These
eight passions should be destroyed as follows: gluttony by self-control;
unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store;
avarice by compassion for the poor; anger by goodwill and love for all men;
worldly dejection by spiritual joy; listlessness by patience, perseverance and
offering thanks to God; self-esteem by doing good in secret and by praying
constantly with a contrite heart; and pride by not judging or despising anyone
in the manner of the boastful Pharisee (cf. Luke 18 : 11–12), and by
considering oneself the least of all men.
When the intellect has been freed in
this way from the passions we have described and been raised up to God, it will
henceforth live the life of blessedness, receiving the pledge of the Holy
Spirit (2 Cor. 1 : 22). And when it departs this life, dispassionate and full
of true knowledge, it will stand before the light of the Holy Trinity and with
the divine angels will shine in glory through all eternity.
St. John
Damascene, “On the Virtues and the Vices”
from The Philokalia: The Complete
Text (Vol. 2)
Source: http://www.orthodoxchurchquotes.com/2015/02/05/st-john-damascene-these-eight-passions-should-be-destroyed-as-follows/
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