"So, a sinner persists incessantly in his troubles and anxieties, and in his search for excessive knowledge, many possessions, and diverse pleasures. He is always delighting in outward things, constantly acquiring possessions, scrutinizing things and testing them. He whirls around in this circular process for his entire life. This inquisitiveness attracts and entices the mind; the heart hopes to taste sweet things; and the will is carried away. Anyone can verify this by putting the movements of his soul under his own observation for just a single day."
- St. Theophan the Recluse, Turning the Heart to God, p.5 (published separately, this is the second part of The Path to Salvation).