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THEN the blessed CHAEREMON: There are, said he, three things which
enable men to control their faults; viz., either the fear of hell or of
laws even now imposed; or the hope and desire of the kingdom of heaven; or
a liking for goodness itself and the love of virtue. For then we read that
the fear of evil loathes contamination: "The fear of the Lord hateth
evil." Hope also shuts out the assaults of all faults: for "all who hope
in Him shall not fail." Love also fears no destruction from sins, for
"love never faileth;" and again: "love covers a multitude of sins."
And therefore the blessed Apostle confines the whole sum of salvation in
the attainment of those three virtues, saying "Now abideth faith, hope,
love, these three." For faith is what makes us shun the stains of sin
from fear of future judgment and punishment; hope is what withdraws our
mind from present things, and despises all bodily pleasures from its
expectation of heavenly rewards; love is what inflames us with keenness of
heart for the love of Christ and the fruit of spiritual goodness, and makes
us hate with a perfect hatred whatever is opposed to these. And these three
things although they all seem to aim at one and the same end (for they
incite us to abstain from things unlawful) yet they differ from each other
greatly in the degrees of their excellence. For the two former belong
properly to those men who in their aim at goodness have not yet acquired
the love of virtue, and the third belongs specially to God and to those who
have received into themselves the image and likeness of God. For He alone
does the things that are good, with no fear and no thanks or reward to stir
Him up, but simply from the love of goodness. For, as Solomon says, "The
Lord hath made all things for Himself." For under cover of His own
goodness He bestows all the fulness of good things on the worthy and the
unworthy because He cannot be wearied by wrongs, nor be moved by passions
at the sins of men, as He ever remains perfect goodness and unchangeable in
His nature.
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