על החוקים לפרטיהם, ספר א ל״אOn the Special Laws, Book I 31
א׳
1[153] Since, then, the prospective rewards are so great, if any of the priests who live a decent and blameless life are in need, they confront us as accusers of our disobedience to the law, even though they bring no charge. For if we obeyed the commandment and gave the first-fruits as it is ordained, they would have not only abundance of mere necessaries but a full measure of all else that the luxurious can require.
ב׳
2[154] And on the other hand if the priestly tribe shall in the course of the future be found to possess all the means of life in abundance, it will be strong evidence that the practice of religion is general and the law carefully observed in all respects. But the neglectfulness of some —for it would not be safe to accuse all—has brought about the impoverishment of the consecrated class and indeed, it is true to say, of the defaulters themselves.
ג׳
3[155] Disobedience to the law, for all its short-lived seductiveness, recoils upon the disobedient. But in compliance with the laws of nature, though for the moment it is stern and wears a grim aspect, there is the greatest of rewards.