428.那些天生富有同情心的人，若不通过操练真正的仁爱而使其同情心变得属灵，就会以为仁爱就在于周济穷人，救助有需要的人，而无需先打听一下这个穷人或有需要的人是好还是坏。他们声称这没必要，因为神只在意援助和施舍。但是死后，这些人很容易与那些谨慎行善之人区分开来。因为那些出于盲目的仁爱观念行善者，对恶人和善人一样仁慈，恶人利用他们的仁慈作恶，从而对善人造成伤害。正因如此，行这种善的人对善人所受的伤害负有不可推卸的责任。对恶人行善好比把食物送给魔鬼，而魔鬼只会把它变成毒药。因为魔鬼手中的所有食物都是毒药，即便不是，他也会通过用善行将人诱入邪恶而把它变成毒药。这还好比把刀剑递给敌人，让他拿去杀人；或好比把牧人引领绵羊进入牧场的权杖交给狼一样的人，而此人拿到权杖后，却将羊群带离草场，赶进旷野，在那里宰杀它们；或好比把公共权力交给强盗，而强盗的唯一目的就是睁大眼睛寻找战利品，他只凭受害者财富的多寡执行法律、施行审判。
428. 有些人滿有同情心, 但若不使這些同情心的行為屬靈化, 就是出自於真正的義來做這些同情的行為, 就易於相信:義就是向窮人贈予,幫助需要幫助的人, 無須先瞭解這窮人或需要幫助的人到底是善者還是惡者。因為他們聲稱這沒有必要, 因為上帝只在意所提供的幫助與施捨。但是在死後, 這些人很容易與那些因義而謹慎行善之人區分開來。因為那些盲目行善者, 像對好人那樣對惡人行很多慈善行為。惡人利用這些慈善去作惡與傷害好人。在此情形下, 行慈善者也當對好人所受的傷害負責。
向作惡之人行慈善的行為就如同將食物送給魔鬼, 魔鬼將會把它變成毒物。在魔鬼手中的任何糧食都是毒藥; 即便不是, 魔鬼也將會把它轉變成毒藥, 也就是通過將慈善的行為轉為以作惡為目的。
這還好比給敵人提供刀劍, 敵方用它們來殺人。或者就像把牧人之杖交給狼人, 讓他將羊群帶到草場。然後當狼人拿到杖後, 將羊群帶離草場, 趕進荒野, 在那裡屠殺盡絕。
這還好比將地方的領導權交給一個盜賊, 他唯一的目的便是睜眼尋找東西來偷竊。他一邊眼盯著他的受害者如何富有豐裕, 一邊實施司法與判決。
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.