John Chrysostom: No Excuse for Lack of Meekness

In the case of the lions' soul there is the further difficulty that an animal's soul is devoid of reason - though you have often seen lions tamer than sheep being led through the marketplace, and many people in the shops are in the habit of throwing money to the owner as a reward for his skill and cleverness in taming the animal. In the case of your soul, on the other hand, there is reason, fear of God and much assistance from all quarters. So cite me not pretexts and excuses: it is possible for you to be meek and mild if you want to.

- John Chrysostom (around A.D. 347 to around A.D. 407), Sermon 3 on Genesis, in St. John Chrysostom, Eight Sermons on the Book of Genesis, pp. 54-55 (2004), Robert C. Hill translator.