We do not know how to pray as we ought.^[1] He is not so much talking [about prayer] at this point as issuing a command not to theologize thoughtlessly. Indeed, anyone who belongs to this material world and whose thoughts have their origin in this world cannot speak about God without error—or on other matters that elude the senses. That is why he says, And let your words be few, that is, they should be true and well chosen. I think also that few means the same as in the following texts: Better a little with righteousness than an abundance of riches with sinners.^[2] And, Better is the receiving of a little with righteousness.^[3] But to those who do not observe this, he says, For as a dream comes when there are many cares, so is the fool’s voice with many words.. . .

He also talks about the voice of a fool, coming up with false words and beguiling the soul. This is the voice of the slanderer and reviler.^[4] He is also able to apply this to the voice of the fool who by a multitude of words you will not escape sin.^[5]

Truly, if a person guards his mouth^[1] and acquires humility, the angels will be his friends here below; his soul will be a perfume poured out; the angels will carry his remembrance before God day and night, whether he is a monk or a secular. Besides, many persons in the world are watchful on this point. As for me, I know many who have acquired a great humility and have watched themselves not to speak evil of anyone. On the con-trary, they underestimate themselves constantly and praise the others, saying, It is within the power of God that we should find a little place in heaven.

[It might be that] a person dedicates himself rashly, without comprehending what is esoteric of the wisdom of God and of the Word who is in the beginning with God^[1] and who is himself God. And . . . it is by means of the Word and God and by means of the wisdom with him that one must examine and discover these things. [Then] it must happen that he, by falling into myths and nonsense and fictions, submits himself to the danger that surrounds impi-ety. For that reason one must remember also the com-mandment from Solomon in Ecclesiastes concerning such things, which says, Do not hasten to express a word before the face of God. For God is in the heaven above, and you are on the earth below. Therefore let your words be few.

The passage in Ecclesiastes Be not in haste to utter speech before God, because God is in heaven above and you on earth below is intended to show the gap which separates those who are in the body of humiliation^[1] from him who is with the angels exalted by the help of the Word and from the holy powers with Christ himself. For it is not unreasonable that he should be strictly at the Father’s throne, allegorically called heaven, while his church, termed earth, is a footstool at his feet.^[2]

Listen to the Preacher exhorting not to be hasty to utter anything before God, for God, (says he), is in heaven above, and you upon earth beneath.

He shows, I think, by the relation of these elements to each other, or rather by their distance, how far the divine nature is above the speculations of human reason. For that nature which transcends all intelligence is as high above earthly calculation as the stars are above the touch of our fingers, or rather, many times more than that.

Knowing, then, how widely the divine nature differs from our own, let us quietly remain within our proper limits. For it is both safer and more reverent to believe the majesty of God to be greater than we can understand, than, after circumscribing his glory by our misconceptions, to suppose there is nothing beyond our conception of it.

It does a person no good to say that he possesses faith if he neglects to fulfill in deed what he promises in word. As the Scriptures say, If you have vowed anything to God, defer not to pay it. For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him. It is much better not to vow than after a vow not to perform the things promised. In order that we may understand these facts clearly from our relations with our servants, let someone tell me whether it is enough for him if his servant says all day that he is his lord and ceases not to commend him with praises but refuses to do what has been commanded. Therefore, if words without deeds do not please us, how much more can faith without works fail to benefit us in the sight of God? Above all, we must fear lest someone believes so strongly that he will receive God’s mercy that he does not dread his justice. If a person does this, he has no faith. Likewise, if he dreads God’s justice so much that he despairs of his mercy, there is no faith. Since God is not only merciful but also just, let us believe in both. Let us not despair of his mercy because we fear his justice or love his mercy so much that we disregard his justice. Therefore we should neither hope wrongly nor despair wickedly.

This will be fulfilled in this way by each one of us. We pray when we renounce this world and promise that being dead to all worldly actions and the life of this world we will serve the Lord with full purpose of heart. We pray when we promise that despising secular honors and scorning earthly riches we will cling to the Lord in all sorrow of heart and humility of spirit. We pray when we promise that we will always maintain the most perfect purity of body and steadfast patience, or when we vow that we will utterly remove from our heart the roots of anger or sorrow that bring about death. And if weakened by sloth and returning to our former sins we fail to do this, we shall be guilty as regards our prayers and vows, and these words will apply to us: It is better not to vow than to vow and not to pay, which can be rendered in accordance with the Greek: It is better for you not to pray than to pray and not to pay.

For as unbounded glory hereafter is promised to those who faithfully serve God and cleave to him according to the rule of this system, so the severest penalties are in store for those who have carried it out carelessly and coldly and have failed to show to him fruits of holiness corresponding to what they professed or what they were believed by people to be. For it is better, as Scripture says, that one should not vow rather than to vow and not pay; and Cursed is he that does the work of the Lord carelessly.^[1]

Concerning virginity we have received no commandment,^[1] but we leave it to the power of those that are willing, as a vow. [We exhort] them so far in this matter that they do not promise anything rashly, since Solomon says, It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Let such a virgin, therefore, be holy in body and soul, as the temple of God,^[2] as the house of Christ, as the habitation of the Holy Spirit. For she that vows ought to do such works as are suitable to her vow, and to show that her vow is real, and made on account of leisure for piety, not to cast a reproach on marriage. Let her not be one who wanders idly around, or one that rambles about unseasonably; not double-minded, but grave, continent, sober, pure, avoiding the conversation of many, and especially of those that are of ill reputation.

Regarding the literal interpretation: No one is lord, owner and ruler over a field that lies fallow where thorns and thistles grow; but the field that is well tilled has a king. Thereby the owner is called a king. . . .

When the defenders of the teaching that God’s providence rules over everything argue that there is providence, they generally say, Like a weave clearly shows that there is a weaver—whether or not he is seen—in the same way he who sees a well tilled field gets the impression that it has someone who leads and rules over it. . . .

When you, therefore, see a soul that is well tilled, that sows with tears and is ready to reap with shouts of joy,^[1] then this tilled field has a king, the Logos, who leads, rules and reigns.

When they are intent on increasing money, let them hear what is written: The covetous man is not filled with money, and he that loves riches shall not reap fruit thereof. For indeed he would reap fruit of them, were he minded, not loving them, to disperse them well. But whoever in his affection for them retains them shall surely leave them behind here without fruit. When they burn to be filled at once with all manner of wealth, let them hear what is written: He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent.^[1] For certainly he who goes about to increase wealth is negligent in avoiding sin; and, being caught after the manner of birds, while looking greedily at the bait of earthly things, he is not aware in what a noose of sin he is being strangled.

If, he says, you see among people those on the one hand who are oppressed and those on the other who do wrong in judgment, and still others who practice justice, do not be amazed that this occurs as if there were no divine foresight. Rather, know that God guards everything through Christ and that he also exercises his provision over everything through his holy angels, who excel in their knowledge of earthly events.^[1] God is the ruler of the world that he created,^[2] and he allots suffering to those who prefer greed and the vanity of this life to knowledge of Christ. But to those who live their lives in goodness, conduct themselves with courage and serve justly, he grants the knowledge of God and a peaceful rest. He grants this whether their knowledge was small or great here, for we know in part and we prophesy in part.^[3] But in the end, he will receive these, while those who were filled with wickedness will find no rest from the worm produced by their evil.

An abundance of evil can be revealed in wealth. But this type of evil should be viewed as more of a weakness. Therefore, everyone who guards his wealth for himself does not know the wisdom of God, nor is his heart inclined to insight, nor to instructing his children. He has neither received the words of God’s commandments nor has he hidden them in his heart.

Ecclesiastes sees that riches are kept for ill by one who possesses them, for their loss causes a very great anxiety and disquiet. Indeed they are lost, for they are left here and can be of no advantage to one who is dead. And so, the dead man felt anxiety in regard to them and could not find rest; he left what would bring him shame and did not take with himself what he could keep.^[1] He was far different from him of whom it is written, Blessed is the man that has filled his desire with them; he shall not be confounded when he speaks to his enemies in the gate.^[2] His inheritance is the Lord, his reward is from the offspring of the Virgin Mary, and he is extolled with praises in the going forth of wisdom.

Of what use is wealth that belongs to someone? He is obviously lord over his wealth. The wealth somebody owns is his amenity and he himself is lord over his wealth. As he himself can use wealth well by being lord over it and not its slave, so also wealth can become lord over him who owns it. Woe to that person. That is the case if he is greedy and becomes a slave of mammon.

People use their children as an excuse for gathering riches. At times they do injustice, rob and do similar things, saying: I’m doing this for my children.. . . I have seen a person who struggled to become rich, but his riches were of no use. He did not enjoy them himself, nor did his son receive them, but he remained poor and in the same state as he had entered the world. After all, he was not born with money or with clothes. . . .

Only the soul’s goods can be taken away into heaven. . . . If he has done good with his money, if he has a good reputation and honor, and if he has tried to help the weak, then he takes with him something of what he has labored for, namely, that he has done good.

The same thing happens as every one may perceive with regard to sleep. For not a soft couch, or a bedstead overlaid with silver, or the quietness that exists throughout the house, or anything else of this kind are so generally likely to make sleep sweet and pleasant, as labor and fatigue, and the need of sleep, and drowsiness when one lies down. And to this particular the experience of facts, nay, before actual experience, the assertion of the Scriptures bears witness. For Solomon, who had passed his life in luxury, when he wished to make this matter evident, said, The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much. Why does he add, whether he eat little or much? Both these things usually bring sleeplessness, namely, indigence and excess of food; the one drying up the body, stiffening the eyelids and not suffering them to be closed; the other straitening and oppressing the breath and inducing many pains. But at the same time so powerful a persuasive is labor, that though both these things should befall them, servants are able to sleep. For since throughout the whole day, they are running about everywhere, ministering to their masters, being knocked about and hard pressed, and having but little time to take breath, they receive a sufficient recompense for their toils and labors in the pleasure of sleeping. And thus it has happened through the goodness of God toward humanity, that these pleasures are not to be purchased with gold and silver but with labor, with hard toil, with necessity, and every kind of discipline. Not so the rich. On the contrary, while lying on their beds, they are frequently without sleep through the whole night; and though they devise many schemes, they do not obtain such pleasure. But the poor person, when released from his daily labors, having his limbs completely tired, falls almost before he can lie down into a slumber that is sound, and sweet, and genuine, enjoying this reward, which is not a small one, of his fair day’s toils. Since therefore the poor person sleeps, and drinks, and eats with more pleasure than the rich person, what further value is left to riches, now deprived of the one advantage they seemed to have over poverty?

Wherefore Ecclesiastes says, There is a grievous illness which I have seen under the sun: riches kept to the hurt of the owner.. . . If you are desirous of treasure, take the invisible and the intangible which is to be found in the heavens on high, not that which is in the deepest veins of the earth. Be poor in spirit and you will be rich, no matter what your worldly goods are.^[1] A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions,^[2] but in his virtue and in his faith. This richness will enrich you if you are rich in your relations to God.

This is the literal interpretation. If someone has much money, if he has lots of good food and many wines, he still cannot eat and drink all of it. But he doubtless has a gift: whatever he can consume, if he has enough food to satisfy him and enough drink, this is a gift from God. But when someone eats and drinks more than necessary, then it is not a gift from God but a gift from desire.

Regarding the spiritual interpretation: God gives wisdom along with the riches and capabilities inherent in wisdom, that is, wisdom’s insights, so that people eat and drink from the things they have received: the bread of wisdom, its water, the wine, which he mingled into a cup. This is a gift from God. If one takes the spiritual in the right way, it is, finally, the grace of his lot.

Let none of us entertain the desire for possessions, for what gain is it to acquire those things which we cannot take with us? Why not rather acquire those that we can take: prudence, justice, temperance, fortitude, understanding, charity, love of the poor, faith in Christ, gentleness, hospitality? If we obtain these, we shall find them there before us preparing a welcome for us in the land of the meek. LIFE OF ST.

What good is there for a person in this life? He lives in darkness and cannot be satisfied in his desires. And if he is sated with riches, he loses the enjoyment of his rest, because he is forced to guard the possessions he has acquired through his wretched greed. Thus he possesses them in greater wretchedness, seeing that they can do him no good. For what is more wretched than to be tormented with guarding them and derive no advantage from their abundance?

Everything that human labor produces in this world is consumed by the mouth, ground by the teeth, and sent to the stomach for digestion. Even when a bite to eat delights the palate, it seems to give pleasure only for as long as it remains in the mouth, for when it passes into the belly, it can no longer be distinguished from other food. The soul of the diner is afterwards not fulfilled, because he will again desire what he has just eaten, since neither the wise nor the foolish is able to live without food, and the poor seeks nothing other than to sustain his frail body and to avoid starvation. Moreover, the soul derives no benefit from the refreshment of the body. Food is common to both the wise and the foolish, and the poor tend to go where they perceive wealth. It is better to understand this teaching as referring to the ecclesiastical person whose labor is in his mouth because he is learned in the heavenly Scriptures but whose soul is not fulfilled because he desires always to learn more.

To the corrupting power of riches [the Lord] made the enormity of voracious appetite antecedent; indeed, the former generates the latter.

The rich man reveals the great burning in his tongue when he says, Send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, since I am tormented in this flame.^[1] The unbelieving people keep the words of the law in their mouths but refuse to act on them. The burning will be greater in the place where they manifested that they knew what to do, but that they were unwilling to do it. Solomon said concerning those who are knowledgeable but remiss, All the toil of a man is in his mouth, but his soul will not be filled. Who-ever labors only for this, to know what he should say, fasts with an empty heart from the nourishment that should pro-vide him with knowledge.

A person’s true life is not found here on earth, for he claims that it is found elsewhere. This, then, is the great advantage humankind has over the animal: The animal does not live on after death, while a person begins to live only when he has completed this visible life through bodily death.

There are two sorts of names: some names designate those things which by nature have a body; others designate those which by nature are without a body. The names of those with a body designate the characteristics of such a being, such as its size, color and structure. . . . The names of those without a body reveal a quality of their state of existence, such as their being worthy of praise or condemnation. But if the first class of names is applied in a straightforward manner, such is not the case with the second class. [With the second class] there are two options: the being has the ability of self-determination of either to incline toward virtue and honor in its knowledge of the Creator, which is the case with angels, archangels, thrones and dominions;^[1] or to incline toward evil and increase in its ignorance of the Creator, as is the case with Satan and any other world ruler of the present darkness.^[2]. . .

Let us not ask, Why was I placed in this body? Or why was I not made an angel? Does not God show partiality?^[3] Do we not have free will? All these questions simply multiply vanity. How can the creature say to its Creator, Why did you make me like this? Or, how can a creature answer back to God? Let all those kinds of discussions cease. Instead, let those discussions prevail which guide us towards virtue and knowledge. All that is present in this age of shadows is called vanity and shadows, and all that belongs to this life will be covered with the darkness, becoming obsolete upon departing this life.