Life is as dear to the mute creature as it is to a man. Just as one wants happiness and fears pain, just as one wants to live and not to die, so do other creatures.
By the cross we, too, are crucified with Christ; but alive in Christ. We are no more rebels, but servants; no more servants, but sons!
If you have known yourself, you have known everything else. Know that, by knowing which, you will know everything else. The Bible says, “Seek that kingdom within you.” Once you have found that, then everything else will be automatically added unto you; you don’t have to go looking for things outside; they will all come to you.
Without faith there is no knowledge, without knowledge there is no virtuous conduct, without virtues there is no deliverance, and without deliverance there is no perfection.
