On Goodness
XX. On Goodness
1. God is good and consists in His goodness,
whereby <His> unity, <His> Trinity
and the incarnate God are <likewise> good.
2. God enjoys greater power over His great goodness
than He does over everything He has created,
on account of His generating and spirating.[1]
3. More perfect goodness can obtain
in an infinite being
than <does so> in a finite and divided goodness.
4. God possesses so much good will
that by reason of His goodness He has surrendered Himself
to become a crucified man.
5. Goodness is worthier in good loving
than <it is> in gold, <in> silver or in receiving honours,
<or> in a <decent> livelihood and in taking pleasure.
6. Goodness makes good people agreeable,
humble, free, generous and grateful,
and it protects them from sin.
7. God has created man to do good
so that He may give Himself
to those who seek to love the good.
8. Whoever thinks he can better serve
God by means of a sensible good
than of worthy knowledge and virtuous desire, is a fool.
9. From spiritual good man can derive
great and certain wealth,
which he fails to do from worldly such.
10. It is better to love a good that is public
than one that is a personal,
for which reason I am obliged to love the public good.
[1] Cf. n. 1, Ch. IV, § 4.