Supplement to the Sacred Anthologies

Hen. original: "Gallina" The covetous man is like a Hen: for a hen is naturally deaf in August, or in the summer; so is the covetous man in the "summer," that is, in the state of earning spiritual merit. St. Bonaventure, The Diet of Salvation, title 1, chapter 6.

Ivy. original: "Hedera" Avarice is similar to ivy. Likely referring to how ivy clings to and eventually strangles the tree it climbs. St. Asterius, cited above.

Dropsy. original: "Hydrops" The covetous man is compared to a person with dropsy. St. Bonaventure, cited above. This is because it makes a person thirst more the more he drinks; and by this, it signifies avarice. St. Thomas Aquinas, Sermon 2, 17th Sunday after Pentecost. Dropsy signifies avarice. St. Bonaventure, Diet 1 of Salvation, title 1, chapter 1. Just as the more a dropsical person drinks, the more he thirsts, so every covetous man increases his thirst by "drinking" sin. St. Gregory, Moralia, book 14, chapter 5.

Idolatry. original: "Idololatria" That herald of the voice of truth, Paul, calls avarice idolatry. St. Asterius, cited above. See above under Daughters of Avarice. Just as idolatry serves an image, so the covetous man serves his treasure. St. Innocent III, On the Contempt of the World, book 2, chapter 12.

Mother of Inequality, original: "Inaequalitatis Mater" merciless, inhuman, and cruel. Ibid.

Hell. original: "Infernus" Of the covetous man it is said: he has enlarged his soul like Hell. Habakkuk 2:5 St. Bonaventure, Diet of Salvation, title 1, chapter 6. The covetous man and Hell are alike: both eat and do not digest; both receive and do not return. Innocent III, book 2, chapter 6.

Ishmael was an idolater; and he prefigures the covetous man. Ibid.

Unquenchable Fire, original: "Ignis inextinguibilis" or insatiable desire. St. Innocent III, book 2, On the Contempt of the World, chapter 6.

Flask. original: "Lagena" Of the covetous man it is said in Isaiah 30: He shall be broken in pieces, as a potter’s vessel is dashed to items. St. Bonaventure, cited before.

Stone. original: "Lapis" The covetous man is like a stone, hard and cold; having no piety for a neighbor in need. Of the covetous man, Job 12 says: His heart is as a stone. Therefore, the covetous die "stoned," for they are struck by as many stones as there are types of avarice. The first is plunder, the second is simony The buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges or pardons.. St. Vincent Ferrer, Sermon 1 on the Discovery of the Holy Cross.

Leprosy original: "Lepra" is the greed for money. St. Asterius, Homily 8, On the Love of Money.

Malice. original: "Malitia" What is more wretched than a covetous man? For who in their right mind would associate with such people? In my opinion, it would be better to live with a thousand demoniacs than with one person suffering from this disease. These men overturn many houses; they are the common affliction of cities and of the whole world. Those driven by demons move us to tears so that we easily pity them, and they often do not realize what they are doing; but these men do everything with premeditation, behaving like revelers in the midst of cities and raging with a new kind of madness. For when would all the demoniacs together commit as much wickedness as Judas committed alone? He was led to the extreme of iniquity; and likewise, all who imitate him, like wild beasts released from cages, disturb and tear apart cities with no one resisting them. And indeed, chains are wrapped around them on every side: the fear of judgment,

the terror of the laws, the condemnation of the common people, etc. But once these are broken, they throw everything into confusion. Imagine seeing a certain foul man who emits fire from his eyes; from whose shoulders dragons hang instead of hands; whose mouth is like a cavern in size; in which sharp swords stand instead of teeth; and in place of a tongue, there is a fountain boiling with poison and lethal drugs. His belly is more voracious than any furnace, suddenly consuming everything put into it. His feet are winged, more vehement than flame itself; his face shows that of a dog and a wolf at once; nor does he emit a human voice, but bellows something unpleasant and terrible: and in addition to all this, let him hold burning torches in his hands. These things perhaps seem horrendous to us; but we have not yet worthily expressed his image: for the effects of these instruments must also follow. Therefore, let us imagine him slaughtering those he meets, tearing and devouring their flesh. But what am I doing? For even after this description, the covetous man is much more ferocious, leaping upon everyone like Death; swallowing everyone like Hell; the common enemy of the human race. Indeed, he would wish no other human to exist, so that he might possess everything. Nor does he stop there: but when he has destroyed everyone through his greed, he even desires to abolish the substance of the earth, and would rejoice to see it turned into gold; and not only the earth, but the mountains, the woods, the springs, and in short, whatever exists in the nature of things. St. John Chrysostom, on Matthew 29.

Manasseh and Ephraim signify the covetous man. St. Bonaventure, Diet of Salvation, title 1, chapter 6.

Sea. original: "Mare" Avarice is compared to the Dead Sea and to Hell—it is said of the covetous: He has enlarged his soul like Hell. Habakkuk 2. Others understand avarice through the sea because it is noisy. St. Thomas in the meters of book 1 of Boethius’s Consolation. The world is called a sea by reason of its capacity, in regard to avarice. St. Thomas on Revelation 8.

Mother of Vices. original: "Mater vitiorum" You fill the earth with murders, the sea with pirates, the cities with riots, etc. The cause and root of all these is the desire for having. St. Asterius, cited above.

Ship. original: "Navis" Tarshish is the name for the entire sea of the world: through the ships that go out for trade, desire is signified. And just as ships toss about in the sea, so the rich toss about in the things of the world. But when a person turns to repentance, then the ships—that is, the desires of this world—are shattered. St. Thomas, Exposition on Psalm 47.

Wickedness. original: "Nequitia" Avarice is called wickedness Latin: "nequitia" because it wants Latin: "vult" what it cannot have Latin: "nequit". St. Thomas, Sermon 1 on the Feast of the Resurrection.

Paralytic. original: "Paralyticus" The covetous man is a paralytic for many reasons. St. Thomas, Sermon 1, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany.

Perforated Money Box. original: "Pyxis perforata" The covetous man is like a money box perforated at the top: which receives money that it can never give back unless it is broken. Of the covetous man, it is said in Isaiah 30: He shall be broken in pieces, as a potter's vessel is dashed to items. St. Bonaventure, Diet of Salvation, title 1, chapter 6.