St. Augustine, Of the citie of God vvith the learned comments of Io. Lod. Viues. Englished by I.H.

THE TVVENTITH BOOKE OF THE CITTIE OF GOD: Written by Saint Augustine Bishop of Hippo, vnto Marcellinus.

Gods iudgements continually effected: His last iudgement the proper subiect of this booke following. CHAP. 1.

BEing now to discourse of the day of GODS last iudgement, against the faithlesse, and the wicked, wee must lay downe holy scriptures first, for the foundation of our following struc∣ture: Which some beleeue not, but oppose them with fond and friuolous arguments, wresting them either quite, vnto an∣other purpose, or vtterly denying them to containe any thing diuine. For I doe not thinke that man liueth, who vnderstand∣ing them as they are spoken, and beleeuing that GOD inspired them into sancti∣fied men, will not giue his full assent vnto what they auerre, but hee must needes professe as much, bee he neuer so ashamed or afraid to auouch it, or neuer so ob∣stinate that he would conceale it, and study to defend mere and knowne falshood against it. Wherefore, the whole church beleeueth, and professeth, that Christ is to come from heauen to iudge both the quicke and the dead, and this wee call the day of GODS iudgement, the last time of all: for how many daies this iudge∣ment will hold, wee know not, but the scripture vseth Daie for Time, verie often, as none that vseth to reade it but well discerneth it. And wee, when we speake of this daie doe adde last, the last daie, because that GOD doth iudge at this present and hath done euer since hee set man forth of paradice, and cha∣sed our first parents from the tree of life for their offences, nay from the time that hee cast out the transgressing Angells, whose enuious Prince doth all that hee canne now to ruine the soules of men. It is his iudgement that both men and deuills doe liue in such miseries and perturbations in ayre and earth, fraught with nothing but euills and errors.

And if no man had offended, it had beene his good iudgement that man and all reasonable creatures had liued in perfect beatitude and eternall coherence with the LORD their GOD. So that he iudgeth not onely men, and deuills, vnto misery, in generall, but hee censureth euery perticular soule for the workes it hath performed out of freedome of will. For the deuills pray that they may not bee tormented, neither doth GOD vniustly either in sparing them or punnishing them. And man, some-times in publike, but continually in secret, feeleth the hand of Almightie GOD, punnish∣ing him for his trespasses and misdeedes, either in this life, or in the next: though no man canne doe well▪ without the helpe of GOD, nor any

diuill can doe hurt, without his iust permission. For as the Apostle sayth: Is there vnrighteousnesse in GOD? GOD forbid: and in another place. Vnsearche∣able * 1.1 are his iudgements, and his waies past finding out. I intend not therefore in this booke to meddle with Gods ordinary daylie iudgements, or with those at first, but with that great and last Iudgement of his, (by his gratious permission) when CHRIST shall come from heauen, To iudge both the quicke▪ and the dead, for that is properly called the Iudgement-day: because (a) there shalbee no place for ignorant complaint, vpon the happinesse of the bad and the mise∣ry of the good. The true and perfect felicity in that day shalbe assured onely to the good, and eternall torment shall then shew it selfe as an euerlasting inheri∣tance onely for the euill.

L. VIVES.

THere (a) shalbe no place for] In this life, many men stumble at the good fortunes and prosperity of the badde, and the sad misfortunes of the good; They that know not that fortunes goods are no goods at all, (as the wicked doe beleeue they are) doe wonder at this. But indeede, the wicked neuer enioy true good, nor doth true euill euer befall the good. For the names of goods and euills, that are giuen to those things that these men admire, are in farre other respect then they are aware of, and that makes▪ their fond iudgements con∣demne the ordering of things. But at the last Iudgement of CHRIST, where the truth of good and bad shall appeare, then shall good fall onely to the righteous, and bad to the wick∣ed: and this shalbe there, vniuersally acknowledged.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Rom. 9. 14. Rom. 11, 33.