Stapleton's fifth proposition: perfect in its own way
Thesis XLIV. His fifth proposition, in chapter 6, is: 'The evangelical righteousness of this life is not free of every sin whatever and is therefore not perfect in that respect; yet it is perfect in its own way, because it is always striving to be free of sin, advancing day by day.'
He then explains in what sense he calls it perfect in its own way: it is true righteousness and true obedience. Here he treats 'true', 'full' and 'perfect' as meaning the same thing, and by 'perfect' and 'full' he means that which lacks nothing needed for the true nature and essence of righteousness and obedience.
He shows this more fully in the paragraph beginning 'In hac ergo' and in chapter 7, paragraph 1, where he says that love and righteousness are called perfect when they are true, just as a hatred is called perfect when it is true.
Latin
XLIV. Cap. 6. Haec est ejus quinta propositio, Justitia hujus vitae Evangelica, etsi non careat omni prorsus peccato, ideoque ex hac parte perfecta non sit; tamen suo modo perfecta est, quia id semper agit, ut careat peccato, proficiendo de die in diem. Explicat autem postea quo sensu dicat illam esse suo modo perfectam, nempe, quia vera justitia & vera obedientia est. Verum enim & plenum & perfectum hic pro eodem habet. Ac perfectum & plenum intelligit, cui nihil deest ad veram rationem & essentiam justitiae & obedientiae, ut pluribus indicat paragr. in hac ergo. & cap. 7. paragr. 1. Ubi dicit perfectam charitatem & justitiam dici quae vera est: quemadmodum perfectum odium dicitur illud quod est verum.