hen I had emptied to the dregs the cup of human

suffering, I was led to consider the wretchedness of

this world, and the fearful consequences of our first
parents’ disobedience. Then I saw that there was no
hope of repentance for mankind, that they were
getting worse day by day, and that for their
impenitence God’s everlasting punishment was
hanging over them; and I made haste to withdraw
myself from the evil world, to bid farewell to it, and
to devote myself to the service of God.
When I had spent some years at the monastery, I
found that after I had performed my work and my
daily devotions I still had some time on my hands.
This I did not wish to pass in idleness, lest my evil
thoughts should lead me into new sins; and so I
determined to use it for the study and investigation of
those natural secrets by which God has sha