Why We Were Ashamed to Reveal Our Thoughts

The reason for that harmful shame which makes us try to hide our bad thoughts is chiefly this. We have heard of a man in the region of Syria who was believed to be a superior among the elders. When one of the brothers had laid bare his thoughts to him in a sincere confession, he was afterward extremely indignant and scolded him severely for them. So it comes about that while we keep our thoughts pressed down within ourselves and are ashamed to make them known to the elders, we cannot obtain the remedies that would heal them.