Omnis actus hominis, bonus vel malus, habet rationem meriti vel demeriti apud Deum, quia alioquin sequeretur quod Deus non haberet curam de actibus humanis, sed est debitum ut ad finem ultimum omnes actus referantur.
Every human action, both good and evil, acquires the formal aspect of merit or demerit in God's sight, because else it would follow that human actions are no business of God's, but it is our duty to refer all our actions to the last end.
Unde qui facit actum malum non referibilem in Deum, non servat honorem Dei, qui ultimo fini debetur.
Consequently, whoever does an evil deed, not referable to God, does not give God the honor due to Him as our last end.
Homo non ordinatur ad communitatem politicam secundum se totum, et secundum omnia sua; et ideo non oportet quod quilibet actus eius sit meritorius vel demeritorius per ordinem ad communitatem politicam.
Man is not ordained to the body politic, according to all that he is and has; and so it does not follow that every action of his acquires merit or demerit in relation to the body politic.
Sed totum quod homo est, et quod potest et habet, ordinandum est ad Deum; et ideo omnis actus hominis, bonus vel malus, habet rationem meriti vel demeriti apud Deum, quantum est ex ipsa ratione actus.
But all that man is, and can have and does have, must be referred to God; and therefore every action of man, whether good or bad, acquires the formal aspect of merit or demerit in the sight of God, inasmuch as it is [acquired] from the same formal aspect of the action.
Per actum hominis, Deo secundum se nihil potest accrescere vel deperire; sed tamen homo, quantum in se est, aliquid subtrahit Deo, vel ei exhibet, cum servat vel non servat ordinem quem Deus instituit.
God in Himself neither gains nor loses anything by the action of man; but man, for his part, takes something from God, or offers something to Him, when he observes or does not observe the order instituted by God.