Selected quotes from St. Peter of Damascus

"...sight was given us, not so that we should desire what we ought not to desire, but so that on seeing God's creatures we might because of them glorify the Creator and thus nourish our soul and our body...ears were given us, not to listen to slander and stupidities, but to hear the word of God and every form of speech - of men, birds or anything else - that leads us to glorify the Creator."

+ + + 

"Uncontrolled contemplation may well push us over the edge, when we seek for what is beyond our strength and are unwilling to say, 'God knows this; but who am I?' "

+ + + 

"Every tribulation that we accept patiently is good and profitable; but if we do not accept it patiently, it drives us away from God and serves no useful purpose."