3.

I see it, I am grieved for thee; thou art disquieted, and as He who cannot deceive, assures us, "Thou art disquieted in vain." For thou art heaping up treasures: supposing that all thy undertakings succeed, to say nothing of losses, of so great perils and deaths in the prosecution of every several kind of gain (I speak not of deaths of the body, but of evil thoughts, for that gold may come in, uprightness ¹ goeth out; that thou mayest be clothed outwardly, thou art made naked within), but to pass over these, and other such things in silence, to pass by all the things that are against thee, let us think only of the favourable circumstances. See, thou art laying up treasures, gains flow into thee from every quarter, and thy money runs like fountains; everywhere where want presseth, there doth abundance flow. Hast thou not heard, "If riches increase, set not your heart upon them?" ² Lo, thou art getting, thou art disquieted, not fruitlessly indeed, still in vain. "How," thou wilt ask "am I disquieted in vain? I am filling my coffers, my walls will scarce hold what I get, how then am I disquieted in vain?" "Thou art heaping up treasure, and dost not know for whom thou gatherest it." Or if thou dost know, I pray thee tell me. I will listen to thee. For whom is it? If thou art not disquieted in vain, tell me for whom thou art heaping up thy treasure? "For myself," thou sayest. Dost thou dare say so, who must so soon die? "For my children." Dost thou dare say this of them who must so soon die? It is a great duty of natural affection ³ (it will be said) for a father to lay up for his sons; rather it is a great vanity, one who must soon die is laying up for those who must soon die also. If it is for thyself, why dost thou gather, seeing thou leavest all when thou diest. This is the case also with thy children; they will succeed thee, but not to abide long. I say nothing about what sort of children they may be, whether haply debauchery may not waste what covetousness hath amassed. So another by dissoluteness ⁴ squanders what thou by much toil hast gathered together. But I pass over this. It may be they will be good children, they will not be dissolute, they will keep what thou hast left, will increase what thou hast kept, and will not dissipate what thou hast heaped together. Then will thy children be equally vain with thyself, if they do so, if in this they imitate thee their father. I would say to them what I said just now to thee. I would say to thy son, to him for whom thou art saving I would say, "Thou art heaping up treasure, and knowest not for whom thou dost gather it." For as thou knewest not, so neither doth he know. If the vanity hath continued in him, hath the truth lost its power with respect to him?