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THE CORONATION 543
his so liberal and fatherly kindness ? And how many
men deserve to experience it? The greatest blessing of
all is that in punishment for this ingratitude the portals
of his mercy have not been closed, and the fountains of
his goodness have not dried up; for it is infinite.
The root of this most dreadful ingratitude in men is the
boundless desire and covetousness for the temporal, ap
parent and transitory goods. From this insatiable thirst
grows their unthank fulness ;
for as they hanker so much
after the temporal goods, they undervalue what they
receive and give thanks neither for them nor for the
spiritual goods; and thus they are most ungrateful as
well for the ones as the others. In addition to this un
bearable foolishness they are guilty of a still greater one,
namely, they ask God not for what is
necessary to them,
but for things which are injurious and will bring about
their eternal perdition. Among men it is considered
mean to ask a favor from the one they have offended ;
and
still more outrageous to ask a favor for the purpose of
committing a still
greater offense. What must we then
say of a vile earthly being, an enemy of God, when he
petitions his Creator for life, health, honor, possessions
and other things, for which he will never give thanks,
and which he does not intend to use for any other purpose
than to offend the divine Giver ?
640. If, in addition to this, such men never thank God
for having created them, redeemed them, called them,
borne them with patience and justified them, prepared for
them the same glory which He enjoys: and if, while
expecting this glory, they do not even ask for the grace
of acknowledging and repenting of their sins, they cer
tainly show nothing but the utmost temerity and pre
sumption. I assure thee, my dearest, that this so fre
quent ingratitude toward God is one of the most certain
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