Chapter XIX.
The prophecy of Isaiah denounces destruction to the luxuriant: the sea should not be stirred up by merchants, who are consumed by their greed; for it was given not for sailing, but for food, and not for humans, but for fishes to swim in: finally, in what way should luxurious ships be compared?
69. And what will be the opinions of others? Let us hear what those who are well fed and luxurious hope for themselves. Isaiah the prophet brings them in, saying: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die (Isa. XXII, 13). And he rightly cries out: Howl, you ships of Carthage, that have perished, and will be no more (Isa. XXIII, 1). This is said concerning the vision of Tyre, a city that we know to be luxurious. And for this reason, it is not the ninth vision, but the seventh or eighth, because it neither keeps the law, nor the grace of the Gospel: since it is forbidden to kindle the fires of desire on the legitimate Sabbath, and the eighth day of resurrection shines forth in the series of the Gospel. But the same day is both the first and the eighth, because the Sunday recurs within itself. Therefore, luxury has neither faith nor observance of discipline: luxury is the seedbed and origin of vices. And do not think that I have spoken against the Apostle (I Tim. VI, 1), for he says that greed is the root of all vices, since luxury is the mother of greed. Indeed, when someone has exhausted their own resources by luxuriously indulging, they then seek greedy shortcuts.
Today's reading is about Merchants. The prophet says that the merchants of the Phoenicians navigate through many waters: the seed of merchants is like a harvest that is brought in. These cities are nearby, Tyre, Phoenicia, Sidon: nearby in location, as well as in vices. The merchants seek profit from dangerous sea crossings. People lead anxious lives, with unsettled conversations, always in turmoil, more restless than the very winds they are carried by, tossed here and there frequently. Certainly, you accuse frequent shipwrecks, but who compels you to navigate? As if you do not make envy of wealth and lands, and as if you excite many to robbery. God did not make the sea for sailing, but rather for the beauty of the element. He has spread out the wider expanses of the sea, certainly in order to enclose lands with a strait, so that you, as a wanderer and exile, would not roam too far. But the sea is tossed by storms. Therefore, you should fear, not use. The innocent element has done nothing wrong: human recklessness is itself a danger. Finally, he who does not sail does not know how to fear shipwreck. The Lord said: Rule over the fish of the sea (Gen. I, 28), he did not say: Sail on the waves. Finally, even the prophet Jonah, who was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance, because he wanted to sail away from the presence of God, was disturbed by a storm, and, being chosen by lot, was thrown into the sea, and was swallowed by a whale.
71. The Prophet David also says, when he is speaking of God's grace towards mankind: You have subjected everything under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea, that roam the paths of the sea (Psalms 8:8-9). He gave the fish the ability to traverse the paths of the sea, not humans. The sea was given to you for sustenance, not for danger: use it for food, not for commerce. Why do you create danger for yourself out of pleasure? Why do you explore the depths of the separate elements? Why do you seek the hidden secrets of the world? Why, as a restless sailor, do you strive to frequently navigate and carve the waves? Why do you often challenge peaceful seas and provoke storms in vain? Oh, insatiable greed of merchants! The sea and its restlessness cannot satisfy you. Finally, the sea itself testifies to the repeat offenses of merchants: Blush, Sidon, said the sea (Isaiah 23:4). This voice of the speaker is like tired elements saying: Blush, Sidon, this is, you blame my waves, though you yourself are more restless than the waves; and blush with shame, since you are not moved by danger. The winds are more modest than your desires. They have their leisure, but your desires are never satisfied. And even when the weather is calm, your ships are never idle. The wave moves under the oarsman when it rests from the winds.
72. 'I did not give birth,' she says, 'nor did I bear, nor did I rear youths.' (Ibid.) Why do I feel disturbed by those whom I do not know, whom I do not recognize? Go to Carthage, howl, you who inhabit the islands. (Ibid. 6) Above, she said: Howl you ships of Carthage. For indeed, the Tyrians founded Carthage, and therefore the Carthaginians follow the luxury of their founders, having absorbed into themselves a disgraceful succession of wickedness, becoming worse heirs of the worst vices. And he called them lavish, the ships. For just as these are tossed by the wind, so are they tossed by food and wine. They inhabit islands full of drink, surrounded by shipwrecks, they are struck by drunkenness with waves, they rest neither day nor night. Therefore, the seed of these merchants is in the water, the harvest is in the waves. For in the water they sow their labors, so that they may reap dangers. In the water, a crop sprouts for them, in the water the harvest abounds. The fruit itself is in the water, never safe and solid. Therefore it rightly says (Ez. 28): He who sows in the land does not enter into business; rather, he who sows in heaven. But there is good land in which whoever sows, heavenly fruits will arise for him.