God’s works are wonderful: we must serve him, and not our lusts.
Gods wonderful workes excede mans capacitie. 7. Our weaknes is streingthened by grace. 15. wherto man must cooperate, 19. by purging his conscience, 22. by prayer, 24. by meditating Gods iudgements, 30. and by mortifying his owne concupiscence.
1He that liveth for ever created all things together. God only shall be justified, and he remaineth an invincible king for ever.Colui, che vive in eterno, creò tutte insieme le cose. Iddio solo sarà riconosciuto giusto, ed egli è il Re invincibile, che sussiste in eterno.HE that liueth for euer, created al thinges together. God onlie shal be iustified, and remaineth an inuincible king for euer.Qui vivet in æternum creavit omnia simul. / Deus solus justificabitur, / et manet invictus rex in æternum. 2Who is able to declare his works?Chi è capace di raccontare le opere fatte da lui?Who is sufficient to declare his workes?Quis sufficit enarrare opera illius ? 3For who shall search out his glorious acts?Ma chi può penetrare le sue meraviglie?For who shal search out his glorious thinges?quis enim investigabit magnalia ejus ? 4And who shall show forth the power of his majesty? or who shall be able to declare his mercy?E la onnipotente grandezza di lui chi mai la spiegherà? O chi tenterà di riferire le sue misericordie?and who shal shew forth the powre of his greatnesse? or who shal adde to declare his mercie?virtutem autem magnitudinis ejus quis enuntiabit ? / aut quis adjiciet enarrare misericordiam ejus ? 5Nothing may be taken away, nor added, neither is it possible to find out the glorious works of God.Nulla v'è da levare, né da aggiungere alle mirabili opere di Dio, e queste sono incomprensibili.It is not possible to diminish, nor adde, neither is it possible to finde the glorious workes of God:Non est minuere neque adjicere, / nec est invenire magnalia Dei. 6When a man hath done, then shall he begin: and when he leaveth off, he shall be at a loss.Quando l'uomo avrà finito, allora sarà da capo, e quando si fermerà, sarà, nell'incertezza.When a man shal haue done, then shal he beginne: and when he shal rest, he shal worke.Cum consummaverit homo, tunc incipiet: / et cum quieverit, aporiabitur. 7What is man, and what is his grace? and what is his good, or what is his evil?Che è l'uomo? ed a che può egli esser utile? e che è il bene, o il male di lui?What is man, and what is his grace? and what is his good, or what his euil?Quid est homo ? et quæ est gratia illius ? / et quid bonum aut quid nequam illius ? 8The number of the days of men at the most are a hundred years, as a drop of water of the sea are they esteemed: and as a pebble of the sand, so are a few years compared to eternity.Il numero de' giorni dell'uomo al più di cento anni: come una goccia di acqua marina, e come un granello d'arena, così son questi pochi anni al di dell'eternità.The number of the daies of men at the most an hundred yeares: as droppes of the water of the sea they are reputed: and as the grauel stone of the sand, so a few yeares in the day of eternitie.Numerus dierum hominum, ut multum centum anni, / quasi gutta aquæ maris deputati sunt: / et sicut calculus arenæ, sic exigui anni in die ævi.
9Therefore God is patient in them, and poureth forth his mercy upon them.Per questo il Signore è paziente con essi, e versa sopra di loro la sua misericordia.For this cause God is patient toward them, and powreth out his mercie vpon them.Propter hoc patiens est Deus in illis, / et effundit super eos misericordiam suam. 10He hath seen the presumption of their heart that it is wicked, and hath known their end that it is evil.Vede egli la presunzione del loro cuore cattiva, e la perdizione loro, che è deplorabile.He hath senne the presumption of their hart that it is naught, and hath knowen their subuersion that it is euil.Vidit præsumptionem cordis eorum, quoniam mala est: / et cognovit subversionem illorum, quoniam nequam est. 11Therefore hath he filled up his mercy in their favour, and hath shewn them the way of justice.Per questo una piena benignità, usa con essi, e mostra loro la via dell'equità.Therefore hath he fulfilled his propitiation toward them, and hath shewed them the way of equitie.Ideo adimplevit propitiationem suam in illis, / et ostendit eis viam æquitatis. 12The compassion of man is toward his neighbour: but the mercy of God is upon all flesh.La compassione dell'uomo è verso il suo prossimo; ma la misericordia di Dio ad ogni carne si estende.Mans compassion is touching his neigbour: but the mercie of God is vpon al flesh.Miseratio hominis circa proximum suum: / misericordia autem Dei super omnem carnem. 13He hath mercy, and teacheth, and correcteth, as a shepherd doth his flock.Egli ha misericordia, e gli ammaestra, e li guida come fa un pastor col suo gregge.He that hath mercie, teacheth, and instructeth, as a pastour his flocke.Qui misericordiam habet, docet et erudit / quasi pastor gregem suum. 14He hath mercy on him that receiveth the discipline of mercy, and that maketh haste in his judgments.Egli è benigno con quegli, che ascoltano il magistero della misericordia, e sono solleciti nell'eseguire i suoi precetti.He hath mercie on him that receiueth the doctrine of compassion, and he that hasteneth in his iudgementes.Miseretur excipientis doctrinam miserationis, / et qui festinat in judiciis ejus. 15My son, in thy good deeds, make no complaint, and when thou givest any thing, add not grief by an evil word.Figliuolo, non aggiugnere al benefizio i rimproveri, e al dono, che tu facci, non unire l'asprezza di male parole.Sonne in good deedes geue no blame, and in euerie gift geue not the sadnes of an euil word.Fili, in bonis non des querelam, / et in omni dato non des tristitiam verbi mali. 16Shall not the dew assuage the heat? so also the good word is better than the gift.Non è egli vero, che la rugiada tempera il caldo? così pure la buona parola vai più del dono.Shal not the dew colle heate? so also a word better then a gift.Nonne ardorem refrigerabit ros ? / sic et verbum melius quam datum.
17Lo, is not a word better than a gift? but both are with a justified man.Non vedi tu, che la parola vai più del dono? ma l'uomo giusto ha l'una, e l'altra cosa.Is not a word aboue a good gift? but both are with a iustified man.Nonne ecce verbum super datum bonum ? / sed utraque cum homine justificato. 18A fool will upbraid bitterly: and a gift of one ill taught consumeth the eyes.Lo stolto fa degli odiosi rimproveri, e il dono dell'uomo mal costumato fa strugger gli occhi.A foole wil vpbraide bitterly: and the gift of one vntaught maketh the eies to drie away.Stultus acriter improperabit: / et datus indisciplinati tabescere facit oculos. 19Before judgment prepare thee justice, and learn before thou speak.Prima del giudizio assicurati di tua giustizia, e prima di parlare, impara.Before iudgement prepare thee iustice, and before thou speake lerne.Ante judicium para justitiam tibi, / et antequam loquaris, disce. 20Before sickness take a medicine, and before judgment examine thyself, and thou shalt find mercy in the sight of God.Prima di cadere in languore prendi la medicina, e prima del giudizio disamina te stesso, e dinanzi a Dio troverai misericordia.Before sickenes take medicine, and before iudgement examine thyself, and in the sight of God thou shalt finde propitiation.Ante languorem adhibe medicinam: / et ante judicium interroga teipsum, / et in conspectu Dei invenies propitiationem. 21Humble thyself before thou art sick, and in the time of sickness shew thy conversation.Prima di cader nella malattia umiliati, e nel tempo di tua infermità fa conoscere la tua conversione.Before sickenes humble thy self, and in time of infirmitie shew thy conuersation.Ante languorem humilia te, / et in tempore infirmitatis ostende conversationem tuam. 22Let nothing hinder thee from praying always, and be not afraid to be justified even to death: for the reward of God continueth for ever.Nissuna cosa ti ritenga dal sempre orare, e non dubitare di far opere di giustizia fino alla morte: perocché la mercede di Dio dura in eterno.Be not hindered to pray alwayes, & feare not to be iustified euen to death: because the reward of God abideth for euer.Non impediaris orare semper, / et ne verearis usque ad mortem justificari, / quoniam merces Dei manet in æternum. 23Before prayer prepare thy soul: and be not as a man that tempteth God.Prima dell'orazione prepara l'anima tua, non essere come uno, che tenti Dio.Before praier prepare thy soule: and be not as a man that tempteth God.Ante orationem præpara animam tuam, / et noli esse quasi homo qui tentat Deum. 24Remember the wrath that shall be at the last day, and the time of repaying when he shall turn away his face.Ricordati dell'ira (che verrà) nel di finale, e del tempo della retribuzione, quando (Dio) cangerà di visaggio.Remember the wrath in the day of consummation, and the time of reward in conuersation of the face.Memento iræ in die consummationis, / et tempus retributionis in conversatione faciei.
25Remember poverty in the time of abundance, and the necessities of poverty in the day of riches.Ricordati della povertà nel tempo di abbondanza, e delle miserie della povertà nel tempo di ricchezza.Remember pouertie in the time of abundance, and the necessities of pouertie in the day of riches.Memento paupertatis in tempore abundantiæ, / et necessitatum paupertatis in die divitiarum. 26From the morning until the evening the time shall be changed, and all these are swift in the eyes of God.Dal mattino alla sera il tempo si cambierà, e tutto questo si fa ben presto sotto gli occhi di Dio.From morning vnto euening time shal be changed, & al these are sowne in the eies of God.A mane usque ad vesperam immutabitur tempus, / et hæc omnia citata in oculis Dei. 27A wise man will fear in every thing, and in the days of sins will beware of sloth.L'uomo saggio teme di tutto; e ne' giorni de' peccati si guarderà dalla negligenza.A wise man in al thinges wil feare, & in the daies of offences wil be ware of sloth.Homo sapiens in omnibus metuet, / et in diebus delictorum attendet ab inertia. 28Every man of understanding knoweth wisdom, and will give praise to him that findeth her.Ogni uomo sensato sa distinguere la saggezza, e da lode a chi l'ha trovata.Euerie subtile man knoweth wisdom, and to him that findeth her he wil geue prayse.Omnis astutus agnoscit sapientiam, / et invenienti eam dabit confessionem. 29They that were of good understanding in words, have also done wisely themselves: and have understood truth and justice, and have poured forth proverbs and judgments.Gli uomini giudiziosi si diportano con prudenza nel parlare, e intendono la verità, e la giustizia, e spargono quasi pioggia proverbi, e sentenze.The wise in wordes, and they also haue done wisely: and haue vnderstood truth and iustice, and haue rayned prouerbes & iudgementes.Sensati in verbis et ipsi sapienter egerunt, / et intellexerunt veritatem et justitiam, / et impleverunt proverbia et judicia. 30Go not after thy lusts, but turn away from thy own will.Non andar dietro alle tue cupidità, e raffrena i tuoi appetiti.Goe not after thy concupiscences, and turne away from thy wil.Post concupiscentias tuas non eas, / et a voluntate tua avertere. 31If thou give to thy soul her desires, she will make thee a joy to thy enemies.Se soddisfarai le cupidità dell'anima tua, ella farà, che abbian di te allegrezza i tuoi nemici.If thou geue to thy soule her concupiscences, she wil make thee a ioy to the enemies.Si præstes animæ tuæ concupiscentias ejus, / faciat te in gaudium inimicis tuis.
32Take no pleasure in riotous assemblies, be they ever so small: for their concertation is continual.Non prender piacere ai tumulti, anche di piccol momento; perocché vi ai trovano conflitti perpetui.Be not delighted in multitudes, not in few: for their concertation is continual.Ne oblecteris in turbis nec in modicis: / assidua enim est commissio illorum. 33Make not thyself poor by borrowing to contribute to feasts when thou hast nothing in thy purse: for thou shalt be an enemy to thy own life.Guardati dall'impoverire prendendo a usura per contendere, mentre hai vuoto il sacchetto; perocché saresti ingiusto contro la tua propria vita.Be not poore in contention of borowing, and thou hast nothing in thy purse: for thou shalt be enuious to thine owne life.Ne fueris mediocris in contentione ex fœnore, / et est tibi nihil in sacculo: / eris enim invidus vitæ tuæ.
18:1
St. Thomas Aquinas
Together, as to their substance, though they received different forms successively, as Moses relates. Both writers are divinely inspired. (St. Augustine, de Gen. ad Lit. 4:33.) (Worthington) (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1:p. 974. a. 2.)
Cajetan
Some suppose that all things were really formed in an instant, and that the order described by Moses is only as we should conceive it. (Cajetan)
Calmet
This passage only means that God alone was the creator both of the sun and of man, and without him nothing was made, (John i., and Psalm 32:15.) as he gave existence to all, koine, "in common." (Calmet)
Haydock
And he. Greek, "and there is no other besides him who steers the world with the palm of his hand. And all things obey his will; for he is king of all, in his might, separating what is holy among them from the profane. (2.) He has enabled no one to," etc. (Haydock)
18:5
Calmet
Added. The works speak for themselves, though man be silent. (Calmet)
18:6
Challoner
Begin. God is so great and incomprehensible, that when man has done all that he can to find out his greatness and boundless perfections, he is still to begin: for what he has found out, is but a mere nothing, in comparison of his infinity. (Challoner)
Calmet
It is best to adore him in silence and humility. (Calmet)
18:7
Haydock
Grace. Greek, "utility." (Haydock)
Evil. What can man do for or against God? Job 22:3., and Psalm 15:2.
18:8
Haydock
Years. Seneca fixes on the same number; (Brev. Vitae. 3.) Macrobius on seventy, for the life of man; which nearly agrees with the author of Psalm 89:10. (Haydock)
Calmet
It seldom happens that people exceed 70, or 100 years. But what is this compared with eternity? (Calmet)
Greek, "a hundred years are many....so are a thousand years in the day of the age," or of aionos, eternity. (Haydock) (Psalm 89:4., and 2 Peter 3:8.)
18:9
Calmet
Them. Human misery calls forth God's pity. (Calmet)
18:12
Flesh. It is infinite and disinterested. Man assists his neighbour expecting a recompense, and remembering that he may be distressed.
18:14
Calmet
Judgments. To execute his orders. Here ends the discourse begun [in] Ecclesiasticus 14:22. (Calmet)
18:15
Haydock
Complaint. Greek, "reproach." (Haydock)
The manner of giving, enhances the value of the gift, or even surpasses it. (Calmet) -----Super omnia vultus Accessere boni, nec iners pauperque voluntas. ([Ovid?] Met. 8.)
18:20
Calmet
Medicine. This is more requisite and easy to do in the maladies of the soul, which are brought on by our own fault. Principiis obsta. (Calmet)
Calmet
Mercy. Greek, "propitiation in the hour of visitation," (Haydock) or punishment. (Calmet)
18:21
Haydock
Sick. Roman Greek adds, "by abstinence, and in the time of sins, manifest a conversion." (Haydock)
If we take precautions to avoid illness, why should we neglect the concerns of our soul?
Conversation, or good conduct.
18:22
Calmet
Always. These admirable maxims seem copied from the gospel, Luke 18:1. (Calmet)
Haydock
The same spirit dictated all the Scriptures. (Haydock)
Worthington
Those pray always who neglect not this duty at proper times, and are always resolved to do so. (St. Augustine, ep. 121. q. ad Prob.) (Worthington)
Calmet
Greek, "be not hindered from performing thy vow in good time, and wait not to be justified, (Haydock) or to put it in execution till death. Deuteronomy 23:21. Before thou takest a vow," etc. Examine well if thou intend to perform it. (Calmet)
18:23
Calmet
God. Can we expect that he will hear what we do not ourselves? To approach his majesty, without repentance and attention, is presumptuous. We must ask God to open our lips, and do what lies in us. (Trid.[Council of Trent?]) (Calmet)
18:24
Haydock
Face, saying to the reprobate, Depart, etc., Ecclesiasticus 7:40., and Matthew 25:41. (Haydock)
18:25
Riches. By their good use, lay up a treasure in heaven, and be always humble, Ecclesiasticus 11:27.
18:26
Calmet
God. All things continually change. (Calmet)
Rotam volubili orbe versamus. (Boet. cons. 2.)
Sen.[Seneca?] Thyeste
Reflect on Aman and Mardochai. (Calmet) Quem dies vidit veniens superbum, Hunc dies vidit fugiens jacentem. (Sen.[Seneca?] Thyeste.)
18:27
Calmet
Thing. Mindful of the reverses of fortune, Ecclesiasticus 11:30., and Proverbs 28:14. (Calmet)
Haydock
Sloth, and repent. Greek adds, "the fool will not observe the season." (Haydock)
18:28
Calmet
Her. It is a rare thing to discern and to give due praise to merit. (Calmet)
18:29
Haydock
And judgments. Greek, "full of accuracy." Some add the title "restraint of the soul." (Haydock)
18:31
Calmet
Enemies. This motive will make the most impression on those who are slaves to their passions. (Calmet)
18:32
Haydock
Small. Literally, "nor in those which are small." (Haydock)
Calmet
Composed of the meanest citizens. Quarrels and sin are there almost inevitable. (Calmet)
Calmet
Greek, "rejoice not in high living; nor beg for its symbol," (Haydock) or feast, in which each person contributed his share, sumbole, as the next verse implies. (Calmet)
Ter.[Tertullian?] And
Symbolum dedit, caenavit. (Ter.[Tertullian?] And.)
18:6
Then shall he begin.... God is so great and incomprehensible, that when man has done all that he can to find out his greatness and boundless perfections, he is still to begin: for what he has found out, is but a mere nothing in comparison with his infinity.
18:1
Al creatures according to their substantial forme in general, were created together, though they were afterwards formed in particular kindes, as they are distinctly recited in Genesis, with the order & ornaments of the world. S. Aug. li. 4. c. 33 & 34. de Gen. ad litter. VVhere he expresly affirmeth that this Scripture was written by inspiration of the same spirite of truth, wherby Genesis was written.
18:8
Concordance Psal. 89. v. 10.
18:20
Concordance 1. Cor. 11.
18:22
They pray alwayes that pray at certaine conuenient times. And stil haue intention so to frequent the same exercise al their life. S. Aug. Epist. 121. c. 9. ad Probam.
Concordance Luc. 18. 1.
18:23
Concordance 1. Thes. 5.
18:3
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 75
Hear even under the Old Testament, how great regard there was for this, “The ways of revengeful men are unto death. One man keepeth anger against another, and doth he seek healing of God?”
18:6
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 137.3
… “When a man hath done, then he beginneth.”
18:7
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.20
… However much we take into our minds there are still left things not yet understood; for, as we read in the wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 9.1
… Let us therefore be thus minded, so as to know that the disposition to seek the truth is more safe than that which presumes things unknown to be known. Let us therefore so seek as if we should find, and so find as if we were about to seek. For “when a man hath done, then he beginneth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 63.1
… Therefore it was not said, “Seek His face evermore,” in the same sense as of certain others, who are “always learning, and never coming to a knowledge of the truth;” but rather as the preacher saith, “When a man hath finished, then he beginneth;”
18:13
Origen † AD 254 Origen Against Celsus 4.28
… reminding them of their sins.” How can we assert that “God, leaving the regions of heaven, and the whole world, and despising this great earth, takes up His abode amongst us only,” when we have found that all thoughtful persons must say in their prayers, that “the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord ,” and that “the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Philippians 4
… And kings were anointed with oil; and would one praise a ruler, he can make mention of nothing so becoming him as mercy. For pity is peculiar to power. Consider that the world was established by pity, and then imitate thy Lord. “The mercy of man is toward his neighbor, but the mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh.” (
18:15
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Treatise Concerning the Christian Priesthood 3.16
… And this I say not of myself, but borrow from him whose precept I quoted just now: “My son, blemish not thy good deeds, neither use uncomfortable words when thou givest anything. Shall not the dew assuage the heat? So is a word better than a gift. Lo! is not a word better than a gift? but both are with a gracious man.”
18:16
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 35
… wouldest thou indeed smite him with another stone, and add unto him another wound? I, for my part, think not; but even as it was, thou wouldest endeavor to cure it. Why then doest thou the contrary with respect to the poor? Knowest thou not how much power a word hath, both to raise up, and to cast down? “For a word,” it is said, “is better than a gift.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 51
… but adorn it with gentleness, with humility, make it worthy of the God who is entreated, fill it with blessing, with much almsdoing. For it is possible even with words to do alms. “For a word is a better thing than a gift,”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Corinthians 32
… For therefore also hath almsgiving been enacted by God: since God might have nourished the poor as well without this, but that he might bind us together unto charity and that we might be thoroughly fervent toward each other, he commanded them to be nourished by us. Therefore one saith in another place also; “a good word is better than a gift;” (
18:17
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Festal and Personal Letters of Athanasius 19
5. Samuel, that great man, no less clearly reproved Saul, saying, ‘Is not the word better than a gift
18:25
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch 12.1
… Then, when we were sad, He consoled us, let us give thanks to Him now that we are joyful. In our agony He comforted us, and did not forsake us; therefore let us not betray ourselves in prosperity by declining into sloth. “Forget not,” saith one, “the time of famine in the day of plenty.”
18:26
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Letter to a Young Widow 7
… Wherefore even if the opportunity were very near at hand, yet as the proverb says “between the cup and the lip there is many a slip” and the Scripture saith “from the morning until the evening the time is changed.”
18:30
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on Matthew 12.22
… because it is a good thing when any one goes behind the Lord God and is behind the Christ; but it is the opposite when any one casts the words of God behind him, or when he transgresses the commandment which says, “Do not walk behind thy lusts.”
St Methodius † AD 311 The Banquet of the Ten Virgins; or Concerning Chastity 1.3
… And thus, from the time of Abraham, the custom of marrying with sisters has ceased; and from the times of the prophets the contracting of marriage with several wives has been done away with; for we read, “Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites;”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 63.24
32. But not only is that temperance worthy of praise which moderates food, but also that which moderates lust. Since it is written: “Go not after thy lusts, and deny thy appetite. If thou givest her desires to thy soul, thou wilt be a joy to thine enemies;”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom 70
But what are these? “Go not,” it is said, “after thy lusts, and refrain thyself from thine appetites.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John 67
… and, “Where I am, there is My servant also.” The words seem like a riddle, yet they are not so, but are full of much wisdom. But how shall “he that loveth his life, lose it”? When he doeth its unseemly desires, when he gratifies it where he ought not. Wherefore one exhorteth us, saying, “Walk not in the desires of thy soul” (
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 10.31
… Thy doing, then, was it, that they who never were such might not be so, as from Thee it was that they who have been so heretofore might not remain so always; and from Thee, too was it, that both might know from whom it was. I heard another voice of Thine, “Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants 2.5
… and again, “Turn us, O God of hosts;” what else do we say than, “Give what Thou commandest?” When He commands us, saying, “Understand now, ye simple among the people,” and we say to Him, “Give me understanding, that I may learn Thy commandments;” what else do we say than, “Give what Thou commandest?” When He commands us, saying, “Go not after thy lusts,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter 65
… “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might;” but in reference to the present life the following: “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” To the one, again, belongs, “Thou shalt not covet;” to the other, “Thou shalt not go after thy lusts.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise on Nature and Grace 72
… It is, how ever, one thing not to have sin, and another to refuse obedience to its desires. It is one thing to fulfil the command, “Thou shalt not covet;” and another thing, by an endeavour at any rate after abstinence, to do that which is also written, “Thou shalt not go after thy lusts.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness 28
… On this principle the apostle says: “The good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Now it is a good thing to avoid concupiscence, and this good the just man would, who lives by faith; and still he does what he hates, because he has concupiscence, although “he goes not after his lusts;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.25
… So that, if what is enjoined in one passage, “Thou shalt not covet,” is not kept, that at any rate is observed which is commanded in another place, “Thou shalt not go after thy concupiscences.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.32
… and in some degree there is a remnant of evil, because the concupiscence is present. This accounts for the apostle’s precise words. He does not say, To do good is not present to him, but “how to perfect it.” For the truth is, one does a good deal of good when he does what the Scripture enjoins, “Go not after thy lusts;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 41.12
… He labored only to bridle lust, to refuse consent to lust, and not to yield his members to its service. “To perfect,” then, he says, “that which is good is not present with me.” I cannot fulfill the commandment, “Thou shalt not lust.” What then is needed? To fulfill this: “Go not after thy lusts.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 119.13
… which we do, when we refrain our evil desires, which He had not, that they may not follow evil ways. For thus we are able to keep the word of God, if we “go not after our evil lusts,”
Pope St Leo I the Great † AD 461 Letters 106
… and this may be accepted as true, on condition that you lose not the grace of this Divine gift by another cause of offence. For the catholic, and especially the Lord’s priest, must not only be entangled in no error, but also be corrupted by no covetousness; for, as says the Holy Scripture, “Go not after thy lusts, and decline from thy desire.
Early Popes (Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals) The Epistles of Pope Callistus 1.2
… And on the other hand, the discourse of the man of faith guards the life of his hearers. For as the Catholic doctor, and especially the priest of the Lord, ought to be involved in no error, so ought he to be wronged by no machination or passion. Holy Scripture indeed says, Go not after thy lusts, but refrain thyself from thine appetites;
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1. HE WHO LIVETH FOREVER CREATED ALL THINGS TOGETHER. — You will ask, how together? For it is clear from Genesis I that they were created successively by God through the first six days of the world. St. Augustine and Cajetan following him, from this passage contend that literally all things were created by God together on one and the same day: but those six days which are named in Genesis I either signify the order of creatures among themselves, namely which is first, which second, which third; or are to be understood mystically, and only signify the various thoughts and considerations of the Angels concerning created things, of which one according to itself required to be made before another. Thus he himself, lib. IV On Genesis literally cap. XXXIII and XXXIV; and lib. V, cap. XXIV; and lib. VI, cap. III; and the author of On the Wonders of Holy Scripture, lib. I, cap. 1, which is found in vol. III of St. Augustine. The six days in Genesis, he says, are to be understood in the diverse understanding of the Angels. But truly it is clear from the simple narrative of Moses, Genesis I, that those six days as they sound are to be understood literally, so that through them things were created successively. See the things said there. First therefore, others respond better that all things were created together by creation properly so called. For creation is and is called that when a thing is produced from nothing, without any matter preceding it. But such was only on the first day, indeed in the first instant of the world: for in that instant God created heaven, earth and the abyss from nothing; from those then all other things in the following five days He did not so much create as form and distinguish. Wherefore all that He properly created from nothing, all this He created on the first day: for on the first day He created all the matter of the world, from which on the other days He fashioned all things into their species and forms, just as a potter fashions various forms of vessels from clay. Thus Francis Suarez, lib. I On the Work of Six Days, cap. X, num. 22. Hence secondly, "together," because on the first day of the world all things were created by virtue: for the principal parts of the world were made together, namely heaven and the elements, in which other things were contained by virtue and as it were in seed, and from those all other things were afterwards made: for the stars were made from heaven, but living things from waters and earth. Thus St. Gregory, XXXII Moral. cap. IX and X, St. Thomas I p. Quest. LXXIV, art. 2, ad 2, Rabanus, Hugh, Dionysius, Lyra, and others here. Thirdly, "all things" generically, that is, both corporeal and spiritual things, namely both heaven and elements as well as Angels, God created together in the first instant. Thus the Lateran Council, C. Firmly, on the sum of the Trinity and Catholic Faith concerning God says: "Who by His almighty power created together from the beginning of time both creatures from nothing, spiritual and corporeal, namely angelic and worldly, and then human." Where when after "together" it adds "then human," it plainly indicates that "together" excludes succession, and is opposed to afterwards or then, as if to say: At the beginning of time and of the created world Angels and bodies were created, and then men; thus Suarez, lib. I On Angels, cap. III, num. 9 and seq. Fourthly, "together," because all things were established under the same time with a brief interval of time, namely in the beginning of time through the first six days of the world, says Louis Molina On the Work of Six Days. Thus in Genesis II it is said: "These are the generations of heaven and earth, when they were created, in the day that God made heaven and earth; in the day," that is, in the days, on account of the brief interval of time. And in Mark X: "From the beginning of creation He made them male and female," and yet this was done not on the first, but on the sixth day of the world. And in John VIII: "He was a murderer from the beginning," that is, shortly after the beginning; for in the beginning, that is in the first instant, the demon was created whole and just. Fifthly, "together," in Greek κοινῇ, that is equally, nothing excepted, as if to say: All things equally are created by God: there is nothing that is not created by Him. Thus Jansenius and others. Sixthly, "created all things together," not in their own natures, but in His wisdom and idea: for He conceived the idea of all things together in His mind, so that afterwards He would produce each in its own time. Thus Rupertus, lib. II on Genesis cap. XVIII, so that "created" signifies not a real act, but a mental one: "created," that is, destined to create, conceived in His mind the exemplar of creatures and creation: "He created," he says, "all things together in His wisdom, so that each of them He would make in its own proper essence." Thus Rupertus. Gabriel Vasquez brings forward and follows these three last interpretations, I p. Quest. LXI, disp. 224, cap. II, and Gregory of Valencia, I p. disp. 5, Quest. II, point 2, ad 1. The same Valencia, disp. 4, Quest. XII, point 2, near the end, seventhly, responds that all things were created together, because the creative action of all things in God was the same: for this in God was one and the same simultaneously, which in the world through six days successively various, indeed all and each produced and formed. In God indeed all things are one: and therefore in him is one action, by which he produces all things; and that simultaneously, because in the same now of his eternity, which in him one and the same always remains. Eighth, Palacius: That simultaneously, he says, does not signify a single instant, but the continuance of things, that is to say, God did not interrupt his operation in creating the universe, but continuously through six days created all things which are in it, and rested on the sabbath. And so gradually and continuously he extended the heavens like a skin, Psalm. CIII; gradually and continuously he made his trees bring forth fruit, the sea fishes, the earth animals and plants. Ninth, the κοινῇ, that is commonly, some in the Greek Romans thus explain, that is to say, God created all things common, that is profane, if compared with the Creator, who alone is just everywhere. Whence it follows, The Lord alone shall be justified. The Complutensians add, distinguishing in them holy things from profane. Tenth, St. Augustine, On Genesis according to the letter, Imperfect. cap. VII, for created reads, completed all things simultaneously, because namely God on the seventh day finished the whole work of creation. All these expositions are probable, especially the first five, but the fifth seems most genuine. First, because this is what the Greek κοινῇ signifies, that is commonly, equally, namely with none excepted: which therefore is to be referred not to created, but to all things, that is to say, All things simultaneously, that is equally, with none excepted, God created, so that there is no being which does not owe its being to God, and is not compelled to confess itself created by him. Second, because the same signifies elsewhere simultaneously, as Psalm. XIII: "All have declined simultaneously," that is commonly, with none excepted. Psalm. XLVIII, 3: "Simultaneously in one the rich and the poor;"; and vers. 11: "Simultaneously (that is equally, not at the same time) the foolish and the senseless shall perish;"; and often elsewhere. Third, because for simultaneously, the Complutensians, Roman, Zurich and others translate commonly. Fourth, the same is evident from the preceding and following, and from the scope of Sirach. For his scope is to teach, that both the sun and man, and all other things created were created by God simultaneously, that is commonly, equally, and therefore all things altogether argue the immense power, goodness and mercy of God; and that they continually need, that in their nature which they received from God, they be conserved, and their defects and eclipses be supplied and restored. But to this it is irrelevant that simultaneously, that is, at the same instant of time, all things were created. GOD ALONE SHALL BE JUSTIFIED (some Greek codices read, is just), AND REMAINETH AN UNCONQUERED KING FOR EVER. — This verse depends on the preceding: for that one begun there is completed here. Whence the Zurich version translates, he who dwelleth in eternity (inhabitant of eternity), the Lord created all things simultaneously, he alone is just, and besides him there is no other, and remaineth an unconquered king for ever, that is to say, He who liveth in eternity, and created all things simultaneously, is lord of all, who alone shall be justified, and remaineth an unconquered king for ever. For he opposes God alone to man and creatures, because these all fail, sin, change, die; but God remains perpetually without defect like unto himself, just, perfect, immortal, immutable and ruling all in eternity. Whence the Syriac, vers. 1 and 2, thus translates, who is able to declare his works, and who shall measure his strength? The whole world simultaneously explores, and the Lord alone is just (immutably and essentially). For God as he alone has the perfection of essence, and therefore he himself is his own and the being of all things: so also alone has he the perfection of justice, power and dominion; from whom as their being is thin and shadowy, so also all Angels and men beg their thin and shadowy justice, power and dominion. Whence the Complutensians add, and there is no other besides him governing (or building, constructing: for all these things signify οἰκίζων) the world in the palm of his hand. For he himself is king of all in his power, distinguishing in it holy things from profane; Zurich, he himself disposes the world with a span of his hand, and all obey his will. For he by his power rules all things, which in them are holy separating from profane. Palacius explains otherwise, namely that shall be justified here is taken in that sense in which it is used by David Psalm. L, saying: "Blot out my iniquity, that thou mayest be justified in thy words, and mayest overcome when thou art judged," that is, unless thou have mercy on the penitent, thou shalt be seen to be unjust, and shalt be overcome by those who dare to judge thee thus. But when thou hast mercy on all, thou alone art justified, and remainest unconquered by those who fear not to judge thee. Do thou note, according to this sense it is the part of a king to have mercy, and to keep himself unconquered by those who judge him to be cruel. This Palacius.
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2 and 3. WHO IS ABLE TO DECLARE HIS WORKS? FOR WHO SHALL SEARCH OUT HIS GREAT DEEDS? — In Greek ἐξιχνίασε, that is, he searched out, he investigated, in the past tense, as if to say: No one has fully to the bottom investigated, or was able to investigate or can investigate, the great deeds of God; therefore no one is fully and completely able to declare them. The Zurich version translates: To whom did he give the faculty of explaining his deeds, or who shall investigate his excellent works? In a similar manner the Apostle exclaims, amazed and wondering: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counsellor?" Rom. XI, 33. Wherefore St. Isidore, in the book On the Nature of Things, cap. XLIV: "Who, he says, shall search out his great deeds? Therefore what is secret to the nature of mortals, this must be left to divine power." Let heretics note this, who wish to scrutinize the mystery of the Eucharist; and because they do not grasp it, they deny it, foolishly restricting God's omnipotence to the measure of nature and their own understanding. Tropologically Cassian, Collation XII, XII, beautifully teaches that the Saints marvel at the work of God in themselves, by which they have been made chaste from the lustful, sober from the gluttonous, gentle from the fierce. "Who plainly, he says, would not marvel at the works of God, and proclaim with all affection: Because I know that the Lord is great; when he has perceived either himself or any other person transformed from most rapacious to generous, from prodigal to continent, from proud to humble, from delicate and tender to squalid and rough, and even willingly enjoying poverty and the straits of present things! These are truly the wonderful works of God, which the soul of the Prophet and of those like him, stupefied by the gaze of such wondrous contemplation, knows in a special way. These are the prodigies which the Lord has wrought upon the earth," which the same Prophet, considering, calls all peoples to the admiration of them, saying: "Come and behold the works of God, which he hath wrought prodigies upon the earth, removing wars even to the end of the earth; he shall break the bow, and break the weapons, and burn the shields with fire." He then adds a greater work of God in the creation of the Apostles: "For what greater prodigy can there be than that in the briefest moment the most rapacious publicans should become Apostles, the most truculent persecutors should be made most patient preachers of the Gospel, so that they should propagate even by the shedding of their own blood the faith which they were persecuting?"
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4. BUT WHO SHALL DECLARE THE POWER OF HIS GREATNESS? OR WHO SHALL BE ABLE TO RECOUNT HIS MERCIES? In Greek κράτος, that is, force, strength; whence the Complutensian editors: who shall enumerate the strength of his magnificence? and who shall add or append, namely the mind, to declaring his mercies or benefits? The Zurich version: who shall survey the force of his magnificence? or who shall attempt to declare his mercies? The Syriac passes over all these things in silence up to verse 6. Jansenius beautifully: "Among the other attributes of God, he says, which can never be sufficiently praised, there are especially two in God that are stupendous and admirable: namely the virtue, strength and fortitude of his magnificence, and his mercy and goodness; which two are attributed to God, when he is called the best and greatest. To his fortitude is not joined (as it is almost in men) cruelty, and to his mercy is not lacking the power of helping those whom he pities. Fortitude requires that we revere and fear him; mercy, that we love and cherish him." He alludes to Psalm CV: "Who shall declare the powers of the Lord, shall make all his praises to be heard?" Truly Minucius Felix in the Octavius: "To himself alone, he says, is he as great as he is known." And St. Augustine, book IV On Genesis according to the Letter, cap. VI, asserts that not even to the Angels themselves is the divine substance known as it is in itself. Wherefore St. Dionysius, On Divine Names and On the Celestial Hierarchy, asserts that God and divine things are to be honored rather by chaste silence than to be temerariously violated by bold speech, according to that of Psalm LXIV, 1: "A hymn becometh thee, O God, in Sion." Where St. Jerome translates: silence is praise to thee, O God, in Sion: for all our praise of God is silent and mute. Hence once upon the doors of the temple was inscribed silence, as St. Chrysostom testifies, homily 1 on I Timothy.
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5. IT IS NOT TO DIMINISH, NOR TO ADD, NOR IS IT TO FIND OUT THE GREAT WORKS OF GOD,—that is to say, "The great works" or magnificent works of God are so perfect that nothing may be added to them; the same are so sublime that to search out and discover their reasons and causes is impossible. The Greek texts have, it is not to diminish, nor to add, and it is not to investigate the wonders of the Lord; the Zurich version, there is nothing which you take away or add, nor which you search into the miracles of the Lord. The orations of Isocrates are said to be so perfect that nothing can be added to them, nothing taken away. And Quintilian, comparing the Greek orators with the Latin: "To Demosthenes," he says, "take away nothing, to Cicero add nothing." Is not this more justly applicable to the works of God? To a circle, as the most perfect, nothing can be added, nothing taken away: thus neither to the great works of God, as being perfect from the wisest worker. But if ever human ingenuity has found a flaw in the great works of God, the reason is, because, since it is finite, it cannot discover the reason of the infinite counsel of divine wisdom. Wherefore the Psalmist, Psalm CXLIV: "I will exalt thee, O my God my king, and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and of his greatness there is no end, etc. They shall speak of the magnificence of the glory of thy holiness, and shall tell thy wonders." See the remarks on Genesis I and II, where I have shown how even harmful animals bring many benefits to man and to the whole universe. Mystically, the great works of God are works of perfection, which are so beautiful and perfect that neither man finds in them defect nor excess, nor comprehends their beauty and excellence. In these works when man appears to be perfected, then, lest he fall from the virtue attained, it is necessary that he return, as it were, to the first fervor as a beginner and begin again as a novice. But if he has altogether ceased, and is unwilling to progress further, then he will begin to be poor and needy, and will be in want, that is, he will lack those goods which he thought he possessed: for driven by the impulse of his affections, he will relapse into his former vices.
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6. WHEN MAN SHALL HAVE FINISHED, THEN SHALL HE BEGIN: AND WHEN HE SHALL REST, HE SHALL BE PERPLEXED. — Thus read most of the codices of Raban, Lyran, Jansen and others: which Jansen explains thus, that is to say, "It signifies him who shall have attempted to investigate and set forth the magnitude of God and His works, when he shall have devoted all his study to this, yet shall effect nothing. When, he says, anyone shall have thought himself to have completed the investigation and exposition concerning God, then at last he shall find so much remaining that it is as if he must begin anew; and when after long labour he shall have thought himself to rest, as if his undertaking were well perfected, then he shall see that he still has to labour and work, that he may perfect what he attempts. It signifies therefore that if anyone attempt this, he shall labour in vain." But truly for "shall work," correct with the Romans "shall be perplexed": for this corresponds to ἀπορηθήσεται, that is, he shall be perplexed, doubtful, uncertain. The Complutensians and the Interpreter of St. Basil in chapter VIII of Isaiah translate, then he shall be in need, namely of new examination and scrutiny; the Roman, then he shall doubt; the Zurich, he is uncertain, that is to say, When man shall have finished investigating the great works of God, and being unable to progress further shall have ceased from investigating, then he shall remain doubtful, uncertain, perplexed, because he shall see that he cannot understand and penetrate many things. The Syrian translates, in the completion of men they themselves begin (another text has, become equal), and, if they return, they are amazed. For the more you penetrate, says Palacius, the more remains to be penetrated; otherwise God would not be God, if He could be comprehended by you. Rightly therefore was that said: "Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me; it is high, and I cannot reach to it." Thus Plato: "God, he says, is not easy to find, impossible to understand." King Hiero asked the philosopher Simonides, what is God? He asked two days to answer; then four, and thus always multiplied. When Hiero wondered at this, he answered: "The more I think about God, the more obscure the matter appears to me." Certainly when he seemed to be finishing here, then he was beginning. He alludes to Job XXVI, 14: "Behold these things are said in part of His ways; and seeing we hear but a small drop of His word, who shall be able to behold the thunder of His greatness?" St. Augustine, epistle 3 to Volus., rightly accommodates this sentence to the study and understanding of Holy Scripture, because this is one of the principal inscrutable works of God. "So great is, he says, the profundity of Christian literature, that I should make progress in it daily, if I should attempt to learn it alone from the beginning of childhood even to decrepit old age, with the greatest leisure, the highest study, the best talent; not as far as those things which are necessary for salvation, such great difficulty is encountered in them: but when anyone shall have held the faith there, without which one cannot live piously and rightly, so many things, and so obscured by the manifold veils of mysteries, remain to be understood by those making progress, and so great is the depth of wisdom hidden not only in the words by which these things are said, but also in the things which are to be understood, that it befalls even the most aged, the most acute and the most ardent in the desire of learning, that which the same Scripture has in a certain place: When man shall have finished, then shall he begin." This is relevant to that saying of Menedemos in Plutarch's On Progress: Those who frequent Athens, he says, at first seem to themselves wise, then philosophers; but when they have run through the circle of sciences, and have completed everything, they think themselves to know nothing and to be ignorant of everything, and then at last they begin to learn. Tropologically, many accommodate this sentence to progress in virtue, sanctity and perfection. For this is the work of the grace of God, which has no end and no bottom, that is to say, When man shall have finished keeping the commandments of God, when he shall have been perfected in humility, charity and every virtue, then he shall begin and shall say with the Psalmist: "I said, Now have I begun;" thus Raban. Thus St. Antony in St. Athanasius gives this first as a document of spiritual life to his: "Think that you begin daily to serve God." The same Barlaam gave to King Josaphat in Damascene's History. See the Author On Saving Teachings, in St. Augustine, vol. IV: "It is for little ones, he says, to play, but for perfect men to mourn." Wherefore Lyran thus expounds: "When man shall have finished" investigation concerning God, "then shall he begin," that is, he shall perceive what is in the beginning; "and when he shall rest, he shall be perplexed," that is, when he shall be in old age, which time is for resting, he shall be more encouraged to good work. Whence Blessed Francis at the end of his life said Allegorically and anagogically, when man shall have perfected the law of Moses, he will begin to understand the law of Christ: for the law is the beginning and shadow of the Gospel; but when he shall have perfected the Gospel, he will begin to see God: for the law leads to faith, faith to vision and sight, or grace to glory, according to that saying of Christ: "He that is least in the kingdom of heaven, is greater than he" (John the Baptist), Matt. XI. But Hugo explains it of Christ, as if to say: When Christ was perfected through the passion of death, he began to live through resurrection in glory, and then he sent the Holy Spirit, whose coming the Apostles, now perfected in the school of Christ, began to understand and to burn with zeal for evangelizing. His: "Brethren, let us begin to serve the Lord; for hitherto we have made little progress." And this is the admonition of the Saviour in Luke XVII: "When you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants;" therefore perfection is situated not in years, but in souls. He profits and perfects himself, who always believes himself to be beginning, who with ardent desire of beginning continually urges and spurs himself on to progress. See St. Bernard, epistle 253 to Guarinus.
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7. WHAT IS MAN (as if to say, How abject and vile is man before the majesty of God), AND WHAT IS HIS GRACE (in Greek χρῆσις, that is, use, utility) (as if to say, What utility can vile man bring to God, who needs nothing, and is Shaddai, that is, most abundant and a cornucopia)? AND WHAT IS GOOD, OR WHAT IS EVIL OF HIS? — as if to say, What good or evil, that is, harm, can man bring to God? what can man do to God either well or badly? what can his good do to help God, or his evil to harm Him? It is an antithesis; for he opposes to the magnitude of God the littleness of man, so as to exalt God and depress man, as if to say: What a small and vile homunculus is man before God! What benefit can he bring to God? what good or evil can he bring to God? For neither can our virtues bring to God any good, such as praise, joy, glory; nor can our sins, such as blasphemies, bring any sorrow, infamy, or other evil. Again, what, that is, how small, how slight is the good, or evil, that is, harm, of man! how slight his virtue, wisdom, perfection, holiness! how slight his anger, threats, blasphemies! For although these may be grave evils and sins with respect to man, yet with respect to God they are slight, indeed nothing, because they can bring no stain, injury or sorrow to God, according to that in Job XXII, 3: "What doth it profit God, if thou be just; or what doth he gain, if thy way be unspotted?" Whence the Syrian version renders it: What are men, and what is their loss, and what their gain, and what their grace, and what their malice? The Zurich version: What is man, or who is his use? what good is in him, or what evil? Pathetically St. Augustine, book I of the Confessions, chapter V: "What am I to thee," he says, "that thou commandest me to love thee; and if I do not, thou art angry with me, and threatenest me with great miseries?" Certain Ethiopians curse the east and west with dire imprecations, says Pliny, book V, chapter VIII; but they can neither harm nor take away the light from the sun: thus the curses of the impious, who are dark like Ethiopians, God does not feel, according to that in Amos chapter IX: "Are you not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me?" Truly Dionysius the Carthusian and Hugo say: "My evils are pure evils, and they are mine; but my goods are neither pure, nor are they mine." Furthermore, what is good, or what is evil of his? besides the sense already given, various ones explain it variously. Palacius first, as if to say: What is the good or evil of man, that is, how long does his happiness or misery last in this life? certainly for a short time, indeed for but a moment. For, as follows, if a hundred years of his life be compared with eternity, they are as a drop to the sea, and as a pebble to the whole heap of sand: Thus also Rabanus. Secondly, as if to say: O how great will be the good of man, and how great his evil in the future age, when yet to attain this good and evil he has so brief a span of life! Thirdly, others, as if to say: How few are the goods of man, and how many his evils! Fourthly, as if to say: How small, how slight are the goods and evils, the comforts and discomforts, the prosperous and adverse, the pleasant and sad things of man in this life! especially because all these are not only slight in themselves, but also last for a short time, as follows; therefore nothing is great, nothing good, nothing evil, except what is eternal. If therefore thou seekest true good, seek the eternal: if thou fearest and fleest true evil, flee and fear the eternal. Fifthly, as if to say: How small is the good that thy friends can bring to thee, how small the evil that thy enemies can bring to thee! certainly it is slight and exiguous. Love and fear none of them therefore, but God alone, who can either make blessed or destroy both body and soul in hell, Matt. X, 28. This is what God says to Isaiah LI, 12: "I, even I myself will comfort you; who art thou that thou shouldest fear from mortal man, and from the son of man, who shall wither away like grass?"
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8. THE NUMBER OF THE DAYS OF MEN, AT MOST A HUNDRED YEARS, ARE RECKONED AS A DROP (thus the Roman and Greek, ὡς σταγών, that is as a drop; therefore many read badly, as drops in the plural) OF WATER OF THE SEA: AND AS A PEBBLE OF SAND, SO ARE SCANTY YEARS IN A DAY OF ETERNITY. — That is to say, See how small man is, and all human things, and learn this from the brief span of his life, which at most is a hundred years (which span, says Varro, lib. V, is called a saeculum from old age, because it is held to be the longest span of aging men), so that if any years remain beyond, they belong rather to death than to life: these, however, compared with eternity, that is, with everlastingness, are no more than a drop of water compared with the vast sea, and as a pebble of sand compared with the whole heap of sand; indeed far less: for between a drop and the sea, a pebble and sand, there is a certain and defined proportion, since both are finite: but of a hundred years of time to eternity, inasmuch as it is finite to infinite, there is no proportion. See therefore how little, indeed nothing, your age is compared with eternity. The Complutensians: the number of the days of man many years a hundred, but to each and every one sleep is irrational. As a drop of water from the sea, and as a pebble of sand, so a thousand years in the days of the age. The Roman texts read ὀλίγα, that is scanty (for which the Complutensians read χίλια, that is a thousand). Whence thus they have, as a drop of water of the sea and a pebble of sand, so scanty years in a day of eternity; the Zurich clearly, but freely, the number of the days of man a hundred years, at most, nor is the reason of his death fixed for anyone of all. How small is a drop of water taken from the sea, and a pebble from sand, so small are a thousand years for the span of eternity. For the Greek αἰών signifies both saeculum and age and eternity. For it is said αἰών as if ἀεὶ ὤν, that is, always existing: such is eternity. The Syriac: the number of the life of man, when he has lived much, a hundred years, as to filling a waterskin from the sea, and as a grain of sand; a thousand years of this world are not as one day in the age of the just. Hence therefore that common similitude of the sea and sand has been drawn to represent and in some way to conceive (for it cannot be fully conceived by man, since it is infinite) eternity; namely, so that you may conceive it, think: if a little bird should drink one drop from the sea every thousand years, and should carry away one grain of sand from the whole heap of sand which is on the shore of the sea and throughout the whole world, when at length, after how many thousands, indeed millions of years would it drink up the whole sea, and carry away the whole mass of sand? certainly it would carry it away at some time, but after very many and to man innumerable millions of years. Judas and the damned would rejoice, if this condition were given to them by God, that they should undergo the torments of hell for all that time, provided that when it was finished they would end. But truly they will not then be finished, because then eternity will not be finished, but will begin again, so that a new sea is to be drunk up, and a new mass of sand is to be carried away, and after this another and another without end, because immense and boundless it will endure always for ever and ever. Wherefore the Egyptians signified eternity through the basilisk, because this alone among serpents cannot be killed by force; nay, such power is possessed by this one creature that it puts to flight all other animals by its hiss alone; when this is heard, they say all the songs of birds are silenced, and plants and herbs are destroyed not by any bite, but by smell and sight alone. Thus Pierius, Hieroglyphics 14, page 131. Morally, Hugo says: "A drop of sea water," he says, "signifies three things, namely the brevity of life, its inconstancy and its bitterness: brevity is signified by the drop as it were; instability by the water; bitterness by the sea. The Most Reverend Lord Godefridus, recently Bishop of Bamberg, pondered this, whose maxim this was, by which he pricked himself as with a sharp goad to all virtue: "At every moment I stand at the gate of eternity." At every moment therefore let me live for eternity. See the sayings at the end of Leviticus. The Philosophers saw the same thing through a shadow. Whence Cicero in the Tusculan Disputations II: "I despise," he says, "the magnitude of pain, from which the brevity of time will deliver me, almost before it shall have found me." The same Seneca, book VI of Natural Questions, chapter XXXII: "You will bear all things constantly," he says, "if you consider that there is no difference between a short time and a long time, because it is finite." That this is the judgment of all philosophers, the same author asserts, book I On Tranquility, chapter X: "Thus once," he says, "philosophers taught that all these things which fall under our sight, whether good or evil, ought to be borne strongly or easily despised on account of their brevity." Simonides in Plutarch, book On Consolation: "A thousand," he says, "and a hundred thousand years compared with eternity, are as a point of time, nay as the briefest particle of a point." Grains of sand, that is, a hundred years among the innumerable years of eternity. If you cast a drop into the sea, immediately the sea absorbs and swallows it, so that it appears nowhere, as if it were not, and were nothing; cast likewise a hundred years of your life into eternity, eternity will absorb them, and they will seem to it to be nothing. This is what the Psalmist sings in Psalm 89, verse 4: "A thousand years before Thy eyes are as yesterday which is past." And St. Peter in his second epistle, chapter III, 8: "One day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." See the sayings there.
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9. FOR THIS REASON GOD IS PATIENT WITH THEM, AND POURS OUT HIS MERCY UPON THEM,—that is to say, Because man's misery is so great, for this reason He sustains it and relieves it with God's immense mercy; for great misery is that which provokes great mercy. The brevity therefore of our life, as it stirs us to humility, so it stirs God to patience, lest, if He should immediately inflict punishments and shorten our life, He should lose those whom He loves, cast out from Him forever. For "is patient" in Greek is μακροθύμησε, that is, He was longsuffering. Thus the Roman; but the Complutensian editors read with our text in the present tense μακροθυμεῖ, that is, He is longsuffering; so also the Syriac. Similarly for "pours out" our text reads in the Greek ἐκχέει: already they read in the past tense ἐξέχεεν, that is, He poured out. Thus the Roman. The Complutensian editors read in the future διαχέσει, that is, He will pour out. But in the manner of Hebrew, by one tense, whether it be present, past, or future, the other two are signified; He pours out therefore in the present, in the past, and in the future, that is, He pours out, He poured out and He will pour out. For the manner, custom and nature of God always showing mercy is signified. Whence the Zurich version translates, For this reason God uses patience toward men, and pours out His mercy upon them, that is to say, God is patient in tolerating so many crimes of men, lest He immediately hurl the thunderbolt of vengeance upon them; He is the same longsuffering in waiting that they may repent; and merciful, while He goes before them with His grace and stirs them to repentance, and receives the penitent into His former friendship. Note the preposition "upon," which is in the Greek ἐν ἡμέραις αἰῶνος, in the days of eternity, that is to say, What is a drop in the sea, that is a hundred years in eternity; what is one small stone among the innumerable grains of sea sand, that is a hundred years among the innumerable years of eternity; lest He immediately hurl the thunderbolt of vengeance upon them; He is the same longsuffering in waiting that they may repent; and merciful, while He goes before them with His grace and stirs them to repentance, and receives the penitent into His former friendship.
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10. HE SAW THE PRESUMPTION OF THEIR HEART THAT IT IS EVIL, AND HE KNEW THEIR SUBVERSION THAT IT IS WICKED, — that is to say, God saw men prone from corrupt nature and from the inborn vice of pride to presumption, so that they assume and presume many things for themselves, and dare to transgress and violate God's law and will. He "knew" likewise their "subversion," in Greek καταστροφήν, that is, perdition, ruin, destruction, the mournful end of their life as it were of a tragedy (for he alludes to tragedies, which have happy beginnings but end in slaughter and funerals; whence this sad end of them is called catastrophe), "that it is wicked," that is, very miserable, painful and mournful "is." Note: Wicked is often used by Ecclesiastes, not for impious and criminal, but for troublesome, painful, afflictive. Thus Pliny, book XIV, chapter XX, calls the wickedness of vinegar its acrimony and sharpness: "In vinegar," he says, "there is in its wickedness a virtue for great uses." The same, book XII, chapter XXV: "Most wickedly," he says, "gum, because it itself also adheres." Thus wicked vine is called by Columella, book III, chapter X, and wicked book by Ovid, book II of the Tristia. Moreover St. Bernard depicts presumption graphically, tract. On the Degrees of Humility, in 7: "He who," he says, "thinks himself to excel others, how would he not presume more of himself than of others? He sits first in assemblies, he answers first in councils, he comes unbidden, he intrudes himself unsent, he reorders what is ordered, he remakes what is made, whatever he himself has not done or ordered, he does not esteem rightly done, nor beautifully ordered; he judges those who judge, he prejudges those about to judge."
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11. THEREFORE HE FULFILLED HIS PROPITIATION IN THEM (that is to say, On account of such great misery of theirs, namely their proneness to evil, before they finish their life and suffer the sad catastrophe already mentioned, if they return to God and implore His grace, He exhibits full propitiation to the penitent, so that He may forgive them their sins, and moreover may endow them with His grace and justice, and indeed for this reason), HE SHOWED THEM THE WAY OF EQUITY — through the Decalogue and the law handed down in Scripture, and through the light both of natural reason and of supernatural faith and grace imparted to their mind. Here remember, says Palacius, that the serpent proposed to man forbidden food, promising that they would become gods. This desire for divinity crept into the minds of all; for scarcely anyone meditates that he was born to obey the divine law. This is the evil pride of men. From this came the subversion in Adam. Because reason, which ought to have held the highest place, lies in the lowest; on the contrary, cupidity, which was cast down to the lowest, has obtained the highest place. Therefore, seeing God the pride of man born from the demon, and seeing man subverted, with cupidity exercising tyranny in him, He took pity on such great misery. O the supreme mercy of God! The gravest injuries, which are wont to provoke us to the gravest wrath, these almost compel Him to the greatest compassion. The Greek, as is its custom, concise, compresses these two Latin verses into one: "He saw and knew their subversion, because it is evil, therefore He multiplied His mercy"; and the Syriac, "because He knew that their end is evil, therefore He multiplied their pardon"; but the Zurich version more plainly, like ours, "He saw and knew their evil arrogance of mind and subversion, therefore He enlarged His propitiation, and showed them the way of equity." Excellently Rabanus: "Who," he says, "bears our frailty, except the goodness of our Creator, who cherishes the unworthy, feeds the ungrateful, tolerates the contemptuous, recalls the averse, and mercifully receives the converted to penance, and grants the most abundant pardon of all sins? Whence what worthy return can we make to such great piety, or what can we render to the Lord for all that He has rendered to us, except what the Psalmist says: I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord? And let us say with gratulation with the same Prophet: Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised, and of His greatness there is no end. The Lord is merciful and compassionate, patient and very merciful. The Lord is sweet to all, and His mercies are over all His works. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever and ever." 12. THE MERCY OF MAN TOWARD HIS NEIGHBOR; BUT THE MERCY OF GOD OVER ALL FLESH. — He commended the mercy of God from its intrinsic goodness and immensity; now he commends the same by comparing and preferring it to the mercy of man, and this through a threefold antithesis. The first is, that the mercy of man is toward his neighbor equal to himself; "but God's is toward all flesh," which is infinitely less and viler to God. The second, that the mercy of man is confined to one or another neighbor, that is, one somehow joined to him; but God's mercy extends itself to all flesh, that is, to every animal, and especially to every man: for no animal experiences in itself so great clemency and beneficence of God as man does. The third, that man takes pity on his neighbor, that is, one joined and friendly to him; but God on all flesh, that is, both on enemies and friends. At the same time by this comparison he incites man to extend the bowels of his mercy to all, both that he may imitate God, and that he may provoke and conciliate the greater mercy of God in himself. The Syriac renders, mercy with which he ought to have had, lies in the lowest; on the contrary, cupidity, which was cast down to the lowest, has obtained the highest place. Therefore, seeing God the pride of man born from the demon, and seeing man subverted, with cupidity exercising tyranny in him, He took pity on such great misery. O the supreme mercy of God! The gravest injuries, which are wont to provoke us to the gravest wrath, these almost compel Him to the greatest compassion. he sanctions precepts; namely of him who hastens to walk in judgments, that is, in precepts and commandments, his. This sense the Greek clearly indicates, which the Zurich version thus renders, "He takes pity on those who admit discipline, likewise on those who zealously pursue His laws"; and the Syriac, "blessed are those who announce His mercy, and who receive His judgments." Hence learn this doctrine, that you cast into yourself the mercy of God, obey the law and will of God, and turn from sin to God, and especially have mercy on your neighbors; "For blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy," Matt. v. For this law, if not equal and fully deserved, is certainly fitting as a divine law of retaliation. Whence the merciful on the day of judgment shall hear from Christ: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat," Matt. xxv, 34. Note: The doctrine of mercy can be expounded in three ways: first, as it were, the doctrine flowing from the mercy of God; second, as it were, the doctrine concerning showing mercy to others; third, as it were, the doctrine by which God teaches that He wishes to have mercy on the impious, that they may be converted to Him. Augustine was perverse, and so was Saul, says Palacius; God by His mercy instructed their hearts with the doctrine of conversion, which is the doctrine of mercy. They received that doctrine; therefore the Lord had mercy on them, namely by giving them grace and afterwards happiness. Note secondly, he hastens in His judgments, because God does not pour out His grace upon the sluggish and slow, but upon the eager and hasty, namely those who burn with zeal for virtue and in the race toward perfection. Whence the bride hears the bridegroom inviting her: "Arise, make haste, my love," Cant. II, 10. Hasten therefore to correct your defects, hasten to humble yourself, and to suffer whatever adversities, hasten to exercise works of charity; thus you will draw forth abundant grace of God. "For God is more present to those who love Him, absent to the negligent," says St. Ambrose, lib. IX in Luke, cap. x. The same, lib. IV in cap. IV of Luke, speaking of Naaman cured of leprosy by Elisha: "No one," he says, "is shown to be healed, and freed from the stain of bodily disease, unless he has devoted himself with religious care to health. For divine benefits are not bestowed upon those sleeping, but upon those watching."
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man toward his kindred, and the mercy of the Lord toward all His creatures. 13. HE WHO HAS MERCY TEACHES AND INSTRUCTS, AS A SHEPHERD, HIS FLOCK. — "He," namely not man (as Lyra wishes), but God, has mercy; and He teaches and instructs His own, as a shepherd cares for, instructs and feeds his flock. It is clear from the Greek, from which the Zurich version thus translates clearly, but in its own manner freely: the mercy of man tends toward his neighbor; but the mercy of the Lord chastises, instructs, teaches and brings back all mortals as a shepherd his flock; the Syriac: teaches, instructs, instructs and converts them (His creatures), as a good shepherd his flock. This is what David, exulting, acknowledges and congratulates himself upon, Psalm XXII, 1: "The Lord ruleth me (Hebr. feedeth me; St. Jerome, The Lord is my shepherd); and (therefore) I shall want nothing, in a place of pasture there He hath placed me." And Psalm LXXIII, 3: "Why, O God, hast Thou cast us off unto the end: why is Thy wrath kindled against the sheep of Thy pasture?" And Psalm LXXIX, 2: "Thou that rulest Israel, give ear: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep." And Psalm XCIV, 7: "For He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." And Psalm CXVIII, 176: "I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost; seek Thy servant." Where note: Other animals, if they stray from the way, can return to it; but the sheep is so simple and foolish that, if once it strays, it cannot return to the way unless brought back to it by the shepherd, as Aristotle teaches, lib. IX Hist. anim. cap. III, and St. Basil in cap. XIII of Isaiah; so the sinner, straying from the law of God, cannot return to it unless brought back by the shepherd God through prevenient and illuminating grace, which shows and demonstrates the way to him. Wherefore in Rome in the most ancient images of temples, Christ is painted as a shepherd carrying a lost sheep on his shoulder, and bringing it back to the flock. St. Augustine, recognizing this in himself, lib. X Confess. cap. XXVII, groaning exclaims: "Late have I loved Thee, beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved Thee, etc. Thou didst call, and cry out, and burst through my deafness; Thou didst shine forth, and gleam, and chase away my blindness; Thou didst burn, and I drew in breath, and I pant for Thee. I have tasted, and I hunger and thirst. Thou didst touch me, and I have burned for Thy peace."
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14. HE WILL HAVE MERCY ON HIM THAT RECEIVETH THE DOCTRINE (thus the Roman and Greek texts; therefore the Complutensian editors wrongly read "he that hath mercy," or, as others, "let him that receiveth the doctrine have mercy"; which Lyra expounds, meaning: A man who hath mercy and teacheth, as was said before, shall have mercy in effect; receiving the doctrine of mercy, that is, confirming his doctrine by the exercise of works; for in moral matters deeds move more than words; OF MERCY, AND HE THAT HASTETH IN HIS JUDGMENTS,—meaning: God who hath mercy, as was said before, shall have mercy on him who receiveth his doctrine, "of mercy," that is, proceeding from mercy; or "of mercy," that is, which from mercy, namely that we should have mercy on our neighbors, doth ordain precepts; namely on him who hasteth to walk in his judgments, that is, precepts and commandments, of his. Hence learn this doctrine, that thou mayest cast into thyself the mercy of God, obey the law and will of God, and turn from sin to God, and especially have mercy on thy neighbors. Note secondly, that he hasteth in his judgments, because God doth not pour out his grace on the sluggish and slow, but on the alert and hasty, namely those who are fervent in the study of virtues and in the course toward perfection. Hasten therefore to correct thy defects, hasten to humble thyself, and to suffer any adversities, hasten to exercise works of charity; thus thou shalt draw forth abundant grace of God. "For God is more present to those who love him, absent from the negligent," saith St. Ambrose.
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15. SON, IN GOOD DEEDS GIVE NO COMPLAINT, AND IN EVERY GIFT (for this is the Greek δόσει, for which however the Complutensian editors read δεήσει, that is, want, or petition and request) GIVE NO SADNESS OF AN EVIL WORD. — He appropriately subjoins the mercy of men to the mercy of God: for man ought to imitate the mercy of God. At the same time he explains here the doctrine of compassion, concerning which the preceding verse, namely that we should have compassion not only by deed, but also by word. Now first, the Syriac translator renders it thus, and gives this sense: my son, him who does good to his neighbor do not hinder, and him who gives, let not your eye harm. Second, others, as if to say: To good actions, namely the practice of virtues, add no vicious circumstance: for this vitiates the whole action. For good comes from an integral cause, evil from single defects, as the Philosopher teaches. Third, and genuinely, as if to say: "In good deeds," that is, in bestowing benefits, be not morose, harsh, burdensome, vicious, fraudulent, or such that someone might justly complain of you and reprove you. For complaint in Greek is μῶμον, that is, reproof, blame, blemish: for this is what the Hebrew mum signifies; whence the Greek μῶμος, as if to say: Give no blemish to your glory, inflict no blemish upon your almsgiving. "And in every gift (gift which you give) give no sadness of an evil word," by which, namely, you sadden him to whom you give; or because you show that you give unwillingly and with difficulty, or because you reproach him to whom you give, upbraid him, assail him with insults and abuse, as if to say: Give alms, and confer a benefit, not from sadness, but showing cheerfulness in countenance and benevolent words: for God loves a cheerful giver, II Corinthians IX, 7. Whence from the Greek Vatablus thus translates it clearly: in good deeds, son, employ no reproof, nor in any gift any trouble of an evil word; others more clearly: son, add no reproof to benefits, nor trouble of words to any gift. "For to such a spirit I could never render equal gratitude." Moreover beneficence requires cheerfulness of countenance and spirit and benevolence of words, according to that: "He that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness," Romans XII, 8. St. Thomas gives the reason a priori in I II, Question XXXII, article 2: "To do good to another," he says, "is delightful by comparison to a threefold principle. One of which is the faculty of doing good, and according to this doing good to another becomes delightful, inasmuch as by this there is formed for man a certain imagination of abundant good existing in himself, from which he can communicate to others; and therefore men delight in their children and works, as things to which they communicate their own good. Another principle is a habit inclining, according to which doing good becomes connate to someone; whence the liberal give to others with delight. The third principle is a motive, for instance when someone is moved by someone whom he loves, to do good to someone; for all things which we do, or suffer for a friend, are delightful, because love is the chief cause of delight." 16. WILL NOT DEW COOL THE HEAT? SO A WORD IS BETTER THAN A GIFT. — The Greek: will not dew settle or mitigate the heat? so also speech is better than a gift. He compares a benevolent word to dew: for just as dew gently dripping tempers the heat of men, animals and crops, but in such a way that it brings no trouble, but great sweetness: so also pleasant speech refreshes the misery, which like heat torments and burns the afflicted, by its sweet speech and recreates it, so that it brings no trouble, but great consolation and joy. On the contrary, harsh speech is like hail and storm, which although it cools the heat, yet by its force strikes, batters and prostrates men and crops. "A word" therefore "good is better than a gift," because it is more useful and more apt for removing the misery and affliction of the poor than the gift itself. "For injurious words make a good gift ungrateful," says Rabanus. Similar to this is, if I persist in the same analogy of dew, what Pliny relates in book IX, chapter XXXV, that pearls are a coagulation of heavenly dew, and therefore according to the variety of clear or cloudy sky are formed white or foul: "These," he says, "when the generative hour of the year has stimulated them, opening themselves by a certain yawning, are filled with dewy conception, then becoming pregnant, they labor, and the offspring of shells are pearls according to the quality of dew received: if pure dew has flowed in, whiteness is seen; but if turbid, the offspring also becomes foul, and the same grows pale, the sky threatening the conception, for it consists of this, and the sky has greater kinship with them than the sea; hence a cloudy color is drawn, or according to the clearness of morning, a serene one." For benefits and graces are as it were pearls, concreted by the dew of beneficence, to which if cheerfulness of countenance and words be added, they become cheerful; but if bitterness and harshness, they become foul and bring sadness. Wherefore wisely St. Augustine in Psalm CII, conc. 1: "Do not spurn any suppliant," he says, "and him to whom you cannot give what he has asked, do not spurn; if you can give, give; if you cannot, show yourself affable. For God crowns the will where He does not find the means. Let no one say: I have nothing; charity is not disbursed from a purse." Mystically, our James Alvarez de Paz, On External Evil, lib. I, part. II, cap. VI: A certain heavenly gift given, he says, signifies, or some act of virtue, such as abstinence or humility, by which the Lord multiplies the soul of the just, and the internal word designates the discourse by which the soul unfolds its infirmities in prayer, or certainly which it itself hears sent down from heaven in the recesses of the heart. This word is compared to dew, because, just as summer dew tempers heat and refreshes bodies wearied by heat: so prayer and mutual conversation with the Lord cools every heat of the flesh. "Let us apply ourselves to constant groanings," says St. Cyprian, lib. I, epist. 1, "and frequent supplications. For these are heavenly arms for us, which make us stand and persevere strongly. These are spiritual fortifications and divine weapons which protect." Moreover, lest any rich man give to the poor only fair words, nor bestow upon his want the necessaries, and say that: "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," James II; the Wise man adds: "And both with the justified man," that is to say, The gracious and just man will provide both, namely both the gift and the good word: so will he bestow the good word that he will not omit the gift. This is what St. John says, epist. I, cap. III: "My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." And St. Gregory, XXI Moral. cap. XIV: "Our love must always be shown both in the reverence of speech and in the ministry of generosity." And St. Chrysostom, lib. III On the Priesthood, near the end: "The gift itself," he says, "is doubled by the giver's countenance and gesture." And he proves this from these words of Sirach, which he reads thus, will not dew remove heat? so a word better than a gift. Behold indeed a word excelling gifts themselves as a good; but both the gracious man provides. The same in cap. XVIII Genesis, homil. 41: "Therefore," he says, "a certain wise man also said: Better a word than a hand. For often the service of a word refreshes the recipient more than the gift itself. Therefore, knowing these things, let us not be harsh toward those who come to us. And if we are able to relieve their want, let us do this with joy and great gladness, not as if we were giving something, but as if we were receiving from them. But if we cannot, let us not be harsh toward them, but let us care for them at least with words, and answer them in gentleness. Why do you compel him harshly? Does he compel? Does he use force? He prays, he supplicates, he beseeches. He who does these things is not worthy of contempt. What does he say? He prays and supplicates, he asks for innumerable good things, and he does all these things for one small coin; and we do not even give him that. And what pardon shall we obtain, what defense shall we have?" 17. IS NOT BEHOLD A WORD ABOVE (that is, better than) A GOOD GIFT? BUT BOTH WITH THE JUSTIFIED MAN. — In Greek κεχαριτωμένῳ, that is, gracious, or full of grace; grace, I say, before God and with men, and therefore justified, because grace that justifies justifies, and brings justification with it. The Complutensians read κεχαριτωμένα, that is, gracious, as if you were to say: Both with the man are gracious, both conciliate grace to the man; the Zurich edition, is not behold prayer more excellent than a gift? but in the gracious man the use of both is found; others, is not behold a word better than a gift? and both are with the gracious man; the Syriac, for a good word which is better than a gift is, and both are above the fortunate man, that is to say, Experience teaches, and each one sees the same in others, nay even feels it in himself, namely that the affliction of mind is more soothed by a gentle word than by a gift: for a gift given with harsh words is ungrateful; on the other hand gentle words are pleasing, even if the gift be lacking. Gentle words therefore season a gift, just as salt seasons all food and makes it savory, so that if salt be lacking, all food, however excellent, is insipid and tasteless; and just as sugar, which sweetens all bitterness of a thing. 18. THE FOOL WILL REPROACH SHARPLY, AND A GIFT TO THE UNDISCIPLINED CAUSES THE EYES TO WASTE AWAY. — The Greek, the fool reproaches hatefully, and the envious gift wastes away the eyes; the Syriac, the fool reproaches before he shows favor, the gift of the impious causes the eyes to close, that is to say, Truly foolish and stupid is he who makes χάριν, that is grace, ἀχαρίστως, as the Greek has it, that is ungratefully, inelegantly and insipidly, because he deforms the Graces and takes away grace from the Graces, he, namely, who, when he gives something to a poor or afflicted person, reproaches him for his poverty, beggary, idleness, importunity, etc.; for this gift, that is the donation, of an undisciplined man, that is, of a foolish or rustic man, in Greek βασκάνου, that is, envious (for thus in cap. XIV, verse 6, he called the avaricious man envious, because he envies himself and others the use of riches), causes the eyes of the poor man to waste away, while he saddens him, afflicts him, wounds him, torments him with his reproaches, his impudence, his hardness, his harshness. For, as St. Gregory wisely says, XXI Moral. cap. XIV, and from him Rabanus: "There are some who, as soon as they are asked for necessities by needy brethren, before they give their gifts, first hurl insulting words at them; who, when they complete the work of mercy in deeds, nevertheless lose the grace of humility in words. So that it often appears that the injuries already inflicted pay satisfaction, when they give gifts after insults. Nor is it a great work that they give what is asked, because by the very gift of their giving they scarcely cover the excess of their speech, to which it is well said in this place: In every gift give not sadness of an evil word. And a little later: Behold a word above a good gift, and both with a justified man, namely, that a gift ought to be exhibited through piety, and a good word given through humility." He says, despise no one; and him to whom you cannot give what he has asked, do not despise; if you can give, give; if you cannot, show yourself affable. For God crowns the will where He does not find the ability. Let no one say: I have not; charity is not paid out from a purse." Mystically, our James Alvarez de Paz, De Extern. mali, lib. I, part. II, cap. VI: A gift, he says, some heavenly gift signifies, or some act of virtue, such as abstinence or humility, by which the Lord multiplies the soul of the just, and the internal word designates the discourse by which the soul unfolds its infirmities in prayer, or certainly which it itself hears sent down from heaven in the recesses of the heart. This word is compared to dew, because, just as summer dew tempers heat and refreshes bodies wearied by heat: so prayer and mutual conversation with the Lord cools every heat of the flesh. "Let us apply ourselves to constant groanings," says St. Cyprian, lib. I, epist. 1, "and frequent supplications. For these are heavenly arms for us, which make us stand and persevere strongly. These are spiritual fortifications and divine weapons which protect."
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19. BEFORE JUDGMENT PREPARE JUSTICE FOR THYSELF, AND BEFORE THOU SPEAKEST, LEARN. — Wisdom descends from mercy to prudence or providence, and gives precepts concerning those things which ought prudently to be put forward before the work (whence this could be called a lesson on Prior Things), so that the work may obtain a happy outcome, all of which tend to this end, that it may teach us to put forward good works before the judgment of God, so that we may experience it as happy and fortunate. Whence it often repeats τὸ before judgment, as if to say, Let these προδίκια, these prejudgments precede judgment: let these Antepraedicamenta of judgment be beforehand. Taken literally, since these words are general, they can be understood of any judgment whatsoever, as if to say, About to appear before the tribunal of men, but especially of God, first make it so that thy cause be just. For thus from a just judge thou wilt not fear condemnation, but secure thou wilt await a happy sentence. Similarly, before thou teachest others, first learn thyself, and speak not what thou knowest not, and what perhaps is false, whence justly thou mayest be condemned as a rash teacher or assertor: although the Greeks refer this to what follows, and combine it therewith in this manner: "Before thou speakest learn, and before sickness or disease heal." Moreover Palacius thus explains it, as if to say, Before thou speakest, that is, answerest Christ examining thee on the day of judgment, now learn by doing well, so that then thou mayest answer with joy. For all these things regard preparation for judgment. But more aptly thus explain it: Just as one about to speak first learns what he is to speak, so thou about to speak and answer Christ the judge examining thee, first here learn practically by living well what thou mayest then answer. Thus ever mindful of divine judgment, to it he continually prepared himself, St. Julian the Anchorite, concerning whom thus writes St. Ephrem, his familiar, in his Life: "And just as those detained in prison custody, while they are about to be brought before the tribunal of judgment, weep before fear and anguish: so also blessed Julian continually remembered the terrible tribunal of Christ; wherefore also he wept continently, thinking of the future judgment. Where, however, compunction and tears and humility are, there assuredly neither instability nor any perverse and wicked thing reigns, but the best order prevails, and discipline, and every good thing. Where, however, these are not present, much from the goal which is sought is one led astray."
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20. BEFORE SICKNESS APPLY MEDICINE, AND BEFORE JUDGMENT EXAMINE THYSELF, AND IN THE SIGHT OF GOD THOU SHALT FIND MERCY. — First, that is to say, when from loss of appetite, pain, weariness and other indispositions, as it were symptoms and signs of present or felt disease, thou perceivest the beginnings of illness, immediately apply a remedy to avert the disease. The remedy is threefold: the first is abstinence, fasting, diet; the second, exercise of the body; the third, pills and other medicinal lozenges. For these three things either exhaust or consume the superfluous and harmful humours which cause disease: whence there are many who, purging their body with lozenges once or twice yearly, namely in spring and autumn, live a healthy and long life. Others do the same through abstinence and exercise. Whence John of Salisbury, book VIII of the Frivolities of Courtiers and Footsteps of Philosophers, chapter VI: "They say," he writes, "that Galen always prescribed abstinence on the tenth day as the most efficacious and healthful medical treatment; and one cannot easily be subject to graver diseases, unless of a more corrupt nature, if he abstains from all food every tenth day, or lives out his life on the simplest diet." And Coelius Rhodiginus, book XXX of Antiquarian Readings, chapter XII: "It is handed down to memory," he says, "that Galen lived one hundred and forty years, and used such abstinence in food and drink that he never ate or drank to satiety, nor ever tasted anything raw: whence it came to pass that he always breathed a fragrant breath, and without any affection whatsoever failed only through old age; hence also arose the saying, that we call Galen's health, for that which is too prosperous beyond human capacity, and too untroubled." Suidas, however, grants Galen only seventy years, another eighty-seven; he flourished under the Emperor Antoninus Pius. There are also today Religious and wise and pious men who spend the sixth day of each week in fasting without food, or use it sparingly and in small quantity, which serves both religion (for they do this in honour of the passion of Christ) and health most certainly, as we experience daily. Moreover, fasting is especially necessary when the body is distended with plethora, that is, fullness: for this breaks forth into paralysis and the worst kinds of diseases. Wherefore those who are well fed and stuffed at feasts, if they wish to consult their health, should abstain from supper, or eat but little at supper. Certainly I have known very many who cure and prevent all diseases by fasting, and by it maintain their health and strength, though modest and weak. Indeed, Aristotle himself, book V of the Ethics: "Abstinence from food," he says, "brings health to the fevered." That saying of the School of Salerno is well-worn: When physicians fail thee, let these three be thy physicians: a cheerful mind, easy rest, moderate diet. See the words of Daniel, chapter I, verses 8 and 15. In like manner before judgment examine thyself, that is to say, before thou judgest others, judge thyself, that thou mayest learn to have compassion on them, and that thou mayest first condemn and correct in thyself what thou wishest to condemn and correct in others. Moreover, he aptly subjoins this to the foregoing. Wherefore those who mix with their alms quarrels or harsh words, give bread mixed with sand or pebbles, which harms the teeth and corrupts the palate. Or rather, with one hand they give bread, with the other they strike a blow. Hear Seneca, book II of Benefits, chapter VII: "Fabius Verrucosus called a benefit given harshly by a hard man a stony loaf, which it is necessary for the hungry to receive, though it be bitter. Tiberius Caesar, asked by his grandson M. Allius the praetor to relieve his debt, ordered him to eat the names of his creditors. This is not to give, but to summon creditors. When they had been eaten, he wrote to the grandson that he had ordered the money to be paid; adding a contemptuous admonition, he effected that he neither had debt, nor benefit. He freed him from creditors, he did not bind him to himself." The same, book II, chapter XV: "Often," he says, "there is no difference between the gifts of friends and the vows of enemies." Wherefore Epaminondas despised the gifts of Artaxerxes and Jason, Alcamenes those of the Messenians, Phocion those of Mitylene and Alexander, as Plutarch says in the Laconian; and Socrates those of Alcibiades, and Ephialtes those of friends, as Aelian testifies, book IX. Again Seneca, book II of Benefits, chapter IV: "But most," he says, "are those who bring benefits into hatred by harshness of words and superciliousness, using such speech, such pride, that they repent of having obtained them." And book I, chapter I, he enumerates many vices which corrupt our benefits, and among other things thus discourses: "Who has not, when he suspected that something was being asked of him, knitted his brow, turned away his face, feigned occupations, and by deliberately prolonged and endless speeches taken away the opportunity of asking, and by various arts eluded the pressing necessities of those in need: but when something was given grudgingly and harshly, called the bread a stone, which it is necessary for the hungry to receive, bitter. Yet no one ought willingly to be grateful for what he did not receive, but was forced to extract. Can anyone be grateful toward him who bestowed a benefit either proudly, or in anger, or wearily, so as to be rid of the trouble?" And not long after in the sequence of words: "Certainly not contemptuously; for since it is so ordered by nature that injuries sink deeper than benefits, and the latter quickly fade away, while memory tenaciously holds the former; what does he expect who offends while he obligates? He is sufficiently grateful toward him if anyone forgives him his benefit." See St. Chrysostom, homily 11 on the Epistle to the Hebrews, where he persuades many to distribute alms to the poor in such a way that all contempt and injury be absent. Finally, Cato in his Distichs thus prescribes: Be more dear by your services, the more grateful you are; Lest you incur the name, as they say, of one who loses his service. Thus ever mindful of divine judgment, St. Julian the Anchorite continually prepared himself for it, of whom St. Ephrem, his familiar, thus writes in his Life: "And just as those detained in prison custody, when about to be brought before the tribunal of judgment, weep from fear and anguish: so also blessed Julian continually remembered the dreadful tribunal of Christ; wherefore he also wept continually, thinking of the future judgment. Where there is compunction and tears and humility, there certainly neither instability nor any perverse and wicked thing reigns, but the best order prevails, and discipline, and every good thing. Where these are not present, one greatly errs from the goal that is sought." Apply medicine, because the correction of one's own sickness and vice is the best disposition and medicine for curing the sickness and vices of others. Whence the holy Anchorites in the Lives of the Fathers teach and say: He who has fully conquered his gluttony, anger, pride, etc., can drive away the demon of gluttony, anger, pride and others. Again Palacius connects these things thus, as if to say: Just as before the sickness which you believe is threatening you apply medicine: so before judgment examine yourself, look about, question yourself, so that in the sight of the judge you may find propitiation. Secondly, more sublimely under bodily sickness understand spiritual sickness, namely passions, desires and vices, as if to say: When you perceive the beginnings of some temptation, passion and vice bursting forth, immediately remove and cut it off: for if you allow it to grow, you will overcome it with difficulty, according to that: Resist beginnings: the medicine is prepared too late, When evils have grown strong through long delays. To this sense more closely adheres what follows: "And before judgment question yourself," as if to say: Before you are called to God's tribunal to be judged, explore and examine your conscience; and if you discover any vice there, purge it through penance, and through serious purpose and effort for a better life and good works. For this is the efficacious medicine, so that in judgment you may escape sickness and eternal death. That the judgment of God is being treated here is evident from what follows: "And in the sight of God," in Greek, in the day of visitation, or inquiry, that is of judgment, "you will find propitiation." Thus Rabanus and Palacius. Hence the Complutensian editors thus read: before sickness θεραπεύειν, that is to cure, make that you be cured and healed; before judgment prepare yourself καλλιεργεῖν, that is for doing well (some read καλλιερεῖν, that is for praying, for performing sacred rites, for appeasing the deity with victims), and in the hour of visitation you will find propitiation. Where note that the Complutensian editors read ἑτοίμαζε, that is prepare, for which Our text and others read ἐξέταζε, that is explore, question; the Zurich version: before sickness admit cure, before judgment explore yourself, so that in the time of inquiry you may obtain pardon; the Syriac goes another way: for thus it translates, before you fight, seek yourself a helper; and before you become sick, seek yourself medicine. To be noted is the golden maxim of St. Dorotheos, Doctrine 3, at the end: "Our elders," he says, "frequently admonished that a monk ought not to suffer himself to be troubled by his conscience at any time, not even in the least thing." And St. Chrysostom, homily 43 on Matthew: "Let your mind and thought sit as judge over your soul and conscience; bring all your sins into the open, search out what you have committed in your mind, and impose worthy punishments for each; say to yourself continually: Why did you dare this or that? Why did you perpetrate that and that?" But if your conscience shrinks from examining your own deeds, yet curiously pries into those of others, say to it: I am not a judge over others, nor have you submitted yourself to judgment over others. Thus continually recall it to this examination; then if it cannot give a reason, but stammers and is stupefied, as if it were a proud handmaid corrupted by fornication, tear it apart with blows and scourges." And a little later: "For she will not die when struck, but will escape death." I have said more about this examination of conscience, both evening and morning, at Deuteronomy VI, 8; Lamentations III, 40, at that passage: "Let us search our ways;"; Romans II, 15 and elsewhere. 21. HUMBLE THYSELF BEFORE THOU ART SICK, AND IN THE TIME OF INFIRMITY SHEW THY CONVERSATION. — First, that is to say, While you are healthy, while you are strong and vigorous, do not grow proud in your health, strength and vigor, lest God punish your pride and take away from you the health and strength in which you are proud, so that you may learn to humble yourself. Therefore, while you are healthy, humble yourself willingly, and humbly attribute the health you have received to God, not to yourself or your age and industry, and beseech Him to preserve it for you. Whence the Syriac version translates: Before anguish seizes you, pray, and in the time of anguish you will find it, and He will answer you. Second, Palacius explains it, that is to say, If you wish to bear sickness gently and humbly in the time of infirmity, be gentle and humble before it: for as you show yourself when healthy, so you will find yourself when sick. Therefore before the time of judgment, in which all things tremble, humble yourself, prepare yourself: you will await the judge quietly and meekly, if you have lived quietly and meekly. Again, humble yourself, namely through self-control, that is, through continence and abstinence, as the Complutensian adds, that is, fast; that is to say, Before you become sick, fast, and through fasting digest and consume the superfluous humors which will create fevers and other diseases for you: temperance therefore is the mother both of health and of holiness. Note: The Hebrew ענה ana means to afflict and to humble: but affliction was a precept and ordinary practice among the Jews, namely fasting. Therefore to humble oneself is the same as to fast, especially because when the flesh is humiliated, that is, afflicted through fasting, the spirit is also humiliated. Hence that frequent passage in Scripture: "Humble your souls in fasting." Wherefore the Zurich version translates: Before infirmity, through temperance mortify yourself. AND IN THE TIME OF INFIRMITY SHEW THY CONVERSATION. — He has prescribed what should be done before infirmity, now he prescribes what should be done in it itself, saying: "Shew thy conversation," that is, patience, humility, resignation, penance. Others explain it, that is to say, Show your past conversation to God, and to the priest in the new law through sincere confession of sins. Second and rather, "shew thy conversation," that is conversion (and perhaps thus our author translates it) "thine." Thus Seneca in epistle 75: "And let him know that those very things by which he seems to be harmed pertain to the conversion (that is conversion) of the universe, and from those things which complete the course of the world." For in Greek it is ἐπιστροφήν, that is conversion, regression; likewise consideration, care, attention, correction. The sense therefore is, that is to say, While you are sick, convert yourself through prayer and penance to God, both that He himself may restore health to you, and that you may provide for your soul, and prepare yourself for impending death and God's judgment. Convert, I say, by returning through the path previously neglected and therefore recognize your former life, look into it, attend to it, correct it, and care for it most carefully, so that your soul going to death and to the tribunal of God may be fully provided for, so that it may be adjudged to blessed, not miserable, eternity. For in judgment one or the other sentence of God will be pronounced upon you. Thus Hezekiah, afflicted with disease, converted to God, and praying with tears obtained pardon and life, Isaiah XXXVIII. Thus St. Teresa confessed that illnesses were to her the beginning of holiness and salvation. We read the same done in every age, and we still see it happening. Again, this verse as well as the preceding one can be understood not only of bodily disease, but also of spiritual disease, that is to say, Before you fall into some languor of the soul, that is vice and sin, fast, afflict your flesh, and humble yourself, so that through humility, fasting, humble prayer and invocation of divine aid you may avoid languor and falling; but if you have already fallen into it, immediately rise up through conversion and penance. Whence for infirmity, our author reads in Greek ἀρρωστημάτων, that is infirmities; some now read ἁμαρτημάτων, that is sins. Thus they read: in the time of sins shew thy conversion; the Zurich version, in the time of sins shew thy amendment; the Syriac, before you stumble, pray and beseech: before you sin, give alms. Thus Rabanus, referring all these things to penance, by which one prepares himself for the day of judgment, and therefore strives with all effort to labor in the service of God until the end of life. "He learns," he says, "and prepares justice for himself, who daily examines what in his conduct and actions pleases God and what displeases Him; and thus he strives through the tears of compunction and the chastisement of the body to cleanse himself from sins, so that it may not be necessary for him to undergo eternal torments again on the day of vengeance on account of the pollution of sins. For he calls that hour languor, and a time of infirmity, when just retribution is rendered to each according to his own deeds; nor is it permitted to anyone to work any longer, but it is allowed for each to receive the reward of his works." What kind of day this is, the prophet Sophonias shows in chapter 1, saying: "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and very swift: the voice of the day of the Lord is bitter, the strong shall be troubled there. A day of wrath is that day, a day of tribulation and anguish, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and whirlwind, a day of the trumpet and alarm over the fenced cities, and over the high corners. And I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their bodies as dung. But their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: in the fire of his zeal all the earth shall be devoured, because he shall make a speedy consumption of all the inhabitants of the earth." And St. Cyprian, in the tract On the Passion: "Your soul," he says, "will come into the hands of the judge whom you condemn, and with your tribunals broken you shall be judged, and you shall be plunged into the depths of hell, and there shall be for you and for the wicked Judas, in darkness and in the flames of Gehenna, irremediable punishments, unconsumed fires, perpetual sorrows, and eternal torments. And indeed the Son of Man, as it is written of Him, goes forth: He who was condemned, that He might free the condemned; He suffered, that He might heal the sick; He feared, that He might make the secure; He endured reproaches, that the reproaches of those who detract might not move the elect; He was reckoned among the wicked, of whom one was assumed and one was rejected, that there might be given an example and form indissoluble, flowing down to posterity, because neither in the final hour does God's clemency exclude the penitent; nor is any hour too late for which strict compunction does not come; nor are those who are true judges of their life at any point of time judged again. For when the sinner assumes the role of judge and torturer, sparing not, pursuing himself, while he honors confession with confusion, the incense of this holocaust obtains pardon in the sight of God. For God does not judge twice in the same matter; but He judges and condemns the impenitent; the penitent, however, because He receives them as judged by themselves, He absolves; nor does heavenly justice add anything to the judgment which the severity of human penance has brought forth."
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22. DO NOT HINDER YOURSELF FROM PRAYING ALWAYS, AND DO NOT FEAR TO BE JUSTIFIED EVEN UNTO DEATH: FOR THE REWARD OF GOD REMAINS FOREVER. — That is to say, Many obstacles to prayer are wont to arise; remove all of these as much as you can, so that you may have leisure for frequent and constant prayer, namely occupations not pertaining to you, or less useful ones, visits of friends, banquets, games, excessive or useless studies, sleep, idleness, lawsuits, worldly business, etc. For all these things, as being less useful, ought to be postponed to prayer, inasmuch as it is a divine matter and most useful, through which we obtain God's grace and all good things from God. Wherefore Christ says: "It is necessary," He says, "always to pray, and not to faint," Luke XVIII, 1; and St. Paul: "Pray without ceasing," I Thessalonians V, 17. See the things said there. The entire life of the Saints is therefore as it were continuous prayer, as was the life of St. Anthony, Simeon Stylites, St. Mary Magdalene, and David saying: "Seven times a day have I given praise to thee," Psalm CXVIII, 164. Whence St. Gregory in Psalm VI of penance, "Out of the depths have I cried to thee: he does not say, I cry, but I have cried: you have in this a document of perseverance, etc. Be therefore diligent in prayer, be importunate in supplications, beware lest you fail from prayer. For "do not fear," some with Pagninus read "do not grow old," that is to say, Let nothing hinder, nothing impede, so that you pray constantly, and likewise constantly perform works of justice. But the Roman text and the Council of Trent, session VI, chapter X, and indeed St. Augustine in the Mirror read "do not fear," that is to say, Let no shame of men, no fear hold you back from the progress of justice, so that you do not constantly strive through just and holy works to grow in justice, grace and holiness. He adds the reason: Because through these you will increase your reward and your eternal crown. For if a merchant, when an opportunity of gaining a hundred for one is offered, eagerly seizes it; surely we ought most eagerly to seize the opportunity of increasing our merits and our crowns, which is offered to us in this life at every moment, so that at any instant we can gain a thousand, indeed millions for one. "For the sufferings (actions and labors) of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us," as the Blessed Paul says. Note that "the reward of God remains forever," that is to say, Do not fear to study justice daily, and to accumulate new merits, because you might exhaust the rewards destined by God for those who do well; for His "reward" "remains forever," because however much we labor for God, and serve Him, there always remain and abide with Him immense rewards, which He is able to give to those laboring more. The Greek texts have it somewhat differently and more briefly: "Do not hinder yourself from paying your vow in time: and do not expect or delay until death to become just." Where note: For "vow" in Greek is εὐχή, which word, as St. Jerome says to Sunias, sometimes signifies prayer, sometimes a vow; but here it is clear that it signifies a vow from the verb ἀποδοΐναι, that is, to render. But Our author seems to have read a different word. Again, "do not expect or delay until death to be justified," or to become just, can be understood in two ways: first, concerning the first justification by which the impious becomes just, that is to say, Do not delay your conversion, so that you wish to cling to sins until death, and then do penance for them, so that you may obtain the justice and grace of God; second, concerning the second justification by which someone from just becomes more just and holier, that is to say, Do not expect or delay even for one day from being justified until death, that is, from growing in justice, by constantly exercising its works. And thus the Latin Vulgate Interpreter, St. Augustine and others understand it. Against this teaching sin those who delay and put off from day to day, indeed from year to year, the fulfillment of vows made to God; and those who in youth indulge their concupiscences, putting off the time of penance and holiness to the time of old age and death, when often they either cannot, or will not convert, because it is difficult after so long a time to lay aside inveterate habits and concupiscences; for they are held bound by them as by ropes, indeed they have bound themselves. The Zurich version translates, do not doubt to pay your vow in time, nor delay to prove yourself just until death, which translation is suspect; for δικαιωθῆναι signifies to be justified, not to be proved just. For truly we are justified by good works, not merely proved and shown to be just, as Calvin and Luther wish. The Syriac: do not delight in passing time in your delights, and do not neglect until straits seize you. Do not delay to repent from your sins, remember that death does not delay. Morally, the Wise Man teaches here that we ought constantly to study both prayer and progress in justice and holiness. To which Faustus, Bishop of Riez, applies sharp spurs from this place, in his Instruction to Monks, which is found in the Appendix of the Library of the Holy Fathers, page 1569: "Let him set no end to his progress, let him establish no limit to his acquisition, when he hears himself addressed: Prepare thy works in thy going out. And again: Fear not to be justified even unto death. And again: Wisdom is sung in the going out. Therefore the more we progress, the more let us be humbled, because the more we shall have been humbled, the more abundantly do we progress. Let no elder appear there so unlearned as to think that obedience does not befit him, which befitted God. For humility and obedience in the younger are still a necessity, in the elders already a dignity. He progresses well, he finishes well, who acts each day as if he were always beginning. Wherefore Scripture pronounces that the increase of merits is an incentive to the perfect." For this reason St. Gregory, explaining that passage from Job 31:18, Mercy went out with me from the womb of my mother: "To the elect," he says, "while outwardly the age of the body increases, inwardly, if it may be said, the age of virtue grows." Verse 23. BEFORE PRAYER PREPARE THY SOUL: AND BE NOT AS A MAN THAT TEMPTETH GOD. — "Prepare," first, by withdrawing thy mind from all cares and earthly business, so that thou mayest transfer thyself wholly to prayer and to God. Thus St. Chrysostom, homily 9 On Various Places in Matthew: "What is it," he says, "to prepare thyself before prayer, except that stripped of wicked thought, thou shouldest thus approach the Lord's prayer?" Wherefore this preparation especially requires spiritual reading, by which the mind is raised to God and imbued with the thought of divine things, as our Suarez says, book II On Mental Prayer, chapter II, according to that dogma of St. Basil: "Let reading be followed by prayer, prayer by reading;" secondly, by contrition for offences committed against God, humbly begging pardon and proposing serious amendment; thirdly, by consideration of divine majesty and thy vileness, saying with St. Francis: "Who am I, O Lord? Who art thou? Thou art an abyss of essence, wisdom, goodness: I am an abyss of nothingness, ignorance, malice." And with Abraham: "I will speak to the Lord, whereas I am but dust and ashes," Genesis 18:27; fourthly, by premeditation of those things which thou art about to ask, lest thou ask for things unjust, iniquitous, useless, vain, harmful; but for things just, holy, worthy and pleasing to God. Truly St. Bernard, sermon 76 on the Canticles: "Such as thou shalt have prepared thyself to God," he says, "such shall God appear to thee. For with the holy he shall be holy, and with the innocent he shall be innocent," Psalm 17:26, and with the solicitous solicitous, with the recollected recollected, with the diligent and liberal diligent and liberal. "And as much as we shall have applied to diligence," says Eusebius of Emesa, or rather Eucherius of Lyons, homily 3 to the Religious, "so much shall he add to grace." For this reason David said, Psalm 88:20: "I have laid help upon the mighty," that is to say, God helps him who helps himself, and adds fresh strength to the faculty of one using well what he previously had. "O soul," says St. Augustine in the Manual, chapter XXIV, "be solicitous with the solicitous, pure with the pure, holy with the holy, vacant with the vacant; such as thou shalt appear to God, such it is necessary that God should appear to thee." And if thou shalt be very diligent in preparing thyself before thou enterest into his sight, he will admit thee willingly and will reward thy preparation with a reward, fulfilling thy desires. The more similar thou shalt be to God, the more willingly will he hear thee, and God will answer thee; for a friend with a friend similar to himself converses willingly and speaks sweetly. Wherefore, if one praying comes unprepared to God through prayer, he does not please, but tempts, that is, irritates and provokes God to anger by his rashness, audacity, irreverence, impudence, especially if existing in sin and in God's anger, and being his enemy, he dares to address him as a friend without contrition. "For he," says Rabanus, "tempts God, who prays as he himself taught, and yet does not do what he commanded. Whose prayer is unfruitful, because only those are heard by him who lift up their prayers to God with right faith and good works." Before prayer therefore think who thou art, because thou art a most vile man, because thou art an ungrateful sinner, because thou art truly dust and ashes, filth and stench; and by this thought humble thyself. Think then whom thou art about to pray to, because God most wise, best, most powerful, lover of angelic nature, restorer of human nature, creator of all things. Marvel at divine majesty intimately present, which sustains thee before itself; love immense goodness, which is inclined to hear thee and to favor thee benignly; to raise up hope that you will not go forth empty or desolate from the sight of so great a king. Consider finally what good affection you will draw forth from meditation, so that you may direct your considerations toward him, and what you will ask for, so that you may thus keep that saying of Solomon: "Do not rashly speak anything, nor let your heart be swift to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few," Eccles. cap. V, vers. 1. If he surpasses all men by so great an interval, it is fitting that you address him with great fear, and that you have clearly in mind what you ought to say to him. Finally, a remarkable preparation for prayer is this: if before it you conceive in your mind and offer to God many and great intentions of a pious mind, which have drawn you on to approach it with multiplied effort. Thus prayer will flow from the motives of various virtues, and will be governed by them. Thus likewise one may perform prayer with less wandering of mind and dryness of heart, but with greater attention and fervor of heart. Finally, this preparation is the best preparation for prayer, if namely before prayer you conceive great and various acts of virtues, for example, of faith, hope, charity, humility, patience, obedience, poverty, chastity, etc., and offer them to God. Thus prayer will flow from the motives of various virtues, and will be governed and informed by them. Thus teaches St. Thomas II II, quaest. LXXXIII, art. 13. The Greeks likewise and diverse from these words drew from the Wise Man: "Do not hinder yourself from paying your vow in good time, and do not expect or delay until death to become just." Where note: For vow the Greek is εὐχή, which word, says St. Jerome to Sunias, now signifies prayer, now vow; but here it is clear that it signifies vow from the verb ἀποδοῦναι, that is, to render. Moreover, the Wise Man aptly and fittingly connects all these things, as if he wished the whole life of a Christian to be as it were a perpetual preparation for death and the judgment of God; and therefore to study prayer assiduously, progress in justice and holiness, vigilance over oneself, and as it were a continuous examination of conscience. Thus he will always be prepared for death and judgment, according to that saying of Christ: "Be you ready, for at what hour you know not, the Son of Man will come," Luke XII, 40. And that: "Blessed are those servants, whom when the Lord shall come, he shall find watching," ibid. vers. 37. Finally, the preparation of the Saints for prayer is their own holy and recollected life. For the Saints always dwell in the presence of God, always meditate on divine things, always exercise virtues: and so when they approach formal prayer, they are already prepared, and as it were flow into prayer from their course. Whence St. Augustine, epist. 130 to Proba, cap. IX: "That which at certain intervals of hours and times God is also asked with words (so that through those signs of things minds may be stirred to that which they signify), etc., lest in us the desire of this thing, which we intend to foster in these certain hours by praying, may grow sluggish and cool. Let us therefore always pray with desire." Wherefore Cassian, collat. IX, cap. 3, in St. Augustine's Mirror, read lest you fear, as if to say: Let no shame of men, no fear hold you back from the progress of justice, lest you do not strive assiduously to grow in justice, grace and holiness through just and holy works. He adds the reason: Because through these you will increase your reward and your eternal crown. For if a merchant, when an opportunity of gaining a hundred for one is offered, eagerly seizes it; surely we ought most eagerly to seize the opportunity of increasing our merits and crowns, which is offered to us at every moment in this life, so that at any instant we can gain a thousand, indeed millions for one. "For the sufferings (actions and labors) of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us," as blessed Paul says. Note that because the reward of God remains in eternity, as if to say: Do not fear to study justice daily, and to accumulate new merits, because you can exhaust the rewards destined by God for those who do well; for his "reward" "remains in eternity," because however much we labor for God, and serve him, there always remain and abide for him immense rewards, which he can give to those laboring more. your vow, and do not be as a man who provokes his Lord. Morally, the Author of the Imperfect Work in St. Chrysostom, homil. 15 in Matt.: "He," says he, "prepares his soul before prayer, who doing almsdeeds, comes to prayer. For as oil kindles the light of a lamp, so good works stir up the faith of the heart, and give confidence to the soul in praying before God. Therefore almsdeeds are the preparation of prayer. Likewise fasting is a help to prayer, because prayer without fasting is weak and infirm." And below: "Why does almsdeeds precede prayer? Because it is the moderator and preparer of the way before the face of prayer, so that after almsdeeds the following prayer may find a prepared place of mercy before God."
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Verse 23. BEFORE PRAYER PREPARE THY SOUL: AND BE NOT AS A MAN THAT TEMPTETH GOD. — "Prepare," first, by withdrawing thy mind from all cares and earthly business, so that thou mayest transfer thyself wholly to prayer and to God. Thus St. Chrysostom, homily 9 On Diverse Passages in Matthew: "What is it," he says, "to prepare thyself before prayer, except stripped of wicked thought, thus to approach the Lord's prayer?" Wherefore this preparation chiefly requires spiritual reading, by which the mind is raised to God and imbued with the thought of divine things, as our Suarez says, book II On Mental Prayer, chapter II, according to that doctrine of St. Basil: "Let reading be followed by prayer, prayer by reading;" secondly, by contrition for offences committed against God, humbly seeking pardon and proposing serious amendment; thirdly, by consideration of divine majesty and thy vileness, saying with St. Francis: "Who am I, O Lord? who art thou? Thou art an abyss of essence, wisdom, goodness: I am an abyss of nothingness, ignorance, malice." And with Abraham: "I will speak to the Lord, whereas I am but dust and ashes," Genesis XVIII, 27; fourthly, by premeditation of those things which thou art about to ask, lest thou ask for things unjust, iniquitous, useless, vain, harmful; but for things just, holy, worthy and pleasing to God. Truly St. Bernard, sermon 76 in the Canticles: "Such as thou shalt have prepared thyself for God," he says, "such shall God appear to thee. For with the holy he shall be holy, and with the innocent he shall be innocent," Psalm XVII, 26, and with the solicitous solicitous, with the recollected recollected, with the diligent and liberal diligent and liberal. "And as much as we shall have applied to diligence," says Eusebius Emissenus, or rather Eucherius of Lyons, homily 3 to the Religious, "so much shall he add to grace." For this reason David said, Psalm LXXXVIII, 20: "I have laid help upon the mighty," that is to say, God helps him who helps himself, and adds fresh strength to the faculty of one using well that which he previously had. "O soul," says St. Augustine in the Manual, chapter XXIV, "be solicitous with the solicitous, pure with the pure, holy with the holy, vacant with the vacant; such as thou shalt have appeared to God, such it is necessary that God appear to thee." And if thou shalt have been very diligent in preparing thyself before thou enterest into his sight, he will admit thee willingly and will bestow reward upon thy preparation, fulfilling thy desires. The more similar thou shalt be to God, the more willingly will he hear thee and answer thee; for a friend with a friend similar to himself converses willingly and speaks sweetly. Wherefore, if one praying comes unprepared to God through prayer, he does not please, but tempts, that is, irritates and provokes God to wrath by his rashness, audacity, irreverence, impudence, especially if existing in sin and in God's wrath, and being his enemy, he dares to address him as a friend without contrition. "For he," says Rabanus, "tempts God, who prays thus as he himself taught, and yet does not do what he commanded. Whose prayer is unfruitful, because only those are heard by him who lift up their prayers to God with right faith and good works." Before prayer therefore think who thou art, because thou art a most vile man, because thou art an ungrateful sinner, because thou art truly dust and ashes, filth and stench; and by this thought humble thyself. Think then whom thou art about to pray to, because God most wise, best, most powerful, lover of angelic nature, restorer of human nature, creator of all things. Marvel at divine majesty intimately present, which sustains thee before itself; love immense goodness, which is inclined to hear thee and to favor thee benignly; raise thyself in hope that thou shalt not go forth empty or desolate from the sight of so great a king. Think finally what good affection thou art to draw forth from meditation, so that thou mayest direct thy considerations to him, and what thou art about to ask, so that thou mayest thus keep that saying of Solomon: "Be not rash with thy mouth, neither let thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before God. For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few," Ecclesiastes chapter V, verse 1. If he surpasses all men by so great an interval, it is fitting that thou address him with great fear, and that thou have clear understanding of what is to be said to thee. Finally, a notable preparation for prayer is, if before it thou conceive in thy mind and offer to God many and great intentions of pious mind, which, as if thou wert to undertake them in multiplied fashion, have impelled thee. Thus prayer will flow from the motives of various virtues, and shall be commanded by them. Thus likewise one may perform prayer with less wandering of mind and dryness of heart, but with greater attention and fervor. Finally, this preparation is the best preparation for prayer, if namely before prayer you conceive great and various acts of virtues, for example, of faith, hope, charity, humility, patience, obedience, poverty, chastity, etc., and offer them to God. Thus prayer will flow from the motives of various virtues, and will be commanded and informed by them. Thus teaches St. Thomas II II, question LXXXIII, article 13. The Greeks likewise and those diverse from these words drew from the Wise Man: "Do not hinder thyself from paying thy vow in due time, and do not expect or defer until death to become just." Where note: For vow in Greek is εὐχή, which word, says St. Jerome to Sunias, now signifies prayer, now vow; but here it is clear that it signifies vow from the verb ἀποδοῦναι, that is, to render. Moreover, the Wise Man aptly and fittingly connects all these things, as if he wished the whole life of a Christian to be as it were a perpetual preparation for death and the judgment of God; and therefore to study assiduously prayer, progress in justice and holiness, vigilance over oneself, and as it were continuous examination of conscience. Thus he will always be prepared for death and judgment, according to that saying of Christ: "Be ye ready, for at what hour you know not, the Son of Man will come," Luke XII, 40. And that: "Blessed are those servants, whom when the Lord shall come, he shall find watching," ibid. verse 37. Finally, the preparation of the Saints for prayer is their own holy and recollected life. For the Saints always converse in the presence of God, always meditate on divine things, always exercise virtues: and therefore when they approach formal prayer, they are already prepared, and as it were flow into prayer from a run. Whence St. Augustine, epistle 130 to Proba, chapter IX: "That which at certain intervals of hours and times is also asked of God in words (so that through those signs of things minds may be stirred to that which they signify), etc., lest in us the desire of this thing, which in these certain hours praying we intend to foster, should become torpid and grow cold. Let us therefore always pray with desire." Wherefore Cassian, conference IX, chapter 3, in St. Augustine's Mirror, read do not fear, as if to say: Let no shame of men, no fear hinder thee from progress in justice, lest thou cease to strive assiduously through just and holy works to grow in justice, grace and holiness. He adds the reason: Because through these thou wilt increase thy reward and thy eternal crown. For if a merchant, an opportunity of gaining a hundred for one being offered, eagerly seizes it; surely we ought most eagerly to seize the opportunity of increasing our merits and crowns, which is offered to us in this life at every moment, so that at any instant we can gain a thousand, nay millions for one. "For the sufferings (actions and labors) of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us," as the Blessed Paul says. Note that because the reward of God remains in eternity, as if to say: Do not fear to study justice daily, and to accumulate new merits, because thou canst exhaust the rewards of God destined for those who do well; for his "reward" "remains in eternity," because however much we labor for God, and serve him, there always remain and abide with him immense rewards, which he can give to those laboring more. thy vow, and be not as a man that provoketh his Lord. Morally, the Author of the Imperfect Work in St. Chrysostom, homily 15 on Matthew: "He," says he, "prepares his soul before prayer, who doing almsdeeds, comes to prayer. For as oil kindles the light of a lamp, so good works stir up the faith of the heart, and give confidence to the soul in praying before God. Therefore almsdeeds are the preparation of prayer. Likewise fasting is a help to prayer, because prayer without fasting is thin and weak." And below: "Why does almsdeeds precede before prayer? because it is the moderator and preparer of the way before the face of prayer, so that after almsdeeds the following prayer may find a prepared place of mercy before God."
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24. REMEMBER THY WRATH IN THE DAY OF CONSUMMATION, AND THE TIME OF RETRIBUTION IN THE TURNING AWAY OF THY FACE. — Thus it should be read with the Romans and Greeks; therefore the Complutensians and others read wrongly, in the turning away of thy face, or turning away. The sense is, as if to say, Frequently renew for thyself the memory of the wrath and vengeance which God will exercise upon the impious on the day of judgment, in which the life of men will be consummated, and the present course of the world, and God will repay them the merited pains of hell, and therefore His face, which He shows to them in this life benevolent and beneficent, giving them riches and happiness, He will turn into a fierce, threatening, indignant one, breathing forth fires and flames, so much so that the impious will say to the mountains by His terror: "Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of their wrath is come: and who shall be able to stand?" Apocalypse VI, 16. The Greek texts teach that this is the sense, which thus have it, remember the wrath to come in the last days, and the time of vengeance in the turning away of the countenance; the Zurich version, remember the wrath to come on the last day, and of vengeance at which time the face will be turned away; the Syriac, remember that wrath is at the end of all sins, and in the time of anguish (God's wrath) will not turn away His face from thee. Repeatedly Sirach inculcates the memory and fear of the last things, especially of judgment and hell, because this fear is an efficacious bridle to restrain man from sins, and makes him cautious, provident, modest, and solicitous in all his actions.
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25. REMEMBER POVERTY IN TIME OF ABUNDANCE, AND THE NECESSITIES (thus the Roman edition: others wrongly read, necessity) OF POVERTY IN THE DAY OF RICHES. — He calls necessity the straits by which poverty binds and constrains the poor man, so that he is forced to suffer hunger, thirst, cold, and many similar things, as if to say: While you are rich and fortunate, fear the want and misfortune that will follow; while you abound, be mindful of poverty both past and future, which namely may befall you, and which will constrain you and reduce you into many straits: for thus it will come about that in abundance you do not become insolent, and that you provide for the future poverty that may befall you, either in this life or in the future, by giving namely alms and devotion your prayers will run their course; and consequently you will merit more and will bring forth more abundant fruit, wherefore in this manner you will be able to say: I intend to devote myself to prayer, first, that I may worship God, praise and bless Him, namely that before Angels and men, before heaven and earth, I may profess, O Lord, I am your client, that you are the supreme majesty, of infinite power, wisdom, goodness and beauty, and that you are my God and creator, and that I am your creature; that you are my supreme king and lord, and I am your subject and servant; that you are my heavenly father, and I am your son, though most unworthy of this name, because I have not conducted myself after the manner of an obedient son, pleasing to his father: that by this oblation, whatever good is in me, I may profess to emanate from your immense mercy and liberality. Behold here a prayer commanded by the act of religion. Secondly, I intend to pray that I may please God, render him grateful obedience, and by this means preserve and advance myself in his grace and friendship: that I may offer him the thing by which I know God is uniquely delighted. Behold a prayer commanded by the act of charity. Thirdly, I intend to pray that I may give thanks to God for the innumerable benefits of body and soul which I have received from his most liberal hand. Behold an act of gratitude. Fourthly, that I may imitate Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and all the holy Angels and men, whose work in heaven is continual prayer, and that I may unite my prayers and merits with theirs, and thus united with them offer myself to God. Behold hyperdulia and the veneration of Saints. Fifthly, that I may beseech pardon for my sins and make satisfaction for them. Behold an act of penance. Sixthly, that I may free souls from Purgatory, obtain penance for sinners in this life, increase of justice for the just. Behold love of neighbor. Seventhly, that I may beseech increase of grace and glory, namely that I may earnestly entreat for increase of charity, humility, meekness, patience, chastity, sobriety, fortitude, constancy, perseverance, zeal and consequently of the glory in heaven corresponding to these. Behold acts of hope and the other virtues. These same intentions can be prefixed to any good work, such as fasting, almsgiving, preaching, penance, etc., so that the work may flow and proceed from all these virtues, as it were a lily πολύφυλλον, and variegated from manifold and various roots. In Greek for prayer again is εὔξασθαι, which signifies both to vow and to pray. Whence according to the preceding verse, in which he signified to vow, thus they translate, before you vow prepare yourself, to perform those very things which you wish to vow, and be not as a man tempting the Lord. Which can be taken as somewhat distinct from the prior precept, as if to say: Do not through prayer or vow ask God for a miracle, or that a thing which you ought to prepare for yourself by your labor and cooperation, he alone should bestow upon you by himself. For this is to tempt the power and clemency of God. Whence the Syriac, before you vow prepare yourself, and give alms by which the poor may receive you into the eternal tabernacles. Thus Joseph provided in the years of fertility for the future sterility, Genesis XLI, 47. Whence Rabanus: "Let us not lose," he says, "the leisure granted to us, because there will come a time when it is no longer permitted to work. For he here calls this the time of poverty and necessity." Hence both the Greek and Syriac have thus, remember the time of famine in the time of satiety; of poverty and want in the days of riches, according to that in chapter XI, 27: "In the day of good things be not unmindful of evil things." See the things said there. To this pertains that saying of Cato in the Distichs: In tranquil affairs, beware what is adverse: Again in adverse circumstances, remember to hope for better. 26. FROM MORNING UNTIL EVENING THE TIME SHALL BE CHANGED, AND ALL THESE THINGS ARE SWIFT IN THE EYES OF GOD. — as if to say, says Lyra: Sometimes between morning and evening the time is changed from riches to poverty. He gives the reason why one ought to be mindful of poverty in time of abundance, namely because the vicissitudes and times of things are suddenly changed, so that, just as a clear morning often ends in a misty evening, so he who is rich and fortunate in the morning may be needy and miserable in the evening; nay, he who is healthy and alive in the morning may be sick and dead in the evening. And all these things cited, that is, quickly passing away, or rather quickly changing places, are sudden and abrupt in the eyes of God, who, whenever He wills, instantly converts the fortunes of anyone from happy to unhappy, and vice versa, as if to say: Therefore, to any happiness of the world while it smiles upon you, do not believe it, nor fix your heart upon it, because it is unstable, faithless, uncertain like a breeze; but continually expect a change of fortune and of life. For cited in Greek is ταχινά, that is, swift things, hastening things, winged things, swift-moving things. From swift running ταχίνης is the name given to the hare and the deer. Thus like the hare and the deer does the prosperity of this age run swiftly, and adversity succeeds it. The Syriac translator renders cited as beautiful: "All these things," he says, "are beautiful before God," as if to say: God delights in this changeability and vicissitude of fortunes and all things, because this is connatural, innate and co-created with the things themselves created on earth, as being fragile. In this sublunary and changeable world, death and fortune reign, two imperious powers, as the Tragic poet says, which leave nothing in their peace and state: where the changes of things and times, rising and setting, light and darkness, mist and serenity, mourning and joy, fear and hope, sleep and wakefulness, laughter and tears, lamentation and jubilation, love and hatred, are turned in a perpetual reciprocal conversion and confusion: where individual things fall, rise, are pressed down, are weakened, recover strength, in a tumultuous and necessary vicissitude, so that through these God may warn man to turn his mind away from this elemental world and lift it up to the heavenly one, where there is perpetual stability, happiness, and eternity of all things. Symbolically Rabanus: "From morning," he says, "that is, from the rising of birth, until evening of old age, the time of man's age will be changed, because filled with many miseries it flees like a shadow, and never remains in the same state. Or otherwise: From morning, that is, from the beginning of the creation of the world, until evening of the age, times will always be changed; and spring, summer, autumn and winter, day and night, never rest: and yet all these things compared to the state of eternity seem to pass quickly, and nothing of corporeal things remains perpetual: but all things pass before the eyes of the Lord, and are closed with a certain end. But He Himself is always the same, and His years shall not fail." To this pertains that passage of Boethius, book II of the Consolation, prose 2: "This is our power, this continuous game we play: we turn the wheel with changeable orbit, we delight to change the lowest with the highest, the highest with the lowest." And prose 3: "Have you come suddenly as a guest to this stage of life for the first time? Do you think there is any constancy in human affairs, when swift time often dissolves man himself?" And that passage of Seneca in the Thyestes: Whom the coming day saw proud, Him the fleeing day saw laid low. Let no one trust too much in prosperity, Let no one despair of better things when fallen. Clotho mixes these with those, and forbids Fortune To stand still, turns all fate. No one has had the gods so favorable That he could promise himself tomorrow. God turns our affairs, swift and fleeting, In a swift whirlwind.
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27. A WISE MAN SHALL FEAR IN ALL THINGS, — both the vicissitude of fortune and the change of time, so that from rich and happy he may become poor and miserable, concerning which it has already been said; both lest in that state he sin and offend God, either by being proud in prosperity or by despairing and casting down his spirit in adversity; both the divine judgments, as Lyra says, which on account of hidden sins, or otherwise on account of secret causes, abandon, afflict, and chastise man. He alludes to Prov. XXVIII, 14: "Blessed is the man that is always fearful." Wisely Aristotle, in the book of Great Moral Matters: "It is to be feared," he says, "by the brave man, but also to be dared; for if you do not fear, you will be not brave at all, but rash." AND IN THE DAYS OF SINS SHALL ATTEND FROM SLOTH. — In Greek ἀπὸ πλημμελείας, that is, from sin. But πλημμέλεια is said as it were πλὴν μέλειαν, that is, beyond care, which is the same as ἀμέλεια, that is, negligence, sloth, carelessness, as Our man acutely perceived and translated. See what is said at Levit. cap. VII, vers. 1. The Complutensians, from error, and they add an antithesis, and the fool will not keep καιρόν, that is, opportunity or time; the Zurich Bible, but the unwise man does not examine times, that is, the change of times already mentioned by me: but secure in his present fortune, abundance and happiness as if always to endure, he foolishly gapes and broods. Days of sins are called those in which there is occasion, license, and then as it were necessity of sinning, in which men sin with impunity, in which all rush headlong into sins, in which the wicked rule and impiety dominates, so that then the kingdom of sin seems to be and to reign. Then therefore one must especially beware of sloth, that is, first, of idleness: for idleness causes a man to watch sinners and sins, to converse with them, to associate and act with them, and not to invoke the grace of God, and thus to become entangled in them and to consent to them; secondly, from laziness, torpor and pusillanimity, by which one does not dare to perform his duty, and to oppose himself to those sinning and soliciting others to sins, but yields and succumbs to them: such are many who do not dare to resist the examples or commands of sinners, and therefore follow them, as if to say, A wise man at that time when sins are raging, and when many occasions of sinning thrust themselves upon him, will guard himself more carefully, and will be more diligent in his duty and care of himself and his own, lest he sin: wherefore then he will shake off sloth, will put on magnanimity, and will generously oppose himself to sinners, as the Maccabees did to Antiochus, and other Martyrs to tyrants. The days of sins therefore are, first, when fortune blowing favorably brings riches, prosperity, abundance, flatterers; which invite man to gluttony, lust, pride and other sins, concerning which he spoke a little before and warned: "Remember poverty in the time of abundance." Wherefore the Syrian translates, the wise man will care for all these things, and in the days of impiety will not fear from evil. For happiness is followed by sloth, sloth by luxury and crime, crime by misery. Secondly, days of sins are days in which one indulges the flesh, Venus and the belly, or other sins, such as the days of Bacchanalia, which therefore in some calendars are called the days of fools. Whence the Zurich Bible translates, a wise man will always fear, and in days dedicated to sin will beware of transgression. Thirdly, days of sins are when impious kings and princes rule, who solicit the people to idolatry, heresy, lust by word and example, indeed compel them by threats, edicts and punishments: for then there is a flood of sins, as it was in the time of Noah. Such were shortly after Sirach, under Antiochus Epiphanes, whose impiety the Holy Spirit seems to have wished to prefigure prophetically here. Whence Mattathias says to Judas and his other sons the Maccabees: "Now is pride and destruction come, and the time of overthrow, and the wrath of indignation. Now therefore, O my sons, be ye zealous for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of your fathers, and remember the works of your fathers, which they did in their generations: and you shall receive great glory, and an everlasting name," I Machab. II, 49. Fourthly, days of sins are the days of the present time, which is full of transgressions, as Lyra and the Gloss say. Whence Palacius thus explains it, as if to say, O men, if ever happy things have smiled upon you, whether temporal or spiritual, fear sin, into which you may fall; into which if you fall, you have truly fallen into a time of necessity and poverty. Since therefore no one is secure from it, a wise man in the time of this life, which is a time of sins, will beware of sloth. Or more specially: O pious man, if ever in your abundance you shall say, "I shall not be moved forever;" remember that necessity and poverty which, if you are damned, you will suffer on the day of judgment with the wicked: and mindful of that matter in the time of this life, beware of sloth. Learn from the ant, which gathers in the time of summer, lest it be in want in the time of winter. Learn from the tortoise how much danger idleness creates. For, as Pliny says, book IX, chapter x: "Tortoises are caught when carried to the surface of the sea in the morning time by blandishment, floating with their whole back exposed in calm waters: which pleasure of breathing freely deceives them so much, forgotten of themselves, that when the shell is dried by the sun's vapor, they cannot sink, and float unwillingly, becoming easy prey for hunters." Thus the idle man, indulging freely in pleasure, forgotten of himself, becomes the prey of the demon, who lies in wait for the idle as a hunter and fisherman. Finally, the days of sinners are when in a republic, order, monastery, college, or other assembly there arises rebellion, schism, scandals, ruin, or laxity of discipline, etc. Then he who wishes to consult the good of his soul should act so prudently and strongly that he avoids all sin and saves his soul. Thus Francis Caesarius of Speyer, Doctor of Sacred Theology and disciple of St. Francis, asked this of him and said: "One grace from you, O Father, I beseech: that if in my days the brothers should decline from the pure observance of your rule (as you have foretold they will decline), I may, with your permission and blessing, together with other sincere observers of the rule, depart from the transgressors and observe the rule separately." Blessing him, St. Francis said: "Know, my son, that from Christ and from me is granted to you what you ask;" and placing his hand upon his head, he said to him: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech." Caesarius therefore, finally resisting the lax discipline of Fr. Elias, was slain by his followers, and was seen by Angels to be carried to heaven in the sight of Pope Gregory IX. Thus the Annals of Fr. Wadding have it in the year of Christ 1239, number 6.
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28. EVERY PRUDENT MAN (in Greek συνετός, that is, intelligent, wise, cautious) KNOWETH WISDOM, AND TO HIM THAT FINDETH IT HE SHALL GIVE PRAISE, — that is, glory. Because Sirach has spoken grave and difficult matters, which many, as followers of worldly maxims, would not have kept, he adds, the prudent man, that is, a wise man, shall know, that is, shall approve, shall love, shall follow this wisdom now expounded by me, and moreover shall give praise, that is, shall praise and proclaim those who find it and teach others. Whence the Zurich version translates, every wise man knoweth wisdom and learning, and having obtained it giveth it praise; the Syriac, it is fitting for every wise man to teach wisdom, and for those knowing it to give praise, or thanksgiving. For, as Aristotle says, lib. I Metaphys. 1: "It is the property of the wise man to teach others." Allegorically Rabanus: "The prudent man, he says, that is, the diligent and attentive meditator of the law of God, knoweth that the wisdom of God is Christ, and after he hath found him, and hath perceived his knowledge with a believing heart, he himself shall give him praise of right preaching, and the study of worthy works." 29. THE WISE IN WORDS AND THEY THEMSELVES HAVE ACTED WISELY: AND THEY HAVE UNDERSTOOD TRUTH AND JUSTICE, AND HAVE POURED FORTH PROVERBS AND JUDGMENTS. — Thus the Roman and Greek texts: many therefore wrongly for "have poured forth" read "have besought"; for in Greek it is ἀνώμβρησαν, that is, as if they poured forth rain, have poured forth, have instilled. The "in words" should be referred not to "the wise" but to "have acted wisely," as if to say, The wise and prudent not only hear wisdom and praise those who teach it, but also themselves set forth and communicate the same to others; whence in their words they act and speak so wisely as to show that they understand truth and justice, and so that they pour forth, that is instil, to others proverbs and judgments, that is, wise sentences and precepts, which teach justice, virtue and holiness. Whence the Zurich version translates, the wise themselves also by their words set forth wisdom (they understand truth and justice, which words are not in the Greek); and by moderation of mind they water chosen precepts into life. Yet "in words" can be referred to "the wise." Whence some translate clearly, who are wise in words and understanding, and themselves profess wisdom, and pour forth choice proverbs as if rain; the Syriac, those knowing doctrine themselves also become wise, and shall know even to the end the words of parables, and words of wisdom, and the doctrine of the soul. The Complutensian and some others add in the Greek this sentence: κρείσσων παρρησία ἐν δεσπότῃ μόνῳ, εἴπερ νεκρὰ καρδία νεκρῷ ἀντέχεται, that is, as the Complutensian interpreter translates, better is confidence in the Lord alone, if indeed a dead heart cleaves to the dead; the Zurich, the best authority of speaking is the Lord's alone, if indeed a dead heart cleaves to the dead; others, the best thing is freedom in the master alone, if indeed a dead heart cleaves to the dead. But this sentence seems obscure and impertinent in this place: whence all Latin texts, the Syriac, and the Greek edition amended by Carafa and the Romans omit it. The symbol of this prudence, caution and wisdom is the crane. First indeed, as cranes in flying follow their leader, so the prudent man follows his teacher. Second, as cranes foresee rain and flying proclaim it with cries: so the prudent man foresees wisdom, and announces where and from whom it ought to be drawn. Third, cranes are laborious, flying across seas, seeking warmth and food: so the cautious man strives and labors earnestly to acquire wisdom. It is wonderful what Pliny writes in lib. XXX, cap. ult., "not to grow weary in any labor, he who hath sinews from the wings and legs of a crane." Fourth, cranes fearing hunters keep watch at night: so the cautious man fears the snares of men and demons, and against them keeps vigil awake. But take from Pliny the words about cranes, which adapted with a changed name to the cautious man: for thus he writes in lib. X, cap. XXIII: "Immense is the tract by which they come, if one should reckon from the Eastern sea. When they set out they agree together; they fly high to look ahead; they choose a leader whom they follow; in the rear rank they have arranged in turns those who cry out, and hold the flock by voice. They keep watch in the night hours, holding a pebble in their foot: which if loosened by sleep and falls, proves the negligence (and awakens them from their sleep by the sound). The others sleep with their head under their wing, standing alternately on one foot. The leader with neck erect provides and foretells." Aristotle has the same in lib. IX Histor. Animal. cap. x: "Cranes, he says, do many things prudently: for they seek distant places for their own advantage; and they fly high so that they may see far ahead: and if they see clouds and storm, they betake themselves to the ground, and rest on the earth: they also have a leader," etc.
18:30
30. DO NOT FOLLOW AFTER THY CONCUPISCENCES, AND TURN AWAY FROM THY WILL (some read, pleasure). — The Greek texts prefix to this sentence this title: Continence of the soul or mind. For "from thy will," in Greek it is, ἀπὸ τῶν ὀρέξεών σου, that is, from thy appetites or desires; the Syriac: my son, do not go after the desires of thy soul, and restrain it from thy concupiscences; the Zurich version clearly: do not follow thy desires, and restrain thy appetites; others: curb thy appetitions. This is a general precept concerning continence, so that through it we may resist the concupiscence of gluttony, lust, pride, anger, sloth, and any vice whatsoever: for concupiscence embraces every passion and vice both of mind and spirit and of flesh and sense. The meaning therefore is, as it were: to feel the motion of concupiscence is not sin, but to consent to it is. For to feel is natural, necessary and involuntary: but to consent is arbitrary, free and voluntary, as St. Augustine teaches from these words of Sirach, in book I of On Marriage and Concupiscence, chapter XXIII. If therefore thou feelest the affections of anger, hatred, curiosity, lust boiling up in thee, do not assent to them, do not follow them: but immediately deny assent, resist, restrain, curb, cut off, sever, uproot them as much as thou canst. Whence it follows that the motion of concupiscence is a great evil, according to Aristotle's axiom, in book II of the Topics: Those things whose corruptions are good, those corrupted things themselves are evil. Worldly and carnal men, not knowing what concupiscence is, what self-denial is, what mortification is, immediately follow and satisfy their appetites, like brute animals: but the faithful and prudent man struggles against them as against his enemies, knowing that they incite to sin and lead to Tartarus. There are many causes: First, because an animal, as Aristotle says, in book I of the Politics, is constituted from soul and body, as from a ruler and the ruled. "The soul is in the body," as he says in On Natural Motions, "like a monarch in a well-ordered city." But the rational soul in man is the ruler and monarch of all, not only of the members, but also of the senses, passions, imaginations and desires of the sensitive part. Let it therefore govern his concupiscences and appetites, and not allow itself to be governed by them. Second, because concupiscences are a great evil of man, indeed his ruin and destruction. For they themselves are like an untamed, blind, wild and furious horse, which will hurl its rider or sitter headlong into flame, a ditch, rocks, etc., unless it is governed and restrained by him through a bridle. Therefore the will and mind, or spirit, should sit upon his concupiscence as upon a horse, and restrain it with the bridle of reason, lest it be hurled by it into the abyss. Just as therefore it would be a monstrosity if a horse governed its rider, or if a man stood or walked with his head downward and feet upward: so also it is a monstrosity when reason is governed by concupiscence. Wherefore St. Basil, To His Son: "Govern thy body," he says, "by reason, as a charioteer governs a horse by a bridle." The same, To Chilon: "Overcome one pleasure," he says, "lest, if all are stirred up in thee, they bring upon thy mind a turbulent excess of temptations. Subdue thy body through the exercise of labors, accustom thy soul to bear temptations with equanimity." Vices and concupiscences must therefore be overcome successively. The same, in the Monastic Constitutions, chapter III: "The affections of the body," he says, "are violent when reason ceases; when reason moderates them and exercises its dominion, they obey most easily." Reason therefore, ever watchful, tames and governs them. Thus St. Anselm, On the Conception of the Virgin, chapter V, compares concupiscence to a wild beast, which, unless tamed and made gentle by reason, drags man with it into the abyss. Third, because concupiscences are like Sirens, which by their sweet song allure men to themselves, so that having allured them they devour them, as the companions of Ulysses are said to have been devoured by them: but Ulysses, being prudent, stopped up his ears, lest he hear their song and be ensnared, maddened and devoured by it, and thus he alone escaped their ruin and death. Ulysses is a mirror of a wise and continent man. Hence St. Bernard, sermon 44 on the Canticles, speaking of the prodigal son, who squandered his substance in delighting with harlots: "What are these harlots?" he says, "Surely carnal concupiscences, concerning which Scripture most healthfully admonishes thee: Do not follow after thy concupiscences." The same, On the Degrees of Humility: "Evil desire must be guarded against," he says, "because death is placed beside the entrance of pleasure. Whence Scripture commands, saying: Do not follow after thy concupiscences." Fourth, because man is as it were compounded of an angel and a brute: for in mind and in the rational part he is similar to an angel, but in concupiscence and in the animal part he is similar to a brute. Let the angelic portion therefore command the animal and brutish part, so that it may make it like itself and angelic, and not allow the animal to dominate it, so that it itself becomes animal and brutish. "Therefore against the tumultuous passions and those striving to draw toward evils, let the soul exercise glorious contests, if it lives in grace," says St. Augustine, book V Against Julian, chapter III. Fifth, because concupiscence resists natural and divine law. Natural law establishes for man that he should follow honest good, not delightful and desirable good, which is contrary to what is honest. Let him therefore embrace that, and turn away from and flee this. Divine law commands us to follow the dictates of the spirit, not of the flesh. Let us therefore follow that, and detest and renounce this. Whence St. Leo, epistle to Anatolius, and it is found distinction 47, answer VI: "A Catholic man," he says, "and especially a priest of the Lord, just as he ought to be implicated in no error, so he ought to be violated by no desire, Scripture saying: Go not after thy desires. For a mind eager for power neither knows how to abstain from forbidden things, nor to rejoice in permitted things, nor to give consent to piety." Moreover, the concupiscences not only of sense, but also of mind and spirit must be mortified and cut away. Do you desire excessive knowledge, excessive wisdom, excessive reading, excessive study? it is concupiscence, it is excess of desire; therefore cut away what in it is excessive and vicious. That saying is well known: "Satiety of bread is evil, but satiety of studies is worst." Has a desire to meditate, to pray, to contemplate seized you, when charity or obedience demands that you serve the sick, that you lend your ears to those confessing, that you teach, preach, etc.? mortify that desire, and like your beloved Isaac offer it to God as a holocaust. You are called to the lot of Mary Magdalene, you would prefer to do the work of Martha; or conversely, you are called to the active life, you desire the contemplative: mortify this irrational desire, and sacrifice it to God. Wherefore this saying of Sirach must be observed not only in evils, but also in goods, so that namely we hold that good suspect which has been dictated not by God's good pleasure, but by our will alone. For by the very fact that it proceeds from our will alone, and is not approved by divine and Church commands, it falls away from its goodness, and is corrupted by some stain of malice. Whence St. Leo, sermon 8 On the Fasting of the Seventh Month, wisely says: "Since there are in the minds of men many good concupiscences and praiseworthy wills; what is the reason that we are commanded not to consent to our affections? except that we are prohibited from that concupiscence, and recalled from that will, whose origin is from us, and therefore is pronounced evil. For the distinction therefore of concupiscences which are from God, it was well said to man: Go not after thy desires; so that what he has known to be his own, he may know ought to be avoided." And St. Augustine, sermon 45 On the Seasons: "Do not," he says, "go after them. They do not want to go after you? do not go after them: if they should want to go after you, they will not be, because they will not rebel against your mind. They rebel? rebel; they fight? fight; they overcome? overcome; only see to this, that they do not conquer you." Thus he. Hugo explains more minutely this going before or following: "Some," he says, "precede concupiscences, like those who provoke and procure; some accompany them, who dwell in illicit thoughts; some follow, who consent and cooperate." Thus Hugo, and he brings to this that passage from II Kings III: "Phaltiel," he says, "followed Michol weeping." Finally, concupiscence is symbolized by a wolf, about which I have said more in chapter XIII, 21, 31. IF THOU SHALT GIVE PLACE TO THE DESIRES OF THY SOUL, IT SHALL MAKE THEE A LAUGHING-STOCK TO THY ENEMIES,—to those envying you, as some Greek texts add, and St. Augustine following them. The reason is, because the fulfillment of concupiscence will bring upon you infamy, diseases, poverty, and often death, and other damages of body and soul, which will make you a mockery to your enemies, both men and demons, as Samson loving his Dalila, and obeying her, was captured by the Philistines, mocked, blinded and slain, Judges XVI. Thus St. Augustine, book V Against Julian, chapter III: "Is not this man already guilty," he says, "in having such concupiscences of the soul, which he ought not to give place to, lest he come into joy to the devil and his angels, who are our enemies and enviers?" Whence the Greek texts have, if thou shalt give place to the soul's good pleasure of concupiscence, it shall make thee ἐπίχαρμα, that is, a derision and joy of your enemies; the Zurich version, if you indulge your mind in any concupiscence whatever (others, what is pleasing to desire), it will effect that your enemies envying you rejoice over you; the Syriac forcefully, if indeed you do the will of your soul, you are like one who does the will of his enemy. When therefore some desire for a thing stimulates you, think that it is not a friend, as it pretends to be, but an enemy to you; wherefore resist it with all your strength as a mortal enemy. Just as soldiers, upon sighting the enemy, immediately arm themselves and oppose themselves to it with all their might in battle: so also you, when you feel yourself desiring something, or when some desire arises in you, immediately take up the weapons of reason and resolute will and divine grace, struggle against it with all the effort of your mind, and generously wage the Lord's battle, so that you may emerge victorious, and from Him as from an agonothete, on that great day of judgment be rewarded with a crown of immortality and glory: for all these things pertain to preparation for judgment. The symbol of this matter is the slug or snail. Whence that passage from Psalm XVII, 9: "As wax that melteth, shall be taken away;" which St. Augustine and others understand of concupiscences that waste away man; the Chaldean renders it, as a slug wasted away which is consumed in its journey; others, as a slug or snail, which liquefies, let it depart. First indeed, just as the slug is said to be named from slime, to which it always adheres, as Festus and Varro say: so the desirous and carnal man adheres to his flesh and concupiscence. Second, just as the slug is fixed to its shell and is captured in it; whence that saying: "The slug entangled in its shell, and the hairy field;" and Aristotle, lib. III Hist. Anim. cap. XXXII: "The slug, he says, when its shell is removed, becomes dull:" so the carnal man is fixed to his house, fields and estates, and is captured in them, and on account of them often incurs death both present and eternal. Third, just as the slug is viscous: so concupiscence is viscous, which therefore depresses man and does not allow him to raise his head on high, namely his mind to heaven. Fourth, Albert in his book On Fish and Aquatic Animals relates that slugs, if washed with salt, plainly liquefy and are changed into viscous water; for by their own viscosity they liquefy and waste away. Whence also Pliny, lib. IX, cap. LI: "Some, he says, are generated in the season of the year, both in moisture and in earth. In spring scallops, slugs, leeches, at the same time vanish." Fifth, slugs lack eyes, but in their place have small horns. Whence Pliny, lib. IX, cap. XXXII: "In the same genus, he says, aquatic and terrestrial snails, extending themselves from their dwelling, and putting forth and drawing back as it were two horns, lack eyes, and therefore they feel their way with their little horns." Whence proverbially a slug is called one who seeks to carry off something, according to that saying of Plautus in the Bacchides: "Sluglike men," because they wear away and consume. So concupiscence takes away eyes from the mind and blinds and darkens it, so that it does not see its malice equally with its harms, namely the ruin and hell threatening it from it; but leaves to man only carnal and as it were horned eyes, by which beholding earthly and carnal things it may feel out and foretaste, and thus be captured, trampled and perish, like slugs, which are devoured by pigs and partridges, according to that saying of Aristotle, lib. IX Hist. Anim. cap. XXXVII: "Where there is a slug, there is neither pig nor partridge: for all slugs are eaten by these." See what I have said concerning concupiscence and its mortification in James, cap. I, 14.
18:32
32 and 33. "Be not delighted in crowds nor in small ones (Jansenius and others read, nor in immoderate ones); for their commission is continual. Be not mediocre in contention from usury, and it is (Jansenius and others read, it is not) nothing to thee in thy purse: for thou shalt be envious of thy life." — Thus the Roman; therefore some read wrongly, in the world. The modern Greek differs greatly from the Latin Vulgate here; for thus they have it, nor be delighted in delights, nor be bound by their fellowship or symbol, or be deprived (for in Greek it is συμβολοκοπῶν, although the Complutensians read συμβουλοκοπῶν, and translate, nor be in need of their counsel), be not poor from symbols feasting from usury: and nothing is to thee in thy purse. For the Greek συμβολή signifies a banquet in which individuals each contributed their symbola, that is, their share of expenses, proportionally; for συμβάλλειν means to commit and to contribute. Whence συμβολοκοπῶν is the same as σύμβολον κόπτων, that is, cutting or dividing the symbol, that is, arranging a banquet from contribution. "From usury," namely from money received at interest, as if to say, Be not delighted in banquets and drinking parties, because they will impoverish thee, and thus compel thee to borrow money at usury to pay thy share and expense of them, which thou wilt not be able to repay, since thou hast nothing in thy purse, and thus thou wilt become a fable and reproach to all thy banquet companions, as if to say, Give not thy token and thy share to the banquet, lest impoverished by expense thou be compelled to give a money token to thy creditor and usurer, by which thou bindest thyself to him as a debtor. Whence the Zurich version translates, beware lest thou become poor by arranging banquets on loan, until thou hast nothing in thy purse; others, be not poor by giving thy symbol, when thou hast nothing in thy purse. Thus also the Syriac, be not glad in a multitude of delights, be not doubly poor: be not poor, and drunken, and intemperate, and talkative, when thou hast nothing in thy purse. Which readings are connected, and clearly and rightly cohere with what preceded: "Go not after thy lusts, etc., for it will make thee a joy to thy enemies." But it is clear that the Greek once had it otherwise from the Latin Vulgate, and from the disagreement of Greek manuscripts. For some read ἐν τρυφῇ, that is in delights; others, ἐν τύρβῃ, that is in a crowd, and thus our text reads. Again, some read συμβολῆς; others, συμβουλῆς, as I have already said. The sense therefore of the Latin version is, first, as if to say, Be not mixed up with the popular crowd, "nor in small ones," that is, nor among men of small station, namely plebeians, vile and light persons, where there is much buffoonery and folly; for in it many sins are committed. Thus Rabanus. Wherefore Christ often fled from crowds. The Saints did the same, such as Moses, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. Anthony, and this for this reason, that on the day of judgment they might present to Christ the judge a soul pure and undefiled from the vices of the world: for all these things pertain to judgment. For this purity, withdrawal from crowds and solitude wonderfully helps. Whence the Church sings of St. John the Baptist: "In the caves of the desert in tender years, fleeing the crowds of citizens, thou didst seek, lest even lightly thou couldst stain thy life with famine." Cornelius Musius, a noble champion of the faith of Holland in this age (for whom indeed cruelly tortured, he fell bravely), in his poem On the Praise of the Solitary Life: "When," he says, "thou shalt draw near to death, thou shalt too late call upon the blessed cells. O blessed solitude, O sole blessedness for the pious recluses." For to be mixed up with crowds, what is it but to sow turbulence in ourselves or turbid things? There are examples of depravity and corruption of morals, which seduce and defile even the saints, and those strong ones. For just as a cluster draws color and purple from a neighbor: so he who is pure contracts vice from the fellowship of the wicked, and is corrupted by affinity and intercourse with the depraved. For who does not suffer shipwreck of virtues and is not overwhelmed by the waves of crimes, in that open and turbid ocean of impurity? Never is he good, who is never alone; he flees sin, who flees the occasions of sinning, namely crowds. He is a captive slave, who is glued to the multitude; free, he who is separated from it and is master of himself, and lives for himself and God. See the words of Hosea, cap. II, 14. Moreover, aptly after forbidding lust he hides and forbids crowds and quarrels, because these are the desire of many, namely that in the republic or community they stir up crowds and seditions, and this either because they are zealous for novelty; or because they are quarrelsome and contentious, and therefore impatient of peace they stir up or foster factions; or because through them they may rise to honors and magistracies, as certainly they strive to enrich themselves from the plunderings and spoils of merchants and the rich. Secondly, more closely and properly, as if to say, Do not delight in crowds, that is, in the disturbance of men, tumult, sedition, even slight, and in slight matters, which the Latins call turbellas, because there is much "commissio," that is, conflict, contention, lawsuits, threats, slaughter and wars in them. For thus we say to commit battle, and to commit princes against one another, when we stir them up to war against each other. It should be noted that the Greek τύρβη and the Latin turba signify not only a multitude of men, but properly θόρυβον καὶ τάραξιν, that is, disturbance, perturbation, commotion, sedition, which almost arises from a crowd and multitude of dispositions and wills. Whence Ulpian, On Force of Goods and on Crowds, L. Praetor, says: "Labeo contends that the crowd was named from the kind of tumult, and that word was drawn from the Greek τύρβη. If two have engaged in a quarrel, we certainly do not receive it as done in a crowd, because two are not properly called a crowd. But if there were ten or fifteen men, it will be called a crowd. Labeo most rightly says there is much difference between a crowd and a quarrel; namely, that a crowd is a disturbance and gathering of a multitude of men." Thus Terence in the Andria: "What crowds at the forum?" Ovid in the third book of the Metamorphoses: "All the raging crowd rushes into one." Cicero, first action against Verres: "But behold a new crowd and quarrel." The same, to Caecinna, book VI, letter 6: "I would set forth how great a crowd, and how great a confusion of all things we lived in." Hence they say seditious men stir up crowds, excite popular crowds, etc. The same, book I of On the Nature of the Gods: "Aristotle," he says, "disturbs many things disagreeing with his master Plato." Hence St. Bernard wonderfully praises St. Malachy: "That without disturbance he moved among crowds." For this is a sign of a lofty soul and fixed in heaven, because a crowd begets disturbances. Again, the Greek συμβολή signifies not only a contribution of guests to a common expense in a common meal or symposium, but also commissio, that is, a gathering and conflict of war. Whence in the following verse τὸ συμβολοκοπῶν Our translator renders "in contention." Thus therefore you may genuinely explain and connect these two verses: Do not delight, nor mix yourself with crowds of men, that is, tumults, because many quarrels, blows and slaughter are committed in them. "Do not be mediocre in contention from usury," as if to say: To abandon the crowds and factions with which you have mixed yourself, or which you have stirred up, much money is needed; which since you do not have in your purse, you will be forced to take from a usurer at interest; wherefore I advise you not even moderately to foster these contentions and crowds, because if you do this, you will be forced to receive much at interest, and thus you will exhaust your resources so that you are unable to pay the ever-growing usury, since nothing is left to you "in your purse," that is, in your wallet; wherefore you will be "envious," that is, unjust and harmful, "to your own life;" for you will seem to yourself to begrudge yourself a quiet, honest, joyful and pleasant life. Third, if you wish to adapt the Latin version to the modern Greek, thus explain it: Do not delight in crowds of those feasting and drinking together (for symposia among crowds of the common people are wont to dominate, and therefore crowds and gatherings in many places are seen to be their proper and inseparable companions), because there is constant commissio, that is, a contribution of them to a common meal and feast. For just as we say games are committed, so also feasts and common meals are committed. Commissio therefore is a joyful feasting from common meals. Again, commissio is the perpetration of crimes, because amid feasts and symposia many excesses, insolences, detractations, buffooneries, quarrels and brawls are committed. Wherefore beware lest from this contention of drinking and feasting you become mediocre, that is, poor from usury, which you must take up, so that you may be equal to the expenses of symposia, when you have nothing in your purse, that is, in your wallet: thus you will seem to be envious and unjust to your own life, while impoverished you are forced to starve, live miserably and blush before men. A certain manuscript codex, which Jansenius cites, favors this exposition, which at the margin from another version thus clearly reads: do not delight in much feasting, lest you be in need from a contribution, lest you be poor making a contribution from a loan. He therefore forbids attending feasts and dinners where there are many guests, and consequently many voices and clamors, so that it seems not so much a banquet as (as he says) a brawl. Thus Lucius Verus the emperor, as Capitolinus testifies, used to say, "seven make a banquet, nine make a brawl," signifying that few should be admitted to a banquet, otherwise it would be tumultuous and unpleasant, according to that saying of Horace: There is room for more shades, But too narrow a space presses foul goats in banquets. Varro in Gellius, book XIII, chapter XI, thinks that guests ought to be within the number of the Graces and the Muses, so that they be neither more than nine nor fewer than three. Pliny, book XXVIII, chapter II, writes that Servius Sulpicius's commentary was the reason why it was considered inauspicious to leave the table, because in those times never more than five guests were counted. He alludes to that passage in Proverbs XXIII, verses 20 and 21: "Be not among winebibbers, nor among riotous eaters of flesh;" where Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion have συμβολοκόπος, that is, one who contributes symbola; the Septuagint, μηδὲ ἐκτείνου συμβολαῖς, that is, do not extend yourself to symbola, that is, to feasts and drinking parties which are arranged from the contribution of many: which therefore, as it were, incitements to gluttony, luxury and other crimes, indeed workshops and armories of these, the Council of Laodicea forbids in Canon LV: "It is not fitting," it says, "for ministers of the altar, or any Clerics whatsoever, or even lay Christians, to celebrate feasts from symbola, which the common people call comessalia." The same frequency existed among the Gentiles. Whence Plautus in the Stichus: "I go," he says, "to a dinner with a fixed contribution, and his fellow-slave Sangarius the Syrian." And in the Curculio: "Contributors of symbola at the fish market." Terence in the Andria: "He contributed his share, he dined." And in the Eunuch: "Yesterday several young men gathered together in the Piraeus for this day, so that we might share the cost; (we would eat) we put Chaerea in charge of the matter." Otherwise Jansenius: "Do not delight," he says, "in crowds, that is, in abundance and multitude of foods." Thus Pliny, book XV, chapter XIII, calls "a crowd of plums" various kinds of plums; and book XI, chapter XXXVII, calls "a crowd of wounds" a multitude of wounds; Ovid in the sixth book of the Metamorphoses calls "a crowd of wheels;" Cicero in De Claris Oratoribus, "a crowd of volumes." But although by similar phrasing one could say "a crowd of foods," for their abundance, nevertheless absolutely crowd without an addition does not signify this. Furthermore, Rabanus goes off in quite another direction; for he explains the second verse concerning the study of beneficence, as if to say "Do not be slack in striving from lending," etc., that is, do not be stingy, slow and lazy in striving and study of lending, that is, of doing good and lending to others, because if you do this, there will be nothing lacking to you in your purse, that is, you will always have something by which to live and which you may spend, temporal consolations will not fail you; if you do otherwise, you will be envious of your own soul, because you will counsel it badly: for you will take away from it the merits of beneficence, and God's gifts and graces, by which He is accustomed to heap up and compensate the beneficent. Finally, for envious, the Greek texts have ἐπίβουλος, that is, an insidious person, and they add λαλητός, that is, subject to the speech of men. Whence they translate, you will be an insidious person to your own life, incurring the talk of men; the Zurich Bible, otherwise you will be infamous as an insidious person to your life, as if to say, Otherwise you will counsel your life badly, indeed most badly, so that you appear to be laying snares for it. For Holy Scripture often esteems a thing from the deed, not from the mind of the doer: although therefore the mind and intention of the one receiving the loan is not to harm his own life, nevertheless because in fact it harms it, hence he is said to be envious and injurious to it, namely materially, not formally, as philosophers speak.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
18:30
… Already the Old Testament admonished: "Do not follow your passions and turn away from your desires" (Ecclus. 18:30). In the New Testament the teaching of Jesus and his Apostles is explicit: "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.