The early Christian vision of goodness is richer than mere kindness—it is moral harmony born of divine love. Clement of Alexandria rebukes those who see the justice of God as cruelty, showing that correction is itself a form of mercy. The Instructor’s sternness is the surgeon’s hand that heals the soul.

Augustine, in his letter to Alypius, writes of reforming his people’s hearts by abolishing a drunken festival. He replaces riot with reverence, teaching that Christian joy must be sober and spiritual. His pastoral courage becomes a mirror for the Church’s sanctification.

Aquinas explains that fear’s true object is not good, but evil—the loss of good being evil’s shadow. Fear, rightly ordered, leads the soul away from sin and toward its highest love. To fear the Lord is to recognize both His holiness and our dependence on Him.

Readings: Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, Book 1, Chapter 8 – “Against Those Who Think that What Is Just Is Not Good” Augustine, Letter 29 (A.D. 395) – “The Abolition of a Drunken Festival” Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part 1–2, Question 42, Article 1 – “Whether the Object of Fear Is Good or Evil”

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