Spiritales sententiae per alphabeticum dispositae

The beginning of salvation is self-condemnation. It is better to cast a stone at random than a word. Be to all as you wish all to be to you. Practice justice more by deed than by word. The pious person is not the one who shows mercy to many, but the one who wrongs no one. It is better to lie on a pallet and be confident than to be troubled while possessing a golden bed. That friend is sweet who nourishes the soul. Honor God by deeds, hymn him by word, and revere him by thought. Prudence, life, and nobility make a priest. It is most evil to be enslaved to shameful passions. Teach virtue by word, but proclaim it by deed. Do not think that having virtue is good, but rather having it as one ought. Honoring the law, you will live according to the law. That person is a stranger whose concerns are the world's concerns. The envious person harms himself; for one who speaks ill of another soon suffers ill from himself. Neither flatter nor provoke a rich man. Wine strengthens the body, but the word of God strengthens the soul. Use foods not for their pleasantness, but for their usefulness. Trying to please the crowds, you will be like the crowds. Above all, wear down the body. That person is industrious for whom time is abundant. Do not accept the outward appearance of a Christian man, but the disposition of his soul. To blame the blameless is a sin against God. The ear and the tongue are a great danger.

It is absurd to pursue honors while fleeing the labors through which honors are obtained. If you wish to know God, first know yourself. A genuine friend is one who shares in times of distress. It is terrible to think highly of oneself while doing small things. In everything, opinion hinders knowledge. The leader of an irrational life is a demon. The nobility of the soul is revealed through its strength. The pious person is the one who does not speak against himself. A blameless human being is a temple of God. The worst possession is a life without examination. Speak what is necessary and when it is necessary, and you will not hear what is not necessary. The greatest possession is an unfailing friend. A love of glory is a disease of the soul. A stranger and a beggar is God's eye-salve—the one who receives him will quickly see again. It is good to benefit all, but especially those who cannot repay. A rhetorician in righteousness is a cup of cold water. Temperance and meekness are the Cherubim of the soul. To be honored in old age is proof of having been industrious before old age; to be zealous in youth is a guarantee of being honored in old age. The upper room of the soul is true contemplation. If you love what you should not, you will not love what you should. It is better to possess counterfeit gold than a false friend. A pure soul is a god after God. Alas for self-love, which hates everything.

The beginning of love is the assumption of glory. It is good to be rich in gentleness and love. A haughty thought is a winnower of virtue. A smooth road is made by almsgiving. An unjust judge is a polluted conscience. It is terrible to be enslaved by the passions of the flesh. If you wish to be without grief, strive to please God. He who takes good care of himself is cared for by God. A temperate heart is a harbor of contemplations. When you wish to know yourself, what you are, do not compare what you were, but what you have become from the beginning. A glory-loving soul is a waterless pit. A haughty soul is an inn of robbers, and it hates the sound of knowledge. The evil error of a true man is not to know the Scriptures. If you fear God, know it from your tears. An unbreakable weapon is humility of soul. A tree of paradise is a virtue-loving man. Jesus Christ is the tree of life. Use it as you ought, and you will not die forever. Do good to the truly poor, and you will eat Christ. True strength is to eat the body of Christ. If you love Christ, you will not forget to keep his commandments; for from there a benefactor appears after God. The friend according to God flows with milk and honey in true words, but a lazy soul will not have such a friend. A raw master is a pleasure-loving thought. To silence the truth is to bury gold. He who fears God does everything according to God.