Capitulum IX
The Complaint of the Suffering Servant
The disciple laments the apparent prosperity of the wicked and the persistent trials faced by the righteous.
You are indeed just if I argue with you; yet I will speak rightly to you: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? It goes well for all who act deceitfully and unjustly. You planted them, and they took root; they prosper and bear fruit. This subject, often aired and frequently discussed, would not need to be revisited; but the repeated trials of tribulation and adversity demand a complaint against you, O Ruler of the world. Am I speaking to people with a vain spirit of ostentation? God knows. Or is my argument against a man, or to a man, not more so because of the cooling of the ardor of a contrite and humbled heart, and because I have been afflicted by passions and miseries from my youth until this day? But who among them hasn't suffered similar or greater pains, just like you, who learned compassion from what you endured? For just as a blind man born without sight imperfectly reasons about colors he has never seen, so too does one who has not faced adversity judge tribulations with less understanding. But how could those who live securely and peacefully in their homes believe, when there is no rod of God over them; those who lead good days, delicately nurtured, raised in comforts, robust and healthy, honored in dignities, elevated in ranks, well-connected, whose insides are full of fat, and whose bones are well-nourished? Temporal honor is taken from them; the glory of the world is frustrated; they are made despicable to many; they are filled with reproaches; they are turned into a proverb and an example, and they have become the worst of all. How well he spoke who, sensing these very things, said: 'The righteous are those to whom many good things come, as if they had done the works of the wicked; and the wicked are those who seem so secure as if they possessed the deeds of the righteous.' Your love seems to be like a flying scroll, which, when tasted in the mouth, is sweet like honey, but when consumed, it makes the belly bitter because of the labor that accompanies your love. The elements and childish things of your love are tribulations and misery. The first passage to approach you, the first page for those who read you, the first gift and delight for those who seek you is this: My child, as you approach the service of God, stand in awe, and prepare your soul for temptation. He speaks well about temptation. Indeed, regarding misery and tribulation, so that you may be in conflict and struggle every day of your life, and that fortune may rarely or never smile upon you. I'm not speaking of everyone. You know, Lord, whom you have chosen for this most strenuous work. If they rejoice in health and strength or in chosen wealth, they are often beaten down and begin to fail, and they are forced to languish, oppressed either by exquisite punishments or by the gravest infirmities. If they have gold or silver, thieves come and steal, or what is more difficult, you take away their affection from them. If they have possessions of fields and vineyards or olive groves, when the favorable breeze has smiled upon others, hail or frost consumes these. The locust eats what remains of the grass, the bruchus eats what the locust left behind, and rust consumes what the bruchus left. Lord, you will give to them. What will you give to them? Hard bread and meager water. This is the royal food that follows your servants. If the sea passes, the wind opposes. If he intends to go through the land, if for many days the sky has granted serenity to the earth, behold, when this miserable lover comes to the light and prepares himself for the way, clouds gather, the earth is drenched with shadows, and either rain or excessive heat or even extreme cold afflicts that servant of yours. It is a wonderful and astonishing thing. Now the mice do not allow it to rest in secret. Now, when the kites take to the sky and come out into the light, or even when the cawing crows seem to mock him, it displeases him whether they stay quiet or laugh. But if anyone rises up against him—even when he is silent and harms no one by word or deed—everyone rushes to slander him, sharpening their tongues just like rabid dogs chasing a helpless rabbit and tearing it apart. But I will speak about these things by your grace. Look, they say: 'God loves those who hate Him, and hates those who love Him.' He gives good things to the wicked, and evil things to the good. And what is more, You, too, as a just judge, show favor to the opposing side, so that You remain completely silent, as if You do not care about the downfall of Your servants. The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart. And because the wicked prevail against the just, judgment now goes forth like a perverse decree. Isn't it true that the beloved prophet of the Lord, who said, 'Why do you not look upon those who act unjustly and remain silent while the wicked devours the righteous?', was troubled in spirit? Look, he does well, yet he receives curses. He serves you as best he can, yet the envious despise his life. He is weighed down by the mockery of those who transgress the law. I endure a thousand punishments from myself. And what is even greater is that, behold, Satan departs from your presence and lies in wait for him in everything he turns to. O guardian of men, O immense mercy of God, how will you be able to sustain these many evils among your chosen ones? Or how do you see these things and others like them, and not offer help? Therefore, I will now speak with you in the bitterness of my soul during this tribulation. For you alone consider labor and pain, and you stand because these words have come forth from the fullness of the bitterness of my soul, which are filled with such groans, but also tears flowing down occupy the pen of the writer.
Wisdom's Call to Spiritual Warfare
Wisdom rebukes the disciple's fragility and explains that trials are necessary for the testing and strengthening of the soul.
Wisdom: You're a delicate soldier who only fears adversity. Yet you haven't even fought to the point of shedding blood, nor have you battled to the death in the arena. Aren't you a man? You're as bold as a rhinoceros in times of prosperity, but as fragile as a spider's web in times of adversity. The undefeated warrior wants to train himself and to put tribulation and misery to the test. Isn't he right to boast who said, 'I will gladly boast in my weaknesses'? For unless the battle has been fought, there can be no victory. A leader is tested in a storm; a soldier is proven in battle. A delicate effort is only possible when there is no danger. Conflict in adversity is a test of truth. DISCIPLE: Am I the only one making this complaint against you? Look, how many have similarly been oppressed by tribulations, who also agree with me in this, so that even if I cannot overcome you by reason, I will convince you with a multitude of witnesses. Wouldn't it be easier to be punished for one hour than to be mortified every day because of you? Don't you oppose me or reply that perhaps we suffer these evils because we have sinned against you and have not obeyed your commandments? Are we the only sinners? Is there abundance for sinners, but for your children, only abandonment? Yet the righteous are oppressed, while the wicked flourish in the world. WISDOM: Just as the Father has loved me, so I love my own. A disciple isn't above his teacher. If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you. But nothing new has happened to you that should cause you sorrow. It's our custom to test the chosen ones, especially those with strong and virtuous hearts, through temptations. Why then, as if something unusual has happened to you, do you multiply words and exaggerate your complaints, wrapping them in the language of unskilled speakers? Consider who among the chosen ones has passed through this world without being tested.
The Burden of Pastoral Care
The disciple expresses deep sorrow over the loss of those he sought to lead, who abandoned the faith when trials arose.
Job said, 'You have heard of my suffering, and you have seen my end.' The disciple replied, 'If I may speak now, I have what I want.' Look, this is what I lament, this is what I weep for, and for this I groan and sigh deeply. Listen, I ask you, my servant. Look, they say: 'There is no salvation for him in his God.' Those who serve God are vain. And why is that? The respondent said this is because of the constant tribulation of the righteous. They also add that this is why you have so few friends, because you usually play such games with them. Alas, I am wretched and miserable. This is what has caused me to weep bitterly, both now and many times before, with the most painful tears; it has brought me sorrow upon sorrow, a spiritual loss, and the frustration of my labor, for I have worked in vain for the salvation of my neighbors. For when I had drawn many with great labor to conversion and the fruits of a better life, and had borne them with pain, carrying them sweetly on my shoulders, and holding the milk of consolation tenderly under my arms, and giving my whole self in service to them, I would have endured many adversities, when your accustomed days of temptations and trials had come upon them, so that they might be led through water and fire into refreshment: yet some turned back after Satan, saying, "This is a hard saying; who can bear it?" And as the common proverb says: It is difficult to be good for long.
Transcending the Valley of Misery
Wisdom invites the disciple to look beyond temporal distractions toward the eternal, viewing the world as a place of necessary exile.
And so, the wretched, abandoning you for their own ruin and my misery, have again entangled themselves in harmful things. Wisdom: This question often stirs the hearts of those with little faith or knowledge. They believe that the merits of the saints, which go unrewarded in this life, are stored up for the future, thinking they will be restored within the brevity of this temporal life. They fail to realize that the judgments of God are unfathomable and that the depths of divine wisdom and knowledge are beyond human understanding. For man sees only what is present, but God knows the future and the eternal. But you, established differently in our spiritual philosophy, should rise up and transcend visible things with your mind; for what is seen is temporary, but what is not seen is eternal. Therefore, rise up from the slimy obscenity of temporal distractions. Open your mental eyes and see what you are, where you are, and where you should go; then you will surely be able to possess the root of all these things. You are truly a mirror of divinity, for God shines through you more than in other creatures; you are an image of the Trinity, because His image shines in you; and you are an exemplar of eternity, for you rejoice in an incorruption that cannot be violated. And just as I am infinite in my essence, so your soul's desire is like an endless abyss, for which all the joys of the world together would not suffice, just as a single drop could not fill the ocean with its smallness. Then you must consider where you are: you are in a valley of misery, in exile, on a pilgrimage, where good things are mixed with constant evils that revolve in a dizzying cycle. Here, laughter is mixed with pain, and the extremes of joy are occupied by sorrow. This world indeed deceives its lovers from the beginning, promising them prosperity while returning adversity: and it does not cease to do the same now. But for a fuller release from all these disturbances, we must withdraw a little, and return more broadly to the principles of faith. On the torments of hell.
Read the original Latin
Justus quidem tu es, si disputem tecum; verumptamen iusta loquar ad te: Quare via inpiorum prosperatur? Bene est omnibus qui prevaricantur et inique agunt. Plantasti eos et radicem miserunt, proficiunt et faciunt fructum. , Materiam multipharie ventilatam et frequenter discussam ac reversatam opus non esset resumere; sed refricacio tribulacionum, adversitatum iteratio replicationem querulosam quoque adversum te rector orbis exposcit. Numquid enim vano ostentationis spiritu hominibus swadeo? Deus scit. Aut numquid contra hominem disputatio mea aut ad hominem, et non magis propter refrigerationem ardoris cordis contriti et humiliati, et a pueritia usque ad hanc diem passionibus et miseriis vexati?
Aut quis non similia vel maiora passus conpati sciret, sicut tu qui ex hiis que passus es conpassionem didicisti? Sicut enim cecus natus de non visis coloribus inperfecte silogizat: sic qui non est passus adversa, tamquam inexpertus minus perfecte de tribulacionibus iudicat. Aut quomodo possent credere hii quorum domus secure sunt et pacate, et non est virga dei super eos; qui ducunt in bonis dies suos, delicate nutriti, in solaciis educati, robusti sani felices, dignitatibus honorati, gradibus sublevati, bene parentati, quorum viscera plena sunt adipe, et med ullis ossa rigantur: hiis qui habent menses vacuos et noctes laboriosas: Qui nocte et die replentur doloribus, et iugiter in amaritudine anime sunt: Quibus foris pugne, intus timores: Quos nec sinis ad ictum oculi quiescere, cum et nox humane deputata quieti in inquietudinem eis propter timores nocturnos convertatur? Honor temporalis ab eis tollitur; gloria mundi frustrantur; despicabiles inter multos redduntur; obprobriis saturantur; traduntur in proverbium et in exemplum, fiuntque omnium perypsima usque adhuc. 0 quam bene sapiebat qui hec eadem senciens dicebat: Sunt iusti quibus multa proveniunt quasi opera egerint inpiorum; et sunt inpii qui ita securi sunt quasi iustorum facta habeant. Amor tuus videtur esse sicut volumen volans, quod gustatum quidem in ore est sicut mei dulce, comestum autem amaricari facit ventrem propter laborem amorem tuum concomitantem.
Elementa ac puerilia amoris tui sunt tribulaciones ac miserie. Primus namque passus accedendum ad te, prima pagina te legentium, primum exenium ac iocale te diligentium est istud: Fili accedens ad servitutem dei, sta in timore, et prepara animam tuam ad temptationem. Bene dicit ad temptationem. Vere ad miseriam et tribulationem, ita ut cunctis diebus milicie tue sis in conflictu et certamine, et ut fortuna tibi raro aut numquam optata arrideat. Non de omnibus loquor. Tu scis domine quos ad hoc opus tam strennuum elegeris.
Si sanitate ac robore aut eleganda Googlc gaudent Corporali, multipliciter flagellati continuo incipiunt deficere, et vel exquisitis castigacionibus vel gravissimis infirmitatibus oppressi langwescere coguntur. Si aurum eis est vel argentum, fures veniunt et furantur, vel quod difficilius est, affectum eius ab ipsis rescindis. Si possessiones agrorum et vineta aut olyveta eis sunt, cum aliis prospera arriserit aura, hec grando vel pruina consumit. Residuum eruce comedit locusta, et residuum locuste comedit brucus, et residuum bruci comedit rubigo. Domine dabis eis. Quid dabis eis?
Panem artum et aquam brevem. Hic est cibus ille regius qui sequitur servos tuos. Si transit maria, ventus contrariatur. Si per terram ire disponit, si multis diebus celum terre serenitatem concesserat, ecce cum hic tuus ut sic loquar miser amator ad lucem venerit et ad viam se paraverit, conglomerantur nubes, terra ymbribus perfunditur, et vel pluvia vel estu nimio aut eciam gelu intemperato servus ille tuus affligitur. Mira res pariter et stupenda. Nunc mures in occulto ipsum non sinunt quiescere.
Nunc milvi in celo cum ad lucem prodierit, aut eciam corvi crocitantes in ipsum quasi subsannatorie inpingunt; et sive taceat sive rideat, displicet. Quod si quis contra eum eciam tacentem et nullum verbo aut facto ledentem se erexerit, omnes concurrunt ad maledicendum, lingwas acuunt, et velud rabidi canes lepusculum plebem invalidam et se omnibus substernentem insecuntur, lacerant ac discerpunt. Sed ut edam hec de tua gracia inferam. Ecce ipsi dicunt: Diligit deus odientes se, et odio habet diligentes se. Jllis bona, istis mala largitur. Et quod hiis maius est, tu quoque iudex iustus partem adversam sic te fovere ostendis vel similas, ut omnino taceas, quasi tibi non sit cure de tuorum subversione servorum.
Sic perit iustus, et non est qui recogitet. Et quia inpius prevalet adversus histum, propterea egreditur nunc sicut olym iudicium perversum. Nonne et hoc quasi ippatienti animo conquerebatur ille amabilis et re et nominis interpretatione propheta domini qui dicebat: Quare non respicis super iniqua agentes, et taces devorante inpio iustiorem se? Ecce bene agit, et maledicta recipit. Tibi pro posse servit, et vitam eius invidus despicit. Derisionibus a legis transgressoribus urgetur.
Porto a seipso mille castigationibus tribulatur. Et quod hiis adhuc maius est, ecce sathan a facie tua egreditur, et ei in omnibus ad que se verterit insidiatur. 0 custos hominum, 0 inmensa dei pietas, quomodo hec multiformia mala in tuis electis sustinere poteris? Aut quomodo hec et similia vides, et non adiuvas? Qua propter et ego nunc in tribulatione spiritus mei confabulabor tecum in amaritudine anime mee. Tu enim solus laborem et dolorem consideras, et stis quoniam non ex animi levitate sed ex plenitudine amaritudinis anime mee verba hec dolore plena processerunt, que gemitibus tantis intercipiuntur, sed et lacrime decurrentes preoccupant stilum scribentis.
SAPIENCIA: Delicatus miles es qui adversa tantum formidas. Sed necdum quidem usque ad sangwinem restitisti, nec in valle pugilum usque ad mortem decertasti. Nonne vir tu es? Sed prochpudor velud rinoceron audacissimus es tu tempore prosperitatis, sed tela aranearum fragilior adversitatis tempore. Bellator invictus, ad exercendum se et probandum tribulationem et miseriam invenire desiderat. An non bene gloriabatur qui dicebat: Libenter gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis?
Nam nisi precesserit pugna, non potest esse victoria. Gubernator in tempestate dmoscitur; in acie miles probatur. Delicata iactacio est cum periculum non est. Conflictio in adversis probatio est veritatis. DISCIPULUS: Numquid ego solus hanc contra te moveo querimoniam? Ecce quam innumeri tribulationibus similiter oppressi, qui michi quoque in hoc consendunt, ita ut et si te racione superare non valeo, copiosa multitudine testium convincam.
Nonne facilius esset una hora capite puniri, quam cunctis diebus propter te mortificari? Nec michi opponas aut respondeas, quod forsitan hec mala ideo patimur, quia peccavimus tibi et mandatis tuis non obedivimus. Numquid enim nos soli peccatores? Nonne peccatoribus habundancia est, filiis autem tuis desercio? Atque iusti premuntur, et inpii florent in mundo. SAPIENCIA: Sicut dilexit me pater, et ego diligo meos.
Non est disdpulus super magistrum. Si mundus vos odit, scitote quia me priorem vobis odio habuit. Sed et nichil novi tibi accidit, quod materia debeat esse tristiciarum. Conswetudinis nostre est, electos quosque maximeque viriles animos virtute robustos temptadonibus probare. Cur igitur, quasi insolitum aliquid tibi acciderit, verba multiplicas, et querimonias tam ardenter exaggeras, involvens sentencias sermonibus inperitis? Respice quis inter electorum numerum, horum videlicet qui singulariter deo placuerunt, in hoc mundo transiverit sine probadone.
Sufferendam inquit Job audistis, et finem do mini vidistis. DISCIPULUS: Nunc si dicere licet, habeo quod volo. Ecce hoc est quod defleo, hoc est quod ploro, et propter quod ex intimis ingemisco et suspiro. Audi queso servum tuum. Ecce ipsi dicunt: Non est salus illi in deo eius. Vani sunt qui serviunt deo.
Et quare? Respondent quod propter causam hanc prefatam, videlicet iustorum tribulationem continuam: Subiungentes nichilominus, quod pro tanto tam paucos habeas amicos, eo quod cum eis huiuscemodi ludo ludere soleas. Heu me flebilem et infelicem. Hoc est quod me prochdolor et nunc et pridem multociens amarissimis lacrimis flere conpulit, et tristitiam michi super tristitiam adduxit, dampnum videlicet spirituale, et frustratio laboris mei, quo frustra erga proximorum salutem desudavi. Cum enim plerosque cum maximo labore ad conversionem ac frugem melioris vite traxissem, et ipsos cum dolore parturiendo, ac dulciter in humeris portando, et lac consolacionis eisdem teneris sub annis prehendo, atque meipsum totum in obsequium ipsis tribuendo, multa adversa valde sustinuissem, cum dies tui consweti temptacionum scilicet et probacionum eis supervenissent, ut per aquam et ignem transeuntes educerentur in refrigerium: non nulli retrorsum abierunt post sathanan dicentes: Durus est hic sermo, et quis poterit eum sustinere? Et illud quod iuxta vulgare proverbium dicitur: Difficile est diu esse bonum.
Et sic te miseri in dampnum suum et in miseriam meam derelinquentes, rursum se noxiis inplicarunt. SAPIENCIA: Hec questio illorum solet animos permovere, qui parum fidei vel sciencie possidentes, merita sanctorum que non in presenti redduntur sed reposita sunt in foturum, arbitrantur in huius temporalis vite brevitate restitui: Nescientes iudicia dei investigabilia et profundum dividarum sapiende et sciende dei, et quod non ita videat deus ut homo. Homo enim tantum presencia respicit, deus autem fotura et eterna cognosdt. Tu autem in nostra spirituali phylosophya aliter institutus consurge, eunda visibilia mente supergrediendo; que enim videntur temporalia sunt, que autem non videntur eterna sunt. Surge igitur de viscosa obscenitate temporalium deledacionum. Aperi oculos mentales, et vide quid sis, ubi sis, et quo tendas; tunc profecto horum omnium radonem habere valebis.
Tu namque es speculum divinitatis, eo quod in te principalius quam in ceteris creaturis deus reluceat; ymago trinitatis, eo quod eius ymago in te resplendeat; exemplar etemitatis, eo quod inviolabili incorrupcione gaudeas. Et sicut ego in essenda mea sum infinitus, sic desiderium anime tue est velud interminabilis abyssus, ad cuius replecionem omnia simul gaudia mundi non sufficerent, sicut nec unica gutta occeanum sua exiguitate replere posset. Deinde advertere debes ubi sis: quia in valle miserie, in exilio, in peregrinadone, ubi bona premixta malis continua vertigine revolvuntur. Risus hic dolore miscetur, et extrema gaudii luctus occupat. Hic nempe mundus suos ab inido fefellit amatores, dum eis prospera promisit et adversa retribuit: quod et similiter nunc quoque facere non desistit. Sed ad pleniorem omnium premissorum perturbationum amotionem paululum nobis secedendum est, et ad fidei principia latius recurrendum.
De cruciatibus infernalibus.
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