History of Monsters. 253

...we will be able to make known that saying of Matthew: *The last shall be first, and the first shall be last.* Or to proclaim another passage read in the same Gospel of Matthew: *The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.*

If we contemplate human beings in terms of how they command and serve, then the nature of masters and servants offers itself for our consideration. A master does not oppress his servants; rather, he protects them against the attacks of enemies and does not allow them to live in want. A judge or a prince ought to imitate the nature of a noble and just master when they exercise these aforementioned prerogatives toward their subjects, protecting their innocence by maintaining equity. This is in accordance with the assertion of the Psalmist: *The Lord is righteous, and he has loved righteousness; his face has beheld equity.* Alternatively, we might interpret the Master as Christ, who nourishes and protects the best servants, but punishes and casts down the wicked, whether they be demons or men. The Psalmist hinted at this with these words: *The Lord lifting up the meek, and bringing the wicked down even to the ground.* Conversely, a corrupt master does not help his servants at all; indeed, he is a detriment to them, as he fails to grant justice to the powerful and expects rewards from the guilty. A tyrant imitates this kind of master, stripping those subject to his power of their riches and, setting all law aside, acts in such a way that the innocent pay the penalties for the guilty. This is not unlike what Isaiah recited: *I will deliver Egypt into the hand of cruel masters.*

On the other hand, if we consider servants, they were said to be named from "saving" (*servando*), because a triumphing commander would save those captured in war, either to be sold or to be ransomed by the enemy. Or perhaps we should say they are named from "serving" (*serviendo*), because they are assigned to many services. In ancient times, servants were categorized into three types: some were "vernacular" (home-born), who were born under the yoke of servitude; others were "purchased," who were snatched away and sold; and others were "hired," who served someone voluntarily and for the hope of profit. Similarly, in the moral world, there are various kinds of servants serving different spiritual masters. We have asserted that these too are named from "saving," since God saves them in life so that they may eventually return to a state of virtue and be redeemed from their vices. Or we might say they are named from "serving," because they serve either God or the Devil. Some of these are called vernacular, such as the Pagans, who are born under the yoke of servitude—that is, of sin. In this same boat are the little ones who, born stained by original sin, pass away before the washing of the water of the sacred font; thus, they are never liberated from this kind of servitude.

The purchased servants are sinning Christians who, though washed by the water of the sacred font and made free by penance, are "bought" by the Devil when they serve their pleasures and are oppressed by a servitude of every kind of vice. Finally, the hired servants are the perfect Christians who, not by force but voluntarily and for the hope of the profit of eternal glory, betake themselves to the voluntary service of God. These people can rightly proclaim that passage from Genesis: *Buy us into servitude, and we will joyfully serve the King.*

Furthermore, according to the custom of the ancients, a handmaid is assigned to base services, nourished on meager food, dressed in clothes of no value, and pressed by the constant yoke of servitude; indeed, she can only conceive a son who is also addicted to servitude. She is not permitted to marry at her own will, she is sold like a beast, she is sometimes beaten with rods, and if, by chance, she is granted her freedom, she is recalled to her former servitude if she shows the vice of an ungrateful spirit. This handmaid is believed to be the sinning soul, which the Devil—depriving it of the liberty of conscience—assigns to the slavery of crimes. Indeed, it serves the baser functions of sinning, is refreshed by the common nourishment of riches, is clothed in the abject garments of a depraved conscience, and is crushed by the servitude of nefarious habits. Moreover, if such a soul conceives a "son" of good work, that work is also destined for servitude, insofar as it lacks the grace and virtue of merit. Likewise, this soul is sold by the Devil to the various masters of the world and the flesh, and thus cannot be joined to the company of Christ and the Saints. For this reason, since it lacks a grateful will toward Christ who would liberate it, he recalls it to the servitude of Hell, where such souls are beaten with relentless scourges.

Thus far we have examined those things that pertain to the age, sex, and constitution of man. Now it is time to discuss those things which, if used rightly, preserve a person in good health, but if otherwise, destroy their health; these are called the "non-naturals" by physicians. In moral doctrine, we shall find these things as well: for the life of grace demands the air of purity, the food of piety and the Eucharist, the drink of wisdom, the exercise of diligence, the rest of a tranquil conscience, and the wakefulness of meditation...