Different Trials

Benignus est enim spiritus sapientiae, et non liberabit maledictum a labiis suis, quoniam renum illius testis est Dominus, et cordis ejus scrutator est verus, et linguae illus auditor. Haec sententia destruit errorem illorum, qui sicut bonas cogitatione a Deo nobis constat inspirari, ita etiam malas ipso instigante putant in nostra mente generari, cum nullo modo Deus, qui summe bonus est, et omnes homines vult salvari, atque ad agnitionem veritatis pervenier, necessitatem mali verbi aut pravi actus alicui imponet, per quem perire possit, sicut Jacobus apostolus ostendit, dicens: Nemo ergo cum tentatur, dicat: Quoniam a Deo tentor; Deus enim intentator malorum est, ipse enim neminem tentat; ac si diceret: Nemo cum rapinam, furtum, falsum testimonium, homicidium, stuprum, vel caetera hujusmodi commiserit, dicat, quoniam Dei cogente necesse habuerit haec patrare, et ideo nullatenus horum effectum potuerit declinare. Deus enim malorum intentator est, subauditur, tentamentorum; ipse enim neminem tentat, ea videlicet tentatione, quae decipit miseros ut peccent. Duplex est enim genus tentationis, unum quod decipit, aliud quod probat; secundum hoc quod decipit, Deus neminem tentat; secundum illud quod probat, Deus tentavit Abraham. De quo et Prophea postulat: Proba me, Domine, et tenta me. Unusquisque vero tentatur a concupiscentia sua abstractus est et illetus, scilicet abstractus a recto itinere, et illectus in malum quo tamen justo Dei judicio permittitur cadere qui Spiritui veritatis noluit obedire. Rabanus Maurus, Commentariorum In Librum Sapientiae Wisdom, Liber I, Caput II Source: Migne PL 109.674d-675b

The spirit of wisdom is benevolent and it does not overlook a curse from the lips, because the Lord observes a man's interior, and is a true watcher of his heart, and he hears his tongue. 1 This passage overthrows the error of those who think that just as good thoughts are constantly inspired by God, so at His instigation evil ones are generated in our minds, when in no way does God, who is the greatest good, and who wishes every man to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, impose the necessity of an evil word or depraved act on anyone, through which they perish, as James the Apostle shows, saying, 'Let no one when he is tempted say, 'I am being tempted by God.' For God does not tempt with evils, He tempts no one.' 2 As if he said, Let no one when they plunder, or thieve, or give false witness, or murder or fornicate, or do anything like that, say that because of some overwhelming force of God they had to do it, and therefore they were in no way capable of refusing to do it. For God does not tempt with evils, that is, with temptations, for He tries no man, that is, with temptation, which deceives the wretched so that they sin. There are two types of trials, one that deceives and one that proves. According to that which deceives, God never makes trial, according to what proves, God tested Abraham. Concerning which the prophet asks: 'Prove me, O Lord, and test me.' 3 However, everyone seized and trapped by his own desire, certainly he is taken from the right path and snared in evil, into which he who did not wish to be obedient to the spirit of truth is permitted to fall by the just judgement of God. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary on the Book of Wisdom, Book 1, Chapter 2 1 Wisdom 1.6 2 James 1.13 3 Ps 25.2

The Fruits Of Choosing

Fiat manus tua ut salvum me faciat, quoniam mandata tua elegi. Aliis gloriam saeculi eligentibus, aliis venerationem elementorum ac daemonum capessentibus, aliss terrenas opes expetentibus, sanctus iste mandata Dei elegit. Elegit autem non naturali necessitate, sed voluntate pietatis: quia unicuique ad id quod volet via est proposita vivendi, et appetendi atque agendi permissa libertas. Et ob id uniuscujusqie aut poena aut praemiis afficetur electio. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis,Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXVIII Source: Migne PL 9.641a

May it be that your hand saves me, because I have chosen your commandments. 1 It is for others to choose the glory of the age, it is for others to take to the veneration of the elements of the world and demons, it is for others to seek worldly wealth, this holy man chooses the commandments of God. Yet he does not choose on account of some necessity of nature but by the will of piety, because each one chooses according to the purpose of his way of living, and freedom is given for that desiring and doing. And because of this the choice of each one shall bring about punishment or reward. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 118 1 Ps 118.173

Freedom And Goodness

Sine consilio autem tuo nihil colui facere: ut non quasi ex necessitate bonum tuum esset, sed voluntarium. Hoc quod a plerisque quaeritur, et saepissime retractatur: quare Deus hominem faciens, non eam bonum rectumque condiderit, de praesenti loco solvi potest. Si enim Deus voluntarie, et non ex necessitate bonus est, debuit hominem faciens, ad suam imaginem et similitudinem facere, hoc est, ut et ipse voluntarie, et non ex necessitate bonus esset. Qui autem asserunt ita eum debuisse fieri, ut malum recipere non posset, hoc dicunt: talis debuit fieri qui necessitate bonus esset, et non voluntate. Quod si talis fuisset effectus, qui bonum non voluntate, sed necessitate perficeret, non esset Deo similis: qui ideo bonus est, quia vult, non quia cogitur. Ex quo manifestum est, rem eos inter se postulare contrariam. Nam ex eo quod dicunt, debuit homo Deo similis fieri; illud petunt, ut liberi fieret arbitrii, sicut Deus ipse est. Ex eo autem quod inferunt, talis debuit fieri, qui malum recipere non posset; dum necessitatem ei boni important,* illud volunt, ut homo Deo similis non fieret. Potuit itaque et apostolus Paulus absque voluntate Philemonis, Onesimum sibi in ministerium retinere. Sed si hoc sine voluntate Philemonis fecisset: bonum quidem erat, sed non voluntarium. Quod autem non erat voluntarium, alio genere arguebatur non esse bonum. Nihil quippe bonum diei potest, nisi quod ultroneum est. Ex quo Apostoli consideranda prudentia est: qui idcirco fugitivum servum remittit ad dominum, ut prosit domino suo: qui prodesse non poterat, si domino teneretur absente. Superior ergo quaestio ita solvitur: Potuit Deus hominem sine voluntate ejus facere bonum. Porro si hoc fecisset, non erat bonum voluntarium, sed necessitatis. Quod autem necessitate bonum est, non est bonum, et alio genere malum arguitur. Igitur proporio arbitrio nos relinquens, magis ad suam imaginem et similitudinem fecit. Similem autem Deo esse absolute bonum est. Sanctus Hieronymus, Commentariorum In Epistolam Beati Pauli Ad Philemonem Source: Migne PL 26.612d-613b

Without your counsel I would do nothing, for not from necessity shall your good be, but from your free will. 1 This which by so many is sought and so often escapes them when they wonder why did God in making man not fashion him so that he was good and right, one is able to answer from the present passage. For if God by choice and not by necessity is good, he should have in making man, in His own image and likeness making him, 2 that he be by choice and not from necessity be good. They who assert that he should be so that he should not be able to undertake evil, by this say that man should be as one for whom the good is by necessity and not by choice. Which if such a thing were done, he would be one who accomplished good not freely but by necessity, and so not like God. Therefore  a man is good is because he wishes to be, not because he is forced to be. From which it is manifest that among themselves they ask for the contrary. For from what they say, a man should be similar to God, they seek that which makes the will free, like God Himself is. From which they infer such should be who are not able to do evil, but when the necessity of the good they impose upon man, this they wish for, that man should not be similar to God. Thus the Apostle Paul was able to retain Onesimus in his service without the will of Philemon. But if this were done without the will of Philemon, a good it was but not voluntary. Yet that which is not voluntary it was proved is another sort of thing and not a good. For nothing is able to be a good unless it is of one's own accord. This the Apostle considered with prudence, he therefore sent the slave back to his master that he be of benefit to his master; he would not be able to benefit him if he had kept him away from his master. The above question is thus solved. God was able to make man that he do good involuntarily. However, if He does this it is not a willed good but one of necessity. And that which is a good of necessity is not a good but another sort of evil. Therefore in giving us our own wills He makes us more according to his image and likeness. For to be like God is the absolute good. Saint Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon 1 Philemon 14 2 Gen 1.26

The Giving of Good and Evil

Ἤλθεν οὖν ἐκζητῆσαι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ σοφίᾳ τί γέγονεν ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, τίς ἡ σύγχυσις τῶν τῇδε πραγμάτων, πῶς ἐδουλὼθη τὸ ὄν τῷ μὴ ὄντι· πῶς δυναστεύει κατὰ τοῦ ὄντος τὸ ἀνυπόστατον. Καὶ οἰδεν ὅτι περισπασμὸν πονηρὸν ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς υἱοῖς ἀνθρώπων, τοῦ περισπᾶσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ ὡς ἄν τις ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου νοήσειε, εὐσεβές ἐστιν οἴεσθαι, ὅτι αὐτὸς ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν πονηρὸν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις περισπασμόν· ἦ γὰρ ἄν εῑς ἐλεῖνον ἡ τῶν κακῶν αἰτία ἐπαναφέροιτο. Ὁ γὰρ τῇ φύσει ἀγαθὸς, καὶ ἀγαθῶν πάντως παρεκτικὸς γίνεται· διότι πᾰν δένδρον καλὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖ, καὶ οὔτε ἀπὸ ἀκανθῶν σταφυλὴ, οὔτε ἐξ ἀμπέλου ἄκανθα φύεται· ὅ οὖν τῇ φύσει ἀγαθὸν, οὐκ ἄν τι πονηρὸν ἐκ τῶν θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ προχειρίσαιτο. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματος τῆς καρδίας κακὰ λαλεῖ, ἀλλὰ κατάλληλα τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φθέγγεται φύσει· πόσῳ οὖν μᾰλλον ἡ τῶν ἀγαθων πηγὴ οὐκ ἄν τι τῶν πονητῶν ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως προχέοι; Ἀλλὰ τουτο νοεῖν ὑποτίθεται ἡ εὑσεβεστέρα διάνοια, ὅτι τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόμα. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν, ἡ αὐτεξούσιος κίνησις ἢ τῇ διημαρτημένῃ τῶν ἀνθρώπων χρήσει ὄργανον εἰς ἁμαρτίαν ἐγένετο. Ἀγαθὸν γὰρ τῇ φύσει τὸ αὐτεξούσιον καὶ ἀδούλωτον, τὸ δὲ ὑπεζευγμένον ἀνάγκαις, οὐκ ἄν τις ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ἀριθμήσειεν· ἀλλ' ἠ αὐτεξούσιος αὔτη τῆς διανοίας ὁρμὴ ἀπαιδαγωγήτως πρὸς τὴν αἵρεσιν τῆς κακίας ἀποῥῥυεῖσα, πειρασμὸς τῆς ψυχῆς ἐγένετο, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ τιμίων, πρὸς τὰς ἐμπαθεῖς τῆς φύσεως κινήσεις κατασπασθείσης. Τοῦτο ἐστιν ὅ σημαίνει τὸ ἔδωκεν, οὐχ ὅτι αὐτὸς τὸ κακὸν τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωῇ ἐνποίησεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι τοῖς παρὰ Θεοῦ δοθεῖσιν ἀγαθοῖς ὁ ἀνθρωπος ὑπὸ ἀβουλίας κακῶν ὑπηρεσίαν ἐχρήσατο. Σύνηθες δέ ἐστι τῇ ἁγιᾳ Γραφῇ τὰ τοιαῦτα τῶν νοημάτων ταῖς τοιαύταις ἐξαγγέλλειν φωναῖς· ὡς τὸ, Παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς εἰς πὰθη ἀτιμίας· καὶ, Ἔδωκεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ἀδόκιμον νοῦν, και Ἐσκλήρυνε τὴν καρδίαν Φαραὼ· καὶ τὸ, Τί ἐπλάνησας ἡμᾶς, Κύριε, ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ σου, ἐσκληρυνας τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν τοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι σε; καὶ Ἐπλάνησεν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἀβάτῳ καὶ οὐχ ὁδῷ· καὶ Ἡπάτησας με καὶ ἠπατήθην· καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἑστὶν ὁμότροπα, ἐφ' ὦν ἡ ἀκριβὴς διάνοια οὐ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγγενέσθαι τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ συνίστησι φύσει· ἀλλὰ κατηγορεῖ τῆς ἐξουσίας, ἥ ἀγαθον μέν ἐστι καὶ Θεοῦ δῶρον δεδομένον τῇ φύσει· γέγονε δὲ, διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἐναντίον ῥοπῆς κακόν. Εἶδεν οὖν ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστὴς σύμπαντα τὰ πεποιημένα ἐν τῷ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον βίῳ, ὅτι πάντα ματαιότης, Οὐκ ἧν γὰρ ἀσυνιῶν, οὐκ ἧν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὸν Θεόν· ἐπειδὴ πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἀμα ἠχρειώθησαν. Διὰ τοῠ το εἰπὼν, ὅτι Καὶ ἰδου τὰ πάντα ματαιότης  τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπήγαγεν, ὅτι οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς τούτων αἴτιος, ἀλλὰ ἠ προαίρεσις τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὁρμῆς, ἥν πνεῦμα ὠνόμασεν. Κατηγορεῖ δὲ τούτου τοῦ πνεύματος, οὐχ ὅτι τοιοῦτον ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἧν· ἧ γὰρ ἄν ἔξω κατηγορίας ἥν, εἰ τοιοῦτον ἐγένετο· ἀλλ' ὅτι διαστραφὲν ἐξηρμόσθη τοῦ κόσμου. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Ἐκκλησιασην, Ὁμιλια Β'

Ecclesiastes has come, then, to seek out by his own wisdom what is done under the sun, that confusion of deeds, why existence is subject to non existence and how that which is insubstantial has power over being. He knew that 'God has given to the sons of men an evil trouble to vex him' 1. And let this be thought as something not easily understood, that a pious man considers that God has given an evil to the sons of men in order to trouble them, for then one may choose to attribute the cause of evil to God. But He who is good by nature is indeed a giver of good things because every good tree bears good fruit and from thorns  grapes do not spring, nor do thorns grow from a vine; 2 therefore the One who is good by nature does not offer some evil from his storehouse. A good man does not speak evil from the abundance of his heart but utters words appropriate to his nature. How then is it that the fountain of good may not be a giver of evils? Let this be considered with a more reverent understanding, since the gifts of God are good. That is, the freedom of will given, man misused it as an instrument for sin, for free will is good in its nature and subject to no one, while anything yoked to necessity should not be accounted among things good, but in liberty, during a soul's testing, an impulse of the mind led to choice of evil, and from high state of honour it was drawn down to the passions. This is what  'He has given' means, not that He has given evil to the life of men, but that the goods God has given men have been used by them to commit mindless evil. Holy Scripture expresses such things as we have been considering, by proclaiming: 'God has handed them over to disgraceful of passions' 3, and 'He has given them over to a base mind.' 4 and 'He has hardened Pharaoh's heart'  5, and 'Why, Lord, have you caused us to wander from your way and why have you hardened our hearts not to fear you?' 6, and 'He make them wander in a desert and not in the way' 7, and 'You have deceived me, and I was deceived', 8 and other remarks similar to these, which being understood correctly does not mean that human nature has something inappropriate from God, but they censure free will which in itself is a good and a gift bestowed by God to our nature, but as a result of error, free will inclines to evil. So Ecclesiastes sees all things done in life under the sun, that they are vain. 'There is not one who understands or seeks after God' 9 since all have turned aside and have become useless. And thus he says 'Behold, all is vanity.'  10 He does not attribute the cause to God but to human choice which he names the wind. He censures this wind, for it is not as it was at the beginning. There it was free of censure and in no need of condemnation, but it turned aside by turning to the world.   Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On Ecclesiastes,  Homily 2 1 Eccl 1.13 2 Mt 7.17 3 Rom 1.26 4 Rom. 1.28 5 Ex 9.12 6 Is 63.17 7 Ps 106.40 8 Jer 20.7 9 Rom 3.11 10 Eccl 1.14

Creation, Freedom and Virtue

Θεὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φύσει πᾶν ὅτι περ ἔστι κατ' ἔννοιαν λαβεῖν ἀγαθὸν, ἐκεῖνό ἐστι· μᾶλλον δὲ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ τοῦ νοουμένου τε καὶ καταλαμβανομένου ἐπέκεινα ὢν, οὐ δι' ἄλλο τι κτίζει τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ζωὴν, ἣ διὰ τὸ ἀγαθὸς εἶναι. Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὢν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν δημιουργίαν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ὁρμήσας, οὐκ ἂν ἡμιτελῆ τὴν τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἐνεδείξατο δύνα μιν, τὸ μέν τι δοὺς ἐκ τῶν προσόντων αὐτῷ, τοῦ δὲ φθονήσας τῆς μετουσίας· ἀλλὰ τὸ τέλειον τῆς ἀγαθότητος εἶδος ἐν τούτῳ ἐστὶν, ἐκ τοῦ καὶ παραγαγεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς γένεσιν, καὶ ἀνεν δεῆ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεργάσασθαι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πολὺς τῶν καθ' ἕκαστον ἀγαθῶν ὁ κατάλογος, οὐ μὲν οὖν ἔστιν ἀριθμῷ ῥᾳδίως τοῦτον διαλαβεῖν. Διὰ τοῦτο περι ληπτικῇ τῇ φωνῇ ἅπαντα συλλαβὼν ὁ λόγος ἐσήμα νεν, ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν, κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ γεγενῆσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον.Ἶσον γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο τῷ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι παν τὸῦ ἀγαθοῦ μέτοχον τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἐποίησεν. Εἰ γὰρ πλήρωμα μὲν ἀγαθῶν τὸ Θεῖον, ἐκείνου δὲ τοῦτο εἰκών· ἄρ' ἐν τῷ πλῆρες εἶναι παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ, πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον ἡ εἰκὼν ἔχει τὴν ὁμοιότητα. Οὐκοῦν ἐστιν ἐν ἡμῖν παντὸς μὲν καλοῦ ἰδέα, πᾶσα δὲ ἀρετὴ καὶ σοφία, καὶ πᾶν ὅτιπέρ ἐστι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον νοούμενον.Ἓν δὲ τῶν πάντων καὶ τὸ ἐλεύθερον ἀνάγκης εἶναι, καὶ μὴ ὑπεζεῦχθαί τινι φυσικῇ δυναστείᾳ·ἀλλ' αὐτεξούσιον πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἔχειν τὴν γνώμην. Ἀδέσποτον γάρ τι χρῆμα ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἑκούσιον, τὸ δὲ κατηναγκασμένον καὶ βεβιασμένον ἀρετὴ εἶναι οὐ δύναται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Κατασκευής Ἀνθρωπου

God in His own nature is all which our mind can conceive of good, or rather, He transcends all the good that we can think of or grasp with the mind, and He creates man for no other reason than that He is good. And being so, and having this as His reason for the creation of our nature, He would not show the power of His goodness in an imperfect manner, giving our nature one thing from Himself, and refusing it another, but the perfect form of goodness is here by Him both bringing forth man from nothing in the beginning and completing him with the goods required, but since the catalogue of individual goods is long, it is not feasible to list them, and therefore the voice of Scripture expresses it concisely by an all encompassing phrase, in saying that man was made in the image of God.1 For this is the same as saying that He made human nature participant in all good, for if the Deity is the plenitude of goods, and man is His image, then in being filled with all good the image has its likeness to the archetype. Thus there is in us the idea of all excellence, all virtue and wisdom, and every conceivable higher thing. But above all this is the fact that we are free from necessity, and not enslaved to any natural power, but we have autonomy in matters of judgement, for virtue is voluntary and not subject to another; that which comes about by compulsion and force is not able to be virtuous. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Making of Man 1.Gen 1 . 27

Sin, Death, Freedom

Ἔξω μὲν εὐθὺς ἧν τοῦ παραδείσου, ἔξω δὲ τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης διαγωγῆς, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάθκης κακός, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀβουλίας, γενόμενος. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἥμαρτε μὲν διὰ μοχθηρὰν, προαίρεσιν, ἀπέθανε δὲ διὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν· Τὰ γὰρ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁματρίας θάνατος· Ὅσον γὰρ ἀφίστατο τῆς ζωῆς, τοσοῦτον προσήγγιζε τῷ θανάτῳ. Ζωὴ γὰρ ὁ Θεός· στέρησις δὲ τῆς ζωῆς θάνατος. Ὥστε ἑαυτῷ τὸν θάνατον ὁ Ἀδὰμ διὰ τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ κατεσκεύασε, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ὅτι Ἰδοὺ οἱ μακρύνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ σοῦ, ἀπολοῦνται. Οὕτως οὐχὶ Θεὸς ἔκτισε θάνατον, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ἑαυτοῖς ἐκ πονηρᾶς γνώμης ἐπεσπασάμεθα. Οὐ μὴν οὐδε ἐκώλυσε τὴν διάλυσιν διά τὰς προειρημένας αἰτίας, ἴνα μὴ ἀθὰνατον ἡμῖν τὴν ἀῥῥωστίαν διατηρήσῃ. Ὥωπερ ἂν εἴ τος σκεῦος πήλινον διαῥῥυὲν μὴ καταδέχοιτο παραδοῦναι πυρὶ, ἕως ἂν τὸ ἐνυπάρχον αὐτῷ πάθος διὰ τῆς ἀναπλάσεως ἐξιάσαιτο. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τί οὐκ ἐν τῇ κατασκευῇ τὸ ἀναμάρτητον ἔσχομεν, φησὶν, ὥστε μηδὲ βουλομένοις ἡμῖν ὑπάρχειν τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν; Ὅτι καὶ σὺ τοὺς οἰκέτας, οὐχ ὅταν δεσμίους ἔχῃς, εὔνους ὑπολαμβάνεις, ἀλλ' ὅταν ἐκουσίως ἴδῃς ἀποπληροῦντας σοι τὰ καθήκοντα. Καὶ Θεῳ τοίνυν οὐ τὸ ἠναγκασμένον φιλον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐξ ἀρετῆς κατορθούμενον. Ἀρετὴ δὲ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, καὶ οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης γίνεται. Προαίρεσις δὲ τῶν ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἤρτηταὶ. Τὸ δὲ ἐγ' ἡμῖν ἐστι τὸ αὐτεξούσιον. Ὁ τοίνυν μεμφόμενος τὸν ποιητὴν ὡς μὴ φυσικῶς κατασκευάσαντα ἡμᾶς ἀναμαρτήτους, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἤ τὴν ἄλογον φύσιν τῆς λογικῆς προτιμᾷ, καὶ τὴν ἀκίνητον καὶ ἀνόρμητον τῆς προαιρετικῆς καὶ ἐμπράκτου. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ὁτι Οὐκ Ἐστιν Αἰτιος Των Κακων Ὁ Θεος

Out from paradise and from that blessed state man immediately thrown, and this evil was not a matter of necessity but on account of thoughtlessness. He sinned because of wretchedness, by choice, dying on account of sin, 'For the reward of sin is death.' 1 As much as he drew close to death he withdrew from life. For God is life and death is the privation of life. So Adam established himself in death by withdrawing from God, according to what is written, 'Behold, those who distance themselves from you, they perish.' 2 Thus God did not create death but we draw ourselves into it by the wickedness of our minds. Nor does He prevent destruction on account of the cause mentioned, lest an eternal sickness be preserved in us. Just as an earthen vessel is unwilling to be melted by fire, yet the calamity of his defilement done consumes him. But, someone may say, 'Why were we not fashioned that we were sinless, that we did not even have the wish to sin?' Because you are not a slave in chains, which you would think benevolent, but rather free to fulfill the things which you should do. One who is bound by necessity cannot be pleasing to God, one can only please by the pursuit of virtue. And virtue is from choice and not from necessity. And the will which chooses is a thing which is ours. It is our freedom. Whence he who blames the Creator, because he did not establish sinlessness in us, does nothing by this but to prefer an irrational nature to an rational one and to desire an immobile mindlessness to the life of free will. Saint Basil of Caesarea, from a Homily on God not Being a Cause of Evils. 1 Rom 6.23 2 Ps 72.27

Man And The Other Things Of Nature

Καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἐν τιμῇ ὤν, οὐ συνῆκε· παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις, καὶ ὠμοιώθη αὐτοῖς. Μεγα ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων, τὸ τίμιον ἐν τῇ φυσικῇ κατασκευῇ ἔχων. Τί γὰρ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἄλλο κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος γέγονε; Τίνι ἡ κατὰ πάντων ἀπχὴ καὶ ἐξουσία τῶν τε χερσαίων καὶ ἐνύδρων καὶ ἐναερίων ζώων κεχάρισται; Βραχὺ μὲν ὑποβέβηκε τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀξίαν διὰ τὴν πρὸς τὸ γεῶδες σῶμα συγάφειαν· τὸν μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπον ἐποίησεν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, 'καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὺς φλόγα'· ἀλλ' ὄμως ἤ γε τοῦ νοεῖν καὶ συνιέναι τὸν ἑαυτῶν Κτίστην καὶ Δημιουργὸν δύναμις καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὑπάρχει. Ἐνεφύσησε γὰρ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον· τουτέστι, μοῖράν τινα τῆς ἰδίας χάριστος ἐναπέθετο τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, ἵνα τῷ ὁμοίῳ ἐπιγινώσκῃ τὸ ὅμοιον. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐν τιμῇ ὤν τηλικαύτῃ, ἐκ τοῦ δεδημιουργῆσθαι κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος, ὑπὲρ οὐρανὸν, ὑπὲρ ἥλιον, ὑπὲρ τὰς τῶν ἀστέρων χορείας τετιμημένος (τις γὰρ τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰκὼν εἴρηται τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου; ποίαν δὲ ἥλιος εἰκόνα σώζει τοῦ κτίσαντος; τί ἡ σελήνη; τί οἱ λιοποὶ ἀστέπες; ἄψυχα μὲν καὶ ὑλικὰ, διαφανῆ δὲ μόνον τὰ σώματα κεκτημένοι, ἐν οἶς οὐδαμοῦ διάνοια, οὐ προαιρετικαὶ κινήσεις, οὐκ αὐτεξουσιότητος ἐλευθερία· ἀλλὰ δοῦλά ἔστι τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἀνάγκης, καθ' ἢν ἀπαραλλάκτως ἀεὶ περὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἀναστρέφεταἰ)· ὑπὲρ οὖν ταῦτα ταῖς τιμαῖς προηγμένος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, οὐ συνῆκεν, ἀλλὰ καταλιπὼν τὸ ἔπεσθαι Θεῷ, καὶ ὁμοιοῦσθαι τῷ κτίσαντι, δοῦλος γενόμενος τῶν παθῶν τῆς σαρκὸς, 'Παρασυνεβλήθη τοῖς κτήνεσι τοῖς ἀνοήτοις, καὶ ὠμοιωθη αὐτοῐς.' Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΜΗ' Source: Migne PG 29.449b-452a

And a man when he is in honour, he does not understand, he is fashioned like the irrational beasts and is like them. 1 Man is great, and the the man of mercy is honourable, possessing honour in his natural state. Indeed what else indeed is there on the earth that is the image of the Creator? To whom was given the first place and power among all the terrestrial animals, and over those in the water and the creatures of the air? 2 Certainly he is a little inferior to the angels in worth, 3 because though he was joined to his earthly body, since indeed man was made from earth, and 'His servants are flames of fire,' 4 yet the Creator made inhere in him the power of intellect and knowing, that is, He mixed in man some part of His own grace so that man might know he was like Him. Thus when he is in such honour, when he conducts himself as an image of his Creator, his honour is greater than the sky, the sun and the chorus of the stars; for what in the heavens is said to be an image of the most high God? Does the sun serve as an image of the Creator? The moon? The stars? They are inanimate bodies made from matter, and granted a brightness in which there is no mind at all, nor any motion of will or intrinsic freedom, but on them the slavish service of necessity is imposed and they turn ever on their courses without change. A man, I say, has more honour than that, and yet when a man does not understand, it follows that he neglects to be similar to his Creator, and he is made a slave of the desires of the flesh, and thus, 'he is fashioned like the irrational beasts and is like them.' Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 48 1 Ps 48.21 2 Gen 1.26 3 Ps 8.6 4 Ps 103.4

Freedom And Creation

Ὁ γὰρ ἐπὶ μετουσίᾳ τῶν ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν ποιήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πάντων αὐτῷ τῶν καλῶν τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἐγκατασκευάσας τῇ φύσει, ὡς ἄν δι' ἐκάστου πρὸς τὸ ὅμοιον ἡ ὅρεξις φέροιτο, οὐκ ἄν τοῦ καλλίστου καὶ τιμωτάτου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρησε, λεγω δὴ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀδέσποτον καὶ αὐτεξούσιον χάριτος. Εἰ γὰρ τις ἀνάγκη τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ἐπεστάτει ζωῇ, διεψεύθη ἄν ἡ εἰκὼν κατ’ ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος, ἀλλοτριωθεῖσα τῷ ἀνομοίῳ πρὸς τὸ άρχέτυπον. Τῆς γὰρ βασιλευούσης φύσεως ἡ ἀνάγκαις τισὶ ὑπεζευγμένη τε καὶ δουλεῦουσα, πῶς ἄν εἰκὼν ὀνομάζοιτο; Ούκοῦν τὸ διὰ πάντων πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ὡμοιωμένον ἔδει πάντιος ἔχειν ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ αὐτοκρατὲς καὶ ἀδέσποτον, ὥστε ἀθλον ἀρετῆς εἴναι τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίαν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Λόγος Κατήχητικος Ὁ Μέγας, Κεφαλή Ε’ Source: Migne PG 45.24c-d

For He who made man for participation in His own good, and established in his nature inclinations for all things sublime, that through each one of them desire might carry toward its like, would never have deprived him of that most fair and noblest of all goods, that is, the grace of being independent and free. For if necessity ruled the life of man, the image would have been falsified in that part, being estranged by its difference to its archetype. How can that nature which is yoked and enslaved to necessity be called an image of self rule? Therefore that that which is in every way like the Divine should have in its nature a self-rule and independence, so that the reward of virtue is to participate in the good. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, from The Great Catechism, Chapter 5