Letter 1556: Anger is a fire: useful when controlled, devastating when unleashed.
To Eutonius the Deacon. The love of money is called by the Apostle the root of all evils, and with good reason, for there is no sin that avarice does not either cause or encourage. It leads to fraud, to perjury, to theft, to murder, and to every form of betrayal. It corrupts judges, perverts justice, breaks friendships, destroys families, and turns the house of God into a marketplace. The avaricious man is a slave who thinks himself free, a prisoner who imagines himself at liberty. His gold is his chain, his wealth is his dungeon, and his possessions are the walls of the prison he has built around his own soul. He possesses nothing, for everything possesses him. Free yourself therefore from this tyranny, and you will discover a wealth that no thief can steal and no moth can corrupt — the treasure of a clear conscience and a generous heart. Consider the examples of the saints, who renounced all earthly wealth and found themselves richer than any emperor. Consider Abraham, who was wealthy yet held his wealth loosely, ready to sacrifice even his son at God's command. Consider the apostles, who left their nets and their boats and received a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the age to come. The path to true riches leads through the narrow gate of generosity, and the person who clings to his possessions will lose both them and himself.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
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