Le 19, 13

Je 22, 13

Ma 3, 5

Mt 10, 10

Lu 10, 7

Pv 12, 11

1 C 9,9

2 T3, 1011

I'v 12, 24

Pv 19, 16

Pv 20, 13

worketh faithfully, nor the Moses: Thou shalt not
hired man that giveth thee muzzle the mouth of the ox
his life.
that treadeth out the corn.
Thou shalt not calumniate Thou shalt not muzzle the 1 Ti 5, 18
thy neighbour, nor oppress ox that treadeth out the corn;
him by violence. The wages and the labourer is worthy of

of him that hath been hired his reward.

by thee shall not abide with Prepare thy work without, Pv 24, 27
thee until the morning. and diligently till thy ground,
Wo to him that buildeth that afterwards thou mayst
up his house by injustice, and build thy house.
his chambers not in judg-

He that tilleth his ground Pv 28, 19

ment: that will oppress his shall be filled with bread.

friend without cause, and Better is the poor man Pv 12, 9
will not pay him his wages! that provideth for himself
I will come to you in judg- than he that is glorious and
ment, and will be a speedy wanteth bread.

witness against sorcerers, and He that tilleth his land Eci 20,30
adulterers, and false swearers, shall make a high heap of
and them that oppress the corn, and he that worketh
hireling in his wages, the justice shall be exalted.

13

widows, and the fatherless :| We beseech you, brethren, 1 T5, 12-
and oppress the stranger, and to know them that labour
have not feared Me, saith the among you; and we admonish
Lord of Hosts.

you-That you esteem them
more abundantly in charity
for their work's sake. Have
peace with them.

The thoughts of the indus- Pv 21, 5 trious always bring forth

shall be satisfied with bread. abundance.
It is written in the law of

20.-IDLENESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.

If any man will not work, He that followeth idleness Pv 28, 19 neither let him eat.-For we shall be filled with poverty. have heard there are some The slothful hand hath Pv 10, 4 among you who walk dis- wrought poverty; but the orderly, working not at all, hand of the industrious but curiously meddling. getteth riches. The hand of the valiant shall bear rule; but that is very foolish. which is slothful shall be under tribute.

He that neglecteth his own way shall die.

He that pursueth idleness Pv 12, 11

The way of the slothful is Pv 15, 19 as a hedge of thorns.

Slothfulness casteth into a Pv 19, 15,
deep sleep, and an idle soul 24
shall suffer hunger.-The
slothful hideth his hand

Love not sleep, lest poverty
oppress thee: open thy eyes,
and be filled with bread. under his armpit, and will

Pv 24, 3334

Eci 10,29

Pv 21, 5

Pv 20, 4

Eci 33, 29

Mt 25, 26,

not so much as bring it to his fore, the talent from him,
mouth.
and give to him that hath
Thou wilt sleep a little, ten talents.-And the un-
thou wilt slumber a little, profitable servant cast ye
thou wilt fold thy hands a into the exterior darkness.
little to rest:-And poverty There shall be weeping and
shall come to thee as a runner, gnashing of teeth.

and beggary as an armed Become not slothful, but He 6, 12

man.

Linger not in the time of distress.

Every sluggard is always in want.

followers of them who
through faith and patience
shall inherit the promises.

Withal, being idle, they 1 Ti 5, 13 learn to go about from house Because of the cold the to house: and are not only sluggard would not plough: idle, but tattlers also, and he shall beg therefore in the busy bodies, speaking things summer, and it shall not be which they ought not. given him.

Idleness hath taught much

evil.

(God foretold through His Ag 1, 10 prophet Aggeus that many evils would befall His people

Thou wicked and slothful because they had not la28, 30 servant.-Take yeaway, there- boured to rebuild the Temple.)

Jb 5,7

J67,1

Jb 14, 1

Ecl 2, 23

Je 4, 22

Pv 10, 21

21.

-HIS MANY MISERIES IN BODY AND SOUL.

Man is born to labour and the bird to fly.

Great labour is created for Eci 40,1-3 all men, and a heavy yoke is The life of man upon earth upon the children of Adam, is a warfare, and his days from the day of their coming are like the days of a hire- out of their mother's womb ling. until the day of their burial Man born of a woman, into the mother of all.living for a short time, is Their thoughts, and fears of filled with many miseries. the heart, their imagination All his days are full of of things to come, and the sorrows and miseries; even day of their end:-From him in the night he doth not that sitteth on a glorious rest in mind: and is not this throne unto him that is vanity? humbled in earth and ashes.

22.-MAN'S IGNORANCE.

My foolish people have not many; but they that are
known Me; they are foolish ignorant shall die in the want
and senseless children: they of understanding.

are wise to do evils, but to There is a time and oppor- Ecl 8,6-7
do good they have no know-tunity for every business,
and great affliction for man:

ledge.

The lips of the just teach-Because he is ignorant of

Ecl 10, 14

Ecl 11, 5

W9,14

Pv 27, 1

Ecl9, 1-3, 11

things past, and things to race is not to the swift, nor
come he cannot know by any the battle to the strong, nor
messenger.
bread to the wise, nor riches
A man cannot tell what to the learned, nor favour to
hath been before him: and the skilful; but time and
what shall be after him, who chance in all.
can tell him?

14

Behold, now, you that say: Ja 4, 13 As thou knowest not what To-day or to-morrow we will is the way of the spirit, nor go into such a city, and there how the bones are joined to- we will spend a year, and gether in the womb of her will traffic, and make our that is with child; so thou gain.-Whereas you know knowest not the works of not what shall be on the God, Who is the Maker of morrow. all. It is not for you to know The thoughts of mortal men the times or moments, which are fearful, and our counsels the Father hath put in His uncertain. own power.

Ac 1, 1

Boast not for to-morrow, What I do thou knowest Jn 13, 7 for thou knowest not what not now, but thou shalt know the day to come may bring hereafter. forth.

Is 1, 3

They that are ignorant Pv 10, 21
There are just men and shall die in the want of
wise men, and their works understanding.
are in the hand of God; and The ox knoweth his owner,
yet man knoweth not whether and the ass his master's crib;
he be worthy of love or but Israel hath not known
hatred:-But all things are Me, and My people hath not
kept uncertain for the time understood.

to come, because all things My people is led away
equally happen to the just captive, because they had
and to the wicked, to the not knowledge.
good and to the evil, to The Priests did not say:
the clean and to the un- Where is the Lord? And
clean, to him that offer- they that held the Law knew
eth victims and to him Me not.

that despiseth sacrifices. As The heart is perverse above
the good is, so also is the all things and unsearchable,
sinner: as the perjured, so who can know it?

Is 5, 13

Je 2, 8

Je 17,9

he also that sweareth truth. My people have been silent, Os 4, 6
-This is a very great evil because they had no know-
among all things that are ledge: because thou hast re-
done under the sun, that the jected knowledge I will re-
same things happen to all ject thee, that thou shalt not
men: whereby also the do the office of Priesthood to
hearts of the children of men Me.

are filled with evil and with Father, forgive them, for Lu 23, 34
contempt while they live, they know not what they do.
and afterwards they shall be Neither Me do you know, Jn 8, 19

brought down to hell.-The nor My Father: if you did

IJ 2, 4

know Me, perhaps you would
know My Father also.

He that loveth not, know- 1J4, 8 eth not God.

He who saith that he know- To know Thee is perfect W 15, 3 eth Him, and keepeth not justice; and to know Thy His commandments, is a liar, justice and Thy power is the and the truth is not in him. root of immortality.

23.-
.—HIS WANT OF COURAGE TO DO GOOD; HIS

PRONENESS TO EVIL.

Eci 17, 29- All things cannot be in prone to evil from his youth: men, because the son of man therefore I will no more de

31

Ge 6,5

Ge 8, 21

169, 2-3, 12-14

is not immortal, and they are stroy every living soul as I
delighted with the vanity of have done.

evil. What is brighter than I know that there dwelleth Ro 7,18-19
the sun? yet it shall be not in me (that is to say, in
eclipsed. Or what is more my flesh) that which is good.
wicked than that which flesh For to will is present with
and blood hath invented? me; but to accomplish that
and this shall be reproved.- which is good I find not.-
He beholdeth the power of For the good which I will, I
the height of heaven: and do not; but the evil which I
all men are earth and ashes. will not, that I do.

God seeing that the wicked- I see another law in my Ro7, 23
ness of men was great on the members, fighting against
earth, and that all the thought the law of my mind, and
of their heart was bent upon captivating me in the law
evil at all times, it repented of sin, that is in my mem-
Him that He had made man bers.
on the earth.

With the mind I serve the Ro 7, 25

The imagination and law of God; but with the thought of man's heart are flesh, the law of sin.

24. HIS LITTLENESS IN GOD'S SIGHT.

Indeed I know it is so, and with Him?

that man cannot be justified Can man be compared with J622,2 compared with God:-If he God, even though he were

will contend with Him, he of perfect knowledge?

cannot answer Him one for a Can man be justified com- Jb 25,4-5 thousand.-If He examine on pared with God, or he that

a sudden, who shall answer is born of a woman appear
Him? or who can say: Why clean?
the
Behold, even
dost Thou so ?-God, Whose moon doth not shine, and the
wrath no man can resist, and stars are not pure in His
under Whom they stoop that sight.

bear up the world. What All men are vain in whom
am I, then, that I should there is not the knowledge of
answer Him, and have words God.

W 13,1

PART IV.

THE MESSIAH, OR CHRIST THE REDEEMER OF
THE HUMAN RACE.

MANY of the Angels fell with Lucifer, and all man-
kind fell with Adam. The sin of the Angels was, as
S. Thomas shows, irremediable. The sin of man
was, indeed, remediable; but man possessed neither
power of remedy nor claim upon God for assistance.
"But God so loved the world as to give His Only-Be-
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him may not
perish, but may have Eternal Life.Ӡ "And the Word
was made flesh." It was fitting that the Word, rather
than the Father or the Holy Spirit, should become man's
Redeemer, for (1) the Word is the Art of the Father,
and the art which makes things restores them when
they have become impaired. (2) He is the Son of God
by nature, and Redemption was to make us sons of God
by adoption. (3) Man had fallen through the desire of
false wisdom; and the Word is the substantial Wisdom
of the Godhead.‡

Ge 22, 18

Ge 28, 14

Ge 49, 10

1.

-THE MESSIAH PROMISED TO THE WORLD.

In Thy seed shall all the na-a ruler from his thigh, till tions of the earth be blessed. He come that is to be sent, In Thy seed all the tribes and He shall be the Expectaof the earth shall be blessed. tion of nations.

The sceptre shall not be Of the fruit of thy womb Ps 131,11 taken away from Juda, nor I will set upon thy throne.

* Sum. Theol., P.P. q. 64, a. 2. John 3, 16. Cf. Sum. Theol.,
3tia, pars q. 3, a. 8.