Chapter 19.—God’s Ways Past Finding Out.

Nor let us wonder that we cannot trace His unsearchable ways. For, to say nothing of innumerable other things which are given by the Lord God to some men, and to others are not given, since with Him is no respect of persons; such things as are not conferred on the merits of will, as bodily swiftness, strength, good health, and beauty of body, marvellous intellects and mental natures capable of many arts, or such as fall to man’s lot from without, such as are wealth, nobility, honours, and other things of this kind, which it is in the power of God alone that a man should have; not to dwell even on the baptism of infants (which none of those objectors can say does not pertain, as might be said of those other matters, to the kingdom of God), why it is given to this infant and not given to that, since both of them are equally in God’s power, and without that sacrament none can enter into the kingdom of God;—to be silent, then, on these matters, or to leave them on one side, let men consider those very special cases of which we are treating. For we are discoursing of such as have not perseverance in goodness, but die in the decline of their good will from good to evil. Let the objectors answer, if they can, why, when these were living faithfully and piously, God did not then snatch them from the perils of this life, “lest wickedness should change their understanding, and lest deceit should beguile their souls”?72    Wisd. iv. 11. Had He not this in His power, or was He ignorant of their future sinfulness? Assuredly, nothing of this kind is said, except most perversely and insanely. Why, then, did He not do this? Let them reply who mock at us when in such matters we exclaim, “How inscrutable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”73    Rom. xi. 33. For either God giveth this to whom He will, or certainly that Scripture is wrong which says concerning the immature death of the righteous man, “He was taken away lest wickedness should change his understanding, or lest deceit should beguile his soul.”74    Wisd. iv. 11. Why, then, does God give this so great benefit to some, and not give it to others, seeing that in Him is no unrighteousness75    Rom. ix. 14. nor acceptance of persons,76    Rom. ii. 11. and that it is in His power how long every one may remain in this life, which is called a trial upon earth?77    Job vii. 1. As, then, they are constrained to confess that it is God’s gift for a man to end this life of his before it can be changed from good to evil, but they do not know why it is given to some and not given to others, so let them confess with us that perseverance in good is God’s gift, according to the Scriptures, from which I have already set down many testimonies; and let them condescend with us to be ignorant, without a murmur against God, why it is given to some and not given to others.

19. Nec miremur nos vestigare non posse investigabiles vias ejus. Ut enim alia innumerabilia taceam, quae aliis dantur, aliis non dantur hominibus a Domino Deo, apud quem non est acceptio personarum (Rom. II, 11), nec tribuuntur ista meritis voluntatum, sicut sunt celeritates, vires, bonae valetudines, et pulchritudines corporum, ingenia mirabilia, et multarum artium capaces naturae mentium; vel quae accedunt extrinsecus, ut est opulentia, nobilitas, honores, et caetera hujusmodi, quae quisque ut habeat, non nisi in Dei est potestate: ut non immorer etiam in Baptismate parvulorum (quod nullus istorum potest dicere, sicut illa, ad regnum Dei non pertinere), cur illi parvulo detur, illi non detur; cum sit utrumque in potestate Dei, et sine illo Sacramento nemo intret in regnum Dei: ut ergo haec taceam vel relinquam, illos ipsos intueantur de quibus agitur. De his enim disserimus, qui perseverantiam bonitatis non habent, sed ex bono in malum deficiente bona voluntate moriuntur. Respondeant, si possunt, cur illos Deus, cum fideliter et pie viverent, non tunc de vitae hujus periculis rapuit, ne malitia mutaret intellectum eorum, et ne fictio deciperet animas eorum. Utrum hoc in potestate non habuit, an eorum mala futura nescivit? Nempe nihil horum nisi perversissime atque insanissime dicitur. Cur ergo non fecit? Respondeant qui nos irrident, quando in rebus talibus exclamamus, Quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Neque enim hoc non donat Deus quibus voluerit, aut vero Scriptura illa mentitur, quae de morte velut immatura hominis justi ait, Raptus est, ne malitia mutaret intellectum ejus, aut ne fictio deciperet animam ejus (Sap. IV, 11). Cur igitur hoc tam magnum beneficium aliis dat, aliis non dat Deus, apud quem non est iniquitas, nec acceptio personarum, et in cujus potestate est quamdiu quisque in hac vita maneat, quae tentatio dicta est super terram (Job. VII, 1)? Sicut ergo coguntur fateri, donum Dei esse ut finiat homo vitam istam, antequam ex bono mutetur in malum; cur autem aliis donetur, aliis non donetur, ignorant: ita donum Dei esse in bono perseverantiam secundum Scripturas, de quibus testimonia multa jam posui, fateantur nobiscum; et cur aliis detur, aliis non detur, sine murmure adversus Deum dignentur ignorare nobiscum.