Page:The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart.pdf/322



world is full of Marthas, who run and wander to and fro, toil, and scrape silver together from all directions, and yet never have enough. But these holy men have a different nature; each of them sits quietly at the feet of his Lord, and this, and what he receives therethrough, is sufficient to him. He holds the grace of God that resides within him as the most precious treasure; in this alone he finds delight; external things which the world calls riches he considers as a burden rather than a gain, yet they use them for the necessities of life—for the necessities only, I say. Therefore, whether the Lord God grants each of them little or much, each of them says that he has enough. They verily believe, and put their trust therein, that they are under God's protection, and therefore think it unseemly to desire anything beyond that which God has granted them.

2. Now I beheld here a wondrous thing. There were some among these holy men who had an