428# 凡生来富于怜悯之情，却不藉真仁义使其属世之怜悯化为属灵之怜悯的人，便以为仁义就是施予每一个贫者，援助每一个匮乏者；他们并不先行查问，这贫者、匮乏者究竟为善人抑或恶人。他们说，这并无必要，因为上帝只看援助与施舍本身。
然而，这些人在死后必被清楚辨别，并与那些出于审慎而行仁义施惠的人分开；因为凡出于这种盲目的仁义观念而行施惠的人，届时仍同样施惠于恶人与善人。恶人却借这些施惠作恶，并由这些恶行伤害善人；因此，这些施惠者也就在伤害善人的事上有分。
因为向恶人施惠，就如同把饼给魔鬼；魔鬼会把它变成毒物。凡在魔鬼手中的饼都是毒物；即便本来不是毒物，他也会将其变为毒物，也就是借所受的恩惠诱人入恶。
这又如同把剑递给仇敌，使他可以杀人；又如同把牧杖交给披着人形的豺狼，使他引领羊群到草场去；然而他一旦得了牧杖，便把羊群从草场赶入荒漠，并在那里宰杀它们。
这也如同把治理之权交给强盗；而强盗一心只在掠夺之物上筹谋、警醒，并按掠物的肥美与多寡来分派权利、施行审判。
428# 有些人天生富有同情心，却没有通过照着真正的仁爱行动而将其属世的同情心变得属灵；他们以为仁爱在于施舍每一个穷人，救济每一个有需要的人，无需先询问这个穷人或困苦人是好的，还是坏的；因为他们说，这样的询问是没有必要的，神只关心所给予的帮助和施舍。然而，死后，这些人被仔细地与那些出于谨慎而做仁爱的善举之人区分开来并分离。因为那些出于对仁爱的盲目观念行事的人正在同等地向恶人和善人行善，或说给这两者都带来好处，恶人利用这些好处，或说借助为他们所做的一切而继续作恶，伤害善人。在这种情况下，这些捐助者在某种程度上要为伤害善人负责。因为向恶人行善，或施以恩惠，就像把饼给魔鬼，而魔鬼却把它变成毒药；因为魔鬼手中的一切饼都是毒药。如果不是，那么魔鬼就会通过利用善行引诱邪恶，或说把善行转移到邪恶的目的上而把它变成毒药。这也像是献给敌人一把剑，让他用来杀人；或像把牧羊人的杖交给狼人，把绵羊带到牧场，但他一拿到这杖，就把绵羊从牧场赶到沙漠里，在那里宰杀它们；或像把公共权力，或领导权和控制权交给一个强盗，而强盗的唯一目的和关注点就是掠夺，他根据掠夺物的丰富程度和价值来颁布法律和执行判决，或说施与公义和实施公平。
X. 有些仁爱的义务是公共的，有些仁爱的义务是家庭的，有些仁爱的义务则是私人的
428. People who are born compassionate and yet do not make their earthly acts of compassion spiritual by doing them out of genuine goodwill tend to believe that goodwill is giving to any poor person and helping any needy person without first finding out whether the poor or needy person is good or evil. They say this is not necessary, because God notices only the helpful gesture and the act of mercy. After death, however, people like this are identified and completely separated from people who have done prudent kindnesses related to goodwill. The people who have done kindnesses based on a blind idea of goodwill do just as many kindnesses for the evil as for the good. The evil use the kindnesses to do evil things and harm good people. In that case the benefactors share the responsibility for harming good people.
Doing an act of kindness for an evildoer is like giving bread to a devil; the devil will turn it into poison. All bread that is in the hand of a devil is poison. If it is not, the devil will turn it into poison by diverting the act of kindness to an evil purpose.
It is as if you handed your enemy a sword, and the enemy killed someone with it. It is as if you gave a shepherds staff to a human wolf to bring the sheep into the pasture; yet the human wolf, staff in hand, drove the sheep away from the pasture into the wilderness and slaughtered them there. It is as if you gave leadership and control to a thief whose sole focus was keeping an eye out for things to steal; the thief would create rules and make decisions based primarily on the abundance and value of the loot.
428. Those who are born with a disposition to mercy, but do not make their natural acts of mercy spiritual, as they would if they did them out of true charity, believe that charity consists in giving to everyone who is poor and helping everyone who is needy, without previously enquiring whether the poor or needy person is good or wicked. For they claim that this is unnecessary, since God has regard only to the help or alms given. But after death these people are easily distinguished and separated from those who have performed the kind acts of charity with prudence. For those who did them from that blind notion of charity, are as kind to the wicked as to the good, and the wicked use these kindnesses to do evil, and so to harm the good. So it is that the people who do kindnesses are to blame too for the harm done to the good. Doing a kindness to an evil-doer is like giving bread to a devil, which he turns into poison. Any bread in the hands of a devil is poison, or if it is not, he turns it into poison, an action accomplished by enticing someone to evil by being kind to him. It is also like offering one's opponent a sword, with which he can kill someone. Or like giving a werewolf a shepherd's staff to lead the sheep to pasture; yet when he has got it he leads the sheep away from the pastures into deserted places and there slaughters them. It is like giving the office of magistrate to a robber, whose only purpose is to keep his eyes open for booty; he dispenses justice and makes his decisions with an eye on how wealthy and affluent his victim is.
428. Those who are by nature compassionate, and do not make their natural compassion spiritual by putting it in practice in accordance with genuine charity, believe that charity consists in giving to every poor person, and relieving everyone who is in want, without first inquiring whether the poor or needy person is good or bad; for they say that this is not necessary, since God regards only the aid and alms. But after death these are clearly distinguished and set apart from those who have done the beneficent works of charity from prudence; for those who have done them from that blind idea of charity, then do good to bad and good alike, and with the aid of what is done for them the wicked do evil and thereby injure the good. Such benefactors are partly to blame for the injury done to the good. For doing good to an evil-doer is like giving bread to a devil, which he turns into poison; for in the hands of the devil all bread is poison, or if it is not, he turns it into poison by using good deeds as allurements to evil. It is also like handing to an enemy a sword with which he may kill some one; or like giving the shepherd's staff to a wolfish man to guide the sheep to pasture, who, after he has obtained it, drives them away from the pasture to a desert, and there slaughters them; or like giving public authority to a robber, who studies and watches for plunder only, according to the richness and abundance of which he dispenses the laws and executes judgments.
428. Some men are naturally compassionate, and do not make their natural disposition spiritual by acting according to genuine charity. They believe that charity means giving to every poor person and relieving every one that is in need, without previously inquiring whether they are good or wicked; for they say such inquiry is needless, since God regards only the help and the alms that are given. After death, however, they are carefully distinguished and separated from those who have carried out the benefactions of charity with prudence. For those who act from that blind idea of charity are bestowing benefits upon the wicked and good alike, in consequence of which the wicked continue their evil practices and inflict injury on the good; so that such benefactors are actually the cause of mischief to the good.
To bestow a favor on an evil-doer is like giving bread to a devil, which he turns into poison; for bread in a devil's hand is poison, or if it is not, he turns it into poison by using good deeds as allurements to evil. It is also like offering a sword to an enemy, with which to kill someone; or like giving a shepherd's crook to a werewolf, to lead the sheep to pasture; but no sooner does he receive it than he drives the sheep away from the pasture into desert places, and there slaughters them; or like giving a post of authority to a robber whose only object and care is plunder, according to the abundance and value of which he dispenses justice and executes judgments.
428. Qui a nativitate miserabundi sunt, et misericordias suas naturales non faciunt spirituales, per quod faciant illas 1 ex genuina Charitate, illi credunt, quod Charitas sit dare cuivis pauperi, et opitulari cuivis indigenti, et non prius inquirunt, num pauper et indigens ille sit bonus aut malus, dicunt enim quod hoc non necessum sit, quoniam Deus spectat solum ad opem et eleemosynam. Sed hi post mortem probe discernuntur et separantur ab illis qui Charitatis beneficia fecerunt ex prudentia, nam illi qui ex caeca illa Charitatis idea fecerunt illa, tunc benefaciunt aeque malis ac bonis, et mali per illa faciunt mala, et per haec laedunt bonos, quare benefactores illi in causa laesionis bonorum etiam sunt; nam malefico benefacere, est sicut dare panem diabolo, quem vertit in venenum, nam omnis panis in manu diaboli est venenum, et si non est, vertit illum in id, quod facit per benefacta allicere ad mala: et est sicut porrigere inimico ensem, quo aliquem necet: et est sicut homini lupo tradere baculum pastoritium, ut ducat oves in pascua, cum tamen postquam adeptus est illum, abigit oves a pascuis in deserta, et ibi mactat illas: et est sicut praefecturam dare Latroni, qui modo animum intendit et invigilat praedae, secundum cujus opimitatem et copiam dispensat jura, et facit judicia.
Footnotes:
1. Prima editio: illos.