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Evagrius Ponticus and the Psychology of 'Natural Contemplation'

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Evagrius Ponticus and the Psychology of 'Natural Contemplation' Studies in Spirituality 22, 109-125. doi: 10.2143/SIS.22.0.2182849 © 2012 by Studies in Spirituality. All rights reserved. DAVID T. BRADFORD EVAGRIUS PONTICUS AND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ‘NATURAL CONTEMPLATION’ SUMMARY — Evagrius was the first ascetical theologian of the Chris- tian tradition and one of its most influential. His mystical theology has been widely discussed with the exception of his writings on ‘natural con- templation’ (theoria physike). Traditional spiritual writings regularly mention natural contemplation but provide relatively few details and lit- tle practical exposition. This study has nine sections. The first is con- cerned with textual sources. The second situates natural contemplation in Evagrius’s outline of the stages of the ascetic life. The third shows that the two forms of natural contemplation are aspects of a single cognitive process. The fourth is focused on psychological insights mediated through natural contemplation. The types of contemplative objects are reviewed in the fifth section, and the mystic’s identification with the objects is discussed in the sixth. The seventh section highlights contem- plation’s effect of inhibiting sensory perception. The eighth is concerned with extraordinary spatial perceptions intrinsic to contemplation. The temporal duration of the two forms of natural contemplation is consid- ered in the final section. This is the first psychological analysis of natural contemplation. INTRODUCTION Evagrius (345-399) was the first ascetical theologian of the Christian tradition and possibly its most influential. Born in the area of present-day Turkey, he was ordained as a lector by Basil of Caesarea and as a deacon by Gregory Nazi- anzus. His vocational ascent led to Byzantium’s highest ecclesiastical circles.1 In 383, he joined monks living in Nitria, a site of desert asceticism forty miles from Alexandria. He moved two years later to the relatively remote community of Kellia, where he remained until his death fourteen years later. His writings were condemned in 553 because of his reliance on the heretical work of Origen.2 1 F.T. Meyer (Trans.), Palladius: The Lausiac History, New York: Newman Press, 1964. 2 R.E. Sinkewicz, Evagrius of Pontus: The Greek ascetic corpus, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 995772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd5772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd 109109 330/11/120/11/12 111:211:21 110 DAVID BRADFORD This did little to blunt the impact of his ascetical theology, which entered the West through John Cassian and was readily embraced in Eastern monasticism.3 Evagrius’s mystical theology has been widely discussed with the exception of his writings on ‘natural contemplation’ (theoria physike).4 Similarly, traditional spiritual writings regularly mention natural contemplation but provide rela- tively few details and little practical exposition. Natural contemplation encom- passes two forms of experience. One demands considerable familiarity with scripture and some degree of philosophical training. The other is a radically altered state in which the mystic is transformed into the powers and principles of the spiritual world. The sparseness of information about natural contempla- tion in traditional writings is probably the result of a combination of factors, including the secrecy compelled by esoteric religious experience, the rarity of natural contemplation, the degree of literacy required for the one form of con- templation, and the limited circulation of the related Evagrian texts. The first section of the study is concerned with textual sources. The second situates natural contemplation in Evagrius’s outline of the stages of the ascetic life. The third shows that the two forms of natural contemplation are aspects of a single cognitive process. Psychological insights mediated through natural con- templation are considered in the fourth section. Contemplative objects are reviewed in the fifth section, and the mystic’s identification with the objects is discussed in the sixth. The inhibition of sensory perception during contempla- tion in addressed in the seventh section. The eighth is concerned with an extraordinary spatial perception intrinsic to contemplation. The final section considers the temporal duration of natural contemplation. SOURCES The analysis focuses on two of the most important sources for natural contem- plation: Gnostikos and Kephalaia Gnostika.5 Each is composed of ‘chapters’ 3 C. Stewart, Cassian the Monk, New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. 4 J.E. Bamberger (ed. & trans.), Evagrius Ponticus: The Praktikos and Chapters on prayer, Kala- mazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1978; A. Louth, The origins of the Christian mystical tradition: From Plato to Denys, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983; W. Harmless & R.R. Fitzgerald, ‘The sapphire light of the mind: The Skemmata of Evagrius Ponticus’, in: Theological Studies 62 (2001), 498-529; C. Stewart, ‘Imageless prayer and the theological vision of Evagrius Ponticus’, in: Journal of Early Christian Studies 9 (2001), 173-204; Sinke- wicz, Evagrius of Pontus. 5 St. Evagrius Ponticus (345-399): Gnostikos (GPG 2431) and Kephalaia Gnostika. Translated by Luke Dysinger (1990) and available at: http://www.ldysinger.com/Evagrius/02_Gno- Keph/00a_start.htm Gnostikos and Kephalaia Gnostika will be indicated G and KG, respec- 995772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd5772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd 110110 330/11/120/11/12 111:211:21 NATURAL CONTEMPLATION 111 grouped in ‘centuries’. Chapters in English translations are usually 1-3 sen- tences in length, and those collected in a particular century may have little obvious connection. Some chapters are like ‘sayings’; most are expository and highly abstract.6 A century contains fewer than the expected 100 chapters. Kephalaia Gnostika includes six centuries of ninety chapters each. Gnostikos sur- vives only in fragments. These texts are relatively obscure compared with other Evagrian writings. The obscurity results in part from their literary format (which Evagrius invented) and his elliptical style. Another cause is the esoteric nature of their subject matter: ‘The mystery is the spiritual contemplation that is not accessible to everyone’.7 Evagrius’s worldview tests the modern imagination because of its ancient provenance and also because the gnosis conveyed in natural contempla- tion is very different from ordinary experience. Secondary historical and theological sources are not discussed in the course of the analysis. For the most part, such material is unrelated to psychological interests. Interpretations based on mystical literature or psychological and neu- ropsychological concepts are given priority. Evagrian texts have been quoted generously in order to convey his manner of thinking and the aesthetic quality of his literary style. Some interpretive material has been placed in footnotes in order to sharpen the focus on psychological analysis. FIVE CONTEMPLATIONS8 Natural contemplation is preceded by two preliminary contemplations grouped as ascetic ‘practice’ (praktike).9 The first brings behavior into conformity with moral commandments. The second closes when the ascetic attains the quiescent tively, with the century noted in Roman numerals and the chapter in cardinal numbers. For example, ‘KG: VI.65’ refers to the 65th chapter of the 6th century of Kephalaia Gnostika. Where Dysinger uses nous, ‘intellect’ has been substituted. See Luke Dysinger for his textual sources: St. Evagrius Ponticus: Gnosticus and Kephalaia Gnostika and Letter 56 (To Melania), 1990 (online article, available at http://www.ldysinger.com/Evagrius/11_Letters/00a_start. htm) 6 For the ‘saying’ and other forms of mystical literature, see C.A. Keller, ‘Mystical literature’, in S.T. Katz (Ed.), Mysticism and philosophical analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, 1978, 75-100. 7 KG: VI.65; cf. The Praktikos and Chapters on prayer, 14f. 8 The Praktikos and Chapters on prayer; Sinkewicz, Evagrius of Pontus; and Gnosticus and Kepha- laia Gnostika (ed. Dysinger) are the major sources for this section. 9 For Evagrius’s ascetical theology, see D.T. Bradford, ‘Brain and psyche in early Christian asceticism’, in: Psychological Reports 109 (2011), 461-520. 995772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd5772_SIS_22_05_Bradford.indd 111111 330/11/120/11/12 111:211:21 112 DAVID BRADFORD condition of ‘dispassion’ (apatheia). Practice is a way of life rather than a single mental state. Evagrius distinguished two types of natural contemplation. ‘Second natural contemplation’ is preliminary to ‘first natural contemplation’ and establishes its cognitive basis. ‘First’ indicates heightened mental purity and increased proxim- ity to God; the contemplation is first in value. Its objects are immaterial; those of second contemplation are composed of matter and spirit. A contemplation is ‘natural’ when probing the nature or spiritual essence of its objects. Natural contemplation is preliminary to ‘theology’ (theologia), which is the superlative contemplation and the outcome of ‘true prayer’. One of Evagrius’s most striking chapters is concerned with the relation between theology and prayer: ‘If you are a theologian you truly pray. If you truly pray you are a theologian’.10 This is not petitionary prayer, nor does it engage linguistic forms or imaginal images. It arises in the one who seeks it; prayer occurs spontaneous- ly.11 Evagrius is unclear on whether its emotional and cognitive aspects coincide or occur independently. The emotional consequence of prayer is realization of ‘the primordial love, namely God, for it is through
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