Balancing every seven years

Chapter XIX Balancing every seven years Human nature is such that men become weary after putting continuous effort into something without resting. A man becomes stupefied and confused, and as a result the mistakes multiply. That this course of events is only natural can be observed if we consider a quill, for example. Regardless of how perfectly and elaborately sharpened it is, after continuous use the point necessarily becomes blunt. Whatever job is being done, when it becomes tedious, the quality of one’s performance deteriorates. The stories of old philosophers describe how they had the habit of going to the coast after their long studies to indulge in simple and trivial pursuits and to play with pebbles to soothe their mind and spirit. The stories of the life of St. Paul also tell how he organized his time carefully and after studying he would occupy himself with making baskets and different trivial objects. All of these earthly instances are utterly obsolete when the all mighty God provided us with a divine example, about which we can read in Genesis: “ And on the seventh day God rested from all the work that he had done.” He surely did not have a genuine need for rest, but he intended to afford us an example of what is proper, as in the words of St. Paul: “Whatever is written, it is written for our enlightenment.” It follows – to return to the matter of our discussion – when the sixth year comes to its end, a trader should terminate all his operations and rest. No contracts should be concluded this year,

but instead the trader should be committed to balancing all his accounts and settling any debts. If the opportunity for a lucrative agreement should arise, he must decline and remain involved only in activities duly scheduled for this particular year, for this year is a year of rest and reward for all the accomplishments of the previous six-year period and also the time to make plans and a schedule for the following period. T o serve this purpose, he needs to enlighten his mind and relax his spirit, and only out of mere necessity settle any remaining debts, because – as Aristotle explained in the eighteenth Problem: “Only the emperor, the orator and the trader are commonly pronounced as harsh.” A trader should not only do his job with might and main, but have the same verve when it comes to balancing. Those who work but are unable to settle their accounts afterwards are frivolous and are not to be considered as worthy traders. Thus, the seventh year is the year designated for this specific purpose, as did our Maker, which is mentioned in the ensuing lines of Genesis: “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Aurelius Augustin presents these lines in the Fourth Book of Genesis and elaborates: “God rested the seventh day, i.e. Saturday, so the man would know that this is the day to rest from daily work.” What ensued is the establishment of Saturday as the day of rest, for the etymology of the word itself means “spiritual peace” , according to Isidor’s definition in his Etymologies. This explains the suspension of all hard labor. For the same reason, aspiring to be worthy disciples of the highest, the eternal and the undeniable Instructor, we established a traders’ Saturday and the suspension

of all work once in seven years, which is very beneficial, profitable and necessary. Blessed is he who knows not only how to celebrate it but also use its benefits to contemplate the future. This year is not only intended for rest, it is the time for settling all debts and accounts, so one could say: “I have all my business in balance.” Those who fail to do this usually end up tied in knots and the books are the only proof of their wealth, as is often the case with pharmacists who have elaborately ornamented signs above their doors but inside their shops is nothing. The trader must amass wealth that is indeed rewarding instead of craving luxury. He must be in the position to say: “This is what I own” , for he who feeds on smoke, to the smoke returns. With these issues now having been discussed, we hereby conclude the first book. If God will allow, we will continue with the subject of religion in the ensuing paragraphs.