only those who are practiced in the
observance of the commandments should enter religion in order to
attain to yet greater perfection, but also those who are not
practiced, in order the more easily to avoid sin and attain to
perfection.

Reply Obj. 1: Jerome (Super Matth. xix, 20) says: "The young man lies
when he says: 'All these have I kept from my youth.' For if he had
fulfilled this commandment, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself,' why did he go away sad when he heard: Go, sell all thou
hast and give to the poor?" But this means that he lied as to the
perfect observance of this commandment. Hence Origen says (Tract.
viii super Matth.) that "it is written in the Gospel according to the
Hebrews that when our Lord had said to him: 'Go, sell all thou hast,'
the rich man began to scratch his head; and that our Lord said to
him: How sayest thou: I have fulfilled the law and the prophets,
seeing that it is written in the law: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself? Behold many of thy brethren, children of Abraham, are
clothed in filth, and die of hunger, whilst thy house is full of all
manner of good things, and nothing whatever hath passed thence to
them. And thus our Lord reproves him saying: If thou wilt be perfect,
go, etc. For it is impossible to fulfil the commandment which says,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and to be rich, especially
to have such great wealth." This also refers to the perfect
fulfilment of this precept. On the other hand, it is true that he
kept the commandments imperfectly and in a general way. For
perfection consists chiefly in the observance of the precepts of
charity, as stated above (Q. 184, A. 3). Wherefore in order to show
that the perfection of the counsels is useful both to the innocent
and to sinners, our Lord called not only the innocent youth but also
the sinner Matthew. Yet Matthew obeyed His call, and the youth obeyed
not, because sinners are converted to the religious life more easily
than those who presume on their innocency. It is to the former that
our Lord says (Matt. 21:31): "The publicans and the harlots shall go
into the kingdom of God before you."

Reply Obj. 2: The highest and the lowest place can be taken in three
ways. First, in reference to the same state and the same man; and
thus it is evident that no one comes to the summit suddenly, since
every man that lives aright, progresses during the whole course of
his life, so as to arrive at the summit. S