# Monastic Exercise (Ascetic Discourse) - Author: [Nilus of Ancyra](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/nilus-of-ancyra/) - Latin title: *De monastica exercitatione* - Date: ca. 390-430 (approximate) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca 79 (Paris, 1865); text from the archive.org OCR of the printed volume (Google Books scan) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/ - Passages: 72 ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-4 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The first monks, free of possessions, luxury and lawsuits, made their life an imprint of the apostles' virtue. ### Greek text … θορύβων ἔξω γενόμενοι τὸν μοναδικὸν ἀσπάσασθαι βίον, οὗτοι μόνοι τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον ἐκμαγεῖον τῆς ἀποστολικῆς ἐποιήσαντο ἀρετῆς, τοῦ μὲν κεκτῆσθαι τὴν ἀχτημοσύνην προκρίναντες διὰ τὸ ἀπερίσπαστον, τροφῆς δὲ χεχαρυχευμένης τὴν ἐσχεδιασμένην προτιμήσαντες, διὰ τὰς τῶν παθῶν ἐπαναστάσεις τῇ παρατυχούσῃ τὴν χρείαν ἐχπληροῦντες τοῦ σώματος, ἐνδυμάτων δὲ μαλακῶν, καὶ τῆς χρείας ἔξω ὡς ἄν.θρωπίνης χλιδῆς ἐπίνοιαν ἀλογήσαντες, λιτῇ κχαὶ ἀπεριέργῳ ἐχρήσαντο στολῇ διὰ τὴν ἀνάγχην τοῦ σώματος τρυφῆς καταφρονήσαντες, ἀφιλόσοφον εἷναι λογισάμενοι, τὴν περὶ τῶν οὐρανίων ἀφιεμένους φροντίδα, περὶ τὰ χαμαὶ κείμενα, καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις ἐξ αὐτοσχεδίου παραγινόμενα, ἀσχολῇσαι τὸν νοῦν οὐχ ἤδεισαν τὸν κόσμον ἕξω τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων γενόμενοι παθῶν, οὐχ ἣν παρ᾽ αὑτοῖς πλεονεκτῶν, καὶ πλεονεχτούμενος, δικάζων, καὶ δικαζόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) … having got outside the tumults to embrace the monastic life, these alone made their own life an imprint of apostolic virtue. They preferred having nothing to having possessions, for the sake of freedom from distraction; they preferred food that was improvised to food that was elaborately seasoned, because of the uprisings of the passions, and met the body's need with whatever came to hand. They disregarded soft clothing and every conceit of human luxury beyond need, and used a plain and simple garment for the body's necessity, despising luxury; for they reckoned it unphilosophical to let go of concern for heavenly things and to busy the mind with things that lie on the ground and come to the beasts without any effort. They did not know the world, having got outside human passions; among them there was no one who took more and one who was cheated, no one who went to law and one who was taken to court. ### Scripture references - Acts 4:32: echo, low confidence - 1 Cor 6:7: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The scan of PG 79 lacks chapters 1–3 and the opening of chapter 4; the section begins in mid-sentence, after debris from Migne's facing Latin column, which has been removed. “Unphilosophical” (ἀφιλόσοφον): Nilus, like other monastic writers, uses “philosophy” (φιλοσοφία) and “philosophize” for the Christian ascetic life as a whole, not for academic philosophy; the word is kept as “philosophy” throughout. The final clauses echo Acts 2:44–45; 4:32 and 1 Cor 6:7. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 4 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-5 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Among the first monks conscience was judge, goods were shared, and the only rivalry was in humility. ### Greek text Εἶχε γὰρ ἕκαστος κριτὴν ἀδέκαστον τὴν ἰδίαν συνείδησιν, οὐχ ἄλλος μὲν ἄλλο; δὲ ἐπένετο, οὐδὲ ἕτερος μὲν ἐτήχετο λιμῷ, ἕτερος δὲ διεῤῥήγνυτο κόρῳ, ἀνεπλήρου γὰρ τῶν λειπομένων τὴν ἔνδειαν ἡ τῶν περιττευόντων φιλοτιμία. Καὶ ἦν ἰσότης καὶ ἰσονομία, διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῶν ὑπερεχόντων πρὸς τοὺς ταπεινοτέρους ἑχουσίαν συγκατάβασιν ἐκβεβλημένης τῆς ἀνωμαλίας. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ τότε ἣν ἰσότης, ἐποίει γὰρ καὶ τότε τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν ἡ τῶν πλέον ταπεινοῦσθαι σπουδαζόντων προθυμία, ὡς ποιεῖ νῦν ἡ τῶν πλέον δοξάζεσθαι φιλονεικούντων μανία. Ἐχδέθλητο φθόνος, ἐξώριστο βασχανία, πεφυγάδευτο κενοδοξία, ἀνήρητο ὑπερηφανία, καταλέλυτο πάντα τὰ τῆς στάσεως αἴτια πρὸς γὰρ τὰ ἁδρότερα τῶν παθῶν νεκροί τινες ἧσαν, καὶ ἀναίσθητοι, ὄναρ φαντασίας τῶν τοιούτων λαμβάνοντες, διὰ τὸ καλῶς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀπεστράφθαι τὴν τούτων ὑπόμνησιν, ἐκ τῆς καθ᾽ ἡμέραν ἄσχήσεως, καὶ ὑπομονῆς εἰς τοιαύτην ἕξιν ἀναδεδηχότες, καὶ ἁπλῶς λύχνοι ἧσαν ἐν σκότει φαίνοντες, καὶ ἀστέρες ἀπλανεῖς τὴν ἀφεγγῆ τοῦ βίου νύκτα χαταυγάζοντες. καὶ λιμένων προβολὴν τῷ καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς ἀχειμάστῳ πᾶσιν εὔκολον ἀποδεικνύντες, τοῦ διαφεύγειν ῥᾳδίως τὰς τῶν παθῶν προσβολάς. ### English translation (Claude) For each had as an incorruptible judge his own conscience. It was not that one went hungry while another …, nor that one wasted away with hunger while another burst with surfeit; for the generosity of those who had more than enough filled up the want of those who lacked. And there was equality and equal right, since unevenness had been driven out by the willing condescension of the higher toward the lowlier. Or rather, even then there was no equality: for even then inequality was produced by the eagerness of those striving to be humbled more, as now it is produced by the madness of those contending to be glorified more. Envy had been banished, jealousy exiled, vainglory put to flight, pride destroyed, every cause of strife dissolved. Toward the grosser passions they were like dead and insensible men, not even in a dream receiving images of such things, because from the beginning they had turned well away from the very memory of them, having risen to such a settled state by daily training and endurance. In a word, they were lamps shining in darkness, and fixed stars lighting up the moonless night of life, and by their own calm they showed all people an easy shelter of harbors in which to escape the assaults of the passions. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 11:21: echo, low confidence - 2 Cor 8:14: echo, medium confidence - Phil 2:15: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - “One went hungry while another …”: the Greek is damaged here (ἄλλος μὲν … ἄλλος δὲ ἐπείνα?), echoing 1 Cor 11:21; a word is lost. The sharing of surplus echoes 2 Cor 8:14. Debris from Migne's Latin column inside the section has been removed; the Greek runs on across it. “Lamps shining in darkness” echoes Phil 2:15 and John 1:5. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 5 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/5). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-6 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Nilus laments that monks have turned back to business and gain, against Christ's command not to be anxious and to trust the Father. ### Greek text ἡ ἀχριδὴς ἐκείνη πολιτεία, καὶ ἐπουράνιος διαγωγὴ, καθάπερ εἰχὼν ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν κατὰ καιροὺς μεταγραφόντων ἀμελείας κατὰ μικρὸν ἐλαττουμένῃ, εἰς ἔσχατον ἀνομοιότητος ἤλασε, καὶ πάντη τοῦ ἀρχετύπου ἀπολέλειπται πάλιν γὰρ οἱ σταυρωθέντες τῷ χόσμῳ, καὶ ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ βίῳ, καὶ ἀρνησάμενοι τὸ εἶναι ἄνθρωποι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀσωμάτων δυνάμεων φύσιν τῷ τῆς ἀπαθείας μονοτρόπῳ μεταστῆναι ἀγωνιζόμενοι, ὑπενόστησαν μὲν ὀπίσω πραγματείαις βιωτικαῖς, καὶ πορισμοῖς ἐπονειδίστοῖς, ἐπιθολοῦντες τὴν τῶν καλῶς προδεδιωχότων ἀχρίδειαν, καὶ τοὺς δοξάζεσθαι καὶ εὐχλείζεσθαι δυναμένους διὰ τὴν σφῶν ἀρετὴν βλασφημεῖσθαι ποιοῦντες τῇ οἰκείᾳ καὶ τὴν μὲν ἐχέτλην τοῦ ἀρότρου σχῆμα σώζοντες τὸ σεμνόν ἀνεύθετοι δὲ γεγόναμεν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, διὰ τὸ στραφῆναι εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, καὶ τῶν ἐπιλελῆσθαι ὀφειλόντων, μετὰ πολλῆς ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς σπουδῆς, οὐχ ἔτι γὰρ τὸ εὔωνον καὶ αὐτοσχέδιον τῇ; ζωῆς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν σπουδάζεται, οὐδὲ τὸ ἡσύχιον χρήσιμον πρὸς τὸ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῶν παλαιῶν νενόμισται μολυσμῶν, ὄχλος δὲ πραγμάτων, πρὸς τὸν ἀληθῆ σκοπὸν ἀνόνητον ἔχων φροντίδα τετίμῆται, καὶ ἡ περὶ τὴν ὕλην φιλοτιμία τὰς σωτηςρίους ἐνίκησε παραινέσεις. Τοῦ γὰρ Κυρίον πάντη ἧς περὶ τὰ γήϊνα φροντίδος ἀφεστῶτος ἡμᾶς, καὶ μόνην ζητεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν κελεύσαντος, ὥσπερ τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν ἑἐσπουδαχότες ὁδεύειν, τῶν δεσποτικῶν ἐντολῶν, καὶ τῆς κηδεμονίας ἐκείνης ἀποστάντες, ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ ἐθέμεθα τὰς ἐλπίδας ἐχείνου γὰρ λέγοντος ε Ἐμβλέψατε εἰς τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ὅτι οὐ σπείρουσιν, οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν, οὐδὲ συνάγουσιν εἰς ἀποθήκας, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τρέφει αὐτά. Καὶ πάλιν ε Καταμάθετε τὰ κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροὺ πῶς αὐξάνει, οὐ κοπιᾷ, οὐδὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ γὰρ πήραν, καὶ βαλάντιον, καὶ βακτηρίαν ἐπικωλύσαντος, καὶ μόνῃ στοιχεῖν τῇ ἀψευδεστάτῃ κελεύσαντος ἐπαγγελίᾳ, ἣν ἀποστέλλων τοὺς μαθητὰς ἐπ᾽ εὐεργεσίᾳ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐπηγγείλατο εἰπῶν, ε ὁ ἐργάτης τῆς τροφῇς αὐτοῦ ἔστι, βεβαιοτέραν εἰς πρόνοιαν τῶν καθηκόντων εἰδὼς ἐκείνην, τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐντρεχείας. ### English translation (Claude) … that exact way of life and heavenly conduct, like a portrait gradually worn down by the carelessness of those who copied it over the years, has come to the extreme of unlikeness and has altogether fallen away from its archetype. For once again those who had been crucified to the world, who had renounced life and denied being men, and who strove to pass over into the nature of the bodiless powers by the single way of dispassion, have slunk back to worldly business and shameful gains. They muddy the exactness of those who lived well before them, and cause those who could be glorified and renowned for their virtue to be blasphemed through their own [negligence]. And keeping hold of the plough-handle, the solemn habit, we have become unfit for the kingdom of heaven because we have turned back, and we cling with great zeal to things we ought to have forgotten. For the cheap and improvised life is no longer pursued among us, nor is stillness thought useful for being freed from old defilements; instead a crowd of affairs, bringing cares useless for the true goal, has been honored, and ambition for matter has defeated the saving exhortations. For whereas the Lord withdrew us altogether from care about earthly things and commanded us to seek only the kingdom of heaven, we, as if eager to travel the opposite road, have left the Master's commandments and that providential care of his, and have placed our hopes in our own hands. He said, “Look at the birds of the sky: they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them.” And again, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil, nor …” And more: he forbade the bag and the purse and the staff, and commanded us to walk by his most truthful promise alone, which he gave when he sent the disciples out for the benefit of the rest of mankind, saying, “The worker is worthy of his food”; for he knew that promise to be a surer provision of what is needed than our own industry. ### Scripture references - Gal 6:14: allusion, high confidence - Luke 9:62: allusion, high confidence - Phil 3:13: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 6:33: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:26: quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:28: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:4: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Crucified to the world”: Gal 6:14. The plough-handle and turning back: Luke 9:62. “Forgotten”: Phil 3:13. “Seek only the kingdom”: Matt 6:33. The quotations are Matt 6:26 and 6:28 (Nilus's wording); the second breaks off after “nor” because words are lost in the scan. The bag, purse and staff: Luke 10:4; Matt 10:10. “The worker is worthy of his food”: Matt 10:10. After “through their own” a word is lost (supplied by sense in brackets); a few letters of Latin debris in the section have been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 6 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/6). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-7 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Monks now acquire land, livestock and profitable trades, use the habit as a pretext, and are rightly despised. ### Greek text Ἥ μεῖς δὲ γῆν ὅσην ἂν δυνώμεθα κτήσασθαι, οὐ πκαραιτούμεθα, προβάτων δὲ ἀγέλας, καὶ βόας ἀροτῆρας, τε, καὶ μεγέθει ζηλωτοὺς, καὶ ὄνους εὐτραφεῖς συνωνούμεθα ἵνα τὰ μὲν παρέχῃ τὸ ἔριον πρὸς τὴν χρείαν τῶν ἔργων ἀφθόνως, οἱ δὲ βόες ταῖς ἐχγεωργίας ὑπηρετοῦντες παρασχεναῖς, ἡμῖν μὲν τροφὴν, σχιλὸν δὲ ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ζώοις παρασχῶσιν, τὰ δὲ ἀχθοφοροῦντα ὑποζύγια, ἵνα τὰ ἐλλείποντα τῇ χώρᾳ, τοῖς ἐκ τῆς ἀλλοδαπῆς ἀγωγίμοις ἀναπληροῦντα, τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν τὸν ἀπολαυστιχὸν ἡμῖν συναύξωσιν βίον. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τεχνῶν αἱρούμεθα τὰς εὐπορωτέρας, καὶ ὅλως ἡμῖν παρεχούσᾳ; καιρὸν μνήμης Θεοῦ, ἅπασαν εἰς ἑαυτὰς ἑλχούσας τὴν σχολὴν, κατεγνωκότες, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἢ τῆς τοῦ κηδεμόνος ἀσθενείας, ἣ ἑαυτῶν ἐπὶ τῇ προτέρς ὁμολογίᾳ χἂν γὰρ μὴ λόγῳ ὁμολοτῶμεν, ἐλεγχόμεθα διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων, χαίροντες τῇ τῶν βιωτικῶν διαγωγῇ, ὅταν τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπιτηδεύωμεν ἐκείνοις, καὶ πλέον τάχα ταῖς σωματικαῖς ἐγκατατριβώμεθα φιλοπονίαις, ὥστε λοιπὸν τοὺς πολλοὺς πορισμὸν ἡγεῖσθαι τὴν εὐσέβειαν, καὶ δ. οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐπιτηδεύεσθαι τὸ πάλαι ἀπράγμονα, καὶ μαχάριον βίον, ἣ, ὅπως διὰ τῆς ἐπιπλάστου θεοσεβείας, τὰς μὲν ἐπιπόνους λειτουργείας φύγωμεν, ἄδειαν ὃὲ ἀπολαύσεως πορισάμενοι, ἀκωλύτως ἐπὶ τὰ δοκοῦντα τὰς ὁρμᾶς μετὰ πολλῇς ἀναισχυντίας χαταλαζονενόμενοι τῶν ὁποδεεστέρων, ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ τῶν ὑπερεχόντων ὥσπερ ὑπόθεσιν τυραννίδος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ ταπεινώσεως, καὶ ἐπιεικείας τὸν ἐνάρετον βίον εἶναι νομίσαντες. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ παρὰ τῶν σέβεσθαι ἡμᾶς ὀφειλόντων, ὡς εἰχαῖος ὄχλος ὁρώμεθα, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν συγχλήτων καὶ μιγάδων ἀνθρώπων, οὐχ ἥκιστα ταῖς ἀγοραῖς ἐμφερόμενοι, γελώμεθα, οὐδὲν παρὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς, ὡς ἐξῆν, ἐξαίρετον ἔχοντες, οὐχ ἐκ πολιτείας, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ σχὴματος γνωρίζεσθαι βουλόμενοι, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῇ ἀρετῇ παραιτούμενοι πόνους, τῆς ἐπὶ τούτοις δόξης μανικῶς ὀρεγόμεθα, σκιὰν τῆς ποτὲ ἀληθείας ἐπιδεικνύμενοι. ### English translation (Claude) We, however, do not decline to acquire as much land as we can, and we buy flocks of sheep and ploughing oxen, sturdy and enviable for their size, and well-fed donkeys: so that the sheep may provide wool in plenty for the needs of our work; so that the oxen, serving the business of farming, may provide food for us and fodder for themselves and the other animals; and so that the beasts of burden, making up what the district lacks with goods brought from abroad, may enlarge for us, beyond our necessary food, a life of enjoyment. More than that, we choose the more profitable crafts, those that draw all our leisure into themselves rather than give us time for the remembrance of God; and so, it seems, we condemn either the weakness of our Protector or ourselves for our former profession. For even if we do not confess it in word, we are convicted by our deeds: we delight in the conduct of people in the world, since we practise the same things as they do, and perhaps wear ourselves out in bodily labors even more; so that now the many think godliness a means of gain, and that once untroubled and blessed life is pursued for nothing else than that, through a feigned godliness, they may escape toilsome services, and, having won license for enjoyment, may give their impulses free rein toward whatever they please, lording it with much shamelessness over those beneath them, and sometimes over those above them too, as though they thought the virtuous life an occasion for tyranny and not for humility and gentleness. That is why even those who ought to revere us regard us as a common rabble, and the motley crowd laughs at us, especially when we are carried along in the markets; for we have nothing that sets us apart from the rest, as we ought to have. We want to be recognized not by our way of life but by our habit, and while we refuse the labors that virtue requires, we crave madly the glory that goes with them, displaying a shadow of the truth that once was. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Rather than give us time for the remembrance of God”: the Greek as printed lacks a negative (ὅλως ἡμῖν παρεχούσας καιρὸν μνήμης Θεοῦ); translated by the evident sense. “Godliness a means of gain”: 1 Tim 6:5. Two long stretches of Migne's facing Latin column, misread by the OCR as Greek letters, interrupt this section; they have been removed, and the Greek runs on across them (φύγω|μεν). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 7 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/7). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-8 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Untrained men take the monastic habit for show, flee the monasteries, and live as parasites of the rich in the cities. ### Greek text Καὶ τήμερόν τις ἀναλαβὼν τὸ αχῆμα τὸ σεμνὸν οῦὔτο, καὶ οὐδέπω τὰς κηλῖδας ἀπονιψάμενος τῆς ψυχῆς, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἐγκεχαραγμένους τύπους τῶν παλαιῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τῆς διανοίας ἀπαλείψας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι τάχα ταῖς τούτων φαντασίαις ἐνασελγῶν, καὶ τὸ ἦθος οὐδέπω πρὸς τὸ ἄρεσχον τῷ παιδαγωγήσας, οὔτε εἰδὼς τίς ποτέ ἔστιν ὁ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν φιλοσοφίας σκοπὸς, ἤδη ὀφρὺν ἀνεπλάσατο μέγα φρονῶν ὡς ἐπὶ χατωρθωμένῃ τῇ ἀρετῇ ἐπὶ μόνῳ τῷ καὶ περιέρχεται σκεύη περιφέρων, ὧν τὴν τέχνην οὐ μεμάθηκε. Καὶ ἐπιστήμην ἐπαγγέλλεται τῷ φαινομένῳ σχήματι, ἧς οὐδὲ ἄκροις ἐγεύσατο τοῖς … σχόπελος ἀντὶ λιμένος, καὶ ἀντὶ ναοῦ, τάφος κεκονιαμένος, καὶ ἀντὶ προβάτου λύκος ἐπ᾽ ὄλέθρῳ τῶν δελεασθέντων τῷ φαινομένῳ εὑρισκόμενος ὅταν γὰρ οἱ τοιοῦτοι τῶν μοναστηρίων δραπετεύσαντες διὰ τὸ μὴ φέρειν τοῦ βίου τὴν ἀχρίδειαν, ταῖς πόλεσι, τότε λοιπὸν ὑπὸ τῆς κατὰ τὴν γαστέρα ἀνάγχης τραχηλιζόμενοι, ἐπὶ ἀπάτῃ τῶν πολλῶν τὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας μόρφωσιν ὡς δέλεαρ περιφέροντες πάντα δρᾷν ὑποφέροντες, ὅσα ἡ χρεία βιάζεται τοῦ σώματος. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀνάγχης φυσιχῆς βιαστιχώτερον, τοῖς ἀπόροις πόρον εὐμηχάνως ἐπινοούσης, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν καὶ ἀργία προσῇ μεμελετημένη, τότε καὶ πανουργότερον ἡ σχῆψις προχωρεῖ. Θεραπεύουσι οὗτοι τὰς τῶν πλουσίων θύρας, παρασῖτων Ὁ οὐχ ἔλαττον. Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀγοραῖς, ἀνδραπόδων ἣ χὴν αὐτοῖς παρατρέχουσι, τοὺς πλησιάζοντας ἐδ σοδοῦντες, διωθούμενοι δὲ τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας, εἐχερῆ τὴν πάροδον παρέχειν αὑτοῖς σπουδάζουσι, καὶ τῦπε ποιοῦσι τραπέζης ἕνεχεν ἐνδείας τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς λίχνας ἐδέσμασιν ἡδονὴν κολάζειν οὐ μεμαθηκότες, οὐδ τὸν παρὰ τοῦ Μωσέως τῆς χρείας ἀνορυχτικὸν πάσσαλον ἐπὶ τῆς ζώνης φορεῖν θελῆσαντες. γὰρ ἂν τούτῳ κεχρημένοι, ὅτι πάσης ἡδονῆς θρω μάτων ὅρος ὃ λαιμὸς καὶ τὰ παρατυχόντα τὴν ἔνδειαν ἐχπληροῦντα τοῦ σώματος, τὰς τῆς ἀκαίρου ἐπιθυμίας ἀσχημοσύνας. ### English translation (Claude) And today someone takes up this solemn habit without yet having washed off the stains of his soul or wiped from his mind the imprinted marks of his old sins; perhaps he still revels wantonly in their images; he has not yet trained his character toward what pleases God, nor does he know what the goal of philosophy according to God is. Yet already he has put on a lofty brow and thinks great things of himself, as though virtue had been achieved, on the strength of the habit alone; and he goes about carrying the tools of a craft he has never learned. He professes, by the habit that shows outwardly, a knowledge he has not tasted even with the tip of his lips … a reef instead of a harbor, a whitewashed tomb instead of a temple, a wolf instead of a sheep, found to the ruin of those taken in by appearances. For when such men run away from the monasteries because they cannot bear the exactness of the life, [they make for] the cities; and then, wrung by the necessity of the belly, they carry about the outward form of godliness as bait to deceive the many, putting up with doing anything that the body's need compels. For nothing is more compelling than natural necessity, which ingeniously devises means for those without means; and above all when practised idleness is added, then the pretext advances all the more cunningly. These men wait at the doors of the rich no less than parasites do. In the markets they run alongside them like slaves, pushing away those who come near, shoving aside those they meet, eager to clear the way for them; and they do this for the sake of a table, never having learned to punish the pleasure of dainty foods by going without, nor having been willing to carry on their belt the peg that Moses gave for digging when need required. For if they had used it, [they would know] that the throat is the limit of every pleasure in food, and that whatever comes to hand fills the body's want, [and they would avoid] the indecencies of untimely desire. ### Scripture references - Matt 23:27: allusion, high confidence - Matt 7:15: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Tim 3:5: allusion, high confidence - Deut 23:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - After “the tip of his lips” several words are lost where the Latin column interrupts the Greek; the debris has been removed and the gap marked. “Whitewashed tomb”: Matt 23:27; “a wolf instead of a sheep”: Matt 7:15; “the form of godliness”: 2 Tim 3:5. The peg for digging is the tool of Deut 23:13, read figuratively for restraint. The closing sentence is elliptical in the Greek; the bracketed words are supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 8 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/8). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-9 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Wandering false monks bring the whole monastic life into disrepute and are trusted less than thieves. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο τὸ μὲν ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημεῖται ὁ δὲ περιπόθητος βίος ἐγένετο βδελυχτός καὶ ἡ τῶν ΕΚ ὺ ἀληθῶς χατ᾽ ἀρετὴν βιούντων κτῆσις ἀπάτη νενό… καὶ βαροῦνται μὲν αἱ πόλεις, ὑπὸ τῶν περιερχομένων εἰκῆ ἐνοχλοῦνται ὃΣ οἱ ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις, καὶ ποὺς αὐτὴν τὴν ὄψιν ἔχουσιν προσαιτεῖν ὁρῶντες αὐτοὺς ἀναιδέστερον ταῖς θύραις παραμένοντας, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ εἰσοιχισθέντες, καὶ εὐλάβειαν ἐπ᾽ ὁλίγον ὑποχρινάμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ χαχουργίᾳ δόξαν τῷ τῆς ὑποκρίσεως προσωπείῳ περιστείλαντες, ὕστερον ἀποσυλήσαντες αὐτοὺς ἀπέρχονται. Ὥστε κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ μοναστιχοῦ βίου διεσχεδασμένην παρασχευάζουσι τὴν δυσφημίαν. Οὕτως γοῦν λοιπὸν ὡς λυμεῶνες ἀπελαύνονται τῶν πόλεων οἱ ποτὲ σωφρονισταί. Καὶ ὡς ἐναγεῖς διώκονται τῶν τῇ λέπρᾳ ων οὐχ ἔλαττον, καὶ λῃσταῖς μᾶλλον, καὶ τοιχωρύκταις ἄν τις ἕλοιτο πιστεῦσαι, ἣ τοῖς τὸν βίον μετἐρχομένοις τὸν μοναδικὸν, ῥάδιον εἰς παραφυλαχὴν, τὴν προφανῆ, κακουργίαν τῆς ἐπ᾽ ἐνένδρᾳ μένης ἀξιοπιστίας λογιζόμενος. Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν οὔτε ᾿ ἀρξάμενοι θεοσεβείας, εἰδότες τί ποτέ ἐστι τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡσυχίας κέρδος, ἐξ ἀνάγχης ἴσως τινὸς συνωσθέντες ἀκρίτως ἐπὶ τὸν μονήρη βίον, καὶ ἐμπορίας ὑπόθεσιν εἰς πορισμὸν τῶν ἀναγχαίων ἡγούμενοι τὸ πρᾶγμα τοῦτο ἂν οἶμαι σεμνότερον μετέλθοιεν, εἰ μὴ ταῖς πάντων θύραις προσίενται. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἁδροτέρων λημμάτων δυσώπησιν προβάλλονται τὸ σχῆμα, καὶ βουλόμενοι δασμὸν τῷ σώματι οὐ τὸν ἀναγκαῖον εἰσφέρουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ὃν ἡ τῶν χλιδώντων διὰ τὰς ἀμέτροὺς ἐπιθυμίας ἐχαινοτόμησε θρύψις. Ταῦτα δὲ ἀνίατα νοσοῦντας θεραπεῦσαι χαλεπόν. ### English translation (Claude) Because of this the name of God is blasphemed, the longed-for life has become loathsome, and the possession of those who truly live by virtue is reckoned a deceit … The cities are burdened, and the people in their houses are troubled by these men who wander about aimlessly, and they shrink at the very sight of them, seeing them stay at the doors to beg rather shamelessly; and many, having got themselves into houses and feigned piety for a little while, and having wrapped their reputation for villainy in the mask of hypocrisy, afterwards rob the householders and go off. So they bring about a disrepute spread over the whole monastic life. Thus those who were once teachers of self-control are now driven out of the cities like destroyers, and chased away as accursed no less than those with leprosy; and one would rather trust robbers and housebreakers than those who pursue the monastic life, reckoning open villainy easier to guard against than trustworthiness that lies in ambush. These men have not begun in godliness and do not know what the gain of stillness is; driven perhaps by some necessity, without discernment, into the solitary life, they regard the thing as an occasion for trade to provide their necessities. They would, I think, go about this more decently if they did not present themselves at everyone's doors. But they hold out the habit to shame people into larger gifts, and, wishing to pay the body its tribute, they bring not what is necessary but what the softness of the luxurious has invented through immoderate desires. It is hard to cure those who are so incurably sick. ### Scripture references - Rom 2:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “The name of God is blasphemed”: Rom 2:24 (Isa 52:5). A few words are lost after “a deceit” where Latin debris interrupts the Greek; the debris has been removed and the gap marked. “They shrink at the very sight of them” translates a damaged phrase (καὶ ποὺς αὐτὴν τὴν ὄψιν ἔχουσιν) by sense. Debris at the end of the section has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 9 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/9). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-10 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Correction is useless to those who love gain; monks who renounced the world should not entangle themselves in it again. ### Greek text Πῶς γὰρ ἄν τις καὶ ὑγείας τὸ χρήσιμον τοῖς ἐν ὑγείᾳ μηδέποτε γενομένοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ αὐτῶν σπαργάνων φθινάδι συντετραμμένοις νόσῳ, καὶ ὃ ἀτύχημα τῆς φύσεως, διὰ τὸ ἦθος νομίζουσι μηδὲν ἀποδεῖν τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἕξεως; Περισσὸς γὰρ πρὸς διόρθωσιν πᾶς λόγος, ὅταν ἡ τῶν ἀκουόντων πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἀκοχλίνασα σπουδὴ τοῖς κατὰ λὴν λεγομένοις ἐναντίως διάκειται, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν κέρδους ἐλπὶς τρέφει τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἀποφράττει τὴν ἀκοὴν τῇ συμβουλῇ πάντη τὸ πάθος, ὡς μηδεμίαν τὰς ἐπὶ συφρονισμῷ παραινέσεις εὑρεῖν παρεἴσδοσιν, πρὸς τὸν περὶ τὸ κέρδος ἵμερον., χἂν αἰσχρὸν ἧ, τεταμένης τῆς διανοίας. Ἡμεῖς ὦ ἀγαπητοὶ, οἱ πόθῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς, ὡς νομίζομεν, ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ βίῳ, καὶ ἀρνησάμενοι τὰς κοσμικὰς ἐπικαὶ ἀκολουθεῖν ἐπαγγειλάμενοι Χριστῷ, τί πάλιν ἐμπλεχόμεθα τοῖς τοῦ βίου περισπασμοῖς, καὶ κακῶς ἃ καλῶς πρότερον Τί τῶν τῆς οὐ δεόντως μετερχομένων τὸ πρᾶγμα χαχποδουλίας τὰς τῶν ἀσθενετέρων ὀρέξεις προσαναφλέγοντες, διὰ τὴν περὶ τὰ μάταια σπουδὴν, καὶ γεγόναμεν τοῖς ἀχεραιοτέροις πλεονεξίας ι ### English translation (Claude) For how could anyone [show] the value of health to those who have never been in health, but have been brought up from their swaddling clothes with a wasting disease, and who through habit think that the misfortune of their nature falls short in nothing of the natural state? Every word of correction is superfluous when the zeal of the hearers has inclined toward the worse and is set against what is truly said; and especially when the hope of gain feeds the desire, the passion stops the ear entirely to counsel, so that exhortations to self-control find no entry, since the mind is strained toward the longing for gain, even shameful gain. We, beloved, who out of desire for virtue, as we suppose, have renounced life and denied worldly desires and promised to follow Christ, why do we entangle ourselves again in the distractions of life, and build up badly what we had well [torn down] before? Why … of those who pursue the thing improperly …, inflaming the appetites of the weaker through our zeal for vain things, and why have we become, for the more simple, [teachers] of greed … ### Scripture references - Titus 2:12: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:4: allusion, high confidence - Gal 2:18: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The end of this section is damaged in the scan; lost words are marked “…” and the bracketed words are supplied by sense. “Denied worldly desires”: Titus 2:12; “entangle ourselves in the distractions of life”: 2 Tim 2:4; rebuilding what was torn down echoes Gal 2:18. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 10 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/10). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-11 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Monks must not scandalize the simple by love of possessions; let them either amend or give up the monastic name. ### Greek text θεραπεύειν γὰρ, οὐχ ἐρεθίζειν, τοὺς εὐολίσθους παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου προστετάγμεθα, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἡμῖν … ἀρέσχοντος, τὸ τοῦ πέλας σκοπεῖν ὠφέλιμον, ὡς ἂν μὴ ταῖς ἀκρίτοις ἑαυτῶν ἀκολουθοῦντες ὁρμαῖς, πολλοὺς τῶν ἁπλουστέρων προσκόψαι ποιήσωμεν, ὑπόθεσις αὐτοῖς τῆς περὶ τὰ γήϊνα φιλοτιμίας γινόμενοι. Τί περὶ πολλοῦ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ὕλην, ἧς νεῖν ἐδιδάχθημεν, χρημάτων καὶ κτημάτων ἀντεχόμενοι, καὶ εἰς πολλὰς, καὶ ἀνωφελεῖς φροντίδας τὸν νοῦν μερίζοντες; ὧν ἡ σπουδὴ ἡμᾶς μὲν ἀφίστησι τῆς ἀναγχαιοτέρας προσεδρείας, καὶ ἀμελεῖν τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς καλῶν, εἰς μέγα δὲ βάραθρον ἄγε τοὺς πρὸς τὰ τοῦ βίου κεχηνότας πράγματα λαμπρὰ, καὶ τὴν ἀνωτάτην νομίζοντας εὐχληρίαν, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πλούτου ἀπόλαυσιν ὁρῶντες τοὺς φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπαγγελλομένους, καὶ ἐπάνω τῶν ἡδονῶν αὐχοῦντας εἶναι, πλέον ἑαυτῶν περὶ ταῦτα ἑσπουδαχότας. Οὐδὲν δὲ οὕτως εἰς κόλασιν ἀπαραίτητον ἄγει, ὡς τὸ πολλοὺς ζηλωτὰς τῶν ἰδίων ποιεῖσθαι κακῶν γίνεται γὰρ ἧ τῶν μιμησαμένων ἀπώλεια, προσθήκη τιμωρίας τῷ διδάξαντι, καὶ τῶν μὴ παραιτησαμένων ὡς αἰσχρὰν τὴν μίμησιν κατάγνωσις τούτῳ οὗ μικρὰ, ὅτε διδάσκαλος κακῶν γενένηται. Ὧν τὴν ἐπονείδιστον κρίναντες, ἔφυγον οἱ σώφρονι χρησάμενοι λογισμῷ. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν ἀπεχθανέσθω πρὸς τὸ λεγόμενον, ἀλλ᾽ ἣ διορθωσάσθω τὰ πλημμελῶς διὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ἀδιαφορίαν ἐπὶ αἰσχύνῃ τοῦ ὀνόματος γινόμενα, ἣ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα παραιτησάσθω. Εἰ γὰρ φιλοσοφεῖν πρόκειται, περιττὰ τὰ χτῆματα τῇ φιλοσοφίᾳ, καὶ αὑτοῦ τοῦ σώματος ἀλλοτρίωσιν ἐπαγγελλομένῃ, διὰ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς καθαρότητα εἰ δὲ τὸ κτήσασθαι, τισίν ἐστι περισπούδαστον, καὶ τῶν ἡδέων ἀπολαύειν τοῦ βίου, τί λόγῳ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν, ἔργῳ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀλλοτρίωσιν ἐπανῃρημένοι, καὶ πράξεις ἀλλοτρίας τοῦ ἐπαγγέλματος διαπραττόμενοι, κλήσεις σεμνὰς ἐπημφιεσμένοι ### English translation (Claude) For we have been commanded by the Lord to heal those who easily slip, not to provoke them, and before [seeking our own good, which pleases ourselves], to look to our neighbor's benefit, so that we may not, by following our own undiscerning impulses, make many of the simpler stumble and become for them an occasion of ambition for earthly things. Why do we make so much of matter, which we were taught to despise, clinging to money and possessions and dividing our mind among many useless cares? Zeal for these draws us away from the more necessary attendance [on God] and makes us neglect the goods of the soul, and it leads into a great pit those who gape at the brilliant affairs of life and think enjoyment of wealth the highest good fortune, when they see those who profess to philosophize, and who boast that they are above pleasures, more eager for these things than they are themselves. Nothing leads to inexorable punishment so much as making many people imitators of one's own vices: for the destruction of the imitators becomes an increase of punishment for the one who taught them, and the condemnation of those who did not refuse the imitation as shameful is no small one for him, since he has become a teacher of vices. Those who used a sober judgment saw that such conduct was disgraceful, and fled it. Let no one, then, take offense at what is said; but let him either correct what is done amiss, to the shame of the name, through the indifference of the many, or let him give up the name as well. For if the aim is to philosophize, possessions are superfluous to philosophy, which professes estrangement even from the body itself for the sake of the soul's purity. But if acquiring, and enjoying the pleasures of life, is what some are eager for, why have they taken up philosophy in word and estrangement from it in deed, doing things foreign to their profession and clothing themselves in solemn titles … ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 10:24: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 10:33: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 18:6: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - A long stretch of Migne's Latin column interrupts the first sentence; it has been removed, and the lost Greek words are supplied in brackets by sense (the sense follows 1 Cor 10:24, 33). “Which we were taught to despise” translates a damaged word (νεῖν, probably the end of καταφρονεῖν). Making the simple stumble echoes Matt 18:6; Rom 14:13. The sentence continues in chapter 12. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 11 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/11). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-12 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Monks are rebuked by lay people for quarrelling over property, which weighs them down in the race against their spiritual enemies. ### Greek text Εἴτ οὐχ αἰσχρὸν ἡγούμεθα παρὰ τῶν νομιζομένων ὑποδεεστέρων, οὗς χοσμιχοὺς ὀνομάζομεν, ἐπὶ τοῖς παρεσπουδημένοις θεσμοῖς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἐξονειδιζόμενοι, καὶ τὰς ἠθετημένας ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου, παρὰ τῶν μανθάνειν ὀφειλόντων, διδασκόμενοι. Ὅταν γὰρ μαχομένοις ἡμῖν λέγωσι, Δοῦλον Κυρίου οὐ δεῖ μάχεσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἤπιον εἶναι πρὸς πάντας καὶ πάλιν, οἱ Ὦ περὶ χρημάτων … σοῦ λάβῃ, φησὶ, τὸν χιτῶνα, ἄφες αὑτῷ καὶ τὸ ἔμάτιον, τί ἕτερον ποιοῦσιν ἀλλ᾽ ἣ ἐπισκώπτοντες δοῦσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ χλευάζουσι τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἐπάγγελμα τῶν ἔργων ἐναντιότητος Καὶ γὰρ οὐχ ἀνάγχη μὲ χεσθαι πρὸς τὸν κτημάτων ἀντιποιούμενον, καὶ πάντα πράττειν, ὅσα ἡ τούτων ἀναγχάζει νία. Ἔλυσέ τις ἀμπέλου τὸν τέρμονα, καὶ τῷ ἰδίῳ ἄλλος τὸ χτῆνο; τῇ σῇ χώρᾳ ἐπαφἧκεν, ἕτερος τὸ ὕδωρ τῷ κήπῳ οὐκοῦν λυσσῇσαι δεῖ καὶ τῶν μαινομένων χείρω γένεσθαι, τούτοις πᾶσιν ἐπιμερίζοντα τὴν ἄμυναν, καὶ δικαστηρίοις προσηλῶσθαι τὸν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῶν ὄντων προσασχολεῖσθαι ὀφείλοντα νοῦν, καὶ εἰς πανουργίαν πραγματικὴν μεταβάλλειν τὴν δύναμιν, τὴν θεωρητικὴν ἵν᾿ ἡμῖν ἡ τῶν μηδὲν χρησιμευόντων εὐοδῶται εὐπορία. Τί τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ὡς οἰκείων ἀντ ποιούμεθα, βαρείας ἑαυτοῖς τὰς πέδας τὴς ὕλης χατασχευάζοντες, καὶ τοῦ ταλανίζουτος τοὺς τοιούτους οὐχ ἀκούομεν Οὐαὶ, φησὶν ὁ προφήτης, ὁ συνάγων ἑαυτῷ κὰ οὐχ ὄντα ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ βαρύνων τὸν χλοιὸν αὐτοῦ στιδαρῶς. Εἰ γὰρ χοῦφοί εἰσιν οἱ διώκοντες, κατὰ τὸν λέγοντα, Κοῦφο: ἐγένοντο οἱ διώχουτες ἡμᾶς ὑπὲρ ἀετοὺς οὐρανοῦ, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς χοσμιχοὶς πράγμασι, δῆλον, ὅτ ἀργότερον χινούμενοι πρὸς τὸν δρόμον, εὐχερῶς παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν χαταληφθησόμεθα οὖς φεύγων ὁ Παῦλος ἐδίδαξε λέγων ε Φεύγετε τὴν πορνείαν, ν καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, καὶ οἱ εὐσταλεῖς ἐν τῷ τρέχειν ἐπὶ τὸ βράδειον, ἐὰν μὴ συντόνῳ ῥύμῃ φέρωνται, πολὺ τῆς χαταλήψεως ἀπολιμπάνονται, τῶν διωκόντων ἐχθρῶν ἴσως ταχυτέρας ἐχόντων τὰς βάσεις. ### English translation (Claude) Then do we not think it shameful to be reproached by those we consider our inferiors, whom we call “worldly,” for the Saviour's ordinances we have neglected, and to be taught the commandments of the Lord we have set aside by those who ought to be learning them from us? For when they say to us as we quarrel, “The servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle toward all”; and again … about money …, “If anyone takes your tunic,” he says, “let him have your cloak as well,” what else are they doing but mocking and jeering at us for the contradiction between our works and our profession? For is it necessary to fight with someone who lays claim to possessions, and to do everything that the madness for them compels? One man has moved the boundary of your vineyard; another has let his beast loose on your land; another [has diverted] the water from your garden. Must one then rage, and become worse than madmen, dividing one's revenge among all of these, and nail to the law courts the mind that ought to be occupied with the contemplation of what truly is, and turn its contemplative power into practical cunning, so that we may prosper in an abundance of things of no use at all? Why do we lay claim to what belongs to others as if it were our own, making heavy fetters of matter for ourselves, and do not listen to the one who pities such people: “Woe,” says the prophet, “to him who gathers for himself what is not his own, and makes his yoke heavy and strong”? For if the pursuers are light, according to the one who says, “Our pursuers were lighter than the eagles of heaven,” while we load ourselves with worldly affairs, it is clear that, moving more sluggishly in the race, we shall easily be overtaken by the enemies whom Paul fled when he taught, saying, “Flee sexual immorality … and greed.” Even those who run lightly equipped toward the prize fall far short of overtaking it unless they are carried along with an intense rush, since the enemies who pursue them perhaps have swifter steps. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 2:24: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:40: quotation, high confidence - Hab 2:6: quotation, high confidence - Lam 4:19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:18: quotation, high confidence - Col 3:5: echo, low confidence - Phil 3:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: 2 Tim 2:24; Matt 5:40 (Luke 6:29); Hab 2:6 (LXX); Lam 4:19. “Flee sexual immorality” is 1 Cor 6:18; Scripture has no “flee greed,” and Nilus may be combining it with Col 3:5 or 1 Tim 6:10–11 (unidentified as a single quotation). The prize: Phil 3:14; 1 Cor 9:24. Debris from Migne's Latin column after “again” has been removed; some Greek words there are lost (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 12 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/12). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-13 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Love of property ruined Naboth and divided Lot from Abraham, while God fed Israel in the desert and Elijah without farming. ### Greek text Μέγα τοῖς πρὸς ἀρετὴν πειγομένοις ἐμπόδιον ἡ τῶν χοσμιχῶν πραγμάτων προσπάθεια καὶ ψυχῇ καὶ σώτι πολλάκις ὄλεθρον προξενοῦσα. Τί γὰρ τὸν Ναδουθαὶ τὸν Ἰσραηλίτην Οὐχὶ ἀμπελὼν ἐπίφθονος αἴτιος αὐτῷ θανάτου γεγένηται, πρὸς νον κατ᾽ αὑτοῦ κινήσας τὸν γείτονα Τί δὲ τὰς δύο φυλὰς ἔξω τῆς ἐπαγγελίας μεῖναι παρεσχεύασιν; Οὐχὶ πλῆθος κτηνῶν Τί δὲ καὶ τὸν Λὼτ ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αβραὰμ Οὐχὶ ὁ τῶν μάτων πολὺς ἀριθμὸς, συνεχεῖς τοῖς ποιμέσι κινήσας τὰς ἔριδας, αὑτοὺ: τέλος ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων Εἰ οὖν καὶ πρὸς φόνον τοὺς βασχάνους κατὰ τῶν ἐχόντῶν τὰ κτήματα, καὶ τῶν σπουδαιοτέρων τοὺς κεκτημένους καὶ συγγένειαν διατέκαὶ φίλους εἰς ἔχθραν καθίστησι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν ζωὴν οὐδὲν ἔχει κοινὸν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα οὐδὲν μέγα χρησιμεύει, τί, τῇς τοῦ Θεοῦ θεραπείας ἀφιστάμενοι, ὅλοι γινόμεθα τῆς ματαιότητος Μὴ γὰρ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν οἱ τὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἀνύοντες τῆς ἑαυτῶν· Θεός ἐστιν ὁ ταῦτα οἰκονομῶν, καὶ ἢ μὲν ἀνθρωπίνη σπουδὴ μὴ τυχοῦσα τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ βοηθείας, ἐξανάγχης τοῦ τέλους, ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομία καὶ δίχα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης σπουδῆς, τέλεια τὸ ἀγαθὰ παρέχει. Τί ἐκείνους ὁ … ἴδιος μόχθος, πρὸς οὖς ἔλεγεν ὁ Θεὸς, Ἐσπείρατε πολλὰ, καὶ εἰσενέγχατε ὀλίγα, καὶ ἐξεφύσησα αὐτὰ ἐκ τῶν οἰκιῶν ὑμῶν Τί δὲ τοῖς κατ᾽ ἀρετὴν βιώσασιν ἐπέλειψε τῶν ἀναγκαίων, ὅλως περὶ τούτων; οὐχ ἐν ἐρήμῳ τεσσαράκοντα ἔτη οἱ Ἰσραηλῖται μηδενὸς τῶν ἐκ γεωργίας ἀπολαύοντες Στρέφοντο καὶ οὐχ ἐπεδεήθησαν βρώματος, ἀλλὰ θάλασσα μὲν τροφὴν παράδοξον, ὀρτυγομήτραν ἐρευγομένη, πέτρα δὲ νοτίδος ἄμοιρος ῥαγεῖσα παρεῖχεν ἄφθονον τὸ νᾶμα, οὐρανὸς δὲ μάννα καταφέρων, ὑετὸν ἀήθη καὶ ξένον; Ἱματία δὲ καὶ ὑποδήματα πάντα τὸν χρόνον μὴ παλαιούμενα. Ποίαν δὲ γεωργῶν ἐν τῷ γῆν Ἠλίας ἐτρέη … Οὐ κόρακες αὐτῷ παρεχόμιζον τὴν τροφήν; Οὐχ ἐν Σαραφθίᾳ ἐλθόντι, χήρα καὶ τῶν ἀναγχαίων ἐνδεὴς, ἄρτον παρεῖχε τοῦ στόματος τῶν ἰδίων τέχνων ἀφαρπάσασα να φανῇ ὅτι καὶ φύσεως προτιμοτέρα ἣ ἀρετή; … ### English translation (Claude) A great hindrance to those hastening toward virtue is attachment to worldly affairs, which often brings ruin to both soul and body. For what [killed] Naboth the Israelite? Was it not his enviable vineyard that became the cause of his death, by stirring his neighbor to envy against him? What made the two tribes remain outside the promise? Was it not the multitude of their cattle? And what [separated] Lot from Abraham? Was it not the great number of their flocks, which stirred up continual quarrels between the shepherds and in the end [parted] them from one another? If, then, [property] even [rouses] the envious to murder against those who own possessions, and [separates] those who possess from the more earnest, and [cuts] kinship apart, and turns friends into enemies, and has nothing in common with the life to come, and is of no great use even to the body, why do we leave the service of God and give ourselves wholly to vanity? It is not we who accomplish the things of our life; it is God who arranges them. Human effort that does not obtain God's help necessarily falls short of its end, while God's arrangement, even without human effort, provides good things in full. What [profit did] their own toil [bring] those … to whom God said, “You have sown much and brought in little, and I blew it away out of your houses”? And what necessary thing ever failed those who lived by virtue, though they [took no thought] at all about these things? Did not the Israelites go about in the desert for forty years without enjoying anything from farming, and yet lacked no food? The sea belched up quails for them, a strange food; the rock, which had no moisture, broke open and gave an abundant stream; and heaven brought down manna, an unaccustomed and foreign rain; and their clothes and sandals did not wear out all that time. What land did Elijah farm when he was fed …? Did not ravens bring him his food? When he came to Zarephath, did not a widow, herself in want of necessities, give him bread snatched from the mouths of her own children, so that it might be shown that virtue is to be honored even above nature? … ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 21:1–16: allusion, high confidence - Num 32:1–5: allusion, high confidence - Gen 13:5–11: allusion, high confidence - Hag 1:9: quotation, high confidence - Num 11:31: allusion, high confidence - Exod 17:6: allusion, high confidence - Exod 16:4: allusion, high confidence - Deut 29:5: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:9–16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This section is badly damaged in the scan: several stretches of Migne's facing Latin column, misread as Greek letters, have been removed, and words lost with them are marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. The end of the chapter is lost. Naboth: 1 Kgs 21; the two (and a half) tribes: Num 32; Lot and Abraham: Gen 13:5–11; the quotation is Hag 1:9 (cf. 1:6); quails, the rock and manna: Num 11:31; Exod 17:6; Exod 16; clothes and sandals: Deut 29:5; Elijah and the ravens: 1 Kgs 17:6; the widow of Zarephath: 1 Kgs 17:9–16. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 13 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/13). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-14 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God can sustain life without food, as with Elijah and Moses; monks who trust in their own hands are like the unclean animals of the law. ### Greek text Καὶ ταῦτα παράδοξα μὲν ὅμως καὶ τοῦ εἰκότος ἐχόμενα, δυνατὸν γὰρ καὶ μὴ ἐσθίοντα ζῇν, ὅταν βούλεται ὁ Θεός. Πῶς γὰρ Ἠλίας τεσσαράκοντα ἧἣμερῶν ὁδὸν ἐν ἰσχύϊ βρώσεως μιᾶς πῶς δὲ ὁ Μωῦσῆς ὀγδοήκοντα ἡμέρα: ἐπὶ τοῦ ὄρους προσομιλῶν τῷ Θεῷ ἀνθρωπίνης τροφῆς ἔμεινεν ἄγευστος Μετὰ γὰρ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας κατελθὼν καὶ. διὰ τὴν μοσχοποιίαν θυμωθεὶς εὐθέως συντρίψας τὰς πλάχα:, ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος ἀνέδραμεν, καὶ τοσαύτας ἄλλας ἡμέρας ἐνδιατρίψας τῷ ὄρει οὕτως τὰς δευτέρας ἀναλαβὼν πλάκας κατῆλθε πρὸς τὸν λαόν. Ποῖος δὲ λογισμὸς ἀνθρώπινος τὸ εὔλογον τοῦ θαύματος τούτου παραστῆσαι δυνήσεται; Πῶς ἡ ῥοώδης τοῦ σώματος φύσις πρὸς τοσοῦτον χεχενωμένη, οὐδενὸς ἀναπληροῦντος τὸ καθ᾽ ἡμέραν διαπνεόμενον τῆς δυνάμεως λύει δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἄπορον ὁ λόγος, ὅταν λέγει Οὐχ ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι ἐχπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ. Τί τοίνυν πολίτευμα τὸ οὐράνιον εἰς γῆν χαταῖς ὑλικαῖς ἐμβαρύνοντες ταλαιπωρίαις: διὰ τί περιβαλλόμεθα οἱ ποτὲ τιθηνούμενοι … ἐπὶ κόκκῳ ὡς περί τινων Ἱερεμίας Θρηνῶν ἔλεγεν. Ὅταν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν λαμπρῶν καὶ διαπύρων ἀναπανώμεθα νοημάτων, ἐπὶ κόκκῳ τιθηνούμεθα ὅταν δὲ τοιαύτην ἀφέντες κατάστασιν, τοῖς γηΐνοις ἐμφυρώμεθα πράγμασι, κοπρίας περιδαλλόμεθα. Τί τὴν ἐλπίδα ἀφιστῶντες ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν σάρχα τῷ κίονι τὴν τοῦ Δεσπότου πρόνοιαν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιγράφοντες χερσαί; καὶ ὅπερ εἰς μεγάλην ἁμαρτίαν ἑαυτῷ λογισθῆναι ὁ Ἰὼβ ἐπειράσατο, τὸ ἐπιθέντα τὴν χεῖρα τῷ στόματι χαταφιλῆσαι, τοῦτο ποιοῦντες νῦν οὐ δεδοίκαμεν. Ἔθος γὰρ τοῖς πολλοῖς τὰς χεῖρας χαταφιλεῖν, ἐξ ἐκείνων ἔχειν τὴν εὐπορίαν λέγουσιν, οὗς αἰνισσόμενος διὰ συμβόλου ὃ νόμος φησὶν, Ὃς πορεύεται ἐπὶ χειρῶν, ἀκάθαρτος, καὶ ἧς ποσὶν, ἀκάθαρτος, καὶ ὃς πορεῦεται … τεσσάρων διὰ παντὸς ἀκάθαρτος. Ἐπὶ χειρῶν δὲ … ρεύεται ὁ ταῖς χεροὶν ἐπερειδόμενος, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐταῖς ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα, ἐπὶ τεσσάρων δὲ ὃ τοῖς οἷσθητοῖς πράγμασι προσπεποιθὼς, καὶ τῇ τούτων ἀσχολίᾳ διὰ παντὸς ἐπισύρων τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, πολυπληθεῖ δὲ ποσὶν ὁ πέριξ τῶν σωματικῶν περιεχόμενος. Διὰ τοῦτο ὁ σοφὸς Παροιμιαστὴς οὐδὲ δύο πόδας βούλεται ἔχειν τὸν τέλειον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕνα, καὶ τοῦτον σπανίως ἐπὶ τὰ σωματικὰ κινούμενον πράγματα Σπάνιον, λέγων, εἴσαγε σὸν πόδα πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ φίλον, ἵνα μήποτε πλησθείς σου, μισήσει σε. ΕἸ γὰρ τις τῷ Χριστῷ περὶ τῆς χρείας ἐνοχλῶν τοῦ σώματος, ἀγαπητὸς αὑτῷ ἔσται οὗτος γὰρ ὁ σκοπὸς τῶν φίλων τῶν τοιούτων ἐστὶν ὡς πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ μαθητάς φησιν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ε Ὑμεῖς φίλοι μού ἐστε ἐὰν δὲ συνεχέστερον τοῦτο ποιῇ, μισητὸς γένεται. ### English translation (Claude) These things are indeed marvellous, yet they also hold to what is reasonable; for it is possible to live without eating when God wills. How else did Elijah [walk] a forty days' journey in the strength of one meal? How did Moses remain without tasting human food for eighty days, while he conversed with God on the mountain? For after forty days he came down, and, angered by the making of the calf, immediately broke the tablets, ran back up the mountain, spent as many days again there, and only then took the second tablets and came down to the people. What human reasoning can show the rationale of this wonder? How could the body's nature, which is always flowing away, be emptied to such a degree, with nothing replacing the strength that is breathed out each day? The Word resolves this difficulty when it says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out through the mouth of God.” Why then do we [drag] our heavenly citizenship down to earth, weighing it down with material miseries? Why do we, who were once nursed in scarlet, embrace [dung-heaps], as Jeremiah said in his Lamentations about certain people? For when we rest upon bright and fiery thoughts, we are nursed in scarlet; but when we abandon that state and are mixed up with earthly affairs, we embrace dung-heaps. Why do we withdraw our hope from God and [make] flesh [our arm], ascribing the Master's providence to our own hands? And what Job feared would be reckoned to him as a great sin, putting his hand to his mouth and kissing it, we are not afraid to do now. For it is the custom of many to kiss their hands, saying that they have their prosperity from them. The law hints at such people by a figure when it says, “Whatever goes on its hands is unclean, and whatever goes on its feet is unclean, and whatever goes … on four is always unclean.” He goes on his hands who leans on his hands and has all his hope in them; on four, he who trusts in the things of sense and always drags his ruling mind about in busyness with them; and on many feet, he who is surrounded by bodily things. That is why the wise author of the Proverbs wants the perfect man to have not even two feet but one, and that one rarely moving toward bodily affairs: “Rarely,” he says, “set your foot toward your friend, lest having had his fill of you he hate you.” For if someone troubles Christ about the needs of the body, he will be dear to him, since this is the purpose of such friends, as the Saviour says to his disciples, “You are my friends”; but if he does this too often, he becomes hateful. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 19:8: allusion, high confidence - Exod 34:28: allusion, high confidence - Exod 32:19: allusion, high confidence - Deut 9:18: allusion, medium confidence - Deut 8:3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 4:4: quotation, high confidence - Lam 4:5: allusion, high confidence - Jer 17:5: allusion, medium confidence - Job 31:27: allusion, high confidence - Lev 11:27: quotation, high confidence - Lev 11:42: quotation, high confidence - Prov 25:17: quotation, high confidence - John 15:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Elijah: 1 Kgs 19:8. Moses' two periods of forty days: Exod 24:18; 32:19; 34:28; Deut 9:9, 18. The quotation is Deut 8:3 (Matt 4:4). Nursed in scarlet and embracing dung-heaps: Lam 4:5; the word for dung-heaps is lost in the scan where Latin debris has been removed. “Make flesh our arm”: the Greek reads τὴν σάρκα τῷ κίονι, probably a damaged form of Jer 17:5 (βραχίονα, “arm”); translated by that sense. Job: Job 31:27–28. The law: Lev 11:27, 42 (Nilus's wording; part of it is lost in the scan). The proverb: Prov 25:17. “You are my friends”: John 15:14. Several stretches of Latin-column debris in the section have been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 14 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/14). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-15 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The soul must bend to the body's needs only briefly and spring up again; to crawl always toward pleasure is what the law calls unclean. ### Greek text Τίνι ἄρα πείσεται, καὶ πῶς βδελυχτὸς οὐχ ἔσται ὁ διὰ παντὸς ταύταις ἐνασχολούμενος ταῖς χρείαις, καὶ μηδέποτε πρὸς τὴν ὄρθιον ἀνεγειρόμενος ζωήν; διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν σκέλη ἐπάνω τῶν ποδῶν, ὥστε πηδᾷν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ὡς γὰρ τὰ σκέλη διὰ τῆς … συννεύσεως, ὅλον μὲν δέχεται πρότερον ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτὰ τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ σώματος, μικρὸν δὲ προσεγγίσαντα τῇ γῇ ἀθρόον ἐνάλλεσθαι παρασκευάζει πρὸς τὸ μετέωρον, οὕτως ὁ διαχριτιχὸς τῶν τῆς φύσεως πραγμάτων λογισμὸς μετὰ τὸ προταπεινωθῆναι τῇ χρείᾳ τοῦ σώματος, ὀξέως πάλιν τοῖς ἄνω κοῦφον ἀναπέμπει τὸ φρόνημα, μηδένα τῶν χοϊκῶν ἑαυτῷ συνανακουφίζων μολυσμῶν. Τὸ γὰρ ἔχειν ὀρθὰ τὰ σκέλη πρόσεστι μὲν καὶ τοῖς ἄγαν ἀπολαυστιχοῖς, καὶ κάτω κειμένοις διὰ παντός πρόσεστι δὲ καὶ ταῖς ἁγίαις Δυνάμεσι διὰ τὸ ὅλως τῶν σωματικῶν, μηδὲ τῆς πρὸς ταῦτα ἐπινεύσεως. Τοῦτο γὰρ, ὡς εἶμαι, σημαίνων ὁ μέγας Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι ἣν τὰ σκέλη αὐτῶν ὀρθὰ, καὶ πτερωτοὶ οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τὸ ἀκλινὲς τῆς γνώμης, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τὰ νοήματα τῆς φύσεως ἐκείνης ὀξυκίνητον. ᾿Ανθρώποῖς δὲ ἰχανὸν σκέλη ἔχειν χλινόμενα, καὶ ποτὲ μὲν πρὸς τὰς σωματικὰς, ποτὲ δὲ πρὸς τὰς τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνωφερεῖς χρησιμεύειν διατριβὰς, καὶ διὰ μὲν τὴν πρὸς τὰς ἄνω Δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς συγγένειαν, τὰ πολλὰ συμμετεωροπολεῖν ἐκείναις, διὰ δὲ τὸν τοῦ σώματος τόνον, τοσοῦτον ἐπασχολεῖν τῇ γῇ τὴν φρονἰδα, ὅσον ἧ χρεία βιάζεται ἐφέρπειν δὲ διὰ πανὃς ταῖς ἀκολαυστιχαῖς παρασχεναῖς, ἀκάθαρτον ὄντως, καὶ οὐχ ἁρμόζον ἀνθρώποις λογικῆς μεμοιρασμένοις γνώσεως. Παρατετηρημένως γὰρ τὸν ἐπὶ τεσσάρων πορευόμενον καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν ἀχάθαρτον, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ διὰ παντὸς ἐπὶ τεσσάρων πορεύοιτο ἔδωκε γὰρ τοῖς ἐν σώματι καιρὸν καταβαίνειν πρὸς τὴν χρείαν. τοῦ σώματος καὶ γὰρ ὁ Ἰωνάθαν τῷ πολεμῶν τῷ ᾿Αμμωνίτῃ ἐπὶ τεσσάρων περιπατῆσας, ἐνίκησεν, ἐπειδὴ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ τῆς φύσεως ὑπηρήτησε μόνῃ, ἔδει γὰρ τὸν πρὸς τὸν ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει συρόμενον ὄφιν πολεμοῦντα τοῦτο γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται σχηματίσασθαι πρὸς ὀλίγον τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμοιότητα διὰ τοῦ πορευθῆναι ἐπὶ τεσσάρων, καὶ οὕτως διαναστάντα ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἕξιν χειρώτοῦτον μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς εὐχολίας. ### English translation (Claude) What then will he suffer, and how will he not be abominable, who is always busy with these needs and never rises to the upright life, because he has no legs above his feet with which to leap from the ground? For just as the legs, by bending …, first take the whole weight of the body upon themselves, and then, having brought it a little closer to the ground, prepare it to spring all at once into the air, so the reason that discerns the things of nature, after first being lowered by the body's need, quickly sends the mind up light again to the things above, lifting with itself none of the earthly defilements. To have straight legs belongs to those who are wholly given to enjoyment and always lie below; it belongs also to the holy Powers, because they are entirely [free] of bodily things and do not even incline toward them. Indicating this, I think, the great Ezekiel said that their legs were straight and their feet winged, which shows the unbending steadiness of their will and the swiftness of that nature toward thoughts. For human beings it is enough to have legs that bend, serving sometimes the occupations of the body and sometimes the upward occupations of the soul: because of the soul's kinship with the Powers above, mostly to soar aloft with them; because of the body's tension, to give the earth as much attention as need compels. But always to creep about after the preparations of enjoyment is truly unclean, and unfitting for human beings who have been given a share of rational knowledge. For with careful precision [the law] did not simply call unclean the one who goes on four, but the one who goes on four always; for it gave those in the body time to come down for the body's need. Indeed Jonathan, fighting the Ammonite, walked on all fours and won, since he served only the necessity of nature; for one who fights against the serpent that crawls on its breast (for that is the meaning of the name) had to take on its likeness for a little while by going on four, and so, rising up again to his own posture, to overcome it with great ease. ### Scripture references - Lev 11:21: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 1:7: allusion, high confidence - Lev 11:42: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 14:13: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 11:1: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 3:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Legs above the feet to leap with: Lev 11:21. Ezekiel's living creatures: Ezek 1:7. “On four always”: Lev 11:42. Jonathan climbing on hands and feet: 1 Sam 14:13, where the enemy are the Philistines; Nilus appears to combine this with Nahash the Ammonite (1 Sam 11), whose name means “serpent,” which is the point of “that is the meaning of the name.” The serpent on its breast: Gen 3:14. The word after “bending” and the end of the section are lost in Latin debris, which has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 15 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/15). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-16 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The murder of Ishbosheth, whose doorkeeper dozed over her wheat, teaches that the mind must not entrust its guard to the senses; the body needs only bread, water and plain clothing. ### Greek text Τί ὃὲ καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὸν ἱστορία ἡμᾶς οὐ … παιδεύει δηλαδὴ μὴ πεφορτισμένως ἐπέχεσθαι τῶν ἐμπροπάδην … σωματικῶν, μηδὲ τῇ αἰσθήσει τὴν ἑαντῶν ἔγχειρίζειν φυλακήν. Οὗτος γὰρ βασιλεὺς ὧν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ταμείῳ ἀναπανόμενος, τῇ ἑαυτοῦ γυναικὶ, φησὶ, θυρἐπέτρεψεν ἐλθόντες δὲ οἱ περὶ τὸν Ῥηχὰβ, καὶ εὑρόντες αὐτὴν, πυροὺς καθαίρουσαν, καὶ νυστάζουσαν, διαλαβόντες εἰσήλθον, καὶ ἀνεῖλον τὸν Ἰεβουσθὲ καὶ αὑτὸν εὑρόντες καθεύδοντα. Πάντα γὰρ ὑπνοῖ, καὶ νοῦς, καὶ ψυχῇ, καὶ διάνοια, καὶ αἴσθησις, τῶν σωματικῶν κρατούντων. Τὸ γὰρ τὴν θυρωρὸν κεκαθαρκέναι πυροὺς, δείκνυσι τὸ ἐπιμελῶς προσἡσχολῆσθαι τὴν διάνοιαν τοῖς σωματικοῖς, καὶ οὗ παρέργως, ἀλλὰ μετά τινος σπουδῇς τὴν τούτων ἐπιτηδεῦσαι καθαρότητα ὅτι γὰρ οὐχ ἐν ἱστορίας εἴδει τοῦτο διδάσκει ἡ Γραφῇ, δῆλον ἐκεῖθεν. Πῶς γὰρ βασιλεὺς γυναῖκα θυρωρὸν εἶχεν, ὀφείλων παρὰ πλήθους δορυφορεῖσθαι στρατιωτῶν, καὶ πᾶσαν περὶ αὑτὸν τὴν τοῦ ἀξιώματος ἔχειν σκηνήν ἢ πῶς οὕτως ἐνδεὴς, ὡς δι᾿ αὐτῆς χαθαέρειν τοὺς πυρούς ᾿Αλλὰ πολλάκις τῇ ἱστορίᾳ μίγνυται τὸ παράλογον διὰ τὴν τῶν σημαινομένων ἀλήθειαν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκάστου νοῦς χαθάπερ βασιλεὺς ἔσω που διατρίβει, τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἔχων τὴν διάνοιαν, ἥτις ὅταν τοῖς σωματικοῖς ἑαυτὴν ἐγχειρίσῃ σωματικὸν δὲ τὸ χαθαίρειν πυροὺς εὐχερῶς διαλαβόντες οἱ ἐπίβουλοι τὸν νοῦν. Διὰ τοῦτο. ὁ μέγὰς οὐ πιστεύει γυναικὶ τὴν θύραν φυλάττειν, οἷδε γὰρ τὸ ἐξαπάτητον τῆς αἰσθήσεως, ὅπως τῇ τερπομένη τῶν αἰσθητῶν δικάζει τὸν νοῦν, καὶ πείθει συμμεκαλαθεῖν αὐτῇ τῶν τερπνῶν, καὶ ἐπιχίνδυνος ἡ μετάληψις εἴη σαφῶς. ᾿Αλλ᾽ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος παραχαθέζεται, τοῖς μὲν θείοις νοήμασιν ἀναπεπταμένην παρέχων τὴν εἴσοδον, ταῖς δὲ χοσμικαῖς φροντίσιν ἀποκλείων τὴν θύραν. Τί γὰρ ἡμῖν εἰς τὴν ζωὴν ἐκ τῆ; περὶ ταῦτα ματαιοπονίας ἐπιγίνεται: Οὐχ ἅπας μόχθος ἀνθρώπου, κατὰ τὸν Ἐχχλησιαστὴν, εἷς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ; διατροφὴ δὲ καὶ σκεπάσματα κατὰ τὸν ᾿Απόστολον, ἰχανὰ πρὸς τὴν σύστασιν τῆς δυστήνου σαρκός Τί οὖν ἀπέραντα καὶ μοεἰς ἄνεμον, ὥς; φησι Σολομῶν, ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὰ γήϊνα σπουδῆς ἐμποδίζοντες τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς τὴν τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ἀπόλαυσιν, καὶ τῆν σάρχα περιἔποντες, καὶ θάλποντες πλέον, ἣ καλῶς ἔχοι ἐχθρὸν καὶ γείτονα αὐτὴν καὶ πολέμιον ὡς μὴ μόνον ἀμφήριστον αὑτοῖς γένεσθαι τὴν μάχην ἀλλ᾽ … ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος μένην κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀνιᾷν, ὡς μηδὲ τιμῶν, καὶ στεφάνων συγχωρεῖν αὐτὴν ἐφιέσθαι. Τί γάρ ἰοὶν ἡ χρεία τοῦ σώματος, ὅτι ταύτην προφασιζόμενα εἰς ἀνόητον ἀμηχανίαν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκτείνομεν ἄρτος ἐστὶ πάντως καὶ ὕδωρ. οὐχ αἱ μὲν πῆ: γαὶ ἀφθόνως τὸ νᾶμα παρέχουσιν ὁ δὲ ἄρτος εὐπόριστος τοῖς χεῖρας ἔχουσι; καὶ ἐκ τοιούτων ἔργων δυνάμεθα πορίζεσθαι, ἐξ ὧν καὶ ἢ χρεία πληροῦται τοῦ σώματο;, καὶ ὀλίγον, ἣ ὅλως περισπώμεθα. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἔνδυμα πολλὴν παρέχει φροντίδα; οὐδ τοῦτο, ἐὰν μὴ πρὸς τὴν ἐκ τῆς συνηθείας μαλακίαν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν βλέπωμεν μόνην. Ποίας γὰρ ἀραχνοῦφεῖς ἐσθῆτας, ποίαν δὲ βύσσον, ἢ πορφύραν, ἣ σηὁ πρῶτος ἐφόρεσεν ἄνθρωπος; οὐχ ἐκ δερμάτων αὐτῷ ὁ Δημιουργὸς τὸ ἔνδυμα, καὶ χόρτῳ τρέφεσθαι παρήγγειλε τούτους τιθεὶς οὺς ὄρους τῆς χρείας τοῦ σώματος, οὕτω διαταξάμενος, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν ἀναστέλλων τὴν νῦν μένην αἰσχρότητα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Οὐ λέγω δὲ, ὅτι καὶ νῦν οὐ θρέψει πάντως εὖ βιοῦντας, ὁ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τρέφων, καὶ ἐνδύσει, ὁ τοῖς κρίνοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ τοσαύτην περιθεὶς δόξαν, ἐπεὶ μηδέπω πείθειν δυνατὸν τοὺς πολὺ ταύτης ἀφεστῶτας τῆς πίστεως. Τίς γὰρ οὐ ἱκεσίας παρέξει τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τῷ χατ᾽ ἀρετὴν βιοῦντι; ### English translation (Claude) And does not the story of [Ishbosheth] teach us … not to cling, weighed down, to … bodily things, nor to entrust our guard to sense? For he, though a king, was resting in his chamber and, it says, had entrusted the door to his own wife; and the men with Rechab came, found her cleaning wheat and dozing, slipped past her, went in, and killed Ishbosheth, finding him asleep as well. For everything sleeps, mind and soul and understanding and sense, when bodily things have the upper hand. That the doorkeeper had been cleaning wheat shows the understanding diligently occupied with bodily things, and practising their cleanness not in passing but with a certain zeal. That Scripture does not teach this as plain history is clear from this: how could a king have had a woman as doorkeeper, when he ought to have been guarded by a crowd of soldiers and to have kept about him all the pageantry of his rank? Or how could he have been so poor as to have the wheat cleaned by her? But often what is unreasonable is mixed into a story for the sake of the truth of what is signified. For each person's mind, like a king, lives somewhere within, having the understanding as doorkeeper of the senses; and when the understanding hands itself over to bodily things (and cleaning wheat is bodily), the plotters easily slip past and [kill] the mind. That is why the great [Abraham] does not trust a woman to guard the door, for he knows how easily sense is deceived, how by delight in the things of sense it entices the mind and persuades it to share in the pleasures with it, and the sharing would plainly be dangerous; instead he himself sits by it, keeping the entrance wide open to divine thoughts and shutting the door on worldly cares. What do we gain for life from our vain toil about these things? Is not “all a man's toil,” according to Ecclesiastes, “for his mouth”? And according to the Apostle, food and covering are enough to sustain our wretched flesh. Why then do we toil endlessly, chasing the wind, as Solomon says, hindering the soul by our zeal for earthly things from enjoying the divine goods, and pampering the flesh and warming it more than is good, so that it becomes our enemy, neighbor and foe, and the battle with it is not merely evenly matched, but … [the flesh] grieves the soul from a great surplus [of strength], armed against it, so that it does not even let the soul aspire to honors and crowns? What is the body's need, that on its pretext we stretch desire into senseless helplessness? It is surely bread and water. Do not the springs provide the stream in abundance, and is not bread easily obtained by those who have hands? We can provide for ourselves by such work as fills the body's need and distracts us little, or not at all. But does clothing give much worry? Not this either, if we look not to the softness that comes from habit but only to need. For what spider-web garments, what fine linen or purple or silk did the first man wear? Did not the Creator [make] his clothing from skins, and command him to be fed on grass? By so ordaining he set these as the limits of the body's need, and from far off checked the shamefulness that now [prevails] among men. I do not say that even now he who feeds the birds of the sky will not feed those who live well, and that he who put such glory about the lilies of the field will not clothe them; but it is not yet possible to persuade those who stand far from this faith. For who will not supply the necessities, without being begged, to the one who lives by virtue? ### Scripture references - 2 Sam 4:5–7: allusion, high confidence - Gen 18:1: allusion, medium confidence - Eccl 6:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 6:8: allusion, high confidence - Eccl 1:14: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 3:21: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:18: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 6:26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:28–30: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ishbosheth: 2 Sam 4:5–7 in the Greek Bible, where the doorkeeper is cleaning wheat and dozes; his name is lost in the scan at the start of the section and is restored by sense. Nilus reads the episode figuratively and says so. The great man who sits at his own door is evidently Abraham (Gen 18:1); the name is lost. “All a man's toil is for his mouth”: Eccl 6:7; food and covering: 1 Tim 6:8; chasing the wind: Eccl 1:14. Garments of skins: Gen 3:21; the grass of the field: Gen 3:18. The birds and lilies: Matt 6:26, 28–30. Silk translates a damaged word (σηὁ). Several stretches of Latin-column debris have been removed; lost Greek is marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 16 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/16). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-17 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even Babylonians honored Jeremiah, and the Shunammite and the widow of Zarephath provided for the prophets because of their virtue. ### Greek text Εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι βάρβαροι, καὶ πολέμον νόμῳ λαβόντες τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα, οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι τὴν ἀρετὴν ᾐδέσθησαν τοῦ ᾿Ἱἱερεμίου, καὶ πᾶσαν θεραπείαν παρἐσχον σωματικὴν ἀφθόνως, οὐ τὰ πρὸς τροφὴν μόγον δεδωκότες, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκεύη, οἷς ἔθος ἐστὶ διακονεῖσθαι τοὺς ἐστιωμένους, πῶς οὐχ αἱδεσθήσονται βίον ἐνάρετον οἱ ὁμόφυλοι, καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν τοῦ βαρδαριχοῦ μᾶλλον διαχεχαθαρμένοι πρὸς τὴν τῶν καλῶν χατονόησιν, καὶ ἀρετῆς ζηλωταί; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ δεδύνηνται ταύτης ἀσκηταὶ γενέσθαι δι᾽ ἀσθένειαν ψύσεως, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν γε τιμῶσιν ἀρετὴν, καὶ τοὺς ἀσκητὰς αὐτῆς θαυμάζουσι. Τίς ἔπεισε τὴν μᾶτιν οἰκοδομῆσαι τῷ χαταγώγιον, καὶ θεῖναι τράπεζαν ἐκεῖ, καὶ δίφρον, καὶ κλίνην, καὶ λυχνίαν οὐχ ἣ ἀρετὴ τοῦ ἀνδρός Τί δὲ τὴν χήραν ἐκείνην ἐδυσώπησε, λιμοῦ πᾶσαν κατανεμομένου τὴν γῆν, τῆς ἰδίας χρείας προχρῖναι τὴν τοῦ προφήτου θεραπείαν πάντως γὰρ εἰ μὴ φιλοσοφίαν τέτο τοῦ Ἠλιοῦ, οὐχ ἂν τὴν μικρὰν τῆς ζωῆς παραμυθίαν ἑαυτῆς καὶ τῶν τέχνων ἀφελομένη παρἐχώρησεν ἐκείνῳ, ὄν μετ᾽ ὀλίγον ἐφαντάζετο θάνατον, πρὸ καιροῦ τοῦτον ἑλομένη διὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν ξένον φιλοτιμίαν. ### English translation (Claude) For if barbarous men, the Babylonians, who had taken Jerusalem by the law of war, respected the virtue of Jeremiah and gave him every bodily care in abundance, providing not only food but also the vessels with which those who are entertained are customarily served, how will his own people not revere a virtuous life, people whose reasoning has been more thoroughly cleansed than the barbarian's for the understanding of what is good, and who are emulators of virtue? For even if they have not been able to become practitioners of it through weakness of nature, still they honor virtue and admire those who practise it. Who persuaded the Shunammite to build a lodging for [Elisha], and to put there a table, a stool, a bed and a lamp? Was it not the man's virtue? And what put to shame that widow, when famine was laying waste the whole land, so that she preferred the service of the prophet to her own need? Surely, had she not respected Elijah's philosophy, she would not have taken the small comfort of life from herself and her children and given it up to him, choosing beforehand the death she pictured coming soon, out of her generosity to the stranger. ### Scripture references - Jer 40:4–5 (47:4-Jer LXX): allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 4:10: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:12–15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Jeremiah and the Babylonians: Jer 39:11–12; 40:4–5 (LXX 46–47); Nilus adds the detail of vessels. The Shunammite: 2 Kgs 4:8–10 (the scan reads μᾶτιν for Σωμανῖτιν; Elisha's name is not in the printed text). The widow of Zarephath: 1 Kgs 17:9–16. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 17 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/17). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/4/#p-18 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Through freedom from need the prophets spoke boldly to kings, and virtue proved stronger than royal power. ### Greek text δὲ τοιούτους αὐτοὺς τὸ γενναῖον καὶ τὸ τρὸς τοὺς πόνους ἀνένδοτον, καὶ τὸ καταφρονητικῶς ἔχειν πρὸς τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα εὐτέλειαν γὰρ ἐπιτηδεύσαντες, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἀνενδεὲς, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἐκ τῆς ὀλιγοδείας προκόψαντες πλησίον τῶν ἀσωμάτων ἔστησαν δυνάμεων ὅθεν καίτοι ἀφανεῖς ὄντες κατὰ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ ἄσημοι, τῶν πάντα φερόντων ἐγένοντο δυνατώτεροι, μετὰ τοσαύτης παῤῥησίας τοῖς τὸ διάδημα περικειμένοις διαλεγόμενοι, ὅσης οὐχ ἐκεῖνοι τοῖς ὑποχειρίοις. Ποίοις γὰρ ὅπλοις θαῤῥῶν ἥ.. ποῖ: δυνάμει πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αχαχῦ ἔλεγεν ὁ Ἠλίας, ε Οὐ διαστρέφω ἀλλ᾽ ἢ σὺ, καὶ ὁ οἶχος τοῦ πατρός σου; πῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ Μωῦσῆς ἀντιχαθίσταται τῷ Φαραῷ πρὸς ἅμιλλαν, οὐδὲν ἔχων πλὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ θάρσους ἑφόδιον πῶς δὲ ὁ Ἑλισταιὲ μένης ἐπὶ πόλεμον τῆς στρατιᾶς τῶν δύο … τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ τοῦ Ἰοῦδα ἔλεγε τῷ Ἰεζῇ, Ζῇ Κύριος τῶν Δυνάμεων ᾧ πάρεστον ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ σήμερον, ὅτι εἰ μὴ πρόσωπον Ἰωσαφὰτ ἐγὼ καταλάμδανον, εἰ ἐπέβλεψα, καὶ εἶδόν σε, οὔτε τὴν στρατιὰν κεκινημένην φοδῃθεὶς, οὔτε τὸν θυμὸν τοῦ βασιλέως, ὃν περὶ καιρὸν τοῦ πολεμοῦ εἰχὸς χρήσασθαι, καὶ ἀλόγῳ ὁρμῇ. τοῦ λογισμοῦ δι᾽ ἀγωνίαν συγκεχυμένον. Τί γὰρ τοιοῦτον δύναται βασιλεία ἐπ οἷον ἀρετή Ποία πορφυρὶς ποταμὸν ὡς ἡ μηλωτὴ τοῦ Ἠλιοῦ ποῖον διάδημα νοσήματα ὡς τὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων σουδάρια ἤλεγξε προφήτης βασιλέα παρανομήσαντα μόνος μετὰ πάσης ὄντα τῆς στρατιᾶς, καὶ ἐπειδὴ τὸν θυμὸν ὁ ἔλεγχος ἐκτείνας ὁ βασιλεὺς τὴν χεῖρα ἐπὶ τὸν προφήτην, οὔτε ἐχείνου ἐπελάβετο, καὶ τὴν χεῖρα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν συναγαγεῖν ξηρανθεῖσαν οὐχ ἣδυνήθη. Καὶ ἣν ἀγὼν ἀρετῆς, καὶ δυναστείας βασιλιχῇς ἰσχυρωτέρα ἡ νίκη τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐγένετο, οὐχ ἐμάχετο ὁ προφήτης, καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ ἐτροποῦτο τὸν πολέμιον ὁ ἀγωνιστὴς, καὶ ἡ πίστις εἰργάζετο οἱ σύμμᾶχοι τοῦ βασιλέω; βραδευταὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἐγένοντο, καὶ ἡ χεὶρ εἰστήκει τῇ ἀρετῇ μαρτυροῦσα τὴν νίχὴν. ### English translation (Claude) … [What made] them such was their nobility, their refusal to give way before labors, and their contempt for the affairs of life. For by practising frugality and advancing from needing little to needing, so to speak, nothing, they came to stand near the bodiless powers. Hence, though they were obscure and of no account in body, they became stronger than those who rule all things, speaking to those who wear the diadem with more freedom than these use toward their subjects. Trusting in what weapons, or in what power, did Elijah say to Ahab, “It is not I who trouble Israel, but you and your father's house”? How did Moses set himself against Pharaoh in contest, having no provision for his boldness but his virtue? How did Elisha, when the army of the two [kings] … of Israel and of Judah, say to [the king], “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand today, if I did not regard the face of Jehoshaphat, I would not have looked at you or seen you,” fearing neither the army that had been set in motion nor the anger of the king, which he was likely to vent at a time of war, his reasoning confused by anxiety into an irrational impulse? What can kingship do that is like what virtue does? What purple [divided] a river as Elijah's sheepskin did? What diadem [drove away] diseases as the handkerchiefs of the apostles did? A prophet, alone, rebuked a lawbreaking king who was surrounded by his whole army; and when the rebuke [kindled] his anger, the king stretched out his hand against the prophet, but he did not seize him, and he could not draw his hand back to himself, for it had withered. It was a contest between virtue and royal power, and the victory of virtue proved stronger. The prophet did not fight, and virtue routed the enemy; the champion did nothing, and faith did the work; the king's allies became judges of the contest, and the hand stood there bearing witness to the victory of virtue. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 18:18: quotation, high confidence - Exod 5:1: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 3:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 2:8: allusion, high confidence - Acts 19:12: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 13:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The opening words of the section are lost. Elijah to Ahab: 1 Kgs 18:18. Moses and Pharaoh: Exod 5–12. Elisha and the kings of Israel, Judah and Edom: 2 Kgs 3:9–14; the quotation is 2 Kgs 3:14 (Nilus's wording); a long stretch of Latin-column debris inside the Elisha sentence has been removed and the lost words are marked or supplied. Elijah's sheepskin dividing the Jordan: 2 Kgs 2:8, 14. The apostles' handkerchiefs: Acts 19:12. The prophet and the king's withered hand: 1 Kgs 13:1–6 (Jeroboam). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 18 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/18). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-19 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike the saints, who would rather die than flatter the rich, monks now fawn on the wealthy and farm for gain, though every harvest depends on God. ### Greek text Ταῦτα δὲ ἔπραττον, ἐπειδὴ μόνῃ ψυχῇ ζῇν ἔχρινον, τὸ σῶμα, καὶ τὰς τοῦ σώματος ἀνάγκας ἀποστρεφόμενοι, καὶ πάντων αὐτοὺς ὑψηλοτέρους ἐποίει μηδενὸς χρείαν ἔχειν μᾶλλον γὰρ καταλιπεῖν τὸ σῶμα ἡροῦντο, καὶ τῆς ἐν σαρχὶ ζωῆς ἀπαλλαγῆναι ἣ χαταπροδοῦναι τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ἀξίωμα, ἣ χρείας ἕνεχα σωματιχῇς χολαχεῦσαί τινα τῶν εὐπόρων. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ὅταν ἐν χρείᾳ τινος, καθάπερ τὰ κυνίδια. ἱλαρωτέρας κινήσεως χέρχου τοῖς ὀστέον ἴσως γυμνὸν, ἣ Ψίχας, προσακοντίζουσιν, οὕτως τοῖς πλουσίοις προστρέχομεν, εὐεργέτας αὐτοὺς, καὶ τῶν Χριστιανῶν μόνας ἀποκαλοῦντες, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτοῖς ἁπλῶς μαρτυροῦμεν ἀρετὴν, χἂν ἐν ἐσχάτῃ κακίᾳ τυγχάνωσιν ὄντες, ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀνῦσαι τὸ σπουδαζόμεγον, οὗ ριεργαζόμενοι τὴν τῶν ἁγίων διαγωγὴν ὧν δῆθεν ζηλοῦν τὴν ἀρετὴν προὐθέμεθα. Ἦλθέ ποτε πρὸς Ἕλισσαις Νεεμὰν ὁ τῆς Συρίας στρατηλάτης. πολλὰ χομίσας δῶρα ἑαυτοῦ. Τί οὖν ὁ προφήτης ὥρᾳ ἄρα προσέδραμεν οὐχὶ δι᾽ ἑνὸς μειρακίου τὴν χρείαν αὐτῷ, ἐφ᾽ ἧ παρῆν, οὐδὲ εἰς ὄψιν αὐτὸν δεξάμενος ἵνα μὴ τῶν των ἕνεχα τὴν θεραπείαν παρέξαι νομισθῇ Ταῦτα δὲ εἴρηται οὐχ ἵνα μάθωμεν ἀλαζονείαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα μὴ χρείας ἕνεχα τοὺς ἐκεῖνα περιέποντας, ὧν ἡμεῖς; καταφρονεῖν ἐπηγγέλμεθα. Τί οὖν ἡμεῖς ἀφέντες τὸν σκοπὸν τῆς φιλοσοφίας, γεωργίας, καὶ ἐμπορίας ἐπιτηδεύομεν Τί γὰρ μέγε τῷ Θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἑαυτῶν φροντίδι ἵνα δὲ ἐχδηλωθῇ κοινὴν εἶναι τὴν τῆς γεωργίας … μέλειαν. η σπουδὴ τὴν γῆν ἀνατέμνεοι, καὶ τὰ σπέρματα καταβάλλει, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ὑετοῖς ἐπαλλήλοις ἄρδει τὰ σπαρέντα ἁπαλαῖς ταῖς τῆς γῆς τὰς ῥίζας ἐνδιατείνεσθαι παρασκευάζων, ἥλιον ἀνατέλλει διαθερμαίνοντα τὴν γῆν καὶ τῇ θέρμῃ προσχαλούμενον ἄνω τὰ φυτὰ, αὔρα; ἀνέμων ἐπιπνεῖ τῇ ἡλικίᾳ τῶν τρεφομένων γεννημάτων συμμέτρους, μαλακαῖς μὲν πνοαῖς ἐν ἀρχῇ χλοηφόρον τὴν πεδιάδα, ὡς ἂν μὴ θερμοῖς τοῖς πνεύμασιν ἀλεαινόμενα περιφλέγοιτο τὰ σπαρέντα, σταθεραῖς δὲ ἐμβολαῖς πνευμάτων ταῖς θήκαις τὸ γαλαχτῶδες πεπαίνων τοῦ κόκκου, ἀλοητῷ φλογμὸν παρέχων ἐπιτήδειον, λιχμητῷ δὲ προσφόρους ἀνέμους. Κἂν ἔν τινι τούτων ἐπιλείπῃ. μάταιος ὁ ἀνθρώπινος ἠλέγχθη πόνος, καὶ ἡ ἡμετέρα … σπουδὴ μὴ σφραγισθεῖσα ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεαῖς … γῆ δὲ καὶ τούτων ἐνέλιπε πρὸς τελείωσιν οὐδέν ὑετὸς δὲ λαῦρος παρὰ γενόμενος καὶ πολὺς, ἣ τριδόμενον ἔτι τὸν ἣ κατὰ χαιρὺν σωρευθέντα τὸν σῖτον Ἔστι ὅτε καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἀποθήχῃ σκώληξ, καὶ σῆς διέφθειρεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ στόματος, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἑτοίμην ἀποσυλήσας τὴν τράπεζαν ### English translation (Claude) They did these things because they had decided to live by the soul alone, turning away from the body and the body's necessities; and what made them higher than all was needing nothing. For they thought it better to leave the body and be released from life in the flesh than to betray the dignity of virtue or, for the sake of bodily need, to flatter any of the rich. But we, when we need something, are like little dogs that wag their tails more cheerfully at those who toss them perhaps a bare bone or some crumbs: so we run up to the rich, calling them benefactors and the only [patrons] of Christians, and simply testify to every virtue in them, even if they happen to be sunk in the depths of vice, in order to get what we are after; we take no trouble to examine the conduct of the saints whose virtue we have supposedly set out to emulate. Naaman, the commander of Syria, once came to Elisha bringing many gifts with him. What then did the prophet do? Did he run out to meet him at once? No: he dealt with the need for which Naaman had come through a single young servant, without even admitting him to his presence, so that he might not be thought to give the healing for the sake of the gifts. This is said not so that we may learn arrogance, but so that we may not, for need's sake, [court] those who cherish the things we have professed to despise. Why then do we abandon the goal of philosophy and practise farming and trade? What great thing [do we add] for God by our own care? To show that the care of farming is a joint work: human effort cuts the earth and casts the seeds, but God waters what has been sown with rain upon rain, preparing the roots to stretch out in the soft [clods] of the earth; he raises the sun to warm the earth and with its warmth to call the plants upward; he sends breezes of wind suited to the age of the growing crops, with gentle breaths at first over the green plain, so that the seed may not be scorched by hot winds, and with steadier blasts ripening the milky part of the grain in its husks; he provides the heat fit for threshing and the winds suitable for winnowing. If any one of these fails, human toil is shown to be vain, and our … effort, not sealed by the gifts of God. … the earth lacked none of these things for bringing the crop to completion, but a violent and heavy rain came and [spoiled] the grain while it was still being threshed, or after it had been heaped up in season. Sometimes, even in the barn itself, worm and moth destroyed it, plundering, so to speak, a table already laid, from the very mouth. ### Scripture references - 2 Kgs 5:9–10: allusion, high confidence - Matt 6:19: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Naaman and Elisha: 2 Kgs 5:9–10. Worm and moth: cf. Matt 6:19–20. Several stretches of Migne's Latin column, misread as Greek letters, have been removed; lost Greek is marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. The end of the section is lost. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 19 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-20 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God provides even in sickness; monks should return to the desert, as the crowds who left the cities to see John the Baptist show. ### Greek text Ποῦ τοίνυν ἡμῖν, καὶ εἰς τί χρήσιμος ἣ ἡμετέρα σπουδὴ, θεοῦ τοὺς οἴακας τῶν πραγμάτων κρατοῦντὸς, καὶ πάντα φέροντος καὶ ἄγοντος, ὡς ἂν βούληται; ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ταῖς ἀσθενείαις ἐροῦμεν παραμυθίας χρῄζειν τὸ σῶμα, καὶ πόσῳ βέλτιον τεθνάναι, ἣ πρᾶξαί τι τῶν τῷ μὴ πρεπόντων Πάντως δὲ ἂν ἄρα ἔτι ζῇν ἡμᾶς βούλεται ὁ θεὸς, ἢ ἰσχὺν ἐντίθησι τῷ σώματι τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῆς πόνον φέρειν, καὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ δέξασθαι στεφάνους, ἣ πόρος ἐπινοῆσει πρὸς παραμυθίαν τοῦ κάμνοντος, καὶ οὐχ ἐπιλείψει πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἐπίνοια τῇ πηγῇ τῆς σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς σοφίας. Καλὸν οὖν, ἀγαπητοὶ, καλὸν, πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἀναβῆναι μακαριότητα, καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐπιδράξασθαι πολιτείας. Ἔστι γὰρ πᾶσιν εὔκολος, ὡς: νομίζω, θελήσασι, χἂν δὲ τις προσῇ πόγο;, ἄκαρπος ἔσται, ἱκανὸν ἔχων παραμύθιον τὴν τῶν προωδευκότων εὔκλειαν, αὶ τῶν ἐψομένων τὴν διόρθωσιν, οὐ μικρὸν γὰρ ἔσται κέρδος οἷς ἀρξαμένοι; τοιαύτης διαγωγῆς καὶ τοῖς μετέπεῖτα καταλιποῦσι πολιτείας ἀρίστης εἰχόνα, ἡ τῶν ἀπολειφθέντων ἀνάληψις. Φύγωμεν τὰς ἐν πόλεσι καὶ κώμαις διαγωγὰς, ἵνα οἱ ἐν πόλεσι καὶ κώμαις πρὸς ἡμᾶς; ἐρημίας ἵνα ἐπισπασώμεθα τοὺς νῦν ἡμᾶς φεύγοντας, εἰ φίλον ὅλως τοῦτό Καὶ γὰρ περί τινων ἐν ἐπαίνῳ γέγρᾶπται, ὅτι κατέλιπον τὰς πόλεις καὶ ᾧχησαν ἐν πέτραις, καὶ ἐγένοντο ὡς περιστεραὶ μελετητικαί γχαὶ ὁ Βακτιστὴς δὲ ᾿Ιξωάννης ἐν ἐρήμῳ διέτριβε, καὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς αὑτὸν αὔτανδροι παρῆσαν αἱ πόλεις, καὶ … πρὸς θεωρίαν τῆς δερματίνης ζώνης ἠπείγοντο οἱ τὰ … σηριχὰ περιδεθλημένοι ἱμάτια, καὶ τὴν ὕπαιθρον ἡροῦντο ταλαιπωρίαν οἱ τὰς χρυσορόφους ἔχοντες οἰκίας, καὶ τὰς ἐπιλιθοχολλήτων κλινῶν ἀναπαύσεις, ἢ ἐπὶ τῆς ψαμμοῦ γατάχλιτις, καὶ πάντα ἣν αὐτοῖς ἀνεκτὰ, καίτοι παρὰ τὸ ἔθος γινόμενα. Ὑπετέμνετο γὰρ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀλγεινοῖς αἴσθησιν ὁ πόθος τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ σχληραγωγίᾳ πόνον ἔχλεπτε τὸ θαῦμα τῆς θεωρίας. ### English translation (Claude) Where then, and for what, is our effort useful, since God holds the tillers of affairs and carries and leads everything as he wills? But, we will say, in sicknesses the body needs comfort. And how much better it is to die than to do something unbecoming! Surely, if God still wants us to live, either he puts strength into the body against the sickness, so that it may bear the toil of [the sickness] and receive the crowns for [endurance], or he will devise a means of comfort for the sufferer; contrivance for salvation will not fail the source of salvation and of wisdom. It is good, then, beloved, it is good to go up again to the ancient blessedness and to lay hold of the way of life of those of old. For it is easy, I think, for all who are willing; and even if some toil is involved, it will not be fruitless, since it has as sufficient comfort the renown of those who went before and the correction of those who will follow. For it will be no small gain to those who begin such a manner of life and leave to those after them an image of the best way of life, that those who fell away should be restored. Let us flee life in cities and villages, so that those in cities and villages [may come] to us [in] the desert, so that we may draw to ourselves those who now flee from us, if that is at all dear to us. For it is written in praise of certain people that they left the cities and dwelt in the rocks, and became like meditating doves. John the Baptist, too, lived in the desert, and all the cities came out to him with all their people … they hurried to see the leather belt; those who … clothed in silk garments, and those who had gilt-roofed houses and rested on beds inlaid with stones, [preferred] hardship in the open air, or lying on the sand, and everything was bearable to them, though it went against their custom. For desire for the man's virtue cut away their feeling of pain, and the wonder of the sight stole away the toil of the hard life. ### Scripture references - Jer 48:28 (31:28 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Matt 3:1–5: allusion, high confidence - Mark 1:5: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 3:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Dwelt in the rocks … like meditating doves”: Jer 48:28 (LXX 31:28), probably combined with Isa 59:11 or Ezek 7:16. John the Baptist and the crowds: Matt 3:1–5; Mark 1:5; his leather belt: Matt 3:4. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column inside the section have been removed; lost Greek is marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. In the sentence about “no small gain” the Greek is elliptical and is translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 20 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/20). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-21 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Virtue outlasts riches; Nilus attacks men who learn only the outward forms of monastic life and at once set up as teachers. ### Greek text Τοσοῦτόν ἔστιν ἀρετὴ πλούτου τιμιωτέρα, καὶ βίος ἡσύχιος χρημάτων πολλῶν περιφανέστερος πόσοι κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον ἦσαν πλούσιοι καὶ μεγαλοφρονοῦντες ἐπὶ δόξῃ, καὶ σεσίγηνται, καὶ λήθῃ παρεδόθησαν, καὶ τὸ θαῦμα τοῦ ἀδόξου μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἄδεται, καὶ ἣ μνήμη τοῦ ἐρημοπολέτου ἔστι περισπούδαστος. Ἴδιον γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ἀοΐδιμον καὶ τὴν φήμην ἐξαποστέλλειν ἄγγελον τῶν οἷχείων καλῶν. Παραιτησώμεθα χτηνοτροφίαν, ἵνα ποιμαντιχὴν ἕξιν ἀναλάβωμεν ἐμπορίαν ἐπονείδιστον, ἵνα τὸν πολύτιμον κτησώμεθα μαργαρίτην φύγωμεν γεωργίαν γῆς ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἀνατελλούσης, ἵνα ἐργάται καὶ φύλακες τοῦ παραδείσου γενώμεθα. Πάντα καὶ τὸν ἡσύχιον ἑλώμεθα βίον, ἵνα τοὺς νῦν ἡμῖν ὀνειδίσαντας, τὸ κεκτῆσθαι προσφέροντας. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω δυσωπεῖ τοὺς ἐπεμδαίνοντας, ὡς ἢ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀνειδιζομένοις μετ᾽ ἐπιεικείας διόρθωσις Ὑίνεται γὰρ ἡ τῶν ὀνειδιζομένων μεταβολὴ τοῖς ὀνειδίζουσι διατροπή αἰσχρὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο νομίζω, καὶ ἔστιν αἰσχρὸν ἀληθῶς, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ καὶ παρὰ πάντων εἰχότως γελώμεθα. γάρ τῖς προσελθὼν τῷ βίῳ, τὰ ἤθη μόνον μαθὼν τῆς ἀσκήσεως, ὅπως τε προσεύχωνται, καὶ πότε καὶ ποῖά τις ἔστιν ἡ τῆς διαίτης διαγωγὴ, διδάσκαλος εὐθὺς ὧν μὴ μεμάθηκε προσέρχεται ὁρμαθὸν μαθητῶν ἐπισυρόμενος αὐτὸ; δεόμενος διδασχαλίας, καὶ τοσούτῳ πλέον, ὅσῳ καὶ εὔκολον τὸ πρᾶγμα οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅτι πάντων μᾶλλόν ἐστι χαλεπώτατον ψυχῶν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι δεομένων πρότερον μὲν καθάρσεως τῶν παλαιῶν μολυσμάτων, ἔπειτα πολλῆς προσοχῆς εἰς τὸ δέξασθαι εὐπὼν τῶν μαθημάτων τῆς ἀρετῆς. Ὃ δὲ μηδὲν πλέον τῆς σωματικῆς ἀσκήσεως τὼ; διορθώσεται τὰ ἤθη τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων Πῶς δὲ τοὺς τῇ πονηρᾷ συνηθείᾳ μένους Πῶς δὲ τοῖς πολεμουμένοις ὑπὸ θυ θήσει, μηδόλως τὸν κατὰ διάνοιαν εἰδὼς πόλεμοι, ἢ πῶς τὰ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ συμβαίνοντα τὰ τραύματα θεραπεύσει, αὐτὸς ἔτι τραύματι κατακείμενος, καὶ χαταδέσμων δεόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) So much more precious than wealth is virtue, and a still life more illustrious than great riches. How many in that time were rich and proud of their glory, and they have been silenced and handed over to oblivion; while the wonder of the man without glory is sung to this day, and the memory of the desert-dweller is cherished. For it is the property of virtue to be celebrated and to send out its fame as a messenger of its own goods. Let us renounce cattle-raising, so that we may take up the shepherd's state; shameful trade, so that we may acquire the pearl of great price; let us flee the farming of a land that brings forth thorns and thistles, so that we may become workers and guardians of paradise. Above all let us choose the still life, so that [we may shame] those who now reproach us and bring up our possessions against us. For nothing so shames those who attack as the gentle correction of what is reproached; the change in those reproached becomes confusion to those who reproach them. This too I consider shameful, and it is truly shameful, and for it we are rightly laughed at by all: someone comes to this life, learns only the outward customs of the ascetic discipline, how they pray, and when, and what their manner of diet is, and at once he steps forward as a teacher of what he has not learned, dragging a string of disciples after him, though he himself needs teaching, and all the more because he thinks the thing easy. He does not know that the hardest thing of all is to take care of souls, which need first to be cleansed of their old defilements, and then much attention in order to receive the lessons of virtue well. How will one who has nothing more than bodily discipline correct the characters of those under him? How [will he heal] those [held fast] by evil habit? How will he help those who are warred against by [thoughts], when he does not know at all the war that is waged in the mind? Or how will he heal the wounds received in that war, while he himself still lies wounded and needs bandages? ### Scripture references - Matt 13:46: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:18: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The pearl of great price: Matt 13:46; thorns and thistles: Gen 3:18; workers and guardians of paradise: Gen 2:15. Words lost in the printed text are supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 21 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/21). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-22 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Every craft must be learned except, it seems, godliness; untrained men rush to lead others and make the monastic life contemptible. ### Greek text Ἡ πᾶσα τέχνη χρόνου δεῖται καὶ διδασκαλίας πολλῆς πρὸς κατόρθωσιν, μόνη δὲ ἡ τέχνη τῶν τεχνῶν ἁμαθητεύτως ἐπιτηδεύεται καὶ γεωργίας μὲ οὐχ ἂν ἄπειρος, οὐδὲ ἀμύητος ἰατρικῆς ἐπιχειρήσειεν ἔργοις ἐλεγχθήσεται γὰρ ὁ μὲν πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν ὀνῆσαι τοὺς κάμνοντας, ἔτι καὶ βαρυτέραν αὐτοῖς χκατασχευάσας τὴν νόσον, ὁ δὲ χέρσον, καὶ ῥυπαρὰν τὴν ἀρίστην γῆν καταστήσας. Μόνης δὲ ἢ: θεοσεβείας ὡς πάντων εὐχολωτέρας χατατολμῶσιν ἀπαιδοτρίβητοι, καὶ τὸ δυσχατόρθωτον πρᾶγμα εὐχερὲς εἶναι νενόμισται τοῖς πολλοῖς, καὶ ὃ μηδέπω Παῦλος κατειληφέναι λέγει, τοῦτο ἀχριθῶς ἐγνὼωχέναι διαδεδαιοῦνται οἱ αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἰδότες ὅτι ἀγνοοῦσι διὰ τοῦτο εὐκαταφρόνητος ὁ βίος ἐγένετο καὶ οἱ μετερχόμενοι αὐτὸν παρὰ πάντων χλευάζονται, Τί: γὰρ μὴ γελάσεται τὸν χθὲς ἐν καπηλείῳ ὑδροφοροῦντα, σήμερον ὁρῶν ὡς διδάσκαλον ἀρετῆς παρὰ μαθητῶν δορυφορούμενον, ἣ τὸν πρώην τῶν πολιτικῶν ἀναχωρήσαντα καχοπραγιῶν, ὀψὲ μετὰ πλήθους μαθητῶν διὰ πάσης σοβοῦντα τῆς ἀγορᾶς. Εἰ δὲ ἧσαν πεπεισμένοι σαφῶς ὅτι πολύς ἔστιν ὁ πόνος ἐνάγειν ινὰς εἰς θεοσέβειαν, καὶ τὸν ἀκολουθοῦντα τῷ πράκίνδυνον ἔδεισαν, ἀχριδῶς πάντως ἂν ὡς ὑπερδαῖνον αὑτοὺς παρῃτήσαντο τὸ πρᾶγμα ἕως ὅτε τοῦτο ἀγνοοῦσι, καὶ δόξαν ἡγοῦνται τὸ προῖστάνᾶι τινῶν, εὐχερῶς κατὰ τοῦ τοιούτου καὶ τὸ ἐνάλλεσθαι χαιομένῃ τῇ καμίνῳ, κοῦφον νομίζουσι, γέλωτα μὲν τοῖς ἐπισταμένοις τὸν χθὲς αὐτῶν βίον Θεῷ δὲ ἀγανᾶἐπὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ προπετείᾳ. ### English translation (Claude) Every craft needs time and much teaching to succeed; only the art of arts is practised without being learned. No one inexperienced in farming would [take it up], nor would anyone uninitiated in medicine attempt its works; for the one will be shown up by doing the sick no good and even making their disease worse, the other by turning the best land into barren and dirty ground. Godliness alone, as the easiest of all, is ventured on by the untrained; the thing that is hard to accomplish is thought easy by the many, and what Paul says he has not yet attained, this, those who know only that they do not know it confidently claim to know exactly. That is why the life has become contemptible and those who pursue it are mocked by all. For who will not laugh to see the man who yesterday carried water in a tavern escorted today by disciples as a teacher of virtue, or the man who lately withdrew from civic misdeeds strutting about late in the day through the whole market with a crowd of disciples? If they were clearly convinced that the toil of leading others to godliness is great, and feared the danger that goes with the work, they would surely have declined the thing as beyond them. But so long as they do not know this, and think presiding over others a glory, they [rush] lightly into such a task, and think it a slight thing to leap into a burning furnace, becoming a laughingstock to those who know their life of yesterday, and to God [a cause of] indignation at such rashness … ### Scripture references - Phil 3:12–13: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 2.16 (Orations (other than the Theological Orations)): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - “The art of arts” (τέχνη τεχνῶν) is the classic description of the care of souls (Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 2.16), which Nilus applies to the ascetic life. What Paul has not yet attained: Phil 3:12–13. A few words are lost where Latin debris interrupts the Greek; the debris at the end of the section has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 22 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/22). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-23 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eli's fate and Job's care for his sons warn untrained superiors who take charge of others before healing their own passions. ### Greek text Ἐ γὰρ τὸν οὐδὲν παρῃτήσατο τῆς ὀργῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐ γῆρας σεμνὸν, οὐ παλαιὰ οὐχ ἱερατικὴ τιμὴ, ἀμελήσαντα τῆς τῶν τέχνων διορθώσεως πῶς ἐξελεῖται νῦν τῆς τοιαύτης ἀγαναχτήσεως, τοὺς οὔτε ἐκ παλαιῶν ἀξιοπιστίαν ἔχοντας ἔργων παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, οὔτε εἰδότας ἢ τὸν τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος τρόπον, ἢ τῆς διορθώσεως τὴν μέθοδον ἀλλ᾽ ἀπείρως δι᾽ ἔρωτα δόξης ἐγχειροῦντας δεινῷ πράγματι. Διὰ τοῦτο τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν Φαρισαίους λων ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγεν ε Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν Γραμματεῖς, καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί ὅτι περιάγετε τὴν θάλασσαν, καὶ τὴν ξηρὰν τοῦ ποιῆσαι ἕνα προσήλυτον, καὶ ὅταν εὕρητε, ποιεῖτε αὐτὸν υἱὸν γεέννης διπλότερον ὑμῶν … τῷ ἀληθεῖ διὰ τῆς χατ᾽ ἐκείνων ἐπιπλήξεως, νουθετῶν τοὺς ὕστερον τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἁλίσκεσθαι μέλλοντας παραπτώμασιν, ἵνα τῷ οὐαὶ προσέχοντες εἴρξωσιν ἑαυτοὺς τῆς ἀκαίρου ἐπιθυμίας, τῆς παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δόξης, φοβερώτερον κρίναντες τὸν ταλανιαμόν. Δυσωπείτω ὃὲ καὶ ὁ Ἰὼβ αὐτοὺς ὁμοίως κήδεσθαι τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων, ἣ παραιτήσασθαι τὴν τοιαύτην προστασίαν, μὴ εἰδότας τὰ αὑτὰ ἐκείνῳ ποιεῖν, μηδὲ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν προνοουμένων εἰσφέρειν βουλενομένους σπουδήν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κατὰ διάνοιαν ῥύπων τοὺς υἱοὺς καθαροὺς εἶναι θέλων, θυσίας καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὑπὲρ αὖτῶν προσέφερε, λέγων Μήποτε οἱ υἱοί μου ἐν τῇ καρδία αὐτῶν κακὰ ἐνενόησαν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν πῶς οὗτοι καὶ τῶν φανερῶν ἀμαρτημάτων ἀγνοοῦν… τες τὴν διάκρισιν, διὰ τὸ ἔτι τὸν ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὰ πάθη μάχης κονιορτὸν ἐπισχοτεῖν αὑτῶν τῷ λογιστικῷ ἐπιπηδῶσιν εἰς τὴν ἑτέρων προστασίαν, καὶ θεραπείαν ἄλλων ἀναδέχονται, οὕπω τὰ ἑαυτῶν πάθη θεραπεύσαντες, οὐδὲ ἐκ τῆς ἑαυτῶν νίκης ἑτέρους ἐπὶ τὸ νικᾶν ὁμοίως ὁδηγεῖν δυνάμενοι, ### English translation (Claude) For if nothing excused [Eli] from the wrath of God, not venerable old age, not long [service], not priestly honor, because he neglected to correct his sons, how will [God] now spare from such indignation those who have no credit with God from works of old, who know neither the manner of the sin nor the method of correction, but who out of love of glory inexpertly take in hand a dreadful task? That is why the Lord, seeming to [rebuke] the Pharisees, said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you go round sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when you find him you make him a son of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves” … but in truth, through his rebuke of them, he was admonishing those who would later be caught in the same faults, so that, heeding the “woe,” they might restrain themselves from the untimely desire for glory among men, judging the lament more fearful. Let Job, too, shame them, either into caring in the same way for those under them, or into declining such leadership, if they do not know how to do what he did, and are not willing to bring the same zeal on behalf of those in their charge. For if he, wishing his sons to be pure even of the stains of thought, offered sacrifices for them every day, saying, “Perhaps my sons have thought evil in their heart against God,” how can these men, who are ignorant even of open sins … lacking discernment, because the dust of the battle with the passions still darkens their reasoning, leap into the leadership of others and take on the healing of others, though they have not yet healed their own passions and cannot, from their own victory, lead others to victory in the same way? ### Scripture references - 1 Sam 2:22–25: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 3:13: allusion, high confidence - Matt 23:15: quotation, high confidence - Job 1:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eli's name is lost at the start of the section (it begins Ἐ γὰρ τὸν …); the reference to neglecting his sons' correction is to 1 Sam 2:12–4:18. The quotation is Matt 23:15; Job: Job 1:5. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed; the words lost with them are marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 23 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/23). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-24 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A guide must know the war with the passions from experience and pass it on, as Joshua set up inscribed stones at the Jordan; many superiors treat the brothers as slaves. ### Greek text Δεῖ γὰρ πρότερον μαχέσασθαι τοῖς πάθεσι, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς νήψεως τὰ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ τῇ μνήμῇ παραδοῦναι, καὶ οὕτως ἐκ τῶν καθ᾽ αὑτοὺς ἑτέροις ὑποθέσθαι τὰ τῆς μάχης, καὶ τὴν νίκην αὐτοῖς εὐχερεστέραν ποιῆσαι διὰ τὸ προλέγειν τὰς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ μεθόδους. Εἰσὶ γάρ τινες οὗ κεκρατηκότες τῶν παθῶν, διὰ πολλὴν ἴσως σχληραγωγίαν, καὶ τὸν τρόπον ἀγνοοῦντες τῆς νίκης, διὰ τὸ ὡς ἐν σκοτίᾳ μὴ παρηκολουθηκέναι ταῖς μηδὲ ταῖς τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιβουλαῖς ἀχριδῶς ἐπιστῆσαι τὸν νοῦν. Τοῦτο συμθολιχῶς καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῇ ἐποίει ἐν νυκτὶ τὸν Ἰορδάνην διαβαινούσης τῆς στρατιᾶς, προστάξας ἐκ μέσου τοῦ ποταμοῦ λίθους ἀνιμή σασθαι, καὶ ἔξω τοῦ ποταμοῦ στηλώσαντας κονιᾶσαι, καὶ ἐπιγράψαι τὸ ὅπως παρῆλθον τὸν Ἰορδάνην σημαίνων ὅτι δεῖ τὰ βύθια τῆς ἐμπαθοῦς διαγωγῆς νοήματα εἰς φανερὸν ἄγειν, καὶ σαφῶς στηλιτεύειν, καὶ μὴ φθονεῖν ἑτέροις τῇς γνώσεως, ἵνα μὴ μόνον ὁ παρελθὼν γινώσκῃ τὸν τρόπον τῆς διαδάσεω;, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν προαιρούμενοι εὐχερῇ τὴν διάθασιν ἐκ τῆς μαθήσεως ποιήσωνται, καὶ ἣ ἑτέρων πεῖρα γένηται ἑτέροις διδασκαλίᾳ. ταῦτα μὲν Ο ὁρῶσιν ἐκεῖνοι, ἑτέρων λεγόντων ἀχούουσιν, εἰς μόνην δὲ ἑαυτῶν ἀφορῶντες πληροφορίαν, καθάπερ ἀργυρωνήτοις δουλιχὰς ἐπιτάσσουσιν ὑπηρεσίας τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ἐν τούτῳ τὸ πᾶν τῆς δόξης τιθέμενοι, ἐν τῷ προεστάναι πλειόνων. Καὶ ἔστιν ἅμιλλα μὴ ἥττονα τῶν λοιπῶν ἐν ταῖς προόδοις ἐπισύρεσθαι ἀνδράποδα, καπήλων μᾶλλον ἣ διδασκάλων κατάστασιν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι. ### English translation (Claude) For one must first fight the passions, and with much watchfulness commit to memory what happens in the war, and so, from one's own experience, set before others the matters of the battle and make victory easier for them by telling beforehand the methods used in the war. For there are some who have mastered the passions, perhaps through much hardship, yet do not know the manner of their victory, because, as though in darkness, they did not follow [the movements of the passions] nor fix their mind exactly on the plots of the enemies. Joshua the son of Nun did this symbolically when the army was crossing the Jordan by night: he ordered stones to be drawn up from the middle of the river, set up as pillars outside the river, plastered, and inscribed with how they had crossed the Jordan. He signified that the hidden thoughts of the life of passion must be brought into the open and clearly published, and that others must not be grudged the knowledge, so that not only the one who has crossed may know the manner of the crossing, but also those who choose to do the same may make the crossing easy by learning, and the experience of some may become teaching for others. These things those men do not see, nor do they listen when others speak of them; looking only to their own self-assurance, they lay slavish services on the brothers as though on slaves bought with silver, putting the whole of their glory in this, in presiding over more people. And there is rivalry among them not to drag along fewer slaves than the rest in their processions, displaying the state of hucksters rather than of teachers. ### Scripture references - Josh 4:3–9: allusion, high confidence - Deut 27:2–3: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The stones from the Jordan: Josh 4:3–9, 20–22; plastering and inscribing stones: Deut 27:2–3 (Josh 8:32). Nilus combines the two and places the crossing at night, which is not in the biblical text. “Not see” supplies a negative lost in the scan (ταῦτα μὲν Ο ὁρῶσιν); “movements of the passions” supplies lost words. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 24 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/24). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-25 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: True leaders teach by example, like Gideon, Paul and Christ; those who rule by command and punishment blind their own contemplation. ### Greek text Ὅταν γὰρ λόγῳ μὲν εὐχερὲς εἶναι τὸ ἐπιτάττειν ἡγοῦνται, χἂν βαρέα ἧ τὰ ἐπιτασσόμενα, ἔργῳ δὲ διδάσκειν οὐδὲ ἀνέχονται, πρόδηλον πᾶσι τὸν ἑαυτῶν ποιοῦσι σκοπὸν, ὅτι οὐχ ὠφελῆσαι τοὺς μένους, ἀλλ᾽ ἰδίαν ἡδονὴν ἀνύσαι σπουδάζοντες, ἡγεμονίαν ὑποδύονται ταύτην, Μαθέτωσαν, εἰ βού… παρὰ τοῦ καὶ τοῦ Γεδεὼν, ὅτι οὐ λόγος, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργον τοὺς ἀρχομένους ἐνάγει πρὸς τὴν μίμησιν τοῦ μὲν ποιήσαντος φορτίον ξύλων, καὶ μετὰ τὸ βαστάσαι λέγοντος Ὃν τρόπον εἴδετέ ποιοῦντα, ποιήσατε καὶ ὑμεῖς. Τοῦ δὲ ἔργον ἐξηγουμένου κοινὸν καὶ ἑαυτὸν προτάσσοντος τῆς ἐργασίας, καὶ λέγοντος ἐμοῦ καὶ οὕτως ποιήσατε. Καὶ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος δὲ λέγων ε Ὅτι ταῖς χρείαις μου, καὶ τοῖς μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὑπηρέτησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὗται. Καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ποιῶν, καὶ τότε διδάσκων, τίνα οὐ πείθουσιν ἀξιοπιστοτέραν τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις διδασκαλίαν τῆς διὰ λόγων ἡγεῖσθαι; Οἱ δὲ πρὺς μὲν τὰς τοιχύτας εἰχόνας χαμμύουσιν ἀλαζονιχῶς δὲ τὰ πρακτέα προστάστουσιν Ὅταν δὲ καὶ εἰδέναι τι τούτων δόξωσιν ἐξ ἀκοῆς, κατὰ τοὺς ἐπὶ ἀπειρίᾳ διαδθαλλομένους ὑπὸ τοῦ προφῆτου ποιμένας, μάχαιραν ἐπὶ τοῦ βραχίονος φοροῦντες διὸ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν βραχίονα ὃ δεξιὸς ὀφθαλμὸς αὐτῶν ἐχτυφλοῦται ἀμελουμένη γὰρ δι᾽ ἀπόνοιαν δεξιὰ πρᾶξις συγχατασδέννυσιν ἑαυτῇ, καὶ τὴν λαμπηδόνα τῆς θεωρίας. Τοῦτο δὲ οἱ ὡμῶς καὶ ἀπανθρωπίνως παιδεύοντες πάσχουσιν, ὅταν πρόχειρον τὴν τιμωρητιχὴν ἔχωσι δύναμιν, εὐθέως τὰ θεωρητιχὰ μὲν ὰ ἐκ δεξιῶν σβέννυνται πάλιν δὲ αἱ πράξεις στερηθεῖσαι τῆς θεωρίας μαραίνονται, οὔτε τι εἰδέναι δυναμένων τῶν μὴ τῷ μηρῷ, ἀλλὰ τῷ βραχίονι συζευξάντων τὴν μάχαιραν. Ἐπὶ τῷ μηρῷ τὴν μάχαιραν, οἱ κατὰ τῶν ἰδίων ποθῶν κεχρημένοι τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ, ἐπὶ τοῦ βραχίονος δὲ οἱ τὴν τιμωρίαν πρόχειρον ἐπὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἔχοντε; ἁμαρτημάτων. ᾿ ### English translation (Claude) For when they think it easy to command in word, however heavy the commands may be, but will not even bear to teach by deed, they make their aim plain to everyone: that they are eager not to benefit those under their rule but to gain their own pleasure, and for that reason they slip into this leadership. Let them learn, if they will … from [Abimelech] and from Gideon, that not word but deed leads those under rule to imitation: the one made a load of wood, and after carrying it said, “As you saw me do, do the same yourselves”; the other led the way in a common work and put himself in front of the labor, saying, “Look at me and do the same.” So too the Apostle, saying, “These hands served my needs and those of the people with me”; and the Lord himself, who first did and then taught. Whom do these examples not persuade to think teaching by deeds more trustworthy than teaching by words? But these men shut their eyes to such images and arrogantly order what is to be done. And when they seem to know something of these things by hearsay, they are like the shepherds whom the prophet charged with inexperience, who wear the sword on the arm, so that their right eye is blinded on account of the arm. For right action, neglected through folly, extinguishes along with itself the brightness of contemplation as well. This is what happens to those who discipline cruelly and inhumanly: when they have the power to punish ready to hand, at once their contemplative powers on the right are put out; and again their actions, robbed of contemplation, wither away, since those who have strapped the sword not to the thigh but to the arm cannot know anything. Those who use the divine word against their own passions wear the sword on the thigh; those who keep punishment ready for the sins of others wear it on the arm. ### Scripture references - Judg 9:48: quotation, high confidence - Judg 7:17: quotation, high confidence - Acts 20:34: quotation, high confidence - Acts 1:1: allusion, medium confidence - Zech 11:17: allusion, high confidence - Ps 45:3 (44:4 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The names of the first example are lost in the scan (παρὰ τοῦ … καὶ τοῦ Γεδεών); the load of wood and the words quoted are Abimelech's in Judg 9:48; Gideon's words are Judg 7:17. Paul: Acts 20:34. “Did and then taught”: Acts 1:1. The shepherd with the sword on his arm and the blinded right eye: Zech 11:17 (LXX). The sword on the thigh: Ps 45:3 (LXX 44:4). Stretches of Latin debris have been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 25 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/25). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-26 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As in Jotham's parable the fruitful trees refused to reign and only the bramble accepted, so those who have the fruit of virtue decline to rule others. ### Greek text Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ Ναᾶὁ Σωμανίτης, ὃς ἑρμηνεύεται ὅφις, ν τῷ διορατιχῷ ἐξορύξαι πάντα δεξιὸν αὐτοῦ ὀφθαλμὸν, ἵνα μηδὲν νόημα δεξιὸν ἐνυπάρχον ἐπὶ δεξιὰν πρᾶξιν ὁδηγήσῃ τὸν εἰδὼς αἴτιον τοῦτο μεγάλης προκοπῆς τοῖς ἀπὸ θεωρίας ἐπὶ τὴν πρακτικὴν ἐρχομένοις. Γίνεται γὰρ τοῖς οιούτοις ἀνυκαίτιον τὸ πραχθὲν τοῖς ἧς γνώσεως ὀξυδερχεστάτοι: ὀφθαλμοῖς. Ὅτι δὲ … εὐχερῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ μηδεμίαν οἴκοθεν ἐχόντων ὠφέλειαν, ἐστὶ δὲ τὴν ἑτέρων ἀναδέχεσθαι προστασίαν, δῆλον μὲν καὶ ἐκ τῆς πείρας οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔλοιτό τις ἡσυχίας γευσάμενος, καὶ θεωρίᾳ ποσῶς σχολάζειν ἀρξάμενος, ταῖς περὶ τῶν σωματικῶν φροντίσιν ἐνδῆσαι τὸν νοῦν, ἀποστήσας αὐτὸν τῆς γνώσεως, καὶ μετάρσιον τὰ πολλὰ φερόμενον ἐπὶ τὰ κατασύρεσθαι πράγματα. Εὐδηλότερον δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς πολυθρυλλῆτου παραβολῆς ἐκείνης ἣν ὁ Ἰωνάθαν τοῖς Σιχημίταις προεβάλετο λέγων Πορευόμενα ἐπορεύθησαν τὰ ξύλα τοῦ δρυμοῦ τοῦ χρίσαι ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν βασιλέα καὶ εἶπον τῇ ἀμπέλῳ Δεῦρο βασίλευσον ἐφ᾽ ἡμᾶς. Καὶ εἶπεν ἡ ἄμπελος ᾿Αφείσω τὸν καρπόν μου τὸν ἀγαθὸν, ὃν ἐδόξασεν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι, πορευθῶ ἄρχειν ξύλων; Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ … συκῆς διὰ τὴν γλυκύτητα, καὶ τῆς ἐλαίας, δι᾽ ἂν ἔχει πιότητα παραιτησαμένων. Ῥάμνος ξύλον ἄχαρπον, ἀκανθῶδες τὴν τούτων ἀρχὴν κατεδέξατο, οὔτε οἰκείαν ἔχουσα πιότητα, οὔτε τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ξύλων. Οὐ γὰρ παραδείσου ξύλα, ἀλλὰ δρυμοῦ τὰ δεόμενα τῆς ἐπιστασίας εἶπεν παραβολή ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ἄμπελος, καὶ ἡ συκῇ, καὶ ἡ ἐλαία παρῃτήσαντο ἄρχειν τῶν ξύλων τοῦ δρυμοῦ, μᾶλλον τῷ ἑαυτῶν εὐφραινόμενα καρπῷ, ἣ τῷ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀξιώματι, οὕτως οἱ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τινα βλέποντες καρπὸν ἀρετῆς, καὶ τὺς ἐκ τούτου ὠφελείας αἰσθόμενοι, χἂν πολλοὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν βιάζωνται, τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν τιμωρίας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ὠφέλειαν προκρίνοντες:. … ### English translation (Claude) So too Nahash the Ammonite, whose name means “serpent,” [sought] to dig out every right eye in the seeing faculty, so that no right thought within might lead [the mind] to right action; for he knew this to be the cause of great progress for those who come from contemplation to the practical life. For to such people what is done becomes [easy] through the most sharp-sighted eyes of knowledge. That it is [the mark] … of careless people, who have no benefit within themselves, to take on the leadership of others is clear from experience as well. For no one who has tasted stillness and has begun in some measure to give himself to contemplation would choose to bind his mind to cares about bodily things, drawing it away from knowledge, and to drag down to worldly affairs a mind that is mostly borne aloft. It is clearer still from that famous parable which Jonathan put to the men of Shechem, saying, “The trees went out to anoint a king over themselves, and they said to the vine, ‘Come, reign over us.’ And the vine said, ‘Shall I give up my good fruit, which God and men have glorified, and go to rule over trees?’” So likewise … the fig, because of its sweetness, and the olive, because of the richness it has, declined. The bramble, a fruitless and thorny wood, accepted rule over them, though it had no richness of its own nor any from the trees under it. For the parable said that it was not the trees of paradise but those of the thicket that needed oversight. For as the vine, the fig and the olive declined to rule the trees of the thicket, delighting more in their own fruit than in the dignity of rule, so those who see some fruit of virtue in themselves and feel the benefit that comes from it, even if many press them to take up rule, prefer their own benefit to the honor that comes from the many … ### Scripture references - 1 Sam 11:2: allusion, high confidence - Judg 9:8–13: quotation, high confidence - Judg 9:14–15: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Nahash the Ammonite and the right eyes: 1 Sam 11:2 (the scan reads Ναᾶ ὁ Σωμανίτης; the explanation of the name as “serpent” is Nilus's). The parable of the trees: Judg 9:8–15, spoken by Jotham; the printed text names Jonathan (Ἰωνάθαν), either Nilus's slip or a scribal one; translated as printed. The sentence “for to such people what is done becomes [easy]” translates a damaged word (ἀνυκαίτιον) by sense. Several stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed, including one at the end of the section, where the Greek is lost. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 26 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/26). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-27 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ruling souls is the hardest of tasks, dangerous for an inexperienced teacher and his disciples alike. ### Greek text Ὅπερ δὲ κατηράσατο τοῖς ἐν τῇ παραδολῇ ξύλοις ῥάμνος, τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις πραξαμένοις ἀνθρώποις συμδαίνεται. Ἤ γὰρ ἐξέλθοι, φησὶ, πῦρ ἐκ τῆς ῥάμνου καὶ χαταφάγοι τὰ ξύλα τοῦ δρυμοῦ, ἧ ἐκ τῶν ξύλων ἐξέλθοι, καὶ χαταφάγοι τὴν ῥάμνον τῶν γὰρ συνθηκῶν ἀνωφελῶν γινομένων, ἀνάγχη κίνδυνον ἀκολουθεῖν, τοῖς τε ὑποτάσσου σιν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπείρῳ διδασκάλῳ, αὐτοῖς τε τοῖς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀναδεξαμένοις ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν μαθητενομένων ἀπροσεξίᾳ. Καὶ γὰρ ἣ τοῦ διδασχάλου ἀπειρία ἀπόλλυσι τοὺς μαθητευομένους. Καὶ ἡ τῶν μαθητῶν ἀμέλεια κίνδυνον φέρει τῷ διδασκάλῳ, καὶ μάλιστα ταν ἐπὶ τῇ αὐτοῦ ἀνεπιστημοσύνῃ ῥᾳθυμῶσιν ἐκεῖνοι οὔτε γὰρ τὸν διδάσκαλον λανθάνειν τι ὀφείλει τῶν εἰς διόρθωσιν τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ἠχόντων, οὔτε οἱ μαθητενόμενοι παρορᾷν τι τῶν τοῦ διδασχάλου παραγγελμάτων ὀφείλουσι. Καὶ γὰρ τούτοις τὸ παρακοῦσαι, κἀκείνῳ τὸ παριδεῖν πλημμελοῦντας, βαρὺ γὰρ καὶ ἐπικίνδυνον. Μὴ δὲ νομιζέτωσαν ἀνέσεως καὶ ἀπολαύσεως εἶναι πρόφασιν τὸ πρᾶγμα πάντων γάρ ἔστιν ἐπιπονώτερον τὸ ἄρχειν ψυχῶν. Οἱ μὲν ἀλόγων ἄρχοντες καὶ κτηνῶν, πρὸς οὐδὲν ἀντιτασσομένας ἔχουσι τὰς ἀγέλας, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο αὑτοῖς τὰ τῆς ἀρχῇς εὐοδοῦται πολλάκις τοῖς δὲ ἀνθρώπων ἐπιστατοῦσιν ἡ ποικιλία τῶν ἠθῶν, καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ λογισμοῦ πανοῦργον, δυσχερεστέραν ποιεῖ τὴν ἔπιστασίαν, καὶ δεῖ τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐρχομένους ἀλείψασθαι ὡς πρὸς ἀγῶνα ἐπίπονον, ἵνα καὶ τὰ πάντων ἐλαττώματα, μετὰ πολλῆς φέρωσι τῆς ἀνεξικακίας, καὶ τὰ λανθάνοντα διὰ τὴν ἀγνωσίαν αὑτοὺς μακροθύμως. ### English translation (Claude) What the bramble in the parable called down as a curse on the trees happens also to people who [act] like them: “Either let fire come out of the bramble,” it says, “and devour the trees of the thicket, or let it come out of the trees and devour the bramble.” For when such compacts prove useless, danger necessarily follows, both for those who subject themselves to an inexperienced teacher and for those who have taken on the rule, because of the heedlessness of those they teach. For the inexperience of the teacher destroys the disciples, and the negligence of the disciples brings danger on the teacher, especially when they grow slack because of his lack of knowledge. Nothing that bears on the correction of those under him ought to escape the teacher, and the disciples ought not to overlook any of the teacher's commands. For it is heavy and dangerous for them to disobey, and for him to overlook their faults. Let them not think the thing a pretext for ease and enjoyment: of all things the most laborious is to rule souls. Those who rule irrational beasts and cattle have herds that oppose them in nothing, and so their rule often prospers; but for those set over human beings the variety of characters and the cunning that comes from reasoning make oversight harder, and those who come to it must anoint themselves as for a toilsome contest, so that they may bear the shortcomings of all with much forbearance and patiently [show] those who [err] through ignorance what escapes them. ### Scripture references - Judg 9:15: quotation, high confidence - Judg 9:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The bramble's curse: Judg 9:15, 20. The last clause is incomplete in the printed text; the bracketed words are supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 27 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/27). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-28 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The temple's solid lampstand and laver-bearing oxen show that a guide must be blameless, bear the burdens of others, and know the enemy's designs. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ τὸν μὲν νιπτῆρα βόες ἕν τῷ ναῷ βαστάζουσιν, ἣ δὲ λυχνία ὅλη στερεὰ καὶ τορνευτὴ κατεσκευάσθη δηλούσης τῆς μὲν λυχνίας, ὅτι ὁ φωτίζειν ἑτέρους προθέμενος ὀφείλει δι᾽ ὅλων ἑστερεῶσθαι τῶν μερῶν, καὶ μηδὲν κοῦφον ἔχειν ἣ ὑπόκενον, καὶ πάντα περιτετορνεῦσθαι τὰ περιττὰ, ὅσα μὴ χρησιμεύειν εἷς παράδειγμα πολιτείας ἀνεπιλήπτου τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἔμελλε. Τῶν δὲ ὑπὸ τῷ βοῶν μηδὲν παραιτεῖσθαι τῶν ἐπερχομένων τὸν ὑπελθόντα ὸ τοιοῦτον ἔργον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ βάρη, καὶ τὸν ῥύπον φέρειν τῶν ἐλαττόνων, ἕως ὅτε ἀκίνδυνον τὸ φέρειν ἐστί. Πάντως γὰρ εἰ μέλλοι καθαρῶς ἐργάζεσθαι τὰς πράξεις τῶν προσιόντων, ἀνάγχη τινὸς, καὶ αὐτὸν παραπολαῦσαι ῥύπου ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ τὰς τοῦ νιπτομένου χεῖρας, αὑτὸς δέχεται τὸν ἐκεῖνο ῥύπον. Τὸν γὰρ περὶ παθῶν διαλεγόμενον, καὶ ἑτέρους τῶν τοιούτων ἀποσμήχοντα χηλίδων, οὐχ ἔστιν ἀμόλυντον παρελθεῖν αὑτὴ γὰρ ἡ μνήμη ῥυποῦν τὴν διάνοιαν τοῦ λέγοντος πέφυχε. Κἂν γὰρ μὴ φυρωτέραις βαφαῖς τῶν αἱσχρῶν ἐνσφραγίσηται οὺς τύπους, ὅμως τὴν ἐπιπολὴν μιαίνει τοῦ νοῦ, ταῖς τοῦ λόγου διεξόδοις χρώμασιν οὐ καθαροῖς ἐπιθολοῦσα. Δεῖ δὲ καὶ ἐπιστήμονα τὸν ἡγούμενον οὕτως εἶναι, ὡς μηδὲν ἀγνοεῖν τῶν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἐνθυμημάτων, ἵνα τὰ λανθάνοντα τοῖς ἐγχεχειρισμένο ς αὐτῷ … τῶν παλαισμάτων ἀπογυμνῶν ἐπιδειχνύῃ, καὶ τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς προλέγων τοῦ ἀντιπάλου τὴν νίκην αὐτοῖς βραδεύσῃ, καὶ στεφανίτας ἐξαγάγη τοῦ ἀγῶνος αὑτούς σπάνιος δὲ ὁ τοιοῦτος, καὶ οὐ ῥᾳδίως εὑρισκόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) That is why in the temple oxen carry the laver, while the lampstand was made entirely solid and turned. The lampstand shows that one who sets out to give light to others must be solid in all his parts, with nothing light or hollow in him, and must have turned away every superfluity that would not serve those who see him as an example of a blameless life. The oxen beneath [the laver] show that one who has undertaken such a work must refuse nothing that comes upon him, but must bear both the burdens and the dirt of the lesser, so long as bearing it is without danger. For if he is to cleanse the actions of those who come to him, he must necessarily get some share of the dirt himself, since the one who [washes] the hands of another receives that person's dirt. One who talks about passions and scrubs others clean of such stains cannot come away unsoiled; for the very memory naturally soils the speaker's mind. Even if it does not stamp the impressions of shameful things on it in deeper dyes, it still stains the surface of the mind, muddying it with the unclean colors of the discourse. The superior must also be so expert as to be ignorant of none of the enemy's designs, so that he may strip bare and show those entrusted to him the [tricks] of the wrestling that are hidden from them, and, by telling them the adversary's plots in advance, may award them the victory and bring them out of the contest crowned. But such a man is rare and not easily found. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 7:25: allusion, high confidence - Exod 25:31: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 2:11: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The laver on the oxen: 1 Kgs 7:23–25; the solid, turned lampstand: Exod 25:31, 36. “None of the enemy's designs”: 2 Cor 2:11. A few words are lost where Latin debris interrupts the Greek (removed and marked). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 28 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/28). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-29 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The devil hides behind disguises, as Paul and Job show; one who teaches spiritual discernment without secure knowledge endangers his hearers. ### Greek text Ὃ μὲν γὰρ μέγας Παῦλος τοῦτο αὑτὸ μαρτυρεῖ λέγων Οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα Ὁ δὲ θαυμαστὸς Ἰὼβ ἀπορῶν περὶ τῶν τοιούτων, φησί Τίς ἀποκαλύψει πρόσωπον ἐνδύσεως αὐτοῦ εἰς δὲ πτύξιν θώρακος αὐτοῦ τίς ἂν εἰσέλθοι; πύλας δὲ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τίς Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν. Οὐχ ἔστι, φησὶ, τὸ φαινόμενον πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πολλοῖς γὰρ ἐνδύμασι καλύπτει τὴν πονηρίαν, δελεάζων μὲν. τῷ φαινομένῳ. ἀπατηλῶς, ἐνεδρευτικῶς δὲ τῷ κεκρυμμένῳ τεχταίνων τὸν ὅλεθρον, καὶ ἵνα μὴ ἑαυτὸν συναριθμήσῃ τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι κὰ χατ᾽ αὐτὸν, λέγει τὰ τεχμήρια αὑτοῦ, σαφῶς εἰδὼς πᾶσαν τὴν περὶ αὑτὸν τερατείαν. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὑτοῦ, λέγων, εἶδος ἑωσφόρου, τὰ ἔγκατα αὑτοῦ ἀσπίδες Καὶ ταῦτά φησιν ἐλέγχων τὴν ἐκείνου κακουργίαν ὡς διὰ μὲν τοῦ ἐπιμορφάζεσθαι τὴν τοῦ ἑωσφόρου ἰδέαν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν τοὺς ὁρῶντας μηχανωμένον, διὰ δὲ τῶν ἐντὸς ἀσπίδων, θάνατον τοῖς πραγματευομένοις. Καὶ ἡ παροιμία δὲ τὸ ἐπικίνδυνον τοῦ πράγματα; αἰνίττεται λέγουσα ε Σχίζω ξύλα ἐν αὐτοῖς, ἐὰν ἐκπέσῃ τὸ σιδήριον. Ὃ γὰρ διαιρῶν τῷ λόγῳ τὰ πράγματα, καὶ τὰ νομιζόμενα ἡνῶσθαι χωρίζων ἧ; καὶ ξένα πάντη ἀλλήλων δείκνυται βουλόμενος τὰ ὄντω: ἀγαθὰ τῶν νομιζομένων τοιούτων, ἐὰν μὴ πάντοθεν ἔχῃ ἡσφαλισμένον τὸν λόγον, κινδυνεύει ἐν τοῖς ἀχούουσι τοῦ ἐκπεσόντος τῆς ἀσφαλείας λόγου σκανδάλου ἀφορμὴν τοῖς μένοις παρέχοντος. ### English translation (Claude) The great Paul testifies to this very thing when he says, “For we are not [ignorant] of his designs.” And the wonderful Job, at a loss about such things, says, “Who will uncover the face of his garment? Who could enter the fold of his breastplate? Who [will open] the gates of his face?” What he means is this: “The face he shows,” he says, “is not [his own]; for he covers his wickedness with many garments, enticing deceitfully by what appears, and craftily contriving destruction by what is hidden.” And so as not to count himself among those who are ignorant of what concerns the enemy, he states his marks, since he clearly knows all his trickery: “His eyes,” he says, “are the appearance of the morning star; his entrails are asps.” He says this to expose the enemy's villainy: by putting on the form of the morning star he schemes to draw those who see him to himself, and by the asps within he [brings] death to those who have dealings with him. The proverb, too, hints at the danger of this matter when it says, “I split wood in them, if the iron should fall out.” For one who divides things by reasoning, and separates what are thought to be united, wishing to show the truly good things to be wholly foreign to those thought to be such, unless he has his reasoning secured on every side, runs the danger among his hearers of a word that has fallen from its security giving an occasion of stumbling to those [who listen]. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 2:11: quotation, high confidence - Job 41:13–14 (41:5-Job LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 41:18 (41:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 20:14: allusion, medium confidence - Eccl 10:9–10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Paul: 2 Cor 2:11 (the verb is lost in the scan). Job: Job 41:13–14 (LXX 41:5–6), on the sea-monster, read of the devil; “his eyes … the morning star”: Job 41:18 (LXX 41:10); “his entrails are asps” combines this with Job 20:14. “I split wood in them, if the iron should fall out”: Eccl 10:9–10 (LXX), which Nilus calls “the proverb.” ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 29 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/29). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-30 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The lost axe-head of Elisha's disciple figures teaching borrowed from others; repentance, hidden before the cross, was revealed through its wood. ### Greek text Οὕτω τις τῶν Ἐλισσαίῳ φοιτησάντων κόπτων ξύλον ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ, καὶ τοῦ σιδηρίου εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐκπεσόντος, τὸν κίνδυνον ὑφορώμενος, πρὸς τὸν διδάἐβόα λέγων Οἴμοι, καὶ αὐτὸ κεχρημέγαν, Τοῦτο ὃὲ πάσχουσιν οἱ ἐκ παραχουσμά… τῶν διδάσκειν ἐπιχειροῦντες, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἐλθεῖν ἀδυνατοῦντες, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀπὸ οἰκείας ἕξεως λέγειν ὅταν γὰρ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ ἐναντίον τι τῷ προκειμένῳ λέγοντες, τότε τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὁμολογοῦσιν ἐπὶ τῷ χεχρημένῳ λόγῳ κινδυνεύοντες. Διὸ καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἐλισσαῖος ξύλον εἰς τὸν βυθὸν ἐμβαλὼν, ἐπιπολάσαι τὸ σιδήριον, τὸ παρὰ τοῦ μαθητοῦ, καὶ ἐν βυθῷ κεκαλύφθαι νομισθὲν νόημα σαφηνίσας καὶ ὑπ᾽ ὄψιν ἀγαγὼν τῶν ἀκουόντων, ἰδοὺ ὁ Ἱορδάνης τὸν τῇς μετανοίας σημαίνει λόγον ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἐτελεῖτο παρὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου τὸ βάπτισμα τῆς μετανοίας. Ὁ δὲ περὶ μετανοίας μὴ ἠχριδωμένως εἰρηκὼς, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ γυμνῶσαι τὴν κεκρυμμένην … χρηστότητα εἰς καταφρόνησιν ἐλθεῖν παρασχευάσα: … τοὺς ἀκροατὰς ἐν τῷ Ἰορδάνῃ ἀνέβαλε τὸ σιδήριον. Εὔδηλον καὶ τὸ φανὲν ξύλον ἀναφέρειν ἐκ τοῦ βυθοῦ τὸ σιδήριον, καὶ ἐπιπολᾷν ἐμποιεῖ. Πρὸ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ σταυροῦ ἐκέκρυπτο ὁ περὶ μετανοίας λόγος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ περὶ αὐτῆς εἰπεῖν τι ἠλέγχθη προχείρως τολμήσας μετὰ δὲ τὸν σταυρὸν φανερὸς πᾶσι γέγονεν ἐν τῷ οἰκείῳ καιρῷ διὰ τοῦ ξύλου ἀναδειχθείς, ### English translation (Claude) So one of those who studied under Elisha, cutting wood at the Jordan, when the iron fell into the river, foresaw the danger and cried out to his teacher, saying, “Alas! And it was borrowed!” This is what happens to those who from things half heard … undertake to teach and cannot come through to the end, because they do not speak from their own settled state; for when in the middle they say something contrary to their subject, then they confess their ignorance, endangered by the borrowed word. That is why the great Elisha threw wood into the depths and made the iron float, making plain the thought from the disciple which was thought to be hidden in the depths, and bringing it before the eyes of the hearers. Look: the Jordan signifies the word of repentance, for there John performed the baptism of repentance. One who has not spoken exactly about repentance, but by baring the hidden … has caused [God's] kindness to come into contempt … brought up the iron for the hearers in the Jordan. It is plain too that the wood that appeared brings up the iron from the depths and makes it float. For before the cross the word about repentance was hidden; that is why the one who rashly dared to say something about it was put to shame. But after the cross it became plain to all in its own time, shown forth through the wood. ### Scripture references - 2 Kgs 6:5–7: allusion, high confidence - Mark 1:4: allusion, high confidence - Rom 2:4: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The axe-head: 2 Kgs 6:5–7. John's baptism of repentance at the Jordan: Mark 1:4; Matt 3:6. Kindness coming into contempt echoes Rom 2:4. Long stretches of Migne's Latin column interrupt the section and have been removed; Greek lost with them is marked “…”, and the argument in the middle is incomplete. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 30 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/30). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-31 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only one who has subdued his passions should turn from warfare to cultivating others; to the rest Scripture says to beat ploughs into swords. ### Greek text Ταῦτα δὲ φημι οὐχ ἀποτρέπων ἡγεῖσθαί τινων οὐδὲ κωλύων ὁδηγεῖν τινας τῶν νέων ἐπὶ τὴν θεοσέβειαν. ἀλλὰ παρακαλῶν πρότερον ἀναλαβεῖν ἕξιν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναλογοῦσαν τῷ μεγέθει τοῦ πράγματος καὶ Ὠ μὴ προχείρως ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδιδόναι τῷ σκοπῷ, τὰ μὲν ἐδέα λογιζομένους, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν θεραπείαν, καὶ τὴν παρὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν εὐφημίαν. τὸν δὲ ἀκολουθοῦντα κίνδυνον παραλογιζομένους, καὶ μὴ πρὸ τῆς εἰρηνικῆς καταστάσεως τὰ πολεμικὰ ὄργανα σκεύη ποιεῖν γεωργικά. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ πάντα ὑποτάξαι τὰ πάθη, καὶ μηδαμόθεν ἔτι πολέμους ὀχλεῖν, μηδὲ εἰς ἀνάγχην χρήσεως ἀμυντηρίων ἕλκεσθαι ὁργάνων, καλὸν τὸ γεωργεῖν ἑτέρους ἕως ὅτε τυραννεῖ τὰ πάθη, καὶ συνέστηκεν ὁ πρὸς τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρχὸς πόλεμος, ἀπέχειν τὰς χεῖρας τῶν ὅπλων οὐ δεῖ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἀδιαλείπτως ἔχειν τὰς χεῖρας, ἵνα μὴ καιρὸν ἐπιθέσεως οἱ ἑπίδουλοι τὴν ἧμε-. τέραν ἄνεσιν λαβόντες, χειρώσωνται ἡμῶν. Ὡς γὰρ τοῖς καλῶς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀγωνισαμένοις, καὶ διὰ πολλὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην οὐδέπω νενικηκέναι νομίζουσι, φησὶ προτρεπτικῶς ὁ λόγος Συγχόψατε τὰς μαχαίρας ὑμῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας ὑμῶν εἰς δρέπανα ν παραινῶν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἡττημένοις ἐχθροῖς μάτην λοιπὸν προβάλλειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείᾳ τῶν πολλῶν ἀπὸ τῆς πολεμικῆς ἕξεως μετασχευάσαι τὰς δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπὶ τὸ γεωργεῖν ἐκείνους, ὅσοι ἔτι ἐν τοῖς τῆς κακίας ὑλομανοῦσιν ἔργοις οὕτω τοῖς πρὸ τῆς τοιαύτης καταστάσεως, εἴτε δι᾽ ἀπειρίαν, εἴτε δι᾽ ἀπόνοιαν ἐγχειρίσασιν ὑπὲρ τὴν ἑαυτῶν δύναμιν, συμβουλεύει τὸ ἐνἀντίον λέγων: Συγχόψατε τὰ ἄροτρα ὑμῶν εἰς ῥομφαίας, καὶ τὰ δρέπανα ὑμῶν εἰς σειρομάστας. ### English translation (Claude) I say this not to deter anyone from leading others, nor to prevent anyone from guiding some of the young to godliness, but to urge them first to acquire a settled state of virtue proportionate to the greatness of the task, and not to give themselves rashly to this aim, counting up its pleasures, the service of disciples and the praise of outsiders, while miscounting the danger that follows; and not to make the instruments of war into farming tools before the state of peace. For after one has subdued all the passions, when wars no longer trouble him from any side, and he is no longer dragged into the need of using weapons of defense, it is good to cultivate others. But while the passions tyrannize and the war against the mind of the flesh still stands, one must not take one's hands off the weapons, but keep them on the weapons unceasingly, so that the plotters may not take our relaxation as the moment for attack and overpower us. For just as to those who have fought well for virtue and, through great humility, do not yet think they have won, the word says by way of encouragement, “Beat your swords into ploughs and your spears into sickles,” urging them not to brandish them any longer in vain at defeated enemies, but for the benefit of the many to convert the powers of the soul from the habit of war to the cultivation of those who still run wild in the works of vice; so to those who, before reaching such a state, through inexperience or folly have taken on what is beyond their power, it counsels the opposite, saying, “Beat your ploughs into swords and your sickles into spears.” ### Scripture references - Isa 2:4: quotation, high confidence - Mic 4:3: quotation, high confidence - Joel 3:10 (4:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Beat your swords into ploughs”: Isa 2:4; Mic 4:3. “Beat your ploughs into swords”: Joel 3:10 (LXX 4:10). The mind of the flesh: Rom 8:6–7. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 31 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/31). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-32 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Israel did not farm until its enemies were destroyed; so the spiritual life must follow its order from the beginnings to perfection, as Jacob had to serve for Leah before Rachel. ### Greek text Τί γὰρ καὶ ὄφελος ἡμῖν τῆς γεωργίας πολέμου τὴν τἣν κατέχοντος, καὶ τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν των κωλύοντος, καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις μᾶλλον, ἢ τοῖς τὴν ἀφθονίαν παρέχοντος Διὰ τοῦτο τάχα καὶ τοῖς ἔτι κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον πρὸς διάφορα μαχομένοις ἔθνη Ἰσραηλίταις, οὐχ ἐπιτρέπει τὴν τῆς γεωργίας ἐπιμέλειαν, ἵνα μὴ ταῖς πολεμικαῖς ἐμποδίσῃ γυμνασίαις. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ρίαν, ταύτῃ χρήσασθαι συμβουλεύει λέγων ε΄Ὅταν εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, φυτεύσατε ἐν αὐτῇ πᾶν ξύλον κάρπιμον. Πρὶν δὲ εἰσέλθητε, οὗ φυτεύσετε προσυπακούεται γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τοῦτο, καὶ εἰχότως. γὰρ τῆς τελειότητος τὰ φυτευόμενα οὐ γίνεται βέβαια, μάλιστα περιφερομένων ἔτι ἐν ἀστάτῷ ἔθει τῶν φυτεύειν ἐθελόντων. Τάξις γὰρ, καὶ ἀκολουθία, εἴπερ ἐν ἄλλῳ τινὶ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς τῆς θεοσεβείας ἔργοις ἐστὶ, καὶ δεῖ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρχῶν προάγεσθαι τῇ πολιτείᾳ. Οἱ γὰρ παρειδότες τὰ τῆς εἰ:καὶ τοῖς λιχνοτέροις δ: ιλεασθέντες, καὶ χατ᾽ στοιχεῖν τῇ τῆς τάξεως ἀκολουθία πείθονται καὶ χαθάπερ τῷ κάλλει τῇς ἐλχυσθεὶς ὑπερεῖδε τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῶν τῆς Λείας ὀφθαλμῶν, οὐ μὴν ἔφυγε τὸν ἐπὶ τῇ κτήσει τῇς τοιαύτης τῆς πόνον ἀνεπλήρωσε γὰρ καὶ τὰ ταύτης ἕβδομα. Δεῖ οὖν τὸν ἐννόμως τῇ πολιτείᾳ στοιχεῖν ἐθέλοντα, μὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ τέλους ἐπὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς κατἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς προσκόπτειν ἐπὶ τὴν τελειότητα, ### English translation (Claude) What use is farming to us when war holds the land and prevents us from enjoying the [fruits], providing abundance to the enemy rather than to [the farmers]? Perhaps that is why he does not permit the care of farming to the Israelites while they were still in the desert fighting various nations, so that it might not hinder their training for war. But after the [destruction] of the enemy he advises them to take it up, saying, “When you enter the land of promise, plant in it every fruit-bearing tree.” And “Before you enter, you shall not plant” is understood with it, and rightly; for [before] perfection what is planted does not become firm, especially while the habits of those who want to plant are still carried about in instability. For if there is order and sequence in anything, there is in the works of godliness, and one must advance in the way of life from its beginnings. Those who overlook the things of [order], enticed by what is more dainty, are persuaded [not] to keep to the sequence of order. And just as [Jacob], drawn by the beauty of [Rachel], overlooked the weakness of Leah's eyes, yet did not escape the toil for the acquisition of [Leah], since he fulfilled her week as well, so one who wishes to keep lawfully to the way of life must not [go down] from the end to the beginnings, but advance from the beginning toward perfection. ### Scripture references - Lev 19:23: quotation, high confidence - Gen 29:17–28: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Plant every fruit-bearing tree”: Lev 19:23 (Nilus's wording, with “land of promise”). Jacob, Rachel and Leah: Gen 29:17–28. Several words are lost in the printed text (marked or supplied in brackets by sense); a little Latin debris has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 32 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/32). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-33 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Untrained men eagerly gather disciples and, to keep them, indulge their desires like a charioteer who drops the reins. ### Greek text Οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐπιτεύξεται τοῦ σπουδαζομένου, καὶ τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους ἀμέμπτως ὁδηγήσει πρὸς τὸ τέλος τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ πολλοὶ μηδένα πόνον προσενέγχαντες, μηδὲ μικρὸν ἢ μέγα χατορθώπαντες ἔργον θεοσεβείας, ὦ; ἔτυχεν τῷ ὀνόματι, μανίαν δεινὴν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι μὴ κίνδυνον τοῦτο ἡγούμενοι καὶ οὗ μόνον οὗ παραιτοῦνται προτρεπομένων αὑτούς τινων ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον, καὶ περιερχόμενοι τοὺς στενωποὺς ἄκοντας ἕλκουσι τοὺς περιτυγχάνοντας, πᾶσαν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι θεραπείαν, καθάπερ οἱ πρὸς μισθωτοὺς συνθήκας περὶ τροφῆς, καὶ τιθέμενοι. ᾿λνάγχη δὲ τοὺς οὕτως ἐρῶντας τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ βουλομένους μετὰ πλήθους ἐν ταῖς προόδοις φαίνεσθα καὶ χειραγωγοῖς ἐπαναπαύεσθαι, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν σκηνὴν σώζειν τῶν καθηγουμένων, ὦ; δράματο; ὑπόκρισιν ὑπελθόντας ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ καταλειφθῆναι παρὰ τῶν ταύτην αὑτοῖς ἐχτελούντων τὴν ὑπουργίαν, χαρίζεσθαι τὰ πολλὰ αἷς αὐτῶν, καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐᾷν, καθάπερ ἡνιόχου ἀφέντος τὰς ἡνίας, καὶ αὐτεξούσιον αὖτοῖς τὸν δρόμον ἐπιτρέψαντος, ὡς ἐκ τούτου κατὰ κρημνῶν φέρεσθαι, καὶ κατὰ βαράθρων, καὶ παντὶ προσπταίειν τῷ ἐν ποσὶν, οὐδενὸς ὄντος τοῦ ἀνακόπτοντος, καὶ ταῖς ἀτάκτοις ὁρμαῖς ἐμποδίζοντος. ### English translation (Claude) For in this way he will himself attain what he strives for, and will guide those under him blamelessly to the goal of virtue. But the many, who have contributed no toil and have accomplished no work of godliness, small or great, [take hold of] the name as chance has it, displaying a terrible madness and not thinking this a danger. Not only do they not decline when others urge them to the work; they even go round the alleys dragging along, against their will, whomever they meet, promising every kind of care, like people who make contracts about food with hired workers. And those who are so in love with the thing, and want to appear in their processions with a crowd, to lean on those who lead them by the hand, and to keep up all the pageantry of leaders, having taken on, as it were, the acting of a play, must, so as not to be abandoned by those who perform this service for them, indulge them in many things and leave them to their desires, like a charioteer who has dropped the reins and given his horses a free run, so that they are carried over cliffs and into pits and stumble over everything at their feet, with no one to check them or to hinder their disorderly impulses. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 33 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/33). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-34 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like the women of Ezekiel who sewed pillows for every elbow, indulgent superiors destroy souls; Christ forbade even the apostles to be called Rabbi. ### Greek text ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἀποσέτωσαν οἷ τοιοῦτοι τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰεζεκιὴλ ταλανίζοντος τοὺς ταῖς ἑτέρων ἡδοναῖς ὕλας ἐκπορίζοντας, καὶ διὰ τὸ συμφέρεσθαι τοῖς ἑχάστον θελήμασιν, ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ε οὐαὶ θησαυρίζοντας. Φησὶ γάρ Οὐαὶ ταῖς προσχεφάλαια ὑπὸ πάντα ἀγκῶνα χειρὸς, καὶ ποιούσαις ἐπιδόλαια ἐπὶ πᾶσαν κεφαλὴν πάσης ἡλικίας τοῦ ἀπολέσαι Ψυχὰς, ἕνεχα δραχὸς κριθῶν καὶ ἕνεχα κλάσματος ἄρτου. Οὕτως δὴ καὶ οὗτοι τὰς χρείας ἑαυτοῖς τοῦ σώματο; ἐξ ἐράνου συλλέγοντες, καὶ ταῖς ὡς ἐκ ῥαχῶν παρασχεναῖς ἐπαναπαύοντες τοὺς γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ προσεύχεσθαι, ἣ καὶ προφητεύειν ὀφείλοντας τῶν ἐπιδολαίων τὴν ἀνδρείαν κατάστασιν ταῖς τῶν σχεπασμάτων ἐπιβολαῖς λύνοντες, καὶ ψυχὰς ἀπολοῦντες, ἃς οὖχ ἔδει ἀποθανεῖν. … Καὶ μάλιστα μὲν ἔδει πειθομένους τῷ ὄντως διδασχάλῳ Χριστῷ παραιτήσασθαι, ὅση δύναμι:, τὴν ἑτέρων κηδεμονίαν φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς ξαυτοῦ μαθητάς ε Ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ χληθῆτε ῥαββί. Εἰ δὲ καὶ Πέτρῳ, καὶ Ἰωάννῃ, καὶ παντὶ τῷ χορῷ τῶν ἀποστόλων μακρὰν ἑστάνα: τοῦ τοιούτου ἔργου, καὶ μικροὺς ἡγεῖσθαι ἑαυτοὺς τῆς τοιαύτης ἀξίας. Τίς ἔσται λοιπὸν ὁ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνους ἑαυτὴν φαντάζων καὶ ἐγκρίνων ἀξιώματι οὗπερ ἐχωλύθησαν ἐκεῖνοι, ἥ τάχα λέγων μὴ κληθῆναι ῥαββὶ, οὐ τὸ εἶναι, ἀλλὰ τὸ καλεῖσθαι κωλύει; ### English translation (Claude) But let such men hear the blessed Ezekiel lamenting those who supply material for the pleasures of others, and who by going along with each one's wishes treasure up the “woe” for themselves. For he says, “Woe to the women who sew pillows under every elbow of the arm, and make veils for every head of every age, to destroy souls, for a handful of barley and for a morsel of bread.” So too these men, collecting the needs of the body for themselves by contributions, and lulling to rest, with comforts stitched together as it were from rags, those who ought to pray and prophesy with bare head, loosen the manly state by putting coverings over them … killing souls that ought not to die. … Above all, obeying Christ, the true teacher, they ought to decline the care of others as far as they can; for he says to his disciples, “But you, do not be called Rabbi.” If even Peter and John and the whole choir of the apostles [were told] to stand far from such a work and to count themselves too small for such a dignity, who will there be who imagines himself above them and admits himself to a dignity from which they were held back? Or will he perhaps say that in saying “do not be called Rabbi” he forbids not being one, but only being called one? ### Scripture references - Ezek 13:18–19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:4: allusion, high confidence - Matt 23:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is Ezek 13:18–19 (LXX); “killing souls that ought not to die” is also Ezek 13:19. Praying and prophesying with bare head: 1 Cor 11:4. “Do not be called Rabbi”: Matt 23:8. Two long stretches of Migne's facing Latin column have been removed; the Greek lost with them is marked “…”. The verb at the start (ἀποσέτωσαν) is damaged; “hear” is the evident sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 34 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/34). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/19/#p-35 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: One compelled to lead others must teach by his life and answer for them; the saints formed disciples better than themselves. ### Greek text Εἰ δὲ τις ἀπροαιρέτως, ἐκ τοῦ ἕνα καὶ δεύτερον καταδέξασθαι, βιασθείη καὶ πλειόνων ἡγεῖσθαι, πρῶτον μὲν ἀχριδῶς ἑαυτὸν δοκιμαζέτω, εἰ οἷός τέ ἐστιν ἔργῳ μᾶλλον, ἣ λόγῳ διδάσκειν τὰ πρακτέα, εἰχόνα ἀρετῆς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον τοῖς μανθάνουσιν, ὡς μὴ τοὺς μεταγράφοντας ἐκεῖθεν τοῦ σφάλματος ἀμβλῦναι τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἀρετῆς. Ἔπειτα γινωσκέτω, ὅτι οὐχ ἔλαττον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁρχομένων ἣ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ ἀγωνιᾷν Ὡς γὰρ καὶ ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ, οὕτω καὶ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων ὑφέξει: λόγον ἅπαξ καταδεξάμενος τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτῶν καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις σπουδῇ γέγονε μὴ ἐλαττουμένους τῇς ἑαυτῶν ἀρετῆς καταλιπεῖν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν μαθητὰς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς πρώτης καταστάσεως μεταρυθμίσαι εἰς βελτίονα κατάστασιν. Οὕτως ὁ μὲν ἀπόστολος Παὺλος τὸν Ὁνήσιμον ἐκ δραπέτου μάρτυρα πεποίηκεν ὁ Ἡλίας ἐξ ἀροτῆρος προφήτην τὸν Ἑλισσαῖον κατετοι … ὁ δὲ Μωυσῆς Ἰησοῦν πάντων ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ὁ δὲ Ἠλεὶ τὸν Σαμουὴλ καὶ μεὶζονα ἑαυτοῦ ἔδειξεν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἣ τούτων αὑτῶν σπουδὴ αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὴν κτῆσιν τῆς ἀρετῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πᾶν τῆς προκοπῆς αἴτιον αὑτοῖς γεγένηται τὸ τυχεῖν διδασκάλων τοῦ καλοῦ δυνηθέντων τὸν τετυφωμένον σπινθῆρα τῆς προθυμίας ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖξον τῆς προτροπῆς ἀναῤῥιπίσαι, καὶ ψαι ἐποίησε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο στόμα Θεοῦ γεγόνασιν, τὰ αὐτοῦ βουλήματα τοῖ; ἀνθρώποις διαχονήσαντες ἤκουσαν γὰρ τοῦ λέγοντος ε Ἐὰν ἐξαγάγῃς τίμιον ἐξ ἀναξίου, ὡς στόμα μου ἔσῃ. ### English translation (Claude) If someone, without choosing it, after accepting one or two [disciples], should be compelled to lead more, let him first examine himself exactly, whether he is able to teach what must be done by deed rather than by word, [offering] his own life to the learners as an image of virtue, so that those who copy from it may not, by some slip, dull the beauty of virtue. Then let him know that he must struggle no less for those he rules than for himself; for, having once taken on their salvation, he will give an account for them as for himself. The saints too were zealous to leave their disciples not inferior to their own virtue, but to reshape them from their first state into a better one. So the apostle Paul made Onesimus, from a runaway, a martyr; Elijah made Elisha, from a ploughman, a prophet; … Moses [made] Joshua [better] in all things; and Eli showed Samuel to be even greater than himself. For even if their own zeal [contributed] to their acquisition of virtue, yet the whole cause of their progress was that they found teachers of the good who were able to fan the smoldering spark of their eagerness into the greater [flame] of exhortation, and made it [blaze]; and for this reason they became the mouth of God, ministering his will to human beings. For they had heard him who says, “If you bring out the precious from the worthless, you shall be as my mouth.” ### Scripture references - Heb 13:17: allusion, medium confidence - Phlm 1:10–16: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 19:19: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 3:19–20: allusion, medium confidence - Jer 15:19: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Giving account for others: Heb 13:17. Onesimus: Phlm 10–16; Nilus follows the tradition that he died a martyr. Elisha called from the plough: 1 Kgs 19:19–21. Joshua: Num 27:18–23; Samuel: 1 Sam 3. The quotation is Jer 15:19. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column inside the list of examples has been removed (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 35 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/35). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-36 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ezekiel's brick shows the teacher forming disciples under his own eyes; he must warn them, or answer for their souls. ### Greek text Τὴν δὲ τοῦ διδασχάλου ἕξιν καὶ τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ ὑποτίθεται ὁ Θεὸς διδάσκων οἵους ἐξ οἴων δεῖ τοὺς τὰς κατασκευάζειν. φησὶν, ἀνθ ρώπον λάβε σεαυτῷ πλίνθον, καὶ θήσεις αὐτὴν πρὸ προσώπου καὶ διαγράψεις ὑπ᾽ αὐτὴν πόλιν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, σημαὶνων ὅτι ἐκ πηλοῦ ναὸν ἅγιον ὁ διδάσκαλος τὸν μαθητὴν ἀπεργάζεται, Καλὸν καὶ δὲ τὸ, Θήσεις αὐτὴν πρὸ προσώπου σον οὕτω γὰρ ταχεῖα βελτίωσις ἔσται τῷ μαθητῇ, ἐὰν ἐν ὄψει τοῦ διδασκάλου ἣ διὰ παντός. Αἱ γὰρ συνεχεῖς τῶν καλῶν παραδειγμάτων παρὰ πλησίας εἰχόνας ταῖς μὴ πάν σκληραῖς, καὶ ἀποχρότοις ψυχαῖς. Διὰ τοῦτο Γιεζῆ καὶ Ἰούδας ἐπέπεσον, ὁ μὲν τῇ κλοπῇ, ὁ δὲ τῇ πρὸ ᾿ δοσίᾳ, ἐπειδὴ ὑπεξήγαγον ἑαυτοὺς τῶν τοῦ διδασκάλου ὀφθαλμῶν ὡς εἰ ἔμεινον παρὰ τοῖς σωφρονισταῖς οὐχ ἂν ἐπλημμέλησαν ἑκάτερος αὑτῶν. Ὅτι δὲ χίνδυνος τῷ διδασκάλῳ ἐκ τῆς ἀμελείας αὐτῶν διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς ἐδήλωσεν ἐπῶν ε Καὶ θήσεις τήγανον ἀναμέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀναμέσον τῆς πόλεως καὶ ἕσται τεῖχος ἀναμέσον σοῦ καὶ ἀναμέσον αὐτῆς. Ὃ γὰρ μὴ θέλων κοινωνεῖν τῷ τῆς κολάσεως μετὰ τὸ ποιῆσαι αὐτῷ ἐκ πλίνθου πόλιν τὰς τοῖς παλινδρομοῦσιν ἀπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης καταστάσεως ἐπ λελησμένας τιμωρίας, ἐπιλέγειν ὀφείλει, ἵνα τεῖκο; γενόμεναι τὸν ἀναίτιον ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰτίου. Τοῦτο γὰρ προστά: ὁ Θεὸς τῷ φησιν ἀνθρώπου, σκοπὸν δέδωκά σε τῷ οἴκῳ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ ἐὰν ἴδῃς τὴν ῥημφαίαν ἐρχομένην,, καὶ μὴ διαμαρτύρῃ αὑτοῖς, λάβῃ δέ τινα ἐξ αὑτῶν, τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῆς χειρός σου ἐκζητήσω. ### English translation (Claude) God sets the teacher's state before Ezekiel too, teaching what kind of [people], and from what [material], those who build [cities] must make: “Son of man,” he says, “take for yourself a brick and set it before your face, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem,” signifying that the teacher makes the disciple from clay into a holy temple. And well is it said, “set it before your face”; for improvement will be swift for the disciple if he is always in the teacher's sight. For the continual images of good examples close at hand [imprint themselves] on souls that are not altogether hard and calloused. That is why Gehazi and Judas fell, the one into theft, the other into betrayal: because they withdrew themselves from the eyes of their teacher; had they stayed with those who corrected them, neither of them would have done wrong. And that danger comes to the teacher from their negligence he showed by the words that follow: “And you shall set an iron pan between you and the city, and it shall be a wall between you and it.” For one who does not want to share in the [disciple's] punishment must, after making the city of brick for him, declare the punishments that hang over those who run back from such a state, so that these, becoming a wall, may [separate] the guiltless from the guilty. For this God commands [Ezekiel], saying, “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; and if you see the sword coming and do not warn them, and it takes one of them, I will require his soul from your hand.” ### Scripture references - Ezek 4:1: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 4:3: quotation, high confidence - 2 Kgs 5:20–27: allusion, high confidence - Matt 26:14–16: allusion, medium confidence - Ezek 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 33:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ezek 4:1 and 4:3 (the brick and the iron pan); the watchman: Ezek 3:17–18 combined with 33:6. Gehazi's theft: 2 Kgs 5:20–27; Judas: Matt 26:14–16. Words lost or damaged in the scan are supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 36 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-37 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: One must not go back to dwell on conquered passions, as Moses warned and as Jacob buried the foreign gods at Shechem. ### Greek text Τοιοῦτον τεῖχος καὶ Μωῦσῇς ἑαυτῷ, λέγων τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις ε Πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ ἐχξζητήσῃς ἐπακολουθῆσαι αὐτοῖς μετὰ τὸ ἐξολοθρευθῆναι αὑτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ. Γίνεται γὰρ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀμελέστερον τῇ διανοίᾳ προσέχουσι τῇ ἑαυτῶν μετὰ τὴν τῶν παθῶν ἐκκοπὴν, ὥσπερ βλαστοί τινες παραχύπτειν ἄρχονται αἱ εἰχόνες τῶν ὧν φαντασιῶν, αἷς εἴ τις δῷ χώραν συνεχῶς ἐκπίπτειν τῷ ἡγεμονικῷ, καὶ μὴ κωλύειν τὴν εἴσοδον αὐταῖς, αὖθις τὰ πάθη ἑαυτῷ ἐναγώνιον μετὰ τὴν νίκην πάλιν ποιοῦν τὴν διαγωγήν. Ἔστι γὰρ τῶν παθῶν ἐξημερωθέντων, καὶ χόρτον ἴσα βουσὶν ἐσθίειν δεδιδαγμένων ἀμελείᾳ τοῦ τιθασσεύοντος πάλιν ἐξαγριωθῆναι, καὶ τὴν τῶν θηρίων ἀναλαβεῖν ὠμότητα. Ὡς ἂν οὖν, φησὶ, μὴ τοῦτο γένηται, μὴ ἐχζητήσῃς ἐπακολουθῆσαι αὐτοῖς, μετὰ τὸ ἐξολοθρευθῆναι αὑτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐν τῷ ἐχζητεῖν ἕξιν λαβοῦσα ἡ ψυχὴ ταῖς τοιαύταις ἐνήδεσθαι φαντασίαις, ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν παλινδρομήσῃ κακίαν. Τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὁ μέγας γινόμενον, ὅτι θεωρούμενα, καὶ συνεχῶς: μελετώμενα τὰ τοιαῦτα μᾶλλον βλάπτει τὴν διάνοιαν, τρανοτάτας καὶ ἀριδῆλους ἐνσφραγιζομένας τὰς τῶν αἰσχρῶν φαντασιῶν εἰχόνας, ἐν Σιχήμοις κρύπτει, τοὺς θεοὺς τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους ὁ γὰρ περὶ τὰ πάθη πόνον κρύπτει καὶ ἀπόλλυσι ταῦτα, οὐ πρὸς τινα χρόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἕως τὴν σήμερον ἡμέραν, ἔστι, τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἐπειδὴ τῷ παντὶ αἰῶνι συμπαρεχτείνεται τὸ σήμερον τὸν ἐνεστῶτα πάντοτε σημαίνων καιρὸν, τὰ Σέχημα δείκνυσιν ὅτι μάχη, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τὸν περὶ τὰ πάθη πόνον, Διὸ καὶ τῷ Ἰωσὴφ δίδωσι τὸ Σίκιμα χτῆμα ἑξαίρετον τὸν πρὸς τὰ πάθη μαχόμενον τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς πόνον. ### English translation (Claude) Moses too [made] such a wall for himself when he said to the Israelites, “Take heed to yourself that you do not seek to follow after them, after they have been destroyed from before you.” For this happens to those who attend rather carelessly to their own mind after the cutting out of the passions: like shoots, the images of [old] fantasies begin to peep out; and if one gives them room to fall continually upon the ruling faculty and does not block their entry, the passions once more make his life a struggle after the victory. For even when the passions have been tamed and taught to eat grass like oxen, through the negligence of the one taming them they can grow wild again and take back the savagery of wild beasts. So that this may not happen, he says, “do not seek to follow after them, after they have been destroyed from before you,” lest in seeking them the soul acquire a habit of taking pleasure in such fantasies and run back to its old vice. The great [Jacob], knowing that this happens, that such things, when contemplated and continually dwelt on, harm the mind all the more by stamping on it very clear and distinct images of shameful fantasies, hides the foreign gods in Shechem. For the one who labors over the passions hides and destroys them, not for a time but “to this day,” that is, for all time, since “today” extends along with the whole age, always signifying the present moment. Shechem signifies “battle,” which shows the toil over the passions. That is why he gives Joseph Shechem as a special possession: [to] the one who fights the passions, the toil among them. ### Scripture references - Deut 12:30: quotation, high confidence - Isa 11:7: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 35:4: allusion, high confidence - Gen 48:22: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Moses: Deut 12:30. Grass like oxen: Isa 11:7. Jacob hiding the foreign gods at Shechem “to this day”: Gen 35:4 (LXX); his name is not in the printed text. Shechem given to Joseph: Gen 48:22. Nilus's explanation of the name Shechem as “battle” (or toil) is his own reading; the usual ancient etymology is “shoulder,” taken as a figure of toil. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 37 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/37). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-38 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Burying the gods at Shechem is praised but a secret idol is cursed: shameful thoughts must be buried, not cherished in the memory. ### Greek text Καὶ γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὁ ἐν μαχαίρᾳ καὶ τόξῳ λαβεῖν λέγων Σίχημα δείκνυσι, ὅτι μάχῃ, καὶ πόνῳ ἐκεκρατήκει τῶν παθῶν. χαταχρύψας αὐτὰ ἐν τῇ Σιχήμων γῆ. Δοχεῖ δέ πως ἐναντίον φαίνεσθαι τὸ κατακρύπτειν ἐν Σιχήμοις τοὺς θεοὺς, καὶ τὸ τιθέναι εἴδωλον ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐπαινετὸν … τὸ ἐν Σικήμοις κατακρύπτειν τὸ δὲ ψεκτὸν τὸ τιθέναι εἴδωλον ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ οὕτω γοῦν καὶ μετὰ κατάρας ἔθηκε τοῦτο εἰπὼν, Ἐπικατάρατος ὁ τιθεὶς εἴδωλον ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ. Οὐ ταὐτὸν γάρ ἔστιν ἐν γῇ πρὸ τὸ παντελὲς χαταχρύψαι, καὶ τὸ θεῖναι ἐν ἀποχρύφῳ. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐν γῇ καὶ μηχέτι τῇ αἰσθήσει φαινόμενον, τῷ χρόνῳ, καὶ τῆς μνήμης ἀπαλείφεται τὸ δὲ ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ τεθὲν τοὺς μὲν ἕξωθεν ἴσως λανθάνει, παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ τεθεικότος ὁρώμενον συνεχῶς τὴν μνήμην ἀγαλματηφορούμενον λαθραίως. Πᾶς γὰρ λογισμὸς αἰσχρὸς μορφούμενος ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ, γλυπτόν ἔστιν ἀπόκρυφον. Οὕτως γοῦν αἰσχύνη ἐστὶν εἰς μέσον προθεῖναι τὰς τοιαύτας ἐννοίας, ἐπισφαλὲς γοῦν καὶ τῷ ἐν ἀποχρύφῳ θεῖναι γλυπτὸν, ἐπισφαλέστερον δὲ, τὸ θεῖν, καὶ ἐχζητεῖν τὰς ἤδη ἐξαφανισθείσας μορφὰς, εὐχερῶς τῆς διανοίας πάλιν ῥεπούσας ἐπὶ τὸ ἐχόληθὲν πάθος, καὶ τὴν τῶν εἰδώλων πλάστιγγα θούσας ἕως ἐδάφους. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἕξις τίς ἐστι τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ ἄγαν εὐκόλως, εἰ ἀμελοῖτο ἐπὶ τὰ ἐναντία ταλαντεύουσα. ### English translation (Claude) And to them he who says he took Shechem with sword and bow shows that by battle and toil he had mastered the passions, hiding them away in the land of Shechem. Now it may seem somehow contradictory that hiding the gods in Shechem [is praised], while setting up an idol in secret [is cursed]. For the one is praiseworthy … to hide them in Shechem; the other blameworthy, to set up an idol in secret. Thus he laid it down with a curse, saying, “Cursed is he who sets up an idol in secret.” For it is not the same thing to hide something altogether in the earth and to set it up in secret. What is in the earth and no longer appears to sense is wiped from the memory too by time; but what is set up in secret perhaps escapes the notice of outsiders, yet, being continually seen by the one who set it up, is carried about secretly as an image in the memory. For every shameful thought that takes form in the mind is a secret carved image. Thus it is a disgrace to bring such ideas out into the open; it is dangerous also to set up a carved image in secret; and more dangerous still to [seek] and search out forms that have already been obliterated, since the mind easily inclines again toward the passion that was [rooted out] and tips the balance of the idols down to the ground. For such is a state of virtue: if it is neglected, it sways very easily toward the opposite. ### Scripture references - Gen 48:22: allusion, high confidence - Deut 27:15: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Shechem taken with sword and bow: Gen 48:22. “Cursed is he who sets up an idol in secret”: Deut 27:15. Two long stretches of Migne's facing Latin column interrupt the section and have been removed; the Greek runs on across the second (τιθέ|ναι). Words lost in the first gap are marked “…” or supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 38 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/38). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-39 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Evil thoughts must be stopped at their first approach; failing that, comparing where two temptations end exposes them, as Samson tied the foxes tail to tail. ### Greek text Τοῦτο γὰρ διὰ συμβόλου σημαίνειν ἔοικεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ὅταν φησί ε Ἶ γῆ, ἣν εἰσπορεύεσθε, μετακινουμένη ἐστὶν ἐν λαῶν τῶν ἐθνῶν. Ἅμα γὰρ ἐκινήθη πρὸς τὰ ἐναντία ὁ τὴν ἕξιν ἔχων τῇς ἀρετῆς, καὶ συμμετεχινήθῃη καὶ αὕτη μετακινουμένη ἐστί. Διὸ χρὴ τὴν ἀρχὴν μὴ διδόναι πάροδον ἐπὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ταῖς τῶν βλάπτειν πεφυκότων λογισμὸν φαντασίαις, μηδὲ συγχωρεῖν αὐτῇ εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐκεῖθεν γὰρ εἰς ᾿Ασσυρίους βίᾳ χατάγεται. Ἐὰν γὰρ εἷς τὸν σκοτασμὸν τῶν ἀκαθάρτων κατελογίσθη λογισμῶν ἢ διάνοια τοῦτο γὰρ Αἴγυπτος μεθερμηνεύεται βίᾳ λοιπὸν καὶ μὴ θέλουσα ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν ἐπὶ τὴν ἐργασίαν ἕλκεται. Διὰ τοῦτο συμθολιχῶς καὶ ὁ νομοθέτης ἀποκλείων τῆς ἡδονῆς τὴν παρείσδυσιν, τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ ὄφεως τηρεῖν ἐχέλευ σεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ κἀκεῖνος τὴν πτέρναν τηρεῖ, ἐκείνῳ μὲν γὰρ σκοπὸς ἣ ἐνέργεια ἧς εἰ μὴ ἐπιλάβηται, ἐγχεράσαι τῷ τὸν ἰὸν εὐχερῶς δύναται. Ἡμῖν δὲ σπουδὴ αὐτὴν θλάσαι τὴν προσβολὴν τῆς ἡδονῆς, ταύτης γὰρ ς ἀσθενὴς ἢ ἐνέργεια. Τάχα δὲ καὶ Σαμψὼν οὐχί ἂν ἐνέπρησε τὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων θέρη, εἰ μὴ τὰς κεφαλὰς ἀντεστραμμένων ἀλωπέκων συνέδησε ταῖς οὐραῖς. γὰρ δυνηθεὶς τῶν πανούργων λογισμῶν ἐκ προοιμίων: χάσασθαι τὴν ἐνέδραν, καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς παριδὰν, αν νὰς γὰρ τῷ δοκεῖν αὐτὰς ποιεῖσθαι μηχανῶνται τῶ ἐπιλαθέσθαι τοῦ τέλους, καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν περάτων προσάλληλα συγκρίσεως ἐλέγξει τὸ ἄτοπον τῶν λογισμῶν, κέρκον συνδήσας χέρχῳ, λαμπάδα θεὶς ἀναμέσον αὑτῶν ὃν ἔλεγχον. ### English translation (Claude) Scripture seems to signify this by a figure when it says, “The land which you are entering is a land moved about among the peoples of the nations.” For as soon as the one who has the state of virtue is moved toward the opposite, that state is moved along with him and becomes unstable. Therefore one must from the beginning give no passage into the mind to the fantasies of thoughts that naturally do harm, and not let it [go down] into Egypt; for from there it is carried off by force to the Assyrians. For if the mind [goes down] into the darkness of unclean thoughts (for that is what “Egypt” means), it is thereafter dragged by force, even against its will, by the passions to the deed. That is why the lawgiver, too, shutting out by a figure the entry of pleasure, commanded that the serpent's head be watched. For since the serpent watches the heel (his aim is the act; and unless he lays hold of that, he cannot easily inject his venom), our zeal is to crush the very first assault of pleasure; for when it [is crushed], the act is weak. Perhaps, too, Samson would not have burned the harvests of the Philistines had he not turned the foxes head to tail and tied them together by their tails. For one who was not able to [detect] from the outset the ambush of crafty thoughts, and overlooked their beginnings (for they contrive to make the beginnings seem [good], so that the end is forgotten), will, by comparing their ends with one another, expose the absurdity of the thoughts, tying tail to tail and putting the torch of exposure between them. ### Scripture references - Ezra 9:11: quotation, high confidence - Isa 52:4: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 3:15: allusion, high confidence - Judg 15:4–5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The land moved about among the nations: Ezra 9:11 (LXX 2 Esd 9:11). Egypt and Assyria: cf. Isa 52:4; Hos 11:5. “Egypt” explained as darkness is a traditional etymology. The serpent's head and heel: Gen 3:15. Samson and the foxes: Judg 15:4–5. Several damaged words are translated by sense (in brackets). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 39 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/39). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-40 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Examples: vainglory that leads to sexual sin, and gluttony that ends in sadness, are exposed by looking at where they end. ### Greek text Καὶ ἵνα σαφέστερον γένηται τὸ λεγόμενον, ἐπὶ δύο λογισμῶν γυμνώσω τὸ εἰρημένον ἔσται γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν πίστις ἀληθής. Πολλάχες ἀπὸ … ξίας ἔρχεται ὁ τῆς πορνείας λογισμὸς, καὶ σεμνὰ … μὲν τὰ προπύλαια τῶν ἐπὶ τὸν ἄδην φερουσῶν ὁδῶν ᾿ κρύπτει δὲ τοὺς ὀλεθροίους τρόπους, δι ὧν εἰς τὰ τοῦ ἄδου ταμεῖα κατάγει τοὺς ἑπομένους ἀλογίστως αὐτῷ ὑποτίθεται γὰρ ὅτε μὲν ἱερωσύνην, ὅτε δὲ βίον μοναχοῦ τέλειον, πολλούς τοὺς ἐπ᾽ ὠφελείᾳ παραγινομένους ποιεῖ πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ τὴν εὐδοκίμησιν ἔκ τε λόγου καὶ πράξεως αὐτὸν φαντάζεσθαι παρασκευάζει καὶ ὅτε ἱκανῶς αὑτὸν ταύταις περιβουκολήσας ταῖς ἐννοίαις ἀπαγάγῃ πολὺ τῆς φυσιχῆς νήψεως, τότε εὐτυχίαν δῆθεν σεμνῆς γυνα: ὑπογράψας, ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ μιαροῦ πράγματος φέρει ἐνέργειαν τὴν τῆς συνειδήσεως παῤῥησίαν εἰς ἐσχάτην καταφέρων αἰσχύνην. Ὁ τοίνυν τὰς κέρκους συνδῆσαι βουλόμενος, λαμβανέτω τῶν δύο λογισμῶν τὰ τέλη, τῆς μὲν κενοδοξίας τὸ ἐπιτίμιον, τῆς δὲ πορνείας τὸ ἄτιμον, καὶ ὅς τὰς ἐναντιουμένας ἴδῃ σαφῶς ἀλλήλα: ς, τότε νομιζέτω τὸ τοῦ Σαμψὼν πεποι χέναι. Πάλιν ὁ τῆς γαστριμαργίας λογισμὸς τέλος ἔχει τὸ τῆς πορνείας ὁ δὲ τῆς πορνείας τέλος τὸν τῆς λύπης εὐθέως γὰρ λύπῃ ἀθυμία ἕπεται τῷ ἡττημένῳ τοῖς τοιούτοις λογισμοῖς μετὰ τὴν ἄνεσιν, Λογιζέσθω οὖν ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος μὴ τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν βρωμάτων, μηδὲ τὸ λεῖον τῆς ἡδονῆς, ἀλλ᾽ ἑκατέρων τούτων τὰ τέλη, καὶ ὅταν εὕρῃ λύπην ἀκολουθοῦσαν ἀμφοτέροις, ἴστω κέρκον χέρχῳ δεδεκὼς, καὶ τῷ ἐλέγχῳ τὰ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἀφανίσας θέρη. ### English translation (Claude) To make what has been said clearer, I will lay it bare with two thoughts; this will also be a true proof of the rest. Often the thought of sexual immorality comes from …[vain]glory, and, … solemn …, [opens] the front gates of the roads that lead to Hades, but hides the deadly ways by which it brings down to the chambers of Hades those who follow it without reflection. For it suggests to him now the priesthood, now the perfect life of a monk; it makes many come to him for their benefit, and prepares him to imagine renown from his word and deed; and when it has sufficiently beguiled him with these ideas and led him far from his natural watchfulness, then, sketching for him a supposed good fortune with a respectable woman, it carries him on to the act of the foul deed, bringing the boldness of his conscience down to the utmost shame. So let one who wants to tie the tails together take the ends of the two thoughts: of vainglory, the reproach; of sexual immorality, the dishonor. And when he sees clearly that they oppose one another, then let him think he has done what Samson did. Again, the thought of gluttony has as its end that of sexual immorality, and that of sexual immorality ends in the thought of sadness; for sadness and despondency at once follow the one defeated by such thoughts after his relief. Let the one who struggles, then, consider not the enjoyment of foods nor the smoothness of pleasure, but the ends of both; and when he finds sadness following both, let him know that he has tied tail to tail and, by exposing them, destroyed the harvests of the Philistines. ### Scripture references - Prov 7:27: allusion, high confidence - Judg 15:4–5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The chain of thoughts (gluttony, sexual immorality, sadness; vainglory) is the scheme of the eight thoughts familiar from Evagrius. The roads and chambers of Hades: Prov 7:27. Samson: Judg 15:4–5. Two stretches of Latin-column debris early in the section have been removed; the word before “glory” (probably κενοδοξίας, “vainglory”) is damaged, and the verb “opens” is supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 40 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/40). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 41 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-41 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: One who leads others must know the war against the passions and live at peace himself; then obedient disciples can be shaped like material by a craftsman. ### Greek text Εἰ τοίνυν τοσαύτης ἐπιστήμης καὶ ἐμπειρίας δεῖται ὁ πρὸς τὰ πάθη πολεμῶν, γινωσκέτωσαν οἱ τῶν ἑτέρων ἀναδεδειμένοι προστασίαν πόσης αὑτοῖς χρεία τῆς γνώσεως ἵνα καὶ τοὺς; ὑποτεταγμένους ἐμφρόνως ὁδηγήσωσιν ἐπὶ τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως, καὶ πάντα σαφῶς; τὰ τῆς ἀπάτης διδάξωσιν, ὡς μὴ χειρονομοῦντας μόνον ἐν ἀέρι τὰ τῆς νίκης σχηματίζειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ πρὸς τὸν ἀντίπαλον μάχῃ, καιρίας ἐπιφέρειν τὰς πληγὰς, ἵνα μὴ διὰ κενῆς ἐν ἀέρι τὰς χεῖρας, ἀλλ᾽ αὖτὸν τὸν ἀντίπαλον. Τοῦ γὰρ γυμνιχοῦ ἀγῶνος οὗτος ὁ ἀγὼν δυσχερέστερος ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἀθλητῶν σώματα χλίνεται ῥᾳδίως ἀνορθοῦσθαι δυνάμενα ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψυχαὶ καταπίπτουσιν, ἃς ἅπαξ ἀνατραπείσας, μόλις ἔστιν ἀνεγεῖραι. Εἰ δέ τις ἔτι τὸν ἐμπαθῆ βίον διαπυκτεύων, καὶ πεφυρμένος ἐν αἴματι ναὸν Θεοῦ ἐκ λογιχῶν οἰκοδομεῖν ψυχῶν, πάντως ἀκούσεται ὁ τοιοῦτος Ὅτι οὐ σὺ οἰκοδομήσεις μοι ὅτι ἀνὴρ αἱμάτων εἶ σύ. γὰρ ἔστι καταστάσεως οἰκοδομεῖν ναὸν τῷ Θεῷ. Καὶ Μωῦσῃς μὲν λαβὼν τὴν σκηνὴν, καὶ ἕξω ἧς παρεμβολῆς πηξάμενος, δηλοῖ τοῦ πολεμικοῦ θορύβου δεῖν εἶναι τὸν διδάσκαλον καὶ μακρὰν τοῦ πεφυρμένου ἀποικεῖσθαι στρατοπέδου πρὸς εἰρηνικὸν, καὶ ἀπόλεμον χαταστάντα βίον. Ὅταν εὑρεθῶσι τοιοῦτοι διδάσκαλοι μαθητῶν οὕτως ἀρνησαμένων ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ τὰ … τῶν θελήματα, ὡς ἁψύχου σώματος ἑαυτοὺς … διαφέρειν, ἣ ὕλης ὑποθεδλημένης τεχνίτῃ, ὥσπερ Ψυχὴ ἐν σύ ἐνεργεῖ ὃ βούλεται, οὐδὲν τοῦ σώματὸς ἀντιπράττοντος καὶ ὥσπερ τεχνίτης ἐν ὕλῃ τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιδείκνυται τέχνην, οὐδὲν παρ᾽ αὑτῆς πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον σκοπὸν ἐ μποδιζόμενος οὕτως ὁ διδάσκαλος ἐν τοῖς μαθηταῖς τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιστήμην ἐργάζεται ἔχων πειθηνίους, καὶ πρὸς μηδὲν ἀντιλέγοντας. ### English translation (Claude) If, then, the one who fights against the passions needs so much knowledge and experience, let those who have taken on the leadership of others know how much knowledge they need, so that they may guide those under them wisely to the prize of the upward call and teach them plainly all the tricks of deceit; so that they do not merely shape the gestures of victory in the air, like shadow-boxers, but in the very battle with the adversary deal blows that land, so as not to strike the air in vain with their hands, but the adversary himself. For this contest is harder than the contest of the gymnasium: there the bodies of athletes are thrown and can easily be set upright again; here it is souls that fall, and once overturned they can hardly be raised up. If someone still boxing his way through the life of passion, and stained with blood, [undertakes] to build a temple of God out of rational souls, such a man will surely hear, “You shall not build [a house] for me, for you are a man of blood.” For it belongs to a [peaceful] state to build a temple to God. And Moses, by taking the tent and pitching it outside the camp, shows that the teacher must be [outside] the tumult of war and must live far from the bloodstained camp, settled in a peaceful life free from war. When such teachers are found, with disciples who have so denied themselves and their own wills … as to differ in nothing from a body without a soul, or from material laid before a craftsman, [then], just as the soul does what it wills in the body, with the body in no way resisting, and as a craftsman displays his own art in his material, hindered by it in nothing from his purpose, so the teacher works the knowledge of virtue in his disciples, since he has them obedient and contradicting him in nothing. ### Scripture references - Phil 3:14: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:26: allusion, high confidence - 1 Chr 28:3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Chr 22:8: quotation, medium confidence - Exod 33:7: allusion, high confidence - Matt 16:24: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The prize of the upward call: Phil 3:14. Not beating the air: 1 Cor 9:26. “You shall not build a house for me, for you are a man of blood”: 1 Chr 22:8; 28:3 (to David). The tent outside the camp: Exod 33:7. Denying oneself: Matt 16:24. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed (marked …); the Greek runs on across the second. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 41 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/41). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 42 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-42 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Disciples should trust their teacher as passengers trust a helmsman, and renounce everything without holding back, remembering Ananias. ### Greek text Τὸ γὰρ περιεργάζεσθαι τὰ; τοῦ διδασχάλου οἶχονομίας, καὶ δοκιμάζειν ἐθέλειν τὰ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ προστασσόμενα, ἐμποδίσαι τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐστὶ προκοπῇ οὐδὲ γὰρ πάντως, ὅπερ εὔλογον καὶ πιθανὸν φαίνεται τῷ ἀπείρῳ, τοῦτο καὶ ἀληθῶς εὔλογόν ἐστιν. γὰρ ὁ τεχνίτης, καὶ ἄλλως ὁ ἄτεχνος κρίνει τὰ τῆς τέχνης κανόνι γὰρ ὃ τῇ ἐπιστήμῃ κέχρηται, ὁ δὲ τῷ εἰκότι τὸ δὲ εἰχὸς, ὀλιγάκις μὲν στοχάζεται τῆς ἀληθείας, τὰ δὲ πολλὰ μᾶλλον τῆς ὁρθότητος πρὸς τὴν ἀπάτην ἔχων τὴν συγγένειαν. Τί γὰρ κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον ἀλογώτερον δοχεῖ τοῦ τὸν χυδερνήτην πλαγίας φερομένης τῆς νηὸς κατὰ τὸν πρὸς ὄρθιον ὑπὸ τῶν ναυτιχῶν καλούμενον πλοῦν ἐπὶ τὸν βαπτιζόμενον τοῖχον προστάσσειν καθῆσθαι, ἀφέντας τὸν ὑπερανεστῶτα, καὶ τοῦ ἀνέμου πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μᾶλλον ὠθοῦντος, καὶ ἀνατρέποντος; ἐφ᾽ ᾧ βαρεῖν ἐκέλευσε, καὶ μὴν τὸ εἰχὸς ἐπὶ τὸν ἐπανιστάμενον βαρεῖν τοῖχον συμβουλεύειν οὐχὶ διατρέχειν ἐπὶ τὸν κινδυνεύοντα ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως τῷ χυδερνήτῃ πείθονται μᾶλλον οἱ ἐμπλέοντες, ἣ ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐπινοίαις πείθει γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἡ ἀνάγχη δουλεύειν τῇ τέχνῃ τοῦ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐγχεχειρισμένου, χἂν τὸ πιθανὸν ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων μὴ ἔχῃ τὸ γινόμενον. Οὐχ οὖν οἱ ἐπιστρέψαντες ἑτέρους τὴν οἰκείαν σωτηρίαν, ἀφἐντες τὰ εἰκότα, τῇ τέχνῃ τοῦ εἰδότος παραχωρείτωσαν τῶν ἰδίων λογισμῶν, ἀξιοπιστοτέραν τὴν ἐχείνου κρίνοντες ἐπιστήμην; Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ἀποτασσόμενοι, μηδὲν ἔξω χαταλιμπανέτωσαν, μηδὲ τὸ βραχύτατον, δεδοικότες τὸ τοῦ ᾿Ανανίου ὑπόδειγμα, ὃς ἀνθρώπους νοσφίζεσθαι νομίσας, θεόθεν τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ κλοπῇ ἐδέξατο καταδίκην. ### English translation (Claude) For to meddle with the teacher's arrangements, and to want to test what he orders, is to hinder one's own progress; for not everything that seems reasonable and plausible to the inexperienced is truly reasonable. The craftsman judges the matters of his craft one way, the unskilled another: the one uses knowledge as his rule, the other likelihood; and likelihood only rarely hits the truth, but for the most part has more kinship with deceit than with correctness. What seems more unreasonable, by appearances, than the helmsman who, when the ship is carried sideways on what sailors call the beat to windward, orders the passengers to sit on the side that is going under, leaving the side that is raised up, though the wind is pushing and overturning the ship toward the very side he told them to weigh down? Likelihood would advise weighing down the side that is rising, not running across to the side in danger. Yet those on board obey the helmsman rather than their own ideas; for necessity persuades them to serve the art of the one entrusted with their safety, even if what is done is not plausible from what they see. Should not those, then, who have entrusted their own salvation to others leave likelihood aside and yield their own reasonings to the art of the one who knows, judging his knowledge more trustworthy? And first, when they renounce the world, let them leave nothing outside, not even the smallest thing, fearing the example of Ananias, who, thinking he was keeping back something from men, received from God the sentence for his theft. ### Scripture references - Acts 5:1–5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Ananias: Acts 5:1–5. The sailing example is translated as printed; the manoeuvre described is Nilus's illustration of an order that seems unreasonable to the unskilled. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 42 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/42). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 43 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-43 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Renunciation must be total, like Elisha slaughtering his oxen and Christ's command to the rich man; then kin and family must be forgotten. ### Greek text ὡς ἑαυτοὺς, οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἑαυτῶν πάντα ἐπιδιδότωσαν, εὖ εἰδότες, ὅτι τὸ συνεχῶς πρὸς ἑαυτὸ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀνέλχον, ἐπὶ πολὺ μὲν περισπάσει τῶν κρειττόνων, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ τέλεον ἀποῤῥῆξει τῆς ἀδελφότητος. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ τοὺς βίους τῶν ἁγίων ἀνέγραψε τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἵνα ἕκαστος τῶν ἥντινα οὖν ἐπιτηδευόντων ἀγωγὴν ἐξ ὁμοίων ὑποδειγμάτων προσαγάγηται τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, Πῶς οὖν ὁ συντασσόμενος τῷ διδασκάλῳ ἀπετάξατο τῷ Ἠροτρία, φησὶ, ἐν καὶ δώδεκα ζεύγη βοῶν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσφαξε τὰς βοὺς, καὶ αὐτὰς ἐν τοῖς σκεύεσι τῶν βοῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ θερμὸν τῆς προθυμίας αἰνίσσεται οὐ γὰρ εἶπε Πωλήσω τὰ ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν, καὶ καθηκόντως οἶχονομήσω, ὅτ πραθέντα ταῦτα, πλείονα χρείαν ἀνοίσειν ἔμελλεν ἐλογίσατο ὅλος δὲ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας γενόμενος τῆς ἑλκούσης αὐτὸν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ διδασκάλου ἐπιουσίαν, κατεφρόνησε τῶν ὁρωμένων, καὶ μᾶλλον ὡς περισπώντων ἀπὸ τῆς προθέσεως ἀπαλλαγῆναι ἐσπούδασεν, εἰδὼς τὴν ἀναβολὴν καὶ μεταμελείας αἰτίαν γενομένην πολλάκις, Πῶς δὲ ὁ Κύριος τῷ πλουσίῳ τὴν τελειότητα τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν ὑποτιθέμενος βίον, πωλῆσαι τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δοῦναι πτωπροσέταττε, καὶ μηδὲν ἑαυτῷ καταλείπειν, εἰ μὴ τὸ χαταλιμπανόμενον ἔδει ὁμοίω:; τῷ παντὶ περισπασμοῦ αἴτιον γινόμενον; Νομίζω δὲ καὶ τὸν Μωσέα τοὺς ἀφαγνίζειν ἑαυτοὺς ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ βουλομένους εὐχῇ διὰ τοῦ προστάσσειν ἅπαν ξυρᾶσθαι τὸ σῶμα, τὴν παντελῆ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων ἐπ τάσσειν ἀπόθεσιν, ᾽δεύτερον δὲ συγγενείας, καὶ οἰκειότητος οὕτως ἐπιλανθανέσθωσαν, ὡς; μηδόλως ταῖς τούτων μνήμαις Ἐνοχλεῖσθαί ποτε. ### English translation (Claude) [And] as they hand over themselves, so let them hand over all that is theirs, knowing well that what continually draws the mind back to itself will distract it greatly from better things and later tear it away completely from the brotherhood. That is why the Holy Spirit recorded the lives of the saints: so that each of those who practise any manner of life whatever may be brought to the truth by examples like his own. How then did the one who joined himself to his teacher renounce the world? “He was ploughing,” it says, “with twelve yoke of oxen before him; and he slaughtered the oxen and [boiled] them with the oxen's gear.” This hints at the warmth of his eagerness. For he did not say, “I will sell the yokes of oxen and manage the matter properly,” reckoning that once sold they would meet more needs; but, having become wholly given to the desire that drew him to his teacher's company, he despised visible things and was eager rather to be rid of them as distracting him from his purpose, knowing that delay has often become a cause of regret. And why did the Lord, setting before the rich man the perfection of the godly life, command him to sell his possessions and give to the poor and leave nothing for himself, unless whatever was left would equally become a cause of distraction? I think Moses too, in commanding those who wish to purify themselves in the great vow to shave the whole body, commands the complete renunciation of possessions. Second, let them so forget kin and family that they are never troubled at all by memories of them. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 19:19–21: quotation, high confidence - Matt 19:21: allusion, high confidence - Num 6:18: allusion, medium confidence - Num 8:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Elisha: 1 Kgs 19:19–21. The rich man: Matt 19:21. The “great vow” is the Nazirite vow (Num 6:2, LXX “great vow”), which shaves the head (Num 6:9, 18); shaving the whole body is prescribed for the Levites (Num 8:7). Nilus appears to combine the two. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 43 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/43). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 44 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-44 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The cows that drew the ark without turning back to their calves, and Joseph sent on to Dothan, teach detachment from family. ### Greek text γὰρ τὰς βοῦς τὰς ἐν τῇ ἁμάξῃ τῆς χιδωτοῦ ὑποἐπιλαθέσθαι τῆς φύσεως ἡ χιδωτὸς ἐποἔγχος, καὶ τῶν μόσχων αὐταῖς ἀποχλεισθέντων οἴκοι, καὶ οὐδενὸς τοῦ βιαζομένου, ἀμέμπτως ἤνυσαν τὴν ὁδὸν, οὐχ ἐκκλίνασαι δεξιὰ ἣ ἀριστερὰ, οὐδὲ τῇ περίστροφῇ τοῦ αὐχένος τὴν πρὸς τὰ τέκνα στοργὴν ἐπιδειξάμεναι, οὐδὲ μυχηθμῷ τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ διαζεύξε: τῶν ἐγγόνων ὀδύνην ἐμφανίσασαι ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ βάρει τῆς κιβωτοῦ θλιβόμεναι, καὶ τῇ τῇς φύσεως τυραννίδι τραχηλιζόμεναι, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ κανόνι βαδίζουσαι, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς εὐθείας παρετράπησαν, τῆς περὶ τὴν φύσι συμπαθείας ἡττηθεῖσαι τῷ τῆς ἐπικειμένης χιθωτοῦ σεβασμίῳ διατί μὴ καὶ τοῖς τὴν νοητὴν αἴρειν μέλλουσι χιδωτὸν τὸ αὐτὸ πρακτέον Ἔδει μὲν οὖν καὶ πλέον, ἵνα μὴ παρὰ τῆς ἀλόγου φύσεως ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις ἔργοις ἡ λογικὴ παρασκευὴ μετρουμένη ἐλέγχηται τὸ μὴ πράττειν ἐκεῖνα λογισμῷ, ἅπερ ἀνάγκῃ πράττει τὰ ἄλογα. Ἴσως δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ διὰ τοῦτο πλανᾶται κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον, ἐπειδὴ ἐκ τῶν τῆς συγγενείας ὀνομάτων ἐζήτει: τὸν τῆς τελειότητος ὅρον. καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἄνθρωπος πυνθανόμενος παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς πλάνης, καὶ μαθὼν ὅτι ἣ τῶν οἰκείων ἐστὶ προσπάθεια οὐ γὰρ ἂν βότχειν αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ ποιμαίνειν εἶπεν, εἰ μὴ μένην εἶχεν ἐπὶ τῆς τέχνης τὴν χρίσιν φησὶ γὰρ πρὸς αὖτόν ᾿Απῆλθον ἐντεῦθεν, ἤκουσα γὰρ αὐτῶν λεγόντων Πορευθῶμεν εἰς δὲ ἐρμηνεύεται, ε ἔκλειψις ἰχανή διδάσκων τὸν ἐν τοῖς περὶ τὸ σῶμα φίλον ἔτι πλανώμενον, ὅτι οὐχ ἔστιν ἄλλως ἐπιτυχεῖν τῆς τελειότητος, μὴ ἱκανῶς ἐκλείποντα τὴν περὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα τῆς σαρχὸς προσπάθε: αν. ### English translation (Claude) For [if] the cows yoked to the wagon of the ark [were made] to forget nature, with the ark [driving] them, and, though their calves had been shut up at home and no one forced them, they finished the road blamelessly, turning aside neither to the right nor to the left, not showing their love for their young by turning their necks, nor showing by lowing their pain at being parted from their offspring, but, pressed by the weight of the ark and throttled by the tyranny of nature, walking as if along a ruler, they nowhere turned from the straight way, their natural affection having been overcome by reverence for the ark laid upon them, why should not those who are to carry the spiritual ark do the same? They ought indeed to do more, lest the rational make-up, measured in necessary works against irrational nature, be convicted of not doing by reason what irrational animals do by necessity. Perhaps Joseph, too, wanders in the desert for this reason, since he was seeking the limit of perfection among names of kinship. And the man who [directs] toward the truth asks him the cause of his wandering, and learns that it is attachment to his own family (for he would not have said “feeding” them but “shepherding” them unless … judgment about the craft); and he says to him, “They have gone away from here; for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to [Dothan],’” which is interpreted “a sufficient leaving,” teaching the one still wandering among the dear things of the body that there is no other way to attain perfection than by sufficiently leaving behind attachment to one's kin in the flesh. ### Scripture references - 1 Sam 6:7–12: allusion, high confidence - Gen 37:15–17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The cows and the ark: 1 Sam 6:7–12 (where the cows are said to low as they go; Nilus says the opposite, apparently from memory). Joseph's wandering and the man's words: Gen 37:15–17 (LXX Δωθαΐμ, whose name is lost in the scan; Nilus explains it as “sufficient leaving,” ἔκλειψις ἱκανή). The parenthesis about “feeding” and “shepherding” is damaged and obscure; translated as far as the text allows. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 44 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/44). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 45 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-45 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Leaving kin is necessary for perfection; newly renounced monks should keep stillness, which is hard at first but heals the mind. ### Greek text Κἂν γὰρ ἀπολίπῃ τις τὴν Χαρὰν, ὅπερ σημαίνει τὰς αἰσθήσεις τρῶγλαι γὰρ ἑρμηνεύονται, καὶ ἐκ τῇ: κοιλάδος Χεβρὼν ἐξέλθοι, τῶν ταπεινῶν ἔργων, χα ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμου, καθ᾽ ἣν ἡ πλάνη γίνεται τῷ ζητοῦντι τὴν τελείωσιν εἰς ὃὲ τὴν ἔκλειψιν μὴ … μετοιχή σγ,, οὐδὲν ὄφελος αὐτῷ τῆς μακρᾶς ταλαιπωρίας, διὰ τὸ περὶ τὴν συγγένειαν φίλτρον λισλένῳ τῆς τελείοτητος. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπιτιμῶν τῇ Θεοτόχῳ Μαρίᾳ ἐν τοῖς συγγενέσιν ἀναζητούσῃ αὑτὸν καὶ τὸν φιλοῦντα τὸν πατέρα ὃ μητέρα ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἀνάξιον ἑαυτοῦ κρίνων, πρεπόντως ἔκλειψιν τῶν συγγενικῶν ὑποτίθεται δεσμῶν. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν τούτων κατόρθωσιν συμβουλευτέον αὐτοῖς, εἴ τινες εἶεν ἔτε νεωστὶ τῶν θορύδων ἀπηλλαγμένοις ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, καὶ μήτε συνεχέσι προόδοις τὰ διὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐγγινόμενα τραύματα τῇ διανοίᾳ ἀναξαίνειν, μηδὲ τοῖς παλαιοῖς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων εἰδώλοις ἐπιφέρειν ἑτέρας μορφὰς, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκκλίνειν μὲν τὴν νεαρῶν προσβολὴν, ἔχειν δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν σπουδὴν πρὸς τὸ ἐξαλεῖψαι τὰς παλαιὰς φαντασίας. Ἑπίπονος μὲν γὰρ τοῖς νεωστὶ ἀποτασσομένοις ἡ ἡσυχία τότε γὰρ καιρὸν λαβοῦσα ἡ μνήμη, πᾶσαν ἀνακινεῖ τὴν ἐγκειμένην ἀκαθαρσίαν, οὐ σχολάζουσα πρότερον τουτὸ ποιεῖν διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν περισσευόντων πραγμάτων. Ἔχει γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ ἐπιπόνου καὶ τὸ ὠφέλιμον ἀπαλλάττουσα τὸν νοῦν τῷ χρόνῳ τῆς τῶν μιαρῶν ὀχλήσεως λογισμῶν. Εἰ γὰρ αὐτοὺς ἐκνίψασθαι πρόκειται τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ θεραπεῦσαι πάντων τῶν μολυνόντων, ἀναχωρεῖν πάντων τῶν πραγμάτων ὀφείλουσι, δι᾽ ὧν ὁ ῥύπος αὔξεται, καὶ πολλὴν τῷ λογιστικῷ παρέχειν τὴν γαλήνην, καὶ μακρὰν τῶν ἐρεθιζόντων γενέσθαι, καὶ τὰς τῶν οἰχειοτέρων φεύγειν συνδιαιτήσεις, μόνωσιν ἀσπαζομένου; τὴν τῆς φιλοσοφίας μητέρα. ### English translation (Claude) For even if someone leaves Haran, which signifies the senses (for it is interpreted “holes”), and comes out of the valley of Hebron, that is, of humble works, and out of the desert in which the wandering befalls the one seeking perfection, yet does not move on to the “leaving” …, there is no benefit for him in his long hardship, since because of his love for his kin he has fallen short of perfection. Moreover the Lord, rebuking Mary the Theotokos when she sought him among the relatives, and judging one who loves father or mother above him unworthy of himself, fittingly teaches the leaving behind of the bonds of kinship. After success in these things, one should advise those who are still newly freed from tumults to keep stillness, and neither by continual outings to reopen the wounds that come into the mind through the senses, nor to add other forms to the old idols of their sins, but to turn aside from the attack of new ones and to give all their zeal to wiping out the old fantasies. Stillness is indeed laborious for those who have newly renounced the world; for then memory, finding its opportunity, stirs up all the impurity lying within, which it had no leisure to do before because of the multitude of affairs surrounding it. But along with the toil it has its benefit too, freeing the mind in time from the harassment of foul thoughts. For if their aim is to wash the soul clean and heal it of all that defiles, they ought to withdraw from all the affairs by which the dirt increases, to give the reasoning faculty much calm, to be far from what provokes, and to flee living together with their own family, embracing solitude, the mother of philosophy. ### Scripture references - Gen 11:31: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 37:14: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 2:44–49: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:37: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Haran, Hebron and the leaving (Dothan) continue the figurative reading of Gen 11:31 and 37:14–17; the explanation of Haran as “holes” is a traditional etymology. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (marked …); the Greek runs on across a second one (ταλαιπω|ρίας). “Theotokos” (“Mother of God”) is Nilus's title for Mary; the rebuke he refers to is Luke 2:44–49 (cf. Matt 12:46–50). Loving father or mother above Christ: Matt 10:37. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 45 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/45). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 46 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-46 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Beginners should stay in stillness and avoid crowds, as Israel stayed indoors from the destroyer and the young Joshua kept to the tent. ### Greek text δὲ εὐχερὲς τοῖς αὐτοῖς πάλιν δικτύοις, ὧν ἀπηλλάχθαι ἐνόμισαν, ὅταν ἀδεῶς τοὺς πεφυρμένους ὄχλους συνδιαιτᾶσθαι σπουδάζωσιν. ᾿Αλυσιτελὲς γὰρ τῷ μετοιχησαμένῳ πρὸς ἀρετὴν τὸ τοῖς αὐτοῖς χαίρειν πράγμασιν, ὧν καταγνοὺς ἀπέδρα ὁλκὸν γὰρ ἡ συνήθεια ὡς δέος εἶναι, μὴ τὴν ἐκ πολλῆς σπουδῆς ἐγγινομένην ἡσυχίαν τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων πάλιν καὶ μνήμας τῶν ἐπιλελησμένων κακῶν ἐργάσωνται. Ἐοικε γὰρ ὁ νοῦς τῶν ἔναγχος τῆς κακίας ἀναχωρησάντων σώματι ἐκ μακρᾶς ἀναλαμβάνειν ἀρξαμένῳ, ῳ καὶ ἡ τυχοῦσα πρόφασις τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν νόσον ἀναλύσεως αἰτία γίνεται μήπω πρὸς ἰσχὺν παγέτω κραταιοτέραν. γὰρ καὶ τούτων οἱ γοερὰ πόνοι, καὶ χραδαίνονται ὡς δέος εἶναι, μὴ παλινδρομήσῃ τὸ πάθος. Πεφυκὸς ἐκ τῆς ἐν τος; ὄχλα; ἀναχύσεως διερεθίζεσθαι. Διὰ τοῦτο μένειν ἐντὸς τῶν κλισιάδων τοὺς μηδὲν παθεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀλοθρευτοῦ βουλομένους ὁ Μωῦσῆς ἐκέλευσε λέγων ε ἐξελεύσεσθε ἕκαστος τὴν θύραν τοῦ οἴκου ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ὁλοθρευτὴς ἅψηται ὑμῶν. Καὶ ὁ Ἱερεμίας ὃς τοῦτο προστάσσειν ἔοικεν, ὅταν λέγει Μὴ ἐκπορεύεσθε εἰς ἀγρὸν, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς μὴ βαδίζετε, ὅτι ῥομφαία τῶν ἐχθρῶν κυκλόθεν. γενναίων γὰρ ἀγωνιστῶν τὸ ὁμόσε χωρεῖν τοῖς πολεμίοις, καὶ τὴν τούτων ἐπιβουλὴν διαφεύγειν ὼς. Εἰ δέ τις εἴη τῶν οὐδέπω μάχεσθαι δυναμένων τὸ ἀνεπτρεάστω; οἶχο: μενίτω, ἀκίνδυνον … ἐκ τῆς ἡσυχία; ᾿ἑξαυτῷ ποριζόμενος. Τοιοῦτος ἣν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται Ὁ δὲ θεράπων Ἰησοῦς νέος ὧν οὐχ ἐξεπορεύετο ἔξω τῆς σκηνῆς Ἔδει γὰρ τοὺς ἐπὶ τὸ πεδίον μένους ὑπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τοῦ σώματος καὶ τῇ σαρχὶ φίλων διὰ τὴν πρόωρον ἅμιλλαν ἀναιρουμένους ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὸν πεπαιδευμένο: ἱστορίας. ### English translation (Claude) … it is easy [to be caught] again in the same nets from which they thought they had been freed, when they are careless and eager to live among the confused crowds. For it is unprofitable for one who has migrated to virtue to take pleasure in the same affairs that he condemned and fled; for habit drags one along, so that there is reason to fear that [such company] may undo the stillness won with much zeal from shameful practices, and work up again the memories of evils forgotten. For the mind of those who have recently withdrawn from vice is like a body beginning to recover from a long [illness], for which any chance pretext becomes a cause of relapse into sickness, since it is not yet set firm in stronger health. Their labors too are still fresh and they waver, so that there is reason to fear that the passion may run back, since it is apt to be provoked by the dissipation that comes in crowds. That is why Moses commanded those who wanted to suffer nothing from the destroyer to stay inside their doors, saying, “You shall not go out, each of you, from the door of your house, so that the destroyer may not touch you.” And Jeremiah seems to command this when he says, “Do not go out into the field, and do not walk in the roads, for the sword of the enemies is round about.” For it belongs to noble champions to close with the enemy and to escape his plots; but if someone is one of those not yet able to fight, let him stay in his house that none may enter, providing for himself, out of stillness, a life free from danger. Such was Joshua the son of Nun, of whom it is written, “But the attendant Joshua, being young, did not go out of the tent.” For those who [went out] to the plain had to be killed by the brothers of the body and the friends of the flesh, because of their premature contest, as … the story [shows]. ### Scripture references - Exod 12:22–23: quotation, high confidence - Jer 6:25: quotation, high confidence - Exod 33:11: quotation, high confidence - 2 Sam 2:14–16: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The destroyer and the doors: Exod 12:22–23. Jeremiah: Jer 6:25. Joshua in the tent: Exod 33:11. The premature contest on the plain is perhaps the young men of Abner and Joab who killed one another (2 Sam 2:12–16); the end of the section is damaged and the identification is uncertain. A little Latin debris has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 46 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/46). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 47 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-47 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Dinah's curiosity warns against undertaking what is beyond one's strength; one must withdraw so far that even the noise of the world ceases. ### Greek text Οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὴν Δίναν ἔστιν ἀκριβῶς καταμαθεῖν, ὅτι χοριχῆς ὄντως: καὶ χδοὺς ἐστὶ διχνοίας, τὸ τοῖς ὑπὲρ τὴν οἰχΞίαν ἐγχειρεῖν, καὶ τῆς περὶ αὐτῶν ὡς ἱκανῶν ὑπολήψεως ἀπατᾶσθαι. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ αὕτη προχείρως ἐπα πεδύσατο τὴν τῶν ἐγχωρίων πραγμάτων θεωρίαν, ὡς δυνατὴ δὲ … δῆθεν, καὶ μηδόλως ἐκ τῆς τούτων θελχθῆναι τέρ… οὐχ ἂν ἀώρως τὸ κριτικὸν διεφθάρη τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν αἰσθητῶν φαντασίας, οὕπω νομίμως ἀνδρείῳ ὁμιλήσασα λόγῳ. Τοῦτο τὸ κάθος εἰδὼς ἐμπολιτευόμενον ὁ Θεὸς τοὶς ἀνθρώποις τὸ τῆς οἰήσεως: λέγω, καὶ βουλόμενος αὐτὸ τῆς ἕξεως ἀνασκᾶσαι τῆς ἡμετέρας, φησὶ πρὸς τὸν νομοθέτην Μωϋσέα ε Εὐλαβεῖς ποιήσατε τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ, ὡς τό γε προχείρως τοῖς ὑπὲρ τὴν δύναμιν ἄθλοις ἑπαποδύεσθαι, ἀλλότριον εὐλαβείας εἰδώ; οὐχοῦν οὐ κτέον ἑαντοὺς πρὸ ἧς ἔξιως τελείας θορύδοις ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ποῤῥωτάτω φευκτέον, μακρὰν τῶν περιηχούντων ψόφων ἱστῶντας τὴν διάνοιαν οὔτε γὰρ μέγα ὄφελο; τῶν αγμάτων ἀναχωρήσαντας ταὶς περὶ αὐτῶν φήμαις περικτυπεῖσθαι, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐχλιπόντας τῶν ἐνεργειῶν τῇ πύλῃ καθάπερ παραχαθέζεσθαι τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἀναπιμπλαμένους ταραχῆς, ἔξω δὲ κατὰ τὸν μέγαν Μωῦσὴν ἀναχωρητέον, ἵνα μὴ μόνον τὰ ἔργα, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ φωναὶ τούτων παύσωνται ὥς φησιν Ὅταν ἐξέλθω τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἐκπετάσω τὰς χεῖρας μου, αἱ φωναὶ παύσωνται. ### English translation (Claude) Not least from the story of Dinah one can learn exactly that it belongs to a girlish and childish mind to undertake things beyond one's [power], and to be deceived by thinking oneself capable of them. For had she not rashly ventured on the sight of the affairs of the region, as though she were able … supposedly, and in no way to be charmed by their delight …, the judging faculty of her soul would not have been corrupted before its time by the fantasy of things of sense, since she had not yet lawfully consorted with manly reason. God, knowing that this passion dwells in human beings (I mean conceit), and wishing to dig it out of our state, says to the lawgiver Moses, “Make the sons of Israel cautious,” knowing that to strip rashly for contests beyond one's strength is foreign to caution. So we must not [throw] ourselves into tumults before reaching a perfect state, but must flee them as far as possible, setting the mind far from the noises that sound around it. For it is no great benefit, having withdrawn from affairs, to be battered by reports about them, and, having left the city of activities, to sit as it were beside its gate, filled with the tumult that comes from there. Rather one must withdraw outside, as the great Moses did, so that not only the works but even their sounds may cease, as he says, “When I go out of the city and spread out my hands, the sounds will cease.” ### Scripture references - Gen 34:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Lev 15:31: quotation, high confidence - Exod 9:29: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Dinah: Gen 34:1–2. “Make the sons of Israel cautious”: Lev 15:31 (LXX). Moses: Exod 9:29 (LXX “the sounds will cease”). Two stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 47 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/47). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 48 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-48 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As a riverbed can be seen only when the stream is checked upstream, the mind can be cleansed of passions only when the senses stop feeding it. ### Greek text Τότε γὰρ ἡ ἀληθὴς γίνεται γαλήνη, ὅταν μὴ μόνον αἱ ἐνέργειαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ περὶ αὑτῶν μνῆμαι σχολάζουσαι καιρὸν τῇ ψυχῇ δυνηθῆναι τοὺς ἐνεσφραγισμένους τύπους ἰδεῖν, καὶ πρὸς ἔκαστον αὐτῶν ἀγωνίσασθαι, καὶ ἐκκόψαι τῆς διανοίας. μένων ἑτέρων, καὶ ἑτέρων μορφῶν, οὔτε τοὺς προγεγενημένους τύπους ἀπαλεῖψαι δυνατόν τοῦ λογιστικοῦ τοῖς ἐπιγινομένοις προσασχολουμένου καὶ τὸν πόνον αὐτοῖ; τὸν πρὸ; τὸ ἐκκόψαι τὰ πάθη, ἀνάγκη γενέσθαι χαλεπώτερον, ἰσχὺν χτησαμένων ἐκ τῆς κατ᾽ ὀλίγον αὐξήσεω;, καὶ δίκην ποταμῶν ἀδιαστάτῳ φορᾷ ταῖς ἐπεισρεούσαις φαντασίαις τὸ διορατικὸν ἐπιχλυζόντων τῆς ψυχῆς. Ὡς γὰρ οἱ ποταμοῦ ῥεῖθρον ἐθέλοντες ἰδεῖν ξηρὸν ἴσως τινῶν ἱστορίας ἀξίων ἐναποκειμένων, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦσιν ἑξαντλοῦντες τὸ κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνον τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ τὸ ζητούμενον ἀποκεῖσθαι νομίζουσι. Τοῦ χενουμένου … τὴν χώραν εὐθὺ; ἀναπληροῦντος τοῦ ἐπεισρέοντος, Ὅταν δὲ τὴν ἄνωθεν φορὰν ἀναστείλωσιν, ἀκαμάτως αὐτοῖς τὸ ἔδαφος ἀναφαίνεται τοῦ καταλειφθέντος ὕδατος αὐτομάτως ὑποχωροῦντος, καὶ ξηρὰν αὑτοῖς παραχωροῦντος τὴν γῆν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ποθουμένων ἱστορίαν, οὕτως καὶ τὸ κενωθῆναι τὰς ποιητικὰς τῶν παθῶν μορφὰς εὔκολον γίνεται, μηχέτι τῶν αἰσθήσεων τὰ ἔξωθεν ἐπιχορηγουσῶν. Τούτων ὃὲ ἐπιπεμπουσῶν δίκην ῥεύματος τὰ αἰσθητὰ, οὐ μόνον δυσχερὲς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀδύνατον καθαρεῦσαι πάντη τὸν νοῦν τῆς τοιαύτης πλημμύρας. Κἂν γὰρ μὴ τὰ πάθη διὰ τὰ; συνεχεῖς συντυχίας καιρὸν χινήσεως οὐχ εὑρίσκοντα, ἀλλὰ γοῦν λεληθότως ὑποστρεφόμενα πλέον ἀδρύνεται τὴν ἐκ τοῦ χρόνου ἰσχὺν λαμβάνοντα. ### English translation (Claude) For true calm comes about when not only the activities but also the memories of them cease, giving the soul the opportunity to see the marks stamped on it, to wrestle with each of them, and to cut them out of the mind. But while other and yet other forms [are being stamped] on it, it is not possible to wipe out the marks made earlier, since the reasoning faculty is kept busy with those that keep arriving; and the toil of cutting out the passions must become harder, since they gain strength by growing little by little and, like rivers, flood the seeing faculty of the soul with the unbroken stream of fantasies flowing in. For just as those who want to see a riverbed dry, because perhaps some things worth seeing lie at the bottom, gain nothing by bailing out the spot where they think what they seek is lying …, since the inflow at once fills the space again; but when they check the current from above, the bottom appears to them without labor, as the water left behind withdraws of itself and yields them the dry ground for viewing what they desire: so also the emptying out of the forms that produce the passions becomes easy when the senses no longer supply things from outside. But while the senses send in the objects of sense like a stream, it is not only difficult but impossible to cleanse the mind altogether of such a flood. For even if the passions, because of continual encounters, find no opportunity to stir, they nevertheless return secretly and grow coarser, gaining strength from time. ### Translation notes - Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column inside the river comparison have been removed; the Greek runs on across the first, and a few words are lost at the second (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 48 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/48). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 49 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-49 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Passions must be destroyed while small, like Babylon's seed or the infants of Ps 137, before the 'ant' becomes a 'lion.' ### Greek text Καὶ ὥσπερ ἢ συνεχῶς πατουμένη γῆ, χἂν ἔχῃ ἀκάνθας, οὐκ ἀναδίδωσι μὲν αὐτάς κωλύει γὰρ τὴν φυὴν ἡ τριβὴ τῶν ποδῶν, βαθείας δὲ ἐν τοῖς ταύτης κόλποις τὰς ῥίζας ἐνδιατείνουσα εὐερνεῖς, καὶ πάνυ τεθηλυίας, ὅταν καιροῦ τοῦ συγχωροῦντος τὴν ἀνατολὴν λάβηται, εὐθὺς οὕτω τὰ πάθη ταῖς συνεχέσι συντυχίαις παραχύπτειν εἰς φανερὸν χωλυόμενα, ἀλκιμώτερα γίνεται, καὶ ἡσυχίας εὐπορήσαντα, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ῥώμης ἐπιτίθεται, βαρὺν, καὶ ἐπικίνδυνον τοῖς ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς πρὸς αὑτὰ μάχης ποιοῦντα τὸν πόλεμον. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ προφήτης ἐξολοθρεῦσαι σπέρμα ἐκ Βαβυλῶνος … ὡς ἔτι ἐν ταῖς τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἀποθήκαις εἰσὶν … αἱ μορφαὶ ἀφανίσαι συμβουλεύων αὐτὰς, ἵνα μὴ τῇ τῆς διανοίας ἐμπεσοῦσαι γῇ καὶ τοῖς λαύροις, καὶ ἀνωφελέσιν ὑετοῖς τῆς ἑπαλλήλου μελέτης ποτισθεῖσαι πολύχουν τὸν τῆς κακίας καρπόν. Ἕτερος δὲ προφήτης καὶ μακαρίζει τοὺς μηδὲ τὴν ἀκμὴν τῶν παθῶν ἐκδεχομένους, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτῇ προσπεφυχότας τῇ θηλῇ ε Μακάριος, λέγων, ὃς κρατήσει, καὶ ἐδαφιεῖ τὰ νήπιά σου πρὸς τὴν πέτραν. Τάχα δὲ καὶ ὁ μέγας καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν φιλοσοφῶν, τοιοῦτόν τινα αἰνίσσεται ἐν ὕδατι μὲν θάλλειν πάπυρον, καὶ βούτου μον λέγων, στερωθεῖσαν δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ πᾶσαν βοτάνην ξηραίνεσθαι, καὶ τὸ μυρμηχόλεων δὲ ὥλετο παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βοράν. Τοιοῦτόν τι σημαίνειν ἔοικε τὸ γὰρ ἐνεδρευτικὸν τοῦ πάθους δεῖξαι θελήσας ὁ μέγας Ἰὼβ,, σύνθετον ἐξεῦρεν αὐτῷ τὴν προσηγορίαν, ἐκ τοῦ θρασυτάτου λέοντος, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ πάντων εὐτελεστάτου μύρμηκος συνθεὶς τὸ ὄνομα. Αἱ μὲν γὰρ προσβολαὶ τῶν παθῶν εὐτελῶν ἄρχονται φαντασιῶν, χοὸς δίκην λανθανόντως προσέρπουσαι τὰ τελευταῖα ἐπὶ μέγαν ἐξαίρεται ὄγκον, ὡς οὐχ ἔλαττον λέοντος ἐπιδρομῆς τῷ παρέχειν τὸν κίν Διὸ χρὴ τὸν ἀγωνιστὴν τότε παλαίειν πρὸς τὰ πάθη, ὅταν, ὡς μύρμηξ, προσέρχωνται τὴν εὐτέλειαν προελόμενα ἐὰν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν τοῦ λέοντος φθάσωσιν ἰσχὺν προελθεῖν, γ ΚΑ γίνεται, καὶ ἐκθλίβουσιν ἰσχυρῶς, δεῖ βορὰν αὐτοῖς μὴ παρέχειν. Βορὰ δὲ τούτων, ἤδη πολλάκις εἴρηται, αἱ διὰ τῶν αἰσθητῶν εἰχόνες ἐρχόμεναι τῶν εἰν όνεςαὗται γὰρ τρέφουσι τὰ πάθη, ἔκαστον εἰδωλον ἐκ διαδοχῆς ὁπλίζουσαι κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς. ### English translation (Claude) And just as ground that is constantly trodden, even if it has thorns, does not send them up (for the trampling of feet prevents their growth), but stretches their roots deep within its bosom, thriving and in full vigor, so that as soon as it gets an opportunity that allows them to sprout they come up at once: so the passions, prevented by continual encounters from peeping out into the open, become stronger, and when they find stillness they attack with great force, making the war heavy and dangerous for those who are at the beginning of the battle against them. That is why the prophet [advises] destroying the seed from Babylon … while the forms are still in the storehouses of the senses, advising us to obliterate them, so that they may not fall upon the soil of the mind, and, watered by the violent and useless rains of repeated dwelling on them, [yield] an abundant fruit of vice. Another prophet even blesses those who do not wait for the passions to come to their prime, but [strike them] while they still cling to the breast: “Blessed,” he says, “is he who will seize your little ones and dash them against the rock.” Perhaps the great [Job], too, philosophizing on his own, hints at something of this kind when he says that the papyrus and the reed flourish in water, but that every plant deprived of the river withers; and that “the ant-lion perished for lack of food.” He seems to signify something of this kind. For the great Job, wishing to show the ambushing nature of passion, invented a compound name for it, composing the name from the boldest of creatures, the lion, and the cheapest of all, the ant. For the assaults of the passions begin from cheap fantasies, creeping in unnoticed like dust, and at the last swell to a great bulk, so as to bring danger no less than the onrush of a lion. Therefore the contestant must wrestle with the passions while they approach like an ant, having chosen to look cheap; for if they get ahead and advance to the strength of the lion, they become … and press hard. One must not provide them with food. Their food, as has often been said, is the images that come through the objects of sense; these feed the passions, arming each idol in turn against the soul. ### Scripture references - Jer 50:16 (27:16 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Ps 137:9 (136:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Job 8:11–12: allusion, high confidence - Job 4:11: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Destroy the seed from Babylon”: Jer 50:16 (LXX 27:16); two long stretches of Migne's Latin column follow and have been removed (marked …). “Blessed is he who will seize your little ones”: Ps 137:9 (LXX 136:9). Papyrus and reed: Job 8:11–12. “The ant-lion (μυρμηκολέων) perished for lack of food”: Job 4:11 (LXX). The reading of the Babylonian infants as the first stirrings of passion is traditional (e.g. Origen, Against Celsus 7.22). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 49 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/49). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 50 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-50 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The latticed temple windows teach guarding the senses with the thought of judgment; Ahaziah's fall through the lattice shows what happens otherwise. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῷ ναῷ τὰς θυρίδας διχτυωτὰς ὁ νομοθέτης κατεσκεύασε σημαίνων, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς ὡς ναὸν, καθαρὰν τὴν ἑαυτῶν διάνοιαν φυλάττειν βουλομένους, χαθάπερ ἐκεῖ διχτυωταῖς πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν εἰσέρπειν τῶν ἀκαθάρτων χατεσχευάσθῃ. Οὕτως ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι χωλύματα λογισμῶν ἐνδιαπλέκειν, τὰ δυσχερῆ τῆς μελλούσης χρίσεως, ταῖς εἰσερπούσαις μορφαῖς ἀκαθάρτοις ἐπιγινομέναις τὴν εἴσοδον. Καὶ τάχα διὰ τοῦτο Ὀχοζίας ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ δικτυωτοῦ ἔπεσε τὸ γὰρ τοὺς τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως λόγους ἐν καιρῷ τῶν πειρασμῶν παραλογίσασθαι κατενεχθέντα ἐπὶ τὰς ἡδονὰς, ἀπὸ τοῦ διχτυωτοῦ πεσεῖν ἐστι. Τί δὲ ταύτῆς τῆς ἐστὶ χαλεπώτερον Σώματος μὲν γάρ ἔστιν τὸ παρὰ φύσιν ἔχειν, τῆς τῶν στοιχείων ἰσονομίας, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐπικρατείας εἰς τὸ παρὰ φύσιν, ἐπιτραπείσης ᾿ ψυχῆς δὲ τὸ ἐκκλῖναι τοῦ ὀρθοῦ λογισμοῦ τοῖς νοσοποιοῖς ἡττηθείσης Τοιαῦτα δίκτυα τῇ ὁράσει τοῦ ἀκούειν δυναμένου ὁ Σολομὼν λέγων Οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, ὅταν ἴδωσιν ἀλλοτρίαν, τὸ στόμα σου τότε λαλῆσαι σκολιά σκολιά λέγων τὰ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν … ἀπαντᾷν μέλλοντα ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως … γὰρ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης χαταστάσεως ἀπείργει πᾶσαν ἐπικίνδυνον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν θεωρίαν. Εἶπε καὶ τὴν κατάστασιν τοῦ λογισμοῦ ὁποίαν εἶναι δεῖ κατὰ τὸν χαιρὺὸν ἐκεῖνον ε Κατάκεισαι γὰρ, φησὶν, ὥσπερ ἐν καρδίᾳ θαλάσσης, καὶ ὡς χυδερνήτης ἐν πολλῷ κλύδωνι. ### English translation (Claude) That is why the lawgiver made the windows of the temple latticed, signifying that those who wish to keep their mind pure like a temple must, just as there the windows were made latticed so that nothing unclean might creep in, in the same way weave into the senses the hindrances of thoughts, the terrors of the judgment to come, [blocking] the entry of unclean forms as they creep in. And perhaps for this reason Ahaziah fell from the lattice: for to miscount the words of recompense at the time of temptations, being carried down to pleasures, is to fall from the lattice. And what is harder than this [illness]? For the body, being contrary to nature means the balance of the elements turned to what is against nature by the dominance of one of them; for the soul, it means turning aside from right reason, overcome by what causes disease. Such nets for the sight [Solomon sets out] for one who is able to listen, saying, “When your eyes see a strange woman, then your mouth will speak crooked things,” calling “crooked” the things that follow sin, … that will meet him at the time of recompense. For with the proper state he keeps away every dangerous gazing of the eyes. He also said what the state of the reasoning must be at that time: “For you will lie down,” he says, “as in the heart of the sea, and as a helmsman in a great storm.” ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 6:4: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Prov 23:33: quotation, high confidence - Prov 23:34: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The latticed windows: 1 Kgs 6:4 (cf. Ezek 41:16); Nilus ascribes them to “the lawgiver.” Ahaziah's fall through the lattice: 2 Kgs 1:2. Solomon: Prov 23:33–34 (LXX). A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 50 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/50). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 51 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-51 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The trained mind does not feel the blows of temptation; the war of the four kings against the five of Sodom figures the war of the objects of sense against the senses. ### Greek text Ἐὰν γὰρ δυνηθῇ τις ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς πρὸς τὴν ἐρεθίζουσαν ὄψιν μάχης, οὕτω: ἑαυτὸν ἐναγώνιον ποιῆσαι ταῖς ἠπειλημέναις τιμωρίαις, ὡς ὁ ἐν θαλάσσῃ χειμαζόμενο; ἀπόνως περίεστι τῶν προσπαλαιόντων, μὴ αἰσθόμενος τῶν προσφερομένων πληγῶν, ὥς εἰπεῖν ε Ἔτυπτόν με, καὶ οὐχ ἐπόνεσα, καὶ ἐνέπαιζόν με, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐχ ἤδειν. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ἔτυπτον, φησὶ, ἐμπαίζειν ἐνόμιζον. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδὲ τῶν πληγῶν ἡσθόμην βέλη γὰρ νηπίων ἧσαν, οὔτε πρὸς τὰ; ἀπάτας αὐτῶν ἐπεστράφην, τὸ δεὶ προσποιούμενος. Οὕτως γὰρ καὶ ὁ Δαβὶδ καταφρονῶν τῶν τοιούτων ἀντιπάλων ἔλεγεν ε ᾿Εχχλίνοντος ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τοῦ πονηροῦ οὐχ ἐγίνωσκον, ὅτε προσῆλθον, φησὶν, ὅτε ἀνεχώαἴσθησιν ἐλάμβανον. Ὁ δὲ μηδὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο εἰδὼς ὅτι ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι πρὸς τὰ αἰσθητὰ κοινωνία μὲν ἔστι πολλὴ, ἀπάτη δὲ ἐκ τῆς κοινωνία; εὐχερῶς γίνεται. Ὁ δὲ μὴ τὴν ἐκ τούτων βλάβην ὑφορὼμενος, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφυλάκτως αὐτῶν ἐμφορούμενος, πῶς … τῷ καιρῷ τῆς ἀπάτης γνώσεται τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν, μὴ προπαιδευθεὶς τὴν τούτων διάκρισιν Ὅτι γὰρ ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι μάχη γίνεται πρὸς τὰ αἰσθητὰ, καὶ φόρους ἐπιτάσσουσι ταῖς ἡττημέναις αἰσθήσεσι τὰ αἰσθητὰ, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς Σοδομίτας τῶν ρίων πολέμου. Ἱστορικῶς γὰρ ἡ Γραφὴ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν τῶν τεσσάρων βασιλέων τοῦ ᾿Ασσυρίων ἔθνους εἰσάγει πρὸς τοὺς πέντε βασιλεῖς τῶν περὶ Σόδομα, πρῶτον μὲν συμφωνίαν, καὶ σπονδὰς, καὶ θυσίας εἰρηνικὰς ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αλυχὴν θάλασσαν εἶτα δουλείαν τῶν πέντε ἐπὶ δώδεκα ἔτη εἶτα τῷ τρισκαιδεκάτῳ ἀποστασίαν ἐν δὲ τῷ δεκάτῳ πόλεμον ἐπιθεμένων τῶν τεσσάρων τοῖς πέντε καὶ αἰχμαλώ τους λαβόντων αὑτούς. ### English translation (Claude) For if someone, at the time of battle against the sight that provokes him, is able so to make himself contend with the punishments that have been threatened that, like a man storm-tossed at sea, he comes through without pain from those who wrestle against him, not feeling the blows they deal, he will say, “They struck me and I felt no pain; they mocked me, and I did not know it.” “They struck me,” he says, “and thought they were mocking me; but I did not even perceive the blows, for they were the arrows of children; nor did I turn to their deceits, pretending not to know.” So also David, despising such adversaries, said, “When the evil one turned away from me, I did not know it”: “I did not perceive,” he says, “when they came near, nor when they withdrew.” But one who does not even know this, that the senses have much communion with the objects of sense, and that deception easily arises from that communion; one who does not suspect the harm that comes from them … but fills himself with them unguardedly, how will he recognize the plot at the time of deception, not having been trained beforehand to discern these things? For that the senses wage war against the objects of sense, and that the objects of sense impose tribute on the senses they have defeated, is clear from the war of the [kings] against the Sodomites. For Scripture introduces as history the matter of the four kings of the Assyrian nation against the five kings around Sodom: first agreement and treaties and peace offerings at the Salt Sea; then the servitude of the five for twelve years; then, in the thirteenth year, rebellion; and in the [fourteenth], war, the four attacking the five and taking them captive. ### Scripture references - Prov 23:35: quotation, high confidence - Ps 64:7 (63:8 LXX): allusion, medium confidence - Ps 101:4 (100:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gen 14:1–12: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “They struck me and I felt no pain …”: Prov 23:35 (LXX). Children's arrows: Ps 64:7 (LXX 63:8). David: Ps 101:4 (LXX 100:4). The war of the kings: Gen 14:1–12; the printed text says the war came “in the tenth” year, where Genesis has the fourteenth (Gen 14:5); probably a lost syllable. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed; the Greek runs on across the first (ὑφορώ|μενος) and a few words are lost at the second (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 51 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/51). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 52 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/36/#p-52 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: From childhood the senses serve their objects; reason must rebel and stay firm, or the soul falls like the kings of Sodom into the bitumen pits. ### Greek text Καὶ ἡ μὲν ἱστορία ὧδε τὸ τέλος ἔχει ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας ταύτης παιδευόμεθα τὰ καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ τὸν τῶν αἰσθήσεων πρὸς τὰ αἰσθητὰ διδασκόμεθα πόλεμον. Ἕκαστος γὰρ ἡμῶν ἀπὸ γενέσεως ἄχρι τῶν δώδεκα ἐτῶν, οὕπω τὴν διάκρισιν κεκαθαρμένος ὑποτίθεται εἰς δουλείαν ἀνεξετάστως, τὰς αἰσθήσεις τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς χαθάπερ δεσπόταις ὑπουργούσας πρὸς τὰ κελευόμενα, ὅρασιν μὲν ὁρατοῖς, ἀκοὴν δὲ φωναῖς, γεῦσιν δὲ χυμοῖς, ἀτμοῖς δὲ ὄσφρησιν, ἁφὴν δὲ τοῖς αὑτὴν κινεῖ τὴν αἴσθησιν πεφυχόσιν αἰσθητοῖς, οὐδὲ μίαν τῶν ἀντιλήψεων διακρῖναι, καὶ λῦσαι δυνάμενος διὰ τὴν νηπιότητα. Ὅταν δὲ ὁ λογισμὸς ὑφαδρύνεσθαι μέλλῃ, καὶ τῆς βλάβης ἄρξηται αἰσθάνεσθαι, ἀποστασίαν εὐθὺς ἐννοεῖ καὶ … φυγὴν τῆς τοιαύτης δουλείας, χἂν μὲν ἰσχυρὸς γενόμενος τῷ λογισμῷ ταύτην βεβαιώσῃ τὴν κρίσιν, ἐλεύθερος εἰς ἅπαν διαμένει, πικροὺς ἀποδράσας δεσπότας. Εἰ δὲ ἀσθενεστέραν τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος ἔχει τὴν χρίσιν, πάλιν αἰχμαλώτους τὰς αἰσθήσεις προδίδωσιν ἡττημένας τῇ τῶν αἰσθητῶν δυναστείᾳ, καὶ τὴν δουλείαν λοιπὸν τυραννικὴν ὑπομενούσας χωρίς τινος χρηστῆῇς ἐλπίδο;. Διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ ἱστορίᾳ πέντε βασιλεῖς ἡττηθέντες παρὰ τῶν τεσσάρων συνελαύνονται εἰς φρέατα ἀσφάλτου, ἵνα ἡμεῖς μάθωμεν, ὅτι οὐ τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἧττη μένοι, ὥσπερ βαράθροις ἣ φρέασιν ἐκάστῃ αἰσθήσει, τὸ αὑτὴν ἐγκαταστρέφουσιν, αἰσθητὸν, πλέον τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐννοοῦντες λοιπόν διὰ τὸ τοῖς ἐν Ὁ δῆσαι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, καὶ τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν ἐν ταῦθα πραγμάτων ἠγαπηκέναι μᾶλλον τῶν νοητῶν ### English translation (Claude) Such is the end of the story. But from this story we are taught about ourselves, and we learn the war of the senses against the objects of sense. For each of us, from birth until twelve years of age, not yet having a cleansed discernment, is placed in an unexamined servitude, the senses serving the objects of sense as masters in whatever they command: sight serving visible things, hearing sounds, taste flavors, smell odors, and touch the objects of sense that naturally move it; and through infancy he is unable to discern or resolve any of these perceptions. But when the reasoning is about to mature and begins to perceive the harm, it at once thinks of rebellion and … of flight from such servitude. And if, having become strong in its reasoning, it confirms this judgment, it remains free for ever, having escaped bitter masters. But if its judgment is too weak for the undertaking, it again betrays the senses as captives, defeated by the power of the objects of sense, and enduring thenceforth a tyrannical servitude without any good hope. That is why the five kings in the story, defeated by the four, are driven together into the bitumen pits, so that we may learn that those defeated by the objects of sense are [cast], as into pits or wells, into the object of sense that overturns each sense, thinking of nothing beyond what is seen, because they have bound their desire to the things here and have loved the enjoyment of present affairs more than spiritual things. ### Scripture references - Gen 14:4: allusion, high confidence - Gen 14:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The bitumen pits: Gen 14:10. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column after “rebellion” has been removed (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 52 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/52). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 53 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-53 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The slave who chooses to stay, the woman who seized the wrong thing, and Lot's wife show the danger of turning back to the world after renouncing it. ### Greek text Οὕτως καὶ ὁ ἡγαπηχὼς τὸν κύριον ἑαυτοῦ δοῦλος καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ τὰ παιδία, τὴν ἀληθῆ παραιτούμενος ἐλευθερίαν, διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὰ σωματικὰ συγγένειαν, δοῦλο; αἰώνιος γίνεται, μετατρηθεὶς ὀπητίῳ τὸ οὖς, ἵνα μὴ τῇ φυσικῇ τῆς ἀκοῆς ἀκούων ὁπῇ, δέξηταί ποτε λόγον ἐλευθερίας ἀλλὰ δοῦλος διηνεκῶς τὰ παρόντα ἢγαπηκώς. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τῆς ἐπιλαβομένης τῶν αἰδοίων γυναικὸς, ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας, ἀποχότεῖν ὁ νόμος ἐκέλευσεν, ὅτ μάχης οὔσης τῶν λογισμῶν περὶ τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν χοσμιχῶν καὶ τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγαθῶν, τούτων ἀφεῖσα τὴν αἵρεσιν, τῶν τῆς γενέσεως ἐδράξατο, καὶ φθορᾶς διὰ γὰρ τῶν γεννητικῶν τὰ γενέσεως ἐδήλωσε πράγματα. Οὐδὲν οὖν ὄφελος τὸ ἀποτάξασθαι τοῖς πράγμασι μὴ ἐπιμένοντας χρίσει, ἀλλ᾽ ὑποσύρεσθαι πάλιν, καὶ ὑπενδοῦναι τῷ λογισμῷ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο συνεχῶς ἐπὶ τὰ καταλειφθέντα στρέφεσθαι, καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα κηρύσσειν προσπάθειαν, ὡς ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ὑποστραφεῖσα ἔστηκεν ἕως νῦν, ὑπόδειγμα τοῖς ἀπειθοῦσι μεταβληθεῖσα εἰς στύλην ἁλός. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ συνήθεια, ἧς σύμβολον αὕτη, τοὺς ἀναχωρεῖν ἀμεταστρεπτὶ βουλομένους, πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἐπιστρέφουσα. Τί δέ φησι καὶ ὁ κελεύων νόμος τὸν εἰσἐρχόμενον εἰ: τὸν ναὸν μετὰ τὸ τελέσαι τὰ τῆς εὐχῆς Μὴ ἐπ᾽ ἐκείνην ἀναχάμπτειν τὴν πύλην, δι᾽ ἧς εἰσελήλυθεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῆς ἄντικρυς ἐκπορεύεσθαι ἀνεπίστροφον τῇ χατ᾽ εὐθὺ πορείαν ποιούμενον, ἣ τὸ μὴ χρῆναι τὴν σύντονον τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν εὐθύτητος ἐκλύειν ἐνδοιασμοῖς. Αἰ συνεχεῖς πρὸς τὰ, ἀφ᾽ ὧν παντελῶς ἀπὸ τῆς συνηθείας ἐπὶ τὰ ὀπίσω ἕλκουσι, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω χαυνώσασαι ὁρμὴν, ὅλην πρὸς τὴν, καὶ ὑπονοστῆσαι ἐπὶ τὰ ἀρχαῖα παραδχευάκακά ### English translation (Claude) So too the slave who loves his master, and his wife and children, and refuses true freedom because of his kinship with bodily things, becomes a slave for ever, his ear pierced with an awl, so that, hearing through the natural opening of hearing, he may never receive a word of freedom, but remain perpetually a slave, having loved the things that are present. That is why the law commanded that the hand of the woman who seized a man's private parts, when two men were fighting, be cut off: because, when there was a battle of thoughts over the choice between worldly and heavenly goods, she let go the choice of the latter and seized the things of generation and corruption; for by the parts of generation it indicated the affairs of generation. There is no benefit, then, in renouncing worldly affairs if one does not abide by that judgment but is dragged back again and gives in to one's reasoning, and therefore continually turns back to what was left behind and proclaims one's attachment to it, as the wife of [Lot] turned back and stands to this day, changed into a pillar of salt, an example to the disobedient. Such is habit, of which she is a symbol: it turns back to itself those who wish to withdraw without turning round. And what does the law mean that commands the one who enters the temple, when he has finished his prayer, not to go back by the gate through which he came in, but to go out by the one opposite, making his course straight and without turning, except that one must not loosen with hesitations the intense straightness of the way toward virtue? For continual [glances] toward the things from which one has [departed] completely drag one back by habit, and slacken the forward impulse, [turning] it wholly toward …, and prepare a return to the old evils. ### Scripture references - Exod 21:5–6: allusion, high confidence - Deut 25:11–12: allusion, high confidence - Gen 19:26: allusion, high confidence - Ezek 46:9: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 10:7 (Wisdom of Solomon): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The slave's pierced ear: Exod 21:5–6. The woman in the fight: Deut 25:11–12. Lot's wife: Gen 19:26; “stands to this day … an example to the disobedient” echoes Wis 10:7. Going out of the temple by the opposite gate: Ezek 46:9. The end of the section is damaged; lost words are marked “…” or supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 53 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 54 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-54 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Habit becomes a second nature; the soul sits on its idols like Rachel, giving form to formless things like wealth and glory. ### Greek text … Δεινὸν γὰρ ἡ συνήθεια κατασχεῖν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν, καὶ μὴ συγχωρῆσαι πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν πρώτην ἕξιν διαναστῆναι τῆς ἀρετῆς ἕξις μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ συνηθείας ἀπὸ δὲ ἕξεως φύσις ἐγγίνεται φύσιν δὲ μετακινῆσαι, καὶ μεταβαλεῖν χαλεπόν χἂν γὰρ χλιθῇ μιχρὴν βίᾳ, ταχέως πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἀνατρέχει, σαλευομένη μὲν τῶν οἰκείων ὄρων, οὐ μὴν εἰς τὸ πᾶν μετακινοῦσα, εἰ μὴ πάλιν πολὺς πόνος αὐτῇ διὰ τῆς αὐτῇ: ὁδοῦ παλινδρομῆσαι παρασκευάσει ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν χαταλειφθεῖσαν ἕξιν ἀπὸ τῆς συνηθείας ἐπανελθεῖν. Ὅρα γὰρ τὴν ἐθισμοὶς ἀκολουθοῦσαν ψυχὴν, πῶς εἰδώλοις ἐπικαθέζεται προσηλώσασα ταῖς ἀμόρφοις ὅλαις ἑαυτὴν, καὶ πρὸ; τὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ὑψηλὰ χειραγωγεῖν ἐθέλοντα λόγον οὐ προσιεμένη τὴν συνανάβασιν, λέγουσα ε Οὐ δύναμαι ἀναστῇ σαι. … ἐνώπιόν ὅτι κατὰ θεσμὸν τῶν γυναικῶν μοί ἐστιν. Ἡ γὰρ τοῖς τοῦ βίου πράγμασιν ἀπὸ πολλῶν χρόνων ὑπαναπαυομένη ψυχὴ εἰδώλοις ἐπικαθέζεται, τοῖς ἐξ ἑαυτῶν μὲν ἀμόρφοι: ς, τέχνῃ δὲ ἀνθρωπίνῃ τὴν μορφὴν δεχομένοις ἣ γὰρ οὐκ ἄμορφον πρᾶγμα πλοῦτος, καὶ δόξα, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα, οὐδὲν ἔχοντα τρανὸν, οὐδὲ διηρθρωμένον ὁμοιότητι δὲ εὐπαραγώγῳ ψευδόμενα τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῷ καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἄλλας ἐξ ἄλλων δέχεσθαι τὰς μεταβολάς μορφὴν δὲ περ τιθῶμεν αὐτοῖς ἡμεῖς, ὅταν οἷς πρὸς μηδὲν τῶν λυσιτελῶν χρήσιμον φαντασίαν διὰ τῶν ων λογισμῶν. … ### English translation (Claude) … For habit is terrible at holding one fast to itself and not allowing one to rise again to the first state of virtue. For a settled state comes from habit, and from a settled state comes a nature; and nature is hard to move and change. For even if it is bent a little by force, it quickly runs back to itself, shaken out of its own bounds but not moved altogether, unless much toil prepares it in turn to run back along the same road, so as to return from the habit to the state it had abandoned. See the soul that follows its habits: how it sits upon idols, nailing itself to formless matter, and does not accept going up with the word that wishes to lead it by the hand to the heights, but says, “I cannot rise … before you, because the custom of women is upon me.” For the soul that has for a long time rested in the affairs of life sits upon idols, things formless in themselves but receiving their form from human art. Is not wealth a formless thing, and glory, and the other affairs of life? They have nothing clear or articulated, but falsify the truth by a misleading likeness, taking on day by day different changes from different causes. It is we who put a form on them, when, through our own thoughts, we give them an appearance that is useful for nothing profitable … ### Scripture references - Gen 31:34–35: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The section begins and ends in long stretches of Migne's facing Latin column, which have been removed (marked …). Rachel sitting on the household idols and saying she cannot rise because “the custom of women” is upon her: Gen 31:34–35. “Habit becomes a nature” is a proverbial saying (cf. Aristotle, Rhetoric 1.11). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 54 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/54). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 55 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-55 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Extravagance gives form to formless things; gluttony is the root from which love of money, anger and sadness grow. ### Greek text Ὅταν γὰρ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τοῦ σώματος χρείαν εἷς ἀμήχανον πολυτέλειαν, τὴν μὲν τροφὴν μυρίοις παραρτύοντες, τὰ δὲ ἐνδύματα πρὸς χλιδὴν καὶ θρύψιν φιλοτίμως ποικίλλοντες εἶτα ἐγκαλούμενοι περὶ τῆς ματαιότητος ταύτης, ὡς εἰκῇ, καὶ μάτην τὴν δι᾽ ὀλίγων πληροῦσθαι δυναμένην χρείαν ἁβροῖς στολοῦντες ἀπολογίας, ὡς περὶ καθηκόντων τί ἕτερον ἣ ταῖς ἀμόρφο: ς ὕλαις μορφὴν περιτιθέναι φιλονεικοῦμεν; Καλῶς δὲ καὶ ἐπικαθεζομένην τούτοις εἴπομεν τὴν τοιαύτην Ψυχήν. Ἢ γὰρ περὶ τῶν εἰρημένων τὰς τοιαύτας παρ᾽ ἑαυτῇ κρίσεις βεβαιώσασα ψυχὴ, προσήλωται τοῖς τῇδε πράγμασιν εἰδώλοις λοιπὸν, καὶ οὐχ ἀληθείᾳ δουλεύουσα, καὶ ταύτῃ οὐ διαναστῆναι δυναμένη, καὶ τοῖς ἐθισμοῖς ὥσπερ ἐμμήνῳ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ τὴν τούτων φύσιν μολύνουσα τὸ δὲ καθέζεσθαι ἀργίαν τῶν καλῶν καὶ φιληδονίαν ἡ Γραφὴ ἐνταῦθα λέγει. ᾿Αργίαν μὲν ὅταν λέγει Καθημένους ἕν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, πεπεδημένους ἐν πτωχείᾳ καὶ σιδήρῳ. Καὶ τὸ σκότος γὰρ, καὶ ἡ πέδη κώλυμα ἐργασίας εἰσί Φιληδονίαν δὲ ὅταν εἴπῃ περὶ τῶν στραφέντων τῇ καρδίᾳ εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους λεγόντων ὅταν ἐχαθήμεθα ἐπὶ τῶν λεβήτων τῶν χρεῶν, καὶ ἠσθίομεν χρέα εἰς πλησμονήν. Ὄντως γὰρ ἐπὶ λεβήτων καθέζονται οἱ ὑγρᾷ καὶ ἀπαύστῳ θέρμῃ τὰς ὀρέξεις ἀναχαιόμενοι Φιληδονίας δὲ ἡ γαστριμαργία μήτηρ. Αὕτη γὰρ τίκτει φιληδονίαν, τάχα δὲ καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἄλλων παθῶν. ᾿Απὸ γὰρ ταύτης, ὡς ῥίζη;, βλαστήματα τὰ λοιπὰ πάθη, καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν τῇ τεχούσῃ προσαναδενδρούμενα οὐρανομήχεις κακίας. Φιλοχρηματία γὰρ, καὶ θυμὸς, καὶ λύπη, γαστριμαργίας εἰσὶν ἔγγονα, καὶ βλαστοί χρεία γὰρ πρῶτον χρημάτων τῷ γαστριμάργῳ πρὸς τὸ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἀεὶ φλεγμαίνουσαν εἰ καὶ αὐτὴ μηδέποτε πληροῦται. Πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐμποδίζοντας τῇ τούτων κτήσει, ἀνάγχη κινεῖσθαι τὸ θυμικὸν, λύπη δὲ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἕπεται τῷ μὴ εἰς ἔργον δι ἀσθένειαν θυμῷ καὶ γὰρ ὁ ἐπὶ τῳ στήθει καὶ τῇ κοιλίᾳ πορευόμενος, ὅταν μὲν ἔχει τὰς ποιητικὰς τῶν ἡδονῶν ὕλας ἐπὶ γαστέρα τοὅταν δὲ τούτων ἀπορῇ, ῥέπει ἐπὶ τὸ στῆθος, ὅπου ὁ θυμός: οἱ γὰρ φιλήδονοι στερούμενοι τῶν ἡδονῶν ὀργίζονται καὶ πικραίνονται. ### English translation (Claude) For when we [turn] the body's necessary need into a limitless extravagance, seasoning our food in ten thousand ways and ambitiously embroidering our clothes for luxury and softness, and then, when we are accused of this vanity, on the ground that the need that could be met with little is being met idly and in vain, we dress it up with elegant defenses as though it were a matter of duty, what else are we doing but striving to put a form on formless matter? And we rightly said that such a soul “sits” upon these things. For the soul that has confirmed within itself such judgments about the things mentioned is thereafter nailed to the affairs of this world as to idols; it serves them and not the truth, it cannot rise up from them, and by its habits it defiles their nature as with a menstrual uncleanness. Here Scripture calls “sitting” both idleness in good things and love of pleasure. Idleness, when it says, “Sitting in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in poverty and iron”; for both darkness and fetters hinder work. Love of pleasure, when it speaks of those who turned in their heart to Egypt and said to one another, “When we sat by the pots of meat and ate meat to the full.” For truly those sit by the pots whose appetites are kindled by a moist and ceaseless heat. Gluttony is the mother of love of pleasure: it gives birth to love of pleasure, and perhaps to many of the other passions as well. From it, as from a root, the other passions sprout, and little by little they grow up along with their mother into vices as high as heaven. Love of money, anger, and sadness are the offspring and shoots of gluttony. For the glutton first needs money for his desire, which is always inflamed, even if it is never filled. Against those who hinder him from acquiring it, his anger must be stirred; and sadness necessarily follows anger that does not come to action through weakness. For the one that goes on its breast and belly, when it has the materials that produce pleasures, [goes] on its belly; but when it lacks them it leans on its breast, where anger is. For lovers of pleasure who are deprived of their pleasures become angry and embittered. ### Scripture references - Ps 107:10 (106:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 16:3: quotation, high confidence - Acts 7:39: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 3:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Sitting in darkness and the shadow of death”: Ps 107:10 (LXX 106:10). The pots of meat: Exod 16:3 (with Acts 7:39, “turned in their heart to Egypt”). Going on the breast and belly: Gen 3:14, of the serpent (cf. Lev 11:42). The sequence gluttony – sexual immorality – love of money – anger – sadness follows the scheme of the eight thoughts familiar from Evagrius. Latin debris at the end of the section has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 55 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/55). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 56 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-56 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Following Philo's allegory of the priestly rites, Nilus distinguishes the perfect, who removes anger and pleasure entirely, from those who master or wash them. ### Greek text ὁ μέγας Μωῦσῇῆς λόγιον ἐπιτίθησι τῷ στήθει τοῦ ἱερέως διὰ συμβόλων παραδηλῶν, ὅτι δεῖ κεκριμένως τὰς ὁρμὰς τοῦ θυμικοῦ πάθους ἡνιοχεῖν τῷ λογισμῷ τὸ γὰρ λόγιον χρίσεως λόγιόν ἐστι καὶ οὗτος μὲν λόγῳ κρατεῖ τοῦ πάθους, ἀτελής ὁ δὲ τέλειος Μωῦσῆς ὅλον τὸ θυμικόν οὗ γὰρ τὸ λόγιον φέρει ἀλλ᾽ αὑτὸ τὸ στηθύνιον ἀφαιρεῖ. Λαβὼν γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸ στηθύνιον ἀφεῖλεν αὐτὸ ἐπίθεμα ἐναντίον Κυρίου. Ἕτεροι δέ εἶσιν οὐ μήτε ὅλον ἐκτεμόντες τὸν θυμὸν, μήτε λόγῳ κρατοῦντες τοῦ πάθους, ἀλλὰ πόνῳ περιγενόμενοι οὗτοι δέ εἶσιν οἱ τὸ στηθύνιον σὺν τῷ βραχίονι ἀφαιροῦντες. Βραχίων γὰρ πόνου καὶ ἐργασίας σημεῖόν ἐστιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ κοιλίας πορεύεσθαι τὴν ἡδονὴν ἀληθέστατον ἔχει· σχεδὸν γὰρ τῶν ἡδονῶν αἰτία ἐστὶν αὕτη πληρωθείσης γὰρ γαστρὸς, ὀρέξεις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἡδονῶν γίνονται σύντονοι ἐνδεῶς δὲ ἐχούσης ἣρεμαῖαι, καὶ σταθερώτεραι μένουσι. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα δέ ἔστι διαφορὰ προκόπτοντος καὶ τελείου Μωῦσῆς μὲν γὰρ τελείως τὴν τῶν βρωμάτων ἡδονὴν ἀποῤῥιπτόμενος, τὴν κοιλίαν καὶ τοὺς πόδας … ὕδατι κοιλίαν μὲν τὴν ἡδονὴν, πόδας δὲ τὰς ἐπιβάσεις καὶ προκοπὰς αἰνιττόμενος. Ὁ δὲ προκόπτων τὰ ἐν κοιλίᾳ οὐ τὴν ὅλην κοιλίαν. Καὶ τὸ, δὲ, καὶ τὸ, πλυνοῦσι, πολλὴν ἔχουσι τὴν διαφοράν τὸ μὲν γάρ ἐστι ἀκούσιον, τὸ δὲ ἐκ προστάξεως περιγενόμενον. ### English translation (Claude) [That is why] the great Moses puts the oracle on the breast of the priest, showing by symbols that one must rein in the impulses of the passion of anger with reasoning, with judgment; for the oracle is the oracle of judgment. And the priest masters the passion by reason, being imperfect; but Moses, the perfect, [removes] the whole of the angry part: for he does not wear the oracle, but takes away the breast itself. “Taking the breast,” it says, “he took it away as a heave offering before the Lord.” Others neither cut out anger altogether nor master the passion by reason, but overcome it by toil; these are the ones who take away the breast together with the arm. For the arm is a sign of toil and work. In the same way, going on the belly most truly belongs to pleasure; for the belly is almost the cause of pleasures: when the stomach is filled, the appetites for the other pleasures too become intense, but when it is in want, they stay quiet and more steady. Here too there is a difference between one who is making progress and one who is perfect. Moses, casting away the pleasure of food perfectly, [washed] the belly and the feet … in water, hinting by the belly at pleasure, and by the feet at steps and advances. But the one making progress [washes] the things in the belly, not the whole belly. And “he washed” and “they shall wash” have a great difference: the one is voluntary, the other is done by command. ### Scripture references - Exod 28:30: allusion, high confidence - Lev 8:29: quotation, high confidence - Lev 7:34: allusion, high confidence - Lev 8:21: allusion, high confidence - Lev 1:9: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Philo, Leg. 3.118–159 (Philo of Alexandria (works)): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The oracle (λόγιον, the breastpiece) of judgment: Exod 28:15, 30. Moses removing the breast: Lev 8:29. The breast with the arm (shoulder): Lev 7:34; 10:15. Moses washing the belly and feet: Lev 8:21; the priests washing the entrails and feet “by command”: Lev 1:9. This whole allegory closely follows Philo, Allegorical Interpretation 3.118–159. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed in the middle of the Moses sentence (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 56 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/56). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 57 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-57 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The belly cannot be cut out as anger can; beginners remove its fat, the advanced its contents, and the perfect cast off all beyond need. ### Greek text γὰρ τὸν μὲν τέλειον αὐτοκελεύστῳ προθυμίᾳ πρὸς τὰς χατ᾽ ἀρετὴν κινεῖσθαι πράξεις, τὸν δὲ προκόπτοντα τοῦ ὑφηγουμένου μενον. Σφόδρα δὲ μένως τὸ μὲν στηθύνιον ὅλον ἀφαιρεῖν, τὴν δὲ κοιλίαν οὐχ ἀφαιρεῖν, πλύνειν δέ ὁ γὰρ σοφὸς ὅλον μὲν τὸν θυμὸν ἰσχύει παραιτήσασθαι ἀποκόψαι, τὴν δὲ κοιλίαν ἐκτεμεῖν ἀδυνατεῖ, Τοῖς γὰρ ἀναγκαίοις σιτίοις ἡ φύσις βιάζεται χρῆσθαι καὶ τὸν ἐγκρατέστατον. Τῆς δὲ μὴ στοιχησάσης τῷ ὀρθῷ καὶ μονίμῳ λόγῳ ψυχῆ, ἀλλὰ Φυχικαῖς ᾿δοναῖς, διὰ τοῦτο πίμπραται ἧ ἐπειδή περ, κἂν αἱ τοῦ σώματος πεῖναι, μένει διψαλέος ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ἀκολουθεῖ δὲ τὸ πρησθῆναι τὴν κοιλίαν διὰ τὸ πεσεῖν τὸν μηρόν γὰρ ἡ διάνοια πρὸς τὴν καλῶν γένεσιν φλεγμαινούσης γὰρ τῆς γαστρὸς ἐκ τῆς τῶν βρωμάτῶν πολυτελείας, καὶ τοὺς πνευματικοὺς ται τόνους τούτου: γὰρ διὰ τοῦ μηροῦ ὁ νομικὸς ἧνίξατο λόγος. Οὐχοῦν ὁ μὲν φιλήδονος ἐπὶ κοιλίαν πορεύεται ὅλος ἐπὶ τὰς ἀπολαυστικὰς ἧδονάς ὁ δὲ ἀρχόμενος τοῦ κατ ἀρετὴν βίου, τὸ στέαρ τῆς κοιλίας περιαιρεῖ, τὰς πιαινούσας τὸ σῶμὰ παραιτούμενος τροφάς. Καὶ ὁ μὲν προκόπτων, τὰ. ἂν τῇ κοιλίᾳ ὁ δὲ τέλειος ὅλην τὴν κοιλίαν, τὰ περιττὰ τῆς ἀναγκαίας χρείας παντελῶς ῥιπτόμενος., ### English translation (Claude) For [it belongs to] the perfect to be moved to virtuous actions by an eagerness that needs no command, but to the one making progress to [need] the [command] of his guide. And very [fittingly] he takes away the whole breast but does not take away the belly, but washes it: for the wise man can decline and cut off anger altogether, but he cannot cut out the belly, since nature compels even the most self-controlled to use necessary food. And in the soul that has not kept to right and steady reason but to [bodily] pleasures, for this reason [the belly] swells; since, even if the body's hungers [are satisfied], desire remains thirsty. And the swelling of the belly is followed by the falling of the thigh; for [the thigh is] the mind's [power] for the begetting of good things. For when the stomach is inflamed by extravagance in food, it [slackens] the spiritual sinews as well; it is these that the word of the law hinted at by the thigh. So the lover of pleasure goes on his belly, wholly [given] to the pleasures of enjoyment; but one who is beginning the life of virtue removes the fat of the belly, declining the foods that fatten the body. The one making progress [removes] the things in the belly; but the perfect, the whole belly, casting away altogether whatever exceeds necessary need. ### Scripture references - Num 5:21–22: allusion, high confidence - Num 5:27: allusion, high confidence - Lev 3:3: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Philo, Leg. 3.148–150 (Philo of Alexandria (works)): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The swelling belly and falling thigh are from the ordeal of the woman suspected of adultery, Num 5:21–27, read figuratively of the soul (as Philo, Allegorical Interpretation 3.148–150). The fat of the belly: Lev 3:3–4. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (the Greek runs on across it). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 57 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/57). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 58 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-58 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Gluttony feeds sexual passion and, like Nebuchadnezzar's 'chief cook' who razed Jerusalem's walls, pulls down every virtue. ### Greek text Πάνυ δὲ προσφυῶς τῷ, ε Ἐπὶ τῷ στήθει, καὶ τῇ πρόσκειται τὸ, ε πορεύσῃ. ν Ἡ γὰρ ἡδονὴ οὐ τῶν ἱσταμένων καὶ ἠρεμούντων, ἀλλὰ τῶν κινουμένων, καὶ ταραχῆς γεμόντων ἐστί, Μᾶλλον δὲ … τούτων γαστριμαργία συγγενέστερον ἡ τῶν … σίων παρ᾽ ὧν καὶ ἡ φύσις τὴν οἰκειότητα τούτων δεῖξαι βουλομένη τῶν παθῶν, ὑπογάστρια τὰ συνουσιαστιχὰ χέχληχεν ὄργανα, ἐκ τῆς ἐγγύτητος τὴν ἀγχιστείαν σημαίνουσα. Ἂν τε γὰρ ἀσθενῇ τοῦτο τὸ πάθος, ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ὑπερχειμένου ἐνδείας ἀσθενεῖ, ἄν τε σφριγᾷ, καὶ διαχεχίνηται, ἐκεῖθεν ἐπιχορηγουμένην ἔχει τὴν δύναμιν. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τούτων ἡ γαστριμαργία ἐστὶ τροφὸς καὶ τιθηνὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντων καθαιρετικὴ τῶν καλῶν. Κρατούσης γὰρ ταύτης, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνημμένης, πίπτειν καὶ καθαιρεῖσθαι τὰ καλὰ πέφυκεν, ἐγκράτεια, σωφροσύνη, ἀνδρία, καρτερία, καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ πᾶσαι ἀρεταί. Τοῦτο γὰρ αἰνιγματωδῶς Ἱερεμίας ἐδήλωσεν εἰπὼν, ὅτι καθεῖλε κύκλῳ τὸ τεῖχος Ἱερουσαλὴμ ὁ ὑὸς τῶν Βαβυλωνίων, τὸ τῆς γαστριμαργίας πάθος ἀρχιμάγειρον προσειπών. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ ἀρχιμάγειρος πᾶσαν ἔχων σπουδὴν γαστέρα θεραπεῦσαι, καὶ τέχνας ἐπινοεῖ μυρίας, ἡδονὰς δημιουργῶν οὕτως ἡ γαστριμαργία πᾶσαν κινεῖ μηχανὴν ὑπηρετοῦσα τῇ κατὰ τὸν λιμὸν ἡδονῇ, καθαιρεῖ δὲ, καὶ ἐδαφίζει τὴν ὀχυρότητα τῶν ἀρετῶν ἡ τῶν βρωμάτων ποικιλία ### English translation (Claude) Very fittingly “you shall go” is added to “on your breast and [belly]”; for pleasure belongs not to those who stand still and are at rest, but to those who are in motion and full of disturbance. Rather, … nothing is more akin to gluttony than … [the pleasures of sex]; and nature too, wishing to show the kinship of these passions, has called the organs of intercourse “parts below the belly,” signifying their close kinship by their nearness. For if this passion is weak, it is weak from the want of the part above it; and if it swells and is excited, it has its power supplied from there. Gluttony is not only the nurse and nurturer of these passions, but also the destroyer of all good things. When it rules and has taken power, the goods naturally fall and are pulled down: self-control, temperance, courage, endurance, and all the other virtues. This Jeremiah showed in a riddle when he said that the chief cook of the Babylonians pulled down the wall of Jerusalem round about, calling the passion of gluttony “chief cook.” For just as the chief cook, putting all his zeal into serving the belly, devises countless arts and crafts pleasures, so gluttony sets every device in motion in the service of the pleasure of the throat, and the variety of foods pulls down and levels the strength of the virtues. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:14: allusion, high confidence - Jer 52:14: allusion, high confidence - 2 Kgs 25:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “On your breast and belly you shall go”: Gen 3:14. The “chief cook” (ἀρχιμάγειρος, the Greek Bible's title for Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard) pulling down the walls of Jerusalem: Jer 52:14; 2 Kgs 25:10 (LXX). The same reading is in Philo and Origen. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed (marked …); the bracketed words are supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 58 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/58). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 59 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-59 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As the barley cake overturned Midian's tents, a frugal diet overthrows sexual passion; virtue is a wall, vice a flimsy tent. ### Greek text Τὰ γὰρ ἡδύσματα, καὶ παραρτύματα τῆς ἤδη καλῶς ἐστηριγμένης ἀρετῆς ἑλεπόλεις γίνεται καὶ μηχανήματα, τὸ πάγιον αὐτῆς, καὶ βέβαιον διασείοντα καὶ καταβάλλοντα. Ὡς δὲ ἡ πολυτέλεια χαθαιρετιχὴ τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐστι, οὕτως πάλιν ἡ εὐτέλεια τὰ τῆς κακίας καταλύειν ὀχυρώματα πέφυκεν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ τεῖχος Ἱερουσαλὴμ τῆς εἰρηνικῆς ψυχῆς ὁ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων ἀρχιμάγειρος πρὸς τὰς ἡδονὰς τῆς σαρχὸς τῇ ὀψαρτυτικῇ τέχνῃ οὕτω καὶ μαγὶς ἄρτου κριθίνου τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν κυλιομένη τὰς σκηνὰς κατέβαλε τῶν Μαδιανιτῶν. Ἡ γὰρ εὐτελὴς δίαιτα χυλιομένη, καὶ προκόπτουσα ἐπὶ πολὺ καταλύει τὰ τῆς πορνείας παθήματα. νῖται γὰρ τῶν τῆς πορνείας παθῶν φέρουσι σύμβολον. Οὗτοι γάρ εἰσι οἱ τὰς πορνείας ἐπαγαγόντες τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἀπατήσαντες τῶν νέων. Πάνυ δὲ προσφνῶς σκηνὰς εἶπε μὲν ἡ Γραφὴ τοὺς Μαδιανίτας ἔχειν, τεῖχος δὲ τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ πάντα γὰρ τὰ περιέχοντα τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐρηρεισμένα ἐστὶ, καὶ βέβαια τὰ δὲ τὴν κακίαν συνέχοντα, μά καὶ σκηνὴ, φαντασίας οὐδὲν διαφέροντα. ### English translation (Claude) For seasonings and relishes become siege-towers and engines against a virtue already well established, shaking and throwing down its firmness and stability. And as extravagance destroys the virtues, so in turn frugality naturally pulls down the strongholds of vice. For just as the chief cook of the Babylonians [pulled down] the wall of Jerusalem, the peaceful soul, for the sake of the pleasures of the flesh, by the art of fine cooking, so too a cake of the Israelites' barley bread, rolling along, overturned the tents of the Midianites. For a frugal diet, rolling along and advancing far, destroys the passions of sexual immorality. The Midianites bear the symbol of the passions of sexual immorality, for they were the ones who brought sexual immorality upon Israel and deceived a great crowd of the young. And very fittingly Scripture said that the Midianites have tents but Jerusalem a wall; for everything that encloses virtue is firmly grounded and stable, but what holds vice together is … and a tent, differing in nothing from a fantasy. ### Scripture references - Judg 7:13: allusion, high confidence - Num 25:6: allusion, medium confidence - Num 31:16: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The barley cake and the Midianite tent: Judg 7:13. The Midianites and Israel's sexual sin: Num 25:6–18; 31:16. A word describing vice's dwelling is lost (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 59 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/59). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 60 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-60 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The saints fled the cities and lived simply, like Elijah, Elisha and John the Baptist; the manna teaches living one day at a time. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο τὰς πόλεις ἔφυγον οἱ ἅγιοι, καὶ τὰς συντυχίας ἐξετρέποντο τῶν πολλῶν, μᾶλλον δὲ λοιμικῆς νόσου φθοροποιὸν εἰδότες τὴν τῶν διεφθαρμένων ἀνθρώπων συνδιαίτησιν. Διὰ τοῦτο μηδὲν λαβόντες, μηλοβότους τὰς κτήσεις ἠφίεσαν, τὸν ἐκ τούτων περισπασμὸν παραιτούμενοι. Διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Ἡλίας πὼν τὴν Ἰουδαίαν τὸ Καρμήλιον ὄρος ἔρημον, καὶ θηρίων πεπληρωμένον, καὶ πλὴν δένδρων εἷς παραμύθιον τροφῆς ἔχων οὐδέν ἠρκεῖτο γὰρ τοῖς ἀκροδρύοις, τούτοις τὴν ἀνάγχην τῆς χρείας πληρο… φορῶν. Ὁ δὲ Ἐλισσαῖος ὁμοίως τὴν αὐτὴν εἶχε διαγωγὴν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καλῶν καὶ τὸ ταῖς ἐρήμοις ἐμφιλοχωρεῖν παρὰ τοῦ διδασχάλου διαδεξάμενος. Καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης μὲν τὴν ἔρημον οἰκῶν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, ἀκρίδας ἤσθιε, καὶ μέλι ἄγριον, δεικνὺς τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸ τῆς πρὸς ζωὴν χρείας τοῦ σώματος, καὶ ὀνειδίζων αὐτοῖ; τὴν πεφορτισμένην ἀπόλαυσιν. Τάχα δὲ καὶ χαθολιχὼς τοιοῦτον ὁ Μωῦσῆς τίθησι νόμον περὶ τοῦ μάννα τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις παραγγέλλων τὸ τῆς ἡμέρας εἰς ἡμέραν ἄγειν, μόνον ἐφήμερον κεκριμένως κελεύων εἶναι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον, οὐχ ἐμπαράσχευον, πρέπειν ἡγούμενος τοῦτο λογικῇ φύσει, τὸ ἀρκεσθέντα τοῖς παρατυχοῦσι, τῶν λοιπῶν ταμίαν εἶναι τὸν Χριστὸν, ἣ πρόνοιαν ποιούμενος τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, τῷ δὲ δοκεῖν ἀπιστεῖν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι, ὡς μὴ πάντοτε ὀμβρούσῃ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰς ἀεννάους δωρεάς. ### English translation (Claude) That is why the saints fled the cities and avoided encounters with the many, knowing that living with corrupted people is more destructive than a pestilence. That is why, taking nothing, they left their possessions to be grazed by sheep, declining the distraction that comes from them. That is why Elijah [left] Judea for Mount Carmel, a desert full of wild beasts, having nothing for sustenance but trees; for he was content with the fruits of trees, filling with these the necessity of his need …, wearing [a sheepskin]. Elisha likewise had the same manner of life, having received from his teacher, along with his other good things, the love of living in the desert. And John, dwelling in the desert of the Jordan, ate locusts and wild honey, showing the many what the body needs for life and reproaching them for their burdensome enjoyment. And perhaps Moses too lays down such a law in general concerning the manna, when he commands the Israelites to gather each day's portion for that day, deliberately ordering human life to be lived only for the day and not stocked with provisions. He thought it fitting for a rational nature to be content with what comes to hand and to have Christ as the steward of the rest, rather than to take forethought for the future and so seem to distrust the grace of God, as though it did not always rain its everflowing gifts upon human beings. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 18:19: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Kgs 2:8: echo, low confidence - Matt 3:4: allusion, high confidence - Exod 16:4: allusion, high confidence - Exod 16:19: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Elijah on Carmel: 1 Kgs 18:19–42 (the detail of living on the fruits of trees is not in Scripture); his sheepskin: 2 Kgs 2:8. John: Matt 3:4. The manna gathered day by day: Exod 16:4, 19. A few letters of Latin debris have been removed; the word for Elijah's garment is lost (supplied in brackets). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 60 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/60). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 61 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-61 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The saints fled to the desert because beasts, unlike men, do not teach vice; the lions honored Daniel's virtue. ### Greek text Καὶ συλλήβδην εἰπεῖν, διὰ τοῦτο πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι ὧν οὐχ ἣν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος, κατέλιπον τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν ἐρημίαις πλανώμενοι, καὶ ὄρεσι, καὶ σπηλαίοις, καὶ ταῖς ὁπαῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ περιῆλθον, ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, τὰς μὲν χειροήθεις τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀποδιδράσκοντες κακίας, καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὰς πόλεις πλημμυρούντων ἀλλοχότων πραγμάτων, ὡς ἂν μὴ τῇ ῥύμῃ τῆς φορᾶς, καθάπερ ὑπὸ βίας εἰς τὴν τῶν πολλῶν παρενεχθῶσιν ἀδιάφορον ἀνάχυσιν χαίροντες δὲ τῇ μετὰ τῶν θηρίων διαγωγῇ, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτων βλάβην ἐλάττονα τῆς ἐκ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κρίνοντες, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀνθρώπους μὲν ὡς; ἐπιβούλους φεύγοντες, θαῤῥοῦντες δὲ τοῖς θηρίοις ὡς φίλοις οὔτε γὰρ διδάσκει κακίαν ἐκεῖνα, καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν τέθηπε, καὶ τιμᾷ. Οὕτω γοῦν. τὸν Δανιὴλ ἀπώλεσαν μὲν ὡς; ἐδόκουν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, περιέσωσαν δὲ λέοντες, τὸν ἐκ βασκανίας ἀδίκως χαταχριθέντα αὐτοὶ φυλάξαντες, καὶ δικαιοσύνην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παραόδραθευθεῖφεαν, τὴν ὀρθὴν περὶ τοῦ ἀδίκως χαταχριθέντος κρίσιν ἀναχηρύξαντες καὶ γέγονεν ἡ ἀρετὴ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τοῖς μὲν ἀνθρώποις φθόνου καὶ ἔριδος ὑπόθεσι;, τοῖς δὲ θηρίοις αἰδοῦς καὶ τιμῆς ἀφορμὴ, ὅσοι; οὖν ὁ τῆς βελτιώσεως ἔρως ἐνέσπαρται ### English translation (Claude) In a word, this is why all the saints, of whom the world was not worthy, left the inhabited world, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and the holes of the earth, and went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, afflicted: fleeing the tame vices of human beings and the strange affairs that flood the cities, so that they might not be swept away by the rush of the current, as if by force, into the indifferent dissipation of the many; and rejoicing in life among the wild beasts, judging the harm from them less than the harm from human beings; or rather, fleeing human beings as plotters, and trusting the beasts as friends. For the beasts do not teach vice, and they marvel at virtue and honor it. So it was with Daniel: men destroyed him, as they thought, but lions saved him. They guarded the man unjustly condemned out of envy, and [taught] justice to human beings, proclaiming the right judgment about the one unjustly condemned. And the man's virtue became for men an occasion of envy and strife, but for the beasts a ground for reverence and honor. So all in whom the love of improvement has been sown … ### Scripture references - Heb 11:37–38: quotation, high confidence - Dan 6:16–24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The saints “of whom the world was not worthy”: Heb 11:37–38. Daniel and the lions: Dan 6:16–24. The sentence continues in chapter 62. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 61 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/61). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 62 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-62 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Monks should be like Job's wild ass, free of the city's taxes, or like the ass loosed for the Lord's use, grazing on the words of Scripture. ### Greek text Ζηλώσωμεν τὰς τῶν ἁγίων ἀρετὰς, καὶ τῆς δουλείας τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἐπιταγμάτων ἀποστάντες, ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ ἀφεθέντα ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἄγριον ὄνον, καὶ μέμψιν φορολόγου οὐχ ἀκούοντα, καὶ χαταγελῶντα πολυοχλίας πόλεως. Κἂν τοῦ ἀχθοφορεῖν προσπαθείᾳ αὑτὸν κακίας ὑποζεύξαντες, ἀλλὰ γοῦν τῶν δεσμῶν, χἂν ἀντιλέγωσιν οἱ μὴ φύσει κύριοι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ συνηθείας τὴν δεσποτείαν ἐπικτησάμενοι, πάντως ἀκούοντες, εἰ ἀκούσειεν, μὴ γλώττῃ μόνον, καὶ Ψιλῇ φωνῇ, ἀλλὰ διαθέσει λεγόν… των ἡμῶν, ὅτι ὁ Κύριος αὑτοῦ α ἔχει. Εὐθέως ἀποστελοῦσιν αὑτὸν, ἵνα κατακοσμηθεὶς τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἱματίοις, ὄχημα τοῦ Λόγου γένηται, ἣ εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν τοῦ Λόγου ἀπολυθεὶς νομὴν, ὀπίσω παντὸς χλωροῦ ζητῇ, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τοῖ; τεθηλόσι τῆς θείας Γραφῆς ἑπόμενος ῥητοῖς, ὁδηγεῖσθαι εἰς ἀνεπίληπτον βίον, καὶ τροφὴν ὁμοῦ, καὶ τέρψιν καρπούμενος πολλήν. Ἅμα δὲ καὶ ζητητέον, πῶς ὀπίσω παντὸς χλωροῦ ζητεῖ ὁ ἐν ἐρήμῳ ἀφεθεὶς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄγριος ὄνο:, τὴν δίαιταν ἔχων ἔρημον, καὶ τὸ σκήνωμα τῆς ἁλμυρίδος, καὶ τῆ΄ς ἐρήμου, ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον, οὐ πάνυ πρὸς πόας γένεσιν οὔσης ἐπιτηδείου. Εἰ μὴ ἄρα τις εἴποι, τὸν ἔρημον παθῶν ἱκανὸν εἶναι τὴν ἐν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις θεωρίαν, μετὰ τὸ ναἸλωθῆναι τὴν τῶν παθῶν ὑγολσίαυς ### English translation (Claude) … let us emulate the virtues of the saints, and, withdrawing from slavery to the commands of the body, [emulate] the freedom of the wild ass that the Creator let loose in the desert, which does not hear the reproach of the tax-collector and laughs at the crowds of the city. Even if we have yoked ourselves by attachment to the burden-bearing of vice, let us [loose ourselves] from the bonds, even if those who are lords not by nature but have acquired their lordship by habit object; for they will surely hear, if they are willing to listen, those who say, not with the tongue only and the bare voice but with their whole disposition, … that “the Lord has [need] of it.” Then they will send it, so that, covered with the apostolic garments, it may become a vehicle of the Word; or, released into the ancient pasture of the Word, it may seek after every green thing, that is, following the flourishing sayings of divine Scripture, may be guided to a blameless life, reaping food and much delight together. At the same time we must ask how the wild ass let loose in the desert by God seeks after every green thing, though it has the desert for its dwelling and the salt land for its tent, and the desert is for the most part not at all fit for the growth of grass. Unless one were to say that, for one who has become a desert to the passions, contemplation of the divine words is enough, after the … of the passions has been … ### Scripture references - Job 39:5–8: allusion, high confidence - Luke 19:31: quotation, high confidence - Matt 21:3: quotation, medium confidence - Luke 19:35: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The wild ass: Job 39:5–8. “The Lord has need of it”: Matt 21:3; Luke 19:31–34; the apostles' garments on the colt: Luke 19:35. A very long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (marked …); the end of the section is damaged and is translated only as far as the words allow. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 62 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/62). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 63 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-63 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Monks cling to worldly things like children to toys because they do not grasp how much greater the eternal goods are. ### Greek text Καταλίπωμεν τὰ βιωτικὰ πράγματα, καὶ πρὸς τὰ ψυχῆς ἀγαθά. Ἕως πότε τοῖς παιδικοῖς ἀνδρεῖον οὐδέποτε ἀναλαμβάνοντες φρόνημα; Ἕως πότε τῶν κομιδῇ νηπίων ἀσθενέστερον πράττομεν, οὐδὲ ἐκείνων εἰς προκοπὴν τῶν μειζόνων χειραγωγούμενοι; Ἐκεῖνοι γὰρ ἡλικίας ἀμείβοντες, καὶ τὰς πρὸ; τὰ παίγνια καταστάσεις ἀμείβουσι, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰς ὅ ας εὐχερῶς ἀφιᾶσι προσπάθειαν. Κάρυα γὰρ αὐτοῖς τυχὸν, καὶ ἀστράγαλοι, καὶ σφαῖραι τῆς παιδιᾶς ἔστιν ὕλη, καὶ τούτοις μέχρις ἂν τὸ τῆς φρονήσεως ἔχωσι, τίμια νομίζουσι ταῦτα παρασκευάζειν. Ἐὰν δὲ προκόψας τις γένηται ἀνὴρ, ἔῤἐκεῖνα, τῶν πραγμάτων μετὰ πολλῆς ἀντἐχεται σπουδῆς. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τῇ νηπιότητι, τὰ παιδιᾶς, καὶ χλεύης ἄξια εθαυμαχότες, καὶ τὸ τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων ἅψασθαι φροντίδος θέλομεν, καὶ ἀναλαβεῖν λογισμὸν ἀνδράσι πρέποντα ἀλλὰ τοῦτον καταλιπόντες, ἐν ταῖς γηῖναις πράξεσι, γέλωτα παρέχοντες τοῖς ἀκολουθίᾳ φύσεως τὰ πράγματα κρίνουσιν, Ὧ; γὰρ αἰσχρὸν ἄνδρα τέλειον ἰδεῖν ἐν τέφρᾳ καθεζόμενον, καὶ ἐν τῇ χονίᾳ παιδιχὰς τέρψεις διαγράφοντα οὕτως αἰσχρὸν, καὶ πολλῷ αἰσχρότερον, τοὺς τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν πραγματευομένους ἐν τῇ τῶν γηΐνων τέφρᾳ χυλινδομένους ὁρᾷν, καὶ τῇ τῶν ἐπιτηαἰσχύνειν τοῦ ἐπαγγέλματο; τὴν τελειότητα. Τούτου δὲ ἑαἷν αἴτιον, ὡς ἔοικε, ὦ μηδὲν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐννοῆσαι μεῖζον, μηδὲ ἐκ παρᾶν θέσεως τῆς τῶν παρόντων εὐτελείας, τὴν ὑπεροχὴν γνωρίσαι τῶν ἐκεῖ ἀγαθῶν, καὶ περιαυγασθέντας ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἐνθάδε δοχούντων ἀγαθῶν τιμίων λαμπρότητος κατασχεθῆναι, καὶ τούτοις προσδῆσαι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. γὰρ τῇ ἀπουσίᾳ τῶν κρειττόνων τιμᾶτα: τὰ χείρονα, τὴν ἐκείνων κληρονομοῦντα τάξιν Ὥς εἴ γ: Ὧμεν ἔχοντες π: ρὶ τῶν μελλόντων ὑψηΡῈ λοτέραν ἔννοιαν, οὐχ ἂν τούτοι; πρησχεχηνότες … ### English translation (Claude) Let us leave the affairs of this life and [turn] to the goods of the soul. How long [shall we busy ourselves] with childish things, never taking up a manly mind? How long shall we act more weakly than mere infants, not even being led, as they are, to progress to greater things? For they, as they change their age, change their attitude to their toys and easily give up their attachment to [them]. Nuts perhaps, and knucklebones, and balls are the material of their play, and while they have [a child's] understanding they think it a precious thing to procure these. But when one has advanced and become a man, he [lays] those things [aside] and holds to [serious] affairs with great zeal. We, however, in our infancy, admire things worthy of play and mockery, and do not wish to take up care for better things and a reasoning fitting for men; but having abandoned it, we [busy ourselves] with earthly doings, providing laughter for those who judge things according to the order of nature. For as it is shameful to see a grown man sitting in ashes and drawing childish amusements in the dust, so it is shameful, and much more shameful, to see those who trade in the enjoyment of eternal goods rolling in the ash of earthly things, and shaming the perfection of their profession by their pursuits. The cause of this, it seems, is that we think nothing greater than what is seen, and do not recognize, by comparison with the cheapness of present things, the superiority of the goods there; but, dazzled by the brilliance of the things here that are thought to be precious goods, we are held fast by them and bind our desire to them. For in the absence of the better, the worse are honored, inheriting their rank. So if we had a loftier idea of the things to come, we would not be gaping at these things … ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 13:11: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Putting away childish things: 1 Cor 13:11. A stretch of Latin debris in the middle and at the end of the section has been removed; the Greek runs on across the first (γηΐ|νων). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 63 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/63). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 64 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-64 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As sailors throw cargo overboard in a storm and athletes strip to compete, monks must cast off possessions to fight their naked spiritual enemies. ### Greek text ᾿Αρξώμεθα τοιγαροῦν ἀναχωρεῖν τῶν παρόντων κτημάτων, καὶ χρημάτων, καὶ πάντων τῶν βαπτιζόντων τὸν λογισμὸν, καὶ ὑποδρύχιον καταφερόντων ἀποῤῥίψωμεν τὸ φορτίον, ἵνα μικρὸν ἀνανεύσῃ τὸ πλοῖον χειμαζόμενοι καὶ τῶν σκευῶν τὰ πολλὰ, ἵνα ὁ χυδερνήτης νοῦς μετὰ τῶν ἐμπλεόντων διασωθῆναι δυνηθῇ λογισμῶν. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐν θαλάσσῃ πλέοντες χειμαζόμενοι τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἐμπορίας καὶ τὸν φόρτον αὐτόχειρες ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν δευτέραν τῆς ζωῆς τὴν ὕπαρξιν προχρίνοντες, ἵνα μὴ ὑπέραντλον ὃ. τὸ πλοῖον κινδυνεύσῃ τῷ βάρει τοῦ φόρτου καταδυόμενον, τοῦτο τὰ τίμια τῶν κειμηλίων, ἴσως κατὰ τοῦ βυθοῦ ἀκοντίζοντες διατί μὴ καὶ ἡ εἴς διὰ τὴν κρείττονα ζωὴν καταφρονοῦμεν τῶν καθελκόντων εἰς βυθὸν τὴν ψυχήν Διὰ τί μὴ δύναταὶ φόβος ὅσον θαλάσσης δύναται φόβος Ἐκεῖνοι τῆς προσκαίρου ζωῆς ἐπιθυμοῦντες, τὴν τῶν ἀγωγίμων ζημίαν οὐ μέγα κρίνουσιν, ἡμεῖς δὲ τῆς ἀϊδίου ζωῆς ἀντιποιεῖσθαι λέγοντες, οὐδὲ τοῦ τυχόν τος καταφρονοῦμεν, ἀλλ᾽ αἱρούμεθα μᾶλλον τῷ φόρτῳ συναπολέσθαι, ἣ σωθῆναι ἐκείνων ἀποστερούμενοι. ᾿Αποδυσώμεθα οὖν, παρακαλῶ, πάντα γυμνὸς γὰρ ἔστηκεν δ ἀντίπαλος. μὴ γὰρ οἱ ἀθλοῦντες ἐν δεδυμένοι γυμνοὺς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ στάδιον ὁ ὶ ἀθλητιχὸς εἰσάγει νόμος. ἂν θάλπος ἧ, κἂν χρυμὸς, οὕτω: εἰσέρχονται, τὰς ἐσθῆτας ἔξω χαταλιπόντες. Εἰ δέ τις αὐτῶν παραιτήσεται τὴν γύμνωσιν, καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα παρῃτήσατο. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀθλεῖν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι, καὶ πρὸς ἀντιπάλους πολὺ τῶν αἰσθητῶς ἀγωνιζομένων ἐντρεχεστέρους ἔχοντες μάχην, οὐ μόνον οὐχ ἀποδυόμεθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ μυρία κατὰ τῶν ὥμων φορτία φέροντες ἀθλεῖν, πολλὰς τοῖς ἀντιπάλοις καθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν παρέχοντες λαβάς. ### English translation (Claude) Let us begin, then, to withdraw from our present possessions and money and from everything that sinks the reasoning and carries it under water. Let us throw off the cargo, so that the storm-tossed ship may lift a little, and [throw overboard] most of the gear, so that the helmsman, the mind, may be able to come safely through along with the thoughts on board. For if those who sail the sea, when caught in a storm, [throw] their own merchandise and cargo into the sea with their own hands, ranking their property second to life, so that the ship may not become waterlogged and be in danger of sinking under the weight of the cargo, hurling even the most precious of their treasures into the deep, why do we not, for the sake of the better life, despise what drags the soul down to the deep? Why can the fear [of God] not do as much as the fear of the sea can? They, desiring this temporary life, do not count the loss of their goods a great thing; but we, who say that we lay claim to eternal life, do not despise even a trifle, but choose rather to perish along with our cargo than to be saved deprived of it. Let us strip off everything, then, I beg you; for the adversary stands naked. The law of the games does not bring athletes into the stadium clothed, but naked. Whether it is hot or cold, they go in so, leaving their clothes outside; and if one of them refuses to strip, he has refused the contest as well. But we, who profess to be athletes, and who are at war with adversaries far more agile than those who contest in the visible arena, not only do not strip, but [try] to compete carrying countless burdens on our shoulders, giving our adversaries many holds against us. ### Scripture references - Jonah 1:5: echo, low confidence - Acts 27:18–19: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The jettisoned cargo recalls Jonah 1:5 and Acts 27:18–19. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 64 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/64). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 65 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-65 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The monk must be naked of cares to fight the demons: Joseph escaped by leaving his garment, and Adam was naked until he was defeated. ### Greek text Πῶς γὰρ πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ὁ κτημάτων ἀντιποιούμενος, πάντοθεν εὐχερῶς κονδυλιζόμενος Πῶς δὲ τῷ τῆς φιλαργυρίας παλαΐσει πνεύματι ὁ περιχεχωσμένος τοῖς Πῶς δὲ δραμεῖται πρὸς τοὺς πάσης μερίμνης γυμνοὺς δαίμονας ὁ μυρίοις φροντίσιν ἐνδεδυμένος τῆς θείας Γραφῆς λεγούσης: Ὃ γυμνὸς διώξεται ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ν ὁ γυμνὸς, οὐχ ὁ κέντρωνας τῆς τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων φροντίδος ἐνδεδυμένο; ὁ γυμνὸς, οὐχ ὁ χρημάτων καὶ κτημάτων πολυὅλοις πρὸς τὸν δρόμον ἐμποδιζόμενον λογισμοῖς δυσάλωτος γὰρ, ἣ καὶ ἀνάλωτος τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσιν ὁ γυμνός. Ὡς εἴγε ἣν ὁ μέγας Ἰωσὴφ γυμνὸς, οὐχ ἂν εὗρεν ὧν ἐπιλάβηται ἡ Αἰγυπτία. Φησὶ γὰρ τὸ θεῖον λόγιον, ὅτι ἐπελάθετο τῶν ἱματίων αὑτοῦ λέγουσα, … μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ. Ἱμάτια δέ ἐστι τὰ πράγματα τὰ σωματικὰ, ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἕλκει χρατοῦσα ἡ ἡδονὴ, καὶ τὸν ἀντιποιούμενον τούτων ἀνάγχη περισύρεσθαι μαχόμενον τοῖς ἀφαιρουμένοις. Οὕτω γοῦν ὁ τἧς σωφροσύνης ἀθλητὴς ὡς εἶδε, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀναγχαίας χρείας ἑλκόμενον τοῦ σώματος ἑαυτὸν βίᾳ πρὸς τὴν τῆς κοινωνίας ἡδονὴν καὶ ἕνωσιν, μαθὼν, ὅτι γυμνὸν ἔδει συνδιαιτᾶσθαι τῇ κατέχειν βιάζεσθαι δυναμένῃ δεσποίνῃ, καταλιπὼν τὰ ἱμάτια ἔφυγε, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἔξω, χαθάπερ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τῇ ἀρετῇ γυμνὸς ἐμπεριπατῶν κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου, ὃ; ἐξαίρετον γέρας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν γύμνωσιν λαβὼν ἔσχεν, ἕως διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς εἷς χρείαν ἐνδυμάτων κατέστη. Μέχρι μὲν γὰρ ἠγωνίζετο πρὸς τοὺς λύειν τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ συμβουλεύοντας ἀντιπάλους, γυμνὸς ὡς ἀθλητὴς ἐπὶ τοῦ σχάμματος εἰστήκει, ἡττηθεὶς δὲ, καὶ ἐξαγώνιος γενόμενος εἰχότως ἐνεδύσατο, τὴν γύμνωσιν μετὰ τῆς ἀθλητικῆς ἕξεως ἀποθέμενος. ### English translation (Claude) For how will one who lays claim to possessions [wrestle] against the spiritual forces of wickedness, when he is easily cuffed from every side? How will one buried in [riches] wrestle with the spirit of love of money? How will one clothed in countless cares run against the demons, who are naked of every care, when divine Scripture says, “The naked shall flee in that day”? The naked, not one who wears the patchwork cloaks of care for the affairs of this life; the naked, not one hindered in the race by many thoughts of money and possessions. For the naked man is hard, or even impossible, for his plotters to catch. So if the great Joseph had been naked, the Egyptian woman would not have found anything to seize. For the divine oracle says that she seized his garments, saying, … “with me.” Garments are bodily things, by which pleasure, when it prevails, drags a man along; and one who lays claim to them must be dragged about, fighting with those who take them away. So the athlete of chastity, when he saw himself being dragged by force, also by way of the body's necessary need, toward the pleasure and union of intercourse, learned that he must live naked with a mistress able to hold him by force; and leaving his garments he fled and went outside, walking about naked in virtue as in paradise, in imitation of the first-formed man, who received nakedness from God as a special prize and had it until, through disobedience, he came to need clothing. For as long as he contended against the adversaries who advised him to break God's commandment, he stood naked like an athlete in the wrestling-ground; but when he was defeated and put out of the contest, he rightly clothed himself, laying aside his nakedness along with his athletic state. ### Scripture references - Eph 6:12: allusion, high confidence - Amos 2:16: quotation, high confidence - Gen 39:12: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:25: allusion, high confidence - Gen 3:21: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The spiritual forces of wickedness: Eph 6:12. “The naked shall flee in that day”: Amos 2:16. Joseph and Potiphar's wife: Gen 39:12; her words (“Lie with me”) are lost with a long stretch of Migne's Latin column, which has been removed. Adam's nakedness: Gen 2:25; 3:7, 21. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 65 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/65). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 66 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-66 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The monk must enter the contest stripped and oiled; cares are the dust that lets the devil take hold. ### Greek text Διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Παροιμιαστὴς πρὸς τὸν ἀλείπτην λέγων φησίν ε ᾿Αφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ, παρῆλθε γάρ. ν Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἔξω τοῦ σταδίου, καλῶς τοῖς τῶν οὐχ ἀθλούντων ἐνδύμασιν ἐκέχρητο, τὴν στιχὴν ἀνδρείαν τοῖς τῶν ἐνδυμάτων ἐσθήμασιν ἐγκρύπτων. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα παρῆλθεν ἀφελοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ. Γυμνὸν γὰρ ἀγωνίζεσθαι δεῖ, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ γυμνὸν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡλειμμένον. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ γυμνοῦσθαι, ἀνάλωτον … ποιεῖ τῷ ἀντιπάλῳ τὸν ἀνταγωνιστὴν τὸ ἐλαίῳ ἡλεῖφθαι, εἰ καὶ ληφθείη ποτὲ, διολισθαίνειν τὸ ἔλαιον ἐκ τῆς λαβῆς παρασκευάζει. Διὰ τοῦτο οἱ ἀνγῆν προσπάσσειν τοῖς ἀντιπάλοις, ἵνα τῇ κόνει τὴν τοῦ ἐλαίου ἐπιτραχύνοντες λειότητα, εὐλήπτους αὐτοὺς πρὸς τὰς λαβὰς ἀπεργάσωνται. Ὅπερ δέ ἐστιν ἡ χόνις ἐκεῖ, τοῦτο ἐν τῷ ἡμετέρῳ ἀγῶνι τὰ γήϊνα πράγματα, καὶ ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἔκεῖ τὸ ἔλαιον, τοῦτο ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἀμέριμνον. Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ ὁ ἡλειμμένος εὐχερῶς λύει τὰ λεγόμενα παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἄμματα εἰ δὲ δέξοιτο κόνιν, δυσκόλως ἐκ τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ προσπαλαίοντος οὕτως ἐν ταῦθα ὁ μηδὲν μεριμνῶν, δύσληπτός ἔστι τῷ διαβόλῳ, φροντίζων δὲ καὶ ταῖς μερίμναις χαθάπερ κόνει τινὶ τραχύνων τὸ λεῖον τῆς ἀμεριμνίας τοῦ νοῦ, δυσχερῶ; ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνου χειρός. ### English translation (Claude) That is why the author of the Proverbs says to the trainer, “Take away his garment, for he has come forward.” For while he was outside the stadium he rightly wore the clothes of those who are not athletes, hiding his athletic manliness under the folds of his garments; but since he has come forward into the contest, “take away his garment.” For one must contend naked; or rather, not only naked, but also anointed. Being stripped makes one hard to catch …, and being anointed with oil makes the competitor [hard to hold] for his opponent: even if he is caught, the oil makes him slip out of the grip. That is why [wrestlers contrive] to sprinkle dust on their opponents, so that by roughening the smoothness of the oil with dust they may make them easy to take hold of. What the dust is there, earthly affairs are in our contest; what the oil is there, freedom from care is here. And just as there the anointed wrestler easily breaks what they call holds, but if he takes on dust [he escapes] the hand of his opponent with difficulty, so here the man who has no cares is hard for the devil to catch; but the one who has worries, and roughens the smoothness of his mind's freedom from care with cares as with dust, [escapes] his hand only with difficulty. ### Scripture references - Prov 20:16: quotation, high confidence - Prov 27:13: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Take away his garment, for he has come forward”: Prov 20:16; 27:13 (LXX), applied to the athlete. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (marked …); the bracketed words are supplied by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 66 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/66). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 67 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-67 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The perfect soul is carefree like the lily among thorns; the ungodly spend all their life caring for the body and none for the soul. ### Greek text Τελείας ψυχῆς ἔστι τὸ ἀμέριμνον, ἀσεβοῦς δὲ τὸ ταῖς φροντίσι κατατρίβεσθαι Περὶ μὲν γὰρ τελείας ψυχῆς εἴρηται, ὅτι κρίνον ἐστὶν ἐν μέσῳ ἀκανθῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ τὴν μετὰ τῶν πολυφροντίδων ἀμερίμνως διάγουσαν δηλοῖ, Τὸ γὰρ κρίνον καὶ ἐν τῷ λίῳ τὴν ἀμέριμνον σημαίνει ψυχήν οὐ γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐδὲ νήθει, καὶ μείζω τοῦ Σολομῶντος περιβέβληται δόξαν. Περὶ δὲ τῶν φροντίδα πολλὴν ἐχόντων εἰς τὰ σωματικὰ, φησί ε Πᾶς ὁ βίος ἀσεβοῦς ἐν φροντίδι. Καὶ γὰρ ὄντως ἐστὶ ἀσεβὲς παντὶ τῷ βίῳ συμπερεχτείνειν τὴν τῶν σωματικῶν φροντίδα, καὶ μηδεμίαν περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιδείκνυσθαι σπουδὴν καὶ τῷ μὲν σώματι, καίτοι μὴ πολλῆς δεομένῳ σπουδῆς, πάντα προσαναλίσχειν τὸν χρόνον, τῇ δὲ Ψυχὴ τοσοῦτον ἐχούσῃ προκοπῆς μῆκος, ὡς μὴ φῳθάνεῖν πάντα τὸν βίον πρὸ; τὴν ταύτης τελείωσιν, ἣ μηδὲ τὸν τυχόντα καιρὸν ἀπονέμειν, εἰ δὲ καὶ εἴ τινα δόξομεν ἀπονέμειν, ἐκλελυμένως, καὶ αὐτῇ τοῦτο παρέχομεν, ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων περι: αγείας δελεαζόμενοι, καὶ ταὐτὸν πάσχοντες τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν εἰδεχθεστάτων ἑταιρίδων ἀγκιστρευομένοις ᾿ αἵ γνησίου κάλλους ἀπορίᾳ, νόθον ἐνέδρᾳ τῶν θεωμένων ἐπινοοῦσι, ταῖς ἐπινοίαις τῶν ἐπιτριμμάτων τὴν δυσμορφίαν ἐπιδιορθούμεναι. Ἅπαξ γὰρ τῇ ματαιότητι τῶν παρόντων ἡττηθέντες, τὸ αἶσχος τῆς ὕλης ἰδεῖν ἀδυνατοῦμεν ὑπὸ τῆς προσπαθείας φενακιζόμενοι. ### English translation (Claude) Freedom from care belongs to the perfect soul; being worn down by cares, to the ungodly. Of the perfect soul it is said that it is “a lily among thorns,” which shows the soul that lives free of care among those who are burdened with many cares. For the lily in the [Gospel] too signifies the soul free from care: “it does not toil,” it says, “nor does it spin,” and it is clothed with greater glory than Solomon. But of those who have much care for bodily things it says, “All the life of the ungodly is in care.” And truly it is ungodly to stretch care for bodily things through the whole of life and to show no zeal at all for the things to come; to spend all one's time on the body, though it does not need much zeal, while to the soul, whose road of progress is so long that a whole lifetime is not enough for its perfection, we do not allot even a little time; and if we seem to allot it some, we give it slackly, enticed by the dazzle of visible things. We suffer the same as men hooked by the ugliest courtesans, who for lack of genuine beauty devise a counterfeit to ensnare those who look at them, correcting their ugliness with the inventions of cosmetics. For once we have been defeated by the vanity of present things, we are unable to see the ugliness of matter, deceived by our attachment to it. ### Scripture references - Song 2:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 6:28–29: quotation, high confidence - Job 15:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “A lily among thorns”: Song 2:2. The lilies that neither toil nor spin: Matt 6:28–29 (the word “Gospel” is supplied for a damaged word, ἐν τῷ λίῳ). “All the life of the ungodly is in care”: Job 15:20 (LXX). Three stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed; the Greek runs on across them. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 67 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/67). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 68 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-68 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The body's need is the measure of possessions; those who judge otherwise are like the blind judging colors. ### Greek text Καὶ τούτου χάριν ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς ἀναγκαίας οὐχ ἰστάμεθα χρείας. Κόρον δὲ ὑβριστὴν τοῦ βίου ἐνστησάμενοι, παντοίαις κτήσεσιν ἑπαποδυόμεθα, οὐχ ὁρῶντες, ὅτι μέτρον κτήσεως ἐστὶν ἡ χρεία τοῦ σώματος, τὸ δὲ ἀκοσμία λοιπὸν, καὶ οὐκέτι χρεία ἐστίν. Ὡς γὰρ ὁ συμ με μένος τῷ σώματι χιτὼν, καὶ χρεία, καὶ κόσμος ἐστὶν, ὁ δὲ πάντοθεν καὶ τοῖς ποσὶν ἐμπλεχόμενος, καὶ περισυρόμενος τῇ γῇ μετὰ τοῦ ἀπρεποῦς, καὶ ἐμπόδιον πρὸς πᾶσαν ἐργασίαν γίνεται οὕτως ἡ ὑπερθαίνουσα τὶν τοῦ σώματος χρείαν κτῆσις, καὶ πρὸ; ἀρετὴν ὁ οἱ ἐστιν ἐμπόδιον καὶ πολλὴν ἔχει κατάγνωσιν παρὰ οἷς τὴν φύσιν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐρευνᾷν δυναμένοις, Οὔτε οὖν τοῖ; μένοις ὑπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν προσεκτέον, οὐδὲ τοῖς, τὸ μὴ προσεσχηκέναι τοῖς νοητοῖς, τοῖ; ἀκολουθητέον ἀκρίτως ταυτὸν γάρ ἐστι χρωμάτων κριταῖς χρῆσθαι τυφλοῖς, ἣ κωφοῖς τῶν κατὰ μουσικὴν φθόγγων, μένοις τῶν πρὸς τὰ διχαζόμενα κριτηρίων, καὶ τούτοις πιστεύειν, ὡς κατὰ λόγον ἑλομένοις τὴν τῶν παρόντων ἀπόλαυσιν. Τυφλοὶ γάρ τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων τῶν κριτηρίων τὸν λογισμὸν πεπηρωμένοι, ᾧ κρίνεσθαι τὰ σπουδαῖα, καὶ τὰ ἀδιάφορα πέφυχε ### English translation (Claude) And for this reason we do not stop at necessary need; but, setting up an insolent satiety in our life, we strip for every kind of acquisition, not seeing that the measure of acquisition is the body's need, and that what goes beyond it is disorder and no longer need. For just as a tunic that fits the body is both a need and an ornament, but one that tangles about the feet on every side and drags on the ground is both unseemly and an obstacle to every kind of work, so acquisition that goes beyond the body's need is an obstacle to virtue as well, and stands heavily condemned by those who are able to search into the nature of things. We must not, then, heed those who are [enslaved] by the objects of sense, nor uncritically follow those who [think it good] not to attend to the intelligible things. For it is the same as using the blind as judges of colors, or the deaf of musical sounds, people [deprived] of the faculties for judging the matters in question, and trusting them as though they had chosen the enjoyment of present things by reason. For they are blind, having maimed the reasoning, the most necessary of the faculties of judgment, by which serious things and indifferent things are naturally judged. ### Translation notes - A stretch of Migne's Latin column inside the tunic comparison has been removed; the Greek runs on across it. Words lost in the printed text are supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 68 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/68). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 69 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-69 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Achan buried the silver under the stolen goods as the greedy bury reason beneath matter; beyond need, desire has no limit. ### Greek text Εἷς τούτων ἣν ὁ τοῦ ὁμολογῶν τῷ σοῦ ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ τοῦ βίου κεκρυφέναι ὑπὸ γῆν τὰ κεκλεμμένα, καὶ ὑποκάτω τούτων τὸ ἀργύριον κατορωρυχέναι. Ὁ γὰρ τὰ ποικίλα, καὶ λαμπρὰ τῆς ὕλης ἀνώτερα κρίνας, τὸν δὲ λόγον ὑποκάτω τούτων κατορύξας, εἰκότως ἀπατᾶται ἀλόγου δίκην εἴκων, καὶ ἐνδιδοὺ; ἑαυτὸν τῇ φαντασίᾳ τοῦ ἀρέσαντος, διὰ τὸ καταβεβιβάσθαι τῶν ἀρχοντικῶν θρόνων τὸν λογισμὸν, καὶ ἐν τῇ τῶν ὑπηκόων, μᾶλλον δὲ καταδίκων τετάχθαι τάξει. Εἰ γὰρ ἣν οὗτος ἐπὶ τῆς ἰδίας ἱδρυμένος ἀξίας, καὶ τὴν χρίσιν πεπιστευμένος τῶν φαινομένων, δικαίαν, καὶ ὀρθὴν ἄν ἐξήνεγκε τὴ Ψῆφον, … κολάσας τὴν τοῖ; ἀπατηλοῖς ἐπιδραμοῦταν ὁρμήν. Καλὴν οὖν τοῖς ὅροι; τῆς χρείας ἐμμένειν καὶ νεικεῖν πάσῃ δυνάμει τούτους μὴ ὑπερβαίνειν. Ἔν γὰ ὀλίγον τις ὑπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐπὶ τὰ ἡδέα τοῦ βίου, οὐδεὶς λοιπὸν λόγος τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσω φοράν. Τοῦ γὰρ τὴν χρείαν ὄρος οὐδεὶς, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνήνυτος ἢ σπουδὴ καὶ ἀτέλεστος ἡ ματαιότης, τὸν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πόνον αὔξει διὰ παντὸς, χαθάπερ φλόγα τῇ τῆς ὕλης προσθήκῃ τρέφουσα τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. ### English translation (Claude) One of these was [Achan] …, who confessed to [Joshua] that he had hidden the stolen things under the ground in the tent of his life, and had buried the silver beneath them. For one who judged the varied and bright things of matter to be higher, and buried reason beneath them, is rightly deceived like an irrational animal, and gives himself up to the appearance of what pleased him, because his reasoning has been brought down from its ruling thrones and set in the rank of the subjects, or rather of the condemned. For if his reasoning had been seated in its own dignity, and entrusted with judging appearances, it would have delivered a just and right verdict … and punished the impulse that ran after deceptive things. It is good, then, to remain within the bounds of need and to strive with all one's strength not to go beyond them. For once someone [slips] even a little, through desire, toward the pleasures of life, no reasoning thereafter [checks] his rush forward. For of [going beyond] need there is no limit; zeal is endless and vanity never finished, and it always increases the toil over such things, feeding desire as a flame is fed by adding fuel. ### Scripture references - Josh 7:20–21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Achan (Ἄχαρ in the Greek Bible) and his confession to Joshua: Josh 7:20–21. Both names are lost in the scan and are restored by sense; Nilus reads “tent” figuratively (“the tent of his life”). Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 69 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/69). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 70 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-70 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Once past natural need, desire moves step by step to wine, fine wool, embroidered silk, and even silver chamber-pots. ### Greek text Ὅταν γὰρ οἱ ἅπαξ τοὺς ὅρους παρελθόντες τῇς δι ἰ νἱδὰ ἢ φυσικῆς ἀνάγχης, ἐπὶ τὴν ἕνυλον ἄρχονται προχό… ζωὴν, τῷ μὲν ἄρτῳ προστιθέναι τὸ ἡδὺ προσόψημα θέλουσι, τῷ δὲ ὕδατι τέως χρειώδη οἶνον, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου τὸν πολυτελέστερον ἐνδύμασι δὲ τοῖστοιχεῖν οὐχ ἀνέχονται, ἀλλὰ τὸ πρῶτον μὲν τῶν ἐρίων, καὶ τὰ λαμπρότερα συνωνοῦνται, αὑτὸ τῆς ἐρέας συλλεγόμενοι τὸ ἄνθος, εἶτα μεταβαίνουσιν ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπὶ τὰ μικτὰ ἐκ λίνου, καὶ ἐρέας ἔχοντα τὴν κατασκευὴν, εἶτα σηρικὰ περιεργάζονται, καὶ ταῦτα λιτὰ πρότερον, αὖθις δὲ πεποικιλμένα πολέμοις. καὶ θηρσὶ, καὶ ἱστορίαις παντοδαπαῖς σκεύη τε ἀργυρᾶ, καὶ χρυσόπαστα κατασκευάζουσιν, οὐ μόνον ταῖς λειτουργοῦντα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζώοις, καὶ κλινιδίοις περιττῶς περιχείμενα. Καὶ τί δεῖ τὴν ἄκαιρον αὑτῶν ἐπὶ πλεῖον προτιθέναι φιλοτιμίαν ὁπότε καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἀτιμοτοτάτων χρειῶν ταύτην ἐπεκτείνουσιν, οὐδὲ τὰ τῶν ἀποπατημάτων σκεύη χαταξιοῦντες ἐξ ἑτέρας ὕλης δημιουργεῖν, εἰ μὴ καὶ ταύτῃ τῇ ὑπηρεσίᾳ διαχονήσοι ὁ ἄργυρος. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἣ ἡδονὴ ἕως τῶν ἐσχάτων ἑαυτὴν παρεχτείνουσα, καὶ τὰ ἄτιμα τῶν ἔργων τῇ τῆς ὕλης τιμῶσα πολυτελείᾳ. Τοῦτο δὲ παρὰ φύσιν ἐστὶν ἔχειν λοιπόν ### English translation (Claude) For when those who have once passed the bounds of natural necessity begin to advance into a material … life, they want to add a sweet relish to their bread, and to their water, at first, wine as a need, and after that the more expensive kind. In clothing they will not put up with simple garments, but first buy the finest woollens and the brighter ones, gathering the very flower of the wool; then they pass on from these to mixed garments made of linen and wool; then they fuss over silks, plain ones at first, and later ones embroidered with battles and wild beasts and stories of every kind. They make vessels of silver and of gold-sprinkled work, not only to serve [their tables], but also hung superfluously on their animals and couches. And why must I set out at greater length their untimely ambition, when they extend it even to the most dishonorable needs, not deigning to make even the vessels for excrement from any other material, unless silver serves them in this service too? Such is pleasure: it stretches itself out to the very last things, and honors even the dishonorable works with costly material. And this, from then on, is to be against nature. ### Translation notes - Several stretches of Migne's facing Latin column have been removed; the Greek runs on across them (προ|τιθέναι; ἀτιμο|τάτων), and a few words are lost at the first (marked …). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 70 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/70). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 71 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/53/#p-71 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Animals keep to the diet God gave and mate only in season; human extravagance in food breeds unceasing sexual desire. ### Greek text Ἧ γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν διαγωγὴ ἡμῖν τε, καὶ τοῖς ζώοις ἡ αὐτὴ ὥρισται παρὰ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ. ε Ἶδοὺ γὰρ δέδωκα ὑμῖν, φησὶν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, πάντα τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ, ὑμῖν καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις ἔσται εἰς βρῶσιν. Κοινὴν οὖν λαβόντες μετὰ τῶν ἀλόγων τὴν δίαιταν, καὶ ταύτην ταῖς ἐπινοίαις ἐπὶ τὸ ἀσωτότερον διαστρέψαντες, πῶς οὐχ ἀλογώτεροι κριθείημεν εὐλόγως ἐκείνων Εἴ γε τὰ μὲν θηρία μένει ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρων τῆς φύσεως οὐδὲν παραβάντα τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τεταγμένων, οἱ δὲ λογισμῷ τιμηθέντες ἄνθρωποι πάντη τῆς ἀρχαίας ἐκδεδιώγμεθα νομοθεσίας Ποῖαι γὰρ παρὰ τοῖς ἀλόγοις ὀψοφαγίαι Ποῖαι δὶ σιτοποιῶν, καὶ μαγείρων τέχναι μυρίαι τῇ γαστρὶ δημιουργοῦσιν ἡδονάς Οὐχὶ δὲ τὴν ἀρχαίαν εὐτέλειαν ἀγαπῶσι, ποηφαγοῦντα, καὶ τοῖς ἐπιτυχοῦσιν ἀρκούμενα, καὶ ναματικῷ κεχρημένα ποτῷ, καὶ τούτῳ τυχὸν σπανίως Διὸ καὶ ὑπογαστρίους ἡδονὰς μεμείωνται, οὐδεμιᾷ τροφῇ τὰς ὀρέξεις λέγοντα, οὐδὲ πάντοτε τὴν ἄῤῥενος καὶ … εἰδότα διαφορά γὰρ αὐτοῖς καιρὸς τοῦ ἔτους ταύτην παρέχει τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἡνίκα ὁ τῆς φύσεως νόμος πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ὁμοίου σπορὰν τὴν σύνοδον αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ διαμονῇ τοῦ γένους ἐξεῦρε τὸν δὲ ἄλλον χρόνον οὕτως ἀλλοτριοῦνται, ὡς λήθην λαθεῖν πάντη τῆς τοιαύτη; ὀρέξεως. ᾿Ανθρώποις δὲ ἐκ τῇς περὶ τὰ βρώματα πολυτελείας ἣ τῶν ἀφροδισίων ἀχόρεστος ἐπιθυμία παραβλαστάνουσα μανιώδεις ὀρέξεις, οὐδένα καιρὸν ἣρεμεῖν συγχωροῦσα τὸ πάθος: ### English translation (Claude) For the natural manner of life was fixed by the Creator as the same for us and for the animals. “Behold, I have given you,” God says to man, “all the grass of the field; it shall be for food for you and for the beasts.” Having received a diet in common with the irrational animals, and having twisted it by our inventions toward greater prodigality, how should we not rightly be judged more irrational than they? For the beasts remain within the bounds of nature, transgressing none of the things ordained by God, while we human beings, who have been honored with reason, have been driven out altogether from the ancient legislation. What gourmandizing is there among the irrational animals? What countless arts of bakers and cooks craft pleasures for their belly? Do they not love the ancient frugality, feeding on grass, content with what comes their way, using the water of springs for drink, and that perhaps rarely? That is why the pleasures below the belly have been diminished in them: they [inflame] their appetites with no food, and do not always know the difference of male and … female; a season of the year gives them this perception, when the law of nature devised their union for begetting their like, for the continuance of the race; the rest of the time they are so estranged from it that they altogether forget such appetite. But in human beings, from extravagance in food, the insatiable desire for sex sprouts maddened appetites and lets the passion rest at no season. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:29–30: quotation, high confidence - Gen 9:3: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation combines Gen 1:29–30 and 9:3 (Nilus's wording). A little Latin debris has been removed. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 71 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/71). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 72 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/72/#p-72 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Possessions breed every passion; monks who seem to have defeated the devil are killed while stripping his spoils, like greedy soldiers stripping the fallen. ### Greek text οὖν ἢ τοῖς κτήμασιν ἡ βλάβη ἀκολουθεῖ, καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς πάθεσιν ὡς νοσοποιὸς αἰτία παρέχει τὰς ἀφορμὰς, αὐτὴν τὴν αἰτίαν, εἴπερ τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν εὐεξίας. μοσύνῃ τὸ τῆς φιλοχρηματίας ἰασώμεθα πάθος. Φύγωμεν τοὺς τῶν ἀνωφελῶν ἀνθρώπων θιάσους μόνω ιν ἀσπαζόμενοι ἐπιβλαβὴς γὰρ καὶ τῆς εἰρηνιχῆς καταστάσεως φθοροποιὸς ἡ μετὰ τῶν εἰχαιοτέρων συνδιαίτησις. Ὡς γὰρ οἱ ἐν ἀέρι λοιμικῷ γινόμενοι πάν τως νοσοῦσιν, οὕτως οἱ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀδιαφόροις διάγοντες, τῆς ἐκείνων κακίας. γὰρ ἔτι κοινὸν ἔχουσι πρὸς τὸν κόσμον οἱ ἀποταξάμενοι τῷ χόσμῳ ε Οὐδεὶς γὰρ στρατευόμενος ἐμπλέχεται ταῖς τοῦ βίου πραγματείαις, ἵνα τῷ ἀρέσῃ ἡ γὰρ τὴν πραγματείαν ἀσχολία, τὰς πολεμικὰς κωλύει γυμνασίας ἀγύμναστοι δὲ πρὸς ἐμπειροπολέμους μαχόμενοι, πῶς ὑποστησόμεθα … Μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ δεῖ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, οὕτω νωθρῶς καὶ ἐχλύτως μαχόμεθα, ὡς μηδὲ κειμένῳ τῷ πολεμίῳ ἀντέχειν δυνάμεθα, καὶ τοὺς ἑστῶτας ὑπὸ τοῦ πεπτωκότος ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι. Ὅπερ γὰρ πάσχουσιν ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις διὰ φιλοχρηματίαν οἱ τοὺς νεκροὺς σκυλεύοντες, μετὰ τὴν νίκην πολλάκις ἀναιρούμενοι ὑπὸ τῶν κειμένων, καὶ κέρδους αἰσχροῦ χάριν μετὰ τὰ τρόπαια ἐλεεινῶς ἀπολλύμενοι, τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς νῦν πάσχομεν, κειμένῳ τῷ ἐχθρῷ, καὶ πλησιάζοντες, Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι πόθῳ τῶν χρημάτων ἐρευνῶντες τοὺς νεχροὺς, πολλάκις τινι προσελθόντες καὶ περιεκδύοντες, λάθρα δεξάμενοι καιρίαν πληγὴν, χατέπεσον, τὴν ἐπὶ τῇ νίκῃ εὔκλειαν ἀλογίστως αἰσχύναντες οὕτως ἡμεῖς, ὅταν διὰ σωφροσύνης καὶ ἐγκρατείας τὸν Βάρἣ δόξωμεν καταβεβληκέναι, τότε τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ἐρασθέντες ἐνδυμάτων, ἄπερ ἐστὶ τὰ παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δοκοῦντα τίμια, πλοῦτος, δυναστεία, εὐεξίαι, δόξαι, αὐτῳ, λαθεῖν τι τῶν αὑτοῦ γλιχόμενοι, καὶ οὕτως ἀποθνήσκομεν ἑαυτοὺς σφαγῇ προσάγοντες. ### English translation (Claude) [Since], then, harm [follows] possessions, and, as a cause of disease, supplies the occasions for all the passions, let us [remove] the cause itself, if indeed [we care] for the good health of the soul, and by [having nothing] let us heal the passion of love of money. Let us flee the gatherings of useless people, embracing solitude; for living with the more frivolous is destructive even of a peaceful state. For as those who are in a pestilential air surely fall sick, so those who live among careless people [share] in their vice. For what do those who have renounced the world still have in common with the world? “For no one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of life, so that he may please [the one who enlisted him].” Occupation with business prevents training for war; and if we fight untrained against men experienced in war, how shall we hold out? … Or rather, if the truth must be told, we fight so sluggishly and slackly that we cannot hold out even against the enemy when he lies fallen, and we who stand are plotted against by the one who has fallen. For what happens in wars to those who strip the dead out of love of money, who are often killed after the victory by those lying on the ground and perish pitiably after the trophies for the sake of shameful gain, this we too now suffer when we approach the enemy who lies fallen. For as they, searching the dead in their desire for money, often went up to one of them and began to strip him, received a fatal blow unawares and fell, senselessly shaming the glory of the victory, so we, when through chastity and self-control we seem to have thrown down the enemy, fall in love with the garments about him, which are the things thought precious among men, wealth, power, comforts, glories, and [go up to] him eager to take something of his, and so we die, bringing ourselves to the slaughter. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 2:4: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “No one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of life”: 2 Tim 2:4. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column has been removed (marked …). Several damaged words at the start of the section are supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 72 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/72). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 73 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/72/#p-73 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The five foolish virgins conquered lust but fell to avarice; the devil still offers the world as he did to Christ, and only godliness defeats him. ### Greek text Οὕτως ἀπώλοντο αἱ πέντε παρθένοι, διὰ μὲν τῆς ἁγνείας, καὶ ἐγκρατείας ἀνελοῦσαι τὸν πολέμιον διὰ δὲ ἀσπλαγχνίας, ἣν φιλοχρηματία γεννᾷ, ἑαυτὰς ἐπὶ τὸ ξίφος ὠθήσασαι τοῦ διὰ τὸ κεῖσθαι ἀνελεῖν … τοὺς ἐφεστῶτας ἀδυνατοῦντος. Μηδὲν οὖν τῶν ἔχε … ἵνα μὴ ἅμα τοῖς ἐκείνου καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καλεῖ γὰρ καὶ νῦν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ, καὶ προτρέπεται πάντας, ἐὰν εὕρῃ μάλιστα πειθομένους εἰ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐκάλει τὸν Κύριον λέγων, ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω, ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς με, καὶ ἀπατᾷν ἐπεχείρει διὰ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ δοχούντων λαμπρῶν τὸν τούτων οὐκ ἐπιδεόμενον, πῶς τοὺς εὐαλώτους ἀνθρώπους οὐχ οἰήσεται ἀπατήσειν ἔχοντας πρὸς τὴν τῶν αἰσθητῶν πραγμάτων ἀπόλαυσιν Γυμνάσωμεν τὸν νοῦν πρὸς εὐσέβειαν, εἴγε ἣ σωματικὴ γυμνασία κατορθοῦται. Ἢ γὰρ σωματικὴ γυμνασία πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὠφέλιμος, παιδικοῖς ἐοιχυῖα μαθήμασιν ἡ δὲ εὐσέβεια πρὸς πάντα ὠφέλιμός ἐστι, τὴν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ κατασκευάζουσα εὐεξίαν τοῖς ἐφιεμένοις τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων παθῶν νίκης ### English translation (Claude) So the five virgins perished: by purity and self-control they killed the enemy, but by hardness of heart, which love of money begets, they pushed themselves onto the sword of one who, because he lay fallen, [they thought] dead … unable [to overcome] those who stand over him. Let nothing, then, of [his things] … lest together with his things we lose our soul as well. For he calls us to them even now, and urges everyone on, above all if he finds them obedient. For if he called the Lord himself, saying, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and worship me,” and tried to deceive with the things that seem brilliant in this life the one who had no need of them, how will he not think he can deceive human beings, who are easily caught and have a leaning toward the enjoyment of the things of sense? Let us train the mind for godliness, since bodily training is [so prized]. For bodily training is of use for little, like the lessons of children; but godliness is of use for all things, producing good health in the soul for those who aim at victory over the opposing passions. ### Scripture references - Matt 25:1–12: allusion, high confidence - Matt 4:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 4:7–8: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The five (foolish) virgins: Matt 25:1–12, read, as by other ancient writers, of chaste persons lacking mercy (the oil). The temptation: Matt 4:9. Bodily training and godliness: 1 Tim 4:7–8. Two long stretches of Migne's Latin column have been removed; Greek lost with them is marked “…” and supplied in brackets by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 73 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/73). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 74 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/72/#p-74 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Beginners must check the passions' actions, the advanced must guard their thoughts; as a passion absorbs the mind, so should zeal for virtue. ### Greek text Ὡς γὰρ τοῖ; ἐπὶ τὰ παιδικὰ γυμναζομένοις τὸ σῶμα ἀσκεῖν εὐπρεπὲς, καὶ τὰ μέλη κινεῖν συνεχῶς, ἀνδράσι δὲ ἀθλητιχοῖς, ἰσχύος ἐπιμελεῖσθαι ἀγωνιστικῆς, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀλείφεσθαι ἀγῶνας, οὕτω τοῖς ἀρχομένοις τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐπιμελὲς τὰς ἐνεργείας κωλύειν ἀγαπητὸν γὰρ, εἰ κρατήσειεν τῶν παθῶν ἐξοιστρούμενοι ὑπὸ τῶν συντρόφων ἦδονῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τῆς συνηθείας ἀπροαιρέτως σχεδὸν ἐλαυνόμενοι κακά. Τοῖς δὲ ἐν ἕξει γεγενημένοις τῆς πρακτικῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ τῶν κατὰ διάνοιαν λοιπὸν φροντίζουσι, πάσῃ σπουδῇ φυλάσσειν τὸν λογισμὸν ὀφείλουσιν, ὡς μὴ κινηθέντα ἀτάκτως ἐπί τι κατενεχθῆναι τῶν ἀτελῶν καὶ ἁπλῶς. Τοῖς μέν ἔστι σπουδὴ τὰς σωματικὰς παιδαγωγῆσαι κινήσεις, τοῖς δὲ τὰς ὁρμὰ; παιδεῦσαι τοῦ λογισμοῦ πρὸς μόνην τὴν ἐμφιλόσοφον εὐρύθμως κινεῖσθαι διαγωγὴν, μηδεμιᾶς κοσμιχῇς φαντασίας περισπώσης ἀπὸ τῶν θειοτέρων νοημάτων τὸν λογισμόν. Δεῖ γὰρ τετάσθαι τὴν τοῦ θεοσεβοῦντος ἐπιθυμίαν ὅλην πρὸς τὸ ποθούμενον, ὦ: μηδόλως εὑρίσκειν καιρὸν πρὸ; μισἀνθρώπους λογισμοὺς ἐνεργεῖν τὰ πάθη. Εἰ γὰρ ἕχαστον πάθος, ὅταν ἐν τῷ χεχρατημένῳ χινηθῇ, κατέχει τὸν λογισμὸν πεπεδημένον, μὴ καὶ ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς ζῆλος σχολάζουσαν ὑπὸ τῶν λοιπῶν παθῶν καθέξει τὴν ἔννοιαν Ποίαν γὰρ αἴσθησιν τῶν ἔξωθεν ὁ θυμούμενος πρὸς τὸ τοῦ λελυπηχότος εἴδωλον κατὰ διάνοιαν μαχόμενος ποίαν δὲ ὁ τῶν χρημάτων ἐφιέμενος, ὅταν σθεὶς ὑπὸ τῆς φαντασίας ταῖς ὕλαις ἐνατενίζῃ; Ὃ δὲ ἀκόλαστος πολλάκις, καὶ συν᾿ εδρεύων τισὶ κατέμυσε τὰ αἰσθητήρια, καὶ τὴν πὸθουμένην ὄψιν λαβὼν, ἐκείνῃ προσομιλεῖ τῶν παρόντων ἐπιλανθανόμενος, καὶ στήλη καθέζεται ἄφωνος, εἰδὼς μὲν τῶν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς γινομένων, ἣ λαλουμένων οὐδὲν, νενευκὼς δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ ἔνδον, ὅλος ἐστὶ τῆς φαντασίας, Τὴν τοιαύτην ψυχὴν τάχα μένην ὀνομάζει ὁ λόγος, ὅταν μακρὰν τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἀποχαθημένη συστείλῃ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐνέργειαν, μηδενὸς ὅλως τῶν ἔξωθεν ἀντιλαμβανομένη διὰ τὴν χατέχουσαν αὑτὴν αἰσχρὰν φαντασίαν. ### English translation (Claude) For just as for those who exercise in the exercises of boys the aim is to train the body to be graceful and to move the limbs continually, while for grown athletes it is to look after competitive strength and to anoint themselves for the sacred games, so for those who are beginning in godliness the care is to check the activities [of the passions]; for it is enough if they master the passions, goaded on as they are by the pleasures they grew up with, and driven almost involuntarily toward the evils of habit. But those who have come into a settled state of practical virtue, and now take care of what pertains to the mind, ought to guard their reasoning with all zeal, so that it is not moved in a disorderly way and carried down to something belonging to the imperfect. In short, for the one group the zeal is to train the movements of the body; for the other, to train the impulses of the reasoning to move in good rhythm toward the philosophic manner of life alone, with no worldly fantasy drawing the reasoning away from more divine thoughts. For the desire of the one who worships God must be stretched wholly toward what it longs for, so that the passions find no opportunity at all to act toward hostile thoughts. For if each passion, when it is stirred in one it has mastered, holds his reasoning fettered, will not zeal for virtue also hold the mind fast, keeping it free from the other passions? For what perception of external things has the angry man, who in his mind is fighting the image of the one who grieved him? What perception has the man who desires money, when, [carried away] by fantasy, he gazes at material goods? And the licentious man often, even while sitting with others, has shut his senses, and taking hold of the sight he longs for, converses with it, forgetting those who are present; he sits like a voiceless pillar, knowing nothing of what happens before his eyes or is said, but turned inward, wholly given over to the fantasy. Such a soul the word perhaps calls [“sitting”], when it sits apart far from the senses and draws in its own activity, perceiving nothing at all of what is outside, because of the shameful fantasy that holds it. ### Translation notes - The word by which “the word” (Scripture) names such a soul is damaged in the scan (…μένην); “sitting” (καθημένη) fits the earlier argument about the soul that “sits” on idols, but is uncertain. A long stretch of Migne's Latin column in the middle and debris at the end have been removed; the Greek runs on across the first (κατε|νεχθῆναι). ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 74 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/74). ## Monastic Exercise, chapter 75 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/72/#p-75 - Source: PG 79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As a strong passion absorbs the mind, so love of philosophy should absorb it in contemplation; the monk seeks praise from God, not from men. ### Greek text Εἰ δὲ ταῦτα οὕτω κρατεῖ τοῦ λογισμοῦ διὰ τὴν προσπάθειαν, καὶ ἀργεῖν τὰς αἰσθήσεις παρασκευάζει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἔρως ἀποτάξασθαι καὶ τοῖς αἰσθητοῖ;, καὶ ταῖς ποιήσει τὸν νοῦν μετάρσιον ἁρπάζων αὐτὸν, καὶ τῇ τῶν νοητῶν προσασχολῶν θεωρίᾳ Ὡς γὰρ τὸν τεμνόμενον, ἣ καιόμενον οὐχ ἂν εἰσέλθοι λογισμὸς ἔξω οὔ κατέχοντος πάθους, διὰ τὴν κρατοῦσαν ν, οὕτως οὐδὲ τὸν ὁτιοῦν ἐμπαθῶς λογιζόμενον, παρενθυμεῖσθαι δυνατὸν τοῦ κατέχοντος τὴν διάνοιαν πάὅλον τῇ οἰκείᾳ ποιότητι τὸν λογισμὸν ποιώδονὴ γὰρ οὐ παραδέχεται πόνον, οὐδὲ λύπην χαρὰ, οὐδὲ χατήφειαν εὐφροσύνη. αὖ πάλιν πόνος δυναστεύων προσίεται ἡδονὴν οὐδὲ κρατοῦσα λύπη ἔχει χαρὰν παρεζευγμένην, οὐδὲ κατήφεια ἐγκέκραται εὐφροσύνην. ᾿Ανεπιπλόχως γὰρ ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα τὰ ἐναντία πάθη, καὶ οὐχ ἂν εἰς ταυτὸ συνέλθῃ ποτὲ, ὁμήρευσε πρὸς φιλικὴν κοινωνίαν, διὰ τὴν ἐκ φύσεως ἄσπονδον ἔχθραν, καὶ ἀλλοτρίωσιν. Μὴ τοίνυν τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς καθαρὸν ταῖς τῶν χοσμιχῶν πραγμάτων ἐννοίαις ἐπιθολούσθω, μηδὲ τὸ τῆς θεωρίας εἰλικρινὲς σωματικαῖς ἐπιταραττέσθω φροντίσι, ἵνα καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀληθοὺς φιλοσοφίας εἰκὼν τὸ οἰκεῖον ἀπολάμπουσα κάλλος μηκέτι ψέγηται παρὰ τῶν θρασυστόμων, μηδὲ χλεύης ὑπόθεσις διὰ τὴν τῶν γραφόντων ἀπειρίαν γίνηται ἀλλ᾽ ἐπαινῆται, μὴ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων, ἣ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ, παρ᾽ οὗ καὶ οἱ ἅγιοι ἐζήτουν τὸν ἔπαινον, ὡς ὁ μέγας ὁ πατήσας τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην δόξαν, καὶ παρὰ θεοῦ τὴν εὐφημίαν αἰτῶν φησι, Παρὰ σοῦ ὁ ἔπαινός μου ν καὶ πάλιν, Ἐν τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐπαινεθήσεται ἢ ψυχή μου. μὲν γὰρ πολλάκις καὶ τὰ καλὰ, τὸ δὲ ἄνωθεν θέατρον ἀδεκάστως κρίνει τὰ πράγματα, καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τῶν γινομένων τὴν ψῆφον βραβεύει. Τοῦτο οὖν, ὃ καὶ ἀνάγχη τέρψαι τῇ τῶν ἔργων τερτερπέσθω τὸ θέατρον. Περὶ δὲ τῶν οὐδὲ ἀμοιβὰς ἀποδοῦναι τῶν εὖ βεβιωμένων, οὔτε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἄλλων ἐχόντων τιμωρήσασθαι δυναμένων ἀνθρώπων, οὐ πολὺς ὁ λόγο;, ἐὰν ἢ φθόνῳ ἣ προσπαθείᾳ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔργα κακίας ὀνόμασι συσκιάζοντες τὸν τῷ Θεῷ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐγνωσμένον βίον πεπλασμέναις διαβάλλουσι βλασφημίαις. Ἕψεται γὰρ πάντων κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως τοῖς εὖ χόσιν οὐχ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὑπολήψεως, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτῆς τῶν βεδιωμένων τῆς ἀληθείας, ἡ ἀμοιβὴ τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν, ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν χάριτι, καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ δόξα ἅμα τῷ ἀγίῳ Πνεύματι νῦν, καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἀπεράντους καὶ ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ᾿Αμήν. ### English translation (Claude) If these passions so master the reasoning through attachment, and make the senses idle, how much more will love of philosophy make the mind renounce both the objects of sense and [the senses], snatching it up aloft and occupying it with the contemplation of intelligible things! For just as no reasoning outside the passion that holds him could enter the mind of a man who is being cut or burned, because of the [pain] that prevails, so neither can one who thinks about anything with passion think of something besides what holds his mind, since it colors his whole reasoning with its own quality. For pleasure does not admit pain, nor joy sadness, nor gladness dejection; and again, pain, when it rules, does not admit pleasure, nor does sadness, when it prevails, have joy yoked to it, nor is dejection mixed with gladness. For opposite passions do not intertwine with one another, and would never come together or be bound in friendly fellowship, because of their natural, truceless enmity and estrangement. So let not the purity of virtue be muddied by thoughts of worldly affairs, nor the sincerity of contemplation be disturbed by bodily cares, so that the image of true philosophy, shining with its own beauty, may no longer be blamed by bold talkers, nor become an object of mockery through the inexperience of those who paint it, but may be praised, not by human beings, but by the powers above, or rather by the Master Christ himself, from whom the saints too sought praise; as the great [David], who trampled on human glory and asked for commendation from God, says, “From you is my praise,” and again, “In the Lord my soul shall be praised.” For [human judgment] often [slanders] even good things, but the theater above judges things impartially and awards its verdict according to the truth of what is done. Let this theater, then, which must be pleased, be delighted by the [beauty] of our works. Of human beings, who can neither return rewards for lives well lived nor punish others for theirs, there is little account, if out of envy or attachment they overshadow the works of virtue with the names of vice and slander with fabricated blasphemies a life known to God and to men. For at the time of recompense there will follow for all who have lived well, not according to human opinion but according to the very truth of their lives, the reward of the eternal goods. May we all attain them by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the endless and unending ages of ages. Amen. ### Scripture references - Ps 22:25 (21:26 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 34:2 (33:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “From you is my praise”: Ps 22:25 (LXX 21:26); “In the Lord my soul shall be praised”: Ps 34:2 (LXX 33:3); the speaker's name (David) is lost in the scan. The closing doxology is Nilus's. Migne's facing Latin translation of the closing sentences, misread by the OCR as Greek letters, has been removed from the end of the section. ### Citation (SBL) Nilus, Mon. exerc. 75 (PG 79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/nilus-de-monastica-exercitatione/75).