Gleanings from Orthodox Christian Authors and the Holy Fathers

guile

Guile is a perversion of honesty, a deluded way of thinking, a lying disposition, false oaths, ambiguous words, a dark secrecy of heart, an abyss of cunning, deceit that has become habit, conceit turned into nature, a foe to humility, a pretence of repentance, an estrangement from mourning, hostility to confession, a teacher of willfulness, a cause of falls, a hindrance to resurrection, a smiling at offences, affected frowning, sham reverence, diabolical life. St. John Climacus, "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," (Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery, 1978), STEP 24: On Meekness, Simplicity, and Guilelessness Which Come Not From Nature but From Conscious Effort, and About Guile