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| Chapter XII. That a good will should not always be attributed to grace, nor always to man himself.
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Chapter XII.
That a good will should not always be attributed to
grace, nor always to man himself.
For we should not hold
that God made man such that he can never will or be capable of what is
good: or else He has not granted him a free will, if He has suffered
him only to will or be capable of evil, but neither to will or be
capable of what is good of himself. And, in this case how will that
first statement of the Lord made about men after the fall stand:
“Behold, Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and
evil?”1804
For we cannot
think that before, he was such as to be altogether ignorant of good.
Otherwise we should have to admit that he was formed like some
irrational and insensate beast: which is sufficiently absurd and
altogether alien from the Catholic faith. Moreover as the wisest
Solomon says: “God made man upright,” i.e., always to enjoy
the knowledge of good only, “But they have sought out many
imaginations,”1805
for they came, as
has been said, to know good and evil. Adam therefore after the fall
conceived a knowledge of evil which he had not previously, but did not
lose the knowledge of good which he had before. Finally the
Apostle’s words very clearly show that mankind did not lose after
the fall of Adam the knowledge of good: as he says: “For when the
Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things of the law,
these, though they have not the law, are a law to themselves, as they
show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience
bearing witness to these, and their thoughts within them either
accusing or else excusing them, in the day in which God shall judge the
secrets of men.”1806
And with the
same meaning the Lord rebukes by the prophet the unnatural but freely
chosen blindness of the Jews, which they by their obstinacy brought
upon themselves, saying: “Hear ye deaf, and ye blind, behold that
you may see.
Who is
deaf but My servant? and blind, but he to whom I have sent My
messengers?”1807
And that no one
might ascribe this blindness of theirs to nature instead of to their
own will, elsewhere He says: “Bring forth the people that are
blind and have eyes: that are deaf and have ears;” and again:
“having eyes, but ye see not; and ears, but ye hear
not.”1808
The Lord also
says in the gospel: “Because seeing they see not, and hearing
they hear not neither do they understand.”1809
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of
Isaiah which says: “Hearing ye shall hear and shall not
understand: and seeing ye shall see and shall not see. For the heart of
this people is waxed fat, and their ears are dull of hearing: and they
have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear
with their ears and understand with their heart, and be turned and I
should heal them.”1810
Finally in order
to denote that the possibility of good was in them, in chiding the
Pharisees, He says: “But why of your own selves do ye not judge
what is right?”1811
And this he
certainly would not have said to them, unless He knew that by their
natural judgment they could discern what was fair. Wherefore we must
take care not to refer all the merits of the saints to the Lord in such
a way as to ascribe nothing but what is evil and perverse to human
nature: in doing which we are confuted by the evidence of the most wise
Solomon, or rather of the Lord Himself, Whose words these are; for when
the building of the Temple was finished and he was praying, he spoke as
follows: “And David my father would have built a house to the
name of the Lord God of Israel: and the Lord said to David my father:
Whereas thou hast thought in thine heart to build a house to My name,
thou hast well done in having this same thing in thy mind. Nevertheless
thou shalt not build a house to My name.”1812
This thought then and this purpose of
king David, are we to call it good and from God or bad and from man?
For if that thought was good and from God, why did He by whom it was
inspired refuse that it should be carried into effect? But if it is bad
and from man, why is it praised by the Lord? It remains then that we
must take it as good and from man. And in the same way we can take our
own thoughts today. For it was not given only to David to think what is
good of himself, nor is it denied to us naturally to think or imagine
anything that is good. It cannot then be doubted that there are by
nature some seeds of goodness in every soul implanted by the kindness
of the Creator: but unless these are quickened by the assistance of
God, they will not be able to attain to an increase of perfection, for,
as the blessed Apostle says: “Neither is he that planteth
anything nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the
increase.”1813
But that
freedom of the will is to some degree in a man’s own power is
very clearly taught in the book termed the Pastor,1814
| 1814 Cf. Conf. VIII. c.
xvii. | where two angels are said to be attached
to each one of us, i.e., a good and a bad one, while it lies at a
man’s own option to choose which to follow. And therefore the
will always remains free in man, and can either neglect or delight in
the grace of God. For the Apostle would not have commanded saying:
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” had
he not known that it could be advanced or neglected by us. But that men
might not fancy that they had no need of Divine aid for the work of
Salvation, he subjoins: “For it is God that worketh in you both
to will and to do, of His good pleasure.”1815
And therefore he warns Timothy and says: “Neglect not the grace
of God which is in thee;” and again: “For which cause I
exhort thee to stir up the grace of God which is in
thee.”1816
Hence also in
writing to the Corinthians he exhorts and warns them not through their
unfruitful works to show themselves unworthy of the grace of God,
saying: “And we helping, exhort you that ye receive not the grace
of God in vain:”1817
for the
reception of saving grace was of no profit to Simon doubtless because
he had received it in vain; for he would not obey the command of the
blessed Peter who said: “Repent of thine iniquity, and pray God
if haply the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee; for I
perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of
iniquity.”1818
It prevents
therefore the will of man, for it is said: “My God will
prevent me with His mercy;”1819
and again
when God waits and for our good delays, that He may put our desires to
the test, our will precedes, for it is said: “And in the morning
my prayer shall prevent Thee;” and again: “I prevented the
dawning of the day and cried;” and: “Mine eyes have
prevented the morning.”1820
For He calls and
invites us, when He says: “All the day long I stretched forth My
hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people;”1821
and He is invited by us when we say to
Him: “All the day long I have stretched forth My hands unto
Thee.”1822
He waits for
us, when it is said by the prophet: “Wherefore the Lord waiteth
to have compassion upon
us;”1823
and He is waited for by us, when we
say: “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto
me;” and: “I have waited for thy salvation, O
Lord.”1824
He strengthens
us when He says: “And I have chastised them, and strengthened
their arms; and they have imagined evil against me;”1825
and He exhorts us to strengthen
ourselves when He says: “Strengthen ye the weak hands, and make
strong the feeble knees.”1826
Jesus
cries: “If any man thirst let him come unto Me and
drink;”1827
the prophet
also cries to Him: “I have laboured with crying, my jaws are
become hoarse: mine eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my
God.”1828
The Lord
seeks us, when He says: “I sought and there was no man. I called,
and there was none to answer;”1829
and He
Himself is sought by the bride who mourns with tears: “I sought
on my bed by night Him whom my soul loved: I sought Him and found Him
not; I called Him, and He gave me no answer.”1830
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