Medieval philosophy a new history of western philosophy volume 2 ( PDFDrive ) 32

PHILOSOPHY AND FAITH

(DCD XX. 16–18). Seventhly, the blessed and the damned will take up the
everlasting abode that has been assigned to them in heaven and in hell
(DCD XX. 30). The heavenly Jerusalem above and the unquenchable Wres
below are the consummation of the two cities of Augustine’s narrative.
Augustine realizes that his predictions are not easy to accept, and he
singles out as the most diYcult of all the idea that the wicked will suVer
eternal bodily punishment. Bodies are surely consumed by Wre, it is
objected, and whatever can suVer pain must sooner or later suVer death.
Augustine replies that salamanders thrive in Wre, and Etna burns for ever.
Souls no less than bodies can suVer pain, and yet philosophers agree that
souls are immortal. There are many wonders in the natural world—
Augustine gives a long list, including the properties of lime, of diamonds,
of magnets, and of Dead Sea fruit—that make it entirely credible that an
omnipotent creator can keep alive for ever a human body in appalling pain
(DCD XXI. 3–7).
Most people are concerned less about the physical mechanism than
about the moral justiWcation for eternal damnation. How can any crime
in a brief life deserve a punishment that lasts for ever? Even in human
jurisprudence, Augustine responds, there is no necessary temporal proportion between crime and punishment. A man may be Xogged for hours to
punish a brief adulterous kiss; a slave may spend years in prison for a
momentary insult to his master (DCD XXI. 11). It is false sentimentality
to believe, out of compassion, that the pains of hell will ever have an end. If
you are tempted by that thought, you may end up believing, like the heretic
Origen, that one day even the Devil will be converted (DCD XXI. 17)!
Step by step Augustine seeks to show not only that eternal punishment
is possible and justiWed, but that it is extremely diYcult to avoid it. A
virtuous life is not enough, for the virtues of pagans without the true faith
are only splendid vices. Being baptized is not enough, for the baptized may
fall into heresy. Orthodox belief is not enough, for even the most staunch

Catholics may fall into sin. Devotion to the sacraments is not enough: no
one knows whether he is receiving them in such a spirit as to qualify for
Jesus’ promises of eternal life (DCD XXI. 19–25). Philanthropy is not
enough: Augustine devotes pages to explaining away the passage in St
Matthew’s Gospel in which the Son of Man separates the sheep from the
goats on the basis of their performance or neglect of works of mercy to
their fellow men (Matt. 25: 31–46; DCD XXI. 27).
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