Greed

Men of the world would fain increase their share of this world’s goods: some covet gold and silver, others houses and families, others a great name, influence, and glory. One is allured by one object, another by something else, and all strive by various paths to achieve their various projects. But the portion of holy souls is God Himself. If we would be possessed of such a portion, such a heritage as is our Lord, it behooves us so to order our life that we may deserve to possess Him and be ourselves possessed by Him. That is to say, if we would possess God as our lot, we must have nothing outside of God, for he is avaricious indeed for whose desires God is not enough. If we look for any other object, as, for instance, gold, silver, or property, God will disdain to be shared with such things.

We who formerly delighted in fornication, now embrace chastity alone; we who formerly used magical arts, dedicate ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; we who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions, now bring what we have into a common stock, and communicate to everyone in need; we who hated and destroyed one another, and on account of their different manners would not live with men of a different tribe, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies, and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live in conformity with the good precepts of Christ, to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God the ruler of all.

A dreadful, a dreadful thing is the love of money. It disables both eyes and ears, and makes men worse to deal with than a wild beast, allowing a man to consider neither conscience, nor friendship, nor fellowship, nor the salvation of his own soul; but having withdrawn them at once from all these things, like some harsh mistress, it makes those captured by it its slaves. And the dreadful part of so bitter a slavery is that it persuades them even to be grateful for it; and the more they become enslaved, the more their pleasure increases; and in this way especially the malady becomes incurable, in this way the monster becomes hard to conquer.