101

he is, he shall bring out the pledge to you outside. But if the man is poor, you shall not sleep with his pledge. You shall restore his pledge to him at sunset, and he will sleep in his cloak, and he will bless you, and it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God. The sinner borrows, and will not repay; but the righteous one has mercy, and gives. A good man is one who has mercy and lends. The righteous one has mercy and lends. He who multiplies his wealth by interest and usury, gathers it for him who has mercy on the poor. When creditor and debtor meet together, the Lord oversees them both. Let not your hand be stretched out to receive, and closed when it is time to give back. Do not lend to a man stronger than you; and if you do lend, be as one who has lost it. Lend to your neighbor in his time of need. Many have considered a loan as a found treasure, and have caused trouble to those who helped them. These things are grievous to a man of understanding: a rebuke from the house, and the reproach of a lender. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. Indeed, it has an excess of inhumanity, for one who is in need of the necessities of life to seek a loan for the comfort of his life, but for the other not to be satisfied with the principal, but to devise for himself revenues from the misfortunes of the poor man, and to gather riches. The Lord therefore clearly commanded us, saying: And do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. But the lover of money, seeing a man bowed down by necessity, supplicating before his knees, doing and saying every humble thing, does not pity him acting beyond his dignity, does not consider his nature, does not yield to his supplications, but stands unbending and relentless, neither yielding to entreaties, nor moved by tears, persisting in his refusal, swearing and calling down 95.1368 curses on himself, that he is completely without means, and is looking around himself, if he might find any lenders, and confirming the lie through oaths, acquiring perjury as an evil by-product of his inhumanity. But when the one seeking the loan mentions interest, and names collateral, then lowering his brow he smiled, and perhaps even remembered a paternal friendship, and called him an acquaintance and a friend. And we will see, he says, if we have any silver laid aside anywhere. It is a deposit from a friend who entrusted it to us for business; but he has set heavy interest on it, but we will by all means remit something, and give a reduction in the interest. Putting on such a show, and insinuating with such words, luring the wretched man, he bound him beforehand with contracts, and in addition to his exhausting poverty, having also taken away the man's freedom, he was gone. For he who made himself liable for interest, the payment of which he cannot bear, has accepted a voluntary slavery for life. Money, tell me, and resources you seek from the one who has none, and if he were able to make you richer, why would he be seeking at your doors? Having come for an alliance, he found war; seeking antidotes, he encountered poisons; it being necessary to comfort the man's poverty, you instead multiply it, seeking to make a profit from the want of the destitute one? Borrowing is the beginning of falsehood, an occasion for ingratitude, both of perjury and ungratefulness. Nights bring him no rest, the sun is not pleasant, but he finds life difficult, he hates the days that hasten the deadline, he fears the months as the fathers of interest. And if he sleeps, he sees the lender in a dream, an evil vision standing by his head. And if he is awake, interest is his thought and care. Of the lender, it says, and the debtor who met each other, the Lord oversees them both. The one runs after his prey like a dog; the other, like ready game, cowers at the encounter; for being poor takes away his confidence. The calculations of both are on their fingers; of the one rejoicing in the increase of the

101

ἐστιν, ἐξοίσει σοι τὸ ἐνέχυρον ἔξω. Ἐὰν δὲ ὁ ἄνθρωπος πείνηται, οὐ κοιμηθήσῃ ἐν τῷ ἐνεχύρῳ αὐτοῦ. Ἀποδώσεις τὸ ἐνέχυρον αὐτοῦ περὶ δυσμὰς ἡλίου, καὶ κοιμηθήσεται ἐν τῷ ἱματίῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὐλογήσει σε, καὶ σοὶ ἔσται ἐλεημοσύνη ἐναντίον Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου. ∆ανείζει ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἀποτίσει· ὁ δὲ δίκαιος οἰκτείρει, καὶ δίδωσι. Χρηστὸς ἀνὴρ ὁ οἰκτείρων καὶ κιχρῶν. ∆ίκαιος οἰκτείρει καὶ κιχρᾷ. Ὁ πληθύνων πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ μετὰ τόκου καὶ πλεονασμοῦ, τῷ ἐλεοῦντι πτωχοὺς συνάγει αὐτόν. ∆ανειστοῦ καὶ χρειωφειλέτου ἀλλήλοις συνελθόντων, ἐπισκοπὴν ἀμφοτέρων ποιεῖται ὁ Κύριος. Μὴ ἔστω ἡ χείρ σου ἐκτεταμένη εἰς τὸ λαβεῖν, καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀποδιδόναι συνεσταλμένη. Μὴ δανείσῃς ἀνθρώπῳ ἰσχυροτέρῳ σου· καὶ ἐὰν δανείσῃς ὡς ἀπωλεκὼς γενοῦ. ∆άνεισον τῷ πλησίον σου ἐν καιρῷ χρείας αὐτοῦ. Πολλοὶ ὡς εὕρημα ἐνόμισαν δάνος, καὶ παρέσχον κόπους τοῖς βοηθήσασιν αὐτοῖς. Βαρέα ταῦτα ἀνθρώπῳ ἔχοντι φρόνησιν, ἐπιτίμησις οἰκίας, καὶ ὀνειδισμὸς δανειστοῦ. Τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανείσασθαι, μὴ ἀποστραφῇς. Ἐὰν δανείζητε παρ' ὧν ἐλπίζετε ἀπολαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστίν; Καὶ γὰρ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς δανείζουσιν, ἵνα ἀπολάβωσι τὰ ἴσα. Τῷ ὄντι ὑπερβολὴν ἀπανθρωπίας ἔχει, τὸν μὲν τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐνδεῶς ἔχοντα, ζητεῖν δάνεισμα εἰς παραμυθίαν τοῦ βίου, τὸν δὲ μὴ ἀρκεῖσθαι τῷ κεφαλαίῳ, ἀλλ' ἐπινοεῖν ἐκ τῶν συμφορῶν τοῦ πένητος προσόδους ἑαυτῷ, καὶ εὐπορίας συνάγειν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Κύριος ἐναργῶς ἡμῖν διετάξατο, λέγων· Καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανείσασθαι, μὴ ἀποστραφῇς. Ὁ δὲ φιλάργυρος ὁρῶν ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἄνδρα κατακαμπτόμενον, πρὸ τῶν γονάτων ἱκετεύοντα, τί οὐ ποιοῦντα ταπεινὸν, τί οὐ φθεγγόμενον, οὐκ ἐλεεῖ παρ' ἀξίαν πράττοντα, οὐ λογίζεται τὴν φύσιν, οὐκ ἐνδίδωσι ταῖς ἱκεσίαις, ἀλλ' ἄκαμπτος καὶ ἀμείλικτος ἕστηκεν, οὔτε δεήσεσιν εἴκων, οὐ δάκρυσιν ἐπικλώμενος, ἐπιμένων τῇ ἀρνήσει, ἐπομνύμενος καὶ ἐπ 95.1368 αρώμενος ἑαυτῷ, ἢ μὴν ἀπορεῖν παντελῶς, καὶ περισκοπεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς, εἴ τινα εὕρῃ τῶν δανειζόντων, καὶ πιστούμενος τὸ ψεῦδος διὰ τῶν ὅρκων, κακὸν παρεμπόρευμα τῆς ἀπανθρωπίας τὴν ἐπιορκίαν προσκτώμενος. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ ὁ ζητῶν τὸ δάνειον, τόκων μνησθῇ, καὶ ὑποθήκας ὀνομάσῃ, τότε καταβαλὼν τὴν ὀφρὺν προσεμειδίασε, καί που καὶ πατρῴας φιλίας ἐμνήσθη, καὶ συνήθη εἶπε καὶ φίλον. Καὶ ὀψόμεθα, φησὶ, εἴ πού τί ἐστιν ἡμῖν ἀποκείμενον ἀργύριον. Ἔστι δὲ παρακαταθήκη φίλου ἀνδρὸς ἐπ' ἐργασίᾳ παραθεμένου ἡμῖν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν βαρεῖς ἐπ' αὐτῷ τοὺς τόκους ὥρισεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντως ἐπανήσομέν τι, καὶ ἐπελάττωσιν τοῖς τόκοις δώσομεν. Τοιαῦτα κατασχηματιζόμενος, καὶ τοιούτοις λόγοις ὑποφαίνων, δελεάζων τὸν ἄθλιον, γραμματείοις αὐτὸν προκαταδήσας, καὶ πρὸς τῇ καταπονούσῃ πενίᾳ, ἔτι καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς προσαφελόμενος ᾤχετο. Ὁ γὰρ τόκοις ἑαυτὸν ὑπεύθυνον καταστήσας, ὧν τὴν ἔκτισιν οὐχ ὑφίσταται, δουλείαν αὐθαίρετον κατεδέξατο διὰ βίου. Χρήματα, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ πόρους ἐπιζητεῖς παρὰ τοῦ ἀπόρου, καὶ εἰ πλουσιώτερόν σε ἀποφαίνειν ἠδύνατο, τί ἐζήτει παρὰ τὰς θύρας τὰς σάς; Ἐπὶ συμμαχίαν ἐλθὼν, πόλεμον εὗρεν, ἀλεξιφάρμακα ἐπιζητῶν, δηλητηρίοις ἐνέτυχεν· δέον παραμυθεῖσθαι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν πτωχίαν, σὺ δὲ πολυπλασιάζεις, τὴν ἔνδειαν ἐκκαρποῦσθαι ζητῶν τὸν ἔρημον; Ψεύδους ἀρχὴ τὸ δανείσασθαι, ἀχαριστίας ἀφορμὴ, ἐπιορκίας τε καὶ ἀγνωμοσύνης. Οὐ νύκτες ἐκείνῳ ἀνάπαυσιν φέρουσιν, οὐχ ἥλιος τερπνὸς, ἀλλὰ δυσχεραίνει τὸν βίον, μισεῖται ἡμέρας προθεσμίαν ἐπειγομένας, φοβεῖται τοὺς μῆνας ὡς τόκων, πατέρας. Κἂν καθεύδῃ, ἐνύπνιον βλέπει τὸν δανειστὴν, κακὸν ὄναρ τῇ κεφαλῇ παριστάμενον. Κἂν γρηγορεῖ, ἔννοια αὐτῷ καὶ φροντὶς ὁ τόκος ἐστίν. ∆ανειστοῦ, φησὶ, καὶ χρειωφειλέτου ἀπαντησάντων ἀλλήλοις, ἐπισκοπὴν ἀμφοτέρων ποιεῖται ὁ Κύριος. Ὁ μὲν ὥσπερ κύων ἐπιτρέχει τῇ ἄγρᾳ· ὁ δὲ ὥσπερ ἕτοιμον θήραμα καταπτήσσει τὴν συντυχίαν· ἀφαιρεῖται γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὴν παῤῥησίαν τὸ πένεσθαι. Ἀμφοτέρων οἱ ψῆφοι ἐπὶ δακτύλων· τοῦ μὲν χαίροντος τῇ αὐξήσει τῶν