4 Maccabees 1:28

28 Just as pleasure and pain are two plants growing from the body and the soul, so there are many branches shooting off from each of these plants.

4 Maccabees 1:28 In-Context

26 In the soul, bad habits show up as pride, love of money, thirst for honor, delight in conflict, and envy.
27 In the body, they show up as eating anything and everything, the tendency to overeat, and indulging in binge eating in private.
28 Just as pleasure and pain are two plants growing from the body and the soul, so there are many branches shooting off from each of these plants.
29 But clear thinking, like an expert gardener, pulls out the weeds, trims, supports, waters, and cares for the plants in every way. So it tames the jungle of habits and emotions.
30 clear thinking is the guide of moral character, but it has full power over the emotions. Consider first the way in which clear thinking shows that it is supreme over the emotions through the exercise of self-control.
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