The Monk Nile came from a rich and noble family and, probably, even when St. Chrysostom was a preacher in Antioch, he was his listener and disciple. Noble origin and personal dignity elevated him to the degree of prefect of the capital. But the aspirations of his spirit did not agree with the proper troubles and orders of life in the capital. Why, having agreed with his wife, with whom he already had two children, he left the world so that in solitude he would be more successful than his mother-in-law through salvation. He, taking with him his son Theodulus, settled in Sinai; and his wife and daughter found shelter in one of the Egyptian women's monasteries. The Monk Nile of Sinai, following Evagrius of Pontus, develops a well-known classification of the eight main sinful thoughts (passions). The book also contains other ascetic creations of the monk.

Recommended for publication by the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church