of the monks, even as the Fathers say, ‘If thou wishest the devils to be afraid of thee, despise lusts’?” The old man said, “They are afraid because of three things, 1. First. Because our Lord treated with contempt three kinds of passions, wherein are included and contained all the various classes of passions, and these are they: The love of the belly, the love of money, and vainglory. By means of these the Calumniator fought against our Redeemer, and through His constancy in the wilderness, and silent contemplation, and fasting, and prayer, He overcame Satan; therefore all the monks who travel in His footsteps, and who by means of fasting, and prayer, and silent contemplation, hideaway all the thoughts of sin, and who perform their labours in righteousness, our Lord maketh to conquer by His strength, and He vanquisheth the devils who are their enemies. And as the demons fear and tremble, not only by reason of the Crucifixion of Christ, but even at the sign of the Cross, wheresoever it be made apparent, whether it be depicted upon a garment, or whether it be made in the air, so also do the devils fear and tremble, not only by reason of the labours of our Lord and His constancy in the wilderness, but also at the existence of the monks in the wilderness, and at their silent contemplation, and their fasting, and their prayers, and their patient persistence in the performance of difficult labours, which take place for Christ’s sake. Therefore on one occasion Abbâ Macarius said unto Palladius, ‘Speak to the devils which war against thee with disgust, and sluggishness, and despair: if I had no labours of spiritual excellence, nevertheless for the sake of Christ I would guard these walls and His Name would be sufficient for the redemption of my life’. 2. Secondly. The war and contest which the devils [wage] against the monks possess both rule and system, and they are neither irregular nor unsystematic. And as when the devils stir up the monks by means of evil thoughts of sin, and the monks accept them, and consent to them, and let themselves be incited to commit sin thereby, straightway their souls become dark, and remote from God, and sorely afflicted, and ashamed, and guilty, and weak and miserable, so when their souls accept not these thoughts, and they do not consent to them, and do not allow themselves to be incited to sin thereby, but drive them away and cast them out as soon as ever they begin to have motion [in them], and call upon our Lord to help them, straightway all the former things which come against the monks, inasmuch as they do not acquiesce in their incitings, are hurled upon the demons with greatly intensified force, and they become ashamed,
