Evagrius Ponticus
4th century · AD 399 · Eastern & Byzantine · 115 passages
Background on Evagrius Ponticus
In his own words on Sirach
- Sirach 42:24
Given that "all things are in pairs, the one opposite the other," as Jesus the wise man says, receive what I send you according to the letter and according to the spirit, and consider that in every case the letter presupposes the intellect: without this, not even the letter would exist. Thus prayer also involves two ways, active and contemplative. And the same for numbers, which in an immediate way express quantity and in their deeper meaning quality.
CHAPTERS ON PRAYER, PROLOGUE
Quoted verbatim from public-domain English translations — including the Ante-Nicene and Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers and the early patristic chain-commentary compiled in the Catena Aurea. Each quotation links to its source.