Chapter III.
About the other virtues of Abraham, namely his prudence in settling disputes, his justice in dividing, where also his imprudence in preferring the pleasant and useful to the unwise Lot, and his punishment; then his uncle's love for him, his piety towards God, his self-control in victory, and the choice of the reward promised by God; and finally, about the promise of a future posterity and the birth of Christ.
10. Therefore, devotion claimed the first parts for itself in the right order. Let us also observe the grace of the other virtues. Holy Abraham was soothed by the presence of his grandson, to whom he showed paternal affection. A dispute arose between the servants of the grandson and the uncle. The wiser of the servants noticed that harmony between masters tends to be broken by their disputes, so he cut off the fiber of discord, lest the contagion spread. For he thought it preferable that the bond be severed rather than that grace be separated. What you should do, if by chance something of this sort occurs, is to remove the seedbed of discord. For you are not stronger than Abraham. He thought it necessary to avoid, not to despise, the quarrels of slaves. And if you are stronger, beware that the other, who provides an ear to the whispers of slaves, is not weaker. Often, undivided servitude sows discord between parents. Rather, divide so that friendship may remain. An undivided household cannot support two. Is it not better to emigrate with grace, than to cohabit with discord?
11. The Patriarch also teaches how such a division should be. Let the stronger divide, let the weaker choose, so that they have nothing to complain about. For they cannot accuse the part of their own choice. The opportunity to back out does not reside with the one given the option to choose, nor is the one dividing burdened. For the wiser one, the more cautious; so that they are not restricted in the division, nor deceived in the choice.
12. Abraham divided, because, he said, the land was not big enough for them to live together (Gen. XIII, 6), because they were too rich. It is a worldly vice that the land does not satisfy the desires of the rich. For there is never enough for the greed of the rich. The more one has, the more eager one is to possess. He desires to extend the boundaries of his land and exclude his neighbor. Was Abraham like this? No, even though he was imperfect at the beginning. For where was perfection before the coming of Christ? He had not yet come who would say, 'If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions and give to the poor, and come, follow me' (Matt. XIX, 21). However, in order to offer the least amount of greed, he who is just cuts off discord. 'Let there not be,' he says, 'strife between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are brothers.' Behold, is not the whole earth before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; or if you go to the right, I will go to the left' (Gen. XIII, 8 et seq.).
And Lot lifted up his eyes, and chose the well-watered region of the Jordan; for it was all watered, and like the garden of God. Often possessions come by inheritance, some more useful, others more pleasant. Not all are found in the second portion. For the worth of each decreases. But if the more useful parts cannot be obtained, let the more pleasant ones be exchanged for the more useful. People have different preferences: some are pleased by useful things, others by pleasant things. The weaker person chooses the more pleasant things, and despises the more useful things. The steward is sometimes useful, or the actor of the land is compared to the city-dweller. If the fool is the chooser or he selects the cook, or the singer whom he considers of more pleasing grace, he rejects the more useful one. Often even when the advantages are not unequal, the wiser person chooses the more pleasant things. They quickly arouse envy, they quickly excite the mind of the greedy. However, Scripture has said nothing about whether one part is more useful and another more pleasant, lest it should seem that Abraham took the young man's eyes with a desire for what was more useful. He described one pleasant part, but did not add another more useful one. It was necessary for him to divide the whole region into two parts: then he divided it by presence, not absence. One region could not contain both. He offered a choice, which could have been the highest justice.
14. Lot chose a pleasant place, which quickly caught the eyes of the robbers. Hence, war among kings, victory of adversaries, captivity of the inhabitants. Therefore, Lot paid the price of weak decision, deceived not by the barrenness of the land, but by the envy of the beauty, so that he himself would be taken captive; since he had turned away from the fault of servile wickedness, and had chosen a part of the most wicked; for Sodom is full of luxury and debauchery. Therefore, the Latin word 'declinatio' is translated as 'Lot', because it refers to the choosing of vices by those who deviate from virtue and turn away from fairness.
15. Having ascertained, Abram counted his domestic servants; and with three hundred and eighteen men, he obtained victory and rescued his nephew. The affection of division is proven when he loved his nephew so much that he would not turn away from the danger of war for his sake. What is meant by 'he counted'? It means 'he chose'. From this it is not only related to the knowledge of God, but also to the grace of the righteous, as the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel: 'But the very hairs of your head are all numbered' (Luke 12:7). But the Lord knows who are his own: but he does not deign to acknowledge those who are not his own. And he numbered three hundred and eighteen, so that you may know not the quantity of the number, but the express merit of the chosen. For he admitted those whom he judged worthy in number of the faithful, who would believe in the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. For three hundred signifies the Greek letter τ, and eighteen expresses the sum ιή. Therefore, Abraham conquered by the merit of faith, not by a populous army. Finally, he triumphed over those to whom the arms of five kings had surrendered, having gone out with a few native soldiers.
16. But he who conquers should not arrogate victory to himself, but defer it to God. This is what Abraham teaches, who, being made more humble by triumph, is not more proud. Finally, he offered a sacrifice, he tithed; and therefore Melchizedek, who is said in the Latin translation to be the king of justice, the king of peace, blessed him. For he was the priest of the Most High God (Gen. I, 18). Who is the king of justice and the priest of God, except the one to whom it is said: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Ps. CIX, 4), that is, the Son of God, the priest of the Father, who by the sacrifice of his own body reconciled the Father to our sins.
But what about the fact that he did not want anything to come from the spoils of victory, nor to accept what was offered? For the acceptance of the reward diminishes the fruit of triumph, and the taking of the favor erodes gratitude. It matters greatly whether you have fought for money or for glory: the former is considered to be like a hired hand, the latter is deemed worthy of the glory of a savior. By right, it is holy to refuse to take anything from the spoils, lest the one who gave say: 'I made him rich'; he testifies that only this is enough for him, that he has benefited the sustenance of the young warriors. Someone may say (23, q. 5, c. Let someone say): When he himself has conquered, how does he say to the king of the Sodomites, 'I will not take anything from you,' when surely the spoils will be in the power of the conqueror? He teaches military discipline, that all things may be preserved for the king. Indeed, he asserts that those who had accompanied him in assistance, perhaps as allies, should receive a portion of the profits as the reward for their labor.
And so, since he did not seek reward from a man, he received it from God, as we read written; because after these words the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying: Do not fear, Abram, I will protect you, your reward will be very great (Gen. XV, 1). The Lord is not slow to reward, and he quickly promises and bestows many things; so that weak hearts may not think they have despised the present by any delay: and as if with a kind of usurious generosity, he compensates by restoring more to him who has not been captured by offering the present.
19. Let us also consider the reward that the Lord himself demands. He does not seek riches like the greedy, nor long life like the fearful of death, nor power; but he seeks a worthy heir of his labor: What will you give me, he says? But I am dismissed without children. And further: because you have not given me offspring, my own servant will be my heir. Therefore, let people learn not to despise marriage, nor to join themselves with unequal partners; let them not have such children whom they cannot have as heirs; so that, with the contemplation of transferring inheritance, if they are not moved by any sense of shame, they may strive for a worthy marriage.
20. But if the opinion of Abraham is not helpful for correction, take this oracle of God condemning such an inheritance: your heir shall not be this one, but the one who comes out of you, he shall be your heir (Ibid., 4). Whom does he call the other? For indeed, Hagar bore a son to Abraham, but he does not say that son, but he says the holy Isaac. And therefore he adds: who comes out of you. For he truly came out of Abraham, who was begotten through a legitimate marriage. But by Isaac we can understand the legitimate son, the true legitimate Lord Jesus Christ, whom we read as the son of Abraham at the beginning of the Gospel according to Matthew (Matt. I, 1), who acted as the true heir of Abraham, shining forth as the successor of the author, through whom Abraham looked towards heaven and recognized the brilliance of his own posterity, no less illustrious than the brightness of the celestial stars. For just as star differs from star in brightness, so too does the resurrection of the dead. The Apostle says that by bestowing the fellowship of His resurrection, Christ has made those whom death used to hide in the earth participants in the heavenly kingdom.
21. But how did the lineage of Abraham spread, if not through the inheritance of faith, through which we are joined to heaven, confirmed with angels, equated with stars? Therefore, it is said: Your offspring will be like this. And he believed, Abraham believed God would be the heir of his body. For you to know that he believed this, the Lord said: Abraham saw my day and was glad. Therefore, it was counted to him as righteousness because he did not seek understanding but believed with the utmost faith. It is good that faith precedes reason; lest we seem to demand an account not only from man, but also from the Lord our God. For how unworthy it is to believe human testimony about others, but not believe the divine oracles about Himself! Therefore, let us imitate Abraham, so that we may be heirs of the land through the righteousness of faith, by which he became an heir of the world.