Book VI. On the Spirit of Fornication. We Have Thought Best to Omit Altogether the Translation of This Book · Book VIII. Of the Spirit of Anger
Chapter XVI
Page 441 of 1,144
How useless is the retirement of those who do not give up their bad manners.
Sometimes when we have been overcome by pride or impatience, and we want to improve our rough and bearish manners, we complain that we require solitude, as if we should find the virtue of patience there where nobody provokes us: and we apologize for our carelessness, and say that the reason of our disturbance does not spring from our own impatience, but from the fault of our brethren. And while we lay the blame of our fault on others, we shall never be able to reach the goal of patience and perfection.
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.