sorrow and
labor, troubled with many fears and cares and much unrest! And
all to no avail; for we accomplish nothing good thereby, but, as
the Preacher saith, it is vanity of vanities, and vexation of
spirit. [Eccl. 1:2,14] Indeed, that whole book treats of this
experience, as written by one who for himself made trial of many
things, and found them all only weariness, vanity and vexation of
spirit, so that he concludes it is a gilt of God that a man may
eat and drink and live joyfully with his wife, i. e., when he
passes his days without anxiety, and commits his care to God.
Therefore, we ought to have no other care for ourselves than
this, namely, not to care for ourselves, and rob God of His care
for us.

Whatever remains to be said, will easily be gathered from the
corresponding image of evils, as I have said,[57] and from the
contemplation of one's past life.

CHAPTER IV

THE FOURTH IMAGE

THE INFERNAL BLESSING, OR THE BLESSING BENEATH US

Thus far we have considered the blessings which are ours, and are
found within ourselves; let us now turn to those blessings that
are without us, and are found in others. The first of these is
found in those who are beneath us, that is, the dead and damned.
Do you wonder what kind of blessing can be discovered in the dead
and damned? But the power of the divine goodness is everywhere so
great that it grants us to descry blessings in the very greatest
evils. Comparing, then, these poor wretches, first of all, with
ourselves, we see how unspeakable is our gain; as may be gathered
from the corresponding image of evils.[58] For great as are the
evils of death and hell that we see in them, so great certainly
are the gains that we behold in ourselves. These things are not
to be lightly passed over, for they forcibly commend to us the
magnificent mercy of God. And we run the danger, if we lightly
esteem them, of being found ungrateful, and of being condemned
together with these men, and even more cruelly tormented.
Therefore, when we perceive how they suffer and wail aloud, we
ought so much the more to rejoice in the goodness of God toward
us; according to Isaiah lxv: "Behold, my servants shall eat, but
ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall
be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be
ashamed; behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye
shall cry for sorrow of heart; and shall howl for vexation of
spirit. And ye shall l