20
to transgress the law in matters either small or great is of equal seriousness,
21
for in either case the law is equally despised.
22
You scoff at our philosophy as though living by it were irrational,
23
but it teaches us self-control, so that we master all pleasures and desires, and it also trains us in courage, so that we endure any suffering willingly;
24
it instructs us in justice, so that in all our dealings we act impartially, and it teaches us piety, so that with proper reverence we worship the only living God.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.