Homilies on First Corinthians

So, since he had carefully told them all about the excellence of love, he now urges them to pursue it eagerly. Therefore he also said, "Follow after." For a person who is chasing something looks only at what is being chased. He stretches himself toward it and does not stop until he takes hold of it. When a pursuer cannot catch it by himself, he catches up to the one fleeing by means of those ahead of him. He urgently begs those who are near to seize it and hold it for him until he arrives. Let us do this too. When we cannot reach love by ourselves, let us ask those who are near her to hold her until we catch up with her. And when we have taken hold of her, let us not let her go again, so that she may not escape us once more. For she is always springing away from us, because we do not use her as we should, but put all things before her. Therefore we ought to make every effort to keep hold of her completely. For if this is done, we will not need much labor from now on, or rather hardly any at all. Instead, as we take our ease and keep holiday, we will go forward on the narrow path of virtue. Therefore he says, "Follow after her."

Then, so that they might not think he brought up the teaching about love for no other reason than to put an end to the gifts, he adds the following:

But earnestly desire spiritual gifts, and especially that you may prophesy.

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people, but to God. For no one understands him; yet in the Spirit he speaks mysteries.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their building up, encouragement, and comfort.

At this point, he compares the gifts and puts the gift of tongues lower than the others. He shows that it is not completely useless, but it is also not very profitable by itself. In fact, they were very puffed up because of this gift, since it was considered a great one. And it was thought to be great because the Apostles received it first, and in such a striking way. However, that did not mean it should be valued above all the other gifts. Why then did the Apostles receive it before the rest? Because they were going to go out everywhere. And just as, at the time of building the tower, one language was divided into many, so then many languages often came together in one man. The same person used to speak in Persian, Roman, Indian, and many other languages, with the Spirit sounding within him. And this gift was called the gift of tongues because he could speak many languages all at once. See, then, how he both lowers it and lifts it up. By saying, "He that speaks with tongues speaks not to men, but to God, for no man understands," he lowered it, showing that its profit was not great. But by adding, "but in the Spirit he speaks mysteries," he raised it again, so that it would not seem to be unnecessary, useless, or given for nothing.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their building up, encouragement, and comfort.

Do you see how he shows the excellent nature of this gift? That is, by its benefit to everyone. And do you see how, everywhere, he gives greater honor to what helps many people? For do not those who speak in tongues also speak to people? Tell me. But they do not bring as much strengthening, encouragement, and comfort. So being empowered by the Spirit is common to both the one who prophesies and the one who speaks with tongues. But in this matter, the one who prophesies has the advantage, because he is also useful to the hearers. For those who spoke with tongues were not understood by those who did not have the gift.

What then? Did they build up no one? Yes, he says, only themselves. Therefore he also adds,

The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself.

And how can he do that if he does not know what he is saying? For now, he is speaking about those who understand what they say—they understand it themselves, but do not know how to express it to others.

But the one who prophesies builds up the Church. Now the difference between these two gifts is as great as the difference between one person and the whole Church. Do you see his wisdom? He does not cast out the gift or treat it as nothing. Instead, he shows that it has some benefit, small as it is, and enough only for the one who has it.

Next, so that they would not think he was putting down the gift of tongues out of envy toward them, since most of them had this gift, he says this to correct their suspicion.

I want all of you to speak in tongues, but even more, I want you to prophesy. For the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the Church may be built up.

But the words "rather" and "greater" do not show opposition. They show superiority. So from this also it is clear that he is not putting down the gift. Instead, he is leading them to better things. He is showing both his care for them and a spirit completely free from envy. For he did not say, "I wish that two or three of you spoke with tongues," but, "that all of you spoke with tongues." And not only this, but also, "that you prophesied"; and he prefers this more than that, for greater is the one who prophesies. Since he has established and proved this, he next goes on to state it plainly, though not without a qualification. So he adds, "except he interpret." For if he is able to do this, I mean the interpreting, he has become equal to the prophet, so he says, because then many receive the benefit from it. This is something that should be especially noticed: all through this passage, before everything else, this is his aim.

But now, brothers, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, unless I speak to you either by way of revelation, or of knowledge, or of prophesying, or of teaching?

And why, he says, should I speak about the others? No, let the one who speaks in tongues be Paul himself. Even then, no good will come to the hearers. He says these things to show that he is seeking their benefit, not holding any grudge against those who have the gift. For he does not hesitate to point out its lack of usefulness even in his own case. In fact, it is his usual way to handle unpleasant matters by speaking about himself. As he said at the beginning of the Epistle, "Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? And who is Cephas?" So he does the same thing here also, saying, "Not even I will profit you, unless I speak to you either by revelation, or by prophesying, or by knowledge, or by teaching." What he means is this: if I do not say something that you can understand and that is clear, but only put on a display of having the gift of tongues—tongues that you do not understand—you will leave without any profit at all. For how could you profit from a voice that you do not understand?

Even lifeless things that give a sound, whether a pipe or a harp, if they do not make a distinction in the notes, how will it be known what is being played?

"And why do I say," he says, "that in our case this is unhelpful, and that only what is clear and easy for the hearers to understand is useful? Since even in lifeless musical instruments, one may see this. Whether it is a pipe or a harp, if it is played or blown in a confused and unskillful way, without proper rhythm or harmony, it will delight none of the hearers. For even in these sounds without words, there needs to be some clearness. And if you do not strike the harp or blow into the pipe skillfully, you have accomplished nothing. Now if we require so much clearness, harmony, and fitness from lifeless things, and if we work and strive to put so much meaning into those wordless sounds, much more should a person make meaningfulness his aim in human beings who have life and reason, and in spiritual gifts."

For if the trumpet gives an uncertain sound, who will get ready for war?

So he moves from things that are only for ornament to things that are more necessary and useful. He says that this same effect can be seen not only in the harp, but also in the trumpet. For the trumpet also has certain patterns of sound. At one time it gives a note for war, and at another a different note. Sometimes it calls men out to the battle line, and at other times it calls them back from it. And if someone does not know this, there is great danger. This is exactly what he means, and this is the harm he is showing, when he says, "Who shall prepare himself for war?" So then, if it does not have this quality, it brings ruin to everything. "And what is this to us?" someone says. Truly, it concerns you very much. Therefore he also adds,

In the same way, unless you speak with your tongue in words that are easy to understand, you will be speaking into the air. That is, you will be calling to nobody and speaking to no one. So everywhere he shows that it is unprofitable.

But if it is unprofitable, someone says, why was it given? It was given so that it might be useful to the one who received it. But if it is also to be useful to others, interpretation must be added. He says this to bring them closer to one another, so that if a person does not himself have the gift of interpretation, he may take someone else who does have it and make his own gift useful through that person. Therefore he points out its imperfection everywhere, so that he may bind them together. In any case, the person who thinks it is enough by itself does not praise it so much as he dishonors it, because he does not allow it to shine clearly through interpretation. For the gift is excellent and necessary indeed, but it is so when it has someone to explain what is spoken. The finger too is a necessary thing, but when you separate it from the other members, it is not equally useful. And the trumpet is necessary, but when it sounds without order, it is more an annoyance. Yes, no skill can be made known without material placed under it, nor is material shaped if no form is given to it. Suppose, then, that the voice is like the material, and the clear meaning is like the form. If that is not present, the material will be of no use.

There may be many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without meaning. That is, there are many languages and many forms of speech: those of Scythians, Thracians, Romans, Persians, Moors, Indians, Egyptians, and countless other nations.

If then I do not know the meaning of the voice, I will be a barbarian to the one speaking. For suppose not, he says, that this happens only in our case. Rather, one may see this happening among all. So I do not say this to disparage the voice, but to show that it is useless to me as long as it is not understood. Next, so that he may not make the accusation unpleasant, he makes the charge the same for both, saying, "He will be to me a barbarian, and I to him." This comes not from the nature of the voice, but from our ignorance. Do you see how little by little he draws people to what is related to the subject? This is his usual way: to bring in examples from far away, and to end with what more properly belongs to the matter. For after speaking of a pipe and harp, in which there is much that is inferior and unprofitable, he comes to the trumpet, which is more useful. Next, from that he goes on to the very voice itself. In the same way before, when he was speaking to show that it was not forbidden for the Apostles to receive, he began first with farmers, shepherds, and soldiers. Then he brought the discussion to what was nearer to the subject, the priests in the old covenant.

But please consider how, everywhere, he has been careful to keep the gift from being blamed, and to turn the charge back on those who receive it. For he did not say, "I shall be a barbarian," but, "to the one who speaks, I am a barbarian." Again, he did not say, "the one who speaks shall be a barbarian," but, "the one who speaks shall be a barbarian to me."

5. “What then must be done?” he says. Why, far from speaking badly of it, a person ought to recommend it and teach it, as he himself also does. For after he had accused it and rebuked it and showed that it was unprofitable, he goes on to advise them, saying,

In the same way, since you are eager for spiritual gifts, try to have more of them so that the church may be built up.

Do you see his purpose everywhere? In every case, he keeps looking to one thing: the good of all, and the benefit of the Church. He lays this down as a kind of rule. And he did not say, "so that you may receive the gifts," but, "so that you may abound," that is, so that you may possess them in great fullness. So far am I from wanting you not to have them, that I even want you to abound in them, but only so that you use them for the common good. And how is this to be done? He adds this when he says,

Therefore, let the one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret.

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind does not produce any fruit.

What is it, then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with understanding.

Here he shows that it is in their power to receive the gift. For, "let him pray," he says. That is, let him do his own part, since if you ask earnestly, you will certainly receive. So ask not only to have the gift of tongues, but also the gift of interpretation, so that you may be useful to everyone and not keep your gift shut up in yourself alone. For, he says, "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful." Do you see how, step by step, as he brings his argument to its point, he shows that such a person is useless not only to others, but also to himself, if his understanding is unfruitful? For if a man speaks only in Persian, or in any other foreign language, and does not understand what he is saying, then of course he will from now on be a barbarian even to himself, and not only to another, because he does not know the meaning of the sound. For in former times there were many who also had a gift of prayer along with a tongue. They prayed, and the tongue spoke, praying either in the Persian or Latin language, but their understanding did not know what was being said. Therefore he also said, "If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays," that is, the gift given to me, which moves my tongue; "but my understanding is unfruitful."

What, then, is the thing that is best in itself and that does good? And how should a person act, or what should he ask from God? He should pray both with the spirit, that is, with the gift, and with the understanding. That is why he also said, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also."

Here too he means the same thing: the tongue may speak, but the mind should not be ignorant of what is being said. For if this is not so, there will be another kind of confusion as well.

Otherwise, he says, if you give a blessing with the spirit, how will the person who fills the place of the unlearned say the Amen at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying?

For you truly give thanks well, but the other person is not built up.

Notice how, here again, he tests his stone against the plumb line, always seeking the building up of the Church. By “the unlearned,” he means the laypeople. He shows that the layman also suffers no small loss when he is unable to say the Amen. What he means is this: if you give a blessing in a foreign tongue, not knowing what you are saying and not able to interpret it, the layman cannot answer, “Amen.” Since he does not hear the words, “forever and ever,” which come at the end, he does not say the Amen. Then, to comfort the speaker, so that he might not seem to think too little of the gift, he says the same kind of thing he said above: that he speaks mysteries, and speaks to God, and builds up himself, and prays with the spirit. He means these things to give no small comfort. So he says here, “For you indeed give thanks well,” since you are speaking as one moved by the Spirit. But the other person hears nothing and does not know what is being said, and so stands there receiving no great benefit from it.

Further, because he had spoken against those who had this gift, as if they did not have something so great, he did not want to seem to be looking down on them because he himself lacked it. So see what he says:

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you.

He does the same thing in another place. He means to take away the advantages of Judaism and to show that from now on they are nothing. So he begins by saying that he himself had these advantages, yes, and to a very great degree. Then he calls them a loss, saying, "If any man thinks he has confidence in the flesh, I more: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting the Church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless." Philippians 3:4-7 Then, after showing that he had more advantage than them all, he says, "However, what things were gain to me, those I have counted loss for Christ." In the same way he does here also, saying, "I speak with tongues more than you all." Therefore do not boast as if only you had the gift. For I also have it, yes, more than you.

However, in the church I would rather speak five words that I understand, so that I might also teach others.

What does this mean: "to speak with my understanding, so that I may also instruct others"? It means understanding what I say, and using words that I can both explain to others and speak intelligently, so that I may teach the hearers. This is better than ten thousand words in a tongue. Why? "That I may instruct others," he says. For the one has only display, but the other has great usefulness. This is what he seeks everywhere, I mean the common good. And yet the gift of tongues was unusual, while prophecy was familiar and ancient, and had before now been given to many. This gift, on the other hand, was first given then. However, he did not care much for it. Therefore he did not use it, not because he did not have it, but because he always sought the things that were more profitable. For he was free from all vain glory, and considered only one thing: how he might make the hearers better.

And this is the reason he was able to see what was helpful, both for himself and for others: he was free from vanity. For anyone who is truly enslaved by it, far from seeing what is good for others, will not even know his own good.

Such was Simon. Because he was looking for vain glory, he did not even see what was for his own good. The Jews were the same. Because of this, they handed over their own salvation to the devil. From this also idols arose. By this same madness, the pagan philosophers stirred themselves up and were wrecked in their false teachings. Notice also how twisted this passion is. Because of it, some of them made themselves poor, while others were eager to be rich. Its tyranny is so strong that it rules even over complete opposites. One man is vain about chastity, and another, on the contrary, about adultery. One is vain about justice, and another about injustice. The same is true of luxury and fasting, modesty and recklessness, riches and poverty. Yes, I say poverty. Some of those outside the faith, even when it was in their power to receive, refused to receive for the sake of admiration. But the Apostles were not like that. They showed by what they did that they were free from vainglory. When some people were calling them gods and were ready to offer sacrifice to them with oxen and garlands, they did not simply forbid what was being done. They even tore their clothes. Acts 14:13-14. And after they had made the lame man stand upright, when everyone was staring at them in amazement, they said, "Why do you look so earnestly at us, as though by our own power we had made this man walk?" Those others lived among people who admired poverty, and so they chose a life of poverty for themselves. But the Apostles lived among people who despised poverty and praised wealth. And if the Apostles received anything, they used it to serve those in need. So then, not vain glory but kindness was the reason for everything they did. But those others were exactly the opposite. They did such things only as enemies and plagues of our common human nature. So one man sank all his goods into the sea for no good reason, imitating fools and madmen. Another turned all his land into common pasture for sheep. In this way they did everything for vain glory. But the Apostles were not like that. Instead, they both received what was given to them and distributed it to the needy with such great generosity that they themselves lived in constant hunger. But if they had been in love with glory, they would not have done this, receiving and distributing, because they would have feared that suspicion might arise against them. For a man who throws away his own possessions for glory will refuse even more to receive the things of others, so that he may not be thought to need others or come under suspicion. But as you see, these men were both serving the poor and begging on their behalf. So truly were they more loving than any fathers.

9. Notice also how balanced their rules were, and how free they were from all empty pride. For he says, "If we have food and clothing, let us be content with these," in 1 Timothy 6:8. It was not like the man from Sinope, who dressed in rags and lived in a barrel for no good reason. He amazed many people, but helped no one. Paul did none of these things, because he was not aiming at show. Instead, he wore ordinary clothes in a proper way, lived continually in a house, and showed the highest care in practicing every other virtue. The Cynic despised these things, lived in impurity, publicly disgraced himself, and was carried away by his mad desire for glory. For if anyone asks why he lived in a barrel, he will find no other reason than empty pride alone. But Paul even paid rent for the house where he stayed in Rome. Yet he who was able to do things much harder could certainly have endured this also. But he was not looking for glory, that savage monster, that fearful demon, that plague of the world, that poisonous viper. For just as that animal tears through its mother's womb with its teeth, so this passion also tears to pieces the person who gives birth to it.

10. Then how can a person find a remedy for this many-sided sickness? By bringing forward those who have trampled it underfoot, and by ordering his own life while looking at their example. Abraham the patriarch did this. No one should accuse me of repeating myself if I mention him often and in every situation. This is exactly what shows how remarkable he was, and it leaves those who refuse to imitate him with no excuse. For if we point to one person doing well in this matter, and another in that matter, someone might say that virtue is hard to reach. He might say that it is scarcely possible to succeed in all these things together, when each of the saints has done only one part. But when one and the same person is found to have them all, what excuse will they have? They live after the law and grace, yet they are not able to reach the same measure as those who lived before the law and grace. How then did this patriarch overcome and subdue this monster when he had a dispute with his nephew? Genesis 13:8 In that case, he came off worse and lost the first share, yet he was not upset. But you know that in such matters, for ordinary people, the shame is worse than the loss, especially when a person has everything in his own power, as Abraham did then, and when he was the first to show honor but was not honored in return. Nevertheless, none of these things upset him. He was content to take second place. And when he was wronged by the young man, though he himself was old, and by a nephew though he was an uncle, he was not offended or resentful, but loved him just the same and served him. Again, after he had won that great and terrible battle and had powerfully put the barbarians to flight, Genesis 14 he did not add display to his victory or set up a trophy. He wanted only to save, not to put himself on display. Again, he welcomed strangers, yet he did not do this for vainglory. Instead, he himself ran to them and bowed down to them, acting not as if he were giving a benefit, but receiving one. He called them lords without knowing who had come to him, and he placed his wife in the position of a servant. Genesis 18 And earlier in Egypt, when he had appeared such an extraordinary man, and had received back this same woman, his wife, and had enjoyed such great honor, Genesis 12 he told no one about it. And though the people of that place called him a prince, he himself even paid the price for the tomb. Genesis 23:6 And when he sent to arrange a wife for his son, he gave no order to speak about him in proud and impressive terms, Genesis 24 but only to bring the bride.

11. Will you also examine the behavior of those under grace, when the glory of the teaching was flowing around them from every side? Then you will see that this passion was cast out there also. Think, please, about this same Apostle who says these things. See how he always gives the whole credit to God. He keeps mentioning his sins, but never his good deeds, unless it may be necessary to correct the disciples. And even if he is forced to do this, he calls it folly. He gives first place to Peter. He is not ashamed to work with Priscilla and Aquila. Everywhere he is eager to show himself humble. He is not swaggering in the marketplace or leading crowds around with him, but taking his place among the unnoticed. Therefore he also said, "But his bodily presence is weak," in 2 Corinthians 10:10. That is, he was easy to despise, and not at all surrounded by display. And again he says, "I pray that you do no evil, not that we may appear approved." And what is surprising if he despises this glory? He even despises the glory of heaven, and the kingdom, and hell, for what was pleasing to Christ. For he wishes himself to be accursed from Christ for the glory of Christ. If he says that he is willing to suffer this for the Jews' sake, he says it for this reason: so that none of those who lack understanding might think to claim for themselves the promises made to them. If, then, he was ready to pass by those things, what is surprising if he despises human things?

But the people of our time are overcome by everything, not only by the desire for glory, but also, on the other hand, by insult and by fear of dishonor. So if someone praises you, it puffs you up. And if he blames you, it casts you down. And just as weak bodies are harmed by ordinary accidents, so too are souls that crawl along on the earth. For such people, not only poverty destroys, but wealth does too; not only grief, but also joy, and prosperity even more than adversity. For poverty forces a person to be wise, but wealth often leads into some great evil. And just as men with a fever are hard to satisfy in anything, so also those who are corrupt in mind are harmed from every side.

Since we know these things, let us not avoid poverty, and let us not admire riches. Instead, let us prepare our soul to be strong enough for every condition of life. For when someone builds a house, he does not think about how rain might never fall on it, or how sunlight might never shine on it, because that would be impossible. Instead, he thinks about how to make it able to endure everything. In the same way, when someone builds a ship, he does not make and design it so that waves will never crash against it, or so that no storm will ever rise on the sea, because that too would be impossible. Instead, he makes sure the sides of the ship are ready to withstand it all. Again, the person who cares for the body does not try to make sure there will never be any change in temperature. Instead, he tries to make the body able to endure all these things easily. So let us act the same way with respect to the soul. Let us not be anxious to escape poverty or to become rich, but to manage each condition for our own safety.

Therefore, setting these things aside, let us make our soul fit for both wealth and poverty. For even if no disaster that people are subject to should happen, which for the most part is impossible, still, the person who does not seek wealth but knows how to bear everything easily is better off than the person who is always rich. And why? First, such a person has safety from within, but the other has it from outside. And just as a soldier is better who trusts in his own bodily strength and skill in battle than one whose strength is only in his armor, so the person who relies on wealth is inferior to the one who is protected by virtue. Second, because even if he does not fall into poverty, it is impossible for him to be without trouble. For wealth has many storms and troubles. Virtue is not like that. It brings only pleasure and safety. Yes, it also puts a person out of reach of those who set traps for him. But wealth does the exact opposite, making him easy to attack and capture. And as among animals, deer and hares are the easiest of all to catch because of their natural fearfulness, but the wild boar, the bull, and the lion would not easily fall into the path of those lying in wait, so also one may see this in the case of the rich and those who choose to live in poverty. The one is like the lion and the bull, and the other like the deer and the hare. For whom does not the rich man fear? Are there not robbers, rulers, envious people, and informers? And why do I speak of robbers and informers, when a man in such a case even suspects his own household servants?

13. And why do I say, while he is alive? Not even when he is dead is he free from the wickedness of robbers. Death does not have the power to keep him safe. Instead, evil men plunder him even after death. Wealth is such a dangerous thing. For they not only dig into houses, but even break open tombs and coffins. What, then, could be more miserable than this man? Not even death can give him this safety. That wretched body, even when life has left it, is not freed from the evils of life. Those who do such wicked things rush to make war even against dust and ashes, and even more cruelly than when the man was alive. For then, perhaps, when they entered his storeroom, they would carry off his chests, but leave his person alone, and would not go so far as to strip the body itself. But now the cursed hands of grave robbers do not even spare these. They move the body and turn it over, and with great cruelty insult it. For after it has been laid in the ground, they strip it both of its covering of earth and of the covering made by its grave clothes, and then leave it there to be thrown out.

What enemy, then, is as deadly as wealth? It destroys both the soul of the living and dishonors the body of the dead. It does not even allow the body to lie buried in the ground, which is granted even to the condemned and to those caught in the worst crimes. For after the lawmakers have carried out the punishment of death on such people, they ask no more of them. But wealth, even after death, demands a very bitter punishment from these people. It leaves them naked and unburied, a dreadful and pitiful sight. Even those who suffer this by legal sentence and by the anger of judges do not suffer as terribly as these do. For they remain unburied for the first and second day, and then they are laid in the ground. But these, after they have been laid in the ground, are then stripped naked and insulted. And if the robbers leave without taking the coffin also, wealth still deserves no thanks for that. Even in this case, the credit belongs to poverty, for poverty is what protects it. Most certainly, if we had trusted wealth even with this, and instead of making the coffin out of stone had made it out of gold, we would have lost this too.

Wealth is so treacherous. It belongs not so much to those who have it as to those who try to seize it. So it is a needless argument to try to show that wealth is irresistible, since not even on the day of their death do its possessors gain security. And yet who is not reconciled with the departed, whether he is a wild beast, or a demon, or whatever else? The very sight is enough to bend even someone who is completely iron-hearted and far past feeling. Therefore, as you know, when someone sees a corpse, even if it is a public or private enemy whom he sees, he still weeps for him together with his dearest friends. His wrath is extinguished with life, and pity is brought in. And during mourning and the carrying out for burial, it would be impossible to distinguish an enemy from one who is not. So greatly do all men honor their common nature, and the customs that have been introduced concerning it. But wealth, not even after obtaining this, relaxes its anger against its possessors. No, it makes even those who have not been wronged at all enemies of the dead, if indeed to strip a dead body is the act of people very bitter and hostile. Nature, for her part, even then reconciles his enemies to him. But wealth makes enemies of those who have nothing to accuse him of, and cruelly treats the body in its utter desolation. And yet in that case there are many things that might lead a person to pity: that it is a corpse, that it cannot move, that it is going to earth and corruption, and that no one is there to help. But none of these things soften those accursed wretches, because of the tyranny of their vile greed. For the passion of covetousness, like some ruthless tyrant, is at hand, commanding those inhuman acts and, having made wild beasts of them, bringing them to the tombs. Yes, like wild beasts attacking the dead, they would not even keep away from their flesh, if their limbs were in any way useful to them. Such is our enjoyment of wealth: to be insulted even after death, and to be deprived of burial, which even the most desperate criminals obtain.

So then, tell me, are we still to be fond of so grievous an enemy? No, I beg you, no, my brothers! But let us flee from it without turning to look. And if it comes into our hands, let us not keep it, but bind it fast through the hands of the poor. For these are the bonds that have more power to hold it, and from those treasuries it will never escape again. And so this faithless thing remains, for the time to come, faithful, tractable, and tame, because the right hand of Mercy produces this effect on it.

As I said, if it ever comes to us, let us hand it over to her. But if it does not come, let us not go looking for it, or trouble ourselves, or think that those who have it are happy. What kind of idea of happiness is that? By that reasoning, you would also have to say that those who fight wild beasts are to be envied, because those costly animals are kept shut up and reserved by the men who arrange such contests for themselves. Yet those men do not dare to go near or touch the beasts. Instead, they fear and tremble because of them, and hand other people over to them. I say that the rich are in much the same condition when they shut up their wealth in their treasuries as if it were some savage beast, and receive countless wounds from it every day. In one way, however, this is unlike the beasts. Beasts hurt the people they meet only when they are led out. But wealth destroys its owners and hoarders when it is shut up and stored away.

But let us make this beast gentle. And it will become gentle if we do not shut it up, but place it in the hands of all who are in need. In this way, we will receive the greatest blessings from it. We will live in the present life with safety and good hope, and on the day to come we will stand with boldness. May we all attain this through grace and mercy, etc., etc.