CAPUT XLII. Quod sit officium veri zelatoris
The Duty of True Zeal
True zeal, like Zebulun, must correct the erring and protect the weak, forming a dwelling of strength against both spiritual and worldly dangers.
Zebulun, though, must not only correct those who go wrong; he must also defend them in times of trouble against those who persecute them. Otherwise it isn't true zeal, and he can't truly be called Zebulun if he's more ready to strike than to protect. For it isn't for nothing that this sixth and last of Leah's sons is called a dwelling of strength: Zebulun, as we already said above, is interpreted as 'dwelling of strength.'✦ See, then, how a house protects those who live in it from above and surrounds them on every side—and yet, unless it is strong and firmly fortified, it will not be a dwelling of strength.1 Just so, in the same way, perfect zeal—if it can rightly be called Zebulun, or rather truly be so—must protect the weaker ones against the powers of the air by teaching and prayer, fortify them on every side against worldly dangers, and in both keep at it not only tirelessly but unconquerably. So one must keep watch on this side against the devil's snares, and on that side against the world's pressures. Without a doubt, whoever you are who are strong in both, you are a dwelling of strength, and you deserve to be called Zebulun.
The Zealot's Readiness to Suffer
The true zealot is more ready to bear wrongs than inflict them, and gladly faces dangers, receiving those worn out by the world's storms.
Zebulun ought to be more ready—indeed, always more prepared—to bear wrongs than to inflict them. And because he sometimes has to be angry with those under him for their fault, he grieves more, of course, when he is forced to strike them for their fault than when he is forced to punish in their defense.2 So he gladly throws himself into the dangers that come his way, and of his own free will sets himself against the squalls of raging storms. Otherwise, it's pointless for him to live on the seashore and prepare a dwelling at the ships' station if he trembles before the sea-hazards of worldly pressure—unless he gently receives those who have been long worn out by the storms and finally cast up on the shores, and kindly cares for them.3
Read the original Latin
Debet autem Zabulon non solum delinquentes corripere, sed eos etiam tempore tribulationis contra persequentes defendere, alioquin verus zelus non est, nec Zabulon veraciter dici potest, si paratior est ad feriendum quam ad protegendum. Non enim frustra iste sextus idemque novissimus filiorum Liae habitaculum fortitudinis dicitur: nam Zabulon, ut superius jam dictum est, habitaculum fortitudinis interpretatur. Vide ergo quomodo domus inhabitantes quosque superius protegit, et ab omni parte cingit, et tamen nisi fortis et firmiter munita sit, habitaculum fortitudinis non erit. Sic nimirum sic perfectus zelus, ut Zabulon jure possit dici, imo veraciter esse, debet infirmiores contra aereas potestates doctrina et oratione protegere, et contra mundana pericula undique munire, et in utroque non solum infatigabilis, sed etiam insuperabilis perseverare. Vigilare ergo oportet hinc contra insidias diaboli, illinc contra pressuras mundi. Procul dubio quisquis es in utroque fortis, habitaculum es fortitudinis, et digne Zabulon dici mereris. Debet esse Zabulon promptior, imo semper paratior ad mala ferenda quam ad mala inferenda. Et quia habet necesse pro culpa quandoque subjectis irasci, amplius utique dolet, cum cogitur eos pro culpa percutere, quam cum cogitur pro eorum defensione punire.
Libenter ergo se occurrentibus periculis objicit, et contra saevientium tempestatum procellas se sponte opponit. Alioquin, frustra in littore maris habitat, frustra in statione navium habitationem parat, si contra marina mundanae pressurae discrimina trepidat, nisi tempestatibus diu fatigatos, et tandem littoribus ejectos blande excipiat, et benigne foveat.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Gen.30.19-Gen.30.20 — Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. Gen.30.20 — Then Leah said, "God has given me a good gift; this time my husband will honor me, for I have borne him six sons." So she named him Zebulun.
Notes
- 1 ↩superius protegit is rendered as the house's roof-like protection from above over its inhabitants (architectural metaphor continued in the fortification clause).
- 2 ↩pro eorum defensione punire is rendered as punishing (adversaries) in defense of those under his care, contrasting corrective discipline of subjects with protective punishment of persecutors.
- 3 ↩marina mundanae pressurae discrimina: rendered as 'sea-hazards of worldly pressure,' keeping the coastal metaphor while carrying over pressura from the chapter's 'pressuras mundi' (worldly oppressions).
Benjamin Minor (The Twelve Patriarchs / Preparation of the Mind for Contemplation) companion
A daily portion of stillness
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Chosen Portion is the paced doorway into this collection: it portions the dense mystical treatises into one daily reading plus guided silence, exactly as the 14-day plan teaches.
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