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Saint John Cassian-Cassian on the EIGHT PRINCIPAL VICES -Philokalia

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Saint John Cassian-Cassian on the EIGHT PRINCIPAL VICES -Philokalia Saint John Cassian-Cassian The EIGHT PRINCIPAL VICES . COLLATIO QUINTA Quae est abbatis Serapionis. de OCTO PRINCIPALIBUS VITIIS . 1.Carnal & Spir.Vice. 2.Christ-Victory. 3.Char.Vices. 4.Domino-Effect. 5.Vicious Subtypes. 6.Discover Own Weakness. 7.Grace 8.Original Gluttony 9.Moderate Fasting. 10.Alt.Model: Pride as First. 1 CAPUT I. Adventus noster CHAPTER 1. Our arrival at Abbot Serapion’s ad abbatis Sarapionis cellam et inquisitio de cell, and inquiry on the different kinds of vices and generibus et inpugnatione the way to overcome them. vitiorum I. In illo coetu 1. IN that assembly of Ancients and antiquissimorum senum fuit uir nomine Sarapion, Elders was a man named Serapion, adprime gratia discretionis ornatus, cuius conlationem especially endowed with the grace of operae pretium reor litteris tradere. Ambientibus enim discretion, whose Conference I think it is nobis ut de inpugnatione uitiorum aliqua disputaret, worth while to set down in writing. For quibus origines eorum et when we entreated him to discourse of causae manifestius panderentur, ita exorsus the way to overcome our vices, so that est. their origin and cause might be made clearer to us, he thus began. CAPUT II. Narratio abbatis CHAPTER 2. Abba Serapion’s Discussion of [the ] Serapionis de octo principalibus vitiis. eight principal vices. II. Octo sunt principalia 1. THERE are eight principal vices uitia quae humanum infestant genus, id est which attack the human race; namely: primum gastrimargia, first gastrimargia , which means quod sonat uentris gluttony , ingluuies, secundum fornicatio, secondly fornication , tertium filargyria, id est auaritia siue amor thirdly philargyria , i.e., avarice or the pecuniae, quartum ira, love of money, quintum tristitia, sextum acedia, id est fourthly anger , anxietas seu taedium cordis, fifthly gloominess , septimum cenodoxia, id est iactantia seu uana sixthly acedia , i.e., listlessness or low gloria, spirits, octauum superbia. seventhly kenodoxia , i.e., boasting or vainglory ; 2 and eighthly pride . [1] Distinction between Natural (carnal) and Spiritual Vices CAPUT III. De duobus CHAPTER 3. Of the two classes of vices and their vitiorum generibus, et efficientia eorum fourfold manner of acting on us. quadripartita. III. Horum igitur uitiorum 3. OF these vices then there are two genera sunt duo. classes. Aut enim naturalia sunt [1] For they are either natural to us as ut gastrimargia, gluttony, aut extra naturam ut filargyria. [2] or arise outside of nature as covetousness. But their manner of acting on us is fourfold. Efficientia uero [1] For some cannot be consummated quadripertita est. without an act on the part of the Quaedam enim sine actione carnali flesh, as gluttony and fornication, consummari non possunt, ut est [2] while some can be completed gastrimargia et fornicatio, without any bodily act, as pride and quaedam uero etiam sine vainglory. ulla corporis actione conplentur, ut est [3] Some find the reasons for their superbia et cenodoxia. Nonnulla commotionis being excited outside us, as suae causas extrinsecus capiunt, ut est filargyria covetousness and anger; et ira, [4] others are aroused by internal alia uero intestinis motibus excitantur, ut est feelings, as accedia and gloominess. acedia atque tristitia. CAPUT IV. Recapitulatio de CHAPTER 4. A review of the passions of gluttony gastrimargiae et fornicationis passione, et and fornication and their remedies . curatione earum. 3 IIII. Et ut haec eadem non 4.1. AND to make this clearer not only solum disputatione quantum possumus breui, by a short discussion to the best of my sed etiam scripturarum testimoniis manifestiora ability, but by Scripture proof as well, reddamus, gastrimargia et fornicatio, cum naturaliter gluttony and fornication, though they nobis insint (nam nonnumquam etiam sine exist in us naturally (for sometimes they ullo animi incitamento spring up without any incitement from solius instigatione ac pruritu carnis oriuntur), the mind, and simply at the motion and materia tamen ut consummentur egent allurement of the flesh) yet if they are to extrinsecus et ita in effectum corporali actione be consummated, must find an external perueniunt. Unusquisque enim temptatur a propria object, and thus take effect only through concupiscentia. Deinde bodily acts. For “every man is tempted concupiscentia cum fuerit concepta parit peccatum, of his own lust. Then lust when it has peccatum uero cum fuerit consummatum generat conceived beareth sin, and sin when it is mortem . consummated begets death.” (James 1:14, 15) 2. Nam nec primus Adam 4.2. For the first Adam could not have per gastrimargiam decipi potuit, nisi escae materiam fallen a victim to gluttony unless he had habens in promptu abusus had material food at hand, and had used ea fuisset inlicite, nec secundus sine cuiusdam it wrongly, nor could the second Adam materiae inlicitatione temptatur, cum dicitur ei : be tempted without the enticement of si filius dei es, dic ut lapides isti panes fiant . some object, when it was said to Him: Fornicatio quoque quod non nisi per corpus “If Thou art the Son of God, command perficiatur, omnibus patet, that these stones be made bread.” (Matt. 4:3) ita de hoc spiritu dicente deo ad beatum Iob : et And it is clear to everybody that uirtus eius in lumbis, et potestas eius super fornication also is only completed by a umbilicum uentris . bodily act, as God says of this spirit to the blessed Job: “And his force is in his loins, and his strength in the navel of his belly.” (Job 40:16) 3. Ideoque haec specialiter 4.3 And so these two vices in particular, duo, quae ministerio carnis explentur, extra illam which are carried into effect by the aid spiritalem animae curam of the flesh, especially require bodily egent peculiarius etiam continentia corporali, abstinence as well as spiritual care of the siquidem ad retundendos horum stimulos non soul; since the determination of the mind sufficiat sola mentis 4 intentio (ut nonnumquam is not in itself enough to resist their solet aduersus iram seu tristitiam ceterasque fieri attacks (as is sometimes the case with passiones, quas etiam sine anger or gloominess or the other ulla carnis adflictione sola nouit expugnare mentis passions, which an effort of the mind industria), nisi etiam castigatio corporalis alone can overcome without any accesserit, quae ieiuniis, uigiliis et operis contritione mortification of the flesh); but bodily perficitur, hisque fuerit remotio localis adiuncta, chastisement must be used as well, and quia sicut amborum uitio, be carried out by means of fasting and id est animae et corporis generantur, ita superari vigils and acts of contrition; and to this nisi utriusque labore non must be added change of scene, because poterunt. since these sins are the results of vices of both mind and body, so they can only be overcome by the united efforts of both. 4. Et licet beatus apostolus 4.4. And although the blessed Apostle omnia uitia generaliter pronuntiauerit esse says generally that all vices are carnal, carnalia , siquidem since he enumerates enmities and anger inimicitias et iras atque haereses inter cetera and heresies among other works of the carnis opera numerauerit, nos tamen ad illorum flesh,(Cf. Gal. 5:19) yet in order to cure them curationes atque naturas diligentius colligendas and to discover their nature more exactly duplici ea diuisione distinguimus. Nam ex his we make a twofold division of them: for quaedam dicimus esse we call some of them carnal, and some carnalia, quaedam uero spiritalia. Et illa quidem spiritual. And those we call carnal, carnalia, quae specialiter ad fotum sensumque which specially have to do with pertinent carnis, quibus illa ita delectatur ac pascitur, pampering the appetites of the flesh, and ut etiam quietas incitet mentes inuitasque eas with which it is so charmed and nonnumquam pertrahat ad satisfied, that sometimes it excites the suae uoluntatis adsensum. mind when at rest and even drags it against its will to consent to its desire. 5. De quibus beatus 4.5. Of which the blessed Apostle says: apostolus in quibus, ait, et nos omnes aliquando “In which also we all walked in time conuersati sumus in past in the desires of our flesh, fulfilling desideriis carnis nostrae, facientes uoluntatem the will of the flesh and of our thoughts, carnis et cogitationum, et eramus natura filii irae and were by nature children of wrath sicut et ceteri . Spiritalia uero dicimus, quae 5 instinctu animae solius even as the rest.” (Eph. 2:3) But we call orta non solum nihil uoluptatis conferunt carni, those spiritual which spring only from sed etiam grauissimis eam the impulse of the mind and not merely languoribus adficientia miserrimae iucunditatis contribute no pleasure to the flesh, but pastu animam tantum nutriunt aegrotantem. Et actually bring on it a weakness that is idcirco haec quidem simplici cordis indigent harmful to it, and only feed a diseased medicina, quae autem carnalia sunt, non nisi mind with the food of a most miserable duplici quemadmodum pleasure. And therefore these need a diximus ad sanitatem curatione perueniunt. Unde single medicine for the heart: but those puritati studentibus plurimum confert, ut harum which are carnal can only be cured, as carnalium passionum ipsas materias sibi primitus we said, by a double remedy. Whence it subtrahant, quibus potest uel occasio uel recordatio is extremely useful for those who aspire earundem passionum to purity, to begin by withdrawing from aegrotanti adhuc animae generari. themselves the material which feeds these
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