Wisdom of Solomon 2

"They are corrupt, they do abominable things, no one does what is right." Listen to these corrupt people. They in fact "have spoken among themselves, reasoning unsoundly." Corruption begins with bad faith. From there it passes to depraved habits, later leading to the most violent injustice. This is, in general, the ladder one climbs. What, then, did they say among themselves, thinking badly, "our life is short and sorrowful"? From this mistaken conviction proceeds what the apostle also spoke of: "Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we die." But in the book of Wisdom this wantonness is described more thoroughly: "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither. Let us leave signs of our enjoyment." And after this more thorough description of wantonness, what do we read? "Let us kill the poor, just person," which is as much as to say, "God does not exist."

When you say to yourself, "The happiness of this world is false," though you dare not express it, I nevertheless see in your heart that perhaps you wrinkle up your nose, mockingly, and say to yourself, "Maybe it will go well for me here! What comes after, I don't know." And it is not a small thing that you at least say that you do not know, so as to not perhaps also say, "Our life is short and sorrowful, and there is no remedy when a person dies. No one has been known to return from Hades." At least you say, "I don't know." Recognizing one's ignorance is a step toward knowledge. I speak to you, therefore, as if you were to say to me, "I don't know what there could be after death. I simply don't know whether the righteous will be blessed and sinners unhappy, or if both will cease to exist." Even not knowing, you would nevertheless not have the audacity to say that after death sinners will be blessed and the righteous unhappy. You cannot say, even if you suppose that both will no longer exist, that after death the godless will enjoy a better state and the righteous will suffer. Not even your ignorance can lead you to speak like that. Say, therefore, "I don't know if after death it will go well for the righteous and badly for the godless, or if both the one and the other will exist insensibly."

Second, concerning the justice of man toward his neighbor, the treatment is twofold. For they said etc. Above he treated of the justice of man toward God: here principally of the justice of man toward his neighbor: and first, by drawing back from the likeness of the unjust, namely in this chapter: second, by urging toward the likeness of the just, namely in the third chapter.

First he draws back from the likeness of the unjust by noting three things. In the first part, first on the side of the unjust he sets forth the motivating cause of living unjustly: second he describes the unjust life, at: Come therefore etc.; third he shows that it is not to be imitated, at: These things they thought etc.

In the first part a threefold motivating cause is touched upon: the first on the part of condition; the second on the part of nature: Because we are born of nothing: the third on the part of name or reputation: And our name shall receive oblivion etc.

On the part of condition it is threefold: first, as regards the condition of the world, at: It is short and tedious etc.; second, as regards the condition of paradise: There is no refreshment etc.: third, as regards the condition of hell: And no one is known to have returned from the netherworld.

(Verse 1). For the ungodly said, thinking within themselves not rightly, etc. I have rightly said that "the ungodly by hands and words summoned" injustice and death. For the ungodly said, that is, those lacking piety toward God and neighbor: the Gloss: "It is the voice of the lost, who like brute animals love the things that are present and despise future things, nor do they hope for eternal rest after this life." Within themselves, because "they do not dare openly," according to that passage of the Psalm: "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God"; for if they were to speak openly, they would fear incurring punishment. Thinking not rightly, indeed wickedly. It is short, etc., on account of its brevity, according to that passage of Job chapter fourteen: "The days of man are short." And with weariness, on account of its painfulness: Job chapter fourteen: "Man born of woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries." The time of our life: the Gloss: "Of the present," by which, namely, they live for themselves, not for God; therefore he adds: our, against which Second Corinthians chapter five says: "That they who live may no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again." And there is no refreshment at the end of man; the Gloss: "That is, rest after death." This, however, is false, because it is said in the Psalm in the person of the Saints: "We have passed through fire and water, and you have brought us out into refreshment"; likewise Jeremiah chapter six: "Ask about the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk in it; and you shall find refreshment for your souls"; likewise Apocalypse chapter fourteen: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, etc., that they may rest from their labors." And there is no one who is known to have returned from the netherworld. By this they intend to exclude the existence of the netherworld; but by the same reasoning they could say that death does not exist, because no dead person returns to life. Hence their reasoning does not hold, because from privation to possession there is no return according to nature; and therefore from the lower netherworld no one returns according to the common law; hence Job chapter seven: "He who descends to the netherworld shall not ascend." Some, however, are recorded to have returned by a privilege of grace, such as the youth whom John the Evangelist raised, and Trajan, whom Gregory raised. From the upper netherworld, however, Christ returned, and many others raised through him or through his disciples.

Our thought, which originates and is formed in the memory, is rightly called an interior word. Indeed, what is thought, if not an interior discourse? Thus it is written, "What you speak in your hearts on your bed, reflect on and be silent." In fact, in the Gospel, when the Lord said to the paralytic he had healed, "Your sins are forgiven you," Luke the Evangelist adds, "The scribes and the Pharisees began to ask themselves, 'Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?' But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, responded, 'What are you thinking in your hearts?' " Whereas Luke said, "the scribes and the Pharisees began to ask themselves," Matthew says, "Then some scribes began to think, 'This man blasphemes!' But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil things in your hearts?' " The book of Wisdom also says of some, "They spoke among themselves, reasoning unsoundly." It is therefore clear that to think is the same as to speak within oneself. Thus, thought is invisible. That is, thoughts are said without the sound of the voice of the body, but they reach another's hearing only through bodily speech.

Because we are born from nothing, etc. Here is set forth the motivating cause on the part of nature: and first, from the consideration of human origin; second, from the consideration of composition, at: Because smoke: third, from the consideration of dissolution: Which being extinguished.

(Verse 2). I have rightly said that there will be neither refreshment nor punishment, because there is no subject capable of receiving such things; because we are born from nothing, by immediate origin as regards the soul and by mediate origin as regards the body; hence Second Maccabees chapter seven: "Understand that God made these things from nothing, and the race of men."

And after this, that is, after this life, we shall be as though we had never been, as if to say: we shall return to nothing, according to that saying of Damascene: "Everything that began from change is subject to change"; likewise Augustine: "It is natural that what is from nothing can be dissolved into nothing"; which is to be understood of the possibility of primary aptitude, not of necessity: because they are held by the hand of the Creator, lest they fall into nothing, as Gregory says.

For smoke, namely with respect to the intrinsic corporeal vital spirit: smoke indeed is a fiery vapor, and the vital spirit is a subtle fiery body; and breath, that is, wind, with respect to the exterior corporeal spirit, which is breathed: James 4: "What is your life? It is a vapor appearing for a little while"; Job 7: "My life is a wind"; Psalm: "My days have vanished like smoke".

In our nostrils, he says this specifically, giving the whole body to be understood from a part, on account of the easy departure, as if it were in the nostrils: likewise, on account of manifestation, because there, by breathing in and breathing out, it is more manifested. And the speech of a spark for moving our heart, "that is, the soul comparable to a spark," as the Gloss says; whence 2 Kings 14: "They seek to extinguish my spark." But the soul is called a word according to the reckoning of the unbelievers, because according to them it is nothing in reality, but only according to name or word: but it is compared to a spark, because according to some philosophers the soul was said to be of a fiery nature. Or better: the soul can be called a word from its effect, because namely it has the power of speaking: but it is compared to a spark on account of the subtlety of its nature and on account of the agility of its motion: whence below in chapter three: "And they shall run about like sparks among the reeds"; likewise, on account of the brevity of its duration, according to the unbelievers: whence the Gloss: "Comparable to a spark, which immediately becomes nothing." For moving our heart, "that is, for enlivening or animating," according to the Gloss: breathing is in our nostrils, that is, in our bodies, so ready to depart from the body, as breath from the nostril.

In Wisdom it says, "He who created the world from formless matter," and the opposite, "We were made from nothing." The sense of Scripture affirms that God created the elements all at once, and they were all mixed together, with darkness mixed in with them. And God called this confusion of elements (that is, air, fire, water, land, darkness) formless matter, as it says in Genesis, "The earth was a formless waste." He created the universe from this confusion, establishing the firmament, so that, once the waters were gathered in it, in a single place, the dwelling of the human race would be created. After having distinguished and separated the elements, he made an inhabitable dwelling in the cavity that remained. - "Questions from the Old Testament 2.20"

In Wisdom it says, "He who created the world from formless matter," and the opposite, "We were made from nothing." The sense of Scripture affirms that God created the elements all at once, and they were all mixed together, with darkness mixed in with them. And God called this confusion of elements (that is, air, fire, water, land, darkness) formless matter, as it says in Genesis, "The earth was a formless waste." He created the universe from this confusion, establishing the firmament, so that, once the waters were gathered in it, in a single place, the dwelling of the human race would be created. After having distinguished and separated the elements, he made an inhabitable dwelling in the cavity that remained.

There follows: Because extinguished etc. I rightly said that the soul is compared to a spark, because it is quickly extinguished, because our body will be extinguished ash, namely after the extinguishing of the soul, which according to the unbelievers is extinguished in death. But the truer reading is: Which having been extinguished etc. Here he touches upon the motivating cause from the consideration of dissolution, and first, from the consideration of dissolution with respect to the body: second, with respect to the spirit, there: And the spirit shall be dispersed: third, with respect to life: And our life shall pass away etc.

(Vers. 3.). He says therefore: Which, namely the soul, being extinguished, according to them, our body will be ashes: Ecclesiasticus seventeen: "All men are earth and ashes"; likewise Genesis eighteen: "I will speak to my Lord, since I am dust and ashes." For through the consumption of the natural moisture by heat, the body is consumed and turned into ashes; and the spirit, the bodily vital spirit, will be dispersed, namely by returning to its component principles, like soft air, that is, easily and invisibly; air is called soft because it does not resist touch. Or: the spirit, the incorporeal spirit, that is the soul, will be dispersed, that is, it will vanish and be dissolved, according to them, according to that verse of the Psalm: "The spirit shall pass through in him and shall not subsist," etc. And our life will pass away, that is, through the annihilation of its principles it will totally cease. And like the trace of a cloud, which does not appear after the dissolution of the cloud: Job thirty: "Like a cloud my well-being has passed away," namely temporal well-being; likewise chapter seven: "As a cloud is consumed and passes away, so he who descends to the netherworld shall not ascend." And it will be dissolved like a mist, which namely is the remnant of a cloud; for a cloud consists of a grosser and lower vapor, but mist of a thinner one. Which, namely the mist, was put to flight by the rays of the sun, the heat of the surrounding air uniting and driving away the parts of the cold vapor, and weighed down by its heat, the same heat driving the cold of the cloud to the interior parts and thus condensing per accidens the parts of that matter and thus weighing them down and afterward dissolving them into water: Job thirty-seven: "Suddenly the air will be gathered into clouds, and the passing wind will drive them away."

And our name, etc. Here is shown the motive cause on the part of fame or name: first the abolition of fame is touched upon; second, the reason for the abolition, at: For the passing of a shadow.

(Vers. 4.). He says therefore: And our name, as if to say: not only will our essence or substance pass into nothing, but also our name, that is, fame as regards the person, will receive oblivion through time, that is, through the length of time: Proverbs ten: "The name of the wicked shall rot." And no one will have memory of our works, as regards life: Job eighteen: "Let his memory perish from the earth"; likewise in the Psalm: "Their memory has perished with a noise"; and on the contrary: "The just shall be in everlasting memory."

But it is objected that the works of many reprobates, namely Cain, Pharaoh, Nero, etc., are still remembered.

It must be said that this statement is the statement of the reprobates, and therefore it is not unfitting to say that it is false. Or it must be said that they are not remembered with a praiseworthy memory or one useful to them; and it is of this kind that he speaks here.

But it is objected that the celebrated and praiseworthy deeds of many reprobates are remembered.

To this it must be said that these were not theirs but God's in them, according to that text of Isaiah twenty-six: "All our works you have wrought in us, O Lord."

(Verse 5). For remembering, however, two things are required, namely a strong impression and frequent repetition, and he excludes both when he adds: For shadows etc.; the passing of a shadow, on account of the swiftness of passing, 1 Chronicles twenty-nine: "Our days are like a shadow upon the earth, and there is no delay"; a shadow, I say, of passing is our time, that is, what we spend on doing our own will, not God's; but the Lord will at some time take that very time for himself: Psalm: "When I shall receive the time, I will judge justices." And there is no return of our end, on account of the impossibility of returning: Job ten: "Before I go and do not return" etc. Because it is sealed, namely our return, that is, closed under a seal: the Gloss: "Sealed, as if not appearing, because it does not exist." And no one returns to life, namely according to the common law; Psalm: "Their graves are their homes forever," namely according to their opinion, but according to truth all will at some time rise again through divine power: whence 1 Corinthians fifteen: "Indeed we shall all rise again" etc.

It should be noted, however, that the life and condition of the impious is said to be smoke on account of the blinding of the rational faculty, below in the same chapter: "Their malice has blinded them"; likewise Romans one: "Their foolish heart was darkened." It is likened to a breath on account of the restless disturbance of the irascible faculty, Isaiah fifty-seven: "The impious are like a raging sea"; to a spark, on account of the inflammation of the concupiscible faculty, Ecclesiasticus twenty-three: "A heated soul like a burning fire will not be quenched"; to air, on account of the emptiness of intention; to ashes, on account of the fruitlessness of works, below in chapter three: "Their works are useless"; to a thick cloud, on account of opposition to grace; to a light mist, on account of the elevation or elation of the mind; to a shadow, on account of outward dissimulation.

Come, therefore, let us enjoy the good things that are, and make use of the creatures as in our youth, quickly. Let us fill ourselves with precious wine and ointments, and let not the flower of the time pass by us. Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither. Let no meadow be untouched by our luxury: let us everywhere leave signs of our joy (Wisdom 2:8 et seq.). All these things are left behind, and one will not carry anything with them except what they have received through the pleasure of the body. Finally, I have embraced this philosophy; and there is no truer one, except for that which asserts that the good is what is pleasant and enjoyable. Therefore, believe in either the philosophy or the wisdom of Solomon.

Come therefore etc. Here he describes the unjust life, and first is touched upon the concord of the unjust and their mutual exhortation to the dissolution of their own life; second, the oppression of the just, at: Let us oppress etc. First, therefore, they exhort one another to devote themselves to dissolution: first, swiftly; second, abundantly, at: With costly wine etc.; third, openly, at: Let us crown; fourth, in common or universally, at: Let none of us; fifth, merrily, at: Let us leave everywhere.

(Vers. 6.). Come therefore, as if they were saying: since the present life passes away, and we do not hope for a future one; come therefore etc. Come, they say, because as Seneca says, "the possession of no thing is pleasant without a companion"; and therefore they exhort one another. For this is the invitatory at the matins of the devil. For it should be noted that just as the Church of the just has different invitatories and Venite according to different feasts, so too does the synagogue of sinners. One is of vanity: Genesis 11: "Come, and let us make for ourselves a city and a tower." Another, of iniquity: Genesis 37: "Come, and let us kill him and cast him into an old cistern." The third, of avarice and cupidity: Proverbs 1: "Come with us" etc. The fourth, of pleasure, which is treated here, namely: Come, and let us enjoy the good things that are etc. To these corresponds that saying of Matthew 25: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the fire" etc. Let us enjoy, I say, with loving affection, desiring nothing beyond; "for to enjoy is to cling with love to something for its own sake"; the good things that are, that is, present goods, and let us use, taking delight in the effect: Augustine: "To use is to take something into the power of the will"; Augustine: "The whole evil of man is to enjoy things that should be used and to use things that should be enjoyed." Let us use, I say, the creature, namely with contempt for the Creator: for otherwise it would not be a sin to use the creature. As in youth, that is, as long as we are young: because the senses of the young perceive pleasure more than those of the old: whence 2 Kings 19: "I am eighty years old today; are my senses still vigorous?" etc.; therefore Ecclesiastes 11: "Rejoice, O young man, in your youth." Swiftly: The Gloss: "Lest we and those things pass away before we enjoy them," according to that saying of Isaiah 22: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die."

These are the words of people who despair of eternal life and, hoping in the ephemeral corruption of the flesh, it is as if they put their hopes in the sand in a stream.

With costly wine, inwardly as regards taste, arousing warmth from within; and with ointments, outwardly as regards touch, arousing warmth from without: let us fill ourselves, through superfluous and immoderate use; Amos 6: "Drinking wine in bowls and anointed with the finest ointment" etc. And let not the flower of time pass us by, that is, pleasantness as regards sight: Jeremiah 48: "Give a flower to Moab" etc. Such people care nothing for the fruit of the heavenly autumn, but only for the flower of the present spring.

May it therefore never happen that we say to you, Live as you like! Don't worry! God will never condemn anyone—it is enough that you keep the Christian faith. He redeemed you, he shed his blood for you—he will not damn you. If the desire to go and enjoy a show comes over you, do that too! After all, what is so bad about that? And these festivals that they celebrate in the whole city, with people rejoicing and feasting and (so they think) amusing themselves—while they are actually ruining themselves—at public tables … you go too, celebrate, do not worry! God's mercy is so boundless, he will let everything slide! "Crown yourselves with rosebuds before they wither!" And in the house of your God, feast there too, whenever you want! Stuff yourselves with food and drink along with your friends. Indeed, these creatures were given that you might enjoy them. Can God have given these things to the godless and the pagans, and not to you? If we were to make speeches like this to you, perhaps more people would join us. And if some perhaps noticed that we were saying things that were not entirely correct, we would alienate those few, but we would gain the favor of the great majority. If we were to act in this way, however, we would be proclaiming to you not the words of God and of Christ but our own words. We would be shepherds who pasture themselves, and not the sheep.

Let us crown ourselves with roses before they wither: Isaiah 40: "The flower has fallen"; and chapter 28: "Woe to the falling flower"! Let us crown ourselves with roses, for delight as regards smell: but "woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim"; Isaiah 28.

Let no meadow be that our wantonness does not pass through, that is, no pleasant place: this is said as regards the universality of place: Jeremiah 2: "On every high hill and under every leafy tree you lay down, O harlot." Let none of us, this is said as regards the universality of persons. Such was Sodom, in which not even ten just men could be found, as is clear from Genesis 18. Let none, I say, of us be without a share in our wantonness, that is, without a lot, that is, lacking a part or exempt from it. Everywhere let us leave signs of our merriment: this is said as regards universality in deed: Ezekiel 16: "At every head of the way you built a sign of your prostitution." For this, namely such a dissolute life, is our portion, namely on the part of the soul: and of clay is the lot ours, namely on the part of the body. Or: portion and lot are the same in reality, but they differ in concept, because portion is named from the side of the one receiving, lot from the side of the one giving: Isaiah 57: "In the parts of the torrent is your portion, this is your lot." On the contrary, the just man says: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance"; likewise: "God of my heart, and God is my portion forever."

Let us oppress the just poor man etc. Here he describes the unjust life as regards the oppression of the good, first, because they oppress without reverence for the person: second, because without fear of justice, at the words: But let our strength etc.

(Vers. 10. 11.). Let us oppress: The Gloss: "It is the voice of the lost"; the just poor man, that is, anyone whatsoever: Job 24: "They have equally oppressed the meek of the earth." And let us not spare the widow: Psalm: "They slew the widow and the stranger" etc.; nor let us reverence the grey hairs of the aged of many years, that is, any old man whatsoever; Baruch 4: "They have not reverenced the old man."

Allegorically this is expounded concerning heretics, who do not spare the just poor man, that is, the Christian people; nor the widow, that is, the Church; nor the aged, that is, the Apostles and Prophets.

But let our strength be the law of injustice, that is, let us consider everything lawful, whatever we are able to do: Habakkuk 1: "Judgment has arisen and contention is more powerful." Or: of justice: whence the interlinear gloss: "As if we should have strength in place of justice," that is, what we cannot do through justice, let us do through violence. For what is weak etc., as if to say: let us not oppress only the poor and weak, such as widows and the elderly, but whomever we can; for what is weak, namely in itself, such as the widow, the poor, and the elderly: is found useless, namely to others: whence for such persons little or nothing is to be cared about. Not so did the Lord think, who "chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong, and the ignoble things of the world and the contemptible" etc. Not so Paul, who said that "power is made perfect in weakness," 2 Corinthians 12.

Therefore, in this psalm, the Lord reproaches the Jews, saying, 'I am poor because of you, I am in pain for you, and yet you raised impious hands against me, saying: Let us kill the righteous one, for he is useless to us' (Wis. 2:12). Let us put wood into his bread (Jeremiah 11:19). He spoke well of bread in place of his flesh. He brought nourishment, they gave punishment in return for kindness. It is not surprising, therefore, that those who denied themselves the food of eternal life are hungry. They also cleverly combined these two things: Let us put wood into his bread. The Jews did not know what they were saying, and they were speaking a mystery. The Cross of Christ gave us Paradise. This is the wood that the Lord showed to Adam, saying that from the tree of life, which was in the middle of Paradise, it was to be eaten; but not from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam erred, did not keep the commandment, tasted the forbidden fruit. Through the wood we began to hunger; because his flesh received nourishment. Therefore the Lord joined flesh and wood in Christ, so that ancient hunger would cease and life would be restored. Blessed is the wood of the Lord, which crucified all sins. Blessed is the flesh of the Lord, which provided food for all!

Specifically, the persecution of Christ is described, first with regard to the threefold cause. Let us therefore beset the just man etc. Here he specifically describes the persecution of Christ, and first he touches upon the cause; second, the end, at: Let us see therefore, if his words etc.; third, the manner, at: With insult and torment etc. The cause, on account of which the Jews persecuted Christ, he touches upon in three ways: first, on the part of their works; second, on the part of their thoughts, at: He has become to us; third, on the part of their words, at: As triflers. In the first part, on the part of works, he touches upon a threefold cause, of which the first is the detestation of the works of the Jews; the second, the reproaching and defaming of those transgressions, at: And he reproaches us etc.; the third, the commendation of Christ, at: He promises etc.

(Vers. 12.). Let us therefore ensnare etc. Because I said: Let our strength be the law of injustice, and we cannot do this unless we ensnare the just one: let us therefore ensnare the just one etc., so that, namely, we may freely exercise the law of our strength. Let us ensnare, I say, through deceit, the just one, that is, Christ, who by antonomasia is called the just one: Jeremiah twenty-three: "This is the name by which they shall call him: The Lord our just one"; "because he committed no" actual "sin," First Peter two; nor did he contract original sin in his conception: whence Jeremiah twenty-three: "I will raise up for David a just branch," that is, Christ in the branch, that is, in his conception: Isaiah forty-five: "Let justice spring up together" etc. Or: Let us ensnare etc., can be the voice of any wicked persons against any just person, against which the Apostle warns in First Thessalonians four: "Let no one defraud his brother in business"; just as he himself had not done so; whence Second Corinthians seven: We "have injured no one," namely by deed; "have corrupted no one," namely by evil example; "have defrauded no one," namely by word. Because he is useless to us: The Gloss: "Although they saw his usefulness in all things," according to that passage in Acts ten: "Who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil." But they considered him useless to themselves in temporal matters: whence John eleven: "The Romans will come and take away our place and our nation." And he is contrary to our works, namely as good is contrary to evil, according to that passage in Ecclesiasticus thirty-three: "Against evil stands good, and against the just man stands the sinner." And he reproaches us with sins against the Law, that is, because we sin by transgressing the Law: whence John seven: "Did not Moses give you the Law, and none of you keeps the Law"? And he spreads abroad against us, that is, against us, or turning back upon us, the sins of our training, that is, by saying that we sin by teaching our traditions, or by holding them, or by making others hold them; whence Matthew fifteen: "Why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your traditions"?

Though they had arrested the all-powerful Lord, they bound him nonetheless, the very one who came to free us from the snares of the devil and to loose the bonds of sin. They led him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, about whom it can be argued that, in a certain way, he was the designer and instigator of the crime against Christ. It is likely that it was from him that the traitor, who had been paid off with money, requested the cohort to arrest Christ. Christ was therefore first brought to him. It seemed that he wanted to render true and actually present what had been said through the words of the prophet, "Let us bind the righteous one, because he is useless to us." And in fact Christ truly was useless to the Jews, not because he really was useless but because, lovers of sin and pleasure that they were, it seemed that he brought them nothing good. Rather, he brought a righteousness that exceeded the Law, clearly explaining what was pleasing to God, who loves virtue. The Law offered no such way, only indicating through shadows and darkness, indirectly and with difficulty, what might be of benefit to its hearers. Thus, as sunlight is in a certain way useless for one with a disease of the eyes, and he receives no benefit because his illness prevents it; and as healthy food seems more useless to sick people than to others, though by it they would recover the health they desire; so also the Lord seemed useless to the Jews, though he was the author of salvation. They, in fact, did not love salvation.

(Vers. 13.). He professes to have the knowledge of God: The Gloss: "That is, to know all things as God," and this with respect to essence. And he calls himself the Son of God, "that is, consubstantial and coeternal with God," with respect to person: John five: "He called God his Father, making himself equal to God." Thus any just person has the knowledge of God in the intellect, and is a son of God by grace in the affections; whence in the Psalm: "I said: You are gods," namely knowing good and evil, "and all of you sons of the Most High."

We see that all the powerful manifestations of God's judgments ring out through the words of the prophets, which, it seems to me, are here called cascades. "Deep calls unto deep, in the roar of the cascades." After the preaching of the prophets came the judgments of God, as though echoing back to the voice that had predicted their coming. The voice of one cascade was, "Let us plot against the righteous one, because he is an embarrassment to us and opposes himself to our actions, calling himself a child of the Lord." Another sound of the cascade is, "He was like a lamb led to the slaughter, as a sheep mute before his shearers, and he did not open his mouth." There is another voice, also: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, I can count all of my bones." Then the voice, "They divide my garments among them, for my clothing they cast lots, and when I was thirsty they gave me vinegar to drink." And what need is there now to recall all the voices of the cascades, since the prophetic books are full of the insults directed at the Lord and of his passion?

He has become for us an exposer. Here is set forth the moving cause on the part of thoughts, and first is touched upon the manifestation of the thoughts of the Jews through Christ; second, the effect of the manifestation, caused not on the part of Christ, but on the part of the Jews, namely their envy, at: He is grievous etc.

(Verse 14.). He has become for us an exposer, that is, a revealer, of our thoughts: The Gloss: "He brings our thoughts into the light," that is, he leads them out into knowledge; whence Matthew 9: "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" So traducere is understood in Matthew 1, namely as to expose, where it says: "He was not willing to expose her."

If you … want to love the beauty of the house of God and the place where his glory dwells, seek vessels for noble use. And do not say, "I looked for them but did not find them." If you have sought and have not found them, it means that you have not sought. The similar tends toward the similar, the dissimilar flees the dissimilar. If you are a vessel for common use, it is natural that the vessel for noble use is annoying to you, even to look at. Have you not heard how some people said of such a one, "It is unbearable for us just to look at him"? If merely to look at him is unbearable for you, how could he appear to you plainly, so you might find him? Because these vessels are found in the realm of the interior man. Certainly, when someone gives the impression of being righteous, it does not mean that he is righteous. The righteous and the unrighteous both have the same face. Both are human beings, but both are not God's house, even if they both call themselves Christians. One is a vessel, and so is the other, but both are not for noble use. Rather, one is for noble use, and the other for common.

"Since the wicked went away from me, I did not know him." What, then, does "I did not know him" mean? Does it refer to the fact that when a scoundrel meets a righteous person on a narrow street, the words from the Wisdom of Solomon run through his mind, "It annoys us just to see him," and he crosses the street, so as to not see that undesired person? But how many rascals there are, and how difficult it is for us to see them! They see us, and not only do they not depart from us, but also they run after us, hoping (at least sometimes) to carry out their wicked plans with our collaboration! This happens all the time. In what sense, then, do they go away? The person who is not like you departs from you. What does "he departs from you" mean? He does not follow you. And what does "He does not follow you" mean? He does not imitate your conduct. Or, "Since the wicked was far from me," that is, since he was not like me, neither did he want to imitate my conduct (he did not want to live according to the model that my life offered for his imitation), and thus, "I did not know him." What, then, does "I did not know him" mean? That I did not approve of him, and not that I did not actually know him.

(Verse 15.). He is grievous for us even to behold, namely on account of the manifestation of their sins; Augustine: "To sick eyes the light is hateful"; John 3: "He who does evil hates the light." But this, that they could not bear to see him, was a sign of envy; whence 1 Kings 18: "Saul did not look upon David with favorable eyes," namely because he envied him. Because his life is unlike that of others, namely his entire outward life or conduct.

On the contrary: Hebrews 2: "He ought to be made like his brethren in all things."

It must be said that the Apostle speaks of likeness in passible nature; here, of likeness in fault.

It should be noted, moreover, that his life or conduct was unlike others both with respect to its beginning, because he was conceived and born without sin: Isaiah 6: "The holy seed shall be that which has stood in her," that is, in Mary; Matthew 1: "That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." And with respect to its middle, because he lived without sin: 1 Peter 2: "He committed no sin, nor was deceit found" etc. And with respect to its end, because he died without any debt of death: the Psalm: "What I did not seize, I was then paying back."

And his ways are changed: The Gloss: "They have been made unlike," namely his deeds and his teaching: Isaiah 55: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, says the Lord."

As triflers etc. Here is touched upon the moving cause on the part of speech, and first is set forth their reprobation; second, the approbation of others, at: And he prefers the last things etc.; third, his self-commendation, at: And he boasts that he has God for a father.

(Vers. 16.). As therefore we were regarded as triflers by him, that is, doing and saying vain things: Zephaniah 3: "I will gather the triflers, who had departed from the law." And he abstains from our ways: The Gloss: "That is, from our actions and traditions"; as from unclean things, and indeed justly, because they were truly unclean: whence Ezekiel 36: "Their way was made before me like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman." And he prefers the last things of the just, that is, the end, and indeed deservedly, because "the death of sinners is the worst," but the death of the just is precious, according to that verse of the Psalm: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints"; therefore in Numbers 23 Balaam said: "Let my soul die the death of the just, and let my last end be like theirs." Or according to the Gloss: He prefers the last things of the just, "that is, eternal life to pleasure." And he boasts that he has God for his Father: John 8: "It is my Father who glorifies me."

Second, the persecution of Christ is described with regard to its purpose. Let us see therefore, if the words etc. Here in the person of the Jews he first touches upon the purpose of the persecution of Christ, which was that they wanted to know the truth about Christ; second, it is added how they could know this, at the words: For if he is the true Son of God, etc.

(Vers. 17. 18.). Let us see, etc., as if they were saying: since he so boasts, let us see, as it were from afar, by deliberating about his death: John 11: "The chief priests and Pharisees gathered a council" against Jesus. Let us see, I say, if his words are true, namely, that he is truly the Son of God. This the centurion saw and recognized, who, seeing him expire with a cry and the earthquake and other signs, said in Matthew 27: "Truly this was the Son of God." And let us test him, from close at hand, namely by crucifying him and exposing him to death: what will come upon him, namely whether he will be able to free himself: Matthew 27: "He saved others, he cannot save himself." And we shall know, or: so that we may know, what his last end will be, namely whether he will rise again. And this we shall know by guarding his tomb: whence Matthew 27: "Lord, we have remembered that that deceiver said while he was still living: After three days I will rise again."

Joseph is sent by his father to visit his brothers and the sheep. Our Joseph, as well, Christ the Lord, says, "I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." It is said, "The brothers hated Joseph because of his dreams." And our Joseph, too—Christ—cried out concerning his brothers the Jews, "They hated me without reason." Seeing Joseph, the brothers said, "Here comes the dreamer. Come, let us kill him, and see what becomes of his dreams." The godless, as Solomon says, said about our Joseph, "Come, let us kill the righteous one, because he is displeasing to us." And they continue, "He claims to possess knowledge of God and declares himself a son of God. Let's see if his words are true, and let's find out what will happen in the end." He confirms what is in the Gospel, when he says about the son sent to the vineyard workers, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." After seizing Joseph, the brothers stripped him of his many-colored tunic and threw him in a ditch. Our Joseph, by the mouth of the prophet, says the same of his passion: "They threw me in the outer ditch, in darkness and the shadow of death." By the Gospel's authority we are told how he was stripped of his tunic, which was woven from top to bottom and which the soldiers refused to divide among themselves, thus confirming the unity of the church. Heretics are excluded from this casting of lots, because it was to be that only one would possess it, that is, unity. "Taking," Scripture says, "a kid from the goats, Joseph's brothers dipped the tunic in its blood" and took it to their father, falsely saying that a wild beast had torn him to pieces.

For if he is the true Son of God, as he foretold, not through the grace of adoption, as we are, but through the natural property of eternal generation: he will receive him, namely in glory: Isaiah forty-two: "Behold, my servant, I will receive him." And he will deliver him, namely from punishment: and this is what follows: From the hands of adversaries, that is, of those who crucified him, who were his adversaries. God did both for him: for he delivered him from punishment, according to that word of the Psalm: "My deliverer from my wrathful enemies," namely on the very day of the passion, after he endured temporal death: and he raised him up, but not immediately, but on the third day, according to that word of Zephaniah three: "Wait for me on the day of my resurrection"; and he received him with glory on the day of the ascension: whence in the Psalm: "With glory you have received me."

Third, the persecution of Christ is described with respect to the special mode of oppression. Let us examine him with insult and torment, etc. Here he touches upon the special mode of oppression, and first, with respect to those things disposing toward death: second, with respect to death itself: By a most shameful death, etc.

(Vers. 19. 20.). He says therefore: With insult, namely of words: and with torment, namely of blows: Hebrews eleven: "The saints experienced mockeries and beatings"; let us examine him, that is, let us test him. So it was done, as is clear from Matthew twenty-seven and John nineteen, because he was mocked with insulting words and struck with scourges and at last fastened with nails to the gibbet of the cross. That we may know his reverence, that is, the humility with which he reverences God: Hebrews five: "He was heard because of his reverence." And let us test his patience, namely through torments: that is, whether he is truly humble and patient. And truly so, because "when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten," First Peter two. Gregory: "What sort of person each one is within himself, an insult inflicted reveals."

"Since, when he sees the death of the wise, he will not see death." He who has wearied himself endlessly and will live to the very end, "will not see death, when he sees the death of the wise." What do these words mean? He will not understand what death is when he sees the wise die. In fact, he says to himself, hasn't the one who was so wise, who was intimate with Wisdom, who worshiped God with such piety—hasn't he died also? I will therefore do what I like while I live. Indeed, if those who have wisdom could do something about it, they would not die. He sees the one who dies, yet fails to see what death is. "When he sees the death of the wise, he will not see death." In the same way, the Jews saw Christ hanging on the cross and mocked him, saying, "If he is the Son of God, he would come down from the cross." They did not see, in short, what death is. O, if they had seen what death is, they would have understood it! He died in time, so as to live again forever. They lived in time, so as to die forever. But since they saw him die, they did not see death, that is, they did not understand what true death is. What, in fact, do they say in Wisdom? "Let us condemn him to a shameful death, because, according to his own words, he will be protected. If he is truly a son of God, God will help him, and free him from the hands of his adversaries." That is, he will not allow his Son to die, if he truly is his Son. But when they saw him on the cross being insulted, and he did not descend from the cross, they said, "He was truly a man." It had already been said that one who could rise from the grave certainly could have descended from the cross. He taught us, however, to bear insults, to be patient before the tongues of people, to drink the bitter chalice now so as to later receive eternal life. You who are sick, drink the bitter chalice if you want to be healthy, because now your viscera are not healthy. Do not tremble with fear, because the doctor drank it first, that you might not tremble. The Lord, that is, drank the bitterness of the passion first. The one who had no sin drank, the one who had nothing to be healed of. Drink, therefore, until the bitterness of this world passes, until that world comes where there will be no scandal, no anger, no sickness, no bitterness, no fever, no deceit, no enmity, no old age, no death, no quarrels.

By a most shameful death: The Gloss: "That is, by the death of the cross, which up to the passion of Christ was the punishment of the guilty, but now is the trophy of victory and the glory of the Church"; Augustine: "The cross passed from the punishments of robbers to the foreheads of emperors." And because the death of the cross was most shameful, therefore to show the usefulness of Christ's death the Apostle says in Philippians two: "He humbled himself, etc., even the death of the cross."

Now the death of Christ was most shameful by reason of place, because it was outside the city at the place of Calvary, that is, the place where the heads of the beheaded were cast out, Matthew twenty-seven. By reason of time, because it was on a solemn day and at the greater hour, namely "the sixth hour," John nineteen. By reason of instrument, because it was on the wood of the cross: 1 Peter two: "He bore our sins in his body upon the wood." By reason of company, because it was among thieves, Luke twenty-three. By reason of reproach, because many reproaches were inflicted upon him as he hung, as is evident in Matthew twenty-seven.

Let us condemn him. It should be noted that Pilate condemned him by authority; the Jews, by persuasion. For there shall be regard for him from his words, that is, knowledge of the truth of his words: the Gloss: "We shall see whether after death he is able to raise up his flesh; for he said: 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it,'" John two.

My Lord Jesus Christ, when he assumed the flesh of the Virgin for our salvation, was surely glorified, because "he came to seek what was lost," though he was not "glorified gloriously." In fact, it is said precisely of him, "We saw him, and he had neither beauty nor splendor, and his face was more to be despised than all the sons of mortals." He was glorified also when he went to the cross and suffered death. Do you know why he was glorified? He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you." For him, therefore, even the passion of the cross was glory. This glory was not glorious, however, but humble. Finally, it is said of him, "He humbled himself even to death, death on a cross," and of this also the prophet had foretold, "Let us condemn him to a shameful death." But Isaiah also says of him, "He bore his judgment in humiliation." Thus in all these events the Lord was glorified, but humbly, so to speak. He was not "glorified gloriously."

Because Jesus was crucified and not freed, they believed he was not the Son of God. Thus, insulting him as he hung on the cross, they shook their heads, saying, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. He saved others, but he cannot save himself." With these words, as one reads in the book of Wisdom, "they thought thus but were mistaken. Their wickedness blinded them." What would have been so amazing about coming down from the cross, for one who rose from the grave without difficulty? But why did he want to be patient to death? To flee from the presence of Saul into the cave. "Cave," here, can be understood as a lower part of the earth. It was attested, in fact, and known to all, that Jesus' body was placed in a grave that had been hewn out of rock. This grave, then, was the cave, and Christ took refuge there from Saul. The Jews, in fact, persecuted him until he was placed in the cave. How can we show that they persecuted him until he had been put in the cave? They wounded him with a lance, when he was already dead on the cross. But when, after the funeral practices, the corpse was wrapped in linen and placed in the cave, by then they had nothing to do with his flesh. It was then that the Lord arose, unharmed and incorrupt, from the cave where he had taken refuge to flee the presence of Saul. He hid himself from the godless, whom Saul prefigured, and showed himself to his members. Once risen, his bodily members were touched by his members, the apostles. They touched the risen one and believed. Thus, Saul's persecution came to nothing.

The third way in which sin itself is also the punishment for sin can be seen in the one who says, "I do the evil that I do not want to do." To this third type also belong all those evil actions one does through ignorance, believing them not evil or even good. In fact, blindness of heart, if it were not a sin, would be unjustly reproved, and yet it is reproved justly where it says, "Blind Pharisee!" as well as in a great many other passages of the Word of God. Moreover, if blindness itself were not a punishment for sin, it would not be said, "Their wickedness has blinded them." And if this did not happen by a judgment of God, we would not read, "Their eyes are darkened so they would not see; he weakens their backs forever." Indeed, who would blind his heart by his own choice, when no one would want to be blind in his body?

These things they thought, and they erred. Here he shows that the life of such men is to be shunned as erroneous; and first he touches upon the meritorious cause of their error; second, the matter of their error: And they knew not, etc.; third, the author of their error: But by the envy of the devil, etc.

(Vers. 21.). These things, namely the aforesaid, they thought, namely the impious, and they carried them out; and they erred: whence below in chapter five: "Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice has not shone upon us"; likewise Proverbs fourteen: "They err who work evil." For it blinded them, namely their interior eye, their malice: whence in the prayer of Jeremiah: "Woe to us, for we have sinned; therefore our eyes are darkened"; likewise 2 Corinthians four: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers."

And they knew not the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret counsels and dispositions concerning the passion and resurrection of Christ; Ephesians three: "The mystery was made known to me, which in other generations was not known." Nor did they hope for the reward of justice; the Gloss: "That is, of the death of Christ," namely his exaltation through death, concerning which, Philippians two: "Wherefore God also exalted him." Nor did they judge: the Gloss: "That is, understand," the honor of holy souls, that is, the salvation of holy souls to be obtained through the death and resurrection of Christ: whence the Gloss: "They did not understand that the death of Christ is the honor and salvation of souls"; the Psalm: "They are exceedingly honored," etc.; likewise 1 Peter two: "To you therefore who believe, honor," etc.

Though such a great light had arisen, and though the Logos had been made manifest, declaring, "Here is a man whose name is Orient," they did not see the light, because "their wickedness blinded them, and they did not know the mysteries of God." Something paradoxical took place with that people and with the pagan nations. The Jews did see a lamp in each of the prophets, but they did not recognize the Sun of righteousness that arose. Therefore, even though it seemed that they had a lamp, this was taken from them. On the other hand, "the people"—the pagans—"who were in darkness saw a great light." Not a small light, as with Israel (though each of the prophets was actually not a small light), but "the people who were in darkness saw a great light," our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His light shines, "extending from one end of the earth to the other with power and governing" the churches "with goodness," since his Spirit fills the whole earth. Thus the prophecy is fulfilled that says, "In the last days the mountain of God will be visible." And now, "all the nations stream toward it." This mountain is Jesus Christ.

If, because of the sorrows the soul has conceived by its love of the world, we are not yet able to taste how sweet the Lord is, let us at least believe what the divine authority wanted said in the holy Scriptures regarding his Son, "born," as the apostle says, "of the seed of David according to the flesh." In fact, as it is written in the Gospel, "Everything was made through him, and without him nothing was made." He is the one who had compassion on our weakness, a weakness that we merited, not by his work but by our will. "Indeed, God created human beings for immortality" and gave them free will. A person would not be excellent if he were to observe God's commandments out of necessity and not through his own will.

And rightly I said: Honor, because God created man imperishable, that is, having the power not to die, on the part of the body: and to the image, namely on the part of the soul; Genesis 1: "Let us make man to our image and likeness"; to the image, namely in natural endowments: of his likeness, namely in gratuitous gifts: or: to the image, in the cognitive power: to the likeness in the affective power: for image is the principle of knowing, likeness the ground of loving; for "every animal loves its like," Ecclesiasticus 13. He made him.

Christ descended and died and by his death freed us from death. Dying, he destroyed death. And you, brothers, know that death entered the world through the envy of the devil. Scripture says that "God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the death of the living. He created all things that they might exist. But, by the devil's envy, death entered the world." Human beings would not have died at the hands of the devil, had it been a matter of being compelled by force. The devil did not have the power to force them, only the shrewdness to seduce them. Without your consent the devil would have remained impotent. It was your consent, O man, that led you to death. Born mortal from a mortal, we became mortal from the immortals that we were. By their origin in Adam all human beings are mortal. But Jesus, the Son of God, the Word of God through whom all things were made, the only-begotten Son, equal to the Father, became mortal. "The Word became flesh and dwelled among us."

But by the envy of the devil, who envied the happiness of the first parents, death entered into the world.

Against this: Romans 5: "By one man sin entered, and by sin death."

It must be said that death entered through the devil suggesting and through man consenting.

But they imitate him, namely the devil, by envying the just, who are of his party, namely the impious, who are of the party of the devil. "For he himself is the head of all the wicked," as Gregory says.

Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years. For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you, inasmuch as every one abandons the fear of God, and has become blind in His faith, neither walks in the ordinances of His appointment, nor acts a part becoming a Christian, but walks after his own wicked lusts, resuming the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world. [Wisdom 2:24]

For thus it is written: "And it came to pass after certain days, that Cain brought of the fruits of the earth a sacrifice unto God; and Abel also brought of the firstlings of his sheep, and of the fat thereof. And God had respect to Abel and to his offerings, but Cain and his sacrifices He did not regard. And Cain was deeply grieved, and his countenance fell. And God said to Cain, Why are you grieved, and why is your countenance fallen? If you offer rightly, but do not divide rightly, have you not sinned? Be at peace: your offering returns to yourself, and you shall again possess it. And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go into the field. And it came to pass, while they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him." [Genesis 4:3-8] You see, brethren, how envy and jealousy led to the murder of a brother. Through envy, also, our father Jacob fled from the face of Esau his brother [Genesis 27:41-45]. Envy made Joseph be persecuted unto death, and to come into bondage. [Genesis 37:18-28] Envy compelled Moses to flee from the face of Pharaoh king of Egypt, when he heard these words from his fellow-countryman, "Who made you a judge or a ruler over us? Will you kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?" [Exodus 2:14] On account of envy, Aaron and Miriam had to make their abode without the camp. [Numbers 12:14-15] Envy brought down Dathan and Abiram alive to Hades, through the sedition which they excited against God's servant Moses. [Numbers 16:33] Through envy, David not only underwent the hatred of foreigners, but was also persecuted by Saul king of Israel. [1 Samuel 21:10-15]

The devil, seeing that human beings were made in the image of God, fell through malicious envy into jealousy and, compelled by this envy, caused another to be lost, not hurling down another by the instinct of his jealousy before he himself was hurled down by his own jealousy. He was made a prisoner before he imprisoned another. He was lost before he caused another to be lost, when, compelled by envy, he took from human beings the grace of immortality that had been given to them. He himself had in fact first lost what he once was. Beloved brothers, how great is the evil into which the angel fell by which that sublime and splendid nobility was deceived and subverted, by which the deceiver himself was deceived! From then on envy raged throughout the earth, since the one who will perish through the devil's spite pays homage to the master of perdition, and the one who is jealous imitates the devil, as it is written, "Death entered the world through the envy of the devil." Consequently, "those who belong to his party imitate him."

Believe with the firmest faith, not doubting in any way, that Christ, the Son of God, will come to judge the living and the dead. With his coming he will raise, glorify and, according to his promise, make equal to the holy angels those who in this life are freely justified by faith through the gift of his grace. To these same justified ones he gives perseverance until the end in the faith and love of holy mother church. He will lead them to the state in which they are perfectly good, in the measure in which God grants to each. After this they will no longer be able to lose that perfection in which the glory of the saints will differ, but the eternal life of all will be the same. The devil and his angels, however, Christ will send into the eternal fire, where they will never be free of the punishment prepared for them by the divine justice and with the devil godless and wicked people, of whom Scripture says, "Those who are of his party imitate him." They have imitated him in evil actions and have not done adequate penance before the end of this life—those godless and wicked people who are destined to burn in the torment of the eternal flames, after reassuming their bodies.

We must be convinced that the evil of envy is healed with more difficulty than the other vices. In fact, I would dare to say that if someone allows himself to be taken in only once by the plague of that poison, he will be without remedy. Envy is the scourge of which the prophet said figuratively, "See, I will send you poisonous snakes, against which no charm will work, and they will bite you." Rightly, therefore, the bite of envy was compared by the prophet with the fatal poison of the basilisk, from the effect of which the author and initiator of all poisons himself perished and caused others to perish. In fact, even before he poured forth the poison of death on the man, whom he envied, that murderer had already ruined himself. Indeed, "death entered the world through the devil's envy, and those who belong to him experience it." Just as he who was first corrupted by the plague of that same evil was unable to accept the remedy of penitence and the provision for the cure, so also those who offer themselves to be struck by the same poisonous bites preclude any help from the divine enchanter.

Generation is properly attributed to the sexes, whereas imitation is always carried out by souls. This inclination of the soul to imitate, if it can, what it wants to, at times accuses a person and at times is to his credit, depending on the situation. Thus, in the good, imitation is spoken of regarding God, the angels and the apostles. Of God, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Of the angels, "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Of the apostles, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." In evil, by contrast, people imitate the devil, as it is written, "Those who belong to him imitate him." People also imitate other people: "Do not assume a melancholy air, like the hypocrites who disfigure their faces." They imitate animals, as is implied in the warning, "Do not be like the horse or the mule, without intelligence." By these words, both of persuasion and dissuasion, the inclination to imitation is indicated. Surely, if this were not possible, it would not be suggested to avoid it.

From envy comes hatred, grumbling, disparagement, joy over the difficulties of one's neighbor and affliction over his prosperity. O perverse progeny, which, if it penetrates the soul and begins to dominate it, destroys every bud of holiness. One who envies or hates kills no one before he kills himself. One who murmurs and disparages tears out his own roots before those of others. The one who exults in his neighbor's difficulties and is tormented by his success strikes himself first with a foreign sword. This second branch of pride was first born when the one about whom it is written, "Death entered the world through the devil's envy," convinced Cain to shed his brother's blood, moved by the hatred brought about by envy. But certainly Cain, through his envy, killed his own soul before he killed the other's flesh. Indeed, it is written, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."

Envy says, "In what way are you inferior to this one or that one? Why then aren't you equal or superior to them? How many things are you capable of that they aren't? So, they can be neither superior nor even equal to you." Fraternal love, however, responds, "O mortal, if you think yourself better than others because of your virtues, you would be more secure in the lowest place than in the highest. The worst ruin always comes from the highest place. If, as you say, some are superior and others equal to you, what harm is it to you? How does it hurt you? As you envy the lofty position of others, be careful rather that you do not imitate him of whom it is written, 'Death entered the world through the devil's envy. Those who belong to his party imitate him.' "

Death is the sword of the devil. "Death entered the world through the devil's envy." This is the sword with which he killed the first man, and then the human race, until it was redeemed by Christ. When we sin, we fall under this sword. Christ, however, did not have this sword, because "he committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." He was not subject to original sin, because he was not born of sexual intercourse involving a man—a man who necessarily could not be without sin.

The man, who was formed by the initiative of divine action, was made lord of this earthly creation, so that in observance of the divine order he would respect only the will of him who, from nothing, had made him lord of all things. And from the beginning—not out of ignorance but corrupted by envy and wanting the creature to surpass what had been granted by God—he lost what nature had not given him, that is, grace, which had been granted him by the benevolence of the Creator. From then on, the transgressor, having received the sentence of death through the jealousy of the devil's deception, passed this sentence on to the descendents who would originate from him in the future.