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| On the World and the Movements of Rational Creatures, Whether Good or Bad; And on the Causes of Them.
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Chapter
IX.—On the World and the Movements of Rational Creatures, Whether
Good or Bad; And on the Causes of Them.
1. But let us now return to the order of our
proposed discussion, and behold the commencement of creation, so far as
the understanding can behold the beginning of the creation of
God. In that commencement,2224
| 2224 The original of this
passage is found in Justinian’s Epistle to Menas, Patriarch of
Constantinople, apud finem. “In that beginning which
is cognisable by the understanding, God, by His own will, caused to
exist as great a number of intelligent beings as was sufficient; for we
must say that the power of God is finite, and not, under pretence of
praising Him, take away His limitation. For if the divine power
be infinite, it must of necessity be unable to understand even itself,
since that which is naturally illimitable is incapable of being
comprehended. He made things therefore so great as to be able to
apprehend and keep them under His power, and control them by His
providence; so also He prepared matter of such a size (τοσαύτην
ὕλην) as He had the power to
ornament.” | then, we are
to suppose that God created so great a number of rational or
intellectual creatures (or by whatever name they are to be called),
which we have formerly termed understandings, as He foresaw would be
sufficient. It is certain that He made them according to some
definite number, predetermined by Himself: for it is not to be
imagined, as some would have it, that creatures have not a limit,
because where there is no limit there can neither be any comprehension
nor any limitation. Now if this were the case, then certainly
created things could neither be restrained nor administered by
God. For, naturally, whatever is infinite will also be
incomprehensible. Moreover, as Scripture says, “God has
arranged all things in number and measure;”2225
| 2225 Wisdom xi. 20: “Thou hast ordered all
things in measure, and number, and weight.” | and therefore number will be correctly
applied to rational creatures or understandings, that they may be so
numerous as to admit of being arranged, governed, and controlled by
God. But measure will be appropriately applied to a material
body; and this measure, we are to believe, was created by God such as
He knew would be sufficient for the adorning of the world. These,
then, are the things
which we are to believe were created by God in the beginning, i.e.,
before all things. And this, we think, is indicated even in that
beginning which Moses has introduced in terms somewhat ambiguous, when
he says, “In the beginning God made the heaven and the
earth.”2226
For it is
certain that the firmament is not spoken of, nor the dry land, but that
heaven and earth from which this present heaven and earth which we now
see afterwards borrowed their names.
2. But since those rational natures, which we have
said above were made in the beginning, were created when they did not
previously exist, in consequence of this very fact of their
nonexistence and commencement of being, are they necessarily changeable
and mutable; since whatever power was in their substance was not in it
by nature, but was the result of the goodness of their Maker.
What they are, therefore, is neither their own nor endures for ever,
but is bestowed by God. For it did not always exist; and
everything which is a gift may also be taken away, and disappear.
And a reason for removal will consist in the movements of souls not
being conducted according to right and propriety. For the Creator
gave, as an indulgence to the understandings created by Him, the power
of free and voluntary action, by which the good that was in them might
become their own, being preserved by the exertion of their own will;
but slothfulness, and a dislike of labour in preserving what is good,
and an aversion to and a neglect of better things, furnished the
beginning of a departure from goodness. But to depart from good
is nothing else than to be made bad. For it is certain that to
want goodness is to be wicked. Whence it happens that, in
proportion as one falls away from goodness, in the same proportion does
he become involved in wickedness. In which condition, according
to its actions, each understanding, neglecting goodness either to a
greater or more limited extent, was dragged into the opposite of good,
which undoubtedly is evil. From which it appears that the Creator
of all things admitted certain seeds and causes of variety and
diversity, that He might create variety and diversity in proportion to
the diversity of understandings, i.e., of rational creatures, which
diversity they must be supposed to have conceived from that cause which
we have mentioned above. And what we mean by variety and
diversity is what we now wish to explain.
3. Now we term world everything which is
above the heavens, or in the heavens, or upon the earth, or in those
places which are called the lower regions, or all places whatever that
anywhere exist, together with their inhabitants. This whole,
then, is called world. In which world certain beings are said to
be super-celestial, i.e., placed in happier abodes, and clothed with
heavenly and resplendent bodies; and among these many distinctions are
shown to exist, the apostle, e.g., saying, “That one is the glory
of the sun, another the glory of the moon, another the glory of the
stars; for one star differeth from another star in
glory.”2227
Certain
beings are called earthly, and among them, i.e., among men, there is no
small difference; for some of them are Barbarians, others Greeks; and
of the Barbarians some are savage and fierce, and others of a milder
disposition. And certain of them live under laws that have been
thoroughly approved; others, again, under laws of a more common or
severe kind;2228
| 2228 Vilioribus et
asperioribus. | while some, again,
possess customs of an inhuman and savage character, rather than
laws. And certain of them, from the hour of their birth, are
reduced to humiliation and subjection, and brought up as slaves, being
placed under the dominion either of masters, or princes, or
tyrants. Others, again, are brought up in a manner more consonant
with freedom and reason: some with sound bodies, some with bodies
diseased from their early years; some defective in vision, others in
hearing and speech; some born in that condition, others deprived of the
use of their senses immediately after birth, or at least undergoing
such misfortune on reaching manhood. And why should I repeat and
enumerate all the horrors of human misery, from which some have been
free, and in which others have been involved, when each one can weigh
and consider them for himself? There are also certain invisible
powers to which earthly things have been entrusted for administration;
and amongst them no small difference must be believed to exist, as is
also found to be the case among men. The Apostle Paul indeed
intimates that there are certain lower powers,2229
and that among them, in like manner, must undoubtedly be sought a
ground of diversity. Regarding dumb animals, and birds, and those
creatures which live in the waters, it seems superfluous to require;
since it is certain that these ought to be regarded not as of primary,
but of subordinate rank.
4. Seeing, then, that all things which have
been created are said to have been made through Christ, and in Christ,
as the Apostle Paul most clearly indicates, when he says, “For in
Him and by Him were all things created, whether things in heaven or
things on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or
powers, or principalities, or dominions; all things were created by
Him, and in Him;”2230
and as in
his Gospel John
indicates the same thing, saying, “In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: the same was in
the beginning with God: all things were made by Him; and without
Him was not anything made;”2231
and as in the
Psalm also it is written, “In wisdom hast Thou made them
all;”2232
—seeing, then,
Christ is, as it were, the Word and Wisdom, and so also the
Righteousness, it will undoubtedly follow that those things which were
created in the Word and Wisdom are said to be created also in that
righteousness which is Christ; that in created things there may appear
to be nothing unrighteous or accidental, but that all things may be
shown to be in conformity with the law of equity and
righteousness. How, then, so great a variety of things, and so
great a diversity, can be understood to be altogether just and
righteous, I am sure no human power or language can explain, unless as
prostrate suppliants we pray to the Word, and Wisdom, and Righteousness
Himself, who is the only-begotten Son of God, and who, pouring Himself
by His graces into our senses, may deign to illuminate what is dark, to
lay open what is concealed, and to reveal what is secret; if, indeed,
we should be found either to seek, or ask, or knock so worthily as to
deserve to receive when we ask, or to find when we seek, or to have it
opened to us when we knock. Not relying, then, on our own powers,
but on the help of that Wisdom which made all things, and of that
Righteousness which we believe to be in all His creatures, although we
are in the meantime unable to declare it, yet, trusting in His mercy,
we shall endeavour to examine and inquire how that great variety and
diversity in the world may appear to be consistent with all
righteousness and reason. I mean, of course, merely reason in
general; for it would be a mark of ignorance either to seek, or of
folly to give, a special reason for each individual case.
5. Now, when we say that this world was
established in the variety in which we have above explained that it was
created by God, and when we say that this God is good, and righteous,
and most just, there are numerous individuals, especially those who,
coming from the school of Marcion, and Valentinus, and Basilides, have
heard that there are souls of different natures, who object to us, that
it cannot consist with the justice of God in creating the world to
assign to some of His creatures an abode in the heavens, and not only
to give such a better habitation, but also to grant them a higher and
more honourable position; to favour others with the grant of
principalities; to bestow powers upon some, dominions on others; to
confer upon some the most honourable seats in the celestial tribunals;
to enable some to shine with more resplendent glory, and to glitter
with a starry splendour; to give to some the glory of the sun, to
others the glory of the moon, to others the glory of the stars; to
cause one star to differ from another star in glory. And, to
speak once for all, and briefly, if the Creator God wants neither the
will to undertake nor the power to complete a good and perfect work,
what reason can there be that, in the creation of rational natures,
i.e., of beings of whose existence He Himself is the cause, He should
make some of higher rank, and others of second, or third, or of many
lower and inferior degrees? In the next place, they object to us,
with regard to terrestrial beings, that a happier lot by birth is the
case with some rather than with others; as one man, e.g., is begotten
of Abraham, and born of the promise; another, too, of Isaac and
Rebekah, and who, while still in the womb, supplants his brother, and
is said to be loved by God before he is born. Nay, this very
circumstance,—especially that one man is born among the Hebrews,
with whom he finds instruction in the divine law; another among the
Greeks, themselves also wise, and men of no small learning; and then
another amongst the Ethiopians, who are accustomed to feed on human
flesh; or amongst the Scythians, with whom parricide is an act
sanctioned by law; or amongst the people of Taurus, where strangers are
offered in sacrifice,—is a ground of strong objection.
Their argument accordingly is this: If there be this great
diversity of circumstances, and this diverse and varying condition by
birth, in which the faculty of free-will has no scope (for no one
chooses for himself either where, or with whom, or in what condition he
is born); if, then, this is not caused by the difference in the nature
of souls, i.e., that a soul of an evil nature is destined for a wicked
nation, and a good soul for a righteous nation, what other conclusion
remains than that these things must be supposed to be regulated by
accident and chance? And if that be admitted, then it will be no
longer believed that the world was made by God, or administered by His
providence; and as a consequence, a judgment of God upon the deeds of
each individual will appear a thing not to be looked for. In
which matter, indeed, what is clearly the truth of things is the
privilege of Him alone to know who searches all things, even the deep
things of God.
6. We, however, although but men, not to nourish
the insolence of the heretics by our silence, will return to their
objections such answers as occur to us, so far as our abilities enable
us. We have frequently shown, by those declarations which we were
able to produce from the holy Scriptures, that God, the Creator of all
things, is good, and just, and
all-powerful. When He in the beginning created those beings which
He desired to create, i.e., rational natures, He had no other reason
for creating them than on account of Himself, i.e., His own
goodness. As He Himself, then, was the cause of the existence of
those things which were to be created, in whom there was neither any
variation nor change, nor want of power, He created all whom He made
equal and alike, because there was in Himself no reason for producing
variety and diversity. But since those rational creatures
themselves, as we have frequently shown, and will yet show in the
proper place, were endowed with the power of free-will, this freedom of
will incited each one either to progress by imitation of God, or
reduced him to failure through negligence. And this, as we have
already stated, is the cause of the diversity among rational creatures,
deriving its origin not from the will or judgment of the Creator, but
from the freedom of the individual will. Now God, who deemed it
just to arrange His creatures according to their merit, brought down
these different understandings into the harmony of one world, that He
might adorn, as it were, one dwelling, in which there ought to be not
only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay (and some
indeed to honour, and others to dishonour), with those different
vessels, or souls, or understandings. And these are the causes,
in my opinion, why that world presents the aspect of diversity, while
Divine Providence continues to regulate each individual according to
the variety of his movements, or of his feelings and purpose. On
which account the Creator will neither appear to be unjust in
distributing (for the causes already mentioned) to every one according
to his merits; nor will the happiness or unhappiness of each
one’s birth, or whatever be the condition that falls to his lot,
be deemed accidental; nor will different creators, or souls of
different natures, be believed to exist.
7. But even holy Scripture does not appear
to me to be altogether silent on the nature of this secret, as when the
Apostle Paul, in discussing the case of Jacob and Esau, says:
“For the children being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of works, but of Him who calleth, it was said, The elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated.”2233
And after
that, he answers himself, and says, “What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with God?” And that he
might furnish us with an opportunity of inquiring into these matters,
and of ascertaining how these things do not happen without a reason, he
answers himself, and says, “God forbid.”2234
| 2234 The text runs,
“Respondet sibi ipse, et ait,” on which Ruæus remarks
that the sentence is incomplete, and that “absit” probably
should be supplied. This conjecture has been adopted in the
translation. | For the same question, as it seems to
me, which is raised concerning Jacob and Esau, may be raised regarding
all celestial and terrestrial creatures, and even those of the lower
world as well. And in like manner it seems to me, that as he
there says, “The children being not yet born, neither having done
any good or evil,” so it might also be said of all other things,
“When they were not yet” created, “neither had yet
done any good or evil, that the decree of God according to election may
stand,” that (as certain think) some things on the one hand were
created heavenly, some on the other earthly, and others, again, beneath
the earth, “not of works” (as they think), “but of
Him who calleth,” what shall we say then, if these things are
so? “Is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid.” As, therefore, when the Scriptures are carefully
examined regarding Jacob and Esau, it is not found to be
unrighteousness with God that it should be said, before they were born,
or had done anything in this life, “the elder shall serve the
younger;” and as it is found not to be unrighteousness that even
in the womb Jacob supplanted his brother, if we feel that he was
worthily beloved by God, according to the deserts of his previous life,
so as to deserve to be preferred before his brother; so also is it with
regard to heavenly creatures, if we notice that diversity was not the
original condition of the creature, but that, owing to causes that have
previously existed, a different office is prepared by the Creator for
each one in proportion to the degree of his merit, on this ground,
indeed, that each one, in respect of having been created by God an
understanding, or a rational spirit, has, according to the movements of
his mind and the feelings of his soul, gained for himself a greater or
less amount of merit, and has become either an object of love to God,
or else one of dislike to Him; while, nevertheless, some of those who
are possessed of greater merit are ordained to suffer with others for
the adorning of the state of the world, and for the discharge of duty
to creatures of a lower grade, in order that by this means they
themselves may be participators in the endurance of the Creator,
according to the words of the apostle: “For the creature
was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who
hath subjected the same in hope.”2235
Keeping in view, then, the sentiment
expressed by the apostle, when, speaking of the birth of Esau and
Jacob, he says, “Is there unrighteousness with God? God
forbid,” I think it right that this same sentiment should be
carefully applied to the case of all other creatures, because, as we formerly remarked,
the righteousness of the Creator ought to appear in everything.
And this, it appears to me, will be seen more clearly at last, if each
one, whether of celestial or terrestrial or infernal beings, be said to
have the causes of his diversity in himself, and antecedent to his
bodily birth. For all things were created by the Word of God, and
by His Wisdom, and were set in order by His Justice. And by the
grace of His compassion He provides for all men, and encourages all to
the use of whatever remedies may lead to their cure, and incites them
to salvation.
8. As, then, there is no doubt that at the
day of judgment the good will be separated from the bad, and the just
from the unjust, and all by the sentence of God will be distributed
according to their deserts throughout those places of which they are
worthy, so I am of opinion some such state of things was formerly the
case, as, God willing, we shall show in what follows. For God
must be believed to do and order all things and at all times according
to His judgment. For the words which the apostle uses when he
says, “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;”2236
and those which he
adds, saying, “If a man purge himself, he will be a vessel unto
honour, sanctified and meet for the Master’s use, unto every good
work,”2237
undoubtedly point
out this, that he who shall purge himself when he is in this life, will
be prepared for every good work in that which is to come; while he who
does not purge himself will be, according to the amount of his
impurity, a vessel unto dishonour, i.e., unworthy. It is
therefore possible to understand that there have been also formerly
rational vessels, whether purged or not, i.e., which either purged
themselves or did not do so, and that consequently every vessel,
according to the measure of its purity or impurity, received a place,
or region, or condition by birth, or an office to discharge, in this
world. All of which, down to the humblest, God providing for and
distinguishing by the power of His wisdom, arranges all things by His
controlling judgment, according to a most impartial retribution, so far
as each one ought to be assisted or cared for in conformity with his
deserts. In which certainly every principle of equity is shown,
while the inequality of circumstances preserves the justice of a
retribution according to merit. But the grounds of the merits in
each individual case are only recognised truly and clearly by God
Himself, along with His only-begotten Word, and His Wisdom, and the
Holy Spirit.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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