De Contemptu Mundi, Pope Innocent III, A Puke (TM) AudioBook

Most Reverend in Christ, Father and Lord,
Lord Cuthbert Tonstall, Bishop of Dunelm in England, John Cochleus, S P D.Show more

Most Reverend Father and Lord in Christ, after you have successfully returned from London to your country, increased by your goodness and power and the results of affairs, it was not permitted to me as frequently as before, to perform any of my duties of gratitude and respect to your most reverend lordship safely by letters, mainly because of the larger space distance made on both sides. However, I have written several times to Mister Ridley, as well as to R D T,

but since I do not know what of my letters has reached R D T within five years, whence I suspect that some of the intercepted letters have perished, I decided at last to seek the public to intercede, and he was neither a Jew nor a contemptible blachteron, but the pious and learned pontiff Innocent the Third, highly praised by all historians and chronographers alike, and also approved by the public in decretal epistles by the authority of canon law, so that it exists publicly as a witness of my love and reverence for R D T. I hope that this will be far more agreeable to you, and safer from the snares of interceptors, than private letters have been or will be; for many things, and good for many, whom God has not given to a reprobate sense, or whom his own iniquity has not blinded or hardened. For those who are exalted either by the splendor of their birthdays, or by knowledge inflated, or by the success of things rise into exaltation, the precepts of humility from the sacred letters

He lays healthily before the eyes, and by declaring the misery of the human condition, deters all from pride. Of course, this admonition seems extremely necessary at this time, in which the shadow of knowledge and most of the ignorant is so inflated, so that our faith and religion are not only debated between cups in an unbelieving and irreligious way, but they are not afraid to decide on new precepts and to give light to the uneducated and illiterate, tailors and furriers. But Innocent says that there is scarcely anything so cheap or so easy that a man fully understands, unless perhaps it is perfectly known, for nothing is perfectly known. However, from this an insoluble redargument immediately follows. Such was the ancient saying of Socrates: I do not know one thing that I do not know. And far more anciently and more religiously it was said by the great and holy man Job: I truly know that it is so, and that it is not Man is justified in comparison with God, if he wills to contend

with him, he will not be able to answer him one for a thousand. Thus the wisest Solomon says: I have found only this, that God has made man upright, and that he himself has mixed himself up with infinite problems. Irreligious therefore is this rashness of the wise, by which they thus transgress the ancient boundaries which our fathers have established. The chief of whom, of course, and the originator or founder of all impious innovations, is so swollen with pride that he thinks that more has been revealed to himself than to all the ancient fathers and councils. Truly a wretched man, to whom the Lord says in the Apocalypse: He who says that I am rich, and enriched, and need no one, and you do not know that you are wretched, and pitiable, and poor, and blind, and naked. And Pliny, an ethnic man, rebukes those who are so vainly and arrogantly proud of knowledge. Some animals feel their own nature, others perish

to usurp, to fly one thing, to have another strength, to swim another thing; for a man to know that nothing can be done without learning, that he cannot enter, that he cannot eat; Our Innocent clearly explains this misery of man by adding many things which were unknown to Pliny and to all the ethnics. I therefore beg and implore you, most decorated prince, to bear with an equanimity the admonitions of such a pious pontiff under the watchful eye of your name at this time, in which the fear of God is growing cold and worldly avarice and irreligious conversation are growing stronger in all the luxury, pomp and pageantry of the world, into the light reproduced I know, indeed, how much the truly learned and the foremost of scholars and eloquence make you, the most illustrious luminaries of our age, John Fischer, bishop of Rouen in England, William of Budaeus in France, Erasmus of Rotterdam in Germany, so that he may tremble rightly and meritoriously.

I am writing to you. However, I use your trust and clemency and kindness learned from you as an interlude for the edification of many who are now vainly proud of their high spirits and placed outside themselves, so that when they have returned to themselves, they may return to their hearts and know themselves. Good-bye to the excellent and unique herald, the protection of the church and the everlasting ornament of the country. From Dresden Misnia to Albi. III. the ninth of February In the year of Sunday's incarnation 1534.

De Contemptu Mundi, Pope Innocent III, A Puke (TM) AudioBook
Translated by PukeOnAPlate 2024

It begins with a book on the contempt of the world, or on the misery of the human condition, published by Lotharius, cardinal deacon of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, who was later called Pope Innocent the Third. And it is divided into three partial books.
PROLOGUE.
To the dearest father P. dei Gratia, bishop of Porto, Lotharius, an unworthy deacon, grace in the present and glory in the future. A little leisure, which, amid many troubles of late, which you know, I have taken occasion of, has not entirely passed me idle. But in order to depress pride, which is the head of all vices, I have described in any way the baseness of the human condition. And I have dedicated the title of the present work to your name, beseeching and demanding, that if your discretion finds anything worthy in it, the grace of God

write it all down.
But if your paternity has suggested, let me describe the dignity of human nature, favoring Christ, in so far as the exalted is humbled by this, so that the lowly is exalted by it.

FIRST BOOK.
Chapter one.
On entering the wretched human condition. Why did I come out of my mother's womb, to see labor and pain, and my days to be spent in confusion? If he, whom the Lord sanctified in the womb, spoke such things of himself, how shall I speak of myself, whom my mother bore in sins? Alas, I would say, my mother, why did you give birth to me, the son of bitterness and pain? Why did I not die in my mother's womb? Did I not immediately perish when I came out of the womb? Why was he born at the knees, suckled at the breasts, and born to burn and eat fire? I wish he had been killed

I would have been in the womb, so that my mother would have been my grave and her womb an eternal conception. For I would not have been born, having been transferred from the womb to the grave. Who, then, will give my eyes a fountain of tears, that I may weep over the pitiable entrance of the human condition, the culpable progress of human conduct, the damnable exit of human dissolution? I then considered with tears what man was made of, what man does, what man is going to do. Of course, formed from the earth, conceived in guilt, born for punishment, he does evil things that are not lawful, base things that are not proper, vain things that are not expedient, he will become fuel for fire, food for worms, a mass of rot. I would explain it more clearly, I would eat it more fully. Man was formed from dust, from mud, from ashes, and that which is baser, from the most impure sperm: conceived in the itching of the flesh, in the fervor of lust, in the stench of lust, and that which is worse, in the decay of sin; born to labor, pain, fear, and everything more miserable

is, to death. He does bad things, he offends God, he offends his Neighbor, he offends himself. He does disgraceful things by which he pollutes his reputation, pollutes his conscience, pollutes his person. He acts vainly, which he neglects the serious, he neglects the useful, he neglects the necessary. It will become fuel for the fire that always burns and burns unquenchable, food for the worm that always gnaws and eats the immortal, a mass of rot that always stinks and stinks terribly.
Chapter two.
Of the cheapness of man's own material. Therefore the Lord God formed man from the clay of the earth, which is inferior to the other elements, as is clear from Genesis 2. He made the planets and stars from fire, the winds and air from air, the fish and birds from water, and men and animals from the earth. Therefore, considering the watery man will find himself low, considering the airy he will recognize himself as lowly, considering the fiery he will consider himself very lowly, and will not be strong

he will make himself equal to the heavenly ones, and will not dare to prefer himself to the earthly ones, because he will find himself equal to beasts and will recognize his likeness. For the destruction of men and beasts is one, and the condition of both is equal, and man has nothing more than beasts. They came from the earth, and they will return to the earth as well. These words are not of any man, but of the wisest Solomon. What then is man but dust and ashes? For hence man says to God: Remember, I pray thee, that thou hast made me as clay, and shalt return me to dust. Hence also God said to man: You are dust, and to dust you shall return. I am compared (says Job) to clay, and I am likened to embers and ashes.
Clay is made of water and dust, both remaining; but ashes are made of wood and fire, both failing. Expressed mystery, but otherwise better expressed. So what is dirt?

Are you proud? What dust are you raising? whence dost thou boast of ashes?
Chapter three.
On the defect of conception. Or perhaps you will answer that Adam himself was formed from the clay of the earth, but you were created from human seed? But he was formed from the earth, but from a virgin, but you were created from seed, but unclean. For who can make the world out of an unclean seed? Who is man, that he should appear blameless and righteous, born of a woman? For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins my mother conceived me. Not in just one iniquity, not in just one transgression, but in many iniquities and in many transgressions. That is, in the offenses and iniquities of one's own, in the offenses and iniquities of others.

Chapter four.
Of the shame of the child.
For there is a twofold conception, one of seeds and the other of natures. The first takes place in commissions, the second takes place in contracts. For the parents commit themselves to the first, and the children contract to the second. For who does not know that even conjugal intercourse is never committed at all without the itching of the flesh, without the fervor of lust, without the stench of lust?
Whence the seeds conceived are foul, stained, and corrupted, from which the soul finally infused contracts the blemish of sin, the stain of guilt, the filth of iniquity, just as liquid infused from a corrupt vessel is corrupted, and the polluted contiguous is polluted by its very contact. For the soul has three natural powers, or three natural powers: the rational, to distinguish between good and evil; irascible, so as to reject evil; concupiscible, so as to desire the good. These three powers are originally corrupted by three opposite vices; the power of the rational through ignorance, so that it does not distinguish between good and evil; irascible power through anger, so that it rejects good;

concupiscible force through concupiscence, so that it desires evil. The first begets wrongdoing, the last gives birth to sin, the middle begets wrongdoing and sin. For it is a crime not to do what ought to be done; sin is not to be acted upon. These three vices are contracted from the flesh corrupted by three natural temptations. For in the carnal intercourse of reason the intuition is fenced off, so that ignorance is sown, the itching of lust is irritated, so that anger is propagated, the affections are satisfied with pleasure, so that concupiscence is contracted.
This is the tyrant of the flesh, the law of the members, the fuel of sin, the languor of nature, the fodder of death, without whom no one is born, without whom no one dies, who, if he ever passes away in guilt, yet always remains in effect. For if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. O great necessity and unhappy condition. Before we sin, we are bound by sin, and before we sin, we are bound by sin. Through man one sin entered into this world, and through

sin passes through death to all men. Have not the fathers eaten sour grapes, and set their children's teeth on edge?
Chapter five.
What kind of food is the conception nourished in the womb.
But take heed with what food the conception is nourished in the womb. Indeed, with the menstrual blood, which ceases from the woman after conception, so that the conceptions from it may be nourished in the woman, which is said to be so abominable and unclean, that from its contact crops do not sprout, shrubs wither, herbs die, trees lose their fetuses, and if dogs eat them , are brought into a frenzy. The conceived fetus contracts the vice of the seed, so that lepers and elephantiasis are born from this corruption. Hence, according to the Mosaic law, a woman who suffers menstruation is considered impure, and if

whoever comes to menses is ordered to be put to death. And because of the impurity of the menses, it is commanded that if a woman gives birth to a male child, she should cease entering the temple for forty days, if a female child, eighty days.
Chapter six.
Of the infirmity of the child.
Why, then, is light given to the wretched, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul? Happy are those who die before they are born, feeling death before they know life. For some are born so ugly and prodigious, that they are seen not as men, but rather as abominations, for whom perhaps it would have been better provided for, if they had never come to be seen, since they are pointed out and exhibited to the public as monsters. But most of them are born with diminished limbs and corrupt senses, the sadness of their friends, the infamy of their parents, the shame of their relatives. I would say this in particular

about some, when in general we all perish without knowledge, without words, without virtue? weepy, feeble, infirm, a little distant from the brutes, nay, having less in many? For as soon as they have arisen, they step, but we not only do not walk with erect feet, but also do not crawl with bent hands.
Chapter seven.
Of the pain of childbirth and the crying of the child.
We are all born crying to express our misery. For a male newly born says A, but a female E. Saying E or A, as many as are born of Eve. What then is Eve, but alas ha? Both are painful interjections, pain expressing Indignity. For these things, before the sin of the cross, after the sin Eve deserved to be called, from whence she heard it said to her: you shall wallow in sorrow. No

for there is pain like that of a woman in childbirth. Whereupon Rachel, in great pain, gave birth, and as she was dying she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of sorrow. The wife of Phineus gave birth to sudden pains as soon as she died, and at the very moment of her death she called her daughter Ichabod. But a woman, like a shipwrecked woman, when she gives birth, has sadness, but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pressure for joy, because a man has been born into the world. Therefore it conceives with uncleanness and stench, it gives birth with sorrow and pain, it nurtures with distress and toil, it guards with insistence and fear.
Chapter eight.
Of the nakedness of man.
He goes out naked, and comes back naked. The poor go, and the poor go. Naked, says Job, I came out of my mother's womb.

and return thither naked. We brought nothing into this world, no doubt because we can take nothing away. But if any man enter clothed, let him pay attention to what kind of clothing he wears. It is a disgrace to say, a disgrace to hear, a disgrace to see. A disgusting film covered in blood. This is that wall, of which Thamar says in his speech: Why is the wall broken for your sake? And for this reason he called his name Phares, which means division.
Chapter nine.
What fruit does man produce?
O base indignity of human condition, O unworthy condition of human baseness. Look for herbs and trees. They produce of themselves flowers and leaves and fruit, and alas, you bring forth lice and earthworms. They pour oil, wine, and balm from themselves, and you from yourself spit, urine, and dung. They are about themselves

they breathe the sweetness of the fragrance, and you return from yourself the abomination of the stench.
As the tree is, so is the fruit.
For a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.
For what is man according to form, but a kind of inverted tree?
whose roots are the hair, the trunk is the head with the neck, the log is the peg with the belly, the branches are those with the pipes, the leaves are the fingers with the joints.
This is the leaf that is carried away by the wind, and the stalk that is dried by the sun.

CHAPTER Ten.
On the disadvantages of old age and the brevity of man's life.

At the beginning of the human condition, men are read to have lived nine hundred years and more, but as man's life gradually declined, the Lord said to Noah: My spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh, and his days shall be one hundred and twenty.

of years This can be understood both about the term of life and about the space of repentance. For from that time it is very rarely read that men lived longer, but when human life declined more and more, it was said by the Psalmist: The days of our years are seventy years. But if in the potentates eighty years, and more their labor and pain. But will not the fewness of my days end in a short time? Our days are passing faster than the weaving of the web. A man born of a woman, living a short time, is filled with many miseries, who comes forth like a flower and is crushed, and flees like a shadow, and never remains in the same state. For few now reach the age of forty, and very few reach the age of sixty.

Chapter eleven.
On the disadvantages of old age.
But if a man has advanced to old age, his heart is at once afflicted and his head throbbed, his breath faints and his breath stinks, his face is wrinkled and his stature is bent, his throat is dimmed and his joints wobbly, his nose runs and his hair falls out, his touch trembles and his actions fail, his teeth and ears rot. they are deaf The old man is easily provoked, difficult to recall, quick to believe and slow to disbelieve, tenacious and fond, sad and complaining, quick to speak, slow to hear, but not slow to anger, praises the ancients, despises the moderns, reproaches the present, commends the past, sighs and worries , becomes numb and weak. Listen to the poet Horace: Many troubles surround the old man. Moreover, let not the old boast against the young, nor let the young be insolent against the young

old man, because what we are, he was, we shall be some day what he is here.
Chapter Twelve.
Of the labor of mortals.
A bird is born to fly, and a man is born to work. All his days are full of troubles and sufferings, and his mind does not rest during the night. And what is this but vanity? There is no one without labor under the sun, there is no one without failure under the moon, there is no one without vanity under time. Time is the way things change. Vanity of vanities, says Ecclesiastes, and all things are vanity. Oh, how diverse are the studies of men, how diverse are their practices. Yet the end of all is one, and the result is the same, labor and affliction of the spirit. A great occupation was created for all men, and a heavy yoke upon the children of Adam, from the day of their coming out of their mother's womb, until the day of their burial in the grave of all.

Chapter Thirteen.
Of the study of the wise.
Let the wise examine, investigate the heights of the sky, the breadth of the earth, the depths of the sea, and argue about each, discuss about all, always learn or teach. And what will the spirits find out of this occupation but labor and pain and affliction? He knew by this experience that he had said: I gave my heart to know the prudence of algae, doctrine, errors and folly, and I recognized that it was labor and affliction of the spirit, because in much wisdom there is much indignation, and he who adds knowledge adds pain. For though it behooves the searcher to sweat with many vigils and watch with toil and sweat, yet there is scarcely anything so cheap, scarcely so easy, that a man fully understands and grasps at a liquid level, unless perhaps it is perfectly known, for nothing is perfectly known, even though it is inscrutable from this will result in redargument. To anyone

the body that decays burdens the soul, and the torrential panting detracts from the thinking mind. Hear what Solomon thinks about this: All difficult things, man cannot explain them in words. There is a man who does not sleep with his eyes day and night, and cannot find any reason for their work. And the more he labored to seek, the less he would find. Therefore those who search for scrutiny fail, because man will come to a deep heart, and God will be exalted. For the searcher of majesty is overwhelmed by glory. For he who understands more, doubts more, and he seems wiser to himself, who loses more. Therefore, part of knowledge is to know what one does not know. But the god did the right thing, and he involved himself in infinite questions.

Chapter Fourteen.
Of the various studies of men.
Let mortals run and run through fences and paths, climb mountains, cross hills, fly over rocks, fly over the Alps, cross pits, enter caves, explore the bowels of the earth, the depths of the sea, uncertain rivers, dark forests, impassable solitudes, they expose themselves to winds and rains, thunders and lightnings, waves and tempests, ruins and precipices. They forge and fuse metals, carve and polish stones, cut and mold wood, spin and weave cloth, cut and sew clothes, build houses, plant gardens, cultivate fields, tend vineyards, burn furnaces, build mills, fish, hunt and hunt. They meditate and think, counsel and organize, complain and quarrel, rob and steal, deceive and bargain, contend and fight, and do innumerable such things in order to accumulate wealth, to multiply their gains, to make gains.

they are followed, that they may acquire honors, that they may exalt their dignities, that they may extend their powers, and this also is labor and affliction of mind. If I am not believed, let Solomon be believed: I magnified, says he, my works: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards for myself, I made gardens and orchards, I planted them with trees of every kind, I built for myself cisterns of water to irrigate the forest of sprouting trees, I owned servants and maidservants. and I had a large family, also herds and large flocks of sheep, beyond all who had been before me in Jerusalem. I amassed for myself gold and silver, and the substance of kings and provinces. I made for myself singers and songstresses and the delights of the children of men, cups and pitchers in the service of pouring out wine, and I surpassed in wealth all who were before me in Jerusalem. And when I had turned to all that my hands had made, and to my labors,

to whom I had sweated in vain, I saw in them all vanity and affliction of mind, and nothing lasting under the sun.

Chapter Fifteen.
About different concerns.
Oh, how mortals are troubled by anxiety, afflicted by care, troubled by care, terrified by fear, shaken by trembling, taken away by horror, afflicted by pain, disturbed by sadness, saddened by confusion. The poor and the rich, the slave and the master, the married and the free, finally, the good and the bad, all are afflicted with worldly afflictions and are tormented by worldly afflictions. Trust the teacher after experience. If (says he) I do wickedly, woe unto me. And if it is just, I will not raise my head saturated with suffering and misery.

Chapter Sixteen.
Of the misery of the needy and the poor.

For the poor are oppressed by hunger, tormented by hardships, hunger, thirst, cold, nakedness,

they are despised, scorned, scorned, and scorned. O miserable condition of the beggar, and if he does not ask, he is ashamed, and if he does not ask, he is consumed by want, but to beg, he is compelled by necessity. God is caused to be unjust because he does not divide justly. The neighbor is accused of evil, which does not fully help. He is indignant, he murmurs, he curses. Notice the wise man's opinion on this: It is better (says he) to die than to be in need.
He also goes out to hate his poor neighbor. All the days of the poor man's evil, the poor man's brothers hate him. Moreover, his friends also withdrew far from him: because when you are happy, you will count many friends, but if the times are bad, you will be alone.
Therefore, shame is considered according to the person's fortune, rather than fortune is to be valued according to the person. He is considered as good as the rich, as bad as the poor, and rather he should be considered as rich

how good, how poor, how bad.
But the rich man is freed from excess, and his rashness is restrained, he runs at will, and rushes at what is unlawful.
They also become instruments of punishment, which had been entertainments of guilt.
Toil in acquiring, fear in possessing, pain in losing, always wearies, strains, and afflicts his mind.
For where your treasure is, there is your heart.
But we shall speak more fully of this in what follows.

Chapter Seventeen.
Of the misery of servants and lords.

A servant serves, is frightened by threats, wearied by hardships, afflicted by plagues, robbed of riches: which if he does not have, he is forced to drink, and if he has, he is forced not to have.
The fault of the master, the punishment of the servant: the fault of the servant, the prey of the master.
Whatever the kings rave about, the Achives placate.
The hunting of the lion onager in the desert, as well as the pasture

the rich and the poor O extreme condition of slavery. Nature gave birth to children, but fortune made slaves. The slave is forced to suffer and no one is allowed to sympathize, he is forced to grieve and no one is allowed to sympathize. So he himself is not his own, so that no one can be himself. Miserable are those who follow the camp, because it is miserable to live as the prey of others. But the Lord, if he is cruel, must be feared because of the wickedness of his subjects; if he is gentle, he may be despised because of the insolence of his subjects. Fear, then, afflicts the severe, and the lowly despises the meek. For cruelty breeds hatred, and familiarity breeds contempt. For the care of one's family is tiring, and the anxiety of the household is troublesome. For it is necessary for him to be always ready, everywhere fortified, so that he can prevent the intrigues of the malicious, repulse the injuries of the assailants, crush the enemies and protect the citizens. Nor is the day sufficient for its malice, but day after day it belches up labor,

and the night of the night indicates concern. Therefore the days are laborious, and the nights are spent without sleep.
CHAPTER Eighteen.
Of the misery of the continent and of the married.
If fire can not burn, flesh can not lust, because no matter how much he is punished, that Jebusite can never be expelled. You drive out nature with a pitchfork, yet it still returns. Not all (says he) understand this word, but he who can understand it, let him understand it. Hence, when God himself had ordered certain pontifical garments, that Moses and Aaron should clothe their sons, he did not command only the feminine ones, but said that they themselves should wear feminine ones when they entered the tabernacle of testimony. But the apostle also says: Do not deceive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a time.

that you may rest in prayer and return again to the same thing, lest Satan tempt you because of your intemperance. For it is better to marry than to burn. Therefore, the angel of Satan fights against self-control, who carnally stimulates and violently slaps, kindles the fire of nature with the breath of suggestion, supplies matter, gives ability, and serves opportunity. He fights, and species which is suddenly seen, is easily coveted. Therefore, when David was walking in the afternoon in the palace of the royal house, seeing from opposite Bathsheba washing herself, he sent and took her and slept with her, for she was a very beautiful woman. Moreover, he who is with his wife is anxious about the things of the world and is divided. For he is distracted by many straits and divided into various cares, in order to seek and provide for his sons and wife, servants and maidservants. Therefore the tribulations of the flesh

they have such The wife strives to have precious ornaments and various furniture, so that her worship is often more valuable than her husband's income; moreover, through the nights and days he weeps and sighs, chatters and murmurs. For there are three things which do not permit a man to remain in the house, smoke, dripping, and his main wife. She (says he) goes more gracefully and is honored by all, but I, the most miserable one, alone in the assembly of women, am despised, despised by all. She only wants to be loved, to be praised by the sun, another's love she claims to be her hatred, another's praise she suspects her shame. Everyone who loves is to be loved, everything that is hated is to be hated. It is worth winning, but it is not worth winning. He does not suffer to be tamed, but tries to dominate. He wants to be able to do everything, but not to be able to do anything. If she is beautiful, she is easily enamored; if ugly,

not easily coveted. But what is loved by many is hard to keep, and it is difficult to possess what no one is worthy to possess. The form of another, another with wit, another with humor, another with liberality; and from some part it is captured, that which is approached from all sides. The horse and the ass, the ox and the dog, the garment and the bed, even the cup and the pitcher, are first tried, and afterwards compared. But the bride is scarcely shown at last, lest she should be displeased before she is taken away; yet, whatever chance may befall her, she must always be held. If she is ugly, if she is smelly, if she is sick, if she is foolish, if she is proud, if she is hot-tempered, if she is in any way vicious, a wife cannot be put away by her husband except for fornication alone. But he who divorces cannot marry another, nor can another be joined to a divorced one. For whoever

he who divorces his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery. If the wife has left her husband, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. In the same way the husband, if he has left his wife. The weight of the couple is too heavy. For (says Solomon) he is a fool and an impious man who commits adultery, and he is a patron of indecency who conceals the crime of his wife. But if he divorces adultery, he is punished through no fault of his own, since he is forced to keep it while he is alive, for which reason the disciples of Christ also said: If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. Who could ever withstand a rival with equanimity? The mere suspicion afflicts the zealot greatly. For although it is written: they shall be two in one flesh; but the jealousy of two men in one flesh is not tolerated.

CHAPTER Nineteen.
Of the misery of the good and the bad.
It is not for the wicked to rejoice, he says to the lords, because by what a man sins, he is tormented by it. For the worm of conscience never dies, and the fire of reason is never extinguished. For I saw those who work iniquity and sow sorrows and reap them, perished by the breath of God, and were consumed by the spirit of his wrath. Pride inflames, envy gnaws, avarice stimulates, anger inflames, gluttony torments, lust dissolves, falsehood binds, murder stains. So also the rest of the marvels of vice, and which are the amusements of man's piety, are the instruments of God's punishment. Envious of another's possessions, he perished in his riches. But the envy of the Sicilians did not find a greater cannon for the tyrant. For vice corrupts nature, as the apostle testifies, who says: Because they have disappeared in their thoughts, the foolish man is darkened

their car For this reason God gave them over to the desires of their hearts, to impurity, so that they might insult their bodies, and as They refused to have knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a reprobate mind, so that they would do those things which were not agreeable to them. But even those who want to live godly in Christ suffer persecution. For the saints have experienced mockery and scourging, besides chains and prisons; They went about in sackcloth, in sheep's skins, needy, distressed, distressed, some of them were not worthy of the world. Wandering in deserts and mountains, in caves and caverns of the earth, dangers of rivers, dangers of robbers, dangers from the tribe, dangers from the nations, dangers in the city, dangers

from false brothers In labor and suffering, in many vigils, in hunger and thirst, in many hardships, in cold and nakedness. For the just man denies himself, crucifying his members with vices and lusts, so that the world may be crucified to him, and he to the world. He does not have a permanent citizenship here, but he is looking for a future one. He endures a century as an exile, shut up in the body as in a prison. Inhabitant, he said; I am in the land and a stranger like all my fathers. Allow me to cool off before I go and be no more. Alas for me, because my sojourn was prolonged, I dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar, my soul was much a sojourner. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who offends, and I do not burn? for the sins of our neighbors are the reproaches of the righteous. This is the watering-place which Caleph gave to his daughter Axa as a dowry.

CHAPTER Twenty.
Of the enemies of man.
Therefore, warfare is the life of man on earth. Is it not true warfare, when multiple enemies are always lying in wait on every side to capture, to pursue to destroy, demon and man, world and flesh? The devil with vices and lusts, man with beasts, the clean with the elements, the flesh with the senses. For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, but the spirit against the flesh. It is true that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realms, against the rulers of this darkness. For your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The fiery weapons of the wicked are kindled. Death enters through the windows, the eye preys on the soul, the world fights against the world

senseless.
Nation against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes throughout the land, pestilences and famines, and terrors from heaven and storms. The earth produces thorns and thistles, the water storms and waves, the air storms and thunder, fire flashes and lightnings. Cursed, he says, the ground will sprout thorns and thistles for you in your work. In the sweat of your face you will eat your bread until you return to the earth, because you are earth and now you will go to earth. A wild boar ambushed him from the forest, and a singular beast devoured him, the wolf and the bear, the panther and the lion, the tiger and the onager, the crocodile and the gryphon, the snake and the snake, the basilisk and the wasp, the dragon and the scorpion, the scorpion and the viper, but also the snakes and lice, ants and fleas, gnats and flies, hornets and wasps, fish and birds.

For we who were created to have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every living thing that moves on the earth, we are now given to them as a prey and given to them as food. For it is written: I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of those that drag on the earth, and of serpents.
Chapter Twenty One.
Of the prison of the soul which is the body.
I am a miserable man, who will deliver me from the body of this death? surely he does not want to be brought out of prison, who does not want to come out of his body. For the prison of the soul is the body. About which the Psalmist: Bring my soul out of prison. Nowhere is peace and tranquility, nowhere is peace or security, everywhere fear and trembling, everywhere toil and pain. As long as the flesh lives, it will grieve, and the soul will mourn over itself.

CHAPTER Twenty-Two.
Of the brief happiness of man.
Who has ever led a whole day in his pleasant enjoyment, which was not disturbed in some part of the day by the guilt of conscience, or by an attack of anger, or by the impulse of concupiscence? Who has not been vexed by the bruise of envy, or the ardor of avarice, or the swelling of pride, who has not been moved by some loss, or offense, or passion, who has not been offended by some sight, or hearing, or act? A rare bird in the world, very similar to the black swan. Listen to the wise man's opinion on this: From morning to evening time will change. Vain thoughts succeed him, and the mind is carried away into different things. They hold the drum and the lyre, and rejoice at the sound of the organ.

Chapter Twenty Three.
Of unexpected pain.
For worldly Jaetism is always followed by sudden sadness. And what begins with joy ends in sorrow. For worldly happiness is sprinkled with many bitternesses. He knew this who had said: Laughter will be mingled with sorrow, and joy will occupy the extremes of grief. The children of Job experienced this, for when they were eating and drinking wine in the house of their first-born brother, suddenly a strong wind rushed from the desert country and shook the four corners of the house, which fell and crushed them all. Rightly then did the father say: My harp is turned to mourning, and my organ to the voice of weeping. For it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of rejoicing. Pay attention to the healthy advice: In the day of the good

you are not oblivious to evils. Remember your last words, and you will not sin forever.
CHAPTER Twenty-Four.
On the nearness of death.
The last day is always the first, and the first day is never considered the last, although it is always appropriate to live as if it were always necessary to die. For it is written: Be mindful, because death does not delay. Time passes, but death approaches. A thousand years before dying, as if it were yesterday, which has passed. For the future is always born, the present always dies, and all that is past is dead. For we die while we live forever, and only then do we cease to die when we cease to live. It is therefore better to die of life than to live to death, because mortal life is nothing but living death. Hence Solomon: I praised the dead more than

living, and I judged the one who had not yet been born to be more fortunate than both. Life runs fast and cannot be held back; but death occurs instantly and cannot be prevented. This is the wonderful thing, that the more it grows, the more it decreases, because the more life progresses, the more it comes to an end.
CHAPTER Twenty-Five.
On the terror of sleepers.
The time which is allowed to be quiet, is not allowed to be quiet: for dreams are frightening; disturbing visions. And although they are not in truth sad, or terrible, or laborious, what they dream when they dream, yet in truth they are sad, frightened, and tired to such an extent that sometimes they weep while sleeping, and when they wake up they are very often troubled; they have lost it. Notice what Eliphas the Themanites says about this: In the horror of the night vision, when

Sleep is wont to take hold of men, terror seized me and trembling, and all my bones were terrified, and when the spirit passed over me, the hairs of my flesh shuddered. Consider Job saying: If I speak, my bed will comfort me, and I will be revealed, Joking with myself on my bed; You will frighten me by dreams, and by visions you will shake me with horror. Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream that greatly frightened him, and the visions in his head troubled him. Many cares follow dreams, and where there are many dreams, many vanities. They have caused many to err in their dreams, and they have given up hoping in them. For there frequently appear in dreams indecent images, from which, through nocturnal illusions, not only the flesh is polluted, but the soul is also stained. Wherefore the Lord in Leviticus says: If there be among you a man who is defiled in his night's sleep, let him go outside the camp, and not return until he

in the evening he is washed with water, and after the sun sets he must return to the camp.
CHAPTER Twenty-Six.
On the sympathy of friends.
Oh, with how much pain we are troubled, with how much trembling we are shaken, when we feel the losses of our friends and fear the dangers of our parents! More than once healthy in fear, quarn weak is disturbed by illness. Here the volunteer is more afflicted by the feeling of pain than by the sight of the effect of fatigue. It is true in poetry: Love is full of anxiety and fear. Whose chest is so iron, whose heart is so stony, that it does not express a groan, does not shed tears, when it looks at the disease and destruction of a neighbor or a friend, that it does not sympathize with the patient, and does not sympathize with the sorrowing? When Jesus himself saw Mary and the Jews who had come with her to the tomb weeping, he was troubled in spirit, troubled himself, and burst into tears.

it is, perhaps not because he died, but rather because he recalled the dead to the miseries of life. But let him know that he is culpably hard and grievously guilty who mourns the bodily death of his friend and does not weep for the spiritual death of his soul.
Chapter Twenty-Seven.
Of sudden misfortunes.
Suddenly, when it is not suspected, misfortune happens, calamity rushes in, disease invades, death intercepts, from which no one escapes. Therefore do not boast about tomorrow, not knowing what the next day will bring forth. A man does not know his end, but as a fish is taken with a hook, and as birds are caught in a snare, so men are caught in the evil time when it suddenly comes upon them.

Chapter Twenty-Eight.
Of innumerable kinds of sickness.
Until centuries ago, physical energy could track down as many types of illnesses, as many types of passions, as human frailty could tolerate. Should I say intolerance of diseases is tolerable, or should I say tolerance is intolerable? it is better to combine both. For it is intolerable because of the bitterness of passion, and tolerable because of the necessity of suffering, day by day human nature becomes more and more corrupt. In this way, since most healthy experiments were once made, which today are deadly due to their lack, both the worlds have grown old, both the macrocosm and the microcosm, that is, the greater world and the lesser world. And the longer the old age of both is produced, the worse the nature of both is disturbed.

CHAPTER Twenty-Nine.
About the different types of arms.
What shall I say of the wretched, who are punished by innumerable kinds of tortures? they are slaughtered with clubs and swords; Those to death, to death, those to the sword, to the sword, those to famine, to famine, and those to captivity, to captivity. A cruel judgment, a terrible execution, a sad spectacle, are given as food to the birds of the sky, the beasts of the earth, and the fish of the sea. Alas, alas, poor mothers, who gave birth to such unhappy children.

Chapter Thirty.
About a certain horrible fascination, such as that a certain woman eats her own child.
I would therefore like to recall the horrible deed that Josephus describes of the Jewish siege: A certain woman of noble means and lineage, together with the rest of the multitude, which had flocked to Jerusalem, bore the common fate of the siege. The rest of his resources, which he had transferred from his house to the city, were completely invaded by the tyrants. If anything had been left of the great riches, with which she could lead a meager daily subsistence, the robbers' henchmen rushed in and snatched it away, for which the immense labor tired the woman out of a kind of indignation as if insanity, so that sometimes she incited the robbers to murder by her curses and insults. It is true that he was not irritated

no one would have pitied her, and if there had been any food that she might have sought from her, it would have been sought from others, and there would no longer be any more to be desired; already armed against the very laws of nature. For she had a little son under her breast, whom she brought before her eyes. O most unfortunate son, in war, famine, and raids of robbers, to whom shall I reserve you? For even if life could be hoped for, you would still be bound by the yoke of Roman servitude. I have come now, O my son, be food to the mother, fury to the gods, legend to the ages, which was the only thing missing from the destruction of the Jews. And when he had said this, he immediately strangled his son, and then threw them into the fire

when it is placed, it roasts, and consumes half of it, but keeps the half covered. And behold, immediately the robbers rushed in, having received the smell of burnt flesh, and threatened him with death, unless he showed without delay the food, which they felt was ready. Then she said: I have reserved the best part for you, and immediately she uncovered the remaining parts of the child. But they were suddenly seized with a great terror, and their limbs were unable to direct themselves, and as if by hardness of heart their voice was stopped in their throats. But she, with a fierce countenance, and more savage than the robbers themselves, says she, is the birth of mine, the son is mine, the deed is mine. Do not make yourselves more pious mothers, or softer women; that if your pity overcomes you, curse my food, which I have already fed on such, I will feed on them again. After this they were terrified and dismayed

they depart, who have left this alone, of all their resources, as food for the poor mother.
Chapter Thirty-One.
Sometimes the innocent is punished and the guilty is acquitted.
Let no one trust himself who has experienced punishment, who knows himself to be immune from guilt. He who stands must see that he does not fall. For the innocent is often condemned, and the guilty is acquitted: the pious is punished, and the impious is honored. Jesus is crucified, and Barabbas is freed. Today a just and quiet man is considered useless, a religious man a hypocrite, a simple man foolish. For the simplicity of the righteous is mocked. Lamps despised by the thoughts of the gods.

THE SECOND BOOK.
dissuading from the sinful progress of human conversion.
CHAPTER One.
Which people usually affect in common.
Men are most wont to be affected by three things: riches, pleasures, and honors. They proceed from corrupt wealth, from base pleasures, from vain honors. For hence John the Apostle says: Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world: for whatever is in the world is the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The lust of the flesh belongs to pleasures, the lust of the eyes to riches, the pride of life belongs to honors.

Riches breed lust and avarice, pleasures breed gluttony and luxury, honors breed pride and boasting.

CHAPTER Two.
Of desire.
There is nothing therefore more wicked to the miser, and nothing more wicked, than to love money.
It is the word of the Wise, which the Apostle confirms, saying: Those who wish to become rich fall into temptation and into the trap of the devil, and into many and useless and harmful desires, which plunge a man into destruction and perdition.
For the root of all evil is covetousness.
He commits blasphemies and steals, commits robberies and plunders, wages wars and murders, sells and buys fraudulently, demands and receives unjustly, negotiates and lends unjustly,

He insists on tricks and threats of fraud, dissolves the agreement and violates the oath, corrupts the testimony and perverts the judgment.
CHAPTER Three.
Of unjust duties.
Consult the evangelical prophet Isaiah. All (says he) love gifts, follow retributions, do not judge the orphan, the cause of the widow does not enter into them. They do not precede retributions, because they do not judge from the love of justice, but retributions precede them, because they point to the love of money. For they always follow a gift, a promise, or a hope, and therefore they do not judge by the pupil from whom the gift is given, or promised, or hoped for. O unfaithful princes, companions of thieves, whosoever loves gifts, follow retributions, never shake your hand from a gift, unless you have first eluded the covetousness of the peotor. The prophet says of you: I will snatch away its princes like wolves, and snatch away the gains in pursuit.

Its princes judged in gifts, and the chosen priests taught for a fee, and its prophets divined in money. And the Lord through Moses commanded the contrary in the law: You shall appoint judges and magistrates in all your gates, that they may judge the people with just judgment, and not incline to the other side. You shall not accept a person or gifts, because gifts blind the eyes of the wise and change the words of the righteous. But you will pursue just what is right, and you will live. He says two things, just and just. For some pursue just what is just, others unjustly what is unjust: again, some unjustly pursue what is just, others justly what is unjust.
Chapter Four.
On the reception of persons.
Woe unto you who pray or praise the corrupt, who, driven by love or hatred, say good and evil

and evil and good, putting light to darkness and darkness to light, mortifying souls that do not die, and quickening souls that do not live. For you do not consider the merits of causes, but the merits of persons, not rights, but gifts, not justice, but money, not what reason dictates, but what the will affects, not what the law enjoins, but what the mind desires. Not inclining your mind to justice, but inclining your mind to justice, not that this may please, but that this may be permitted. The eye is never so simple in you, that the whole body is bright, but you always mix something with the leaven, by which you corrupt the whole mass. You neglect a poor cause with delay, but promote a rich cause with urgency. You show rigor in them, when you dispense with them out of meekness. You regard them with difficulty,.

treat these evacuees with favor. hearing them carelessly, listening to them with precision. The poor man cries and hears the poor, the rich man speaks and everyone applauds. The rich man spoke, and all were silent, and the clouds will carry his rod even as far; the poor man spoke, and they say, who is this man? and if he stumbles, they will overthrow him. He who suffers violence cries out and no one listens, he cries out and there is no one to tell. But if you happen to take up the cause of the sparrows, you encourage them with ease, but if you take up the cause of the rich, you persevere in persuading them. The poor are despised, the wicked are honored; you rose reverently against them, and despised them despicably. If a man enters your meeting with a golden ring in a white garment, a poor man enters in a dirty garment, and you look at him who is dressed in a fine garment, and you say to him, sit here well;

my feet, are you not mocking among yourselves and become the index of unrighteous thoughts? For the prophet says about you and against you: They were magnified and rich, fat and oppressed; You will accept the truth of each person, it is God's judgment. For there is no acceptance of persons with God.
Chapter Five.
Of the sale of the just.
But you neither give grace gratuitously, nor return joy justly, because unless it comes, it does not proceed, and it is not given unless it is sold. often

You postpone justice so much that you take more than the whole thing away from the litigants, because the cost of the expense is greater than the result of the decision. But what will you be able to answer in the district judgment, who commands: You have received freely, freely give? Lureum in the box, loss in the conscience, you capture the money, but you capture the soul. But what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? A brother will not redeem, man will redeem, he will not give to God his appeasement, nor the price of the redemption of his soul, he has labored for ever, and he will still live to the end. Hear, O Gods, what the Apostle James says against you: Act now, you rich, weep and howl in your miseries that will come upon you, your riches are rotten, and your clothes are eaten by moths, your gold and silver have rusted.

and their pride will be a witness to you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up wrath for yourselves in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who harvested your fields, which has been defrauded by you, cry out, and their cry entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. Therefore the truth commanded: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth destroy, where thieves dig up and steal.
Chapter Six.
Of the insatiable desire of lovers.
O unquenchable fire, O insatiable desire. Who has ever been satisfied with his first wish? When he obtains what he had wished for, he longs for abundance, and always ends in having and never in having. The eye of the covetous is insatiable, and not in the part of iniquity

will be satisfied The greedy will not be filled with money, and he who loves riches will not enjoy them. Hell and perdition are ever filled, so are the eyes of man insatiable. But it is usually the daughters of bloodsuckers who say: bring, bring. For the love of money increases as much as the chest itself increases.
CHAPTER Seven.
Why the greedy cannot be satisfied.
Do you want to know, oh desire, why you are always empty, why you are never filled? Be warned: it is not your full measure, which, no matter how much it contains, is still a bigger catch. But the human mind is capable of God, since he who adheres to God is one with God. However much it contains, it is never full unless it has God, whose it always is

capable If you want to be satisfied, O greedy person, stop being greedy, because while you are greedy, you will not be able to be satisfied. For there is no meeting of light with darkness, nor of Christ with Belial, because no one can serve God and mammon.
Chapter Eight.
Of false name of riches.
O happy false riches, which truly make a rich man an unhappy son. For what is more unhappy than the riches of the world, which are called riches? For the rich and the needy are the opposites of the sun. But they do not take away the wealth of the world, but bring want. For, says Solomon, a little is more sufficient for the poor than for the rich, because where there are many riches, there are many who eat them. How many and how much the magnates need, he frequently himself

I try.
Riches therefore do not make a man rich, but needy.
CHAPTER Nine.
Examples against desire.
How many have been deceived by desire! how many has greed destroyed! Balaam drew back the ass and rubbed the feet of the one who was sitting, because he had been seized by the desire of the promised people and had planned to curse Israel. Achan was stoned by the people because he had taken gold and silver from the curse. Naboth was interrupted so that Achas could take possession of his vineyard. Gezi was struck with leprosy because he asked for and received gold and silver and clothes

under the name of Eliseus. Judas hangs himself with a snare, because he sold and betrayed Cbristus. Ananias and Sapphira died suddenly because they defrauded the apostles of the price of the land. Tire built her fortifications, and amassed silver like the earth, and gold like the mud of the streets, but behold, the lord will possess her, and will smite her strength in the sea, and these will be devoured by fire.
Chapter Ten.
Of the superfluous solicitude of lovers.
Why does anyone insist on gathering, when he who gathers cannot stand? For like a flower it comes forth and is crushed, and flees like a shadow, and never remains in the same state. Why should he desire much, when a few are sufficient? Having, he says, food and clothing, let us be content with these. Why should he seek the necessities with much solicitude, when they themselves offer themselves without great difficulty? listen

What does the truth say about this: Do not be anxious, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or with what shall we be covered? For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Therefore seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and these things will be added to you. For I have never seen a righteous man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.
CHAPTER Eleven.
Of avarice.

Tantalus thirsts for waves, and is greedy for riches, for he is as much what he has as he is what he does not have, because he never uses what he has acquired, but is always eager to acquire it. Solomon: He is like a rich man when he has nothing, and he is like a poor man when he has many riches. Avaras and hell both eat and do not digest, take and do not give back. The miser does not sympathize with the suffering, nor does he help or pity the poor, but offends

God, he offends himself, he offends his neighbor. For he withholds what is due to God, he denies what is necessary, and takes away what is convenient. Ungrateful to God, impious to his neighbor, cruel to himself. To a covetous and tenacious man substance is without reason, and to a livid man what good is gold? He who is wicked to himself, how will he be good to others? And he will not delight in his possessions. He who has the substance of this world, and sees that his brother is in need, closes his bowels from him, how does the charity of God remain in him? For he does not love his neighbor as himself, whom hunger destroys and want consumes, nor does he love God above all things, who prefers gold and prefers silver.

Chapter Twelve.
Why is avarice the servitude of idols?
The apostle rightly defines: Covetousness is the servitude of idols. For as the idolater serves the image, so also the greedy treasure. For he diligently amplifies the worship of idolatry, and he gladly increases the heap of money. He worships the image with all care, and he guards the treasure with all care. He places his hope in idolatry, and he places his hope in money. He fears to mutilate the image, and he fears to diminish the treasure.
Chapter Thirteen.
On certain properties of avarice.
Greedy ready to ask, slow to give, proud to deny. If he spends anything, he loses a lot, sad, bitter and so on

the morose sighs and worries, doubts and spends unwillingly. The Magnificat is given, but it debases what is to be given, it gives that it may be gained, but it is not gained that it is given; It empties the appetite to fill the chest, thins the body to extend profit. His hand is folded to give, but extended to receive, closed to give, but open to receive. Moreover, the substance of the unrighteous will dry up like a river, because he who gathers badly quickly scatters. a judgment of lust, but let what proceeds from evil come to evil, and let it not come to good that does not proceed from good. The avaricious, therefore, drinks the damnation of the life that is now, and that which is to come.
Chapter Fourteen.
On the unjust possession of shares.
It is true, then, that the wise man protested, he lost many gold and silver. He who loves gold will not be justified. Woe to those who

let it be followed. Behold, the very sinners and the rich have obtained riches in this age. Hence the truth itself commanded the apostles: Do not possess gold, silver, or money in your belts, because just as a camel cannot enter through the eye of a needle, so it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. For narrow is the way and narrow is the gate that leads to life. The apostle therefore, following the rule of truth, said: Silver and gold are now mine. Woe to you, therefore, who join house to house, and field to field to the border of the place. The earth is full of silver and gold, and there is no end to its treasures. I was angry because of the iniquity of his greed, and I struck him.

Chapter Fifteen.
Of lawful resources.
Moreover, Abraham was rich, and Job rich, David wealthy, and yet the scripture says of Abraham, because he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. And of Job, because there was none like him in the earth, a simple and upright man, fearing God, and shunning evil. As for David, because the Lord found a man after his own heart. But they were as if they had nothing and possessed everything, according to the words of the Prophet: If riches flow in, do not set your heart on them. But we are possessors of all things as if we had nothing, according to the words of the Psalmist: The rich ate and were hungry. For you will find it easier for him who loves riches and does not have, than he who has and does not love. As it is difficult to be in the fire and not burn, it is more difficult to possess riches and not love. Hear the prophet

Jeremiah: From the least to the greatest, all seek covetousness, and from the prophet to the priest, all commit deceit.
Chapter Sixteen.
Of the uncertainty of riches.
Everyone who is covetous and avaricious works contrary to nature. For nature brings the poor into the world, nature brings the poor back from the world. For the earth received him naked, and it will also receive him naked. But cupid desires and cares to become rich in the world. (says he) I will destroy my barns, and make them larger, and gather there the multitudes that have been born to me, and all my goods. But it was said to him: O fool, this night your soul will be taken from you, but what you have prepared, whose will they be? You hoard and do not know to whom you are hoarding. For they slept their sleep, and all the rich men found nothing in their hands. The rich

when he sleeps, he brings nothing with him, he will open his eyes and find nothing. Do not be afraid, then, when a man has become rich, and when the glory of his house has been multiplied, because when he dies, he will not receive all these things, nor will the glory of his house descend with him, but will leave his riches to strangers, and their tombs, their house forever. From this also the Wise is attested: He who accumulates from his heart unjustly, gathers it up for others, and in his possessions another will luxuriate. Unfortunately, the enemy he had had let go of the heir.
CHAPTER Seventeen.
Of gluttony.
The beginnin