would not should distract us in it, imitating in this the subtlety of our adversary, who (as St. Nilus the abbot says) [1] ordains all his temptations, with which in the daytime he tempts spiritual persons, to hinder them from prayer and its fruit. He tempts them with gluttony to make them in prayer heavy and sleepy. He tempts them with impatience to disquiet them; with curiosity of the senses to distract them; with multitude of business to disturb them; and with pride and ingratitude to make them dry. And seeing we ought to be no less provident and careful of our good than the devil is of our evil, there is great reason so to order our works and business of the day that they may all help to further well our prayer. And so with this, in some way, we shall fulfil what Christ our Saviour said: "It behoveth always to pray, and not to be weary;" [2] for he always prays that spends his whole time in prayer or in preparing himself for it With this confidence I should enter into mental prayer, saying to the devils that of the psalm, " Depart from me, ye malignant, and I will search the commandments of my God." [3] And to my powers, thoughts, and affections I will say that of another psalm: " Come, let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord that made us; He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand." [4]
Chap. VII. On the manner of aiding ourselves with the imagination and the tongue, and the rest of the faculties for mental prayer.
Although mental prayer, as has been said, is the work of the three supreme faculties of the soul, in regard of that part which is pure spirit, and is called mens, from whence this prayer also is called mental — yet, notwithstanding, the
