"What the Church later defined as sin, the desert monks termed bad thoughts, which to me is a much more helpful designation. Given the church's history of emphasis on sins of the flesh, contemporary readers may find it odd that the early monks regarded lust as one of the lesser temptations. They identified it as a form of greed, the desire to possess another person inappropriately in pursuit of one's own satisfaction. Anger, pride, and acedia were considered the worst of the "thoughts," with accedia the most harmful of all, for it could inflict a complete loss of hope and capacity for trust in God."
-from Acedia and Me
* acedia = something like a sense of universal futility, despair, boredom, restlessness, hatred for place, and the inability to care about anything or anyone.
This is a fascinating book. I'm learning more about an ambiguous affliction I've seen creep up in myself and loved ones. It's scary, ugly, but has a name. I'm happy to know it, now.
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