Spiritual commerce

... A word born of righteous activity (praxis) is one thing, and a beautiful speech is another. Even without experience, wisdom is clever at imparting beauty to her words, at speaking the truth without really knowing it, and at making declarations on virtue while the man himself never makes trial of it in his deeds. Speech that comes from righteous activity is a treasury of hope, but wisdom not based on righteous activity is a deposit of disgrace. Just as when an artist frescoes water on the walls and cannot relieve his thirst with it, or just as a man dreams beautiful dreams, even so is speech not based on righteous activity.

A man who talks of virtue from the experience of his own labour transmits that virtue to the hearer just as though he distributes money earned from his own commerce. ... Such a man opens his mouth with boldness even as the ancient Jacob said to Joseph the Chaste,

"Behold, I have given thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow." (Gen. 48:22)