but rarely fall to the lot of the good, because, since
much anxiety or anxious care is required therein,
and the solicitude of the good is directed to greater
things, the good man is rarely solicitous enough to
seek them. Wherefore it is evident that in each
way these riches fall unjustly or inequitably; and
therefore our Lord called them wicked or unrighteous
when He said, “Make to yourselves friends of
the Mammon of unrighteousness,” inviting and
encouraging men to be liberal with good gifts, which
are the begetters of friends. And what a beautiful
exchange he makes who gives freely of these most imperfect
things in order to have and to acquire perfect things,
such as are the hearts of good and worthy men!
This exchange it is possible to make every day.
Certainly this is a new commerce, different from the
others, which, thinking to win one man by generosity,
has won thereby thousands and thousands. Who
lives not again in the heart of Alexander because of
his royal beneficence? Who lives not again in
the good King of Castile, or Saladin, or the good
Marquis of Monferrat, or the good Count of Toulouse,
or Beltramo dal Bornio, or Galasso da Montefeltro,
when mention is made of their noble acts of courtesy
and liberality? Certainly not only those who
would do the same willingly, had they the power, but
those even who would die before they would do it, bear
love to the memory of these good men.
As has been said, it is possible to see the imperfection
of riches not only in their indiscriminate advent,
but also in their dangerous increase; and that in
this we may perceive their defect more clearly, the
text makes mention of it, saying of those riches, “However
great the heap may be It brings no peace, but care;”
they create more thirst and render increase more defective
and insufficient. And here it is requisite to
know that defective things may fail in such a way that
on the surface they appear complete, but, under pretext
of perfection, the shortcoming is concealed.
But they may have those defects so entirely revealed
that the imperfection is seen openly on the surface.
And those things which do not reveal their defects
in the first place are the most dangerous, since very
often it is not possible to be on guard against them;
even as we see in the traitor who, before our face,
shows himself friendly, so that he causes us to have
faith in him, and under pretext of friendship, hides
the defect of his hostility. And in this way
riches, in their increase, are dangerously imperfect,
for, submitting to our eyes this that they promise,
they bring just the contrary. The treacherous
gains always promise that, if collected up to a certain
amount, they will make the collector full of every
satisfaction; and with this promise they lead the Human
Will into the vice of Avarice. And, for this
reason, Boethius calls them, in his book of Consolations,
dangerous, saying, “Oh, alas! who was that first
man who dug up the precious stones that wished to hide
themselves, and who dug out the loads of gold once
covered by the hills, dangerous treasures?”
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