And thus it seemeth unto me, cousin, in good faith, that since in the having of authority the profit is not great, and the displeasures neither small nor few; and since of the losing there are so many sundry chances and by no means a man can keep it long; and since to part from it is such a painful grief:  I can see no very great cause for which, as a high worldly commodity, men should greatly desire it.

XII

And thus far have we considered hitherto, in these outward goods that are called the gifts of fortune, only the slender commodity that worldly-minded men have by them.  But now, if we consider further what harm to the soul they take by them who desire them only for the wretched wealth of this world, then shall we well perceive how far more happy is he who well loseth them than he who ill findeth them.

These things are such as are of their own nature indifferent—­that is, of themselves neither good nor bad—­but are matter that may serve to the one or the other according as men will use them.  Yet need we little doubt but that for those who desire them only for their worldly pleasure and for no further godly purpose the devil shall soon turn them from things indifferent and make them things very evil.  For though they be indifferent of their nature, yet cannot the use of them lightly stand indifferent, but must be determinately either good or bad.  And therefore he who desireth them only for worldly pleasure, desireth them not for any good.  And for better purpose than he desireth them, to better use is he not likely to put them.  And therefore will he use them not unto good but consequently to evil.

And for example, first consider it in riches, and in him who longeth for them as for things of temporal commodity and not for any godly purpose.  What good they shall do him, St. Paul declareth, when he writeth unto Timothy, “They that long to be rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil, and into many desires unprofitable and noxious, which drown men into death and into perdition.”  And the holy scripture saith also in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Proverbs, “He that gathereth treasures shall be shoved into the snares of death.”  So that whereas God saith by the mouth of St. Paul that they shall fall into the devil’s snare, he saith in the other place that they shall be pushed and shoved in by violence.  And of truth, while a man desireth riches not for any good godly purpose but only for worldly wealth, it must needs be that he shall have little conscience in the getting.  But, by all evil ways that he can invent, shall he labour to get them.  And then shall he either niggardly heap them up together, which is, as you well know, damnable; or else shall he wastefully misspend them upon worldly pomp, pride, and gluttony, with occasion of many sins more, and that is yet much more damnable.