[156] Probably, then, what is expressed by the words “if Thou art casting me out this day from the face of the earth, from Thy face also shall I be hidden” is this: “if Thou art ceasing to supply me with the good things of earth, neither do I accept those of heaven; and if I am being cut off from the experience and enjoyment of pleasure, I decline virtue also; and if Thou art giving me no part in what is human, keep back also what is divine.
[157] For the good things that are, in our judgement, necessary and of value and really genuine are these, eating, drinking; delighting in variety of colours by the use of sight; being charmed through hearing by all kinds of melodious sounds, and through the joy of fragrant scents which our nostrils inhale; indulging to the full in all the pleasures arising from digestive and other organs; unceasing attention to the acquisition of gold and silver; being adorned with honours and public offices, and all else that tends to make us distinguished. But let us have nothing to do with sound sense, or hardy endurance, or righteousness with her stern disposition filling life with labour and travail. But if these prove to be a necessary part of our experience, they must be treated not as good things to be sought for their own sake, but as means to and productive of good.”
[158] Oh! ridiculous man! Do you assert that, when stript of bodily and outward advantages, you will be out of sight of God? I tell you that, if you be stripped of them, you will be more than ever in sight of Him: for when set free from bonds that cannot be broken, imposed by the body and bodily requirements, you will have a clear vision of the Uncreated.