When both
the character and the virtue of this man have been described, then, his
prosperity is shown next so that the following adversity may be judged more
grave in comparison with the preceding prosperity. ... Now after the good
constitution of one’s own character, the mainstay of temporal prosperity
consists in relatives, especially in children, who are, in a manner of speaking,
part of their parents. Therefore, first Job’s prosperity with respect to
fruitfulness of offspring is described, when it is said that Seven sons and three daughters were born to
him. ...
After the
adversity of blessed Job has been narrated, there is a discussion here of the
patience which he demonstrated in adversity. ...
Job indeed
displayed sadness in adversity, yet such moderate sadness that it was subject
to reason, and therefore it is said that Then
Job rose up and rent his tunic, which among men is usually an indication of
sadness. One should note, however, that he says Then, namely, after hearing of the death of his children, so that
he seems to have been pained over them more than over the loss of his property.
For not to be pained over dead loved-ones seems to be the mark of a hard and
insensitive heart, but it is the mark of a virtuous man to experience this not immoderate
pain.
---
“The mainstay of
temporal prosperity consists in relatives, especially in children.” Would that
be accepted today as a piece of common sense? People seem to view children as
obstacles to prosperity or as demands upon prosperity. But Aquinas says
children are a part of prosperity,
and the most important part. It’s
also worth remarking that Aquinas was a Dominican friar—in other words he took
a vow of celibacy—and his closest friends reported that he was a virgin until
death. And yet he could say this about children. Note also how foreign it seems
today to include relatives as a form
of prosperity. This has the ring of personal truth. Thomas loved his family,
especially one sister whom he visited often, and a brother, unjustly executed
by the Emperor Frederick II, about whom he had recurring dreams and for whose
salvation he prayed anxiously. In light of this, and of the value placed on
children, one can see the true poverty involved in professing religious vows.
Celibacy did not just mean giving up sex, it also meant giving up family and
children—and what an impoverishment that could be to a man for whom children
were the mainstay of wealth!
On the whole, is
it not a sign of the health of medieval society (healthier than ours!) that
Aquinas could call family the greater part of wealth?
