So also, at the resurrection of the
dead, there will some be found, to whom mercy will be imparted, having
gone through these pains, to which the spirits of the dead are liable.
Otherwise it would not have been said of some with truth, that their
sin shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to
come (Matt. xii., 32) unless some sins were remitted in the next
world." [1]
[Footnote 1: De Civit. Dei., Lib. XX, c. xxiv., p. 492.]
In another passage he comments on the words of St. Paul: "If they had
built _gold_ and _silver_ and _precious stones,_ they would be secure
from both fires; not only from that in which the wicked shall be
punished for ever, but likewise from that fire which will purify
those who shall be saved by fire. But because it is said _he shall be
saved,_ that fire is thought lightly of; though the suffering will be
more grievous than anything man can undergo in this life."
Let us hear ST. JEROME: [1] "As we believe the torments of the devil,
and of those wicked men who said in their hearts _there is no
God,_ to be eternal, so, in regard to those sinners who have not
denied their faith, and whose works will be proved and purged by fire,
we conclude that the sentence of the Judge will be tempered by mercy.
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