trine; and yet, without this mystery, the most
incomprehensible of all, we are incomprehensible to ourselves. The knot
of our condition takes its twists and turns in this abyss, so that man
is more inconceivable without this mystery than this mystery is
inconceivable to man.

[Whence it seems that God, willing to render the difficulty of our
existence unintelligible to ourselves, has concealed the knot so high,
or, better speaking, so low, that we are quite incapable of reaching it;
so that it is not by the proud exertions of our reason, but by the
simple submissions of reason, that we can truly know ourselves.

These foundations, solidly established on the inviolable authority of
religion, make us know that there are two truths of faith equally
certain: the one, that man, in the state of creation, or in that of
grace, is raised above all nature, made like unto God and sharing in His
divinity; the other, that in the state of corruption and sin, he is
fallen from this state and made like unto the beasts.

These two propositions are equally sound and certain. Scripture
manifestly declares this to us, when it says in some places: _Deliciae
meae esse cum filiis hominum.[162] Effundam spiritum meum super omnem
carnem.[163] Dii estis[164]_, etc.; and in other places, _Omnis caro
faenum.[165] Homo assimilatus est jumentis insipientibus, et similis
factus est illis.[166] Dixi in corde meo de filiis hominum._ Eccles.
iii.

Whence it clearly seems that man by grace is made like unto God, and a
partaker in His divinity, and that without grace he is like unto the
brute beasts.]

435

Without this divine knowledge what could men do but either become elated
by the inner feeling of their past greatness which still remains to
them, or become despondent at the sight of their present weakness? For,
not seeing the whole truth, they could not attain to perfect virtue.
Some considering nature as incorrupt, others as incurable, they could
not escape either pride or sloth, the two sources of all vice; since
they cannot but either abandon themselves to it through cowardice, or
escape it by pride. For if they knew the excellence of man, they were
ignorant of his corruption; so that they easily avoided sloth, but fell
into pride. And if they recognised the infirmity of nature, they were
ignorant of its dignity; so that they could easily avoid vanity, but it
was to fall into despair. Thence arise the different schools of the
Stoics and