He who lives the high life and follows the true philosophy, that is, the Christian philosophy, knows very well what evil is and should be hated and avoided with all his might. What then is evil? Evils are many in man's eyes, though evil in reality is one. It is the malice of the soul springing from man's sick and evil intention. Man calls changeable weather evil, and so do drought, famine, earthquakes, pestilence, deprivation of earthly goods, sickness, wounds, imprisonment, and many other similar things. All these things affect the human body and its wealth. Man is neither body nor wealth, so that if a man loses wealth and his body is ruined, he is in danger of perishing. Nor does a man become evil and miserable on the basis of the opinion that others have of him.
People easily condemn, judge, and accuse. They accuse of evil those who are not evil, and they say that this or that is unrighteous and unrighteous. Whether human judgments are good or bad, they do not add virtue to virtue or evil to evil. Our happiness and misery do not depend on the opinion of others. They are like health and sickness, like poverty and wealth. What is the valid standard for distinguishing between good and evil? It is not the human judgments of people living far from God that are the standard, but God’s judgment, which expresses true righteousness and goodness. Everything outside of God’s judgment and condemned by God’s judgment is evil and corrupt. What He requires us to know and want is what is beneficial and brings us happiness. Everything that is contrary to God’s words is full of deception.
The truth that leads to spiritual life was written by men inspired by God, such as the prophets and apostles. The complete and universal truth was preached by the fountainhead of truth. He took the voice of man for this purpose. Where can one find the pure, unadulterated and universal truth? Can one find it except in the word of God? Is not God the only truth and the only good? We shall find goodness through the teaching of Christ, not through the opinions of preachers who are ignorant of the truth and, through their ignorance, cause misery to man. When we see evil in ourselves and in others, we should suffer and pray for ourselves and for others to eradicate evil so that good may prevail. When we have such a lofty longing, we invoke divine mercy and desire to see the glory of God shining and radiant everywhere.
Sin is the thing that disturbs those who live in Christ, first because sin is evil and Christians want to be good, second because sin fights against the divine law, so he who grieves for sin gains great spiritual benefit. Are you physically sick, so that you grieve and cry for your illness? Sickness does not recede or escape with sadness and tears, but rather increases. As for sin, this illness does not recede or escape with sadness and tears, but rather increases. As for sin, this psychological illness, sadness is its medicine, accompanied by a feeling of repentance, and it keeps a person in such a state from new sin, and helps him to leave the life of sin and frees him from all responsibility for the crime that burdens him with sins. Pain serves no other purpose in human life than this purpose.
We dare to sin for the pleasure and enjoyment it promises. We sacrifice the health of the soul to sin, to this deadly and incurable disease, for the sake of an imaginary pleasure. If we knew to what ruin and destruction sin leads us, we would not do such a thing; but when we have this saving knowledge and repent and grieve, it is clear that we will abhor sin, cast it aside, and replace it with the health we have lost through sin.