Chapter VII.
We ought to have this charity in ourselves, so that we may not be separated from Christ by any adversity, since blessed life is not diminished with them: for blessed life is found in those in whom life is perfect; and in what it consists. Finally, a perfect man is placed above all falls and hardships.
27. But even if heavy trials threatened us, we should by no means be separated from Christ. Why do we not also endure hard and bitter things for Him, who undertook such unworthy things for us? And so charity ought to be in us, that we may not be called back from Christ by any dangers. For it is written: 'Many waters cannot quench charity, neither can the floods drown it' (Song of Songs 8:7); because love passes over the torrent. No storm, no deep peril, no fear of death or punishment can diminish the power of charity. In these things we are tested, in these things a happy life is found, even if it is overwhelmed by many dangers.
28. For a wise person is not broken by bodily pains, nor is he disturbed by discomforts; but he remains happy even in hardships. For the adversities of bodily life do not diminish the gift of a happy life, nor do they detract from its sweetness; because happiness in life does not consist in bodily pleasure, but in a pure conscience free from any stain of sin, and in the mind of one who knows that what is good, even if it is harsh, delights him; but what is indecent, even if it is pleasant, does not soothe him. Therefore, the cause of living well is not bodily pleasure, but the prudence of the mind: not the flesh which is subject to passion, but the mind which judges that nothing pleases better than the honesty of advice and the beauty of works. Therefore, it is the interpreter of a blessed life. For prudence or reason is better than the judgement of passion, and what judges is more excellent than what is subject to judgement. For it is not possible for what is unreasonable to be better by reason. Therefore, he who follows Jesus has his own reward in himself, and in his affection, reward and grace; even if he endures hardships, he is blessed in his character, blessed in the very dangers, as the Lord declared, saying: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake (Matt. 5:10).
29. Therefore, the blessed life is in humans, but specifically in those in whom life has been perfected. However, this perfected life is not sensory, but rather rational according to the activity of reason and the vivacity of the mind. In this, there is not a mere portion of man, but rather a perfection that is not so much in the condition of man as in the operation. For it is this that makes one blessed. Therefore, what is good for this man, if not himself, what he has, and this good is present to him and will be the cause of future goods? Regarding this good, Solomon said: Drink water from your vessels, and from the fountains of your wells. Let the water overflow from your own fountain; let it run through your streets. Let them be for you alone, and let no outsider be a partner with you. Let your own fountain of water be for your exclusive use (Prov. V, 17 and 18). Therefore, make use of your internal good.
Moreover, the greatest testimony of this good is that one who possesses it requires nothing else. For what does one who despises lower things require? Let it cling to the most excellent, as it is written: 'Be a friend of nobility, and may a thankful child converse with you.' (Dionysius Cato, Distichs 19) Let friendship go before you, and may it be with you at all times. For friendship is the good of virtues, and love of the highest good. Therefore, that perfect person seeks nothing else but the alone and excellent good. And he says: One thing I have asked of the Lord, this I will seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and contemplate the delight of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). And indeed, do not despise him as narrow and needy, because he is content with the companionship of one good thing. For, being surrounded by the friendship of this person, there will be abundant joy. Indeed, this person abounds towards happiness and the possession of good things; and therefore desires nothing else. For he who has everything expects nothing as if it were new. For nothing is good that he does not possess: he does not delight in excess, but in necessary things, and that which is necessary to him is not for himself, but for the flesh that cleaves to him: and he indulges in what does not deviate from the purpose of the inner man, and he makes both one, and he reconciles the inner man with God in accordance with the outer man, so that in both there is one spirit.
31. Therefore, this man of purpose is neither diminished by his expenses, nor broken by adversity, nor hindered by obstacles, nor saddened by the loss of his loved ones. For the Apostle says to inform you: But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope (I Thess. IV, 12). For he comforts himself with the faith in the resurrection and the grace of future reward, and does not receive with a saddened mind that which he clings to God and takes joy in the divine excellence. But whoever is saddened by these things is not saddened according to God. And what is not according to God, this is full of foolishness. Therefore, the sadness of this world is far from perfection, which is not according to God, and all bodily anxieties. For this kind of mental and substantial induction is not counted as a bodily habit, and some exterior use of nature, while at the same time opposing the pleasures of the body, the very fragility of nature, the hardships, the expenses, the insults, an invincible mind should maintain unwavering constancy; so that it may tear apart the body itself, and strip off the senses of the flesh, which desires to hold the palm of blessedness, whose fruit is not in the portion of one, but in the participation of many, and if possible, in the participation of all virtues.
Therefore, a perfect person is unaware of the troubles of this body or the adversities of the world, and does not feel afraid that others may kill them. For a more perfect life is not defined by lacking these things, but by despising them. For if it were defined in such a way that a happy life could be found without these events, free and empty, surely no one could be defined as happy when faced with these events. Therefore, these things are separate, and the only requirement in evaluating a happy life is that its definition should be based not on external things, but on the possession of true good; since one who possesses it despises other things and does not seek them.