Talking back
Subtitle: a monastic handbook for combating demons
By: Evagrius of Pontus ; translated with an Introduction by David Brakke.
Contributors: Brakke, David.
Series: Cistercian studies series -- no. 229
Publisher: Cistercian Publications; Liturgical Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Trappist, Ky; Collegeville, Minn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 200
ISBN-13: 9780879073299
Subjects: Spiritual warfare
Work titles: Antirrhetikos.
Description: How did the monks of the Egyptian desert fight against the demons that attacked them with tempting thoughts? How could Christians resist the thoughts of gluttony, fornication, or pride that assailed them and obstructed their contemplation of God? According to Evagrius of Pontus (345-399), one of the greatest spiritual directors of ancient monasticism, the monk should "talk back" to demons with relevant passages from the Bible. His book Talking Back (Antirrhetikos) lists over 500 thoughts or circumstances in which the demon-fighting monk might find himself, along with the biblical passages with which the monk should respond. It became one of the most popular books among the ascetics of Late Antiquity and the Byzantine East, but until now the entire text had not been translated into English. From Talking Back we gain a better understanding of Evagrius's eight primary demons: gluttony, fornication, love of money, sadness, anger, listlessness, vainglory, and pride. We can explore a central aspect of early monastic spirituality, and we get a glimpse of the temptations and anxieties that the first desert monks faced. -- Publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.         ) and indexes.

In English, translated from a Syriac translation of the Greek original.