cease or end. For who can
praise Him perfectly for the gift of natural life, not to mention all
other temporal and eternal blessings? And so through this one part of
the Commandment man is overwhelmed with good and precious works; if he
do these in true faith, he has indeed not lived in vain. And in this
matter none sin so much as the most resplendent saints, who are pleased
with themselves and like to praise themselves or to hear themselves
praised, honored and glorified before men.

Therefore the second work of this Commandment is, to be on one's guard,
to flee from and to avoid all temporal honor and praise, and never to
seek a name for oneself, or fame and a great reputation, that every one
sing of him and tell of him; which is an exceedingly dangerous sin, and
yet the most common of all, and, alas! little regarded. Every one wants
to be of importance and not to be the least, however small he may be;
so deeply is nature sunk in the evil of its own conceit and in its
self-confidence contrary to these two first Commandments.

Now the world regards this terrible vice as the highest virtue, and
this makes it exceedingly dangerous for those who do not understand and
have not had experience of God's Commandments and the histories of the
Holy Scriptures, to read or hear the heathen books and histories. For
all heathen books are poisoned through and through with this striving
after praise and honor; in them men are taught by blind reason that
they were not nor could be men of power and worth, who are not moved by
praise and honor; but those are counted the best, who disregard body
and life, friend and property and everything in the effort to win
praise and honor. All the holy Fathers have complained of this vice and
with one mind conclude that it is the very last vice to be overcome.
St. Augustine says: "All other vices are practised in evil works; only
honor and self-satisfaction are practised in and by means of good
works."

Therefore if a man had nothing else to do except this second work of
this Commandment, he would yet have to work all his life-time in order
to fight this vice and drive it out, so common, so subtile, so quick
and insidious is it. Now we all pass by this good work and exercise
ourselves in many other lesser good works, nay, through other good
works we overthrow this and forget it entirely. So the holy Name of
God, which alone should be honored, is taken in vain and dishonored
through our own cursed