No one can harm the soul but oneself

So restrain your anger and quench your rage. If someone wrongs you or insults you, weep for that person. Do not be indignant; sympathize with him. Do not be provoked, and do not say, "I have been wronged in my soul." No one is ever wronged in his soul unless we wrong our own souls. How is that? Let me explain. Has someone taken your property? He has not wronged your soul, but your money. But if you bear a grudge, you have wronged your own soul. The loss of money did you no harm—it even helped you—but if you do not let go of your anger, you will give an account for that grudge in the next life. Has someone reviled and insulted you? He has not wronged your soul, nor even your body. But if you revile and insult him in return, you have wronged your own soul, because you will have to give an account for the words you spoke. And this above all I want you to know: no one can wrong the soul of a Christian believer—not even the devil himself.

And this is not the only remarkable thing, that God has made us invulnerable to every plot. He has also made us fit for the practice of virtue, and there is no obstacle if we are willing—whether we are poor, weak in body, cast off, without a name, or slaves. Neither poverty, nor sickness, nor maiming of the body, nor slavery, nor anything else of that kind can ever stand in the way of virtue. And why do I speak of the poor man, the slave, the nameless one? Even if you are a prisoner, that is no obstacle to virtue. How is that? Let me explain. Has one of those inside grieved and provoked you? Let go of your anger toward him. Have your chains, your poverty, your dishonor been any obstacle to that? And why do I say obstacle? They have actually helped and worked with you to restrain your pride. Have you seen another person prospering? Do not envy him. Poverty is no hindrance here either. Again, when you need to pray, do it with a sober and watchful mind, and nothing will hinder you there either. Show all gentleness, forbearance, self-control, and dignity. None of these things needs external help.

And this is the greatest thing about virtue: it has no need of wealth, or power, or reputation, or anything else of that kind. It needs only a sanctified soul, and it seeks nothing more. See how the same thing happens with grace. If someone is lame, or has had his eyes gouged out, or is maimed in body, or has fallen into the most extreme sickness, grace is not prevented by any of these from coming to him. For grace seeks only a soul that receives it eagerly, and it passes by all these external things. In the case of earthly soldiers, those who are going to enlist them in the camp require a certain height of body and good physical condition. And the man who is going to serve as a soldier must not only have these things—he must also be free. If someone is a slave, he is rejected. But the King of heaven seeks nothing of the kind. He accepts even slaves into his camp, and those who have grown old, and those with limbs paralyzed, and he is not ashamed.