Mirror of the Honesty of Life

meditations, and do not grow tepid from that will with which you came to religion, and from the fervor which was first announced to you. For a man who is slack, if he begins something, acts with some vigor in the beginning, then proceeds by diminishing; for it is easier to begin than to finish. Yet only perseverance will crown; only it receives the prize. No virtue exists without labor, and one does not arrive at great rewards except through great labors.

For the kingdom of heaven is not taken by the slothful, nor the slack, nor the delicate, but by the violent, who inflict a glorious violence not on others, but on their own wills. For those who are soft and fluid in their ways, like flowing water, descend to the depths. But those who are constant, firm, and fervent grow every day into the fortress of virtue. To the foolish, nothing pleases for long. For such men desire what they do not have, and they grow weary of what they do have. Therefore, be constant, and do not be moved by the examples of the tepid to imitate them. And if the rigor of the order is not held by others, do not involve yourself in this, but see that you walk without stumbling before your confreres, correcting them more by example than by words, so that all things that belong to the order may be sound and whole in your person. And therefore, do not be rigorous to others; do not rebuke...