Salvian the Presbyter

“Cain was at once the most wicked and foolish of men in believing that for committing the greatest of crimes it would be sufficient if he avoided other human witnesses. In fact God was the primary witness to his fratricide. Because of this, I think he then shared the opinion held by many today: that God pays no attention to earthly affairs; neither does he see those done by wicked men. There is no doubt that Cain, when summoned by the word of God after his misdeed, answered that he knew nothing of his brother's murder. He believed God was so ignorant of what had been done that he thought this most deadly crime could be covered by a lie. But it turned out otherwise than he thought. When God condemned him, he realized that God, whom he thought had not seen his crime of murder, had seen him.”

“Let us consider how both the solicitude and severity of the Lord are shown equally in all these words. First, he said, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great." Second, he said, "He was touched inwardly with sorrow of heart." Third, "I will destroy man whom I have created." In the first statement, wherein it is said that God sees all things, his providential care is shown. In the statement that he has sorrow is shown his solicitude amid the dread of his wrath. The statement about his punishment shows his severity as a judge. Holy Scripture says, "God repented that he had made man on earth." This does not mean that God is affected by emotion or is subject to any passion. Rather, the Divine Word, to impart more fully to us a true understanding of the Scriptures, speaks "as if" in terms of human emotions. By using the term "repentant God," it shows the force of God's rejection. God's anger is simply the punishment of the sinner.”

“And then what? "All the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened. And the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights." And a little later: "And all flesh was destroyed that moved upon the earth." And again, "And Noah only remained alive and they that were with him in the ark." Here and now I wish to ask them who call God indifferent to human affairs whether they believe that at that time he either cared for earthly affairs or intervened in them.”

“The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, he said. Well did he say that sins can cry out. Great surely is the cry of sinners as it mounts from earth to heaven. But why does he say that the sins of people cry out? It is because God says his ears are assaulted by the cries of our sins that the punishment of sinners be not delayed. Truly is it a cry, and the cry is great when the love of God is overpowered by the cries of sins to the extent that he is forced to punish the sinners. The Lord shows how unwilling he is to punish even the gravest sinners when he said that the cry of Sodom ascended to him. This means: My mercy urges me to spare them, but the cry of their sins compels me to punish them.”

“However, how do we account for the fact that the Savior himself has brought to mind that all who spurned the gospel were worse? Finally to Capernaum he said, "If in Sodom had been wrought the miracles that had been wrought in you, perhaps it would have remained unto this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." If he says the people of Sodom are less worthy of damnation than all those who neglect the Gospels, then it is most certainly reasonable that we, who neglect the Gospels in most things, should have all the more fear. This is especially so because we are unwilling to be content with sins to which we are already long accustomed and, as it were, on daily familiarity.”

“Thus is it written: "The Lord therefore struck the people for their guilt on the occasion of the calf which Aaron had made." What greater and more manifest judgment could God have made regarding sinners than that punishment immediately follow their sins? Yet, since all were guilty, why was not condemnation visited on all? Because the good Lord struck some with the swords of his sentence in order to correct others by example and to prove to all at the same time, his judgment by correcting, his love by pardoning. When he punished, he judged; when he pardoned, he loved. His judgment and love were unequal: his love was more evident than was his severity.”

“When a man of the Israelite community gathered wood on the sabbath, he was killed, and this by the judgment and order of God, a judge most loving and merciful and who doubtless preferred to spare rather than kill him if the reason for severity had not overcome the reason for mercy. One man who was more unmindful perished, lest many be undone afterwards through lack of caution.”

“When their crimes were so great, heavenly solicitude was of no avail. As often as they were corrected, so often amendment did not follow. As we are not corrected, even though soundly scourged, so they, though constantly struck down, did not mend their ways. What is written? "The following day all the multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron, saying 'You have killed the people of the Lord.' " What followed? Fourteen thousand and seven hundred men were struck down and consumed by divine fire.Since the multitude all had sinned, why were not all punished, especially since, as I have said, none escaped from Korah's mutiny? Why did God wish the whole assembly of sinners to be killed on the former occasion but only a portion at the latter time? It is because the Lord is filled with both justice and mercy and in his indulgence he gives way to his love, and in his will to teach a lesson he gives way to his severity.”

“For since, as it is written, man is confronted equally with life and death and stretches out his hand toward what he wants, it is necessary that whatever a man grasps with his hands in time he must possess forever in eternity. What here he cleaves to in affection, he must in the future cleave to forever, with his will and mind wholly fixed upon it.”

“You say these were the disgraceful acts of a few men and what was not done by all could not injure all. Indeed, I have said above quite often that the crime of one man was the destruction of many among the people of God, just as the people were ruined by Achan's theft, just as pestilence arose from Saul's jealousy, just as death came from the counting of the people by the holy David. The church of God is as the eye. As a speck of dirt, even though small, which falls into the eye blinds the sight completely, in the same way, if some, even though they are a few in the body of the church, commit filthy acts, they block almost all the light of the splendor of the church.”

“Against the Midianites, also, who, as the book of Judges relates, had filled all places like locusts, Gideon was ordered to lead a few men into battle. It was not that he did not have many in his army, but that he was forbidden to lead many into battle, lest the multitude might claim for itself some share of the victory. Hence, when he had gathered thirty thousand armed fighters, the Lord spoke thus to him: "the people with you are too many, and the Midianites shall not be given into their hands."What happened next? He left only three hundred fighters to the man who was about to fight against countless thousands of barbarians. Indeed, he ordered the line of soldiers to be reduced to the smallest number in order that their fewness would not permit them to realize any credit from the prosecution of the divinely waged war. Why the Lord acted thus, he himself very clearly stated, saying, "lest Israel glory against me and say, 'I am saved by my own strength.' " Let them hear, I say, let all the unjust and the presumptuous hear. Let all the powerful hear what God says when he says, "Lest Israel glory against me and say, 'I am saved by my own strength.' " I say, let them hear, all those who hurl blasphemies and statements contrary to the above, let them who place their hope in human beings hear these things. God says that all who presume they can be liberated by their own strength speak against him.”

“Having proved by Holy Scripture that all things are both watched and ruled by God, it remains now for me to show that most things in this world are judged by his divine power. When the holy David had borne the affronts and insults of Nabal from Carmel, because David delayed vengeance, he was avenged at once by the very hand of God. Shortly thereafter, when his enemy had been defeated and killed by the hand of God, David said, "Blessed be the Lord who has judged the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal."”

“There is no need for us to discuss this point further, since the judgment of God is evident. Events prove what God judges about us and about the Goths and Vandals. They increase daily; we decrease daily. They prosper; we are humbled. They flourish; we are drying up. Truly there is said about us that saying which the divine Word spoke of Saul and David: "because David was strong and always growing more robust; the house of Saul grew less daily." As the prophet says, "For he is just, the Lord is just and his judgment is right."”

“We read in the law that even those who seem to have acted lightly against the sacred commandments have, nevertheless, been punished most severely. This is that we might understand that nothing which pertains to God must be considered lightly, because even what seems to be very little in fault is made great by the injury to God. What did Uzzah, the Levite of God, do against the heavenly command when he tried to steady the tottering ark of the Lord? There was nothing on this point prescribed by the law. Yet, immediately when he steadied the ark, he was struck down. Not that he was insolent in manner or undutiful in mind. Yet he was undutiful in his very act, because he went beyond his orders.”

“But that you may clearly know that his censure and sacred considerations deal more with actions than with persons themselves, hear how God, the judge, who many times gave sentences favorable to his servant David, often gave decisions unfavorable to him. This happened in a transaction which did not involve many men, or perhaps, what would have aroused God more, in a transaction involving holy men. It happened in the instance of one man, a foreigner, where the action rather than the person demanded punishment.When Uriah the Hittite, a member of a wicked race and of an unfriendly nation, had been killed, the divine Word was immediately passed to David, "You have killed Uriah, the Hittite, with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Therefore the sword shall never depart from your house. Thus said the Lord, 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor. For you did it secretly: but I will do this thing in the sight of all Israel and in the sight of the sun.' " What do you say to this, you who believe that God does not judge our actions and who believe that he has no concern whatsoever for us? Do you not see that the eyes of God were never absent even from that secret sin through which David fell once? Learn from this that you are always seen by Christ, understand and know that you will be punished, and perhaps very soon, you, who, perhaps in consolation for your sins, think that our acts are not seen by God. You see that the holy David was unable to hide his sin in the secrecy of his inmost rooms; neither was he able to claim exemption from immediate punishment through the privilege of great deeds. What did the Lord say to him? "I will take your wives before your eyes, and the sword shall never depart from your house."”

“You see what instant judgment so great a man suffered for one sin. Immediate condemnation followed the fault, a condemnation immediately punishing and without reservation, stopping the guilty one then and there and not deferring the case to a later date. Thus he did not say, "because you have done this, know that the judgment of God will come and you will be tormented in the fire of hell." Rather, he said, "You shall suffer immediate punishment and shall have the sword of divine severity at your throat."And what followed? The guilty man acknowledged his sin, was humbled, filled with remorse, confessed and wept. He repented and asked for pardon, gave up his royal jewels, laid aside his robes of gold cloth, put aside the purple, resigned his crown. He was changed in body and appearance. He cast aside all his kingship with its ornaments. He put on the externals of a fugitive penitent, so that his squalor was his defense. He was wasted by fasting, dried up by thirst, worn from weeping and imprisoned in his own loneliness. Yet this king, bearing such a great name, greater in his holiness than in temporal power, surpassing all by the prerogative of his antecedent merits, did not escape punishment though he sought pardon so earnestly. The reward of this great penitence was such that he was not condemned to eternal punishment. Yet, he did not merit full pardon in this world. What did the prophet say to the penitent? "Because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the son that is born to you shall die." Besides the pain of the bitter loss of his son, God wished that there be added to the very loving father an understanding of this greatest punishment, namely, that the father who mourned should himself bring death to his beloved son, when the son, born of his father's crime, was killed for the very crime that had begotten him.”

“How particularly difficult it is to atone for the evil deed of handing over the name of the Lord to the blasphemy of the heathen, we are instructed by the example of the most blessed David who, because of the intercession of his acts of justice, deserved to evade eternal punishment for his offenses through one confession only. Yet he, with penance as his protector, was unable to obtain full pardon for his sin. When Nathan the prophet had said to David, who was confessing his own sins to him, "The Lord has taken away your sin, you shall not die," he added immediately, "nevertheless, because you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, for this word, the child that is born to you, shall die."And what happened next? Having laid aside his crown and put away his jewels, all splendor of royal dignity being removed, he was relieved of the purple. For all his sins he shut himself up alone, weeping, filthy in sackcloth, soaked in tears and soiled with ashes, and sought the life of his little child with the voice of many lamentations and beat upon the Most Holy God with great fervor or prayer. Thus asking and imploring, he believed he could in this manner obtain what he sought from God. Yet he was unable to obtain his request through what is the most forceful aid to those who ask. From this it can be understood that there is no crime deserving of greater guilt than to give to the heathen a reason for blaspheming. For, whoever has erred gravely without giving cause for blasphemy to others brings damnation to himself only, but he who makes others blaspheme drags many to death with himself, he will, of necessity, be guilty of as many as he shall have drawn into guilt. Not only this, whatever sinner so sins that he does not cause others to blaspheme by his sin, his sin is injurious only to him who sins, but does not insult the holy name of God with the sacrilegious curse of those who blaspheme. But he who, by his sin, causes others to blaspheme, his sin is, of necessity, beyond the measure of human crime, because he has done unthinkable harm to God through the curses of many.”

“This is the first introduction of divine punishment; the first but not the only one. A long series of great tribulations followed, and an almost unending succession of misfortunes scarcely left his house. Tamar was corrupted by the madness of Amnon, and Amnon was slain by Absalom. A grave crime was committed by one brother, but it was avenged more grievously by the other. In this way David, the father, was punished for the crimes of both. Two sons sinned, but three suffered for the crime of two; Tamar lost her virginity, and the loss of Absalom was mourned in Amnon. Indeed, you cannot tell for which of these two sons the loving father mourned more grievously: for him who was slain in this world by his brother's hand [Amnon] or for him who perished in the next because of killing by his own hand [Absalom].”

“According to the word of God, misfortunes were piled up from this time on. The father suffered long from the treachery of his son.…Is the spectacle of David's flight to be added to this account? Of such a nature was the flight that such a great king, of so great a reputation, greater and more honored than all other kings in the world, fled from his people with but a few servants. In comparison with his recent state, he was indeed poor; in comparison with his customary entourage, he was indeed alone. He fled in fear, disgrace and sorrow, "walking," says Scripture, "with head covered and barefoot." He was a witness of his former estate, an exile from his former self, almost one who lives after his own death. He was cast down so low that he received the scorn of his own servants, which is grave, or their pity, which is graver still. Sheba fed him, and Shimei did not fear to curse him in public. He was so changed from his former self by God's judgment that he, whom the entire world had once feared, was insulted to his face by a single enemy.”

“He was expelled from his kingdom and fled as an exile to escape murder. You do not know of a son more wicked and bloodthirsty. Because he could not kill his father in his attempt to murder him, he defiled him with incest. By heaping crime on crime, he achieved an incest beyond all incest. He committed in public a thing most shameful to his father, a crime which is abominable in secret. Not only his absent father was made to look hideous by his son's deadly crime, but the eyes of all were polluted by his public incest.”

“When his rebellious son chased him from his kingdom, the Lord soon delivered David. Not only did the Lord deliver him, but [he] delivered him more fully than the one delivered wished. This was that God might show that the injustice is more grievous to himself than to those who suffer it. He who avenges beyond the wish of him who is being avenged, what else does he want understood than that he himself is being avenged in him for whom he is doing the avenging? Thus, when, for his attempted patricide, David's son being hanged on a cross not made by human hands, the Scripture says that the punishment, divinely brought on him, was thus announced: "I bring good tidings, my lord, the king: for the Lord has judged on your behalf this day from the hand of all that have risen up against you."You see how the Scriptures prove by divine witnesses that God judges not only by deeds and by examples, as I have already said, but does so today by the very name and terms of judgment.”

“You say these were the disgraceful acts of a few men and what was not done by all could not injure all. Indeed, I have said above quite often that the crime of one man was the destruction of many among the people of God, just as the people was ruined by Achan's theft, just as pestilence arose from Saul's jealousy, just as death came from the counting of the people by the holy David. The church of God is as the eye. As a speck of dirt, even though small, which falls into the eye blinds the sight completely, in the same way, if some, even though they are a few in the body of the church, commit filthy acts, they block almost all the light of the splendor of the church.”

“The same prophet showed elsewhere the difference between the present and future judgment of God. What did he say to the Lord about the verdict of the immediate trial? You have sat on the throne, you who judge justice. And what of God's future and everlasting judgment? "He shall judge the people in justice." By these words, he distinguished the time element between the present and the future judgments of God. To point to our present judgment, he wrote, "You judge," and to distinguish the future from the present he later added, "He shall judge."”

“To such people the word of the prophet can be applied most fittingly: "The fool says in his heart, there is no God." They who say that nothing is seen by God almost deprive him of eyes and even take away substance from him. For when they say he sees nothing, they say he does not exist at all. Although no evil deed is based on reason, because crime cannot be joined with reason, there is no sin, I believe, more irrational or senseless. What is more insane than for anybody, who does not deny that God is the creator of the universe, to deny his governance? How does he admit that God created the world and neglects what he created? As if, indeed, he took pains in creating all things so that he would neglect what he had made!”

“What about this saying: "He who shall have persevered to the end, shall be saved," or that oracle of the divine word in the sacred proverbs: "Wisdom is proclaimed at the moment of departure"? These sayings show that, though wisdom is helpful in every age, all people should be particularly wise when they are leaving this world, because the wisdom of past years will not fully deserve praise if it does not terminate in a good end. Wisdom is proclaimed at the moment of departure.”

“What room is there for just complaint when each suffers according to his deeds? There is this exception which I can easily prove, namely, we never suffer in proportion to our deeds, and God deals with us much more leniently than we deal with him. But, in the meantime, let me [continue].… Thus spoke the Lord himself: "I have cried unto you, and you have not heard me; and you shall cry unto me, and I shall not hear you." What is more suitable and just than this? We have not heard; therefore, we are not heeded. We have not looked; therefore, we are not noticed.”

“We receive only the use of those possessions which we hold. We make use of the wealth loaned to us by God. We are, as it were, tenants by the revocable will of the grantor. When departing from this world, whether we like it or not, we leave everything behind on earth. Since we are tenants only of this sort, why do we attempt to take away and alienate from God's ownership what we cannot take with us? Why do we not use in good faith the little things given us by God? We hold property so long as he has allowed, we hold so long as he has permitted, he who has given us all.What is more right, what is more proper, than when a thing is separated from him who had its use, that its possession revert to him who granted it for usage? Even the very words of God through the tongue of sacred Scripture order this, saying to one and all of us, "Honor the Lord from out of your substance." And elsewhere he says, "Repay your debt." How tender and condescending is our Lord God, who invites us to expend the wealth of our earthly substance! He says, "Honor the Lord from out of your substance." Though all we have received from God is his own property, he calls it ours so that we may be the ones who give it to others. Thus, he calls the proprietorship of possession ours so that there may be a greater reward for work, because, wherever effort spent seems to be on what is one's own, the worker necessarily has a greater return.”

“I have previously said that we are punished by God because of our sins, and now I say that we are punished by ourselves. Both are true. We are, indeed, punished by God, but we act so that he has to punish us. Since we ourselves cause our own punishment, who doubts that we punish ourselves for our own crimes? For, whoever gives cause for his punishment punishes himself, according to the saying, "Each one is bound by the rope of his own sins." Therefore, if evil people are bound by the ropes of their own sins, each and every sinner, doubtless, binds himself when he sins.”

“First then, slaves, if they are thieves, are usually forced into robbery by need, since even though the customary allowances are furnished them, these conform better to custom than to sufficiency and so fulfill the canon without satisfying the needs of those who receive them. Their necessity makes the fault itself less blameworthy, since a convicted thief who seems compelled to robbery against his will deserves pardon. The Scripture itself seems to palliate the wrongdoing of needy men when it says: "Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry." He steals to satisfy his soul; it is for this reason that we think we cannot accuse strongly enough those who are pardoned by the Divine Word.”

“Someone asks, "Is there, therefore, no difference between saints and sinners?" Certainly, there is a great and almost immeasurable difference. Scripture says, "Blessed is the man who is always fearful." The mind of a wise person is ever uneasy about his own salvation. Although there is a great difference between saints and sinners, still I ask all those who profess a religion, Who, according to his own conscience, is sufficiently holy; who does not tremble about the fearful severity of a future judgment; who is untroubled about his eternal salvation? If this is not the case, just as it should not be, I beg, let any one tell me why he does not strive with all the power of his goods to redeem, by a holy death, whatever sins he may have committed by transgression during his lifetime.”

“Must we be servile to the whim of those who are wicked? If they wish valueless praise conferred upon them, is it becoming that we, too, heap valueless and laughable praise on them? And this especially since they who wish to be ridiculous should not be laughed at by those who are honorable, just as they who desire to be decorated even with the label of false praise should not be praised in a lying manner. Our prime consideration should be not so much what they wish to hear as what it is fitting for us to say, especially since the prophet says, "Woe to them who speak sweet for bitter things and bitter for sweet things."”

“Our soldiers were brought low by a similar disdaining pride and by the same outcome. That saying of the prophet was brought home to our army: "The Lord shall cast aside your confidence, and you shall not have prosperity." We were confident in our own wisdom and strength, contrary to the command of God, who says, "Let not the wise person glory in his wisdom or the strong person in his strength, but let him who glories glory in this, to know and understand me, because I am the Lord."”

“Who among us has amended his life, or what part of the Roman world, no matter how afflicted, is corrected? As we read, "For all have declined, they have become useless at same time." Therefore, the prophet cries out to God and says, "You have struck them, and they have not sorrowed. You have consumed them, and they have refused to accept discipline. They have hardened their faces harder than a rock and were unwilling to return." Present affairs show how truly this applies to us.”

“Murder is rare among slaves because of their dread and terror of capital punishment, but it is common among the rich because of their hope and trust in impunity. Perhaps we are wrong in putting in the category of sins what the rich people do, because, when they kill their slaves, they think that it is legal and not a crime. Not only this, they abuse the same privilege even when practicing the filth of unchastity. How few among the rich, observing the sacrament of marriage, are not dragged down headlong by the madness of lust? To how few are not home and family regarded as harlots? How few do not pursue their madness toward anybody on whom the heat of their evil desires centers? It was about such people that the divine Word said, "They are become as stallions rushing madly on the mares."”

“What is a holy title without merit but an ornament set in the mud? The Holy Scriptures have testified to this in writing: "A golden ring in a swine's snout, a woman fair and foolish." And in us the title Christian is like a golden ornament. If we use it unworthily, we seem to be swine with an ornament.…For this reason, our God spoke elsewhere about the Hebrew people to the prophet, saying, "Call his name, Not Beloved." And again to the Jews, "You are not my people, and I am not your God." But he showed clearly elsewhere why he said this about them, for he said, "They have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters." And again: "For they have cast away the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them."”

“Elsewhere we read the words of the prophet: "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" God tells why he fills all things: "because I am with you to save you." Behold, the Lord shows us not only his rule and its all pervading fullness but also the power and benefits accruing from this very fullness. For the fullness of divinity carries as its reward the salvation of what it fills. Paul, in the Acts of the Apostles, said, "for in him we live and move and are."”

“God spoke to sinners through his prophet, because "the Lord remembered these things and," he says, "he ascended over his heart, and the Lord was not able to bear more because of the evil of your endeavors and the abominations that you have done; and your land is made into a desolation, a wonder and a curse." Through these things, therefore, it has already happened that the greater part of the Roman world is become a desolation, a wonder and a curse.”

“Perhaps you fear the looks of your relatives sitting around and are afraid to offend them as they press and crowd around your beds. The Lord says through the prophet, "Be not afraid of them, be not dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house." You must also be unafraid and constant; do not fear their faces or be broken by their display.”

“Thus it happens that all things are changed, pass away and perish. No one considers anyone more base than himself or more lowly than God. If there is a time at which anyone can legally place God second to his blood and marriage relatives, there is no time in which God must lawfully be placed ahead of them. But if, because it is true, there is no time whatever in which he should not be given preference, there is no time when he can lawfully be placed second to them. Indeed, there is no time, not even at the point of death, because the prophet says that even the just person will perish on the day he errs.”

“It is a crime, unbearably conceited and enormously wicked, that anyone should think himself so good that he supposes the wicked can be saved through him.God, speaking of a certain land and a sinful people, said, "If these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, shall be in it, they shall deliver neither sons or daughters; but they only shall be delivered." I think that nobody would be so presumptuous as to dare to compare himself with such men. Though a person tries to please God in this world, it is the greatest kind of unrighteousness to boast of his own righteousness. Hope is therefore removed in that false opinion by which we believe that a countless multitude of the damned can be saved by the intercession in this world of a few good people.”

“The sacred word mentioned kinds of metals that were different among themselves. How are different metals fused together in the same furnace? It is because by the variety of metals there is meant the different kinds of humanity. Even silver, which is a metal of more noble material, is treated in the same fires because people have condemned the gifts of a more noble nature by their degenerate lives.”

“For this reason, our God spoke elsewhere about the Hebrew people to the prophet, saying, "Call his name Not Beloved," and again to the Jews, "You are not my people, and I am not your God." But he himself showed clearly elsewhere why he said this about them, for he said, "They have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters," and again, "For they have cast away the word of the Lord, and there is no wisdom in them."”

“When, at one time, God had been offended by the sins of the Ninevites, he was appeased by the crying and wailing of children. For though we read that the whole people wept, yet the lot of innocence of the little ones merited the greatest mercy. God said to Jonah, "You are greatly grieved over the vine." And a little later, "Should I not spare Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than 120, persons, who know not their left hand from their right hand?" He thereby declared that because of the purity of the innocent ones, he was also sparing the faults of the guilty ones.”

“The apostle calls people to contrition; I only to a cure. He affirms that riches are a fire; I desire to extract from them water that helps to extinguish the blaze. This is precisely why it is written, "Water extinguishes a lit fire; alms extinguish sins." The apostle attests that damnation is the punishment for riches improperly packed away; I desire to obtain eternal life through these very riches that he says cause eternal damnation to all. Not that I believe that riches will enable anyone who has always lived among the pleasures of the flesh to obtain eternal life if he persists in such sin even up to death—even if he bequeaths all he has when he is at death's door—unless, in fact, he has previously bid farewell to his sins and taken off his filthy clothes, filled with the filth of his profligacy, and puts on the new robe of repentance, of holiness, from the hands of the apostle who admonishes him.”

“The divine voice admonishes each one of us through the language of the holy Scriptures, "Honor the Lord with your belongings." In another passage it says, "Pay your debt." God is a tender and mild master. He invites us to spend the goods of our earthly belongings! He says, "Honor the Lord with your belongings." Everything that is given to us is his, and yet, he affirms that it is ours so that we can give it away. Thus, he calls the ownership of these possessions ours so that there may be a greater reward for work since we spend more time and effort on possessions that belong to us, and in this way the worker necessarily receives a considerably greater reward for his labor.The Lord has said that the ownership is ours. However, in order that our soul not become too proud, he adds, "Pay back your debt." If a person is not induced to be generous from his devotion, however, he will be constrained to pay from necessity. If faith is of no help to persuade a saint to operate, that which obliges him to satisfy his debt will motivate him. First he says, "Honor the Lord with your possessions," and then, "Pay your debt," so that, if you are devoted, you should give as though it belonged to you; if you are not, provide restitution as though it were not yours. Thus, God has rightly fixed in the law both the will to give and the necessity to pay. He wants to say to everyone, "You are invited with persuasive words or constricted by contracted debt to do holy deeds. Give, if you want; provide restitution in the contrary case." The apostle also provided similar teaching when he ordered the rich not to be proud, not to put hope on the uncertainty of riches but on God, who, he says, "gives us everything in abundance, which we can enjoy in the will to do good works.' " It is one phrase, but with this the apostle teaches us who is the benefactor and what is the reason for the possessions that have been given.”

“People must aspire to wealth, procure it, hold in trust, increase it—only they should do so having in mind those we previously indicated. Otherwise, when one makes bad use of the assets he has, which are a gift from God, disastrous, irreparable damage occurs. As sacred Scripture says, "There is nothing more wicked than a miser." Wealth kept from one's Lord does the worst and most deadly kind of damage. This is an incontrovertible truth! What is worse or more horrible than for anyone to change the asset we enjoy in the world into disasters for the future? What is worse than the fact that death and damnation are pursued with these very things that have been given to us by the Lord for the purpose of obtaining a true eternally happy life from them? But we must also contemplate the fact that if wealth held in trust is a source of trouble for people, piling up more wealth without stopping to see what it is doing constitutes an even more serious calamity. Who among the rich, in fact, is equipped with the kind of temperament that can limit himself to conserve and not to increase his assets? Our present time is indeed wretched and deplorable in which people reduce themselves to this. Scripture asserts that it is a serious crime to even keep money. Today, people believe it is a virtue not only to keep but also to add to their wealth. Once again, therefore, we ask: How can someone think he or she is undamaged by guilt, if even at the moment of death, having no thought for salvation, people do not donate the assets they possess, since they have already committed a crime in keeping them until the moment they depart this life? How will these people not be guilty who, by a predilection toward vanity that is completely sacrilegious, leave their wealth to just anyone, especially since those who have not deprived themselves of at least a portion of their possessions for the worship of God will be found guilty in this life? The same Lord is our master in this matter as well. Through the apostle he says, "And now to you who are rich: weep over the disaster that will come on you! Your wealth is corrupted, and your gold and silver are consumed by rust; their rust will be raised in testimony against you and will devour your flesh like fire. You have accumulated treasures for the last days!"”

“Is there anyone who has been found to live next door to a rich person who has not been robbed or even reduced to a state of permanent poverty? This is because as the powerful continue to encroach, the weak lose their possessions, or even themselves along with their possessions. The Word of God traces the profile of both with this most appropriate phrase, "The wild ass is the lion's prey in the desert; so also the poor are devoured by the rich." But it is also true that it is not only the poor who endure such tyranny but nearly the entire human race. What other dignity, after all, is there for those of high rank if not the power to confiscate the assets of the citizens? Concerning some, whose names I will not mention, what is a political position except a kind of plunder? For there is no worse pillaging of the poor than that which occurs among those in political power. Government positions are bought by the few and paid for by the ravaging of the rest of the citizenry. What can be more scandalous and evil than this? The poor pay the price for positions that are not for them. They do not know the meaning of buying, they only know the meaning of paying. The world is turned upside down for just a few individuals. The elevation of one person brings about the general ruin of everyone else.”

“It is written that life and death both confront humankind and that he reaches out his hand toward what he wants. We draw from these words that everyone will possess for eternity those goods that they seized with their hand, so to speak, during this life. And whatever they became attached to, they will remain attached to, with his mind and will entirely fixated on it.”

“Everything was destroyed from two dominant common defects: avarice and drunkenness. For, unrestrained in their greed for drink, it came to the point where the city authorities could not even get up from the table—not even when the enemy had already penetrated into the city. I think that God intentionally wanted to show them the reason of their ruin: that at the moment when they were experiencing ruin, they continued to conduct themselves in the very thing that ultimately led to their ruin. I have seen with my own eyes deplorable scenes in that city. It mattered not whether they were boys or old men. It was the same scurrilous partying and levity. All kids of evil were going on at the same time: luxury, drinking, depravity. Everyone was doing the same thing: they amused themselves, got drunk and used prostitutes. Both old and young let themselves go during the banquets. Individuals who were already too weak to live were nonetheless daunting in their wine drinking; those nearly incapable of walking were still sturdy in their drinking; those otherwise uncertain in their steps were agile and lively in their dancing.What is there left to say? Well, they were so filthy in all the evils of which I have spoken that the saying of the sacred text came true that says, "Wine and women make men fall away from God." And, in fact, while they were drinking, amusing themselves, having sex and going crazy, they did begin to deny Christ. And although this happened, we are still astonished that they lost their material assets, even though they had begun to unravel morally for quite some time! Therefore, let no one think that city perished only on the day in which it was destroyed! Where such things happen, the people were destroyed long before they were overwhelmed by their enemies.”

“"Have compassion on your own soul." Great is the mercy of God our Lord, who invites us to be charitable toward ourselves. He says, "Have compassion on your own soul," that is, "you also should have compassion on yourself, you for whom I feel an aching commiseration, for whom I experience an infinite compassion. If you see me so moved over the soul of another, you at least should have mercy on your own soul." O extremely wretched person, God acts toward you in this way, and you do not put faith in him. He beckons you to be charitable toward yourself, and you do not want to be so? He pleads your case with you, and he cannot win the decision from you?”

“The holy book says that everything, day after day, is ruled by the divine will and that God governs all things unceasingly. It says, "The Lord loves wisdom and an ordered life," and "There is no other God who cares for all." And still, "Since you are just, you guide all things with equity, and you govern us with great respect." So then, it speaks to you of God who guides and governs without interruption, but in this passage of Scripture not only is the government of God set forth but the dignity of human beings as well, since by saying "he governs us," it wants to convey the power of the divine rule, and by saying "with great respect," it allows us to understand how high is human dignity. Elsewhere in a prophet, it is written, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" God declares the reason why he fills all things: "Because I am with you to save you." And with these words the Lord makes us understand not only that he governs and fills the universe but also the power and fruits of his presence. The divine presence, of itself, produces this fruit: the salvation of what it fills. And this is why saint Paul says in the Acts of the Apostles, "In him we have life, movement and being."”

“The apostle's testimony is a very serious matter. Do the nobility think that they are immune from his strictures, because he referred only to the rich and not to the noble as well? But there is so great an overlap between these two groups in practice that it makes little difference which one of them the apostle was speaking about. His words certainly apply to both.”

“They learn good and do evil who, it is written, confess God by words and deny him by deeds. They, as the apostle says, repose in the law and know its intent and approve of those things that are the more profitable. They have the form of knowledge and of truth in the law. They preach that they must not steal, yet they do steal. They read that they must not commit adultery, yet they commit it. They glory in the law, yet by transgression of the law they dishonor God. Therefore, for this very reason, Christians are worse because they should be better. They do not practice what they preach, and they struggle against their faith by their morals. All the more blameworthy is evil which the label of goodness accuses, and the holy name is the crime of an unholy person. Hence, the Savior also said in the Apocalypse to the lukewarm Christian: "Would that you were cold or hot. But now because you are lukewarm, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth."”