Freedom from Thoughts 6
Gentling the Demon of Anger
This is the sixth in a series of posts exploring Evagrius Ponticus’ teaching on the eight kinds of evil thoughts. The previous posts were an introduction, on gluttony, on lust, on avarice, and on sadness.
In his discussion of orghe, anger, Evagrius takes a more nuanced approach than one might discern at first glance. He spends a great deal of time expounding on the dangers of anger, much more so than the previous “evil thoughts” he has discussed. As he moves through his examination of the eight mental obsessions, there is a clear sense of progression in the seriousness of their consequences for oneself and others.
It is important, therefore, to note that Evagrius understands anger to have a positive function as well. Just as sadness can give rise to sorrow or self-pity, anger can give rise to either creativity or to resentment. Similarly, anger, like sadness, can become disproportionate.
Anger is given to us so that we might fight against the demons and strive against every pleasure. Now it happens that the angels suggest spiritual pleasure to us and the beatitude that is consequent upon it so as to turn our anger against the demons. But these, for their part, draw our anger to worldly desires and constrain us – contrary to our nature – to fight against our fellow men to the end that, blinded in mind and falling away from knowledge our spirit should become a traitor to virtue.1
There is a lot to unpack here. Basically, Evagrius distinguishes between the creative energy of anger in resisting evil and self-indulgence, and the destructive energy of anger turned against other people in competition for worldly goods and honors. We might say there is a righteous anger in the pursuit of the Good, and an unrighteous anger in pursuit of mere goods. But Evagrius does not spend much time developing this distinction.
Note, too, that Evagrius considers anger turned against our fellow human beings to be unnatural. Fundamentally, we are social creatures who have evolved for cooperation. Evagrius is not naïve about our capacities for hatred and violence, but he sees these as a devolution from our inherent capacities for love and wisdom. What this means is that Evagrius is quite optimistic about our ability to metabolize anger in a positive way, and to resist the external forces that seek to manipulate our anger for evil ends. Implicit in Evagrius’ thought is a commitment to nonviolent resistance to evil.
There is a lot of evil to resist in the world. It is easy for people to remain angry all the time, and anger appears to be the default mode of too much of our common life. Political leaders have often incited and directed mass anger in the pursuit of power. It is tempting to respond in kind. The danger is that anger then becomes a permanent condition, rather than a signal that we need to harness our energy for creative responses to the challenges we encounter.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that “blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”2 We tend to equate “meekness” with obsequiousness or passivity. The connotation in this context is more like “gentled.” The classical virtue of temperance comes to mind. Happy are those who have tamed their animal passions and placed them in the service of a greater good. “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”3 Working with the energy of anger without causing harm requires spiritual discipline and maturity.
Let us turn, then, to Evagrius’ warnings and suggestions about dealing with anger.
The most fierce passion is anger. In fact it is defined as a boiling and stirring up of wrath against one who has given injury – or is thought to have done so. It constantly irritates the soul and above all at the time of prayer it seizes the mind and flashes the picture of the offensive person before one’s eyes. Then there comes a time when it persists longer, is transformed into indignation, stirs up alarming experiences by night. This is succeeded by a general debility of the body, malnutrition with its attendant pallor, and the illusion of being attacked by poisonous wild beasts. These four last mentioned consequences following upon indignation may be found to accompany many thoughts.4
This is a penetrating description of the etiology and progression of anger. It begins with the perception of injury, real or imagined. It is at this early stage that conscious intervention is required to interpret and direct the energy of anger appropriately. If we fail to do so, the offending person or situation can begin to preoccupy our thoughts, even interfering with our ability to pray. This only further undermines our capacity to respond appropriately. “For resentment blinds the reason of a man who prays and casts a cloud over his prayers.”5
Evagrius then describes the transition from anger to resentment: “it persists longer.” Anger becomes a permanent condition. It affects our sleep, undermines our health, and can even make us delusional. Evagrius notes that other kinds of mental obsessions can have similar consequences. The accuracy of Evagrius’ diagnosis is evident to anyone who has followed the January 6 hearings. Unregulated anger disconnects us from reality – even if the anger is rooted in actual harm. Evagrius underscores this by noting that
“No one who loves true prayer and yet gives way to anger or resentment can be absolved from the imputation of madness. For he resembles a man who wishes to see clearly and for this purpose he scratches his eyes.”6
“The man who stores up injuries and resentments and yet fancies that he prays might as well draw water from a well and pour it into a cask that is full of holes.”7
I’m reminded of an old AA saying: Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other guy to die.
If anger can be dangerous to us, it also can be harmful to others. It can destroy relationships, driving people away and leaving us with the burden of guilt. Evagrius warns,
Be very attentive lest ever you cause some brother to become a fugitive through your anger. For if this should happen your whole life long you will yourself not be able to flee the demon of sadness. At the time of prayer this will be a constant stumbling block to you.8
If we cause others to become resentful toward us, Evagrius recommends giving them gifts. “A gift snuffs our resentment, as Jacob well knew. For he flattered Esau with gifts when he went to meet him with four hundred men.”9 Notice the realism here: bring a gift to your enemy, but bring along four hundred “friends!” The support of others is helpful – even necessary – to the work of reconciliation. We can’t control how others will respond to our efforts, so be prepared to accept any results. Just making the effort can restore our freedom and vision.
Interestingly, Evagrius also counsels the singing of psalms to mitigate intemperate passions. “The singing of Psalms quiets the passions and calms the intemperance of the body. Prayer, on the other hand, prepares the spirit to put its own powers into operation.”10 The vibrational frequency of singing – and we might add, other embodied practices – heals our internalized anger at a cellular level. We cannot neglect the body in the healing and integration of unregulated anger. It is a necessary prerequisite to opening ourselves to the power of the spirit; working through us to find a creative response to the harms we have suffered and the harms we have caused.
In his teaching on working with anger, Evagrius comes back to the importance of prayer again and again. His concern is very practical. Prayer is the means to perceive reality clearly and align ourselves with God’s desire for the healing of the world. Anything that disturbs our prayer requires attention. Acknowledging and metabolizing the anger and resentment we carry is often the first step in releasing energy for healing and creativity. When we are “gentled,” we are able to participate in the mending of the world.
Evagrius Ponticus, Praktikos 24.
Matthew 5:5.
Matthew 10:16.
Praktikos 11.
Evagrius Ponticus, Chapters on Prayer 21.
Chapters on Prayer 64.
Chapters on Prayer 21.
Praktikos 25.
Praktikos 26
Chapters on Prayer 83.