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| “No Rose Without Its Thorn.”
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Chapter
LII.—“No Rose Without Its Thorn.”
“Observe therefore in this, as I have said,
how justly divine providence comes to the help of things vitiated;
that, inasmuch as evils which had derived their origin from sin were
associated with the good things of God, He should assign two chiefs to
these two departments.825
| 825 Compare with chaps.
52–54 the doctrine of pairs as stated in book iii. 59–61;
Homily II. 15, etc., iii. 23.—R.] | And
accordingly, to Him who rejoices in good He has appointed the
ordering of good things, that He might bring those who believe in
Him to the faith of His providence; but to him who rejoices in
evil, He has given over those things which are done without order and
uselessly, from which of course the faith of His providence comes into
doubt; and thus a just division has been made by a just God.
Hence therefore it is, that whereas the orderly course of the stars
produces faith that the world was made by the hand of a designer, on
the other hand, the disturbance of the air, the pestilent breeze, the
uncontrolled fire of the lightning, cast doubt upon the work of
providence. For, as we have said, every good thing has its
corresponding contrary evil thing joined with it; as hail is opposite
to the fertilizing showers, the corruption of mildew is associated with
the gentle dew, the whirlwinds of storms are joined with the soft
winds, unfruitful trees with fruitful, noxious herbs with useful, wild
and destructive animals with gentle ones. But all these things
are arranged by God, because that the choice of men’s will has
departed from the purpose of good, and fallen away to
evil.
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