6. Let us examine the significance of the doctrine[174] that evils
cannot be destroyed, that they are necessary, that they do not exist
among the divinities, but that they ever besiege our mortal nature, and
the place in which we dwell.[175] Surely heaven is free from all evil
because it moves eternally with regularity, in perfect order; because
in the stars is neither injustice nor any other kind of evil, because
they do not conflict with each other in their courses; and because
their revolutions are presided over by the most beautiful harmony.[164]
On the contrary, the earth reveals injustice and disorder, (chiefly)
because our nature is mortal, and we dwell in a lower place. But when
Plato,[176] says, that we must flee from here below, he does not mean
that we should leave the earth, but, while remaining therein, practice
justice, piety, and wisdom. It is wickedness that must be fled from,
because wickedness and its consequences are the evil of man.