“Follow my advice and run forward to meet poverty; open wide your door at her approach, and throw yourself into her arms. For though at first, it is true, her aspect is stern, so that not without cause has she been likened to an armed and sullen traveller of forbidding countenance; yet no sooner is she adopted as a friend, than she is transformed into the least troublesome, the most constant and lovable of guests. Trust me, and open the door to her without delay, and without waiting for her to force the lock and enter victoriously through the gate wrenched from its hinges, for, stern towards such as oppose, she is gentle towards those who welcome her.”
Bernardino of Siena (1380-1444) in Life of Saint Bernardino of Siena by Paul Thureau-Dangin and Baronesss G. Von Hugel, 160.