Chapter XI.

It is proved by the witness of Scripture that all duty is either “ordinary” or “perfect.” To which is added a word in praise of mercy, and an exhortation to practise it.

36. Every duty is either “ordinary” or “perfect,”44    Cic. de Off. I. 3, § 8. a fact which we can also confirm by the authority of the Scriptures. For we read in the Gospel that the Lord said: “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith: Which? Jesus said to him: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”45    S. Matt. xix. 17, 18, 19. These are ordinary duties, to which something is wanting.

37. Upon this the young man says to Him: “All these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thy goods and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow Me.”46    S. Matt. xix. 20, 21. And earlier the same is written, where the Lord says that we must love our enemies, and pray for those that falsely accuse and persecute us, and bless those that curse us.47    S. Matt. v. 44. This we are bound to do, if we would be perfect as our Father Who is in heaven; Who bids the sun to shed his rays over the evil and the good, and makes the lands of the whole universe fertile with rain and dew without any distinction.48    S. Matt. v. 45. This, then, is a perfect duty (the Greeks call it κατόρθωμα), whereby all things are put right which could have any failings in them.

38. Mercy, also, is a good thing, for it makes men perfect, in that it imitates the perfect Father. Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that thou mayest treat them as sharers in common with thee in the produce of nature, which brings forth the fruits of the earth for use to all. Thus thou mayest freely give to a poor man what thou hast, and in this way help him who is thy brother and companion. Thou bestowest silver; he receives life. Thou givest money; he considers it his fortune. Thy coin makes up all his property.

39. Further, he bestows more on thee than thou on him, since he is thy debtor in regard to thy salvation. If thou clothe the naked, thou clothest thyself with righteousness; if thou bring the stranger under thy roof, if thou support the needy, he procures for thee the friendship of the saints and eternal habitations. That is no small recompense. Thou sowest earthly things and receivest heavenly. Dost thou wonder at the judgment of God in the case of holy Job? Wonder rather at his virtue, in that he could say: “I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was a father to the poor. Their shoulders were made warm with the skins of my lambs. The stranger dwelt not at my gates, but my door was open to every one that came.”49    Job xxix. 15, 16. Clearly blessed is he from whose house a poor man has never gone with empty hand. Nor again is any one more blessed than he who is sensible of the needs of the poor, and the hardships of the weak and helpless. In the day of judgment he will receive salvation from the Lord, Whom he will have as his debtor for the mercy he has shown.

CAPUT XI.

Officium omne, aut medium, aut perfectum esse Scripturae testimoniis ostenditur: cui subjungitur misericordiae laus, atque ad eam exhortatio.

36. Officium autem omne aut medium, aut perfectum est, quod aeque Scripturarum auctoritate probare possumus. Habemus etenim in Evangelio dixisse Dominum: Si vis in vitam aeternam venire, serva mandata. Dixit ille? Quae? Jesus autem dixit illi: Non homicidium facies, non adulterabis, non facies furtum, non falsum testimonium dices: honora patrem et matrem: et, Diliges proximum tuum sicut te ipsum (Matth. XIX, 17 et seq.). Haec sunt media officia, quibus aliquid deest.

0034B 37. Denique dicit illi adolescens: Omnia haec custodivi a juventute mea, quid adhuc mihi deest? Ait illi Jesus: Si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende omnia bona tua, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in coelo, et veni, sequere me (Ibid., XX, 21). Et supra (Matth. V, 44, 45) ita est scriptum, ubi diligendos inimicos, et orandum dicit pro calumniantibus et persequentibus nos, et benedicere maledicentes; hoc nos facere debemus, si volumus perfecti esse, sicut Pater noster qui in coelo est, qui super bonos et malos solem jubet radios suos fundere, et pluvia et rore terras universorum sine ulla discretione pinguescere. Hoc est igitur perfectum officium, quod κατόρθωμα dixerunt Graeci, quo corriguntur omnia, quae aliquos potuerunt lapsus habere.

0034C 38. Bona etiam misericordia, quae et ipsa perfectos facit, quia imitatur perfectum Patrem. Nihil tam commendat Christianam animam quam misericordia. Primum in pauperes, ut communes judices partus naturae, quae omnibus ad usum generat fructus terrarum; ut quod habes, largiaris pauperi, et consortem et conformem tuum adjuves. Tu nummum largiris, ille vitam accipit: tu pecuniam das, ille substantiam suam aestimat. Tuus denarius, census illius est.

39. Ad haec plus ille tibi confert, cum sit debitor salutis. Si nudum vestias, te ipsum induis justitiam. Si peregrinum sub tectum inducas tuum, si suscipias egentem: ille tibi acquirit sanctorum amicitias et aeterna tabernacula. Non mediocris ista gratia. Corporalia seminas, et recipis spiritalia. Miraris judicium 0034D Domini de sancto Job? Mirare virtutem ejus, qui poterat dicere: 12 Oculus eram caecorum, pes claudorum. Ego eram infirmorum pater, velleribus 0035A agnorum meorum calefacti sunt humeri eorum. Foris non habitabat peregrinus: ostium autem meum omni venienti patebat (Job XXIX, 15, 16). Beatus plane, de cujus domo numquam vacuo sinu pauper exivit; neque enim quisquam magis beatus, quam qui intelligit super pauperis necessitatem et infirmi atque inopis aerumnam. In die judicii habebit salutem a Domino, quem habebit suae debitorem misericordiae.