Page:King Alfred's West-Saxon Version of Gregory's Pastoral Care (2).djvu/457

448 Secret evils have an eternal witness in the divine Judge. But the good they do publicly before men is almost, as it were, without testimony, because they have not eternal testimony. But they have eternal testimony of the evil they do secretly, when they withhold from men what they ought to say, and say what they ought to withhold. Of such men the Lord said, that they most resembled the sepulchres of dead men, which are often made very beautiful outside, and inside are very foully filled. So are they who show their goodness before men, and hide their badness inside themselves: they are hypocrites, and would like to please before the eyes of men externally without good works internally. They are to be warned not to despise the good deeds they do, expect a greater reward for themselves than they expect. They despise them too much, if they do not expect for them a greater reward than earthly praise, and are content therewith. They sell for too small a price that with which they could buy the kingdom of heaven: they sell it for the praise of men. Of which the Lord said in his Gospel, that that was their reward. By doing good publicly, and evil secretly, they signify that men are to shun that which they do secretly, and love that which they do publicly: by their example they live for others, and die themselves. Those, on the other hand, who do good secretly, and yet in some actions pretend to do evil publicly, and do not care what men say of them, are to be admonished not to set a bad example to others with their dissimulation, although they themselves endeavoured not to lead others astray or injure them with their dissimulation, lest it be seen that they love themselves more than their neighbours, as if they themselves drank wine, and gave the others poison. When they set a bad example publicly, and do good secretly, they do not help their neighbours at all with the latter proceeding, and injure them with the former. Because, whoever hides his good works from the desire of avoiding vain ostentation, does not lead any after him to good works, when he will not set the example to others that he properly ought to set. He plants, as it were, trees, and cuts off the roots. Therefore Christ said in his Gospel: "Do your good works before men, that they may honour your Father who is in heaven." But yet a different sentence from this one is written in the same