Letters & Polemics (CSEL) 64 part 4/15

the sun shall not go down upon it, because he is poor, and in it he has his hope, and let him not cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin in you. Again in Proverbs: Do not be violent toward the poor: for he is needy. Again in Ecclesiasticus: Do not harm the servant who works in truth, nor the hired laborer who gives his life. Again there: He who offers a sacrifice from the substance of the poor is like one who slays the son in the sight of his father. The bread of the needy is the life of the poor: he who defrauds him of it is a man of blood. He who takes away the bread earned by sweat is like one who slays his neighbor, and he who defrauds the hired man of his wage. Again in Tobit:

Wherefore you also, my son, love your brethren, and do not act with a proud heart toward the daughters of the daughters of your people: nor take any of them into servitude by reason of their poverty and need: for in pride abounds ruin and unfaithfulness, nor does he stand firm whose foothold is fixed upon boards: for the fruit of fraud is the tarnishing and diminishing of life: and in a time of distress the grasping after trifles is the mother of all wickedness: and the profit of shameful gain in famine is the acquiring of eternal fire. And avoiding these things, render his wage to every man who labors with you on the day of his work. 14. THAT THE WEAK MUST NOT BE HARMED. In Leviticus: You shall not curse the deaf, and before the blind you shall not set a stumbling-block.

and you shall fear the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God. Again in Deuteronomy: Cursed be he who leads the blind astray on the way. And all the people shall say: Amen, amen. Cursed be he who strikes his neighbor by deceit. And all the people shall say: Amen, amen. Cursed be he who takes gifts to strike down a life of innocent blood. And all the people shall say: Amen, amen. Again in Proverbs: He who hardens his ears that he may not hear the weak, he too shall call upon the Lord, and there shall be none to hear him. Again there: Do not be violent toward the poor: for he is needy. And do no insult to the weak in the gates: for the Lord judges his cause, and you shall deliver your own innocent soul. Again in Job:

Let not the desire of your soul turn you away from the prayers of the weak, when they are in need. 15. THAT ONE MUST NOT WALK IN DECEIT OR HYPOCRISY. In Leviticus: You shall not walk deceitfully among your people, you shall not lay an ambush against the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord your God. You shall not speak feignedly with your brother or your sister, but you shall speak from the heart, and there shall be no sin in you: for I am the Lord your God. You shall not hate your brother in your heart: reproving you shall reprove your neighbor, and you shall not incur sin on his account: and your hand shall not take vengeance, and you shall not be angry with the children of your people, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord your God. Keep my law.

You shall not consent with those who slander against your neighbor, and you shall not incur sin through them. You shall not let your cattle breed with a diverse kind, and in your vineyard you shall not sow so as to have a double crop, and a garment of double texture, which is accursed, you shall not put upon yourself. Again in Ecclesiasticus: Do not be unbelieving toward the fear of the Lord, and do not approach him with a double heart. Do not be a hypocrite in the sight of men, and do not cause offense with your lips. Take heed in these matters, lest perhaps you fall and bring confusion upon your soul, and God lay bare your hidden things, and cast you down in the midst of the assembly: because you approached the Lord with malice, and your heart is full of guile and deceit. Again there:

Woe to the double heart and to wicked lips, and to the sinner who walks along two ways! Again there: A heart that enters upon two ways shall not have success: and one perverse of heart shall stumble in them. Again there: He who casts a stone on high, it shall fall upon himself: and the blow of the deceitful shall deal out wounds: and he who digs a pit shall fall into it: and he who sets a snare for his neighbor shall perish in it: upon the one who does the most wicked deed it shall roll back, and he shall not know whence it comes to him. Again in Job: Dissemblers and the crafty provoke the wrath of God. Again in the prophet Jeremiah: Their tongue is a wounding iron, the deceitful words of their mouth: they speak peaceful things to their neighbor, but among themselves they harbor enmity.

Shall I not visit them for these things, says the Lord, or shall my soul not take vengeance on such a people? Again in Solomon: The words of the crafty are smooth, but they smite the inward parts of the bowels. Again the Apostle in Second Corinthians: But we, beholding with unveiled face the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord. And therefore, having this ministry, according as we have obtained mercy, we do not faint, but we renounce the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every conscience of men before God. Again there: For we provide good things not only before God, but also before men.

Again there: Look at the things that are before your face. Again in the Gospel according to Matthew: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves: by their fruits therefore you shall know them. 16. THAT EVIL MUST NOT BE RENDERED FOR EVIL. In Exodus: If you meet your enemy's ox or his beast of burden going astray, you shall bring it back and return it to him. And if you see the beast of your enemy fallen under its burden, you shall not pass it by, but rather you shall help him raise it up along with him. Again in Proverbs: If your enemy fall, do not rejoice, and do not exalt yourself over his overthrow, lest perhaps the Lord see it and it not please him, and he turn away his anger from him. Again there: If your enemy is hungry, feed him:

if he is thirsty, give him drink. For in doing this you heap coals of fire upon his head. And the Lord will reward you. Again in Ecclesiasticus: He who takes vengeance shall find vengeance from the Lord, who will surely keep account of his sins. Forgive your neighbor who has harmed you, and then when you pray, your sins shall be loosed. One man keeps anger against another, and does he seek healing from God? He has no mercy on a man like himself, and does he entreat for his own sins? He, being but flesh, keeps his wrath, and does he ask propitiation from God? Who shall make expiation for his offenses? Remember your last end, and cease from enmity. Remember the fear of God, and be not angry with your neighbor. Remember the covenant of the Most High, and overlook the ignorance of your neighbor.

Abstain from strife, and you shall sin the less. Again in the prophet Isaiah: Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his name: say to those who hate you and abhor you: You are our brethren, that the name of the Lord may be magnified and appear to them in their gladness, and they shall be confounded. Again in the Gospel according to Matthew: Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you: bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you: that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven, who commands his sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and rains upon the just and the unjust. Again the Apostle to the Romans: Be not wise in your own conceits: rendering to no one evil for evil:

providing good things not only before God, but also before men, if it be possible, as much as lies in you, having peace with all men, not avenging yourselves, dearly beloved, but give place to wrath. For it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, feed him: if he is thirsty, give him drink. For in doing this you heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Again the Apostle Peter in his First Epistle: Wherefore be all of one mind, of one soul, compassionate, lovers of the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble, not rendering evil for evil or curse for curse: but on the contrary, blessing: that you may possess the blessing by inheritance.

Again in the Acts of the Apostles: And they stoned Stephen, who called upon the Lord and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And kneeling down he cried out with a loud voice, saying: Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge. 17. THAT ONE MUST FORGIVE A BROTHER WHAT HE HAS DONE AGAINST A BROTHER. In Genesis: But when the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said: Perhaps Joseph may remember our malice and repay us all the evils which we did to him. And they came to Joseph, saying: Your father charged us before he died, saying: Say to Joseph: Forgive them the iniquity and the sin, for they showed you malice. And now forgive the iniquity of the servants of your father's God. And Joseph wept as they spoke to him.

And coming to him they said: Behold, we are your servants. And Joseph said to them: Do not fear: for I am God's. You thought evil against me, but God turned it into good, that it might come to pass as it is today, that a great people might be nourished. And he said to them: Do not fear, I will nourish you and your households. And he comforted them, and spoke to their heart. Again in the Gospel according to Matthew: Peter came to Jesus and said to him: Lord, if my brother sin against me, how often shall I forgive him? Up to seven times? He said to him: I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Again there: Wicked servant, I forgave you all the debt because you besought me:

ought you not also to have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you? And his lord, being angry, delivered him to the torturers, until he should repay the debt. So also shall my Father who is in heaven do to you, if you do not each forgive his brother from your hearts. Again according to Luke: Take heed to yourselves: if your brother sin, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sin against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn back to you saying, I repent, forgive him. Again according to Mark: And when you stand to pray, forgive if you have anything against anyone, that your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins.

But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father, who is in heaven, forgive you your sins. Again the Apostle to the Colossians: Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, gentleness, justice, patience: bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also. 18. ON GUARDING AGAINST THE SEDUCTION OF THE WICKED. In Exodus: You shall not accept a vain report: you shall not consent with the unjust to become an unjust witness: you shall not be with the many in malice: you shall not join with the multitude to turn aside with the many, that you be led astray. Again in Psalm 1:

Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the wicked, and has not stood in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the seat of pestilence: but his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night. Again in Psalm 25: I have not sat in the assembly of vanity, and with those who do iniquity I will not enter in. I have hated the congregation of the malignant, and with the wicked I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent, and I will go about your altar, O Lord. Again in Proverbs: My son, let not wicked men seduce you, nor be willing, if they should entreat you, saying: Come, share with us in blood, let us unjustly hide a just man in the earth: let us swallow him up alive like hell, and take away his memory from the earth:

and let us possess their precious substance. Again there: My son, do not go on the way with them, turn aside your foot from their paths. For not unjustly are nets spread for the birds. For they themselves who are partners in murder gather evils for themselves, and the overthrow of unjust men is evil. Again there: Do not rejoice over evildoers, nor envy sinners: for they shall not be. The offspring of the wicked, and the light of the ungodly shall be extinguished. Again in Ecclesiasticus: Keep far off from a man who has power to kill, and you shall not suspect a fear of death. And if you draw near, commit no fault, lest he take away your life: know that you walk in the midst of snares, and stand upon the battlements of grieving men. According to your ability beware of your neighbor, and treat with the wise and prudent. Again in Tobit:

See, my son, that you do not follow the path of the unjust, and let not the multitude of sinners persuade you: for their wages are confusion, their end is death. But you, if you have done truth, God's regard shall be upon your works, and with all who do justice you shall inherit eternal life. 19. ON HONORING PRIESTS OR MINISTERS. In Exodus: You shall not curse the prince of your people. Again in Leviticus: You shall rise up before the face of one who has grey hair, and you shall honor the face of the elder: and you shall fear the Lord your God. I am the Lord your God. Again in Deuteronomy:

And any man whosoever shall act in pride, so as not to hearken to the priest who stands to minister in the name of the Lord your God, or to the judges who shall be in those days, that man shall die. Again in Ecclesiasticus: Make yourself affable to the assembly of the poor, and humble your soul before the elder, and bow your head before a great man. Again there: With your whole soul fear the Lord, and reverence his priests. With all your strength love him who made you, and forsake not his ministers. Honor God with your whole soul, and honor the priests. Again there: Do not despise the discourse of the wise elders, and be conversant in their proverbs: for from them you shall learn the doctrine of understanding, and to serve a great man without complaint.

Let not the discourse of the elders pass you by, for they too learned from their fathers. Again the Apostle to Timothy, First Epistle: Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and in doctrine. 20. ON HONORING PARENTS. In Exodus: Honor your father and your mother, that it may be well with you and that you may be long-lived upon the good land which the Lord your God will give you. Again in Leviticus: Let everyone fear his father and his mother. Again in Tobit: Show honor to your mother, and do not forsake her, but console her all the days of your life, and do not grieve her spirit even in the least: but do what pleases her. And remember, my son, how many perils she saw when she bore you:

nine months she carried you in her womb: and do not forget the groans of her travail, for except through her you would not have been. And therefore honor her in her lifetime. Again in Ecclesiasticus: He who honors his father shall live a longer life, and he who obeys his father refreshes his mother. And as to masters, so let him serve those who begot him, in deed and in word and in all patience: and his blessing shall remain unto the end. Again there: My son, support the old age of your father, and do not grieve him in his life: and if his understanding fail, have patience with him, and do not despise him in your strength: for the kindness done to a father shall not be forgotten.

and justice shall be built up for thee, and in the day of tribulation it shall be remembered for thee; and as fair weather upon ice, so shall thy sins be dissolved. Likewise there: Honour thy father, and forget not the groanings of thy mother; for hadst thou not been born through them? And now thou shalt requite them as they have done for thee. Be mindful of thy mother and thy father, for thou shalt sit in the midst of great men. Likewise the Apostle to the Colossians: Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to God. XXI. CONCERNING PROUD SONS. In Exodus: He that striketh his father or his mother shall be put to death; and he that curseth his father or his mother shall be put to death. Likewise in Deuteronomy:

Cursed is the man who does not honour his father or his mother; and let all the people say: So be it, so be it. Likewise in Proverbs: For a deceitful son there shall be nothing good. Likewise there: Cursed is the man who does not honour his father or his mother; and all the people said: So be it, so be it. In Proverbs: A wise son gladdens his father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Likewise: The son who forsakes his father and drives away his mother shall be put to shame and shall live in disgrace; the son who neglects to keep his father's discipline shall brood upon words of malice. Likewise there: For him who curses father or mother the light shall be quenched, and the pupils of his eyes shall see darkness. Likewise there:

An evil son curses his father and does not bless his mother. An evil son judges himself righteous, yet does not wash away his own end. An evil son has haughty eyes and is lifted up in his eyelids. An evil son has teeth like swords and molars like knives, so that he devours the lowly of the earth and the needy from among men. Likewise there: The eye that mocks its father and scorns the old age of its mother — let the ravens of the valleys dig it out and the young eagles devour it. Likewise there: A wise son keeps the law, but he who feeds on riotous living dishonours his father. Likewise there: He who drives away his father or his mother, and thinks he does not sin, is the companion of an ungodly man. Likewise there:

A father's blessing builds up the houses of his children, but a mother's curse tears up the foundations. XXII. THAT TREASURES DO NOT PROFIT THE WICKED. In Proverbs: Treasures shall not profit the wicked, but righteousness delivers from death. Likewise there: Riches shall not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Likewise there: He who trusts in riches shall fall, but he who helps the righteous shall flourish. Likewise there: Better is a little portion with the fear of the Lord than great treasures without fear. Likewise there: Better is a small acquisition with righteousness than much produce with iniquity. Likewise there: A good name is better than great riches, and above silver and gold is a good favour. Likewise there:

The rich and the poor have met one another; the Lord made them both. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: Do not fix your attention on unjust possessions, and do not say: I have a life sufficient for me; for it shall profit nothing in the time of vengeance and calamity. Likewise there: Nothing is more wicked than to love money, for such men even put their own soul up for sale; because in his life he has cast away his inmost being. Likewise there: To a covetous, grasping man wealth is no good; and to an envious man, what is gold for? There is one who grows rich by acting sparingly, and this is the portion of his reward, when he says: I have found rest for myself; I shall eat of my goods alone. And he does not know that the time will pass, and he shall leave all things to others. Likewise there: He who heaps up much, that his wealth may lie in unjust riches:

for the unjust shall lose them entirely. Likewise: Nothing is more wicked than to love money. In Proverbs: He who unjustly heaps up much out of his own greed gathers for others, and another shall revel in his goods. Likewise there: He who loves gold shall not be justified, and he who pursues many things shall be led astray by them. Many have been given over to the ruin of gold, and destruction has come to be before their face. Likewise there: Gold is a stumbling-block: woe to those who chase after it! And every fool shall perish by it; for gold has led many astray, and those who set their hope in it have fallen. Likewise there: He who loves money shall not be satisfied with money. Likewise in Ecclesiastes:

There is a calamity which I have seen under the sun: riches kept by their owner to his own hurt, so that they are with him for his own destruction — as he came, so he shall receive nothing from his labour to carry away in his hand as he departs. I said: better than this man is a stillbirth — there is more rest for the one than for the other. Likewise in the prophet Isaiah: As those who hunger in their dreams and eat, and when they rise the dream is empty, and as one who dreams that he thirsts, as though he drank, and rising he still thirsts — so is the soul that acts unjustly and gathers for others. Likewise: Gold is a stumbling-block: woe to those who chase after it. Likewise: He who loves money shall not be satisfied with money. In Isaiah: As his labour is in vain, so shall be the riches of all the nations.

Likewise in the prophet Jeremiah: Those who hoard silver and gold, in which men trusted, and there was no end to their substance — they were destroyed and went down to hell, and others rose up in their place. But they did not understand the way of the Lord, nor did they remember his paths. Likewise in the prophet Hosea: He shall possess money to his own destruction; their honours come from usury and from griefs. Likewise in the prophet Amos: Hear therefore this, you who oppress the poor in the morning and do violence to the needy of the land, saying: Let us open our storehouses, and make the measure smaller and enlarge the weight, and make the balance false, that we may buy the poor for money and the needy for a pair of shoes. Likewise in the prophet Zephaniah:

All who exalt themselves in silver and gold shall perish. Likewise in the prophet Habakkuk: Woe to him who gains evil covetousness for his house! You have devised confusion for your house; your soul has sinned. Likewise in the prophet Zephaniah: And I will pour out their blood like mire, and their flesh like the dung of oxen; and their silver and gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath. Likewise in the prophet Ezekiel: Silver and gold shall be cast into the streets, and their gold shall be destroyed; their souls shall not be satisfied, and their bellies shall not be filled, because it has become the torment of their iniquities. They set their choice ornaments in pride, and made images of their abominations out of them. Likewise in the prophet Jeremiah:

Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, nor the strong man glory in his strength; but let him who glories glory in this, that he knows and understands the Lord, and does righteousness and justice, judgement in the midst of the earth. Likewise in Psalm 38: Though man walks in the image of God, yet he is troubled in vain; he heaps up treasure and does not know for whom he gathers it. Likewise in Psalm 48: Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, and when the glory of his house is multiplied; for when he dies he shall carry away nothing, nor shall the glory of his house go down with him. Likewise in Psalm 51: Behold the man who did not make God his helper, but hoped in the multitude of his riches and prevailed in his vanity.

Likewise in Psalm 61: Do not hope in iniquity, and do not covet robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart upon them. Likewise in the Gospel according to Matthew: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Likewise Paul the apostle to Timothy, first letter: Charge the rich of this world not to be proud in mind, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in the living God, who gives us all things richly to enjoy, for the doing of good works.

Let them do good, be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, laying up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold of true life. Likewise James the apostle: Come now, you rich, weep and howl over your miseries which are coming upon your riches: your garments have rotted and become moth-eaten; your gold and silver, which you have laid up in the last days, have rusted, and their rust shall be a testimony against you and shall eat your flesh like fire. XXIII. ON REPENTANCE. In the third book of Kingdoms: For you alone, O Lord, are he who with your right hand raises up your people Israel when they fall before their enemies.

For if they sin against you, and turn again and confess to your name, and pray and make supplication in this house, then you will hear from heaven and be merciful to the sins of your people Israel. Likewise there: And if the enemy has humbled any one of their cities, you will be present to your people in every difficulty and will assuage every grief; for you, O Lord, are ready for every prayer and supplication, so that if a man turns and each one acknowledges the guilt of his own heart, then, as soon as he spreads out his hands toward this house, you will hear from your prepared dwelling-place and be merciful, and will do justice according to all the ways of those who entreat you, and according to what you know of the heart of man:

for you alone know the hearts of the children of men, that they may fear you all the days that they live upon the earth. Likewise in Psalm 31: I have made my offence known to you, and I have not hidden my iniquity. I said: I will confess my iniquity against myself to my Lord; and you forgave the ungodliness of my heart. Likewise in Psalm 24: Do not remember the offences of my youth and my ignorance; for your name's sake, O Lord, you will be merciful to my sin, for it is great. Likewise in Psalm 50: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God will not despise. Likewise in Ecclesiasticus: For the Lord is gracious and merciful, and will forgive sins in the day of tribulation to all who seek him in truth. Likewise there:

If we do not repent, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord; but according to his greatness, so also is his mercy with him. Likewise there: He who loves the Lord will entreat for his sins and will restrain himself. In Psalm 31: I have made my offence known to you. In Psalm 50: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit. In Ecclesiasticus: If we do not repent — he will restrain himself from them, and in the prayer of days he shall be heard. Likewise there: To the penitent he has given the way of righteousness, and has strengthened those who were failing to endure, and has appointed for them the lot of truth. Turn to the Lord and forsake your sins, and greatly hate abomination. Know the righteous acts and judgements of the Lord. Stand fast in the lot appointed and in the prayer of the Most High.