarcely begun the ascetic life, that we have
hardly kept our vow in a holy manner, and that our thinking is still
rooted in the world.
is one whose soul’s eye is not haughty and whose
bodily senses are unmoved.
ne who fights his enemies, like the wild beasts that
they are, and harries them as he makes his escape from them.
onk is to know ecstasy without end and to grieve for
life.
» A monk is shaped by virtues in the way that others are shaped by
pleasures.
as an unfailing light in the eye of the heart.
is an abyss of humility in which every evil spirit has
been plunged and smothered.

209
 JOHN CLIMACUS

where in fact there is darkness. This abominable vice not only stops
our progress but even tosses us down from the heights we have
reached.
The proud man is a pomegranate, gone bad within, radiant out-

Darknessis alien to light. Pride is alien to every virtue.

aspheming words rise up in the hearts of the proud, heavenly
visions in the hearts of the humble.
A thief hates the sun. A proud man despises the meek.
It happens, I do not know how, that most of (HOON Pana:
. They think they have conquered
their passions and they find out how poor they really are only after
they die.
The man ensnared by pride will need God’s help, since man is of
no use to him

ity.
‘ess ferme. ‘ Ave ginting and no birth,” they said, ‘for’
(the ce and the begetters o \all.the passions. The strongest op-
position to us comes from the contrition of heart that grows out of
obedience. We can endure no authd rity over us, which is why we fell
ron he aven where we ely had ANS 2 ns , We au-
d progenitorsof every I 0 humility, for ev-
er ‘hing that favors humility brings us; low. prevail everywhere
ching hf So, then, where will you run to éséapelus? You will
find Us»often where there is patient endurance of dishonor, where
there is obedience and freedom from anger, where there_is_willing-
ness to pear)noWay ae where one’s neighbor iis served And o il-

Li d.
CC
Knv Aroumentativ
Viitad J = ess, oell- f
5 7

cTaea is snlyetone nine with which we cannot interfere, and

the violence you do us will make us admit what this is. If you can
honestly condemn yourself before the Lord, then indeed you will
find us as flimsy as a cobweb. F : d-
re-

210
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

shes‘Let us sing tomabe Lauds fog He ye nhsseas alsa

fied. Horse and rider He has thrown into the sea’ (Exod. 15:1), into
the depths of humility.”
Such is the twenty-third step. Whoever climbs it, if indeed any-
one can, will certainly be strong.

| pride. Hence the need to talk about

“It, since it is no ordinary foe but is far and away the deadliest enemy
of all. Worse still, it is extremely hard to articulate and to confess it
and therefore to discuss it with a spiritual healer, and the result has
been to cause frustration and despair in many people, for like a worm
ina tree this unholy ROSE aan away all sei

ces and even at the awesome Hour of tPe vivstenie’ sme BREAN:
ing tthe.
Lord and the consecrated elements, thereby showing that
these unspe ey inacceptable. and unt nkable words a are not ours
10Sse we the God-hating d 7 n x trom e aven be-
se ms, ofthe giigeneries ce uttered theretoo against the
ord. It must be so, for if these dreadful and unholy words are my
own, how could I offer humble worship after having partaken of the
sacred gift? How could I revile and praise at the same time?
‘is deceiver, this de yer 0! has often caused men to go
mad. fae no See cecal ee is as difficult to admit in confession,
which is why so many are dogged by it all their days. In fact nothing
gives demons and evil thoughts such power over us as to nourish
them ans fe spellsin our hearts ee

this shigitiecome not rest us but ‘oni our enemies.

enness leads to
stumbling. Pride’leads to‘unholy thoughts.
The drunkard will be punished not for his stumbling but for his
drunkenness.
Those unclean and unspeakable thoughts come at us when we
_
are praying, but, if we continue to pray to che aid chee will retreat,
for they do not struggle against those who resist them.
 JOHN CLIMACUS

hat is divine._It stirs up the dirtiest and most.e bscene thoug with-
in us, thereby trying to force us to give up praying or to fall into de-
spair. It stops the prayer of many and turns many away from the holy
Mysteries. It has evilly and tyrannously caused the bodies of some to
be worn away with grief. It has exhausted others with fasting and has
given them no rest. truck at people living in the world, and
also at those leading the monastic life, whispering that there 1s no sal-
vation in store for them, murmuring that they are more to be pitied
than any unbeliever or pagan.
Anyone distu. bed by the sp of la emy and shing to be
rid ofit s ould bear in mind that thoughts of this type do not origi-
nate in his own soul but are -d by tha cle vil who once
said to theLord: “I will giv all | wn
adore me” (Matt. 4:9). So let us m
whatever to his promptings. L , Satan};I
vill worst ,ord my} d and-I 1 J will
Will serve
serve onl
c im’ (Matt.
4:10). May your word and your effort rebound on you, and your blas-
phemies come down on your own head now and in the world to
come.” To tackle the demon of blasphemy in any way other than this
is to be like a man trying to hold lightning in his hands. For how can
you take a grip on, seize, or grapple with someone who flits into the
heart quicker than the wind, talks more rapidly than a flash, and then
immediately vanishes? Every other kind of foe stops, struggles a
while, lingers and gives one time to grapple with him. But not this
one. He hardly appears and is gone again immediately. He barely
speaks and then vanishes.
nce in the mina

hes are more upset and

turbed by it than others. To such people we could quite rightly say
that what is happening to them is due not to their own undue self-
esteem but to the jealousy of the demons.
Let us refrain from passing judgment or condemnation on our
neighbor. If we do, then we will not be terrorized by blasphemous
thoughts, since the one produces the other.
The situation here is like that of someone shut up in his own
house who overhears but does not join in the conversation of passers-
by. The soul that keeps to itself overhears and is disturbed by the
blasphemies of devils who are merely transients.
Hold this foe in contempt and you will be liberated from its tor-
ments. T'ry cleverly to fight it and you will end up by surrendering,

212
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

for the man who tries to conquer spirits by talk is like someone hop-
ing to lock up the winds.

demon. For twenty years he wore himself out with fasting and vigils,
but to no avail, as he realized. So he wrote the temptation on a sheet
of paper, went to a certain holy man, handed him the paper, bowed
his face to the ground and dared not to look up. The old man read it,
smiled, lifted the brother and said to him: “My son, put your hand on
my neck.” The brother did so. Then the great man said: “Very well,
brother. Now let this sin be on my neck for as many years as it has
been or will be active within you. But from now on, ignore it.” And
the monk who had been tempted in this fashion assured me that even
before he had left the cell of this old man, his infirmity was gone. The
man who had actually experienced this told me about it, giving
thanks to Christ.

213
 Step 24

ON MEEKNESS,
SIMPLICITY,
GUILELESSNESS,
AND WICKEDNESS

f dawn comes before the sun, and

sor of all humility. So let us listen to the order in whic
A laces these virtues. He says: “Learn from Me, because
cqnrvtice EPEC SPREE,” (Matt. 11:29). Therefore belbeosgazing
at the sun of humility we must let the light of meekness flow over us.
If we do, we will then be able to look steadily at the sun. The true
order of these virtues teaches us that we are totally unable to turn our
els to the sun before wes have first saa dbtaleshes ch to the light.

ck tobi out over the sea of anger which

breaks the waves which come crashing on it and stays entirely un-
Meekness is the bulwark of patience, the door, indeed the
fore of iver and the foundation of discernment. For it is said:
“The Lord will teach His ways to the meek” (Ps. 24:9). And it is
meekness that earns pardon for our sins, gives confidence to our
prayers and makes a place for the Holy Spirit. ‘““To whom shall I look
if not the meek and the peaceful?” (Isa. 66:2).
_Meekness works alongside of obedience, guides a religious com-

BOA
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

munity, checks frenzy, curbs anger. It is a mii r y, an imita-

tion of Christ, the possession of angels, a shackle for demons, a shield
against bitterness. The Lord finds rest in eh hearts of the meck,
while the turbulent spirit is the home of the devil. “The meek sha
inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5), indeed, rule over it; and ns padsfeta:
pered shall be carried off as booty from their land.
A meek soul is a throne of simplicity, but a wrathful mind is a
creator of evil.
‘A gentle soul will make a place for wise words, since the “Lord
will guide the meek in judgment” (Ps. 24:9), or rather, in discretion.
i oul is the companion of humility, but an evil one is
the daughter ride.
hall be filled with wisdom, but the angry
mind will cohabit ee darkness and ignorance.
=! ered man met a dissembler, and not an honest word:
passed between Hens for if you open the heart of the one you will
find frenzy, and if you examine the soul of the other you will see
malice.
Simplicity is an enduring habit within a soul that has grown im-
pervious to evil thoughts.
Evil is a deliberate kind of knowledge. Or, rather, it is a deformi-
ty of the devil. There is no truth in it. And it imagines it can avoid
being detected by many.
‘Hypocrisy is soul and body in a state of opposition to each other,
intertwined with every kind of invention.
Guilelessness is the joyful condition of an uncalculating soul.
is innocent thought, a genuine character, speech that is
neither artificial nor premeditated.
a soul as pure as the day it was created and always
concerned
icaeeenirorsions
for

s cunning, eee that has become habe tialstide that is second na-
ture. It is the foe of humility, a fake penitence, mourning depleted,®3
a refusal to confess, an insistence on getting one’s own way. It is the
agent of lapses, a hindrance to resurrection, a tolerance of wrongdo-
ing, false grief, false reverence. It is life gone diabolical.
The
evil man is the namesake and companion of the devil, which

83. Gk mikrysmos. HTM reads makrysmos, ‘an estrangement from mourning.”

215
 JOHN CLIMACUS

is why the Lord taught us to call the devil by that name, saying, “De-
liver us from the ch One”es 6: wile

be sini (Ps. 36:9); “like the grass tegkshall wither and like
green herbs shall they fall away”. xicf. Ps. 36:2). People of this kind are
fodder ee pea
ess just as He is called love. This
her ofee he wise man says to the pureeheart: “Uprightness
has loved you” (Song of Songe I:4),The father of the wise man says:
“The Lord is good and Bprioee (Ps 24:8). He says that those who are
God’s namesakes are saved: ‘He saves the upright of heart” (Ps. 7:11).
“His countenance sees and visits the honest and the just” (Ps. 10:8).
: aplicity is the first characteristic of childhood. As
hoeas anaath had i it, he saw neither the nakedness of his soul nor the
indecency of his flesh.
Good and blessed is that simplicity which some have by nature,
but better is that which has been goaded out of wickedness by hard
work. The former is protected from much complexity and the pas-
sions, while the latter is the gateway to the greatest humility and
meekness. There is not much reward for the one and no end of re-
ward for the other.
_If you wish to draw the Lord
to a master, in all simplicity, ¢ pen X tly, wi ut du
without idle curiosity. He is aleeaa tnecetanded 84 And He
wants the souls that come to Him to be simple and pure. Indeed you
will never see simplicity separated from humility.
The evil man is a false
prophet. He imagines that from words he
can catch thoughts, from ed sia wita the cet wsthe heart.
_Thave seen good souls turn evil from the example of evil peo Ple,
and it amazed mestthatecheywentl d so quickly shed their natu:
plicity and innocence. But it is as easy for the Bape) to ees as it is
hard for evildoers to change their ways. Still, a genuine turning away
from the world, obedience, and a guarding of the lips have often
proved very effective and have wonderfully restored those who
seemed to be beyond recall.
If knowledge can cause most people to become vain, perhaps ig-

84. Cf. St. Basil, Adversus Eunomium I, 23 (PG 29, 564A).

216
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

norance and lack of learning can make them humble. Yet now and
again you find men who pride themselves on their ignorance.
Paul the Simple,®> that thrice-blessed man, was a shining exam-
ple to us. He was the measure and type of blessed simplicity, and no
one has ever seen or heard or could see so much progress in so short a
time.

never answers pak to thenmaster who pokes him, the upright soul
does not talk back to his superior. Instead, he follows where he is di-
rected to go and will raise no protest even if sent to his death.
o enter the kingdom” (Matt. 19:23). It is
hard too for the foolishly “wise” to enter simplicity.
A lapse often saves the clever man, bringing him salvation and
innocence in spite of himself.
Fight to escape from your own cleverness. If you do, then you
will find salvation and an uprightness through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

85. Paul the Simple went off to join St. Antony in the desert after catching his
wife in the act of adultery. St. Antony thought him too old to become a monk, but Paul
submitted to the severest discipline with such unquestioning obedience that in a rela-
tively short time he acquired spiritual powers even greater than those of St. Antony.
See Palladius, The Lausiac History, ch. 22; The Lives of the Desert Fathers, ch. 24; The Sayings
of the Desert Fathers, Paul the Simple.

217
 Step 25

ON HUMILITY

ity, blessed purity, divine enlightenment, fear of God, and assurance

of the heart? Do you imagine that talk of such matters will mean any-
thing to someone who has never ex eit re
:
convey the sweetness of honey to peop e ohno ha as ed it. He
talks uselessly. Indeed I would say he is simply prattling. The same
applies in the first instance. A man stands revealed as either having
had no experience of what he is talking about or as having fallen into
the grip of vainglory.
Our theme sets before us as a touchstone a treasure stored safely
in earthen vessels, that is, in our bodies. ity
tha’ Bie
e iption. It carries an inscription
One which ésis Tinieig, ts os, so that anyone seeking
words for it is faced with a great and endless task. The inscription
reads as follows: “Holy Humility.”
Let all who are led by the Spirit of God come with us into this
spiritual and wise assembly. Let them hold in their spiritual hands
the tablets of knowledge inscribed by God Himself. We have come to-
gether. We have put our questions. We have searched for the meaning
of this precious inscription.

218
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

someone says.
“Tt is the admission that in all the world one is the leasti impor-
tant and is also the greatest sinner,” another says.
: mind’s awareness that one is weak and helpless,” a third
says.
“It is toforestall one’s neighbor at a contentious moment and to
be the first to end a quarrel.”
e acknowledgement of divine grace and divine mercy.”
‘¢
the disposition of a contrite soul and the abdication of one’s
own will. ee
I ied tc i this and thought it over care:
and was not able to grasp the senseof that blessed v:
had heard. I was the last to speak; Rita a g crumbs
from a table, I collected what those learned and blessed fathers had
ere on from there to propose my own
definition: “Humil-»
y 18 a grace in the soul and with a name known only to those who
bave had Smperietice of it. It is indescribable wealth, a name anda gift —
from God. ‘Learn from Me,’ He said; that is, not from an angel, not
from a man, not from a book, but‘from Me,’ that is, from My dwell-
ing within you, from My illumination and action within you, for ‘I
am gentle and meek of heart’ (Matt. 11:29) in thought and in spirit,
and your souls will find rest from conflicts and relief from evil
thoughts.”
The appearance of this sacred vine is one thing during the winter
of passions, another in the springtime of flowering, and still another
in the harvesttime of all the virtues. Yet all these appearances have
one
thingin common, namely, joy and the bearing of fruit, and they
GMbRALE Suresigns¢and evidence of the harvest to come. As soon as the
cluster of holy humility begins to flower within us, we come, after
hard work, to hate all earthly praise and glory. We rid ourselves of
rage and fury; and the more this queen of virtues spreads within our
souls through spiritual growth, the more we begin to regard all our
good deeds as of no consequence, in fact as loathsome. For every day
we somehow imagine that we are adding to our burden by an igno-
rant scattering, that the very abundance of God’s gifts to us is so
much in excess of what we deserve that the punishment due to usbe-
comes thereby all the greater. Hence our minds remain secure, locked
up in the purse of modesty, aware of the knocks and the jeers of

219
 JOHN CLIMACUS

thieves and yet untroubled by them, because modesty is an unassail-

able strongroom.
We have so far risked a few words of a philosophical kind regard-
ing the blossoming and the growth of this everblooming fruit. But
those of you who are close to the Lord Himself must find out from
Him what the perfect reward is of this holy virtue, since there is no
way of measuring the sheer abundance of such blessed wealth, nor
could words convey its quality. Nevertheless, we must try to express
the thoughts that occur to us about its distinguishing characteristics.
Real repentance, mourning bbed of all smpUrity, and holy

other as yeast and flou bread round sd rnc

by SSB FEBE aCe, The waters of true mourning bring it to a cer-
tain unity. I would even go so far as to speak of a mingling with God.
Then, kindled by the fire of the Lord, blessed humility is made into
bread and made firm without the leaven of pride. outcome
The of all
Hulse uameeye een: ere (cf. Eccles. 4:12), ibd ieenan
ing t as a single p ith its own effects
aur autre Ge of one and we imply i other two. And I
will now briefly try toprove the truth of what I am saying.
Th and principal token of this excellent and admirable tri-
ad is th1e delighted lee of the soul to accept indignity, to receive
it with open arms, to welcome it as something that relieves and cau-
terizes diseases of the soul and grevious sins. ot ce RS
NePISTON vepand modesty over the fact that it has subsided
d and preeminent isthe honest distrust of one’s virtues,
own to-
gether with an unending desire to learn more.
“The end of the law and theSpree is Cane, forp the justifica-

But theiraS is areise stag®® which beens fhe man who

lives with it safe from every poison.n. The deadly bane of hypocrisy
and o SMA TaeTORTS eee appearwhere t ility.
Where will this snake nestle and hide? Will it not be pulled out from
the heart’s earth to be killed and done away with? Where there is hu-

86. The stag was thought to be able to kill snakes after first drawing them out of
their holes with the breath of its nostrils (cf. Origen, Hom. 2, 11 in Cant. : PG 13, 56C).

220
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

mility there will be no sign of hatred, no species of quarrelsomeness,

no whiff of disobedience—unless of course some ee _ faith
arises. The man with FO will be ge kind, in-
clined to compunction, iapacishe Se in every sitrations fidiann,
easy to get along with, inoffensive, alert and active. In a word, free
from passion. “The Lord remembered us in our humility and deliv-
ered us from our enemies” (Ps. 135:23-24), thati
is, from our passions
and from our impurities.
A humble monk will not preoccupy himself with mysteries. A
Soe Sie eae seca with the ae ees of God.
emons onc z raise ON C f the most discerning of the
n in visible form. But this very
wise man aepole to them as follows: “If you cease to praise me by way
of the thoughts of my heart, I shall consider myself to be great and
outstanding because of the fact that you have left me. But if you con- _
tinue to praise me, I must deduce from such praise that I amvery im-
pure indeed, since every eee ceman isel ce the
Lord (cf. Prov. 16:5). So leave l become gre
praise me,and with your help |
this dilemma, they vanished.
ollow in the stream of life, a hollow some-
times full and sometimes dried up by the heat of vainglory and pride.
Instead, may your soul be a spring-head of dispassion that wells up
into a river of poverty. Friend, remember that corn and the fruit of
the spirit will stand high in the valleys (cf. Ps. 64:14). The valley is a
soul made humble among the mountains of labors and virtues. It al-
ways remains unproud and steadfast. In Scripture are the words, “I
humbled myself, and the Lord hastened to rescue me” (Ps. 114:6); and
these words are there instead of “I have fasted,” “I have kept vigil,” “I
lay down on the bare earth.”
Repentancelifts mana up. Mourning knocks at heaven’s gate.
Holy humility opens it. This I say, and Iworship:
and a Unity inTrinity.
The sun lights up everything visible. Humility reaches across ev-
erything done according to reason. Where there is no light, all is in
darkness. Where there is no humility, all is rotten.
In the entire universe there is a unique place that saw the sun
just once. And there is a unique thought that has given rise to humil-
 JOHN CLIMACUS

ity. There was a unique day on which the whole world rejoiced. And
there is a unique virtue the demons cannot imitate.*’
To exalt oneself is one thing, not to do so another, and to humble
oneself is something else entirely. A man may always be passing judg-
ment on others, while another man passes judgment neither on others
nor on himself. A third, however, though actually guiltless, may al-
ways be passing judgment on himself.
There is a difference between being humble, striving for humil-
ity, and praising the humble. The first is a mark of the perfect, the
second of the obedient, and the third of all the faithful.
A man truly humble within himself will never find his tongue
betraying him. What is not in the treasury cannot be brought out
through the door.
A solitary horse can often imagine itself to be at full gallop, but
when it finds itself in a herd it then discovers how slow it actually is.
first sign of emerging health is when our thoughts are no long-
A
er filled with a proud sense of our aptitudes. As long as the stench of
pride lingers in the nose, the fragrance of myrrh will go unnoticed.
‘Holy humility had this to say: “The one who loves me will not
condemn someone, or pass judgment on anyone, or lord it over some-
one else, or show off his wisdom until he has been united with me. A
man truly joined to me is no longer in bondage to the Law.”
eu oly ons once began to m 1 the heart of
an ascetic
who was achieve blessed humility. However,
God inspired him
to use a holy trick to defeat the cleverness ese
a monk got up and on the wall of his cell he wrote in se-
quence the names of the major virtues: Pere Ore eae a
ee -apatai . vere . “ae

pure prayer, unassailable chastity, and others of a simi . The

result was that whenever vainglorious thoughts began to puff him up,
he would say: “Come! Let us go to be judged.” Going to the wall he
would read the names there and would cry out to himself: “When you

87. The scholiast explains two of these allusions as follows: ““The unique place is
the floor of the Red Sea during the crossing of Israel. The day of universal joy is none
other than the day of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, on which our race was
freed from the eternal bonds of Hades. Others say that it is the day of the nativity, on
which the glory to God in the highest of the angels was heard. Others say that it is the
day on which Noah and his companions came out of the ark” (scholion 10 [1005B]). Ac-
cording to another scholion, attributed to John of Raithu, the unique thought is “the
constant thought of death, and meditation on eternal judgment and on the Cross and
death of Christ” (PG 88, 1236C). The unique virtue is humility.

ieee
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

have every one of these virtues within you, then you will have an ac-
curate sense of how far from God you still are.”
lescribe the power and nature of the sun. We
can merely deduce its intrinsic nature from its characteristics and ef-
fects. So too humilit
with y, which is a God-given protection against
seeing our own achievements. It is an abyss of self-abasement to
which no thief can gain entry. It is a tower of strength against the
enemy. “Against him the enemy will not prevail and the son (or, rath-
er, the thought) of iniquity will do him no harm and he will cut off
his enemies before him” (Ps. 88:23-24) and will put to flight those
who hate him.
i€ great possessor of this treasure ha other properties in his
soul besides those referred to above. These properties, with one ex-
ception, are manifest tokens of this wealth. You will know that you
have this holy gift within you and not be led astray when you experi-
ence an abundance of unspeakable light together with an indescrib-
able love of prayer. Even before reaching this stage, you may have it,
if in your heart you pass no judgment on the faults of others. And a
precursor of what we have described is hatred of all vainglory.
1as come to know himself with the full awareness
of his soul has sown in good ground. However, anyone who has not
sown in this way cannot expect humility to flower within him. And
any has acquired knowledge of self has come to understand
whoone
the fear of the Lord, and walking with the help of this fear, he has
arrived at the doorway of love. For humiliis tythe door to the king-
dom, opening up to those who come near. It was of that door, I be-
lieve, that the Lord spoke when He said: “He shall go in and come out
of life” and not be afraid “and he shall find pasture” (John 10:8-9) and
the green grass of Paradise. And whoever has entered monastic life by
some other door is a thief and a robber of his own life.
Those of us who wish to gain understanding must never stop ex-
amining ourselves and if in the perception of your soul you realize
that your neighbor is superior to you in all respects, then the mercy
of God is surely near at hand.
» Snow cannot
burst into flames. It is even less possible for humil-
ity to abide in a heretic. This achievement belongs only to the pious
and the faithful, and then only when they have been purified.
Most
of us would describe ourselves assinners.
And perhapswe
__
feally think so. But it is indignity that shows up the true state of the
heart.

223
 JOHN CLIMACUS

cease to de all ue possibly can to get theres and with words and
thoughts, with considerations and explanations, with questionings
and probings, with every device, with prayer and supplication, with
meditation and reflection, he will push onward, helped by God, hu-
miliated and despised and toiling mightily, and he will sail the ship of
his soul out from the ever-stormysocean of vainglory. For the man de-
livered from this sin wins ready pardon for all his other sins, like the
publican in Scripture.
y thinking to the end of their lives
of their past misdeeds, for which they were forgiven and which now
serve as a spur to humility. Others, remembering the passion of
Christ, think of themselves as eternally in debt. Others hold them-
selves in contempt when they think of their daily lapses. Others come
to possess this mother of graces by way of their continuous tempta-
tions, weaknesses, and sins.88 There are some—and I cannot say if
they are to be found nowadays—who humble themselves in propor-
tion to the gifts they receive from God and live with a sense of their
unworthiness to have such wealth bestowed on them, so that each day
they think of themselves as sinking further into debt. That is real hu-
mility, real beatitude, a real reward! And you may be sure that it is by
this particularly blessed route that anyone has traveled who in a few
short years has arrived at the summit of dispassion.
make a holy team. The one exalts. The other
supports those who have been exalted and never falls.
RMevsligardifférenes betweoncomitiOn Sell knowledge: and hu-

in the outcome of a lapse. A man who has lapsed

breaks down and prays without arrogance, though with laudable per-
sistence, disarrayed and yet clinging to the staff of hope, indeed using
it to drive off ths dog of despair.
f-knowledge is a clear-eyed notion of one’s own spiritual ad-
vance. It is also an unwavering remembrance of one’s lightest sins.
a spiritual teaching of Christ led spiritually like a
bride into the inner chamber of the soul of those deemed worthy of it,
and it somehow eludes all description.

88. HTM has a fuller version of this sentence: “Others, as a result of their beset-
ting temptations, infirmities and sins, have mortified their pride. Others for want of
graces have appropriated the mother of graces (i.e. humility).”

122A
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

A man says that he is experiencing the full fragrance of this

myrrh within him. Someone happens to praise him, and if he feels the
slightest stir of the heart or if he grasps the full import of what is be-
ing said, then he is certainly mistaken, and let him have no illusion
about that fact.
“No
tous,
tnot to us, but to Yourname
O Lord,
, give glory” (Ps.
113:9). once heard a man say this with total sincerity. He was a man
who well understood that human nature is such that it cannot remain
unharmed by praise. ‘‘My praise shall be from You in the great assem-
bly, Lord” (Ps. 21:26), that is, in the life to come, and I cannot accept
it before that without risk to myself.
If the outer limit, the rule, and the characteristic of extreme
pride is for a man to make a show of having virtues he does not actu-
ally possess for the sake of glory, then surely the token of extreme hu-
mility will be to lower ourselves by claiming weaknesses we do not -
really have. This was what one man did when he took the bread and
cheese in his hands.®? This too was the way of the man who was free
of all fleshly lust but who used to take his clothes off and parade na-
ked through the whole city.9° Men like these do not worry about giv-
ing scandal, for through prayer they have received the power to
reassure all men invisibly. Indeed, to be afraid of censure is to show
lack of ability in prayer. And when God is ready to hear our prayers
we can achieve anything.
Medasreta.oliend.man than God. For God is delighted when He
sees us courting dishonor for the purpose of crushing, striking, and
destroying our empty self-esteem. And virtue of this sort comes only
from a complete abandonment of the world and only the really great
can endure the derision of their own folk. This should not surprise
you. The fact is that no one can climb a ladder in a single stride. And
in this matter it is not on account of the devils subjected to us that
men will recognize us as disciples of God, but because our names are
written in the heaven of humility (cf. Luke 10:20).
A lemon tree naturally lifts its branches upwards when it has no
fruit. The more its branches bend, the more fruit you will find there.
The meaning of this will be clear to the man disposed to understand
1t
Holy humility receives from God the power to yield fruit thirty-

89. Abba Simon: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Simon.

90. Sarapion the Sindonite: Palladius, The Lausiac History, ch. 37.

225
 JOHN CLIMACUS

fold, sixtyfold and a hundredfold. The dispassionate attain that last

degree, the courageous the middle, and everyone can rise to the first.
e man who Oo w himself is never fooled into
reaching for what is beyond him. He keeps his feet henceforth on the
blessed path of humility.
ee ae a hawk, those who practice humility
fear the spun: of an ATZHEN

mination, signs Meats

1 wonder iris
the marriage chamber, for humility is the guardiz
Without it, they will bring disaster on the frivolous. :
Becausé of our unwillingness to Retna elves, God has ar-
ranged that no one can see his own faults as clearly as his neighbor
does. Hence our obligation to be grateful not to ourselves but to our
neighbor and to God for our healing.
A humble man will always hate his own will as a cause of error.
In his petitions to the Lord which he makes with unwavering faith he
learns what he should do and obeys. He does not spend his time scru-
tinizing the lifestyle of his superiors. He lays all his burden on the
God Who used an ass to teach Balaam what had to be done. All the
acts, thoughts, and words of such a man are directed to the will of
God and he never trusts himself. Indeed, to a humble man, self-confi-
dence is as much a thorn and a burden as the orders of someone else
are to a proud man.
1a aayOpinionarvangelieeharaerert/eer Othe Tse MaGlamsea1o¢
tricked into sinning. And I hear those words of an earthly angel:?! “I
am aware of nothing against myself and yet I am not thereby justi-
fied. It is the Lord Who is my Judge” (1 Cor. 4:4). So we must always
condemn and criticize ourselves in order that
cae
ly chosen
humiliationswe may protect ourselvesfrom
unwitting sin.
And if we do not do this, our punishment at death will be heavy in-
deed.
_ The man who asks God for less than he deserves will certainly
receive‘emore, as is shown by the publican who begged forgiveness but
obtained salvation (cf. Luke 18:10-14). And the robber asked only to
be remembered in the kingdom, yet he inherited all of Paradise (cf.
Luke 23:43).
In the created world fire cannot naturally be both small and

91. In Greek “angel” means “messenger.”

226
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

great at one and the same time. Humility cannot be genuine and
at
one and the same time have a worldly strain.92 Genuine humility
is
not in us if we fall into voluntary sin, and this is the sign that there
is
something material still within us.
The Lord understood that the virtue of the soul is shaped by our
utward behavior. He therefore took a towel and showed us how
to
walk the road of humility (cf. John 13:4). The soul indeed is molded
by the doings of the body, conforming to and taking shape from what
it does. To one of the angels it was the fact of being a ruler that led to
pride, though it was not for this reason that the prerogative was origi-
nally granted to him.
.
-—US 1f1
I
ONC
vay,
Wa
and the aan who —
ill acts anothe hat, perhaps, is the reason why
that great and just man% sat on the dunghill outside the city. Totally
- humbled, he said in all sincerity, “I despise myself, waste away” (Job ©
42:6), and have regarded myself as dust and ashes.
Vlanasseh sinned like no other man. He defiled the
temple of God with idols and he contaminated the sacred Liturgy (cf.
4 [2] Kings 21:4). A fast by all the world could not have made repara-
tion for his sin, and yet humility could heal his incurable wound. “If
You wanted sacrifice I would avehave ggiven 1it,” Da idsays
to God, “but
You will not be satisfied with holocausts,” that is, with bodies worn
out by fasting. “The sacrifice for God is acontrite spirit. God will not
despise a humble and contrite heart” (Ps. 50:17). Following on adul-
tery and murder, blessed humility once cried out to God, “I have
sinned against the Lord,” and the reply was heard: “The Lord has put
away your sin” (2 Kings [2 Sam.] 12:13).
The wonderful Fathers proclaimed physical labor to be the way
to and the foundation of humility. To this I would add obedience and
honesty of heart, since these are by nature opposed to self-aggrandize-

angels into demons,

then humility
demons. So take heart, all you sin-

92. This passage is obscure. It may be translated alternatively: “It is impossible to

see a fire, whether small or great, existing by nature in any creature. Similarly, it is
impossible to see any trace of the form of matter (i.e., sin) existing in genuine humil-
ity.”
93. I.e., Job.

Del
 JOHN CLIMACUS

summ
Let us strive with all our might to reach that humility,
ofit
or let us at least climb onto her shoulders. And if this is too much for
us, let us at least not tumble out of her arms, since after such a tumble
a man will scarcely receive any kind of everlasting gift.
: so has its sinews and its ways, and
these are as follows—poverty, withdrawal from the world, the con-
cealment of one’s wisdom, simplicity of speech, the seeking of alms,
the disguising of one’s nobility, the exclusion of free and easy rela-
pe the panishment of idle talk.
svar — humble the soul as destitution and the sub-
sistence a agins: We will show ourselves true lovers of wisdom
and of God if we stubbornly run away from all possibility of aggran-
dizement.
If you wish to fight against some passi ce humility as your
ally, for she will tread on the asp and the basilisk Bh sin and despair,
and she will trample under foot the lion and the serpent of physical
devilishness and cunning (cf Ps. 90:13). 3
Humility is a heavenly waterspout which can lift the soul from
the abyss up to heaven’s height.
Someone discovered in his heart how beautiful humility is, and
in his amazement he asked her to reveal her parent’s name. Hp sey
smiled, joyous and serene: ‘“‘Why are you in such a rush to learn the
name of my begetter? He has no name, nor will I reveal him to you
until you have God for your possession. To Whom be glory forever.”
Amen.
The sea is the source of the fountain, and humility is the source
ofdiscernment.

228
 ON DISCERNMENT

a
wy. we,

Fae Za
Y
y to
wha u O a-
5
is Opposed [O he good; among the’ wledge. re-

sulting. fromedivine illumination, w W p p

what i is darkiin oiled To ban the matter Benevallia discernment iis—

The man who ae devoufly destroyed ihn himself the three

has also destroyed the five.°4 If he has neglected any of the former,
then he will not be able to overcome even a single passion.
Discernment is ion.
No one seeing or hearing something in monastic life that has a
force over and beyond natureghould, out of ignorance, become unbe-
lieving. For much that is supernatural happens where the supernatu-
ral as aie a

94. According to Evagrius (Phi/., p.38), the three principal evil thoughts are glut-
tony, vainglory and avarice; these give rise to the other five, lust, despondency, pride,
dejection and anger. Cf. Climacus, 26 (1021C), p. 235; also the Preface, p. 64.

229
 JOHN CLIMACUS

pitiable, the ¢ | rd

: od-dire 5"copiscience
be our aim and rule ry-
hing so that, knowing how the wind is'blo ar sails
accordingly.?©
Amid all our efforts
tg’ please God, ie, prepared for
us by demons. their attempt to impede any sort of worthwhile
achievement; and if this fails, they strive y to ensure that what
we do should not be in accordance with the will of God. And if the
scoundrels fail in this too, themthey’stand quietly before our soul and
praise us for the fact that in every respect we are living as God would
wish. Wé'should fight these risks, the first by zeal and fear of death,
the second by obedience and self-abasement, the third by unceasing
self-condemnation. “This work is ahead of us until the fire of God
shall enter our sanctuary” (cf. Ps. 72:16-17), and then indeed the pow-
er of our predispositions will no longer constrain us. For our God is a
fire consuming all lusts, all stirrings of passion, all predispositions,
and all hardness of heart, both within and without, both visible and
pane

ErGanens a soul, sey an out recelight of the aniad until in our

wretchedness we find ourselves lacking sobriety or discernment, self-
knowledge or shame; and we are burdened instead with indifference,
insensitivity, want of discernment, and blindness.

switched from shamelessness to modesty. They know that when the

mind was cleansed, callousness
its ended, or rather its mutilation
healed, shame filled them for what they said and did previously in the
season of their blindness.

95. HTM reads meta theon instead of kata theon: “After God, let us have our con-
science,” etc.
96. The scholiast comments: “‘A ship is sometimes overwhelmed by storms from
without, and sometimes sinks through springing a leak within. We too sometimes per-
ish through sins committed externally, and sometimes are destroyed by evil thoughts
within. We must therefore both keep watch for the external attacks of spirits, and bail
out the impurity of evil thoughts within. Only more effort must be made with the un-
derstanding against evil thoughts” (scholion 4 [1037AB)).

230
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

If the day of our soul does not turn to evening and become dark,
no thieves will come then to rob or slay or ruin our soul.97
Robbery is a hidden bondage of the soul. The slaying of the soul
is the death of a rational mind that has falleninto evil ways. Ruin is
desfair-oof piescy vce ona breseh of Ggd’s law

commanded. Of this truth you willBeyen a ca EY given ise

is said about the man who loved his neighbor more than himself and
who laid down his life for him, in spite of the fact that the Lord had
not ordered him to do so.?8

hey become
a Ii;
= aI

ad habits
and yetstill ableto”
rds, shoulddo so. (Of course,
hold positions of or ty.) Shamed by their own
words, they may fatally soit to irihaee what they preach. And
there may even happen in their case what I have seen happen with
people stuck in the mud. Mired themselves, they warned passersby,
telling how they had sunk, explaining this for their salvation so that
they too might not fall in the same manner, and the omnipotent God
rescued oe from the ae so that the others ight be realty
) Li Cd VD Dass a ] g-

ages “alasanaaigaiaicmtannene ie be-

gan both “‘to do and to teach; (Acts 1:1).

97. H1IM adds two sentences: ‘““Theft is loss of property. Theft is doing what is
not good as if it were good.”
98. Abba Leo of Cappadocia, who gave his life to redeem three captive monks; see
John Moschus, Pratum Spirituale, ch. 112.

231
 JOHN CLIMACUS

1. monster
A is this
gross and savage body. pares, 2 those deadly servants of Vainglory
A
who snatch our cargo, the hard-won earnings of our virtues. wave
is the swollen and packed stomach that by its gluttony hands us over
to the beast. Allwaterspoutisypride, the pride that flings us down from
heaven, bears us up to the sky,‘and then dashes us into the lowest
depths.
Educators can d guish betwegf the programs of stud} it-
ble for beginners, or e intermeffiate, and for teachers. And we

Speen: e is an excellent alphabet: A—obedience, B—

fasting, TBicleelent? A—ashes, E—tears, Z—confession, H—silence,
@©—humility, I—vigil, K—bravery, A—cold, M—struggle, N—hard
work, =—humiliation, O—contrition, [I—forgetfulness of wrongs,
P—brotherly love, £—meekness, T—simple and unquestioning faith,
Y—freedom from worldly concern, ®—unhating rejection of parents,
X—detachment, ¥—innocent sluelliones Se abasement.

progress:
of lack of ‘ainglory: fieedoit from. anger, Baad hope, still-
ness, discernment, continuous remembrance of the judgment, com-
passion, hospitality, gentleness in criticism, passionless prayer, lack of
avarice. nega
Meaumaneusiie File, and law POPRHOSeT theTIBSH aiming at per-
fection in spirit and body is the following: A—an unfettered heart,
B—perfect love, [—a well of humility, A —a detached mind, E—an
indwelling of Christ, Z—an assurance of light and of prayer, H—an
outpouring of divine illumination, ©—a wish for death, I—hatred of
life, K—flight from the body, A—an ambassador for the world, M—
an importuner of God, N—fellow worshiper with the angels, =—a
depth of knowledge, O—a dwelling place of mysteries, II—a custodi-
an of holy secrets, P—a savior of men, 2—lord over the demons, T—
master of the passions, Y—lord of the body, ®—controller of nature,
X—a stranger to sin, Y—home of dispassion, N—with God’s help an
imitator of the Lord.
We
have to be particularly
vigilant whenever the body issick, for
at such a time thedemons, observing our weakness and ourinability
to
fight against them Ain earerepreeuemelenrsel times of illness
the demon of anger and even of blasphemy may be discovered around

"2382
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

those who live in the world. Those leading a religious life but having
all they need of a material kind may suffer the onslaught of the de-
mon of gluttony and fornication. But ascetics who live without com-
forts may find themselves plagued by the tyrant of despondency and
ingratitude.
And I have noticed how the w: fornication increased the suf-
ferings of the sick and, while they were laid low, caused stirrings of
the flesh and even emissions.meeva Sram AAAS Resa gu tes any. for
all its sports, could stil 1 lust. when I looked once more
sa ] r of God or by the workings of
Dees a because they were s coufatiod they kept the pain at
bay and even arrived at a disposition where they had no wish to re-
cover from their illness. other times I saw men freed from their
‘souls’ passion by grave sickness, as though it were some kind of pen- Y/
ance, and I could only praise the God who cleans clay with clay.

g that, whether
sess
not;we'should
itor always seék'to have. And when it comes, our
senses desist from their natural activities. This is why a wise man
once said, “You shall obtain a sense of what is divine.’’?
In the matter of actions, words, thoughts, and movements, the
monastic life has to be lived with a perceptive heart.!°° Otherwise it
will not Be monastic or upeires angelic.
tween divine providence, divine assis-
cnt capo TINE era -,and divine consolation. Provi- —
own in all of nature, assistance among the faithful alone,
n among those believers whose faith is most alive, mercy
among those who serve God, and consolation among those who love
Him.
nedicine can be another man’s poison, and something
n ne to the sine mutranonettiniesand a poison at an-
ont? So I have seen an incompetent physician who by inflicting dis-
honor on a sick but contrite man produced despair in him, and I have
seen a skillful physician who cut through an arrogant heart with the
knife of dishonor and thereby drained it of all its foul-smelling pus. I

99. HTM says that a Russian note attributes this saying to St. Nilus of Sinai (i.e.,
presumably Nilus of Ancyra).
100. The scholiast adds: “Because the monk must carefully investigate all his
movements, even those of his thoughts” (scholion 18 [1040D)).

2:33
 JOHN CLIMACUS

have seen a sick man striving to cleanse his impurity by drinking the
medicine of obedience, by moving, walking, and staying awake. That
same man when the eye of his soul was sick did not move, made no
noise, and was pica Therefore, “he who has ears to hear, let him

Others a tofight
they have to force diehiveles on to the bes
occasional defeat on the way; and it seems
having to struggle against their own nag

o work for it. The ib beeing Giver anticipates how you may be in-
jured, weakened, or ruined and therefore gives you some help by way

ren, our education and our studies, may

in virtue
in monastic life, when we
come of age:
Angels ai
are a light for monks and the monastic life is a light for a
men. Hencefe iionla Shute puremerebioterbetonreastiineads asain
ple iinallthings, and they should give no scandal in anything they say
or do. For if the light becomes dark, then all the deeper will be the
darkness of those living in the world.
a And if you will lend a willing ear to what I have to say, you will
+ agree that it would be bad for us to spread ourselves too thinly, to
have our wretched souls pulled in all directions, to take on, alone, a
fight against thousands upon thousands and ten thousands upon ten
thousands of enemies, since the understanding of their evil workings,
indeed even a Beeae of them, iis Ballsi our plan

SSaerered! If we fail to do he we willstake very handwork for

ourselves. For if God really dwells in us, the God Who made dry land
of the sea, then the Israel within us, the mind that looks to God, will
surely make a safe crossing of this sea and it will look on the Egyp-

101. Self-control, love and humility, says the scholiast, against sensuality, avarice
and ambition (scholion 29 [1044AB)): the three latter are the principal evil thoughts ac-
cording to Evagrius (see note 94, p. 229).

a4
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

tians sunk in the waters of tears. But if God has not yet arrived in us,
who will understand the roaring waves of the sea, that is, of our bod-
ies? Whereas if, because of our works, God rises within us, His ene-
mies will be scattered; and if we draw near to Him through
contemplation, “those who hate Him will run from before His face”
(Ps. 67: 2) and from ours.

chia aieasasiesiniallnhanac accel foundat ihe aie of sdceth it is if

deeds, not words, that must be displayed. /
den away somewhere look for it,
and when they find it, they make sure to hold on to what they have
found. EMT ThceeaRe eT SiteMonctier: are quick to squan-
what they have.
s hard to shake off old/habits, especially bad ones; and when
others are added to sao despair can ‘eesult and phedicdes proves to
be without value. Still, Wknow that God can do anything, that for fl[ce
w°Him nothing is impos a6 L
Certain peop e put a particular question to me, a que tion very £4,
difficult to solve and certainly beyond my capacities. Nor is it dealt oO
with in any of the Soaks that stasiscomeay ia asheji cada took.fle 4
this form: “What a : al o e
aitaaoqyinetPOteiie- He sMehiefesing } he othe He” To my
credit, I pleaded ignorance and was therefore Mes in the position of
being able to learn the following from those men of — holiness: Sf.
“Gluttony is the mother of lusta dvai glory is the her of de- ee
sponde y. Deject On 4a = A e offspring Q) NOs e102 oi

and the mother of prideisathnett”

The statement of these ever-memorable fathers eae me to_
put more questions regarding the lineage of the ei; s, which pro-—
duced which. And these men, free as they=were from passion, kindly
instructed me, saying that no onde or reason can be found among the
irrational passions, that indeed every brand of disorder and chaos
may be discovered in them. The blessed Fathers confirmed all this
with persuasive examples and numerous proofs, some of which I in-
clude in this section. They will be a light by which to analyze the
others.

102. Ie. (in the Evagrian scheme) of gluttony, vainglory and avarice. But Climacus
does not in fact mention avarice in the present passage, although he treats it as one of
the three chief vices in Step 17.

235
 JOHN CLIMACUS

For instance, jokes at the wrong time can be the product of lust,
or of vainglory when a man impiously pretends to be pious, or high
living. Excess ive
sleep can arise from luxury, from fasting when those
who fast become proud of it, from despondency, or sometimes from
f nature. (ieResometimes comes from gluttony, and sometimes
from vainglory. Despondency can derive now from high living, now
y from lack of fear of God. Blasphemy is properly the child ping
but can often arise out of the readiness to condemn one’s neighbor for
the same offense, or it can be due to the untimel ns.
¥ é is sometimes the consequence of y, frequent-
ly ofnevenieuenc: and also of eee grasping. And to be i
avari utt and indeed t
causes. Mieli@iPcomes fonepoueet and from anger, while hypocrisy
comes from independence and self-direction.
The virtues opposed to these are born of opposing parents. And
since I have |not the time to examinese indetail,

in aman, iteswill not see the bead! and to cai from the first with-
out also giving up the second will not be of much use.
The fear we have in the presence of rulers and of wild beasts

ay EP
of their graces. And yet ere has been no era so much in need of
spiritual gifts as today. S 1, we got what we deserved, since God is
made manifest not in la
power of the Lord isb dught to perfection in weakness, the Lord will
umble worker.

illness. Simply and lovingly we should do what we can to heal eeeas

though he were a part of our own body and because he is a fellow
campaigner hurt in battle.
occur sometir anse us from our sins and
sometimes to humble our thinking. hen our ever-gracious Master

1236
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

nd Lord discovers nla g ing lazy in their religious lives, He |

may humble their s, as if by a lighter form of asceti-

saw nbtee peotheds punished: Onewas angry, one did not feel any
grief, but the third profited greatly from the fact that he rejoiced in
his punishment.
IT have
watched farmers ne type
of seed, and yet
one haddifferent idea doing. One was planning
to pay off his debts. deabdrer waseines to get rich. Another wanted
to be able to bring gifts to honor the Lord. Another was hoping to
earn praise for his work from the passers-by in life. Someone else
wanted to irritate a jealous neighbor, while there was yet another ©
who did not want to be anes by men for etched —
the seeds thrown into the earth, their names are f: ‘eeping vig:
almsgivi a pecoaineneai darian So aneour eine srin he Tverd
keep a careful eye on their motives.

up with hospitality; lust with love; cunning with discernment, malice

with prudence; duplicity, procrastination, slovenliness, stubbornness,
wilfulness, and disobedience with meekness; refusal to learn with si-
lence; conceit with joy; laziness with hope; nasty condemnation with
love again; despondency and indolence with tranquillity; sarcasm
with chastity; familiarity with lowliness. And behind all the virtues
follows eainigiory, as a a or ee a poison, for everything.

creer acer Gaeenens the Lord would be delighted if

in one moment all men became disspasionate. But He knows, in His
Bi arcetmrra ag not be to their advantage.
en requests LeOe
are ‘made to Grod and a e not immediatel
swered, the reason may be onee of the following: either that the peti-
tion is premature, or because it has been made unworthily or
vaingloriously, or because, if granted, it would lead to conceit, or be-
cause negligence and carelessness would result.

237
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Demons and passions quit the soul entirely or for some length of
time. No one can deny that. However, the reasons for such a depar-
ture are known to very few.
Some of the faithful and even of the unfaithful have found them-
selves in the position of being bereft of all passions except one, and
that one proved so overwhelming an evil that it took the place of all
the others and was so devastating that it could lead to damnation.
The material of the passions is done away with when consumed
by divine fire. It is uprooted, and all evil urges retire from the soul
unless the man attracts them back again by his worldly habits and by
his laziness.
D wort

am aware; namely, to depart when i ol Ge haben thoroughly

imbued with the habits of evil, when it has turned into its own be-
trayer and enemy. It is rather like what happens to infants weaned
from the mother’s breast, who suck their fingers because the habit has
taken hold of them.
NG OF dispassiom t co i icity
and f: irable innocence. ‘““To such is help rightly given by the
God Who saves the upright of heart” (Ps. 7: 11) and Who rids them of
all evil without their perceiving it. They are like
infants who when
undressed have no realization of the fact shatasyesare nals

the following: méréyyjsomething even the pagans have , for even

dumb animals bewail the loss of one of their own; ich all of
us can generate of ourselves;
sea, it. Hence i
naturally to us—and it has been shown to be so—if it is the bond a
the fulfilment of the law, virtues cannot be too far from nature. For
which reason, those who claim to be unable to practice the virtues
should be very ashamed of themselves.
At a level above nature are chastity, freedom from anger, humil-
ity, prayer, keeping vigil, fasting, uninterrupted compunction, and
we learn about these from men, from angels, and from the Teacher
and Giver, God the Word.
When confronted by evils, we should choose the least. For in-

238
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

1 Wt fre t SH Ao Ciel.
‘stance, we are standing at prayer and some’brothers approach us. We
have to do one of two things, either to cease praying or to upset a
brother by ignoring him. Now love is greater than prayer, since the
latter is a particular virtue while the former embraces all virtues.
Long ago, in my young days, I came to a city or to a village, and
while sitting at table I was afflicted at Bie same time by spake of
uletionysand of val gion: Knowing and fe 1€ 0 f glut-
glory. Iales re rae in rie young, J
7 aagrou of phitcanys often overcomes the demon of vainglory.
i

' en wha are very mino: ET Bae

enn” incitietsal iete

no one can plunder.
Humility can come only when you have learned to practice obe- |
dience. When a man has a self-taught skill, he may start having high
notions about himself.

leminsrtnetinis bE, They are quite aks ies hits since sida
ing destroys sensuality and obedience completes the destruction by
bringing in humility. Mourning too has a double effect by destroying
sin and producing humility.
A pious man tends to give to anyone who asks. Someone more
than usually pious gives even to those who do not ask. But to omit the
opportunity to demand the return of something from the person who
took it is characteristic, I think, only of the dispassionate.
or noameni Ramer
scrutini a ; ,a

eeAcual, eae we are proud, or because be anos envy us. The

last is1 a see for rejoicing, the middle for pity, and where th€*fitst

was this
<a iaan <iy fi
rvelous grace rice the souls of
rs to rise
tei to their torments.
Keeping guard over one’s thoughts is one thing; watching over

239
 JOHN CLIMACUS

one’s mind another. Distant from each other as the east from the
west, the latter is more significant and more laborious than the for-
mer.
“It is one thing to pray for rescue
stand up
against
them, and another till to despise and ignore them.
The first situation is exemplified\by the one who said: “O God. come
and help me” (Ps.69:2); the second by, “I will speak a word of contra-
diction to those who reproach me” (Ps.118:42),
and ‘““You have made
us a contradiction to our neighbors” (Ps.79:7).
And of the third the
witness is the psalmist: “I was silent and did not open my mouth, I
put a guard on my mouth when the sinner was before me” (Ps. :
“The proud have gone too far in breaking the law, but I have not
turned aside from my contemplation of You” (Ps. 118:51). So the man
who stands in the middle position will often make use of the first of
these, since he is insufficiently prepared, whereas the man who is still
at the first stage cannot use the second method as a way of overcom-
ing his enemies. However, the man who has come as far as the third
step will completely iignore the eae

the man who ha or | hing

at al .
cart PREIS 8senseof sate Can IERt hidden per-
fumes, and apure soul can quickly recognize in others the sheer fra-
erates of goodness that he himself has received from God. And
indeed he can also recognize—as others cannot—the foul odor from
which he himself has been liberated. —
Not everyone can achieve dispassion.
But all can be saved and
bereconciledtoGod.
Have a care that alien thoughts may not secure a hold over you. I
mean those that push you into being anxious to probe either the un-

e manifest outcome o Bride:

There is a demon of avarice that often takes on the guise of hu-
‘mility. There are demons of vainglory and of sensuality and these en-
courage the giving of alms. If we can keep ourselves clear of these, we
ought to do the works of mercy without cease.
Some hold that demons work against each other. But I do know
that all of them work to destroy us.
Our own determination and intention together with the help of
God come into play in every spiritual act of ours, visible or not, and

240
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

the latter is unlikely to operate without the former

isda EY ,
. : +e RSS ANE
MR ins.
e "les. 3° rit’ @ VE y np id J ld ALLU LS } u

sp ife. If this is so, then we ought to examine the matter; and

we should do everything in proper seaso or those entering the
struggle—I mean novices—there is a timeffor dispassion and a time
for passion. S tears and@ time for hardness of heart,
a time for obedience and a time for command, a time for fasting and a
time for eating, a time for the battle against the body our enemy and a
time for quiet in our flesh. There i; ne for the soul’s upheaval and
a\time:for calm in the mind, a time for heart’s sorrow and a time for
joy of spirit, SollTAG forteaching and a time for listening, a time for
pollutions, perhaps on accounw#of conceit, and a time for cleansing by
humility, a ti r effort and a time for secure rest, a time for still-
ness and a time for undisffacted distraction, a time for unceasing
prayer and a time for hongst service. Proud zeal must therefore never
be allowed to deceive us’ and we should never strain for what will
come in its own good t#me, since winter is not the time for summer’s
goods nor seedtime the proper season for the harvest. There
is a time
for the sowing of labors and a time to reap the astounding fruits of
grace; and if it were otherwise we would not receive in due time
whatever was proper to the season.
God in Hig/unspeakable providence has arranged that some re-
ceived the holyreward of their toils even before they set to work, oth-
ers while act@ally working, others again when the work was done,
and still othérs at the time of their death. Let the reader ask himself
which one #f them was made more humble.
Ther@ is a despair that results from the great number of one’s
sins.Itcomes from a burdened conscience and intolerable grief, when
the soul, engulfed by the mass and the burden of its wounds, slips
into the deep waters ofhopelessness. But there is also another kind of
sorrow. It comes
_ from pride and conceit and arises when a man
thinks it unfair that he lapsed in some way. Now there is a distinctive
aspect to each of these conditions which the observant will discover.
The one man gives himself over to indifference, the other continues
to practice his ascetic disciplines even though his despair persists in
him, which is a contradiction. Temperance and good hope can heal
the first man; the other will be cured by humility and by the practice
of judging no one.
We should be neither amazed nor shocked when we find our-

241
 JOHN CLIMACUS

selves watching someone do evil behind a cloak of fine words. After

oakigseze ctiatman seaEaeast RRec che poetaemaE a.

all, it was overweening pride that destroyed the serpent in Paradise.

Dayauhesnpamnisersoat
vod
POI
ital GaKoe
Ere er
saa
scm rar ene we novices, for in-
stance, do something and the humility deriving from that action is
not added to the possessions of «our souls, then the action, great or

doing what the Lord wants; for chose wiloshave

reached ania along that route, the test is an end to inner conflict;
and for the perfect there is increase and, indeed, a wealth of divine
light.
The tiniest thing may not seem so to the great. But to those who
are small, even great things are not quite perfect.
The sun is bright when clouds have left the air; and a soul, freed
of its ‘old habits and also pei has surely seen the a seers

od’s help, should do so.

Some people are full of praise for the be of miracle working and
for those other spiritual gifts that can be seen. What they do not know
is that there are many more important gifts and that these are hidden
and are therefore secure.
A perfectly purified man can look into the soul of his neighbor—
not of course into its actual substance—and can discern its present
state. He who progresses further can even tell the state of the soul
from the body. _
A small fire can wipe out an entire forest and a small fault can
ruin all our work.
There comes a breathing space from hostility when the powers
of the mind are awakened without stirring the fire of passion. There
is too an exhaustion of the body that can actually evoke the flesh’s
lust. So “we shall put no trust in ourselves” (2 Cor. 1:9). We ought,
rather, to depend on God, Who in His own secret way can mortify
our living lusts.
If it comes to our attention that there are some who love us in the
Lord, we must be very careful to keep our distance from them, since
nothing can so damage love and produce hatred as familiarity.

242
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

Sactale This:is earilealeely true of fies who ie not been over-

whelmed by the defilements of the flesh. For there is nothing so di-
rectly opposed to immaterial nature as material nature. Let him who
reads understand.
For laymen, superstitious observances are contrary to God’s
providence. But for monks they are contrary to spiritual knowledge.
Faltering souls should recognize the visitation of the Lord from
their bodily circumstances and dangers and outward temptations.
The perfect should recognize it from the coming of the Holy Spirit
and the acquisition of graces.
1on who attacks us when we are lying in bed. He ©
fires avi and dirty thoughts at us, so that, too lazy to get up and arm
ourselves against him with prayer, we might fall asleep with all these
dirty thoughts in us and have dirty dreams.
_There is a demon called the forerunner. He lays hold of us as
soon as we awaken and defiles our very first thought

Teme usingsabessantenas that occur to us,, fight to make us

say or do something improper. If they cannot get at us in this way,
they turn quiet and whisper to us that we should offer up arrogant
thanks to God.
with minds centered on the things of heaven, after the Sep
aration of soul and body rise up on high in two parts. Those with -
directed to what is below will travel that downward r or ae

there is no intermediate halting place for souls separated from their

bodies. Only one of God’s creations has its being in something else
and not in itself.!°* Yet it is amazing how it can come to exist outside
that in which it received being.

103. Le., first the soul and then, after the resurrection, the body.
104. L.e., the soul has its being in the body.

243
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Pious mothers bear pious daughters, and the mothers themselves

are born of the Lord. And it makes good sense to apply this norm in
reverse.
The coward should not go out to battle. This was the injunction
of Moses, or rather of God Himself (cf. Deut. 20:8), and the reason, a
good one, was in case the last spiritual lapse should be worse than the
first fall of the body.
Our eyes are a light to all the body. Discernment of the virtues is
a light to all the mind.

ve ed to God. Thened is Heed a vitally impor-

i
tant edehouie, and one not easily explained. What I mean is this. What
should we do at once, with no delay and as soon as possible, as is rec-
ommended in the saying, ‘““Woe to him who delays from day to day”
(Ecclus. 5:7-8) and from period to period? On the other hand, what
should be done moderately and with discretion, in accordance with
the saying, “War is made by leadership’4#(Prov. 20:18) and “Let all
things be done decently and in due ordér” (1 Cor. 14:40)
One l 44)
NN ote toe eaten s =
even tl
for , even he pray
will, since
truth
have lifted uD. mysou to’
sio

nalic 1

thers.or.even.the,brothers and they should decent their counsel, as

though ook God Himself, even when that counsel goes against the
grain, even when thejadvice comes from those who do not seem very
spiritual. God, after all,is not unjust. He will not lead astray the souls
who, trusting and gwileless, yield in lowliness to the advice and deci-
sion of their neighbor ose c a-
erially and invisibly speaks through them and anyone sho faithfully
aay to this nofm will be filled with humility. If a man can ex-

244
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

press on a harp whatever ails him, surely a rational mind and a rea-
sonable soul can provide better teaching than something inanimate.
- ‘ a , : ae of
( 7 7 7 TO: in

p COVE aba ed ev-

atte nme They asked God be the arl iter. any thoughts
1ey might have concernin g So ftl y
in ears eee 1,
vhether to do
something or to resist it. They pyayed hard for a fiz | number.of da
and they laid aside any inclingti f their own. In this way they
ound.out*wha C ce ther throt 1 of in-
omni?
Fee STEEN a i
latevel ig

were doing that they were to think 't of this sort could
only have come from God, i accordance with the saying, “We want-
ed to come to you once a once again, but Satan prevented us” (1
Thess. 2:18).
: here. were. yho-found that 'a venture of theirs had

lare that
Q.7Q Meer

e man who through illumination has come to possess God

within himself both in things requiring immediate action and in
those that take time will ~find immediate divine reassurance by the
second way. a
“~

Wavering judgment and lingering doubt are the signs of an un-

enlightened and vainglorious soul. )
God is not unjust. He will not slam the door against the man
who humbly knocks.
In everything we do, in what has to be done now or later, the ob-
jective must be sought from God Himself; and every act that is not
the product of personal inclination or of impurity will be imputed to
us for good, especially if done for the sake of God and not for some-
one else. This is so, even if the actions themselves are not completely

is always a da in seek or our im-

what isbeyond
mediate reach, and od has decided for us is hard to penetrate.
Is His will from us, for He knows

245
 JOHN CLIMACUS

that even if we knew about it, we would disobey it,thereby rendering

ourselves liable to greater punishment.
An honest heart is unshaken by the va ious sorts of distraction. It
sails along safely in the ship of innocencé
There.are.bre ngly a umb nd sks
the 1m
aan
eeu ar ty ters AS ae §
Jow it often happens 7 : . . .
- > to.do

things beyon
our capacities,
d an objective i Alter
o.tha andon even D0 2ake our-
sé ulous to our enemies.
I have observed men who were sick in soul and body and who,
out of a sense of the ie Bumiber of their sins, tried tordo what was

ay ompany we keep. dmndusfcenmetaeeee

the sheer perversity of the soul that pps disaster. The monk who
is free of the first two may escape the third as well. But the man af-
flicted by the third is discredited everywhere, for there is no place
safer than heaven.!95
i any conflict with unbelievers ) ,W ild stop after
lave twi roved t it where we are deal-

; ng the right thing ( BGal.coAndaveshala ace

meets

ear situations to test our own steadfastness.

A man whoeed ofhimself after hearing about the supernat-
ural achie of the saints is very unreasonable. In fact they
should each you one of two things, either to be courageous like them
in the striving for exec ace: or else to be deeply humble and con-
scious of yous ine ent wea Wa hrice-holy humility.
ome of the it thers. They tell us
not to sin alan but to bring company with us, and they tell us this in
order that our punishment may be all the more severe. I have wit-
nessed the case of someone who learned a sinful habit from another.
The latter came to his senses, repented, and desisted from evil, but his
change of nears was of no use because of what his disciple wasoe
Se al HO, astoundi

105. Yet Satan fell from heaven.

246
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

sein eseeivonlyawT ers: instance, that when we

are helas in
3 eee and abon ance we can keep vigil and remain
awake, whereas while fasting and wearing ourselves down with toil,
we are wretchedly overcome by sleep? Why is itthat our hearts grow
calloused when we are dwelling alone in silence, and yet compunc-
tion may be stirred in us when we are involved with others?
that dreams tempt us when we are hungry and omit to do so when we
are fullP Amid want we become gloomy and incapable of compunc-
tion, while after some wine we grow happy and are quite able to be
contrite. (Anyone who, with God’s help, can shed light on this ought
to do so, for the sake of the rh es For we sa are pale

ain our Rade

le in every way.
It is a hardy enterprise to inquire into the depths of God’s judg-
ment, for the inquisitive sail in the ship of conceit.
Someone asked this question of a discerning man: ‘Why is it that
God confers gifts and wonder-working powers on some, even though
He knows in advance that they will lapse?” His answer was that God
does this so that other spiritual men may grow cautious, and to show
that the human will is free, and to demonstrate that on the day of
judgment there will be no excuse for these who lapsed.
The Law, in its imperfection, says: “Attend to yourself” (Deut.
4:9). The Lord, in His perfection, tells us to correct our brother, say-
ing, “If your brother sins against you, etc.” (Matt. 18: 15). If your re-
proof, or rather your reminder, can be pure and humble, then do as
the Lord commanded, particularly in the case of those who will ac-
cept it. But if your progress has not reached this far, at least do what
the Law says.

106. HTM adds: “Yet because of the weakness of many, something should be
said.”

247
 JOHN CLIMACUS

You should not be surprised if those you love turn against you
after you have rebuked them. The frivolous are instruments of the de-
mons, and are used, especially against the demons’ enemies.
piece is one thing about us that never ceases to amaze m
d, the angels, and the saints to
7 arpireneonty taeaert is against us, we still
ieeaneeleretens HeTHASsiONS? Iedo'inot waht 8goeocdetailon
“ei ai And if everything that has come into being con-
tinues to hold onto its nature, how is it, as the great Gregory puts it,
that I am the image of God, yet mingled with eee Rte,
that a creature of God that has strayed from its created nature wi
continuously try to return to its original condition? Indeed everyone
should struggle to raise his clay, so to speak, to a place on the throne
of God. And no one should refuse to make the ascent, since the way
and the door lie open. To hear about the achievements of the spiritual
Fathers stirs mind and soul to imitation.!°8
Doctrine listened to is a light in darkness, a road home to the lost
traveler, an illumination for the blind. A discerning man is a discov-
erer of health, a destroyer of sickness.
Those who look with admiration on trifles do so for two reasons:
either through profound ignorance or else because they make much
of what their neighbors achieve so that they themselves may reach
humility.
sparwith demons. We should make outright war
on them. In the first case a falliis Sometimes given or taken, but in the
latterae the Snee: is cabeck pene Hbike attack.

enemies alia amnraierable tothem. eee, once sien a

_ disgrace but in his heart he was untroubled by it and in his mind he
was prayerful. However, he lamented aloud-and by feigned passion
hid his dispassion, Anotherpretended to be eager for the job of father
superior when in fact he had no wish at all for it. And how am I to
speak of the chastity of the brother who entered a brothel for what

107. Not Pope Gregory the Great of Rome but Gregory of Nazianzus: Or. 14, 6
(PG 35, 865A).
108. HTM has a longer version of this sentence: “It excites the mind and soul to
emulation to hear the spiritual feats of the Fathers, and their zealous admirers are led
to imitate them through listening to their teaching.”

248
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

appeared as a determination to commit sin, and who actually enticed

the harlot to take up the ascetic life?!°9 Or, again, it once happened
that a bunch of grapes was brought early one morning to an ascetic.
When the person who brought the grapes had left, the hermit ate
them, seeming to stuff them in, but in fact taking no pleasure in
them, and in this way he fooled the demons into imagining that he
was a glutton. Another one of the brethren once lost a few palm
leaves!}° and he pretended all day to be very upset about this.
However, people like this should be wary. In their efforts to fool
the demons they may fool themselves. It was to these that the refer-
ence was made: “‘As deceivers and yet true” (2 Cor. 6:8).
If anyone wishes to present to the Lord a pure body and a clean
heart, he must persevere in freedom from anger and in chastity. All
our work is useless if we lack these.
Eyes show different colors and the sun of the spirit may shine in
different ways in the soul. There is the way of bodily tears and there
is the way of thetearsof the soul. There is the way of the contempla-
tion of whatis before us and the way of the contemplation of what
remains unseen. There is the way of things heard at second hand and
the way of spontaneous joy within the soul. There is the way of still-
ness and the way of obedience. And in addition to these there is the
way of rapture, the way of the mind mysteriously and marvelously
carried into the light of Christ.
There are virtues, and there are begetters of virtues, and it is
with these latter that a wise man would have his dealings. The teach-
er of these parent virtues is God Himself in His proper activity, and
there are plenty of teachers for the derivative virtues.
We should be careful not to make up for lack of food by sleeping
too much, and vice versa. This is a practice of foolish men. I have seen
ascetics who, having yielded a little to their appetites, afterwards pun-
ished their poor stomachs by standing all night, thus teaching them to
be content if they were not filled up. 1 noth-
lignts Nard agains ) who Ne
[he demon of avarice
4ils toovercome. them,.it begins to tell them about the
jitions of the poor, thereby inducing those in’the,reli-
once more jateria
eae Be De Weasel AT
ne concerned

Thais”, Annales du Musée

109. Sarapion the Sindonite; see F. Nau, “Histoire de
Guimet xxx, p. 51.
110. See note 28, p. 105.

249
 JOHN CLIMACUS

2 nind the Lord’ O and

er to for
(Or? 1
rrowve >
d nner seventy times seven (cf. Matt. 18:22). And
you may be sure that He Who gave this command to another will
Himself do very much more. But if, on the other hand,
d, let us remember what has been said about the person
who keeps the whole spiritual law and yet, having slipped into one
passion, that of pride, is guilty of all (cf. James 2:10).
Some evil and jealous spirits of their own accord leave holy men
so as to deprive these of the opportunity to win the prize of victory
over them.
Blessed arethepeacemakers (Matt. 5:9). No one will deny this.
But I have seen foemakers who are also blessed. once de-
veloped an unhealthy fondness for one another. But a discerning and
very
experienced
father brought them to the stage of detesting each
other.He made them enemies by telling each man he was being slan-
dered by the other, and by this piece of chicanery he warded off the
demon’s malice, and isingDp> hatrec
Na orought an end to v
lean affection.
Again, there are some who infringe a commandment for the sake
of a commandment. I have known young men who were bound by
ties of honorable affection but who, to avoid any scandal, agreed to
avoid each other’s company for a time.
Like a wedding and a funeral, pride and despair are opposites.
But sufficient confusion can be caused by demons to make them seem
of a kind.
\/ CO
~ fo { itl e, some unc S-
tk erpretat
VU ion ofO scripture. This happens particularly in
ation

the case of people who are either vainglorious or who have had a secu-
lar education, and these are gradually led into heresy and blasphen y.
hing about God, or rather war
against God, by the upheaval, confusion, and unholy joy in the soul
during lessons.
ha
1 +t!

re is no VU u y to virtue. The psalmist says, “I have

seen the end of all perfection, but Your commandment is very broad
and is without limit” (Ps. 118:96). Now if it is true that some good
as-
cetics pass from the strength of action to the strength of contempla-
tion (cf. Ps. 83:7), and if it is true that love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8),
and

250
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

that the Lord will guard the coming in of your fear and the going out
of your love (cf. Ps. 120:8), chenclonsttteite boundary, and both in the
present and in the future age we will never cease to progress in it, as
we add light to light. Perhaps this may seem strange to many. Never-
theless it has to be said, and the evidence we have, blessed Father,
would lead me to say that even the angels make progress and indeed
that they add glory to glory and knowledge to knowledge.
Do not be surprised if demons often inspire good thoughts in us,
together with the reasoned arguments against them. What these ene-
mies of ours are trying to do is to get us to believe that they know
even our innermost thoughts.
Do not be a harsh critic of esort to eloquence toteach
many important things, | actions to match their
words. For edifying words have often compensated for a lack of
deeds. All of us do not get an equal share of every good, some
and for
the word is mightier than the deed (cf. Ps. 102:20-21; 1 Pet. 5:8) and
vice versa for others.
God neith caused norc ated evil and, therefore, those who as-
sert that certain passions com uralltoythe soul are quite wrong. |
What they fail to realize is that we beeniea kenionpmal scents of
and turned them into passions. For instance, the seed which _
we have for the sake of procreating children is abused by us for the
sake of fornication. Nature has provided us with anger as something it
to be turned against the serpent, but we have used it against our —
We have a natural urge to excel in virtue, but instead we
compete in evil. Nature stirs within us the desire for glory, but that
glory is of a heavenly kind. It is natural for us to be arrogant—against
the demons. Joy is ours by nature, but it should be joy on account of
the Lord and for the sake of doing good to our neighbor. Nature has
given us resentment, but that ought to be against the enemies of our
souls. We have a natural desire for food,!!! but not surely for profli-

251 ow 4c
 JOHN CLIMACUS

He Who was three nights in the earth came back and lived forev-
er. He who has conquered three hours will never die.!!2
If, after rising in us, the sun “knows his going down” (Ps. 103:19)
for our providential chastening, ‘“‘he made darkness the place of his
concealment” (Ps. 17:12). The night came on, the night in which the
fierce young lions go prowling once more after they had left us alone,
the lions and all the beasts of the woods of thorny passions, roaring to
seize the hope that is in us, and seeking from God their food of the
passions either in thought or in deed. Through the darkness of our
humility, the sun rises over us, and the wild beasts gather where they
belong, in sensual hearts and not in ours (cf. Ps. 103:22). Then the de-
mons speak to one another: “The Lord delighted in doing great
things for them.” And we speak: “‘ ‘He has done great things for us
and we are glad’ (cf. Ps. 135:4) but you are banished.” “See, the Lord
rides on a swift cloud,” on the soul raised above earthly longings,
“and He shall come into Egypt,” into the darkened heart, “and He
shall shatter the man-made idols” (Isa. 19:1), the empty fashionings of
the mind.
-hrist, althoughall-powerful,
fled bodily from Herod. Solet the
foolish learn not to fling themselves
into temptation. It is said: “Let
not your foot be moved and let not your guardian angel slumber” (cf.
Ps: 120:3),
Like bindweed round a cypress, vanity twines itself around cour-
age. And we must be ever on guard against yielding to the mer
thought that we have achieved
any sort of good. We have to be really.
careful about this, in case it should be a trait within us, for if it is,
then we have certainly failed. 1
If we watch outcontinually for signs of the passions, we will dis-
cover that there are many within us which, in our sickness,
we never
noticed. We were too weak, or they were too deeply rooted.
a Lee
r us

112. What is meant by “three hours” is obscure. Scholion 21a (1081A), quoting a
saying of Abba Elias, suggests that they are death, the coming into the presence of God,
and judgment. Scholion 21b (1081A) offers other interpretations: youth, maturity and
old age, or pleasure, vainglory and avarice, or the three temptations of the demon (pre-
sumably the three temptations of Christ in the wilderness). As the conqueror of the
three hours is Christ Himself, the expression could well refer to the three hours on the
cross.

252
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

Demiaasritens iicingyus from natewha would be easy and

valuable for us. Instead they like to push us into trying what is hard-
er
I find that Joseph is deemed blessed because he avoided an occa-
sion of sin and not because he showed evidence of dispassion (cf. Gen.
39:12). Hence the question of the type and number of sins, the avoid-
ance of which is rewarded by a crown. There is a difference between
running from a shadow and the greater act of hastening toward the
sun of righteousness. For to be in darkness is to stumble and to stum-
ble is to fall, and to fall is to die.
Those brought down by wine often wash with water, but those
brought down by passion wash with their tears.
There is a distinction between clouding, darkness, and blindness.
Temperance will cure the first, solitude the second. The third will be
cured by obedience and by the God Who for our sakes became obedi-
ent (cf. Phil. 2:8).
‘Two examples, drawn from the world, will provide useful analo-
gies for those with minds intent on the things of heaven. A monastic
community living according to the Lord is like a laundry where the
dirt, grossness, and deformity of the soul are scrubbed away; and the
solitary life for those who are moving from the monastery to total se-
clusion is like the dye-works where lust, the harboring of wrongs, and
anger are erased.
Some would claim that our repeated lapses in some matter are
caused by our failure to do adequate penance for earlier falls. But the
problem then arises as to whether those who have not fallen into the
e of sin over and over again have actually repented as they ae

should. People commit the same sin again and again either because
they have thoroughly forgotten their previous sins, or because in ee,

their own pleasure-loving way they keep thinking that God is merci-
ful, or because they have given up all hope of salvation. Now—and I
may be severely criticized for this—it seems to me that their real diffi-
culty is that they have not had the strength to grip firmly what in fact
aman

is a dominating habit.
Here is a question. Why does the incorporeal soul fail to perceive
the real character of the evil spirits that come to dwell with it? The
answer, perhaps, lies in the union of the soul with the body; but it is

233
 JOHN CLIMACUS

known only to the One Who bound them together in the first place.
An experienced man once asked me earnestly to tell him which
spirits were accustomed to depress the mind when we sin and which
to exalt it. The question left me at a loss, and I had to swear my igno-
rance. So this man, himself so eager for knowledge, taught me, say-
ing: “I shall give you the leaven.of discernment briefly and I shall
leave you to find out the rest by your own efforts. The spirits of lust,
of anger, of gluttony, of despondency, and of sleepiness do not usual-
ly raise up the horn of the mind. But the spirits of money-grubbing,
of ambition, of talkativeness, and many others pile evil onto evil. This
also is the reason why the spirit of criticism is so near the latter.”
A monk who has spent an hour or a day visiting people out in the
world or entertaining them as guests should rejoice at the time of
parting, like someone released from a trap. If however what he feels is
a pang of regret, then this shows that he has become the plaything
either of vainglory or of lust.
We must always find out which way the wind blows, lest we set
our sails against it.
Show kindness and give a little respite to old men leading the ac-
tive life whose bodies are worn out by ascetical practice. But insist
that young men who have exhausted their souls with sin must be re-
strained and must think of the eternal torments.
I have already said that at the beginning of one’s life as a monk
one cannot suddenly become free of gluttony and vainglory. But we
must not counter vainglory with high living simply because among
novices, to defeat gluttony is to run into vainglory. So let us fight it
by way of frugality. The time will come—and indeed is already here
for those really wishing it—when the Lord will enable us to trample
on this vice.
At the start of religious life, the young and those of advanced
years are not troubled by the same passions, since very often they
have quite opposite failings. Hence the fact that humility is so truly
blessed, for it makes repentance safe and effective for both young and
old. ‘:
i i nie what I am going to say now. There are
souls, true, upright, and rare, who know nothing of malice, hypocrisy
and deceit, and who are quite unable to live in religious communities.
Helped by a spiritual director, they can leave the harbor
of solitude
and rise heavenward without ever wishing for and experiencing the
ups and downs, the stumbling blocks of community life.

4254,
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

It may be that an aspect of love is to allow a neighbor who comes

on frequent visits to do what he pleases. Certainly we must show him
every kindness.
Here is another problem. Isthere a kind of repentance that can
destroy good in the same way as evil? If so, how, to what extent, and
in what circumstances?

A avoidydeath. We must watch and see (for perhaps sibee are

times when we can neutralize gall with bitterness) which of the de-_
mons uplift us, which depress us, which make us hard, which bring
us consolation, which darken us, which pretend to enlighten us,
which make us lazy, which shifty, which make us sad and which
cheerful.
At the start of our religious lives, we may find that our passions
are stronger than they were when we were in the world. This should
not upset us, and if we remove the causes of our sickness, then health
will come to us. Those beasts were formerly concealed in us, but they
did not reveal themselves.
It may happen that those who are otherwise attaining perfection
are tripped up by the demons on some minor matter. They should at
once use every means to wrench this out of themselves a hundred
times over.
Like the winds, which sometimes in calm weather ruffle only the
su e of the sea and at other times stir up the depths, so there are
e dark blasts of evil. Think about them. They reach down to disturb
e very hearts of those dominated by the passions, whereas among
those who have made progress, they merely ruffle the surface of the
mind. That is why the latter soon recover their usual calm for their
hearts were left undefiled.
It is characteristic of the perfect that they always know whether
a thought comes from within themselves, or from God, or from the
demons. Remember that demons do not automatically propose evil at
the outset. Here we have a problem truly hard to penetrate.
Two corporeal eyes give light to the body, and the eyes of the
heart are enlightened by discernment in things seen and unseen.

25>
 A BRIEF SUMMARY OF ALL THE
PRECEDING STEPS

A strong faith is the mother of renunciation. The opposite of this

is quite evident.
Unswerving hope is the gateway to detachment. The opposite of
this is perfectly obvious.
Love of God is the foundation of exile. The opposite of this is
quite evident.
Self-criticism begets obedience and the longing for health.
Self-control is the mother of health. The mother of self-control is
the thought of death and the memory of the gall and vinegar of God
our Lord.
The solitary life is the helper and the foundation of chastity.
Fasting quenches the fires of the flesh. And contrition of heart is the
foe of dirty thoughts.
Faith and withdrawal from the world are the death of avarice.
Compassion and love are betrayers of the body.
Unremitting prayer is the death of despondency.
Remembrance of the judgment is an encouragement to zeal.
Love of being dishonored is a cure for anger. And the singing of
hymns, the display of compassion, and poverty are quenchers of sor-
row.
Detachment from the things perceived by the senses means the
vision of things spiritual.

(256
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

Silence and solitude are the foes of vainglory. If you are in a

crowd, seek out dishonor.
A gloomy environment will cure open pride, but only He who is
invisible from all eternity can cure the pride hidden within us.
The deer destroys all visible serpents and humility destroys those
of the spirit.!13
We can learn to perceive intelligible things clearly by means of
every thing that exists in the natural world.
A snake can shed its old skin only if it crawls into a tight hole,
and we can shed our old tendencies, our worn-out soul, and the gar-
ment of the old man only if we take the straight and narrow path of
fasting and dishonor.
Just as a large-bodied bird cannot fly heavenward, neither can
anyone who feeds his flesh and gives in to it.
Dried-up mud draws no pigs. Dried-up flesh harbors no demons.
Too many sticks can choke a fire and put it out, causing a lot of
smoke. An excess of sorrow can often make a soul turn smoky and
dark and dries up the stream of tears.
A blind archer is useless. An argumentative disciple is a lost one.
Tempered iron can sharpen what is untempered. A zealous
brother can frequently save a lazy one.
Eggs warmed in dung!!* hatch out. Unconfessed evil thoughts
hatch evil actions.
Galloping horses vie with each other. A zealous community en-
courages individual zeal.
Clouds hide the sun. Evil thoughts bring shadows to the mind
and ruin it.
A condemned man on his way to execution does not discuss the
theater. A man genuinely lamenting his sins will never pander to his
stomach.
Poor men are all the more conscious of their own deprivation
when they look at regal treasures. A soul reading of the great virtues
of the Fathers adopts a much more humble outlook.
Iron is drawn willy-nilly by a magnet. A man in the grip of bad
habits is mastered by them.
Oil tames the reluctant sea. Fasting puts down the involuntary
fires of the body.

113. See note 86, p. 220.

114. Rader reads “‘the bosom” (kolpo) for “dung” (kopro).

257
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Dammed waters run back upstream. The soul constricted by

dangers often returns to God and is saved by repentance.
A wearer of perfume is detected, whether he wishes it or not, by
the aromas around him. A carrier of God’s Spirit is detected in his
speech and in his lowliness.11°
Winds stir the deep and temper stirs the mind more than any-
thing else.
What the eye has not seen and what has only been heard of does
not greatly stir desire. So ignorance is therefore a great help to the
chaste. .
Thieves do not pounce where royal armor is stored. Spiritual
thieves do not readily pounce on the man who has united his heart
with prayer.
Fire does not give birth to snow, and those seeking honor here
will not come to enjoy it in heaven.
One spark has often set fire to a great forest, and it has been
found that one good deed can wipe away a multitude of sins (cf. James
3252.5:20))
It is impossible to destroy wild beasts without arms. It is impossi-
ble to achieve freedom from anger without humility.
Just as by nature we cannot exist without food, we cannot afford
to slip into carelessness even for an instant at any time up to the mo-
ment of death.
Like the sun’s ray passing through a crack and lighting up the
house, showing up even the finest dust, the fear of the Lord on enter-
ing the heart of a man shows up all his sins.
Crabs are easy to catch, for sometimes they walk forward and
sometimes backward. In the same way, the soul that tries laughter
now, grief then, high living some other time, cannot make progress.
The sleepy are easily robbed and those living close to the world
are easily despoiled of their virtue.
When a man fights a lion, it is fatal to glance away for even a mo-
ment. So too with the man fighting against his body, who yields for
the merest instant.
It is dangerous to climb a rotten ladder, and in the same way all
honor, glory, and power pose a danger to humility.
A man eager for salvation thinks of death and the judgment in

115. HTM adds a sentence: “As the sun makes gold glitter, so virtue makes mani-
fest the man who possesses it.”

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 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

the same way that a starving man thinks of bread.

Tears can wash away sins as water washes away something writ-
ten. And as some, lacking water, use other means to wipe off what is
written, souls lacking tears beat and scour away their sins with grief,
groans, and deep sorrow.
A dung heap breeds worms in abundance. Piles of food breed an
abundance of lapses, evil thoughts, and dreams.
A man whose legs are bound cannot walk freely. Those who
hoard treasures cannot climb to heaven.
A new wound can easily be cured, but the very opposite is true of
souls with long-standing wounds. If they are healed at all, it is only
with the greatest difficulty.
A dead man cannot walk. A man in despair cannot be saved.
A man who asserts that he has the true faith and yet continues to _
sin is like a man without eyes. And the man who has no faith but who
does good is like someone who draws water and then pours it into a
barrel with holes.
A ship with a good navigator comes safely to port, God willing.
A soul with a good shepherd climbs easily heavenward, even if it has
earlier done much wrong.
A man, no matter how prudent, may easily go astray on a road if
he has no guide. The man who takes the road of monastic life under
his own direction may easily be lost, even if he has all the wisdom of
the world.
If anyone is weak in body and if he has suffered grievous falls, let
him turn onto the path of humility, taking on himself what is typical
of that way, for there is no other road to salvation.
Just as someone in the grip of a long illness cannot return to in-
stant health, it is not possible to overcome passions—not even one of
them—in a quick moment.
Keep track of the exact condition of each passion and of each vir-
tue, and you will know exactly how you are making progress.
Those who take mud in exchange for gold are suffering a loss. So
too with those who hold forth on things spiritual for the sake of mate-
rial advantage.
Many have been speedily forgiven their sins. But no one has rap-
idly acquired dispassion, for this requires much time and longing,*!®
and God.

116. Rader gives “labor” (ponou) as an alternative to “longing” (pothou).

Do?
 JOHN CLIMACUS

We should find out which animals and which birds seek to harm
us at the time of sowing, at the time when the shoots are green, and at
the time of harvest, and we should arrange our traps accordingly.
A man in a fever ought not to commit suicide. And right up to
the moment of death we should never despair.
It would be quite wrong for,a man to go straight from burying
his father to his own wedding, and it would be quite wrong for those
in mourning for their sins to look for honor, rest, or glory in this life
from men.
Citizens live in one sort of place, convicts in another. So too there
ought to be a difference in status between those who mourn their sins
and those who are innocent.
A king ordains that a soldier badly wounded in his presence in
battle should not be dismissed but, in fact, promoted. In the same
way, the King of heaven gives a crown to the monk who has endured
many perils from demons.
Perception is a property of the soul. Sin is a battering of this
property. Perception brings about the end or the lessening of evil,
and it is a product of conscience. Conscience is the word and censure
that come from our guardian angel, and we have it from the time of
baptism. And it is for this reason that the unbaptized do not feel very
much bitterness of soul for their evil deeds.
The lessening of evil yields abstinence from evil, and such absti-
nence is the starting point of repentance. The beginning of repen-
tance is the beginning of salvation, and the beginning of salvation is a
good intention, which, in turn, is the begetter of labors. The begin-
ning of labors is virtue and the beginning of virtue is a flowering, and
the flowering of virtue is the beginning of activity.
The offspring of virtue is perseverance. The fruit and offspring
of perseverance is habit, and the child of habit is character.
Good character begets fear, and fear begets observance of the
commandments, by which I mean those of heaven and earth. To keep
the commandments is to show love, and the starting point of love is
an abundance of humility, which in turn is the daughter of dispas-
sion. To have dispassion is to have the fullness of love, by which I
mean the complete indwelling of God in those who, through dispas-
sion, are pure of heart for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8). To Him be
glory forever and ever. Amen.

260
 Step 27

ON STILLNESS

We are like purchased slaves, like servants under contract to the

unholy passions. And because this is so, we know a little of their de-
ceits, ways, impositions and wiles. We know of their evil despotism in
our wretched souls. But there are others who fully understand the
tricks of these spirits, and they do so because of the working of the
Holy Spirit and because of the freedom they themselves have man-
aged to achieve. We in our sickness can only imagine the sort of relief
that would come with good health; but they, being healthy, can un-
derstand and talk about the weakness that goes hand in hand with
1ess.
Now this is why, being weak and infirm, I hesitate to hold forth
to you in this discourse on the haven of solitude. I know only too well
that at the table of good fellowship there is always some dog waiting
“to grab a piece of bread, a soul in other words, to run off with it in its
mouth and to devour it at leisure. Therefore I want nothing said by
me to give room to that dog, to give a chance to those on the lookout
for such an opportunity. I do not think it right to talk about peace to
_ those brave followers of our King, those warriors who are in the
‘midst of battle. I will merely say that crowns of peace and calm are
Ceefor eee ma aodnot weaken in the fight.
» subject should be mentioned sso as not toWOM addi

261
 JOHN CLIMACUS

ways onnghe ee atthe oe ‘eb the heart walling or ¢ sdeaes off in-
vading notions. What I mean by this will be well understood by the
man who practices stillness in the deep places of the heart, while the
novice will have no experience or knowledge of it.
A shrewd hesychast requires no words. He is enlightened by
deeds rather than by words.
bersrpaier xmsra errant Wiberg mony as something
that will trouble the depths of the soul The final point is when one
a fear of noisy disturbance, when one is immune to it.
has no longer
He who when he goes out does not go out in his intellect'!” is gentle
and wholly a house of love, rarely moved to speech and never to an-
ger. The opposite to all this is manifest.
Strange as it may seem, the hesychast is a man who fights to keep
his incorporeal self shut up in the house of the body.
The cat keeps hold of the mouse. The thought of the hesychast
keeps hold of his spiritual mouse. Do not mock the analogy. Indeed, if
you do, it shows you still do not understand the meaning of stillness.
is not the same as a monk living with another monk. A
solitary has to be very much on guard, and his mind has to be alert.
The second kind of monk often helps his brother, but an angel helps
the solitary.
fail
The powers of heaven join in living and worship with the man
who practices stillness in his soul. I shall not say anything to you
about the opposite situation.
The profundities of dogma are great and the mind of the solitary
leaps over them not without danger.!18
It is risky to swim in one’s clothes. A slave of passion should not
dabble in theology.
The cell of a hesychast is the body that surrounds him, and with-
in him is the dwelling place of knowledge.
When a man sick with a passion in his soul attempts the solitary
life, he resembles a man jumping from a ship into the sea and imagin-
ing that he will reach shore safely on a plank.

117. I.e., who maintains inner solitude when he goes out of his hermitage.
118. Or: “capers among them not without danger.” HTM translates: “leaps over
them safely.”

262
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

A solitary life is suitable for someone who is fighting his clay,

provided the time is right and provided hehasa spiritual director.
The fact is that you need the strength of an angel ifyou are to live a
solitary life. Here, of course, I am talking of those who live a real life
of solitude in soul and body.
When a hesychast gets. lazy, he starts telling lies. He hints at oth-
ers to get him out of his solitude, and when he leaves his cell he puts
the blame on devils. What he does not know is that he has turned into
his own devil.
Ihave known hesychasts whose flaming urge for God was limit-
less. They generated fire by fire, love by love, desire by desire.
A hesychast
is like an angel on earth. With the paper of love and
the letters of zeal, he has freed his prayer from sloth and carelessness.
Openly he cries out: “O God, my heart is ready” (Ps. 56:8). He says, “I
sleep, but my heart is awake” (Song of Songs 5:2).
Close the door of your cell to your body, the door of your tongue
to talk, and the gate within to evil spirits enduran of thece
sailor —
is tried by the noonday sun or when he is becalmed, and the endur-
ance of the solitary is tested by his lack of necessary supplies. The one
jumps into the water and swims when he is impatient, the other goes
in search of a crowd when he is discouraged.
Do not be afraid of loud nonsense. The spirit of mourning is nei-
ther afraid of it nor upset by it.
Those with a mind accustomed to true prayer talk directly to the
Lord, as if to the ear of the emperor. Those praying aloud fall down
in front of the Lord as if before the entire senate. Those who live in
the world make their pleas to the emperor in the midst of bustling
crowds. Now if you have learned the technique of prayer systemati-
cally, you will certainly grasp what I am saying.
Sit in a high place and keep watch if you can, and you will see the
thieves come, and you will discover how they come, when and from
where, how many and what kind they are as they steal your clusters
of grapes.
When the watchman gets tired, he stands up and he prays. And
then, sitting down once more, he bravely carries on with his task.
A man knew about all these things from experience and wanted
to describe them in close detail. But he was afraid. He did not wish to
discourage those already engaged in this or by his words to scare off
those on the point of embarking on this way.
A
man who begins to talk subtly
and with knowledge about still-

263
 JOHN CLIMACUS

: d stillness has arrived

. but he
| would: never ha

‘'d the sound of the 1V i he ev Dirits,

if ad not even peer splashed by those waters. Paul confirms this.
If he had not been caught up into Paradise as into stillness, he would
never have heard the unspeakable words (cf. 2 12:4).
Cor. The ear of
the solitary will hear wonders from God. Hence the words of the all-
wise Job: “Will not my ear receive amazing things from Him?” (Job
4et2 me
The solitary runs away from everyone, but does so without ha-
tred, just as another runs toward the crowd, even if without enthusi-
asm. The solitary does not wish to be cut off from the divine
sweetness.

BOROTR ce, Cive away Coething

youshavenG@gell what
you own.” That needs time.) Give to the poor monks so that their
prayers may be with you in your solitude. Take up your cross, carry-
ing it in obedien re strongly the burden of your thwarted
will. ARERR Chane rants
ow me” (Matt. 19:21). Come to union with
h youtthe- workings and the be-
12 0 hey never grow tired of their ever-
leans praise of their Maker, nor does he who has entered into the
heaven of stillness cease to praise his Creator. Spir
for what is material, and those who have become immaterial iin a ma-
terial body will pay no attention to food, for the former know noth-
ing of it and the latter need no promise of it; the former are
unconcerned about money and ccee and the latter;SRI
heedless of
the malice of evil spirits.
gle there
is no y
yearn-
ing |for the visible creation, while those on earth below have no long-
ing ‘for what can be sensed, because the former never cease to make
progress in love and the latter will never cease to imitate them. The
former know well the value of their progress; the latter understand
ao own we and we ing sor une ascent to heaven. The former will

will grovierhred OS
PSPMERT REPES o be angels. Blessed is he
who hopes; thrice blessed is he who lives to see the promise of being
an angel.

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 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

fferences between the Various Kinds ofStillness

ee nows,oe are differences of concept and aim in
each of thesciencIces. There are defects in all, because of some failure
of zeal or strength. Hence some enter this harbor, this sea, or indeed
the abyss of solitary life because they cannot control their tongues or
because of some previous habit of the flesh. Others do so because they
have a bad temper, which they cannot restrain in company, or be-
cause they: arrogantly think it better to sail on their own rather than
under the guidance of someone else. Others do so because if they live
amid material things they cannot do without them. Some think that a
life of solitude will enhance their zeal, and some wish to punish them-
selves in secret for their faults. Some think of the glory a solitary life
will earn them. And there are some—may the Son of Man find them
on earth when He comes back—who undertake this holy way of life.
because of a delight in, a thirst for the love and sweetness of God, and
they achieve a union of this kind only after they have shed all despon-
dency. For to link despondency to the loving of God is rather like
eaacrckins adultery:
rether a ladderof ascent, though my meager knowl-
edgemakesme:something of a second-rate architect. Still, let each one
‘take note ofthe step on which he is standing. Is it on the step of self-
will,of -fame, of a loose tongue, of hot temper? Or of possessiveness?
Is it on the step of atonement for sin, of greater zeal, of loving fire
added to fire? “The last shall be first and the first last” (Matt. 19:30).
The first seven are the work of the world’s week, and some are good
whileothers are not. But the eighth clearly bears the mark of the age
tocome.
O solitary monk, watch out for the hour of the wild beasts, be-
cause if you do not, then you will be unable to get ready the appropri-
ate traps. If you have managed to shake off despondency, this task
will be superfluous, but if it still plagues you, I do not know how you
can endure the life alone.
Why is it that there were not as many lights among the holy fa-
thers at Tabennisi as at Scetis?!!9 Cope with that question if you can.
I cannot say why. Or rather, I do not wish to.

119. Tabennisi in Upper Egypt was the site of St Pachomius’ first monastery. Its
characteristic features were a strict community life under an abbot with meals and

265
 JOHN CLIMACUS

rk to redu passions. Others sing psalms and spend

most of their time in prayer. Some turn to the depths of contempla-
tion. But whatever the situation is, let it be investigated in accordance
with the ladder and accepted in the Lord.
There aresome idle souls in the monasteries. Giving way to
whatever feeds that idleness, they‘come to an utterly bad end. Others
by living in community strip themselves of idleness. This often oc-
curs not only with the careless but with the zealous too.
same may be said regarding the solitary life, for it has re-
ceived many experienced monks but has rejected them because of
their self-direction and proved them to be lovers of pleasure. It has
accepted others and made them zealous and fervent by fear and con-
cern for the burden of their judgment.
The man who is foul-tempered and conceited, hypocritical and a
nurse of grievances, ought never to enter the life of solitude, for fear
he should gain nothing but the loss of his sanity. Someone free of
e faults will know what is best. Or perhaps, I think :
JIT OC*

he. Tard he

minence of death, an insatiable urge for prayer, constant wat

ness, the death of lust, no sense of attachment, death of worldliness,
an end to gluttony, a foundation for theology,!2° a well of discern-
ment, a truce accompanied by tears, an end to talkativeness, and
man er such things alien to most men.
—poverty
of spiritual treasures, anger on the increase, a growth of resentment,
love diminished, a surge of vanity. And I will say nothing about all
that follows from these.

worship in common. Scetis (the Wadi Natrun) in Lower Egypt was a center for hermit-
ages, where stillness could be practiced by solitaries or small groups of monks. Scetis
was sometimes used as a general name to include Nitria as well, some forty miles to the
north. Many of the famous Fathers whose sayings are recorded in the great collections
of the Apophthegmata came from Scetis or Nitria.
120. Theology here means the direct experience of God.

266
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

mani inspired Fathers and

brought to perfection in their own time—manifestations accompa-
nied by daily increase and progress. i ic hu-
mper, which must after all
diminish as the gall is depleted. Darkness is scattered and love ap-
proached. There is an ee lccmsemc.,
hatred. Lust, under ceaseless criticism, ' is
unknown; and zeal grows. There is compassionate love and a banish-
ment of pride. whateveryone
This is must seek, though few will be
completely successful. A well without water does not deserve its
name, and hence the obvious conclusion for those with understand-
ing.

ring up of bad thoughts, an increaseof consent,

captivity of heart, spiritual upheaval, disobedience, argumentative-
ness, attachment to things, unbelief, doubt, talkativeness, and—most
serious this—free and easy relationships. Most wretched of all is a
heart without compunction, which, in the careless, is succeeded by
insensitivity, the mother of devils and of lapses. tl y
Sigh
OP HTS euilspiritenf k tl li
e122

A monk practicing stillness and struggling against despondency

is often harmed, for the time to be given to prayer and contemplation
is wasted in the tricks and wrestlings needed to fight his problem.
I was once sitting in my cell having become slack. Indeed I was
thinking of leaving it. But some visitors came, and when they began
to praise me for leading the life of a hesychast, my slackness gave way

121. The ancient discipline of the Church allowed separation from an unfaithful
spouse. Indeed a priest was required to divorce his wife if she committed adultery.
There was no question, however, of remarriage.
de-
122. Scholion 14 (1120C) identifies the five as despondency, vainglory, pride,
different
jection and anger, and the three as gluttony, lust, and avarice. For a slightly
subdivision, cf. note 94, p. 229.

267
 JOHN CLIMACUS

to vainglorious thoughts and I was amazed by the manner in which

this three- demon stood up against all the others.
. Watch him every
hour. Note his stirrings and his movements, his inclinations and his
changes of face. Note their character and the direction they take.

and bad, since concern with the former leads on to the latter.
ayer. T art. And just as
you have to know the alphabet if you are to read books, so if you have
missed out on the first task, you cannot enter upon the other two.

asked there sik m

could not tell me because he was not permitted to do so. So I asked
him: “In what state is He now?” and the answer was that He was in
the state appropriate to Him, though not to us. “What is the nature of
the standing or sitting at the right hand of the Father?” I asked.
“Such mysteries cannot be taken in by the human ear,” he replied.
Ss
ire
2Linsi alae FORESTRY C
ACEPrarest me. And whether,
during all this, I was in the body or out of it, I cannot rightly say (cf. 2
Cor. 12:2).
It is very hard to shake off the sleep of midday, particularly in
summer time. Then—and perhaps only then—is manual work to be
permitted.
way
t greatly weakens the body and causes that
sleep which brings about pollutions in those practicing stillness.
Fight hard against these demons and they in turn will furiously at-
tack you. They will try to force you to desist from your labors, which,
they will tell you, are of no value. But there is no better proof of the
failure of the demons than the violence with which they attack us.
When you come out in public, be sure to protect what you have
accumulated. When the cage doors are opened, the birds fly out. And
if that happens, then there is no point in continuing with stillness.

268
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

A small hair disturbs the eye. A minor concern interferes with

stillness, for, after all, stillness means the expulsion of thoughts and
the rejection of even reasonable cares.
‘He who has truly attained’ stillness ignores the flesh. God does
not make false promises.
The man who wishes to offer a pure mind to God but who is
troubled by cares is like a man who expects to walk quickly even
though his legs are tied together.
There are not many outstanding experts in worldly philosophy.
But I would claim that rarer still are those who are truly expert in the
philosophy of stillness.
-experience of God ought not to undertake the
solitary life. He leaves himself open to many hazards. Stillness chokes
the inexperienced. Never having tasted the sweetness of God, such
people waste time in being set upon, robbed, made despondent, dis-
tracted.
~Avman who has experienced the value of prayer avoids crowds
like a wild donkey. After all, it is prayer that makes him resemble the
donkey and makes him shun everybody.
—ATan ROIS EriPped by passions and lives in the desert listens
to their prattle. I was taught this by that blessed elder, George Arsi-
laites,!23 whom your reverence!?+ knows. He was once the director of
my useless soul and the guide who brought me to stillness. “I have
observed,” he said, ‘“‘that the demons of vainglory and concupiscence
usually attack us in the morning. In the middle of the day, the attack
comes from the demons of despondency, gloom, and anger; and it
comes in the evening from the dung-loving demons of the miserable
stomach.”
It-is better to live poor.and obedient than to be a solitary who has
no. control over his thoughts.
stillness for a good reason but who
fails to see how it benefits him daily is either practicing it in the
wrong way or is being robbed of it by self-esteem.
im.

123. A spiritual master whose name occurs in the narratives of Anastasius, Narra-
tives, §§ 9 and 12.
124. Le., John, Abbot of Raithu, at whose request The Ladder was written.

269
 JOHN CLIMACUS

Let the remembrance of Jesus!25 be present with your every

breath. Then indeed you will appreciate the value of stillness.
Self-will is the ruin of the monk living in obedience. But ruin for
the solitary is the interruption of

. So the model for your prayer should be the widow

wronged by her adversary (cf. Luke 18:1-8), and for your stillness that
great and angelic hermit Arsenius.!2© In your solitude think of this
marvelous hesychast and remember how he used to send away those
who came to visit him, lest he be deprived of the better part.
I :

le O Wa O 0
them by your devout behavior. Indeed, offensiveness of this kind may
stop their footloose career. But be careful. Do not make the mistake of
offending a soul who in his thirst has come to draw water from you.
Discretion is necessary in everything.

125. The remembrance of Jesus is usually the context in which the Jesus Prayer is
practiced. Here it seems to be equivalent to the Prayer itself (cf. note 51 and the Pref-
ace, p. 48).
126. Arsenius was a Roman of senatorial rank who had held office in the imperial
palace. He was mistakenly thought by hagiographic sources to have been the tutor of
the Emperor Theodosius’ sons Arcadius and Honorius. Toward the end of the fourth
century he left Rome and retired to a hermitage in Scetis, where he lived until its dev-
astation by barbarian nomads in 434. He was at Canopus near Alexandria for a time,
where he was frequently consulted by Archbishop Theophilus (d. 412). After the devas-
tation of Scetis he lived at Troé, between Cairo and Helouan. He was famous for his
austerity and avoidance of visitors. The alphabetical collection of The Sayings of the De-
sert Fathers assigns forty-four sayings or maxims to him, with a further two under R
attributed to a monk of Rome. For a full list of references see DHGE iv, cols. 745-7.
127. From the late fourth century onward visitors came to the Egyptian desert in
large numbers to see for themselves how the monks lived. Some were serious inquirers
like Basil, Rufinus, Jerome and Palladius. Others were mere tourists. On the irritation
caused by some visitors see, for example, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Arsenius
28,
and The Lives of the Desert Fathers 1, 19-24.

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 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

ment, is done according to the Lord, then the Lord’s work is done
with spiritual perception as if He were there Himself. But if a person
is somehow robbed, then he is not yet living in accordance with
virtue.
“With the harp I will expound what I have to say” (Ps. 48:5) and
what I wish. And it will be in accordance with my imperfect judg-
ment. And in my prayer I will offer up my will, and from God I will
draw assurance.
Faith is the wing of prayer, and without it my prayer will return
to mybosom,Faiththeunshaken saneof the soul and is unmoved
by any adversity. The believing man is not one who thinks that God
can do all things, but.one who trusts that he will obtain everything.
Faith is the agent of things unhoped for, as the thief proved (cf. Luke
ATT The othe oFfetch is hard work and an upright heart; the |
one builds up belief, the other makes it endure. Fai of
the hesychast, for after all, how can he practice stillness if he does not
1eVe:

the judgment seat of C er. My good friend, you

A ST ON2H EE actice stillness, and noth-
ing else is quite so effective in scattering NS The prisoner
is always on the watch for the judge to come to the jail, and the true
worker is ever on the watch for the coming of death. A weight of sor-
row bears down on the one, while for the other there is a fountain of
tears.

stop their impudent harassment at does not

crush the soul. disteuonananenmmanangy =!" Ph 0%" good or bad. The
patient monk is a faultless worker who has turned his faults into vic-
tories. the daily onslaught of suffering. It
makes no excuses and ignores the self. The worker needs patience
more than food, since the one brings him a crown while the other
brings destructio is death, his cell
being his tomb mourning, and indeed
to lack those is to be a slave to despondency.
The warrior of Christ knows how to attack some enemies at a
distance and some at close quarters. Sometimes the fight earns a
crown and sometimes the unwillingness to fight has produced disas-

aia
 JOHN CLIMACUS

ter. Hard and fast rules cannot be laid down for such matters, since
we all have differences of character and disposition.
Keep a special watch for the one spirit that unfailingly attacks
you whether you stand, walk, sit, stir, get up, pray, or sleep.
Some who preside over the race of stillness always keep before
them the words: “I see the Lord before me continually” (Ps. 15:8). But
all the loaves of heavenly bread do not have the same appearance.
Others therefore keep to the words: “In your patience possess your
souls” (Luke 21:19). Others: “Watch and pray” (Matt. 26:41). Others:
“Prepare your works for your death” (Prov. 24:27). Others: “I was
humbled and He saved me” (Ps. 114:6). Others: “The sufferings of the
present time are not to be compared with the glories of the future”
(Rom. 8:18). Others constantly ponder the words: “Lest he snatch you
away and there be no one to deliverELON (Ps. 49:22). All race, but
only one receives the pri

‘ cai urge chastity on

the wanton women of theirisinaminangs. On the other hand, do not be
on the lookout for these visitations, preparing for them in advance,
because the condition of stillness is essentially simple and free.
Anyone planning to construct a tower and cell of stillness will
first begin the job by sitting down to count the cost. He will feel his
way by prayer. He will ponder whether he has within himself what it
takes to complete the task, and he will be careful not to lay the foun-
dations and then prove a joke to his enemies and a hindrance to others
who labor (cf. Luke 14:28-30).
Pay careful attention to whatever sweetness there may be in your
soul, in case it has been concocted by cruel and crafty physicians.
You should spend most of the night in prayer and only what is
left of it in psalmody. And during the day prepare yourself as best
you can.

i pirit, and they provide

guidance tothe readers. Let your reading be a preliminary to action,
since you are a doer (cf. James 1:22). Put the words into practice, and
then further reading will be unnecessary. Try to be enlightened by
the words of salvation through your labors and not from books. And
until you have acquired spiritual power, do not read works that have

“272
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

various levels of meaing!® since, being obscure, they may bring dark-
ness over the weak.
A single cup is sufficient to reveal the flavor of a wine, and a sin-
gle word from a hesychast can reveal to those with taste his whole in-
ner condition and activity.
Let the soul’s eye be ever on the watch for conceit, since nothing
else can produce such havoc.
Once outside your cell, watch your tongue, for the fruits of many
labors can be scattered in a moment.
Stay away from what does not concern you, for curiosity can de-
file stillness as nothing else can.
When people visit you, offer them what they need for body and
spirit. If they happen to be wiser than we are, then let our own si-
lence reveal our wisdom. If they are brothers who share with us the .
same type of life, we should open the door of speech to them in prop-
er measure. Best of all, however, is to deem everyone our superior.
I would have liked to forbid novices to engage in any toil during
times of vigil in common. But I demurred because of the monk who
all night carried sand in his cloak.!29
Doctrine tells of the holy, uncreated, and adorable Trinity. And
there is a contrast here with what is said about the providential incar-
nation of One of the Persons of the hymned Trinity. What is plural in
the Trinity is single in Him. What there is single is plural here.!3°
Similarly, some practices are appropriate for the way of stillness, and
others for those living in obedience.
The divine Apostle said: “Who has known the mind of the
Lord?” (Rom. 11:34). I will say:‘‘Who has known the mind of the man
99

128. L.e., works of an allegorical nature, for which spiritual discernment is neces-
sary in order to penetrate to the true meaning.
129. The young Pachomius was thus trained by his abba, Palamon, to stay awake
during vigils (though in fact they carried the sand in baskets): Pachomius, Vita Prima, §
6; Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, p. 115.
130. In the Trinity there are three Persons but one nature; in Christ there is one
Person but two natures.

275
 Step 28

ON PRAYER

Its
effect is t

Prayer is the - It is an expiation of

sin, a bridge across ptation, a tion. It
quieeaat is the ls, and is the nourishment of all bodi-
less beings. Prayer is future gladness, action without end, wellspring
of virtues, source of grace, hidden progress, food of the soul, enlight-
enment of the mind, an axe against despair, hope demonstrated, sor-
row done away with. It is wealth for monks, treasure of hermits,
anger diminished. It is a mirror of progress, a demonstration of suc-
cess, evidence of one’s condition, the f
For the man who really prays it is
tribunal of the Lord—and this prior to the
Let us arise and pay heed to what that holy queen of the virtues
cries out to us in a loud voice, saying: “‘‘ )
labor and are weighed down, and I will give you rest. Take upon
yourselves and you will find rest for your souls’ (Matt:
11:28-29), and a balm for the blows that fall on you. ‘For my yoke is
easy’ (ibid. 30) and is a remedy for great sins.”
ishi d and to
speak with Him
lest it should happen that—seeing us from afar without arms and

274
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

without the dress appropriate to those who appear before the King—
He should command His servants and His slaves to lay hold of us, to
drive us out of His sight, to tear up our petitions and to throw them
in our faces.
When you set out to appear before the Lord, let the garment of
your soul be woven throughout with the thread of wrongs no longer
remembered. Otherwise, prayer will be useless to you.
Pray
all'simplicity.
in The publican and the prodigal son were
reconciled to God by a single utterance.

and deal with

God as with a friend and master, lifting their praises and their re-
quests to Him not for themselves but for others.
Some look for great-
er spiritual treasures and glory and for greater assurance in their-
prayers. Some beg to be freed entirely from their adversary. Some
look for rank and others for relief from all their debts. Some seek free-
dom from gaol or for charges against them to be dropped.
But heartfelt thanksgiving should have first place in our book of
prayer. Next should be confession and genuine contrition of soul.
st to the universal King. This meth-
od of prayer is best, as one of the brothers was told by an angel of the
Lord.

ge, you may use that as an example y to conduct

ayer. Perhaps you have never stood before a judge nor witnessed a
cross-examination. In that case, take your cue from the way patients
appeal to surgeons prior to an operation or a cautery.
In your prayers there is aM aR MITER, for it is
the simple and unsophisticated babblings of children that have more
often won the heart of the Father in heaven.
Try not to talk excessivelyin your prayer, in case your mind is
distracted by the search for words. One word from the publican suf-
ficed to placate God, and a single utterance saved the thief. Talkative
prayer frequently distracts the mind and deludes it, whereas bre-
vity!3! makes for concentration.
If it happens that, as you pray, some word evokes delight or re-

131. Gk monologia, i.e. short prayers of varied content. See the Preface, p. 44; DS
viii (1972), col. 1131.

Dap)
 JOHN CLIMACUS

morse within you, linger over it; for at that moment our guardian an-
gel is praying with us.

with God. Approach Him rather in hm. and you ai a giv-

en still more boldness. And even if you have climbed the whole lad-
der of the virtues, pray still for the forgiveness of sins. Heed Paul’s
cry regarding sinners “of whom I am the first” (1 Tim. 1:15).
Oil and salt are the condiments of food; chastity and tears give
flight to prayer.
If you are clothed in gentleness and in freedom from anger, you
will find it no trouble to free your mind from captivity.
Until we have acquired true prayer, we are like those who intro-
duce children to walking.

an also give it firm endurance. Per-

severe in this, pacreiore and do not grow weary; and He Who sets a
boundary to the sea of the mind will come to you too during your
prayer and will say, “Thus far you shall come, and no farther” (Job
38:11). Spirit cannot be bound, but where He is found everything
yields to the Creator of spirit.
If you have ever seen the Sun, you will be able to converse with
Him in an appropriate way. But if you have not, then how can you
truly talk to Him?
Thaler rryereeetpulsion ofdistractions from the
very start by a single thought;!32 the middle stage is the concentra-
tion on what is being said or thought; its conclusion is rapture in the
Lord.
i and
ss. Elation is sometimes characteris-
tic of the former, but humili nd in the latter.

allow it to stray freely, then you

: ve . “I would prefer to speak five words
with my ahidarted (i Shr: 14:19) and so on, says the mighty
practitioner of great and high prayer. But prayer of this sort is for-
eign to infant souls, and so because of our imperfection we need

132. Gk monologistos, which may mean “by a repeated short prayer.”

276
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

quantity as well as quality in the words of our prayer, the former

making a way for the latter, in accordance with the saying about giv-
ing prayer to him who prays resolutely, albeit impurely and labori-
ously (cf. 1 Kings [1 Sam.] 2:9).

AT) ( O , and iS de 5 f
we stand before God, our minds seething with irrelevancies. It
disap-
pears when we are led off into useless cares. It is ro when our
thoughts stray without our realization of the fact. And it is defiled
when we are in any way under attack.

vants of praise are not sharing our company, we may openly put on
the appearance of those at prayer. For among the weak, the mind of-
ten conforms to the body.
‘Total contrition isnecessary for everyone, but particularly for
s.
While we are still in prison, let us listen to him who told Peter to
put on the garment of obedience, to shed his own wishes, and, having
been stripped of them, to come close to the Lord in prayer, seeking
only His will (cf. Acts 12:8). Then you will receive the God Who takes
the helm of your soul and pilots you safely.

i ye-P : ay
f: visible. What have I in heaven? Noth-
ing. What have I longed for on earth besides You? Nothing except
simply to cling always to You in undistracted prayer. Wealth pleases
some, glory others, possessions others, but what I want is to cling to
God and to put the hopes of my dispassion in Him (cf. Ps. 72:25, 28).
Faith gives wings to prayer, and without it no one can fly up-
ward to heaven.
to
the Lord, for all the passionate have advanced from passion to dispas- _
sion.
Even if the judge has no fear of God, yet because a soul widowed
from God by sin and by a fall disturbs Him, He will take revenge on
the body, the soul’s adversary,-and on the spirits who declare war on

vata
 JOHN CLIMACUS

im, hungering and thirsting for what

they want, since a badly trained dog rushes off as soon as it is given
bread and leaves the giver behind.
After a long spell of prayer, do not say that nothing has been
gained, for you have already achieved something. For, after all, what
higher good is there than to clingsto the Lord and to persevere in un-
ceasing union with Him?
A convicted man does not fear his sentence as much as a zealous
man the time of prayer. So if he is shrewd and sensible, he will re-
member this and will therefore be able to avoid reproach, anger, anxi-
ety, concerns, affliction, satiety, temptation, and distractions.

|. In this way, you will soon make progress. I have observed

that those who were outstanding in obedience and who tried as far as
possible to keep in mind the thought of God were in full control of
their minds and wept copiously as soon as they stood in prayer, for
holy obedience had prepared them for this.
One can be held back and distracted by the singing of psalms in a
congregation. This does not happen when one is a solitary. However,
despondency can assail the latter, while in the former situation the
brethren can give help by their zeal.
War reveals the love of a soldier for his king, and the time and
practice of prayer show up a monk’s love for God. So your prayer
shows where you stand. Indeed, theologians say that prayer is a
monk’s mirror.
So it
a emons, for these thieves
aim to steal one hour after another from us.
rere creer 4 RE EGR —_i even
when you yourself lack the gift of prayer. For often the very faith of
the person making the request will evoke the saving contrition of the
one who is to offer the prayer.
ave
have been heard, for it is their faith which has been active and effica-
cious.
A child is examined each day without fail regarding what he has
learned from his teacher. And it is reasonable to ask that there be a
reckoning of each prayer we have undertaken, in ordér that we may
have an idea of the power we have received from God. You should see
to this. And when you have prayed soberly, you will soon have to

278
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

cope with bouts of ill temper, something our enemies aim for.
Every virtuous act we do—and this is particularly true of
prayer—should be done with great sensitivity. A soul prays with sen-
sitivity when it has overcome anger.

When a inaolassulidbhorardah eosin gatghessoun ioit

when he is
praying, for the Spirit Himself wi cede for him with
groans that cannot be uttered (cf. Rom. 8:26).
Do not form’ sensory images during’prayer, for distraction will
certainly follow.
The confident expectation of gaining that for which one is beg-
ging will show up during prayer. Confidence. is.doubt absent. Confi-
dence is proof of the uncertain.
If prayer is a matter of concern to you, then show yourself to be
merciful. Monks will receive a hundredfold if they are merciful, and
they will receive everything else in the life to come.
When fire comes to dwell in the heart it resurrects prayer; and
after prayer has been revived and taken up into heaven, a descent of
fire takes place into the upper chamber of the soul.
Some claim that prayer is better than the remembrance of death.
But for my part, my praise goes out to the two natures in one per-
son.!33
When a good horse is mounted, it warms up and quickens its
pace. The singing of psalms is the pace and a determined mind is the
horse. It scents the battle from afar, is ready for it, and dominates the
scene.
It would be very wrong to snatch water from the mouth of a
thirsty person. Worse, however, is the case of a soul that is praying
with compunction and is snatched away from its task before it has
compieted its longed-for prayer.
Do not stop praying as long as, by God’s grace, the fire and the
water have not been exhausted,!3* for it may happen that never again
in your whole life will you have such a chance to ask for the forgive-
ness for your sins.
A man with a taste for prayer may defile his mind with one care-

133. Prayer and the remembrance of death (love and fear) form a unity analogous
to that between the divine and human natures in Christ.
134. Le., as long as fervor and tears remain.

279
 JOHN CLIMACUS

less word, and then at prayer he will not get what he wants in the
way he used to.
To keep a regular watch over the heart is one thing; to guard the
heart by means of the mind is another for the mind is the ruler and
high priest offering spiritual sacrifices to Christ. When heaven's holy
fire lays hold of the former, it burns them because they still lack puri-
fication. This is what one of those endowed with the title of Theolo-
gian tells us.135 But as for the latter, it enlightens them in proportion
to the perfection they have achieved. It is one and the same fire that is
called that which consumes (cf. Heb. 12:29) and that which illumi-
nates (cf. John 1:9). Hence the reason why some emerge from prayer
as from a blazing furnace and as though having been relieved of all
material defilements. Others come forth as if they were resplendent
with light and clothed in a garment of joy and of humility. But as for
those who emerge without having experienced either of these effects,
I would say that they have prayed in a bodily, not to say a Jewish,
manner, and not spiritually.

We may note that our all-good King, like some earthly monarch,
sometimes distributes His gifts to His soldiers Himself, sometimes
through a friend or a slave, and sometimes in a hidden way. But cer-
tainly it will be in accordance with the garment of humility worn by
each a
A man stands before a h. But he turns his face
will be of-

at faa time turns away oe nated thoughts. So if the dog

keeps coming, drive him off with a stick and never give in to him,
however much he may persist.
Ask Witt rearsrseeknwrtth obecTenCE”Wrctemeiaiagasience For so
it goes that he “who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him
who knocks it will be opened” (Matt. 7:8).
n your prayers be careful not to beg too much on e

135. St. Gregory of Nazianzus: cf. Or. 21, 2 (PG 35, 1084D),.
136. Le., how are we not transformed by receiving the Body of Christ in Holy
Communion?

280
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

oppositesexfor
theEnemy maycomeat
youfromtheunprotected
side.
detail, since you
might become a traitor to yourself.
The hour of prayer is no time for thinking over necessities, nor
even spiritual tasks, because you may lose the better part (cf. Luke
10:42).
Hold on to the staff of prayer and you will not fall. And even a
fall will not be fatal, since prayer is a devout coercion of God (cf.
Luke 18:5).
The-value-of prayer'can’ be"pilessed from thé way the demons at-
tackauobeninegCerviceenrennrensncr iteiil imey beinfered hem
the
vict
overory
the enemy. “By this I know You are on my side be-
cause the enemy will not come to gloat over me” (Ps. 40:12) in the |
hour of battle. “I cried out with all my heart,” said the psalmist (Ps.
118:145). He is referring to body, soul, and spirit, and where the last
two are gathered, God is in the midst of them (cf. Matt. 18:20).
We are not all the same, either in body or soul. Some profit from
singing the psalms quickly, others from doing so slowly, the one
fighting distraction, the others coping with iignorance.
If ith tk eg

These unholy beings are afraid that you may earn a crown as a result
of your battle against them through prayer, and besides, when
scourged by prayer they will run away as though from a fire.
Alwogebebrrt@ aneCed willtech yor ar saver.
You cannot learn to see just because someone tells you to do so.
For that, you require your own natural power of sight. In the same
way, you'cannot discover from the teaching of others the beauty. of
p , who “teaches man
knowledge” (Ps. 93:10). He grants the prayer of him who prays. And
He blesses the years of the just.

137. I.e., from the side of the weapon (prayer) rather than from the side of the
shield (ascesis).

281
 nytep a

ON DISPASSION

So here we are, stuck in the deepest pit of ignorance, in the dark

passions of the body, in death’s shadow, and still we have the temerity
to hold forth on the subject of heaven on earth!
Stars adorn the skies and dispassion has the virtues to make 1

te—and is known to be such—

d has made it master of all the senses; when he

keeps his soul Sonera in the presence of the Lord and reaches out
beyond the borderline of strength to Him. And there are some who
would claim that dispassion i f
t insist that it is a perfect knowledge o
God, a knowledge second only to that of the angels.
t. I have
been told this by someone who has tasted it. Its effect is to sanctify
the mind and freer eer accaecivere ener eT
a way that, after entering this heavenly harbor, aman, for most of his
earthly life, isenraptured, hecsomennaesiicailin DEAisn) and he is
lifted up to the contemplation of God. Someone with an experience
of this says, finely, somewhere that “God’s mighty ones of the earth
have become greatly exalted” (Ps. 46:10); and such a man, as we hap-

282
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

pen to know, was that Egyptian!38 who joined others in lengthy

prayer and held out his hands without ever resting them.
One man is dispassionate, another is more dispassionate than the
dispassionate.!39 The one will loathe evil while the other will have
the blessing of an inexhaustible store of virtues.

. A dispassionate
man was he who said that he had the mind of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor.
2:16), and the same is true of the Egyptian!4° who asserted that he was
no longer afraid of the Lord. Similar too was the man who prayed
that his passions might return to him.!4! Has anyone been granted so
much dispassion prior to the coming glory as that Syrian?!4? David,
the most glorious of the prophets, says to the Lord: “Spare me so that
I may recover my strength” (Ps. 38:14); but the athlete of God!43_
cries: “Spare me from the waves of Your grace.”
A .
mme ad nD wir Ps as 4a nas

is
pleasure.
in»
i is that you force yourself to eat even
when you are not hungry, then the height of temperance in a hungry
man is that he restrains even the justifiable urges of nature: If the
i ery is that one raves even over animals and over inani-
mate things, then the height of purity is to look on everyone in the
same way that one would regard inanimate objects. ultimateIf the
stage of cupidity is to gather without ever being satisfied, the ultimate
stage of poverty is the willingness to dispense with one’s own body. If
rieSogebelnoldsspandency is to have no patience even when liv-
ing in total peace, the final point of patience is to consider oneself to
be at rest even in the midst of affliction. furious
If to be even in soli-
tude is talked of as a sea of wrath, then calmness, whether your slan-
derer be present or not, will be a sea of long-suffering. Ifthe:high

138. Abba Tithoes: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Tithoes 1.

139. The man who is dispassionate, says scholion 3 (1153B), is unattached to
things; the man who is more than dispassionate is unattached even to the remembrance
of things.
140. St. Antony the Great: The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Antony the Great 32.
141. St. John Kolovos (the Dwarf): The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, John the Dwarf
1B;
142. St. Ephraim the Syrian.
143. St. Ephraim the Syrian.

283
 JOHN CLIMACUS

point of vainglory is for a person to put on airs even when no one is

present to praise him, the sure proof of its absence is that you keep
your thoughts under control when someone is praising you to your
face.[inisasiomeaiemeet that is pride, to be arrogant even when
poorly dressed, then surely amid Ce ae lowly
thoughts betoken saving humility to passion
is indicated by the fact that one quickly submits to whatever the de-
mons have sown in us, I take it then that a mark of holy dispassion is
to be able to say unambiguously: “I did not recognize the evil one as
he slipped away from me” (Ps. 100:4), nor did I know the time of his
coming, the reasons for it, nor how he went. I am completely un-
aware of such matters because I am and will ever be wholly united
with God.

in all he has to say or do or

think. i
through illumination. All human teaching is beneath him. “ ‘When
shall I come to appear before the face of God?’ ” he says (Ps. 41:3). “I
can no longer endure the force of love. I long for the undying beauty
that You gave me before this clay.”

(cf. Gal. 2:20). This is what

we are told by the man who fought the good fight, completed the
course, and stayed with the faith (cf. 2 Tim. 4:7).
Just as a royal crown is not made up of one stone, so dispassion is
pips &if we nee! even one of the mostpita virtues.

oO 2
any dwelling places within this city. forgiveness
Think ofthe o
sins as being the fortifying wall of this Jerusalem. O my brothers, we
should Sereenpernrcers if some bur-
den of past habits or the passage of time sho pede us, what a di-
saster for us! Let us at least i ansions
near the bridal chamber. e

who does not get there before the end, who does not climb that eal
TPS ee desert. '** Het eeerer aris soerd
man who sa By my God I will climb a wall” (Ps

144. HTM adds: “‘of fiends and passions.”

284
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

other, as if in the person of God Himself, says: “Is it not your sins
that separate you and Me?” (Isa. 59:2).
Friends, let-us break through this wallof separation (cf. Eph.
2:14), this wall that in our disobedience we built to our own harm. Let
‘ales 5 easier ; i : iis
hell who.can pardon us. Brothers, let us commit ourselves to this, for
our names are on the lists of the devout. There must be no talk of “a
lapse,” “there is no time,” or “a burden.” To everyone who has re-
ceived the Lord in baptism,!45 “He has given the power to become
children of God” (John 1:12). “ ‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Ps.
45:11) and am Dispassion,” He says. To Him be glory forever and
ever. Amen.

145. Literally: “in the bath of regeneration,” a standard patristic synonym for bap-
tism.

285
 Step 30

ON FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE

Pr (1 om 13; 13),since hatais the very

name of God igecit (cf. 1 John 4:8). To me they appear, one as a ray,
one as light, and one as a disk,!4° and all as a single radiance and a
single splendor. The first'can make and create all things, the mercy of
God encircles the'second and keeps it from confusion, while thethird
never falls, never halts on its way, never gives respite to the man
wounded by its blessed rapture.
The man who wants to talk about love is undertaking to speak
‘about God. But it is risky to talk about God and could even be dan-
gerous for the unwary. Angels know how to speak about love, but
even they do so only in proportion to the light within them.
“God. is-love” (1 John 4:16). But someone eager to define this is
blindly striving to measure the sand in the ocean.
[soemelaiitaanatiucharasasnanelentet | insofar as this is hu-
manly possible. In its activity it is inebriation of the soul. Its distinc-
tive character is to be a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, a sea of
humility.
ss, for love
thinks no evil.

146. A common image among the Fathers to express the unity of the Trinity.

(986
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

dispassion, and adoption are

name only. Light, fire, and flame join to fashion one activity. So too
with love, diepscee and adoption.
Fear shows up:if ever love departs, for the man with no fear is
either filled with love or is dead in spirit.

longing, fear, concern, zeal, service, and love of God. a man

who loves and longs for God as a smitten lover does for his beloved.
Lucky the man whose fear of God is in no way less than the fear of
the accused in front of a judge. Lucky the man who is caught up with
‘asatialsniloya slaves toward their owner. Lucky the man who is as
ed with the virtues as a jealous husband watch-
= over his wife. Lucky the man who prays before God like a court-
ier before the king. Lucky the man who strives without end to please .
the Lord as others siato please men.

ng-
ing.continues unappeased, and he murmurs to his beloved. That is
how it is for the body. And. that is how. it.is for the spirit. A man
wounded by love had this to say about himself—and it really amazes
me—‘I sleep (because nature commands this) but my heart is awake
(because of the abundance of my love)” (Song of Songs 5:2). You
should take note, my brother, that the stag,!4” which is the soul, de-
stroys reptiles and then, inflamed by love, as if struck by an arrow,!48
it longs and grows faint for the love of God (cf. Ps. 41:1).
The impact of hunger is not always obvious, but thirst has a defi-
nite and clear effect. It reveals to all the presence of a fever. Hence
someone who yearns for God has this to say: “My soul is thirsty for
God, for the mighty and living God” (cf. Ps. 41:3).
i ete-
lat wi ace of
invisibly, in a pure

When fear arises from the deeper reaches of the soul, it destroys

147. See note 86, p. 220.

148. Or: “venom” (i.e. of the reptiles).

287
 JOHN CLIMACUS

and devours impurity. “Nail down my flesh with fear of You” (Ps.
118:120). So it is said.

(Song of Songs 4:9). A ed. In this

regard it has been said: ‘““My heart w ll ust and I was helped,
and my flesh has revived” (Ps. 27:7). ul,
the face beams (cf. Prov. 15:13), and a man flooded!4? with the love of
God reveals in his body, as if in a mirror, the splendor of his soul, a
glory like that of Moses when he came face to face with God (cf.
Exod. 34:29-35).
dl
wonder, since an
opposite desire drives out the very wish to eat, and indeed I suspect
that the bodies oftheseincome HOROHTE Rae TTTOROUMERNE for
their bodies have been sanctified and rendered incorruptible by the
flame of chastity which has put out the flame.!5° My belief is that
they accept without any pleasure the food set out in front of them, for
just as subterranean waters nourish the roots of a plant, the fires of
heaven are t i ir souls.
ove, and total p
151

When a man’s senses are perfectly united to God, then what God
has said is somehow mysteriously clarified. But where there is no
union of this kind, then it is extremely difficult to speak about God.
The consubstantial!5? Word brings purity to completion, and
His presence destroys death, and when death is done away with, the
disciple of sacred knowledge is illuminated. The Word of the Lord,
being from the Lord, remains eternally pure.
The man who does not know God speaks about Him only in
probabilities.
Purity makes of a disciple someone who can speak of God, and he
can move on to a knowle
ord has first loved his brother, for the latter is
er. Someone who loves his neighbor will never tol-

149. Literally: “somewhat commingled.”

150. I.e., of the passions.
151. The knowledge of God from experience rather than from study.
152. Or: “the indwelling Word” (enousios).

288
 THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT

erate slanderers and will run from them as though from a fire. And
the man who claims to love the Lord but is angry with his neighbor is
like someone who dreams he is running.
Hope is the power behind love. Hope is what causes us to look
forward to the reward. of love. Hope-is‘an abundance of hidden trea-
1 iches in store for us. It is a
rest from labor, a doorway of love. Itdespair
lifts and is the image of
what is not yet present. When hope fails, so does love. Struggles are
bound by it, labors depend on it, and mercy lies all around it. The
ency, kills it with his sword. Hope comes
from the experience of the Lord’s gifts, and someone with no such ex-
perience must be ever in doubt. destroyed
Hope is by anger, for hope
does not disappoint and the angry man has no grace.
es. It is an abyss of illumination, a
fountain of fire, bubbling a to inflame the thirsty soul. It is the con-
dition of angels, and the progress of eternity.
Most beautiful of all the virtues, tell us where you feed your
flock, where you take your noonday rest (cf. Song of Songs 1:7). En-
lighten us, end our thirst, lead us, show us the way, since we long to
soar up to you. You rule everything, and now you have enraptured
my soul. I am unable to hold in your flame, and therefore I will go
forward praising you. “You rule the power of the sea, you make gen-
tle (and deaden) the surge of its waves. You make humble the proud
thought as a wounded man. With your powerful arm you have scat-
tered your enemies” (cf. Ps. 88:9-10), and you have made your lovers
invincible.
I long to know. how Jacob saw you fixed above the ladder (cf.
Gen. 28:12). That.climb, how. was it?Tell me, forIlong toknow.
What is the mode, what is the law joining together those steps that
the lover has set as an ascent in his heart? (cf. Ps. 83:6). I thirst to
know the number of those steps, and the time required to climb them.
He who discovered Your struggle and Your vision has spoken to us of
the guides. But he would not—perhaps he could not—tell us any
more.

153. Le., love. HTM adds: “or I think I might properly say King” (i.e. God).

289
290
 A BRIEF SUMMARY AND
EXHORTATION

Ascend, my brothers, ascend eagerly. Let your hearts’ resolve be

to climb. Listen to the voice of the one who says: “Come, let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of our God” (Isa. 2:3), Who
makes our feet to be like the feet of the deer, “Who sets us on the high
places, that we may be triumphant on His road” (Hab. 3:19).!94
Run, I beg you, run with him who said, “Let us hurry until we
all arrive at the unity of faith and of the knowledge of God, at mature
manhood, at the measure of the stature of Christ’s fullness” (Eph.

154. Gk odo. HTM reads “with His song” (odi). The textus receptus of Hab. 3:19 is
odi but Sinaiticus, lectio prima, has odo.

291
 pare Ltd
AEF,
ae

ill a aa-ds H,att)

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rade fi Se va buns s

re
 INDEX TO THE
PREFACE AND INTRODUCTION

Abandonment by God, 61 limacus: see John Climacus

Active life, 12, 60 Communion: see Eucharist
Alexandria, monastery at, 4, 15, 22, 35- Confession, 37-38, 43-44
36, 38, 41 Contemplative life, 12, 15, 16, 60
Anadochos, 41-42 Cook, A.B., 11n
Anastasius of Sinai, Abbot, 4 Coptic Macarian cycle, 49
Anastasius of Sinai, Narratives, 2n, 4n, 5n Couilleau, G., 12n, 63n, 64n, 66n, 69
Angels, 34, 35, 54, 57 Crucifixion, 42
Anger, 31, 61
Antony of Egypt, St., 36, 60n Daniel of Raithu, 2n, 3n, 4
Apatheia: see Dispassion Darkness, the divine, 56
Apophatic theology, 57 Death: fear of, 18-19; remembrance of,
Apophthegmata Patrum: see Sayings of 22, 46, 47
the Desert Fathers Déchanet, J.-M., 49n
Angelus Clarenus, 68 Deification, 54
Arab expansion, 59 Demons, xxiv, 32, 47, 48, 60
Augustine, St., xvii—xviil, 21 Diadochus of Photice, St., 32, 47, 48, 49,
52-53, 61
Baptism, 9, 22, 26 Dionysius the Areopagite, St., 56-57, 62
Barsauma, xiv Director: see Spiritual father
Basil of Caesarea, St., xix, 7, 51 Discernment (diakrisis), 15
Beck, H.-G., 3n Dispassion (apatheia), 32-34, 60
Benesévic, V., 2n Dogma and spirituality, 17-19
Bernard of Clairvaux, St., 34 Dorotheus, St., 42, 47n, 61
Bertaud, E., 11n Dositheus, Life of, 47n
Bible, xii—xiii, 59 Dreams, 15, 61
Blair, T.W., 70
Body: intrinsically good, 21, 32; body- Epektasts, 57
soul relationship, xviii-xx, xxiii, 34; Ephraim the Syrian, St., 62
unfallen and fallen state, 28; in prayer, Eros, 31-32
50, 54; spiritualization of, 25, 29; Eschatology, 30, 32, 56
transfiguration of, 16, 29-30, 55-56 Essence-energies distinction, 56
Bogdanovicé, D., 17, 18, 69 Eucharist, xxvi, 9, 34
Breathing techniques in prayer, 48—50 Evagrius, 12, 20, 52, 58, 60-61, 62-65
Butler, C., 34n Evergetinos, 67
Exile, 22
Cassian: see John Cassian
Cenobitic life, xxiv—xxv, 3, 35 Fall, 21, 23, 28-29, 30, 33
Chalcedon, definition of, 18 Fasting, 4, 20, 31
Chariton of Valamo, 43n Florovsky, G., 8
Chitty, D.J., 18n, 22, 70
Christology, 18-19 Gaza, school of, 42, 47, 61
Church, 34 George Arsilaites, 59
Clement of Alexandria, St., 56-57 George, brother of John Climacus, 6
Clergy, 34 Gethsemane, 18-19

293
 INDEX

Gillet, L., 23n, 45n Ladder of Divine Ascent: see John

Gouillard, J., 43n, 49n Climacus
Grace, 14-15, 19-20, 27; and nature, 25 Laughter, 23, 24
Gregory the Great, St., 34, 62n, 63, 64 Lazarus, Archimandrite, 69
Gregory of Nazianzus, St., 11, 49n, 62, Light, uncreated, 16, 54-56
63n, 64n Logismoi, 38
Gregory of Nyssa, St., 56-58 Lot-Borodine, M., 23n
Gregory Palamas, St., 7, 49, 56, 67 Love, 17; primacy of, 12, 58, 61; and eros,
Gregory of Sinai, St., 49, 67 31-32; and dispassion, 33, 60; for
Gribomont, J., 68n neighbor, 35-36
Guillaumont, A., 49n, 54n
Marcarius of Egypt, St., 49n; Macarian
Hausherr, I., 23n, 36n, 45n, 46, 49n, 50n, Homilies, 56, 60-61
62n, 69 Macedonius, monk at Alexandria, 33
Heart, 53-54, 60-61 Maloney, G.A., 23n
Heppell, M., 11n, 20, 66n, 69 Mark the Ascetic, St., 39, 61
Hermit: see Solitary life Marriage, xx, 6-7
Hesychast, 10, 50-51, 53 Marsili, S., 60n
Hesychia: see Stillness Martin, J.R., 11n, 69
Hesychius the Horebite, 30 Martyrius, Abba, 3-4
Hesychius of Sinai, St., 45, 46, 50, 67 Maximus the Confessor, St., 3, 18-19, 58,
59, 60
Ignatios Xanthopoulos, St., 67 Menas, monk at Alexandria, 30n
Imitation of Christ, 17, 19 Monastic life, xi-xvi, xxi, xxiv,
Incarnation, 18-19 XXVII-XXxviii, 7, 22, 29, 34-36; three
Isaac the Syrian, St., 26-27, 33, 51, 53 forms, 3
Isaias, Abba, 61 Monologia, monologistos, 44, 46
Isidore, monk at Alexandria, xxv Monotheletism, 18-19
Ivan IV, Tsar, 68 Moses, 5, 37, 55, 56; Mountain of, 1, 4
Mother of God, 34
Jesus Prayer, 45-53, 61, 67
Mourning (penthos): see sorrow
John Cassian, St., xiv, 60n, 62, 63
John Chrysostom, St.: 11; Liturgy of, 44
Nau, F., 2n
John Climacus, St.; name, 2; date, 2-3;
Nicephorus of Mount Athos, St., 49
life, xxi, 3-6; liturgical
Nicetas Stethatos, 67
commemoration, 66, Ladder, monastic
Nil Sorskii, St., 68
setting, xili-xv, xxi, 6-7; style, 9-10;
Nilus of Ancyra, St., 49n, 60n
structure, 11-14; sources, 59-66;
scholia, 66; influence, 66-67;
Obedience, xxv—xxvii, 14, 15, 18, 22, 36
translations, 67-68, 69; To the Shepherd,
Origen, 62
11
John Moschus, 3n, 60n
Pachomius, St., 60n
John the Prophet, dt., +2, +/, 01
Palladius, 60n
John of Raithu, 5-6, 11
Passions, 21, 30-32
John the Sabbaite, 4, 6n, 59
Penitence: see Repentance
Joseph of Volokalamsk, St., 68
Joy, 15; and sorrow, 24, 26-27
Person, the human, xx, 21; threefold
division of soul, 63
Justinian, Emperor, 1, 3
Personal experience, 7-8, 58-59
Kallistos Xanthopoulos, St., 67 Peter the Apostle, 7
Krivochéine, B., 47n Peter of Damascus, St., 67
Petit, L., 3n
Ladder, image of, xxiii, xxvii, 10-11, 16, Philemon, Life of Abba, 47
66 Philo, 56-57

294
 INDEX

Philotheus of Sinai, St., 67 Sophronius of Jerusalem, St., 3n

Pilgrim, The Way of a, 68 Sophrony, Archimandrite, 17, 62n
Plato, 63n Sorrow, 16, 23; joyful sorrow, 24, 26-27
Prayer, 9; definition of, 43; intercession, Spirit, Holy, 61
40; thanksgiving comes before Spiritual father, xxv, xxvi, 8, 11, 36-43,67
penitence, 43-44; prayer of publican, Stillness (hesychia), 15, 16, 18, 48, 50-53,
44; Jesus Prayer, 45-53; prayer in 67
words, 44; wordless, 52-53, 60; with Sumner, M.O., 69
arms in form of cross, 48; continual, 4, Symeon the New Theologian, St., 7, 27,
48-49, 53; prayer of the heart, 53-54; 56, 67
rapture of ecstasy, 54, 55. See Body, Synergy, 19
Breathing
Priesthood, 6, 34, 38 Tears, 4, 23-27, 29, 50, 67
“Prison”, 5, 22. See Alexandria Temptation, 33, 61
Prodigal son, 26, 44 Thais, Story of, 60n
Progress, perpetual, 57-58” Thanksgiving, 43
Theodoret of Cyrrhus, 11
Rabois-Bousquet, S., 3n “Theology” (contemplative life), 16
Raithu, xxi, 5 Theophan the Recluse, 43
Rayez, A., 11n Theosis, 54
Regnault, L., 45n Tholas, xxi, 4-5
Renunciation, xxiii, 22 Transfiguration of Christ, 1-2, 56; of the
Repentance, 16, 22-24, 43-44, 47 body, 16, 29-30, 55-56
Resurrection of the body, 28, 29-30; of Trinity, Holy, 9, 17, 18, 58
the soul, 33
Varsanuphius, St.,42, 47, 61
Sakkos, S.N., 2n Vices, xxvii, 14, 15, 21, 60; eight (seven)
Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 37n, 40, evil ‘thoughts’, 62-66
59-60 Virtues, xxvii, 14, 15, 18, 21
Sexual impulse, 31 Visions, 15, 54
Sin, 21, 32, 39, 64. See Vices Volker, W., 69
Sinai: mountain, 1, 4; monastery, 3;
darkness of, 57 Ware, K., 7n, 23n, 36n, 39n, 49n, 50n,
Skrobucha, H., 70 56n
Sleep, 46, 47, 53
Solitary life, xxiv, 3, 16, 35. See Stillness Yannaras, C., 12, 32, 33n, 70

295
 INDEX TO
THE TEXT

Aaron, 75n Avarice, 187-188, 190, 234n, 240, 249,

Abandonment by God, 108, 129, 143, 200, 256, 283
252
Abbacyrus, monk at Alexandria, 100-101, Baker, monk at Alexandria, 95-96
119 Balaam, 226
Abraham, 88 Baptism, 73, 76, 82, 118n, 121, 133, 137,
Acacius, monk in Asia, 115-116 144, 285
Active life, 75, 77, 91, 134, 239, 250, 254, Basil of Caesarea, St., 137n, 216n, 270n
266 Bestiality, 94, 174-175, 283
Adam, 141, 169, 171, 216 Blasphemy, 210, 211-213, 236
Adultery, 267 Body: intrinsically good, 175, 185-186,
Alertness, 196-198 209; needs to be disciplined, 75, 83, 87,
Alexandria, monastery at, 93-105, 128 125, 139, 140, 153, 165, 173, 181, 185,
Almsgiving, 163, 187, 240 186, 232; sensuality in, 178; body-soul
Amalek, 75, 184 relationship, 75, 169, 178, 183, 185-186,
Ambition, 203, 234n 200, 227, 243, 262; in prayer, 184, 277;
Anastasius of Sinai, 115n, 269n spiritualization of, 74, 75, 171, 178,
Angels: help us, 75, 87, 248, 255; reveal 280, 288; transfiguration of, 248, 280,
judgments, 90; white hair of, 97; bring 288 ;
peace of mind, 181; cause humble to Breathing techniques in prayer, 117, 169,
exult, 200; not tricked into sinning, 270
226; turned into demons by pride, 227; Bursar, monk at Alexandria, 99, 102
light for monks, 234; progress in
glory, 251, 264, 289; seen in visions, Cassian: see John Cassian
268; characterized by love, 286, 289; Cenobitic life: difficulties of, 79, 110, 118;
guardian angels, 124-125, 195, 276 benefits of, 120, 147, 199, 222, 253, 257,
Anger: definition of, 146, 147, 283; causes 266-267
of, 148, 150, 207, 210, 235; cures for, Chastity: definition of, 171-172; mother
146, 148, 150, 256; disqualifies monk of, 176, three stages of, 172; attainment
for solitary life, 79, 148; usefulness of, and preservation of, 83, 171, 172, 173,
147-148, 251; disturbs community life, 176, 177, 179, 183-184, 185, 256;
148; leads to action, 149; exacerbated implies conquest of nature, 172, 173,
by asceticism, 149; incompatible with 179, 185-186; makes us like angels,
love, 289 171, 181; makes us like God, 176;
Antiochus, monk in Asia (a/ias John the renders bodies incorruptible, 179, 288;
Sabbaite), 116-117 essential virtue, 249; loss of, 173-174,
Antony of Egypt, St., 175, 195, 217n, 283n 175, 178, 181-182, 183, 184, 185, 237;
Apatheia: see Dispassion fall from may be occasion of humility,
Apophthegmata Patrum: see Sayings of 176; faults to which chaste are prone,
Desert Fathers 177, 237; ascetics and women, 174, 179,
Apostolic Canons, 167n, 177 180, 181, 248-249. See Purity
Arsenius, 270 Christ: see Jesus Christ
Asceticism, 83, 204, 221, 227, 272. See Climacus: see John Climacus
Body Communion: see Eucharist
Asia, monastery in, 115-116 Compunction: definition of, 136, 139; gift

296
 INDEX

from God, 141; necessary to monks, Director: see Spiritual father

87, 118, 137, 161, 247, 267; comforts Discernment (diakrisis): definition of, 229,
the sick, 233 origin of, 114; characteristic of the
Conceit, 82, 151 advanced, 232, 233, 244, 248, 254, 255,
Condemnation, 113, 157, 173, 207, 236 273n; loss of, 230
Confession, 93-95, 102, 106, 107, 108-109, Dishonor: see Indignity
185, 281 Dispassion (apatheia): definition of, 75n,
Conscience, 95, 136, 230, 260, 270 282; origins of, 109, 143, 176; kinds and
Contemplation of intelligibles, 249, 257 degrees of, 237-238, 283; attained by
Contemplative life, 75n, 79n, 91, 143, 145, the advanced, 237, 239, 240, 259, 283,
249, 250, 266, 282 284; equivalent to heavenly Jerusalem,
Contrition, 185, 196, 224 284; attribute of Christ, 285; not
Correction of monks, 95, 96, 97-98, 101, distinguished from love, 287
104, 120, 149 Dissimulation, 248-249
Cowardice, 199-200 Distractions: see prayer
Disturbance (pararripismos), 182
David, 104, 139, 283 Dogma, 262
Death, fear of, 132, 133, 143 Dreams, 89-90, 179, 181, 247, 259
Death, remembrance of: ceaseless, 118, Drunkenness, 144n, 161, 211
124; essential work, 132, 258; prevents
sin, 133, 134, 140, 159, 160, 256; true Easter, 165, 167
philosophy, 135; obtains contrition, Ecstasy (rapture), 134, 142, 209, 249, 268,
196; inseparable from true prayer, 279 276, 282
Dejection, 235, 250 Egypt, 75, 86, 87
Demons: our hidden enemies, 79; beyond Elias, Abba, 252n
salvation, 102; assail monks, 81-82, Elijah, 142, 145
108, 174, 180, 229-230; produce despair Eliphaz, 200
and insanity, 82, 209, 212; attack by Emissions, 108, 169, 172, 178, 243
suggestion, 79, 86, 88, 141, 174, Endurance of hardship, 239. See
176-177, 185, 194-195, 197, 230, 251, Asceticism
253; prophecy in dreams, 89; take on Enlightenment: see []]umination
appearance of angels, 89-90, 209; Envy, 190, 210
whisper that God is lenient, 144, 175; Ephraim the Syrian, St., 283n
withdraw to make us careless, 147, Eucharist, 78n, 177, 192, 211, 212, 280
180, 238; have special tasks, 174, 203, Eunuchs, 167, 173
239, 240, 243, 255; blaspheme the Evagrius, 166, 201n, 229n
Mysteries, 211-212; can be outwitted, Eve, 86
221, 222-223, 249 Evil, 171, 215, 238, 246, 251
Despair: produced by despondency, 80n, Exile, 83, 85-90, 256
231, 241; by demons, 82, 175, 212; by
incompetent director, 233; daughter of Faith, 271, 277, 286
gluttony, 170; prevents salvation, 130, Fall, 141, 171, 184n, 216
133, 259; increases with vice, 202; Familiarity, 179, 180, 237, 242, 267
linked with pride, 241, 246, 250; Fantasy, 89, 178-179, 197
remedies for, 133, 241 Fasting: characteristic of active life, 118,
Despondency (akidia): definition of, 80n, 168, 239; fruits of, 168, 169, 256, 257;
162, 163, 283; deadliest of vices, 163; difficulty of, 169; will not keep one
plagues solitaries, 80, 162, 233, 265, from falling, 173; can cause sleep, 194,
268; mode of operation, 163, 188, 265, 249; cannot justify, 227
268; remedies for, 105, 162, 163, 164, Fear of God, 77, 133, 287
256, 289 Fetters, 125
Detachment, 81-84, 86, 182, 189, 190, Fire, holy, 76, 171, 280, 288
192, 256 Flattery, 202

297
 INDEX

Fool, 116 dangers to 237, 258; incompatible with

Fornication: causes of, 169, 183; aided by sin, 223, 227; manifests God, 236
nature, 173; stink of, 176; seriousness Hur, 75n
of, 176, 177; attacks solitaries, 180; Hypocrisy: definition of, 160-161, 215;
darkens the mind, 185, trouble the origin of, 210, 236; fruits of, 160, 206;
sick, 233 destructiveness of, 216; remedies for,
149, 220
Garments of skin, 184
Garrulity: see Talkativeness Idolatry, 189, 190, 202, 252
George Arsilaites, 269 Ignorance, 111, 216-217
Gluttony: definition of, 165, 283; origins Illness, 232-233, 236-237
of, 148, 166; fruits of, 165, 167, 170, Illumination (enlightenment), 143, 219,
171, 257; allied with fornication, 165, 223, 229, 245, 280, 284, 288, 289. See
167, 168, 169, 232, 233; prince of Light
passions, 169, 239; temptation in Impurity, 176, 280. See Fornication
cenobitic life, 79, 113, 165, 233, 239; Indignity (dishonor): like living water,
caught up with hospitality, 165, 237; 104, 111; sanctifies, 106; purifies, 113,
checked by vanity, 166, 167, remedies 118, 233; humbles, 205; fruits of, 112,
for, 168, 169, 170; simulation of, 249 119, 146, 149, 150, 257; shows up state
Greeks, 135 of heart, 220, 223
Gregory the Great, St., 201 Infidelity to vows, 267
Gregory of Nazianzus, St., 171, 175, 248, Innocence, 76, 87, 118, 215
280 Insensitivity, 190, 191-193, 199, 267
Gregory of Nyssa, St., 184n Instability, 112-113, 180, 189
Guilelessness, 215 Isaac, superior of the “Prison”, 105
Isidore, monk at Alexandria, 97-98, 99
Hardheartedness, 75, 112, 236. See
Insensitivity cob, 152, 174n, 289
Hatred, 146, 153, 210 Jerome, St., 194n, 270n
Heart, 111-112, 144, 147, 171n, 258 Jerusalem, heavenly, 86, 284
280, 282, 289 Jesus Cl 103, 132, 159, 252n, 279,
Hell, 137, 138, 144, 243 291
Heresy, 74, 177, 223, 246 Jesus Prayer, 153n, 178, 200, 270n
Hermit: see Hesychast Job, 131, 190, 227n
Herod, 252 John the Baptist, St., 109
Hesychast, 107, 110, 118, 262, 263, 264, John Cassian, St., 114, 165n, 201n
273. See Solitary life John Chrysostom, St., 118n
Hesychia: see Stillness John Climacus, St.: visits monastery at
Hesychius the Horebite, 134 Alexandria, 93-105; visits the
Historia Monachorum in Aegypto: see “Prison”, 122-128; gives in to
Lives of the Desert Fathers vainglory, 239; tempted to abandon
Homosexuality, 250 hesychasm, 267; relates visionary
Honesty, 215 experience, 268; taught by George
Hope, 256, 286, 289 Arsilaites, 269
Hospitality, 165-166, 203, 237, 254, 255, John the Apostle, St., 121
270, 273 John Kolovos, St., 283n
Humility: definition of, 218-219, 224, John Moschus, 231n
origins of, 107, 176, 227, 239; fruits of, John of Raithu, 222n, 269n
146, 210, 216, 219-221, 222, 223, 224, John the Sabbaite, 115, 116, 117
228; mother of dispassion, 204; gate of John the Theban, Abba, 114n
heaven, 208, 221, 223, 228; mark of the Jokes, 160, 236
perfect, 96, 222; necessary to salvation, Joseph, 253
209, 222, 225, 226; signs of, 228, 284; Joy, 219, 237, 249; and sorrow, 137

298
 INDEX

Judas, 156 Monk, 74, 80, 83, 113, 209, 234, 239. See
Judgment of others, 93, 113, 156-157, 223 Chastity: ascetics and women
Monologia, monologistos, 123, 124, 178,
Labor, manual, 105, 163, 164, 168, 196, 275n, 276n
268 Mortification, 83, 106
Ladder, 152, 174, 265, 289 Moses, 75, 87, 110, 119, 131, 176, 288
Laughter, 137, 138, 140, 141 Mourning: definition of, 136, 143; three
Laura, monastery in Asia, 116 stages of, 136; loss of, 137, 145;
Lawrence, monk at Alexandria, 98-99 produces humility, 137, 239; joyful
Laziness, 113, 197, 266 sorrow, 137; and meditation on death
Leo of Cappadocia, Abba, 231n and judgment, 137-138; and tears,
Light, uncreated, 111, 137, 242, 249 138-141; forerunner of dispassion, 143;
Lives of the Desert Fathers, 97n, 217n, 270n and flow of blood, 144; remedy for
Logismoi: definition of, 105n; must be despondency, 163; for cowardice, 199,
examined and confessed, 105, 233n, 200; unites with God, 220, 221
257; must be fought, 109, 112, 185, 240, Murder, 94, 190
role in sinning, 183; blasphemous Myrrh, 102, 225
thoughts, 211-212, discerned by the
perfect, 255; lowly thoughts sign of Nau, F., 115n, 178n
humility, 284 Nilus of Ancyra, St., 233n
Lot, 84, 86, 113, 144, 169 Ninevites, 125
Love: primacy of, 133, 239, and eros, 129, Nitria, 226n
171, 287-288, 289; and other virtues, Noah, 169, 222n
150, 152-153, 224, 287, 289; and lust, Nonnus of Heliopolis, St., 179n
237; naturalness of, 238; bond uniting Novice, 78-79, 89-90, 100, 113, 118, 241,
monks, 95; synonymous with God, 255
286; starting point of, 288; eternal
progress in, 264, 289; and the flesh, Obedience: definition of, 91-92; primacy
290 of, 104; obedience to superior, 92-95,
Lucifer, 169, 173, 208, 211, 246n 101, 111, 114; to each other, 95; in the
Lust, 237. See Fornication old, 96, 99, 102-103; in novices, 97-98;
Lying, 160-161 and spiritual father, 99-100, 107, 108,
111, 115-116, 117, 119; and monastic
Macedonius, monk at Alexandria, life, 107, 239; and other virtues, 107,
101-102 109, 110, 176, 239; and demonic attack,
Madness, 208, 209, 211 108, 118, 230; loss of, 120; typified by
Malice (remembrance of wrongs), John the Apostle, 121; and pride, 210
152-154, 215, 236, 237. See Resentment Origen, 131, 220n
Manasseh, 227
Manual labor: see Labor Pachomius, St., 265n, 273n
Mark the Ascetic, St., 182n, 183n, 208n Palamon, 273n
Marriage, 78, 267; mystical, 83, 143, 224, Palladius, 116n, 125n, 217n, 225n, 270n
284 Pararripismos, 182
Martyrdom, 209, 239 Passions: definition of, 182, 238, 251;
Mary, 110 mode of entry, 183; remedies for, 150,
Meekness (freedom from anger), 146-151, 233-234, 238, 277; uses of, 231, 239;
214-217, 237, 249, 258 strong at start of monastic life, 255
Menas, monk at Alexandria, 102-103 Patience, 149, 271, 283
Mercy, 238, 279; of God, 135, 233 Paul the Apostle, St., 100, 175, 264, 276,
Miracles, 145, 204 283
Monastic life: 83, 111, 113, 149, 189, 234; Paul the Simple, 217
three forms, 79; angelic, 106, 264 See Penitence: see Repentance
Cenobitic life; Solitary life Personal experience, 281, 288

299
 INDEX

Persons, differences in, 179, 233, 234, Remembrance of past wrongs: see Malice
243, 272, 281 Repentance, 121-131, 136, 220, 221
Peter the Apostle, St., 121, 152, 159, 181, Resentment, 148, 190. See Malice
2th Resurrection, 131, 141, 179, 185
Philokalia, 182n, 183n, 208n, 229n Robber, repentance of, 93-95
Philosophy, 135, 269 Rosweyde, H., 178n, 179n, 273n
Pilate, 159
Pleasure, 236 Sabbas, monastery of St., 117
Pollutions: see Emissions Sarapion, 125n
Poverty, 82, 189-190, 283. See Sarapion the Sindonite, 225n, 249n
Detachment Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 114n, 195n,
Prayer: definition of, 93, 274, 278, 281; 217n, 225n, 270n, 283n
different kinds of, 263, 275; three Scetis, 265, 270n
stages of, 276, 277; continual, 96, 192, Secular life, 78, 82, 83, 130, 239, 263
256, 278; and psalmody, 112, 195, 278; Self-abuse, 179
petition, 124, 140-141, 226, 237; Self-assertiveness, 106
intercession, 264, 278, 280-281; Jesus Self-condemnation, 110, 226, 230, 239, 256
Prayer, 153n, 178, 200, 270n; Self-direction (idiorythmia), 92, 93, 236,
distractions from, 112, 113, 163, 195, 259
276, 277, 279, 280, 281; prayer of the Self-examinatioa, 197, 223, 233n, 239
heart, 96n, 184, 276, 279, 280; and Self-knowledge, 79, 178, 223, 224, 226, 229
bodily attitude, 184, 196, 275, 277; in Self-mutilation, 167
time of temptation, 185; where dead Sensuality, 148, 177, 181, 239. See
are laid out, 193; wordless, 195; and Fornication
solitaries, 195, 263, 269, 272, 276; and Sexual desire, 167, 168, 173-174, 178
vanity, 206; concise, 275; imageless, Siddim, 142
279; taught by God, 281. See Body; Silence, 111,.118, 144, 146, 158-159, 237
Breathing; Ecstasy Simon, Abba, 225n
Pride: definition of, 207, 209-210; Simplicity, 215, 216, 217; of God, 216
diagnosis of, 208; not discerned by the Singing, 148, 179. See Psalmody
proud, 149, 208, 210; supremacy of, Sinning, stages of, 180-183, 253
183, 220; fruits of, 199, 206, 207, 208, Slander, 155-157
210, 211-213; 221; remedies for, 149, Sleep, 194, 196, 197-198, 236, 247, 249,
208, 209, 210, 224; distinguished from 268
vainglory, 201, 207; from despair, 250; Smell, spiritual, 102, 176, 225, 240
excludes from heaven, 232, 284; healed Solitary life: one of three forms of
only by God, 255, 257 monastic life, 79, 262; compared with
“Prison,” 95, 105, 122-128 cenobitic life, 79, 110, 199, 253, 254,
Providence, 118, 233, 241 265; dangerous for the inexperienced,
Prudence, 98, 237 110, 119, 263, 266, 269; temptations of,
Psalmody: work of monk, 93, 197; 148, 180, 199, 263, 267; cure for
recitation by heart, 103; inferior to. sensuality, 148, 176. See Stillness
prayer, 112, 272; cure for Soul, 220, 221, 224. See Body: body-soul
despondency, 163, 164; meditation relationship
during psalmody, 177, 195, 197; mode Spirit, Holy, 119, 147, 170, 261, 272
of singing, 203, 281 Spiritual father: essential for monks, 75,
Purity, 171n, 180-181, 283, 288. See 79, 87, 91, 179, 263; must be chosen
Chastity carefully, 92-93, 119; once chosen
must not be changed, 110; will answer
Rahab, 161 to God for his disciples, 92, 107, 217;
Rapture: see Ecstasy must be obeyed, 106-107, 113, 114,
Reading, spiritual, 272-273 117, 119, 217; must rebuke his
Red Sea, 222n disciples, 99-100, 111, 117, 119

300
 INDEX

Stephen, solitary of Mount Sinai, 142 Tedium: see Despondency

Stillness: definition of, 79n, 261-262, not Temperance, 166, 176, 283
for the inexperienced, 103, 118, 269; Temptation, 247, 248
fruits of, 176, 267; stages of, 262, Theft, 190, 231n
265-267, 268; unites with angels, 262, Theology, 139, 262, 266, 288
264; provokes demons, 263-264; brings Tholas, 134
one to mysteries, 264; temptations of, Thoughts: see Logismoi
267-268, 269; and continual prayer, Timothy, archbishop of Alexandria, 177n
270, 272; must be guided by Tithoes, Abba, 283n
conscience and common sense, 270-271 Transfiguration: see Body, transfiguration
Struggle, 180 of
Superstition, 243 Trinity, Holy, 221, 273, 286n, 288

Tabennisi, 265
Talanton, 194n Vainglory: definition of, 201-202,
Talkativeness, 158-159, 160, 236, 267
283-284; distinguished from pride,
201, 206, 210; difficult to avoid, 83,
Tears: definition of, 93; bodily and
202, 203; demonic, 203-204; chases out
spiritual tears, 122, 127, 137, 140, 179,
other passions, 102, 203-204, 239,
249; product of thought, 138; vary
267-268; temptation of ascetics, 102,
according to natural attributes,
203-205, 224, 237, 267-268, cures for,
138-139; signify presence of the Lord,
82, 102, 204, 205-206
139; sinful or spurious tears, 139, 141,
Vices, 163, 190, 201, 229n, 235, 266, 267
180, 192, 202; purify body and soul,
Virtues, 222, 232, 237, 238, 266
139, 140, 161, 259; causes of, 139-140,
Visions: see Ecstasy
143, 144, 168; comfort at death,
142-143; transformed by God, 143; loss
of, 144, 257 Wisdom, 215, 217

301
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THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT —

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this book) was abbot of the monastery of Catherine on Mount =
Sinai. As reflected in the title, the ascetical life is portrayed as a
ladder which each aspirant must ascend, each step being a virtue
to be acquired, or a vice to be surrendered. Its thirty steps reflect
the hidden life of Christ himself. This work had a fundamental
influence in the development of Christian monasticism generally,
and particularly the Hesychastic, Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the
Heart movement. Pierre Pourrat in his History of Christian
Spirituality calls John Climacus the “most important ascetical
theologian of the East, at this epoch, who enjoyed a great
reputation and exercised an important influence on future
centuries:

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