De principiis

 To one who has received instruction and has practiced the ticklings and irritations occur, but reason, having been greatly strengthened and nourished

 He speaks to us as having free will and being the cause of our own destruction or salvation for he says, or do you despise the riches of his goodnes

 Since it was possible for him to be persuaded, and he certainly would have been persuaded, not being of an earthly nature, when constrained by the won

 In the underlying matter, from the one heat the wax is melted, but the clay is dried so the one energy working through moses on the one hand exposed

 In proportion to the unspeakable beneficence, to the greatest possible degree of blessedness they have attained. 3.1.13 therefore, he who is abandoned

 Stony hearts” and places in them “fleshy ones,” so that “his ordinances may be kept” and the commandments observed, it is not in our power to put away

 From the old [testament], being accused of such things. but if they seek a defense concerning the gospel, it must be said to them, unless they act rep

 Such things, by which having been seen and heard, the sin of those who after such great and numerous things have not believed is proven to be heavier

 Therefore, that which is from god is manifoldly and exceedingly more for salvation than that which is in our power. therefore, i think the saying mean

 Of the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad” is it sound, when those who have done evil things have come to this course of a

 To advance to better things, while others fall from better things to worse, and some are preserved in good things or ascend from good things to better

 Nor when the teachers were many, to be preached everywhere in the world, so that greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish were added to the worship

 “grace is poured out on his lips”? for a proof of the “grace poured out on his lips” is that after a short time of his teaching (for he taught for abo

 In the sun and moon and stars and is not so manifest in the events of human life, as in the souls and the bodies of animals, since the “for what purp

 They thought, since the creator was imperfect and not good, that the savior had come announcing a more perfect god, whom they say is not the creator,

 You did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” 4.2.4 the way, therefore, that appears to us for how one ought to approach the scripture

 Character. but a spiritual interpretation for the one who is able to show of what “heavenly things the pattern and shadow” the jews “according to the

 Is so great upon the earth, and if not only upon the earth, but also elsewhere, it is necessary for us to learn. 4.2.8 these things, and others like t

 Like a farmer, that god 'planted a paradise in eden toward the east,' and made in it a 'tree of life,' visible and perceptible, so that by tasting of

 But also the saying “to be struck on the right jaw” is most improbable, since everyone who strikes, unless he happens to have some unnatural condition

 Every part has the spiritual, but not every part the corporeal for in many places the corporeal is shown to be impossible. therefore, much attention

 Of us.” and in another epistle: “but you have come to mount zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

 Of israel or of those being far off, and the “descent into egypt of the seventy souls”, that there they might become “as the stars of heaven in number

Since it was possible for him to be persuaded, and he certainly would have been persuaded, not being of an earthly nature, when constrained by the wonders and signs; but God had need of him to be disobedient for a longer time, in order to display his mighty works for the salvation of the many, for this reason He hardens his heart. But these things will be said first to them, in order to overthrow what they suppose, namely that Pharaoh was of a perishing nature. The same must also be said to them concerning the passage in the apostle. For whom does God harden? Those who are perishing? What would they suffer, if they were not hardened? Or would they clearly be saved because they were not of a perishing nature? And whom does He have mercy on? Is it those who will be saved? And how do they need a second mercy, having been created once to be saved, and who will in any case be blessed because of their nature? Unless perhaps, since they are susceptible to destruction if they were not shown mercy, they are shown mercy, so that they may not receive that to which they are susceptible, namely, to perish, but may be in the place of those who are being saved. And these things, then, are addressed to them. 3.1.9 But we must further question those who think they have understood "he hardened," for what reason they say God acts to harden a heart, and with what purpose He does this. For let them preserve a concept of God, according to the sound view, as just and good, but if they are not willing, let it be granted to them for the present, as just; and let them show how the good and just one, or the just one alone, appears to be justly hardening the heart of the one who perishes because he is hardened, and how the just one becomes the cause of the destruction and disobedience of those who are punished by him because they are hardened and disobey him. And why does He also find fault with him, saying: “But you are not willing to send my people away. Behold, I will strike all the firstborn in Egypt and your firstborn,” and whatever else is written as God saying to Pharaoh through Moses? For it is necessary for one who believes that the scriptures are true and that God is just, if he is fair-minded, to struggle with how the just one may be clearly understood in such expressions. For if someone, having renounced all else, stood with bared head for the position that the Creator is evil, other arguments would be needed for him. 3.1.10 But since they say they are disposed toward him as toward a just one, and we as toward one who is both good and just, let us consider how the good and just one could harden the heart of Pharaoh. See then if, by a certain example which the apostle used in the epistle to the Hebrews, we can show how by one action God "has mercy on one, and hardens another," not purposing to harden, but through a good purpose, which is followed—because of the underlying material of wickedness from their own evil—by being hardened, He is said to harden the one who is hardened. "For land," he says, "which has drunk the rain that often comes upon it and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned." Therefore, the action concerning the rain is one. And though the action concerning the rain is one, the cultivated land bears fruit, but the neglected and barren land bears thorns. And it might seem blasphemous for the one who sends the rain to say: "I made the fruits and the thorns on the earth," but even if it is blasphemous, it is true; for if there had been no rain, there would have been neither fruits nor thorns, but when it flowed opportunely and in measure, both came to be. "Bearing," then, "thorns and thistles, the land that has drunk the rain that often comes upon it is worthless and near to being cursed." Therefore, the good of the rain has come even upon the worse land, but the underlying material, being neglected and uncultivated, has sprouted thorns and thistles. So then, in this way also the wonders done by God are like rain; and the different choices of will are like the cultivated land and the neglected land, being one in nature, as land ... 3.1.11 And just as if the sun also, sending forth a voice, were to say that I melt and I dry, although melting and drying are opposites, it would not speak falsely

ἐπεὶ δυνατὸν ἦν πείθεσθαι αὐτόν, καὶ πάντως ἐπείσθη ἂν ἅτε οὐκ ὢν χοϊκὸς ὑπὸ τῶν τεράτων καὶ σημείων δυσωπούμενος, χρῄζει δὲ αὐτοῦ ὁ θεὸς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐνδείξασθαι ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῶν πολλῶν τὰ μεγαλεῖα ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀπειθοῦντος, διὰ τοῦτο αὐτοῦ σκληρύνει τὴν καρδίαν. Ταῦτα δὲ λελέξεται πρῶτον πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ἀνατραπῆναι ὃ ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, ὅτι φύσεως εἴη ἀπολλυμένης ὁ Φαραώ. τὸ δ' αὐτὸ καὶ περὶ τοῦ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ λεγομένου λεκτέον πρὸς αὐτούς. τίνας γὰρ σκληρύνει ὁ θεός; τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους; ὡς τί πεισομένους, εἰ μὴ σκληρυνθεῖεν; ἢ δηλονότι σωθησομένους τῷ μὴ εἶναι αὐτοὺς φύσεως ἀπολλυμένης; τίνας δὲ καὶ ἐλεεῖ; ἆρα τοὺς σωθησομέ νους; καὶ πῶς χρεία ἐλέου δευτέρου αὐτοῖς, ἅπαξ κατασκευασθεῖσι σωθησομένοις καὶ πάντως διὰ τὴν φύσιν μακαρίοις ἐσομένοις; εἰ μὴ ἄρα, ἐπεὶ ἐπιδέχονται ἀπώλειαν, εἰ μὴ ἐλεηθεῖεν, ἐλεοῦνται, ἵν' ὅπερ ἐπιδέχονται μὴ λάβωσι, τὸ ἀπολέσθαι, ἀλλὰ γένωνται ἐν χώρᾳ σωζο μένων. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς ἐκείνους. 3.1.9 Ἐπαπορητέον δὲ πρὸς τοὺς νομίζοντας νενοηκέναι τὸ «ἐσκλή ρυνε», τί δήποτε λέγουσι τὸν θεὸν ἐνεργοῦντα σκληρύνειν καρδίαν, καὶ τί προτιθέμενον τοῦτο ποιεῖν. τηρείτωσαν γὰρ καὶ ἔννοιαν θεοῦ, κατὰ μὲν τὸ ὑγιὲς δικαίου καὶ ἀγαθοῦ, εἰ δὲ μὴ βούλον ται, ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος αὐτοῖς συγκεχωρήσθω, δικαίου· καὶ παρα στησάτωσαν, πῶς ὁ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιος ἢ ὁ δίκαιος μόνον φαίνεται δικαίως σκληρύνων καρδίαν τοῦ διὰ τὸ σκληρύνεσθαι ἀπολλυμένου, καὶ πῶς ὁ δίκαιος αἴτιος ἀπωλείας γίνεται καὶ ἀπειθείας τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ διὰ τὸ σκληρύνεσθαι καὶ ἀπειθῆσαι αὐτῷ κολαζομένων. τί δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ μέμφεται λέγων· «σὺ δὲ οὐ βούλει ἐξαποστεῖλαι τὸν λαόν μου. ἰδοὺ πατάσσω πάντα τὰ πρωτότοκα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ τὸν πρωτότοκόν σου», καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἀναγέγραπται ὡς τοῦ θεοῦ λέγοντος διὰ Μωσέως τῷ Φαραώ; ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ τὸν πιστεύοντα ὅτι ἀληθεῖς αἱ γραφαὶ καὶ ὅτι ὁ θεὸς δίκαιος, ἐὰν εὐγνώμων ᾖ, ἀγωνίζεσθαι, πῶς ἐν ταῖς τοιαύταις λέξεσι δίκαιος τρανῶς νοηθῇ. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπογραψάμενός τις γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ ἵστατο πρὸς τὸ πονηρὸν εἶναι τὸν δημιουργόν, ἄλλων ἔδει λόγων πρὸς αὐτόν. 3.1.10 Ἐπεὶ δέ φασι διακεῖσθαι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὡς περὶ δικαίου, καὶ ἡμεῖς ὡς περὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἅμα καὶ δικαίου, σκοπήσωμεν, πῶς ἂν ὁ ἀγα θὸς καὶ δίκαιος σκληρύνοι τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ. ὅρα τοίνυν εἰ διά τινος παραδείγματος, ᾧ ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ἑβραίους ἐχρή σατο, δυνάμεθα παραστῆσαι, πῶς μιᾷ ἐνεργείᾳ ὁ θεὸς «ὃν μὲν ἐλεεῖ, ὃν δὲ σκληρύνει», οὐ προτιθέμενος σκληρύνειν, ἀλλὰ διὰ προθέσεως χρηστῆς, ᾗ ἐπακολουθεῖ διὰ τὸ τῆς κακίας ὑποκείμενον τοῦ παρ' ἑαυτοῖς κακοῦ τὸ σκληρύνεσθαι, σκληρύνειν λεγόμενος τὸν σκληρυ νόμενον. «γῆ» φησιν «ἡ πιοῦσα τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον <πολλάκις> ὑετὸν καὶ τίκτουσα βοτάνην εὔθετον ἐκείνοις, δι' οὓς καὶ γεωργεῖται, μεταλαμβάνει εὐλογίας ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ· ἐκφέρουσα δὲ ἀκάνθας καὶ τρι βόλους, ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς, ἧς τὸ τέλος εἰς καῦσιν». οὐκοῦν μία ἐνέργεια ἡ κατὰ τὸν ὑετόν· μιᾶς δὲ ἐνεργείας οὔσης τῆς κατὰ τὸν ὑετόν, ἡ μὲν γεωργηθεῖσα γῆ καρποφορεῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀμεληθεῖσα καὶ χέρσος ἀκανθοφορεῖ. καὶ δύσφημον μὲν ἂν δόξαι εἶναι τὸ λέγειν τὸν ὕοντα· ἐγὼ τοὺς καρποὺς ἐποίησα καὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας τὰς ἐν τῇ γῇ, ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ δύσφημον, ἀλλ' ἀληθές· ὑετοῦ γὰρ μὴ γενομένου οὔτ' ἂν καρποὶ οὔτ' ἂν ἄκανθαι γεγόνεισαν, τούτου δὲ εὐκαίρως καὶ μεμετρημένως ἐπιρρεύσαντος ἀμφότερα γεγένηται. «ἐκφέρουσα» γοῦν «ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἡ πιοῦσα γῆ τὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς ἐρχόμενον πολλάκις ὑετὸν ἀδόκιμος καὶ κατάρας ἐγγύς». οὐκοῦν τὸ μὲν ἀγα θὸν τοῦ ὑετοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χείρονα γῆν ἐλήλυθε, τὸ δὲ ὑποκείμενον, ἠμελημένον καὶ ἀγεώργητον τυγχάνον, ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους ἐβλά στησεν. οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ τὰ γινόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τεράστια οἱονεὶ ὑετός ἐστιν· αἱ δὲ προαιρέσεις αἱ διάφοροι οἱονεὶ ἡ γεγεωργημένη γῆ ἐστι καὶ ἡ ἠμελημένη, μία τῇ φύσει ὡς γῆ τυγχάνουσα <...> 3.1.11 Ὥσπερ δὲ εἰ καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἔλεγε φωνὴν προϊέμενος ὅτι ἐγὼ τήκω καὶ ξηραίνω, ἐναντίων ὄντων τοῦ τήκεσθαι καὶ τοῦ ξηραί νεσθαι, οὐκ ἂν ψεῦδος ἔλεγε