St Maximos the Confessor: What man...

What man without the divine Logos dwelling in the depths of his heart can overcome the invisible wiles of the dissembling demons?

How can he on his own, keeping himself free of all concourse with them, found and build the temple of the Lord, like Zerubbabel and Joshua and the heads of the clans, who expressly announced to the deceitful spirits of pride, self-esteem, desire for popularity and hypocrisy: ‘You cannot share with us in the building of the house for the Lord our God; we alone will build for the Lord of Israel’ (1 Esd. 5:70-71)?

For concourse with the demons brings about the decay and destruction of the whole building, and strips the grace of beauty from divine offerings.

Nobody who accepts, as partners in his struggle for virtue, any of the four demons we have mentioned can build for the Lord.

If he does accept any of them, as a result of his efforts he will not find God, but will be confirmed in the passion that he consolidates through his virtue

St Maximos the Confessor