The Monk of Silver-Loving and the Nature of Anger

Having bloomed again. He who intends to cut away passions must cut away the root; for if he prunes the branches while avarice remains, he does nothing useful, for even if they are cut, they immediately bloom again.

A greedy monk is like a heavily laden ship, easily diving into the surge of waves; for just as a ship overloaded by each wave is tormented, so the greedy one becomes submerged by his cares. An ungreedy monk is a steady traveler, finding lodging in every place. An ungreedy monk is a high-flying eagle, descending to food only when necessity compels him.

Such a person is higher than every temptation; he scoffs at what is present and is lifted up, suspended in the air, withdrawing from earthly things and making his life among the higher things; for he has a light wing, not weighed down by cares. If tribulation comes, he leaves the place without being crushed; if death approaches, he departs straightway; for he has not bound his soul to any earthly thing.

But the greedy one is prostrate with anxieties, and just as a dog is bound in a chain, even if he is forced to repent, he circles the memories of his possessions like a heavy and useless burden; he is stung by grief, and toward the thought of them he suffers intensely; he has left the possessions, yet he is scourged by the grief of them. Even if death comes, he pitifully lets go of what is present and gives up his soul, yet his eye does not depart from things; his limb is pulled away like a runaway slave, divided from the body, but not divided from things, rather being held by the passion that pulls him.

The sea is not filled even though it receives a multitude of rivers, and the desire for silver is not satisfied by things; he has doubled his money, and he desires to make these things double as well, and he never ceases doubling, until death stops this unceasing haste.

A prudent monk will attend to the body's needs, and will fill the stomach's need with bread and water; he will not flatter the wealthy for the pleasure of the stomach, nor will he enslave a free mind to many masters; for the hands are sufficient to serve the body and to fulfill natural necessity in all things. An ungreedy monk is an unhesitating athlete and a light runner, quickly reaching the prize of the higher calling. A greedy monk rejoices in many arrivals, but the ungreedy...

Those who have achieved virtue are crowned. A silver-loving monk works hard, but the generous man occupies himself with prayers and readings. A silver-loving monk fills treasuries of gold, but the generous man stores up in heaven. 'Accursed is he who makes an idol and places it in secret' (Exodus 20:4), just so is he who has the passion of silver-loving; for the one worships a deceptive, unprofitable thing, but the other carries the phantom of wealth.

CHAPTER 8. Concerning Anger. Anger is a manic passion, and it easily deranges those who have knowledge, making the soul beast-like and making every encounter a turning away. A violent wind will not move a tower, and a wrathless spirit is not seized by fury. Water is moved by the force of winds, and the wrathful man is tossed by irrational thoughts. A monk in anger saw something and gnashed his teeth. A rising mist thickens the air, and a movement of fury thickens the intellect of the angry man. A cloud running before darkened the sun, and a thought of grudge darkens the mind. A lion being in a painting constantly moves the feathers, and the wrathful man in a cell moves thoughts of anger. Pleasant is contemplation, a calm sea, but there is nothing more pleasant than a peaceful state; for in a calm sea dolphins swim, but in a peaceful state, God-befitting thoughts are immersed. A long-suffering monk is a quieting spring, providing a gentle drink to all, but the intellect of the angry man is scattered through all things and will not give water to the thirsty; and even if he gives, it is muddied and useless, and the eyes of the wrathful are disordered, and they are mists and angels of the troubled heart. But the face of the long-suffering man is set upright, and his eyes are gentle, looking downward.

CHAPTER 9. The deed of a man is remembered by God, and a wrathless soul becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christ bows his head in a long-suffering spirit, and the dwelling of the Holy Trinity becomes a peace-making intellect. Foxes dwell in a grudging soul, and beasts defile a troubled heart. A venerable man flees a shameful pursuit, and God flees a grudging heart. A stone falling has stirred the water, and an evil word of a man has stirred the heart. Remove thoughts of anger from your soul, and let fury not pipe in your heart, and you shall not be troubled in a time of prayer; for just as smoke without sound disturbs the eyes, so...