PRO MILITIA

PSALMVS XLVIII — AVDITE HAEC OMNES

Psalm 48 — Hear These Things, All Ye Nations

Psalm 48 (49) is a wisdom meditation exposing the folly of trusting in riches: 'No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem.' It is the scriptural remedy against philargyria (love of money), which St. Paul calls 'the root of all evils' (1 Timothy 6:10). The psalm's conclusion - that the rich man 'is compared to senseless beasts and is become like to them' - is a profound memento mori.

LATINE
Audite haec, omnes gentes;
auribus percipite, omnes qui habitatis orbem:
quique terriginae et filii hominum,
simul in unum dives et pauper.
Os meum loquetur sapientiam,
et meditatio cordis mei prudentiam.
De vanitate divitiarum
Ut quid timebo in die mala?
Iniquitas calcanei mei circumdabit me.
Qui confidunt in virtute sua,
et in multitudine divitiarum suarum gloriantur.
Frater non redimit, redimet homo;
non dabit Deo placationem suam.
Et pretium redemptionis animae suae,
et laborabit in aeternum, et vivet adhuc in finem.
Non videbit interitum, cum viderit sapientes morientes;
simul insipiens et stultus peribunt.
Et relinquent alienis divitias suas,
et sepulcra eorum domus illorum in aeternum.
Conclusio
Et homo, cum in honore esset, non intellexit;
comparatus est iumentis insipientibus,
et similis factus est illis.
ENGLISH
Hear these things, all ye nations;
give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
all you that are earthborn and you sons of men:
both rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom,
and the meditation of my heart understanding.
On the Vanity of Riches
Why shall I fear in the evil day?
The iniquity of my heel shall encompass me.
They that trust in their own strength,
and glory in the multitude of their riches.
No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem;
he shall not give to God his ransom.
Nor the price of the redemption of his soul;
and shall labor forever, and shall still live unto the end.
He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying;
the senseless and the fool shall perish together.
And they shall leave their riches to strangers,
and their sepulchres shall be their houses forever.
Conclusion
And man when he was in honor did not understand;
he is compared to senseless beasts,
and is become like to them.
NOTA
FONS
Psalmus 48:1-13, 21, Vulgata / Douay-Rheims
USUS
Against avarice, detachment from riches, memento mori
CONTEXT
Cassian (Institutes VII) calls the love of money 'the root of all evils' (1 Tim 6:10). This psalm provides the scriptural antidote by showing the ultimate futility of wealth.