And rightly they melted away into death, for they are worthy of death who are of its party, namely of injustice, by holding and defending it, just as a man defends the party to which he belongs: Romans 1: "Those who do such things are worthy of death."
Moreover, here can be noted the progression in sins, concerning which Ecclesiasticus 20: "There is a progression in evil for the undisciplined man"; for first there is ungodliness in the heart through consent to iniquity; then in the hand through the consummation of the deed; then the word of defense or boasting; then friendship and hope of impunity; afterward the melting away through the repetition of depraved habit; next the covenant through the hardening of the mind; lastly the death of final impenitence.