and love, seemed to appear in every thing; in the sun, moon, and stars; in the clouds, and blue sky; in the grass, flowers, trees; in the water, and all nature....

In a "personal narrative" of his own conversion, Edwards recalled how he "used to be uncommonly terrified with thunder, and to be struck with terror" at the approach of a storm. The acknowledgment of God's sovereignty transformed his terror into gratitude and wonderment. "I felt God, so to speak, at the first appearance of a thunder storm; and used to take the opportunity, at such times, to fix myself in order to view the clouds, and see the lightnings play, and hear the majestic and awful voice of God's thunder, ... leading me to sweet contemplations of my great and glorious God."

These words help to clarify what Edwards meant by "consent and good will to Being in general"—the essence of "true virtue," as he called it in his treatise on that subject. "Consent" implied a love of God's creation in and for itself, without regard to the ways it thwarted or seemed to encourage human designs. When Edwards associated virtue with "benevolence," he did not use the term in the sense of philanthropy. Love of God, not love of mankind, was the "primary" meaning of faith, just as sin, the rebellious antithesis of "consent," was first of all an offense against God, not against humanity or against particular persons. Although it would be fair to say that faith, as Edwards understood it, originated in the emotion of gratitude, he was careful to distinguish a grateful "good will" from the kind of gratitude that depends on the sense of being loved and appreciated. "True virtue primarily consists, not in love of any particular Beings, because of their virtue or beauty, nor in gratitude, because they love us; but in a propensity and union of heart to Being simply considered ; exciting absolute benevolence ... to Being in general." ^* Man has no

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*

Because Edwards identified virtue with affirmation and consent, sin with an everlasting no, he refused to make a rank order of virtues and vices, each with its appropriate reward or punishment. Consent to being had no degrees, as he conceived it. It was either unconditional or it was nothing. The statement (in "The Justice of God") that "every crime or fault deserves a great or less punishment, in proportion as the crime itself is greater or less," invoked the principles of eighteenth-century penology, pre-

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