Introduction All things created by God have an internal order; without it, peace and stability fail.
Divisio (see above) 1) First part: God totally destroyed some cities for two reasons: 1. Because the whole population was “stained with sin” (exemplum: Sodom and Gomorrah); difference between divine justice and human justice: God also punishes the multitude, while men punish only the individual; 2. For lack of final penance (exempla: destruction of Babylon; detruction of Nineveh;  destruction of Jerusalem); appeal to Italy to do penance to escape the fate of Constantinople (cf. General Notes). 2) Second part: sometimes God punishes cities and people like a father; three reasons: 1. Purification from sins (exemplum: destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar); 2. Elimination of ingratitude (exemplum: destruction of Jerusalem by Jehoash [reference to 2Chronicles 25, 5-24]); 3. Revelation of the true nature of things = the true good is the spiritual, not the temporal. 3) Third part: God defends some cities or people for three reasons: 1. Compassion for the suffering (exemplum: God’s compassion for the people of Samaria during the siege of Ben-Hadad [reference to 2Kings 6, 24]); 2. Compassion aroused by the prayers and devotion of good people (exempla: God’s compassion for Hezekiah during the siege of Sennacherib; God’s compassion for Judith); 3. Mercy for penitents (exemplum: God's mercy for Nineveh).