John Climacus' The Ladder of Divine Ascent
"Withdrawal from the world is a willing hatred of all that is materially prized, a denial of nature for the sake of what is above nature. All this is done by those who willingly turn from the things of this life, either for the sake of the coming kingdom, or because of the number of their sins, or on account of their love of God. Without such objectives the denial of the world would make no sense." (Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent p. 74) "Nothing equals the mercy of God or surpasses it. To despair is therefore to inflict death on oneself." (Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent p. 130) "A man who has heard himself sentenced to death will not worry about the way theaters are run. Similarly, a man who is truly in mourning will never go back to high living, glory, anger, or irritability." (Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent p. 144) "Only when we are completely free of the urge to lie may we resort to it, and then only in fear and out of necessity. A baby d...