Chapter 22.—Of the Miseries and Ills to Which the Human Race is Justly Exposed Through the First Sin, and from Which None Can Be Delivered Save by Christ’s Grace.

That the whole human race has been condemned in its first origin, this life itself, if life it is to be called, bears witness by the host of cruel ills with which it is filled.  Is not this proved by the profound and dreadful ignorance which produces all the errors that enfold the children of Adam, and from which no man can be delivered without toil, pain, and fear?  Is it not proved by his love of so many vain and hurtful things, which produces gnawing cares, disquiet, griefs, fears, wild joys, quarrels, lawsuits, wars, treasons, angers, hatreds, deceit, flattery, fraud, theft, robbery, perfidy, pride, ambition, envy, murders, parricides, cruelty, ferocity, wickedness, luxury, insolence, impudence, shamelessness, fornications, adulteries, incests, and the numberless uncleannesses and unnatural acts of both sexes, which it is shameful so much as to mention; sacrileges, heresies, blasphemies, perjuries, oppression of the innocent, calumnies, plots, falsehoods, false witnessings, unrighteous judgments, violent deeds, plunderings, and whatever similar wickedness has found its way into the lives of men, though it cannot find its way into the conception of pure minds?  These are indeed the crimes of wicked men, yet they spring from that root of error and misplaced love which is born with every son of Adam.  For who is there that has not observed with what profound ignorance, manifesting itself even in infancy, and with what superfluity of foolish desires, beginning to appear in boyhood, man comes into this life, so that, were he left to live as he pleased, and to do whatever he pleased, he would plunge into all, or certainly into many of those crimes and iniquities which I mentioned, and could not mention?

But because God does not wholly desert those whom He condemns, nor shuts up in His anger His tender mercies, the human race is restrained by law and instruction, which keep guard against the ignorance that besets us, and oppose the assaults of vice, but are themselves full of labor and sorrow.  For what mean those multifarious threats which are used to restrain the folly of children?  What mean pedagogues, masters, the birch, the strap, the cane, the schooling which Scripture says must be given a child, “beating him on the sides lest he wax stubborn,”1626    Ecclus. xxx. 12. and it be hardly possible or not possible at all to subdue him?  Why all these punishments, save to overcome ignorance and bridle evil desires—these evils with which we come into the world?  For why is it that we remember with difficulty, and without difficulty forget? learn with difficulty, and without difficulty remain ignorant? are diligent with difficulty, and without difficulty are indolent?  Does not this show what vitiated nature inclines and tends to by its own weight, and what succor it needs if it is to be delivered?  Inactivity, sloth, laziness, negligence, are vices which shun labor, since labor, though useful, is itself a punishment.

But, besides the punishments of childhood, without which there would be no learning of what the parents wish,—and the parents rarely wish anything useful to be taught,—who can describe, who can conceive the number and severity of the punishments which afflict the human race,—pains which are not only the accompaniment of the wickedness of godless men, but are a part of the human condition and the common misery,—what fear and what grief are caused by bereavement and mourning, by losses and condemnations, by fraud and falsehood, by false suspicions, and all the crimes and wicked deeds of other men?  For at their hands we suffer robbery, captivity, chains, imprisonment, exile, torture, mutilation, loss of sight, the violation of chastity to satisfy the lust of the oppressor, and many other dreadful evils.  What numberless casualties threaten our bodies from without,—extremes of heat and cold, storms, floods, inundations, lightning, thunder, hail, earthquakes, houses falling; or from the stumbling, or shying, or vice of horses; from countless poisons in fruits, water, air, animals; from the painful or even deadly bites of wild animals; from the madness which a mad dog communicates, so that even the animal which of all others is most gentle and friendly to its own master, becomes an object of intenser fear than a lion or dragon, and the man whom it has by chance infected with this pestilential contagion becomes so rabid, that his parents, wife, children, dread him more than any wild beast!  What disasters are suffered by those who travel by land or sea!  What man can go out of his own house without being exposed on all hands to unforeseen accidents?  Returning home sound in limb, he slips on his own doorstep, breaks his leg, and never recovers.  What can seem safer than a man sitting in his chair?  Eli the priest fell from his, and broke his neck.  How many accidents do farmers, or rather all men, fear that the crops may suffer from the weather, or the soil, or the ravages of destructive animals?  Commonly they feel safe when the crops are gathered and housed.  Yet, to my certain knowledge, sudden floods have driven the laborers away, and swept the barns clean of the finest harvest.  Is innocence a sufficient protection against the various assaults of demons?  That no man might think so, even baptized infants, who are certainly unsurpassed in innocence, are sometimes so tormented, that God, who permits it, teaches us hereby to bewail the calamities of this life, and to desire the felicity of the life to come.  As to bodily diseases, they are so numerous that they cannot all be contained even in medical books.  And in very many, or almost all of them, the cures and remedies are themselves tortures, so that men are delivered from a pain that destroys by a cure that pains.  Has not the madness of thirst driven men to drink human urine, and even their own?  Has not hunger driven men to eat human flesh, and that the flesh not of bodies found dead, but of bodies slain for the purpose?  Have not the fierce pangs of famine driven mothers to eat their own children, incredibly savage as it seems?  In fine, sleep itself, which is justly called repose, how little of repose there sometimes is in it when disturbed with dreams and visions; and with what terror is the wretched mind overwhelmed by the appearances of things which are so presented, and which, as it were so stand out before the senses, that we can not distinguish them from realities!  How wretchedly do false appearances distract men in certain diseases!  With what astonishing variety of appearances are even healthy men sometimes deceived by evil spirits, who produce these delusions for the sake of perplexing the senses of their victims, if they cannot succeed in seducing them to their side!

From this hell upon earth there is no escape, save through the grace of the Saviour Christ, our God and Lord.  The very name Jesus shows this, for it means Saviour; and He saves us especially from passing out of this life into a more wretched and eternal state, which is rather a death than a life.  For in this life, though holy men and holy pursuits afford us great consolations, yet the blessings which men crave are not invariably bestowed upon them, lest religion should be cultivated for the sake of these temporal advantages, while it ought rather to be cultivated for the sake of that other life from which all evil is excluded.  Therefore, also, does grace aid good men in the midst of present calamities, so that they are enabled to endure them with a constancy proportioned to their faith.  The world’s sages affirm that philosophy contributes something to this,—that philosophy which, according to Cicero, the gods have bestowed in its purity only on a few men.  They have never given, he says, nor can ever give, a greater gift to men.  So that even those against whom we are disputing have been compelled to acknowledge, in some fashion, that the grace of God is necessary for the acquisition, not, indeed, of any philosophy, but of the true philosophy.  And if the true philosophy—this sole support against the miseries of this life—has been given by Heaven only to a few, it sufficiently appears from this that the human race has been condemned to pay this penalty of wretchedness.  And as, according to their acknowledgment, no greater gift has been bestowed by God, so it must be believed that it could be given only by that God whom they themselves recognize as greater than all the gods they worship.

CAPUT XXII. De miseriis ac malis, quibus humanum genus merito primae praevaricationis obnoxium est, et a quibus nemo nisi per Christi gratiam liberatur.

1. Nam quod ad primam originem pertinet, omnem mortalium progeniem fuisse damnatam, haec ipsa vita, si vita dicenda est, tot et tantis malis plena testatur. Quid enim aliud indicat horrenda quaedam profunditas ignorantiae, ex qua omnis error existit, qui omnes filios Adam tenebroso quodam sinu suscipit, ut homo ab illo liberari sine labore, dolore, timore non possit? Quid amor ipse tot rerum vanarum atque noxiarum, et ex hoc mordaces curae, perturbationes, moerores, formidines, insana gaudia, discordiae, lites, bella, insidiae, iracundiae, inimicitiae, fallacia, adulatio, fraus, furtum, rapina, perfidia, superbia, ambitio, invidentia, homicidia, parricidia, crudelitas, saevitia, nequitia, luxuria, petulantia, impudentia, impudicitia, fornicationes, adulteria, incesta, et contra naturam utriusque sexus tot stupra atque immunditiae, quas turpe est etiam dicere, sacrilegia, haereses, blasphemiae, perjuria, oppressiones innocentium, calumniae, circumventiones, praevaricationes, falsa testimonia, iniqua judicia, violentiae, latrocinia, et quidquid talium malorum in mentem non venit, et tamen de vita ista hominum non recedit? Verum haec hominum sunt malorum, ab illa tamen erroris et perversi amoris radice venientia, cum qua omnis filius Adam nascitur. Nam quis ignorat cum quanta ignorantia veritatis, 0785 quae jam in infantibus manifesta est; et cum quanta abundantia vanae cupiditatis, quae in pueris incipit apparere, homo veniat in hanc vitam, ita ut si dimittatur vivere ut velit, et facere quidquid velit, in haec facinora et flagitia quae commemoravi, et quae commemorare non potui, vel cuncta vel multa perveniat?

2. Sed divina gubernatione non omni modo deserente damnatos, et Deo non continente in ira sua miserationes suas (Psal. LXXVI, 10), in ipsis sensibus generis humani prohibitio et eruditio contra istas, cum quibus nascimur, tenebras vigilant, et contra hos impetus opponuntur , plenae tamen etiam ipsae laborum et dolorum. Quid enim sibi volunt multimodae formidines, quae cohibendis parvulorum vanitatibus adhibentur? quid paedagogi, quid magistri, quid ferurulae, quid lora, quid virgae, quid disciplina illa qua Scriptura sancta dicit dilecti filii latera esse tundenda, ne crescat indomitus, domarique jam durus aut vix possit, aut fortasse nec possit (Eccli. XXX, 12)? Quid agitur his poenis omnibus, nisi ut debelletur imperitia, et prava cupiditas infrenetur , cum quibus malis in hoc saeculum venimus? Quid est enim, quod cum labore meminimus, sine labore obliviscimur; cum labore discimus, sine labore nescimus; cum labore strenui, sine labore inertes sumus? Nonne hinc apparet in quid velut pondere suo proclivis et prona sit vitiosa natura, et quanta ope, ut hinc liberetur, indigeat? Desidia, segnities, pigritia, negligentia, vitia sunt utique quibus labor fugitur, cum labor ipse, etiam qui est utilis, poena sit.

3. Sed praeter pueriles poenas, sine quibus disci non potest quod majores volunt, qui vix aliquid utiliter volunt, quot et quantis poenis genus agitetur humanum, quae non ad malitiam nequitiamque iniquorum, sed ad conditionem pertinent miseriamque communem, quis ullo sermone digerit, quis ulla cogitatione comprehendit? Quantus est metus, quanta calamitas ab orbitatibus atque luctu, a damnis et damnationibus, a deceptionibus et mendaciis hominum, a suspicionibus falsis, ab omnibus violentis facinoribus et sceleribus alienis? quandoquidem ab eis et depraedatio, et captivitas, et vincula, et carceres, et exsilia, et cruciatus, et amputatio membrorum, et privatio sensuum, et oppressio corporis ad obscenam libidinem opprimentis explendam, et alia multa horrenda saepe contingunt. Quid ab innumeris casibus qui forinsecus corpori formidantur, aestibus et frigoribus, tempestatibus, imbribus, alluvionibus, coruscatione, tonitru, grandine, fulmine, motibus hiatibusque terrarum, oppressionibus ruinarum, ab offensione et pavore vel etiam malitia jumentorum, a tot venenis fruticum, aquarum, aurarum, bestiarum, a ferarum vel tantummodo molestis vel etiam mortiferis morsibus, a rabie quae contingit ex rabido cane, ut etiam blanda et amica suo domino bestia nonnunquam vehementius et amarius quam leones draconesque metuatur, 0786 faciatque hominem, quem forte attaminaverit, contagione pestifera ita rabiosum, ut a parentibus, conjuge, filiis, pejus omni bestia formidetur? Quae mala patiuntur navigantes? quae, terrena itinera gradientes? Quis ambulat ubicumque non inopinatis subjacens casibus? De foro quidam rediens domum sanis pedibus suis, cecidit, pedem fregit, et ex illo vulnere finivit hanc vitam. Quid videtur sedente securius? De sella in qua sedebat cecidit Heli sacerdos, et mortuus est (I Reg. IV, 18). Agricolae, imo vero omnes homines quot et quantos a coelo et terra, vel a perniciosis animalibus casus metuunt agrorum fructibus? Solent tamen de frumentis tandem collectis et reconditis esse securi. Sed quibusdam, quod novimus, proventum optimum frumentorum fluvius improvisus, fugientibus hominibus, de horreis ejecit atque abstulit. Contra milleformes daemonum incursus, quis innocentia sua fidit? quandoquidem ne quis fideret, etiam parvulos baptizatos, quibus certe nihil est innocentius, aliquando sic vexant, ut in eis maxime Deo sinente, ista monstretur hujus vitae flenda calamitas, et alterius desideranda felicitas. Jam vero de ipso corpore tot existunt morborum mala, ut nec libris medicorum cuncta comprehensa sint. In quorum pluribus ac pene omnibus etiam ipsa adjumenta et medicamenta tormenta sunt, ut homines a poenarum exitio poenali eruantur auxilio. Nonne ad hoc perduxit sitientes homines ardor immanis, ut urinam quoque humanam vel etiam suam biberent? nonne ad hoc fames, ut a carnibus hominum abstinere se non possent, nec inventos homines mortuos, sed propter hoc a se occisos, nec quoslibet alienos, verum etiam filios matres incredibili crudelitate, quam rabida esuries faciebat, absumerent? Ipse postremo somnus, qui proprie quietis nomen accepit, quis verbis explicet saepe somniorum visis quam sit inquietus; et quam magnis, licet falsarum rerum, terroribus, quas ita exhibet, et quodammodo exprimit, ut a veris eas discernere nequeamus, animam miseram sensusque perturbet? Qua falsitate visorum etiam vigilantes in quibusdam morbis et venenis miserabilius agitantur : quamvis multimoda varietate fallaciae homines etiam sanos maligni daemones nonnunquam decipiant talibus visis, ut, etiamsi eos per haec ad sua traducere non potuerint, sensus tamen eorum solo appetitu qualitercumque persuadendae falsitatis illudant.

4. Ab hujus tam miserae quasi quibusdam inferis vitae, non liberat nisi gratia Salvatoris Christi, Dei ac Domini nostri. Hoc enim nomen est ipse Jesus; interpretatur quippe Salvator: maxime ne post hanc miserior ac sempiterna suscipiat, non vita, sed mors. Nam in ista quamvis sint per sancta ac sanctos curationum magna solatia; tamen ideo non semper etiam ipsa beneficia tribuuntur petentibus, ne propter hoc religio quaeratur, quae propter aliam magis vitam, ubi mala non erunt omnino ulla, quaerenda est: et ad hoc meliores quosque in his malis adjuvat gratia, ut quanto fideliore, tanto fortiore corde tolerentur. Ad 0787 quam rem etiam philosophiam prodesse dicunt docti hujus saeculi, quam dii quibusdam paucis, ait Tullius, veram dederunt . Nec hominibus, inquit, ab his aut datum est donum majus, aut potuit ullum dari: usque adeo et ipsi, contra quos agimus, quoquo modo compulsi sunt in habenda, non quacumque, sed vera philosophia divinam gratiam confiteri. Porro si paucis divinitus datum est verae philosophiae contra miserias hujus vitae unicum auxilium, satis et hinc apparet humanum genus ad luendas miseriarum poenas esse damnatum. Sicut autem hoc, ut fatentur, nullum divinum majus est donum, sic a nullo deo dari credendum est, nisi ab illo, quo et ipsi qui multos deos colunt, nullum dicunt esse majorem.