Liber qui appellatur Speculum

And after a few verses: There is one lawgiver and judge, who is able to destroy and to set free. But you, who are you, that you judge your neighbor? Behold, now you who say: today or tomorrow we will go into that city, and we will indeed spend a year there, and we will trade and make a profit — you who do not know what will be tomorrow: for what is your life? It is a vapor, appearing for a little while, then it is destroyed — instead of saying: if the Lord wills and if we live, we will do this or that. But now you exult in your prides: every such exultation is evil. Therefore, for one who knows to do good and does not do it, it is a sin for him. Come now, rich men, weep, howling in the miseries that will come upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and it will devour your flesh like fire. You have hoarded in the last days. Behold, the wages of the workers who have reaped your fields, who have been defrauded by you, cry out, and their cry has entered the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have feasted upon the earth, and you have nourished your hearts in luxuries on the day of slaughter. You have brought forth, you have killed the just man: he does not resist you. Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. And a little later: Be patient also, and strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord will draw near.

Do not groan against one another, brothers, lest you be judged. And in another place: But above all, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by any other oath whatsoever; but let your manner be: yes, yes; no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment. Is any of you sad? Let him pray with a calm mind and sing psalms. Is someone among you ill? Let him bring in the presbyters of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he is in sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for each other, that you may be saved. For the constant prayer of a righteous man is of great value. And after a few verses: My brothers, if anyone among you has strayed from the truth and someone has converted him, he ought to know that he who has caused a sinner to be converted from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.

XLVII. From the First Epistle of John. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful to remit our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Little children, I write these things so that you may not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the Just, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins—not only for ours, but also for the whole world. And in this we know that we have known him, if we observe his commandments. He who says he knows him and does not keep his commandments is a liar: in this the truth is not. But he who keeps his word, in this truly the love of God is perfect. In this we know that we are in him. He who says he abides in him ought to walk as he walked. And after a few verses: He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no scandal in him.

But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going, because darkness has blinded his eyes. And a little later: Do not love the world nor those things which are in the world: because everything that is in the world is lust of the flesh and lust of the eyes and pride of life, which is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world passes away and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever. And in another place: No lie comes from the truth. And a little after: Dearest ones, now we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we will be. We know that when it appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope sanctifies himself in him, just as he is holy. Everyone who commits sin commits iniquity, and sin is iniquity. And we know that he appeared to take away sins, and there is no sin in him. Everyone who abides in him does not sin: everyone who sins has not seen him, nor known him. Little children, let no one lead you astray. He who does justice is just, just as he is just. He who commits sin is from the devil, because from the beginning the devil sins. In this the Son of God appeared, to undo the works of the devil. Everyone who is born from God does not commit sin, because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born from God. In this the sons of God and the sons of the devil are manifest.

Everyone who is not just is not from God, and who does not love his brother: for this is the proclamation which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. And after a few verses: Do not be amazed, brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have been transferred from death to life, because we love our brothers: he who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life remaining in him. In this we have recognized love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Whoever has worldly wealth and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God remain in him? My little children, let us not love with word nor with tongue, but with deed and truth. In this we recognize that we are from truth, and in his sight we persuade our hearts: because, if our heart reproaches us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Dearest ones, if our heart does not reproach us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask we will receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing before him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another, as he gave commandment to us. And he who keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in him. And in this we know that the spirit which he gave us abides in us.

Dearest, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God: for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this the spirit of God is recognized: every spirit that confesses that the law Christ came in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that denies Jesus is not from God: and this is of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he comes, and now he is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and you have overcome them, because the one who is in us is greater than the one who is in the world. They themselves are from the world: therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are from God: he who knows God hears us; he who is not from God does not hear us. By this we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Dearest, let us love one another, because charity is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is charity. And a little later: Dearest, if God has so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his charity in us is perfect. Again a little later: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God. And we have known and believed in the charity which God has for us. God is charity, and he who dwells in charity dwells in God and God in him.

In this is perfect love with us, that we may have confidence on the day of judgment: for just as He is, so we are in this world. Fear is not in love, but perfect love casts out fear: for fear has punishment, but he who fears is not perfect in love. Therefore let us love God, because God first loved us. If anyone says that he loves God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see? And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should also love his brother. Everyone believes that Jesus is Christ, born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot loves Him who was born of Him. In this we have known that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not burdensome, because everything born of God conquers the world. And a little later: This is the confidence we have in Him, that whatever we ask according to His will, He hears us: and we know that He hears us. And after three verses: He who knows his brother is sinning a sin not unto death, will ask, and will give him life, for those sinning not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he should pray for that. All iniquity is sin, and there is sin not unto death.

We know that everyone who is born of God does not sin, but the generation of God preserves him, and the evil one does not touch him. And in another place: Little children, keep yourselves from idols. XLVIII. FROM THE SECOND EPISTLE OF THE SAME. Not as writing a new commandment to you, but what we have had from the beginning, that we should love one another. And this is charity, that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you walk in it. And after a few verses: Everyone who goes before and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ does not have God: he who remains in the doctrine has both the Son and the Father. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house, nor say Hail to him. For he who says Hail to him communicates with his evil works. XLVIIII. FROM THE THIRD EPISTLE OF THE SAME. Dearest one, you faithfully do whatever you work among the brothers, and this among strangers, who have borne witness to your charity in the sight of the church: whom you will do well to escort worthily of God. For they have set out for the name, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such as these, that we may be co-workers of the truth. And after a little: Dearest one, do not imitate evil, but what is good. He who does good is with God: he who does evil has not seen God.

L. FROM THE EPISTLE OF JUDE. For certain men have crept in, who were long ago prescribed in this judgment, impious men, transferring the grace of our God into licentiousness, and denying our only ruler and lord, the laws. And a little later: These are the blemishes at their feasts, feasting without fear, feeding themselves. And in another place: These are murmurers, complainers, walking according to their own desires, and their mouth speaks blasphemy. But you, dearest ones, be mindful of the words that were spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said to you, that in the last time mockers will come, walking according to their own desires of impieties. These are those who separate themselves, animal men, not having the spirit. But you, dearest ones, building yourselves up upon your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God. And reprove these as judged, but snatch those from the fire, and have mercy on those in fear, hating even the stained tunic of the flesh.

LI. FROM THE BOOK WHOSE NAME IS THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN. If men—indeed, because men are understood to be admonished when angels are admonished—in all these same precepts we learn that false brothers are to be endured with patience for the sake of the name of God, and that through penance one is to return to the first good works, and that persecutions are to be endured for the faith unto death, and that one is to burn with charity. But toward the end of the book, when speaking of the holy city: "Neither shall anything polluted and making for abomination and falsehood enter into it," it says. And elsewhere: "Blessed are those who wash their garments, so that their power may be in the tree of life and they may enter the city through the gates. Outside are dogs, and poisoners, and the shameless, and murderers, and those serving idols, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify to you.