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AND in this case it will be the greatest victory and a lasting triumph,
if, as is said, the conscience of the monk is not defiled by the possession
of the smallest coin. For it is an impossibility for him who, overcome in
the matter of a small possession, has once admitted into his heart a root
of evil desire, not to be inflamed presently with the heat of a still
greater desire. For the soldier of Christ will be victorious and in safety,
and free from all the attacks of desire, so long as this most evil spirit
does not implant in his heart a seed of this desire. Wherefore, though in
the matter of all kinds of sins we ought ordinarily to watch the serpent's
head, yet in this above all we should be more keenly on our guard. For
if it has been admitted it will grow by feeding on itself, and will kindle
for itself a worse fire. And so we must not only guard against the
possession of money, but also must expel from our souls the desire for it.
For we should not so much avoid the results of covetousness, as cut off by
the roots all disposition towards it. For it will do no good not to possess
money, if there exists in us the desire for getting it.
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