The Four Last Things - by St Thomas More : Of Covetise (Pt 1 of 2)

Sir Thomas More. Holbein the Younger (1527). Frick Collection.

The following posts reproduce the text and notes of an edition by D. O’Connor published in 1903 which is close to the English original of 1557. 

The 1903 footnotes are shown as [ ] and my own as [ ].

 

👈While outwardly he enjoyed a life of comfort, in the privacy of his spiritual life he wore a hair shirt, attended daily Mass, and practised a strict discipline of prayer. He is believed to have become a Third Order Franciscan (and indeed his name is listed in the calendar of Franciscan saints). This may be the significance of the cord shown. 

Sancte Thoma 

Ora pro nobis.

Of Covetise[1] (Pt 1 of 2)

Let us now somewhat see what this part of this medicine may do to the cure of covetise, which is a sickness wherein men be very sore deceived. For it maketh folk to seem far of another sort than they be indeed. For covetous men seem humble, and yet be they very proud. They seem wise, and yet be they very foolish. They seem Christian, and yet have they no trust in Christ. And, which most marvel is of all, they seem rich, and yet be very beggars and have nought of their own.

As for pride of the possession of their goods, whoso be well acquainted with them, shall well perceive it, how heartily they rejoice, where they dare speak and call their betters beggars, if money be not so rife with them because they regard it less and spend it more liberally.

Men ween them wise also, and so they do themselves, because they seem to have providence and be folk of foresight, and not to regard only the time present, but make provision for time to come. But then prove they more fools than they that live from hand to mouth. For they take at the leastwise some time of pleasure with their own, though they fare hard at another. But these covetous niggards, while they pass on with pain always the time present and always spare all for their time to come, thus drive they forth wretchedly, till all their time be past and none to come ; and then, when they least look therefor, leave all that they have heaped to strangers, that shall never can them thank.

If ye will say there be no such fools, I might say that I have seen some such in my time ; and if ye believe not me, I could find you record. But to the intent ye shall not deny me, but that there have been such fools of old, ye shall hear what Solomon said seven years ere I was born : “I have seen,” saith he, “another plague under the sun, and it is common among men. A man, unto whom God hath given riches, substance and honour, so that he wanteth nothing that his heart can desire, yet God hath not given him leave to eat of it or to enjoy it, but a stranger devoureth.”[2] Of such sort of fools also speaketh the Psalmist : “Thus a man disquieteth himself in vain, and heapeth up riches and cannot tell for whom he gathereth them.”[3] And in the forty-eighth Psalm the prophet expresseth plainly the folly of such fools: “For,” saith he, “both the rich and the poor shall die, and leave their riches unto strangers.”[4] And surely where they seem Christian they have none earthly trust in Christ. For they be ever afraid of lack in time to come, have they already never so much. 

Fathers provide for their children

And methinketh utterly on the other side that, albeit, every man that hath children is bounden by the law of God and nature to provide for them till they be able at the least by the labour of their hands to provide for their bellies (for God and nature looketh not, as methinketh, much farther, nor thrust us not out of the paradise of pleasure to make us look and long to be lords in this wretched earth), yet I say meseemeth verily that, have we never so little, if we be not in spirit merry therewith, but live in puling[5] and whimpering and heaviness of heart, to the discomfort of ourselves and them that are about us, for fear and dread of lack in time to come ; it appeareth, I say, plainly that, speak we never so much of faith and of trust in Christ, we have in our hearts neither more belief in His holy words nor trust in His faithful promise than hath a Jew or a Turk.

Doth not holy Scripture say : “Cast thy thought into God and He shall nourish thee?”[6] Why takest thou thought now in thyself and fearest to fail for food ?

Saith not our Saviour Himself : “Have no care for to-morrow[7]” ?  and then furnisheth and enforceth His commandment by ensample. saying : “Look upon the birds in the air ; they neither sow nor reap, nor gather to no barns, and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye far more excellent than they ? Your Father in heaven knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Seek ye first for the kingdom of heaven and the justice of Him, and all these things shall be cast unto you beside.”[8] Whosoever he be that heareth this and yet puleth and whimpereth for doubt and fear of lack in time coming, either he believeth not that Christ spake these words (and then he believeth not the Gospel), or else, if he believe that Christ spake them, and yet feareth lest He will not keep them, how believeth he Christ or trusteth in His promise ? Thou wilt haply say that Christ would not, for any trust of Him, that thou shouldst not provide for to-morrow, but look to be fed by miracle. In this thou sayest true ; and, therefore, He said not, “Provide not for to-morrow,” nor “Labour not for to-morrow.” In token whereof He sent the Jews double manna weekly the day before the Sabbath day, to be provided for before the hand. But He said unto us have no anxiety nor care of mind for to-morrow. For the mind would Christ have clean discharged of all earthly care, to the end that we should in heart only care and long for heaven. And therefore He said : “Long for first and chiefly the kingdom of God, and all these earthly things God shall cast unto us beside” ; shewing thereby that by the hearty longing for heaven we shall have both twain.

And surely the things coming of the earth for the necessary sustenance of man requireth rather the labour of the body than the care of the mind. But the getting of heaven requireth care, cure[9] and ardent desire of the mind, much more than the labour of the body, saving that the busy desire of the mind can never suffer the body to be idle.

Thou wilt haply say, what if I cannot labour, or have more small children to find than my labour of three days will suffice to feed for one day, shall I not then care and take thought how they shall live to-morrow? Or tell what other shift I shall find. First, shall I tell thee what shift thou shalt make in such case ; and after shall I shew thee that, if all shift fail thee, yet if thou be a faithful man thou shalt take no thought ? I say, if thou lack, thou shalt labour to thy power by just and true business to get that thee and thine behoveth. If thy labour suffice not, thou shalt shew thy state, that thou hast little money and much charge, to some such men as have much money and little charge ; and they be then bounden of duty to supply of theirs that thee lacketh of thine. What if they will not ? Then, I say, that yet oughtest thou not to take thought and care in heart or despair of God’s promise for thy living, but to make thyself very sure that either God will provide thee and thine meat by putting other men in the mind to relieve thee, or send thee meat by miracle (as He hath in desert wilderness sent some men their meat by a crow),[10] or else his pleasure is that thou and thine shall live no longer, but die and depart by famine, as He will that some other die by sickness. In which case thou must willingly, without grudge or care (which care, though never so sore, cannot get thee a penny the more), conform thyself to His ordinance. For though He hath promised to provide us meat, yet hath He not promised it for longer time than Him liketh to let us live, to whom we be all debtors of death. And, therefore, though He sent Daniel meat enough by Abacuc, the prophet, into the lake[11] among lions[12], yet sent He none at all to Lazarus, but let him die for famine at the rich glutton’s gate[13]. There died he without grudge, without anxiety, with good will and glad hope, whereby he went into Abraham’s bosom. Now if thou do the like, thou shalt go into a better bosom, into heaven, into the bosom of our Saviour Christ.

Now if the poor man that nought hath, shew himself to lack faith, and to have no trust in Christ’s words, if he fear lack of finding, what faith hath then the covetous wretch that hath enough for this day, for to-morrow, for this week, for the next, for this month, for the next, for this year, for the next, yea, and peradventure for many years, yearly coming in of lands, offices, or merchandise, or other ways, and yet is ever whining, complaining, mourning, for care and fear of lack many years hereafter for him or his children ; as though God either would not or were not able to keep his promise with us ? And (which is the more madness) his care is all for the living of himself and his children, for some such time as neither himself nor his children shall haply live thereto. And so loseth he the commodity of all his whole life, with the fear of lack of living when he is dead.

Now if he hap to have a great loss, in what heaviness falleth he then ? For if he had ten thousand pounds, and thereof had eight thousand taken from him, he would weep and ween he were undone. And yet if he had never had but one, he would have thought himself a great rich man, where now, for the loss of eight, twain can do him no pleasure.

Whereof riseth this high folly, but of the blind covetous affection that he had to that he lost ? If he had had it still, yet he would peradventure not have occupied it ; for this that is left is more than he will spend or haply shall need to spend.

If ye would have spent it well, ye have no cause to be sorry of the loss, for God accepteth your good will. If ye would have kept it covetously or spent it naughtily, ye have a cause to be glad and reckon that ye have won by the loss, in that the matter and occasion of your sin is by God’s goodness graciously taken from you.

But ye will say that ye have now lost of your worship, and shall not be set by so much as ye were, when ye were known for so rich. Ah well, I say, now ye come home low. 

Footnotes

[1] Covetous of money and material possessions.

[2] There is also another evil, which I have seen under the sun, and that frequent among men:   A man to whom God hath given riches, and substance, and honour, and his soul wanteth nothing of all that he desireth: yet God doth not give him power to eat thereof, but a stranger shall eat it up. This is vanity and a great misery. Ecclesiastes vi. 1-2.

[3] Surely man . . . is disquieted in vain. He storeth up: and he knoweth not for whom he shall gather these things. Ps. xxxviii. 7.

[4] the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave their riches to strangers: Ps. xlviii. 11.

[5] i.e., in complaining. [pule: To cry in a thin or weak voice, as a child; to cry in a querulous tone; to whine, complain, whimper.OED]

[6] Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall not suffer the just to waver for ever. Ps. liv. 23.

[7] Matt. vi. 34.

[8] Matt. vi. 26-33. Luke xii. 22-31.

[9] i.e., forethought.

[10] And the ravens brought him [Elias] bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the torrent. 3 Kings xvii. 6.

[11] i.e., a ditch or den.

[12] Dan. xiv.

[13] Luke xvi. 

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The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.

SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen. 

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.