4. O man! consider therefore, what thou art, and what thou canst do. What hast thou been able to contribute to thy restoration and the renovation of thy depraved nature? Surely nothing. As thou couldst not afford any help toward thy bodily birth, nor create thyself; so neither canst thou bring any assistance towards thy new birth or regeneration. Thou canst indeed lose, corrupt, and destroy thyself; but to renew, to restore, to heal, to justify, and to quicken thyself, is a work entirely beyond thy strength. Couldest thou contribute anything that God might become man? No. There is nothing therefore that thou canst arrogate to thyself, or ascribe to thy own ability. Indeed, the more a man attributes to his own will, strength, and ability, the more effectually does he obstruct divine grace, and the renewal of his corrupted nature. Let us therefore wholly renounce our own strength, our own wisdom, our own will, and self-love, that, being thus resigned to God alone, we may suffer his power freely to work in us, so that nothing may, in the least, oppose the will and operations of the Lord. 5. Until thou art brought to this, O Christian, that thy mind becomes merely passive, and that thou purely _sufferest_ the operation and will of God, it is evident, that God is impeded by thee, so that he cannot unite himself with thy soul; or by true renovation of thy corrupt nature establish his image there. For our own will, self-love, ambition, the opinion of our own wisdom, and whatever we arrogantly claim to ourselves, are so many impediments, why God cannot freely operate in us, and effect his good will. For as a man’s own will more and more corrupts and depraves him; so the will of God more and more perfects and restores him. 6. Hence, it was said by Bonaventura, that “the highest perfection of religion, consists in renouncing our own will.” And by Augustine, “If _to love God_ is the greatest good to man, _to love himself_ must needs be his greatest evil. And, if such is the nature of good, that it diffuses and communicates itself; of necessity self-love must be a great evil, since it engrosses to itself both its own and the goods of others, and will not part with any of them.” Of this even the pagan Seneca himself was not ignorant when he said: “That only is an accession to virtue, which is a denial of thy own will.” And again: “Unless thou departest from thyself, thou canst not approach God, who is above thee.”