An Ideal Advice

Barna da Siena was a popular religious preacher in 15th-century Italy. Large crowds gathered to listen to him whenever he spoke in public places.

Once, he arrived in the city of Milan. After a public lecture one evening, an old man approached him and said, “Sir, when you lecture tomorrow, it would be nice if you warn the money-lenders against taking interest from the people. Doesn’t the scripture say that taking interest is a sin?”

“I will do as you advise, thank you,” replied the preacher. However, the next day he forgot about it. After his lecture concluded, the old man met him again and reminded him of his earlier request. The preacher apologized and promised to speak against the practice of charging interest in his next evening’s talk.

After the old man departed, the preacher inquired about him from his local hosts. The reply he received was startling: “Sir! The old man is the biggest money-lender in our city, and he collects his interest ruthlessly. He wants you to speak against taking interest so that if other money-lenders abandon the practice, his business will flourish!”