One day, the disciples came to the elder and asked him: why do bad inclinations easily take hold of a person, but good inclinations take hold of a person with difficulty, and at the same time they do not sit firmly in the soul. -What happens if a healthy seed is left in the sun and a sick one is buried in the ground? - asked the old man. The disciples answered: “A good seed left without soil will die, but a bad seed will germinate and bear fruit.” “This is what people do,” the elder told them. “Instead of secretly doing good deeds and cultivating the beginnings of goodness deep in their souls, they put them on display and thus destroy them. On the contrary, they hide their shortcomings and sins deep in their souls so that others do not see them. They grow deep there and destroy the human heart.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru