21. There are physical passions as well as
spiritual ones. The physical ones are caused by the body, while the spiritual
ones from external subjects. However, love and abstinence severs one and the
other: love — the spiritual, while abstinence — the physical.
21. Vainglory and avarice mutually give birth to
one another, because some are enriched through vainglory, while others, having
become rich, become boastful.
23. Do not neglect your conscience, which is
always advising you for your own good. It offers you Godly and angelic advice,
liberates you from clandestine defilements of the heart, and at the departure
from this world, will give you boldness toward God.
26. There are three reasons for the passion toward
riches: indulgence, vanity and disbelief, among which disbelief is the most
powerful. An indulgent individual loves riches because it helps him enjoy
himself; the vain individual — so that he can become famous; while the
disbeliever, so that he can save it for a "rainy day." Fearing
famine, old age, sickness, eviction etc., he relies more on his accumulated
wealth than on God, Who created everybody and cares for all, even the smallest
creatures.
Return to the first page
