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Saintliness does not hinge upon those things which are put at a premium by the foolishly "saintly," but upon true perfection and great wisdom.

— Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

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More quotes by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto

Man was created for the sole purpose of rejoicing in God and deriving pleasure from the splendor of His Presence; for this is true joy and the greatest pleasure that can be found.

Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

Whatever tends to lighten one's burden must be examined carefully. For although such alleviation is sometimes justified and reasonable, it is most often a deceitful prescription of the evil inclination, and must, therefore, be subjected to much analysis and investigation.

Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

All of the character traits, which are in such great need of correction and cultivation—who will cultivate and correct them if we do not give heart to them and subject them to exacting scrutiny?

Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

There is also no lack of deterrents which keep saintliness at a distance from a person, but then again there is no lack of devices by which these deterrents may be held afar.

Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

Is it fitting that our intelligence exert itself and labor in speculations which are not binding upon us, in fruitless argumentation, in laws which have no application to us, while we leave to habit and abandon to mechanical observance our great debt to our Creator?

Mesillat Yesharim (1738)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.