130 THE TREATISES OF CYPRIAN. or a stranger,or naked, or sick,or in prison,and have not ministeredunto Thee? And He shallanswer unto them, VerilyI say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have not done itto one of the leastof these,ye have not done itunto me. And theseshallgo away into everlastinghurning,but the right eous intolifeeternal."1 THIRD BOOK. Cyprian to hisson Quirinus,greeting. Of your faithand devotionwhich you manifestto the Lord God, belovedson, you asked me to gather out for your instructionfrom the Holy Scripturessome headsbearingupon the religiousteach ing of our school;seeking for a succinctcourse of sacred reading,so that your mind, surrenderedto God, might not be wearied with long or numerous volumes of books,butin structedwith a summary of heavenly precepts,might havea wholesome and largecompendium fornourishingitsmemory. And becauseI owe you a plentifuland loving obedience,I have done what you wished. I have labouredfor once,that you might not always labour. Therefore,as much as my small abilitycould embrace, I have collectedcertainpre ceptsof the Lord, and divineteachings,which may be easy and usefulto the readers,in thata few things digestedinto a short space are both quicklyread through,and are fre quently repeated. I bid you, beloved son, ever heartily farewell. HEADS. 1. On the benefitof good works and mercy. 2. In works and alms,even if by smallnessof powerless be done,thatthe willitselfisenough. 3. That charityand brotherlylovemust be religiouslyand stedfastlypractised. 4. That we must boast in nothing,since nothing isour own. 5. That hurmlityand quietnessisto be maintainedinall things. 1Matt.xxv.31-46.