tyranny of the devil. The reason he gives is clear: the fear of death gives the devil moral traction. When we face the threat of loss, want, or lack, we react defensively, even violently. But if the fear of death is absent the devil is stymied. As Chrysostom says, when the devil finds such a soul he can accomplish none of his works in such a person. The devil can find no foothold, no purchase, no leverage in the psyche of one who has no anxiety. The result is clear: “Do you see that in casting out the tyranny of death, [Christ] has dissolved the strength of the devil?”
