The mind of the attentive man is like a watchful guardian and sentinel of the inner Jerusalem.
From the height of the spiritual life he sees through his clear eye the surrounding and the opposing forces within his soul.
Man in his flesh is like a lighted candle. The candle is destined to melt and man is destined to die.
But the soul is immortal, and therefore our concern should be directed more towards the soul than towards the body: “What shall a man profit, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. xvi, 26).
St. Seraphim of Sarov