“The root of every evil is a self-loving heart, or self-pity, self-sparing; it is from self-love, or from excessive and unlawful love for oneself, that all the passions proceed: coldness, insensibility, hard-heartedness towards God and our neighbor, wicked impatience or irritability, hatred, envy, avarice, despondency, pride, unbelief, incredulity, greediness after food and drink, or gluttony; the love of money, vanity, slothfulness, hypocrisy. Never pity yourself in anything, crucify yourself – your old man, nestling chiefly in the flesh – and you will strike at the root of all your passions.
Bear patiently all that is unpleasant to your flesh; do not spare it, go against it, and you will become a true follower of Christ. The whole wisdom of a Christian consists in his wisely going against his flesh in everything during his lifetime. ‘For I know that in my (that is, in my flesh) dwells no good thing‘ (Romans 7:18), says the apostle.” (John of Kronstadt, MY LIFE IN CHRIST Part 2, pp 112-113)
Fraternized 