Treatise of Good Works, Commandment 7
¶The .vii. cōmaundement thou ſhalte do no thefte.
ANd this cōmaundemēt hath a worke cō taynyng many good workes in hym, contrary to many vyces / whiche is called lyberalytie / the whiche is ſuche a worke, that a mā is redy & mete to profyte & ſocoure all men wt his goodes / ſtryuyng not onelyonly agaynſt thefte & robbery / but alſo agaynſt all dyſceytes & gyles / which may be done in tē poral goodꝭ of one man agaynſt a nother. As be couetyce, vſerye, to great pryce, counterfete meaſure, and coūterfete wayght / for who can nōbre all newe diſceytes & ſubtyll inuencyons which be eueryevery day increaſed ī all merchaūdyſe, in the whiche all men ſeke theyr owne lucre & profyte / with the dyſprofyte of other, forgettyng the ſayeng of Chryſt Mathew the .7. chapytre. What ſoeuer ye wyll that men do vntounto you, do the ſame to them. Yf eueryevery man hauyng this rule before his iyes, wolde kepe it in his occupacyon, in his merchaundyſe and dedes. He ſhuld fynde howe he ought to bye and ſell, to take, lende, & gyue frelye / to promyſe and fulfyll with ſuch other. For yf we beholde the buſynes and crafte of this worlde / and howe great a ſwynge couetyce hathe in them / we ſhulde not alonlye hauehave buſynes ynoughe (ſo yt we, wolde lyue with god & honour), but we ſhulde alſo quake and be a ferde of this peryllous & wretched lyfe / that is troubled, ouercōmed and taken with care of temporall goodes / & his myſcheuous gettynges.
WHerfore it was not without a cauſe, that the wyſe man ſayd / bleſſyd is yt man that is foūde without ſpotte / & hath not gone after golde / nother hathe truſte in the treaſoure of money. Whiche is he, & we ſhall prayſe hym / for he hathe done myracles in his lyfe / as thoughe he wolde ſaye / there is none, or at the leaſt very fewe, that knowe and perceyue in them ſelfe ſuche gredynes, deſyre, and louelove of money. For here couetyce hathe a goodly couer of ſhame and vyce, whiche is called bodely ſuſtenaunce and neceſſytie of nature / vnderunder the whiche, couetyce laboureth ſo immoderatly and vnſacyably that a man muſt beware to kepe hym ſelfe clene / that as ye wyſe man ſayeth / he may worke myracles in his lyfe. Nowe ſe that this lyberall man ſhall not onelye do good workꝭ / but alſo myracles whiche maye pleaſe god & be prayſed. What nede hathe he than to ymagen or loke for any other? Let hym take hede of hym ſelfe / and let hym beware that he go not after golde / nor yt put he truſte in the treaſure of money / but ſuffre the money to fololowe hym / and that money abyde for his ſake, & not he for the money ſake / that he louelove not the money, nother that his herte be ſette in it. Thus is he very lyberall a worker of myracles and a bleſſyd mā. And as Iobe ſayd in ye .31. chap. I neuer thoughte golde my ſtrength, neyther hauehave I truſted ī it. And the .6.2. Whā youre ryches increaſe, put not your hertes to thē. And Chryſte the .6. of Mathewe. Be ye not carefull, ſayeng that what ſhall we eate? or what ſhal we weare? for ye gentyls aſke all theſe thinges. And ye father ī heuen knoweth yt you nede al theſe / But here perauenture ſome well ſay / well truſte thou not to that, and care not, & loke whā the roſted henne ſhall flye into thy mouth.Care is forbydden and not laboure. Truely I ſay not that no man ſhulde laboure / but that we ſhulde not be full of care, and deſyre couetouſlye, and that we ſhulde not myſtruſte, but yt we ſhulde hauehave ynough / for we be all iudged to laboure in Adam / for god ſayd. Geneſis the .iii. chapytre. Thou ſhalte eate thy breade in ye ſwete of thy face / & Iobe the .v. A man is borne to laboure and a byrde to flye / but euyn as the byrde flyeth not with care, buſynes & couetyce / ſo we ought to labour without care and couetyſe / but and yf thou care for byrdes and wolde the roſted chekyn ſhulde flye into thy mouthe / care and be buſye lokynge whether thou mayſte fulfyll the cōmaundemē tes of god or no, yt thou mayſte be made bleſſyd.
Care commeth of infydelytie.TRewe fayth teacheth this worke by her ſelfe / for the herte that thynketh ſurely that it hath god mercyfull & louynge vntounto hym: howe is it poſſyble yt he ſhulde be carefull and couetyce? for it muſt nedes be yt god taketh hym and defendeth hym. And therfore he ſtycketh in no money / but he vſeth it wt a mery lyberalytie, to the profyte of his neyghbour / knowyng yt he ſhall hauehave ynoughe, howe moche ſoeuer he dyſtrybuteth or gyueth for his god, in whom he truſteth wyll not dyſceyue hym, nother forſake hym. As it is in the .36. pſalme. Verely I hauehave ben yōge and olde / and yet ſawe I neuer the ryghtwyſe forſaken, or his ſede beggyng theyr brede.Why the Apoſtell calleth couetyſe ydolatrye. Therfore ye apoſtell called none other ſynne ydolatrye, than couetyce / whiche vttereth it ſelfe groſſely / how it truſteth nothyng in god / truſtynge to hauehave more good by his money than by god / by the whiche truſt as is ſayd before / god is other truely honoured, or els ſclaūdred. And verely in this cōmaundement it may be clerely perceyued, howe all good workꝭ muſte come out and be done in faythe / for here eueryevery man perperceyueth by a meruaylous ſureneſſe / that as faythe is ye cauſe of lyteralytie / ſo vnfaythfulnes is the cauſe of couetyce / for he yt truſteth in god is lyberal, doubtynge nothyng but that he ſhall euer hauehave ynough. And contrary he that truſteth not in god, is euer couetous & carefull. Lyke therfore as in this commaundement faythe is mayſter & mouer of this lyberalytie / ſo is he chefe workeman in al ye other cōmaū dementꝭ. In ſo moch yt without ſuch fayth, lyberalytie profytes nothynge / but is rather a raſſhe waſtyng and expence of money.
HEre alſo is worthye to be knowen yt this lyberalytie and goodnes muſte be ſtretched and ſet forth euyn vntounto our enemyes & aduerſaryes. For what lyberalyte is this, yf we be onelyonly lyberal to our fryndes? as ſayth Chryſt. Luke ye .vi. chap. For an euyll mā vſeth ſuche lyberalytie to his fryndꝭ / & the dombe beeſtꝭ do good & be lyberal to beſtes of theyr owne kynde. Therfore a Chryſten man muſte thynke an hygher thynge, yt his goodnes & lyberalytie may helpe them yt deſerue it not / his enemyes & thē yt hauehave hurt hym after ye exāple of his heuēly father which ſuffreth the ſonne to ſhyne vponupon good & euyll / & the rayne to rayne vponupon ye kynde and vnkynde. Here alſo thou ſhalt fynde how harde it is to do ye workꝭ cōmaūded by god, & howe nature wryeth & wraſtelyth her wt her ſelfe although ſhe do eaſely & gladly her owne choſen workes. So ſet before ye thy enemyes & thē yt be vnkynd to ye, doynge them good / and ſo ſhalt thou fynde howe nyghe or howe farre thou arte from this cōmaū dement / & howe moche buſynes thou ſhalt hauehave all thy lyfe tyme euyn in the worke of this one cō maundement. For excepte thou helpe thy enemye, whiche hathe nede vponupon the, & ſocoure hym in his neceſſytie / it is euyn as thou haddeſt ſtollen frō hym, for thou arte bounde to helpe hym. So ſayeth ſaynt Ambroſe. Fede the hungrye (ſayeth he) for yf thou fede hym not thou kylleſt hym / as moch as is in the. In this cō maundement therfore depende the workꝭ of mercy, which chryſt wyll requyre of the in the extreme day. Yet neuertheleſſe the rulers of cytyes ſhulde take hede that vacaboundes & freres Iacobyns and ſuche other / ſtraūge beggers were put away, & inhibyte, or at the leſt they ſhulde be admytted by ſome meane, meaſure and ordre, leſte by ſuche inordynate lyuers vnderunder ye name of beggyng, errours and deceytes (of the which there be nowe many) ſhulde be ſuffered. I hauehave ſpoken more largely of the workes of this cōmaundement in ye ſermonde that I made of vſury.