God . . . owes no one [a miracle], and . . . never performs an unnecessary [one]. . . .
The Senator in Joseph de Maistre, The Saint Petersburg dialogues (1821) 7 ("sur la guerre"), The works of Joseph de Maistre, trans. Jack Lively, Minerva series 15 (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1965), 256 (245-258). French from the original: Les soirées de Saint-Pétersbourg, ou Entretiens sur le gouvernement temporel de la providence: suivis d'un traitée sur les sacrifices 7 (vol. 2, p. 41 (1-99)).
De Maistre is overly Enlightened here. There is a sense in which this is obvious, and also a sense in which it sets itself up against the extravagant logic of the doctrine of redemption, which, rooted in the astonishing signs performed by Christ, and in his resurrection, is ultimately eschatological. This is but the (in de Maistre (?) admittedly open) grammar of this present age.
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