The middle of this maze of Business is Hell and many fall into it suddenly and unexpectedly
2 min • Digitized on September 10, 2021
From A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, page 172
By St. Thomas More
But now hath this maze a centre or middle place, into which sometime they be conveyed suddenly when they ween they were not yet far from the brink.
The centre or middle place of this maze is hell, and into that place be there busy folk that with this devil of Business walk about this busy maze in the darknesses, suddenly sometime conveyed, nothing ware whither they be going, and even while they ween that they were not far walked from the beginning, and that they had yet a great way to walk about before they should come to the end.
But of these fleshly folk walking in this pleasant busy maze, the Scripture declareth the end:—Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt,—They lead their life in pleasure, and at a pop down they descend into hell.
Of the covetous man saith St. Paul: Qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in temptationem et in laqueum diaboli, et desideria multa inutilia et nociva, quoe mergunt homines in interitum et perditionem,—They that long to be rich do fall into temptation and into the grin of the devil, and into many desires unprofitable and harmful, which drown men unto death and into destruction.
So, here is the middle place of this busy maze, the grin of the devil, the place of perdition and destruction that they fall and be caught and drowned in ere they be ware.
The covetous rich man also that our Saviour speaketh of in the Gospel, that had so great plenty of corn that his barns would not receive it, but intended to make his barns larger, and said to himself that he would make merry many days, had weened (you wot well) that he had yet a great way yet to walk. But God said unto him, Stulte, hac nocte tollent a te animam tuam: quoe autem parasti, cujus erunt?— Fool, this night shall they take thy soul from thee, and then all this good that thou hast gathered, where shall it be?
Here you see that he fell suddenly into the deep centre of this busy maze, so that he was fallen full and whole therein long ere ever he had weened he should have come near thereto.