Mark the Ascetic - On the Spiritual Law 111-116

111. Just as God assigns to everything visible what is appropriate, so He does also to human thoughts, whether we wish it or not.
112. If some obvious sinner who does not repent has suffered nothing before his death, you may be sure that judgment in his case will be merciless.
113. He who prays with understanding patiently accepts circumstances, whereas he who resents them has not yet attained pure prayer.
114. When harmed, insulted or persecuted by someone, do not think of the present but wait for the future, and you will find he has brought you much good, not only in this life but also in the life to come.
115. Just as the bitterness of absinth helps a poor appetite, so misfortunes help a bad character. For the first benefits the physical condition, and the second leads to repentance.
116. If you do not want to suffer evil, do not inflict it, since the suffering of it inevitably follows its infliction. 'For whatever a man sows he will also reap' (Gal. 6:1).