Nilus of Ancyra→John (correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra)|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To John the Monk.
There are times when the demons, some doing one thing and some another, carry out various Satanic services for the tempting and harming of men. But there are also times when even a single demon contrives many vices. For just as it is possible for one man to be a farmer, and a carpenter, and a coppersmith, and a leatherworker, and a potter, and a painter, and the rest, so it is possible for one demon to work both anger, and fornication, and love of glory, and envy, and the rest. And observe how the same accursed and man-hating enemy held out gluttony, and vainglory, and love of money to Christ when He was tempted according to His human nature [an allusion to the three temptations of Christ in the wilderness, Matthew 4:1-11].
There are times when the demons, some doing one thing and some another, carry out various Satanic services for the tempting and harming of men. But there are also times when even a single demon contrives many vices. For just as it is possible for one man to be a farmer, and a carpenter, and a coppersmith, and a leatherworker, and a potter, and a painter, and the rest, so it is possible for one demon to work both anger, and fornication, and love of glory, and envy, and the rest. And observe how the same accursed and man-hating enemy held out gluttony, and vainglory, and love of money to Christ when He was tempted according to His human nature [an allusion to the three temptations of Christ in the wilderness, Matthew 4:1-11].
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.