On the Damned

Frustra itaque nonnulli, immo quam plurimi, aeternam damnatorum poenam et cruciatus sine intermissione perpetuos humano miserantur affectu, atque ita futurum esse non credunt: non quidem Scripturis adversando divinis, sed pro suo motu dura quaeque molliendo, et in leniorem flectendo sententiam quae putant in eis terribilius esse dicta quam verius. Non enim obliviscetur, inquiunt, misereri Deus, aut continebit in ira sua miserationes suas. Hoc quidem in Psalmo legitur sancto; sed de his sine ullo scrupulo intellegitur qui vasa misericordiae  nuncupantur, quia et ipsi non pro meritis suis sed Deo miserante de miseria liberantur. Aut si hoc ad omnes existimant pertinere, non ideo necesse est ut damnationem opinentur posse finiri eorum de quibus dictum est: Et ibunt isti in supplicium aeternum, ne isto modo putetur habitura finem quandoque felicitas etiam illorum de quibus e contrario dictum est: Iusti autem in vitam aeternam. Sed poenas damnatorum certis temporum intervallis existiment si hoc eis placet, aliquatenus mitigari. Etiam sic quippe intellegi potest manere in illis ira Dei, hoc est ipsa damnatio (haec enim vocatur ira Dei, non divini animi perturbatio), ut in ira sua, hoc est manente ira sua non tamen contineat miserationes suas, non aeterno supplicio finem dando sed levamen adhibendo vel interponendo cruciatibus, quia nec Psalmus ait " ad finiendam iram suam " vel " post iram suam ", sed in ira sua. Quae si sola esset quanta ibi minima cogitari potest, perire a regno Dei, exulare a civitate Dei, alienari a vita Dei carere tam magna multitudine dulcedinis Dei quam abscondit timentibus se, perfecit autem sperantibus in se, tam grandis est poena ut ei nulla possint tormenta quae novimus comparari, si illa sit aeterna, ista autem sint quamlibet multis saeculis longa. Quod aeterna sit poena damnatorum quamvis diversa pro qualitate factorum sicut iustorum aeterna erit beatitudo licet inter se meritis differant. Enchiridion de Fide, Spe et Charitate, Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis

It is in vain, then, that some, indeed very many, lament the eternal punishment and perpetual continuous torments of the damned, and they do not believe it shall be so. Not, indeed, that they are opposed to Holy Scripture, but on account of their own soft feelings they soften down that which is hard and give a more gentle meaning to things spoken which they think are more terrifying than true. 'Has God forgotten to be merciful?' they say, 'Has He in His anger shut up His mercy?' 1This they have read in one of the holy Psalms, but without any doubt we are to understand it as spoken of those who are called 'vessels of mercy,' 2 because, not on account of any merit of their own but solely through the pity of God they are freed from misery. Or if they say that the passage applies to all mankind, there is thus no necessity why they should  suppose that there will be an end to the punishment of those of whom it is said, 'And these shall go into everlasting punishment,'3 for this end shall be in the same manner as the happiness of those of whom it is said, 'but the righteous into eternal life.'3 But let them think, if it pleases them, that the punishments of the damned are at intervals, in some degree, lightened. Even so it should be understood that the wrath of God remains upon them, that is, their condemnation, for indeed this condemnation is the wrath of God and not any disturbance in the Divine mind, and His wrath, though it persists, does not shut up His mercy; which does not mean an end to their eternal punishment but gifts a lightening, or a respite from their torments, for the Psalm does not say, 'to put an end to His wrath,' or, 'after His wrath,' but 'in His wrath.'1 If this wrath stood alone, or even if it were to thought minimal, to be lost to the kingdom of God, to be exiled from the city of God, to be alienated from the life of God, to lack that great goodness which God has reserved for them that fear Him, and has fashioned for them that trust in Him, would be a punishment so grave, that, as it is eternal, no torments that we know of, continued through as many ages, could be compared with it. The perpetual punishment of the damned will be eternal, though there may be difference in accordance with their deeds, just as the eternal life of the righteous will be eternal however their merits differ. Enchiridion, Saint Augustine of Hippo 1 Ps 77.10  2 Rom 9.23  3 Mt 25.46