Chapter XIII.
The rich in their lineage foolishly boast, when they themselves are often a disgrace to their ancestors: gold is a stumbling block. How great is the cruelty ingrained in the rich towards the poor; and what kind of recommendation befits the rich?
54. What then, you arrogant rich man? What do you say to the poor man: Do not touch me? Are you not, like me, conceived and born from a womb, just as the poor man is born? Why do you boast of the ancestry of nobility? You are accustomed to recount the origins of your dogs, just as the rich do: you are accustomed to proclaim the nobility of your horses, just as you do of consuls. He is begotten from that father, and born of that mother: he delights in that grandfather: he exalts himself from those ancestors. But that does not benefit the running; the prize is not given to nobility, but to speed. The ugliest life, in which even the nobility of birth is in danger. Therefore, beware, wealthy person, lest the merits of your ancestors be embarrassed by you, lest it be said of them: Why did you establish such a person, why did you choose a stunted heir? The merit of the heir is not in gilded ceilings, nor in purple orbs. That praise is not for humans, but for metals, in which humans are punished. Gold is sought by those in need, and denied to the needy. They toil to seek, they toil to find, what they do not know how to have.
55. Nevertheless, I wonder why you, the wealthy, think that you should boast, why gold is more a cause for offense than for commendation. For both wood and gold are causes for offense, and woe to those who pursue it! Indeed, blessed is the wealthy person who is found without blemish and who does not depart after gold, nor hope in the treasures of money (Sirach 31:8). But as if he cannot be known, he desires to be shown to himself: Who is this, he says, and we will praise him; for he has done something that we should recognize more as something new rather than something common. Therefore, he who can be content with riches is truly perfect and worthy of glory. He who can, it is said, transgress and yet does not transgress, and do evil and yet does not do it. Therefore, gold is commended to you not so much by its own charm as by the punishment of men, in which there is such allure of error.
56. Do the grand halls extol you? They should rather pierce your hearts, because while they captivate the people, they exclude the voice of the poor. Although it is of no use for her to be heard, for even when heard, she accomplishes nothing. Then it is not the very hall of shame that admonishes you, who want to surpass your riches by building, yet you do not conquer. You clothe the walls and leave people naked. A naked man cries out in front of your house, and you ignore him; a naked man cries out, and you worry about what marble to adorn your floors with. The poor man seeks money, and does not have it: the man asks for bread, and your horse devours gold with its teeth. But you delight in precious ornaments, while others do not have grain. How much, oh rich one, you take for yourself! The people are hungry, and you close your storehouses: the people lament, and you turn your gem. Unfortunate is he, who has the power to defend so many souls from death, and yet does not have the will. Your gem could have saved the entire life of the people.
Listen closely to what kind of preaching befits a wealthy person: I delivered the poor from the hand of the powerful, and I helped the orphan who had no helper. The blessing of the dying came upon me; the widows also blessed my mouth. I wore justice; I was the eye of the blind and the feet of the lame; and I was the father of the weak (Job 29:12 et seq.). And further: No guest ever lodged in my doorway; my door was open to all who came. But if I have sinned unintentionally, I have not concealed my guilt, nor have I feared the multitude of the people, so as not to declare my presence to them. If I have allowed a needy person to leave my door empty-handed, or if I have denied justice to my debtors and returned their collateral without repayment, then what can I answer to those accusations? She claims that she wept over every person who was suffering and mourned when she saw a man in need, while she herself had plenty. But then he had more bad days when he saw himself having, and others needing. If he says this, he who never made a widow's eye waste away, who never ate his bread alone, and did not abandon the orphan, whom he nurtured, fed, and raised with the affection of a parent; who never despised the naked, who covered the dying, who warmed the shoulders of the weak with the wool of his own sheep, who did not oppress the orphan, who was never delighted by riches, who never rejoiced in the downfall of his enemies; if anyone did these things, he began to be in need of great wealth, if he garnered nothing from such a large estate except the fruit of mercy alone: what will become of you, who do not know how to use your own inheritance, who in the midst of great wealth endure days of mendicancy; because you give to no one, you help no one?