Weighing up our Actions
The Abbot Germanus said: ‘We are perfectly convinced that the right judgment of our thoughts is the spring and the root of all the virtues. But we would like to know how to acquire that judgment, and also how it is possible to recognize its authenticity, that is to say, whether it comes from God.’
The Abbot Moses replied: ‘Only by humility can true judgment be acquired. And the first test of humility is to submit to the opinions of the ancients not only what one ought to do but also what one ought to think.
‘By this method a young person will learn to walk safely along the path of true judgment and to overcome the snares of the enemy without coming to any harm. There is no possibility of anyone being led astray if he seeks the inspiration of the ancients rather than acting on his own initiative.
‘All the devil’s enmity will not prevail over someone who does not hide the thoughts that spring up in his heart but submits them to the scrutiny of mature people to decide whether to accept or reject them. Besides, an evil thought loses its poison in the very moment that it is brought to the light.
‘Humility is therefore indispensable for acquiring true judgment, that is to say, for saving us from the danger of exaggeration in one direction or the other.’
Cassian
Conferences, 2, 9ff. (PL49, 530)
Simplicity a Name for God
The complicated soul is continually at the mercy of opposing thoughts.
It speaks the truth one moment, tells lies the next. It approves, then rejects; it links and unlinks; it is like a bazaar stocked with a muddle of thoughts; it never stays long enough with one idea either to believe in it or to renounce it; it chooses something only to abandon it almost at once.
Simplicity, however, is exactly the opposite, as its name suggests; there is no confusion of thought at all.
Indeed, simplicity might well be another name for God. God is simple, that is, one, because there are no parts or divisions in him. In common parlance, similarly, we call someone simple if he does not act deceitfully nor lay traps for others; there is no stirring of the evil spirit in him.
Simplicity comes before faith; faith is the daughter of simplicity, not of complexity.
Simplicity exists in us long before we acquire complexity: children are rich in innocence, they are pure.
Philoxenus of Mabbug
Homily 4, 82ff. (SC44, pp.98ff.)
~ Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain, A Patristic Breviary: Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World
