Do not expect that a man attached to carnal things will draw nigh to freedom of speech in prayer before God.

A greedy soul is deprived of wisdom; but a compassionate soul is made wise by the Spirit.

Just as oil nourishes the flame of a lamp, so by compassion knowledge is fed in the soul.

The key to divine gifts is handed to the heart through love for one's neighbor.

Insofar as the soul has been freed from the bonds of the flesh, to the same extent the gates of knowledge are opened before her.

Love for one's neighbor is laudable and superb, but only if the thought of it does not divert us from love for God.

The heart does not receive leadership from virtues displayed among men. Virtue that a man shows before a man does not have the power to cleanse the soul. All the same, it too is accepted by God, in order to receive its wage and reward. But perfection, effectuated by a man in himself, is suitable for the one and the other: it is accepted for his reward and it arranges cleansing. Therefore, lay aside the former and cleave to the latter. And if thou wilt not cleave to the latter, to abandon the former means manifestly to deny God. But the latter fills up the place of the former.