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← De eruditione filiorum nobilium (On the Education of Noble Children)/Book 1 · De eruditione filiorum nobilium
Chapter 41Erud.1.41

Qualiter eciam futura debet prouidere.

The Duty to Foresee Future Evils

A noble youth must learn to anticipate the future—both its evils and its blessings—so that he may guard against the former and pursue the latter, beginning with the remembrance of old age, death, and hell.

One ought also to provide for what lies ahead — both the bad and the good. The bad, so that he may guard against them; the good, so that he may attain them. The bad — I mean old age, death, and hell. Indeed, the remembrance or foresight of all these things makes the vanity of temporal things grow worthless and despised.1 Hence it is said in Ecclesiastes 11, concerning the remembrance of old age: 'If a man has lived many years and has been joyful in all of them, he ought to remember the dark time and the many days which, when they come, will show all that has passed to be vanity.'✦23 Concerning the remembrance of death it is said in Ecclesiasticus 7: 'Remember your last things, and you will not sin forever.'4 For as was said above, according to Gregory, 'What the substance of the flesh is, the tombs bear witness.'56

The Bitterness of Death's Memory to the Prosperous

Many refuse to think of death because life is sweet, yet Scripture and the Fathers warn that the memory of death, hell's torments, and the futility of worldly pride is essential to spiritual health.

But many people refuse to think about death because life is sweet and the memory of death is bitter. On this subject Ecclesiasticus 41 says: "O death, how bitter is your memory to an unjust man, to one at peace in his own possessions, to a man at ease whose ways are upright in all things, and who is still strong enough to enjoy his food." Furthermore, concerning the memory of hell's punishment, it is said in Job 31: "When I remember it, I am filled with great dread, and trembling shakes my flesh."✦ As the Apostle says to the Hebrews in chapter 10: "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."✦ For Jerome comments on that passage from Isaiah 24 — "They will not drink wine with singing" — that the recollection of past pleasures will become the raw material of torments.✦ And so in hell they will be about to say, as we read in the book of Wisdom, chapter 5: "What good has pride done us, or what has the boasting of riches brought us?" "All those things have passed away like a shadow," and so on. That old age is an evil — i.e., that is,

Old Age as a Silent Evil

Old age is portrayed through classical and patristic voices as a living death—marked by infirmity, dim eyes, weak legs, and failing teeth—that strips away the vigor of youth.

"A punishment," says the second philosopher: "Old age," he says, "is a silent evil, the death of the living, a weakness that leaves no mark, a breathing death." Hence also Jerome, on the book of Amos, book two: "The evils," he says, "of old age are frequent infirmities. . . Eyes growing dim, legs growing weak. . . Teeth bare at the gums and falling out among the foods."

Horace and Maximianus on the Frailties of the Aged

Classical poets describe the old man as timid, nostalgic, self-deceived, and garrulous—a figure who praises the past, despises the present, and fancies himself wise even as he grows foolish.

Horace also says about this in his Poetics: Many troubles surround an old man — either he complains and, once he has found what he needs, holds back in misery, afraid to use it, or else he handles everything timidly and half-heartedly because he is afraid of it all. He is a procrastinator, stretching his hope far into the future, idle and greedy for what is to come, hard to please, always complaining, praising the days of his youth and casting himself as a boy again — a castigator and censor of the young. Likewise, Maximianus: You, pitiable old age — you alone submit me to yourself, you to whom yields whatever is accustomed to conquering all things. . . The old man stands trembling and hesitant, always credulous of evils, and foolish — and he makes himself afraid. He praises the years gone by and looks down on the present ones. He thinks that only what he knows is right; he considers himself the only learned man, and judges himself to be the one with experience. And the very fact that he is wise — he acts all the more foolishly himself. . . The listener is foolish, and he himself does not fall short when he speaks. O strong old men, alone in their garrulity!

Two Remedies Against Old Age: Preparation and Postponement

Against old age one must both prepare in youth and delay its onset through temperance, moderate exercise, and care for the soul more than the body.

There are two remedies against this evil: that a person fortify himself against it in advance, and put it off as much as he can. On the first point, Seneca says to Lucilius: 'For the young man, one must prepare; for the old man, one must use.' This is what is said in Ecclesiasticus 25: 'What you did not gather in your youth, how will you find it in your old age?' On the second point, it must be understood that old age is hastened in most people through the vices of the flesh and of the mind, and therefore through the removal of these it can be postponed. Hence Cicero in his book On Old Age: 'Just as,' he says, 'one must fight against disease, so one must fight against old age, and have regard for one's health.' One must therefore use moderate exercises, and apply only so much food and drink, so that strength may be restored, not overwhelmed. . . For exercise and temperance can preserve some of one's former strength even into old age. . . And you must come to the body's aid, yes, but the soul's much more. For what — . .

Vice, Not Age: Moral Weakness and the Preservation of Health

The follies attributed to old age—credulity, forgetfulness, dissoluteness—are vices of sloth, not of years; physicians and philosophers agree that temperance and moral discipline preserve both body and soul.

Old men say that foolishness, credulity, forgetfulness, and dissoluteness are not vices of old age itself, but of a lazy, sluggish, and drowsy old age. Just as wantonness or lust belongs more to the young than to the old — and yet not to all the young, but only to the wicked — so this foolishness of the old, which is called delirium, belongs not to all old men but only to the fickle. These are the words of Tully. Finally, as it is read in Ecclesiasticus 30, 'Zeal and anger diminish the days and bring on old age before its time.' Physicians also agree with these things — as, for example, Rhazes in the Almansor: 'To preserve health,' he says, 'consists in movement and rest, in food and drink, and also in observing moderation in the expulsion of superfluities; one must moderate the houses and other places in which one ought to stay, and one must also oppose harmful afflictions before they gain strength, and restrain the impulses of the animal appetites and maintain good habits.' Avicenna also, in the first canon of medicine, says that the health of the body and of the soul together consists in the temperance of morals. Furthermore, concerning the evil of death, the second philosopher says: 'Death is an eternal sleep.' .

Death as Inevitable Outcome, Thief, and Dissolver of All Things

Death is an inevitable outcome, a robber that comes like a thief, the image of eternal sleep, and the dissolution of all things—truths confirmed by Scripture and the philosophers.

. An inevitable outcome. . . A robber of man, a flight from life, the dissolution of all things.✦ And it is rightly called an eternal sleep, because 'sleep is the image of death,' as the philosopher says. It is also called an inevitable outcome, because as it is read in the proverbs of the wise, man is lent life, not given it. Hence it is said in Ecclesiastes 9: 'There is no one who lives always, and who has confidence in this matter.' Hence Anselm says in the Proslogion: 'Nothing is more certain than death, nothing more uncertain than the hour of death.' And so it is rightly called a thief of a man, according to that passage in the Gospel of Matthew (24): 'If the head of the household knew at what hour the thief was coming, he would certainly stay awake.'✦7 And just as a thief sets many kinds of snares for people, so also does death, according to that line of Statius in the Thebaid:8 Death has a thousand ways to bring down the wretched, yet it is one single death that exhausts them.

Death the Great Equalizer

From Prosper and Ovid through Horace, Boethius, Claudian, and Hildebert, death is shown to level all ranks—king and pauper, master and slave—making earthly distinctions meaningless.

And from this source, Prosper in his book of epigrams: By sword, by plague, by famine, by chains, by burning, by fever — in a thousand ways, one single death snatches away wretched mortals.9 Likewise, Ovid, in his book of letters: A thousand images of what perishes crowd the mind, and death holds scarcely less terror than the delay of death. And the dissolution of all things is spoken of according to that line of Ovid in the tenth book of the Metamorphoses: Everything is owed to death, and those who put it off a little longer are only hurrying, sooner or later, to the lowest place.10 Therefore, as we read in Ecclesiasticus 41, 'the judgment of death is good, because it shows no partiality to persons.' Hence Boethius, in book 2 of On Consolation: 'Death despises lofty glory, wraps the lowly equally in its shroud, and levels the highest head with the lowest.' And hence Horace, in his Book of Poems: Pale death, with even hoof, strikes the huts of the poor and the towers of kings alike. . . The same earth is opened for the poor man and for the children of kings. . . Death is the final boundary of all things. Likewise Ovid, without title, in book three: Of course, untimely death profanes everything sacred. It throws its dark hand over everyone. And again, Claudian, speaking in his lesser work to Death herself, says: Kings in their royal purple will come to your feet, their luxury set aside, the crowd mingled with the poor. Death makes all things equal. For this reason Hildebert, bishop of Le Mans, says: Amid wealth and luxuries and the favor of the people, let your mind recall this, let your tongue proclaim it: Death drags the master and the slave together, death makes scepters and mattocks equal, drawing unlike ones into a single shared condition.

Two Remedies Against Death: Contempt and Preparation

Against death one must both despise it—since it is inevitable and even fruitful—and prepare for it through spiritual discipline, following the wisdom of Cato, Seneca, Varro, and Cicero.

So against this evil there is also a twofold remedy, namely: that a person would despise death itself, and that against it he would prepare and fortify himself.11 On the contempt of death, Cato says: Put death before you as nothing to fear: even if it is not good, still it is the end of all evils. Death ought to be despised for a twofold reason: first, namely — because it is inevitable, just as was already shown above. Hence Seneca in his book on the remedies of chance events: 'It is foolish,' he says, 'to fear what you cannot avoid.'12 And Varro, speaking to his Athenian listener, says: 'Since nature itself disputes it, whoever finds it hard to bear dying —'13 . . is a double evil, since we bear with difficulty what is necessary.' Therefore Cicero says in his book on old age: 'The wisest person dies with the most equable spirit.'14 . . And a person departs from this life as if from a lodging, not from a home. For nature owes us a place to stay, not a place to dwell. Second, it ought to be despised, because it is bearable. In itself it is not very costly, but in fact, quite often, fruitful. On the first point, Seneca says in Book III of his Natural Questions: 'A human life is a tiny thing, but contempt of life is a huge thing.' Whoever has despised this will watch the seas stirred up without fear. . . He will look upon death's dreadful face without a care. . . Of the thundering sky. . . What does it matter to me how great the things are by which I perish? The perishing itself is not the great thing. So then, if we want to be happy — and not [merely] of men — . . nor should the soul remain entangled in the fear of things, unfettered and unencumbered. This is Seneca's. On the second point — namely, on the usefulness of death there is that saying of Cato's quoted a little earlier: Make it your settled conviction that death is not something to be feared, and so on.

Learning to Die: The Philosopher's Meditation

Preparation for death requires enduring tribulation, renouncing bodily pleasures, and withdrawing the mind from worldly affairs—for the whole life of the philosopher is a meditation on death.

Likewise Sallust, in the Catilinarian: "In grief," he says, "and miseries, death is the rest of hardships, not torture." Furthermore, a person ought to prepare for death in two ways, namely: by accustoming oneself and by providing the viaticum. By accustoming, I say, concerning two things, namely: tribulations to be endured and the pleasures of the flesh to be set aside. On the first point it is said in a proverb: "Scarcely dies one who has not learned to die" — that is, one who has not known how to endure the threats of death, which are tribulations. In this connection, Seneca also in Agamemnon: Oh, how wretched it is not to know how to die. But the same man says to Lucilius, 'Whoever has learned to die has learned not to serve.' And so it is above all power and beyond it entirely. What good, then, is prison or guard or enclosure against such a man? He holds the enemy free. But there is one chain that keeps us bound: love of life. This is Seneca. On the second point, namely. On pleasures to be removed, Renatus Vegetus says in his book on military matters: 'Whoever has known less of life's pleasures fears death less.' From here also Cato, as above: Whoever knows how to hold life in contempt has no fear of death. This is why Cicero says in the first book of his Tusculan Disputations: 'The whole life of philosophers is, as Cato says, a meditation on death.' For what else are we doing when we withdraw from bodily pleasures, . . and from public affairs, unless we call the mind back to itself, especially drawing it away from the body and compelling it to be with itself, . . But to separate the mind from the body is nothing other than learning to die.

Provision for the Journey: Almsgiving and the Remedy Against Hell

One must provide for the journey ahead by storing up alms, showing mercy, and fleeing sin—for the evils of hell are remedied only by turning from evil and doing good, as Scripture and the Fathers teach.

Believe me in this, then: let us consider it and let us separate ourselves from the body — that is, let us grow accustomed to dying. And regarding provision for the journey ahead, Ecclesiasticus 29 says: 'Store up alms in the bosom of the poor, because the alms of a man is like a purse that goes with him.' This is what Ambrose says: 'Mercy alone is the companion of the dead.' Hence it is said in Tobit 4: 'Alms frees from every sin and from death, and will not let the soul go into darkness.' On the evil of hell, Jerome says in his commentary on Jeremiah, book 4: 'It is better not to exist than to live in torments.' Hence it is written: 'Why was life given to the wretched, and life to those who are in bitterness of soul?'✦ 'Who wait for death, and it does not come.'✦ Against that, there is also a twofold remedy, namely: Turn away from evil and do good. On the first point, Ecclesiasticus 21 says: 'Flee from sin as if from the face of a serpent.' All iniquity is like a double-edged sword, twice as sharp, and its wounds bring no healing.15 On the second point, Ecclesiasticus 9 says: 'Whatever your hand can do, do it at once, because neither knowledge nor wisdom will be with you in the place of the dead, where you are hurrying.' And in Matthew 3: 'You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?'16 Therefore, make fruit worthy of repentance,' and further on: 'Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.' These words are from John the Baptist. The same is also said by the Lord in the same passage, which Chrysostom, explaining it there in homily 23, says that two evils are prepared for the condemned — namely,

The Greater Punishment: Loss of the Heavenly Kingdom

Chrysostom and Gregory teach that the loss of Christ's blessed presence and the kingdom of heaven is a far greater torment than hell's flames—to be shut from His gentle face is the deepest bitterness.

The axe and fire, or destruction from the kingdom, and the conflagration in hell. 'And surely,' he says, 'the loss of the kingdom of heaven is a greater punishment than that torment of flames.' Hell is indeed unbearable, but even if someone were to place a thousand hells side by side, he says nothing equal to being driven from the honor of that blessed glory and being hateful to Christ.17 It is easier to endure a thousand bolts of lightning than to see that face, full of gentleness and piety, turned against us, and those eyes of perfect tranquility — we who cannot bear to look at them.18 These are the words of Chrysostom. And Gregory, in his homily on the ten virgins: 'Oh,' he says, 'if only one could taste with the palate of the heart what wonder it holds —'✦19 'Behold, the bridegroom comes — and what sweetness is his!'✦20 And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding.✦21

Conclusion: Seeking Future Blessings, Despising Present Vanities

The wise person should seek future blessings with all zeal so that, by comparison, present goods grow despicable—remembering both evil and good in every season, as Sirach counsels.

Finally, what bitterness is there? The door is closed.' In short, the wise person should provide for future blessings with a twofold purpose, namely: that they should seek these things earnestly, with all zeal and desire, so that by comparison with them they come to despise present goods — following that word of Gregory: 'Once the spirit has been tasted, all flesh grows foolish,' that is, carnal pleasure. Because of all this, it is said in Ecclesiasticus chapter eleven: 'In the day of good things, do not be unmindful of evil things; and in the day of evil things, do not be unmindful of good things.'

Read the original Latin

Debet eciam prouidere futura, sc. mala et bona. Mala, ut sibi precaueat, bona, ut acquirat. Mala inquam, ut senectutem et mortem et gehennam. Memoria siquidem uel prouidencia istorum omnium uilescere facit ac despici vanitatem temporalium. unde de memoria senectutis dicitur in ecclesiaste xi: ‘Si annis multis uixerit homo et in omnibus hiis letus fuerit, meminisse debet tenebrosi temporis et dierum multorum, qui cum uenerint, uanitatis arguentur preterita.’ De memoria mortis dicitur in ecclesiastico vii: ‘Memorare nouissima tua et in eternum non peccabis.’ ut enim dictum est supra iuxta gregorium, ‘que sit carnis substantia, testantur sepulcra.’

Sed multi nolunt mortem recolere propter dulcedinem uite et amaritudinem ipsius memorie, de qua dicitur in ecclesiastico xli: ‘O mors, quam amara est memoria tua homini iniusto et pacem habenti in substanciis suis uiro quieto et cuius uie directe sunt in omnibus et adhuc ualenti accipere cibum.’ Porro de memoria pene gehennalis dicitur in iob xxxi: ‘Et ego, quando recordatus fuero, pertimesco et concutit carnem meam tremor.’ ut enim dicit apostolus ad hebreos x, ‘horrendum est incidere in manus dei uiuentis.’ dicit enim Jeronimus super illo uerbo ysaye xxiiii Cum cantico non bibent uinum, quod ‘preteritarum deliciarum recordacio erit materia cruciatuum.’ unde et in inferno dicturi sunt, ut legitur in libro sapiencie v: ‘Quid nobis profuit superbia aut quid diuiciarum iactancia contulit nobis? Transierunt omnia illa tanquam umbra etc.’ Quod autem senectus mala sit, i. e.

penalis, dicit secundus philosophus: ‘Senectus,’ inquit, ‘est tacitum malum, mors uiuencium, incolumis languor, spirans mors.’ Hinc et Jeronimus super amos libro iio: ‘Mala,’ inquit, ‘senectutis sunt crebre infirmitates . . . oculi calligantes, tibie lascessentes . . . nudi gingiuis dentes et inter cibos cadentes.’

de hoc eciam dicit oracius in poetria:

Multa senem circumueniunt incommoda uel quod querit et inuentis miser abstinet et timet uti uel quia res omnes timide gelideque ministrat. Dilator, spe longus, iners auidusque futuri, difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti se puero, castigator censorque minorum.

Item maximianus:

Tu me sola tibi subdis miseranda senectus, Cui cedit quicquid uincere cuncta solet . . . Stat tremulus dubiusque senex semperque malorum Credulus et stultus que facit ipse timet. Laudat preteritos, presentes despicit annos. hoc tantum rectum quod sapit esse putat Se solum doctum, se iudicat esse peritum. Et quod sit sapiens, desipit ipse magis . .

. desipit auditor, nec deficit ipse loquendo. O sola fortes garrulitate senes.

Contra hoc malum duplex est remedium, videl. ut contra illud se premuniat, et quantum potest, illud differat. De primo dicit seneca lucilio: ‘Juueni est parandum, seni utendum.’ hoc est quod dicitur in ecclesiastico xxv: ‘Que in iuuentute tua non congregasti, quomodo inuenies in senectute tua?’ De secundo sciendum, quod senectus acceleratur in plurimis per uicia carnis et animi, ideoque per abolicionem istorum potest differri. unde tullius in libro de senectute: ‘Sicut,’ inquit, ‘contra morbum, sic contra senectutem est pugnandum et habenda racio ualitudinis. utendum est igitur exercitacionibus modicis et tantum cibi ac potus adhibendum, ut uires reficiantur, non opprimantur . .

. Potest enim exercitacio et temperancia etiam in senectute aliquid pristini roboris conseruare . . . Nec corpori tantum subueniendum est sed animo multo magis. Nam quod . . .

senes aiunt stultos, credulos, obliuiosos et dissolutos, non sunt hec uicia senectutis, sed inertis ignauie ac sompniculose senectutis. Sicut enim petulancia uel libido magis est adolescencium quam senum, nec tamen omnium adolescencium sed improborum, sic ista senum stulticia que deliracio dicitur, senum est non omnium sed leuium.’ Hec tullius. Denique, sicut legitur in ecclesiastico xxx, ‘zelus et iracundia minuunt dies et ante tempus senectam adducunt cogitatus.’ His etiam consonant medici, ut verbi gracia rasy in almasore: ‘Sanitatem,’ inquit, ‘conseruare est in motu et quiete, in cibo et potu, necnon et in superfluitatum expulsionibus mensuram obseruare, domos et loca cetera in quibus maneri debet temperare, malis etiam accidentibus, antequam augmentum capiant, obuiare, animales quoque cogitationes refrenare et consuetudines seruare.’ Auicenna quoque in primo canone medicine dicit quod sanitas corporis et anime simul in temperancia morum consistit. Porro de malo mortis dicit secundus philosophus: ‘Mors est eternus sompnus . .

. ineuitabilis euentus . . . hominis latro, fuga uite, omnium resolucio.’ Et recte dicitur eternus sompnus, quia ‘sompnus est mortis ymago,’ sicut dicit philosophus. Dicitur et ineuitabilis euentus, quia sicut legitur in prouerbiis sapientum, homo uite conmodatus est, non donatus. unde dicitur in ecclesiaste ix: ‘Nemo est qui semper uiuat et qui huius rei habeat fiduciam.’

Hinc et in proslogion dicit anselmus: ‘Nichil morte cercius, nichil hora mortis incercius.’ Ideo recte quoque dicitur hominis latro, iuxta illud euangelicum Mathei xxiiii: ‘Si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur ueniret, uigilaret utique etc.’ Et sicut latro multimodas hominibus tendit insidias, sic et mors iuxta illud stacij in thebaide:

Mille modos leti miseros mors una fatigat.

Hinc et prosper in libro epygrammatum:

Ferro, peste, fame, vinclis, ardore, calore, mille modis miseros mors rapit una homines.

Item ouidius in libro epistolarum:

Occurrunt animo pereundi mille figure, Morsque minus pene quam mora mortis habet.

Dicitur et omnium resolucio, iuxta illud ouidij in libro methamorphoseos x:

Omnia debentur morti paulumque morati Serius aut cicius sedem properamus ad imam.

Ideo, sicut legitur in ecclesiastico xli, ‘bonum est iudicium mortis, quia non est personarum acceptrix.’ unde boecius de consolacione libro ii: ‘Mors spernit altam gloriam, inuoluit humile pariter ac celsum caput equatque summis infima.’ hinc et oracius in libro carminum:

Pallida mors equo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas regumque turres . . . equa tellus pauperi recluditur regumque pueris . . . mors ultima linea rerum est.

Item ouidius sine titulo in libro iii:

Scilicet omne sacrum mors importuna prophanat. Omnibus obscuras inicit illa manus.

Et iterum claudianus in minori loquens ad ipsam mortem dicit:

Sub tua purpurei uenient uestigia reges Deposito luxu turba cum paupere mixti. Omnia mors equat.

Ideo dicit et hyldebertus cenomanensis episcopus:

Inter opes et delicias populique fauores hoc animus recolat, hoc tua lingua sonat: Mors dominum seruo, mors sceptra ligonibus equat dissimiles simili condicione trahens.

Itaque contra hoc malum est duplex eciam remedium, videl. ut homo mortem ipsam contempnat et ut contra illam se paret ac muniat. De contemptu mortis dicit cato:

Fac tibi proponas mortem non esse timendam, Que bona si non est, finis tamen illa malorum est.

debet autem contempni ex causa duplici, primo sc. quia ineuitabilis est, sicut iam superius ostensum est. unde seneca in libro de remediis fortuitorum, ‘Stultum est,’ inquit, ‘timere quod uitare non possis.’ Et uarro ad atheniensem auditorem, ‘Cum natura,’ inquit, ‘litigat qui mori graue fert . . . duplexque malum est, cum moleste ferimus quod necesse est.’ Ideo dicit tullius in libro de senectute: ‘Sapientissimus quilibet equissimo moritur animo .

. . et ex hac uita discedit tanquam ex hospicio, non domo. Conmorandi namque diuersorium natura nobis debit, non habitandi.’ Secundo contempni debet, quia tolerabilis est. Nam in se non est multum dispendiosa, quin eciam plerumque fructuosa. De primo dicit seneca in libro de naturalibus questionibus iii: ‘pusilla res est hominis vita, sed ingens res est contemptus uite. Hanc qui contempserit, securus videbit maria turbari .

. . securus aspiet horridam faciem . . . fulminantis celi . . .

Quid ad me, quantum magna sint, quibus pereo; ipsum perire non magnum est. Proinde, si uolumus esse felices, nec hominum . . . nec rerum timore uersari anima inexpedito habenda est.’ Hec seneca. De secundo, sc. de utilitate mortis est illud catonis paulo ante positum:

Fac tibi preponas mortem non esse timendam etc.

Item salustius in katillinario: ‘In luctu,’ inquit, ‘atque miseriis mors erumpnarum requies est, non cruciatus.’ Porro contra mortem dupliciter se preparare debet homo, sc. assuescendo et uiaticum prouidendo. Assuescendo, inquam, circa duo, sc. tribulacionibus perferendis et carnis uoluptatibus remouendis. De primo dicitur in prouerbio: ‘vix moritur qui mori non didicit,’ id est qui mortis minas que sunt tribulaciones sustinere non nouit. Hinc et seneca in agamennone:

O quam miserum est nescire mori.

Econtra vero dicit idem lucilio: ‘Qui mori,’ inquit, ‘didicit, non seruire didicit. Itaque supra omnem potenciam est et extra omnem. Quid igitur ad illum carcer uel custodia uel claustrum ualet? liberum hostium habet. At una est cathena que nos alligatos tenet, amor uite sc.’ Hec seneca. De secundo autem, sc. de uoluptatibus remouendis dicit renatus uegetus in libro de re militari io: ‘Mortem minus metuit qui minus deliciarum in uita nouit.’

Hinc et cato, ubi supra:

Non metuit mortem qui scit contempnere uitam.

ideo dicit tullius in tusculunario libro i: ‘Tota philosophorum uita, ut ait cato, mortis est conmentacio. Nam quid aliud agimus, cum a uoluptatibus corporis . . . et a rei publice negociis animum seuocamus, nisi ipsum animum ad se ipsum aduocamus, maximeque a corpore abducimus, secumque esse cogimus . . . Animum autem a corpore secernere nichil aliud est quam mori discere.

Hoc ergo michi crede, conmentemur, nosque a corpore seiungamus, id est mori consuescamus.’ Porro de uiatico prouidendo dicitur in ecclesiastico xxix: ‘Conclude elemosinam in sinu pauperis, quoniam elemosina uiri quasi sacculus cum ipso etc.’ Hoc est quod dicit ambrosius quod ‘sola misericordia comes est defunctorum.’ unde dicitur in thobia iiii: ‘elemosina ab omni peccato et a morte liberat et non pacietur ire in tenebras animam.’ De malo iehenne dicit Jeronimus super Jeremiam libro iiii: ‘Melius est non esse quam in suppliciis uiuere.’ unde scriptum est: ‘Quare data est misero et uita hiis qui in amaritudine anime sunt? qui exspectant mortem et non uenit etc.’ Contra illud quoque duplex est remedium, sc.

declinare a malo et facere bonum. De primo dicitur in ecclesiastico xxi: ‘Quasi a facie colubri fuge peccatum. Quasi enim rumphea bis acuta omnis iniquitas et plage illius non est sanitas.’ De secundo dicitur in ecclesiastico ix: ‘Quodcunque potest manus tua facere, instanter operare, quia nec sciencia nec sapiencia erunt aput inferos quo tu properas.’ Et in matheo iii: ‘Genimina uiperarum, quis ostendit uobis fugere a uentura ira. Facite ergo fructum dignum penitencie,’ et post: ‘Omnis arbor que non facit fructum bonum excidetur et in ignem mittetur.’ Hec iohannes baptista. Idem quoque dicitur a domino in eodem quod ibi exponens crisostomus in omelia xxiiia dicit quod duo mala reprobis sunt preparata, videl.

securis et ignis siue excidium a regno et incendium in inferno. ‘Et certe,’ inquit, ‘maior pena est amissio regni celorum quam cruciatus ille flammarum. Intollerabilis quidem est iehenna, sed tamen si mille ponat aliquis iehennas, nichil tale dicit quale est ab illius beate glorie propelli honore et christo exosum esse. Faciliusque est mille fulmina sustinere quam uultum illum mansuetudinis ac pietatis plenum nos tamen aduersantem uidere, illosque tocius tranquillitatis oculos nequaquam nos sustinentes aspicere.’ Hec crisostomus. Hinc et gregorius in omelia de X uirginibus: ‘O,’ inquit, ‘si sapere in cordis palato posset, quid admiracionis habeat? Ecce sponsus uenit, porro quid dulcedinis? et que parate erant intrauerunt cum eo ad nupcias.

Postremo, quid amaritudinis? clausa est ianua.’ Denique, bona futura debet sapiens prouidere duplici racione, videl. ut ea sollicite, cum omni studio ac desiderio querat, ut in eorum comparacione bona presencia despiciat, iuxta illud gregorij: ‘Gustato spiritu desipit omnis caro,’ id est carnalis uoluptas. Propter hec omnia dicitur in ecclesiastico xi: ‘In die bonorum ne immemor sis malorum et in die malorum ne immemor sis bonorum.’

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Eccl.11.8 — For if a person lives many years, let them rejoice in all of them; and let them remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that comes is fleeting.
  2. ↩Job.21.6 — Even when I remember, I am dismayed, and horror grips my flesh.
  3. ↩Heb.10.31 — It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
  4. ↩Isa.24.9 — With song they will not drink wine; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.
  5. ↩Matt.24.43 — But know this: if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
  6. ↩Matt.24.43 — But know this: if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
  7. ↩Job.3.20-Job.3.21 — Why is light given to one who toils, and life to the bitter of soul? Job.3.21 — Those who wait for death, and it does not come; they dig for it more than for hidden treasures.
  8. ↩Job.3.21 — Those who wait for death, and it does not come; they dig for it more than for hidden treasures.
  9. ↩Matt.25.1-Matt.25.13 — Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Matt.25.2 — Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. Matt.25.3 — For the foolish ones took their lamps, but took no oil with them. Matt.25.4 — but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps Matt.25.5 — While the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. Matt.25.6 — But at midnight a cry has gone out: 'Look! The bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' Matt.25.7 — Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. Matt.25.8 — The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' Matt.25.9 — But the prudent ones answered, saying, 'No — there will not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' Matt.25.10 — But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ready ones went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Matt.25.11 — Afterward the other virgins also come, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' Matt.25.12 — But he answered, 'Truly, I tell you, I do not know you.' Matt.25.13 — Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
  10. ↩Matt.25.6 — But at midnight a cry has gone out: 'Look! The bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
  11. ↩Matt.25.10 — But while they were going away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ready ones went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩uilescere facit ac despici: causative construction — memory/foresight causes both the growing worthless and the being despised; rendered as parallel infinitives under one causative verb.
  2. 2 ↩Quotation attributed to Ecclesiastes 11. The Vulgate Ecclesiastes 11:8 is close but not identical; the quoted form may reflect a liturgical or paraphrased tradition. Candidate scripture allusion — final resolution deferred.
  3. 3 ↩letus for laetus normalized silently; hiis for his normalized silently.
  4. 4 ↩Quotation attributed to Ecclesiasticus 7. Cf. Sirach 7:36 (Vulgate Ecclus. 7:40 in some numbering). Close match; final resolution deferred.
  5. 5 ↩Attributed quotation from Gregory (likely Gregory the Great). Not a biblical text; patristic allusion. Final source identification deferred.
  6. 6 ↩que for quae normalized silently.
  7. 7 ↩The quoted passage echoes Matthew 24:43 (Vulgate: 'Si sciret paterfamilias qua hora fur veniret, vigilaret utique'). Final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses check.
  8. 8 ↩The reference to Statius's Thebaid is a classical (not scriptural) citation. The specific line is not quoted here — it follows in the next section (Erud.1.41.14).
  9. 9 ↩The word 'una' may modify 'mors' ('one death') or function adverbially ('at once, together'). The translation follows the more natural reading that death, though singular, comes by countless means.
  10. 10 ↩The Latin plays on the paradox of delay and haste: 'morati' (having delayed) is set against 'properamus' (we hasten), with 'serius aut cicius' (later or sooner) underscoring that the destination is fixed regardless of pace. 'Sedem... imam' (the lowest seat) evokes the final, humbling end shared by all.
  11. 11 ↩Latin paret (from pareo/paro) is ambiguous between 'make ready' and 'prepare'; rendered as 'prepare' to cover both senses.
  12. 12 ↩The quotation is attributed to Seneca's De remediis fortuitorum, a medieval florilegium spuriously ascribed to Seneca.
  13. 13 ↩The attribution to Varro and the source are uncertain; this appears to be a medieval misattribution or paraphrase.
  14. 14 ↩The quotation loosely echoes Cicero, De senectute (Cato Maior), though the exact wording is a medieval paraphrase.
  15. 15 ↩Rendered 'rumphea bis acuta' as 'double-edged sword' (a common biblical image, e.g. Hebrews 4:12); the form 'rumphea' is uncertain in the manuscripts.
  16. 16 ↩The form 'genimina' is uncertain in the manuscripts; rendered as 'offspring' (matching the Vulgate's 'genimina' at Matthew 3:7).
  17. 17 ↩The Latin 'propelli honore et christo exosum esse' is compressed: the sense is being driven from the honor of blessed glory and being made hateful to Christ. The translation unpacks the two ablative/infinitive constructions for clarity.
  18. 18 ↩The Latin 'nos tamen aduersantem uidere' is rendered as 'turned against us' to capture the sense of Christ's face being set against the sinner. 'Nequaquam nos sustinentes aspicere' is rendered with an em-dash to preserve the parenthetical force.
  19. 19 ↩The homily reference is to Gregory's homily on the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13). The quotation is left open as the sentence is incomplete in the source.
  20. 20 ↩'Ecce sponsus venit' echoes Matthew 25:6 and the parable of the ten virgins. The sentence is incomplete in the source.
  21. 21 ↩This is a direct quotation of Matthew 25:10 from the parable of the ten virgins.

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