We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. The only profitable relationship to others – and especially to our weaker brethren – is one of love, and that means the will to hold fellowship with them. God himself did not despise humanity, but became man for men’s sake.
True self-knowledge – to see our own defects above all else – is the only way forward
True self-knowledge is to see one’s own defects and weaknesses so clearly that they fill our whole view. And mark this — the more you see yourself at fault and deserving of every censure, the more you will advance.
The hell of self-knowledge
Only the descent into the hell of self-cognition can pave the way to godliness.