§1
IF one wishes to prepare fragrant incense, he should combine clear frankincense, cassia, onycha and oil [of myrrh] in equal amounts, according to the Law (Ex 30:34-7). This signifies the tetrad of the virtues For if these four are fully [present] and equally balanced, the nous (intellect) will not be betrayed. [cf. Gnost. 6.]
§2
A SOUL purified through the fullness of the virtues establishes in the nous a position of steadiness, rendering it receptive of the desired state.
§3
PRAYER is [intimate] conversation of the nous with God. So then, what stable state must the nous possess to be capable of stretching out unwaveringly toward its own Master and converse with him without any intermediary?
§4
IF Moses was hindered when he attempted to approach the bush burning on earth, until he had taken off the shoes from [his] feet (Ex. 3:2-5); how can you, if you wish to see and converse with Him Who is above all perception and concepts, not not put off every passioned thought (noema) from yourself?
§5
FIRST, pray to receive tears, so that by means of mourning (penthos) you may be able to calm the savagery inherent in your soul, and by confessing your offence to the Lord (Ps 32.5), obtain forgiveness from him.
§6
MAKE use of tears to support every petition, for it greatly pleases your Master to receive prayer with tears.
§7
EVEN if you weep rivers of tears at your prayer, on no account be inwardly haughty, as if you were superior to others. For your prayer has received this help so that you may be able to [more] easily confess your sins and propitiate the Lord by means of tears. So do not turn into passion the antidote to passions, lest you anger all the more the [One] who gave you this grace.
§8
MANY who weep for their sins, have forgotten the purpose of their weeping, gone insane, and wandered away.
§9
STAND patiently toiling, and pray well-toned,
and put to flight the assaults of anxieties and [tempting-]thoughts: they disturb and trouble you in order to make you relax your tone.
§10
WHEN the demons see that you are eager to truly pray, they insinuate mental concepts (noemata) of certain affairs that seem to demand attention; and within a short [time] they arouse the memory of these things and move the nous to seek them out. And failing to find them, it becomes very sorrowful and disheartened. Then when [the nous] stands for prayer, the demons remind it of the [matters] it had sought and remembered, so that it passively relaxes into knowledge (gnosis) of them and loses its fruitful prayer.
§11
EXERT your nous to stand at the time of prayer [as if] deaf and dumb, and [then] you will be able to pray.
§12
WHENEVER you meet with some temptation or contradiction or when some desire to take vengeance on your enemy moves you to anger or to burst out into meaningless cries, remember prayer and the judgment it entails, and immediately the lawless movement of your soul will be quieted.
§13
IF you take any [kind of] revenge on a brother who has wronged you, it will all become a stumbling block for you at the time of prayer.
§14
PRAYER is an offshoot of gentleness and freedom from anger.
§15
PRAYER is the budding forth of joy and thankfulness.
§16
PRAYER is an antidote to sadness and despondency.
§17
GO, sell what you possess and give [it] to the poor (Mt/19.21; Mk 10:21), and take up your cross and deny yourself (cf. Mt. 16.24; Mk 8:34) so that you will be able to pray without distraction.
§18
IF you wish to pray laudably, deny yourself every hour (cf. Lk 9:23), and even if you [pass through] every kind of suffering, study it carefully because of prayer.
§19
WHATEVER difficulty you patiently endure while carefully studying [it], you will discover bearing fruit at the time of prayer.
§20
IF you desire to pray as you ought, do not sadden any soul, otherwise you are running in vain (cf. Gal 2:2, Phil 2:16)
§21
LEAVE your gift,” it says, before the altar, and first go away and be reconciled to your brother; (Mt 5:24) and after that you will be able to pray undisturbed. For memory of injury blinds the mind (hegemonikon) of one who prays, and darkens his prayers.
§22
THOSE who heap up sorrow and memory of injury within themselves, and then expect to pray, are like people who draw water and pour it into a perforated wine-jar. (cf. Pr 23.27)
§23
IF you are able to endure patiently, you will always pray with joy.
§24
WHEN you pray as you ought you will come up against matters of the sort that cause you to imagine it would be completely justifiable to use indignation [thumos]. But there is no such thing as justifiable indignation against your neighbor. If you investigate [this], you will discover that it is possible for the matter to be settled fairly without indignation . Employ every possible means to avoid bursting out in indignation.
§25
SEE that you do not infect yourself while trying to heal another, and that you do not [thus] excise your own prayer.