Hrotsvitha,
Abraham
(1922)
“ To despair of God's willingness to take pity on sinners, is to commit a really unpardonable sin. For just as the spark from a flint cannot set the sea on fire, so the bitterness of our sins is utterly powerless to alter the sweetness of God's grace. MARY. It is not that I deny the power of heaven's mercy. Only, when I think of the enormity of my own sin, I do fear lest even that power may prove unequal to the required expiation. ”
Hrotsvitha,
Abraham
(1922)
“ For then dear Ephraim and I would have done penance, full penance, on your behalf. MARY. Once I had fallen into sin, I did not dare, defiled as I was, to approach your saintly presence. AB. But has there ever been anyone altogether without sin, except only the Virgin's Son? MARY. No. AB. It is human nature to sin, but to persevere in sin is of the devil. It is not the man who suddenly falls by the way who deserves condemnation, but the man who fails to rise up again at once. ”
Hrotsvitha,
Abraham
(1922)
“ AB. Was it not for your sake that I left the home I love, my solitary cell, and almost entirely gave up my usual habits of self-discipline? Have not I, a professed hermit, for your sake kept company with roysterers and, to avoid risk of detection, even cracked jokes with them - I, who have so long practised silence? But why do you look down and keep your gaze fixed on the ground? Why do you refuse to answer me and converse with me? MARY. The consciousness of my own guilt makes me dumb. ”
