Bring not every man into your house: for the deceitful man has many trains.
All Commentaries on Wisdom of Sirach 11:29 Go To Wisdom of Sirach 11
Palladius of Galatia
AD 450
I have not intended in the least to diminish the virtue of our ancestors, and above all the virtue of hospitality. In reality, among the virtues practiced by the most eminent of the patriarchs, this is the only one that tends toward piety. One of them had God the Savior at his own table; another had the angels as his guests; one received as a reward a son at his advanced age; the other his own salvation, fleeing from Sodom. This is what the apostle is talking about when he exhorts us to imitate them: "Do not neglect to show hospitality; for thereby some have received angels without knowing it." It happens, however, that the one who offers hospitality has the prudence of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove, thus complying with the double precept of the Lord: "Give to every one who asks of you," and, "Do not bring such a person into your home." This is so that you do not run the danger of bringing a wolf to the place where the lamb dwells or a bear to the place where the ox resides, with the risk of turning your gain into a loss. It is first of all necessary to be aware of the place where you are"if it is deserted or has frequent visitors. Then, you must also be aware of your own ability to tolerate characters that are too difficult. Finally, you must well consider who it is who is destined to receive your benefits"whether he is rich or poor, healthy or weak, in need of food or clothes. These are the areas where acts of mercy come into play. In reality, the blessed Abraham did not receive into his home consuls, captains, the important people of this temporary world like those who have horses with bridles and glittering stirrups and whose harnesses, burnished with bronze, belch forth from afar the resonance of their pride. On the contrary, Abraham lived in a deserted place and welcomed all who passed by. Those who traveled the desert went to the patriarch because they were attracted by his virtue and because they were reduced to being beggars, which is about as extreme a poverty as you can get. In a similar way Lot, who lived in the worst city of that same desert, rightly welcomed all who passed by, given the customs of those inhabitants.
