440 GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CHAP. XII. elsewhereitissaid,Be readyto answereveryonewho shall askyoufora reasonofthehopethatisinyou. When indeed a contestor strifearisesamong friends,He bidsus take thought,hut when therearethe terrorsof a courtofjustice and fearon everyside,He givesHis own strengthso as to inspireboldnessand utterance,but not dismay. THEO- PHYL. Sincethen ourweaknessistwofold,and eitherfrom fearof punishmentwe shun martyrdom,or becausewe are ignorantand cannotgivea reasonof our faith,He has ex cludedboth; the fearof punishmentin thatHe said,Fear notthemwhichkillthebody,butthe fearof ignorance,when He said,Takeno thoughthow orwhat ye shallanswer,§-c. 13. And one ofthecompany saiduntoHim, Master, speak to my brother,thathe dividethe inheritance withme. 14. And He saidunto him, Man, who made Me a judgeor a divideroveryou? 15. And He saidunto them,Take heed,and be ware of covetousness: fora man's lifeconsistethnot intheabundanceofthethingswhich he possesseth. AMBROSE. The wholeoftheformerpassageisgivento pre pareus forundergoingsufferingforconfessingtheLord,or forcontemptofdeath,orforthehopeofreward,orfordenun ciationofthepunishmentthatwillawaithim towhom pardon willneverbe granted.And sincecovetousnessisgenerally wont totryvirtue,fordestroyingthisalso,a preceptand ex ampleisadded,asitissaid,And one of thecompanysaidto Sim, Speaktomy brother,thathe dividetheinheritancewith me. THEOPHYL. As thesetwo brotherswerecontendingcon cerningthedivisionoftheirpaternalinheritance,itfollows, thatone meant to defraudthe other; but our Lord teaches us thatwe oughtnottobe seton earthlythings,and rebukes him thatcalledHim to the divisionof inheritance;as it follows,And He saiduntohim,Man, who made Me ajudgeor a divideroveryou? BEDE. He who willstoimposethetrouble ofdivisionoflandsupon theMasterwho iscommending the joysof heavenlypeace,isrightlycalledman, accordingto