as it deadly and hurtful. For the Apostle
says (Rom. 7:8, seqq.): "Without the law sin was dead. And I lived
some time without the law. But when the commandment came sin revived;
and I died." Again he says (Rom. 5:20): "Law entered in that sin
might abound." Therefore the Old Law was not good.

Obj. 3: Further, it belongs to the goodness of the law that it should
be possible to obey it, both according to nature, and according to
human custom. But such the Old Law was not: since Peter said (Acts
15:10): "Why tempt you (God) to put a yoke on the necks of the
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?"
Therefore it seems that the Old Law was not good.

_On the contrary,_ The Apostle says (Rom. 7:12): "Wherefore the law
indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."

_I answer that,_ Without any doubt, the Old Law was good. For just as
a doctrine is shown to be good by the fact that it accords with right
reason, so is a law proved to be good if it accords with reason. Now
the Old Law was in accordance with reason. Because it repressed
concupiscence which is in conflict with reason, as evidenced by the
commandment, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods" (Ex. 20:17).
Moreover the same law forbade all kinds of sin; and these too are
contrary to reason. Consequently it is evident that it was a good
law. The Apostle argues in the same way (Rom. 7): "I am delighted,"
says he (verse 22), "with the law of God, according to the inward
man": and again (verse 16): "I consent to the law, that is good."

But it must be noted that the good has various degrees, as Dionysius
states (Div. Nom. iv): for there is a perfect good, and an imperfect
good. In things ordained to an end, there is perfect goodness when a
thing is such that it is sufficient in itself to conduce to the end:
while there is imperfect goodness when a thing is of some assistance
in attaining the end, but is not sufficient for the realization
thereof. Thus a medicine is perfectly good, if it gives health to a
man; but it is imperfect, if it helps to cure him, without being able
to bring him back to health. Again it must be observed that the end
of human law is different from the end of Divine law. For the end of
human law is the temporal tranquillity of the state, which end law
effects by directing external actions, as regards those evils which
might disturb the peaceful condition of the state. On the other hand,
the end of