Hunolt Sermons/Volume 10/Sermon 56

by Franz Hunolt

FIFTY-SIXTH SERMON.

ON AVOIDING IDLENESS IF WE WISH TO GAIN HEAVEN.

Subject.

An idle life can bring no man to eternal life. Therefore he who desires to go to heaven must avoid idleness.—Preached on the seventh Sunday after Pentecost.

Text.

Omnis arbor quæ non facit fructum bonum, excidetur et in ignem mittetur.—Matt. vii. 19.

“Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and shall be cast into the fire.”

Introduction.

Let those words be weighed attentively by all those who spend the most of their time in incessant worldly cares, or in idleness, doing nothing, vain amusements, and useless occupations. Do these people imagine that such a life will bring them to heaven? Ah, that cannot be: “Not every one that saith to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,” as we read in to-day’s Gospel, “but he that doth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” And what is to become of those good-for-nothing people who produce no fruit of good works? My text answers that question: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and shall be cast into the fire.” In a word, idlers shall have no share in heaven, as I now mean to prove.

Plan of Discourse.

An idle life can bring no man to eternal life. Therefore he who desires to go to heaven must avoid idleness. Such is the whole subject of this discourse.

And that we may not pass this hour idly, that is, without fruit for our souls, we humbly beg Thy light and help, O Holy Ghost! through the intercession of Mary and of the holy angels.

A vicious life can bring no one to heaven. The whole proof of my proposition consists in this one argument: a vicious life cannot lead to eternal life; an idle life is a vicious one, and therefore an idle life cannot lead any one to eternal life. The first part of this argument you must admit to be true, for the only thing that can bar us out of heaven and condemn us to hell is sin. “The soul that sinneth, the same shall die.”^[1] So that all I need prove is that an idle life is a vicious one. If I succeed in doing that, the conclusion will follow of itself.

And idle life is a vicious one. Proved from the Fathers. And such is the case, my dear brethren; idleness opens the door to all sorts of sin and vice. If I were to quote only the twentieth part of what the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church, enlightened by the spirit of God, have written on this topic, my sermon would not come to an end to-day. Idleness is an enemy to virtue, a betrayer of youth, a spendthrift of time, a dangerous sleep of those who are awake, a poison for the souls of men, an incentive to impurity, a pleasing guest of hell, a soft cushion of the devil, a luxurious bed of all evil; such are the epithets applied to it by those writers when they speak of it in moderate terms. “You may look on it as quite certain,” says St. Jerome, “that idleness is the mother of all concupiscence, uncleanness, and sin.” St. Chrysostom says in nearly the same words: “idleness is, as it were, the mistress of all vices.” “Idleness is a cesspool of temptations and bad thoughts,” such are the words of St. Bernard. In a word, St. Augustine gives no hope of salvation to the idle man who has no becoming occupation: “He who loves idleness shall never be a citizen of heaven.”

From Scripture. But why should we appeal to those witnesses when we have the infallible word of God itself on our side? “Send him to work, that he be not idle,” is the warning of the Holy Ghost by the Wise Man; no matter who the person may be, of what sex or condition, rich or poor, young or old, let that person work, and have something to do and be not idle. Why? “For idleness hath taught much evil.”^[2] We read in the Gospel of St. Mark that when the infirm man who had a withered hand that he could not use came to Jesus in the synagogue to be healed, our dear Lord at once asked the Pharisees, " Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life or to destroy?”^[3] Does not this question seem a strange one to you? The poor man wanted his hand cured, and Our Lord speaks of curing the soul? What connection is there between a withered hand and a human soul? St. Augustine gives a beautiful explanation of this. The hands, he says, are to the soul what the hand of a clock is to its interior works; the latter shows outwardly how much the clock has struck inwardly; if the hand remains still, the clock too is still inwardly, and gives forth no sound. Withered, idle hands are a sure sign of a bad and corrupt soul. Show me an idle man who has nothing to do, no serious occupation, and I can assure you that he will do much evil. If you hear of all sorts of dissolute actions, you will find on examination that they have been learned in the school of idleness; adultery and all kinds of impurity are children of an idle life, and are generally committed by those who forget the duties and occupations of their state. Thus far St. Augustine.

From reson and by divers similes. And indeed, if we consider the matter aright, we shall see it cannot be otherwise. Natural philosophers tell us that the human understanding in our working moments can never be idle, but must be always thinking of something. So too the heart and will of man can never be without some inclination; they must always have some object to love or hate, to desire or detest. Suppose now that a man or woman, a boy or girl is idly walking, standing, or sitting, with no proper occupation; no study or reflection for the mind, no work for the body: what then goes on in the understanding? for it must have something to think of. Under the circumstances the only thoughts that occupy it are vain, useless, dangerous, or sinful; and from such thoughts can come nothing but vain, useless, dangerous, or sinful affections, inclinations, and desires of the heart. The human heart and mind are like the millstones that turn as long as the water drives the wheel; if the miller puts in wheat, they grind that; if oats, they grind oats; if he puts nothing in* they grind each other and make fire and flames. No matter how fertile a field is, says St. Chrysostom, if it is not tilled, and is allowed to lie idle, it can produce nothing but thistles and weeds of all sorts. “In the same way, when the soul has nothing to do,” no useful or necessary occupation, “it gives itself up to evil actions.” St. Lawrence Justinian employs another simile: Stagnant water that has no movement or outlet becomes foul and miry, and brings forth only worms and hideous things; clear water, if it is led over a field or garden, brings forth grass and beautiful flowers; but if allowed to run idly over the streets, it gets mixed with the dust and makes mud and dirt. Our hearts and minds are ever-flowing fountains of thoughts and desires; if they are busied with good and praiseworthy work, they must of necessity produce beautiful flowers and excellent fruit; but if they are permitted to run about the streets after vain and sensual objects, nothing can come from them but filth and mire.

In idleness the devil finds the best opportunity of leading man into all kids of sin. Not without reason is idleness called the devil’s pillow.^[4] Never does this hateful enemy, who is always on the watch to ensnare our souls, find a better opportunity of spreading abroad his wicked inspirations and temptations, especially in the matter of impurity, than when he finds men idle. Therefore all moralists are agreed that there is no better remedy for evil thoughts and desires than hard work and constant occupation. “Do something,” is the advice that St. Jerome once gave a friend of his who complained that he could not defend himself against the evil suggestions and desires of the flesh; “do something, that when the devil comes he may always find you busy;” then he will leave you and say to himself: there is no hearing forme now. And if sometimes you are plagued with those thoughts during your work, act as if they did not concern you, and go on with your work without fear or anxiety; when the devil sees that you pay no attention to him, ho will despair of being able to do you any harm and will leave you in peace. You never see birds building their nests in a mill that is always working; they could not bear the constant noise and whirring. But in nouses where there is no work-shop nor any noise, the swallows build even in the rooms, if the windows are left open day after day. I have never known a peasant to complain of violent temptations while doing his work in the sweat of his brow, either at home or in the fields. Oh, no! the devil cannot bear the laborious man, but he builds his nest and finds rest with idlers.

Shown by examples from Scripture. While the Israelites were burdened with hard labor in the Egyptian slavery they never thought of impurity or idolatry, Their circumstances were such that they had no time or inclination for such things. But when they were freed from slavery by the goodness of God, and were idle and unoccupied in the desert; when the bread was sent them miraculously from heaven, and they knew not how to pass the time except in eating, and drinking, and amusing themselves, “The people sat down to eat, and drink, and they rose up to play,”^[5] then they determined to have the golden calf as their god, who led them, as they thought, out of Egypt; then all sorts of excesses took the upper hand. “They have made to themselves a molten calf and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it have said: These are thy gods, O Israel! that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.”^[6] Horrible sins and abominations of the Sodomites that one may not name, where did you spring from? “Behold, this was the iniquity of Sodom, thy sister,” is the answer of the Lord by the prophet Ezechiel. What was it then? “Pride, fulness of bread and abundance, and the idleness of her and of her daughters.” What followed therefrom? “And they were lifted up, and committed abominations before Me; and I took them away as thou hast seen.”^[7] David, unhappy prince! if thou hadst not sat idly at thy window after the midday sleep, thou wouldst never have committed those horrible sins that thou didst afterwards bitterly bewail day and night. Thou wert always holy and pious whilst thou hadst to labor hard to protect thyself against thy enemies and persecutors. Unfortunate Samson! when the Philistines left thee in peace, and thou didst begin to repose in the lap of Dalilah, thou didst lose thy strength and thy eyes and become a laughing-stock to thy enemies! And thou most unhappy Solomon! as long as thou wert busied with the building of the temple thou wert a dear child of God; that wretched peaceful and idle enjoyment of thy goods filled thy heart with the love of women, and turned thee into a shameless idolater. “Idleness hath taught much evil.”

Confirmed by daily experience with regard to mendicants. But why should I refer to these worn-out histories? We need only consult our daily experience. How much mischief is caused among the poor by idleness? I allude to those beggars who are still young and strong, and well able to earn their bread by honest work, but who, once they get accustomed to idly wandering about the streets, spend the whole day loitering before the houses, and strolling from one town to another; and if you wish to find a dissolute, wanton, reckless rabble, ignorant of their religion, you will find many of them among those people. Poor and at the same time most unhappy mortals! I do not wish to injure or to stop the flow of Christian charity, for every alms given for God’s sake, no matter who the recipient is, deserves its reward. But I do believe that the best alms for such people, and the most useful for their souls, would be to give them every time they come for charity a gentle but earnest exhortation to avoid idleness, which can never do them any good; for those idlers only steal the bread out of the mouths of other poor people who are really infirm and cannot work, and are a source of loss to the decent poor who have to work hard to feed their children, and yet suffer hunger and hardship. The best alms and those most pleasing to God are given by those ladies and gentlemen who cause poor orphans or vagabond children to be taught some respectable trade, or instruct them in reading, writing, arithmetic, and give them habits of study. In this way those charitable people not only feed the bodies of the poor, but also frequently gain their immortal souls for heaven, by saving them from idleness, and consequently from a vicious life.

And tradesmen and peasants when they have no work. Let us go in thought into the houses of peasants, into the workshops of tradesmen, to servant men and maids, and laborers, and see what mischief is done them by idleness. What! you exclaim, do you look for idleness among such people? They are never idle. From early morning till late at night they have to work constantly. The peasant labors in the field; the smith at the anvil with his hammer; the shoemaker stitches away with his awl and thread; the joiner and carpenter work at their bench and lathe, and so on for every trade; they are all busy the whole day. Servant men and maids are never left at rest by their masters and mistresses, and so they are not idle. Your objection is indeed not a bad one; what you say is quite true; all these people work hard from one end of the week to the other. But tell me this: if those people ever commit grievous sin by drunkenness, calumny, and detraction, quarreling and fighting, unchaste conversation, impure actions, and dangerous friendships, when do they commit such sins? Is it on week-days, when they are busy with their work? Not at all; they have no time then to think of such things. Now and then an impatient word, a curse uttered unconsciously when the work does not run smoothly—those are almost all the sins they commit then; otherwise one might say that during the week they lead an innocent, and, if their consciences are pure and they make the good intention, a holy life. When, I ask again, do they commit those grievous sins? Is it not true—and I take those people themselves to witness the truth of this, if there are any of them here present—is it not true that generally and for the most part those sins are committed on Sundays and holy-days, when there is no work to do, or to speak more correctly, when those people wilfully refuse to occupy themselves with the divine service and practices of piety? Then the devil has his chance with them; then the peasant men and women meet; then servant men and maids stand at the door, and often talk and chat about things that should not enter their minds, and see and hear what they should never know anything of; then tradesmen go to the ale-house and indulge in drinking, gambling, quarreling, dissolute conversation, and other amusements of a similar character, and very often the Sunday’s revels leave the head in such a state that the Monday following is still worse. With reason therefore did that parish priest say of his people: On week-days my people are pious angels; on Sundays and holy-days there are many of them like demons in their dissolute conduct.

What sin must not then be committed by those who are always idle. From this I draw the following conclusion: If one Sunday or holy-day in the week can cause so much mischief on account of idleness amongst people who are otherwise good, humble, simple, and well-meaning towards God, so that for months afterwards they labor hard, but gain nothing for heaven because they are in mortal sin: how much evil then will not idleness teach those who make a holy-day of every day in the year, and who lead idle, lazy, luxurious lives? How much mischief can it not teach young men who have nothing to do the whole day but to seek for some means of passing the time! How much evil can it not teach young girls who spend the day before the glass, or looking out of the window to see the passers-by! How much harm can it not do to people of both sexes who, on account of the wealth and prosperity that God has given them, can spend their time doing nothing, and wasting their lives away in idle amusements and follies! How many young students (ah, how I deplore the state of their precious souls!) who bring back with them their baptismal innocence which they have preserved during the scholastic year, only to lose it during the idleness and freedom of the holidays! If one month of the year can do so much harm, what cannot idleness effect in those for whom the whole year is one holiday? I ask all of you who are here present: When have you most frequently experienced temptations and impure thoughts and desires (I say nothing of your having consented to them, and I hope and trust such has not been the case with any of you); was it not almost always when you were idle and unoccupied, and could afford to stare at everything around you? When you lay in bed longer than usual in the morning? When you gave up work earlier than usual in the evening, and as is unfortunately too often the case in summer, sat at the door still late at night? Or otherwise when you had nothing to occupy you? If one quarter of an hour in the day can do that, what cannot idleness teach those who make a profession of it?

And parents should not wonder at the wickedness of their children, when the latter are brought up in idleness. Mark this, fathers and mothers; for God has entrusted your children to you, binding you by a grievous obligation to look after their souls and to bring them to heaven. You often complain of the conduct of your sons and daughters; you say that your children already know and speak of things that they should not know anything of for the next twenty years; that from day to day they grow more independent, vain, unruly, indevout, and indeed if you could see into their consciences you would find far worse things that do not appear in their faces. Whence comes this? Eh! reflect a little on the training you give your children; examine how they spend the day from morning till night; see if they do not perhaps sit on that cushion on which the devil takes his rest. You may be quite certain, I repeat with St. Jerome, that idleness is the mother of all concupiscence and sin; you need not have the slightest doubt of this; idleness is the bellows that blows up the flames of impurity and wantonness and all other vices. How is it possible, if the son has nothing to do but eat, drink, sleep, and roam about the streets, if the devil finds him always making a holiday; how is it possible, I say, for that wicked spirit not to lead him into nil kinds of sin and evil? How is it possible, if the daughter has no occupation but adorning and tricking herself out; no other teaching or instruction but how she is to make courtesies and pay compliments, how she is to talk and dance; if she is allowed full liberty to attend all kinds of parties; if she finds the smoke of the kitchen too sharp for her eyes; if the spinning-wheel irritates her ears with its noise; if the needle hurts her hands; if the smoothing-iron is too hard for her hands, if the gauflering-iron blisters her fingers; if housework is too hard or too low for her; if her whole occupation consists in talking, joking, laughing, sitting at the window or before the door; how is it possible that in such circumstances innocence, piety, modesty, purity should escape getting into danger and being lost? There is not the least doubt that idleness is the sole root of all this mischief.

But should encourage them to work at some suitable labor. Do not allow idleness into the house; keep the children working diligently, and then things will go better. And do not let the piety of your daughters deceive you in this particular; they may wish to spend the whole morning in the church, and to be present at vespers and other devotions in the afternoon. I do not say that those things are not good, but they are not always real devotions with every one; sometimes they are prompted by a spirit of freedom, weariness of being alone, love of idleness, curiosity, the desire to see and be seen. The best and safest prayer for Christian maidens on week-days is, after having heard holy Mass, to work diligently at home for the honor of God. There is no better inheritance you can leave your children, no more useful dowry for their future wedding-day, than, besides the fear of God, a love and relish for suitable work. This is the best means of preserving their temporal goods and saving their souls from sins and vice. Fathers, mothers, see that you give your children good example in this respect!

Although they may not be obliged to work to support themselves. What, some of you will say, do you wish to make us all work? You must know that we do not need to earn our bread in that way; we have, thank God! enough to live on; we belong to rich, respectable families, and it would not be becoming in us to toil and work; we have servants to do that for us. Now I am indeed glad to hear that you are rich and noble. I wish you joy, and hope that it may last! But that does not excuse you from honorable work and occupation; that is no reason why you should be always idle. The good of a serious occupation is not merely earning one’s livelihood; the chief reason is to avoid opening the door to sin and vice by idleness, so that we may save our souls. Consider that house which the Holy Ghost describes to us in the Book of Proverbs. In it there was an abundance of all good things, and it was as well provided as the ship that does not leave the land until it is filled with all necessaries; its numerous servants were all well fed, clothed, and provided for. The master sat in the council and took his place among the senators of the land; the mistress was clothed in rich apparel; in a word, everything was in such good order that there was nothing which one could envy in another house. In the midst of these riches, what did the mistress do in the house? Did she occupy herself, as she might have done, in going to parties, walking, gambling, and visiting? Hear the words of the Holy Ghost: “She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands;” mark this, Christian women and maidens! “She is like the merchant’s ship, she bringeth her bread from afar.” So diligent was she in her housework that she even interrupted her night’s rest: “She hath risen in the night, and given a prey to her household, and victuals to her maidens. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle.” In a word: “She…hath not eaten her bread idle.” Was that amount of labor necessary for such a woman? By no means, but she occupied herself thus in order to please God. Therefore she merited the name of a God-fearing woman: “The woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.”^[8] Those holy hermits of olden times who lived on herbs and roots, and wove baskets the whole day, did not do so for the sake of earning their living or making money, for when a basket was finished they would unweave it and commence it again; their only object was to avoid idleness and always to have something to do, some work in hand. A few years ago I saw in a princely court the princess with countesses and other noble ladies continually at work, even while taking their tea; some were sewing, others embroidering, and others making lace. To my great amazement I read lately of Charlemagne, the great Christian emperor, that he had his sons taught different trades and professions, while his daughters had to spin and were not allowed to wear any linen or lace but what they had made themselves. What do yon think of this? These people belonged to a princely, an imperial family; and they worked, not for their daily bread, but for the sake of their souls, and of Christian modesty and humility.

For we must labor to gain heaven. You do not need to work, you say, in order to earn your bread. Very good, but you must work to earn heaven; is not that so? Even if an idle life brought no sin or vice in its train, no special temptations, it still could not lead to heaven. For what is eternal happiness, and to whom is it promised? It is a reward that is given to every one according to his works. “The Son of man shall come in the glory of Iiis Father with His angels,” so says Our Lord in the Gospel of St. Matthew, “and then will He render to every man according to his works.”^[9] Heaven is a penny that will not be given to any one unless to him who has labored till evening. “And when evening was come, the lord of the vineyard saith to his steward: Call the laborers and pay them their hire;” and then “they received every man a penny.”^[10] Therefore the usual excuse is of no avail: if I do nothing, I do no harm. What! no harm? To do nothing is in itself harmful. You have a piece of land which is so hard that it produces no thistles or thorns, or other weeds, but neither does it produce good fruit; is that good land? No. It is worth nothing to you. The heavenly Householder will one day ask us the question that was put to the idlers in the Gospel: “Why, stand you here all the day idle?”^[11] He will not say: why stand you here, wicked and unjust people? Why do you hinder others from working? Why do you destroy My vineyard? But: “Why stand you here all the day idle?” “Go you also into My vineyard;”^[12] work, or you have no reward to expect. No, I repeat with St. Augustine, never will any one who loves idleness become a citizen of heaven.

Consolation for those who have to work, and exhortation always to make a good use of time. My dear brethren, do we not all wish to go to heaven? Then let us work honestly for it. If the state to which each one is called by Divine Providence does not allow him to occupy himself always with holy things and virtuous works, then at least let him see that the devil never finds him idle, and that the precious time that is given us only that we may gain heaven is not uselessly squandered. Christian tradesmen, and all who must earn your living by honest labor, oh, how fortunate you are in this respect, if you keep from grievous sin and always direct your work to God by the good intention! Never regret the sweat that bathes your brows. Think often: ah, surely heaven is worth any labor! St. Macarius went once to visit St. Anthony; as soon as these holy old hermits had greeted each other, they sat down and began to speak of heavenly things. Macarius, although he was tired from the journey, took up the pieces of bark that were near him and began as usual to make baskets, that he might not be idle; thus while the tongue was speaking of God the hands were working the whole time in the divine honor. When Macarius was about to depart, Anthony fell on his neck, and pressing both his hands warmly, broke out into the following exclamation: “O holy and blessed hands! what glory you shall have!” For you would not remain a moment idle, even after a long journey and during a holy conversation. Christian workmen! not Anthony, but Christ Himself will one day say to you in congratulation when the evening of life puts an end to your toil: O blessed hands which worked the whole day for My sake, what glory you have earned! Blessed souls, who early in the morning, while others were squandering away their precious time in sleep, went to church, to devotions, in spite of cold, snow, rain, wind, and weather, and offered your daily labor to Me in public hymns and prayers, while during the day you often renewed that intention by holy thoughts and aspirations, saying: “For Thy sake, O Lord!” Now I do not say to you: Go into My vineyard to work; but to your eternal consolation: “Come, ye blessed of My Father,” whom you have so truly served. Come into the kingdom and receive your reward, the penny you have earned with Me and all My servants; enter into eternal joys! Oh, what a happiness for him who hears those words! Let us work diligently for God’s honor and we shall hear them. Amen.

Another introduction to the same sermon for Septuagesima Sunday.

Text.

Quid hic statis tota die otiosi?—Matt. xx. 6.

“Why stand you here all the day idle?”

Introduction.

And who could blame the poor people for standing in the market-place idle, if they could find no work? Who were they whom the householder reproved so sharply? They were laborers who were accustomed to work from their youth upwards, and they had come to the market that they might be seen and thus perhaps have a chance of being hired by some one; therefore they said: “No man hath hired us,” although we have been waiting here the whole day. What would the householder have said to them if they were lazy good-for-nothings, who seldom did any work, and had come to the market merely for the purpose of talking and chatting, and passing away the time? What would he have said if they had spent in that manner not only a day, but whole weeks and months, roaming about the streets, and making a profession of idleness through dislike for work? My dear brethren, how many idlers of the kind are there not nowadays among Christians, to whom the heavenly Householder might say with just indignation: “Why stand you here all the day idle?” Nay, why do you idle away the greater part of your lives? Do these people also expect to receive the penny, that is, an eternal kingdom, as their reward in the evening, at the end of their lives? Ah, that cannot be! The reward is promised, not to idlers, but to those who work hard, as I shall now show, and I say: Plan of Discourse as above.

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1. Anima quæ peccaverit, ipsa morietur.—Ezech. xviii. 4.
2. Mitte illum in operationem, ne vacet. Multam enim malitiam docuit otiositas.—Ecclus. xxxiii. 28, 29.
3. Licet sabbatis benefacere, an male? Animam salvam facere, an perdere?—Mark iii. 4.
4. Pulvinar diaboli.
5. Sedit populus manducare et bibere, et surrexerunt ludere.—Exod. xxxii. 6.
6. Feceruntque sibi vitulum conflatilem, et adoraverunt atque immolantes ei hostias dixerunt: isti sunt dii tui Israel, qui te eduxerunt de terra Ægypti.—Ibid. 8.
7. Ecce hæc fuit iniquitas Sodomæ sororis tuæ, superbia, saturitas panis, et abundantia et otium ipsius, et filiarum ejus. Et elevatæ sunt, et fecerunt abominationes coram me: et abstuli eas sicut vidisti.—Ezech. xvi. 49, 50.
8. Quæsivit lanam et linum, et operata est consilia manuum suarum. Facta est quasi navis institoris, de longe portans panem suum. De nocte surrexit, deditque prædam domesticis suis, et cibaria ancillis suis. Manum suam misit ad fortia, et digiti ejus apprehenderunt fusum. Panem otiosa non comedit. Mulier timens Dominum, ipsa laudabitur. Date ei de fructu manuum suarum, et laudent eam in portis opera ejus.—Prov. xxxi. 13–15, 19, 27, 30, 31.
9. Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui, cum angelis suis; et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus.—Matt. xvi. 27.
10. Cum sero autem factum esset, dicit dominus vineæ procuratori suo: voca operarios, et redde illis mercedem: et acceperunt singulos denarios.—Ibid. xx. 8, 9.
11. Quid hic statis tota die otiosi?—Ibid. 6.
12. Ite et vos in vineam meam.—Ibid. 7.