61!i GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. XVIII. commandments,Thou shalllovethyneighbouras thyself,how was itthatwhen he heard,Go and sellallthatthouhast, and giveto thepoor,he went away sorrowful? BEDB. Or we must not think him to have lied,but to have avowed thathe had livedhonestly,thatis,at leastin outward Mark things,elseMark couldneverhave said,And Jesusseeing him lovedhim. TIT.BOST.Our Lord next declares,thatthough a man haskeptthe oldcovenant,he isnot perfect,sincehe lacks to followChrist.Thou yet lackestone thing,Sellallthat thouhast,fyc.As ifHe says,Thou askesthow to possess eternallife;scatterthy goodsamong the poor,and thou shaltobtainit. A littlethingisthatthou spendest,thou Athan.exreceivestgreatthings.ATHAN. For when we despisetheSUa°fUgaeworld,we must notimaginewe haveresignedany thinggreat, forthewholeearthincomparisonoftheheavenisbuta span long; thereforeeven shouldtheywho renounceitbe lords of the whole earth,yet stillitwould be nothingworthin comparisonofthekingdom ofheaven.BEDE. Whoever then wishesto be perfectmust sellallthathe hath,not a part only,asAnaniasand Sapphiradid,butthewhole.THEOPHTL. Hence when He says,All thatthouhast,He inculcatesthe most completepoverty.For ifthereisany thingleftover Basil.in orremainingtothee,thouartitsslave.BASIL.He doesnot inL92. tellus tosellour goods,becausetheyareby natureevil,for then theywould not be God'screatures; He thereforedoes notbidus castthem away asiftheywerebad,butdistribute them ; norisanyone condemnedforpossessingthem,butfor abusingthem. And thusitis,thattolayoutour goodsac cordingtoGod'scommand both blotsoutsins,and bestows Chrys. thekingdom. CHRYS.God mightindeedfeedthepoorwith- 22.ini. out our takingcompassionupon them, but He wishesthe adCor. giversto be bound by the tiesof loveto the receivers. Basil.in BASIL.When our Lord says,Give to thepoor,itbecomes disj,3"ada man no longerto be careless,but diligentlyto disposeof int.9. allthings,firstofallby himselfifin any measurehe isable, ifnot,by thosewho areknown to be faithful,and prudent in theirmanagement; forcursedishe who doetkthework oftheLord negligently.CHRYS. But itisasked,how does .Win'i Christacknowledgethe givingallthingsto the poortobe ailCor.