Mark the Ascetic - On the Spiritual Law 180-186

180. No cloud is formed without a breath of wind: and no passion is born without a thought.
181. If we no longer fulfill the desires of the flesh, then with the Lord's help the evils within us will easily be eliminated.
182. Images already established in our intellect are more pernicious and stubborn than those which arise while we are thinking. The latter precede the former and are their cause.
183. One kind of evil dwells in the heart through long-contmued prepossession; another kind attacks our thoughts through the medium of everyday things.
184. God assesses our action according to our intention; for it is said that the Lord will 'reward you according to your heart' (Ps. 20:4).
185. He who does not persevere in examining his conscience will not endure bodily suffering for God's sake.
186. The conscience is nature's book. He who applies what he reads there experiences God's help.