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He who cannot protect himself, how can he save others? There is nothing weaker and more unreliable than such hope. The deeds themselves show this. Paul, talking about hope in God, said: “but hope does not put you to shame” (Rom. 5:5). Human affairs are not like that; they are weaker than a shadow. Don't tell me that such and such a person is the boss. And the boss in this respect has no advantage over an ordinary person; it is subject to the same obscurity. Even if you can say something amazing, you shouldn’t especially hope for him because he is the boss. Such power is very fragile. If he does not fall, he is prone to anger and uses his power unintentionally, as if he would not have to give an account to the one who took the vow from him; if he is well-intentioned, then the sooner in comparison with private people he can be subject to falls, the greater and more numerous he is surrounded by intrigues, and the easier he can be caught, the more people plotting intrigues for him. What do bodyguards mean? What do numerous guards mean? So, whoever in a well-ordered city cannot even vouch for his own body, but is in such an anxious state, as if he were among enemies, how can he save others? Whoever, during times of peace, is more afraid of those at war, how can he keep others safe and free from danger? Many on their own could have lived in safety, but they died precisely because they relied on such people; when these latter fell, they fell with them; for others, the very guards became traitors. However, the prophet [David], having left all this - because many avoided such cases - points to what is beyond doubt, death. Even if, he says, everything goes well for you, if he is kind to you, supportive and ready for rewards, then, having ended his life among promises, he leaves you with empty hopes, because he did not have enough life to fulfill the promise. If he does not even have enough life to fulfill the promise, but his life is interrupted before fulfillment, then you are resorting to unreliable help. Or don’t you know that this happened to many, and when their patron fell, they, having lost their helper, suffered a greater fall from this (3)? “Your princes do not submit” (Isa. 1:23). This is a sign of the greatest disease and corruption, when doctors themselves intensify the disease. Leaders must restrain the disorderly actions of the people, dispose them to fulfill their duty, make them obedient to the law; if they themselves are the first to break the laws, then how can they be teachers of others? The expression: “they do not submit” means they do not obey the law, they do not keep the commandments, just as Paul, denouncing, said: “How is it that while you teach another, you do not teach yourself?” (Rom. 2:21). When the root is corrupt, then what good can be expected from the branches (4)? Man, are you arrogant about power? But what power, tell me, has been given to you? You received power from people; Give yourself power internally, within yourself. The boss is not who is called that, but who he really is. Just as a king cannot make a doctor or a rhetorician, neither can he become a boss, because it is not literacy or title that makes a person a boss. Let, if you like, someone build a hospital, gather students, acquire instruments and medicines, and visit the sick: is this enough to be a doctor? No, you also need art, and without it all this not only brings no benefit, but even causes harm. Whoever is not a doctor himself, it is better for him not to have medicines, since whoever does not have them can neither heal nor harm; and whoever has, but does not know how to use them, can cause harm. Treatment depends not only on the properties of the medicines, but also on the art that prescribes them: when this is absent, then everything is perverted. So is the boss: let’s assume that he has tools, i.e. voice, anger, executioners, exile, honors, gifts, praise, has medicines - laws, has sick - people (servants), has a workshop - court, has students - warriors; but if he does not know the science of healing, then all this will not bring any benefit. A judge is a physician of souls, not of bodies; If the healing of the body requires such care, then even more so the healing of the soul, because the soul is more important than the body. Thus, bearing the name of a boss does not mean being a boss. Some are called by great names, such as: Paul, Peter, James, John; but from these names they do not become what they are called; for example, I myself: I bear the same name as that blessed [apostle], but I am not the same as him; I am not John, but I am only called that. So even those are not bosses, but are only called that way. There are bosses even without this title, just like a doctor, even if he did not apply his art to his work, but had it in his soul, there is a doctor. Bosses are those who know how to manage themselves. The following three objects are related to the soul: house, city and universe; there is gradualness in everything. Whoever wants to be the head of a house and manage it well must first of all arrange his own soul, because it is his closest home. If he is not able to govern himself, where there is one soul, where he himself is the master, where he is always by himself, then how will he manage others? Whoever could arrange his soul and make one thing dominant in it and another subordinate, he will be able to rule the house; He who is a house is also a city, and he who is a city is also the universe. If someone is not able to control his soul, then how can he rule the universe? I said all this so that we do not exalt ourselves with power, so that we know what power is. Otherwise, this is not power, but a laughing stock, slavery, and thousands of other similar names one could call it. Tell me, really, what is characteristic of a boss? Doesn't it bring benefit and benefit to subordinates? What if this doesn't happen? How can one benefit others who has not done good to himself? Whoever has countless passions ruling in his soul, how will he curb them in others? (10) You might be interested in: