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10 He that will not labor. From its being written in Psalm 128:2 —

Thou art blessed, eating of the labor of thy hands,

also in Proverbs 10:4,

The blessing of the Lord is upon the hands of him that laboreth,

it is certain that indolence and idleness are accursed of God. Besides, we know that man was created with this view, that he might do something. Not only does Scripture testify this to us, but nature itself taught it to the heathen. Hence it is reasonable, that those, who wish to exempt themselves from the common law, ⁷¹⁰⁷¹⁰     “De la loy et regle commune;” — “From the common law and rule.” should also be deprived of food, the reward of labor. When, however, the Apostle commanded that such persons should not eat, he does not mean that he gave commandment to those persons, but forbade that the Thessalonians should encourage their indolence by supplying them with food.

It is also to be observed, that there are different ways of laboring. For whoever aids ⁷¹¹⁷¹¹     “Aide et porte proufit;” — “Aids and brings advantage.” the society of men by his industry, either by ruling his family, or by administering public or private affairs, or by counseling, or by teaching, ⁷¹²⁷¹²     “En enseignant les autres;” — “By instructing others.” or in any other way, is not to be reckoned among the idle. For Paul censures those lazy drones who lived by the sweat of others, while they contribute no service in common for aiding the human race. Of this sort are our monks and priests who are largely pampered by doing nothing, excepting that they chant in the temples, for the sake of preventing weariness. This truly is, (as Plautus speaks,) ⁷¹³⁷¹³     The passage alluded to is as follows: “Musice, Hercle, agitis aetatem“ —(“By Hercules, you pass life musically”) Plaut. Mostellariae, Act in. Sc. 2, 40. — Ed. to “live musically.” ⁷¹⁴⁷¹⁴     “Plaute poete Latin ancien, quand il vent parler de gens qui viuent a leur aise, il dit qu’ils viuent musicalement, c’est a dire, en chantres. Mais a la verite on pent bien dire de ceux-ci, en tout sens qu’on le voudra prendre, qu’ils viuent musicalement;” — “Plautus, the ancient Latin poet, when he has it in view to speak of persons who live at their ease, says that they live musically, that is to say, like singers. But truly it may be well said of those persons, in every sense in which one might choose to take it, that they live musically.”

11 We hear that there are some among you. It is probable that this kind of drones were, as it were, the seed of idle monkhood. For, from the very beginning, there were some who, under pretext of religion, either made free with the tables of others, or craftily drew to themselves the substance of the simple. They had also, even in the time of Augustine, come to prevail so much, that he was constrained to write a book expressly against idle monks, where he complains with good reason of their pride, because, despising the admonition of the Apostle, they not only excuse themselves on the ground of infirmity, but they wish to appear holier than all others, on the ground that they are exempt from labors. He inveighs, with good reason, against this unseemliness, that, while the senators are laborious, the workman, or person in humble life, does not merely live in idleness, ⁷¹⁶⁷¹⁶     “Les senateurs et les nobles ayent la main a la besogne, et cependant les manouuriers et mechaniques, non seulement viuront en oisiuete;” — “The senators and the nobles have their hand in the work, and in the mean time the workmen and mechanics will not only live in idleness.” but would fain have his indolence pass for sanctity. Such are his views. ⁷¹⁷⁷¹⁷     “Voyla que dit S. Augustin;” — “There you have what St. Augustine says.” In the mean time, however, the evil has increased to such an extent, that idle bellies occupy nearly the tenth part of the world, whose only religion is to be well stuffed, and to have exemption from all annoyance ⁷¹⁸⁷¹⁸     “Et solicitude;” — “And anxiety.” of labor. And this manner of life they dignify, sometimes with the name of the Order, sometimes with that of the Rule, of this or that personage. ⁷¹⁹⁷¹⁹     “D’vn tel sainct, ou d’vn tel;” — “Of this saint, or that.”

But what does the Spirit say, on the other hand, by the mouth of Paul? He pronounces them all to be irregular and disorderly, by whatever name of distinction they may be dignified. It is not necessary to relate here how much the idle life of monks has invariably displeased persons of sounder judgment. That is a memorable saying of an old monk, which is recorded by Socrates in the Eighth Book of the Tripartite History — that he who does not labor with his hands is like a plunderer. ⁷²⁰⁷²⁰     “Vn vagabond qui va pillant;” — “A vagabond that goes a-plundering.” I do not mention other instances, nor is it necessary. Let this statement of the Apostle suffice us, in which he declares that they are dissolute, and in a manner lawless.

Doing nothing. In the Greek participles there is, an elegant (προσωνομασία) play upon words, which I have attempted in some manner to imitate, by rendering it as meaning that they do nothing, but have enough to do in the way of curiosity. ⁷²¹⁷²¹     “Nihil eos agere operis, sed curiose satagere.” He censures, however, a fault with which idle persons are, for the most part, chargeable, that, by unseasonably bustling about, they give trouble to themselves and to others. For we see, that those who have nothing to do are much more fatigued by doing nothing, than if they were employing themselves in some very important work; they run hither and thither; wherever they go, they have the appearance of great fatigue; they gather all sorts of reports, and they put them in a confused way into circulation. You would say that they bore the weight of a kingdom upon their shoulders. Could there be a more remarkable exemplification of this than there is in the monks? For what class of men have less repose? Where does curiosity reign more extensively? Now, as this disease has a ruinous effect upon the public, Paul admonishes that it ought not to be encouraged by idleness.