The Third Part of the Conferences of John Cassian · XX. Conference of Abbot Pinufius. On the End of Penitence and the Marks of Satisfaction
Chapter X
Page 947 of 1,144
How the recollection of our sins should be avoided.
Wherefore we must endeavour to rouse ourselves to this praiseworthy contrition, by aiming at virtue and by the desire for the kingdom of heaven rather than by dangerous recollections of sins, for a man is sure to be suffocated by the pestilential smells of the sewer as long as he chooses to stand over it or to stir its filth.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Volume 11, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (1890–1900). Public domain. Text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.