Augustine: Earlier Writings
ON FREE WILL X93 should have pre-eminence by reason of the excellence of its nature and the goodness of its will. But even if all the angels had sinned the Creator of angels would not have lacked resources for the government of his dominion. No weariness would have prevented his goodness, and no difficulty his omnipotence, from creating others to set in the places of those who by sinning abandoned them. And no multitude of spiritual creatures condemned for their demerits could throw into confusion an order which has a proper and suitable place for as many as are damned. In whatever direction we turn our attention we find that God is to be ineffably praised who is the best Creator of all natures, and their most just Ruler. xiii, 36. In conclusion, let us leave the contemplation of the beauty of things to those who have the divine gift of seeing it. Do not let us try with words to induce those who have not the power to behold ineffable things. And yet because there are loquacious, weak or guileful men, let us briefly summarize our answer to this great problem. Any nature that can become less good, must be good. A nature becomes less good when it is corrupted. Either corruption does it no hurt and it is not corrupted; or, if it is corrupted, corruption hurts it. If it hurts it, it takes away some of its good and makes it less good. If it entirely deprives it of good, what remains will not be able to be corrupted, for there wdll be no good left which corruption can take away so as to do hurt. Nothing is corrupted if corruption can do it no hurt. A nature which is not corrupted is incorruptible. So there will be a nature which by corruption is rendered incorruptible; which is utterly absurd. Therefore, it is true to say that any nature, so far as it is such, is good. If it is incorruptible it is better than what is corruptible. But if it is corruptible it is doubtless good since it becomes less good as the process of corruption goes on. Every nature is corruptible or incorruptible. Therefore every nature is good. And by "a nature" I mean what is also usually called a substance. Every substance is either God or comes from God, because every good thing is either God or from God.
37. These principles being established at the beginning of our discourse, listen to what I am going to say. Every rational nature endowed with free will is indubitably to be praised if it abide in the enjoyment of the chief and changeless good. Everyone that seeks so to abide is also to be praised. But every one that does not abide in the chief good and does not will so to act that it may abide in it, is so far and on that account to be A.E.W.— 13