“Generous one, you do not do these things as a seller of property, but, ambitious one, as out who wishes to keep his privileges, and you abandon for a short time what you desire to be yours forever. Thus, to scatter the fields was [really] the desire not to be in need; for of what advantage is property that perishes even though it is guarded? Whoever loses it has it to greater advantage laid up in the citadel of heaven. Seek there, creditor, the wealth of greater interest and lay up treasures where they can suffer no loss; there no misfortune wears away perpetual wealth; you will possess everlastingly what you cause the Lord to owe.”
Arator (490-550) Christian poet from Liguira, Italy. On the Acts of the Apostles I. De Actibus Apostolorum 36-37.