Cloth traders and small shopkeepers

Chapter XVI Cloth traders and small shopkeepers Although cloth traders and small shopkeepers cannot be thought of as anything else but traders, their merit is nevertheless at a lower level since they compare with other traders only in terms of the practical aspect of the job. The principal rule they must abide by is to keep only the merchandise that sells well in their shops, to have a wide circle of customers and to maintain a good reputation. The manner in which they approach each customer should be in accordance with their circumstances. Their disposition must be that of a serious, reliable and composed personality. Without much hesitation they must offer their price. Above all, they must be careful not to sell a piece of cloth or any other merchandise under another name, or commit the crime of counterfeiting, for God most arduously punishes such acts, already in this world, as he finds such sins to be the most offensive. According to Augustin (the fourth book of Sentencia, paragraph 15), God inflicts suffering on men in this world for five reasons. First, to put the righteous ones through trials to further improve their merit, as in the case of Job’s ordeals; second, to preserve virtue and to prevent arrogance from spoiling the man as it happened with Paul; third, to amend the sins that were committed, as Mary’s leprosy; fourth, to the glory of God, as in the case of those who are born blind; and fifth, as a means of punishment as it happened to Herodotus who got a taste of hell just to learn in advance what he would suffer in the afterlife. Counterfeiters and

forgers are doomed to suffer in the same way as Herodotus, and hence you will never encounter any such man who did not suffer a major failure before he met his maker. Following the aforementioned rules, other matters will ensue.