Abba Anthony the Great | The evil spirits make us zealous for works which we are not able to perform...

The evil spirits make us zealous for works which we are not able to perform, and cause us to faint in tasks on which we are engaged, and which are profitable for us. Therefore, they make us laugh when it is time for weeping, and weep when it is time for laughter, and simply turn us aside at every time from the right way. And there are many other deceits whereby they make us their slaves, but there is no time now to describe all this. But when they fill our heart with these deceits, and we feed on them and they become our food, then God is patient with us and He visits us, to bring us back again from this heavy body, that we may leave it.


Abba Anthony the Great