Κεφ. ΙΕ'
The Balance of Ascetic Practice
Evagrius outlines the specific ascetic remedies for the wandering mind, desire, and anger, while emphasizing the necessity of moderation and timing.
Reading, keeping vigil, and prayer steady a wandering mind; hunger, hard work, and solitude cool desire when it is inflamed; psalm singing, patience, and mercy calm anger when it is seething. But these practices must be undertaken at the proper times and in the proper measure, because what is excessive or ill-timed does not last, and what does not last is more harmful than helpful.
Read the original Latin
Νοῦν μὲν πλανώμενον ἵστησιν ἀνάγνωσις καὶ ἀγρυπνία καὶ προσευχή· ἐπιθυμίαν δὲ ἐκφλογουμένην μαραίνει πεῖνα καὶ κόπος καὶ ἀναχώρησις· θυμὸν δὲ καταπαύει κυκώμενον ψαλμῳδία καὶ μακροθυμία καὶ ἔλεος· καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς προσήκουσι χρόνοις τε καὶ μέτροις γινόμενα· τὰ γὰρ ἄμετρα καὶ ἄκαιρα ὀλιγοχρόνια· τὰ δὲ ὀλιγοχρόνια βλαβερὰ μᾶλλον καὶ οὐκ ὠφέλιμα.
The Praktikos companion
A daily portion of stillness
Chosen Portion delivers one short contemplative reading and a guided moment of silence each day — the ascent, one step at a time.
Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
- Daily bite-sized excerpts from the contemplative classics, never a wall of text
- A built-in timed stillness practice that grows from 2 minutes to 10
- Gentle progression through the tradition — the app remembers where you are on the ascent