Chapter LII. IF A KNIGHT HAPPEN TO DIE IN BATTLE DO WE SAY THAT HIS SOUL IS SAVED? I ASK now whether the soul of a knight killed in battle is saved. It would appear not, for according to one opinion a knight cannot follow arms and war without sin. Further, if a knight die in battle he must not be buried in sacred ground, such as a church or cemetery. The chief reason on which we base this supposition or opinion is that any mortal man who is killed while in anger or evil intention is held to have died in mortal sin, and we may consider this 'knight to be in such state.

Notwithstanding this argument I will draw three conclusions. The first is : if a knight die in war ordained by the Church, as in the case of war against the unbelievers or the enemies of the Pope or of the Faith, and is not otherwise in mortal sin, his soul goes forth kith to Paradise, for thus the decree stands. The second conclusion is: that if a soldier die in battle in a just war and to maintain a just quarrel, he, similarly, will be saved in Paradise. The third conclusion is : if he die or be killed in unjust warfare he is in the way of damnation, for we hold according to our Faith that the souls of those who die in mortal sin go to hell.

Chapter LIII. WHO ARE THE STRONGER IN BATTLE, THE JUST OR THE SINNERS ? NOW let us consider another question. I ask which are the stronger in battle, the just or the sinners?
With regard to this, I wish to say that sinners are the stronger. Do we not read in the Scriptures that the wicked man Nimrod, who had as his companions men who were counted as thieves and evil-doers, and such indeed they were, was in his day King of Babylon, and was so great a lord that he overcame his neighbours, and oppressed at his will many mighty men ?

Later, did not King Alexander, who was a great sinner, overbearing, avaricious, and steeped in luxury, put to death in his day the greater part of the kings of the world, and conquer the most part of the earth, for no prince was strong enough to resist his enterprises ? And that wicked man Assur made captive the people of God by force of arms, and despoiled the temples set aside for God's service, and i11treated holy and just men, and had mercy on no man, good or bad ; and he was very strong and bold in battle. And King Saul, bold and strong as a lion, was he not a great sinner ? And who could say that Jonathan was not a great sinner ? Yet he was strong in arms. The Emperor Octavian, too, did he not sin greatly, and especially the sin of luxury ? Nevertheless, he was very strong and redoubtable in arms, and increased the Roman Empire so much that he conquered the best part of the world. And Holofernes who in his time was a very proud man in war, so that he never found his equal, was he not an evil man, and a terrible sinner who persecuted the people of God in every way? I could name to you a thousand examples, if I thought good, but I leave it at that to shorten the discussion, which would otherwise be over long.

Let us argue now on the other side. David, whose littleness could not be compared with the greatness of Goliath, and who was very feeble and frail in the face of Goliath's strength and presence, yet, through his goodness, discomfited the horrible giant with a sling and a stone that he had therein. Also have we not in the Old Testament the case of a man of God's people who overcame in battle ten of his enemies who were sinners, and ten such men overcame a hundred, and a hundred conquered a thousand, and a thousand ten thousand ? Again, we have a stronger instance. When the people of God, in opposition to the generation of Benjamin, thought to avenge the dishonour done to God, they were twice discomfited, and could not obtain victory over their enemies until they had confessed their sin to God, and called upon the Lord for mercy. Also we cannot say that the Scripture lies ; but the decretal speaking of the kingdom of the Britons, says that if the English have abandoned themselves to the sins of the flesh, like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, we must believe that from such a people there will arise a generation, wicked, and weak in the Faith, and of little strength to resist in battle. Hence I say that, according to reason, a sinner is not strong in battle. Now I say also that in truth, according to the Scripture, a man or a people is more victorious in battle when in a state of grace, and of love to our Lord, than is a people or a man in sin, even though the sinner is stronger in body than he who is in a state of grace. But all victory comes from God, and all victorious strength. And if sinners sometimes gain the victory we know not whence this comes, unless it be that God allows and suffers it ; but we must admit that it comes from our Lord, or at least by ordinance of His secret counsel, or by His permission, that a good man is sometimes set low by a very wicked man. And all this is in order that the good man may be crowned with patience, and that his virtue may be tested-that is, proved to exist just as God tested Monseigneur St. Louis, King of France, when he was overcome by the disloyal and perverse unbelievers, and made captive.