On Continence.

 1. It is difficult to treat of the virtue of the soul, which is called Continence, in a manner fully suitable and worthy but He, whose great gift thi

 2. And lest it should seem that necessary Continence was to be hoped for from the Lord only in respect of the lust of the lower parts of the flesh, it

 3. Lastly, to show more plainly the inner mouth, which by these words he meant, after having said, “Set a watch, O Lord, to my mouth, and a door of Co

 4. For which cause our Lord Himself also with His own mouth saith, “Cleanse what are within, and what are without will be clean.” And, also, in anothe

 5. And on this account that, which, the parts that beget being bridled by modesty, is most chiefly and properly to be called Continence, is violated b

 6. But it is one thing to fight well, which now is, when the strife of death is resisted another thing not to have an adversary, which will then be,

 7. This conflict none experience in themselves, save such as war on the side of the virtues, and war down the vices: nor doth any thing storm the evil

 8. Such soldiers the Apostolic trumpet enkindles for battle with that sound, “Therefore let not,” saith he, “sin reign in your mortal body to obey its

 9. And also, when he exhorts us, that we live not after the flesh, lest we die, but that by the Spirit we mortify the deeds of the flesh, that we may

 10. But in order that we fall not away from Continence, we ought to watch specially against those snares of the suggestions of the devil, that we pres

 11. But some one will say to me that it is one thing to live after man, another thing to live after the flesh because man forsooth is a rational crea

 12. When, therefore, you hear it said, “Sin shall not reign over you ” have not thou confidence of thyself, that sin reign not over thee, but of Him,

 13. In this so great conflict, wherein man under Grace lives, and when, being aided, he fights well, rejoices in the Lord with trembling, there yet ar

 14. And some indeed, who are used to excuse their own sins, complain that they are driven to sin by fate, as though the stars had decreed this, and he

 15. And there are also they who in excuse of their sins so accuse God, as to say that sins are pleasing to Him. For, if they were displeasing, say the

 16. But God wanted not power to make man such as that he should not be able to sin: but He chose rather to make him such, as that it should lie in his

 17. Now therefore let us return to that, wherefore we have said what we have. We have need of Continence, and we know it to be a divine gift, that our

 18. All we therefore, who believe in the Living and True God, Whose Nature, being in the highest sense good and incapable of change, neither doth any

 19. For the flesh lusts after nothing save through the soul, but the flesh is said to lust against the spirit, when the soul with fleshly lust wrestle

 20. There are therefore in us evil desires, by consenting not unto which we live not ill: there are in us lusts of sins, by obeying not which we perfe

 21. That, therefore, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, that there dwelleth not in our flesh good, that the law in our members is opposed to the la

 22. I say not, therefore, with what error, but with what utter madness, do the Manichees attribute our flesh to some, I know not what, fabled “race of

 23. The Apostle has made known to us certain three unions, Christ and the Church, husband and wife, spirit and flesh. Of these the former consult for

 24. If what we have made mention of out of the Apostolic Epistles seem to you to fall short of an answer, hear yet others, if ye have ears. What saith

 25. But, say they, how is the flesh by a certain likeness compared unto the Church? What! doth the Church lust against Christ? whereas the same Apostl

 26. Thus much will suffice to have treated on behalf of true Continence against the Manichees deceitfully continent, lest the fruitful and glorious la

 27. There are also they who, in doing open service to evil demons, contain from pleasures of the body, that, through their means, they may satisfy unl

 28. Far be it therefore that we say of continence, of which Scripture saith. “And this very thing was wisdom, to know whose gift it was,” that even th

 29. Thus the spirit of man, cleaving unto the Spirit of God, lusts against the flesh, that is, against itself: but for itself, in order that those mot

 30. But, after that he had made mention of these evils, he added and said, “On account of which cometh the wrath of God on the sons of unbelief.” Sure

 31. “But now do ye also,” saith he, “put down all ” and he makes mention of several more evils of that sort. But what is it, that it is not enough for

 32. But whether keenly contending, that we be not overcome, or overcoming divers times, or even with unhoped and unlooked for ease, let us give the gl

15. And there are also they who in excuse of their sins so accuse God, as to say that sins are pleasing to Him. For, if they were displeasing, say they, surely by His most Almighty power He would by no means suffer them to take place. As though indeed God suffered sins to be unpunished, even in the case of those whom by remission of sins He frees from eternal punishment! No one forsooth receives pardon of more grievous punishment due, unless he hath suffered some punishment, be it what it may, although far less than what was due: and the fullness of mercy is so conveyed, as that the justice also of discipline is not abandoned. For also sin, which seems unavenged, hath its own attendant punishment, so that there is no one but by reason of what he hath done either suffers pain from bitterness, or suffers not through blindness. As therefore you say, Why doth He permit those things, if they are displeasing? so I say, Why doth He punish them, if they are pleasing? And thus, as I confess that those things would not take place at all, unless they were permitted by the Almighty, so confess thou that what are punished by the Just One ought not to be done; in order that, by not doing what He punishes, we may deserve to learn of Him, why He permits to exist what He punishes. For, as it is written, “solid food is for the perfect,”51    Heb. v. 14 wherein they who have made good progress already understand, that it pertained rather unto the Almighty power of God, to allow the existence of evils coming from the free choice of the will. So great forsooth is His Almighty goodness, as that even of evil He can make good, either by pardoning, or by healing, or by fitting and turning unto the profit of the pious, or even by most justly taking vengeance. For all these are good, and most worthy a good and Almighty God: and yet they are not made save of evils. What therefore better, what more Almighty, than He, Who, whereas He maketh no evil, even of evils maketh well? They who have done ill cry unto Him, “Forgive us our debts;”52    Matt. vi. 12 He hears, He pardons. Their own evils have hurt the sinners; He helps and heals their sicknesses. The enemies of His people rage; of their rage He makes martyrs. Lastly, also, He condemns those, whom He judges worthy of condemnation; although they suffer their own evils, yet He doeth what is good. For what is just cannot but be good, and assuredly as sin is unjust, so the punishment of sin is just.

CAPUT VI.

15. Contra alios qui ut se excusent, dicunt placere Deo peccata. Deus et de malis facit bona. Homo cum potestate peccandi factus, pro praemio accepturus non posse peccare. Sunt et qui eo modo in excusatione peccatorum suorum accusant Deum, ut dicant ei placere peccata. Nam si displicerent, inquiunt, nullo modo ea fieri omnipotentissima utique potestate permitteret. Quasi vero peccata Deus impunita esse permiserit, etiam in eis quos a supplicio sempiterno remissione liberat peccatorum. Nullus quippe debitae gravioris poenae accipit veniam, nisi qualemcumque, etsi longe minorem quam debebat, solverit poenam: atque ita impartitur largitas misericordiae, ut non relinquatur etiam justitia disciplinae. Nam et peccatum quod inultum videtur, habet pedissequam poenam suam, ut nemo de admisso nisi aut amaritudine doleat, aut caecitate non doleat. Sicut ergo tu dicis, Cur permittit ista, si displicent? ita ego dico, Cur punit ista, si placent? Ac per hoc sicut ego confiteor quod omnino ista non fierent, nisi ab Omnipotente permitterentur; ita tu confitere facienda non esse quae a justo puniantur: ut non faciendo quae 0359 punit, mereamur ab eo discere cur permittit esse quae puniat. Perfectorum est enim, sicut scriptum est, solidus cibus (Hebr. V, 14): in quo hi qui bene profecerunt, jam intelligunt ad omnipotentiam Dei potius id pertinuisse, ut ex libero arbitrio voluntatis venientia mala esse permitteret. Tanta quippe est omnipotens ejus bonitas, ut etiam de malis possit facere bona, sive ignoscendo, sive sanando, sive ad utilitates piorum coaptando atque vertendo, sive etiam justissime vindicando. Omnia namque ista bona sunt, et Deo bono atque omnipotente dignissima: nec tamen fiunt nisi de malis. Quid igitur melius, quid omnipotentius eo qui cum mali nihil faciat, bene etiam de malis facit? Clamant ad eum qui male fecerunt, Dimitte nobis debita nostra (Matth. VI, 12): exaudit, ignoscit. Nocuerunt sua mala peccantibus: subvenit eorum medeturque languoribus. Saeviunt suorum hostes: de illorum saevitia facit martyres. Postremo etiam condemnat eos quos damnatione judicat dignos: sua licet illi mala patiantur, facit tamen ille quod bonum est. Non potest enim bonum non esse, quod justum est: et utique sicut injustum est peccatum, ita justum est peccati supplicium.