lds His
grace. In this way, God is the cause of spiritual blindness, deafness
of ear, and hardness of heart.

These differ from one another in respect of the effects of grace,
which both perfects the intellect by the gift of wisdom, and softens
the affections by the fire of charity. And since two of the senses
excel in rendering service to the intellect, viz. sight and hearing,
of which the former assists "discovery," and the latter, "teaching,"
hence it is that spiritual "blindness" corresponds to sight,
"heaviness of the ears" to hearing, and "hardness of heart" to the
affections.

Reply Obj. 1: Blindness and hardheartedness, as regards the
withholding of grace, are punishments, and therefore, in this
respect, they make man no worse. It is because he is already worsened
by sin that he incurs them, even as other punishments.

Reply Obj. 2: This argument considers hardheartedness in so far as it
is a sin.

Reply Obj. 3: Malice is the demeritorious cause of blindness, just as
sin is the cause of punishment: and in this way too, the devil is
said to blind, in so far as he induces man to sin.
________________________

FOURTH ARTICLE [I-II, Q. 79, Art. 4]

Whether Blindness and Hardness of Heart Are Directed to the Salvation
of Those Who Are Blinded and Hardened?

Objection 1: It would seem that blindness and hardness of heart are
always directed to the salvation of those who are blinded and
hardened. For Augustine says (Enchiridion xi) that "as God is
supremely good, He would nowise allow evil to be done, unless He
could draw some good from every evil." Much more, therefore, does He
direct to some good, the evil of which He Himself is the cause. Now
God is the cause of blindness and hardness of heart, as stated above
(A. 3). Therefore they are directed to the salvation of those who are
blinded and hardened.

Obj. 2: Further, it is written (Wis. 1:13) that "God hath no pleasure
in the destruction of the ungodly [*Vulg.: 'God made not death,
neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living.']." Now He
would seem to take pleasure in their destruction, if He did not turn
their blindness to their profit: just as a physician would seem to
take pleasure in torturing the invalid, if he did not intend to heal
the invalid when he prescribes a bitter medicine for him. Therefore
God turns blindness to the profit of those who are blinded.

Obj. 3: Further, "God is not a respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34).
Now He