On the Eight Vices

A systematic treatment of the eight destructive thought-patterns (logismoi) as Cassian learned them from the Desert Fathers of Egypt. More narrative and accessible than Evagrius' analytical approach to the same material, Cassian writes for a Western audience unfamiliar with the desert tradition. Each vice is described in terms of how it operates, what feeds it, and how it can be opposed. This text became the foundation for the Western tradition's teaching on the capital sins and remains one of the most practical guides to self-knowledge in the collection.