Κεφ. Λ'
The Subtle Traps of the Ego
The struggle against vainglory and entrenched vices requires deep discernment, as our own efforts can sometimes feed the very pride we seek to overcome.
It’s difficult to escape the thought of vainglory, because whatever you do to tear it down becomes the beginning of another kind of vainglory. But the demons don’t oppose every right thought we have; in some cases, the opposition comes from the very vices that have shaped us.1
Read the original Latin
Χαλεπὸν διαυγεῖν τὸν τῆς κενοδοξίας λογισμόν· ὃ γὰρ ποιεῖς εἰς καθαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ τοῦτο ἀρχή σοι κενοδοξίας ἑτέρας καθίσταται. Οὐ παντὶ δὲ λογισμῷ ἡμῶν ὀρθῷ ἐναντιοῦνται οἱ δαίμονες ἀλλά τισι καὶ αἱ κακίαι αὗται καθ' ἃς πεποιώμεθα.
Notes
- 1 ↩Literally, “according to which we have been formed”; the rendering presents the vices as dispositions that have shaped the person.
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