10. You say that you are wealthy and rich; but it becomes not a virgin to boast of her riches, since Holy Scripture says, “What hath pride profited us? or what benefit hath the vaunting of riches conferred upon us? And all these things have passed away like a shadow.”24    Wisd. v. 8. And the apostle again warns us, and says, “And they that buy, as though they bought not; and they that possess, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as though they used it not. For the fashion of this world passeth away.”25    1 Cor. vii. 30, 31. Peter also, to whom the Lord commends His sheep to be fed and guarded, on whom He placed and founded the Church, says indeed that he has no silver and gold, but says that he is rich in the grace of Christ—that he is wealthy in his faith and virtue—wherewith he performed many great works with miracle, wherewith he abounded in spiritual blessings to the grace of glory. These riches, this wealth, she cannot possess, who had rather be rich to this world than to Christ.

X. Locupletem te dicis et divitem. Sed jactare divitias suas virginem non decet, cum dicat Scriptura divina: Quid nobis profuit superbia, aut quid divitiarum jactatio contulit nobis? transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra (Sap. V, 8); et Apostolus rursum moneat et dicat: Et qui emunt sic sint quasi non ementes, et qui possident quasi non possidentes, et qui hoc 0449A mundo utuntur, quasi non utantur . Praeterit enim figura hujus mundi (I Cor. VII, 30, 31). Petrus etiam, cui oves suas Dominus pascendas tuendasque commendat, super quem posuit et fundavit Ecclesiam , aurum quidem sibi esse et argentum negat (Act. III, 6), sed esse se dicit Christi gratia divitem, esse fide ejus et virtute locupletem, quibus multa magnalia cum miraculo faceret, quibus ad gratiam gloriae bonis spiritalibus abundaret. Has opes, has divitias possidere non potest quae se divitem saeculo mavult esse quam Christo.