On Meekness and the Opposite Vices

 “A meek soul is a throne of simplicity, but a wrathful mind is 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.

 An upright soul is the companion of humility, but an evil one is the daughter of pride.

 The souls of the meek shall be filled with wisdom, but the angry mind will cohabit with darkness and ignorance.

 A bad-tempered man met a dissembler, and not an honest word passed between them, 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 impervious to evil thoughts.

 Evil is a deliberate kind of knowledge. Or, rather, is a deformity 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.

 Honesty is innocent thought, a genuine character, speech that is neither artificial nor premeditated.

 Innocence is a soul as pure as the day it was created and always concerned for everyone.

 Malice is honesty perverted, a deluded thought, a lying disposition, perjury, and ambiguous words. Malice is a false heart, an abyss of cunning, deceit that has become habitual, pride that is second nature. It is the foe of humility, a fake penitence, mourning depleted, 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 wrongdoing, false grief, false reverence. It is life gone diabolical.

 The evil man is the namesake and companion of the devil, which is why the Lord taught us to call the devil by that name, saying, ‘Deliver us from the Evil One’ (Matt. 6:13).”

 

*John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent (Paulist Press:1982), pp.215-216.

 

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