ot
unequal, there is as regards man the promised recompense, to be
gained principally through the grace of God, secondarily through the
guardianship of the angels. Wherefore (4 Kings 6:16), Eliseus said to
his servant: "Fear not, for there are more with us than with them."

Reply Obj. 3: The assault of the flesh and the world would suffice
for the exercise of human weakness: but it does not suffice for the
demon's malice, which makes use of both the above in assailing men.
But by the Divine ordinance this tends to the glory of the elect.
_______________________

SECOND ARTICLE [I, Q. 114, Art. 2]

Whether to Tempt Is Proper to the Devil?

Objection 1: It would seem that to tempt is not proper to the devil.
For God is said to tempt, according to Gen. 22:1, "God tempted
Abraham." Moreover man is tempted by the flesh and the world. Again,
man is said to tempt God, and to tempt man. Therefore it is not
proper to the devil to tempt.

Obj. 2: Further, to tempt is a sign of ignorance. But the demons know
what happens among men. Therefore the demons do not tempt.

Obj. 3: Further, temptation is the road to sin. Now sin dwells in the
will. Since therefore the demons cannot change man's will, as appears
from what has been said above (Q. 111, A. 2), it seems that it is not
in their province to tempt.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (1 Thess. 3:5): "Lest perhaps he
that tempteth should have tempted you": to which the gloss adds,
"that is, the devil, whose office it is to tempt."

_I answer that,_ To tempt is, properly speaking, to make trial of
something. Now we make trial of something in order to know something
about it: hence the immediate end of every tempter is knowledge. But
sometimes another end, either good or bad, is sought to be acquired
through that knowledge; a good end, when, for instance, one desires
to know of someone, what sort of a man he is as to knowledge, or
virtue, with a view to his promotion; a bad end, when that knowledge
is sought with the purpose of deceiving or ruining him.

From this we can gather how various beings are said to tempt in
various ways. For man is said to tempt, sometimes indeed merely for
the sake of knowing something; and for this reason it is a sin to
tempt God; for man, being uncertain as it were, presumes to make an
experiment of God's power. Sometimes too he tempts in order to help,
sometimes in order to hurt. The devil, however, always tempts in
order to hurt by urging m