But now, cousin, to come to your doubt how it can be that a man may with conscience keep riches with him, when he seeth so many poor men on whom he may bestow them.  Verily, that might he not with conscience do, if he must bestow it upon as many as he can.  And so much of truth every rich man do, if all the poor folk that he seeth are so specially by God’s commandment committed unto his charge alone that, because our Saviour said, “Give to every man who asketh thee,” therefore he is bound to give out still to every beggar who will ask him, as long as any penny lasteth in his purse.  But verily, cousin, that saying hath (as St. Austine saith other places in scripture have) need of interpretation.  For, as holy St. Austine saith, though Christ say, “Give to every man who asketh thee,” he saith not yet, “Give them all that they will ask thee.”  But surely they would be the same, if he meant to bind me by commandment to give every man without exception something.  For so should I leave myself nothing.

Our Saviour, in that place of the sixth chapter of St. Luke, speaketh both of the contempt that we should have in heart of these worldly things, and also of the manner that men should use toward their enemies.  For there he biddeth us love our enemies, give good words for evil, and not only suffer injuries patiently (both the taking away of our goods and harm done unto our body), but also be ready to suffer the double, and over that to do good in return to those who do us the harm.  And among these things he biddeth us give to every man who asketh, meaning that when we can conveniently do a man good, we should not refuse it, whatsoever manner of man he may be, though he were our mortal enemy, if we see that unless we help him ourselves, the person of that man should stand in peril of perishing.  And therefore saith St. Paul, “If thine enemy be in hunger, give him meat.”

But now, though I be bound to give every manner of man in some manner of his necessity, were he my friend or my foe, Christian man or heathen, yet am I not bound alike unto all men, nor unto any many in every case alike.  But, as I began to tell you, the differences of the circumstances make great change in the matter.  St. Paul saith, “He that provideth not for those that are his, is worse than an infidel.”  Those are ours who are belonging to our charge, either by nature or by law, or any commandment of God.  By nature, as our children; by law, as our servants in our household.  Albeit these two sorts be not ours all alike, yet would I think that the least ours of the twain—­that is, the servants—­if they need, and lack, we are bound to look to them and provide for their need, and see, so far as we can, that they lack not the things that should serve for their necessity while they dwell in our service.  Meseemeth also that if they fall sick in our service, so that they cannot do the service that we retain them for, yet may we not in any wise turn them out of doors and cast them