This is what happens whenever thou art forsaken, O Fountain
of Life, who art the one and true Creator and Ruler of the
universe. This is what happens when through self-willed pride a
part is loved under the false assumption that it is the whole.
Therefore, we must return to thee in humble piety and let thee
purge us from our evil ways, and be merciful to those who confess
their sins to thee, and hear the groanings of the prisoners and
loosen us from those fetters which we have forged for ourselves.
This thou wilt do, provided we do not raise up against thee the
arrogance of a false freedom -- for thus we lose all through
craving more, by loving our own good more than thee, the common
good of all.
CHAPTER IX
17. But among all these vices and crimes and manifold
iniquities, there are also the sins that are committed by men who
are, on the whole, making progress toward the good. When these
are judged rightly and after the rule of perfection, the sins are
censored but the men are to be commended because they show the
hope of bearing fruit, like the green shoot of the growing corn.
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