"Prayer offered up at night possesses a great power, more than the prayer of the day-time. Therefore all the righteous prayed during the night, while combatting the heaviness of the body and the sweetness of sleep and repelling corporeal nature."

"The “noetic cloud” is the intellect that is smitten with wonder"

"... how they departed and hid themselves in mountains, caves, and in solitary, secluded places,"

"Hence He continually separated Himself for prayer, and not indiscriminately, but He chose the night for this, and as a place, the desert. Hereby [He taught] us to withdraw from all clamor and tumult, so that we could pray in stillness, as is proper."

"A humble man is never pleased to see gatherings, confused crowds, tumult, shouts and cries, opulence, adornment, and luxury, the cause of insobriety;"

"The man who follows Christ in solitary mourning is greater than he who praises Christ amid the congregations of men."

"Let us then love stillness, my brethren,"

"When the power of stillness overshadows you on account of prolonged abiding in your cell,"

"Life in the world is like a manuscript of writings that is still in rough draft."

"As grass and fire cannot co-exist in one place,"

"True is the word of the Lord which declares"

"Once an elder was asked, ‘What is repentance?’"

"Question Whence does a man perceive that he has attained to humility?"

"Thus you will discover that the mind’s wings sprout up in the womb of chastity,"

"As it is not possible to cross over the great ocean without a ship,"

"The aim of psalmody should be serene conversation with God"

"Fire that has flared up in dry wood is difficult to put out,"

"Love is the offspring of knowledge of the truth which, as is commonly confessed, is given to all."

"When a sailor voyages in the midst of the sea, he watches the stars,"

"Therefore, as I have said, one must not call this gift and grace spiritual prayer,"

"The whole length of the night is as the day to them,"

"O, how evil for hesychasts is the sight of men and intercourse with them!"

"If you wish to hold fast to stillness,"

"Abba Arsenius for God’s sake conversed with no one,"

"The man whose tongue is inclined to silence will acquire a humble discipline in all his habits"

"But what need is there to speak of the ascetics,"

"Moreover, from time to time they [the angels] appeared to them to teach them how they ought to lead their lives."

"The sweetness of prayer is one thing,"

"If you are truly merciful, do not grieve inwardly when you are unjustly deprived of something you possess,"

"There is nothing so capable of banishing the inveterate habits of licentiousness from our soul,"

"If the heart is not occupied with study,"

"On pure prayer:"

"Be peaceful within yourself,"

"In the measure that love for the flesh prevails in you,"

"All of these realities are within the light of the mind."

"What is a charitable heart? It is a heart which is burning with love for the whole creation, for men, for the birds, for the beasts … for all creatures. He who has such a heart cannot see or call to mind a creature without his eyes being filled with tears by reason of the immense compassion which seizes his heart; a heart which is softened and can no longer bear to see or learn from others of any suffering, even the smallest pain being inflicted upon a creature. That is why such a man never ceases to pray for the animals … [He is] … moved by the infinite pity which reigns in the hearts of those who are becoming united with God."

"The soul that loves God finds rest only in God."

"At this time (when we make our petitions and our supplications to God, and we speak with Him)"

"The aim of contemplation of the world to come is to be seen in the coming into being of the holy angels—"

"[When he saw animals being conveyed to his kitchen] Poor little innocent creatures, if you were reasoning beings and could speak, how you would curse us! For we are the cause of your death, and what have you done to deserve it?"

"For the one who does not practice mercy will have his judgment without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

"Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it? If a brother or a sister is lacking clothing and enough food for the day, yet one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but you do not give them what they need for their body, of what benefit is it? So, too, faith by itself, without works, is dead."

"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell."

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

"Come, now, you rich men, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothing has become moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have rusted away, and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh. What you have stored up will be like a fire in the last days. Look! The wages you have withheld from the workers who harvested your fields keep crying out, and the cries for help of the reapers have reached the ears of Jehovah of armies. You have lived in luxury and for self-gratification on the earth. You have fattened your hearts on the day of slaughter."

"[A] feature in the Valentinian account of creation is instructive regarding the much-debated question of the "" of the Gnostics. The world was created after the image of the invisible world of the by a carrying out unwittingly his mother's intention. His ignorance, however, was not complete, as is shown in the following...When the Demiurge further wanted to imitate the timeless nature of the upper Ogdoad (the original eight Aeons in the Pleroma), but could not express their immutable eternity, being as he was a fruit of defect, he embodied their eternity in the times, epochs, and great numbers of years, under the delusion that by the quantity of times he could represent their infinity. Thus truth escaped him and he followed the lie. Therefore his work shall pass away when the times are fulfilled. (Iren. I. 17. 2)This of course is a parody of the famous passage in the Timaeus (37 C ff.) where Plato describes the creation of time as "the moving image of eternity." The vast gulf that divides the spirit of this imitation will be evident to anyone who takes the trouble to compare the two passages."

"This expression [of our Lord], "How often would I have gathered thy children together, and thou wouldest not," [Matt 23:37] set forth the ancient law of human liberty, because God made man a free [agent] from the beginning, possessing his own power, even as he does his own soul, to obey the behests (ad utendum sententia) of God voluntarily, and not by compulsion of God.... And in man, as well as in angels, He has placed the power of choice (for angels are rational beings), so that those who had yielded obedience might justly possess what is good, given indeed by God, but preserved by themselves. On the other hand, they who have not obeyed shall, with justice, be not found in possession of the good, and shall receive condign punishment.... [4:37:5 p519f] And not merely in works, but also in faith, has God preserved the will of man free and under his own control, saying, "According to thy faith be it unto thee;" [Matt 9:29] thus showing that there is a faith specially belonging to man, since he has an opinion specially his own. And again, "All things are possible to him that believeth;" [Mark 9:23] and, "Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." [Matt 8:13] Now all such expressions demonstrate that man is in his own power with respect to faith. And for this reason, "he that believeth in Him has eternal life while he who believeth not the Son hath not eternal life, but the wrath of God shall remain upon him." [John 3:36]"

"Esaias says: “The wolf also shall feed with the lamb, and the leopard shall take his rest with the kid; the calf also, and the bull, and the lion shall eat together; and a little boy shall lead them. …” I am quite aware that some persons endeavour to refer these words to the case of savage men, both of different nations and various habits, who come to believe, and when they have believed, act in harmony with the righteous. But although this is [true] now with regard to some men coming from various nations to the harmony of the faith, nevertheless in the resurrection of the just [the words shall also apply] to those animals mentioned. For God is rich in all things. And it is right that when the creation is restored, all the animals should … revert to the food originally given by God … that is, the productions of the earth."

"The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death"

"It is not necessary to seek truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church."