Yes! that Timotheus whom I have known from boyhood, so
intent upon an upright and ascetic life, as even to be accused of
excess therein, now forsakes the enquiry after those means whereby we
may be united to God; now makes it his first thought what some one else
may think of him, and lives a life of dependence upon the opinions of
others; is mainly anxious how to serve his friends, without incurring
the ridicule of enemies; and fears disgrace with the world as a great
misfortune. Does he not know, that while he is occupied with
these trifles he is unconsciously neglecting his highest
interests? For, that we cannot be engaged with both at
once—the things of this world and of Heaven—the holy
Scriptures are full of teaching for us. Nay, Nature herself is
full of such instances. In the exercise of the mental faculty, to
think two thoughts at the same time is quite impossible. In the
perceptions of our senses, to admit two sounds falling upon our ears at
the same moment, and to distinguish them, although we are provided with
two open passages, is impossible. Our eyes, again, unless they
are both fixed upon the object of our vision, are unable to perform
their action accurately.