Lecture 2 — The pains of the sinner

^18:12^ Let hunger rob his strength, and let abstinence from food invade his ribs.

^18:13^ May his skin lose its beauty, and may a premature death consume the arms of that man.

^18:14^ May trust be torn away from his tent, and may death trample him like a king.

^18:15^ May the companions of the one who no longer lives inhabit his tent, let sulphur be sprinkled in his tent.

^18:16^ May his roots be dried up down deep, and may his harvest above be ruined.

^18:17^ Let the memory of that man perish from the earth, and may his name not be celebrated in the squares.

^18:18^ Let him be expelled from the light into darkness, and let him disappear from the earth.

^18:19^ He will not bring forth seed or offspring in his people nor will anyone remain in his territory.

^18:20^ In his day, the little people will be astonished and honor invade the first men.

^18:21^ Such are the tents of the evil man. Such is the house of him who has no knowledge of God.

281. Let hunger rob his strength. In the foregoing, Baldath had presented the punishments of sins found in exterior adversities, but here he begins enumerating the punishments pertaining to the persons of the sinners themselves. One must note that sins themselves imply exterior adversities, and so he talks of exterior adversities as though speaking with some certitude. But corporeal punishments do not seem to be directly caused from sins themselves, unless perhaps one considers sins such as gluttony and lust, in which someone sins in his own body; therefore, he does not treat corporeal punishments in denouncing him, but more in threatening him. He begins with the corporal punishments which precede death, and since nourishment preserves the life of the body, he first invokes the lack of nourishment against him, because it is the first cause of the beginning of the failure of man’s health. Regarding this he says, let hunger rob his strength. Then, as he lacks nourishment, his life is also taken away, and regarding this he says, and let abstinence from food invade his ribs, by which he means the weakening of the vital operations, the principle one of which is the heart, which is contained under the rib cage.

The goods of the body which hunger begins to weaken are totally consumed in death. The principal goods of the body are beauty and strength, and so he then says, may his skin lose its beauty, because beauty regards exterior appearance, and may a premature death consume the arms of that man, in which strength is especially found, and which death robs before the end of the natural span of life. The dead man is taken out of his house, and regarding this he says, may trust be torn away from his tent, because he did not place his hope in God, but in the vulgar display and the glory of his house, of which he is deprived after death. Thrown out of his house, he is shut up in the tomb where he is totally exterminated in death. Respecting this he says, and may death trample him like a king, because death, like a king in the fullness of his power, grinds him into dust. When he has been taken from his house, the dead man’s domestics then remain with whom he had society in this life, and as to this he says, may the companions of the one who no longer lives inhabit his tent, that is, of the dead man who now takes no more part in human affairs. When the householder dies, the members of the household mourn and show signs of sadness, either wearing black and somber garments, or by offensive odors, and he expresses this when he says, let sulphur be sprinkled in his tent. In this text, one understands all those things which can be signs of sadness, just as good odors are used for a sign of rejoicing.

282. When a man is dead, frequently everything which was his goes to ruin. He shows this is a consequence, beginning first with those things produced from the earth, some of which still remain as seedlings when he dies. Expressing this he says, may his roots be dried up down deep, so that what he had sowed or planted is destroyed and does not bear fruit. However, as to those which have already produced fruit, he says, and may his harvest above be ruined. One can refer this to any business he has begun or at that time almost concluded. He then proceeds to the renown which remains about a man after his death, by which he desires to live in the memories of men and to also have glory after death.

Thus, as to the removal of the sinner from the memories of men, he then says, let the memory of that man perish from the earth. As for the end of his renown he then says, may his name not be celebrated in the squares, which he says exactly to the point because a name is only celebrated by a crowd, which is usually found in public squares. Thus, when his memory and the public renown of his name have ended, the brightness of his glory will be changed into the darkness of perpetual oblivion, and expressing this he says, let him be expelled from the light into darkness, that is, from earthly glory to oblivion. When his fame has ceased and his body consumed by death, nothing of him will remain any longer in the world, because Baldath and his companions were of the opinion that the soul did not remain after death. Let him disappear from this world, so that nothing of him remains in the world. But since parents also live in their children, he rejects this, saying, he will not bring forth seed, because his sons will be dead, nor offspring in his people, since neither grandsons nor great-grandsons will remain, nor even his relatives, and so he then says, nor will anyone remain in his territory, for those related by blood and members of his household who should keep his memory do not.

283. He shows the effect that follows from this in the hearts of others when he then says, in his day, which is the day of his ruin, the little people will be astonished, those least among the people will wonder greatly, because they cannot comprehend how such great glory of a sinner is suddenly reduced to nothing. As for the elders, he then says, horror will invade the first men, fearing that the same thing might happen to them. He seems to have introduced this to answer to what Job had said above: whether his sons are noble or base, he does not understand, yet his flesh, while he lives, will grieve (Job 14:21). From this Job refuted the warnings of his friends or the promises of things which would happen after his death. But here, Baldath answers that great tragedies of this kind which happen after death, although the dead man does not know them, are still inflicted by God as punishments for the correction of others.

284. Since he had promised some punishments to a sinner proper to the journey of the present life, and others which are proper to the end of his journey which happen after death, he therefore adds as an epilogue, such are the tents of the evil man, which refers to his progress in the course of this present life, because travelers use tents. However, as to the ultimate end which is like the end of movement, he then says, such is the home of him who has no knowledge of God, either by unbelief or by disobedience.