על השכר והעונש כ״אOn Rewards and Punishments 21
א׳
1[127] The first curse which he describes as the lightest of their evils is poverty and dearth and lack of necessaries and conditions of absolute destitution. The crops, he says, will be ravaged while unripe, or reaped when ripe by the sudden attacks of the hostile army, and thus will bring about a double misfortune, starvation for friends and abundance for enemies. For the good fortune of the foe is more or at any rate no less painful than our own suffering.
ב׳
2[128] And even if the enemy take no action the more grievous injuries which nature inflicts will not be inactive. You put seed in the deep soil of the lowlands, and a cloud of locusts will suddenly fly down and reap the harvest, leaving only an insignificant fraction of what you sowed for you to gather. You plant a vineyard, spare no expense and endure the endless hardships which the husbandman has to expect, and, when it is come to its fullness and is flourishing, laden with a plentiful crop, worms will come and strip the grapes.
ג׳
3[129] When you see your olive yards thriving with an abundant wealth of fruit you will naturally be pleased at the prospect of a fortunate ingathering, but when you come to pick them you will be faced with misfortune, better called the punishment of impiety. For the oil and all the fatness will run out unnoticed, and the outer lump will be left by itself as empty of all goodness as the soul which it remains to disappoint. In fact all the crops which you sow or the trees which you plant will be mildewed and perish with their fruits.
