Of the corruption of Nature and the efficacy of Divine Grace explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Grace and Divine Dependence

  The entire chapter is a meditation on the necessity of divine grace for any good work, progress, or salvation, and the utter dependence of the soul on God.

• Contempt for the World

  The chapter emphasizes the corruption of nature and the worthlessness of worldly gifts (arts, riches, beauty, strength, wit, eloquence) without grace.

• Humility and Self-Denial

  The narrator humbly confesses his own inability to do good without grace and acknowledges the poverty of his natural state.

Characters to notice

• The Disciple

  The narrator confesses his own weakness and the struggle between the law of the mind and the law of sin in his flesh.

• God the Father

  Addressed as 'O Lord my God' and 'O my God'; the narrator prays for grace and acknowledges that without God's grace he can do nothing.

• Jesus Christ

  Mentioned at the end of the chapter: 'through Jesus Christ, Thy Son.'

• St. Paul

  Quoted indirectly: 'I delight in Thy law after the inward man,' 'with the flesh I serve the law of sin,' 'to will to do good is present with me, but how to perform it I find not,' and 'I can do all things through Thy grace which strengtheneth me.'

Key passages

• “For I feel in my flesh the law of sin, contradicting the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the obedience of sensuality in many things; nor can I resist its passions, unless Thy most holy grace assist me, fervently poured into my heart.”

  I experience a conflict within myself: my sinful nature fights against my rational desire for good, and I cannot overcome these impulses unless Your grace fills my heart.

  This captures the central struggle between the flesh and the spirit, and the absolute need for grace.

• “For the gifts of Nature belong to good and evil alike; but the proper gift of the elect is grace—that is, love—and they who bear the mark thereof are held worthy of everlasting life.”

  Natural talents and blessings are given to both the righteous and the wicked, but grace—which is love—is the unique gift of God's chosen ones, and it alone makes them worthy of eternal life.

  Highlights the distinction between common natural gifts and the saving gift of grace.

• “What am I without it, save a dry tree, a useless branch, worthy to be cast away!”

  Without grace, I am like a dead tree or a worthless branch, fit only to be discarded.

  A vivid metaphor for the utter uselessness of the soul without divine grace.