La Comedia famosa dos sucessos de Jahacob e Essau (Renowned Comedy of the Exploits of Jacob and Esau)

You, Sir, are the cause of his great impudence.

Am I really the instrument?

Yes, for you love him for four birds of flight [he hunts for you]. You very much relish the stew he brings you, prepared by his own hand, and you don’t see how spoiled he walks about, constantly armed, unlike a grandson of Abraham. He engages in all manner of evildoing, and contrary to acting with humility, he kills wild beasts and robs human beings, causing enormous harm without ever dealing with the truth.

Consider if you are well served, even partly, by such an evil person, who lives like an animal, for though he be our true-born, he is very much unlike us.

I promise you that I will inquire into this matter, and if he commits an atrocious act somewhere, I shall deal with him appropriately.

He who sleeps is hardly vigilant. For if you wish to pursue this, you would do well to understand, for I know that he is well and truly lost, so much so, that I beseech his death. Please listen to me.

You speak ill of him, yet I know that, at any time, through our teaching, he will turn from his sinning, for surely he venerates only one God. And if it be a vile occupation in which he engages, that of being a hunter, I hold him in higher regard, for if he engages in any overindulgence, it is only for his amusement and he does not aggrieve anyone. He is innocent of what you presume, for what you hear are, at most, rumors of those who wish him ill. For anyone saying he is capable of committing such evilness does so out of falseness. He hides nothing from me.

I must be mistaken, and he is goodness personified. Time will find him out and then what I say will be recognized as true.

The Lord will provide it.

Yes, He prefers deeds and that you teach him and watch over him, so that he follows good paths, for this is what the Lord compels you to do and it is not for you to love him so much. For paternal affection is bound to end badly, and to make him so unaccountable is tantamount to aversion and merits a good whipping. Because gifts are not for someone whose heart is inclined toward the worst, for true love is owed only to his brother, who has honor and whose conduct is above reproach. He [Jacob] is the sum total of all knowledge, the reflection of obedience, a treasure which we possess. His pleasure is in studying because, with his knowledge, he seeks to attain another life—one that is desired and promised to one whom God loves. He [Esau] is a center for vices, a vessel for countless evil deeds, an object of perdition, devoid of all reason, filled with sordid traces. His whole being is deceit, forged by countless betrayals. He is a wolf, an animal, a butcher; he is the primary instrument of my tribulations. For I do not feel what you find in him, that you love him so. He deserves just the opposite.

Madam, I understand myself very well, but you do not fathom it. I put it to you that, unlike everything that you now say, it behooves me to show him love, that he not be worse, but that he be better and adopt our way of life. For were I to detest him and give him to understand this, seeing himself so disdained, like a man in despair, he would become a monster. It is important to lead him correctly, for thus is one tamed—rather than with a harsh word.

This is an ulcer that has no cure, becoming misshapen at every turn. Now strictness must be applied, for this is a true means at his age; this would have been good initially in his tender youth. And may the Well-Provisioned turn him from his sinning and turn his punishment to good account.

I am certain and pledge to make him mend his ways without a whip.

Make him mend his ways?

This is a much better way, because I have hope in the Lord that He will grant him His grace.

May He make him His servant and take away this pain from me. I fear, however, it is too late.

When the Lord attends to matters, nothing is impossible for Him, and, although incomprehensible, He desires the good of man. How much more so when it concerns Abraham’s grandson, whose lineage will be part of A[braham].

If he goes along this path, time is expended in vain.

In vain?

Yes, for Jacob takes after his grandmother—he is very tranquil and submissive. And, for this reason, I suspect that God has chosen him alone.

I feel affronted by this because Esau is my first-born, and if Jacob is better, I have hope in the Lord, that He will take care of him. And, so that you may know that I am a true father, I bid you adieu, for I am going to find out for myself.

Well, are you not disgusted by this?

On the contrary, I am very happy. For with this realization of the truth, I hope to thwart the damage that may come to my house, and if, by chance, it is already aflame, I shall use some strange means to extinguish it.

Go and be diligent, and may God grant me the patience to bear the burden of this poor, bitter life that is so frail and unbridled.