Logismoi
λογισμοί (logismoi)
The *thoughts-temptations* in the spirituality of the Desert Fathers. Not ordinary thoughts, but those movements of the mind that arise from without as suggestions, and which, if entertained, lead to sin. Evagrius of Pontus drew up the list of the eight principal ones. The monk does not choose them; his struggle is to withhold consent.
Il nous fit voir clairement, dit-il, que ces pensées, que le diable avait inspirées dans notre cœur, étaient des piéges où il nous voulait faire tomber ; et il nous enflamma du désir d’une véritable mortification.
The Greek word logismós first means “calculation,” “reasoning,” “thought.” In monastic vocabulary, it takes on a technical sense: the thought that assails, the idea that arises and demands assent. Cassian recounts how the desire to return to his homeland, to his parents, came to him in this form—and how Abbot Abraham showed him that “these thoughts, which the devil had planted in our hearts, were snares.” The logismós comes from without; the fault lies not in experiencing it, but in yielding to it.
Hence a subtle spiritual psychology, which distinguishes degrees. The initial suggestion does not implicate; next comes engagement with the thought, where one lingers and converses; then consent, where the will surrenders. The monk’s entire art lies in the interval: not preventing the thought from arising—something beyond his control—but recognizing it for what it is and denying it lodging.
To be distinguished from vainglory, which is not the genus but a species: a particular logismós, the one that hunts for human esteem, and which the Fathers rank among the eight. Speaking of logismoi is to name the entire class of these hostile thoughts, of which vainglory and pride are but two members. Finally, to be distinguished from Buddhist sati: the Christian monk fights and drives out his thoughts as assailants, whereas Buddhist mindfulness observes them without struggle, until they unravel on their own.