Below is little more of my translation (from Russian) of a work by St. Dimitry of Rostov on the topic of knowledge, reason, and the mind. The reader may find the previous article on this subject, by St. Dimitry, here – “A True Mind and an Evil Mind.”

The topic of true knowledge and understanding is vital for our times. As it is evident from the writings of St. Dimitry, reason that is not purified in the Holy Spirit remains corrupt and brings little to no profit. Human knowledge is fulfilled and profitable when it is united with true spiritual knowledge and understanding. When these two are decoupled, it is very possible for the former to become “stinking” and corrupt. Yet, one of the symptoms of modernity is the seeming detachment of knowledge – the sciences in all their forms – from the only pure source of reason and knowledge – God. Ultimately, belief in God is the Science of sciences and faith in Him is the highest reason.

I have already unpacked this principle in a number of previous articles, which I recommend for the reading 1) Just Trust the Experts? 2) The Medicine of Knowledge. 3) Just Follow the Science.

I will not repeat the ideas I have already expanded upon, based on the teaching of other saints, in those articles here. The following words of St. Dimitry simply add to and expand upon this vital subject at hand. I leave you ,the reader, to be nourished and instructed by the words of St. Dimitry.

The section below is translated from St. Dimitry’s work, “The Spiritual Alphabet,” chapter 3. The original title is “The person who does not cultivate and purify his mind, he cannot have a right and true mind.”

Begin translation –

1. The intellect that has not been cultivated or purified for a long time is a foolish intellect, it is a wrong and false intellect. There are different [levels] of intellect, as is the case with all external things. There is a perfect intellect – the spiritual, then there is a lower middle intellect – the soulful, and there is also a very unrefined intellect – the carnal. As in earthly learning, or in training for any craft, unless a person desires to always learn and show care for progress, he will not become proficient. Likewise, no one will learn perfect – spiritual – reason and purification of the mind¹ if he does not always maintain diligence toward it.

2. Whoever does not take care to personally walk the narrow path of the Gospel and is negligent in the purification of the mind,² such a person is blind in soul, even if he has studied all external wisdom: he clings only to the letter that kills and does not accept the life-giving spirit. He cannot completely correct himself, let alone others. For the worldly intellect is one thing and another thing entirely is the spiritual intellect. All the saints were instructed in the spiritual intellect by the Most Holy Spirit and were enlightened and shone like the sun in the world, but these others learn reason not from the Holy Spirit, but from Aristotle, Cicero, Plato, and other pagan sages; therefore, having deviated from the path of right reason, they suffer extreme blindness and lies. The saints learned the commandments of Christ and intelligent action, but these learn only the art of speaking eloquently: all their wisdom is only on the tongue while gloom and darkness is inside the soul.

3. A right and true intellect cannot be easily deepened in the soul without great and long-lasting labor and podvig. Carnal lusts are mortified in proportion to one’s labor and podvig, and to the extent that lusts are mortified, true reason grows and flourishes. But the podvig of everyone must be particular, which consists of external labor and intelligent action: the one cannot be accomplished without the other.

4. He who studies external wisdom but neglects spiritual wisdom, is like unto a person having one eye or one foot. Without intelligent action, the external wisdom of this world together with its bodily labor are like dry breasts or a barren tree, as someone once said. Therefore, the saints did not stop at only external labor and learning, but took care to become practiced in interior action, that is, wise purification. If they had studied only external teachings, and had not learned spiritual ones, then they would not have been holy and the grace of the Holy Spirit would not have abode in their souls.

5. Anyone who learned about the interior spiritual work – enlightenment and purification of the intellect – only by means of external instruction became neglectful, completely mad, corrupted by various passions or fell into destructive heresies, such as: Arius, Sabellius, Eutyches and many others who, “As they did not approve to have God in full knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do things which are not fitting” (Rom.1:28).

6. If a person acquires all the wisdom of this world but does not purify his mind,³ and does not enlighten his soul, he cannot enter into union with God. And he who is not united with the Lord in a spirit of knowledge, walks along obscure paths. The mind, as we said, is purified and enlightened by a particular podvig: the keeping the Lord’s commandments and constant intelligent action, and especially by constant warm tears. Otherwise, no one can reach wise enlightenment.

7. Every mind,⁴ if not cultivated, enlightened, and seasoned with the salt of grace from the Most Holy Spirit, will go mad and stink with a multitude of passionate thoughts and deeds. God has naturally given reason to everyone, but, if it is not exercised, it grows dim and becomes dark, but, if exercised, it becomes clear and comes to perfect enlightenment.

8. Just as a little child does not require instruction to see light with his bodily eyes (if his eyes are not ill), so external learning is not required for someone to enter spiritual wisdom or the uniting of the mind with the Lord, all that is needed is purification and wise enlightenment. For many, being very simple and inexperienced in external learning, have nevertheless learned spiritual wisdom – intelligent action and the keeping the commandments of the Lord and thereby became partakers of great gifts, such as Anthony, Pachomius, Paul the Simple, and others.

9. The mind⁵ existed before all external learning and literacy. For the mind did not appear as a result of literacy and did not sprout from external teaching, but all these were born and grew from the mind. A mind is part of everyone’s God given nature, and the knowledge that is from external learning originally came from people; thus, we should be the most concerned about the purification of our mind. The mind that is being purified and enlightened can comprehend everything exterior and interior, for it is spiritual and “examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one,” as said the Apostle (1 Cor. 2:15).

10. “Every sacrifice will be salted with fire” (Mk. 9:49), said the Lord, but if it is not salted it will stink. Therefore, the soul is the proper sacrifice to offer unto God, according to what is written, “The sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit” (Ps. 50:19); yet, if it is not being salted with the salt of the grace of the Holy Spirit, it will stink with madness in every possible way and be filled with various passions. Even if someone attains all the wisdom of this world, and yet is not salted with the salt of the Holy Spirit and is not a partaker of the grace of the Lord, he will remain totally dissolute, for not having the royal image imprinted in himself, he will be expelled from the chamber of Christ. “If any one does not have the Spirit of Christ, this same one is not of Him” (Rom. 8:9), says the Apostle.

1Here the specific Russian word Ум is used as opposed to Разум. Ум seems to be more directly related to the Greek word, “nous.”

2Ум

3Ум

4Ум

5In this paragraph the specific Russian word Ум is used throughout as opposed to Разум.