THEOSISJerome of Stridon
An affliction I have observed beneath the heavens, often found among humanity, is this: a man who has been bestowed with wealth, possessions, and renown, lacking nothing that his heart desires; yet, he lacks the ability to enjoy these blessings, and instead, they are utilized by another. This situation epitomizes the greatest futility: if a man were to father a hundred children and live many years, even if his lifespan were extended extraordinarily, but his soul remains unfulfilled and he is denied a proper burial, I contend that the stillborn is preferable to him. He arrived in vain and departs in darkness, with his name concealed in shadow. Though he never experiences the light of day, his rest exceeds that of the discontented.
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Even if he were to live two thousand years without witnessing any good, do they not all ultimately share the same fate? This illustrates the plight of a miserly rich man, representing a common wickedness among people; he possesses all that is deemed good in life yet is plagued by senseless stinginess, hoarding wealth he simply bequeaths to others. It is hyperbolically stated that even if he had a hundred offspring and lived not just a millennium, but two millennia, if his soul remains tormented by greed, his state is worse than that of a stillborn, who, though dying immediately after birth, has neither encountered good nor evil. The latter is devoid of burdens, while the former, though affluent, is perpetually tormented by anxiety and suffering, thus finding more tranquility in his stillborn state than that of the perpetual miser. Nonetheless, both meet the same end, as they are equally seized by death.
This can be understood in the context of Israel—God granted them the law, the prophets, the covenant, and the promise, yet the Saviour proclaims: “The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and it shall be given to a people that produces its fruits” (Matthew 21:43). All these blessings will be bestowed upon a foreign nation gathered from the Gentiles, while the Israelites recognize their advantages and fail to take hold of them. We, who were considered as though stillborn and dismissed as the last by those who boasted of their heritage and glorified their ancestors, saying, “We have Abraham as our father” (John 8:39), find ourselves in a significantly better position. Yet, we, along with them, are destined for the same destination—the judgment of God. The phrase “he shall not even have a burial” suggests that the wealthy man, engrossed in his possessions, neglects to consider his mortality, hardly taking the care to construct a tomb for himself, or, often meeting a violent end, he lacks a proper burial, or most aptly, it implies that he contributes nothing good to be remembered by future generations, leading an existence devoid of significance, akin to livestock, despite having the means to leave a meaningful legacy.