“Necessarily, too, the Lord gives us this admonition, to say in our prayer, "And lead us not into temptation." In this part it is shown that the adversary has no power against us, unless God has previously permitted it, in order that all our fear and devotion and obedience may be turned to God, since in temptations nothing evil is permitted, unless the power is granted by him. Scripture proves this when it says, "Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem and assaulted it, and the Lord gave it into his hand." Moreover, power is given to evil against us according to our sins; as it is written, "Who has given Jacob for a spoil and Israel to those who despoiled him? Has not God, against whom they have sinned and were unwilling to walk in his ways and to hear his law, even poured out on them the indignation of his fury?"”

“There is an excellent and significant illustration in the book of Kings, showing how the sin of fornication is prevented by an attack of pride. When the children of Israel had been taken captive by Neco, king of the Egyptians, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyriaans, came up and brought them back from the borders of Egypt to their own country, not indeed meaning to restore them to their former liberty and their native land, but meaning to carry them off to his own land and to transport them to a still more distant country than the land of Egypt in which they had been prisoners. And this illustration exactly applies to the case before us. For though there is less harm in yielding to the sin of pride than to fornication, yet it is more difficult to escape from the dominion of pride. For somehow or other the prisoner who is carried off to a greater distance will have more difficulty in returning to his native land and the freedom of his fathers, and the prophet's rebuke will be deservedly aimed at him: "Why have you grown old in a strange country? Indeed a man is rightly said to have grown old in a strange country, if he has not broken up the ground of his sins.”

“The church has gold, not stored up but to lay out and to spend on those who need. What necessity is there to guard what is of no good? Do we not know how much gold and silver the Assyrians took out of the temple of the Lord? Is it not much better that the priests should melt it down for the sustenance of the poor, if other supplies fail, than that of a sacrilegious enemy should carry it off and defile it? Would not the Lord say, Why did you allow so many needy to die of hunger? Surely you had gold? You should have given them sustenance. Why are so many captives brought to the slave market, and why are so many unredeemed left to be slain by the enemy? It had been better to preserve living vessels than gold ones.”

“"And he carried away all Jerusalem, etc." [2 Kings 24:14] Reporting this about Nebuchadnezzar, who carried away all Jerusalem, and all the leaders, and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, Scripture adds, saying: "And all the craftsmen and smiths." This is what was said above to have been done by the Philistines to the people of Israel when it was said: "Now no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel." For the Philistines said, "Lest the Hebrews make swords or spears" (1 Samuel 13:19). Just as then, they took care that the Hebrews, having blacksmiths, might not make arms to resist, so now the Chaldeans, having destroyed Jerusalem and laid waste the whole land of promise, make sure that no craftsman, no smith, remains in it, who either could repair the polluted walls of the city or restore the broken structures; on the contrary, whatever skill they found among the exterminated people, they transferred entirely to Babylon; so that it might either be useless or serve the interests of that city. Because this most lamentable history is so much in line with the negligence of our times, I do not think its allegory should be kept silent. It is known that Jerusalem and the land of Israel represent the city of Christ, that is, the holy Church; but Babylon and the Chaldeans or the Philistines signify the city of the devil, that is, all the multitude of either wicked men or angels. And Israel serves the Philistines or Chaldeans, when any of the faithful, nominally existing in the Church, but otherwise deceived by unclean spirits or men, submit their minds to greed, luxury, or any other sin. Nebuchadnezzar carries away Israel and all the leaders, the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, when either the teachers of the people, those who seemed to serve the Lord with an invincible spirit and to faithfully observe the Decalogue in love of God and neighbor, either suddenly, overcome by the temptations of the world or adversities, or defile themselves with greater crimes, or certainly, by deviating into heresy, incur the mark of open apostasy. But the weapons with which, resisting the devil, we defend the freedom given to us by God, what else are they but the words of the Scriptures? In which, by the examples of the Lord Himself and His saints, we learn more clearly than daylight how the wars against vices ought to be overcome. But the Philistines deprive the sons of Israel of armor smiths, just as malicious spirits obstruct the souls of the faithful from the meditation of sacred reading by inserting secular affairs, so that they neither gain confidence from this exercise in resistance for themselves, nor approach others, possibly those who cannot read, by exhorting or correcting them to resist vices. They take away the weapons smiths when they oppress those knowledgeable in the sacred words with such crimes that they are utterly ashamed to speak the good they have learned. They transfer every artisan and engraver to Babylon from Jerusalem, when they turn those who used to benefit many by various works of virtue and to fortify the city of God against the incursions of temptations away from their purpose; and compel them to use the talent, which should have been devoted to the protection of the holy Church, instead to serve the will of the king of vices. However, if we wish to understand "engraver" here not as the maker of doors or walls, but rather of gold and gems, it certainly refers to the same spiritual exposition. It is indeed said of wisdom that it is gold and a multitude of gems (Prov. 20); and therefore, we can aptly understand the engravers of these as the teachers, who, as long as they live and teach rightly, devote their art to the adornment of the holy city. But if they happen to err, what else but that they are taken captive by the Chaldean people and transferred to Babylon? And since to transfer the artisan and the engraver from Jerusalem to Babylon is to bury the talent of the word received from heaven in the earth, that is, to convert spiritual knowledge to the works of sins. I beg you, reader, if I have said anything pleasing to you in these little explanations, refer it to the praise of the God who gives. But if otherwise, may you grant forgiveness to my ignorance or presumption, so that you yourself, with all whom you can, apply to frequent meditation, continuous observance, fitting preaching of divine Scriptures; and let us strive with communal effort, so that we may be found faithful traders of the Lord's money, artisans and engravers of spiritual gems or walls, defenders of the holy city, and artificers of heavenly weapons; that on His return from the wedding, the supreme Householder may deign to say to us: "Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many; enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. 25). Amen.”

“And of the way in which, as we said, the sin of fornication is prevented by an attack of vainglory, there is an excellent and significant figure in the book of Kings, where, when the children of Israel had been taken captive by Necho, King of Egypt, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria, came up and brought them back from the borders of Egypt to their own country, not indeed meaning to restore them to their former liberty and their native land, but meaning to carry them off to his own land and to transport them to a still more distant country than the land of Egypt in which they had been prisoners. And this illustration exactly applies to the case before us. For though there is less harm in yielding to the sin of vainglory than to fornication, yet it is more difficult to escape from the dominion of vainglory. For somehow or other the prisoner who is carried off to a greater distance, will have more difficulty in returning to his native land and the freedom of his fathers, and the prophet's rebuke will be deservedly aimed at him: "Wherefore art thou grown old in a strange country?" since a man is rightly said to have grown old in a strange country, if he has not broken up the fount of his faults.”