Dist. 15, Part 1, Art. 1, Q. 5
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/4/d/15/q/bon-sent-IV-d15-p1-a1-q5
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### Question V. *Whether by such works a man merits anything.*

Fifthly, it being supposed that by works done outside charity satisfaction is not made, nor are they vivified, it is asked whether a man merits anything by them. And that he does, it seems:

1. Because, as the common authority says, «no evil is unpunished, and no good unrewarded»; but the divine justice never dismisses any evil, however small, without punishing it: therefore neither any good, however small, without rewarding it.

2. Likewise, if they are not rewarded, then the judge stands equally toward him who did no good and toward him who did many good works: therefore it is foolish to counsel any sinner to do some good work.

3. Likewise, Exodus twenty: *Honor your father, that you may be long-lived;* either this is said to one having charity or to one not having it. If only to one having it, this is a small reward, because he himself does not love this life, but another. Therefore it is said to one not having it: therefore he merits something, if he honors, and so on.

4. Likewise, the Lord says of the hypocrite, Matthew six, who does a good work for the sake of glory, that he has received his reward; let it be granted, then, that someone does a good work for God's sake, not for the sake of glory; since it is not worse than that which was for glory, but rather better: therefore it is worthy of some reward.

**On the contrary:**

1. Augustine: «The sinner is not worthy of the bread on which he feeds»: therefore if the sinner is not worthy to live, much less is he worthy to be rewarded.

2. Likewise, he who is nothing in someone's sight merits nothing with him; but the sinner is nothing in the sight of God; Psalm: *The malicious one is brought to nothing in his sight:* therefore etc.

3. Likewise, Wisdom fourteen: *Alike are hateful to God the impious one and his impiety;* but impiety is wholly displeasing to God: therefore also the impious one. But he who is wholly displeasing to another merits nothing with him: therefore etc.

4. Likewise, an instrument merits nothing unless it is alive in a servile operation — whence the mattock merits nothing while a man works in the vineyard — but the sinner is an instrument that is not alive: therefore etc.

> **Conclusion.** The sinner can merit something with God, but only congruently.

**I respond:** Some say that the sinner merits nothing whatsoever with God, neither congruently nor condignly; but nevertheless God, by reason of his most abundant generosity, does not leave his good works unrewarded, but rather rewards them; and it is good for the sinner to act well, although it is not just that he be rewarded, but rather benign.

Others say, and more probably, that there is meriting *congruently* and *condignly;* but the sinner merits nothing *condignly* with God, yet he can merit *congruently.* For the sinner sometimes does a good work in its kind for his own glory, as when he gives alms for the sake of glory; and from this work he does not merit a reward, but punishment, because it proceeds from contumely. Sometimes he acts for *God's glory* and out of the love of God which he has, and this cannot be without some grace freely given, which disposes him *congruently* toward the grace that makes one pleasing, which God in some way accepts; and from this he merits *congruently.* But that merit, compared to the merit of charity, is disproportionate, as a line to breadth and to a surface. Whence just as a line is nothing in comparison to a surface, yet is something in itself; so it is with the sinner relative to the just man, and with his love relative to the love of charity, and with merit relative to merit.

**To the arguments:**

*To 1, 2.* From these the objections are clear; and first, to that of Augustine: *He is not worthy,* etc., I say well, that he does not merit *condignly.* Likewise to the two following, that he is nothing in comparison to charity.

*To 3.* To that from Wisdom: *Alike is the impious one hateful;* it must be said that this is understood of him in himself insofar as he is impious, not insofar as he has a good nature and certain *gifts freely given*; and when he does a work insofar as he is impious, he merits nothing; but when according to *grace freely given,* he merits at least something congruently.

*To 4.* To the last, concerning the instrument, it must be said that "not alive" is said in two ways: negatively, of that which neither lives nor is born to live; and privatively, of that which does not live, but nevertheless is born to live. By the first, neither *congruently* nor *condignly;* but by the second there is merit *congruently,* because he is not deprived of life simply; for he lives in death and works good voluntarily and is in some way *God's helper*.

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