“Like a pilot steering a boat through waves, one should hold to the course, guided by grace. Keeping his attention fixed within himself, he should commune with God in stillness, guarding his thoughts from distraction and his intellect from curiosity.
In storms and squalls we need a pilot, and in this present life we need prayer, for we are susceptible to the provocations of our thoughts, both good and bad. If our thought is full of devotion and love of God, it rules over our passions.”
Isaiah of Scete (late 4th century) in On Guarding the Intellect 23-24. TP 1:27.