The Splendour of God, by Eric Hammond, [1909], at sacred-texts.com
Of Poverty and Wealth
Boast not of thine own glory over the poor; for I walk before him, and I see thee in thy miserable condition and ever grieve for thee.
If thou encounter poverty, grieve not; for, in the Time, the King of Riches will descend to thee. Fear not humility, for glory shall be thy portion.
Be not engrossed with this world, for with fire
[paragraph continues] We test the gold, and with gold We try the servants.
Thou desirest gold, and We desire the separation from it. Thou hast realised therein the riches of thyself, while I realise thy wealth to consist in thy freedom from it. By My Life! This is My Knowledge, while that is thine imagining; how can My Thought agree with Thine?
Distribute My possessions among My poor, that in Heaven thou mayest receive from the boundless treasures of Glory and from the stores of Eternal Bliss.
Let the rich learn the midnight sighing of the poor, lest negligence destroy them and they be deprived of their portion of the tree of wealth.
Giving and generosity are qualities of Mine. Happy is he who adorns himself with My Virtues.
Greed must be abandoned, that thou mayest find content; for the greedy has ever been deprived, while the contented has ever been loved and esteemed.
Let not poverty trouble thee, nor rest assured in wealth. All poverty is succeeded by wealth, and all wealth is followed by poverty.
To be poor in all save God is a great blessing; make it not small, for, in the end, it will make thee rich in God.
Know ye that wealth is a strong barrier between the seeker and the Desired One, between
the lover and the Beloved. Never shall the rich arrive at the abode of Nearness, nor enter into the city of contentment and resignation; save only a few.
God is the state of that wealthy one, whose wealth preventeth him not from the Everlasting Kingdom, and depriveth him not of the Eternal Possessions.
Verily, I declare by the Greatest Name, that the light of that wealthy one shall illumine the people of Heaven, as the sun shines upon the people of the earth.
O ye who are wealthy on earth! The poor among ye are My Trust. Therefore guard My Trust, and be not wholly occupied with your own ease.
Purge thyself from the dross of wealth, and, with perfect peace, step into the paradise of poverty; thus shalt thou drink the; wine of Immortality from the fountain of death.
Rejoice not if fortune smile upon thee, and if humility overtake thee;—mourn not because of it; for, in their time, they both shall cease and be no more.
Wert thou to see the Immortal Kingdom, verily thou wouldest abandon the mortal possessions of earth; yet there is a wisdom in the former being concealed and in the latter being manifest; and this is known only to hearts that are pure.