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PART VII - ON THE LAST STAGE, THE FINAL JUDGMENT

CHAPTER 1 - ON THE JUDGMENT IN GENERAL^cccxxi

HAVING briefly spoken of 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 the sacramental remedy, we shall now, in the seventh and last place, deal, also briefly, with the last stage, the final judgment.

Concerning this stage, the following must be held in sum. It cannot be doubted that there will be a universal judgment in which God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ,³¹⁸ shall judge the living and the dead, the good and the wicked, treating each according to his merits.³¹⁹

In this judgment, there shall be an opening of books, that is, of consciences, revealing the merits and demerits of every man both to himself and to all others; and this through the power of the Book of Life,³²⁰ the incarnate Word, whom the good alone shall see in His divinity, while both good and wicked shall see Him in His humanity, in which same form also He shall pronounce His judgment, appearing to the reprobate in His wrath, but to the just in His loving-kindness.^cccxxii321

2. This should be understood as follows. Because the first Principle, being first, exists of Himself, by Himself, and for Himself, He is by this fact the efficient, formal, and final cause, creating, governing, and perfecting all things; so that as He creates in accord with the loftiness of His power, He governs in accord with the rectitude of His truth, and perfects in accord with the plenitude of His goodness.

Now, the LOFTINESS OF POWER requires that there be produced creatures that are not only traces, but also images; creatures not only irrational, but also rational; creatures moved not only by natural instinct, but also by free will. Moreover, a creature made to be the image of God is by that fact capable of possessing God and hence is called to the beatific vision;^cccxxiii a creature that is rational is capable of distinguishing the truth; and a creature possessed of free will is capable of ordered or disordered actions in terms of the law of justice. Therefore the RECTITUDE OF TRUTH necessarily imposes upon man a law inviting him to beatitude, instructing him in truth, and obliging him to righteousness; yet in such a way as not to force his will, lest he be deprived of the capacity freely to forsake or to follow justice; for God "so governs His creatures as to let them act by their own power."^cccxxiv And because the PLENITUDE OF GOODNESS, in its perfecting action, works in accordance with the loftiness of power and the rectitude of truth: therefore that consummation which is the beatific vision is not given by the supreme Goodness except to those who have observed the justice imposed by the rectitude of truth, accepted its discipline, and preferred supreme and everlasting happiness to passing delights. Now, some act in this manner and others do not, according to their different wills, which are hidden, and proceed in this life as they choose. Therefore, in order to manifest the loftiness of power, the rectitude of truth, and the plenitude of goodness, there must necessarily follow a universal judgment bringing about a just distribution of rewards, an open declaration of merits, and an irrevocable passing of sentences; so that the plenitude of supreme goodness may appear in the distribution of rewards to the just, the rectitude of truth, in the open declaration of merits, and the loftiness of might and power, in the irrevocable passing of sentences.

First, therefore, because just retribution concerns either wickedness which deserves punishment, or righteousness which deserves glory; and every son of Adam is in the one state or in the other: therefore all must be judged by a judgment of retribution, so that the just may be glorified and the sinners punished.³²²

3. Again, an open declaration of merits requires the showing at one and the same time of what free will was obligated to do, and, on the other hand, what it actually did or omitted to do, taking into account the individual circumstances. That is why the books of consciences must be opened, to reveal merits and demerits, and also the Book of Life, to reveal that justice by which these are to be either rewarded or reproved. Now, because this Book of Life is a book in which all things whatsoever have been written, and in the clearest way, and because what is recorded in the consciences is true: therefore, when both books are opened together there occurs an open revelation of all deserts, so that the secrets of each man's heart are made known both to him and to others. And thus, as Augustine says, this Book is "a power by which all things are wondrously brought back to each one's memory,"^cccxxv so that the justice of the divine judgments may be clearly seen.

4. Finally, irrevocable sentencing requires a judge who is both heard and seen, and against whom there is no possible appeal; yet the supreme Light cannot be seen by all since darkened eyes cannot behold it, for the face to face³²³ vision presupposes a God-conformed mind and a joyful heart. Therefore our Judge must appear in creatural form. But no mere creature has supreme authority, authority beyond appeal. Therefore it follows necessarily that our Judge, in order to judge with supreme authority, must be God; and, in order to be seen and to convict the sinners while having human form, must be man. And since it is one voice of judgment that shall terrify the guilty and reassure the innocent, it is one form of the Judge that shall gladden the just and fill the sinners with dread.

CHAPTER 2 - ON THE ANTECEDENTS TO THE JUDGMENT: THE PAINS OF PURGATORY^cccxxvi

1.  We shall now consider specific points concerning the state of final judgment: what precedes, accompanies, and follows it. There are two antecedents: purgatory and the suffrages of the Church.

2.  First, in regard to the pains of purgatory, the following must be held. The fire of purgatory is a REAL FIRE, which, however, affects the SPIRIT of the just who, in their lifetime, did not sufficiently atone and make reparation for their sins. It affects their spirit in greater or lesser degree, according as they took with them from their earthly life more or less of what must be burned away.

They are afflicted less heavily than in hell, but more than in the present world; and yet, not so severely as to be deprived of hope and of the knowledge that they are not in hell, although, by reason of the intensity of the pain, they may at times be unaware of it.

By means of this suffering, inflicted by a real fire, the souls are cleansed of the guilt and dross of sin, and also of its sequels. When they are wholly cleansed, they fly out at once and are introduced into the glory of paradise.

3. This should be understood as follows. The first Principle, being first, is supremely good and perfect; and, being supremely good, supremely loves good and abhors evil: for, as supreme goodness suffers no good to remain unrewarded, so also it cannot suffer any evil to remain unpunished. But some of the just die before having completed their penance on earth; and their right to life eternal cannot remain unsatisfied nor their guilt of sin unreproved, lest the beauty of universal order be disturbed. Therefore these must be rewarded in the end, but they must also bear a temporal penalty that fits their guilt and sin.

Now, because actual sin offends God's majesty, damages the Church, and distorts the divine image³²⁴ stamped on the soul - especially if the sin is mortal, although venial sin will tend to do the same; and because offense calls for punishment, damage for repair, and distortion for purification: therefore this penalty must be justly punitive, duly reparative, and properly cleansing.

4. First, then, the pain of purgatory must be justly PUNITIVE; the soul that spurns the eternal and supreme Good and bows to the lowest good must rightfully be subjected to things of lower order, so as to receive punishment from that which had been the occasion of its sin and the reason why it had spurned God and defiled itself. Therefore the order of divine justice demands that the spiritual soul be punished by material fire. As, in the order of nature, the soul is united to the body for the sake of vivifying it, so, in the order of justice, it is united to material fire in the sense that the one to be punished is united to the punishing agent from which it is to receive its pain.^cccxxvii

The just, being in the state of grace, deserve but temporal pain; yet the more they have sinned, and the less they have atoned, the more liable they are to this pain: therefore they are punished temporally by material fire - some at great length and others for a short while, some severely and others lightly, according to the measure of their guilt. To quote the great doctor Augustine: "Pain must burn as fiercely as [undue] love had clung."^cccxxviii The more deeply a man has loved the things of the world in the inner core of his heart, the harder it will be for him to be cleansed.

5.  Again, the pains of purgatory must be REPARATIVE. Now, true reparation implies free will and pertains to the state of life on earth; while on the contrary there is no state of meriting in purgatory, and its pains have nothing to do with free will. Therefore that element of atonement lacking because of absence of freedom in the will sustaining punishment must be compensated by the bitterness of the pain itself. But because those who are being cleansed possess grace which now they cannot lose, they neither can nor will be completely immersed in sorrow, or fall into despair, or be moved to blaspheme. Hence, severe as their punishment may be, it is far other and far milder than damnation; and they know without the possibility of doubting that their state is not the same as the state of those who are tortured irremediably in hell.³²⁵

6.  Finally, the pains of purgatory must have a CLEANSING effect, and this cleansing applies to the spirit. Therefore, either the fire of purgatory possesses a God-given spiritual power, or else, as I incline to believe,^cccxxix the very power of the grace within, assisted by the pain from without, effectively cleanses the soul which is thereby punished for its offenses and relieved of the burden of its guilt, so that there remains nothing unfit for glory.

And because such spirits are fully prepared to receive God-conforming glory, the door being now open and the cleansing achieved, they must take flight, for there is within them a fire of love that lifts them up, and no impurity of the soul or any guilt to hold them down. Nor would it befit God's mercy or His justice further to delay glory now that He finds the vessel to be suitable; great would be the pain if the reward were delayed, nor should a cleansed spirit be punished any longer.

CHAPTER 3 - ON THE ANTECEDENTS TO THE JUDGMENT: THE SUFFRAGES OF THE CHURCH

1. Concerning the suffrages of the Church, the following must be held. These suffrages benefit the dead; that is, those offered specifically for the dead, such as Masses, fastings, alms, and other forms of prayer and penance performed for the purpose of facilitating and hastening the expiation of their sins.

These acts are helpful, not to all the dead indiscriminately, but only to the IMPERFECTLY GOOD, that is, the souls in purgatory. They cannot benefit the ENTIRELY EVIL, the souls in hell, nor the ENTIRELY GOOD,^cccxxx the souls in heaven. On the contrary, the merits and prayers of these blessed are sought instead by the Church Militant, for whose members they obtain favors.

The apportionment of the benefits of these acts depends both upon the degree of merit of the dead and upon the charity of the living, who may apply them to some souls in preference to others, either to alleviate pain or to hasten relief, as divine providence sees fit for each soul's good.

2. This should be understood as follows. The first Principle, being supremely good, and hence supremely severe against evil, must display a corresponding supreme sweetness toward good. Therefore, while the just in whom there remains some guilt of sin must be cleansed by the pain of purgatory after this life because of the severity of justice, they must also be lifted up and given assistance and comfort because of the sweetness of mercy; all the more so as they are in a state of pain and can no longer help themselves through good works and merits. Hence it was befitting for divine providence to dispose that suffrages be offered for them by those who could still do so; without, however, impairing the rectitude of justice, from which even the sweetness of divine mercy may not and cannot derogate or separate itself in any way. Hence, because the rectitude of justice respects the honor of God, the government of the universe, and the fact of individual merit: therefore the providence of the first and supreme Principle disposed that the dead would be benefited by these suffrages in accordance with mercy, while the dignity of God's honor, the government of the universe, and the fact of human merit would be safeguarded in accordance with justice.

3. First, then, in these suffrages, justice must be observed in its main purpose, which is to safeguard the HONOR OF GOD. NOW, that honor requires the performance of works of reparation and penance to atone to Him for sins; therefore suffrages are to be offered through such acts as best render satisfaction and repay honor to God. There are three such forms of atonement: fastings, prayer together with almsgiving, and the Sacrifice of the Altar, which is the best way of rendering due honor to God because of the acceptability of the Victim. Therefore the suffrages of the Church act through works of atonement of this nature, and most of all, through the offering of Masses.^cccxxxi On this head, Gregory states, in the fourth book of his "Dialogues," that through the benefit of Masses souls are very speedily delivered from heavy pains.^cccxxxii But funeral processions, elaborate burials, and the like are not to be counted among the suffrages of the Church. Wherefore Augustine, in his book "On the Care of the Dead," declares that "the pomp of funeral processions, a costly tomb, solemn burial rites, are rather a solace to the living than a help to the dead."^cccxxxiii

4. Here, furthermore, that justice applies which conserves the ORDER AND GOVERNMENT OF THE UNIVERSE. This requires that, in the producing of effects, there be manifested order and proportion as between the originators and the beneficiaries of such effects; whereby the lower in rank produces no effect upon the higher, nor [any being] upon any other utterly remote from it Hence the suffrages of the Church cannot in any way be applied to souls in hell, for these are completely separated from the mystical body of Christ. No spiritual effect can reach them, or be of any use to them, any more than the head can have an effect upon members severed from the body.

That is also why suffrages cannot help the blessed who, by their state, are at the summit and therefore cannot possibly rise any higher. Instead, it is they and their prayers that are useful to us - for this also they merited in their life on earth. That is why divine order disposes that prayers be offered to the saints of God, that they in turn may intercede for us and obtain for us God's blessings. Hence, the suffrages of the Church are of no help to them, but theirs are of great value to us.

Hence the suffrages of the Church [as applied to the dead] are profitable only to the just souls suffering the pain of purgatory. By the fact of suffering without being able to help themselves, they are inferior to the living; but in terms of justice, they are linked to the other members of the Church, so that the merits of the Church may rightly be applied to them because in their case the right proportion and order does exist.

5. Finally, in these suffrages there must be manifested also that justice which WEIGHS WHAT MERITS DESERVE. Therefore such suffrages as are offered for the dead in general, although they are effective for all good souls, each in his own measure, convey a greater effect in regard to those who during their life more richly deserved to be affected and assisted by them. As for the suffrages offered for some souls in particular: because the intention of the petitioner is righteous and God-conformed, and, furthermore, because something the Church instituted cannot possibly go without fruit, therefore particular suffrages are beneficial chiefly to their assigned beneficiaries, although in a certain way they are also communicated to others. But such suffrages cannot procure as many advantages to others as to the intended beneficiaries, for although they are spiritual goods,^326cccxxxiv divine justice requires a greater amendment for a greater sin, and a number of amendments for a number of sins. Hence, the example of light, which shines equally upon all those seated at the same table, does not apply. Suffrages should be compared, rather, to redeeming payments than to rays of light shining upon all with equal brightness. Their effect upon any one soul may be determined with certainty by none but the One to whom it pertains to attend to weight, number, and measure in matters of guilt, pain, and suffrages.³²⁷

CHAPTER 4 - ON THE CONCOMITANTS TO THE JUDGMENT: THE CONSUMING FIRE^cccxxxv

1.  We shall now explain in brief the events which accompany the judgment. They are two in number: the consuming by fire of all worldly things, and the resurrection of the dead.

2.  Regarding the consuming by fire, the following must be held. Fire shall precede the face [presence] of the Judge, and by this fire the face of the earth shall be burned, and this world as we see it³²⁸ shall perish in the devouring conflagration of worldly things,³²⁹ as it did in the waters of the flood.³³⁰

But when it is said that this world as we see it shall perish, this does not mean the total destruction of the sensible world, but that, through the action of fire setting all material beings aflame, all animals and plants will be consumed, the elements will be cleansed and renewed, particularly air and earth, the just will be purified and the wicked suffer in flame.³³¹ All this being done, the motion of the heavens shall cease, and thus, when the number of the elect is completed, the bodies of the universe also shall, in a sense, be renewed and rewarded.³³²

3. This should be understood as follows. The universal Principle of things, being supremely wise, observing as He does the order of wisdom in all His deeds, must necessarily and more particularly do so in all matters related to their end. In this way, the beginning will be in harmony with the intermediate stage, and the intermediate stage with the end, and in the perfectly congruous order of all things, the ordinating wisdom, the goodness, and the loftiness of the first Principle will be seen.

Now, God, in His most orderly wisdom, made this greater material world for the sake of the smaller world - man, who is placed between God and these inferior things. Therefore, in order to make all things congruous one to another and the dwelling harmonious with the dweller, man being created in goodness, this world fittingly existed in a state of goodness and peace. But as man fell, this world also was damaged; and as he was disordered, it became disordered; and with his cleansing, it must be cleansed, with his renewal, renewed, and with his consummation, set at rest.^cccxxxvi

4. First, then, this world was DISORDERED, because man was disordered, as it had stood while he stood, and fallen, in a sense, when he fell. And furthermore, it was necessary, in the judgment to come, that in token of the Judge's severity, every heart be struck with fear, and particularly the hearts of the sinners who had spurned the Lord of all; so that all creation should submit to divine zeal, conforming both to the Maker of the world and to him who dwells in it.³³³ Therefore the very pivots of the world must be shaken to inspire utmost terror.³³⁴ And because nothing has a more intense, rapid, and fearsome action upon the other elements than fire rushing in from every side, therefore fire must precede the face of the Judge, not only from one direction, but from all. There will be here a concourse of fires - fires of the elements and of earth, of purgatory, and even of hell. Thus the reprobate shall be tormented by the infernal flames, the just cleansed by the purgatorial, animals and plants consumed by those of the earth, the elements refined by those of elemental fires; and, together with this, all other things shall be shaken, making not only men and demons but even angels tremble at the sight.

5. Again, this world must be CLEANSED as man is to be cleansed. Now, man in his old age must be washed of the dross of avarice and malice, as in his youth he must be washed of the filth of lust; moreover, he must be cleansed rapidly, and to the very depths, and perfectly. Therefore, as in the beginning the world had been swept and cleansed in a way by the element of water, which is cold and thus opposed to the fire and filth of lust, so in the end it is to be swept and cleansed by fire because of the cooling of charity and the frigidity of malice and avarice which shall reign as in the world's old age. And because such vices adhere to man so strongly, the cleansing agent must be interior, strong, and swift; action found nowhere in the elements except in fire. Therefore, as there had been a flood of waters through the deluge, so also the face of this material world shall be burned by fire.

6. Furthermore, this world must be RENEWED once man is renewed. Now, a thing cannot be recast into a new form unless it has lost the old, and is, in a certain way, prepared through receiving a new disposition. Therefore, since fire has the greatest power to remove the external form, and also a refining power akin to heavenly nature, it is through fire that both cleansing and renovation must come about; so that, of this twin power, one aspect precedes and the other follows the coming of the Judge. Moreover, true renovation leads to a newness which is no longer liable to aging, and such incorruptible newness no creature is able to give. Therefore, although in this cleansing and renovation, fire acts partly through its natural powers, setting aflame, purging, vaporizing, and subtilizing, there must be present, together with these, another power higher than nature: a power by whose command the conflagration is initiated, and by whose might its end will be achieved.

7. Finally, this world must be CONSUMMATED once man is consummated. Now, man shall be consummated when the number of the elect is completed in glory: the state toward which all things tend as to their final end and fulfillment. Therefore, as soon as this number is completed, the motion of the heavenly bodies must end and cease;³³⁵ as, likewise, the transmutations [interchanges] of elements; and, consequently, the process of generation in animals and plants; for since all these creatures were ordained toward the more noble form, the rational soul, once souls have attained their final state of rest, all other things besides must come to completion and repose. That is why when the heavenly bodies do finally attain repose and the fullness of luminosity, they are said to have received their reward. Now, the elements as such, which have lost the power of multiplication through interchange, are said to perish: not in their substance, but in their mutual relationship, and most of all in their active powers. And because vegetative and sensitive beings do not have the virtue of perpetual life and eternal duration which is reserved to the higher state, their whole substance is consumed; yet in such a way that they are preserved as ideas; and in a certain manner they survive also in their image, man, who is akin to creatures of every species. All things, therefore, may be said to be renovated and, so to speak, rewarded, in the renovation and glorification of man.

CHAPTER 5 - ON THE CONCOMITANTS TO THE JUDGMENT: THE RESURRECTION OF BODIES^cccxxxvii

1. Concerning the resurrection of bodies, the following must be held. The bodies of all men will rise at the general resurrection, without any interval in time, but with a great difference in the order of dignity. For the wicked will rise with the distortions and pains, the miseries and defects, they incurred in life. But in the good, "nature will be safeguarded and all imperfection removed,"^cccxxxviii and they will rise with a body complete, in the prime of life, and well-proportioned, so that all the saints will come

forth to perfect manhood, to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ³³⁶. Both good and wicked will rise with the same individual bodies they had before, composed of the same parts, and true to nature, not only in the essential limbs and vital fluid, but even to the hair, and everything else proper to a body.³³⁷ Thus, "to whatever wind, to whatever earthly fold, the dust of a human body may have fallen, it shall return to the very soul which had been the original principle of its life and growth."^cccxxxix

2. This should be understood as follows. The first Principle, being first and supreme, is utterly universal and sufficient, and thus He is the Principle of natures, graces, and rewards, a Principle all-powerful, all-merciful, all-just. Although, in a certain attributive sense,³³⁸ supreme power refers to the creation of natures, supreme mercy to the conferring of graces, and supreme justice to the distribution of rewards, in fact each attribute shares in every work, for supreme power, mercy, and justice are inseparable. Hence, the work of retribution must be brought about in a way which respects the rectitude of justice, the restoration of grace [mercy], and the completion of nature. Now, JUSTICE necessarily demands that a man who has merited or demerited, not in the soul alone nor in the body alone, but in both soul and body, be also punished or rewarded in both. Again, restoration of GRACE demands that the whole body be likened to Christ the Head, whose dead body duly rose because it was inseparably united to the Godhead. Finally, the completion of NATURE [as an act of POWER] demands that man be constituted of body and soul, as matter and form mutually needing and seeking each other.^cccxl For all these reasons, there must be a future resurrection to satisfy the requirements of the creation of nature, the infusion of grace, and the retribution of justice - the three [works] that regulate the government of the universe. By these three, all creation proclaims that man is to rise from the dead, so that they render inexcusable those who close their ears to this truth of faith. Rightfully, then, the universe shall war³³⁹ against such as these.

3. First, therefore, because resurrection must comply with THE ORDER OF DIVINE JUSTICE; and divine justice renders to everyone his due according to the circumstances of place and time; and, moreover, a soul joined to a body for but a single instant acquires in this union either guilt or merit: therefore all must necessarily rise.

Now, the state of retribution must be distinguished from the state of the present life; and it is to the state of retribution mat resurrection looks. Therefore, to avoid any confusion in the order of the universe, to assure that faith shall acquire merit through belief in what has not yet been seen, to make the equity of divine justice appear with greater clearness and certainty, and to complete and reward angels^cccxli and men together, divine justice requires, at least as a general law, that all shall rise at the same time. The exceptions are Christ and His blessed Mother, the glorious Virgin Mary.

But as the lot of the wicked is pain and woe, and that of the just is glory, although all rise together in time, yet they shall be far apart in dignity. For the wicked, rising shall be, not unto life, but unto torture, and hence they must rise with their weaknesses, deformities, and defects.³⁴⁰

4. Again, resurrection must also comply with THE FULLNESS [RESTORATION] OF GRACE. NOW, perfect grace conforms us to Christ our Head, in whom there was no physical imperfection, but perfect age, due stature, and comely appearance. Therefore it is fitting that the good be raised in a state as perfect as possible, implying the removal of any imperfection and the fulfillment of natural integrity, any missing portion being restored, any excess growth eliminated, and any malfunctioning corrected. Those who died in childhood are to be raised by divine power at an age corresponding to that of Christ at His resurrection, although not "with exactly the same bodily size."^cccxlii The old and the wasted shall be restored to that same age. Giants and dwarfs shall be given proper stature. Thus all shall come forth, whole and perfect, to perfect manhood,³⁴¹ to the mature measure of the fullness of Christ.³⁴²

5. Finally, resurrection must accord with THE COMPLETION OF NATURE. Now, the nature of the rational soul demands that it give life to a body of its own - for "a proper act comes about in its proper matter."^cccxliii Therefore the same individual body must be raised from the dead, or else there would be no true resurrection. Moreover, the nature of the rational and immortal soul demands that, as it has perpetual existence, it also have a body in which to infuse life perpetually. Hence, the body united to the soul possesses, by this very union, a disposition toward perpetual incorruption; in such a way, however, that whatever makes up its whole substance - for instance, the principal limbs, the vital fluid, and the flesh according to species - has a necessary disposition [to incorruption], while the other parts- the flesh in its materiality,^cccxliv and whatever pertains in general to bodily well-being - has that disposition in terms of fittingness only. The former are thus disposed toward resurrection in the order of necessity, and the latter in the order of congruity.

Now, God has imprinted this order upon nature, which cannot fulfill it, since it cannot raise the dead. Yet divine providence can have done nothing in vain.^cccxlv Therefore, it is through the power of this providence that the same individual body must be remade: immortal, complete in all its parts, and fully true to nature.

[To repeat:] Nature, in regard to these things, has merely the desire, not the power, to bring them about.^cccxlvi It cannot restore to life the very same body that had been destroyed, since it does not have full control over the substance of a thing; nor can it make a body immortal, since everything born of nature is doomed to die;^cccxlvii nor again can it gather what has been scattered abroad. Therefore resurrection cannot be brought about by seminal^cccxlviii or natural causes, but only by the prime Cause; so that it occurs in a wondrous and supernatural way at the command of the divine will.

CHAPTER 6 - ON THE CONSEQUENTS TO THE JUDGMENT: THE PAINS OF HELL^cccxlix

1.  Next, we must speak of the consequents to the judgment, and they are two in number: the pains of hell and the glory of heaven.

2.  Concerning the pains of hell, the following must be held. These are suffered in a material place, down below, in which all the wicked, both men and fallen angels, are eternally afflicted. They are tormented by a single material fire which affects both souls and bodies, and yet never consumes these bodies, but tortures them forever - some more, others less, in proportion to each one's guilt. To this pain by fire shall be added affliction in every one of the senses, and also the pain of worms,^cccl and loss of the beatific vision.³⁴³. Hence, in these pains there shall be variety, and together with variety, bitterness, and together with bitterness, endlessness; so that, as regards the punishment of the reprobate, the smoke of their torments goes up forever and ever³⁴⁴.

3. This should be understood as follows. The first Principle, being first, is also supreme, and hence, whatever He is, He must be to the supreme degree. Therefore He must be supremely just. In the work of retribution He acts according to justice; and since He cannot act against Himself, disown Himself³⁴⁵, or contradict His own justice, it is necessary, by reason of His justice, that sin be punished in proportion to guilt; and punished most of all in those who, spurning the law of mercy, dashed themselves in impenitence against the severity of justice. Also, because severe justice considers the fault, not only in its root, but also in its aggravating circumstances, it is most fitting that the just Judge require of the wicked the payment of the penalty due down to the last penny³⁴⁶, so that there may remain "no disgrace of sin without fitting justice."^cccli And as power had been manifested in creation, wisdom in administration, and mercy in restoration, so would supreme justice be manifested in retribution.

Since, therefore, divine justice punishes the sinner in proportion to his guilt, and mortal sin followed by final impenitence implies a perpetual disorder, a wanton disorder, and a manifold disorder: therefore it must be punished by means of torments that are perpetual, bitter, and manifold.

4.   First, then, the punishment of a perpetual disorder must be PERPETUAL; for a sin which a man commits and never repents remains forever in the soul, and separates it from eternal life, that is, from God. Such sin proceeds from a will intent upon finding its pleasure eternally in sin. And although such transitory pleasure lasts but a moment, yet, because the disorder has a character of perpetuity, the pain corresponding to this disorder must be without end. As the man, in his choice made once and for all, appointed no end to his sinning, so God, in His perpetual will, never suspends the punishment. As the man sinned against the infinite, so also he must suffer an infinite penalty; and since he cannot suffer a pain of infinite intensity, he must suffer one of infinite duration. And as, after death, the will of such a man forever cleaves to evil and never repents, so also God afflicts it endlessly without ever reversing His sentence: necessarily, for in the wicked condemned to hell the disorder is everlasting.

5.   Again, the punishment for wanton disorder must be BITTER, for unlawful satisfaction is punished most properly with the pain opposed to it. By sinning, the rational spirit turns to the wanton love of self-serving, temporal, and partial good, thus spurning divine command and sovereignty. In fitting punishment for such unrighteous gratification, which implies, besides gratification, contempt, the sinner, man or angel, must be chastised by being cast down to the lowest place, the most remote from the state of glory, the deepest abyss, that is, hell. Likewise, the sinner must be afflicted there by what is of the lowest nature, and hence must suffer, not from a spiritual substance, but from one that is material and lowly, the very dregs of worldly bodies; must be fettered to this filth, and tormented with fire and brimstone.³⁴⁷

Because the spirit which, by nature, is above the body and has the power of acting upon it and moving it, perverted through sin the nobility of its nature and subjected itself, in a particular way, to the vileness and nothingness of sin: therefore the order of justice demands that the sinner, angel or man, be fettered to a material fire from which he will receive, not the infusion of life,³⁴⁸ but, by divine command, the pain of suffering. The sinner is thus inseparably shackled to something which he abhors through a divinely instilled fear, and painfully feels through his natural senses, and hence he is most cruelly tortured.

Again, since the action of this fire is proportioned to the sin, the guilt, and the stain resulting from the depravity of the self-seeking will, and all sinners are not depraved to the same degree, the same fire shall burn one more severely and the other less so, as the same fire burns straw and wood with different intensity.³⁴⁹

But because in any one soul this distinction, based upon the guilt of sin by which the fire is measured, remains constant, never waxing or waning or undergoing any change, therefore, by divine command, this fire so acts as always to burn but never to consume, always to afflict but never to kill. For its purpose is, not to grow, but to destroy the peace of the soul within the body, and the peace of the incorporeal spirit within itself. Hence, there is no new loss of peace, but a continuation of the loss of it, so that within the same pain bitterness neither annuls eternity nor does eternity destroy bitterness.

6. Finally, the punishment for a manifold disorder must be MANIFOLD. NOW, in any actual mortal sin there is a disorderly aversion from the supreme light and goodness, a disorderly conversion toward mutable good, and the disorder of a will opposing the dictates of right reason. Therefore, all those sinning mortally who will be damned will suffer a threefold punishment: the loss of the beatific vision, because of their aversion from God; the pain of material fire, because of their conversion toward mutable good; and the pain of worms, because of the conflict between reason and will. And so, afflicted by this multiplicity of pains, they will be punished in a manifold way, and bitterly, and eternally; and the smoke of their torments goes up forever and ever³⁵⁰. Amen.

CHAPTER 7 - ON THE GLORY OF PARADISE

1. As for the glory of paradise, we must hold, in sum, that it consists of a substantial, a consubstantial, and an accidental reward.

The SUBSTANTIAL reward is the vision, fruition, and possession of the one supreme Good, God, whom the blessed shall behold face to face³⁵¹, that is, plainly and with no interposing veil. They shall enjoy, with eagerness and delight, Him whom they shall behold forever. Thus will be realized the words of Bernard: "To the intellect, God shall give fulness of life; to the will, immense peace; to the memory, everlasting duration."^ccclii

The CONSUBSTANTIAL reward is bodily glory, the second robe which, when assumed, permits the blessed soul more perfectly to tend "to the highest heaven."^cccliii This robe consists of a fourfold gift to the body, that is: luminosity, subtility, agility, and impassibility. All four are granted in the measure of the love that had existed in the soul.

The ACCIDENTAL reward is a special and additional honor^cccliv called the aureole. In the sacred doctors' opinion, the aureole is due to three meritorious conditions: martyrdom, predication, and virginity.

In all this, different degrees and distinctions apply, according to merit.

2. This should be understood as follows. The first Principle, because He is first, is also supremely one, true, and good. This implies, in turn, that He is supreme power, wisdom, mercy, and justice. His invisible attributes³⁵² are fittingly revealed in visible works. Being the Principle of the sensible world, He produces creatures, He governs them, He restores them, and He rewards and perfects them. Production reflects His supreme power; government, His supreme wisdom; restoration, His supreme mercy; and rewarding, His perfect justice.

In order to reveal His POWER, God brought forth all things out of nothingness for His own praise, glory, and honor. A certain part of His creation - material nature - is close to nothingness. Another part - spiritual nature-is close to Himself.^ccclv In man, God united the two parts, body and soul, into a single nature and person.

In order to reveal His WISDOM, God governs all things most providentially and in the most orderly fashion. The highest part of man - the soul - He rules directly, by illuminating it.^ccclvi The lowest part - the body - He rules through [man's] free will. Thus the body and all its functions are subject to the spirit, while the spirit is subject to God.^ccclvii

In order to reveal His MERCY, God restored fallen man by assuming the nature of man with its penalties, and by suffering the ultimate pain itself. Thus, for the sake of delivering man from his wretchedness, supreme Mercy mercifully conformed to the wretched: not only to what was originally noble in man's nature as it was created, but also to the defects attached to that nature after the fall.³⁵³

Finally, in order to reveal His JUSTICE, God will give everyone what is his due: eternal pain to the wicked, and eternal glory to the just.

These are the requirements of equitable retribution, restoration by grace, well-ordered government, and potent creation: for all these divine acts shall find their consummation in the final end.

3. First, the rewarding of the just is a requirement of EQUITABLE RETRIBUTION and also of POTENT CREATION. Creation by God establishes the rational spirit in the proximity of God and makes it capable of receiving God. Such capacity results from the mighty image of the Blessed Trinity that is stamped on it. The just serve the Trinity with their whole spirit by keeping this image intact. It follows that the rational spirit cannot be rewarded or filled, nor can its capacity be satisfied, with anything less than God. Hence, it receives as reward a God-conforming glory: it becomes like unto God and sees Him clearly through the intellect, loves Him through the will, and retains Him forever through the memory. The soul is then wholly alive, wholly fulfilled in its three faculties, wholly conformed to God, wholly united to Him, wholly reposed in Him. For it finds in Him, as the sum of all goods, peace, light, and everlasting abundance. Established "in the perfect concourse of all goods,"^ccclviii and living by the life of eternity, the soul is now called blessed and glorious.

4. Again, rewarding is a requirement, not only of equitable retribution and potent creation, but also of ORDERED GOVERNMENT. When God created the body, He joined it to the soul; He united the two in a natural and mutual relationship, but assigned the government of the body to the soul, willing that in the state of wayfaring the soul should incline to the body and stoop to its level, governing it for the sake of acquiring merit. Hence, the soul cannot be fully happy unless the body is returned to it, for the two have a natural ordination to each other. Nor is government orderly unless the body intended for union with the blessed soul bends and submits to it in all things, as much as a body may conform to a spirit.

Since the soul is now enlightened through the vision of eternal Light, the body also must shine with great splendor. Since the soul is now supremely spiritual through the love of the supreme Spirit, the body also must display a corresponding subtility and spirituality. Since the possession of eternal life makes the soul totally incapable of suffering, the body also must become completely impassible, internally as well as externally. And because these three gifts together urge the soul most swiftly toward God, the glorified body must also possess supreme agility.

Because the body is both conformed to and subjected to the spirit through these four properties, they are said to be its main gifts. They enable it to follow the spirit even into the heavenly region where the blessed abide.

These same properties also assimilate the human body to the heavenly bodies, for in them consists the whole difference between the heavenly bodies and the four elements. Hence, this fourfold gift to the human body not only perfects it in itself but also conforms it to the heavenly dwelling and the Holy Spirit. Through Him, the fullness of delights and the rapture of bliss flow from God the Head down upon the skirt of the garment, the body of man.³⁵⁴

5. Finally, such rewarding is a requirement not only of equitable retribution, potent creation, and ordered government, but also of RESTORATION TO GLORY.³⁵⁵ The different members of Christ receive the gifts of grace in different amounts. These variations regard not only the inner gifts, but also the outer acts; not only the dispositions, but also the states of virtue; not only the perfection of love in the soul, but also the decorum and beauty of its perfect bodily expression. Hence, some members are entitled, in addition to the robe of the soul with its three gifts, and the robe of the body with its four perfections, to exceptional glory and joy because of the outstanding perfection and splendor of their virtuous deeds.

Now, there are three kinds of outstandingly perfect, beautiful, and splendid deeds corresponding to the three [basic] forces of the soul.³⁵⁶ Corresponding to the RATIONAL impulse is the preaching of truth which leads others to salvation;³⁵⁷ corresponding to the CONCUPISCIBLE is the perfect rejection of the concupiscences through the perpetual integrity of virginal continence; corresponding to the IRASCIBLE is the suffering of death for the honor of Christ. Therefore there are three categories of just, the preachers, the virgins, and the martyrs, who deserve the special honor of the accidental reward called the aureole. This adorns, not only the soul, but also the body, since it is given, not to the will alone, but also to the external act. It has as its followers the merit and the reward of charity which consists in a sevenfold endowment-treble to the soul and quadruple to the body - containing the consummation, the integrity, and the fullness of all goods related to the completion of glory.

6. But how great these goods are, and how manifold, I shall show, not in my own words, but in those of Anselm, who writes toward the end of his "Prologue":

"And now, my soul, arise, lift up your eyes, and consider with as much attention as you can the immensity and abundance of this Good. If good things are so pleasant even when enjoyed singly, imagine how delightful beyond delight that Good must be which contains the delightful-ness of all goods: not the delightfulness we find in created objects, but as different from it as the Creator differs from the creature. If created life is good, how good is Life Creating! If salvation is joyful once accomplished, how joyful is that Salvation who brings about the salvation of all! If the wisdom that comes from knowing creatures is a thing worth loving, how lovable is that Wisdom who created all things out of nothingness! Finally, if many and great are the delights found in delectable objects, how many and great are the delights to be found in the very Cause of their delightfulness!

7. "What will a man have who possesses that Good, and what will he not have? Assuredly, he will have everything that satisfies him, and nothing that displeases. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man³⁵⁸ what bodily and spiritual goods he will enjoy in heaven. Why, then, servant of God, do you wander so far, seeking delights for your body and mind? Love one single Good in which all goods are found, and that will suffice; desire one simple Good which is all good, and that will be enough. Tell me, my body, what do you love? My soul, what do you seek? Anything you love, anything you desire, is here. Is it beauty that delights you? The just will shine forth like the sun.³⁵⁹ Is it swiftness and might, and a bodily freedom no barrier may contain? The elect will be as angels of God³⁶⁰, for what is sown a natural body rises a spiritual body³⁶¹, through being empowered assuredly, and not through nature. Is it a long and healthy life? Here is a sound eternity and eternal soundness, for the just live forever³⁶², and the salvation³⁶³ of the just is from the Lord³⁶⁴. Is it repletion? You will be satisfied when the glory of God appears.³⁶⁵ Is it inebriation? You will be inebriated with the plenty of His house. Is it melody? Here the choirs of angels sing continuously the praise of God.³⁶⁶ Is it pleasure - pure delight, that is, not unclean lust? Thou, O God, shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure³⁶⁷. Is it wisdom? Here the very Wisdom of God shall be displayed before your eyes. Is it friendship? Here the elect shall love God more than they love themselves, and one another as much as themselves, and God shall love them more than they love themselves: for it is through Him that they love Him, and themselves, and each other; and through Himself that He loves Himself and them. Is it peace? They will all be of one will, for to them there will be no will but the will of God. Is it power? They will be all-powerfull in their own will, as God is in His. For as God, in Himself, can do anything He wishes, so can the elect, through God, since they desire nothing different from what He wills, as He, likewise, desires whatever they will; and whatever God wills cannot fail to come about. Is it honor and riches? God will set His good and faithful servants over many; and what is more, they shall be called children of God³⁶⁸, and even gods,³⁶⁹ and gods they shall truly be; and wherever the Son of God shall dwell, there also shall they be found, heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ.³⁷⁰ Is it security? The elect are certain that they could never, in any way, be deprived of these goods, or rather, of this one Good; that they will never lose it by their own fault, that God the Lover will never wrest it from those who love Him; and that no power stronger than God could ever exist to separate Him from them.

8. "How wonderful and great must be the joy whose object is so great and wonderful! O human heart, needy heart! O heart acquainted with tribulation - rather, steeped in it: how much you would rejoice if all this abundance were yours! Ask your deepest self if it could contain the joy of blessedness so great. And yet, if some other soul you love as much as yourself shared this happiness with you, would it not truly be twice as great? For you would be no less happy for this soul than for yourself. And if two or three or many more had part in this same delight, you would rejoice as much for each of them as for yourself. So, in this perfect love possessed by the countless angels and blessed souls, where none shall love another less than he loves himself, every one shall rejoice in every other as much as he rejoices in himself. And if the heart of man shall hardly contain his own joy over such great good, how shall it hold delights so many and so great!

"Certainly, the more one loves another, the more one rejoices at his happiness. If, then, in the state of perfect joy, everyone loves God incomparably more than he loves himself and those with him, he shall draw an immeasurably greater joy from God's delight than from his own, or that of his companions. And if the blessed love God with their whole heart, soul, and mind, and yet their whole heart, soul, and mind are not equal to so great a love, they shall certainly rejoice with such intensity that their whole heart, soul, and mind will not suffice to hold the fullness of such joy.³⁷¹

9. "O Lord, I have not spoken yet, or even thought, of how immense is the joy of these Your blessed ones. Assuredly, they shall rejoice as much as they love, and love as much as they know. How well shall they know You and how greatly love You? Eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man³⁷² in this life how well he shall know You and love You in the next. O God, I pray that I may know You, and love You, so as to rejoice in You; that, since I could never attain to this fully in this life, I may at least make some progress every day until I reach the perfection of joy; that my knowledge of You may advance here, and there be complete; that my love for You may increase here, and there be full; that here my joy may be in great expectation, and there in actual fulfillment.

"O Lord, through Your Son You command us, rather You counsel us, to ask, promising that our joy will be full.³⁷³ O God of truth, I pray that I may receive this favor: that my joy may be full. I beg, O Lord, what You counsel through Your admirable Counselor. May I receive what You have promised through Your Truth: that my joy may be full. Meanwhile, let my mind meditate on this joy, let my tongue speak of it, my heart love it, my words express it, my soul hunger for it, my flesh thirst for it, and my whole being desire it, until I enter into this joy of the Lord who is God³⁷⁴ trine and one, blessed forever³⁷⁵. Amen."^ccclix376

HERE ENDS THE BREVILOQUIUM OF FRIAR BONAVENTURE

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