152、那些为了回报而行善的人不是出于主，而是出于自己行善。他们首先关注他们自己，因为这是他们所寻求的自己的良善。他们把邻舍的良善，也就是同胞、人类社会、国家和教会的良善，仅仅视为达到目的的手段。这就是为何为了回报所行的良善里面潜藏着爱自己爱世界的良善；这后一种良善来自人，而非来自主。凡来自人的良善都不是良善；确切地说，它成为邪恶的程度，与自己和世界潜藏在它里面的程度成正比。
152、人若为了酬报而行善，他的善行就不是来自主，而是出于他自己，因为他的关注焦点在他自己，以及从中能得到何种好处。至于友邻的福祉，即对同胞的善行，对社会，国家和教会的善行，在他眼里都只是达到目地的手段。所以为了报偿而行善的背后，隐藏的是对自己利益和世界的爱。这样的善行是来自人，不是来自主。所有出自人的善行都不是真的善行。事实上，只要自私和世俗隐藏在里面，那就是邪恶的。
152. If we are doing good for the sake of reward, the good we are doing comes not from the Lord but from ourselves, because we are focusing primarily on ourselves and what is good for us. As for the welfare of our neighbor-meaning what is good for our fellow citizens, our community, our country, and the church-this we are regarding only as a means to an end. Therefore any good act we do to get credit will have hidden in it the supposed goodness that belongs to our love for ourselves and for the world, and this type of "goodness" comes from ourselves and not from the Lord. All acts of goodness that come from ourselves are not really good-in fact, to the extent that selfishness and worldliness are concealed within them, they are evil.
152. When we do good things in order to be paid back, our good actions do not come from the Lord, but from ourselves. We mainly look out for ourselves, because we are looking out for our own good. To us, other people’s good — the good of our fellow citizens, human society, our country, and our religion — is merely a means of achieving our goals.
So behind good things that we do to get credit for them is hidden the good of our own selfish and materialistic love. This kind of goodness comes from ourselves, not from God — and any goodness that comes from ourselves is not really good. In fact, as much as selfishness and materialism are hidden behind it, it is harmful.
152. Those who do good for reward are not doing good from the Lord, but from themselves. For they give first place to looking after themselves, because it is their own good they seek. They regard the good of the neighbour, that is, the good of their fellow citizens, society at large, their country and the church, only as a means to an end. This is why good done for reward has lurking in it the good of self-love and the love of the world, and that kind of good is of human origin, and not from the Lord. All good of human origin is not good; or rather, to the extent that self-interest and the world lurks in it, it is evil.
152. Those who do good for the sake of reward, do good not from the Lord, but from themselves; for they have respect primarily to themselves, because to their own good; the good of the neighbour, that is, the good of the fellow-citizen, of human society, of the country, and the Church, they regard only as a means towards an end. On this ground it is that in the good of merit there lurks the good of self-love and of the love of the world; and this latter good is from man, and not from the Lord and all good that is from man is not good; nay, in proportion as self and the world are latent in it, it is evil.
152. They who do good for the sake of reward, do not do good from the Lord, but from themselves, for they regard themselves in the first place, because they regard their own good; and the good of the neighbor, which is the good of fellow-citizens, of human society, of the country, and of the church, they regard no otherwise than as a means to an end. Hence it is, that the good of the love of self and of the world lies concealed in the good of merit, and that good is from man and not from the Lord, and all good which is from man is not good; yea, so far as self and the world lies concealed in it, it is evil.
152. Illi qui bonum faciunt mercedis causa, non bonum faciunt a Domino, sed a semet; nam spectant se primario, quia suum bonum; ac bonum proximi, quod est bonum concivis, societatis humanae, patriae, et ecclesiae, non spectant nisi quam ut medium ad finem. Inde est quod in bono meriti lateat bonum amoris sui et mundi, et id bonum est ab homine et non a Domino; et omne bonum quod est ab homine non est bonum; immo, quantum sui et mundi in illo latet, est malum.