19.

The law of liberty, therefore, the law of love, is that of which he says: "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. ¹ And then (after the difficult sentence, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all," concerning which I have with sufficient fulness stated my opinion), making mention of the same law of liberty, he says: "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." And as he knew by experience what he had said a little before, "in many things we offend all," he suggests a sovereign remedy, to be applied, as it were day by day, to those less serious but real wounds which the soul suffers day by day, for he says: "He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy." ² For with the same purpose the Lord says: "Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you." ³ After which the apostle says: "But mercy rejoiceth over judgment:" it is not said that mercy prevails over judgment, for it is not an adversary of judgment, but it "rejoiceth" over judgment, because a greater number are gathered in by mercy; but they are those who have shown mercy, for, "Blessed are the merciful, for God shall have mercy on them." ⁴