As the wild ass is the lion's prey in the wilderness: so the rich eat up the poor.
All Commentaries on Wisdom of Sirach 13:19 Go To Wisdom of Sirach 13
Salvian the Presbyter
AD 429
Is there anyone who has been found to live next door to a rich person who has not been robbed or even reduced to a state of permanent poverty? This is because as the powerful continue to encroach, the weak lose their possessions, or even themselves along with their possessions. The Word of God traces the profile of both with this most appropriate phrase, "The wild ass is the lion"s prey in the desert; so also the poor are devoured by the rich." But it is also true that it is not only the poor who endure such tyranny but nearly the entire human race. What other dignity, after all, is there for those of high rank if not the power to confiscate the assets of the citizens? Concerning some, whose names I will not mention, what is a political position except a kind of plunder? For there is no worse pillaging of the poor than that which occurs among those in political power. Government positions are bought by the few and paid for by the ravaging of the rest of the citizenry. What can be more scandalous and evil than this? The poor pay the price for positions that are not for them. They do not know the meaning of buying, they only know the meaning of paying. The world is turned upside down for just a few individuals. The elevation of one person brings about the general ruin of everyone else.
