Verba Dei ad sponsam, qualiter religiosi antiquitus in monasteria timore et diuina caritate ingrediebantur; et nunc quod inimici Dei, id est falsi religiosi, exeunt in mundum pro superbia et iniqua cupiditate et cetera; et sic de militibus in sua milicia.
The Departure from Holy Devotion
God contrasts the humble, love-filled origins of monastic life with the modern corruption of pride and greed, while distinguishing those who serve out of true divine charity.
Listen to what my enemies are doing now, compared to what my friends once did. After all, my friends used to enter monasteries out of a discerning fear and divine love.1 But those in monasteries now go out into the world out of pride and greed, holding onto their own will and indulging their physical pleasures. It’s only fair, then, that those who die with such a will should neither feel nor obtain heavenly joy, but instead face endless punishment in hell. Know also that those in religious life who are compelled by divine charity to become prelates against their own will are not to be counted in that same number.
The Corruption of Chivalry
The text shifts to address the decline of soldiers who once fought for justice, warning that those who choose worldly pride over divine commands will face eternal judgment.
Soldiers, too, who once bore arms were ready to give their lives for justice and to shed their blood for the sake of the holy faith, helping the needy toward justice and forcing the wicked to be brought low and humbled. But now, listen to how they’ve turned away. In fact, they’d rather die in battle for the sake of pride, greed, and envy—following the devil’s suggestions—than live by my commands to gain eternal joy. Therefore, everyone who dies with such a will shall receive their wages according to the judgment of justice. This means that the devil’s wages will be given to their souls in their eternal union with him. But those who serve me are destined to have their reward with the heavenly host forever.
Read the original Latin
"Audi nunc, quid inimici mei faciunt contra ea, que amici mei olim fecerunt. Denique amici mei ingrediebantur monasteria ex discreto timore et diuina caritate.
Sed hii qui nunc sunt in monasteriis vadunt in mundum pro superbia et cupiditate habentes propriam voluntatem facientesque corporis sui delectamenta.
Istorum ergo, qui in tali voluntate moriuntur, iusticia est, quod non senciant nec obtineant celeste gaudium sed penam in inferno sine fine. Scito eciam, quod claustrales qui coguntur contra velle proprium ex diuina caritate fieri prelati non sunt in eodem numero computandi.
Milites quoque, qui olim portabant arma, erant parati dare vitam pro iusticia et fundere sanguinem propter fidem sanctam, indigentes promouendo ad iusticiam, malosque faciebant deprimere et humiliare.
Sed nunc audi, quomodo auersi sunt. Placet quippe nunc eis magis mori in bello pro superbia et cupiditate et inuidia, iuxta dyabolicas suggestiones, quam secundum mandata mea viuere ad obtinendum gaudium sempiternum.
Ergo omnes, qui in tali voluntate moriuntur, dabitur eis stipendium ex iudicio iusticie. Hoc est, quod dabuntur Dyaboli animabus eorum in stipendium in eterna eorum coniunccione. Hii vero qui michi seruiunt tenentur habere stipendium cum celesti exercitu sine fine."
Notes
- 1 ↩The term 'discreto timore' refers to a holy, prudent fear that is informed by grace rather than mere anxiety.
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