Virtue And Wealth

Τῆς γὰρ ἀρετῆς ἡ κτῆσις, κἂν πάντες μετέχωσιν αὐτῆς ἄνθρωποι κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ἕκαστος, ἀεὶ πλήρης τοῖς ἐπιθυμοῦσίν ἐστιν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κτῆσιν, ἣν οἱ διαιροῦντες εἰς τμήματα, ὅσον ἂν προσθῶσι τῇ μιᾷ μερίδι, τοσοῦτον ὑφείλοντο τῆς ἑτέρας, καὶ ὁ πλεονασμὸς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐλάττωσίς ἐστι τοῦ συμμετέχοντος· ὅθεν καὶ αἱ περὶ τοῦ πλείονος μάχαι διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἐλαττοῦσθαι μῖσος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνίστανται. Ἐκείνου δὲ ἀνεπίφθονός ἐστιν ἡ πλεονεξία τοῦ κτήματος καὶ ὁ τὸ πλεῖον ἁρπάσας οὐδεμίαν ἤνεγκε ζημίαν τῷ συμμετασχεῖν ἀξιοῦντι τῶν ἴσων, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἐστί τις χωρητικός, αὐτός τε πληροῦται τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἐπιθυμίας καὶ ὁ πλοῦτος τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν οὐκ ἀναλίσκεται. Ὁ τοίνυν πρὸς τοῦτον ἀποβλέπων τὸν βίον καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἑαυτῷ θησαυρίζων, ἣν οὐδεὶς ὅρος ἀνθρώπινος περι γράφει, ἆρα καταδέξεταί ποτε πρός τι τῶν ταπεινῶν καὶ πε πατημένων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ἐπικλῖναι; Ἆρα θαυμάσεται τὸν γήϊνον πλοῦτον ἢ δυναστείαν ἀνθρωπίνην ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ὑπὸ ἀνοίας σπουδαζομένων; Εἰ μὲν γάρ τις ἔτι περὶ ταῦτα διάκειται ταπεινῶς, ἔξω τοῦ τοιούτου ἂν εἴη χοροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν ἡμέτερον ἕξει λόγον· εἰ δὲ τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖ καὶ συμμετεωροπορεῖ τῷ θεῷ, ὑψηλότερος πάντως τῶν τοιούτων ἐστὶν οὐκ ἔχων τὴν κοινὴν ἀφορμὴν τῆς περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πλάνης. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περί Παρθενίας, Κεφ' Δ´ Source: Migne PG 44.337c-340a

For virtue is a possession which, though all men, according to the capacity of each, should share it, yet will always be in abundance for those who earnestly desire it; not then as the possession of the earth which men divide up into parts, and the more they add to one part so the more they remove from another, so that the gain of the greater for one is to the loss of another, from which come fights for the greater part, because of men's hatred of less. But here there is no envy of him who has the larger possession, and he who seizes the larger part brings no harm upon him who would have an equal share; for as much as he is capable, so his good desire is fulfilled, and the wealth of the virtues in those who possessed them is not reduced. He, then, who looks toward this life and hoards virtue for himself, which has no limit that man can prescribe, shall he bend down his soul to walk among things below? No, he will not marvel at worldly wealth or at powerful men, or any thing for which foolishness is zealous. For if he is inclined to such base things, he is outside our goup and we have no word for him. But if he thinks of things above and walks with God, he is far above such things and has not the common cause of the error of such things. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, Chap 4