CVII. De poenitentia irae.

CVII. De poenitentia irae.

If they have kindled anger within themselves without any evil hatred, and they want to correct this, let them impose on themselves sackcloth and lashes or fasting according to the weight of their sins, and according to the measure they have received from the guide of their souls. Anger is the worst vice. Anger is indeed the worst vice; it is like the heart of the devil, and sometimes it hides itself in the lair of a serpent. It invades a person through the habit of its threats, where they lose their sense, and it flees from the blessing of Abraham, who obeyed all of God's commandments with a good heart. Therefore, many people have fallen away from that blessing. A person who is quick to anger destroys every virtuous seed and bites at everything that grows; he is like a stubborn fury and gnashes his teeth at every gift of God. This person imitates anger and disputes wherever he can, and not only in incest, but in every violation of God's law, he places his share. For anger is like a dragon that burns everything in its path; and it is a thief who steals everything he can and takes whatever he wants. For in anger, the wise person loses their mind in foolishness, and the patient person struggles with impatience, while the moderate person goes into excess. Anger is also that bitterness which spews forth goodness and sweetness from the law and the commandments of God; and he is a murderer who divides body and soul, nor allows them to exist together. It is also that hard and unbearable stone which tries to crush every good and all justice; therefore, its portion is in hell, because it longs to disturb the heavenly things. Therefore, when it overcomes a person, it leads him outside of himself and drives him into such madness that he thinks of neither earthly nor heavenly things, while it utterly crushes and dissipates him, who was made in the image of God, and accumulates for himself the greatest torments of wrongdoing. Therefore, let those who are guilty of any kind of homicide, as violators of justice, punish their bodies with dire torments for the grievous sins they have committed, so that they may rescue their souls from the penalties mentioned above. Repentance for murder out of rage. For whoever, in a fit of rage, casts out the soul of a man from his body, if he wishes to punish himself for this, so that he does not feel the aforementioned torments, should torment himself for a long time with strict fasts, and punish himself with whips, and avoid the brightness of light for some time, because he has defiled the air with spilled blood; and let him fulfill this with the judgment of his presiding teacher. Repentance for murder due to greed. But if someone, consumed by the fire of greed, separates the soul from the body of a person, and desires to escape the torments mentioned above, let him also engage in strict fasting with the most severe punishments for extended periods, avoiding the company of others, and let him take up a solitary life in the woods for some time, and let him do this with fairness and justice. Repentance for murder out of necessity. But if someone kills a person deliberately, thinking he is being forced into death by that person, and if he tries to escape the punishment for that crime through fasting or other means, according to what he considers to be the right judgment and the nature of his excess, he may find himself somewhat relieved from the burden of his guilt. Repentance for murder committed out of ignorance. But if someone who has unwittingly caused another's death abhors the aforementioned torments and wishes to be free from them, let him undertake fasts that are brief and alleviated, according to justice, for his own sake, since he did not stand firm against the sin he committed. However, if someone has sent a person to death through poison or in any other way without shedding blood, and wishes to escape the torments of that crime, they should endure strict fasting along with harsh beatings for a long time; and they should also afflict themselves with sackcloth, mixing their bed with ashes, avoiding the company of others, and lead a solitary life in the woods in the meantime.