The Philokalia: The Complete Text

«There is among the passions* an anger of the intellect, and this anger is in accordance with nature. Without anger a man cannot attain purity : he has to feel angry with all that is sown in him by the enemy. When Job felt this anger he reviled his enemies, calling them 'dishonourable men of no repute, lacking everything good, whom I would not consider fit to live with the dogs that guard my flocks' (cf. Job 30 : 1 , 4-· LXX). He who wishes to acquire the anger that is in accordance with nature must uproot all self-will, until he establishes within himself the state natural to the intellect.» — San Isaías el Solitario abre On Guarding the Intellect: Twenty-Seven Texts, texto 1, sosteniendo que hay entre las pasiones una ira del intelecto conforme a la naturaleza, sin la cual nadie alcanza la pureza, y que quien la quiera ha de arrancar de raíz toda voluntad propia; el asterisco de *passions* es la marca del Glossary y la cita de Job va con la sigla LXX.

«Let us stand firm in the fear of God, rigorously practising the virtuesl and not giving our conscience cause to stumble. In the fear of God let us keep our attention fixed within ourselves, until our conscience achieves its freedom. Then there will be a union between it and us, and thereafter it will be our guardian, showing us each thing that we must uproot.» — el texto 3 pone la conciencia como guardián: atención fija dentro de uno mismo en el temor de Dios hasta que la conciencia alcance su libertad y muestre qué hay que arrancar; el escaneo pega la llamada de nota a *virtues*, que queda *virtuesl*.

«The conscience is called an 'adversary' because it opposes us when we wish to carry out the desires of our flesh ;* and if we do not listen to our conscience, it delivers us into the hands of our enemies.» — y en la continuación del mismo texto 3, al otro lado del corte de plana, explica por qué el Evangelio llama adversario a la conciencia: porque se opone cuando se quiere cumplir los deseos de la carne.

«If God sees that the intellect has entirely submitted to Him and puts its hope in Him alone, He strengthens it, saying : 'Have no fear Jacob my son, my little Israel' (lsa. 4-1 : 1 4-. LXX), and : 'Have no fear : for I have delivered you, I have called you by My name ; you are Mine. If you pass through water, I shall be with you, and the rivers will not drown you. If you go through fire, you will not be burnt, and the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, who saves you'» — el texto 4 pone en boca del profeta Isaías las palabras con que Dios fortalece al intelecto que se le ha sometido del todo, *no temas Jacob hijo mío*, y la promesa de que las aguas no lo ahogarán ni las llamas lo consumirán; las citas van por la Septuaginta.

«When the intellect hears these words of reassurance, it says boldly to its enemies : 'Who would fight with me ? Let him stand against me. And who would accuse me ? Let him draw near to me. Behold, the Lord is my helper ; who will harm me ? Behold, all of you are like an old moth-eaten garment'» — en el texto 5 el intelecto responde a sus enemigos con la voz del mismo profeta: quién luchará conmigo, el Señor es mi auxilio, y todos vosotros sois como una vestidura vieja comida de polilla.

«If your heart* comes to feel a natural hatred for sin,* it has defeated the causes of sin and freed itself from them. Keep hell's torments in mind ; but know that your Helper is at hand. Do nothing that will grieve Him, but say to Him with tears : 'Be merciful and deliver me, 0 Lord, for without Thy help I cannot escape from the hands of my enemies.' Be attentive to your heart, and He will guard you from all evil.» — el texto 6 sostiene que el odio natural al pecado es ya señal de haber vencido sus causas, y manda tener presentes los tormentos del infierno sabiendo a la vez que el Auxiliador está cerca.

«The monk should shut all the gates of his soul, that is, the senses, so that he is not lured astray. When the intellect sees that it is not dominated by anything, it prepares itself for immortality, gathering its senses together and forming them into one body.» — el texto 7 manda al monje cerrar todas las puertas del alma, que son los sentidos, para que el intelecto, al verse no dominado por nada, se prepare para la inmortalidad reuniendo los sentidos en un solo cuerpo.

«If your intellect is freed from all hope in things visible, this is a sign that sin has died in you. 9· If your intellect is freed, the breach between it and God is eliminated.» — los textos 8 y 9 dan dos señales seguidas: el intelecto libre de toda esperanza en lo visible es señal de que el pecado ha muerto, y el intelecto libre ya no tiene brecha con Dios.

«If you find yourself hating your fellow men and resist this hatred, and you see that it grows weak and withdraws, do not rejoice in your heart ; for this withdrawal is a trick of the evil spirits. They are preparing a second attack worse than the first ; they have left their troops behind the city and ordered them to remain there. If you go out to attack them, they will flee before you in weakness.» — en el texto 2 San Isaías niega que el retiro del odio sea victoria: lo llama treta de los espíritus malignos, que dejan sus tropas detrás de la ciudad y huyen para atraer al que sale a atacarlas.

«But if your heart is then elated because you have driven them away, and you leave the city, some of them will attack you from the rear while the rest will stand their ground in front of you ; and your wretched soul will be caught between them with no means of escape. The city is prayer. Resistance is rebuttal* through Christ Jesus. The foundation is incensive power» — y cierra el texto 2 con el desenlace de la alegoría y su clave, donde la ciudad es la oración, la resistencia es el rechazo por Cristo Jesús y el fundamento es la fuerza incensiva; el asterisco es marca del Glossary.

«If your intellect is freed from all its enemies and attains the sabbath rest, it lives in another age,* a new age in which it contemplates things new and undecaying. For 'wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles be gathered together'» — el texto 10 dice que el intelecto libre de todos sus enemigos alcanza el descanso sabático y vive en otra edad, donde contempla cosas nuevas e incorruptibles, y remata con el dicho evangélico de las águilas y el cadáver.

«The demons cunningly withdraw for a time in the hope that we vvill cease to guard* our heart, thinking we have now attained peace ; then they suddenly attack our unhappy soul and seize it like a sparrow. Gaining possession of it, they drag it down mercilessly into all kinds of sin, worse than those which we have already committed and for which we have asked forgiveness. Let us stand, therefore, with fear of God and keep guard over our heart, practising the virtues which check the wickedness of our enemies.» — el texto 11 vuelve sobre la misma treta: los demonios se retiran un tiempo para que se deje de guardar el corazón y luego arrebatan el alma como a un gorrión; el escaneo imprime *vvill* por *will*.

«Our teacher Jesus Christ, out of pity for m<:nkind and knowing the utter mercilessness of the demons, severely commands us : 'Be ready at every hour, for you do not know when the thief will come; do not let him come and find you asleep'» — el texto 12 pone en boca de Cristo el mandato de estar listo a toda hora porque no se sabe cuándo viene el ladrón; el escaneo corrompe *mankind* en *m<:nkind* y el signo va dentro de la cita.

«Stand guard, then, over your heart and keep a watch on your senses ; and if the remembrance* of God dwells peaceably within you, you will catch the thieves when they try to deprive you of it. When a man has an exact knowledge about the nature of thoughts,* he recognizes those which are about to enter and defile him, troubling the intellect with distractions and making it lazy. Those who recognize these evil thoughts for what they are remain undisturbed and continue in prayer to God.» — y cierra el texto 12 con la consigna práctica: montar guardia sobre el corazón y vigilar los sentidos, de modo que el recuerdo de Dios delate a los ladrones, y reconocer los pensamientos por lo que son antes de que entren.

«Unless a man hates all the activity of this world, he cannot worship God. What then is meant by the worship of God ? It means that we have nothing extraneous in our intellect when we are praying to Him : neither sensual pleasure* as we bless Him, nor malice as we sing His praise, nor hatred as we exalt Him, nor jealousy to hinder us as we speak to Him and call Him to mind.» — el texto 13 define el culto a Dios por lo que no ha de haber en el intelecto al orar: ni placer sensual al bendecirlo, ni malicia al alabarlo, ni odio al exaltarlo, ni celos que estorben al hablarle.

«For all these things are full of darkness ; they are a wall imprisoning our wretched soul, and if the soul has them in itself it cannot worship God with purity. They obstruct its ascent and prevent it from meeting God ; they hinder it from blessing Him inwardly and praying to Him with sweetness of heart, and so receiving His illumination.» — y llama a esas cosas muro que aprisiona al alma y le estorba el ascenso, el encuentro con Dios y la iluminación que de él recibiría.

«of the flesh and imbues them with dispassion,* the passions shamelessly attack the soul, trying to hold its senses fast in sin; but if the intellect then continually calls upon God in secret, He, seeing all this, will send His help and destroy all the passions at once.» — el texto 14 sostiene que si el intelecto llama a Dios en secreto sin cesar, Dios ve el asalto de las pasiones y envía su auxilio; el tramo arranca al otro lado del corte de chunk, que el troceo hace dentro de la misma plana.

«I entreat you not to leave your heart unguarded, so long as you are in the body. Just as a farmer cannot feel confident about the crop growing in his fields, because he does not know what will happen to it before it is stored away in his granary, so a man should not leave his heart unguarded so long as he still has breath in his nostrils. Up to his last breath he cannot know what passion will attack him ; so long as he breathes, therefore, he must not leave his heart unguarded, but should at every moment pray to God for His help and mercy.» — el texto 15 pide no dejar el corazón sin guardia mientras se esté en el cuerpo, con la imagen del labrador que no confía en la cosecha hasta tenerla en el granero.

«He who receives no help when at war should feel no confidence when at peace. 1 7. When a man severs himself from evil, he gains an exact understanding of all the sins he has committed against God ; for he does not see his sins unless he severs himself from them with a feeling of revulsion.» — los textos 16 y 17 encadenan dos sentencias: quien no recibe auxilio en la guerra no ha de sentir confianza en la paz, y nadie ve sus pecados si no se aparta de ellos con repugnancia.

«Once you have begun to seek God with true devotion and with all your heart, then you cannot possibly imagine that you already conform to His will. So long as your conscience reproves you for anything that you have done contrary to nature, you are not yet free : the reproof means that you are still under trial and have not yet been acquitted. But if you find when you are praying that nothing at all accuses you of evil, then you are free and by God's will have entered into His peace.» — el texto 18 pone la conciencia como juez del estado propio: mientras reprocha algo contrario a la naturaleza no hay libertad, y solo cuando al orar nada acusa de mal se ha entrado en la paz de Dios.

«So long as the contest continues, a man is full of fear and trembling, wondering whether he will win today or be defeated, whether he will win tomorrow or be defeated : the struggle and stress constrict his heart. But when he has attained dispassion, the contest comes to an end ; he receives the prize of victory and has no further anxiety about the three that were divided, for now through God they have made peace with one another.» — el texto 18 describe el fin del combate: mientras dura, el hombre vive con miedo y temblor por si vencerá hoy o mañana, y al alcanzar la ausencia de pasión recibe el premio y deja de inquietarse por los tres que estaban divididos.

«These three are the soul, the body and the spirit. When they become one through the energy of the Holy Spirit, they cannot again be separated. Do not think, then, that you have died to sin, so long as you suffer violence, whether waking or sleeping, at the hands of your opponents. For while a man is still competing in the arena, he cannot be sure of victory.» — y nombra a los tres, alma, cuerpo y espíritu, que al hacerse uno por la energía del Espíritu Santo ya no vuelven a separarse, con el límite de que nadie está seguro de la victoria mientras siga compitiendo en la arena.

«Examine yourself daily in the sight of God, and discover which of the passions is in your heart. Cast it out, and so escape His judgment.» — el texto 20 manda el examen diario ante Dios para descubrir cuál de las pasiones está en el corazón y echarla fuera.

«Be attentive to your heart and watch your enemies, for they are cunning in their malice. In your heart be persuaded of this : it is impossible for a man to achieve good through evil means. That is why our Saviour told us to be watchful, saying : 'Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it'» — el texto 21 enuncia la regla de que nadie logra el bien por medios malos, y la apoya en el dicho evangélico de la puerta estrecha.

«Be attentive to yourself, so that nothing destructive can separate you from the love of God. Guard your heart, and do not grow listless and say : 'How shall I guard it, since I am a sinner?' For when a man abandons his sins and returns to God, his repentance* regenerates him and renews him entirely.» — el texto 22 responde a la objeción de quien se pregunta cómo guardará el corazón siendo pecador: el arrepentimiento de quien deja sus pecados y vuelve a Dios lo regenera y lo renueva entero.

«A monk should consider the purpose of each text in Scripture, to whom it speaks and on what occasions. He should persevere continually in the ascetic struggle and be on his guard against the provocations* of the enemy. Like a pilot steering a boat through the waves, he should hold to his course, guided by grace. Keeping his attention fixed within himself, he should commune with God in stillness,* guarding his thoughts from distraction and his intellect from curiosity.» — y añade el modo de leer: considerar el propósito de cada texto, a quién habla y en qué ocasión, y mantenerse como piloto que gobierna la barca entre las olas, guiado por la gracia.

«In storms and squalls we need a pilot, and in this present life we need prayer ; fo1· we are susceptible to the provocations of our thoughts, both good and bad. If our thought is full of devotion and love of God, it rules over the passions. As hesychasts, 1 we should discriminate between virtue and vice with discretion and watchfulness ;* and we should know which virtues to practise when in the presence of our brethren and elders and which to pursue when alone. We should know which virtue comes first, and which second or third ; which passions attack the soul and which the body, and also which virtues concern the soul and which the body.» — el texto 24 despliega la discriminación que pide a los hesicastas: saber qué virtudes practicar ante los hermanos y los ancianos y cuáles a solas, cuál viene primera y cuál después, y qué pasiones atacan al alma y cuáles al cuerpo.

«The first virtue is detachment, that is, death in relation to every person or thing. This produces the desire* for God, and this in turn gives rise to the anger that is in accordance with nature, and that flares up against all the tricks of the enemy. Then the fear of God will establish itself within us, and through this fear love will be made manifest.» — el texto 25 encadena la serie de las virtudes: el desapego, que es muerte respecto de toda persona y de toda cosa, engendra el deseo de Dios, de ahí la ira conforme a la naturaleza, de ahí el temor de Dios y por ese temor se manifiesta el amor.

«heart, in both the Old and the New Testaments. David says in the Psalms : '0 sons of men, how long will you be heavy of heart?' (Ps. 4: 2 . LXX), and again : 'Their heart is vain' (Ps. t;: 9· LXX) ; and of those who think futile thoughts, he says : 'For he has said in his heart, I shall not be moved' (Ps. 1 o : 6), and : 'He has said in his heart, God has forgotten'» — el texto 23 sostiene que la Escritura entera, en los dos Testamentos, habla de guardar el corazón, y lo apoya en cuatro versículos de los Salmos puestos en boca de David; el tramo arranca al otro lado del corte de plana, donde la 28 deja la frase en *Holy Scripture speaks everywhere about the guarding of the*.

«At the time of prayer, we should expel from our heart the provocation of each evil thought, rebutting it in a spirit of devotion so that we do not prove to be speaking to God with our lips, while pondering wicked thoughts in our heart.» — el texto 26 manda echar del corazón la provocación de cada mal pensamiento al tiempo de orar, para no hablarle a Dios con los labios mientras se rumian pensamientos perversos.

«the hesychast a prayer that is turbid and careless, for everywhere Scripture tells us to guard the soul's organs of perception. If a monk submits his will to the law of God, then his intellect will govern in accordance with this law all that is subordinate to itself. It will direct as it should all the soul's impulses, especially its incensive power and desire, for these are subordinate to it.» — y sigue al otro lado del corte de plana: Dios no acepta del hesicasta una oración turbia y descuidada, y el intelecto de quien somete su voluntad a la ley de Dios gobierna los impulsos del alma, en especial la fuerza incensiva y el deseo.

«We have practised virtue and done what is right, turning our desire towards God and His will, and directing our incensive power, or wrath, against the devil and sin. What then do we still lack? Inward meditation.» — y cierra el texto 26 con la pregunta de qué falta todavía tras haber dirigido el deseo hacia Dios y la ira contra el diablo y el pecado, y con su respuesta de una sola frase, la meditación interior.

«If some shameful thought is sown in your heart as you are sitting in your cell, watch out. Resist the evil, so that it does not gain control over you. Make every effort to call God to mind, for He is looking at you, and whatever you are thinking in your heart is plainly visible to Him. Say to your soul : 'If you are afraid of sinners like yourself seeing your sins, how much more should you be afraid of God who notes everything?'» — el texto 27, último de la serie, manda resistir el pensamiento vergonzoso recordando que Dios mira y que lo que se piensa en el corazón le es visible.

«As a result of this warning the fear of God will be revealed in your soul, and if you cleave to Him you will not be shaken by the passions ; for it is written : 'They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion ; he that dwells in Jerusalem shall never be shaken' (Ps. I 2 5 : 1. LXX). Whatever you are doing, remember that God sees all your thoughts, and then you will never sin. To Him be glory through all the ages. Amen.» — y cierra el texto 27 y la serie entera con la promesa de no ser conmovido por las pasiones, apoyada en el salmo de los que confían en el Señor, y con la doxología final.

«Such is the solitary. He should therefore abstain from women and not beget a son or daughter in the place of which Jeremiah speaks. He must be a soldier of Christ, detached from material things, free from cares and not involved in any trade or commerce ; for, as the Apostle says, 'In order to please the leader who has chosen him, the soldier going to war does not entangle himself in the affairs of this world'» — y define al solitario como soldado de Cristo desprendido de lo material, libre de cuidados y ajeno a todo trato o comercio, con la imagen paulina del soldado que no se enreda en los asuntos del mundo.

«Let the monk follow this course, especially since he has renounced the materiality of this world in order to win the blessings of stillness. For the practice of stillness is full of joy and beauty ; its yoke is easy and its burden light.» — Evagrio llama a la práctica de la quietud llena de gozo y de belleza, con yugo suave y carga ligera, y la pone como aquello por lo que el monje renunció a la materialidad del mundo.

«Keep to a sparse and plain diet, not seeking a variety of tempting dishes. Should the thought come to you of getting extravagant foods in order to give hospitality, dismiss it, do not be deceived by it : for in it the enemy lies in ambush, waiting to tear you away from stillness. Remember how the Lord rebukes Martha (the soul that is over-busy with such things) when He says : 'You are anxious and troubled about many things : one thing alone is needful'» — el tratado manda dieta escasa y sencilla y desecha el pensamiento de procurarse manjares para dar hospitalidad, con la reprensión a Marta como advertencia contra el alma demasiado ocupada.

«If you have only bread, salt or water, you can still meet the dues of hospitality. Even if you do not have these, but make the stranger welcome and say something helpful, you will not be failing in hospitality ; for 'is not a word better than a gift?'» — y reduce la hospitalidad a lo que cabe en la pobreza: pan, sal o agua bastan, y aun sin ellos basta acoger al extraño y decirle algo que le sirva.

«Be careful, then, and do not desire wealth for giving to the poor. For this is another trick of the evil one, who often arouses self-esteem and fills your intellect with worry and restlessness. Think of the widow mentioned in the Gospel by our Lord : with two mites she surpassed the generous gifts of the wealthy. For He says : 'They cast into the treasury out of their abundance ; but she . . . cast in all her livelihood'» — Evagrio objeta incluso al deseo de riqueza para dar a los pobres, al que llama otra treta del maligno que despierta la estima de sí, y opone la viuda de las dos moneditas.

«With regard to clothes, be content with what is sufficient for the needs of the body. 'Cast your burden upon the Lord' (Ps. H: 2 2) and He will provide for you, since 'He cares for you' (I Pet. ) : 7). If you need food or clothes, do not be ashamed to accept what others offer you. To be ashamed to accept is a kind of pride.» — y en el vestido manda contentarse con lo que baste al cuerpo, con la advertencia de que avergonzarse de aceptar lo que otros ofrecen es una forma de orgullo.

«It was compiled in the eighteenth century by two Greek monks, St Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain of Athas (1 749-1 8o9) and St Makarios of Corinth (1 7 JI-1 8os), and was first published at Venice in 1 78 2 .» — la Introduction de Palmer, Sherrard y Ware data la compilación y su primera imprenta: dos monjes griegos del siglo XVIII y Venecia en 1782; las cifras salen con letras por dígitos en el escaneo y se conservan.

«A second edition was published at Athens in 1 893, and this included certain additional texts on prayer by Patriarch Kallistos not found in the 1 78 2 edition.» — los editores señalan que la segunda edición griega, de Atenas en 1893, añadió textos sobre la oración del patriarca Calisto que la de 1782 no traía.

«First, we have not included the introduction written by St Nikodimos, and we have rewritten the notes which he placed before each text or series of texts written by a single author.» — los editores enuncian la primera de las cuatro maneras en que se apartan de las ediciones griegas: omiten la introducción de Nicodemo y reescriben las notas que él puso delante de cada autor.

«Third, we have attributed to Evagrios the work On Prayer, which in the Greek editions is attributed to St Neilos ;» — la tercera: los editores adjudican a Evagrio el tratado On Prayer que las ediciones griegas ponen a nombre de San Neilos, y remiten a la nota que precede a los textos de Evagrio.

«Fourth, we have placed in an appendix the text, attributed to St Antony the Great, which opens the Greek editions ;» — la cuarta: el texto atribuido a San Antonio el Grande, que abre las ediciones griegas, pasa aquí a un apéndice.

«But in no case have we excised any such passage or section on the grounds that it is not by the author to whom St Nikodimos has attributed it.» — los editores declaran que no han suprimido ningún pasaje por sospecha de autoría ajena, aunque lo indiquen en nota.

«The distinction between genuine and spurious where all these writings are concerned must rest, not on the correctness of the attribution of their authorship, but on whether or not they belong to the spiritual tradition which the collection as a whole represents.» — y fijan el criterio con que separan lo genuino de lo espurio: no la corrección de la atribución, sino la pertenencia a la tradición espiritual que la colección representa.

«It was Paisii Velichkovskii ( 17 2 2-1 794), a Russian monk who visited Mount Athos and later settled in Moldavia, who first translated a selection of the texts into Slavonic, published, with the title Dobrotolubiye, at Moscow in 1 79 3 and reprinted at Moscow in 1 8 2 2 .» — la Introduction traza la transmisión eslava: un monje ruso que visitó el Monte Athos vertió una selección al eslavo con el título Dobrotolubiye, impreso en Moscú en 1793.

«This was the translation carried by the pilgrim in The Way cif a Pilgrim ; and indeed the impact of the Philokalia on Russian spirituality and culture in the nineteenth century was immense, as the writings of Dostoievsky, an assiduous reader of the book, alone sufficiently testify.» — los editores nombran al peregrino de The Way of a Pilgrim como portador de esa versión eslava y ponen a Dostoievski como lector asiduo del libro.

«Yet another Russian translation, still with the title Dobrotolubiye, was made by Bishop Theophan the Recluse (1 8 1 5-1 894), who included in it several texts not in the original Greek edition, and deliberately omitted or paraphrased certain passages in some of the texts of the Greek edition.» — la versión rusa del obispo Teófano el Recluso añadió textos que no estaban en la edición griega y omitió o parafraseó pasajes de los que sí.

«This translation was made, not from the Greek original, but from Theophan's Russian translation, and covers slightly less than a third of the material of the Greek edition.» — y acotan su alcance: no venía del griego sino del ruso de Teófano, y cubría algo menos de un tercio del material de la edición griega.

«What first determined the choice of texts made by St Nikodimos and St Makarios, and gives them their cohesion ? 'Philokalia' itself means love of the beautiful, the exalted, the excellent, understood as the transcendent source of life and the revelation of Truth.» — la Introduction desprende el criterio de selección del propio nombre del libro: amor de lo bello, lo elevado y lo excelente, entendido como fuente trascendente de la vida y revelación de la Verdad.

«It is through such love that, as the subtitle of the original edition puts it, 'the intellect is purified, illumined and made perfect' .» — y citan el subtítulo de la edición original para el fin de ese amor, con el intelecto purificado, iluminado y perfeccionado.

«The Philokalia is an itinerary through the labyrinth of time, a silent way of love and gnosis through the deserts and emptinesses of life, especially of modern life, a vivifying and fadeless presence.» — la Introduction nombra al libro itinerario por el laberinto del tiempo y vía silenciosa de amor y de gnosis a través de los desiertos de la vida, en particular de la vida moderna.

«It is a summons to him to overcome his ignorance, to uncover the knowledge that lies within, to rid himself of illusion,» — y lo llama llamado a vencer la propia ignorancia, a descubrir el conocimiento que está dentro y a deshacerse de la ilusión; el tramo se corta al cambiar de plana y sigue en la 16.

«They describe the conditions most effective for learning what their authors call the art of arts and the science of sciences, a learning which is not a matter of information or agility of mind but of a radical change of will and heart leading man towards the highest possibilities open to him, shaping and nourishing the» — los editores enuncian qué enseñan los textos reunidos: el arte de las artes y la ciencia de las ciencias, que no es información ni agilidad mental sino un cambio radical de voluntad y de corazón; el troceo corta aquí en el límite de chunk sin cambiar de plana y la frase sigue en *unseen part of his being*.

«Philokalia is that made by E . Kadloubovsky and G. E . H. Palmer in two volumes with the titles Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer Ðf the Heart and Early Fathers from the Philokalia, 1 published in 19 .P and 1 9 54 respectively.» — los editores sitúan la única traducción inglesa anterior, de Kadloubovsky y Palmer, en dos tomos; el tramo arranca al otro lado del corte de plana, donde la 14 deja la frase en *The only previous translation into English of texts from the*, y el año de la primera sale corrompido en el escaneo.

«unseen part of his being, and helping him to spiritual fulfilment and union with God.» — los editores siguen la frase al otro lado del corte de chunk: los textos ayudan a la plenitud espiritual y a la unión con Dios; el tramo se corta aquí para no repetir la frase siguiente, que esta ficha cita aparte.

«ST N EILOS TH E ASCETIC Introductory Note page 1 99 Ascetic Discourse 2oo ST DIADO C H O S OF P H OTIKI Introductory Note 2 51 Definitions 2 52 On Spiritual Knowledge and Discrimination : roo Texts 253 ST J O H N OF K A RPATHOS Introductory Note 297 For the Encouragement of the Monks in India who had Written to Him : roo Texts 298 Ascetic Discourse Sent at the Request of the Same Monks in India J2 2 A P P E N D I X : A Work Attributed to St Antony the Great Introductory Note 3 2 7 On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life : 1 70 Texts 3 29 G LOSSA R Y» — la segunda plana del índice cierra la lista con *St Neilos the Ascetic*, *St Diadochos of Photiki*, *St John of Karpathos* y el apéndice con la obra atribuida a San Antonio el Grande, y cifra en romanos corruptos los folios impresos.

«ST I S A I A H T H E SOLITARY Introductory Note On Guarding the Intellect: 2 7 Texts EVAG R IOS T H E SOL ITARY 2 I 2 2 Introductory Note 29 Outline Teaching on Asceticism and Stillness in the Solitary Life 3 I Texts on Discrimination in respect of Passions and Thoughts 3 8 Extracts from the Texts on Watchfulness 53 On Prayer : I 53 Texts» — el índice del Volumen I reparte los textos por autor y da el número de piezas de cada serie; las letras salen espaciadas en el escaneo y se leen *St Isaiah the Solitary*, con *On Guarding the Intellect: 27 Texts*, y *Evagrios the Solitary*, con *On Prayer: 153 Texts*, entreverados con los folios impresos.

«The texts of the Philokalia are, then, guides to the practice of the contemplative life. They constitute, as St Nikodimos puts it in his introduction, 'a mystical school of inward prayer'» — los editores llaman a los textos guías para la práctica de la vida contemplativa y citan de la introducción de Nicodemo la fórmula con que él la nombra, escuela mística de oración interior.

«The emphasis is therefore on inner work, on the cleansing of 'the inside of the cup and plate, so that their outside may also be clean'» — y ponen el acento en el trabajo interior, con la imagen evangélica de limpiar el interior de la copa y del plato para que también lo exterior quede limpio.

«This does not mean that what one might call outer work - the keeping of the commandments and the practice of the moral virtues - is of no importance. On the contrary, such work is a pre-condition of that purification without which no real progress in inner work can be made. Indeed, in this respect outer and inner complement one another.» — acotan enseguida la afirmación: el trabajo exterior, guardar los mandamientos y practicar las virtudes morales, es condición previa de la purificación y no cosa de poca importancia.

«Atrophy or defeat follow only when outer work is practised as an end in itself, and the one thing needful - the inner practice of guarding the intellect and of pure prayer - is neglected.» — y sitúan dónde está el riesgo: cuando el trabajo exterior se practica como fin en sí mismo y se descuida lo único necesario, la práctica interior de guardar el intelecto y de la oración pura.

«An advanced state which may be acquired through the pursuit of this path is described as hesychia, a word which not only bears the sense of tranquillity and silence (hence our translation : stillness) but also is linked through its Greek root with the idea of being seated, fixed, and so of being concentrated.» — los editores definen la *hesychia* que traducen por *stillness*: no solo tranquilidad y silencio, sino, por la raíz griega, la idea de estar sentado, fijo y por tanto concentrado.

«It is therefore fitting that from this word should come the term hesychasm, frequently applied to the whole complex of theory and practice which constitutes the path itself.» — y derivan de esa palabra el término *hesychasm*, que aplican al complejo entero de teoría y práctica en que consiste el camino.

«But here a certain caution is needed. Some modern historians, prone to over-simplification and schematization, have tended to speak of hesychasm as though it were a phenomenon of the later Byzantine world. They speak of the hesychast movement, and by this they mean the spiritual revival which, centred on Mount Athos in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, spread from there into neighbouring lands such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia.» — objetan a los historiadores modernos que hablan del hesicasmo como fenómeno del mundo bizantino tardío y del movimiento hesicasta centrado en el Athos de los siglos XIII y XIV.

«If evidence for this is needed, it may be found in the fact that one of the central forms of the art and science which constitute hesychasm - namely, the invocation of the name of Jesus, or the Jesus Prayer, to give it its traditional title - is already integral to the spiritual method described in many of the texts included in this first volume, most if not all of which were written prior to the ninth century.» — los editores apoyan esa lectura en la invocación del nombre de Jesús, la Oración de Jesús, ya integrada al método de casi todos los textos de este primer tomo, anteriores al siglo IX.

«Indeed, although the Philokalia is concerned with many other matters, it would not be too much to say that it is the recurrent references to the Jesus Prayer which more than anything else confer on it its inner unity.» — y adjudican a las referencias recurrentes a la Oración de Jesús la unidad interna del libro.

«It must be stressed, however, that this spiritual path known as hesychasm cannot be followed in a vacuum. Although most of the texts in the Philokalia are not specifically doctrinal, they all presuppose doctrine eYen when they do not state it. Moreover, this doctrine entails an ecclesiology. It entails a particular understanding of the Church and a view of salvation inextricably bound up with its sacramental and liturgical life.» — los editores ponen el límite de la práctica: el camino no se sigue en el vacío, los textos presuponen doctrina aunque no la enuncien, y esa doctrina implica una eclesiología.

«This is to say that hesychasm is not something that has developed independently of or alongside the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church. It is part and parcel of it. It too is an ecclesial tradition.» — y niegan que el hesicasmo se haya desarrollado al margen de la vida sacramental y litúrgica de la Iglesia: lo llaman parte y porción de ella, tradición eclesial.

«To attempt to practise it, therefore, apart from active participation in this sacramental and liturgical life is to cut it off from its living roots. It is also to abuse the intention of its exponents and teachers and so to act with a presumption that may well have consequences of a disastrous kind, mental and physical.» — y advierten de lo que acarrea practicarlo desgajado de esa vida: cortarlo de su raíz viva y actuar con una presunción de consecuencias mentales y físicas desastrosas.

«The texts in the Philokalia were written by and for those actively living not only within the sacramental and liturgical framework of the Orthodox Church, but also within that of the Orthodox monastic tradition.» — los editores declaran desde dentro de qué tradición hablan los textos reunidos: los escribieron quienes vivían en el marco sacramental y litúrgico de la Iglesia ortodoxa y en el de su tradición monástica; es el pasaje en que la ficha apoya la adscripción a cristianismo.

«Many hesychast writers affirm that this is not the case, and St Nikodimos himself, in his introduction to the original Philokalia, goes out of his way to stress that 'unceasing prayer' may or, rather, should be practised by all.» — y responden a la pregunta de si los consejos valen solo en un ambiente monástico citando a Nicodemo, que insiste en que la oración incesante puede y debe practicarla cualquiera.

«to the later Byzantine centuries. O n the contrary i t denotes the whole spiritual tradition going back to the earliest times and delineated in the Philokalia.» — los editores oponen a esa lectura la suya: el hesicasmo denota la tradición espiritual entera que se remonta a los tiempos más antiguos y que la Filocalía delinea; la frase abre al final de la plana 16, en *Yet hesychasm itself is far more than a local historical movement dating*.

«But, provided that the basic condition of active participation in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church is fulfilled, then this path is open to all to follow, each to the best of his or her ability and whatever the circumstances under which he or she lives.» — y abren el camino a todos, con la condición de la participación activa en la vida sacramental y litúrgica de la Iglesia.

«Indeed, in this respect the distinction between the monastic life and life 'in the world' is but relative : every human being, by virtue of the fact that he or she is created in the image of God, is summoned to be perfect, is summoned to love God with all his or her heart, soul and mind. In this sense all have the same vocation and all must follow the same spiritual path.» — los editores relativizan la distinción entre vida monástica y vida en el mundo: todo ser humano, por estar creado a imagen de Dios, está llamado a ser perfecto y todos tienen la misma vocación.

«What is essential is that one does not follow it in an arbitrary and ignorant manner. Personal guidance from a qualified teacher should always be sought for.» — y ponen la otra condición: no seguir el camino de manera arbitraria e ignorante, y buscar siempre la guía personal de un maestro cualificado.

«Certain key words occur and recur in these hesychastic writings. We have listed the most important of them in a glossary, specifying the English words we have used in translating them and the sense we attribute to them ; and we have also indicated where they first occur in the translation itself.» — los editores explican la función del Glossary del tomo: recoger las palabras clave que reaparecen en estos escritos, con el término inglés elegido, el sentido que le atribuyen y el sitio donde cada una aparece por primera vez.

«In effect, one is confronted with a psychology, or science of the soul, many of whose fundamental features - particularly perhaps in relation to the role of the demons - are completely unrecognized by,» — los editores sitúan lo que estos textos presuponen frente a la psicología moderna: una ciencia del alma cuyos rasgos, sobre todo el papel de los demonios, los psicólogos de hoy no reconocen; el tramo se corta antes de la nota al pie que el troceo mete entre el cuerpo y el cambio de plana, y la frase sigue en la 19.