Chapter 29

Physical Labor Sometimes Turns Away From God

Physical labor humbles, fills the intervals, and does not let thoughts wander. To replace it with prostrations is good — this is better work. But is this always possible? The Egyptian elders sat at work from morning to evening in noetic prayer and contemplation of God. They performed their prayer rule at night. Yet Saint Isaac the Syrian does not favor work: it turns away from God, he says. This is true when the work is complex; when it is simple — no matter. (7, 147)