If the Flesh is Death (Ladder of Divine Ascent) No. 2 | Orthodox Christian Art Poster

He who has conquered his body has conquered nature; and he who has conquered nature has certainly risen above nature. And he who has done this is little (if at all) lower than the angels.

This my beloved adversary (and yet not mine)—the flesh— was called death by Paul: Who, says he, will deliver me from this body of death? And another theologian calls it a passionate, slavish and nocturnal enemy. I used to long to know why it was given such names. If the flesh, as was said above, is death, who ever has conquered it undoubtedly does not die. But who is the man who will live and not see death in the impurity of his flesh?

+ St John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 15: On Incorruptible Purity and Chastity