5. Spiritual reading.

When thou attendest as is meet to spiritual reading, or doest anything else rightly to the praise of God, thou dost often reap not less, yea even more, fruit from it than if thou hadst prayed. For not only prayer, but also any salutary words read or listened to for the glory of God, and any other pious actions and thoughts, wonderfully adorn the soul. The mind of a good man receives indeed many and great bone-fits from spiritual teaching; for it is thereby kept pure, and lays aside its ignorance, and is made tranquil, and is illuminated, nourished, excited, and strengthened, and receives exceeding adornment. Be thou therefore ready and willing to read, or to hear the Word of God and all wholesome doctrine, by whomsoever it may be uttered, and however simply it may be spoken or written; but execrate the corrupt and pestilent doctrine 178of heretics. Even though any one may not be able exactly to understand, nor to keep in his memory the pious things which he reads or hears to the praise of God; nevertheless such things are of great profit to his soul. It is certain that while he reads or hears good things, a man loses not his time; but he, no doubt, does lose his time if he has not a pure and right intention while he reads even the best things.