LXI. Verba Evangelii.

LXI. Verba Evangelii.

I am a stern man, taking away what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow. This must also be understood in this way. I, who judge all things, am just, sincere, and also merciful in my judgments, because I examine all sins according to their qualities; where I compassionately assist the penitent, but for the unrepentant, I propose my judgment, removing injustice that I did not establish, and reaping evil that I did not allow to grow; for what is unjust I did not set, and what is evil I did not sow, but I condemn these through true judgments, just as a fish is caught against its will by a hook. For I crush everything that is evil, and I bind its throat so that it cannot stand; and in this way, I do not plant where I do not sow, and I reap what I have not sown, just as I have taken what I wanted from hell when I stripped it bare; and just as I cut off the wickedness of the impious, when I turn them away from their own impiety. These things have been said about the souls of the penitent, to be purified and saved; they are faithful, and let the faithful pay attention to them, and let them be composed in memory of good knowledge. And behold, I saw other spirits of the same multitude, whom I also heard crying out: "What is it that that God wants to be, whom we abhor?" And these people draw others into the sadness of the world; and so that they may wither in sadness, they persuade them that they even grieve to live.