CHAPTER IV
5. But for what profit do they desire this? Will they wish
me happiness when they learn how near I have approached thee, by
thy gifts? And will they pray for me when they learn how much I
am still kept back by my own weight? To such as these I will
declare myself. For it is no small profit, O Lord my God, that
many people should give thanks to thee on my account and that many
should entreat thee for my sake. Let the brotherly soul love in
me what thou teachest him should be loved, and let him lament in
me what thou teachest him should be lamented. Let it be the soul
of a brother that does this, and not a stranger -- not one of
those "strange children, whose mouth speaks vanity, and whose
right hand is the right hand of falsehood."[325] But let my
brother do it who, when he approves of me, rejoices for me, but
when he disapproves of me is sorry for me; because whether he
approves or disapproves, he loves me. To such I will declare
myself. Let them be refreshed by my good deeds and sigh over my
evil ones. My good deeds are thy acts and thy gifts; my evil ones
are my own faults and thy judgment.
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