Chapter 144 — That by mortal sin man forfeits his last end for eternity

The punishment whereby a man forfeits his last end must be endless.

For one is not deprived of a thing unless it be something one ought to have: thus a kitten newly born is not said to be deprived of sight. Now, in this life, man does not have a natural aptitude to obtain his last end, as we have proved above. (Ch. 47. seqq.) Therefore, privation of this end must be a punishment after this life. But man is no longer able to obtain his last end after this life. For the soul needs the body in order to obtain its end, inasmuch as through the body it acquires perfection both in knowledge and in virtue. And the soul, once separated from the body, does not return to this state in which it attains to perfection through the body, as those maintained who held the transmigration of souls, against whom we have argued above. (Bk. 2, ch. 44.) Therefore, the man who is punished by being deprived of his last end must remain punished eternally.

Again. When a thing is deprived of that for which it has a natural aptitude, it cannot be repaired unless it return to preexisting matter so as to be generated anew (as when an animal loses its sight or another sense). But it is impossible for a thing that is already generated to be generated again, unless it first be corrupted: then from the same matter, it will be possible for another to be generated in its entirety, not identically the same, but in species. Now, a spiritual being, such as the soul or an angel, cannot return to preexisting matter so that another be generated anew, the same as before in species. Consequently, if it be deprived of that for which it has a natural aptitude, it must remain eternally thus deprived. Now, in the nature of the soul and of an angel there is the order to the last end, namely God. Therefore, if it be punished by privation of that order, such punishment will remain forever.

Besides. Natural equity would seem to demand that everyone be deprived of that good against which he has acted, since by this he renders himself unworthy of that good. Hence it is that, according to civil justice, he who sins against the state is altogether deprived of the society of his fellow citizens, either by being put to death, or by being condemned to exile for life: nor is any account taken of the time taken in sinning, but of that against which he sinned. Now, the same comparison stands between the whole of the present life and the earthly state as between the whole of eternity and the society of the blessed who, as we showed above, (Ch. 62. seqq.) possess their last end eternally. Therefore, he that sins against his last end, and against charity, which is the bond of the society of the blessed and of those who are tending to beatitude, ought to be punished eternally, although his sins may have occupied but a short time.

Moreover. In the divine judgment the will counts for the deed, (Augustine, Enarrations on the Psalms, 57, ch. 3.) because as man seeks the things that appear, so the Lord beholds the heart. (1 Sam 16:7.) Now, a man who, for the sake of a temporal good, has turned away from his last end (the possession of which is eternal), has preferred the enjoyment of that temporal good to the eternal fruition of his last end. Evidentl, he would have preferred much more to enjoy that temporal good eternally. Therefore, in the divine judgment, he should be punished as though he had sinned eternally. Now, there can be no doubt that for an eternal sin an eternal punishment is due. Therefore, eternal punishment is due to the man who turns away from his last end.

Further. For the same just reason punishment is rendered for sins, and reward for good deeds. (Ch. 140.) Now, beatitude is the reward of virtue, (Nicomachean Ethics 1.9.) and beatitude is everlasting, as we have shown. (Ch. 140.) Therefore, the punishment by which one is deprived of beatitude should also be everlasting.

Hence it is said: They will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life (Matt 25:46).

Hereby we refute the error of those who assert that the punishment of the wicked will at length have an end. This statement seems to have originated in the opinion of certain philosophers, who maintained that all punishment is remedial, and therefore terminable at some time.

There seemed to be reasons for this assertion: both because it is customary among men that punishments be inflicted by men’s laws for the correction of vice, so that they are like medicine; and because if the punisher inflicts punishment not for a further purpose but for its own sake, it follows that he delights in punishing for its own sake, which is inconsistent with the divine goodness. Therefore, punishments must be inflicted for a further purpose; and no end seems more fitting than the correction of vice. Consequently, it would seem reasonably stated that all punishments are remedial, and therefore terminable at some time, since what can be remedied is accidental to the creature, and is removable without the substance being destroyed.

It must be granted that God inflicts punishments not for his own sake, as though he took pleasure in them, but for the sake of something else, namely, on account of the order that must be imposed on creatures, in which order the good of the universe consists. Now, the order of things demands that all things be dispensed by God proportionally; for which reason it is said that God does all things in weight, number and measure. (Wis 11:21.) And as rewards correspond proportionally to acts of virtue, so do punishments to sins: and to some sins eternal punishment is proportionate, as we have proved. Therefore, for certain sins God inflicts eternal punishment, that in things there may be maintained the right order which shows forth his wisdom.

Even if we were to grant that all punishments are intended for the amendment of morals and for no further purpose, we would not, for that reason, have to assert that all punishments are remedial and terminable. For even according to human laws, some are punished with death for the amendment not of themselves, but of others. Hence it is said: Strike a scoffer, and the fool will be wiser (Prov 19:25). Again, according to human laws, some are banished from the state into perpetual exile, that by being rid of them the state may be purified. Therefore, it is said: Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out with him, and quarrels and reproaches shall cease (Prov 22:10). Consequently, even if punishments be inflicted only for the amendment of morals, nothing forbids certain men being separated forever, according to the divine judgment, from the fellowship of good men and being punished eternally. This is so that men may refrain from sin for fear of eternal punishment, and the society of the good may be purified through being purged of their presence. Thus it is said: There shall not enter into it, namely, the heavenly Jerusalem, through which is designated the society of good men, anything unclean, or anyone who practices abomination or falsehood (Rev 21:27).