to them," comparing them to those who would criticize an artisan when they had no concept of the whole project, having seen only a small portion of it (240-1). Likewise, in Book Seven of his *Confessions*, he argues that things appear evil when considered from a finite perspective, isolated from the totality of which they are a part. Superior things, indeed, "are self-evidently better than inferior," but "sounder judgment" holds that "all things taken together are better than superior things by themselves" (7.13.19). "All things" include corruptible things, the destruction of which "brings what existed to non-existence in such a way as to allow the consequent production of what is destined to come into being" (*City of God* 12.5). Most people would find this explanation tenable when applied to conflicts which arise among non-human creatures; or, as an explanation of our aesthetic displeasure in the face of some seemingly absurd, but relatively trivial, natural phenomenon; or even, perhaps, with respect to human suffering, conceived of as a temporary expedient to a greater good. This perspective encourages us to trust divine omnipotence and to acknowledge the limits of human wisdom--neither of which is ultimately repugnant. It falls short in most people's eyes, however, if it is intended to convince them of the goodness of God in the face of human suffering construed as retributive justice. The notion of eternal torment causes particular difficulties. This aspect of the tradition might be overlooked as a "mystery" to be lived with if orthodoxy permitted one to think that God, although infinitely good, is of merely finite power. But it seems incomprehensible that omnipotent God could punish human beings for something that he, by virtue of his omnipotence, seems (at first glance, at least) ultimately responsible for. Does Augustine assert that this seemingly untenable aspect of reality, which is implied by the conjunction of human perditi...
