mandment, although his conscience is beginning to awaken.
109. The rich also present this excuse: I give men money that they may work for me. It would be to my interest not to give them work, but still I do it. And I hope to be rewarded by God for my good work. And then without me, where would they get money for their necessities?
I reply: You should employ in your good works treasures gained by your own labor, following the commandment which I have given, that is to say, wash you with clean water, and not with that which is impure. But you pretend to help men with the product of their labor! Who, then, has earned the money that you give them? Is it your money? No, it belongs to the laborers. Then what reward can you look for?
110. It is said in the Law: "As is the laborer, so is the work; as is the ground, so are the fruits." In other words, if we are but ignorant peasants and useless portions of society, why do you love our work, that is, our bread? Believe me, reader, if I were as educated and intelligent as you are, I would never eat bread at all, but only silver or gold.
111. They will tell you: I esteem with my whole heart all laborers, and I also love labor for bread, and I detest and scorn all sluggards. To this I reply, in the words of the proverb: "I hear the voice of Jacob, but it is Esau that draws near to me."
