Chapter III.
After the blessing of the younger brother, why did the older brother arrive; and when he pressed and obtained to be blessed himself, was he condemned to serve the brother? Where the discussion is about servitude and true freedom.
10. After the blessed celebration, the elder brother arrived (Ibid., 30). This declares that the kingdom of the Church was given in predestination before the Synagogue, but the Synagogue entered in order to abound in sin; and when sin abounded, grace abounded even more, so that it may be clear that the diligent soldier of the heavenly kingdom ought to be a candidate; to anticipate the blessing, and to claim the prerogative of his commendation. Where the younger son is not marked by the father but praised, as Isaac says: Your brother came with deceit and took your blessing (Ibid., 35). For cunning is good, where the theft is blameless; but blameless theft is piety, because the kingdom of heaven is forcibly taken, and those who force it plunder it. The fathers celebrated the Passover in haste, those who ate the lamb in haste without delay; and holy Joseph, with the intention of a pious deceit, summoned and kept his brother Benjamin (Gen. XLII, 20, and XLIV, 1 et seq).
11. And yet, he himself, in order to be blessed, coerced and obtained it (Gen. XXVII, 38, 39); but he obtained that blessing which was consistent and suitable with the previous one, so that he would serve his brother. For indeed, he who could not command and rule another, ought to serve, so that he may be ruled by the more prudent. For it was not becoming for the holy Patriarch to subject his son to a condition of servitude: but as a good father, when he had two sons, one intemperate, the other prudent and sober, he appointed the sober one to have authority over the intemperate, and he established that the foolish one should obey the prudent one; for the foolish cannot willingly be a disciple of virtue, nor endure in diligence, because the foolish one changes like the moon: and rightfully he denied him the freedom of his own will, lest he would float like a ship in waves without a pilot: but he subjected him to his brother, as it is written: A fool serves a prudent man (Prov. XI, 29). Therefore, he rightly submitted himself to him, in order to improve his attitude towards ruling. Therefore, he said: 'By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother.' (Gen. XXVII, 34). For indeed, kindness is the mistress of cruelty, and gentleness surpasses harsh actions.
Everyone serves who does not have the authority of a pure conscience: anyone who is either broken by fear, ensnared by pleasure, led astray by desires, provoked by anger, or cast down by sorrow. For every passion is servile; for he who commits sin is a slave to sin, and what is worse, a slave to many: whoever is subject to vices has bound himself to many masters, so that it is hardly possible for him to escape servitude. But he who is the arbiter of his own will, the judge of his own counsel, the interpreter of his own decision, who restrains the desire of the flesh, who does what he does well, and he who does well acts rightly, and he who acts rightly acts blamelessly and without reproach, having power over his own actions; he is truly free. For he who does everything wisely, and lives as he wishes, he alone is free. It is not fortune that makes a slave, but disgraceful folly. (Proverbs VII, 2). Finally, the wise servant rules over foolish masters, and skilled servants will lend to their masters. What will they lend? Not money, but wisdom, as the Law also says: You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. (Deut. 15:6). For the Jew lent the oracles of the divine law to the proselyte. But since he himself could not see the mysteries of the Law, and did not know the oracles he had, who lent the letter to the nations, he now borrows the grace of spiritual doctrine from them: and rightly is he subject to servitude; for he who borrows is a servant, as if he were bound by the interest of the lender: but he who imparts the interest of pious doctrine is the prince, as the Law says: You shall be the prince of many nations: and princes shall not be of them. (Ibid.) For a prince is he who rules, who also possesses the principality of wisdom, which the people of the Jews had. But because he could not save what he taught, he must learn what he did not know how to teach.
This is therefore what the patriarch Isaac said: You will serve your brother. But when you have removed and freed yourself from his yoke on your neck (Gen. XXVII, 40), he is signifying two future peoples, one the son of a handmaid, the other of a free woman (for the letter is a servant, but grace is free), and that people who adheres to the letter will be a servant as long as they follow the interpreter of spiritual doctrine. Then also what the Apostle said will come to pass: That the remnants may be saved according to the choice of grace (Rom. IX, 27). Serve your brother, therefore: but then you will feel the benefit of servitude when you begin to obey your brother willingly, rather than forcibly.