“Elisha was not willing, was he, to accept a reward when Naaman the Syrian was cured of the leprosy? Should I accept one when you are cured? He rejected presents; should I allow kingdoms to be given to me? He was unwilling to obscure the prophetic office; could I obscure the office of Christ, which I bear in me? But why did he think that the prophetic office would be obscured by his receiving gifts? Doubtless because he might seem to sell sacred things, to put the gift of God out at usury, to want the patronage of men, to lower and lessen the worth of his benefaction. He preferred, therefore, to make princes and kings his beneficiaries rather than to be himself their beneficiary, or even to allow mutual benefactions. For, as says the Lord, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’[422] I am in the same case, only more so, whom the Lord taught, saying, ‘Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.’[423] Shall I commit such a disgrace, your Majesty, as not to follow the precepts of God; as to tarnish my glory? ‘It were better,’ says Paul, ‘for me to die than that any man should make my glorying void.’[424] Our glory is to honor our ministry in the sight of God, as Paul also said; ‘I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office.’[425] “Your Majesty, should even I be both an example and a cause for the apostasy of others, I, a Christian, a priest of God, pontiff of Rome, vicar of Christ? For how, indeed, will the blamelessness of priests remain untouched amid riches, magistracies, and the management of secular business? Do we renounce earthly possessions in order to attain them more richly, and have we given up our own property in order to possess another’s and the public’s? Shall we have cities, tributes, tolls? How then can you call us ‘clergy’ if we do this? Our portion, or our lot, which in Greek is called _kleros_, is not earthly, but celestial. The Levites, also clergy, were not allotted a portion with their brethren, and do you command us to take even our brothers’ portion!