Chapter 1: Against This: The Impious Claim That Pharaoh’s Heart Was Hardened by God #

¹ Let us carefully examine the meaning of Holy Scripture and consider the mindset of the objector: Was Pharaoh hardened by the Lord willingly or unwillingly? If he was willing, then the blame for his hardness of heart lies with him. But if he was unwilling, then you accuse God of injustice in hardening him. For what justice would there be if God were to punish the very one whom He Himself had hardened?

² However, the Lord Himself speaks to Pharaoh and says: “Why do you refuse to let My people go?” and “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?”. Here, from divine testimony, we recognize that Pharaoh had free will.

³ Thus, when the Lord says, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart”, it means that He allows Pharaoh to resist Him by permitting him to mock Him through the ten plagues, which, at Moses’ request, God repeatedly removes.

⁴ This way of speaking is also sometimes used among people in a familiar manner. At times, we reproach obstinate servants for our own gentleness, saying something like this: “It is my patience that has made you worse; it is my leniency that has encouraged your wickedness and pride; it is my indulgence that has made you defiant; it is my tolerance that has emboldened your heart to harden itself against me.”

⁵ In the same way, what in God’s goodness serves as a testimony to His power becomes, in the wickedness of His servant, a source of fault.

⁶ But divine Scripture says: “When Pharaoh saw that relief had been granted, he hardened his heart”. Here, it is clearly written that Pharaoh’s heart was hardened precisely because relief had been given.

⁷ The phrase “he hardened his heart” is not a passive verb but an active one. Do you wish to understand how divine moderation works in relation to the cause of his hardened mind? Pharaoh himself, during the ten plagues, was softened when he was struck, but when relief was given, he became stubborn again.

⁸ Thus, divine severity humbled the wicked man, while divine goodness hardened him. And in order to demonstrate that he had free will, he released the people when God punished him, but he recalled them when God showed mercy.

⁹ Consider how heavenly kindness hardens a rebellious spirit: when punishments come, he grows meek; when they withdraw, he grows insolent. Recognize both the reason for his hardening and the power of his own will. The Hebrew people, whom Pharaoh first commands to leave because of the affliction placed upon him, and then forbids to go when the plagues subside, are ultimately driven out by him in haste when the plagues intensify.

¹⁰ Therefore, Pharaoh is not hardened by God’s great power, but rather, he becomes defiant through God’s great patience. Finally, through the alternating cycles of punishment and relief, Pharaoh is humbled when afflicted, but when his plea is heard, he grows proud; when he is freed from suffering, he mocks; when he is stricken, he obeys. And the Israelites, whom he is known to have released only after the tenth plague, could have been set free from the very first—his final decision proves that it was always within his power to do so.

¹¹ Even in the midst of his punishments, he declares: “The Lord is just, and I and my people are wicked”. By this confession of conscience, he shows that he was not corrupted by God, but by his own will.

¹² And yet, would you presume to claim that God was harsh or unjust toward Pharaoh, when even this blasphemer himself could not deny that God was just and merciful toward him?

¹³ Does the Christian complain that God shows mercy, when even the ungodly acknowledge Him as compassionate? This, then, is the work of divine mercy among humanity: it operates in the world just as rainfall does when it pours down from heaven. When abundant rain falls, cultivated and tilled ground flourishes, bringing forth an abundance of crops. But uncultivated and neglected land becomes overrun with useless weeds and thorns. Thus, the same rain produces two entirely opposite effects—one leading to growth through careful cultivation, the other to ruin through neglect—just as we read in Scripture:

¹⁴ “For the land that drinks in the rain that often falls upon it, and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and its end is to be burned”.

¹⁵ Recognize, then, that the same land, under the same rainfall, at times brings forth thorns and thistles, and at other times bears fruit worthy of blessing. In the same way, while God in His mercy waits patiently and spares sinners, the obedient are led to repentance, while the unrepentant become hardened in their sin.

Chapter 2: That God’s Foreknowledge Does Not Force Human Wills Either Toward Righteousness or Toward Evil #

¹ People misunderstand God’s foreknowledge and predestination, wrongly asserting that human actions originate from them as their cause. First, we must carefully consider what depends on what, and what follows from what. A person does not act in a certain way because the authority of divine foreknowledge compels them; rather, it is the free will and choice of the person foreknown that gives God the quality of foreknowing.

² Thus, it is not the force of God’s foreknowledge that imposes upon a person the necessity of sinning, but rather, it is from the merits of human actions that the order of divine foreknowledge arises. Therefore, God’s general foreknowledge—by which He knows the entire state of the world—comes from His power. However, when it comes to the state of an individual human, the nature and manner of His foreknowledge are shaped by observing that person’s actions.

³ But in the midst of these things, you respond to God and say: “O Lord, how was I able to grasp the good, when You foreknew that I would become evil?” It is not so. What God wills is one thing; what He permits is another. He therefore wills the good and permits the evil; He foreknows both. By His just goodness, He helps; by the unjust freedom of the will, He permits. What He grants by grace is His own; what He foreknows as offense is yours. And this is why He is constantly found prohibiting what He foresees among the wicked. He would never command sinful human desires to be turned toward what is better if He knew they could not be changed.

⁴ Therefore, divine providence rightly responds to you: “O man, I did not make you to be as I foreknew you would become. By the law of My justice, I formed you as good, and I warned you not to follow evil. I foresaw you as evil because of the iniquity of your own future choices. Where there is no compulsion but rather consent to sin, the blame falls not on the Creator but on the transgressor. If you look to Me as your Maker, O man, you could have remained good; but if you look to Me as the One who foreknew, then it was you who, by the course of your own deeds, compelled Me to foreknow evil in you.”

⁵ But you reconsider and say: “The foreknowledge and predestination of human actions and merits determine and set in motion their causes.” This is not so. Rather, the kind of foreknowledge that exists is derived from the origin of human will. But when some are led astray by the corruption of their own thinking and assume that their actions begin because of divine foreknowledge, this arises from the fault of their own mind and from an uncorrectable stubbornness. They pretend to struggle against their passions while believing that they are unable to do what they are simply unwilling to do. They claim that the habit of sinning is an immutable law of evil.

⁶ Yet you still say that human deeds and wills begin from the prompting and impulse of divine foreknowledge. This is not so. Instead, recognize this: God’s foreknowledge takes its starting point from the substance of human actions. As far as the future is concerned, what God foreknows and preordains regarding us depends on human progress or failure.

⁷ Take this example, in which God’s foreknowledge is turned aside by human action. Death was announced to the bedridden King Hezekiah in the sorrowful words of a true prophet, who declared: “Set your house in order, for you shall die tomorrow”. But Hezekiah, turning to tears, set his house in order by humbling his soul. He acknowledged the prophet as a man of proven holiness, yet he did not surrender to despair but drove it away with hope. His prayer overruled the oracle; his supplication dissolved the decree; his steadfast faith overcame what had been spoken as truth. The seemingly inevitable cause of his foretold death was conquered by the weakness of a weeping man. Human frailty humbled itself, and in a way, it exerted force upon the divine judgment—just as it is written: “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence”. He surely would have died had he not, in fear, pleaded for mercy.

⁸ Now, choose which you prefer: either acknowledge that a fixed necessity was changed, or prove that the truth was false.

Chapter 3: For To Foreknow Is One Thing, To Predestine Is Another #

¹ The Apostle says, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son”. Foreknowledge and predestination are distinct. Foreknowledge perceives what will happen, while predestination ordains the reward to be given. The former foresees merit, the latter appoints recompense. Foreknowledge pertains to power, predestination to justice. Foreknowledge depends on the actions of another, while predestination arises from its own judgment; the former reveals wrongdoing, the latter condemns it; one is a witness, the other a judge. When foreknowledge has announced the cause, then predestination declares the sentence. Through foreknowledge, what belongs to us is disclosed; through predestination, what is prepared is arranged. Thus, unless foreknowledge has investigated, predestination determines nothing. The role of sight is like that of foreknowledge: it sees whatever is presented before it. Can it be thought to have caused what it merely perceives? Just as the eyes see not what they themselves do internally, but what is placed before them externally, if they happen to witness someone committing a sin, I do not think the sin would be attributed to the one who sees, but to the one who commits it. In the same way, every transgression belongs not to the one who foreknows, but to the one who is foreknown.

² So too, God foresees before the appointed time of man those things which are to be done not by Himself, but by man. And just as an existing object allows the eye’s gaze to behold it, but the eye does not cause the object to come into being, so also the foreknowledge of God anticipates what will follow from man’s merits—not demanding that they happen, but simply foreseeing that they will. And since it is customary in Sacred Scripture to reveal truth through assumed comparisons, just as we read that the kingdom of heaven is sometimes compared to a mustard seed, to the leaven used by the woman, to the net cast into the sea, and to many other such things, so too, in our effort to distinguish future events, we gather a framework for understanding foreknowledge. But if foreknowledge were the same as compulsion, then whoever foresees a sinner would be the cause of sin. God foreknows adultery—does this mean He inflames the bones and marrow with the fires of lustful passion? God foreknows the murderer—does He then stir up bestial impulses in a disturbed mind? Does He sharpen the sword of a bloodthirsty heart for the commission of the crime? God foreknows the impious—does He then incite the spirit of the madman to profane sacrifices? Should He, who is the avenger of such things, be considered their author? And in all this, should He be judged as one who compels the consent of a captive will to evil—He who did not even permit the devil to coerce anyone unwilling? It is the will that commits sin; it is the will that deserves either help or punishment.

³ But you say: I find an instance where grace alone operates without any involvement of human will, for in Bethlehem, the entire population of innocent children attains such a blessed death solely by God’s predestination. This is not so. For then perhaps the operation of grace alone would have been at work if there had been no shedding of innocent blood. But if there was only one cause for the innocence of those children, why then is not every infant there saved? For from the glory of that time, every age and the other sex are excluded. If the will of predestination determines a special condition for each individual, why do all the boys, born at different times—whether days or months apart—obtain the same felicity? But if the principle of election is applied indiscriminately to the human race, why then is the entire female condition excluded from this gift? Here, therefore, with the decree’s determination set aside, death is inflicted upon the children through the fury of the devil, but the blessedness of death is granted for the honour of God. Thus, predestination did not consign them to death, but rather the circumstance of the cause consecrated them. Therefore, this massacre of the infants was not arranged by God’s decree but was ordained by the enemy’s wickedness. Yet God, who even makes good use of human evils, brings about the glory of the slain through the crime of the slayers. The one who devises malice indeed arranges things in opposition, but the Author of goodness turns hostile plans to a better end.

Chapter 4: Against This, They Say: “He Is Merciful To Those Whom He Gathers, And Just To Those Whom He Abandons,” Whereas He Is Shown To Be Merciful Even Toward The Wicked And Also Just Toward The Good #

¹ If God, as impiety blasphemously claims, governs the condition of man not by justice but by power, then perhaps the one who knocked is excluded, and the one who did not seek is drawn in. And thus, He would not even appear merciful to those who are saved, since He did not grant them the means to merit mercy through their own effort, nor could He be considered just toward those who are lost, if they are rejected from mercy without any personal fault. But if both are guilty by nature, then justice itself is endangered in the case of the one who is chosen despite being unworthy, and mercy is compromised in the case of the one who is condemned without judgment of sin. By what mercy is the idle one honoured? By what justice is the innocent one condemned? Therefore, while unwisely stripping man of his freedom, one is shown to impiously deny justice to God. If you claim that He is only merciful to those whom He acquires and only just to those whom He abandons, you abruptly deny both virtues in both cases. For there would be no fairness if He chooses one who has not been tested, nor goodness if He destroys one who is undeserving.

² We acknowledge that these two virtues in God’s works—mercy and justice—are inseparably joined, as it is written: “I will sing of mercy and judgment to You, O Lord”, and again: “The Lord is merciful and just, and our God shows mercy”, and again: “The Lord is merciful and compassionate and just”. For He is merciful even toward the lost, seeking out and calling those who stray, patiently enduring those who sin. Just as He makes His sun rise on the good and the evil and sends rain upon the just and the unjust, so too has He bestowed upon both alike the light of reason, clothed them with the honour of His image, and called all indiscriminately to the grace of redemption. Could He then not have been merciful to one upon whom He lavished so much, one whom He will judge for having neglected and lost the mercy offered to him? That is a lesser concern compared to proving that He is both merciful and just toward those whom He has gained: just, I say, to those who return to Him, whom He does not abandon in their toil, and whom He makes worthy of freedom because they serve faithfully. But the heretic denies that God is merciful toward sinners because he does not believe that the offer of salvation has been extended to those who fall into death. Likewise, he does not affirm that God is just toward the righteous because he thinks that nothing has been granted to them in return for their humble devotion. Therefore, God is merciful because He grants both the wicked the understanding of reason and the inclination toward goodness. He is just because He promises a reward to the obedient. He is just because He does not save anyone against their will.

³ Thus, the Apostle magnificently joins the duty of labour to the gift of grace, saying: “The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to partake of the fruits”. See how, in a marvelous exchange, the divine and the human are united: labour pertains to obedience, but the fruit of labour belongs to grace. And again: “Each one will receive his own reward according to his labour”. Yet the Lord says in the Gospel: “When you have done all these things, say: ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obligated to do’”. Notice that He does not exclude the effort of work but requires the obedience of the worker. He does not reject the labour of service but teaches humility of heart. Therefore, the fault that you mistakenly think makes labour something to be avoided lies not in the work itself but in the heart. Therefore, I will labour with all my strength, but whatever I receive from divine generosity, I will attribute to grace, not to my own effort; I will call it a gift, not a wage; I will testify that it is a donation, not something owed; a reward, not a repayment. Thus, when we fulfil our duty, we can in no way claim merit before God, for we have merely rendered what we owe. But you, do not begrudge divine goodness if the work that I have accomplished well with His help—or even the grace I have received—is later lost through my own fault. For in this way, neither do past sins allow some to turn back to God, nor do they permit healing.

Chapter 5: Against This, They say: “The One Who Perished Was Not So Much Unwilling To Be Saved As Unable To Be Saved,” Based On What We Read: “And They Could Not Believe” #

¹ In this context, when the Evangelist John recalls: “Therefore, they could not believe, because again Isaiah said: ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart’”, the way it is expressed here makes it sound as if they were unwillingly subjected to the necessity of not believing. However, the sequence of the reading later clarifies the cause or fault of their unbelief, stating: “Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God”. This passage explicitly indicates—just as we read about Simon—that even unbelievers were granted the power to believe. Yet, while they had the ability to believe, they lacked the will to confess their faith. That they believe is a gift of grace; that they do not express their faith is a sign of a corrupt heart. Thus, the Scripture is fulfilled in them: “Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him”.

² Behold how the evil of malice, when joined with goodwill and faith, corrupts them before God—just as the Lord Himself says elsewhere in the same Gospel: “How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”

³ You see, then, that just as truth is hidden when its causes are suppressed, so too is obscurity removed when they are revealed. This is particularly evident in the testimony of Isaiah, where the darkness seems to grow denser, for he asserts that those who had already been made deaf and blind by their own wickedness were also blinded by God—lest they turn to Him in their hearts and be healed.

⁴ Therefore, before addressing more directly what Matthew expresses more plainly, let us consider more deeply why, in this passage, the Lord seems unwilling that they be healed. That is, lest they undergo a superficial conversion, receive His blessings, and then abuse them—so that, once tested, they may be found to have neglected and rejected what they had received, thereby falling again into illness after spurning the remedy. Just as the Lord Himself says to that man: “See, you are well! Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you.”

⁵ Observe how the wicked are weighed down by the very goodness of healing. Thus, Pharaoh is found to have mocked the mercy of God—for whenever he, struck by plagues, repented, turned back, and humbled himself, he was shown to grow even worse after experiencing the kindness of divine clemency.

⁶ Why, then, I ask, does the Lord seem to refrain from healing these people? Surely, so that they do not become like the one who was sown upon rocky ground—that is, the one who receives the word with joy for a moment, who believes for a time, but in the time of trial falls away.

⁷ What does it mean to receive healing only for a moment? It means to believe only temporarily, and in the time of testing, to fall away due to a heart of unbelief, failing under even the slightest heat of temptation because of shallow roots.

⁸ Let us consider those whom He attempted to heal, yet who, because of their subsequent unbelief, gained little from it. Behold the servant in the Gospel who was burdened with great debts and the sickness of the soul—though ten thousand talents seemed to have been forgiven him, through his own wickedness he incurred even greater torments, and the debt was demanded of him once more. Here, we must also take note of how what has been received can be lost, and how blessings already granted can be revoked.

⁹ But that man, after the unclean spirit had been cast out from him, is said to have been healed only for a time. Of him, the divine word says: “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first”.

¹⁰ Behold, healing was granted to him, yet it did him no good; for upon him, the affliction returned with greater force, and his suffering multiplied. Likewise, elsewhere, the one who, after receiving the knowledge of the truth—that is, after the remedy of salvation had been granted to him—regarded as defiled the blood of the covenant by which he had been sanctified, that is, by which he had been healed, is declared, with the Apostle as witness, to deserve even greater punishment.

¹¹ Thus, grace is turned into guilt unless vigilance follows. But in these matters, the Evangelist Matthew explained more clearly and with greater reasoning why they were not healed, attributing it to the hardness of the human heart, their blocked ears, and their closed eyes. For when he says: “The heart of this people has grown dull, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and they have closed their eyes”, does it not seem to you that, as if answering those who ask why those who see do not truly see, and those who hear do not understand, he immediately provides an evident explanation of the reasons why they neither see nor understand? It is because they were unwilling to hear and see—that is, they refused to understand and obey.

¹² For, as it is said: “Not all obey the Gospel”, and “All day long I have stretched out my hands to a disbelieving and contrary people”, just as the Lord Himself also says: “I have begotten and raised children, but they have despised me”, and again: “They have forsaken the fountain of living waters, the Lord”. And in the Acts of the Apostles: “When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and contradicted what Paul was saying, blaspheming the way of the Lord”, and likewise: “Paul was earnestly preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ”.

¹³ But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles”. “They opposed him and blasphemed,” it says. See how the physician offers remedies, yet the sick person refuses them. Blessed Stephen also rebukes such hardness of heart with the same authority, saying: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit”.

¹⁴ Behold why they cannot see: because they resist the Holy Spirit and, by closing their eyes of their own will, shut out the light of truth. That is why the Gospel continues, saying: “Lest they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and turn to me, and I would heal them”. This means that their inability to be converted and healed is the consequence of their hardened hearts and the punishment for their sin.

¹⁵ It says, “Lest they turn to me and I would heal them.” Here, healing is not denied to those who desire it; rather, it declares that those who oppose refuse to be healed—that is, they make themselves undeserving of it. The goodness of the physician is always ready to offer the remedy, but the obstinacy of the sick resists it. For anyone who thinks this means that God was unwilling to heal them absolves man of responsibility and condemns the Creator instead. No one, therefore, is excluded from God’s blessings—rather, He will first judge those who have neglected His blessings.

Chapter 6: What Does It Mean When It Says: “For When They Had Not Yet Done Anything Good Or Evil” #

¹ The apostles, however, attempt to confine the meaning of the Gentile decree within narrower limits when they say:

² “This is the word of the promise: ‘At this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.’ Not only that, but also Rebecca, who conceived from one act of union with our father Isaac. For before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—not by works but by him who calls—it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger,’ as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’”.

³ In these words, the impiety of the Gentile persuasion wants to be understood as meaning that God, without any evaluation by a judge distinguishing between good and evil, not as a guiding ruler but as a sovereign lord, arbitrarily deems one person worthy of love and another of hatred. He receives one with favour, excludes another by command, and among two who are lost, no consideration is given to effort or devotion. Instead, one is chosen without reason, even when no merits are present, while the other is condemned without discernment. Thus, since in either case there is no ground for merit or for guilt, the very basis for future judgment is altogether removed.

⁴ But if such an unworthy confusion of affairs is alien even to human reason, let us more carefully examine what befits divine justice, as the Apostle discusses it. Placed between two peoples, the teacher of the Jews and the Gentiles says: “The older shall serve the younger”. In the elder, the arrogance of Judea is rejected; in the younger, the faith of the Gentiles is chosen.

⁵ Thus, one envelops himself in the mists of ignorance if he does not conform his understanding to the meaning of the Holy Scriptures but instead forcibly twists the Holy Scriptures to fit his own interpretation. Presumptuously, he strives to apply them in a way that convinces him according to his own grasp, disregarding the context of what comes before or after, and as a result, he attributes to the Apostle something he never intended to say.

⁶ But if you return to the beginning of the very passage under discussion, you will easily avoid any ambiguity without difficulty. If the teacher of the Gentiles had begun discussing the origins of humanity and had claimed that the course of an entire life was predetermined from the beginning, being subject more to necessity than entrusted to free will—on the grounds that the Lord of all, by the whim of His power and a violent decree, left some to perdition while choosing others for salvation—then, perhaps, an unjust persuasion could maintain this view, as if it followed from the lines of the text.

⁷ When the Apostle weaves together repeated examples to explore more deeply God’s promises and the calling of the Gentiles, and when he seeks in every way to suppress the presumption of the Jews—who were arrogantly puffed up about the works of the Law—he does not establish a fatalistic decree based on the origins of their ancestors, whether Ishmael or Esau. Rather, in the blessing of Isaac and Jacob, he reveals the election of the younger people, and for this reason, he preferred the younger over the older, not as a demonstration of God’s power, but of His justice. For just as He foresaw the impiety of the Jews, so too did He foresee the obedience of the Gentiles.

⁸ Thus, when the Apostle says, “For before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—not by works but by him who calls—it was said to her, ‘The older shall serve the younger’”, it is indeed said to be from the one who calls, but not to compel or to reject anyone. Rather, it is clear that it was spoken with respect to those who would believe and those who would not, so that God’s justice, which remains consistent, leaves it to human will either to reject or to observe His commandments.

⁹ Therefore, when you hear “but by him who calls,” understand this as an invitation, not as coercion. Likewise, when he says “not by works,” he affirms that the works of the Law—since the Law had not yet been given—were not the basis, but that even before the Law, the gifts of divine mercy and generosity were already at work. “Not by works,” he says. You hear the works of the Law being set aside, yet with foolish reasoning, you assume that even under the law of grace, some can be saved without the works of grace, while others—even with works—are excluded from the door of salvation by the force of natural necessity or a fatalistic law.

¹⁰ “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. How, then, according to the interpreter of a corrupt understanding, can a heavenly sentence be pronounced on those who have not yet been born? For one who has not yet been conceived cannot be guilty, nor can he be loved. One who has not yet been brought into the light of day has merited nothing. But just as their future way of life was yet to be revealed, so too was the coming offense foreseen by divine knowledge, and the future election foretold. For divine providence knows how to judge deeds that have been done, but it does not pass judgment in advance on deeds that are yet to be.

¹¹ No one should think that before they are even born, brothers are already predestined to different fates based on merit. The prophet Malachi speaks about them only after they have lived their lives, declaring God’s just judgment regarding their past condition: “I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau”. What is so surprising if justice loves innocence and rejects iniquity—especially when, in the sight of God, even future deeds are already known?

¹² The fact that the younger is placed before the elder according to divine law and that Jacob is loved while his brother is disregarded causes confusion for some who struggle to understand. They assume that the testimony of love or hatred was pronounced over the brothers before their birth, without considering the clear reasons why one was rejected and the other was favoured.

¹³ Thus, in the case of these two, human nature is not being predetermined, but rather, divine justice is illustrating the faith of the Gentiles and the unbelief of the Jews. This passage does not literally describe two individual brothers but rather conveys symbolic meanings and spiritual truths, as the Lord declares: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be divided from your body”.

¹⁴ If the matter concerned a predetermined law of origin, why would Scripture mention the ages of the older and younger brother—something irrelevant to the issue—unless it were to highlight the recurring pattern in Jewish history, where in the calling of two peoples, the younger is always preferred over the elder?

¹⁵ Nevertheless, within this distinction between peoples, many among the Jews—though originally chosen—are rejected, while many from the Gentiles—though seemingly outside the covenant—are chosen. This makes it clear that God, the righteous judge, does not base His judgment on an immutable decree but on each person’s merits.

¹⁶ But you say: “Since they had not yet done anything good or evil, they were already assigned to their respective destinies”. What is so surprising about this, if God, who foresaw their actions, also predetermined their outcomes? Therefore, just as it was certain that they would live according to their own free will, so by God’s power they were foreknown, and by His justice they were predestined. Yet, all of this is foretold about them, not predetermined.

¹⁷ Thus, in Jacob, the faithful people are described, while in Esau, the unbelieving are signified. Concerning both groups, Scripture says: “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained righteousness, the righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not reach the law. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as though by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone”.

¹⁸ When it says, “not by works,” you see that the works of the Law are being invalidated, and that obedience has opened the way to mercy for the Gentiles. Meanwhile, for the Jews, their prior iniquity and unbelief have prepared their downfall. For it says: “It was not by works but by Him who calls”.

¹⁹ This does not mean that they were devoid of their own works, but rather that they were not saved by the works of the Law. God forbid that this passage should be understood as declaring the condemnation of human nature itself, as if part of humanity were damned simply by the condition of its origin. Rather, it proclaims the kindness of the One who calls and the humility of the one who obeys. It teaches the richness of faith and reveals the light of belief.

²⁰ Therefore, let no assertion of injustice creep in here, as though part of the human race were condemned by its very creation. The reasons why God loved Jacob and hated Esau are clearly expressed in the history of Genesis, so that you may understand that this divine judgment was not pronounced without a review of their deeds or without clear reason.

²¹ It is evident from Jacob’s life that there were clear causes that made him worthy of God’s love, while Esau was deemed worthy of hatred… (Text lost)

Chapter 7: Why Does He Say, “So that the Purpose of God Might Remain”? #

¹ (Text lost)

Chapter 8: Against This, Which They Say: “Adam Perished Entirely.” #

¹ (Text lost) …his desire will be for you, and you will rule over him”. God did not place sin above man through this law of His order, but rather subjected it beneath him. Behold the most merciful Creator, who, desiring His creation to be noble even after the fall, did not command the human will—though weakened—to be a slave to every passion and lust, but rather to be its master. He placed the acceptance or rejection of the seducer in the hands of man, leaving it to his judgment.

² Indeed, it seems that God allowed man the freedom to choose between both impulses (good and evil), but He did so in order that the opportunity for evil might become the occasion for the glory of goodness. “His desire will be for you, and you will rule over him”—this does not imply any necessity of sinning, since dominion over sin is entrusted to human discernment, allowing him by the freedom of his will to conquer it. But how degenerate is the soul that, although by God’s grace it has the power to triumph over sin, still prefers to become its slave and thereby offend God!

³ Since this is the case, after the transgression of the first human, it was not the death of free will that followed, but its weakness; not impossibility, but difficulty accompanied the pursuit of virtue. Yet, Abel was still able to please God by the inherent goodness imparted by God to all, that is, through the affection of his own free will. Thus, the perfection of his blameless life earned him the title of “righteous.” By whose instruction would he have become a follower of justice, if not through the law written on his heart? Or how would he have known to select offerings pleasing to God—those choice portions of fat and firstfruits to be consumed by fire from heaven—if not through the faith that made him a lover of virtue? As we read:

⁴ “By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received testimony that he was righteous, God testifying to his gifts”. He could not have attained this except by joining the servant’s devotion to the Lord’s gift. And do you judge that he possessed nothing of his own by God’s ordination, when God Himself bears witness to his devotion? You see, then, that the goodness of faith is not a new privilege but an ancient one, and that from the very beginnings of the world, when it was still taking shape, the human mind was endowed by its supreme Creator with not only understanding and reason but also with faith. Thus, even then, God granted the soul the knowledge of Himself, when He deemed it worthy to bear His own image.

Chapter 9: On the Image and Likeness in Which the First Human Was Created #

¹ But you say: “Why do you link the image of God with free will, when the supreme Creator, who was to become the Redeemer in future ages, made man more in the image of the one He would assume from a virgin, rather than in His own?” This claim is made by many, but it is entirely devoid of reason. For the image of one who was to come much later could in no way be imprinted upon the first human at the beginning of creation. How could the one who was being created first bear the likeness of one who did not yet exist?

² On the contrary, it is far more reasonable to believe that the first Adam transmitted his own image to the second Adam, according to the order and sequence of time. It is utterly impossible that one who was formed so many ages earlier could be called the image of a substance that did not yet exist. Such an assertion is clearly irrational, for it would imply—contrary to all sense—that the person of the ancient first man somehow preceded the very author of his likeness, who was to be born of a virgin.

³ Furthermore, this notion would greatly diminish the dignity of humanity’s original innocence. It would be demeaning if the first, immaculate human were created in the likeness of the one who was destined to cure the stains of sin, as though, even before transgression existed, the form of the future intercessor already bore the mark of guilt. It would be illogical, then, for the first human—created in a state of completion and perfection—to bear the image of the one through whom the fallen would later need to be restored. Otherwise, under the name of the coming physician, the ruin of humankind would seem to be foretold even at the moment of its happy beginning.

⁴ It is therefore more reasonable to understand that the image given to humanity—entrusted by God as a gift of grace rather than of nature—refers to what is received from the One who is prior and superior. Thus, the image bestowed on man should be recognized as a true likeness of God Himself, which the Father, by right, shares with His natural Son.

⁵ Moreover, it is worth reflecting more carefully on this point: our Lord Jesus Christ, in the first age, bestowed His greater gifts upon us, whereas in the second, He took on what was lesser from us. Thus, when He created us from nothing, the Maker conferred His own image upon us; but when He restored us after we were lost, the Redeemer assumed the form of a servant. As the Apostle says: “He took the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and being found in human form”.

⁶ Now, if we have been formed according to the outward appearance of man, in whose members there is sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, what honour or grace would there be if we were to share in that image, which we know is, for the most part, shared in common with beasts? Thus, it is a grave error for those who think that the first man was made in the likeness of the one who was to be taken from Mary by the incorporeal Trinity. For neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit was to be clothed in flesh and take on the form of a man, in order to shape the features and fashion the limbs of the first man according to the appearance of the image they would later assume from the Virgin. Therefore, whatever the Trinity grants to man in common flows from the likeness of the divinity. And not even then could it be said that the first man received the image of the second Adam, even if the Son of God alone had created man.

⁷ But since the united Trinity says: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”, blending the singular with the plural and the plural with the singular, and again: “So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him”, when you so frequently read that man was created in the image of God, by what authority do you dare to claim, contrary to the divine word, that he was made in the form of a servant? Therefore, since this image is bestowed by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it is undoubtedly the one divinity of the three persons that granted the dignity of its own image to the first man.

⁸ Since this is the case, you should by no means doubt that human beings possess a diminished freedom of will, if you consider the original grace with which they were honoured by God. Therefore, humanity is called the image of God, because in His gracious kindness He bestowed upon them the truth of justice, the faculty of reason with wisdom, and eternity through immortality. It is through being made in the image of God that humans have understanding, discern what is right, and distinguish between good and evil by means of judgment.

⁹ Since God is goodness, mercy, patience, and justice, the more a person is found to be just and patient, the more they are approved as being like God—whose likeness, of course, is not found in physical appearance but in virtue. Therefore, it is said of God that He is subtle, simple, and pure. He is simple, indeed, because nothing extraneous is added to Him, nor is anything conferred from elsewhere; rather, in Him, power, essence, and substance are one and the same.

¹⁰ Thus, God is what He possesses, whereas humans do not possess such gifts unless they receive them. Therefore, while God is justice and mercy, humans can be just but cannot be justice itself; they can be merciful but cannot be mercy itself; they can be pious but cannot be piety itself. This is because humans do not have these attributes by nature but by gift. To use an analogy: God is gold, whereas humans may appear as gilded vessels. In humans, grace is what in God is nature; and what in God is uncreated, in humans is created.

¹¹ Thus, according to this reasoning, the twofold condition of humanity becomes clearer, for these virtues are bestowed upon humans in such a way that they are frequently separated and even taken away.

¹² They are mistaken, therefore, who believe that justice and the other virtues of the soul are its substance, since the soul can somehow subsist by the vital force of its nature without them. Even the devil is known to remain in his nature without these virtues. For it is clear that virtues are something added, since they can be stripped away when sin intervenes. Only free will and immortality—which are present even in the wicked—are not taken away, although the dignity and blessedness of immortality can be lost.

¹³ Therefore, as far as free will and immortality are concerned, even the wicked can possess the image of God in themselves, albeit disfigured and marred. However, only the good can possess His likeness. Since this is the case, and since human beings were created with both the image and likeness of God—so much so that many were even deemed worthy of being called sons of God—it is fitting for us to briefly highlight, with a few examples, how many people before the written Law, guided by the law of nature (which, as we have said, is the first grace of God), entered the threshold of salvation through Christ, who would eventually lead them into the very depths of life itself.

¹⁴ But it was by the likeness of Abel’s character and merits that God substituted another in his place. How else could this one have rejected his brother’s profane ways and chosen what was better, unless understanding and reason had directed him along the right path? Led by this guide, he passed down sacred traditions and praiseworthy teachings to his descendants as if they were an inherited gift, so that through many generations they were counted under the name of angels or sons of God.

¹⁵ Who can doubt that countless families, pleasing to God, endowed with the freedom of will, were saved from among the nations? Of these, only a few are explicitly mentioned in the sacred writings, but they are shown to be illustrious and perfect, shining as lights to the world. How could Enoch have walked with God or pleased Him, unless the law, infused into his heart by a secret teaching, had illuminated him—so profoundly that, being marvelously detached from earthly things, he was taken up by God from the earth? Because of the merit of his faith, he surpassed others during that early age of the world. Thus, he demonstrated that faith itself had been handed down to him along with the natural law, as we read:

¹⁶ “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him”.

¹⁷ Unless God could be sought by voluntary devotion and intention, He would not offer a reward to humans, unless He had first granted them something of their own by which they could please Him. When it is said: “Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God”, there is no doubt that his life was first examined and only then was he chosen. Thus, the error of fatalistic predestination is easily refuted by asking about the preceding cause. Since God makes Himself a rewarder to those who seek Him, it is a great crime not to seek Him—especially for the one to whom God has given the capacity to do so.

¹⁸ The kind and great law that humanity received from God at its first creation was demonstrated even more clearly by the perfect righteousness of Noah. For Noah, as a devoted follower of virtue, cultivated the general gifts of faith with particular diligence. During his time, when “all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth”, divine condemnation would not have followed unless human transgression, committed by free will, had preceded it.

¹⁹ Just as guilt deserves punishment, so punishment bears witness to guilt, being inflicted according to the justice of the divine ruler. When the divine word declares that “all flesh had corrupted its way”, it attributes the wickedness of that time not to some imposed decree, but to the voluntary depravity of humanity. Thus, the heavenly dispensation would not have given the written law if the law of nature had not first been violated, with transgression escalating until it provoked the wrath of the flood. Therefore, the law of Moses, which is believed to be the first, is in fact already the second.

²⁰ The work of the natural law was written on the hearts of humanity, as even the most blessed bishop Augustine explains in his most learned discourse, saying: “Both good and evil flow together in the current and torrent of the human race: evil, which is inherited from the first parent, and good, which is bestowed by the Creator.” Likewise, no vice is so contrary to nature that it erases even the last traces of nature itself. For this is why even the wicked reflect on eternal truths and establish laws that are worthy of praise even in this present age. They also rightly condemn and rightly commend many aspects of human conduct.

²¹ By what rules, then, do they make such judgments, if not by the natural laws, by which they perceive how each person ought to live, even if they themselves do not live in the same way? The Apostle makes this even clearer in his letter to the Romans, saying: “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes—His eternal power and divine nature—have been understood and perceived through the things He has made so they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man”.

²² For if the human will had not turned away from God’s law, ungodliness would not have felt the wrath of God. When the Apostle says, “What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them”, he clearly teaches that the knowledge of God ought to have been evident to them through the internal instruction inscribed on the tablet of their minds. Moreover, through the magnificence of creation, they were capable of recognizing the Creator.

²³ Thus, they would not be without excuse before God unless they had possessed ample opportunity to perceive the truth, both outwardly and inwardly. The Apostle emphasizes this by adding: “For although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God”. Therefore, God condemns the ungodly for having misused their understanding, and He indicts their injustice as a form of contempt for His divinity.

²⁴ The famous and overwhelming flood—what else did it demonstrate but the judgment of a world condemned by the guilt of the human race? Thus, Noah, through his perfect righteousness, both revealed and condemned the sins of that age. As we read: “By faith, Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his household. Through this, he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith”.

²⁵ Why did he condemn the world? Because the wickedness of the world refused to follow the example of righteousness. Thus, the guilt of the disobedient is exposed, and the one who pleased God through obedience demonstrates that others could have pleased Him by the same devotion. Certainly, no decree of fate held any place in that era. Since the transgression had been universal, the condemnation that followed was also universal.

²⁶ How can you say that one is taken and another left behind? Consider how, except for the family of the righteous man, the entire world was destroyed by the compulsion of iniquity. Therefore, the specific decree you claim is refuted by the general judgment: those condemned for their wickedness are shown to have been capable of doing good.

Chapter 10: On the Claim That the Law of Nature Perished in the First Man and Did Not Persist in His Descendants Until the Coming of the Saviour #

¹ But you say that natural goods should not be acknowledged because it is evident that before the coming of Christ, the Gentiles in no way belonged to salvation. Yet whoever denies that the good in nature ought to be praised clearly does not recognize that the very author of nature is the same one who is the giver of grace. Whoever foolishly denies this effectively denies that the goodness of nature comes from God’s handiwork, and instead attributes it either to some divine power apart from God or to fate.

² But the one who is both Creator and Redeemer is the same; He is blessed in the praise of both works and celebrated in the proclamation of both. Therefore, I rightly acknowledge the gift of both, for I know that I owe to Him the fact that I was born, just as I owe to Him the fact that I was reborn. For this reason, I will not deny the gifts of the Creator simply because I have lost them through sin; yet I will not place the former on equal footing with the latter, since I have received the latter as a restoration, multiplied and improved.

³ I will exalt the benefits of the Creator, but I will immeasurably prefer those of the Redeemer. Nor will I seem reckless in this if I confess that at times, in the course of our affairs—though not at the very beginning of our lives, but rather in the midst of them—our will, by God’s ordering, sometimes precedes the special graces that come from His abundant generosity.

⁴ Let us ask the sacred Scriptures whether this is so. We read in the Gospel where the Lord says: “What do you want me to do for you?” And again: “Do you want to be healed?” You see, the gift of salvation is not granted unless the desire of the will is first questioned. Even when someone comes to baptism, the will of the one approaching is first inquired about, so that the grace of the one who regenerates may follow. In the case of the centurion Cornelius, since his will preceded grace, the grace of regeneration therefore came beforehand.

⁵ There is nothing here, I think, that smacks of presumption, especially since I firmly maintain that I owe even my very will to God—particularly when I attribute both the first stirrings of its inception and the final moments of its completion to the work of grace.

⁶ Abraham, too, emerging from the midst of paganism, is not only called to salvation along with his entire household but is also made the father of many nations by the testimony of Truth itself. His calling is due to God’s goodness, but his readiness to obey is due to his own free will. Job, likewise, could not have resisted the enemy assailing him without the freedom of his soul, but he combines the greatness of heart with the help of his protector. Thus, the justice of the One who rewards reveals the devotion of the one who struggles.

⁷ In spiritual warfare, the battle seems to belong to human effort, while the outcome is attributed to God. The fact that Job’s friends came from pagan nations demonstrates that this occurred before the law was given. When Job, at the Lord’s command, intercedes for them and is heard, it is clear that salvation is also granted to these men still living in paganism.

⁸ Rahab, too, was so thoroughly of a Gentile nation that she prefigured the Church, which would be gathered from the nations. She is received into salvation along with her entire household through her active faith. Of her, we read: “By faith, Rahab the prostitute did not perish with the unbelievers”. Why, then, are those outside the Law accused of unbelief, except because they refused to keep the law of nature, which is joined with faith? Why is unbelief reproached, if not because the ability to believe was readily available to them? Thus, the principle of free will ensures that the believer is rewarded and the unbeliever is condemned.

⁹ We read in the Book of Genesis: “For the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure”. The Lord foretells that the children of Israel will be humbled in the land of Egypt and then brought out with signs and wonders to destroy the wicked nations and to inherit the promised lands. However, He testifies that this cannot happen until the nations He intends to hand over to Israel make room for their own destruction by the magnitude of their increasing sins. By the sheer weight of their completed iniquity, they will compel God’s hand to strike them with the ultimate affliction.

¹⁰ Where the multiplication of sins is awaited, the corruption of human will is exposed. When God pronounces judgment on Gentiles who were not bound by the written law, He demonstrates that they have transgressed the law of nature. At the same time, His patience in enduring their wickedness reveals His justice in condemning them. For no one grants a delay out of moderation if they intend to punish by mere predestination. “The sin of the Amorites is not yet complete”—thus, by stating that their destruction will come only when their sins are full, God removes any impression of arbitrary predetermination.

¹¹ Recognize here the power of divine patience. The people of Israel, destined to be delivered and to overthrow the wicked nations, are meanwhile kept in servitude until the iniquity of those nations is complete. The wrath of judgment delays its vengeance as long as the measure of sin is still growing, so that when justice and mercy converge, both will be revealed at the same time: the deliverance of God’s children on one hand and the crushing of His enemies on the other.

Chapther 11: Against the Claim That Knowledge of the One True God Was Not Granted to the Gentiles Before the Time of Grace #

¹ Those who claim that the Gentiles could not have had knowledge of the one true God before the coming of the Saviour are lost in the depths of great ignorance. For the Apostle affirms that the Creator of the world could be known through the magnificence of His creation, saying: “What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”.

² How, then, can you say they are excusable on the grounds that they were deprived of heavenly gifts, when God Himself declares them inexcusable? For they are shown to be guilty of abusing the gifts they had received, having been fully capable of knowing the greatness of the Creator simply by examining His works.

³ It is entirely irrational and irreverent to think that humanity was only recently taught to know God, when the entire universe has been a witness to Him from the very beginning of creation. Thus, in the same epistle, the Apostle says: “When Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law for themselves”. Therefore, we must not believe that they were only recently instructed in the knowledge of God’s law, since what they possessed by nature was given to them from the very creation of the first man. The Apostle also says: “They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles”.

⁴ While the foolish venerate base and unworthy things, they implicitly confess that they ought, by all means, to worship what is more worthy. For while they bow down to wood and stone, they had it readily within reach to recognize and worship the Creator of both earthly and heavenly things. Indeed, by proving that something ought to be worshiped, their very awareness of the duty of worship reveals their guilt for failing to honour the Creator.

⁵ For how did they have a sense of religion? Surely, they would have found God if they had only been willing to apply themselves with genuine desire, as the Lord says: “Seek, and you will find”. For when the human mind opens its eyes to see, the light it seeks immediately presents itself to the one who longs for it.

⁶ Therefore, the law written on their hearts taught them reverence, but through negligence and stubbornness, they became unworthy of finding the truth. Thus, when mankind prostrates itself before dead idols and insensible images, it not only dishonours the Maker but also inflicts injury upon itself, upon the very work of God’s creation. Forgetting their own noble origin, they disgrace themselves with shameful indignities and, through their error, receive the penalty for their delusion.

⁷ As the Apostle says: “They received in themselves the due penalty for their error”. And again: “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind”. This rebellious mind was corrupted by its own will, not forcibly taken from them. As it is written: “Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind”. Thus, those who are abandoned because of their previous faults are not oppressed by fate but are condemned by divine judgment.

⁸ But if you ask where sin comes from in unlearned nations, despite their innate savagery, from where else could it arise but from the stirring of the soul and the consent of the mind? After all, livestock and wild animals are entirely free from sin, because they lack discernment and are ignorant of reason. Yet you make man lower than the beasts by claiming he sins without free will. For why should you ascribe sin to him while denying him the power of choice? Or if you subject him to sin, do not deprive him of judgment.

⁹ Therefore, iniquity cannot deceive itself. The One who knows all hidden things knows well what He has granted to man in the secret depths of his heart. Thus, when anyone is rebuked and condemned by God for their evil deeds, they are proven to have been capable of doing good.

¹⁰ Great indeed is the power of the soul in both directions: it is tormented by shame over its uprightness, and it is tormented by shame over its wickedness. Thus, it is said through the prophet: “His eyelids test the children of men; the Lord tests the righteous and the wicked”. Why does man, the child of the Judge, ask me about sin, if the fault lies in his own decision?

¹¹ Therefore, the One who individually fashioned the hearts of men scrutinizes their ways and examines the hidden merits of their consciences. Yet if you examine yourself, have you not, when you desired to veer toward wrongdoing, been warned by your trembling conscience, lest you sin? Has not sorrowful reflection, like a hidden judge, chastised you? Thus, people cannot conceal themselves from themselves, for their conscience bears witness against them, and their own thoughts either accuse or even defend them.

¹² In the midst of these matters, if you ask where free will is situated and where the human will is established—where else but in the intellect, in reason, and in wisdom? Since this is so, you would first have to deny man his wisdom and take away his reason in order to deprive him of free will. Therefore, whenever the soul, while captive within its own dwelling, contemplates some sin, the inner recesses of its thoughts cry out against it, and its inner duties forbid it. Yet, the habit of sinning weakens its power to resist.

¹³ But you object and say that the wicked—those who are dragged toward destruction—have not received the freedom of will. First, we must understand that free will is endowed with a twofold capacity: it is capable of turning either toward salvation or toward its own destruction. Yet, you counter that the freedom of the will belongs only to those who are to be liberated and to those who benefit from the gift of redemption. This is not the case. Liberation pertains to the gift of grace and to the purpose of a life that consents to it, whereas free will does not belong to the generosity of grace but to nature itself.

¹⁴ To those who seek it, grace is either given or preserved; but free will is granted even to those who do not seek it. Grace is bestowed upon those who are reborn; free will is given to those who are born. Grace belongs solely to God’s operation, whereas liberation involves the service of the enslaved human being. Grace is confirmed in the good, but free will is implanted in both the good and the wicked. Grace belongs to the acquired and the persevering, while free will is supplied even to the lost. Grace pertains to the Creator, while free will also pertains to the obedient. Grace is a matter of power; free will is a matter of mercy. Grace belongs to origin and nature, while free will is a gift and a virtue.

Chapter 12: The Gentiles Naturally Knew God #

¹ The prophet Daniel, filled with the Holy Spirit, knowing that God had placed the desire for good and evil within the human mind, thus addresses King Nebuchadnezzar, saying: “Therefore, may my counsel be pleasing to you, O king: Redeem your sins with almsgiving and your iniquities with compassion for the poor”. He says, “Redeem your sins with almsgiving.” Now, that which can be redeemed cannot be considered irrevocably fixed. Surely, one is not excluded from healing if a remedy is offered. At the same time, free will is not denied to the one whose consent is required. The soul has not lost the office of a free mind if it is shown capable of receiving counsel. One cannot be considered entirely alien to salvation if the means of salvation is presented. And to the one to whom the prophet offers the opportunity for obtaining mercy, he implicitly affirms the existence of the power of free will.

² And this too: when the prophet reproaches the Gentile king Belshazzar, saying: “You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of wood and stone, but the God in whose hand is your very breath, you have not praised”, you see that this foreigner was indeed able to know and praise God—but chose not to. The prophet mentions that the knowledge and worship of God are present in man by nature, for he recognized that the law of nature operates indiscriminately within the mind of every human being.

³ Therefore, when Daniel revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his dream, the king—though a pagan—showed that he was not ignorant of God, declaring: “Truly, your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings”. And who but reason and the natural law, working through Daniel, taught King Darius to think and speak about God in this way? For it is through the power of reason and the moral law that he learned that God is pleased by genuine conversion.

⁴ (Text lost)… [Migne summarised this missing section, writing: “Thus, in the eleventh chapter of the second book, he (Faustus) boldly and arrogantly maintains that by the natural power, without the aid of grace, many were saved not only before the coming of the Lord but even before the written law, and that they had reached the perfect purity of heart and full justice, meriting to become the children of God.”]

Chapter 13: Concerning the Ninevites #

¹ (Text lost)… thus it came about that they understood that God, in His very nature, could become angry. For the great city of Nineveh did not come to its senses through Jonah’s teaching, nor did it gain the knowledge of seeking salvation through his warnings. The prophet did not instruct the people but rather terrified them. He did not promise mercy but proclaimed an unchangeable sentence. And yet, that city, as it is written, “believed in hope against hope”, and in a way, promised itself remedies that were, to some extent, forbidden—remedies that were nevertheless greatly pleasing to God, even if they had to be sought after having been promised.

² And indeed, such remedies are sometimes withheld by the Lord, so that, when they are obtained with greater effort, they may be more firmly kept. At the same time, by introducing difficulty in obtaining them, faith is tested, devotion is exercised, and affection is revealed. All of this is the work of the inner fire placed within man by God, which man, with God’s grace, nurtures.

³ Thus, that nation [the Ninevites] demonstrated that God had placed within man the very order by which the things necessary for human salvation are accomplished. And before the gifts of the Redeemer, the gifts of the Creator always flourished in rational creatures—granted indeed by the supreme Creator through nature, but meant to be strengthened by grace.

⁴ By grace, I say, for it was in the time of grace that the salvation of past ages was to be fulfilled, since neither the law, nor the written word, nor nature brought anything to perfection. Thus, in the Ninevites, the voice of the Lord, full of mercy and goodness, was clearly revealed, saying: “At one moment I may speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, to uproot, tear down, and destroy it. But if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I intended to do to it”.

⁵ The merciful Judge desires, in His loving compassion, to change the decrees of His counsel with a gracious “lie,” if the guilty one hastens to apply the remedy of repentance. For He reluctantly imposes the burden of condemnation upon man, He who shows the remedy of satisfaction and awaits the diligent devotion of servitude.

⁶ Thus, the perfect providence, which delights in the testing of virtues in this world, deemed it most fitting and most worthy of His wisdom to subject man—created in the dignity of the sacred image—to trials and tribulations here, so that there, He might fulfil him with gifts and rewards. Thus, when the servant has demonstrated obedience through labour, the Lord might show justice in rewarding him. And when human weakness offers humble devotion, divine power might display its ineffable generosity.

⁷ Therefore, we must labour constantly, but never depart from grace, saying: “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me”. Indeed, even the very word assistance implies the duty of the one who labours. For the notion of assistance involves two parties: the one working and the one cooperating, the one asking and the one promising, the one knocking and the one opening, the one seeking and the one rewarding.

⁸ Our part, then, is this: since we are unworthy due to our frailty, we should at least strive to please God through persistent seeking and tireless knocking. For where would the mercy of a compassionate God be if the desires of the idle were granted, even though they had shown no merit in their deeds? Thus, unless unyielding obedience displays a diligent devotion to serving, justice will find no place to grant rest.

⁹ For this reason, the divine word depicts the labouring farmer as one who patiently awaits the fruit of his toil, saying: “Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient until it receives the early and the late rains”. What are the early and late fruits? The early fruits are those we acquire through the toils of our present spiritual warfare. The late fruits are those we will receive as rewards after the completion of our service, in the retribution of the age to come.

¹⁰ The early fruits include: faith and sincerity of heart, kindness, bodily self-restraint, contempt for evil, desire for good, gentleness of spirit, and purity of chastity. The late fruits, however, consist of the acquisition of immortal things, the inheritance of heaven, and the possession of eternity—concerning which it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him”.

¹¹ Of these late fruits, it is also said through the apostles and martyrs: “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us”. Thus, the early fruits pertain to virtues, while the late fruits pertain to the reward of virtues. The early fruits are those we gather here through works of obedience to the commandments; the late fruits are those we will obtain there through the fulfillment of our longings in eternal rewards.

¹² How then can God be delighted, if we build a wall—that is, an immensely strong barrier of supplication against His wrath—just as the man did of whom we read: “For a man without fault hastened to intercede for the people, bringing forth the shield of his ministry; he resisted the wrath and put an end to the calamity”. For He says, “Who would stand opposed before me, to prevent me from destroying it?”. He shows how His wrath is overcome—He is, in a certain sense, appeased even as He grows angry.

¹³ In this context, whoever claims that man was made by the all-powerful and most just Creator in such a way that one person is driven to the left (into condemnation) solely by the impulse of divine foreknowledge, without any personal guilt, while another is drawn to the right (into salvation) without their merits being examined, is clearly asserting that the Creator’s and Judge’s decrees are disordered or unjust.

¹⁴ But at this point, let the attentive listener focus on the supreme Creator. When He resolved to form man, four virtues stood by Him in service and counsel during the act of creation. Which four? Power, Goodness, Wisdom, and Justice. Now, consider carefully which of these four you would dare to presume was lacking in God. To make this clearer, let us imagine, if you will, that each of these virtues offers its own speech and counsel.

¹⁵ Power says: “Let us create, next to the kingdom of heaven, a wondrous creature, so that these lesser realms of our dominion will not seem lowly by comparison. Let us complete this beautiful fabric of the world by making man in it, and let us appoint him as its governor, through whom the world will be ordered, possessed, and adorned.”

¹⁶ Goodness says: “It is not fitting that only heavenly beings should enjoy our beneficence. Let us make man on earth as well, around whom we may display the abundance of our grace, upon whom we may lavish the gifts of our goodwill, and into whom we may pour the riches of our innate kindness.”

¹⁷ Wisdom says: “Let us not only create him but also honour him with the faculty of reason and discernment. Let us fill him with the light of prudence. Let us make him simple, yet also shrewd: simple, so that cunning does not lead him into evil; shrewd, so that he does not stumble into danger through naivety. Let us implant in him an affection for good and an understanding of evil, and, under our governance, allow him to be placed in the hand of his own counsel and the freedom of his own judgment.”

¹⁸ In the meantime, power, which also possesses foreknowledge, deliberates within itself: “What are we doing? If we permit him to be free according to his own will, we foresee that he will stray into the paths of sin and turn the precious gifts of creation into instruments of wickedness. Therefore, if we want our work in him to be everlasting, let us take away from him the power to sin.”

¹⁹ But justice responds: “It must not be so. It does not befit our laws that one who ought to be tested by opposing forces should not be able to prove his own strength. It is not fitting, I say, according to our laws, that we should deny the matter and cause of glory to one whom we wish to glorify even by his own efforts. Nor should we, in our desire to reward him with sheer grace, render him incapable of earning anything by his own labor. Rather, let these noble and genuine virtues, our companions, exert themselves in him individually—let them each play their part. Let power create him as exalted among all visible creatures, especially since he will dwell among enemies. Let wisdom arrange him to be prudent. Let goodness assist him in his struggles. Let justice crown him as the victor.

²⁰ Let us, therefore, make such a human being for his own benefit and for the sake of our dignity—one who is not drawn toward the right path by necessity, but by free will; one who understands evil through reason and accomplishes good through virtue. Let us create such a being in whom goodness is natural, but malice is foreign to his nature; who holds goodness in his will but possesses the capacity for evil; who naturally desires good but is actually capable of evil; who voluntarily keeps our commandments and cannot be endangered against his will. Let this be his first opportunity for praise: that he is able to sin, yet chooses not to.

²¹ Let it be enough that, among the four-legged beasts and brute animals, which are to be subjected to man, we have already created creatures incapable of guilt but also incapable of possessing the fruits of righteousness. But this being, to whom we are about to entrust the dignity of our image, must not be made like livestock. Let us consider those creatures that we have formed without knowledge of sin or reason, devoid of any honour of prudence. Does the simplicity of a beast benefit it in any way? Or does the fruitfulness of a tree profit it? As for our human being, will we be able to ascribe the crown of praise to him if we subject his nature to necessity?”

²² Thus, since humanity is placed in this condition—subject by nature, yet free by discernment, and perfected by reason—it is fitting that we govern ourselves under the authority granted and the law set forth, so that obedience to the command becomes both the gateway and the cause of reward. For if a person does not have the ability or freedom to do evil, they will not have the glory of doing good. If, according to God’s benevolence, a person does not also, by their own effort and diligence, attain praiseworthy virtue, their innocence will be mere idleness, not true integrity. Moreover, where there is no merit, the reward is lost. No one can preserve the good they have if they do not know how to acquire it. Without devotion to obedience preceding it, the offering of grace becomes worthless.

²³ Furthermore, it would bring shame upon the giver if the idle were honoured or the lazy were rewarded. Rather, with the aid of divine assistance, a person must become worthy by their own work, so that they may be blessed with a good conscience. For unless the liberality of the giver is just, the happiness of the recipient will not be complete. And unless the worthiness of the seeker is first tested, how will the generosity of the giver rejoice in what is granted?

²⁴ Once again, divine foreknowledge engages with justice and says: “It would be better for the human race not to exist at all than to be created only to perish.” But goodness and justice respond: “That is not so. Should Abel, the righteous, not exist because of Cain, the wicked? Should Noah’s righteousness be unseen in the world because of the growing wickedness of others? Should we be deprived of Peter because of Judas? Should those who, through stern magnanimity and the austere strength of virtue, are destined to be crowned by just judgment, not enter into life because others, overcome by the allure of vice, will be lost? Should the ages of the righteous, the thousands of martyrs, and the kingdom of the saints be reduced to nothing because of the multitude of transgressors? Should we not create those whom we foresee will please us by their merit simply because we foreknow that others will sin by their own fault? If that were the case, then divine foreknowledge would rob our power more than the completed evil of sinners could harm it. For the foreknown generation of the wicked would deprive the good of existence—good people who, if created, could only have been harmed by the wicked, not prevented from existing altogether.”

²⁵ But goodness may object: “Let us create the human race in such a way that it cannot sin.” To this, prudent justice replies: “How can we grant to earthly beings what we did not grant to the heavenly ones? How can human frailty possess what the nature of angels did not attain?”

²⁶ Since this is the case, let no creature dare to dispute the work of the Creator. For it was by His power that He created humankind from nothing, making them immortal. It was by His wisdom that He endowed them with the capacity for reason. It was by His goodness that He prepared them for beatitude. And it was by His justice that He chose not to reward them before first putting them to the test.

²⁷ But in the midst of these things, someone persists and says: “If it is certain that sinners in the age to come will be condemned to torments and handed over to eternal fires, then man ought to have been made in such a way that he could not possibly sin.”

²⁸ Why do you, O man, rush ahead of the plans of your Creator? Why do you seek the reality of immortality in the realm of death? Why do you demand in the midst of warfare what is prepared for glory? Why do you ask for what is reserved for after the struggle before the labour is completed?

²⁹ It will indeed be given—but only when man has been justified forever, when what is granted can no longer be lost. It will be given—but in the time of blessedness, where there will no longer be any need to consider or even know sin. There, neither the will nor the ability to sin will exist. There, living in holiness, purity, and piety will no longer require effort or diligence, for divine mercy and justice will so direct nature that the one who pursued integrity here will no longer be capable of corruption there. For God will judge it fitting that the man who, though weak, willed not to sin, will be made incapable of sinning when he is eternal. Thus, as the ages roll on endlessly, there will be joy without fear, reward without envy, and a kingdom without an enemy.