in many cases, because it is added: "They will know that I am the Lord." And He threatens not only the Israelites, but also the Egyptians, and the Assyrians, and other enemies of the people. And this, at the end of many supposed threats, is also written in Exodus. For does one who hardens, harden a hard thing? but it is clear that a hard thing is not hardened, but hardness changes from softness into hardness; and softness of heart according to Scripture is praiseworthy, as we have observed in many places. Let them say, therefore, if Pharaoh, being good, became wicked, but also either God, in blaming Pharaoh, blames him in vain, or not in vain; if then in vain, how is He still wise and just? but if not in vain, Pharaoh was responsible for the sins of disobedience; and if he was responsible, he was not of a nature that is perishing. However, this also must be believed, because the Apostle uses the sayings from here to say: "So then He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?'" who is the one who hardens and has mercy? For certainly it is not that the hardening is from one, and the having mercy from another, according to the apostolic word, but from the same one. Therefore, either those who are shown mercy by God belong to the one who hardens the heart of Pharaoh, and another God, or a good one, is fashioned for them in vain. According to them, God is not only merciful, but also hardening, and would no longer be, as they suppose, good. And we have examined all these things deliberately at greater length against those who uncritically grant to themselves to have understood, and who encroach upon the simplicity of our people, opposing and showing that the argument examined in the present context does not contribute to them, as they think, neither for what they suppose about God, nor for what they dogmatize about nature. But we, being persuaded from many sources, believe that both the pain and punishment brought from God happen never against those who suffer, but always for them. And indeed the harshest of the names thought to be attached to God, wrath and anger, are said to rebuke and to chasten in the passage: "O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath, nor chasten me in your anger," as the one praying these things requests not to need the rebuke that is through God's wrath, and the chastening that is through His anger, as some will be rebuked by the wrath of God, and chastened by His anger. But that we may better accept what is said, we must also use similar sayings from the New Testament, as the Savior says: "I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were burned;" for if the fire which He came to cast upon the earth were not saving, and saving for men, the Son of the good God would not say these things. But also Peter, having put Ananias and Sapphira to death with his word, who had sinned by lying not to men, but to the Lord, not only took care for the edification of those who, from seeing what had happened, would become more reverent in the faith in Christ, but also of those who were dying; wishing them, having been purified by the sudden and unexpected death, to be delivered from the body, having also some justification, since they had given even half of their possessions for the need of the needy. And Paul too, the one with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, by blinding him with his word, through the pains turns him to godliness, saying to him: "O, full of all deceit and all recklessness, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season." For what season? Or until the time when, having been struck and tormented for his sins, repenting, he was about to become worthy to see the sun in both ways, according to soul and according to body, so that the divine power might be proclaimed in the restoration of his sight; and according to soul, when, believing, he was about to profit from godliness? But also Demas, and Hermogenes, whom he handed over to Satan, so that they might be taught not to blaspheme, have suffered something similar to the aforementioned. And the one in Corinth who had his father's wife, he too is handed over

ἐπὶ τοῖς πολλοῖς, ὅτι ἐπιλέγεται τό· «Γνώσονται ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι Κύ ριος.» Καὶ ἀπειλεῖ οὐ μόνον Ἰσραηλίταις, ἀλλὰ καὶ Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ Ἀσσυρίοις, καὶ ἑτέροις ἐχθροῖς τοῦ λαοῦ. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ τέλει πολλῶν νομιζομένων ἀπειλῶν καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ ἀναγέγραπται. Ἆρα γὰρ ὁ σκληρύνων σκληρὸν σκληρύνει; σαφὲς δ' ὅτι σκλη ρὸν οὐ σκληρύνεται, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ ἁπαλότητος ἡ σκλη ρότης εἰς σκληρότητα μεταβάλλει· ἁπαλότης δὲ καρδίας κατὰ τὴν Γραφὴν ἐπαινετὴ, ὡς πολλαχοῦ τετηρήκαμεν. Λεγέτωσαν τοιγαροῦν εἰ χρηστὸς ὁ Φαραὼ τυγχάνων, γεγένηται πονηρὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἤτοι αἰτιώμενος ὁ Θεὸς τῷ Φαραὼ, μάτην αἰτιᾶται, ἢ οὐ μάτην· εἰ μὲν οὖν μάτην, πῶς ἔτι σοφὸς καὶ δίκαιος; εἰ δὲ μὴ μάτην, αἴτιος ἐτύγχανε τῶν ἁμαρ τημάτων τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἀπείθειαν τῷ Φαραώ· καὶ εἰ αἴτιος, οὐ φύσεως ἦν ἀπολλυμένης ἐκεῖνος. Πι στευτέον μέντοιγε καὶ τοῦτο, διὰ τὸ καταχρώ μενον τὸν Ἀπόστολον τοῖς ἐντεῦθεν ῥητοῖς λέγειν· «Ἄρ' οὖν ὃν θέλει ἐλεεῖ, ὃν δὲ θέλει σκληρύνει. Ἐρεῖς οὖν μοι, Τί ἔτι μέμφεται; τῷ γὰρ βουλή ματι αὐτοῦ τίς ἀνθέστηκε;» τίς ὁ σκληρύνων καὶ ἐλεῶν; οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἑτέρου τὸ σκληρύνειν, καὶ ἑτέρου τὸ ἐλεεῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν φωνὴν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἤτοι οὖν οἱ ἐν Θεῷ ἐλεούμενοι τοῦ σκλη ρύνοντός εἰσι τὴν καρδίαν Φαραὼ, καὶ μάτην ἀνα πλάσσεται αὐτοῖς ἕτερος Θεὸς, ἢ ἀγαθός. Κατ' αὐ τοὺς Θεὸς, οὐκ ἐλεήμων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκληρύνων, καὶ οὐκ ἔτ' ἂν εἴη, ὡς ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, ἀγαθός. Πάντα δὲ ταῦτα ἐπίτηδες ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐξητάσαμεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀβασανίστως ἑαυτοῖς χαριζομένους τὸ νενοηκέναι, καὶ ἐπιβαίνοντας τῇ ἁπλότητι τῶν ἡμετέρων, ἐνι στάμενοι καὶ δεικνύντες ὅτι οὔτε εἰς ἃ ὑπολαμβά 12.276 νουσι περὶ Θεοῦ, οὔτε εἰς ἃ δογματίζουσι περὶ φύ σεως, συμβάλλεται αὐτοῖς, ὡς οἴονται, ὁ λόγος ὁ κατὰ τὸ ἐνεστηκὸς ἐξεταζόμενος. Ἡμεῖς δὲ πολλα χόθεν πειθόμενοι, καὶ πόνον καὶ κόλασιν τὰ προσα γόμενα ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ νομίζομεν γίνεσθαι, οὐδέποτε κατὰ τῶν πασχόντων, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. Καὶ τὰ χαλεπώτατα γοῦν Θεῷ νομιζόμενα προσάπτεσθαι τῶν ὀνομάτων, θυμὸς καὶ ὀργὴ, ἐλέγχειν καὶ παιδεύειν λέγεται ἐν τῷ· «Κύριε, μὴ τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με, μηδὲ τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με,» τοῦ ταῦτα εὐχομένου, δεομένου μὴ δεηθῆναι ἐλέγχου τοῦ διὰ θυμοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ παιδεύσεως τῆς διὰ τῆς ὀργῆς αὐ τοῦ, ὡς τινῶν ἐλεγχθησομένων τῷ θυμῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ παιδευθησομένων τῇ ὀργῇ αὐτοῦ. Ἵνα δὲ μᾶλλον προσιώμεθα τὰ λεγόμενα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς Καινῆς ∆ια θήκης παραπλησίοις ῥητοῖς χρηστέον, τοῦ μὲν Σω τῆρος λέγοντος· «Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ εἴθε δὲ ἐκάη·» οὐκ ἂν γὰρ μὴ σωτηρίου ὄντος τοῦ πυρὸς, ὃ ἦλθε βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἀνθρώποις σωτηρίου, ἔλεγε ταῦτα ὁ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱός. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἀνελὼν τῷ λόγῳ τὸν Ἀνανίαν καὶ τὴν Σάπφειραν, ἁμαρτήσαντας ἐν τῷ ψεύδεσθαι οὐκ ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ, οὐ μόνον πεφρόντικε τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τῶν ἐκ τοῦ ὁρᾷν τὸ γε γενημένον εὐλαβεστέρων ἐσομένων εἰς τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀποθνησκόντων· βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς κεκαθαρμένους τῷ αἰφνιδίῳ θανάτῳ καὶ παρὰ προσδοκίαν ἀπαλλάξαι τοῦ σώματος, ἔχοντάς τι καὶ δικαιώσεως, ἐπεὶ κἂν τὸ ἥμισυ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων δε δώκασιν εἰς τὴν χρείαν τῶν δεομένων. Καὶ Παῦλος δὲ τὸν σὺν τῷ ἀνθυπάτῳ Σεργίῳ Παύλῳ τῷ λόγῳ τυφλῶν διὰ τῶν πόνων ἐπιστρέφει αὐτὸν εἰς θεοσέ βειαν, λέγων αὐτῷ· «Ὦ πλήρης παντὸς δόλου καὶ πάσης ῥᾳδιουργίας, υἱὲ διαβόλου, ἐχθρὲ πάσης δι καιοσύνης, οὐ παύσῃ διαστρέφων τὰς ὁδοὺς Κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας, καὶ νῦν ἔσῃ τυφλὸς μὴ βλέπων τὸν ἥλιον ἄχρι καιροῦ.» Ποίου καιροῦ; ἢ τοῦ ὅτε ἐπι πληχθεὶς καὶ βασανισθεὶς διὰ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, ἔμελλε μετανοῶν ἄξιος γίνεσθαι ἀμφοτέρως τὸν ἥλιον ἰδεῖν κατὰ ψυχὴν καὶ κατὰ σῶμα, ἵνα ἐξαγγέλληται ἡ θεία δύναμις ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποκαταστάσει τῶν ὄψεων αὐτοῦ· καὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν, ὅτε ἔμελλε πιστεύων ὄνασθαι τῆς θεοσεβείας; Ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆ημᾶς, καὶ Ἑρμογένης, οὓς παρέδωκε τῷ Σατανᾷ, ἵνα παιδευθῶσι μὴ βλασφημεῖν, παραπλήσιόν τι πεπόνθασι τοῖς προειρη μένοις. Καὶ ὁ ἐν Κορίνθῳ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πατρὸς ἐσχηκὼς, καὶ αὐτὸς παραδίδοται