# History of Monsters, 255

alms consumes the waste of excessive wealth, clears the cloudiness from the eyes of the heart, perfects the eloquence of divine praise and prayer, heals the stones of stubbornness, draws out the grit of vices, and finally brings the wounds of pain, sorrow, and envy to a perfect scar.

Furthermore, just as one must take great care to avoid putrid drink—whether it be wine or water—since it enters the veins, infects the blood, and can produce many kinds of diseases, a follower of Christ must similarly avoid the draught of heresy and obscene speech. Such a drink of corrupted doctrine not only infects the soul but also breeds many spiritual maladies.

Let us now move to a consideration of sleep and wakefulness. Moderate sleep strengthens natural heat, moistens the body, digests raw humors, banishes intoxication, dissipates illness, and heralds nature’s victory over disease. In the same way, the sleep of contemplation confirms the heat of charity, moistens the mind with piety, dissipates the raw humors of pleasures, removes the drunkenness of crimes, exterminates the soul's sickness, and proclaims victory over sin. Moreover, a person overcome by the quiet of the night presents an outward image of cold death, even while enjoying life within; indeed, the external parts grow cold while the internal parts share in a significant heat.

Those who, drawn by hope and piety, are said to "sleep in the Lord" reflect the nature of this sleep. Externally they are called "cold" while oppressed by poverty and destitute of all things, appearing like the image of a dead man; yet internally—that is, toward God—they live, and in their conscience, they are fervent with piety and charity. Reflecting on this, the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, said: *As dying, and behold we live.*

Conversely, in wakefulness, a person performs their functions: they walk, see, hear, taste, smell, touch, speak, and understand—actions which are nullified when sleep presses. The wakeful person represents the just man caring for his own salvation, for he is unhindered by the sleep of crimes and can exercise his spiritual functions. Thus, he progresses with the feet of love and affection, gazes with the eyes of contemplation, perceives the draught with the ears of humility, delights in the taste of piety, smells with hope, is said to touch by conferring benefits on others, speaks through confession and the praises of God, and finally understands everything through diligent meditation.

Two other factors among the "non-naturals"—namely movement and rest—must not be overlooked. A person ought to exercise before a meal so that the waste contained in the stomach may descend and be dissipated before new food arrives and becomes corrupted by mixing with that waste. By the same token, before the spiritual food of doctrine or the Eucharist is taken, the exercise of penance should precede it so that the waste of vices may be consumed; in this way, the place of conscience is purged.

On the other hand, rest is said to be the goal of labor and of every movement, since every movement tends by its nature toward rest, according to the well-known verse: *That which lacks alternate rest is not durable.*

Through rest, strength is revived and weary limbs are refreshed. In this context, we can interpret rest as the state of contemplation and the life of religious practice, in which the mind is withdrawn from external business toward the internal operations of conscience. Enveloped in peace, the mind meditates on God alone as true rest, according to the golden assertion of Saint Augustine: *My heart is restless, good Jesus, until it rests in You.* For this rest preserves the state of grace, strengthens the soul’s powers, and wonderfully removes the weariness of a mind exhausted by worldly affairs.