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| Chapter I. translated from the Greek: On the Freedom of the Will, With an Explanation and Interpretation of Those Statements of Scripture Which Appear to Nullify It.
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Translation from the
Greek.
Chapter I.—On the Freedom of the
Will,2383
| 2383 περι τοῦ
αὐτεξουσίου. | With an Explanation and Interpretation of
Those Statements of Scripture Which Appear to Nullify It.
1. Since in the preaching of the Church
there is included the doctrine respecting a just judgment of God,
which, when believed to be true, incites those who hear it to live
virtuously, and to shun sin by all means, inasmuch as they manifestly
acknowledge that things worthy of praise and blame are within our own
power, come and let us discuss by themselves a few points regarding the
freedom of the will—a question of all others most
necessary. And that we may understand what the freedom of the
will is, it is necessary to unfold the conception of it,2384
| 2384 τὴν ἔννοιαν
αὐτοῦ
ἀναπτύξαι. | that this being declared with precision, the
subject may be placed before us.
2. Of things that move, some have the cause
of their motion within themselves; others, again, are moved only from
without. Now only portable things are moved from without, such as
pieces of wood, and stones, and all matter that is held together by
their constitution alone.2385
And let that
view be removed from consideration which calls the flux of bodies
motion, since it is not needed for our present purpose. But
animals and plants have the cause of their motion within themselves,
and in general whatever is held together by nature and a soul, to which
class of things they say that metals also belong. And besides
these, fire too is self-moved, and perhaps also fountains of
water. Now, of those things which have the cause of their
movement within themselves, some, they say, are moved out of
themselves, others from themselves: things without life, out of
themselves; animate things, from themselves. For animate things
are moved from themselves, a phantasy2386
springing up in them
which incites to effort. And again, in certain animals phantasies
are formed which call forth an effort, the nature of the
phantasy2387
stirring up the
effort in an orderly manner, as in the spider is formed the phantasy of
weaving; and the attempt to weave follows, the nature of its phantasy
inciting the insect in an orderly manner to this alone. And
besides its phantasial nature, nothing else is believed to belong to
the insect.2388
| 2388 καὶ οὐδενὸς
ἄλλου μετὰ
τὴν
φανταστικὴν
αὐτοῦ φυσιν
πεπιστευμένου
τοῦ ζώου. | And in the
bee there is formed the phantasy to produce wax.
3. The rational animal, however, has, in
addition to its phantasial nature, also reason, which judges the
phantasies, and disapproves of some and accepts others, in order that
the animal may be led according to them. Therefore, since there
are in the nature of reason aids towards the contemplation of virtue
and vice, by following which, after beholding good and evil, we select
the one and avoid the other, we are deserving of praise when we give
ourselves to the practice of virtue, and censurable when we do the
reverse. We must not, however, be ignorant that the greater part
of the nature assigned to all things is a varying quantity2389
among animals, both in a greater and a less
degree; so that the instinct in hunting-dogs and in war-horses
approaches somehow, so to speak, to the faculty of reason. Now,
to fall under some one of those external causes which stir up within us
this phantasy or that, is confessedly not one of those things that are
dependent upon ourselves; but to determine that we shall use the
occurrence in this way or differently, is the prerogative of nothing
else than of the reason within us, which, as occasion offers,2390
arouses us towards efforts inciting to what
is virtuous and becoming, or turns us aside to what is the
reverse.
4. But if any one maintain that this very external
cause is of such a nature that it is impossible to resist it when it
comes in such a way, let him turn his attention to his own feelings and
movements, (and see) whether there is not an approval, and assent, and
inclination of the controlling principle towards some object on account
of some specious arguments.2391
| 2391 διὰ τάσδε
τὰς
πιθανότητας. | For, to take
an instance, a woman who has appeared before a man that has determined
to be chaste, and to refrain from carnal intercourse, and who has
incited him to act contrary to his purpose, is not a perfect2392
cause of annulling his determination.
For, being altogether pleased with the luxury and allurement of the
pleasure, and not wishing to resist it, or to keep his purpose, he
commits an act of licentiousness. Another man, again (when the
same things have happened to him who has received more instruction, and
has disciplined himself2393
), encounters,
indeed, allurements and enticements; but his reason, as being
strengthened to a higher point, and carefully trained, and confirmed in
its views towards a virtuous course, or being near to
confirmation,2394
| 2394 ἐγγύς γε τοῦ
βεβαιωθῆναι
γεγενημένος. | repels the
incitement, and extinguishes the desire.
5. Such being the case, to say that we are
moved from without, and to put away the blame from ourselves, by
declaring that we are like to pieces of wood and stones, which are
dragged about by those causes that act upon them from without, is
neither true nor in conformity with reason, but is the statement of him
who wishes to destroy2395
the conception of
free-will. For if we were to ask such an one what was free-will,
he would say that it consisted in this, that when purposing to do some
thing, no external cause came inciting to the reverse. But to
blame, on the other hand, the mere constitution of the body,2396
| 2396 ψιλὴν τὴν
κατασκευήν. | is absurd; for the disciplinary
reason,2397
taking hold of
those who are most intemperate and savage (if they will follow her
exhortation), effects a transformation, so that the alteration and
change for the better is most extensive,—the most licentious men
frequently becoming better than those who formerly did not seem to be
such by nature; and the most savage men passing into such a
state of mildness,2398
that those persons
who never at any time were so savage as they were, appear savage in
comparison, so great a degree of gentleness having been produced within
them. And we see other men, most steady and respectable, driven
from their state of respectability and steadiness by intercourse with
evil customs, so as to fall into habits of licentiousness, often
beginning their wickedness in middle age, and plunging into disorder
after the period of youth has passed, which, so far as its nature is
concerned, is unstable. Reason, therefore, demonstrates that
external events do not depend on us, but that it is our own business to
use them in this way or the opposite, having received reason as a judge
and an investigator2399
of the manner in
which we ought to meet those events that come from without.
6. Now, that it is our business to live
virtuously, and that God asks this of us, as not being dependent on Him
nor on any other, nor, as some think, upon fate, but as being our own
doing, the prophet Micah will prove when he says: “If it
has been announced to thee, O man, what is good, or what does the Lord
require of thee, except to do justice and to love
mercy?”2400
Moses also:
“I have placed before thy face the way of life, and the way of
death: choose what is good, and walk in it.”2401
Isaiah too: “If you are
willing, and hear me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye be
unwilling, and will not hear me, the sword will consume you: for
the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”2402
And in the Psalms: “If My
people had heard Me, and Israel had walked in My ways, I would have
humbled their enemies to nothing, and laid My hand upon those that
afflicted them;”2403
showing that it was
in the power of His people to hear and to walk in the ways of
God. And the Saviour also, when He commands, “But I say
unto you, Resist not evil;”2404
and,
“Whosoever shall be angry with his brother, shall be in danger of
the judgment;”2405
and,
“Whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, hath already
committed adultery with her in his heart;”2406
and by any other commandment which He gives,
declares that it lies with ourselves to keep what is enjoined, and that
we shall reasonably2407
be liable to
condemnation if we transgress. And therefore He says in
addition: “He that heareth My words, and doeth them, shall
be likened to a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock,”
etc., etc.; “while he that heareth them, but doeth them not, is
like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand,”
etc.2408
And when He says to those on His right
hand, “Come, ye blessed of My Father,” etc.; “for I
was an hungered, and ye gave Me to eat; I was athirst, and ye gave Me
to drink,”2409
it is exceedingly
manifest that He gives the promises to these as being deserving of
praise. But, on the contrary, to the others, as being censurable
in comparison with them, He says, “Depart, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire!”2410
And let us
observe how Paul also converses2411
with us as
having freedom of will, and as being ourselves the cause of ruin or
salvation, when he says, “Dost thou despise the riches of His
goodness, and of His patience, and of His long-suffering; not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But,
according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou art treasuring up
for thyself wrath on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God; who will render to every one according to his
works: to those who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek
for glory and immortality, eternal life; while to those who are
contentious, and believe not the truth, but who believe iniquity,
anger, wrath, tribulation, and distress, on every soul of man that
worketh evil; on the Jew first, and on the Greek: but glory, and
honour, and peace to every one that worketh good; to the Jew first, and
to the Greek.”2412
There are,
indeed, innumerable passages in the Scriptures which establish with
exceeding clearness the existence of freedom of will.
7. But, since certain declarations of the Old Testament and of the New lead to
the opposite conclusion—namely, that it does not depend on
ourselves to keep the commandments and to be saved, or to transgress
them and to be lost—let us adduce them one by one, and see the
explanations of them, in order that from those which we adduce, any one
selecting in a similar way all the passages that seem to nullify
free-will, may consider what is said about them by way of
explanation. And now, the statements regarding Pharaoh have
troubled many, respecting whom God declared several times, “I
will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”2413
For if he is hardened by God, and
commits sin in consequence of being hardened, he is not the cause of
sin to himself; and if so, then neither does Pharaoh possess
free-will. And some one will say that, in a similar way, they who
perish have not free-will, and will not perish of themselves. The
declaration also in Ezekiel, “I will take away their stony
hearts, and will put in them hearts of flesh, that they may walk in My
precepts, and keep My commandments,”2414
might lead one to think that it was God who gave the power to walk in
His commandments, and to keep His precepts, by His withdrawing the
hindrance—the stony heart, and implanting a better—a heart
of flesh. And let us look also at the passage in the
Gospel—the answer which the Saviour returns to those who inquired
why He spake to the multitude in parables. His words are:
“That seeing they might not see; and hearing they may hear, and
not understand; lest they should be converted, and their sins be
forgiven them.”2415
The passage
also in Paul: “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”2416
The declarations, too, in other
places, that “both to will and to do are of God;”2417
“that God hath mercy upon whom He will
have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then,
Why doth He yet find fault? For who hath resisted His
will?” “The persuasion is of Him that calleth, and not
of us.”2418
“Nay, O
man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing
formed say to him that hath formed it, Why hast thou made me
thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump
to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto
dishonour?”2419
Now these
passages are sufficient of themselves to trouble the multitude, as if
man were not possessed of free-will, but as if it were God who saves
and destroys whom He will.
8. Let us begin, then, with what is said
about Pharaoh—that he was hardened by God, that he might not send
away the people; along with which will be examined also the statement
of the apostle, “Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have
mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.”2420
And certain of those who hold
different opinions misuse these passages, themselves also almost
destroying free-will by introducing ruined natures incapable of
salvation, and others saved which it is impossible can be lost; and
Pharaoh, they say, as being of a ruined nature, is therefore hardened
by God, who has mercy upon the spiritual, but hardens the
earthly. Let us see now what they mean. For we shall ask
them if Pharaoh was of an earthy nature; and when they answer, we shall
say that he who is of an earthy nature is altogether disobedient to
God: but if disobedient, what need is there of his heart being
hardened, and that not once, but frequently? Unless perhaps,
since it was possible for him to obey (in which case he would certainly
have obeyed, as not being earthy, when hard pressed by the signs and
wonders), God needs him to be disobedient to a greater degree,2421
| 2421 χρῄζει δὲ
αὐτοῦ ὁ
Θεὸς…ἐπι
πλεῖον
ἀπειθοῦντος. | in order that He may manifest His mighty
deeds for the salvation of the multitude, and therefore hardens his
heart. This will be our answer to them in the first place, in
order to overturn their supposition that Pharaoh was of a ruined
nature. And the same reply must be given to them with respect to
the statement of the apostle. For whom does God harden?
Those who perish, as if they
would obey unless they were hardened, or manifestly those who would be
saved because they are not of a ruined nature. And on whom has He
mercy? Is it on those who are to be saved? And how is there
need of a second mercy for those who have been prepared once for
salvation, and who will by all means become blessed on account of their
nature? Unless perhaps, since they are capable of incurring
destruction, if they did not receive mercy, they will obtain mercy, in
order that they may not incur that destruction of which they are
capable, but may be in the condition of those who are saved. And
this is our answer to such persons.
9. But to those who think they understand
the term “hardened,” we must address the inquiry, What do
they mean by saying that God, by His working, hardens the heart, and
with what purpose does He do this? For let them observe the
conception2422
of a God who is in
reality just and good; but if they will not allow this, let it be
conceded to them for the present that He is just; and let them show how
the good and just God, or the just God only, appears to be just, in
hardening the heart of him who perishes because of his being
hardened: and how the just God becomes the cause of destruction
and disobedience, when men are chastened by Him on account of their
hardness and disobedience. And why does He find fault with him,
saying, “Thou wilt not let My people go;”2423
| 2423 Cf. Ex. iv. 23 and ix. 17. | “Lo, I will smite all the first-born
in Egypt, even thy first-born;”2424
and whatever else is recorded as spoken from God to Pharaoh through the
intervention of Moses? For he who believes that the Scriptures
are true, and that God is just, must necessarily endeavour, if he be
honest,2425
to show how God, in
using such expressions, may be distinctly2426
understood to be just. But if any one should stand, declaring
with uncovered head that the Creator of the world was inclined to
wickedness,2427
| 2427 ἀπογραψάμενός
τις γυμνῇ τῇ
κεφαλῇ
ἵστατο πρὸς
τὸ πονηρὸν
εἶναι τὸν
δημιουργόν. | we should need
other words to answer them.
10. But
since they say that they regard Him as a just God, and we as one who is
at the same time good and just, let us consider how the good and just
God could harden the heart of Pharaoh. See, then, whether, by an
illustration used by the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we are
able to prove that by one operation2428
God has mercy
upon one man while He hardens another, although not intending to
harden; but, (although) having a good purpose, hardening follows as a
result of the inherent principle of wickedness in such
persons,2429
| 2429 διὰ τὸ τῆς
κακίας
ὑποκείμενον
τοῦ παρ᾽
ἑαυτοῖς
κακοῦ. | and so He is said
to harden him who is hardened. “The earth,” he says,
“which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth
forth herbs meet for them for whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing
from God; but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is
nigh to cursing, whose end is to be burned.”2430
As respects the rain, then, there is
one operation; and there being one operation as regards the rain, the
ground which is cultivated produces fruit, while that which is
neglected and is barren produces thorns. Now, it might seem
profane2431
for Him who rains
to say, “I produced the fruits, and the thorns that are in the
earth;” and yet, although profane, it is true. For, had
rain not fallen, there would have been neither fruits nor thorns; but,
having fallen at the proper time and in moderation, both were
produced. The ground, now, which drank in the rain which often
fell upon it, and yet produced thorns and briers, is rejected and nigh
to cursing. The blessing, then, of the rain descended even upon
the inferior land; but it, being neglected and uncultivated, yielded
thorns and thistles. In the same way, therefore, the wonderful
works also done by God are, as it were, the rain; while the differing
purposes are, as it were, the cultivated and neglected land, being
(yet), like earth, of one nature.
11. And
as if the sun, uttering a voice, were to say, “I liquefy and dry
up,” liquefaction and drying up being opposite things, he would
not speak falsely as regards the point in question;2432
| 2432 παρὰ τὸ
ὑποκείμενον. | wax being melted and mud being dried by the
same heat; so the same operation, which was performed through the
instrumentality of Moses, proved the hardness of Pharaoh on the one
hand, the result of his wickedness, and the yielding of the mixed
Egyptian multitude who took their departure with the Hebrews. And
the brief statement2433
| 2433 καὶ τὸ κατὰ
τὸ βραχὺ δὲ
ἀναγεγράφθαι. | that the heart of
Pharaoh was softened, as it were, when he said, “But ye shall not
go far: ye will go a three days’ journey, and leave your
wives,”2434
and anything else
which he said, yielding little by little before the signs, proves that
the wonders made some impression even upon him, but did not accomplish
all (that they might). Yet even this would not have happened, if
that which is supposed by the many—the hardening of
Pharaoh’s heart—had been produced by God Himself. And
it is not absurd to soften down such expressions agreeably to common
usage:2435
| 2435 οὐκ ἄτοπον
δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ
συνηθείας τὰ
τοιαῦτα
παραμυθήσασθαι. | for good
masters often say to their slaves, when spoiled by their kindness and
forbearance, “I have made you bad, and I am to blame for offences
of such enormity.” For we must attend to the character and
force of the phrase, and not argue sophistically,2436
disregarding the meaning of the
expression. Paul accordingly, having examined these points
clearly, says to the sinner: “Or despisest thou the riches
of His goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering; not knowing that
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? but, after thy hardness and impenitent
heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and
revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”2437
Now, let what the apostle says to the
sinner be addressed to Pharaoh, and then the announcements made to him
will be understood to have been made with peculiar fitness, as to one
who, according to his hardness and unrepentant heart, was treasuring up
to himself wrath; seeing that his hardness would not have been proved
nor made manifest unless miracles had been performed, and miracles,
too, of such magnitude and importance.
12. But since such narratives are slow to
secure assent,2438
and are considered
to be forced,2439
let us see from the
prophetical declarations also, what those persons say, who, although
they have experienced the great kindness of God, have not lived
virtuously, but have afterwards sinned. “Why, O Lord, hast
Thou made us to err from Thy ways? Why hast Thou hardened our
heart, so as not to fear Thy name? Return for Thy servants’
sake, for the tribes of Thine inheritance, that we may inherit a small
portion of Thy holy mountain.”2440
And in
Jeremiah: “Thou hast deceived me, O Lord, and I was
deceived; Thou wert strong, and Thou didst prevail.”2441
For the expression, “Why hast
Thou hardened our heart, so as not to fear Thy name?” uttered by
those who are begging to receive mercy, is in its nature as
follows: “Why hast Thou spared us so long, not visiting us
because of our sins, but deserting us, until our transgressions come to
a height?” Now He leaves the greater part of men
unpunished, both in order that the habits of each one may be examined,
so far as it depends upon ourselves, and that the virtuous may be made
manifest in consequence of the test applied; while the others, not
escaping notice from God—for He knows all things before they
exist—but from the rational creation and themselves, may
afterwards obtain the means of cure, seeing they would not have known
the benefit had they not condemned themselves. It is of
advantage to each one, that he perceive his own peculiar
nature2442
and the grace of
God. For he who does not perceive his own weakness and the divine
favour, although he receive a benefit, yet, not having made trial of
himself, nor having condemned himself, will imagine that the benefit
conferred upon him by the grace of Heaven is his own doing. And
this imagination, producing also vanity,2443
will be the cause of a downfall: which, we conceive, was the case
with the devil, who attributed to himself the priority which he
possessed when in a state of sinlessness.2444
“For every one that exalteth
himself shall be abased,” and “every one that humbleth
himself shall be exalted.”2445
And
observe, that for this reason divine things have been concealed from
the wise and prudent, in order, as says the apostle, that “no
flesh should glory in the presence of God;”2446
and they have been revealed to babes, to
those who after childhood have come to better things, and who remember
that it is not so much from their own effort, as by the unspeakable
goodness (of God), that they have reached the greatest possible extent
of blessedness.
13. It is not without reason, then, that he
who is abandoned, is abandoned to the divine judgment, and that God is
long-suffering with certain sinners; but because it will be for their
advantage, with respect to the immortality of the soul and the unending
world,2447
that they be not
quickly brought2448
into a state of
salvation, but be conducted to it more slowly, after having experienced
many evils. For
as physicians, who are able to cure a man quickly, when they suspect
that a hidden poison exists in the body, do the reverse of healing,
making this more certain through their very desire to heal, deeming it
better for a considerable time to retain the patient under inflammation
and sickness, in order that he may recover his health more surely, than
to appear to produce a rapid recovery, and afterwards to cause a
relapse, and (thus) that hasty cure last only for a time; in the same
way, God also, who knows the secret things of the heart, and foresees
future events, in His long-suffering, permits (certain events to
occur), and by means of those things which happen from without extracts
the secret evil, in order to cleanse him who through carelessness has
received the seeds of sin, that having vomited them forth when they
came to the surface, although he may have been deeply involved in
evils, he may afterwards obtain healing after his wickedness, and be
renewed.2449
For God
governs souls not with reference, let me say, to the fifty2450
| 2450 πεντηκονταετίαν.
Rufinus has “sexaginta annos.” | years of the present life, but with
reference to an illimitable2451
age: for He
made the thinking principle immortal in its nature, and kindred to
Himself; and the rational soul is not, as in this life, excluded from
cure.
14. Come now, and let us use the following
image2452
from the Gospel. There is a certain
rock, with a little surface-soil, on which, if seeds fall, they quickly
spring up; but when sprung up, as not having root, they are burned and
withered when the sun has arisen. Now this rock is a human soul,
hardened on account of its negligence, and converted to stone because
of its wickedness; for no one receives from God a heart created of
stone, but it becomes such in consequence of wickedness. If one,
then, were to find fault with the husbandman for not sowing his seed
sooner upon the rocky soil, when he saw other rocky ground which had received
seed flourishing, the husbandman would reply, “I shall sow this
ground more slowly, casting in seeds that will be able to retain their
hold, this slower method being better for the ground, and more secure
than that which receives the seed in a more rapid manner, and more upon
the surface.” (The person finding fault) would yield his
assent to the husbandman, as one who spoke with sound reason, and who
acted with skill: so also the great Husbandman of all nature
postpones that benefit which might be deemed premature,2453
that it may not prove superficial. But
it is probable that here some one may object to us with reference to
this: “Why do some of the seeds fall upon the earth that
has superficial soil, the soul being, as it were, a rock?”
Now we must say, in answer to this, that it was better for this soul,
which desired better things precipitately,2454
| 2454 προπετέστερον,
καὶ οὐχὶ ὁδῷ
ἐπ᾽ αὐτὰ
ὁδευσάσῃ. |
and not by a way which led to them, to obtain its desire, in order
that, condemning itself on this account, it may, after a long time,
endure to receive the husbandry which is according to nature. For
souls are, as one may say, innumerable; and their habits are
innumerable, and their movements, and their purposes, and their
assaults, and their efforts, of which there is only one admirable
administrator, who knows both the season, and the fitting helps, and
the avenues, and the ways, viz., the God and Father of all things, who
knows how He conducts even Pharaoh by so great events, and by drowning
in the sea, with which latter occurrence His superintendence of Pharaoh
does not cease. For he was not annihilated when drowned:
“For in the hand of God are both we and our words; all wisdom
also, and knowledge of workmanship.”2455
And such is a moderate defence with
regard to the statement that “Pharaoh’s heart was
hardened,” and that “God hath mercy upon whom He will have
mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.”
15. Let us look also at the declaration in
Ezekiel, which says, “I shall take away their stony hearts, and
will put in them hearts of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My
precepts.”2456
For if God,
when He wills, takes away the stony hearts, and implants hearts of
flesh, so that His precepts are obeyed and His commandments are
observed, it is not in our power to put away wickedness. For the
taking away of the stony hearts is nothing else than the taking away of
the wickedness, according to which one is hardened, from him from whom
God wills to take it; and the implanting of a heart of flesh, so that a
man may walk in the precepts of God and keep His commandments, what
else is it than to become somewhat yielding and unresistent to the
truth, and to be capable of practising virtues? And if God
promises to do this, and if, before He takes away the stony hearts, we
do not lay them aside, it is manifest that it does not depend upon
ourselves to put away wickedness; and if it is not we who do anything
towards the production within us of the heart of flesh, but if it is
God’s doing, it will not be our own act to live agreeably to
virtue, but altogether (the result of) divine grace. Such will be
the statements of him who, from the mere words (of Scripture),
annihilates free-will.2457
| 2457 ἀπὸ
τῶν ψιλῶν
ῥητῶν τὸ ἐφ᾽
ἡμῖν
ἀναιρῶν. | But we shall
answer, saying, that we ought to understand these passages thus:
That as a man, e.g., who happened to be ignorant and uneducated, on
perceiving his own defects, either in consequence of an exhortation
from his teacher, or in some other way, should spontaneously give
himself up to him whom he considers able to introduce2458
him to education and virtue; and, on his
yielding himself up, his instructor promises that he will take away his
ignorance, and implant instruction, not as if it contributed nothing to
his training, and to the avoiding of ignorance, that he brought himself
to be healed, but because the instructor promised to improve him who
desired improvement; so, in the same way, the Word of God promises to
take away wickedness, which it calls a stony heart, from those who come
to it, not if they are unwilling, but (only) if they submit themselves
to the Physician of the sick, as in the Gospels the sick are found coming to the Saviour, and
asking to obtain healing, and so are cured. And, let me say, the
recovery of sight by the blind is, so far as their request goes, the
act of those who believe that they are capable of being healed; but as
respects the restoration of sight, it is the work of our Saviour.
Thus, then, does the Word of God promise to implant knowledge in those
who come to it, by taking away the stony and hard heart, which is
wickedness, in order that one may walk in the divine commandments, and
keep the divine injunctions.
16. There was after this the passage from
the Gospel, where the Saviour said, that for this reason did He speak
to those without in parables, that “seeing they may not see, and
hearing they may not understand; lest they should be converted, and
their sins be forgiven them.”2459
Now, our
opponent will say, “If some persons are assuredly converted on
hearing words of greater clearness, so that they become worthy of the
remission of sins, and if it does not depend upon themselves to hear
these words of greater clearness, but upon him who teaches, and he for
this reason does not announce them to them more distinctly, lest they
should see and understand, it is not within the power of such to be
saved; and if so, we are not possessed of free-will as regards
salvation and destruction.” Effectual, indeed, would be the
reply to such arguments, were it not for the addition, “Lest they
should be converted, and their sins be forgiven
them,”—namely, that the Saviour did not wish those who were
not to become good and virtuous to understand the more mystical (parts
of His teaching), and for this reason spake to them in parables; but
now, on account of the words, “Lest they should be converted, and
their sins be forgiven them,” the defence is more
difficult. In the first place, then, we must notice the passage
in its bearing on the heretics, who hunt out those portions from the
Old Testament where is exhibited, as they themselves daringly assert,
the cruelty2460
of the Creator of
the world2461
in His purpose of avenging and punishing
the wicked,2462
| 2462 ἡ ἀμυντικὴ
καὶ
ἀνταποδοτικὴ
τῶν χειρόνων
προαίρεσις. | or by whatever
other name they wish to designate such a quality, so speaking only that
they may say that goodness does not exist in the Creator; and who do
not deal with the New Testament in a similar manner, nor in a spirit of
candour,2463
but pass by places
similar to those which they consider censurable in the Old
Testament. For manifestly, and according to the Gospel, is the
Saviour shown, as they assert, by His former words, not to speak
distinctly for this reason, that men might not be converted, and, being
converted, might become deserving of the remission of sins: which
statement of itself is nothing inferior2464
to
those passages from the Old Testament which are objected to. And
if they seek to defend the Gospel, we must ask them whether they are
not acting in a blameworthy manner in dealing differently with the same
questions; and, while not stumbling against the New Testament, but
seeking to defend it, they nevertheless bring a charge against the Old
regarding similar points, whereas they ought to offer a defence in the
same way of the passages from the New. And therefore we shall
force them, on account of the resemblances, to regard all as the
writings of one God. Come, then, and let us, to the best of our
ability, furnish an answer to the question submitted to us.
17. We asserted also, when investigating the
subject of Pharaoh, that sometimes a rapid cure is not for the
advantage of those who are healed, if, after being seized by
troublesome diseases, they should easily get rid of those by which they
had been entangled. For, despising the evil as one that is easy
of cure, and not being on their guard a second time against falling
into it, they will be involved in it (again). Wherefore, in the
case of such persons, the everlasting God, the Knower of secrets, who
knows all things before they exist, in conformity with His goodness,
delays sending them more rapid assistance, and, so to speak, in helping
them does not help, the latter course being to their advantage. It is probable, then, that
those “without,” of whom we are speaking, having been
foreseen by the Saviour, according to our supposition, as not (likely)
to prove steady in their conversion,2465
| 2465 ἑωραμένους
οὐ βεβαίους
ἔσεσθαι ἐν τῇ
ἐπιστροφῇ. | if they should
hear more clearly the words that were spoken, were (so) treated by the
Saviour as not to hear distinctly the deeper (things of His
teaching),2466
lest, after a rapid
conversion, and after being healed by obtaining remission of sins, they
should despise the wounds of their wickedness, as being slight and easy
of healing, and should again speedily relapse into them. And
perhaps also, suffering punishment for their former transgressions
against virtue, which they had committed when they had forsaken her,
they had not yet filled up the (full) time; in order that, being
abandoned by the divine superintendence, and being filled2467
| 2467 ἐπὶ
πλεῖον
ἐμφορηθέντας. | to a greater degree by their own evils which
they had sown, they may afterwards be called to a more stable
repentance; so as not to be quickly entangled again in those evils in
which they had formerly been involved when they treated with insolence
the requirements of virtue, and devoted themselves to worse
things. Those, then, who are said to be “without”
(manifestly by comparison with those “within”), not being
very far from those “within,” while those
“within” hear clearly, do themselves hear indistinctly,
because they are addressed in parables; but nevertheless they do
hear. Others, again, of those “without,” who are
called Tyrians, although it was foreknown that they would have repented
long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, had the Saviour come near
their borders, do not hear even those words which are heard by those
“without” (being, as is probable, very far inferior in
merit to those “without”2468
| 2468 ὡς
εἰκὸς
μᾶλλον πόρρω
ὄντες τῆς
ἀξίας τῶν
ἔξω. | ), in order
that at another season, after it has been more tolerable for them than
for those who did not receive the word (among whom he mentioned also
the Tyrians), they may, on hearing the word at a more appropriate time,
obtain a more lasting repentance. But observe whether, besides
our desire to investigate (the truth), we do not rather strive to maintain an
attitude of piety in everything regarding God and His Christ,2469
| 2469 εἰ μὴ μᾶλλον
ἡμεῖς πρὸς
τῷ
ἐξεταστικῷ
καὶ τὸ
εὐσεβὲς
πάντη
ἀγωνιζόμεθα
τηρεῖν περι
Θεοῦ, etc. | seeing we endeavour by every means to prove
that, in matters so great and so peculiar regarding the varied
providence of God, He takes an oversight of the immortal soul.
If, indeed, one were to inquire regarding those things that are
objected to, why those who saw wonders and who heard divine words are
not benefited, while the Tyrians would have repented if such had been
performed and spoken amongst them; and should ask, and say, Why did the
Saviour proclaim such to these persons, to their own hurt, that their
sin might be reckoned to them as heavier? we must say, in answer to
such an one, that He who understands the dispositions2470
of all those who find fault with His
providence—(alleging) that it is owing to it that they have not
believed, because it did not permit them to see what it enabled others
to behold, and did not arrange for them to hear those words by which
others, on hearing them, were benefited—wishing to prove that
their defence is not founded on reason, He grants those advantages
which those who blame His administration asked; in order that, after
obtaining them, they may notwithstanding be convicted of the greatest
impiety in not having even then yielded themselves to be benefited, and
may cease from such audacity; and having been made free in respect to
this very point, may learn that God occasionally, in conferring
benefits upon certain persons, delays and procrastinates, not
conferring the favour of seeing and hearing those things which, when
seen and heard, would render the sin of those who did not believe,
after acts so great and peculiar, heavier and more serious.
18. Let us look next at the passage:
“So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”2471
For they who find fault say: If
“it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God that showeth mercy,” salvation does not depend upon
ourselves, but upon the arrangement2472
made by Him
who has formed2473
us
such as we are, or on the
purpose2474
of Him who showeth
mercy when he pleases. Now we must ask these persons the
following questions: Whether to desire what is good is virtuous
or vicious; and whether the desire to run in order to reach the goal in
the pursuit of what is good be worthy of praise or censure? And
if they shall say that it is worthy of censure, they will return an
absurd answer;2475
since the saints
desire and run, and manifestly in so acting do nothing that is
blameworthy. But if they shall say that it is virtuous to desire
what is good, and to run after what is good, we shall ask them how a
perishing nature desires better things;2476
for it is like an evil tree producing good fruit, since it is a
virtuous act to desire better things. They will give (perhaps) a
third answer, that to desire and run after what is good is one of those
things that are indifferent,2477
and neither
beautiful2478
nor wicked.
Now to this we must say, that if to desire and to run after what is
good be a thing of indifference, then the opposite also is a thing of
indifference, viz., to desire what is evil, and to run after it.
But it is not a thing of indifference to desire what is evil, and to
run after it. And therefore also, to desire what is good, and to
run after it, is not a thing of indifference. Such, then, is the
defence which I think we can offer to the statement, that “it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy.”2479
Solomon says
in the book of Psalms (for the Song of Degrees2480
is
his, from which we shall quote the words): “Unless the Lord
build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord
keep the city, the watchman waketh in vain:”2481
not dissuading us from building, nor
teaching us not to keep watch in order to guard the city in our soul,
but showing that what is built without God, and does not receive a
guard from Him, is built in vain and watched to no purpose, because God
might reasonably be entitled the Lord of the building; and the Governor
of all things, the Ruler of the guard of the city. As, then, if
we were to say that such a building is not the work of the builder, but
of God, and that it
was not owing to the successful effort of the watcher, but of the God
who is over all, that such a city suffered no injury from its enemies,
we should not be wrong,2482
it being understood
that something also had been done by human means, but the benefit being
gratefully referred to God who brought it to pass; so, seeing that the
(mere) human desire is not sufficient to attain the end, and that the
running of those who are, as it were, athletes, does not enable them to
gain the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus—for
these things are accomplished with the assistance of God—it is
well said that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.” As if also it were
said with regard to husbandry what also is actually recorded:
“I planted, Apollos watered; and God gave the increase. So
then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth;
but God that giveth the increase.”2483
Now we could not piously assert that
the production of full crops was the work of the husbandman, or of him
that watered, but the work of God. So also our own perfection is
brought about, not as if we ourselves did nothing;2484
| 2484 ἡ ἡμετέρα
τελείωσις
οὐχὶ μηδὲν
ἡμῶν
πραξάντων
γίνεται. | for it is not completed2485
by us, but God produces the greater part of
it. And that this assertion may be more clearly believed, we
shall take an illustration from the art of navigation. For in
comparison with the effect of the winds,2486
and the mildness of the air,2487
and the light of
the stars, all co-operating in the preservation of the crew, what
proportion2488
could the art of
navigation be said to bear in the bringing of the ship into
harbour?—since even the sailors themselves, from piety, do not
venture to assert often that they had saved the ship, but refer all to
God; not as if they had done nothing, but because what had been done by
Providence was infinitely2489
| 2489 εἰς
ὑπερβολὴν
πολλαπλάσιον. | greater than what
had been effected by their art. And in the matter of our
salvation, what is done by God is infinitely greater than what is done
by ourselves; and therefore, I think, is it said that “it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy.” For if in the manner which they imagine we must
explain the statement,2490
that “it is
not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy,” the commandments are superfluous; and it is in
vain that Paul himself blames some for having fallen away, and approves
of others as having remained upright, and enacts laws for the
Churches: it is in vain also that we give ourselves up to desire
better things, and in vain also (to attempt) to run. But it is
not in vain that Paul gives such advice, censuring some and approving
of others; nor in vain that we give ourselves up to the desire of
better things, and to the chase after things that are
pre-eminent. They have accordingly not well explained the meaning
of the passage.2491
| 2491 ἐξειλήφασι
τὰ κατὰ τὸν
τόπον. |
19. Besides these, there is the passage,
“Both to will and to do are of God.”2492
And some assert that, if to will be of
God, and to do be of God, and if, whether we will evil or do evil,
these (movements) come to us from God, then, if so, we are not
possessed of free-will. But again, on the other hand, when we
will better things, and do things that are more excellent,2493
seeing that willing and doing are from God,
it is not we who have done the more excellent things, but we only
appeared (to perform them), while it was God that bestowed
them;2494
| 2494 ἡμεῖς μὲν
ἐδόξαμεν, ὁ
δὲ Θεὸς ταῦτα
ἐδωρήσατο. | so that even in this respect we do not
possess free-will. Now to this we have to answer, that the
language of the apostle does not assert that to will evil is of God, or
to will good is of Him (and similarly with respect to doing better and
worse); but that to will in a general2495
way, and to run in a general way, (are from Him). For as we have
from God (the property) of being living things and human beings, so
also have we that of willing generally, and, so to speak, of motion in
general. And as, possessing (the property) of life and of motion,
and of moving, e.g., these members, the hands or the feet, we could not
rightly say2496
that we had from
God this species of
motion,2497
whereby we moved to
strike, or destroy, or take away another’s goods, but that we had
received from Him simply the generic2498
| 2498 τὸ μὲν
γενικὸν, τὸ
κινεῖσθαι. | power of
motion, which we employed to better or worse purposes; so we have
obtained from God (the power) of acting, in respect of our being living
things, and (the power) to will from the Creator2499
while we employ the power of will, as well
as that of action, for the noblest objects, or the opposite.
20. Still the declaration of the apostle
will appear to drag us to the conclusion that we are not possessed of
freedom of will, in which, objecting against himself, he says,
“Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He
will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet
find fault? For who hath resisted His will? Nay but, O man,
who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed
say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not
the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour, and another unto dishonour?”2500
For it will be said: If the
potter of the same lump make some vessels to honour and others to
dishonour, and God thus form some men for salvation and others for
ruin, then salvation or ruin does not depend upon ourselves, nor are we
possessed of free-will. Now we must ask him who deals so with
these passages, whether it is possible to conceive of the apostle as
contradicting himself. I presume, however, that no one will
venture to say so. If, then, the apostle does not utter
contradictions, how can he, according to him who so understands him,
reasonably find fault, censuring the individual at Corinth who had
committed fornication, or those who had fallen away, and had not
repented of the licentiousness and impurity of which they had been
guilty? And how can he bless those whom he praises as having done
well, as he does the house of Onesiphorus in these words:
“The Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft
refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
but, when he was in Rome, he
sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant to
him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.”2501
It is not consistent for the same
apostle2502
| 2502 οὐ κατὰ τὸν
αὐτὸν δὴ
ἀπόστολόν
ἐστι. | to blame the sinner
as worthy of censure, and to praise him who had done well as deserving
of approval; and again, on the other hand, to say, as if nothing
depended on ourselves, that the cause was in the Creator2503
| 2503 παρὰ την
αιτίαν του
δημιουργοῦ. | why the one vessel was formed to honour, and
the other to dishonour. And how is this statement
correct:2504
“For we
must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad,”2505
since they who
have done evil have advanced to this pitch of wickedness2506
because they were created vessels unto
dishonour, while they that have lived virtuously have done good because
they were created from the beginning for this purpose, and became
vessels unto honour? And again, how does not the statement made
elsewhere conflict with the view which these persons draw from the
words which we have quoted (that it is the fault of the Creator that
one vessel is in honour and another in dishonour), viz., “that in
a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also
of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
If a man therefore purge himself, he shall be a vessel unto honour,
sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use, and prepared unto
every good work;”2507
for if he who
purges himself becomes a vessel unto honour, and he who allows himself
to remain unpurged2508
| 2508 ἀπερικάθαρτον
ἑαυτον
περιιδών. | becomes a vessel
unto dishonour, then, so far as these words are concerned, the Creator
is not at all to blame. For the Creator makes vessels of honour
and vessels of dishonour, not from the beginning according to His
foreknowledge,2509
since He does not
condemn or justify beforehand2510
| 2510 προκατακρίνει
ἢ
προδικαιοῖ. | according to it;
but (He makes) those into vessels of honour who purged themselves, and
those into vessels of dishonour who allowed themselves to remain unpurged: so
that it results from older causes2511
| 2511 ἐκ
πρεσβυτέρων
αἰτιῶν. | (which
operated) in the formation of the vessels unto honour and dishonour,
that one was created for the former condition, and another for the
latter. But if we once admit that there were certain older causes
(at work) in the forming of a vessel unto honour, and of one unto
dishonour, what absurdity is there in going back to the subject of the
soul, and (in supposing) that a more ancient cause for Jacob being
loved and for Esau being hated existed with respect to Jacob before his
assumption of a body, and with regard to Esau before he was conceived
in the womb of Rebecca?
21. And at the same time, it is clearly
shown that, as far as regards the underlying nature,2512
| 2512 ὁσον
ἐπὶ τῆ
ὑποκειμένῃ
φύσει. | as there is one (piece of) clay which is
under the hands of the potter, from which piece vessels are formed unto
honour and dishonour; so the one nature of every soul being in the
hands of God, and, so to speak, there being (only) one lump of
reasonable beings,2513
| 2513 ἑνὸς
φυραμάτος
τῶν λογικῶν
ὑποστάσεων. | certain causes of
more ancient date led to some being created vessels unto honour, and
others vessels unto dishonour. But if the language of the apostle
convey a censure when he says, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that
repliest against God?” it teaches us that he who has confidence
before God, and is faithful, and has lived virtuously, would not hear
the words, “Who art thou that repliest against God?”
Such an one, e.g., as Moses was, “For Moses spake, and God
answered him with a voice;”2514
and as God
answers Moses, so does a saint also answer God. But he who does
not possess this confidence, manifestly, either because he has lost it,
or because he investigates these matters not from a love of knowledge,
but from a desire to find fault,2515
and who
therefore says, “Why does He yet find fault? for who hath
resisted His will?” would merit the language of censure, which
says, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against
God?”
Now to those who introduce different natures, and who
make use of the declaration
of the apostle (to support their view), the following must be our
answer. If they maintain2516
that those who
perish and those who are saved are formed of one lump, and that the
Creator of those who are saved is the Creator also of them who are
lost, and if He is good who creates not only spiritual but also earthy
(natures) (for this follows from their view), it is nevertheless
possible that he who, in consequence of certain former acts of
righteousness,2517
| 2517 ἐκ
προτέρων
τινῶν
κατορθωμάτων. | had now been made a
vessel of honour, but who had not (afterwards) acted in a similar
manner, nor done things befitting a vessel of honour, was converted in
another world into a vessel of dishonour; as, on the other hand, it is
possible that he who, owing to causes more ancient than the present
life, was here a vessel of dishonour, may after reformation become in
the new creation “a vessel of honour, sanctified and meet for the
Master’s use, prepared unto every good work.” And
perhaps those who are now Israelites, not having lived worthily of
their descent, will be deprived of their rank, being changed, as it
were, from vessels of honour into those of dishonour; and many of the
present Egyptians and Idumeans who came near to Israel, when they shall
have borne fruit to a larger extent, shall enter into the Church of the
Lord, being no longer accounted Egyptians and Idumeans, but becoming
Israelites: so that, according to this view, it is owing to their
(varying) purposes that some advance from a worse to a better
condition, and others fall from better to worse; while others, again,
are preserved in a virtuous course, or ascend from good to better; and
others, on the contrary, remain in a course of evil, or from bad become
worse, as their wickedness flows on.
22. But
since the apostle in one place does not pretend that the becoming of a
vessel unto honour or dishonour depends upon God, but refers back the
whole to ourselves, saying, “If, then, a man purge himself, he
will be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, meet for the Master’s
use, and prepared unto every good work;” and elsewhere does not
even pretend that it is dependent upon ourselves, but appears to
attribute the whole to God, saying, “The potter hath power over
the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another
to dishonour;” and as his statements are not contradictory, we
must reconcile them, and extract one complete statement from
both. Neither does our own power,2518
apart from the knowledge2519
| 2519 ἐπιστήμη:
probably in the sense of πρόγνωσις. | of God, compel us
to make progress; nor does the knowledge of God (do so), unless we
ourselves also contribute something to the good result; nor does our
own power, apart from the knowledge of God, and the use of the power
that worthily belongs to us,2520
| 2520 τῆς
καταχρήσεως
τοῦ κατ᾽
ἀξίαν τοῦ
ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν.
“Nec sine usu liberi nostri arbitrii, quod peculiare nobis et
meriti nostri est” (Redepenning). | make a man become
(a vessel) unto honour or dishonour; nor does the will of God
alone2521
| 2521 οὔτε τοῦ
ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ
μόνον. | form a man to honour or to dishonour, unless
He hold our will to be a kind of matter that admits of
variation,2522
and that inclines
to a better or worse course of conduct. And these observations
are sufficient to have been made by us on the subject of
free-will.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
