Documentos para todo estado e ydade, e em particular para abituar bem os moços desde sua moçidade â vertude (Documents for Every State and Age, and in Particular to Accustom Young Men from Their Youth to Virtue)

Beloved Son. The great esteem in which I hold you and my intense desire for your welfare have prompted me to draw up this list of virtues as an antidote against the excesses of this life and a surety that you will delight in glory. Therefore I beg you to respect and observe the warnings that I relate to you in this document: so that, by revering the Lord, you will be benefiting yourself as well, and making me happy in this life and in the afterlife.

Your heart may you predispose to fear the Lord God constantly, and may your actions always be performed for His sake.

Submit to His precepts out of joy and love; do not stray from His path for any possession or worldly delight, for these come to a clear end and do harm to body and soul. However, God’s paths lead to glory and everlasting life.

Hold back from ever offending the Lord, for sin deprives men of God’s grace and is the cause of their downfall in this life and in the hereafter. Thus, always remember your origins and the inevitable outcome of your corruption. Knowing this and the fact that the Lord sees all your actions and that you must control them, you will not offend Him, and should the opposite occur, turn to Him with all your heart and invoke His pardon and grace.

Abstain from all evil thought, and, in order not to bring this sin upon yourself, do not engage your sight or your speech in sinful matters.

Carefully subject your passions and tastes always to the will of the Lord, for the delights of this life are inconstant and transitory, and the good that ensues by placing the will of the Lord before our own is perpetual happiness.

Keep your actions toward the poor well intended, showing great kindness and compassion for them, as your means permit and commensurate with the level of their poverty.

Firmly respect the Law [of Moses] and its teachers and its righteous adherents. Seek their friendship, covet their virtues, and emulate them.

Introduce into your actions this basic tenet of the Law: love thy neighbor. Thus, you will not do anything that you would not want others to do unto you, for this embodies the entire Law, that you not rejoice in their misfortune. Do not insult them or spread malicious gossip concerning them. Do not fawn over them; do not deceive them; nor usurp anything belonging to them.

Laud the Lord God regardless of your circumstances, whether good or evil befall you.

Humility is a great virtue, as are affability, meekness, embarrassment, and patience. Be decent in your dress and in your treatment of others. Love peace and pursue it.

Observe to see you are not irascible, haughty, or hypocritical because these vices are highly prejudicial to the body and soul.

Difficult to irritate and easy to caress should comprise your nature.

Ever be grateful for favors and shun ingratitude.

Mind that you take care not to reveal a secret entrusted to you.

Always be loyal and truthful in your affairs and dealings: this I highly recommend. Be content with your share and do not covet what belongs to another, for the Lord never fails those who place their trust in Him. Whereas he who is accustomed to taking from others falls into greater error, whereby life and honor are in danger of ending ignominiously, and honor, second only to the soul, is Man’s most precious commodity.

Treat lying as an abomination even though it may run counter to your own interest. Always speak the truth because the Lord loves it and is called the God of Truth, and with it He sustains the world. A lie, however, is an abomination to God and makes men loathsome and disparaged, and a person who is accustomed to lying is not believed even when he tells the truth.

Indeed, regard everything in a positive light. Be very considered in your judgments; obey and respect those who are older and wiser than you. Learn virtue from everyone; speak little, but at the right time and with great composure.

Take to growing accustomed to little sleep. Be well disciplined; eat to live rather than live to eat, so that you will live a healthy life.

You must rightly shun conversation and communication with women of ill repute because their deceptions and specious motives lead to the downfall of even the most learned and they will ensnare you in their vile and ephemeral pleasures, to the point of causing loss of health, shortening one’s life, destroying one’s property and honor, and causing one to lose his soul.

Abstain from any communication and dealings with evildoers, mean and fraudulent people of ill repute. Do not curry favor with them, but rather abhor them and flee from them as you would from fire, because, even though you may not fall into their vices (which are easy to pick up in one’s youth), whoever sees you in such company will regard you as no better than they. Do not believe anyone, except those persons reputed to be truthful and God-fearing, and even if such people tell you things that are contrary to this doctrine, do not believe them and distance yourself from them.

Heed the fact that there are many snares upon the earth. Thus, be watchful for, at each step, they are placed in your path by deceitful and evil people. Open your eyes and always anticipate the unforeseen so as not to fall into any of them, and ask the Lord to deliver you from pitfalls you do not foresee.

Accustom yourself to seeking counsel from the learned, the elderly, and the righteous so that you may determine and execute your actions with greater discernment.

Be advised that it is best not to become accustomed to swearing to the truth, even more so to the falsity, of something, for this is a sinful vice, and do not fall into the practice of uttering curses.

Occasional gaming is sensible, and when you do so, let it be for the sake of knowledge, such as in the case of chess and checkers, rather than cards or other similar games, because it is time put to ill use and is harmful to your estate and reputation.

Any loss of time is of great concern. Thus, never lose yours. Shun idleness, for this is the cause of many ills.

Be certain to seek and set aside reasonable hours to praise the Lord, dividing your time between Divine Books and, at times, worldly matters that add to your edification and your affairs, always seeking total clarity and a good accounting of them.

If you observe these admonitions, reading them many times, you will avoid the ones that are detrimental and attain those that are beneficial. I assure you that, in so doing, you will be a party to the friends of God, which is the greatest good and glory to which we should aspire. May the Lord of the Universe incline your heart that you do His Holy bidding in everything, so that you may be blessed in this life and in the world to come.