till absolute poverty comes upon the children, and the sad condition of their home tells of their distress.  Do they not suffer for the sins of their father, though they had nothing to do with them?  Indeed, many families in the world suffer thus through the faults of others, and most frequently of some of their members.  Could you blame the grandfather for leaving the estate?  Certainly not; for it was goodness on his part that made him give.  Let us apply this example.  What God gave Adam was to be ours also, and he squandered and misused it because he had free will, which God could not take from him without changing his nature; for it is our free will and intelligence that make us men, distinct from and superior to all other animals.  They can live, grow, feel, hear, see, etc., as we can, but the want of intelligence and free will leaves them mere brutes.  Therefore, if God took away Adam’s intelligence and free will, He would have made him a mere animal—­though the most perfect.

When a man becomes insane or loses the use of his intelligence and free will, we place him in an asylum and take care of him as we would a tame animal, seldom allowing him to go about without being watched and guarded.

Let us take another example.  Suppose I have a friend who is addicted to the excessive drinking of strong liquor, and I say to him:  “If you give up that detestable habit for one year, I will make you a present of this beautiful house worth several thousand dollars.  It will be yours as long as you live, and at your death you may leave it to your children.  I do not owe you anything, but offer this as a free gift if you comply with my request.”  My friend accepts the offer on these conditions, but the very next day deliberately breaks his promise.  I do not give him the house, because he did not keep his agreement; and can anyone say on that account that I am unjust or unkind to him or his children?  Certainly not.  Well, God acted in the same manner with Adam.  He promised him Heaven, a home more beautiful than any earthly palace—­the place Our Lord calls His father’s house (John 14:2) and says there are many mansions, that is, dwelling places, in it.  God promised this home to Adam on condition that he would observe one simple command.  He had no right to Heaven, but was to receive it, according to the promise, as a free gift from God, and therefore God, who offered it conditionally, was not obliged to give it when Adam violated his part of the agreement.

The example is not a perfect one, for there is this difference in the cases between Adam and my friend:  when my friend does not get the house, he sustains a loss, it is true; but he might still be my friend as he was before, and live in my house; but when Adam lost Heaven, he lost God’s friendship and grace, and the loss of all grace is to be in sin.  So that Adam by breaking the command was left in sin; and as all his children sustain the same loss, they too are all left in sin till they are baptized.