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QUESTIONS 38-40 73 to few. [For these reasons,] one should investigate with great attentiveness the following sayings of the Lord Jesus: "No one comes to me except the Father draw him";2 "No one comes to the Father except through me";3 and, "He himself will lead you into all truth."4 39. ON THE SOURCES OF NOURISHMENTt What is it that takes the thing which it changes? The animal eating food. What is it that is taken and changed? Food. What is it that is taken and not changed? Light by the eyes and sound by the ears. However, the soul gets these things through the body; but what is it that the soul gets through itself and changes within itself? Another soul which it assimilates to itself by receiving it into its friendship. And what is it that the soul gets through itself and does not change? The truth. For this reason, one should come to understand the meaning of both the statement to Peter: "Kill and eat,"2 and the statement in the gospel: "And the life was the light of men."3 40. SINCE THE NA TURE OF SOULS IS THE SAME, WHY ARE THE CHOICES! OF MEN DIFFERENT? Diverse sense impressions give rise to diverse desires in souls; diverse desires, to diverse means of getting; diverse means of getting, to diverse habits; and diverse habits, to diverse choices. Now the order of things produces the differ2 In 6.44. 3 In 14.6. 4 In 16.13. 1 See below, Q. 73.1. 2 Acts 10.13. 3 In 1.4. uoluntates. Throughout this Q. uoluntas IS consistently translated "choice." See above, Q. 2, n. 2. 74 ST. AUGUSTINE ing sense impressions-a hidden order, to be sure, but nonetheless , a true and determinate order submitted to Divine Providence. Therefore one should not think, because there are differing choices, that the natures of souls are different, since even the choice of one soul varies with the changing of time. Indeed, at one time the soul longs to be rich; at another time, contemptuous of riches, it desires to be wise. Even in the desire for temporal things, at one time the business world pleases a given man, at another time a military career pleases him. 41. SINCE GOD HAS MADE EVERYTHING, WHY DID HE NOT MAKE EVERYTHING EQUAL? Because there would not be everything if everything were equal. For there would not be the many kinds of things which make up the universe in its hierarchy of Ereated things from the first and second levels of created things right down to the last. This kind of universe is what is meant by the word everything. 42. HOW WAS CHRIST BOTH IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB AND IN HEA VEN? In the same manner as a man's spoken word which, even though many hear, each hears as a whole. 43. WHY DID THE SON OF GOD APPEAR AS A MAN AND THE HOLY SPIRIT AS A DOVE?! Because the Son of God came to show men a pattern for living, whereas the Holy Spirit made his appearance to indicate the gift which virtuous living attains. Moreover, both of these events came about in a visible manner for the sake of 1 Cf. Mt 3.16, Mk 1.10, Lk 3.22, andJn 1.32. ...

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