On Teachers and Disciples · §2 · Evagrius Ponticus

Arming the Brothers for Spiritual Combat

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Evagrius continues his direct address to the monastic leader, now commanding him to equip his brothers with spiritual armor and weapons for the fight against the passions.

A cowardly soldier makes the hands of warriors go slack, and a careless monk drains the eagerness of his brothers. A swarm of bees produces a honeycomb, and a community of brothers produces the kingdom of heaven. A trumpet rouses the eagerness of warriors, and teaching in active virtue rouses the zeal of disciples. Arm your brothers, leader, with words [The text is damaged here.], and put on them the breastplate of the promises of good things to come. Fence them with the shield of faith in struggles, and put greaves on them with hope in God. Shoe their feet [the printed verb is corrupt; "shoe" is a conjecture] with the lessons of the gospel, and gird their loins with words of self-control. Put into their hand the sharpest anger as a sword against the passions, and set a phalanx of the passions against pleasure.

Greek

∆ειλὸς στρατιώτης

ἐκλύει πολεμιστῶν χεῖρας καὶ ἀμελὴς μοναχὸς χαυνοῖ προθυμίαν ἀδελφῶν. Σμῆνος μελισσῶν ἐργάζεται κηρίον καὶ σύστημα ἀδελφῶν βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν. Σάλπιγξ διεγείρει προθυμίαν πολεμιστῶν καὶ μαθητῶν σπουδὴν διδασκαλία πρακτικῆς ἀρετῆς. Ὅπλισον †δακτύλων λόγοις, ἡγούμενε, σοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ θωράκισον ἐπαγγελίαις τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν· φράξον θυρεῷ πίστεως ἄθλοις καὶ περικνήμισον ἐλπίδι τῇ εἰς τὸν θεόν· †κήνησον τοὺς πόδας ἐν εὐαγγελικοῖς μαθήμασι καὶ ζῶσον τὴν ὀσφὺν σωφροσύνης λόγοις· δὸς μάχαιραν εἰς τὴν χεῖρα κατὰ τῶν παθῶν ὀξύτατον θυμὸν καὶ ἀντίταξον φάλαγγα παθῶν ἡδονῇ.

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About this text

Evagrius on how a spiritual father should guide his disciples: an unskilled guide destroys and a skilled one heals, correction comes without anger, and the road leads, like Israel's to Elim, to freedom from the passions.

Evagrius Ponticus (c. 345–399) wrote this treatise for a monastic leader responsible for guiding disciples. He was a monk and ascetic teacher who spent his later years in the Egyptian desert communities of Nitria and Kellia, after earlier being a disciple of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Macarius of Egypt. The work offers practical guidance on how to lead a community toward virtue and guard its members from harm.

The treatise addresses a leader directly, using comparisons from seafaring, shepherding, warfare, medicine, and Israel's desert journey. Evagrius argues that an unskilled guide destroys those in his care, just as an unskilled pilot wrecks a ship or an inexperienced shepherd loses sheep. The skilled leader is like a general and physician who prevents wounds or heals them quickly.

A reader should know that the leader must arm disciples with specific spiritual equipment, train them for spiritual combat, correct them without anger, and lead them through discipline toward the promised land. There they will live the blessed life of freedom from passions, receiving true joy as the reward for their labors.

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Translated from PG (Greek)

This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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