Two men who wanted to see the sunrise would be very foolish to argue about the place where it will appear and their means of looking at it, then to let their argument degenerate into a quarrel, from that to come to blows and in the heat of the conflict to gouge out each others eyes. There would no longer be any question then of contemplating the dawn…
Let us who wish to contemplate God purify our hearts by faith and heal them by means of peace; for the effort we make to love one another is already a gift from him to whom we raise our eyes.
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO Sermons, 23,18
An elder replied, ‘I tell you, many have ruined their bodies with no discernment and gone away without finding anything. We may have evil smelling breath because of our fasting, we may know the Scriptures by heart, we may recite all the psalms… and still lack what God is looking for—love and humility.
Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers, 90
