The Battle Against Fornication

Just as from the seed of the sweat of fasting, there grows the ear of chastity, so from fullness comes dissoluteness, and from overindulgence, uncleanness.

When the stomach is hungry and humble, shameful thoughts in no way penetrate into the soul. Every food that is taken and adds moisture to the body and naturally becomes a kind of strength

within us. And when the bodily members

within us. And when the bodily members swollen by the tension that arises in the whole body become filled and then one happens to see something bodily or

something is involuntarily stirred in the heart together with a thought. Then

from that thought something pleasant suddenly begins to move and spreads throughout the body. Although the mind of a chasteed and pure man is strong in its thoughts, nevertheless through this

sensation that arises in the members, his reasoning is immediately disturbed, and as if from a high place he descends from the station upon which he was standing. The holiness of his thoughts

standing. The holiness of his thoughts is shaken, and the radiant chastity becomes defiled by the turmoil of the passions that enter the heart through the inflamed members. Then half his

strength collapses, so that one may say he forgets the first aim of his hope.

And before entering into battle, he is taken captive without battle, and without effort becomes subject to the lust of his feeble flesh. To all this,

the will of a good man is compelled by the strong desire for continual fullness, even if he remains firmly anchored in the harbor of chastity. Yet

overindulgence inclines him to surrender to that which he would never wish to admit into his heart. And as soon as one thought falls asleep, a whole assembly

of thoughts surrounds him containing vain and shameful dreams. And this pure bed of his becomes a den of fornication and a spectacle of visions. And when in

the intoxication of thoughts he enters into conversation with them, he defiles his consecrated members even without drawing near to a woman. What sea is

ever so stirred up and boiling from a storm as the mind is agitated being subjected to the force of the waves.

Those waves arising from the sea of his own flesh, stirred by the overallness of the belly. And the emptiness of the

the belly. And the emptiness of the stomach makes our thoughts like a desert land undisturbed by thoughts and silent from all turbulent imaginings.

But a stomach filled through overindulgence becomes a realm of phantoms and fullness makes it forgated for absurd fantasies even if we are

alone in the desert. For they say that satiety longs for many things. When you

are granted divine grace and inner dispassion, then understand that it is not because shameful thoughts do not arise in you, nor because carnal thoughts are not stirred. For no one can

be entirely without them, nor because such thoughts are easily defeated by you. For through them the mind is

you. For through them the mind is neither defiled nor disturbed, however lofty it may be. Rather it is because the mind being occupied with better

spiritual activity is not left in the necessity of fighting with them and destroying them. Instead, as soon as the

destroying them. Instead, as soon as the thought approaches, the mind is swiftly lifted away from it by a certain power beyond its own will which through habit

and through grace keeps the leavenven within the heart which is the dwelling place of the mind.

Lord God.