C) The _gratia Dei_ is a gratuitous gift conferred by the Blessed Trinity without regard to the theandric merits of Jesus Christ, whereas the _gratia Christi_ is based entirely on those merits. b) The Scotists hold that the distinction between _gratia Dei_ and _gratia Christi_ is purely logical. They regard the God-man as the predestined centre of the universe and the source of all graces.(15) The Thomists, on the other hand, regard the grace of the angels, and that wherewith our first parents were endowed in Paradise, purely as _gratia Dei_; they hold that the merits of Christ did not become operative until after the Fall, and that, consequently, there is a real distinction between the grace of the angels and that of our first parents on the one hand, and the grace of Christ on the other. As it cannot reasonably be supposed that the angels are endowed with specifically the same graces by which mankind was redeemed from sin, the Scotists are forced to admit a distinction between the grace of Christ as God-man (_gratia Christi Dei-hominis_) and the grace of Christ as Redeemer (_gratia Christi Redemptoris_), so that even according to them, the dogmatic treatise on Grace is concerned solely with the grace of Christ _qua_ Redeemer. Hence, grace must be more particularly defined as a gratuitous supernatural gift _derived from the merits of Jesus Christ_.(16) 4. EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL GRACE.—External grace (_gratia externa_) comprises all those strictly supernatural institutions which stimulate pious thoughts and salutary resolutions in the human soul. Such are, for example, Holy Scripture, the Church, the Sacraments, the example of Jesus Christ, etc. Internal grace (_gratia interna_) inheres or operates invisibly in the soul, and places it in relation with God as its supernatural end. Internal graces are, _e.g._, the theological virtues, the power of forgiving sins, etc. The Pelagians admitted external, but obstinately denied internal grace.(17) St. Paul(18) emphasizes the distinction between external and internal grace by designating the former as “law” (_lex_, νόμος) and the latter as “faith” (_fides_, πίστις). With one exception, (_viz._, the Hypostatic Union, which is the climax of all graces), external is inferior to, because a mere preparation for, internal grace, which aims at sanctification. We are concerned in this treatise solely with internal grace. Hence, proceeding a step further, we may define grace as a gratuitous, supernatural, _internal_ gift of God, derived from the merits of Jesus Christ.(19)