Given the sin of impiety through which they [the Romans] sinned against the divine nature [by idolatry], the punishment that led them to sin against their own nature followed.... I say, therefore, that since they changed into lies [by idolatry] the truth about God, He brought them to ignominious passions, that is, to sins against nature; not that God led them to evil, but only that he abandoned them to evil.
Thomas AquinasWhen the devil is called the god of this world, it is not because he made it, but because we serve him with our worldliness.
Thomas AquinasFear is such a powerful emotion for humans that when we allow it to take us over, it drives compassion right out of our hearts.
Thomas AquinasThe magnitude of the punishment matches the magnitude of the sin. Now a sin that is against God is infinite; the higher the person against whom it is committed, the graver the sin-it is more criminal to strike a head of state than a private citizen-and God is of infinite greatness. Therefore an infinite punishment is deserved for a sin committed against Him.
Thomas Aquinas