Page:Essays on Catholicism, Liberalism, and Socialism.djvu/299

fest the perfections of God, the particular end of man is to preserve his union with God, who is the object of his final felicity and repose. Sin destroyed the order of human things by severing this bond of union which constitutes our special end, and from that moment the problem, as regards humanity, consists in discovering the means through which evil can be overcome in its effects and in its cause: in its effects, that is to say, in the corruption of the individual and of the species, and in all the consequences of this corruption, and also in its cause, that is to say, in sin.

God, who is most simple in his works, because he is perfect in his essence, conquers evil in its cause and in its effects by the secret virtue of one single transformation. But this is so radical and wonderful in its nature, that through it all that was evil becomes good, and all imperfection is changed into sovereign perfection. So far, we have attempted to prove, how God transforms the very effects of evil and sin into instruments of good. All these effects proceed from a primitive corruption of the individual and of the species; considered in themselves, they are, therefore, only a lamentable misfortune in the individual and in the species. Whoever speaks of misfortune, speaks of an evil produced by a cause independent of our will, and if this cause is among the number of those whose action is constant, then it is plain that this misfortune is in its nature inevitable. In imposing misfortune as a penalty, God has rendered its transformation possible by means of its voluntary acceptance by man. When man, aided by God, heroically accepts misfortune as a just penalty, this acceptance does not change the nature of the penalty, considered in itself—for this transformation would be in all