If history records good things about good people, the thoughtful hearer is encouraged to imitate what is good; or if it records the evil of wicked people, the godly listener or reader is encouraged to avoid all that is sinful and bad, and to do what he knows to be good and pleasing to God.

He alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbor.

All the ways of this world are as fickle and unstable as a sudden storm at sea.

I was no longer the centre of my life and therefore I could see God in everything.

We abide in God insofar as we do not sin.

This life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant.

I have devoted my energies to the study of the scriptures, observing monastic discipline, and singing the daily services in church; study, teaching, and writing have always been my delight.