Answers of the Great Masters of the Spiritual Life to the Questions of Their Disciples.

Disciple: Why is knowledge so important for a Christian?

Master: Because it is needed for contemplation.  

Disciple: What would hell be?

Master: The depths of ignorance is the foretaste of hell.

Disciple: How do you come to the knowledge of God?

Master: By first knowing your true self.

Disciple: Is it easy to know oneself?

Master: No, it is difficult. Man always thinks highly of himself while being bestial in his actions.

Disciple: Man's high opinion of himself is what prevents self-knowledge?

Master: If you wish to know who you are, do not merely look at your past but look at the way you were in paradise.

Disciple: What, again, is the obstacle to self-knowledge?

Master: Pride, which cannot bear the voice of truth.

Abba Evagrius

(03-25-03)