latter reward elsewhere. matter what they were, are mortified, and all those he performs in the state of sin are and remain dead, and therefore God is not bound to give any reward for the former merits, unless the sinner does penance, nor for the latter good works; yet He is such a liberal, generous God, that He will not allow even such works as these to be unrewarded, but repays them in abundance, and as He cannot do that in the next life, where hell awaits the unrepentant sinner, He does it in this life, by granting the sinner prosperity, riches, the joys and pleasures of the world, so that no one may ever reproach Him with receiving a service for nothing. On the other hand, there is no just man who has not either sinned formerly in his youth or does not now and then commit some daily venial sin; I am afraid that none of us will be able to boast to the contrary; now divine justice requires full satisfaction for these sins, and since the just man pays this by patiently bearing trials and by other good works, and so gets rid of a great part of the punishment he deserves, I am again led to the conclusion that after death there must be a joyful life for him, in which the reward he has not received here for his good works awaits him.
From this the Doctors of the Church prove clearly that there must be another life.
From this It is not I alone, my dear brethren, who have found out this argument; it has been used already by the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church against those heretics who denied the immortality of the soul. Hear what William of Paris says against an error of this kind. You acknowledge that there is an Author of things by whom the world was made; you acknowledge that there is one God; now I ask: has this God any pleasure in those who faithfully serve Him, who for His sake abstain from forbidden delights, who love Him above all things, and always try to do His holy will? If He has no pleasure in them, where is His goodness and holiness? But if He has, where does He show it? Not in this life; for, as you object to me, He leaves His servants to suffer here below; nor, according to you, shall He show it after this life, for you maintain that the soul dies with the body. Say what you will to this, you shall not solve the difficulty until you confess that the soul is immortal, and that after death there is another life in which a just God rewards every one according to his works. If this be not true, then, contrary to the generally received belief of all men and to the express word of God, all holy and enlightened men must be looked on as the greatest fools; while the wicked, who wallow in