" Love not sleep, lest poverty oppress thee; open thy eyes, and be filled with bread." For, doubtless, he well knew what we see happen every day, namely, that he who does not rise early to pray, either does not pray at all, or else very carelessly. What care dost thou take in this matter ? Whenever sleep tempts thee to stay in bed too long,. repeat to thyself these words of the Wise Man, and thou wilt find them urge thee to spring at once from that couch where heaviness, not necessity, keeps thee lying: "The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails deeply fastened in;" they are "goads" to spur thee on to good, and "nails" to withhold thee from evil....
if thou sufferest thyself to be overcome by sleep in the morning, either thou neglectest thy usual prayer altogether, or at any rate it is so careless and so scanty that thou gainest thence no strength for doing well, in which, after all, true riches consist.
Posts
