Obedite Deo et
principibus. It is from God that law and justice come to me.
Per me reges regnant et potentes decernunt justitiam. Let us
respect the commands of the legislator and the magistrate. It is
God who controls the prosperity of labor, who makes and unmakes
fortunes: may his will be done! Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit,
sit nomen Domini benedictum. It is God who punishes me when
misery devours me, and when I am persecuted for righteousness's
sake: let us receive with respect the scourges which his mercy
employs for our purification. Humiliamini igitur sub potenti
manu Dei. This life, which God has given me, is but an ordeal
which leads me to salvation: let us shun pleasure; let us love
and invite pain; let us find our pleasure in doing penance. The
sadness which comes from injustice is a favor from on high;
blessed are they that mourn! Beati qui lugent! . . . . Haec
est enim gratia, si quis sustinet tristitias, patiens injuste.
A century ago a missionary, preaching before an audience made up
of financiers and grandees, did justice to this odious morality.
Pages:
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643