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Laqueus Amoris [17]


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34 ↓
Laqueus Amoris.translation
XVII.
1 Tim.6. Chrysost. Idiot. Chrysost.
INfidiæ sunt in diuitiarū amplitudine; est enim
illarum Amor, rete, vinculumque tenacissimum.
diuites quanto copiosius suis opibus ambiuntur,
tantò onerosius vinciuntur. experientiâ discimus
nihil esse laboriosius in hoc mundo quam terre-
nis æstuare desiderijs. terrenarum diuitiarum
amor insatiabilis est, & longe amplius desiderio
te torquet quam refrigeret vsu suo. illarum quo-
que acquisitio, magni laboris est; possessio, magni
timoris; amissio, magni doloris, qui illas amat
Deum amare non potest, sed cum ipsis labentibus
labitur in perditionem: & qui eis innititur per
amorem, cum ipsis defluit in mærorem. qui enim
eas inuenit, requiem perdit: & cum vigilat aug-
mentum cogitat: cum dormit, fures somniat. in
die est afflictus, & in nocte pauidus, semper au-
tem mendicus. O Anima, vides per effectum
quod laqueus est in auro, viscus in argento, & pe-
dica in prædio. quia qui aurum petit, strangula-
tur; qui argentum, visco hæret; & qui prædia,
alligatur. qui manè quærit lucrum, vesperi repe-
rit animæ detrimentum. amat namque illa quæ
possessa onerant, amata inquinant, & amissa cru-
ciant, quæque arctius parta, quam concupita cō-
stringunt. Disrupto igitur vinculo è laqueo prosi-
li, & non reponatur aurum tibi in domo, sed
quod innumeris est prætiosius pecunijs; eleemo-
sina & humanitas pro auro: nam hæ fiduciam tibi
apud Deum præbebunt. illud vero vehementer
contra te diabolum spirare facit. translation

[34a] ↓

Qui volunt diuites fieri, incidunt in tentationem et in laqueum. 1. Timoth. 61. translation

L'Amour estrangle d'vn noeud d'or,
Les Idolatres du Thresor.

35 ↓
Lacet de l'Amour.
XVII.
L'or, & l'argent, & les biens de la terre,
Sont vn lacet, qui nous estrangle, & serre
Par le collet, quand nous n'y pensons pas.
Infame Amour, qui nous emporte, & traisne
Par ces attraicts à ceste fin vilaine,
Et d'vn nœud d'or, à l'eternel trespas.

La codicia rompe el saco
Y el Amor con lazo y soga
En los thesoros ahoga.

Een gulden strick is 't seker lodt/
Door die vā't gelt maeckt sijnē Godt.

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34

[34a]

35

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Translations

The snare of love.
There are traps hidden in vast riches. The love for these is a net and is a very gripping bond. The more the rich are surrounded by ever wealthier affluence, the more they are weighed down and tied down by it. Through experience we learn that nothing weighs us down more in this world than to burn with earthly desires. Love for earthly riches is unsatiable and tortures you to a much greater extent by the desire it causes, than that wealth would cool you down by enjoying it2. The attainment of it takes a lot of effort. The possession thereof a lot of anxiety, the loss a lot of grief. Who loves it cannot love God3, but together with its owners as they lapse, wealth slides into perdition. And who leans on it for love, slides away together with it onto sorrow. For who finds it loses peace and quiet: he think of extending it when he is awake, he dreams of thieves when he sleeps. By day he is stricken, by night he panics, but always he is needy. O soul, you see by its effect that there is a snare in gold, glue in silver, a shackle in a mansion. Because he who strives to acquire gold is strangled by it, who goes after silver will stick to the glue, who tries to get a mansion is tied to it. Who searches for gain early in the morning finds damage to his soul in the evening. For he loves that of which the possession weighs him down, the love of which makes him evil, the loss of which tears him apart, and what he has gained ties him down more than his desire for it ever had. Break the fetter therefore and jump out of the noose, and do not store gold in your home, but what is worth more than an innumerable amount of money: compassion and humanity instead of gold. For the latter will make that you set your trust with God. The former will make the devil breathe heavily against you.
But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped.

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    Iconclass

    Cupid holds the rope of which the noose is around the neck of a woman who is on her knees taking jewellery from a chest and a sack

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    Comments

    commentary

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    Notes

    1
    1. Timoth. 6:9.
    2
    This sentence is not logical as amor still is the subject of refrigeret, whereas of course the logical subject is 'divitiae', wealth. Chrysostom/his translator use refrigerare as an antonym of aestuare and the like. NOTE that refrigeret is subjunctive, but in Neo-Latin the use of the subjunctive in clauses is quite lax compared to Classical Latin.
    3
    "qui illas amat Deum amare non potest": 'illas' in the translation becomes 'it', as it refers to the last mentioned 'wealth'.