Tell me: Where are the kings? Where are the princes? Where are the rich? Where is their gold and their splendor? "All has passed like a shadow." Their gold, their silver and their pomp have remained in the world, while they are endlessly tormented in hell, where their worm will never die and their fire will never go out, since it is written, "The powerful…

From envy comes hatred, grumbling, disparagement, joy over the difficulties of one's neighbor and affliction over his prosperity. O perverse progeny, which, if it penetrates the soul and begins to dominate it, destroys every bud of holiness. One who envies or hates kills no one before he kills himself. One who murmurs and disparages tears out his own…

Envy says, "In what way are you inferior to this one or that one? Why then aren't you equal or superior to them? How many things are you capable of that they aren't? So, they can be neither superior nor even equal to you." Fraternal love, however, responds, "O mortal, if you think yourself better than others because of your virtues, you would be more…

Death is the sword of the devil. "Death entered the world through the devil's envy." This is the sword with which he killed the first man, and then the human race, until it was redeemed by Christ. When we sin, we fall under this sword. Christ, however, did not have this sword, because "he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." He was not…

The man, who was formed by the initiative of divine action, was made lord of this earthly creation, so that in observance of the divine order he would respect only the will of him who, from nothing, had made him lord of all things. And from the beginning—not out of ignorance but corrupted by envy and wanting the creature to surpass what had been granted…

Beloved brothers and sisters, how is it that Solomon, though possessing wisdom in such great abundance and knowing all those things hidden in the secrets of mysterious providence, says that some things are impossible to know? He clearly received wisdom from God. He knew the beginnings of the ordering of the world and about the heavens that all see,…

As light does not admit darkness, so the Holy Spirit is by nature incapable of all that is sordid. He departs from thoughts that are without God. He infuses himself into holy souls, transforming them into servants of God and prophets. Therefore, if someone does not have the Holy Spirit, neither the Father nor the Son—from whom he is, and with whom he is…

It is not lawful to deceive anyone, either by clever reasoning or with simple words, because whoever lies in any way, sins. In fact, it is written, "A lying mouth destroys the soul." And it adds, "The burning pool of fire and sulphur is reserved for all liars. This is the second death."