Homily 36 — First Corinthians 14, verses 20 to 33

“Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; yet in malice be babies, but in your thinking be mature.” [a]

As we might expect, after his long argument and demonstration he turns to a more forceful style and to plenty of rebuke, and he brings in an example that suits the subject. For children, too, tend to gape at trifles and get excited over them, while things that are truly great do not impress them nearly as much. So, since these people too had the gift of tongues, which holds the lowest place of all, and thought they had everything, he says, “Do not be children.” That is: do not lack understanding where you ought to be thoughtful; but be childlike and simple in the place where there is unrighteousness, where there is empty glory, where there is pride. For whoever is a baby in wickedness ought also to be wise. Just as wisdom joined with wickedness would not be wisdom, so simplicity joined with folly would not be simplicity. In simplicity you must avoid folly, and in wisdom you must avoid wickedness. Neither bitter medicines nor sweet ones do any good when taken to excess; and in the same way neither simplicity by itself nor wisdom by itself does any good. That is why Christ, commanding us to mix the two, said, “Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10, verse 16).

But what is it to be a baby in wickedness? It is not even to know what wickedness is. Yes, that is what he wanted them to be. That is also why he said, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you” (First Corinthians 5, verse 1). He did not say “is done,” but “is reported,” as if to say, “You are not unaware of the thing; you have heard of it at some point.” What I am saying is that he wanted them to be both mature and children, children in wickedness and mature in wisdom. For this is how a person becomes mature: if he is also a child. And as long as he is not a child in wickedness, he will not be mature either. For the wicked man, instead of being mature, will be nothing but a fool.

Verse 21: “In the law it is written, By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people; and not even so will they hear me, says the Lord.”

Yet this is written nowhere in the Law. But, as I said before, he always calls the whole of the Old Testament “the Law,” both the prophets and the historical books. And he brings forward his testimony from Isaiah the prophet, once more quietly taking something away from the glory of the gift, for their good; and yet even so he states it with praise. For the words “not even so” have the force of showing that the miracle was enough to astonish them, and that if they did not believe, the fault was theirs. And why did God work it, if they were not going to believe? So that in every case he might be seen to have done his part.

Having shown, then, even from the prophecy, that the sign in question is not of great use, he adds verse 22: “So tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe.” [b]

Verse 23: “If, therefore, the whole church is assembled together, and all speak with tongues, and there come in people who are unlearned or unbelieving, will they not say that you are mad?”

Verse 24: “But if all prophesy, and there comes in one who is unbelieving or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all;”

Verse 25: “and so the secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is truly among you.”

Great is the difficulty that seems to arise here from what is said. For if tongues are a sign to those who do not believe, how can he say that if those who do not believe see you speaking with tongues, they will say “you are mad”? And if prophecy is “not for the unbelieving, but for those who believe,” how will the unbelievers also gain from it? “For if one who does not believe comes in,” he says, “while you are prophesying, he is convicted by all, and judged.”

And not only this, but after this another question springs up from it: the tongue will seem, on the contrary, to be greater than prophecy. For if tongues are a sign to the unbelieving, but prophecy to those who believe, then what draws in outsiders and makes them part of the household is greater than what keeps order among those already of the household. What, then, does the saying mean? Nothing difficult or obscure, nor anything contrary to what came before; rather, if we pay attention, it agrees with it very well. It means this: prophecy suits both, but the tongue does not. That is why, having said of the tongue, “it is for a sign,” he adds, “not to those who believe, but to the unbelievers” — and to them “for a sign,” that is, to astonish them, not so much to instruct them.

“But in the case of prophecy too,” someone says, “he did the very same thing, saying, ‘but prophesying is not for the unbelieving, but for those who believe.’ For the believer has no need to see a sign; he needs only teaching and instruction in the faith. How, then, can you say,” he says, “that prophecy is of use to both, when Paul says, ‘not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe’?” If you examine it carefully, you will understand what is said. For he did not say, “prophecy is not useful to the unbelieving,” but that it “is not for a sign” as the tongue is, that is, a mere sign with no profit in it. Nor is the tongue of any use to believers, for its only work is to astonish and to bewilder. The word “sign” is one of those that can be taken two ways. So the psalmist says, “Show me a sign” (Psalm 86, verse 17), and adds, “for good”; and again, “I have become like a wonder to many” (Psalm 71, verse 7), that is, a sign.

And to show you that he brought in the word “sign” here not as something that of course did some good, he added what came of it. And what was that? “They will say,” he says, “that you are mad.” This came, however, not from the nature of the sign, but from their folly. But when you hear of unbelievers, do not suppose that the same people are meant every time. At one time he means those who are incurably diseased and remain uncorrected; at another, those who can be changed, like the people in the days of the apostles who marveled at the mighty works of God they heard of, as in the case of Cornelius. His meaning, then, is this: prophecy is of value both among the unbelieving and among those who believe. As for the tongue, when the unbelieving and thoughtless hear it, instead of profiting by it they mock the speakers as madmen. For in fact it is to them only for a sign, that is, merely to astonish them; whereas those who had understanding used to profit by it as well, and that was why the sign was given. So in those days there were not only some who accused them of drunkenness, but many also who marveled at them as they told of the wonderful works of God. It appears, then, that the mockers were those without understanding. That is why Paul did not simply say, “they will say that you are mad,” but added, “unlearned and unbelievers.”

But prophecy is not merely for a sign; it is also suited to faith and useful for the good of both kinds of people. And this, if not directly, he explained more clearly in what follows, saying, “he is convicted by all. For if all prophesy,” he says, “and there comes in one who is unbelieving or unlearned, he is convicted by all, he is judged by all; and so the secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is truly among you.”

So prophecy is greater not only in this, that it has force with each kind of person, but also in that it wins over the more shameless of the unbelievers. For it was not the same wonder when Peter exposed Sapphira, which was a work of prophecy, and when he spoke with tongues. In the first case everyone shrank back into themselves; but when he spoke with tongues, he got the name of being out of his mind.

Having said, then, that a tongue did no good, and having softened that statement again by turning the blame onto the Jews, he goes on to show that it even does harm. “And why was it given?” So that it might go out together with interpretation; for without this it has even the opposite effect among those who lack understanding. “For if,” he says, “all speak with tongues, and there come in unbelievers or unlearned people, they will say that you are mad.” Indeed, even the apostles fell under the suspicion of being drunk: “These men,” the account says, “are full of new wine” (Acts 2, verse 13). But the fault is not the sign’s, but their lack of skill. That is why he added “unlearned and unbelievers,” to show that the notion comes from their ignorance and lack of faith. For, as I said before, his aim is to rank that gift not among the things looked down on, but among those that do not greatly profit; and he does this to hold them in check and to bring them to the point where they must look for an interpreter. For since most of them did not look to this, but used the gift for display and rivalry, this is what he especially draws them away from, hinting that their reputation suffers, since they bring on themselves a suspicion of madness. And this is what Paul especially tries to establish whenever he wants to lead people away from anything: he shows that a person suffers loss in the very things he desires. [f]

You, then, do the same. If you want to lead people away from pleasure, show them that the thing is bitter. If you want to draw them away from empty glory, show them that the thing is full of dishonor. That is how Paul used to do it too. When he wanted to tear the rich away from their love of money, he did not merely say that wealth is a harmful thing, but also that it throws people into temptation. “For those who desire to be rich,” he says, “fall into temptation” (First Timothy 6, verse 9). So, since wealth seems to rescue people from trials, he credits it with the very opposite of what the rich supposed.

Again, others held fast to the wisdom from outside, as though they were establishing Christ’s teaching by it. He shows that it not only gives no help to the cross, but even empties it of its power. They held to going to law before strangers, thinking it unfitting to be judged by their own, as if those outside were wiser. He points out that going to law before those outside is shameful. They clung to food offered in sacrifice to idols, as a display of perfect knowledge. He hints that this is a mark of imperfect knowledge: not knowing how to handle the things that concern our neighbors. So here too: because they were wild about this gift of tongues out of love of glory, he shows that this, more than anything, brings shame on them, not only robbing them of glory but also bringing them under a suspicion of madness.

Yet he did not say this at once. He first said a great many things, and when he had made his speech welcome, then he brought in this point, so contrary to their opinion. And this is in fact nothing more than the common rule: whoever means to shake a deep-rooted opinion thoroughly and turn people around to its opposite must not state the opposite at once. Otherwise he will be laughed at by those who are already held by the contrary conviction. For what is very far from what people expect cannot easily be accepted at the start. You must first undermine the opinion well by other arguments, and then turn it the other way.

This is what he did, for example, when he spoke about marriage. Many people regarded marriage as a thing that brings ease, and he wanted to hint that staying out of marriage was the real ease. If he had said this at once, he would not have made it so easy to accept. As it is, having put it after much other material and timed its entry exactly, he touched his hearers powerfully. He did the same in the matter of virginity. Having said a great deal before it, and again after it, at last he says, “I spare you,” and, “I would have you free from cares” (First Corinthians 7, verses 28 and 32).

This, then, is what he does in the matter of tongues. He shows that they not only rob people of glory, but also bring shame on those who have them, in the eyes of the unbelievers. Prophecy, on the contrary, is free from reproach among the unbelievers and has very great credit and usefulness. For no one will say of prophesying, “they are mad,” and no one will mock those who prophesy; on the contrary, people will be astonished at them and admire them. For “he is convicted by all” means that the things he has in his heart are brought out and shown to everyone. Now it is not the same thing for someone to come in and see one person speaking in Persian and another in Syriac, as to come in and hear the secrets of his own mind: whether he has come in to test them and with evil intent, or sincerely; or that he has done such and such a thing, and planned such another. This is far more awe-inspiring and far more profitable than the other. That is why, in the case of the tongues, he says “you are mad,” not affirming this himself but giving their verdict: “they will say,” he says, “that you are mad.” Here, on the contrary, he calls as witnesses both the verdict of the facts and the verdict of those who receive the benefit.

“For he is convicted by all,” he says, “he is judged by all; and so the secrets of his heart are laid bare; and so he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is truly among you.” Do you see that this cannot be taken two ways? In the former case what is done may be doubted, and here and there an unbeliever might put it down to madness. Here there will be nothing of the kind: he will both marvel and worship, confessing first by his deeds and then by his words as well. This is how Nebuchadnezzar too worshiped God, saying, “Truly your God is the God who reveals secrets, since you were able to reveal this secret” (Daniel 2, verse 47). Do you see the power of prophecy, how it changed that savage man, brought him under instruction, and led him into the faith?

Verse 26: “What is it, then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.” [h]

Do you see the foundation and the rule of Christianity? Just as it is a builder’s work to build, so it is a Christian’s work to benefit his neighbors in everything.

But he had run the gift down forcefully, and he had done so only to pull down their pride and for nothing more. So, so that it would not seem to be worthless, he counts it again among the other gifts, saying, “has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue.” For in those days they used to compose psalms by a gift, and to teach by a gift. “Nevertheless, let all these look to one thing,” he says, “the improvement of their neighbor. Let nothing be done at random. For if you do not come to build up your brother, why do you come here at all? In fact, I do not make much of the differences between the gifts. One thing concerns me, one thing I desire: that all things be done ‘for building up.’” In this way, too, the one who has the lesser gift will outrun the one who has the greater, if this is not lacking. Indeed, this is why the gifts are given, so that each may be built up; and unless this happens, the gift will turn instead to the condemnation of the one who received it. For tell me, what is the use of prophesying? What is the use of raising the dead, when there is no one who benefits from it? But if this is the goal of the gifts, and it can be reached another way, without gifts, then do not boast about the signs; and you who have been denied the gifts, do not mourn over yourself.

Verse 27: “And if anyone speaks in a tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that in turn; and let one interpret.” [i]

Verse 28: “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.”

What are you saying, tell me? After saying so much about tongues, that the gift is a useless thing, a superfluous thing, if it has no interpreter, do you command people to speak with tongues again? “I do not command it,” he says, “nor do I forbid it.” It is as when he says, “If any of those who do not believe invites you to a feast, and you are disposed to go”: he does not say it to lay down a law that they must go, but so as not to stop them. So it is here too. “And let him speak to himself and to God.” “If he cannot bear to be silent,” he says, “but is so given to love of show and so fond of empty glory, ‘let him speak by himself.’” And so, by the very act of permitting it, he checked them sharply and put them to shame. He does the same elsewhere, when he is speaking of relations with a wife and says, “But this I say because of your lack of self-control.” But that was not how he spoke when he was discussing prophecy. How, then? In the tone of one who commands and makes laws: “Let the prophets speak, two or three.” Nowhere here does he look for the interpreter, nor does he stop the prophet’s mouth as he did under the former heading, saying, “If there is no interpreter, let him keep silent.” That is because the one who speaks in a tongue is not sufficient by himself.

So if anyone has both gifts, let him speak. But if he does not, and still wants to speak, let him do so with the interpreter’s help. For the prophet is an interpreter, but of God; whereas you are an interpreter of a man. “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent”: for nothing ought to be done needlessly, nothing for love of show. Only “let him speak to himself and to God,” that is, in his mind, or quietly and without noise, if he will speak at all. For this is surely not the tone of someone making a law. It is rather the tone of someone who shames them all the more by his very permission, as when he says, “But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home.” Seeming to give permission, he stings them all the more sharply by it.

“For you do not come together for this purpose,” he says, “to show that you have a gift, but to build up those who hear.” He said this before as well: “Let all things be done for building up.”

Verse 29: “Let the prophets speak by two or three, and let the others discern.” [l]

Nowhere has he added “at the most,” as he did in the case of the tongues. “And how is this?” someone says. “For he makes out that prophecy is not sufficient in itself either, if he really leaves the judgment to others.” No, it is entirely sufficient. And that is why he did not stop the prophet’s mouth, as he did the other’s, when there is no interpreter. As he said in that case, “if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent,” he did not also say in the prophet’s case, “if there is no one to discern, let him not prophesy.” He only made the hearer safe. For it was to reassure the hearers that he said this, so that no soothsayer might slip in among them. At the beginning too he told them to beware of this, when he drew the distinction between soothsaying and prophecy; and now he tells them to tell the two apart and to search the matter out, so that no satanic teacher might creep in unnoticed.

Verse 30: “But if a revelation is made to another who sits by, let the first keep silent.”

Verse 31: “For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be comforted.”

What does this mean? “If, while you are prophesying and speaking,” he says, “the spirit in another stirs him up, be silent from then on.” What he said in the case of the tongues, he requires here too, that it be done “in turn,” only here in a more divine way. For he did not use the very expression “in turn,” but “if a revelation is made to another.” For what need was there, once the second had been moved to prophesy, for the first to go on speaking? Should they both speak, then? No, that would be irreverent and would produce confusion. Should the first? This too would be out of place. For the reason the Spirit moved the other while the first was speaking was so that he too might say something.

So then, to comfort the one who had been silenced, he says, “For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all may be comforted.” Do you see how once again he states the reason for which he does everything? For if he entirely forbids the one who speaks with tongues to speak when he has no interpreter, because it does no good, then with good reason he also tells them to hold prophecy in check if it lacks this quality and instead creates confusion and disturbance and untimely uproar.

Verse 32: “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” Do you see how earnestly and how formidably he has shamed him? So that the man would not quarrel or stir up faction, he shows that the gift itself was under subjection. For by “spirit” here he means the actual working of the gift. But if the spirit is subject, much less can you, who possess it, have any right to be contentious.

Then he shows that this also pleases God, adding in verse 33: “For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as I teach in all the churches of the saints.” [m]

Do you see how many reasons he uses to lead the man to silence, and to soothe him as he gives way to the other? The first, and the chief, is that he is not shut out by this arrangement: “For you can all prophesy,” he says, “one by one.” The second, that this is what the Spirit himself approves: “For the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” Besides these, that it agrees with the mind of God: “For God,” he says, “is not a God of confusion, but of peace.” And a fourth, that this custom holds in every part of the world, and nothing strange is being laid on them. For this, he says, is what “I teach in all the churches of the saints.”

What could be more awe-inspiring than this? For in truth the church was a heaven then. The Spirit governed everything, moving each of those who led it and filling him with inspiration. But now we keep only the tokens of those gifts. Even now we speak two or three at a time, and in turn, and when one falls silent another begins. But these are only signs and reminders of those things. That is why, when we begin to speak, the people answer, “With your spirit,” showing that in the old days men spoke in this way, not from their own wisdom but moved by the Spirit. It is not so now. (I am speaking of my own case, at least.)

The church today is like a woman who has fallen from her former prosperity. In many ways she keeps only the tokens of that old wealth: she shows you the chests and the jewel boxes that held her gold ornaments, but the wealth itself is gone. That is what the church today is like. And I do not say this about the gifts alone; that would be nothing to wonder at, if it were only that. I say it about life and virtue as well. In those days the roll of her widows and the company of her virgins were a great adornment to the churches. Now she has been made desolate and bare, and only the tokens remain. There are widows now, yes, and there are virgins too; but they do not keep the adornment that women should have who are preparing themselves for such contests. For the special mark of the virgin is to care for the things of God alone, and to wait on him without distraction. And the widow’s mark, too, should be not so much that she does not marry a second time as all the rest: almsgiving to the poor, hospitality, persevering in prayer, and all the other things that Paul, writing to Timothy, requires with great exactness.

Among us you can also see married women who show great propriety. But that is not the only thing required. What is required far more is that eager care for the needy through which those women of old shone out most brightly. Most women today are not like that. For then, instead of gold, they were clothed in the lovely garment of almsgiving. But now they have given that up, and they are decked out on every side with cords of gold, woven from the chain of their sins.

Shall I speak of another storeroom emptied of the splendor it inherited? In the old days they all met together and sang psalms in common. We do this now too. But then there was one soul and one heart in them all; now you cannot see that oneness of mind in even a single soul. Instead, there is great warfare everywhere.

Even now the one who presides in the church prays for “peace to all,” as though entering his Father’s house. But of this peace the name is everywhere, and the reality nowhere.

Then, homes were churches; now the church itself is a home, or rather worse than any home. In a home you can see good order. The mistress of the house sits on her chair with all propriety, the maidservants weave in silence, and each of the household servants has his assigned task in hand. But here there is great uproar and great confusion. Our gatherings are no different from a wine shop, so loud is the laughter, so great the disturbance. As in the baths, as in the markets, everyone is shouting and making noise.

And this happens only here. Elsewhere it is not permitted even to speak to one’s neighbor in church, not even if one has just gotten back a friend who was long away. Such things are done outside, and quite rightly. For the church is not a barber’s shop or a perfume shop, or any other merchant’s store in the marketplace. It is a place of angels, a place of archangels, a palace of God, heaven itself. Suppose someone had parted the heavens and brought you inside. Even if you saw your father or your brother there, you would not dare to speak. In the same way, no sound should be uttered here except spiritual ones. For in truth the things in this place are a heaven too.

If you do not believe it, look at this table. Remember for whose sake it is set, and why. Consider who it is that comes forth here, and tremble with awe even before the time. When someone sees only a king’s throne, his heart rises in expectation of the king’s coming out. In the same way, you too should be thrilled with awe even before that thrilling moment. Lift yourself up, and before you see the curtains drawn back and the ranks of angels marching out, go up to heaven itself.

But the one not yet initiated does not know these things. Very well, then; for his sake too we must bring in other considerations. For we will not lack reasons with him either, reasons that can stir him thoroughly and make him soar. You, then, who do not know these things: when you hear the prophet saying, “This is what the Lord says,” leave the earth behind, go up to heaven yourself as well, and consider who it is that speaks with you through him.

But as things are, for a clown who is raising laughs, or for a prostitute, a shameless woman, a vast crowd of spectators takes its seats and listens in complete quiet to what is said. And this with no one calling for silence: there is no uproar, no shouting, not the slightest noise. But when God speaks from heaven on such awesome matters, we behave more shamelessly than dogs, and we pay more respect even to prostitutes than to God.

Does it make your skin crawl to hear these things? Then let it crawl far more when you do them.

What Paul said of those who despised the poor and feasted by themselves — “What? Do you not have houses to eat and to drink in? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have nothing?” (First Corinthians 11, verse 22) — let me say the same to those who make a disturbance and hold conversations in this place: “What? Do you not have houses to amuse yourselves in? Or do you despise the church of God, and corrupt even those who would be modest and quiet?” “But it is sweet and pleasant to talk with your friends.” I do not forbid it; but let it be done at home, in the market, in the baths. For the church is not a place for conversation, but for teaching. Yet now it differs in nothing from the market. Indeed, if it is not too bold a word, perhaps it differs in nothing even from the stage, so much more immodestly do the women who gather here adorn themselves than the loose women who are found there. So we see that many debauched men are lured even here because of them. And if anyone is trying or planning to seduce a woman, there is no place, I think, that seems more suitable to him than the church. And if anything is to be bought or sold, the church seems more convenient than the market, for there is more talk on such subjects here than in the shops themselves. Or if anyone wants to spread or hear some slander, you will find that this too is more available here than in the public square outside. And if you want to hear anything about politics, or the affairs of private families, or the army, do not go to the law court, and do not sit in the druggist’s shop. For here — here, I say — are the people who report all these things more accurately. Our gatherings are anything but a church. [q]

Have I cut you to the quick? For my part, I do not think so. While you keep on in the same practices, how am I to know that what has been said has touched you? So I must take up the same subjects again.

Are these things to be endured? Are they to be tolerated? We wear ourselves out and fret every day so that you will not go away without learning something useful. And not one of you leaves any the better; you leave harmed all the more. Yes, “you come together for judgment,” with no excuse left for your sin, and you drive out the more modest people, disturbing them on every side with your foolery.

But what do most people say? One says: “I do not hear what is read, and I do not know what the words mean that are spoken.” That is because you make an uproar and confusion, because you do not come with a reverent soul. What do you say? “I do not know what is being said.” Well, then, for this very reason you ought to pay attention. If not even the obscurity stirs up your soul, you would hurry past the words far faster if everything were clear. Indeed, this is why not everything is clear, so that you would not give in to laziness; and not everything is obscure, so that you would not despair.

That eunuch, a barbarian (Acts 8, verse 27), said nothing of this kind. Though he was surrounded by a crowd of such important affairs, and on a journey, he had a book in his hands and was reading. And you, with teachers in abundance, and others to read to you at home, bring me your excuses and pretexts? You do not know what is said? Then pray that you may learn. But surely it is impossible to be ignorant of everything, for many things are plain and clear in themselves. And even if you were ignorant of everything, even so you ought to be quiet, and not throw off those who are paying attention, so that God, accepting your quietness and your reverence, may make the obscure things plain as well. You cannot be silent? Very well, then go outside, so that you do not do harm to others too.

For in truth there should always be only one voice in the church, just as there is only one body. That is why the reader raises his voice alone, and the bishop himself sits content in silence; the one who chants, chants alone; and though all make the response, the sound goes up as if from one mouth. And the one who preaches preaches alone. But when many are talking about many different things, why do we trouble you for nothing? For surely, unless you thought we were troubling you for nothing, you would not talk about things of no importance in the middle of our speaking on such high matters.

So there is great distortion not only in your conduct, but in your very judgment of things. You gape after what is useless; you leave the truth and chase all sorts of shadows and dreams. Are not all present things a shadow and a dream, and worse than a shadow? They fly away before they even appear; and before they have flown, the trouble they give is great, greater than the pleasure. Let someone gain ever so great an abundance of wealth in this world and bury it in the earth; yet when the night is over, he will depart from here naked. And no wonder: those who are rich only in a dream also have nothing, when they get up from their bed, of what they seemed to have while they slept. [s]

So it is with those greedy for gain; or rather, not so — they are far worse off. The one who dreams of being rich does not have the money he imagined he had, but neither does he find, when he gets up, that any other harm has come to him from the fantasy. But this man is both stripped of his riches and must depart laden with the sins that come from them. In his wealth he enjoyed only a fantasy; but the evils that come from his wealth he no longer sees in fancy, but in the very truth of things. His pleasure was in dreams, but the punishment that follows his pleasure turns out to be no dream at all; it is something he actually undergoes. Or rather, even before that punishment, here and now he pays the heaviest penalty: in the very gathering of his wealth he brings on himself countless sorrows, anxieties, accusations, slanders, uproars and troubles.

So then, that we may be set free both from the dreams and from the evils that are no dream, let us choose almsgiving instead of greed, and mercy toward others instead of plunder. For so we will obtain the good things both of the present and of the future, through the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, and honor, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.