OT § 90

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, etc. This then is the hope of those who fear the Lord, that turning away from the ruin of death, they may merit to come to Him who says, I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John XIV). But as it is said above, The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to turn away from the ruin of death, now it is said, The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn away from the ruin of death. From this it is clear that there is no earlier law of the wise by which one ought to avoid death and acquire eternal life, than to have the fear of the Lord. Wherefore it is also said elsewhere, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In the multitude of people is the dignity of the king, and in the paucity of people the disgrace of the prince. Where there is a multitude serving God, there especially is the glory of Christ. Where only catechumens, or those preparing for baptism, or recently born infants are still held under the kingdom of the devil, and they hasten in due time to be reborn in Christ, there is the manifest disgrace of the prince of the world. Or certainly in the conventicles of heretics, which are always fewer than the churches of Catholics, the disgrace is evident of those who have separated these from the unity of the church.

And Solomon in Proverbs: "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that they may turn aside from the ruin of death." If you do not fear God, you have lost grace, you have lost justice, and you have lost true wisdom.

The second pillar of the house of wisdom is innocence in the mind, which is noted when James says: "then peaceable." Augustine says that "peace is the tranquility of order," namely, when one humbly subjects himself to a superior, conducts himself equably toward an equal, and discreetly governs an inferior. All who are children of wisdom maintain this order. Whence comes war? If you loved peace, you would obey your superior and govern your inferior in an orderly manner; you would have peace. He who disturbs this peace destroys the house of wisdom. "He who is patient is governed by much wisdom; he who is impatient exalts his own folly," and thus he overturns the house of wisdom.

In the third place, it is fitting that there be a victorious bearing of worldly tribulations. Indeed, the man who assumes them must prepare himself for suffering. Wherefore Christ overturned the tables in His zeal. Later, when they sought Him, He showed Himself. Hence, "the patient man shows much good sense." There is no doubt that those whose tables He overturned were then clamoring: "Crucify Him!"

Everyone knows that patience is derived from passion and endurance and therefore that you cannot call anyone patient unless he endures indignities without annoyance. So Solomon rightly praised the patient person: "Better is the patient man than the strong, and he who restrains his anger more than he that takes a city," and "A long-suffering man is mighty in prudence, but a fainthearted man is very foolish." Therefore, if a wronged man flares up in anger, the wrongful abuse should not be thought of as the cause of his sin but the manifestation of a hidden weakness.

Do you not see the athletes, how they exercise when they have filled the bags with sand? But there is no need for you to practice this. Life is full of things that exercise you and make you strong.… For it is said, "One who is long-suffering abounds in wisdom, but he who is small of soul is strongly foolish."

While all our actions should be free from hidden malevolence, this is particularly the case in the selection of a bishop, whose life is the pattern for all his flock. Calm and pacific judgment is called for if you are to prefer to all his fellows a man who will be elected by all and who will heal all dissension. "The gentle man is the physician of the heart." In the gospel the Lord declared himself the physician of the heart when he said, "They that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick."

The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, etc. By flesh, certain weak and tender things; by bones, strong deeds are signified. It is well said, The life of the flesh is the health of the heart, because if the innocence of the mind is preserved, even if some things are weak outwardly, they are sometimes strengthened. And rightly it is added, Envy is the rottenness of the bones, because through the vice of envy those things perish before the eyes of God which seem strong to human eyes. For bones to rot from envy means that even some strong things perish.

Now here is an actual instance, a small case of how our social conscience really works: tame in spirit, wild in result, blank in realisation; a thing without the light of mind in it. I take this paragraph from a daily paper:--"At Epping, yesterday, Thomas Woolbourne, a Lambourne labourer, and his wife were summoned for neglecting their five children. Dr. Alpin said he was invited by the inspector of the N.S.P.C.C. to visit defendants' cottage. Both the cottage and the children were dirty. The children looked exceedingly well in health, but the conditions would be serious in case of illness. Defendants were stated to be sober. The man was discharged. The woman, who said she was hampered by the cottage having no water supply and that she was ill, was sentenced to six weeks' imprisonment. The sentence caused surprise, and the woman was removed crying, 'Lord save me!'"

I know no name for this but Chinese. It calls up the mental picture of some archaic and changeless Eastern Court, in which men with dried faces and stiff ceremonial costumes perform some atrocious cruelty to the accompaniment of formal proverbs and sentences of which the very meaning has been forgotten. In both cases the only thing in the whole farrago that can be called real is the wrong. If we apply the lightest touch of reason to the whole Epping prosecution it dissolves into nothing.

I here challenge any person in his five wits to tell me what that woman was sent to prison for. Either it was for being poor, or it was for being ill. Nobody could suggest, nobody will suggest, nobody, as a matter of fact, did suggest, that she had committed any other crime. The doctor was called in by a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Was this woman guilty of cruelty to children? Not in the least. Did the doctor say she was guilty of cruelty to children? Not in the least. Was these any evidence even remotely bearing on the sin of cruelty? Not a rap. The worse that the doctor could work himself up to saying was that though the children were "exceedingly" well, the conditions would be serious in case of illness. If the doctor will tell me any conditions that would be comic in case of illness, I shall attach more weight to his argument.

"He who slanders the poor irritates his own Maker." Here there are two sins: slander and opposition to the poor. Why does he irritate his Maker? His Maker certainly made him and made it easy for him to be subjected to a tongue of a slanderer. "He who really honors God has pity upon the needy." If God made the poor, why must the poor be pitied? Certainly I heard many saying: Is there any need to pity the poor man whom God would have not made poor if he loved him? How long will we play with our salvation? How long will we laugh at things in which the one who is wicked and loaded with countless sins should tremble and fear and be terrified? Tell me then whom God did favor: did he favor either Lazarus or the rich man? This is what ruins us, the fact that we easily slip into [bad] jokes.

A minister of the kingdom who is understanding is acceptable. He indeed to whom it is said, Because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your lord (Matt. XXV).

His wrath will fall upon the useless. He indeed about whom the same says: And cast the useless servant into the outer darkness (Ibid.)

A soft answer turns away wrath, etc. He who humbly receives words of reproach already approaches pardon for the guilt he carried; but he who arrogantly resists reproach, provokes greater wrath from the strict judge.

If you seek an example of justice, fortitude, prudence, purity, Scripture proposes becoming examples of every virtue. For virtue consists in concrete doings, wherefore interior guidelines are not enough unless they are accompanied by a concrete example. Hence Scripture gives both. As a rule against anger, it offers: A mild answer calms wrath. Consider Abigail who broke David's wrath.

Receive into thy ears the teaching of the great Solomon: God hates the poor man to be a pleader on high. [Prov. 23:11] Therefore submit thyself, and give honour to Him that is powerful; for the soft speech-thou knowest the proverb-melts. [Prov. 15:1] One is conquered by service, even although there be an ancient anger.

A hermit said, 'Ask God to give you inner grief of heart and humility. Always look at your own sins, and do not judge another's. Be the servant of all. Do not make friends with a woman, or a boy or a heretic. Do not be self-confident. Control your tongue and appetite, and do not drink wine. If anyone speaks to you on a controversial matter, do not argue with him. If he speaks well, say, "Yes." If he speaks ill, say, "I don't know anything about that." Don't argue with what he has said, and then your mind will be at peace.'

Poemen said, 'If a man sins and denies it, saying, "I have not sinned," do not correct him, or you will destroy any intention he might have of changing. If you say, "Do not be cast down, my brother, but be careful about that in future," you will move his heart to repent.'

Our Lord gave most of his assistance with persuasion rather than with admonition. Gentle showers soften the earth and thoroughly penetrate it, but a beating rain hardens and compresses the surface of the earth so that it will not be absorbed. "A harsh statement evokes anger," and with it comes injury. Whenever a harsh word opens a door, anger enters in, and on the heels of anger, injury.

"Anger even ruins the prudent: a soft answer turns away anger, but a painful word arouses rage." All things depend on our decision, certainly also to raise anger or to soothe. It is not the Lord who gets angry, but it is in our power to cause his anger or the opposite. And if anger even ruins the prudent, how much more will it ruin those about whom it was said [that] anger destroys the imprudent? And this certainly happens also to the prudent because of some negligence. But "a soft answer turns away anger," that is, a way of answering in open humility and without any harshness.

The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, etc. The tongue of the Catholic Fathers adorns the knowledge of divine words, by broadly explaining what the canonical Scripture has placed obscurely or has left written only in a historical manner.

And the mouth of fools pours out folly. By perversely understanding the words of sacred Scripture, and by preferring their own interpretations over its authority. It can also be understood about the philosophers of the pagans, as he says, The mouth of fools pours out folly; such as Porphyry and Julian, who spewed out their streams of folly against the doctors of the Church.

We believe God is everywhere, and his eye beholds the good and wicked wherever they are: so we ought to be particularly assured of his special presence when we assist at the divine office. Therefore we must always remember the advice of the prophet, "To serve God in fear," "to sing wisely" and that "the angels are witnesses of what we sing." Let us then reflect what behavior is proper for appearing in the presence of God and the angels, and so sing our psalms that the mind may echo in harmony with the voice.

"In every place the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil." And when we are gathered together with the brethren in one place and celebrate divine sacrifices with a priest of God, we ought to be mindful of modesty and discipline and not toss our prayers about at random with uncouth voices and not cast forth with turbulent loquaciousness our petition. Rather, our petition should be commended to God in modesty, because it is our heart, not our voice, that will be heard. God, who sees our thoughts, is not to be admonished by shouts, as the Lord proves when he says, "Why do you think vainly in your hearts?" And in another place, "And all the churches shall know that I am a searcher of the desires and the heart."

The soothing tongue is a tree of life, etc. The tongue of the Catholic teacher leads to the fruit of eternal life; but the one who ignores the measure of ecclesiastical rule, destroys both his own spirit and that of his hearers by speaking ill.

"Sanity of tongue is the tree of life." The tongue which does not sin by speaking makes use of sanity: indeed the illness of the tongue is its sin. The one who can check his tongue and does not sin with it is filled with the Holy Spirit.