Patristic Quote for the Day

The malice of the demon of pride takes two forms. Either he persuades the monk to ascribe his achievements to himself and not to God, the Giver of all goodness and helper in every achievement, or, if this fails, he suggests that he should belittle those of his brethren who are less perfect than himself. Influenced in this way, he does not realizet that the demon is persuading him to deny God's help. For if he belittles his brethren for their lack of achievement, he clearly infers that he has achieved something through his own powers. But this is impossible, since, as our Lord has said, 'Without me you can do nothing.' For even when impelled toward what is good, our weakness cannot bring anything to fruition without the Giver of all goodness. - St. Maximos the Confessor, Second Century on Love, #38