And how many people are innumerable who never think of a prince who dominates the air! And not only those who do not think, but do not even believe in its existence. For all those who do not believe in God, of course, do not believe in the devil, in his existence; they do not care at all about his attacks; they do not in the least beware of his terrible servants.

And this is all he needs, for if a person is careless and does not believe in God, does not want to know anything about Satan, then such an unfortunate person becomes a very easy prey for him, for an enemy who is unnoticed is the most dangerous enemy.

And every unfortunate woman, deceitful and lustful to the marrow of her bones, and every unfortunate man, drunk, often, if not always, become easy prey to demons, spirits of wickedness in the heavenly places. It costs them nothing to destroy such people completely.

And there are also those unfortunates who spend their whole lives in crime, in robbery, in robbery and theft, in fornication and adultery, who never think about either God or the devil.

These Satans are not worth caring about: they have already destroyed themselves. They are so bogged down in sins that there is no need to tempt them, pushing them to sin. The devil has few worries about such things, for they are his easiest prey.

And what can I say about us, Christians who believe in God, who do not doubt the existence of the devil and demons, who have heard and remember the words of the Apostle Paul about the prince who dominates the air — what can I say about them?

They are tempted by demons every day, they are pushed to fornication, and to the love of money, and to vanity, they are pushed to serve their passions and lusts. And if such unfortunate people are not vigilant, if they do not remember that the enemy is always ready to destroy them, then woe to them.

There are still others: there are great ascetics of piety, holy hermits, who spend their entire lives in constant prayer, mortifying their flesh in thoughts of God, of His law.

These are the most terrible things for the devil and for his angels: they cannot be seduced in the same way as they tempt people who are frivolous, careless, mired in the vanity of the world, those who only rarely, occasionally remember God, pray little, never fast, and shun the churches of God.

It is with these mighty soldiers of Christ that it is most difficult for the devil and his demons.

Demons attack us, weak and careless, surreptitiously, unnoticed by us, it is not difficult for them to fight us, to push us onto the path of vice.

And with the saints, with those who have dedicated their lives to God, it is very difficult for them.

The demons conquer the weak and careless among us very little for us. They never appear to us, we do not see them, we do not know them, we are not familiar with them.

Not at all, not at all with the saints, with the great ascetics of good. For them, neither the demons nor the devil himself can remain unnoticed, for they most tirelessly watch over their hearts, over everything that the devil and his angels implant in their hearts.