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| Chapter I. translated from the Latin of Rufinus: On the Freedom of the Will.
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Translated from Latin of Rufinus.
Chapter I.—On the Freedom of the
Will.2275
| 2275 The whole of
this chapter has been preserved in the original Greek, which is
literally translated in corresponding portions on each page, so
that the differences between Origen’s own words and
amplifications and alterations of the paraphrase of Rufinus may be at
once patent to the reader. |
1. Some such opinions, we believe, ought to
be entertained regarding the divine promises, when we direct our
understanding to the contemplation of that eternal and infinite world,
and gaze on its ineffable joy and blessedness. But as the
preaching of the Church includes a belief in a future and just judgment
of God, which belief incites and persuades men to a good and virtuous
life, and to an avoidance of sin by all possible means; and as by this
it is undoubtedly indicated that it is within our own power to devote
ourselves either to a life that is worthy of praise, or to one that is
worthy of censure, I therefore deem it necessary to say a few words
regarding the freedom of the will, seeing that this topic has been
treated by very many writers in no mean style. And that we may
ascertain more easily what is the freedom of the will, let us inquire
into the nature of will and of desire.2276
| 2276 Natura ipsius arbitrii
voluntatisque. |
2. Of all things which move, some have the
cause of their motion within themselves, others receive it from
without: and all those things only are moved from without which
are without life, as stones, and pieces of wood, and whatever things
are of such a nature as to be held together by the constitution of
their matter alone, or of their bodily substance.2277
| 2277 Quæcunque
hujusmodi sunt, quæ solo habitu materiæ suæ vel corporum
constant. | That view must indeed be dismissed
which would regard the dissolution of bodies by corruption as motion,
for it has no bearing upon our present purpose. Others, again,
have the cause of motion in themselves, as animals, or trees, and all
things which are held together by natural life or soul; among which
some think ought to be classed the veins of metals. Fire, also,
is supposed to be the cause of its own motion, and perhaps also springs
of water. And of those things which have the causes of their
motion in themselves, some are said to be moved out of themselves,
others by themselves. And they so distinguish them, because those
things are moved out of themselves which are alive indeed, but have no
soul;2278
| 2278 Non tamen animantia
sunt. | whereas those things which have a soul are
moved by themselves, when a phantasy,2279
i.e., a desire or incitement, is presented to them, which excites them
to move towards something. Finally, in certain things endowed
with a soul, there is such a phantasy, i.e., a will or
feeling,2280
| 2280 Voluntas vel
sensus. | as by a kind of
natural instinct calls them forth, and arouses them to orderly and
regular motion; as we see to be the case with spiders, which are
stirred up in a most orderly
manner by a phantasy, i.e., a sort of wish and desire for weaving, to
undertake the production of a web, some natural movement undoubtedly
calling forth the effort to work of this kind. Nor is this very
insect found to possess any other feeling than the natural desire of
weaving; as in like manner bees also exhibit a desire to form
honeycombs, and to collect, as they say, aerial honey.2281
| 2281 Mella, ut aiunt, aeria
congregandi. Rufinus seems to have read, in the original,
ἀεροπλαστεῖν
instead of κηροπλαστεῖν,—an
evidence that he followed in general the worst readings
(Redepenning). |
3. But since a rational animal not only has
within itself these natural movements, but has moreover, to a greater
extent than other animals, the power of reason, by which it can judge
and determine regarding natural movements, and disapprove and reject
some, while approving and adopting others, so by the judgment of this
reason may the movements of men be governed and directed towards a
commendable life. And from this it follows that, since the nature
of this reason which is in man has within itself the power of
distinguishing between good and evil, and while distinguishing
possesses the faculty of selecting what it has approved, it may justly
be deemed worthy of praise in choosing what is good, and deserving of
censure in following that which is base or wicked. This indeed
must by no means escape our notice, that in some dumb animals there is
found a more regular movement2282
| 2282 Ordinatior quidem
motus. | than in others, as
in hunting-dogs or war-horses, so that they may appear to some to be
moved by a kind of rational sense. But we must believe this to be
the result not so much of reason as of some natural instinct,2283
| 2283 Incentivo quodam et
naturali motu. | largely bestowed for purposes of that
kind. Now, as we had begun to remark, seeing that such is the
nature of a rational animal, some things may happen to us human beings
from without; and these, coming in contact with our sense of sight, or
hearing, or any other of our senses, may incite and arouse us to good
movements, or the contrary; and seeing they come to us from an external
source, it is not within our own power to prevent their coming.
But to determine and approve what use we ought to make of those things
which thus happen, is the duty of no other than of that reason within
us, i.e., of our own judgment; by the decision of which reason we use
the incitement, which comes to us from without for that purpose, which
reason approves, our natural movements being determined by its
authority either to good actions or the reverse.
4. If any one now were to say that those things
which happen to us from an external cause, and call forth our
movements, are of such a nature that it is impossible to resist them,
whether they incite us to good or evil, let the holder of this opinion
turn his attention for a little upon himself, and carefully inspect the
movements of his own mind,
unless he has discovered already, that when an enticement to any desire
arises, nothing is accomplished until the assent of the soul is gained,
and the authority of the mind has granted indulgence to the wicked
suggestion; so that a claim might seem to be made by two parties on
certain probable grounds as to a judge residing within the tribunals of
our heart, in order that, after the statement of reasons, the decree of
execution may proceed from the judgment of reason.2284
| 2284 Ita ut etiam
verisimilibus quibusdam causis intra cordis nostri tribunalia velut
judici residenti ex utrâque parte adhiberi videatur assertio, ut
causis prius expositis gerendi sententia de rationis judicio
proferatur. | For, to take an illustration:
if, to a man who has determined to live continently and chastely, and
to keep himself free from all pollution with women, a woman should
happen to present herself, inciting and alluring him to act contrary to
his purpose, that woman is not a complete and absolute cause or
necessity of his transgressing,2285
| 2285 Causa ei perfecta et
absoluta vel necessitas prævaricandi. | since it is in
his power, by remembering his resolution, to bridle the incitements to
lust, and by the stern admonitions of virtue to restrain the pleasure
of the allurement that solicits him; so that, all feeling of indulgence
being driven away, his determination may remain firm and
enduring. Finally, if to any men of learning, strengthened by
divine training, allurements of that kind present themselves,
remembering forthwith what they are, and calling to mind what has long
been the subject of their meditation and instruction, and fortifying
themselves by the support of a holier doctrine, they reject and repel
all incitement to pleasure, and drive away opposing lusts by the
interposition of the reason implanted within them.
5. Seeing, then, that these positions are
thus established by a sort of natural evidence, is it not superfluous
to throw back the causes of our actions on those things which happen to
us from without, and thus transfer the blame from ourselves, on whom it
wholly lies? For this is to say that we are like pieces of wood,
or stones, which have no motion in themselves, but receive the causes
of their motion from without. Now such an assertion is neither
true nor becoming, and is invented only that the freedom of the will
may be denied; unless, indeed, we are to suppose that the freedom of
the will consists in this, that nothing which happens to us from
without can incite us to good or evil. And if any one were to
refer the causes of our faults to the natural disorder2286
| 2286 Naturalem corporis
intemperiem; ψιλην
την
κατασκευήν. | of the body, such a theory is proved to be
contrary to the reason of all teaching.2287
| 2287 Contra rationem totius
eruditionis. In the Greek, “contra rationem” is
expressed by παρὰ
τὸ ἐναργές
ἐστι: and the words λόγου
παιδευτικοῦ
(rendered by Rufinus “totius eruditionis,” and connected
with “contra rationem”) belong to the following clause. | For, as we see in very many
individuals, that after living unchastely and intemperately, and after
being the captives of luxury and lust, if they should happen to be
aroused by the word of teaching and instruction to enter upon a better
course of life, there takes place so great a change, that from being
luxurious and wicked men, they are converted into those who are sober,
and most chaste and gentle; so, again, we see in the case of those who
are quiet and honest, that after associating with restless and
shameless individuals, their good morals are corrupted by evil
conversation, and they become like those whose wickedness is
complete.2288
| 2288 Quibus nihil ad
turpitudinem deest. | And this is
the case sometimes with men of mature age, so that such have lived more
chastely in youth than when more advanced years have enabled them to
indulge in a freer mode of life. The result of our reasoning,
therefore, is to show that those things which happen to us from without
are not in our own power; but that to make a good or bad use of those
things which do so happen, by help of that reason which is within us,
and which distinguishes and determines how these things ought to be
used, is within our power.
6. And now, to confirm the deductions of
reason by the authority of Scripture—viz., that it is our own
doing whether we live rightly or not, and that we are not compelled,
either by those causes which come to us from without, or, as some
think, by the presence of fate—we adduce the testimony of the
prophet Micah, in these words: “If it has been announced to
thee, O man, what is good, or what the Lord requires of thee, except
that thou shouldst do justice, and love mercy, and be ready to walk
with the Lord thy God.”2289
Moses also
speaks as follows: “I have placed before thy face the way
of life and the way of death: choose what is good, and walk in
it.”2290
Isaiah,
moreover, makes this declaration: “If you are willing, and
hear me, ye shall eat the good of the land. But if you be
unwilling, and will not hear me, the sword shall consume you; for the
mouth of the Lord has spoken this.”2291
In the Psalm, too, it is
written: “If My people had heard Me, if Israel had walked
in My ways, I would have humbled her enemies to
nothing;”2292
by which he shows
that it was in the power of the people to hear, and to walk in the ways
of God. The Saviour also saying, “I say unto you, Resist
not evil;”2293
and, “Whoever
shall be angry with his brother, shall be in danger of the
judgment;”2294
and,
“Whosoever shall look upon a woman to lust after her, hath
already committed adultery with her in his heart;”2295
and in issuing certain other
commands,—conveys no other meaning than this, that it is in our
own power to observe what is commanded. And therefore we are
rightly rendered liable to condemnation if we transgress those
commandments which we are able to keep. And hence He Himself also
declares: “Every one who hears my words, and doeth
them, I will show to whom he
is like: he is like a wise man who built his house upon a
rock,” etc.2296
So also the
declaration: “Whoso heareth these things, and doeth them
not, is like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand,”
etc.2297
Even the words addressed to those who
are on His right hand, “Come unto Me, all ye blessed of My
Father,” etc.; “for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me to
eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink,”2298
manifestly show that it depended upon
themselves, that either these should be deserving of praise for doing
what was commanded and receiving what was promised, or those deserving
of censure who either heard or received the contrary, and to whom it
was said, “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.”
Let us observe also, that the Apostle Paul addresses us as having power
over our own will, and as possessing in ourselves the causes either of
our salvation or of our ruin: “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 judgment and of the revelation of the
just judgment of God, who will render to every one according to his
work: to those who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for
glory and immortality, eternal life;2299
| 2299 The words in the text
are: His qui secundum patientiam boni operis, gloria et
incorruptio, qui quærunt vitam eternam. | while to those
who are contentious, and believe not the truth, but who believe
iniquity, anger, indignation, tribulation, and distress, on every soul
of man that worketh evil, on the Jew first, and (afterwards) on the
Greek; but glory, and honour, and peace to every one that doeth good,
to the Jew first, and (afterwards) to the Greek.”2300
You will find also innumerable other
passages in holy Scripture, which manifestly show that we possess
freedom of will. Otherwise there would be a contrariety in
commandments being given us, by observing which we may be saved, or by
transgressing which we may be condemned, if the power of keeping them
were not implanted in us.
7. But, seeing there are found in the sacred
Scriptures themselves certain
expressions occurring in such a connection, that the opposite of this
may appear capable of being understood from them, let us bring them
forth before us, and, discussing them according to the rule of
piety,2301
| 2301 Secundum pietatis
regulam. | let us furnish an
explanation of them, in order that from those few passages which we now
expound, the solution of those others which resemble them, and by which
any power over the will seems to be excluded, may become clear.
Those expressions, accordingly, make an impression on very many, which
are used by God in speaking of Pharaoh, as when He frequently says,
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart.”2302
For if he is hardened by God, and
commits sin in consequence of being so hardened, the cause of his sin
is not himself. And if so, it will appear that Pharaoh does not
possess freedom of will; and it will be maintained, as a consequence,
that, agreeably to this illustration, neither do others who perish owe
the cause of their destruction to the freedom of their own will.
That expression, also, in Ezekiel, when he says, “I will take
away their stony hearts, and will give them hearts of flesh, that they
may walk in My precepts, and keep My ways,”2303
may impress some, inasmuch as it seems to be
a gift of God, either to walk in His ways or to keep His
precepts,2304
if He take away
that stony heart which is an obstacle to the keeping of His
commandments, and bestow and implant a better and more impressible
heart, which is called now2305
| 2305 The word
“now” is added, as the term “flesh” is
frequently used in the New Testament in a bad sense (Redepenning). | a heart of
flesh. Consider also the nature of the answer given in the Gospel
by our Lord and Saviour to those who inquired of Him why He spoke to
the multitude in parables. His words are: “That
seeing they may not see; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven
them.”2306
The words,
moreover, used by the Apostle Paul, that “it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy;”2307
in another passage
also, “that to will and to do are of God:”2308
and again, elsewhere, “Therefore
hath He mercy upon whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet find fault? For who
shall resist His will? O man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him who 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 to
dishonour?”2309
—these and
similar declarations seem to have no small influence in preventing very
many from believing that every one is to be considered as having
freedom over his own will, and in making it appear to be a consequence
of the will of God whether a man is either saved or lost.
8. Let
us begin, then, with those words which were spoken to Pharaoh, who is
said to have been hardened by God, in order that he might not let the
people go; and, along with his case, the language of the apostle also
will be considered, where he says, “Therefore He hath mercy on
whom He will, and whom He will He hardeneth.”2310
For it is on these passages chiefly
that the heretics rely, asserting that salvation is not in our own
power, but that souls are of such a nature as must by all means be
either lost or saved; and that in no way can a soul which is of an evil
nature become good, or one which is of a virtuous nature be made
bad. And hence they maintain that Pharaoh, too, being of a ruined
nature, was on that account hardened by God, who hardens those that are
of an earthly nature, but has compassion on those who are of a
spiritual nature. Let us see, then, what is the meaning of their
assertion; and let us, in the first place, request them to tell us
whether they maintain that the soul of Pharaoh was of an earthly
nature, such as they term lost. They will undoubtedly answer that
it was of an earthly nature. If so, then to believe God, or to
obey Him, when his nature opposed his so doing, was an
impossibility. And if this were his condition by nature, what
further need was there for his heart to be hardened, and this not once,
but several times, unless indeed because it was possible for him to
yield to persuasion? Nor could any one be said to be hardened by
another, save him who of himself was not obdurate. And if he were
not obdurate of himself, it follows that neither was he of an earthly
nature, but such an one as might give way when overpowered2311
by signs and wonders. But he was
necessary for God’s purpose, in order that, for the saving of the
multitude, He might manifest in him His power by his offering
resistance to numerous miracles, and struggling against the will of
God, and his heart being by this means said to be hardened. Such
are our answers, in the first place, to these persons; and by these
their assertion may be overturned, according to which they think that
Pharaoh was destroyed in consequence of his evil nature.2312
And with regard to the language of the
Apostle Paul, we must answer them in a similar way. For who are
they whom God hardens, according to your view? Those, namely,
whom you term of a ruined nature, and who, I am to suppose, would have done something else
had they not been hardened. If, indeed, they come to destruction
in consequence of being hardened, they no longer perish naturally, but
in virtue of what befalls them. Then, in the next place, upon
whom does God show mercy? On those, namely, who are to be
saved. And in what respect do those persons stand in need of a
second compassion, who are to be saved once by their nature, and so
come naturally to blessedness, except that it is shown even from their
case, that, because it was possible for them to perish, they therefore
obtain mercy, that so they may not perish, but come to salvation, and
possess the kingdom of the good. And let this be our answer to
those who devise and invent the fable2313
| 2313 Commentitias fabulas
introducunt. | of
good or bad natures, i.e., of earthly or spiritual souls, in
consequence of which, as they say, each one is either saved or
lost.
9. And now we must return an answer also to
those who would have the God of the law to be just only, and not also
good; and let us ask such in what manner they consider the heart of
Pharaoh to have been hardened by God—by what acts or by what
prospective arrangements.2314
| 2314 Quid faciente vel quid
prospiciente. | For we must
observe the conception of a God2315
| 2315 Prospectus et intuitus
Dei. Such is the rendering of ἔννοια by Rufinus. | who in our
opinion is both just and good, but according to them only just.
And let them show us how a God whom they also acknowledge to be just,
can with justice cause the heart of a man to be hardened, that, in
consequence of that very hardening, he may sin and be ruined. And
how shall the justice of God be defended, if He Himself is the cause of
the destruction of those whom, owing to their unbelief (through their
being hardened), He has afterwards condemned by the authority of a
judge? For why does He blame him, saying, “But since thou
wilt not let My people go, lo, I will smite all the first-born in
Egypt, even thy first-born,”2316
| 2316 Ex.
ix. 17, cf. xi. 5 and xii. 12. | and whatever
else was spoken through Moses by God to Pharaoh? For it behoves
every one who maintains the truth of what is recorded in Scripture, and
who desires to show that the God of the law and the prophets is just,
to render a reason for all these things, and to show how there is in
them nothing at all derogatory to the justice of God, since, although
they deny His goodness, they admit that He is a just judge, and creator
of the world. Different, however, is the method of our reply to
those who assert that the creator of this world is a malignant being,
i.e., a devil.
10. But
since we acknowledge the God who spoke by Moses to be not only just,
but also good, let us carefully inquire how it is in keeping with the
character of a just and good Deity to have hardened the heart of
Pharaoh. And let us see whether, following the example of the
Apostle Paul, we are able to solve the difficulty by help of some
parallel instances: if we can show, e.g., that by one and the
same act God has pity upon one individual, but hardens another; not
purposing or desiring that he who is hardened should be so, but
because, in the manifestation of His goodness and patience, the heart
of those who treat His kindness and forbearance with contempt and
insolence is hardened by the punishment of their crimes being delayed;
while those, on the other hand, who make His goodness and patience the
occasion of their repentance and reformation, obtain compassion.
To show more clearly, however, what we mean, let us take the
illustration employed by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, where he says, “For the earth, which drinketh in the
rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by
whom it is dressed, will receive blessing from God; but that which
beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose
end is to be burned.”2317
Now from
those words of Paul which we have quoted, it is clearly shown that by
one and the same act on the part of God—that, viz., by which He
sends rain upon the earth—one portion of the ground, when
carefully cultivated, brings forth good fruits; while another,
neglected and uncared for, produces thorns and thistles. And if
one, speaking as it were in the person of the rain,2318
were to say, “It is I, the rain, that
have made the good fruits, and it is I that have caused the thorns and
thistles to grow,” however hard2319
the statement might appear, it would nevertheless be true; for unless
the rain had fallen, neither fruits, nor thorns, nor thistles would
have sprung up, whereas by the coming of the rain the earth gave birth
to both. Now, although it is due to the beneficial action of the
rain that the earth has produced herbs of both kinds, it is not to the
rain that the diversity of the herbs is properly to be ascribed; but on
those will justly rest the blame for the bad seed, who, although they
might have turned up the ground by frequent ploughing, and have broken
the clods by repeated harrowing, and have extirpated all useless and
noxious weeds, and have cleared and prepared the fields for the coming
showers by all the labour and toil which cultivation demands, have
nevertheless neglected to do this, and who will accordingly reap briers
and thorns, the most appropriate fruit of their sloth. And the
consequence therefore is, that while the rain falls in kindness and
impartiality2320
| 2320 Bonitas et
æquitas imbrium. | equally upon the
whole earth, yet, by one and the same operation of the rain, that soil
which is cultivated yields with a blessing useful fruits to the
diligent and careful cultivators, while that which has become hardened
through the neglect of the husbandman brings forth only thorns and
thistles. Let us therefore view those signs and miracles which
were done by God, as the showers furnished by Him from above; and the
purpose and desires of men, as the cultivated and uncultivated soil,
which is of one and the same nature indeed, as is every soil compared
with another, but not in one and the same state of cultivation.
From which it follows that every one’s will,2321
if untrained, and fierce, and barbarous, is
either hardened by the miracles and wonders of God, growing more savage
and thorny than ever, or it becomes more pliant, and yields itself up
with the whole mind to obedience, if it be cleared from vice and
subjected to training.
11. But, to establish the point more
clearly, it will not be superfluous to employ another illustration, as
if, e.g., one were to say that it is the sun which hardens and
liquefies, although liquefying and hardening are things of an opposite
nature. Now it is not incorrect to say that the sun, by one and
the same power of its heat, melts wax indeed, but dries up and hardens
mud:2322
not that its power operates one way
upon mud, and in another way upon wax; but that the qualities of mud
and wax are different, although according to nature they are one
thing,2323
| 2323 Cum utique secundum
naturam unum sit. | both being from the
earth. In this way, then, one and the same working upon the part
of God, which was administered by Moses in signs and wonders, made
manifest the hardness of Pharaoh, which he had conceived in the
intensity of his wickedness2324
| 2324 Malitiæ suæ
intentione conceperat. | but exhibited the
obedience of those other Egyptians who were intermingled with the
Israelites, and who are recorded to have quitted Egypt at the same time
with the Hebrews. With respect to the statement that the heart of
Pharaoh was subdued by degrees, so that on one occasion he said,
“Go not far away; ye shall go a three days’ journey, but
leave your wives, and your children, and your cattle,”2325
and as regards any other statements,
according to which he appears to yield gradually to the signs and
wonders, what else is shown, save that the power of the signs and
miracles was making some impression on him, but not so much as it ought
to have done? For if the hardening were of such a nature as many
take it to be, he would not indeed have given way even in a few
instances. But I think there is no absurdity in explaining the
tropical or figurative2326
| 2326 Tropum vel figuram
sermonis. | nature of that
language employed in speaking of “hardening,” according to
common usage. For those masters who are remarkable for kindness
to their slaves, are frequently accustomed to say to the latter, when,
through much patience and indulgence on their part, they have become
insolent and worthless: “It is I that have made you what
you are; I have spoiled you; it is my endurance that has made you good
for nothing: I am to blame for your perverse and wicked habits,
because I do not have you immediately punished for every delinquency
according to your deserts.” For we must first attend to the
tropical or figurative meaning of the language, and so come to see the
force of the expression, and not find fault with the word, whose inner
meaning we do not ascertain. Finally, the Apostle Paul, evidently
treating of such, says to him who remained in his sins:
“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 on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God.”2327
Such are the
words of the apostle to him who is in his sins. Let us apply
these very expressions to Pharaoh, and see if they also are not spoken
of him with propriety, since, according to his hardness and impenitent
heart, he treasured and stored up for himself wrath on the day of
wrath, inasmuch as his hardness could never have been declared and
manifested, unless signs and wonders of such number and magnificence
had been performed.
12. But if the proofs which we have adduced
do not appear full enough, and the similitude of the apostle seem
wanting in applicability,2328
| 2328 Et apostolicæ
similitudinis parum munimenti habere adhus videtur assertio. | let us add the
voice of prophetic authority, and see what the prophets declare
regarding those who at first, indeed, leading a righteous life, have
deserved to receive numerous proofs of the goodness of God, but
afterwards, as being human beings, have fallen astray, with whom the
prophet, making himself also one, says: “Why, O
Lord, hast Thou made us to err from Thy way?
and hardened our heart, that we should not fear Thy name? Return,
for Thy servants’ sake, for the tribes of Thine inheritance, that
we also for a little may obtain some inheritance from Thy holy
hill.”2329
Jeremiah also
employs similar language: “O Lord, Thou hast deceived us,
and we were deceived; Thou hast held (us), and Thou hast
prevailed.”2330
The
expression, then, “Why, O Lord, hast Thou hardened our heart,
that we should not fear Thy name?” used by those who prayed for
mercy, is to be taken in a figurative, moral acceptation,2331
| 2331 Morali utique tropo
accipiendum. | as if one were to say, “Why hast Thou
spared us so long, and didst not requite us when we sinned, but didst
abandon us, that so our wickedness might increase, and our liberty of
sinning be extended when punishment ceased?” In like
manner, unless a horse continually feel the spur2332
of his rider, and have his mouth abraded by
a bit,2333
he becomes
hardened. And a boy also, unless constantly disciplined by
chastisement, will grow up to be an insolent youth, and one ready to
fall headlong into vice. God accordingly abandons and neglects
those whom He has judged undeserving of chastisement: “For
whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He
receiveth.”2334
From which we
are to suppose that those are to be received into the rank and
affection of sons, who have deserved to be scourged and chastened by
the Lord, in order that they also, through endurance of trials and
tribulations, may be able to say, “Who shall separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus? shall tribulation, or anguish, or
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?”2335
For by all these is each one’s
resolution manifested
and displayed, and the firmness of his perseverance made known, not so
much to God, who knows all things before they happen, as to the
rational and heavenly virtues,2336
| 2336 Rationabilibus
cœlestibusque virtutibus. | who have obtained a
part in the work of procuring human salvation, as being a sort of
assistants and ministers to God. Those, on the other hand, who do
not yet offer themselves to God with such constancy and affection, and
are not ready to come into His service, and to prepare their souls for
trial, are said to be abandoned by God, i.e., not to be instructed,
inasmuch as they are not prepared for instruction, their training or
care being undoubtedly postponed to a later time. These certainly
do not know what they will obtain from God, unless they first entertain
the desire of being benefited; and this finally will be the case, if a
man come first to a knowledge of himself, and feel what are his
defects, and understand from whom he either ought or can seek the
supply of his deficiencies. For he who does not know beforehand
of his weakness or his sickness, cannot seek a physician; or at least,
after recovering his health, that man will not be grateful to his
physician who did not first recognise the dangerous nature of his
ailment. And so, unless a man has first ascertained the defects
of his life, and the evil nature of his sins, and made this known by
confession from his own lips, he cannot be cleansed or acquitted, lest
he should be ignorant that what he possesses has been bestowed on him
by favour, but should consider as his own property what flows from the
divine liberality, which idea undoubtedly generates arrogance of mind
and pride, and finally becomes the cause of the individual’s
ruin. And this, we must believe, was the case with the devil, who
viewed as his own, and not as given him by God, the primacy2337
which he held at the time when he was
unstained;2338
and thus was
fulfilled in him the declaration, that “every one who exalteth
himself shall be abased.”2339
From
which it appears to me that the divine mysteries were concealed from
the wise and prudent, according to the statement of Scripture, that
“no flesh should glory before God,”2340
and revealed to children—to those, namely, who, after they have
become infants and little children, i.e., have returned to the humility
and simplicity of children, then make progress; and on arriving at
perfection, remember that they have obtained their state of happiness,
not by their own merits, but by the grace and compassion of
God.
13. It is therefore by the sentence of God
that he is abandoned who deserves to be so, while over some sinners God
exercises forbearance; not, however, without a definite principle of
action.2341
| 2341 Non tamen sine
certâ ratione. | Nay, the very
fact that He is long-suffering conduces to the advantage of those very
persons, since the soul over which He exercises this providential care
is immortal; and, as being immortal and everlasting, it is not,
although not immediately cared for, excluded from salvation, which is
postponed to a more convenient time. For perhaps it is expedient
for those who have been more deeply imbued with the poison of
wickedness to obtain this
salvation at a later period. For as medical men sometimes,
although they could quickly cover over the scars of wounds, keep back
and delay the cure for the present, in the expectation of a better and
more perfect recovery, knowing that it is more salutary to retard the
treatment in the cases of swellings caused by wounds, and to allow the
malignant humours to flow off for a while, rather than to hasten a
superficial cure, by shutting up in the veins the poison of a morbid
humour, which, excluded from its customary outlets, will undoubtedly
creep into the inner parts of the limbs, and penetrate to the very
vitals of the viscera, producing no longer mere disease in the body,
but causing destruction to life; so, in like manner, God also, who
knows the secret things of the heart, and foreknows the future, in much
forbearance allows certain events to happen, which, coming from without
upon men, cause to come forth into the light the passions and vices
which are concealed within, that by their means those may be cleansed
and cured who, through great negligence and carelessness, have admitted
within themselves the roots and seeds of sins, so that, when driven
outwards and brought to the surface, they may in a certain degree be
cast forth and dispersed.2342
| 2342 Digeri. The
rendering “dispersed” seems to agree best with the meaning
intended to be conveyed. | And thus,
although a man may appear to be afflicted with evils of a serious kind,
suffering convulsions in all his limbs, he may nevertheless, at some
future time, obtain relief and a cessation from his trouble; and, after
enduring his afflictions to satiety, may, after many sufferings, be
restored again to his (proper) condition. For God deals with
souls not merely with a view to the short space of our present life,
included within sixty years2343
| 2343 In the Greek the term
is πεντηκονταετίαν. | or more, but with
reference to a perpetual and never-ending period, exercising His
providential care over souls that are immortal, even as He Himself is
eternal and immortal. For He made the rational nature, which He
formed in His own image and likeness, incorruptible; and therefore the
soul, which is immortal, is not excluded by the shortness of the
present life from the divine remedies and cures.
14. But let us take from the Gospels also
the similitudes of those things which we have mentioned, in which is
described a certain rock, having on it a little superficial earth, on
which, when a seed falls, it is said quickly to spring up; but when
sprung up, it withers as the sun ascends in the heavens, and dies away,
because it did not cast its root deeply into the ground.2344
Now this rock undoubtedly represents
the human soul, hardened on account of its own negligence, and
converted into stone because of its wickedness. For God gave no
one a stony heart by a creative act; but each individual’s heart
is said to become stony through his own wickedness and
disobedience. As, therefore, if one were to blame a husbandman
for not casting his seed more quickly upon rocky ground, because seed
cast upon other rocky soil was seen to spring up speedily, the
husbandman would certainly say in reply: “I sow this soil
more slowly, for this reason, that it may retain the seed which it has
received; for it suits this ground to be sown somewhat slowly, lest
perhaps the crop, having sprouted too rapidly, and coming forth from
the mere surface of a shallow soil, should be unable to withstand the
rays of the sun.” Would not he who formerly found fault
acquiesce in the reasons and superior knowledge of the husbandman, and
approve as done on rational grounds what formerly appeared to him as
founded on no reason? And in the same way, God, the thoroughly
skilled husbandman of all His creation, undoubtedly conceals and delays
to another time those2345
things which we
think ought to have obtained health sooner, in order that not the
outside of things, rather than the inside, may be cured. But if
any one now were to object to us that certain seeds do even fall upon
rocky ground, i.e., on a hard and stony heart, we should answer that
even this does not happen without the arrangement of Divine Providence;
inasmuch as, but for this, it would not be known what condemnation was
incurred by rashness in hearing and indifference in
investigation,2346
| 2346 Persecrutationis
improbitas. | nor, certainly,
what benefit was derived from being trained in an orderly manner.
And hence it happens that the soul comes to know its defects, and to
cast the blame upon itself, and, consistently with this, to reserve and
submit itself to training, i.e., in order that it may see that its
faults must first be removed, and that then it must come to receive the
instruction of wisdom. As, therefore, souls are innumerable, so
also are their manners, and purposes, and movements, and appetencies,
and incitements different, the variety of which can by no means be
grasped by the human mind; and therefore to God alone must be left the
art, and the knowledge, and the power of an arrangement of this kind,
as He alone can know both the remedies for each individual soul, and
measure out the time of its cure. It is He alone then who, as we
said, recognises the ways of individual men, and determines by what way
He ought to lead Pharaoh, that through him His name might be named in
all the earth, having previously chastised him by many blows, and
finally drowning him in the sea. By this drowning, however, it is
not to be supposed that God’s providence as regards Pharaoh was
terminated; for we must not imagine, because he was drowned, that
therefore he had forthwith completely2347
perished: “for in the hand of God are both we and our
words; all wisdom, also, and knowledge of workmanship,”2348
as Scripture declares. But these
points we have discussed according to our ability, treating of that
chapter2349
of Scripture in
which it is said that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and agreeably
to the statement, “He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and
whom He will He hardeneth.”2350
15. Let us now look at those passages of
Ezekiel where he says, “I will take away from them their stony
heart, and I will put in them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in
My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances.2351
For if God, when He pleases, takes away a heart
of stone and bestows a heart of flesh, that His ordinances may be
observed and His commandments may be obeyed, it will then appear that
it is not in our power to put away wickedness. For the taking
away of a stony heart seems to be nothing else than the removal of the
wickedness by which one is hardened, from whomsoever God pleases to
remove it. Nor is the bestowal of a heart of flesh, that the
precepts of God may be observed and His commandments obeyed, any other
thing than a man becoming obedient, and no longer resisting the truth,
but performing works of virtue. If, then, God promises to do
this, and if, before He takes away the stony heart, we are unable to
remove it from ourselves, it follows that it is not in our power, but
in God’s only, to cast away wickedness. And again, if it is
not our doing to form within us a heart of flesh, but the work of God
alone, it will not be in our power to live virtuously, but it will in
everything appear to be a work of divine grace. Such are the
assertions of those who wish to prove from the authority of Holy
Scripture that nothing lies in our own power. Now to these we
answer, that these passages are not to be so understood, but in the
following manner. Take the case of one who was ignorant and
untaught, and who, feeling the disgrace of his ignorance, should,
driven either by an exhortation from some person, or incited by a
desire to emulate other wise men, hand himself over to one by whom he
is assured that he will be carefully trained and competently
instructed. If he, then, who had formerly hardened himself in
ignorance, yield himself, as we have said, with full purpose of mind to
a master, and promise to obey him in all things, the master, on seeing
clearly the resolute nature of his determination, will appropriately
promise to take away all ignorance, and to implant knowledge within his
mind; not that he undertakes to do this if the disciple refuse or
resist his efforts, but only on his offering and binding himself to
obedience in all things. So also the Word of God promises to
those who draw near to Him, that He will take away their stony heart,
not indeed from those who do not listen to His word, but from those who
receive the precepts of His teaching; as in the Gospels we find the
sick approaching the Saviour, asking to receive health, and thus at
last be cured. And in order that the blind might be healed and
regain their sight, their part consisted in making supplication to the
Saviour, and in believing that their cure could be effected by Him;
while His part, on the other hand, lay in restoring to them the power
of vision. And in this way also does the Word of God promise to
bestow instruction by taking away the stony heart, i.e., by the removal
of wickedness, that so men may be able to walk in the divine precepts,
and observe the commandments of the law.
16.
There is next brought before us that declaration uttered by the Saviour
in the Gospel: “That seeing they may see, and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest they should happen
to be converted, and their sins be forgiven them.”2352
On which our opponent will
remark: “If those who shall hear more distinctly are by all
means to be corrected and converted, and converted in such a manner as
to be worthy of receiving the remission of sins, and if it be not in
their own power to hear the word distinctly, but if it depend on the
Instructor to teach more openly and distinctly, while he declares that
he does not proclaim to them the word with clearness, lest they should
perhaps hear and understand, and be converted, and be saved, it will
follow, certainly, that their salvation is not dependent upon
themselves. And if this be so, then we have no free-will either
as regards salvation or destruction.” Now were it not for
the words that are added, “Lest perhaps they should be converted,
and their sins be forgiven them,” we might be more inclined to
return the answer, that the Saviour was unwilling that those
individuals whom He foresaw would not become good, should understand
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and that therefore He spoke to
them in parables; but as that addition follows, “Lest perhaps
they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven them,” the
explanation is rendered more difficult. And, in the first place,
we have to notice what defence this passage furnishes against those
heretics who are accustomed to hunt out of the Old Testament any
expressions which seem, according to their view, to predicate severity
and cruelty of God the Creator, as when He is described as being
affected with the feeling of vengeance or punishment, or by any of
those emotions, however named, from which they deny the existence of
goodness in the Creator; for they do not judge of the Gospels with the
same mind and feelings, and do not observe whether any such statements
are found in them as they condemn and censure in the Old
Testament. For manifestly, in the passage referred to, the
Saviour is shown, as they themselves admit, not to speak distinctly,
for this very reason, that men may not be converted, and
when converted, receive the
remission of sins. Now, if the words be understood according to
the letter merely, nothing less, certainly, will be contained in them
than in those passages which they find fault with in the Old
Testament. And if they are of opinion that any expressions
occurring in such a connection in the New Testament stand in need of
explanation, it will necessarily follow that those also occurring in
the Old Testament, which are the subject of censure, may be freed from
aspersion by an explanation of a similar kind, so that by such means
the passages found in both Testaments may be shown to proceed from one
and the same God. But let us return, as we best may, to the
question proposed.
17. We said formerly, when discussing the
case of Pharaoh, that sometimes it does not lead to good results for a
man to be cured too quickly, especially if the disease, being shut up
within the inner parts of the body, rage with greater fierceness.
Whence God, who is acquainted with secret things, and knows all things
before they happen, in His great goodness delays the cure of such, and
postpones their recovery to a remoter period, and, so to speak, cures
them by not curing them, lest a too favourable state of health2353
should render them incurable. It is
therefore possible that, in the case of those to whom, as being
“without,” the words of our Lord and Saviour were
addressed, He, seeing from His scrutiny of the hearts and reins that
they were not yet able to receive teaching of a clearer type, veiled by
the covering of language the meaning of the profounder mysteries, lest
perhaps, being rapidly converted and healed, i.e., having quickly
obtained the remission of their sins, they should again easily slide
back into the same disease which they had found could be healed without any
difficulty. For if this be the case, no one can doubt that the
punishment is doubled, and the amount of wickedness increased; since
not only are the sins which had appeared to be forgiven repeated, but
the court2354
of virtue also is
desecrated when trodden by deceitful and polluted beings,2355
filled within with hidden wickedness.
And what remedy can there ever be for those who, after eating the
impure and filthy food of wickedness, have tasted the pleasantness of
virtue, and received its sweetness into their mouths, and yet have
again betaken themselves to the deadly and poisonous provision of
sin? And who doubts that it is better for delay and a temporary
abandonment to occur, in order that if, at some future time, they
should happen to be satiated with wickedness, and the filth with which
they are now delighted should become loathsome, the word of God may at
last be appropriately made clear to them, and that which is holy be not
given to the dogs, nor pearls be cast before swine, which will trample
them under foot, and turn, moreover, and rend and assault those who
have proclaimed to them the word of God? These, then, are they
who are said to be “without,” undoubtedly by way of
contrast with those who are said to be “within,” and to
hear the word of God with greater clearness. And yet those who
are “without” do hear the word, although it is covered by
parables, and overshadowed by proverbs. There are others, also,
besides those who are without, who are called Tyrians, and who do not
hear at all, respecting whom the Saviour knew that they would have
repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, if the miracles
performed among others had been done amongst them, and yet these do not
hear those things which are heard even by those who are
“without:” and I believe, for this reason, that the
rank of such in wickedness was far lower and worse than that of those
who are said to be “without,” i.e., who are not far from
those who are within, and who have deserved to hear the word, although
in parables; and because, perhaps, their cure was delayed to that time
when it will be more tolerable for them on the day of judgment, than
for those before whom those miracles which are recorded were performed,
that so at last, being then relieved from the weight of their sins,
they may enter with more ease and power of endurance upon the way of
safety. And this is a point which I wish impressed upon those who
peruse these pages, that with respect to topics of such difficulty and
obscurity we use our utmost endeavour, not so much to ascertain clearly
the solutions of the questions (for every one will do this as the
Spirit gives him utterance), as to maintain the rule of faith in the
most unmistakeable manner,2356
| 2356 Evidentissimâ
assertione pietatis regulam teneamus. | by striving to show
that the providence of God, which equitably administers all things,
governs also immortal souls on the justest principles, (conferring
rewards) according to the merits and motives of each individual; the
present economy of things2357
not being confined
within the life of this world, but the pre-existing state of merit
always furnishing the ground for the state that is to follow,2358
| 2358 Futuri status causam
præstat semper anterior meritorum status. | and thus by an eternal and immutable law of
equity, and by the controlling influence of Divine Providence, the
immortal soul is brought to the summit of perfection. If one,
however, were to object to our statement, that the word of preaching
was purposely put aside by certain men of wicked and worthless
character, and (were to inquire) why the word was preached to those
over whom the Tyrians, who were certainly despised, are preferred in
comparison (by which proceeding, certainly, their wickedness was
increased, and their condemnation rendered more severe, that they
should hear the word who were not to believe it), they must be answered
in the following manner: God, who is the Creator of the minds of
all men, foreseeing complaints against His providence, especially on
the part of those who say, “How could we believe when we neither
beheld those things which others saw, nor heard those words which were
preached to others? in so far is the blame removed from us, since they
to whom the word was announced, and the signs manifested, made no delay
whatever, but became believers, overpowered by the very force of the
miracles;” wishing to destroy the grounds for complaints of this
kind, and to show that it was no concealment of Divine Providence, but
the determination of the human mind which was the cause of their ruin,
bestowed the grace of His benefits even upon the unworthy and the
unbelieving, that every mouth might indeed be shut, and that the mind
of man might know that all the deficiency was on its own part, and none
on that of God; and that it may, at the same time, be understood and
recognised that he receives a heavier sentence of condemnation who has
despised the divine benefits conferred upon him than he who has not
deserved to obtain or hear them, and that it is a peculiarity of divine
compassion, and a mark of the extreme justice of its administration,
that it sometimes conceals from certain individuals the opportunity of
either seeing or hearing the mysteries of divine power, lest, after
beholding the power of the miracles, and recognising and hearing the
mysteries of its wisdom, they should, on treating them with contempt
and indifference, be punished with greater severity for their
impiety.
18. Let us now look to the expression,
“It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of
God that showeth mercy.”2359
For our
opponents assert, that if it does not depend upon him that willeth, nor
on him that runneth, but on God that showeth mercy, that a man be
saved, our salvation is not in our own power. For our nature is
such as to admit of our either being saved or not, or else our
salvation rests solely on the will of Him who, if He wills it, shows
mercy, and confers salvation. Now let us inquire, in the first
place, of such persons, whether to desire blessings be a good or evil
act; and whether to hasten after good as a final aim2360
be worthy of praise. If they were to
answer that such a procedure was deserving of censure, they would
evidently be mad; for all holy men both desire blessings and run after
them, and certainly are not blameworthy. How, then, is it that he
who is not saved, if he be of an evil nature, desires blessing, and
runs after them, but does not find them? For they say that a bad
tree does not bring forth good fruits, whereas it is a good fruit to
desire blessings. And how is the fruit of a bad tree good?
And if they assert that to desire blessings, and to run after them, is
an act of indifference,2361
| 2361 Medium est velle
bona. | i.e., neither good
nor bad, we shall reply, that if it be an indifferent act to desire
blessings, and to run after them, then the opposite of that will also
be an indifferent act, viz., to desire evils, and to run after them;
whereas it is certain that it is not an indifferent act to desire
evils, and to run after them, but one that is manifestly wicked.
It is established, then, that to desire and follow after blessings is
not an indifferent, but a virtuous proceeding.
Having now repelled these objections by the answer
which we have given, let us hasten on to the discussion of the subject
itself, in which it is said, “It is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.”2362
In the book of Psalms—in the
Songs of Degrees, which are ascribed to Solomon—the following
statement occurs: “Except the Lord build the house, they
labour in vain that build it; except the Lord keep the city, the
watchman waketh but in vain.”2363
By which
words he does not indeed indicate that we should cease from building or
watching over the safe keeping of that city which is within us; but
what he points out is this, that whatever is built without God, and
whatever is guarded without him, is built in vain, and guarded to no
purpose. For in all things that are well built and well
protected, the Lord is held to be the cause either of the building or
of its protection. As if, e.g., we were to behold some
magnificent structure and mass of splendid building reared with
beauteous architectural skill, would we not justly and deservedly say
that such was built not by human power, but by divine help and
might? And yet from such a statement it will not be meant that
the labour and industry of human effort were inactive, and effected
nothing at all. Or again, if we were to see some city surrounded
by a severe blockade of the enemy, in which threatening engines were
brought against the walls, and the place hard pressed by a vallum, and
weapons, and fire, and all the instruments of war, by which destruction
is prepared, would we not rightly and deservedly say, if the enemy were
repelled and put to flight, that the deliverance had been wrought for
the liberated city by God? And yet we would not mean, by so
speaking, that either the vigilance of the sentinels, or the alertness
of the young men,2364
or the protection
of the guards, had been wanting. And the apostle also must be
understood in a similar manner, because the human will alone is not
sufficient to obtain salvation; nor is any mortal running able to
win the heavenly
(rewards), and to obtain the prize of our high calling2365
of God in Christ Jesus, unless this very
good will of ours, and ready purpose, and whatever that diligence
within us may be, be aided or furnished with divine help. And
therefore most logically2366
did the apostle
say, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but of God that showeth mercy;” in the same manner as if
we were to say of agriculture what is actually written: “I
planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then
neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God
that giveth the increase.”2367
As,
therefore, when a field has brought good and rich crops to perfect
maturity, no one would piously and logically assert that the husbandman
had made those fruits, but would acknowledge that they had been
produced by God; so also is our own perfection brought about, not
indeed by our remaining inactive and idle,2368
| 2368 “Nostra
perfectio non quidem nobis cessantibus et otiosis
efficitur.” There is an ellipsis of some such words as,
“but by activity on our part.” |
(but by some activity on our part): and yet the consummation of
it will not be ascribed to us, but to God, who is the first and chief
cause of the work. So, when a ship has overcome the dangers of
the sea, although the result be accomplished by great labour on the
part of the sailors, and by the aid of all the art of navigation, and
by the zeal and carefulness of the pilot, and by the favouring
influence of the breezes, and the careful observation of the signs of
the stars, no one in his sound senses would ascribe the safety of the
vessel, when, after being tossed by the waves, and wearied by the
billows, it has at last reached the harbour in safety, to anything else
than to the mercy of God. Not even the sailors or pilot venture
to say, “I have saved the ship,” but they refer all to the
mercy of God; not that they feel that they have contributed no skill or
labour to save the ship, but because they know that while they
contributed the labour, the safety of the vessel was ensured by
God. So also in the race of our life we ourselves must expend
labour, and bring diligence and zeal to bear; but it is from God that
salvation is to be hoped for as the fruit of our labour.
Otherwise, if God demand none of our labour, His commandments will
appear to be superfluous. In vain, also, does Paul blame some for
having fallen from the truth, and praise others for abiding in the
faith; and to no purpose does he deliver certain precepts and
institutions to the Churches: in vain, also, do we ourselves
either desire or run after what is good. But it is certain that
these things are not done in vain; and it is certain that neither do
the apostles give instructions in vain, nor the Lord enact laws without
a reason. It follows, therefore, that we declare it to be in
vain, rather, for the heretics to speak evil of these good
declarations.
19.
After this there followed this point, that “to will and to do are
of God.”2369
Our opponents
maintain that if to will be of God, and if to do be of Him, or if,
whether we act or desire well or ill, it be of God, then in that case
we are not possessed of free-will. Now to this we have to answer,
that the words of the apostle do not say that to will evil is of God,
or that to will good is of Him; nor that to do good or evil is of God;
but his statement is a general one, that to will and to do are of
God. For as we have from God this very quality, that we are
men,2370
| 2370 Hoc ipsum, quod
homines sumus. | that we breathe, that we move; so also we
have from God (the faculty) by which we will, as if we were to say that
our power of motion is from God,2371
| 2371 Sicut dicamus, quod
movemur, ex Deo est. | or that the
performing of these duties by the individual members, and their
movements, are from God. From which, certainly, I do not
understand this, that because the hand moves, e.g., to punish unjustly,
or to commit an act of theft, the act is of God, but only that the
power of motion2372
| 2372 Hoc ipsum, quod
movetur. | is from God; while
it is our duty to turn those movements, the power of executing which we
have from God, either to purposes of good or evil. And so what
the apostle says is, that we receive indeed the power of volition, but
that we misuse the will either to good or evil desires. In a
similar way, also, we must judge of results.
20. But
with respect to the declaration of the apostle, “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?”2373
Some one will perhaps say, that as the
potter out of the same lump makes some vessels to honour, and others to
dishonour, so God creates some men for perdition, and others for
salvation; and that it is not therefore in our own power either to be
saved or to perish; by which reasoning we appear not to be possessed of
free-will. We must answer those who are of this opinion with the
question, Whether it is possible for the apostle to contradict
himself? And if this cannot be imagined of an apostle, how shall
he appear, according to them, to be just in blaming those who committed
fornication in Corinth, or those who sinned, and did not repent of
their unchastity, and fornication, and uncleanness, which they had
committed? How, also, does he greatly praise those who acted
rightly, like the house of Onesiphorus, saying, “The Lord give
mercy to the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not
ashamed of my chain: but, when he had come to Rome, he sought me
out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that
he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.”2374
Now it is not consistent with
apostolic gravity to blame him who is worthy of blame, i.e., who has
sinned, and greatly to praise him who is deserving of praise for his
good works; and again, as if it were in no one’s power to do any
good or evil, to say that it was the Creator’s doing that every
one should act virtuously or wickedly, seeing He makes one vessel to
honour, and another to dishonour. And how can he add that
statement, “We must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ,
that every one of us may receive in his body, according to what he hath
done, whether it be good or bad?”2375
For what reward of good will be
conferred on him who could not commit evil, being formed by the Creator
to that very end? or what punishment will deservedly be inflicted on
him who was unable to do good in consequence of the creative act
of his Maker?2376
| 2376 Ex ipsâ
conditoris creatione. | Then, again, how is not this opposed
to that other declaration elsewhere, 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 from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified,
and meet for the Master’s use, prepared unto every good
work.”2377
He,
accordingly, who purges himself, is made a vessel unto honour, while he
who has disdained to cleanse himself from his impurity is made a vessel
unto dishonour. From such declarations, in my opinion, the cause
of our actions can in no degree be referred to the Creator. For
God the Creator makes a certain vessel unto honour, and other vessels
to dishonour; but that vessel which has cleansed itself from all
impurity He makes a vessel unto honour, while that which has stained
itself with the filth of vice He makes a vessel unto dishonour.
The conclusion from which, accordingly, is this, that the cause of each
one’s actions is a pre-existing one; and then every one,
according to his deserts, is made by God either a vessel unto honour or
dishonour. Therefore every individual vessel has furnished to its
Creator out of itself the causes and occasions of its being formed by
Him to be either a vessel unto honour or one unto dishonour. And
if the assertion appear correct, as it certainly is, and in harmony
with all piety, that it is due to previous causes that every vessel be
prepared by God either to honour or to dishonour, it does not appear
absurd that, in discussing remoter causes in the same order, and in the
same method, we should come to the same conclusion respecting the
nature of souls, and (believe) that this was the reason why Jacob was
beloved before he was born into this world, and Esau hated, while he
still was contained in the womb of his mother.
21. Nay,
that very declaration, that from the same lump a vessel is formed both
to honour and to dishonour, will not push us hard; for we assert that
the nature of all rational souls is the same, as one lump of clay is
described as being under the treatment of the potter. Seeing,
then, the nature of rational creatures is one, God, according to the
previous grounds of merit,2378
| 2378 Secundum
præcedentes meritorum causas. | created and formed
out of it, as the potter out of the one lump, some persons to honour
and others to dishonour. Now, as regards the language of the
apostle, which he utters as if in a tone of censure, “Nay but, O
man, who art thou that repliest against God?” he means, I think,
to point out that such a censure does not refer to any believer who
lives rightly and justly, and who has confidence in God, i.e., to such
an one as Moses was, of whom Scripture says that “Moses spake,
and God answered him by a voice;”2379
and as God answered Moses, so also does every saint answer God.
But he who is an unbeliever, and loses confidence in answering before
God owing to the unworthiness of his life and conversation, and who, in
relation to these matters, does not seek to learn and make progress,
but to oppose and resist, and who, to speak more plainly, is such an
one as to be able to say those words which the apostle indicates, when
he says, “Why, then, does He yet find fault? for who will resist
His will?”—to such an one may the censure of the apostle
rightly be directed, “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest
against God?” This censure accordingly applies not to
believers and saints, but to unbelievers and wicked men.
Now, to those who introduce souls of different
natures,2380
| 2380 Diversas animarum
naturas. | and who turn this
declaration of the apostle to the support of their own opinion, we have
to reply as follows: If even they are agreed as to what the
apostle says, that out of the one lump are formed both those who are
made to honour and those who are made to dishonour, whom they term of a
nature that is to be saved and destroyed, there will then be no longer
souls of different natures, but one nature for all. And if they
admit that one and the same potter may undoubtedly denote one Creator,
there will not be
different creators either of those who are saved, or of those who
perish. Now, truly, let them choose whether they will have a good
Creator to be intended who creates bad and ruined men, or one who is
not good, who creates good men and those who are prepared to
honour. For the necessity of returning an answer will extort from
them one of these two alternatives. But according to our
declaration, whereby we say that it is owing to preceding causes that
God makes vessels either to honour or to dishonour, the approval of
God’s justice is in no respect limited. For it is possible
that this vessel, which owing to previous causes was made in this world
to honour, may, if it behave negligently, be converted in another
world, according to the deserts of its conduct, into a vessel unto
dishonour: as again, if any one, owing to preceding causes, was
formed by his Creator in this life a vessel unto dishonour, and shall
mend his ways and cleanse himself from all filth and vice, he may, in
the new world, be made a vessel to honour, sanctified and useful, and
prepared unto every good work. Finally, those who were formed by
God in this world to be Israelites, and who have lived a life unworthy
of the nobility of their race, and have fallen away from the grandeur
of their descent, will, in the world to come, in a certain
degree2381
be converted, on
account of their unbelief, from vessels of honour into vessels of
dishonour; while, on the other hand, many who in this life were
reckoned among Egyptian or Idumean vessels, having adopted the faith
and practice of Israelites, when they shall have done the works of
Israelites, and shall have entered the Church of the Lord, will exist
as vessels of honour in the revelation of the sons of God. From
which it is more agreeable to the rule of piety to believe that every
rational being, according to his purpose and manner of life, is
converted, sometimes from bad to good, and falls away sometimes from
good to bad: that some abide in good, and others advance to a
better condition, and always ascend to higher things, until they reach
the highest grade of all; while others, again, remain in evil, or, if
the wickedness within them begin to spread itself further, they descend
to a worse condition, and sink into the lowest depth of
wickedness. Whence also we must suppose that it is possible there
may be some who began at first indeed with small offences, but who have
poured out wickedness to such a degree, and attained such proficiency
in evil, that in the measure of their wickedness they are equal even to
the opposing powers: and again, if, by means of many severe
administrations of punishment, they are able at some future time to
recover their senses, and gradually attempt to find healing for their
wounds, they may, on ceasing from their wickedness, be restored to a
state of goodness. Whence we are of opinion that, seeing the
soul, as we have frequently said, is immortal and eternal, it is
possible that, in the many and endless periods of duration in the
immeasurable and different worlds, it may descend from the highest good
to the lowest evil, or be restored from the lowest evil to the highest
good.
22. But
since the words of the apostle, in what he says regarding vessels of
honour or dishonour, that “if a man therefore purge himself, he
will be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the
Master’s service, and prepared unto every good work,”
appear to place nothing in the power of God, but all in ourselves;
while in those in which he declares that “the potter hath power
over the clay, to make of the same lump one vessel to honour, another
to dishonour,” he seems to refer the whole to God,—it is
not to be understood that those statements are contradictory, but the
two meanings are to be reduced to agreement, and one signification must
be drawn from both, viz., that we are not to suppose either that those
things which are in our own power can be done without the help of God,
or that those which are in God’s hand can be brought to
completion without the intervention of our acts, and desires, and
intention; because we have it not in our own power so to will or do
anything, as not to know that this very faculty, by which we are able
to will or to do, was bestowed on us by God, according to the
distinction which we indicated above. Or again, when God forms
vessels, some to honour and others to dishonour, we are to suppose that
He does not regard either our wills, or our purposes, or our deserts,
to be the causes of the honour or dishonour, as if they were a sort of
matter from which He may form the vessel of each one of us either to
honour or to dishonour; whereas the very movement of the soul itself,
or the purpose of the understanding, may of itself suggest to him, who
is not unaware of his heart and the thoughts of his mind, whether his
vessel ought to be formed to honour or to dishonour. But let
these points suffice, which we have discussed as we best could,
regarding the questions connected with the freedom of the
will.2382
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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