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AND now, to speak about each kind of fault separately: of gluttony there are three
sorts: that which drives a monk to eat before the proper and stated
times; that which cares about filling the belly and gorging it with all
kinds of food, and that which is on the lookout for dainties and
delicacies. And these three sorts give a monk no little trouble, unless he
tries to free himself from all of them with the same care and
scrupulousness. For just as one should never venture to break one's fast
before the right time so we must utterly avoid all greediness in eating,
and the choice and dainty preparation of our food: for from these three
causes different but extremely dangerous conditions of the soul arise. For
from the first there springs up dislike of the monastery, and thence there
grows up disgust and intolerance of the life there, and this is sure to be
soon followed by withdrawal and speedy departure from it. By the second
there are kindled the fiery darts of luxury and lasciviousness. The third
also weaves the entangling meshes of covetousness for the nets of its
prisoners, and ever hinders monks from following the perfect self-
abnegation of Christ. And when there are traces of this passion in us we
can recognize them by this; viz., if we are kept to dine by one of the
brethren we are not content to eat our food with the relish which he has
prepared and offers to us, but take the unpardonable liberty of asking to
have something else poured. over it or added to it, a thing which we should
never do for three reasons: (I) because the monastic mind ought always to
be accustomed to practise endurance and abstinence, and like the Apostle,
to learn to be content in whatever state he is. For one who is upset by
taking an unsavoury morsel once and in a way, and who cannot even for a
short time overcome the delicacy of his appetite will never succeed in
curbing the secret and more important desires of the body; because it
sometimes happens that at the time our host is out of that particular thing
which we ask for, and we make him feel ashamed of the wants and bareness of
his table, by exposing his poverty which he would rather was only known to
God; because sometimes other people do not care about the relish which
we ask for, and so it turns out that we are annoying most of them while
intent on satisfying the desires of our own palate. And on this account we
must by all means avoid such a liberty. Of fornication there are three
sorts: that which is accomplished by sexual intercourse; that which
takes place without touching a woman, for which we read that Onan the son
of the patriarch Judah was smitten by the Lord; and which is termed by
Scripture uncleanness: of which the Apostle says: "But I say to the
unmarried and to widows, that it is good for them if they abide even as I.
But if they do not contain let them marry: for it is better to marry than
to burn;" that which is conceived in heart and mind, of which the
Lord says in the gospel: "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath already committed adultery with her in his heart." And these three
kinds the blessed Apostle tells us must be stamped out in one and the same
way. "Mortify," says he, "your members which are upon the earth,
fornication, uncleanness, lust, etc." And again of two of them he says
to the Ephesians: "Let fornication and uncleanness be not so much as named
among you:" and once more: "But know this that no fornicator or unclean
person, or covetous person who is an idolater hath inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God." And just as these three must be avoided
by us with equal care, go they one and all shut us out and exclude us
equally from the kingdom of Christ. Of covetousness there are three kinds:
That which hinders renunciants from allowing themselves of be stripped
of their goods and property; that which draws us to resume with
excessive eagerness the possession of those things which we have given away
and distributed to the poor; that which leads a man to covet and
procure what he never previously possessed. Of anger there are three kinds:
one which rages within, which is called in Greek thumo's; another which
breaks out in word and deed and action, which they term orgh': of which the
Apostle speaks, saying "But now do ye lay aside all anger and indignation;"
the third, which is not like those in boiling over and being done with
in an hour, but which lasts for days and long periods, which is called
mh^nis. And all these three must be condemned by us with equal horror. Of
deflection there are two kinds: one, that which springs up when anger has
died down, or is the result of some loss we have incurred or of some
purpose which has been hindered and interfered with; the other, that which
comes from unreasonable anxiety of mind or from despair. Of accidie there
are two kinds: one of which sends those affected by it to sleep; while the
other makes them forsake their cell and flee away. Of vainglory, although
it takes various forms and shapes, and is divided into different classes,
yet there are two main kinds: (I) when we are puffed up about carnal things
and things visible, and when we are inflamed with the desire of vain
praise for things spiritual and unseen.
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