Blessed is he who patiently endures trials; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the victor's crown--even the crown of Life--which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him?

So too with ships, great as they are, and often driven along by strong gales, yet they can be steered with a very small rudder in whichever direction the caprice of the man at the helm chooses.

For brute nature under all its forms--beasts and birds, reptiles and fishes--can be subjected and kept in subjection by human nature.

Can a fig-tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine yield figs? No; and neither can salt water yield sweet.

You covet things and yet cannot get them; you commit murder; you have passionate desires and yet cannot gain your end; you begin to fight and make war. You have not, because you do not pray;