Through this, God teaches us that from those who are perfect in virtue, God demands an exact account of life, and towards other men, who commit great crimes, He is lenient and merciful; He does not grant this pardon to the saints. A certain Wise Man also said this: "For mercy is indeed to be granted to the least; but the mighty will be examined mightily."…

But it also benefits many of the righteous that they live for only a short time, as Solomon once said: He who was pleasing to God was made beloved, and living among sinners, he was taken away; he was snatched away so that wickedness might not alter his understanding, or deceit might not beguile his soul. For the fascination of frivolity obscures good…

Weight and measure govern and administer all things by the Lord. For when He had set the limit of life to one hundred and twenty years for those who lived in the time of Noah, after He saw sin increase and overflow, He did not wait for the prescribed limit, but cut it short and made it briefer, and in the hundredth year brought the flood upon all. So also…

For our salvation and destruction are indeed in our own power and free will, as it is written: He made man from the beginning, and left him in the hand of his own counsel. (Eccles. 15:14) And: Before men are life and death, and whichever he chooses shall be given to him. (Eccles. 15:18) Therefore the Wise Man also warns: Do not be zealous for death in the…