EVAGRIANA PALAEOROSSICA. I. “ON THE EIGHT SPIRITS OF EVIL”

The paper represents the fi rst part of a publication of the Slavic translation of the ascetic writings of Evagrius Ponticus. This translation contains a number of East Slavic linguistic features, which makes it possible to associate its origin with Old Rus’. It has been preserved in scattered fragments and most likely not completely. Some excerpts are included in the Lengthy recension of Prologue (Synaxarion), created no later than the second half of the 12th century. The Slavic translation retains some archetypal features of the text, contains the author’s true name in the titles, and should be considered among other ancient translations of Evagrius. In this paper, we publish the text of the treatise On the Eight Spi rits of Evil (CPG 2451) — the only one among the named set of texts that can be reconstructed entirely or almost entirely. A manuscript of the middle of the 15th century, which is used as the base for the edition, is supplemented by fragments from the 14th and 16th century (all these copies belong to the direct tradition) and fragments from the Prologue.