The Devil and Evil

Πόθεν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ μὴ παρὰ Θεοῦ τὰ κακὰ; Τί οὖν φαμεν; Ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ἀρκέσει καὶ περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου λογος, ὁ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις μονηρίας ἀποδοθείς. Πόθεν γὰρ ποννρὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος; Ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας οὐτοῦ προαιρέσεως. Πόθεν κακὸς ὁ διάβολος; Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς αἰτίας, αὐθαίρετον ἔχων καὶ αὐτός τὴν ζωὴν, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ κειμένην τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἤ παραμένειν τῷ Θεῷ, ἢ ἀλλοτριωθῆναι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Γαβριὴλ ἄγγελος, καὶ παρέστηκε τῷ Θεῷ διηνεκῶς. Ὁ Σατανᾶς ἄγγελος, καὶ ἐξέπεσε τῆς οἰκείας τάξεως παντελῶς. Κἆκεῖνον ἡ προαίρεσις διεφύλαξεν ἐν τοῖς ἄνω, καὶ τοῦτον κατέῥῥιψε τῆς γνώμης τὸ αὐτεξούσιον. Ἐδύνατο γὰρ κἀκεῖνος ἀποστατῆσαι, καὶ οὖτος μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν διεσώσατο τῆς ἀγάπης τοῠ Θεοῦ τό ἀκόρεστον, τὸν δὲ ἀποβλητον ἔδειχεν ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀναχώρησις. Τούτο ἐστιν τὸ κακὸν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλοτρίωσις. Μικρὰ περιστροφὴ ὀφθαλμοῠ ἢ μετά ἡλίου ἡμᾶς εἶναι ποιεῖ, ἢ μετὰ τῆς σκιᾶς τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν. Κἀκεῖ μέν ἀναβλέψατι ἔτοιμον τό φωτισθῆναι, ἀπονεύσαντι δὲ πρὸς τὴν σκιὰν ἀναγκαία ἡ σκότωσις. Οὔτω πονηρίαν, οὐ φύσις ἀντικειμένη τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Πόθεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὅ πρὸς ἡμᾶς πόλεμος; Ὅτι, δοζεῖον ὤν πάσης κακίας, ἐδέξατο καὶ τοῦ φθόνου τὴν νόσον, καὶ ἐβάσκηνεν ἡμῖν τῆς τιμῆς. Οὐ γὰρ ἤνεγκεν ἡμῶν τὴν ἅλυπον ζωὴν τὴν ἐν τῷ παραδέισῳ· δόλοις δὲ καὶ μηχαναῖς ἐξαπατήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ, ἥν ἔσχε πρὸς τό ὁμοιωθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, ταύτῃ πρὸς τὴν ἀπάτην ἀποχρήσαμενος, ἔδειξε τὸ ξύλον καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο δια τῆς βρώσεως αὐτοῦ ὅμοιον τῷ Θεῷ καταστήσειν. Ἐὰν γὰρ φάγητε, φησὶν, ἒσεσθε ὡς θεοι, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. Οὐκ ἐχθρὸς τοίνυν ἡμῖν κατεσκευασθη, ἀλλ' ἐκ ζηλοντυπίας ἡμῖν εἰς ἔχθραν ἀντικατέστη. Ὁρων γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῶν ἀγγέλων καταῥῥιφέντα, οὐκ ἔφερε βλέπειν τὸν γήινον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν ἀγγέλων διὰ προκοπῆς ἀνυψούμενον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ὁτι Οὐκ Ἐστιν Αἰτιος Των Κακων Ὁ Θεος.

Why is the devil sundered from God but by evil? What shall we say? The same reason that we gave for man's separation suffices for an answer to this question. Whence comes evil to man? From his own will. Whence comes evil to the devil? From the same cause. When he had freedom he could have either adhered to God in perseverance or separated himself from the good. Gabriel is an angel and stands with God.1 Satan was also an angel, and from that order cut himself off. One remained in heaven by free will the other by free will fell from there. For he was able to not do as he did and so not fall. But one delighted in the service of God and another made himself reprobate by withdrawing from God. This is evil: to withdraw from God. A little movement of the eye and one sees the sun, or one is in the shadow of one's body. Thus it may be seen with swift illumination that if one turns to shadows one will by necessity dwell in darkness. In this way the devil is evil, from freely choosing wickedness, not in nature being adversary to the good. Why then does he war against us? Because receptive of every evil he has received the infection of envy, and to plot against us is his glory. For he did not wound our life in paradise by a direct act, but with cunning and cleverness man was deceived, and that was his desire with the suggestion of becoming like God, and by use of lies, showing the tree, by promise of the future, that if one ate of it, one would become like God. 'For if , he said, you eat you shall be like gods knowing good and evil.'2 Thus he is not an enemy to us other that from envy he is made an enemy to us. For when he saw himself thrown from the angelic hosts and then that man, who was of earth, was to the dignity of angels able to be exalted by virtue, he was not able to endure it. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily on God not Being a Cause of Evil. 1 cf Lk 1.19 2.Gen 3.5