Q. 89. Art. 7 THE " SUMMA THEOLOGICA " 34
tion of faith, wood, hay, stubble*; they, in fact, love worldly
things and are busy about earthly concerns, yet so as to
prefer nothing to Christ, but strive to redeem their sins
with alms, and these have an admixture of good with evil
merits. Hence they are subjected to a discussion of their
merits, and consequently in this account will be judged,
and yet they will be saved.
Reply Obj. 1. Since punishment is the effect of justice,
while reward is the effect of mercy, it follows that punishment
is more especially ascribed antonomastically to judgment
which is the act of justice; so that judgment is sometimes
used to express condemnation. It is thus that we are to
understand the words quoted, as a gloss on the passage
remarks.
Reply Obj. 2. The merits of the elect will be discussed,
not to remove the uncertainty of their beatitude from the
hearts of those who are to be judged, but that it may be
made manifest to us that their good merits outweigh their
evil merits, and thus God's justice be proved.
Reply Obj. 3. Gregory is speaking of the just who will still
be in mortal flesh, wherefore he had already said : Those who
will still be in the body, although already brave and perfect,
yet through being still in the flesh must needs be troubled with
fear in the midst of such a whirlwind of terror. Hence it is
clear that this fear refers to the time immediately before the
judgment, most terrible indeed to the wicked, but not to the
good, who will have no apprehension of evil.
The arguments in the contrary sense consider judgment
as regards the payment of rewards.
Seventh Article,
whether the wicked will be judged ?
We proceed thus to the Seventh Article : —
Objection 1. It would seem that none of the wicked will
be judged. For even as damnation is certain in the case of
unbelievers, so is it in the case of those who die in mortal
- Cf. I.-IL, Q. LXXXIX., A. 2.
