Chapter 39
43. And thus a man who is resting upon faith, hope and love, and who keeps a
firm hold upon these, does not need the Scriptures except for the purpose of
instructing others. Accordingly, many live without copies of the Scriptures,
even in solitude, on the strength of these three graces. So that in their
case, I think, the saying is already fulfilled: "Whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be
knowledge, it shall vanish away." Yet by means of these instruments (as they
may be called), so great an edifice of faith and love has been built up in
them, that, holding to what is perfect, they do not seek for what is only in
part perfect—of course, I mean, so far as is possible in this life; for, in
comparison with the future life, the life of no just and holy man is perfect
here. Therefore the apostle says: "Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity:" because, when a man shall have
reached the eternal world, while the other two graces will fail, love will
remain greater and more assured.
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