|
Virtue is of its own nature so amiable, that God
favours it wheresoever he finds it. The pagans,
though they were enemies of his divine Majesty, now
and then practised, certain human and moral virtues,
which were not by their nature placed above the
forces of the reasonable spirit.
Now you may guess, Theotimus, how small a matter
that was: for though these virtues made a great show,
yet in effect they were of little worth, by reason of
the lowness of the intention of those who practised
them. They laboured for scarcely anything but honour,
as S. Augustine says, or for some other object of
light consideration, such as the upholding the social
good, or from some weak inclination they had to good;
which inclination, meeting with no contradiction,
carried them on to trifling acts of virtue - as for
example, to mutual courtesy, to aid their friends, to
live with moderation, not to steal, to serve masters
faithfully, to pay hirelings' wages. And nevertheless
though this was so slender, and accompanied with many
imperfections, God took it in good part from those
poor people, and recompensed it largely.
The midwives whom Pharaoh commanded to kill all
the male children of the Israelites were without
doubt Egyptians and pagans; for in the excuse they
made for not having executed the king's pleasure,
they said: The Hebrew women are not like the
Egyptian: this would not have been to the purpose if
they had been Hebrews: and it is not credible that
Pharaoh would have granted so cruel a commission
against the Hebrews to Hebrew women, being of the
same nation and religion: besides Josephus testifies
that they were in fact Egyptians. Now, Egyptians and
pagans as they were, yet they feared to offend God by
so barbarous and unnatural a cruelty as the massacre
of so many little children would have been. The
divine sweetness was so pleased with this that it
built their houses, that is to say, made them
fruitful in children and in temporal riches.
Nabuchodonosor, King of Babylon, had waged a just
war against the city of Tyre, which the divine
justice willed to chastise, and God signified to
Ezechiel that in recompense thereof he would deliver
up Egypt as a prey into the hands of Nabuchodonosor
and his army, Because, said God, he hath laboured for
me.(1) Hence, adds S. Jerome in the commentary, we
learn that in case the very pagans do some good thing
they are not left unrewarded by God's judgment. So
did Daniel exhort Nabuehodonosor, an infidel, to
redeem his sins by alms,(2) that is, to ransom
himself out of the temporal pains due to his sins,
which hung over his head.
Do you see then, Theotimus, how true it is that
God makes account of virtues, though practised by
persons otherwise wicked? If he had not approved the
mercy of the midwives and the justice of the war of
the Babylonians, would he have taken care, I pray
you, to reward them?
And if Daniel had not known that the infidelity of
Nabuchodonosor would not prevent God from being
pleased with his alms, why would he have counselled
him to do them? Indeed the Apostle assures us that
pagans who have not the law do by nature those things
that are of the law.(3) And when they do so, who can
doubt that they do well, and that God makes account
of it? Pagans understood that marriage was good and
necessary, they saw that it was becoming to have
their children brought up in liberal knowledge, in
the love of their country, in the arts of civil life,
and they did so. Now I leave it to your consideration
whether this was not grateful unto God, since to this
end he had given the light of reason and natural
instinct.
Natural reason is a good tree which God has planted
in us; the fruits which spring from it cannot but be
good. They are fruits which in comparison with those
which spring from grace are indeed of very small
value, yet still, not of no value, since God has
valued them, and for them has given temporal rewards.
Thus, according to the great S. Augustine, he
rewarded the moral virtues of the Romans with the
grand extent and magnificent renown of their empire.
Sin unquestionably makes the soul sick, and then
she cannot do great and laborious deeds; yet little
ones she can do, for all the actions of the sick are
not sickly: they still speak, they still see, they
still hear, they still drink.
The soul in sin can do good works, which, being
natural, are rewarded with natural rewards; being
civil, are paid in civil and human money, that is,
with temporal advantages. The sinner is not in the
state of the devils, whose wills are so steeped in
and incorporated with evil that they can will no good
at all.
No, Theotimus; the sinner in this world is not in
that state. Here, he is in the way between Jerusalem
and Jericho, wounded to death but not yet dead; for,
says the Gospel, he is left half-dead; and as he is
half-alive so he can do half-living actions. 'Tis
true he can neither walk, nor rise, nor cry for aid,
no, not so much as speak, save only languishingly, by
reason of the faintness of his heart; yet can he open
his eyes, stir his fingers, sigh, make some word of
complaint: - weak actions, and actions in spite of
which he would miserably die of his wounds, had not
the merciful Samaritan poured in the oil and wine,
and carried him to the inn, where he gave charge that
at his cost the man should be dressed and looked
to.(4)
Natural reason is deeply wounded, and, as it were,
half slain by sin; whence, being in such sad
condition, it cannot observe all the commandments,
which, however, it clearly sees to be good: it knows
its duty but cannot acquit itself thereof; its eyes
have more light to discover the way than its legs
have strength to undertake it.
The sinner may indeed occasionally observe some of
the commandments, yea all of them for some short
time, so long as no great occasion for practising
virtues commanded, or violent temptation to commit
sin forbidden, present itself.
But that a sinner should live long in his sin
without adding to it new ones, is not a thing that
can be done but by God's special protection, for
man's enemies are ardent, active, and perpetually
striving to cast him down, and when they see that no
occasion of practising virtues commanded occurs, they
excite a thousand temptations to make him fall into
things forbidden; at which time nature without grace
cannot save itself from the precipice: for if we
overcome, God gives us the victory through Jesus
Christ,(5) as S. Paul says. Watch and pray, that you
enter not into temptation.(6) If Our Lord had said
only watch, we might expect that our own power would
be sufficient, but when he adds pray, he shows that
if he keep not our souls in time of temptation, in
vain shall they watch who keep them.
|