Part 7

PART SEVEN. On the State of the Final Judgment.


Chapter I.


On judgment in general.

After some things have been briefly said about the Trinity of God, the creation of the world, the corruption of sin, the incarnation of the Word, the grace of the Holy Spirit, and sacramental medicine: it now remains, in the seventh and last place, to briefly touch upon the state of the final judgment. Concerning which, in summary, it must be held that without doubt a judgment of all is to come, in which God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead, the good and the evil, rendering to each according to the requirement of their merits.

In this judgment, moreover, there will be an opening of the books, namely of consciences, by which the merits and demerits of all will become known both to themselves and to others, this being accomplished by the power of that book of life, namely the incarnate Word; who in the form of Divinity will be seen only by the good, but in the form of humanity, in which he will also promulgate the sentence, will be seen by the good as well as by the evil, although in that same form he will appear terrible to the reprobate and gentle to the just.

Now the reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the first principle, by the very fact that it is first, is from itself, according to itself, and for the sake of itself, by this very fact it is the efficient cause, the exemplar, and the end, producing, governing, and perfecting all things: so that, just as it produces according to the height of its power, so also it governs according to the rectitude of truth and consummates according to the fullness of goodness. Since, therefore, the height of the supreme power required that there be not only the production of a creature unto a vestige, but also unto an image; not only of an irrational creature, but also of a rational one; not only of a creature that is moved according to natural impulse, but also according to freedom of the will; and since the creature that is unto the image, because it is capable of God, is beatifiable; the rational creature is teachable; the creature having freedom of the will is, according to the law of justice, orderable and disorderable: hence it is that the rectitude of truth had to impose a law upon man, in which it would invite him to beatitude, instruct him in truth, and bind him to justice: yet in such a way that it would not compel the freedom of the will, so that he could, at the pleasure of his own will, abandon or follow justice, since "he so administers the things he has created as to allow them to carry out their own movements." And because the fullness of goodness works in consummating according to what the height of power and the rectitude of truth require: hence it is that the consummation of beatitude is not given by the supreme goodness except to those who have kept the justice imposed by the rectitude of truth, who have received discipline, and who have loved that supreme and perpetual happiness more than transitory goods.

And since some do this while others do the opposite, according to the variety of their wills, which are hidden within and in the state of the wayfaring life proceed according to their own choice, hence it is that for the manifestation of the height of power, the rectitude of truth, and the plenitude of goodness, it is necessary that a universal judgment follow, in which there may be just retributions of rewards, open declarations of merits, and irrevocable pronouncements of sentences, so that in the just retributions of recompenses the plenitude of supreme goodness may appear, in the open declarations of merits the rectitude of truth may appear, and in the irrevocable pronouncements of sentences the height of supreme power and authority may appear.

First, therefore, since just retribution regards fault, to which punishment is owed, or justice, to which glory is owed, and all the children of Adam have either the one or the other, hence it is necessary that by the judgment of retribution all be judged, so that the just may be glorified and the impious condemned.

Again, because the open declaration of merits requires that there appear simultaneously what ought to have been done and what was done or omitted by the freedom of the human will according to the variety of circumstances, hence it is that both the books of consciences will be opened, so that merits may appear, and the book of life, so that justice itself may appear, according to which those merits are to be approved or rejected. And since that book of life is the book in which all things are written simultaneously and most lucidly, and in consciences they are written truthfully, therefore from the concurrence of the opening of these books there will be an open declaration of all merits, so that the hidden things of each one's heart may become known both to himself and to all others. Whence, as Augustine holds, that book is "a power by which it will come about that all things are wondrously recalled to the memory of each one," so that the equity of the divine judgments may lucidly appear in the most open light of truth.

Finally, because the irrevocable pronouncement of sentences must be made by one who can be heard and seen, and from whom there can be no appeal, and the supreme light, which darkened eyes cannot see, cannot be seen by all, because it cannot be seen face to face without deiformity of mind and joy of heart, it is necessary that the judge appear in the likeness of a creature. But because a mere creature does not have supreme authority, from which there can be no appeal, hence it is necessary that our judge be both God, so that he may judge by supreme authority, and man, so that he may be seen and contend with sinners in a human likeness. And because one and the same voice of contention terrifies the guilty and reassures the innocent, hence one and the same likeness of his will gladden the just and on the contrary will terrify the impious.

Chapter II.


On the antecedents to the judgment, of which kind is purgatorial punishment.

Then, in particular, concerning the state of the final judgment, certain things are to be considered as preambles, certain things as concomitants, and certain things as consequents. The preambles, however, are two, namely purgatorial punishment and ecclesiastical suffrages.

First, therefore, concerning purgatorial punishments, this is to be held: that the purgatorial fire is a corporeal fire, by which nevertheless the spirits of the just, who in this life did not fulfill condign penance and satisfaction, are afflicted to a greater or lesser degree, according as they carried with them from this life more or less of what is combustible.

They are afflicted, however, less gravely than in hell, and more gravely than in this world; yet not so gravely that they do not always hope and know that they are not in hell, although perhaps on account of the magnitude of their punishments they sometimes do not advert to this.

By this affliction inflicted by corporeal fire, spirits are purged from guilt and dross and also from the remnants of sins; and when these have been sufficiently purged away, they immediately fly forth and are introduced into the glory of paradise.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the First Principle, by the very fact that it is first, is the best and most perfect, and by the very fact that it is the best, is supremely loving of good and supremely detesting of evil, just as the highest goodness does not suffer that good remain unrewarded, so also it ought not to suffer that evil remain unpunished. Since, therefore, just men sometimes depart this life who have not totally fulfilled their penance in this life—since the merit of eternal life in them cannot remain unrewarded, and the stain of fault cannot remain unpunished, lest the beauty of the order of the universe be disturbed—it is necessary that they be finally rewarded; it is also necessary that the same be temporally punished according to the demand and guilt of their faults.

And because the fault committed was both offensive to the divine majesty and damaging to the Church and deformative of the divine image impressed upon our mind—especially if it was a mortal fault, and venial fault also disposes toward this—and for the offense punishment is required, for the damage satisfaction must be rendered, and for the deformation purgation must be sought: hence it is that this punishment must be justly punitive, worthily satisfactory, and sufficiently purgative.

First, therefore, since that punishment ought to be justly punitive: and the spirit, which, having despised the eternal and highest good, subjected itself to the lowest, ought justly to be subjected to inferior things, so that it may receive punishment from those on whose occasion it perpetrated fault, and on account of which it both despised God and made itself vile: hence it is that the order of divine justice requires that the spirit be punished by material fire; so that, just as according to the order of nature the soul is united to the body in order to bestow life, so it may be united to material fire according to the order of justice as the punishable to the punisher, from which it may receive punishment.

And because just men, who are in grace, are worthy of nothing but transitory punishment: and they are worthy of so much greater punishment as they committed greater sins and performed lesser penance: hence it is that they are punished by material fire temporally, some however for a longer time, some indeed for a shorter, some more harshly, some more lightly, according as the guilt of their offenses requires. "For it is necessary, as the distinguished doctor Augustine says, that pain burn as much as love had clung." For one is purged with so much more difficulty as the love of worldly things had clung more intimately to the marrow of one's heart.

Furthermore, since that punishment ought to be satisfactory: and satisfaction regards the freedom of the will and the state of the wayfarer; especially since there is no longer the state of meriting there, and those punishments hold the character of the voluntary in the least degree: it is necessary that what is lacking on the part of freedom in the will that endures be supplied in severity on the part of the punishment. — But because those who are purged possess grace, which indeed they can no longer lose: hence it is that they neither can be utterly consumed by sorrow, nor fall into despair, nor can they nor do they in any way wish to break forth into blasphemy: and therefore, although they are gravely punished, yet far differently and more mildly than in hell; and they know without doubt that that state is other than this one in which those who are irremediably tormented in hell exist.

Lastly, because that punishment ought to be purgative: and that purgation is spiritual: it is necessary either that that fire have a spiritual power divinely given to it, or, as I more believe, that the very power of grace dwelling within, aided by the extrinsic punishment, purge the soul itself — already punished for its offenses and relieved of the burden of its guilt — with a sufficient purgation, so that no dissimilitude to glory may remain.

And since such spirits are disposed in the highest degree to receive in themselves the deiformity of glory: when the gate is opened and purgation is consummated, it is necessary that those spirits fly upward, in whom is the fire of charity lifting them upward, and nothing holding them back on the part of the soul's impurity or guilt. For it is not fitting for divine mercy or justice to defer glory any longer when it finds a fitting receptacle, and there is great punishment in the deferral of rewards, nor ought a spirit already purged to be punished any longer.

Chapter III.


On the antecedents to judgment, of which kind are the suffrages of the Church.

Concerning the suffrages of the Church, this must be held: that the suffrages of the Church profit the dead—suffrages, I say, which the Church performs for the dead, such as sacrifices, fasts, alms, and other prayers and penances voluntarily assumed for the more swift and easy expiation of their sins.

They profit the dead, however, not any whatsoever, but the "moderately good," namely those who are in purgatory—not the "very wicked," namely those who are in hell, nor the "very good," namely those who are in heaven; rather, conversely, the merits and prayers of these latter aid the Church Militant, whose members the Blessed obtain many benefits for. — They profit, moreover, in greater or lesser degree either according to the diversity of merits in the dead, or according to the charity of the living, which is more solicitous for some than for others; and this either for the mitigation of punishments or for swifter liberation, according as the dispensation of supernal providence shall see to be more expedient for them.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the First Principle, being supremely good, and therefore of the highest severity against evil, ought equally to be of the highest gentleness toward good; and therefore, since by reason of the severity of justice the just, in whom there is guilt of fault, ought to be tormented after this life in purgatory, they ought also by reason of the gentleness of mercy to be relieved and to have aid and protection, especially because they are established in misery and can no longer help themselves by their own works and merits. Therefore the governance of divine providence ought to have disposed that suffrages be conferred upon them by those who are able, while preserving however the rectitude of justice, from which the sweetness of divine mercy neither ought nor can dissent nor be in any way separated. Since therefore the rectitude of justice requires the conservation of divine honor, the governance of the universe, and the quality of human merit: therefore the supreme providence of the supernal and First Principle has disposed that these suffrages avail the departed according to the sweetness of mercy and the rectitude of justice, which preserves the dignity of divine honor, the governance of the universe, and the quality of human merit.

First, therefore, since in suffrages of this kind there must be preserved justice, which is chiefly conserving of divine honor: and the divine honor nonetheless requires that satisfactory and penal works be rendered to him for sins: hence it is that suffrages must be made through those works by which satisfaction is most especially made and honor is recompensed to God. Since, therefore, of this kind there are three parts of satisfaction: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, and the sacrifice of the altar, in which the honor due to God is most greatly rendered on account of the pleasing nature of him who is offered in that sacrifice: hence it is that the suffrages of the Church consist in satisfactory works of this kind and most especially in the celebration of Masses: as Gregory intimates in the fourth book of the Dialogues, that some have been most swiftly freed from great punishments through the benefits of Masses. And on this account the pomp of funeral rites and the care of burial and things of this kind ought not to be counted among the suffrages of the Church. For which reason Saint Augustine also says in the book On the Care to Be Had for the Dead, that "the care of the funeral, the arrangement of the burial, and the pomp of the obsequies are more consolations for the living than aids for the dead."

Furthermore, since there must be preserved justice conserving the order and governance of the universe: and this requires that in the communication of influences there be preserved the order and correspondence between those from which and into which those influences flow; and on this account what is lower ought not to influence that which is above, nor that which is removed by every manner of distance: hence it is that the suffrages of the Church cannot avail for those who are in hell, because they are entirely separated from the mystical body of Christ; whence no spiritual influence reaches them nor benefits them, just as the influence of the head does not benefit members amputated from the body. — Hence it is also that they do not benefit the Blessed, because they are altogether superior according to their state, and already existing at the terminus they cannot ascend to higher things; but rather conversely they benefit us and their prayers — for they merited this also while in the flesh — therefore the divine order has disposed that prayers be offered even to the Saints of God themselves, so that they too may aid us in obtaining divine benefits. Therefore ecclesiastical suffrages do not benefit them, but rather theirs benefit us.

It remains, therefore, that they benefit only the just, who are in purgatorial punishments. For they, by reason of punishment and inability to help themselves, are inferior to the living, but by reason of justice they are joined to the other members of the Church; so that the merits of the holy Church can deservedly aid them on account of this correspondence and order.

Finally, since justice must be preserved in these matters, which weighs the requirement of merits; hence it is that those suffrages which are offered in common for the dead, although they avail all the good according to their measure, nevertheless avail more for those who merited more that such suffrages would benefit and avail them while they were in the state of wayfaring. But those suffrages which are offered specifically for certain persons: because the intention of the one offering is right and proceeds according to God, and the ecclesiastical institution is without doubt not void, therefore they avail more for those for whom they are determinately offered, although they are also communicated to others in some way. Nor, however, can they aid others as much as that principal person, because, although they are spiritual, nevertheless divine justice requires a greater amendment for a greater fault and more amendments for more faults. Hence the example of a light, which equally illuminates those seated at one table, does not hold, because suffrages of this kind ought rather to be likened to redemptive payments than to such diffusive influences. - But how much they determinately avail for each person, He has to define with certitude whose office it is to attend to the weight and number and measure in offenses and punishments and suffrages.

Chapter IV.


On the things accompanying the judgment, such as the conflagration of fires.

Next, something must be added concerning the things accompanying the judgment, which are two, namely the conflagration of worldly fires and the resurrection of bodies.

Concerning the conflagration, therefore, this must be held: that fire will precede the face of the Judge, by which the face of the earth will be burned up, so that the figure of this world will perish by the conflagration of worldly fires, just as the flood came about by the inundation of waters.

Now the figure of this world is said to pass away, not as regards the total destruction of this sensible world, but because through the action of that fire all flammable elementary things will be consumed, plants and animals; the elements will be purged and renewed, especially air and earth; the just will be purged and the reprobate will be burned; and when these things have been accomplished, the motion of the heavens will also cease, so that, with the number of the elect completed, there may come about a certain renewal and rewarding of worldly bodies.

Now the reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because the universal principle of things, since it is most wise, although in all things that it does it attends to the order of wisdom, yet most especially ought it to attend to those things which pertain to the consummation, so that the beginning may not be discordant from the middle, nor the middle from the end, but in all things most fittingly ordered there may appear the ordering wisdom and goodness and sublimity of that first principle. Since therefore God according to His most orderly wisdom made this entire sensible and greater world for the sake of the lesser world, namely man, who is placed in the middle between God and these lower things: hence it is that, so that all things may be congruent with one another, and the dwelling may have harmony with the dweller, when man was well established, this world ought to have been established in a good and peaceful state; when man fell, this world also ought to have deteriorated; when man was disturbed, it ought to have been disturbed; when man was purged, it ought to have been purged; when man was renewed, it ought to have been renewed; and when man was consummated, it ought to have been brought to rest.

First, therefore, since this world must be disturbed when man is disturbed, just as it stood with him while he stood and in a certain way fell with him when he fell; and since in the final judgment, on account of the severity of the judge to be displayed, it is necessary that the hearts of all be terrified, and especially of sinners, who despised the Lord of all things, so that every creature may receive divine zeal and be conformed to its Author, and also conformed to its inhabitant: it is necessary that the foundations of the entire world be most horribly shaken. And because nothing more intensely and swiftly and horribly in its action moves the other elements than fire rushing together from here and there on every side: hence it is that fire must precede the face of the judge himself, not from one side only, but from every part of the world, so that there may be a convergence of elemental and terrestrial fire, of purgatorial and also infernal fire, so that by infernal fire the reprobate may be burned, by purgatorial fire the just may be purged, by terrestrial fire these things born of the earth may be consumed, by elemental fire the elements may be refined and disposed toward the face of renewal, and together with this all other things may be disturbed, so that not only men and demons, but even the Angels beholding may be terrified.

Again, since this world must be purged together with man who is to be cleansed; and man in the state of the final time needs to be purged from the dross of avarice and malice, just as in the first time from the filth of lust; he needs also to be purged both swiftly and intimately and perfectly: hence it is that just as the world was previously destroyed and in a certain way purged by the element of water, which is cold, against the heat and filth of lust; so the final world will be purged by fire on account of the cooling of charity and the coldness of malice and avarice, which will reign at the end as if in the old age of the world itself. Because these are of the greatest adherence, it is necessary that the purging agent be of intimate, violent and accelerated action; which is not found in any other element than fire. And therefore, just as the flood was brought about by an inundation of waters, so by the action of fire the face of this sensible world will be burned up.

Furthermore, since this world ought to be renewed together with renewed man; nor can anything be renewed into a new form unless it loses the old one and is in some way disposed by a new disposition brought upon it: hence it is that, since fire has especially the power of expelling an extraneous form, and also has a refining power akin to celestial nature: therefore through it there ought to occur purgation and renewal at once, such that, since it has a twofold efficacy, with respect to the one it precedes the coming of the Judge, but with respect to the other it must follow. And since the renewal is toward a newness that no longer returns to oldness—and thus toward an incorruptible newness, which it is not in the power of any creature to bestow—hence it is that, although in that purgation and renewal fire accomplishes something by its natural power, such as igniting, purging, rarefying, and refining, nevertheless it is necessary that together with that natural power there be a power operating above nature, by whose command the beginning of the conflagration will occur, and by whose power the completion will likewise be brought about.

Finally, since this world ought to be consummated when man is consummated; and man is then consummated when the number of the elect will have been completed in glory, toward which state indeed all things tend as toward their ultimate and complete end: it is necessary, once that number has been completed, that the motion of the celestial nature be terminated and brought to rest; it is also necessary that elemental transmutations be terminated: it is also necessary as a consequence that generation, which occurs in animals and in plants, be terminated. For since all these things are ordered to the most noble form, which is indeed the rational soul, once a final state is established in souls, it is necessary that a final state and completion be established in all the other preceding things.

And therefore the celestial bodies, having obtained rest and fullness of light, are said to be rewarded. The elements, however, which will no longer have the power of multiplying through mutual transmutation, are said to perish— not with respect to substance, but with respect to mutual action and passion, and this especially with respect to active qualities. But plants and sentient creatures, because they do not have the capacity for perpetual life and everlasting duration, such as befits the state of that nobility, must necessarily be consumed in their own nature—yet in such a way that they are preserved in their principles and in a certain way in what is similar to them, namely in the human being, who bears a likeness to every kind of creature; and therefore in his renewal and glorification, all things can be said to be renewed and in a certain way rewarded.

Chapter V.


On the things that accompany the judgment, such as the resurrection of bodies.

Concerning the resurrection of bodies, this must be held: that the bodies of all human beings will rise in the general resurrection, with no difference among them as to the order of time, but a great difference as to the order of dignity. — For the wicked will rise with their deformities and punishments, miseries and defects, which they had in the state of wayfare. But in the good, "nature will be preserved, and defects will be removed," and all will rise with a whole body and full age and due measure of members; so that all the Saints may attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.

Moreover, both in the good and in the wicked, the bodies that rise will be numerically the same as before and constituted from the same parts, with the entire truth of nature preserved not only as to the principal members and the radical moisture, but also with the hair and other members preserved that contribute to the comeliness of the body; so that "into whatever breezes or recesses of nature the dust of the human body may pass, it will return to that soul which first animated it, that it might live and grow."

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because the first principle, by the very fact that it is first and highest, is most universal and most sufficient, and thereby is the principle of natures, of graces, and of rewards, and is also a most powerful, most merciful, and most just principle; and although by a certain appropriation it is most powerful in the constitution of natures and most merciful in the bestowal of graces and most just in the retribution of rewards: yet each is in each, because supreme power, mercy, and justice can in no way be separated from one another. And therefore in the work of retribution it is necessary that it be accomplished according to what the rectitude of justice, the reformation of grace, and the completion of nature require. Since therefore justice necessarily requires that the human being, who merited or demerited not in soul alone nor in body alone, but in soul and body together, be punished or rewarded in both; the reformation of grace also requires that the whole body be conformed to Christ the Head, whose dead body necessarily had to rise, since it was inseparably united to the Divinity; and the completion of nature requires that the human being consist simultaneously of body and soul as of matter and form, which have a mutual appetite and mutual inclination: it is necessary that the resurrection be future, since the constitution of nature, the infusion of grace, and the retribution of justice demand this, according to which the whole universe is governed. And therefore from these three all things cry out that the human being must be raised, so that every excuse may be taken away from those who are deaf to this truth of faith, and deservedly against such people the whole world fights.

First, therefore, since the resurrection must be in accordance with the demand of the order of divine justice, and divine justice renders to each one what is his own according to place and time, and every soul once united to a body at a point in time has in it either guilt or grace: it is necessary that all rise again. — And because the state of retribution must be distinct from the state of the wayfarer, and the resurrection pertains to the state of retribution; so that the order of the universe may not be confounded, and so that faith, which believes what it does not see, may have merit, and so that the equity of divine justice may appear more certainly and clearly, and so that the consummation and final retribution in Angels and in men may take place at once: divine justice requires this, that all rise again at once, as far as the common law is concerned. Which I say on account of Christ and his most blessed mother, the glorious Virgin Mary.

But because punishment and misery are owed to the wicked and glory to the good: therefore, even though they rise again at the same time, they will nevertheless be very dissimilar in condition. For because for the wicked the resurrection is not unto life, but unto punishment, it is necessary that they be raised with infirmities, deformities, and defects.

Again, because the resurrection must be in accordance with the demand of the consummation of grace, and perfect grace makes us conformed to Christ, our head, in whom there was no defect of members, but perfect age and due stature and beautiful form: it is fitting that the good be raised in the best conditions; and through this it is necessary that in them defects be removed and nature be preserved. — It is also fitting that, if any member was lacking, it be supplied; if there was any superfluity, it be removed; if there was any disorder of the members, it be corrected; if one was a child, he be brought by divine power to the measure of the age of Christ which he had at the resurrection, though "not in mass"; if decrepit, he be restored to the same age; if a giant, if a dwarf, he be limited to a fitting measure; so that thus all, whole and perfect, may attain to the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.

Finally, because the resurrection ought to be according to the exigency of the perfection of nature; and the nature of the rational spirit requires that it vivify its own body, since "a proper act must come to be in its proper matter": it is necessary that the same body numerically rise again, otherwise it would not be a true resurrection. The nature of the rational and immortal soul also requires that, just as it has perpetual being, so it should have a body to which it perpetually infuses life: and through this, the body that is united to the soul, from that very union, has an ordination to perpetual incorruption, yet in such a way that that in which the substance of the whole body consists, such as the principal members and also the radical moisture and the flesh according to species, has an ordination of necessity: but other things, namely the flesh according to matter and the parts that pertain to the well-being of the body, have an ordination of fittingness: and therefore the first parts are ordained to the resurrection according to the order of necessity, but all the others according to the order of fittingness. Which order indeed, because God has impressed it upon nature, and nature cannot bring it to perfection, since it cannot raise the dead, and divine providence itself ought to do nothing in vain: it is necessary that by His power the same body in number be restored, both immortal and constituted from all its parts, with the whole truth of nature preserved.

Since, however, nature does not have this in its power, but only in its appetite, because it can neither restore the same body in number once destroyed, since it cannot act upon the whole substance of a thing, nor make a body immortal, since everything generable by nature is corruptible, nor gather together what has been dispersed: it is necessary that the resurrection be attributed not to seminal nor to natural causes, but to primordial causes, so that it may come about according to a wondrous and supernatural course and the command of the divine will.

Chapter VI.


On the consequences of the judgment, namely the punishment of hell.

Next we must speak of the consequences of the judgment, which are two, namely the punishment of hell and the glory of heaven.

Concerning the punishment of hell, therefore, this must be held: that the punishment of hell is in a corporeal place below, in which all the reprobate, both men and evil spirits, will be eternally tormented. - They will be tormented, moreover, by the same corporeal fire, which will burn and torment both spirits and bodies - yet it will not consume those bodies, but will always torment them, some more, some less, according to the measure of their merits.

Moreover, to this torment of fire will be joined torment according to all the senses; joined to it will be the punishment of the worm and the deprivation of the vision of God, so that in these punishments there will be variety, and with variety severity, and with severity endlessness, so that for the punishment of the reprobate the smoke of their torments shall ascend forever and ever.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: since the first principle, by the very fact that it is first, is supreme, whatever it has it has in the highest degree; therefore it is necessary that it be most righteous. Since therefore in rendering retribution it acts according to righteousness - just as it cannot act against itself, nor deny itself, nor assail its own justice - so necessarily, its righteousness requiring it, sin must be punished according to the magnitude of the fault, especially in those who, despising the law of mercy, have through impenitence struck against the severity of justice. Since therefore it belongs to the severity of justice to consider fault not only with respect to the root, but also with respect to the aggravating circumstances, it is most fitting that the just judge exact the due punishments from the impious down to the last farthing, so that "the disgrace of sin may not remain without the beauty of justice"; and just as power is manifest in creating and wisdom in governing and clemency in restoring, so may supreme justice be made manifest in punishing. Since therefore divine justice must punish the impious sinner according to the measure of his fault, and mortal fault, upon which final impenitence follows, has the character of a perpetual disordering, a concupiscent disordering, and a manifold disordering, it is necessary that it be punished with the eternity, severity, and multiformity of punishments.

First, therefore, the punishment for perpetual disorder must be perpetual, because the sin which one commits and for which one never repents endures perpetually in the soul and separates from perpetual life, namely God, and proceeds from a will that would wish to delight perpetually in sin. And although that passing delight is momentary, yet because the disorder holds the character of perpetuity, the punishment corresponding to the disorder must have no end; so that, just as man in his own perpetuity set no end by withdrawing from sin, so God in His own perpetuity does not cease from punishing; and just as he sinned against the Infinite, so let him have infinite punishment: and because he cannot have punishment infinite in intensity, let him have it at least in duration: and just as his will after death always clings to evil without the reception of repentance, so let God always afflict without change of sentence, this being required by the perpetuity of disorder in the impious who are damned.

Again, since the punishment for lustful disorder must be afflictive, because delight is punished through contrary sorrow: and the rational spirit in sinning turns itself to its own good and to what is present and partial, loving it lustfully, and from this despises the divine command and dominion: hence it is that, in order that that wicked delight be perfectly punished, in which there is simultaneously delight with contempt, it is necessary that for the punishment of that contempt and delight the sinner, whether man or spirit, be cast down into the lowest place and most distant from the state of glory, that is, into the deepest hell.

It is also necessary that the one to be afflicted there be exposed to the lowest nature, and thereby suffer not from a spiritual substance, but from a corporeal and lowest one, that is, from the dregs of worldly bodies, so that he may be fixed in the dregs and burned with fire and brimstone. And since the spirit, which by nature is set over the body and has the power to influence and move it, has perverted the dignity of nature through fault and subjected itself in a certain way to the vileness and nothingness of sin: hence it is that according to the order of justice it must be ordained that both the sinning spirit and man be bound to corporeal fire, not so as to flow life into it, but so as to receive punishment by divine decree. For since he is inseparably bound to a thing which he dreads through divinely sent fear and which he perceives through the power of natural sensation: it is necessary that he be sharply tormented. - And because that fire acts only according to the disposition of sin and guilt and stain proceeding from the wickedness of desire, and this is not equal in all: hence it is that by the same fire some are burned more and others less, just as by the same fire straw is burned in one way and wood is consumed in another. - Moreover, since that distinction of sin and guilt according to which the action of fire is moderated is uniform in the same person and never increases nor decreases nor changes: hence it is that by divine command ordaining, it so acts that it always burns and does not consume, always afflicts and does not destroy, because it does not act toward the multiplication of its own form, but toward the disturbance of the peace of the soul in the body, or of the spirit in itself. Whence there is no new deprivation, but a continuation of the peace already taken away: so that in the same punishment neither does the bitterness remove the eternity, nor does the eternity remove the bitterness.

Finally, since the punishment of manifold disorder must be manifold: and in every actual mortal sin there is a disordered aversion from the highest light and goodness, and an inordinate conversion to a changeable good, and a disorder of the will against the dictate of right reason: hence it is that all who actually sin and will be damned shall be punished with a threefold punishment: on account of their aversion, the deprivation of the vision of God; on account of their conversion, the punishment of material fire; on account of the conflict between will and reason, the punishment of the worm: so that thus afflicted by this multiplicity of punishments they may be tormented both variously and bitterly and eternally, and the smoke of their torments may ascend forever and ever. Amen.

Chapter VII.


On the glory of paradise.

Concerning heavenly glory, this must be held in summary: that in it there is a substantial, consubstantial, and accidental reward. The substantial reward, I say, consists in the vision, fruition, and possession of the one highest good, namely God, whom the Blessed will see face to face, that is, nakedly and without veil; whom they will enjoy eagerly and delightfully; whom they will also hold for all eternity, so that that saying of Bernard may be verified: "God will be to the reason the fullness of light, to the will the abundance of peace, and to the memory the continuation of eternity." - The consubstantial reward consists in the glory of the body, which is called the second stole: which being resumed, the blessed soul tends more perfectly toward the highest heaven. And this stole consists in a fourfold dowry of the body, namely in the dowry of clarity, subtlety, agility, and impassibility: which will be in greater or lesser degree, according to the lesser or greater charity previously possessed. - The accidental reward consists in a certain special beauty superadded, which is called the aureole: and according to the judgment of the doctors, it is owed to a threefold kind of works, namely martyrdom, preaching, and virginal continence. And in all the aforesaid, degree and distinction will be observed according to the exigency of merits.

The reason for understanding the aforesaid is this: because the first principle, by the very fact that it is first, has supreme unity, truth, and goodness; by this very fact there must be posited in it supreme power, wisdom, clemency, and justice. Since, moreover, it is fitting that these invisible things of God be manifested through works, therefore God, originating this sensible world, so produced, so governs, so restores, so rewards and consummates it, that in production supreme power is manifested, in governance wisdom, in restoration clemency, and in retribution consummated justice. Therefore, that power might be manifested, he produced all things from nothing for his own praise, glory, and honor, making something close to nothing, namely corporeal matter, and something close to himself, namely spiritual substance, and joining these together in one man in the unity of nature and person, namely the rational soul and corporeal matter. - That wisdom might be manifested, he indeed governs all things most providently and in order. For he himself rules the highest part of man through himself, namely the mind, which he illumines, and the lowest part, namely the body, through the free choice of the will, so that the body and bodily things as regards governance may be subject to the spirit, and the spirit to God.

That clemency might be manifested, he restored fallen man by assuming human nature, by taking on sufferings, and finally by enduring the penalty, so that through the highest mercy he might make the merciful one conformed to the wretched for the relief of misery, not only in the dignity of created nature, but also in the defects of nature established in misery. - That justice might at last be manifested, he will repay each one according to the demand of their merits, not only punishment to the wicked, but also eternal glory to the just. For thus do equitable retribution and gratuitous restoration and ordered governance and virtuous production demand. For the consummation of all these things is at the end.

First, therefore, since the rewarding of all the just must take place according to what just retribution and also virtuous production demand: and God's production made the rational spirit near to God, capable of God, capable namely according to the power of the implanted image of the most blessed Trinity itself, which in the just the whole spirit of man served according to the integrity of the image: hence it is that the rational spirit can be rewarded and fulfilled by nothing less than God, nor can its capacity be bounded: therefore as a reward there is given to it the deiformity of glory, through which, made conformed to God, it may see him clearly by reason and love him fully by will and retain him forever by memory: so that the whole soul may live, the whole soul may be endowed in the three powers of the soul, the whole soul may be configured to God, the whole soul may be united to him, the whole soul may rest in him, finding in him as in every good peace, light, and eternal sufficiency, through which, established "in a state made perfect by the aggregation of all goods" and living eternal life, it may be called blessed and also glorious.

Again, since that retribution must be made according to what is required not only by just retribution and virtuous production, but also by ordered governance: and God in production bound the body to the soul and joined them to one another by natural and mutual appetite, while for governance He subjected it and established it in the state of merit, so that the spirit might condescend and attend to governing the body for the sake of exercise in meriting: nor does natural appetite permit that the soul be fully blessed unless the body be restored to it, toward the resumption of which it has a naturally implanted inclination; nor does the order of governance allow that the body be restored to the blessed spirit unless it be in all things conformed and subject to it, insofar as the body can be conformed to the spirit. Since therefore the spirit is glorified by the vision of eternal light, there must result in its body the greatest clarity of light. Because indeed by the love of that supreme Spirit it is made supremely spiritual, it must have in the body a corresponding subtlety and spirituality. Because by the possession of eternity it is made altogether impassible, there must be in its body complete impassibility both within and without. Because indeed from all these things the spirit is most ready to tend toward God, in the glorified body there must be found supreme agility. Since therefore through these four properties the body is made conformed to the spirit and also subject to it, hence it is that in these four it is said to be especially endowed, by reason of which it has the aptitude to follow the spirit and to be placed in the celestial region, which is the region of the Blessed. For in these properties it is made like to the celestial bodies, through which the celestial body is, as it were, gradually distant from the four elements: and thus the fourfold dowry of bodies renders the body both perfect in itself and conformed to the celestial habitation and to the blessed Spirit, through whom from the supreme head, God, even unto the hem of the garment, namely the body, the fullness of sweetness and the inebriation of beatitude overflows and, insofar as is possible, is derived.

Finally, since that rewarding ought to take place according to what just retribution and virtuous production and ordered governance and also glorious restoration require: and in the diverse members of Christ there are diverse charisms of graces, not only with respect to interior gifts, but also with respect to exterior exercises; not only with regard to habits, but also with regard to states; not only with regard to the perfection of charity in the mind, but also with regard to the beauty and comeliness of perfection in bodily work: hence it is that to certain members there is owed not only the stole of the soul with its three endowments and the stole of the body with four, but also a certain excellence of beauty and joy on account of the preeminence of perfection and beauty possessed in virtuous work. Since therefore there is a threefold genus of work that is preeminently perfect and beautiful and adorned with a special comeliness according to the threefold power of the soul: according to the rational power, the preaching of truth leading others to salvation; according to the concupiscible power, the perfect turning away from concupiscences through the perpetual integrity of virginal continence; according to the irascible power, the enduring of death for the honor of Christ: hence it is that to these three classes of the just, namely preachers, virgins, and martyrs, there is owed that excellence of accidental reward which is called the aureole: which contributes to the beauty not only of the soul, but also of the body, because it is rendered not to the will alone, but to the outward work, presupposing beneath itself the merit and reward of charity, which consists in the sevenfold endowment, threefold of the soul and fourfold of the body, in which is enclosed the consummation, integrity, and fullness of all goods pertaining to the complement of glory.

But as to what kind and how great those things are, let not my words but those of blessed Anselm be set forth. For he says at the end of the Proslogion: "Rouse yourself now, O my soul, and lift up your whole understanding and think, as much as you can, of what kind and how great that good is. For if individual goods are delightful, think intently how delightful is that good which contains the joyfulness of all goods, not such as we have experienced in created things, but differing as much as the Creator differs from the creature. For if created life is good, how good is the creative life? If wrought salvation is joyful, how joyful is the salvation that makes all salvation? If wisdom in the knowledge of created things is lovable, how lovable is the wisdom that created all things from nothing? In short, if there are many and great delights in delightful things, of what kind and how great is the delight in him who made those very delightful things?"

"Who will enjoy this good, what shall be his, and what shall not be his? Surely whatever he wills shall be, and what he does not will shall not be. There indeed shall be goods of body and soul, such as eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived. Why then do you wander through many things, O little man, seeking the goods of your soul and your body? Love the one good, in which are all goods, and it suffices. Desire the simple good, which is every good, and it is enough. For what do you love, my flesh, what do you desire, my soul? There is whatever you love, whatever you desire. If beauty delights: the just shall shine as the sun. If swiftness, or strength, or freedom of body, which nothing can resist: they shall be like the Angels of God, because it is sown a natural body, and shall rise a spiritual body, by power, assuredly, not by nature. If long and healthful life: there is sound eternity and eternal soundness, because the just shall live forever, and: The salvation of the just is from the Lord. If fullness: they shall be satisfied, when the glory of God shall appear. If inebriation: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of the house of God. If melody: there the choirs of Angels sing together praising God without end. If any pleasure, not impure but pure: you shall give them to drink of the torrent of your pleasure, O God. If wisdom: the very wisdom of God shall show itself to them. If friendship: they shall love God more than themselves and one another as themselves, and God shall love them more than they love themselves, because they love Him and themselves and one another through Him, and He loves Himself and them through Himself. If concord: all of them shall have one will, because they shall have no will but God's will. If power: they shall be omnipotent over their own will, as God is over His. For as God shall be able to do what He wills through Himself, so shall they be able through Him to do what they will: because as they shall will nothing other than what He wills, so He shall will whatever they will: and what He wills cannot fail to be. If honor and riches: God shall set His good and faithful servants over many things, indeed sons of God and gods they shall be called and shall be, and where His Son shall be, there shall they be also, heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ. If true security: surely they shall be as certain that these things, or rather this good, shall never and in no way be lacking to them, as they shall be certain that they shall not lose it of their own accord, nor that God who loves them shall take it from His lovers against their will, nor that anything more powerful than God shall separate God and them against their will." "But joy—of what kind or how great is it, where such and so great a good is? O human heart, heart in need, heart that has known sorrows, indeed overwhelmed by sorrows, how greatly would you rejoice, if you abounded in all these things? Ask your inmost being, whether it can contain its joy over so great a blessedness. But surely, if another, whom you loved entirely as yourself, had the same blessedness: your joy would be doubled, because you would rejoice no less for him than for yourself. If indeed two, or three, or many more had the same: you would rejoice just as much for each one as for yourself, if you loved each one as yourself. Therefore in that perfect charity of innumerable Angels and blessed human beings, where no one loves another less than himself, each one shall rejoice for each of the others no differently than for himself. If, therefore, the heart of man will scarcely contain its own joy over so great a good of its own, how shall it be capable of so many and so great joys? And indeed, because insofar as anyone loves another, so much does he rejoice in that other's good: as in that perfect felicity each one shall love God incomparably more than himself and all others together, so shall he rejoice beyond reckoning in the felicity of God more than in his own and that of all others together. But if they shall so love God with the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, that yet the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul shall not suffice for the worthiness of that love: assuredly they shall so rejoice with the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul, that the whole heart, the whole mind, the whole soul shall not suffice for the fullness of that joy."

"Not yet therefore, Lord, have I said or conceived how greatly those Blessed ones of yours shall rejoice. Surely they shall rejoice as much as they shall love; they shall love as much as they shall know. How much shall they know you and how much shall they love you? Certainly neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man in this life, how much they shall know and love you in that life.

I pray, O God, that I may know you, love you, that I may rejoice in you: and if I cannot do so fully in this life, may I at least advance from day to day, until that fullness shall come: may the knowledge of you advance here in me and there be made full, may your love grow here and there be full: so that here my joy may be great in hope and there be full in reality. Lord, through your Son you command, nay rather you counsel us to ask, and you promise that we shall receive, that our joy may be full. O truthful God, I ask that I may receive, that my joy may be full. I ask, Lord, what you counsel through our admirable Counselor: may I receive what you promise through your Truth, that my joy may be full. Meanwhile let my mind meditate upon this, let my tongue speak of it, let my heart love it, let my mouth discourse upon it, let my soul hunger for it, let my flesh thirst for it, let my whole substance desire it, until I enter into the joy of my Lord, who is the triune and one God blessed for ever and ever. Amen."

HERE ENDS THE BREVILOQUIUM OF BROTHER BONAVENTURE.