St John Cassian On the Holy Fathers of Sketis And on Discrimination - Written for Abba Leontios The promise I made to the blessed Bishop Kastor to give an account of the way of life and the teaching of the holy fathers has been fulfilled in part by the writings I sent him entitled ‘On Coenobitic Institutions’ and ‘On the Eight Vices’, and I now propose to fulfill it completely. But having heard that Bishop Kastor has left us to dwell with Christ, I felt I should send the remaining portion of my treatise to you, most holy Leontios, who have inherited both his virtuous qualities and the guardianship, with God’s help, of his monastery.
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St John Cassian On the Eight Vices Written for Bishop Kastor Having composed the treatise on cenobitic institutions, I am now once more encouraged by your prayers to attempt to write something about the eight vices: gluttony, unchastity, avarice, anger, dejection, restlessness, self-esteem and pride. On Control of the Stomach I shall speak first about control of the stomach, the opposite to gluttony, and about how to fast and what and how much to eat.
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