We should turn our attention to material things only in so far as some necessity forces us to do so. But always to be creeping on the ground in searc… - Nilus of Sinai

The philosopher must be above all a free man, and not a slave of the passions.

One was not rich while another was destitute, nor did one overeat while another starved. The generosity of those who were well off made good what others lacked, this willingness to share eliminating every anomaly and establishing equality and fairness - though even then inequality still existed, produced not as it is now by the mad struggle for social status, but by a great desire to live more humbly than others. Envy, malice, arrogance and haughtiness were banished, along with all that leads to discord.

Improbable details are often included in a story because of the deeper truth they signify.