gloss says: "Christ said this of Himself
as bearing the 'form of a servant,'" and further on: "A beggar is one
who entreats another, and a poor man is one who has not enough for
himself." Again it is written (Ps. 69:6): "I am needy and poor";
where a gloss says: "'Needy,' that is a suppliant; 'and poor,' that
is, not having enough for myself, because I have no worldly wealth."
And Jerome says in a letter [*Reference unknown]: "Beware lest
whereas thy Lord," i.e. Christ, "begged, thou amass other people's
wealth." Therefore it becomes religious to beg.

_I answer that,_ Two things may be considered in reference to
mendicancy. The first is on the part of the act itself of begging,
which has a certain abasement attaching to it; since of all men those
would seem most abased who are not only poor, but are so needy that
they have to receive their meat from others. In this way some deserve
praise for begging out of humility, just as they abase themselves in
other ways, as being the most efficacious remedy against pride which
they desire to quench either in themselves or in others by their
example. For just as a disease that arises from excessive heat is
most efficaciously healed by things that excel in cold, so proneness
to pride is most efficaciously healed by those things which savor
most of abasement. Hence it is said in the Decretals (II, cap. Si
quis semel, de Paenitentia): "To condescend to the humblest duties,
and to devote oneself to the lowliest service is an exercise of
humility; for thus one is able to heal the disease of pride and human
glory." Hence Jerome praises Fabiola (Ep. lxxvii ad ocean.) for that
she desired "to receive alms, having poured forth all her wealth for
Christ's sake." The Blessed Alexis acted in like manner, for, having
renounced all his possessions for Christ's sake he rejoiced in
receiving alms even from his own servants. It is also related of the
Blessed Arsenius in the Lives of the Fathers (v, 6) that he gave
thanks because he was forced by necessity to ask for alms. Hence it
is enjoined to some people as a penance for grievous sins to go on a
pilgrimage begging. Since, however, humility like the other virtues
should not be without discretion, it behooves one to be discreet in
becoming a mendicant for the purpose of humiliation, lest a man
thereby incur the mark of covetousness or of anything else
unbecoming. Secondly, mendicancy may be considered on the part of
that which one gets by beggi