Chapter V.
Those things which are generally looked on as good are
mostly hindrances to a blessed life, and those which are looked on as
evil are the materials out of which virtues grow. What belongs to
blessedness is shown by other examples.
16. But those
things which seem to be good, as riches, abundance, joy without pain,
are a hindrance to the fruits of blessedness, as is clearly stated in
the Lord’s own words, when He said: “Woe to you rich,
for ye have received your consolation! Woe unto you that are
full, for ye shall hunger, and to those who laugh, for they shall
mourn!”401
So, then,
corporal or external good things are not only no assistance to
attaining a blessed life, but are even a hindrance to it.
17. Wherefore Naboth was blessed, even
though he was stoned by the rich; weak and poor, as opposed to the
royal resources, he was rich in his aim and his religion; so rich,
indeed, that he would not exchange the inheritance of the vineyard
received from his father for the king’s money; and on this
account was he perfect, for he defended the rights of his forefathers
with his own blood. Thus, also, Ahab was wretched on his own
showing, for he caused the poor man to be put to death, so as to take
possession of his vineyard himself.402
18. It is quite certain that virtue is the only
and the highest good; that it alone richly abounds in the fruit of a
blessed life; that a blessed life, by means of which eternal life is
won, does not depend on external or corporal benefits, but on virtue
only. A blessed life is the fruit of the present, and eternal
life is the hope of the future.
19. Some, however, there are who think a blessed
life is impossible in this body, weak and fragile as it is. For
in it one must suffer pain and grief, one must weep, one must be
ill. So I could also say that a blessed life rests on bodily
rejoicing, but not on the heights of wisdom, on the sweetness of
conscience, or on the loftiness of virtue. It is not a blessed
thing to be in the midst of suffering; but it is blessed to be
victorious over it, and not to be cowed by the power of temporal
pain.
20. Suppose that things come which are
accounted terrible as regards the grief they cause, such as blindness,
exile, hunger, violation of a daughter, loss of children. Who
will deny that Isaac was blessed, who did not see in his old age, and
yet gave blessings with his benediction?403
Was not Jacob blessed who, leaving
his father’s house, endured exile as a shepherd for pay,404
and mourned for the violated chastity of his
daughter,405
and suffered
hunger?406
Were they not blessed on whose good
faith God received witness, as it is written: “The God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob”?407
A wretched thing is slavery, but
Joseph was not wretched; nay, clearly he was blessed, when he whilst in
slavery checked the lusts of his mistress.408
What shall I say of holy David who
bewailed the death of three sons,409
| 409 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xii. 16; xiii. 31; xviii.
33. |
and, what was
even worse than this, his daughter’s incestuous
connection?410
How could he be
unblessed from whom the Author of blessedness Himself sprung, Who has
made many blessed? For: “Blessed are they who have
not seen yet have believed.”411
All these
felt their own weakness, but they bravely prevailed over it. What
can we think of as more wretched than holy Job, either in the burning
of his house, or the instantaneous death of his ten sons, or his bodily
pains?412
Was he less blessed than if he had
not endured those things whereby he really showed himself
approved?
21. True it is that in these sufferings there is
something bitter, and that strength of mind cannot hide this
pain. I should not deny that the sea is deep because inshore it
is shallow, nor that the sky is clear because sometimes it is covered
with clouds, nor that the earth is fruitful because in some places
there is but barren ground, nor that the crops are rich and full
because they sometimes have wild oats mingled with them. So, too,
count it as true that the harvest of a happy conscience may be mingled
with some bitter feelings of grief. In the sheaves of the whole
of a blessed life, if by chance any misfortune or bitterness has crept
in, is it not as though the wild oats were hidden, or as though the
bitterness of the tares was concealed by the sweet scent of the
corn? But let us now proceed again with our subject.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
