eir masters, so as to sin with greater
daring; or by way of _merit,_ as the sinful subjects merit a sinful
superior, according to Job 34:30, "Who maketh a man that is a
hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people?" Hence the people of
Israel were punished for David's sin in numbering the people (2 Kings
24). This may also happen through some kind of _consent_ or
_connivance:_ thus sometimes even the good are punished in temporal
matters together with the wicked, for not having condemned their
sins, as Augustine says (De Civ. Dei i, 9). Thirdly, in order to mark
the unity of human fellowship, whereby one man is bound to be
solicitous for another, lest he sin; and in order to inculcate horror
of sin, seeing that the punishment of one affects all, as though all
were one body, as Augustine says in speaking of the sin of Achan (QQ.
sup. Josue viii). The saying of the Lord, "Visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation,"
seems to belong to mercy rather than to severity, since He does not
take vengeance forthwith, but waits for some future time, in order
that the descendants at least may mend their ways; yet should the
wickedness of the descendants increase, it becomes almost necessary
to take vengeance on them.

Reply Obj. 2: As Augustine states (QQ. sup. Josue viii), human
judgment should conform to the divine judgment, when this is
manifest, and God condemns men spiritually for their own sins. But
human judgment cannot be conformed to God's hidden judgments, whereby
He punishes certain persons in temporal matters without any fault of
theirs, since man is unable to grasp the reasons of these judgments
so as to know what is expedient for each individual. Wherefore
according to human judgment a man should never be condemned without
fault of his own to an inflictive punishment, such as death,
mutilation or flogging. But a man may be condemned, even according to
human judgment, to a punishment of forfeiture, even without any fault
on his part, but not without cause: and this in three ways.

First, through a person becoming, without any fault of his,
disqualified for having or acquiring a certain good: thus for being
infected with leprosy a man is removed from the administration of the
Church: and for bigamy, or through pronouncing a death sentence a man
is hindered from receiving sacred orders.

Secondly, because the particular good that he forfeits is not his own
but common p