Destruction And Protection

Minitatus est praeterea quod deleret hominem: Ab homine, inquit, usque ad pecus, et a reptilibus usque ad volatilia coeli delebo. Quid laeserant irrationabilia? Sed quia propter hominem illa facta erant, eo utique deleto propter quem facta sunt, consequens erat ut etiam illa delerentur; quia non erat qui his uteretur. Sensu autem altiore illud manifestatur, quia homo mens est quae est rationis capax; homo enim definitur animal vivum, mortale, rationale. Principali igitur exstincto, etiam sensus omnis exstinguitur; eo quod nihil reliqui ad salutem supersit, cum salutis fundamentum virtus defecerit. Ad condemnationem autem caeterorum, et ad expressionem pietatis divinae dicitur Noe apud Deum gratiam invenisse. Simul ostenditur quod hominem justum non obumbret aliorum offensio, quando ipse ad totius generis reservatur seminarium, qui non generationis nobilitate, sed justitiae et perfectionis merito laudatur. Probati enim viri genus virtutis prosapia est; quia sicut hominum genus homines, ita animarum genus virtutes sunt. Etenim familiae hominum splendore generis nobilitantur: animarum autem clarificatur gratia splendore virtutis. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Noe et Arca, Caput IV

God threatened more than to destroy man, for He said, 'From man even to cattle and from reptiles unto the birds of heaven I shall make an end. ' 1 But why harm irrational things? Because all these things were made for man and because of the destruction of that for which they were made, it follows that even they shall be destroyed because he would not be who would make use of them. And yet this manifests a higher sense, because man is mind which is capable of reason, and man is defined as a living animal, mortal and rational. So with his first part destroyed even all his senses are destroyed, by which nothing remains that can be saved, that is, when virtue the foundation of salvation has perished. For while others received condemnation, Noah, on account of piety, is said to had found grace with God. At the same time it is shown the righteous man is not blotted out by the offense of others, for he is reserved for the reseeding of the generations, a man who was not of noble lineage, but is praised with the merit of accomplished righteousness. Approved men are of the family of virtue, because  as men are of the family of man, so the family of souls is virtue. The families of men are ennobled by the splendour of their line, the grace of souls shine with the splendour of the virtues. Saint Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, Chap 4 1 Gen 6.7