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having been made so. But since all are of the same nature, being able both to hold fast and to do what is good, and being able again to cast it away and not do it, justly both among well-ordered men, and much more so with God, some are praised and receive worthy testimony for their universal choice of and perseverance in the good, while others are accused and receive a worthy penalty for their rejection of the fair and the good. And for this reason the prophets exhorted men to act justly and to work what is good, as this is in our power, and because through great carelessness we had fallen into forgetfulness and were in need of good counsel, which counsel the good God provided through the prophets. For all these things demonstrate the free will of man and the counselling power of God, who dissuades from disobeying Him, but does not compel. For even with the Gospel itself, if one should not wish to follow, it is indeed permitted him, but it is not expedient; for disobedience to God and the rejection of the good is indeed in man's power, but it brings no small harm and penalty. And for this reason Paul says: "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient." Explaining the freedom of man, because of which all things are lawful, God not compelling him, he also shows what is expedient, so that we may not abuse our freedom as a cloak for wickedness, for this is indeed inexpedient. 22 Things which come about spontaneously are not loved in the same way as things found with effort. 23 But if someone should say: Was God not able to have made man perfect from the beginning? Let him know that for God, who is always the same and uncreated, all things are possible in relation to Himself; but created things, in that they afterward had their own beginning of existence, must in this respect be inferior to the one who made them. For things recently created could not be uncreated; and in that they are not uncreated, in this respect they fall short of the perfect; for in that they are newer, in this respect they are also infants, and in this respect also unaccustomed and untrained for the perfect way of life. As, therefore, a mother is able to provide perfect food to the infant, but it is as yet unable to receive its more mature nourishment, so also God Himself was able to provide perfection to man from the beginning, but man was unable to receive it; for he was an infant. And for this reason also our Lord, in the last times, having summed up all things into Himself, came to us, not as He was able, but as we were able to see Him; for He was able to come to us in His ineffable glory, but we were not yet ever able to bear the greatness of His glory. And for this reason, as to infants, the perfect bread of the Father gave Himself to us as milk, which was His coming in human form, so that being nourished as from the breast of His flesh, and through such milk-giving having been accustomed to eat and drink the Word of God, we might be able to hold fast in ourselves the bread of immortality, which is the Spirit of the Father. And for this reason Paul says to the Corinthians: "I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to bear it," that is, you were discipled into the Lord's coming in human form, but the Spirit of the Father does not yet rest upon you because of your weakness. "For where there is jealousy and strife," he says, "and divisions among you, are you not carnal and walking in a human way?" that is, that the Spirit of the Father was not yet with them on account of their imperfect and weak manner of life. As, therefore, the apostle was able to give the solid food—for those on whom the apostles laid their hands received the Holy Spirit, which is the food of life—but they were unable to receive it because their senses were still weak and untrained for fellowship with God, so also in the beginning God was able to give perfection to man, but he, being newly made, was unable to receive it, or having received it, to contain it, or having contained it, to hold on to it. And for this reason the Word of God, being perfect, became an infant along with man, not for His own sake but for the sake of man's

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οὕτως γεγονότες. Ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ οἱ πάντες τῆς αὐτῆς εἰσι φύσεως, δυνάμενοί τε κατασχεῖν καὶ πρᾶξαι τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ δυνάμενοι πάλιν ἀποβαλεῖν αὐτὸ καὶ μὴ ποιῆσαι, δικαίως καὶ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις τοῖς εὐνομουμένοις, καὶ πολὺ πρότερον παρὰ Θεῷ, οἱ μὲν ἐπαινοῦνται καὶ ἀξίας τυγχάνουσι μαρτυρίας τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ καθόλου ἐκλογῆς καὶ ἐπιμονῆς, οἱ δὲ καταιτιῶνται καὶ ἀξίως τυγχάνουσι ζημίας τῆς τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἀποβολῆς. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οἱ προφῆται παρῄνουν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δικαιοπραγεῖν καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐξεργάζεσθαι, ὡς ἐφ' ἡμῖν ὄντος τοῦ τοιούτου καὶ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀμέλειαν εἰς λήθην ἐκπεπτωκότων καὶ γνώμης δεομένων ἀγαθῆς, ἣν ὁ ἀγαθὸς Θεὸς παρεῖχεν γνώμην διὰ τῶν προφητῶν. Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα τὸ αὐτεξούσιον ἐπιδείκνυσι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τὸ συμβουλευτικὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποτρέποντος μὲν τοῦ ἀπειθεῖν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ μὴ βιαζομένου. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον εἰ μὴ βούλοιτό τις ἕπεσθαι, ἐξὸν μὲν αὐτῷ ἐστιν, ἀσύμφερον δέ· ἡ γὰρ παρακοὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀποβολὴ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔστιν μὲν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, βλάβην δὲ καὶ ζημίαν οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν φέρει. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· «Πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντα συμφέρει.» Τὸ ἐλεύθερον τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐξηγούμενος, διὸ πάντα ἔξεστιν, μὴ καταναγκάζοντος αὐτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὸ συμφέρον δείκνυσιν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ἐπικάλυμμα κακίας καταχρησώμεθα τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ, ἀσύμφερον γὰρ τοῦτό γε. 22 Οὐχ ὁμοίως ἀγαπᾶται τὰ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτομάτου προσγινόμενα τοῖς μετὰ σπουδῆς εὑρισκομένοις. 23 Εἰ δὲ λέγοι τις· Οὐκ ἠδύνατο ὁ Θεὸς ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τέλειον πεποιηκέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον; γνώτω ὅτι τῷ μὲν Θεῷ ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ὄντι καὶ ἀγενήτῳ ὑπάρχοντι, ὡς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν πάντα δυνατά· τὰ δὲ γεγονότα, καθ' ὃ μετέπειτα γενέσεως ἀρχὴν ἰδίαν ἔσχε, κατὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑστερεῖσθαι δεῖ αὐτὰ τοῦ πεποιηκότος. Οὐ γὰρ ἠδύνατο ἀγένητα εἶναι τὰ νεωστὶ γεγενημένα· καθ' ὃ δὲ μή ἐστιν ἀγένητα, κατὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὑστερεῖται τοῦ τελείου· καθ' ὃ γὰρ νεώτερα, κατὰ τοῦτο καὶ νήπια, κατὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀσυνήθη καὶ ἀγύμναστα πρὸς τὴν τελείαν ἀγωγήν. Ὡς οὖν ἡ μὲν μήτηρ δύναται τέλειον παρασχεῖν τῷ βρέφει τὸ ἔμβρωμα, τὸ δὲ ἔτι ἀδυνατεῖ τὴν αὐτοῦ πρεσβυτέραν δέξασθαι τροφήν, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Θεὸς αὐτὸς μὲν οἷός τε ἦν παρασχεῖν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὸ τέλειον, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἀδύνατος λαβεῖν αὐτό· νήπιος γὰρ ἦν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν καιρῶν ἀνακεφαλαιωσάμενος εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὰ πάντα ἦλθε πρὸς ἡμᾶς, οὐχ ὡς αὐτὸς ἠδύνατο, ἀλλ' ὡς ἡμεῖς αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν ἠδυνάμεθα· αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἀφράστῳ αὐτοῦ δόξῃ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐλθεῖν ἠδύνατο, ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς οὐ δήπω ποτὲ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ βαστάζειν ἠδυνάμεθα. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, ὡς νηπίοις, ὁ ἄρτος ὁ τέλειος τοῦ Πατρὸς γάλα ἡμῖν ἑαυτὸν παρέσχεν, ὅπερ ἦν ἡ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον αὐτοῦ παρουσία, ἵνα ὡς ὑπὸ μαστοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ τραφέντες καὶ διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης γαλακτουργίας ἐθισθέντες τρώγειν καὶ πίνειν τὸν Λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸν τῆς ἀθανασίας ἄρτον, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Πατρός, ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς κατασχεῖν δυνηθῶμεν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Παῦλος Κορινθίοις φησίν· «Γάλα ὑμᾶς ἐπότισα, οὐ βρῶμα, οὐδὲ γὰρ ἠδύνασθε βαστάζειν», τουτέστι τὴν μὲν κατὰ ἄνθρωπον παρουσίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐμαθητεύθητε, οὐ δήπω δὲ τὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς Πνεῦμα ἐπαναπαύεται ἐφ' ὑμᾶς διὰ τὴν ὑμῶν ἀσθένειαν. «Ὅπου γὰρ ζῆλος καὶ ἔρις», φησίν, «ἐν ὑμῖν καὶ διχοστασίαι, οὐχὶ σαρκικοί ἐστε καὶ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον περιπατεῖτε;» τουτέστιν ὅτι οὐ δήπω τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Πατρὸς ἦν σὺν αὐτοῖς διὰ τὸ ἀκατάρτιστον αὐτῶν καὶ ἀσθενὲς τῆς πολιτείας. Ὡς οὖν ὁ ἀπόστολος δυνατὸς μὲν ἦν διδόναι τὸ βρῶμα-οἷς γὰρ ἂν ἐπετίθουν οἱ ἀπόστολοι τὰς χεῖρας ἐλάμβανον Πνεῦμα ἅγιον, ὅ ἐστι βρῶμα ζωῆς-, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἠδυνάτουν λαβεῖν αὐτὸ διὰ τὸ ἀσθενῆ ἔτι καὶ ἀγύμναστα ἔχειν τὰ αἰσθητήρια τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν συγγυμνασίας, οὕτως καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ μὲν Θεὸς δυνατὸς ἦν διδόναι τὸ τέλειον τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἄρτι γεγονὼς ἀδύνατος ἦν λαβεῖν αὐτό, ἢ καὶ λαβὼν χωρῆσαι, ἢ καὶ χωρήσας κατασχεῖν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο συνενηπίασεν ὁ Λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ, τέλειος ὤν, τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, οὐ δι' ἑαυτὸν ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου