The Twelve Abuses of the World

The second degree of abuse is if an old man is found to be without religion. For when the members of the outer man grow old in him, the powers of the soul, that is, the members of the inner man, do not take on increase of strength. For it is fitting that old men above all others devote themselves to religion, since the flourishing age of the present world has passed and left them behind. For just as in trees that very tree is shown to be reprobate which, after its blossoms, does not present its best fruits to its cultivator: so also among men that man is himself reprobate whom the flower of youth has left, and who yet in the old age of his body thinks little of bringing forth the mature fruits of good works. For what can be done more foolishly, if the mind does not strive to hasten toward perfection, when the whole condition of the body, worn out by old age, hastens toward destruction?

When the eyes grow dim, the ears hear with difficulty, the hair falls out, the face changes to pallor, the fallen teeth are diminished in number, the skin dries up, the breath does not smell sweet, the chest is oppressed, a cough rattles, the knees tremble, swelling inflates the ankles and feet—even the inner man, who does not grow old, is weighed down by all these things. And all these things quickly foretell the imminent ruin of the house of the body. What then remains, except that every old man should desire, as the failing of this life draws near, to think of nothing other than how the future dwelling-place may be prosperously attained? For upon the young the uncertain end of this life presses, but for all old men a rather early departure from this light is shortly in store.

Two parts therefore are to be guarded against in man, which do not grow old in his flesh and draw the whole man with them into sin; namely the heart and the tongue: because the heart never ceases to devise new thoughts; the tongue speaks readily whatever it perceives the heart to have devised. Let old age therefore take care lest these ever-youthful parts deceive the whole harmony of itself, and through unfit matters mock the gravity of the rest of the body. For each person must consider what is worthy of an eminent age; so that he may do that which renders neither his life, nor his age, nor his ministry contemptible.

The third degree of abuse is a young man without obedience; by which the world is perverted from the right order of reason. For in what manner will he in old age command ministry to others, who in youth scorns to show himself obedient to his elders? Hence it is also held as a proverb among the ancients, that he cannot rule who first refuses to render service to another. On account of which also the Lord Jesus, in the time of his flesh, while he had not yet reached the lawful age of a teacher, obediently rendered service to his parents. Therefore just as sobriety and perfection of conduct is required in old men, so also in young men submission and subjection and obedience is rightly owed.

Wherefore also in the commandments of the law, first among those things which pertain to men, the honour of father and mother is enjoined, because even if a natural father has not survived, or has been unworthy, it is shown that paternal honour is to be rendered by sons to some worthy and living father up to a fitting age. For fathers are called by four modes in the divine Scriptures; that is, by nature, by nation, by admonition, and by age. Of the natural father Jacob speaks to Laban: Unless the fear of my father Isaac had been present, thou wouldst have taken away all that is mine. By nation a father is spoken of when the Lord spoke to Moses from the bush: I am, he said, the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. By age and admonition alike a father is spoken of when Moses says in the canticle of Deuteronomy: Ask thy father, and he will declare to thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

If therefore the natural father has not survived, or has been unworthy, obedience of the young man is still to be rendered to one who admonishes or to an elder. How then shall he appear honoured in old age, who has not borne the labour of discipline in youth? For whatsoever a man shall have laboured at, that also shall he reap. For all discipline for the present indeed seemeth not to be joyous, but sorrowful; but afterwards it will yield the most peaceable fruit of justice to those exercised thereby. Therefore just as fruit is not found on a tree in which a shoot or blossom has not first appeared: so also in old age he will not be able to attain legitimate honour, who in youth has not laboured in the exercise of some discipline. How therefore can discipline exist without obedience?

A young man without discipline is therefore a young man without obedience: since obedience itself, which is the mother of all disciplines, requires great exercise; which took the norm of its practice in Christ the Lord, who, obedient to the Father even unto death, willingly endured the ignominy of the cross.

The fourth degree of abuse is a rich man without almsgiving; who stores up for future keeping the superfluities of his own use, and does not distribute them to the needy and those who have nothing: whereby it comes about that while he guards with diligent care what has been sought on earth, he loses the enduring treasure of the heavenly homeland. To which treasure the Lord Jesus invited the rich young man who had questioned him about perfection, answering him thus: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and come, follow me, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. Which treasure no man can ever have, except one who provides comfort to the poor, or who is himself poor. Let not that sleep in thy treasures which does not allow the poor to sleep. For a rich man, even if he has gathered much, will by no means be able to enjoy it alone; because the nature of one man does not avail for many things.

What therefore is more foolish than to lose for the sake of one man's food and clothing the entire enduring joy of the heavenly kingdom, and to undergo the eternal torments of hell without any expectation of consolation? What therefore must at some time be lost through necessity ought to be freely distributed for the sake of eternal recompense. For all things that are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. For as long as we are temporal, temporal things serve temporal beings, and when we have passed from here, eternal comforts will be provided for eternal beings. Therefore we ought not to love those things which we shall not always have; especially since the nature of things itself shows the greedy rich man to be a stranger to reason with respect to his treasure and his field and all that he has; because with the whole gaze of his heart he loves those things which never love him.

For if anyone has loved gold and silver, and fields, and garments, and foods, and metals, and brute animals, the very nature of things shows that all these cannot repay him the return of love. What therefore is further from reason than to love that which cannot love thee; and to neglect him who with love provides all things for thy love? For this reason therefore it is commanded that not the world but the neighbour be loved by God; because the neighbour can repay the return of his love, which the world is not doubted to be wholly unable to do. For the Lord commanded that even an enemy is to be loved, so that that love may make him a friend from an enemy. Whoever therefore is a greedy rich man and wishes to have eternal riches, let him by distributing to the poor provide in the meantime those that will not last. For if he does not sell what he loves, no one can buy what he desires.

For greedy men are therefore called accursed by the most righteous judge in the judgment, because those who passed by their dwellings did not say: The blessing of the Lord be upon you, we have blessed you in the name of the Lord. Unhappy therefore are greedy rich men, who on account of transitory things fall into eternal damnation; and on the contrary: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Happy therefore is the merciful man, since in this virtue God requires not substance but affection.

The fifth degree of abuse is a woman without chastity. For just as prudence procures and guards all good conduct in men, so also chastity nourishes and fosters and guards all acts of honour in women. For chastity guards continence, restrains avarice, avoids quarrels, mitigates anger, occupies lust, tempers cupidity, chastises wantonness, guards against drunkenness, does not multiply words, purges the desires of gluttony, utterly condemns theft. What more? It restrains all vices; and nourishes all virtues, and whatever is praiseworthy before God and good men. For an unchaste life expects neither praise from men in the present age, nor recompense from God in the future. But a chaste life has a good reputation among men, and rejoices in the hope of future blessedness. It makes itself worthy of imitation to those present, and leaves a beloved memory to those who come after. It always delights in and consents to good conduct, and quickens the soul with continual meditations and utterances of the Scriptures.

It guards the examples of those good ones who have gone before, and weaves inseparable companionships with the perfect. The exercise of true chastity therefore consists in two modes, that is, the outward bearing and appearance of the body and the inward disposition of the soul. Through the outward mode we provide good works before God.

For chastity of body is: not to covet the things of others, and to avoid all uncleanness, not to wish to taste before the fitting hour, not to provoke laughter, not to speak vain and false words; to have in all things an orderly bearing and a fitting arrangement both of hair and of garments, as is becoming; not to enter into companionship with the unworthy; not to look upon anyone with a haughty gaze, not to allow the eyes to wander; not to walk with a pompous and alluring step; to appear inferior to none in a good work once begun, to cast reproach or shame upon no one, to blaspheme no one, not to mock the old, not to envy the good, not to contend with one's better; not to treat of those things which thou dost not know, and not to bring forth all of those things which thou dost know: for these things render a man lovable to his neighbours and make him acceptable to God.

For chastity of the soul is: to do all good things more for the eyes of God than of men; to restrain the appetites of base thoughts; to esteem all others to be better than oneself, to envy no one; to trust nothing to oneself, to commit all things always to the help of God, to place oneself before the eyes of God, not to stain one's mind with heretical depravity, to consent to Catholics in all things; to cleave to God alone, to offer the chastity of the eternal mind to God Christ; to end all good works once begun only at the boundary of death; to disregard and think little of present tribulations with strength of soul; to love nothing on earth apart from one's neighbours, to establish the treasure of all love in heaven, and to hope for reward from God in heavenly things for every good act. Chastity is the ornament of the noble, the exaltation of the humble, the nobility of the ignoble, the beauty of the weak, the prosperity of those who labour, the consolation of those who mourn, the increase of all beauty, the glory of religion, the defence against crimes, the multiplication of merits, the friendship of God the creator of all things.

The sixth degree of abuse is a lord without virtue, because it profits nothing to hold the power of ruling, if the lord himself does not possess the rigor of virtue. But this rigor of virtue ought to be exercised not so much by outward fortitude, which is itself also necessary for secular lords, as by the inward fortitude of the soul. For the strength of ruling is often lost through negligence of soul, as is shown to have happened in the case of the priest Eli; who, when he did not restrain his sinning sons with the severity of a judge, the Lord, as though dealing with one who consented, did not spare him in their punishment. Three things therefore are necessary for those who rule to possess: namely, fear, and order, and love. For unless a lord is both loved and feared alike, his order can in no way stand firm.

Through benefits and affability, therefore, let him secure that he is loved, and through just punishments—not of his own injury, but of the law of God—let him strive to be feared. For this reason also, since many depend upon him, he himself ought to cleave to God, who established him in leadership; who, as though making him stronger, strengthened him to bear the burdens of many. For a peg, unless it is firmly fixed and cleaves to something stronger, causes everything hanging upon it to slip quickly; and itself, loosed from the rigor of its firmness, falls to the ground together with its burdens. So too a prince, unless he cleaves persistently to his Creator, both he himself and all that he holds together quickly perishes. For some, through the office of ruling, draw nearer to God; others, by the honor of dignity imposed upon them, become worse.

Moses, for instance, having received the leadership of the people, made use of God's words more familiarly; but Saul, the son of Kish, after he received the scepter of the kingdom, offended God through the pride of disobedience. King Solomon, after he obtained the throne of his father David, God enriched him beyond all mortals with the gift of wisdom, as it were for the governance of a countless people. On the contrary, Jeroboam, the servant of Solomon, after he seized a part of the kingdom of the house of David, had turned the ten tribes of Israel, which were in the part of Samaria, to the worship of idols. By these examples it is clearly shown that some grow toward greater perfection in a higher station, while others sink to worse things through the arrogance of dominion.

From both of which it is understood that those who advance to better things are able to do so through virtue of soul and the help of God, and that those who turn to worse things err through weakness of mind and negligence alike. Wherefore it is not fitting that a lord be made without virtue, who has virtue in no way without the help of God. For he who guards many things, if he does not have fortitude of soul, is not able to do so, since great things are wont to be beset by great troubles or adversities. Let every one therefore who presides take care first of all, with the whole intention of his soul, that he doubt not at all of God's help in all things. For if he shall have begun to have the Lord of lords as his helper in his deeds, no man will be able to hold his dominion in contempt: For there is no power but from God.

For he himself raises the needy from the dunghill, and makes him sit with the princes of his people, and puts down the mighty from their seat, and exalts the humble; that all the world may be subject to God and stand in need of the glory of God.

The seventh degree of abuse is a contentious Christian, who, having received participation in the name of Christ through faith and Baptism, loves the fleeting pleasures of the world contrary to the words and purpose of Christ. For everything over which contention arises is sought either for love of the thing itself about which the dispute is, or for love of something else which lies hidden under a hateful appearance. Just as, for example, war, though it is a hateful thing with its fierce clash of combatants, is waged for love of victory and liberty; and many other beloved things are sought with great contention under hateful toil or dread. Whence it is plainly understood that nothing can be contended for except for the sake of love, namely the hoped-for and subsequent pleasing reward. Whoever therefore contends over the present world for any cause whatsoever, plainly shows that he loves it.

How then do the words of the Holy Spirit through John forbid the world to be loved, when he says: Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world? For love of the world and love of God cannot dwell together in one heart, just as the same eyes cannot behold heaven and earth at the same time. But it must be inquired whether there is truly anything in the world that ought to be loved, and what that world is which the divine scriptures forbid to be loved. The earth therefore, together with the things that spring from it, and metals, and living creatures, and the beauty of garments, and the pleasures of food, and the things that pertain to these, is commanded not to be loved; but the neighbor, for whose sake all these things were made, is commanded to be loved. For all the aforesaid things, as things that will not endure, cannot accompany those who journey toward the heavenly homeland.

But neighbors, as co-heirs of a king who will endure, may freely love one another. What therefore does not remain always in the world, and will perish together with the world, is commanded not to be loved, even the world itself; but the neighbor, who is a part of the heavenly kingdom, is not unfittingly loved on earth and among the lowest elements by those who seek the kingdom of heaven, since in that supreme homeland he will be held as a co-heir forever. But the present world is commanded not to be loved, lest anyone, estranged from the love of God, become a lover of the age. Therefore one ought not to contend over what it is not lawful to love. A Christian, therefore, who bears the likeness of the name of Christ, ought also to bear the likeness of his ways. For no one is rightly called a Christian unless he is made equal to Christ in conduct.

Now of Christ it is written thus through the Prophet: Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him. He shall not contend, nor cry out, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. Behold, Christ did not contend, nor did he cry out: and you, if you desire to hold the likeness of Christ's ways, do not contend, lest you be an abusive Christian in the Church. For Christ commanded his followers: Be not called rabbi; for one is your Father, who is in heaven. For you are all brethren, to whom he commanded supplication, when he says: Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. In vain therefore does he contend to have a father on earth, who professes to have a father and a homeland in heaven. Of which homeland no one becomes a possessor, unless he is held secure from contention over an earthly homeland.

The eighth degree of abuse is a proud pauper, who, having nothing, is lifted up into pride: whereas on the contrary the rich of this world are commanded by the apostle Paul not to be proud in mind.

What therefore can be done more foolishly than that one who, cast down as it were to the ground through weak misery, ought to have walked and grieved as the lowest and most humble, should raise up a mind inflated with the swelling tumor of arrogance against God? Through which vice those fell and were ruined who had been fashioned at the highest summit of heaven. What then does he wish, as though mighty on earth, to be proud, who above all men ought to have appeared humble? But, lest they have sorrow on account of their poverty, let the poor attend to what they are to receive from God; for he himself says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. For by right dispensation the merciful judge commits to them the kingdom of heaven to whom he has taken away participation in the kingdom of earth among mortals, so that he who procures absolutely nothing on earth may appear rich in the seat of heaven.

The poor therefore must beware lest, while they pass by the earthly kingdom through want and necessity, they also lose the kingdoms of heaven through the shamelessness of their mind. For when they have received necessary poverty by the dispensation of God, it lies in their own choice whether they are poor in spirit. For the kingdoms of heaven are not promised to just any poor persons, but only to those in whom humility of soul accompanies the lack of riches. For a humble poor man is called poor in spirit, who, though he is seen to be needy outwardly, is never lifted up into pride; since humility of mind avails more for the seeking of the kingdoms of heaven than the temporal poverty of present riches. For even the humble who rightly possess riches they hold can be called poor in spirit; but the proud who have nothing, it is beyond doubt, are deprived of the blessedness of poverty.

Of both of these holy Scripture speaks thus: There is one that is as it were rich, when he has nothing: and there is one that is as it were poor, when he has great riches. As a poor man therefore in great riches is the rich man humble in spirit; and having nothing as a rich man is the poor man proud in disposition of mind. Noble poverty therefore is humility of mind, and unseemly riches are enormity of soul. The poor therefore must take care to understand what they are; and because they are not able to attain what they desire by means of possessions, let them cease to be proud with the swelling of mind.

The ninth degree of abuse is an unjust king. For a king ought to be not unjust, but a corrector of the unjust. Hence he ought to preserve in himself the dignity of his name: for the name of king intellectually retains this meaning, that he procure the office of ruler for all his subjects. But how will he be able to correct others, who does not correct his own conduct so that it be not unjust? Since in the justice of a king the throne is exalted, and in the truth of a king the governance of peoples is made firm.

Now the justice of a king is this: to oppress no one unjustly through power, to judge justly between a man and his neighbor without respect of persons, to be a defender of strangers and orphans and widows, to restrain thefts, to punish adulteries, not to exalt the wicked, not to nourish the shameless and players, to destroy the impious from the land, not to allow parricides and perjurers to live, to defend churches, to feed the poor with alms, to appoint just men over the affairs of the kingdom, to have old and wise and sober men as counselors, not to attend to the superstitions of magicians, soothsayers, and witches, to defer anger, to defend the homeland bravely and justly against adversaries, to trust in God in all things, not to exalt the mind in prosperity, to bear all adversities patiently, to hold the catholic faith in God, not to allow his sons to act impiously, to devote himself to prayers at fixed hours, not to taste food before the fitting hours.

For woe to the land whose king is a child, and whose princes eat in the morning. These things make for the prosperity of the kingdom in the present, and lead the king to better heavenly kingdoms. But he who does not dispense the kingdom according to this law will assuredly endure many adversities of rule. For this reason the peace of peoples is often broken, and stumbling-blocks are also stirred up within the kingdom, the fruits of the earth are diminished, and the services of peoples are hindered, many and various sorrows infect the prosperity of the kingdom, the deaths of dear ones and children bring grief, the incursions of enemies lay waste the provinces on every side, beasts tear apart the herds and flocks of cattle and sheep; storms of air and winter prevent the fruitfulness of the earth and the services of the sea, and sometimes the strokes of lightning burn up the crops and the blossoms and shoots of trees.

But above all, the injustice of a king not only darkens the face of the present rule, but also obscures his sons and grandsons, so that they do not hold the inheritance of the kingdom after him. For on account of the sin of Solomon, the Lord scattered the kingdom of the house of Israel from the hands of his sons. And on account of the justice of King David, he always left a lamp from his seed in Jerusalem. Behold how great the justice of a king avails for the world is plainly evident to those who look upon it. For it is the peace of peoples, the protection of the homeland, the immunity of the common people, the bulwark of the nation, the care of the sick, the joy of men, the mildness of the air, the serenity of the sea, the fruitfulness of the earth, the consolation of the poor, the inheritance of children, and for himself the hope of future blessedness.

Nevertheless let the king know that, just as he has been placed first among men upon the throne, so also in punishments, if he does not do justice, he will hold the first place. For all the sinners whomsoever he had under him in the present, he will have above him in that future punishment in an implacable manner.

The tenth degree of abuse is the negligent bishop; who seeks the honour of his rank among men, but does not guard the dignity of his ministry before God, on whose behalf he performs his embassy. First, then, let inquiry be made of a bishop as to what the dignity of his name entails, since, as the word bishop is Greek, it is interpreted as watchman. Why, however, he is called a watchman, and what is required of a watchman, the Lord himself discloses when, in the person of the prophet Ezekiel, he declares to the bishop the account of his office, saying thus: I have set thee as a watchman over the house of Israel. Hearing therefore a word from my mouth, thou shalt announce it to them from me. But if thou seest the sword coming, and thou hast not announced it that the wicked man may turn from his way, that wicked man shall indeed die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at thy hand.

But if thou hast announced it, and he has not turned back, he shall indeed die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul. It is fitting, therefore, for the bishop, who is set as watchman over all, to attend diligently to sins, and after he has attended to them, to correct them by word if he can, and by deed; if he cannot, to shun the workers of wickedness according to the rule of the Gospel: For if, says the Lord in the Gospel, thy brother shall sin against thee, rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt have gained thy brother: if he shall not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand: if he shall not hear them, tell the Church: if he shall not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican. In such order must whosoever shall have refused to cleave to the teacher or bishop be expelled.

And he who has been expelled in such order ought not to be received by any other teacher or bishop. For of the priest it is written in the law: He shall not take a widow or one put away as wife. He therefore who joins to himself one excommunicated by a Catholic, without the latter's permission, transgresses the rights of the holy priesthood, in which the chosen race of Christians is established. In this manner it is fitting for the bishop to be toward those over whom he is set as watchman.

But further, what manner of man he ought to be in himself, the apostle Paul sets forth: that he who comes to the rank of bishop should be sober, prudent, chaste, wise, modest, hospitable, having children subject to him with all chastity, having good testimony from those who are without, bringing forth the faithful word of doctrine; before he is a bishop, having had no more than one wife; not a striker, not double-tongued, not given to wine, not a novice, so that by these things he may himself show in deed what he teaches others in the word of doctrine.

Let negligent bishops therefore beware of that of which the Lord complains through the Prophet in the time of vengeance, saying: Many shepherds have destroyed my people, and the shepherds did not feed my flock, but fed themselves; but rather let those whom the Lord has set over his household take care to give them food in due season, a measure of wheat, that is, pure and proven doctrine, so that when the Lord comes they may deserve to hear: Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

The eleventh degree of abuse is a people without discipline, which, since it does not submit to the exercises of discipline, binds itself in the common snare of perdition: for without the rigour of discipline it does not escape the wrath of the Lord. And therefore the Psalmist's words are proclaimed to an undisciplined people: Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry. Discipline, however, is the ordered correction of conduct and the observance of the rules of preceding elders. Concerning this discipline the apostle Paul speaks thus, saying: Persevere in discipline; God offers himself to you as to sons. But if you are without discipline, of which you have all been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not sons. Those therefore who are illegitimate are without discipline, and do not receive the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom: but if they are sons, they bear the corrections of their father's discipline, and let them not despair of being able at some time to receive the inheritance.

Concerning this discipline Isaiah indeed preaches to an undisciplined people, saying: Cease to do perversely, learn to do well. And the Psalmist sings in harmony to the same people, saying: Decline from evil, and do good. Unhappy therefore is he who casts away discipline. For he dares something beyond what soldiers dare who, crucifying the Lord, did not divide his tunic, who tears the discipline of the Church of Christ. For just as the tunic covers the whole body except the head, so discipline protects and adorns the whole Church, except Christ, who is the head of the Church and is not under discipline. That tunic, moreover, had been woven from the top throughout, because that same discipline of the Church is granted and kept whole by the Lord from heaven. Concerning which, when the Lord had ascended to the Father, after he rose from the dead, he spoke to his Apostles, saying: But you, sit here in the city, until you be clothed with power from on high.

The tunic of the body of Christ, therefore, is the discipline of the Church: but he who is outside discipline is a stranger to the body of Christ. Let us not therefore divide it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that is, let us not dissolve any of the commandments of the Lord, but let each one remain with the Lord in that state in which he was called.

The twelfth degree of abuse is a people without law, which, while it despises the words of God and the precepts of the laws, falls into the same snare of perdition by diverse paths of error. Concerning these paths, in the person of a transgressing people, the Prophet thus laments over the human race: But we all like sheep have gone astray, every one has turned aside into his own way; concerning which paths Wisdom also speaks through Solomon: Many ways seem right to men, and the last of them lead to death. These many paths of perdition are indeed trodden when the one royal road, namely the law of God, which turns neither to the right nor to the left, is forsaken through negligence. Concerning this road the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the end of the law unto justice for every believer, declares: I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me.

To this way he invites all men in common, saying: Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you; because there is no respect of persons with God, where there is neither Jew nor Greek, male and female, slave and free, barbarian and Scythian, but Christ is all in all: for all are one in Christ Jesus. Since therefore Christ is the end of the law, those who are without law are without Christ. Therefore a people without law is a people without Christ.

It is abusive, then, in the times of the Gospel, for a people to be without law, when the licence of preaching was given to the Apostles among all nations, when the thunder of the Gospel thundered through all parts of the world, when the Gentiles who did not follow after justice laid hold of justice; when those who had been far off were made near in the blood of Christ: who were once not a people, but are now the people of God in Christ; when it is the acceptable time, and the day of salvation, and the times of refreshment in the sight of the Most High; when every nation has a witness of the resurrection; when the Lord himself testifies, saying: Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. Let us not therefore be without Christ in this transitory time, lest Christ begin to be without us in the time to come.