De Salutaribus Documentis [Incertus]

BOOK OF EXHORTATION, COMMONLY TITLED ON SALUTARY INSTRUCTION, ADDRESSED TO A CERTAIN COUNT.

CHAPTER I. Righteousness and blessedness: to love God. O my brother, if you desire to know—though I myself do not know—how most perfect and most full righteousness is to love God with the whole heart and to cleave to him with the whole will, who is the highest good. But to love the highest good is the highest blessedness. He who loves God is good; if good, therefore also blessed; and the more ardently anyone loves him, the better he will become. That this most blessed good may fill you, dearest brother—he himself who is this good—strive, though unworthy, to entreat him daily with prayers and with the whole desire of your heart.

CHAPTER II. The prerogatives of man in creation. But do you, dearest brother, understand that you were created by the counsel of the Holy Trinity and by the work of divine majesty; and from the first honor of your condition understand how much you owe to your Creator, since the eternal Creator made you so much the more wonderful, so that you might the more ardently love him, and might understand the Creator by the privilege of dignity he bestowed upon you in your creation.

CHAPTER III. The same argument is treated. Nor is it only this, that by the counsel of the holy Trinity you were so excellently created by the Creator, but also that the Creator of all things himself created you in his own image and likeness: which he granted to no other of the creatures, but to man alone. And this is the image of the unity and trinity of almighty God, which your soul has in itself: first, because by God's gift it lives and understands; second, because it was created in the image of its Creator; third, although you are called one man, yet you have three dignities granted by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that is, intellect, will, and memory. The same thing, though in other words, is designated in the Gospel, when it is said, You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with all your strength (Matt. 22:37). For in these three our inner man wonderfully bears the image of our Creator in his nature, and from these, as it were more excellent dignities of the soul, we are commanded to love the Creator, so that insofar as he is understood by us, and insofar as he is loved, he may always be held in the memory that has received him. Nor is it enough for us to understand God, unless our will is formed in love of him: indeed, neither is this enough, unless with memory and will a work be added.

CHAPTER IV. Be converted to God. But to your head, dearest brother, let there be added the grace of spiritual knowledge, which may illuminate your mind and lead it to eternal life, as I desire and wish. For with the whole affection of my heart I wish it, and I beseech God, that you may always stretch forth to the things that are before, until you arrive at the sublime crown of eternal blessedness: and permit not the nobility of your soul, which I know to be excellent in you, to be changed from the love of Christ by any counsels of friends, by any ambition of worldly desires. Do not obscure your goodness by the malice of others; but everywhere, as much as you are able, appear amiable before God and all the people. The grace of God helping you will not be lacking to you, if the will of holy admonition be present to you, which the mind of your goodness has attended rather often in the divine Scriptures.

CHAPTER V. The same argument is treated. Be, I pray, although a layman, prompt to every work of God, pious toward the poor and the sick, a consoler of the sorrowing, compassionate to the miseries of all, generous in alms, mindful of the evangelical widow's two mites (Luke XXI, 2), and of the prophet saying, Break your bread to the hungry (Isaiah LVIII, 7): and be careful, foreseeing the discernment of almsgiving, so that it may be a solace to both, namely to the giver and to the receiver.

CHAPTER VI. The Choosing of Counselors. Therefore meditate not only on your own salvation, but also on the progress and prosperity of many. Choose for yourself the best counselors, men who fear God and love the truth. For often flatterers with a smooth face deceive souls by their attentiveness and slay them with perpetual death. For of such the Psalmist says: For God has scattered the bones of those who please men; they are confounded, because God has despised them (Ps. 3:6). And the Apostle says: If I pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10). Let each one as a friend please his neighbor for edification, not for destruction; because not every friend can be a counselor, as the Scripture says: Let many be your friends, but your counselor one.

CHAPTER VII. True Friendship. For although a change of habit had carried me far from you in body, yet in no way in charity; because charity, which can be deserted, we can never be joined to the Lord Christ: who himself says, You are my friends, if you do what I command you, but my friends (John 15:14, 15).

CHAPTER VIII. Observing the Commandments of God. God hates two evils in man. And if we wish to earn the rewards of eternal life, let us strive with all our strength to keep His commandments. For His commandments are heavy to the unwilling, light to the willing; as He Himself says, For my yoke is sweet and my burden light (Matt. 11:30); and again, Upon whom shall I rest, except upon the humble and quiet and one who trembles at my words (Isa. 66:2)? For friendship with the world consists in profit, or benefits, or various honors; but the friendship of the Savior consists in loving Him and our neighbors. Therefore, as often as we fulfill the commandments of Christ by good actions, so often are we called friends of Christ. He always invites us to His friendship, and the devil, envying us, seeks to plunge us into hell. The Savior loves us, and the betrayer hates us: therefore let us not forsake the Redeemer, nor follow the robber. Let Him be dearer to us who restored us to liberty, than he who captured us and subjected us to slavery. Always keep before the eyes of your heart that neither a crowd of friends, nor a multitude of family, nor a heap of gold and silver, nor the glittering gems of stones, nor the abundance of vineyards, nor the density of crops, nor the pleasantness of broad meadows can bring any protection to the soul departing from the body; but rather those grieve more who love it more. Therefore our true friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, must be loved, who grants us present happiness and eternal blessedness.

For our Redeemer is so called because He has redeemed us from diabolical captivity; and Savior, because He saves us from our sins; Helper, because He helps us in times of need and in tribulation; Protector, because He protects us so that we may remain unharmed among our enemies; Receiver, because He receives us into eternal tabernacles. Therefore let us fulfill with all our strength the love and the commandments and the affection of so great a friend, and let us preserve in ourselves the nobility of His image. Let us always remember how renowned and exceedingly glorious is our emperor and friend: He seeks from us no other gift except a spiritual one. Let us beware as much as we can, lest He find anything in us that offends His eyes. And if perhaps, as the condition of human frailty is wont to do, the malignant spirit fixes some stain of negligence in us, let us hasten with all zeal to wash it away quickly through confession and penitence and a fountain of tears, lest we remain long without the embrace of our friend, because He is more ready to receive us than to lose us—only if we do not delay from day to day to return to Him. For almighty God hates these two evils in all men: namely, negligence in returning, and despair of salvation. As long as these are far from our thoughts, He will then be near to our souls. Do not, I beseech you, let us glorying in earthly felicity put our trust in it, but let us give thanks to Him who, since He willed men to be rational, asked that they follow Him not through pride but through humility.

What greater glory, I ask, or higher honor could there be for us than to be friends of that Emperor who is above all emperors? And the more exalted He is in the power of His omnipotence, the greater must be our diligence in justice and holiness and humility and the observance of His commandments.

CHAPTER IX. Justice. The study of the Scriptures. Holiness truly consists in the works of justice. Justice is fulfilled in two ways: that we do not do what He has forbidden, and that we do what He has commanded, according to the Prophet: Turn away from evil, and do good (Psalm 33). For the whole series of the holy Books has been written for our salvation, and this it sounds forth especially in our ears, and repeats again and again, what man must beware of, or what he must follow. In these Books your Dignity has best known how to exercise itself, because through them God Himself and our Lord speaks to us, and shows us the affection of His pious will. Let us recognize and consider with what honor we ought to receive His embassy. For what if an embassy or a letter from a king should come to us—would we not at once, with all other cares set aside, with ready will and all devotion receive the letters, and reading them strive to fulfill them?

And behold, from heaven the King of kings and Lord of lords, indeed even our Redeemer, has deigned to send us His letters through the Prophets and Apostles: not to demand of us any service necessary for Himself, but to make known what can profit us for salvation and glory.

CHAPTER X. Let God be our possession. Accordingly, if we delight to possess anything in this world, let us with a ready mind possess God, who possesses all things, who created all things, and let us have in Him whatever we desire happily and holily. But since no one possesses God except the one who is possessed by Him, let us ourselves become God's possession, and God will be made our possessor. And what can be happier in the world than for one to whom his own Emperor and Redeemer is made his wealth, and to whom the Godhead itself deigns to be his inheritance? For we receive all fruits from Him, and in Him and from Him we always live. What, I ask, suffices for a man to whom the Creator Himself does not suffice? What does he seek beyond, for whom his Redeemer ought to be all joy and all things?

CHAPTER XI. The joy of the world. Alas! how subtly that ancient enemy deceives and beguiles us by his cunning, and draws a blindness over the eyes of our mind, so that we cannot discern the joys of this age from the joys of the eternal King! For to rejoice is indeed a good thing; but if one who rejoices does not rejoice from the source from which he ought, the thing in which he rejoices cannot be good. The earthly soldier rejoices in the perishing honors of this age, in fine garments, and in handsome bracelets wrapped around his arm, and in a cotton cap placed upon his head; and such joy is not eternal, but perishable. The robber also rejoices when he has seized what he desired. The drunkard rejoices when he has found an occasion for drinking. The adulterer rejoices when he has come to the pleasure of the body by enjoying a harlot. The perjurer rejoices if by swearing he has acquired the goods of this age. The wrathful man rejoices if he has accomplished his anger. And there are many other such things which the mind of your Goodness, dearest brother, will be able to grasp. And although to rejoice is a good thing, nevertheless to rejoice in these and suchlike things is a great evil, and a sin that leads to death. Nor does any crime whatsoever become so abominable before God as this: that each of us, by recalling past sins, rejoices and exults in them, and always lies wallowing in them. These are the things of which we spoke above, in which the world wishes us to rejoice, so that we may perish with the lovers of this world. For we ought to reject these joys as the poisons of the devil, because they hasten to kill not only the body but also the soul perpetually.

CHAPTER XII. Spiritual joy. I beseech you, my brother, I beseech you: dash these arrows of the devil against the rock which is Christ (1 Cor 10:4), take up the shield of faith, in which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the devil (Eph 6:16); and let us rejoice in the good things of the Lord, from a pure conscience, from true confession and worthy repentance, from mourning and true sorrow, which works not death according to the world, but eternal salvation according to God (2 Cor 7:10). But that sorrow which is according to this world the Apostle firmly forbids, saying: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed on the day of redemption. But let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamor and blasphemy be taken away from you with all malice; and be kind to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, as God also forgave you in Christ (Eph 4:30-32). And as much as we have suffered, let us correct our conduct with diligent zeal, and hasten to acquire the virtues of all good things, so that we may be able to obtain the piety and mercy of God in due time, and rejoice ineffably in the promise of that future kingdom. These are the arms that arm us against the assault of the devil and commend us to God. These are the arms that strengthen, fortify, and ennoble our minds. These are with us, and by God's gift are within us. These are our true riches.

For modesty makes us modest, and justice makes us just, and piety makes us pious, and humility makes us humble, and meekness makes us meek, and innocence makes us innocent, and simplicity makes us simple, and purity makes us pure, and prudence makes us prudent, and temperance makes us temperate, and charity makes us dear to God and to men. All these good things were created by God, and by a good God.

CHAPTER XIII. Contempt of the world. The threefold concupiscence in the sin of the first-formed. And therefore, if we wish to be in that which we ought to be, then, as the holy apostle John says, just as he walked, so let us also walk spiritually (1 John 2:6). What is it to walk as Christ walked, if not to despise the vanity and the happiness of this world, and not to fear to suffer adversities for his name? Let us hope for the things he promised, and let us follow where he himself has gone before. In no way let the wretched sweetness of this world separate us from the love of Christ, nor any excuse—the sake, that is, of a wife or of children—nor the great delight of possessions of gold and silver, since the holy apostle John solemnly testifies to us, saying: Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world; because all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the ambition of the world (ibid., 16). These are the things that cast Adam and Eve out of the paradise of delights into this wretched exile.

Because unless the love of God had failed in them, they would never have begun to love the counsel of the serpent, the evil persuader—indeed, they would not even have believed it. And the concupiscence of the flesh was fulfilled in them, in that they tasted of the forbidden tree; and the concupiscence of the eyes, in that they desired their eyes to be opened; and the ambition of the world, in that they believed they could become what God is. And therefore the Apostle, wishing to guard us all from these three kinds of death, said: Everything that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the ambition of the world.

CHAPTER XIV. By what steps they fell into sin. And so that your Goodness, my brother, may more easily understand, if it please you, how those first humans, namely Adam and Eve, committed so great a sin—briefly, inasmuch as the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may grant you always to beware of this; for in those two the whole human race was condemned originally. For they would not have eaten of the forbidden tree unless they had desired it; nor would they have desired it unless they had been tempted; nor would they have been tempted unless they had been forsaken; nor would they have been forsaken by God unless they had first forsaken God; nor would they have forsaken God unless they had been proud, and had damnably neglected the likeness of God in which they were made. In return for which their diseased bodies contracted death, and according to the sentence of the Lord they are believed to have died on that day on which the necessity of dying was penally brought about in them.

CHAPTER XV. What it means to imitate Adam or Christ

We have just spoken of the first humans, so that we may escape the example or rather the punishment of their fall and damnation: for although we are born carnally from Adam, we ought not to imitate him, but Christ our Lord, in whom we have been reborn through Baptism and live. What is it to imitate Adam, if not to be slain by eternal death through carnal concupiscences and desires? And what is it to imitate Christ, if not to be mortified in ourselves as regards carnal concupiscences and desires, and to reign happily with him who redeemed us by the price of his blood? And if we were once in Adam, we all fell in him: so, since we have now begun to be in Christ, let us all rise spiritually with him: and to say it all, Adam took paradise from us, and Christ bestowed the heavens, and delivered his own body for us sinners. For Christ died for sin, not his own, but ours: but each one of us dies not to the sin of all, but to his own.

CHAPTER XVI. What it means to die to sin. What is it to die to sin, but to put to death evil works in ourselves, and to flee this wretched world? So that, just as a dead man in the tomb does not harm anyone in the flesh, is violent to no one, slanders no one, oppresses no one, does not envy the good, does not insult the wicked, does not serve the lust of the flesh, does not by drinking kindle in himself thirst more and more, does not burn with the flame of hatreds, does not flatter the powerful and rich of this world, is not carried away by restless curiosity, does not concern himself with the great crowd standing around him, is not puffed up when surrounded by gold and silver or by cloaks, does not delight in the greetings of the powerful or of kinsmen, does not weary himself with injuries; pride does not inflate him, the ambition of this world does not kill him, vainglory does not shamefully cast him down, gold or bracelets and all the false riches of this world do not set him aflame, the rage of madness does not agitate him, the fatness of horses and the love of them do not entice him, the most beautiful appearance of women does not make him greedy, the words of wretched actors do not stir him to laughter, the contentions of this world do not disturb him, boldness does not [make him] quarrelsome, the joys of this world do not delight him, hot temper does not make him irascible, perversity does not make him suspicious, vanity does not make him talkative, malice does not make him a mocker, the love of this world does not make him fickle and inconstant.

By enumerating these things and things of this kind I have prolonged my discourse, so that your most sweet brotherhood may understand how far a man dead in the flesh can neither do nor suffer these things which I have said; and that we may not grow sluggish in such matters, but may strive as much as we can, with God's help, to mortify our bodies with their vices and concupiscences (Gal. V, 24), and be clothed with the new man, who is created according to God in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. IV, 24). Nor let us delight in human praises, nor willingly lend an ear to detractors, nor believe our flatterers, nor be at variance; but rather let us stir up those whom we can to concord; because according to the Gospel, Blessed are they who run to peace (Matt. V, 9).

CHAPTER XVII. What it means to live according to the flesh. Nor let us be carnal, that is, living carnally in this world; because the Apostle says, If you live according to the flesh, you shall die (Rom. VIII, 13).

Therefore he lives according to the flesh who lives according to himself; for he is a man, and he lives, and he lives according to himself, that is, he goes where he wishes, sleeps for whom he wishes and as long as he wishes; he speaks what he wishes, and to whom he wishes, and where he wishes; he eats and drinks when he wishes and as much as he wishes; he laughs and jokes shamefully among whom he wishes and when he wishes. Finally, whatever is sweet to his nostrils he seeks; whatever is soft to the touch, whatever is delightful to the eyes, whatever is pleasant to his body, he practices and pursues, as he wishes and when he wishes, because he desires all things lawful and unlawful in a carnal manner. He takes delight in the most beautiful garments and in horses and in arms, when he wishes and as he wishes; and so he does not live and take delight according to God, but carnally; and he fulfills all the desires of his flesh as he wishes and in the manner he wishes.

CHAPTER XVIII. The remedies of vices. The praise of humility.

Wherefore, most beloved brother in Christ, we must implore divine mercy, so that spiritual delight may overcome carnal desires, and piety may resist the anger of cruelty within us, and patience may restrain malice, and modesty may conquer lust, and tranquility may endure aggressiveness, and measured silence may check scurrility and verbosity, and spiritual zeal in vigils, prayers, and alms may take the place of curiosity, and sobriety may tame drunkenness, and gentleness may rule over anger and fury, and maturity may govern levity, and true chastity may shut out luxury, and love of God and neighbor may curb the covetousness of the world, and deep humility may trample down boastfulness and pride: because humility makes men like the holy angels, and pride made demons out of angels.

CHAPTER XIX. No sin without pride. Pride and covetousness are always one. And so that we may show clearly, pride itself is the beginning, the end, and the cause of all sins: because not only is pride itself a sin, but no sin could, can, or will be able to exist without pride. Indeed, every sin is nothing other than contempt of God, by which we despise his commandments: and no other thing persuades man of this except pride. Furthermore, pride and covetousness are so great an evil that neither can pride be found without covetousness, nor covetousness without pride.

From pride are born heresies, schisms, detractions, envies, rivalries, dissensions, contentions, animosities, ambitions, elations, presumptions, boastfulness, verbosity, vanity, restlessness, lying, perjury, and other things of this kind, which it would be long to enumerate one by one. Cupidity also makes men gluttonous, intemperate, drunken, greedy, rapacious, fornicators, adulterers, defilers, incestuous, shameful, and countless other things, through which the devil is wont to cast down the human race. For through pride and cupidity the devil says, I will ascend into heaven (Isa. 14); Christ with humility says, My soul is humbled in the earth (Ps. 43). The devil through pride and cupidity says, I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14); Christ through humility, when he was in the form of God, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the Father unto death (Phil. 2:6-8). The devil through pride and cupidity says, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God (Isa. 14); Christ with humility says, Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. 11). The devil, covetous and proud, speaks through Pharaoh, saying, I do not know the Lord, and Israel shall not be dismissed (Exod. 5); Christ with humility says, If I say that I do not know him, I will be like you, a liar; but I know him, and I keep his commandments (John 8:55). The devil, proud and covetous, says.

Mine are the rivers, and I made them (Ezek. XXIX): Christ says this in humility. I cannot do anything of myself; but my Father who remains in me, he does the works (John V; XIV). The proud and covetous devil says: All the kingdoms of the world are mine, and their glory, and I give them to whom I will (Matt. VI): Christ, when he was rich, became poor for us, so that by his poverty we might be made rich (II Cor. VIII). The proud and covetous devil says: As eggs that have been left are gathered, so I will gather the whole earth, and there was none who would move a feather, or open his mouth and cry out (Isa. X): Christ says in humility: I have become like a solitary pelican. I kept watch, and I became like a solitary sparrow on a roof (Ps. =, 7). The devil through pride and covetousness says: I have dried up with the tread of my feet all the streams of the dikes (Isa. XXXVII): Christ says in humility: Can I not ask my Father, and he will furnish me with more than twelve legions of angels (Matt. XXVI, 53)? And to conclude at last: the devil through pride and covetousness is cast down by a great ruin to hell; Christ through humility is raised up to heaven. Therefore, dearest brother, I have described to you a few snares of diabolical deceit and steps of holy humility, so that you may more easily teach those subject to you how or in what manner they may escape these things, and through humility possess the kingdoms of heaven.

And if we wish to complete the course of our struggle and to arrive at eternal blessedness, let us beware above all of evil desire and diabolical pride, and with all humility of Christ let us strive to follow his footsteps. And if anyone who serves an earthly emperor strives to obey all his commands, how much more should one who is to serve the heavenly Emperor keep the heavenly precepts?

CHAPTER XX. The spiritual and the earthly soldier. My brother, my brother, I rouse your soul to wakefulness, and let no sleep weigh it down. The earthly soldier, wherever he is sent, is ready and prompt, nor can he excuse himself for the sake of wife or children: much more must the soldier of Christ, without the hindrance of this world, obey his Emperor, the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed him with his precious blood. You, the earthly soldier, go forth to battle against a visible enemy; but that invisible enemy never ceases to fight daily. You strive to fight against the bodies of your enemy, using carnal arms; but his wrestling is against the devil with spiritual arms. You in battle wear a helmet of iron on your head; but his helmet is Christ. You, lest you be wounded, are clothed in a breastplate; but he, instead of a breastplate, is clothed in the charity of Christ. You launch spears and arrows against your enemy; he strives to direct humility and wholesome words against the enemy.

Do not throw away your arms before you complete the struggle, lest you be wounded by the adversary; he must never be unarmed, because that enemy of yours is more cunning than you. Your enemy fights for a time; but that enemy of his, as long as he remains in the body, does not cease to fight against him. Your arms are laborious and heavy to carry; but his arms are sweet and light. You receive an earthly reward for earthly labor; but he will receive a heavenly prize for spiritual labor. You are adorned in your arms with the ornament of your arms; he receives from Christ the ornaments of virtues as the beauty of his soul. For he always expects a heavenly gift from Christ, who casts away the earthly pomp of this world. Woe to us, if we repel from us the sweet yoke of Christ, and whatever is heavy and burdensome to our soul we submit ourselves to carry; and while we love danger, we fall into death.

CHAPTER XXI. The love of God. In what respect we are commanded to honor parents. The benefits of Christ. Therefore, dearest brother, let us consider who it is that redeemed us with his precious blood, and what we owe to him who redeemed us with such great want. If we love earthly parents with such great affection, who for a short time endured labor for us: is not our heavenly Father much more to be loved by us, who for us was fastened to the cross?

For whatever devoted service our parents showed toward us was his gift: even before we were born into this world, by his providence he prepared parents for us, by whose care we might be nourished, and he filled the mother's breast with milk, that we might be fed from it. Therefore let us love our Redeemer above all things, who with his own hands formed both us and our parents; and let us ascribe all the good things that are done for us daily to his mercy, not to our own strength. For Scripture commands us to love our parents as our own flesh, provided they do not hinder us from coming to the service of Christ; but if they do hinder us, not even burial is owed to them by us (Luke 9:59). Christ is to be loved above our parents, because parents do not bestow on us the things that Christ does. For he himself said in the Gospel: Whoever loves father or mother, or sons or lands, more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37). The more anyone loves him, the happier and more blessed he will become. For he loved us so much that he even deigned to die for us: and his hands, which performed very many mighty works, were fastened with nails for our redemption; and to his honey-sweet mouth, from which saving doctrine flowed, the wicked held out gall for food; and he who harmed no one was beaten; and he who cursed no one bore reproaches and curses for us. All these things he endured, that he might give us eternal life.

And though he bestows such great benefits on us, he seeks nothing from us except that we love him, and keep our souls and bodies undefiled in his service, so that he may always dwell in us and we remain in him. For he does not ask gold of us, nor silver, nor cloaks, nor precious garments, nor bracelets, nor fields, and other things of this kind; but he seeks us ourselves, he desires to rest in us.

CHAPTER XXII. Love of neighbor. The peaceable and the envious. Let us therefore draw near to him that we may have eternal life. Let us have in us the love of God and of neighbor, because whoever loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law; but whoever, on the contrary, hates him is a murderer (1 John 3:15). Whoever loves his brother, his heart is in tranquility; but one who hates his brother is surrounded by a storm. A gentle and kindly man, even if he suffers evils, counts them as nothing; but the unjust man, even on hearing a small word from his neighbor, takes it as an insult. One who is full of charity proceeds with a calm spirit and a most serene countenance; a man full of hatred walks about in anger. But you, dearest brother, do not cause scandal to anyone in your life: [dismiss the matter that does not concern you to be handled by others; and unless asked or questioned, do not expound on it, and judge what is pleasing to God alone, and avoid the unjust opinions of others, if you cannot do otherwise, and give place to mercy:] and do not do what is useful to you, but what is pleasing to him.

What you do not want done to yourself, do not desire to happen to your neighbor (Tob. 4:16). If you see him engaged in good works, rejoice with him, and count his joy as your own; and if he suffers anything adverse, count his sorrow as your own. Never love your neighbor with a feigned heart, because in these things God is provoked to anger. For whoever embraces peace prepares a dwelling for Christ in the lodging of his mind, because Christ is peace, and he wishes to rest in peace. But the wrathful man, the envious, the slanderer, the liar, the proud—God detests in every way. The envious man, moreover, is like a ship tossed by the waves of the sea; he is always in turmoil, he rages like a ravening wolf, he is held fast in misery, and wasting away he is reduced to nothing; always full of fury, he is made a partaker with demons. The peaceable man possesses a secure mind; he is wholly protected by the host of angels and filled with the fruit of gladness, rejoicing and delighting in the Lord. All his affairs are conducted in peace. He puts discord to flight, he illuminates the secrets of his mind. He will merit the fellowship of angels, and he will obtain forever the kingdom of eternal blessedness.

CHAPTER XXIII. The virtues of the soul. Do not, I beg you, my brother, consider the commandments of God to be fables, or as though they were produced by me, since they have flowed from the fountain of our Savior. Let not the great adversity or prosperity of the world break your soul away from the precepts and commandments of God, and from the love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. For it is a virtue of your soul to love God, and to hate those things that God does not love. It is a virtue of your soul to pursue patience, and to turn away from all impatience. It is a virtue of your soul to guard chastity of both body and soul. It is a virtue of your soul to despise the vain glory of this world, and to trample upon all fleeting things, and for the love of him who redeemed you, to labor while you live in the body. It is a virtue of your soul to strive for humility, and to abhor pride. It is a virtue of your soul to restrain and repress anger and fury. It is a virtue of your soul to turn away from all foolishness, and to embrace divine wisdom. It is a virtue of your soul to subject every delight of the flesh, and to raise your mind to Christ. These virtues, therefore, you could have obtained easily and very easily, if you had wished to avoid the care of worldly things and fleeting and earthly matters, and had preferred nothing to the love of Christ.

CHAPTER XXIV. Pleasing God in all things. O my brother, love God with your whole mind, so that in all your actions you may be pleasing to him. For he who is joined in marriage hastens to please his wife: much more should the soul redeemed by the blood of Christ please Christ her bridegroom. For God does not wish to be loved by words only, but with a pure heart and just works: because he is the hearer and inspector not of words but of the heart. Never, I beg you, my brother, let carnal love shut out heavenly love from you: never, I beg you, let the sweetness of this wave-tossed and wretched world deceive you. Let no beauty of the body seduce you; lest death enter into your soul through the windows of your eyes.

CHAPTER XXV. How fleeting are the delights of the flesh. Tell me, I beg you, my brother, what profit is there in the beauty of the flesh. Does it not dry up like hay struck by the heat of summer, and little by little lose its former comeliness? And when death comes, tell me, I beg you, how much beauty will remain in the body? Then you will recognize that what you loved before in vain was vain. When you see the whole body swell up and be turned into stench, will you not close your nostrils, lest you endure the most foul stench? Where, I beg you, will then be the sweetness of luxury and the abundance of banquets? where the words of flatterers, which softened the hearts of those who heard them? where the sweet speeches, which poured bitterness into those who loved them? where the immoderate laughter and shameful jesting? where the unbridled and useless rejoicing?

This is the river of the beauty of the flesh and of pleasure. For the world will pass away, and its concupiscence (1 John 2:17). O how most blessed a good it is, and how exceedingly most blessed, to love the splendid beauty of Christ, and to illuminate our hearts with the rays of his brightness, and to drive all darkness from us!

CHAPTER XXVI. Detraction. Do not lend your ears to receive the words of detractors, lest you conceive death in your soul. For detraction is the food of death for the soul of both the detractor and the hearer. And to conclude more briefly, the detractor and the willing hearer carry the devil on their tongue. Avoid, I beg you, from your ears the snares of detractions, by which you hear very many have been captured. Ask of the Lord a prudent heart and a watchful mind, that you may be able to discern the words of detractors: do not be ignorant of their frauds and ambushes, and let not your foot come into their nets.

CHAPTER XXVII. Confession of sins. How and when prayer should be made. All evil vices ought to be alien to us, since Christ wills to be our inheritance: therefore, because we are uncertain about such things, let us prostrate ourselves humbly in the sight of our loving Father, and quickly bring our sins into the open, that our heavenly Father himself may blot them out. And when we have confessed, let us not justify ourselves in praying, lest like that Pharisee we depart condemned (Luke 17:11, 12).

Let us remember that Publican, and so pray that we may deserve to obtain forgiveness of our sins. Let the cry of our heart beat upon the ears of almighty God; for in a pure mind he will be appeased in the time of prayer.

CHAPTER XXVIII. The nature of the serpent. The fruit of prayer. Let us cast away from us all malice of heart, and forgive those who sin against us. For there is a kind of serpent which, when it begins to go to drink water, before it comes to the spring, vomits out all its venom. Imitate you also this serpent in this respect, according to the gospel precept of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he says, Be wise as serpents (Matt. 10:16): and vomit out all the bitter venom of anger, and forgive your fellow servants, that your sins may be forgiven you by the Lord, as the Gospel commands: Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you; give, and it shall be given to you (Luke 6:37-38). And such as you wish God to be toward you, such be you yourself toward your fellow servant. And whatever work you begin to do, first call upon God, and give thanks to him: and when you have completed it, do likewise. Call upon God with your whole heart, and you will find him: and when you have found him, do not let him go, that his will may be joined to yours in love of him. This, my brother, strive after in your life, and offer your pure prayer to Christ the Lord. Let not the superfluous thoughts of this world disturb your heart, nor let your mind be carried away in different directions. For remember that you stand beneath the gaze of God, who sees the hidden things of the heart, and knows the secrets of your mind.

Therefore attend vigilantly and assiduously in the sight of God in the time of prayer, so that you may more easily escape the imminent temptation of the devil. For if the evil and sordid thoughts of this world disturb your heart and compel you to perpetrate something illicit, they will be driven away from your soul by pure prayers and holy vigils. For prayer is a great fortification of the soul. Through most pure prayers all things useful to us are granted by the Lord, and all harmful things are put to flight. And so that I may not dispute or dwell on this at greater length, just as the flesh is nourished by carnal foods, so the inner man is nourished and fed by divine utterances and prayers. Feed, I beseech you, your soul with spiritual foods, that is, with faith, hope, charity, and the remaining virtues through which you understand how to love God and keep his commandments; so that when your last day comes, the angels of peace may receive you and snatch you from the power of the devil, and you may deserve to enjoy the fellowship of the saints in blessed rest and to possess eternal life with all the saints. For you know most certainly that the possession of the kingdom of heaven has been promised to you; but see to it that you are not made a stranger to it.

CHAPTER XXIX. On bestowing care upon one's household. I ask, my brother, I ask, that to all those subject to you and of good will in your house, from the greatest even to the least, you announce the love and sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, the bitterness and fear of hell, and that you be solicitous and vigilant concerning their salvation; because for all those subject to you who are in your house, you will render an account to the Lord. Announce, command, order, persuade them, that they keep themselves from pride, from detraction, from drunkenness, from fornication, from luxury, from anger, from perjury, from covetousness, which is the root of all evils.

CHAPTER XXX. That one should beware of the evils of covetousness. For a covetous man has his soul for sale: if he finds an opportunity to covet someone's gold or silver, or fine garments, or even any beautiful woman, he commits murder for nothing; and as one pours out water upon the earth, so it is for him to pour out the blood of his neighbor. Very many souls have fallen into the danger of death because of covetousness, and many have been stoned by the command of the Lord on this account. For Saul was made estranged from God because of avarice: and at last, cast down from the royal height, he was slain by his enemies (1 Kings 15). And I could have said many things about many, but for the wise few suffice. But our Lord and Savior wished to exclude the love of money from the hearts of the Pharisees: but because they were most covetous, they mocked the saving words of the Lord.

For even that rich man whom the Lord called to the kingdom of heaven, love of money did not permit to enter. But also the heart of Judas burned with the flame of avarice, so that he handed over the Lord, the giver of all good things, into the hands of the wicked. For an avaricious man is like hell. For hell, however many it has adorned, never says: It is enough; so even if all treasures should flow together into the avaricious man, he will never be satisfied.

CHAPTER XXXI. But let him give alms from his own. Therefore, my brother, command all who are in your house to beware of this vice. For it is better that someone give a little to the needy from his poverty, than much from unjust acquisition. Let each one stretch out his hand according to what he has. For as much is sought from each one of them as God has given him. For He demands more from him than what He Himself gave. Alms acquired with iniquity are abominable before God, and what has been faithfully acquired is acceptable to Him. For there are some who, plundering the goods of others, pretend to give alms: and while they oppress others, they feign to show mercy to others. But if they give from their own labor, it will be pleasing and acceptable to God.

CHAPTER XXXII. Let him do all things humbly, nothing proudly; to deter his household from vices. And entreat them that in all their works they act humbly before God in whatever they have to do: because whatever a man does with pride will not be pleasing to God. But what is done humbly, this is acceptable to him. Let them be humble in all works: because humility is the height of virtues: nor will anyone come to the kingdom of heaven except through humility. But the labors of many years, and prayers, and alms, fastings and vigils, if they have ended in pride, are counted as nothing before God. Acceptable to God is the humble man, and he bears God within himself. A little earlier we have already discoursed on the evil of pride; but on account of those subject to you, I have found this place necessary, that against the arrows of the devil they may learn to raise the shield of humility. But the proud man is hateful to God, like the devil. The humble man, though in appearance he be lowly, is yet glorious in virtues before God. But the proud man, even if he seem comely and distinguished in appearance, is yet lowly in his works before God: and by his words and gestures, and countenance and gait, his pride and levity are always discerned. He desires always to be praised by men, and wishes himself to be proclaimed for good things to which he is a stranger: he does not suffer himself to be subject to anyone, but always among his equals he desires to hold the first place, and to ascend to a higher rank: and what he cannot obtain by merits, he wishes to seize by flattery and detraction.

And just as a ship without a pilot is when it is tossed by the waves, so also the proud man is carried about lightly, unstable in all his acts. The humble man, however, judges himself the lowest, and looking with a gentle face, he appears eminent before God; and when he has done all things, he says, I am an unprofitable servant, and he testifies that he has done nothing. And God makes his works known, and brings them forth into the open, and glorifies his deeds, and exalts him, and makes him famous, and in the time of his prayers he can obtain from God what he asks. These things and similar ones humility alone obtains before God; because it is itself the seat and the delightful couch of our Lord Jesus Christ, who says, Upon whom shall I rest, except upon the humble and quiet and trembling at my words (Isa. LXVI, 2)? And again, Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. XI, 29). Announce, I pray, to your people, and tell them, that God resists the proud; and the anger of man does not work the justice of God (James IV; I, 20). Fornicators and adulterers God himself will judge on the day of judgment (Hebr. XIII, 4). Concerning perjuries: A man who swears much shall not escape sin, nor shall the plague depart from his house (Eccli. XXIII, 12). Detraction is the fornication of the soul. And the Psalmist says, The one who detracts secretly from his neighbor, him I persecuted (Psal. C, 5). Discord, as Solomon sang, the Lord detests, saying, The seventh is what my soul detests; that is, he who sows discord among brothers (Prov. VI, 16, 19).

CHAPTER XXXIII. The Receiving of the Eucharist. Confession Is to Be Made Before It. These are the food and drink of death to our soul. From these may the loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ free us, and grant us to eat himself, who said, I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life in himself (John 6:41, 55). But each one, before he receives the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, must examine himself, and according to the Apostle's precept, so eat of that bread and drink of that cup: because whoever eats and drinks the body and blood of the Lord unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord (1 Cor 11:28, 29). For when we are to receive it, we ought first to have recourse to confession and penitence, and to examine all our acts more carefully; and if we perceive sins that are blameworthy in us, let us hasten quickly to wash them away through confession and true penitence; lest, with Judas the betrayer, harboring the devil within us, we perish, dragging out and concealing our sin from day to day.

CHAPTER XXXIV. Sins of the Heart. And if we have thought anything evil or wicked, let us do penance for it, and let us hasten quickly to erase it from our heart. Let us not say, "This is not a great sin that I have thought." Alas, foolish ones! Why do we not understand that in the sight of the Lord our thoughts are manifest before they proceed into action, and God searches the reins (Ps. VII, 10); and again, The Lord knows the thoughts of men (Ps. XCIII, 11). And elsewhere the same psalmist says, You have understood my thoughts from afar, you have searched out my path and my cord (Ps. CXXVIII, 3). Let us not, I beseech you, permit evil thoughts within us, nor neglect them as though they were the smallest matter; because he who despises small things falls away little by little (Eccli. XIX, 1). Let us not despise the serpent's bite, lest its venom be scattered into our hearts: for although venom is life to the serpent, it is death to man. Let us cut away the shoots of thorns from the field of our heart, lest they bind deep roots within us. For we know that our heart is the field of our Lord Jesus Christ: let us cultivate it with heavenly disciplines, and let us not allow tares to be sown in the field of so great an emperor; but let us adorn it with the beauty of all the flowers of the virtues; because the almighty God delights in these, as is read in the Song of Songs. I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys (Cant. II, 1), that is, I am the glory of the world, the virginity of the humble.

CHAPTER XXXV. The Flesh Must Be Tamed. And always and always let our flesh be subject to the soul, and like a handmaid serve its mistress. Let us not give illicit strength to our body, lest it wage war against our spirit: but let the flesh always be subject, so that it may obey the commands of the Holy Spirit. Nor let us allow the handmaid to be harassed, lest she despise her mistress; but let her be bound to all her commands and obediences. For just as bridles must be placed on horses, so our bodies must be curbed with fastings and prayers. For just as charioteers, if they slacken the reins, are carried over precipices, so too the soul together with the body, if we do not impose the bridle, slides down to the precipices of hell. Let us therefore be good and skilled charioteers of our body, so that we may walk along the right way.

CHAPTER XXXVI. Luxury in Food Must Be Avoided. For excessive foods harm not only our souls but also our bodies greatly, and lead them to weakness. For through excessive greed for food and intemperance in drink, the strength of the stomach is wont to be broken, and also through abundance of blood and bile and very many illnesses are contracted by the largeness of feasts. For just as these things are contrary to soul and body, so temperance of fasting is the remedy for both.

And if not at all times, yet at least on the most sacred days of fasting, as much as we can with God's help, let us flee the delights of the world and the abundance of foods, lest at some time—may God avert it—tormented by flame, we seek a drop of water and obtain no relief.

CHAPTER XXXVII. The Evils of Drunkenness. Let us flee drunkenness, lest we fall into the crime of luxury, because the Apostle enjoins us not to be drunk with wine, in which is luxury (Eph. 5:18). For God gave us wine for the gladness of the heart, not for drunkenness. Let us therefore drink not as much as gluttony demands, but as much as the weakness of nature requires. So let us not reckon as destined for destruction what has been granted for the healing of our body. Proclaim, I ask, to your subjects in your house, that very many through wine have committed murders and fornications, and have not even refused death itself; others through wine have been captured by demons. Nor is drunkenness anything other than a most manifest demon. The drunkard thinks he is doing something excellent, when he has been plunged down to the precipices. Through wine-bibbing he is armed for curses and insults against his neighbors, and his mind is changed, and his tongue stammers. For a man of this sort, when he thinks he is drinking wine, is drunk by the wine. For very many men through wine have contracted the greatest weakness, and could not recover their former strength, because they did not temper the burning of the gullet.

For just as a fish, when with greedy jaws it hastens to swallow the bait, suddenly finds the hook within its jaws, so too the drunkard takes wine, his enemy, into himself, which, once within him, soon drives him to every most abominable work; and thus a rational man is caught like an irrational animal.

CHAPTER XXXVIII. The precepts of God pertain to all Christians. But you, my brother, command all your household and those subject to you to show themselves sober, and again not to exalt themselves in pride on account of abstinence, but to do all things temperately, justly, piously, and religiously according to the help of God: because Christ shed his blood not only for us clerics, but also for all the human race who are predestined to eternal life: nor is the kingdom of heaven promised to us alone, but also to all the laity who keep his precepts with their whole heart. For it is a great confusion to the souls of the laity, who say, What does it concern me to hear or learn the books of the Scriptures by reading, or even frequently to run back to the priests and the churches of the saints? When I become a cleric, I will do the things that clerics ought to do. Why does he not understand that he wishes to share equally in the bread and wine, and all the good things of this earth, and the felicity of the kingdom, and yet is unwilling to bear the yoke of Christ with equal labor?

What profit is it to be sublime in one part of this world and cast down in another; to shine in one part with gold and precious garments, and in another to be occupied with the miseries of this world and the darkness of vices? Let there be no anxious concern in you over the person of the lay habit, because there is no respect of persons with God. For to laypeople who keep the commandments of God, the heavenly palace lies open just as to clerics and those distinguished by the monastic habit. Since there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, but all things and in all things Christ, whoever is in his body is great. Engraft yourself into his holy body, that you may be a member of the most noble head. Love your head with your whole heart, and the members of his head. How can hand be hostile to hand, or foot hate foot, or the other members not rejoice with their own joint? They ought to grow into a perfect man, into the increase of the body of Christ. For every cleric and layperson who has been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, who has been dipped in the baptism of Christ

he ought to walk humbly and persevere in the Holy Spirit: because it profits nothing to answer in words that one is a Christian and to deny it in deeds, while one is corrupt in mind and spirit. Concerning such people the Truth himself says in the Gospel: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he will enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21). And in another place the prophet says in rebuke: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me (Isaiah 29). For a city, if it has been fortified on one side and is destroyed on the other, gives the enemy an entrance into itself. And a ship, if it has been strongly joined together with its timbers and has one plank pierced through, is sunk into the depths by the waves of water. For it is fitting equally for all laypeople, clerics, and monks to have faith, hope, charity, and humility, and to serve God with the whole heart, to make a true confession, and to do worthy penance: because the most merciful Lord forgives those who flee to penance

CHAPTER XXXIX. On Delaying Penance. But let us not be so secure on the ground of the Lord's mercy as to add sins to sins. Nor let us say, "While the age of our flesh flourishes, let us indulge our desires, and at last in old age let us do penance for our evils; for the Lord is more than merciful, and will no longer remember our crimes." Do not, I beg, think in this way, because it is the height of folly to think so: since it is even impious for anyone to wish to ask such license from God, the beginning of which is that whoever thinks these things separates himself from God. For impious thoughts separate us from God. Therefore, I say, let us not think so, since we do not know on what day we shall die. For no man knows the day of his departure. Not all die in old age, but they depart from this world at various ages. And in whatever deeds each man has been, in these same deeds he will be judged when the soul has gone out of the body. For the Psalmist says, No one in hell will confess to you (Ps. 6). Therefore let us hasten to be converted to penance.

CHAPTER XL. The Thought of Death. The Joy of the Future Life. Let our last day always be before our eyes, and when we have risen at dawn, let us not trust that we shall reach evening; and when we have laid our limbs on the bed, let us not trust in the coming of the light: and most easily shall we be able to restrain our body from vices and lusts. Let our heart always meditate on the heavenly promises, and let us transfer all earthly things that we possess to the future mansions of the heavenly kingdom: so that when we have been brought there, we may enjoy heavenly goods. For we believe that when our soul has been freed from the bond of the flesh, if we have lived well and rightly before God, immediately a chorus of Angels will come to meet us, and the companies of all the Saints will be mingled in our embraces, and will persist in adoring the true Judge. If while we live in the body, as I have said, we do the things that are pleasing to God, then there will be peace round about us, and the highest security: nor shall we fear any longer the fiery darts of the devil, nor any enemy whatsoever who desires to strike our souls; not iron, not fire, not the fierce face of the torturer, not hunger, not thirst, not any sickness of the flesh.

The flesh will no longer strive against the spirit, nor shall we fear any danger; but when we have cast off the burden of the flesh, then the Holy Spirit will grant us a dwelling in the heavenly mansions, for whom we had shortly before made a dwelling within the lodging of our body; and rejoicing, we shall await the day of the future judgment, in which the souls of each shall receive their deserts according to their deeds.

CHAPTER XLI. The Punishment of the Damned. And on the other hand, sinners and the impious shall repent, but in vain. The rapacious and the avaricious, the proud and the adulterers, the wrathful and the covetous, the slanderers and the perjurers shall weep most bitterly, but in vain; they shall not obtain pardon for their sins. Those especially shall be held in mourning, all who have followed the pleasures of their flesh; they shall be in sorrow and eternal groaning, who have served vices and passions. And whereas all these, for their crimes and wicked deeds, shall be consigned to the fires of hell, we, if while we are in this body we have pleased God, shall receive eternal rewards with the saints. Therefore let us despise all things that are vain and fleeting, that, with Christ showing mercy, we may be found worthy to attain so great a glory.

CHAPTER XLII. Guarding the tongue. Let us always turn away from vices and strive toward virtues. Let no superfluous words proceed from our mouth, because for idle words we shall give an account on the day of judgment. Nor let us accustom our tongue to cursing anyone—a tongue that is for blessing—nor let us accustom it to the worst habits in every act of ours, or even in thought; because a habit that has been drawn out and confirmed over a longer time is not avoided or expelled without great labor.

CHAPTER XLIII. Compunction. Perfection is not in years, but in souls. Let us be little ones in malice, and grown men in understanding. In some respects let us show ourselves old, in others young; because it is for little ones to play, but for the perfect to mourn. For the present mourning brings forth everlasting joy. But whatever is immoderate produces the dissolution of the soul and makes it negligent toward God's commandments; nor can it easily recall its sins to memory, and forgetting them, it does not stir itself to repentance, and so gradually falls away from all good things. Compunction of heart will have no access where there are immoderate vices and evil desires. But where there are tears, there the spiritual fire is kindled, which illumines the secrets of the mind. Let no love of the world separate us from the love of Christ, and let all our thoughts tend toward the rewards of the future fatherland, and meditate on heavenly things. This is your glory, this is the perfection of the course of your struggle.

For he is called perfect, not who is perfect in age, but who is perfect in understanding. Nor does a childlike age harm anyone at all, if he is perfect in mind; nor will an aged age profit him, if he is a little one in understanding. For even David, when he was a boy and perfect, had his heart and mind fixed in the Lord, and for this reason was chosen as king. And Saul, when he was of aged years, because of the malignant wickedness in himself was driven out from the royal height (1 Kings 16). But our Lord and Savior is crucified by the elders, and as he enters Jerusalem he is praised by little children. For even a tree, if it has been of many years and unfruitful, is cut down; but if it is young and fruitful, it is cultivated, so that it may bring forth more abundant fruit. Therefore I set forth these similitudes, so that neither a young man nor an old man in your house may trust in his own salvation, or even in his own works; but he who glories, let him glory in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31).

CHAPTER XLIV. To love the company of the good, to flee the wicked. But be among the company of perfect men, and do not turn your ear away from their words, and let your soul delight in their counsel; for the words of men who fear God are words of life, and wholesome to the soul of those who willingly hear and attend to them. As the rising sun drives away the darkness, so the teaching of the saints expels the shadows from our senses. Avoid, I beseech you, proud men, envious men, detractors, liars, perjurers, and those negligent of their own salvation, who are dead in virtues and rejoice in their own pleasures, so that they lack divine joys. I do not say that you should have even one such person in your house; but even wherever you hear that such men are, shun them. Have no mingling or familiarity with men of this kind, nor wish to converse with them, if you cannot, with the Lord's mercy, recall them from their error. For often by one diseased sheep the whole flock is defiled, and a small portion of gall turns great sweetness into bitterness. For if such a man seems to you distinguished and noble in appearance, and speaks sweet words to you, yet if he acts toward you with contrary deeds, the doing of such a man harms you more than the appearance of his words pleases you; for a man is proved not by words but by virtues.

CHAPTER XLV. A right intention. So too be approved before God, and willingly endure all things for the love of Christ; and when carnal tribulations come upon you, let not your spirit be broken, nor let the softness of this fleeting world weaken the vigor of your patience. But rather fear God, if you have held back from your purpose; and when you feel yourself guilty of sin, be not ashamed to turn to repentance, because he who repents here will repent at the last. In all your acts and thoughts please God, and do not strive to please another except for the edification of the soul. And in every work that you intend to do, first think of God; and if what you intend is according to God, examine it diligently; and if it is right before God, carry it through; but if it is found to be contrary, cut it off from your soul. And settle all things by the counsel of the wise, so that your works and your steps may be directed according to the will of the Lord. In every prayer and supplication, entreat that the will of the Lord, not your own, be done in you; and according to the precept of the Apostle, it is necessary to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17), and to lift holy hands to God without anger and disputing.

CHAPTER XLVI. To be kind to all. The Lord is merciful, and he bestows mercy on those who hope in him. He had no need of mercy, who had no sin, who appointed the Angels and set the Archangels over them; but so that we might obtain mercy from him, he gave alms. Alms were not necessary for him, to whom belong all the kingdoms of the heavens, who established the Dominations, Principalities, Virtues, and Powers; but so that by our alms we might be made partakers of the kingdom of the heavens. The Lord is patient and peaceable, so that by his patience and peace he might reconcile to God the whole world, which was set in the evil one. And let us be patient and peaceable, without anger and disputing, if we wish to reach God. And let us do good to all men: to all, I say, not in parts, not to one or two or three, but to all men. For Christ suffered not for the saints only; but for sinners and the impious and the wicked he ascended the cross, and by his passion he recalled us all to life. God gave the sun and the moon and the rain, and all the growing things of the earth, and all the fruits that spring up in the lands, not to the saints only; but he gave these in common to all men, who makes his sun rise over the good and the evil, and sends rain upon the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

Therefore he gave those things to all men in common, so that our good, and our almsgiving, and our charity, and our patience, and our humility are distributed in common to all men. As long as we are in this world, let us do good to all, but especially to those who are of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10), and let us pray for our enemies, and restore good for evil.

CHAPTER XLVII. The rewards and labors of the righteous. Let us honor the poor, and receive Christ in them, who said, As long as you did it to one of these, my least brothers, you did it to me (Matt. 25:40); and we shall be sons of God, and heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ, and we shall be partakers of his kingdom (Rom. 8:17); where we shall never die, and shall not grow old; where there is no human nature, nor any pain, nor sorrow after joy, nor the brightness of the sun, nor of the moon and stars, but the Lord our Jesus Christ will be light, and health, and life, and charity, and peace, and joy, and every good thing to all who believe in him. There is the land of the living, which the prophet had sung of, saying, I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 26:13); that is, he signifies that he will see the heavenly reward, and live and reign with Christ forever, where neither any night comes in, nor will day be ended, nor will want be seen, nor will covetousness appear, but perennial joy and everlasting gladness.

These are the promises of the righteous, and these are their promises, for which they labored and hastened, and did not cease to run in good works as long as they were in this world: in fastings, in almsgivings, in chastity, in continence, in long-suffering, in patience, in gentleness, in benevolence, in much labor, in prayers, in persecutions, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in many vigils for the love of Christ, and through all things they avoided useless vigils. For vigils are useless when a person keeps watch over many and shameful thoughts, or to do something contrary, or to commit a crime. Such vigils they avoided, and they took up holy vigils. By such things they trampled the present world underfoot, so that they might gain the kingdom to come. They did not receive here the promises or the miserable riches of this age, which bring men who use them badly down to hell; and leaving behind this present homeland, they sent the gaze of their mind ahead to the heavenly city, whose craftsman and founder is God. They shunned sin in word, in deed, in thought, in sight, in laughter, in movement, in nodding with the eyes, in the hands, in the feet, in anger, in quarreling, in fury, in dissension, in vainglory, in pride, in boasting, in covetousness, guarding their body and their souls.

CHAPTER XLVIII. Fasting and the twofold food. For together they have observed two fasts, that is, the fast of the body and of the soul, that is, abstaining from anger, and fury, and detraction, and blasphemy, and strife: because, as we have already touched upon above, these are the deadly foods of the soul, which feed it unto evil, and kill it with eternal death. Again, these are the foods of the body and of the soul together: gluttony, sloth, fornication, drunkenness, carelessness, sensuality, murder. These are the foods of the body and of the soul together, which feed the body, and kill and weigh down the soul. Let us avoid these foods; but let us desire the heavenly foods, which draw and lead us to heaven, namely divine wisdom, robust faith in Christ, kindness, benevolence, patience, humility, virtue, divine joy.

CHAPTER XLIX. The punishments of the wicked. Let good and most excellent words proceed from our mouth, seasoned with divine salt, for the edification of the hearers. Let us always meditate in our mind, and fulfill in deed, the love of God and of neighbor, in which the whole Law and the Prophets hang (Matthew 22:40). These are the commandments of Christ, which he bids us do. If we have done them, we shall be partakers of his kingdom, and we shall reign with him: but if we have not done them, he himself will not give us his kingdom. If we deny, he also will deny us.

If we do not believe, he himself will remain faithful: because every unbeliever acts faithlessly, since it is a vice of man to believe everything, and it is a vice to believe nothing. With the utmost zeal and the utmost vigilance we must take care that we do not hear from Christ, the judge of all, on the day of judgment, what sinners will hear: Go into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (Id. XXV, 41). For truly hell is prepared for the devil, but not for all men, if we do not do the works of the devil. Woe to those for whom is prepared the pain of worms, the burning of flame, thirst without quenching, weeping and gnashing of teeth, tears of eyes, outer darkness without light, punishment without end: where there is no honor of any kind, nor recognition of a neighbor, but continual pain and groaning; where death is wished for and is not granted; where there is no honor of the elder and the king, nor a master over a servant, nor does a mother love her son or daughter, nor does a son honor his father; where every evil, and all indignation, and stench, and bitterness abound. These things the righteous have feared, and have fled from them. I ask, I beseech, and again I entreat, dearest brother, that we also may love and fear God, and flee from these things: for it is the perpetual death of our soul, if we persevere in them.

CHAPTER L. Three things here are the worst, and as many the best. For there are three things in this world worse than every evil: the soul of a sinner persevering in sin, which is blacker than a raven; and the evil angels, who seize it; and the infernal place into which it is led. For there are not worse things than these three. For that same soul, terrified by fear of the future judgment, and beholding its own rottenness, says: My wounds have rotted and are corrupted because of my foolishness. Again there are three things than which there are no better things in this world: the soul of a saint persevering in good works, which is more beautiful than the sun; and the holy angels, who receive it; and the paradise into which it is led, and the expectation of the heavenly kingdom. Than these three there are no better things in this world. For the holy angels delight the soul with a spiritual song, as the Psalmist says: Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken up, O Lord; he shall dwell in thy tabernacles. We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple, wonderful in equity.

CHAPTER LI. Here we must labor. Let us meditate on these things, dearest brother. Let us hold them firmly in our mind, and let us keep ourselves from every sin and iniquity, in word, in deed, in thought, in our hands, in our feet, in sight, in hearing, and let us guard our body and our soul. For Christ our Lord, who is God and the Son of God, descended from heaven to earth, that he might carry us with himself from earth to heaven; for us sinners he ascended the cross, that he might free us from the torment of the devil; from his enemies he received punishment, that he might free us from eternal punishment; he received death, that he might snatch us from death; he rose from the dead, that we might rise again in soul and body on the great day of judgment. Therefore, while we have time, let us labor, and let us always strive with God's help to do good works pleasing to God: lest, suddenly overtaken by the day of death, we seek space for repentance and cannot find it. While we are in this time, it is fitting for us to sow: for in its own time, that is, after death or on the day of judgment, we shall reap what we ought to have in eternal life. Here then let us labor, and bear one another's burdens. For where the head has gone before, the remaining members will also follow.

CHAPTER LII. On faith, hope, and especially mutual charity. To redeem sins through charity, through confession and penance undertaken by a priest. Let us hold fast, as has already been inserted above, to right faith, certain hope, perfect charity, because faith is like our sense, and charity like our health. Faith believes, charity works, hope strengthens; and although the different members have different duties, yet if all the members are held together in the unity of charity, then they will merit to go after the head. For our head is in heaven. And the Truth itself, our Lord Jesus Christ, says concerning his faithful: If anyone serves me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my servant be (John XII, 36). Let us beware, and in all things let us beware, lest through envy, hatred, detraction, anger, or strife we be cut off from our head, Jesus Christ; and whatever evils for the love of Christ we and our neighbor have endured, let us suffer with them in the affection of charity; and whatever good anyone else has received, let us rejoice as if we had received it, and give thanks for him who received it. Behold, now, as we have said, someone suffers tribulation or loss in this world, or by the command of imperial majesty is thrust into prison for his sins; he is grieved by the death of parents or friends: if we grieve for him, we are established in the body of the Church; if we do not grieve, we are already cut off from the body.

Charity, which gathers and gives life to all the members of the Church, if it sees us rejoicing over another's ruin, immediately cuts us off from the body. Therefore we do not grieve over the ruin of our neighbors because we have been cut off from the body. For if we were there, we would undoubtedly grieve. Let us consider, dearest brother, and attend diligently, that a member grieves as long as it is kept within the body; but if it has been cut off, it can neither grieve nor feel. For when a hand or any other member has been cut off from the body, if the whole body is then divided into many parts, that hand does not feel, which is already divided from the fellowship of the remaining members. Such is every Christian who not only does not grieve over another's loss or affliction or even death, but, what is worse, even rejoices. And because he is now alien to the body, therefore he does not hold the affection of charity in his heart, since the Apostle commands, Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, being of the same mind toward one another (Rom. 12:15, 16). And Solomon most clearly admonishes us not to rejoice over the ruin of our brothers (Prov. 17:5). But we, my brother, if we wish to keep true and perfect charity, let us strive to love all men as ourselves.

...that we may deserve to be members of him whose head is Christ; so that when Christ our glory shall appear, we too, through the concord of charity—that is, the love of God and neighbor—as true and perfect members of him, without any deceit of malice or envy, loving all men as ourselves, may deserve to appear with him in glory. For he himself said in the Gospel: By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35). For the love of neighbor does not...

My dearest brother, if our Lord and Savior, who had no sin, deigns to love us sinners with such affection and such great love that he declares that what we suffer he himself suffers: why do we, who are not without sin, and who can redeem our sins through charity, not love him with as perfect a love as he loved us, who even handed over his own Son to death for us sinners? And since he has shown such great kindness and mercy toward us, let us be watchful, lest we lose the good that he has given us, and the sacrament of our Baptism, in which we vowed to renounce the devil and his pomps and all sins.

But if we transgress in some sin after baptism, a loving God has given a second baptism, that is, a fountain of tears, and has ordained penance for us because of our frailty. Therefore we ought to confess our sins truthfully and to bring forth fruits worthy of penance: that is, that we not repeat past sins, according to the command of a priest who fears God. Such a priest, as a wise and perfect physician, should first know how to heal his own sins, and afterwards to cleanse and heal the wounds of others, and not to make them public. These men, if we can, let us seek out, and with such as these let us take counsel for our salvation: so that we do not lose the heavenly inheritance, which the Lord prepared for us from the beginning of the world, if we serve him in righteousness, and soundness, and purity of heart, and unfeigned charity, crying out with the Apostle, Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or the sword? and the rest that follow: as it is said, Neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35, 38, 39). For it was said of the primitive Church, that they had one heart and one soul in the Lord (Acts 4:32); and they had one will to consent and to refuse: because the charity of Christ had joined them together into one.

CHAPTER LIII. The Decrees of the Wicked. Almsgiving from Unjust Gains. But on the contrary, the carnal and the lovers of this world are separated and divided against one another: stirring up scandals against each other, contentions, angers, quarrels, dissensions, homicides, perjuries, thefts, robberies, and all the things that this world loves; and each one takes delight, saying in his heart, I will do what I wish and what I can, I will fulfill my thoughts and the pleasures of the body: my plans support me, whether those of my friends or of my powerful parents; gold is at hand for me, silver abounds; I have male and female servants, fields and many possessions of this world, cloaks, precious garments, by which I can redeem myself: I will fulfill my will, God will give me space of life and of penance. Alas, why do we not fear what the Gospel thunders terribly, saying, Fool, this night they will demand your soul from you: the things you have prepared, whose will they be (Luke 12:20)?

Let us recognize that we are men, and let us not so pride ourselves against God and our neighbor as to accomplish our own evil wills and set God aside; and henceforth let us not strive to bend the Lord's good will to our own evil wills by means of gifts, while neglecting to correct our own depraved will to the Lord's will, which is always right. But wherever it pleases us, we wish to avenge our injuries, saying: I will commit homicide, perjury, adultery, fornication; and afterward I will give the Lord my redemption. Why do we not understand, when we sin so boldly, thinking that God can be appeased by gifts, that we then provoke him much more to wrath than to mercy? For God takes no delight in gold or in silver, nor does he seek anything else from us than that our souls be presented clean in his sight. For he does not involve himself in the counsels of sinners, but ever admonishes us out of regard for our salvation and gives wholesome counsel, because he himself is the counselor of our salvation, as the prophet says: And his name shall be called wonderful, counselor (Isa. 9:6). And again it is said of him in the Psalm: Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly (Ps. 1:1). And again: Because there is no iniquity in him (Rom. 9:14). And perhaps even that alms which we think we are giving on our own behalf, whether from the estates of the dead or from the plunder of the poor, seems to be alms in name but not in deed.

For what kind of almsgiving is it, that one man be unjustly clothed while another is unjustly tormented by hunger? God does not seek such things from us; I dare to say it, almighty God hates such things. Hear what He Himself says through the prophet: He who offers a sacrifice from robbery, or from the substance of the poor, is like one who sacrifices a son in the sight of his father (Sirach 34:24). I will not accept, He says, these things from your hands, for your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15). And another prophet: The bread of the needy is the life of the poor; he who defrauds him is a man of blood (Sirach 34:25). Let us despise the making of unjust alms, we who wish to make just and spiritual alms, so that we may make them from just labors, not from robberies, or from the multiplication of crops, or from base dealings; lest perhaps in this many sacrileges be incurred, or even, what is worse, blood be shed for the sake of greed or drunkenness, and the voices of those afflicted with much labor cry out to God against us. Whence also the Psalmist: He who has not given his money at usury, and has not taken bribes against the innocent; and the rest which in the same psalm can make blessed the one who hears, believes, and takes heed: as the same psalm concludes, He who does these things shall not be moved forever (Psalm 14:5).

CHAPTER: Christian happiness is not earthly. And because the Creator of all things instills such things and things like them into His rational creature by announcing them, let us believe that the Creator loves what He created. He persecutes no one, unless man himself persecutes himself; He withdraws from no man whatsoever, unless man himself first withdraws from Him. He hates—and it profits us nothing, indeed it even harms us, to be redeemed by the blood of Christ and yet willingly to be subject to the devil. Therefore let us consider and reconsider that we were not made Christians for the sake of earthly happiness. We do not worship Christ for the sake of this life: as the Apostle says, If in this life only we hope in the Lord, we are more miserable than all men (1 Cor 15:19). Christ, so that we might not love gold, taught us to despise offered gifts; so that we might not fear hunger, He fasted forty days; so that we might not dread nakedness, He forbade His disciples to have another tunic besides one; so that we might not be terrified by tribulations, He Himself endured them; so that we might not be afraid of death, He Himself accepted it. And when He had taught us all these things, He Himself went before us not only in word but also in example. For this ought sweetly to burn in our hearts—this world, and let us perish with this world. Alas, how miserable we are if we are unwilling to believe this and do not recall our mind from the love of this age, while we cannot hold on to these things perpetually, and we lose security from love! What shall we do? What shall we do?

We must grieve if we lose the promised kingdom, and if it is suddenly said to us, "O you lovers of the world, go out to meet the bridegroom, and come to him whom you do not wish to see, because you have set aside his commandments. For you shall see the very wounds which he bore in his body for your sake." What then, groaning and sorrowing, shall we say? And what shall we answer, when our merits against him demand it, since we have often heard and neglected what the Psalmist sang: "What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me? I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord" (Ps. 115:12-13). Let us hold firmly that the hope of the good is not placed in this world. Although it seems so, the world itself pours out a bitter draught for its lovers. And Truth itself addresses them, saying, "Where is what you were loving? Where is what you held in great esteem?"

CHAPTER 55. How lamentable is the loss of souls. O my brother, are our flesh and blood made of iron, that they should not tremble; or is our understanding adamantine, that it should not soften, or even fail to awaken at such words of God? Why do we not say with the prophet: "Who will give water to our head, and a fountain of tears to our eyes, and we will weep day and night for the wounded sons of our people" (Jer. 9:1)? The eyes of those who consider not only the deaths of bodies but also of the souls of Christians fail from weeping.

What grief could be found more fitting, what lamentation more certain, than when each one of us mourns and grieves over a lost soul with the Apostle, who said, "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn" (2 Cor. 11:29)? And again in another place, feeling compassion for the love of neighbors, he says, "I could wish to be anathema from Christ for my brethren" (Rom. 9:3). Let us learn in so great an apostle of Christ to burn with so great a love of Christ, since he knew that he had not spared his only Son, but had delivered him up for us all (Rom. 8:32). He says this for all of us: therefore no layperson, no cleric, no virgins, no widows ought to neglect the salvation of their souls, since it is manifest that the price of so great a blood was poured out for us.

CHAPTER LVI. To be converted quickly. Predestination. To merit grace by humility. To despise earthly happiness. Therefore let all of us who remain upon the earth acknowledge our sins, lest we perish with the wicked, while by swift and worthy satisfaction we do not please him. How quickly did that man appease his wrath who said, "I have acknowledged my sin, and I have not hidden my iniquity. I said, I will declare against myself my iniquity to the Lord" (Ps. 31:5). He declares that he will declare it, and already it is forgiven him. [Attend, my brother, to a great matter.

He said, "I will declare": he did not say, "I have declared, and you forgave"—because by that very word "I will declare" he shows that he had not yet declared it aloud, but had declared it in his heart. This very saying, "I will declare," is to declare; therefore you also forgave the ungodliness of my heart. My voice was not yet in my mouth, so my confession had not yet come to my mouth. I had said, "I will declare against myself"; yet God heard the voice of my heart. My voice was not yet in my mouth, but the ear of God was already in my heart. And what followed? "And you forgave the ungodliness of my heart." God is always ready to forgive our sins, if we do not delay to return to him. For if we delay, let us fear lest he bring his wrath upon us, since he has predestined some to great punishment and has bestowed great benefit upon others—yet not unjustly, but in his high judgment. For Cain committed murder, and Job, though wounded, became God's friend, and innocent Abel was killed by his brother; yet neither did Job suffer torment for long, nor did he grant Ananias a place for forgiveness, nor did he abandon Paul, buffeted, whom he made strong by his grace, nor did he receive Judas repenting, nor did he abandon the father of the patriarchs weeping, nor did he regard Saul repenting, nor did he despise David confessing. And so the pious and merciful Lord, by his high judgment, separates the vessels of wrath from the vessels of mercy. O if we would attend to wretched Judas, once a perfect vessel, led away to perdition!

For the vessel of the Holy Spirit could not bear him, and having received him it immediately burst, and being wholly broken it became useful for nothing. Fearing these things, let us be converted, and be converted while there is time. For the Psalmist says, "Seek the Lord while there is time, and be strengthened; seek his face always" (Ps. 104:4). For it is time that we be repaired; and if we have been broken by any sin, we have the almighty God as our potter and craftsman: let us believe that he is able to repair what is lost, who created all these things whole. He himself says, "As the clay of the potter, so are you in my hand" (Eccli. 33:13). Therefore let us humble ourselves under the hand of the almighty God, that he may exalt us in the time of visitation. Let us consider that we stand in the sight of God; let us acknowledge what we are; let us acknowledge that we are earth and ashes, since the prophet also says against us, "Why does earth and ashes exalt itself?" (Id. 10:9)? But if we do not acknowledge ourselves, we wish in vain to exalt our necks, while God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). "Be comforted, you humble," says your God, "be comforted, you who are faint-hearted, be strengthened, and do not fear any longer; behold, your God will render judgment, he himself will come, and will save you" (Isa. 35:4).

CHAPTER LVII. In troubles let us flee to Christ the shepherd. The Lord is near, be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6); let no unhappiness of the world frighten us, because if all the saints had feared this worldly unhappiness, they would not have eternal happiness. If the happiness of this world, which is transitory, is loved, perpetual happiness is not found here. But if perpetual happiness is sought, since it is not found here, let us press on toward perpetual happiness, where we have our homeland and our parents; let us endure all things of this world most patiently for the name of Christ. What, I ask, is there to be endured, compared with that which is promised to us? The Apostle says: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory that will be revealed in us (Rom 8:18). Let no pressure, then, frighten us, let no calamity break us. The Lord is near, our shepherd is around us; what shall we fear? And if we fear, let us cry out to our shepherd, that he may hear us; let us cry out in compunction of heart, saying: I have gone astray like a sheep that has perished; seek your servant, Lord (Ps 118:176). Let us cry out and say: Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only one from the hand of the dog; save me from the mouth of the lion (Ps 21:21-22). Let us cry out and say: Flight has perished from me, and there is no one who seeks my soul. Shall I consider on the left? Behold, the devil roars like a wolf, he gnashes his teeth like a lion. Behold, he is a wolf? The dog barks against him.

I cried to you, Lord; I said, You are my hope, my portion in the land of the living (Ps. 141:5–6). Deliver me from the hands of my enemies and of those who persecute me. Will our good shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, if we cry out to him, let us wander any longer, or be torn apart and devoured by wild beasts or animals? Far be it. Indeed, leaving the ninety-nine, he went to seek the one lost sheep. Nor did he go because he heard it crying out; but before it cried out—for the Evangelist says, Leaving the ninety-nine, he went to seek the one sheep that had perished; and when it was found, weary and exhausted, he placed it on his shoulders and carried it back to the flock (Luke 15:4–5). The shepherd deigned to carry it back to the flock on his own shoulders and by his mercy to recall it from its wandering. But in that the Lord carried this sheep back to the flock laid upon his own shoulders, how great thanks are to be given for his mercy and grace, who humbled and lowered himself so greatly for us? He carries and restores, he rules and guards.

CHAPTER LVIII. The Shepherd's Aid Against the Devil Is Entreated. When We Are Freed from Every Evil. We beseech you, good Lord, highest and best shepherd, that the sheep may not perish; fulfill the office of the highest shepherd. Pursue the lion that has seized the sheep from your flock; let the lion be slain, and let the sheep be snatched from its jaws, for you are the shepherd of the sheep. Our mighty king, crush Satan under our feet. And now, Lord, our shepherd, our king, so many sheep from your flock are snatched away daily, and why do you keep so silent? Answer, why do you keep silent? Behold, your sheep are snatched away through various precipices, and your enemies who hate you lift up their head against you, and you keep silent. O Lord God, why do you keep silent so long? To these things the Lord cries out through the prophet, and says, I have been silent, I have been silent, but I will not always be silent (Isa. 42:14): my hand will execute judgment. Therefore, Lord Jesus, our shepherd, our king, take up your arms and go forth, that you may fight against the lion, our adversary, who prowls about seeking to devour us (1 Pet. 5:8). Be to us a tower of strength from the face of the enemy. We ask, and most urgently we ask, that you deliver us. For the world is set in the evil one. Behold, evils rage, and the lovers of the world perish: they blaspheme, they rave, and they murmur against you; they not only do not entreat your mercy, but they even reproach your judgment. Who works such things in them, except the author of evil, the proud and lost angel, who desires to destroy all?

Free us, Lord God, from every evil, and let our portion be with every good. Free us from every evil; for then are we freed from every evil, when we are separated from the devil and his angels. His angels are those who do his will. Let our portion not be with such as do the will of the devil, but with him who said, If anyone does the will of my Father, he is my brother, sister, and mother (Matt. 12:50). For we have been redeemed by his price. Fleeing the company of the wicked, let us seek good things, let us cling to the highest good, let us serve him, let us do his will: that we too may be angels of God, of whom the prophet says, Bless the Lord, all his angels, his ministers, who do his will (Ps. 102:20, 21): because the will of our Father is, as the Gospel says, that not one of his little ones perish (Matt. 18:14), and that we not perish and be torn away from the just way (Ps. 2:12).

CHAPTER LIX. The works of darkness and the armor of light. — Let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Rom 13:12), and, once the darkness of night has been driven out and the shadows of darkness put to flight, let the ray of the true light shine in our hearts. In the night let us perform not the works of night but the works of day, because we have been called children of day. For neither let our senses grow dull through the delight of sleep, nor let vain phantasms mock our souls, nor let rest incline our very bodies, weighed down by the warmth of the bedclothes, into deep torpor; but by keeping watch, praying, fasting, and singing psalms, let us fight against the adversary the devil, and let us feel the great light poured into our hearts, and in the night let us perform the works of day. For what must we do in the dark night of this world, except put the devil to flight and bring Christ in? What must we do in the blindness of this night, except take captive the capturer and follow the liberator? What must we do in the night, except shake off the diabolical darkness from our hearts and draw in the true light? What must we do in the night, except uproot pride and bring in humility? What must we do in the night, except expel from us the prince of all vices and receive the fount of all goods?

Let us receive him, dearest brother, let us receive him, so that we may also be received by him and see what good things have been prepared by him for us, who calls us daily; and let us receive his light yoke and his sweet burden, who lightens the burden of our sins; let us lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. For what is it to lay aside the works of darkness, if not to renounce the pomps of the devil and his angels? And what is it to put on the armor of light, if not to believe in God the Father almighty, who has enlightened every man coming into this world, who also said, While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be children of light (John 12:36). First, however, most beloved, if you wish—or rather, because you wish it—let us discuss and investigate who or what the devil is.

CHAPTER LX. Who the devil is. How many good things he took from man, how many evils he brought upon him. For the devil is an angel separated from God through pride, who did not stand in the truth, and is a teacher of lies and the father of lies; because lying was first invented by him, and he himself is a lie (John 8:44), as the most truthful Lord our Jesus Christ speaks in the Gospel of John: because he is the head and end of lying; and, deceived by himself, he hastens to deceive us. This is the adversary made of the human race, the inventor of death, the instigator of pride, the king of malice, the head of crimes, the prince of all vices, the persuader even of shameful pleasures.

Therefore, when he looked upon that first man made by God, namely Adam, the father of us all, as you are able to understand repeatedly from what has been said above, and saw that this man, made from the mud of the earth in the image of God, was adorned with chastity, composed in temperance, surrounded with charity, and clothed in immortality, he—envious and jealous that an earthly man had received such great blessedness, which he himself, while he was an angel, is known to have lost through pride—immediately envied our first father, the insatiable murderer, and despoiled us and our parents of such great and such good things, and moreover destroyed us. For the devil despoiled us of many good things at the outset—that is, chastity, continence, patience, meekness, charity, immortality. Thus he made us naked and wretched, and mocked us as wrapped in his own rags and bound under his dominion, and by that very bond he bound all our offspring to himself. He despoiled us of chastity and girded us with unchastity; he despoiled us of temperance and made us intemperate; he despoiled us of charity and clothed us with malice; he despoiled us of immortality and served us death. With these most shameful and most foul rags he also wrapped us and our descendants, and left us half-dead.

CHAPTER LXI. How willingly he must renounce him and flee to Christ. And because the most savage enemy has dealt with us so miserably—indeed, because he has so dealt—come, dearest brother, let us renounce this ruinous inheritance. We have been made orphans; before the exactor of so very wicked an inheritance comes, let us renounce all that is his. If anyone, then, has neglected to renounce this inheritance, in which are the devil's rags—that is, his pomps—and his angels, when the judge comes, as the Gospel says, the debtor will be handed over to the exactor, and the exactor will thrust the debtor into prison. Amen I say to you, says the Lord, you will not go out from there until you repay the last quadrans (Matthew 5:26). And so all the human race, as a poor man and an orphan, divine Scripture commends to God, saying, To you the poor man has been left; you will be the helper of the orphan; and showing his adversary the devil, it continued and added, Break the arm of the sinner and the malignant (Psalm 10:14–15, according to the Hebrew). May our Lord Jesus Christ, kind and merciful, be present, that he may show some mercy to this orphan and poor man, because he suffers a cunning and most ferocious adversary, and even now the orphan fails in his cause; wherefore his adversary hastens to deceive him by wicked arts. Be present, Lord Jesus Christ, as a fitting defender to this orphan; be present in his cause, you who have commanded that the sons of men be judged rightly. Lift up your arm, and crush the arm of the sinner and the malignant.

You know very well the cause of this poor man and orphan—that is, of the human race—which is owed by the paternal bond. The accused is bound, and, held fast by the adversary, he is detained; there is no other way by which help may be given us except by your counsel and your most powerful assistance. Judge our cause; defend it, because you are powerful.

CHAPTER LXII. The demon as accuser in the courts. O my dearest brother, how blessed is the soul that has so powerful a defender! Therefore now, I beg, let each one of us be watchful, lest the devil recognize his own poor ones before him on the day of judgment and the accused begin to be forever detained, whom Christ willed to be set free by his grace. Nor let him flatter himself falsely, who after receiving grace refuse to be corrected and turn again to those former wills of theirs. For the day of judgment is awaited; that most just judge will be present, who will accept the person of no powerful man, whose palace no bishop, nor abbot, nor count will be able to corrupt with gold and silver. All souls will stand before him, that each may give account according to what she did in the body, whether good or evil (II Cor. 5:10). For the adversary the devil will be at hand, and the words of our profession will be read out, and he will throw in our face whatever we have done, and on what day we sinned, and in what place, and what good work we ought to have done at that time.

And if we are found to be such, that adversary will exult in the sight of the most loving judge, declaring himself to be superior to us, pleading such a case before such a judge; for then the devil himself will be able to say: Most righteous judge, judge that this one is mine by guilt, who refused to be yours by grace; he is yours by nature, mine by misery; yours by his suffering, mine by my persuasion; disobedient to you, obedient to me; from you he received the robe of immortality, from me this ragged tunic with which he is clothed; he lost your garment when he came here in my garment. What was impurity doing with him, what intemperance, what avarice, what anger, what pride, what my other members? He left you, he took refuge with me; I see my sisters accompanying him. For why did he do this? Why did he dispute with pride? Why did he rage with anger? He stored up for himself wrath on the day of wrath. Most righteous judge, he says, judge; for justice and judgment are the preparation of your throne. Judge that he is mine, and that he must be damned with me. All these things that he brought here, I recognize as mine. He wished to be mine, and he desired what is mine; he ought to be punished with me, since the one whom you deigned to free at so great a price, he himself afterward willingly chose to bind over to me. Alas, alas! dearest brother, will such a one be able to open his mouth, who will be found such there as to be justly condemned to go with the devil?

CHAPTER LXIII. How dangerous it is to relapse. Let us see what we should do, let us see from him how we may be delivered; let us see and take heed that we do not receive the grace of God in vain: but with an whole heart and perfect faith let us renounce and spurn so ruinous a diabolical inheritance, lest we remain orphans and poor. Let the terrible sentence of the blessed Apostle, terribly pronounced, be recited in the midst of us, which may make both our hearts and our bodies tremble. For he says: If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there is now no longer a sacrifice left for sins; but a certain terrible expectation of judgment, and a zeal of fire which shall consume the adversaries. Anyone who makes void the law of Moses dies without any mercy on two or three witnesses: how much more do you think he deserves worse punishments, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the Testament polluted, in which you were sanctified, and has done insult to the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said: Vengeance is mine, I will repay. And again: Because the Lord will judge his people. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And a little after: Therefore do not lose your confidence, which has a great reward. For patience is necessary for you, that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he who is to come will come, and will not delay to render to each one according to his work (Hebr. X, 26-31, 35-37).

For these words flowed not from me, but from him who said, "Do you seek a proof of him who speaks in me, Christ?" Let us stretch out the keen edge of the heart's eye and see; and let us incline the ear of the heart to perceive and search out the terrible sentence of the Apostle. Let us cleanse the eye of the heart—indeed, let that very light which we desire to see cleanse our heart, and let it be cleansed from the darkness of sins by his mercy; for he says, "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." Let not this labor be for us useless unto destruction, but gentle unto salvation. Let us run while we have the light, lest the darkness overtake us. And again the Apostle exhorts us most earnestly, saying, "Lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, that no one who is lame go astray, but rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one shall see God: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up hinder, and through it many be defiled." And a little after: "See that you refuse not him who speaks; for if they who were unbelieving at the word of God did not escape, refusing him who spoke on earth, much more we who turn away from him who speaks to us from heaven, whose voice then moved the earth; but now he promises, saying, 'Yet once more, and I will move not only the earth, but also heaven.'

But the phrase "Yet once more" declares the removal of things that are shaken, as of things that were made, so that those things which are unshaken may remain. Therefore, receiving an unshaken kingdom, we have grace, through which we may serve, pleasing God with fear and reverence; for our God is a consuming fire, who will consume his adversaries (Heb. 12:12-15, 23-29). Let us draw near to him before we are consumed by him, asking of him to burn our heart and our reins. And again, "For you have proved us, O God; you have tried us with fire, as silver is tried" (Ps. 65:18). For it is most plainly evident that if here we are not burned by him, there we shall be consumed as adversaries. For the Apostle says, "Let no one deceive himself, let no one seduce himself with empty words, because whatever a man has sown, that he shall also reap" (Eph. 5; Gal. 6:8). Let us not speak one thing with the tongue and another with the heart, lest we be Judas and the Herodians: some in betrayal, some in confession, some in dissimulation, but let us be others in the humility of truth. Therefore with a true heart let us hasten to the fullness of faith, our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, and let us not forsake the beginning of good works, as is the custom of certain people, but let us console one another, and all the more as we see the day of judgment drawing near.

CHAPTER LXIV. The flesh receives the devil. Over it alone he received power. The flesh, powerful toward malice, feigns itself weak for pious works. The flesh is, as it were, war against the soul. It provokes to every evil. And it prepares eternal things both for itself and for the soul. Let us trample upon the pride of our flesh, which is the flesh that destroys the soul and brings all pride; and he who sows in the flesh, as the Apostle says, will also reap corruption from the flesh (Gal. 6:8). It is the flesh that receives the devil; for the devil sows his seeds in our flesh, that is, murder, fornication, concupiscence, lust, anger, strife, drunkenness, pride, theft, and every evil suggestion, as the Apostle says: Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spirits of this flesh, against the spiritual things in the heavens (Eph. 6:12). He speaks of the devil, who is an evil spirit and is not seen. And that most wicked spirit himself was cast out of heaven with his angels, of whom it is said in the Apocalypse: Behold, the accuser of our brethren is cast out, who accused them day and night, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 12:10-11). Of whom the Apostle says: There was given to me a thorn in my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. For this I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me; and he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

Again he says, repeating: I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and making me captive in the law of sin, which is in my members. Again he says: For I serve the law of God with my mind, but with the flesh the law of sin (Rom. 7:23, 25). And again: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1). It is the flesh that receives the devil, and the devil has the flesh in his power, not the soul; therefore the Apostle says, A thorn in my flesh was given to me, not, to my soul; but, to my flesh, an angel of Satan. Finally Job was tempted in the flesh by the devil, when the Lord said: And power was given to him by the Lord over his substance and over his flesh. And again: I will give him to you in your power, except his soul (Job 1:12; 2:6). For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. But these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do whatever you will (Gal. 5:17). The flesh is a wretched beast that weighs down the soul, as the Apostle says: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Again the Truth itself, our Lord Jesus Christ, says of himself: The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). For our flesh always wants to be powerful in malice, but in abstinence, that is, in fasting and in vigils and prayers and good works, it feigns itself to be weak.

It is our flesh that plunges us into the pit, as the Apostle says: Mortify your members which are upon the earth; that is, fornication, uncleanness, anger, and the rest that follow. And again: Make not provision for the flesh in your desires. And so let us mortify our flesh through abstinence, and fasting, and vigils, and prayers; lest it bring the devil upon us with evil desires. For the flesh was given to us, as it were, for war against the soul: which if it be mortified, brings life; if it be nourished, it prepares itself against the soul for war. But I praise him who can have power over his own flesh. While we fear the weakness of our flesh, we neglect the salvation of our soul. O wretched soul, what do you say, you whom the flesh so strongly weighs down, as Solomon says, The corruptible body weighs down the soul; and again he repeats, The mouth that lies kills the soul? Woe, woe to the wretched soul, which the flesh persecutes. Our flesh fights daily against the soul: and we ought to fight daily against the flesh, as the Apostle commands: If you live according to the flesh, you shall die; but if by the spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live.

The flesh lusts after and points out every evil suggestion; the flesh lusts after every evil; the flesh urges on wicked deeds; the flesh provokes anger; the flesh provokes murder; the flesh provokes adultery and quarreling; the flesh introduces drunkenness; the flesh bears every evil desire of this world, and the flesh desires all evils. O flesh, cruel beast, what do you have, why do you weigh down the soul, which would have desired nothing except to serve God, if it had not joined itself to you as an enemy? But you, wretched flesh, not only kill yourself, but you also kill the soul. Your own destruction is not enough for you, but you even wish the soul to be plunged into hell. Woe to you, soul, who have received contrary flesh, which neither enters itself nor permits you to enter into the kingdom of heaven. O evil flesh, what do you seek, what do you desire? You do not wish to endure labor, you do not wish to rest when restless? You suffocate the soul, so that in turn you may be the mistress and it the maidservant. I ask why you weigh down the soul, which is not troublesome to you? Nor will you escape punishment, while it suffers hell: for without you it cannot be judged on the day of judgment. Why do you not agree with the spirit and our soul, as the Gospel urges you, saying, Be agreeable to your adversary while you are with him on the way, that is, in this world; lest perhaps he deliver you to the judge, that is, to Christ; the judge deliver you to the ministers, that is, to the evil angels; and the ministers cast you into prison, that is, into hell: you shall not go out from there until you repay the last farthing (Matt.

V, 25, 26), that is, the least sin.

CHAPTER LXV. The evils of the flesh. The soul's prayer to God. What are you, and what do you provide for us, except the ruin of our soul? He who nourishes you, nourishes you for doing evil: because the soul does not sin except through the flesh, as it is written: The soul that has sinned, it shall die (Ezek. XVIII). For example, you say, How can the soul sin, when it is not seen? What can it fear, when it is not itself held? The flesh itself sins, which weighs down the soul: and the soul, overcome by the flesh, consents to the flesh in sins. For the flesh is headlong toward lust, shameless toward wantonness, frequent toward luxury, indecent toward fornication, daily piling crime upon crime, sin upon sins; it does not cease to join worse things to the worst: cruel in will, vain and foolish, always prone to evil, excusable and most sluggish toward good, swift to death, difficult toward life; to which the works of light are hateful, and those of darkness most beloved: because it loves to fall, neglects to rise, salvation is bitter to it, and destruction sweet: always falling from evil into worse, and flowing down from worse things into the worst; restless and impatient, surrounding the soul with the flames of hell, casting itself among the shoots of cupidity and avarice, vanity and arrogance, anger and impatience, and the rest of the wickednesses, excessive, dishonorable, it abases itself, drawing itself away from heavenly things, and delighting in earthly things.

It abandons the truth and hastens to drink in vanity and lying words. And what more? Just as the moth devours wool, and as fire consumes wood, hay, and stubble, so the rebellious and delicate flesh consumes and burns up the soul. What do you say to these things, O soul? What do you answer to these things? I will say, it says, to my Redeemer, before I am stripped of the flesh, what I should answer to these things, and to what good I would have wished to incite the body with which I dwell.

Let there not be in me, I beseech you, O Lord, the concupiscence of lust; but let the love of most beautiful chastity dwell in me. Let me be slow to hear evil, swift to your word, hastening to accomplish it. Let me be solicitous in your fear, perfect in love, constant in faith, in no way doubting in hope. Let me burn with love of neighbor, not be burned by the heat of hatred, nor waste away with the pallor of envy. Breathe into me always a holy work that I may think it; compel me that I may do it. Persuade me that I may love you; strengthen me that I may hold you; guard me that I may not lose you. Let neither the foot of pride nor the concupiscence of the belly, neither fornication nor avarice, neither envy nor anger, neither sadness nor vainglory enter or rest in my dwelling, where your dwelling ought to be. But I ask from you deep humility, you who said, On whom shall I rest, except on the humble and quiet? and the rest (Isaiah 66:2). Give me deep humility, by which the height of the flesh, the pride that suffocates me, may be bent down. Give me measured abstinence, by which the excessive gluttony of the belly, which destroys me, may be restrained.

Grant me chastity of heart, which may make me undefiled. Grant me purity of spirit, because the unclean luxury of the flesh plunges me down. Grant me the will to bestow generous alms, so that tenacious avarice may be restrained. Grant me the love of charity, so that the zeal of envy may be extinguished. Concede the patience of endurance, through which the cruel beast of anger, once overcome, may perish. Bestow the hope of eternal joy, so that the bitterness of sorrow may be softened. Make the mind within to glory in you for good works, so that the boasting of vainglory may not proceed from me outwardly. Grant me also to hold to justice, magnanimity, and temperance in all things. And make prudence to be with me in simplicity: that I may both live a blessed life sincerely and prudently flee from evil; and that I may be able to understand the fraudulent and deceitful cunning of the devil, lest he deceive me under the appearance of good; and that I may be able to discern reasonably and foresee what good I should do, or what evil I should flee. Make me after these things gentle, benevolent, peaceable, meek, modest, to be without pretense, concordant with all good people, constantly vigorous in vigils, in fastings, in prayers. Grant also a speech moderated in meekness, to attain silence; that I may speak what is fitting, and be silent about what it is not fitting to speak: or whatever from the fruits of the virtues you will deign to confer.

Grant me to keep immaculate faith in you without any error, and let my works be worthy according to the faith: that I may not pollute right faith by evil deed; and that I may not deny you, whom I confess by believing well, by living badly; and that I may not offend you, whom I follow in action by vigorous faith, by works of negligence.

Make me, conversant in a holy purpose, to follow justice, to love mercy, to love truth, to refute falsehood, to meditate or speak nothing false; to fear you ceaselessly, to love you, to cherish you, to keep your commandments, to maintain peace with all without deceit, to provoke the discordant to concord without pretense, to offer charity undefiled to all, to scandalize no one, to prefer myself to no one, but to judge myself lower than all, to show reverence and honor not out of fear of the powerful, but for the sake of the Most High; to offer obedience to elders and charity to equals; to show the grace of timely affection to the young, to bear fraternal burdens or dangers with equanimity: to benefit all together, not to harm; to hurt no one, to oppose no one, to slander no one, to place a stumbling block for no one, to judge no one, to detract from no one, to be injurious to no one, to carp at no one's life, to spy out no one's path; but to be anxious only about myself: by no means to repay evil for evil, in no way to be mindful of my injuries, nor to be an avenger; but in all goodness to overcome malice: to prepare a blessing for the one who curses, to love an enemy as a friend, to endure the insults and abuses of the angry, not to repay them, quickly to forget injuries, to forgive my offender, always to be ready to grant pardon: not to covet what belongs to others, nor to take it away on any occasion; but mercifully to distribute my own to those who do not have: in my own case

for your sake, you who redeemed me, to keep them: to feed the hungry and then refresh them, to give drink to the thirsty, to take in the stranger, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to seek out the imprisoned, to console the sorrowful, to show compassion to the afflicted and grieving, to provide necessities to the one who lacks them, to divide food and clothing with the needy; to embrace the indigent, to cherish the household member, to love the foreigner, to redeem the captive, to receive the newcomer, to protect the ward and the orphan, to support the widow, to help the oppressed, to bring aid to the desolate, to break the bonds of impiety; and whatever other teachings of your commandments declare, to believe diligently and to hear, to investigate ardently, to know prudently, to practice swiftly, to fulfill with desire, and always to be humble before you so that I may rise, not be cast down; be lifted up, not overthrown; ascend, not descend: because the flesh, with which I dwell, always wants to lead me to sin; it wants to be crowned with me, but not to strive with me. I suffer no worse enemy than the body in which I dwell. For it is like a lion overturned in my house, consuming me on every side with its pestilent bite, tearing me apart. Therefore, drawing long sighs, I will cry out and say: Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God. Through whom? Through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 7:24-25).

This I desire; O good Jesus, Savior, best Redeemer, this I desire and for this I pray, because I have been redeemed by your most precious blood: that on account of the corruption of the flesh I may not perish forever, may not come into the second death, nor into the land of forgetfulness. Let this voice of mine sound in the ears of your mercy, so that I may do your will, not the will of the flesh, and let all my mind meditate on you, delight in you, follow you, confess you, because in redeeming me your mercy is forever, and in your mercy I, who was lost, have revived from the sins of my youth, and I have done penance before you; because you have preserved for me the time of conversion, who, considering my sins, have been pierced with compunction and, with you inspiring me, have done penance before you. Rejoicing therefore from that time, I give you now and always countless thanks: because, so that I might find you, you first sought me; so that I might return to you, you compelled me; so that I might be chastened, you looked upon me like a loving father; so that I might confess, you worked it; and so that, recognizing myself, I might weep, you gave it to me. Put, Lord, my tears in your sight, and let my prayer reach you in heaven. Be present, I pray, and save, and receive me myself, commended to you, into your hands, freeing me from the mouth of the most savage dragon and from the hand of the most cruel hell. When you have received me and taken me away from the midst of the shadow of death, indeed lead me into the path of light, into the most radiant region of the living.

Place me in the safest folds of your flocks; for you are the good shepherd, who seek and bring back the lost, guard and save those found, cherish and heal the sick. And you are the merciful Lord, who do not put to shame those who hope in you, do not abandon those who seek you, do not reject those who return to you; but you receive them with exultation and praise, and grant them to reign forever in eternal blessedness together with your saints and elect; for with the eternal Father and the Holy Spirit there is to you one Godhead, glory, power, dominion, and authority for ever and ever. Amen.