Mala autem quae, postquam advenerint, non possunt habere remedium, vel non de facili, maxime redduntur timenda quia accipiuntur ut perpetua vel diuturna.
Those evils which, after they have come, cannot be remedied at all, or at least not easily, inspire the greatest fear because they are considered as lasting forever or for a long time.
Obiectum timoris est malum; unde illud quod facit ad augmentum mali, facit ad augmentum timoris. Malum autem augetur non solum secundum speciem ipsius mali, sed etiam secundum circumstantias, ut ex supra dictis apparet. Inter ceteras autem circumstantias, diuturnitas, vel etiam perpetuitas, magis videtur facere ad augmentum mali. Ea enim quae sunt in tempore, secundum durationem temporis quodammodo mensurantur.
The object of fear is evil; consequently, whatever tends to increase evil, conduces to the increase of fear. Now evil is increased not only in its species of evil, but also in respect of circumstances, as stated above (q18 a3). And of all the circumstances, longlastingness, or even everlastingness, seems to have the greatest bearing on the increase of evil, because things that exist in time are measured, in a way, according to the duration of time.
Unde si pati aliquid in tanto tempore est malum, pati idem in duplo tempore apprehenditur ut duplatum. Et secundum hanc rationem, pati idem in infinito tempore, quod est perpetuo pati, habet quodammodo infinitum augmentum.
Wherefore if it be an evil to suffer something for a certain length of time, we should reckon the evil doubled, if it be suffered for twice that length of time. And according this argument, to suffer the same thing for an infinite length of time, i.e. forever, implies, so to speak, an infinite increase.
Philosophus dicit, in II Rhetoric., quod "omnia timenda sunt terribiliora quaecumque, si peccaverint, corrigi non contingit; aut quorum auxilia non sunt; aut non facilia".
The Philosopher says (Rhet. ii, 5) that "those things are most to be feared which when done wrong cannot be put right . . . or for which there is no help, or which are not easy".