and stupidity! A heathen philosopher complained of this long ago: “We know,” he says, “that we are mortal and must die; that we are in daily danger of being surprised by death; yet our desires are as great as if we were immortal.”[1] It is not enough for us to have our daily bread, for which Christ taught us to pray, in order to preserve our lives; we wish for superfluities. Nor are we satisfied even with the superfluous; we long for still more. The care for the present day, to which Christ exhorts us, is not enough; we take into account future and uncertain days, weeks, months, and years, so that nothing may be wanting to us. Our desires are as great as if we were immortal; we do not think of where we are going; we forget that we are really on the road to death and that we are hurrying to the grave. For what else are we so careful in nourishing this flesh of ours but to give it to the worms? For whom do we heap up wealth if not for our descendants to whom we must leave it? Is it not a foolish thing to build in a place in which we cannot remain? To spend so much labor in gathering together what we cannot keep possession of? “I beg of you, brethren,” says St. Augustine, “whenever you pass by the tomb of a rich man to look round and see where are his riches and ornaments, his glory, his vanity, his luxury, his pleasure, or what remains to him of all these things. Consider diligently and see and acknowledge that nothing remains to him now but ashes, filth, and worms. Imagine that you hear a voice from the grave crying out to you, and indeed the silence of the grave is eloquent enough: What you are now, I was; what I am now, you will be. Miserable mortal who now think so much of the comforts and enjoyments of life! see and consider what the end of them must be. I was formerly as rich, as powerful, as mighty, as fond of comfort, as you are; and one day you will be as foul and fetid as I am now.”[2]
Although one may live longer than another, yet we must all Yes, we know that we are going to the grave; but the way may be a long one; we may still have many years to pass in this world. Such are the thoughts of most people. They all acknowledge that they must die; hardly one thinks he will die soon. Each one looks at his grave as still many miles, many years distant from
- ↑ Tanquam mortales vivimus; tanquam immortales concupiscimus.
- ↑ Rogo vos fratres, quoties per sepulchrum divitis transitis, ut diligenter inspiciatis, ubi sint ejus divitize et ornamenta, ubi gloria, ubi vanitas, ubi luxuria, ubi voluptas, vel ubi eorum sint spectacula. Considerate diligenter, et videte et agnoscite, quia nihil aliud in eis est nisi cinis, foetor et vermis. Hoc quod tu es, ego fui; et ego quod sum modo, tu eris postea.
