De crimine repetundarum, qvx) tenerdur et prae
The Corruption of Justice
The author contrasts the legal requirements for judicial integrity with the pervasive greed and corruption found in contemporary magistrates.
They are judges who accept anything at all in connection with the matters that fall under their official duties. Consider Samuel, who teaches that there must be a constant sacrifice in the house of a judge, who shows himself to be a temple of God through the offering of justice and honorable works. But as vices grow, even among the clergy, examples of such restraint are rare today, even though the laws demand the highest restraint from all magistrates. In fact, anyone who has held ordinary power is required to pay back from his own resources—while still in the province—whatever he squandered under the old title of delegation, to the detriment of his own reputation and fortune, meaning his honor and dignity. The Julian law on extortion also holds accountable anyone who, while holding power, accepted money for judging or not judging, for deciding or not deciding, or for giving or not giving testimony—in short, for doing anything more or less than his office required. Nor can what is accepted be acquired by use until it returns to the power of the person from whom it came, or to his heir. This law also rescinds sales and leases made for more or less than their value, and those convicted are prohibited from giving public testimony, serving as judges, or acting as advocates. Although those convicted are punished extrajudicially today, they are generally sentenced to exile or even harsher penalties, depending on what they have admitted. But the penalty is also sought from the heirs. Look at the words of the law and pay attention to the indignation with which it pursues this crime: 'So that the punishment of one,' it says, 'may be a fear to many, we command that the leader who acted wickedly toward the province he had stripped be sent away under proper guard, so that he may be forced to pay back fourfold not only what he himself took—I do not mean just the domestic staff, but the minor officials and ministers—but also what he seized or stole from my provincials.' And likewise: 'Let all investigators and judges keep their hands off money and property, and let them not consider another's dispute to be their own plunder.' For a judge of private disputes who is also a merchant will be forced to suffer the loss established by law. And this: We also command and urge that if anyone—whether a distinguished official, a property owner, or even a tenant of any rank—has been harassed in any way by a judge of any order, or if anyone knows that a verdict was sold, or that a penalty was either reduced for a price or imposed through the vice of greed; if anyone, finally, can prove that a judge was corrupt for any reason, let that person come forward into the public eye, whether the judge is still in office or has already left it, and let them report the crime and prove the charge, and upon proving it, they will carry off both victory and glory. If only these things were even heard by our own people; for I hardly dare to hope that they might be kept. Whenever I look at them closely, I see harassers rather than judges, as if they were appointed for one purpose only: to plunder the province. But even the very laws and customs by which we live today are traps and snares of the malicious. Traps of words are set, and snares of syllables; woe to the simple person who doesn't know how to parse them! “I have done judgment and justice,” he says; “do not hand me over to those who slander me.” It is as if he were saying openly: Let those who pervert judgment and abandon justice be handed over to the slanderer who accuses the children of Adam before the face of the Lord day and night.
The Model of Samuel
Samuel is presented as the archetype of the incorruptible judge whose conscience and conduct are worthy of universal imitation.
It is written in the Book of Kings that Samuel said to all of Israel: "Look, I have listened to everything you've said to me, and I have appointed a king over you." And now the king walks before you; as for me, I have grown old and gray, and my sons are with you; I have lived among you from my youth until this day. Here I am. Speak about me before the Lord and before His anointed: whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey? Have I cheated anyone, or have I oppressed anyone? Have I taken a bribe from anyone's hand? I will despise it today and restore it to you. O modest spirit, O continent hand, O incorrupt judge, and a magnificent voice—admirable and worthy of imitation by all—that speaks thus from a pure conscience! Speak about me before the Lord and His anointed, who judge judges in heaven and on earth. Speak, I say, if I have taken anyone's ox or donkey. Certainly, he hadn't extorted villas and estates, or immense weights of gold or silver, or loads of precious furnishings—he who considered it a great matter for a judge to have accepted even an ox or a donkey offered to him. If I have slandered anyone, or if I have oppressed anyone. He who rejected all false accusations had harassed no one unjustly; nor did flesh or blood pervert his judgment, for he never oppressed anyone. For if anyone had fallen into his hands, it wasn't the judge who oppressed him, but his own iniquity. If I have accepted a gift from anyone's hand, I will despise it today and restore it to you. What, I ask, could have been said more clearly? To remove all suspicion of greed, he teaches that he had no awareness of any gift, and he was prepared to despise and restore it if anything at all could be demanded. For he preferred to restore it now rather than return it with interest later, and he judged it better to despise it today than to appear contemptible forever in the sight of God and all the elect because of it. But what did the listener answer to this protestation of his? Listen. And they said. He who was truly all of Israel; for he had directed his speech to everyone. You haven't slandered us, nor have you oppressed anyone, nor have you taken anything from anyone's hand. If any proconsul, governor, tribune, centurion, decurion, or any magistrate at all has earned such a testimony from the provincials, I ask that he come to our province to teach our own magistrates. As for the sheriffs and justices who—to use our common term—are rightly called 'wanderers,' nothing of the sort is heard, because they love gifts and chase after rewards; they don't free the poor from the powerful, they don't judge for the stranger or the orphan, and the widow's cause never reaches them. Furthermore, ecclesiastical judges don't follow Samuel; rather, as the people are, so is the priest. Wisdom complains in common: 'Those who held the law did not know me; the princes have become such, and I did not know them.'
The Failure of Ecclesiastical Leadership
The author critiques the venality of church officials, from archdeacons to legates, who exploit their offices for personal gain.
To make this clear to those of lower rank—deans or archdeacons—unless they are those (as our venerable Simon, a doctor in the law of the Lord, used to say) in whose hands are iniquities, and whose right hand is filled with bribes, ask the most fortunate King of the English, and the still most invincible Duke of the Normans and Aquitaine, what he thinks of those he has installed, and he will tell you, I suspect, that there is no evil in the clergy that these men don't commit. The name and office of bishops are venerable, if they were fulfilled with as much care as they are sometimes sought with ambition. They would be loved as fathers, feared as masters, and honored as saints if they spared people from exactions, cast out from their hearts whatever comes from corruption, and didn't mistake every profit for piety. Otherwise, they strip themselves of reverence and love while they chase honors, crave money, and either stir up their own corruption or foster that of others. And honestly, I don't know how those who claim at least two-thirds of the exactions and all the corrupt profit for themselves can escape the stigma and the penalty. For they either usurp the whole coin for themselves or, at most, hand over only a third to the archdeacons and other officials (not to mention the ministers of iniquity among the people). But not even the legates of the Apostolic See shake their hands clean of every bribe; they sometimes rage through the provinces as if Satan had gone out from the presence of the Lord to scourge the Church. They shake the corners of the house to cast down the sons and daughters of Him who healed the languors and sorrows of souls on the cross. They stir up and disturb the earth just so they can appear to have something that needs healing. However, this isn't said about everyone, but about those who, having scorned the Father's will, serve their own. It's clear that in every office of the Lord's house, some are left behind so that others may be taken on. I have seen deans, archdeacons, bishops, and legates working in the Lord's harvest with such diligence that, by the merit of their faith and virtue, the Father's vineyard could rightly be seen as having been prudently and usefully placed in their hands. But others behave as if Tisiphone or Megaera had been sent from the underworld to stir up crime in Thebes. They have approached the public offices of the Church almost entirely against the wishes of all the faithful. Among them, judgment is nothing but a public commodity, and the knight who sits in the case approves whatever is bought. They justify the wicked for bribes, exult in the worst matters, rejoice when evil is done, and barely hold back their tears when they see nothing to cry about. They feed on the sins of the people, clothe themselves in them, and revel in them in many ways; they show favoritism and act as hammers against the good—for they learned this from those who chose them. Wisdom says: The lion's hunting is... a wild donkey in the wilderness; so too, the poor are the pasture of the rich. And just as humility is an abomination to the proud, so the poor man is an execration to the rich. When a rich man is shaken, he'll be supported by his friends; but when a humble man falls, he's cast out even by his acquaintances. When a rich man is deceived, he has many to recover his losses; he spoke arrogantly, and they justified him. A humble man is deceived, and on top of that, he's rebuked; he spoke sensibly, and no place was given to him. A rich man has spoken, and all have kept silent, and they'll carry his word up to the clouds.
The Cry of the Poor and the Call to Integrity
The chapter concludes by highlighting the plight of the poor under corrupt judges and calling for a return to a life of spiritual integrity and true worship.
When a poor person speaks, people ask, "Who is this?" And if he makes a mistake, they tear him apart. These are the judgments of those who value the riches of justice over justice itself, and who think nothing is more important than having wealth—even though there is hardly anything more useless. None of them rejoice when they see Christ on earth; none of them want Him to walk among people; none of them sing out for the good works of their neighbors: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will." This, in fact, is the song of faithful leaders who walk with beautiful feet and are blessed because they carry peace—the peace that accompanies holiness, without which no one will see God. They also say, along with Wisdom, that wealth is good when there is no sin on the conscience, and that poverty is most wretched in the mouth of the wicked. They shout in the streets that the person is blessed who is found without a stain and who has not chased after gold. It is as if they were saying openly: whoever seeks gold in any public office finds a stain, without which it can neither be acquired nor exist in the hands of a greedy owner. Who has ever handled money for long without getting their hands dirty? Yet, their hands are certainly less stained by it than their soul. I don't want the thresholds of my superiors to grow cold, nor do I want these words to sound like a dog barking. I'm not setting myself up as a judge of the fathers who govern the world and are judged by no one on earth, and I'll say nothing about them unless it's full of faith, charity, and reverence. I will say, however, what is so true that no believer would dare to contradict it; I'll say what they themselves preach. I say this because a city set on a hill cannot be hidden, and things done in the sight of the nations cannot possibly escape public notice; indeed, every vice of the soul is a crime that appears all the more conspicuous the higher the status of the one who commits it. Salt that has lost its flavor is good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people, as it is a vile waste that isn't even useful for fertilizing the fields. The sun also illuminates the world more fully because it is in a high place. How much do people's works bear witness to them? Thus, Samuel was justified by the testimony of his works. But, so that the people wouldn't seem to be flattering him, or testifying out of fear or the deception of a false innocence and empty righteousness, he decided to bind the people with the religious obligation of an oath to profess the truth, saying: “The Lord is witness against you, and His Christ is witness this day, that you have found nothing in my hand.” And the people said: “He is witness,” as if they were making their faith, owed to God and their king, a hostage to a religious affirmation. As for what he might have received in terms of food and drink, Scripture says nothing about that. For it is written: “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life, and he went every year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he judged Israel in those places, and then returned to Ramah.” His house was there, and that is where he judged Israel. What else does the letter seem to imply, except that he traveled through the province by virtue of his office to fulfill his judicial duties and returned home to provide for his own needs? He even built an altar to the Lord there. Rightly so, because there ought to be a continual sacrifice in the house of the judge, which shows itself to be a temple of God through the cultivation of justice, the honesty of its morals, and the light of good works; where from now on, the blood of goats and calves is not sacrificed, nor does the ashes of a heifer sanctify the defiled for the cleansing of the flesh, but through the great high priest who has penetrated the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, there must be offered everywhere the composed justice and law of the soul, the holy recesses of the mind, and a heart uncorrupted by a generous honesty. For true worshipers worship the Father in this way: in spirit and in truth. Do you really think he accepted any bribes? Under this pretext, they act less like judges and more like hucksters of justice—men who want to cloak their own wickedness with a veneer of honesty, striving to disguise their iniquity while seeking profit from the cases whose burdens they supposedly share. And if they aren't allowed to take a profit, let there at least be compensation for their expenses and losses. Yet such men are rare. After all, who is ashamed to say, 'What will you give me to do you justice?' You wait in vain for justice to be shown for its own sake. Isn't that the same as saying, 'What are you willing to give me to deny myself, betray my office, and sell my Lord?'
Read the original Latin
sides et iudices, qui aliquid amnino accipiunt propter eas rea quae sibi sunt ex offi. cio faciendae: et de Samuele, qui docet iuge sacrificiv m esse debere in doTno iudicis, quue seipsam oblatione iustitiae et honorum operum exhibet templum Dei. Sed crebrescentibus uitiis etiam in clero sunt hodie continentiae tantae exempla rarissima, cum tamen de censura legum summa continentia magistratibus omnibus sit indicta, adeo quidem ut qui ordinariam gesserit, potestatem, quicquid ex uetere delegationis titulo profligauerit, cum dispendio pudoris atque fortujiae, id est honoris atque dignitatis, de propriis facultatibus intra prouinciam positus inferre cogatur. Lege quoque lulia repetimdarum tenetur qui, cum aliquam potestatem haberet, ob iudicandum uel non iudicandum, decemendum uel non decemendum, aut ob denuntiandum testimonium uel non denuntiandum pecuniam acceperit et in summa quo magis aut minus quid ex officio suo faceret. Nec usu capi potest quod accipitur, antequam redeat in potestatem eius a quo prof ectum est aut heredis. Venditiones quoque et locationes pluris minorisue factas lex ista rescindit, et ea dampnati testimonium publicum dicere aut iudices esse aut postulare prohibentur; et licet conuicti extra ordinem hodie puniantur, plerumque dampnantur exilio, uel etiam durius, prout admiserint. Sed et ab heredibus pena repetitur. Inspice uerba legis et quanta indignatione crimen hoc persequatur attende: Vt unius, inquit, pena metus possit esse multorum, ducem qui male egit ad prouinciam, quam nudauerat, cum custodia competenti ire praecipimus, ut non solum quod egit non dicam domesticus sed manipularius et minister accepit, uerum ut id quod ipse a prouincialibus meis rapuit aut sustulit, in quadruplum inuitus exoluat, Itemque: Omnes cognitores et iudices a pecuniis atque patrimoniis manus abstineant, neque alienum iurgium putent suam praedam.
Etenim priuatorum litium cognitor idemque mercator statutam legibus cogetur subire iacturam. Et illud: lubemus quoque et hortamur ut, si quis forte honoratorum decurionum possessorum postremo etiam colonorum a cuiuslibet ordinis iudice fuerit aliqua ratione concussus, si quis sciat uenalem de iure fuisse sententiam, si quis penam uel pretio remissam uel uitio cupiditatis ingestam; si quis postremo quacumque de causa improbum iudicem potuerit approbare, is uel administrante eo uel post administrationem depositam in publicum prodeat, deferat crimen, delatum approbet, cum probauerit et uictoriam reportaturus et gloriam. a Vtinam haec uel audiantur a nostris; nam ut seruentur optare uix audeo. Quos quotiens diligentius intueor, concussores mihi potius uideor uidere quam iudices, ac si ad hoc solum dati sint ut prouinciam spolient. Sed et leges ipsae et consuetudines, quibus nunc uiuitur, insidiae sunt et laquei calumpniantium. Verborum tendiculae proponuntur et aucupationes sillabarum; uae simplici qui sillabizare non nouit! Feci, inquit, iudicium et iustitiam; non tradas me calumpniantibus me. Ac si aperte dicat: Qui iudicium peruertunt et iustitiam deserunt, tradantur calumpniatori qui filios Adam ante conapectmn Domini accusat die ac nocte.
Legitur in libro Regnorum ad uniuersum Israel dixisse Samuelem: Ecce audiui uocem uestram iuxta omnia quae locuti estis ad me, et constitui losuper uos regem. Et nunc rex graditur ante uos; ego autem fienui et incanui; porro filii mei uobiscum sunt; ita conuersatus sum coram uobis ab adolescentia mea usque ad diem hanc. Ecce praesto sum. Loquimini de me coram Domino et coram Christo eius, utrum bouem cuiusquam tulerim an asinum, si quempiam calumpniatus sum, si oppressi aliquem, si de manu cuiusquam munus accepi; et contempnam illud hodie restituamque uobis. O pudicum animum, o continentem manum, o iudicem incorruptum, et uocem magnificam admirandam et imitandam uniuersis quae de conscientia pura sic loquitur! Loquimini de me coram Domino et Christo eius, qui in celo et in terra iudices iudicant. Loquimini, inquam, si bouem cuiusquam aut asinum tulerim. Vtique uillas et praedia aut immensa pondera auri uel argenti aut pretiosae suppellectilis onera non extorserat qui magni reputabat iudicem bouem oblatum accepisse uel asinum.
Si quempiam calumpniatus sum, si oppressi aliquem. Neminem iniuste uexauerat qui omnes calumpnias excludebat; nec iudicium eius peruertebat caro uel sanguis qui nullum umquam oppressit. Si enim in manus eius quisquam inciderat, non eum iudex sed propria iniquitas opprimebat. Si de manu cuiusquam munus accepi, contempnam illud hodie restituamque uobis. Quid quaeso expressius dici poterat? Vt in summa omnem auaritiae suspicionem tollat, nullius muneris conscientiam se docet habuisse paratus contempnere et restituere, si quid omnino exigi posset. Malebat enim illud restituere in praesenti quam cum usuris reddere in futuro, et contempnere illud hodie satius iudicabat quam in conspectu Dei et omnium electorum ex ea causa in euum contemptibilis apparere. Sed quid ad hanc contestationem eius respondit auditor?
Audi. Et dixerunt. Qui Vtique totus Israel; nam ad omnes sermonem direxerat. Non es calumpniatus nos neque oppressisti neque tulisti de manu alicuius quippiam. Si quis proconsulum praesidumue aut tribunus aut centurio decurioue aut omnino aliquis magistratus tale testimonium a prouincialibus a meruit, ad prouinciam nostram quaeso accedat ut nostros doceat magistratus. Nam de uicecomitibus et iustitiis quae, ut uulgari nostro utar, recte dicuntur errantes, nichil tale auditur, eo quod diligunt munera et sequuntur retributiones, nec liberant pauperem a potente, aduenae et pupillo non iudicant, et causa uiduae non ingreditur ad eos. Porro nec iudices ecclesiastici sequuntur Samuelem, sed sicut populus, sic et sacerdos. In commune conqueritur Sapientia: Tenentes legem nescierunt me; principes facti sunt et ego ignoraui.
Quod ut ab humilioribus liqueat, qui decani sunt uel archidiaconi, nisi illi (ut Symon noster uenerabilis doctor in lege Domini dicere consueuerat) in quorum manibus iniquitates sunt, dextera eorum repleta est muneribus Felicissimum regem Anglorum, et Normannorum et Aquitaniae adhue inuietissimum ducem interroga quid etiam de his sentiat quos intrudit, et dicet, ut opinor, quia non est malum in clero quod isti non faciant. Episcoporum nomen et officium uenerabile est, si tanta impleretur soUicitudine quanta interdum petitur ambitione. Et diligerentur ut patres, timerentur ut domini, colerentur ut sancti, si exactionibus parcerent et proicerent ex animo quicquid prouenit ex calumpnia et omnem quaestum minime crederent pietatem. Ceterum sibi reuerentiam subtrahunt et amorem, dum honores ambiunt, pecuniam cupiunt, et uel suas faciunt uel alienas calumpnias fouent. Et quidem nescio quomodo notam et penam omnem euadant qui exactionem et totius calumpniosi quaestus sibi ad minus bessem uendicant. Nam aut solidum assem usurpant sibi aut, ut multum, trientem dumtaxat archidiaconis et aliis officialibus (ne dicam cum populo ministris iniquitatis) eedunt. Sed nec legati Sedis apostolicae manus suas excutiunt ab omni munere, qui interdum in prouinciis ita debaccantur ac si ad Ecclesiam flagellandam egressus sit Sathan a facie Domini. Concutiunt angulos domus ut prosternant filios et filias eius qui languores et dolores animarum curauit in cruce.
Commouent et conturbant terram ut uideantur habere quod sanari oporteat. Hic tamen non de omnibus sermo est, sed de his qui Patris uoluntate contempta seruiunt suae. Constat enim quia in omni officio domus Domini sic relinquuntur quidam ut alii assumantur. Vidi ego ipse in omnibus his decanos scilicet archidiaconos episcopos et legatos tanta soUicitudine operari in messe Domini ut merito fidei et uirtutis recte uideri posset uineam Patris in manu eorum prudenter et utiliter collocatam. At alii sic uersantur ac si ad Thebas in facinus excitandas mittatur ab inferis Thesiphone uel Megera. Nam fere sic ab aula contra omnium uota fidelium ad Ecclesiae publica officia accessenmt. Apud hos iudicium nichil est nisi publica merces, atque eques, in causa qui sedet, empta probat. lustificant impium pro muneribus, exultant in rebus pessimis, letantur cum mala fiunt, uixque tenent lacrimas cum nil lacrimabile cemunt.
Siquidem peccata populi comedunt et uestiuntur eis et a in eis multipliciter luxuriantur, acceptores personarum et quasi quidam bonorum mallei; hoc enim didicenmt ab eis a quibus electi sunt. Ait Sapientia: Venatio leonis i. onager in heremo, sic et pascua sunt diuitum pauperes. Et sicut abominatio est superbo humilitas, sic execratio est diuitis pauper. Diues commotus confirmabitur ab amicis; humilis autem, cum ceciderit, expellitur et a notis. Diuiti decepto multi recuperatores; locutus est superbe, et iustificauerunt illimi. Humilis deceptus est, insuper et arguitur; locutus est sensate, et non est ei datus locus. Diues locutus est, et omnes tacuerunt et uerbum illius usque ad nubes perducent.
Pauper locutus est, et dicunt: Quis est hic? et, si offenderit, subuertunt illum. Et haec quidem sunt iudicia eorum qui iustitiae diuitias praeferunt et nichil potius ducunt quam habere diuitias, quo tamen uix aHquid inutilius est. Nullus istorum exultat cum Christum uidet in terris, nullus eorum est qui uelit eum cum hominibus conuersari, nullus qui ad bona opera proximorum decantet: Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae uoluntatis. Hoc siquidem canticum est fidelium praelatorum qui speciosis incedunt pedibus et ex eo beatis quod pacem portant et pacem sanctimoniae sociam sine qua nemo uidebit Deum. Dicunt et hi cum Sapientia quia bona est substantia cui non est peccatum in conscientia, et nequissima paupertas in ore impii. Clamitant in plateis quia beatus uir qui inuentus est sine macula et qui post aurum non abiit. Ac si aperte dicant: Quisquis in munere cuiuslibet magistratus aurum quaerit, maculam inuenit, sine qua nec adquiri nec esse potest apud auidum possessorem.
Quis umquam pecuniam sine sordidatione manuum tractauit diutius? Ex ea tamen certe minus manus sordet quam aniraus. Nolo mihi maiorum frigescant limina aut de nare canina sonare hic littera uideatur; non pono os meum in celum ut de patribus, qui orbem iudicant et a nullo iudicantur in terris, aliquid dicam nisi plenum fide caritate et reuerentia, Dicam tamen quod uerum est adeo ut ei nemo fidelium audeat refragari; dicam quod ipsi praedicant. Dicam, inquam, quia non potest ciuitas abscondi supra montem posita et nequaquam latere possunt notitiam publicam quae in conspectu gentium fiunt; siquidem omne animi uitium tanto conspectius in se crimen habet, quanto maior qui peccat habetur. Sal quoque infatuatum ad nichilum ualet ultra, nisi ut proiciatur foras et conculcetur ab hominibus, utpote uilis abiectio quae nec ad stercorationem agrorum prodest. Sol quoque orbem iUustrat plenius, quia in eminenti est. Quid multal Opera singulorum testimonium perhibent de eis. Sic Samuel operum testimonio iustificatus est.
Sed, ne uideretur populus ei blandiri et quasi ex timore a uel fallacia falsae innocentiae et inanis iustitiae testimonium perhibere, populum religione iuramenti ad professionem ueri artandum censuit dicens: Testis est Dominus aduersus uos et testis Christus eius in die hac quia non inueneritis in manu mea quippiam. Et dixit populus: Testis; ac si fidem Deo et regi suo debitam religiosae aflEirmationis obsidem faciant. Quod autem esculentum et poculentum acceperit, de scriptura cei-tum non habeo. Sic enim scriptum est: ludicabat quoque Samuel Israel cunctis diebus uitae suae, et ibat per singulos annos circumiens Bethel et Galgala et Masphat, et iudicabat Israelem in supradictis locis, reuertebaturque in Ramatha. Ibi enim erat domus eius et ibi iudicabat Israel. Quid aHud uidetur sonare littera, nisi quod prouinciam ex officio circuibat ad expletionem iudicii et reuertebatur domum ut de proprio satisfaceret necessitati Edificauit etiam ibi altare Domino. Recte quidem, eo quod iuge sacrificium esse oporteat in domo iudicis quae cultu iustitiae et morum honestate et luce bonorum operum seipsam exhibet templum Dei; ubi amodo non immolatur sanguis hircorum et uitulorum nec cinis uitulae inquinatos sanctificat ad emundationem camis, sed per pontificem magnum qui penetrauit celos, lesum Filium Dei, ubique locorum offerri debet compositum ius fasque animi, sanctique recessus mentis, et incoctum generoso pectus honesto. Veri siquidem adoratores sic adorant Patrem in spiritu et ueritate.
Anne eum credis accepisse aliquid nomine sportularum? Hoc enim praetextu non tam iudices quam iudiciorum caupones, qui nequitiam suam honesta uolunt palliare Kcentia, iniquitatem suam colorare nituntur, quaerentes scilicet ahqua emolumenta negotiorum, quorum pro parte onera portant. Aut si emolumentum esse non licet, sit saltem compensatio sumptuum et dampnorum. Hi tamen rari sunt. Quis enim erubescit dicere: Quid michi dabis ut tibi iustitiam faciam? Nam ut pro seipsa exhibeatur, frustra expectas. Nonne simile est ac si dicatur: Quid michi uultis dare ut me ipsum abnegem, officium dprodam, et dominum uendam?
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