St Nikodimos, when he compiled the Philokalia, placed the work “On the Character of Men and the Virtuous Life” as the first chapter in the Philokalia, as it was credited to St Anthony, one of the first Fathers of the desert. The editors of the modern compilation of the Philokalia relegated this work to the Appendix, arguing that it was more stoic than Christian, noting that biblical references are wholly absent from this work, unlike the rest of the Philokalia, which are replete with quotes from the Scriptures. We are happy they relegated it to the Appendix rather than omitting it, since it is truly a treasure. Our Christian stoic philosopher teaches us about: • Controlling your passions, and controlling your anger and desire. • Loving God and loving our neighbor. • Living a virtuous life, and a life that is both frugal and grateful, without complaints. • Need for justice without anger, justice free of passions. • The godly intellect that strengthens our soul and faith. This video draws from our blog: http://www.seekingvirtueandwisdom.com/philokalia-on-the-character-of-men-and-the-virtuous-life/ Purchase from Amazon: The Philokalia: The Complete Text (Vol. 1) https://amzn.to/3eCtqBo The Philokalia: A Classic Text of Orthodox Spirituality, Essays https://amzn.to/2V1dhhQ

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Philokalia, Stoic Philosopher in the
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3. Today we will learn and reflect on the Stoic work in the Appendix of the Philokalia,
On the Character of Men and the Virtuous Life.
You may ask, how can we benefit when we ponder this Stoic work?
Both the stoics and the Eastern Church Fathers of the Philokalia show us how to
live a godly life, to Love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, by living a life
of daily discipline and prayer.

4. We always like to quote from the works we are
discussing. At the end of our talk, we will discuss
the sources used for this video, and my blogs that
also cover this topic. Please, we welcome
interesting questions in the comments, sometimes
these will generate short videos of their own. Let us
learn and reflect together!

5. To find the source of any
direct quotes in this blog,
please type in the phrase to
the search box in my blog to
see the referenced footnote.
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6. St Nikodimos, when he compiled the Philokalia, placed the work
“On the Character of Men and the Virtuous Life” as the first
chapter in the Philokalia, as it was credited to St Anthony, one of
the first Fathers of the desert. The editors of the modern
compilation of the Philokalia relegated this work to the Appendix,
arguing that it was more stoic than Christian, noting that biblical
references are wholly absent from this work, unlike the rest of the
Philokalia, which are replete with quotes from the Scriptures.

8. We are quite fortunate that the current editors respected St Nikodimos to keep this
work in the modern Philokalia, as it is indeed a treasure. The Philokalia does not
strive for originality, and as you read the Philokalia the copying of later authors from
the earlier authors is inescapable. This author, who was writing under the
pseudonym of St Anthony, indeed copied ideas and phrases from the stoic
philosophers, likely he was a stoic philosopher who converted to Christianity.
Should we be critical of this influence of stoic philosophy? What is better, the
ancient Greek culture, saturated in the unselfishness of stoic philosophy, where self-
discipline is the ideal, where we are bid to control our passions, or today’s modern
culture, saturated in selfish psychobabble, where we are bid to give full rein to our
uncontrollable passions, lest we burst out in neuroses, where nothing is our fault,
where all our faults are blamed on our family, on our environment, on our neuroses,
where we blame our sufferings on anything but our own lack of self-discipline?

10. The most puzzling objection of the editors is when the author says that another
name for guardian angels is the personal daemon on the Greeks. Socrates tells us of
his personal daemon in the Phaedrus and other dialogues, the Socratic daemon
never guides you in what you should do, but rather objects if you commit an act of
great impiety towards God, which differs from the guardian angel who invisibly
protects you from harm.
My objective is not to criticize the editors for their comments, but to caution the
readers not to draw the wrong conclusion and avoid studying this treasure that
opened the compilation of St Nikodimos. This work may not sound exactly like the
other works in the first volume of the Philokalia, but it is not the work of a pagan
stoic philosophers either. IMHO you can neither accept or reject this as either a
Christian or stoic composition, it is really a combination, a combination that
demonstrates how both stoic philosophy and Eastern Christianity grew together
from the same Greek and Jewish soil, and how they borrowed freely from each
other.

11. Our stoic philosopher teaches us to control
the passions, seeking God’s help through
his grace. “When a man reveres God with
all his heart and with faith, he receives
through God’s providence the power to
control anger and desire; for it is desire
and anger which are the cause of all
evils.”(11)
“We have received from God self-control,
forbearance, restraint, fortitude, patience,
and the like, which are great and holy
powers, helping us to resist the enemy’s
attacks.”(3) “The four passions are self-
esteem, levity, anger and cowardice.”(79)

12. We should search out our own faults and scrutinize our
own way of life, to see if we are pleasing God. “What
concern is it of ours if another man is wicked?”(86)
“The lax soul is turbid and perishes through wickedness,
since it contains within itself profligacy, pride, insatiate
desire, anger, impetuosity, frenzy, murderousness,
querulousness, jealousy, greed, rapacity, self-pity, lying,
sensual pleasure, sloth, dejection, cowardice, morbidity,
hatred, censoriousness, debility, delusion, ignorance,
deceit and forgetfulness of God.”(8)
“Holiness, salvation and a crown of incorruption are
given to the man who bears misfortunes cheerfully and
with thankfulness. To control anger, the tongue, the
belly and sensual pleasures is of the utmost benefit to
the soul.”(155)
“The truly intelligent soul is not disturbed when she
sees the success of the wicked and the prosperity of the
worthless.”(144)

13. What is our most precious
possession? “A virtuous way of life,
conforming to God’s will, surpasses all
wealth. When you reflect on this and
keep it in your mind constantly, you will
not grumble, whine or blame anyone,
but will thank God for everything, seeing
that those who rely on repute and riches
are worse off than yourself.”(4) “The
more frugal a man’s life, the happier he
is, for he is not troubled by a host of
cares.”

14. We should seek the prosperity that fills our soul rather than our pocket,
for chasing after new cars and castles and country clubs will only add to
the cares of this world. Should we pray to God to fill our pockets, and
should we complain to God when our pockets are not filled, complaining
how our prayers are never answered? Should our prayers be a shopping
list we hand to God?

15. Thieves can steal our wealth, but
never our virtue. Here the Philokalia
teaches that we should never
consider it a loss when we lose our
children, our money, or our
possessions, but be thankful for all
the God has loaned to us for our use,
realizing it could be taken away at any
time.(36) This is also a frequent
teaching of Epictetus and the other
stoics, not to allow our misfortunes to
turn us away from God and the Love
of God and love of our neighbor.

17. Epictetus tells us of someone who
stole his lamp one night, he got the
better end of the exchange. For
Epictetus only lost his lamp, but he
kept his faith. But the man who stole
his lamp, in exchange for the lamp he
consented to become a thief,
becoming faithless.
EPICTETUS: ROMAN STOIC PHILOSOPHER

18. The stoic Epictetus, who was the freed slave of a freed
slave, would certain agree to this teaching of the
Philokalia, “A Man is free if he is not a slave to sensual
pleasures, but through good judgment and self-restraint
masters the body and with true gratitude is satisfied
with what God gives him, even though it is quite
scanty.”(56) Do not seek wealth and riches, but instead
seek virtue, seek the Love of God. Men who are not
happy with what they have but “desire more, enslave
themselves to passions that disturb the soul,” crying
out, more, more, more! “The desire for more than one
needs does not allow one’s soul to struggle or to be
saved.”(57) Whether you are a slave to your passions,
or whether you are free and do not yield to your
passions, this is your choice, “for God created you with
free will, and he who overcomes the passions of the
flesh is crowned with incorruption.”(67)

19. “All who come into this life, both those who
live modestly, and those who enjoy wealth
and ostentation, leave this life like an inn:
each takes with him none of its pleasures
and riches, but only his own past actions
whether good or bad.”(80)
“To escape death is impossible. Knowing
this, those who are truly intelligent and
practiced in virtue and spiritual thought
accept death without complaining, without
fear or grief, for death is inevitable and
delivers us from the evils of this life.”(82)

20. We see tension between contentment and
justice: “We should not become angry with
those who sin, even if what they do is
criminal and deserves judgement.” Rather,
for the sake of justice they ought to be
corrected or even punished. “But we should
not become angry or excited, for anger
brings passion, anger impedes good
judgement and justice. Moreover, we
should not approve of those who show
more mercy than is proper. The wicked
must be punished for the sake of what is
good or just, but not as a result of the
personal passion or anger.”(69)

21. Both the stoics and the church fathers teach
us that we should control our passions:
“Intelligent people must ceaselessly
remember that by enduring slight and
passing suffering in this life, we gain the
greatest joy and eternal bliss after
death. Therefore, if a man falls when
struggling against the passions and wishing
to be crowned by God, he should not lose
heart and remain fallen, despairing of
himself, but should rise and begin again the
struggle to win his crown. Until his last
breath he should rise whenever he has fallen;
for bodily toil is a weapon used by the
virtues, and brings salvation to the soul.”(76)

22. The Christian life centers on the Love of God and
the love for our neighbor: “Concentration on
holiness of living, together with attentiveness to
the soul, leads to goodness and the Love of
God. For he who seeks God finds Him by
overcoming all desires through persistence in
prayer. Such a man does not fear
demons.”(27) “Those who are truly men must
endeavor to live with holiness and Love of God, so
that their holy life shines before others.”(38) “The
man who is good and enjoys the Love of God, and
who truly knows Him, never ceases to do
ungrudgingly all that accords with His will. Such
mean are rare.”(40)

23. Our intellect is what separates man from the
beasts, reason from passion, intelligence is what
enables man to worship God and lead a selfless
life. “Nothing is more precious to man than
intelligence. Its power enables us to adore God
through intelligent speech and thanksgiving. By
contrast, when we use futile or slanderous speech
we condemn our soul. An obtuse man blames his
sins on the conditions of his birth or on something
else, while his words and actions are evil through
his own free choice.”(65)

24. Intellect that does not lead us
to the Love of God is a gift from
God wasted. “An intellect that
enjoys the Love of God is a light
that shines on the soul, just as
the sun shines on the
body.”(31) “There is no profit
in studying doctrines unless the
life of one’s soul is acceptable
and conforms to God’s will. The
cause of all evils is delusion,
self-deception and ignorance of
God.” “Just as the body is dead
without the soul, so the soul
without the intellect is inert and
cannot receive God.”(131)

25. Living a godly life takes effort, takes study,
takes learning, we must learn to use our
intellect to study Scriptures and the
Church Fathers to learn and internalize
the good in our hearts. “The intelligent
soul endeavors to free itself from error,
delusion, boastfulness, deceit, from
jealousy, rapacity and the like, which are
works of the demons and of man’s evil
intent. Everything is successfully
achieved through persistent study and
practice when one’s desire is not
impelled towards base pleasures.”
(22) “The soul is divinized through the
intellect, but the nature of the body
makes the soul grow slack.”(135)

26. Jesus warns us not to cast pearls
before swine. “Do not try to teach
people at large about devoutness
and right living. I say this not
because I begrudge them such
teaching, but because you will
appear ridiculous to the stupid.”(84)
Here the Philokalia teaches that we
should not argue with our neighbor
over the truth, over religious
doctrine, and if someone want to
argue with us we should refuse, lest
our brutish tongue kills and petrifies
our intellect. “As bad water ruins
good wine, so harmful talk corrupts
those who are virtuous in life and
character.”(44,46)

27. Instead, when we gather
together with other Christians,
we should heed the exhortations
in Hebrews, to always encourage
one another. May we discuss our
faith with patience and
love. “The intellect responsive to
God’s Love is an invisible
blessing given by God to those
whose life by its virtue
commends itself to Him.” God
grants men “intellect,
understanding, spiritual
knowledge, and the power to
discern what is good, so that,
realizing the harm that comes
from evil, they may avoid it.”(168)

28. SOURCES:
Volume 1 of Philokalia,
Pictures of icons from church below,
And thumbnail is a picture of a monastery at Mt
Athos in Greece

29. One hobby of mine is taking photographs of
icons and stained-glass windows of churches.
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30. Moni Agiou Panteleimonos, Monastery on Mount Athos, Greece

31. PLEASE click on the link for our blog on this topic in the description
below.
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that will broaden your knowledge and improve your soul.

32. To find the source of any
direct quotes in this blog,
please type in the phrase to
the search box in my blog to
see the referenced footnote.
Description has links for:
• Script PDF file
• Blog
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© Copyright 2021