263 sleep upon beds of ivory, and drink the refined wine, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments; they counted upon these things as staying, and not as fleeting.” (Amos vi. 4, 5, 6, Sept.) I have not said this without purpose, but with the view of changing your minds; and that you should do nothing that is fruitless. What then, saith one, of the fact that I do both the one and the other? This argument is much resorted to by all. And what need, tell me, when everything might be done usefully, to make a division, and to expend part on what is not wanted, but even without any purpose at all, and part usefully? Tell me, hadst thou, when sowing, cast some upon a rock, and some upon very good ground; is it likely that thou wouldest have been contented so, and have said, Where is the harm, if we cast some to no purpose, and some upon very good ground? For why not all into the very good ground? Why lessen the gain? And if thou have occasion to be getting money together, thou wilt not talk in that way, but wilt get it together from every quarter; but in the other case thou dost not so. And if to lend on usury; thou wilt not say, “Wherefore shall we give some to the poor, and some to the rich,” but all is given to the former:708 yet in the case before us, where the gain is so great, thou dost not thus calculate, and will not at length desist from expending without purpose, and laying out without return? “But,” saith one, “this also hath a gain.” Of what kind, tell me? “It increaseth friendships.” Nothing is colder than men who are made friends by these things, by the table, and surfeiting. The friendships of parasites are born only from that source. Insult not a thing so marvelous as love,709 nor say that this is its root. As if one were to say, that a tree which bore gold and precious stones had not its root of the same, but that it was gendered of rottenness; so doest even thou: for even though friendship should be born from that source, nothing could possibly be colder. But those other tables produce friendship, not with man, but with God; and that an intense710 one, so thou be intent on preparing them. For he that expendeth part in this way and part in that, even should he have bestowed much, hath done no great thing: but he that expendeth all in this way, even though he should have given little, hath done the whole. For what is required is that we give, not much or little, but not less than is in our power. Think we on him with the five talents, and on him with the two. (Matt. xxv. 15.) Think we on her who cast in those two mites. (Mark xii. 41.) Think we on the widow in Elijah’s days. She who threw in those two mites said not, What harm if I keep the one mite for myself, and give the other? but gave her whole living. (1 708 Because their distress would make them willing to give a higher interest. This place may bear the sense here given, but it seems corrupt. The sense requires, “shall we not give?” or else, “wilt thou not say?” interrogat- ively, or the expulsion of διὰ τί. 709 Compare St. Clem. Al. Pædag. l. ii. c. 1. 710 ἐπιτεταμένην. 463 Colossians 1:1,2