Part 3
'Keep A Clear Head & Make Sober
Judgements'
Envy rules over the whole mind of a man, and
suffers a man neither to eat nor to drink, nor to do any good thing, but
it ever suggests to him to destroy him that he envies and so long as he
that is envied flourishes, he that envies fades away, beware of all
jealousy and envy and walk in singleness of heart, so that God may give
you also grace and glory, and blessing upon your head. Love each one his
brother with a good heart and the spirit of envy will withdraw from you,
for this makes the soul savage and destroys the body it causes anger and
war in the mind, and stirs up to deeds of blood, and leads the mind into
confusion, and causes grief to the soul and trembling to the body. For
even in sleep malicious jealousy gnaws, and with wicked spirits disturbs
the soul, and causes the body to be troubled and wakes the mind from
sleep in confusion, and as a wicked and poisonous spirit, so it appears
to men.
Much discretion need’s the man who drinks wine, a man may drink wine so
long as he preserves modesty. But if he go beyond this limit the spirit
of deceit attacks his mind, and it makes the drunkard to talk filthily,
and to transgress and not to be ashamed, but even to glory in his shame,
and to account himself honourable. He that commits fornication is not
aware when he suffers loss, and is not ashamed when put to dishonour.
For even though a man be a king and commit fornication, he is stripped
of his kingship by becoming the slave of fornication, observe, therefore
the right limit in wine, for there are in it four evil spirits, of lust,
of hot desire, of profligacy, of filthy lucre. If you drink wine in
gladness, be therefore modest in the fear of God, for if in your
gladness the fear of God departs, then drunkenness arises and
shamelessness steals in. But if you would live soberly do not touch wine
at all, lest you sin in words of outrage, and in fighting’s and
slanders, and transgressions of the commandments of God, and you perish
before your time. Moreover, wine reveals the mysteries of God and men
which God bade us not to reveal to swine’s and wine is a cause both of
war and confusion.
Beware of fornication and the love of money, for these things
withdraw you from the law of God, and blind the inclination of the soul,
and teach arrogance, and suffer not a man to have compassion upon his
neighbour. They also rob his soul of all goodness, and oppress him with
toils and troubles and drive away sleep from him and devour his flesh,
and he hinders the sacrifices of God and he remembers not the blessing
of God, he hearkens not to a prophet when he speaks, and resents the
words of godliness, for he is a slave to two contrary passions, and
cannot obey God, because they have blinded his soul, and he walks in the
day as in the night.
Part 4
A Healthy Life Style Promotes Vitality &
Longevity!
Love
The Truth & It Will Preserve You
