The Mind’s Ascent to God by a Ladder of Created ThingsThirteenth step. CONSIDERATION OF GOD'S PRACTICAL WISDOM

We have considered the wisdom of God as it is in theory: his practical wisdom is now to be considered, which we may also call his effective wisdom. This wisdom has its breadth, length, height, and depth: the breadth is known by creation, the length by the preservation of things created, the height by the work of redemption, the depth by providence and predestination.

And to begin with creation. ‘God hath made all things in wisdom,’ as it is said in the Psalms, and poured it forth over all his works, as the Wise Man writes.2 As we therefore know the power of the worker in the creation of all things out of nothing, so by the wonderful workmanship which we discern in every one of them do we admire the wisdom of the Creator: for ‘He hath disposed all things in measure, number, and weight.’3 With this savour God hath seasoned all things and by this savour we come to understand how delightful is his wisdom, how amiable and how desirable.

All created things, then, have a certain number, a certain measure, a certain weight both to distinguish them from God, who hath no measure because he is immense, nor number, because he is One and simple in his Essence; nor weight, because his value and his price surpass all price and value: and also since they are all good and beautiful, as Moses most truly said, ‘God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.’⁴ All created things, then, have the measure which is necessary to attain the end for which they were made: nor can anything be added to or taken from that measure without making the thing deformed and useless, and therefore not so good as it was: ‘God hath made everything beautiful in his season.’ 2 Therefore to the heavens God gave a very spacious measure, since they have to embrace all things beneath them; to the air, far shorter measure than the heaven, but greater than to the earth and waters which form one globe and are enclosed on all sides by the air. He gave to the elephant a body of huge bulk that it might carry very heavy weights and even a tower full of men: to the horse less, because it was made to carry only one rider; he made birds small that they might build their nests on branches of trees; bees and ants very small, that they might hide themselves in the holes either of hives or in the earth.

The same thing we may say of number. God made One sun, since one was enough to lighten the whole earth and to make day by his brightness: he also made one moon, since one is enough to give light in the night: he willed that there should be many stars, that in the absence of sun and moon, as happens at their conjunction, they might in some measure disperse the darkness of night. And not only to all things in general did he assign the fitting number, but also established the number of parts in each separate thing, that no addition or diminution can be made. God hath given man two eyes, two ears, two hands, two feet, one nose, one mouth, one breast, one head, and thus he appears a very beautiful and comely creature: invert the order, put on any man one eye, two noses, one ear, two mouths, one hand, and one foot, two hearts and two heads, and nothing more useless or more hideous could be made.

Lastly, God hath given to each thing weight, that is, he has given to each thing the value that its nature requires. By the word weight or price we understand the qualities which make things good and precious, and there are three things necessary to perfection: number, that nothing be wanting; secondly a proper proportion of parts; and lastly, internal and external qualities, as loveliness of colour in the outward surface of the body, and inward power which is useful or necessary for our various actions. But indeed it is wonderful to consider what virtue God gave to each thing, however tiny and small, so that it would seem he willed to show his power in great things, and in small his wisdom. Who can conceive what virtue there is in a grain of mustard seed, which is so very small that it can scarce be discerned by the eye and yet it produces a large tree, so that even birds lodge in its branches, as he who is truth itself says in the Gospel. And this is not peculiar to mustard seed, but is common to all seeds in the virtue of which lie hid roots, trunks, branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit of the greatest trees. Indeed if we had not learnt this by experience we should not easily persuade men that from so small a seed so many and such different things could ever spring. And who could conceive that in an ant, a fly, a flea, and such very tiny creatures, there should be nimble feet, a head, a heart, exterior and interior senses, and that in their own way, although as yet imperfect, they possess wisdom and judgement? And lastly, who would suppose that

x St. Matt. xiii. 31.

Consideration OF God’s PracticaL Wisdom' I81 in these and other very small creatures there should be power to pierce and enter the living flesh, so that not only do they become most troublesome to men, but also to elephants and lions which they terrify?

Great, therefore, is the Lord, and great is his wisdom as well in the smallest as in the greatest things. Galen, that prince of physicians, though a heathen, admired the divine artifice when he perceived it in the human hand, and cried out in praise of the Creator. What then, O Christian, oughtest thou to do, who art assured that not only the bodies of men and other creatures but also the heavens, the stars, the angels, and the immortal spirits were made with incredible wisdom by the same most wise Creator?

Now the length of the practical wisdom of God appears in the preservation of things; as we have already said, its breadth is shown in their creation. ‘Therefore the great and admirable wisdom of God is seen in his preservation of created things and giving them power to continue, and especially such as are of a corruptible nature. And first, if a man considers how God nourishes herbs, plants, living creatures, and the very bodies of men, and makes them thrive and grow so that they are preserved for a long time, he cannot sufficiently wonder at the wisdom of God. For with earth and water he nourishes plants and herbs and causes that the nourishment passes from the root to the trunk, and from the trunk to the branches and fruits by a certain force drawing it upwards and making it run into every part in a wonderful order and measure. Men likewise, and some beasts, he nourishes by herbs and fruits, and so orders that the nourishment enters drugs that they may be taken by the sick man not only easily but with pleasure, for meats are certainly physic, which unless mortal men frequently take, they cannot escape death. But God, our most loving and wise physician, first gives a savour to the food, that it may be eaten with pleasure; next he varies it in numberless ways so as to remove distaste; and lastly by various changes in the mouth, stomach, liver, and heart the meat is changed into a juice, so thin and subtile that, without cutting out a way and giving pain, it passes through all the arteries and veins and pores of the body and into all parts of the flesh, bones, and nerves when we do not perceive it, and even when we are asleep. Philosophers wonder at this skill and art of nature when they examine it, but what cunning can there be in inanimate things void of sense and skill in reasoning? It is therefore not natural skill but the wisdom of the Creator that is to be admired, for he not only made nature, but found out a way by which these wonders might be done. Hear the wisdom of God speaking in the Gospel: ‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. . . and God clothes them.’! It is therefore not natural skill, but God, who makes the lilies grow, and clothes them with beauty as with a garment; and the same may be said of the nourishment and increase of all things living, as the Apostle bears witness, when he says, ‘Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.’ 2

And if the wisdom of God feeds, nourishes, and preserves in mortal life plants and animals in so wonderful a way, think, if thou canst, O my soul, how God doth feed the minds of angels and of men in life which thoroughly understand what this is: ‘God shall be all in all’;* what, I say, when God the highest and infinite good shall be to all the saints food and clothing and life and all things: surely thou wouldst loathe all things present and only mind and seek the things that are above. But let us proceed to the rest.

It is also almost like a miracle that for the preservation and continuance of man’s life God hath given to the smallest things continual motion which, though lasting long, yet causes no fatigue. Men take great pains to make a clock in which the wheels by force of weights turn twenty-four hours without stopping. With what great wisdom, then, does God act, who causes the nourishing faculty to act also continually and without stopping so long as plants and animals live, and also that lungs and arteries should move continually for seventy years or more. For of necessity the nourishing faculty must work, and the heart and arteries be in movement from the beginning of life to the end. And so in those who reach eighty and ninety years, it is necessary that their hearts and arteries should be moving all that time. And before the Flood, when men lived to nine hundred years, it was necessary that the heart and arteries, things fragile and delicate, should work continuously without any pause or rest for nine hundred years. Truly those who do not wonder at these things and do not in them perceive and adore the divine wisdom, must be altogether deprived of the light of wisdom. —

To this we may add, thirdly, that the wisdom of God, although it can, without any labour of men or other animals, and even without the service of the sun and

1 x Cor. xv. 28.

other secondary causes, both produce and preserve herbs and trees, so that all living things may have their proper food: yet he willed to use the service of secondary causes and by the labour and industry of men and beasts, that no one might be idle, but that every one should exercise their strength. And he willed also that, among men, some should be rich and some poor, that all might have opportunity for cultivating virtue and might be united in the bond of charity. For the rich may exercise liberality and mercy, the poor patience and humility. The rich need the labour of the poor to till their fields, to feed their cattle, by divers trades to prepare the things which are necessary for all. The poor again need the help of the rich to give them money and tools with which they may provide for themselves food and clothing and other necessaries. And there is no reason why the poor should complain of the divine wisdom: for God, who knows all and loves every one, gives to each what will bring him to everlasting life, foresees what will be useful; just as earthly physicians order fasting for some persons and cause them to be bled, and to others they order meat and wine and bid them enjoy themselves that they may recover health. Doubtless very many poor folks attain eternal salvation, who if they had been rich would have perished eternally, and although the rich may be saved if they seek to be rich in good works and give that willingly which they received from our common Lord, not to store but to bestow, yet it cannot be denied that poverty is a safer, smoother, and quicker way to heaven than wealth. Our divine Master doth not deceive us. He saith, ‘Verily I say unto you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven’;! and again, ‘Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,’ and ‘Woe to you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation’ :? nor does the Apostle deceive us when he says in his former Epistle to Timothy, ‘They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition’;! and what the Lord and his Apostles taught by word the same they confirmed by example, for the Lord said of himself, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head,’ and the Apostle says of himself and his fellow Apostle, ‘Unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst and have no certain dwelling-place,’ 3 that is, we have no home of our own. And it cannot be doubted that the wisdom of God and the sons and disciples of wisdom made choice of the smoothest and safest road to life. But because ‘the number of fools is infinite’4 few choose the way of their own accord, but many turn aside from it with their whole affection and strength.

Lastly, the length of the divine wisdom is seen in that, as it is itself eternal, so it hath implanted in all things a most vigorous instinct to preserve themselves, to prolong their life and being as far as they can. We see men, when they perceive that their lives are in danger, moving all things, sparing no cost or pains to preserve them; we see creatures of all kinds struggle beyond their strength with stronger, lest they should lose their life; we see a candle when burning and near going out bestirring itself twice or thrice and putting forth a great flame, so that it seems to be striving as much as it can not to go out. We see drops of water hanging some time upon wood or stone, becoming globes and holding together as long as they can lest they should fall down and perish. We see heavy things ascending contrary to nature and light things unnaturally fall that there may be no vacuum, lest 1 Tim. vi. 9. ? St. Lukeix. 58. 3 1 Cor.iv. 11. they, being apart from other things, should not be preserved.

But it is yet more wonderful how for the propagation of the species God has endowed parents with so strong and almost inconceivable affection for their young. We see a hen, weakened by bringing up her chickens, although weak and feeble, fight bravely against kites and dogs and foxes: and how many troubles and labours women gladly bear in bringing forth and rearing their children, everybody knows. ‘The cause of this is the counsel of the divine wisdom who to keep up this propagation as a shadow of his eternity hath ingrafted in all animals, even in brutes and wild beasts, a very strong love for their young. For as there are many animals for whose destruction men lie in wait, either for their own profit, such as hares, bulls, deer, thrushes, quails, partridges, almost all fishes; or lest they should do harm, as wolves, foxes, serpents, and numberless other such creatures: many kinds of animals would have perished long since had not the wisdom of God, by this very affection, provided for their preservation and propagation. But if a natural love Es this life so short and full of trouble exists in all living things, what should be our love for the blessed and eternal life? O blindness and folly of man! All things strive even beyond their strength to preserve this very short life, a mere shadow of eternity; and man, endowed with reason, will not work for the true eternity of a most happy life, I do not say beyond, but even according to his strength. All things by natural instinct fear temporal death and shun it beyond all evils; man, endued with reason and taught by divine faith, neither stands in fear of everlasting death nor spurns it, at least not as he is accustomed to fear and shun the evils of this temporary life. And so truly did the Preacher say, ‘The number of fools is infinite’: 1 and truly did he who is the Truth say in the Gospel, * Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.’ 1

Now the height of the practical wisdom of God is seen in the work of our redemption; says Saint Augustine, “I was not sated in those days with the wondrous sweetness of considering the depth of thy counsels concerning the salvation of mankind.’ 2

It was surely a most high counsel by the shame of the Cross to repair all the damage which the craft of the devil had caused through the sin of the first man, and so to repair it that the work repaired should become more beautiful than it was before it needed restoration. Four evils sprang from the sin of the first man: an affront to God by the pride and disobedience of Adam; the punishment of the first man and of all the human race by the loss of the grace of God and of eternal happiness; the sorrow of the angels who were greatly saddened by the injury done to God and the misery fallen upon man; the triumph of the devil and all the evil spirits who rejoiced over man overcome and cast down by them. All these evils the wisdom of God bore away and turned to greater good by the mystery of the Cross, so that not without cause does the Church sing, ‘O happy fault which had such a Redeemer.’ 3

For if a tailor by his own industry and the addition of some ornament could so amend a garment old and precious, but cut and torn by some accident, that it became more beautiful and precious than before, it might truly be called a fortunate rent, which gave occasion to such mending. The first man waxed proud by the craft and subtlety of the devil, sought to be like God, disobeyed him and transgressed his commandments, so in some way he took to himself the honour due to God. But Christ, the Second Adam, who is the wisdom of God, ‘Humbled himself and became obedient unto death,’! and restored to God honour much greater than that which the first Adam by pride and disobedience had taken away. For Adam was a mere man, and if he had obeyed God he would have obeyed him in a very slight matter. For what great matter would it have been for our first parents to abstain from the fruit of the forbidden tree when they had plenty of others better? Therefore the sin was indeed the greater and so much the more serious as the obedience would have been easy and have involved no labour. But Christ was God and Man and humbled himself to obey God his Father in a thing most hard and laborious, to wit in the death of the Cross, which was full of sorrow and shame. Wherefore, if we consider the eminence of the Person and the depth of humility and obedience, nothing can be imagined greater or more meritorious or more honouring to God than that humble obedience of Christ. Therefore our Lord said very truly in the Gospel, ‘I have glorified thee on the earth,’? for indeed Christ Jesus glorified God the Father with an unspeakable glory before the angels of God and before all the holy spirits of the prophets and others to whom those things were made known. And if the angels sang together at the birth of Christ for the humility of the manger, “Glory to God in the highest,’3_ much more did they sing the same song with greater joy for the humility of the Cross.

Moreover, man himself, if he had not sinned, would have reached only to an equality with the angels, but now by the redemption which is in Christ Jesus mankind hath obtained that one Man, exalted above all the angels, should sit on the Right Hand of God and become the head and Lord both of angels and of men; for concerning Christ the Apostle Peter thus writes in his former Epistle, “He is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him’;! and his fellow Apostle Paul to the Philippians, ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.’ Therefore the Son glorified the Father by the humility of the Passion after an unspeakable measure, and the Father also after an unspeakable manner hath glorified the Son by exalting him to his Right Hand, which glorification hath so affected the whole human race, that they are indeed ungrateful who do not recognize the immense benefit and who do not give God thanks. Because not only is Christ God and Man, but his Mother, who nevertheless is human only and not God, was exalted above all the choirs of angels; wherefore as they are possessed of so great an increase of the glory which they would not have possessed had not man sinned, men may rightly say, ‘O happy fault which — to have such a Redeemer !’

Moreover, the holy angels, as they were saddened by the fall of the first man, the sore disgrace of their younger brother, so did they exceedingly rejoice over the full redemption wrought by Christ. For if there be joy in heaven among the angels in heaven over one sinner that repenteth,3 how much more may we believe that there was very great rejoicing in the presence of those same angels that, in behalf of mankind, Christ as Man had fully satisfied the justice of God and that by the key of his Cross the kingdom of heaven was opened to all believers. Nor is it to be supposed that _the holy angels took it ill that God raised the Man Christ and the most blessed Virgin above them; for there is no envy in the angels, but they are full of the truest and most burning love; and charity envieth not, is not puffed up, is not saddened on account of another’s good, but rejoiceth and exulteth together with all good men when any good befalls them, as much as if it were their own. And so the Church truly sings, ‘Mary is taken up into heaven, the angels rejoice.’? It does not say the angels are sad, but, the angels rejoice, because they see the Virgin Mother of God raised above the choirs of angels to the heavenly kingdom. The angels know that God hath done it most justly, who doeth all things in perfect wisdom and justice, and their will is so inseparably united to the will of God by the bond of love, that what pleases God pleases them also, and can never displease them. But the devil, who rejoiced for a time because he had overcome and cast down the first man, became afterwards more sorrowful over the victory of Christ than he was joyful before. For from that victory of Christ it came to pass that not only men, as was Adam, but even women and children insult the devil and triumph over him. For it would not have been a disgrace to the devil to be conquered by Adam in Paradise when he had no ignorance nor weakness but was armed with original righteousness, which so subdued to reason the lower part of his nature that it could not rebel, unless the mind itself first rebelled against God. But for the devil now to be overcome by a mortal man, a pilgrim subject to ignorance and concupiscence, is a very great disgrace; and yet he is overcome by the grace of Christ, and so overcome that many display trophies of chastity, patience, humility,

Consideration OF God’s PracticaL, WispomM_ I9gI charity, although the devil eagerly and constantly casts his fiery darts of temptation and persecution. And in this matter the height of the divine wisdom is specially to be admired. For God saw struggle to be necessary for the human race in order that man should escape worldly honours and the like, which are the snares of the devil and draw such as are led captive to destruction and perdition. What, therefore, did he determine in order that those things should become distasteful to man and that the contrary, purity, poverty, humility, patience, and contempt of the world, should be delightful? He himself came down from heaven and, taking the form of a servant, made this bitter medicine, which was necessary to the sick man, so sweet and pleasant by his example, that many men now love fasting more than feasting, poverty more than riches, virginity more than wedlock, martyrdom more than daintiness, to obey than to command, to be despised than to be honoured, to be governed than to rule, to be humbled than to be exalted. For who, seeing God in human form, full of wisdom and grace, and who can neither deceive nor be deceived, poor, lowly, patient, and pure, and what is more wonderful, for the redemption of mankind nailed to the Cross, and willingly shedding his precious Blood, dying of most ardent charity, who, I say, would not be encouraged and incited to imitate him? This was a wonderful and high contrivance of God’s wisdom, of which Isaiah sings, ‘Declare his doings among the people.’! But even to this day this most high wisdom of God seems to be foolishness, not only to the wise of this world’ as saith the Apostle in the former Epistle to the Corinthians, but also to the carnal and sensual men who believe in Christ, but refuse to follow his steps, whom the same Apostle called the enemies of the Cross of Christ. 3

But thou, O my soul, do thy diligence to suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty stone, that is, wisdom out of the folly of the Cross. Consider attentively and carefully who he is who hangs on the Rood and why he so hands: and when thou hast found that it is indeed he who sitteth above the cherubim,! yea, indeed, who sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty on high,? thou wilt easily understand that he does not hang there for his own offences, nor because of his weakness or the power of others, but willingly, through his most ardent desire to satisfy the divine justice for the sins of all the world, for the honour and glory of God the Father, for the eternal salvation of the elect, and, as the Apostle speaks, ‘that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle’;3 and lastly for thy sake, because he loved thee and gave himself ‘an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.’4 When, I say, thou shalt have learnt this to be most true, let love rise from the bottom of thy heart to such a benefactor, and seek to imitate him, begin eagerly to thirst after the glory of God, the salvation of all mankind, but especially for the beauty and glory of the whole Church and thine own eternal salvation. Begin to long for a perfect hatred of sin, for purity of heart and perfect righteousness, that at length thou mayst also desire to share in the Cross of thy Lord and to glory in tribulation and afflictions, that hereafter thou mayst also be partaker of his resurrection glory, and not with the wicked to punishment.

First, then, the providence of God is exceeding wonderful, because it governs all created things immediately, and directs them to their end. ‘He careth for all alike’; that is, God cares for all without exception, so that no sparrow falls to the ground without the providence of God, as the Saviour saith.3 He that can count the multitude of things which are in the whole universe, the same may in some measure guess at the greatness of the wisdom of God, ruling and directing all things in general and particular. Indeed one chief Pastor might rule the whole Christian world by a general providence, but not by particular, which comprehends every Christian, and therefore many bishops are called to the charge: and one may rule many provinces by a general providence, but not by particular, which concerns every citizen, and therefore he employs viceroys or deputies or presidents. But God takes care of every one as of all, and of all as of such. ‘A sparrow shall not fall on the ground without your Father. The very hairs of your head are all numbered”;4 and lest even one should perish, his providence is always watching over us. ‘The young of the ravens forsaken by their parents are not forsaken by God.' How safely, therefore, mayst thou rest, my soul, in the bosom of such a Father, even in the midst of darkness, among the mouths of lions and dragons, among numberless legions of spirits; cleave only to him in true love, holy fear, with certain hope, assured faith, undoubting.

But not only doth the providence of God care for each singular and present thing, but it reaches from one end to the other, ordering all things sweetly.6 Therefore God is called the King of ages,1 because he himself established the order of the ages and disposed the succession. of kingdoms and the vicissitudes of times and changes from all eternity. To God nothing new, nothing unforeseen, nothing unthought of can happen. ‘The thoughts of mortal men are miserable and our devices are but uncertain,’ but God knows all things to come as certainly as things past and present, and disposed in his own mind before the foundation of the world the order and succession of all things. Therefore our holy Mother Church sings publicly and securely that God’s providence erreth not in the order and disposition of thought.3

But because the reason of divine providence is entirely hidden and his ‘judgement like the great deep,’4 it comes to pass that some, seeing that very many evils are committed among men and left unpunished, rush into the mistake of believing either that human affairs are not governed by the providence of God, or that all those evil things are done by the will of God; both of which opinions are wicked, but the latter is worse than the former, as Saint Augustine writes. 5

But what misleads men into the greatest of errors is their seeing one part of the divine providence and not discerning another part, whereas they ought to wait for the issue of things which will be manifest to all in the last judgement; they venture rashly to judge before the time, and are greatly deceived. ‘Therefore the Apostle cries in the former Epistle to the Corinthians, ‘Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.’ Saint Augustine illustrates this matter with 1 Tim. i. 17. Vulg.: ‘regi autem seculorum.’ 2 Wisd. ix. 14. a remarkable parable: ‘If any one,’ he says, ‘were to look only on a single mosaic pavement, he might blame the workman as ignorant of order and composition, namely because he sees a little part of his work, the greatest part he sees not: if he saw all the parts and their connection, doubtless he would praise with wonder the work and the workman.’ !

So therefore many see the wicked prosper and the righteous punished and afflicted, and they do not know what God reserves hereafter either for the iniquity of the wicked or for the patience of the righteous, and so they break forth into blasphemous words or say with those who spoke with Job, ‘God walketh in the circuit of heaven: he seeth not,’2 or with those others which say, ‘Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them.’3

Saint Augustine frequently uses another parable taken from poetry. For if any one begins to listen to an heroic song and says in the beginning or the middle, the verse is not good, he is rightly considered foolish: for he should wait until all the syllables are sounded and then he may find fault if the song does not please. And so those persons are altogether foolish who dare to blame the most orderly providence of God before the whole scheme of providence has run out.

Therefore, my soul, if thou be wise, hinder, as much as thou canst, the doing of evil, for so God commands thee; but why he suffers the evil to be done, leave to his judgement, which may be hidden but cannot be unjust.

Bur although the reason of the providence of God i in governing human affairs is very deep, the reason of his predestination and of eternal reprobation is without comparison far deeper. For why God fills many of the wicked with temporal goods and leaves their sins unpunished in this life, and on the contrary why he allows many innocent persons to be pressed in need and unjustly troubled, afflicted, tormented, and killed, we cannot search out particularly, but we can assign some likely general cause. For God often makes the wicked rich in temporal goods, to reward some of their good moral works, though he will not give them eternal life: or that he may allure them with temporal benefits to conversion from their sins and lead them to hope for eternal blessings: but sometimes he does not punish sins in this life because he will punish them sufficiently in hell. He allows the righteous to be afflicted with want, ignominy, and various troubles, sometimes that he may purge their light sins in this life, sometimes that he may crown their patience and humility and other good deeds with greater glory in eternal life. But why God loved Jacob and hated Esau before they had done either good or evil, who can tell? And this is what the Apostle wonders at in his Epistle to the Romans, for they were twin brothers, sons of one father and mother, and yet God loved one by predestination and the other he hated by reprobation. And lest any one should perchance say that God foresaw the good works of the one and the evil of the other, the Apostle forestalls the answer, saying that this was done that “the purpose according to election might stand,’ and he alleges the words of God to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’3 Who indeed will not wonder if one persevered a long time in good works and at the end of life failed and perished, as Judas the betrayer, and another persevering a long time in evil deeds and in the end of life entirely changed, passed to Paradise, as the good thief? But thou wilt say, Judas betrayed Christ and the thief confessed Christ. It is true: but could not Christ have looked on Judas as he looked on Peter and inspired Judas with that powerful grace which no hard heart can refuse? And could not Christ have given to both thieves who hung beside him faith and repentance as he gave to one, and, or to suffer both to die in their sins as he suffered the one? And who can tell a reason why God taketh away some, lest wickedness should alter their understanding, as Wisdom speaks of Enoch,' and many he takes not away but suffers them to fall from virtue to vice and to end their days therein? What shall we say of whole nations, whereof some very early, others very late, are called unto faith, without which no one can be saved? ‘For he that believeth not is condemned,’ 2 and as the Apostle says, “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent?’ 3

These are, therefore, very high and profound secrets which the eternal Father has hid in the abyss of his wisdom, whereat the Apostle wonders, but does not declare, when he says, * O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgement, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counsellor ?’ 4

This only is lawful for us to know, that with God there is no iniquity and that at the last day there will be no one who shall not truly say, ‘Righteous art thou, O Lord, and true is thy judgement’; 5 and, moreover, this secrecy is profitable to us all, since it comes to pass that the wicked shall not despair of salvation nor the righteous presume on it: and also good men shall not be hopeless of the conversion of the wicked, but pray for all and carefully seek their salvation: and again, no one, however good and holy he may be, can be proud, when no one knows what to-morrow may bring forth, but all work out their salvation with fear and trembling.

And thou, my soul, having considered all these things, ‘Do thy diligence to make thy calling and election sure,’ as the Apostle Peter advises thee in his later Epistle. What good works those are which make our calling and election sure the Apostle John teaches, when he says, ‘My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.’ For love is that with which no one is condemned and without which no one is saved: but charity is shown by works, namely when any one either bestows alms on the poor or forgives injuries from enemies not for hope of temporal reward or for inordinate affection for the creature, but out of inward and pure love of God and the neighbour. And since it is not enough to begin but ‘he that endureth to the end shall be saved,’ 4 the Apostle saith, ‘Take heed,’ that is with anxiety and care and diligence to give oneself to the business of eternal salvation. And truly there is no sign more likely of divine election, than when a man, being more careful about his salvation than any other thing, prays continually to God for the gift of true repentance, of true humility and perfect charity and perseverance unto the end: and not content with prayer only, strives also, as far as he can, to seek and to find the kingdom of God and his righteousness as our Saviour admonishes us. 5