They have been led by these and the like reasons. Animals that cannot find the necessaries of life at any time of the year, have a natural instinct for gathering such necessaries at a time when they can be found, and laying them up, as we see in bees and ants. But men need many things for the preservation of their life, which cannot be found any time. Therefore man has a natural tendency to gather together and lay up such things, and it is against the law of nature to scatter them again. As every one is bound by natural law to preserve his life, so also his exterior substance, as being the means whereby life is preserved.
Man is by nature a social animal.
But society cannot be maintained among men except on a system of mutual aid. To take their part in this system of aid they render themselves incapable, who fling away their exterior substance. It is a greater thing to aid another in spirituals than in temporals, spiritual things being the more necessary to the end of final happiness. Hence he who by voluntary poverty strips himself of the ability to aid others in temporals, in order to the acquirement of spiritual good, whereby he may aid others to better advantage, does nothing against the good of human society. It is therefore a good thing to have worldly substance, and to fling it entirely away by voluntary poverty is evil.