And thus far have we considered hitherto, in these outward goods
that are called the gifts of fortune, only the slender commodity
that worldly-minded men have by them. But now, if we consider
further what harm to the soul they take by them who desire them
only for the wretched wealth of this world, then shall we well
perceive how far more happy is he who well loseth them than he who
ill findeth them.
These things are such as are of their own nature indifferent--that
is, of themselves neither good nor bad--but are matter that may
serve to the one or the other according as men will use them. Yet
need we little doubt but that for those who desire them only for
their worldly pleasure and for no further godly purpose the devil
shall soon turn them from things indifferent and make them things
very evil. For though they be indifferent of their nature, yet
cannot the use of them lightly stand indifferent, but must be
determinately either good or bad. And therefore he who desireth
them only for worldly pleasure, desireth them not for any good. And
for better purpose than he desireth them, to better use is he not
likely to put them. And therefore will he use them not unto good
but consequently to evil.
And for example, first consider it in riches, and in him who
longeth for them as for things of temporal commodity and not for
any godly purpose. What good they shall do him, St. Paul declareth,
when he writeth unto Timothy, "They that long to be rich fall into
temptation and into the snare of the devil, and into many desires
unprofitable and noxious, which drown men into death and into
perdition." And the holy scripture saith also in the twenty-fourth
chapter of the Proverbs, "He that gathereth treasures shall be
shoved into the snares of death." So that whereas God saith by the
mouth of St. Paul that they shall fall into the devil's snare, he
saith in the other place that they shall be pushed and shoved in by
violence. And of truth, while a man desireth riches not for any
good godly purpose but only for worldly wealth, it must needs be
that he shall have little conscience in the getting. But, by all
evil ways that he can invent, shall he labour to get them. And then
shall he either niggardly heap them up together, which is, as you
well know, damnable; or else shall he wastefully misspend them upon
worldly pomp, pride, and gluttony, with occasion of many sins more,
and that is yet much more damnable.
As for fame and glory desired only for worldly pleasure, they do
unto the soul inestimable harm. For they set men's hearts upon high
devices and desires of such things as are immoderate and
outrageous. And by help of false flatterers, they puff up a man in
pride and make a brittle man--lately made of earth, that shall
again shortly be laid full low in earth and there lie and rot and
turn again into earth--take himself in the meantime for a god here
upon earth and think to win himself to be lord of all the earth.
This maketh battles between these great princes, with much trouble
to much people, and great effusion of blood, and one king looking
to reign in five realms, who cannot well rule one. For how many
hath now this great Turk? And yet he aspireth to more. And those
that he hath, he ordereth evilly--and yet he ordereth himself worst.
Then, offices of authority: If men desire them only for their
worldly fancies, who can look that ever they shall occupy them
well, and not rather abuse their authority and do thereby great
hurt? For then shall they fall from indifference and maintain false
suits for their friends. And they shall bear up their servants, and
such as depend upon them, with bearing down of other innocent folk,
who are not so able to do hurt as easy to take harm. Then the laws
that are made against malefactors shall they make, as an old
philosopher said, to be much like unto cobwebs, in which the little
gnats and flies stick still and hang fast, but the great
humble-bees break them and fly quite through. And then the laws
that are made as a buckler in the defence of innocents, those shall
they make serve for a sword to cut and sore wound them with--and
therewith wound they their own souls sorer.
And thus you see, cousin, that of all these outward goods which men
call the goods of fortune, there is never one that, unto those who
long for it not for any godly purpose but only for their worldly
welath, hath any great commodity to the body. And yet are they all,
beside that, very deadly destruction unto the soul.