The eight principle faults as outlined by Cassian are what we most abhor in ourselves. They are anger, avarice, lust, anger, dejection, boredom, vainglory, and pride. Taken as a whole they amount to the complete destruction of being. No one, not even the most resolved of men, is able to resist their poison. This is why it took Anthony so many years in his tomb outside Pispir to overcome his demons. Each one had to be acknowledged, wrestled with, and finally put to the sword.
— James G. Cowan, Desert Father by James Cowan